tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4910014663620645012024-03-13T22:01:37.607-06:00Joe M. O'ConnellThis is my old blog. Please go to joeoconnell.comJoe M. O'Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057052420986617282noreply@blogger.comBlogger755125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491001466362064501.post-31905935322510411592021-04-06T11:30:00.001-06:002021-04-06T11:30:24.558-06:00'Just Another Day" in paradise<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F_7oNUp-Lj0/YGyVfAsFQuI/AAAAAAAAJDI/9eybZ8c1uSI7JutXUJbT7m0S6NeW33AjACLcBGAsYHQ/s500/justanothereday.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F_7oNUp-Lj0/YGyVfAsFQuI/AAAAAAAAJDI/9eybZ8c1uSI7JutXUJbT7m0S6NeW33AjACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/justanothereday.jpg" /></a></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Greg Quadlander</b> remembers the boy inside in <i>Just Another</i><span class="a-size-extra-large" id="productTitle"> <i>D</i></span><i>ay</i>. He evokes the peaceful purity/danger of a wooded area that is in far Northwest Austin and now covered with houses. <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Billed
as a children's book, it will resonate with anyone who remembers what
it was like to be a child in search of adventure--the kind that involves
rattlesnakes and mountain lions!</div><div><br /></div><div>The book brings to mind a more serene version of <b>Gary Paulsen</b>'s book <i>Hatchet</i>. In this case the adventure ends in the safety of mother's arms. <br /></div><div><br /></div>He includes pencil drawings done by a number of his friends that will make you believe you are a kid again. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/JUST-ANOTHER-DAY-GREG-QUADLANDER/dp/1715853458">Check the book out here.</a><blockquote><br /><br /></blockquote>Joe M. O'Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057052420986617282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491001466362064501.post-83351594411990424992021-01-16T12:24:00.002-06:002021-01-16T12:24:49.023-06:00Three more from Brown<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n7BeEVvPkEA/YAMvVchbTJI/AAAAAAAAI5s/TMDtRIFhLYU_84VrjiCwuOLeTdO_ADNSQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/3%2Bby%2Bdf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n7BeEVvPkEA/YAMvVchbTJI/AAAAAAAAI5s/TMDtRIFhLYU_84VrjiCwuOLeTdO_ADNSQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/3%2Bby%2Bdf.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Joe M. O'Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057052420986617282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491001466362064501.post-62389172460504857382021-01-16T12:17:00.000-06:002021-01-16T12:17:27.882-06:002 poems from DF Brown<p> Stories of Vietnam.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ytzC73hBtac/YAMtUDKhKKI/AAAAAAAAI5U/f1PAeykGXXoQsE-QhvSAtcjGu4DZZrbXACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Coming%2BHome.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ytzC73hBtac/YAMtUDKhKKI/AAAAAAAAI5U/f1PAeykGXXoQsE-QhvSAtcjGu4DZZrbXACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Coming%2BHome.jpg" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sSfHRV9twac/YAMtBBj4Q1I/AAAAAAAAI5E/bp46-zaySq8iLJ0Jv8xY_pirum3t81tVwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/When%2BI%2Bam%2B19%2BI%2Bwas%2Ba%2Bmedic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sSfHRV9twac/YAMtBBj4Q1I/AAAAAAAAI5E/bp46-zaySq8iLJ0Jv8xY_pirum3t81tVwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/When%2BI%2Bam%2B19%2BI%2Bwas%2Ba%2Bmedic.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br />Joe M. O'Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057052420986617282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491001466362064501.post-80367793809482934402020-07-09T15:44:00.002-06:002020-07-09T15:44:59.368-06:00My book about the Ross Sisters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8k_uTMikHDs/XwePUsD9pqI/AAAAAAAAIjw/WQLKrNNBy_UuCVG6Sas81nY6gUeTIREvwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Ross%2BSisters%2Bcover%2BBETTER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1093" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8k_uTMikHDs/XwePUsD9pqI/AAAAAAAAIjw/WQLKrNNBy_UuCVG6Sas81nY6gUeTIREvwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Ross%2BSisters%2Bcover%2BBETTER.jpg" width="218" /></a></div>
You've likely seen <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1J3NLNWAPU">the video on Youtube</a>. Soon you'll learn their true story.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">What I'm currently working on:</span></div>
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Three sisters from West Texas saved their family from the Great Depression when a chance encounter with acrobatic neighbors sparked an unexpected career as singing contortionists.<br /><br />The Ross sisters quickly traded in their childhoods for roadhouses and rodeo shows. Soon they were on Broadway and in the movies. At the urging of their mother Veda--who trained them relentlessly--the girls lied up their ages.<br /><br />Just after WWII ended, the Ross Sisters sailed on the Queen Mary to London to perform in a hit stage show. Free of their mother for the first time, they each met a fellow performer and married: Betsy Ross to a schizophrenic and charismatic dancer from America, Vicki Ross to a lovable French ventriloquist and baby Dixie to an English actor and comedian.<br /><br />Dixie would die on her 15th wedding anniversary, and her sisters would be left to pick up the pieces and save their own children from what they feared had become a family curse.<br /><br />The Ross Sisters fame was short-lived, but bubbled up in the '90s when their act was featured in the film <span style="font-style: italic;">That's Entertainment III</span>, and again in a new century when their contortions made them Youtube sensations.<br /><br />I'm in the middle of research and writing. Wish me luck!</div>
Joe M. O'Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057052420986617282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491001466362064501.post-54567201917293471412020-05-15T17:23:00.002-06:002020-05-15T17:24:17.565-06:00A Rondo Hatton short until 'Rondo and Bob' is released<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dAmrljbWFUw/Xr8kXxEIXNI/AAAAAAAAIYE/d-V3WI2KimwU_byXjhUcFuu0-S7ANsREACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/meetthecreepertitle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="890" data-original-width="1600" height="176" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dAmrljbWFUw/Xr8kXxEIXNI/AAAAAAAAIYE/d-V3WI2KimwU_byXjhUcFuu0-S7ANsREACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/meetthecreepertitle.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
release of </span></span></span></span><em><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Rondo
and Bob</span></i></span></span></em><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
at film festivals is on hold until, well, there are film festivals
again! We were set to premiere during Megacon in Orlando at the
affiliated Saints and Sinner Film Festival, but Megacon was first
delayed, then canceled. It may be back in October. We may be part of
it, but that's not a certainty.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">In
the meantime, what is there to do but make some short films from
home! We created </span></span></span></span><em><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Meet
the Creeper</span></i></span></span></em><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">!
