Archive for October, 2007
Friday, October 26th, 2007
DAVID LYNCH IN DIRECTOR blackANDwhite’S LYNCH. COURTESY ABSURDA.Contrary to popular belief, many directors are genuinely modest and can honestly maintain that they make movies for the love of cinema (rather than the money, stardom, hedonistic lifestyle, etc.), but it is still surprising to find one who is unwilling to reveal their identity. This is the case with the director of LYNCH, the new documentary about David Lynch, who is choosing to remain anonymous behind the pseudonym blackANDwhite. He (for blackANDwhite is a he) initially drew attention to himself with this refusal to stand in the limelight, and prompted the press to speculate that the film was in fact directed by Lynch, and the anonymous director was nothing but a fabrication. However this is not the case: I myself uncovered a picture of blackANDwhite, clearly showing his face, and also his real name. Or maybe just another nom de plume of a self-professed lover of pseudonyms…
At his request, I have kept blackANDwhite’s identity secret, and so the mystery surrounding him remains, and we can shift focus to his excellent film. Documentaries about filmmakers and Hollywood easily become banal ‘making of’ movies, however this is far from the case with LYNCH. Shot in black and white and color across a variety of formats, and edited in an organic, impressionistic style, the film beautifully echoes the creative idiosyncrasies of David Lynch’s own work in the way it captures his life and creative processes. Though there is no adherence to a traditional linear approach in the way footage is presented, watching the seemingly random moments of Lynch filming Inland Empire, making art at his home or taking photos in old Polish factories, a curious, crazed logic emerges as we glimpse the very essence of Lynch, the artist and the man.
Filmmaker conducted a (typographically distinctive) interview with blackANDwhite over email, and corresponded with him about spending two years filming David Lynch, his shadowy identity, and fond memories of childhood cinemagoing with his grandmother.
blackANDwhite, THE MASKED AND ANONYMOUS DIRECTOR OF LYNCH. COURTESY ABSURDA.Filmmaker: Tell us … Read the rest
Friday, October 26th, 2007
In time for Halloween is this spooky music video for the band Bat for Lashes and their song “What’s a Girl to Do.” It’s a great addition to the “choreographed one-shot wonder” school of pop promos, and it was directed by Dougal Wilson.
… Read the rest
Thursday, October 25th, 2007
The appealingly designed, crisply minimal Motion Design site describes itself as “a research blog on the subject of Motion Design. It serves as a means to discuss, share and develop ideas that will be used for a feature length documentary film.” I came across the site because it just posted an article about Pablo, director Richard Goldgewicht and producer Jeremy Goldscheider’s animated documentary on title designer Pablo Ferro. (You may remember this film and these filmmakers — they were featured in our 25 New Faces this year.)
From the piece:
Back in March of this year, a short teaser popped up on the Web promoting the production of a feature length animated documentary on Pablo Ferro. What really draws you in to begin with in this short introductory film, is the intelligent use of mixed media techniques as a means to emphasize the narrative as well as create a visually rich and informative image. Everything from split screens to Pablo’s signature typography is used with wit to accompany a mix of both live action and character driven full animation, incorporating also a vast array of archival footage. Beyond this intriguing presentation however, another question remained to be asked before resolving the enigma of Pablo. Who was behind this film?
For more on Pablo, check out the Motion Design pic at the link above and check out the movie’s website.… Read the rest
Thursday, October 25th, 2007
High heels and high-end perfume dominated the past Friday and Wednesday nights at the Hawaii International Film Festival, as throngs of passionate fans out-screamed and out-elbowed one another to see their Korean idols Lee Jun Ki and Ju Jin Mo in person at the American and international premieres of their respective films, May 18th and A Love . In the high-brow realm of the international film festival, where cinematic conversations are about as loud as an NPR radio booth, the passions on display at the Hawaii festival stand out. Screaming fans, a fainter or two, and other obsessives stand in line for hours to see the objects of their affections, and when they finally appear, watch out: all decorum flees for cover as panic hits the pavement, and what was once a simple movie theater becomes an insane throb of squeals and “I Love You’s!!,” all illuminated by the constant fires of digital camera flashes.
What’s even odder about this fandom, at least here in Hawaii, is the age group. Think of screaming fans, and one usually images a flock of teenage girls or guys. Here, though, it’s their mothers, or grandmothers: most of the women screaming “I Love You!” at the finely cheekboned, 20-something stars, are actually in their 50′s. It’s been triggered by the massive popularity of Korean soap operas in Japan and the US (primarily in Hawaii and the West Coast). For the Hawaii festival, Japanese tour groups regularly sponsor special tours for middle-aged Japanese women; they fly out just to see the Korean stars, chase their limos in and out of hotel driveways, and see their films.
