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Austin Film Festival 2010
November 3, 2010
Audience winners named at AFF
The Austin Film Festival announced this year’s audience award winners on Wednesday. The awards are based on voting during the festival, which ended Oct. 28.
The winners:
Out of Competition Feature Audience Award Winner: “Exporting Raymond.” Writer/Director: Phil Rosenthal (Read our interview with Rosenthal here.)
Narrative Feature Competition Audience Award Winner: “Dig.” Writer/Director: Stephen Belyeu
Documentary Feature Competition Audience Award Winner: “Make Believe.” Director: J. Clay Tweel
Comedy Vanguard Audience Award Winner: “Brother’s Justice.” Writer: Dax Shepard. Directors: David Palmer & Dax Shepard (Read our interview with Shepard here.)
Narrative Short Audience Award Winners (tie): “Blind Date.” Writer: Abigail Blackmore. Director: Joe Rosen. Also: “Sleep Study.” Writers/Directors: Kerri Lendo & John Merriman
Narrative Student Short Audience Award Winner: “A Lone Star State.” Writer/Director: Joseph Saito
Documentary Short Audience Award Winner: “Pink Chaddis.” Director: Sweta Vohra
Animated Short Audience Award Winner: “Barko.” Writer/Director: Allison Craig
The AFF also announced dates for the next festival, Oct. 20-17, 2011.
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October 28, 2010
AFF rewind
As the 17th annual Austin Film Festival comes to a close, take a stroll back through our coverage. (Update: Check out writer Matthew Odam’s top six AFF highlights here.)
- Photos: Film Pass Party at Ace’s | Filmmakers Happy Hour at Sullivan’s | Film & Food Gala at the Driskill | Opening Night Party at Buffalo Billiards
- Interviews and profiles: Dax Shepard of “Brother’s Justice” | Edward Burns of “Nice Guy Johnny” | Jonathan Haug of “Re-Cut” | David Peoples, writer of “Unforgiven” | Pamlea Ribon | Asipiring Austin TV writer Robby Brown | Derek Cianfrance, director of “Blue Valentine” | Eric Hueber, director of “Rainbows End” | Barbara Morgan, director of the Austin Film Festival
- Film caps: “Black Swan” | “Queen of the Sun” | “Under the Boardwalk” | “Miss Nobody” | “Welcome to the Riley’s” | “Raging Boll” | “When Harry Tries to Marry” | “Waste Land” | “Main Street” | “The Secret to a Happy Ending” | “Echotone”
- Panel wraps: Script reading of “The Hand Job” | Creating a TV Bible and Pilot to Get You in the Room | Kyle Killen presents “Lone Star” | Writing for Documentaries | The Art of Storytelling with the 2010 Awardees | A Conversation with David Simon | The Business of Writing for Television” | The Black List | The Teleplay” | Writers/Directors | A Conversation with John Lee Hancock
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AFF: Some notes on "Black Swan"
A full review will follow when it opens wide, but it screened at the Paramount last night (Oct. 27), so here are a few thoughts.
—Of course it’s the distaff version of WRESTLER. Of course. Same sideways relationship to popular, mainstream athletics and culture, same body manipulation issues (he uses steroids, she makes herself throw up), same lingering over the rituals (dressing for the ring, breaking in toe shoes), that sort of thing.
— But it’s also so much more. Claustrophobic, paranoid, feminine, psychedelic, nervy, creepy, FUNNY, sexy balletsploitation.
— Unlike entirely too many movies in general and in sharp contrast to a writer’s festival such as AFF, the dialogue in “Black Swan” is virtually unneeded. The weakest scenes are the talkiest and felt tacked on, exposition-fairy style. No mumblecore yammering here. — the frame is everything. It might as well be a silent movie and this is in no way a bad thing. It is old-school cinema.
— The casting is pitch-perfect. Natalie Portman as the childlike Nina has to carry the movie in her face, which often takes up the whole frame, but she delivers in careful, measured manner. Mila Kunis is excellent as Nina’s rival/opposite number, the id to Portman’s china-doll superego. Winona Ryder as the former company lead about to retire (and bitter about it) is brilliant (and slightly mean) 1990s stunt casting, but she’s totally game. Vincent Cassel kills as the lecherous artistic director and Barbara Hershey has never been more terrifying (even when her lips were scary). Who knew she was auditioning all this time for “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?”
— That said, Cassel’s Rorschach-test apartment is a bit much. Is “Swan Lake” the only ballet he cares about?
— Aronofsky is not shy about referencing his antecedents, but you won’t mind. There’s a ton of early Polanski and a fair amount of Cronenberg in here. There’s also a bit of Japanese body horror as imagined by directors such as Takashi Miike and Shinya Tsukamoto. It’s not that surprising that Aronofsky’s been talked about as a helmer for “Wolverine II” and something called “Machine Man.”
— There are strobes. Very serious strobes. You have been warned.
— But Aronofsky has also made peace with his psychedelic urges and has gotten much better about taming his baroque side. This is more the street level oddness of “Pi” than the slicked up drugginess of “Requiem For a Dream.” It’s still a trip down the rabbit hole, but hand-held and gritty rather than MTV glossy (or gaga like “The Fountain”).
— It’s a blast.
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AFF review: "Queen of the Sun"
“Queen of the Sun: What Are the Bees Telling Us?” opens with an astonishing image: A dancer encased in a swarm of bees from waist to chin unhurriedly waves upraised arms and sways like a reed in the wind.
It’s a luminous, compelling start to a luminous, compelling film. In the way Rachel Carson awakened us to the environmental crisis caused by DDT in “Silent Spring,” Collective Eye’s documentary alerts us to the role of humans in the worldwide disappearance of bees.
Since the U.S. Deptartment of Agriculture reports about one in three mouthfuls of the food we eat comes directly from honey bee pollination, colony collapse disorder, aka bee depopulation syndrome, is a matter of pressing concern.
To illustrate the extent of the problem, director Taggart Siegel (“The Real Dirt on Farmer John”) leads us down a garden path of discovery with affected beekeepers and scientists on the ground in the United States, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Like the philosophical ‘possum in the cartoon “Pogo” said: “We have met the enemy and he is us.” And in contrast to the dazzling beauty shots of bees visiting flowers, we meet the perpetrators of the honeybee crisis.
These include pesticides, mites, queen breeding, artificial insemination and, especially, monoculture farming — growing one crop exclusively over a vast area. To pollinate the almond bloom in California, millions of bees are imported from out of state.
We watch as hundreds of hives are piled high on 18-wheeler truck beds, shrink-wrapped in plastic and driven cross-country to waiting orchards. Then high-fructose syrup, the controversial sweetener ubiquitously used in processed food and beverages in this country, is fed to the bees after their journey.
The cast of concerned characters includes author Michael Pollan (“Food Rules”), biologist Scott Black, executive director of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, and Slow Food International president Carlo Petrini, but the real stars collect nectar.
The loss is alarming, but this is no polemic. Solutions, such as turning sections of monoculture farms into acres of flowers so bees won’t have to be imported, are proposed. In Manhattan, petitioners are seen protesting the local ordinance against keeping bees.
Past documentaries, such as “Silence of the Bees” (2007) and “Vanishing of the Bees” (2009), have examined the issue, but with gorgeous cinematography, delightful animation and apiarist interviews, “Queen of the Sun” calls us to action in the plight of a busy fellow planetarian.
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October 27, 2010
AFF Review: "Under the Boardwalk: The Monopoly Story"
Once again: We are living in a Golden Age of documentary filmmaking.
The preponderance of do-it-yourself moviemaking equipment — from cheap HD video cameras to more portable sound equipment to Final Cut Pro — has been a godsend to documentarians of all stripes. (I submit that said DIY materials have also resulted in a lot of feature/fiction films that flat-out don’t look all that hot and often suffer from sub-par acting, but your mileage may vary.)
Add to that the boom in reality-based television and an appetite for documentary series aimed at 18-24 year olds — such as MTV’s “Made,” “16 & Pregnant” and the consistently strong “True Life” — and there seem to be more and better documentaries being made now than ever before.
“Under the Boardwalk” is a perfect example. In 88 tightly-edited minutes, director Kevin Tostado intertwines a history of the game’s fascinating genesis, good analysis of its appeal, strong characters and a look at Monopoly tournament culture around the globe.
Most folks know the legend: Charles Darrow invented Monopoly in the 1930s to entertain his family during the Depression. The reality is more complicated, and “Boardwalk” conveys the information with witty animation and sharp storytelling.
Thirty years earlier, a woman named Elizabeth (Lizzie) J. Magie Phillips created a game to discuss Henry George’s single tax theory. She called it “The Landlord’s Game” and it was supposed to show you how landlord’s exploited tenants. Over nearly 30 years, the game circulated privately, with players often making their own modifications and revisions. Darrow played a version that some friends in Philadelphia had. He made his own, called it “Monopoly” and made many copies by hand before selling the rights (and wisely retaining a royalty) to Parker Brothers in ‘35. The game made Parker Brothers a huge company and the Darrow family wealthy.
All of this meant that the game had essentially several decades of play testing, something that is completely impossible for game-makers to do today. This goes a long way to explaining the game’s extraordinary longevity — the kinks had been worked out already.
So the game’s relationship to capitalism became reversed. Phillips wanted to demonstrate capitalism’s inequities. But as 30 years of modification shows, it was a lot more fun to pretend to be the landlord and force your opponents to go broke.
These days, there are literally thousands of customizations in dozens of languages and national tournements around the world. Tostado filmed or gathered footage from the U.S., Canada, Mexico, U.K., Norway, Japan, Singapore and Australia, all on about a $300,000 budget.
He also followed a couple of these players and personalities, from Phil Orbanes, a former vice-president at Parker Brothers and current Chief Monopoly Judge, to insufferable lawyer Ken Koury, who whines about cheaters who don’t exist and comes to tournaments with coaches. There’s Tim Vandenberg, who uses the game to teach his sixth-grade math class about probability and has only recently started to beat adults at the game, and low key lawyer Richard Marinaccio, who plays with his family.
It’s oddly riveting stuff and evne folks who can’t stand the game will walk away charmed. (Tostado, who was present at the screening, said he tired to get people who didn’t like the game on camera, “but none of them ever wanted to talk about it on-camera”).
The take-away? Remember, you can make deals with other players. And that red die sure speeds things up. Who wants to trade for Park Place?
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October 26, 2010
Interview: Dax Shepard, 'Brother's Justice' auteur
So he decided to grab friends and collaborators Nate Tuck and David Palmer and create “Brother’s Justice,” a thoroughly entertaining mockumentary that screened at the Austin Film Festival last weekend.
The premise of the meta experiment is that Shepard has become disillusioned with doing comedies, so he has decided to break into the world of action movies, specifically martial arts, with the making of his next film. After talking Tuck into co-producing, Shepard sets out to find a director, actors and financial backing.
In his efforts to get the film made, Shepard is repeatedly rebuffed by befuddled friends (strong straight-man performances from John Favreau and Ashton Kucher and ridiculous turns from David Koechner and Bradley Cooper), pummeled by a marital arts instructor and dismissed as arrogant and delusional as he abuses Tuck’s friendship.
“It’s very counterintuitive that you’d enjoy watching your protagonist get beaten up thoroughly,” Shepard said last weekend in Austin. “Not intentionally, but we achieved this weird thing where you are rooting against the protagonist yet you care about him. It’s very weird. I kept saying while we were shooting, ‘Man, I am riding the line of being very unlikable because I’m such an ego maniac in the movie.’ But I thought as long as I lose every confrontation … I think the underdog aspect will actually override your disdain for my character.”
Indeed, Shepard makes great use of his improv training to play a pitch-perfect high status boob who doesn’t understand why his friends doubt his ability to re-position himself as an action superstar. Most probably don’t remember the incidents in 2006, but the crafty and committed Shepard even made appearances on the Teen Choice Awards and “Last Call With Carson Daly” in character, the footage from which appears in the movie.
Along for much of the ride is Shepard’s good friend, the hilariously manic Tom Arnold, who is willing to help the tall blonde get his movie made in exchange for getting to play Shepard’s older brother, age discrepancy be damned.
While the movie (possibly by accident) pokes a bit of fun at Hollywood, Shepard insists that his wacky little gem is not born out of spite. He simply wanted to see his absurd sensibility writ large.
“I’m not bitter at all,” Shepard said about his relationship with the industry. “Things have not gone the way I’ve wanted them to go. But, tough (expletive deleted); they just didn’t go the way Dax Shepard wants them to go. I sympathize with everyone in the film business. It is so hard. There’s so much magic involved (in getting a film made) … it’s 60 percent of why a movie works or doesn’t work and people are trying to crack that code and it’s uncrackable. I feel bad for everyone involved, there’s tons of money being spent; it’s high risk. I sympathize with studios. I get it. I know why you hire Adam Sandler for x-amount of money, because you’re gonna get x-amount no matter what happens. It doesn’t make me angry. That’s just how it is. I’m the one that’s been a recipient of all this … I’m the one who was on eight episodes of a cable show and they let me be a lead in a movie. If I had been acting in movies for 10 years, I would have hated me.”
Shepard expressed at Saturday night’s screening how much he absolutely loves Austin, calling it the greatest city in the country. Here are a couple more side notes on his relationship with Austin and Texas:
On Austinite Mike Judge: “He’s one of the people I became closest with that I stayed in touch with, and I just think he’s a genius and he has a voice and he stays true to it.”
On Texans Owen Wilson: “He’s my favorite comedic actor.”
On Austin via his Twitter feed: “Austin, you did it again. I feel like I’m flying home from spring break, heart broken that we don’t live in the same town.”
Photo by Matthew Odam AMERICAN-STATESMAN
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AFF highlight: Script reading of Maggie Carey's 'The Hand Job'
With no visual distractions to entertain the audience, the experience focused on Carey’s vulnerable, endearing, precise and hilarious dialogue.
The University of Texas alumnus introduced the panel of 15 actors — a combination of local and national talent — who sat in director’s chairs as they read the screenplay for the movie with the title that Carey said she refuses to say in front of her mother.
In the lead role was Aubrey Plaza (“Parks and Recreation”) as Brandy Clark, a Type-A valedictorian who is determined to gain a measure of sexual experience and confidence before heading off to college. The singularly driven valedictorian goes so far as to make a to-do list charting her sexual progress and turns to a host of boys to use as practice dummies - from the dreamy Rusty (Michael Stahl) to her nervous and fawning nerdy friend Cameron (Daryl Sabara).
