Notes from Underdog.

SFIFF Dispatch Redux: The Wackness

Originally posted on GreenCine Daily.

With his second feature, Jonathan Levine, New York native and once an assistant to writer-director Paul Schrader, captures his home town's vibe expertly in the uneven but ultimately winning little coming of age dramedy The Wackness. The film takes a bit of time to find its stride - but it does when Levine lets go of some of his filmic pretenses and lets the characters take hold.

Josh Peck, continuing his graduation from teen TV star to respected actor, is wholly believable and empathetic as Luke, a sad sack who has always felt a bit out of his peers' social circles. His parents are fracturing and on the brink of bankruptcy, so to earn some extra green he sells, well, green weed (hidden in an ice cream cart), and even trades some of it to a therapist in exchange for counseling sessions. These scenes will not remind anyone of Ordinary People.

As the sad sack psychotherapist Dr Squires, Sir Ben Kingsley exists in another dimension here, channeling Harvey Keitel (he even seems to reference him physically, replete with one-size-too-small bowler hat, scraggly hair and goatee), toking from a humungous bong, but there's something more to his part here. Squires is married to Kristin (Famke Janssen) and their relationship, too, is on the rocks. Even if there's a certain inevitability to a therapist's dysfunctional private life, Janssen and Kingsley bring a great deal (of bathos) to their scenes together, ultimately to heartbreaking effect.

Another SFIFF Dispatch: Shadows in the Palace and La France.

Catching up on my SFIFF Dispatches, which David Hudson kindly posted first on GreenCine Daily. I will have at least one more before all is said and done. (Well, all is said and done today, but I'll be done with the sayin' tomorrow.)
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Shadows in the Palace

Korean filmmaker Kim Meejeung's first feature (she was an assistant director on Lee Jun-ik's Once upon a Time in the Battlefield and The King and the Clown) is a stunning, memorable, if occasionally convoluted mystery set during Korea's Chosun era. It's particularly notable for its cast of mostly female characters - the story centers around the maids who live and work as virtual prisoners in the palace of the emperor, and its protagonist is a female court doctor, Chun-ryung (Park Jin-hie), who investigates the death of one maid found hanging in her claustrophobic room. Suicide, she's told, but she suspects murder and investigates, unraveling a web of deceit, getting caught up in political maneuverings and eventually fearing for her own life.

The depiction of the period is striking, from the delicious costumes to the recreation of palace life, and the murder mystery fascinates throughout. I sensed some audience discomfort and confusion with the film's more fantastical elements, but for anyone who's seen a Korean period mystery-cum-ghost story before, these things should come as less of a surprise. Still, there are times when the story becomes a bit overly complicated for its own good (I feel the need to see it a second time just to catch up with some of the more confusing plot threads). The dialogue can be a bit expository, though, frankly at times I was grateful it was, given how convoluted it becomes as it all unspools.

Supressed John Huston WWII docs play in LA.

From the LA Times:

Documentary filmmakers chronicling the Iraq war, including Rory Kennedy ("Ghosts of Abu Ghraib") and Terry Sanders ("Fighting for Life"), have not shied away from showing the nightmarish horrors of the conflict. By contrast, World War II documentarians found a lot of their material suppressed.

"There was much closer regulation and control," says Charles Wolfe, professor of film and media studies at UC Santa Barbara.

The footage generated during the war was all processed by higher authorities. "Nothing was released that had not been approved by multiple levels of the chain of command," he says. "There was an enormous amount of material shot that was left unseen. It's not that way now."

So, the majority of documentaries made for the armed forces or general release were more propaganda films to rally the troops and the country. Then John Huston entered the picture. And war documentaries grew up.

Huston, the Oscar-winning writer-director of such classics as "The Maltese Falcon" and "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre," ran into problems with the military over two of his war documentaries: 1944's "The Battle of San Pietro" and 1946's "Let There Be Light," which was banned until 1980.

On Tuesday evening, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ John Huston Lecture on Documentary Film at the Linwood Dunn Theater will spotlight these two documentary classics. Huston's son Tony will be introducing the films.

Freaks and Geeks (live) reunion

This just in from the San Francisco Sketchfest folks:

The cast and creator of the short-lived but much-loved television show "Freaks and Geeks" will reunite at Cobb's Comedy Club on January 20 for an onstage conversation moderated by Patton Oswalt. The festival is thrilled to welcome series creator Paul Feig and cast members Dave (Gruber) Allen, Steve Bannos, Linda Cardellini, John Francis Daley, Samm Levine, Busy Philipps, and Martin Starr for the largest onstage reunion since the show's unfortunate cancellation in 2000.

Oh my. I'm there. And this arrives just as I'm finishing a F&G trivia contest on Facebook.
There will be a Kids in the Hall reunion and tribute during the fest, too. Yowsa. 

