This Bus, Every Day

This short film happened quite by accident. I'd shot another film at Crabtree Lake Park in Morrisville, NC, and was just about to begin editing it when some of the footage, a scene with the two actors standing by the water, moved me to tears. Words and images started flowing into my head, and I wrote another whole short film while seated at my desk. Then, I grabbed the HD camera and headed back to the park where I shot another 80 minute tape of the lake, large clouds moving over the water, sun beams bursting through the clouds, etc.

That evening, I stared editing this new film, THIS BUS, EVERY DAY. I've been working on it steadily for the past week, and everyone I show it to loves it. I've decided to work hard on it and finish it for the holidays. Some of my close friends will receive THIS BUS, EVERY DAY as a Christmas gift. It feels great to give my friends something I made for a change. I hope they enjoy it. Happy Holidays! Todd

ALEXA

Our latest film, ALEXA (2007), featuring NC actresses, Alexa Phillips and Anna Allen (pictured above), has been chosen as an "Official Selection" in this year's Carrboro Film Festival. A front-page article about the film, writer/director Todd Tinkham and actress Alexa Phillips, is now available online at: http://www.carrborocitizen.com/main/2007/11/15/film-festival-ready-for-action/

A festival schedule and film list with synopses is available at http://carrborofilmfestival.com/

The Carrboro Film Festival happens at the Carrboro Century Center on Sunday, Nov 18, 2007. See you there!

Autumn 2007 Catch Up

A lot has happened since we returned to NC from our ROAD MOVIE road trip in May. We've come out with several new short films including WHAT THE FROCK! written by and starring Jeffrey Moore abd directed by Todd Tinkham. FROCK! recently premiered at the 2007 Palm Springs International Short Film Festival, and even more recently, FROCK! won Best Short Film at the 2007 Ava Gardner Film Festival. Next, FROCK! will screen at the Carrboro Film Festival in beautiful Carrboro, NC.

Three other films have just been completed and sent out to festivals for 2008. ALEXA, 4 MINUTES ON AN ABANDONED BRIDGE and LOST & FOUND, all written & directed by Todd Tinkham, are on their way to festivals across the US. We'll keep you posted.

SADIE TURNS 50. That's right, our short family film, SADIE TURNS SEVEN has just been accepted into her 50th film festival, The GOLDEN LION FILM FESTIVAL in Swaziland, Africa. So far, SADIE has won two BEST FAMILY FILM awards (Indie Gathering 07, and Folly Felder 07) and one BEST CINEMATOIGRAPHY award (Kent Film Festival 07). Geographically, SADIE has screened at festivals all over the US and in Canada, Australia, Albania, Swaziland and Wales. Yeah, Sadie! You go, girl!

HOME FOR GOOD and AND THEN THERE WERE NUN are still popping up on the festival circuit. NUN recently screened at the 10th annual Ed Wood Film Festival in upstate NY, and HOME FOR GOOD screened recently at festivals in NC and HI. Both films have screened at more than 30 festivals each in the past year, and they both have won a number of festival awards.

As for our ROAD MOVIE, featuring Lydia McDonald (pictured above) and Mary Cates, we screened a 15 minute cut of the film (the final film will be much longer) at the 2007 Secret City Film Festival in Oak Ridge, TN, and everyone wanted to see more. So, we're busy working on it, with a completion date set for early 2008. More on that soon.

Speaking of the Secret City Film Festival...TinkhamTown namesake, Todd Tinkham, was awarded the festival's FOUNDER'S AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN INDEPENDENT FILMMAKING by the festival director/founder, Keith McDaniel. Pointing to Tinkham's amazing completion of 17 films in 2 years, as well as screening his films at more than 200 festivals in that same time period, McDaniel called Tinkham "a true inspiration for us all." Tinkham is now busy working with Jeffrey Moore on their next collaboration, the short comdey WORD, featuring Lisa Cates and Mary Cates. More on WORD soon.

NEW FILM - NEW BLOG

Greetings! Welcome to the first TINKHAMTOWN BLOG. Below is the complete blog from the 2 weeks of production of our Road Movie (2007). For a new TinkhamTown Blog, for our next film, "Us in the US" (working title), go to TinkhamTown-US.blogspot.com

Road Movie - Day 15 - Tiburon, CA

Lydia poses with actor and CA crew-member, Forrest Kolb, outside our room at the Water's Edge Hotel in Tiburon, CA. Forrest plays Lydia's friend, Peter, in the film, and he also did a great job as assistant cameraman during our final day of shooting. Thanks for everything, Forrest. You rock!

