Monday, March 9, 2009

Good ole Oscar

This post too is late, but I'm catching up and after I post my SXSW report, I'll be current.

So the Academy Awards have come and gone. Much like Sundance, the scale of this treasured cinematic event was called into question in light of current economic…I’m going to say “trends” (this too shall pass after all). Like many things, when money is tight and extravagancies inappropriate, a renewed focus on the core of the matter is often enjoyed and I felt this was true of this year’s show.

I especially liked that they invited past winners to announce the nominees, introducing each announcer with an archival clip from their acceptance speech. It had much the same effect of the pre-show reels at Sundance in that it reminded us of the history and tradition of the thing, thereby contextualizing and justifying its greatness instead of just assuming that we all remember and understand why the Oscars are so important.

When in years past I may have grumbled at the predictability of the winners, I found my peace with the Academy this year, realizing that it is what it is, nothing more and nothing less. The nominees and winners reflect the opinions of a group of highly qualified individuals who clearly look for particular qualities that may or may not be what makes an achievement “important” within the current dialogue of cinema, but is nonetheless notable if for no other reason than the process has endured and honored many a great film, performance, song, and technical feat.

Some of you may be thinking that its rather convenient for me to sit here and act as though I knew all the winners now that everything is said and done, however, if you had come to our Oscar watching party at the Modern and sat close enough to hear me mumble my predictions under my breath so no one could accuse me of being wrong if such a rareity should occur then you would know that I was calling them like it’s my job, which it sort of is, so I guess the point is I'm doing my job, which, is good because they're paying me.

Anyway, all of this meditation on the role of the Oscars is a result of Slumdog’s rise from humble beginnings to Hollywood ending. It’s just too hard not to believe that at a certain point, as the film snowballed through the festival circuit and crashed into the awards season, all those responsible for its ultimate triumph weren’t caught up in the story, sealing its Cinderella fate. This is not to say that Slumdog Millionaire isn’t a good film, even a great film…but the best film of 2009? Among a category of contenders that was conspicuously lacking The Dark Knight, a film that broke ground artistically, technologically, and financially?

We have our doubts, but that’s okay. The Academy speaks, we listen, we accept that some voices aren’t meant to challenge boundaries, and we move on.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Where’s the love? Sundance.

This post comes about a month too late, but better than never I guess. I had to say something about Sundance as it will frame my festival reports for the rest of the year and because it was my virgin pilgrimage to the American mecca of indie film. It was warmer in Park City than usual this year. I had heard the horror stories of standing in line in sub zero temps and skin slicing winds, but the sun was usually out on my walk from 13th and Park up to Main and by the time I reached the Egyptian, it wasn’t uncommon for me to have broken a sweat. By now you might have heard that, as expected, things were a bit subdued this year. Smaller crowds, shorter lines, less extravagant gifting.

This wasn't necessarily a bad thing. The prevailing opinion (to which my own belongs) is that this was a good year. There wasn't that one breakout phenomenon, but I suspect as the year goes on, more and more films that pop up on audiences radars will be traced back to Sundance as there was plenty of what people have come to expect out of the festival: originality and innovation. Or, as the tag line for 2009 read: "What's next".

I didn't get to see as many films as I would've liked, about two per day. This is actually the third time I’m writing this post as my previous attempts have been thwarted by insufficient technology (okay, and user error) so I’m actually going to run through these quicker than I had planned.

Lymelife, directed by Derek Martini, Executive Produced by Scorsese, and starring Alec Baldwin and Rory and Keiran Culkin is a coming of age story with good performances. Praise is deserved for an ambitious script that makes bold observations about family, marriage, infidelity, and love.

Everything Strange and New is a subdued portrait of a lower middle class couple struggling to cope with the less romantic trappings of married life like kids, mortgages, and faltering incomes. The film's muted tone adroitly captures the drone of suburban ennui and director Frazer Shaw's skills as a cinematographer are put to good use in his traditional and non-traditional treatments of the visuals.

Paper Heart, starring Michael Cera and his rumored romantic interest Charlene Yi is a narrative film about Charlene, playing herself, making a documentary about love. It isn't long before she meets Michael and the film focuses on their developing romance. The film is irresistibly charming and very funny at parts. With all the quirkiness of Juno and Little Miss Sunshine, as well as genuinely affecting sweetness, it should do very well with proper theatrical treatment.

In an event cleverly called "An Evening with Steven Soderbergh" we were treated to a hush-hush sneak preview of his not yet finished new film called The Girlfriend Experience. Shot entirely with the Red camera, Soderbergh's non-linear account of an elite New York escort, played by porn phenom Sasha Grey, was inspired by a columnists report on the same subject and follows her relationship with her boyfriend and her attempts to further her career. Soderbergh deserves credit for addressing such a touchy subject in an artful manner.

