'Goats," a film with deep Tucson connections, will compete with the finest so-called independent films in the land at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
The "so-called" moniker is deserved because most Sundance premieres include big stars and are backed by significant budgets.
"Goats" is no different. It's a coming-of-age tale about a teen (Graham Phillips) who befriends an older goat herder played by David Duchovny. Vera Farmiga plays the boy's mom, and Ty Burrell (Phil from "Modern Family") also has a supporting role.
Former Tucsonan Mark Jude Poirier penned the novel, as well as the screenplay, on which the movie is based. The movie is set here, and Poirier pushed hard for the movie to shoot on location in Tucson for two weeks in February.
Poirier said by email that he will attend Sundance, just as he did in 2008 with the film "Smart People," for which he wrote the screenplay.
"I was totally excited to learn it'll be playing at Sundance," Poirier said. "Because I went with 'Smart People,' I think I know how to do Sundance better. More snowboarding and more films. Fewer parties."
KOLD interviews KMSB employees
According to KMSB Channel 11 staffer Ken Carr, several of his colleagues interviewed with KOLD Channel 13 for a number of openings in late November and early December. KMSB owner Belo Corp. struck an agreement with KOLD owner Raycom to have KOLD produce news content for KMSB.
Last month the Star reported Belo could lay off up to 30 employees during the transition in early February, while Raycom listed as many as 20 openings at KOLD. As of Tuesday, only four positions remained listed.
KOLD Vice President and General Manager Debbie Bush declined to confirm the number of openings or say when the station planned to make its hires.
Overall returns from knee surgery
KVOA Channel 4's John Overall was sidelined with a knee injury, missed four days due to surgery and returned Tuesday.
A prolific runner with seven marathons under his belt, Overall tore the meniscus in his right knee.
Overall, who had been suffering knee pain for three years, underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair the torn cartilage and smooth out damage.
He said by email that he'll need between four and six weeks of rehabilitation. "Hopefully I'll be able to start running again by mid-January," Overall said.
Contact reporter Phil Villarreal at 573-4130 or pvillarreal@azstarnet.com
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