Gotham Awards
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GUS VAN SANT CHATS WITH MIKE MILLS ABOUT “BEGINNERS”
Originally published in the Spring 2011 issue. Beginners is nominated for Best Feature and Best Ensemble. “There are no classes in life for beginners; right away you are always asked to deal with what is most difficult.”–Rainer Maria Rilke About the three characters in Mike Mills’s altogether winning second feature — Oliver, a sensitive yet romantically challenged graphic designer in his mid-30s (Ewan McGregor); Anna, a beautiful, single French actress (Melanie Laurent); and the designer’s father, Hal, a retired museum director and widower in his 70s, who has just come out of the closet (Christopher Plummer) — the film’s title, […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Nov 21, 2011 -
Uncovering The Hysterical Accuracy In A Dangerous Method
In our Fall 2011 cover interview with David Cronenberg about his film A Dangerous Method (which will be online for the first time later this week), we asked about the use of historical documentation in replicating Freud’s period. One of the most interesting notes was his use of the film and photographs of the French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot in recreating the condition of hysteria as seen in Keira Knightley‘s character. Filmmaker: Jean-Martin Charcot, who was Freud’s mentor, had photographically documented hysterical women. Cronenberg: That’s right. There was silent film of the era that we watched at that time. On […]
by Peter Bowen on Nov 20, 2011 -
ACADEMY PICKS 15 DOCUMENTARY OSCAR FINALISTS
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Documentary Branch Screening Committee has announced the 15 film shortlist for the Best Documentary Oscar. The selections were culled from a list of 124 eligible titles. Some Filmmaker favorites, including films by 25 New Face Directors Danfung Dennis (Hell and Back Again) and Marshall Curry (If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front) are in the mix, as are Wim Wender’s Pina, Suki Hawley and Michael Galinsky’s Battle for Brooklyn, and Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky’s Paradise Lost 3. I was sad to see more experimental docs like Bombay […]
by Scott Macaulay on Nov 18, 2011 -
GOTHAM AWARDS SILENT AUCTION LAUNCHES ON CHARITY BUZZ
IFP has partnered with online auction-house Charity Buzz for their annual Gotham Awards silent auction. Between now and December 7th, you can go here to bid on a variety of film-related items, including one-on-one consultations with industry leaders Ted Hope (Double Hope Films), Sheila Nevins (HBO) and Paul Schnee (Barden / Schnee Casting), as well as a visit to the set of the 3rd season of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. Also up for auction are tickets to the world premiere of David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Or, if you’re looking for something a bit more indie-centric, you can […]
by Jane Schoenbrun on Nov 17, 2011 -
CHECK OUT GOTHAMS’ BEST FILM NOT PLAYING AT A THEATER NEAR YOU NOMINEES AT MOMA THIS WEEKEND
Beginning tomorrow night and running until Monday evening at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City is the screening series of the films nominated for this year’s Gotham Independent Film Awards‘ Best Film Not Playing At A Theater Near You. One of our favorite events leading up to the Gothams, as the nominees are chosen by the editors of the magazine (as well as MoMA’s associate curator Joshua Siegel), these five films currently do not have theatrical distribution but have received a lot of attention on the festival circuit this year. The hope with this award is that […]
by Jason Guerrasio on Nov 17, 2011 -
25 NEW FACES: “DETROIT UNLEADED”‘S ROLA NASHEF
Originally published in the Summer 2011 issue. Detroit Unleaded is nominated for Calvin Klein Spotlight on Women Filmmakers “Live the Dream” Grant. When South Lebanon-born writer-director Rola Nashef started thinking about her film, Detroit Unleaded, there wasn’t much of a film scene in her home state of Michigan, independent or studio. Now, after several years of tax incentives and high-profile productions, she laughs, “I go to restaurants and hear people talking about their scripts.” But Nashef was inspired by Detroit long before the state’s recent production boom. The city didn’t just provide her debut feature’s location, but also its subject […]
by Scott Macaulay on Nov 17, 2011 -
GRAVITATIONAL PULL: MIKE CAHILL’S “ANOTHER EARTH”
Originally published in the Summer 2011 issue. Another Earth is nominated for Breakthrough Director. “It has a gentle sensibility,” says director Mike Cahill about his debut feature, the Sundance hit Another Earth. Indeed, this tale of grief, love and “Life Out There” does have a delicate touch, a sensitivity that sets it apart from the summer’s other science fiction. While in other films giant robots destroy entire cities — in 3D, no less — and romance is punctuated every 10 minutes by a train-destroying fireball, Another Earth, starring and co-written by newcomer Brit Marling, harkens back to the speculative parables […]
by Scott Macaulay on Nov 16, 2011 -
DANFUNG DENNIS, “HELL AND BACK AGAIN”
Originally published in the Director Interviews section on Oct. 6, 2011. Hell and Back Again is nominated for Best Documentary. Perhaps the most viscerally harrowing documentary account of the war in Afghanistan yet, Danfung Dennis‘ Hell and Back Again is an intense visual experience, one that with the dynamism and fluidity of a narrative film takes you into the heart of the conflict in this troubled corner of the globe. Dennis, who left behind a career in economics to become a war photographer in the middle of the aughts, focuses on Sargent Nathan Harris, a Marine infantryman in Echo Company […]
by Brandon Harris on Nov 15, 2011 -
TRUST ISSUES: SEAN DURKIN & ELIZABETH OLSEN TALK “MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE”
Originally published in our Fall 2011 issue, I sat down with Sean Durkin and Elizabeth Olsen to look back on the process of making one of the most talked about indies of the year. Martha Marcy May Marlene is nominated for Best Ensemble Performance and Breakthrough Director. Here Durkin and Olsen talk about the first time they met: Elizabeth, how did you hear about the project?Olsen: I auditioned right before filming Peace, Love and Misunderstanding. We had Mondays and Tuesdays off [for that film] so I was able to come down to the city to audition. Durkin: [Laughs] “I’ll just […]
by Jason Guerrasio on Nov 14, 2011 -
THREE CLIPS FROM JASON REITMAN’S “YOUNG ADULT”
One of the award contenders I’m most looking forward to checking out is Young Adult, the Charlize Theron dark comedy that reteams Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody. From the looks of the trailer, and these three clips below, this certainly isn’t Juno, but I’m interested to see Theron try out her comedic chops with Cody’s material. The film has been making its rounds across the country doing surprise screenings and when it played at the New Beverly in LA earlier this month reaction seemed to be positive, according to In Contention. The awards blog also gave high marks to Patton […]
by Jason Guerrasio on Nov 13, 2011