for Roger Corman's Quarantine Film Festival. The </span></span></span></span><strong><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Rondo
Hatton</b></span></span></span></strong><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
mask <b>Paul Smith</b> created for Rondo and Bob was at my house, so we told
Rondo's story. I enlisted my son and wife. </span></span></span></span><strong><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Kirk
Hunter</b></span></span></span></strong><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
did the editing. My son played trombone and wore the mask. My wife
was Mae Hatton. </span></span></span></span><em><a href="https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/screens/2020-04-26/now-streaming-in-austin-meet-the-creeper/" target="_top"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><u><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
Austin Chronicle</span></u></i></span></span></span></a></em><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
even wrote about the short. You can see the completed film </span></span></span></span><a href="https://vimeo.com/409980216" target="_top"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><span style="font-weight: normal;">here</span></u></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
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A:link { so-language: zxx }</style>Joe M. O'Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057052420986617282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491001466362064501.post-18333002993802764132020-03-31T22:02:00.003-06:002020-03-31T22:02:42.852-06:00Dallas VideoFest's AltFiction goes online<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a8wtKdn1g54/XoQSH1EEJHI/AAAAAAAAINg/JVvPjic0GZ486en255C5fQnd1kXygjL7gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/videofest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a8wtKdn1g54/XoQSH1EEJHI/AAAAAAAAINg/JVvPjic0GZ486en255C5fQnd1kXygjL7gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/videofest.jpg" /></a></div>
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I'm getting almost daily notices of film festivals pushing back to at least the summer. More interesting in the here and now are the fests that are going online. The latest is the Dallas VideoFest's AltFiction which will be online <b>for FREE</b>.<br />
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Here's the skinny from the press release:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Century Gothic,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dallas VideoFest’s Alternative Fiction </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Century Gothic,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://videofest.org/Alternative-Fiction/&source=gmail&ust=1585799481000000&usg=AFQjCNFBhKO3H_raqv8H8XEd6eVgVm2dcw" href="http://videofest.org/Alternative-Fiction/" target="_blank">http://videofest.org/<wbr></wbr>Alternative-Fiction/</a> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Century Gothic,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">April 2-5</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Century Gothic,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) partners with </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Century Gothic,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Falcon Events</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Century Gothic,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Dallas-based event producers, which specializes in producing live online and virtual events, to deploy the latest live online technology via a secure and robust platform to create a virtual film festival experience in your living room.</span><br />
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<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.44; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Century Gothic, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“We are recreating the festival experience, showing films, and connecting filmmakers with their audiences, with technology that is just right for the moment,” said Bart Weiss, founder and artistic director of Dallas VideoFest.</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Century Gothic,sans-serif; font-size: 14.5pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Alternative Innovation</span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Century Gothic,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Falcon Events has the technology and capability to include film introductions from the Festivals’ film hosts as well as Q&As following films. Viewers will be able to hear and potentially see the filmmakers as they answer the viewers’ questions. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Century Gothic,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-style: solid; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Falcon Events has very strict protocols in place to ensure each film’s content is not copied, and each film will only be available live.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Century Gothic,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dallas VideoFest has been innovating with technology since 1987, such as showcasing HDTV and VR in 1988, exhibiting interactive media, and pioneering using files instead of videotapes. We are constantly looking for new easy to connect with audiences, and this is the technology perfect for this moment in time.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Century Gothic, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“In this time when we are literally homebound, we are looking to be inspired. AltFiction’s narrative films will prove entertainment, inspiration and will be the cure for cabin fever,” Weiss </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Century Gothic, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">said.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Century Gothic,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Movie lovers can go online and watch great films at specific times. Like traditional film festivals, there will be questions and answers and intros to the films from hosts and from the filmmakers, but these will be done on video (and unlike the films themselves will be viewable later online). Audiences can ask questions of the filmmakers and have them answered in real-time. </span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Century Gothic, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here's how you do it:</span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Century Gothic,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sign up at OnlineFest.us </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Century Gothic,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Browse content</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Century Gothic,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Register for screenings you want to watch</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Century Gothic,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 14pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Century Gothic,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Log back in before the event start time to begin viewing (an email reminder goes out 30 minutes prior to the start time)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Century Gothic,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In addition, viewers can expect a seamless switch into a filmmaker Q&A using a text-based tool that allows attendees to submit questions online.</span></div>
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Joe M. O'Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057052420986617282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491001466362064501.post-31226724409099245162020-03-24T08:46:00.000-06:002020-03-24T09:01:46.684-06:00The new reality for independent filmmakers<div style="background: #ffffff; border: none; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UGDOB8bfDjs/XnoeJXqfdhI/AAAAAAAAILY/Z1dJyWwK-9wQUnCruK5zvIYkcCrFA3cfwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Rondo-Bob%2BC%2BFRENZIEDsmall-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UGDOB8bfDjs/XnoeJXqfdhI/AAAAAAAAILY/Z1dJyWwK-9wQUnCruK5zvIYkcCrFA3cfwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Rondo-Bob%2BC%2BFRENZIEDsmall-1.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Painting: Camilo Esparza. Poster: Casey Hunter</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">In
2001 I talked to producer <b>Scott Perry</b> about </span></span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Jet
Blast</span></i></span></span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">,
an Austin-made, low-budget comedy about a future time where airlines
got super competitive. An evil rogue group armed their planes to take
out the other guys. Some planes crashed into buildings. It was
clearly a goofy joke. </span></span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Jet
Blast</span></i></span></span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
was set to premiere at the Austin Film Festival. Then 9/11 happened.
