Back in October, we premiered a trailer for a new documentary being produced on Burien, called “Where We Live Now, Burien.”

This documentary is still in production, and another clip has been released, this time focusing on Burien’s Skatepark located at SW 144th and 4th Ave SW, near the community center.

Here’s an intro for this segment from the Editor’s (Rowan North) YouTube Channel:

“This is a section from a working documentary about the power of community collaboration and grassroots democracy in Burien, Washington…”

Here’s the clip:

As we mentioned before, the crew behind this production includes many well-known Northwest video folks, such as:

• Executive Producer: Anne Stadler, community leadership consultant, formerly KING-TV5 documentaries and specials Producer
• Co-Producers and Writers: Terry Tazioli, writer/on-air Host, formerly with The Seattle Times, KING-TV5
• Lucy Mohl, formerly Senior Manager, Microsoft (and previously KING-TV, Film.com and RealNetworks)
• Production Manager, Videographer, Editor: Aaron Stadler, www.fatcatVDO.com
• Videographers: Bill Fenster, www.billfensterproductions.com
• Diana Wilmar, www.foxwilmar.com/bios/bios
• Videographer/Editor: Rowan North, LinkedIn
• Still Photographer: Kimi Milo
• Audio: Stevan Smith
• Scott MacLaughlin
• Robin Sarmento

This project is still in production, and like most productions-in-progress, is still seeking funds to complete it.

Executive Producer Anne Stadler says:

“We’re looking for at least $7,000. One thing we want to do is get this packaged with a series of discussion questions to market to Mayors and City governments around the state and country. So anything more that we raise, will go toward THAT. Haven’t budgeted for that yet.

Donations will go towards editing the doc, as well as producing a couple of shorter pieces: skate park and young people; Burien and BIAS.”

Here’s how you can help:

Send whatever you can to the Sunyata Foundation; all Donors will get their names in the credits, as well as a DVD of the video, along with the heartwarming knowledge that you helped promote Your Burien (keep in mind that this is a non-profit, 501-C3 organization):

Sunyata Foundation
PO Box 58788
Renton WA. 98058

As more elements get produced, we’ll preview clips here…so stay tuned to The B-Town Blog.

OMG! On Thursday, Nov. 12th, some cast members from “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” will be appearing at Tukwila’s Westfield Southcenter Mall!

And get this kids – not only can you meet and listen to “some” of the cast members, but there will also be a live performance from one of the bands on the soundtrack. Any guesses as to which one? Perhaps one from this area?

OMFG!!!

To get in though, you’re going to have to spend $75 at Nordstrom this Saturday, Oct. 31st beginning at 8am; this will entitle you to a “VIP pass” (just 75 are available on a first-come, first-serve basis).

Also, don’t expect the big stars to be there, since they’ll apparently be otherwise occupied.

WTF??? BUT OMFG!!!

Nordstrom is currently selling a special line of clothing based entirely on The Twilight Saga, so ‘rents, it’s time get the plastic out for the kids. Once the $75 is spent, your TwiFan will be given access to return to Southcenter on Nov. 12th to meet the cast and participate in the event.

According to Entertainment Tonight:

Fans can acquire limited-amount V.I.P. credentials on a first come, first-served basis at 8 a.m. this Saturday, October 31 at Hot Topic and select Nordstrom stores, given to those who make qualified purchases. They will be given access to return and meet select cast members at that same mall on the assigned scheduled date and time.

V.I.P. credentials are non-transferable.

If you attended Burien’s Strawberry Festival, or the myriad of the many other B-Town events this past summer, you may have noticed a film crew (or four) wandering around, shooting footage for a new documentary about our little town.

Well, after months of shooting and editing, a trailer has been created for the production, entitled “Where We Live Now, Burien.”

Without further adieu, here is the 5:32 trailer for your enjoyment – watch closely, you may see yourself, someone you know as well as some of the places you go:

The crew behind this production includes many well-known Northwest video folks, such as:

• Executive Producer: Anne Stadler, community leadership consultant, formerly KING-TV5 documentaries and specials Producer
• Co-Producers and Writers: Terry Tazioli, writer/on-air Host, formerly with The Seattle Times, KING-TV5
• Lucy Mohl, formerly Senior Manager, Microsoft (and previously KING-TV, Film.com and RealNetworks)
• Production Manager, Videographer, Editor: Aaron Stadler, www.fatcatVDO.com
• Videographers: Bill Fenster, www.billfensterproductions.com
• Diana Wilmar, www.foxwilmar.com/bios/bios
• Videographer/Editor: Rowan North, LinkedIn
• Still Photographer: Kimi Milo
• Audio: Stevan Smith
• Scott MacLaughlin
• Robin Sarmento

Keep in mind though that this documentary remains unfinished, and like most productions-in-progress, is seeking funds to complete it.

Executive Producer Anne Stadler says:

“We’re looking for at least $7,000. One thing we want to do is get this packaged with a series of discussion questions to market to Mayors and City governments around the state and country. So anything more that we raise, will go toward THAT. Haven’t budgeted for that yet.

Donations will go towards editing the doc, as well as producing a couple of shorter pieces: skate park and young people; Burien and BIAS.”

Here’s how you can help:

Send whatever you can to the Sunyata Foundation; all Donors will get their names in the credits, as well as a DVD of the video, along with the heartwarming knowledge that you helped promote Your Burien (keep in mind that this is a non-profit, 501-C3 organization):

Sunyata Foundation
PO Box 58788
Renton WA. 98058

Here’s more info on the production from their press release:

“Where We Live Now: Burien” A Video Project

What does it take to have the resilience to rebound from an economic downturn by putting up art in an unfinished section of the Town Square and throwing a party??!!!

Burien’s story shows us what to pay attention to as we struggle to live well where we live!

We’ve shot a documentary and short videos illustrating how the leadership and vision of different groups in Burien, Washington create an emerging fabric of settlement.  Featured are artists; young people; the Town Square developers and other business people; new arrivals and old-timers.  We’re telling the story of how artists have helped Burien create a lively response to the setbacks caused by the current economic downtown and looking at the choices Burien is making to fulfill its aspirations.

There are several stories that have our attention:

1. Burien reacts to setbacks caused by the economic downturn by converting a negative space in the development of the Town Square into an opportunity to create a new story.  That story focuses around how Burning Man artists make up a new storyline in the aftermath of slowdown in proposed Burien development, using art to “construct” and convert an asphalt parking lot into a festive center (Burien Interim Art Space)–however temporary.  We look at how they are helping to pull Burien into a future people have invested in (bond issue), hoped for, and tried to attract.
2. Another story here is the usual one with an unusual angle:  Old timers, new settlers, struggling once again to create community rather than living “side by side”.  The Director of the Historical Association Cyndi Upthegrove is a great spokesperson for the need to create community between the old timers and the newcomers, etc. She asks: “Is Burien truly building on its heritage?” The first Mayor of Burien was a native of India, Arun Jhaveri, from Mumbai.  He still lives in Burien, is retired from Boeing.  He, along with Sally Nelson (the only original Council member still on the City Council) involved 700 citizens in creating the vision and operating principles that have guided Burien since incorporation in 1993.
3. Also, Burien’s young people enjoy a very fine skatepark built on the site of the City’s Community Center where many different ages and ethnicities congregate.  Young people asked city government to give them a place to skateboard; they worked with the Parks Dept., and a designer to create the skatepark.  We have an award-winning young filmmaker, Rowan North, who is part of the production team, who has shot and edited their story of how they fit into the evolving fabric of Burien.

Purpose:
This video project is part of a public conversation that is being spearheaded by www.Suddenly.org.   It shows a vital view from the nitty-gritty of living the changes and choices talked about in that conversation.  A description of that project, Suddenly.org is at the end of this proposal.

Burien’s own stories dramatically illustrate Suddenly’s basic thesis:  Our choices matter.  The landscape where we live now is the result of countless choices. Much of it is an in-between space, neither urban nor rural, but a mingling of both.  Suddenly.org is a digital commons hosting public conversations and events generated by artists, historians, urban planners, government and citizens who are engaging in an inquiry about how we came to BE where we live now, with the intention of creating a future that is “a landscape where we can ALL live, eyes wide open, without tragedy or regret.”

The Burien mosaic shows how one community self-organizes to achieve the intangible AND tangible things that matter in “a landscape where we can ALL live, eyes wide open…”  It brings to light all the elements of a healthy community.

Distribution Plans:
The entire enterprise is an accessible educational venture.

All products will be distributed via the Internet, via www.suddenly.org’s website, via television and other media.

We will also produce a DVD of the ½ hour documentary and the shorter stories, for sale.  Burien’s story will serve as a model for other communities, here and across the planet.  We will work with Burien Mayor Joan McGilton, former Mayor Arun Jahveri , and Jim Diers, community-building consultant, to produce a discussion guide that we will market to Mayors and city governments.

We hope to have a party in Burien when the documentary is completed.

How we will work together:
Members of the team working on this project are colleagues who have had many years of experience–together and separately– at KING-TV, Seattle, and other venues.  All participants are multi-award-winners in their own disciplines. We will work in the way Matthew Stadler and his colleagues have done in Suddenly.org.

Here is our commitment:
“This project depends on the generous hard work of talented people who, if they are paid at all, are never paid enough.  Our reward is the work we do together.” (from the preface of the annotated reader: Where We Live Now.)

“This video project is dedicated to all those who are part of it, and to one of the creative souls that inspired our way of working together.” – Greg Palmer.

“We are hoping to receive the money we need for the fruition of the project,  but money is not the reason we are undertaking this.  It is a labor of love for each other, for our place, and for planting the seeds in our time that help people live well together where they live now.”

As Lisa Robertson says in the frontispiece of Where We Live Now:

“Perhaps here we shall be other than the administrators of poverty.”