Plaza (who, along with Carey’s husband, “Saturday Night Live’s” Bill Hader, are the only actors actually attached to the production) played the character with her trademark deadpan exasperation coupled with a sweet sincerity. As her perpetually buzzed, underachieving boss at the local pool, Hader was desperate, hilarious and brilliant, and Colin Hanks seemed to channel Norm MacDonald at times with his great turn as Brandy’s conservative father.
In a Q&A session following the movie, Carey said she had re-written the largely biographical script after being told by some people that the first draft depicted Brandy as overly sexualized. I think those objections, while possibly valid, come from the fact that people are not used to seeing raw, funny stories like this from a female perspective. Two lines from Brandy in the most recent draft almost feel like a response to the discomfort some may have felt from the earlier versions.
“No one took advantage of me,” Brandy says in the screenplay. “Maybe I’m just a normal, horny teenager who’s curious about sex.”
After seeing countless movies about the adolescent male experience with sexual stumbling and insecurities, it is refreshing to see more females, such as Carey and “Tiny Furniture” director Lena Dunham, getting a chance to tell their compelling and amusing stories.
With several studios having passed on the script — which made Franklin Leonard’s Black List of the best unproduced screenplays - Carey says the plan is to produce the movie independently on a small budget, with shooting to take place next summer. She said producer Jennifer Todd is attached to the project that I believe will be a major indie hit when finally released.
About Todd, Jessica Alba — who read the part of Brandy’s older sister and whose beauty seems almost genetically engineered — said, “She’ll make sure you keep your creative integrity” even if the movie gets picked up by a studio.
The beauty of attending a script reading is being able to savor the language and descriptions of action and exposition that are never seen on the big screen. For instance, at one point the script refers to Rusty as “one part grunge, two parts smokin’ hot babe” with a “sensible ponytail.” Sure, you could see that in the character on screen in the finished movie, but actually hearing the thought process that goes into the physical representation is a rare treat.
Some of the most intimate moments of the reading came when Hader gave knowing looks to his wife — who was sitting in the front row of the audience — as certain jokes went over huge with the audience. Writing is a painstaking craft that requires a delicate touch and can often leave writers fretting over a single phrase for hours. Hader, who Carey said was a constant sounding board for her work, said after the reading that his wife was the hardest working person he knew. So it was revealing and touching to see him double over with laughter following a well-written line that killed, as he gave a knowing and affirming glance to his wife.
(Since a script reading truly is about the language, my only quibble from the screenplay set in 1993 was the appearance of the word “totes.” I don’t think people were using that truncation back in ’93. Then again, it’s been 17 years. Yikes.)
Photo: Austin Film Festival/Jack Plunkett
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October 25, 2010
AFF review: "Miss Nobody"
Actress Leslie Bibb (“Popular,” the reporter in “Iron Man”) produced and stars in this odd little movie about a know-nothing secretary who somewhat innocently decides to murder her way to the top of a large company. Sarah Jane McKinney lives with her mother (what is up, Kathy Baker) in a run-down rooming house, listens like a schoolgirl to her wiser, gum-smacking colleague Charmaine (Missi Pyle, overwhelming as always) and generally seems like a wallflower. When she loses a promotion on a technicality, she runs afoul of a handsy boss (Brandon “Superman” Routh) and the game is afoot. The supporting cast is packed with various tiers of “hey it’s that guys” from Adam Goldberg and Paula Marshall (why don’t we see more of her?) to Eddie Jemison (the tech wiz in “Ocean’s 11”) and Patrick Fischler (comedian/creep Jimmy Barrett on “Mad Men”).
Bibb was present at the screening (looking EXACTLY like Leslie Bibb) and said the movie costs a tight $4 million, which is impressive — what’s on the screen looks four times that, easy. The Lucille Ball-ish slapstick and lush, eye-popping color palette suggest a live-action cartoon (the credit sequence is ’60s-ish and animated, a la “Catch Me If You Can”).
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Interivew: Edward Burns, director of 'Nice Guy Johnny'
Filmmaker Edward Burns was at the crest of the 90s indie filmmaking wave in 1995 when his low-budget “Brothers McMullen” took the industry by surprise. The movie made on a shoestring budget garnered critical acclaim while raking in over $10 million at the box office.
The film’s success led to a minor explosion in indie film, a short-lived expansion that has since collapsed.
With the challenges of raising money becoming increasingly more difficult, Burns and his longtime producer Aaron Lubin decided to return to the guerrilla filmmaking style of ‘McMullen.’ And fifteen years after he helped start a boom in indie filmmaking, Burns is now proving to be an early adopter in the way movies are being distributed.
Taking a page from his “Brothers McMullen” playbook, Burns decided to make his most recent movie, “Nice Guy Johnny,” on a budget of only $25,000, while using mostly unknown actors, a three-man crew and shooting in less than two weeks.
“We decided why not kinda try and do the same thing now and not have to deal with all the headaches that go along with dealing with famous actors and financiers,” Burns said last week at the Austin Film Festival.
“Nice Guy Johnny” tells the story of a 25 year-old man living in the San Francisco Bay Area and working as a sports radio talk show host. Pressured by his fiancé to take a ‘real job’ that can afford the two of them financial security, Johnny returns home to New York City to interview for a stultifying corporate job. But a weekend with his carefree, rapscallion Uncle Terry (Burns) challenges his ideas about his road to happiness and his idea of success.
The story has deep personal significance for Burns, who at one point struggled with the idea of making more money by directing a big-budget studio romantic comedy.
“The story was born two years ago. My agent came to me and said would you consider doing an open directing assignment,” Burns said. “My dream has always been to be the Long Island Woody Allen - the guy making his little movies … And then there’s an opportunity that presents itself where there’s a lot more money … The script was good, but for me it woulda been a compromise. It would have been giving up the thing that I’m truly passionate about … Very few guys who go there come back.”
Frustrated with the standard indie platform release, where often a small movie with a tiny marketing budget has no chance of making it to a large audience and will sit for months before making it to DVD or cable, Burns decided to take a new approach to getting his movie to his fans. Building off of the iTunes release he did for his 2007 “Purple Violets,” Burns and Lubin developed a multi-tiered release that will have the movie available through iTunes, Video on Demand on cable and DVD all at the same time.
“We watched what (Steven) Sodergergh did with “Girlfriend Experience” and “Bubble,” and I thought, ‘If it’s good enough for Soderbergh to go VOD before theatrical, it’s good enough for me,’” Burns said. “People who like my movies aren’t necessarily the big art house folks, so maybe if we get the movie directly to them, there’s more money to make. And at the end of the day, it’s still a business, so the movies need to make money so I can get the money for the next one. The great thing is I no longer sell my movie to a distribution company … I own the movie, so we license it. So, in success, we finally get to participate.”
While some may be skeptical of the coming paradigm shift and how to leverage it, Burns believes the timing is perfect to directly deliver fresh film content to people. The New Yorker says the proliferation of great original programming on cable networks such as HBO, Showtime, FX and AMC, proves there is an audience for the kind of filmmaking he wants to do.
“The audience that is interested in the smaller, smarter storytelling, they’re already at home sitting on their couch looking to their television to supply them with that kind of story telling,” Burns said. “Why should we ask them to get out of the house and go to the theater? We have the audience. They like this stuff. Let’s just put it right in front of them where they’re used to watching it.”
Burns believes the shift in consumer habits and the myriad distribution channels are gamechangers that will continue to offer him the best chance to keep fulfilling his vision.
“The fact that we no longer have to go to the folks who finance films and we no longer have to deal with trying to chase down movie stars, it’s so liberating,” Burns said. “You just make the movies you wanna make.”
Photo from ASSOCIATED PRESS.
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October 24, 2010
Panel wrap: Creating a TV Bible & Pilot to Get You in the Room
This Saturday morning panel was full of advice and optimism.
Television writers Sterling Anderson (“The Unit,” “Medium,” “Heist”), Jorge Zamacona (“St. Elsewhere,” “Oz,” “Outlaw”) and Kyle Killeen (“Lone Star”) explained some of the hoops that come with getting a TV show on the air. Moderator Monte Williams added his experience; he’s an Austin success story, going from a political career (press secretary to Ann Richards) to screenwriting (his first script with his writing partner, about a white-haired governor in a Western state, became TV’s “Spin City”).
Insights/advice:
— Write, write, write. Yes, it bears repeating. Anderson writes pilots in various genres so he always has fresh examples of his work. Sometimes it’s just about showing your skill and how you think. Killeen said his writing team for “Lone Star” included a playwright and someone whose short story he liked. He looked for writers who could add to the tone and vision of the show.
— The necessary process of pitching — essentially selling a show — is a delicate dance for writers. You need to share enough detail about your show’s universe (that’s the bible) for network execs to want to pay to create it. You need to know where your show will be in five years (that’s the overall arc). But never leave anything behind on paper, or give them too much time to come up with notes (those are the tweaks to content). “Underwrite and miss deadlines,” Zamacona said, in what seemed to be only half a joke.
— For the big four networks, the TV pilot season is calendar-driven (May to September, with writing deadlines for accepted pitches dictated by holiday vacations). Cable networks are open to pitches year round.
— Know where your show fits. The big four still want “tent” entertainment - shows that appeal to tens of millions of viewers. Cable networks are happy with small but devoted audiences. If it is cable, know which network it suits. Killeen, whose critically acclaimed “Lone Star” was canceled after just two episodes this fall, says the basic problem was he had a cable show on a network.
— Be ready and write what you want to write. Anderson shared a story about missing out on the hit movie “Hangover” because he didn’t prepare enough for a meeting. Killeen: “Knock it out of the park when you get your shot.”
Both Anderson and Zamacona shared projects they’re working on that sound intriguing. Anderson, whose specialty is dark procedural dramas, is updating “21 Jump Street”; his version, if it hits the air, will be grittier. Zamacona is working on a series based on “Goodfellas,” an origin story that draws from Nick Pileggi’s source book, “Wiseguy.”
As for that optimism, it came from all three. Killeen, showing no bitterness over his recent experience, said networks are hungry for new voices and new ideas and “they’re not trying to keep anyone out of the club.” TV is a writer’s medium, and Zamacona says his dad’s life advice applies: “There’s always room for another good one.”
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AFF screening: 'Lone Star'
Kyle Killen is either the nicest guy in Hollywood or as good a con man as the lead character in his spectacular failure, “Lone Star.” The signature show of the 2010 Fox fall television season, “Lone Star” was cancelled after only two episodes had aired.
Killen’s got to be kind of tired of talking about it, right? But he approached me in the lobby of the Driskill Hotel in between panels at the Austin Film Festival, not vice-versa. And there he was again on Sunday, showing the series’ pilot at the Alamo Ritz and taking questions from the large, enthusiastic and exasperated audience afterward.
Find out what Killen said over at the Austin360 TV Blog by clicking here.
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Panel wrap: The Art of Storytelling with the 2010 Awardees
As you might expect, the ballroom at the Stephen F. Austin was absolutely packed for the panel with the three distinguished AFF awardees — David Simon (“The Wire”); David Peoples (“Unforgiven”) and Robert Rodriguez (“El Mariachi”).
Considering the resumes of the men on the panel and the grand title, the discussion could probably go a thousand directions and last for hours. Sunday morning’s talk started off on discussing violence and its appeal and then bounced around. Below are a few bulleted highlights:
Rodriguez on violence in his films:
“I never get in trouble … my movies don’t take themselves too seriously.”
Peoples on the idea of black-and-white characterizations:
“Martin Scorsese solved a problem for me (in “Taxi Driver) … He wasn’t writing about good guys and bad guys, he was writing about the animal inside all of us … I just always feel we’re animals.”
Simon continuing on the theme of simplistic depiction of good and bad:
“The Wire,” he said was “a rebellion against the idea that you’re gonna lock up the bad guy and fix the town … The drug war has nothing to do with the morality.”
Rodriguez on his films:
“They’re all fantasies. None of them are realistic … it’s moviemaking from the ID.”
Rodriguez on his sly move of making a “futuristic” version of Mexico:
The multi-hyphenate said that with only $7,000 and the idea of Mexico being undefined in many people’s heads, he simply included in the press notes he actually wrote that the movie took place in a futuristic Mexico town, even though it looked like present day Mexico. Press, he said, then took the idea directly from the notes and included it in stories and reviews, saving him the trouble and expense of actually creating a futuristic look.
Peoples on the vagaries of the industry and success as a screenwriter:
“When you write a script, you just hope someone’s gonna ‘get it.’ … You’ve got no chance without a director who can stand up and know they’re doing.”
Rodriguez on the writing process:
The filmmaker, who said “there is hardly anything worse than writing,” discussed writing first thing in the morning from the comfort of his bed while he was still in a quasi-dreamy state, which allowed him to possibly tap into his subconscious. He also said that the only way to learn how to write is to write, and “you have to write bad until it turns good.”
Simon on the creative process with his team:
“In the healthiest institutions, arguments are encouraged … I believe in protecting the writing, but at some point you have to trust the collective to build the house.”
Simon on his dream project:
The creator of “Treme” said that he wants badly to work on a story about the Haymarket affair in 1886 Chicago. He really wants to focus on the importance (and increasingly lack thereof) of labor and how it has defined America, but nobody will touch it.
Simon on the myth of people liking diversity:
He said some people claim to want diversity, but said it is really lip service. “As long as they can shut up and think what I think, then diversity is great,” he said.
Simon on the pain of the process:
“I hate writing.”
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Panel wrap: A Conversation with David Simon
Much-admired television dramatist David Simon (“The Wire,” and “Treme,” “Homicide: Life on the Street,” “The Corner,” “Generation Kill”) sat down Saturday at the Stephen F. Austin Hotel with moderator Robert Draper for a discussion of Simon’s career.
Just a few hours earlier, Simon had been given his latest accolade, being granted the Outstanding Television Award from the Austin Film Festival.
I hit on highlights of Simon’s conversation with author Draper, who is also a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine and National Geographic and a correspondent for GQ, over on the Statesman’s TV Blog.
You can check that out by clicking here.
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Panel Wrap: Writing for Documentaries
Judging by the talented panelists, crowd of filmmakers and admirers of the craft in attendance at the panel Saturday, the state of documentary filmmaking is strong.
Although the title of the panel suggested a focus on writing, the discussion started out talking about general ideas and techniques of the craft before finally makings its way to the actual writing process. Which is not to say the panel missed its mark — filmmakers Paul Stekler (“George Wallace: Settin’ the Woods on Fire”), PJ Raval (“Trinidad”), Barry Blaustein (“Beyond the Mat”) and Henry Corra (“Same Sex America”) were all engaging, thoughtful and articulate in discussing their craft and individual films.
