Tough Decisions
Following the weather patterns from west to east, a force of nature has blown out of Seattle. I'm speaking of Jamie Hook, a man whose bold enthusiasm could set people's teeth on edge when they first met him (or heard him, usually from the other side of a party), but whose passion for film could not be shut off, only redirected. Cofounder of the Northwest Film Forum, he spent his time in Seattle bringing movies to town (through the Grand Illusion and the Little Theatre), working on movies (notably lensing some of Gregg Lachow's films), writing about movies (particularly through his yearlong stint as film editor at this here paper), and finally making his own movie, the charming The Naked Proof.
Though he was once the biggest proponent of staying in Seattle to make movies, the lousy economy and lack of work forced a tough decision. Jamie left town to start fresh in Boston, where things have fallen into place for him rather quickly. He's the executive director of Grub Street, a writers' organization similar to our Hugo House, where among other things he is organizing a parade to commemorate the 1919 molasses disaster (www.mv.com/ipusers/arcade/molasses.htm). It also looks like he's gotten a $20,000 NEA grant to make a new film. Congrats, Jamie, and best of luck in Beantown.
Wednesday Feb 18th is a crowded day for filmmakers, film lovers, and everyone in between. On the more traditional "independent exhibition" side of things, the Rendezvous is showing the 1934 Bette Davis film Of Human Bondage, based on the Somerset Maugham novel about a handicapped med student, a crude waitress, and their mutually destructive affair. Or perhaps you'd rather hear a movie? At Hugo House, Cinema Seattle is hosting a reading of the winning script from the UW Extension Screenwriting Program Script Competition. It's called Booth One, it's by Nicola Opdycke, and I don't know anything more about it.
It used to be there was film, there was video, and never the two camps would meet, especially in the low-budget realm. My, how things have changed in just a few years. It's become more and more common for independent filmmakers to shoot on film, transfer to video for editing and color correction, and then transfer back to film. For WigglyWorld's Filmmaker's Saloon at the Little Theatre, Modern Digital's Rich Fassio and filmmaker Geof Miller will explain the process of "Digital Intermediates" to those of us who will eventually use the process.
Finally, Arkham N.W. Productions is having an open casting call at the Capitol Hill Arts Center (1621 12th Ave) starting at 6:00 p.m. The movie is called Cthulhu, and it takes an H. P. Lovecraft novella and sets it in the Pacific Northwest. It's the story of a gay history professor drawn back to his hometown by his mother's death, where he discovers his father's ministry may have ties to old massacres and monsters. They're looking for men aged 13-70 and women aged 20-65; if you have any questions, e-mail Grant Cogswell at arkhamnw@yahoo.com.
