'The Last Lullaby' social event tonight

Director Jeffrey Goodman will discuss "The Last Lullaby" tonight (Feb. 26) at Columbia Cafe, 3030 Creswell Street. The Shreve-made movie debuts in theaters in May.

Here's Jeffrey's note:

Social Event at Columbia Cafe (one of the locations in the film) from 7-9PM. We are not providing the food and drink (but Columbia is offering some great food and drink specials that night.) People are invited to come and just enjoy a good night at Columbia, visiting and talking about the film.

In addition to these social events, I continue to push for people to sign up for our monthly updates. Please feel free to encourage people, as well. All they have to do is send an e-mail to register@thelastlullaby.com with "Register Me" in the subject of the e-mail.

I also am continuing our major internet push. I have started a blog that I hope you will all follow. You can access it here:

http://cahierspositif.blogspot.com/

MovieMaker puts The Shreve at no. 4 for indie filmmakers

MovieMaker Magazine ranked Shreveport no. 4 in its ninth annual list pf best cites for indie filmmakers. You can read all about it by clicking here. No. 1? Chicago. No. 2 and 3? Atlanta and New York. No. 10? Austin.

Here's the list:
1. Chicago, Ill.
2. Atlanta, Ga.
3. New York, N.Y.
4. Shreveport, La.
5. Albuquerque, N.M.
6. Boston, Mass.
7. Stamford, Conn.
8. Memphis, Tenn.
9. Milwaukee, Wis.
10. Austin, Texas

Very interesting.

The Shreve was no. 3 in 2008 and no. 6 in 2007.

Thoughts?

Kenneth Loggins wins Times Oscar contest

The Times’ Oscar Contest featured three perfect ballots from 140 entries.

Guessing the ten featured categories correctly were first-place winner Kenneth Loggins, of Shreveport; second-place entry E.J. Ratcliff, of Arcadia; and third-place Holly Garrett, of Shreveport.

Places were determined by a random drawing.

Loggins will receive a free one-year membership to the Robinson Film Center plus six free movie passes to the downtown movie theater and a T-shirt.

Ratcliff and Garrett will received free movie passes, too.

chris-brad wins; Oscars rocked

What can we say? chris-brad is invincible. He picked all of the major categories perfectly and that won it for him. Timothy Miller and I came in second, but Timothy didn’t make selections in all categories! I think we both squeaked by a spanking.

This year’s Oscars ceremony was the best is recent memory because of its throwback classiness, its freshened up awards presentations, and its elegant sense of history.

I really liked the presentations for the actors/actresses categories, where five past winners introduced the five nominees. The idea made us feel as if we were being invited into a conversation -- however scripted -- between the best talents in Hollywood, and that's pretty cool. The Oscars needs to draw those connections to history, and doing it so simply -- from one actor to another -- was super smart.

The show’s directors/producers employed onstage projection technology in a way that was fun, informative and imaginative. Loved the onstage orchestra. Loved the best script presentations. And Hugh Jackman’s homemade opening act was the best since Billy Crystal. Oh, hell. It was better than Billy. Hugh's dance number for “The Reader” was hilarious.

And by the end, we got two speeches that were good: Kate Winslet getting a whistle from her dad, and Sean Penn calling everybody commie-, homo-loving sons of guns. Good stuff.

The only thing missing was a true surprise in one of the wins for the major categories. Those moments of shock, like last year's best actress or that Brody win years ago, are what really survive.

But perhaps Penn's surprisingly funny and serious acceptance speech will be enough. (The closest we came to a big moment was Dustin Lance Black's speech for his "Milk" screenplay. I know Hollywooders get criticized for turning the Oscar stage into a soapbox, but it's very appropriate with these films. To deny these artists an opportunity to represent themselves truly would be the biggest disservice to their art. Which means I like the edgy stuff.)

Enjoyed the night. This show will really help the Oscars as it moves forward, especially if more popular stuff gets nominated.

Best picture: 'Slumdog Millionaire'

Final contest results:

alex, 17
*chris-brad, 18
chris lyon, 14
patrick, 10.5
marian d, 15
pan's pantry, 15
timothy miller, 17

Very suspenseful, entertaining, fulfilling night. More about the show in a bit.

Best actor: Sean Penn for 'Milk'

Contest score?
alex, 16
chris-brad, 17
chris lyon, 13
patrick, 9.5
marian d, 14
pan's pantry, 14
timothy miller, 16

Most political - but barely so - by Penn.

chris-brad wins! Congrats.