Warren Report: Orange Revolution screening in Seattle

Passing this on from The Warren Report

ACT NOW: ORANGE REVOLUTION - Free
The Seattle Art Museum,
100 University St, SEATTLE
Friday, November 16, 2007 - 7:00:00 PM
Many thanks to the multi-talented Miriam Z!

“It feels like a repeat of the sordid U.S. election scandals, where voters were barred from doing their democratic duty and blame was placed on ballots and the process. But during the 2004 elections in the Ukraine -- where citizens had endured a visibly corrupt governing under President Kuchma and his endorsed, equally criminal successor, they refused to accept the lies. … a fascinating look at how true leveling power comes with unifying under an umbrella of a belief.” Seattle Post-Intelligencer

It was just after 2 a.m. on November 22, 2004, when the call went out: “The time has come to defend your life and Ukraine. Your victory depends upon how many people are ready to say ‘No’ to this government, ‘No’ to a total falsification of the elections.”

Regime-controlled media claimed victory for Viktor Yanukovych, handpicked by the corrupt sitting president. But credible exit polls showed Viktor Yushchenko, the opposition candidate, had won.

It was shocking enough that Yushchenko had been poisoned -- and nearly killed-- while on the campaign trail. When reports came in of blatant voter intimidation and damaged ballots, people were outraged. When they realized election officials were in on the fraud, the people had had enough.

In freezing temperatures, over one million citizens poured into the streets of Kyiv and took up residence there. They marched in protest and formed human barricades around government buildings, paralyzing all state functions. Restaurants donated food, businessmen sent tents, and individuals brought blankets, clothing, and money. At night, rock bands energized the protesters.

For 17 days, a group of ordinary citizens engaged in extraordinary acts of political protest. Capturing the songs and spirit of this moment in history, Orange Revolution tells the story of a people united, not by one leader or one party, but by one idea: to defend their vote.

ACT NOW! is made possible by collaborative partnerships with:
W Seattle
Nuun
Green Cine
Square One Vodka
Conscious Choice
The Enlightenment Card
The Stranger
and
Singha Beer

Taste Matters, Kosher Hollywood: Jews, Food and Film, in Berkeley

Forwarded on from a friend:

Thursday, May 31, 6:30  PM
TASTE MATTERS with  Alisa Braun
Kosher Hollywood: Jews, Food and Film   
From the films of Woody Allen to Joan Micklin  Silver's "Crossing Delancey," Jews on the silver screen always seem to be  preparing, eating, or talking about food.  Braun will discuss the ways  filmmakers use food to explore questions of Jewish identity, examining the  significance of the family meal, and the connections between food, relationships  and sex.

The Judah L. Magnes Museum

2911 Russell Street • Berkeley, CA 94705
510-549-6950 • info@magnes.org

Meanwhile, at Wonder-Con...

My favorite moment while attending Wonder-Con, Comic-Con's San Francisco spin-off, this past weekend, was found while browsing past some of the promotional booths set up in the main room. I spotted a sharp-looking poster with the Star Trek badge on it, with the tag "2008". My curiosity piqued, I asked the poor young  'uns who were manning that table  what this was for. "New Star Trek film?" I asked. "Yep."

"Well, which Star Trek is it? Next Generation? Enterprise? A new cast?"
They shrugged. "I'm not sure."
"Who's in it?"
"Dunno. It's got a director, but no script."
"No script?"

Well, of course I already knew that JJ Abrams was producing Star Trek XI, and apparently co-writing the script, which means it could be cool. I just wanted more information.

But welcome to film production in the oughts - no script? No problem! As long as it's a known franchise and someone's attached to something, a lack of a script at the onset doesn't matter.

My other favorite moment at Wonder-Con was getting a Simpsons pencil animatic for only $10. Of course, there's probably millions of those out there, but still, an original drawing of Bart! Hard to pass up.

I also saw Patton Oswalt and Brad Bird chat about Ratatouille - which at least looks a lot more charming than Cars, the last Pixar effort -  and show some clips. They were both as entertaining to listen to as I'd expected and the movie looks like it'll be a winner, no surprise given Bird's previous films The Iron Giant and The Incredibles.

I also spent too much on other junk, including an old issue of Fat Freddy's Cat, a spin-off comic by Gilbert Shelton, from his Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers - a favorite of mine from childhood. My dad exposed me to hippie culture before I understood what a hippie was. I just dug Shelton's drawing style and the humor, a mix of crude and goofy. Was tempted, too, by an issue of Captain America from the sixties which had him quelling some campus unrest (I swear it looked like Captain America subbing for the National Guard at Kent State on the cover; very scary), but decided against it. Got a Scarlet Pumpernickel "action figure" from that classic WB cartoon - Sylvester in full swashbuckling gear - and a Gonzo action figure, replete with cannon, for my g/f.  Silliness reigns at Wonder-Con. It felt good to be a kid again.

