Updated Nov. 14, 2018 The Further Adventures of Walt’s Frozen Head (2018), screening Saturday, November 17th at Colorado International SciFi & Fantasy Film Festival #CISFFF 2018, is a quirky comedy about the unlikely friendship between the frozen head of entertainment mogul Walt Disney (Ron Schneider) and his low level theme park employee, Peter (Daniel Cooksley). Here’s the full festival line-up, #CISFFF 2018 Program, PDF. Here’s a downloadable festival poster.
During Walt’s annual thaw to oversee his creative legacy, he yearns to walk the meticulously-manicured streets of his namesake, Walt Disney World. When management scoffs, Walt recruits Peter to kidnap him so he can visit the Magic Kingdom. The film will be shown in the afternoon at our first film festival event on Saturday, November 17, 2018, in Studio A at Denver Open Media (DOM), 700 Kalamath Street, Denver, Colorado. Find more here.
We’re also planning to show the award-winning short, The Class Analysis by Jim Politano & Webb Pickersgill, which was also submitted earlier this year to our activism film festival, #CIAFF 2018. Webb was also on crew and did cinematography for another of our submissions this year, Chris Redish’s comedy sci-fi starring Krista Allen and Breaking Bad’s Charles Baker, Eleven Eleven. Find more, Breaking Bad (TV Series 2008-2013). Since we have limited time scheduled for our first year, we’ll be screening shorts, mostly. We’re planning to broadcast music videos from 5:30-6 PM on Channel 57. We’ll have the complete line-up posted in just a few days.
When Walt Disney passed away, the world mourned the passing of perhaps the greatest entertainer who ever lived. To help cushion the devastating blow, a long-lasting urban legend was born, one surrounding a secret that Walt’s disembodied head had actually been cryogenically frozen to be resurrected in the future when medical advances could make him whole again.
The earliest mention of the Disney cryonics story may be Bob Nelson’s 1972 Los Angeles Times’ interview. Urban Dictionary even has a definition for the term, Waltsicle.
Learn more about end-of-life controversies & ethics, The President’s Council on Bioethics, reports. Are you interested in activist themes like cloning, artificial intelligence, trans-humanism, homelessness, gentrification, etc.? Check out and submit your films, art/photos, music videos and screenplays to the Colorado International Activism Film Festival #CIAFF 2019.
The Walt Disney Company is famously protective of its brand, its characters, and its park, so naturally it doesn’t allow just anybody to go around filming low budget independent movies at Disneyland or Walt Disney World. That’s why a few daring filmmakers have chosen to do so guerrilla-style, resulting in fare as diverse as the controversial Escape from Tomorrow (2013), the haunting Missing in the Mansion (2012) and the acclaimed documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010) by Banksy.
Writer-director Ben Lancaster, a native Missourian, raised support for this film through a successful crowdfunding effort and recruited many students from local colleges to help him complete it.
He says he shot the film over a few days at the theme park. While he didn’t run into any major problems, when a park attendant recognized one of the actors and started a long conversation, he did start to become a little uncomfortable!
“When it comes to far out futurism, libertarian-minded businessfolk of the last half century have been most obsessed with two ideas: living forever and building their own pseudo-anarchist colonies. The former usually looks like some version of cryonics, where people are put into suspended animation and awakened at a later date when medical science has advanced significantly enough to ‘cure’ death….
“The latter idea takes many different forms, including colonies in space, artificial islands in international waters, or, if you’re the patron saint of the so-called wealth creator class, a town in Colorado.” The Plan to Defrost Walt Disney and Save Capitalism with Sea Cities by Matt Novak, here.
“I’ve been a passionate fan…since the 1950s. …it’s a wild story told with respect, humor and a lot of love.” Ron Schneider
Of course, Atlantis is a place for heroes, and a place for those who wish to become heroes! So, Colorado is an appropriate stop on the festival tour for Ben’s film. After all, didn’t Ayan Rand herself admit, the real Galt’s Gulch is the Colorado town of Ouray?
The film is done in the style of 1960s Disney comedies, such as That Darn Cat (1965).
A passionate fan of Walt Disney’s since the 1950s, Ron Schneider is both surprised and honored to be portraying the frozen head of Walt Disney Productions.
For over 40 years, Ron has been an actor, writer, director and consultant for themed attractions and events across North America. Schneider has performed and written for tourist destinations including Universal Orlando and Epcot, where he originated the character of “Dreamfinder” at the Journey into Imagination.
In 2012 he wrote From Dreamer to Dreamfinder: A Life and Lessons Learned from 40 Years Behind a Nametag, a book about his career, find it at Amazon.
Daniel Cooksley was born and raised in California until the age of 15. He then ventured out to live a life on the sea. Which he did. For almost 16 years he traveled the oceans as a fisherman. Then, without regret, he hung up his Captain’s hat and set out to pursue acting.
Kathryn Jenkins is a freshman film major at UCF. She has five years of acting experience, appearing in such shows as Cafe Murder, Crimes of the Heart, Aida, and Miracle Worker, as well as several one-acts and short films. Some of her favorite roles include Lenny Magrath and Anne Sullivan. This is her first feature film.
Jeff Evans has been an actor for almost 30 years to include work in theatre, film, television and industrial videos. He has also performed on radio, as a game show host for corporate events and emcee for multiple banquets and awards ceremonies. In his spare time he writes and plays the bagpipes.
Susan White is an independent commercial and film actor in Orlando, FL. She specializes in improv, martial arts, dialects, voiceover and interacting. Gary Norris has been on stage, in film, on radio and TV for over 60 years. He is a veteran stage director, currently in the central Florida area. He was the host of a nationally recognized talk show in Key West for six years.
A native of Arkansas, Ann Ayres is a retired Library Media Specialist, working now in Florida in film, commercials and live TV on HSN. As a cast member in several on-stage theater productions, and in roles in independent, student, and feature films creates special memories making life an exciting ride!
David Raizor is a magician, clown, improv player and an actor of both stage and screen. To date he has appeared in over fifty films, over three hundred live shows and several commercials. David loves to bring characters to life for film or live shows. He currently lives in Central Florida and is married with three adult children.
Paul Saulo is an American with Argentina roots. A business career in operations, marketing and sales. I am married we have one child Bronson who will be 13 this month. After retiring at 64, I reinvented myself and with patience and discipline a career in acting began to take hold. Barbara Eaker has been performing on stage and in films for over 20 years. She is owner and operator of Mystery Works, an interactive murder mystery dinner theatre. You may also see her as a model on HSN.
Learn more about the actors and the film. Learn more & submit, Colorado International SciFi & Fantasy Film Festival, #CISFFF 2018.
You must be logged in to post a comment.