Best actress: Kate Winslet for 'The Reader'

Contest score?
alex, 16
chris-brad, 16
chris lyon, 13
patrick, 9.5
marian d, 13
pan's pantry, 13
timothy miller, 15

Good speech by Winslet.

Best director: Danny Boyle for 'Slumdog Millionaire'

Contest score?
alex, 15
chris-brad, 15
chris lyon, 13
patrick, 8.5
marian d, 12
pan's pantry, 12
timothy miller, 14

Best foreign film: 'Okuribito' ('Departures,' Japan)

Contest score?
alex, 14
chris-brad, 14
chris lyon, 12
patrick, 7.5
marian d, 11
pan's pantry, 11
timothy miller, 13

Score is unchanged. By my count, "Slumdog Millionaire" has six awards already.

Best song: 'Jai Ho' from 'Slumdog Millionaire'

Contest score?
alex, 14
chris-brad, 14
chris lyon, 12
patrick, 7.5
marian d, 11
pan's pantry, 11
timothy miller, 13

Best score: 'Slumdog Millionaire'

Contest score?
alex, 13
chris-brad, 13
chris lyon, 11
patrick, 7.5
marian d, 11
pan's pantry, 11
timothy miller, 13

Best editing: 'Slumdog Millionaire'

Contest score?
alex, 13
chris-brad, 12
chris lyon, 10
patrick, 6.5
marian d, 11
pan's pantry, 10
timothy miller, 12

Best visual f/x: 'Benjamin Button'

Best sound mixing: 'Slumdog Millionaire'

Best sound editing: 'The Dark Knight'

Best documentary short: 'Smile Pinki'

Contest score?
alex, 10
chris-brad, 10
chris lyon, 8
patrick, 4.5
marian d, 9
pan's pantry, 8
timothy miller, 9

Nobody got this one right. Are chris-brad and I heading for a showdown? Too early to tell. If only timothy miller would have entered pics in all categories.

Best documentary feature: 'Man on Wire'

Contest score?
alex, 10
chris-brad, 10
chris lyon, 8
patrick, 4.5
marian d, 8
pan's pantry, 8
timothy miller, 9

Best supporting actor: Heath Ledger

Contest score?
alex, 9
chris-brad, 9
chris lyon, 8
patrick, 3.5
marian d, 7
pan's pantry, 7
timothy miller, 9

And the award for ...

... most overexposed celebrity goes to ... Beyonce. I think I saw her this morning at Target buying bagels.

She's frickin' everywhere!

Best live action short: 'Spielzeugland'

Oo! I'm back in it. (Temporarily.)

alex, 8
chris-brad, 8
chris lyon, 7
patrick, 2.5
marian d, 6
pan's pantry, 6
timothy miller, 8

Best cinematography: 'Slumdog Millionaire'

Ben Stiller's Joaquin Phoenix was hilarious! Loved how he wandered over to the clips on the screen behind him.

Contest score?
alex, 7
chris-brad, 8
chris lyon, 7
patrick, 2
marian d, 6
pan's pantry, 6
timothy miller, 8

Best Makeup: 'Benjamin Button'

Contest score?
alex, 6
chris-brad, 7
chris lyon, 6
patrick, 2
marian d, 5
pan's pantry, 5
timothy miller, 7

Two for "Benjamin Button." Better than pessimistically predicted by many experts.

Best Costume: 'The Duchess'

Contest score?
alex, 5
chris-brad, 6
chris lyon, 5
patrick, 2
marian d, 4
pan's pantry, 4
timothy miller, 6

Best art direction: 'Benjamin Button'

Louisiana-made movie gets its first win!

Contest score?
alex, 4
chris-brad, 5
chris lyon, 5
patrick, 2
marian d, 3
pan's pantry, 4
timothy miller, 5

So far, this is a great show

This is the first time in a long, long time that the show producers have delivered on a revitalized show. It plays really well to movie-lovers, on the one hand, and I think the casual viewer gets a little bit of infotainment with the behind-the-scenes award presentation style. Kind of like watching the DVD extras of the Oscars!

Best animated short: 'La Maison en Petits Cubes'

Contest score?
alex, 3
chris-brad, 4
chris lyon, 4
patrick, 1
marian d, 1
pan's pantry, 3
timothy miller, 4

chris lyon gets back in the game with best animated short! That was a big, big pick.

