Chlumsky is back ‘In the Loop’
Anna Chlumsky is back on screen, playing a “sexy government intern” named Liza in the film In the Loop, according to a recent profile (July 21) in the Sun-Times Showcase section, titled, “‘My Girl,’ all grown up.”
My Girl, may ring some bells for movie fans. That was the hit 1991 film in which she starred with (and kissed) Macaulay Culkin of Home Alone fame. Anna’s name might also sound familiar because her father, Frank, writes a food column for Wednesday Journal (see today’s LifeLines section, page 27).
Life isn’t easy for child stars, whose adorability doesn’t always last into adulthood. (When was the last time you saw a film with Macaulay Culkin?) Anna had her share of ups and
downs, trying to land roles as she got older. She attended the University of Chicago, then took a job as an editorial assistant at HarperCollins Publishing and figured she was through with show business.
But the working grind made her think again, and she got some roles on stage and in TV series. Now, 28 and married, she’s in this new film, which is generating some buzz.
Maybe the Lake Theatre will book it (hint, hint) so we can all check out a local girl who made good … again.
Short film with long roots
It was lights, cameras and plenty of action last week in Oak Park during the filming of a short movie. But this short flick has long roots in the village.
More than a dozen current and former Oak Park and River Forest High School students spent three days last week working on the film, tentatively titled This Keeps Happening, about a young man going through inner turmoil while locked in his room. Filming wrapped up last Thursday. Locations included a home near Marion and Thomas and in Chicago. Written by former OPRF student Matt Mitchener, it was directed by current student Drew Angle, who’ll be a senior this fall.
Much of the crew and cast worked on the 2006 film Love.Blood.Kryptonite, an independent movie also written by Mitchener. He and former student Kris Rey-Talley co-directed that film. The two are currently studying film at New York University. John Condne, a film and television teacher at OPRF and an independent film producer, contacted Mitchener about his script and Angle’s interest in directing. The crew began shooting the movie last Tuesday. The filmmakers have started editing the project and hope to submit it to film festivals when completed.
Community Prig?
The high school’s parking garage has been the subject of some back-and-forth between the school and village hall about who is responsible for maintenance and upkeep. So maybe it’s no surprise that the letters near the entrance keep disappearing. The silver metal letters that previously spelled out “Community Parking” at the corner of Scoville and Lake now spell “Community P r i g.”
Seems odd that every other letter would disappear, but the real question is, who’s going to replace them? If someone doesn’t do something soon, we’re liable to end up with “Community P i g” and no one wants that (except maybe the thief).
The word “prig,” by the way, means “a person who displays or demands of others pointlessly precise conformity, fussiness about trivialities, or exaggerated propriety, esp. in a self-righteous or irritating manner.” We hope we’re not sounding priggish about all this.
The word “prig” in England also means “to steal.”