South By Southwest Film Conference and Festival (SXSW)

Wolfe Takes US Rights to SXSW's 'Gayby'

Sophia Savage — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 19:38:41 GMT

"Gayby" has gone to Wolfe Releasing for US distribution. The comedy, written and directed by Jonathan Lisecki, premiered at SXSW and won audience and jury prizes at Ashland Independent Film Festival. The story, based on Lisecki's 2010 short film of the same name (that screened at over a hundred festivals), is about a gay man and a straight woman who decide to have a baby together. Wolfe's Maria Lynn says, “'Gayby' is the funniest movie I’ve seen in years." Wolfe will release the film theatrically later this year in collaboration with The Film Collaborative; a DVD/VOD release will follow in 2013. A full synopsis is below:

Jenn (Jenn Harris) and Matt (Matthew Wilkas) are best friends from college who are now in their thirties. Single by choice, Jenn spends her days teaching hot yoga and running errands for her boss. Matt suffers from comic-book writer’s block and can’t get over his ex-boyfriend. They decide to fulfill a youthful promise to have a child together … the old-fashioned way. Can they navigate the serious and unexpected snags they hit as they attempt to get their careers and dating lives back on track in preparation for parenthood?

'Girls' Q & A with Dunham & Apatow: Hilarious and Sexually Frank Comedy Series is 'Lena's Show'

Anne Thompson — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 16:42:00 GMT

Lena Dunham unveiled the first three episodes of her new HBO series "Girls" (April 15), at SXSW. Safe to say, it played as well for the guys in the room as the women. "This is the most fun experience I've ever had," declared executive producer Judd Apatow during the follow-up Q &A. "It's Lena's show, if she fucks it up it's her fault. Every choice is hers."

Dunham feels a debt to SXSW, which in 2009 debuted the New York filmmaker's first microbudget feature "Creative Nonfiction," which led to Dunham meeting many of her future collaborators, including "Tiny Furniture" cinematographer Jody Lee Lipes, producer Alicia Van Couvering, and actor Alex Karpovsky, who also stars in "Girls." She shot her 2010 SXSW jury-prize-winning semi-autobiographical film "Tiny Furniture" (IFC) at her family's Tribeca loft with herself and many non-pros-- including her old pal Jemima Kirke, sister Grace and artist mom Laurie Simmons ("The Music of Regret")-- in leading roles. (Here's my flip cam interview at the time.)

Suddenly, the Oberlin creating writing major, who is now 25, found herself in demand as a Hollywood writer-for-hire, and was promptly adopted by producer Scott Rudin, who hired her to adapt a script based on David Levithan and Rachel Cohn's "Dash & Lily's Book of Dares" about two kids who conduct a romance at The Strand bookstore by leaving notes for each other in old books. "She's a star," he told me.

And HBO hired her to write, direct and co-executive produce with Apatow and Jennifer Konner ("Undeclared") the series pilot for "Girls," in which she co-stars with Kirke and Allison Williams ("The League") as one of three 20ish New York girlfriends. SPOILERS In the first hilarious and sexually frank episode, Dunham cites HBO series "Sex and the City," is cut off by her parents who have been supporting her writing for two years, loses her unpaid internship, doesn't land a job by telling the wrong off-color joke to Mike Birbiglia, and has sex doggy-style with her strapping uncouth boyfriend (Adam Driver).

Dunham surrounds herself with lithely gorgeous co-stars, but unabashedly reveals her pleasingly plump body in candid sex scenes (predictably, this is already raising a ruckus). She pulls this off. ("You dirty little whore," says her role-playing lover. "That was really good, I almost came," she replies.) The men sitting near me were applauding enthusiastically. You feel like a fly on the wall in scenes with these authentic 20-somethings.

MORE SPOILERS: The second and third episodes offer more sex, a virgin, an unwanted pregnancy for one girl and an STD for another. HBO has ordered up a season of ten shows, of which Dunham wrote and directed five. She also learned how to take notes, collaborate with other directors and work with Apatow and his writer's room. "We loved working on the show," she said at the SXSW Q & A. "Having a staff is an amazing blessing."

Dunham learned from Apatow how to start with a script but then incorporate improvisation into her scenes: "to not let actors improvise would be kind of a crime," she admitted.

Added Apatow: "It allows me to pitch when they need help, or look at it with a fresh head. It's low stress for me."

Nobody at HBO leaned on Dunham with the abortion episode. "It was not about the experience of having an abortion," she said, "but the shake-up it caused. Nobody is saying 'you can't do this,' we were free to make that choice as a room full of free choice women. It felt honest to us."

While Dunham's career is going full steam ahead, she admits that she by no means has her life together and thus has plenty to draw on. "If one area of your life seems nailed down, there's so many areas of my life that are confusing to me. I've made horrendous other mistakes, that lostness and questioning does not go away when you're doing something that you want to do." With two artist parents, she recognizes that she's "lucky" right now, but that careers "go up and down."

Check Out The Cuddly-Scary Poster For 'The ABCs of Death'

Drew Taylor — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 17:36:00 GMT

Entertainment Weekly has just debuted the poster for September's ambitious horror anthology "The ABCs of Death," which corrals twenty-six directors (among them Ti West, Ben Wheatley, and Nacho Vigalondo) and has them each tackle a way to die. But instead of going with the obvious – maybe a collage of stills from the movies – the poster goes in the complete opposite direction, with a baby in the middle of the image that wouldn't be out of place in those obnoxious E*Trade ads.

Of course the baby is surrounded by a presumed "angel of death," its raveny wings outstretched, holding a book of the "ABCs of Death." Oh now we get it! Entertainment Weekly explains that Kaare Andrews, a comic book artist and writer who is prepping his feature film debut (a "Cabin Fever" prequel, undoubtedly going direct-to-video, called "Patient X"), designed the poster, which makes sense given that the angel of death figure does kind of remind us of the creepy skeleton that served as the de facto emcee for the George Romero/Stephen King anthology "Creepshow."

The poster promises "26 Directors/26 Ways to Die," and we forgot to mention this at the time but they world premiered a brief teaser (a "splatter reel," if you will) at South by Southwest a few weeks ago. It was presented by Alamo Drafthouse head honcho Tim League before a screening of "V/H/S" (which shares a similar concept and at least one director). League helped put the movie together through his Drafthouse Films company, and while it was only a couple minutes long you definitely got what was promised – flashes of ultra-violence alongside nude women, sprinkled with horrifying debasements. Even in snippet form, it was pretty extreme. In other words: we can't wait.

FUTURES: 'Gimme the Loot' Writer/Director Adam Leon Brings His New York Love Letter Back Home

Nigel M Smith — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 15:10:47 GMT

New York-based writer/director Adam Leon is going to have a tough time topping these past few weeks. At the recently wrapped SXSW film festival in Austin, the first-time feature filmmaker won the event's Narrative Grand Jury Prize for his debut, "Gimme the Loot." Shortly after the win, Sundance Selects announced they had acquired US rights to the film. And now, less that two weeks after SXSW, Leon is back in New York screening his film at the New Directors/New Films festival to packed, enthusiastic audiences.

"Gimme the Loot" follows Malcolm (Tysheeb Hickson) and Sofia (Tashiana R. Washington), a pair of scrappy young graffiti artists trying to make their mark on the Bronx scene. "From the first scene, in which the duo awkwardly jack paint canisters from a store and hop into their getaway car, Leon establishes his characters as a pair of lawbreakers living on the fringes of society but remain essentially innocent, giggly children," wrote Eric Kohn in his review out of SXSW. "Inhabiting the same bubble of hip-hop attitude as 'Wild Style' did nearly 30 years earlier, Leon's movie resurrects the subculture with genre charm and low-budget appeal."

What's Next: Leon told Indiewire that he's working on "something that's a little different. I'm so passionate about it that I'm paranoid to talk about it."

You grew up in lower Manhattan, not the Bronx. What inspired you to tell a story that's not based around the area you're most familiar with?

I made a short film a few years ago set in the Bronx. It was where most of the cast was from. I like to explore the city as much as possible. I'm familiar with different neighborhoods. It felt like that's where these characters would be from. I also felt like this area isn't shown on film that much.

What is it about the Bronx in particular that lends itself to you filmmaking sensibilities?

There is so much activity and vibrancy in that part of the Bronx -- Castle Hill, Parkchester area. The streets are alive. You put a camera there and you can capture a lot a flavor.

Given that you're not from the area, what's the reaction been like from Bronx folks who have seen "Gimme the Loot"?

So far the reaction hasn't been negative. There's been no outcry. There are two African-American main characters, but I don't think it's a quote-unquote black film. I think it's a New York community story. I think that when people watch the movie, they get that. Hopefully we were true to all the characters, not just the two leads.

That's where the element of surprise comes from; the films has this really authentic vibe, something you can't fake. How did you achieve that, while being truthful to the characters and their world?

Part of it just being around the city and listening to conversations and being observant of all different kinds of people in the city. Part of it is really collaborating with my cast, and not being shy about needing that authenticity and asking questions.

I think that we all, as a crew, could tell when something felt false. We always made sure we got it right.

Did you encourage your cast to improv, or was it pretty tightly scripted?

It's pretty tightly scripted. I definitely encouraged them to use their own words, always. I would say that scenes themselves were rarely fully improvised. In general, we would say, "Okay you're going to ask for this, and you're going to say no, and you're going to convince her by saying this." I scripted everything, but I was willing to let the actors play with it. But some of the actors didn't like to do that. Some of them had a harder time to do anything that was on the page.Is the graffiti art world something you're inherently familiar with?

I grew up somewhat involved in that world. I had some very close friends who were very immersed in graffiti. When I did the short, we ended up casting a couple of graffiti writers. I was just very taken with their dedication and the risks they were taking. I thought it was a great jumping off point for a tale set in the city.

For the film, I knew we had to get that right, so we brought in a bunch of people to talk to us, in particular artist Greg Lamarche, who's sort of a legend. He taught the kids and me a lot about the culture and history, and how to actually do the graffiti itself.

Had you ever done it yourself growing up?

Oh, for like five days when I was 16. I was terrible. I'm not good with a pen. I'm better writing and telling people where to put a camera.

You captured New York in a really fresh and vibrant way. Does this film accurately depict how you see the city?

Yeah. There's an element of throwback to how we captured the city. There was an early thought to not show any chain stores or banks. I began to abandon that idea to really just capture what I was seeing in the summer of 2011. What I am sort of drawn to is the character of the city, which I think is still very, very vibrant.

A lot of the joy I derived in watching "Gimme the Loot," came from the bystanders you incorporate into the frame. If you were to go on to do bigger things in the future, would you strive to maintain that 'on the fly' style of shooting?

I love working that way. I do think that style can be incorporated in more movies shot in New York. You have to be careful with releases and all that, and we were, but I think there's something that can be said about having a long lens shot and just capturing the city wide. I definitely like that style a lot. There's also something to be said for shooting fast in the city, if you're prepared enough to do that.

Do you see yourself becoming a New York-based director with tales set in the city?

You know, the thing I'm writing right now is not set in New York. I love making movies. If I'm able to continue to make them, then I definitely think that some of those movies would be shot in New York. I think it's important to expand your horizons, but of course New York is my home. I love to shoot here.

You're at ND/NF following a win at SXSW where you world premiered. How does your head not grow exponentially over the past few weeks?

I struggle with the answer, because you're asking me this in the middle of it all. I was talking to my producer the other day. It hasn't been three weeks yet. I think we're sort of in a daze. We worked really hard with a great team. It's the movie we wanted to make. The great things that have happened over the past few weeks have been so fulfilling. There's still nothing greater that when somebody comes up to me after the movie and tell me they thought it was great. But yeah, it's been a crazy, mind-blowing few weeks. I think I'm just starting to digest it. I'm very, very thankful. We're blessed that people are enjoying the film.

Bringing it from SXSW to ND/NF, the experience must be…

Very different.

At ND/NF, the audience was predominantly over the age of 40. Were you wary of how they would receive it?

Before we even made the movie, we sort of felt like a SXSW audience would be ideal. It's a young, fast, fun movie. In terms of a prestigious dream, we really wanted to play in New York. ND/NF is that. I think we had this advantage at SXSW, where the audience is sort of perfect for the movie. With ND/NF, it's such a New York movie that I think that New Yorkers respond to it.

I think we're really lucky that these are the first two festival stops. But they are way, way different experiences. That's been its own sort of adventure. To be in a rowdy crowd in the Alamo at Austin where they're eating during the movie, and then play at the Museum of Modern of Art two weeks later -- it's sort of a headtrip.

First Watch: 'Cabin in the Woods' Covers Its Cliches in Horror Film Send-Up

Maggie Lange — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 21:24:33 GMT

"Cabin in the Woods" has a telling first clip: hilariously, the movie takes on horror cliches. See below.

Paramount's "Cabin in the Woods" was long delayed by MGM's bankruptcy. Lionsgate rescued the flick, and knows exactly how to sell a smart, ironic, genre-busting film like this. While director and co-writer Drew Goddard has begged critics to keep a lid on the film's many secrets, we can tell you that Bradley Whitford and Richard Jenkins are manipulating these kids from a distance...

Producer/co-writer Joss Whedon ("The Avengers") and Goddard revealed in a SXSW Q&A that they camped out in their own cabin for three days, churning out 15 pages a day to produce the film script.

"It was not easy, except that it was the easiest thing I've ever done," said Whedon. "Clearly on one level it's about being a writer. We picked these two guys to be us, manipulating people. Write what you know." Goddard insists that the movie "comes from a place of love...and 'fuck it.' If we could do what we wanted to do, we prayed somebody would let us make it. We just enjoyed doing it. It seems to have worked out."

Liongsgate will open "Cabin in the Woods" April 13, 2012.

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FUTURES: BAFTA-Nominated 'Black Pond' Directing Duo, Will Sharpe and Tom Kingsley

Nigel M Smith — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 15:11:39 GMT

Why They're On Our Radar: With their first feature, oddball murder mystery "Black Pond," British directing duo Will Sharpe and Tom Kingsley are taking the UK by storm. The two (along with producer Sarah Brocklehurst) were nominated for the 2012 Outstanding Debut BAFTA this year for their debut, alongside Ralph Fiennes ("Coriolanus"), Richard Ayoade ("Submarine"), Joe Cornish ("Attack the Block") and Paddy Considine ("Tyrannosaur"). Not bad company.

