david hudson Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Indie Roundup reviews the past week of news from the independent film community and provides a peek at what's coming soon.

Opening. Two films opened yesterday which couldn't have less in common: Agnès Varda's essay film The Beaches of Agnès and Nia Vardalos' I Hate Valentine's Day. Tomorrow comes Anne Fontaine's comedy The Girl From Monaco.

Deals. Xavier Dolan's family drama I Killed My Mother, Kenneth Branagh's The Magic Flute, and Asghar Farhadi's drama About Elly have all been acquired by Here Films, the company formerly known as Regent Releasing. All three are headed for theaters next year. [indieWIRE]

Online Viewing. The 4th of July weekend inevitably brings thoughts of America as a land of immigrants, and that's the topic of Home, which debuts on Amazon VOD this week, featuring interviews with Mike Myers, Alfred Molina, and Liam Neeson. Also somewhat topical: if Michael Jackson had an impact on race in pop music, what about African-American musicians playing rock 'n' roll exclusively? Raymond Gayle's Electric Purgatory examines the issue (at iTunes). If you're looking for love, you have something in common with two women in the comedy/drama Arranged (also at iTunes.)

Box Office. Kathryn Bigelow's lacerating bomb squad thriller The Hurt Locker earned a per-screen average ($36,338) that bested even the giant robots, albeit on only four screens. Woody Allen's Whatever Works expanded to 35 screens and grossed $10,280 per outing. The combination of star Michelle Pfeiffer and director Stephen Frears could stir up only a tepid $5,338 per-screen at 76 locations for Cheri, which is less than the average for Duncan Jones' Moon in its third week on 21 screens. [Box Office Mojo.]

After the jump: David Hudson's The Daily takes a permanent (?) vacation, portending the end of the world as we know it.

How much is too much when it comes to online film journalism? Even with your RSS reader and constant connectivity, how do you find new stories and voices? What do readers really want? And is the general public even aware there's actually smart, engaging writing about film on-line? This edition of The Rocchi Review features a guest who's thought about all these topics and more -- David Hudson, the man behind the must-visit news and review roundup GreenCine Daily. David and I talk about these topics and much more - from what films are so big you can ignore them to the fierce fight for eyeballs in an overloaded age. You can download the entire podcast right here -- and we hope you enjoy.

If there's one thing the films here in Berlin have in common (at least with most of the flicks I've watched) it is sex ... and lots of it. Just today, both films (Hallum Foe and Lost in Beijing) I saw had some pretty intense -- and well justified -- sex scenes. Yesterday, Bordertown included a steamy sex romp (you go J-Lo!), and the day before both 300 and Yella tossed in some between-the-sheets action. But I must say, out of all this sex, none of it is gratuitous.

The award for the strangest sex has to go to Hallum Foe, which features Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot) as a teenager obsessed with the recent suicide of his mother. He's collected his mother's old make-up, her old dresses, her old passport and, when he leaves home (after having sex with his stepmother!), he begins following a woman who looks just like his mother. And yes, they have sex. And yes, she digs the whole warped thing. On the flip side, Lost in Beijing (whose tagline should read: Who's Screwing Who?) featured a number of sexual trysts, all of which had a different purpose and meaning. And yes, the film (which Chinese censors threatened to chop up) was screened uncut. Lots of films. Lots of sex. Lots of stories to be told.

With that said, above you will find my final (and favorite) video diary from here at the 57th Berlin International Film Festival. In this installment, I sit down with David Hudson (GreenCine Daily), Andrew Grant (Filmbrain) and Aaron Hillis (Cinephiliac) to discuss the second half of the Berlinale, which films truly shined (Yella) and which failed to hit the mark (300). Stay tuned to Cinematical, as I have a lot of reviews to catch up on and will be posting them throughout the weekend and into next week.

(Note: Video may take a little while to load. But hang tough, it's a fun one!)

Now that the glitz and glamor is out of the way, we have officially arrived at Berlinale's halfway point. And, depending on who you talk to, this is where the festival really starts to get interesting. A majority of the big premieres are old news, and the rest of the week is packed full of -- what we hope are -- a cornucopia of hidden gems. The second leg, for me, begins tomorrow with four films: The Other (or El otro), The Walker, Irina Palm and Interview. Will one of those turn out to be the pot of gold every journalist in town has been searching for? That ray of shining light at the end of a long week full of rain, sleet and snow? Fingers and toes are crossed, folks.

But back to the first half of the fest; the theme: Boredom. Most of the exciting films arrived in Berlin with a big "SOLD" sign draped across the front, and those that haven't already been snatched up are nothing to write home about. Last night, Teeth (which premiered at Sundance and was subsequently bought by The Weinstein Co.) enjoyed its premiere in the Panorama section. Between watching it blaze through Sundance, seeing it for the first time in Berlin and sitting down for an interview with the pic's star, Jess Weixler, I think I've had more than enough vagina-talk to last me until I arrive home and my wife picks me up the airport.

However, the high-point for me came today when I finally met David Hudson, editor of GreenCine Daily, and sat down with him to discuss the 57th Berlin International Film Festival as it heads into part two. Before watching the third installment of my video diaries, I must warn you that the video abruptly cuts off at the end. But fear not, all you missed was me complaining to David that my camera's memory card is a piece of crap. And then there may have been an I'm A Cyborg, But That's Okay reference from David ... I forget. Anyway, enjoy!