BuzzSugar

TV Today: The Independent Spirit Awards, Twice

BuzzSugar — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 12:00:01 -0800

Can't wait till the Oscars for your awards fix this weekend? Well today, you can get a quirky take on the red carpet and awards show fun with Film Independent's Spirit Awards live at 5 p.m. Eastern/2 p.m. Pacific on IFC. If you're unable to catch it live in the afternoon, an edited version will re-air on AMC at 10 p.m. Eastern and Pacific.

This year's host is funny man Steve Coogan, star of Hamlet 2, and I'm looking forward to seeing how he does with the show's free-flowing format. Based on some recent Twitter updates from last year's host, Rainn Wilson, I'm sure the night will offer up some memorable moments. You can check out a list of this year's nominees here and come back a little later today to see a full list of winners.

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Are You More Likely to Watch an Indie Film On-Demand?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 05:30:06 -0800

Those of you with a cable on-demand service might notice an influx of independent movies in your menu options. That's because the folks behind the distribution of these movies are thinking of new ways to get them to folks beyond those in the few cities that release them theatrically.

The New York Times reports that video-on-demand services "are beginning to transform the independent film market." Do you think having these indie films on-demand will make you more likely to watch them?

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Rachel Getting Married Leads 2009 Independent Spirit Noms

BuzzSugar — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 10:35:45 -0800

After all the acclaim heaped on Rachel Getting Married, the family drama starring Anne Hathaway, it makes sense that the movie would lead (along with two other films that also received six nominations each: Sundance favorites Ballast and Frozen River) the year's batch of nominations for the Independent Spirit Awards.

Other titles in the Best Feature category include the heartbreaking Wendy and Lucy, starring Michelle Williams, and the Mickey Rourke drama The Wrestler. Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona is getting some love, with acting nominations for Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz and a Best Screenplay nomination for Allen. Milk scored several nominations as well, including a Best Actor nod for Sean Penn and a Best Supporting Actor for James Franco.

The winners will be announced at the ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009. To check out the full list of this year's Independent Spirit Award nominees, read more.

The 2009 Spirit Award Nominees:

BEST FEATURE
Ballast
Frozen River
Rachel Getting Married
Wendy and Lucy
The Wrestler

BEST DIRECTOR
Ramin Bahrani (Chop Shop)
Jonathan Demme (Rachel Getting Married)
Lance Hammer (Ballast)
Courtney Hunt (Frozen River)
Tom McCarthy (The Visitor)

BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer)
Afterschool
Director: Antonio Campos
Producers: Sean Durkin, Josh Mond

Medicine for Melancholy
Director: Barry Jenkins
Producer: Justin Barber

Sangre De Mi Sangre
Director: Christopher Zalla
Producers: Per Melita, Benjamin Odell

Sleep Dealer
Director: Alex Rivera
Producer: Anthony Bregman

Synecdoche, New York
Director: Charlie Kaufman
Producers: Anthony Bregman, Spike Jonze, Charlie
Kaufman, Sidney Kimmel

BEST MALE LEAD
Javier Bardem (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
Richard Jenkins (The Visitor)
Sean Penn (Milk)
Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker)
Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Summer Bishil (Towelhead)
Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married)
Melissa Leo (Frozen River)
Tarra Riggs (Ballast)
Michelle Williams (Wendy and Lucy)

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
James Franco (Milk)
Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker)
Charlie McDermott (Frozen River)
Jim Myron Ross (Ballast)
Haaz Sleiman (The Visitor)

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Penélope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
Rosemarie DeWitt (Rachel Getting Married)
Rosie Perez (The Take)
Misty Upham (Frozen River)
Debra Winger (Rachel Getting Married)

BEST SCREENPLAY
Woody Allen (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck (Sugar)
Charlie Kaufman (Synecdoche, New York)
Howard A. Rodman (Savage Grace)
Christopher Zalla (Sangre De Mi Sangre)

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Dustin Lance Black (Milk)
Lance Hammer, (Ballast)
Courtney Hunt (Frozen River)
Jonathan Levine (The Wackness)
Jenny Lumet (Rachel Getting Married)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Maryse Alberti (The Wrestler)
Lol Crawley (Ballast)
James Laxton (Medicine for Melancholy)
Harris Savides (Milk)
Michael Simmonds (Chop Shop)