The September Issue is a documentary about Vogue magazine and Editor in Chief Anna Wintour as they race to put together, well, the September Issue of the magazine. I must admit that this wasn’t on my radar going in but I got a free ticket and I’m glad I went. As director R.J. Cutler put it, you can succeed in film without Spielberg’s blessing and in computers without Gates, but it’s virtually impossible to do so in the multi-billion dollar fashion world without Wintour’s approval which leads some to see her as the most powerful woman in the world. One of the things I appreciated most was how Cutler included perspective on the concept of fashion and its role in society in his film (there is a part where Wintour admits that her brothers and sisters think what she does is silly) allowing viewers like myself to get past the initial “Who cares?” moment and enjoy the rich characters that populate this peculiar world.

Black Dynamite, a farce on black films of the seventies directed by Scott Sanders, got a lot of attention from audiences. The premise is pretty hilarious and I expect many a frat house recitals of some of the more memorable lines from this one when it is released by Sony whose acquisition of the film represented one of the more notable purchases of the festival considering the company’s recent restructuring.

Along with artistic originality, much of what’s next on the business end was to be seen in activity by new distributors, such as Senator’s acquisition of Brooklyn’s Finest starring Ethan Hawke and Richard Gere as well as film festival online community Bside’s announcement that it will acquire and distribute 10 films in 2009. Traditional buyers such as Focus and Miramax were slow to move on any films, further reflecting a shift in the model of independent film distribution.

Peter and Vandy, starring Jason Ritter and Jess Weixler, about a relationship between two young New York professionals, follows the couple in non-linear format from when they meet, through their breakup. By juxtaposing early and late scenes from their relationship, the film starkly contrasts the innocence of a blossoming romance and the selfishness and insecurities that eventually tear people apart. A great soundtrack with plenty of well placed Kings of Leon makes for a meaningful experience with plenty of energy.

Non-linear treatment of young love is again employed in 500 Days of Summer, starring the lovely Zooey Deschanel and Jason Gordon-Levitt, which Fox Searchlight is set to distribute. I didn’t see 500 Days but it’s worth noting because of the now not so unconventional non linear approach and Searchlight’s repeated interest in romance, including the impressive Adam.

One of my favorites so far, Max Mayer’s second feature tells the story of 29 year Adam directly after the death of his father as he meets and proceeds to court Beth after she moves into his building. Adam is afflicted with Asperger Syndrome making for some very awkward initial moments between him and Beth (“were you sexually excited…?”) and Beth’s ultimate acceptance that she has to be completely frank with Adam at all times. The film is beautifully shot and very well paced. A juxtaposition between Adam and Beth’s relationship and that of her parents sneaks up on the viewer and by the end of the film, my friend Greg and I couldn’t help but think that every guy, when it comes to intimacy, suffers from some measure of Asperger’s.

Noting the two big winners of the festival, An Education and Precious: Based on the Novel by Sapphire one journalist (I could have sworn it was the New York Times, but I can’t seem to find it) claimed that if there was a theme at this year’s Sundance, it mirrored that of the current sentiment in our country, particularly regarding Obama’s ascension to Commander in Chief. These two films, about young girls taking chances to improve their respective situation’s reflects our country’s decision to take bold action to improve our own situation, regardless if this decision might have been the riskier of two alternatives.

Although I agree with this analysis, I have to argue that this theme is by product of another, more basic thread that ran through the films at Sundance this year: Love and relationships. Indeed, when the lineup was announced in December, organizers admitted that there was an unusual tilt towards the emotional, even the melodramatic. So I would agree that we are a country that has chosen to venture into unfamiliar territory in an attempt to drastically improve our lives, but I would emphasize that we did so by electing a man who possesses a superior ability to bring people of all walks together towards a common cause. It’s only fitting then that this year’s most important American film festival would be characterized by films that explore the complication and necessity of intimacy.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Tree of Life and AFI Dallas

Clearly it's been a while since my last utterance, so let me try to bring you up to speed quick like. Shortly after my first and last entry, I spent about a month in the charming town of Smithville, about an hour east of Austin, lending a hand to Terrence Malick's latest production, Tree of Life.

This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me to be a fly on a wall while a few of the greatest at their game went about their work. I worked in Jack Fisk's department for a little while, doing what I could to assist in making the physical world of 1950's small town Texas come to life. Once filming started, I spent a lot of time with set dresser Eliot Hostetter in between takes, as well as associate producer Ivan Bess doing clearances for various books that we were planning to shoot.

Best of all, I got a first hand account of one of the greatest American directors going about creating his art. I can only imagine that it must be a joy as an actor to work with Mr. Malick, and Mr. Pitt sure looked liked he was having fun. As one of the producers, the leading man definitely took an interest in the way each scene was approached and it was educational to say the least to watch these two pros do what they do.

