Since I’m an up-and-coming hoity-toity art collector a friend suggested I enter a writing contest sponsored by Blouin Art Info about the humongous Frieze Art Fair in New York City. I only have a few pieces of original art decorating my apartment walls so I’ve yet to reach Andrew Carnegie standards but I can tell a Rothko from a Rorschach.
CLICK HERE to read my award winning (a mini-iPad actually) entry.
Our short film “Utopia Lies at the Horizon” screens at the famed Anthology Film Archives in New York City this Sunday, April 7th at 7pm as part of the New Latino Filmmaker series.
The festivities begin at 6pm with a Spring Series Reception, which is a great opportunity to network with other filmmakers. Big thanks to curator Edwin Pagán, who also runs LatinHorror.com among other endeavors, for the invite.
This is our FIRST TIME screening at Anthology Film Archives and we consider it a privileged honor.
[Revision Note: We erroneously posted as this being our third screening at Anthology. We had confused it with our previous screenings at Millennium which is also located in the Lower East Side.]
We were recently commissioned by singer/songwriter Joe Picard to produce his first music video. “The Wind” is a hopeful message about the dreams we all aspire to achieve. This was the end product:
I need to fill 2 UNPAID intern/production assistant positions for a music video shoot in Manhattan.
The shoot will take place next Saturday, March 16th from 9am – 9pm (not for the squeamish.)
If you have someone to recommend, perhaps a film student looking for experience, please EMAIL ME the digits. Meals provided.
Must know by Wednesday March 13th.
Everyone makes list around this time on Oscar predictions. They list their favorites nominees, who the Academy will pick, who SHOULD win, blah, blah, blah. Well… screw that. I’m going totally against the grain and informing you, the rabid avid reader of this blog, that the Academy got it all whack.
Best Film: The Master
Another masterpiece by PT Anderson (Paul Thomas to you non-acquaintances or neophytes.) Sure the film falls into a bit of a muddle in the third act, but the haunting performances, exquisite cinematography (shot in 70mm but cropped to 1:1.85), and totally bashing of neo-religions (I would also bash old religions too) is what art is SUPPOSED to be. I hope he never wins an Oscar, so someday when he’s 82 they’ll give him a lifetime achievement award on stage the audience we’ll gasp in awe at the glorious shelf of movies he left behind.
Best Director: Ben Affleck for Argo
You may ask: how come Ben over PT? Because Ben “The Insurance Duck” Affleck, makes good old fashioned entertainment that has four quadrant appeal. So far his movies have had riveting plots and gripping action, unlike the oft vapid multiplex blow-em up offerings. As a director he’s 3 for 3 after being overlooked for some award winning performances (like doomed George “Superman” Reeves in “Hollywoodland”.) He may win for Best Picture this year, but if he and Damon could write another gem a la “Good Will Hunting” he could sweep the awards in the years to come.
Best Actor: Jean-Louis Trintignant in Amour
Why? Because HE’S F’NG JEAN-LOUIS TRINTIGNANT! The man has more classic films under his belt than a thief inside the Criterion Collection closet. “A Man and a Woman”, “The Easy Life”, “And God Created Woman”, “The Great Silence”, “My Night at Maud’s”, “The Conformist”, “Three Colors: Red”, “Is Paris Burning?”, “Les Liaisons Dangereuses”, and many other. Sure it would be one of those old-man-may-not-be-around-for-much-longer career awards… and well deserved.
[Editor's Note: If you never seen all or any of his films I forbid you from reading any further.]
Best Actress: Marion Cotillard in Rust and Bone
To tell you the truth, I haven’t sen this film yet, BUT… since Marion Cotillard plays a handi-capable person, and we have an unwritten rule that: “If you play someone in a wheel chair or with a mental situation, you win an Oscar” that more than makes her a viable candidate to take the golden idol home. N’est-ce pas?
[EDITOR'S NOTE: I have since screened the film and she's magnifique!]
Best Supporting Actor: Samuel L. Jackson & Leonardo DiCaprio in Django Unchained
Not to hate on Cristoph Waltz who’s a fine thespian and earned every inch of his “Inglorious Basterds” statuette, but his performance in Django was that of a co-lead rather than supporting. Sam & Leo actually steal the show. At first they may seem as an odd duo of actors to share screen time, but when they get their mojo going they lavish the audience with shiny pearls of diamond encrusted golden showmanship (wtf?.) Much like Waltz’ aforementioned Nazi performance, they are evil³. I’d long to see them working together again. Call me fellas’! I have a script for us.
Best Supporting Actress: Charlize Theron in Snow White and the Huntsman
Yeah, yeah, blow it out your crack pipe. Charlize Theron was the best thing in the movie and the fairest one of them all. Most importantly she was committed to the material unlike a certain vampire loving starlet who should go stewartless. CT’s portrayal of Ravenna was as wicked as wicked witchy queens come (and trust me I’ve known plenty.)
So thems my Oscar pics which as press time seemed like a very long shot since none of these people were on the ballot. I won’t totally flake out though and give you who I think the academy will honor tomorrow: Best Picture: Lincoln, Best Director: Spielberg, Best Actor: Daniel Day Lewis, Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, Best Supporting Actor: Robert DeNiro, Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway.
Enjoy the show!
