Rhett Murphy's Blog
Posted by Rhett Murphy
Many of us get our indie fix via viral rentals. You may soon have more movies available to your queue with Red Envelope Entertainment casting its acquisition net. This is good news for fans AND filmmakers.
Liesl Copland, formerly of Cinetic Media, will head acqusitions.
Early buys include: Saint of 9/11, Sherrybaby, and This Filthy World.
The Netflix website says about it's distrbution wing: "This original content initiative creates a national distribution channel for films and entertainment programming otherwise not available to broad audiences. For more information, visit www.netflix.com."
Maybe this will do away with that negative label: Direct to DVD. Hey, maybe we can replace that label with: Direct to YouTube. Nice!
Posted by Rhett Murphy
These are great! Phone Booth altered self portraits of Michel Gondry (The Science of Sleep) that Jamie Stuart tempted from the busy director during a mid-Spetember meeting in NYC.
Check them out here.
Posted by Rhett Murphy
The technology is new, and so Red One's design is all about its future—ready for upgrades in both hardware and software.
Shooting on film is all about Depth of Field, which the Red One claims to hold with its 12-megapixel Mysterium CMOS sensor—boasting "12,065,000 pixels resolution that can only be called Ultra High Definition."
But the Red One doesn't come cheap at a MSRP of $17,500 with lens upgrade (RED 300mm focal length prime lens is $4,750) adding to that price, but, hey, this is still cheaper than true 35mm film.
I know, I know… there's nothing better than film. But Red One may quiet that proclamation—maybe just a little… and the watch is pretty cool, too.
Posted by Rhett Murphy
A spin off of the American Storage short, the feature will star Steve Carell and, according to the Hollywood Reporter, the story will focus on a man trying to save his failing storage facility business by leasing out the units as low-rent apartments.
I'm just hoping they keep the paintball bits!
Posted by Rhett Murphy
Smells like something big is coming. Buzz is perhaps a movie delivery service a la their successful music store.
My guess is this should launch sometime today.
Posted by Rhett Murphy
I'm ashamed to say that I did not. I am also ashamed to say that I often bash American auto engineers as lacking against both German and especially Japanese auto engineers.
Who Killed The Electric Car? (Official,IMDb), a recently released indie documentary, has shown me the errors of my thinking. Not only did GM have the guts to lead the way in compliance of California's Zero Emissions mandate, they did it right, designing a car that was both dependable and quite stylish -- Saturn's EV-1.
I could go on and on about how Big-Oil and Big-Government and Big-GM colluded to comply with the new California law for the short time it took for them to jointly kill that same law (we've heard this so often, and it makes total sense -- if you're not seeing it by now, you likely never will) -- I could point out the ghastly and downright offensive tactics that GM took in killing the EV-1 (they only leased the vehicles and when the law was dead they simply called in the leases, gathered all the cars up, and took them into the desert to be smashed) - or how they destroyed an inventor's dream (they purchased a majority share in the company that developed much of the battery technology only to put a lid on the inventor and ultimately sell their shares to Big-Oil) - I could rant and rant about these things, but the thing that hit me the hardest about this story was that it was us, Americans, who lead and got it right. I am disalussioned about many things right now, but this story has made me feel proud of my country again - proud that our thinkers are still out there, and they're leading the world.
I'll be paying more attention to these guys now - looking forward to the next chance to get on board with something so new and evolutionary.
If you are lucky enough to have Who Killed The Electric Car? playing in your city, be sure to go see it. And spread the word.
Posted by Rhett Murphy
This is an interesting indie blog post about what is and isn't an independent film.
Good article... for a white guy...
Posted by Rhett Murphy
All filmmakers are at the mercy of the MPAA and its rating system, but the indie filmmaker is most vulnerable. Studios can cut, reshoot, make deals, use clout to get to an R rating from an NC-17 (the kiss of distribution death) rating. Indie groups have much fewer options -- none in some cases. The film is finished, ready to go out, and the MPAA kills it.
Atom Egoyan's Where The Truth Lies comes to mind as a recent example. I even remember Kevin Bacon coming onto the Howard Stern Show to plead for an audience because the MPAA's NC-17 rating killed much of their marketing opportunities.
Directed by Kirby Dick, This Film Is Not Yet Rated takes on the MPAA system and the super-secret MPAA members.
The film opens Sept 1 in NYC and LA. Check the website for openings in other cities.
Sept 15 for my Baltimore friends -- at the Charles.
Posted by Rhett Murphy
Yes, this has been around for a while -- some of this stuff is just new to me and maybe it is to you as well... so here's the link.
And guess what... looks like they're free.
