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Dolphin Doc 'The Cove' Gets Japanese Release Date
Filed under: Documentary, Awards, Deals, New Releases, Distribution, Exhibition, Newsstand, Movie Marketing, Politics, Cinematical Indie
Louie Psihoyos's animal rights documentary The Cove (a film we've been championing since Sundance '09 - read our review here) has been opening eyes stateside and in a handful of overseas markets since opening last summer, but the real question was whether or not the people of Japan would hear about the mass dolphin harvesting that had been going on for years under their noses in the small fishing village of Taiji. According to a press release, Japanese audiences will get their chance to watch The Cove come April 2010, when distributor Medallion Media releases the Oscar nominated film.
In the press release (via The Hot Blog), Medallion Media director Norio Okahara stressed that the company was remaining neutral in the highly political dolphin harvesting debate, but that it was an important issue that deserved attention, so as to let the Japanese public decide for themselves. "In distributing The Cove we are not taking sides. Rather, we are presenting the film for the Japanese to decide for themselves about the issues it raises. There is a debate to be had here and this important film – and the Academy Award® nomination only serves to reinforce its importance - offers the opportunity for such a debate."
Oxford Film Fest: Voices 'Ole' and New
Filed under: Comedy, Documentary, Drama, Independent, Festival Reports, Fandom, Oxford Film Festival
According to a detailed manifesto on its website, the Oxford Film Festival began in 2003 "as a project of the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council... committed to celebrating the art of independent cinema." What the festival actually is, however, is so much more: a four-day celebration where filmmakers, industry professionals, critics, and cinephiles gather together, get to know one another, and share in a community's collective appreciation for film in all of its forms. Cozily entrenched in the businesses and residences of Oxford, Mississippi, the town that the picturesque college Ole Miss calls home, OFF is a modest, maturing sibling of mainstay festivals like Sundance and South By Southwest whose smalltown charm bypasses superficial spectacle in favor of more substantial rewards.
The festival runs four days and features more than 80 different offerings, including narrative features, documentaries, short films, animated works, and experimental projects. I was enlisted at the last minute to serve as a member of OFF's documentary jury, so I was unfortunately unable to attend the Opening Night screening of director Joshua Goldin's Wonderful World, but took a break from some 20 hours of verite filmmaking to attend a party at Oxford's Southside Gallery. In attendance were several of the filmmakers who brought their movies to the fest, as well as an array of other participants and locals without whose presence the festival simply wouldn't have its singularly intimate feel.
Pitch of the Day: 'My Way: Killer Karaoke'
Filed under: Documentary, Foreign Language
I know some people who are crazy for karaoke, but I can't imagine any of them going homicidal over the pastime. Not like the half-dozen or more people in the Philippines who've murdered fellow singers as part of a decade-long crime trend dubbed the "My Way Killings." A popular New York Times article reports on the killings, which are based around the controversy of a single song, Paul Anka/Frank Sinatra's "My Way," and now I'd love to be exposed more to this world of machismo-based karaoke. So moviemakers, get to work on...My Way: Killer Karaoke
The title/subtitle combo fits best with a documentary, and really the story would best be told in the non-fiction format. I guess I wouldn't mind a minimal, realist Filipino drama, particularly one directed by Brillante Mendoza (Serbis; Kinatay). Yet for the full details, including the history of the crimes and responses from all kinds of Filipinos, from police to men who fight over karaoke to outsider perspectives, I think a doc is the best method.
'Death of a President' Director Works With 'Last King of Scotland' Writer
Filed under: Documentary, Drama, Foreign Language, Independent, Thrillers, Casting, Celebrities and Controversy, Cinematical Indie
In spite of all its controversy and its Emmy and Toronto Film Festival awards, the faux documentary Death of a President was not worth all the hype it received four years ago. I won't say it was terrible, because I've come around to respect some of the positive things said about its purpose, but I certainly did not enjoy watching the film, which depicted the hypothetical assassination of George W. Bush using real footage of the former U.S. president. However, I'm willing to give director Gabriel Range another shot, especially now that I've learned his next film comes from a script by one of the writers of The Last King of Scotland, Jeremy Brock. Though Peter Morgan may have been the better screenwriter involved in that adaptation, Brock's involvement with other decent British films, such as Charlotte Gray and Driving Lessons, which he also directed, are indicative of his talent. He also scripted Kevin Macdonald's upcoming sword-and-sandals flick The Eagle of the Ninth.
Doc Talk: Why Remake a Documentary as a Dramatic Film?
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.
