Authors — Alix Lambert
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Music, Parallax Sounds and the City
This past week I had the pleasure of working again with my long time friends and collaborators Damon Locks and Wayne Montana on a play that I am developing. Damon is a Chicago-based musician who is featured in a documentary currently in development, Parallax Sounds, which “explores the intimate connection between music and urban landscape in Chicago.” Directed by Augusto Contento, the film also features Steve Albini, Ken Vandermark, and Ian Williams, among others. Locks and Montana created original music for the soundtrack of my own film The Mark of Cain. Their ability to think cinematically and incorporate the sounds […]
by Alix Lambert on Mar 27, 2012 -
Director Nelson George on The Announcement
I sat down today with my old friend Nelson George to ask about his recent and past projects. We discussed his newly finished film The Announcement, about Magic Johnson 20 years after he made the announcement that he has the HIV virus. And then we worked backwards and discussed Good Hair, Life Support, and George’s path from journalist to filmmaker. The Announcement premiered on ESPN this month and continues to air; for upcoming screenings, including one this afternoon, visit the website. George’s documentary Brooklyn Boheme is now available on iTunes. Filmmaker: Tell me about The Announcement and how you came […]
by Alix Lambert on Mar 18, 2012 -
An Interview with Nick Flynn About Being Flynn
As a child growing up in Scituate, Massachusetts, Nick Flynn (pictured here at left and below with director Paul Weitz) was often left to explore on his own, and he got into varying degrees of trouble. Flynn’s parents were divorced and he had no contact with his father, living instead with his mother, who worked in a bakery. She remarried to a 21-year-old Viet Nam vet, and, after their divorce, Flynn wound up living with her and a new boyfriend — a member of one of the largest drug smuggling rings in New England. Around the age of 18 Flynn […]
by Alix Lambert on Mar 2, 2012 -
An Interview with D.P. Martina Radwan
I started working with DP Martina Radwan about a year ago on the feature documentary, Mentor (addressing bullying and teen suicide in Mentor, Ohio) I further had the pleasure of working with her on a recent music video for the band Shearwater. It is a gift, as a director, to find a DP who you can quickly fall into a shorthand with, creating your own visual language, and trusting in the collaborative process. Radwan and I found this with each other. Her narrative work includes Flannel Pajamas, by Jeff Lipsky; Singapore Dreaming, one of the first Singaporean feature productions and […]
by Alix Lambert on Feb 6, 2012 -
Family Matters
As a child growing up in Scituate, Mass., Nick Flynn was often left to explore on his own, and he got into varying degrees of trouble. Flynn’s parents were divorced and he had no contact with his father, living instead with his mother, who worked in a bakery. She remarried to a 21-year-old Vietnam vet, and, after their divorce, Flynn wound up living with her and a new boyfriend — a member of one of the largest drug smuggling rings in New England. Around the age of 18, Flynn started working for the smuggler — unloading fishing boats and as […]
by Alix Lambert on Jan 17, 2012 -
Michael Barry on His Career in Film Sound
Michael Barry has been a re-recording mixer for more than two decades, working on over 100 films. Some of the directors he has collaborated with include Tony Gilroy (Duplicity, Michael Clayton), Stephen Daldry (The Reader), David Koepp (Ghost Town, Secret Window), Robert Altman (Short Cuts, A Prairie Home Companion) and the Coen Brothers (The Big Lebowski, Fargo). In our interview he discusses his beginnings in sound, the job of the mixer, and the future of sound in film. Filmmaker: When did you become interested in sound and film? Barry: My mother studied piano at Juilliard. I grew up with her […]
by Alix Lambert on Jan 11, 2012 -
Wim Wenders, Pina
German filmmaker Wim Wenders started taking photographs at the age of seven. Over the years he has turned his attentions to medicine, philosophy, painting, and engraving, but it is his four decades directing that has most often caught the publics’ attention. I first saw and loved his films with Wings of Desire; later I could be found carrying around a copy of his book Once religiously. His new film Pina, is a loving tribute to his 20-year friendship with, and admiration of, the dancer and choreographer Pina Bausch. It is a documentary that uses new 3D technology to exquisite effect. […]
by Alix Lambert on Dec 21, 2011 -
Karen Mintz and Simon Egleton on Their Frank Bender Doc
Karen Mintz has just finished shooting her documentary, The Recomposer of The Decomposed, about the forensic artist Frank Bender, who died recently. She is about to move into the post-production phase. I had the opportunity to meet with her and her producer Simon Egleton and talk about her film, the pros and cons of no-budget filmmaking, and the friend that she made, and also lost, during the process. Filmmaker: Can you start by telling me a little about how you became a filmmaker and what your background is? Mintz: I started working in production 15 years ago. I just kind […]
by Alix Lambert on Nov 10, 2011 -
Edit Center Epilogue
Today I went by the Edit Center to watch Family Tree, as edited by: us. I take back my hubris about color correcting. I feel like one of my scenes is too dark, but otherwise I enjoy seeing the whole film and wish I had been in class for the discussion afterwards. I once had a job I didn’t like (well, more than once). One day I said I was going out to get a cup of coffee and on my way to the deli I passed a movie theater. A film I wanted to see was just about to […]
by Alix Lambert on Oct 26, 2011 -
Week Six at the Edit Center
On Monday we watch the famous f*ck scene from The Wire. In the past I have seen this scene used as an example of great writing, great directing and great acting. It seems to be a quintessential teaching scene. If you don’t know what I am talking about, you can see it below. We also watch a sequence from Unzipped, the documentary that follows the fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi (1995, edited by Alan Oxman, cinematography by Ellen Kuras, who went on to shoot a long list of films including Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless mind). Its lyrical look, pacing and […]
by Alix Lambert on Oct 24, 2011
