Austin360 blogs > Austin Movie Blog > Archives > 2010 > January > 27 > Entry
Sundance Tuesday wrap
A wrapup of events from Tuesday’s Sundance Film Festival from Kelly Williams of the Austin Film Festival:
One of my favorite festival experiences was seeing “American Splendor” at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. I loved the film, and the Q&A featured the entire cast plus the actual people they played.
After that unforgettable screening and meeting them when they were panelists at the Austin Film Festival, I was excited to see Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini’s latest film, “The Extra Man.” Kevin Kline plays sort of a “proper” curmudgeon, and Paul Dano plays his roommate, a young would-be writer. But John C. Reilly steals scenes from the two as a subway repair worker with a voice that sounds like Mickey Mouse. Adapted from the book by Bored to Death creator Jonathan Ames (who also shares a screenplay credit with the directors), it is based mostly on the author’s real life starting out in New York.
From there it was a dash to fit in more films, including the US dramatic competition film “Skateland.” Shot in Louisiana, but set in East Texas, the film tells the story of the dying days of a roller-skating rink and the people who grew up there.
Austin-based production company Reversal Films helped director and former Texan Anthony Burns pull together a talented cast of young actors set to to create a nostalgic gem. Producer Vic Moyers told me “the response has been overwhelming and more than they ever expected for the film.”
Between meetings and parties, I caught “Louis C.K.: Hilarious,” and it turned out to be an unexpected highlight. Being a fan of Louis C.K. work, I knew it would be hard to hate, but he has directed the first great comedy concert film in years. Pulling from a year’s worth of new material (that he has since retired), the standup shot a performance late last year in Milwaukee. Never cutting to a standard audience reaction shot like in most comedy specials, the film stays eye to eye with the comic, giving the feeling that you are actually there and not just watching it on television.
Giving a great Q&A after the film, C.K. discussed his long writing process and the inspirations from the film like Led Zepplin’s “Song Remains the Same.” He even tested a new joke on the crowd that he says even offends him, I won’t tell it here - you’ll have to hear that in his next film.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Sundance
Comments
Austinites love to be heard, and we're giving you a bullhorn. We just ask that you keep things civil. Leave out the personal attacks. Do not use profanity, ethnic or racial slurs, or take shots at anyone's sexual orientation or religion. If you can't be nice, we reserve the right to remove your material and ban users who violate our Visitor's agreement. Click here to report comment abuse.