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It's almost April and that can only mean one thing in the world of independent film...it's time for another jam-packed exciting edition of the Tribeca Film Festival in the city that never sleeps. This year's TFF runs from April 23 - May 4. As in past years, I'll be covering the red carpets, the screenings, the Q&As, the panel discussions, the press conferences, and just about anything else I can fit into my schedule. And, as usual, you can expect photos, interviews, and reviews of my Top Picks during and after the festival.
The lineup of films was initially announced in a series of press releases organized by sections. First came the official Opening Night Film announcement. Following came unveiling of films in the World Narrative/Documentary Competition, the Spotlight, Showcase, Restored/Rediscovered, and Five Special Events sections, and the Discovery and Midnight Sections.
Now the complete schedule is available online in lineup format (alphabetical, by director, or by country) and in calendar format.
COMPLETE 2008 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL LINEUP
CALENDAR & SCHEDULE
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The World Premiere of Explicit Ills took place this month at the 2008 SXSW Film Festival. Earlier, I posted my review. After seeing 20 films, I chose Explicit Ills as one of my 3 Top Picks of this year's festival. My interview with lead actors Frankie Shaw and Lou Taylor Pucci can be found several posts back.
Explicit Ills is simply a masterpiece. I sat with stunned silence as the film ended, both in wonderment at what director Mark Webber has been able to achieve as well as in deep thought about what my own role has been in the betterment of society. Explicit Ills will definitely make you think. Whether or not it will lead you to act on your thoughts is up to you.
I sat down with Webber to talk about his triumphant directorial debut as well as the festival experience and his plans for the future.
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Larry: I’m here with Mark Webber, the writer, producer, and director of Explicit Ills, which just had its World Premiere here at the SXSW Film Festival. This is your first film, right?
Mark: Yes, first film as a director.
Larry: Tell me, first of all, what the film is basically about.
Mark: The film is basically about love, drugs, and poverty in Philadelphia, as well as a socially conscious movement -- a real movement -- called the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign that exists in this country. My mother is a huge human rights activist.
Larry: How did the project come about?
Mark: It’s a very personal story for me. A lot of it is based on real life experiences, but I also incorporated that into a completely fictional narrative that I created for the sense of entertainment and to make a heightened sense of reality. But it’s really steeped in a lot of realism of kids that I know and have known throughout my life and also personal experiences that I’ve gone through.
Larry: I’ve seen the film and I loved it. I just thought it was really groundbreaking. There are so many words that are just too cliché but that’s one of the best ones I can come up with.
Mark: Thanks, man.
Larry: For the benefit of those who haven’t seen it, we won’t get into too much. But you were seeing it with an audience for the first time with actors who hadn’t seen the film. If you could remove yourself -- and I don’t know how much you can -- but, as an audience member, what did you think? What did you think of the film and what did you think of the reaction to it?
Mark: I loved it. I was so unbelievably nervous, and for me -- I’ve seen it like a gazillion times now -- but there’s so much in there for me. A lot of stuff -- just hidden meaning and symbolism to me -- that really only my mom knows, in a way, who was sitting right next to me. And to have my mom there and experience that with her was phenomenal. I was so nervous if Lou (Taylor Pucci) was going to like it, if Rosario (Dawson) was going to like it, and the kids. I wanted it to do everyone right and I was really touched up there on stage by everyone’s response and just the mutual appreciation that was going on. And the people who I don’t know who were there, I felt like they were right there with it. It was great to hear the laughs when they laughed. I think the movie did exactly what I wanted it to do to the audience.
Larry: I think it’ll surprise a lot of people. I know it will. I don’t want to throw the word unique out there -- actually the first thing I thought at the end of it was “masterpiece” -- that’s also kind of extreme -- but it’s hard to pull off a film like this with just the right tone. I don’t know how much agony you went through to get it to this point -- did it just flow out of you or was this years and years of hard work?
Mark: A combination of both. In the writing process there was a lot of flowing, and in the filmmaking of it, well, I have a tendency to be really hard on myself and I learned a lot through this process. The second time around I want to be not as hard on myself -- to pull back a little bit in terms of just perfectionism and just an obsession that comes with it. But it’s definitely what has fueled me and driven me. It was hard, but the kids -- they’d never really acted before, and I was really determined to teach them how to listen and act and be in the moment. And a lot of sleepless nights and personal drama. The world -- your life -- doesn’t stop when you’re making a movie. You try and have it stop. You learn that as an actor you want to shut everything out but then, lo and behold, you get a phone call about some bill you didn’t pay or some friend who’s mad at you because you haven’t talked to them or you haven’t called your mom back and then it kind of bums you out. You’re thinking about it on set. You’ve got to learn just how to use that and bring it back to the table, and a lot of that was going on during the making of it.
Larry: I understand there is some interest on the part of distributors and maybe by the time this gets out it’ll have been picked up. Are you booked at other festivals at this point?
Mark: No, not right now. We’re out to a couple of places right now and we’re waiting to hear back but we’re being really selective and playing our cards just right. I’ve been to a lot of festivals and this is my first time here at SXSW. I was really excited to come here and premiere the film here.
Larry: What did you think of the festival here?
Mark: I loved it, man. It’s kind of funny to say but it’s a younger, more artistic crowd than some other festivals that I’ve been to. I think people are definitely really into seeing films, and care about the films a lot more than they do about the afterparty. Whereas, I’ve been to festivals where people are just trying to get to the afterparty and don’t really want to see any films. It’s a film festival so films are important. It takes center stage here.
Larry: I guess the obvious question now that you’ve directed is, do you plan on continuing in that vein or are you going to go back to your actor roots?
Mark: I definitely want to continue directing. I would love to work with all the people I worked with again on this film. I’d love to work with Lou again and Paul (Dano) and Rosario and do something different. I really admire people like Paul Thomas Anderson who has a tendency to work with a lot of the same people in his films, at least for a few pictures. I really believe in the craft of acting so much, and I believe that there should be more opportunities for actors to do things that are really different from themselves and to create characters. I got to the point where I was really disenchanted with acting, and going through this, and working with everyone that I worked with has really reinvigorated me to act again. I feel like I have a much better understanding than I already thought I had and I’m dying to make another movie as an actor, but I’m writing right now.
Larry: We’ll be watching for more work from Mark Webber and for what happens with Explicit Ills --hopefully it’ll be playing soon at a theater near you. Thank you.
Mark: Thank you, I enjoyed it.
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To recap: the World Premiere of The Forbidden Kingdom will take place in Beijing on April 16. The film is being released in the US jointly by Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company on April 18. Maple Pictures releases in Canada the same day. The film expands worldwide on April 24. Rob Minkoff directed from a John Fusco script. Casey Silver produces.
