On the last day of Independent Film Week, I asked myself: Self, am I a filmmaker or a brand? Quickly realizing what a thorny Mobius strip of a question that was, I conveniently hied myself over to the panel entitled … Am I a Filmmaker or a Brand?, being moderated by writer/director/Hammer to Nail blogger Michael Tully (Cocaine Angel, Silver Jew), in what was billed as a “Cage Match” between Michelle Satter, director of the Sundance Institute, and Jon Reiss, filmmaker/author of the marketing and branding tome “Think Outside the Box Office.” Thanks to a conveniently timed Facebook post, I […]
Goodfellas. I can almost always watch it. Don’t know how many times I have seen it. Scorsese was attracted to Little Italy’s urban grittiness. But he knows that idolizing these figures never works. Joe Pesci scenes are always great. But I never inspired to be Pesci or anything like that. Lessons learned from Goodfellas…try to treat everyone with respect and don’t talk too much. (Click to watch Goodfellas Trailer) -Richard, Taxi Dispatcher So IFP’s Independent Film Week came and went and what do I have to show for it? Taking lessons from Richard I tried to treat people with respect, […]
One of Filmmaker’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film in 2005, the documentary team of Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady have gained notice in the past five years for a string of socially conscious theatrical features and television projects developed at their jointly founded company, Loki Films. The Boys of Baraka (2005) followed a group of at-risk inner-city Baltimore school kids on their journey to an experimental boarding school in rural Kenya to see whether a change of environment could inspire and motivate these youths coping with an array of problems (violence, drug addiction, absent parents) at home and in […]
“Stranger than Fiction,” the annual documentary series at the IFC Center, opens tonight with Jeff Malmberg’s Marwencol, winner of the Best Documentary award at SXSW, Comic-Con and SIFF. From tonight’s program notes: On April 8, 2000, Mark Hogancamp was attacked outside of a bar in Kingston, NY, by five men who beat him literally to death. Revived by paramedics, Mark had suffered brain damage and physical injuries so severe even his own mother didn’t recognize him. After nine days in a coma and 40 days in the hospital, Mark was discharged with little memory of his previous life. Unable to […]
Stunningly sad news today that Oscar-nominated editor Sally Menke, known for cutting all of Quentin Tarantino’s films, died sometime Monday while hiking in Los Angeles’s extreme heat. She had set out with a friend in Bronson Canyon; after an hour, her friend turned back, and when Menke didn’t return police were called. Her body was found at the bottom of a ravine with her dog at her side. The Los Angeles Times has the details. In the public mind, editors are sometimes judged by the flashiness of their cutting, a style Tarantino’s films have never embraced. But his films are […]
Here’s another report from a part of Independent Film Week that I’ve written a little about, but which is actually a huge—or at least, half—of IFW—the conference. I previously described the Project Forum situation, but get this—when we were out of our meetings, we had the opportunity to walk outside and around the block to an auditorium where every hour, on the hour, assembled experts, case studies, and assorted panels were weighing on various subjects. If you’re an aspiring filmmaker and don’t have a project in Project Forum, it would still be extraordinarily worthwhile to get a week pass just […]
It was only later that I discovered that I had been charged admission to Machete as a “student.” I am not one, and haven’t been for many, many years. I was glad not only because it saved me two dollars, but also because I didn’t have to resort to the Harvey Korman moment near the end of Blazing Saddles, when he cuts in line to buy a ticket for the film itself, pulls out an I.D., holds it up with a skeptical smile and asks the ticket lady, “Student?” to which she replies flatly, “Are you kidding?” At 9:30 on […]
I came here with my script The Garden, a comedy about a failed plan to turn a strip mall yoga center into a Utopian commune. I came with an open heart and a desire for a gin and tonic to ease social anxiety at an industry mixer. But like the idealistic plans of my open-hearted Yogi, things went horribly awry. I can’t get over the look in that bartender’s eyes — he seemed so trustworthy, like he knew the real me, the me inside of jaded filmmaker me. Then he said “$13” and I looked at him and said, “I don’t have a […]
It’s been a few days since Film Week and brain synapses are finally reconnecting. We had a quick switch from the NY independent film scene to the commercially-sponsored Wild West of Hollywood (this post brought to you by strip malls). Being out here makes us even more appreciative to IFP and all the hard work they put into making connections for all the filmmakers involved in the project forum. As every filmmaker can appreciate, this past week was a rare respite from having to bang down all those doors just to get some face time. Also, for acting in support […]
Last night British director Chris Cunningham premiered a new short work, New York is Killing Me, at the Museum of Modern Art. An “audio-visual remix” of the song by Gil-Scott Heron from his new album, the piece was projected on three screens and was both darkly beautiful as well as unexpectedly simple. Far from the stutter-step hyperglitch and shocking imagery of his short Rubber Johnny and some of his Aphex Twin videos, New York is Killing Me was dreamy in both seductive and menacing ways. A close-up of Scott-Heron singing the song occupied the left side of the middle screen […]