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000; award given to the writer, director, and producer)
In Search of a Midnight Kiss
Prince of Broadway
The Signal
Take Out
Turn the River

BEST DOCUMENTARY
The Betrayal
Encounters at the End of the World
Man on Wire
The Order of Myths
Up the Yangtze

FOREIGN FILM
The Class (France)
Gomorra (Italy)
Hunger (UK/Ireland)
Secret of the Grain (France)
Silent Light (Mexico/France/Netherlands/Germany)

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD (Given to one film’s director, casting director, and its ensemble cast)
Synecdoche, New York
Director: Charlie Kaufman
Casting Director: Jeanne McCarthy
Ensemble Cast: Hope Davis, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Catherine Keener, Samantha Morton, Tom Noonan, Emily Watson, Dianne Wiest, Michelle Williams

IFC/ACURA SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
Barry Jenkins, director of Medicine for Melancholy
Nina Paley, director of Sita Sings the Blues
Lynn Shelton, director of My Effortless Brilliance

Sundance Review: Henry Poole Is Here

BuzzSugar — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 07:30:17 -0700

Note: I posted this review soon after I saw this movie at Sundance, and today it's out in theaters, so I thought I'd share my thoughts again. It has some flaws, but overall I really like this movie.

Henry Poole Is Here was one of the first non-documentary feature films to be snatched up by a studio at this year's Sundance, and I can easily see why. It's a sweet, feel-good movie featuring great performances and a quirky look at the old discussion of faith vs. reason. It's not for everyone, veering as it does into some schmaltzy territory, but the subject matter lends itself to some cheesiness and I can't quite see how that could have been avoided. The hipster soundtrack helps to make things more edgy, as does the artful direction by Mark Pellington.

Luke Wilson plays Henry Poole, a grouchy man who buys an ordinary house in Southern California. Before long, his very friendly neighbor Esperanza (Adriana Barazza) notices a stain on the outside of Henry's house that she thinks is the face of Jesus. She calls in a priest (George Lopez) and starts telling everyone in town about "the miracle" at Henry's house, much to Henry's annoyance. Henry tries his best to get rid of the stain, wanting nothing more than to be left alone in his dreary house. But the more he angrily resists the "miracle" on his house, the more proof presents itself that the stain truly does have some kind of power. For more of my thoughts about Henry Poole, read more.

I can name two major reasons to see this movie: Adriana Barraza and Morgan Lily. Barraza, who received an Oscar nomination for her performance in Babel, is a compelling person to watch in general, and in this film she lends a truthful humanity to what might have been the silliest character in the story. Morgan Lily is a rising star; her big, sweet eyes and ease on camera indicate excellent things for her future. She will give those Fanning kids a run for their money. This photo in particular just slays me.

For his part, Wilson is surprisingly good in the title role. Henry Poole is difficult to like, yet Wilson elicits our sympathy. When we find out the painful reasons behind Poole's curmudgeonly demeanor, Wilson still manages to keep things grounded; we are compassionate toward Poole but we aren't allowed to pity him.

The music chosen for the film is its own character, though sometimes it almost plays too big a part. Still, it's like the filmmakers took a spin through my music collection and made some great choices: The Eels, Cake, Badly Drawn Boy, and many more. In truth, I probably wouldn't have liked the movie quite so much if it weren't for the carefully selected tunes.

Bottom line: Henry Poole Is Here is beautifully directed, features great performances and uses music in a lovely way. At times it's overly cheesy but if you're generally a fan of indie film, this is a must-see.

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An Interview With American Teen Director Nanette Burstein

BuzzSugar — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 05:30:02 -0700

When I saw the documentary American Teen at Sundance this year, I was totally wowed, and I knew I was watching something special. It's truly one of the most insightful documentaries on American life to come out in years. The film is in select theaters now, and I highly recommend you check it out.

As you can imagine, it was a delight to sit down with the director of American Teen, Nanette Burstein, and pick her brain about the making of the film, what it means in the grander scope of current teen culture, and what it's like to be a lady director in a field that is still staggeringly dominated by men.

Buzz: When you were first filming at the high school in Warsaw (Indiana), how did you know you found the "right" kids with Colin and Hannah and Jake and Megan, etc.?