If the stellar reception for "Black Pond" at its North American premiere at SXSW is anything to go by, the film will fare well Stateside (it's still seeking a US distributor). The drama tells the story of a family accused of murder when a middle-aged stranger dies at their dinner table. Told in flashbacks through a pseudo-documentary framing device, Sharpe's deft screenplay is more interested in the dynamics of the family who take the man in than with the mystery at the center of the tale.

What's Next for Them? They're almost done adapting Voltaire's classic novel "Candide." "The book is in itself a critique of novels," said Sharpe. "I guess the film is sort of sending up some stock devices and things, that for some reason are acceptable in filmmaking [but] are in fact completely ridiculous." Their adaptation of "Candide" will be set in the present day like "Black Pond," but the similarities end there. "There are elements of it that are more fantastical and magical [than in 'Black Pond']," Sharp added. "People die in it and come back to life."

How old are you two? You both look relatively young.

Sharpe: I'm 25

Kingsley: I'm 26. And if it's of interest when we made the film, we were both 23.

How did you two meet?

Kingsley: At Cambridge University. We didn't study film or anything, but we did lots of plays and did some comedy shows. We left in 2007 and since then Will's been working as an actor and I've been making music videos and adverts. We were kind of learning how to make films.
But for for all the plays we did, we made trailers and created websites to advertise. That was our first taste of filmmaking, I guess.

What led you two to collaborate together in the first place?

Kingsley: I guess, just inevitably, we were working on similar things that we liked. I think our tastes have grown closer together over the years. Also I think we both work very hard at stuff. Part of it is having the right sort of aesthetic taste, but it's also about, do you work hard, do you care enough about it?

How would you two characterize your tastes?

Sharpe: Oh, I don't know. I can tell you who we like. I really like Hal Ashby films. We both like Wes Anderson a lot. Terry Gilliam, too. I quite like Woody Allen. I probably like Woody Allen more than you do?

Kingsley: Yes, probably. We've also been really inspired by Ben Wheatley in the UK, who did "Kill List," and before that "Down Terrace." He gave us some really helpful advice in making this film. Basically, the main thing he told us was that we weren't crazy for trying to do it. So that was inspiring.

But we didn't have a conscious style going into this movie. The story evolved as we went along. It was the most tasteful response we could have to the kind of constraints we were in.

Sharpe: I think also we both find it very hard to find something moving if it hasn't made you laugh first. We also similarly find it hard to find something funny if the characters don't have depth. There has to be an element of pathos. So I suppose that affects what we do.

Will, were you an actor before writer or have you been always been writing?

Sharpe: Well, I don't know. I was professionally hired as an actor before being paid to write.

I've always written. I thought I was going to be a writer when I was younger. It's something I've done since I was a tiny child. Then when I became a teenager, I started enjoying performing, got signed as an actor at the Edinburgh Comedy Festival and was lucky to get consistent work from very early on. That decision was kind of made for me, in terms of what to do now.

Tom and I both knew that we wanted to make films, so we kept in touch. We made a short film before we made this one, which was kind of an experiment to see what happened if we had literally nothing. We had no crew, it was just me and Tom. We shot it in Japan. My Gran is in it.

The acting job I had just before I made this film was -- to be honest -- done just to save money for this film, without having to worry about doing something else to pay the rent.

I guess for me, I don't see acting and writing as different films. I used to write music and be in a band. You write the song, and then you perform it. I guess that's similar to how I make films.

So how did "Black Pond" come together? It's not a straightforward murder mystery.

Kinglsey: There was a play that we wrote with two other friends which was much more ridiculous and over the top. We basically stripped it down to make it more achievable with the money we had raised. In doing so, it became so much better. We tried to make it much more simple and natural. That previous old version is almost like the subtext for this.

The film is clearly the work of young filmmakers, with the abundant use of social media throughout. But it also struck me as a remarkably mature effort. The film centers mainly on a married couple in their fifties and details their crumbling marriage with such precision and grace.

Sharpe: I think one thing we liked about the ideas that came further down the line -- like the YouTube videos -- was that they gave you glimpses of a whole other story. You just sort of peek around the door and you can tell there's other stuff going on, but we choose not to explore that. You have to form the conclusions yourself.

There are possibilities for other stories throughout the film. It seems to give it more texture and breadth. But in terms of old and new, I don't think that was conscious at all. We just tried to put in what we thought what was good, and stopped when we thought it was working.

"Black Pond" has a very British sensibility. What's it been like bringing it to what is arguably the most American film festival you can find?

Kingsley: We didn't know what to expect at all, but it's gone really well. I think in a way it's British in a kind of dry, quite quiet way. But the themes are universal.

Sharpe: We both really like to watch very French films, very Japanese films and very American films. On the basic level, the things you talk about in films apply to everyone on the basic level. If you're a human being, you can understand it. If you thought too much in that way, people would say, "I couldn't relate to 'The King's Speech' because I'm not a king. I feel we were hopeful that it's not that alien.

Do you either of you have plans to venture off and work solo?

Kingsley: Yeah, I think that could happen. But at the moment, when we work together it's really fun. Otherwise it's just a bit of solitary thing making a movie. It's a big part of our friendship.

Trailer:

S&A's SXSW 2012 Film Festival Recap

Tambay — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 00:37:46 GMT

This was S&A’s first year at The SXSW Film Festival, so, as could be expected, there were a few hiccups here and there, but mostly logistical. However we (myself and Vanessa) got through it all unscathed; lessons learned for next year’s festival that will assist in planning for it when the time comes.

But it was good to finally make it to Austin, TX for the mammoth festival that I assume must be a beast to plan every year.

To keep this simple, I've divided this post into "Tambay's SXSW 2012 Recap" and "Vanessa's SXSW 2012 Recap."

TAMBAY'S SXSW 2012 RECAP

A film festival is really only as strong as its lineup of films, and I’ll be honest and say that, upon first looking at this year's SXSW selections (before the festival began) I wasn’t immediately excited by much of what I saw – going based solely on trailers and synopses primarily. Obviously I had yet to see any of the films, but I recall being far more enthusiastic about last year’s lineup, which included the stateside debut of Attack The Block, and introduced John Boyega to the world.

There was also the drama/thriller 96 Minutes, which star Evan Ross was an acting award for at the festival, and Aaron Burns' Blacktino (which I still haven't seen).

Viva Riva! Also screened in the global section of the festival; Victoria Mahoney’s Yelling To The Sky (which I shad not seen at that point; I would see it a few months later in NYC); the film that would win this year’s Oscar for Best Documentary, Undefeated, also screened at SXSW 2011, as did Benda Bilili!. And there were others that were of interest to me and that I was genuinely excited to see.

These are just the “black films” by the way, or the films with people of African descent in starring roles.

Outside of that group, there was Source Code, Romain Gavras’ Our Day Will Come, Incendies, Errol Morris’ Tabloid, and several others that were on my “must-see” list (I of course eventually saw most of them at later festivals, or on DVD/VOD).

This year’s SXSW festival – 2012 – lineup just didn’t do for me what last year’s did, so I went into it laggardly; my co-hort, Vanessa, while she approached it much more enthusiastically than I did, felt similarly about the selection of films this year (you can read her thoughts below mine).

I’ll keep this short and mention 2 films that I felt really stood out above many of the others for me at the festival; first was Ya’Ke Smith’s Wolf (if you’ve read my review of it, then this probably won’t be news to you; if you haven’t read my review, you can do so HERE now). I honestly wasn’t quite sure what to expect from it, after reading its synopsis and watching its trailer before the festival; but I was enthralled from the opening frame to the last. I really do hope it gets picked up by the right distributor – key words there being “the right distributor;” I’m sure Ya’Ke, as well as the film's cast and crew will be pleased with an acquisition; BUT, I’m sure they’ll be even more pleased if the distributor shows that they know what to do with the film, and how to get it out to the audiences that want to see it. I’ve seen many a film get acquired and then dumped, or just mishandled by the distributor.

The other highlight was the documentary Brooklyn Castle – a moving look at the ups and downs of a junior high school chess championship team comprised primarily of black kids. I also reviewed it enthusiastically (read my review HERE if you haven’t). It was announced soon after it premiered at the festival that Sony Pictures had picked up remake rights to the doc; I can’t say what to expect there, but I strongly recommend you see the doc if it comes your way, before the Hollywood adaptation happens. You will most certainly be moved as I was.

Obviously I couldn’t see every single film; in all, I’d say that I saw 10 to 15 films total – not a lot considering there were 132 feature films; but our first full day there was Saturday, the 10th, and we left Wednesday morning, the 14th, so really we had just 4 days of movie watching, at about 3 films per day. Anything more than that would’ve been tough for a number of reasons, like the fact that you have to be in line a good hour (sometimes more depending on the popularity of the film) before a screening begins, just so you can be sure that you’ll get into it (SXSW doesn’t have separate press screenings like some other festivals do – Sundance for example - so everyone, including press, general audience ticket holders, filmmakers, etc all see the same films together, which means getting into a screening isn’t always a guarantee; and that's why you’re encouraged to get to the screening location early).

To see 21 Jump Street for example, we were in line for about 2 hours (and the funny thing is that even though we got there really early, there was already a really long line; but the screening was in one of the (if not the) biggest theater in use by the festival. But, as luck would have it, we both despised the movie in the end. So there ya go…

But the point is, all that waiting in line really kills one’s time, as well as the fact that there are several theaters used by the festival, and they all aren’t very close to each other; so you also spend a lot of time on shuttle buses (or on foot) getting from one theater to the next.

Another reason it’s nearly impossible to see more than 3 movies a day is because you do need to sleep at some point; it’s entirely useless to go into any screening sleepy, as I did on more than 1 occasion, and you end up dozing off during the movie, and you miss some of it.

The last reason is that reviews have to be written, and we tried to review films within 24 hours of seeing them; otherwise, they’ll pile up on your to-do list, as you see more and more films; and before you know it, you’ve seen 6 films, and written no reviews.

But that’s why it makes sense to have a partner working with you at the festival; while one of you is screening a film at the Violet Crowne theater for example; the other could be screening another film at the Alamo Ritz theater, or attending a panel; or getting some food, taking a nap, or already waiting in line for the next screening. I know some media outlets send several writers to these behemoth festivals for that reason. You just get more done, and it’s less taxing on each person, as it was when I went to Sundance in January solo.

And on that note, I’ll pass the baton over to Vanessa for her own general reactions to the festival and films. Read her writeup immediately below.

VANESSA'S SXSW 2012 RECAP

This is my first time attending a film festival of this size, so I wasn’t sure to expect. Besides the rainy and cool weather this past weekend in Austin, the city seems ideal to host this film event. Prior to the fest, I wasn’t too thrilled with the selection; there seems to have been many more documentaries than narrative features, at least for the films that pertain to our site.

Those who are familiar with the downtown Austin area, the theater venues and transportation logistics likely caught more screenings than I did. However, things did get easier as I became more familiar with the system. The first screening I caught was Matthew Cherry’s The Last Fall, which I reviewed HERE. I was glad to see plenty of advertisement for the film; I saw many posters in all corners throughout downtown aside from the convention center. I also had the pleasure to meet Cherry and some of the film’s crew.

I was disappointed with a few films that I was highly anticipating like the documentary Tchoupitoulas (see my review HERE) and the narrative feature Gimme The Loot (my review HERE), the latter which ended up winning the festival’s Jury award!

However, some other films surpassed my expectations, like the documentary Bay Of All Saints (see my review HERE) and Ya’Ke Smith’s brilliant feature film debut Wolf, which Tambay reviewed. I was delighted to meet Wolf’s helmer Smith and to converse with lead actor Jordan Cooper and Mikala Gibson, who plays Cooper’s mother in the film.

Here’s a recap on a two others that held my attention, which are of interest to S&A:

A Chjana– A short we’ve profiled on the site a couple of times before. Jonas Carpignano helmed this remarkable 20-minute film inspired by real events about an African migrant in Italy during the country’s most notorious race riots. After one of the riots, Ayiva, an intense and nuanced performance by Koudous Seihon, and his friend Chico, played by Cheik Baily Kane, make a pact to reunite the next morning at a train station. It’s a beautifully shot and touching film; I just wished it had been a full-length feature.

Life and Freaky Times of Uncle Luke– another short we’ve profiled in the site. Yes, the predicaments in which Luke finds himself in are inane and absurd, but, I’m not going to lie, I was pretty amused and it held my attention throughout the 11 minutes or so. I am not a fan of Mr. Luke’s persona whatsoever, but it was actually better than what I expected shrugs.

I networked with S&A fans, filmmakers and cinephiles, so I was in good company. Overall, the festival was a great learning and inspirational experience. If it were possible, I certainly wouldn’t mind attending SXSW next year.

The Best & Worst Of SXSW '12: The Playlist's Complete Coverage

Oliver Lyttelton — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 20:55:42 GMT

SXSW is officially done for another year. Well, technically, it's been done since Saturday, but it's taken a few days for The Playlist team members to emerge from their BBQ & queso comas. Nevertheless, the film strand of the festival is over and it's time to look forward, to Tribeca, Cannes and whatever else lies beyond.

And we have to confess, from most people that we've talked to, the line-up turned out to be somewhat underwhelming this time around. For whatever reason (a comparatively strong Sundance, perhaps?), there were few breakout hits that hadn't played at other festivals first. Indeed, the movies that emerged with the best reactions were mainstream studio pictures, in the shape of "21 Jump Street" and "The Cabin In the Woods," with no breakout buzz films to rival "Attack The Block" or "Weekend" last year.

Not that the festival was a wash out: while there were few stunning surprises, there were more than a few decent films worth your attention. As such, we've run down each of the 45 films that played the festival that we reviewed below, from the best to the worst. And below that, you'll also find every interview we did in Austin, from Joss Whedon to Patton Oswalt. Thanks are due, as ever, to our contributors on the ground: Todd Gilchrist, Alison Willmore, Willliam Goss, James Rocchi, Aaron Hillis, John Lichman, Katie Walsh, Drew Taylor and Cory Everett.

