“SLEEPLESS NIGHTS STORIES” – A HAMMER TO NAIL REVIEW

By Susanna Locascio

(Sleepless Nights Stories opens theatrically at the Anthology Film Archives on Thursday, December 15, 2011. Visit their website to learn more.)

December can be perverse, especially in New York. Underneath the jingling bells, cinnamon, and pine, the promises and obligations to keep, there’s a pervasive anxiety about the dying light. Time flattens the remaining days like a steamroller as we frantically categorize our memories into lists of ten and wrap it all up in colored paper and ribbons. This can create a hectic, merry numbness that doesn’t subside until January’s hangover, when the cold is undeniable. Perhaps the timing is fortuitous, but I was thoroughly pleased and soothed by watching Jonas Mekas’ film Sleepless Nights Stories, a loose montage of gatherings between Mekas and his friends, inspired by his insomnia as well as the Arabian tales of One Thousand And One Nights. I hadn’t realized how immersed I’d been in images of hollow, brittle glamor until I confronted this film’s overwhelming drive of sentiment. Mekas and the film itself are what December should be but is not: warm, funny, and immediately accessible, but also fueled by spirit(s) and melancholy.

Mekas weaves his spell through simple means, rejecting all the pretty new toys for a tinny little DV camera. In his hands this basic tool becomes a portal, and its gaze an extension of the filmmaker himself. It hangs out on tables, amidst bottles and glasses, following the flow of conversation, only to turn, zoom, or fade to black. Typewritten title cards and quotations separate the collection of scenes, which Mekas also narrates, both from behind and in front of the camera. The wanderings and gatherings are lively and full-throated, occasionally bursting into song, but the most memorable sequences (often featuring luminaries made human) are marked by the hush of storytelling, or a spark of sudden emotion. In the wake of a lost lover, Marina Abramovic admits to desiring a housewife’s existence, craving the stability of a life predicated on ironed sheets. In a sweet sort of time-lapse, Mekas catches Harmony Korine when he’s about to marry his … Read the rest

CHLOE HAS THE BUNNY EARS

By Scott Macaulay

The bicycles are sitting in my storage unit, but Chloe Sevigny kept a key piece of costumery from Gummo: the rabbit ears she made for the Bunny Boy character. (Sevigny not only co-starred in the movie, she was also its costume designer.) She explains in this video released by Opening Ceremony tied to the launch of her third collection for the fashion house. (HT: Portable TV.)

At Home with Chloë: Part 1 from Opening Ceremony on Vimeo.… Read the rest

HARMONY KORINE, “SNOWBALLS”

By Scott Macaulay

Following last year’s Act Da Fool, here’s the latest Harmony Korine short film, Snowballs, for the designer Proenza Schouler.

… Read the rest

HARMONY KORINE WANTS YOU TO RISE

By Scott Macaulay

Harmony Korine directed and Anthony Dod Mantle shot this ad for Mahindra, the Indian multinational conglomerate. According to Ad Age, it was shot at 1,000 fps with a Phantom camera.

… Read the rest

NEW HARMONY KORINE/DIE ANTWOORD FILM!

By Scott Macaulay

Umshimi Wam (“Bring Me My Machine Gun”) premiered at SXSW last night, and now we have it for you here. It’s the Badlands of suburban South African wheelchair rap-rave. Check it out.

… Read the rest

SXSW CLOSING WITH THORNTON’S “THE KING OF LUCK” & ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL TITLES

By Jason Guerrasio

The South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival revealed today that its closing night film this year will be the world premiere of Bill Bob Thornton‘s documentary on Willie Nelson, The King of Luck. They also announced additional titles to the fest, including a work-in-progress screening of Bridesmaids, starring Kristen Wiig and produced by Judd Apatow, and a short from Harmony Korine. More info on the closing night film and additional titles can be found below.

SXSW will take place March 11-19 in Austin, Texas. Read full list of features here; Midnight, SXFantastic and shorts here.

CLOSING NIGHT FILM

The King of Luck
Director: Billy Bob Thornton
This is a documentary about Willie Nelson: the man, the songwriter, the friend, the father, legendary performer and champion of the family farmer. (World Premiere)

SPECIAL EVENTS

Bridesmaids (Work In Progress)
Director: Paul Feig, Writers: Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
Kristen Wiig leads the cast as Annie, a maid of honor whose life unravels as she leads her best friend, Lillian (Maya Rudolph), and a group of colorful bridesmaids (Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey and Ellie Kemper) on a wild ride down the road to matrimony.

Films from R.E.M.’s Collapse Into Now followed by a Q+A with Michael Stipe
A selection of films from R.E.M.’s latest album, ”Collapse Into Now,” with films by notable artists and filmmakers and personally curated by Michael Stipe.

