More movies than Blockbuster Video
Have you noticed the influx of movie news and makings in the area lately? Here’s a roundup from moi, Voracious Pop Culture Consumer:
* Kicking things off in June, cutting edge Spike Jonze held casting calls for Max. Y’know, MAX, from Where The Wild Things Are, one of the best children’s books in the history of reading? Yeah. So he had a casting call in Seattle. Don’t worry, they cast a Portland kid anyway. Seriously, they are making a Where The Wild Things Are movie. Let’s just ponder that for a moment, k? mmmmm. I predict a wild rumpus in a couple of years…
* I know it’s not Portland, but it isn’t far: Bruce “The Chin” Campbell is making a movie in southern Oregon (he also lives there) called My Name Is Bruce, the citizens of a small town in southern Oregon call on Bruce to fight a monster terrorizing the town since he is chronically mistaken for his Evil Dead character…hey, didn’t I see this movie already?
* All the rumblings you heard about stars in Astoria were true-well, true if you didn’t listen to me, I’m holding out for a Goonies sequel-and Sean Penn is directing a flick called “Into The Wild”, an adaptation from the book by Jon Krakauer about the life of Christopher McCandless. They won’t just be in Astoria, TheO says they’ll be in Beaverton too.
* Looks like Uncle Gus is at it again-this time he means it, too! He’s having a casting call for his upcoming movie Paranoid Park, based on a novel by another local, Blake Nelson. You can find more info here in case you feel like being an extra (or if you fit the bill, you could be the lead)!
* Another adaptation, Feast Of Love, is filming locally (primarily at the Fresh Pot in NoPo). It stars Morgan Freeman and Greg Kinnear. And as pointed out below, The One True B!X works for the bookstore providing books for Freeman’s office in the film.
* If you aren’t really into the creation of movies, and you’d rather be watching them, you have Flicks On The Bricks in Pioneer Square, and you have the Top Down series on top of Hotel DeLuxe (the old Mallory), put on by the NW Film Center. They are also putting on the Sons Of Samurai series, including a screening of Three Outlaw Samurai which includes a book signing after by Patrick Galloway of The Samurai Film Handbook.
My favorite Oregon filmed movie is probably Goonies, but I have heard that bits of Empire were filmed here too, so if that is the case then there is no question. What’s your favorite Oregon flick?
Related posts:
You forgot the Greg Kinnear/Morgan Freeman movie shooting in town, including closing down Fresh Pot on Mississippi for two weeks.
The bookstore I work at is supposed to be providing them with books for Freeman’s character’s study.
Sorry B!x. I had difficulties posting. You should see it now…
Do you know where and when they will be filming Into the Wild in Beaverton?