THRILLER! CHILLER! Film Festival

How can I not love something with so many exclamation points?
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Handlebar Fundraiser: November 15, 2009

A friend of the co-op, filmmaker Michael McCallum, is hosting a fundraiser for his latest film project, Handlebar. Please attend the event, or help out if you can!

Info:
Sunday, November 15, 2009
7:00 p.m.
Stober's Bar
812 E Michigan Ave, Lansing MI
(517) 487-4464
Donations, please


The movie is all cut together, sound work 90% completed; they just need a little help to get the rest of it finished, to get DVDs made, and to rent the theater for a January premiere at Celebration Cinema in Lansing-area, Michigan.

Just coming off the success of his first feature film, Fairview St. (11 film festivals, 5 awards so far), they're hoping to entertain you with a comedy that enlists the talents of much of the same folks from Fairview St.

Handlebar will be Michael's second feature film that he's directed. He co-wrote the movie with Shane Hagedorn, and it stars the two of them, alongside Grace Anne Rowan, Wallace Bridges, and Michael's Father, William C. McCallum. It's full of colorful characters from the Lansing area and shot completely in Lansing, as well.

A.E. Griffin was the Director of Photography for Handlebar, and Jon Worful's editing talents were used to help cut the film together. A small section of the film will be shown at the fundraiser, with the trailer and a sneak preview of a scene that Stober's own John Orta is in!

Food will be available.

Please come out and support local film and local art! Every little bit helps.

If you can't make it, please send a donation:
Michael McCallum
PO BOX 80582
Lansing, MI 48908

Poster artwork done by Lansing's own Dennis Preston!

JULIAN GALLO AND LINDA LAPORTE PLAYING IN BROOKLYN

One of our Propaganda Press authors, Julian Gallo, will be playing with Linda LaPorte at a benefit show in Brooklyn. Check out the show, support a cause, and support the artists!

FUNDRAISER FOR HANDLEBAR

Filmmaker Michael McCallum, friend of the co-op, fresh back from his win of Best Film at the Muskegon Film Festival for Fairview St., is promoting the release of his next upcoming film, Handlebar, with a fundraiser. Please go to the fundraiser and support his filmmaking if you are in the area.

REBEL PICTURES FUNDRAISER IN MICHIGAN

Beth Sanford, owner of Rubie's Paradise Salon is throwing a fundraiser to support Rebel Pictures, a film company run by one of my best friends in Lansing, Michigan, Michael McCallum! A scene from his latest film, Fairview St., was shot in the salon.

Details of the event:
A hair/runway show promoting Rubie's Paradise Salon, The Headroom Salon, and Lockworx. Michael will also be there showing trailers for upcoming feature films from Rebel Pictures.
$2 at the door, and all the proceeds go to Rebel Pictures!
June 6th
7 p.m.
The Small Planet, 16800 Chandler Road, East Lansing, MI.

Please come out and support these local businesses and Lansing independent film!

FAIRVIEW ST. AT THE MUSKEGON FILM FESTIVAL

A friend of the co-op, Michael McCallum, will have his first feature film, FAIRVIEW ST., in its first major film festival! The film will close the Muskegon Film Festival on May 31st, 2009, at 7:30 p.m. at the Harbor Theater (1937 Lakeshore Drive, Muskegon, MI 49441). Hope to see you all there!

THE ANIMATION OF DOUG LITOS

A friend of the co-op (and Mike's brother!), Doug Litos, just launched a new website to show off his animation talents. He's in New York City, if you have animation jobs or connections for him, and he's super cool. So take a minute to check it out, inquire about his work, and let him know what you think.

FAIRVIEW ST. ENCORE PERFORMANCE IN MICHIGAN THEATERS

I am pleased to announce that Celebration Cinema of Lansing, Michigan, has invited Michael McCallum (film director and friend of the co-op) back for an encore screening of his locally-filmed/directed "FAIRVIEW ST." The movie will play four times starting on Sunday, February 15th, with a 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. show, then again on Monday, February 16th, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. You may purchase advance tickets at www.celebrationcinema.com by selecting the "coming attractions" menu and scrolling down to the "FAIRVIEW ST." poster icon. If you saw it during its first release, then you know how incredible this film is. Don't miss out on the chance to see it again in Lansing on the big screen as it was meant to be seen, and bring a friend!

