Great piece on LULLABY and another great list from Ted Hope

Here's a recent piece that came out on LULLABY.  It's a really great one:

http://www.sashafansonline.net/the-last-lullaby-t53.html

Also, Ted Hope, now blogging for Indiewire, is really cranking out some great stuff of late.  Here's the most recent of his infamous lists:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/tedhope/archives/35_ways_to_keep_the_faith_in_truly_free_film/

Wonderful Cassavetes Tribute

My buddy, Mike, in Los Angeles sent this to me yesterday.  It sounds like an amazing Cassavetes retrospective happening out there, headed up by the Cinefamily, who I think bought the Silent Movie Theater and own the excellent Cinefile Video.

Anyway, I wanted to share this excellent tribute to John Cassavetes.  And needless to say I'm jealous of anyone who is able to attend this:

Hello, Cinefamily! 

I want to talk with you about John Cassavetes for a moment. 

In preparation for our month-long retrospective, I’ve been steeping myself in the subject of Cassavetes: reading interviews and biographies, watching documentaries, and most of all, viewing his films. Like many a film lover before me, I’m going down the rabbit hole, because the more deeply you go down, the more rewarding it is.   And I’m having a blast.  In fact, it’s only by doing this that I’m just now I’m realizing what we’ve done here at Cinefamily, and why I think you should really participate this month: this retrospective is a kind of “master class” in the work of one of America's most fascinating directors.   

To start with, I think Cassavetes himself would appreciate my honesty when I say I’ve always had mixed feelings about his work before now; there are scenes and moments that destroy me (in a good way), and other moments that feel false, bombastic, or just seemed sloppy.  I had trouble grasping the films as a whole, and long chunks would consequently bore me as I floated adrift on the sea of emotion, until some undeniably explosively awesome moment would happen.  But the films always haunted me.  What I see now is how his films improve over repeated viewings -- from seeing them consecutively, getting on his wavelength, and learning to speak his language. These films are like people, interesting and complicated people. You don’t always understand them at first, but as you get to know them, all of their quirks make more and more sense. They reveal themselves. 

Rewatching his films, I often have an epiphanous moment when the code cracks, and suddenly the whole crazy experience falls into place. I immediately want to see the whole movie again, or at least revisit it in my mind, now that I know how it's all working.  His films are like relatives; my feelings towards them change as I get older, and as I understand them better. I may still hate the way my mother screams like she’s witnessed a murder just because she drops something in the kitchen, but more and more it becomes inextricably interwoven with my deeper understanding of who she is, and why I love her. 

If I had to sum up one thing I’ve gotten out of all this, it’s a knowledge of the incredible focus Cassavetes had.  Truffaut once said that all great directors must sacrifice some aspect of filmmaking to achieve something brilliant -- in essence, the bedsheet never covers the whole bed.  And no one has worked harder to go as deep as possible exploring the complexity of human interrelationships than Cassavetes, and while he did love other aspects of film, he would give up anything -- the framing, the editing, the continuity, the smoothness of the story, paradoxically even his own understanding of the characters -- to reach a certain ecstatic emotional depth.   He wanted you to feel as intensely and thoughtfully about his films as you did about your own life, and sometimes (perhaps by definition all the time) that means you can’t fully understand them. 

As I said before, here’s your chance to have a “masters class” in John Cassavetes. We’re showing not just every film he directed, but films he starred in, his rare television work, and even films made with people he just worked closely with -- 'cause we know what it’s like when you get obsessed: everything and everyone he touched takes on a certain interest. We’ve got restored prints from UCLA, rare trailers, and lectures.  We’ve got sidebar tributes to Ben Gazzara, Seymour Cassel and Gena Rowlands -- all appearing in person -- where we’ll tour through their own careers as actors. We’ve rounded up virtually every guest that could be had. This is the best chance you’ll ever have to do this right. 

This series is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. 

So get a membership -- tax-deductible, of course! By getting one, you'll help us do this more often (it ain’t cheap!), and you get in FREE to every show. That’s worth a year’s membership right there! Plus, The Criterion Collection has been kind and generous enough to donate 5 of their incredible, extra-laden Cassavetes box sets for us to give away to new members. Anyone who gets an annual “black card” membership in from now until March 16th, 11:59PM, is in a raffle to receive one of them! 

