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We asked Sundance directors five questions about their films
EXCISION DIRECTOR RICHARD BATES JR. 
By Dan SchoenbrunSundance's Midnight section always includes a fair share of genre-heavy selections, but Richard Bates Jr.'s Excision sounds like it will pack a level of blood and guts rarely seen at the festival. A twisted coming of age tale, Excision follows young Pauline (AnnaLynne McCord), a high school girl with an unabated interest in picking scabs, dissecting road kill, and fantasizing about performing surgery on strangers. Bates' debut seems to be the sort of grotesque horror comedy sure to play well to splatter-enthusiasts in Park City and beyond. Read the Interview THE IMPOSTER DIRECTOR BART LAYTON 
By Alexandra ByerMore and more often different mediums and genres of filmmaking are being meshed together and Bart Layton's newest documentary The Imposter is no different. The film's official synopsis declares, "Documentary meets Film Noir in this astonishing true story which has all the twists and turns of a great thriller." But this is not just a hoax to get people into the theatre. Based on an extremely bizarre story of a young man who infiltrates a family by posing as their missing son, the film follows an intricate plot of testimonies that aim to recreate the story's noir-ish tone. Read the Interview We posed the question, "Why are you a filmmaker?" JOHN DIES AT THE END DIRECTOR DON COSCARELL 
Us guys from the "horror ghetto" don't usually get the "A" word attached to our work, but thank you. I'm flattered. When I was younger, I was dazzled by the work of the greats such as Fritz Lang, James Whale, and Alfred Hitchcock. Their work taught me that film could be used to travel to the dark reaches of the subconscious. These were places that other mediums such as novels and paintings were just not as effective in my opinion. They have a hard time competing with a huge moving image that includes tools such as cinematography, sound effects, music and great actors. Read more
SLAVERY BY ANOTHER NAME DIRECTOR SAM POLLARD 
I am a filmmaker because as a young man much of my time was spent watching a television show titled The Million Dollar Movie. It was broadcast on the local station WOR Channel 9. They happen to own the RKO Pictures film catalogue and they would show a film all week. The one film that I saw many times that had a tremendous impression on me was Orson Welles' Citizen Kane. So watching that show every week and seeing that film and others such as Gunga Din, Fort Apache, His Kind of Woman shaped much of my filmic sensibility. Read More
GRABBERS DIRECTOR JOE WRIGHT 
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin:Grabbers is a monster movie, first and foremost, and so much of the experience is visceral, for your eyes and ears... Whether it's a monster roar vibrating your innards or the orchestra rising to mark a poignant look from our leading lady. You simply couldn't have that experience reading a book, or watching a play. It isn't possible. There's something about the combination of pictures, and sound, plus time, that is utterly absorbing and compelling - when it's done well. I enjoy a story told in a great film more than I enjoy a great book, or a play. Particularly when I see it in the cinema. Read More |
IN THIS NEWSLETTER
ExcisionThe Imposter John Dies at the End Slavery By Another Name Grabbers Video: Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim talk Billion Dollar Movie BINDLESTIFFS Sundance Producer's Lunch Henley
SUNDANCE BLOG & FEATURES
News, columns, and opinions straight from Park CityVIDEO: TIM AND ERIC'S BILLION DOLLAR MOVIE RED CARPET 
Filmmaker has partnered with Patrick Epino and Stephen Dypiangco of the newly-founded and ambitiously-named National Film Society for a series of video interviews at Sundance. In this first video, Patrick and Stephen catch up with comedians Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim on the red carpet before their Billion Dollar Movie premiere. Tim and Eric are their usual absurdest selves, and for their part, Patrick and Stephen turn in what just might be the most laid-back red carpet interview I've ever seen. Watch
A YEAR WITHOUT RENT: ANDREW EDISON'S BINDLESTIFFS 
By Lucas McNellyThe third screening of the day is BINDLESTIFFS, a modern re-working of "Catcher in the Rye" (sort of), made by high school students. They've been pretty impossible to miss, as there's about a million of them running around in bright yellow ponchos and handing out lighters. To the surprise of no one, the show is sold out. After all, they've really been working to get people there. The crowd is standing room only and they're fucking pumped. I can't remember the last time I've been at a screening with that much energy. But first, comes Shaun Parker's short film Hope. You Like Crap, which he describes as "7 minutes of your life you'll never get back". I guess that's technically true, but I don't really want it back. Read More LEARNING FROM YOUR PEERS AT THE SUNDANCE PRODUCERS BRUNCH 
By Scott Macaulay"Work from your most generous place," producer and keynote speaker Sarah Green advised during today's annual Sundance Producers Brunch at the Sundance Film Festival. Green has had an amazing year, producing the works of masters old and young (Terrence Malick's Tree of Life and Jeff Nichols' Take Shelter), but her speech focused not on her accomplishments but on the sustenance provided by her web of professional associates and collaborators. She laughingly described her own beginnings, watching "Maggie Renzi get City of Hope financed over lunch. Read More First-hand accounts by filmmakers TEN MINUTES DOESN'T SEEM LIKE MUCH, RIGHT? 
By Craig MacNeill and Clay McLeod ChapmanOur short film--Henley--had been back-burning in our brains for over five years. Clay had published a novel back in 2003 called "Miss Corpus." Craig, it turns out, was the only person who read it. There's a chapter in the book, The Henley Road Motel, which is all about a boy growing up in a family-run roach motel. Think lil' Normie Bates before donning mom's summer dress. When business begins to dwindle, our 9-year-old hero cracks a pretty devious scheme to bring customers back to the family business--and poof: A short film is born. When you're writing a script and the phrase "a dilapidated motel sits next to a lonesome highway" mysteriously appears on your computer screen, you think--Oh, we'll be able to find one of those, no problem. Read more |
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