Reviews:

"The Raid: Redemption" (A)
"Girls" (A)
"21 Jump Street" (A)
"Beware of Mr. Baker" (A)
"Eden" (A-)
"Uprising: Hip Hop & The LA Riots" (A-)
"Shut Up And Play The Hits" (A-)
"Tchoupitoulas" (B+)
"God Bless America" (B+)
"The Cabin In The Woods" (B+)
"Los Chidos" (B+)
"Killer Joe" (B+)
"Bay Of All Saints" (B+)
"The Hunter" (B+)
"Dollhouse" (B+)
"John Dies At The End" (B+)
"Starlet" (B)
"Somebody Up There Likes Me (B)
"Electrick Children" (B)
"Bad Brains: A Band In DC" (B)
"The Imposter" (B)
"Bernie" (B)
"Paul Williams: Still Alive" (B)
"Sleepwalk With Me" (B)
"In Our Nature" (B)
"Francine" (B)
"Girls Against Boys" (B)
"Lovely Molly" (B) "
Monsieur Lazhar (B-)
"Safety Not Guaranteed" (B-)
"Beast" (B-)
"Marley" (B-)
"Frankie Go Boom" (B-)
"Sinister" (B-)
"Sunset Strip" (B-)
Sun Don't Shine (B-)
"Casa Di Mi Padre" (C+)
"Hunky Dory" (C)
"Intruders" (C)
"The Aggression Scale" (C)
"Leave Me Like You Found Me" (C)
"See Girl Run" (C-)
"Citadel" (C-)
"Gimme The Loot" (C-)
"Babymakers" (C-)
"Keyhole" (D+)
"Do-Deca Pentathelon" (D)
"The Tall Man" (D)
"Nature Calls" (D)
"Small Apartments" (D)

Preview:
"Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me"

Interviews:

Jack Black (star, "Bernie") Part One, Part Two
Gareth Evans (dir. "The Raid: Redemption")
Drew Goddard (dir. "The Cabin In The Woods")
Richard Linklater (dir. "Bernie") & Randall Poster (music supervisor, "Bernie")
Richard Linklater & Matthew McConaughey (dir. & star, "Bernie") (part two here)
Guy Maddin (dir. "Keyhole")
Matthew McConaughey & Tracy Letts (star & writer, "Killer Joe")
Mark Mothersbaugh (composer, "21 Jump Street")
Patton Oswalt (star, "Nature Calls")
Jordan Roberts (dir. "Frankie Go Boom")
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez (dir. "Los Chidos")
Kristen Sheridan (dir. "Dollhouse")
Joss Whedon (co-writer/producer, "The Cabin In The Woods")
Lena Dunham, Judd Apatow & The Team Behind "Girls"

Adam Leon's SXSW Winner 'Gimme the Loot' Goes to Sundance Selects

Sophia Savage — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 20:04:07 GMT

"Gimme the Loot" goes to Sundance Selects for North and Latin American distribution. The Adam Leon film, which just won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature at SXSW, follows two teenagers in the Bronx who must raise $500 to exact revenge on a rival graffiti gang that destroyed their latest masterpiece. Over the course of two summer days, the teenagers, Malcolm and Sofia have "an epic urban adventure involving black market spray cans, illicit bodegas, stolen sneakers, a high stakes heist, and a beautiful, stoned girl whose necklace is literally their key to becoming the biggest writers in the City." Check out the SXSW trailer below.

Sundance Selects promises that "Gimme the Loot" introduces a major new talent (Leon), as did their films "Weekend" (Andrew Haigh) "Tiny Furniture" (Lena Dunham) and "Medicine for Melancholy" (Barry Jenkins). The film stars Tashiana Washington, Ty Hickson, Meeko, Zoe Lescaze and Sam Soghor. It was produced by Natalie Difford, Dominic Buchanan and Jamund Washington.

The film will have its NY debut at New Directors/New Films.

Sundance Selects Acquires SXSW Winner 'Gimme The Loot'

Peter Knegt — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 18:55:47 GMT

Sundance Selects has acquired North American and Latin American rights to Adam Leon's SXSW winner "Gimme The Loot."

The film won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature at the 2012 South by Southwest Film Festival and will screen at New Directors/New Films this weekend.

Check out Indiewire's warm review of the film here.

Full press release below.

New York, NY (March 19, 2012) - Sundance Selects announced today that the company is acquiring North American and Latin American rights to GIMME THE LOOT which was written and directed by Adam Leon. The film won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature at the 2012 South by Southwest Film Festival and will screen at New Directors/New Films this weekend. It was produced by Natalie Difford, Dominic Buchanan, Jamund Washington and stars newcomers Tashiana Washington,Ty Hickson, Meeko, Zoe Lescaze and Sam Soghor.

In GIMME THE LOOT, Malcolm and Sofia, two determined teens from the Bronx, are the ultimate graffiti-writers. When a rival gang buffs their latest masterpiece, they must hatch a plan to get revenge by tagging an iconic NYC landmark, but they need to raise $500 to pull off their spectacular scheme. Over the course of two whirlwind, sun-soaked summer days, Malcolm and Sofia travel on an epic urban adventure involving black market spray cans, illicit bodegas, stolen sneakers, a high stakes heist, and a beautiful, stoned girl whose necklace is literally their key to becoming the biggest writers in the City.

Jonathan Sehring, President of Sundance Selects/IFC Films, said: "In the tradition of our recent SXSW pickups including WEEKEND, TINY FURNITURE and MEDICINE FOR MELANCHOLY, GIMME THE LOOT introduces a major new talent with a big future. We all fell in love with this infectious, charming crowd pleaser. We're excited to work with Adam Leon and his producers Natalie Difford, Dominic Buchanan and Jamund Washington and to introduce Tashiana Washington and Ty Hickson to audiences."

Adam Leon, said: "We're absolutely thrilled to be working with Sundance Selects. It's extremely gratifying that our gang of misfits, all of whom took on tremendous sacrifices and poured their hearts into making this film, have found a home at such a prestigious company. We're so excited to share this movie with a larger audience and are deeply thankful to everyone at Sundance Selects."

The deal for the film was negotiated by Arianna Bocco, Senior Vice President of Acquisitions & Productions for Sundance Selects/IFC Films with Josh Braun of Submarine.

The Critics Break Down SXSW 2012

Matt Singer — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 16:08:13 GMT

After 9 days, dozens of screenings, and over a hundred films, The 2012 South by Southwest Film Festival is a wrap. To see how this year's festival fared, Criticwire surveyed the journalists, bloggers, and critics who covered SXSW on topics like the best and worst films, the biggest surprises, the best place to watch a movie, and the critics whose coverage they most admired. Here's how things shook out. A big thanks to everyone who participated; you can find a full list of contributors at the bottom of the post. -- MS

What Was the BEST Thing You Saw at SXSW '12?

"The obvious choice here, I think, is 'The Cabin in the Woods,' and by obvious I mean honest and 100% accurate. 'Cabin' is a master's class in the core elements of horror as a genre, as a social construct, and as a filmmaking endeavor. It may be an entertaining thrill ride on the surface, but something much smarter, and deliciously darker looms underneath." -- Brian Salisbury, Spill.com/Hollywood.com

"A dreaded question indeed amongst many 'best' movies. How about a categorical response? Best Screening Experience: 'The Raid: Redemption.' Best Documentary: 'Bay of All Saints.' Best Horror Film I Didn't Think Would Scare Me (But Did): 'Lovely Molly.'" -- Jason Canglialosi, Mile High Cinema

"A lot of people are going to thoughtlessly disregard 'The Comedy' as a sadistic exercise in audience punishment, a cinematically weaponized inside joke for which we’re meant to serve as the punchline. A discomforting, hyper-focused character study of an entitled fat thirty-something (Tim Heidecker) on the cusp of his inheritance, Rick Alverson's third feature plays like an early Adam Sandler vehicle as re-imagined by Sofia Coppola. Relentlessly confrontational, the film implores you to walk out while making it nearly impossible to even look away. The tricksy title was designed to encourage that reaction, but the key to cracking Alverson’s intentions is a matter of context: Despite a whole mess of laughs, (most of them sudden, awed, and involving hobo semen), 'The Comedy' isn’t referring to itself, but rather to that which its hero chronically amplifies in order to sustain himself and keep a safe distance from anyone who might force him into a meaningful moment. My favorite film of 2012 thus far." -- David Ehrlich, Movies.com

Other Films Receiving Votes For Best of Fest: "Beauty is Embarrassing," "Compliance," "Los Chidos," "King Kelly," "The Sheik and I," "Sleepwalk With Me," "Somebody Up There Likes Me," "Tchoupitoulas," "WE ARE LEGION: The Story of the Hactivists."

What Was the WORST Thing You Saw at SXSW '12?

"'Citadel.' Droll horror nonsense that starts out promising and then devolves into unimaginative B-movie blather." -- Eric Kohn, Indiewire

"The worst movie I saw was 'Nature Calls.' The worst *thing* I saw was 6th Street." -- Eric D. Snider, Film.com

Other Films Receiving Votes For Worst of Fest: "The Aggression Scale," "Black Pond," "Casa De Mi Padre," "Compliance," "Intruders," "Iron Sky," "Los Chidos," "Starlet," "The Tall Man."

What Was the MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE at SXSW '12?

"'King Kelly' for sure. It sounded excruciating, but it turned out to be daring, even trenchant." -- Ben Kenigsberg, Time Out Chicago

"Either the reasonably energetic examination of religious hypocrisy offered by 'Blue Like Jazz' or the viably irresponsible camera-phone chronicle that makes up 'King Kelly.' -- William Goss, Film.com/The Playlist

"'Fat Kid Rules the World.' Directed by Matthew Lillard? Starring the fat kid from 'Terri,' being fat again? Ugh. But there it is, all funny, warm, and sincere, like a good movie. -- EDS

Other Films Receiving Votes For Most Pleasant Surprise of Fest: "21 Jump Street," "The Cabin in the Woods," "Citadel," "Eletrick Children," "Funeral Kings," "Girl Walk // All Day," "The Hunter," "INDIE GAME: THE MOVIE," "Lovely Molly," "Sun Don't Shine"

Excluding 'The Cabin in the Woods' and '21 Jump Street,' What SXSW '12 Movie Will Be the BIGGEST BOX OFFICE SUCCESS?

"It won’t be, but I hope it’s 'The Imposter.' -- Christopher Campbell, Movies.com

"October's 'Sinister,' screened under the guise of secrecy, feels like a sure thing for Summit. It has too many dead kids running around not to be." -- WG

"Summit's freaky Ethan Hawke vehicle 'Sinister,' which played in the 'Secret Screening' slot at the festival. It's pretty damn scary so word of mouth will likely keep it going beyond opening weekend success. On a smaller scale, I'd have to say 'Bernie' stands a chance at playing decently in limited release, while 'King Kelly' and 'The Aggression Scale' could do well on VOD." -- EK

Other Films Receiving Votes For Likeliest Box Office Breakout of Fest: "Fat Kid Rules the World," "Funeral Kings," "The Raid: Redemption," "Safety Not Guaranteed."

Is SXSW an Easy Festival to Cover or a Hard Festival to Cover?

"It's an extremely fun festival to cover, but one that's seems trickier than most to guess possible breakouts from ahead of time -- the Oscar-winning 'Undefeated,' for instance, flew completely under my radar last year. This also means that serendipity leads to some great discoveries -- like 'Weekend,' the first screening of which I ended up catching because MUBI's David Hudson was heading that way and I tagged along. I don't know that I would have picked it from the line-up on my own, but it turned out to be one of my favorite films of the year." -- Alison Willmore, Movieline

"It can be easy if you're organized and use your time wisely." -- Britt Hayes, ScreenCrush.com

"Very difficult to cover. The spread out nature of the venues can be a huge pain in the ass." -- Devin Faraci, Badass Digest

"SXSW is an incredibly difficult fest to cover, and factor into the magnitude of that statement that I live here in Austin. Not only are the venues stretched across town, and not only is parking in Austin akin to the most painful oral surgery you could suffer without anesthetics, but the overlap with the music festival makes downtown an enormous, pulsing clustercuss. But hey, at least Austin has terrible public transportation, right?" -- BS

"I don't know that any fest is 'easy,' but I will say that having two Alamo Drafthouses as venues makes it possible to see more films a day than at other fests. It sounds funny to say that food availability is a boon, but it really is. SXSW is the only place I'd ever attempt 6 films in a day. -- Jonathan Poritsky, The Candler Blog

"Considering how wide and varied its selection is, I would probably say it’s one of the more difficult ones to cover. Even now, I’m regretting all the films I didn’t get to see that ended up winning audience and jury awards. But, considering I don’t cover the film-festival beat regularly, I suppose you should take that with a grain of salt in my case; I spent as much time at SXSW trying to catch up with much-discussed titles from previous festivals -- films like 'Compliance' and 'Keyhole' that were already generating buzz long before being picked for inclusion at SXSW -- so that probably took away precious time from making the kinds of discoveries that other, more full-time film critics/journalists were making every day." Kenji Fujishima, The House Next Door

How Did This Year's SXSW Compare With Previous Years?

"Perhaps it's just my short memory but it felt like there were a lot more people there this year, mostly for Interactive. Interactive is everywhere when you're there for film, and this year that component seemed more overpowering than in years past (I've attended since 2010). As to the slate, it felt very close to those I've seen in the past, a very wide swath across the cinema spectrum. I can't think of a stone left unturned, which is why this fest keeps finding so much success. They really do put on a good show for just about every audience (well, maybe not for kids)." -- JP

"It didn't feel as powerful as prior years; there were fewer films that felt as impactful as last year, which gave us 'Bellflower,' 'Sound of My Voice,' and 'Kill List.' While I can't think of a single film I disliked, none of them blew me away." -- BH

"Try as I might, I can't pretend as if something wasn't simply a bit off this year. Chalk it up to the miserable rain and cold early on, or the repetition of particularly milquetoast pre-show bumpers, or a sense of fewer indie discoveries (which could be explained by my first year attending Sundance prior and thus bringing the averages down by taking titles like 'The Raid,' 'Shut Up and Play the Hits' and 'V/H/S' out of the equation). I certainly enjoyed the festival, but compared to years past, it fell ever-so-slightly short." -- WG

"The doc programming is getting better and better. I loved a lot of them. But midnights were worse than usual I think." -- CC

"I found the narrative selection a bit weak, but the docs were outstanding." - DF

"This was my sixth year covering SXSW and I saw more good movies than ever before. Part of this is because I followed a lot of word-of-mouth and actively avoided seeing bad movies (I know a lot of people expected 'The Babymakers' to be good, but I was not one of those people, and I'm glad I skipped it). As I mentioned in Indiewire's '12 Favorite Moments from SXSW' article, I was very glad that I didn't see any movies that really qualified as 'mumblecore.' This faux movement has finally splintered off in a number of directions and the diversity of the work has allowed SXSW to solidify into a much broader showcase for lo-fi or otherwise ambitious filmmaking that a lot of other major festivals won't show or properly highlight." -- EK

Does SXSW Need Press & Industry Screenings or is it Better Served By its Egalitarian Attitude?

