A Southerner Looks to the North: Part Six

posted by Kathy Fennessy (May 10, 2008, 05:45 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
A Chat with David Gordon Green: On Bill Anderson and Pineapple Express (click here for part five) I noticed in looking at the crew for Snow Angels, that you worked with [editor] Bill Anderson. The name didn’t ring a bell…

A Southerner Looks to the North: Part Five

posted by Kathy Fennessy (April 29, 2008, 03:30 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
A Chat with David Gordon Green: On Actors and Producers (click here for part four) A Green production I love me some Noonan. — David Gordon Green ***** I know you’ve answered this question before, but I’d like to ask…

A Southerner Looks to the North: Part Four

posted by Kathy Fennessy (April 20, 2008, 07:00 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
A Chat with David Gordon Green: On the Cast (click here for part three) The Criterion Collection: Spine #152 In spite of the commercial challenges his films have faced, Green has emerged as one of the most interesting and idio-…

A Southerner Looks to the North: Part Three

posted by Kathy Fennessy (March 30, 2008, 01:00 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
Green [right] in an undated photograph A Chat with David Gordon Green: On the Production (click here for part two) I’m inspired less by specific movies and books than I am by sitting on a porch listening to somebody….

A Southerner Looks to the North: Part Two

posted by Kathy Fennessy (March 23, 2008, 12:30 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
Michael Angarano as Arthur Parkinson A Chat with David Gordon Green: On the Adaptation (click here for part one) I was in the band the fall my father left, in the second row of trombones, in the middle because…

A Southerner Looks to the North: A Chat With David Gordon Green

posted by Kathy Fennessy (March 22, 2008, 01:30 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
Raised in Texas and educated in North Carolina, Snow Angels marks writer/direc- tor David Gordon Green’s first Northern production. Shot in snow-covered Halifax, the action takes place in an unidentified New England town (author Stewart O’Nan’s rural Pennsylvania). The…

Lovely Ladies and Risky Relationships

posted by Kathy Fennessy (March 21, 2008, 03:30 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
“It was fun to be platinum. I think we forget, because so many photographs are in black and white, that women were very ris- qué and, at the time, it was very usual to be that blonde.” — Rachel…

Come in (the Water's Fine)

posted by Kathy Fennessy (January 24, 2008, 05:37 PM, Comments: 2) MORE >>>
John Moulder-Brown at 17 (passing for 15) The Northwest Film Forum has just announced that they’re extending the run of Jerzy Skolimowski’s hilarious and heartbreaking Deep End. Made 37 years ago, but denied a formal US release until now,…

My Best and Worst of 2007

posted by Amie Simon (January 02, 2008, 09:59 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
This is only the second year I’ve attempted to make such a thing, and this year I was smart and actually kept a running list of every film I saw. The list topped out at only 118, and that includes…

2007 - What I Liked

posted by E. Steven Fried (January 01, 2008, 09:25 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
I enjoyed a number of films this year and kept a log of everything I saw. And yet, compiling a top 10 list or a top 20 list or any such list is difficult. I don’t feel comfortable ranking the…

Movies For Music Lovers: Alternate Version

posted by Kathy Fennessy (December 26, 2007, 03:13 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
The one and only… Julie Christie ***** List making is the junk food of criticism. — Paul Schrader Every year, I compile a top 30. I’m not sure how long I’ve been at it. Since around 1993, I would…

A Walk Into The Sea - Esther Robinson Interview, Pt. 2

posted by E. Steven Fried (December 03, 2007, 09:00 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
ESF: So, how did the doors start opening for you to interview people like Brigid and Paul? ER: Well, Brigid and Paul were my two most difficult interviews to get. I mean the way it happened was, I was…

A Walk Into The Sea - Esther Robinson Interview Pt. 1

posted by E. Steven Fried (December 03, 2007, 08:33 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
Interviewing Esther Robinson was as much fun as I’ve had interviewing anyone. It’s not often that you get into such a dialogue with someone that you wind up having a conversation with them, but that’s what happened. As a…

I'm Not There (2) Billy

posted by Franz Bieberkopf (December 01, 2007, 02:50 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
Richard Gere’s Billy the Kid looks a lot like John Lennon. We are in an alternate universe in which the Kid survived Pat Garrett’s bullet, and maybe one in which Lennon survived the shot that, in this world, killed…

Best of Lezsploitation - Michelle Johnson Interview - Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival

posted by E. Steven Fried (October 17, 2007, 08:34 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
Newtonian motion One of my favorite things at the Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival this year… actually, what the hell, my favorite thing at the Seattle Gay & Lesbian Film Festival this year is Michelle Johnson’s compilation of…

A Snapshot of Musical Taste at a Suburban NJ High School, 1978-1981, or Was Billy Joel Cool?

posted by E. Steven Fried (August 24, 2007, 11:13 AM, Comments: 3) MORE >>>
So much cooler than Billy Joel I apologize, in advance, for posting something not film-related on Siffblog, but as an issue of existential concern, I felt compelled to get this off my chest. On a Slog post last week…

Sayles on Sayles: Part Six

posted by Kathy Fennessy (August 20, 2007, 09:00 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
With Chris Cooper on the set of Lone Star John Sayles on owning vs. leasing, music rights, and film as an agent of change ***** On owning vs. leasing We got the rights back to our first three films,…

