Over at his Cinema Echo Chamber, Brandon Harris picks up where his “25 New Faces” profile of Benh Zeitlin (photographed here by Richard Koek) left off with this wide-ranging interview. Here Zeitlin talks about the accident he suffered while on his way to the film’s premiere. CEC: Your film won a shorts prize at SXSW – sadly, you we’re hospitalized just prior due to an auto accident, correct? How is your recovery going? Zeitlin: The accident happened days after finishing a year and half of breathing Glory at Sea around the clock, so it was kind of a mandatory vacation, […]
I normally hate effects-heavy videos like this… but this one is great: “Corporate Cannibal,” from the new Grace Jones record, directed by Nick Hooker. An analysis by Steven Shaviro is here. (Hat tip: GreenCine.)
With word that Quentin Tarantino has FINALLY begun work on a remake of Italian director Enzo G. Castellari’s EuroCult classic The Inglorious Bastards, Severin Films has put together a remastered three-disc release of the original, the first time it’s been available in the States (though there have been numerous incarnations — you may recall Deadly Mission and G.I. Bro). An homage to war films before it like The Dirty Dozen, Kelly’s Heroes and Peckinpah’s Cross of Iron but with a little more edge and a Spagheti Western feel (not to mention one of the best film titles ever created), Bo […]
Over at The House Next Door, Godfrey Cheshire explains his decision to walk out on a press screening of James Marsh’s documentary Man on Wire: The reason for my discomfort was simple: The movie’s soundtrack contains frequent borrowings from the Michael Nyman scores of well-known Peter Greenaway films (as well as couple of other Nyman tracks, including one from Jane Campion’s The Piano). This, for me, totally destroyed the experience of watching Marsh’s film. I would be trying to follow the story when, every three or four minutes, that familiar music would blare out and my mind would be whipsawed […]
Christopher Nolan to Batman. Bryan Singer to X-Men (and I guess you could say Superman). Sam Raimi to Spider-Man. Now, Darren Aronofsky to RoboCop. All directors who made their marks in the indie world and have moved to the studio machine. You could make the argument that out of these names Aronofsky would be the least tempted to go down this road. Is it strictly for the money, or is there a little sprinkle of youthful nostalgia? MGM has tentatively slated the RoboCop film for 2010.
MARDI GRAS QUEEN HELEN MEAHER IN DIRECTOR MARGARET BROWN’S THE ORDER OF MYTHS. COURTESY CINEMA GUILD. Though she may appear to casual observers as simply a gifted young chronicler of Southern culture, Margaret Brown’s talents extend beyond that. The daughter of Milton Brown, the songwriter who penned the catchy title song for the Clint Eastwood vehicle Every Which Way But Loose, Brown was raised in Mobile, Alabama, and since graduating from university has been highly active behind the camera. In the past decade, Brown’s filmmaking career has been impressively diverse: she first produced the Student Academy Award-winning short Six Miles […]
I gotta admit, I had no clue who Daft Punk was when I got a DVD of their first film, Electroma, in the mail. Now, I did vaguely recall the title because people were telling me that it was a bore (it premiered at Cannes in 2006). But after watching it I strongly disagree. A beautifully shot, intimate story with no dialogue, Daft Punk (Thomas Bangalter & Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo) creates a touching commentary on life and the loneliness of being an outcast. In Electroma, we follow two robots — decked out in matching jumpsuits with “Daft Punk” spelled out […]
Anthony Kaufman reports on indieWIRE today Netflix‘s folding of its production/acquisition unit, Red Envelope Entertainment. An excerpt: Due to changing marketplace conditions and the natural evolution of Netflix, according to Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos, the company decided it was time to move on. “The one thing we learned this year is that there’s no shortage of produced movies and there’s no shortage of money for viable projects,” Sarandos told indieWIRE yesterday. “The best role we play is connecting the film to the audience, not as a financier, not as a producer, not as an outside distributor or marketer.” “It […]
For those of you who just check out the blog, over on the main page select stories from the Summer issue are up. That includes: This year’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film, and interviews with the Duplass Brothers on their latest film Baghead, Alex Holdridge on In Search of a Midnight Kiss, James Marsh talks about his doc Man on Wire, and a rare interview with the reclusive band Daft Punk who’ve made their first film, Electroma. Plus: Lance Weiler shows how to create a fan base online, David Rosen breaks down the next telecom war, and Shelley H. […]
With the summer issue going live on the site tomorrow, which includes our 10th year doing “25 New Faces of Independent Film,” we thought it would be fun as a lead up to list “The 25” alumni. Click on the year below to read up on your favorite 25s of years past (sorry, ’98 – ’00 aren’t online). And keep your eyes peeled to the blog in the coming weeks as we’ll be catching up with some of these names to see what they’re currently up to. (If you were a 25 New Face, it’s not too late to let […]