My guess is that much more is to come from that Viacom deal.
Posted by Rhett Murphy
James Redfield remains attached to his story, co-writing the screenplay adaption with Barnet Bain and Dan Gordon. Oddly enough, TCP: The Movie has had little to no national advertising (and I'm in a city that will be showing TCP: The Movie.)
A B-level cast headed by the impressive Jurgen Prochnow (Das Boot, The Seventh Sign, The Da Vinci Code.)
I have two concerns about TCP: The Movie: one comes from a very personal bias toward enlightenment from a (insert number) step program, and a second from a feature film production that appears to be a response to a lost network deal -- this just looks like a MOW.
That said... I'll go and see it. Maybe I'll be surprised. Maybe...
Posted by Rhett Murphy
I caught the Babel trailer this past weekend. Like 21 Grams, it looks different from everything else out there -- can't wait!
Cate Blanchett co-stars in this chaos theory story. Remember the butterfly wings that caused a tsunami on the other side of the planet? Well this is a story about a tragic shooting in "the remote sands of the Moroccan desert," and a husband's attempt to save his wife - a story about reverberations, or waves, of emotion that travel vast distances and profoundly touch complete strangers.
Babel promises three continents and four languages.
Limited release is set for October 27.
Posted by Rhett Murphy
Cinematical is having a caption contest. Winners get a copy of the Brick DVD. Go ahead, it'll only take a minute -- unless you obsess over it... not that I would do that...
Check it out here.
Posted by Rhett Murphy
Remember the DVD mag, Wholphin?
I ordered an issue on July 27 -- no issue yet. Am I just spoiled by 2-3 day turnarounds? Has anyone had any problems getting copies?
Posted by Rhett Murphy
I've shared some stuff from Atom Films site -- great spot for picking up some really accomplished filmmaking (remember Seven Oh Five?)
This is great news for the gang over at Atom Ent -- but can't help but wonder what this means for their content. Let's just hope they keep that bar raised...
Read the announcement here.
Posted by Rhett Murphy
His name is Steve Perlman, former Apple engineer and entrepreneur, and he's looking to change digital cinematography with his Contour camera system.
In a nutshell, Contour will allow for much greater detail and depth (or reality) with CGI characters.
The science behind Contour is a little heady - there's lots of make-up and flashing lights that the human eye can't see.
Brad Pitt might be the first A-lister to get in front of the Contour cameras when he begins shooting David Fincher's adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button later this year.
For an interesting Quicktime demo, go here.
Posted by Rhett Murphy
I spotted several right off that I'm sure I'll download: Martin McDonagh's Oscar winner Six Shooter (stars Brendan Gleeson) and Henry Rollins in Deathdealer: A Documentary.
Shorts really seem to be finding better and better ways to reach their audience. And with this iTunes pipeline and Wolphin, you can find some of the best indies out there.
Go have a look.
Posted by Rhett Murphy
A very funny 8 minute short that tells us the story of four Holly-town execs pitching Star Wars spinoff ideas to George Lucas.
Check it out here, at Atom Films.
Posted by Rhett Murphy
A Wolphin is "the lovechild of a bottlenose dolphin and a false killer whale," says the DVD mags website. Apparently it's also the lovechild of indie shorts and a magazine. A four issue DVD subscription is $40. They don't state the minimum amount of content, but the first issue has 12 films ranging from 3 to 21 minutes long. Not bad...
Wholphin seems to go for working unknowns, but they also like the ones who have broken out: Spike Jonze and David O. Russell are on that first issue DVD -- Steven Soderbergh is on issue two.
Check it out here.
Posted by Rhett Murphy
I got a message from Arin and Susan in my MySpace inbox. The message: please check out our podcast. I went to iTunes and subscribed -- least I could do.
Then I opened up the new issue of Fast Company sitting on my desk - the cover noted a cool article I was looking forward to reading: Guerrilla Moviemakers Invade Hollywood. The subjects of the article? Yep, Arin and Susan and Four Eyed Monsters
I think an ad-pert would call that media saturation.
The great thing is, Four Eyed Monsters is a labor of love about a story of love (at least I think it is.)
Four Eyed Monsters is a feature indie shot on $10,000, a stack of credit cards, and a Panasonic DVX-100. It made it into a bunch of festivals, but didn't secure distribution. So Arin and Susan are beating the Internet streets (or tubes) to generate buzz to fill the seats -- literally one seat at a time.
Screwy thing is, it seems to be working.
I've watched the first few podcast episodes and have requested that the movie screen in Baltimore. Click here to request the same for your city.
Posted by Rhett Murphy
CAA has a group. William Morris has one. UTA... Gersh...
