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Christopher Campbell

- http://www.cinematical.com/bloggers/christopher-campbell/

Christopher Campbell recently received a Bachelor of Arts degree in film studies from Brooklyn College. Prior to (finally) finishing his undergrad, he studied film production at NYC's School of Visual Arts and then dropped out for an exciting career (on and off) in movie theaters. His writing has appeared in READ Magazine, Where Y'At New Orleans and Lo-Fi Magazine and on YCraze.com, Cinescene.com, BlogCritics.org, The Reeler and his own (mostly defunct) site, LowExpectation.com. He also currently writes for SpoutBlog.

Doc Talk: Why Remake a Documentary as a Dramatic Film?

by Christopher Campbell Feb 3rd 2010 // 9:45PM

Filed under: Documentary, Drama, Independent, Steven Spielberg, Remakes and Sequels, Columns, Cinematical Indie, War



What constitutes a remake of a documentary? Would you consider Milk to be based on The Times of Harvey Milk? Rob Epstein, who directed the latter, was thanked in the credits of the former and his film was surely an inspiration. His footage was even lifted or recreated for parts of Gus Van Sant's dramatized version. But Milk was ultimately deemed an original work, at least as far as the Academy Awards are concerned.

If you were to argue the case that the biopic is based on the documentary, where then would you draw the line? Is Monster based on Nick Broomfield's first Aileen Wuornos film (he too is thanked)? Is part of Munich based on One Day in September? And speaking of films by Kevin Macdonald, is The Last King of Scotland at all a remake of Barbet Schroeder's General Idi Amin Dada? It does feature footage from the doc, after all.

There's no denying Cate Blanchett's segment of I'm Not There is lifted from D.A. Pennebaker's Don't Look Back, but it's easier to say the latter was merely used as reference. Frederick Wiseman meanwhile insinuates Stanley Kubrick stole much of the first half of Full Metal Jacket from his own boot camp film Basic Training, which was indeed used by Kubrick as uncredited research material. The later fiction film is considered solely based on an autobiographical novel by Gustav Hasford.

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Pitch of the Day: 'In the Line of Fire' Meets 'You've Got Mail'

by Christopher Campbell Feb 3rd 2010 // 7:32PM

In case you hadn't noticed, if you're a regular reader of my Pitch of the Day posts, they're somewhat an excuse to highlight an interesting news story that otherwise has little to do with movies. Would I really like to see some of them adapted to film? Of course, but some of them wouldn't easily be translated to the big screen. For example, today's pitch, which is inspired by a simple AP report about a woman who saved a man's life from hundreds of miles away, via her computer, might not be the most cinematic, but regardless I'd like to present the story of the...

Webcam Hero

The simple plot, or impetus of plot, involves a woman in Southern Germany who was watching a tourism website's webcam, positioned on a beach in Northern Germany, when she spotted a man drowning in the frozen North Sea. Without having to get up from her seat, let alone leave her home, she called the police, who rescued the man, and now she's a hero. Great story, but what can you do with it from there? Make up a relationship, cyber or physical, that develops between the two characters? That sounds like a film that goes downhill after its intriguing beginning.

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Pitch of the Day: 'Groundhog Day Too'

by Christopher Campbell Feb 2nd 2010 // 6:15PM

Filed under: Comedy, Sony, Remakes and Sequels

For today's pitch, I'm curious what you'd prefer in a matter of revisiting the classic 1993 comedy Groundhog Day. It surprises me that Sony hasn't already tried to expand on this thing. It was relatively successful at the box office and its audience has only grown in the 17 years since. Yet no sequel, no TV spin-off and surprisingly no remake has ever seemed to cross the studio's mind (each studio has only one, you know). Of course, that means it's only a matter of time before we hear about something called...

Groundhog Day Too

If there were ever to be a sequel, the chances of Bill Murray returning are slim to none. So there's not even any point in thinking it should be called Groundhog Day 2. Instead, the "too" in the title refers to the idea that this follow-up is about a new character trapped on February 2 until he can finish his own mission, whether it be romantic or some new sort of situation. Earlier today, I joked that I'd like to see the Academy have to repeat today over and over until they got the Oscar nominations correct. They'd get to see February 3 once they smarted up and gave Sam Rockwell a Best Actor nod for Moon, for example.

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Johnny Depp to Direct a Keith Richards Biopic

by Christopher Campbell Feb 2nd 2010 // 3:15PM

Filed under: Documentary, Music & Musicals, Johnny Depp, Cinematical Indie

The Rolling Stones have collectively been the focus of some great music documentaries (Gimme Shelter; Shine a Light; Sympathy for the Devil). Now it's time for the band's guitarist, Keith Richards, to go solo with his own doc. And none other than Johnny Depp will direct it, according to The Playlist. They got the info from a Serbian website featuring an interview with the actor, who was apparently in Drvengrad last month for the unveiling of a statue in his image, the ceremony for which opened this year's Kustendorf Film Festival.