Sayles on Sayles: Part Five

posted by Kathy Fennessy (August 19, 2007, 09:00 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
John Sayles on John Huston, B. Traven, adaptations, and Baby, It’s You (click here for part four) ***** On John Huston My idea of getting into the movie business—I always felt like there are two ways in—one way is…

Sayles on Sayles: Part Four

posted by Kathy Fennessy (August 18, 2007, 09:00 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
John Sayles on Black Snake Moan, Will Oldham, Limbo, and Robert Altman (click here for part three) On Black Snake Moan We live up in the boondocks, and it just didn’t play near us, so I’m afraid I’m going…

Sayles on Sayles: Part Three

posted by Kathy Fennessy (August 17, 2007, 12:00 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
John Sayles on advertising, distribution, YouTube, and the UCLA Film & Television Archives (click here for part two) ***** On advertising Unfortunately, what’s happened with independent filmmaking in the last 10 years is it’s gotten more like mainstream filmmaking…

Sayles on Sayles: Part Two

posted by Kathy Fennessy (August 16, 2007, 09:15 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
John Sayles on Ruth Brown, Keb Mo, Danny Glover, and Guillermo Del Toro (click here for part one) ***** On Ruth Brown We hired Ruth to play a character named Bertha Mae Spivey in the movie [Honeydripper], somebody who…

Return of the Independent: Sayles on Sayles

posted by Kathy Fennessy (August 15, 2007, 09:45 AM, Comments: 2) MORE >>>
My introduction to John Sayles dates back to the mid-1980s when I went on a summer-long rental binge. Before that time, I’d been too busy with school to keep up with all the independent filmmakers emerging in the late-1970s,…

Kehr on Gainsbourg

posted by E. Steven Fried (August 10, 2007, 11:56 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
Dave Kehr has a nice writeup in the Times of a Brigitte Bardot DVD collection. One of the films included is Voulez-vous danser avec moi? of which Kehr says: “Come Dance With Me” was the first film of a young…

Oh, to be in Chicago.

posted by E. Steven Fried (August 08, 2007, 10:39 AM, Comments: 3) MORE >>>
Chicago in August is not my idea of a fun place to be, but for some ungodly reason it’s when they decide to hold the Chicago Underground Film Festival. I’ve never attended CUFF, but have always wanted to, not only…

Nilsson Schmilsson: Part Six

posted by Kathy Fennessy (August 02, 2007, 12:47 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
1969’s Harry ***** A Chat With John Scheinfeld: The Future of Harry (click here for part five) There’s a point I’d like to make about the music in the film. Please do. Every piece of music, except for the…

1912 - 2007

posted by David Jeffers (July 31, 2007, 10:00 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
Settimana terribile e questa è martedì….

I Pity The Fool - An Interview With Brent Coughenour

posted by E. Steven Fried (July 31, 2007, 11:11 AM, Comments: 1) MORE >>>
“This continent has not seen a transformation like Detroit’s since the last days of the Maya. The city, once the fourth largest in the country, is now so depopulated that some stretches resemble the outlying farmland and others are…

1918 - 2007

posted by David Jeffers (July 31, 2007, 06:31 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>

Nilsson Schmilsson: Part Five

posted by Kathy Fennessy (July 29, 2007, 03:31 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
Son of Schmilsson (1972) A Chat With John Scheinfeld: His Own Man (click here for part four) He was his own man and fiercely independent. — Paul Williams (click here for full tribute) ***** Since we’ve been talking about…

Nilsson Schmilsson: Part Four

posted by Kathy Fennessy (July 14, 2007, 11:20 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
The 1974 album on which Nilsson “blew his voice out.” A Chat With John Scheinfeld: Pussy Cats (click here for part three) ***** Since you have a reputation from your films, and since you’ve worked with people like Van…

Nilsson Schmilsson: Part Three

posted by Kathy Fennessy (July 07, 2007, 01:56 PM, Comments: 2) MORE >>>
1968’s Aerial Ballet We have two things in common: You’re a virgin and I’ve never had one. — Harry Nilsson to the soon-to-be Una Nilsson A Chat With John Scheinfeld: The Art of the Interview (click here for part…

Nilsson Schmilsson: Part Two

posted by Kathy Fennessy (July 01, 2007, 11:27 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
A Little Touch of Schmilsson… A Chat With John Scheinfeld: Did Somebody Drop His Mouse? (click here for part one) Harry was a big bunny with really sharp teeth. — Paul Williams in Who Is Harry Nilsson ***** You…

Nilsson Schmilsson: A Chat With John Scheinfeld

posted by Kathy Fennessy (June 30, 2007, 04:00 PM, Comments: 3) MORE >>>
1971’s Nilsson Schmilsson John Scheinfeld is a busy Los Angeles-based director/producer, who works in film, TV, and the unheralded world of DVD extras. In 2006, he issued the theatrical feature The US vs. John Lennon, while Who Is Harry…

Horror Fans: Don't miss The Signal!

posted by Amie Simon (June 11, 2007, 02:05 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
I apologize for not mentioning this film before Saturday’s midnight screening had passed, but you still have time to see it. I was lucky enough to preview The Signal, and I thought it was brilliant. If you love the…

SIFF: Rescue Dawn w/ Little Dieter Needs to Fly

posted by Kyle Smith (May 30, 2007, 09:12 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
Rescue Dawn (2006) Director: Werner Herzog Opening in select cities on July 4th (clever) Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997) Director: Werner Herzog Available on DVD Rescue Dawn, the new film by Werner Herzog played last Saturday night at SIFF….

