ARTHOUSE FILM NEWS - Cosmic Disco Detective Rene at Facets, Chicago 11/29/23

Hmmm, how did this happen? How is a filmmaker/blogger who writes mostly about no-budget, no star movies & self-distribution getting invited to attend a special screening of a THINKFilm distributed movie starring Nick Nolte? I guess it is part of the magic of bloggin'. Anyway, Off The Black sounds very interesting, and I am looking forward to seeing it & talking with the pic's director James Ponsoldt afterwards (he's supposed to be there tomorrow for a Q & A session). Ponsoldt is young & so far he sounds like a very cool dude (we've exchanged a couple of e-mails, and I read up on him on the web). Will have a review & notes on the whole going-to-see-a-movie-at-10 -AMish-on-Sunday-at-a-special-screening experience. Off The Black opens in LA & NYC on Fri 12/8. Here's my previous post about the movie, with links . Maybe they'll have free coffee there. If not, there is a cafe near the theater, I think. Anyway, I am going to bed early tonight.

Intel, ClickStar & THINKFilm, along with Landmark Theaters, are getting this small film (a small film with a big star & a director & a decent budget by indiewood standards, but looks like a primarily one location, whole-story-in-one-day film; which are low budget indie staples) out to theaters & on to broadband download & DVD (DVD 2 weeks after theatrical). It's day & date release version 2.0 people (or, this is no Bubble, content wise). Also, due to stars Freeman & Paz Vega, this film could appeal slightly more to minority audiences; slightly more than most of the US indies or indiewood projects that do not have minority actors in lead roles (this is one of my on-going concerns, lack of ethnic diversity in US indie film, which also means less dollars for indie film related businesses 'cause the movies are not appealing to many of the segments of the US & world population - exactly the groups that could be served well from indie films). Check ou

Hey indie & DIY filmmakers, Indie-Pictures sounds interesting; a filmmaker founded distribution company with the ability to get DVDs into stores nationwide (through Ryko's distribution network, which I believe is now owned by Warner). Also, the company says their approach to indie film distribution is based on releasing the DVD first, building up a fan base for the title, and then taking a look at theatrical. They also share sales $s from DVDs with the filmmakers very fairly (50/50 usually, as far as I know). Go visit their site here , and e-mail them with your questions to find out more about possibly working with them on getting your film or DVD out.

Lally With Fugazi in 2001: From left, Brendan Canty, Guy Picciotto, Ian MacKaye(Photograph by Shawn Scallen) The City Paper cover story this week, and it is a very long article, is about the post- Fugazi life of Joe Lally. Fugazi are DIY rock giants, one of the best things to come out of Washington, DC. Check it out here . Also, inside CP, there is a review of the new album by ex-Fugazi member Ian MacKaye's new band The Evens. I was driving around DC tonight listning to In On The Kill Taker (one of the best albums of all time). Fugazi is on a very long break (& is perhaps finished, who knows), but Fugazi lives on CD & in memory. - Sujewa

Indie film publicity consultant Reid Rosefelt recalls working with Werner Herzog in this new post . I love reading specialty film history recollections - specially ones such as Rosefelt's that looks beyond just the biz facts & figures.

For all you NYC indie film fans who have not seen Four Eyed Monsters, this is you chance. After about 2 years of promoting & doing some screenings & podcasts, Arin & Susan are showing their movie at a week long run at Cinema Village . Here's the movie's website , it's got all kinds of neat stuff & info. Go join in on the excellent real indie festivities. - Sujewa

Fin-n-nally getting caught up on things; just uploaded my first real YouTube clip - a less than 2 minutes long segment from Date Number One 's Story 3: Start Over (it may be labeled wrong on the clip). In the clip a guy is trying to start all over with an ex-girlfriend. More & better quality YouTube clips are on the way, no doubt, as I figure out all the nifty details of making great web video files. In the meantime, here is the link to the clip , enjoy!

Just saw another recent Ed Burns movie - The Groomsmen. It is very good. Rent it or buy the DVD. A comedy-drama about getting married. It's late & I am sleepy, will write more about the flick tomorrow. TG is probably the best looking Burns film I've seen, and I've seen almost all of them. - Sujewa

Check out these Jonas Mekas DVDs available for purchase. Why not, right? If paintings can go for thousands of dollars I guess a DVD by certain filmmakers can go for a thousand dollars. Anyone who has bought one & wants to be interviewed about that experience on this blog, let me know. - Sujewa

Earlier this month I was worried about blogging too much & not making more movies. But I am no way ready to quit blogging & in '07 my main film project will be Date Number One distribution so I do not know how many new features I will be able to complete in '07; so, perhaps combining blogging & editing & shooting video & keeping a journal may be the way to go for me. So, I am going to try to post 365 video blog posts in '07. Each post will be a few seconds to 5 minutes long - they'll be everything from diary entry type posts to short films. Perhaps they will be posted on YouTube & also in this blog. I got the idea from Jonas Mekas - he will be posting 365 short films in '07. I've got a bunch of stuff to figure out - I have not posted a single video blog entry yet. But it should be fun. Making & releasing a feature takes a long time - short video blog posts will keep me involved with filmmaking on a daily basis - actual writing, shooti

It's got a Hollywood star (Nick Nolte) & is not a self-distributed D.I.Y. movie, but still low budget perhaps, but most importantly, it looks like a good movie (regardless of where it falls in the indie index) - at least the trailer does. Check out the trailer here , will have more info. on this movie soon. Here is the MySpace page for the movie, with all the release info. And of course the blog . I believe it is being written by the director. Also, Off the Black was selected for Sundance 06 & it is a debut feature (as far as I know, again, will have more soon). - Sujewa

Read an interesting Time magazine story (thanks to ex-housemate Allison's subscription :) while doing some late night eatin' & writin' at IHOP Wheaton (seems well lit cheap diner/old timey eatery like places i can relax & write it, i can't imagine writing at a Starbucks or even at Tryst in Adams-Morgan); a story about an aging (42) indie rocker (from Mr. T Experience) writing a book with a teen protagonist at the urging of a fan in the publishing biz & then Will Ferrell & co. buying the rights to make the movie. The book is called King Dork, & the main character in it "rails against "the cult of Catcher in the Rye" ", so I read in Time, sounds interesting - here is the link. - Sujewa

Here's the link to an interview I did last year with filmmaker Amir Motlagh. It's about Date Number One & self-distribution. Not much has changed in how I do things from then to now, except perhaps for the film fest thing - at that point I was planning on submitting to fests & then later on I re-thought that approach, since relying on fests would get in the way of my DIY distro magic. Anyway, possibly a good read for DIY minded filmmakers; check it out here . - Sujewa

Read all about it here , with photos. Great blog entry Mike Tully. - Sujewa

What's the point of reading a blog if you can't comment on it? Well, I guess you can learn some interesting stuff - but one of the best/most interesting & sometimes very entertaining aspects of the blog world is the comments - for me (and I think for a lot of other people). The blog Cinecultist , however, feels differently. Cinecultist celebrates the fact that they don't allow comments and is picking on a director who dares to comment on a review published in indieWIRE. Check it out here . So, again, comments = good, no comments = not that good, bit dull. (I do however like the Edward Hopper image on the Cinecultist blog, another topic for another time; blog design). Also, by allowing comments the blog owner is creating room for a community of readers to form around the blog. Makes the blog more interesting. - Sujewa