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arts, entertainment. ^ Cellar hope to mahe a difFerence 14 ^Adults are all right 21 ^ Road trip, no drag 16 want more great Features? visit goqnotes.com/to/qliving Film company focuses on story, character Charlotte-based Dalliance Films plans production on gay-therned 'Timing' by Matt Comer matt@goqnotes.com "I'm for it" Blaine Miller humorously ex claimed when asked how he and his business partners identified their sexual orientation. Miller, the creative force behind Charlotte- based Dalliance Rims, has poured his heart and soul into writing and directing the up-and- coming film company's projects since they first incorporated in September 2008. Miller, who is gay, and partners D.J. Barton, Kathryn Taylor and Keith Sweeney have created something to be proud of—a film production company un willing to shy away from important, interesting and compelling storylines and characters. Currently, the team is working on editing and post-production for "Three for Dinner." It's their second short film — an 11-minute, 46-second thriller they hope will make a splash at top-tier festivals like Sundance. "Three for Dinner" tells the story of a wealthy family who falls prey to a home invasion, but Dalliance's production materials caution:" Things aren't always as they seem. As fact is separated from fiction, the lines be- tvveen criminal and victim are blurred in this gripping whodunit that celebrates the forties' style of film noir." "The feel's period, but it is very much a current-day story," Taylor, a straight ally, said. It's also the first time the company has shot with two cameras, a test run for their much-anticipated, gay-themed "Timing" — described by the company as "Three Men and a Baby' if all the men were gay and the baby was 17." "Editing on Three for Dinner' was intense, because we were using two cameras at one time," Miller explained. “In the edit we end up with twice as much footage to cut because we have two cameras rolling. It ended up being a longer process than usual, but it was a good test to see complications, if it will help or hinder us." Taylor and the team still plan on shoot ing "Timing" with two cameras. The film, originally set for production this summer, has been pushed back to next year because of the ,1 recession, but the film has been in the works for years. "I met Blaine and D.J. on a movie set in Columbia back in 2002 and we be came best friends," Taylor said. "Blaine had written 'Timing' while directing The Last Confederate.' Once I moved back to Charlotte we had worked on trying to get it produced through another production company. After lots of emails and letters and not much response we decided, 'You know what? Maybe we should just do this ourselves.'" That's when the three brought in Sweeney, and Dalliance finally took shape. The four comple ment each other in ways that create a vibrancy, needed for good business: Miller the creator. Barton on visual story and charac ter, Sweeney on business and organization and Taylor working to connect the creative and business components together. "Some of the chal lenges we were facing with 'Timing' — not being able to get anybody to accept or read the script —was because it was unsolicited mate rial," Sweeney said. “We brainstormed ways around it, and figured if we couldn't get them to read 90 pages of a script maybe we could get them to watch four minutes of video. We took pieces of the full-length script, created a promo trailer in the four-sbc minute range that would tell the story. If we could catch their attention for four minutes, we'd stand a better chance of getting to read the script" It Actor Andrew Roth prepares for a scene during the filming of a trailer for Dalliance Rims' feature, "Timing." It wasn't meant to be. The trailer, shot in and around Charlotte, still didn't get the at tention Dalliance needed. But, Sweeney said, the trailer "did get the ball rolling and really shaped our path for the year ahead." As Dalliance got off its feet they decided to focus on other projects, including "Three for Dinner." They also plan to start shooting "40 Fears," a dark cothedy feature, later this year. "'40 Fears' presents an opportunity to get this out on the heels of Three for Dinner'," Taylor said. “The hope then is that we can dis tribute it and we can strengthen our company for 'Timing.' We'll have shown we can make a film and follow through on it" The company, even with three gay princi pals, doesn't identify itself as a gay film pro duction company, Sweeney said. Regardless, the four all agree: some stories are just too important not to tell. In the broader media environment. Miller said, LGBT people are often still marginalized or sensationalized, see Dalliance on 15 ^ online exclusive Chapel Hill grad student takes on HIV/AIDS Feature documentary is joint project with Winston-Salem's Tough Spun Studios At 24 and as a graduate student at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Julian Wooten is not your run-of-the-mill documentary producer or director. Yet, he's found a topic and issue for which he's intensely passionate and he's determined to turn that passion into a broader good. Wooten has been filming interviews and otherfootage for his documentary, "Heart to HAART: The State of the HIV/AIDS Movement," since May's North Carolina AIDS Action Day. To getthe project accomplished, he's teamed up with Justin Kuhn and Jessica Barker of the Winston-Salem-based Tough Spun Studios. The documentary is an in-depth exploration of the state of the HIV/AIDS movement in North Carolina and comes at no bet ter a time. This year, AIDS service providers, people living with AIDS and advocates have waged an uphill battle as funding for services failed to keep up vvith demand. In January, state officials capped new enrollment to the state's AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), a cap that was lifted only slightly with the addition of an extra $14 million to the program in this fiscal year's read the rest of this story at goqnotes.com % Julian Wooten, right, with interview subject Miss North Carolina Kristie Tobias Aug. 7-20.2010 qnotes 13
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