"Look, I get the whole 'It's better to see a movie with an enthusiastic audience full of 'regular' people!' mentality. That occasionally even makes sense. But P&I screenings would make it exponentially easier for press to cover the big movies, and would also free up those 100 seats for more of those 'regular' people. And the fact is, the P&I covering SXSW *are* regular movie lovers. Nothing would be lost by adding P&I screenings, provided we had the option of attending public screenings too (since some writers like to cover the Q&A's)." -- EDS

"The vast majority of SXSW's best films are Sundance / Berlin / Rotterdam holdovers, but I choose to see them in Austin because I dig this particular festival experience. With a few major exceptions of the 'Kill List' / 'Cabin in the Woods' variety, SXSW simply doesn't premiere all that many great movies. Attendees have learned to steer clear of the narrative competition, the Emerging Visions section offers up far more misses than hits, and the midnight line-up was gutted to the extent that Sundance and even TriBeCa have delivered stronger rosters. As a film festival, SXSW is heavily skewed towards the festival part, but so long as they continue to provide the most enjoyable means of seeing the circuit's big new titles while occasionally rewarding a shot in the dark with offerings like 'Electrick Children,' I'll continue to come. P&I screenings might be more convenient for us press folk, but they'd take away from SXSW's egalitarian charm, emphasizing the films over the people to an extent that the festival's comparatively meager line-up simply can't support. P&I screenings would make the SXSW experience less distinguishable from Sundance (for example), and while that in and of itself might not send me elsewhere, it might mark the beginning of a sea change away from what makes SXSW such a highlight of my year. I think the system is fine how it is." -- DE

"I've always loved that press, industry and the public see screenings together at SXSW, an alternative to the insulated feeling P&I screenings can have. But it also provides added stress about getting shut out of films you've been assigned to cover, as the festival has grown and screenings seems to fill up earlier and earlier. I appreciate and made use of the press screening library the festival's made available, but it's opt-in and many filmmakers chose not to include a copy of their film there. It'd definitely make my festival experience a little easier to have P&I screenings of some of the world premieres." -- AW

"I suspect that P&I screenings will become inevitable within the next five years as the fest grows. But like a true Austinite, I dislike change that favors industry over community, so I'm hoping SXSW Film can keep the current system working for as long as possible." -- Jette Kernion, Slackerwood

"I don't know about press screenings, but maybe just more availability to the screening library -- more films and longer hours. What would be really helpful is a limited number of preferred press seats for every screening, not just those reserved by the publicists, as they don't always get back to you. It'd be as simple as adding a box to check on the SXXpress passes forms: 'Are you press?' 'Yes!' The less time we have to wait in line, the more time we have for coverage. Still, I'd rather attend public screenings; there is way more energy and you get a stronger feel for audience reaction, especially in Austin." -- JC

"Press and industry screenings would be a bonus, but I didn't have trouble getting into the films I wanted to see." -- BK

What Other Critic's Coverage of SXSW Did You Most Value?

"Drew McWeeny, all the folk at Film School Rejects." -- CC

"I find myself partial to David Ehrlich's daily diaries over at Movies.com." -- WG

"I don't usually have time to read reviews/other coverage during SXSW, but I make an exception for the daily recaps on Reel Distraction. Every year, Micah attends the first part of SXSW Film and sees 5-6 films a day, and portrays the festival experience wonderfully." -- JK

"Drew Tinnin at Gordan and the Whale, Scott Menzel & Matthew McKeague at We Live Film, Peter Martin at Twitch Film and Jacob Hall at Movies.com." -- JC

"To be honest I couldn't pick one out. The hive mind of Twitter was my most important advisor this SXSW." -- DF

"I saved most of my colleagues' full reviews for after the fest, when I'd be more prepared to really engage with their arguments, so Twitter was really my go-to critical resource. My follow list = endorsements, unless we're talking about someone I follow out of spite." -- DE

What is the Best Venue to See a Movie at SXSW?

"At other fests, it's tough to find time to eat during four- or five-film days. The two main Alamo Drafthouse theaters ensure that isn't a problem." -- BK

"First off, everyone's answer should be one of the Drafthouses, with their perfect viewing conditions and pecan porter milkshakes. The Paramount is a historic dump with terrible sight lines, the State has such front-loaded sound that it made the dialogue in most films virtually indecipherable (FIX THIS, SXSW), and the Violet Crown -- while lovely, and equipped with ghost pepper cake balls -- practically required you to win The Hunger Games in order to gain entry. For me, it's the Ritz. Sure, it's not quite as, er, ritzy as the Alamo Lamar, but there's something warm and fuzzy about that place, and its downtown location makes it a mad dash away from the big premieres at the Paramount." -- DE

"Alamo South Lamar. It's the best theater in town, but it also provides everything you need: benches outside to get work done and talk with friends between screenings, a more organized system for lines, and close proximity to the Highball for meals, drinks, and the film critic's festival staple for sanity: karaoke." -- BH

"The Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar is easily the best venue. It has all the parking, it is refreshingly removed from the raging disaster of downtown Austin, and, though it doesn't seat as many patrons as the Paramount, it's seats do not make you regret the tragic misfortune of being born with legs." -- BS

"The Paramount, because you can almost always get a seat, and watching movies with a big crowd can be electrifying." -- JK

Final thoughts on SXSW '12?

"As far as I'm concerned, SXSW is a major festival worthy of consideration alongside the likes of Sundance, Cannes and Toronto. This year's program, which had a number of world premieres worthy of discussion over the next 12 months and beyond, proved that beyond a doubt -- as did the typically festive atmosphere." -- EK

"This was the year for documentaries profiling older musicians out of the public eye (and perhaps thought dead), all of which were good: 'Beware of Mr. Baker,' 'Paul Williams Still Alive,' and 'Searching for Sugar Man.'" -- JK

"They need to figure out if they really want film people and music people around at the same time, because the whole conference puts film people below the music stuff. If they want us sticking around they should accommodate us better after Wednesday. That’s not just press but filmgoers too." -- CC

"I do not have any other thoughts on this or any other subject." -- EDS

Contributors to The Criticwire SXSW '12 Survey

Christopher Campbell, Movies.com
Jason Canglialosi, Mile High Cinema
David Ehrlich, Movies.com
Devin Faraci, Badass Digest
Kenji Fujishima, The House Next Door
William Goss, Film.com/The Playlist
Britt Hayes, ScreenCrush.com
Ben Kenigsberg, Time Out Chicago
Jette Kernion, Slackerwood
Eric Kohn, Indiewire
Jonathan Poritsky, The Candler Blog
Brian Salisbury, Spill.com/Hollywood.com
Eric D. Snider, Film.com
Alison Willmore, Movieline

SXSW 2012 Remaining Audience Winners Include Matthew Lillard Short and Aneurin Barnard-Starrer 'Citadel'

Anne Thompson — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 17:34:49 GMT

The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival already announced jury award-winners for narrative ("Gimme the Loot") and documentary ("Beware of Mr. Baker") and audience award-winners for narrative ("Eden") and documentary ("Bay of All Saints").

Saturday, SXSW revealed more Audience Award-winners from the Narrative Spotlight, Documentary Spotlight, Emerging Visions, Midnighters, 24 Beats Per Second, SXGlobal and Festival Favorites categories. (The Headliner Audience Award will follow on Monday, March 19, 2012.)

Clearly, one of the big winners at SXSW was Welsh actor Aneurin Barnard, who not only earned kudos in Welsh acquisition title "Hunky Dory," a sweet 70s high school pop musical starring Minnie Driver which distributors such as Sony Pictures Classics were checking out, but Midnighters audience award-winner "Citadel." Barnard, with hard-driving UTA agent Veronica Gabriel behind him, has plenty coming up on his dance card.

Additional 2012 SXSW Film Festival Audience Award Winners:
DOCUMENTARY SPOTLIGHT
Winner: Brooklyn Castle
Director: Katie Dellamaggiore

NARRATIVE SPOTLIGHT
Winner: Fat Kid Rules the World
Director: Matthew Lillard

EMERGING VISIONS
Winner: LOW & CLEAR
Directors: Kahlil Hudson & Tyler Hughen

MIDNIGHTERS
Winner: CITADEL
Director: Ciarán Foy

24 BEATS PER SECOND
Winner: Under African Skies
Director: Joe Berlinger

SXGLOBAL
Winner: Her Master’s Voice
Director: Nina Conti

FESTIVAL FAVORITES
Winner: Chasing Ice
Director: Jeff Orlowski

SXSW Film Announces Additional 2012 Audience Award Winners ("Brooklyn Castle, Under African Skies Win)

Tambay — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 17:08:14 GMT

More awards handed out last night at the 2012 SXSW Film Festival in Austin, TX; this time the Audience Award winners, which include titles we've covered on S&A like:

- Brooklyn Castle, which picked up the Documentary Spotlight award (my review of it HERE; and by the way, a feature film adaptation of it is in development)

- Under African Skies, which won the 24 Beats Per Second trophy (I wasn't able to see it before I left)

- Citadel, winning the Midnighters award (I saw it, but haven't reviewed it yet)

Note that the Headliner Audience Award will be announced on Monday, March 19.

The rest of the story below:

Austin, Texas – March 17, 2012 – The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival announced additional Audience Award-winners today from the Narrative Spotlight, Documentary Spotlight, Emerging Visions, Midnighters, 24 Beats Per Second, SXGlobal and Festival Favorites categories. The Headliner Audience Award will follow on Monday, March 19, 2012. Audience Award results for all categories were certified by the accounting firm of Maxwell Locke & Ritter.

The 2012 SXSW Film Festival hosted a total of 132 features, consisting of 74 World Premieres, 17 North American Premieres and 11 U.S. Premieres, with 58 films from first-time directors. 138 shorts will screen as part of 12 overall shorts programs. The nearly 275 films were selected from a record number of overall submissions, over 5,300, comprised of approximately 2,000 features and 3,300 shorts. This was a 7% increase over 2011 despite moving submission deadlines a month earlier than in previous years.

Additional 2012 SXSW Film Festival Audience Award Winners:

DOCUMENTARY SPOTLIGHT

Winner: Brooklyn Castle

Director: Katie Dellamaggiore

NARRATIVE SPOTLIGHT

Winner: Fat Kid Rules the World

Director: Matthew Lillard

EMERGING VISIONS

Winner: LOW & CLEAR

Directors: Kahlil Hudson & Tyler Hughen

MIDNIGHTERS

Winner: CITADEL

Director: Ciarán Foy

24 BEATS PER SECOND

Winner: Under African Skies

Director: Joe Berlinger

SXGLOBAL

Winner: Her Master’s Voice

Director: Nina Conti

FESTIVAL FAVORITES#

Winner: Chasing Ice

Director: Jeff Orlowski

SXSW '12 Audience Prizes Include 'Fat Kid' and 'Brooklyn Castle'

Indiewire — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 16:31:29 GMT

The 2012 SXSW Film Festival has announced seven additional audience prizes. SXSW announced its first round of awards at a ceremony held March 13.

A final prize, the Headliner Audience Award, will follow on March 19.

DOCUMENTARY SPOTLIGHT
Winner: Brooklyn Castle
Director: Katie Dellamaggiore

NARRATIVE SPOTLIGHT
Winner: Fat Kid Rules the World
Director: Matthew Lillard

EMERGING VISIONS
Winner: LOW & CLEAR
Directors: Kahlil Hudson & Tyler Hughen

MIDNIGHTERS
Winner: CITADEL
Director: Ciarán Foy

24 BEATS PER SECOND
Winner: Under African Skies
Director: Joe Berlinger

SXGLOBAL
Winner: Her Master’s Voice
Director: Nina Conti

FESTIVAL FAVORITES
Winner: Chasing Ice
Director: Jeff Orlowski

SXSW '12 Interview: Guy Maddin Talks Making 100 Short Films In 100 Days In Four Countries With Current Project 'Spiritismes'

Oliver Lyttelton — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 20:04:03 GMT

If you've been at a film festival at the last few months, chances are you've bumped into Guy Maddin. The idiosyncratic Canadian director of "Twilight of the Ice Nymphs," "The Saddest Music In the World" and "My Winnipeg" has a new film, the offbeat haunted house tale "Keyhole" starring Jason Patric and Isabella Rossellini. And he's been on the festival circuit in a big way, debuting the film at TIFF (read our review from there), before heading to Halifax's Atlantic Film Festival, and then last month in Berlin (where we interviewed the director) before landing in the last week at SXSW.

We were able to talk to the filmmaker in Austin about the project, as well as what he's working on at the moment, an intriguing-sounding tribute to lost cinema named "Spiritismes." Maddin told us,"I just wrapped the first stage of an insanely over-ambitious project, the first eighteen days of shooting at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, a project I'm going to shoot this year. One hundred short films in one hundred days in four different countries, four different public spaces: the Pompidou, MOMA in New York, the Winnipeg Art Gallery in Winnipeg and the Biennale in Sao Paulo... What I'm doing, they're adaptations of long-lost films, canonical and not so canonical, lost, unrealized and aborted projects. I became really haunted a few years ago by the fact that I just couldn't see a lot of the great films made by my favorite directors, because they're gone, they're lost. 80% of silent films lost, many talkies lost."

The filmmaker continued with more from his process on the project. "What I do every day in these public spaces, I collect my actors together, we had some of the biggest French movie stars working, and what a thrill it was to work with Charlotte Rampling. All the things I've thought about Charlotte Rampling over the years... Mathieu Amalric, Andre Vilm, Geraldine Chaplin, Udo Kier. It was an amazing experience. We would gather these people every day in a salon in the Centre Pompidou, that my new production designer Galen Johnson designed, and constructed by the Pompidou staff," He explained. "Every day I'd gather my actors around a table, and make contact the miserable spirit of a lost film, and invite it to possess us, and compel us to act out the essence of its long-forgotten story, and like a good little spirit photographer, I'd shoot what they did while possessed. Actors are always going into trances anyway, so you can just tip em over into a trance with just a touch. I did one a day for eighteen straight days, it was exhausting, it took all day and all night. We had it live-streaming on the Pompidou website, MOMA and the WAG will do the same."

You can listen to, and even download, the full interview, conducted by Playlister Aaron Hillis below. Maddin's "Spiritismes" project continues throughout the rest of the year.