No festival screening. No much of anything for a long time. </span></span></span></span>
</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: #ffffff; border: none; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6E5vWt6etoc/XnoeLnM05KI/AAAAAAAAILc/6YYxtEvv06cikUByqi-RS3LPk_Co8PSeQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/houseofhorrorsotheposter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="849" data-original-width="562" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6E5vWt6etoc/XnoeLnM05KI/AAAAAAAAILc/6YYxtEvv06cikUByqi-RS3LPk_Co8PSeQCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/houseofhorrorsotheposter.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; border: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"We had somehow
managed to find the exact wrong film to make at the exact wrong
time," Perry told me then. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; border: none; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; border: none; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Also
in 2001, a </span></span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Spider-Man</span></i></span></span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
trailer that showed Spidey swinging from a web between the Twin
Towers was pulled. There was talk of shelving terrorist-themed
movies. It was a tough time for the movie industry.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; border: none; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; border: none; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">OK,
as filmmakers today we need to lighten up. Things are not nearly as
bad. Yes, festivals have been cancelled. Yes, many more have been
postponed. But, like with 9/11, the bigger picture shines through as
we huddle in our houses and get back to basics. My family watched
</span></span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Onward
</span></i></span></span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">on
overly expensive pay per view just days after its release in
theaters. (It was great.) Screening parties are happening on
Facebook. Classic films are being rediscovered. This time film is our
escape. It just isn't happening in the normal way.</span></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: #ffffff; border: none; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">For
example, where I am in Austin, Texas, the documentary </span></span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Also
Starring Austin</span></i></span></span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
is screening for free online </span></span></span></span><a href="https://youtu.be/rINZZBck4oY" target="_top"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><span style="font-weight: normal;">here</span></u></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
for a short while. </span></span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
Austin Chronicle</span></i></span></span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
is </span></span></span></span><a href="https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/screens/2020-03-23/join-us-for-the-texas-chain-saw-massacre-at-home/" target="_top"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><span style="font-weight: normal;">asking
readers</span></u></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
to watch </span></span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Texas
Chain Saw Massacre</span></i></span></span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
along with them at home and engage in a running commentary. Film is bringing isolated people together.</span></span></span></span>
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<div style="border: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 150%; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I've
been quiet lately about the release of my documentary </span></span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Rondo
and Bob</span></i></span></span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">,
which is about </span></span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Texas
Chain Saw Massacre</span></i></span></span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
art director </span></span></span></span><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Robert
Burns</b></span></span></span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
and his obsession with '40s actor </span></span></span></span><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Rondo
Hatton</b></span></span></span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
whose iconic face was twisted from the effects of acromegaly. Deeper
down it's about the love Burns searched for and Hatton found. It was
set to premiere April 17 at MegaCon in Orlando, with attendance of
about 100,000 one of the largest fan conventions in the country. But
I knew it wouldn't happen. It had become a rare holdout to the
cancellation list.</span></span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; border: none; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; border: none; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Word
came down Monday that the fest has been pushed to June. </span></span></span></span><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>Rondo
and Bob</b></i></span></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>is
the feature screening on June 5.</b></span></span></span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Will it actually happen? Will life be back to normal by then? I'm
still not sure. Perhaps it takes a great re-imagining of the film
release process. I'd love ideas on that. </span></span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; border: none; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; border: none; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">In
the meantime I want to share this amazing poster based on a painting
created by tattoo artist <b>Camilo Esparza</b> and realized by <b>Casey Hunter</b>. It's an homage to a poster
for the 1946 film </span></span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">House
of Horrors</span></i></span></span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
featuring Hatton as the Creeper.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; border: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.07in; padding: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; border: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.07in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Stay safe. Go watch
a movie.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { }</style>Joe M. O'Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057052420986617282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491001466362064501.post-46739431415040182362019-08-30T11:28:00.000-06:002019-08-30T11:28:54.782-06:00Death of Monte DhoogeObituary for Monte Dhooge, cinematographer for Scream Test.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wyVmXD0Bi2E/XWlS2ekTxsI/AAAAAAAAHsw/kuyz0AZL2kABVCLLeuka6ZAFPYX68XgowCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-08-30%2Bat%2B11.44.05%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1232" data-original-width="1116" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wyVmXD0Bi2E/XWlS2ekTxsI/AAAAAAAAHsw/kuyz0AZL2kABVCLLeuka6ZAFPYX68XgowCLcBGAs/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-08-30%2Bat%2B11.44.05%2BAM.png" width="289" /></a></div>
<br />Joe M. O'Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057052420986617282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491001466362064501.post-83669032900491507482019-05-13T19:12:00.002-06:002019-05-13T19:13:41.140-06:00"Austin-set" series will shoot in... Los Angeles!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CZ5p0YbsIJw/XNoV6dAKcvI/AAAAAAAAHB8/N5nWfXf1ymEo8sqj8EZ7wT4HKxZMQR9fQCLcBGAs/s1600/roblowe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="264" data-original-width="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CZ5p0YbsIJw/XNoV6dAKcvI/AAAAAAAAHB8/N5nWfXf1ymEo8sqj8EZ7wT4HKxZMQR9fQCLcBGAs/s1600/roblowe.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bah ha ha! I curse you, Austin!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Hat tip to <b>Joe Gross</b> at the <i>Austin American-Statesman</i> for <a href="https://www.austin360.com/entertainmentlife/20190513/upcoming-9-1-1-spin-off-set-in-austin-will-film-in--california">this scoop</a>:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #232323; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 17.5px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>Rob Lowe</b> will star in Fox series <i>9-1-1: Lone Star</i>, a spin-off of <b>Ryan Murphy</b>’s show <i>9-1-1</i>. It will be set in Austin, but shot in Los Angeles because they look exactly the same. Cough cough.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #232323; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 17.5px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">More from <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/911-texas-set-spinoff-lone-star-a-go-at-fox-1208480"><i>The Hollywood Reporter</i></a>: </span><span style="color: #232323; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 17.5px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 15.6px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">"The series follows a sophisticated New York firefighter (Lowe) who, along with his son, relocate to Austin and must try to balance saving those who are at their most vulnerable with solving the problems in his own life."