Chatting with Aubrey Plaza about Muncie and Movies

Sometimes it felt like Sarasota, Fla., was a nice getaway for Hollywood stars.

Aubrey Plaza, most famous so far for “Parks and Recreation,” visited Ringling College of Art and Design. She didn’t disappoint for giving me plenty to write about.

She rode around in a golf cart, blowing a whistle, and telling people she was the new pope.

She talked to college students about working in the movie and TV biz.

And she talked to me about a piece of “Parks and Recreation” trivia that I had to write about. I graduated from Ball State University in Muncie, Ind. Part of the show is based on Muncie, in a roundabout way, and the map in the opening credits of Pawnee, Ind., is Muncie upside down. She either wasn’t aware, didn’t care or was being kind.

Parks and Recreation’s Aubrey Plaza: Is Muncie Real?

Parks and Recreation actress wonders if Indiana towns mentioned in hit show are real.

Sarasota, FL

By CHARLES SCHELLE (Open Post) –  May 7, 2013 12:35 pm ET 

Reality and fantasy collide all the time in TV, but there’s something about when a hit show takes place in a town you’re familiar with that sets it apart.

That’s the case with NBC’s Parks and Recreation, which takes place in fictional Pawnee, Indiana, which is beside the also fictional Eagleton. But they reference real towns in the Hoosier state, and Pawnee is sort-of based on a real city in East Central Indiana: Muncie.

Thankfully Aubrey Plaza, who plays April Ludgate on the show was in Sarasota on Saturday to satisfy my curiosity.

Long ago during the first season, viewers astutely noticed that the map of Pawnee during the opening of the show is a map of Muncie flipped outside down. And the characters frequently make reference to goings-on in Muncie, too. The only reason I care is because I went to college in Muncie.

So, would it not be out of the ordinary for the show to film in Muncie, given that it did a great Indianapolis show (that city is real). And in another episode, the gang went to Washington, D.C. and met Vice President Joe Biden.

How about it, Aubrey?

“Wait. It’s a real place? Muncie?” Plaza said.

“Yeah,” this reporter said, stunned in his chair.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know that,” Plaza said. “How about Bloomington?”

That’s real, too. Indiana University is located in Bloomington, and Ball State University in Muncie, where David Letterman attended.

Just like the map of Pawnee, my world was turned upside down.

You really can’t fault actors not being familiar with Midwestern geography of mid-sized cities. The writers write, and you act.

Writer Greg Levine actually researches this stuff. He told Wired.com that he checks in on small-town politics in both Muncie and Bloomington to figure out how Pawnee should operate.

One of the funniest exchanges in the show involved making fun of Muncie, too.

Tom Haverford, played by Aziz Ansari, rips Jerry Gergich (Jim O’Heir) for his vacation spot.

Tom: You went on vacation and you chose Muncie, Indiana?

Jerry: My wife and I have a timeshare.

Tom: In Muncie?

Leslie: Tom, Muncie is a lovely city.

But the Sherm’s Ice Cream in Muncie during the “Two Parties” episode where the guys went to Indy? Doesn’t exist, nor did that appear to be Muncie.

Just to double check to make sure I’m being fair, I asked her in the green room if she was kidding. Nope.

Her boyfriend and screenwriter Jeff Baena knew—even told me to Google Hudsucker Proxy to check if the movie was set in Muncie, too. Yup.

Also, a part of Close Encounters of the Third Kind took place there, and there was a reality show, probably my favorite ever, called Armed & Famous that shot there. It featured the likes of Wee Man, Erik Estrada, La Toya Jackson and others being Muncie cops and fighting crime. I wish it would return, but Aubrey would have to be less famous to be on the show.

Knowing that Muncie is indeed real, Plaza gave a “hopefully” in response to the real question—if Parks and Rec would shoot there.

You know what? I’ll accept that answer. For real.

Parks & Rec’s Aubrey Plaza ‘Blesses’ People On Golf Cart

Aubrey Plaza made a grand entrance on a Model T golf cart at Ringling College of Art & Design’s Avant-Garde fundraiser.

