CHRISTMAS IN THE CLOUDS

[Okwes]

CHRISTMAS IN THE CLOUDS-- the first Native American romantic comedy—is
set to open nationwide the week after Thanksgiving! After an initial
run in California (plus Gallup and Farmington, NM), this award-winning
holiday film will open in 12 more states on Dec. 2 and Dec. 9.

And the movie is featured in the Dec. issue of Oprah Magazine (p. 62)!
"The upshot: a funny, spirited December charmer that will put you in a
festive mood without leaving you with Jingle Bells overload."

For more about this delightful family film (and its innovative
campaign for school fundraisers), visit www.christmasintheclouds.com .

Also, on Nov. 23 look for us in "Indian Country Today" and listen for
us on the national radio show "Native America Calling."

This is it, folks-- our chance to put the Native community on the
national map! But the film has no budget for advertising so
word-of-mouth is absolutely essential. BUY TICKETS and FILL SEATS.
Let's show Hollywood how it's done!

(Theaters Subject to Change-- Check Your Local Listings))

NOW PLAYING
Los Angeles, CA (Loews Beverly Center)
Monterey, CA (Nickelodeon 4?)
San Jose, CA (Camera 12)
San Luis Obispo, CA (Palm?)
Santa Rosa, CA (Rialto Cinemas Lakeside?)
Gallup, NM (Aztec)
Farmington, NM (Allen 8?)

NOV. 23
Bismarck, ND (Grand Bismarck)

NOV. 25
Roosevelt, UT (Roosevelt)

DEC. 2
Anchorage, AK (Century 16)
Kayenta, AZ (Black Mesa)
Phoenix, AZ (Harkins Shea Scottsdale, Regal Scottsdale Pavilions)
Prescott, AZ (Frontier Valley)
Tucson, AZ (Century El Con)
Yuma, AZ (Main Street Cinema)
Chicago, IL (AMC River East)
Lincoln, NE (Art Cinema)
Gallup, NM (Aztec)
Philadelphia, PA (Ritz, Ritz Voorhies, AMC Hamilton, AMC Neshaminy)
Austin, TX (Regal Arbor)
Dallas, TX (Angelika)
Yakima, WA (Yakima Cinema)

DEC. 9
Minneapolis, MN (Landmark Edina)
Alburquerque, NM (Century Rio)
Santa Fe, NM
Oklahoma City, OK (AMC Quail Springs)
Tulsa, OK (AMC Southroads)
Park City, UT (Holiday)
Seattle, WA (Loews Meridien, Lincoln Bellevue)
Milwaukee, WI (Ridge 20)
Tomah, WI (Marcus Ho-Chunk)
--Apple-Mail-14--132388620
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
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<fontfamily><param>Arial</param><x-tad-bigger> CHRISTMAS IN THE
CLOUDS-- the first Native American romantic comedy=97is set to open
nationwide the week after Thanksgiving!=A0 After an initial

run in California (plus Gallup and Farmington, NM), this
award-winning holiday film will open in 12 more states on Dec. 2 and
Dec. 9.


And the movie is featured in the Dec. issue of Oprah Magazine (p. 62)!

"The upshot: a funny, spirited December charmer that will put you in a
festive mood without leaving you with Jingle Bells overload."


For more about this delightful family film (and its innovative
campaign for school fundraisers), visit
=
</x-tad-bigger><color><param>0000,0000,FFFF</param><x-tad-bigger>www.chris=
tmasintheclouds.com</x-tad-bigger></color><x-tad-bigger> .


Also, on Nov. 23 look for us in "Indian Country Today" and listen for
us on the national radio show "Native America Calling."


This is it, folks-- our chance to put the Native community on the
national map!=A0 </x-tad-bigger><bold><x-tad-bigger>But the film has no
budget for advertising so

word-of-mouth is absolutely
essential.</x-tad-bigger></bold><x-tad-bigger>=A0 BUY TICKETS and FILL
SEATS. Let's show Hollywood how it's done!


(Theaters Subject to Change-- Check Your Local Listings))


</x-tad-bigger><bold><x-tad-bigger>NOW PLAYING

</x-tad-bigger></bold><x-tad-bigger>Los Angeles, CA=A0=A0 (Loews Beverly
Center)

Monterey, CA=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 =A0 (Nickelodeon 4?)

San Jose, CA=A0=A0 (Camera 12)

San Luis Obispo, CA=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 (Palm?)

