Hey all. A few brief notes.
- Andrea Copeland wants to be the next Oprah, and she wants your help. The host of the local public access show "Inside Nonprofits" in the running for a contest that would earn her a show on the Oprah Winfrey Network. Click here to watch the video and vote; Copeland has about 1,500 votes. The video that leads the pack, with more than 2 million votes, features a "wheelchair-bound ladies magnet" named Zach, "designed to inspire people who never thought they could travel."
- Filmmakers, take note: The Virginia Film Festival announced today that they’re accepting feature, documentary and short submissions for next year’s fest, which will annex Charlottesville’s theaters from November 4-7. If you don’t have a film yet, there’s plenty of time to write, cast, shoot and edit a short before the September 8 deadline. Some worthy submissions will be shown in the Virginia Filmmakers Showcase, which festival director Jody Kielbasa said he’ll make an annual tradition. Visit the website for the deetz.
- Speaking of film, on Monday Governor Bob McDonnell signed into law a couple of bills that increase the Governor’s Motion Picture Opportunity Fund from $200,000 to $2 million in the next fiscal year. The bills also provide tax incentives intended to lure the entertainment industry to the Old Dominion. There’s some folks in period costumes in the background of some photos from the signing—and if you get a moment, you must check out the Governor of Virginia’s mind-numbing Flickr photostream—which likely has something to do with HBO’s award-winning "John Adams" miniseries, produced in Virginia at a cost of $80 million. The Virginia Film Office hopes the legislation will lure HBO back here to film "Undaunted Courage," a similarly lucrative project about the Lewis and Clark expedition and other big budget projects. Read about the local impact of the legislation in a C-VILLE cover story from earlier this year.
Will "Charlottesville’s Oprah" be America’s next Oprah?