Total cost: $12,000.

Contributed value: $30,500.00

This video project is an educational program of Sunyata Association, a 501-c-3 organization:

Mark R. Jones, President
PO Box 58788
Renton WA. 98058
www.sunyatagroup.ws

This Friday night (Aug. 14th), starting around 8pm, prepare to put your complimentary 3D glasses on and get transported for FREE on a “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” the first of the two outdoor movies in Burien Parks’ “Music and Movies in the Park” summer series at Lake Burien School Park, SW 148th & 16th Ave SW.

This is a family-friendly 3D film starring Brendan Fraser, who has ties to the northwest – he went to Cornish School of the Arts in Seattle before hitting the bigtime in the 90s.

Here’s the film’s synopsis:

An exciting adventure based on the classic Jules Verne novel “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” Journey to the Center of the Earth stars Brendan Fraser (Crash, The Mummy) as a science professor whose untraditional hypotheses have made him the laughing stock of the academic community. But on an expedition in Iceland, he and his nephew stumble upon a major discovery that launches them on a thrilling journey deep beneath the Earth’s surface, where they travel through never-before-seen worlds and encounter a variety of unusual creatures. Journey to the Center of the Earth is directed by Academy Award-winning visual effects veteran Eric Brevig (Total Recall, Pearl Harbor) from a screenplay by Michael Weiss and Jennifer Flackett & Mark Levin.

The movie is scheduled to start at “Dusk,” which means around 8-8:30pm-ish, and viewers are asked to bring your own lawn chairs, blankets and popcorn.

But don’t worry about bringing your own 3D glasses – the fine folks at Burien Parks will be providing those!

More art is happening at Burien’s Interim Art Space, and this Saturday, Aug. 1st is no exception – the classic Fritz Lang silent film “Metropolis” will be shown, with a “modern reinterpretation” of the soundtrack by Ludington GT.

Music and BBQ starts at 6pm and the movie at 10pm, and Viewers are asked to BYOC – Bring Your Own Chair(s).

Here are the details:

WHAT: Screening of Fritz Lang’s silent classic “Metropolis” with modern-day “techno funk” live soundtrack courtesy Ludington GT

WHEN: Saturday, Aug. 1st; Music starts at 6pm, movie at 10pm

WHERE: Burien Interim Art Space, located at 5th Ave SW and SW 150th (just north of the new Town Square)

COST: It’s FREE, but BRING YOUR OWN CHAIR(S) (and we presume, food to BBQ/eat)!

INFO:

“Join us for a fun night with a new look to the Classic Silent Film Metropolis via Ludington GT Techno Funk Soundtrack! Come join us! and don’t forget your chair!”

If you’ve never seen this 1927(!) silent sci-fi classic, here’s a synopsis from IMDB:

It is the future, and humans are divided into two groups: the thinkers, who make plans (but don’t know how anything works), and the workers, who achieve goals (but don’t have the vision). Completely separate, neither group is complete, but together they make a whole. One man from the “thinkers” dares visit the underground where the workers toil, and is astonished by what he sees…

…and here are some clips (just keep in mind that Saturday’s soundtrack will be different):

Here’s a taste of Ludington GT’s music:

Far as we know, it’s the only wacky bowling party based on a Coen Brothers movie – the annual Lebowski Fest returns to the area on Monday July 20th & Tuesday July 21st!

The Fest kicks off with the Movie Party at Seattle’s Fremont Outdoor Cinema with a performance by Har Mar Superstar, Jeff Dowd and white russian flavored popcorn on Monday, July 20th.

Here are the details:

WHAT: The annual Lebowski Fest

WHEN: Monday, July 20th and Tuesday, July 21st:

MONDAY, JULY 20th: Lebowski Fest Seattle Movie Party – Featuring Har Mar Superstar and Jeff “The Dude” Dowd. Followed by a screening of the movie. All Ages. Doors at 6pm, show at 7:30. @ Fremont Outdoor Cinema – 3501 Phinney Ave. North, 98103. $20

TUESDAY, JULY 21st: Lebowski Fest Seattle Bowling Party – Bowling, costume, trivia and other contests. Appearance by Jeff “The Dude” Dowd. Ticket includes bowling* and shoe rental. Ages 21 and up. 7pm @ ACME Bowl – 100 Andover Park W, 98188. $25 Advance / $30 Day of

WHERE: Mon. 7/20 at Fremont Outdoor Cinema and Tues. 7/21 at ACME Bowl in Tukwila (located at 100 Andover Park West).

TICKETS: Tickets are on sale here, and the last Lebowski Fest sold out in advance so considered yourself warned, dude.

INFO: “Come down Tuesday July 21st and check out the one and only Lebowski Fest at ACME Bowling, Billiards, and Events. Please note that ACME Bowl will be closed to the public during this event. Sorry for any inconvenience.”

Jeff Dowd, the inspiration for The Dude, will appear in Seattle! Ever heard of the Seattle Seven? That was Jeff Dowd (and six other guys). The Dude will help the roadies on the Speed of Sound tour kick off the West Coast leg.

*Bowling is general admission and not guaranteed. Bowling shoes not required with any non-dark soled shoe.

To whet your appetite for this unusual fest, here’s a trailer for the Coen Brothers movie (to see more clips, click here, but be warned that several use what one might call “adult language”):

In a B-Town Blog exclusive, we’ve just learned from longtime Burien business owner Dan House, proprietor of both The Tin Room Bar and Dan the Sausageman, that he’ll be building a brand new combination movie theater/bar at 923 SW 152nd, in the space where his retail business was located.

The new theater/bar, to be called The Tin Theater, will not only show movies in an intimate setting, it will allow 34 moviegoers to eat and drink at their seats, similar in concept to McMenamins, a combo theater/bar with numerous locations in Portland.

Here’s a scan of the plans, exclusive to The B-Town Blog (click on the image below to see a larger size):

Below is a Q & A interview with Dan, who proudly became a father of a baby girl Monday July 6th, and he’s looking for name suggestions (see below):

Q: Why are you building “The Tin Theater”?

A: The same reason why we built the Tin Room, I think Burien needs it badly.

Q: How did you come up with this idea?

A: There is a bar owner in Portland that has done this for awhile and I always like the idea, they are the McMenamin bars, they have about five theaters.

Q: What kind of films will you be showing?

A: We will be showing all kinds of Movies, we may have James Bond week (Martini and a movie), Clint Eastwood week, etc. and I would like to have the Burien Film Festival, maybe have the Highline School District or local people enter short movies.

Q: What will you show as the the first film?

A: First movie I am leaning towards is The Wizard of Oz, for the Tin Man.

Q: What will make your theater different from others?

A: The Tin Theatre will be small and intimate, not a monster “get lost in the parking lot” multiplex. You will be able to eat and drink in our lounge-type setting. We are thinking the theater may be for rent so you can invite 45 of your favorite friends to view your best movie or see a screening of your wedding, vacation, graduation etc., or for sporting events, with this you will be able to have your own server/bartender.

Q: What will happen with the Dan the Sausageman shop?

A: In front of the Theater will be a new Dan the Sausageman/Tin Cellars focusing on our wines, sausages and cheese but it will also be the area to hang out and mingle with Chirlee (my mother) and wait for the movie to start.

We will be taking our internet business off site to make room for the Movie Theatre, and we are looking for a location in Burien with warehouse space that we can build our gift boxes from and ship out; we have been around for 21 years and have no plans of stopping.

We just had a baby girl today at 4:04, we need a name, got any ideas?

Please post your baby name ideas (or thoughts on The Tin Theater) in the Comments below and we’ll make sure Dan gets ‘em (our suggestions: a name that can be shortened to “Tin” like Tindal, Tingley, Tinnea, Tinney, Tinsley, etc.).

This Saturday, June 27th, at 2:30pm a PBS Frontline documentary called “Sick Around the World” will be shown at the new Burien Library’s multipurpose room on the first floor.

A discussion on health care in the US will follow.

There is no charge, and the screening is open to the public.

Here’s a trailer of the video:

Here’s some info on the film from the PBS website:

Four in five Americans say the healthcare system needs fundamental change. Can the U.S. learn anything from the rest of the world about how to run a healthcare system, or are these nations so culturally different that their solutions would not be acceptable? FRONTLINE correspondent T.R. Reid examines the healthcare systems of other advanced capitalist democracies to see what ideas might help the U.S. reform its broken healthcare system.

In Sick Around the World, FRONTLINE teams up with veteran Washington Post foreign correspondent T.R. Reid to find out how five other capitalist democracies — the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, Taiwan and Switzerland — deliver health care, and what the United States might learn from their successes and their failures.

Burien-area filmmaker Steve Edmiston (Writer/Director of “The Day My Parents Became Cool“) has doubled up with two films premiering at the prestigious Seattle International Film Festival, including his latest work “The Spy and the Sparrow,” which will premiere at 9pm tonight (Wed. June 10th).

Edmiston’s short comedy (and his directorial bow), “The Day My Parents Became Cool,” made its Northwest premiere at SIFF on Sunday, May 31st, at the SIFF Cinema (Nesholm Family Lecture Hall. Then, SIFF hosts the world premiere of “The Spy and the Sparrow,” a feature length spy thriller with an A-list Hollywood cast that Edmiston wrote and co-produced, tonight (Wed. 6/10) at 9pm (SIFF Cinema), as well as on Saturday, June 13th at 11am at the Egyptian (801 East Pine Street, Seattle).

“The Day My Parents Became Cool” is a 17-minute comedy about a group of teenagers who wake up one morning to find that adults have co-opted teen fashion, complete with tattoos, body piercings and sagging jeans. The film was named “Best Short Comedy” at the recent International Family Film Festival in Los Angeles, world premiered at the Sedona International Film Festival, just screened at the Big Island Film Festival, and was selected to open the Prescott Film Festival. The film has a unique local pedigree – it features nearly 150 public high school students (both in front and behind the camera) from seven high schools in Highline and Federal Way school districts (see our previous, extensive coverage here).

