Walkie Talkie Blog
SHOOTING THE END OF THE WORLD ENDS IN GREENWATER >>> The ant can't act. I return to the set of Koinonia last Monday, and the shooting has moved indoors. Struggling through a post-apocalyptic world, John (played by Tony Doupe) finds temporary shelter inside an abandoned house. He awakes one morning to
Walkie Talkie Blog
POKING AROUND AFTER THE MOTHER OF ALL GLOBAL WARS >>> My journey to Koinonia, the new feature by Tacoma's Andrew Finnigan, begins last Thursday. Mount Rainier looms larger and Highway 410 gets narrower as I head toward my destination. Buildings melt away, replaced by nothing but trees in all directions.
Walkie Talkie Blog
THE DIRECTOR'S CUT >>> "I was supposed to be done with this thing already," Tchinski tells me. "Of course, you know how things go." Let me break it down for you: "this thing" refers to Grimises Rising, the new feature-length horror-thriller from director Harry Tchinski of Graham. After the splashes his previous
Walkie Talkie Blog
JESSE HARRIS DID, AND STARTED SEATTLE'S NFFTY >>> Let's talk numbers. 21 Jesse Harris' age when he co-founded the National Film Festival for Talented Youth (the cool kids call it NFFTY) in Seattle with Jocelyn R.C. and Kyle Seago. What had YOU accomplished by that time in your life? Probably starting your
Walkie Talkie Blog
HISTORY IN THE FILM-MAKING >>> The Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) in Seattle has brought back its History Is ____ Film Competition for a second time since beginning in 2011. Then I suppose what they say about history is true... (I take off my shades and peer seductively into my readers'
Walkie Talkie Blog
MAKEUP ARTIST WILL DECORATE YOUR FILM >>> Tacoma's freelance makeup artist Kari Baumann has her own business, and she calls it Decorate Your Face. I hear that name and immediately a mental movie begins playing of Baumann gleefully chucking handfuls of foundation and glitter (glitter?) at her clients' cheeks, with
Walkie Talkie Blog
TACOMA FILMMAKER IS OFF AND RUNNING WITH PHOENIX RUN WEB SERIES >>> I love some of the conversations I get into with filmmakers. Like one last week I had with Tacoma's TJ Walker - when I erroneously labeled his current project, Phoenix Run, a "zombie" Web series. He quickly reclaimed it
Walkie Talkie Blog
A FUNDRAISER FOR POWER >>> In time for a swell 30th anniversary appearance, Annie returns to the silver screen this Saturday, Feb. 18, at Olympia's Capitol Theater. But don't come looking for a 3-D reboot like some of these supposed "classics" Hollywood plans to dig up this year. (The Phantom Menace?
Walkie Talkie Blog
SEE SOMETHING NEW EACH WEEK >>> Hey, me again. With the first month of the year already gone, just thought I'd check in and see how those New Year's resolutions were coming. Maybe your list looks a lot like everyone else's - exercise more, drink less, actually start reading the
Walkie Talkie Blog
KEN CARLSON & LYQUOC VO FIND COLLABORATION IRRESISTIBLE >>> Last year, Olympia filmmaker Ken Carlson and his team, Mutually Assured Productions, embarked on an experiment. They decided to build their very own film festival from scratch, calling it the Olympia Awesome Film Festival. This one-day event debuted in May, successfully attracting
Walkie Talkie Blog
OLYMPIA FILMMAKER WRAPS SHOOTING OF DEBUT FEATURE >>> I found Jeff Stillwell where I suppose everyone at some point last week found themselves: in the snow. I caught Stillwell on Friday in his car, leaving home in Olympia to brave the treacherous expressways and make a party in Seattle that night. Wait,
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RON LAGMAN SCREENS COMMITTED IN TACOMA >>> Saturday, Jan. 14, 6:53 P.M.: I walk down a blustery Opera Alley in downtown T-town, looking for an address and looking forward to the first public screening of filmmaker Ron Lagman's new work, Tapat Sa Pangako (Committed). Yet danger looms above my head -
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LUKE SMIRALDO BRINGS SHAKESPEARE TO SLAM TOWN >>> Luke Smiraldo likes using the word "enamored" a lot, and why not? The man has plenty to love. One could start anywhere with this multi-talented artist, but his strong connections to the Tacoma community strike me right away. A resident since '91, Smiraldo
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DIRECTOR ISAAC OLSEN GIVES DISTRIBUTION A SHOT >>> Given all the handmade technical innovation the young Isaac Olsen displayed in his first feature, Quiet Shoes, I dubbed him "our city's own Orson Welles" in an earlier Volcano article. Now I may have to revise that title, since Olsen pulled off a
Walkie Talkie Blog
ON THE SET OF ROSE COLORED SHADES WITH RANDY SPARKS >>> I creep up the creaky, flame-emblazoned steps as silently as I can, not sure whether the audio guy will detect my approach through his boom mic. Director Randy Sparks has pretty much the entire floor above Tacoma's Stonegate Pizza and
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MICK FLAAEN RETURNS WITH GRIT CITY PRODUCTIONS >>> With 2012 imminent, I can't help but ponder what the future will bring while looking back at these past 12 months. It was just a few days before Christmas last year when I posted my first "Movie Biz Buzz" on this blog,
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PETE ANDERSON MOVES ON WITH THE WAIT >>> This year I've decided to watch safely from the sidelines as the gift-giving game heats up. Everyone seems to want a piece of the action - while Aunt Darlene knits the pinky on your new pair of gloves, filmmakers like Pete Anderson
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ACTOR-PRODUCER TONYA YORKE PUTS THE WESTERN IN WESTERN WASHINGTON >>> Growing up, did you go through that cowboy phase? You know - the oversized hat and boots, plastic sheriff's badge, popgun, the works. You'd hoot and holler through all the rooms in the house and imagine every sibling and/or pet
Walkie Talkie Blog
NEW WEB SERIES PHOENIX RUN TO BEGIN SHOOTING IN DECEMBER >>> I think all this gray weather has gotten to some local filmmakers. The stories behind my most recent Buzzes - which I seek out at random every week - all ended up gravitating toward the macabre, like The Resolution's plot
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HARRY TCHINSKI SHOOTS GRIMISES RISING IN BLACK LAKE ASYLUM >>> When I saw the big white ambulance with "Pierce County Asylum" engraved on its side, I knew I was close. Director Harry Tchinski had asked me to visit the closed set of his newest horror feature, Grimises Rising, buried somewhere