Nannette Burstein: Well, I didn't know for a while. I'm used to looking for not only the people but also a story that's already in process. And it's really funny because I found the best stories all in this one town - but that was in the summer. And then I got there like a month later and every one of their stories had changed, and I was so upset! I was like, "Oh my God, I've raised all this money and this film is going to be a disaster." (laughs) But they're teenagers! And their lives change like that.

The interview continues if you read more.

Buzz: Did it take a while for them to trust you, especially in regard to filming them doing potentially incriminating things, like vandalism, drinking, etc.? Were they OK with you filming that?

NB: No, not in the beginning. It did take a while . . . because they were worried that I was going to show that they drank a lot. So, I made this promise to them that I wouldn't do that, and I did keep that promise. There's only one scene where you actually see them drinking alcohol. [But] that wasn't what I was interested in, and in fact, they weren't doing really anything. I was worse in high school, I was drinking and doing more drugs than they were. I think it’s something that teenagers do, and if anything it was tamer. But yeah, it definitely took them a few months to trust me and feel comfortable on camera.

Buzz: Speaking of things that you did when you were younger and what they did, do you think there's anything unique about teenage life right now? And are there things that are the same and are always going to be the same?

NB: Yes, I think what's different about teenage life now is communication. Just overwhelming different forms of communication like the Internet and text messaging and i-chatting and YouTube, and it’s really hard for them to navigate. There's already enough rumors and misunderstandings that happen when you’re a teenager and this has just multiplied them, you know, a hundred-fold. I think what hasn't changed are the core issues of wanting to fit in and feeling insecure and fragile hearts and your parents pressuring you . . . All of these emotional issues are timeless. And up until now, you have these fiction films that deal with these kinds of subjects, but they tend to be more one-dimensional and everyone has a happy ending and nothing is very realistic. And then these reality shows are very stagey and tend to be about the wealthier classes in life so they don't feel very real either. So I haven't really seen a film that's depicted - both on an entertaining level and a complexity and substantive level - what teenage life is like. Hopefully in that way this film is new and different and could have wide appeal.

Buzz: You had mentioned at Sundance that you wished there had been more diversity, but it just didn’t work out that way. Did it ever give you pause to call the film American Teen when it's about basically one sort of homogeneous group of people?

NB: Yes! It gave me great pause, in fact. And I was struggling until Sundance - I knew once I got to Sundance I couldn't change the name because there would be all this publicity and we went through a bunch of different names. But I was and still am concerned about that.

Buzz: It's still quite different from what we're getting a lot of on TV, The Hills, all that stuff, and to me this is endlessly fascinating - the heartland of America, etc. - perhaps more so than say, Southern California.

NB: I know, and it's so funny because when I first got to Warsaw, the more popular kids were like, "Why are you filming here? You should be in California! Who's gonna want to watch this?" (laughs) They were so dubious of the movie because it was set in their Midwestern town.

Buzz: But it’s actually fulfilling a need.

NB: Yeah! Oh, it totally is.

Buzz: As a female director, what has been your experience within the film community as it is today?

NB: You know, I haven’t yet experienced discrimination, and I'm going to do a fictional film next so I'm sure it could be very different. Documentaries, there are a lot of female directors, probably because you don’t make much money (laughs). And it's not quite as political. But subject matter-wise, you look at the movies out there and every year has some exceptions. Maybe Juno is about pregnancy, but it was more than that to me, it was a film about a really smart . . . like a Hannah type of girl. And it's great, and you never see movies with young, female icons like that, that don’t care about being popular and are not vapid but are actually quite witty.

Buzz: And that movie just took off.

NB: I know! Exactly. And the success of it is because there's obviously a desire to see girls depicted that way. Yeah, I don't know why there are so few female directors, but there are . . . I do think there are strong female characters in [my movie], which is cool. I think that both Megan and Hannah are even more complicated than the boys, and I think that definitely comes from a woman making the film. And I didn’t even consciously think about it.

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Summer Reading: Is Independent Film Dying?