The whole shebang starts tomorrow with Shadows, screened from a gorgeous restored 35mm print courtesy of the UCLA Film &Television Archive. After the film, join us for a  conversation with its star, Lelia Goldoni, the memorably gorgeous face turned on its side in the film's signature image. She’s still gorgeous, charming, and as one of the last remaining members of the Shadows cast, an important link to one of the most historically significant films of the 20th century (virtually the first truly successful independent film). 



Your Programmer,
Hadrian 


P.S. I know we’re not showing Big Trouble (a film Cassavetes practically disowned).  But, if we get 10 new membership by Friday at midnight, I promise we'll book it. 

P.P.S. Gary Oldman is doing the Q&A with Ben Gazzara on SUNDAY, at the start of the triple feature! Holy guacamole!

Ted Hope on Film Investing

A strong piece, I thought, on film investing.  Hope continues to impress by being one of the most honest, articulate, and generous (in terms of sharing his experience) producers:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/tedhope/archives/the_new_model_of_indie_film_finance_v2011.1_investors/

Wonders in the Dark

The extraordinary blog, Wonders in the Dark, and Sam Juliano paid us a wonderful tribute yesterday.  Many of you already saw this piece, but I wanted to house it on the blog, too:

http://wondersinthedark.wordpress.com/2011/02/28/jambalaya-filmmaker-and-blogging-star-jeffrey-goodman/

Favorite (four), part eight

Just like in my other seven posts thus far in this series, I want to take a second to single out the highlights of my recent film viewing.  I'm trying right now to take in almost a film a day.  Most have been first-time viewings.  And most I have been glad to finally see, but only very few have stayed with me.  This series is my filter for those (and hopefully one or two of these will be good to someone else, too).

Hirokazu Koreeda's Still Walking
The third of the director's films I've seen, and he continues to be among my favorite of all the contemporary Asian directors.  He's definitely a humanist, and there are moments that carry a tremendous power.  Not perfect, I particularly found a little fault with the saccharine nature of some of the score.  But all in all a memorable effort from one of the few directors still carrying Ozu's torch.  

Aaron Katz's Quiet City

Light and sweet, Katz has heart, and it shows.  I don't find his writing as interesting as Bujalski's, nor his ability to capture nuance and awkwardness as skilled as Bujalski's talents.  But Katz has some of David Gordon Green's feeling for sound/image and creates a couple of tremendous moments here. The scene of the four young adults dancing at the house party might be my favorite scene all year.  I look forward to seeing more of Katz.  It's works like this one that continue to keep me interested in mumblecore and somewhat optimistic about micro-budget filmmaking.   

Emmanuel Laurent's Two in the Wave

Not the most marvelous film ever.  But it is a documentary about my favorite period in the history of cinema, The French New Wave, and it covers aspects of this wonderful movement that I've rarely seen on film, including Leaud's screen test for The 400 Blows.  I consider the film's two main subjects, Godard and Truffaut, to be among the most passionate of anyone that has ever worked in the medium, and to this day for me they're both still huge influences and inspirations.  

Yasujiro Ozu's There Was a Father

Ozu is without a doubt my favorite directorial discovery of the last year. His movies tell us so much about ourselves, and when it comes to showing us aging and family, I'm not sure Ozu has a rival.  I particularly like his bold, editing style in this one.  He jumps ahead between scenes, always knowing that we'll eventually catch up.  I'm not a huge fan of the actor playing the older son in this one, but all in all, another wonderful experience in the world of Ozu.   

Noir, My Friend

It was the first genre I ever took to, speaking to me in a way that nothing else ever had.  What was it?   Was it the clever, little rejoinders?  The neat little twists and turns of many of the films’ plots?  Or was I nocturnal and liked the underworld, the seedier side of things? 

I ask all these questions but already know the answer.  I grew up in a Blue Velvet world.  The suburbs, small town, surrounded by smiling faces and happy people.  And I didn’t feel all that way inside, but it seemed that everyone else did, and that’s the way I needed to be, too.  

Most of the movies I was seeing were echoing this rampant optimism, as well.  But then I discovered film noir, and my first cinematic companion.  A filmed document that felt as unhinged and raw as many of my emotions inside.   It wasn’t until much later, of course, that I learned noir was mostly the product of disenfranchised Europeans who had fled their countries and come to Hollywood.

