universal positive

The 2010 (Women’s) Effect: The 100th Annual International Women’s Day

Roger Darnell — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:08:17 +0000

I am joining with legions of others around the world today to honor women for all they are and all they do as the greatest and most powerful force on Planet Earth. Mine will not be a lengthy tribute, but I do want to point up some of the amazing resources I’ve found that are providing different perspectives on the achievements of women, and some of the biggest challenges faced by many of them.

Last week, in honor of today’s global event celebrating women, CARE presented its “Half the Sky” event, a one-night-only event in movie theatres nationwide (www.halftheskylive.com). Inspired by the bestselling book from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, it was an exciting night of musical performances, celebrity commentary and uplifting stories about women and girls overcoming tremendous obstacles, and featured the nationwide premiere of “Woineshet,” a powerful short film by Academy Award winner Marisa Tomei and Lisa Leone. The presenter, CARE, is a humanitarian organization that fights global poverty by empowering marginalized women and girls to bring lasting change to their communities. Please visit www.care.org to learn more.

In “Half The Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide,” authors Kristof and WuDunn focused on three major problems facing women: sex trafficking, maternal mortality and violence against women. Their book argues that empowering women is the key to alleviating poverty and uplifting communities in developing countries. This article, featuring an excerpt from the book, appeared last August in The New York Times Magazine, and a new New York Times Op-Ed piece from Mr. Kristof ran today, in which he reassesses the priorities. Embracing initiatives to foster the education of girls, to support deworming and micronutrient education and aid programs, and to help women start new businesses, Kristof’s current article also points up many organizations that are championing and driving these vital causes.

In the meantime, here in the U.S., the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) is successfully propelling female entrepreneurs into economic, social and political spheres of power worldwide. Their website is online at www.nawbo.org.

And finally, I also encourage you to visit the website behind the video showcased above, which lives online at www.girleffect.org, and is based upon the wholehearted belief that powerful social and economic changes are possible when girls have full opportunities to participate.

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Designing characters, stories and more with Shilo’s Jose Gomez

Roger Darnell — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 23:14:53 +0000

If you haven’t seen the book “We Make It Good” from the filmmakers at creative production company Shilo, you are hereby enthusiastially encouraged to check it out. As you’ll see there — or by exploring Shilo’s archives at www.shilo.tv — much of the company’s extraordinary content leverages the character design talents of co-founder, creative director and director Jose Gomez. Among many illustrious achievements to date, Jose and his team helped creative agency ATTIK bring Scion’s world famous deviants to life, building upon Shilo’s many other breakthrough film projects, and some design feats earlier in Jose’s career for highly successful skate, snow and surf brands. Since regular video conferences typically involve Shilo’s entire executive team on both U.S. coasts in every company undertaking, Jose’s skills as a character designer weigh heavily into most Shilo projects. Collaborating most recently with GlobalHue Latino, Shilo’s latest film is an exploration in live-action, claymation, and imagination, using quirky characters and clay as a metaphor for building a dream community and inviting the Latino community to participate in the 2010 Census. For “Community,” Jose was very interested in all the creations within the claymation world having common personalities, reflecting the personality of Brianna Gonzalez, their young actress. Jose’s sketches of the matching animated people, vehicles and buildings are featured within their behind the scenes video below — and you can see more images, including photos from the location and set, right here.

For more information on U.S. Census “Community,” please visit Shilo’s full news release here, or www.shilo.tv.

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SHOWTIME Launches “Inside NASCAR” with Promotional Support from We Are Plus

Roger Darnell — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 21:13:09 +0000

The brand movement specialists at strategic creative ideas studio We Are Plus (www.weareplus.com) are very proud to detail their latest project, the complete graphics package, including main titles and launch spot, for premium television’s first weekly highlights and analysis program dedicated to America’s number one spectator sport, the new SHOWTIME® series, “Inside NASCAR.” Produced in association with NASCAR Media Group, the new series premiered on February 10 on SHOWTIME®, and will run for 38 weeks, corresponding with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

More information on this project is available here. Thank you for your interest!

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The power of dreams…

Roger Darnell — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 19:30:00 +0000

At an early age, I decided I was going to be a writer. Somewhere along the way, I also took a strong interest in filmmaking, and being very ambitious, by the time I was 20 years old, I developed a clear vision of myself as novelist and filmmaker. While I have made great strides on achieving those dreams over the years, I must admit that I have a long way to go in seeing them through; nonetheless, those dreams have driven me into situations that I never would have imagined, and while I’ve not yet fully accomplished those missions, I feel very fortunate to have progressed as far as I have.

