Interview by Brandon Harris As Sundance begins this weekend, the world of independent cinema once again turns its attention to this snowy resort town thirty miles outside of Salt Lake. Yet, since 1995, Sundance hasn’t been the only act in town. The 2008 Slamdance Film Festival begins today at Park City’s Treasure Mountain Inn, opening with Randall Cole’s Real Time, a brisk indie comedy starring Randy Quaid. As a brief snapshot of some of the 29 features and 67 shorts that Slamdance will screen in the next nine days, I caught up with thirteen Slamdance Filmmakers to discuss their films […]
As I type this I’m on my way to the Sundance Film Festival, where the Filmmaker team will be filing coverage all week. I’ll be blogging along with Jason Guerrasio and Justin Lowe; Jamie Stuart will be shooting video – creating one of his own typically personal and idiosyncratic portraits of festival life as well as filming interviews with directors and actors which you’ll see in the months ahead; if all goes well, Brian Chirls will be shooting and posting video from the fest’s panels and programs; and, Brandon Harris will be covering Slamdance, blogging news and reviews from the […]
I’d need 10 percent more time, not only in front of the camera, but for my family. Becoming a father of Valter, 15 months, and at the same time being a first-time feature film director is hard. I long for time alone, time with my girlfriend, Anna, time with my son, time to write, time to watch more films, time to sleep and time for exercise. [PREMIERE SCREENING: Friday, Jan. 18, 9:00 pm — Egyptian Theatre, Park City]
My first thought was I wished I had an additional 10 percent of everything! As an independent filmmaker, I don’t think you ever feel like there’s enough time or money or resources. You always feel like you need just a little more. In the end it’s about finding creative ways to make what you do have go that extra 10 percent… and it’s about making choices and compromises that hopefully don’t hurt the film. As we traveled around the world filming I never felt ready to leave one location and go on to the next. You can’t help but wonder […]
Well it goes without saying that all first-time filmmakers would like 10 percent more budget, days, film, editing days, money for score, extras, lock up, 2K DI, mixing days… oh, you know, the little things. So for me it came down to 10 percent more time in my real life to hang out with Alan Alda. [PREMIERE SCREENING: Monday, Jan. 21, 6:15 pm — Eccles Theatre, Park City]
There isn’t a filmmaker I know who wouldn’t mind 10 percent more of absolutely anything he or she can get. The one thing we could all do with, probably, is 10 percent more sleep or rest because we seem to get just about none during a shoot. Somehow our bodies keep going until wrap and then we either collapse or go down with all the bugs we have managed to keep at bay for the duration of the shoot. To be serious about the question as far as The Yellow Handkerchief is concerned, I could have done with at least […]
The Axium saga continues, now appearing that Defamer’s headline, “Axuim: The Enron of the Payroll Services World,” was less of an overstatement than it initially appeared. (Props to Defamer for continuing to cover a story that has resulted in hardship for thousands of entertainment industry employees and which has been relatively underplayed by the trades.) Axium’s financier, Golden Tree Asset Management, has filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit in California court against Axium principals John Visconti and Ronald Garber; their subsidiary companies, and their wives and ex-wives. I will try to have the full PDF of the lawsuit posted for your […]
CONTINGENCY… that was put away somewhere that no one could touch… stored behind glass that said, “Break in an emergency.” How did we survive without it? We got creative, tried to keep our sense of humor, and enjoyed the kindness of strangers. I do think that some really wonderful moments came out of it… that now, I would never trade for a slower heartbeat. [PREMIERE SCREENING: Friday, Jan. 18, 3:15 pm — Eccles Theatre, Park City]
I wish I had 10 percent more of the budget in my own pocket so that when it comes time to retire, I won’t have to work the dark alleys of Marseille. [PREMIERE SCREENING: Thursday, Jan. 24, 5:30 pm — Prosepector Square Theatre, Park City]
I suppose we always could have used 10 percent more daylight since we attempted to shoot as much of the film as possible during “the magic hour.” It seems that regardless of the production’s size, there’s never enough resources, financing, time. In spite of these obstacles our shoot went smoothly and was a really liberating, fun experience. This was in no small part due to our friends and collaborators who filled in the gaps otherwise created by our budget limitations. These limitations also forced us to be resourceful and creative in ways that positively contributed to the film’s overall aesthetic. […]