The Florida Gators made history again during last night's NBA Draft. With the "Big 3" (Al Horford, Corey Brewer and Joakim Noah) all taken within the first nine picks of the draft, the two-time NCAA college hoops champion Gators set a record for the fastest ever that three players from the same team got selected by teams in the lottery. Prior to last night, 3 in the top 11(Indiana in 1976 w/ Scott May, Quinn Buckner, and Bob Wilkerson--who?) was the benchmark. One would think the Florida 3 would have a more impressive pro run than those Hoosiers, but who knows? Regardless, it's a tremendous achievement that deserves congratulations, especially since all these guys stayed in school an extra year when they could've turned pro in 2006. Noah would've certainly been picked higher than 9th (perhaps even 1st!), but the other two benefitted bigtime.

Add to the fact that two other Gators from their top 6 players, point guard Taurean Green and reserve power forward Chris Richard (a player I wanted the Magic to take with their only second round pick had he been available), were chosen by Minnesota and Portland in the second round and that makes five players from one team out of 60 total selections in the draft--incredible! Too bad the coach didn't go pro also...

Meanwhile, despite eight trades that went down during the course of the draft, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett went nowhere. The higher profile players that will have a new address next year include Ray Allen, Jason Richardson, and Zach Randolph, but all the hullaballoo about Kobe and KG moving leading up to the draft amounted to squat. Will the Bulls gut the roster to get the best player in the game? Will KG end up running with the greyhounds in Phoenix and getting them over the hump (something I'd personally love to see)? Stay tuned...free agency starts Sunday, too!

--Matthew

Last fall Enzian was thrilled to present two excellent documentary features, Ronit Avni and Julia Bacha's ENCOUNTER POINT and The Sibs' FREEDOM'S FURY, as part of their requirement for Academy Award eligibility. I'm excited to say that on Saturday, July 21 and Sunday, July 22, Enzian will once again be lending a hand, this time as one of four limited theatrical engagements prior to September 4 that A.M.P.A.S. requires for all documentary shorts that wish to qualify for the 2008 Academy Awards. And what's even better (besides presenting two extraordinary docs back-to-back) is being able to help out two old friends of Enzian and two Florida Film Festival veterans, Alice Elliott (THE COLLECTOR OF BEDFORD STREET) and Cynthia Wade (SHELTER DOGS).

Cynthia's new film, FREEHELD, focuses on the plight of Lt. Laurel Hester, a decorated New Jersey police officer who is dying of cancer but fights to leave her pension to her domestic partner. The film won a Special Jury Prize at Sundance (the only doc short to do so) and the Audience Award for Best Short Film at the Independent Film Festival of Boston. Alice's film (which was just finished), BODY & SOUL: DIANE & KATHY, will be having its World Premiere Theatrical Engagement. It tells the intimate story of a remarkable decades-long friendship beween two women who have overcome their physical disabilities (Down Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy) to become activists and make a difference in the world.

Both of these films pack an emotional wallop and are most deserving of not only the Academy's attention, but the film-loving community as well. The 80-minute double feature will begin at 12:30 PM on Saturday and Sunday, and Alice Elliott will be in attendance for Q&A. This is a program you do not want to miss.

--Matthew

Enzian bids a loving farewell today to our longtime Director of Marketing and Development, Ms. Shannon Lacek. Having started out as my Filmmaker Liaison seven (!) Florida Film Festivals ago, Shan quickly demonstrated the smarts, organizational skills, and passion for film that would earn her the Marketing Director job upon the festival's conclusion. That she stayed in the position and greatly expanded upon it with additional development and adminstrative reponsibilities over the next 6+ years was a godsend for both Enzian and the Festival, increasing our profile not only locally and nationally, but internationally as well.

We used to joke that after five different Marketing Directors in the nearly five years I'd been here full-time prior to 2001 (it's not me, I swear), that role in the organization was kind of like the drummer in Spinal Tap. But once Shan came on board and brought stability to the position, the theater and festival grew to be even more relevant and culturally important for the Central Florida community.