Just enjoyed watching the silent German film “People On Sunday” from 1929. Simple story: 4 twenty-somethings burn off some steam by going to swim in the lake on a Sunday. Love blossoms. Etc. Bonus: Exquisite cinematography of pre WW2 Berlin.
When “People on Sunday” premiered it was a huge critical and box-office success. An indie film shot documentary style on the streets of Berlin with non actors decades ahead of Italian neo-realism or the French new wave. The small 6 man crew of filmmakers were heralded as geniuses by the press.
A few years later, 4 of the crew and 1 of the actors had to flee Germany because they were Jewish. Most of them wound up up working in Hollywood. 2 went on to win Oscars. 1 of them was Billy Wilder. Hitler died in a pool of his own excrement. The End.
PS: This is a good double bill with the Russian film “A Man with a Movie Camera” (1929) by Dziga Vertov. Available for free on YouTube. A must see!
Italian auteur Pier Paolo Pasolini was a gay, atheist, Marxist, who was condemned by both the Vatican & the Communist party. So to piss them off even further he made “The Gospel According to St. Matthew”, one of the best films about original socialist ‘Jesus Christ.’ This film’s austere style and use of “actual text” was influenced by Carl Theodor Dreyer’s “The Passion of Joan of Arc”. Pasolini’s bare bones approach then went on to influence Martin Scorsese’s modestly budgeted “The Last Temptation of Christ.”
CLICK HERE to screen the entire movie on YouTube, but you may rent a higher quality version from iTunes or Amazon. NOTE: The awesome soundtrack ranges from Bach to Mozart to Blind Willie Johnson! If anyone knows where I could buy the whole album please let me know. Enjoy the trailer below.
If you’re a cinephile like me, you’ll agree that the Criterion Collection and Netflix streaming are two of the greatest inventions in the history of film. And when you put them together, it’s the film appreciator’s equivalent to rum & coke, peanut butter & chocolate, franks & beans, or champagne & potato chips (can you name that movie?)
In my search to keep some very high brow movies a top of my Netflix cue, I encountered some awesome sources that provide looooong lists of Criterion Collection titles currently streaming on Netflix. I have seen many of these films throughout my life, so I seriously concur with their elevation to classic status.
CRITERION CAST
This bare-bones list was compiled by folks at a Criterion fan podcast. The links take you directly to the Netflix page. You can then easily add them to your cue.
LISTAL
Graphic heavy but links don’t take you to the Netflix database – that’s why cut & paste was invented, kids! Also some of their suggestions are no longer streaming. I would add the DVD to your cue anyway since it’ll pop up in streaming once it becomes available (or just order them on DVD!)
I added over 30 streaming Criterion titles to my list this week and watched 2 films yesterday that did not disappoint. Those films were Stanley Kubrick’s anti-war drama “Paths of Glory” (1957) and Christopher Nolan’s “Following” (1999).
Kubrick, a master of light and framing, turns what could’ve been a fogy WWI court room scenario into a tense drama as if painted by an impressionist. The intense 10 minute machine gun massacre across “no-man’s land” will dig you deep into knee high mud and makes you duck for cover. Definitely a scene Spielberg studied for “Saving Private Ryan” (1998).
Nolan’s small, British, dark, 3 character debut “Following”, introduces themes we will enjoy in his film’s to …ehem… follow, such as a non-linear structure and fake doppelgangers. It’s commendable for not only unsuspecting plot but also what he accomplished with a tiny budget. Be on the lookout for the Batman sticker on the main characters apartment door – very prescient!
Unfortunately not all the titles are in high definition but still worth the peek for style and content. For example, Luchino Visconti’s epic “Senso” (1954) plays rather flat instead as grandiose when compared to the director’s cut currently available on Blu-Ray. But again not bad for $10 bucks a month.
More Criterion on Netflix reviews to come.
Filmmakers of the world unite! I created this t-shirt to inspire hope and solidarity among the filmmaking community. It’s time to make & distribute your own films. Recent successes show us there’s a way to make a living pursuing our art. The revolution will be netevized!
To purchase this t-shirt for only $19.99, visit our CafePress store. Proceeds from sales of any of our items go towards funding our next project. So, lights, camera, revolt!
The popular trend setting site BUZZFEED gave my Avengers animation trailer a listing. Feel free to check it, tweet it, facebook it, email it, embed it stumble upon it, boost it!
Finding myself inspired last week, I decided to recreate the “Avengers Assemble” trailer with animation clips from 1960′s Marvel TV cartoons. I tried to stay as true to the material as possible matching the action shot-by-shot and using the appropriate characters. The only non-era cheat was Nick Fury since I used his first animated appearance from an “Iron Man” episode in 1995.
As I blog this, the video has received close to 95,000 hits in YouTube and even received praise from actor Tom Hiddleston who plays the arch-nemesis Loki. Tom tweeted “This is proper devotion to the cause and I love it!”
Before “The Artist”, before “Midnight in Paris”, there was the Francophilian comedy “Merde…”, our first totally digital short film. For the 10th anniversary I’ve posted it in HD and with a brand new accordion soundtrack. Voila!
Continuing our series on Occupy Wall Street, here is a dramatic piece we filmed in Manhattan’s financial district on November 11, just days before the NYPD cleared the park of all activists, signs, and tents.
Starring
PATEN HUGHES • CESAR DE LEON • HUNTER EMERY
Cinematography by NECTARIOS LEONIDAS of Flippant Films
