The Official Peter Coyote Web Site

Coymoon Creations


FALL 2008
NEWSLETTER

November 7, 2008

Peter will be doing a reading of Emmett Grogan's "Ringolevio: A Life Played for Keeps" at 7 pm on December 10th at the Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd. in Corte Madera, CA. Peter wrote the introduction to the book, when it was published in 1990. You can read it here.

The 1996 film, "Missing in Tibet", narrated by both Peter and Goldie Hawn, recently won an award for the best Human Rights Film at the Eighth Annual Taos Mountain Film Festival last month. The 30-minute documentary tells the harrowing tale of political persecution in Tibet. The film has previously been aired on several PBS stations.

October 8, 2008

The Retail Alliance in Norfolk. Virginia, convened a "Go Green" summit on Tuesday at Christopher Newport University. Representatives from government, business and environmental groups met to discuss their ideas on how to reduce the use of plastic bags and encourage recycling. Peter was brought in to facilitate the meeting. It's estimated that 100 billion plastic bags are thrown away each year. Peter explained, "They're clogging landfills. They're poisoning wildlife. My guess is that when everybody cooperates, there will be some kind of reasonable solution." He admits he takes three cloth bags whenever he goes to the market. He adds, "I wonder why it's never a part of the conversation that people have to change a little bit."

As you can see from the above recent photo of Peter, he was growing a beard for an upcoming role. However, production for WHEN CALLS THE HEART never got off the ground due to a lack of funding. His next project instead will be a guest appearancee on NCSI's Christmas special on CBS.

ADOPT A SAILOR has been chosen to screen at The Women's International Film and Television Showcase. The exact date and time has yet to be announced, but the event will be held at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood between December 4th and 7th. Peter is expected to attend along with Ethan Peck and Kim Waltrip. The film will also be screened at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, held from January 6-19, 2009. Peter will attend with writer/director Charles Evered, cast members Bebe Neuwirth and Ethan Peck, and producers Kim Waltrip, Sherry Halperin and Audrey Loggia. Audience response at a September screening was very positive.

"The writing is immaculate and Evered did a wonderful job on his first time out as a director. The cast was excellent. I didn't realize that Peter could be so funny. It ran the gamut of emotions."

"Great story. Wonderful dialogue. Both funny and touching. The great acting by Bebe and Peter was expected. The surprise came watching the wonderful performance by Ethan Peck. Inspirational casting. Kudos all around."

September 28, 2008

In Memory

"The same qualities that made him a charitable and socially engaged citizen made him a fabulous actor - selflessness, his unwavering sense of truthfulness and his compassion. He was one of those people who just transcended any genre that you put him in - celebrity, movie star, beautiful person. His unassailable integrity was visible from 360 degrees. I'm just heartbroken to be talking about him under the circumstances."    
...Peter Coyote    

 

Principal photography began September 3 on WHEN CALLS THE HEART, starring Peter, Maggie Grace and Stephen Amell. The feature-length television movie from California-based Believe Pictures and Edmonton's Jordan Films Inc. will continue to be shot in and around the Calgary area through October 9. The screenplay, based on the  novel by Janette Oke, was written by Michael Landon, Jr., who is also directing the film, "When Calls the Heart" tells the story of Elizabeth Thatcher (Grace), a cultured, young Toronto schoolteacher who in 1910 bids farewell to her father (Coyote) to take a teaching position out west in the hardscrabble Alberta prairie. Despite the many hardships of her new frontier life, she cares deeply for her schoolchildren. But she has closed her heart to love - until she meets Wynn Delaney (Amell), a member of the Royal North-West Mounted Police. The film will be broadcast on television in 2009 in the United States and in Canada.

The animal rights flick, ALL ROADS LEAD HOME, had a limited theatrical release this weekend on 47 screens in four cities - Minneapolis, Kansas City, Phoenix and Salt Lake City. It will also be screened on October 16 at the Austin Film Festival as part of its family film series. The film is recommended for children ages 8 to 12. Critics from the four screening cities were unfortunately unanimous in their negative comments, citing the filmmakers for over-quoting "To Kill a Mockingbird". The film was originally called "Shadows of Atticus." Sadly, this was the final big-screen role for actor Peter Boyle, to whom the film is dedicated.. A DVD release by Anchor Bay Entertainment is scheduled for January 2009.

Peter is the narrator for the upcoming documentary, "Torturing Democracy", written and produced by Sherry Jones, and made possible through a grant and cooperation from the National Security Archive, a research library at George WashingtonUniversity. The film will air on select public television stations in October The 90-minute comprehensive documentary examines America's detention and interrogation practices used to combat terrorism. The film also includes a half-hour panel discussion moderated by Wide Angle anchor Aaron Brown that updates and expands the documentary with an in-depth conversation on recent Congressional hearings and legal decisions.

September 6, 2008

This past summer Peter worked on a film that has just come to my attention. It's called THIS IS NOT A MOVIE, the second production from Mexican director Olallo Rubio. In the 1990s Rubio was a well known radio host, obsessed with rock and roll. He has recently turned to filmmaking with his 2007 documentary, "So, What’s Your Price", which deals with media, power, and the consumer culture in Mexico and the USA. Now he has written and directed a drama starring Edward Furlong, who coincidentally happens to be Mexican on his mother's side. The movie, independently financed with Mexican funds, is set in Las Vegas and is an English-language film. Some scenes were shot earlier in Estudios Churubusco in Mexico City with production then moving to Las Vegas. Musician Slash (aka Saul Hudson), best known as the former lead guitarist for Guns N' Roses, has been asked to write the soundtrack for the film. Director Rubio comments, ""The idea was to create a very eclectic psychedelic score with sounds generated by acoustic and electric guitars. I was looking for a guitarist with the ability to create very emotional music, but at the same time, the freedom to use any type of effects to explore different sounds. Slash was interested in the project, and so far he has composed the music for six segments. We`re very excited with his work." Slash describes the film as "very cutting-edge, very artistic, and a little bit trippy. It's dark and jagged and a bit surreal, in and out of reality."