In discussing documentary subjects, Stekler boiled his philosophy down to a simple rule: “Find someone who wants to tell their story and are great on camera.” While Stekler said that the director is obviously important, the “most important person in the room” is the cinematographer, who can float around the the action without drawing attention to himself.
Fellow Austinite Raval touched on the importance of garnering a subject’s trust, with a sentiment shared by his fellow panelists.
“When you work in documentary filmmaking, first and foremost it is about trust,” Raval said.
With regard to the trust issue, Blaustein (a former head writer on “SNL” and the man behind several of Eddie Murphy’s screenplays) said that he spent two years without a camera in hand on the road with professional wrestling subjects gaining their trust and getting a feel for their world.
Raval said regardless of the personal and sometimes intimate nature of his subjects, that at their heart, all documentaries reveal a universality to which people can relate. And, as Blaustein said, “Everyone you meet has a story to tell.”
In terms of getting close to their subjects, Corra said, “It may sound corny or romantic .. but you really do kind of fall in love with your characters.”
It was nice to hear the filmmakers confess to wanting to make sure they did not manipulate the truth or exploit their characters.
“We can make any of you guys look any way we want,” Stekler said of the editing process. “The trick is making (subjects) look like they really are.”
While Stekler admitted that documentaries are really made in the editing room, there is writing involved. And while that writing can give you a structure going into a film, a good documentarian must be ready to go wherever the film takes him.
Best thing I can say about the panel: Following it, I now want to go watch every documentary each of these men has made.
Funny anecdote of the panel: Corra said that while making “Same Sex America,” a child started singing “Tomorrow” from “Annie” at a poignant and important moment in the film which could not be cut. The impromptu singing jag ended up costing the filmmaker $30,000. On another music-related note, apparently singing “Happy Birthday” on film will run you $2,500. So be careful out there, kids.
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'Welcome to the Rileys' and Sunday highlights at AFF
James Gandolfini describes himself as a “260-pound Woody Allen,” nothing like the mafioso he played on the HBO series “The Sopranos.”
In “Welcome to the Rileys,” which screens tonight at the Austin Film Festival, he creates yet another memorable character — but one who probably mirrors his real-life personality better than Tony Soprano.
He’s Doug Riley, a middle-age, middle-class married man who is estranged from his wife, Lois. They still live together, but it’s not an intimate relationship. Lois (the always brilliant Melissa Leo) has retreated inside their home ever since their daughter died in a traffic accident.
When Doug attends a boring convention in New Orleans, he slips away from the shop talk of his fellow professionals and ducks into a strip bar, where he meets Mallory (Kristen Stewart of “Twilight” fame.)
She’s a 17-year-old runaway who thinks she’s going to make a few extra bucks by making out with the sad-sack Doug. But life takes an unexpected twist when Doug accompanies her to her ramshackle home and, rather than have sex, begins to fix the place up, as if he were her father.
Director Jake Scott, working from a script by Ken Hixon, creates a touching portrait of grief, loneliness and love in “Welcome to the Rileys.” It’ll be one of today’s highlights when it screens at 4 p.m. at the Paramount Theatre.
Other highlights
- A special presentation of “Sin City” by director Robert Rodriguez. 4 p.m. at the Alamo Ritz.
- “Roger’s Pass,” a quirky Canadian comedy, directed by Colin Askey, about a young man who whose life as a painter of questionable-looking ninjas is interrupted when his father is diagnosed with cancer. 5 p.m. at the Alamo Ritz.
- “Weakness,” director Michael Melamedoff’s feature about a husband who tries to figure out what to do when his wife leaves him. Starring Bobby Cannavale. 6:30 p.m., Texas Spirit Theater
- “Goodbye, Cruel World” (“Adiós Mundo Cruel”), a Mexican comedy about a m
- “Meek’s Cutoff,” directed by Kelly Reichardt and focusing on a group of pioneers lost in the Cascade Mountains in 1845. 7 p.m., Paramount.
- “The Secret to a Happy Ending,” a rockumentary about the Drive-By Truckers. 8:30 p.m., Austin Convention Center.
- “Burned: Life In and Out of Texas Youth Prisons,” a documentary from Emily Pyle. 9 p.m., Texas Spirit Theater.
- “Embargo,” a surreal tale about a man who is unable to get out of his car. Directed by António Ferreira. 9:30 p.m., Arbor.
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'Re-Cut' at the AFF
Jonathan Haug of Dallas doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who would end up in Hollywood. His father was a football player at Oklahoma State. His mother works for the Cowboys. But a little more than eight years ago, after he graduated from the University of Arkansas, he headed to L.A., where his brother Chris had moved, and he’s been there ever since, building a career as a producer and screenwriter.
His new movie ‘Re-Cut,’ a horror flick set in Wisconsin, premiered at the Austin Film Festival Friday night, and it screens again tonight (Sunday) at 7 the Alamo Lake Creek.
Directed by Fritz Manger and produced by Haug, it deals with a documentary team that wants to do a feature on Meredith Phillips, the original “Bachelorette” on the TV reality series. In the movie, she’s a frustrated TV reporter who enlists the documentary team, led by actor Ross Kohn, to help her film a story about a murder of twin girls at a remote farm.
And as the story progresses, the team uncovers far more evidence than it ever expected and becomes entangled with a very sick group of people.
Haug says Phillips signed up for the project after meeting Manger at a cooking class in L.A. They shot for 15 days in Wisconsin on a very low budget, and they’ve sold various foreign and domestic video-on-demand rights already.
Haug says he hopes the video-on-demand market will serve as a marketing tool for the possible theatrical release of the film.
Haug is probably best-known in Hollywood as a producer for “MANswers,” the raunchy, late-night Spike TV hit that focuses on male attitudes — and tips — about sex. Haug says his dad watches the show, but not his mother. And for that, he’s grateful. They’ll be attending the screening tonight at the Alamo Lake Creek.
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'To the White Sea': Peoples' best script
Hollywood may be the land of dreams, but it’s also a land of big frustrations. Take David Peoples, who wrote such screenplays and “Blade Runner,” “Unforgiven” and “Twelve Monkeys.”
He and his wife Janet say that the favorite screenplay they’ve ever written has still not been produced. It’s “To the White Sea,” an adaptation of the 1993 James Dickey novel.
Peoples says the movie hasn’t been made in part because it would require a very passionate young actor who wants to do it. “He would have to do what Daniel Day Lewis did for Paul Thomas Anderson in ‘There Will Be Blood,’ ” People says, and so far, that just hasn’t happened.
The screenplay deals with an American gunner whose plane is shot down over Tokyo just before the firebombing at the end of World War II. Muldrow is the only survivor, having parachuted from the plane just before the crash. And he’s the only American in a country that’s under siege, so he represents everything that the Japanese fear about the upcoming onslaught.
But Muldrow is no ordinary man. He was raised in the wilds of Alaska by a drunken father, and he didn’t ever know his mother. He’s a hunter. He’s a redneck. He has been void of human contact. And he has been dropped into an alien world where he suddenly becomes the hunted.
“People say that Dickey’s ‘Deliverance’ is about three yuppies being dumped into redneck country,” Peoples says. “With ‘To the White Sea,’ Dickey dumped one redneck into Japan and watched what happened. It’s James Dickey at his best.”
David and Janet Peoples presented “Twelve Monkeys” at the Austin Film Festival on Saturday night. And they plan to attend several panels on Sunday, after David Peoples appeared with Robert Rodriguez and David Simon on “The Art of Storytelling” panel, hosted by Texas Monthly’s Jake Silverstein.
Photo: David Peoples (right) at the Austin Film Festival Awards. Jack Plunkett/AFF
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AFF review: "Raging Boll:" Who can blame him? Or his critics?
German director Uwe Boll was once a movie nerd. As the documentary “Raging Boll” shows us, Boll used to sit in his room in his parents’ house, obsessively making scrapbooks of every movie he saw, and he saw every movie he possibly could. He wrote criticism. He got a doctorate in literature. So far, so geeky.
Then, around 1991, he started cranking our movies himself, gaining a reputation for making fairly terrible, often seriously misguided and tasteless-bordering-on-offensive genre movies, some of which were based on video games.
He also gained a reputation as the world’s worst director, a reputation stoked by Internet commentators, who well and truly hated the man — there were death threats, petitions to demand he stop directing, YouTube rants, comparisons to Ed Wood, that sort of thing.
Then he made the mistake of responding to his critics. Oy vey.
Directed for first-time helmer Dan Lee West (who claimed after the screening that he’s more of a writer), “Raging Boll” paints Boll as a guy who is nothing if not honest. Boll, often seated in front of the camera, talking, as in an Erroll Morris doc, doesn’t really consider himself an artist, coming off as more of a guy who just likes to direct movies and gets people to invest in them. (German tax laws make this sort of private investment in a German movie less risky than it would be in the United States, though this is not discussed in the documentary.)
Alternating between seeming bewildered and angered by the critiques, Boll is convinced that “eenternet nuhds and wannabe filmmaekahs” are the folks most angered by his success and he probably has a point, given that it tough to see is films (scenes from which there are not enough of in “Raging Boll”) and not think that you, or anyone, could do as well.
In June 2006, his production company issued a press release stating that Boll would challenge his harshest critics each to a 10-round boxing match. In September of that year, he fought four of them, including a 17 year old boy. As Boll said they were merely faces to him, we never learn their names. They also didn’t seem to train for the fight, which just seems unwise. (Though West said after the screening that the 17-year old is now Boll’s assistant).
Boll continues to make movies, though, as the off-camera interviewer notes, he seems in danger of becoming the very caricature his critics claim he is. Making lousy movies based on video games is one thing. Playing a Nazi guard in your exploitation movie called “Auschwitz” (completely with the tagline “Never Forget”) is quite another. (The trailer appeared on line earlier this year and no, I won’t link to it.) The former becomes a riff on the nature of what is important to the hardest core of Internet chat-mavens. The latter is just begging for attention, Marylin Manson style.
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October 23, 2010
Screenplay winners at AFF
Andrew Lanham of Austin, who earlier this week won a $30,000 Nicholl Fellowship, has picked up two more awards.
On Saturday, he won the the Austin Film Festival’s best drama screenplay for “The Jumper of Maine,” as well as the Latitude Productions Screenplay Award for the same script.
Other screenplay winners were:
Comedy: Julie Howe, “Jasper Milliken.”
Sci-fi: Carl Garrett, “Bloodlands.”
Teleplay drama: Christina Johns, Parenthood: “Bounce Back.”
Teleplay sitcom: Dan Steele, How I Met Your Mother: “Five Year Plan.”
Lanham, 26, was born in Bangor, Maine, and is working on his master’s degree in screenwriting at the University of Texas.
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Panel wrap: The Business of Writing for Television
A room full of writers hoping to get a toehold in the television business got to meet some heavyweights at the Austin Film Festival Saturday morning.
Members of the “Business of Writing for Television” panel included Bryan Brucks, a manager and producer whose clients have written on such shows as “Seinfeld” and “Murphy Brown,” and Tiffany Ward from Creative Artists Agency. Writers on the panel included Phil Rosenthal (“Everybody Loves Raymond”), Pamela Ribon (“Samantha Who”) and Noah Hawley (“The Unusuals,” “My Generation”).
The panel was less upbeat and more realistic than others at the Festival this year, addressing the ruthless nature of the business and the shrinking number of jobs for writers in a post-writer’s strike, recession-driven television economy.
Read the complete wrap-up over on the Austin360 TV Blog by clicking here.
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AFF: 'When Harry Tries to Marry'
Reluctant to fall prey to the idea of romantic love and end up in an unsuccessful “love marriage” like his parents did, 22 year-old Indian-American college student Harry is determined to find happiness in the safety and calm of an arranged marriage. Despite the expected temptations for a handsome young man in New York City, Harry defers to the wisdom the tradition of his Indian heritage.
The premise sounds like a decent basis for a mature and possibly comical exploration of cultural clashes and the difficulties of finding and maintaining love in the 21st century. Unfortunately, director Nayan Padrai’s first feature, “When Harry Tries to Marry,” falls victim to wooden acting and builds no anticipation, as the script feels weighted by a trite narrative that is taking us exactly where we expect to. The quasi-neutered Harry (Rahul Rai), with his boyish reactions to anything remotely resembling feminine wiles, comes across as completely unrealistic and so pathetic that he becomes unlikeable.
The story does have a sweet spirit and is well intentioned, but its broadly painted, simplistic characters and predictable storyline feel like they would be much better suited in an ABC Family movie. In fact, if packaged for a pre-teen audience, there would be a sort of winning charm about the project.
The movie does take great advantage of its locales — New York City and (presumably) India, with its vibrant colors and rich sounds — and the set design and cinematography make for a pleasant visual experience.
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AFF competition jury winners
The Austin Film Festival this afternoon announced the winners of its juried competition.
Best Narrative Feature: “Adios Mundo Cruel,” Writers: Jack Zagha Kababie, Enrique Chmelnik
Narrative Feature Special Jury Mention: “Dog Sweat,” Writers: Maryam Azadi, Hossein Keshavarz
Best Documentary Feature: “Louder Than a Bomb,” Directors: Greg Jacobs, Jon Siskel
Best Narrative Short: “Katrina’s Son,” Writer: Ya’Ke
Narrative Short Special Jury Mention: “The Six Dollar Fifty Man,” Writers: Louis Southerland
Best Documentary Short: “Birthright,” Director: Sean Mullens
Best Animated Short: “The Lost Thing,” Director: Shaun Tan
*Best Narrative Student Short: “Down in Number 5,” Writer: Kim Spurlock
*The festival is among the select events accredited by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, so all award-winning narrative short and narrative student short films are also eligible for an Academy Award.
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October 22, 2010
Panel wrap: The Teleplay
Television writer Sterling Anderson (“The Unit,” “Medium,” “Heist”) joined story consultant, independent producer, writing instructor and Aaron Spelling protege Jen Grisanti to address a room full of Austin Film Festival attendees who had made it to at least the second round of the conference’s 2010 Teleplay Competition on Friday.
Read the full wrap up over at the Austin360 TV Blog by clicking here.
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Panel Wrap: A conversation with Phil Rosenthal
His film, which opened this year’s Festival, chronicles his efforts to create a Russian-language version of the popular American sitcom in Russia.
Rosenthal talked about the show and the movie, as well as his background. He also answered questions from the room full of aspiring writers.
Read highlights of the panel on the Austin360 TV Blog here.
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Panel wrap: The Black List
Friday afternoon, Leonard was joined by four writers who have had scripts land on the coveted list. As Leonard said, it turns out he wasn’t the only one who was having a problem discovering great work, a collective problem that led to the list being so heavily sought out by development folks in the industry. Over the years, as the popularity and success rate (in 2006 and 2007 40% of the Oscars handed out in the top categories went to Black List screenplays) has increased, so has the number of participants. Last year’s list had the participation of 330 people.