This film means a great deal to the co-op, as we are close friends with the director, who has put heart and soul into its production, and the bar has been set high for them to pack the theater. So please pass this message along to anyone you think might be interested, and spread the word about "FAIRVIEW ST." The trailer can be viewed at www.fairviewstreet.com. Support local art!

FAIRVIEW ST. HITS THEATERS IN JANUARY 2009

GET OUT THE VOTE!! A MESSAGE FROM FLORIDA

First there is the scary video about how getting out the vote makes all the difference in the world. This could be YOU if you don't help get out the vote AND vote yourself! Tell your friends, tell your neighbors, tell your family!!

Then, there is the message:

My name is Lara. I'm writing to you today because I don't want you to have the same feeling of regret on Wednesday that I've had for the past eight years.

I live in Florida, and was here for the 2000 election. A lifelong progressive, I knew that I'd be voting for Al Gore. But that's all I did. I didn't realize the importance of gathering my friends and working together in the final days to get out every possible vote.

It's painful to think about all the disasters that could have been prevented — the Iraq war, torture, the Bush economy, and all of Dick Cheney's constitutional violations — if only a couple dozen more Florida volunteers had been knocking on doors in the final days of 2000.

I wish I had done more in 2000. I'm not going to make the same mistake again. I'm volunteering for Barack Obama in this final stretch, and I hope you will too. You can volunteer from home, right now, by calling MoveOn members in swing states and asking them to knock on doors for the Obama campaign. MoveOn's website makes it easy — and the campaign needs the help. [Join the campaign and help get others to join it. This truly is YOUR campaign.] Sign up here.

We can't listen to the polls that tell us Obama's ahead. I thought that about Gore in 2000, too, and again about Kerry in 2004.

The simple fact is that it will all come down to voter turnout. If Obama's supporters listen to the polls and don't do everything we can to get out the vote, the polls will be wrong, and we'll lose.

If ever there were a time to do your part to help Barack Obama win the White House, it's now. Please don't make the same mistake I did in 2000, and think voting is enough. Please don't sit this one out. Every vote matters — and every volunteer matters. Obama needs each and every one of us to step up right now.

Obama needs volunteers for a massive get out the vote push NOW, and you can make a huge difference calling from home to recruit those volunteers. It's really easy! Can you join in? Click here.

Thanks so much.

–Lara Kriegel, Miami, Florida; MoveOn member

JON STEWART TELLS SARAH PALIN HOW IT IS

The audio is pretty crappy, but Jon Stewart, while not under the language contracts of his Comedy Central show, tells Sarah Palin how it really is in a stand-up show for college audiences in Boston on Friday, October 17, 2008. Thank Gosh for Jon Stewart:

Transcribed as best I can:

"He [McCain] made an interesting vice presidential choice.

I like "the woods"... [I like..uh...] I just don't know if I would pull my vice president out of the woods randomly.

She's [great]... she went out today again. She was talking to a small town, she said that [it's the] small towns she really likes going to because that's the pro-America part of the country.

You know, I just want to say to her, just very quickly..."Fuck you."

I've never seen someone with a greater disparity between how cute they sound when they're saying something and how terrible what they're saying is.

"Don't ya know, Obama, he just, by golly, he just is a terrorist? [...] What? Oh, you know, he just, gosh, kills babies, you know."

I'm so over the idea that only small-town America is the heart and soul. You know what small-town America is? It's the same as cities. Cities are just lots of towns piled on top of each other in one place.

They have this whole thing that somehow we can write off entire swaths of the country, that we somehow... You know, New York City was good enough for fucking Osama bin Laden, it better be good enough for you.

I can't take it anymore. [...] After eight years of this divisiveness, we're back to this idea that only small-town America is the real America. That the other parts of America...

You know, I get it. I'm from New York. [...] We have a lot of gay people. [...] But homosexuals don't have sodomy on top of Russian flags."