By pursuing the opportunies that have come my way over the years and applying my talents, my writing achievements and my reputation for success have opened many doors. One of them opened in the early 90s when a young Orlando filmmaker named Bill Waxler decided he wanted to produce and direct a 16mm short film based on something I’d written. Delving into my past experiences, I wrote a script for a dramatic short which I entitled “Bumper Crop,” and in that story, I also explored the power of dreams to affect a person’s life. After recovering a VHS dub of a 15-year-old edit of the film earlier this year, I began anticipating some plans… which are now playing out today. In recent weeks, I have done some writing about the process of bringing the film to life — you can find them here if you’re interested: February 22, 1991: Bumper Crop, Part 1; June 29, 1991: Bumper Crop, Part 2; February 26, 1993: Bumper Crop, Part 3. In honor of Bill Waxler and the many other great friends who helped bring the film to life in 1993, it is my honor today to proudly announce a new website where “Bumper Crop” will soon live online. You can find it at this address: http://www.darnellworks.com/bmovie. I hope you enjoy it, and that you have many chances to dream — and to pursue those dreams you hold most dear.

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Lucky Guy: The Musical… and My Life

Roger Darnell — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 01:13:47 +0000

In honor of all my friends.
When you look at the website for the musical comedy Lucky Guy, this quote leaps right out: “It’s not what you got in life, it’s who you got to share it with that counts.” I find that to be a wonderful observation on life, and it literally connects me to the project, which is written by my charming friend Willard Beckham, whom I met with Beth last year in New York through my larger-than-life pal, Lisa Cleff Kurtz.

In this picture, you can see Willard with other friends we met last June, Nikki and Dana, at Ocean Grill. We had a wonderful time that evening with this crew, which also included Lisa and David Reposar (and Michael Kurtz, in spirit), and as it progressed, Beth and I got to know Willard. Here’s his bio from Goodspeed Musicals’ announcement on their staging of Lucky Guy.

A graduate of The Cleveland Institute of Music, Mr. Beckham made his debut as a composer/lyricist at Carnegie Hall. He was then commissioned to write the first musical comedy ever produced in Korea, Magic in the Mirror, directed by Baayork Lee. As a performer Mr. Beckham toured with the first and second national companies of No, No, Nanette performing with such luminaries as Don Ameche, Evelyn Keyes, June Allyson, and Ann B. Davis. On Broadway, Beckham originated the roles of Geoffrey in Something’s Afoot and Richard Tidewell in The Utter Glory of Morrisey Hall with Celeste Holm.

The video featured above is from Goodspeed’s rehearsals from the show, which ran there last year in May and June. Willard is now shaping up his next plans for Lucky Guy, and his wonderful enthusiasm remains as contagious as it was when we first met last year.

In my own life, where I consider myself to be among the luckiest guys on the planet, having such friends is a great inspiration. Even with a career that I love, and so many other rich blessings, I still have many personal dreams that I fully intend to reach. As Willard’s lead character in Lucky Guy relates so wisely,

“Dreams are a lot like people, they both need someone to believe in ‘em.”

I believe in you, my friends; your examples, and your admiration, spur me on. Thank you!

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Laura Longsworth: Thanks for the Documentary

Roger Darnell — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 23:26:59 +0000

Thanks once again to Sundance Channel, I recently had another life-altering experience from a documentary film they chose to program. This time, the film is entitled “Luckey,” it was produced, written and directed by filmmaker Laura Longsworth, and it documents the challenges faced by sculptor Tom Luckey to carry on with his life, his artistry and his business after experiencing a major spinal injury.

Through the course of the narrative, viewers witness the struggles that come to all members of a person’s family with such a major injury. The love shown throughout is extremely touching, and I found myself deeply admiring everyone shown — with special empathy for Tom’s elder son Spencer, who steps up to help his father complete his biggest, most complicated sculpture ever. “Luckey” was completed in 2008, and the sculptural Luckey Climbers project for the Boston Children’s Museum documented in the film appears on the company’s website, along with similarly unique and imaginative constructions for hands-on museums across the country. I invite you to check out the film if you get a chance, and also to visit luckeyclimbers.com to experience one of their projects in your area, or to help get one commissioned.

