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Small movie finding big honors
Creators of a low-budget comedy are winning recognition. A local video production company is also gaining notice.
By RICK GERSHMAN
Published April 14, 2006
A pair of local filmmaking brothers and a Channel District video production company have earned big-time attention for each of their artistic efforts. In the film world, Pete and Paul Guzzo received a top prize at a New Jersey film festival, followed by a sold-out showing in Ybor City for their independent comedy feature 99, shot almost entirely in Ybor City and at the St. Pete Pier. Meanwhile, Spectrum Post & Production was honored with a pair of Daytime Emmy Award nominations related to its work on the Discovery Kids special Saving a Species: Sharks at Risk. The Guzzos, who also run the monthly Tampa Film Review at Centro Ybor's International Bazaar, have enjoyed a remarkable two weeks with 99. The film earned the "Pick of the Flicks - Audience Choice" award at the Garden State Film Festival in Asbury Park, N.J. It has been nominated for three awards - Best Feature, Best Comedy and Best Ensemble Cast - in Oklahoma's Bare Bones Film Festival open to movies made for less than $1-million. And when 99's big-screen premiere at the Ybor Festival of the Moving Image last Saturday sold out, the Guzzos had to bring in folding chairs to fit in more viewers. To accommodate everyone, the festival added a second screening that night at Hillsborough Community College's Performing Arts Center. The film, directed by Pete and written by Paul, has been accepted to several more festivals. And the brothers were scheduled to go to Los Angeles this week to pitch a possible DVD release to distributors. Paul Guzzo credited the support of local film Web sites and media such as WMNF-FM 88.5 for the great turnout in Tampa. "Pete and I have never done all of these things (such as the Tampa Film Review) hoping to get something back, but the community really stepped up and brought people out," he said. The film looked and sounded great in the professional theater, he said, and the audience appeared to enjoy it. If anyone wasn't impressed, you couldn't tell: "Nobody walked out." On April 22, the folks over at Spectrum will find out whether their nominations in technical categories will turn into Emmy wins. Spectrum was nominated for two Emmys in 2005 and one in 2004 but still is waiting for that first win. "We're hoping the third time's the charm," said Spectrum chief editor and graphic designer Johnathan Safford. He's nominated individually for an Emmy in the Main Title Design category, taking on such popular programs as Guiding Light and Ellen: The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Safford also is among six Spectrum staffers named in the nomination for Outstanding Children's/Youth/Family Special for Saving a Species: Sharks at Risk. The others are executive producer Guy Nickerson, supervising producer Elaine Pugliese, Erik Hardesty, Lisa Moody and Peter Bredemeier. One good sign for Spectrum: Only one other program is nominated in the category, the Discovery Health special Reality Matters: Teen Sexuality. Rick Gershman can be reached at rgershman@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3431. His Times blog, The Ill Literate, is at sptimes.com/blogs/tampaarts/.
[Last modified April 13, 2006, 14:34:03]
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