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Virginia has been chosen as the location for The New World, a New Line Cinema production directed by Terrence Malick about the early days of the Jamestown Settlement. Malick's previous films have included Badlands, Days of Heaven and the Oscar-nominated The Thin Red Line. Set in 1607 Virginia, the film tells the story of the first permanent English settlement in the New World and the inevitable clash that occurred between the English and the Native Americans they found there. The film stars Colin Farrell as Captain John Smith, Christopher Plummer as Sir Christopher Newport and Christian Bale as John Rolfe. Also in the film are August Schellenberg, Wes Studi, David Thewlis, Yorick van Wageningen and newcomer Q'orianka Kilcher as Pocahontas.

Filming began July, and will primarily take place in the Williamsburg and James City County area through the fall.

Colin Farrell on the set of The New World, near Williamsburg, Virginia. In the background is a replica of the Godspeed, one of the ships that brought the settlers from England, which is on display at Jamestown Settlement.

Historical Entertainment, LLC and LionHeart FilmWorks, LLC announced a partnership to produce a new feature-length dramatic documentary about the Battle of Monocacy and the 1864 Confederate campaign against the U.S. Capitol. The film will be directed by Kevin R. Hershberger, director of the award-winning Civil War drama, Wicked Spring, now in world-wide distribution. The film will be produced by Historical Entertainment, LLC, the leading provider of re-enactors as extras for film and TV, in conjunction with Hershberger's Virginia production company, LionHeart FilmWorks. Shooting in the Richmond and Petersburg areas is scheduled for the fall.

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Thousands of commercials are produced every year. However, only a few of them are chosen as the very best. These will be shown on September 14 at an exciting event held for the first time in Virginia. The show was created by the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) and is a compilation of the best national and international commercials of 2004. The event is also scheduled for Los Angeles, New York, Minneapolis, Chicago and Atlanta. In Richmond, the show will be hosted by special guest Matt Miller, President and CEO of AICP and special guest of the VCU Ad Center. It will be held at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2800 Grove Avenue, in Richmond and will include a reception, screening of the commercials and question and answer period with Matt Miller. Sponsors of the show are the Richmond Ad Club, the Virginia Production Alliance, the Central Virginia Film Office and the Virginia Film Office. Tickets are $30 in advance and $40 at the door. Tickets for Virginia Production Alliance and Richmond Ad Club members are $25. Tickets for students with ID are $15 at the door only.

Get more information

Purchase tickets online

Order tickets by mail

Visit the VPA Website

Visit the Zero Gravity Website

Get Mickey on DVD

Remember back in 2001 when John Grisham and Hugh Wilson came to RIchmond to shoot a movie about Little League baseball? It's come and gone from theaters, and is now available on DVD at the Micky website. Copies signed by John Grisham are available for a limited time. T-shirts and hats are also available. Visit the Mickey website
	Harry Connick, Jr., John Grisham, Hugh Wilson and Shawn Salinas on the set of Mickey

Dominion Film Sundays premiered in July at the Byrd Theatre with a screening of Giant, shot partially on location in Charlottesville. The series is scheduled for the second Sunday of every month at 1:30 p.m. at the Byrd Theatre in Richmond. The cost is $5 with proceeds benefiting the Byrd Theatre Foundation, which is working to restore the historic theatre, and the Virginia Production Alliance. Additional screenings include Dirty Dancing (August 8), Lassie (September 12), a sneak peak at the 2004 Virginia Film Festival (October 10), The Contender (November 14) and The Four Seasons (December 12). Passes for the entire series can be purchased at Plan 9 through September 12.

The Byrd Theatre and the Virginia Production Alliance gratefully acknowledge the contribution of Dominion Resources for sponsorship of this event.

When the 2004 Virginia General Assembly finally passed the 2004 budget, it included a renewal of the sales and use tax exemption for filmmakers. Because of the state's budget crises, it was uncertain until the very last moment whether this valuable legislation would be passed, but it was finally decided to give a five year extension to the legislation.

Thanks go to the Virginia production community who was responsible for the success of this initiative.

Thanks go to all those who wrote letters, attended meetings, sent emails and participated in educating the General Assembly about the industry. Members of the Virginia Production Alliance provided leadership and determination and deserve our gratitude for their exceptional efforts.