Andrew Bujalski Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I'm still not exactly sure how to describe the films of Andrew Bujalski. I've seen all three of his features, Funny Ha Ha (2002), Mutual Appreciation (2005) and the new Beeswax, which is currently playing on 2 screens in New York and Los Angeles and will expand to more theaters in the coming weeks. Funny Ha Ha really struck me when I saw it in 2004, but I think his films have improved since then, and Beeswax is really something wonderful. Of course, the word most people use to describe his films -- and other similar films in the same "wave" -- is "Mumblecore," and I suppose that's effective, but there's more to it.

Bujalski tends to focus on young people in their twenties and thirties. They're educated and middle-class, but probably not the most driven folks in the world. One character in Beeswax, Merrill (Alex Karpovsky), prepares to take the BAR, but when he doesn't do so well his first day, he shrugs: "it will still be there for me in six months. And then six months after that." The movie focuses on identical twins, Jeannie, who runs a vintage clothing shop, and Lauren, who is currently unemployed but thinking of taking a job in Nairobi. They're played by real-life twins Tilly Hatcher and Maggie Hatcher (whom Bujalski has known for years); Tilly needs a wheelchair to get around, but the movie refuses to make a big deal out of this. It's just there.

Deals. What a busy seven days! Cannes starts in a week, so distributors are clearing the decks by firming up their release schedules for the next several months in anticipation of more deals to come. We've already reported on the acquisitions of Blood: The Last Vampire and The Eclipse, but that just scratches the surface (complete details can be found at indieWIRE):

Crude. First Run Features picked up Joe Berlinger's documentary about a lawsuit pitting 30,000 rain forest dwellers in Ecuador against oil giant Chevron. (60 Minutes broadcast a story on the case this past Sunday.) A theatrical bow is planned in New York on September 9, followed by expansion to Los Angeles, San Francisco, and other cities.

Beeswax. The Cinema Guild acquired rights to Andrew Bujalski's low-key comedy / drama. They plan to open the film in New York on August 7, followed by a national release. Jette Kernion called it "a good movie that does some surprising things in a quiet way."

Also acquired: Uruguayan comedy Gigante, crime drama La Linea, psycho-sexual tale Death in Love, and bleak but black comedy Sugisball, whose very cool trailer (in Estonian!) is embedded below.

Box Office. Was it the power of my review? (Probably not.) Jim Jarmusch's very fine The Limits of Control raked in $18,607 per-screen at the three theaters in New York and Los Angeles where it opened over the weekend, according to Box Office Mojo, demonstrating Wolverine-like power. The film expands to eight more locations on Friday. Tyson, James Toback's doc about the controversial former heavyweight boxing champ, and Il Divo, Paolo Sorrentino's dramatic biopic about a controversial former Italian prime minister, followed modestly behind, grossing $5,757 and $5,657 per-screen, respectively.

After the jump: New Sundance Director of Programming; festivals in Los Angeles and Seattle unveil lineups.

Welcome to the second episode of The Cinematical Roundtable, our latest podcast here at the site, where we'll speak with writers and readers alike about the latest in film offerings. Joining us this round is James Rocchi, formerly of Cinematical and currently of MSN Movies and countless other outlets, as we tackle several of the more independent titles that graced us with their presence at this year's SXSW Film Festival.

Again, please bear with the overwhelming ambiance of the International House of Pancakes (a South By staple, and not always by choice). In the weeks to come, the podcast will actually be produced in much more conducive conditions, but when in Austin, keeping it weird is the name of the game. With that in mind, your feedback is appreciated, and feel free to spread the word. Preferably the word 'podcast'. And 'Cinematical'. Yeah, that is two words, what of it?

That's what I thought...




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The latest film by Andrew Bujalski, Beeswax had its U.S. premiere at SXSW on Monday. You might remember Bujalski's earlier features: Funny Ha Ha and Mutual Appreciation. The term "mumblecore", which describes a certain kind of low-budget indie made by a certain group of people, became popular after an interview Bujalski gave about Mutual Apprecation. But I'd like to talk about Beeswax without mentioning the term and all its associated baggage. Beeswax is a good movie that does some surprising things in a quiet way.

