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tagged w/ John Lichman
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Mustache battle
I helped John with his mustache competition. [current 90217046] I make an appearance.-
- joshuaheller
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This Man Should Be A Meme
Current Movies Online Producer, John Lichman just started rocking a sweet handlebar mustache. We here at Current Comedy, think he should become a meme. Let's see some photoshop goodness.
This is the raw image, lets see some awesomeness!
We shall post the results here, and Twitter, and Current.com.Current Movies Online Producer, John Lichman just started rocking a sweet handlebar... more-
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Featuring on Current: What do we look for? -- [Editorial Guidelines]
Earlier today one of our community members raised a question that immediately reminded me of a drafted post sitting in my to-do pile. So I dusted this sucker off and refreshed it with some new information for all to read. Over on the announcement of our new submission tool, 02 commented:
"You guys never put my submissions up at all. It would seem as though a plan were afoot to force only designated providers - while the promise is held as Bullshit."
This isn't a anything new; in general people get a little confused when it comes to what gets featured on Current.com. It's not uncommon to find out that people either don't understand, or worse, their misunderstanding leads them to believe that there is a secret agenda conspiring against them behind-the-scenes. Trust me, this is just not the case. Our editorial team is relatively small on Current.com, especially in comparison with some of the more editorially driven sites out there. We see Current.com as a joint partnership between our internal team, and the community that frequents the site. While we produce content for TV, the amount of content we produce for the web is fairly small in comparison with what our community produces on a daily basis. Here's how things shake out:
Each channel on Current.com has a corresponding online producer who is responsible for featuring content and producing content via blog posts and original video. If you don't know them yet, here's the list:
News
Andrew Fitzgerald
Movies
John Lichman
Music
Shana Naomi Krochmal
Green
Leah Lamb
Tech
Sarah Lane
Comedy
Josh Heller
Each channel has an editorialized section called a playlist. The playlist is at the top of the channel, and the first story in the playlist is featured on the homepage (in the first slot of the corresponding channel module). I've posted about this before, so get the full breakdown here. I manage this team, and together with some off hours help from the online community team we editorialize the featured sections on the Current.com homepage and the channels with a combination of community submitted stories and original Current content. When it comes to up-to-the-minute news and stories we look to you guys, the Current community. But I'm sure it would help considerably to understand what we look for exactly when featuring content. How do we make our decisions? What goes into the process?
Editorial Guidelines
When we pick stories for featuring, we look at a combination of things including: interesting-ness, popularity, relevance, and trending. These can seem fairly vague, so let me explain:
Interesting-ness
These are stories that are potentially under reported, but have unique angle that could spark worthwhile discussions.
Popularity
These are ongoing mainstream stories that are also picking up page views, comments, and votes on Current. We take a look at these and determine which ones to feature throughout the day.
Relevance
As expected, stories get repeatedly submitted from different sources outside of Current. When we find a story that is feature worthy, we consider whether or not the story is still relevant (timely), and we also take a look at the overall submissions on Current while asking the following questions:
Is this the first version of the story?
Is there a newer version of this story that has updates, developments, or new information?
Trending
Sometimes a story on Current is not popular with the mainstream crowd, but is picking up steam on Current via discussion, page views, and votes. We identify this trend and feature these stories.
Ok, this covers how we recognize stories in the system, but what about the barebones requirements for a story in order to be featured? Specifically, a story needs a title and a description to be submitted, but depending upon how you support your story may or may not include a piece of media (image, video, etc.) If a story doesn't have media, we can't feature it. If you pick a source without media, you could always pick something from the Creative Commons on Flickr (be sure to abide by Creative Commons licenses and give credit back to the photographer wherever applicable) or you could simply record a quick webcam and upload that with a link to the source in your story description. Additionally, some sources are quite simply better than others. If you submit a blog post from an unknown source with no links to factual research, you'll be less likely to get featured when compared to a story with deep links and research to back up the story. So, now that you have an idea about how we pick stories for featured spots on Current, let's look at 02's latest submission from 10 days ago. Here are the details: Anthropologist Peter McAllister: "The Science of the Inadequate Modern Male." This is a great story, and definitely could have been feature worthy based on interesting-ness given a couple circumstances. It doesn't fall into the popular designation, but that's OK. We love unique stories. Where it gets the hook is in the relevance department. You see the same story was already submitted to Current by another community member. Here's a search on the last name "McAllister" (sorted by most recent). As you can see, remanns version of the story preceded 02's by 5 days. If any version of the story were to be featured, it would've been remanns version because the two stories contain identical information. As it turns out, neither version of the story was actually featured, and this has to do with the trending portion of our process. Discussion on these two stories never really picked up, and both had relatively low votes and page views. When compared to other stories trending in the system at the time, both were seconded to other stories submitted that were a better fit with our featuring designations. There are a whole slew of variables that play into this process which can only add to the confusion for some of you out there. Here are some commonly asked questions: Q: "I see <$user>'s stories featured ALL. THE. TIME. Admit it, you play favorites."
