‘Them That Follow’ makes local debut
Assorted ramblings from the world of entertainment:
• “Them That Follow,” which was shot primarily in Columbiana County, makes its local debut tonight.
The drama focuses on a religious sect that uses snake-handling in its worship and stars Oscar winner Olivia Colman (“The Favourite”), Alice Englert (“Beautiful Creatures”), Walton Goggins (“Justified,” “The Hateful Eight”) and standup comedian Jim Gaffigan.
The movie, directed by Britt Poulton and Dan Madison Savage (making their feature directing debuts), was shot in the area in the fall 2017, and the production was lured by the Youngstown Regional Film Commission with the use of the city of Youngstown’s float loan program.
The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January and has received generally positive reviews. It opened in three theaters last week (earning about $13,000), and its release expands this week to include Cinema South in Boardman, where the first shows are at 7 and 9:30 p.m.
• Submissions are being sought for the first Youngstown Independent Film Festival in October.
The festival, which is scheduled Oct. 12 at Cinemark Tinseltown in Boardman, is open to all genres in both the feature-film and short-film categories. Awards will be given for best feature film, best short film, best web series / pilot, best documentary, best actor, best actress, best director, best cinematography and best special effects.
It is being produced by No Label Productions, a film company founded by South Range High School graduate John Martin Jr.
The deadline for submissions is Sept. 12 and rules, fees, etc. can be found online at filmfreeway.com/YoungstownIndependentFilmFestival-1.
Tickets for the festival will go on sale Sept. 1.
• Cleveland native Anthony Russo, who directed “Avengers: Endgame” with his brother Joe, is coming back to northeast Ohio to promote the Blu-ray release of what is the top-grossing film worldwide of all time.
Russo will sign copies of the Blu-ray from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Aug. 15 at Best Buy, 7400 Brookpark Road, Parma. He also will distribute special gifts, including “We Love You 3000” pins, customized prints and Funko Pop Vinyl Figures featuring characters from the Marvel Comics Universe.
Items are available while supplies last, and Cleveland is one of five stops on the “We Love You 3000” tour.
• Mavis Staples will be the next recipient of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Rock Hall Honors award at a concert Sept. 29 at the State Theatre.
The hall is taking a different approach from past years, when guest artists performed songs by the recipient, who only performed at the end of the night, if at all. This year, Staples will play a full show joined by special guests to be announced throughout the night.
Jeff Tweedy, who has written several songs for Staples and produced three of her albums, won’t be one of those special guests. Wilco is playing in Italy that night.
Tickets for the concert go on sale to Rock Hall members starting Wednesday, and tickets will be available for the general public starting at 11 a.m. Aug. 16 through Playhouse Square.
• Among the victims in Tuesday afternoon’s freak storm was some of the work on display at Trumbull Art Gallery for “First Three Songs, No Flash: From Hometown Heroes to Hall of Famers,” the concert photography exhibition I curated there.
A few works, including a large photo of Dave Grohl holding up a key to the city from the 2009 David Grohl Alley dedication event, were damaged when one of the gallery’s display windows shattered.
Luckily, these are photographs, not paintings. Photos can be reprinted, and the Grohl image will be redone and donated to the alley for permanent display.
TAG remains open, and 95 percent of “First Three Songs …” still is on display. It runs through Aug. 24 and feature the work of Bob Jadloski, R. Michael Semple, William D. Lewis, Daniel Montecalvo, John Patrick Gatta, Chara Politte, Geneva Anderson, Erika Rock and Eric Broz.
I have some very talented friends, and they’ve created a show that will appeal to fans of music and photography. Don’t miss it.
Andy Gray is the entertainment writer for the Tribune Chronicle. Write to him at agray@tribotday.com