</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #232323; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 17.5px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 15.6px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #232323; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 17.5px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I expect to see Rob at at Joan's on 3rd in West Austin, ur, Hollywood, soon.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #232323; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 17.5px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 15.6px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #232323; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 17.5px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #232323; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 17.5px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #232323; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "crimson text" , "georgia" , "cambria" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: 17.5px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span>Joe M. O'Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057052420986617282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491001466362064501.post-76741485312438909392019-02-17T19:19:00.001-06:002019-02-17T19:19:45.017-06:00Granny from 'Chain Saw' found!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-76Cp5eWO1CM/XGoG_-7eTsI/AAAAAAAAGww/oMUOk8JI0AsQsCA3_-WZb3ILMUCAlfO5ACLcBGAs/s1600/kirkgrannybestSMALLer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-76Cp5eWO1CM/XGoG_-7eTsI/AAAAAAAAGww/oMUOk8JI0AsQsCA3_-WZb3ILMUCAlfO5ACLcBGAs/s320/kirkgrannybestSMALLer.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">© Joe M. O'Connell</span></span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></td></tr>
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<br />
It took more than a year to track her down, but we finally unearthed <b>Granny</b>, as created by <b>Robert A. Burns</b> for the original <i>Texas Chain Saw Massacre</i>. She was in an undisclosed--and quite secret--location in Texas.<br />
<br />
The purpose? Film her for my documentary <i>Rondo and Bob</i> about <i>Chain Saw</i> art director Bob Burns and his obsession with the actor <b>Rondo Hatton</b>. We are entering the main editing phase of the project so it was particularly sweet to find Granny, who is holding up nicely. My shooter/editor <b>Kirk </b>kept the zombies at bay while I took this snap.<br />
<br />
You can see more about the documentary at <a href="http://rondoandbob.com/">rondoandbob.com</a> or find us on Facebook at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/rondoandbob/">https://www.facebook.com/rondoandbob/</a>.<span id="goog_784242119"></span><span id="goog_784242120"></span>Joe M. O'Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057052420986617282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491001466362064501.post-7384159185155954152017-10-30T10:03:00.000-06:002017-10-30T10:03:03.403-06:00Rondo and Bob very preliminary art<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Joe M. O'Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057052420986617282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491001466362064501.post-659874250030308342017-06-09T15:10:00.000-06:002017-06-09T20:19:45.788-06:00My next documentary is 'Rondo and Bob'<i>The cat has clawed its way out of the bag. I'm working on a documentary called </i>Rondo and Bob<i> about </i>The Texas Chain Saw Massacre<i> art director <b>Robert A. Burns</b> and the actor <b>Rondo Hatton</b>, whom Bob Burns was obsessed with. (See more at the web site here: <a href="http://rondoandbob.com/">Rondoandbob.com</a></i><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Robert A. Burns</td></tr>
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<i> </i>Austin American-Statesman<i> columnist <b>John Kelso</b> made the announcement in his column:</i><br />
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<b>Joe O’Connell</b> is doing his part to promote Austin’s eccentricity.<br />
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O’Connell, an old newspaper guy who has written about film for several Texas papers, is shooting a documentary about the late Robert Burns, the man who put the gore in the original “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” movie.<br />
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In case you haven’t been keeping up with your blood and guts horror classics, Burns did the macabre artwork for the film. Although you wouldn’t guess he’d head in that direction if you met him; Burns was a real sweetheart, a soft-spoken guy with what I suspect was a genius IQ.<br />
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There’s never been another one like <b>Robert Burns</b>. They didn’t throw away the mold, because there was no mold. Although his South Austin home was a bit moldy.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rondo Hatton</td></tr>
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Burns lived in a two-story dust-collector in South Austin furnished with props from “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” There was the arm chair, so-called because of the prosthetic arms Burns attached. When I visited Burns, a battery-powered rubber hand was crawling across the floor upstairs with a knife run through it, a prop Burns put together for an upcoming film project.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MUFBzeYkuto/WTsORj0WB4I/AAAAAAAAFTU/2TABkbqlGDwdlkDhHIiH1CKsoKLWmzOsACLcB/s1600/Burnschainsawmasks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="967" data-original-width="1191" height="161" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MUFBzeYkuto/WTsORj0WB4I/AAAAAAAAFTU/2TABkbqlGDwdlkDhHIiH1CKsoKLWmzOsACLcB/s200/Burnschainsawmasks.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Burns made these masks.</td></tr>
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What project? Who knows? But I’m betting it wasn’t “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.”<br />
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During my visit Burns sat me down and showed me the massacre movie on a small TV. His review? He had one complaint: All that screaming from characters being hacked to pieces made the film extremely loud.<br />
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Read the rest <a href="http://www.mystatesman.com/news/local/kelso-documentary-man-who-put-the-gore-texas-chainsaw-massacre/qQbExCy6rJbEwP6aYz68kI/">here</a>. Joe M. O'Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057052420986617282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491001466362064501.post-7041614902356530742017-05-13T07:52:00.001-06:002017-05-13T07:52:06.604-06:00'The Son' to rise again on AMC<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_aP5EMUBoxc/WRcPXNYwvRI/AAAAAAAAFPI/udqI9i_D4Fgqar9w5Ct1MaoLBQfnJgvyACLcB/s1600/the-son.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_aP5EMUBoxc/WRcPXNYwvRI/AAAAAAAAFPI/udqI9i_D4Fgqar9w5Ct1MaoLBQfnJgvyACLcB/s400/the-son.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Good news for the Austin film/TV industry:<a href="http://deadline.com/2017/05/pierce-brosnan-the-son-season-2-renewal-amc-1202092358/"><i> Deadline</i></a> reports that a second, 10-episode season of "The Son" is slated for AMC and almost certainly will be shot largely in Central Texas.<br />
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The show starring <b>Pierce Brosnan</b> (whose Texas accent is a bit "creative") is based on <b>Philipp Meyer</b>'s epic novel of the same name, and the author is a driving force in the series as well. Read my interview with him in the <a href="http://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/2017-04-07/the-son-rises-with-philipp-meyer/"><i>Austin Chronicle</i></a>. Joe M. O'Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057052420986617282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491001466362064501.post-18016590216130442542017-05-12T17:17:00.003-06:002017-05-12T17:29:02.460-06:00Patty Hearst gets kidnapped in Austin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-joM3pxPy5pQ/WRY-QJET75I/AAAAAAAAFO4/ohG2S1CUz1IatkWtPbjbbQ55xUjWX1EpACLcB/s1600/pattyhearst.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-joM3pxPy5pQ/WRY-QJET75I/AAAAAAAAFO4/ohG2S1CUz1IatkWtPbjbbQ55xUjWX1EpACLcB/s400/pattyhearst.jpg" width="347" /></a></div>
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Filming begins next week in Austin on a limited-run retelling of heiress <b>Patty Hearst</b>'s kidnapping, my sources confirm. It will continue through June 10. <br />
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It tells the tale of publishing magnate <b>William Randolph Hearst </b>granddaughter, who was abducted from her Berkeley apartment by terror group the Symbionese Liberation Army in 1974 and soon was sporting a gun of her own during a bank robbery.<br />
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The series comes from Austin-based Bat Bridge Entertainment, which<a href="http://taylorpress.net/news/article_81a4f5de-69a4-11e6-b5e6-5b1fdad99d73.html"> shot some scenes at a former bank in Taylor last summer</a>. <br />
