Monday, July 21, 2008
Indy film watch: Leaving Barstow
Back in the day, Madelon Smith was an advertising executive with Leo Burnett in Chicago and a substantially more regular Episcopalian than me and the Mrs. (especially me). We met Madelon at St. Peter's Episcopalian Church on Belmont Avenue, and eventually she and Mrs. TH became such good friends that she survived the very competitive process to serve as the maid of honor at our wedding in 1988 (the 'Villain, by the way, was best man). Career took a backseat to marriage and children, and before she knew it the Nineties were history and Madelon was a housewife in Boulder, perhaps wondering whether America was in fact the land of second acts.
It was for Madelon. She talked her family into moving to Los Angeles, where she enrolled in the American Film Institute, earning her MFA in 2005.
This year, at the age of 45, she has completed her first feature film, Leaving Barstow, and it is winning awards at film festivals across the country.
Madelon's story almost sounds as though Hollywood made it up. Wish her well, and by all means check out the film's web site for news, times and locations where you can see the film, pictures of the cast and staff, and, of course, a trailer. And, if you happen to be a movie distributor: Pick up the damned movie so I can see it in a proper theater without driving to Providence, fer Chrissakes!
1 Comments:
By 
, at
Mon Jul 21, 10:37:00 PM:
One year I attended some 20 SXSW films. The quality of the independent films greatly impressed me. You do not need a lot of bucks to make a good film, to tell a good story.
Though I spent half my life within an hour of Providence, the only reason I found to go through it was to get to somewhere else.
If he is out of prison, perhaps Mayor Buddy can make it worth your while to spend some time in Providence, and throw in a movie ticket to boot.