COLIN POWELL ENDORSES BARACK OBAMA

I have never been a fan of Colin Powell, but the guy might just redeem himself. At the very least, listen to his very concise, clear, and level-headed views on why he is a Republican supporting Barack Obama.

PRETTY COOL VIDEO ABOUT OBAMA

Make the video viral, guys. This is still anybody's race, and we can't become complacent now. Get out and vote for Obama!

Obama '08 - Vote For Hope from MC Yogi on Vimeo.

MARC BEAUDIN'S TRAILER FOR THE MOON CRACKS OPEN

Please check out this new trailer for fellow co-op author Marc Beaudin's new book, The Moon Cracks Open.

MCCAIN THINKS YOUR PROBLEMS ARE ALL IN YOUR HEAD

Phill Gramm had to step down from John McCain's campaign because he thinks we are "a nation of whiners" who don't need solutions... we just need to feel better. But as press turns to Gramm stepping down, they are losing sight of the fact that John McCain, and even his evil twin, George W. Bush, are saying the same things... that your problems are all psychological. With banks failing, foreclosures and bankruptcies skyrocketing, inflation at the highest level in years, and thousands losing their jobs, these comments are just a measure of how out of touch with reality John McCain and George W. Bush really are.

MoveOn.org has created a video with clips of John McCain and his psychological blunderings. It's good, it's short, it's funny, and it needs to go viral, so watch it and pass it on.

Watch the video. If you have a few bucks, donate to the cause to help spread the truth.

KEITH OLBERMANN GIVES IT TO HILLARY: HER KILLER GAFFE

By now everyone has heard about the inappropriate comments Hillary made about the RFK assassination and its analogy for why she is still in the race. But perhaps you haven't heard Keith Olbermann rip her a new one in true Keith fashion, anger, and form. If you need another reason not to vote for Hillary, how about this killer gaffe:

KEITH OLBERMANN SETS THE RECORD STRAIGHT ABOUT HILLARY'S LIES

In true Keith Olbermann style, the newscaster sets the record straight about Hillary's dirty games (and math) of politics. Hillary will gladly say your vote doesn't count if it helps her win other votes. Translate that to: Hillary will gladly stab you in the back and step on you if it helps her win even the smallest step up. Let Keith explain her... um... "logic" ...?

[Video credit]

TOM HANKS ENDORSES BARACK OBAMA

I always beware the celebrity endorsement, but Tom Hanks, a history buff and activist (and, yes, a filmmaker and actor), makes a compelling, realistic, and fairly heartfelt argument for Barack Obama, incorporating both hope and history into a plea to better the world in politics this time around. I hope you listen when he says we ALL have skeletons in our closet, we ALL have made mistakes, we ALL have had to make apologies and distance ourselves from things that can hurt us, but what really counts is Barack's integrity, honesty, and drive to make a difference.

Beware: Celebrity Endorsement

VOTE FOR OUR FRIENDS' OBAMA COMMERCIAL

Friends of the co-op, filmmakers and artists Carey Christie and Austin Wilson in association with Wilson's production company, More Dust Than Digital, created a 30-second commercial spot for MoveOn.org's Obama in 30 Seconds ad contest. Their ad was chosen as one of the Top 15 out of thousands of entries, and now it is up to viewers to rate and choose which one will win the People's Choice award. The winning ad will be aired on TV from MoveOn.org.

Please take a moment and vote for our friends' ad, as well as any other ads you like, in this contest. Carey's and Austin's commercial is called "COME TOGETHER" by MORE DUST THAN DIGITAL and features very artistic people from all walks of life coming together with pieces of a mural that piece together to become the face of Obama.

Although our friends' finalist commercial is embedded for viewing below, please go to the page to rate it and vote for it. You will need to do a super quick name registration and watch the videos in random order so that your vote counts. We cannot link you directly to the video, or else your vote won't register. With so much in the air this election, we want your vote to count!

PLEASE VOTE HERE.

JON STEWART ON FIVE YEARS OF THE IRAQ WAR

[Thanks Phill]