Reel World
Portland’s bustling indie film scene prepares for its close-up.
By Aaron Scott
CARRIE BROWNSTEIN IN DIECTOR MATT McCORMICK’S Some Days Are Better Than Others
As an actor, the former Sleater-Kinney guitarist is known for her comedic turns in the satirical cable series Portlandia. In McCormick’s debut feature, however, Brownstein’s character helps strike a more melancholic note: “Have you ever had your heart broken? How long does it last? How long does it take to get better?”
View Slideshow »JAMES MERCER IN Some Days Are Better Than Others
Mercer, the singer-songwriter behind the smashingly successful indie band the Shins, plays the character who offers this cheerful response to Brownstein’s question: “Sometimes I think it might just last forever.”
View Slideshow »A SCENE FROM DIRECTOR JAMES STRAYER’S SHORT FILM Widow’s Walk Lake
Strayer’s forthcoming film (release date, according to the film’s Facebook site: “Soon”) draws its Gothic inspiration from the work of the late John Bellairs, author of popular and critically acclaimed fantasy and young-adult mystery novels.
ELDER SMITH AND ELDER MERRILL SHARE AN INTIMATE MOMENT IN The Falls
Director Jon Garcia’s tale of two Mormon missionaries bound by forbidden passion in small-town Oregon is slated for summer release.
View Slideshow »A SCENE FROM Evidence of the Sasquatch
This faux-documentarian horror flick takes a page from Blair Witch Project. It screened last October at the Hollywood Theatre.
View Slideshow »A SCENE FROM The Weather Outside
Auteur brothers Todd and Jason Freeman took advantage of state financing incentives to shoot two features back-to-back last year.
View Slideshow »A SCENE FROM Cell Count
Government “assistance” took a different form in the shooting of the Freeman brothers’ Cell Count: they used Multnomah County’s notoriously unused Wapato Jail as a set.SCENE: A SATURDAY NIGHT IN JANUARY. About 150 filmmakers, crew, and actors gather in a new production studio in Southeast Portland to toast the release of three locally produced feature films. In the 4,000-square-foot soundstage, actors—hair coiffed with enough gel to impale a casting agent—work the room. Conversations begin with “Who represents you?” They end with extended thumbs and pinkies: “Call me!”
There is no red carpet. The directors aren’t household names. But the size of the gathering and its venue, Indent Studios—a $2 million, state-of-the-art facility—speak to the escalating ambitions of Portland’s movie scene.
The local film industry is on the cusp of a banner year. Six features from Oregon premiered at January’s Sundance Film Festival, including How to Die in Oregon, a documentary about assisted suicide that nabbed a prestigious grand jury prize. This month, renowned transplant Todd Haynes hits the small screen with the HBO miniseries Mildred Pierce. Homegrown director Aaron Katz’s sly, Portland-shot detective tale Cold Weather opened this winter to strong reviews and decent box office. Later this year, local icon Gus Van Sant will look for another idiosyncratic hit with Restless, shot in North Portland.
Oregon’s movie business has been big business for some time. A 2008 study found that film and television production directly contributed $709 million to the state’s economy in ’07. Given recent productions as varied as Van Sant’s feature, the satirical cable series Portlandia, and TNT’s crime drama Leverage, that number is likely growing. The Governor’s Office of Film and Television says it expects 2011 to be its biggest year yet.
Published: March 2011
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