I don't claim to be any expert on acting or actors and their might be a lot of debate regarding the talents of Brad Pitt, but one thing I will stand up for is his discretion in the jobs he's taken recently. His next three films (Tree of Life, Burn After Reading, and the Curious Case of Benjamin Bottom) can claim four of the greatest helmers of the past quarter century of cinema in Terry Malick, Joel and Ethan Coen, and David Fincher. I can't wait to see these films.

I went straight from Smithville to the Big D to attend the second annual AFI Dallas International Film Festival. The whole team at AFI Dallas was crucial to the success of LSIFF 07 and we tried to do everything we could to show our support for their landmark event. I joined the rest of the Lone Star staff who occupied various directorial roles there and was immediately put to work coordinating the jury and had the privilege of accomodating Kit Carson (Co-producer, Bottle Rocket), Ron Livingston (Office Space, The Music Within), Elvis Mitchell (New York Times film critic), and many other film pros and their jury needs.

John Storm, our managing director, and I had the opportunity to take one of the festival's guests of honor, Helen Hunt, whose directorial debut, Then She Found Me filled the opening night slot, to the museums so she could get little taste of the local cultural flavor. Ms. Hunt was as nice as she could be and when I remarked that I was eager to see her film, she responded by promising me it was 90 minutes long.

I wonder if Mickey Rooney would have said the same thing about his Star Award acceptance speech, which may have been the highlight of my festival. After rambling through a few episodic recollections of productions throughout his storied carreer, Mr. Rooney launched into a discourse on divorce, ultimately scolding the audience for laughing at its mention, and even included an anecdote about a song he sang whenever the tamale truck would come through his neigborhood. I think it was the reference to tamales that eventually prompted his wife to come on stage and inform him it was about time to say "Thank you".

After the lights came up in the beautful Majestic, we walked around the corner to a posh party in first floor of the dowtown Neimans. On loan from the Harry Ransom Center in Austin were costumes and storyboards from Gone With the Wind, including Scarlett's dress, the original script from Sunset Boulevard, and a few of the costumes from characters that Bobby DeNiro has played over the years.

For the rest of the fest, you could almost always find a drinking buddy or 27 in the filmmakers lounge at the W sales office on the 3rd floor of the Victory Park building that runs adjacent to the American Airlines Center. The lounge featured a scale model of dowtown Dallas, a pool table, a Guitar Hero room, and a great view of those massive mobile screens that screened several films from the AFI D program including Ice Age 2 (a personal favorite) and Vexille (a brilliant recent Japanese animation production distributed stateside by our local Funimation).

As for films, the brightest spotlights were aimed at David Gordon Green's latest edition, Snow Angels, Barry Levinson's Hollywood rumination, What Just Happened, starring Robert DeNiro, and actor Stuart Towsend's first feature helming attempt, Battle In Seattle. Unfortunately, since I still had responsibilites from Tree of Life and Lone Star, in addition to my jury duties, I wasn't able to see many of the films I would have liked to. Still, from what I saw, standouts included a little film about meth addicts called Cook County, as well as a delightful documentary about the fresh food revolution that began in California called Food Fight.

Nighttime activities were never limited and the Ghost Bar, high up in the W, held concerts by Chuck D and Paul Oakenfold. To close things out Polyphonic Spree broke out their classic cult couture and rocked the House of Blues. All in all, with an average of 80% of their seats filled over ten days of world class screenings and soirees, I'd say you'd have to call AFI Dallas 08 a resounding success. Hats off to everyone who had a hand in making this such a world class event in only its second year.

Friday, February 8, 2008

Lone Star Planet

Greetings -



Well, I guess this marks the arrival of Lone Star on the blog scene. Feels pretty good.



First things first. Just want to make sure everyone knows who we are and what we're about. The Lone Star Film Society is a non-profit organization in Fort Worth, TX whose mission is to raise awareness of cinema within the community. In truth, our official mission statement is longer than that, but I think it's best to keep first impressions as simple as possible. Once we get to know each other a little better, if things look like they're working out, maybe we can share some of our loftier aspirations. For now, perhaps it will best serve this introduction to lay claim to the Lone Star International Film Festival, the first edition of which premiered this past November to an very responsive Fort Worth community. Thank you Fort Worth, we're still blushing.



As a new year descends upon us, we're back to grindstone, churning out a year's worth of screenings and events, stepping out about town and getting to know our neighbors on the arts and culture block, and of course, laying the groundwork for Second Annual Lone Star International Film Festival.



We'd like to take this opportunity to just say hello, welcome everyone to our blog, our websites (http://www.lonestarfilmsociety.com/; http://www.lsiff.com/), heck, even our office (817-735-1117) and invite anyone with questions, comments, rants, raves, Valentines, surplus Swiss Bank accounts, whatever, to give us a shout whichever way fits your fancy.



Have a good weekend, hope to hear from you soon.



Alec Jhangiani

Director of Programming and Development