A few quick and dirty ones.

posted by E. Steven Fried (May 30, 2007, 01:15 PM, Comments: 1) MORE >>>
Gordon Gano’s biggest fan Art of Crying If you’ve ever wondered what a Todd Solondz picture would look like if it was directed by Ingmar Bergman, this is the movie. Sick, funny, incredibly deadpan and oddly affecting, Art of…

You Should Only Live Twice

posted by E. Steven Fried (May 29, 2007, 08:09 AM, Comments: 2) MORE >>>
Interview With Champagne Spy Director Nadav Schirman Every guy dreams of being James Bond. The exotic locales, the schmancy cars, the license to kill, the Vesper martinis, the girls. Who doesn’t want to be 007? But what if you’re James…

Critique

posted by mike whybark (May 17, 2007, 10:19 AM, Comments: 2) MORE >>>
Yesterday evening I was perusing unpublished comments when I came across a one-word comment - ‘Yawn…’ - on David’s recent Peter Pan preview. Typically, extremely brief comments are left by spambots, but this one had an interesting URL, trueindependent.org, which…

Rebuild errors

posted by mike whybark (May 14, 2007, 08:33 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
Attention SIFFBlog contributors: When you publish an item, the server is throwing an error. I just implemented a server widget that speeds the responsiveness of the MT application; this change is the source of the server error. Do not be…

UPG PH

posted by mike whybark (May 09, 2007, 06:20 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
A seamless upgrade to 1.2Ghz from what was formerly .4Ghz might speed the server up a mite. Phew!…

More SIFF news

posted by Gillian G. Gaar (May 08, 2007, 12:57 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
Well, the game will be up on Thursday, but just in case you haven’t been scouring other media, here’s some more SIFF items gleaned from press releases… Northwest Film Forum and Seattle International Film Festival present ALTERNATE CINEMA MAY 25…

Upgrade ho!

posted by mike whybark (May 01, 2007, 09:44 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
After a week more of bitter struggle, I was finally able to execute the upgrade I’ve been working toward. Unfortunately, the resolution of the problem is not apparent. The upgrade wasn’t working, and then it did. Another week or…

downtime

posted by mike whybark (April 25, 2007, 03:52 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
My servers will be offline for a brief period of time tonight while I throw some switches back in the hosting yard and get all the engines of the night lined up and at steam. Do not be alarmed….

Kenneth Anger at Three Dollar Bill Cinema

posted by E. Steven Fried (April 24, 2007, 05:58 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
“His expression was of the erotic realm - the neurotic gothic deviated sex-colored world and it was a turning inside out of himself and magnificent.” -Jack Smith on Josef von Sternberg Like Jack Smith, Kenneth Anger’s films have long…

Matt Ruskin's HIP HOP PROJECT

posted by Bryan Hendrickson (April 20, 2007, 02:12 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
Plus The Flying Scotsman, The Third Man and some random recollections of Janus Films at SIFF Cinema (Week 7)…

Susanne Bier's AFTER THE WEDDING

posted by Bryan Hendrickson (April 12, 2007, 02:58 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
Plus Year of the Dog and some rants & raves about Janus Films at SIFF Cinema (Week 6)…

Speaking of Godard

posted by E. Steven Fried (April 06, 2007, 09:08 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
Like Kathy, I saw the 2 or 3 Things screening at the NWFF and I agree, of the 17 Godard films I’ve seen [also counting Histoire(s) as 1], it’s among my least favorite. I also watched John and Mary the…

Janus Films at SIFF Cinema (Week 4)

posted by Bryan Hendrickson (March 26, 2007, 10:28 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
The 4th week of SIFF’s tribute to 50 years of Janus Films has completed with a wonderful five day celebration of the cinematic artwork of Ingmar Bergman….

Miscellany

posted by mike whybark (March 11, 2007, 02:42 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
Just a quick note to let readers and authors know a few things: 1. Comments are screwed up. I still haven’t been able to figure out why; I am working on it, but I don’t have the limitless expanses…

Janus Films at SIFF Cinema (Week 2)

posted by Bryan Hendrickson (March 11, 2007, 01:59 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
At SIFF Cinema, the celluloid birthday party for Janus Films 50th continues! This week Italy, Yugoslavia and the (former) Soviet Union are represented with four classics……”The Organizer”, “Ballad of a Soldier”, “The Cranes are Flying” and “WR: Mysteries of the…

To become immortal...

posted by Kathy Fennessy (March 10, 2007, 10:19 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
Army of Shadows / L’Armée des ombres (Jean-Pierre Melville, France, 1969, 35mm, 145 mins.) The DVD cover art Army of Shadows still resonates with the truth and tragedy of its awful yet sometimes beautiful time. — Michael Wilmington, The Chicago…

Gregg Araki Interview: Part 3

posted by Kathy Fennessy (February 24, 2007, 04:06 PM, Comments: 2) MORE >>>
UW graduate Anna Faris in Smiley Face Don’t watch the trailer for Smiley Face [see below]. It cuts the gags together frantically and the comedy isn’t given the leisurely velocity it requires. Smiley Face needs to play out at…

