Archive for the ‘SXSW’ Category
Filed under: SXSW, Interviews
Film producer Miranda Bailey was hearing a lot about this whole “green” movement taking place in Hollywood. So on the production of her latest film, The River Why, she decided to test the waters and see what it actually takes to make a set with countless bottles of water, pollution and expansive garbage envionmentally-friendly. Her document of these events, Greenlit, will be having its world premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival and she was happy to answer a few questions about what she was out to accomplish.
Leonardo DiCaprio has been very vocal about his concerns for the environmental effort. Yet you point out that two of his films, The Beach and Titanic, did great damage during production to the natural environments they filmed in. Was this your way of exposing a certain hypocrisy over the green movement in Hollywood or as part of the wake-up call that may have led DiCaprio to be more aggressive in this cause.
MIRANDA: I pointed out the two films THE BEACH and TITANIC starring Leonardo DiCaprio because I found it disturbing and ironic. I think it is hard for any one person in this business to be pro-environment and not contribute to excessive waste just based on how our industry works. These two films are extreme examples. But all films could do so much more to be conscious of what we do to our locations and what kind of waste we leave behind. I’m not sure what Mr. DiCaprio’s reasons for being a green advocate are as I have never met him. But I think it is great that he does speak out and is pro-environment and I admire his recent efforts.
Continue reading SXSW Interview: ‘Greenlit’ Director Miranda Bailey
Filed under: SXSW, Interviews
Sebastian Gutierrez’s Women In Trouble was one of the pleasant surprises at last year’s South by Southwest Film Festival. Gutierrez is back in Austin along with much of the cast in 2010, for his follow-up which continues the comic struggles of the titular porn star, Elektra Luxx, portrayed by Carla Gugino, and he is giving Cinematical a little taste of what we can look forward to.
The original film and the tentatively titled third film, Women In Ecstasy, are of the plural sort. Why the shift in the middle to highlight the one character?
I really like the idea of grabbing a character from one film and being able to expand upon it somewhere else. It’s something novelists are allowed to do, but filmmakers hardly ever get the chance. I often watch films and see a minor character in it that I think, ‘wow it’d be cool if we could follow this person’s story.’ Often, I’m more interested in that notion than where that particular movie is headed. And without giving too much away, there is direct reason why the third one is titled “Women In Ecstasy” after seeing what Elektra goes through in this one.
Continue reading SXSW Interview: ‘Elektra Luxx’ Director Sebastian Gutierrez
Filed under: SXSW, Lionsgate Films, Theatrical Reviews, Comic/Superhero/Geek
Having spent almost three straight days in Hall H last July sorting through the wheat and the chaff of the geek world, I admit that I was one of the first in line to champion the preview footage from Kick-Ass as a highlight of the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con because, well, it kicked ass. It seemed tailor-made for comic book fans, exploiting their fantasies about becoming caped avengers, while at the same time offering enough foul-mouthed, visceral action to stop even the most jaded moviegoers in their tracks. And of course it featured Chloe Moretz‘ Hit Girl, a potty-mouthed preteen destined to become a pop culture lightning rod thanks to her equal dexterity with four-letter insults and flying jump kicks.
Unfortunately, as a full-length film, Kick-Ass is a great comic book come to life, but not much else. A faithful recreation of the rhythms of episodic funny-paper storytelling, Matthew Vaughn’s adaptation of Mark Millar and John Romita’s 2008 series gives greater scope to the set pieces shown in clips and trailers, but never quite finds enough cohesion or dramatic clarity to become a fully satisfying film.
Filed under: SXSW, Festival Reports, Quentin Tarantino, Cinematical Indie
It’s time for another visit to Austin for the South by Southwest Film Festival — definitely NOT a lame festival, despite what some bloggers might think. We’ve got 13 of our writers down in Texas covering the event (though not all exclusively for us), so we’re sure to have a lot of great reviews, interviews and whatever else we find worthy of reporting on over the next nine days. Today has primarily been devoted to travel and getting situated and standing in a massive line for the “packed-ass” opening night screening of Kick-Ass, but stop back again every evening as we round up the the best of our coverage and everyone else’s.
Deals: Strand Releasing has picked up North American rights to The Taqwacores, Eyad Zahra’s narrative feature about the Muslim punk scene. The film premiered at Sundance earlier this year, but also screens at SXSW. Theatrical release has been set for the fall.
Our Coverage: Cinematical got things started a little early last night, as Erik Childress shared his list of must-see films playing in Austin this week. He also interviewed The People vs. George Lucas director Alexandre O. Philippe. His interviews today include Elektra Luxx director Sebastian Gutierrez and Greenlit director Miranda Bailey. As for reviews, Todd Gilchrist has the first, a look at the movie everyone’s dying to see, Kick-Ass. Unfortunately, he writes, “as a full-length film, Kick-Ass is a great comic book come to life, but not much else … [it] never quite finds enough cohesion or dramatic clarity to become a fully satisfying film.”
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: 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.
