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David Hunt, Jody Eldred David Hunt, Patricia Heaton, Sarah Rush David Hunt FourBoys Films 2004 Documentary Feature 89 minutes Crystal Heart Award -- Documentary Feature |
The Bituminous Coal Queens of Pennsylvania documents the odyssey of Hollywood actress Sarah Rush back to her roots as a 16-year-old pageant winner, growing up in Southwestern, PA. Coal Queens is filled with colorful local characters, and is a humorous look at small town America.
The town of Carmichaels (population 556) and its vanishing way of life is a far cry from Hollywood. Coal mining has shaped this area of the country, instilling a strength and pride in its citizens. The film captures the spirit of the community during the 50th Anniversary celebrations of the Coal Queen Pageant and the King Coal Festival in August of 2003.
We travel with Sarah back to her hometown and subsequently to the State Theatre in Uniontown, where rehearsals for the pageant are underway. The contestants have won the right to represent each of 14 high schools from the area in the competition, which is comprised of talent, “the impromptu” question and answer session and the evening gown display. Through the lives of the girls and the events surrounding the pageant we learn more about them and the ties that bind the wider community. The film moves between trials of the pageant and the lives of the locals, especially the coal miners, who toil beneath the earth, knowing that the demise of their livelihood is just around the corner.
Director, Producer and Writer David Hunt
David Hunt's film credits include: Bobby Jones, Stroke of Genius (Rowdy Herrington), Eyes Wide Shut (Stanley Kubrick), Jade (William Friedkin), The Dead Pool (Clint Eastwood), Trip to Tunis and Closing Ranks.
His theatre credits include: The Memory of Water at the Manhattan Theatre Club, Thérèse Raquin and Triumph of Love at the La Jolla Playhouse, Hamlet at the Baltimore Center Stage and Progress at The Long Wharf.
His television credits include: In the U.S.- Monk (USA), Numb3rs (CBS), the TNT mini-series The Grid, the CBS telepic Murder on the Orient Express, the Sky/TV Fox UK thriller entitled Bombmaker, Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS), Miracle in the Woods (CBS MOW), The Dancer's Touch (ABC MOW), The Client (CBS) and Falcon Crest (CBS). In England - Beck (BBC), Dream Team (Fox U.K.), The Black Velvet Gown (ITV-Emmy Award winner), Anna Lee (Carnival Films/ A&E) and The Chief (Anglia).
David was a schoolteacher and coach before he began his studies in New York with Larry Moss. He went on to graduate from the Advanced Program at the Juilliard School.
Director and Cameraman Jody Eldred
Director/cameraman Jody Eldred is a 30-year veteran of documentaries and TV news. A DGA Best Director Nominee for Documentary, he received an Emmy in 2004 for his work on the ABC News Nightline series, The Iraq War: Fox 2/5. He has shot and directed hundreds of documentaries and news stories around the world for ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, the BBC, and National Geographic, including programs such as 20/20, PrimeTime Live, Good Morning America, Dateline NBC, 48 Hours, Frontline, Oprah and The Tonight Show. His work also includes high definition and video shoots for CBS' JAG, NCIS, and NBC's Medium. In 2005, Harvest House Publishers printed his first book, Changed Lives: Miracles of The Passion, based on a TV special by the same name which he created and executive produced.
Jody is a frequent speaker and lecturer at conferences, workshops, and film and journalism schools across America including USC and UCLA. Sony Electronics recently sent him to the Sundance Film Festival and NAB where he made presentations to several thousand people on the latest high definition camera systems. His work has been featured in virtually every trade magazine in the marketplace. He has just returned from a documentary shoot in Israel testing Sony's latest entry into the hi-def world, and will be doing presentations across the country on his findings, time-permitting.
Producer Patricia Heaton
For nine seasons, Patricia Heaton played “Debra Barone” on the critically-acclaimed and highly-rated CBS comedy, Everybody Loves Raymond. She recently received her sixth nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy Series. She has won the Emmy in that category two years in a row. She has also won the Best Comedy Actress award from the Viewers for Quality Television and has recently received her third SAG nomination.
A student of New York's famed instructor, William Esper, Heaton made her Broadway debut in the gospel musical, Don't Get God Started. She and fellow students then formed Stage Three. They took one production, The Johnstown Vindicator, to Los Angeles, where Heaton's performance caught the eyes of casting directors.
Consequently, Heaton portrayed the producer/daughter in the television series Room for Two. Her additional TV credits include the CBS telepic A Town Without Christmas, the series Someone Like Me, a regular role in Women of the House for CBS, and a recurring role on thirtysomething. Most recently, Heaton starred in the TNT/Neil Simon production of The Goodbye Girl. Her feature film credits include Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Beethoven, New Age and Space Jam.
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Executive Producer Sarah Rush
Sarah Rush holds a BFA in Theatre Arts from Pennsylvania State University. She is a member of Actor's Studio and has studied under Uta Hagen, Herbert Berghof, Austin Pendleton and Milton Katselas. Primarily known for her expansive stage work, Rush's theatrical credits include director Gower Champion's revival of Thornton Wilder's Our Town, Sir Tony Richardson's re-staging of Shakespeare's As You Like It with Stockard Channing and by playing Laura at the South Coast Repertory Theatre's revival of Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie. Other stage credits include Toyer with Kathleen Turner and Kevin Spacey at the Kennedy Center, Inherit the Wind with E.G. Marshall at the Paper Mill Playhouse, and by starring in acclaimed regional productions of The Belle of Amherst, She Stoops to Conquer and Summer Smoke. As contract player for Universal Studios, Rush has guest starred in more than 50 television shows and movies, including Battlestar Galactica, The Return of Maxwell Smart, The Prodigal and Talking to Strangers. Recent film roles include Disney's Max Keeble’s Big Move (2001), Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can (2002) and Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde (2003). Sarah Rush, who was crowned the 1972 Bituminous Coal Queen, lives in Los Angeles with her musician/technician husband, Fred Bova and daughter, Amanda Grace.