I really wish there were an easy way to convey this to everyone, but the simple fact is that the more active (and attentive to breaking news) a community member is, the more likely their stories will be featured. Volume and timing is everything. We actively go out of our way consider stories from new or underrepresented members of the community. If you're a rock star at finding stories before everyone else, I'd ask that you share your tips with the rest of the crowd. Find someone in the community who isn't commonly featured and give them some pointers. Additionally, if you're finding yourself on the short end of the stick as far as featuring is concerned, look to some of the regular faces you see in the featured spots. Go ahead, message them, ask them for pointers, or just make a friend. One thing is certain, the more you put into the system on a regular basis, the more likely you'll find yourself featured on the homepage.
Q: "Why do you guys push all content down that doesn't fall in line with your agenda?"
It's easy to believe that something like this is true, but it's just not in line with reality. First, we don't have an agenda in play when selecting stories. We routinely hang all personal biases up at the door with our coats when we come into work. True, we select stories to feature based on the criteria I listed before, but we do not actively push content down in popularity. Period. There are typically two reasons why content appears to be pushed down: It is voted down by the community. It is improperly added to groups that it shouldn't be. For example, a story about marijuana legalization added to News, Music, Movies, Green, Tech, and Comedy will commonly get removed from Music, Movies, Green, Tech, and Comedy.
Q: "I added this story already, why isn't mine featured?"
Many times this can come down some of our minimum requirements. As I mentioned before, there are times when a story has newly developing information, or there has been an update to the larger story (different angle, etc.). In these cases we will feature a newer version of the story, tweak the title of the original post (depending upon whether or not the story is still relevant), or unfeature it altogether if neither option works. If you are an avid contributor to Current.com, there could be cases where you are already featured for one story, and we wish to feature another story that you also happened to submit before anyone else. In these cases we might make an exception and feature another lesser known community member despite your story being technically first.
Q: "You changed my title, what gives?"
In previous posts I've mentioned that we will update headlines to meet AP Style, but on occasion we also need to actually re-word a title because a story has changed and no new story has been published to reflect the change, the title is just plain wrong, or the title leaves out key information about the discussion/story submitted. In these cases we always reach out to the original poster and notify them of the change via comment on the item (so everyone else can see) or via private message.
Q: "I thought featured stories were for news, why is [enter story type here] featured? I demand it be pulled!"
This is one question that will not go away, but I'll state again that "Current Stories" (on the Current.com homepage) is not strictly dedicated to news content. If it's news you want, then Current News is the place to be. Make it your homepage, and you'll never be the wiser to the varied mix of stories in "Current Stories." For those of you who don't mind the occasional crunch berry in your Capt. Crunch, you'll find that we feature a variety of stories ranging from recent episodes or sneak peeks of Current TV content alongside any story that meets our featuring criteria on Current regardless of type or group.
Q: "So, with all of these online producers blogging and producing video, does that mean Current is less about community contributions now?"
No, not at all. Our online producers are here to provide a bit of direction in some ways, while making sure that areas like News are not overrun with Britney Spears-style news. In addition, some of our more tradition aspects of community contribution will be making their way into each channel as time goes on. For example, The Rotten Tomatoes Show is closely aligned with Movies, and the show is largely comprised of community webcam reviews of the prior week's releases. If you want to participate and potentially get on TV, well then Current Movies is the place to hang out. John is also brewing up a Current Movies-specific plan involving written movie reviews, so keep an eye out for that as well. Shana just posted about Common's video pick from the "Make Common's Day" call out on the Current Music blog. This was sort of like a hybrid between a VCAM and a VC2 piece, where producers created a video for Common using greenscreen footage he shot while visiting the Current offices in LA. Andrew is prepping to embark on a deep Current News investigation that will include REQUIRE the participation of news-minded community members both on and off Current.com in order to be successful. He's finalizing the topic for the investigation, and a look at some of his recent blog posts will clue you into the direction that's taking shape. When this is fully underway, he'll lay out the details on the Current News blog. Lastly, when these folks blog they are pulling from both community contributions on Current AND content from our TV network. Think of these blog posts as our online playground where you're guys' content gets married to Current TV content -- all contextualized under trends going on in our world. And most importantly, Current community members are the key to making it all happen.
So, there it is in a nutshell. I hope this helps explain some of the question you, and others, may have about the site. We're going to be doing a lot of growing over the next few months, and we want you along for the ride. As always, shoot feedback and recommendations our way via comments here or posts on Get Satisfaction. Thanks for reading and contributing. Earlier today one of our community members raised a question that immediately... more-
- mario_a
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around the blogs: the united nations are embedded in crude iphone festivals and dictators
News
Over on the Current News blog, Andrew took a look at setback for MILF rebels in the Philippines. Also, Obama's UN address raises a question about whether or not it added up to anything substantial. Lastly, Manuel Zelaya returns to Honduras after being ousted, only to remain behind the gates of the Brazilian embassy. Tegucigalpa is rioting, check out his posts for raw video.
Vanguard: The Art of War
>> Leader of Philippines rebel movement captured – Setback for MILF rebels
>> What should America’s intl priorities be? – Did Obama’s address change anything?
>> Manuel Zelaya’s triumphant(?) return to Honduras
Music
Hey, did you hear the news? We're launching a brand new show on Current TV!! It's called Embedded, and man...we're all super stoked about it.
