End credits

Greetings, LaMovBloggers:

I have some personal news to report. I’m leaving The Shreveport Times Oct. 20 and will miss covering the movie industry as a journalist. This blog has been one of my favorite projects. Whatever news and entertainment I’ve presented here has been fun to gather.

I deeply appreciate your contributions to LaMovBlog – be it as reader, commenter or source. I’ll especially miss being pummeled in the annual Oscar contest by Chris-Brad. Good times!

All of you have helped turn this little corner of the Web into a rewarding place. For that, I thank you kindly.

I’m not venturing far. Beginning Oct. 26, 2009, I will join the Robinson Film Center as the director of community outreach and a media educator. That means I will remain very involved in the local film industry.

Farewell for now. I’ll see you at the movies very soon.

Alexandyr

'I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell' taps Boardwalk

The Louisiana Boardwalk's Regal Cinemas will screen "I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell" this weekend. The movie, based on Tucker Max's bestselling book of the same name -- 1 million copies and counting -- was filmed in Shreveport in summer 2008. Lots of local talent participated, so I bet the Boardwalk should get some pretty healthy receipts.

You should be following the movie's self-release campaign and tour at Max's blog. The tour has been courting quite a bit of campus controversy.

Best coverage I've read is from the L.A. Times. Worth a look.

'Battle: Los Angeles' goes boom!

This morning, Times photographer Jim Hudelson captured the work of the movie's special effects team. Bye, bye vacant gas station.

You can check out Hudelson's time-lapse video here. Pretty neat.

When eight are better than one

minicine? has a really cool program tonight. It will present "Films for One to Eight Projectors" at 9 p.m. Cover is $5. 846 Texas Ave. in downtown Shreveport.

Here's a good blurb pulled from minicine's website: "A man after our own heart, Roger Beebe, will present his touring program, FILMS for ONE to EIGHT PROJECTORS. Beebe, a filmmaker and professor of Film and Media Studies at the University of Florida has screened his films around the globe including such unlikely places as McMurdo Station in Antartica and the CBS JumboTron in Times Square. And oddly, he has even been to Shreveport, and did so with us, literally in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. minicine? gladly welcomes Roger back to a less flooded, less desperate, less debris strewn Louisiana for this screening of his newest works.

"And we can’t wait to help him unpack his touring vehicle, as Roger will be bringing a bevy of projectors… His new work, the result of two years of experimentation, has evolved 'outta sorta a discovery' that occurred to him when he projected positive and negative prints of one of his films side-by-side for a kind of Frankensteinian cinemascope effect."

'The Last Lullaby' DVD on the way

A locally produced hit man drama is coming to DVD. "The Last Lullaby," starring Tom Sizemore and Sasha Alexander, is being released after a run through 18 festivals and a handful of American cities.

Director Jeffrey Goodman, a Shreveporter, will sign copies of the DVD Oct. 17 at Giuseppe's restaurant between 2 and 4 p.m. DVD is $20.

On Oct. 19, the film will be available at www.thelastlullaby.com for $20, plus shipping. Goodman is also trying to generate buzz by dangling a 20% discount carrot in front of online followers. Check here and here for details.

'Due Date' needs extras, cars for one-day shoot

UPDATE 3:29 p.m.: Just checked with City of Shreveport's Arlena Acree. She said the shoot will begin Sept. 30 but it could last longer than a single day. Expect day and night shoots. Additionally, she does not expect the cast to be there.

"Due Date" will film in The Shreve for one day Sept. 30.

The movie stars Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis and is directed by Todd Phillips.

The project is casting extras who can drive their own cars in the background. Cars and trucks must be in muted tones (no red, yellow, white or black) and can be any year, make or model.

The positions are paid.

If interested, register at Elizabeth Gabel Casting at www.egcasting.com. You can also get more info by emailing elizabeth@egcasting.com or calling (505) 227-2685.

Rod Lurie to host ‘Nothing But the Truth’ screening

Writer/director Rod Lurie will present a screening of "Nothing But the Truth" Sunday at the Robinson Film Center. The ripped-from-the-headlines thriller stars Kate Beckinsale as a Washington, D.C. reporter who faces prison time if she doesn't reveal the identity of a CIA source. Also stars Matt Dillon, Vera Farmiga, Angela Bassett and Alan Alda. Read some reviews here.

Lurie's credits include "The Contender" (Oscar nominations for Joan Allen and Jeff Bridges), "The Last Castle," "Resurrecting the Champ" and the TV series "Commander in Chief." He is currently in The Shreve directing "Straw Dogs" with Kate Bosworth, James Marsden, Alexander Skarsgård and James Woods.

A couple interesting factoids on Mr. Lurie, according to IMDb Pro:

Former movie critic for KABC Radio in Los Angeles.

Graduated from U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1984.

If you go

WHAT: screening of "Nothing but the Truth," Q&A with writer/director Rod Lurie.

WHEN: 7 p.m. Sunday (Sept. 27).

WHERE: Robinson Film Center, 617 Texas St., Shreveport.

COST: $6.75-$8.75. Tickets available at RFC's box office or (318) 459-4122.

'Unearthed' needs crew

Need a crew job? Then apply to "Unearthed."

Needed: second assistant director, production assistants, accountant and more.

The flick begins filming Sept. 30 in The Shreve's C. Bickham Dickson Park.

Send production coordinator Jennifer Williamson an email at unearthedproduction@me.com.

ASAP!

All hail the Mac?!

Love Macs? Hate iPods? Lust after the iPhone? Don't get the fanaticism? Check out "Welcome to Macintosh," which plays 7:05 p.m. Sept. 24 at the Robinson Film Center. The screening will be presented by the Shreveport Macintosh User Group.

The doc devles into all the history, reverence, geekdom and myths surrounding the Mac mystique.

As for myself, I'm a recent Mac convert. Totally get the fetishism for hardware design. Totally get how their owners feel their apps are more user-friendly and functional than PCs'. And guiltily, I sometimes find myself acting the Mac shill for my friends: "Why don't you get a Mac? It makes pancakes."

If you share my problems -- or want to laugh at local Macolytes for sport -- contact Sara Colvin at (318) 222-2522 or sara@maccentric.net to reserve a seat. The screening is free!

Singing robots? The future is here

As if we need another movie about animatronic rock gone viral! Oh, wait. “The Rock-afire Explosion” might be the first, and it screens 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Robinson Film Center.

Just talked to RFC’s Chris Jay and he said multiple subjects of the film, including collector Damon Breland, will be coming in for Q&As. As a bonus, there will be an appearance by a guy in a bear suit. (Not my Uncle Harry, incidentally.)

Backstory? There once was an animatronic rock band -- singing robots! -- at the Showbiz Pizza chain, and fans really dug ’em. So much, in fact, that a few fans purchased their rights then resurrected and reprogrammed them to do funny things with contemporary pop. Videos of the experiment are on YouTube. Check out the above Shakira clip.

A tad creepy.

Tickets available at (318) 459-4122. Two screenings only!

‘Unearthed’ needs extras

The feature film "Unearthed" is in preproduction and needs to book extras, says Ryan Glorioso of Glorioso Casting. Specifically needed:

• Males and females, ages 18 to 70
  
• Native American, Hispanic or multiethnic
  
• To play tribal warriors or "tribal types"
  

To register, click here.

Project will shoot for four weeks beginning Sept. 28.