“We wanted to bring an arts experience to students who are suffering the loss of their access to art at school. What we never anticipated is the degree to which the community would jump on board the project – we had two cities, arts commissions, county officials, private businesses and individuals – all saying ‘yes’ to nearly whatever we needed to bring this project to the kids,” said Edmiston. “Sharing the film at SIFF is a very big deal – most of the kids haven’t seen it yet and have no idea how wonderful they are in the film.”

The Spy and the Sparrow is directed by award-winning and Seattle-based Garrett Bennett. Edmiston scripted the character-driven thriller about the deep devotion and repressed love that reunites a retired CIA deep cover operative and his estranged daughter following two decades of separation. The film features perhaps the finest cast ever assembled for an independent film produced entirely in Seattle, including Academy Award Nominee Eric Roberts (The Dark Knight, Heroes), David Rasche (Burn After Reading, Flags of Our Fathers), Elisabeth Rohm (Law & Order, The Mentalist), and Chad Lindberg (CSI: NY, The Rookie, The Fast and the Furious).

The film is described as a “sly and surprising,” and is part of “unprecedented lineup of work by local filmmakers,” says SIFF Artistic Director Carl Spence. “These films are an important testament to the burgeoning Seattle filmmaking community and give Northwest audiences another way to find the unexpected in extraordinary films that enrich us all.”

Now in its 35th year, the Seattle International Film Festival is the largest and most highly-attended film festival in the United States, showcasing more than 400 films from over 60 countries to an audience of 150,000 attendees annually. Listed by Variety as one of the world’s “50 unmissable film festivals,” SIFF continues to be recognized as one of the top festivals in North America.

Here’s a scene from “The Spy and the Sparrow“:

“I Am Highline,” a new film/DVD, has received a 4Culture Special Project grant to fund the development, filming and production of a promotional film about the Highline area.

The new high-definition film will be Directed by B-Town Blog Publisher Scott Schaefer, a three-time National Emmy Award winner for work on “Bill Nye the Science Guy,” an acclaimed kids’ educational show that aired on PBS. His other credits include “Penn & Teller: BS!,” “The Arsenio Hall Show,” “Almost Live!” and many others over a 23+ year career in media ranging from Seattle’s KING-TV to six years in Hollywood and much more.

Filming will be begin in the late summer and early fall and will feature diverse residents of Highline.

Schaefer will work with longtime collaborator, Director of Photography Mike Boydstun, a Grammy-nominated cinematographer on this Highline Historical Society project which will celebrate the ethnic composition of Highline. The film will focus on people representing 30 cultures that have moved here to live, work and raise their families, and will feature conversations in English and their own languages, talking about reasons for coming, and what living here means to them.

One early and important use of the footage will be to document these individuals and their contributions for the society’s collections. The DVD produced will be used for informational and fundraising purposes at area festivals and events. Another use will be to include pieces of these interviews that celebrate our local ethnic groups and their contribution to the region in the permanent exhibits of the new Highline Heritage Museum. And finally, parts of this film footage will be placed on the society’s website for everyone to see, and will provide the basis for expanding these stories into a documentary film that can be shown in the new museum theater as an introduction to Highline.

“The historical significance of this film is to continue documenting the heritage of the people of Highline,” said Cyndi Upthegrove, Executive Director of the  Highline Historical Society. “We believe that we are among the first in Highline to provide this broad documentation, and we want to provide a baseline of information for the community to use for many purposes and for an extended period of time.”

The Highline Historical Society is a local non-profit organization undertaking a capital campaign to fund development of the Highline Heritage Museum on its site in Olde Burien. Community participation is welcomed and memberships are available.

For more information, check the Society’s web site at www.highlinehistory.org.

We first reported on the locally-made short comedy film “The Day My Parents Became Cool” last June when we posted a call for extras needed for scenes being filmed at Highline High School.

We reported from the set, showcased photos of the action, produced a video on the first sneak peek screening, interviewed Writer/Director Steve Edmiston as well wrote about the film’s first showing in various festivals (can you tell we love to see creative success?), and heck – we even proclaimed it as the #10 Top Burien-area story for 2008!

Well now we’ve got more exciting news about this B-Town Baby, including the Burien-area premiere date, time and place:

WHAT: Outdoor screening and Burien “public” premiere at the “Music and Movies In The Park“

WHEN: Friday, August 21st starting around 8:30pm, just before the outdoor showing of “Freaky Friday“

WHERE: Lake Burien School Park

Here’s a letter from Writer/Director Steve Edmiston on what else has been going on with this film:

Friends!

So much exciting news to share!

After our debut in February/March at Sedona, and the “Best Comedy Short” award in LA at the International Family Film Festival, The Day My Parents Became Cool will finally be screening in Seattle! We are an official selection of the 35th Seattle International Film Festival! You can see us in the press release at http://www.seattlefilm.com/about/news/detail.aspx?NID=158&year=2009.

Specific dates and times are TBD, but we will be screening on weekend of May 29-31, 2009. We will screen in the new state-of-the-art SIFF Cinema at Seattle Center, where all formats are brilliantly projected.

SIFF is an Oscar-eligibility-nominating festival (winning films become eligible for Academy voting) – so hopefully we’ll fill the house with motivated Parents’ fans! SIFF is the largest and most well-attended film festival in the United States with 150,000 attendees expected in 2009. With extensive local, national and international media coverage, SIFF is frequently included among the top 10 film festivals in the world.

We will organize event(s) around our Seattle premier, and keep you posted! (Please contact me if you wish to help!)

But wait, there’s more…

Big Island Film Festival Festival dates: May 14-17, 2009 Parents screening date: Saturday, May 16
BIFF is one of MovieMaker Magazine’s “Twenty Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee.” Please let me know if you might wish to attend this outdoor fest! We need a representative to talk up the film during Q&A! Doesn’t get any better than this – big screens and palm trees, tropical beaches and celebrities! http://www.bigislandfilmfestival.com/

Prescott Film Festival and Series Parents screening date: May 13, 2009
This is a brand new festival and film series (the festival directors saw us at Sedona), and we have been invited us to be the opening night short film (so, does that mean “we’re number one?”). http://www.prescottfilmfestival.com/

A very special treat – the Seattle True Independent Film Festival Festival dates: June 5-14, 2009
Parents screening dates: June 8, 2009
This festival is the ultimate in cool, eclecticism, and fun. Last year, Moby (yes, Moby) was the special guest. We love this fest. Check us out at http://stiff.bside.com/2009/films/thedaymyparentsbecamecool_stiff2009.

A truly big, truly outdoor screening – Burien Strawberry Festival Parents screening date: Friday, August 21, 2009
Once again, thank you Burien! We are a special screening before Freaky Friday.

Thanks for all of your support – our Parents team is phenomenal, and we’re about to have a bunch of fun – thanks!

- Steve

www.thedaymyparentsbecamecool.com

And, in case you haven’t seen it yet, the sharply-edited trailer:

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• UPDATE: “The Day My Parents Became Cool” LA Screening
• VIDEO:”The Day My Parents Became Cool” Trailer + News
• “The Day My Parents Became Cool” Sneak Peeks
• “The Day My Parents Became Cool” Production Update
• Report & Photos From Highline High Movie Set
• Your Chance To Be In A Movie This Saturday

Megan Joy, left, is Paige and Highline Schools' Superintendent John Welch is Principal Higgens in "The Day My Parents Became Cool."

Area lawyer-turned-filmmaker Steve Edmiston, the Writer/Director behind the locally-produced comedy short “The Day My Parents Became Cool” has sent us this update on how his film is screening in Hollywood this coming week:

Friends –

“The Day My Parents Became Cool” is screening this week in Hollywood!

In addition to our world premiere at the Sedona International Film Festival, we are delighted to be “double-booked” with an official acceptance and two screenings in Hollywood at the 14th International Family Film Festival!

“Our man in Hollywood” representing the film at the IFFF is none other than Peter Weinstein – our wonderful “Dad” in the film. Peter will be attending both LA screenings for Q&A and we thought that many of our cast, crew, and “cool” supporters may want to forward this message to their LA contacts if they want to “show off” our collective efforts!

Also – we will have the additional support on Sunday of being represented in LA by Victor Kepler of EKE Pictures (our “executive-executive producer?”); Victor is flying to LA from Seattle to attend events on Sunday.

The scoop on the screenings:

* Thursday, February 26, at 2:00 pm
* Sunday, March 1, at 2:00 pm

The festival is at the wonderful Raleigh Studios in Hollywood:

Raleigh Studios
5300 Melrose Avenue
Hollywood, CA 90038
Website: iffilmfest.org

A special thanks to Peter and Victor for “representing” at this event; and thanks, and a hearty congrats, to all on the successes so far.

-Steve

P.S. – if you haven’t already, check out the website and trailer at www.thedaymyparentsbecamecool.com. Very cool start! Updates to come.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• VIDEO:”The Day My Parents Became Cool” Trailer + News
• “The Day My Parents Became Cool” Sneak Peeks
• “The Day My Parents Became Cool” Production Update
• Report & Photos From Highline High Movie Set
• Your Chance To Be In A Movie This Saturday

We first broke the news about an original short comedy film being made in the area last June, then did reports from the set, at the sneak peek screening, and now we get official word that the world premiere for “The Day My Parents Became Cool” is set for the Sedona International Film Festival on Wednesday, February 25.

A second showing—on the festival’s biggest day—will be Saturday, February 28.

