And then there’s this…

June 28, 2010 — GraceKathryn

Yet again I was aired on TV at 5am. This was at the deadCENTER OKCMOA Rooftop party on Thursday night just before we saw 8: The Mormon Proposition. After they stopped filming, me and the boom mic shared a special moment together in the elevator.

This video also features “Boonee” aka “Bunny” aka Bunee Tomlinson, up and coming young Okie filmmaker. I was impressed with his short film Safe at last year’s deadCENTER, and I look forward to seeing what he does in the future.

Now if only Lucas Ross would stop lying about the $500 he owes me…

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Museums, Mormons, Gays, and Iguanas

June 11, 2010 — GraceKathryn

Day 2 of deadCENTER began with the Oklahoma City Museum of Art rooftop party. Once again it was hot and humid, and once again I had a blast. Oh yeah, and more Stella. I really approved of this:

After I mingled with strangers, friends, and Two Movie Guys (Lucas says I owe him $500… I remember it the other way around), we headed on over to the Kerr Auditorium for the screening of 8: The Mormon Proposition.

The film was aptly titled. Before the film, I had not realized just how much the Latter Day Saints church had been directly involved in the passage of Proposition 8 in California, which simply added these few words to the California constitution: “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” According to the film, only 2% of the population of California is Mormon, yet 71% of the monetary contributions toward the passage of Proposition 8 can be traced back to members of the LDS church and to the church’s finances directly. During the final week of the campaign to pass the Proposition, $5M in contributions came in via out-of-state sources, and specifically from Salt Lake City alone (Mormon headquarters). In order to pass a ballot issue in California, it was said, you need three things: money, volunteers, and a message. The LDS church had all three in abundance. With very minor assistance from a coalition of other (mostly religious) groups, they were successful in getting the Proposition passed.

As the film continually emphasized, the campaign for marriage equality has always been about people rather than politics and money. Laws have implications on real people who are trying to live their lives in the best way they can. The most heartbreaking part of the film were the details of numerous suicides by gay Mormons. One young gay man, feeling he had no one to turn to and was even hated by his family, even killed himself with a bullet to the head at a Mormon temple. Apparently Utah has one of the highest suicide rates in this country, and it has an even higher rate than most other countries in the world. The filmmakers used this statistic to imply that the high suicide rate is because of the alienation experienced by gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transsexual Mormons due to actions by their families and the church. I would need to see more solid research rather than anecdotal evidence before I could accept that particular hypothesis, but it is definitely the case that many young gay people have killed themselves and are continuing to do so because of the hate expressed to them by the Mormon church.

One of the Mormon apostles/prophets quoted in the film stated that, “the face of sin bears the mask of tolerance” and the preservation of the traditional (i.e. 1 man, wive/wives, children) family is “a core principle upon which the Gospel of Jesus Christ is based.” Being a Christian myself, the last time I checked, the core principles upon which the Gospel of Jesus Christ is based are forgiveness and redemption. The Gospel is about Christ’s sacrificial atonement for the sins of the world because of the deep love of God… Last time I checked there was nothing in the core principles of the Gospel about the preservation of the “traditional” family, whatever that means (a “traditional” family excludes childless married straight couples as well, as a friend has very eloquently pointed out). But what do I know, anyway?

After the Proposition 8 documentary, we headed over to the Iguana Lounge for some more drinkin’ and talkin’. As is always the case with Iguana, the food and drinks were fantastic! I’m about to head over to Iguana again right now for the Friday night Oklahoma Film & Music party. After that, it’s on to see Simmons on Vinyl and later the Midnight Shorts. Cheers!

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Kickoff Night

June 11, 2010 — GraceKathryn

My first thought after walking into the opening night kickoff party at TAP Architecture on Thursday night was, “Dangit! No cuppies!” My second thought was, “Shup up you whiny baby! There’s Stella Artois and hummus! Yay!” Just like last year, the free outdoor opening night screening and party were lots of fun, and this year the big event was complete with BMX bikers, Rollergirls, and… a karaoke cowboy (WTF?).

While I still don’t find the subject matter (BMX biking) to be terribly inherently interesting, The Birth of Big Air turned out to be a solidly entertaining documentary. Mat Hoffman, in his interviews throughout the film and during the Q&A afterward, came off as quite a likable guy. It really is amazing what Hoffman was able to accomplish, using his creativity and innovativeness to push the boundaries further and further of just how high it is possible to jump using a BMX bike on a vert ramp. Hoffman even came up with the idea of having a motorcycler pull his bike in order to gain enough momentum to make well over 20′ jumps. His body has paid the price, with a busted spleen and so many broken bones and surgeries I can’t even remember. It makes sense to me now why I had always heard the guy called one of Oklahoma’s “hometown hero” celebrities. He even tried to break records while flying an Oklahoma flag at the top of his ramp, and sported an Okie flag t-shirt during his appearance on Thursday night.

