I would like to thank everyone that supported us! It's been an interesting journey."Memory Lane" has won the 2014 South Alabama Film Festival/Southsounds Southern Music Video division!
Mobile, Alabama, at dusk before the Artwalk premiere!
On the big screen!
"Memory Lane" premiered publicly during The LoDa (Lower Dauphin) Artwalk in Mobile last Friday and was well-received. The video drew a small, but dedicated crowd. "Memory Lane" competed with 10 other music videos from the Gulf region. Eterniti, the artist, is one satisfied customer!
"Memory Lane" has an interesting history. It was shot as a literal last-minute video because our club extras didn't show for an entirely different song and video! But in the end, we polished that turd into a win, and that's what filmmaking is about!
For us at Lagniappe Cinemas, we gonna keep doing what we do best: making quality video! In case you haven't seen the video, it is embedded below.
Less than a week ago, two fellow filmmakers and close friends died together in an helicopter crash off the Australian coast. Australian Andrew Wight and American Mike deGruy were found 97 miles north of Sydney, in Nowra. DeGruy, an Emmy and BAFTA-award winning marine documentary filmmaker, is a fellow Mobilian. Not just any Mobilian, but a card-carrying advocate of the river deltas and bayous that make up our home.
From his website:
Mike deGruy was born on December 29, 1951 in Mobile, Alabama. It was here, at the confluence of 5 rivers, with an amazing delta flowing through rich swamps of alligators, birds of every flavor, fish, deer and snakes, all emptying into Mobile Bay and finally the blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico, that Mike gained his enthusiasm for the ocean - a love that continues to this day.
We also both eventually left Mobile for the California sun, but that is another story. DeGruy probably spent most of his life convincing people he's not from Louisiana.
Here is deGruy discussing the now infamous BP Gulf Coast oil spill.
It's that time of year! The LA Film Festival is now in full swing. This year, instead of the rolling hills and glistening streets of Westwood, the festival takes place downtown at the recently-completed LA Live. Methinks this is part of the city's plan to gentrify the once-avoided area.
Anywhoo, I thought I would take the time to review the films I saw today and the festival thus far. While I still ponder the reasoning behind moving the festival downtown, I must admit it was a smart choice. Moving the festival to LA Live makes it more accessible to locals via Metro. Not to mention, everyone in Los Angeles knows where the Staples Center is. Despite its premier location, I must shake my head at the available food and rest options currently at LA Live. Last year, there was a plethora of cafes, fast food joints, convenience stores, restaurants, and sushi bars to keep the plebeians happy. This year, most of the food choices center around the sit-down restaurant experience and Starbucks. Needless to say, the Starbucks is seeing alot of action these days for festival-goers looking for a quick bite in-between screenings. There's a Subway three blocks up and one block east, but seriously, no one walks in LA. I found it by accident myself.
Moving on to the screenings. I saw two docs today. Great films. A quick review on both.
GasLand, directed by hippie-raised Pennsylvanian Josh Fox, protests natural gas companies' abuses of our most precious and vital resource: water. Interview after interview reveals how landowners' water reserves are now filled with undrinkable, flammable water. Yes, you can literally light what is supposed to be drinking water straight from the faucet. The citizens try to fight back in their own ways, but are ultimately at a loss for a final solution. God only knows what these folks are drinking. Interesting enough, Fox mentions during the Q-and-A how he is now the target of natural gas companies who are desperately trying to debunk his film. He wasn't lying.
The film was informative, however, Fox inserted himself in the documentary a little too much for me. I gave it a 3 in the audience choice vote.
Where are You Taking Me?, directed by Kimi Takesue, highlights life in post-civil war Uganda. Takesue uses a non-narrative, minimalist documentary style in order to create a living portrait of the Ugandan people. She uses plenty of close-ups, carefully capturing each nameless subject as they go by their daily lives. Scenes slowly reveal themselves, busting stereotypes wide open. For example, one scene shows young children breaking rocks in a quarry. Dirty and waif-like, they peer at the overseer. He's pushing them to work harder. Then, a boom mike and camera appear, and the word "cut" is heard. This is a movie set. As you watch, you come to the realization that despite the civil war being in the recent past, the Ugandan people are optimistic. They are also more athletic and multi-lingual than you will ever be! My vote was a 4.
So I'm talking about Cannes five days after it ended. Sue me. I was busy.
In an excuse to visit Côte d'Azur and mark it as a business expense, hundreds of filmmakers, distributors, and buyers flock to the coastal town every year to see acts of intellectual pretentiousness on celluloid. But seriously, how can one hate a film festival that exists because everyone was sick of Nazi films?
This year, Tim Burton led the prestigious film jury. Also, legendary filmmakers Woody Allen, Lars von Trier, and Jean-Luc Godard (yeah, that one!) showcased comeback films.
So, how was Cannes this year? Well....
"....was far from a stellar year." -FilmBlog at The Guardian
Ummm. Ok. Well, they are Brits. Brits only have a taste for tea. How 'bout an American?
