It’s been 30 years since Ernie Hudson starred in Ghostbusters and even today, he’s still working non-stop. After all, he has the tools and he has the talent, right? He’s also got a heart as big as Texas and Hudson’s latest role finds him starring in Gallows Road. Bill McAdams Jr.’s film is a modest effort, but one filled with a lot of heavy issues. Religion, anger, abuse, etc. it’s all in there, but it’s ultimately about compassion and acceptance. As the tag line says, God forgives…Can you? In the film, Bob Collins (Ernie Hudson) finds his faith tested when a night of racially motivated violence takes the lives of his…
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[USAFF Review]…Finding Neighbors
Director Ron Judkins draws from personal experience in his latest film, Finding Neighbors. His latest effort is a story about an author who has reached the end of his professional career. Caddyshack’s Michael O’Keefe (in the film) has rode out his wave of fame, and, over a period of 30 years, has seen all that the entertainment industry has to offer. Yet, after so much time, as he looks back he feels he’s been sleepwalking through it all. It’s only after waking up – three decades later, and in what feels like a hangover – he’s able to assess where he is in life. Suffice to say she’s not happy.…
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[USAFF Review]…Fading Gigolo
John Turturro writes and directs his fifth film, Fading Gigolo, and weaves an interesting narrative to say the very least. In short, Fading Gigolo is about John Turturro and Woody Allen playing, no joke, “a pimp and a prostitute.” Let that sink in, because you probably won’t believe it until you see it. No, this is not a ’70s revival film, nor is it a wacky Austin Powers inspired narrative. This is quite a sophisticated, upscale, and frank story about people looking for a connection, and a very particular one at that. With ‘Giggilo’ in the title, one might think that connection means sex and all the escapades that go…
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[USA Film Fest Interview]…’Frontera’ Writer/Director Michael Berry
Michael Berry is an actor and director of stage and film and most recently completed production on the feature film Frontera. Directed and co-written by Berry, the film stars Ed Harris, Michael Pena, Eva Longoria and Amy Madigan. Previous to that he directed and co-produced two award winning short films, Mira and Day of the Grackle. As an actor Berry appeared as an original cast member of the Tony Award, Pulitzer Prize winning “Next To Normal”. Other Broadway and national tour appearances include Les Miserables, Sunset Boulevard, Tommy and Mamma Mia. Off Broadway Mr. Berry appeared as Starbuck in a critically acclaimed production of Moby Dick, and was nominated for a…
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[USAFF Review]…Frontera
Michael Berry, an actor and stage performer in a past life, comes out of nowhere with his directorial debut Frontera. A gripping drama, his passion project follows on the heels of just two short films, award winning though they may be. Frontera is an emotionally gripping narrative about a family in Mexico struggling to make it to America, by any means necessary, and it is as taut as it is sobering. Over the course of the film each of the characters deal with extreme hardships – the family of immigrants deal with problems crossing the border (difficulties finding a guide, coming up with the money, putting trust in someone they…
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[USA Film Fest Interview]…’Finding Neighbors’ Writer/Director Ron Judkins
Oscar-winning sound engineer and filmmaker Ron Judkins earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He then began his motion picture career as a sound recordist and editor for public television. In January of 1998 Ron began production on his feature directorial debut, The Hi-Line. The project premiered in the Dramatic Competition at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. It won the “Audience Award” at the Austin Film Festival, the “Best Feature” Award at both the Louisville Film and Video Festival and the Heartland Film Festival, and the “Best Actress” and “Best Cinematography” awards at the Santa Monica Film Festival. His latest film, Finding Neighbors, written and directed by the two time Academy Award winner,…
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[USA Film Fest Interview]…’Fading Gigolo’ Writer/Director/Star John Turturro
The Dallas-based USA Film Festival (which runs 4/22-4/27) kicked off on Thursday, April 22nd. Prior to the opening night ceremonies, John Turturro brought his new film Fading Gigolo to Dallas to open the festival. His latest is narrative is about a NY native who when faced with losing his job enters into the world’s oldest profession, and ends up finding something he didn’t know he was looking for. Fading Gigolo is an oddball film but one that deep down has a heart and a message about the simplest of life’s pursuits – love, relationships and a sense of belonging. Written, directed and starring John Turturro, the film is Turturro’s fifth…
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[USAFF Review]…The Giant Mechanical Man
In Lee Kirk’s indie film The Giant Mechanical Man, two lost individuals find that they are not as alone or hopeless as they think they are. Janice (Jenna Fischer) can’t hold down her temp jobs and Tim (Chris Messina) spends his days as a thankless street performer; a silver painted, dry-wall stilt wearing 9 foot “mechanical man“. When nothing is going right, their paths cross and they prove to be the only one who truly understands the other, especially when the world thinks they’re both nuts. Sure, details aside, this has the set up of many films (indie or otherwise) you’ve seen before: quirky character A meets quirky character B, romance ensues, roll credits.…
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42nd Annual USA Film Festival – Schedule of Events
April is a busy month if you’re a film fan and from state to state you’ll likely find no shortage of great (sometimes back to back) film festivals. New York has Tribeca, Boston has the Independent Film Festival of Boston (which our own Andrew Crump is covering) and Dallas has two that nearly overlap. The Dallas based USA Film Festival only runs from April 25th – 29th but hosts a lot of note-worthy films and talent in those 5 days. All programs will be held at the Angelika Film Center Dallas. Below is the official Festival brochure which lists the films, special events, tributes, and actors/filmmakers coming to our neck of the woods.…
