'A Thousand Cuts' Movie Delivers Thrills at PS Film Fest

The Palm Springs International Film Festival last night showcased a new suspense thriller 'A Thousand Cuts' with a premier screening at the Annenberg Theatre in Palm Springs. A Thousand Cuts (ATC) is the latest film project by Kim and Kim Productions, a Palm Springs based production studio. With a story brilliantly written and directed by Charles Evered, Executive Producer Jim Casey and Producer Kim Waltrip assembled an impressive cast that brought the screenplay to life in vivid reality. Academy Award nominee Michael O'Keefe and Michael A. Newcomer lead a cast that includes Olysa Rulin, Jimmy Van Patten, David Naughton, Joshua Fardon and a cameo appearance by Madi Goff.

'A Thousand Cuts' is a high-suspense psychological thriller about a strange guy who crashes the party of a Hollywood horror director, with a warped determination to teach him what it is like to live horror and experience terror--personally. While the film has a few squeamish scenes intended to titillate horror fans, this is primarily a suspense film that leaves you on the edge of your seat through most of the movie. The cleverly written storyline pulls you in like a tractor beam. A party scene at the home of Lance (Newcomer) defines the world in which he lives, and becomes an important backdrop for later in the film when he questions what is important in life.
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Frank, the stranger (O'Keefe) who crashes the party slips in unnoticed and tampers with the power, covering the house in darkness several times, which forces everyone to exit, leaving Lance home alone where Frank has the opportunity to unleash a rage of pent-up revenge. Olysa Rulin plays Lance's sister Melanie, whose character is off screen for much of the high tension moments but is at the very center of the fear that is so deftly delivered. The fate of Melanie is of high interest to the viewer, and Rulin does not disappoint. The suspense filled plot is so well done that I found my own imagination racing ahead trying to imagine what would come next, almost to comfort myself and release fear of the unknown. The timing of this film is excellent, raising tensions just long enough to bring the viewer leaning forward in their seat, and relaxing long enough to ease your mind to catch you off guard for the next scene.

During Q&A time after the screening, Producer Kim  Waltrip explained that ATC was filmed entirely here in the Palm Springs area in just ten days. The cast spoke of the intensity  of the production schedule and working in limited set space. The entire film is set in one house, primarily in a few rooms. This Independent film production has a major production feel but includes a few clever winks to the audience; a movie poster in Lance's office for "I Didn't Come Here to Die" is more than a set prop, it was a nod to the last film from Producers Waltrip and Casey.

After the screening, when the cast and crew assembled on stage to discuss the film. Writer/Director Charles "Chuck" Evered answers questions along with cast members including Michael A. Newcomer, Michael O'Keefe and Jimmy Van Patten. A Thousand Cuts is masterfully presented and offers sheer delight to fans of the suspense thriller genre.

Glitz & Glamour at Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala

Awards Main Stage Set backdrop

Last night I attended the Awards Gala for the Palm Springs International Film Festival. Our festival runs for 12 days showing 188 films from 73 countries, which makes it truly an International showcase for Independent Films around the globe. 

in the limo headed to the Awards Gala

"Entertainer" statuette

The Gala is always held before the major awards events start and are viewed by insiders as precursors to who will win (Golden Globes, Oscars, SAG Awards). Many of prior year award recipients went on to win an Oscar at the Academy Awards.

...a media frenzy...

As I've written previously, Palm Springs remains a popular getaway destination among the Hollywood set. Actors, directors, writers, studio execs, etc continue to flock to our fair desert city to relax in the sun. Many maintain second homes here, or quietly take a house for the season. 

on the red carpet

The Palm Springs Film Festival is important to Hollywood because the studios and especially independent filmmakers and distributors need to build buzz around their projects and get noticed. Major stars, directors and studio executives  come to the desert to pick up an award or two. 