Best animated feature: 'WALL-E'

Contest score?
alex, 3
chris-brad, 4
chris lyon, 3
patrick, 1
marian d, 1
pan's pantry, 3
timothy miller, 4

'Slumdog Millionaire' wins best adapted screenplay

Contest score?
alex, 2
chris-brad, 3
chris lyon, 2
patrick, 0
marian d, 2
pan's pantry, 2
timothy miller, 3

The race is squaring up! c-b v. timothy miller. Very interesting.

'Milk' wins best original screenplay

Contest score?
alex, 1
chris-brad, 2
chris lyon, 1
patrick, 0
marian d, 1
pan's pantry, 1
timothy miller, 2

Penelope wins best supporting actress

And guess what? I'm already the underdog.

Contest score?

alex, 0

chris-brad, 1

chris lyon, 1

patrick, 0

marian d, 0

pan's pantry, 0

timothy miller, 1

I like the refreshed Oscar look

The curtain's up, and the stage looks way, way more fun than last year. Let's see of Hugh Jackman can have a little fun.

Oscar day has finally arrived

This morning, I'm powering up for the Oscars with a bagel and some last-minute surfing.

What's going to win best picture, and what deserves to win? I asked cinephile chris-brad to help answer that question in today's Times. Check out this article.

What films got left out of the nominations? Robinson Film Center's Chris Jay asked that question for this week's installment of "The Big Picture," a radio blog that broadcasts on Red River Radio on Friday afternoons. You can listen to Chris Jay talk to us by clicking on this MP3.

Have you entered your pics to compete in the LaMovBlog contest? You have until 6 p.m. (Central) to do so. Nominations are here. Just enter your predictions for what will win in the comments. What will you get if you win? A certificate that says you're "Keener than a Times reporter," like this one.

California gets tax credits

You didn't think the arms races over state tax incentives was serious? Well, OK, I know you did. The production tax credits for Michigan (up to 42 percent refundable tax credit) and Georgia (up to 30 percent transferable) are bigger than Louisiana's current 25 percent transferable credit.

But did you see that California got into the game yesterday? Check out this Los Angeles Times story, and the excerpt below:

The credits -- capped at $500 million over five years -- are modest compared with those offered by other states.

Still, the announcement was welcome news to many in Hollywood who were skeptical that the Legislature would help the entertainment industry given the enormousness of the task of plugging the state's $42-billion budget gap.

"We applaud the passage of this incentive, which will help make California competitive and not only save jobs that are being lost but generate much-needed revenue for the state," said a joint statement from Hollywood's actors and directors unions and the Motion Picture Assn. of America, which have been lobbying for the credits for a decade."

However modest California's credits are (or aren't, if you happen to get 'em), it's simply important to note this: yesterday, for the first time, the world's capital of film production officially acknowledged that tax credits are a really, really big deal.

What's more interesting to me about the Calif. legislation is that it focuses on low budget films ($1M to $10M) and relocating TV shows to California (up to 25%). Will they succeed? Time will tell.

Dozens of states offer tax credits, and Texas and Alabama are ones I'm currently getting up to speed (yet again) for a piece running March 8. You can be certain that La. lawmakers, lobbyists and industry pros are studying their legislation, and the successes of Georgia and Michigan. The state Legislature convenes April 27.

From what I'm learning, many in Louisiana want to push the production tax credit to 30 percent to remain competitive. Will the Leg do it? I don't know yet. But I'll learn much more about it in the coming days. In the meantime, if you have questions you'd like to have answered from city or state officials, lemme know.

Behind the scenes of 'The Last Lullaby': Opens in local theaters in May

'In the Electric Mist' debuts in New Iberia: Tommy Lee Jones v. Brenda's Dine In & Take Out?

I love honesty, and New Iberians shared tons of it last night with the Independent Weekly at a local premiere of "In the Electric Mist."

The Tommy Lee Jones project was made there and involved some Shreve-area crew and talent (you'll notice Pruitt Taylor Vince, who's in residency at LSUS right now). The movie will head straight to DVD after getting a one-week run in New Iberia beginning Feb. 20.