I know as well as the next person about the 7-year (professional) itch, and sometimes you just have to make a change and scratch it. It's been a real pleasure working with such a talented individual all these years, and a blast travelling to Toronto and Sundance over and over again (with every lodging situation imaginable) as partners spreading the gospel about Enzian.

Good luck and best wishes Shan for whatever comes next. You'll be missed.

--Matthew

Those of you out there who are familiar with the way I do things as Programming Director for both Enzian and the Florida Film Festival are probably aware that I don't like to repeat myself. Whether it's selecting jurors for the FFF or programming for one of our mini-festivals, special events, or free Popcorn Flicks in the park, I make a conscious effort to always bring something new to the table and offer something the community hasn't had a chance to experience before on the big screen at Enzian or outdoors under the stars.

In an unusual turn of events though, this summer brings encore performances of two of the more popular Popcorn Flicks from just this past year--both rentals from organizations which knew exactly what films they wanted to program. So fans of THE MUPPET MOVIE (1979) and THE PRINCESS BRIDE (1987) rejoice! In conjunction with the Orlando Rep Theater, Enzian takes its Popcorn Flicks show on the road once again (after the few months residency at the Sanford Cinema in the Park series)--this time to Loch Haven Park in Orlando on the evening of Saturday, July 14, for a showing of Jim Henson's Muppets' very first feature film. And it's back to Central Park in Winter Park on Wednesday night, August 22, for Rollins College's orientation special event screening of Rob Reiner and William Goldman's beloved swashbuckling fairy tale-adventure.

So mark your calendars, thank Orlando Rep and Rollins, and come out and see these two fun-filled family classics--again! It's not like they don't hold up on repeated viewings...

--Matthew

So it seems Kobe Bryant has himself a case of the "Billy Donovans." After demanding a trade from the Lakers weeks ago in frustration over the team's early exit from the playoffs, he met with Coach (Zenmaster) Phil Jackson and owner Dr. Jerry Buss and cooled down and changed his mind. But quicker than you can say from the Magic to the Gators, he has done a 180 and is back in the news demanding to be moved to another team once more.

Supporting his position (and the buzz of sports talk radio today) is the supposed existence of a 24 second video clip (I haven't seen it) in which the scoring champ goes off on a profanity-laced tirade. Apparently prompted by the Lakers not pulling the trigger on a deal for Jason Kidd during the season (since they didn't want to part with promising 19-year-old center Andrew Bynum), Kobe's feelings about GM Mitch Kupchak are not so nice to say the least.

The Lakers will never get equal value for their superstar; no team ever does. Take it from a Magic fan who's watched Shaq, Penny, and T-Mac all split town with little if nothing to show for it. But it sure would be fun to see the tables turned on LA for a change--of course, I'm not still bitter about the sleazy way they ended up with Shaq ten years ago.

By the way, a minor league baseball team (in Ft. Myers, FL I believe) ran a promotion recently called "Billy Donovan Day." Fans who changed their minds and decided not to stay for the whole game could plead their case to a lawyer by the concession stands and get their money back. Brilliant!

--Matthew

FilmSlam reached the half way point for 2007 last Sunday with its best attended program yet. This monthly exhibition of local filmmakers' work has settled in comfortably in its new home at Enzian at 1 PM on the second Sunday of every month, and all of the audience choice winners for January through November can look forward to participating in the 16th annual Brouhaha Film & Video Showcase on December 8 & 9.

This month's 1st Place Award went to THAT'S THE NAME OF THAT TUNE by Robert and James Dastoli, a film about an aging clarinetist and regaining one's faith in the world. Kudos also go out to Jonathan Vazquez' BENEATH THE SURFACE, about the journey of a dollar bill, and Michael Capitelli's PLAYING WITH MYSELF, an inside look at the bizarre life of a professional solitaire player. These films got 2nd and 3rd place honors, so congratulations to all the filmmakers. Keep those Florida projects comin' and don't forget to join us for FilmSlam # 7 on July 8.

