Method Fest picks film lineup

Officials have selected the movies that will screen during the eight annual Method Fest Film Festival scheduled for March 31 through April 7 in Calabasas. The film schedule was announced last week at Pierce College's Performing Arts Center, where veteran actor David Carradine received the 2006 Method Fest Maverick Award.

This year's festival will show 25 feature films and 50 short movies. The complete list of films is posted online at the website www.methodfest.com.

The festivities also will include tributes to actors and filmmakers, plus acting and filmmaking workshops.

"The quality of the films will be very high because (the festival has) had over 700 submissions from which to pick," said Cala-basas Mayor Pro Tem Dennis Washburn. "It's been a big job going through all the films to see which have the utmost in dramatic impact with good stories and great acting."

The Method Fest spotlights American and foreign feature and short films and is named after the naturalistic Stanislavski method of acting. Many top performers came out of the method school of acting, including Marlon Brando, John Garfield, Geraldine Page, Robert DiNiro, Meryl Streep and Dustin Hoffman.

The movie "Dreamland," Jason Matzner's directorial debut, will kick off this year's Method Fest on Fri., March 31 at the Motion Picture and Television Fund's Louis B. Mayer Theatre at 24050 Ventura Blvd. in Calabasas.

"Dreamland" stars Agnes Bruckner, Kelli Garner, John Corbett, Justin Long and Gina Gershon.

World premieres in this year's festival include the following:

“Push," directed by Dave Rodriguez and starring Chad Lindberg, Charlotte Ayanna, Pierce Forsythe, Chaz Palminteri and Michael Rapaport, is a drama about drugs, sex and the allure of fast money blurring the boundaries between two different sides of society.

“Bangkok," directed by Colin Drobnis and starring Abel Johnson, Daniel Miller, Aaron Smith and Aoi Kawichai, is a road movie set in the seductive, unfamiliar landscape of modern day Asia.

“Dirt Nap," directed by D.B. Sweeney and starring John C. McGinley, Paul Hipp, Ed Harris and Janet Jones, is a comedy of lost dreams and underappreciated treasures.

Last year when The Method Fest came to Calabasas, Washburn said he hoped it would become the next Sundance Film Festival. He believes the festival has great potential, he said this year.

"You're always dependent upon the quality of the work that's being done in the field, and I'm assured this year that the work (to be played at The Method Fest) is outstanding," Washburn said.

Those who plan to go to the fest should expect to see some of Hollywood's top stars.

Those who attended last week's event got a taste of the excitement when actor Michael Madsen ("Reservoir Dogs," "Kill Bill: Vol. 1," "Kill Bill: Vol. 2") presented Carradine with the 2006 Maverick Award for his outstanding contribution to cinema and his versatility as an actor, producer, director, writer, editor and composer.

Carradine recently returned to the big screen playing the title role in Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill: Vol. 1" and "Kill Bill: Vol. 2," for which he received his fourth Golden Globe nomination.

He's the eldest son of character actor John Carradine and now presides over an acting family that includes brothers Keith Carradine, Robert Carradine and Michael Bowen, as well as his daughter, Kansas Carradine, and nieces Ever Carradine and Martha Plimpton.

Born in Hollywood, Carradine studied music theory and composition at San Francisco State College. While writing music for the drama department's annual revues, he discovered his passion for the stage.

After college, he joined a Shakespearean repertory company.

Carradine has appeared in more than 100 feature films, a number of TV movies, and in the theater. His movies include "Boxcar Bertha," "Bound for Glory," "The Long Riders," "Mean Streets," "Bird on a Wire" and "The Long Goodbye."

He also starred in the TV series "Shane," "Kung Fu" and "Kung Fu: The Legend Continues." Carradine has also recorded more than 60 tracks from various musical genres and has sung in several movies.