THE UTOPIAN FAIRHOPE
PRESS
GET TO KNOW GARY SCOVIL
FILM PRODUCER HAS UNEXPECTED JOURNEY TO THE SOUTH
Press-Register, May 6th, 2010
 Gary Scovil | | Scovil had the chance to come to the Gulf Coast area in 2007 when he worked with Tom McKnight on the documentary "Thunder on the Gulf." He loved the area, he said, especially Fairhope.
"Fairhope reminded me of where I grew up in Connecticut. It had such a great small-town atmosphere and was such an artsy community just like back home," he said. |
He bought a house in Mobile in the spring of 2009 and started his search immediately for anyone in the production industry so he could continue his endeavors here. Scovil came into contact with Andrea Faust Holloway. Scovil and Holloway immediately hit it off and the wheels began to turn as they started looking for their first documentary they could produce together.
The state of Alabama held a kick-off campaign at the Grand Hotel to promote its 2010 project to promote small towns and downtowns as a way of promoting tourism in the state. Scovil and Holloway, along with the help of local attorney Corey Lipscomb and many others, decided the best way to promote tourism in Fairhope was to produce a documentary about the town and the people and places in it. "The Utopian Fairhope" documentary was born.
After nine months of hard work and dedication the final product was ready for release. "We are so proud of the way that we have portrayed this wonderful little town," Scovil said. "We are excited to share it with others."
"The Utopian Fairhope" has only been out for a short time but the accolades are already coming in. At the Alabama International Film Festival a few weeks ago in Troy, the "The Utopian Fairhope" won the Alabama Showcase Award. "It is truly an honor and one we are very proud of," he said.
A public premier is set in downtown Fairhope for 7 p.m. May 15 at the University of South Alabama’s Fairhope campus. "We are really hoping people will come out and see what we have done."
FILMMAKERS UNVEIL FAIRHOPE DOCUMENTATY THIS WEEKEND
By Russ Henderson, Press-Register, April 9th, 2010
FAIRHOPE, Ala. -- With beautiful shots of the city's flower-lined downtown and interviews with several notable local artists, authors and politicians, the film "Utopian Fairhope" premiering this weekend is intended to interest residents and outsiders alike, the movie's producers said.
"We know for sure there will be interest in Fairhope, but we made the movie to introduce anyone and everyone to this unique city," said Andrea Holloway of Feather Head Productions, the movie's executive producer. | |  Andrea Holloway of
Feather Head Productions |
The documentary was filmed last year as a collaborative effort between two local film companies, Feather Head of Fairhope and Scovil Productions of Mobile. The budget for the project was about $80,000, said co-producer Gary Scovil, who recently moved his production company from Connecticut.
Two invitation-only screenings will take place this weekend at the Performance Center on the University of South Alabama's Fairhope campus. The first will take place at 7 p.m. Saturday. Another showing will follow at 2 p.m. Sunday.
A public premiere is scheduled for the same location at 7 p.m. May 15. Tickets for that show are available at Fairhope's Page and Palette Bookstore for $10 apiece, Holloway said. And, starting Monday, DVD copies will be on sale at the bookstore for $25, she said.
Mayor Tim Kant said he's looking forward to the screening Saturday evening.
"From what I've seen of who all they interviewed, I thought it was a good representation of Fairhope and what we're about here, from artists and writers to community volunteers," said Kant, who himself appears in the documentary.
This weekend's premiere was originally going to be a one-night event. But there was so much interest that a second showing had to be added, Holloway said.
"Of course we had to invite everybody who's in it, and then more and more people were interested," Holloway said. "There will be about 280 people coming. The Performance Center only has capacity of 140."
Holloway said she is working on a deal to distribute the movie nationally through Barnes & Noble Inc.
The documentary focuses on the experiences of Scovil as a new resident of the Mobile Bay area. He is inspired during his first experiences in Fairhope.
In the film, Scovil says he told Holloway that: "People in New England have no idea that towns like this exist in the South. I said to Andrea, 'We have to make a documentary about this serene town.'" Filming began during last year's Arts & Crafts Festival.
Filmmakers interviewed a wide array of locals, including Donnie Barrett, director of the Fairhope Museum of History; Dean Mosher, a painter and local historian; former Mayor Jim Nix; author Winston Groom and the artist Nall.
"We tried to give people a good overview of some of the most interesting people and best things about Fairhope," Holloway said. "Mostly, we just had fun with it. Now, hopefully was can make a little money, too."