Here's one moviegoer wondering out loud, as quoted in the Independent:

"'You can tell it was a low budget movie,' says cane farmer Jackie Judice. 'Don’t get me wrong, I liked it. But I wonder why Tommy Lee Jones was in a movie going straight to DVD?'"

TLJ! The cane farmer challenged your street cred!

Here's an even funnier excerpt:

"Brenda Placide, who owns Brenda’s Dine In & Take Out on Pershing St. says Tommy Lee Jones ate at her place every day while he was filming. 'He liked the gumbo,' she says. 'He liked the barbecued ribs, the red beans and the crawfish etouffee.' When he was on location outside of New Iberia, he sent a driver over to pick up his lunch, Placide says. 'After the movie was over, he called me to make him some gumbo, so I sent it to him,' she adds. 'Then he called back and asked for the recipe, I sent that to him, and Tommy Lee Jones hasn’t called me any more.'

TLJ! Ya done stole Brenda's recipe! (Kind of.) What do you have to say for yourself?

"In the Electric Mist" will get its DVD release March 3.

Check out the full Independent Weekly story. Good stuff. And also check out the Variety review, and the trailer below.

Have you entered The Times' Oscar Contest? Better hurry ...

Our news website is featuring the The Times' Official Annual Oscars Contest. If you win, you get free stuff from the Robinson Film Center. You must complete this survey (click here) to enter!

Prizes are ...
1st place: One-year membership to Robinson Film Center, six free passes, a T-shirt, and concession and movie discounts for one year
2nd Place: six free RFC passes
3rd Place: four free RFC passes.

Entries are due 5 p.m. today (Feb. 18, 2009). (Which means "hurry!")

The contest open to adults 18 years of age or older at time of entry who reside in Northwest Louisiana/East Texas. One entry per person.

See complete official contest rules here.

NOTE: For those of you who have posted your picks on my informal blog contest, The Times's Oscar Contest is a completely separate deal. You must complete the survey, linked above, to win stuff.)

My Oscar predictions? Yeah, that's right. I gambled on WALL-E for sound

Will I lose in the annual contest against our resident Academy Award Psychic, chris-brad? You can bet on it (and I fault my shortcomings to my love of WALL-E and a fake endorsement from the Governator).

In the spirit of public punishment, here are my predictions. Please, please, please post your picks in the comments. If you need the list, click here.

Best Motion Picture of the Year
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler (2008)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Kate Winslet for The Reader (2008)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight (2008)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Taraji P. Henson for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

Best Achievement in Directing
Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Milk (2008): Dustin Lance Black

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
Slumdog Millionaire (2008): Simon Beaufoy

Best Achievement in Cinematography
Slumdog Millionaire (2008): Anthony Dod Mantle

Best Achievement in Editing
Slumdog Millionaire (2008): Chris Dickens

Best Achievement in Art Direction
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): Donald Graham Burt, Victor J. Zolfo

Best Achievement in Costume Design
The Duchess (2008): Michael O'Connor

Best Achievement in Makeup
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): Greg Cannom

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score
WALL·E (2008): Thomas Newman

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song
Slumdog Millionaire (2008): A.R. Rahman, Gulzar ("Jai Ho")

Best Achievement in Sound
WALL·E (2008)

Best Achievement in Sound Editing
The Dark Knight (2008)

Best Achievement in Visual Effects
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
WALL·E (2008)

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Vals Im Bashir (2008)(Israel)

Best Documentary, Features
Man on Wire (2008)

Best Documentary, Short Subjects
The Witness from the Balcony of Room 306

Best Short Film, Animated
Presto (2008): Doug Sweetland

Best Short Film, Live Action
Spielzeugland (2007)

PHOTO: Arnold Schwarzenegger at "T3" premiere in Berlin, 2003 (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber).

On tap for February

Here's the latest update from the state:

Welcome to (225) 342-FILM, the official hotline of Louisiana Entertainment. Here's what's happening for the second week of February 2009:

The Warner Bros. feature film "Jonah Hex" starring Josh Brolin is in pre-production in the New Orleans area with shooting scheduled from mid-April through the end of June. Resumes for crew and inquiries are being accepted by e-mail at jonahhexnola@gmail.com.

The Nu Image/Millennium feature film "The Expendables" starring Sylvester Stallone, Mickey Rourke and a host of others is in pre-production in Jefferson Parish and the New Orleans area with shooting scheduled for the this spring. Resumes for crew only and inquiries are being accepted by e-mail at theexpendablesmovie@gmail.com.

