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

People are digging (GreenCine Daily ) Eagle vs. Shark, as I hoped/had a hunch that they would. Now, if you like Eagle vs. Shark, you might also enjoy Date Number One , at least Story 1 of DNO where a ninja goes on a blind date: more colorful characters in costumes looking for love. DNO should be available on DVD in February, from here & other places. Also dozens of screenings of DNO coming this year, in various cities, details by late winter/March.

Get all the info here . Congrats Mike & the rest of the CA team! (another md new wave film shines in nyc :) :) :) - Sujewa

hmmm, the home made DVD cover (see the two posts below) is cute, but i think a more pro looking cover will serve the film better. be back in a couple of days with that cover.

well, this is not the best of photos (it's a scan actually) & this rough version of a DVD cover was made using some xeroxed images & put together using scotch tape, but this is one possibility for the Date Number One DVD box front. something like this may grace the outside of at least the first 100 DVDs, those will be more or less home made. or maybe this will just be a screener cover. either way, had fun making it tonight & it was easy to make. couple more things to finish up on the movie, so in early February (quite possibly later this week), i should be able to start selling the movie on DVD. i have a couple more ideas for the DVD box covers, including a totally Hollywood/indiewood release looking one, perhaps those will be up here soon.

the text on the back is the description of the film, some quotes, cast & crew list, copyright info., most of that can be found here . whatever design i end up going with, will post better images of it, this scan makes this cover look all watery/blurry or something. hey, maybe i should've scanned the cover outside of the plastic sleeve of the DVD box, hmmm , let's try that.

Next to my own movie (naturally) one of the best movies I saw last year was Aaron Katz's Dance Party, USA. It is simple, sometimes awkward, but ultimately very good. Read this interview I did with Katz in Nov. Even though it is about 3 months old, it still tastes pretty good.

The reviewer likes the kooky little movie from New Zealand. Read it here . Eagle vs. Shark is coming to screens this year from Miramax.

Rosefelt and Shelly were friends, and he directed her in a short film. Read Rosefelt's recollections and thoughts about Shelly and her work here .

Good pumped up & exciting sounds, great visuals - stills animated kind of look & feel, a story - not too clear - better because of it, need to watch it again to get the story fully, more exciting than most music videos I've seen because of its indie California vibe. Check it out here at YouTube . - Sujewa

Wrote the synopsis for a new film today, will be working on the script in the coming month while getting Date Number One out (DVDs for sale & '07 screenings set up). This new film idea is kind of similar to Pulp Fiction (noirish-comedy) and Repo Man (blending a subculture with an alien story), and I probably will not be able to shoot it for an ultra-low/"no" budget since it has some explosions, gun play, space ships & fighter jets in action, and a couple of elaborate sets - but who knows, maybe CGI & other technology is a lot more affordable now - will have to see. So I am thinking that this Untitled Noirish-Alien-Comedy of mine will cost over $100K to produce. I may need some indiewood or Hollywood (gasp!) help with this one. In case that film takes forever to make because the budget is bigger than what I've worked with thus far, I am also working on (has been for about two weeks now) a script for a comedy/romantic comedy about several young writers (i

A post from March of last year at Filmmaking For The Poor blog , still useful. A few ideas for indie filmmakers re: DIY (do-it-yourself) screenings/showing their own work to a paying audience. Check it out here .

If Jim Jarmusch is a great example of keeping things very indie for a long time, then Spike Lee (who released his first widely distributed feature She's Gotta Have It in '86, 2 years after Jarmusch's Stranger Than Paradise) is a great example of: keeping the indie voice (more or less i think), getting a lot of movies made, and being able to work comfortably in many filmmaking arenas (TV, Hollywood, etc.). Check out Lee's filmography at this New York Times web page.

It would take a little bit of time to introduce the conflict but maybe it would be better if you were to go here and scroll down to Kyle Smith's photo & read from there. Kevin Smith reacts to Kyle Smith's reaction to Kevin Smith's acting in Catch & Release. Of course, were it not for Kevin Smith's appearance in that movie (many critics are pleased with his performance, check out the quotes here ), I don't think I would ever mention Catch & Release in this blog :) But, since KS is in the movie, I may have to rent the DVD of C & S or something. The Kevin Smith vs. Kyle Smith conflict is funny, as it involves reactions to a "dude lit" (male version of "chic lit") book.

A big thanks to everyone who participated in the Jarmusch blog-a-thon. It was fun, & useful, filmmaking wise, to reflect on Jarmusch's career so far. Perhaps I'll do this again next year, next January, for Jarmusch's next birthday. Here's what else is going on over here this weekend: the latest Iraq war protest is happening in DC - very interesting, huge turnout I hear, hopefully something good will come out of it. I went to see an opera tonight in Rockville - long, interesting, like a movie but without cinematography, liked it (at least until the intermission, was kinda tired after that) - saw Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro (first performed in 1786!), performed by the Bulgarian State Opera (i thought they did an excellent job), i think this was my first time at an opera. Did some work on the Date Number One DVD & posters, DVD cover yesterday, more work on that coming this week & hopefully by the end of the week the DVD will be completed, and will

The Eyeball Kid blog says that several Jim Jarmusch short films are available for download from jonasmekas.com. Check out the post here .