Mos Def is coming to Current TV October 14th
Shana has the scoop over on the Current Music blog, along with some other awesome f'ing Amanda Palmer, Neutral Milk Hotel, and High School Musical news (wha?? -- ed. note: just read the post) from Peter Grumbine.
>> Mos Def is coming to Current TV October 14th
>> Amanda F’ing Palmer, Neutral F’ing Milk Hotel, and a high school f’ing musical
Movies
John's been playing hooky entrenched in all things related to the New York Film Festival, so here's what he has for this week's round-up on the Current Movies blog:
>> New York Film Festival By The Numbers: 9/17 to 9/23
>> We’re Watching: Afterschool trailer
>> Wednesday’s Important News: Sweet Diablo’s Valley High…Lander Remake, and the Nic Cage as Superman picture
Tech
I seriously laughed myself to tears when I saw Sarah's recent "olive branch in the form of a tweet" to Justine Bateman. Here's an article to catch you up on the drama, and if you feel like lending a helping hand post a tweet with #helpmallory in it.
Twitter tools. Also, my hatred of babies.
Here are Sarah's recent Current Tech blog offerings:
>> Power Twitter in Twitter tools. Also, my hatred of babies.
>> iPhone I love you but you’re bringing me down.
Green
Leah's been cranking away with posts, and a few from Current Green blog guest bloggers as well. Take a look at a few of her latest, and check out her recent Activist 911, an interview with Amazon Watch activist Han Shan. They discuss the new film CRUDE in "Death zone in Ecuador":
Activist 911: Death Zone in Ecuador
>> Guest Blog Post: Land mark case: environmental orgs can sue electric utility companies
>> Powershift announces new schedule regional summits
>> Activist 911: Death zone in Ecuador
Comedy
Over on the Current Comedy blog Josh makes an interesting comparison between Muammar al-Gaddaffi and accidental comedy -- because nothing is funnier than a dictator who unintentionally takes to stand-up. Also up for perusal is the latest Current Virals rundown, and rather serious flooding in the southeast US conjures up rather flippant memories of TV's Step-by-Step.
>> Gaddafi is a dictator, a very entertaining dictator
>> Current Virals 9/22
>> Six Flags underwater
News Over on the Current News blog, Andrew took a look at setback for MILF rebels in... more-
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around the blogs: insurgents blowing themselves up, new york film festival, punk rock docs, flickr's app, copenhagen, and patrick swayze
Current News
Holy cow. If you haven't been reading Andrew Fitzgerald's latest posts over on the Current News blog, you've been missing out. Don't panic, we'll get you caught up.
First up is a post that includes raw footage of Afghan insurgents being blown up by their own IED. The footage is shot from overhead from the perspective of airborne Apache helicopters, and well...
Here's a snippet:
US military personnel watch as Afghan insurgents set up a deadly IED and then accidentally trigger it themselves. I think this video is pretty rare: I imagine not many insurgents are caught on camera setting up their IEDs.
Check out the full video on the Current News blog and see for yourself.
To top things off, Andrew hit the ground running today with two new posts: The first regards Muntazer al-Zaidi, the Iraqi reporter made famous for throwing his shoes at President George W. Bush, and the implications of his reception post-release. Next up Andrew revisits the Kibera slums, which are now beginning to be dismantled in Kenya. Several years ago, Vanguard's Christof Putzel produced a peice on the Kibera slums, take a look:
Vanguard's Christof Putzel takes a look at the Kibera slum
In his post Andrew brings us updates on the present state of things in the Kibera slums outside of Nairobi. Take a look.
Current Movies
As is the style of John Lichman's Current Movies blog dispatches, here is a listicle of important posts you may have missed out on:
The New York Film Festival is starting up, and Current Movies is all over it. I suspect covering the fest may have been an elaborate ploy on Lichman's part, who may be secretly missing NYC. However, he's promised that we'll be premiering trailers, interviews, and magical unicorns over on Current Movies and our New York Film Festival group. Keep an eye out for more, I'm holding him to it.
John caught Stingray Sam at CineVegas this year, and he hasn't stopped talking about it. Good news for you, both his review and film's episodes are available via the tubes. Take a peek.
Toronto A to F, Weinstein's Super Serious Bet, and Harry Potter's Park. All part of Wednesday's Important News.
Speaking of festivals, are there too many out there? Read and decide for yourself?
Current Music
Over on the Current Music blog, Shana Naomi Krochmal unleashes word of two new punk rock docs. Check out the details, and peruse a list of classic punk rock doc faves culled from the Current Music community!
From the "Get this now" files, Peter Grumbine has not 1, but 2 offerings this week:
Os Mutantes' "Haih or Amortecedor" is their first album in 35 years. Here's some of what Peter had to say:
If you don’t know Mutantes, it would be easy to say something like they’re the Brazilian Beatles or the Brazilian version of the guys from Buena Vista Social Club, but they’re not; they’re Os Mutantes.
The Mutantes were a big part of the Tropicalia movement in Brazil during the ’60s. Imagine what you know about the psychedelic ’60s in America and the UK, and then combine that with Carnival, and you can basically suss up the sound of that movement. Put simply, it’s fucking wild.
Read more here.