The story in Beeswax takes a backseat to the characters and the way they communicate. Two sisters, Jeannie (Tilly Hatcher) and Lauren (Maggie Hatcher), are sharing a house in Austin. Jeannie is co-owner of a vintage clothing store, and the other owner and former friend, Amanda, is threatening to sue her or possibly buy her out. Jeannie seeks legal advice from an old friend, Merrill (Alex Karpovsky), who's preparing for his bar exam, but a barely mentioned, possibly romantic past colors their interactions. Lauren is trying to help her sister out, but is also trying to get a teaching job, which is complicated by the fact that she's interviewing with Lee (Nathan Zellner), and Lauren just broke up with Lee's brother Scott (David Zellner).

Cinematical has just received this exclusive clip from Sorry, Thanks, which will enjoy its premiere this month at the South By Southwest Film Festival. Directed by Dia Sokol, Sorry, Thanks stars our man Wiley Wiggins (Dazed and Confused) as a guy who has a one-night-stand while in a committed relationship ... and all the fun, complicated stuff that arises from that one encounter. The film also stars Kenya Miles and Andrew Bujalski.

I've seen Sorry, Thanks, and can vouch for its cute, awkward humor -- but I'll also note that Wiggins totally steals the show. Why he's not doing more, I do not know; count me as someone who'd love to see Wiggins pop up on the big screen at least a thousand times per year. But anyway, yeah, check out the clip below (which comes from one of my favorite scenes of the film).

CLICK HERE TO WATCH EXCLUSIVE CLIP

Sorry, Thanks is set to take SXSW by storm on the following dates:

Saturday, MARCH 14th / 11:30 AM
ALAMO RITZ 1 Theater

Sunday, MARCH 15th / 7:30 PM
ALAMO LAMAR 3 Theater

Thursday, MARCH 19th / 9:00 PM
ALAMO LAMAR 3 Theater

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The feature film lineup for next month's South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival in Austin, Texas has been announced and trailers have started to come out of the woodwork. This will be just my second fest but, based on last year, I can't wait. The first two are world premieres playing in the Emerging Visions showcase

Sorry, Thanks (pictured). "Good luck leading with your heart, when your heart is an utter emotional idiot." Dia Sokol's feature debut follows the travails of a woman "reeling from a brutal breakup" who has a one-night stand with a "charming, disheveled wreck" who -- oops! -- has a long-term girlfriend. Andrew Bujalski also stars. Check out the trailer at the official site, which is a bit goofy and a bit wistful, two qualities that are essential for any relationship / "where is my life heading?" movie. Plus, it has the uber-cool and understated Wiley Wiggins as the "disheveled wreck," which has to be a good sign. [Official site, via Wiley's blog It's Not for Everyone.]

St. Nick. Written and directed by David Lowery, the festival describes the film as "a stark, haunting portrait of childhood following the adventures of a runaway brother and sister as they try to survive, all on their own, out on the wintry plains of the great southwest." The beautiful, evocative trailer promises a quiet, moody trip. [Drifting: A Director's Log; via Filmmaker Magazine.]

ST. NICK trailer from ST NICK on Vimeo.

After the jump: the trailer (with one f-bomb) for Breaking Upwards.

It's hard to squeeze out time to see any short films at SXSW, but I saw two last night that provided an interesting contrast. Benjamin M. Piety's Sunlit Shadows is a very good-looking romantic drama that has a languorous feeling to it. Ryan Scharoun and Jennifer Marks play a couple spending a little time together: in bed, at the breakfast table, watching TV, and so forth. He narrates first, giving his interpretation, and then the scenes repeat from the female point of view. They're a good-looking couple, and Ms. Marks captures a lazy, off-beat cadence in her narration, but the short is probably too precious for its own good. Still, I'd like to see what the people involved do next.

Sunlit Shadows felt long at 14 minutes, but was a good match for the film it preceded (The Lost Coast), as was Ed Goodman's I Slammed My D--- in the Drawer, which played before the frequently funny Registered Sex Offender. The highest praise I can offer the hilarious I Slammed My D--- in the Drawer is that it lived up to the full promise of its title and, at four minutes, may be the only film in the festival that doesn't feel too long.