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Casting calls talk of a "major network" behind the "Untitled PH Series" seeking " featured extras for recreations of real people, so the actors will be matching historical figures, and their faces will not be seen straight-on." That network is either CNN or CBS. The latter talked of just such a series <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/cbs-developing-patty-hearst-limited-901559?utm_source=twitter">last year.</a> <br />
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Also currently shooting around Austin are a Comedy Central pilot <a href="http://deadline.com/2017/04/comedy-central-corporate-the-new-negroes-taskmaster-series-pilots-1202071296/"><i>Power Couple</i></a> and <b>Andrew Bujalski</b>'s indie film <a href="http://deadline.com/2017/05/support-the-girls-movie-regina-hall-haley-lu-richardson-andrew-bujalski-1202081557/"><i>Support the Girls</i></a>.Joe M. O'Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057052420986617282noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491001466362064501.post-55724112148205496082017-04-15T09:14:00.000-06:002017-04-15T09:23:34.195-06:00It's time to "Uber-ize" the airline industryMy op/ed piece in the <a href="http://www.mystatesman.com/news/opinion/commentary-time-for-united-and-other-airlines-uber-ize/v25Auyfj6oJ8rydfLvbATP/"><i>Austin American-Statesman</i></a>:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photos taken during San Francisco delay.<br />
©Joe O'Connell</td></tr>
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It’s not about one customer being dragged off one airplane; it’s about an industry attitude that must change or go the way of the cab industry. Shape up or get Uber-ized, United Airlines.<br />
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Consider the Facebook page I Hate United Airlines and its good friends: I Hate American Airlines and I Hate Delta Airlines. Angry customers are in awe that Southwest Airlines reportedly reacts to long delays by buying its customers pizza. A simple act of kindness is the aberration not the norm. <br />
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My wife and I traveled from Austin to Santa Barbara to see Van Morrison perform. A short connection in San Francisco and we’d be there. But our United flight was delayed again and again. Weather, we were told. We arrived in San Francisco minutes after our connecting flight had left. The next flight out was canceled — and the next one was already full of people from that canceled fight. OK, we said, put us up and fly us out tomorrow. We don’t pay for weather delays, the United rep said. Later we learned that United had had a well-publicized computer problem the day before. Was it lingering?<br />
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We made the best of it and went full-on tourist: Argonaut Hotel at Fisherman’s Wharf, cable car, lunch at Nick’s Lighthouse. To the airport with plenty of time to still make the Van Morrison show. Another delay, another. United workers blamed it on air traffic control this time. We booked an airport hotel, resigned to flying home without having ever set foot in Santa Barbara. Our flight soon was canceled. We’d take a morning flight home.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">©Joe O'Connell</td></tr>
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The next morning we presented boarding passes and were told our tickets were canceled — canceled because our flights were canceled. A third day in the airport. I started tweeting about our hostage crisis. How I’d taken a job washing dishes at Peet’s Coffee and living off of airport candy. On Facebook a friend sent footage of the show we’d missed: Morrison performing “Moondance” with actual full moon in the background “‘neath the cover of October skies.”<br />
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Throughout it all, United workers treated us with resignation mixed with wariness. For our trouble we got two $150 vouchers — a third the cost of our flights. Customer service was an afterthought.<br />
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Yes, Austin chased Uber away with threats of regulation, — but it’s clear Uber has forced the old cab company model to shape up or vanish. Use PayPal instead of needing cash? Check. Half the cost? Oh yeah. Less structure. Less fuss. Less hassle.<br />
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It’s the same with telephones and television. Expensive landlines? Dead or dying. Cable television? Hah. Innovation and change have made none of the old, tired models safe from welcome extinction. The airline industry needs to be next.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dCUEBnh0zfY/WPI5DaIVhdI/AAAAAAAAFMQ/CixxreX1SEYURIykGwObWX0_QzH9RWd4wCLcB/s1600/sanfran7_pe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dCUEBnh0zfY/WPI5DaIVhdI/AAAAAAAAFMQ/CixxreX1SEYURIykGwObWX0_QzH9RWd4wCLcB/s200/sanfran7_pe.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">©Joe O'Connell</td></tr>
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Consider this: United and other airlines charge for checked bags, so customers bring more carry-on luggage. A San Francisco TSA worker shook her head while she explained how it slowed down their process and overworked them. Security lines were long and stressful. Once we got to United’s smaller plane from Austin to San Francisco, they handed out tags to check luggage anyway. Overhead bins were too few and two small. We piled our bags by the entryway. The same process happened on our aborted flight home. It made no sense. The airline industry makes no sense.<br />
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We are living in a changing world where marketing pros talk of “connectedness” as the secret to success. They don’t mean networking; instead it’s about synthesis — taking the old ways and reworking them into something better. It’s what Uber did. It’s why Blockbuster Video and its exorbitant late fees seems like a distant memory. It’s why phone books are as useless as buggy whips.<br />
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I don’t have an answer to the airline industry problems, but I know airlines like United with their “friendly skies” need their creaky old models to change or step aside for something new. Please, creatives, Uber-ize them quickly. We need you.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">©Joe O'Connell</td></tr>
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Joe M. O'Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057052420986617282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491001466362064501.post-85207580203448041582017-04-06T19:21:00.003-06:002017-04-06T19:22:25.430-06:00Austin-shot 'The Son' ready to premiere on AMC<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-26Mc1GYKVNs/WObpn-PE6lI/AAAAAAAAFKU/gd8r9rP_3swFEk9wraJc848b7QSMnKXrgCLcB/s1600/son.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-26Mc1GYKVNs/WObpn-PE6lI/AAAAAAAAFKU/gd8r9rP_3swFEk9wraJc848b7QSMnKXrgCLcB/s320/son.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Philipp Meyer was getting drunk on author and folklorist J. Frank Dobie's front porch when he decided to adapt his epic Texas novel The Son for the screen.<br />
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"Let's just do it ourselves," he recalls thinking, with the "ourselves" including his compadres Brian McGreevy and Lee Shipman from the University of Texas' Michener Center for Writers. "The worst that can happen is we fail."<br />
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Read the rest at the <a href="http://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/2017-04-07/the-son-rises-with-philipp-meyer/">Austin Chronicle</a>.Joe M. O'Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057052420986617282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491001466362064501.post-31757856327119429062017-01-13T21:04:00.001-06:002017-01-13T21:08:10.908-06:00Dracula vs. Frankenstein vs. Sam Sherman<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/198592625" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe>
<a href="https://vimeo.com/198592625">Sam Sherman and Frankenstein</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user55992022">Joe O'Connell</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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Just when we thought the documentary <i>Love and Other Stunts</i> was complete, I took a trip to legendary B-movie producer <b>Sam Sherman</b>'s New Jersey house and met <b>Frankenstein</b>.<br />
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Sherman and I talked about the independent film scene of the '60s and '70s, about director <b>Al Adamson</b> (and Adamson's murder) and, of course, about stuntman <b>Gary Kent</b> whose story is the focus of Love and Other Stunts.<br />
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Sherman said he believed Kent was destined to be a major Hollywood star or perhaps the star of a television series, but instead Kent was soon back on the Adamson crew. But Kent's life did take interesting turns as you'll see in the doc. (Get regular updates on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/loveandotherstunts">our Facebook page</a>.)<br />
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Sherman said Kent's role as the good-guy lead in <i>Satan's Sadists</i> was a turning point for his Independent-International Pictures.