The film was written and directed by local filmmaker Steve Edmiston, a lawyer-turned-filmmaker, and here’s the well-produced trailer – see if you recognize any of the locations used:

The short has also been selected by the International Family Film Festival, and will play there on Thursday, Feb. 26th and Sunday March 1st in Hollywood.

“The Day My Parents Became Cool” is a comedic short about a group of teenagers who wake up one morning to find that adults have adopted teen fashion, complete with tattoos, body piercings, sagging jeans and lots of ‘tude. Edmiston describes the film as “Ferris Beuller’s Day Off meets Invasion of the Body Snatchers.”

Patrick Schweiss, Executive Director of the Sedona International Film Festival, says “I was HOWLING through it (especially having an 11-year-old and 7-year-old myself)…I could totally relate.”

Some other reviews of the film we found on the film’s website (including our very own…):

“… a slick-looking comedy that goes beyond image and explores how parents and their kids relate..”
- Richard Seven, The Seattle Times

“…a cute, family-safe comedy about high school students’ reactions when all grown-ups (including parents and teachers) suddenly change their looks and personalities to rival that of the most outrageously-dressed teen. Solidly acted and directed, with a fun script, great original music, all beautifully shot in HD…”
- Scott Schaefer, B-Town Blog

“… a bizarre world where all of the adults on the entire planet have literally “become cool” and desire to look and act just like their teenage kids, which provides both comedy and horror.”
- Steve Clare, Prost Amerika Film

“…the story of a cosmic catastrophe that causes all adults on the planet to become “cool,” adopting teen fashion and body image… high school students are more than just another brick in the wall.”
- Lynsi Burton, Seattle Post Intelligencer

More than 100 students from Highline, Mount Rainier, and Federal Way high schools were involved with the movie as extras, script consultants, and production assistants. A band formed by Federal Way high school students composed and recorded music for the movie’s soundtrack.

The movie was shot at Highline High School in Burien and a home in Normandy Park.

The Day My Parents Became Cool was made on an extremely low budget, funded by contributions from community members and grants from King County 4Culture, the City of Burien and the Federal Way Arts Commission.

“This film literally started out as an idea for a neighborhood home movie for my daughters, but the script quickly turned into a much larger idea,” says Edmiston.  “We couldn’t have stepped up to a project of this size without the support of the schools, the cities, and local arts community.”

Other films written by Steve Edmiston include The Spy and the Sparrow and A Relative Thing. For more information about The Day My Parents Became Cool, go to www.thedaymyparentsbecamecool.com.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• “The Day My Parents Became Cool” Sneak Peeks
• “The Day My Parents Became Cool” Production Update
• Report & Photos From Highline High Movie Set
• Your Chance To Be In A Movie This Saturday

by Matt Marble

Everybody has rules.

A common one is that you never mess with a man’s family.

This is what happens in the action thriller “Taken.”

Bryan (Liam Neeson), a former secret agent living in the US,  is very skilled in hand-to-hand combat, divorced, and he loves his 17-year-old daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) who lives with his ex-wife and her new husband Stuart (Xander Berkeley).

Kim wants to take a vacation in Europe with her friend Amanda (Katie Cassidy), and together follow U2’s European tour. But when they arrive in Paris, they get kidnapped by some thugs and are forced into the sex trade.

When Bryan finds out, he heads to France and starts knocking down doors…and busting heads. With only 96 hours before she vanishes forever, time is not on his side.

The film demonstrates that a father’s love knows no bounds. From the very beginning, you can feel the connection that Bryan longs to have with his daughter. Giving up his “career” to be closer to her is a sign of this. “Taken” is filled with action and violence, but also has a good feeling of family and love.

Written by Luc Besson (“The Fifth Element”) & Robert Mark Kamen, and Directed by Pierre Morel (“The Transporter”), “Taken” is rated PG-13.

“Taken” was #2 at the box office last weekend, and has brought in over $100 million bucks; it’s playing at several area theaters – click here to see locations and showtimes.

Here are some clips of the movie to whet your appetite:

[EDITOR'S NOTE: "Matt's Movies" is a regular movie-review column written by Matt Marble, a 17-year old student at Highline School District's Big Picture High School.

If you have a movie you'd like for him to review, please email him.

Look for more of his movie reviews and other articles soon on The B-Town Blog!]

by Matt Marble

When Adam Sandler first appeared on Saturday Night Live in the 80’s, it was clear that he was going to become a great comedic actor.

He has stayed strong since then with films like Happy Gilmore, Billy Madison, and The Longest Yard.

Now he stars in Disney’s “Bedtime Stories” as Skeeter Bronson, a happy-go-lucky hotel handyman who dreams of one day running the establishment that his father built.

But when the current owner informs him that the job will go to his arch enemy Kendall (Guy Pearce), he feels like all he’s worked for has been flushed down the toilet. Then his sister Angie (Courtney Cox) has a business trip and asks Skeeter to watch his niece and nephew for a couple days. This seems like his worst nightmare, but when the stories he tells them actually start to come true, Skeeter sees this as an opportunity to help his situation.

I had a feeling going into this film it was going to funny and…I was right.

Filled with tons of laughs and great chemistry, this has been the funniest movie I have seen this year! And with this film being a made by Disney, you can be sure that it’s kid friendly.

Adam Sandler makes a great role model in this movie by showing children that happy endings aren’t just for fairy tales.

Local theaters and showtimes here.

Here are some clips to tide you over until you hit the theater:

[EDITOR'S NOTE: "Matt's Movies" is a regular movie-review column written by Matt Marble, a 17-year old student at Highline School District's Big Picture High School.

If you have a movie you'd like for him to review, please email him.

Look for more of his movie reviews and other articles soon on The B-Town Blog!]

Area resident Steve Edmiston, Writer/Director of the short “The Day My Parents Became Cool,” which was filmed in Burien and Normandy Park, tells us that his film’s official “World Premiere” will be at the Sedona International Film Festival Feb. 24th through March 1st.

The festival, located in Sedona, Arizona will showcase 135 films in a range of categories on six screens, and will feature appearances by TCM’s Robert Osborne, Jane Seymour and others.

If you feel like heading on down to sunny AZ for this, you can get ticket info here.

More info on “The Day My Parents Became Cool,” including photos, available at its MySpace Page.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• “The Day My Parents Became Cool” Sneak Peeks
• “The Day My Parents Became Cool” Production Update
• Report & Photos From Highline High Movie Set
• Your Chance To Be In A Movie This Saturday

B-Town Blog video shot at the “sneak peek” on Dec. 7th:

by Matt Marble

Brad Pitt has already established himself as a Hollywood heavyweight, sharing the screen with close friends like George Clooney, Matt Damon, and his current wife Angelina Jolie.

But in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Brad stands tall on his own.

Stretching his dramatic wings, Pitt plays the title character, who is born with a disease that causes him to age backwards. When he comes into this world at the end of World War I, he is physically around 80 years old. His parents believe that he’s a monster, so they leave him on a stranger’s doorstep, thinking that he won’t survive. But Benjamin beats all odds and grows up to experience life through the eyes of a man with a lot to live for.

His adopted mother has a saying, “you never know what’s comin’ to you,” which is very fitting because Benjamin takes on a lot at an early (yet old) age. Through his meetings with people who make a profound impact on his life, it’s easy to say that he is a product of his environment.

This film was nominated for a Golden Globe Award, which speaks a lot about the quality of the acting.

In all, it’s a heartwarming story of determination and a great example of living life to the fullest…live like every day was your last.

Written by Eric Roth (“Forrest Gump,” “Munich”) and Robin Swicord (“The Jane Austin Book Club”), adapted from the 1920s story by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Directed by David Fincher (“Fight Club,” “Zodiac”), this movie is rated PG-13.

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” is still playing in theaters in the area; here’s a list of showtimes.

Here are some trailers and clips of the film:

[EDITOR'S NOTE: "Matt's Movies" is a regular movie-review column written by Matt Marble, a 17-year old student at Highline School District's Big Picture High School.

If you have a movie you'd like for him to review, please email him.

Look for more of his movie reviews and other articles soon on The B-Town Blog!]

by Matt Marble

Most movie buffs think that Clint Eastwood was at his prime playing Dirty Harry or starring in one of his many “spaghetti” westerns.

But I think that Gran Torino proves that Eastwood is still in his prime, as both a leading Actor and Director.

He stars as Walt Kowalski, a retired autoworker and Korean War Vet, who’s not afraid to pronounce his hatred for…well everybody.

When a Hmong teenager tries to steal his mint condition 1972 Gran Torino, his temper flares. After the failed carjacking, the boy’s family insists that he repays Walt by working odd jobs. Over time, Walt gets used to the kid. A series of events lead to a very heartfelt and memorable climax.

In the beginning of the film, I was unsettled by the anger that Eastwood possessed for the Hmong people, but by the end, you can witness the transformation from angry old man to caring neighbor.

You don’t have to be a fan of Clint Eastwood to enjoy Gran Torino – just a fan of great storytelling…and remember, this film is rated R for a reason.

Gran Torino is playing at many local movie theaters; you can find movietimes here.

Here’s the trailer for the film, which was ranked #1 at the box office last weekend, as well as an AP feature on Eastwood:

[EDITOR'S NOTE: "Matt's Movies" is a regular movie-review column written by Matt Marble, a 17-year old student at Highline School District's Big Picture High School.

If you have a movie you'd like for him to review, please email him.

Look for more of his movie reviews and other articles soon on The B-Town Blog!]

Found this very nicely-shot and produced video of some of the underwater residents of Burien, filmed by David Rockwell last May while diving at Three Tree Point:

Three Tree Point 05/06/08 from David Rockwell on Vimeo.