-- Reporting by Aaron Hillis

Review: 'Gimme The Loot' Is A Heartfelt But Dull Look At Two Teen Graffiti Artists

Drew Taylor — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 19:41:02 GMT

Throughout "Gimme the Loot," you'll ask yourself the following question: why is this movie called "Gimme the Loot?" Then it becomes clear: if the movie were authentically named, it would probably be called "Bomb the Apple," since the two main characters (Tysheeb Hickson and Tashiana R. Washington) are young graffiti artists looking to tag (or "bomb") the giant apple that comes out after players hit a home run at CitiField (formerly Shea Stadium, which it's referred to as here). But then you realize that a movie called "Bomb the Apple" probably sounds like it concerned terrorists in Manhattan, which probably wouldn't be a good thing. It would, however, be a much more interesting movie than "Gimme The Loot" (which is also the name of an old Notorious B.I.G. song) ended up being.

"Gimme the Loot," which just picked up the Grand Jury prize at this year's SXSW Film Festival, is a movie too earnest and well intentioned to truly hate. (It also, mercifully, is free of many of the hallmarks of this year's crop of films – rape, the woods, couples bickering, "found footage"). But it's also agonizing and dull; you want to love it, to give it a big warm hug, but you end up scowling at it from across the room.

Hickson and Washington play Malcolm and Sofia, a pair of teenage graffiti artists. In the opening scene we watch as they steal cans of spray paint from a local hardware store, jumping into the beat-up van of a tattooed thug named Champion. From there, it follows one very long day in their lives – they wake up to see that their graffiti has been painted over by a rival gang, which gives them the idea to "bomb the apple." If they can spray paint that apple with their insignias, then they will instantly become legendary. No one will fuck with their artistic vandalism anymore. What follows could have been a highly mechanized roll out – they hatch the plot, put the players together, and go through with the plan. Except that this is some micro-budget indie and not "Ocean's Fourteen," so instead the movie takes a more meandering path that fans of the film will probably describe as "poetic," but anyone else will find "pointless."

Malcolm has a mysterious contact within the CitiField security team and he promises to let them in the next morning if they can come up with $500. Since neither of them has that kind of cash (they jump turnstiles and steal flowers), they're forced to pinball around, frantically attempting to secure funds. There are a series of misadventures that befall our two main characters – Malcolm steals some weed from a local dealer and sells it to that dealer's cousin, a precocious upper class white girl. She makes out with him but when her cousin shows up, Malcolm runs out of the apartment, leaving behind his shoes. When he comes back to retrieve his kicks, the girl is sitting around with her high society friends and she acts like he's nothing to her. Instead of calling him Malcolm she just refers to him as "drug dealer," and what could have been a sobering wake-up call about the social strata of Manhattan and the outlying boroughs becomes too on-the-nose. More humiliating embarrassments befall Sofia, including a failed cell phone sale and getting harassed by the rival graffiti gang, who scrawl their logo on her T-shirt.

If either actor has any formal training it's not apparent. While Washington does give us something to connect to, Hickson is all wiry mannerisms and affectations, and both seem to be riffing in a semi-improvisational style that doesn't give the dialogue space as much as it fills it with a bunch of breathy "niggas" and "fucks." Their interactions with their peers is more naturalistic but still uninvolving, and oftentimes the narrative veers so far off track that you temporarily forget what they're trying to accomplish. "Oh right, money to get into CitiField to spray paint a giant apple," you remember. Before asking yourself, "Then why is she selling their cans of spray paint?" Oh, for money for the CitiField break in, but… Thus is the ouroboros of thinking about this movie.

Writer/director Adam Leon clearly wanted to illuminate this world, and his exploration of both a cultural and social subculture makes you think his inspirations were equal parts "Do the Right Thing" and "Rounders." But his writing is clumsy and his direction is clumsier; awkward pauses and moments in the script that seem cheap or insubstantial could have been compensated for by whip smart direction. Sadly, that isn't the case here. Shots will often go on and on, as we walk with the two characters, watching them dip, dive and maneuver through New York City sidewalk traffic. While on one hand this works, at least thematically (they're marginalized, two tiny fish in a huge stream, and yet they have these grand plans) from a visual standpoint it doesn't work. It seems like a no-budget version of the Aaron Sorkin walk-and-talk, except it's unfocused (sometimes literally – there's a basketball game at one point that seems to be played by large pixels) and, like much of the movie, not all that engaging. Other times, we'll watch the two characters enter a park and the camera will just pivot, panning with them as they walk. In some other context this could work (you can imagine De Palma pulling something like it off quite handily), but here it just seems like it was the path of least resistance to a shot that was clearly stolen, guerrilla-style.

"Gimme the Loot" is a small, kindhearted, easily accessible indie that people who don't watch a lot of movies will probably adore. (It was rapturously received by our approving film festival crowd and if it gets distribution can probably expect similar responses nationwide.) But it's too slight, never engaging fully with either conceit – it's not really about the graffiti subculture in New York, neither is it some kind of irreverent crime movie. It's just dull, baggy and poorly photographed. But at least it doesn't have rape. Or woods. [C-]

SXSW 2012: A Final Round-Up of Indiewire's Coverage

Indiewire Staff — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 19:31:52 GMT

This weekend marks the end of this year's SXSW and the Indiewire network was on the scene for the whole thing. Earlier in the week we provided you with a mid-festival round-up of all our coverage up until that point and now we have a final roundup to help you easily sort through what happened during the rest of the week.

Click through below for all the news, reviews, and features out of SXSW from the Indiewire network:

Indiewire

The 8 Film Startups You Should Know From SXSW
If you're a film person on the SXSW Interactive trade show floor, it's easy to leave with a complex. Film, to put it mildly, is not a priority for tech people -- and these people, easily identified by the orange lanyards attached to the all-important badges, are everywhere.

Meet 28 SXSW Filmmakers

SXSW '12 | Joss Whedon: 'I want to make things that are small, pure and odd.'
Joss Whedon looks tired, really tired, when I meet him at the Four Seasons in Austin for a quick one-on-one. Can you blame him?

SXSW '12 | Mars Volta Guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez: Chauvinism and Capitalism Inspired His Exploitation Movie 'Los Chidos'
In addition to his rock-star duties as the guitarist for The Mars Volta, Omar Rodríguez-López has technically made seven movies, but he won't let you see most of them.

SXSW FUTURES: Welsh Actor Aneurin Barnard Sings in 'Hunky Dory,' Runs for His Life in 'CITADEL'
If there was an acting award for versatility at this year's SXSW film festival, Welsh performer Aneurin Barnard would be the one to beat.

Indiewire's 12 Favorite Moments from SXSW 2012

22 Reviews From SXSW 2012

SXSW '12 | Jonas Akerlund Talks His Busy 2011, Making Bizarro New Feature 'Small Apartments' Along with 34 Commercials and 5 Music Videos
Swedish director Jonas Akerlund, best known for his innovative videos for the likes of Prodigy ("Smack My Bitch Up"), Lady Gaga ("Telephone" and "Paparazzi") and Madonna ("Ray of Light") came to SXSW for the world premiere his third feature "Small Apartments."

Critical Consensus: Ben Kenigsberg and Matt Singer Discuss SXSW 2012
Critical Consensus is a biweekly feature in which two critics from Indiewire’s Criticwire network discuss new releases with Indiewire’s chief film critic, Eric Kohn.

SXSW '12 | Deepak Chopra and His Son, Gotham, Talk About Father/Son Doc 'Decoding Deepak'
Deepak Chopra is that strange hybrid of celebrity and spiritual icon, known for his followers (Michael Jackson was a loyal fan) and diamond-bedazzled eyewear. But to his son Gotham, he's just Dad.

'Gimme the Loot' and 'Beware Mr. Baker' Top 2012 SXSW Film Awards Winners
"Gimme the Loot" and "Beware Mr. Baker" topped the SXSW Film Awards, winning the two Grand Jury Prizes.

SXSW '12 | In Which Rob Riggle and Todd Rohal Crash IW's Johnny Knoxville Interview
When you book Johnny Knoxville for a one-on-one, it's a safe bet to expect the unexpected.

Critic's Notebook: SXSW is Where the Crazy Movies Call Home
A lot of major festivals showcase bold and provocative work. But SXSW has the rare ability to put a spotlight on wildly subversive creativity for an approving crowd.

The Top 10 Grossing Films That Premiered at SXSW 2011
As the 2012 edition of SXSW gets underway in Austin, Texas, it seemed appropriate to look back at the films of last year's edition and how well they did at the theatrical box office.

Criticwire

SXSW Review Capsule: 'The Aggression Scale'
Most films that have to do with a home invasion will somehow conjure images of a wily youngster thwarting two would-be robbers at Christmas.

SXSW Review Capsule: 'The Tall Man'
In director Pascal Laugier's follow-up to his better-received 2008 film "Martyrs," "The Tall Man" stars Jessica Biel as Julia Denning, a nurse in a rural Washington town where children are systematically disappearing.

SXSW Review Capsule: 'Somebody Up There Likes Me'
For a screenwriter, dealing with the aging process in any nonlinear fashion is always a risk. Toying with the natural progression of youth into old age has the potential to come off as manipulative or cheap. Yet that's the task that writer/director Bob Byington assumes with "Somebody Up There Likes Me."

SXSW Review Capsule: 'The Do-Deca Pentathlon'
A known quantity in the world of independent film, Jay and Mark Duplass have been hard to ignore since their 2008 film "Baghead," if not since their feature-length debut "The Puffy Chair" in 2005.

SXSW Review Capsule: 'King Kelly'
Odds are good that, by now, you're probably tired of the phrase "found footage." In the wake of a bevy of horror franchises built under the same conceit, the genre's grown exponentially over the last half-decade. While it remains to be seen whether "King Kelly" will be the last frontier in this particular cinematic realm, the production style that produced it is garnering some significant attention.

SXSW Review Capsule: 'Starlet'
Unlikely relationships often make for a compelling narrative. When two or more people with no seeming overlap in interests or backgrounds come together, it often illuminates an intriguing part of the characters of those involved. "Starlet" features one such relationship

Thompson on Hollywood

SXSW Review Roundup and Clips for Winners 'Gimme the Loot' and 'Beware Mr. Baker'
The 2012 SXSW FIlm Festival bestowed jury awards to Adam Leon's New York City-based "Gimme the Loot" and Jay Bulger's rock biopic "Beware Mr. Baker." Review roundup and clips for both winners show what to expect from these two naturalistic, unexpected films.

SXSW Q & A: Dunham and Apatow Debut Three Episodes of HBO's Hilarious and Sexually Frank Comedy Series 'Girls'
"I love you Janet," said Lena Dunham, wearing a sleek black mini-dress and high wedges at the Paramount Theatre Monday before unveiling the first three episodes of her new HBO series with producer Judd Apatow, "Girls," which debuts on HBO April 15.

SXSW Interview: Duplass Brothers Talk 'Jeff,' 'The Do-Deca-Pentathlon' and Career Plan (Video)
Writer-directors Jay and Mark Duplass headed into SXSW with an unusual distribution deal for their long-in-the-works micro-budget brother comedy "The Do-Deca-Pentathlon."

SXSW Video: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum and Filmmakers Talk Comedy Home Run '21 Jump Street'
Whatever question there might be about how well a smart horror parody like SXSW opener "Cabin the Woods" will do with mainstream audiences, there is none with updated buddy cop comedy "21 Jump Street" (March 16), which also played well at the Paramount Theater here, and will prove a huge b.o. home run.

SXSW Trailer, Reviews, Q & A: 'Paul Williams Still Alive' is 'Remarkable,' 'Very Funny' & 'Unlike Any Documentary'
SXSW is useful for catching up with the best of other film fests

The Playlist

SXSW '12 Review: Richard Linklater's 'Bernie' Starring Jack Black Is A Harmless, But Charming & Funny Effort
Employing a laid-back, jovial and amiable mien, Richard Linklater's latest effort, the East Texas-set black comedy "Bernie," is not unlike the Austin-based filmmaker himself: affable, eager to please without pandering, and highly likeable.

SXSW '12 Review: 'Paul Williams: Still Alive' Is A Wonderfully Weird, Surprisingly Moving Tribute To A Forgotten Musical Icon
Does the name Paul Williams mean anything to you? Does it ring a bell? No? How about these songs: "Rainbow Connection," "Evergreen," "We've Only Just Begun," "Old Fashioned Love Song"?

SXSW '12 Review: 'Bad Brains: A Band In DC' A Kinetic, Frenetic & Long Overdue Tribute To The Legendary Hardcore Band
Despite it’s overachieving attempts, the film is kinetic, frenetic (how could it not be, with video of H.R. performing in his heyday; The man is the definition of electically charged), and well paced with lots to love for any Bad Brains, punk or music fans.

SXSW '12 Review: 'Somebody Up There Likes Me' A Surprisingly Ambitious Deadpan Charmer
Bob Byington’s "Somebody Up There Likes Me" is about a guy who doesn’t grow up. In fact, he doesn’t even age over the film’s span of about three decades in his life.

SXSW '12 Interview: 'Frankie Go Boom' Director Jordan Roberts On The Inspiration Behind Putting Ron Perlman In A Dress
We weren't sure what to expect of "Frankie Go Boom," the sophomore directorial feature from director Jordan Roberts.

SXSW '12 Interview: Matthew McConaughey & Tracy Letts Talk Working With William Friedkin & NC-17 Rating For 'Killer Joe'
"Killer Joe" is a film primed to mark a comeback for its director and star. Not only has William Friedkin made his best movie in decades with the sordid Texan crime tale, but Matthew McConaughey continues to add to his recent renaissance of fascinating work that has seen him team with with filmmakers like Richard Linklater, Steven Soderbergh and Jeff Nichols.

SXSW '12 Review: Weird & Sometimes Confusing 'John Dies At The End' Is Still An Odd & Engaging Genre Treat
It involves axe handles, zombies, mutant leeches, axe heads, hardware store trips and answering a dead man as to whether or not the axe in question is the same that killed him. Confused? If you are, then you don't want to stick around. If you're too overjoyed that the spiritual successor to Sam Raimi has appeared, you're in luck.

SXSW '12 Review: The Duplass Brothers' 'Do-Deca Pentathlon' Is A Minor Effort That Should Have Remained Buried
The concept is too weak to hang a full feature on, and the dramatic movements within the story are not compelling, surprising or meaningful in any way.