It's been 13 years since Depp last went behind the camera for the Native American drama The Brave, but in a translated statement Depp said that he's wiser now and ready to direct again. He noted that while he was in Serbia, his editor was going through "kilometers" of footage of Richards. That was a few weeks ago, so the actor has likely now joined in on the process, which will surely be very different from the fiction filmmaking involved with his directorial debut. He also said that he's "very touched that Keith agreed to show up in front of my cameras." Whether that means Depp has already shot Richards or if filming is commencing soon is unclear.

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Pitch of the Day: 'We Are the World: An All-Star Portrayal'

by Christopher Campbell Feb 1st 2010 // 8:15PM

Filed under: Music & Musicals, Casting

A whole bunch of music artists gathered today to record a new version of "We Are the World," the iconic charity single from 1985 that featured a who's who of singing stars from the '80s, including Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder and, most memorably for me, Cyndi Lauper. The song's co-writer Lionel Richie, who penned the tune with Michael Jackson, had already planned a 25th anniversary redo with producer Quincy Jones, but now the resultant cover will also be a charity single benefiting Haiti.

But today's pitch isn't for a film about the new recording, which will feature Lady Gaga, Bono, John Legend, Usher and others. It's for a dramatic feature based upon the making of the original song under the collective name USA for Africa, to be titled...

We Are the World: An All-Star Portrayal

We love watching celebrities portray famous singers and musicians. Just today we heard that Zachary Quinto may be playing George Gershwin. It may not be as exciting as the idea of Joaquin Phoenix doing Johnny Cash or a whole slew of actors portraying Bob Dylan, but it's a whole lot more accessible than having a nobody in the role -- would Last Days have been a bigger hit with Leonardo DiCaprio rather than Michael Pitt? Of course.

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'Princess' Gangster' to Portray Royal Family Affair

by Christopher Campbell Feb 1st 2010 // 4:45PM

Filed under: Drama, Romance

What do you get when you cross Sexy Beast with The Queen? Something like The Princess' Gangster, a new film being written by Louis Mellis, co-screenwriter of the former film as well as the recently released testosterone fest 44-Inch Chest. The plot involves the still-alleged alleged affair between Queen Elizabeth's little sister, Princess Margaret, and gangster-turned-actor John Bindon (Quadrophenia). The Hollywood Reporter, which treats the story as being completely true (and it was certainly likely), notes that Mellis was hired for the gig due to his reputation for writing very tough yet very amusing characters.

If it did really occur, the romance between the royal figure and the flamboyant thug was short lived, taking place during a few weeks in the Caribbean at some point in the mid 1970s. After her marriage to Lord Snowdon fell apart, Margaret was something of a party animal and supposedly slept with a number of famous people, including Warren Beatty, Mick Jagger, Peter Sellers and David Niven. Bindon wasn't as much of a celebrity, but the sometime criminal -- and future murder suspect -- had been in movies since co-starring in Ken Loach's 1967 drama Poor Cow.

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Razzies Nominate 'New Moon' and Sandra Bullock as Worst of 2009

by Christopher Campbell Feb 1st 2010 // 11:12AM

Filed under: Awards, Newsstand

What was the worst movie of 2009? According to the Razzie Award nominations, which were announced this morning, the five contenders for that title are G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra, Old Dogs, Land of the Lost, Transformers: Rise of the Fallen and All About Steve. That last film also featured one of the worst actresses of 2009: Sandra Bullock, who has otherwise had a more honorable year with Best Actress wins at the Golden Globes and the SAG Awards (and an expected Oscar nomination, to be announced tomorrow morning) for her dramatic turn in The Blind Side and a Best Actress Golden Globe nomination for The Proposal. Her competition for the Razzie includes Beyonce, Miley Cyrus, Sarah Jessica Parker and Megan Fox (for both Jennifer's Body and the Transformers sequel).

Worst lead male performances of the year came from Will Ferrell, Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy, John Travolta and all three Jonas Brothers, who share a nomination for their eponymous 3-D concert film (did they not just appear as themselves?). The Jonas' are also up for the Razzie for Worst Screen Couple, where their challengers include Kristen Stewart and "EITHER Robert Pattinson OR Taylor Whatz-His-Fang." Twilight fans will be furious to learn Pattinson is up for Worst Supporting Actor and New Moon is nominated for Worst Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel and Worst Screenplay, too. Surprisingly, the first film in the franchise avoided any nominations last year.