The Forbidden Kingdom also "previews" at the AFI Dallas Film Festival on April 4 and the Philadelphia Film Festival on April 11 and 13. I'll be at the April 11 screening -- watch for my report.
We've been posting stills, posters, trailers, and links to sites over the last several months. Now we have some more very high resolution pictures from the good folks at Lionsgate.
Click thumbnails to enlarge
Silent Monk (Jet Li, left), Lu Yan (Jackie Chan), Jason Tripitikas (Michael Angarano) and Golden Sparrow (Crystal Liu) (L)
Ni Chang (Li Bing Bing) (R)
Jade War Lord (Collin Chou) (L)
Lu Yan (Jackie Chan) (R)
Golden Sparrow (Crystal Liu, left), Jason Tripitikas (Michael Angarano) and Silent Monk (Jet Li) (L)
Ni Chang (Li Bing Bing) and Jason Tripitikas (Michael Angarano) (R)
Silent Monk (Jet Li) and Lu Yan (Jackie Chan) (L)
Silent Monk (Jet Li, left) and Lu Yan (Jackie Chan)
All photos by Chan Kam Chuen
Courtesy Lionsgate
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I've been grappling with a bit of a dilemma. It shouldn't be news to most people who pay attention to the latest film industry chatter, especially to anyone following the career of Anton Yelchin, that the Internet has been awash in stories about his being cast as Kyle Reese in the forthcoming Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins with Christian Bale as John Connor.
Some people have looked here and been surprised that it hasn't been mentioned. Well, for one, I haven't joined the fray because he was still reported to be "in negotiations," according to the article which broke the news in The Hollywood Reporter and, for reasons I won't go into here, I prefer not to comment on actors being cast until the filmmakers or publicists officially announce it.
I haven't yet seen anything from a source I can trust which states that the deal has been completed, although a lot of the reports confuse "in talks" with "has signed" with "is going to star in." There is a difference but many writers don't recognize that distinction. At any rate, that's why I haven't said anything even though the press surrounding this has just been overwhelming.
But people who follow this blog know that I have closely followed Anton's career for several years. We covered the World Premieres of both Alpha Dog at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and Charlie Bartlett at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival, as well as Fierce People at the 2006 Woodstock Film Festival. We were among the first to post reviews of all three films. We also posted exclusive pictures and video of Anton at the Q&As he attended. All three films have been among my Top Picks of the past several years and I've followed their progress here from first screening to theatrical release to DVD as extensively and in-depth as anyone in the industry. A brief glance back at the posts here will show this to be true.
Which brings us to my dilemma surrounding Anton's apparently being cast in T4, as it's affectionately being called, and this isn't the first time I've wrestled with this. Since I focus almost exclusively on indies, Anton's role in Star Trek was something I heralded but did not report on beyond the initial announcements. It's a dichotomy that lovers of independent film have to deal with when they are also championing the careers of the actors who do them. It happened with Emile Hirsch after he was cast in Speed Racer and it's happening now with Michael Angarano in The Forbidden Kingdom. Do I report on the progress of these films even though they really don't fit the definition of what most people would call "true indies?"
I certainly don't want to turn my back on the actors whose work I admire. I have little doubt all the aforementioned still have independent films in their future and have not "sold out" to Hollywood. Think of Johnny Depp as a model. But I've got mixed feelings about devoting time to this story. Nobody is happier for Anton than this reporter. But, as a blog which focuses on independent films, I'm not sure how much space we should devote to it. For now, kudos and congrats to Anton. Nobody deserves it more. And I really mean that.
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An American Crime was one of my 25 Top Picks of 2007. I was blown away by this breathtaking work when I attended the World Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. Written and directed by Tommy O'Haver and based on a true story, this eagerly awaited film boasts an all-star cast featuring Ellen Page (Juno, Hard Candy), Catherine Keener (Into the Wild), and Michael Welch (Twilight, Joan of Arcadia).
We reported earlier that the film had been picked up by Showtime but did not have a date at the time. Now we do. An American Crime will premiere on May 10. Although it will not have a theatrical release and is, instead, going straight to premium cable, it's actually guaranteed it will reach a much larger audience than it would have had in theaters.
This is not a movie for the squeamish. The crime documented here was one of the most horrific in modern US history. It is hard to watch. But it also contains an important message. Watch it if you can.
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I attended the World Premiere of The Wrecking Crew on Tuesday, March 11 at the 2008 SXSW Film Festival. In this monumental achievement, director Denny Tedesco chronicles the musical history laid down by his legendary late father Tommy, as well as a group of studio musicians who, literally, were responsible for the soundtrack of our lives.
The Wrecking Crew is so moving that it's hard to contain my enthusiasm for this stunning documentary. To say that this film is long overdue would be an incredible understatement. It's hard to imagine anyone alive today who hasn't been affected by the people who are profiled in this documentary.
Tedesco was present for a Q&A following the screening, along with Hal Blaine and Don Randi. Blaine is the most prolific drummer in rock and roll history, having played on more hit records than any drummer in the rock era. He played on 40 Number 1 singles and 150 that made the Top Ten. He played on eight Grammy Award-winning Records of the Year, including an amazing run of seven in a row. Randi was part of Phil Spector's legendary Wall of Sound. Although schooled in classical music and leader of the fusion/crossover group Quest, he appeared on and wrote for a countless number of movie and television soundtracks, commercials, and albums of artists as diverse as Frank Sinatra, Frank Zappa, and The Beach Boys.
Earlier, I posted my review and chose The Wrecking Crew as one of my Top Picks of the festival..
Pictured (from left to right) are Hal Blaine, Don Randi, and Denny Tedesco.
Click thumbnails to enlarge
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For the uninitiated, The Forbidden Kingdom is the long-awaited collaboration between martial arts masters Jackie Chan and Jet Li. Michael Angarano (Sky High, Lords of Dogtown) plays a troubled 17-year-old wannabe kung fu warrior who, after a humiliating defeat at the hands of a street gang, is sent back in time to ancient China on an impossible mission to set free the imprisoned Monkey King and return to him his all-powerful staff.
Rob Minkoff directed from a John Fusco script. Casey Silver produces. The World Premiere will take place in Beijing on April 16. The film is being released in the US jointly by Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company on April 18. Maple Pictures releases in Canada the same day.
See previous posts on this blog for the many stills, posters, trailers, and links to sites which have been rolled out over the last several months.
Here, Jason (Michael Anagarano) learns martial arts from his teachers Lan Cai He (Jet Li) and Lu Yan (Jackie Chan).
In this clip, a drunken Lu Yan arrives to save young Jason from the evil War Lord's soldiers.
Here is more of Angarano in action.
Lu Yan and Jason make their escape on horseback.
Here, Jackie Chan and Jet Li work with Yuen Woo Ping to create incredible fight sequences in an official behind-the-scenes video titled Kung Fu Superstars.