As a "Get this too" add-on, Peter recommends Rodrigo y Gabriela. Here's what he had to say:
In case you don’t know the story, years ago, Rodrigo y Gabriela were in some badass metal bands in Mexico, but they grew tired of the limited scene and potential there. A lady from Mexico who had moved to Ireland was back in Mexico and ran into them. After talking about their situation, she invited them to come stay with her in Ireland, a country where artists were treated better. Ah fate, at last!
Read more here.
Current Tech
Ever since Sarah Lane took Final Cut Pro classes, she's been cutting together some awesome tech videos and posting them on the Current Tech blog. Here's a taste of flickr's new iPhone app, plus a list of some of the others she's cooked up:
Flickr's iPhone App... Finally!
Mag.ma - All the videos you love, plus the ones you don't
ColorSuckr for Photo Enthusiasts/Amateur Designers
Who here likes Helvetica? *Raises hand*
Current Green
Over on the Current Green blog, Leah Lamb tackled the green contraception debate (who knew?) while fantasizing about getting a greener car. Here's a snippet of what she learned:
I recently learned while checking out an article reporting on the Frankfurt Auto Show: I should start using condoms to lower my carbon footprint. The facts are coming out, if you want a car that has a small carbon footprint (we’ll skip over the argument that you wouldn’t have a car) than you should have a small car. A very small car. The kind of car that would make you get out of it if you wanted to…discuss… the birds and the bees. The kind of car that doesn’t need to carry a large family.
Who knew, right? Give the full post a look to learn more.
Guest poster Joshua Wiese, the coordinator for the Adopt a Negotiator project kicked off our first post for 360 Degrees of Copenhagen -- a series of blog posts leading up to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (aka COP15) in Copenhagen on December 7th, 2009. Give it a read.
Current Comedy
Funny man Josh Heller is in a "tribute" mood this week, and he has three Current Comedy blog posts to place on the alter of the Internet gods (that means you, dear readers):
First up, a Current Virals rundown dedicated to the memory of Patrick Swayze. No one puts Heller in the corner.
Next up, a very special Current Comedy blog post about the most famous meme to ever surface from Mexico in dedication of Mexican Independence Day.
Last, but not least, a special taste of what is to come on infoMania this week. Here's a hint: it involves Sarah Haskins and backpacks. Think you know the answer? Better click to make sure.
Current News Holy cow. If you haven't been reading Andrew Fitzgerald's... more-
- mario_a
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Current@Sundance: Cyrus
Cyrus is an incredibly interesting exercise in assimilation of the studio system by a group of filmmakers who were so far under the radar five years ago that the progress is mind-boggling. Of course, if you're like the majority of "regular" people who don't eat, sleep and breathe festival wonkery, you may find Cyrus in a different kind of funny.
John (C. Reilly) is divorced and feeling incredibly sorry for himself, so his ex-wife Jamie (Catherine Keener ) is trying to get him off his ass and back into the real world. After being dragged into a party, shot full of Red Bull and Vodka and gloriously striking out twice, he meets Molly (Marisa Tomei) while pissing in the bushes. At his drunkest, he is the most honest, wanting a relationship and to just not be alone. She relates and one drunken karaoke-with-a-beer-bottle later and the birds are in love. Of course, what comes next is the discovery that his new love interest has a 22-year old son named Cyrus.
A decade ago, this would be the kind of generic comedy that would feature Ice Cube as he tries to win over the rugrats before they came to accept each other. Mark and Jay Duplass took this same concept that normally gets dumped by studios in order to shove idiots into seats and created something intelligent. It doesn't mean that they've completely ironed on the kinks, as Jonah Hill takes sociopathic to a new level as Cyrus. He's like Eddie Haskell after developing an Oedipus complex and affinity for techno.
But the "new parent" system lingers: Molly is a caring and almost satirical take on a lefty-mother who sleeps with the door open so Cyrus can check on her, yet doesn't see anything wrong with it. In fact, both mother and son seem to be the Duplass Brothers' way of paying homage to this traditionally unfunny concept by having John act outside of their sphere.
Cyrus may be one of the best inside jokes at Sundance. It's both funny and making fun of the system that it's about to come crashing into, leaving most of us shaking our heads and giggling. The only problem is most people outside of Park City don't think Jonah Hill is funny unless he's having fat jokes cracked on him or unless Reilly is doing his Tim and Eric impersonation. Cyrus is an incredibly interesting exercise in assimilation of the studio system... more-
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Best of 2009: #10-5
There's a few days until the decade ends, a new year begins and we have to wait 11 grueling months until we start producing "Best of" lists once again. In the mean time, it's been a mildly interesting year for me and I'd like to share some of those things with you. So let's take a gander at my favorite films of the year (if you can't wait and don't care, my full list is here.)
10) Fantastic Mr. Fox
Wes Anderson's further progression into defining his visual flair throughout mediums is one thing. But taking that and shrugging off the all-encompassing title that follows a "Wes Anderson film" is another Herculean feat. His adaptation of Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr. Fox did the impossible: it reminded jaded critics and even a jaded audience that beneath the suits and Bill Murray cameos, Anderson is a talent. It's fine if you don't believe that, but I know the world's foremost Anderson hater. And he liked this. He liked it so much he wrote to me and said he liked it. You don't understand that this is a huge deal.
