•• Magnolia Pictures has acquired U.S. rights to “The Magic of Belle Isle” once titled “Summer at Dog Dave’s, starring Morgan Freeman, Virginia Madsen, Madeline Carroll, Kenan Thompson and Fred Willard. Greenwood Lake served as Belle Isle during the summer shoot, with residents serving as extras in the film. Rob Reiner directed the drama, which will receive a summer 2012 release in theaters and through Ultra VOD.

In an effort to tap into his original talent, Monte Wildhorn (Morgan Freeman), a wheelchair-bound authormoves to a rural town – a Belle Isle cabin, where he befriends a single mother (Virginia Madsen) and her three kids, who help reignite his passion for writing.

•• It was on hiatus in 2011, but this new year welcomed back the Celebrity Sports Invitational to Banff National Park. Virginia Madsen and other celebrities were at Sunshine Village in Baff, Alberta, Canada competing in a variety of activities to help raise money for Robert F. Kennedy, Jr’s Waterkeeper Alliance, an organization that is dedicated to protecting waterways.

In 2010, the event raised more than $1 million for the Waterkeeper Alliance, which is an environmental movement uniting Waterkeepers who patrol and protect rivers, bays, lakes and streams on six continents.

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Events in 2012 > January 13- 15th » Celeb Watch Weekend for Celebrity Ski

•• The cast of the locally filmed TNT movie “Hornet’s Nest” arrived late last month, and the stars will be popping up around the Port City at various shoot locations and area haunts through Dec. 24. The following are some of the actors you’ll see on the screen next spring and possibly around town through the end of the week.

•• Virginia Madsen: Perhaps best known for her role as Maya in the 2004 movie “Sideways,” Virginia Madsen is no stranger to Wilmington. This is the third TV movie she has done in this area. The others were “Linda” in 1993 and “Ambushed” in 1997. She also appeared on the 2003 season finale of “Dawson’s Creek.”

Madsen plays Police Chief Judy Hammer in “Hornet’s Nest.” Clad in a knee-length black dress and sheer wrap and sporting bright-white sneakers between takes during a ballroom scene at the Hilton Wilmington Riverside last week, she gushed about the Port City.

“It’s just a beautiful place,” Madsen said with a sense of sincerity and warmth. “I’m very happy that they haven’t built it up too much. This town is such a wonderful combination of small-town feeling but with show business.”

In fact, she loves it here so much she asked to stay in the heart of downtown rather than being in a more remote location away from the city’s center. You’re likely to find Madsen sitting at the bar at Caffe Phoenix, an eatery she confessed she’d visited almost every day during her stay thus far. She recalls it fondly from her previous visits.

“I like the staff, and the food is wonderful,” Madsen said. “I’ve never had a bad meal there.”

She’s also a fan of Tower 7 in Wrightsville Beach. Madsen’s sentiment for the local film community matches her love for the area. She beamed when talking about the “Hornet’s Nest” crew.

“They just know how to do it here,” Madsen said. “The crews have an ease with one another and so they work faster. They really are professional, and they know what they’re doing.”

Hollywood glitz and glamour was showcased in Temecula on Sunday night as the Temecula Valley International Film & Music Festival capped off its festivities with a star-studded awards gala at the Pechanga Resort and Casino.

Several big names in film and music were honored as an audience of more than 200 people, including many of the filmmakers and musicians who debuted their work during the five-day event, looked on.

Among the honorees was film star Virginia Madsen, who praised film festivals as venues for creativity and good moviemaking. Madsen, who has starred in numerous films and received an Oscar nomination for “Sideways,” was honored Sunday with the founder’s award for outstanding career achievement.

“Film festivals are the lifeblood of independent filmmaking nowadays,” Madsen said in an interview. “It’s very hard now to get your film made and distributed and seen… The more interesting, artistic films are just not getting out there.”

That’s where film festivals such as Temecula’s come in, she said. “It’s a great gathering place for creative thinking, for creative minds,” Madsen said. “It’s also a wonderful place to meet the newcomers.”

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Events in 2011 > September 18th » Temecula Valley International Film & Music Festival

✿ Virginia Madsen celebrates her 50th birthday today and we at her official website would like to wish her a very Happy Birthday!! Please stop by and leave your birthday wishes by commenting here or write them at her official facebook page!

✿ The 17th Annual Temecula Film Fest will honor Golden Globe and Academy Award nominated actress Virginia Madsen at the fest’s Black Tie Gala. She  started her career in 1984 in David Lynch’s adaption of “Dune,” but had her break-through with the 1986 film “Fire with Fire.” Madsen is best known for her character Maya in 2004′ Sideways, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe and Academy Award, and won an Independent Spirit Award.

✿ Festival Director Jo Moulton said “Virginia Madsen has developed into one of this generation’s finest actresses. She brings unique versatility to each of her roles and she continues to raise the bar in both film and television. We are delighted to honor the 2011 Founder’s Outstanding Career Achievement Award to Virginia Madsen.”

✿Virginia Madsen will be honored with the Founder’s Outstanding Career Achievement Award on Sunday, September 18, at the annual Black-Tie Gala held at the Pechanga Resort & Casino. The festival runs from Sept. 14 – 18. For more information, click here.