Screen gems

By KAREN MARTIN SPECIAL TO THE DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

LITTLE ROCK — Searching for an Arkansas connection to the movies you’re seeing? Watch for Little Rock resident filmmaker and actor Ray McKinnon in The Blind Side, opening today. He plays a high school football coach who works with Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), a homeless black kid who gets a fresh start in an already troubled life when he’s taken in by the wealthy Touhys (played by Sandra Bullock - who sneaks in a quick pat of Ray’s behind in a scene from the trailer - and Tim McGraw). It’s based on a true story in which Oher, an All-American offensive left tackle, was a first round draft pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, selected by the Baltimore Ravens.

And for the many fans of North Little Rock native Mary Steenburgen, she can be seen in the romantic comedy Did You Hear About the Morgans? opening Dec. 18. She plays Emma Wheeler, who, along with her husband, Sheriff Clay Wheeler (Sam Elliott), tries to get a chic New York couple with a rocky marriage (Sarah Jessica Parker, Hugh Grant) adjusted to living in a rustic Wyoming community after being relocated there as part of a witness protection program.

Criminals in the 1800s who ignored the Industrial Revolution risked being outfoxed by their early adopter colleagues. Outlaw Tech (not rated, 50 minutes), narrated by Keith Carradine, explores how savvy outlaws capitalized on technological advancements like dynamite, trains and the telegraph to further their criminal careers. The documentary will be shown at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Fort Smith Public Library, 3201 Rogers Ave., Fort Smith. The screening is part of the Fort Smith Museum of History’s exhibit “In the Shadow of the Gallows.” Admission is free. For more information, call the Fort Smith Museum of History at (479) 783-7841.

The Cabot Silver Screen Cinema, 100 Cinema Blvd., Cabot, has gone digital. The theater added a new Dolby Digital 3-D light projection system. The first film showing in the 3-D-equipped auditorium is A Christmas Carol 3D, which opened Nov. 6. Other improvements include new carpet, new high-back rocker seats with cup holders and pop-up arm rests, stadium seating, neon and digital signs, lighted poster cases and a bigger game room. The cinema will expand to 10 screens, all with stadium seating and digital light projection, in 2010. For more information, call (501) 843-7469 or visit silverscreen cabot.com.

Getting the word out: The Linguists, a 65-minute documentary about two professors who travel the world to document languages, will be shown at 7 p.m. Monday at Stanley Russ Hall, University of Central Arkansas in Conway. The free screening, in celebration of UCA’s new linguistics degree program. A discussion with UCA professors and students will follow. For more information contact Donna Lampkin Stephens at (501) 852-2599 or e-mail her at donnals@uca.edu.

MovieStyle, Pages 38 on 11/20/2009

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