June is turning out to be a very busy month for “Pancho”.  This past weekend, we had our big world premiere in New York City as part of the NewFest Film Festival.   It was an exciting event, made all the more special by the fact that the sophisticated Manhattan crowd – who didn’t have much of a clue who Pancho was or what she accomplished – absolutely loved her and the movie!  Next Sunday, June 21, we’ll be bowing in front of an aviation crowd in Centennial, Colorado.  That will be when we present the film as part of the inaugural “Celebration of Women’s Aviation”.  See airmailgreetingspresents.com for more information about how to obtain tickets to this wonderful event, and learn about the special guests who will be there.

Now we have another fund raising screening to crow about, coming up on Saturday June 27th in Tucson, Arizona.  The venue is The Loft movie theater, and the event is hosted by Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.  Yes, you've heard correctly, a member of the United States Congress has endorsed “Pancho”.  It’s not the first time she’s gotten a boost of this type – if you’ve read earlier entries in the Production Journal then you know Pancho ran for L.A. County Supervisor back in the day, and received endorsements from the likes of actor Ramon Novarro and fellow aviatrix Amelia Earhart.   But this time Pancho’s actually getting notice from someone with real political chops.  

Congresswoman Giffords is a friend, supporter, and a fan of the project going back several years.  Her enthusiasm likely springs from the fact that, like Pancho, she’s a dynamo who has risen to the top through diligent effort, a woman who never quits.  She's also a horsewoman (that's her in the saddle at right) and a person who knows a lot about ranching.  But there’s also a more important connection.  Like Barnes, Giffords has always had an enormous interest in aviation, and is the Chair of the Science Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics.  She is also, get this, married to astronaut Mark Kelly and was the first sitting member of Congress to have a spouse in orbit. 

Simply put, Pancho would have loved Gabrielle Giffords, and so we’re proud to be showing the film to her friends and supporters.  But you don’t have to be a Democrat to come see the film -- everyone is invited!

Tickets for the show will be sold through the website GiffordsforCongress.com/tickets  

Rumor has it that we’ll be doing a very big premiere event for the film here in Los Angeles on September 10th.  You may want to mark your calendar!  

While we expect to see a lot of good friends at our premiere, we know for a fact that two of the most important people won’t be there.  We learned back in February that Pancho’s ranch manager Tony King, passed away at age 92.  And just last month, Pancho’s piano player and head hostess Dallas Morley, moved on to the big dance hall in the sky.  Both of these people appear in the film, and will be sadly missed.  They were two of our favorite people, and audience favorites to boot, because they told it like it was and didn’t mince words about Pancho and their tempestuous friendships with her.

Interviewing both of these crusty, time-worn individuals was memorable in and of itself.  Tony King lived out on a ranch out in the Mojave with his wife Betty, not that far from where Pancho’d lived and, in the end, where she’d died.  Surrounded by cactus, sage, Chihuahuas and his beloved horses, Tony lived the life of a rancher, as he’d done his whole time on earth.  We interviewed him in his kitchen, where he sat wearing a cowboy hat and boots, and a grin a mile wide – an appearance produced by the fact that he had just a few permanent teeth left in his mouth and his dentures were out on order.  He had us in stitches as he described some of the things he witnessed at Pancho’s ranch, but he was also reflective as well.  Pancho’d pretty much raised Tony from the time he was a boy, and probably was the person most responsible for teaching him to read and write.  (See October 24, 2007 Production Journal).  He said he owed her nearly everything he had.

While Tony was happy to share his life story with us, Dallas Morley was another matter.  The self proclaimed “Bitch of the Red Dog” – the Red Dog Saloon was where she headlined as a piano player – Dallas had an attitude thick as gravy and about as dark.  We caught up with her at her house in Pioneertown, where she was holed up in bed after a nasty fall.  That might have put some people in a poor mood, but not Dallas.  Despite barely being able to walk, she dressed up for our interview in her best duds, and put on her performer’s make-up and her special hat as well.  But while she invited various questions, and was happy to reflect on her life at Pancho’s ranch, she made no secret of the fact that some things she’d rather not discuss.  Old, dead and gone test pilot boy friends was one, and scandal was another.  At a couple of moments, she just about beat up Amanda with her retorts to these questions, although in a way that let you know she was just having fun.  “Pancho used to cuss me out, and I’d just throw it back at her,” Dallas said in our interview.  “I’d cuss her out like she’d cuss me, and she’d laugh.  That’s why I was head hostess.”  Indeed!  (See December 16, 2007 Production Journal). 

