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

And when I say rock star I mean a real rock star, known to many world wide, secretly & openly worshipped by fans on all 5 continents, a dude who makes a living from music (not essential for being a rock star of course) and more importantly, one of my favorite artists. Very inspirational dude. He will try to make it he said (he's known for keeping his word, so it is a more firm statement than most peoples' "will try to make it"). If nothing else at least I got to talk to him on the phone (on my brand spankin' new "DC red" cell phone w/free incoming calls!) two days ago re: the Date Number One premiere on 5/13 Sat @ Goethe in DC. Dude is not a big fan of name dropping & over-commerciality & hype, as far as I can tell, so I won't mention his name here. But if he does show up, I'll mention it in the show report. Maybe I'll even be able to get a pic w/ him. Either way, it is all good, very happy about the premiere happening in DC, reg

Event: World Premiere of film "Date Number One" * When: Saturday May 13, 2006 7 PM & 9 PM 7 PM show is a partial benefit event (50% of tix sales $s) for local social service organization We Are Family (see info on We Are Family at end of this announcement) * Where: Goethe-Institut 812 Seventh Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 venue info (location, directions, etc.): 202-289-1200 event info: wilddiner@aol.com , 202-491-5536 * How Much? $8 * Film Description: "Date Number One" is a comedy about several first dates. This 90 minute movie is made up of 5 different stories: Story 1: Just Another Ninja Searching For Love, about a ninja who goes on a blind date (ninja is played by John Stabb Schroder from the DC punk band G.I.), Story 2: A Romantic Dinner For 3, about a woman attempting to add a third partner to a romantic relationship, Story 3: Washington "City Of Love" DC/Start Over, about a writer who tries to get back together with h

That line is from rule #2 of Jim Jarmusch's Golden Rules, a Moviemaker magazine article. Thanks GreenCine Daily for the link. Here's the entire rule #2: " Rule #2 : Don’t let the fuckers get ya. They can either help you, or not help you, but they can’t stop you. People who finance films, distribute films, promote films and exhibit films are not filmmakers. They are not interested in letting filmmakers define and dictate the way they do their business, so filmmakers should have no interest in allowing them to dictate the way a film is made. Carry a gun if necessary." Read all the rules here. Jarmusch, as always, rocks. He pretty much invented indie film as most of us know it with 1984's Stranger Than Paradise . - Sujewa

Anthony Kaufman points to this LA Times article about AMC's plan to devote 72 of their theaters (some screens? all the screens?) to indie films (most likely indiewood films). Could be a good thing (it's a small walk from the DIY world to indiewood). The article also provides names of other indie-friendly major/mainstream theater chains. From me, the ideal venue would be an independent, small theater w/a decent size screen, good sound, good seating (100+ seats) & responsive/non-crazy management. Most cities have a couple of such venues. But if those venues are too busy to show my film then I need some alternatives. The major exhibitors' interest in some indie programming could be useful to filmmakers like myself. Specially when I live in a time & place where the biggest indie chain pulls a movie 5 days before its premiere (Landmark, "I Am A Sex Addict") and there are some small indie theaters that I do not want to deal with due to various questionable pr

The House Next Door blog reports that filmmaker & critic Matt Zoller Seitz's wife Jennifer Dawson has passed away. Am shocked and saddned by the tragic news and I wish the best for Matt & his family in dealing with their terrible loss. Goodbye Jennifer Dawson, lots of people will miss you. - Sujewa

John Stabb Schroder as the ninja Mark H. Temonium from Date Number One Julia Stemper & John Stabb Schroder from a scene in Date Number One :: Copyright 2005 Sujewa Ekanayake John Stabb Schroder is a DC based actor & musician. He was the lead singer in the punk band Government Issue (G.I.) from 1981 - 1989. Starting this year (DC 5/13, Seattle 5/19 - 21) John can be seen playing a ninja who goes on a blind date in my new movie Date Number One. I did an 11 question interview with John last year, here's 3 of the exchanges, the rest can be found here. Enjoy. Sujewa: What were your thoughts when I first explained to you that you will be playing a ninja in this movie? John: When you offered me the role, I jumped at the chance! I’ve always enjoyed Bruce Lee movies and thought “I’m going to play a f’n ninja!” And the moment I slipped into the ninja outfit and headgear, I was ready to take on any martial arts actors. David Carradine, Chuck Norris, Michael Dudikoff, Uma Thurman

Latest news from the Sri Lanka based unit of the international peace activist organization Nonviolent Peaceforce : April 25, 2006 While this report is being prepared, LTTE-controlled sea side areas close to our office in Mutur in the East are being targeted in a coordinated action by the Sri Lankan Navy and Airforce. The bombs and shelling by a naval craft and fighter jets, which can be felt and heard by the team members from their position in the office, are part of a retaliation for the suicide bomb attack on General Fonseka, Chief Commander of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces, at the army headquarters in Colombo earlier today. Meanwhile, the Airforce has assured us that the Mutur town and our team are safe. The town has lost electricity and reports of casualties from the area targeted are coming in slowly but the exact numbers will not be known until the enforced curfew expires. It appears the suicide bomb was set-off by a young female, who pretended to be pregnant while visiting the arm

Gi-normous companies want to carve up the internet for themselves. Bad news for indie artists, small biz people & alternative views. Go here to help stop the sale of the internet to the highest bidders. Thanks. - Sujewa

Angry Filmmaker Kelley Baker outside of Kensington Row Bookshop on Thu 4/20/06 in Kensington, MD, where he screened his film Kicking Bird at a Capital City Microcinema event. photo copyright 2006 sujewa ekanayake At his blog DIY filmmaker Kelley Baker writes: " The tour is going great! Arizona and Texas were a ball, I had some great screenings at the Alamo Draft House in Houston, my work shops went well, and it was good to see some old friends. From there Moses and I went to Grand Rapids, MI for a guest lecture and a self distribution work shop. I did Rochester, NY at RIT. I went from doing just a Visiting Artist gig to 4 class lectures over 3 days. Not bad... After that I hung out with friends in Mass then off to Kensington, MD for a sound design workshop and a screening. A small but enthusiastic group. Even though we had a brief power outage during the movie everyone stayed until the end." Read the rest of that entry here. - Sujewa

The last time I saw DIY filmmaker & self-distributor Kelley Baker he was riding down the highway, heading south w/ his laid back dog Moses, and that was about 9 hours ago, after 2 days of activity: a sound design class, couple of fun dinners, a screening where almost every customer in attendance bought a DVD, meals w/ 2 local producers (one of them invited Kelly to come back to DC in the fall to play a popular local festival), and many inspiring conversations and stories. I am too sleepy right now to go into all the details, but soon - maybe on/by Tue, I'll write a longer account of the 4/19 & 20 activties, & will post some related pics. Kelley's latest feature "Kicking Bird" is excellent.

Lance Weiler, director of The Last Broadcast & the new flick Head Trauma is now blogging at Indie Features 06. Here's his first entry: http://indiefeatures06.blogspot.com/2006/04/hello-from-philly.html - Sujewa