'Round the Zoo: Part Five

posted by Kathy Fennessy (February 11, 2007, 01:46 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
A Chat With Robinson Devor Devor and Mudede at this year’s Sundance Film Festival ***** Part Five: Paradise Lost (for part four, click here) Since you mentioned Brothers Keeper, it seems to me that what you might end up with…

Joan Crawford: Actress or Movie Star?

posted by Anne M. Hockens (February 05, 2007, 03:11 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
Possessed (1947, dir. Curtis Bernhardt) The Damned Don’t Cry (1950, dir. Vincent Sherman Joan Crawford Breaks Down The San Francisco Film Noir Festival Friday, January 26th-Sunday, February 4th, 2007 The Castro Theatre San Francisco, CA For a complete listing of…

'Round the Zoo: Part Four

posted by Kathy Fennessy (February 04, 2007, 04:11 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
A Chat With Robinson Devor Enumclaw is located in western Washington State, approximately 45 miles southeast of Seattle, and beautifully situated in the foothills of Mount Rainier. With a current population of 11,220, Enumclaw has retained its small town character…

'Round the Zoo: Part Three

posted by Kathy Fennessy (February 03, 2007, 11:25 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
A Chat With Robinson Devor Scene from Zoo ***** Part Three: Blue and Green Noir (for part two, click here) While making Police Beat, did you think about other films made in Seattle? Definitely not. The only one that came…

'Round the Zoo: Part Two

posted by Kathy Fennessy (January 30, 2007, 10:28 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
A Chat With Robinson Devor The Woman Chaser (1999) ***** Part Two: The Beauty of Loose Filmmaking (for part one, click here) So, how did you end up in Seattle? Well, the first time I was here, The Woman Chaser…

'Round the Zoo: A Chat With Robinson Devor

posted by Kathy Fennessy (January 29, 2007, 09:49 AM, Comments: 1) MORE >>>
Part One: A Great Organic Tomato Now my friends all came to see me they point at me and stare Said he’s just like the rest of us so what’s he doing in there They hide in their movie theaters…

Steckler Tarr

posted by E. Steven Fried (January 19, 2007, 10:19 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
The NWFF recently screened a trio of Tarr, Damnation, Sátántangó and Werckmeister Harmonies, which seems to be making the art house circuit. In a piece written for the screenings at the Harvard Film Archive Michael Atkinson wrote: “To label…

What I Liked

posted by E. Steven Fried (December 28, 2006, 12:25 PM, Comments: 1) MORE >>>
This might be due to the lingering effects of the high-quality hash that was readily available in NY in the 80’s, but I can’t remember all the films I saw this year. Perhaps next year I’ll keep a log….

Michel Gondry Solves Rubik's Cube

posted by Kathy Fennessy (December 13, 2006, 10:52 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
It’s been awhile since I’ve posted some random film-related ephemera. So, here’s something I discovered via GreenCine Daily, who swiped it from Jump Cuts. Naturally the video comes from YouTube. ***** Jump Cuts text: Michel Gondry Solves Rubik’s Cube in…

Kaspar's Kouch Film Festival 2

posted by E. Steven Fried (November 08, 2006, 09:10 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
Those who attended the first Kaspar’s Kouch Film Festival will recall the personal attention they received from the festival director, who not only screened and introduced the films in the living room of his apartment, but prepared and served the…

Admiration and Poverty - The Coleman Miller Interview

posted by E. Steven Fried (October 22, 2006, 10:00 AM, Comments: 1) MORE >>>
As Coleman Miller is fond of noting, European cuisine during the Age of Exploration must have been bland as shit or else the aristocracy wouldn’t have spent years of effort and piles of gold sending men halfway round the…

NWFF Production Fund and other notes.

posted by E. Steven Fried (October 13, 2006, 10:05 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
A year ago I attended the NWFF’s announcement of the new Start-to-Finish project, David Russo’s #2. On that occasion I was suffering from the onset of a cold. A year later I am happy to report than not only is…

So long, Northgate

posted by David Jeffers (October 07, 2006, 11:02 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
Yes, it was big and ugly, yes it was a filthy dump the last time I was there, but I attended more than a few opening nights at the old Northgate Theater, and now it’s gone. Here is a link…

Sleepy Science: Part Three

posted by Kathy Fennessy (October 01, 2006, 09:20 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
On Directing vs. Drumming Alain Chabat and Gael García Bernal in The Science of Sleep In this section, Michel Gondry talks about his Directors Series DVD, Dave Chappelle’s Block Party, and his passion for the drums. ***** Fennessy: When I…

Sleepy Science: Part Two

posted by Kathy Fennessy (September 30, 2006, 12:11 PM, Comments: 2) MORE >>>
On Charlotte Gainsbourg, Björk, and the White Stripes Stephane fixes Stephanie’s toy horse in The Science of Sleep In this section, Michel Gondry talks about his favorite actors and musicians. Charlotte Gainsbourg, daughter of British singer/actress Jane Birkin and French…

Sleepy Science With Michel Gondry

posted by Kathy Fennessy (September 25, 2006, 10:44 AM, Comments: 1) MORE >>>
The Science of Sleep / La Science Des Rêves (Michel Gondry, France, R, 105 mins.) The third feature from Michel Gondry is a fanciful jumble of languages and visual trickery concerning two artistically inclined would-be lovers, Stephane (Gael García Bernal)…