The highlight of the evening for me was, of course, seeing Spike Jonze in the flesh while he introduced the movie and stuck around for the Q&A. Even better than that was one of the questions from an emotional girl in the audience who declared her love for Jonze and stated that his movie Adaptation had changed her life. It was just the kind of honest moment I love to experience at these kind of events. It was simply adorable. She almost brought tears to my eyes.

Jonze talking about how cool Hoffman is. Hoffman trying to look bashful.

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Bring it!

June 8, 2010 — GraceKathryn

deadCENTER 2010!!!!! Coming to your very own Oklahoma City beginning tomorrow. I couldn’t be more excited, especially now that Spike Jonze has been confirmed to attend the opening night fundraiser! While I am not personally planning on shelling out the bucks to attend the ‘REDcenter Lounge‘ fundraiser kickoff Jonze is confirmed to attend, I will be at the All-Access Kick-Off Party, the free Kick-Off Street Party on Broadway, and the opening night (free to the public) screening of The Birth of Big Air, which Jonze co-produced with Johnny Knoxville (of Jackass fame). The Birth of Big Air is a documentary about BMX biker Mat Hoffman, who hails from Oklahoma, and who supposedly gave birth to “Big Air” by pushing the bound of gravity on the vert ramp. Hoffman will be in attendance at the screening tomorrow night as well. However, being more of a film buff than an extreme sports fan, I’m mostly crossing my fingers that Jonze will stick around and grace us Oklahomies with his presence at a Q&A following the screening. It will be interesting to see Hoffman’s story, however. Growing up in Oklahoma I had always heard about him as one of our “hometown celebrities”.

My tentative schedule for the rest of the festival has been mostly solidified; But as always, it’s subject to change based on peer pressure, whims, or exhaustion. My downtown hotel room will be a nice oasis in the case of the third contingency. Looking at the schedule, there are quite a few films I’ll be upset if I miss, but we’ll see how it goes. Here’s what I’m most looking forward to:

8: The Mormon Proposition: Mormons! Gay marriage! Prop 8! What more fascinating subject matter could there be? Knowing quite a few Mormons personally, I am very interested to find out just how the LDS church was involved in the campaign for and passage of Proposition 8 in California. I will freely admit that I am not the most unbiased of people when it comes to the beliefs of the Mormon church, but I am curious to see whether this documentary really is as even-handed as it claims to be. The deadCENTER summary states that the film “is careful not to succumb to emotional rant but chooses instead well-researched data and a range of interviews with politicians.” The film screens twice during the festival but I plan to see it Thursday night at the Kerr Auditorium.

Heart of Now: This seems like just the kind of drama that I would love. According to the synopsis, “HEART OF NOW is a quiet and understated debut feature that explores the inclination to define ourselves by the people who leave us.” This film screens Friday afternoon at 2:00, and I really hope I’m not called in to work that day (I had to agree to be “on call” for Friday. Ugh.) Zak Forsman, the director, is scheduled to be in attendance, as is the lead actress and music director.

Simmons on Vinyl: According to the author of this article, Simmons on Vinyl is fantastic! And I’m going to take his word for it. Surely he’s not biased … Wait … He’s the director of the film, you say? Oh … Well, at any rate, I’m always excited to see anything Singletree Productions comes out with. Mark Potts, Cole Selix, and Brand Rackley have a wonderful ability to make me laugh my ass off. And I like to laugh my ass off. Singletree Productions has another film screening this year during the Comedy Shorts as well, The Bedazzler.

I’m pretty excited about quite a few of the short films screening this year too, including Blastula: The Making of Embryonic (the Flaming Lips, yay!!!), and Mr. Hypnotism. I always enjoy short films, and some of the Comedy Shorts last year were my favorite films of the entire fest.

Only one more day, people. My only wish is that Cuppies and Joe will sponsor the Kick-Off Party again so I can eat my fill of Vanilla Sky cupcakes (or as I call them, my addiction). It would also be nice if the little rapping Wimgo guys from last year would perform at one of the parties. (Please, please please!!!)

I’ll see you all tomorrow night. I’ll be the one drinking the Stella Artois. Oh, wait…

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deadCENTER 2010… Comin’ up!

May 24, 2010 — GraceKathryn

It’s coming, and soon: deadCENTER Film Festival 2010. Last year was my first time to go to deadCENTER, and I had a fantastic time. As a self-professed film nerd it was just what I needed to start the summer off proper, and I can’t wait for the festival this year. I booked a swank hotel room in downtown OKC for Thurs, Fri, and Sat nights so I will be right in the heart of the action (plus it will be amazing to not have to drive home each night – That was the worst part of last year). Last year I blogged throughout the festival and I’ll be doing it again this year.

I’ve had fun making my pre-preliminary schedule, which I will solidify further as it gets closer to the big event and I hear a little more buzz about the films. Until then, I’ll just be counting down the days… Just 16 to go until mini-vacation of delight.

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