Monday, February 1, 2010

The Legend of Pancho Barnes / February, 2010

Hello everyone, hope your props are turning and your chocks are free.  Here in "Pancho-land" the new year has been very, very busy.  We started off with a series of screenings including a terrific event in Mission Viejo and a wonderful showing in conjunction with the 99's in Camarillo.  That particular screening was quite meaningful as part of the money raised went to the Vicki Cruse Memorial Scholarship Fund.  For those of you who don't know Vicki's story, she was a woman acrobatic pilot and the type of person Pancho would have celebrated.  Click here to learn more.

The big news from here is that The Legend of Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom Riding Club was just accepted by the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival.   This renowned festival takes place in various venues in and around San Luis Obispo, California from March 12-21st.  Pancho will be screened twice on opening weekend, first at the Park Cinemas @ 1p.m. on 3/13, and then at the Palm Theater @ 4 p.m. on 3/14.   

The SLO Festival represents the third major film festival where Pancho will be screened, and the first California film festival for us.  We're absolutely delighted to be a part of it and hope we'll have a whole contingent of friends there.    For more information visit the SLOIFF website by clicking here.

More big news ... People keep asking us, "When is your film going to be on public television?"  Well, we don't have an official air date yet, but we can now tell you that (drum roll pleez!) the short-and-spiffy version of Pancho was recently accepted for national distribution and will be bouncing off satellites this Spring.  Yes, Pancho is finally going to go into space (in a manner of speaking) and into the living rooms of millions of people around the United States.  As soon as we have official air dates we'll be making a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT but you heard it here first.  

Amanda Pope also has a big announcement, which is that she's just completed a new film, The Desert of Forbidden Art.  This fascinating documentary will be debuting in the prestigious Santa Barbara Film Festival, so take a bow Amanda.   Click here for more details.

More Events, Notes and Happenings to be Aware of:


COME SEE THE FILM AT THE SAN FRANCISCO AIRPORT MUSEUM ON FEBRUARY 4th
I'll be flying up to the Bay Area to show the film at the San Francisco Airport's wonderful Louis A. Turpen aviation history museum.  Joining me at the event will be Dr. Lou D'Elia and Mike Salazar of the Pancho Barnes Trust Estate, as well as author Shawna Kelly and Will Hawkins of the documentary "A Pilot's Story".  This sponsored event is free to the public, but an RSVP is recommended.  For details click here.  To learn more about A Pilot's Story click here.

INTERVIEW AT PILOT'S FLIGHT POD LOG

A couple of days ago I was interviewed about the film by Will Hawkins and Dave Allen, who host a popular aviation podcast. You can hear it at the link here. Be prepared, it's a fairly informal interview with Dave sipping on a beer throughout.  Is that legal?

TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE FOR PASADENA SCREENING FEBRUARY 25th

We'll be having two showings of the film in Pasadena on February 25th to benefit three great non-profts: the KOCE-TV Foundation, Heritage Square and the Pasadena Museum of History.  This special event is sure to sell out once our radio ads commence, so if you are planning to attend I recommend getting tickets now by clicking here.

SOME NEWS SURFACES ON PANCHO'S MYSTERY SHIP
No I don't have any photos I can share publicly yet, but here's the first printed news in many, many years about Pancho's beloved R613K Mystery Ship!  Click here.


LATEST PRODUCTION JOURNAL ENTRIES:

Pancho Gets a Gold Record ... Almost!

One aspect of Pancho Barnes' life that we didn't get to cover adequately in our film, was her career as a songwriter.  That's right, in addition to being a movie stunt pilot, adventurer, animal wrangler, barkeep and hotelier, Florence "Pancho" Barnes was a prolific composer of music and lyrics for popular song.  The Pancho Barnes Trust Estate has a huge stack of her sheet music like the one at right, penned in Pancho's inimitable bold penmanship.

It's not that surprising that Pancho developed a career in writing music because music and entertainment were a big part of the Rancho Oro Verde.  All sorts of bands and musical personalities would find their way up to Pancho's hotel including the Sons of the Pioneers, Stan Worth and Jerry Wallace.  Relentlessly creative in all pursuits be they business or pleasure, Pancho found an outlet at the piano.

TO READ MORE VISIT OUR ON-LINE JOURNAL BY CLICKING HERE.

A Photo Comes Full Circle
Months ago we did a screening of the film at Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino, California.  I made a lot of new and wonderful friends at that event, including James Lowe, lead singer of the seminal 1960s rock band The Electric Prunes and a relative of Pancho's grandfather, Thaddeus Lowe.  Another person in attendance that night was Nikki Nikrent Robinson, whose great uncle was a fellow named Joe Nikrent.  Back in the 1910s, Joe and his brothers were a famous race car driving team known as, what else?, the Nikrent Brothers.  They raced against the likes of Barney Oldfield and Louis Chevrolet, among others, and were sponsored by Chas Howard of Seabiscuit (the horse) fame.  Joe even raced at Indy in 1913, but had his hopes dashed when a bearing gave out in his car after lap 67.  He also ran at Muroc  — the dry lake was used as a race and proving grounds for many decades —  and reached a speed of 108 mph in his Buick.

TO READ MORE VISIT OUR ON-LINE JOURNAL BY CLICKING HERE.

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The name, image and likeness of "Pancho Barnes", as well as the "Happy Bottom Riding Club" are trademarks of Pancho Barnes Enterprises, Inc.  All rights reserved.  Used with permission.

Visit the official film website:
www.LegendofPanchoBarnes.com

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