Sherman is first and foremost a fan and a collector of film reels and memorabilia. He's also still actively working as head of IIP. And, as you can see, he knows just what box to open to reveal the star of Dracula vs. Frankenstein.<br />
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Find more about <i>Love and Other Stunts</i> <a href="http://www.loveandotherstuntsmovie.com/">here</a>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Sam Sherman:</b> Photo by Joe O'Connell</td></tr>
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Joe M. O'Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057052420986617282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491001466362064501.post-55964490538920720662016-12-06T13:29:00.000-06:002016-12-06T13:39:11.720-06:00First trailer for 'Love and Other Stunts'<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/194070233" width="400" height="225" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p><a href="https://vimeo.com/194070233">Love and Other Stunts trailer #1</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user55992022">Joe O'Connell</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>
We are gearing up for a 2017 film festival launch of my documentary
<i>Love and Other Stunts</i>.<br />
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We're working now on taking care of legal aspects and getting all our ducks in a row. I hired an amazing designer who will
create our film poster.<br />
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The film's main character, legendary stuntman <b>Gary Kent</b>, is just back from Milan, where a film he starred in, <a class="profileLink" data-hovercard-prefer-more-content-show="1" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=514426318640921" href="https://www.facebook.com/frameswitchfilm/">Frame Switch</a>, took best film honors at a festival there. At 83, he is rocking it.<br />
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Here is the first trailer for <i>Love and Other Stunts</i>!<br />
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Thanks again for your support.--Joe O'Connell</div>
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<br />Joe M. O'Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057052420986617282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491001466362064501.post-46319243230923986042016-10-28T06:07:00.000-06:002016-10-28T06:07:02.419-06:00Rodriguez seeks extras as 'Alita' begins Austin shoot<b>Robert Rodriguez</b> is back in action directing <i>Alita: Battle Angel</i> for Fox in Austin from now until February.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rzHSOmevzZE/WBM910moEDI/AAAAAAAAEro/XFGJInegf2sqH4F3Ep45xM3jtwz5QWsnACLcB/s1600/alita.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="182" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rzHSOmevzZE/WBM910moEDI/AAAAAAAAEro/XFGJInegf2sqH4F3Ep45xM3jtwz5QWsnACLcB/s200/alita.jpg" width="200" /></a>According to <a href="http://deadline.com/2016/10/x-men-lana-condor-alita-battle-angel-pacific-rim-2-ivanna-sakhno-1201834792/">Deadline, </a>it's set in a 26th-century dystopian future: "The film follows the story of an amnesiac cyborg who, after being rescued from a scrap heap by a doctor (<b>Christoph Waltz</b>), becomes a bounty hunter tracking down criminals."<br />
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Actress and singer <b>Eiza González</b> has the lead role. She also stars in Rodriguez's El Rey Network series <i>From Dusk Till Dawn</i>. Rodriguez shocked Austin locals when <a href="http://movies.blog.austin360.com/2016/03/23/new-season-of-dusk-till-dawn-shooting-in-new-mexico-not-texas/">he moved series production</a> to film friendlier (as in incentives) New Mexico for season three. The cast also includes <b>Lana Condor</b>, <b>Rosa Salazar</b>, <b>Jackie Earle Haley</b> and <b>Ed Skrein</b>.<br />
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It's an adaptation of the graphic novel series <i>Battle Angel Alita</i> by <b>Yukito Kushiro</b>. <b>James Cameron </b>wrote the script with <b>Laeta Kalogridis</b>.<br />
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Third Coast Extras is handing background roles, which include punk rocker types, Asians and East Indians, but also general folks of all ages. Get more info at the casting company's <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Beth-Sepko-Casting-Third-Coast-Extras-83292852892">Facebook page</a>.<br />
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The film is set for a 2018 release.Joe M. O'Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057052420986617282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491001466362064501.post-54654098361229706732016-06-01T06:12:00.003-06:002016-06-01T06:16:26.544-06:00The totally true story of Texas "skyscrapers"<i>My cover story in the June issue of </i>Texas Co-op Power <i>(the largest circulation mag in Texas):</i><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4s5yQ1l0N5c/V07R4HnnXpI/AAAAAAAAEJg/ZLxY8b9tSVMIBUPCgG8ctZdBixE3Q-ehQCLcB/s1600/cooppowernewscover.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4s5yQ1l0N5c/V07R4HnnXpI/AAAAAAAAEJg/ZLxY8b9tSVMIBUPCgG8ctZdBixE3Q-ehQCLcB/s320/cooppowernewscover.tiff" width="237" /></a></div>
On January 21, 1929, the “human fly” gripped the brick wall and slowly ascended Temple’s sleekly narrow Kyle Hotel. A crowd of observers, decked out in their Sunday best, exchanged knowing glances and looked skyward. Halfway to the 13th and final floor, the man-fly pulled a Coca-Cola bottle from his pocket and took a leisurely sip. The onlookers laughed and cheered. Those lucky enough to purchase tickets to the grand opening party ventured inside to dance to Henry Lange and his orchestra’s hit song, Hot Lips. For $1.50, they could stay the night in one of 125 rooms appointed with steam heat, ceiling fans and running ice water.<br />
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In October of that year, the stock market crashed, foretelling the Great Depression. Farmers saw cotton prices plummet. The town’s major employer, the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway, implemented layoffs and pay cuts. Four of Temple’s five banks closed. Temple’s population remained static at 15,000 throughout the 1930s. Yet the Kyle and other high-rise Texas hotels like it held on for decades as towering symbols of something larger. Soldiers huddled in them during World War II. Community groups met for lunch. High school kids held proms.<br />
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The Kyle was the third “skyscraper” in Temple. The 113-room Doering Hotel—later sold and renamed the Hawn Hotel—had celebrated its opening in 1928 with a different human fly ascending its nine levels. The six-story Professional Building came second and housed a grocery, stenography school, barbershop, law office, flower shop and cigar store.<br />
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New Yorkers might argue whether any building with fewer than 20 stories, or perhaps even 50, could be billed as a skyscraper, but architect T.J. Gottesdiener, quoted in the Christian Science Monitor decades after the firm he worked for designed Chicago’s iconic Sears Tower, perhaps put it best: “What is a skyscraper? It is anything that makes you stop, stand, crane your neck back and look up.” In the late 1920s, high-rise buildings began to ascend in Texas, and they became a symbol of good times, progress and optimism in tough times ahead.<br />