Crashing Into Yourself: Part Three

posted by Kathy Fennessy (September 23, 2006, 03:11 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
Part Three: On the Location, the Production, and the Cast This marks the conclusion of my chat with Lynn Shelton. Though we talked for al- most two hours, I thought it best to keep things concise and end here. Reminder:…

Crashing Into Yourself: Part Two

posted by Kathy Fennessy (September 21, 2006, 10:44 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
On Jonathan Glazer, Chris Cunningham, and Michel Gondry Laura Veirs - Year of Meteors In part one, Lynn Shelton talked about working with Laura Veirs on the soundtrack for We Go Way Back. In this section, we talk strictly about…

Crashing Into Yourself: A Chat With Lynn Shelton

posted by Kathy Fennessy (September 16, 2006, 02:41 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
Part One: On Laura Veirs and the WGWB Soundtrack Shelton on the road In July, I interviewed Lynn Shelton regarding We Go Way Back, which opened at the Varsity Theatre on Friday. Here are some excerpts from that conversation. In…

Filling The Void ... With Ugly Furniture

posted by David Jeffers (September 06, 2006, 08:21 PM, Comments: 7) MORE >>>
“Hey! What’s this lyin around shit!” “What the hell we sposed to you ya moron?” “The war’s over man. Wormer dropped the big one.” “What? Over? Did you say over? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it…

The Best Show in Town!

posted by David Jeffers (September 03, 2006, 12:05 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
As the first decade of their ongoing silent film series at the Paramount Theater draws to a close, STG seems to have really hit their stride. With a steadily growing audience of well informed, enthusiastic film buffs, an elegant,…

As The Sparrow Flies

posted by Anne M. Hockens (August 17, 2006, 06:51 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
Sparrows (1926) Monday August 21, 7:00pm The Paramount, Seattle http://www.theparamount.com/artists/artist.asp?key=206 Mary Pickford with her cameraman Charles Rosher and director William Beaudine during the production of Sparrows. This photo is from The Mary Pickford Institute’s collection available for viewing at http://www.marypickford.com/bts.html#…

Twin Infinitive: Part Four

posted by Kathy Fennessy (August 13, 2006, 03:14 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
A Chat with Keith Fulton “They were too close. They were always a crowd. They grew together like two trees growing where only one should be, branches hopelessly intertwined, distorting each other.” — Brian Aldiss, Brothers of the Head (1977)…

Twin Infinitive: Part Three

posted by Kathy Fennessy (August 11, 2006, 03:00 PM, Comments: 2) MORE >>>
A Chat with Keith Fulton “The whole ethos of pop is classless working-class. It’s naïve and uncritical and inarticulate. Nobody knows what they are doing but sometimes they feel what they are doing.” — Brian Aldiss, Brothers of the Head…

Twin Infinitive: Part Two

posted by Kathy Fennessy (August 08, 2006, 09:48 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
A Chat With Keith Fulton “The bleakest point along this stretch of coast is arguably L’Estrange Head, a natural feature lying between the summer resorts of Hunstanton and Sheringham.” —Brian Aldiss, Brothers of the Head (1977) On the Author, the…

Twin Infinitive: A Chat with Keith Fulton

posted by Kathy Fennessy (August 06, 2006, 01:40 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
“Even in the grotesque annals of the pop industry, the Bang-Bang provided one of those fabulous stories which appeared too good to be true. Certainly it was too good to last.” — Brian Aldiss, Brothers of the Head (1977) Tom…

The11th Annual San Francisco Silent Film Festival Round Up

posted by Anne M. Hockens (July 17, 2006, 11:25 AM, Comments: 1) MORE >>>
Marquee of The Castro Theater: Home of the 11th Annual Silent Film Festival http://www.silentfilm.org/home.htm What a fantastic event! I have to say this is the best film festival I’ve ever attended. First, the programming was incredible. The films selected…

SIFF at Scarecrow

posted by Kathy Fennessy (June 30, 2006, 04:26 PM, Comments: 1) MORE >>>
The latest member newsletter (“CineMail”) notes that the following SIFF ‘06 titles are currently available at Scarecrow Video, so I thought I’d post the list in case anyone missed—and wanted to catch up on—any of ‘em. The 5,000 Fingers of…

Closing Night Photos

posted by E. Steven Fried (June 28, 2006, 09:50 AM, Comments: 1) MORE >>>
Just got these back from the drugstore….

SIFF Wrap - Music

posted by E. Steven Fried (June 20, 2006, 03:10 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
There were a number of films with good soundtracks this year. Among my favorites were:…

Non-Expiration Dates

posted by Kathy Fennessy (June 20, 2006, 12:50 PM, Comments: 3) MORE >>>
Just thought I’d post the release dates for some of this year’s SIFF selections. All information comes from the Landmark Theatres publicity department and is subject to change. Venues listed only when provided. JULY The notorious Burns brothers (Richard Wilson,…

SIFF Wrap-up

posted by E. Steven Fried (June 19, 2006, 04:22 PM, Comments: 5) MORE >>>
Way back in May I think I said something to the effect that I hoped to see 40 films this year at SIFF….