By CHARLES SCHELLE (Open Post) –  May 7, 2013 

When Ben Folds Retweets You

Ben Folds gave me a RT!

I honestly don’t remember how I stumbled upon this tidbit, but during the course of an interview with director Will Slocombe about his movie, it turns out there was a neat detail about Ben Folds. You’ll read about it below, but because the film’s world premiere was at the Sarasota Film Festival, it also meant that the song would be premiered there, too.

Ben also retweeted me, which means I geeked out because I’m a fan of his music. Saw him in concert when he stopped at Ball State and I was hooked since.

Because how Patch operated and this being a regional story, I was able to publish one version highlighting the song’s role in the movie to leverage clicks and another version that is more straightforward about the movie’s premiere.

Of note, after the festival, the title of the movie was changed to “Cold Turkey.”

New Ben Folds Song Premieres In ‘Pasadena’ At Sarasota Film Festival

Writer and director Will Slocombe discusses the journey of his movie “Pasadena” to its world premiere at the Sarasota Film Festival.

By CHARLES SCHELLE May 7, 2013 4:15 pm 

Writer and director Will Slocombe worked on his movie Pasadena all his life.

He actually lists on his Facebook page that he has worked on the film since 1984, and it’s set to world premiere at the Sarasota Film Festival. Well, that’s because it kind of is about his life in a weird, twisted way.

“It’s very, very, very autobiographic,” Slocombe tells Patch in a phone interview. Pasadena is one of Sarasota Film Fest’s Spotlight films, and will be screened at 3:30 p.m., Saturday, April 13 at Regal Cinemas Hollywood 20. Only stand-by tickets are available, so show up early to the theater.

A Moving Hockey Doc: Lace Bite

‘Lace Bite’ Hockey Documentary Aims To Knock Out Cystic Fibrosis

“Lace Bite” documentary being shown at Sarasota Film Festival chronicles the longest hockey game ever played to raise funds to battle cystic fibrosis.

By CHARLES SCHELLE May 7, 2013

Hockey is a tough sport full of sacrifice, injuries and deep bonds within the sport’s community.

It’s no wonder that 40 brave women ages 19 to 51 braved to play the longest hockey game ever—243 hours worth in 10 days—to raise awareness and money for cystic fibrosis.

It is all captured in the documentary feature Lace Bite, which will be screened at the Sarasota Film Festival at 3 p.m. Saturday and 3:45 p.m. Tuesday at the Regal Cinemas Hollywood 20. It is also a selection of the Through Women’s Eyes Festival at SFF. Tickets are still available.

Lace Bite is so much more than a hockey movie by telling the stories of these players who want to raise awareness and funds to battle such a cruel disease.

Cystic fibrosis is an incurable genetic disease that causes inflammation and mainly involves mucus blocking the lungs and other vital organs, according to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and comes in a variety of mutations. With the help of medications and exercise regimens, the average age of survival for someone with the disease is in their mid thirties, according to the foundation.

“It’s just such a horrible disease. You’re dealt some really crappy hands when you’re dealt that disease because your lungs—that’s your life,” Co-director Carmen Klotz said. “Even now, we met 20-year-olds that go, ‘You know, I’m lucky to be here.'”

When ‘Blackfish’ Made a Splash at its Florida Debut

Before “Blackfish” was shown to national audiences in theaters and on CNN, I was fortunate enough to watch the Florida premiere at the Sarasota Film Festival.

The press row access also allowed me to talk to director Gabriela Cowperthwaite and some of the trainers featured in her movie.

‘Blackfish’ Makes A Splash At Sarasota Film Festival

Documentary on the life of killer whale Tilikum provokes questions about purpose of whale shows at SeaWorld.

Sarasota, FL

By CHARLES SCHELLE May 7, 2013 4:28 pm ET 

If there ever would be an audience to challenge whether they would go to SeaWorld Orlando ever again, it would be one in Florida just two hours away from the theme park.

