Claiborne Pell bio set for Fall 2011 release!

I have reached agreement with the prestigious University Press of New England to publish my biography of the late Senator Claiborne Pell, which I finished writing earlier this year after a year of work. The book will be on the publisher's Fall 2011 list, which means we can expect lots of attention starting in about September, quite possibly with a book launch in Newport, the senator's home.
I am delighted with publisher UPNE, a consortium of the Dartmouth College, Northeastern University, University of Vermont, University of New Hampshire and Brandeis University presses with a distinguished list of titles and a powerful marketing reach in the region and beyond (and partnerships with other publishers). The editorial board and marketing and sales people at UPNE are enthusiastically behind the book, which portends good things! More details as they emerge...

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Roger L. Miller, 1913 - 2002

My father, a good and gentle man, died eight years ago today. I still miss him.
This is the eulogy I delivered at his funeral. God speed, Dad!

As I transition back into book writing...

... this is the blog where I will periodically check in, though not too frequently. Franzen is right when he disconnects from the Internet while writing

Big-screen premiere of BEHIND THE HEDGEROW director's cut!

After a successful August premiere and month-long run at the Pickens, filmmakers David Bettencourt and G. Wayne Miller returned to the editing booth to add about five minutes of superb footage that premiere deadlines prevented. The result is the director's cut, which is included on the deluxe DVD (along with extensive bonus footage) -- and it will be shown at Newport's Jane Pickens Theater at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 14, for the first time.

Participants will not only see the new cut -- they will each receive a DVD and, while supplies last, a movie poster, all for the price of admission. And, they will get to meet Miller, Bettencourt, associate producer Calvin Miller, and, possibly, members of the Slocum family and others in Newport Society.

For more information, visit the Jane Pickens site.

Festivals, DVDs soon to arrive.

After successful showings at the 2010 Rhode Island International Film Festival, in August, and just this month at the inaugural FLICKERS North Country Film Festival, we are looking at a select few additional festivals to show Hedgerow. We were asked to submit the film to Big Sky, one of the nation's premiere documentary fests, and we hop to be an official selection.
Meanwhile, the director's cut DVDs -- a longer version of the movie, with bonus footage -- should arrive from the manufacturer in less than two weeks. Order the DVD here!

HEDGEROW director's cut DVD on the way...

Having completed a successful month-long run at Newport’s Jane Pickens Theater, the critically acclaimed BEHIND THE HEDGEROW: Eileen Slocum and the Meaning of Newport Society is now headed to DVD –– with bonus footage of scenes and interviews not in the theatrical version.

“We made a movie of just under 60 minutes, which means that we left hours and hours of great material on the proverbial cutting-room floor. Now the best of that will be available to the viewing public,” said producer G. Wayne Miller.

Among the bonus features: footage of Yusha Auchincloss talking about growing up with his step-sister, Jackie Kennedy Onassis; Betty "Boop" Blake with more detail on her mother, who survived the sinking of The Titanic; and historian Michael Budd with more on the history of Newport's mansions.

The deluxe DVD will be available in late October, but preorders are being accepted now at the Hedgerow order page.

BEHIND THE HEDGEROW premiered in August 2010 as the opening-night feature of the 2010 FLICKERS: Rhode Island International Film festival. It received four stars from The Providence Journal, and was called “shockingly refreshing and funny” by Newport Mercury, “daringly intimate” by Newport Patch, “fascinating” by NPR Morning Edition and “don’t miss” by Rhode Island Monthly.

BEHIND THE HEDGEROW, from Emmy-nominated filmmakers director David Bettencourt and Miller, is an unprecedented look inside the private world of Newport, Rhode Island, High Society –– a world whose roots lie in the Gilded Age of Vanderbilts and Astors.

BEHIND THE HEDGEROW is the second title from Eagle Peak Media, the production company founded in 2008 by Miller and Bettencourt. ON THE LAKE, EPM’s first title, premiered in February 2009 and has been broadcast in PBS markets across America It was nominated for an Emmy by the New England chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Hedgerow sells out at Newport premiere, 9-day run starts Aug. 20

The August 14 Newport premiere turned out to be a success beyond what we had hoped. Nearly 400 people filled Salve Regina University's Bazarsky Auditorium and dozens who had hoped to buy last-minute tickets were turned away. Apologies to them -- but the good news is that the movie will have a nine-day run at the popular downtown Newport Jane Pickens Theater. The run begins 6 p.m. Friday, August 20, and continues through Sunday, August 29. For times and tickets, visit the Hedgerow movie site or the Jane Pickens Theater.

A few scenes from the Newport premiere:

-- The line at the door.

