Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
Stephen King fans already know what a Dollar Baby is, but for those of you who don’t, King is a remarkably generous guy. He’s rich enough from all the times Hollywood has bought and fucked up his movies that he can afford to give young filmmakers a chance to make labors of love. He allows them to option the rights to his stories for $1, and in many cases, the films that result are passionate and fascinating. When I first met Frank Darabont back in ’91, the thing that we talked about was his short film, THE WOMAN IN THE ROOM. That’s the thing I knew him from, more than THE BLOB or NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET or even YOUNG INDIANA JONES. It was the first time Darabont ever adapted one of King’s works, and look where that relationship has gone since.
Anyway... check this out:
Harry and co...
I'd like to invite Aintitcool to the 1st Annual Dollar Baby Film Fest to be held at King's alma matter in late September. Not many people realize this, but King has given the rights for his short stories to aspiring filmmakers for the low-low price of $1, beginning with Frank Darabont's "The Woman in the Room" in 1984. Until now, these adaptations have not been easily available to the public. Here's a recent press release:
"The University of Maine at Orono is the venue for the 1st Annual Dollar Baby Film Festival. The screening will take place at 7PM on September 25th in the Corbett Business Building's 300+ seat theater. The event will include 2hrs worth of rarely-seen adaptations of King's works and a Q&A with directors following. Tickets will be $5 at the door. The money will be donated to the Wavedancer Foundation, to support artists injured in accidents. These are on sale the night of the show. First come, first serve. No reservations, so please don't bug the nice people at the U of Maine with requests. So, mark your calendars. We'll see you there.
P.S. Directors interested in submitting their film should contact me asap right here."
Many of these directors have responded, and the shorts vary from god-aweful to quite wonderful. This will also be the first time anywhere that my Dollar Baby, "All That You Love Will Be Carried Away" is screened. It stars Joe Bob Briggs and Harvey Pekar. Hope to see some of you there! I’ll keep you updated. I expect it to have some exciting announcements as the date draws closer.
-James Renner
Thanks, James, and good luck with the screening. It sounds like a great night for all the filmmakers involved, and if you’re in the area, it should definitely be worth checking out.
"Moriarty" out.