BuzzSugar — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 10:30:45 -0700

One of the more interesting entertainment-related stories I came across this past week is a Salon "Beyond the Multiplex" column about a subject near and dear to my heart: independent film. In the story, writer Andrew O'Hehir looks at the signs that indie films - so hot just a few years ago - are undergoing a pretty serious slide at the box office. Among the evidence:

Several "independent" divisions of major studios are slashing their workforce or shutting their doors.
Though Juno was a success last year, none of this year's indie films have broken through in a big way at the box office.
The "digital revolution" has led to more films being produced than the market can hold, and many of them aren't great quality.
Despite all that, more people than ever are saying they'd rather see independent films than studio fare.

It's an interesting look at a possibly outdated model for distributing smaller, quirkier films. So, go give it a read, and then come back here and tell me what you think about the state of independent film today.

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Movie Preview: Diminished Capacity

BuzzSugar — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 08:30:26 -0700

Another day, another trailer for a movie from this year's Sundance Film Festival. Today's features Matthew Broderick and Alan Alda as an uncle-nephew duo in Diminished Capacity. The plot is this: "A man (Broderick) suffering from memory [trouble] takes a trip to a memorabilia expo with his Alzheimer's-impaired relative (Alda) and his high school flame (Virginia Madsen), where the trio plans to. . . sell a rare baseball card."

I didn't get to see this one at Sundance, but my friend Molly did and she said it was pretty good. Sad, of course, but also touching and well-acted. Diminished Capacity opens in limited release July 8. To check out the trailer, read more.

Tribeca Review: Lioness

BuzzSugar — Sun, 04 May 2008 08:00:49 -0700

I was compelled to see the documentary Lioness at the Tribeca Film Festival because the basis is so intriguing. In the press notes for the film, this is the description: "Despite written policy banning women from direct ground combat, military commanders have been using women in direct ground warfare as an essential part of their operations since 2003. Though official policy forbids this operation and publicly denies its existence, this initiative and company of women have a name: they are called Team Lioness. Lioness. . .tells the story of the first group of Lionesses who went to Iraq as clerks, mechanics and engineers but returned a year later as America's first female combat veterans."

Much of the film deals with that last detail - that these women went abroad with the military, possessing expertise in certain fields but not having much training in direct combat. Mainly, it appears from the film, they were brought into hostile areas to help calm and placate the Iraqi women during raids, but when violence erupted, they were often forced to engage in direct combat, something official policy blatantly forbids. From here, the issues become not that women can't handle violence, but rather that these women simply weren't trained for that kind of action and that they innately handle the experience differently than men. For more about this complicated issue, read more.

The film primarily follows five female soldiers and their post-Iraq stories. Some are mothers and wives, some are now living with their parents, all of them have harrowing stories of finding themselves in traumatizing situations, like having one moment to decide whether to shoot (and kill) or be shot at. Through one-on-one interviews and from reading journal entries we learn that the women feel a constant need to check their compassion. More than once they wonder aloud, "What would I do if this happened to me?" They see the fear in the faces of the Iraqi women and figure they'd also be pretty upset if a bunch of strangers demolished their homes. And yet, when in combat these thoughts and emotions seem to work against them. One male chief chided a high-ranking female soldier for hugging one of the women after an emotional day, saying, "Remember you're in charge."

Ultimately, they have to find ways of understanding the situation so that they're not entirely overcome with emotion. As one woman puts it, "We just have to put faith in the intel that these people are doing wrong." Another one insists, "To be honest, it's not our place to question," referring to the war and the government's actions.

What they do question, however, is why they seem to be missing from accounts of the Iraq war. Because they aren't technically supposed to be engaging in direct combat, the military is reluctant to bring any kind of light to the Lioness teams. At one point, one of the women has her former Lioness teammates over to watch a History channel special on a particular mission they were a part of, one that was incredibly violent and gruesome, and there is no mention whatsoever about the women who fought alongside the male soldiers. There are, however, plenty of references to the "brave men" who faced this particular ordeal. This ignoring of the women's contributions seems to be at the painful heart of Lioness. As the movie's tag line puts it, "There for the action. Missing from history." Though it's not an easy movie to watch, it is an important film, as everyone should be aware of the actions and sacrifices of these courageous women.

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Tribeca Review: Gotta Dance

BuzzSugar — Thu, 01 May 2008 14:31:06 -0700

OK, that's it. I think I'm tapped out on the ridiculously heartwarming documentaries about elderly folks doing things like singing Coldplay songs or learning hip-hop to perform during basketball games. It's not that I'm sick of them, it's that they reduce me to an overemotional puddle on the floor. And movie theater floors are sticky. Of course, I think other people should seek out these movies. I've just learned that they're like my emotional kryptonite. . . in a good way.

