Archive for the ‘Festivals’ Category
Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Horror, Awards, SXSW, DIY/Filmmaking, George Clooney
Technically this is the kind of headline you might have expected to see in the midst of our best of the year/decade lists. But let’s not get too hung up on the timing, because it’s going to make perfect sense in a minute. This year at SXSW, the festival has launched the first Excellence in Title Design award, honoring the best opening title sequences in film and television over the past year (judges include Susan Bradley from Pixar and Ian Albinson and Alexander Ulloa from Art of the Title Sequence.) For those in the know, there’s a grand tradition in the art of a credit sequence, but sometimes in the rush of blockbusters and big names we forget about all the work and talent that goes into even the most functional of movie arts: the opening credits.
Of course, one of the most talked about title sequences in recent memory was yU+Co’s contribution to Zack Snyder’s Watchmen (which will go down in history as one of my all time favorites) and it was also one that was notably absent from the list of nominees. Unfortunately, the nominees weren’t selected by the good folks at SXSW, and instead, they were chosen from submissions from designers, so I guess yU+Co figured they had gotten enough press for their work on the Watchmen, and went with their contribution to the fantasy adaptation, Cirque du Freak, instead. But it looks like their work on the superhero flick had a lasting effect on other designers, because one of the other nominees, Zombieland, was subtly influenced by yU+Co’s creation. Some of the other notable nominees for the grand prize include Gaspar Noe for Enter the Void and Geoff McFetridge’s titles for Where the Wild Things Are — you can see the full list of nominees on the SXSW website.
After the jump: a prediction for the winner’s circle and my nominee for best title sequence of 2009…
Continue reading What Were Your Favorite Title Sequences of 2009?
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
With over 110 features, not to mention short films, panels and all the social gatherings at the annual South by Southwest Film Festival, how does one decide how to make a schedule. In the five days that I will be there, I will be attending at least two panels. One by my friend and colleague, Cinematical’s Scott Weinberg, who will be moderating Directing the Dead, a look at the horror genre through the eyes of panelists Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds), Robert Rodriguez (Sin City), Neil Marshall (The Descent), Matt Reeves (Cloverfield), Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland) and Ti West (The House of the Devil). Personally I will also be taking to moderation when I examine Hyperbole In Film Criticism with not only Mr. Weinberg, but also film critics Drew McWeeny, James Rocchi, Marjorie Baumgarten and Jen Yamato.
Mostly though I will be there for the movies. In-between the camaraderie of my fellow film lovers and more than a few meals at the Alamo Drafthouses, I am looking forward to the likes of major releases such as Kick-Ass (the opening night film) and the feature-length version of SNL’s MacGruber and documentaries such as James Franco’s Saturday Night, about what goes into the preparation of the legendary sketch show and Steven Soderbergh’s tribute to Spalding Gray in And Everything Is Going Fine. That’s just the tip of my schedule, though, and I want to help you with yours. Certainly I concur with the positive sentiments offered by the Cinematical staff on SXSW showings of Cyrus, The Freebie, The Runaways, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil and Winter’s Bone and echo that they should be seen. But I am going to offer you ten more suggestions to help put you on the road to the best possible fest experience.
Continue reading 10 Films (And More) To See At The 2010 South By Southwest Festival
Filed under: SXSW, Interviews
Those of you who only see the Star Wars fans playing dress-up at premieres and conventions are only seeing one half of the story. A whole generation has grown up, but while they still remain loyal they have a few beefs with the man responsible for framing their childhood. Alexandre O. Philippe’s documentary, The People vs. George Lucas, takes a look at the fans behind the masks and why they are so angry. Before the film has its world premiere at this year’s South by Southwest Film Festival, Alexandre answered a few questions for this loyalist over the years.
Cinematical: What was the straw-that-broke-the-camel’s-back moment that inspired the genesis of this project?
PHILIPPE: I first had the idea of making this film approximately five years ago, but it really came to life during the summer of 2007 while we were in Texas working on several other projects with our crew. Robert Muratore (our Director of Photography and one of our Producers) seemed really enthusiastic about making it, and he’s the one who convinced me to move forward with it.
The concept was a no-brainer. Put two Star Wars fans in a room together, and they’ll start arguing about the Special Editions, the prequels, who shot first, whether or not George Lucas owes them a DVD release of the restored Original Trilogy… they’ll even talk about Indy 4, Howard the Duck, you name it! Fans love to debate and vent about George Lucas. Here’s a fun little experiment, which I first attempted when we were developing our film, and tried again today. I just Googled “I hate Gene Roddenberry”, and got 61 hits. Then, I Googled “I hate George Lucas”, and 112,000 hits came up!