-- Standing-room only in Bazarsky Hall.

-- Writer/producer G. Wayne Miller with friend Andy Kinnecom and Judy and Laurence Cutler at the High tea Reception that followed at the Slocum's Bellevue Avenue estate. Laurence is in the movie.

-- Script consultant Y.T. Gabrielle, Miller and R.I. State Police Col. Brendan Doherty and his wife Michele. Col. Doherty is in the movie.

-- Gene Quinn and wife Margy Slocum Quinn, hosts of the reception.

-- Gabrielle, Miller, Adam Powell IV, Beryl Slocum Powell, sponsorships director Katherine L. Miller, and Coleen Richards Powell. Beryl is in the movie.


Photos by Y.T. Gabrielle and Katherine L. Miller

Awesome BEHIND THE HEDGEROW premiere!

We had a fabulous opening last night at Vets Auditorium in Providence -- a great audience that really seemed to dig the film, and fun parties before and after at this beautiful hall. The film itself, in high-definition, looked and sounded like nothing else. Now it's on to Newport for our August 14th premiere, followed by High Tea at the Slocums' Bellevue Avenue estate.
Pictured here are:
-- Script consultant (and fiancee!) Y. T. Gabrielle and writer/producer G. Wayne Miller, me, in the lobby.
-- Three Millers: Associate producer Calvin, sponsorship director Katherine L., and me.
-- Director David Bettencourt and me introducing the film to the audience of hundreds.
-- The hall beginning to fill up.
-- The writer's own after- after-party at The Temple Restaurant, next door.
-- G. Wayne Miller

25 hours...

... until the world premiere, 7 p.m. August 10 at Providence's Veterans Memorial Auditorium, of BEHIND THE HEDGEROW: Eileen Slocum and the Meaning of Newport Society. And just five days until the Newport premiere, 2 p.m. August 14th at Salve Regina University. Information on both screenings, which are followed by gala parties (the August 14 Newport soiree is on the grounds of Eileen's Bellevue Avenue estate!), is available through this link. Tickets will be sold at the door, at both events.

In the days before the premiere, we have received tremendous publicity, in newspapers, on the radio and online. To see some of it, go to this page on the Eagle Peak Media site.

And now, we basically cross our fingers, knock on wood and hope to break a leg. And hope to see friends, film fans and anyone else.

Score!

Early this morning in the studio, we completed the last phase of BEHIND THE HEDGEROW the movie before the final technical fixes of image and sound, which will occupy much of the next week or so. We brought in the excellent musical score by Lonnie Montaquilla and Ben Mesiti. Here are Dave and Lonnie, right, doing some fine-tuning.

The sound is beautiful, to match the quality of the high-def images.

See you at the Aug. 10 and Aug. 14 premieres!

HEDGEROW TICKETS!

BEHIND THE HEDGEROW OPENS
R. I. INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL


July 14, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PROVIDENCE, R.I. –– Tickets are now on sale for the World and Newport premieres of BEHIND THE HEDGEROW: Eileen Slocum and the Meaning of Newport Society, the exclusive and first-ever movie about the secret world of old-money aristocratic Newport and one of its -- and Rhode Island’s and America’s -- most prominent families.

Both premieres, which are presented by the 2010 FLICKERS: Rhode Island International Film Festival, will be followed by gala parties. Admission to these parties is included in the ticket price.

The World Premiere will be 7 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 10, at the VMA Arts & Cultural Center, 1 Avenue of the Arts, Providence, R.I., 02903. This screening is the feature event of the opening night of the FLICKERS: Rhode Island International Film Festival. Tickets are $25, including the post-screening soirée.

The Newport premiere will be 2 p.m Aug. 14 at Bazarsky Hall, O’Hare Academic Center, Salve Regina University, Newport. Tickets are $30, including a post-screening High Tea hosted by members of the late Eileen Gillespie Slocum’s family on the grounds of Slocum’s Bellevue Avenue estate.

Online ticketing for both events is available at the Film festival site or through the film site. Phone orders can be placed at 401-861-4445 or in person at the FLICKERS/RIIFF office, 83 Park Street, Suite, 1, Providence, RI 02903. Tickets will be sold at the doors but seating is limited, and advance orders are recommended.

Part history, part contemporary look, BEHIND THE HEDGEROW is told through the focus of Slocum, Newport’s last grand dame, who died in the summer of 2008. Slocum’s family has granted the filmmakers exclusive access to her archives and private Bellevue Avenue estate, where much of the film was shot over the last year.

The film features the on-camera appearances of several members of Newport Society, many of whom have never appeared on the screen before. The film is narrated by the late Eileen Slocum herself, through audio recordings made before her death.