SXSW '12 Review: HBO Series 'Girls' Solidifies Lena Dunham's Place As A Bold New Voice in American Comedy
The series is beautiful and brilliant and, in a few weeks, all of American will join in the Lena Dunham discussion, only this time, it will be hard to argue her faults.

Shadow and Act

SXSW 2012 Review - "21 Jump Street" (Wake Me Up When It's Over)
I’ll just keep this short and sweet and say that the movie just wasn’t for me; others in the audience seemed to really love it though, laughing at every little joke – and not just laughing, but laughing accompanied by screaming, fist pounding, feet kicking, cackling and much more.

SXSW '12 Review: "Bay Of All Saints" Is Poignantly Revelatory and Inspirational
There’s plenty to keep you engaged throughout; the filmmakers affectively showcase the humanity and heart of these subjects, their bittersweet familial ties, their incredible resilience, along with their hopes and dreams.

SXSW 2012 Review - Ya'Ke Smith's "Wolf" (What Spike Lee's "Red Hook Summer" Should Have Been)
Essentially, you will be challenged after spending close to 2 hours with this close-knit group of characters who simply can't be reductively categorized as "good" or "bad"; there are shades here, and Smith doesn't make it easy for the viewer, which is a very good thing in my opinion.

SXSW '12 Doc Review: Teens Aimlessly Wonder Through The Night In "Tchoupitoulas"
I went in expecting an exhilarating experience, or some other meaningful occurrence, but I left the theater feeling underwhelmed. Overall, the documentary's strenghts lie in its photography, art direction, sound mixing and editing. Other than that, there's not much substance.

SXSW '12 Review: 'Bay Of All Saints' An Honest Exploration Of The Communities Of The Waterfront Slums In Brazil

Katie Walsh — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 17:43:00 GMT

Winner of of the Documentary Feature Audience Award at SXSW, "Bay of All Saints," directed by Annie Eastman, is an affecting little gem of a documentary, a look inside a world very different from our own, in the waterfront slums of Bahia, Brazil. These slums aren't so much waterfront as they are in the water, shacks made of salvaged planks and stilts, swaying in an ocean of garbage. Known as palafitas, people have been creating homes there for 60 years, filling in the sea underneath their houses with bags of trash; creating land with refuse where there was none and then claiming it as their own.

Our entry into this world is via refrigerator repairman Norato, a local man who has befriended the women of the palafitas by fixing their appliances. We follow his feet as he traverses from house to house via the rickety bridges made up of loose planks. The use of Norato in the film is an ingenious move by Eastman. He serves as a narrator for the film, but he's also friends with these women, a confidant who offers access to them but not in a way that feels voyeuristic or exploitative, and is a worthy vehicle for telling their story on film.

We get to know Geni and Jesus and Dona Maria, women who have made their lives in these palafitas, raised children and cooked and cleaned and earned money by washing clothes, collecting bottles or working in the beachside restaurants. Some are looking for a way out and some aren't. The palafitas are treacherous and dirty, filled with rats and bugs and liable to go crashing into the ocean at any time. But these homes are their own; they aren't beholden to any men or landlords here, they are the masters of their own domains, even with all of the problems.

In 2005, the World Bank earmarks $49 million dollars to clean up the slums in Brazil, with the palafitas community at the top of the priority list because of the environmental problems it causes with sewage in the ocean and flooding on land. The government agency CONDER wants to move the residents to housing projects on land, and the community organizes itself and elects Geni their spokesperson. However, she isn't invited to any of the meetings, and must force her way in to make her voice heard. Development on the housing project stalls for several years, and the palafitas continue to crumble at an alarming rate because the residents haven't been maintaining the stilts, thinking CONDER would move them out. Geni and the other residents finally raise their voices in protest, marching through the streets, until CONDER attempts to remedy the situation by offering rent stipends and other band-aids to cover up the problem.

"Bay of All Saints" presents these people and the world they live in through a non-judgmental lens, respecting the unprecedented amounts of access they were granted by telling their stories truthfully and with dignity. There isn't even much of the traditional documentary visual juxtaposition or ironic presentation in contrasting words with images or in the editing process. Instead, it is simply an honest exploration of this unique community and the issues that they face, while also commenting on the larger ideas of home, propriety and safety that anyone can relate to. "Bay of All Saints" utilizes this micro-community as a way to comment on larger world ideas and issues facing humanity but never in a way that is heavy-handed and forceful upon the audience or upon the people themselves, presenting them simply as they are -- real people who face the same issues we do every day. [B+]

Interview with Rachael Harris - Star of Natural Selection

Melissa Silverstein — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 14:51:54 GMT

Natural Selection is a small but very touching movie about a woman who has spent 25 years locked in a world and a marriage that have kept her from being a full person. Rachael Harris plays Linda a woman who can't have kids and so according to her religion she can't have sex with her husband Abe. She lived her life believing that both of them were abstaining and when Abe has a health crisis she finds out that he has been visiting a sperm bank for years. Turns out Abe has a kid and she goes in search of him and on her journey she comes to life and realizes she wants more than what she has. Rachael Harris is great. The film opens in NY and LA today and in other cities soon. Info here.

I was able to speak with Rachael Harris on her lunch break from shooting the pilot executive produced by Melissa McCarthy at CBS. (THERE ARE SOME SPOILERS BELOW)

Women and Hollywood: You are mostly known for your comic performances so how did you get this script?

Rachael Harris: I was given the script by my agents and I read it and I had been saying for a long time that I wanted to branch out and try something different. I started out as a stage actress so I was always seeking things that were a bit different from what I had done. So my agent sent me this script and I read it. I couldn't put it down. So immediately I wanted to do it and was sure that I wasn't going to be able to get to do it. It was such a great part so I was sure that they would be able to get other people to do it. There were other people who were interested in it for sure but the budget was so extremely low that any really good agent with sense for these women who normally do these kinds of things would say no. That worked in my favor.

WaH: What challenges did it present to you in your branching out as an actress?

RH: For me I think the challenge was I wanted to do what I knew I was capable of doing. I wasn't too worried about doing the material I felt it was completely relatable. The biggest challenge was the schedule. Making sure everything lined up.

WaH: How many days did you shoot?

RH: We shot it in 18 days. We did 3 6- day weeks.

WaH: You said that this film is a coming of age story of a 40 year old woman. Can you elaborate on that?

RH: I feel that for Linda she has lived this life solely for her husband and she realizes through her relationship with Raymond and Abe that no one person is going to complete her or be there for her. As much as she loves Raymond and as much as she loves Abe she realizes that they are not necessarily the best people for her and going through these experiences she starts to realize that she doesn't really know herself. I love that she finally goes to California and goes to the beach which is what she's dreamed of her entire life. It's the first thing she has every done that is truly for herself.

WaH: We live in a time when women's rights seem to be rolling back and you look at this woman thinking how can she exist in our world but then also realize there are probably many women like her. Did you do any research?

RH: Just in my own personal dealings having dealt with my own family. I spent a lot of time with my dad in the Deep South in very small towns with very religious people. You and I read the news every day, we're online constantly. A lot of people don't own a computer in this day and age and a lot of people don't watch TV 24/7. They have different values. Their values are in a different place and a lot of time it is dictated by your faith, and for me I have met people who have never heard of Seinfeld. They are committed to their families and getting their kids through school and I didn't have a hard time relating to that having had both my parents come from very small towns and my dad grew up in Wheeling, West Virginia and they had an outhouse. I've met all his relatives and they're all sweet people with very simple serene lovely lives.

WaH: It's usually the women who suffer most in these instances.

RH: My whole thing with Linda is that I don't think she realized she was suffering. I just feel like her development was arrested because Abe had basically been her father. He was her husband too but she never thought to question him until her world is rocked. For 25 years she has been thinking we are in this together. This is what God wants. And for me it was plausible.

WaH: What was the hardest part of making the film?

RH: It wasn't that we didn't have a lot of money or didn't have great craft service or anything like that. I loved the constraints we had. I loved that we had a deadline. I loved that we couldn't belabor every minute point of the script and that we had to just go. But I think the hardest thing was my anxiety before we would do a big scene. I was just hoping I could just get to the place I wanted to get to and that was just personal -- that's wasn't on anybody else. What was great was that Robbie (Pickering, the writer and director) was so good at giving me the space to do that even in the short confines of time we had. It was fantastic.

WaH: The film premiered last year at SXSW where it won several awards and you were nominated for an Indie Spirit award and the film is about to open in NY and LA. Has the positive reception given you more opportunities to do dramatic roles? What has changed for you in the last year?

RH: Well if anything it's been a slow acknowledgment. The indie spirit nominationswas huge. I feel like I've planted some great seeds. People are used to seeing me one way but you don't really get it unless you see it. So I am really hopeful. I have really good feelings about the kind of things I am going to be doing. I would love to do more features and independent features and more complex and complicated women's roles. I loved Linda. I love her. I love the whole journey she goes on. I was really lucky to get to do that.

WaH: I know you are on your lunch break for a pilot. Tell us about it.

RH: It's a straight up comedy. Melissa McCarthy is executive producing for CBS. It's called the Untitled Larry Dorf/Ben Falcone pilot. We were all in the Groundlings together. It's about Ben Falcone's character who loses everything in the real estate market and has to move back in with his parents. I play his sister with a couple of kid and a husband. Andrea Martin and Judd Hirsch play our parents.

Natural Selection opens in limited release today.

SXSW '12 | Mars Volta Guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez: Chauvinism and Capitalism Inspired His Exploitation Movie 'Los Chidos'

Eric Kohn — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 13:54:56 GMT

In addition to his rock-star duties as the guitarist for The Mars Volta, Omar Rodríguez-López has technically made seven movies, but he won't let you see most of them.

The eccentric musician-filmmaker (formerly of At the Drive In, which recently announced plans for a reunion at Coachella) has worked on movies with a close-knit group of friends in Mexico, but has only allowed the last two to screen at festivals: "The Sentimental Engine Slayer" played at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2010, while the outrageous exploitation movie "Los Chidos" premiered in competition at SXSW this week.

A gross-out spectacle done in the style of Spanish telenovelas but positioned as a satire of male chauvinism, "Los Chidos" technically revolves around a Mexican family dealing with crime and other misdeeds while sorting out their interpersonal dramas. Intentionally dubbed and filled with countless provocative images, "Los Chidos" is one of those movies that begs for further explanation.

So I tracked Rodríguez-López down at Austin's Driskill Hotel this week to figure out what he was going for. And boy, did I get some answers -- not to mention a lengthy diatribe against the music industry and capitalism as a whole (he also trashed fellow Mexican filmmaker Alejandro Gonzalez Iñaritu). Frequently out of breath as he spoke, Rodriguez-Lopez sounded like one of The Mars Volta's lively compositions.

It seems like you're only making movies to satisfy yourself and your friends. But these last two have played film festivals. What made you more comfortable about getting them out there?

I wasn't comfortable getting them out there, but I had to be responsible in terms of having a concept of other people. My editor and sound person sat me down and said, "Hey, listen, we respect your philosophy but we work really hard on these films and want to be able to put them out there." I have to honor that, because they do work very hard. I can't take the credit for it. Adam Thompson, my editor, he's the reason we're here and had the last one at Tribeca. He's the one who fills out all the paperwork and is very passionate about that.

So why didn't you let him do that for your earlier films?

It was just part of the agreement with everyone I got involved with. We were doing this because of the process and because we're doing it. When you start to do something and you start to bring in people who are thinking about the end result, it really alters it.

Of course, you have the luxury of saying that since you have another career going on as a musician. Filmmaking can be a hobby for you. A lot of people don't think that way.

That's an interesting point. This is another reason why I have to honor this, because it's how my career in music started. I never had an idea that I would ever do music for a living. I just did it. I didn't have that exterior influence of making things a certain way. I just followed my intuition and eventually someone said they wanted to produce me. Then we made a record, and so on and so forth. In that sense, I have to stay true to that spirit because it got me where I am. That's why I won't ever complain. You know, a lot of bands complain about being on the runway for three hours and all this stuff. Yeah, what did you do just after? Did you go to Japan? Did you go to Australia because people wanted to hear your music? So I have to keep things in perspective in an industry that caters to the ego. When you're in a tour bus or backstage, there's very little social interaction, and the interaction that is there are with people who work for you. There's money in it for them so they're gonna be nice to you. That's not real.

And you're saying it's the opposite for filmmaking?

Yeah, because you have to collaborate. It gets me out of the house. I have to go to rehearsals, go to the store owner and ask if I can film there, articulate myself, not be afraid of the society I live in. That's key for me, it's one of the strongest medicinal properties of making a film.

Both At the Drive In and The Mars Volta have very thick, energizing sounds; a lot of your songs take unpredictable turns. You could say the same thing about your approach to the narrative in "Los Chidos." It's very strange and confusing at times but also adheres to its own weird, satirical logic.

For sure, it's all coming from the same place, because I'm fortunate enough not to have any technical schooling in music or film or cooking or anything I really love doing. It's all dictated by whatever is happening at that moment. Cinema has to be collaborative. Music is confined to one room. If you know how to play a lot of instruments, which I do, and if you know how to engineer and record, which I do, then you can do it pretty much on your own. More and more we see that with garage bands. People can really get out there and make their music by themselves. You can't do that with film. You're forced into a collaborative situation.

But music doesn't force you to say something about reality. You're just making sound. But cinema confronts reality by its very definition. "Los Chidos" takes a very critical perspective of chauvinistic behavior in Mexico. Is this something you wanted to deal with through your music as well?

Yeah, I've grown up with it all my life. All my work touches on these same issues but like you're saying, with music, not only do you not have to do it, but it's not as obvious unless you're playing in a real political band -- "Women arise!" -- but that hasn't been my thing. So these themes have been visible when I was doing At the Drive In and even during that really kinetic time [for feminist bands] in the nineties when Bikini Kill and Fugazi were happening and it seemed like this huge change was going to happen. Then that got bought out.

When I moved back to Mexico and worked with artists and progressives there, seeing that their vernacular is still the same -- that was why I did this film now. I was working with people I consider my peers but they still say "puto" [Spanish for "slut"] and treat women in a certain way. And they view men a certain way, too. When you're in a room with guys and they start talking about sexual exploits and you get uncomfortable, they say, "What are you, a faggot?" That's what we've had to live with. I said this at a Q&A and could see people cringe at it, but that's the world we live in. And that's why I use satire. You have to have a sense of humor or else it's just a mean film. I don't want to be bitter. I choose to believe in people regardless of the ugly things I see around me.

The story focuses on a naive white character who crashes with the family and gets involved with their problems. How does that fit into your allegory?