Continue reading SXSW Interview: ‘The People vs. George Lucas’ Director Alexandre O. Philippe
Filed under: Fandom, Exhibition, Gen Art
One of my favorite films from the 2010 Sundance Film Festival will kick off one of my favorite film festivals of the year, as Gen Art has just unveiled the lineup for their 15th annual film festival, which will run in New York City from April 7th-13th. Sundance fav (and audience award winner) HappyThankYouMorePlease will open this year’s festival, which is looking to make a big splash in the Big Apple in honor of its 15th anniversary.
Also screening the fest this year — which boasts a pretty enticing (from a festgoer’s perspective) lineup of 7 film premieres and 7 parties in 7 days — Adrian Grenier’s (Entourage) excellent doc Teenage Paparazzo (which was another buzzed-about Sundance title), Sebastian Gutierrez’s Elektra Luxx, Tanner Hall, Waiting for Forever, Scott Caan’s Mercy and the Slamdance audience award winner, The Wild Hunt. All seven of these films will be enjoying their New York premieres at the festival, and all of them are completely worthy of a night out on the town.
The one thing I love about the Gen Art fest (and I say this every year) is that the price of a ticket ($25-35) not only gets you in to see the film (all features are also accompanied by a short), but you also get access to the film’s after party at some way-hotter-than-you NYC hot spot, which comes complete with open bar, celebrity appearances and a chance to meet yours truly (I’ll be the guy making an ass of himself on the dance floor as onlookers point and laugh continuously).
For more information, tickets and schedule, please visit Gen Art’s website at or call(212) 255-7300. So … I’ll be seeing you there, right?
Filed under: Comedy, Independent, SXSW, Trailers and Clips
On one end of the comedy spectrum you’ve got the broad antics of the Paul Blart: Mall Cops of the world. They’re loud and they’re base and they’re instantly forgettable because, well, they’re not funny. Somewhere in the middle of the spectrum you can find the smaller comedies, the ones that never fully penetrate into theaters across the nation but find a good deal of success at home thanks to late night cable. And then on the far side you can expect to find an absolute deadpan comedy styling; the word-of-mouth kind that that can serve as a litmus test for someone’s sense of humor. As I think you can probably guess from that introduction, The Happy Poet looks like the latter.
Set to have its world premiere this Sunday at SXSW in Austin, TX, writer/director/star Paul Gordon’s The Happy Poet is, “an all-organic, mostly vegetarian comedy about Bill, a struggling poet who pours his heart, soul, and last few dollars into starting a healthy food stand, surprising friends and customers with his dry wit and offbeat passion. Motivated by help from a rag-tag group of supporters and a budding romance with a poetry-loving customer, Bill strives to make a difference in the world, until surprising complications jeopardize his new friendships and threaten Bill’s dreams for a hot dog-free future.”
Check out the Happy Poet trailer premiere below and then head over to the film’s SXSW page for screening details and dates throughout the fest.
Continue reading SXSW Exclusive Trailer for ‘The Happy Poet’
Filed under: SXSW, Tribeca, IFC
While I’m advising people on how to pack for South by Southwest next week and where to stay and what to eat and all that, I wonder if this info might someday be superfluous. Film festivals are increasingly offering more online and video-on-demand (VOD) options so you can enjoy some of the fest offerings from your home — perhaps someday we’ll all sit at home and participate in virtual festivals. Okay, too many of us love watching movies in theaters for that to happen entirely, but expanding fest offerings to digital options that anyone can purchase and watch is pretty exciting.
SXSW and IFC announced on Thursday that they’re partnering to give three of the film festival’s 2010 films a simultaneous release on cable TV VOD that will start on March 12, the Austin fest’s opening night. FilmBuff acquired digital distribution right to two movies that will be available on iTunes and Amazon VOD at the same time they premiere at SXSW. And on Wednesday, Tribeca Film Festival announced an entirely new organization that will focus on digital distribution of independent films, many of which have played or will play at the actual festival.
Continue reading How We’re Watching Movies: Film Fests Go Virtual
Filed under: Independent, SXSW, Mystery & Suspense, Newsstand, Movie Marketing, Images
Roy’s Motel is not what it seems. In writer/director Chad Feehan’s debut film Wake, a young couple on the road, played by Josh Stewart and Jamie-Lynn Sigler, stop for the night at Roy’s on the road to California, hoping for a warm bed and hot coffee, and end up in a strange psycho-drama where all of their darkest secrets are laid bare. It’s a movie that defies easy categorization, a corkscrew morality play that rivals the very best episodes of The Twilight Zone, and we’ve got four exclusive pics from the new film.