While we can’t help the disappointing fact we finished the film after these two people are gone, there is one item we can take solace in.  Which is that our editor, Monique Zavistovski, was able to use some of the material from Dallas and Tony’s interviews to make a memorial segment for the two of them that will show up on our DVD. 

If you live in the New York City area, or have friends who do, then please help us get the word out: Pancho is playing in Manhattan!  We just finally got the word the other day from NewFest, that we'll be screening at the School of Visual Arts Theater on Saturday, June 6th at 3:15 pm.  We're not sure of the venue -- there are two movie screens in the building -- but we understand one theater has 350 seats, and the other 500.  Well, we'd love to sell out all those seats for our screening and let Pancho do what she does best -- make a big impression!  So help us accomplish this task.  To purchase tickets and read more about the festival, visit this link.

It's extremely exciting to announce that The Legend of Pancho Barnes will be the centerpiece of a wonderful event, held on June 21st at the Centennial Airport near Denver, Colorado.  "A Celebration of Women's Aviation" is the inaugural event for Air Mail Greetings Presents, a new promotional entity formed by famed aviation artist (and designer of our poster), impresario Joe Jones.  The Celebration will consist of a whole afternoon of events, including a special fund raising screening of Pancho.  Famed pilot, author and former president of the Ninety-Nines Gene Nora Jessen will be in attendance, along with Amanda Pope and myself, and a whole host of famous pilots including original Tuskeegee airman Lt. Col. James H. Harvey.

What's even more thrilling, is that the Celebration coincides with the Air Race Classic.  This all-women's air racing event takes place from June 23-26th, as daring aviatrixes fly from Denver to Atlantic, Iowa.  In doing so, they are not only having a terrific competition, but commemorating the 80th anniversary of the original "Powder Puff Derby" women's air race, which featured Louise Thaden, Amelia Earhart, Marvel Crosson, and yes -- Florence "Pancho" Barnes!  The pilots and crews of the modern-day air racers will be in attendance at the Celebration, and available to sign autographs, discuss the race, and do what they do best -- inspire young men and women to earn their wings.  

 We're honored to be part of this amazing event, and to show the film at a special private screening on the 30th for the race participants, because this event resonates with our project like a well-hit tuning fork.  So thanks are due in advance not only to Joe Jones for having the vision to put together the event, but also to the sponsors of the Air Race Classic which include the EAA and Ninety-Nines.

Did I mention, by the way, that author Gene Nora Jessen who is going to be in attendance, also appears in our film?  Well yes, she does! Did I also mention she is one of the so-called Mercury 13 group of women astronaut candidates?  Well, I just did!  And as it happens, she's also the author of The Powder Puff Derby of 1929, the definitive history of the race that Pancho could have won -- if only fate hadn't intervened (see earlier issues of the Production Journal).  Anyway, those who attend will therefore have an opportunity to meet a real legend in women's aviation, and buy a copy of Gene Nora's book.  (Although, you may be torn if you have a bank account that's low on currency, as Gene Nora also has a new book that's just been printed, The Fabulous Flight of the Three Musketeers.  This memoir is about a flying tour Gene Nora did back in 1962 to introduce the  Beech Musketeer.)

 To read more about the Air Race Classic, click here.  To learn more about the Celebration of Women's Aviation, and purchase tickets, click here. 

The event is by the way in need of additional sponsors.  If you want to help support something truly worthwhile, please use the contact buttons on the Celebration of Women's Aviation website.

Filmmakers Nick Spark and Amanda Pope are proud to announce that The Legend of Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom Riding Club has been invited to participate in "A Celebration of Women's Aviation".  This inaugural event, which will serve as a fund raiser for the documentary, will be held at the Centennial Airport near Denver, Colorado, on June 21st.  The screening and other special events are sponsored by Air Mail Greetings Presents, and will coincide with the Air Race Classic.  This prestigious all-female race runs from Denver to Atlantic, Iowa from June 23-26th, and serves as a continuation of the historic "Powder Puff Derby" races that began in 1929.  One of the women who flew in the first Derby was none other than Florence "Pancho" Barnes!  For more information on the Celebration and to purchase tickets to the screening, visit http://www.airmailgreetingspresents.com/    For more information on the Air Race Classic, click here.