A packed Van Wezel crowd screened the Sarasota Film Festival’s Opening Night film Blackfish on Friday night, with gasps, shock, even a few laughs, and a hearty applause.

The documentary is directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, who used to take her twins to SeaWorld and after not feeling what the enthusiastic crowds felt, she questioned the purpose and history of these shows, focusing on the record and effect of one particular killer whale: Tilikum.

Tilikum weighs 12,000 pounds and he made national news for killing trainer Dawn Brancheau on Feb. 24, 2010, prompting an investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which regulates safety in the workplace. The outcome dictated that the trainers couldn’t enter the water with the whales for shows.

The Hunt For The Perfect Chicken Wings in Great Chicken Wing Hunt

One of the perks working in Sarasota, Fla., was the opportunity to talk to filmmakers coming into town for the Sarasota Film Festival.

‘Great Chicken Wing Hunt’ To Throw Party At Clasico Cafe, White Buffalo Saloon

“The Great Chicken Wing Hunt” will have two showings at the Sarasota Film Festival and also host two parties featuring free wings.

By CHARLES SCHELLE  May 7, 2013 4:32 pm

The greatest chicken wing in America will make an appearance in Sarasota before being devoured by hungry diners and moviegoers.

Director Matt Reynolds’ film The Great Chicken Wing Hunt, will be screened at the Sarasota Film Festival at 1:15 p.m. Monday and 9:15 p.m. Tuesday at the Regal Cinemas Hollywood 20, where his quest for the best Buffalo wings leads him to abandon his job in Europe and return to America for the ride of his life.

“We went to 72 places and tried 260-something kinds of wings in 60 days, so it was quite a marathon of wing eating,” Reynolds told Patch.

Reynolds, a native of New York’s Finger Lakes region, decided to quit his job in Europe and take a Slovak film crew and his Czech girlfriend Lucie Mayerova to go for a ride for the best Buffalo wing, a quintessential American party food that’s been around since 1964.

Reynolds, who worked as an international journalist, travels more than 2,500 miles, largely around New York, with a few stops in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Vermont, Quebec and Ontario, and ending in the home of wings—Buffalo.

“I think for people who like wings there’s a lot to learn about wings,” he said. “We make the case in the movie that it was the first uniquely American food to be spread all over the world.”

Reynolds will also host two free after parties following the screenings of his film.

The first up is at Clasico Cafe and Bar, on the corner of Main Street and Palm Avenue, from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. Free wings, including what Reynolds considers the world’s greatest, will be offered, as well as free vodka cocktails sponsored by Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Reynolds said.

A second party will be held from 5 to 10 p.m., Wednesday at White Buffalo Saloon, 5377 McIntosh Road, with dancing, free Tito’s cocktails and wings.

 

The Great Chicken Wing Hunt

Tickets: $12.50. Available at SFF Box Office at Hollywood 20 or purchase online.

Genre: Documentary

Runtime: 70 minutes

Showings: 1:15 p.m. Monday and 9:15 p.m. Tuesday

Download the movie

High School Football Receives Concussion Protocol Tools Before It Was Cool

Concussion protocol and prevention hit a fever pitch between 2013-2016 as professional leagues sought to create better best-practices and defend lawsuits.

In 2006, West Virginia University medical students were working with high school football teams using high-tech concussion protocol tools developed by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Here’s that story as it appeared in The [Martinsburg, W.Va.] Journal on Nov. 7, 2006:

ImPACTing football: WVU medical students conduct study on concussions

By Charles Schelle / Journal Staff Writer

MARTINSBURG — Athletes know the drill after they get their noggin hit: “What’s the score? How many fingers am I holding up?” If players answer correctly, they might get back to action.

But those questions do not hold up, nor do many tools to diagnose concussions, according to a recent study by medical students at the Eastern Division of the WVU Health Sciences Center and Dr. Konrad Nau, family medicine chairman.