Open Letter Re: Oscar Nominated Docs

On the GC Daily, David reprinted Iraq in Fragments director John Sinno's open letter to the Academy irked about both the Oscar ceremony - and Seinfeld's jocular intro for the doc nominees - and the Academy's change in the rules for documentary Oscar consideration.

Open Letter (on GC Daily) >>

It's the latter, more than Jerry Seinfeld, that particularly worries me. Requiring documentaries to have played theatrically in 75% more cities than previously will make it nigh impossible for most of them to get a fair shake for an Oscar. What happened to the idea that the Oscars could help promote a deserving film, rather than making it a popularity contest for the few films that are fortunate enough to receive distribution? This is an unfortunate decision with broad ramifications, and, like Sinno, I hope the Academy reconsiders it.

As for Seinfeld introducing the category, I wondered how documentarians would take it - particularly those who were nominated this year. While his comments, to me, were humorous by themselves, they did seem a little callous - ranging from off topic to dismissive (though calling all the nominees "depressing" wasn't really that inaccurate, it dismisses their ability to move and change anyone who views them). However, I wouldn't blame Seinfeld; that's what he does.   Blame the Academy for having a comic introduce what may the most sober of categories compared, as Sinno points out, with how respectful the intros were for most of the other categories.

But again, this is less bothersome than is the Academy's decision to up the number of theatrical runs a doc needs in order to qualify. Up the Academy, I say.

Roundtable: Hartley, Jenkins, Green, Araki.

A Sundance roundtable featuring four unique voices in American independent cinema - Hal Hartley, Tamara Jenkins, David Gordon Green and Gregg Araki - was focused on how each of them are making their way today and what's changed since they first started. The discussion was a great opportunity for both enlightenment and amusement; of the panelists, Hartley was the most chatty, and the funny Jenkins - possibly overwhelmed or just a little shy - the least. (She spiritually resembles the character Laura Linney plays in her new film The Savages.) But they all contributed enormously to this conversation; what follows is a sort of "best of." [I took really detailed {{cough-digital-cough}} notes {{ahem}}]

Pictures [thumbnails]:

Here's two snippets:

Araki: It's weird what appeals to me. I just sort of follow my heart. Either come across material like Mysterious Skin or Smiley Face, or by writing my own scripts. Gus Van Sant gave me the best advice. He said you shouldn't worry about what everyone else is doing or what's hot or what's selling. I just do what I do. There are certain things I know I don't want to do, like I know I don't want to do a gangster movie. There are certain genres I just don't want to go near. I'm pretty open to almost anything else. I've been working on this horror sci-fi thing for a few years, and there's this family drama, an Ordinary People kind of thing - I don't know why it appeals to me, but it totally does. I try not to limit it to a "this is me" kind of thing, I just look for stories that appeal to me, that I fall in love with.

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Green: It's just somebody you can communicate with, jump in the trenches with. One producer's followed me through all four of my films, Lisa Muskat. And a lot of the crew, too, I met in film school, and we all just knew early on, when we were making short films and school projects that we had a similar vibe, style. We like working with each other, know when to work, when to play. You get that kind of communication with somebody, know how to be tough, push each other in the right direction, and it works. When people make you feel guilty about things and you know you shouldn't be, or try to be confrontational when it should be rationally discussed, or they're being passive aggressive about things that should be laid on the table, then... it's time to find some new friends.

Read the whole she-bang on GreenCine Daily >>

Park City here I come.

Looks like I'm heading to Sundance for a bit - be there Friday through Tuesday. It probably "jumped the shark" some time ago but for someone who's never been, still exciting. If anyone is going to be there, too and wants to organize a meeting of wide-eyed bloggers trying to navigate the festival, drop me a line!

Frederick Wiseman in SF 9/20

Well, this is hard to pass up. Legendary documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman is stepping out from his cave for a talk with KQED host (and a former teacher of mine at SFSU) Michael Krasny on September 20, in San Francisco.  From SFSU's DocFilm Institute:

Can you read a film? Hailed as “a master of the epic documentary” by the New York Times, visual literacy proponent Frederick Wiseman recreates his editing process using clips from a selection of his 35 full-length films, including Titicut Follies, High School I & II and Belfast, Maine. Whether you are a documentary filmmaker or a doc film fan, find out how editors’ choices can impact your sense of “truth.” 

[Thanks to Erin for the tip!]

I wonder if someone will ask him why none of his films are out on DVD. Very frustrating.

Full Frame Documentary Festival

The folks at Durham NC's Full Frame Documentary Festival have created a really nifty web site, so I thought I'd pass that along.

This year's festival is April 6-9, but the deadline for submissions has already passed. But take a look at their fun web site, and, if you're down in North Carolina in April, go!