This year saw a lot of notice paid to the film movement known as Mumblecore, but it's still low enough on the radar that its members -- including filmmakers Andrew Bujalski, the Duplass Brothers and Joe Swanberg -- are likely still pretty approachable human beings. Of course, that doesn't mean that their biggest fan can easily meet them. While these very indie filmmakers aren't celebrities, their most devout follower, Erin Scherer, lives too far away and is apparently too poor to pay her own way to simply locate the Mumblecore lot, travel to where they're at and pay them a visit. The difficulty isn't stopping her from trying, though. Scherer, a filmmaker and video blogger best known for her monologue "How Mumblecore Saved My Life," has set up a website asking for donations in order to fund her trip to the South by Southwest Film Festival in March, where she apparently will have the opportunity to meet with indieWIRE blogger and festival programmer Matt Dentler, as well as whatever Mumblecore representatives are available. The site, titled GrantErinsWish.com, features some videos of her explaining her predicament and begging for money.

So far, according to the updates on her site, Scherer has only collected $55.00. That's a lot less than the $3200 she needs by March 5, 2008, the date she heads down to Texas for the festival. While I don't completely condone giving a fangirl charity when there are more important causes in the world, I do like the idea that you can purchase t-shirts and other merchandise from her CafePress site, so that you don't have to feel like you simply gave the money away. The merch does, however, state the cute-yet-implicit declaration, "I helped Erin get to SXSW and all I got was this stupid t-shirt." Keep in mind, that if she does not raise the full amount, she will still be going to SXSW -- she's apparently already paid for the trip and is presently in debt -- so you won't likely be receiving a refund. However, if you've had your own dreams of meeting your idol(s) and think it's a good cause, or at least an endearing one (heck, even if you just pity her for all I care), feel free to do with your own money what you wish.

[via The Reeler]

UPDATE: Despite the fact that her current total is still only $55, Sherer has decided to up her amount needed another $400-500.

Last month, I alerted you to a pretty funny clip from Julie Delpy's 2 Days in Paris, which was up over at indieWIRE as part of the indie film series with Apple stores. Now the website has got another strange and comedic clip to distract us from the daily grind, and it will again be followed by store appearances. This time, the movie is Hannah Takes the Stairs, from director Joe Swanberg (Kissing on the Mouth and LOL). The film stars Greta Gerwig, who was in Swanberg's LOL, Kent Osborne, who actually got his start on School Ties (which helped launch the careers of many actors, including Damon and Affleck) and Andrew Bujalski, whose last film was Mutual Appreciation, which he wrote, directed, edited and starred in -- and all of them collaborated on the film's script.

Hannah Takes the Stairs (follow the link for a trailer) is about a young woman named Hannah who is interning at a production company in Chicago. She's got a crush on two of her co-workers, Matt (Osborne) and Paul (Bujalski), and the question becomes whether pursuing one of them will hurt their friendship trio. In the clip, Matt shows Paul and Hannah how you can get six-pack abs without working out. Between the six-pack and the hot dogs he can also change his stomach into, the man is a walking tailgating party. It'll definitely be a tough choice for the young professional. God only knows what special talents Paul has! The film will hit a limited release on August 22 through IFC Films, and the day after, you can hear Swanberg, Gerwig, Aaron Katz and Aaron Hillis talk about indie filmmaking at the Apple Store in Soho.

Chicago filmmaker Joe Swanberg premiered his third feature in three years during SXSW this week, Hannah Takes the Stairs, and just about filled the Paramount theater, which seats 1,200. It's a long way from his Kissing on the Mouth screening at SXSW, which I saw at the tiny Dobie theater two years ago. Like his previous films, Kissing on the Mouth and LOL, the film follows contemporary twentysomethings through ordinary and plausible situations. It's a low-key and enjoyable film with a cast consisting mostly of other indie filmmakers and writers.

Hannah (Greta Gerwig) seems to be drifting through life. She has a boyfriend, Mike (Mark Duplass) whom she seems to like, but suddenly breaks up with him because "he's the funny one. I want to be the funny one." She works for a production company of some sort -- I never quite understood what was going on over there -- with a pair of guys, Paul (Andrew Bujalski) and Matt (Kent Osborne). Paul is trying to negotiate a deal to publish a book based on his blog, while Matt is slightly older and more mature than the other two. After breaking up with Mike, Hannah more or less floats over to Paul, upsetting the office dynamic with their schmoopiness and later with their relationship difficulties. She turns to her roommate Rocco (Ry Russell-Young) and to Matt for solace.