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<a href="http://www.texascooppower.com/texas-stories/history/lofty-landmarks">Read the rest here. </a><br />
<br />Joe M. O'Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057052420986617282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491001466362064501.post-87766340195013916642016-05-19T08:22:00.003-06:002016-05-19T08:26:17.188-06:00Hello, goodbye, 'Leftovers,' and thank for all the miracles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Exas1b3N6BU/Vz3KnUWSPEI/AAAAAAAADqc/D80WzGPLkO09fN_sCFcazMA9z4CgB0-GACLcB/s1600/BK9GP2hUJ4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Exas1b3N6BU/Vz3KnUWSPEI/AAAAAAAADqc/D80WzGPLkO09fN_sCFcazMA9z4CgB0-GACLcB/s400/BK9GP2hUJ4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>The good news:</b> HBO is back in Austin at this very moment shooting the third and final season of <i>The Leftovers. </i>Austin serves as the show's Miracle, Texas<i>, </i>in a world<i> </i>torn asunder by the sudden disappearance of 2 percent of the population.<i> </i><a href="http://tvline.com/2016/05/06/the-leftovers-final-season-3-cast-returning/">Much of the cast returns from season two.</a><i><br /></i><br />
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<b>The bad news:</b> The Austin stay will be done in the blink of an eye, with the bulk of the season lensing in Australia. <i>Indiewire </i>has a <a href="http://www.indiewire.com/article/the-leftovers-season-3-australia-hbo-tom-perotta-damon-lindelof-rumors-20160427">great breakdown</a> on how this fits into the plot.<br />
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For once, this isn't about the shrinking Texas film incentive funding that <a href="http://joemoconnell.blogspot.com/2016/03/robert-rodriguez-sends-from-dusk-till.html">sent Robert Rodriguez packing to New Mexico</a>. It's really about where the story itself is headed. And can we really be upset when Austin kidnapped the series for its second season after the first was shot in New York state? And, hey, <i>The Son </i>is rising in Austin (<a href="http://joemoconnell.blogspot.com/2016/05/extra-extra-background-artistes-sought.html">and needs extras!</a>), so no worries, mate.<br />
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<i>The Leftovers</i> remains some of the best television out there. Based on <b>Tom Perrotta</b>'s novel of the same name, the series has a fine pedigree with <b>Damon Lindelof</b>, the <a href="http://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/leftovers-lindelof-says-final-hbo-season-not-lost/">showrunner for Lost</a>, at the helm. Read my <a href="http://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/2015-10-02/hbos-the-leftovers-finds-new-life-in-austin/"><i>Austin Chronicle</i></a> interview with the show's executive producer <b>Mimi Leder</b> for more on that.<br />
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<br />Joe M. O'Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057052420986617282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491001466362064501.post-11864902611847742892016-05-18T17:30:00.003-06:002016-05-18T17:33:50.671-06:00Extras! Extras! Background artistes sought for 'The Son'<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ivf3DJ66zLA/Vzz61fK5CyI/AAAAAAAADqM/JU4vFfcyC1kosVbk7FnmURAq7LMvb6xSQCLcB/s1600/TheSonPhilippMeyer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ivf3DJ66zLA/Vzz61fK5CyI/AAAAAAAADqM/JU4vFfcyC1kosVbk7FnmURAq7LMvb6xSQCLcB/s200/TheSonPhilippMeyer.jpg" width="130" /></a>This just in:<br />
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<span class="_4n-j fsl">Brock/Allen Casting is hosting an OPEN CASTING
CALL for a new AMC series, <i>The Son</i>, a period piece based on the award-winning novel by <b>Philipp Meyer</b>. Filming to begin early
June-September 2016.<br /> <br /> ALL POSITIONS PAID!<br /> <br /> NEEDED : CAUCASIAN, HISPANIC, AFRICAN AMERICAN,<br /> AND NATIVE AMERICAN INDIAN ETHNICITIES. <br /> Males AND Females, AGES 18+, NO visible tattoos or body modifications. Headshots welcome; photos will be taken onsite.<br /> <br /> This is a world of cowboys, vaqueros, oil loggers, and American Indians clashing on the frontiers of the American West as Texas rises to make a name for itself, spanning the
years 1849 to 1915. If you have wardrobe that you feel fits this time
period, please come dressed! If not, COME AS YOU ARE!</span><br />
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<b><span class="_4n-j fsl">Where? When?</span></b><br />
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<span class="_4n-j fsl">This coming Sunday, May 22 from 1-6 p.m.</span><br />
<span class="_4n-j fsl"></span>Best Western Plus Austin City Hotel<br />
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<a class="_5xhk" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=478632868855549" data-testid="event-permalink-location" href="https://www.facebook.com/AustinCityHotel/" id="u_0_1j"></a><br />
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2200 S I H 35, Austin, Texas 78704</div>
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More on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/964987046949971/">Facebook</a>. </div>
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Joe M. O'Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057052420986617282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491001466362064501.post-32388897330571842622016-03-30T10:25:00.001-06:002016-04-07T21:46:07.055-06:00Dallas-based actress shines in 'No Letting Go' <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gjz8-V9CwDA/Vvv2jSqpx5I/AAAAAAAADlc/5KvHsmz88DAd5VXK0B3MR32bzQCYqNYIw/s1600/NO%2BLETTING%2BGO%2B-Cheryl%2BAllison%2Band%2BDavid%2BSchallipp%2Bin%2Ba%2Btender%2Bmoment.%2BImage%2Bby%2BTed%2BAstor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="125" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gjz8-V9CwDA/Vvv2jSqpx5I/AAAAAAAADlc/5KvHsmz88DAd5VXK0B3MR32bzQCYqNYIw/s200/NO%2BLETTING%2BGO%2B-Cheryl%2BAllison%2Band%2BDavid%2BSchallipp%2Bin%2Ba%2Btender%2Bmoment.%2BImage%2Bby%2BTed%2BAstor.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<b>Cheryl Allison</b>'s long, successful career has taken her to Broadway, but she's back in Dallas and finally breaking out on the big screen as the anchor of the film <i>No Letting Go</i>, which is being released on demand on cable television starting today.<br />
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It's a harrowing tale based on a true story of a mother who struggles to keep herself and her family together as one of her three sons suffers from an anxiety that blossoms in his teen years into a full-blown bipolar disorder combined with haunting depression.<br />
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Allison knows the role well. She starred in the short <i>Illness</i> that won so many honors on the festival circuit that filmmaker <b>Jonathan Bucari</b> chose to expand into a full feature film. It's inspired by the real-life experiences of <b>Randi Silverman</b>, who co-wrote the script with Bucari. She co-founded a support group for parents raising children with anxiety, depression and/or mood disorders. The group has served more than 800 families in the past five years. Silverman talks about that experience <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iAXtGadK0Y">here</a>.<br />