9) Tetro
You should call it a comeback when it relates to Francis Ford Coppola's return to the director's chair. Youth Without Youth brought about a quaint story mired in science fiction, but it is Tetro that accomplishes the year's most striking usage of black and white in a feature. Focusing on the titular character (Vincent Gallo) as he attempts to spend his days in South America without the ghost of his family haunting him, Coppola unfolds a story that deals with the pressure of having talent.
In no way does the film brag about that fact, instead "talent" is a burden that can injure and--literally--be responsible for the murder of the one you love, if you squander it. This is a perfect reflection of Coppola's views on the world and even in film, whereas real life is all blacks and grays, it is the past that has the most attention to color and detail. At times a little heavy handed, Tetro evokes proof in the phrase "magic of filmmaking."
8) Police, Adjective
Reviewed here.
7) Beeswax
To pull an Armond for a moment: if Fox redeemed Wes Anderson to the masses, then Beeswax redeemed Andrew Bujalski to me, while pissing off a majority of his supporters. Taking that information as you will, this film firmly removes Bujalski from the catch-all term that he helped inspire and elevates his work.
Maybe it's because I'm older, or maybe it's due to my own personal neurosis, but the "slice of life" intents that he takes with the two sisters (Tilly and Maggie Hatcher) grows on you. Of course, it's about people talking. To say that as if it's an insult or a critical insight just means you're a fucktard.
6) Bronson
Reviewed here and here.
5) A Room and a Half
Honestly, the most surprising film I got out of 2009. It floored me first at the New York Film Festival and then again at AFI. An imagined biopic of the poet Joseph Brodsky (Grigoriy Dityatkovskiy), noted animator Andrey Khrzhanovskiy directed and co-wrote this, his first live-action film, that fuses truly majestic musical sequences to the life of a bored Russian poet cat who writes to those he once loved.
Joined with The Wild Grass, the overtones of turning feline make one yearn for the day that they too can eat the cat crunchies after reincarnation. Room takes the fictional biopic film and allows the inspiration of Brodsky, haunting the screen with recordings of his poetry and personal opinion, to float down into the audience. There's a few days until the decade ends, a new year begins and we have to wait... more-
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Alas, Bob Keane. Joey Pants Played You So Well
Bob Keane is dead. But as Shana tweeted, the legendary producer responsible for making kids swing those poodle skirts to La~La Bamba was best known for being played by Joey Pantolimo.
Joey Pants, as those who bother not to Google how to spell his name call him, is perfect hammering home the intricacies of being a jerk. It takes true grit to portray a slimey music producer, but Pants manages to knock the socks off of every role he slips on.
But you know what the best part is?
Spanish subtitles.
[YouTube] Bob Keane is dead. But as Shana tweeted, the legendary producer responsible for... more-
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New York Film Festival "Pod"cast: Episode 1, "The All-Grass podcast"
Hello, New York!
As Lars Von Trier said today during his press conference for Antichrist, if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere!
So to prove the point, I got my old band back together and taken up residence at Grassroots Tavern in the East Village. Our podcast was notable for one reason: we are avid lovers of cinema Brooklyn Lager.
And cinema the $1 popcorn.
Beyond that, I enjoy getting people together to discuss film and especially with what's playing at the festival. So for our welcome back, I'm joined by Glenn Kenny (Some Came Running), Keith Uhlich (The House Next Door, Time Out New York) and my intrepid co-host Vadim Rizov (IFC's Indie Eye) to discuss grass!
Namely, the sheep doc Sweetgrass and Alain Resnais' The Wild Grass. So listen above to Part One and Part Two you'll find below.
But we'll be coming back throughout the week with other takes on films at the festival and--if you happen to find yourselves at Grassroots, come say hello!
(Mp3 download of the podcast is coming. Till then, email me at jlichman AT current dot com if you can't wait.)
Sweetgrass plays at NYFF 2009 on 9/26 at 2 pm. The Wild Grass is the Opening Night Film for NYFF and screens 9/25 at 8 pm.
-John Lichman Hello, New York! As Lars Von Trier said today during his press conference for... more-
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Current_Movies at New York Film Festival 2009!
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="I think this is funny on a number of levels. "][/caption]
Right now, I'm somewhere hovering over Wisconsin en route to Manhattan for the 47th Annual New York Film Festival. While everyone else is at the Toronto International Film Festival, I figured it be a decent idea to get a head-start on my former home for a few years. So what's going on? Is NYFF like Toronto or Fantastic Fest?
Well, yes and no.
Join me on a brief history of the NYFF, since I once was goaded into giving a loaded quote for a feature last year. Currently curated by some of New York's most esteemed critics and writers--not to mention Village Voicers--like J. Hoberman, Melissa Anderson, Dennis Lim and Scott Foundas (LA Weekly, but who cares when you're all under one LLC?)
Richard Peña, program director for the festival, has said that this year the festival is "less Cannes dependent than other years." While Antichrist and White Ribbon, which won the Palme d'Or, are a part of this year's line up, so is the the 13th annual Views from the Avant-Garde and directors' dialogs.
The full list of films can be found here. But, no Jennifer's Body or Coen Brothers, right? So why are we even bothering to cover it?