One woman I spoke with in line on Friday night had a shrine in her second bedroom in Osaka, which she had built in honor of Lee Jun Ki (after her son moved out to college, of course). Other women in the Osaka suburbs would travel to the shrine, just to pray for Lee’s “good health and success.” She was, needless to say, pretty pumped up about finally “meeting” him in person.
On Wednesday, I stood behind a group … Read the rest
Wednesday, October 24th, 2007
The Silent Movie Theatre in Los Angeles is reopening – with new sound and style. The SMT is old but the inside is amazing, and now sound films are running with the silents. Grand re-opening is tomorrow, 10/25, with a solid Halloween lineup.
A lot of great old stuff will be showing there, but in December there is a series of new indies: “The New Naturalists”, featuring The Puffy Chair, Mutual Appreciation, Old Joy, Apart from That and Frownland. Check out all their great lineups on their website. Official press release here:
Hadrian Belove of Cinefile Video, Sammy Harkham of Family Books and Dan Harkham of the Silent Movie Theatre have teamed up to launch The Cinefamily, a new venue for revival programming– from foreign to independent, from classical to cutting edge, from silent film to live music, and from exploitation to experimental. Our home is the world famous Silent Movie Theatre on Fairfax. The theater will reopen on October 25th with a bigger screen, more comfortable seating (including plush, leather sofas), and state-of-the-art projection and sound. The Cinefamily is committed to the presentation of silent films with live musical accompaniment, while expanding our calendar to embrace all forms of cinematic experience. There will be an adventurous program of regularly-scheduled events devoted to specific genres and audiences including:
Silent Movies w/ live musical accompaniment- Every Wednesday Night
Musicals, Concert Films & Special Music Events- Every Thursday Night.
Mini-Festivals- Every Friday and Saturday
Holy F*cking Sh*t (Incredibly Strange Cinema)- Every Saturday Late Night
Noir Matinees- Every Sunday afternoon
Asian Cinema Night- Every Sunday evening
Experimental Cinema- Monthly
Movie/Movie-Notable people present their favorite movies- Monthly
Short Films before features
Oodles of Special Events- Ongoing
What is The Cinefamily?
The Cinefamily is an organization of movie lovers devoted to finding and presenting interesting and unusual programs of exceptional, distinctive, weird and wonderful films. The Cinefamily’s goal is to foster a spirit of community and a sense of discovery, while reinvigorating the movie-going experience. Like campfires, sporting events and church services, we believe that movies work best as … Read the rest
Wednesday, October 24th, 2007
David Halbfinger has a noteworthy piece in The New York Times today revealing that Ed Burns will release his new film, Purple Violets, a $4 million indie production starring Burns, Debra Messing, and Selma Blair, exclusively on iTunes.
From the piece:
When Edward Burns’s latest romantic comedy, “Purple Violets,” had its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in April, it drew positive reviews, but only lukewarm offers from movie distributors.
Mr. Burns, the director of indie favorites like “The Brothers McMullen” and “She’s the One,” but whose latest movies have not done as well, knew from experience how that story would end, he said: “Not enough money to market the film, not a wide-enough release to even make a dent in the moviegoing public’s consciousness.”
The film, which will be the first feature to premiere on iTunes, will be offered there exclusively on iTunes November 20 and then the filmmakers will presumably seek other ancillary distribution later.
Halbfinger’s piece goes on to discuss Burns’s efforts within the context of new opportunities for filmmakers through web distribution, citing several makers of short films who have done well. He also discusses it within the context of competition within the digital download space, noting that Apple faces an increasing challenge from sites like Jaman.
The piece notes too that Apple gives filmmakers biannual (as opposed to quarterly) revenue statements, meaning that it may be a little while before Burns finds out how successful his experiment has been. I’ve been beginning to do some research for a piece on the actual revenue possibilities for films with name talent that don’t receive major theatrical distribution. For a while it’s been assumed that the talent secures you a decent DVD release or TV deal. Lately, however, I’ve been hearing from producers that those numbers are not nearly so assured. So, I’ll be interested in how Burns’s experiment pans out as well and hope to have gathered some other such info sooner than six months from now.… Read the rest
Wednesday, October 24th, 2007
Celebrating its 14th year March 7-16, 2008, the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival is currently seeking submissions for its competition section. Learn more on their competition rules page. Deadline is Nov. 1. Late deadline is Dec. 1.