For this special 30th-anniversary year, the Razzies will also (dis)honor the worst of the past decade. Film nominees include Battlefield Earth, Freddy Got Fingered, Gigli, I Know Who Killed Me and the Guy Ritchie-directed Swept Away remake. Worst actor and actresses of the decade include Rob Schneider, Eddie Murphy, John Travolta, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton and Madonna.

Check out a full list of nominees after the jump.

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Sundance Review: The Shock Doctrine

by Christopher Campbell Jan 31st 2010 // 7:02PM

Filed under: Documentary, Independent, Sundance, Theatrical Reviews, Home Entertainment, Politics, Cinematical Indie, War



The optimum way to see a documentary like Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross' The Shock Doctrine is at a film festival, such as Sundance, where it made its North American premiere this week. Unfortunately, I saw it in my living room, which is probably how most people in the U.S. will see it thanks to the Video-On-Demand cable channel Sundance Selects, which began airing the film immediately following its Park City debut.

Not to say the festival experience makes it a better film, but at least attendees of the first Sundance screening had the benefit of a post-film discussion featuring the film's directors and Naomi Klein, the author of the book upon which it's based. It's safe to assume she explained her arguments regarding "disaster capitalism" and the faults of Laissez-faire economics better than the film does. And Winterbottom and Whitecross are possibly the only ones who can defend what they had intended with their ultimately disjointed translation of Klein's thesis.

I had only the internet to use as a reference and clarifier in the end. What I learned afterward about the film and Klein's involvement in its production is that she basically walked away due to its increasing departure from what she felt an adaption of her 2007 book The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism should look like. From what I understand, Klein's work is more investigative journalism, while Winterbottom and Whitecross have concentrated on a history lesson based upon her expose of Milton Friedman's methods of economic shock therapy.

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Sundance in 60 Seconds. Saturday, January 30, 2010

by Christopher Campbell Jan 31st 2010 // 11:46AM

Filed under: Documentary, Independent, Awards, Sundance, IFC, Distribution, Obits, Cinematical Indie, Roadside Attractions



Awards: The big winners include Winter's Bone (Grand Jury Prize, Dramatic), Restrepo (Grand Jury Prize, Documentary), Animal Kingdom (World Cinema Jury Prize, Dramatic) and The Red Chapel (World Cinema Jury Prize, Documentary), with audience awards going to happythankyoumoreplease and Waiting for Superman. Check out the full list of winners here.

Celebrity Sightings: Most of the celebs have left town by now, so let's check out a few leftovers: People has a rundown of where celebs were seen eating in Park City. The main course in the article looks at an East-meets-West feast with Orlando Bloom, Mark Ruffalo and Juliette Lewis of Sympathy for Delicious. As for photos from the awards, the LA Times has a photo of host David Hyde Pierce (with festival director John Cooper) during his rap performance, in case you missed it live (hopefully it ends up on YouTube).

Deals: In line with their penchant for controversial films, IFC has picked up Michael Winterbottom's polarizing crime drama The Killer Inside Me for a reported $1-1.5 million. They're looking at a late summer/early fall release. Now the world (well, U.S. moviegoers) can experience the same disgust as the audience member who shamed Sundance for showing the film. Later in the day, Roadside Attractions bought Debra Granik's Winter's Bone for low six-figures with plans to release the film this summer. Meanwhile, Oprah Winfrey has bought the documentary A Family Affair to air on her new network and Aamir Khan tells Anne Thompson that he'd like to distribute Peepli Live himself.

Our coverage, some tragic news and other near-end linkage after the jump:

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Pitch of the Day: 'Making a Killing'

by Christopher Campbell Jan 29th 2010 // 7:33PM

Filed under: Thrillers

I would be surprised if today's spotlighted story does not inspire an episode of Law and Order. Screenwriting professors tell us all the time to find film ideas in the newspaper, but that long-running TV series tend to steal all the interesting true crime plots. Still, being inspired by news is different from lifting it as near-completely as Law and Order does. We can look at an article about a man arrested for murdering a woman and removing her lungs and heart and literally adapt it for a film -- with proper rights acquired -- or we can think about the general idea of a jobless man being so desperate that he kills the owner of an employment agency in order to make money off her organs. This latter idea, I call ...

Making a Killing

If you read of the actual case, in which the alleged murderer had been stalking the victim for many years, it would seem to be a very precise situation. The guy goes to the woman's office to get a job, he makes advances on her, she doesn't give him work, he becomes obsessed with her, he's jailed 30 days for punching and choking her, she ends up with five orders of protection against him, he ultimately ends up killing her and taking out her organs. The details confine it from being a story about the overall problem of unemployment and the desperation it causes in people.

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