Santa Rosa, CA=A0=A0 (Rialto Cinemas Lakeside?)

Gallup, NM=A0=A0 (Aztec)

Farmington, NM=A0=A0 (Allen 8?)


</x-tad-bigger><bold><x-tad-bigger>NOV. 23

</x-tad-bigger></bold><x-tad-bigger>Bismarck, ND=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 =A0 =
(Grand
Bismarck)


</x-tad-bigger><bold><x-tad-bigger>NOV. 25

</x-tad-bigger></bold><x-tad-bigger>Roosevelt, UT=A0=A0 (Roosevelt)


</x-tad-bigger><bold><x-tad-bigger>DEC. 2

</x-tad-bigger></bold><x-tad-bigger>Anchorage, AK=A0 (Century 16)

Kayenta, AZ=A0 (Black Mesa)

Phoenix, AZ=A0 (Harkins Shea Scottsdale, Regal Scottsdale Pavilions)

Prescott, AZ=A0 (Frontier Valley)

Tucson, AZ=A0 (Century El Con)

Yuma, AZ (Main Street Cinema)

Chicago, IL (AMC River East)

Lincoln, NE=A0 (Art Cinema)

Gallup, NM=A0 (Aztec)

Philadelphia, PA (Ritz, Ritz Voorhies, AMC Hamilton, AMC Neshaminy)

Austin, TX=A0 (Regal Arbor)

Dallas, TX (Angelika)

Yakima, WA=A0 (Yakima Cinema)


</x-tad-bigger><bold><x-tad-bigger>DEC. 9

</x-tad-bigger></bold><x-tad-bigger>Minneapolis, MN=A0 (Landmark Edina)

Alburquerque, NM=A0 (Century Rio)

Santa Fe, NM

Oklahoma City, OK=A0 (AMC Quail Springs)

Tulsa, OK=A0 (AMC Southroads)

Park City, UT=A0 (Holiday)

Seattle, WA=A0 (Loews Meridien, Lincoln Bellevue)

Milwaukee, WI=A0 (Ridge 20)

Tomah, WI=A0 (Marcus Ho-Chunk)</x-tad-bigger></fontfamily>=

[blackcrowheart]

Please spread this Dec. 8 update far and wide. :-)

CHRISTMAS IN THE CLOUDS-- the first Native American romantic comedy-- is now playing
(or about to start) in 16 states across the country! Check out playdates, reviews, clips and
more at our newly revamped website www.christmasintheclouds.com.

Roger Ebert, on his TV show last Sunday, celebrated the film as "charming" and "finally, a
movie about Indians that isn't about social problems." And Oprah Magazine calls it "a
funny, spirited December charmer that will put you in a festive mood."

Come see the most refreshing movie of the year-- you'll be glad you did!

Brían Wescott
Co-Producer/Actor
www.christmasintheclouds.com


NOW PLAYING (Updated constantly-- check your local listings)

Anchorage, AK (Century 16)

Kayenta, AZ (Black Mesa)
Scottsdale, AZ (Harkins Shea 14, UA Pavilions 11)
Prescott, AZ (Frontier Valley)
Tucson, AZ (Century El Con)
Yuma, AZ (Main Street Cinema)

Boise, ID (The Flicks)

Chicago, IL (AMC River East)

Minneapolis, MN (Landmark Edina)

Bismarck, ND (Grand Bismarck)

Lincoln, NE (Ross Media Arts Center)

Hamilton, NJ (AMC Hamilton)
Voorhees, NJ (Ritz 16)

Albuquerque, NM (Century Rio)

Oklahoma City, OK (AMC Quail Springs)
Tahlequah, OK (Dream Theatre)
Tulsa, OK (AMC Southroads)

Portland, OR (Hollywood)

Bensalem, PA (AMC Neshaminy)
Philadelphia, PA (Ritz 5)

Austin, TX (Regal Arbor)
Dallas, TX (Angelika)

Park City, UT (Holiday)
Roosevelt, UT (Roosevelt Twin)
Salt Lake City, UT (Trolley Square)

Seattle, WA (Loews Meridien, Lincoln Bellevue)
Yakima, WA (Yakima Cinema)

Milwaukee, WI (Ridge 20)
Tomah, WI (Marcus Ho-Chunk)

[blackcrowheart]

Breaking The Stereotype (arts)



‘Christmas’ cheer

Romantic comedy breaks mold for depiction of American Indians

“Christmas in the Clouds” is part romantic comedy, part screwball
comedy, and part historic breakthrough. The history is made because the
movie is about affluent Native American yuppies. So many movies about
American Indians deal in negative stereotypes that it’s nice to find one
that takes place at an upscale Indian-owned ski resort. The only
alcoholic in the cast is a white undercover investigator for a
guidebook.