Glenn Close

This year, at our Awards Gala, eleven stars received awards, including George Clooney, Octavia Spencer, Glenn Close, Brad Pitt, Gary Oldman, Jessica Chastain and the creative ensemble of "Young Adult" including director Jason Reitman, writer Diablo Cody, Charlize Theron and Patton Oswalt. Also honored were directors Stephen Daldry and Michel Hazanavicius, and music composer Howard Shore. 

Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt

For celeb watchers, there were loads of other major celebrities who attended the awards gala last night. As the doors of sparkling stretch limos opened, a series of stars emerged including Angela Jolie, Tom Hanks, Jonah Hill, Al Pacino, Adrien Brody, Olivia Wilde, Melissa McCarthy, Shailene Woodley, Jeff Goldbloom, Jerry Weintraub and Judy Greer. Revelers young and old alike were not disappointed. 

George Clooney signs autographs

Palm Springs truly had a lot of glamour and glitz last night. Most of the time when celebrities are in town, they are here relaxing, incognito, and not walking red carpets, so this evening is a big deal even for a town that sees A-list celebs every day. Here are a few photos of inside the Awards Gala, to give you a sense of the evening's glamour:

Glamour and Glitz for sure

The inside of the Awards Gala was set up to have a big Hollywood Awards feel. Dramatic lighting, spotlights, and huge screens hovered over a large stage before an audience of 1,900 people attending the black tie affair.

Purple tulip centerpieces

Each table had a beautifully lighted floral centerpiece of purple tulips. The tables were set with purple table cloths and chair-covers. Lovely glass napkin rings with a large purple butterfly put an interesting accent on each place-setting. Penfolds is a major sponsor of the event, providing wine at each table, in addition to their sponsorship of the festival this year.

the bar were elegantly decorated

At the back of the room, were a number of bars set up, elegantly decorated with fresh purple tulips illuminated with dramatic lighting. It perfectly punctuated the watering hole for thirsty guests!

Enjoying a martini

It is hard for me to resist an ice cold vodka martini at these events. They always seem to taste better when wearing a tux. I limited myself to just one for the evening, as I knew it would be a long night of mixing, mingling and long acceptance speeches. Being a black tie affair, everyone was well dressed and in their season's best. I haven't seen so many diamonds in one place since I had been  in a Cartier store in New York!
OK, now for a series of photos of the awards ceremony. These are photos of various celebs as they are on stage giving remarks.

Brad Pitt: Desert Palm Achievement Award

George Clooney: Chairman's Award

Glenn Close: Career Achievement Award

Jessica Chastain: Spotlight Award

Kenneth Brannaugh introduces Michelle Williams

Melissa McCarthy introduces Octavia Spencer

Michelle Williams: Desert Palm Achievement Award

Octavia Spencer: Breakthrough Award

Tom Hanks and Thomas Horn

AFTER PARTY PICS: the dance floor was packed

AFTER PARTY PICS: the cheese table was amazing

AFTER PARTY PICS: Dessert Table: Chocolate goodies!

AFTER PARTY PICS: Lithographs of award recipients

Here are a few photos of the after party. Aside from all the celebrity focus, I hope you enjoyed my recap of the 2012 Awards Gala. It was a lot of fun, and a real treat. 










































Most important however is that the Palm Springs Film Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting independent film making, particularly here in the Palm Springs area. If you are an aspiring writer, director, producer, actor, etc know that the Palm Springs Film Society is a friend to you. Support your local film festivals, to help them thrive and continue to fund projects. You may also see a film or two that might stimulate your mind a bit.

Opening Night Film at the Palm Springs International Film Festival

2012 poster from psfilmfest.org

Our fair desert city of Palm Springs continues to be a mecca for the Hollywood elite, film industry moguls... and hopefuls. As The Palm Springs Savant, I try to provide some coverage here and on my radio show about it all. The 23rd Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival kicked off last night with an Opening Night screening of the Brit film 'Salmon Fishing in the Yemen'. The Palm Springs International Film Festival is one of the three largest events of its kind in North America, and one of the most important--if not THE most important film festivals in the US. 

logo from psfilmfest.org

Founded by former Congressman/Mayor/Entertainer Sonny Bono, today the Festival has become an important stop on for the entertainment industry before the Major Award season in Hollywood, including the Golden Globe Awards, Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards and the Academy Awards (Oscars).