Locally-shot and produced short film “The Day My Parents Became Cool,” which we first reported on during its filming at Highline High School in late June had a sneak preview on Sunday, Dec. 7th and the B-Town Blog was there, along with nearly 300 other invited guests (including cast members, parents, production crew and more):

Our review of the 16-minute film is positive – it’s a cute, family-safe comedy about high school students’ reactions when all grown-ups (including parents and teachers) suddenly change their looks and personalities to rival that of the most outrageously-dressed teen.

Solidly acted and directed, with a fun script, great original music, all beautifully shot in HD mostly in and around Highline High School and a home in Normandy Park, “The Day My Parents Became Cool” has the potential to not only make it to several short film festivals, but to possibly be optioned (and re-made) into a feature-length motion picture.

If you’re wondering when and where you can see it, be patient – the goal now is to get it into as many film festivals as possible, which means it can’t be shown locally until then. Rest assured, The B-Town Blog will keep you updated as to its progress in 2009, and we’re certain there will be a screening in the Burien area sometime soon.

Written and Directed by area resident Steve Edmiston, the film’s plot is (according to its website):

The Day My Parents Became Cool is a short comedy that arises from the battleground conflict between parents and their rebellious teenaged children everywhere — fashion and body image.

The Day My Parents Became Cool is a modern, comic, costume drama — and every teen’s worst nightmare — creating a brave new world where adults, for inexplicable, perhaps cosmic, reasons, simultaneously adopt every teen trend in attire and body image.

The Day My Parents Became Cool tells the story of what one small group of teenagers do when every outward manifestation of their “rebelliousness” has been co-opted by . . . the enemy.

High School student Paige and her middle-school sister Madison drift off to sleep one night after being chastised by their conservative parents for staying up late on a school night, completely mesmerized by the classic film, “The Day the Earth Stood Still.”

The next day, Paige discovers the horror: inexplicably, both her parents are dressing for the day in clothing identical to that she sees in school. Her mother has super-tight jeans, with a thong extending up over her hips; her father pulls his suit pants down below his butt, exposing his white boxers. What Paige thinks is a lame Dr. Phil reverse-psychology stunt turns out to be a much bigger problem. At school, every adult — every teacher, coach and even the principal are in full-on teenage apparel mode. Hip hop, Goth, Emo, Gangster, Preppy — tattoos, piercings, thongs, sagging jeans. And acting like nothing is out of the ordinary.

When Paige and her friends learn the problem is worldwide, they band together and begin to fight back. First they try their own brand of reverse psychology; then they try to lead the adults down a completely alternative path of “cool.” Nothing works.

When Paige learns the REAL reason that the adults have suddenly lost all sense of taste and conservatism, it becomes clear that there is only one course of action.

Abandon all forms of manifested rebelliousness and individuality to the adults.

And start anew.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: The following is an exclusive behind-the-scenes story about what it's like working on "The Rocky Horror Show" from one of BTB Advertiser Burien Little Theatre's Stagehands, Melissa Malloy]

by Melissa Malloy

I have lived the theater life since I was thirteen. I love every aspect of the theater experience, from the audience to the stage. One of the most rewarding experiences is working backstage on a show. The audience gets to enjoy the show and they feed their energy to the actors. The actors create the experience for the audience. But it’s the backstage crew that glues everything together.

The backstage crews create the costumes for people, collect or create props, manipulate light, produce sounds, build sets, and move sets. Costumers have to make or find clothes from every era. Sometimes it means raiding a closet, purchasing all the contents of a thrift store or designing new items. Modern plays can be simple. Just have the actor bring clothes from their closet. Then you have Shakespeare. The costume designer must create corsets, gowns, codpieces, and whatever else someone may need to be an authentic Elizabethan Romeo or Juliet. Or you could be designing for “The Rocky Horror Show,” where you can use your imagination to make everyone look outrageous. Sewing skills come in handy.

Also working in the costume arena are the dressers. Dressers help actors change clothes during the show. I was a dresser for a production of “Hair.” Everyone takes off their clothes on stage, so the big joke was that I was an un-dresser. Hardy har har. Being a dresser takes talent. You have to get clothes off and on someone else in a matter of seconds, but make it look like they took their time changing. You really never have much light to perform these balancing acts, and sometimes clothes end up backwards or inside out. I once had an actor spend an entire act with his shoes on the wrong feet. Costume mishaps are handled by dressers as well. If a costume rips, they need to be able to stitch it closed.

A props master really needs to be a creative person. It doesn’t matter what show you are producing, some of the props are going to need to be built. If you’re putting on “Dracula,” not many hospitals have an ancient transfusion machine just lying around, and if they do, I dare you to get them to let you use it. If you’ve got a big sword fight, not many actors can pick up a real sword, so you use lighter ones that look real. Props are all about perception. It just looks like there is a brain in the jar; it’s not a real one. If it turns out to be a real brain, the director probably snapped and it’s his.

The extent of my lighting knowledge involves hitting the GO button on the lighting board. Lighting designers, however, need to know how light colors will work together. They focus lights on all of the stage or just a small section. They are responsible for bringing the sun and the moon up, for differentiating the Phantom’s crypt from Christine’s dressing room. The lighting designer tells the audience where to look, so if you’re an actor, make sure to suck up to him or your monologue will be in the dark.

Usually when you think of sounds in a play, you think of the music. Music is the easy part of a sound designer’s job. You also need to find sounds for things we take for granted, like knocking on a door. Knocking on a stage door loud enough for an audience to hear can take down the whole set, because sets aren’t always anchored or sturdy. They function to let people enter or exit. Knocking usually needs to be recorded. Doorbells, gunshots, approaching footsteps, animals: these are all examples of sounds a designer will need to come up with for a show. You also have the sounds that need to be configured for imaginary things. What sound does Riff Raff’s ray gun make? When the Ghost of Christmas Past appears, what should you hear? What do the machines sound like in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?”

The set of a play lets you know what kind of play you are going to see. It can be a simple set of two ladders for “Our Town.” Now you know you are going to need to use your imagination to see where the actors are. “Crimes of the Heart” takes place in a kitchen. The set designer can decide to make it simple with a table and chairs or he can build a whole kitchen. Traveling shows need to have sets that can be taken down and put up easily. “A Shaft of Light,” a play about the painter Carravagio, needed copies of his original paintings for the set. More than one set may need to be built. If act one is a different setting than act two, then changes need to be made at intermission. Maybe a different bed is rolled out. Maybe the set walls are just flipped around. The designer just needs to remember the stage crew only has fifteen minutes to transform the stage from one place to another.

The stage crew works alongside the dressers. They are the people on stage helping the actors make the transitions flawless. They make sure the props are in hand and the set is moved smoothly. The stage crew is responsible for making sure the stage is cleaned before and after a show so actors don’t end up with staples in their feet. After Dracula has successfully been dispatched they are the ones cleaning up the fake blood. A crisis during the performance of a show will most likely be handled by one or more of the stage crew. When the little wooden knobs fall off, the stage crew glues them back on. When the fake ax head flies off the handle, it is a stage crew person who duct tapes it back on. Duct tape and a glue gun are the main tools of the trade for a stagehand.

The person who brings everyone together is the stage manager. This is the big cheese. The stage manager is in charge of making sure all the changes that happen during a show run smoothly. They know what all the sound cues, light cues, costume changes, set changes, and props should be. Some stage managers delegate to the crews and stand back to let everything happen. Some stage managers jump into the ring to help everything go as it should. Once a play opens, the stage manager is god.

If everything goes right during a performance, you never know the backstage crew is there. The actors magically change costumes in the blink of an eye. The stage looks like a different place after intermission. That book appears as if from thin air. You never realize someone is there committing those tiny miracles of the theater world.

The good nights run smoothly, and the crew never breaks a sweat. The bad nights are an adventure all their own. There are the nights when the things that go wrong are easily fixed. A prop was misplaced and the stage crew must run and find it. The lead actress popped a seam and the dresser must safety pin it until it can be sewed. But then there are the nights when the cast runs into the set and it starts to fall down. You stand backstage and the life of Ed in the band flashes before your eyes. Then you end up running to the other side of the stage, quietly, yelling at everyone in a whisper to move so you can hold up the set until intermission when someone can come and screw it to the floor.

My favorite panic moment was the night all the sound cues disappeared. The first song of the show was coming up and the stage manager calls for the sound cue to go and …… SILENCE! The actors are standing around waiting for the cue, the button is hit again and … SILENCE! It was deafening. Now we’re hitting any cue to see if any of them will make noise. The actors finally realize the music isn’t coming and just start singing without it. Now if this happened to me, panic and hyperventilation would have been the chosen response. I don’t know enough about the equipment to help in this situation. I can keep a headboard from squishing the two actresses jumping on the bed, but I curl into the fetal position if I have to fix anything computer related. Luckily, I was not the sound board operator. The fine young gentleman on the computer – we’ll call him Alex – uttered a couple of choice expletives, then went to the random back-up files and prayed that the numbers matched. Of course the first sound that was used was a very loud THWAP-CHING, scaring the actors into silence for a couple of seconds before they registered the sound cues were back. After Alex found all the cues he uttered a few more expletives, a thank you prayer, and asked for alcohol.

Going to the theater is an experience. From the time the curtain goes up until it goes down, you never know what could happen. Computers glitch, clothes rip, props disappear, things fall down, people get lost, fire alarms go off. No matter what happens the backstage crews will be there to make sure it is a good time had by all, even if it means spilling blood, sweat, and tears.

Right now I am working on the stage crew for “The Rocky Horror Show” at Burien Little Theatre. We have had our stresses. The set almost fell on the band, the microphones cause me to die a little each night, fishnet stockings don’t hold up well when being taken off hairy legs at a fast pace. On the other hand, I get to do the Time Warp every night, I get to see hot guys in very little clothing, I get to travel to Frankie’s place. Every show is an adventure. Last Saturday’s audience was amazing. Everyone got up and danced, yelled at the cast, threw things. It was great. I’m just glad I don’t have to clean up all the confetti each night. If you’re looking for a good time, and want to throw your inhibitions to the wind, you should come and see the show.