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The World Premiere of 21, the official Opening Night Film of the 2008 SXSW Film Festival, took place on Friday, March 7 at Austin's historic Paramount Theatre. 21 is pure Hollywood all the way -- slick and polished, with a script that's clever, funny, and worthy of math geeks everywhere as it chronicles the true story of a group of MIT students who learned how to beat the house at blackjack. The widescreen action is as nonstop as that on the Las Vegas casino floor which provides the setting for this thrilling caper.
Earlier, I posted my review. Here are some pictures I shot at the exciting Q&A which followed the screening, at which lead actor Jim Sturgess was joined by Ben Mezrich, author of the book Bringing Down The House on which the script is based, and Jeffrey Ma, one of the original math prodigies who was the inspiration for Sturgess' character.
Pictured (from left to right) are Ma, Mezrich, and Sturgess.
Click thumbnails to enlarge
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The World Premiere of Explicit Ills took place on Saturday, March 8 at the 2008 SXSW Film Festival. Earlier, I posted my review. After seeing 20 films, I chose Explicit Ills as one of my 3 Top Picks of this year's festival.
Explicit Ills is simply a masterpiece. I sat with stunned silence as the film ended, both in wonderment at what director Mark Webber has been able to achieve as well as in deep thought about what my own role has been in the betterment of society. Explicit Ills will definitely make you think. Whether or not it will lead you to act on your thoughts is up to you.
Frankie Shaw and Lou Taylor Pucci play Michelle and Jacob, a young couple lost in the throes of romance and the haze of drugs. They do both to great excess. I had the great pleasure of sitting down with these two wonderful young actors to discuss Explicit Ills as well as the festival experience in general.
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LR: We’re talking with Frankie Shaw and Lou Taylor Pucci from the movie Explicit Ills which had its World Premiere here at the 2008 SXSW Film Festival this weekend. Why don’t you guys start off by telling me a little bit about your characters?
Frankie: I play Michelle. She is a well-off art student in Philadelphia, and she falls madly, intensely, crazily, addictively in love with her drug dealer. She lost her mom the year before and she’s just sort of coasting on this drug-induced obsessive…she’s very obsessive about her painting, her art, which she’s not able to really produce when she’s doing her drugs. So she’s in limbo at the beginning of the film and they fall in love and sort of have this little intense adventure together.
Lou: I play Jay, or Jacob. He also lost his mom, we find out, so that’s one of the things that I guess sort of connects us, but we were connected before that. But you never really know about his parents. You don’t know whether he was well off or not. You think he probably wasn’t. You know he’s selling drugs and he’s a bike messenger selling drugs around Philadelphia so he probably doesn’t have any money. You don’t ever know where he lives. He’s always at her place because she’s got more money, so I don’t think you even ever see him wearing anything else than one pair of clothes…two pairs of clothes…so he always looks okay. He can keep himself up but he’s probably not got any money at all and I think that’s how he connects to the film mostly. What I mean is that he’s kind of living in poverty too. We form this intense relationship and he’s trying to deal with it as best he can but it becomes so much about the drugs. We’re on drugs for the entire film almost, except for the first scene we meet and the last scene that we’re in.
Frankie: And I think in the first scene I’m wasted.
Lou: Yeah, and you’re wasted and I might have smoked this morning. We are definitely druggies, and by the end of it we kind of have to choose drugs or our relationship certainly.
LR: I saw the film and it’s almost as if your storyline…your relationship isn’t even divided by days. It’s like it starts and just flows through the whole movie. You can’t even tell, “are these guys ever sober or straight?”
Frankie: Yeah, and I think that’s representative of what’s it like when you fall in that kind of love. You don’t differentiate between days.
Lou: When you’re on drugs, too.
Frankie: And when you’re on drugs.
Lou: When you’re on drugs you just don’t realize that it’s yesterday or today or whatever it is. It’s just like this great thing.
Frankie: Right, and I feel like what was so cool about how we were directed to play these roles was that we weren’t…you see a lot of movies and you’re so drugged out and you’re nodding off. It’s about that…the performance is about being f---ed up…but for us it was, “how are we going to make us falling in love real?” And the drugs were just part of it.
Lou: We would rehearse normal first. We would rehearse it as if we weren’t on drugs first and then we’d kind of put the drugs into it.
LR: Oh that’s interesting.
Lou: At least a couple of times I know that we did that. Because I think it’s better that way, because then you really get what’s real out of it first, and then you put all this s--- on top.
LR: Wow, that’s excellent. So how did you come into this project?
Frankie: I met Mark on a movie, my first movie, called Just Like the Son. And in the first composition we had we’re supposed to be rehearsing the scene, and he was like, “I’m writing this script and it’s about my life, and it’s about drugs and poverty and love, and you should read it,” and you know he was just like… this was like the bare bones draft… so that was when I first heard about it. And then he finished it in March of last year and got the funding, and then I think I read it in the summer.
Lou: When I found out how quick everything had happened…
Frankie: It was crazy.
Lou: I was like, “no way, how did you do that?” I mean, he worked really hard but it was a lot of luck, too.
Frankie: It’s only Mark Webber who can get that much money...
Lou: He knew so many people who could help, and everybody was so nice and did help. But some movies have the same type of people behind them and they take six years to make instead of two.
LR: Had you guys seen this final cut before the other night?
Lou: No.
Frankie: Not the final cut.
Lou: That’s where I was really taken aback.
LR: Now without giving too much away for the people who haven’t seen the movie, there are several storylines which are distinctly separate. Is it safe to assume that you guys weren’t on set for all those other actors?
Lou: Yeah, we weren’t.
LR: So it must have been like watching somebody else’s movie, aside from your own…I guess it must be hard to watch your own work onscreen.
Lou: I was really happy to see so much that wasn’t me
LR: So what did you guys, as audience members, think of the movie? Or at least of the rest of the movie?
Frankie: First there are moments where I’m like, “this is such a bizarre movie,” but I love that. Like you watch a film and say, “what the hell is going on?” but you fall in love with it, so there was that. But then I loved each storyline for different reasons, and I loved how there didn’t seem to be a superfluous moment in the movie and yet it seemed to be just full of random slices of life. So it was like going through and just being like, “oh, that’s in there because of this,” just understanding it like that. That was amazing how they all ended up connecting.
Lou: Well I was totally blown away. I was totally blown away.
LR: I saw you afterwards, and I’m not sure I’ve ever been to a movie where the actors were present where I’ve run into one of the actors afterwards who have that look that you had on your face. You were just dumbfounded.
