Category Archives: Film

Role of Arkansas in development of MLB focus of documentary at Clinton School

Posted on by

The-First-Boys-of-SpringTonight at 6pm at the Ron Robinson Theater, the Clinton School will screen the new documentary The First Boys of Spring. 

Beginning in 1886, baseball spring training was held for the first time, not in Florida or Arizona, but in the Arkansas resort town of Hot Springs, and that’s where the annual rite caught on. For parts of eight decades, many of the best who ever played the game, came to Hot Springs to shake off the rust from winters to prepare for long seasons ahead, with such teams as the Red Sox, Dodgers, and Pirates—and the Negro League’s Monarchs, Crawfords, and Grays.

The First Boys of Spring is a one-hour documentary by award-winning filmmaker Larry Foley, narrated by Academy Award-winner Billy Bob Thornton. The film tells stories of baseball Hall of Famers who worked out, gambled and partied in Hot Springs, including Cy Young, Satchel Paige, Honus Wagner and baseball’s first superstar, Mike “King” Kelly. A central figure is a young Babe Ruth, who belted a 573-foot home run into the Arkansas Alligator Farm in March of 1918, while trying to convince Boston Red Sox management to play him every day, even though he was already the game’s dominant pitcher.

The First Boys of Spring is made possible by Visit Hot Springs, Arkansas Humanities Council, University of Arkansas, Munro Foundation, Morris Foundation, The Arlington Hotel Resort Hotel and Spa and the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

 

Creative Class of 2015: Warren McCullough

Posted on by

warren mcActor,  acting teacher and photographer, Warren McCullough spent his early career in Los Angeles where he starred in national TV commercials such as Jaguar, Bud Light, Natural Light, Zicam and GoodYear. He has worked alongside stars such as Jennifer Lopez, Molly Sims and Steve Carell.

He has acted in over twenty films, dozens of plays and has appeared on The Chelsea Handler Show and on the pages of Glamour, Blender and People magazines. He worked on television sets such as E.R., Entourage, Crossing Jordan, and The Young & The Restless and also movie sets such as He’s Just Not That Into You and Yes, Man.

Warren was recently nominated for Best Actor for his leading role in the film “The God Particle” which was one of only twenty films to be selected to the prestigious Louisiana Film Prize Film Festival.

Warren grew up in Thayer, MO, and Salem, AR, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in theater from Lyon College in Batesville, AR .

THE LOOK OF SILENCE tonight at the CALS Ron Robinson Theater

Posted on by

RRT Look SilenceTonight at 8pm at the CALS Ron Robinson Theatre, The Look of Silence will be shown.  The film is Joshua Oppenheimer’s powerful companion piece to the Oscar®-nominated The Act Of Killing.

Through Oppenheimer’s footage of perpetrators of the 1965 Indonesian genocide, a family of survivors discovers how their son was murdered, as well as the identities of the killers. The documentary focuses on the youngest son, an optometrist named Adi, who decides to break the suffocating spell of submission and terror by doing something unimaginable in a society where the murderers remain in power: he confronts the men who killed his brother and, while testing their eyesight, asks them to accept responsibility for their actions. This unprecedented film initiates and bears witness to the collapse of fifty years of silence.

The film is rated PG-13. Admission is $5.

Ron Robinson Theater showing The Tale of the Princess Kaguya this afternoon

Posted on by

RRT Tale PrincessThe Tale of the Princess Kaguya was nominated for Best Animated Feature earlier this year at the Oscars.

Found inside a shining stalk of bamboo by an old bamboo cutter and his wife, a tiny girl grows rapidly into an exquisite young lady. The mysterious young princess enthralls all who encounter her – but ultimately she must confront her fate, the punishment for her crime

An international cast of actors voice the characters in this film including James Caan, Darren Criss, Lucy Liu, Beau Bridges, Dean Cain, Oliver Platt, James Marsden and Oscar winner Mary Steenburgen.

It screens this afternoon at 2pm at the Ron Robinson Theater.  Admission is $5 with concessions available for purchase.

This is part of the Kid Flix series.

Musical Legacy of Sister Rosetta Tharpe celebrated tonight by Arkansas Sounds, AETN at CALS Ron Robinson Theater

Posted on by

sister_rosettaTonight at 7pm at the CALS Ron Robinson Theater, Arkansas Sounds presents a detailed look at the life of Sister Rosetta Tharpe with a screening of The Godmother of Rock and Roll and a tribute mini-concert of her songs.

Arkansas native Rosetta Nubin Tharpe (Sister Rosetta Tharpe) was one of gospel music’s first superstars, the first gospel performer to record for a major record label (Decca), and one of the first artists to cross over from gospel to secular music. Tharpe has been cited as an influence by numerous musicians, including Bob Dylan, Little Richard, Elvis Presley, and Arkansan Johnny Cash.

In partnership with AETN, Arkansas Sounds will celebrate the 100th anniversary of her birth with a screening of the PBS American Masters documentary The Godmother of Rock and Roll, followed by a musical tribute performance of her songs.

Free movie tonight at MacArthur Museum of Ark. Military History – Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq

Posted on by

MacMus IraqIn partnership with AETN, the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History will host a screening of the documentary Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq. The screening starts at 6:30pm tonight at the museum in MacArthur Park.

Free admission. Free popcorn and beverages provided.

From executive producer James Gandolfini, this 2007 HBO documentary about wounded soldiers surveys the physical and emotional costs of war through memories of their “alive day,” the day they narrowly escaped death in Iraq. In a war that has left more than 27,000 wounded, Alive Day Memories looks at a new generation of veterans.

*Disclaimer: This documentary features adult language and adult content. Parental discretion is advised.

The MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History is a program of the City of Little Rock’s Parks and Recreation Department.

Creative Class of 2015: Graham Gordy

Posted on by
Photo by Nancy Nolan

Photo by Nancy Nolan

From his days as a child actor on Little Rock stages to creator and writer of the upcoming Quarry on Cinemax, Graham Gordy has had a varied career in the performing arts.

After his start as an actor, he transitioned to writing while in Los Angeles working with the Groundlings. Though he still makes occasional appearances as an actor (including a stint kissing Reese Witherspoon’s neck in the Jeff Nichols film Mud), the focus of his career now is writing.

His plays have been performed in New York, but it is his work for film and television that has brought him the widest acclaim.  He was screenwriter for War Eagle and The Love Guru. In 2013, he wrote episodes of the Sundance series Rectify.

Gordy is currently at work on the Cinemax series Quarry.  It is set to premiere in 2016, after Cinemax picked it up for a whole season.  Filming took place earlier this year.

When not shooting on location, or doing “industry work” on the coasts, Gordy can often be found out and about in Central Arkansas supporting the local film and arts scene.