SIFF PIX 2

posted by E. Steven Fried (June 16, 2006, 11:11 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
Passholder or bum?…

SIFF PIX

posted by E. Steven Fried (June 15, 2006, 03:18 PM, Comments: 2) MORE >>>
Adam and Suzie…

THE FIRST SPACECRAFT WAS LAUNCHED IN THE USSR IN 1938!

posted by E. Steven Fried (June 14, 2006, 03:25 PM, Comments: 6) MORE >>>
the evidence Yup, that’s absolutely true. At least, according to the press kit for The First People On The Moon, which further states: It can be discussed endlessly if the Americans landed on the Moon or not. But “THE…

Strangers with Candy

posted by Greg Brotherton (June 14, 2006, 07:53 AM, Comments: 2) MORE >>>
Gala Screening Saturday June 17th – Neptune, 7 PM Never a fan of the Comedy Central show, Strangers with Candy, I didn’t have high hopes for the movie prequel. Despite a bevy of a-list costars, including Steve Colbert, Matthew…

Jack Smith And The Destruction of Atlantis - Mary Jordan Interview

posted by E. Steven Fried (June 13, 2006, 12:46 PM, Comments: 1) MORE >>>
Jack Smith is a figure I’ve heard about for years and yet, because his work is so difficult to get a hold of, I have never been able to see his films. For those who haven’t read anything about him,…

On a Wire and a Prayer

posted by Greg Brotherton (June 12, 2006, 07:02 AM, Comments: 2) MORE >>>
The action wasn’t what I’d unreasonably anticipated watching the wirework demonstration, On a Wire and Prayer, but the practical information was off the charts. Sherril Johnson, our principal guide through the program, quickly pointed out that a movie will use…

Lead Astray by a Capsule

posted by Greg Brotherton (June 07, 2006, 11:14 AM, Comments: 3) MORE >>>
In the past year I’ve checked out at least five Haruki Murakami novels from the library. In each case, I’ve left them on my desk for a month and returned them without ever opening them. I’m not sure why I…

Oh dear lord

posted by mike whybark (June 02, 2006, 08:24 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
pleeeze let the fricking DSL line STAY THE FRICKING FRACK UP….

Cabiria

posted by mike whybark (May 29, 2006, 02:44 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
MetaFilter user matteo chooses to highlight Cabiria, a silent film historical epic from Italy….

Burden of Turtles

posted by E. Steven Fried (May 25, 2006, 02:55 PM, Comments: 1) MORE >>>
The Chances of The World Changing [Eric Daniel Metzgar, USA, 99min.] “Lowell Freeman looks after his plants in giant space greenhouses. Back on earth, all the trees have long vanished, so Lowell puts a lot of heart into his…

Stale Joy

posted by Greg Brotherton (May 25, 2006, 10:12 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
7 PM May 31st, Egyptian; 4 PM June 2nd, Egyptian I’m kind of on a musical voyage as I check out some movies featuring musicians I admire. Today it’s Will Oldham (aka Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billie, Palace Music). I first…

A hit! A palpable hit!

posted by mike whybark (May 24, 2006, 07:49 PM, Comments: 3) MORE >>>
Observers take note: Nick Cave’s antipodean Western, The Proposition, is the first film at SIFF to win the hearts of the SIFFBloggers as reported to date. Anybody else who caught the press screening, or makes the Friday show, please weigh…

My Quick Way Out

posted by E. Steven Fried (May 24, 2006, 08:46 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
Slick has a posse. My Quick Way Out [Miguel Albaladejo, Spain, 115 min.] He’s a cool criminal, a thief who drives getaway like Steve McQueen; he’s smooth with the ladies and has a foxy girl, he sports a bitchin’…

Control Freaks

posted by E. Steven Fried (May 21, 2006, 06:22 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
Jonestown: The Life and Death of The Peoples Temple [Stanley Nelson, USA, 86 min.] Clear Cut: The Story of Philomath, Oregon [Peter Richardson, USA, 73 min.] One of the creepiest moments in Downfall was when Magda Goebbels poisons her…

Sunday Night Confessional

posted by David Jeffers (April 02, 2006, 08:47 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
Anita Page In my interview with Diana Cary (Baby Peggy) last December I stated that she is the last surviving star from the Silent Era. While doing some unrelated research this weekend I have discovered that claim is untrue. Anita…

Iraq In Fragments - James Longley Interview - Pt. 6 - Final Questions

posted by E. Steven Fried (March 31, 2006, 08:01 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
Q: What did you do for cash while you were there? How did you get money? What was the currency people were using? A: The Iraqi currency is the Iraqi Dinar. There was a period of massive inflation during the…

Iraq In Fragments - James Longley Interview - Pt. 5 - Technical Questions

posted by E. Steven Fried (March 30, 2006, 08:04 AM, Comments: 3) MORE >>>
Q: If one thinks of a film camera as being like a paint brush and a roll of film as being like paint, then a video camera is, in a way, both paint and brush, the character of the video…

Iraq In Fragments - James Longley Interview - Pt. 4 - Kurdish Spring

posted by E. Steven Fried (March 29, 2006, 08:19 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
Q: The third part of the film begins with a succession of railway shots, some in fast motion, which ultimately takes you to this spectacular Kurdish countryside and, in watching the film, there’s this sense of relief, escaping the city…