Further graying that line designating the truly independent from the sort of independent, Hollywood's big agencies are counting on these small groups to not only act as a creative pacifier for their more artsy clientele, or "passion projects" as Sharon Swart states in her FILMMAKER Spring 2006 article, but they're also seeing these offices more and more as an indie budget line item.
But don't get too excited. There is a reason these guys are so big - they work primarily with the studios, the big stuff, and their approach to the indie is much the same. Don't go calling on them without a name attached. Great screenplay... so what. Great screenplay with a commitment from Tom Hanks (yeah, right)... a love fest!
Posted by Rhett Murphy
I had read about the Sundance sale -- 10.5 million to Fox Searchlight -- but I didn't know much more about Little Miss Sunshine. Then I went to see An Inconvenient Truth, and they played the LMS trailer. There we were. All prepped for some serious documentary watching. No laughing here tonight. No. No. No.
Yeah, right. I don't recall ever seeing a trailer get the response that LMS got that night. We all wanted to see the movie right then and there (sorry Al.) We all loved this movie already. I know, I know, settin' myself up for huge letdown -- somehow I don't think so -- not this time...
Go watch the trailer. Go see the movie. And read the article.
Posted by Rhett Murphy
The Conference promotes itself as "identifying new opportunities for independents."
It will take place during the IFP Market, September 17-21, 2006 in New York City.
Posted by Rhett Murphy
The poster depicts a hooded man hanging by cuffed wrists. Yes, pretty much the same image we've seen on every morning talk show that moms tune into while junior eats his Captain Crunch. Too bad it ever happened? Absolutely yes. Too bad we have to see it? Let me put it this way: has hiding the truth ever really worked? And truth be told, our mainstream media has often used these images when they really weren't... necessary.
The Road To Guantanamo is a documentary. A documentary about enemy combatants detained at Guantanamo. The image reflects the reality of that situation. For it? Against it? Doesn't matter. This is the reality of Guantanamo and our Post-911 world. And some folks made a documentary about the events. See it. Don't see it. But let's not act like it never happened.
Good news is I heard nothing about the filmmakers having to cut The Road To Guantanamo. And the approved poster is still quite powerful.
Posted by Rhett Murphy
I've been following these guys a bit on MySpace. They put together a low budget indie horror/comedy -- even got a few names on the bill. Congrats boys and girls!
More: Cutting Room, Anthem Pictures
Posted by Rhett Murphy
I'm hoping this means more screens for indies. I know there is more involved -- but can't help thinking that print-making is so costly that digital projection will allow for more dollars to go toward marketing that could result in more demand...
It would just be nice to see an indie there next to Superman Returns.
More Info? Click here.
Posted by Rhett Murphy
I can't help but applaud Steven Soderbergh for his production and distribution decisions on Bubble. I think the film speaks volumes about what can be done outside of the studio system. But did he go too far by casting non-actors? Notice I didn't write "unknown actors," but "non-actors."
Soderbergh's goal, as I see it, was to show us that we don't necessarily need the huge studio budgets or name actors behind a film for it to be good. To this I say, Bravo! Or Here Here! Or even F'ing Aye! But I can't but feel that he has betrayed the acting community a bit by casting no-name actors.
Indie films are about getting it done together - without the "machine" forging your way. I am a fan of indie movies (well most), and I see them as a group of unknown or unproven "specialist" coming together for a common goal: the film. Screenwriter working with director, working with cinematographer, working with actors... and so on. Often, we're all nobodies that believe in a story enough to bust our asses to get it done. For what? Recognition. More work. A career.
Soderbergh didn't hand the camera over to a non-cinematographer; he didn't use a script by someone who had never written a screenplay... so why use actors who have never acted?
Indie films are for dreamers - dreamers who are working hard and searching for their break. Soderbergh is a talented, accomplished director that can offer such a break. I love that he wants to bring in unknowns to these projects, but I feel it is his duty, or should be, to do just that. Yes, bring in unknown actors, but, with projects this precious, the goal should not be to use non-actors.
If you're interested, here's my review of Bubble.
Posted by Rhett Murphy
Closely following in her father's footsteps, Alison Eastwood will move behind the camera in her directorial debut of the Warner Independent Pictures project, Rails and Ties. Clint's efficient Malpaso Productions will handle production.
