What is “Montropolis”?

Posted on by Steve Shanafelt

Here’s a breaking tip for all you Asheville history buffs out there. The W.N.C. Heritage Society and Slideshow Media recently released a teaser video for Montopolis, a film that appears to be about the changing face of the town, produced by Ken Adams. While the video offers precious few clues as to the thrust of the film’s content, the inclusion of quotes about Asheville’s edginess from Rolling Stone and CBS News mixed with a variety of images from the turn of the century seem to hint at a “then-and-now” sort of tale. According to the clip, the film is set for release in spring 2008.

Other details about the film are frustratingly scant. Anyone out there in Internet land have some info about the project they’d like to share? If so, please post it into the comment box below.

— Steve Shanafelt

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

6 thoughts on “What is “Montropolis”?”

  1. heratigeNOThat

    The teaser would be somewhat more auspicious if the director had managed to spell ‘heritage’ correctly. Details, people…

  2. Steve Shanafelt

    HeritageNOTThat: I wasn’t going to mention it, as not all great creative types are known for their ability to spell, but I’m glad you caught it.

    I was more troubled by the lack of obvious theme in the video. Not to tromp down on the teaser too much — it’s likely just a wisp of what the film will be — but neither “Slideshow Media” or the “W.N.C. Heritage Society” (or variations on that) show up with relevant results in Google. Ken Adams may be an indie filmmaker from Austin, but even that’s not entirely clear.

    But maybe we’ve been had, and there’s actually far less to this than I’d assumed. Is this a hoax? A student project? Thoughts and insights welcome.

  3. sleepless

    I went to “Google U” It took 20 seconds to find Ken Adams.

    Ken Adams
    Weekend Edition Host
    http://www.wcqs.org/staff.html

    It’s obviously going to be a digital slide show containing historic Asheville photos, combined with current Asheville

    and snipets of press/media, tourism quotes and “New Age Mecca” hyped by Virato many years ago to mainstream media. http://www.newfrontier.com/asheville/the-revolution.htm

    Please note: This is my personal guess, using “Sheer-Luck” techniques (film: Sherlock Holmes Smarter Brother), seeing the obvious.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventure_of_Sherlock_Holmes'_Smarter_Brother

  5. please

    video is not a video and rather a bunch of pictures… Ken Adams please do not make this video, it will take more than a few historic asheville library photos and current pictures with your digital camera to make residents of asheville watch your video.

    Last of all PLEASE do not post a teaser on youtube… horrible compression and very unprofessional.

    end of rant

  6. sleepless

    Asheville…the Movie

    http://www.newfrontier.com/asheville/ashevillethemovie.htm

    ASHEVILLE — The setting for the story is Asheville, North Carolina, the cast and crew have lots of locals, and the theme is filmmaking, more of it than ever.

    The activity precedes the annual Asheville Film Festival, set for Nov. 9-12.

    Asheville the Movie, a comedy collection of short films set in Asheville, is in production now, directed by Chusy Jardine.

    Contact Jess Clarke via e-mail at jclarke@ashevill.gannett.com
    –Asheville Citizen Times

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.