Lou: I know, I was really dumbfounded. I was almost going to cry when I was up on the stage because it was just so much. I just couldn’t believe that it worked, that it all worked, that he got so many good people to do that movie, just so many. Not just the actors, but…the editing is so good. The editing is so intensely good that it just brings everything together so much. The sound of that movie…the music is some of the best music that could ever tie that movie together. I think it’s the best it could have been. I was totally taken into the entire film as if I hadn’t read it before, and I wasn’t watching it like I was watching me even. They cut so much of our dialogue that was just unnecessary and generic, or funny, or interesting just to be interesting or just normal or realistic. They cut that stuff so it was only the bare essentials of what was really our relationship and what we were really trying to show, and that was beautiful. I really just loved all of it. And what I could not believe is that, even though it made you cry, you can’t believe that in the end you feel good, that it’s actually positive in the end. And I could not believe how well that ending was edited, too, because they had so much film to use and they used so little of it and it was just the perfect amount. So I was really just blown away by the fact that it all worked.
LR: And, for me, when it finally does come together at the end there isn’t a lot of dialogue that does that. It’s all done with visuals.
Lou: What was so cool about the editing, with the slices of life and everything, was it all seemed to actually be put together. I didn’t even feel like there was anything weird about it. I didn’t feel like this is a strange film. I just watched it and it all seemed to fit perfect. So for some reason it hit me just the right way. I got exactly why everybody didn’t know each other, or did, or you didn’t really care…you’re just trying to figure out who these people are.
Frankie: It made so much more sense seeing it than it did for me reading it. You know sometimes you understand why things are the way they are but, seeing it, it all came together. Which goes to show that Mark knew what he was doing more than any of us, which is how it’s supposed to be, but that was cool.
Lou: That is just genius. It was just really amazing.
LR: So as far as the future of this film is concerned, festivals? Distribution?
Lou: I hope it’s going to be everywhere, you know what I mean? But who knows?
LR: Has there been interest? I know it just had its World Premiere here.
Frankie: Yeah, there are some people who were here.
Lou: I heard there were a lot of distributors in the audience.
Frankie: I think a lot of people spoke up after and talked to our producers about it. And hopefully it will go to more festivals. We can all hang out some more.
LR: Have either of you been here to SXSW?
Lou: I wanted to come here so bad. I’ve been wanting to come here for two years ever since I found out about the place. I had no idea that Austin had a film festival before two years ago, but then when I did I was like, “oh my God.”
Frankie: It’s the coolest festival.
Lou: And it is so good. It’s so cool.
Frankie: It’s just full of young people trying to do their thing. You just feel a community here a lot more than some of the bull--- that goes on at some of the other festivals.
Lou: You walk out of your film and you walk down the street and have a beer and nobody bothers you.
LR: So we’ll be looking for Explicit Ills at future festivals or hopefully it will get picked up so soon that it won’t even need to be at a festival.
Frankie: At a theater near you.
LR: At a theater near you.
Lou: Oh yeah.
LR: Thanks a lot guys.
Posted by phileysmiley at 08:23 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The World Premiere of Dance of the Dead took place on Sunday, March 9 at the 2008 SXSW Film Festival. Earlier, I posted my review and pictures from the Q&A following the screening, along with a video interview with lead actor Jared Kusnitz. After seeing 20 films, I chose Dance of the Dead as one of my 3 Top Picks of this year's festival.
It's a groundbreaking combination of high school mayhem and zombies -- think John Hughes meets John Carpenter meets George Romero. A big part of the film's appeal stems from the relationship between Lindsey and Jimmy (Greyson Chadwick and Jared Kusnitz). I had the great pleasure of sitting down with these two wonderful young actors to discuss Dance of the Dead as well as the festival experience in general.
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LR: I’m here with Jared Kusnitz and Greyson Chadwick from Dance of the Dead, which is having its World Premiere here at the 2008 SXSW Film Festival. So first of all, guys, tell me a little bit about your characters.
Greyson: Lindsey is super-animated. She is very passionate and she cares a lot about high school, her appearance, and what’s going on, and she really likes this boy but isn’t quite getting what she wants from him.
Jared: Yeah, that’s where I would come in because I’m like the complete opposite, so I think opposites do attract because I could really care less about school and academics. I don’t have a four-year plan or anything like that. I’m just kind of living in the moment, not anything else. I joke about everything… I don’t take anything serious. I take our relationship serious but not in the way that she would like it to be…kind of a screw-up, I guess you could call me, but at the end of the day I think I’m loveable...maybe.
LR: Loveable?
Jared: Yeah, I think I’m like that kid in school who’s the class clown that people like to have around. But sometimes they take him for granted.
Greyson: Interesting.
Jared: Yeah, sometimes people think I’ll always be around but I’m not always going to be around.
LR: Tell me how you came to this project.
Greyson: Just auditioning in Atlanta. Our agent set it up. We auditioned a few times and a few more times and then we did a stunt training audition and a month and a half later, I guess, we just sort of got it. It was a process, and it was an emotional process because it was something I was really passionate about and I felt really connected to the character just instantly, and I really wanted it desperately.
Jared: I actually auditioned on tape, and tapes and I never mix well. I never think I do well on tape. When you walk into a casting office you have the interaction with the casting director and they can see your personality, but in a tape you have to just say like name, age, agency…you can’t really show your personality through that so you really have to just be the character the entire time throughout the tape. Then they called me and said that they wanted me in Atlanta, so I drove to Atlanta and had a good little improvisation audition. We went completely off book with Jonathan Spencer, who plays Principal Hammond, and he was just throwing things at me and I was like, “uhh how am I going to keep up?”
Greyson: He was throwing things at all of us, like crazy stuff.
Jared: Yeah, from left field…I think he threw in a “your mom” once, where it didn’t even belong, and it’s just like, “what???”
Greyson: I had to dance to Black Eyed Peas, just right there on camera, just start dancing. It was the most awkward thing ever.
Jared: You had to dance in your audition?
Greyson: Yeah, totally. But Jonathan was so much in the forefront on the casting process. He was just really slaving over the casting.
LR: And this is who?
Greyson: Jonathan Spencer, Casting Director and Mr. Hammond.
Jared: Actor extraordinaire.
Greyson: I know he really fought for us. He wanted it to be perfectly cast.
Jared: I think he did an excellent job.
Greyson: Yeah.
LR: So this is obviously a genre film…it’s in the ‘Round Midnight section. Is this your favorite genre…or one of them? Does it appeal to you?
Greyson: It’s kind of become one of my favorite genres after doing it. When I first heard about auditioning for a horror project I thought, “ohh another horror film,” but I read the script and it just it’s so much more than blood and guts and gore, and I really I liked it a lot. The comedy is just very catchy and subtle at points, and as far as shooting it I just liked it a lot and it was a lot of hard work but really worth it.
LR: What kind of films do you like to watch?
Greyson: I like romantic comedies, so it had a lot of that in there.
LR: Was that your influence?
Greyson: (Laughing) Maybe a little bit…that was my part of the film I guess.
Jared: I can see that…I can see it being a romantic comedy. Then you have those outside forces that pull you from the relationship…literally.
Greyson: Yeah, yeah.
Jared: It’s a good way of looking at it.
LR: Well, there are universal themes that cross all genres.
Greyson: I like period pieces, so that’s the one thing we’re not. We’re not like a period piece.
LR: They’re expensive, too.
Jared: We will be in like 40 years, though. In 40 years we’ll be a period piece...in 70 years.
LR: It costs a lot of money to get the music and the cars and the sets and make sure that everything looks right.
Greyson: So what about you, Jared?
Jared: Not me, my favorite genres are probably comedies like Steve Carell. I like funny…well Steve Carell is both out there and subtle at the same time. That’s really a hard trait to master and play it real because you know Jim Carrey, when he does comedy he’s over here but in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind he’s also very brilliant in that movie and nobody really saw that coming. The Truman Show, again. So my favorite genre would probably be comedy and that’s what this movie had. It definitely had comedy, which I enjoyed, and it was sort of subtle humor, which I also like, and I have to be sarcastic which I very much enjoy.
Greyson: And do well.
Jared: Yeah, I love sarcasm. But my favorite movies lately to watch are the Saw movies. Is that weird?
LR: Speaking of which…you actually have two films here.
Jared: Yes.
LR: Which is not common. I’ve been here for several years and to have two films, two World Premieres at a festival is pretty unusual. I saw Otis, your other film, which was also a World Premiere here at SXSW. How is it for you to come here and have both films here at the same time knowing that, for you, they were very different experiences, done at different times…you’re sitting there…you’re watching yourself onscreen…can you remove yourself from that? Or are you just another moviegoer? What is that like for you?
Jared: No, I have a really hard time removing myself and forgetting all the experiences that I had. Like, watching Otis I’ll laugh at parts that aren’t funny but it’s just because it reminds me of something that happened on set and it’s probably like the most inappropriate…
LR: Oh, that was you laughing back there. I heard you.
Jared: Yeah. No, that was actually also [I have removed this portion of the interview on the grounds that it might incriminate someone who was a bit “gone” that night]. Yeah, I can’t remove myself completely. I’ve always said that I’m going to be like one of those actors who can’t really watch themselves and really truly appreciate the work that I did, because I always think that I can do better, and as soon as it’s done you start thinking of other things you could have done in the movie but you can’t do it now, so you’re like, “oh I’ll get ‘em next time.” So it’s kind of all in watching myself. I don’t like when I watch movies with people I know, either, because that just creeps me out, like my parents. It’s weird to be in the same room with them as I’m saying like “F you.”
LR: Which you do a few times.
Jared: Yup, yup, I get to drop a few F-bombs. I didn’t get to drop any F-bombs in Dance of the Dead. I think we reserved that for one specific character.
LR: So you’re both what I guess would be described in the industry as up-and-coming young actors.
Jared: Sure.
LR: So you have more projects on your plate? What do you have coming up that we can look forward to?
Greyson: Well, the strike just ended so, hopefully, we will have some stuff coming up. I just did something for Sony. It’s a webisode series and it’s still on there. Go check it out! It’s on fearnet.com but nothing right now, just auditioning like crazy, you know the life of an actor.
Jared: There are a lot of broken promises out there, so just kind of have to keep plugging on.
LR: Boulevard of Broken Dreams.
Jared: Yeah, it is.
LR: So the festival experience…is this your first time here in Austin at this festival?
Greyson: Yeah.
LR: What do you think so far?
Greyson: It’s pretty cool…it’s like unreal. There’s that excitement of getting ready to see our film, which is just a little bit overwhelming, and it’s awesome, and Gregg the director and Joe the writer…they’re just so cool to hang out with and it’s neat to see everyone and everything. It’s a great festival to premiere at.
Jared: They’re saying it’s like the up-and-coming Sundance.
LR: It’s what Sundance originally hoped to be and is no longer.
Jared: Yeah, Sundance has kind of gone way too commercial.
LR: It’s a market. This is a festival. Sundance is a market.
Jared: Yeah, it’s like the free swag. That’s really what draws people to Sundance. They get to go into the [sponsor] booth. A lot of the movies are coming out of the really small festivals and the really small studios too, like Fox Searchlight with Juno. Good movie.
LR: Well, hopefully Dance of the Dead will help put you both on the map a little bit more and get your names out there, and you’ll have some projects to really get excited about and you’ll come back at SXSW and we’ll see you again.
[Dance of the Dead will be at the Atlanta Film Festival in April]
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On Sunday, March 9, I attended the World Premiere of Dance of the Dead at the 2008 SXSW Film Festival. It's a groundbreaking combination of high school mayhem and zombies -- think John Hughes meets John Carpenter meets George Romero.
Earlier, I posted my review. Yesterday I chose Dance of the Dead as one of my 3 Top Picks of this year's festival.
Director Gregg Bishop led a lively Q&A following the screening along with writer Joe Ballarini and cast members Jared Kusnitz, Greyson Chadwick, Chandler Darby, Randy McDowell, Michael Mammoliti, Mark Lynch, Justin Welborn, Mark Oliver, Blair Redford, Hunter Pierce, Jonathan Spencer (also Casting Director), Stephen Caudill, James Jarrett (also Production Designer), Paul Layton, and Mike Milligan. Also present were Producers Brian Crewe and Chad Eikhoff, Cinematographer George Feucht, Sound Designer/Production Sound Mixer Jamie Hardt, 2nd Assistant Director Dan Caudill, and Stunt Coordinator Nils Onsager & the Black Knight Stunt Team.
Click thumbnails to enlarge
Actors Mark Lynch, Paul Layton, Mike Milligan, & Justin Welborn (L)
Actors Chandler Darby, Stephen Caudill, & Mark Lynch (R)
Actors Michael Mammoliti, Darby, S. Caudill, & Lynch
/s Casting Director/actor Jonathan Spencer, actors Blair Redford, Hunter Pierce, Mammoliti, & Darby (L)
Actor Mark Oliver, co-producer Chad Eikhoff, & Sound Designer/Production Sound Mixer Jamie Hardt (R)
Oliver, Eikhoff, and Hardt (L)
Writer Joe Ballarini, Production Designer/actor James Jarrett, 2nd Assistant Director Dan Caudill, and actors Jared Kusnitz & Greyson Chadwick (R)
Actors Jared Kusnitz, Greyson Chadwick, & Randy McDowell
Kusnitz, Chadwick, & McDowell
Kusnitz & Chadwick
Kusnitz & Chadwick
Kusnitz & Chadwick
Kusnitz & Chadwick (L)
Spencer, Redford, Director Gregg Bishop, Mammoliti, & Darby (R)
Ballarini, Kusnitz, Chadwick, McDowell, & Bishop (L)
Stunt Coordinator Nils Onsager (R)
Ballarini, Kusnitz, Chadwick, McDowell, Oliver, Eickhoff, Hardt, Cinematographer George Feucht, Spencer, Bishop, Pierce, Mammoliti, Darby, Caudill, Lynch, Layton, Milligan, Welborn (L)
Jarrett, Kusnitz, Chadwick, Ballarini, Oliver, Eickhoff, Hardt, Feucht, Bishop, Redford, Pierce, Mammoliti, Darby, & Caudill (R)
Cast & crew
Mammoliti, Darby, S. Caudill, Mammoliti, Lynch, Layton, Milligan, & Welborn (L)
McDowell, Lynch, Darby, Pierce, Chadwick, Mammoliti, Kusnitz, & Oliver (R)
Lynch, Darby, Mammoliti, & Spencer (L)
Kusnitz & Bishop (R)
Kusnitz, Bishop, & Chadwick
Ballarini & Bishop
Director Gregg Bishop
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Still Green was one of my Top Picks of the 2007 festival year. I reported on the film's screenings at both the New Hampshire Film Festival in October as well as the Fort Lauderdale Film Festival a month later.
A brand new trailer has just been posted at the film's official site. You can view a high quality version there.
Watch for quotes from some of the glowing reviews featured throughout.
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The 2008 SXSW Film Festival has come to an end and it's time to take stock of the experience. I saw a total of 19 films including 13 World Premieres. All have been reviewed here on this blog.
One film was not officially part of the festival, The Wackness. It had its World Premiere at Sundance and will be released by Sony Pictures Classics on July 3, so I'll exclude it from consideration.
As I do following every film festival (24 since the start of 2006), I'll wrap up by selecting my favorites. I don't always list narrative features and documentaries separately -- it depends on the lineup. This year there were many docs on my list and several were exceptional, so I'll choose three Top Picks in each category.
Here is my list of Top Picks from the 2008 SXSW Film Festival (in alphabetical order). Titles are linked to their respective reviews:
NARRATIVE FEATURES
Dance of the Dead
Explicit Ills
Otis
DOCUMENTARIES
Body of War
FrontRunners
The Wrecking Crew
Otis is due to be released on DVD by Warner Home Video on June 10. Body of War will open nationwide in April. None of the others have U.S. distribution yet. I'll be following their progress as always. Stay tuned!
In awards announced on the final day of the festival, Explicit Ills went on to win the Special Jury Award for Cinematography and the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature.
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Here are the winners of the 2008 SXSW Film Festival Awards:
Jury Awards
REEL SHORTS
Special Jury Award - "The Second Line," Director: John Magary.
Winner - (Tie) "Warlord," Director: David Garrett & "Small Apartment,"
Director: Andrew T. Betzer
ANIMATED SHORTS
Special Jury Award - "I hate you don't touch me or Bat and Hat," Director:
Becky James
Winner - "Madame Tulti-Putli," Director: Chris Lavis & Maciek Szczerbowski
EXPERIMENTAL SHORTS
Special Jury Award - "Upwards March," Director: Kaveh Nabatian
Winner - "Safari," Director: Catherine Chalmers
SXSW WHOLPHIN AWARD
Winner - "Glory at Sea," Director: Benjamin Zeitlin
MUSIC VIDEOS
Special Jury Award - (TIE) Group Sounds, 'Temporarily in Love,' Director:
Randy Scott Slavin & Cornelius, 'Fit Song,' Directors: Keigo Oyamada &
Koichiro Tsujikawa
Winner - TV on the Radio," 'Me-I,' Directors: Mixtape Club & Daniel Garcia
TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL COMPETITION
Special Jury Award - "Inflections," Director: Matthew Campbell
Winner - "Picnic," Director: Wesley Bronez
ON NETWORKS GREENLIGHT AWARD
Best Original Production - "The Guild," Director: Jane Selle Morgan
Best Original Series Idea - "Knock Off," Written: Brandi-Ann Milbradt
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Special Jury Award - "Full Battle Rattle," Directors: Tony Gerber & Jesse
Moss
Grand Jury Award - "They Killed Sister Dorothy," Director: Daniel Junge
NARRATIVE FEATURE
Special Jury Award for Cinematography - "Explicit Ills," Director: Mark
Webber
Special Jury Award for Best Ensemble Cast - "Up With Me," Director: Greg
Takoudes
Grand Jury Award - "Wellness," Director: Jake Mahaffy
Audience Awards
EMERGING VISIONS
Winner - "In a Dream," Director: Jeremiah Zagar
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Winner - "They Killed Sister Dorothy," Director: Daniel Junge
NARRATIVE FEATURE
Winner - "Explicit Ills," Director: Mark Webber
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Imagine if every hit song of the late 50s, 60s, 70s, and even into the 80s was performed by one band. Ridiculous, huh? Well, guess what? It's closer to reality than you may think. I attended the World Premiere of The Wrecking Crew at the 2008 SXSW Film Festival and I was so moved by it that it's hard to contain my enthusiasm for this stunning documentary.
Denny Tedesco chronicles the musical history laid down by his legendary late father Tommy, as well as Hal Blaine and Don Randi (who were present for a Q&A afterward), Carol Kaye, Al Casey, Earl Palmer, Plas Johnson, Joe Osborn, and the dozens of others who sat in on the recordings. Known informally as The Wrecking Crew, these session musicians played on so many hit songs that it could be said they had a larger role to play in the culture of the last 50 years than any other group of people in the world. You may not have heard their names, but you've heard their music.
The list of artists whose songs they backed up is amazing: The Beach Boys, The Byrds, The Association, Glen Campbell, The Mamas & Papas, The Monkees, Richard Harris, The 5th Dimension, Sam Cooke, Sonny and Cher, Captain and Tennille, The Righteous Brothers, Simon and Garfunkel, Frank Sinatra, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, Ike and Tina Turner, Nancy Sinatra, The Carpenters, Tommy Roe, The Ronettes, Paul Revere and The Raiders, and Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, to name a few. The Wrecking Crew played on almost all their hit songs. To look at the list is to hear the soundtrack of your life, whether you're 15 or 85 -- you know these songs.
The Wrecking Crew was so lovingly made. And the fact that Tedesco got the clearances which gave him the rights to include the music in the film is a tribute to the industry's love and respect for these musicians. It goes without saying that the soundtrack is, without a doubt, the greatest of any film I've ever seen. It has to be, after all. These are the songs we've been listening to fondly for 50 years. I had the chance to sit down with Blaine and Randi after the screening and hear some of their incredible stories. For example, not only are both in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but their contribution to Grammy history is groundbreaking. Blaine played on eight Records of the Year, including an incredible run of seven in a row. That would be unheard of today. It's a feat that was never equaled, not before or since.
No matter what your age, if you have ever listened to music I can guarantee you The Wrecking Crew will touch you as few films have. To say that this film is long overdue would be an incredible understatement. It's hard to imagine anyone alive today who hasn't been affected by the people who are profiled in this documentary. There's even a good chance you wouldn't be here if not for the music of The Wrecking Crew. Ponder that.
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Here is a partial list of hit songs on which the Wrecking Crew performed:
Click thumbnail to enlarge
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When Body of War premiered in Toronto, it reportedly received the longest standing ovation in the festival's history. I wasn't able to see it at the time, and I missed it in Santa Barbara as well. Just in the past few months it's become one of the most acclaimed documentaries in years. So I jumped at the chance to see it here at the 2008 SXSW Film Festival.
Co-produced by Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro, Body of War is about one man's struggle to survive after returning home from Iraq. It takes the news headlines and puts flesh on them. The consequences of a simple Congressional vote have come home to roost in people like 25-year-old Tomas Young, who is now a paraplegic and a physical embodiment of all that is wrong with our government's actions over the past five years.
The cost of war is always reported in terms of numbers -- dollar amounts, casualties, refugees. What isn't reported on the evening news are the individual stories, the tragedies that result in broken lives and broken hearts. Tomas' story is representative of the untold thousands -- hundreds of thousands -- of young men and women coming home from Iraq with life-altering injuries. No, our presence in Iraq isn't just about numbers, and Body of War brings it home, literally.
It's obvious that a mind-boggling amount of work went into this project. The film's narrative runs along two parallel tracks. On one, we see the Senate vote taking place which originally authorized the war funding. We see legislators take to the floor with equally impassioned pleas on both sides of the debate. Meanwhile, the films cuts back and forth to Tomas' day to day existence, unflinching, from getting out of bed and dressing in the morning to a graphic demonstration of how to put on a catheter. Nothing is held back.
Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder contributed original music to the soundtrack and, as Peter, Paul, and Mary did a generation ago during the Vietnam War, and countless others in wars before that, the songs of protest only serve to underscore the folly that is the Iraq war.
As Grapes of Wrath exposed America to transgressions against human lives generations ago, Body of War is a bold statement which will stand the test of time as a profound achievement in telling the truth about the consequences of America's presence in Iraq. The film is a masterpiece and one of the most powerful documentaries I've ever seen. A warning: this film will bring tears to your eyes over and over and over again. It will move you emotionally and, perhaps, politically. Very few films are truly worthy of the word "important." This is one of them.
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Tuesday was my last full day of moviegoing at the 2008 SXSW Film Festival. By day's end, I will have seen three more documentaries -- four out of my last five films, in fact. I didn't plan it that way, but it was a nice way to end my stay in Austin. I spent the entire day at the relatively laid back Dobie Theater on the University of Texas campus -- no running from place to place.
When Body of War premiered in Toronto, it reportedly received the longest standing ovation in the festival's history. I wasn't able to see it at the time, and I missed it in Santa Barbara as well. So I jumped at the chance to see it here at SXSW. Co-produced by Phil Donahue, Body of War is about one man's struggle to survive after returning home from Iraq. It takes the news headlines and puts flesh on them. The consequences of a simple Congressional vote have come home to roost in people like 25-year-old Tomas Young, who is now a paraplegic and a physical embodiment of all that is wrong with our government's actions over the past five years. Body of War is a masterpiece and one of the most powerful documentaries I've ever seen.
It would be hard to follow that up but I was so moved by The Wrecking Crew that it's hard to contain my enthusiasm. What do the Beach Boys, Byrds, Association, Glen Campbell, Mamas & Papas, Monkees, Richard Harris, 5th Dimension, Sam Cooke, Cher, Captain and Tennille, Righteous Brothers, Simon and Garfunkel, Frank Sinatra, Tijuana Brass, and all these artists and songs have in common? The same small group of musicians played on almost all their hit songs of the last 40 years.
To say that this film is long overdue would be an incredible understatement. It's hard to imagine that anyone alive today hasn't been affected by the people who are profiled in this documentary. The session musicians who were known as the Wrecking Crew played on so many hit songs of the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and even 90s that it could be said they had a larger role to play in the culture of the last 40 years than any other group of people in the world. Denny Tedesco chronicles the musical history laid down by his legendary late father Tommy, as well as Hal Blaine and Don Randi (who were present for a Q&A afterward), Carol Kaye, Al Casey, Earl Palmer, Plas Johnson, Joe Osborn, and the dozens of others who sat in on the recordings.
Bootleg Wisconsin is the first film from director Brandon Linden. Falling generally into the category of unscripted films popularly known as "Mumblecore," this was a tough project to follow. The entire audience walked out during the screening and I was the only one left to speak with Linden at the Q&A. It's too bad nobody else had the patience to wait and at least express their feelings to him. How else does a filmmaker learn?
My final film was another documentary and a lot of fun. In Bi the Way, Brittany Blockman and Josephine Decker travel the country in search of answers. The questions are, "what is bisexuality, is it more prevalent today than in the past, or have we just given a new name to something that's been here all along?" What the audience discovers is surprising and turns out to be more of an educational and history lesson than anything else. It was a real crowd pleaser.
As is the case every year, Tuesday ended with the presentation of the jury and audience awards at the Austin Convention Center and the Film Festival Closing Party/Music Festival Opening Party (commonly known as the "Overlap Party") as the music component of the festival takes over for several days. Encore film screenings of those shown earlier in the week also continue to take place through Saturday, March 15.
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FrontRunners, which had its World Premiere in the competition section at the 2008 SXSW Film Festival, is a reminder of just how powerful a good documentary can be.
Director Caroline Suh followed four teams of candidates running for Student Council President and Vice President at New York's Stuyvesant High School, one of the most selective and prestigious in the nation. George Zisiadis is the geek who's too smart for his own good. Michael Zaytsev is the cool one who, since he gets the girls, figure he'll get the votes as well. Hannah Freiman, the lone woman of the four, feels that alone sets her apart (well, she's right on that account), not to mention her popularity as a cheerleader. And Matt Polazzo is the basketball player who's running because, well, it looks like a fun thing to do.
The kids couldn't have been more endearing if this came out of the top casting agency in the city, but they are very real. It's hard not to laugh at their innocent sincerity. They are among the best and brightest yet still have the unjaded idealism of youth. Their campaign methods could teach adults a thing or two -- George places himself at the top of the steps of the bridge the kids have to cross to get to school. That way, they "have to look up at him," making him "psychologically superior in their minds." He blasts their favorite music as he hands out flyers, and it's part of a soundtrack which doesn't pander to the audience. The music is not evocative of our own youth -- not necessarily what we would listen to -- it's the music they listen to, and that's another element that sets this film apart from others of its type.
