LOCAL TALENT: Those looking for wholesome films to watch with the family this holiday season may want to consider Valley Inn.
The comedy-drama tells of a college coed from New Jersey who sells Christian books door to door in a rural town (Hindsville, population 75). Filmed in Northwest Arkansas and shown at film festivals since 2014, the movie was given the Dove Seal of Approval for being a family-friendly film. The movie was released to DVD on Tuesday.
It features several locals, including Little Rock native Joey Lauren Adams (Dazed and Confused, Big Daddy, Chasing Amy) and Little Rock resident Natalie Canerday (Sling Blade, October Sky, Walk the Line). More than 100 Arkansans worked on the film.
The film also features music composed by Conway resident and Fox's American Idol winner, Kris Allen. Allen and Academy Award winner Mary Steenburgen teamed up for the song "Love in a Small Town." Steenburgen, who was born in Newport and grew up in North Little Rock, plays accordion on the song. Among other contributors to the soundtrack were Jeff Coleman, Bonnie Montgomery, Mandy McBryde and Amy Garland Angel.
LEAVING HIS MARK: The late Jim Dickinson was honored Thursday in Hernando, Miss., when the Mississippi Blues Trail unveiled its 189th marker for the Dickinson Family. Born in Little Rock, Dickinson moved with his family to Memphis as a child. In the 1960s, he worked as a member of Atlantic Records' house band, the "Dixie Flyers," playing for artists including Aretha Franklin and Albert Collins. In the 2000s, he produced recordings for several local groups, including the North Mississippi Allstars band formed by his sons, Luther and Cody. The band, founded in 1996, went on to see three of its albums nominated for Grammy awards.
BLAST FROM THE PAST: I remembered that Barrett Baber had rated a mention here in Paper Trails a little more than a decade ago, long before he became a household name across America thanks to his finishing in third place in the ninth season of NBC's The Voice. I searched our newspaper archives to see exactly what I'd written about him back then. Here it is, from May 9, 2005:
"WHATEVER HAPPENED TO: Barrett Baber, one of the survivors of American Airlines Flight 1420, which crashed after landing in Little Rock on June 1, 1999. At the time, Baber was 19, a student at Ouachita Baptist University, and one of the Ouachita Singers returning home after a European tour. He made news back then for helping injured passengers after the crash. What's he been up to since? Baber is a Conway resident and is close to finishing a public relations degree at the University of Central Arkansas. He's been playing his acoustic rock in bars and college fraternity houses across the South. In 2004, he released a 10-track CD, Barrett Baber -- Fratbar Superstar, featuring a Dave Matthews kind of sound."
Contact Linda S. Haymes at (501) 399-3636 or [email protected]
SundayMonday on 12/20/2015