Monday, May 21, 2012

Local YouTube series goes art walking

Jack Tracey hosts the monthly show

Posted by Elizabeth Estochen on Mon, May 21, 2012 at 1:45 PM

Charleston’s monthly art walks pair two of our town’s favorite things: drinking and art.

For those of us who can’t attend the first Friday of every month, Jack Tracey has devised a clever solution. The local sculptor and media consultant is the mastermind behind the short video series, Charleston Art Walking. With his well-versed host Mariah Sweezey, Tracey films the monthly walk from gallery to gallery, attempting to capture the art displayed, the atmosphere, and the gallery spaces.

So far, three episodes are posted on YouTube channel, and the series will be aired on HSTV Channel 2, ME TV, Live Five Plus, and Comcast C2 during Spoleto.

Tracey doesn’t see the buzz for his show stopping anytime soon. “This area is just stuffed with talented artists and venues and galleries,” he says. “It is one of our greatest treasures, and I’ll be able to showcase these types of things for decades.”

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Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Book on South Carolina movie theaters released

Posted by Susan Cohen on Tue, May 15, 2012 at 11:40 AM

Before the Riviera Theatre and American Theater were rented out by parent companies as event spaces, they played a big part in the state’s movie-going history — a topic covered by John Coles and Mark Tiedje in their new book, Movie Theaters of South Carolina. It’s filled with personal stories, photographs, and more on the various kinds of theaters, plus movie marketing, forgotten local films, and more.

The authors’ interest in the history of the venues began in 1986, when there was a threat that the Riviera would be torn down. After joining a “Save the Riveria” group, they began studying the history of that theater and others in the Holy City, which led to the publication of their first book, Movie Theaters of Charleston, in 1992.

“We realized there was an interesting story that had not been written down,” Tiedje says. “We wanted to record that history while there were still people around who remembered the time when every small town in South Carolina had a movie theater. We wanted to capture those personal memories before it was too late.” For example, early on in the 20th century, the silent movies were far from silent. Some theaters had organs or pianos, while others had full orchestras.

At the same time, it isn’t all glitz and glamour: Segregation into sections for whites and blacks plays a huge part in this history. “It was a constant theme throughout the state,” he says. “It wasn’t fair and everyone knew it. But it was the law. We didn’t dwell on that in the book, but we certainly couldn’t ignore it.”

You can find Movie Theaters of South Carolina online at amazon.com

Topics: Film

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Wednesday, May 2, 2012

U.S.S. Yorktown on Ghost Hunters tonight

Posted by Susan Cohen on Wed, May 2, 2012 at 9:00 AM

Charleston has made its fair share of appearances on television ghost problems — just this past fall, the guys from the Travel Channel's Ghost Adventures brought their cameras to town.

And now the U.S.S. Yorktown will be the star of its own episode of SyFy's Ghost Hunters. In February, the crew from the Atlantic Paranormal Society, like Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, spent a few nights aboard the World War II-era ship.

While there have been reports of odd sounds and sightings over the years at the Yorktown, you'll have to watch the episode, which airs Wed. May 2 at 9 p.m., to find out if the APS found anything substantial.

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Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Terrace Theater invites school groups to Bully

Posted by Ryan Overhiser on Tue, May 1, 2012 at 9:25 AM

Since April 20, Terrace Theater has been the local venue for Bully. The documentary follows five children and their families, exposing the often-vicious and humiliating epidemic that is taking place across the country in the hopes of changing how the problem is being handled.

Bully’s run at the Terrace is set to conclude May 4, unless, according to Paul Brown, owner of the Terrace, there is a resounding demand to keep it at the theater for an extended time. Brown believes the film reveals subjects that should be addressed by all parents, students, and educators, so he reached out to area schools and offered discounted admission prices for school groups, hoping to share this vital film with the Charleston community.

Thus far, Brown has been disheartened by the lack of turnout amongst these groups, and he hopes to attract a wider audience as the film’s tenure comes to a close. “It’s a very powerful message and a very powerful movie,” Brown says. “It stays with you.”

Those interested in group rates or showtimes for Bully can check out Terrace Theater’s website.

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Thursday, April 26, 2012

It's a battle of the Carolinas at the next Lowcountry Indie Shorts

Night will feature blocks from both states

Posted by Susan Cohen on Thu, Apr 26, 2012 at 11:42 AM

As Greater Park Circle Film Society President Nicholai Burton explains, trying to find content for the group’s biannual Lowcountry Indie Shorts program is like puling teeth. But other times, it magically comes together.

“Maybe our name is slowly continuing to get out there,” he says. “Our network of filmmakers is growing, so it gets a bit easier each year.” And this month’s block is no exception — and it actually came together quite serendipitously.

Burton follows the cult movie review site Film Threat, who recently did a review of the North Carolina-made short El Caffinato. He was able to track down one of its writer/directors, Rory Bradley, and invited him to show at LIS, and he asked for recommendations of other films in the region. “They were excited to participate and came up with a list right away, so it seemed perfect to pit the Carolinas against each other in an exhibition match, so to speak.”

Bradley created a block for the North Carolina films. Burton was able to get some shorts from his regular S.C. filmmaker list, and he made additional selections from his Charleston Film Festival programming, so you’ll see some films that played back in March (and some that didn’t). He also got some stuff from the Nickelodeon’s Andy Smith.

Both blocks will screen on May 5, with the N.C. shorts starting off the afternoon at 5 p.m. and the S.C. shorts playing at 8 p.m. The shows are free. Visit the Park Circle Film Society's website for the full lineups, and to check out the rest of the GPCFS’s May schedule, which includes Goon (which also played at CFF), God Bless America (starring Bill Murray’s brother Joel), and more.

Topics: Film

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