One of the panel participants was Austinite Kyle Killen, creator of the recently (and unfortunately) canceled “Lone Star,” who landed on the list in 2008 with his script for “The Beaver.” Killen said the list gave him instant legitimacy.
“Getting on it means you’re instantly taken seriously,” said Killen.
Not only does the list offer industry insiders a concentrated list of talent, it also provides them some cover in that if they want to buy one of the scripts or sign a deal with one of the writers, they can point to the list as a fact that other people had shared their opinion.
When Matthew Cook’s agent told him he had landed on The Black List, the Hollywood neophyte who had gotten the script for his “By Way of Helena” noticed by Mike Simpson following a hunting trip responded, “That doesn’t sound good … what the hell is that?”
He soon found out. He also realized that with great honor comes great responsibility and admits that following his appearance on the list he felt increased pressure to produce solid work. But Cook admitted that while landing on the list is a career jumper with almost unmatched power, writers should avoid trying to write specifically to land on the list, as such calculating will destroy a unique voice.
Not everyone who lands on the list comes through a script that’s been passed around or through a chance encounter with an industry executive. Malcolm Spellman and Tim Talbott ended up being selected for the list after their script for “Balls Out” became an internet sensation. The two writers created an admittedly antiquated website and posted the screenplay for the subversive comedy. To date it has been downloaded almost 100,000 times. Their success, according to Leonard, is one indicator of the fact that over the coming decade people will be getting their work into the hands of industry decision makers through more and more varied outlets.
While some cynical folks may think of the list as a bragging contest between development folks, Leonard seems unconcerned. He simply wants to continue to help great writers get their voices heard.
“I have a deep and abiding love for storytellers,” Leonard said.
Photo of Franklin Leonard by Jack Plunkett/AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL
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AFF scene report: Writers/Directors panel
Longtime Austin Film Festival regular Shane Black joined Randall Wallace, John Lee Hancock, Phil Rosenthal and Alex Smith at the Stephen F. Austin Hotel to kick around the pleasures and perils of wearing two hats.
Asked how directing affected their writing, the panel largely agreed that it had made their written work better, leaner, more spare and direct.
But the group split on which job they would take if they could only pick one. “It would definitely be writing,” said Hancock (“The Alamo,” The Rookie”). “Directing is too hard.”
Shane (“Lethal Weapon”) Black disagreed.
“I like to write but it’s strain,” he said. “It’s murderous. “When it’s not working, I wouldn;t wish it on anybody.”
Black also said that at parties, directors are happy, have drinks in their hand and women on their arms while the writers stand in the corner whining about residuals.
Phil Rosenthal of “Everybody Loves Raymond:” “I know writing is the right answer — but it’s so friggin’ hard. I think directing is fun, more fun. I like the social. I’m not a misfit like these other guys.”
Wallace (“Braveheart,” “Secretariat”) had a knack for telling solemn, almost biblically grave stories that had surprise punch lines, such as the one where he was giving a phone interview to a Japanese journalist (with an English-speaking interpreter also on the line) while promoting “The Man in the Iron Mask.” Ask why he was so drawn to stories of love, honor and sacrifice, Wallace replied, “I guess the second-greatest thing in life is to have people who would die for you. But the greatest thing in life is to have people you would die for.”
On the other end of the line the journalist let out the rough equivalent of “Whoa!” and then said something, which the woman translated for Wallace:
“He says you’re a samurai and when you come to Japan he wants to get drunk for you.”
Fun fact: In another life Wallace wrote scripts for an attraction at Opryland in which barnyard animals were trained to play musical instruments.
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Panel wrap: A conversation with John Lee Hancock
Although he admitted he was worried his anecdote about his first taste of the business after leaving a legal career in Houston may have been redundant from years past, it was still informative and entertaining. The writer-director explained how he (somewhat benignly) stalked fellow Baylor grad Kevin Reynolds (“Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves”) in Hollywood, who gave Hancock his first reality check. Following six months of phone calls, Hancock had lunch with Reynolds who told the would-be screenwriter that he was “not without talent,” but the director did not fall over praising Hancock. He challenged Hancock to continue writing by offering him the feigned advice to return home and practice law. If Hancock took the advice, Reynolds said it would be apparent the young lawyer was not cut out to be a writer. Hancock kept writing.
What he realized in retrospect what that most writers’ first scripts tend to be autobiographical and are generally not very good — Hancock’s was about a young lawyer conflicted about whether to follow a creative career path. Hancock stressed to the crowd that “it’s important to write what moves you.”
The director of “The Rookie” said that “writing is the fastest track” to getting into the business, although he said once you are in, there is no guarantee you can keep getting work. He compared his career as a “contract worker” to that of a house painter, always looking for another house to paint. In terms of mapping a career, Hancock said that “having a game plan is importantbut not as important as the fire in your soul.”
Hancock called the experience of working “A Perfect World”— his first major writing gig — as “an amazing film school for me … kind of a magical time …” Reflecting back, he says the fact that he’s made it now almost 20 years is a “kind of a miracle.”
The homegrown star spent a good half hour discussing his greatest commercial success — “The Blind Side.” Although it’s hard to imagine that a movie that made over $250 million at American box offices alone having trouble getting off the ground, Hancock described the painful process of getting the film made. After attaching Julia Roberts to the script just a few days after it had started circulating around the industry, he gained Fox’s interest. Then he lost Roberts, who was just coming off filming “Duplicity,” her first film in awhile, and then he had to wrestle the project back from a now-lukewarm Fox after Alcon Entertainment expressed interest.
Beyond the nuts and bolts of getting the film made, the most interesting part of the conversation was Hancock discussing the sensitive issues of race surrounding the film and his adherence to the truth of Michael Lewis’s book and the Tuohy family’s real story.
The director said he always considered the movie an “unconventional mother-son” adult drama, which he acknowledged tend to not get made much these days. He said he had to fight the desire for the industry to classify anything as a sports movie just because it has elements of sports in it.
Hancock admitted that he may have exaggerated Michael Oher’s lack of football talent, but that he did so for dramatic purposes, so there would be a contrast between where the young man started as a player and where he ended. It was interesting to hear Hancock relate that Oher’s optimistic appraisal of his own talent in 10th grade was less connected to reality than the film’s depiction.
The director also said he knew from Lewis’s experience that the race issue would rankle some people’s belief systems and make them uncomfortable, but that he was not going to shy away from the possibility of promulgating the white hero myth just because some people may find the story unbelievable or wrongly stereotypical.
Engaging, self-effacing and charming, Hancock’s 75 minutes Friday were a testament to believing in the stories you want to tell as a writer, refusing to indulge in self-pity and the resolve it takes to make it in such a youth-oriented, flavor-of-the-minute chasing business.
Success in the industry is not about getting a studio to say ‘yes,’ it’s about making it impossible for them to say ‘no.’
(A word about the Driskill Victorian Balcony room — and I know I probably say this every year — but as cozy as it is to be able to sit on the floor and listen to a distinguished screenwriter, it is pretty uncomfortable. I understand logistics may prevent a load of chairs from being easily delivered into the “Malkovich Room” (it is on some mysterious half-floor of the hotel), but I continue to hold out hope that something can be done to alleviate the stress on our rear ends and hips.)
Photo: John Lee Hancock on the set of “The Blind Side.”
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"Waste Land" is heartfelt, joyous ode to power of art
Documentaries talk about being about the human spirit. They talk about changing lives.
Most of them that make such claims fail at this, Most of them are about social problems so intractable that one is moved not to action, not to reevaluation, but to a mild, gnawing despair.
Lucy Walker’s “Waste Land” is not one of them. “Waste Land” works almost note-perfectly. It is glorious. Fitted with arresting images, unforgettable characters and an elegant electronic soundtrack by Moby, It is the best movie about the importance of art, about the transformative power of art, I have ever seen.
The effortlessly appealing Vik Muniz, who grew up poor in Sao Paolo, Brazil, is about as successful as contemporary, living artists get without being named, say, Damien Hirst or Matthew Barney. The Brooklyn-based artist’s work sells for thousands upon thousands of dollars. He is at a point in his life where he wants to give back to his home.
Muniz is known for using unconventional media to make his art. For example, he rendered some images of the children of sugar plantation workers in sugar, then photographed the images.
In that spirit, he decides to go to go to Jardim Gramacho, the world’s largest landfill, which is located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, and render catadores, pickers of recyclable materials, in the plastic and metal and glass and paper which they find. He will photograph the images, sell them and give the money to the workers.
It sounds a little corny, perhaps condescending. It is not.
At Jardim Gramacho, he finds everyday people living graceful, difficult lives. The handsome, charismatic Tiao, leader of the 3,000-strong picker’s union, an obviously intelligent guy who discusses Machiavelli and Nietzsche as he works. Zumbi grabs books to make a local library in the shanty town favela where everyone live. The model-beautiful Isis longs for something better. Everyone here steadfastly refuses to feel sorry for themselves, at least in front of the camera.
Muniz decides have the catadores model classic works of art — the pickers find a tub, and Tiao becomes Jacques-Louis David’s “The Death of Marat.”
As the film progresses, Muniz, himself an open-hearted, charismatic guy, hits some snags. His wife wonders if he’s harming these folks by showing them another life. Will they even be able to return? Is it immoral to make them? Is this a question that should be confronted? Is it better to do nothing and not interfere or to do something and hope for the best?
Walker (“Blindsight,” “Devil’s Playground”) crisply addresses these issues, but never lingers awkwardly. This is exceptionally powerful material that could have become mawkish in lesser hands. Full of rich characters and complex stakes, “Waste Land” weaves them expertly.
“Waste Land” is a testament to the fact that everyone is capable of profound beauty and insight. It is our duty to each other to make that manifest and it is the most joyous thing we can do.
“Waste Land” screens again 7 p.m. Oct. 27 at the Rollins Theater. You need to go.
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Socializing at the Austin Film Festival
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AFF: Pamela Ribon interview (video)
I ambushed TV writer and author Pamela Ribon between Austin Film Festival panels on Thursday and conducted a brief interview as we walked from the Driskill Hotel to the Stephen F. Austin Hotel. Check it out over on the TV Blog by clicking here.
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AFF: Meet aspiring Austin TV writer Roby Brown (video)
Head on over to the TV Blog to watch a short video interview with Austinite Roby Brown who aspires to a career in television writing by clicking here.
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Lanham wins Nicholl prize, competes at AFF
Andrew Lanham of Austin has won a Nicholl Fellowship, a $30,000 prize from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
The news comes as Lanham is also waiting a decision on the screenwriting competition at this year’s Austin Film Festival.
The Nicholl goes to five screenwriters each year, in an effort to help launch their film careers.
Lanham’s screenplay is called “The Jumper of Maine.” “Jumper,” which focuses on a paramedic with Tourette’s syndrome, is entered in AFF’s drama and independent screenwriting categories.
Lanham, 26, was born in Bangor, Maine, and is working on his master’s degree in screenwriting at the University of Texas.
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First look at Foote's last
The last screenplay ever penned by the late Texas legend Horton Foote had is premiere Thursday night at the Paramount.
Directed by John Doyle, it’s called “Main Street,” and it has all the hallmarks of a gentle Foote tale.
Ellen Burstyn stars as a Georgiana Carr, a Durham, N.C., matron who lives in a gorgeous old mansion where she was born. She knows she can’t afford to continue to live there, because her income has grown meager over the many years. So when a stranger named Gus Leroy (Colin Firth) comes to her home and asks to rent one of the warehouses she owns, she agrees, no questions asked.
It turns out that Leroy is storing hazardous waste at the warehouse, however. And Georgiana’s niece Willa (Patricia Clarkson) isn’t amused.
As with many Foote tales, “Main Street” has a subplot focusing on a couple of younger people in Durham. Harris Parker (Orlando Bloom) works as a cop and attends law school at night. He’s trying to improve himself so that he can win back the love of his life, Mary (Amber Tamblyn).
Doyle weaves back and forth between the old and possibly new families with grace. But the pacing lags at times, seeming more like a play than a movie.
Still, the cast is excellent, and Burstyn still has the ability to amaze us with her fearless vulnerabilities.
Hallie Foote, the daughter of the screenwriter and playwright, introduced the movie to Austin audiences.
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AFF loves Rosenthal
The Austin Film Festival kicked off Thursday night at the Paramount with a screening of the amusing, off-kilter comedic documentary “Exporting Raymond.”
Phil Rosenthal, the creator of television’s long-running comedy “Everybody Loves Raymond,” spent months making trips to Moscow to help start a Russian production of the TV show. The idea was to adapt the family situations shown in the American TV show for a Russian audience.
Rosenthal also took along a camera crew to follow him as he dealt with various Russian characters, such as a Moscow fashionista who was convinced that housewives should look really good on TV, rather than normal; a network chief who has a permanent frown; and a director who tunes him out when Rosenthal tries to explain that everyday family life can be funny.
“They were saying, ‘Why do we want to make it like real life?’” Rosenthal said after the screening. ” ‘We live real life everyday. That’s not funny.’ ”
Rosenthal doesn’t give up easily, however. In fact, he becomes sort of a pain to the Russians. But they finally open their ears and minds and get the point. The show is now No. 1 on Russian TV. Now the folks from Poland are calling.
Rosenthal got a standing ovation after the screening, and he looked surprised but grateful. He also cracked up the audience during the Q&A, moderated by Shane Black, with his hyperactive wit about cultural differences and universalities.
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October 21, 2010
'Blue Valentine' takes risks, explores intimacy at AFF
Director Derek Cianfrance brings the film to Austin amid a flurry of publicity related to its recent NC-17 rating by the Motion Picture Association of America.
And although the reasons for the restrictive rating haven’t been explained, many critics have speculated that a shower scene between the two stars, Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling, led to the MPAA decision.
As festivalgoers will see tonight, however, “Blue Valentine” is not prurient. Instead, it’s a study of emotional catharsis, similar to what director John Cassavetes achieved in the 1968 classic “Faces.”
Williams and Gosling play Cindy and Dean, a couple having marital difficulties. At Dean’s suggestion, they rent a room in a make-out motel. Cindy, however, finds the situation less than romantic and is distant when her husband joins her in the shower.
Cianfrance, Williams and Gosling, who discussed making the movie at the Cannes Film Festival in May, say the scene took nearly all day to get right.
“The first two hours were awkward but not in the right way,” Cianfrance says. “And after seven hours of being in front of a crew, Michelle and Ryan were emotionally naked.”