This evening $5 A DAY will premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. The film, shot last fall in New Mexico and Atlantic City, stars Christopher Walken, Alessandro Nivola, Amanda Peet, Sharon Stone and Peter in a minor role as Bert Kruger. Director Nigel Cole, whose past work includes "Saving Grace" and "Calendar Girls", goes for an edgier, sharper comic tone in this film with idiosyncratic narrative shifts supplied by screenwriters Neal and Tippi Dobrofsky. Walken plays a free-spirited hustler named Nat who claims he can live on just $5 a day. His home is a rundown warehouse of freebies, coupons and contest prizes. He drives a bubblegum pink and white Sweet N' Low car that he won free use of for one year. But none of this bounty has helped Nat repair his fractured relationship with his son Flynn (Nivola), who has not spoken to him in years. After all, Flynn once went to jail for one of Nat's failed schemes. When the two once again hook up, the hilarious tale takes off. Image Entertainment, a leading independent licensee, producer and distributor of home entertainment, just announced at the festival that it has acquired all North American rights for the film from Capital Films, Ltd. Chief Acquisitions Officer Bill Bromiley explains, "This film is certain to be an audience-pleaser with it all-star cast and funny storyline."

September 3, 2008

Coming this fall on television will be "Native Nations: Standing Together for Civil Rights", hosted by Peter. Presented by the National Council of Churches USA and produced by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the program chronicles the American Indians’ struggle for civil rights, and the creation of the National Indian Lutheran Board to raise funds and awareness for that struggle. From the controversy surrounding the 1862 trial when 38 Dakota Sioux were executed in the largest single-day mass hanging in United States history, to the confrontation of the 1960s when many Indian tribes joined together to speak out with a unified voice, "Native Nations" tells the story of standing together for sovereignty, justice and civil rights. The program will air on ABC television network affiliate stations across the country beginning October 12 through December 14. More information can be found at this link.

The James M. Stewart Museum Foundation of Indiana, Pennsylvania, will host a sneak preview of the film ADOPT A SAILOR on November 1. Writer-director Charles Evered is scheduled to attend along with actor Ethan Peck, grandson of Gregory Peck. The movie, which began life as a short play about a sailor invited to dinner by upscale New Yorkers, also stars Peter and Bebe Neuwirth. Space is limited for the preview and a reception. Tickets are $50. The film has also been chosen as an official selection at the 2008 Williamstown Film Festival, held in October in Williamstown, MA. Producer producer Kim Waltrip said she wanted to produce the movie because of Evered’s script, which she called “brilliant.” “It’s a mix of topical daring, comedic narcissism and a dash of military thrown in,” Waltrip said. “It’s not a political film. Just enough of an undertone to make you reflect on who exactly is out there fighting for our freedoms. But the story is more about a bourgeois couple who are forever changed by the young sailor who enters their lives. Charles Evered is a super-talent. I would produce anything he has written.”

The 22-minute short, RACE, directed by Peter, was screened at the Rhode Island International Film Festival on August 6. It had previously screened at the Atlanta Film Festival back in April. Described as a comedy drama, the film explores two meanings of the word race - a type of person and a competition. The plot involves an Asian-American woman and an African-American man who work together like a machine as Vice Presidents of a research firm. When their Caucasian boss announces to them that one of them will be promoted to become Senior Vice President based on the presentation that needs to take place the next day, they suddenly become at odds with each other. Cast member Nicolas Coster says, "'Race' was great fun and director Peter Coyote was terrific. He is so imaginative."

As reported last spring, Peter hosted a national simulcast of "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Separation of Church and State... But Were Afraid to Ask.". The program, sponsored by Americans United and The Interfaith Alliance Foundation, featured a line-up of actors, singers and comedians, mixed in with Americans who shared with viewers their personal stories of defending church-state separation on the front lines. The event was taped in Washington, D.C., March 25 before a live studio audience and broadcast via satellite the next day. Peter introduced the show with "We've gathered fearless and talented Americans together in a firstever simulcast to take an unprecedented stand for separation of church and state. Our program is being broadcast to 37 cities across the country, from New York to Los Angeles, from Lansing to Little Rock, with the goal of making church-state separation an integral part of our national conversation."  Here are some photos from that event. The photo on the right shows Peter with
Americans United Executive Director Barry W. Lynn.

Peter also hosted another event in June, this time a local benefit called "Stop the Spray". The benefit concert was held at Sausalito on the Bay on Sunday afternoon, June 8. About 1,000 people showed up to raise awareness on the aerial and ground pesticide spraying for the light brown apple moth. Featured artists included Bob Weir, Maria Muldaur, Phat Barbies, and the Bob Hill Band. The concert was organized by Stop the Spray Marin, a community-based group of citizens and grassroots organizers concerned for the health, environmental and economic risks of the planned LBAM eradication program, and committed to sustainable, and ecologically-sound alternatives to pest control. Here are a few photos from the concert: