9 articles
“This is a Generic Brand Video”: Satire or How-To?
13 hours ago | Filmmaker Magazine - Blog | See recent Filmmaker Magazine news »
At McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, writer Kendra Eash published a poem, “This is a Generic Brand Video,” satirizing (or maybe just noticing?) the pleasant, fuzzy, vaguely neoliberal language of brand videos. Language like this: In today’s high speed environment, Stop motion footage of a city at night With cars turning quickly Makes you think about doing things efficiently And time passing. Lest you think we’re a faceless entity, Look at all these attractive people. Here’s some of them talking and laughing And close-ups of hands passing canned goods to each other In a setting that evokes community service. Now, the folks […] »
- Scott Macaulay
Trailer Watch: Laundry Day
18 hours ago | Filmmaker Magazine - Blog | See recent Filmmaker Magazine news »
In my “How to Find a Producer” article in our Fall, 2013 edition, I interviewed New Orleans filmmaker Randy Mack about his efforts to develop local producers, a challenge that arose when he embarked on his third feature, Laundry Day. More recently, Mack speculated here on the perfect independent film discovery app. Now there’s a trailer for Laundry Day, posted above. From the film’s website: A fight in a 24-hour bar-laundromat among four New Orleans barflies —a musician, a bartender, a street performer, & a drug dealer — is revisited from each perspective, revealing an intricate web of service industry […] »
- Scott Macaulay
Notebook Reviews: Jim Jarmusch's "Only Lovers Left Alive"
18 hours ago | MUBI | See recent MUBI news »
“We no longer exist as playwrights or actors but as terminals of multiple networks […] passive spectators of an empty scene where nothing takes place and which nonetheless fills our vision.”
—Jean Baudrillard (The Ecstasy of Communication, 1987)
The human geography of Jim Jarmusch’s cinema has always been one of the most cosmopolitan American cinema could ever afford. Long before the budget of his productions allowed him to cross the Atlantic his curiosity brought him closer to the foreign streams that formed his country and away from its paradoxical provincialism. Allie in Permanent Vacation (1980) wanting to move to Paris (only to meet, at the end of the film, his Parisian equivalent wanting to move to New York…), Willie’s Hungarian cousin in Stranger Than Paradise (1984), the bizarre Italian in Down By Law (1986), the Japanese couple, the Brit and the Italian woman in Mystery Train (1989), and so on; his cinema is densely populated by immigrants. »
- Celluloid Liberation Front
Vote for Project of the Week: Will It Be 'Stones,' 'Drip,' 'Havana Motor Club' or 'Jane Wants a Boyfriend'?
21 hours ago | Indiewire | See recent Indiewire news »
Vote below for this week's Project of the Week. The winning filmmaker will receive a digital distribution consultation from SnagFilms and will become a candidate for Project of the Month. That winner will be awarded with a creative consultation from the fine folks at the Tribeca Film Institute! The four projects up for the prize: "Stones We Throw" "Drip" "Havana Motor Club" "Jane Wants a Boyfriend" Voting will end Tuesday, April 15 at 10Am Eastern. Note: One vote per person. First, make sure you have cookies enabled in your browser. Votes are confirmed by email. After voting, please look for an email from Poll Daddy and confirm your vote. (If it doesn't show up in your inbox, check your spam folder. The emails often end up there.) Indiewire nor PollDaddy use your email address after the confirmation, but if you do want to sign up for our newsletter, why Don't you »
- Indiewire
20 Years After Rwandan Genocide, Keep the Memory of the Victims Alive By Watching 'Kinyarwanda'
21 hours ago | Indiewire | See recent Indiewire news »
Twenty years ago, one million Rwandans were killed in one of the worst genocides in recorded history. The sheer magnitude of the horrors committed are nearly impossible to fathom. How can you adequately pay tribute to the lives lost in one of mankind's worst transgressions? "Kinyarwanda," winner of the World Cinema Dramatic Audience Award at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, is an effort in empathy. Weaving together six different tales into one grand narrative, it's a complex and realistic portrayal of life and resilience during the genocide. "I thought I knew something about Rwanda, but I didn't really know very much," Roger Ebert said of the film. "I was moved by 'Hotel Rwanda,' but not really shaken this deeply. Not like this.... Here is a powerful film." Watch "Kinyarwanda," streaming below for free on SnagFilms, Indiewire's parent company. Do your part to keep the memory of the victims alive. »