Gosling says that the days leading up to the scene made the actors feel like they were approaching “doomsday.”
“We knew we were going to have to get totally naked in front of each other, and we’d both been putting on weight (for roles as an older couple), and it wasn’t going to go well,” Gosling says. “And I didn’t expect the hotel soap to be so \u2026 harsh. We were just there all day and started getting rashes.”
Williams, who first started discussing the “Blue Valentine” script six years ago, agrees that the harsh soap “added another level of awful.” But she says that she “always wanted to make this movie, and I knew what it involved.”
She says she sees her character, Cindy, as a woman who has been stifled, who has gotten pregnant early in life and feels trapped and emotionally unfulfilled.
“The problem for Cindy is the force of the past,” she says. “She’s never gotten to experience herself, to grow. It’s like she’s holding her breath.”
Cianfrance agrees. “I see Cindy as a pot of boiling water with a lid on it.”
To make Cindy and Dean’s married life seem more realistic, Cianfrance and his producers rented a home where Williams and Gosling lived during the filming.
“They set it up so that we’d get to know each other,” Gosling says. “And we’d do all those things that make couples want to kill each other. We’d have fight days.”
The movie goes back and forth in time, with the scenes of their early life and romance providing levity amid the gloom of their present relationship.
And the scenes in the present look much different from those in the past.
“I wanted to shoot the past on film,” Cianfrance says. “I used digital for the present. It’s like a duet between a man and woman, the past and the present.”
For the past, “we shot the master shots with a handheld camera to get a visceral feel,” he says. “It’s how you’d feel if you’re younger.”
“For the present, we used two red (digital) cameras, on tripods, placed far away from the actors,” Cianfrance says, to highlight the distance in the marriage.
Williams says she hopes that people will see the movie as an effort at exploring intimacy.
“I think people are starved for intimacy,” she says. “That’s what people want in movies. Even if it’s awful, we still want to see it.”
‘Blue Valentine’
9:30 p.m. Friday at the Paramount, 713 Congress Ave.
Director Derek Cianfrance will attend the screening.
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Profile: Eric Hueber, director of 'Rainbows End'
He had a school bus. He had a bunch of chickens and a cast of real-life characters he knew. So he decided to make a road-trip movie about going west.
“I’m not feeding them lines, because they cannot act,” Hueber says. “And why would you want to feed these guys lines anyway? You just want to be there to capture it. And it seemed the easiest format and structure for me to put all these people together and for us to all have a clear objective and a goal. These were all just friends of mine, and they all had these quirky ambitions.”
Thus was born the idea for tonight’s Austin Film Festival entry “Rainbows End,” an experimental narrative that’s part “Muppet Movie” and part surrealist documentary.
As a child growing up in East Texas, Hueber was inspired to become a filmmaker by the videos on MTV. But the idea of actually making movies for a living seemed impractical and unattainable until he entered film school at Stephen F. Austin University.
Unlike some schools that teach film theory in hopes of weeding through large swaths of students, Hueber says, Stephen F. Austin was a hands-on, vocational education.
“They handed you a camera and said, ‘Just go make a damn film,’” Hueber says.
In his first year of film school, Hueber met his future business partner and “Rainbows End” producer and co-writer, Andy Cope. After receiving their undergraduate degrees, Hueber and Cope started the production firm Alonestar Films.
Necessity played a role with the duo’s first unofficial client. Living in a warehouse and taking showers with an outdoor hose that would freeze in winter, Hueber approached Supergym in Nacogdoches and offered to exchange production of a commercial for a gym membership, which would allow the nascent filmmaker the chance to literally come in from the cold.
Alonestar slowly built a roster of paying local clients for whom they produced advertising and marketing materials. That afforded them the resources, time and equipment to focus on projects such as “Rainbows End.”
In 2004, Hueber — with a $5,000 Texas Filmmaker Production Fund grant from the Austin Film Society — loaded up his 1977 school bus and sputtered off to California.
He took along a collection of eccentric characters : the soulful, tender, baton-twirling Audrey Dean; cockfighter Brian “Birdman” Birdwell; one-man band and high school valedictorian Peter Guzzino; and country music and outer-space aficionado Country Willie and his band the Cosmic Debris. With two cameras and two roosters, the group spent three weeks on the road in a haphazard search for their individual dreams.
After returning, Hueber spent six months commuting back and forth to Austin to work as an editing assistant on Terrence Malick’s “The New World.” Exhausted from the weekly travel and the months of assisting on Malick’s film, Hueber says, he was dismayed when he revisited the 100-plus hours of footage he had shot on the trip out West.
“I looked at my own footage and was just discouraged with the project. I had limited resources when I shot it. I shot it with two cameramen who had sound attached to their cameras,” Hueber says. “It was just shot under less-than-ideal circumstances. When we set out to make the film, we all had these individual ambitions in this collective journey, and none of us really accomplished anything noteworthy in the film. So I felt we had a complete anticlimax of a film.”
Hueber moved to Austin in 2005 and continued to work with his clients at Alonestar. Eventually, Hueber returned to the oddball road trip footage, and with fresh eyes and the aid of Cope’s vision, realized he had actually captured something special.
“My frustrations with it were over levels of control I felt I didn’t have … Then I realized, ‘I have some great footage here. I’m sitting on a pot of gold. I just have to let it speak its own tale.’ And once I figured that out, Andy came in and helped me nuance that. I think it took me maturing a little bit, kind of getting beat down in life and having some more failures for me to look back on it and think, ‘Hell, we did it. We tried. We went for it.’”
The lessons learned by Hueber mirror the unspoken mantra of the ragtag bunch of dreamers in “Rainbows End.”
“I believe in the creative process. You can’t determine the outcome ,” Hueber says. ” You just have to believe in yourself enough to just go for it.”
“Rainbows End” makes its world premiere at the Austin Convention Center Saturday at 5:15 p.m. It screens again Wednesday night at 10 at the Texas Spirit Theater.
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AFF Saturday highlights
10:45 a.m.: ‘Toy Story 3: How 4 Years of Creative Agony Became 93 Minutes of Movie Fun,’ Driskill
12:15 p.m.: ‘New Low,’ a slacker comedy from Adam Bowers, Alamo Ritz
12:15 p.m.: Awards luncheon at the Austin Club
1 p.m.: ‘Echotone,’ a music documentary, Alamo Ritz
1 p.m.: ‘Raging Boll,’ about Uwe Boll’s attempt to conquer Hollywood, Austin Convention Center
2:15 p.m.: ‘Writing for Documentaries,’ Driskill
3:30 p.m.: ‘Dog Sweat,’ an Iranian feature, Alamo Ritz
3:45 p.m.: ‘The Craft of Screenwriting: Comedy,’ Driskill Citadel Club
3:45 p.m.: ‘A Conversation with David Simon,’ Stephen F. Austin Ballroom
4:30 p.m.: ‘The Disappearance of McKinley Nolan,’ focusing on a soldier missing in the Vietnam War, Texas Spirit Theater
6 p.m.: ‘David Simon Presents “Treme,” ’ Alamo Ritz
6 p.m.: ‘The Company Men,’ starring Ben Affleck and Tommy Lee Jones, Paramount
7 p.m.: ‘Every Day,’ a romantic comedy from Richard Levine, Texas Spirit Theater
8 p.m.: ‘Savior Red,’ a crime drama about a drug deal gone wrong, Alamo Lake Creek
8:15 p.m.: ‘Rubble Kings,’ a documentary about gangs and the rise of hip-hop, Rollins Theatre
9 p.m.: ‘David Peoples Presents “Twelve Monkeys,” ’ Alamo Ritz
9:30 p.m.: ‘Brother’s Justice,’ with comedian Dax Shepard trying his hand at martial arts, Paramount
9:30 p.m.: ‘Conviction,’ with Hilary Swank and Sam Rockwell, Texas Spirit Theater
10 p.m.: ‘Ultimate Guide to Flight,’ a satirical feature about disc golf in Central Texas, with an all-Austin cast, Rollins Theatre
Film venues: Paramount Theatre (713 Congress Ave.); Texas Spirit Theater at the Bullock Museum (1800 N. Congress Ave.); Hideout Theater (617 Congress Ave.); Alamo Ritz (320 E. Sixth St.); Alamo Lake Creek (13729 Research Blvd.); Arbor (9828 Great Hills Trail); Cinemin Swivel Theater, Austin Convention Center (500 E. Cesar Chavez St.); Rollins Studio Theatre at the Long Center (701 W. Riverside Drive).
For more information, visit austinfilmfestival.com.
Conference venues: Driskill Hotel (604 Brazos St.); Stephen F. Austin Hotel (701 Congress Ave.); The Hideout Theatre (617 Congress Ave.); St. David’s Episcopal (301 E. Eighth St.).
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AFF Friday highlights
9 a.m.: ‘A Conversation with John Lee Hancock.’
Noon: Kenneth Turan and the Ransom Center present 1957’s ‘Sweet Smell of Success.’
1:45 p.m.: ‘A Conversation with Phil Rosenthal’ (‘Exporting Raymond’).
2 p.m.: ‘Hello Lonesome,’ a moving, narrative film that looks at the lives of six people who struggle for love. Directed by Adam Reid.
3:30 p.m.: ‘Goodbye, Cruel World (Adiós Mundo Cruel),’ a funny/sad Mexican feature focusing on the travails of a mild-mannered, laid-off accountant.
4 p.m.: ‘Ballhawks,’ a documentary about baseball fans outside Wrigley Field.
4:45 p.m.: The Film Texas BBQ Supper at the French Legation.
6 p.m.: ‘Embargo,’ a narrative film about a man who becomes stuck in his car during a gasoline crisis. Based on the novel by José Saramago.
6 p.m.: ‘Shelter in Place,’ a documentary about civil rights, pollution and corporations.
7 p.m.: ‘Make Believe,’ a documentary about six young magicians in a competition.
7 p.m.: ‘Peep World,’ a comedy about a family struggling with revelations made in one of the children’s newly published novel.
7:45 p.m.: ‘The Space Between,’ a feature about a flight attendant and a young boy who bond on Sept. 11, 2001. Melissa Leo stars.
9 p.m.: ‘When Harry Tries to Marry,’ a feature about an Indian American who agrees to an arranged marriage.
9:30 p.m.: ‘Dig,’ a feature from Stephen Belyeu, focusing on a family’s tale of love and loss in South Texas.
9:45 p.m.: ‘An Ordinary Couple,’ a documentary about gay marriage and a couple in L.A.
11 p.m.: ‘Re-Cut,’ a horror film debut from director Fritz Manger.
For more information, visit austinfilmfestival.com
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October 20, 2010
Film, panel and event highlights for 17th annual AFF
When the Austin Film Festival and Conference kicks off today, movie lovers will face a difficult — but pleasurable — task: Which movies to pick from the more than 190 that will be showing.
The festival will be showing several high-profile movies that have played at previous festivals, such as Toronto. But it will also be hosting world premieres, regional premieres, dozens of shorts and many new movies with Austin ties.
Picking a movie is even more difficult when you’re trying to schedule which of the more than 80 screenwriting and filmmaking panels to attend.
No set of recommendations will be perfect, but we’ve taken a shot by listing our top 10 movies, our top five special events and our top five panels. Recommendations are from movies editor Charles Ealy and staff writers Matthew Odam and Joe Gross, who are identified by their initials.
TOP 10 MOVIES
1. ‘Black Swan.’ This thriller from director Darren Aronofsky looks at a young ballet star, Nina (Natalie Portman), who’s replacing a veteran dancer (Winona Ryder) in the New York City Ballet’s production of ‘Swan Lake.’ The role will require the seemingly innocent Nina to express the grace of the White Swan as well as the sensual guile of the Black Swan. But a new dancer (Mila Kunis) seems to have Black Swan tendencies and poses a challenge to Nina’s success. So Nina begins to get in touch with her dark side. As most people know, Aronofsky has a special touch with dark subject matter, as he showed in ‘Requiem for a Dream.’ And that’s what makes ‘Black Swan’ intriguing. It opened the Venice Film Festival and also played in Telluride and Toronto. Early reviews indicate that it’s controversial, over-the-top and surreal. In other words, it’s an Aronofsky movie. If you’re an adventuresome moviegoer, this one’s a must. Screenplay by Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz and John McLaughlin. Also stars Vincent Cassel and Barbara Hershey. Screens at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Paramount. — C.E.
2. ‘New Low.’ This low-budget comedy from director Adam Bowers focuses on Wendell, a skinny, thin-lipped, balding 20-something slacker who works at a video store in Gainesville, Fla., and bounces from girlfriend to girlfriend. He wishes that he were ‘attractive enough to be in a relationship based entirely on looks,’ but he finds that he’s always attracted to people who either bully him or try to change him. When a new, do-gooding girlfriend who’s committed to saving the environment asks him whether he ever volunteers, he replies: ‘Well, I smile at strangers sometimes. Mostly women. … It’s a leer, really.’ Bowers wrote the zinger-filled script. He also stars as Wendell. Screens at 12:15 p.m. Saturday at the Alamo Ritz and at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Alamo Lake Creek. — C.E.
3. ‘Blue Valentine.’ This heartbreaking tale of a marriage on the rocks goes back and forth in time. The parts in the past focus on the growth of the relationship, while the parts in the present show all the cracks. Ryan Gosling’s performance as a loving but confused father stands out, but Michelle Williams more than holds her own. She’s definitely a risk-taker. Derek Cianfrance, who directs, will attend the Austin screening. Screens at 9:30 p.m. Friday at the Paramount. — C.E.
4. ‘127 Hours.’ James Franco stars in this true story about mountain climber Aron Ralston, who spends five days trapped in a Utah canyon after a boulder crashes on his arm. While trapped, the climber reflects on his life and drifts in and out of fantasies. The movie premiered to standing ovations at the Telluride Film Festival, and it’s likely to get the same reaction in Austin. Academy Award-winner Danny Boyle directs, following his 2008 hit ‘Slumdog Millionaire,’ which also wowed AFF audiences. Boyle won AFF’s Extraordinary Contribution to Filmmaking Award that year. Screens 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Paramount. — C.E.
5. ‘Dig.’ Young Mike is snatched from his new life in Austin and returns to his grandparents’ house and his rural roots after the mysterious death of his father. As he slowly tries to piece together the events that led to his father’s death, a resentful and confused Mike begins to uncover a set of closely held family secrets that resonate with a past he thought he had buried years earlier. Writer-director Stephen Belyeu’s ‘Dig’ is a slow burn that, with the help of the spectacular cinematography of Lucas Millard, effectively combines the languid pace of South Texas with haunting whispers of the supernatural in this unique family tale of love, loss, forgiveness and regret. Screens at 9:30 p.m. Friday at the Austin Convention Center and 7 p.m. Monday at the Rollins Studio Theatre. — M.O.