And remember – we are watching, waiting, and most likely cursing because the microphones still aren’t working!

There are still tickets left for the remaining shows (BUY TICKETS ONLINE HERE), which include:

October 10 at 8:00 p.m. Friday – Guest Narrator – State Representative Sharon Nelson

October 11 at 8:00 p.m. Saturday – Guest Narrator – Burien City Councilmember Kathy Keene

October 12 at 2:00 p.m. Sunday Matinee

October 17 – NO SHOW!

October 18 at 8:00 p.m. Saturday – Guest Narrator – Mr. Stephen Lamphear

October 19 at 2:00 p.m. Sunday Matinee – Guest Narrator – United States Congressmember Jim McDermott

October 24 at 10:00 p.m. Friday

October 25 at 8:00 p.m. Saturday – Guest Narrator – State Representative Dave Upthegrove

October 26 at 2:00 p.m. Sunday

October 31 at 10:00 p.m. Friday – HALLOWEEN!

November 1 at 8:00 p.m. Saturday

November 2 at 2:00 p.m. Sunday – Your very last chance to do the Time Warp again!

And if you didn’t see it when we posted this before, here’s a sneak peek video we shot of one of the final dress rehearsals of the show:

Burien’s historic Bison Creek Pizza has been remodeled, and will re-open this Saturday as Bison Creek Pizza & Pub!

The grand re-opening starts at Noon and goes until 2am.

One reason we’re all over this is that we love the history of the place. The building that houses Bison Creek once served as the “Burien Theater” and showed movies from 1957 and continued until the 1970s when the now-gone Lewis and Clark Theaters were built. According to some sources, the theater was popular for its Saturday triple features of low-budget monster movies, Jerry Lewis double features and the classic Beach Party series.

After the projector lights faded for the last time, it became home to a very unique restaurant called “Big Bob’s Pipe Dream” which had a large 1918 Wurlitzer organ that was moved from Seattle’s Coliseum Theatre (now Banana Republic). The Coliseum was owned by the Bullitt family, who owned KING-TV (disclosure: the Publisher/Editor of the B-Town Blog got his first media “gig” at KING-TV’s “Almost Live!” in 1985, and was proud to say he worked there when an elderly Dorothy Bullitt still ran the place). The story goes that one day the Bullitt sisters decided to sell the pipe organ, and “Bob,” who was a TV technician for KING-TV, was interested. The sisters offered it to him, but he thought he couldn’t afford it. Their reply was, “Would a dollar be too much?”

So this KING-TV tech guy buys a big ol’ pipe organ for a buck from the Bullitt sisters and moves it to Burien! The pipe organ allegedly ended up being sold to a man in Oregon, who used parts to build another one.

And now, the former-movie-theater-turned-pipe-organ-joint-turned-pizza-joint is starting anew as a remodeled pizza-pub-joint.

Bison Creek will now have “pub hours” on both Friday and Saturday nights – starting this Sat. Oct. 11th from 10pm-2am (21 and older only), with live music!

The new owners are inviting everyone to come down for the grand re-opening this Saturday starting at Noon until 2am, so get down there, show your support and tell ‘em the B-Town Blog sent ya!

Bison Creek is located at 630 SW 153rd Street (map below).

View Larger Map

Lots of action on the local filmmaker front, and we just heard from Director/Proucer Frank Oliver, who we first reported as seeking funds and locations for his film “War of the Grandmas” on Aug. 24th.

Good news – he’s secured funding for his film and is now auditioning!

Here’s an update from Frank:

I have secured funding for my film project and will be auditioning for cast from now until the end of September.

I will begin principal photography on the weekend of October 10 to 12. Additional scenes will be shot the following weekend of October 17 to 19.

I am encouraging all actors (union/non-union) to audition by visiting the website, reviewing the script excerpt, and sending me a headshot and resume to info@warofthegrandmas.com.

If I or Mary Huckstep see a good fit, we will schedule an initial audition by phone. Actors should be prepared to read from this script excerpt. We are looking for actors with some comedy experience.

I still need help locating some classic cars for the film. There will be no highway or racing. Most times the cars will be parked or driven down a residential street approaching a driveway.

I am looking for a:

• Classic Ford Mustang convertible or any other 50s-60s convertible
• Classic VW Beetle, preferably with a hippie flower power look
• Hummer or any Luxury 4×4 truck
• Mercedes SUV or any other high-end, luxury SUV
• Beat-up cargo van (eg, plumber/pipe fitter van)
• Ford escort (earlier model) or late 80s Chevrolet Cavalier

For more information, visit the War of the Grandmas website here.

Quick update from area resident Steve Edmiston, the Writer/Director behind “The Day My Parents Became Cool,” which we reported on during its filming at Highline High School in late June:

“We’re about one week from being ready to begin the film festival submission process.  Of course, we (as everyone in this business is compelled to do, down to our DNA) will send the film to Sundance!  Of course, our festival strategy does not plan on Sundance, and we anticipate that in 2009 we will screen at as many as 30 festivals around the world.  In Washington, we will seek to share the film at terrific festivals in Port Townsend, Bainbridge Island, Tacoma, Olympia, and of course, the Seattle International Film Festival.

It’s cool!

We WILL be scheduling some free test screenings in the Burien/Des Moines/Federal Way areas.  I will keep YOU posted!

Now, you know that I’m biased, but I think the film turned out wonderfully!  One of the fun things (strangely) is the credit roll, because it is LONG – and what I mean by that, it reflects a huge outpouring of support from our local communities – including the City of Burien, Highline Public Schools, Highline High School, Federal Way Arts Commission, King County 4Culture, Des Moines Rotary, local businesses, 150 high school and middle school kids, parents, volunteers – it just goes on and on.”

As always, we’ll keep you posted on the progress of this locally-created and produced film, so stay tuned!

by Janet Grella

Burien resident Carolyn Rosenfield stopped by our B-Town Blog booth at the Farmers’ Market last week to tell us about a documentary film about her great-great grandfather, Samuel Ullman.

Documentary filmmaker Judith Schaefer details his life, as well as the impact of a poem he wrote, on the re-building of Japan after World War II in a one-hour film entitled “So Long Are You Young.”

As a child, Samuel Ullman settled in the southern United States before the Civil War with his family, comprised of German-born Jewish immigrants. After a life spent in a variety of fields, including as a soldier in the Civil War, merchant, rabbi, philosopher and community activist, Mr. Ullman turned to writing poetry in his final years.

“Youth” was written in 1917 when he was 77.

“Youth” came into the possession of General Douglas MacArthur, whose framed display of it deeply impressed Japanese visitors to his Tokyo office at the close of WWII. Subsequently spread across the then-broken nation, the poem inspired a generation of Japanese desperate for hope. Today, prominent Japanese businessmen still cite its influence.

Well-known in Japan, this little known American poem has been quoted by Ann Landers, Dear Abby, and both the American (1945), and Japanese (1946) Readers Digests. It was a favorite of Sen. Robert Kennedy, and was quoted by Sen. Ted Kennedy at the eulogy of his slain brother.

This compelling documentary was premiered at the Vancouver Film Festival in 2007. Carolyn is hoping to show it at Seattle’s’ Jewish Film Festival. If you have a group that would like to see this film, please contact us by email here.

Here’s the poem, “Youth” by Samuel Ullman:

Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.

Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity of the appetite, for adventure over the love of ease.  This often exists in a man of sixty more than a body of twenty.  Nobody grows old merely by a number of years.  We grow old by deserting our ideals.

Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.  Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust.

Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every human being’s heart the lure of wonder, the unfailing child-like appetite of what’s next, and the joy of the game of living.  In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station; so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the Infinite, so long are you young.

When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you are grown old, even at twenty, but as long as your aerials are up, to catch the waves of optimism, there is hope you may die young at eighty.

And here’s an MP3 of a reading of it:
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by Scott Schaefer

Previously we broke news about a local filmmaker shooting a movie at Highline High School, and now we’ve just learned of another area auteur – a local Director/Producer named Frank Oliver who is seeking donations and locations from area residents and businesses for his upcoming film production “The War of the Grandmas.”

The film’s plot:

“War of the Grandmas” is a family-fun-packed, independent comedy – half live action and half cartoon animation.

This is a screwball comedy in the vein of “Grumpy Old Men,” but with women.

PATTY, a sixty-something frugal tomboy, reigns as queen of her cul-de-sac until an arch enemy from her past – flirty, glamorous ROSE, also in her sixties – invades Patty’s territory and the queen declares war. The grannies fight the only way they know how – over a man. But when the old gals try to bring their twenty-something granddaughters into the fray, the young gals decide it’s time to teach the old gals a lesson: A woman does not need a man to make her happy! (Or does she?)

Oliver, 33, of Boulevard Park, is seeking local sponsors, including residents and businesses, to help defray some of the film’s $15,000 budget. His intent is to film and edit a six-minute scene, then promote that at film markets in the next year or so in hopes of turning it into a full-length feature film.

“I’m trying to get the community involved, as this is a great opportunity for locals to help create a fun and entertaining project,” Oliver said as he took a break from his regular day job as a Construction Inspector. “I’ve received a grant from the Northwest Film Forum, but we’re still in need of funds to pay actors and crew.”

We spoke with Oliver on the phone recently, and found him to be a very passionate and ambitious man. We know personally that making a feature-length movie is a huge undertaking, and we admire his goals and passion.

From Texas originally, Oliver has been in the Northwest for six years.

“I moved up here for a variety of reasons, one of which is that I was inspired by the WTO riots,” he said. “I love activism, and am also a huge fan of the artistic and independent spirit of the region, which I love.”

