Authors — Sarah Salovaara
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Watch: High Maintenance, Episode “Rachel”
The latest episode of High Maintenance, 25 New Faces duo Ben Sinclair and Katja Blichfeld’s popular web series, relies on situational humor rather than one-liners. Featuring Dan Stevens as a stay at home dad cum cross-dressing screenwriter, “Rachel” refers not to the protagonist’s alter ego, but his preferred designer. Enjoy one of the final episodes of Cycle Three above.
by Sarah Salovaara on Mar 26, 2014 -
Trailer Watch: Nathan Silver’s Soft in the Head
Home to one of my favorite scenes of 2013, Nathan Silver’s Soft in the Head now has a delightfully cryptic trailer ahead of its April 18 release at New York’s Cinema Village. Roving, drunken mess Natalia (the loose-limbed Sheila Etxeberría) finds an empathetic respite from the city streets at a predominately Jewish male shelter, run by patron saint Maury (Ed Ryan.) Entirely improvised, Soft in the Head constructs its narrative from kinetic exchanges that bely the simplicity of the film’s storyline with their engrossing frenzy. More aggressive than his breakthrough Exit Elena (which will have its own run in April at Anthology), Soft in the Head teems […]
by Sarah Salovaara on Mar 26, 2014 -
Contemporary as Repertory: Aaron Schimberg and Jon Dieringer on Go Down Death at Spectacle
Perhaps it’s the fabulist way its characters relay their inverted sense of normality or their ragged way of dress, but something about Aaron Schimberg’s debut feature Go Down Death is unshakably anachronistic — and it’s not just the black-and-white 16 mm. Fitting then, that the film accounts for the first-ever theatrical run at the Williamsburg repertory theater, Spectacle. Screenings begin this Friday, with select showings in Smell-o-Vision, the aromatic brain child of producer-editor Vanessa McDonnell, who considers Go Down Death to be the ultimate vehicle for “the weird perfumes and other odd tinctures I’ve made out of plants, foods, etc.,” aside from […]
by Sarah Salovaara on Mar 25, 2014 -
Short Film: Joel Potrykus’s Coyote
Far more whimsical than his down-the-middle abrasive character sagas Ape and Buzzard, Joel Potrykus’s 2010 short Coyote relates an outward manifestation of inner demons. Played by regular collaborator Joshua Burge, the Coyote in question is a heroin addict who trolls downtown Grand Rapids in between binges at his rundown compound. Replacing tirades with tunes, and low-grade digital with Super 8, Coyote presents a more curious Potrykus, whose character is guided by circumstance as much as his malcontent.
by Sarah Salovaara on Mar 24, 2014 -
The “One-Point Perspective” in Stanley Kubrick’s Work
We’ve been on a bit of a Kubrick kick lately, and here’s another tidbit to add to the heap. Dubbed “one-point perspective,” the above video showcases the symmetrical framing — often from a down-the-corridor POV — in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, Full Metal Jacket, Barry Lyndon, Eyes Wide Shut and Paths of Glory. Set, for dramatic effect, to Clint Mansell’s “Lux Aeterna,” the collage demonstrates the versatility of the shot, as it adopts a humorous stance (Alex DeLarge slurping spaghetti) and a one filled with dread (Jack Torrance, the twins).
by Sarah Salovaara on Mar 21, 2014 -
Sundance Institute Launches TV-Based Lab Program
It was only a matter of time. With quality, funds and star power funneling into television, the Sundance Institute is the latest name to hop on board the medium, in announcing their first ever Episodics Story Lab to be held in the Fall of 2014. Designed for TV and online serial writers, the six day lab will pair the chosen few with accomplished mentors who will aid in script development as they also impart wisdom on the production and distribution landscape. Cary Fukunaga, Louis CK and Lena Dunham are among Sundance’s Screenwriters Lab alumni who enjoyed breakouts through their television […]
by Sarah Salovaara on Mar 19, 2014 -
Trailer Watch: Nymphomaniac Volume II
A few weeks out from its release, here’s the first trailer for Volume II of Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac. There not much going on here that hasn’t already been introduced, so I’ll take the opportunity to point you toward Charlotte Gainsbourg’s interview in New York Magazine. The article offers insight into her intriguing relationship with von Trier, but also gifts us this nugget: One thing she’s not entirely happy with: the casting, as Joe’s younger self, of English actress Stacy Martin. (Nymphomaniac is, for some reason, supposed to be set in the U.K., though like most of von Trier’s films it’s really set in a darkly […]
by Sarah Salovaara on Mar 19, 2014 -
Short Film: Chris Bell’s The Movie
(Full disclosure: Chris Bell is a friend and his feature film The Winds That Scatter, due to hit the festival circuit this year, is great, so I’m getting the word out now.) In this single-take short, Chris Bell layers on the vérité. Perched behind a bench in a transit hub, his camera watches as a crane rises to the ceiling, two men greet one another and an off-screen voice breaks the fourth wall. It’s unclear as to whether any of the action was previously orchestrated or Bell merely whipped out his camera in the moment, and it’s probably best to keep it […]
by Sarah Salovaara on Mar 18, 2014 -
Behind The Scenes Featurette on Under The Skin’s Guerrilla Filmmaking
Expect to be hearing a lot more from me on Under The Skin in the ensuing weeks. The film is pretty much flawless. One of its innumerable exciting aspects extends beyond the glossy finished product, and into its production. Director Jonathan Glazer and his team rigged Scarlett Johansson’s abduction vehicle with eight cameras, allowing her to freely cruise the Glasgow streets and lure actual pedestrians to her van. They’d drop her in a mall, a busy intersection, and let the scene unfold before their very eyes. In the above featurette, Glazer, Johansson and producer James Wilson discuss the film’s guerrilla production, among […]
by Sarah Salovaara on Mar 18, 2014 -
Trailer Watch: Onur Tukel’s Summer of Blood
Opening Night of Tribeca Film Festival’s Viewpoints section, Onur Tukel’s Summer of Blood looks to be the latest entry in the genre that keeps on giving: vampires. Despite his average Joe likeness, Erik Sparrow (Tukel) seems to have a lot going for him: a good job, stable relationship, all against the thriving backdrop of New York City. Things take a sharp downturn when his girlfriend Jody (Anna Margaret Hollyman) goes out on a limb and proposes to him, and the pompous Erik rejects her offer. Drowning in a post-breakup malaise, Erik is fortuitously bitten by a vampire and revitalized in mind, […]
by Sarah Salovaara on Mar 17, 2014