--Matthew

I don't believe I was having auditory hallucinations recently when I overheard a TV ad for OCEAN'S THIRTEEN hyping it as "the best three-quel of the summer!" First of all, that term should be offensive to any intelligent movie-goer. The fact that there should be enough of these unoriginal, bloated sequels of sequels in one season to even have a competition is a disheartening state of affairs. When was the last time any third installment of a film series was any good, let alone as good as either of the two that preceded it? OK, maybe the Alfonso Cuaron directed HARRY POTTER film (PRISONER OF AZKABAN), but I'm hard-pressed to think of another.

Yet here we go again with SPIDER MAN, SHREK, PIRATES, and OCEANS duking it out on the majority of the nation's screens, with RUSH HOUR and BOURNE still to come (along with DIE HARD 4 and HARRY POTTER 5). Gimme a break! I like a good summertime popcorn flick as much as the next guy, but with the exception of KNOCKED UP (put me in the laughed-my-ass-off camp on this one) and maybe Brad (THE INCREDIBLES) Bird's RATATOUILLE, this season of tentpoles, sequels, remakes, TV adaptations and blockbusters makes my stomach hurt. Since when did originality and surprise become such dirty words?

At least Enzian is doing its part. WAITRESS will be making way for THE VALET soon, with LA VIE EN ROSE and INTRODUCING THE DWIGHTS to follow (and hopefully JOSHUA as well.) The forementioned five are highly recommended (as are ONCE and SICKO whenever and wherever they open) to provide a respite from the summer cinema blahs.

--Matthew

Q: Which pathetic situation lasted longer, Paris Hilton's stay in jail or Billy Donovan's term as the 9th Head Coach of the Orlando Magic?

A: If you guessed Billy the Kid(der), the flip-flopper, the liar, then you are correct! It seems the once-again Gator coach was officially let out of his $27.5 million signed contract last night or early this morning, giving us a total of just about 6 days at the helm. Rumor has it that Paris was going to be let out of jail today (having served a whole 3 days of her 23 day sentence for violating probation) based on the recommendation of her psychiatrist that she was headed for a nervous breakdown--gee, we wouldn't want that now, would we? Living with roommates, eating institutional food, and sleeping with no pillow shouldn't be forced on anyone, even richer-than-God party girls and socialite Reality TV "actresses" who cut insipid pop/dance LP's.

Besides that five year non-compete clause that Billy agreed to (yeah, right--like another NBA team is going to take a chance on this guy), maybe proper penance should be to make him listen to Paris' CD all day like those unfortunate Starbucks employees that had nothing but the new McCartney (which isn't that bad) in the playstack on Tuesday. But there really should be some sizable penalty for what he did to this franchise, just like there's no reason that Paris Hilton shouldn't have served her full 3 week sentence (already reduced from 45 days) like every other (not so privileged) person in similar circumstances. I want justice dammit!

--Matthew

Once again the "Curse of the Shaquino" has reared its ugly head. Ever since the Orlando Magic let Shaq leave town 11 years ago, it's been one disaster after another, and the current Billy Donovan situation is just icing on the proverbial misery cake. Other than winning the draft lottery 3 times in their franchise history, Magic fans have been taking it on the chin for a while now and the hits just keep on coming: Shaq bolts for LA and Orlando gets nothing in return; Grant Hill's litany of injuries and demon ankle allow him to play maybe two decent years out of the seven he's been here; they keep Bo Outlaw and let Ben Wallace go to Detroit instead; they hire a hockey guy (John Weisbrod) to run the franchise (are you kidding me!?) and instead runs Tracy McGrady out of town to Houston; they use their 1st round draft pick in 2005 to draft a power forward from Spain named Fran Vazquez, and he decides to stay overseas and dis the NBA; second-time-around Coach Brian Hill gets them to the playoffs for the first time in 4 years and they take 3 weeks to decide to can him.