The camera never invades their space. These kids are smart enough to know how to act when the lens is pointing at them but one never gets the feeling they would have done anything different if it wasn't. They bare their souls and allow us to enter their world -- when they laugh, we laugh. When they cry (well, they don't really cry -- they just get misty eyed the way kids do when they don't want to show it) we tear up along with them. The film has its sweet moments, as any good documentary should, but its mostly hilarious -- these kids are so clever, so smart, so wise. What's scary, though (or not) is that these Stuyvesant grads are much more likely to actually end up in state houses or in Washington than those from other schools. It's left to the viewer to decide if the next generation "gets it" or not.
FrontRunners is what other films of its ilk aspire to be -- funny, poignant, and totally engaging. In the end you wish the credits didn't have to roll -- you want to stay with these kids. FrontRunners wins my vote.
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Readers of this blog know of my fondness for Ronald Bronstein's Frownland, a landmark work from last year's SXSW Film Festival. So I jumped at the chance to see the World Premiere of Yeast, Mary Bronstein's entry in this year's narrative features competition. Many fans of the unscripted style were in attendance. It is that audience to which Yeast will be most appealing.
This mostly-improvised film follows a few days in the lives of three women struggling to keep friendship alive in the face of a huge challenge -- they know each other too well. Bronstein's character lashes out with aggression, Amy Judd withdraws in silence, and Greta Gerwig's character just wants to have a good time. They get on each other's nerves in a way only best friends can and, as we witness, it's just as easy to love someone who is close to you as it is to hate them.
Yeast was shot on Mini DV with a very homemade feel, using mostly intense and extreme closeups. As Bronstein explained in the Q&A after the screening, the use of two cameras enhances the unscripted nature of the film as it does not require reverse shots and multiple takes. It's more a semi-scripted docudrama/reality show than anything. Dialogue was originally written and rehearsed but, when it came time to shoot, the lines were tossed and actors encouraged to simply work out the general scenes. This allowed a more natural reacting style to take over.
Yeast exposes the fact that the people you are most comfortable with are the ones who can be the most annoying, and the easiest to annoy. It's a universal dilemma and is painful to watch at times but fascinating nonetheless.
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Cook County was part of the Lone Star States section, focusing on Texas filmmakers, at the 2008 SXSW Film Festival. I attended the World Premiere last weekend and felt that I was witnessing the birth of a future indie classic.
Anson Mount (The Battle of Shaker Heights, All the Boys Love Mandy Lane) and Ryan Donowho (Imaginary Heroes, The O.C.) are cousins traveling down a path of drug-fueled self-destruction. The difference is that one wants out while the other is too far gone to care. Having a meth lab in the house is quite a convenient way of staying obliviated and Bump (Mount) takes full advantage of it. Abe (Donowho) might have been all too happy to play along if not for the fact that he sees his niece, Bump's daughter Deandra (Makenna Fitzsimmons in a career-launching role), being neglected in the process. Enter the prodigal son, Bump's brother Sonny (Xander Berkley), fresh out of prison. Sonny is determined to play peacemaker but his loyalties are divided.
The Texas backwoods set is almost another character, providing the perfect den of iniquity for the nonstop party. Natural lighting and handheld camera, with frequent extreme closeups, enhances the claustrophobic feeling and brings the viewer right into the stench. I almost felt uncomfortable at times, as though I was invading their space. The soundtrack is haunting and the action unrelenting.
This is a true character-driven piece that can be difficult to watch at times but is hard to turn away from, like a wreck on the highway. Mount's performance is a tour de force and one of the best I've seen in a long time. Donowho is the perfect puppy dog who gets caught between a rock and a hard place in challenging his cousin for the safety of the girl. His work has always impressed me and this is by far his most challenging role, and he nails it. As intrigue creeps in the story becomes absolutely unpredictable. Writer/director David Pomes has crafted a masterful work which kept me guessing right until the end.
Kudos to the production team for getting every element right in telling this truly original story. I had no idea where Cook County was going and I suspect that's what life must be like for lowlifes like this.
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NOTE: Cook County went on to win the SXSW Film Festival Audience Award for Best Feature in the Lone Star States category.
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I attended the World Premiere of The Lost Coast, which was in the narrative features competition at the 2008 SXSW Film Festival. It's an emotionally charged film that has broad appeal despite its controversial subject matter.
The Lost Coast is a tale told in real time of a trio of high school friends, Mark, Jasper, and Lily, who reunite one Halloween for a night of good cheer. Memories of an unspoken sexual past between the two boys come back to haunt them as night turns to day and each must confront his or her own fears and beliefs. What may have been typical teen experimentation at the time is now an obstacle to continued friendship.
Director Gabriel Fleming places us in the position of an observer -- a voyeur, almost -- as we watch the events unfold at a slow, deliberate pace. The film has an unscripted feel and the action is punctuated by the device used to tell the story -- Jasper (who is now straight) is emailing his girlfriend about the experience he had this night with Mark (who is now gay) and revealing his past to her. He types, we see, and so on.
The Lost Coast definitely has an indie feel, with natural lighting and simple visuals. The exteriors in and around San Francisco and the Pacific coastline are truly breathtaking. The score was a highlight for me -- the haunting music, long takes and tracking shots with generous use of handheld camera, and the film's slow pace reminded me of Mean Creek, one of my all-time favorite indies. It's a style that builds tension and is best used when a study of relationships is at the heart of the story, which perfectly applies here.
This is the type of character-driven piece which does well at festivals but often has a tough go of it even on the art house circuit. It will have an audience on DVD, though, as there are several distributors who would jump at the chance to pick up a film in this genre.
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Monday at the 2008 SXSW Film Festival would add four more films to my tally. As I always try to see as many of the official competition films as I can, the World Premiere of The Lost Coast kicked off my fourth day. It's a tale told in real time of a trio of high school friends who reunite one Halloween for a night of good cheer. Memories of an unspoken sexual past come back to haunt them as night turns to day and each must confront his or her own fears and beliefs. What may have been typical teen experimentation at the time is now an obstacle to continued friendship. The film's slow pace reminded me of Mean Creek, one of my all-time favorite indies.
I then traveled down to the Alamo South Lamar for the World Premiere of Cook County, part of the Lone Star States section focusing on Texas filmmakers. Anson Mount and Ryan Donowho are cousins traveling down a path of drug-fueled self-destruction. The difference is that one wants out while the other is too far gone to care. This is a true character-driven piece that can be difficult to watch at times but is hard to turn away from, like a wreck on the highway. Cook County is absolutely unpredictable and kept me guessing right until the end.
Readers of this blog know of my fondness for Ronald Bronstein's Frownland, a landmark work from last year's festiv