“Luckey” is Laura Longsworth’s directorial debut, as well as her first film to appear on the Sundance Channel. The majority of Laura’s documentary work has been for PBS television. Among films for the nationally broadcast history series American Experience, Laura produced “Golden Gate Bridge” and “Gold Rush,” which won the Eric Barnouw Prize from the Organization of American Historians for its telling of the chaotic pursuit of wealth in 19th century California. For the public affairs series Frontline, she was associate producer for “Inside Terror Network” (winner of a Columbia-DuPont gold baton) and “Let’s Get Married,” an essay-style documentary about some of America’s poorest citizens. Last year, Laura produced “The People v. Leo Frank,” a film about a young Jewish man who was lynched in Georgia in 1915. Prior to making documentary films, Laura was a reporter at a daily newspaper.

The film’s official site is at luckeythefilm.com, and its Facebook group is here. To request a screening of “Luckey,” or to purchase a DVD, please contact info@luckeythefilm.com.

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Much love to and from The Children’s Playhouse

Roger Darnell — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 23:39:28 +0000

A creative play space for families, and a powerful force for community goodness in Boone, North Carolina, USA

After helping my wife Beth Darnell, and her sister Ann Kiefert, their comrade Kathy Parham, and many others from our then-new hometown of Boone, North Carolina, open The Children’s Playhouse in November of 2002, I am very proud to see how Kathy has led the venture in countless ways which continue adding precious dimensions to our community. The video featured here was produced by our friend Beth Jacquot in 2003, and much has happened since then. I invite you to visit the official site www.GoPlayhouse.org and explore the Facebook group, and I also wanted to share news from a recent event that reveals a lot about our community, and Kathy.

In 2009, Mrs. Parham launched an event to honor Boone’s “Hometown Heroes,” wherein she invited locals to nominate others for sustained contributions to the well-being of young children and their families in our area. The first winner of the Great Friend to Families Award was Watauga County Children’s Librarian Judith Winecoff, who designated the $500 prize to go to the Hunger and Health Coalition. Sixteen were nominated, including Cynthia Brown-Greer, Laurie Cimino, Lindsay Cobb, Doug Galke, Kaaren Hayes, Karen James, Natalie Lewis, Karee Mackey, Todd Nolt, Sherrie Norris, Jane Penley, Denise Presnell, Jan Rienerth, Robin Triplett, Mary Willis, and Judith. More information’s available here.

The second annual Great Friend to Families Award event just took place, in honor of Julie Bostick, Kim Carter, Ashley McKinney, Laureen Vilas, Matthew Crawford, Angie Dolen, Shirlee Gaines Edwards, Susan Jones, Kaaren Hayes, Dick and Joan Hearn, Virginia MacLeod, Pat Morgan, Tammy Nelson, Carrington Pertalion, Denise Presnell, Susan Weinberg, Delores Wilder, Roberta Yates, and Joan Zimmerman. Kathy lined up sponsors and arranged for world-renowned author and educator Nikki Giovanni to keynote.

These and other events organized through The Children’s Playhouse also have the goal of raising funds to support family resource services, enabling the children’s museum to provide scholarship memberships to low-income families, to offer free parenting classes for community members, and to build its free lending library of parenting books and developmental toys.

For 2010, The Playhouse’s Great Friend to Families Award goes to Pat Morgan, whose bio includes long-term service to the children and families in the Mabel, Bethel, and Cove Creek through reading at the schools, starting the Reading and Rolling program, which brings books to children who can’t get to the public library, taking limited-income children to visit Washington, DC, and other areas, and serving on the school board for 11 years. Taken by surprise with the win, he decided to give the money to the children’s section of the Watauga County library.

These words from one local volunteer and supporter of the Playhouse speak for many of us:

“To me, it is obvious that an event honoring our hometown heroes has been way overdue. I am glad to say that The Playhouse brought it to life!”

Thank you Kathy!

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Focus on cancer today to survive for tomorrow…

Roger Darnell — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:18:17 +0000

With cancer being the leading cause of death worldwide, its tragic realities are all too familiar to most of us. On a more positive note, the World Health Organization is spreading the message that “Cancer can be prevented, too,” and they’ve organized a comprehensive guide to effective programs which you can find online here. Knowing that early detection is a key to survival, the Lance Armstrong Foundation is encouraging us today, which is designated as World Cancer Day, to ask our friends and loved ones to please schedule a visit with their doctors to discuss cancer and their personal risk factors:

“A little encouragement goes a long way, and we all have to work together to keep our loved ones healthy.”

Here’s their link to help us spread the word and reach out: “Make the call.”