NYFF remains one of the more selective and, dare I say, "art fuck" of the major U.S. festivals. It is a tightly curated and films are selected for more artistic and cinematica merit than having a semi-nude Megan Fox. Though I could still see that on Friday if I wanted to. But the "why" of who comes to NYFF is different as well, since it's nicely sandwiched between Toronto, Venice and Fantastic Fest.
So, we're going to prove a point.
And to provide some coverage.
But most importantly, we're in New York to shed some light on the cinematic experiences I've missed--like the Anthology Film Archives and a special screening of The Exiles or giving out free Rotten Tomatoes Show t-shirts to people that find me. Check back and check out our group on Current, where I'll be throwing all my photos, video and reviews from the fest.
Good thing too--cause I'm almost over Pennsylvania. Later!
-John Lichman
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500"... more-
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TL;DR: Variety's Indie Guide
There are a few things that film nerds can retain the right to be happy about during the year: Film Festivals, Top 10 Season (happening in a short two months) and when Variety decides to dust off the old dictionary, look up what "indie" means and demand its' freelancers turn in a gigantic missive about what it all means.
The Global Independents 2009 is such an all-encompassing treatsie. It goes through every "indie" studio and ranks their hits, misses and what everything is riding on for the rest of '09.
Just like anything Variety publishes, there is a ton of conflicting viewpoints: Indie Films are a silver lining for Hollywood distribution and making money, but Major Studios think Indie Off-Shoots Are BAD. Need an example? Think back to Paramount Vantage, which released There Will Be Blood along with more forgettable recent fare like The Goods: Live Hard. Sell Hard. and The Marc Pease Experience.
They're also dead now.
So what's the selling point of "indie?" It's the Internet.
No, really--VOD,DVD and all sorts of technological feats as a means of distribution beat out theaters, since Art House Theaters are shutting down and Theater Chains are combining together to form horrendous cinematic chimeras. So let's take a rundown of these "indie studios" that aren't Fox, Universal, Paramount, Disney or Warner Brothers. You'll probably be a bit surprised by what falls under the term. Now then, TL;DR!
Summit
What It Released: Knowing, Bandslam and...something called Twilight.
Who They Are: Essentially, this "mini-major" studio rose to greatness once it latched onto the Twilight franchise like a hungry fangbanger. Then came Knowing and The Hurt Locker. It seems like they're slowly rising up to be a contender, but...
Where They're Going: ...everything they're focusing on now seems to be Sparkly Vampire Centric, such as how they fumbled the marketing of Bandslam as "the movie with a 30-second New Moon trailer." Their upcoming release of Astro Boy could be interesting, but given how many liberties the film has taken with the source material to go from "dark Atomic Age story" to "kid-friendly" remains to be seen. Oh yeah--and New Moon comes out in November.
--
Focus Features
What It Released: Coraline, 9, Burn After Reading
Who They Are: Universal's younger, hipper brother who happens to not be as mainstream as his older brother, but this dude would also consider whatever's on MTV2 to be the hippest thing he ever heard.
Where They're Going: A Serious Man marks another Coen Brothers film. So, we're interested.
--
Fox Searchlight
What It Released: Slumdog Millionaire, Juno, Napolean Dynamite. REMEMBER THOSE ONLY! PLEASE.
Who They Are: Akin to Universal's hip brother, Searchlight is just that: nit-picky, fickle and desperate to show off how cool it is. It attaches itself to anything in hopes for a hit (see: Notorious, Secret Life of Bees, Choke) and can't understand why the success of Juno and Slumdog Millionaire won't show back up.
Where They're Going: Amelia, Whip It, Gentlemen Broncos. Cough.
--
Miramax
What They Released: Kill Bill, Every Tarantino and Kevin Smith Film, No Country for Old Men
Who They Are: The House That Weinstein Built and now under the reins from The House of Mouse. Miramax sort of just...is.
Where They're Going: One rumor Variety had was layoffs are coming. Otherwise, there's the limited CliveOwen drama The Boys Are Back and...something with De Niro? Eh.
--
Paramount Vantage
What They Released: There Will Be Blood and other leftovers from Paramount.
Who They Are: 2008: Paramount's attempt at getting critical hits. 2009: Their toilet paper.
Where They're Going: R.I.P. It was dissolved.
--
Samuel Goldwyn
What They Released: Fireproof (“2008’s Highest Grossing Indie Release”), Blood: The Last Vampire, Cold Souls
Who They Are: Meh.
Where They’re Going: Eh.
--
MGM
What They Released: Valkyrie
Who They Are: The Tom Cruise Studio.
Where They’re Going: Their remake of Fame is their only Fall release right now and they’re partnered with Warner Brothers for whenever The Hobbit gets it’s ass in gear.
--
Sony Classics
What They Released: Rachel Getting Married, Whatever Works, Moon
Who They Are: Specializing in “foreign films” and art-house far, SPC always has a home for the Almodovars of the world.
Where They’re Going: Coco Before Chanel, The Damned United, The White Ribbon…nothing surprising, mostly foreign and a Cannes ‘09 Palme d’Or winner. It’s fine.