Nestled between San Francisco and Los Angeles, the SLOIFF has enjoyed the reputation of being a regional fest that brings filmmakers’ work directly to real audiences and provides an oasis for the stars. Those who’ve appeared in the past include Morgan Freeman, Stacey Peralta and Malcolm McDowell. Last year’s award winners included Iraq in Fragments for Best Doc and Beyond the Call won both Competition and Audience awards.
Learn more about the festival at their website.… Read the rest
Wednesday, October 24th, 2007
Ever since I got a full-time job, my interest short/experimental film websites has increased. Looking up shorts, photos, and other multi-media projects are a great way to escape for a few minuets during a hectic day.
Ken Jacobs’ website has a plethora of footage from his 400 minuet opus Star Spangled to Death. Jacobs culled all kinds of footage from the last half century into an intense audio-visual examination of American culture. Says Jacobs:
Star Spangled to Death is an epic film shot for hundreds of dollars! Combining found films with my own more-or-less staged filming, it pictures a stolen and dangerously sold-out America, allowing examples of popular culture to self-indict. Racial and religious insanity, monopolization of wealth and the purposeful dumbing down of citizens and addiction to war oppose a Beat playfulness.
Following in his father’s footsteps, his son, Azazel Jacobs, was one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film” this year. Check out his blog.
Multi-media artist Marcello Mercado’s site is chocked full of intriguing designs and photography. Like Jacobs, Mercado’s forte lies in turning everyday images/media into cultural critique. I find his work beautiful, horrific and impossible to forget.
If you haven’t had the opportunity to see Andrei Severny’s short films at various festivals, head over to his website where you’ll get a pretty good idea of what he’s all about. His films juxtapose poetry with technology, architecture and landscape. The images strike cords of Tarkovsky with their placement of man against towering backdrops and ominous structures.
Other cool sites include:
Miranda July’s Website – won’t get bored here
Philip Baker’s Website – another director whose shorts I love
Mark Romanek – recently updated and redesigned
David Lynch – always fun
And if you’ve enjoyed the NYFF shorts that have been profiled on this site for the last couple weeks, head over to Jamie Stuart’s mutiny company page. He has quite a prolific body of work.
Have fun!… Read the rest
Tuesday, October 23rd, 2007
It seems as if Jamie Stuart has finished fumigating his new apartment and has gone back to making videos. In this case, it’s something relatively straightforward: his interview with Sidney Lumet, a snippet of which you saw in his earlier NYFF piece, but this time streamed unedited. In the piece, Lumet talks about never wanting to shoot on film again…… Read the rest
Tuesday, October 23rd, 2007
The legendary Days of Heaven has finally gotten the Criterion Collection treatment. The second masterpiece by writer-director Terrence Malick after his debut Badlands, Heaven has long been a hallowed title of personal poetic cinema, even with its Paramount studio backing (ah yes, the 70s).
Set in wide-skyed Texas in the romantically naive turn of the (last) century, lovers on the run Richard Gere and Brooke Adams pretend to be brother and sister while working on a farm, only to get entangled in bad news when Adams falls for rich land owner Sam Shepard.
The gem of the film is Gere’s younger sister-in-tow, played by the mesmerizing Linda Manz. Sort of an ageless teenager, she seems like she isn’t acting, while providing narration more mystical than Hamlet. Ask any film dork about lost icons of the 70s and she’ll be there, making just a few consummate classics (Days of Heaven, The Wanderers and Out of the Blue) before disappearing from cinema altogether, suddenly turning up as an adult in Gummo. What a career.
Malick’s trademark style holds up today, with luscious imagery and flowing story, shooting tons of dialogue and then taking most of it out to concentrate on the moments that really matter. Sometimes it’s the middle of a conversation rather than the beginning or end, other times it is looks on faces and the surrounding landscapes.
The film’s look is also historic for being shot at ‘magic hour’, brief minutes when the sun has set but there is still light in the sky. Its less than an hour and obviously brutal for a whole shooting day to center around, but the resulting light on film is amazing. Movies aren’t made this way anymore.
Ironically enough, there is an epidemic of “light pollution” on Earth today, as cities get bigger and brighter at night over time (reported everywhere from NASA to the International Dark-Sky Association). At the turn of the century, citizens could see not only more stars but they could see from the starlight. Now, light from cities can reach hundreds of … Read the rest
DAVID LYNCH IN DIRECTOR blackANDwhite’S LYNCH. COURTESY ABSURDA.
blackANDwhite, THE MASKED AND ANONYMOUS DIRECTOR OF LYNCH. COURTESY ABSURDA.