Oliver is currently seeking:

• Access to locations in exchange for product placement in the film; specifically three houses situated next to each other, perhaps in a cul-de-sac, to serve as the movie’s major location
• Donate money (any amount, even minor)
• Visit the website, download the flyers, and post at their workplace/social activities
• Everyone is welcomed to audition for the cast or participate as crew

Here’s his self bio:

Frank is creative, resourceful, and entrepreneurial. He helped manage the family business while still attending high school and learned about taking calculated risks and surrounding himself with talented people to help achieve a goal. He founded a non-profit dance organization in Texas and taught swing and lindy hop to inner city youth. Frank is socially conscientious and passionate about social and economic justice. When he relocated to WA, he joined the union construction trades and actively helped organize and educate others about the struggles and gains of the labor movement. Frank enjoys cinema and aspires to be much like Ken Loach, the filmmaker, and serve the people through his art. Frank hopes to achieve credibility as a director by successfully completing the “The War of the Grandmas” production and attracting well-versed writers to collaborate with him on docudramas and films of social commentary.

We encourage all our BTB Readers, and anyone who enjoys supporting the arts, to visit the “War of the Grandmas” website, and consider volunteering their location(s) and/or time, as well as making a donation to the film.

Rest assured, the B-Town Blog will keep you posted on the progress of this creative endeavor as things develop.

The classic Steven Spielberg film “E.T.” will play tonight at Lake Burien School Memorial Park starting around 8:30pm for FREE!

NOTE: we mistakenly stated the start time as 9:30pm in our Weekly Newsletter but we’ve since been corrected…sorry for any confusion!

“He is afraid. He is totally alone. He is 3 million light years from home.”

Considered by many to be Steven Spielberg’s most successful and symbolic fantasy, this 1982 film was nominated for 9 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. 

Plot synopsis:

As Elliot (Henry Thomas) lures E.T. into his house and up to his room, it becomes apparent that the two have become some how connected. E.T. is hungry so Elliot also feels hunger and goes to get E.T. food. Elliot also feels fear when E.T. is fearful, and when E.T. becomes tired Elliot also becomes tired and falls asleep. Toward the end of the movie when E.T. becomes very sick, he disconnects himself so as not to harm Elliot. 

Trailer:

The Sustainability movement for cities like B-Town is really starting to catch on, and if you’re at all curious about what it means to your life or living spaces, you should check out this upcoming movie showing called “Designing A Great Neighborhood” which plays Wed. Aug. 20th at 7pm at St. Francis Church (map below).

From the film’s press release:

Ever wonder what a sustainable and affordable community might look like?

Ever wonder if a “zero emissions” neighborhood where solar energy, energy efficiency, and changes in behavior eliminate the need for fossil fuels is possible?

Let us look at one community and how they did it, based on principles of sustainability.

After watching DESIGNING A GREAT NEIGHBORHOOD (54mins), we’ll talk about these principles, how they can be incorporated into our everyday lives and in plans for our future. Imagine!

To people driving past the old Holiday Drive-In Theater site in Boulder, Colorado, it might seem like a new neighborhood has sprung out of the ground overnight. But those who worked on the project’s development know better. Collectively, hundreds of thousands of decisions and choices were made to create the 330-home neighborhood, where affordability and sustainability are primary goals. It wasn’t exactly a simple mission.

In DESIGNING A GREAT NEIGHBORHOOD, director David Wann follows the progress of the Wild Sage Cohousing Community project, where future residents participate in the design of their own neighborhood. The stated architectural goal at the Wild Sage site in Boulder is a “zero emissions” neighborhood in which solar energy, energy efficiency, and changes in behavior eliminate the need for fossil fuels.

The master site developer, The Boulder Housing Partners (BHP), has a vision for creating affordable neighborhoods that are also lively, efficient and pedestrian friendly. More than 400 people with low and middle incomes will live at Holiday, many as first-time homeowners.

Awards:

• Black Bear Film Festival
• Princeton Environmental Film Festival
• Brownfields Conference Film Festival

Reviews:

“Finally, a film that goes beyond green building to address the comprehensive benefits of green neighborhood design! By prioritizing quality over size, we can achieve better neighborhoods for people in all stages of life and income brackets. The market for great neighborhoods will flourish once people know what’s possible, and can ‘vote with their dollars.’ Developers, governing officials and the public need to see this film!” – Alexis Karolides, AIA, Principal, Green Development Services, Rocky Mountain Institute

“‘People don’t really understand there are choices about how you build and where you live,’ says Wann. ‘This story enables them to see an example of something different to make them happier, save them money and save the environment. It’s a lay person’s look at what green building means.’…Higher density, a community garden, walkable and interconnected streets, nearby shops and even shared car rentals encourage a sociable existence.” The Denver Post

Co-sponsored by St Francis Just Faith, Southend Neighbors for Peace and Justice, and Sustainable Burien.

• St. Francis Church, Unity Place
  15226 21st Ave SW
• Wed, Aug 20th at 7pm

A study guide (in PDF form) is available here, and a video guide is available here.

Burien’s own Hi-Liners (Downstage Center) will be performing “Mulan, Jr.” this weekend at the Kent Performing Arts Center, which is located at Kent Meridian High School in (you guessed it…) Kent.

Performances are scheduled for:

• FRIDAY JULY 11th at 7pm
• SATURDAY JULY 12th at 7pm
• SUNDAY JULY 13th at 3pm

According to their website, “Mulan Jr.” is a musical based on the Disney movie:

Travel back to the legendary, story-telling days of ancient China with this action-packed stage adaptation of Disney’s Mulan.

The Huns have invaded, and it is up to the misfit Mulan and her mischievous sidekick Mushu to save the Emperor! 

Mulan Junior is a heart-warming celebration of culture, honor and a fighting spirit. The score includes favorites like “Reflection,” “Honor to Us All” and “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” as well as new songs that will get you up on your feet!

The Hi-Liners were started in 1966 by Mr. William A Moeller, a teacher in the Highline School District. He founded a high school summer program he called The Hi-Liners, which quickly evolved from a summer group into a year ’round district wide performing group.

Each year the Hi-Liners have simple goals:

• As an organization to learn something new and apply that learning to make our program better
• To open at least one young mind to the magic of live musical theater and the unique talents they each possess

Auditions for the Hi-Liners are open to anyone between the ages of 9 and 22 and are held in early June for the summer program and in January for their Spring productions.Tickets to “Mulan, Jr.” are just $10 each, and can be purchased online here.

Just got back from spending a couple of hours on the shooting set of “The Day My Parents Became Cool,” which (as we first reported here) is filming all weekend at Highline High School.

The film is sponsored by the City of Burien, 4culture, the City of Federal Way, and many others, and has been fully approved by the Highline School District as well as Highline High School.

On set, we saw:

• Several scenes being shot (and re-shot)
• Numerous extras in wild costumes from various high schools in the area
• Actual teachers and staff
• A few real, paid actors and actresses
• And in what is sure to be a massive career change, even Highline Schools Superintendent John Welch as a high school principal gone nutty:

All under the supervision of local Writer/Director Steve Edmiston, who’s doing a heckuva job.

If you’ve ever been on an active movie set, you know that the combined collaborative creativity makes it one of the most enjoyable “jobs” in the world. Being a show biz vet ourselves, we appreciate what it takes to get to the point that Steve and Co. are at this weekend – hours and hours of writing, re-writing, pre-production, fundraising, phone calls, meetings, making deals with School Superintendents, Teachers, managers, staff, students, hiring an entire film crew, getting props, costumes and more, as well as unpredictable variables like whether the weather will cooperate or not (BTW, today’s light overcast is ideal for film lighting so here’s one reason to hope the sun does not come out today).

Below are some photos we took as we silently lurked during actual production:

You can still help support this film by buying t-shirts and other swag here!

Local resident Steve Edmiston is Writing and Directing a short comedy film in Burien this coming weekend (6/20-23), and he’s still seeking some extras for an all-day Saturday shoot at Highline High School.

The film is called The Day My Parents Became Cool, and is sponsored by the City of Burien, 4culture, the City of Federal Way, and many others. It has been fully approved by the Highline School District as well as Highline High School.

Steve is a local lawyer and gamemaker whose true passion is filmmaking. He has written several feature films before, and this will be his first time Directing.

The B-Town Blog plans to be on set Saturday, so expect a full report (with photos and perhaps video) early next week.

This is a not-for-profit production meant to entertain, educate and inspire through humor, along the lines of comedic role reversal films like Freaky Friday and Big:

The Day My Parents Became Cool is a short comedy that arises from the battleground conflict between parents and their rebellious teenaged children everywhere — fashion and body image.

The Day My Parents Became Cool is a modern, comic, costume drama — and every teen’s worst nightmare — creating a brave new world where adults, for inexplicable, perhaps cosmic, reasons, simultaneously adopt every teen trend in attire and body image.

The Day My Parents Became Cool tells the story of what one small group of teenagers do when every outward manifestation of their “rebelliousness” has been co-opted by . . . the enemy.

High School student Paige and her middle-school sister Madison drift off to sleep one night after being chastised by their conservative parents for staying up late on a school night, completely mesmerized by the classic film, “The Day the Earth Stood Still.”

The next day, Paige discovers the horror: inexplicably, both her parents are dressing for the day in clothing identical to that she sees in school. Her mother has super-tight jeans, with a thong extending up over her hips; her father pulls his suit pants down below his butt, exposing his white boxers. What Paige thinks is a lame Dr. Phil reverse-psychology stunt turns out to be a much bigger problem. At school, every adult — every teacher, coach and even the principal are in full-on teenage apparel mode. Hip hop, Goth, Emo, Gangster, Preppy — tattoos, piercings, thongs, sagging jeans. And acting like nothing is out of the ordinary.