On the Red Carpet

In addition to tall the glitz and glamor that a film festival can bring, it is also an important vehicle for upcoming film professionals, and especially independent film makers, of which I am particularly passionate. This year, our film festival team viewed 3,000 films, and from the pool of submissions selected 188 films for inclusion in this year's festival. Our festival is also important for women directors to be featured, which sadly are still a minority across the film industry. The Palm Springs Film Fest is also known for our wide variety of foreign films featured. For all these reasons--and more, this is a major event in the entertainment industry. Saturday's Awards Gala will be star studded and full of glamor; I'll be tweeting live from the event if you want to follow, just search Twitter for #PSIFF for all the stream of Tweets under my handle: @RickRockhill.

The Festival's Opening Night film 'Salmon Fishing in the Yemen' is a British comedy based on the novel by Paul Torday. The film was directed by Lasse Hallström and produced by Paul Webster stars Kristin Scott Thomas, Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt and Amr Waked. Originally financed in part by the UK Film Council, and BBC Films the film is distributed by CBS Films and Lionsgate. The story focuses on three primary characters, Fred (McGregor), an uptight civil servant in Her Majesty's Government Fisheries Department, a fishing obsessed Arab Sheik (Waked) and Harriet (Blunt) a financial company representative to the Sheik. 

my tickets to the opening night

The basic plot of the story is that the Sheik wants to bring the sport of Salmon Fishing to his home country (Yemen) and introduce wild salmon so he can fish at home. A few sub plots develop as the main characters sort through their own lives, initial ambivalence to the project and then immerse themselves to making a theoretical possibility come to fruition. 

in the theater opening night

While the story can be somewhat formulaic and slightly predictable at times, I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Several themes are nicely woven through the film, such as personal responsibility, faith, motivation, and respect for other cultures, the entire film can be viewed as a metaphor for the West's miscalculation for our involvement in various Middle East conflicts. 

Actress Emily Blunt on the Red Carpet in Palm Springs

While not a judgment, it dangles the thought in the viewers mind of "what if" we had not made certain assumptions, or "what if" we had taken a different approach. Of particular note is the Sheik's own realizations and lessons learned from his dream. Quite telling. McGregor, Blunt, Waked, all gave wonderful performances; in my view Ewan McGregor's was stand out. I thoroughly enjoyed Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, and recommend it!
Meanwhile, following the film, I attended the Opening Night Gala held at the Palm Springs Art Museum, one of my favorite places in the desert.  As a festival sponsor, and the official car of the Palm Springs International Film Festival, Mercedes-Benz had this gorgeous car parked out in front of the museum, greeting guests to the Gala.

Mercedes-Benz is the official car of the Festival

Twitter Feed for #PSIFF hashtag

Without its sponsors, the Palm Springs Film Festival could not happen. We are grateful to all the sponsors who support through funds, services, goods or PR to make it all come to life each year.

Meanwhile, throughout the evening I was busy reporting live from the event, Tweeting from the Red Carpet, after the film and at the Gala Reception. You can see a snapshot of the Twitter Feed on the Desert Sun website. It was great to kick things off and let others follow along what was happening. 

Fantastic food at the Museum Post Film Gala

Local Palm Springs restaurant Spencer's catered the food for the evening, which was excellent. Spencer's is owned by Festival Chairman Harold Matzner, a great local philanthropist who lives here in the Coachella Valley.

with Producer Kim Waltrip

It is always nice to spend time with the amazing Kim Waltrip, a Palm Springs-based Hollywood film Producer. She is quite talented and a very busy lady too. Next Thursday, January 12th, one of her films 'A Thousand Cuts' will be shown in the Festival (more on that next week). Come back again for more coverage of the Palm Springs Film Festival. 