The independent feature film "Dead of Night" starring Brandon Routh is in pre-production in the New Orleans area with approximately seven weeks of principal photography scheduled to begin the first week of April. Crew resumes only are being accepted by e-mail at deadofnightcrewresumes@gmail.com.

The independent feature film "The Chameleon" starring Famke Jannsen and Ellen Barkin is shooting in Baton Rouge through March 6. Inquiries are being accepted by fax at (225) 610-1670 (no headshots please).

The Nu Image/Millennium feature film "Cool Dog" is in pre-production Shreveport with shooting scheduled from February 17 through mid-March. Resumes and inquiries are being accepted by e-mail at cooldogproductions@gmail.com.

The independent feature film "My Last Goodbye" will begin pre-production in the Lafayette area in February with ten weeks of shooting set to begin March 30. Resumes and headshots are being accepted by e-mail at wxartinc@gmail.com.

The independent feature film "American Gospel" is in development in the Baton Rouge with shooting scheduled for this spring and summer. Resumes are being accepted by e-mail at americangospel@gmail.com.

"Drill Deep: The Haynesville Shale Documentary" is in production throughout the Shreveport area through the end of February. Inquiries are being accepted by e-mail at GKallenberg@gmail.com.

The HBO television series pilot "Treme" is in pre-production in New Orleans with shooting scheduled for March 9th through 31st. Resumes for crew and inquiries are being accepted by email only at blowndeadlineprod@gmail.com. RPM Casting is working on the day player roles. Casting will begin in the next two weeks. They are looking for all ages, ethnicities and types. Please send a photo, resume and contact information to their office as soon as possible to: RPM Casting c/o ArtEgg Studios 1001 S. Broad Street New Orleans, LA 70125. For Treme's extras casting, please visit www.couloncasting.com or call (504) 569-0683.

The HBO television series "True Blood" starring Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer is in preproduction in the Baton Rouge area and will shoot portions of the series in Louisiana in April and June. Resumes and inquiries are being accepted by e-mail at truebloodbr@gmail.com.

The Disney Channel television series "The Imagination Movers" are in pre-production in Harahan with shooting scheduled to start in late March. Resumes for crew are being accepted by e-mail at imaginationmovers1@earthlink.net.

The Films in Motion feature film "Wrong Side of Town" starring Rob Van Dam and Batiste is shooting in Baton Rouge through Feb. 24. Resumes and inquiries are being accepted by e-mail at info@filmsinmotion.com.

Soft prep for the Bullet Films feature films "Jaws of the Mississippi,"
"Medusa," and "Wolf" will begin this month in Lafayette. Resumes and inquiries are being accepted by e-mail at jobs@bulletfilms.net.

The Most Wanted Films feature film "Video Girl" starring Meagan Good is in pre-production in Baton Rouge with shooting scheduled for February 18 through March 15. Inquiries are being accepted by e-mail at info@mostwantedfilms.com

And for more information about the film and television industry in Louisiana please visit us online at www.louisianaentertainment.gov.

I'm out for a week; press play for entertainment

Sorry folks, I'm out of the office until Feb. 16. For your classic YouTube entertainment, press play. If you have movie news, let Alisa Stingley know at astingley@gannett.com.

Incidentally, if you want to compete in a friendly Times Oscar Picks contest, send me your predictions in all categories (here's the list, just bold your choices) and a mugshot at akent@gannett.com. I'll respond Feb. 16. We'll feature you against me and more in a chart running Feb. 22 in our print edition. Fun stuff.

Val Kilmer is King of Bacchus

Mardi Gras is making out with Hollywoood, yet again. This year's King of Bacchus is Val Kilmer, who recently made Millennium Films' "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans" in the Big Easy. (He also did "Deja Vu" there.)

So why no King of Gemini? No King of Centaur? No Top Dog of Barkus & Meoux? No King of our Ark-La-Tex Mardi Gras? Kilmer, after all, shot a Millennium movie here this summer. ... Wait a minute. I get it. Theming a float as "Streets of Blood" might cause a wee bit o' panic for the family-friendly Ark-La-Texers.

That said, who would be the best Mardi Gras king for The Shreve? My vote is split between Harold and Kumar. Just think of the throws. Who would you vote for? Costner? Cube? Denzel? Sienna Miller? Josh Brolin? Jack Black?