When Paige and her friends learn the problem is worldwide, they band together and begin to fight back. First they try their own brand of reverse psychology; then they try to lead the adults down a completely alternative path of “cool.” Nothing works.

When Paige learns the REAL reason that the adults have suddenly lost all sense of taste and conservatism, it becomes clear that there is only one course of action.

Abandon all forms of manifested rebelliousness and individuality to the adults.

And start anew.

The film is being produced with the cooperation of two Washington State school districts and three high schools, and is providing an opportunity for over 100 high school students to work with filmmaking professionals.

This is a project of the Northwest Film Forum (NWFF), and donations are tax-deductible to the extent the law allows (click here to donate and “Become Cool”).

If you are in High School or look like it, Steve invites you to take advantage of this opportunity to be in a short film that will have you, your friends and your parents laughing all the way out of the theater.

Extras need to be on set at Highline High School, in Burien, the whole morning of Saturday, June 21st, and according to Steve, calltime is 7am!

Extras will get food and film credit (but no pay), as well as the close-up experience of seeing how a professional film is made.

NOTE: To sign up as an Extra, you must first register online, so please click here.

To donate, and “Become Cool,” please click here.

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This is a pretty cool flyover vid of Westfield Southcenter done using a radio/remote-controlled airplane, shot by Cascade Aerial Photography:

Tonight at 7pm, come to Cafe Rozella’s Friday FREE Film Night and see “Control Room” for no cover!

Did we mention that it’s FREE? As in…NO COVER?

From IMDB:

“A chronicle which provides a rare window into the international perception of the Iraq War, courtesy of Al Jazeera, the Arab world’s most popular news outlet. Roundly criticized by Cabinet members and Pentagon officials for reporting with a pro-Iraqi bias, and strongly condemned for frequently airing civilian causalities as well as footage of American POWs, the station has revealed (and continues to show the world) everything about the Iraq War that the Bush administration did not want it to see.”

Here’s the trailer:

Cafe Rozella is located at 9434 Delridge Way SW in White Center • (206) 763-5805:

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Tonight at 7pm, come to Cafe Rozella’s Friday FREE Film Night and not only see see “‘Round Midnight” for no cover, but also dig the sounds of Victor Puentes, who plays jazz for an hour starting at 7pm.

Usually the movie starts at 7pm, but tonight Rozella owner Ricardo is throwing live jazz into the mix, with the film starting at 8pm, so it should be a lively evening.

Did we mention that it’s FREE? As in…NO COVER?

From IMDB:

“In ‘Round Midnight, real-life jazz legend Dexter Gordon brilliantly portrays the fictional tenor sax player Dale Turner, a musician slowly losing the battle with alcoholism, estranged from his family, and hanging on by a thread in the 1950’s New York jazz world. Dale gets an offer to play in Paris, where, like many other black American musicians at the time, he enjoys a respect for his humanity that is not based upon the color of his skin. A Parisian man who is obsessed with Turner’s music befriends him and attempts to save Turner from himself. Although for Dale the damage is already done, his poignant relationship with the man and his young daughter re-kindles his spirit and his music as the end draws near.”

Here’s the trailer:

Cafe Rozella is located at 9434 Delridge Way SW in White Center • (206) 763-5805:

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Tonight at 7pm, come to Cafe Rozella’s Friday FREE Film Night and see “The Motorcycle Diaries,” a biographical film about the journey and written memoir of the 23-year-old Ernesto Guevara, who would years later become internationally known as the iconic Marxist revolutionary “Che” Guevara.

Did we mention that it’s FREE? As in…NO COVER?

From IMDB:

“The Motorcycle Diaries” is based on the journals of Che Guevara, leader of the Cuban Revolution. In his memoirs, Guevara recounts adventures that he and his best friend Alberto Granado had while crossing South America by motorcycle in the early 1950s.

The Motorcycle Diaries is an adaptation of a journal written by Guevara when he was 23 years old. He and his friend, Alberto Granado are typical college students who, seeking fun and adventure before graduation, decide to travel across Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia, and Venezuela in order to do their medical residency at a leper colony.

Beginning as a buddy/road movie in which Ernesto and Alberto are looking for chicks, fun and adventure before they must grow up and have a more serious life. As is said in the film itself, it’s about “two lives running parallel for a while.” The two best friends start off with the same goals and aspirations, but by the time the film is over, it’s clear what each man’s destiny has become.

Here’s the trailer:

Cafe Rozella is located at 9434 Delridge Way SW in White Center • (206) 763-5805:

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Tonight at 7pm, come to Cafe Rozella’s Friday FREE Film Night and see Spike Lee’s great documentary on Hurricane Katrina’s effect on New Orleans and its people, “When The Levees Broke.”

Did we mention that it’s FREE? As in…NO COVER?

From the HBO website:

As the world watched in horror, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans on August 29, 2005.

Like many who watched the unfolding drama on television news, director Spike Lee was shocked not only by the scale of the disaster, but by the slow, inept and disorganized response of the emergency and recovery effort.

Lee was moved to document this modern American tragedy, a morality play witnessed by people all around the world.

The result is WHEN THE LEVEES BROKE: A REQUIEM IN FOUR ACTS.

The film is structured in four acts, each dealing with a different aspect of the events that preceded and followed Katrina’s catastrophic passage through New Orleans.

Sneak peak of Part One of the film:

Spike Lee introduces the film in New Orleans in 2006:

White Center’s Cafe Rozella is hosting another Free Friday Night Movie this Friday at 7pm.

This week’s flick is Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, a 2005 documentary film based on the best-selling 2003 book of the same name by Fortune reporters Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind, a study of one of the largest business scandals in American history.

The film examines the collapse of the Enron Corporation, which resulted in criminal trials for several of the company’s top executives; it also shows the involvement of the Enron traders in the California electricity crisis.

Interviews are conducted with former executives, stock analysts, reporters and the former Governor of California Gray Davis.

The film was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 78th Academy Awards.

As an analysis of corruption in corporations the film gives a realistic look at corporate culture and the inherent problems within. The movie presents two mechanisms for motivating a vastly immoral and profit-driven corporate culture; namely the vitality curve and the Milgram experiment.

The vitality curve is an idea of constant competition in the work place. Individuals are driven to out-perform each other wherever possible because the employees doing worst in a particular field will be fired. Enron constantly hired new staff because even with record profits it was firing people for making less than 1000 times what they were being paid. The atmosphere of the work place caused people to not only disregard the law, but also to act competitively in breaking the law.

The film features actual voice clips from Enron employees discussing the transfer of electricity from the state of California into nodes in other states where there was a surplus. California had signed legislation allowing for a free market in energy. As a response to this, Enron created a demand by causing blackouts across the state. Following this the price of electricity sky-rocketed, right in time for Enron to ship back the energy they took out of California back into California, making billions upon billons of dollars in profits. The controllers who were doing this discussed how much energy they had transferred knowing full well that it was going to blackout the cities in California.

The Milgram experiment was conducted to see how long an individual can take an order before they question that order. The test was set up so that a person is told that an individual will be shocked with electricity every time they push a button. The person is told to raise the voltage and push the button over and over until the person pushing the button decides to stop on moral grounds. On average a person would die three times over with the number of times the button was pushed.

With a goal derived from the pursuit of profit, Enron employees were constantly told to break laws or perform acts that could be considered immoral. Few Enron employees ever came forward to report the corruption. The factor that inevitably led to people coming forward was a “sinking ship” feeling, resulting in some of the Enron executives selling their shares while telling employees to keep their shares.

Here’s a trailer for the film:

Cafe Rozella is located at 9434 Delridge Way SW in White Center:

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Interesting and educational 6-1/2-minute Youth Media Institute documentary from 2006 about B-Town’s potential annexation area, the diverse community of White Center (you know, that neighborhood to the north with the great hardware store? The one you drive through quickly to get to West Seattle…?):

Courtesy Ricardo Guarnero of White Center’s Cafe Rozella:

Cafe Rozella Presents the Celebrated Documentary “Who Killed the Electric Car” for FREE this Friday night (2/15) at 7pm!

BYO popcorn or munch on Rozella’s tasty tamales, quesadillas, and sweets.

MOVIE INFO:
It begins with a solemn funeral…for a car. By the end of Chris Paine’s lively and informative documentary, the idea doesn’t seem quite so strange. As narrator Martin Sheen notes, “They were quiet and fast, produced no exhaust and ran without gasoline.” Paine proceeds to show how this unique vehicle came into being and why General Motors ended up reclaiming its once-prized creation less than a decade later. He begins 100 years ago with the original electric car. By the 1920s, the internal-combustion engine had rendered it obsolete. By the 1980s, however, car companies started exploring alternative energy sources, like solar power. This, in turn, led to the late, great battery-powered EV1. Throughout, Paine deftly translates hard science and complex politics, such as California’s Zero-Emission Vehicle Mandate, into lay person’s terms (director Alex Gibney, Oscar-nominated for Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, served as consulting producer).

And everyone gets the chance to have their say: engineers, politicians, protesters, and petroleum spokespeople–even celebrity drivers, like Peter Horton, Alexandra Paul, and a wild man beard-sporting Mel Gibson. But the most persuasive participant is former Saturn employee Chelsea Sexton. Promoting the benefits of the EV1 was more than a job to her, and she continues to lobby for more environmentally friendly options. Sexton provides the small ray of hope Paine’s film so desperately needs. Who Killed the Electric Car? is, otherwise, a tremendously sobering experience. –Kathleen C. Fennessy

TRAILER:

Brought to you by the White Center Arts Alliance.

And Mark your Calendar for Richard Hugo Night – February 28th at 7 p.m.

WHEN: Friday, Feb. 15th at 7pm

WHERE: Cafe Rozella, 9434 Delridge Way SW, Seattle, WA 98106 • (206) 763-5805

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