- Emily Buder
Watch: Director Mike Flanagan Discusses the Outside Forces that Terrorize a Family in 'Oculus'
21 hours ago | Indiewire | See recent Indiewire news »
"Oculus" may end up becoming the horror highlight of the year, and director Mike Flanagan explains just why that is. In the film, an already damaged family consisting of psychologically troubled orphans believes that a strange mirror may responsible for their destruction. While Flanagan admits to being a natural-born skeptic, there's no doubt that the possibilities of horrific supernatural events has crossed his mind. Read More: Why ‘Oculus’ Is One of the Scariest American Horror Movies In Years In the clip below, the director explains that the most terrifying element in his film is the family-centric plot. Though people desperately wish to believe that their families will always be safe, "Oculus" shows the looming dangers from outside forces that can consume a family's life and ultimately drive them to madness. Check out the clip over at The New York Times. »
- Ziyad Saadi
Review: Reserved & Quiet 'Hateship Loveship' Starring Kristen Wiig, Guy Pearce, Nick Nolte & Hailee Steinfeld
22 hours ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »
Following the smash success of "Bridesmaids," Kristen Wiig has actively subverted the obvious expectations of the career choices that normally follow a hit film. The actress has largely gravitated toward small-scale projects ("Girl Most Likely," "Friends With Kids") in roles that still fit within her wheelhouse, but also allow an opportunity for Wiig to exercise the kind of acting chops that more mainstream fare doesn't afford very often. But "Hateship Loveship" is Wiig's most atypical role and turn to date, leading an ensemble cast in a drama about a family adrift in the wake of death, and the one woman who manages to keep them from completely splitting apart. You probably wouldn't notice Johanna (Wiig) at first glance...and likely not on the second or third either. Quiet and reserved, her work as a caregiver is arranged by a pastor, and her formless, nearly old-fashioned attire suggests she's spent more »
- Kevin Jagernauth
The Secret to His Success: David Gordon Green Cinematographer Tim Orr and Finding Beauty in the Brutal 'Joe'
22 hours ago | Indiewire | See recent Indiewire news »
Director David Gordon Green has collaborated with cinematographer Tim Orr since they were classmates at North Carolina School of the Arts. (Their first film was a documentary on the artificial insemination of cattle.) Orr shot Green's feature debut "George Washington" in 2000, launching both men on successful careers. Since then the pair has collaborated on "Undertow," "All the Real Girls," "Pineapple Express" and "Snow Angels," among other projects. In "Joe," about one tormented man (Nicolas Cage) who struggles to be good -- and finds redemption in a paternal relationship with a troubled teenager (Tye Sheridan). We recently caught up with Orr to talk about his collaboration with Green and how he managed to find glimmers of beauty in the darkness of "Joe." How did you get your start in the business? David Gordon Green and I went to school together and we were in the same class, but we didn't work together that much in school. »
- Paula Bernstein
Alejandro González Iñárritu's 'Birdman' To Open October 17
11 April 2014 8:32 PM, PDT | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »
4.11.14 Update: The movie has now been dated for an October 17, 2014 release date per Fox Searchlight. Look for a Cannes announcement next week. At least that's our best bet. Here's our 2014 Cannes predictions. Amy Ryan evidently was in the cast as well. Previous 06.03.13 story with updated synopsis and final writing credits: The wacky, theater-based, somewhat-meta comedy is tough trick to pull off, but we'll be damned if Alejandro González Iñárritu isn't pulling together a helluva cast together to try and make his upcoming "Birdman" work. Before we even get to that, we're just excited to see Iñárritu shift gears completely and move away from his trademark heavy drama into what could possibly be his own "I Heart Huckabees." Or something. Either way, the possibilities for this being awesome are certainly up there, and we have our fingers crossed and undoubtedly, these set photos have stoked our excitement a little bit more. »
- Kevin Jagernauth
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