Empire II at the Tribeca Film Festival

So the Tribeca Film Festival officially ended last night. I went to a few screenings, and one of them was a special event screening of EMPIRE II by Amos Poe. The film is an homage to the city and Andy Warhol's original EMPIRE, an 8 hour film made in 1964 of the Empire State Building. Amos Poe's film is actually a year-long time lapse sequence shot entirely out of his apartment window in the West Village. He shot an average of 1 mini dv tape per day for an entire year and then this was sped up and compressed into a 3 hour long film.

The New York premiere at the Gershwin Hotel was actually part-screening and part-performance, featuring Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth, Matt Heyner, and Tom Surgal. Two fellow film students and I were there to film the event. It was an amazing performance that was improvised on the spot for the entire 3 hours of the film. It was fascinating how well the music synced up to the film and created incredible mood swings with the on screen changes in seasons, weather, and through various national holiday events as a backdrop to the Empire State Building.

Here are some screen caps of the show from our cameras. We also recorded the performance, so we'll soon have the cut of the eventful night!

Shortbus

While I have never been to a sex club, I hope that they are every bit as awesome as the one depicted in Shortbus. The uncensored trailer gives you a glimpse at the kind of scenes in this film by John Cameron Mitchell about a group of New York individuals who are completely detached from their own sexual being but they come together (in more ways than one) at Shortbus, an underground sex club.

The opening sequence starts the movie off with a bang and every subsequent scene driving the narrative seems to be as irritatingly anti-climatic as the central character Sofia's struggle to achieve an orgasm, manually or otherwise. But it is that very element that is so essential to the realistic portrayal of humans, society and sexuality. Oh and somewhere in all this greatness, there are multiple love stories, a musical and very good sex scenes.

Shortbus - Uncensored Trailer

Anita O'Day sings "Honeysuckle Rose."

Anyone ever heard this song? It's an old Fats Waller jazz standard. My mom used to sing it to my dad during long drives, which really weirded me out; it's pretty erotically-charged.

Anita O'Day sure knows how to scat, though.

Griffin and Sabine

So I got into these books at the Village Inn in Gambier Ohio, 7 years ago over some 2.65 gin and tonics. I got hooked. I bought them for my mom. I bought them for my girlfriend recently. Then I did a little research and found out that author Nick Bantock has published a new trilogy (OK, I'm six years late on that). The artwork is amazing, but the narrative is what hooks you.

Get into em, they're worth it.

"The Love Guru," Mike? ... Seriously?

Great Scott this looks awful!

What happened to the funny Mike Myers? It almost makes me question whether or not "So I Married an Axe Murderer" and the "Wayne's World" flicks were actually any good. Maybe nostalgia has blinded me.

Not only does this film seem to debase and stereotype Hinduism as well as its practitioners, but it also appears to repeat all of the horrid problems of the Austin Powers sequels: repetitive gags, stupid cameos, and ridiculous product endorsements.

Let's see some new ideas, Mike!

New Portishead Coming on April 29th!

Bristol trip-hop geniuses Portishead are releasing their long-anticipated third album, aptly entitled "Third," on April 29th, 2008! Check it out:

"Machine Gun" Music Video

Cedella Booker at Africa Unite

This is a touching moment that I thought Bob Marley fans would appreciate. Bob Marley's mother, Cedella Booker reads a poem that she wrote for her son's 60th birthday at the Africa Unite concert in Ethiopia.



Cedella passed away on April 8th at the age of 81. She wrote two biographies of her son and recorded two albums. According to Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding, "She was a star in her own right. Her life was one of hardship, struggle and eventual fulfillment and, through it all, she exuded hope, strength and confidence."

Free Tibet

It's kind of crazy that the Free Tibet concert was 12 years ago. Out of sight, out of mind, I guess.

If Tibet had more (commercially) valuable resources or was occupied by a country other than China, would our government be more involved? In any event I dugg up some info here, which gives some background info about Tibet.

Not to be too overtly Palm-centric, but what got me thinking about the whole thing is the documentary we did on the event. There's live/interview footage of Bjork, The Beastie Boys, Cibo Matto, Smashing Pumpkins etc. At the time I was 16, and the concert was a huge deal. Of course I didn't have the money or follow through to actually go, which I regret.

Well, I dug up some youtubes of footage that didn't make the dvd, and you can see all the stuff that did by picking it up here.

Maira Kalman's Principles of Uncertainty

Artist/designer/children's book author and illustrator/New Yorker contributor/etc Maira Kalman has been writing a column for the New York Times entitled "The Principles of Uncertainty."

Basically, it consists of various colorful sketches of often mundane, urban situations coupled with poetic and witty philosophizing.

Last year, a compilation of many of these pieces hit bookstores. You can find it here: "The Principals of Uncertainty"

The New York Times filmed Ms. Kalman discussing the project at an event: Maira Kalman Interview

Definitely check it out. I grew up reading her zany children's books. She's brilliant and probably motivated me to pursue art/writing at a very young age.