Rose-colored Hollywood must have felt exactly to them as my Blue Velvet world felt to me.  And their films expressed this chasm.  They told stories of a world when Hollywood was asleep.  Their stories were tough but with an honesty and truthfulness that seemed unique to American cinema.   

Noir might mean black or dark.  And film noir might not be the most upbeat tales to ever come out of our nation’s cinema.  But for me, and I think so many others, they were liberating, catharsis as truth, and will forever remain relevant as a result.

*This post is a part of the For the Love of Film (Noir) Blogathon and Fundraiser for the Film Noir Foundation to help preserve our film heritage.  The Blogathon is hosted by Ferdy on Films and The Self-Styled Siren.  Please make your donation by clicking on the link below.  Thank you.

i'll take rembrandt, titian...

Every now and then a song sticks with me.  Here's the one of the current moment:

The Kinks - 20th Century Man (Listen on Youtube)

You got one right now?  I'm curious what it is.

My Favorite Cameramen

I guess, like Sam Juliano, I'm kinda a list man.  I've done lists, my favorite films from 1926-2008, my favorites of my favorites, my fave actors, and my fave actresses.  Well I'm sitting here, unable to sleep, and thought I'd throw together a list of my favorite cameramen.  So here goes:

Robby Muller
Vittorio Storaro
Gregg Toland
John Alton
Jack Cardiff
Raoul Coutard
Henri Decae
Pierre Lhomme
Ghislain Cloquet
Owen Roizman
Gordon Willis
Vilmos Zsigmond
Jean-Yves Escoffier
Farhad Saba
Dante Spinotti
Richard Rutkowski
Tim Orr
Alain Morcoen

Modern Directors and Bang for Your Buck

Not usually the type of thing I repost, but I thought it was a very interesting little pie chart.  Want to see what modern director will give you the most bang for your buck, check it out:

http://www.sofasandsectionals.com/directors-budgets

Lullaby (and) Peril Update 2/4/11

Want to keep up with Lullaby (and) Peril, here's the single best way.  About once a month, I send e-mail updates (to receive them, all you have to do is shoot an e-mail to register@thelastlullaby.com).  Here's our latest update:

THE LAST LULLABY (AND) PERIL UPDATE

February 4, 2011

Thank you all for taking time to register for our updates. Today I will cover five topics:

- Press

- Update

- Five-Year Area Film Industry Report

- Facebook Fan Pages!

- Other Fun Stuff

Press

There have been several great pieces on The Last Lullaby (and) Peril in the last couple of months.  Here are a few of them:

1. http://www.thetechtalk.org/news/film-director-shares-experience-in-industry-1.1960042

Detailing a talk I gave last week at Louisiana Tech University.

2. http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/rrr/local-rrr-949033.mp3

An audio interview with our local NPR affiliate.

3. If you're in the Shreveport-Bossier area, there's a great piece on Peril in this month's SB Magazine. In the issue, there are also three or four other excellent articles on our area's film industry.

Update

Louisiana's film industry boasted its best year ever in 2010, attracting projects with budgets totaling more than $1.4B. It is a great time for the state, and the industry just keeps better and stronger here. Personally, I continue to move forward with my next film, Peril. I'm still putting all the money together, but I am very optimistic looking ahead. I also feel that this will be the year when The Last Lullaby finds even wider distribution.

Five-Year Area Film Industry Report

I have been back in Louisiana since early 2005, and the film industry has been in the northern part of the state, in a significant way, since early September 2005. This area's film industry is about five years old now, and I thought it was time to put a report together. I am delivering this talk in several venues throughout north Louisiana. If you are part of an organization that would be interested in hearing this report, please let me know. I think it's the most important talk I've put together to date.

Facebook Fan Pages!

I continue to grow the audience around both Peril and The Last Lullaby. If you haven't already, please take a second to join our Facebook Fan Pages for Peril and Lullaby:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Peril/266972237358?ref=ts
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Last-Lullaby/19456164241?ref=ts

Just click on the links above and then click "Like!"

Other Fun Stuff

Over at the LULLABY/PERIL blog (http://cahierspositif.blogspot.com/), I am writing more than ever about the films I'm watching as I prepare for Peril and the films ahead. I'm really enjoying this blog and think that some of you might enjoy some of the posts, as well. Come visit me and drop me a comment if you want to discuss anything. 