"...I said that this doesn’t seem to be a very good Cannes. Her answer was, 'No masterpieces so far.'”-Howard Feinstein, Filmmaker Magazine
Well, I subscribe to Filmmaker Magazine and it's possible the editors have impossibly high standards. Another news source?
"...a lack of star power and too few movies generating genuine buzz sapped the festival of excitement." -Reuters
Ok, do these guys count? Reuters is still kinda British. Hollywood, Your take?
"...it looked as though Cannes 2010 would be remembered as the year of the volcano and not much more, so uninspiring were most of the films in competition" -Justin Chang, Variety
F*** you, Variety. Moving on.
There was one surprise. A film called Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul (say that 10 times fast!), won the Palm d'Or. The film beat out British indie golden-boy Mike Leigh and Mexician-American indie powerhouse Alejandro González Iñárritu who both went home with nothing.
We salute you, Mr. Weerasethakul. Happy Filmmaking!
Today, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced a surprise revert back to old Hollywood. They are expanding the nomination list for "Best Picture" from five to ten. Is it a good move? Well, maybe a mixed blessing.
The advocates voice that the larger nomination list gives indies and non-narrative films a chance against the big boys. However, even with only five nominations, it is clear that the most hyped film will win. And who knows if the move would boost the ratings of the bombing ceremony. Let's just say if the Oscars were a series, it would be cancelled mid-season along with Cavemen.
The Oscars are now old news and we shall rejoice once more that a very deserving film got all the recognition it needed. Slumdog Millionaire won a total of eight awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. The film will probably spark a new interest in Bollywood cinema that was waned in the past few years.
Other recognized indies that won Oscars: The Reader (Weinstein Company) Milk (Focus Features) Man on Wire (Magnolia Pictures) Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Weinstein Company) Departures (Regent Releasing) Toyland (Mephisto Films)
If you are like me, you have some serious film watching to do! The rest of the winners are here.
How would you feel if you won a Razzie? Maybe I should I ask Paris Hilton. The self-proclaimed "singer-slash-actress-slash-heiress-slash-book writer-slash-hot mess" won big at the 29th Annual Razzies, CNN reports.
Razzies founder John Wilson told CNN that Hilton's vanity project The Hottie and the Nottie, "wouldn't even have to pay taxes" under the new economic stimulus plan. The film was a critical and commercial bust. I don't think that's hot.
However, the "great" director Uwe Boll continues to rack up Razzies like Angelina Jolie collects third-world children. He received worst director and a "lifetime achievement award." Word has it that there is still an online petition somewhere to get him to retire.
Maybe winning a Razzie wouldn't be so bad if you embrace your cinematic stinkbomb. That's why I have mad props for Halle Berry.
The other "winners" for the 29th Annual Golden Raspberry Awards are here.
Even though SAG is still considering an industry-wide strike, the awards must go on. There were few upsets. Meryl Streep won best motion picture actress for her role in Doubt, and surprise, surprise, Heath Ledger wins another award for his role as Joker.
Surprisingly enough, The Case of Benjamin Button seems to be snubbed in the SAG awards. Although the film has 13 nominations for the Oscars, the film went home empty-handed at SAG. Maybe its luck will change in February. However, I think most indie lovers are pulling for Slumdog Millionaire. We sure love those "rags to riches" stories.
It's January, which means its time for film awards. Film awards, depending on whom you ask are either hokey popularity shows or prestigious lifetime achievements. Although some awards ceremonies have gone downhill as more Americans tire of all the unnecessary glitz and glamour, Hollywood still holds on this tradition like a small child holds on to his mother's pants leg. Award shows are Hollywood's pats on the back.
There is one American statue, however, that seems to hold more weight than, say, your average Golden Globe: The Oscar.
It's art deco design demands a classical respect from whomever cannot get their hands on one. Holding one is a common fantasy of all filmmakers, Hollywood or Indie. Nevertheless, Oscars are reserved for those who have achieved rare cinematic prestige, or at least those who have received the most press.
Enter Heath Ledger. One year ago, the electrifying actor was found with a lethal cocktail of legal drugs in his system. He was the main topic of discussion at Sundance 2008. This year, as everyone knows, he is up for Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Hollywood loves young tragedy, so of course, he will receive this award. While Ledger's Joker makes Jack Nicholson's Joker look like a clown at a six-year-old's birthday party, one must one's self: would Ledger be a contender for this Oscar if he were alive?
Also enter Martin Scorsese. Last year, Marty finally won an Oscar for The Departed after being passed over too many times. Not wanting to make the same mistake as with Hitchcock, the Academy essentially granted him his Oscar for his past work.
Oscar also seems to follow this particular formula: Major awards go to arthouse films almost no one saw, and technical Oscars (sound mixing, art direction, special FX) go to those who do it best: Hollywood blockbusters. While people cry and moan over Dark Knights' "oscar snub," I wonder, "why did people expect this film to be an Oscar contender?" Oscar likes to avoid blockbusters in an attempt to appear to look classy. But with the scandals Hollywood places itself into these days, doesn't it almost seems hypocritical?
Whatever. Cinema is always a business and awards are good advertising. Enjoy the Oscar nominees. I'm sure all the nominees will enjoy their moment. I wish them luck.
