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

As the profession of film criticism is going through big changes at the moment, perhaps due to, in part (maybe a small part), the existence of a large number of websites devoted to film, it may be interesting to get the opinions & perspectives of a few film critics (specially current or former print film critics) on indie film blogs for my feature documentary The Indie Film Bloggers. If any NYC/DC/Baltimore area critics (current or former) would like to be interviewed for the doc, let me know ( wilddiner@aol.com ). The invite also goes out to others who do work related to the art/business of indie film (or are just big fans of these kinds of movies) and have strong/interesting opinions about indie film blogs. Thanks. - Sujewa

If you are in the mood for a couple of well written posts about two new films, check out Brandon "Cinema Echo Chamber" Harris's recent posts about The Wackness & Gonzo . Brandon on The Wackness : "The carefully molded world of the movie is one of its major selling points for a large portion of the target youth audience that geriatric seeming Sony Pictures Classics is hoping it can lure with this sweet and sugary, yet oddly colorless summer of 94’ hip-hop fantasia. From the desaturated hues of its early and middle passages to the alabaster pallor of almost its entire cast, this movie is lily white, regardless of how many Nas, Biggie and Wu-Tang Clan songs can get stuffed into the final mix." Read the rest here . And from the post on Gonzo : "As a man of letters, the precocious middle class kid from Louisville, one who loved guns, dope and America with equal measure, was remarkably erratic and perhaps, in the end, not good enough to attain the furthest r

I just did it; was easy - had some PayPal $s from a donation from a reader of the blog - now I should have the new issue of Filmmaker & a John Sayles filmmaking how-to DVD in my mail box soon. Here's Scott M. from Filmmaker Mag w/ all the details : "I’m also going to take this opportunity to announce a special subscription offer. If you subscribe online here during the next 48 hours for our low price of $18, your subscription will start with this “25 New Faces” issue, and we’ll also throw in free a special bonus: our first custom DVD, “Making your First Film with John Sayles.” It’s a video of Sayles’s talk at last year’s IFP Filmmaker Conference in which Sayles offers a veritable master class for new filmmakers on the subject. And for those who subscribed earlier when this DVD was first announced, we really appreciate your patience. The replication process took a bit longer than expected, but the DVDS have been pressed and packaged and all existing orders were mailed out

Read Bob Alexander's thoughts re: Mark Gill's "sky is falling" speech here . Saw the link at SpoutBlog . Other than Alexander, as far as I know only a few indie film bloggers (links to two posts here ) have thought to question Gill's speech; as to whether it is relevant to real/actual indie film as opposed to being a speech about the possible end of an era for a certain kind of low budget Hollywood movies (marketed as independent) that seek to imitate some of the qualities of off-Hollywood movies - both American & from other lands. The reverse has happened in larger numbers - actual indie filmmakers believing/buying into the notion that Gill's speech applies to the world that they work in or their futures. Anyway, bad times for indiewood, good times for real indie films (way cheap to make them now, lots of film festivals to show them at, can also do DIY screenings, people are still buying DVDs), looks like. Changes like this happen, hopefully everyone will

At The Chutry Experiment . From the review: "...despite the fact that Hernandez was the first American killed by U.S. military forces on native soil since the Kent State shootings in 1970, his story essentially disappeared from national consciousness. In fact, the film’s director made the film in part because the story had been so sparingly covered by the national media and because the story now risked “drifting into obscurity.”" Read the rest here . - Sujewa

Join the discussion re: this weird movie promo product at The Obenson Report . - Sujewa

A couple of Swedish tourists I met on the Chinatown bus yesterday told me that blogs are popular in Sweden (we were discussing my doc on indie film bloggers, thus this related subject). So, some research: 3rd annual Swedish blog survey . - Sujewa

At The Film Panel Notetaker . Very interesting, check it out, here is a segment: "TFPN: How did you select all the people to be interviewed in the film? How did you gain access to the celebrities? Scibilia: We thought it would be interesting to get well known people who would open up to us and reflect on the city just as we were doing. And we believed we could pull it off. We each came up with a list of people who had an interesting relationship with the city and would want to share it with us because of their love of the city, people who were inspired by the city and understood its history. We wanted a mix of Irish immigrants like Liam Neeson and native New Yorkers like Susan Sarandon and Pete Hamill , or an interesting mix of both as in (Frank and Malachy) McCourt who were born in Brooklyn, went back to Ireland and then decided to return to New York. After unsuccessful attempts at getting past agents and managers, we found ways of meeting them and pitching them in person. Some

Read all about it at Steven Rosen's blog. Good news to indie filmmakers who play fests. - Sujewa

Check it out , sounds like a very interesting film. - Sujewa

No more Chinatown buses (if can at all be avoided w/ out paying a lot for an alternative) I think; the ride from NYC to DC took about 6 hours!!!! Some of the reasons for the delays: the bus circled around NYC for like 30 mins to 1 hour, I got on the bus @ 10 AM, the bus left NYC close to 11 AM, no explanations or apologies from the driver/management, etc., then in Philadelphia we had to get off the bus (very difficult to get a clear answer from anyone who is running the operation as to exactly what's happening - many of the employees do not seem to speak or understand English well), wait for another bus about 30 - 45 mins, and finally we were back on the road (several passengers had by this point gotten into arguments with the "management" or other employees who were running the bus service re: the non-existent customer service, lack of clear (or almost any) communication re: unexpected changes, etc.) - so all seemed a bit better for a while, heading towards DC - EXCEPT -

From Tambay's blog The Obenson Report : "After the day was all over, I sat in my apartment staring at nothing for an extended period of time, realizing how invigorating it all was, spending time with these 3 fellows. These are the kinds of people I need to be around more often, for reasons I already mentioned. As an artist, especially a scribe, one can lead a rather insular life, understandably; but the experience of being around other artists from time to time is just as necessary, and that's something I tend to forget sometimes... until I have a day like I did yesterday. Thus I plan on making a habit of this." Read more here . Related: Brian "The Film Panel Notetaker" Geldin on observing a shoot for the doc . - Sujewa

Thanks to the Chinatown bus, a very helpful MTA/NYC subway train station employee, and specially Brian " The Film Panel Notetaker " Geldin, Tambay " The Obenson Report " Obenson, & Brandon " Cinema Echo Chamber " Harris, & of course a sweaty but still beautiful New York City, I shot the first 2.5 hours of interview footage for my doc The Indie Film Bloggers today. Had a great time filming the interviews, learned a lot. Will have some photos from the weekend when I get back to DC/MD this week. And possibly a "in-production"/promo trailer for the doc in the coming weeks/July. Lots more interviews with lots more indie film bloggers in the coming weeks (any indie film blogger who is interested in being in the doc can e-mail me ( wilddiner@aol.com ) & we'll see if we can work together on this project). Speaking of IFB subjects, check out this Amazon page for info. on Tambay's real indie & self-distributed feature Beautiful