“Concussions are one of the more common sports injuries after a sprain ankle, and the management of concussions have undergone a lot of change recently,” Nau says in a telephone interview from a Las Vegas conference.

Freedom of Speech, Religion and French Fries

Staff Photo by Marc Masferrer

When I reported that a controversial pastor would be moving into my coverage area, I thought that would be mainly quiet after he settled.

Rev. Terry Jones earned international notoriety for burning the Quran along with his views about Islam. He lived in a rural town in Polk County, Fla., and then a Central Florida news outlet mentioned in passing he would be moving to Manatee County.

[Forgive the difference in spelling of Koran and Quran in the clips. The editors and copy desk were battling over style preferences.]

I checked property records and found that yes, he is in the community.

Two years later, my business editor received a call from a reader saying Jones had opened a place in the DeSoto Square mall food court.

It was the most bizarre news tip I ever received. I checked it out and there he was.

When local outlets cover a story I broke first, I typically get miffed. But it was quite an honor to see Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Anne Hull write her version for The Washington Post. It’s the tone that I would have wanted to write but knew it wasn’t write for a local audience. Her style is perfect for a national view.

After my story ran, I actually received more complaints about one of his other businesses I didn’t know about—furniture moving.

Making Sewage Stories Readable

I love sources who can explain boring topics in a way that’s relatable and meaningful to readers.

I’d see and hear Joe Barrington at enough meetings in the county about sewer projects that I learned more about where your waste goes more than I wanted to know.

He shared with me a series of problems in the community with both sewers and water–something that mattered in a community that often had line breaks and clogs.

So, we did a series called Liquid Assets to cover these topics.

Of Course There’s a Florida Connection: McDonnell Trial

There’s an old saying in newsrooms found in the Sunshine State: Of course there’s a Florida connection.

The trial of Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell proved that. This story shared those connections in the Sarasota and Bradenton communities.

It involved a relocated pharmaceutical company, a local medical research lab known for its Alzheimer’s studies, a tennis coaching legend and a reader who contacted me to share her experience testing the drug at the center of the trial.

SEPTEMBER 14, 2014

In Bradenton and Sarasota, Anatabloc crossed many paths before McDonnell trial

A Sarasota woman shares her story of being in the clinical trials for the drug Anatabloc, which suspended its sales in the midst of the corruption trial of Gov. Bob McDonnell and wife Maureen McDonnell. The McDonnells were found guilty of accepting bribes to promote the drug while leading Virginia.

By CHARLES SCHELLE – cschelle@bradenton.com

MANATEE — Ten days before Jonnie R. Williams stepped down as chief executive of drug company Star Scientific, Janet Wilmink got the OK to be part of a clinical trial for Williams’ wonder drug, Anatabloc.

Wilmink, a Sarasota retiree, didn’t know anything about the company, the drug or an impending indictment of Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell when she was approved last December to participate in the clinical trial. To her, it was another test for science, this time at Manatee County’s Roskamp Institute. That’s what she does to fill time: volunteering her body to test new pharmaceuticals and supplements.

“This may sound patriotic, but I believe in these clinical studies. Somebody has to be willing to test these things,” said Wilmink, a former Department of State foreign services secretary. “There have to be institutes like the Roskamp and pharmaceutical companies, and there have to be people that are willing to risk a little bit.

“I didn’t risk much,” she added. “I was careful in what I took part in.”

When Mental Health, Safety, Politics Collide

Photo by Phil Grout

See more at: Covering a small town can be more active than what you think.

I learned this when I was thrusted in covering a controversial change at a state mental hospital in town, Springfield Hospital Center. The center has a long history with the town and many residents either work there or knows someone who does.

They understand the hospital’s mission and care. But a change in policy led residents to be uneasy as those who battle mental issues that have committed crimes, some violent, would be transferred to Springfield. The Muncie Building on the campus, shown above, was renovated to house these patients awaiting trial.

Links to full coverage are at the bottom, for as long as the Sun maintains the archive.