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<i>No Letting Go</i> provides a perfect showcase for the realities these parents face. It's beautifully shot and ably acted, with <b>Kathy Najimy</b> particularly shining as a no-nonsense therapist. The cast also includes <b>Richard Burgi</b> of <i>Desperate Housewives</i> and a number of soap operas, and <b>Janet Hubert</b> of <i>The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air</i>. Silverman's real-life son <b>Noah Silverman</b> stars as the 14-year-old suffering from mental illness. His brother's story is the film's inspiration.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9Ey5x678uAo/Vvv_fHXNopI/AAAAAAAADlw/ZeGsA-1utg0WzzvB58T_v_WtnK1z4kTgw/s1600/NO%2BLETTING%2BGO%2B-%2BJanet%2BHubert%252C%2BRichard%2BBurgi%2Band%2BCheryl%2BAllison%2Bon%2Bthe%2Bred%2Bcarpet%2Bfor%2Bthe%2Bfilm%2Bscreening%2Bat%2Bthe%2BLA%2BFemme%2BInternational%2BFilm%2BFestival%2Bin%2BLos%2BAngeles.%2BImage%2Bby%2BFrank%2BLozano%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="136" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9Ey5x678uAo/Vvv_fHXNopI/AAAAAAAADlw/ZeGsA-1utg0WzzvB58T_v_WtnK1z4kTgw/s200/NO%2BLETTING%2BGO%2B-%2BJanet%2BHubert%252C%2BRichard%2BBurgi%2Band%2BCheryl%2BAllison%2Bon%2Bthe%2Bred%2Bcarpet%2Bfor%2Bthe%2Bfilm%2Bscreening%2Bat%2Bthe%2BLA%2BFemme%2BInternational%2BFilm%2BFestival%2Bin%2BLos%2BAngeles.%2BImage%2Bby%2BFrank%2BLozano%2B%25281%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
In Fort Worth, Allison is regularly seen on stage at <a href="http://www.broadwayworld.com/dallas/article/BWW-Interviews-Cheryl-Allison-of-BUDDY--THE-BUDDY-HOLLY-STORY-at-Casa-Manana-20150424">Casa Manana</a>, but she might see more film roles coming her way once word gets out of her strong performance in <i>No Letting Go</i>. It's a film that rates seeking out for its frank treatment of a topic that people are often unwilling to openly discuss.<br />
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<br />Joe M. O'Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057052420986617282noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491001466362064501.post-55257974070912957622016-03-22T15:56:00.000-06:002016-03-22T15:56:20.715-06:00Robert Rodriguez sends 'From Dusk Till Dawn' to New Mexico<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rodriguez and Linklater (photo by Joe O'Connell)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Cuts to Texas film incentives have a new casualty: Austin-based <b>Robert Rodriguez</b> likes to shoot at home, but he's setting up the third season of his El Rey network's <i>From Dusk Till Dawn</i> series in New Mexico with <a href="http://www.oneheadlightink.com/2016/02/02/from-dusk-till-dawn-set-to-shoot-in-new-mexico/">filming beginning as I type this</a>. The first two seasons shot in the Austin area, of course. But money talks and Rodriguez walks. As have <a href="http://m.mysanantonio.com/entertainment/entertainment_columnists/jeanne_jakle/article/Can-San-Antonio-break-out-of-its-filming-slump-6949279.php#photo-9666283">other recent Texas-set shows. </a><br />
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This is what happens when the Texas Legislature slices and dices its two-year film incentive program budget from $95 million to $32 million. In recent years, the incentive program has been most effective at attracting TV series to the state, including Austin-shot <a href="http://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/2015-02-27/crime-and-consequences/"><i>American Crime</i> </a>and <a href="http://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/2015-10-02/hbos-the-leftovers-finds-new-life-in-austin/"><i>The Leftovers</i></a>. The former shot in Austin for both of its two seasons, while the latter shot its second season around Central Texas. <i>The Leftovers</i> already has a third <a href="http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/hbo-the-leftovers-season-3-end-1201658594/">season commitment</a> while <i>American Crime</i>'s future is <a href="http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/american-crime-finale-recap-john-ridley-1201725995/">unknown</a>. Will either return to Austin? Stay tuned, but don't get your hopes up. At least we still have <b>Richard Linklater.</b> Right, Rick? Gulp.Joe M. O'Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057052420986617282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491001466362064501.post-37572450046181639612016-03-16T07:36:00.001-06:002016-03-16T07:37:20.084-06:00Pee-wee Herman is back<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4nyzmgPlY5g/VulhM8ADVjI/AAAAAAAADkY/eGSAVm0ITxcupJbP9JREq8TkaYN0scjvA/s1600/peeweeherman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4nyzmgPlY5g/VulhM8ADVjI/AAAAAAAADkY/eGSAVm0ITxcupJbP9JREq8TkaYN0scjvA/s320/peeweeherman.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Joe M. O'Connell</td></tr>
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<i>My interview with <b>Paul Reubens</b> in advance of the </i>Pee-wee Herman's Big Vacation<i> premiere in the </i>Austin Chronicle<i>:</i><br />
<br />
Paul Reubens never once breaks into <b>Pee-wee Herman</b>'s voice during a
telephone interview ("I know you are, but what am I?"), but the odd
manchild character fills the empty space around Reubens' words begging
to be defined.<br />
<br />
Kid show innocent? Subversive prop gag comedian? Pop culture icon?
Early Nineties tabloid scandal-sheet cover boy? Pee-wee/Reubens is all
of these things. He is both vintage, punk rock kitsch and smooth, white
innocence. More importantly, he's back in <i>Pee-wee's Big Holiday</i>,
an only somewhat unlikely collaboration with Judd Apatow that premieres
at the South by Southwest Film Festival before airing on Netflix
starting March 18.<br />
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"I'm part of Austin culture," Reubens said, reminding us that a big chunk of 1985's <i>Pee-wee's Big Adventure</i>
was shot in Texas. "There's a famous sign that says 'Keep Austin
Weird.' I'm represented on that artwork, and I tell it to people
proudly." He's not certain of the sign's locale, but Pee-wee's image can
be spotted in a Home Slice Pizza mural on South Congress emblazoned
with the admonition "Don't Hate."<br />
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In 2011, Reubens also appeared at SXSW in support of HBO's <i>The Pee-wee Herman Show on Broadway</i>, a televised version of his stage show, which revived and essentially rebooted Pee-wee.<br />
"I did that stage production with the idea that enough heat would
happen to attract someone to make a Pee-wee movie," Reubens said. "<b>Judd
Apatow</b> saw the show, and we set up a meeting. He was a big Pee-wee fan.
He very early on said, 'I feel strongly that it should be a road movie
somewhere in the same wheelhouse as <i>Big Adventure</i>.' That's what we did."<br />
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<a href="http://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/2016-03-11/paging-mr-herman/">Read the rest here. </a>Joe M. O'Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057052420986617282noreply@blogger.com0