The romance begins through a misunderstanding. Through an online dating
service, Joe Clouds on Fire (Sam Vlahos) is paired off with Tina Pisati
(MariAna Tosca). She’s a chic New York professional woman, whose name
sounds Italian but whose family name is Little Hawk. He’s a likeable
codger whose son, Ray Clouds on Fire (Tim Vahle), manages the resort.
Joe has not been entirely honest about his age, and is about 30 years
older than Tina. Meanwhile, the resort is expecting a surprise visit
from the critic of luxury hotels, and Mary the reservations manager
(Sheila Tousey) keeps an eagle eye for anyone checking in who looks like
they can spell Zagat.

This is the setup for an Idiot Plot, in which all misunderstandings
could be cleared up with one or two lines of dialogue. Yes, but some
Idiot Plots are charming, while most are merely dumb. This one I
enjoyed, mostly because the actors have so much quiet fun with it. Of
course Mary the manager thinks Tina Pisati is the critic. Of course Tina
thinks that handsome young Ray is her pen pal, not crusty old Joe. And
of course when Stu O’Malley checks in, no one fingers him as the critic,
because he is grumpy, unkempt and half loaded; it’s M. Emmet Walsh,
playing his usual role.

Tina is upgraded to a luxury corner suite. O’Malley gets shunted to a
budget room, where he suffers from what passes for flu and may involve a
large percentage of hangover. Tina has her eye on Ray. Ray thinks Tina
is beautiful and sexy but refuses to cater to her because he is too
ethical to kowtow to a critic. Old Joe knows the score but maintains a
studious silence about his pen-pal correspondence, which no one at the
resort knows about.

And then there is the matter of Earl (Graham Greene), the resort’s chef,
who has become a devout vegetarian and tries to discourage the customers
from eating meat. He has a disconcerting way of referring to the animals
on the menu by their first names, and grows sorrowful when someone
orders the turkey, which is a beloved pet.

Old Joe dreams of winning a Jeep Cherokee in an approaching bingo
tournament. Grumpy old O’Malley hauls out of bed to play bingo.
Eventually the two old-timers both end up in the Cherokee, stranded in a
blizzard, while misunderstandings pile up back at the resort.

There is nothing here of earth-shaking originality, but Kate Montgomery,
the writer-director, has such affection for these characters that we can
feel it through the screen. They’re not simply pawns in the plot, we
sense; they represent something she wants to say about the Native
Americans she knows. And the actors, all with successful careers behind
them, must be fed up with playing losers in social problem dramas;
Greene, a natural comedian, expands magnificently as the vegetarian chef
with an effortless line of patter about soy products, analog foods and
healthy nutrition. There may be a sitcom job for him lingering somewhere
near this role.

As for Ray and Tina, well, in all versions of basic romantic comedy, we
want them to kiss, they want to kiss, and the plot perversely frustrates
all of us. But at the end of “Christmas in the Clouds,” after everything
has worked out more or less as we hoped it would, I felt a surprising
affection and warmth. There will be holiday pictures that are more
high-tech than this one, more sensational, with bigger stars and higher
budgets and indeed greater artistry. But there may not be many with such
good cheer.

Universal Press Syndicate

‘CHRISTMAS IN

THE CLOUDS’

Three stars

Ray Clouds on Fire .......... Tim Vahle

Tina Pisati ............... MariAna Tosca

Joe Clouds on Fire ....... Sam Vlahos

Stu O’Malley ........ M. Emmet Walsh

Earl ....................... Graham Greene

Mary ......................... Sheila Tousey

Mabel Winright ........ Rosalind Ayres

Phil .......................... Jonathan Joss

Majestic Films presents a film written and directed by Kate Montgomery.
Produced by Montgomery and Sarah Wasserman. Photographed by Steven
Bernstein. Edited by Maysie Hoy. Music by Stephen McKeon.

Running time: 97 minutes.

Rated: PG (for mild sexual content and some language).