6. ‘Goodbye, Cruel World (Adiós Mundo Cruel).’ University of Texas graduate Jack Zagha Kababie makes his feature film debut with this comedy about a mild-manned Mexican accountant who is laid off. On the same day of his firing, his wife springs for a new Chevrolet as a surprise. Caught in a money squeeze, the accountant (played by Carlos Alberto Orozco) begins to seek any means of support by wandering the streets, eventually falling in with a gang of low-level thieves. Like the main character, the comedy in ‘Goodbye, Cruel World’ is subtle, inspiring reflection rather than guffaws. In Spanish with English subtitles. Screens 3:30 p.m. Friday at the Ritz, 7 p.m. Sunday at the Arbor. — C.E.
7. ‘Fair Game.’ Director Doug Liman’s drama about the Valerie Plame case premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May and will be opening Nov. 5, but Austin audiences will get an early peek. Naomi Watts stars as the CIA undercover agent who has information about the alleged weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and is eventually outed by a press leak. Sean Penn plays her husband, diplomat Joe Wilson, who questions the U.S. rationale for the Iraqi war. Both Watts and Penn turn in stellar performances. Screens 9:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Paramount. — C.E.
8. ‘Casino Jack.’ Kevin Spacey is getting raves for his performance as the slick Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who decides to branch out into serious crime after befriending Tom DeLay and others in Congress. He eventually tries to swindle Indian casino clients, and, as has been well-documented, ends up in the pokey. But Spacey has a lot of fun as the star of this satirical tale from director George Hickenlooper and screenwriter Norman Snider. Co-stars include Barry Pepper and Jon Lovitz. Hickenlooper and Lovitz will attend the Austin screening. Screens 8 p.m. Oct. 28 at the Paramount as the closing-night film. — C.E.
9. ‘Rainbows End.’ A long, strange and beautiful trip, Austinite Eric Hueber’s documentary chronicles the silly-but-serious saga of a group of Texas men who board a broken-down bus and sputter off to California in search of their dreams. ‘Country Willie’ Edwards and his band want to record with the Legendary Stardust Cowboy (the only singer banned from outer space); Brian ‘Birdman’ Birdwell has ambitions of Hollywood glory and riches for his prize roosters; and the curious Peter Guzzino and ‘Twirler Man’ Audrey Dean Leighton seem simply to thirst for a life of unbridled and honest exploration. Their joyful naïveté belies a deep sense of purpose, and their grounded belief in their own vision is an inspirational lesson. The film is an absurdist fever dream that, despite the echoed tones of ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,’ bursts with pride and love. Screens at 5:15 p.m. Saturday at the Austin Convention Center, 10 p.m. Wednesday at the Texas Spirit Theater. — M.O.
10. ‘Rubble Kings.’ AFF goers might remember ‘Rubble Kings’ director Shan Nicholson from last year’s ‘Downtown Calling,’ a look at the mid- and late-’70s New York City art scene. His new one is the flip side of that, chronicling the rise of New York street gangs during the same era of urban blight. Initially modeled in style and vibe on the Hell’s Angels, the gangs existed in every borough. Cut to a sumptuous soundtrack of ’70s soul, ‘Rubble Kings’ briskly navigates the emotional highs and lows. Eventually, the violence dials down, different gangs start talking to each other and the energy transforms into hip-hop culture, which changed the world. ‘Rubble Kings’ is only 75 extremely efficient minutes. I could have watched another 75, no problem. Screens 8:15 p.m. Saturday at Rollins Theatre, 10 p.m. Monday at Alamo Lake Creek. — J.G.
TOP 5 EVENTS
1. David Simon presents ‘Treme.’ Simon is being honored this year with the Outstanding Television Writer Award, and he’s bringing the uncut pilot of the HBO series ‘Treme’ to Austin. The series looks at life in New Orleans after Katrina through the eyes of an eclectic group of residents. Simon wrote the series with Eric Overmyer. He’ll discuss the creation and development of ‘Treme’ after the screening. 6 p.m. Saturday at Alamo Ritz. He’ll also attend the awards luncheon at 12:15 p.m. Saturday at the Austin Club, discuss the art of storytelling at 3:45 p.m. Saturday at the Paramount, and discuss screenwriting with Robert Draper at 11:30 a.m. Sunday in the ballroom of the Stephen F. Austin Hotel. — C.E.
2. Kyle Killen presents ‘Lone Star.’ This critically praised series on Fox has already been canceled, but creator Killen isn’t slinking into the sunset. He wants to talk about the show, which focuses on a con man who lives a double life. Killen will also participate in a Q&A about the Texas-based series with cast members James Wolk, Eloise Mumford and Adrianne Palicki. 1:15 p.m. Sunday, Alamo Ritz. — C.E.
3. David Peoples presents ‘Twelve Monkeys.’ Peoples will receive the Distinguished Screenwriter Award this year, so he has a full schedule of events. ‘A Conversation With David Peoples,’ moderated by Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times, will be at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Stephen F. Austin Hotel ballroom. At 12:15 p.m. Saturday, he’ll get his award, presented by New Yorker critic David Denby, at the Austin Club. At 3:45 p.m., he’ll appear with other award winners to discuss the art of storytelling, moderated by Texas Monthly’s Jake Silverstein, at the Paramount. And at 9 p.m., he’ll present ‘Twelve Monkeys,’ the 1995 science-fiction tale starring Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt, at the Alamo Ritz. — C.E.
4. Noah Hawley presents ‘My Generation.’ ABC has already canceled this new documentary series created by Hawley and focusing on a group of students from Austin’s Greenbelt High School. But creator Hawley and the cast will be on hand to discuss the series, which follows their graduation and revisits the classmates 10 years later. 4 p.m. Sunday, Alamo Ritz. — C.E.
5. Edward Burns presents ‘The Brothers McMullen.’ This groundbreaking 1995 independent film looks at the romantic relationships of three Irish Catholic brothers, played by Burns, Mike McGlone and Jack Mulcahy. Burns will present the film at 10:15 p.m. today at the Alamo Ritz. Fans of Burns’ screenwriting will also want to check out his newest movie, ‘Nice Guy Johnny,’ starring Matt Bush, Kerry Bishe and Anna Wood, at 7:15 p.m. today at the Alamo Ritz. At 1 p.m. today, he’ll participate in the Business of Screenwriting panel at the Stephen F. Austin. At 2:45 p.m. today, he’ll participate in a conversation at the Driskill’s Maximilian Room. — C.E.
TOP 5 CONFERENCE EVENTS
1. ‘Writing RX.’ Procrastination, writer’s block or life gotten in between you and your work? Are you spending weeks thinking about the title of your screenplay instead of actually coming up with strong characters and storylines? This panel featuring screenwriters Phil Hay (‘Clash of the Titans’), Jeff Lowell (‘John Tucker Must Die’) and others promises the prescription for the illness of your stalled story or script. 9 a.m. Friday in the Driskill Hotel Ballroom. — M.O.
2. Panels featuring Shane Black. There aren’t many people you’ll see at this or any other festival who are more engaging and entertaining than the man behind such screenplays as ‘Lethal Weapon’ and ‘The Last Action Hero.’ The master of the anecdote — both ribald and insightful — Black has attended almost every Austin Film Festival. In addition to hosting the conference wrap party, the 2006 recipient of the Distinguished Screenwriter Award will sit on three panels: ‘Writers/Directors,’ 10:45 a.m. Friday at the Stephen F. Austin Hotel Ballroom; ‘The Creative Career: Writers Guild Panel,’ 3:15 p.m. Friday at the Driskill Hotel Ballroom; and ‘Heroes and Villains,’ 1:15 p.m. Sunday at the Stephen F. Austin Hotel Ballroom. — M.O.
3. Script reading: ‘The Hand Job.’ One of the small, unique joys of seeing a movie at a film festival is that you get to be one of the first people to ever see it. It can make you feel like a real insider, but hopefully it doesn’t turn you into a pretentious one-upper when the film actually gets released. ‘Oh yeah, I saw that movie like four months ago.’ But we digress. What’s even rarer is the opportunity to get to laugh at jokes before they even get spoken by actors on camera. Such will be the case at this script reading for writer Maggie Carey’s comedy ‘The Hand Job,’ where actors Bill Hader (‘Saturday Night Live’), Aubrey Plaza (‘Parks and Recreation’) and more will read 80 pages from the film that is still in development. Talk about bragging rights. 4:30 p.m. Sunday at the Rollins Theatre. — M.O.
4. ‘The Art of Storytelling’ with David Peoples, Robert Rodriguez and David Simon. Call this the awardees panel, as the recipients of the Distinguished Screenwriter, Extraordinary Contribution to Filmmaking and Outstanding Television Writer awards gather to discuss their craft. Expect a thoughtful back-and-forth among the writers, with the moderator oftentimes simply having to get out of the way. With the minds responsible for ‘Twelve Monkeys,’ ‘Sin City’ and ‘The Wire’ on hand to dispense wisdom and war stories from the front lines of filmmaking, there should be no shortage of compelling material. 11:30 a.m. Sunday at the Stephen F. Austin Hotel Ballroom. — M.O.
5. ‘The Black List.’ Don’t let the name fool you. This ‘Black List’ is not something to avoid or fear. If you’re a screenwriter, you would likely give your non-writing hand to land on Franklin Leonard’s annual ranking of the 10 best unproduced screenplays in the business. Getting on the list can fast-track a young (or old) writer’s career. Screenplays that have made the list in year’s past include ‘Juno’ and ‘The Social Network.’ Leonard will discuss the list — how it’s made, who gets — with listees Kyle Killen (‘The Beaver’), Matthew Cook (‘By Way of Helena’) and more. 1:45 p.m. Friday at the Driskill Hotel Ballroom. — M.O.
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The Austin Film Festival and Conference
When: Festival and conference start Thursday. Festival continues through Oct. 28. Conference continues through Sunday.
About: The festival will screen more than 190 films. The conference includes more than 80 panels with screenwriters and filmmakers. Workshops focus on screenwriting and filmmaking, including dialogue, story structure and character development.
Tickets: Producer badge: $650 to $720; Conference badge: $375 to $650; Weekend badge for Saturday and Sunday: $250 to $375; Lone Star badge: $110 to $250. Access to screenings, plus panels on Saturday and pitch finale party; Film pass: $50 to $120; Individual tickets: $9; The AFF Awards Luncheon will be Saturday. Tickets at 1-800-310-FEST. $45.
Film venues: Paramount Theatre (713 Congress Ave.); Texas Spirit Theater at the Bullock Museum (1800 N. Congress Ave.); Hideout Theater (617 Congress Ave.); Alamo Ritz (320 E. Sixth St.); Alamo Lake Creek (13729 Research Blvd.); Arbor (9828 Great Hills Trail); Cinemin Swivel Theater, Austin Convention Center (500 E. Cesar Chavez St.); Rollins Studio Theatre at the Long Center (701 W. Riverside Drive).
More information: austinfilm festival.com
Conference venues: Driskill Hotel (604 Brazos St.); Stephen F. Austin Hotel (701 N. Congress Ave.); The Hideout Theatre (617 Congress Ave.); St. David’s Episcopal (301 E. Eighth St.).
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October 18, 2010
AFF preview: 'The Secret to a Happy Ending'
Billed as their own “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” or “Some Kind of Monster,” the Drive-By Truckers rockumentary, “The Secret to a Happy Ending” is a mash note from filmmaker Barr Weissman. It artfully articulates the emphatically Southern-but-not-quite-Southern-rock band’s social relevance and its fans’ passionate connection. But, unlike much of DBT’s very best material, it’s hesitant to poke around the dark corner’s of the outfit’s collective psyche.
The documentary has its regional premiere Sunday at the Austin Film Festival.
Weissman, very much a fan himself, spent a couple of years hanging around the band beginning in 2005, a period that included the divorce of guitarist-singer-songwriter Jason Isbell and bassist Shonna Tucker, Isbell’s departure (ouster?) from the band, the rocky sessions for “A Blessing and a Curse” and the band’s near-breakup.
I’m not saying Weissman should have dragged Isbell and Tucker to marriage counseling and rolled film, but for all the movie’s virtues, there are questions glaringly left unanswered. Sometimes that’s not entirely Weissman’s fault. The unlikely but enduring partnership between frontmen Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley, for example, seems to be a mystery even to them. Partners since 1985, these are two very different personalities. Reflecting on their past relationship, Hood is vague: “We had some sort of falling out or something for a while.” Well, about what?
Still, it’s an incredible story. Years of hard touring took their toll in busted marriages for more than Isbell and Tucker; they went for broke on “Southern Rock Opera,” their two-disc ode to Lynyrd Skynyrd that took six years to finish - and then no label wanted it. As Cooley’s epigram for the film says, “It ain’t too late to take a deep breath and throw yourself into it with everything you got.”
(Photo by Jay Janner 2008 AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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AFF preview: 'Echotone'
Christ first started lensing his feature in the spring of 2008, and the project — which tackles the collision of commercialism and music — really snapped into focus later that year, as Austin’s Live Music Task Force met and Christ first learned about the then-day job of garage soul sensation Black Joe Lewis: a seafood deliveryman.
“He’d just been signed to Universal and by day he was slinging fish and by night he was selling out concert venues. It was just so weird,” Christ said before the Marfa premiere. “So we strapped a camera to the front of his fish truck as he drove around and shot him ranting and raving all day long about not having any money, right as he was blowing up.”
Lewis forms one-third of the central focus of “Echotone.” Christ also focuses his lens on former Sound Team member, victim of major label politics and Sunset visionary Bill Baird, and Cari Palazzalo, of the electropop outfit Belaire, using the three blossoming local musicians to examine larger questions surrounding the intersection of art and commerce.
“Bill’s story was kind of a microcosm of the greater American music industry — the focus on the bottom line. He’s kind of been through it all and was reclaiming his voice and his muse,” said Christ. “And then you have Cari from Belaire, who doesn’t really want to sell her music at all. She has this ability to really blow up commercially and she just really doesn’t want to do it.”
The economic pressures on the music industry in Austin — presented against the backdrop of a booming skyline and an increasingly wealthy downtown district — form the central log line of “Echotone.”
“The life of a musician is a hard one. I heard even Danzig doesn’t make money off his music!” laughed Christ. “Our thesis is that about 75 percent of working Austin musicians make about 15,000 a year off their music in Austin, and that’s in the live music capital of the world.”