--
Roadside Attractions
What They Released: Battle for Terra, The Cove, The September Issue, Goodbye Solo
Who They Are: Semi-Sorta partners with Lionsgate, they specialize in eeking out small deals and getting free reign with their distribution and product. Problem is, outside of hardcore NYC/LA cinephiles, have you heard of Goodbye Solo? Probably not. (And that’s a shame!)
Where They’re Going: Chris Rock’s Good Hair doc will do something for them. Otherwise, they’ll continue to profit and you’ll see them pop up every so often.
--
IFC Films
What They Released: Che, Gommorah
Who They Are: The distrib. arm of the Independent Film Channel. They pioneer on-demand video releasing, generally doing same-day as it hits theaters—or, the theater in the East Village. Perfectly awesome and they get it right.
Where They’re Going: Antichrist, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men and that’s ok for me.
--
Overture
What They Released: Righteous Kill, Last Chance Harvey, Sunshine Cleaners
Who They Are: Studio with a lot of passable flicks that needs a hit.
Where They’re Going: Law Abiding Citizen, Capitalism: A Love Story, Pandorum, The Men Who Stare At Goats: I mean, you throw enough rocks, you’re bound to hit something.
--
Lionsgate
What They Released: All Tyler Perry’s Films, the entire Saw franchise.
Who They Are: The quintessential “mini-major” studio that sits pretty and laughs at other people. Also, the home of Tyler Perry and Saw.
Where They’re Going: The fucking BANK.
--
Freestyle Releasing
What They Released: The Collector, The Haunting of Molly Hartley
Who They Are: It’s a gun for hire. Mainly if you come to them, they will distribute the film as best they can.
Where They’re Going: I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell. Keyword: HELL. Also, Motherhood. Huh.
--
Magnolia
What They Released: Two Lovers, Let The Right One In, Food Inc.
Who They Are: The Marc Cuban Film Company with a stake in the Landmark chain of movie theaters. They nab up a lot of stuff that the Weinsteins/Miramax threw away and have been doing well for themselves ever since. They also operate Magnet, a genre release arm that also does the bees knees.
Where They’re Going: Bronson, The House of the Devil, Ong Bak 2. The genre safe route.
--
The Weinstein Company
What They Released: Inglourious Basterds, The Reader, The Road
Who They Are: The Motherfucking Bob and Harvey Weinstein. They founded and ran Miramax, they left to run this, they’re BFF with Tarantino and until last month they were looking at the curb. Now with Basterds they’re back and ready to throw…something at us. They are notorious for buying and acquiring films, then letting them sit on the shelves until they’re ready to cash in. Not to mention notorious at delays—right, The Road?
Where They’re Going: No side.
-John Lichman There are a few things that film nerds can retain the right to be happy about... more-
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Thursday's Important News: Variety On Indie Distributors, Rehashing Latino Review and Re-Running The Road
Oh man, it's Thursday so there's a(n) brand new episode of The Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current at 10:30 pm tonight! Which will probably be like last week's episode, we bet. But moving on!
-INDIE FILMS WILL SAVE HOLLYWOOD THANKS TO MAKING MONEY. [Variety]
-Warner Brothers drops He-Man. And Latino Review provides the backstory...from October 2008. [Variety]
-The Road will open wide on 11/25. Which is funny, since Variety ran this same story on Monday. [Variety]
-Koji Wakamatsu will adapt Edogawa Rampo's Catepillar for the screen. This marks the second time for the short. [JFilmPowWow]
-A Plan 9 remake that's as well-intentioned and unintentionally camp as the first? I dunno... [ToplessRobot]
-INDIE FILMS ARE DOING HORRIBLE AND ARE A BANE ON HOLLYWOOD [Variety. No, seriously.]
-Phillip Seymour Hoffman returns his cameo from Almost Famous for an entire movie. Trailer above. Trailer auto-plays and can't stop itself. Amazing Photoshop Instead. [Current]
-John Lichman Oh man, it's Thursday so there's a(n) brand new episode of The Rotten... more-
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Great Moments in Viral Advertising: Fight Smack in the Orphanage!
Ok, ok. I get it.
Originally a friend of mine IM'ed me late on Monday night with a sole phrase: "Fight Smack In The Orphanage" and signed off.
Two days later, I get it.
Oh and don't forget--Black Dynamite comes out soon.
[FiSTO!]
[Twitchfilm]
edit: I used the Twitch embed because FSITO!'s wasn't playing for some reason. Oh, Wordpress.
-John Lichman Ok, ok. I get it. Originally a friend of mine IM'ed me late on Monday... more-
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We're Watching: "An Insane" Trash Humpers Clip
It is no where a bad thing to say that Harmony Korine's Trash Humpers came out of no where. It was announced quietly for the Toronto Film Festival and New York Film Festival. According to TIFF's site, the film "is no exception: creepy masks, low-grade torture, frequent public urination, senseless vandalism and the title, acted out on defenseless garbage cans, all have a confrontational panache about them to be sure. But the film is also full of poetry, dance, song and moments of aching poignancy."
NYFF has: "This episodic tale of a band of cretins who go around brutalizing dolls, molesting plant life and – yes – rubbing up against garbage cans is outrageous, scary, hilarious, distinctly American and oddly touching—as well as Harmony Korine’s purest film yet."