Night Fishing
Directors: PARKing CHANce (PARK Chan-wook, PARK Chan-kyong) (Narrative Short)
Story about the transitions between life and death brought by PARKing CHANce, the first collaboration between PARK Chan-wook and PARK Chan-kyong. (North American Premiere)

The Pee-wee Herman Show on Broadway
Director: Marty Callner, Created and Conceived by: Paul Reubens, Written by: Paul Reubens and Bill Steinkellner, Additional Material by: John Paragon, Also written by: Josh Meyers, John Koch and Paul Rust
Based on the original show that launched Pee-wee Herman into a pop culture icon, Paul Reubens’ beloved character brings his Playhouse to life once again in the HBO special “The Pee-wee Herman Show on Broadway.”

Sound & Scene: Made … Read the rest

HARMONY KORINE SHOOTS URBAN OUTFITTERS CATALOG

By Scott Macaulay

Director Harmony Korine has shot the Spring, 2011 Urban Outfitters catalog. From The Fox is Back:

“It’s a pretty crazy looking affair. Lots of analog photos that have been fucked up in some way or another. It seems to me like less of a fashion catalog and more of a collection of art, which I think is admirable for UO to be doing.”

I can’t find these images on the Urban Outfitters site, but they appear to be all from a print-only piece that arrived in people’s mailboxes this week. Click on the link for scans of many of the shots.… Read the rest

“TRASH HUMPERS” TOO TRASHY FOR NETFLIX?

By Scott Macaulay

A press release from distributor Drag City today claims that Netflix has apparently dubbed Harmony Korine’s latest, Trash Humpers, to be beyond the pale for its automated DVD service centers. From Drag City:

America’s video rental service of choice has all the previous Korine films – Mister Lonely, julien donkey-boy and Gummo. They offer the film he wrote the script for, Kids. They’re also making available the following films: Antichrist, Irreversible, Emmanuel in America, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer and all the Jackass films. What do all these films have in common? They all feature more full-frontal nudity, on-screen sex, violence, rape and/or murder than is featured in Trash Humpers. Some of them are in as “poor taste” as Trash Humpers. Or at least they wish they were!

Yet Netflix has deemed the content of Trash Humpers to be too inappropriate for their subscribers to make it available to them. From their perspective, they may be right: they certainly know their subscribers and their tastes, and might have a better awareness of their breaking point (we thought that might have been fuckin’ Avatar). So it’s hard to fault them. But we do love a challenge! We don’t expect Netflix to carry anything they don’t want to, for whatever reason, but it reminds us that this is the price paid when we allow one entity to control the lion’s-share of content distribution. For a list of actual-factual mom-and-pop DVD sales-and/or-rental stores still fighting the good fight and carrying Trash Humpers for sale and/or rent, click here.

As Netflix carries other Drag City titles — Silver Jews, Ghost-Metamorphosis, and The World’s Funnyman — there does seem to be some judgement specific to Korine’s title at work here. If you’re interested in viewing Trash Humpers, click on the retail link above. And, you can make your protest known to Netflix with one simple action: ADD TO QUEUE!

… Read the rest

REVISITING THE TOPIC OF INDIE MOVIES AND YOUTH

By Scott Macaulay

This is perhaps the longest gestating blog post in Filmmaker Blog history.

Back in December, Ted Hope commented on the graying of the arthouse audience in a post entitled “Can Truly Free Film Appeal to Younger Audiences?” He asked:

What is it that new audiences want? What must the indie community do to engage them? It is really surprising how few true indie films speak to a youth audience. In this country we’ve had Kevin Smith and NAPOLEON DYNAMITE, but nothing that was youth and also truly on the art spectrum like RUN LOLA RUN or the French New Wave (PARANORMAL ACTIVITY not withstanding…). Are we incapable of making the spirited yet formal work that defines a lot of alternative rock and roll? And if so, why is that?

The post inspired a long comments thread, much of which focuses on the issue of marketing, and whether today’s independent films are marketed to youth correctly, or whether today’s indies are giving young audiences the experiences they want. Amongst these comments is one by producer Cotty Chubb, who tackles the issue of young content. An excerpt:

If there’s no reason to go to the theater to have an emotional (comedic, dramatic, it doesn’t matter) experience that answers questions you have — about being a child of divorce, about how to figure out how to live or love, or about what happens you become intimate and it’s all too much — whatever it is that you’re living — if you lose the habit of seeing movies because the people that make them don’t give two shits about you except for your ability to spend money — you stop going, except for the thrill rides or the exceptional rude boys.

That’s why I thought Judd Apatow was going to matter when I saw Knocked Up. That’s why I think 500 Days of Summer is important. It was honest and funny and smart and generous and Joe Gordon Levitt is uniquely transparent in his emotion. And it grossed 32+MM$.

I think Ted and Cotty combine to make a great point here having to … Read the rest

RACY VIDEO

By Scott Macaulay

Harmony Korine has directed a new Cat Power video, “Living Proof.” There’s a short piece and a comments page over at Antville.

(His previous clip for Bonnie “Prince Billy,” aka Will Oldham, star of Kelly Reichardt’s Old Joy, is here.)… Read the rest