A Prairie Home Companion

Before and After: updates and previews

May 2006 - Joe De Matteo

This is very promising for a film many of us are dieing to see, The Companion has taken one award and another nomination at the Berlin Film Festival, both for director, Robert Altmon.

November 2005 - Joe De Matteo

Picturehouse studio president, Bob Berney closed the deal for the Altman film, A Prairie Home Companion for $3.75 million. He made the bid after only watching half of the screening! This is the man that spotted My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which grossed $250 million.
About A Prairie Home Companion he said, "I think fans of thw show will love it." He went on to say that he feels that there is a large potential audience of older people who do not usually go to the movies, because they don't like what is being offered. They'll like this, Bob Berney is betting. I think he's 100% on the money.

October 2005 - Joe De Matteo

With the announcement that Picturehouse has won the bidding war to distribute Prairie Home Companion in North America, it was made more clear how the film's script came about.

It seems that Garrison Keillor had planned to write a screenplay about Lake Wobegon, a staple and popular section on the 30-year old radio show. Enter George Sheanshang, who is not only Keillor's attorney, but Robert Altman's as well. Altman and Keillor together wrote this screenplay as a musical backstage at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, Minn, where the radio show is broadcast from each week. Altmen then went ahead and put together the fantastic cast (see above).

August 2005 - Joe De Matteo

Eighty-year old director, Robert Altman, is not expecting giant box office in this film, which is set to be released in June 2006. He is expecting the audience to be mostly people who are not normal movie goers. This is sound thinking, because the Prairie Home Companion is, after all, a Public Radio show, and Public Radio does not have much audience share.

Mr. Altman when on to say that Lindsey Lohan will bring in the younger demographic that would not have come otherwise.

My personal feeling is that if this is advertised correctly, which so many films are not, it will not only do good box office, but will win new listeners to the fun Prairie Home Companion radio show. The cast is stunning, and if they do a good job with the film, I feel it will attract the attention necessary to ring the cash register.

July 2005 - Joe De Matteo

Tommy Lee Jones joins the all star cast of the eagerly awaited A Prairie Home Companion.

Kevin Klein to play Guy Noir

The project has started shooting principle photography in St. Paul, Minnesota, the home of the long running variety radio show.

The Adventures of Guy Noir
"A dark night in a city that knows how to keep its secrets. . . . But on the 12th Floor of the Acme Building, one man is still trying to find the answers to life's persistent questions: Guy Noir, Private eye."

Say YES to the Guy Noir CD collection. 10 actual episode previously aired on the PHC radio show , approx. 2 hours of laughs.

June 2005 - Joe De Matteo

Two new cast members have reportedly signed on to A Prairie Home Companion, Virginia Madsen, L.Q. Jones. Virginia is said to be playing a dangerous woman and Mr. Jones one of the long time musician on the show.

More of the plot and other info has come out: It appears that this backstage at A Prairie Home Companion tale is the story of the show's swan song. Darning the show the cast discovers that this is to be the final production.

Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin play the last of what was a five sister country act and Lindsay Lohan is Ms. Streep's daughter; Woodie Harrlson (Dusty) and John C. Reilly (Lefty) are the singing cowboys; Kevin Kline, the show's security guard and Maya Rudolph is the state manager.

May 2005 - Joe De Matteo

Is there anyone who hasn't listen to A Prairie Home Companion (Official Website) on National Public Radio, with the multi-talented Garrison Keillor. Well...get with it. You'll be entertained! Check with your local public radio station to find out when it's on, usually Saturday or Sunday, and sometimes both. If you like the idea behind old time radio, you'll get a kick out of this always clever show. I especially like Guy Noir, a not so lucky private-eye. His stories use a lot of sound effects, which are done the old fashioned way, by voice.

The concept is a great one, backstage at the Prairie Home Companion. The way the movie summary puts it is, "A look at what goes on backstage..." Where a host of entertainers "hold court."

This will be another opportunity to see the beautiful young starlet, Lindsay Lohan, as well as Woody Harrelson, Kevin Kline, John C. Reilly, Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin and Garrison Keillor, the man himself.

Go Shopping at A Prairie Home Companion

June 4, 2005 Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, California
Garrison listens on as sound-effects-guy Fred Newman does his thing. (Photo: Russ Ringsak)

As a rule A Prairie Home Companion is produced and broadcast from Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, Minnesota. Garrison Keillor, while often political, is a creative and funny man. He understands good entertainment and provides it. Not to say that you will like everything on his show, you may not, the music is of every kind, and it's all good and professionally done. Having been a listener for many years, I'm confident that the film will be high quality, sometimes biting, sometimes odd, entertainment. The jokes are always good.

I'm looking forward to this one, for more than Lindsay Lohan.