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Haiti Now

Roger Darnell — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:00:44 +0000

Our thoughts and prayers remain with all those affected by this catastrophe. Donations can still be sent via text message:

Red Cross: Text HAITI to 90999 ($10 donation)
Yéle Haiti: Text YELE to 501501 ($5 donation)

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Creative Entrepreneurs: David Bouck

Roger Darnell — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 22:28:09 +0000

While attending the Boards Summit last October, I had the pleasure of meeting and befriending David Bouck (IMDB, LinkedIn), a veteran producer working in commercials, television and feature films. David is the founder and executive producer of Means of Production in Vancouver, a production services company specializing in television commercial production and still photography servicing all of Canada. After recently sending me his latest company reel (featured above), I peppered him with questions which he has kindly answered below.

Q. Whose work are we seeing in the reel?
On this reel, in order of appearance:
. Mercedes ad for Germany. BM8 was the production company. Director was Ole Peters.
. Nivea ad. Worldwide. Neue Sentimental (Germany). Director was Thierry Rajic.
. Gortex. Germany. Tony Petersen Films. Director was Stuart Parr.
. Land Rover ‘Freelander 2′. Worldwide. Knucklehead from the UK. Director was Johnny Green.
. Channel 4 ‘Russia’ series. UK. Director was Jorn Threlfall.
. Audi Q5. Worldwide. BM8. Director was Marc Shölermann.
. Guinness. Worldwide. Knucklehead. Director was Johnny Green.
. The Coöperative (UK dept. store). UK. RSA. Director was Luke Scott.
. Anadin. UK. Independent. Director was Philippe André.
. Honda. USA. Streetlight Films. Director was Paul Street.
. Acura. USA. Knucklehead. Director was Daniel Barber.
. Hummer. USA. Biscuit Filmworks. Director was Steve Rogers.
. Skoda. Worldwide. Tempomedia (Germany). Director was John Dolan.
. Sprint. USA. ParanoidUS. Directors were Marc Wilkins and Luis Nieto.
. VW Touareg. Worldwide. Independent. Director was John Dolan.
. Porsche Cayman. Worldwide. Pipeline Films (Germany). Director was Daniel Lwowski.
. Porsche Boxster. Worldwide. C3 (Germany). Director was Bernd Seiboldt.
. Hartley’s. UK. Therapy Films. Director was Colin Gregg.
. Skoda. Germany. Markenfilm. Director was Marc Shölermann.
. Sprint. Stink/Psyop. UK/China. Director was Psyop.
. Audi A6. Worldwide. Markenfilm (Germany). Director was Jan Wentz.
. Nokia. China. Dab Hand. Director was BIG TV.
. AT&T. USA. Therapy. Director was Colin Gregg.
. Renault. France. Télécréateurs. Director was Stylewar.
. Hornbach. Germany. Tony Petersen Films. US.
. Starburst. USA. Biscuit. Director was Tim Godsall.

I served as the line producer on the majority of these projects. My company markets itself as a service producer to television commercial production companies from all over the world, with the majority of the work coming from Europe. I prepare the pitches with location photos, budgets, and other creative ideas to help production companies win jobs and produce their projects.

Q2. Briefly, what are the top things you feel filmmakers should know about Canada or Vancouver?Canada has a lot going for it as a shooting location. Natural beauty, experienced and energetic non-union crews, all the filming toys, and it’s less expensive than most European countries and the USA. Vancouver has a lot of very different locations, all within a short distance of the city. So you can shoot on a beach, in an office tower, and on top of a mountain in one day (and I have!). Calgary, Alberta has excellent crews and is right next to the Rockies and the Prairies. Toronto has skyscrapers. All these locations have hosted major US motion pictures and TV series, not to mention thousands of commercials for the US, Europe, and Asia over the years.

Q3. What’s your favorite moment in the reel?

It is hard to nail down a favourite moment because there have been so many. I really love the people I work with, the locations we get to go to, the whole process. Filming Land Rover with Johnny Green at the Gang Ranch in the Chilcotin was incredible. It’s the second largest working cattle ranch in the northern hemisphere, with real, working cowboys… and few people get to see it, as it’s so remote. Shooting a Camel Active (clothing) print ad in Newfoundland way out in the Atlantic Ocean was incredibly spectacular. There’s no place in the world like Newfoundland and we got to go to the most beautiful places… and the sun shone every day. Any job with my friend Nicolas Mirbach from Germany is a constant laugh riot. Seeing the Alberta Tar Sands for the first time for a Thyssen Krupp ad was simply breathtaking. I’m afraid to stop because I’ll be leaving out dozens of other great experiences and wonderful people!

I love my job.

For more information on Means of Production, please call +1.604.255.4302, or visit www.meansofproduction.ca.

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