Every year the fine folks at the Dallas Film Society (who are responsible for The Dallas International Film Festival) host The Art of Film, which honors a distinguished actor and their contributions to the world of entertainment. For the past three years it’s been held in the State Fair of Texas at the historic Hall of State building. Past recipients have included John Lithgow and Robert Duvall, and the evening consists of a red carpet opening followed by a conversation with Film Historian Elvis Mitchell, and wraps up with a dinner anyone would want to be at. This year the honored guest was Val Kilmer, star of such memorable films as TOMBSTONE, THE DOORS, BATMAN FOREVER, THE SAINT, SPARTAN and KISS KISS BANG BANG. I’ve covered The Art of Film in past years, but this year I got a chance to cover it FOR the Dallas Film Society, which was a real honor for me. I chatted with Val Kilmer about his Mark Twain play “Citizen Twain”, with Elvis Mitchell about prepping for the conversation, Dallas Film Society CEO Lee Papert, Lynn and Allan McBee (chairman and co-chairman of the board of directors for the Dallas Film Society), and Jennifer Houser (co-chariman of The Art of Film). Big thanks to Ryan Fitzgerald for shooting this, and Devin Pike for editing it together. Huge thanks to Emily Hargrove and the fine folks at the Dallas Film Society for this wonderful opportunity.
Born and raised in Dallas, Mark has been a movie critic since 1994, with reviews featured in print, radio and National TV. In 2001 he started the Entertainment section of the Herorealm website, where he contributed film reviews and celebrity interviews until 2004. After three years of service there, he started Bigfanboy.com, which has become one of the Dallas film community's leading information websites. Bigfanboy hosts several movie screenings in the Texas area, and works closely with film and TV studios and promotional partners to host exciting events and contests. The site also features a variety of rare celebrity and filmmaker interviews, and Bigfanboy.com regularly covers the film festival circuit as well. In addition to Hollywood reporting, Mark has worked for many years as an advertising and sci-fi/comic book artist. Clients have included Lucasfilm Ltd., Topps Trading Cards, The Dallas Mavericks and The Dallas Stars. From 2002 until 2015 he managed the Dallas Comic Con, Sci-Fi Expo and Fan Days events in the DFW area. He currently catalogs rare comic books and movie memorabilia for Heritage Auctions, and runs the Dallas Comic Show conventions, but remains an avid moviegoer and cinema buff. 
