George Clooney is Up in the Air

A web site for the new George Clooney movie, filmed partly in Omaha, has been posted, including a trailer for the movie.
The story, based on a novel by Walter Kirn, focuses on a businessman (Clooney) obsessed with amassing frequent flyer miles. It was directed by Jason Reitman, director of Juno and Thank You for Smoking.

A brief scene from the film, featuring Clooney and Vera Farmiga, was released at the Telluride Film Festival.
Scenes from the movie were filmed at the Omaha Eppley Airport. at the end of April of this year. In addition to Clooney and Farmiga, the film features Jason Bateman, Anna Kendrick, and Melanie Lynskey. Several actors from the Omaha area also worked as extras on the project.

For more info: Go to the Apple web site.

Nebraska Filmmakers Urge Tax Incentives

A coalition of filmmakers has met with Governor Dave Heineman and Nebraska state legislators to promote tax incentives for filmmakers who bring their projects to the state.

Director Alexander Payne (Sideways, About Schmidt) and Mark Hoeger, president of the Nebraska Film Association, among others, discussed the advantages of such a program. They cited a recent study by Stu Miller, the former deputy director of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, showing that for every dollar spent on the tax incentive, $1.08 dollars will return to the state. The coalition pointed out that this figure does not include the positive economic effect the incentive would have on hiring and tourism.

Forty-seven other states have tax incentive programs for filmmakers. Iowa recently shut down its tax incentive program, citing inappropriate expenditures and mismanagement. The program is under review.

Legislators and coalition supporters agreed that such a program would only make sense if it had a positive effect on the Nebraska economy.

For more info: Nebraska Film Association.

Cloris Leachman Comes to Omaha

Impresario Bruce Crawford will delight audiences with another in his series of Omaha movie events. This time it's Mel Brooks' 1974 classic Young Frankenstein. Crawford's special guest for the evening will be award-winning actor Cloris Leachman, who played Frau Blucher, the scary housekeeper in the movie.

Previous guests have included Janet Leigh, Ray Bradbury, Kevin McCarthy, Patricia Neal, and many other notables from the film industry.

Ms. Leachman, a Des Monies native, has been in the public eye since 1948. She was a regular on The Mary Tyler Moore show and the star of Phyillis,
a spinoff in the 1970's. She has made many guest appearances on TV shows, including The Office and Dancing with the Stars.

Among Ms. Leachman's many memorable film roles are Ruth Popper in The Last Picture Show and Mrs. Ezra MIller in Daisy Miller. She will soon be seen in Expecting Mary, The Fields, Timberwolf, and The Story of Bonnie and Clyde.

As part of her appearance, Ms. Leachman will also sign copies of her recently published book, Cloris: My Autobiography.This will be the 25th time Crawford has presented one of his movie events, all of them benefits for the Omaha Hearing School. Crawford's partner this time out is Omaha's Mystery Manor.

The showing of Young Frankenstein and the appearance of Ms. Leachman will take place on Friday, October 16, in the Joslyn Museum's Witherspoon Auditorium at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 and are available for purchase at participating Hy-Vee customer service counters.

For more info: Omaha Film Event