And now, maybe the most pathetic situation of them all. The hiring of University of Florida golden boy Coach Billy Donovan on Friday was going to be a milestone for the franchise. What a coup! The hottest coach in the country, winner of back-to-back colege championships, was coming to Orlando for big bucks and the challenge of succeeding in the NBA. After a whirlwind of activity that had this town buzzing about its basketball team like it hadn't since the day Shaq was drafted, Billy went back to Gainesville and suddenly we were hearing about a change of heart. Uh, you think it might've helped to take a couple of more days before making the decision, signing that $27.5 mil contract, and holding a one-hour press conference/love fest with Magic management?

Unless there's yet another flip-flop (in which case how trustworthy is this guy to be 100% committed to coaching your team?), obviously the Magic are going to have to let him go back to the Gators. And once again we look like a bunch of fools who can't get their act together. One wonders if this will have an effect on the Magic's ability to get a stud free agent and a new arena built, and ultimately, whether or not this team (our only pro franchise by the way) even stays in Orlando in the long run. That 's how devastating the aftershocks of this "change of heart" may be. Thanks a lot Billy.

-- Matthew

Gee, I knew it was bad, but did Fox actually pull this trainwreck of a reality series after just two weeks? The "Film Premiere" nights are supposed to be on Monday, with the results show on Tuesday. And even though my Sunday newspaper TV Guide insert says it's supposed to be on tonight (Monday), today's paper and the Brighthouse Cable system guide show a repeat of "House" scheduled to air. Ouch!

Despite the sometimes witty and entertaining feedback from the celebrity judges (particularly the old-school compassion/wisdom of Garry Marshall), all the signs were there: dropping a challenge (or not airing it anyway); changing hosts from one week to the next (where'd the blond go?); a majority of mediocre-to-awful short films (maybe 3 or 4 showed some creative inspiration); the incessant plugging of Dreamworks and the $1 million dollar development deal that would get fake applause from the studio audience every single time; and the excruciating results show with Eva Longoria-clone Adrianna Costa painfully doing her Ryan Seacrest "American Idol" schtick. There just seemed to be a cheesy, lame element to all of the proceedings here that was hard to shake.

But yet I watch. Partially because I want to see what this so-called cream-of-the-crop selected from 12,000 submissions can do, but also because I have a rooting interest. Will Bigham ("Lucky Penny") is a graduate of FSU Film School, and acted in two past Florida Film Festival favorites: Todd Schulman's "The Plunge," winner of a Special Jury Award for Best Student Film and a Bronze Medal in the Student Academy Awards, and Dana Buning's "Zeke," the neutered cat-seeking-revenge-on-its-owner comedy that went on to win the Silver Medal in the Student Academy Awards after its North American Premiere at the FFF. Will now lives in Texas with his wife and two kids, and is talking like this is his last shot. He's a talented director, actor, and editor, and I hope this exposure helps out even if he doesn't win.

Now the trick is whether or not "On The Lot" will be on long enough to find out. Perhaps it's been moved, perhaps it's on "hiatus," but that would be odd for a summer replacement, no? I guess we'll discover its status soon...or maybe Fox just doesn't give a shit.

--Matthew

Poor Tinky Winky! While fellow Teletubbies Dipsy, Laa-Laa, and Po go about their merry business unmolested, the tall purple one with the triangle on his head and magic bag in his grip apparently still invites controversy over his sexuality--even a decade later. According to the Associated Press (dateline Warsaw!), Poland's watchdog for children's rights, Eva Sowinska, was quoted as saying she would ask psychologists to investigate whether Tinky Winky is gay and that the Teletubbies show could promote homosexuality.

"I noticed that he has a purse, but I didn't realize he's a boy," she told Wprost magazine. "At first I thought that must be a bother for him. Later I learned there could be some hidden homosexual undertones."

Sowinska is a member of the anti-gay rights/anti-abortion League of Polish Families party. Gee, that's a surprise. There's a Polish joke here somewhere, but I think the situation speaks for itself. Wonder if she noticed anything "funny" about Bert and Ernie...

--Matthew