GET A SNEAK PEEK AT A 'UTOPIAN FAIRHOPE'
By Thomas B. Harrison, Press-Register, March 14th, 2010
Page & Palette Bookstore will offer DVD copies of "The Utopian Fairhope," a collaborative documentary film, from 1 until 5 p.m. March 19-20 at 32 S. Section St.
The two-day event will give local residents an opportunity to own and view the film before its April 15 opening at the annual Arts and Crafts Festival in Fairhope. The P&P will sell the DVD for the discounted price of $19.95. Regular price is $24.95.
"The Utopian Fairhope" is a collaborative effort between two local film companies, Feather Head Productions of Fairhope and Scovil Productions of Mobile. Andrea Holloway of Feather Head is executive producer; Gary Scovil is co-producer. Business manager Stan Zimmerman and production assistant/second cameraman Corey Lipscomb also were part of the production team.
The film will be released April 10 at an invitation-only event at the University of South Alabama-Baldwin County. To see a trailer for the documentary, visit www.theutopianfairhope.com.
The film views Fairhope through the eyes of Scovil, a newcomer inspired by the upscale artists' colony on Mob. The and focuses on outstanding artists within the community and features music by film score producer Brian Keane and artwork by local artists.
Scenes range from sunsets at the Fairhope Pier to the Eastern Shore landscape of cotton fields and pecan orchards. Other familiar scenes include the colorful flowers and trees of Fairhope streets, tree lighting at Christmas and hanging flower baskets.
Information, call the bookstore at 251-928-5295. Web: www.pageandpalette.com.
NEW DOCUMENTARY COMING ON FAIRHOPE
By Mike Odom, GulfCoastNewsToday.com, January 31st, 2010
Two local production companies, FeatherHead Productions of Fairhope and Scovil Productions of Mobile, are completing work on a new documentary called "The Utopian Fairhope" that will premiere in mid-April at the University of South Alabama Baldwin County Performance Center. From left, Stan Zimmerman, Andrea Holloway, Gary Scovil and Corey Lipscomb. Staff photo by Mike Odom. | | FAIRHOPE, Ala. — A local film crew has been working in town recently interviewing shopkeepers, artists, writers, public officials and others for a new documentary on Fairhope that will premiere in mid-April at the University of South Alabama Baldwin County campus.
Called "The Utopian Fairhope," the "film is a documentary encompassing the charming and visual beauty of the Southern Alabama town of Fairhope from its founding in 1894 to the present," according to promotional materials for the film. "This film tells the story of how Fairhope was built upon a belief in the arts and how the tradition continues."
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The film is the work of two local production companies, FeatherHead Productions of Fairhope and Scovil Productions of Mobile.
Andrea Holloway of FeatherHead is producer with Gary Scovil as co-producer. Stan Zimmerman and Corey Lipscomb are also part of the production team.
"This little town of 16,000 residents has historically been a haven of free-thinkers from artists authors, sculptors, musicians, photographers and the like," the promotional materials state. "This production focuses on members of the art community as well as politicians and other notable members of the Fairhope business community. A featured interview with Mayor Tim Kant brings to light such simple and varied ideas from the people of the area such as the many colorful flowers and trees that adorn the streets of Fairhope. Artistic and aesthetically pleasing touches such as soft lighting, hanging baskets and even handmade flower boxes on trash receptacles make Fairhope a sight to see.”
During a recent interview, Scovil said the current budget for the project was about $80,000, and Holloway said this week that a trailer for the film would be ready next week.
"The film has interviews with everyone from Winston Groom to the tomato lady," said Holloway, referring to the famous Point Clear author of Forrest Gump, and the popular local vegetable vendor seen most days at her truck parked on Church Street just east of Fairhope Avenue.
"Most people above the Mason-Dixon Line don't know that places like this exist in the South," said Scovil, who moved his production company from Connecticut to Mobile in recent years and met Holloway last summer, resulting in their collaboration on the current project.
The premiere on April 10 and 11 is by invitation only, with Anne Nix helping to select the guest list, said Holloway, referring to the wife of former mayor James P. Nix. However, a number of tickets must also be set aside for USA students, she said. The general public will also be able to purchase copies of the film for $24.95.
The invitation-only April screening of the film is a joint project of the two production companies with USABC, Holloway said.
"This work wastes no time getting straight to the point with speedy interviews and images of this Southern aura," the film info states. "Detailed shots include views of sunsets on Mobile Bay with shadows reflecting off the big oaks and magical moss indigenous to Southern Alabama. It is evident from this piece that the ideals of the 1890s are still alive and thriving in this multitalented and amazing time capsule of the south."
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