Amy Adams celebrates her 48th birthday on Saturday, Aug. 20, and this talented, charming actress has plenty of reasons to commemorate her day! Amy’s a wife and mom, and she’s earned six Oscar nominations. IMDb lists 66 credits on her acting resume, and to help mark her birthday, catch two or three or four movies with memorable Amy performances.
Some of my favorites are her turns as the exceedingly appealing Giselle in “Enchanted” (2007), a thoughtful and vulnerable linguist in “Arrival” (2016), artist Margaret Keane in “Big Eyes” (2014), and a struggling cleaning lady who finds her footing in “Sunshine Cleaning” (2008).
Amy has an awfully impactful moment in the third act of “Her” (2013), and I think her best work is her breakout role as a peppy pregnant southern woman in “Junebug” (2005).
However, did you know that Amy has a connection with the Phoenix Film Festival?
She stars in the 34-minute short film “The Chromium Hook” (2000) that played at our beloved – and inaugural - festival in 2001.
This comedy – filmed in black and white – is writer/director James Stranger’s first big-screen endeavor. Stranger’s eccentric mockumentary addresses a deadly-serious happening - a serial killer is on the loose in Nimrod, Minn. - with odd and comedic discourse through several revealing interviews with the locals.
A 25 or 26-years-young Amy Adams plays Jill Royaltuber, a wide-eyed Nimrod High School Debate Team upstart who encountered The One-Arm Lunatic as the film opens. Jack Cramble (Kyle Ingleman) and Jill parked a Ford convertible at Conversation Point, also referenced as Discussion Point and Passion Point. Basically, it’s similar to the famous Inspiration Point on “Happy Days” (1974 – 1984).
Anyway, a man with a hook approaches and then scratches their vehicle, but thankfully, Jack and Jill drive away unharmed but unnerved.
“That was the scaredest I’ve ever been,” Jill says.
Stranger then introduces on-camera conversations with several key Nimrod residents, and through a-matter-of-fact storytelling, impactful revelations unfold. No question, some exchanges dive into peculiar territory, but other moments are laugh-out-loud hilarious, led by Sheriff Curtis Mansarack (James Cada), a lawman whose primary function is to bust teenage beer parties.
“The Chromium Hook” might begin under ominous circumstances, but it plays out as a commentary on small-town America, a place of hopes, disappointments, dreams, and realities. If you’ve lived in a modestly-sized community, you probably “know” all of these characters, and we certainly recognize the actress playing Jill.
Amy – who just started her film career one year earlier in 1999 - offers a bright spark and authentic vivacity in “The Chromium Hook”, and one could declare that Jill and Ashley from “Junebug” (2005) are long-lost relatives, so yes, this short is worth a look.
“The Chromium Hook” is available to stream on Vimeo.