Film Fest Penfolds Reception & Dinner at The Riviera

Film Festival events are well underway, adding some glamor and fun to the impressive line up of films being screened over the next two weeks. Last night I attended the Penfolds reception held at the legendary Riviera Resort. I arrived early, along with the team making sure everything was ready-set-go for the evening. The special red carpet was in place and ready to greet celebrities and filmmakers like. Penfolds featured several of their terrific wines, so naturally I felt compelled to conduct a tasting of them all. They certainly offer a nice variety of reds- their Cabernet Sauvignon Shirz was my favorite, although I do not recall the vintage. Penfolds added to the status and class of the evening, I think it was a great fit. 

Anyway, I attended the cast dinner party for an upcoming Independent film called "A Thousand Cuts", which was filmed here in Palm Springs. A Thousand Cuts is a psychological thriller about a vengeful father who hunts down the Hollywood director whom he believes made a film that inspired the murder of his daughter. Executive Producers are Palm Springs' own Wonderstar Productions and J&J Productions, and was produced by Audrey Loggia (photo below). 'Cuts' was directed by Charles Evered, written by Eric Barr and Marty James, it stars Michael O'Keefe, Oleysia Rulin, Michael A Newcomer, Jimmy Van Patten and Charleen Closshey who were at the dinner party at the Riviera.

Producer Audrey Loggia and actor Robert Loggia on the red carpet

 

Enjoying my usual martini during all the madness.

Its always interesting watching the photographers going wild with their cameras, all vying for "THE PHOTO" of the night. I stood back and observed the frenzy and snapped a few photos of my own. In this photo here are: Executive Producer Kim Waltrip, actor Michael A. Newcomer, actor/writer/producer Jimmy Van Patten, actor David Naughton, Executive Producer Jim Casey, all from their latest project "A Thousand Cuts" 

A legend in her own right, the enchanting Miss Diahann Carroll, singer, actress and trailblazer in Hollywood. I had a lovely chat over dinner with Miss Carroll, she is to be inducted into the Television Academy of Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame on January 20th. I'll be at that event in Hollywood so I hope to write about that evening here on my blog. Diahann Carroll is a class act, one whom other modern day performers would do well to emulate. Alas, there are few true entertainers today who can compare to the generation of Miss Carroll. 
It was a fun evening, but just a warm up to the big star-studded Film Festival Awards Gala Saturday night...so stay tuned for more.
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World Premiere of "Expecting Mary" at the Palm Springs Film Fest

Last nightI attended the world premiere screening of the new film "Expecting Mary", featured at the Palm Springs International Film Fest. Expecting Mary is an independent film with close ties to Palm Springs. Written and directed by Dan Gordon, the Producer was Kim Waltrip and the Executive Producer was Jim Casey, both residents of Palm Springs. Expecting Mary is the story of a young well-to do girl who finds herself pregnant and runs away from him. While hitch-hiking across country, she ends up in a small New Mexico town, in a downtrodden trailer park for a few days. There, in this unlikely place she learns the real meaning of family, friends, and love. It is a wonderful story with lots of genuine laughs, emotional and touching moments and a strong story line. An incredible cast brings the story to life. Linda Gray plays Darnella, a sort of washed up Vegas showgirl, Cloris Leachman is hilarious as Annie, an aged neighbor in the trailer park who raises and cares for pigs. Olesya Rulin (of High School Musical fame) plays young Mary, Elliot Gould is a polka-loving truck driver, Cybill Shepherd is the snobby mother of Mary, Della Reese is the owner of the dumpy trailer park and is hysterical. Lainie Kazan plays Lillian Littlefeather, the last of an Indian tribe who owns a tiny casino, Gene Simmons is Mary's aging rock-star father and Fred Willard is a has-been Vegas agent whose clients are all of the by-gone era. There is a really hilarious scene when a crazed Cybill Shepherd arrives at a small local airport and interacts with the baggage handler, gate agent, and rental car clerk (all the same person, but just changes a hat or jacket). It was a very well done scene with perfect comedic timing. Several cast members were on hand for the premiere, including Linda Gray, Cloris Leachman, Olesya Rulin and Teresa Ganzel (see photo above).