A perspective like that makes the film sound a bit academic, but Christ said he made a special effort to craft a documentary that was lyrical, visual, and more concerned with the music of Austin than any talking heads. Although the film does feature interviews and conversations, it places a higher premium on performance footage — and a veritable Red River Street’s worth of artists make appearances in the movie, including the Octopus Project, Dana Falconberry, the White White White Lights and Ume. That, Christ said, was part of a conscious attempt to avoid becoming too dry.
“There’s a lot of polemics and rants in documentaries these days, and I didn’t want to go there. I have been so sick of music documentaries that are full of talking heads,” Christ said. “It’s almost like they destroy the music, with a bunch of people saying ‘Oh, you should have been there,’ or people talking about this or that, when I just want to see the music. It’s like a show-don’t-tell thing.”
‘Echotone’ screens at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Alamo Ritz and 10 p.m. Oct. 26 at the Texas Spirit Theater (inside the Bob Bullock) as part of the Austin Film Festival.
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More films at the AFF
The Austin Film Festival announced Monday that it has added “The Company Men” as the centerpiece film of this year’s event, which begins Thursday.
The film stars Ben Affleck, Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones and Chris Cooper and is directed by John Wells, who created for TV such series as “China Beach,” “Third Watch,” “ER” and “The West Wing.”
Wells will attend the screening at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Paramount. Daniel Petrie Jr., the writer of “Beverly Hills Cop” and “The Big Easy,” will moderate a Q&A after the screening.
Also, Dax Shepard and Tom Arnold will present the world premiere of “Brother’s Justice” at 9:30 p.m. Saturday.
The festival also announced that it has added Frederick Wiseman’s “Boxing Gym” to the lineup. The documentary about Austin’s Lord’s Gym will screen Wednesday, Oct. 27.
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October 16, 2010
Profile: Barbara Morgan, Austin Film Festival's leading lady
Take Barbara Morgan, executive director of the Austin Film Festival & Conference. All these cool people come to town for panels and screening and schmoozing and getting their picture made with Leslie, and she’s sweating the details. That’s what she’ll be doing Thursday through Oct. 28.
“I have this dream that one day, before I’m too old, I can go and not say, ‘That table is out of place,’” she says. “Sometimes I wonder what it’s like outside the registration room.”
Well, if it weren’t for her and co-founder Marsha Milam, who established AFF to showcase screenwriters in 1994, there wouldn’t even be a festival for her to not have quite as much fun as everyone else.
It started as a simple idea: “‘Hey, let’s start a film festival!’ It was just like that,” she recalls. “Neither Marsha nor I had been to a film festival when we started it.”
And just a couple of years before, she’d put together a tour of Austin singer-songwriters and she figured a festival couldn’t be as complicated as that. So they started booking speakers and screenings because nobody said they couldn’t. The first year, the fest was held at Willie Nelson’s old Austin Opera House off South Congress Avenue. Morgan remembers it rained all weekend, the roof leaked, there were buckets everywhere and the pay phone — this being a time when cell phones weren’t universally brandished — was in the john.
Austin writer Bill Wittliff (“Lonesome Dove”) doesn’t remember it as a particularly miserable affair. Quite the opposite.
“I thought it was wonderful, largely because it centered on writing,” Wittliff says. “That’s Barbara’s genius. She was the first one, to my knowledge, who created a festival that centered on screenwriting. I don’t think anybody was affected by the rain. It was a dandy deal.”
She was sure nobody would come for a sophomore effort, but the next year they moved to the Driskill Hotel, which had a less problematic roof. Things have been better ever since. The conference now runs four days, the film program eight. The screenplay competition — regarded as one of the most prestigious in the world — got almost 5,000 submissions this year.
Along the way, the festival has maintained its laid-back vibe and proved that there’s room in this town for more than one film festival.
For the rest of the story, click here.
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October 14, 2010
Harvey Weinstein responds to 'Blue Valentine's' NC-17 rating
We told you last week about “Blue Valentine” receiving an NC-17 rating. The Austin Film Festival entry from director Derek Cianfrance offers a raw, sensitive look at a marriage that’s failing.
In our post we mentioned that the film had recently been acquired by the Weinstein Company, whose head Harvey Weinstein is not one to shy away from controversy in order to gin up publicity.
Weinstein responded to the controversial rating today.
“We want to express our deepest gratitude to our colleagues in the industry and in the media for their recent outpouring of support for Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine after the film surprisingly received an NC-17 rating from the MPAA,” Weinstein said. “We are taking every possible step to contest the MPAA’s decision. We respect the work of the MPAA and we hope, after having a chance to sit down with them, they will see that our appeal is reasonable, and the film, which is an honest and personal portrait of a relationship, would be significantly harmed by such a rating.”
“Blue Valentine” screens at 9:30 PM on Friday, Oct 22 at the Paramount Theatre.
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October 13, 2010
AFF Film & Food preview and ticket giveaway
Honorary Chairman and Texas filmmaker John Lee Hancock (“The Blind Side,” “The Alamo”) will be joined by Edward Burns (“The Brothers McMullen,” “Nice Guy Johnny”), Randall Wallace (director of “Secretariat,” and scribe of “Braveheart”), and John August (Charlie’s Angels, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) at this year’s event.
The festivities, that include food and drink from some of Austin’s finest restaurants, take place at the Driskill Hotel. All proceeds from the night benefit AFF’s Young Filmmakers Program, which encourages students, ages 9 - 18, to explore the arts of screenwriting and filmmaking.
A small sampling of some of the participating restaurants: 1886 Café & Bakery, Austin Cake Balls, The Carillon, Driskill Grill & Bar, Eddie V’s, Fonda San Miguel, Garrido’s, Ranch 616, Roaring Fork and Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse.
Update: We have two winners. You folks are fast.
We’re offering two lucky readers the chance to rub elbows with Hollywood hotshots, nosh on gourmet food and place bids on a host of excellent silent auction items.
Respond to the following trivia question by emailing us here (subj: Giveaway), and you could win a pair of tickets.
Question: What was John Lee Hancock’s profession before he became a filmmaker?
AFF Film & Food
When: Wednesday, October 20
Where: Driskill Hotel
When: 7 p.m. - 10 p.m.
Tickets: $85; $70 for AFF members
More information: Visit austinfilmfestival.com or call 478.4795
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October 8, 2010
NC-17 movie at AFF?
“Blue Valentine,” director Derek Cianfrance’s sensitive look at a marriage that’s failing, has reportedly been slapped with an NC-17 rating by the MPAA.
The MPAA move was first reported by Deadline and has been picked up by many other websites. But there’s really no good reason for such a restrictive rating for “Blue Valentine,” which will be playing at this year’s Austin Film Festival. The movie, which stars Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling, features sex scenes, but they aren’t explicit. And the movie has played at the Sundance, Cannes and Toronto film festivals. (I saw it in Cannes and liked it enough to interview Cianfrance, Williams and Gosling, all of whom were quite eloquent about the movie.)
Early reports indicate that the rating might be related to a scene at a motel, which Williams and Gosling visit in a failed effort to spice up their romantic life. In one of those scenes, Gosling enters the shower with Williams, and she is seen topless and he is seen naked from the back side. But there is no explicit sex scene.
All of this comes with a caveat. The movie was acquired by the Weinstein Company, which is no stranger to using ratings disputes to drum up publicity.
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October 6, 2010
AFF opening and closing night films
“Exporting Raymond,” a comedic documentary that details the efforts of “Everybody Loves Raymond” creator Phil Rosenthal to adapt his TV show for a Russian audience, will open the Austin Film Festival on Oct. 21, organizers said Wednesday.
It will be the film’s world premiere, and Rosenthal will attend the screening and discuss his adventures in Moscow.
Also, “Casino Jack,” a new drama inspired by the life of Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff, will close the festival on Oct. 28, organizers said. Kevin Spacey and Jon Lovitz star in the film, directed by George Hickenlooper. Lovitz and Hickenlooper will be on hand for the movie’s regional premiere.
“Exporting Raymond” and “Casino Jack” will join a festival lineup that includes Danny Boyle’s “127 Hours” and Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan.”
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September 21, 2010
Austin Film Festival announces complete lineup
Austin Film Festival fans fell in love with Danny Boyle in 2008, when they were thrilled and moved by the director’s eventual Oscar-winner, “Slumdog Millionaire.” Audiences will get another early look at what should be a wide Boyle release at this year’s fest, when “127 Hours” makes its regional premiere. The director’s latest tells the story of Aron Ralston (James Franco), the free spirit whose world came to a screeching halt in the mountains of Utah when he suffered an accident that eventually led him to sever his own arms to save his own life.
Director Darren Aronofsky will present “Black Swan,” the companion piece of sorts to his fawned-over “Wrestler.” The director returns to a world of competitive athletic performance, but this time he excavates the more delicate ground of ballet. The psychosexual thriller has been earning late-summer festival praise. And, oh yeah, Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis make out. So there’s that.
On a smaller, more intimate scale, is “Blue Valentine,” a heart-wrenching portrait of a marriage in decline that features lauded performances by Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling.
Below is a list of some of the bigger titles among the list of 170 films and events at this year’s festival, including world premieres of “Main Street,” “Bloodworth,” “A Savior Red” and “Exporting Raymond.” For a complete list, go to austinfilmfestival.com.
The Austin Film Festival and Conference runs from October 21-28.
MARQUEE SCREENINGS
“127 Hours” - Danny Boyle (Writer/Director), Simon Beaufoy (Writer) - (Regional Premiere)
“Black Swan” - Darren Aronofsky (Director), Andres Heinz (Writer), John McLaughlin (Writer) - (Regional Premiere)
“Peep World” - Barry W. Blaustein (Director), Peter Himmelstein (Writer) - (US Premiere)
“Bloodworth” - Shane Dax Taylor (Director), W. Earl Brown (Writer) - (World Premiere)
“Blue Valentine” - Derek Cianfrance (Writer/Director), Joey Curtis (Writer), Camille DeLavigne (Writer) - (Regional Premiere)
“Exporting Raymond - Phil Rosenthal (Director) - (World Premiere)
“Fair Game - Doug Liman (Director), Jez & John-Henry Butterworth (Writers) - (Regional Premiere)
“High School - John Stalberg (Writer/Director), Erik Linthorst (Writer), Stephen Susco (Writer) - (Regional Premere)
“Main Street - John Doyle (Director), Horton Foote (Writer) - (World Premiere)
“Meek’s Cutoff - Kelly Reichardt (Director), Jonathan Raymond (Writer) - (Regional Premiere)
“Every Day - Richard Levine (Writer/Director) - (Regional Premiere)
“Sideways - Cellin Gluck (Writer/Director) - (Regional Premiere)
“Raging Boll - Dan Lee West (Director) - (US Premiere)
“Under the Boardwalk: The Monopoly Story - Kevin Tostado (Writer/Director), Craig Bentley (Writer) - World Premiere
“Conviction - Tony Goldwyn (Director), Pamela Gray (Writer) - (Regional Premiere)
AFF PRESENTS…
Edward Burns presents… “The Brothers McMullen”
Kyle Killen presents… “Lone Star”
Noah Hawley presents… “My Generation”
Kenneth Turan & Harry Ransom Center presents… “Sweet Smell of Success”
David Simon presents… “Treme”
David Peoples presents… “Twelve Monkeys”
COMEDY VANGUARD
“Brother’s Justice” - Dax Shepard (Writer/Director), David Palmer (Director) - (Regional Premiere)
“Modern Imbecile’s Planet World” - Doug Manley (Writer/Director) - (World Premiere)
“New Low” - Adam Bowers (Writer/Director) - (Regional Premiere)
“S&M Lawn Care” - Mark Potts (Writer/Director), Cole Selix (Writer) - (Regional Premiere)
DARK MATTERS
“Bitter Feast” - Joe Maggio (Writer/Director) - (Regional Premiere)
“I Didn’t Come Here to Die” - Bradley Scott Sullivan (Writer/Director) - (World Premiere)
“The Last Lovecraft” - Henry Saine (Director), Devin McGinn (Writer) - (Regional Premiere)
“El Monstro del Mar” - Stuart Simpson (Writer/Director) - (Regional Premiere)
“Re-Cut” - Fritz Manger (Writer/Director), Dylan Manger (Writer) - (Regional Premiere)
“A Savior Red” - Brian Scott Hunt (Writer/Director) - (World Premiere)
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“Ballhawks” - Michael Diedrich (Director) - (Regional Premiere)
“The Disappearance of McKinley Nolan” - Henry Corra (Director) - (Regional Premiere)
“Louder Than a Bomb” - Greg Jacobs (Director), Jon Siskel (Director) - (Regional Premiere)
“Make Believe” - J. Clay Tweel (Director) - (Regional Premiere)
“My Name is Smith” - James Allen Smith (Director) - (World Premiere)
“Rainbows End” - Eric Hueber (Director) - (World Premiere)
“Rubble Kings” - Shan Nicholson (Director) - (World Premiere)
“Shelter in Place” - Zed Nelson (Director) - (US Premiere)
NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION
“Dig” - Stephen Belyeu (Writer/Director) - (World Premeire)
“Dog Sweat” - Hossein Keshavarz (Director), Maryam Azadi (Writer) - (Regional Premiere)
“Embargo” - Antonio Ferreira (Director), Tiago Sousa (Writer) - (US Premiere)
“Goodbye Cruel World” - Jack Zagha (Writer/Director), Enrique Chmelnik (Writer) - (World
Premiere)
“Hello Lonesome” - Adam Reid (Writer/Director) - (Regional Premiere)
“Pickin’ & Grinnin’” - Jon Gries (Director), John Dowers (Writer), Garret Mathany (Writer) - (Regional Premiere)
“Roger’s Pass” - Colin Askey (Writer/Director) - (US Premiere)
“Weakness” - Michael Melamedoff (Writer/Director) - (US Premiere)
AUSTIN SCREENS
“Burned: Life in and Out of Texas Youth Prisons” - Emily Pyle (Director) - (Regional Premiere)
“Echotone” - Nathan Christ (Director) - (Regional Premiere)
“It’s Whatever” - Eric Presley (Writer/Director), Rudi Daniel Davis (Director), Aaron Gray (Writer) - (World Premiere)
“Paradise Recovered” - Storme Wood (Director), Andie Redwine (Writer) - (Regional Premiere)
“The Spirit Molecule” - Mitch Schultz (Director) - (Regional Premiere)
“Ultimate Guide to Flight” - Scott R. Myers (Writer/Director) - (World Premiere)
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September 16, 2010
Austin Film Festival announces full panels schedule
Over the years, the Austin Film Festival & Conference has consistently offered a slate of compelling panels, helping distinguish it as equal parts festival and conference. Some of that is likely due to the fact that from the outset the conference has placed a primary emphasis on the role of the screenwriter, the unsung and unseen heroes of the film and television industries.