Gotta Dance is similar to the recent documentary Young@Heart in many ways. Both focus on groups of older people doing things that most older people don't do: singing "the young peoples' music" and "dancing the young peoples' dances." The joy this brings them, and the sense of self-worth and aliveness is so inspiring it brings tears to my eyes. Gotta Dance differs, however, in that these people are physically pushing themselves to do the dances, so there is a much heavier emphasis on the subject of growing old and what kinds of limitations one faces. More than merely having a difference in taste (Young@Heart features elderly people who, though it's not necessarily their taste in music, sing rock songs) this kind of activity poses physical challenges that end up making the dancers feel both old and young. To see what else happens and for more of my thoughts, read more.

The film starts with the auditions for the first-ever senior hip-hop dance team for the New Jersey Nets. We get to know a handful of the hopefuls who end up getting spots on the team and who we follow throughout the film. The team ultimately consists of 11 women and one man and we watch as they learn the moves for their first show, gradually becoming more confident until the nerve-racking debut on the court.

Of course, the show is a smash hit and they soon find their pictures in the newspaper, followed by invitations to appear on morning shows. As the team becomes more popular, their pride grows and their routines become tougher. By this point, I felt like these people were my relatives and friends, and I could have watched them bond over learning how to shake, swivel and stomp to Jay-Z for many more hours. I also enjoyed watching the team's choreographers and leaders, young women from the Nets dance team who treat the seniors with respect and patience, but also determinedly whip them into shape during practice.

The filmmakers (and the folks behind the Tribeca Film Festival) did well to feature the movie at Tribeca, as New York plays its own part in the film. Most of the seniors live in New Jersey, though a few live in New York City. One of them was even dubbed "Miss Subways" back in the day, and others remembered seeing her face plastered on the subway cars.

So many documentaries are somber, frightening or provocative - and they're often important to see. But this makes Gotta Dance a huge relief within a genre somewhat glutted with fear and sadness. The joie de vivre in this film is completely infectious, and just like with Young@Heart, it makes growing old seem like a damn good time.

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Tribeca Review: Savage Grace

BuzzSugar — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:32:38 -0700

As is the case with many movies, you can kinda tell how you'll feel about Savage Grace from how you feel watching the trailer. For me, I thought the trailer was tense, dark and disturbing. Julianne Moore looked powerfully off-kilter, exhibiting that magnificent control she utilizes with every role she takes on, but ultimately the trailer left me with a bleakly ominous feeling. Physically, it was like I'd swallowed cement.

The full movie left me with that feeling times a thousand. Julianne Moore's character is appalling in this story, and yet Moore makes us sympathize with her. But aside from that, this supremely messed up film is just hard to watch. Moore portrays the real-life American socialite Barbara Daly Baekeland whose hostile marriage with plastics heir Brooks (Stephen Dillane) Baekeland produced one son, Antony (Eddie Redmayne). After the dissolution of Barbara and Brooks' marriage, Antony became Barbara's closest friend and confidant. Barbara and Antony's relationship was really close, if you know what I mean. If you don't (even if you do), read more.

Antony's upbringing was transient and often lonely as he moved from place to place, always living the high-class lifestyle of a young socialite. Worse, he often had to care for his mentally unstable mother, to the point of dressing her wrist wounds after she attempted suicide. Irritated by the fact that Antony was homosexual, Barbara desperately wished to make Antony "a real man" and this desire extended into an incestuous relationship, which is believed to be the thing that drove Antony to stab his mother with a kitchen knife in November of 1972, killing her.

Though it's all very creepy, the only performance that truly packs a punch is Moore's, whose Barbara is both hateful and pitiable. Redmayne and Dillane seem to have latched onto the emptiness of these peoples' lives to the point that even their performances ring empty. This is the terribly sad telling of a real-life tragedy, and while it's often fascinating to delve into the inside worlds of the rich and famous, the inside of this particular story is merely full of ugliness and pain. Though interesting enough, the movie isn't artful or polished enough to make the incredibly bleak experience of watching it anything more than depressing.

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