|
For further information contact:
Carmen Hill
Tel. (405) 325-4670
carmenhill@ou.edu
NORMAN---The Independent Film Maker Series starts the season with Dan Brown's American Detective , a dark and increasingly twisted comedy where a loner opts to instantly become a private eye by mail order and then uses his license and equipment to stalk the girl of his dreams. Written and directed by OU graduate Dan Brown, Left Handed Films, the film will be screened on Friday, September 19, 7:30 p.m., at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, Kerr Auditorium. Cast and crew will participate in a question and answer session following the screening. The event is free and open to the public.
American Detective is winner of the Best Feature Film of the 2000 Deep Ellum Film Festival, a finalist at the Nantucket Film Festival, where it premiered, and the Austin Film Festival. The film was written, directed, and produced by Dan Brown; produced by Karen Jacobs and Mark Miks, the latter also director of photography. The cast includes Jonny Mars (Owen), Julianna Sheffield (Catherine), Bill Wise (Ed), Jana Lee Brockman (Julie), and Matt Carmody (Carl.) Graphic Designer Craig Denham, is also an OU graduate.
Dan graduated from OU with a film degree, moved to Los Angeles in 1992, and worked at Propaganda Films as vault manager. There he directed smart and exciting music videos and commercials. He moved to Austin, Texas, where he began a career as an award-winning producer for the largest advertising agency in the Southwest, GSD&M. Taking a leave of absence, Dan made his low-budget feature debut, American Detective .
Columnist Peter Keough of The Boston Phoenix wrote of American Detective that "...Brown's low-budget near-masterpiece evokes the work of fellow Austinians Richard Linklater and Wes Anderson. In the tradition of Buster Keaton's Young Sherlock and Francois Truffaut's Stolen Kisses, young idler Owen (an endearing Jonny Mars) takes a mail-order private-eye course that becomes an excuse for stalking a beautiful stranger [Julianna Sheffield.] Ranging in tone from the ruefully comic to the existentially grave, including one scene reminiscent of Francis Coppola's The Conversation, [American] Detective establishes Brown as a talented original." (July 1999)
"...American Detective is one of those films that is perfect at festivals...Think 'Repo Man' meets 'The Conversation'." Patrick Beach, Austin American Statesman, October 1999.
"American Detective, the first film by writer/director Dan Brown, is also in a league of its own...Well-shot, well-acted, and complimented with an original soundtrack and opening credit sequence that are both nothing short of brilliant, American Detective is proof that great filmmaking can be accomplished with relatively little money..." Eric Arnold, Inside Film Magazine, July 1999.
"American Detective ...it was apparent that the hilarious tale of obsession could please an audience in any town...All of the lead actors provide pleasurable performances, and the dialogue is superb..." Nathan Kokemor, Austin 360.com, October 1999.
The Independent Film Project @ OU created the Independent Film Maker Series to promote independent filmmaking and provide a venue for independent films where students, filmmakers, and general public can meet, enjoy, and discuss the business of making low budget feature films. A first of its kind, the project is the result of the work and expertise of director/producer Shawnee Brittan, Filmmaker in Residence at the University of Oklahoma School of Art. "We started the project back in early 2001, which includes besides the Independent Film Maker Series, annual symposia, workshops with award-winning filmmakers, and a professional video production unit." said Brittan. "The unit recently completed the television production of the ballet 'Carmina Burana,' a September 2003 national PBS OETA premiere broadcast." "Our events are free and open to the public, in an effort to make the experience available to students and general public," Mr. Brittan added, "Dr. Andrew Phelan, former director of the School of Art, has been instrumental in the establishment of this project within the school."
For more information on this and other events, call the Independent Film Project at (405) 325-4670, e-mail IndieFilmProject@ou.edu , or visit our website at art.ou.edu (click on Indie Film.)
|