Also, as mentioned in previous updates, I have created several other places for people to begin following PERIL. Here are all the different places we have so far. I hope that many of you will join us:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Peril/266972237358?ref=ts

http://twitter.com/chaillotfilms

http://cahierspositif.blogspot.com/

e-mail updates (simply send an e-mail to register@perilthemovie.com)

I want to thank you all for your incredible support. I really couldn't be more excited about the road ahead.

As always, if you have any questions, hit reply and your e-mail will come to me. Please keep spreading the word! You guys are the best.

Jeffrey Goodman

Director 

THE LAST LULLABY (AND) PERIL

www.thelastlullaby.com

Chaillot Films

Sundance Sales #3

From all accounts, this year's Sundance Film Festival was the most active buyers festival of the last three or four years (an encouraging barometer as we move forward).  Here's one more piece compiling all the acquisition information:

http://www.indiewire.com/article/all_sundance_2011_acquisitions_by_distributor/

Sundance Sales #2

A nice article I found consolidating all of the 2011 Sundance sales so far:

http://www.thewrap.com/movies/article/sundance-2011-deal-scorecard-24-films-sold-so-far-24262

Sundance Sales

We're in the middle of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, and it's always a good barometer for Indyland to see what films are selling, to whom, and for how much.  Here's the info I've been able to compile up to this point:

1.  My Idiot Brother, starring Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, and Emily Mortimer
Budget - Approximately under $10M
Bought by The Weinstein Company for a reported Minimum Guarantee of $6-7M and $15M P&A

2.  Like Crazy, starring Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones, and Jennifer Lawrence
Budget - n/a
Bought by Paramount for $4M

3.  Margin Call, starring Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, and Zachary Quinto
Budget - Approximately $3.4M
Bought by Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions for a non-disclosed amount

4.  Martha Marcy May Marlene, starring Elizabeth Olsen, Hugh Dancy, and John Hawkes
Budget - n/a
Bought by Fox Searchlight for $2M

5.  Homework, starring Emma Roberts and Freddie Highmore
Budget - n/a
Bought by Fox Searchlight for a non-disclosed amount

6.  Page One: A Year Inside the New York Times, documentary
Budget - n/a
Bought by Magnolia and Participant Media

7.  Silent House, starring Maggie Gyllenhaal and Elizabeth Olsen
Budget - n/a
Bought by Liddell Entertainment for a reported Minimum Guarantee of $3M and a P&A committment north of $3M

8.  The Bengali Detective, Calcutta crime documentary
Budget - n/a
Bought by Fox Searchlight for remake rights

9.  The Ledge, starring Charlie Hunnam, Liv Tyler, Patrick Wilson, and Terrence Howard
Budget - $10M
Bought by IFC for a non-disclosed amount

10.  Life in a Day, crowd-sourced YouTube documentary, produced by Kevin Macdonald & Ridley Scott
Budget - n/a
Bought by National Geographic Films for a non-disclosed amount

11.  Circumstance, an American narrative filmed in Lebanon
Budget - n/a
Bought by Participant Media for a non-disclosed amount

*Have any more info on any of these films, or any other acquisitions, please let me know.

Sundance 2011 -- 7 days away

A very interesting piece as we head into the 2011 Sundance Film Festival:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/sydneylevine/archives/business_trends_at_sundance/#

My Top 10 (or so) Films for 2010

I spent most of the year watching older stuff, filling in some gaps, and catching up on films I probably should have already seen but that had escaped me for one reason or another.  Meanwhile most of the more talked about 2010 fare I still need to track down.

Here's my list:

William Wellman's A Star Is Born (1937)

It is at once an extremely tender and tragic love story.  Cukor's version is one of my favorite films of all time, but Wellman's original certainly doesn't disappoint.  It's a wonderfully felt film, full of unforgettable moments and sincere connections.




Yasujiro Ozu's I Was Born, But... (1932)

What deep emotions Ozu is able to explore, particularly the idea of young kids having to come to terms with their father's rank in society. Ozu goes deep, takes it slow, but explores characters and themes that are incredibly universal and real.

Leo McCarey's Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)

One of the best depictions of aging I have ever seen and full of many gut-wrenching and poignant moments.  I didn't fully connect with the character of the aging woman.  But otherwise, I found it to be an utterly bold, unique, and powerful work.