And now, a brief clip above makes me overly excited for this wonderful piece.
[The Lost Boy-indieWIRE, h/t: The Auteurs Daily]
-John Lichman It is no where a bad thing to say that Harmony Korine's Trash Humpers came... more-
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Wednesday's Important News: Nic Cage Blows Hornet , Up in the Teaser Trailer and OMG POSTERS FOR MOVIES
Up in the Air Teaser Trailer from JoBlo.
Can this truly be humpday if it is a 4-day week? Oh, the questions we pose to our intern while she's ripping videos. But there is a bit of news, a teaser trailer and even TWO POSTERS--one of which is lame, the other a gigantic hilarious spoiler. Let's go!
-Nicholas Cage leaves The Green Hornet because clearly he's a serious actor. And his soul is still dancing. [Heat Vision]
-The teaser for Up in the Air is perfectly fine and the best thing you'll watch today. So, there. [/film]
-At The Movies is a good show and you should watch it, even if you don't think it is ADORBS or if you're THE YOUNG. [Indie Eye]
-Hey, there's a poster for a documentary about Michael Jackson we've never seen before! [Collider]
-Huh. John Hillcoat may be adapting The Death of Bunny Munro. Huh. [Cinematical]
-SPEAKING OF ANTICHRIST POSTERS. [The Playlist]
-Kennedy Center Honors will include Robert De Niro and Mel Brooks this year. [NYT]
-John Lichman Up in the Air Teaser Trailer from JoBlo. Can this truly be humpday if it is a... more -
Tuesday Twitterings: #District9
Maybe it was the promise of more robots and more spaceships, but District 9 is finally getting released around the rest of the world. And, you know, sometimes people can be late to seeing a movie. For whatever reason there is, #District9 was a trending topic on and off today. By the time I was rewriting this, it had moved back into the off phase. Still, what did you have to say Twitter?
will never look at a prawn the same way again
-sarahvdv
Klasse Idee, toller Film - bis jetzt der beste dieses Jahr! kanns nur empfehlen
-JewVingurt
tá direto nos trending topics... será que presta mesmo?
-massotoyouko
PRAWNED! http://imgur.com/SHzxm.jpg
-kiph
第九区, 电影确实强,一个高度, 无论从视觉,特效,人文,都很有深度, 必看
-ligong
reviewed in three words: Apartheid with extraterrestrials.
-CobaltInfinity
-John Lichman Maybe it was the promise of more robots and more spaceships, but District 9 is... more-
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Tuesday's Important News: Rambo vs. (an unnatural) Predator, Hollywood Can't Quit Remakes and 3D etc.
Tuesday. Back at work. No hangover. Swear to god. Ugh.
Rambo 5 will involve Slyvester Stallone battling a sci-fi monster. Sure, beats Mexicans...or maybe it IS a Mexican! [Current]
3D Movies continue to print money. [Current]
Why does Hollywood love remaking old material for film and TV? [Current]
Megan Fox does promotional interviews for Jennifer's Body, reminds us she is also in Jonah Hex. And it's a cameo. [MTV Splash Page]
Vote on the Avatar trailer. Win...an Internet or something. [BigHollywood]
The guy who remade My Bloody Valentine 3D would likely helm Halloween 3D. Oh, Harvey. [Variety]
The Akira movie isn't dead! Sorta-almost-kinda! [Current]
-John Lichman Tuesday. Back at work. No hangover. Swear to god. Ugh. Rambo 5 will involve... more-
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We're Watching: OMG IT'S LABOR DAY GOODBYE FOREVER
[collegehumor 1919638]
SPOILER: IT IS A 3-DAY WEEKEND AND WE ARE DARK NEXT WEEK SO THERE WILL BE NO ROTTEN TOMATOES SHOW, BUT I'LL BE HERE AND OMG SPOILERZ.
(no, really. have a good weekend. see you tuesday.)
[CollegeHumor]
-John Lichman[collegehumor 1919638] SPOILER: IT IS A 3-DAY WEEKEND AND WE ARE DARK NEXT WEEK SO... more-
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3WR: Gamer, Extract, All About Steve and Carriers
It sure has been a long time since we've even uttered the phrase "three word review" around the office. But looking over these four releases this Labor Day weekend, it seems like the perfect time to air out some old favorites and let you crazy Internet people have a whack at them.
In case you forgot, the premise for 3WR is simple:
See a movie that came out this weekend.
Think of three words.
Write those three words in the comments.
?????
Profit!
It is that awesome in its' simplicity.
Anyway, leave 'em in the comments if you see 'em or can think about one. Nothing too formal about this. Just keep it in mind while you're celebrating Labor Day with the ones you love--in a dark, air conditioned room with surround sound.
-John Lichman It sure has been a long time since we've even uttered the phrase "three... more-
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It's Thursday, Go Home: Cut/Slide
We're close to a new Rotten Tomatoes episode tonight where Ellen will debut a brand new song, we'll have an Inglourious haiku and then review some films. But first, here's a nifty little thing we found a few days late: the art of the cut/slide.
Now then, go home and get psyched for Friday.
[TBT]
-John Lichman We're close to a new Rotten Tomatoes episode tonight where Ellen will debut a... more-
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