What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1109701
APRIL 28-MAY 4, 2019 WHAT'S UP! 3 FAQ Bentonville Film Festival WHEN — May 7-11 WHERE — Skylight, Meteor Guitar Gallery, Record North, Walmart Museum, 21c Museum Hotel, Sony and Orville Redenbacher Outdoor Theater in Bentonville COST — Some events are free; festival passes range from to $120 to $1,575 INFO — bentonville filmfestival.com FYI Next Big Thing "Max Winslow and the House of Secrets" premieres this summer, and producer Johnny Remo promises a special red carpet event for North- west Arkansas, where the film was shot. SkipStone Pictures' other Arkansas-filmed movie, "F.R.E.D.I.," won honors at last year's Bentonville Film Festival and is now streaming on Netflix. For more information, visit skipstonepictures. com. Beyond BFF 'Max Winslow' proof of flourishing NWA film industry BENTONVILLE JOCELYN MURPHY NWA Democrat-Gazette O ne of the thrills Arkansas viewers got when the third season of HBO's "True Detective" premiered was scoping out the locations and people they might recognize. As many know, much of the popular crime drama was filmed in the Ozarks last summer, adding to the growing list of increasingly noteworthy movie and television projects happily bolstering Northwest Arkansas' film industry. "It's very exciting times, and I'm really thrilled for all the people involved, because there's been a lot of hard work and a lot of people have waited a long time for this — a lot of sacrifice," shares Robert Babcock. Babcock is a local actor and writer who also oversees volunteer services for the Fayetteville Film Festival. We Have The Crew Babcock also served as the associate producer on the next film Arkansas audiences will be scouring for familiar faces and locales. "Max Winslow and the House of Secrets" was filmed in Bentonville and around Northwest Arkansas and will be released this summer by the same studio that produced "F.R.E.D.I.," the 2018 Bentonville Film Festival winner of Best of the Fest. "SkipStone Pictures stands for good, clean, wholesome family entertainment — a movie that you can go to with the whole family and everybody enjoy the movie," explains producer Johnny Remo, chief executive of the studio behind the two films. "I think that's what's missing today, is that everybody's off in their own room watching something different on their tablets and iPhones. "Those movies where you used to sit down and watch as a family because there was something in it for all ages, I think those movies have gone away and 'F.R.E.D.I.' has brought that back," Remo muses. "And the response even just from Northwest Arkansas, I mean, we wouldn't have won Best of Fest if it wasn't the most-enjoyed movie out of 110 movies at the Bentonville Film Festival." That response to "F.R.E.D.I." simplified the question of where to film when Remo and director Sean Olson reunited late last year to begin another project. But it was also the reception from the community during the actual filming process that made returning to Northwest Arkansas a no-brainer. "We could not have made this movie in L.A. Not in a million years," Remo asserts of the coming film. "We had incredible sponsors — the list goes on and on of the people who supported us — and, I mean, we had over 170 extras at Bentonville High School for two days, and they were super excited to be there. That would never happen in L.A." Beyond being a background extra, more filming in the area has meant more openings for Arkansans interested in the industry. Both Remo and Babcock acknowledge the pieces are in place for some legitimate infrastructure to materialize — people just need the opportunity. "We have a lot of really great people who work with the camera, work with lighting, work with all of that," Babcock offers. "So when someone like SkipStone comes into town, I can reach out to these people and say, 'No, no, no, we don't need to go to L.A. to bring in somebody to do this job; we have them here.' We have the crew, and the time is ripe for picking, so to speak." A Step Above Described by the director as a little bit "Willy Wonka" and a little bit "Breakfast Club," "Max Wilson" follows a group of five teenagers as they spend the night at a "smart" mansion for the chance to win the home. The house is owned by eccentric tech genius Atticus Virtue (Chad Michael Murray) and will force the teens to face its inner workings and themselves before the night is through. NWA Democrat-Gazette/CHARLIE KAIJO Director Sean Olson (left) gives directions to actors Tanner Buchanan and Sydne Widis (from right) during filming for "Max Winslow and the House of Secrets" in Fayetteville. See Film Page 4