EVAN LOUISON’S SEMINAL INDIES

By Scott Macaulay

This week on the blog I wrote a post asking what independent films made young audiences fans of independent film. Below are responses from writer, actor, director and musician Evan Louison.

Buffalo ’66. I was 15. Particularly for the quiet, for the musical numbers, and for the paleness and stillness of the winter depicted. Particularly for the dinner table scene. I felt like I understood, or better like someone else did. I was in private school, and wrote a paper on it that got me called in after class. I don’t know what happened. They had a thing with strange kids. I think they wanted to know if I was gay or on drugs.

julien donkey-boy. I read about this in the Times when I was in private school and knew I had to see it. It wasn’t available except for in the city and I only stayed there on weekends to see my father, and I ended up missing it. I also don’t know if I could have convinced my father to bring me to see it. I had seen Kids (which I feel like every 15-year-old in private school probably loved — having rewatched it recently I only really like the dialogue), and ended up finding a VHS copy of Gummo in my local library somehow instead, what depraved/brilliant mind ordered that in a community of rich liberal Jews & prude Episcopalians I’ll never know, but I’d love to meet them. I didn’t understand it but liked the music, and the stills, and was all the more obsessed with finding and seeing julien. I remember thinking it made me nauseous. I was 16. Eventually I did see it, and only cause someone I was in a band with had IFC on cable and was flipping channels and I saw an image of someone crawling up a staircase on their hands, and having never heard of that part of the film before or seen one frame of it, I told them to stop, said, “That’s julien.” I was right, and I’ve been grateful ever since. … 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

COMPETITION TITLES ANNOUNCED FOR TRIBECA ’10

Announced earlier today, the 9th annual Tribeca Film Festival announced their Competition roster and films in their Showcase category for this year’s fest, which takes place April 21 – May 2 in New York City.

Some of the highlights include Alex Gibney‘s work-in-progress screening of his doc on Eliot Spitzer and (get this) Vincent Gallo lending his voice in the animated film, Metropia.

Full list of films are below.

World Narrative Feature Competition

“Buried Land,” directed by Geoffrey Alan Rhodes and Steven Eastwood, written by Geoffrey Alan Rhodes, Steven Eastwood, and Dzenan Medanovic. (USA, UK, Bosnia and Herzegovina) – World and TFF Virtual Premiere.
The small town of Visoko heralds to the world a remarkable discovery: A valley of ancient pyramids predating Egypt exists under the hills of central Bosnia. Tourists flood the war-scarred region, and locals are caught between the real and the imagined (mirroring the film’s vacillation between documentary and fiction). With the help of a young man returning to his homeland, an American film crew determines the role of faith in capturing what cannot yet be proven. In English, Bosnian with English subtitles.

“Dog Pound,” directed by Kim Chapiron, written by Kim Chapiron and Jeremie Delon. (France) – World Premiere
In North America more than 100,000 children are held in detention centers. Sixty percent are destined to become repeat offenders. Director Kim Chapiron (Sheitan, TFF ’06) takes a searing look at three incarcerated teenagers fighting for their lives and for hope. An electrifying cast delivers blistering performances packed with intensity and emotional power in this story of unlikely friendships in the midst of a brutal and deficient correctional system.

“Loose Cannons (Mine Vaganti),” directed by Ferzan Ozpetek, written by Ivan Cotroneo and Ferzan Ozpetek. (Italy) – North American Premiere
Ferzan Ozpetek (Facing Windows, A Perfect Day) sets this playful family comedy in the picturesque city of Lecce in the deep south of Italy. Tomasso, a reluctant soon-to-be-partner in his wealthy family’s pasta business, has plans to come out—and hopefully get out of his familial obligation. But when his plans are thwarted by his brother, Tomasso … Read the rest

SEED MONEY

By Admin

Hollywood.com recently reported that Vincent Gallo, the blue-eyed devil of the independent world, has come up with a new way to make waves and money. Sell his sperm. Supposedly at VGmerchandise, Gallo provided his genetic gifts for a mere million (an extra $500,000, if you want him to deliver it in person). [At the time of printing, the ad was gone.] Of course, attractive women could receive a discount. The perfect Christmas gift for those who would like children with a genetic predisposition to self-aggrandizing, arrogance, and narcissism — and with the innate creative chops to make a film like The Brown Bunny.… Read the rest

STARS OF TOMORROW

By Scott Macaulay

Via Defamer comes this odd L.A. Craig’s List talent call which I’m not quite sure speaks for itself:

We are looking for the new Vincent Gallo & Chloe Sevigny!!!

Independent Feature Film Production Company is casting adult male and female actors as well as experienced traditional actors for a new narrative film that has explicit scenes of sexuality.

The film is a cross between “The Brown Bunny” and “Reservoir Dogs.” It’s the romantic and thrilling story of two professional hitmen who fall in love one night and the woman who comes between them.