Announced today, the 90-plus panels at this year’s fest, which runs from October 21-October 28, feature over 100 panelists.
Featured panelists at the 17th annual fest and conference include Edward Burns (“The Brothers McMullen”), John Lee Hancock (“The Blind Side”), Jennifer Salt (“Eat Pray Love”), Alvaro Rodriguez (“Machete”), Randall Wallace (Secretariat, Braveheart), Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3, Little Miss Sunshine), Jon Lucas & Scott Moore (“The Hangover”), Kyle Killen (creator/producer “Lone Star”), Noah Hawley (creator/producer “My Generation”), former NBC President of Entertainment Warren Littlefield, and many more.
As mentioned on this blog previously, David Peoples, screenwriter of “Blade Runner,” “Unforgiven,” “Twelve Monkeys,” will receive this year’s Distinguished Screenwriter Award and David Simon, creator of “The Wire”,” will be honored with the Outstanding Television Writer Award.
Below are panel highlights at this year’s conference, including a panel about film criticism moderated by Statesman entertainment editor Charles Ealy. For a complete list of panels, visit austinfilmfestival.com.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2010
- A Conversation with Randall Wallace (“Braveheart,” “Pearl Harbor”)
- The Business of Screenwriting with John August (“Corpse Bride,” “Big Fish”), Edward Burns (“She’s the One”), Franklin Leonard (director of development, Universal Pictures)
- Visual Storytelling with John August , “John Lee Hancock (“The Blind Side”) and Randall Wallace
- A conversation with Edward Burns
- 2010 Nickelodeon writer’s symposium
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2010
- A conversation with John Lee Hancock
- Writers/directors with Shane Black (“Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang,” “Lethal Weapon”),John Lee Hancock, Alex Smith (“Dance with the One”), and Randall Wallace
- Writing for Animation
- The Black List: What it is, how to get on it, and what it can mean for your career with Matthew Cook (“By Way of Helena”), Kyle Killen (“The Beaver”), Franklin Leonard (creator of the Black List)
- Film critics and the Industry with David Denby (The New Yorker), Kenneth Turan (Los Angeles Times), Neil Miller (filmschoolrejects.com), Chase Whale (gordonandthewhale.com), moderated by Charles Ealy (Statesman)
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2010
- A Conversation with David Peoples (blade runner, unforgiven, twelve monkeys) The Business of Writing for Television with Bryan Brucks (Brucks Entertainment), Noah Hawley (“My Generation,” “Bones”), Pamela Ribon (“Samantha Who”), Tiffany Ward (Creative Artists Agency)
- Luna Panel: Telling Women’s Stories through Film with Maggie Biggar (VP, Fortis Films), Diane Drake (“What Women Want”), Jennifer Salt (“Eat Pray Love”)
- Writing for Documentaries with Barry Blaustein (“Beyond the Mat”), Henry Corra (“The Disappearance of McKinley Nolan”), PJ Raval (“Trinidad,” “Holding Patterns”), Paul Stekler (“George Wallace: Settin’ the Woods on Fire”)
- The Craft of Screenwriting: Popcorn Movies with Michael Brandt & Derek Haas (“Wanted,” “3:10 to Yuma”), “Jeff Lowell” (“Hotel for Dogs,” “John Tucker Must Die”), Alvaro Rodriguez (“Machete”), John Turman (“Hulk”)
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2010
- Writing for Kids with Todd Berger (“Kung fu Panda: Secrets of the Furious Five”), Rita Hsiao (“Toy Story 2,” “Mulan”), PamelaRibon
- Making the Deal: “The Matarese Circle” with Michael Brandt & Derek Haas, Jeff Gorin (William Morris Endeavor Entertainment), Mark Vahradian (president of production, Di Bonaventura Pictures)
- A Conversation with David Simon (“The Wire,” “Treme,”)
- Heroes and Villains with Shane Black and John Turman
- Endings: The Good, The Bad, and The Insanely Great with Michael Arndt (“Toy Story 3,” “Little Miss Sunshine”)
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August 30, 2010
AFS announces film grants
The Austin Film Society has announced the people who will receive grants from the 2010 Texas Filmmakers’ Production Fund and Travel Grant programs.
Austinite Patrick Bresnan received the largest grant this year, $9,000 for post-production of his documentary feature ‘Vietnam Appreciation Day.’ It deals with Vietnam War re-enactors in a Pennsylvania suburb.
Three Austin filmmakers received $7,000 grants to help complete their second films.
Bob Byington, director of ‘Harmony and Me,’ will get funds to help film ‘Seven Chinese Brothers.’ Kyle Henry received a grant to complete the final segment of ‘Fourplay.’ And Chris Eska, director of ‘August Evening,’ will get a grant for ‘September Morning,’ a Civil War-set drama.
Two feature documentaries also received $7,000 grants: Ruth Villatoro’s ‘The Cantinera,’ about women at bars who are hired to drink with clients, and Susanne Mason’s ‘Return to Sender,’ which deals with prisoners after they’re released.
Other filmmakers receiving grants include: Roberta Minervinik, for the narrative feature ‘Marfa Red’; Jenalia Moreno and Nancy Sarnoff for the documentary ‘Stitched’; Mary Magsamen and Stephan Hillerbrand, for the experimental short ‘Four Place Setting’; Elvira Carrizal-Dukes, for the narrative feature ‘Ochoa’; Mikey Reyes and Carlos Corral for the narrative short ‘Red Sands’; Will Shipley for the narrative short ‘Mentiroso’; and Marcela Moran for the documentary short ‘Jornaleros.’
Grant decisions were made by Sam Green, the Oscar-nominated director of the documentary ‘The Weather Underground’; Emily Hubley, director of ‘The Toe Tactic’; and Alex Rivera, director of ‘Sleep Dealer.’
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August 24, 2010
Austin Film Festival announces 10 in lineup
The Austin Film Festival announced 10 new films today that will be screening at this year’s event, which starts Oct. 21 and continues through Oct. 28.
“Fair Game,” the new film from Doug Liman that stars Naomi Watts and Sean Penn, is the biggest title of the 10. It chronicles the battle waged by a family after the wife is exposed as a undercover CIA agent. It’s based on the real-life Valerie Plame case.
Also screening are “The Space Between,” directed by Travis Fine and starring Melissa Leo, and “Dog Sweat,” the story of a group of Iranian 20-somethings struggling with a conservative society.
Several of the early films will also be showcasing Texas talent. They include Eric Heuber’s “Rainbow’s End,” Bradley Scott Sullivan’s “I Didn’t Come Here to Die” and Steven Belyeu’s “Dig.”
Rounding out the list are “Brother’s Justice,” directed by David Palmer and Dax Shepard; “Made in Dagenham,” starring Sally Hawkins and Bob Hoskins and directed by Nigel Cole; “Make Believe,” a documentary from J. Clay Twell; and “Rubble Kings” from director Shan Nicholson.
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August 16, 2010
Peoples to get AFF screenwriter award
David Peoples, the screenwriter of “Blade Runner,” “Unforgiven” and “Twelve Monkeys,” will receive the Austin Film Festival’s 2010 Distinguished Screenwriter Award.
Peoples will be in Austin to accept the award on Oct. 23. He joins David Simon, who is scheduled to receive the festival’s Outstanding Television Writer Award. Simon was head writer on HBO’s “The Wire.”
Each year, the Austin Film Festival recognizes outstanding filmmakers and screenwriters. The festival is scheduled for Oct. 21-28.
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July 16, 2010
AFF "pass frenzy"
The Austin Film Festival is sponsoring a “pass frenzy” starting Saturday, with 17 days of gifts.
Anyone who buys two film passes to AFF will be entered into a daily drawing to win a prize. The prizes range from Fun Fun Fun Fest tickets to a Soul Train box set to a $150 gift card to Uchiko.
The AFF will announce the winners on its Twitter and Facebook accounts.
The Austin Film Festival event lasts till Aug. 2. The actual festival will be held from Oct. 21 through 28.
Film passes cost $42 and grant admission to eight nights of film screenings. Pass prices will increase to $50 on Aug. 1.
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June 7, 2010
Filmmaking camp for kids
The Austin Film Festival’s eighth annual Summer Film Camp for kids and teens ages 9 to 18 kicks off June 14 and runs through Aug. 6 at Austin High School.
The camp offers “an opportunity to get hands-on experience in claymation, screenwriting and also taking a finished script to the screen. Students will get the opportunity to talk with real experts in the film industry through panels and other workshops.”
It’s part of AFF’s Young Filmmakers Program. Details and registration HERE.
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May 12, 2010
Screenplay competition deadline is Saturday
The Austin Film Festival’s annual screenplay competition has two submission deadlines: one for with-it early birds who meet their own personal, stringent deadlines (this Saturday), and one for lazybone procrastinators (June 1).
Which one are you?
Everything you need HERE.
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May 10, 2010
'Urban Cowboy' -- no bull -- screens Wednesday
Remember that freaky mechanical-bull craze that rattled across a novelty-starved America for about five and a half months back in 1980? (No? Sometimes amnesia is a gift.)
We can thank/blame the John Travolta drama “Urban Cowboy” for that steamy heap of Americana, in which Travolta, fresh off the bedazzling dance floor, combats corruption and tries to hold onto his wandering wife (Debra Winger) in Gilley’s huge honky-tonk in Houston, partly by competing in a bull-riding contest.
“Urban Cowboy” turns 30 this year — a cowboy-hat-tipping moment — marked by a special screening of the film at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Spirit Theater at the Bullock Museum. It’s part of the Austin Film Festival’s “Made in Texas” Film Series.
The movie’s co-writer Aaron Latham and co-star Barry Corbin (he played Uncle Bob) will be in attendance to chat things up.
Free for film festival members; $5 general. Call 936-4649 or go to the ticket window on the day of the show. Details HERE.
This actually happened.
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February 3, 2010
Assessing the films screening at this year's SXSW
During 17 years as one of the world’s iconic independent film festivals, South by Southwest has gone from scrappy and grungy to sparkly and a bit Hollywood-y. It’s grown up, luring more established filmmakers with more accomplished films. These days SXSW feels less like Slamdance and a lot more like Sundance, without betraying its devotion to low-budget underdogs and exciting new visions and voices.
SXSW’s 2010 film line-up, announced Thursday, demonstrates this easy- going mix of minors and majors. It begins with a mainstream bang March 12: the world premiere of the Lionsgate comedy “Kick-Ass,” based on Mark Millar’s comic book series and starring Aaron Johnson and Nicolas Cage (it opens theatrically April 16). Later, it unveils the world premiere of “MacGruber,” starring Will Forte and Kristen Wiig and based on the “Saturday Night Live” skit spoofing ’80s television show “MacGyver.”
Dropping big Hollywood comedies into its slate has proven extremely successful for SXSW in recent years. Premieres of “Knocked Up,” “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “I Love You, Man” have not only shown that the festival is hip to “edgier” mainstream fare but that it knows how to fill seats.
These films are joined in the fest’s “Headliners” section by five other titles, including recent Sundance hits “Cyrus” — an off-kilter romantic comedy by former Austinites Mark and Jay Duplass, starring John C. Reilly, Marisa Tomei and Jonah Hill — and “The Runaways,” a biopic about the birth of the all-girl rock band, starring Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning.
This year’s festival boasts 119 feature films, including 55 world premieres, plucked from a record 1,572 submissions.
Some titles we’re most looking forward to have been road-tested at other festivals, including Austinite Bryan Poyser’s uneasy comedy “Lovers of Hate,” which earned good press at Sundance last month.
Others: the always-challenging Gaspar Noé’s Tokyo-set “Enter the Void”; “And Everything Is Going Fine,” Steven Soderbergh’s portrait of late monologist Spalding Gray; Cannes award-winner “Dogtooth,” an unsettling Greek drama by Giorgos Lanthimos; Tamra Davis’ documentary “Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child”; Harmony Korine’s reliably transgressive “Trash Humpers”; and Sundance Jury Prize winner “Winter’s Bone.”
Documentaries are a festival strong suit, and Austin viewers will take special notice of “American: The Bill Hicks Story” about the late cult stand-up comic who enjoyed a fervent local following. For film and pop-culture nerds (we all stand up) “The People vs. George Lucas” is described as an unflinching look at “the conflicted dynamic between Lucas and his fans.” Michel Gondry (“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”) offers a peculiar slant on his own family in “The Thorn in the Heart.”
Needless to say, music documentaries are top draws at SXSW. “Lemmy,” partly shot in Austin, takes an in-depth look at the gnarly Motörhead frontman/metal hero. Highlights of SXSW’s popular music-oriented “24 Beats Per Second” section include: “No One Knows About Persian Cats,” a feature about teenagers trying to form a rock band in modern Iran; “The Weird World of Blowfly,” a non-fiction chronicle of original foul-mouthed rapper Blowfly; and the David Byrne concert movie “Ride, Rise, Roar.”
Per tradition, Austin indie filmmakers are making a good show at the fest. “Mars,” a heady blend of live action and Day-Glo animation, is Geoff Marslett’s science-fiction romance, with Mark Duplass and Zoe Simpson. “Dance With the One,” a taut crime thriller produced by the University of Texas Film Institute, has its world premiere in the Narrative Feature Competition. And Simon Rumley’s gory “Red, White and Blue,” thrilling them this week at the Rotterdam film festival, stars Noah Taylor and Amanda Fuller and was co-executive-produced by the Alamo Drafthouse’s Tim League.
Speaking of League, his Fantastic Fest is presenting five special screenings of international genre pictures under the “SX Fantastic” heading, including midnight shows of “Monsters,” an alien thriller from the United Kingdom, Japanese vampire flick “Higanjima” and a yet- to-be announced “super secret” world premiere.
For those in a nostalgic mood, a trio of classic silent movies round- out the fest’s special events schedule, each with live musical accompaniment. Carl Theodor Dreyer’s 1928 masterpiece “The Passion of Joan of Arc” screens with a live score played by English band The Nursery. The Invincible Czars perform with Tod Browning’s 1927 creep- out “The Unknown” and the Golden Hornet Project plays with Harry O. Hoyt’s marvelous dinosaur adventure “The Lost World.”
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January 26, 2010
Submit your pix to the Austin Film Festival
It ain’t happening until October, but the Austin Film Festival wants your movies. Now.
Submissions are being accepted for narrative feature and short; narrative student short; animated short; documentary feature and short. First deadline is June 2.
Get it all HERE.
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