Slocum was not only Newport’s last grand dame –– she was a leading national Republican political figure for many years, a friend of both Presidents Bush, Presidents Reagan and Ford, and many others on both sides of the political spectrum. She was a descendant of prominent Rhode Islanders, including Roger Williams and the Browns of Brown University. These stories are told in the film in Eileen’s own words and appearances by several friends, including former Governor Bruce Sundlun and Hugh D. “Yusha” Auchincloss, stepbrother of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

BEHIND THE HEDGEROW is the second title from Eagle Peak Media, the production company founded in 2008 by writer/producer G. Wayne Miller and director David Bettencourt. ON THE LAKE: Life and Love in a Distant Place, its first title, premiered in February 2009 to critical acclaim. PBS broadcasts in major national markets began in March 2009 and continue today. ON THE LAKE was nominated for an Emmy by the New England chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

George T. Marshall, RIIFF Executive Director, is the executive producer of BEHIND THE HEDGEROW.

Soft light, Newport evening

Yes, we really did return to Eileen's mansion for one last shoot, the evening of Tuesday, June 29. We had some additional scans provided to us by Eileen's daughter Beryl Slocum Powell, which production assistant Brenda Rourke handles; a sound-recording of Patricia Painter, the diarist voice of Eileen, which musician/soundman Lonnie Montaquila oversaw; and an on-camera interview of granddaughter Phyllis Trevor Higgerson, which Dave and I conducted. That's Phyllis, back to camera, and me in the distance, in this photo by Dave.
Phyliss beautifully narrated an important era in her grandmother's life: her coming of age in 1930s New York City society; her engagement to richest-bachelor-in-the-world John Jacob Astor VI, whose mother was pregnant when she survived the sinking of the Titanic (the second Titanic story in the film, by the way); and the eventual meeting and marriage of Eileen and her husband John.

Final, final, we keep saying final...

And what happened on HEDGEROW the last two days?!

Behind The Hedgerow premiere approaches...

With the premiere now less than two months away, we are intensely editing. I spent a couple of hours today with Dave, pictured here, in the studio helping refine the opening sequence, Folks, it's starting to look kick-ass.
Information about the 7 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 10 world premiere at Vets Auditorium in Providence can be found through this ticket link, and as always, more is at the official movie site.
And please join the Facebook World Premiere events page. There will also be a Newport premiere at 2 p.m., Aug. 14, Bazarsky Lecture Hall, Salve Regina University.

First look at HEDGEROW

April 12, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BRISTOL, R.I. –– This year’s Roving Eye documentary film festival will feature an early look at BEHIND THE HEDGEROW: Eileen Slocum and the Meaning of Newport Society, the first-ever feature-length movie about the secret world of old-money Newport that will premiere at the 2010 Rhode Island International Film Festival.
Writer/producer G. Wayne Miller and director David Bettencourt will be on hand April 25 at Roger Williams University to screen selections from the film and join RWU professor Edward Delaney to talk about the making of HEDGEROW and participate in a more general discussion, “The Art of Creative Storytelling.”
Part history, part contemporary look, HEDGEROW is told through the focus of Eileen Gillespie Slocum, Newport’s last grand dame, who died in the summer of 2008. Slocum’s family has granted the filmmakers exclusive access to her archives and private Bellevue Avenue estate, where much of the film was shot over the last year.
The Roving Eye event will be at 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 25, at Roger Williams’ Global Heritage Hall 01. It is free and open to the public.
HEDGEROW, scheduled for PBS broadcast, is now in post-production. A second advance look and discussion will be staged in Newport on Wednesday, April 28. This session is by invitation only. Those interested in attending should contact Eagle Peak Media for time, location and other details.
BEHIND THE HEDGEROW is the second title from non-profit Eagle Peak Media. ON THE LAKE, its first title, premiered in February 2009 to critical acclaim. PBS broadcasts in major national markets began in March 2009 and continue today.
For news, links to the HEDGEROW blog and Facebook page, and more, visit the Hedgerow site.
More information about Roving Eye at the festival site.

Celebration at the Pell Center

A fine evening with friends and family of Pell at Salve Regina University's Pell Center.

Nuala on the campaign trail

Finally done Chapter 5 of the Pell biography, A VERY DIFFERENT SENATOR!

Pell Grants; a 'Titanic Struggle'

Click here for an update on the Pell bio...

Fire and Thievery

Another fine shoot on Behind the Hedgerow...

Pell biography advances....

nearing completion of the second chapter of A VERY DIFFERENT SENATOR, check it out.

Hedgerow movie

Hedgerow movie developments!