What I was trying to drive home there was that the film goes beyond this culture. You could replace it with any culture. You could put the Arabs or the Jews in there. You could put the Japanese people there. Every culture puts its foot down on women. To me, he's the biggest oppressor of the whole film but he's put there in a way where you want to like him or you're disarmed by him, much in the same way American global culture disarms the world by giving its such great products, but at the same is responsible for Noriega and all these dictatorships. And yet what does the rest of the world do but eat up America's culture?

It's like, yes, shit on us, and yet at the same time whatever movies are big there, those are the movies we want big here. Whatever product's big there, we want it big here. As a result, 85% of films in Mexican theaters, Puerto Rican theaters and South American theaters are American films.

This basic psychology is seen in the clearest way with Stockholm Syndrome. You have love for the kidnapper. The relationship between the exploiter and the exploited keeps getting regurgitated. It's eaten up and shit out and the next person eats that shit until people have the discussion and make the decision that they want to be aware of it. [Editor's note: There is, in fact, shit-eating featured "Los Chidos."] We should be aware of the words we use, because the main oppressor uses language as the strongest weapon. You ingrain it in the culture and then you have young people who don't know what they're saying so they think it's cool.

Why did you decide to present this in the mold of an exploitation movie?

The rest of my films aren't like this. I wanted to make the style obvious through the music and the ADR. So definitely Almodóvar and Buñuel and Jodorworsky and John Waters inspired me. It's a fun genre to play with because I don't want it to be just mean. I need that juxtaposition. It's one of the problems I have with Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu's treatments of Guillermo Arriaga's scripts. I've seen the scripts. They have a lot of playful moments that are taken out, so everything has to be awful, and then it gets worse. Even making love is awful! I don't view the world that way. I mean, I know the world's fucked up, but I also know there are amazing people in it. We all know that. But this was a particular choice for this film because of what I want to talk about.

Have you screened it in Mexico?

I have. And women have come up to me and said, "Thank you." It took me a while to process that. Then I'll run into men who say, "Why this?" That's telling in it of itself. I couldn't have made it without the theater group I worked with. They saw the script and loved it and said, "This has to be talked about." That's what makes me happy because they know it needs to be talked about. It's extreme, but the sad thing is that it's based off real things.

In the mid-90's, I got a chance to tour with Diamonds in the Coal and Bikini Kill and hear this whole movement and eat up all the literature they were writing at the time. The image in the film of a girl hurting her foot on broken glass is extreme, but it comes directly from a woman who I won't name whose father used to make her walk around barefoot. He would cut the bottom of her feet so she couldn't run away and then he would rape her. That's the world we live in and anyone who wants to think it's not should, by all means, walk out of the theater. It's a cycle that keeps going -- we allow the exploitation of women every single day.

Do you want the movie to get distribution?

It would be wonderful, but if it doesn't happen, I understand that as well. Like you said, I know what type of film I've made. With At the Drive In, after our first hit, MTV said, "Make a second video, we're going to plaster it everywhere, you're going to be huge, bigger than Nirvana." So we chose a song that happened to be about the murder of Juarez women [a known rash of brutal killings in Ciudad Juarez, near El Paso]. We went to Juarez with [director] Anton Corbijn. We went to the place where 800 women have been buried in the desert and we just stood there with all the facts about it and where you could go to read more on the screen. We turned that in and they said, "We don't want this, nobody wants this, we want you playing your guitar and smiling." So they didn't air it and that was the end of that.

Wow. Where's that video now?

In a file somewhere. They own it. So I know what type of film I made. If it doesn't get distribution, I'm not going to play the role of the angry artist.

Not to mention that you're pretty busy these days.

Also. (laughs)

Are you working in the studio now?

Yeah, I'm producing Le Butcherettes' next record. They're a great feminist group from Mexico. I'm also doing one for Apollo, another group from Mexico. And I'm hoping to work with Nina Dios, which translates as Girl God, also from Mexico. She's a really talented hip-hop artist. Also, we're doing At the Drive In records and Mars Volta has a new record coming out on March 26th.

At the Drive is playing at Coachella soon. Does that mean you guys are officially back together?

Well, we are now. We've been hanging out and taking it step by step. Obviously everybody offers us everything, but we just turn it all away and deal with our interpersonal relationships. We just took a show in Spain. As long as it's spaced out, we can work on it.

22 Reviews From SXSW 2012

Indiewire — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 13:35:03 GMT

The SXSW Festival wraps up this weekend and Indiewire was on site to catch as many films as possible.

Click through below for 22 of Indiewire's reviews of films from this year's SXSW:

"Bernie" A-
Richard Linklater's "Bernie" is an oddly endearing love letter to Southern eccentricities that calls to mind no less than his iconic "Slacker." However, the comparison ends there: With its purposefully naive sense of self-mockery, "Bernie" is a shape-shifting genre vehicle set apart from anything else in Linklater's career.

"The Cabin in the Woods" B+
Relentlessly toying around with a meta story, "The Cabin in the Woods" is sometimes too clever for its own good. However, by successfully analyzing tired formulas, it gives them new life.

"The Do-Deca Pentathlon" A-
The movie illustrates two certainties: Nobody stops growing up and the Duplass brothers still have the skills to prove it.

"Dollhouse" B+
"Dollhouse" is intentionally all over the place, at times coming across like a caustic generational statement, then exploding into a near-tribal depiction of tribal disarray, and eventually settling into a punk-inflected morality tale. It overcomes an erratic, confusing nature through sheer unpredictability, and for the innovative way it renders a coming-of-age formula in attitudes and emotions.

"Electrick Children" B+
While maintaining an amusing concept and sustained by the thoroughly sweet nature of its young protagonists, "Electrick Children" pulls of the neat trick of maintaining credibility, never allowing the magic realist hook to devolve into quirky American indie clichés.

"Fat Kid Rules the World" B-
"Fat Kid" occasionally suffers from the feeble conventions of an afterschool special, although it rises above those trappings largely thanks to an impressive turn by Jacob Wysocki.

"Francine" B-
In her first major role since winning an Oscar for "The Fighter," Melissa Leo has chosen a boldly anti-formula work of supreme minimalism, the kind of showcase that many actors dread. It's a commendable achievement in an otherwise uneven production.

"Gimme the Loot" B+
At the world premiere of "Gimme the Loot" at the SXSW Film Festival, writer-director Adam Leon said he'd been working on reshoots only a few months ago. That encapsulates the quality driving this delightfully scrappy first feature about young New York graffiti artists, a stitched-together combo of outlaw energy and bittersweet romance that gives the impression of Little Rascals in the big city. Like the graffiti art it documents, it's a lovingly handmade affair.

"Girl Model" A
It should come as no great surprise that a movie called "Girl Model" has a dark side. The particularly startling aspect of this sharp non-fiction exposé from documentarians David Redmon and Ashley Sabin is the eerie, visceral horror the haunts every scene.

"The Imposter" B+
Easy to watch but littered with holes only noticeable once the credits roll, "The Impostor" borrows the sly methods of its hoodwinking protagonist to trick its viewers into the expectation of a single payoff. Instead, it offers several minor ones.

"Kid-Thing" B
Experientially, "Kid-Thing" is less movie than kaleidoscopic barrage of visual concepts and abrupt exchanges. Some are more cogent than others and none are devoid of the Zellners' relentlessly inventive approach.

"Killer Joe" B+
For much of the time, "Killer Joe" plays like a low rent crime saga from the Coen brothers template without the complex cinematic inspiration, and yet it still maintains a certain grindhouse-caliber thrill factor.

"King Kelly" A-
Amateur-quality camerawork has become a part of the vernacular, with the first-person perspective providing an intimate window into human behavior, particularly among the youth culture most capable of using the device to record itself. Shot exclusively on iPhones, "King Kelly" turns that tendency into an American horror show, delivering a ferocious indictment of Generation Me by boiling it down to a single ditzy teen.

"Leave Me Like You Found Me" B+
Sustained by its two leads, the movie never drags, although it constantly wanders and takes the audience along for the ride.

"Marley" B-
Despite its breadth, "Marley" delivers little more than a well-crafted overview sure to please diehard fans while leaving others unmoved.

"Safety Not Guaranteed" B+
It's probably unfair to describe "Safety Not Guaranteed" as "Back to the Future" by way of "Juno," as it certainly sets the bar too high. But in terms of entertainment value and tone, the shoe fits.

"The Sheik and I" A-
Zahedi has also made an alarming testament to the challenges of sincere expression in societies opposed to its function. It's a daring work made with reckless abandon -- in other words, both irresponsible and necessary.

"Sinister" B
Anchored by a moody Ethan Hawke performance and classically unsettling scare tactics, this icy supernatural thriller from director Scott Derrickson ("The Exorcism of Emily Rose") and co-written by Ain't It Cool News contributor C. Robert Cargill (aka "Massawyrm") delivers on the promise of its title by boiling down its appeal to pure atmosphere.

"Somebody Up There Likes Me" A
"Somebody Up There Likes Me" is best seen as an entirely abstract work rich with incidents and symbolism. But it never slows down to linger on drearier moments or draw out its dramatic circumstances. Byington excels at turning the edict that time waits for no one into a sensory experience.

"Starlet" B+
"Starlet" contains enough provocative subtext to deliver on its themes about the challenges of communication. Unlike Baker's previous efforts, the movie never makes obvious its trajectory, instead wandering through a series of events in search of a revelation much like Jane herself.

"Tchoupitoulas" A-
By assuming their protagonists' youthful perspective, the Ross brothers infuse the familiar iconography of Louisiana's celebratory urban landscape with a pure, almost spiritual depth.

"V/H/S" A
Handheld camcorder footage provides an excuse to eschew cinematic storytelling in favor of sloppiness, under the assumption that the amateur quality fits the narrative. The anthology horror movie "V/H/S" is a sharp rebuke to this laziness, delivering the creepiest first-person horror movie since the original "Paranormal Activity" while pushing the genre in a fresh direction with the sheer visceral energy of its execution.

SXSW Review Capsule: 'The Aggression Scale'

Steve Greene — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 21:30:27 GMT

Most films that have to do with a home invasion will somehow conjure images of a wily youngster thwarting two would-be robbers at Christmas. Much of the Twitter reaction and elevator-pitch synopses coming from the festival about "The Aggression Scale" seem to reference a certain 1990 film, but the extent to which Steven C. Miller's first feature-length release since "Automaton Transfusion" improves the genre or sets it back is a point of contention among critics.

Some would agree with Alison Willmore, who writes at The Playlist that the film might have benefited from a little more patience and an attempt to cut down the haphazard nature of the narrative. "'The Aggression Scale' was made on a low budget and in a hurry, and feels ragged and careless in strange ways," she writes, specifically citing that "the film would have done better to cut out the female characters it doesn't know how to write or what to do with."

Others are not so reserved in their criticism, including Todd Gilchrist, who imbues his Hitfix review with a special level of vitriol. He takes issue with the character of Lauren, the daughter in a family targeted by a quartet of hitmen looking for a half-million dollar cache. He explains that "the script as a whole is such a moronic, half-considered jumble of clichés that her inconsistent behavior is the least of the film’s problems," adding that "it’s the kind of movie that’s so bad it makes you angry at the filmmakers, ultimately inspiring the only revenge that means anything in Hollywood – namely, not patronizing their films."

But one man's abject failure is another man's "sort of a low-budget ass-kicker," as Scott Weinberg describes the film at FEARnet. "Even at its most familiar, 'The Aggression Scale' has a raw edge and relatively unpredictable approach to a well-traveled story," he continues. "There's just enough of a spark to make all the running, chasing, hiding, and desperate physical altercations feel a little bit fresh."

And even critics who acknowledge that the acting is not necessarily of the highest order, like Badass Digest's Devin Faraci, still have found things to appreciate in the film's overall crafting. "It doesn’t have the slickness or the scale of a studio film," he explains, "which is sort of too bad because the basic concept and script are totally worthy of a bigger budget version. But the movie as it exists is filled with energy and a deranged sense of fun, all fueled by Steven Miller’s undeniable visual eye and flair."

Instant Twitterverse Reaction:

"THE AGGRESSION SCALE is decent, but it wouldn't score very high on its title." - Matt Goldberg, Collider

"The Aggression Scale: what if Kevin McCallister was a violent autistic survivalist and Hans Gruber and his team shows up at his front door." - Eric Vespe, Ain't it Cool News

"Nodded off in The Aggression Scale, aka Drive: The Next Generation. Baby autistic MacGyver + paper characters = no thanks." - Daniel Carlson, Pajiba.com

"Part of me thinks THE AGGRESSION SCALE is mindless genre fun. Another part thinks it glorifies ppl like Dylan Klebold. Color me conflicted." - Andrew Johnson, Film Geek Radio

SXSW 2012 Review - "21 Jump Street" (Wake Me Up When It's Over)

Tambay — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 19:37:00 GMT

I’ll just keep this short and sweet and say that the movie just wasn’t for me; others in the audience seemed to really love it though, laughing at every little joke – and not just laughing, but laughing accompanied by screaming, fist pounding, feet kicking, cackling and much more.

Maybe it was just the energy of the environment we were in – a large theater, SXSW, close to night-time; maybe a few had some liquor in them, maybe a few took some hits before entering the theater… or maybe they just loved it and I didn’t, and it’s as simple as that.

I wouldn’t consider myself much of a fan of Jonah Hill nor Channing Tatum, so strike 1 came before I even entered the theater; that and the fact that the initial multi-culturalism that I think many appreciated about the original TV series is pretty much nullified in this film adaptation, as is the concept of "team." Just call it the Hill and Tatum show, because that’s what it is, with lots of silly, juvenile comedy that I’m sure college frat boy-types will love.

Strike 2 happened about 15 or 20 minutes in when Ice Cube’s undercover unit commander character was introduced. I get it; his exaggerated stereotypes were intentional and not to be at all taken seriously. His character even references the fact that he IS a walking stereotype – loud, gruff, and physical; Standard characteristics of your typical studio movie police chief/commander/whatever. Like said, I got it. But I still didn’t care for any of it. Ice Cube isn’t exactly what I’d call a good actor (in my humble opinion). His caricaturing was supposed to be funny, but I just found it all rather annoying.

It’s tough to isolate when strike 3 happens, because there’s a lot I didn’t like about this flick (more than I actually liked), like comedian DeRay Davis as Domingo, a street tough, bike-riding, tatooed drug dealer; but I’ll settle on all the friggin’ slo-mo shots (I recall at least one with doves flying out of a limo, as our leads exited it, *hot chicks* in tow).