Best actor contenders will slug it out on weekend screens

"The Wrestler" opens Friday at the Regal Cinemas Louisiana Boardwalk 14. Here's hoping that Mickey Rourke's comeback lives up to the hype, but methinks he has some serious competition on Oscar night. ...

"Milk" opens Friday at the Robinson Film Center. It's nearly impossible to bet against a great Sean Penn performance, especially when it's attached to a project that features a wealth of talent.

Which actor will bring home the Oscar for best actor? (Or are you predicting an upset?)

Benton's got buzz ... and bats ... and rats

"The Exterminators" debuts tonight at 9:30 on A&E. Judging by a review in The New York Times, the show's pretty entertaining: "Watching Mr. Bretherton get rid of snakes, bats, raccoons and other interlopers is both fun and enlightening; he dispenses interesting factoids about the various species as he works. And despite the skull in Vexcon’s logo, Mr. Bretherton proves to be an exterminator with a heart. He is more interested in relocating the animals than in killing them." Click here for the full review.

Local IMAX visits the home of Van Gogh for one-night only

The new IMAX film "Van Gogh: Brush with Genius" will be shown Thursday (Feb. 5) at Sci-Port: Louisiana's Science Center. Only members can attended the screenings at 4:30 p.m., 5:45 p.m. and 7 p.m.

You can make a reservation at (318) 424-8660, which must be done by noon Thursday.

Not a member? Sci-Port's offering a special trial membership -- at $30 a pop -- to help fill the seats. Get one by calling Judy Mitchell at (318) 424-8672.

What could be neat about this 40-minute is seeing where it was filmed. It was shot entirely on location in France and the Netherlands. (Shown here is a field at Auvers-sur-Oise.) The project is based on 900 of Van Gogh's personal letters and explores how the artist produced 700 paintings in just 10 years.

I'm now officially depressed about my productivity.

To round out the screenings, Sci-Port has invited five area artists -- Jerry Wray, Brandy Hedgecock, Zama Dexter, Mary Virginia Hill and Martha Martin -- to display their work and discuss Van Gogh's mastery. There will also be hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. (The latter should help anyone cope with productivity issues.)

These member screenings are your only chance to see this film in the near future, as it will not be opening for a public run at Sci-Port anytime soon.

'Year One' Super Bowl ad ...

Civil Rights video series debuts

Hey, y'all. Apologize for my recent LaMovBlog neglect, but I've been up to my eyebrows in Avid Express Pro. For a few weeks, we've been finalizing a video series called Civil Rights: Then & Now for The Times' website. It features eight interviews with local pioneers and current leaders. We hope the series provides a solid overview of the Civil Rights Movement in Shreveport.

Why did we do it?

For starters, we revisit these stories annually in the paper and thought it was time to showcase these subjects in their own voices. They have important stories to tell, and a permanent website will make them more accessible.

Secondly, our newsroom is fully aware of how new media technologies have transformed the media consumer. These videos might reach an audience we otherwise wouldn't.

Thirdly, and personally speaking, I just like video production. Getting a chance to help these subjects tell their stories is pretty rewarding. You'll here my voiceover on the Curtis Joseph Jr. video.

Unfortunately, the series doesn't qualify for the state's production tax credit! (I put a lot of Louisiana labor into it, dagnabbit.)

Check out the site when you get a chance. Let us know what you think.

Jeffrey Goodman blogs for Moviemaker

Local director Jeffrey Goodman is blogging for Moviemaker Magazine. He'll post weekly about his "Adventures in Self-Releasing" "The Last Lullaby." The movie was shot in the Shreve in early 2007. Since March 2008, Goodman has been touring it from festival to festival. In May, he'll begin releasing the movie to theaters.

For his Jan. 30 entry, Goodman writes: "My plan is to do a three- to 10-city theatrical run with the film. I’m not sure if this run will be financially successful or not. But it is my goal for it to be self-sustaining, at the very least.

"I only want to go into cities where I feel like 'The Last Lullaby' has an edge over most other movies. This edge will come from one of two places: Either we’ll go into a city because someone involved in the film is from there, or we’ll return to a city where we already had a successful festival."

To read the whole post and follow the blog, click here.

What did you think of the 'Year One' Super Bowl spot?

This isn't it, but it's pretty interesting to see a Shreve-made (or Sibley-made?) movie advertised on Super Bowl Sunday.