Iraq In Fragments - James Longley Interview - Pt. 3 - Sadr's South

posted by E. Steven Fried (March 28, 2006, 08:26 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
Q: In the second section of the film there’s an interesting tension where you have the Sadrists and the militias and they’re doing the alcohol raids and so-forth and you have this shot, after one of the raids, where this…

Iraq In Fragments - James Longley Interview - Pt. 2 - Mohammed of Baghdad

posted by E. Steven Fried (March 27, 2006, 08:47 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
Q: How did you come to meet your first subject, Mohammed Haithem? A: Mohammed Haithem Majid. You know it’s weird, because in the Arab world people go by the name of a tribe like Al-Jiburi or Al-Dulami or something like…

Iraq In Fragments - James Longley Interview Pt. 1 - Introduction & Background

posted by E. Steven Fried (March 26, 2006, 05:53 AM, Comments: 2) MORE >>>
One of the highlights of Sundance this year was Iraq In Fragments, a documentary by local filmmaker James Longley. Described by Tim Appelo as “a gorgeous tone poem drawn from about 300 hours of incredibly privileged footage” the film documents…

Not so well preserved

posted by mike whybark (January 10, 2006, 07:34 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
FOM Spence has an interesting rant about the preservation of the fillum. He’s threatened to get an account over here. i think it’s high time….

The Lost City

posted by mike whybark (January 08, 2006, 11:02 PM, Comments: 2) MORE >>>
As Spence and I listened to Dennis James introduce The Ten Commandments at The Paramount this afternoon, I was amused when Dennis quoted David Jeffers’ long and wonderful essay on the film that he published earlier this week on…

Potter blindness

posted by mike whybark (December 20, 2005, 06:21 PM, Comments: 1) MORE >>>
Yesterday due to an unexpected block of free time totaling over an hour, I went to the first film I’ve been able to attend in, what, six months? My car was in the shop getting a new clutch, making…

Michael & Michael

posted by E. Steven Fried (November 28, 2005, 09:21 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
Visiting Filmmaker Michael Almereyda converses with Michael Seiwerath….

The return of SIFFBlog

posted by mike whybark (November 16, 2005, 07:46 PM, Comments: 2) MORE >>>
My apologies, everyone, for not having posted a warning here about this outage. I host SIFFblog on a computer in my home, and my wife and I are in the process of moving. I called Qwest to get the…

Duelling Capotes

posted by E. Steven Fried (October 23, 2005, 02:02 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
Speaking of giving films a chance, I’d like to note that there is another Truman Capote film in the works, Have You Heard [or possibly, Every Word Is True]. Given the success of Capote and the rave reviews Philip Seymour…

Domino

posted by E. Steven Fried (October 23, 2005, 01:30 PM, Comments: 2) MORE >>>
The other night at the Capote preview Kathy Fennessy told me how much fun Domino was. I was skeptical, given the terrible reviews the film had gotten, but then she began reeling off the names of the people in the…

New Thing!

posted by mike whybark (October 02, 2005, 02:00 PM, Comments: 1) MORE >>>
Struck by a desire to avoid housework this morning, I hacked up a current-listings set of updating film showtimes for a selected set of Seattle-area theaters. It’s drawn, circuitously, from the customizable movie times listings to be found via…

Jamie Hook's Leap of Faith

posted by E. Steven Fried (September 28, 2005, 01:24 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
NWFF founder, Jamie Hook, gave a rousing speech at the 10th anniversary party in which he made the dramatic gesture of leaping from the balustrade into the audience. Well, no actually, he kinda just leapt onto the adjoining windowsill. Nevertheless,…

Not Dead Yet

posted by mike whybark (September 04, 2005, 07:25 PM, Comments: 2) MORE >>>
A few folks have corresponded with me via email about this, but I feel like I should address it here as well. Tablet has announced that the current issue, #103, will be the final edition of the magazine. While…

Loveridge off

posted by mike whybark (July 19, 2005, 05:28 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
This just in, a press release from SIFF’s Gary Tucker, Director of Marketing and Development: “July 19, 2005 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Seattle, WA - Helen Loveridge, executive director of the Seattle International Film Festival Group (SIFF) since 2003,…

The return of the son of comment spam

posted by mike whybark (July 04, 2005, 05:39 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
ATTN: please do not use another person’s email address when posting comments. If I catch you, you will be banned. That is all….

SIFF Wrap-Up

posted by Amie Simon (June 22, 2005, 10:41 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
I know it’s been awhile, but a work has sucked me in and consumed me from the end of SIFF until now. I just wanted to put in my opinions on SIFF 2005. As a whole, I didn’t enjoy it…

Gregg Araki Interview: Part 2

posted by Kathy Fennessy (June 17, 2005, 09:51 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
Gordon-Levitt and Corbet in character… Now that SIFF is over, I’ve had time to transcribe more of my interview with Araki. Since my last post, he won the Golden Space Needle for best director and Joseph Gordon-Levitt won for…

5X2 - or not

posted by Amie Simon (June 06, 2005, 10:32 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
I was really looking forward to seeing François Ozon’s 5X2 on Saturday (having loved 8 Women and Swimming Pool), but it just didn’t happen. My friend and I arrived at The Egyptian around 8:15 to get in line for the…