Yeah, it’s that kind of movie; and some (maybe many) will probably have tons of fun watching it, and maybe I’m getting too old for this shit.

Sure, I did laugh a few times, genuinely; a grin or smile here and there as well; but for much of the film’s running time, I was bored, and just wanted it to end.

It's probably best screened with a rowdy crowd; I can see how all that pomp and circumstance could be infectious.

There are cameos, as you already should know, by Holly Robinson-Peete (although if you blinked, you’d miss her in it), as well as Johnny Depp (no surprise that he gets the most significant cameo appearance) and Peter DeLuise. Each cameo was met with cheers from the audience, as you’d expect; I was pleased to see Holly; although I wish she'd have been given a little more to do. She's on screen for literally 5 seconds; compare that to the blaze of glory Depp's character goes out in, after a chunky speech. But this is at the bottom of my list of quarrels with the movie.

I just found it dull and uninteresting; nothing particularly fresh; no risk; no ambition.

Calling it 21 Jump Street is meaningless here. I understand the marketing opportunities using the name of the original series provides, but, really, there are few similarities between the original TV series and the film. Gone is the police procedural crime drama; instead, meet infantile, shallow, predictable drivel that’ll likely do very well at the box office when it opens this weekend.

Not that the original series was high-brow/must-see television, but I figured any remake of it in the 21st century would at least be far more ambitious than this tired bit of recycling.

Checking RottenTomatoes.com, I’m in the tiny minority here, as 87% of reviews thus far give the film a thumbs up.

Bah-humbug! Just call me Scrooge.

SXSW '12 Review: Richard Linklater's 'Bernie' Starring Jack Black Is A Harmless, But Charming & Funny Effort

Edward Davis — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 19:06:59 GMT

Employing a laid-back, jovial and amiable mien, Richard Linklater's latest effort, the East Texas-set black comedy "Bernie," is not unlike the Austin-based filmmaker himself: affable, eager to please without pandering, and highly likeable. In fact, "Bernie," starring Jack Black as an endearing mortician and well-loved member of his small-town community in Carthage, Texas, is so delightful, and rather wryly comical, it’s easy to be charmed with the picture despite its modest ambitions, small-scale aims and slight nature.

Based on a true story, and shot in a faux, docu-drama-like style not unlike the Christopher Guest films ("Best In Show," "Waiting for Guffman"), "Bernie" centers on Bernhardt "Bernie" Tiede (Jack Black in a nice, dialed-in and mannered performance), an effeminate but beloved local mortician with people skills to spare. Empathetic, soothing and understanding, Bernie transforms an average local funeral home into a sanctuary; a warm protective cocoon where families can respectfully grieve and celebrate their loved ones. Not only is Bernie a lauded master mortician whose skills are renowned for making the dead look comely and at peace post mortem (he occasionally teaches classes to budding pupils studying to be funeral directors), but to him, it’s a higher calling and a work of art. A lecture early on about the mortician's duties transforms into a poetic manifesto and narrative about assisting the dead into their final voyage to the other side, and in doing so, being the implicit captain in comforting the bereaved.

Plus, Bernie's also the total package: not only charismatic, tender and pleasant, but he sings golden-voiced hymns at funerals, is the ultimate salesman and is a pillar of the community who directs and stars in various stage plays and musicals (Black's Tenacious D musical expertise makes this part of his performance all the more effortless). So respected and adored are Bernie’s skills that middle-age townsfolk not even really near death make Bernie promise to sing at and direct their funeral.

Possessing a deeply generous demeanor and a strange affinity for elderly widows (which makes the locals suspect he's "a little light in the loafers"), when affluent doyenne Marjorie Nugent's (Shirley MacLaine) husband passes on, Bernie stops by after hours to check in on her, bearing gifts and inquiring whether he can do anything more to ease her pain. Known as the least-liked person in Carthage, Texas (her grandchildren attempted to sue her due the penny-pinching approach to her fortune), Bernie doesn't have an easy time of winning over Marjorie, but eventually, perhaps begrudgingly, she finally relents.

And soon the curmudgeonly lady has her one and only friend. They dine together, vacation together, and Bernie chaperones her around town. A queer relationship to many people in Carthage, but a seemingly harmless one nonetheless. However, the union eventually curdles into a master-and-servant dynamic with Bernie having to attend to Marjorie’s every whim and need. Convinced to be her part-time assistant, the gig eventually devolves into a form of indentured servitude and the once cheery mortician becomes downcast and depressed.

If you’ve read any basic information about this film or seem the trailer, you know where this one heads (minor spoilers ahead). Struggling to meet her increasing demands, Bernie snaps, kills Marjorie and then spends months trying to cover up her murder by pretending she’s had a minor stroke and is unavailable to go out or see guests.

Danny Buck Davidson (Matthew McConaughey) – the local D.A., always out to make a name for himself – soon catches wind of Marjorie’s absence and, abetted by her suspicious accountant Lloyd Hornbuckler (Richard Robichaux), Davidson soon proves Bernie’s crime. It leads to a sensational local trial, but Davidson is quickly faced with a baffling and unexpected challenge: the town of Carthage (never a big fan of the iniquitous Marjorie) rallies to Bernie's defense, demanding that the authorities go easy on him for killing the elderly Nugent. An initial concern is having the entire story drawn out in the trailers and synopsis -- there’s no mystery to this comedic crime drama, but one swiftly realizes this picture is not about the details at all, but instead the comedic, human and idiosyncratic elements that fall within the particular fine points.

Littered with local TV actors who essentially recount the narrative in faux documentary-style interviews – many of whom feel so authentic you'd assume they were plucked off the streets of East Texas – “Bernie” is ultimately a bit of a “Rashomon”-like portrait of small town gossip, quaint notions, and the refracted ideas these townspeople have about Marjorie, Bernie, their relationship, the murders and the people trying to bring him to justice. A mockumentary-like structure might be the most apt description of the film’s construction, and a picture like this could easily backslide into tones of ridicule and condescension, but Linklater has a sharp eye and employs a tone that sends up, but also celebrates the quirks and peculiarities of Bernie and all these eccentric small-town folks.

If there's one major element lacking in "Bernie," and perhaps because this effort is essentially a light, congenial comedy, it would be that any true examinations of the psyche and the entire effort feels a bit slender and superficial. Sure, Bernie eventually snaps in a brief moment of wrath that changes his life forever, but Linklater and Skip Hollandsworth’s script (the latter being the journalist who wrote the article the film is based on) is mostly concerned with just documenting the facts while peppering comedy into this odd and humorous story. Then again, Bernie’s an enigmatic figure, but there’s no denying there isn’t a lot of meat around the bone. In fact, it’s pretty wafer-thin outside of the amusing structure, the engaging tone and the inviting performances, but at a brief 90 minutes, “Bernie” just breezes by. Yet, as slim and inessential as “Bernie” is in the scope of things – it’s really not saying a whole heck of a lot – it is nonetheless arch and witty, a lighthearted and entertaining little trifle that’s pretty damn funny and enjoyable too. [B]

SXSW FUTURES: Welsh Actor Aneurin Barnard Sings in 'Hunky Dory,' Runs for His Life in 'CITADEL'

Nigel M Smith — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 15:36:29 GMT

Why He's On Our Radar: If there was an acting award for versatility at this year's SXSW film festival, Welsh performer Aneurin Barnard would be the one to beat.

In the Narrative Spotlight selection "Hunky Dory," he sings and acts opposite Minnie Driver as a hunky high-school student with a voice to melt hearts. And in the Midnighters film "CITADEL," Barnard plays a young father suffering from agoraphobia, fighting for survival after a pack of feral children attack him and his family.

What's Next: He just wrapped shooting "Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes," directed by Francesca Gregorini ("Tanner Hall") and starring Jessica Biel and Alfred Molina. UK audiences can soon see him opposite Ray Winstone in "Elfie Hopkins," which comes out in April. He also stars in the upcoming "Trap for Cinderella," co-starring Alexandra Roach (the young Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady") and directed by Iain Softley ("Hackers").

I was surprised to go from watching you play a teenager in "Hunky Dory" to a father in "Citadel." How old are you?

I'm 24. In "CITADEL," I play a very young father. When I first signed onto "Hunky Dory" I was actually 18 years old. I was lucky enough that nothing's changed. The age has changed, but I still look like a teenager! Whether I'll ever grow up or remain like Peter Pan, I'm not sure.

So is this your first festival experience?

I did a movie called "Ironclad" a while back and that went to the London Film Festival and a few other places. But this is the first one in the States.

How's it going so far for you?

It's brilliant. Everything that I've done over the past three years is only now coming out, which is fantastic. I'm very happy about that. So you know, having "CITADEL" here, "Hunky Dory" here. Then I've got another film which is about to come out in the UK called "Elfie Hopkins." And I just had a TV movie come out called "We'll Take Manhattan" on the BBC. It's a really nice time for me.

You're like the British male equivalent to Jessica Chastain.

Yeah, maybe, yeah!

What's it been like showcasing your range as a performer to SXSW audiences?

There's such a good thriller/horror following here at the festival. So that's why "CITADEL" works so well here and with the people that come here. The fans, the bloggers, the press, the industry people. And then also I think with something like "Hunky Dory," it's great because of the music side to this festival. A major part of the film is just music. It really jumps into that element of the festival.

"Hunky Dory" kind of plays like a British '70s period equivalent to "Glee," a show with a huge fan-base. Are you ready for that side of the job, if the movie goes over well in Britain and abroad?

I try to stay out of it as much as possible. I try to be respectful and talk to any fan and sign anything that anyone wants. Without the fans, you're not much. You need fans to do this job. I've got a nice little following and it seems to be growing as each thing comes out. Different films, different genres show the different things I do. It's nice because it brings different groups of people to following what I'm doing. So hopefully it kind of reiterates that I'm not just a one-trick pony as well.

You look a fright in "CITADEL," especially after seeing you play the teen hunk in "Hunky Dory."

I do think about this! I kind of go, well how are "Hunky Dory" fans going to feel about "CITADEL"? I think they're gonna love it and think, "Jesus! That was completely different." We'll see. I'm very lucky because all of my roles have been completely different. So that's quite sweet. Hopefully, it will just show that my dynamic as an actor is versatile.

So many actors, when starting out, struggle not to get pigeonholed in one genre/role. In the two things I've seen you in, you've manged not to do that. What do you account that to? Your training? Plain luck?

I think it's training, but I think it's also a strong mind from when I was younger. The actors that I watched, they could play any role. In the good old days of the movie business, the greater actors survived really in the world. You have lots [of actors] now, but not like the old-fashioned guys. It didn't matter what the role was. They would make it their own. And there's never a role too small, never a role too big. It was about the dominance, just kind of driving through and creating something.

For me as a Welsh actor, Richard Burton is one of my biggest idols. And I've got so many: Peter O'Toole, Laurence Olivier and Oliver Reed. If they got "Hunky Dory" and "Citadel" offered to them, they would do completely different jobs on both of them. For me, it's important to show that it's a creative work that I do. It's my craft. If I was a carpenter, I wouldn't just make the same chair continuously for all of my life. I'd like to make one out of wood, different textures, different styles and different carvings. It's very important to me because I like having fun, showing that I can do anything that comes towards me really. I'd like to think so anyway.

Your singing in "Hunky Dory" is really quite impressive; you hit some crazy highs. How long have you been singing?

I've been singing since I was about 10 years old. At about 11, I started acting. I took it very seriously and I used to do lots of singing. And I got a few record deals in the UK. Got a lot of recognition with my voice. But I decided against it. Music's very personal to me and it's very intimate. The trouble with the music industry now is that you don't get to decide what you want to do. Labels command you instead. Back in the '60s and '70s, you could create your own record label or write your own stuff in your basement. It was so much more accessible. But now you're kind of commanded by a hierarchy and you're puppeted with your talent instead of in a creative environment.

The whole process of "Hunky Dory" was wonderful in that sense, musically. All the kids in the orchestra were playing the instruments. The choir was actually singing every song. Every actor in the film sang everything live.

It was a long process. We started when I was 18. I did a workshop for "Hunky Dory" and we had our first orchestra [session]. The musical director and the composer were there. We had a few songs and a few other people that are not in the movie, just singers. We just jammed for four days solid playing every song we could think of from '70s and had an amazing time doing it. And through that, I think we found the genuine, fluid natural environment of how music is. I think that's when the decision came to do everything live and not record in a studio. We realized that we could do it live and it had a raw richness to it. It was a smudged beauty. We embraced that and kind of ran with it and made that the key special element.

Moving onto "CITADEL," how close were you and director/writer Ciaran Foy on set, given the fact that he suffered from agoraphobia as well?

Ciaran is one of the best directors I've worked with and such a genuine lovely guy. And for this to be his first feature is just incredible, I think. His first feature straight into a festival!

It's always important for me to be very close to the director. When you're working on something which is very personal like with Ciaran -- he suffers from agoraphobia -- it's very insightful. I've got him as a free gift. His tales are free for stimulation. So it was very important that we could just talk about anything at any moment. And it was tough. I kind of lived that for two months; very long days.

I talked to Elizabeth Olsen about her work in "Silent House." She was also tasked with maintaining an unrelenting fear of her environment. She talked of bringing the role home with her at the end of each night to the point where she suffered from nightmares. Was that the same case with you?

Yeah, I had no choice, you know? The days were long. 12, 14, 16 hour days sometimes. Also I was just sitting in a hotel on my own a lot. I'd have one drink at the bar at night just to settle the nerves, try to switch off.

I'm not a method actor, but I wouldn't say I'm not, either. For this role I really did jump in there and lived it a little. It got to a point where I would go to the gym. I'd finish filming and I'd go straight to the gym and just run for an hour and a half; just completely exhaust myself out. Probably not the best thing to do, but they didn't have to use much makeup on me then because I was actually unbelievably tired and worn out. And hopefully it added to that element.

Fun fact: You and actor Tom Cullen studied together at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. He broke out last year at SXSW with "Weekend" and now you're following in his footsteps. Coincidence?

Yeah. It's funny because I was in the year above Tom.

Did you go to him for any pointers on how to handle the festival?

You know, you kind of just have to embrace it, I think. The nice thing is Tom knows that I've been in these positions before. It's funny because Tom asked me things…

Before he came here?

Yeah, 'cause I left two years before Tom and went into the business. It's nice when you can tell a friend how to do it.