Os

Hello! I was just on the craziest shoot ever- It was for an experimental short, "Os" directed by Jivko Darakchiev. This period piece is about what happens when a young boy visits a widow living alone in a small cabin in Southern France. I was Assistant Camera to DP JR Skola and it was one of the most intense jobs I've been on. Here's a list of elements that made the shoot memorable:

bonfire, bones one fire, stop motion animation, location owner with 5 dogs and 2 cats and a squirrel, plates shattering, wine glasses shattering, nudity, a live chicken, and 2160 eggs in a bathtub...



I'm sure there's more that I can't remember. I was there for 5 out of the 7 shooting days, the shoot finally wrapped on Saturday and we are now anxiously waiting to see the dailies. It's going to be amazing :)

Porky Pig's Got a Foul Mouth

Few people realize just how much the old Warner Bros. cartoons pushed the envelope during the Pre-Hayes Code era. Dig this clip of Porky Pig (it's real!):

"Son of a B****"

Where The Wild Things Are(n't?)

If you haven't been following the drama around the new Spike Jonze (Director's Label!) film, Where The Wild Things Are, you probably saved yourself some serious anxiety. And by serious I mean some of people are getting pretty worked up about this movie about a bunch of muppets.

The film, which features vocal performances by Forest Whitaker, Paul Dano, James Gandolfini and Catherine Keener, and a soundtrack by The Yeah Yeah Yeah's Karen O. + friends (ie Bradford Cox), has already been pushed back to 2009.

According to Slashfilm "Word in the hills is that Warner Bros is extremely unhappy with the finished product. Test screening audiences have complained that the film is too adult and even too scary for children."

Slashfilm also reports that the $75 Million feature may have to be completely reshot.

That's bad news for us, like anyone my age, I loved the book (and anything else Sendak related) and was excited to see what Dave Eggers and Jonze would come up with.

In any event, here's a bigger version of the still (courtesy of MTV) that Jonze alleges was a vfx test, and a shot (courtesy of ego-rapper Kanye West) of one of the little muppets in Jim Henson's workshop.

Also, here are a couple of shots and a clip (presumably another fx test wink wink).

US

I recently produced a short film, the second of director JR Skola, called US: a love story. We went through some scheduling difficulties and caused a blackout on the entire block of the apartment we were shooting in (my apologies to our neighbors in Hoboken) but we had an amazing time and got some awesome footage! We had a hard working crew and really devoted actors. Our DP Ben Nicholas made movie magic with that HVX camera and lighting of his- check out some of the productions stills:

I'll be updating more on short film shoots... the next will be from a log cabin built in 1810!!!

News: Summer Palace gets reviewed...

If you like indie films and haven't checked out our most recent release Summer Palace, you should do so.

But don't take our word for it, check our most recent review in the SF Chronicle, where they call the film "“the most important Chinese film this decade”.

Or check the New York Times review (Critics' Pick!), or the New Yorker.

Jazz Ain't Dead

Quick shout out to those skateboard kids in bushwick that know how to throw a party, check out the house band The Stumblebum Brass Band, coming soon to subway platform near you.

Wild Combination

Just a quick post to tell you to check out this trailer for a forthcoming doc about Arthur Russell, one of the forefathers of dance music and one of the unsung greats. You've danced to Loose Joints at least once in your life...the film looks great.



For more info, check the website

The doc is by Matt Wolf- read an interview by our friends at Dusted Magazine here

They have a Myspace and a blog

Garfield Minus Garfield

This is honestly one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

Have you considered the fact that Jon Arbuckle, co-star of the comic strip "Garfield," is essentially talking to himself? Well, remove the thought-bubble spouting cat sidekick and a very, very disturbed individual remains:


Depressing, eh? This is an actual "Garfield" strip (sans the orange cat, obviously).

To see more, click here:

GARFIELD MINUS GARFIELD

Music in Films...

I've found about some of my favorite artists through films and I've imagined films as vehicles for some of my favorite artists.

A great site that deals with music and film is this one. Check the soundtrack series, so great.

Anyway, so I thought I'd highlight some of my favorite film/music moments.

The first is probably the most significant to me, if only because of the great stuff it turned me onto.

The last scene in Paul Auster & Wayne Wang's Smoke aka "Auggie Wren's Christmas Story"




Not only was the the first indie movie I ever saw at Angelika, but it turned me onto Tom Waits...and then onto Jim Jarmusch. It made me want to create my own music videos, which I did here, here and here. I love this sequence.

Jackson C. Frank - MUST LISTEN

Check out this semi-obscure folk singer/songwriter Jackson C. Frank. "Blues Run the Game," his only album, features sparse yet achingly beautiful compositions, which everyone from Paul Simon (the producer of this recording) to Nick Drake has covered.

Below is a link to Frank's song "I Want to Be Alone (Dialogue)"--my favorite song in the collection:
"I Want to Be Alone (Dialogue)"

And here's a slide show set to Nick Drake's version of "Milk and Honey":
"Milk and Honey"

I thoroughly recommend shelling out some greenbacks for this album (or getting it by some other means... you know, like downloading it). Enjoy!

