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The Magic Bullet is the Customer: FAST FOOD NATION is Yummy :: Richard Linklater interview at David Lowery's blog

Saw Fast Food Nation last night. Yummy may be the wrong word to describe it, but the movie certainly was well done & let's say nutritious. The scenes of cows getting killed were very effective, I could not bring myself to eat meat today. FFN was exceptional for a couple of other reasons: in the story the bad guys are basically pawns of a system - a system that stays alive because of the consumer preference for meat, and the good guys are not very effective. Which makes me as the audience member ask myself: "well, what's the solution?". If the burger industry executives are too weak or basically unable to do the right thing (that being stopping or cutting back on making burgers, or at least making sure the entire burger making process is as painless as possible for everyone involved) I guess as a customer, it is up to me to help influence change by not consuming meat. That's right; cows get slaughtered & all manner of laws get violated in order to make a profit from satisfying the customer demand for meat. So, customers like myself changing our behavior will affect the whole thing. Another aspect of the movie that I liked was how human the whole proceeding was: everyone is given a chance to be likeable or at least be multi-dimensional: the illegal immigrants from Mexico, the burger industry exec, the meat supplier (played by Bruce Willis). Also, I liked the fact that one of the stories dealt with members of a minority group/illegal immigrants from Mexico. Not many indie or indie-related/smart movies reflect the existence & experiences of non-"whites" in the US, and even fewer deal with illegal Mexican immigrants as individuals. David Lowery's got an interview on his blog with FFN director Richard Linklater, check it out.

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Info, trailer, clips, opening scene - new feature doc - The Last Days of Joseph Koch Comics Warehouse (2025) - movie coming out on Sun on YouTube!

* Watch movie here (or above at top of page, starting 11 AM EST 7/20 Sun) -  https://youtu.be/De6AXHsD5d0?si=QoqLZAJlJM-NmoBv * Final trailer:  * The subject of the doc - Joseph Koch Comics Warehouse in Sunset Park, Brooklyn - will be open to the public daily 12-7 PM until the end of July. After that, after 35+ years, the warehouse closes. Visit them at:  206 41st Street, 2nd Floor Between 2nd & 3rd Avenue Sunset Park, Brooklyn 718-768-8571 12-7 PM daily, until end of July Website -  https://kochcomics.com/ Lots of amazing deals there (over 300K+ items for $1 they say). On to the documentary - it officially comes out on Sun - on YouTube (but may be available to view earlier). I am wrapping up work on it now.  Will post link at this blog when the movie is out (UPDATE - link - https://youtu.be/De6AXHsD5d0?si=QoqLZAJlJM-NmoBv ). The doc will be 1 hour and 13 mins long - and will feature: - Intro and notes by filmmaker - A tour of the warehouse in its last day...

The case for using AI for indie film reviews (if tech is developed to be able to write good reviews)

Regardless of how it is presented to the public, everything in US film (and probably worldwide) - Hollywood and indie - is about money.  If you have the money, you can make and release films, buy ads in publications, and get reviews.  There are 200+ reviews for a mediocre Hollywood movie now at Rotten Tomatoes site - for the new Fantastic Four movie. At the same time there were less than 10 reviews for an indie movie that was playing at IFC Center in NYC last week. Outside of even IFC runs, there are 100s of indie movies - fiction features and doc features - that come out on VOD and YouTube every week these days that do not get reviewed and do not get any articles written about them. With some effort I and many other indie filmmakers are able to get some reviews for our movies. However, the vast majority of new indie films are not reviewed. Film is art, it is easier to make and release films now than it was in the past, and all films deserve reviews and articles about them. ...

Cosmic Disco Detective Rene (2023) Full Movie + The Last Days of Joseph Koch Comics Warehouse (2025) feature documentary, full movie

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