41 min. 39 sec. with Clint Eastwood No documentary about Hollywood “Indians” would be complete without talking to one of the screen’s consummate Western heroes. That’s what we had the honour of doing on February 6th 2009 when Reel Injun director Neil Diamond, producer Christina Fon and a small crew travelled to the Warner Brothers lot for a rare interview with screen legend Clint Eastwood. We’d worked and waited for six months to set up this interview – and only found out two days before that it was a go! Rezolution hastily assembled a crew and were ready, rolling literally within seconds as soon as we set foot in his office. The interview itself lasted 41 min. 39 sec. – Neil remembers exactly. Clint had a lot to say about having Natives playing Natives in the movies, too, but we’re not telling. Wait for the movie! After the interview, Mr. Eastwood was presented with a can of Quebec maple syrup which he appreciated immensely, after making sure it was the real stuff. Clint’s known for his healthy ways. Why do you think he looks so great at 78 years? Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, Clint Eastwood! Top of Page “REEL INJUN” goes Hollywood... and hits the Big Apple, too Rezolution Pictures has just wrapped interviews with some of the biggest names in show business for the upcoming Reel Injun, exploring the evolution of the image of North American Native people in cinema and television.  Filming in Los Angeles, director Neil Diamond interviewed legendary musician Robbie Robertson, actor Adam Beach, comedian Charlie Hill as well as writer, musician and activist John Trudell. In New York City, we sat down with iconic indie filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, Chris Eyre, director of the Sundance-winning feature Smoke Signals, and screen veteran Wes Studi. Upcoming interviews include Clint Eastwood!  Rezolution was also successful in obtaining a rare interview with Sacheen Littlefeather, who made Oscar history in 1973 with her impassioned statement on behalf of Native Americans while accepting Marlon Brando’s Academy Award for The Godfather. While out west, the Reel Injun filmmakers shot location footage at historic Monument Valley, where many of Hollywood’s most famous westerns were filmed. With CBC Newsworld as the main broadcaster and co-produced with the National Film Board of Canada, this insightful and entertaining documentary is garnering interest from broadcasters around the world. Stay tuned for more! Top of Page The Last Explorer premieres February 18 on APTN A labour of love for co-directors Neil Diamond and Ernest Webb and the entire Rezolution Pictures team, the docudrama The Last Explorer has its English-language television premiere on Wednesday, February 18 at 8 pm on APTN, with rebroadcasts on Tuesday, February 17 at midnight and Thursday, February 19 at 1:30 am (all times ET). The Last Explorer takes viewers back to an ill-fated expedition to chart northern Labrador, one of the last unexplored areas of North America, over a century ago. It’s a tale of tragedy, death and forbidden love, with Cree guide George Elson at the centre of the controversy. Neil has a special connection with the story: George was his great uncle. So there’s a special sense of urgency and intimacy as he sets out to uncover what really transpired in the wilds of Labrador, years ago. Playing Elson is Cree actor Nathaniel Arcand, who appeared in the Rezolution comedy series Moose TV and is now starring in the CBC series Heartland. The Last Explorer premiered at the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival in October 2008. Top of Page Rezolution’s River adds to roster Rezolution Pictures is delighted to announce that Malcolm MacRury is on-board as co-creator on dramatic series The River, now in development with The Movie Network and Movie Central. With credits on Deadwood and ZOS: Zone of Separation, Malcolm is quite simply one of the hottest writers in Canadian dramatic televison today. Malcolm is joined on The River creative team by co-writer Pete Mitchell (ZOS: Zone of Separation and Cold Squad), co-creator Michelle Latimer and rising Native writer/filmmaker Jeff Barnaby, whose 2007 short film The Colony was hailed by the Toronto International Film Festival as “a prime example of filmmaking that pushes boundaries, cinematically and socially.” The episodic drama The River delves into the world of illegal smuggling rings on First Nations along the porous US/Canadian border, revealing the inner workings of a powerful First Nations crime family. It’s a complex, innovative and uncompromising series – now bolstered by the impressive creative talents of our team. Welcome aboard! Top of Page A big year for Club Native  With 2008 behind us, it’s a good time to reflect on what was truly an outstanding year for the Rezolution documentary Club Native. Things got off to a great start in May, when Club Native was chosen to open the prestigious Hot Docs Canadian International Film Festival. Shortly after, the film also scooped up its first award: the Colin Low Award for Best Canadian Documentary at the Doxa - Documentary Film and Video Festival (May 27 to June 1) in Vancouver.  Just days later, Club Native was honoured with the Kodak-Vision Globale Award for Best Canadian Film at the Land InSights First Peoples’ Festival (June 11 to 22) in Montreal. It then went on to garner an Honourable Mention for the Alanis Obomsawin Best Documentary Award at the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival in Toronto, in October. And now Club Native has been accepted to screen at the Rendez-vous du cinéma québécois 2009 on February 21. Congratulations to filmmaker Tracey Deer, our co-producers at the National Film Board of Canada and all involved! Top of Page Moose TV goes online The Rezolution Pictures series Moose TV earned a 2008 CFTPA Indie Award for Best Comedy Series for its hilarious look at a DIY Native-run TV station in Canada’s North. Series star Adam Beach seems to have taken the DIY ethos to heart, creating his own Native Television Network (channel 400) on Internet broadcaster OpenVision Networks’ OVNTV (www.ovntv.com) – the first Native channel to be offered by the service – and featuring all eight episodes of Moose TV. Episodes 1 and 2 will air consecutively January 22 at 9 pm ET. Way to go, Adam! And what an excellent programming choice. See, we always knew you’d do a great job running your own TV channel. Top of Page