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Oklahoma filmmaker Mickey Reece to screen mockumentary 'Country Singer'
BY NATHAN POPPE | Published: June 18, 2010 | Modified: June 18, 2010 at 8:45 am
Oklahoman
Hang around Mickey Reece long enough, and he will have you acting strangely.
But that's a filmmaker's job, and few directors in Oklahoma have been as productive as the Newcastle native.
"People don't ask to be in my movies,” Reece said in a recent interview. "It's more like, 'Hey you, you're in my movie.'”
With that attitude and a tireless work ethic, Reece has made eight feature-length films in the past two years and has recruited local musicians such as Ali Harter, Chris Harris and even his own grandmother for his latest effort, "Country Singer,” which will be screened Saturday at the Opolis, 113 N Crawford in Norman.
"This is definitely a movie from the guys who watched 'Crazy Heart' and 'Coal Miner's Daughter,'” Reece said.
"Country Singer” is a mockumentary in the vein of Christopher Guest films such as "Best in Show” and "A Mighty Wind.” It's the fictional story of a demented and determined country musician named Kenny Wayne, who deeply envies the success of his friendly rival, Roy Mason.
Reece took a break from his music career as the one-man-band outfit El Paso Hot Button to focus on moviemaking after receiving funding from an Arkansas investor.
"Our movies are getting better and better,” Reece said. "So, I feel the more (bad) movies you make, eventually you'll make a good one. A lot of people's approach to it is, 'If I can't make it good, then I can't make it at all.'”
Although Reece's films don't have talking Great Danes or kids learning karate, he's jumping headfirst into making dialogue-heavy movies and refusing to settle on making short films.
"(A lot of moviemakers) are usually too concerned about the technical aspect of (feature-length films),” Reece said.
