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A pair of ex-Seinfeld writers, Gregg Kavet and Andy Robin, not suprisingly edged out Andy Dick's cinematic ode to caninelingus to win the top film prize at this year's South by Southwest festival. The movie, called Live Free or Die, was shot in New Hampshire under very State and Main-type circumstances: i.e., Hollywood descends on small town, culture clash ensues. Refreshingly, the filmmakers didn't honeydip their thoughts on the locals when they recently spoke with the AP:

The state s trying really hard, Robin chimes in. It s got kind of a dumb, in-your-face attitude which is evident by the state motto. You know, Live Free or Die, everything s so extreme.

It s also just this weird mix of beauty and horrible taste, he added, having lived briefly in Sandwich, N.H. Everything manmade has, like, a slice of cheese melted on it and an orange wedge next to it.

But Robin and Kavet were quick to add that the locals in the western New Hampshire town of Claremont (population 13,000) were extremely helpful in getting the film made after their location manager did a little shmoozing, that is.

All of a sudden it went from being a place that was really skeptical about filming to a place that, like, would do anything, Kavet said. They really did go completely out of their way.

Sadly, all you need is just a little shmoozing to render even the heartiest and decent of small town folk helpless to the seductive pull of Hollywood. No better example exists than Claremont, which has just signed with Brillstein Grey, is currently fielding scripts, and whose population of 13,000 was recently spotted lunching with a New Line executive at Campanile, telling him between bites how much they "loved the small town's work in A History of Violence."