Road Movie - Day 14 - Tiburon, CA

Our main location in Tiburon, CA, was the Art Bar, an amazing gallery right on Main Street. Lydia and I pose with fellow actors Deborah (Art Bar owner), Henry, and Kim. These three folks were loads of fun to work with and even more fun to hang out with after shooting. A special thanks to Deborah Molinari for allowing us to shoot in her wonderful gallery full of awesome contemporary artwork. Visit the Art Bar online at: http://www.molinarigallery.com/

Road Movie - Days 12 & 13, Death Valley & Sequoia

Hiker and adventurer, Casey Yandell, helped us out in Sequoia National Park. Casey pointed us in the right direction, gave us his map, and took a small role in our film. Running into great people like Casey (pictured here with Lydia) is what has made this trip such an incredible experience. Thanks Casey!
Toward the end of her cross-coutry adventure, Lydia's character, Lucy, steals oranges for survival from a grove somewhere south of Porterville, CA.
Lost in the desert after his car breaks down, my character, Ted Swanson, wanders the dunes dragging his suitcase behind him. Lydia shot the "Lost In The Desert" scene in Death Valley under a blazing sun, while I wandered back and forth across the dunes near Stovepipe Wells. The three of us have become pretty good at all of the crew jobs, including cinematography, as proven here. Nice work, Lydia!

Road Movie - Day 11 - Red Rock Canyon, Las Vegas

Las Vegas poker dealer, Shaun Byer, joins Lydia and I for a short day of shooting in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area just outside Las Vegas. This beautiful area is one of the many natural areas that Lydia's character makes her way across in the film. More coming soon!

Road Movie - Day 10 - Lake Havasu (continued)

Matt Powers and his friend, Michael, assisted us behind the scenes in Lake Havasu, and played alongside Lydia in one of our Lake Havasu scenes. Matt and Mike, pose with Lydia and Mary outside the Sandbar bar and grill.

The Sandbar, a busy little oasis on the beach at Lake Havasu, was a true find. Not only is the Sandbar a beautiful location to shoot a movie scene, but it also is a great place to have lunch, dinner, or a few cold beers. Sandbar owners, Dennis and Donna Frishman, (pictured here with Lydia, Mary, Matt and Mike), welcomed our small film crew with open arms, and served up some of the best fried-egg-croissant sandwiches we've ever had. Thanks again, Dennis and Donna. We'll be in touch soon!

Road Movie - Day 9 - Lake Havasu City

Mary on our hotel balcony with the London Bridge in the background (over beautiful Lake Havasu). The bridge was moved to this Arizona desert town years ago as a tourist attraction. We were in Lake Havasu City for their 5th annual film festival, where our films SADIE TURNS SEVEN and HOME FOR GOOD screened to enthusiastic crowds. We highly recommend a visit to Lake Havasu City. We had loads of fun!

Road Movie - Day 8 - Grand Canyon

Mary & Lydia discuss a shot at the top of the Southern Rim of the Grand Canyon, north of Williams, AZ. After grabbing several scenes at the canyon, we headed West again to Lake Havasu City, AZ, where we are to be guests of the 2007 Lake Havasu Film Festival. Two of our other films will screen there this weekend. More about the LHFF coming soon.

Road Movie - Day 7 - Sedona

(Mary and Lydia join Lon Walters in his classic ELVA.) We were guests of Lon and Margi Walters during our entire stay in Sedona. Not only did they throw us a sweet "welcome back" party loaded with amazing people and great food, but Margi also agreed to take a role in our Road Movie, playing a kind-hearted cowgirl who gives Lydia a lift in her pickup. Margi's dogs Zack and Bella became first-time actors as well. We've watched all of the Sedona footage, and it all looks great. Thanks so much, Lon & Margi. We'll send you a rough-cut soon.

Road Movie - Day 6 - Sedona

We had one of the best meals on our trip with Bill and Bev Hurff, two great people Mary and I met during our recent visit to Sedona for the Sedona International Film Festival. The Hurffs are great cooks and two of the biggest film fans in the world, watching just about every new film that comes out, plus a wide variety of festival shorts and independent features. Spending an evening with the Hurffs is an independent filmmaker's dream. We plan on visiting Bill and Bev whenever we're in Sedona. Thanks, Bill & Bev. (Photo: Lydia with Bill Hurff.)

Road Movie - Day 5 afternoon - New Mexico

Leaving Amarillo, we began searching for an abandoned gas station to use for our next scene. Lo and behold, near Cuervo, TX, we found two abandoned stations side-by-side! Just before an intense hail storm, Mary caught both gas stations from across the parking lot. Outdoor photographer, Michael Clark, joined Lydia, Mary and I for dinner at the Flying Star Cafe in Albuquerque, NM. Michael's high-adventure photos have appeared in many magazines, including National Geographic, Outside, and Climbing Magazine (where his photos of Lydia and friends climbing in the New River Gorge, WV, appeared in April, 2007).