We finished a very successful narrative feature film which has gotten lots of festival and press praise and secured distribution in the US and Canada (with deals pending overseas). We are becoming known for producing very unconventional and compelling stories for a very hip and ‘indie-focused’ market.

Our new film is not the traditional porn film w/o story and production values but is reminiscent to story-based films of the 70s but updated to reflect the new wave of indie gangster films.

Click on the link above if you think you qualify!
… Read the rest

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE WORK

By Scott Macaulay

I always admire those who are able to lay either their professional and personal lives out online for all to see. One person who does this when it comes to his independent film producing is Muse Production’s Chris Hanley, who has made an entertaining habit of posting on his website copies of business emails he’s received under the apt header of “Scathing Letters.” For a while the letters sections was filled with angry back-and-forths from folks like Vincent Gallo and Don Murphy over older Muse projects, but Hanley has updated the site recently with two choice bits of correspondence, both of which probably give budding indie filmmakers more insight into this business than a raft of cinematic self-help books. (Click on the link above and then go to the mailbox and click through to the four letters that comprise page two.)

The first is an irate email from actor and I Love Your Work writer/director Adam Goldberg about the distribution hell his film, which Muse produced, is in. The film, which premiered in Toronto last year and stars Giovanni Ribisi and Christina Ricci, was co-financed by fellow producer Cyan Pictures and foreign sales agent Fireworks and seems to be in some kind of bad place now that Fireworks is defunct but contractually holds approval rights for North American distribution. If you wonder about the drama that can go into the financing of low-budget independent film, check out this correspondence.

The second set of exchanges is between Muse’s Robert Hanley, New Line’s Bob Shaye, and director David Cronenberg over script coverage New Line commissioned for a Roberta-scripted, Cronenberg-directed adaptation of Martin Amis’s novel London Fields. In passing, Shaye forwards the coverage which Muse posts on its site. Here’s an excerpt:

“London Fields is a fairly disjointed and predominantly nonsensical drama that fails to offer much in the way of a coherent plot, developed characters or a satisfying ending. Things seem to take place randomly, with little reason for events to occur. The main characters are incredibly simplistic and unsympathetic and we never connect with either on a deeper level. … Read the rest

ALL ABOUT MARY

By Admin

According to Variety, “Vincent Gallo will star in indie helmer Abel Ferrara’s Mary, an eclectic Bible-themed drama that Ferrara described [at the Venice Film Festival] as ‘a search for the heart of my religious upbringing.’”

Gallo will reportedly play two roles in the film, including the star-director of a controversial film-within-the film about the life of Christ. The actress who plays Mary Magdalene in that film, and who later develops an obsession with her, is the central focus of Mary.

“I had been thinking about this project since way before The Passion [of the Christ],” said Ferarra.
… Read the rest

GENIUS QUOTE OF THE MONTH

By Scott Macaulay

Vincent Gallo in Sunday’s New York Times:

Q: “Why aren’t you married?”

A: “Intimacy always creates an urge in me that I am missing out on something.”

Speaking of Gallo, via his Drowning in Brown Web site comes news that he will be performing live on August 25th at Rothko in New York.

Gallo will be performing with Sean Lennon in a rare live performance that will include music from Gallo’s album “When.” Tickets are $18 advance, and $22 day of the show. Tickets include a ticket to a screening of his latest film, The Brown Bunny.
… Read the rest

BETTER THAN NEW

By Scott Macaulay

Vincent Gallo fans — and perfectionist filmmakers with money to spare — must check out this eBay page in which Gallo sells the camera, lights and sound package used to create The Brown Bunny. (Being a fan, I hope this doesn’t herald a retreat from filmmaking for Gallo.) The package contains two Aaton 16mm cameras, Super Baltar lenses, the last Nagra 4 STC made by the company, and an Angeniuex zoom purchased from the Kubrick estate!

Writes eBay seller nbvbn, who, by the way, has a seller rating of 76 with 100% positive results, “Vincent Gallo, the director of Buffalo 66 decided after completing Buffalo 66 that for his next film, The Brown Bunny, he would own all his equipment. He would not rent a thing. He would own everything he would need to make his next feature film. In putting this production package together, he spent a year of researching and testing equipment. Afterwards, he would spend 6 months designing the package and another 2 years purchasing, customizing, testing and tweaking the gear. The goals were as follows: to be lightweight, compact, versatile, reliable and cost effective. The package would have to include everything needed to make the film: 2 cameras, a high quality and comprehensive lens collection, mobile yet sufficient lighting, sound equipment that could integrate with the cameras so as to avoid slating, a mic assortment that would never need backup, and a ton of extras that would meet the needs of his flexible and spontaneous production style, and last but not least, an extremely secure transportation case system. 100 hours of case design alone was needed…. All in all, Gallo put more effort into this production package than the whiny Wes Anderson, the sputtering Spike Jonze, the un-darling Darren Aronofsky have put into their whole lives.”

Bidding for the camera package ended on March 8. With the current bid listed as $86,800, the reserve had not been met.

A hat tip to Movie City News for picking up on this link.… Read the rest