immigration Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Once again, more signs that it's a slow, post-holiday news day: Cinematical reports on fairly old Corey Haim direct-to-video rumors. It doesn't get any lower than this folks ... and I officially feel dirty. Help? Someone? Mommy? ShockTillYouDrop claims to have the official word that, contrary to a number of earlier reports, Corey Haim will not have a cameo in the DTV sequel for Lost Boys 2. I know what you're thinking -- the dude is back on the wagon. Actually, apparently not -- instead, they cite Haim's recent "immigration snafu." A snafu? There was a snafu? Indeed there was. According to another report issued by the MTV Movies Blog (oh, everyone is all over this puppy!), Haim's manager had called them to say that the actor was having problems when it came to entering and leaving the country. See, Lost Boys 2 is shooting in Vancouver. And, for whatever reason, Haim couldn't get there. But here's my question: Didn't his recent reality show, The Two Coreys, shoot in Vancouver? And, um, wasn't he able to leave the country for that? This, in turn, raises larger issues: Are our immigration officials prejudice against vampires? I don't know about you, but I'd like an official inquiry.

At the time of MTV's report, Warner Bros. was working hard to resolve the "immigration snafu." However, if ShockTillYouDrop is to be believed (and I see no reason why not -- they're usually pretty good about their scoops), the snafu (yes, I love writing that word) was not resolved in time. If Haim's tears were staged before, I'm pretty positive his latest tears were the real deal. No role. No money. Sh*t, I'd cry. Good news is that Corey Feldman is still signed on to shoot a role, and from what we hear, he's currently out in Vancouver doing just that as we speak. No word on whether Haim will be replaced by a Haim look-a-like (could it get any worse for an actor then to land a role based on the fact that he looks like Corey Haim?), but you bet your arse we'll be letting you know as soon as more info is available.

I've never lived in New Mexico, but every time I drive through the state I wonder why not. It's filed with beautiful vistas, plenty of open space and sunshine, not to mention plenty of financial incentives from the state government, which makes it an ideal filming location for a nice variety of pictures, as revealed by a look at the New Mexico Film Office site. That includes the upcoming road movie Five Dollars a Day, starring Christopher Walken as a conman and Alessandro Nivola as his son (Monika Bartyzel provided all the details). We've also heard about Appaloosa, a Western to be directed by and starring Ed Harris, along with Viggo Mortensen and Renee Zellweger (Patrick Walsh filled in all the blanks). The swing dancing feature Love N'Dancing, starring Amy Smart and Tom Malloy, is currently filming in Albuquerque (Christopher Campbell covered this one for us).

Another production gearing up to start filming in September is The Warboys, to be directed by Ron Daniels, a veteran stage director. The film is based on the debut 1993 play of the same name by Kentucky poet Naomi Wallace. The play is about "three young Texans [who] spend their nights patrolling the Mexican border to earn $10 bounty for every Mexican they catch crossing it. Every night they swap boasts and banter. But on this evening, they each enter confessional mode, seeking a repeat performance of the night before, and they reveal themselves as deeply damaged." The professional collaboration of Daniels and Wallace extends back at least to 1996, when Daniels directed the world premiere of one of Wallace's plays for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Gill Holland and John Hart are set to produce from a script by Wallace and Bruce McLeod. The premise is timely; I'm eager to see how the play will be translated for the screen.

In the film's first ten minutes, there is an epic story of smugglers, mutiny, gang violence, a dangerous global sea voyage, a rescue by the Coast Guard, and the imprisonment of almost 300 "bad guys". No, this isn't a new action blockbuster out of Hollywood. It is a documentary called Golden Venture, and it is a damn near perfect one.

On June 6, 1993, the coastal freighter Golden Venture ran aground in New York City with the largest shipment of illegal aliens ever recorded. The 286 Chinese expatriates (minus 10 who died and 6 who escaped), who were part of a usually routine operation handled by immigrant runners called "snakeheads" and the Chinatown gang Fuk Ching, had the misfortune of being caught too soon after the World Trade Center bombing. They were all made an example of, and many were detained for over four years.

In order to help potential immigrants pass a strict new entrance examination, the Dutch government is now putting a DVD called To the Netherlands in the study packets they give to those interested in moving to the Netherlands. Because the new test requires not only some knowledge of Dutch, but also an understanding of the country's liberal values, the DVD includes representative images of those values - and that's where the problem lies. Though they make up only a few minutes of the DVD's two hour running time, the presence of footage of topless sun bathers and two men kissing has outraged opponents of the new immigration policy, who believe those images were inserted primarily to shock Muslims, and keep them out of the country.

Needless to say, immigration officials deny the charges, and in fact have made an edited version of the film without that footage for citizen of Muslim countries where even looking at images of nude women is prohibited. Opponents counter with the fact that homosexuality is discussed on the edited discs, and believe that alone will be enough to keep some devout Muslims from emigrating.

Letters from the Other Side brings up one of the perennial questions about documentary filmmaking: how much should you involve yourself in your subjects' lives, and to what extent? Should you run the risk of potentially affecting the outcome of your film, or is it more important to help people you encounter while shooting? Some filmmakers make a serious attempt not to have much effect on the stories unfolding around them, and don't employ voice-overs or let themselves be heard in their film. Others, meanwhile, are themselves a big part of their stories, the best-known example being Michael Moore. Heather Courtney, director of Letters from the Other Side, obviously decided to help—in fact, the stories in the documentary hinge on Courtney's ability to deliver video "letters" back and forth between women in small Mexican towns and their male relatives working in the United States.

Letters from the Other Side eloquently manages to present stories that show the relationship between Mexico and the U.S. and the unexpected side effects of recent American trade laws and border-tightening regulations. Courtney's documentary examines three family situations: Eugenia, whose husband left for the U.S. years ago when she was pregnant with their youngest daughter, and whose three sons have followed their dad to find work; Maria, a farmer whose two older sons crossed the border, and who is worried that as she and her husband grow old, no one will be left to work their own land; and Carmela and Laura, whose husbands died on their journey to the U.S. in a smuggling truck.

One of the documentaries screening at SXSW, Letters from the Other Side, focuses on the stories of several women in Mexico with family members that moved to the United States. The women communicate with their loved ones and with immigration officials via video "letters." Letters from the Other Side debuted at Slamdance earlier this year.

Director Heather Courtney reports in a press release that the U.S. consulate in Mexico City has denied these women's requests for visas to visit Austin during SXSW. Courtney, festival staff, and even U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett all wrote letters on behalf of the women to no avail. Courtney, who lives in Austin, will be holding a fundraiser during SXSW for the Mexican women. She notes in her press release that the failed visa attempt underscores one of the themes of her film: while she as an American had no trouble filming and delivering the video letters from the women, it is far more difficult for Mexican citizens to enter this country legally.