Road Movie - Day 5 morning - Amarillo TX into New Mexico

We started day 5 of our Road Movie shoot in Amarillo TX at the "famous" Cadillac Ranch. While I was shooting Lydia running past the caddy's, Mary grabbed some great stills. Below, Lydia reflects on her current situation from the top of her chosen caddy. Mary also took some great photos while we were driving on into New Mexico (above).

Road Movie - Day 4 - Arkansas & Oklahoma

No photos today, but we did some sweet shooting in the very small town of Ozark, Arkansas this morning, and some more in a small stand of trees somewhere in rural Oklahoma. Then, we continued on our way, arriving here in Amarillo, TX, where we'll be filming at the famous Cadillac Ranch somewhere south of Amarillo tomorrow. More pics and news tomorrow. Thanks for visiting! Todd, Mary & Lydia

Road Movie - Day 3 - Oak Ridge, TN

Pouring rain in the "Secret City" of Oak Ridge, TN, didn't stop us from shooting the next three scenes of our Road Movie. With a little help from our friends, Dave Miller, David Bradshaw (mayor of Oak Ridge) and award-winning filmmaker, Keith McDaniel, we were able to get everything we needed on tape in just under 4 hours. Here we all are outside the Blue Hound (best restaurant in Oak Ridge!) where Keith and the two Daves played three good old boys who help Lydia on her run to San Francisco.

Road Movie - Day 2 - Oak Ridge, TN

Lydia gets a lift from actor and comedian, Jason Benjamin, outside Big Ed's pizza in Oak Ridge, TN. Mary and I lend a hand as Oak Ridge filmmaker, Keith McDaniel, looks on. Tomorrow we're shooting 3 scenes in the Secret City with Keith and his good friend, Oak Ridge mayor, David Bradshaw. Thanks for a great eveing, Keith, Jason, Dana, David, Brooks, Jackie, and everyone else. We loved Big Ed's!

Road Movie - Day 1

Production began as scheduled on April 12, 2007, for the new TinkhamTown film, "The Road Movie" (working title). Cast & crew shot for a full day in Chapel Hill, NC. Director of Photography, Steve Milligan (What The Frock!, Lost & Found), gaffer/grip Ismail Abdelkhalek, and location sound man, Mikel Barton, worked together to create a series of opening scenes that are sure to please and intrigue future viewers and film festival committees.

Actual on-the-road production was delayed one day after I came down with a severe sinus infection and wound up with some heavy antibiotics and steroids for breakfast.


Fortunately, after one day of R & R, I'm feeling a whole lot better, and we're hitting the road today, April 14, and making our way to the "Secret City", Oak Ridge, TN, where award-winning filmmakers, Keith McDaniel (The Clinton 12) and Brooks Benjamin (Point Of Fear) and others will join us for day 2 of production of "The Road Movie".

Below, actors Mary Cates and Lydia McDonald have some fun in "The Road Movie".


That's all for now!

More soon.

Todd

On The Road

On April 11, 2007, we begin shooting our next film, which we're tentatively calling, The Road Movie. This film, written and directed by Todd Tinkham, and featuring actresses Lydia McDonald and May Cates, is about a young woman who runs across the US to rescue her beloved dog, and ends up discovering much about herself in the process.

We begin production on Wednesday, April 11, shooting scenes in Durham and Chapel Hill, NC, before heading west on April 13 for a trip that will take us to Oak Ridge TN, Memphis, Little Rock, Oklahoma City, Amarillo, Albuquerque, Sedona, Las Vegas and San Francisco. We'll also be spending time in several picturesque small towns, and we'll have the opportunity to work on scenes in and around the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, Death Valley, Sequoia National Park, Kings Canyon National Park and Yosemite.

With a cast and crew of three (Mary, Lydia and I will serve as both main cast & crew whle we're on the road), we'll each be playing a wide variety of roles: acting, shooting, gaffing, slating, etc. But we'll have lots of help along the way. Independent filmmakers and other great people we've met in TN, AZ, UT and CA have volunteered to put us up, lead us to beautiful locations, and even work as extra cast and crew while we're with them.

My plan is to keep a record of our travels (with photos, interviews and links to video clips) and our ongoing progress with the film as we travel west toward San Francisco and Tiburon, CA. I hope you'll think of us occasionally and check back here to see where we are and what we're up to.

All the best! Todd