Posted by Rhett Murphy
- Click ($ 40.0/$ 40.0)
- Cars ($ 23.3/$ 156.7)
- Nacho Libre ($ 12.7/$ 53.2)
- The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift ($ 9.8/$ 43.1)
- Waist Deep ($ 9.4/$ 9.4)
- The Lake House ($ 8.8/$ 29.8)
- The Break-Up ($ 6.6/$ 104.2)
- Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties ($ 5.2/$ 16.5)
- X-Men: The Last Stand ($ 4.8/$ 224.5)
- The Da Vinci Code ($ 4.1/$ 205.6)
Source: Box Office
Posted by Rhett Murphy
The first time in ten years that this organization has awarded a Special Award prize. The criteria: '... make a significant contribution to the human family by communicating values, forming consciences and motivating human behavior,' says Frank Desiderio, President of the Humanitas prize. Turns out the organization believes An Inconvenient Truth does all that and more.
Want more on this story? Go here.
Posted by Rhett Murphy
I had never heard of Seven Oh Five before today when I stumbled on a link to one of their shorts at Atom Films. Skid Marks had me friggin' crackin' up like you would not believe. It's like Three Stooges meets Airplane meets Mission Impossible meets Tarrantino meets The Matrix...
Skid Marks tagline is: Three Dorks. One Race. Total Chaos. Yep, that about covers it.
This is true independent filmmaking people -- by their own claim in the end credits of Skid Marks, the film was financed by "Our Freelance Jobs." And lighting was provided by "the Sun."
Meet Reed Spacer, Michael McKnight, and Triple Deezel as they "race" for pink slips.
Check it out at Atom Films and check out their other shorts at Seven Oh Five.
Later...
Posted by Rhett Murphy
Skinny Bones Productions and SubscribeCast have hooked up to distribute the first podcast indie film, On The Cutting Room Floor.
I am an audio podcast junky -- my choice for news (KCRW's Left, Right, and Center), to music (Insomnia Radio), to just staying in touch (RocketBoom) -- so I love the idea of an indie film being released in this format. Sadly though, I do not yet own a video iPod, so I'll have to check out On The Cutting Room Floor right here on my desktop. For those of you completely new to podcasts: no, you not have to have an iPod to listen or watch.
Here's the deal with On The Cutting Room Floor: For $2 a month subscribers get the film in a serialized format - one part per week for a total of 12 parts over three months.
The real story here is the podcast distribution method. Go and check out the trailer for yourself to see if On The Cutting Room Floor is for you. If you're interested, sign up and let me know what you think.
You can also check out Skinny Bones' video blog of the shoot here.
Posted by Rhett Murphy
Have you ever been frustrated at how a good movie ends? What am I thinking? Of course you have. We all have. Sometimes I get it so bad that I want to smash my DVD player. I manage this anger by taking my dog for a walk. And on that walk I'll have a conversation with myself about why the writer did that to me. What I've discovered on these walks is that there's usually a reason for this storytelling tactic - maybe not a good one, but a reason nonetheless.
I had this exact experience and reaction to Jim Jarmusch's Broken Flowers. A great movie (Bill Murray is perfect) that has one of the most frustrating endings I've ever seen.
In a nutshell: this is a story about a lifelong bachelor who gets a mysterious letter from an old flame that tells him he has a twenty year old son. The letter is unsigned and gives no details. Our bachelor then goes, with help from a wannabe-sleuth neighbor, on a trip to visit old girlfriends that could have sent the letter.
Now, what do we want from this story? Allow me: we want to know, 1. who wrote the letter?, 2. does he really have a son?, and 3. will he find his son?
MAJOR SPOILER WARNING...
Jarmusch has decided to answer NONE OF THESE QUESTIONS.
Seriously, we fade out knowing nothing about what actually happened, or with any hint about what will happen.
I couldn't believe it. Apparently my dog couldn't either since he was standing at the door before the first end credit rolled.
So off we went or our frustrating ending walk. And do you know what happened? It all started to make sense.
Broken Flowers is not a story about a letter, a mysterious author, or a possible son. Broken Flowers is a story about how this lonely, lifelong bachelor "reacts" to the possibilities of these things. Answering the questions would actually take away from this character focus.
I didn't love Broken Flowers as much as most, but I applaud Jarmusch's complete dedication to the story he wanted to tell and the focus it needed to be told.
But still... I want to know.
Posted by Rhett Murphy
May 28th is this year's final day at Cannes. I was just checking out the website, snooping for news, and realized that I have yet to see last year's Grand Prix pick, Jim Jarmusch's Broken Flowers. I know, lame - and I really like what Bill Murray is up to these past few years. So Broken Flowers is now #1 in my Netflix queue. I'll let you know what I think. And stay tuned for a Cannes recap and a list of films for all of our queues.
By the way, Babel Fish translates "Grand Prix" into "Great Price" (and if I delete the 'x' it gives us "Large Pri"). "Netflix Queue" gets us "Netflix Tail," in case you were wondering.