Jonas Mekas

Somehow, after cultivating many years worth of art elitism and pretense, I neglected to discover the brilliance of experimental filmmaker Jonas Mekas. Whether or not it's a shameless plug to say so, I first encountered him while viewing Palm's release "Who Gets to Call It Art?" (a documentary about the famous New York art curator Henry Geldzahler).

Check out this guy's frenetic filmmaking style; he often compresses a day's worth of experience into a blur of transient images. It's like viewing a projection of a stranger's childhood memories, each moment hazily impressionistic though imbued with detail.

"Note on the Circus" is definitely one of my favorite Mekas works, and, luckily for all of us, it's on Youtube:

Jonas Mekas's "Note on the Circus"

News

Palm has a couple releases of note that I thought I'd highlight.


Summer Palace is in theaters now and it's coming to dvd on March 11th. The film is by Lou Ye, who was banned from making movies in China for five years due to the amount of nudity and depiction of Tiananman Square in Summer Palace.


It's a really beautiful film, and the lead actress Hao Lei is amazing.

Here's what the press is saying:

Critic's Pick - The New York Times

“Great triumph....of Lou’s work!” – The New Yorker

Here's a great review by The New York Times/

Buy it here and get 27% off!



Supreme Beings Of Leisure have a song from their self titled album featured in Johnnie Walker ads, maybe you've seen it? They have a new album coming out as well. It's not through us, sadly.

The song's catchy!



Also, the long awaited City Of Men film is finally coming to theaters! Check the series that the film was based on here, released by Palm.

Don't bother watching the Oscars...

Just in case you didn't already know, the Oscars are coming on this Sunday...

Oh yes, I grasp your trepidation. Why should anyone tune in and subject himself/herself to a never ending slue of bad jokes, weird interpretive dance numbers, and the melting Dali clock that is Joan Rivers's face? Not to mention the inevitable barrage of credit card commercials starring your favorite hack celebrities (pick one). Many of us have better things to do, like make peanut butter sandwiches or check out this week's episode of The Wire...

But, of course, we'll wind up watching every brutal hour of Hollywood's favorite pastime, our bladders bursting in wait for the Grand Reveal--you know, the only award that counts: Best Picture... Cue disappointment:

"Clint Eastwood won again?!"

Well, ladies and gents, I'm going to make it easy for you this time. With the aid of a trusty-dusty list of posters, namely those of the past Best Picture winners (err, "recipents"), I can predict which film will win the grand prize this year.

First, examine this list:
79 Years of Best Picture Winners in Posters

Did you pay particular attention to the most recent Oscar recipients? Okay, good. Then you can clearly see that this year's Best Picture award will go to Juno.

"What?! Not 'No Country' or 'There Will Be Blood'? Are you insane?"

Now take it easy, folks! If you pay close attention, you too can see the subversive messages embedded in these graphics. Hollywood's been prepping American audiences for a Juno Oscar-Sweep for the past four years. Here, I'll prove it to you:

1) "The Lord of the Rings" - I mean, come on! It's pretty clear. This film is clearly about the sanctity of marriage.

2) "Million Dollar Baby" - The word "Baby" is in the title, and Hillary Swank's hair is up, just like Ellen Page's in the "Juno" poster.


3) "Crash" - I'm almost embarrassed at how obvious this one is. The chick in this poster looks like Ellen Page. In fact, I bet it is Ellen Page--they just didn't want us to see her face. Too much too soon, you know? And the guy clutching her also has this look of, "Oh no, you're pregnant" on his face. Shameless, folks--just shameless.


4) "The Departed" - I can't believe Scorsese was in on this Juno conspiracy! There's Jack Nicholson in the back, looking very pregnant. And Matt Damon's saying, "Whoa, I could've sworn it was my kid" because Nicholson just told him that it's actually Dicaprio's. I've got to admit, Leo's acting in this picture is spot on. He looks very paternal. He'll be a good dad.

So, yeah, don't waste your time this year. Do something productive. Save your bladder the stress.

Africa Unite in stores!

Africa Unite is in stores!

Here's a clip from the film, which features the entire Marley family, Angelique Kidjo, Spragga Benz and more...!

Click here to save 27% on the DVD!

For more info, check the site

I wanted to start off 08 by thanking some of the people who helped us out so much in 07- namely Tim "The Boss" Myers, Athanasios "Turk" Goltsios, Kristin Seifert and Joe (to the) Conner.

Can't thank you enough!














Now on to lists.

Paul's top 5's:

Albums-
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson – ST
Devendra Banhart – Smokey Rolls…
Animal Collective – Strawberry Jam
DrugRug – ST
TheBees (aka Band of Bees) – Octopus

Flicks-
The Lives of Others
Great World of Sound
No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood
King of Kong
Bonus: Ten Canoes

Theo's best of '07

No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood
Daft Punk live
Songs by LCD Soundsytem, MGMT, Yeasayer, UGK, Marco Polo, Blonde Redhead, Studio, Holy Ghost!
Burial - Untrue
Battles live
108 Reunion
Rumors of Carcass reunion
Superbad
Adopting a Polar Bear


Looking forward to
The Wire Season 5
Actual Carcass reunion