Wake makes its debut at SXSW on Saturday, March 14th with Feehan and his stars on-hand for the premiere. If you like your movies a little more unpredictable than the average flick, you’ll definitely want to keep Wake on your radar. Check out the gallery for our exclusive stills.
Filed under: Action, SXSW, Magnolia
Well here’s some fun news for those who already have their SXSW badges tucked into their back pockets: turns out that Mr. Neil Marshall, director of such fine genre films as Dog Soldiers, The Descent, and Doomsday, will be attending next week’s South By Southwest Film Festival, and get this: Thanks to SXSW and Fantastic Fest, he’ll be introducing a movie to the screaming masses, and I bet he’s bringing that wondrous horror geek of a wife with him!
My money is on Neil playing Halloween 3: Season of the Witch, but I polled the Cinematical staff and I got some other good predictions. Will Goss has $600 on Mr. Marshall playing a brand-new 35mm print of Showgirls, while Peter Hall is convinced it’s something else. (“Moulin Rouge,” he says, “I guarantee it.”) Erik Davis went withThe Last Starfighter, Monika Bartyzel said “something by Guy Maddin, definitely,” and Eric D. Snider picked Avatar, “because nobody has seen it yet.” Jette said Willy Wonka, Pete Martin went with Yojimbo, and Jeff Anderson, strangely enough, also predicted Showgirls. I even asked Gilchrist (“The Day After!”), Yamato (“The Breakfast Club!”), and Jenni Miller, who went with Fiddler on the Roof. (The rest of the staff ignored me while watching Pam have a baby on The Office.)
Our lone voice of reason was Ms. Elisabeth Rappe, who chimed in quietly from the back of the room and asked “Hey, doesn’t that Marshall guy have a brand-new movie?” Hmm, she may have picked the winner. I still think it’ll be Halloween 3.
Filed under: Documentary, SXSW, Trailers and Clips
This is the first year I’ll be attending SXSW and I’m already dreading it. Not because I think it’s going to be a bad time by any means. I’m dreading it because every time I think I have wrangled some kind of coherent, reasonable and feasible movie watching schedule out of their behemoth-sized lineup, another film pops up on my radar that throws the whole process off axis once more. The most recent culprit? Dirty Pictures, a documentary about the life of Dr. Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin, the experimental chemist who discovered the drug we all now know as Ecstasy.
Even if you’re not going to be attending SXSW, I’d recommend watching the trailer for Etienne Sauret’s film below, as it looks to be a bittersweet examination of one man’s life and work; a man who is an underground hero to an entire culture of people (some call him “The Godfather of Psychedelics”) and a drug-making villain to others. What makes Dirty Pictures, which draws its title from the scientist’s pet name for his molecular drawings, so appealing, though, isn’t the breakdown of how the world sees Dr. Shulgin, but how he sees the world.
Plus, when it comes to the shot of him and his wife in a wooded cabin talking about taking drugs and making love, I can’t help but think of him as a real life counterpart to Michael Caine’s character in Children of Men. But I realize I may be alone on that front…
Continue reading SXSW Exclusive Trailer Premiere for ‘Dirty Pictures’
Filed under: Documentary, SXSW, Posters
The morning of November 5th, 2008 I happened to be on my way to Africa for work. I remember the charge and energy in the air sitting in the lounge waiting to fly out of DC. I remember the buzz around me, people in every corner talking to those around them about what had happened the night before. I remember the adoration in voices and the sheer frustration in others’. When I arrived in the Ivory Coast 20 hours later, I experienced something I, quite honestly, never expected to experience. Upon hearing our accents, strangers at the airport would walk up to myself and my co-workers and shake our hands, thanking us for being Americans.
It was surreal. I remember distinctly thinking that there were people halfway around the world who cared more about the election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America than I did. And it wasn’t that I didn’t care; I was ecstatic, in fact. But there I was, surrounded by people deeply affected by what had just happened on the other side of the planet even though it ostensibly had little bearing on their own lives. “I really hope someone makes a documentary about this,” I thought. I never would have guessed 15 months later I’d be writing about the poster premiere for such a film.
Two weeks before the election, filmmaker Jeff Deutchman reached out to friends and strangers around the globe to begin recording their experiences, good or bad, leading up to the momentous day. He then spent the intervening year assembling the footage into a “participatory documentary” called 11/4/08, which will have its world premiere at SXSW on March 13th. It’s our pleasure to debut the posters for this unique cultural experiment, so please do check them out in the gallery below and then head over to the official 11/4/08 website for more information about their creation as well as more info about the film, which is still accepting footage, by the way; so if you’ve got something good to share, I’m sure Deutchman would be happy to take a look.
Gallery: 11/04/08 Poster Premiere