Vittorio De Sica's Umberto D. (1952)

Perhaps the film if you want to understand the bond between a dog and its owner.  Moving, realistic, wise, and full of heart.  A movie with a huge reputation, and rightfully so.  





Yasujiro Ozu's Late Spring (1949)

Another extraordinarily tender and wise film about  life, relationships, and personal growth and evolution.  Ozu keeps things minimal and spare, as usual.  But whenever he goes outside we're reminded of his strong connection to nature and his tremendous feeling and eye for the outdoors. Soft but packs a punch. 





John Ford's Mogambo (1953)

A flawed film, certainly.  But a fever dream of a flick with the painfully beautiful Grace Kelly and some of the most suspenseful scenes in the history of cinema involving animals and humans.  Nice to see Ford taking a break from the Irish thing and delivering this complex tale.





Josef von Sternberg's Morocco (1930)

The most poetic von Sternberg I've seen and some incredibly brave and conceptually consistent filmmaking -- those tracking shots and the scene of Dietrich looking for Cooper upon his troop's return.  I still probably prefer The Blue Angel, but this one pushes very close.






Luchino Visconti's Ossessione (1943)

Based on the same James M Cain novel, The Postman Always Rings Twice, that led to two American films, this early film from one of Italian cinema's masters is a neorealist marvel.  Detailed, beautifully observed, this seems like a key influence on Godard's Breathless, and many of the other French New Wave works. 






Leo McCarey's The Awful Truth (1937)

I had seen this one about 15 years ago in a Parisian theater and had a mediocre reaction to it but man was I wrong.  This has some of the greatest moments and exchanges of the entire period, particularly the final scene and almost every scene with Mr. Smith, the dog.  I still may slightly prefer His Girl Friday, but this is undeniably a great work.

John Ford's The Long Voyage Home (1940)

I'm still somewhat new to Ford's work.  I've probably seen less than ten of his films.  But I'm starting to see more and more clearly the reason for his huge reputation.  There is a depthfulness and heavy melancholy to some of his work that gives it the kind of heft I've experienced with some Ozu, Mizoguchi, Bresson, and Dreyer.  Toland does some extraordinary things here.  There are four or five completely gut-wrenching scenes, and there's a realism to a couple of the action set pieces that is absolutely masterful.  






Ross McElwee's Sherman's March (1986)

Like Killer of Sheep and Stranger Than Paradise (and many others, of course), Sherman's March is a key work in the history of American independent filmmaking.  But somehow it's just now come to my attention. Ross McElwee's film is absolutely not for everyone.  It's lo-fi, quirky, slow, long, and even a bit austere in its approach.  But it's also very personal, without ever really being abrasive or intimate, in an overly exposed way.

I'm always looking and thinking about ways to make my own work more personal without making it self-absorbed.  It's a tough balance to strike. And whenever I find a filmmaker who can consistently entertain me while talking about themselves, I usually embrace their work (Woody Allen, for instance).  Obviously, it's easier when the filmmaker has a comic streak; it just lightens the whole venture.

One of my favorite contemporary filmmakers is Andrew Bujalski, and particularly his film  Funny Ha Ha.  If you like that film, I highly recommend this documentary.  Bujalski, like McElwee, really lets you in on his awkwardness, insecurities, anxieties, but he does it with real nuance, grace, and of course, occasional humor.   Some would call both of these films mumblecore, I would simply call them very fine works by very patient and bold filmmakers.




Steven Spielberg's Munich (2005)

Some of my reservations with Spielberg are on display -- his questionable sense of humor, his lapses into sentimentality, and his taste in music.  But it's also as clear as ever that when he puts his mind to it, his formal skills are up there with any of the masters.  The action sequences -- the opening of the film, when Avner first flashes back to "Black Sunday" while asleep on the airplane, the phone bomb, the attempted killing in London, and the first murder in Italy -- are all incredible in their grace, energy, and effectiveness.  In fact, they are probably the strongest set of action sequences I've seen since Heat.  A film with several flaws -- overly wordy, overlong, and uneven.  But when it's great, it's a classic.   




Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Tokyo Sonata (2008)

Kurosawa's lightest and most accessible work I've seen.  It's great to see the director working outside of genre and in territory that's already been masterfully done by Kitano (Fireworks) and Yang (Yi Yi).  Restrained but lyrical with the best final scene I've seen all year.  A wonderful film.