Filmmaking

THE PLAN B’ERS

Two more interviews by James Ponsoldt up on our Sundance home page. David Kaplan talks about his animated The Year of the Fish. And: Chris Zalla discusses his Padre Nuestro.

By Scott Macaulay on Jan 25, 2007 Filmmaking
TEMPORARY INSANITY

Mike White’s comedy The Year of the Dog, which premiered in Sundance this week in the Premieres section, shares a premise with the similarly titled Joan Didion memoir, The Year of Magical Thinking. That is, when one is grieving, one experiences a kind of insanity, the “magical thinking” of Didion’s title. One’s relationship to the rest of society as well as one’s self is occluded by the memory of the deceased. Of course, Didion’s departed was her husband, the novelist John Gregory Dunne. It’s typical of White’s unsettling wit that the protagonist of his film – a retiring and unmarried […]

By Scott Macaulay on Jan 25, 2007 Filmmaking
FAUST FOUNDER DIES

I was saddened to see over at Pitchfork Media that Uwe Nettelbeck, one of the founders of the great German art rock group Faust has died. Here’s Pitchfork: Nettelbeck, a producer and one-time music journalist, founded Faust in Wümme, Germany in 1971. The group was one of Virgin Records’ first signings and went on to record several highly-influential albums over the next few years, including the seminal Faust and Faust IV, before disbanding in 1975. Several of the original members have since regrouped under the Faust banner to tour and record. No further details of Nettelbeck’s death are known at […]

By Scott Macaulay on Jan 24, 2007 Filmmaking
David Kaplan, Year of the Fish

YEAR OF THE FISH. This article is part of Filmmaker’s Sundance 2007 Special Coverage. A veteran of Sundance with his short films — including the cryptic, menacing fairy tales, Little Red Riding Hood (starring Christina Ricci and Quentin Crisp!), Little Suck-A-Thumb, and The Frog King — which are regularly shown to film students as examples of exemplary short-form filmmaking, David Kaplan returns to the festival with his first feature, Year of the Fish. At once a singular New York immigrant story, as well as a re-imagining of the fairy tale (Kaplan’s real-world, adult conception of children’s stories can bring to […]

By Jason Guerrasio on Jan 24, 2007 Directing
Dan Bush, David Bruckner, and Jacob Gentry, The Signal

THE SIGNAL. This article is part of Filmmaker’s Sundance 2007 Special Coverage. Making a feature film, independent or otherwise, isn’t easy (understatement of the century). The seemingly impossible hurdle of gaining financing — not to mention the tiny details of actually executing the film and then seeking distribution — seem Herculean enough to scare off most would-be filmmakers. Now imagine directing a feature film with two other directors. Suicidal, right? Well, that’s exactly what three of Atlanta’s finest — Dan Bush, David Bruckner, and Jacob Gentry — did. The ballsy trio arrives at Sundance with their terrifying horror film, The […]

By Jason Guerrasio on Jan 24, 2007 Directors
MESSAGE RECEIVED

If you’re only checking out this blog, make sure to click over to James Ponsoldt’s interviews with the three directors of the American indie horror pic The Signal, which was bought here at Sundance by Magnolia Pictures.

By Scott Macaulay on Jan 24, 2007 Filmmaking
"AN INSANE FEEDING FRENZY"

Ann Thompson at her Risky Business blog has been detailing what she calls “an unexpectedly insane feeding frenzy” at the Sundance Film Festival. Midway through the first weekend people were saying that this seemed to be a weak year at Sundance and that sales would be slow. Then, all of a sudden, a number of unexpected titles caught the fancy of audiences and distributors. There has been one big sale (Son of Rambow to Paramount Vantage for $7 million), several medium sized ones (Grace is Gone and Dedication, both to the Weinstein’s for $4 million or so), and heartening pickups […]

By Scott Macaulay on Jan 24, 2007 Filmmaking
PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE

Now that both public and the politicians are denouncing the war in Iraq, documentaries like Charles Ferguson’s No End in Sight, premiering in Sundance’s Documentary Competition, are simply essential. The inevitable withdrawal of U.S. troops is sure to prompt attacks by the real “bitter enders” –- administration officials and neo-cons who will pin the war’s failures on an American lack of resolve – and Ferguson’s sober and straightforward documentary is the necessary rebuttal. Recalling that old piece of screenplay advice, “There are no third act problems,” Ferguson takes us back to the run-up to the war and the months following […]

By Scott Macaulay on Jan 24, 2007 Filmmaking
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

After ten years of trying to get in on screen and months of controversy (Peter Bowen blogs about the latest hubbub) leading up to its Sundance premiere, Deborah Kempmeier’s southern tale Hounddog was unveiled last night. I guess I should first get out of the way the infamous rape scene that everyone (even if they haven’t seen it yet) wants to talk about. The scene – though in the context of the movie is appalling – is quite tame. Created in the editing room with shots of Dakota Fanning’s face, reactions of the young boy Buddy (Cody Hanford) watching, and […]

By Jason Guerrasio on Jan 23, 2007 Filmmaking
NUMBER ONE WITH A BULLET

There are many impressive documentaries at Sundance this year but my favorite so far is Jason Kohn’s Manda Bala (Send a Bullet) in the Documentary Competition. Examining the violence, political corruption and rampant kidnappings in Sao Paulo, Brazil, this doc — with a brisk running time of 85 minutes — never lets you catch your breath as it weaves through numerous stories that are sometimes humorous but often excruciating to watch. First-time filmmaker Kohn uses many traits of his mentor Errol Morris (piercing questions, amazing cinematography, powerful score) to tell his story. The film covers three equally compelling topics that […]

By Jason Guerrasio on Jan 22, 2007 Filmmaking

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