above: at the after party, I had a chance to spend some time with Olesya and catch up on things. At just 23 years old, she is very sweet and developing solid skills as an actress. For those of you who may not know Olesya, she is a Russian born actress best known for her role in the first three High School Musical films as Kelsi Nielsen, along with Zac Effron,Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Tisdale.

above: the official movie poster from Expecting Mary. This is a scene where Darnella (Linda Gray) is out walking a little pig who lives in the trailer park. In full disclosure, imagine my surprise when at the end of the film, as the credits were rolling, I saw my name listed, as thanks from the Producers. Such a sweet gesture (thanks Kim and Jim). My contribution was a connection to get one of the stars to sign on for the film, but I was happy to do so. Anyway, mark this film down as one to watch- it will be a gem of a film in 2010. Not sure of the official release date yet, but I"ll keep you posted when I hear more.
-Rick Rockhill

Palm Springs Film Fest Awards Gala

The 21st Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival kicked off this past week. I'm a huge film buff, and especially enjoy independent films that rely on film festivals to be seen and gain awareness. The black tie Awards Gala is a major event that attracts tons of media and paparazzi, along with thousands of fans all looking to catch a glimpse of their favorite star. The film festival itself has grown to one of the largest in the world, with hundreds of films from around the world being screened on 15 screens in Palm Springs over the span of the festival. I always enjoy attending the festival and the Awards Gala. I've been quite busy this past week so I'm posting these photos later than I had planned, but I hope you still enjoy them.
The Red Carpet Arrivals

above: Actress Eva La Rue outside the Palm Springs Convention Center

above: Eva La Rue arrives on the red carpet

above: The throngs of media and papparazzi go wild as Mariah Carey arrives on the red carpet

above: before the event, Mariah Carey was all smiles and still sober...

above: Jeremy Renner

above: The great Helen Mirren
The Awards Gala

above: Inside the convention center, the room was filled with tables illuminated by glowing centerpieces

above: close up of the centerpieces, the flowers were really beautiful.

above: two kinds of desserts: a chocolate souffle

above: ...and a white chocolate mousse
The Awards Ceremony
Mary Hart, of Entertainment Tonight was the the master of ceremonies once again. She lives here in Palm Springs and brings a touch of glamor to the night. My photo of her didn't come out too well so I'm not posting it. I was fortunate to be the guest of a friend whose table was right up front, so I was able to get mostly pretty good photos as each person was on stage.

above: Anna Kendrick receives the Rising Star Award for her performance in "Up in the Air" with George Clooney.

above: Helen Mirren receives the Career Achievement Award, well deserved in my opinion!

above: Clint Eastwood speaks at the awards gala

above: Jeff Bridges accepts the Desert Palm Achievement Award in recognition of his 28 year screen career. He has been in a surprisingly large number of films.

above: Jeremy Renner receives the Breakthrough Performance Award for his role in The Hurt Locker. He was a really nice guy.

above: French actress accepts the Desert Palm Achievement Award.

above: Michelle Pfeiffer was on hand to present the award to her friend Jeff Bridges.

above: The great Morgan Freeman accepts the Career Achievement Award. His role in Invictus was incredible.

above: Sean Penn speaks about the Awards Gala

above: Songstress and newcomer actress gives her now famous acceptance speech for the Breakthrough Performance Award for her tiny role in Precious. If you have not seen it yet, here is the You Tube video of her...