Lenten Series: Soup Supper and Fine Arts

For immediate release: New short film premieres at Border's Davenport "An Inconsequential Matter," a new short film by local filmmakers Max Allan Collins, Phil Dingeldein and Mark Johnson, will receive its Quad Cities premiere at Border's Davenport at 8 pm November 16. The seven minute black-and-white film, shot in March in Des Moines as part of a Iowa Motion Picture Association workshop, is featured on the team's new DVD of their award-winning 2006 film, "Eliot Ness: An Untouchable Life," receiving national release from VCI Entertainment. "When Phil and I were asked to create a short film for the IMPA Workshop," Collins said, "we jumped at the chance. We were already working on the DVD of 'Ness' and thought 'An Inconsequential Matter' would make the perfect bonus feature." The short is shot in black-and-white in what the filmmaker describes as "the style of the old Alfred Hitchcock show." The screening of the noir-style short is the centerpiece of the DVD release party of the Ness film. The filmmakers will present a panel discussion and do a Q and A on the making of both films. A signing will follow, featuring the DVD as well as recent books by Collins, including the current New York Times bestseller, American Gangster (currently the number one film at the box office nationally), and Jump Cut, first in a series of a novels based on the highly-rated Criminal Minds television series. Collins and his wife Barbara will also be autographing their collaborative mystery novel, Antiques Maul, the second in their bestselling "Trash 'n' Treasures" mystery series under their joint "Barbara Allan" byline. Barbara Collins was the line producer on both the "Ness" film and "Inconsequential Matter." The "Ness" feature was shot in Des Moines in August of 2005, with all post-production handled at dphilms and its next-door neighbor Brass Sail Recording Studio in the Rock Island District. Brass Sail honcho Johnson handled all location and post-production sound, collaborating on a jazz-influenced score with Scott Morschhauser. "We've loaded the DVD up with extras," said Dingeldein, the film's cinematographer and editor. "It includes a feature-length commentary with our star actor as well as Max and me, plus a fun behind-the-scenes documentary. The short demo film we made in 2001, which was done to create interest in the bigger project but went on to win several film festivals, is also included. So 'An Inconsequential Matter,' of course." "Eliot Ness: An Untouchable Life" tells the real story of America's most celebrated - and misunderstood - true detective, whose story has been turned into Hollywood myth from the Robert Stack 1950s "Untouchables" TV series to the Kevin Costner 1987 film. The original play was presented in August 2005 at the Des Moines Playhouse to enthusiastic audience response and overwhelmingly favorable reviews. Between weekend performances, Collins and Dingeldein led an Iowa/Illinois crew on a demanding Hi Definition shoot. Developed in part with a grant from Humanities Iowa and the National Endowment for the Arts, the one-man show stars Des Moines actor Michael Cornelsion. The veteran performer's Hollywood credits include the films "Lost in America" and "Where the Buffalo Roam" as well as guest star turns on such classic TV series as "Hill Street Blues," "Dallas," "Knots Landing," "Remington Steele," "Hunter" and "Greatest American Hero." Cornelison starred in, and co-produced, Frank Darabont's first film, "Stephen King's Woman in the Room." Mostly recently he played a major supporting role in the Iowa-shot baseball film, "The Final Season." For a DVD release, Collins contacted Robert Blair, president of Oklahoma-based DVD distributor VCI, because the two had collaborated before. After VCI successfully distributed a VHS release of Collins' films "Mommy" and "Mommy 2: Mommy's Day," Blair approached the filmmaker/mystery writer to provide commentary tracks for several classic film noir DVD releases. VCI's impressive library of noir films convinced Collins that the label was the perfect home for the story of a man who lived the kind of life noir mythologizes. The DVD will be available wherever DVDs are sold as well as at the familiar online outlets. For more information and/or interviews: contact Max Allan Collins at macphilms@hotmail.com ***Downloadable images of Cornelison, Collins and the DVD cover are available at www.maxallancollins.com see www.eliotnessthemovie.com

Queen Victoria never crossed the Atlantic Ocean, and yet no woman came to be better known in the "Victorian" United States. In a free presentation this Friday, November 2nd at 7 p.m. at Butterworth Center, expert Dr. Walter Arnstein focuses on an unexplored subject: Why did the granddaughter of King George III, the quintessential "tyrant" of 19th century American textbooks, become a heroine in the eyes of most Americans and the object of the most elaborate funeral ceremonial ever devoted to a foreigner?