Indie Roundup: 'Freebie,' 'Winter in Wartime,' 'Trucker,' 'Vegas'
Filed under: Comedy, Documentary, Drama, Foreign Language, Independent, New Releases, Box Office, Home Entertainment, Cinematical Indie
Indie Roundup is your weekly guide to what's new and upcoming in the world of independent film. Pictured clockwise, from upper left: The Freebie, Winter in Wartime, Trucker, Saint John of Las Vegas.
Deals. Our own Eric D. Snider highlighted The 10 Sundance Films You Need to Watch For, which nicely sums up the buzz and the biggest distribution deals from the festival. Millions of dollars have been committed and the theatrical release schedule will be dotted with Sundance acquisitions for months to come. And the deals continue, as reported by our friends at indieWIRE.
Phase 4 Films won a bidding war for rights to writer/director Katie Aselton's The Freebie. Aselton stars with Dax Shepherd as a married couple whose relationship "is still full of love but lacking in lust," according to that dashing critic Eric D. Snider. He called it "an honest, unadorned relationship drama that suggests a new talent on the horizon." We await word of specific release plans.
Martin Koolhaven's Winter in Wartime has been acquired by Sony Pictures Classics. The drama follows a 13-year-old boy who becomes involved with the Dutch resistance after he helps a wounded British soldier near the end of World War II. Winter in Wartime was shortlisted, but ultimately not nominated, for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. As with The Freebie, specific release plans have not yet been announced.
Online / On Demand Viewing. Acclaimed drama Trucker, starring Michelle Monaghan, is now available on iTunes. Cinematical's Erik Davis wrote: "Monaghan finally delivered the sort of performance I've known was trapped somewhere inside her, hidden behind a variety of big, flashy Hollywood films."
After the jump: Saint John of Las Vegas reaps material rewards.
Johnny Depp to Direct a Keith Richards Biopic
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.
Free Flick of the Day: The Flaming Lips: The Fearless Freaks
Filed under: Documentary, Music & Musicals, Home Entertainment
I've been hearing all week about an upcoming Flaming Lips concert here in Austin, and while I'm unlikely to go (it's up against the opening night of SXSW Film), I do have an urge to see the Flaming Lips perform again. Fortunately, I can do this right from the comfort of my computer. SlashControl has the 2005 documentary about the band, The Fearless Freaks, available to stream online for free.The Fearless Freaks is directed by Bradley Beesley (Okie Noodling, Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo), who grew up in the same hometown as the Flaming Lips -- Oklahoma City. Beesley has also directed some Flaming Lips videos and helped out with Wayne Coyne's feature film Christmas on Mars, and is able to provide an intimate portrait of the band, not just a standard music biopic.
Although The Fearless Freaks shows the progression of the band and contains scenes of them on tour, it is really rooted in their hometown and family lives. Wayne Coyne walks around the neighborhood telling great stories about his experiences there, and the movie includes some wonderful Super 8 footage of the Coyne family. They called their family football team the Fearless Freaks ... thus the title. The documentary also gets very dark at times -- one scene with drummer Steven Drozd in which he discusses his then-addiction to drugs is especially chilling. This is not a movie for kids, but for everyone else, definitely a way to satisfy any Flaming Lips cravings.
Watch The Flaming Lips: The Fearless Freaks for free at SlashControl.
Is 'Catfish' the Next 'Paranormal Activity'?
Filed under: Documentary, Fandom, Newsstand, Movie Marketing
On paper, those familiar with the buzzed-about Sundance doc Catfish (read my review here) may laugh at the comparison to Paranormal Activity. In fact, I joked around a lot at Sundance because I felt that after every midnight film screened, some blogger was calling it "the next Paranormal Activity." And while Catfish -- which is a doc about a New York photographer who strikes up a strange but endearing relationship with an 8-year-old artist on Facebook -- may not seem like it has anything to do with the fictional, Blair-Witch-like ghost story, if marketed correctly the doc could turn into one of the most talked-about films of 2010.
The Twitter world is buzzing today because Paramount is rumored to be screening Catfish in Los Angeles tomorrow (news I first heard via Alex from First Showing), and on the invite it asks for people who have seen and enjoyed films like Cloverfield, Paranormal Activity, Up in the Air, Slumdog Millionaire, Inconvenient Truth, Where the Wild Things Are and District 9. It's important to note that Paramount has not picked up Catfish yet, nor has anyone else (one imagines negotiations are fierce right now), but seeing as the movie comes packaged with a big reveal and a few very fascinating twists and turns, it would appear as if it's the perfect film for the folks at Paramount to turn their marketing mavens loose on.
Yes, it's unfortunate that the film will be approached like this, but in a post-Paranormal Activity world, studios need to find unique ways to market smaller, buzzy films -- and if Catfish comes with one of those "shhh, don't reveal the ending" vibes, then you bet they're going to latch onto that and sell it till the sun comes up.
Sundance Review: The Shock Doctrine
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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