ANOTHER TV SERIES is set in Chicago but, like Shameless, The Good Wife and Mike and Molly, is not being filmed in Chicago. The location is Toronto, which all too often substitutes for our town.
The family/cop drama, a genre beloved by TV networks and cable, follows policewoman Abby Kowalski (Rachael Carpani) who causes a rift with her three cop brothers when she decides to join the department’s Internal Affairs. It also stars Treat Williams and Kathy Baker. Universal Cable Productions is producing.
A FOX TV PILOT about Playboy magazine set in the 1960s is apparently underway, we hear, as location scouts look for high rises and other buildings of the Soaring Sixties. These locations would be in addition, of course, to the iconic Playboy mansion on North Dearborn Parkway and the former Playboy building at 919 N. Michigan.
A NEW FACE at Foundation Content is producer Adrienne Britzman, from The Mill in New York, who brings five-plus years in post and a background in visual effects.
BEHIND THE SCENES. Mayoral candidate Rahm Emanuel and his policy people have met with industry leaders to learn about the city’s film industry and all the room it has for improving revenues from Hollywood entertainment projects.
TWO UPCOMING SOCIAL EVENTS. The Colonie editorial boutique hosts a party Feb. 17 at its 676 N. Fairbanks facility. Clients and friends are invited to partake of food, drinks, music and the photography of Jim Krantz, the 2010 International Photographer of the Year.
You are invited to adman Ben Counts’ Oscar Party Feb. 27 at 6 p.m. at Viand, to watch the salute to the big screen on a big screen – a 12-ft. rear projection TV – while dining on a 3-course gourmet dinner specially priced at $25. To join the festivities, send Counts an Email at bcounts@CCFC.com and mention you saw it in the Reel.
A GLOWING REVIEW for director/producer John Davies and co-producer Reid Brody’s doc, Phunny Business, appeared in a review in The Hollywood Reporter. “Snappy editing and visual effects are at one with the breezy proceedings,” it said about the first black comedy club, All Jokes Aside, and how it launched the careers of many famous black comedians.
AT LAST, AFTER 3 YEARS of languishing in limbo without ever having achieved any distribution other than DVD, locally produced Of Men and Boys can finally be seen on Video on Demand.
This is the 2007-08 movie whose producer, the head of the for-profit Anointed Harvesters and sister of state Sen. Rickey Hendron, received a $1.08 million DCEO grant. The movie’s budget was $640,000.
NO LESS THAN 14 ORGANIZATIONS have united to present an intensive weekend workshop, Doing Your Doc: Diverse Visions, Regional Voice, Feb. 25-27 at the Instituto Cervantes, 31 W. Ohio. Leading this special 3-day event is internationally renowned speaker, Fernanda Rossi, author and consultant to more than 300 films.
The organizations that banded together for this event are NALIP, CPB, the NEA, Instituto Cervantes of Chicago, and the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, in association with IFP Chicago, WTTW, Latino Public Broadcasting, CAAM, ITVS, NBPC, PIC, NAPT, and Women Make Movies. http://www.nalip.org/nalip/NALIP-Programs-DYD.html
JULIAN GRANT, AWARD-WINNING FILMMAKER, Columbia College professor and consultant to Canadian film is the guest speaker at Women in Film’s Feb. 16 Student Lecture Series at Columbia College. His subject: Developing and Filming a No Budget Film.
More than 50 new members joined WIF during its annual Kick Off party last month, bringing the membership total to more than 250. Note to WIF program directors: How about a meeting exploring the reasons why women filmmakers are substantially decreasing in number?
THE NEW REEL is still getting organized as it we tweak it into perfection. Give us your opinion, what you do and don’t like, want to see more of or eliminated. And Email those news releases over to us, at Ruth@reelchicago.com.
