Cast and Crew
Jim Wolpaw (Producer/Director/Writer)
Jim Wolpaw, a Brown University graduate, has worked in independent film for the past 20 years. His films include the Academy Award nominated documentary "Keats and His Nightingale: A Blind Date" (producer, director, writer, editor,1985); "Cobra Snake for a Necktie" (producer, director, editor,1979), a portrait of rock and roll legend Bo Diddley which aired on Showtime; and the feature comedy "Complex World" (writer/director, Hemdale, 1992). He has freelanced as a writer, film editor, post-production supervisor, and creative consultant on numerous documentary projects, and for the past six years has taught film production and screenwriting at Emerson College. His films have won awards at more than a dozen film festivals worldwide and his honors include an Academy Award nomination and a Cine Golden Eagle.
Steve Gentile (Producer/Editor/Director of Photography)
Since graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design
in 1987, Steve Gentile has had an extraordinarily diverse film career.
His animated films "The Ant Who Loved a Girl" and "The
Soldier" have won awards at over 30 film festivals worldwide, including
London, Hong Kong, and Zagreb. As an editor, he has six feature credits
including the rock and roll cult comedy "Complex World", released
nationally by Hemdale Films. He was also the post-production coordinator
on Miramax's "Next Stop Wonderland". Steve has had recent success
as a screenwriter, scripting three one-hour teleplays for independent
film legend Roger Corman's Sci-Fi Channel series "Black Scorpion".
He has freelanced in a variety of technical capacities on numerous documentary
and industrial projects, and has taught film production and animation
at Emerson College, Boston Film/Video Foundation, The School of the Museum
of Fine Arts Boston, and Boston University. His honors include a Regional
Student Academy Award nomination, a Cine Golden Eagle, and a NEA/Massachusetts
Artists' Foundation fellowship.
BIOGRAPHIES OF FEATURED INTERVIEWEES
JULIE HARRIS, ACTOR
With a record five Tony Awards to her name, and an unmatched ten Tony
nominations, legendary actor Julie Harris is one of the country’s
most accomplished performers. During a career that spans more than fifty
years, Harris has distinguished herself on stage, in film and television,
garnering eleven Emmy nominations (twice winning), and an Academy Award
nomination for her appearance in "The Member of the Wedding".
It is, however, the one-woman play "The Belle of Amherst" for
which Miss Harris is best known. Harris’ portrayal of poet Emily
Dickinson has enjoyed far-reaching success not limited to the stage: "The
Belle of Amherst" was a success on television, and even won a Grammy.
In "Loaded Gun: Life, and Death, and Dickinson - ", Miss Harris
relates her experience of playing Emily Dickinson for over 25 years, and
contributes several spirited and moving renditions of Dickinson’s
poetry.
BILLY COLLINS, U.S. POET LAUREATE
The work of current United States Poet Laureate Billy Collins has enjoyed
enormous popularity in recent years. Following the release of 1998’s
Picnic, Lighting, Collins was prominently featured on National Public
Radio, which resulted in all three of his books securing high rankings
on Amazon.com’s poetry best-seller list. Mr. Collins has been honored
with fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts, The National
Endowment for the Arts, and the Guggenheim Foundation, and is a winner
of the Bess Hokin Prize, the Frederick Bock Prize, the Oscar Blumenthal
Prize, and the Levinson Prize. In "Loaded Gun: Life, and Death, and
Dickinson - ", he responds to Dickinson’s life and work and
reads his humorous (and sometimes controversial) poem, ‘Taking Off
Emily Dickinson’s Clothes’.
Major Funding provided byThe Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities
The Rhode Island Committee for the Humanities
LEF Foundation
Produced in association with
ITVS (Independent Television Service)
WGBH
Center for Independent Documentary
© Copyright 2003, all rights reserved