Gregg Araki Interview

posted by Kathy Fennessy (June 05, 2005, 12:20 PM, Comments: 3) MORE >>>
Araki on set…note the T-shirt in the background While he was in town to support his fine new film Mysterious Skin, I got the chance to talk to writer/director Gregg Araki (The Living End, The Doom Generation) on a…

Vert Seen

posted by mike whybark (June 01, 2005, 09:50 PM, Comments: 1) MORE >>>
A big shoutout to greencine’s David Hudson and his regular linkage to precincts Siffbloggy! Perhaps a blogroll is called for. Thanks again, David. While I’m on the subject of links, I should note that Andy Spletzer took note of…

A Raspberry for the Rude Man

posted by Kathy Fennessy (June 01, 2005, 04:48 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
So I went to the Harvard Exit last night for a screening of Mark Wexler’s Tell Them Who You Are, his warts and all documentary about his irascible father, Oscar-winning cinematographer Haskell Wexler (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf). Midway through…

Invitation

posted by mike whybark (May 29, 2005, 03:49 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
See the new email link to the right under the calendar? Please email me by clicking on that link if you’d like to become a contributor here! I did some poking around today and sadly, I must report that…

The Return of Comments

posted by mike whybark (May 29, 2005, 02:28 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
I just posted a long review as a guest entry. This entry was posted into the comments of another, unrelated entry. Since it did not have a relationship to the content of that previous entry, it’s technically spam. Therefore…

Ruan Ling-yu, Mike Watts and Don Letts

posted by Kathy Fennessy (May 27, 2005, 12:14 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
For those of who can’t get enough of Chinese actress Ruan Ling-yu—or who would like to get caught up on her work—“The Goddess” (1934) airs tonight on KCTS (channel 9) at 10pm. I’ll be setting the VCR for sure. Meanwhile,…

Comments: the Sequel

posted by mike whybark (May 25, 2005, 05:03 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
D’oh! On a hunch I took a peek to see if there were comments that had been submitted without my noticing them. Bingo! My apologies to anyone whose comments were withheld - blame slow-processing servers and gmail’s mysteriously overenthusiastic…

Some boring observations

posted by Gillian G. Gaar (May 24, 2005, 11:18 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
You will read there’s “No Late Seating” at SIFF screenings. This is not true. Someone entered the “Shape of the Moon” screening at the Bway Performance Hall a half hour after the film started, for example (on 5/24). Though she…

Comments

posted by mike whybark (May 21, 2005, 04:05 PM, Comments: 1) MORE >>>
Kris just dropped me a line wondering about why the comments do not post immediately. It’s because without the approval-delay (I see and release each comment before it is publicly posted) the host computer would lock up under the…

Agent Cooper on SIFF venue changes

posted by mike whybark (April 29, 2005, 04:55 PM, Comments: 2) MORE >>>
SIFF aficionado and long-time LiveJournaler Agent Cooper is not pleased. “Pacific Place and the Cinerama aren’t participating in SIFF this year! Instead SIFF is expanding to the Neptune (in the U District) and the Uptown (lower Queen Anne). ARGH!”…

The New New Stuff

posted by mike whybark (April 13, 2005, 10:20 AM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
It’s May! April! I finally fixed the comments, so comment away. The SIFF blog also has an additional URL: siffblog.com. We’re prepping for the 2005 relaunch, days away. See you in the dark! I’m also looking to see if…

New Stuff

posted by mike whybark (January 02, 2005, 05:23 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
Hello Tableteers! I upgraded the back end on this to Movable Type 3.x, and added some stricter anti-spam-comment features. They do not completely work as they should yet - in theory, when I approve a comment, it should authorize the…

Mondo Nirvana!

posted by Gillian G. Gaar (December 19, 2004, 05:17 PM, Comments: 2) MORE >>>
Howdy folks…as you may know, I recently completed work on the Nirvana box set, providing a timeline and doing lots of other behind-the-scenes stuff. I’ve also been tapped to write a few articles on the subject, most recently for Mojo,…

List: From Rock Star to Film Star

posted by Gillian G. Gaar (November 28, 2004, 03:32 PM, Comments: 1) MORE >>>
Hello folks…sorry it’s been a time. Well, here’s something what got chopped from Tablet’s December issue. As you see, it ties in with the “list” theme of that issue, with a further theme of “From Rock Star to Film Star.”…

Misc SIFF Notes/Nobody Knows How To Talk...

posted by Gillian G. Gaar (June 11, 2004, 11:29 PM, Comments: 2) MORE >>>
Well, I haven’t been able to report on all the film stuff I’ve seen. Some will be featured in upcoming Tablets; in the July issue there’ll be Donnie Darko coverage (I should be working on that story now actually), I…

A morning with Jeremy Levin

posted by Gillian G. Gaar (May 20, 2004, 01:13 PM, Comments: 1) MORE >>>
So Karla and I kick off SIFF by doing another tag-team interview, and meet at the Hotel W痴 press suite bright and early (9 am!) to chat with Jeremy Levin, screenwriter of the opening night film, The Notebook. I was…

Hallucinatory Pummeling

posted by mike whybark (May 15, 2004, 01:54 PM, Comments: 0) MORE >>>
This is the first year that I had the opportunity to take as full an advantage of my SIFF press pass as I have wanted to, and for the first two weeks of screenings, I was very diligent about seeing…