Interstate Theatres Documentary

Funding
The producers will be raising funds for production of the one hour film and the educational outreach Web site through private and corporate foundation grants and donations from individuals. The Interstate Documentary Project is being presented by Documentary Alliance, Inc. a Houston-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating the cultural amnesia that is robbing Americans of the valuable lessons of the past. This is accomplished by using film, video and multimedia to fashion thoughtful and thought provoking stories about history, culture, and science. By preserving and presenting these ideas, Documentary Alliance hopes to inform, inspire, and empower Americans to fashion a better tomorrow.

If the producers generate early interest from cable distributors, they may also seek co-funding through companies such as American Movie Classics, Turner Classic Movies, Bravo, and A&E that have project development budgets.

The combined budget for the film and Web site is projected to be approximately $445,000.

Schedule
Photography began on Before the Curtain Rises in November of 1996, when the producers shot a series of interviews of many of the pioneers of Interstate Theatres, Inc. and several of the restored theater auditoriums. Sadly, many of these employees have passed away in the intervening years, making these oral histories all the more important.

The producers also shot footage in 1996 of the Plaza Theater in El Paso, which at that time still stood abandoned and waiting for a viable restoration plan. Since that time, the El Paso Community Foundation has committed money and a blueprint for turning the theater into a commercial and community performance and meeting facility.

Primary photography began at the end of July 2002 when the producers covered the critical City Council vote to commit to work with the El Paso Community Foundation on raising the needed monies to save the theater. Every stage of restoration work was filmed, including the night the curtain rose on the new stage, March 17th, 2006. Photography continues today to cover additional theatres, interview theatre historians, and examine the debate about the future of the exhibition business going forward. After post production, the project should be concluded in 2008.

Producers
The production team is being led by Houston's Io Communications. Io produces documentaries and documentary-style corporate communication and interactive programs for fortune 500 companies such as Compaq Computer Corporation, Chevron, Duke Energy, Cooper Industries, Raytheon, and Universal Weather and Aviation. They celebrate their 25th anniversary in 2008.

Jeffrey Mills, president of Io Communications, and director for the Interstate Documentary Project, has worked in the film industry for more than 30 years. He first became aware of, and fell in love with, the story of Interstate from his good friend and business colleague Dan Sessions who had been an usher at Interstate's Houston Majestic Theater.

Soon, Jeffrey discovered that Interstate had touched nearly everyone in his life. His father, Julian Mills, had been an usher and assistant manager at the Palace Theater in downtown El Paso, only blocks from the Plaza Theater.

Also on the production team is Barbara Mills, award-winning graphic designer and animator who will be working on both the film documentary and the Web site. Kerry Maniam also joins the production team as the manager of interactive production for the Web site.