Brooklyn Boheme Premiers
This past Thursday Brooklyn Boheme which I have been co-editing and animating for the past two years had it’s red carpet premier. It opened the 15th annual Urban World Film Festival at the AMC 34th street theatre’s. Guests included Spike Lee, Chris Rock, Mario Van Peebles & Maxwell. There was such a buzz of anticipation for this film that they had to book another theatre because the premier sold out in hours.
As a person who edits primarily for the internet, there is an unfamiliar natural high that you can’t duplicate online. Knowing that all these people are judging and reacting to your work on the big screen in real time is both humiliating and exhilarating. You can see me in the slideshow below (2nd pic) anxiously waiting for the film to start with Spike Lee and Chris Rock sitting a couple of rows back. As it turned out mistakes notwithstanding the premier was amazing! The audience laughed, applauded, and nodded in all the right places.
After the screening directors Nelson George, and Diane Paragas had a Q & A session where the audience showed allot of love. After two years of countless hours editing, re-editing, arguing, and wishing for it to be all over, seeing it play even if only for that one night made it all worth it. Support this film, it’s a great story about an art movement in one Brooklyn neighborhood that transcends race.
TrVZ
Photos courtesy of themoviesthatshouldbemade.com
Movie Review: Page One – Inside The New York Times
Page One Inside The New York Times directed by Andrew Rossi brings to light more than any other work in recent memory the volatile relationship between old and new media. Told mostly through the eloquent narration of The Times media and cultural columnist David Carr, this film documents a year in which lay-offs, bankruptcies, and closures were a daily reality in the world of print. Carr who is a former crack addict acts as the heroic figure for the old guard as he seeks to find his place in a world where social media sites like Twitter, organizations like Wiki Leaks and video channels like Vice TV have drastically reshaped the media landscape. In one memorable scene where Mr. Carr visits Vice Magazine to do a story on the young upstart, while being interviewed one of it’s founders Shane Smith boasts to Mr Carr; “We know how to speak to young people,” referring to some shocking video footage obtained in Africa by the Vice crew dealing with cannibalism and public defecation. ‘The New York Times isn’t cool enough to publish stories about cannibalism. Mr Carr interrupts: “Before you ever went there, we had reporters there reporting genocide after genocide. So just because you put on a fucking safari helmet and look at some poop, that doesn’t give you the right to insult what we do.” then Mr. Carr says, “So continue.”’ As it was framed in this edit (The New York times being the David against the Vice’s Goliath), I couldn’t help but cheer for Mr Carr. There seems to be a disconnect and growing divide between old and new media that I think is to the detriment of the whole. This film explores and in some ways attempts to traverse that gap using The New York times as it’s case study. I strongly recommend anyone who is involved in new and old media to put this film on your to view list.
TrVZ
Brooklyn Boheme – First 5 Minutes Teaser Preview
Living in East Flatbush Brooklyn during the 80′s and 90′s I witnessed mostly through popular media the cultural and artistic renaissance that was happening only a few miles away in Fort Greene Brooklyn. Spike Lee, Eryka Badu, The band Living Color, Mos Def, Wesley Snipes, Saul Williams, Chris Rock, Branford Marsalis were just a few of the names who’s work I followed from that part of Brooklyn. Another artist from this region who’s work I followed was Nelson George who’s book Hip Hop America became the first in depth literary piece on the genre that I read. So when Nelson and co director Diane Paragas approached me to assist on the editing of a documentary about that artistic movement I was pretty excited. It is my biggest editing project to date and I am learning allot. This film titled Brooklyn Boheme is a gem of a story and I can’t wait until the world gets to see it in it’s entirety. In the meantime they have released a teaser from the first 5 minutes of this film.
Enjoy
TrVZ
The Visualmakers – Preview Trailer
Here is the 1st trailer for the documentary The Visualmakers a film “that seeks to find out what unites us as independent filmmakers who use the latest breed of relatively affordable digital tools.” The filmmakers interviewed here feel a bit like the stereotypical “insider club” of old media directors but the sound-bytes and shots are great.
Enjoy
TrVZ
Tiny Feature Saturday’s – SoLost: The Holy Land Of Cinema?
This video courtesy of Dave Anderson features The Alamo Drafthouse in Austin Texas. This one of a kind theatre is kind of like The Prairie Home Companion for the theatre going crowd. According to the vimeo page…
“From Master Pancake Theater to Hecklevision to Sing-Alongs and Quote-Alongs; from nighttime “Jaws” screenings from inner tubes on a lake to a car-eating Robosauras breathing fire in their parking lot to Leonard Nimoy shocking fans with a surprise world premiere of the new Star Trek, this is a spot where every day brings a grand new film event.”
They also have an aggressive policy on talking during their films. According to the founder and CEO Tim League
“If you talk… we’ll warn you sternly, if we have to warn you a second time that warning will say ‘If I am coming back, you are leaving,’ there is no third warning. And If I need to bring the police in, I will bring the police.”
Hallef*ckinglujah!
Rumor has it they will be bringing their show to New York and Los Angeles in 2011.
Enjoy
TrVZ
Stocktown X South Africa: A road movie – Trailer
This film by Swedish based directors Teddy Goitom and Benjamin Taft set out to capture the creative street vibes of South Africa presenting another perspective from the young creative forces around big cities in Africa. The yet to be launched website stocktown looks pretty cool too.
Source: Teenagefilm.com
TrVZ
Teenage – Teaser | A Film By Matt Wolf
Based on a groundbreaking book by the punk author Jon Savage, Teenage is an unconventional historical film about the invention of teenagers. Bringing to life fascinating youth from the early 20th century—from party-crazed Flappers and hipster Swing Kids to brainwashed Nazi Youth and frenzied Sub-Debs—the film reveals the pre-history of modern teenagers and the struggle between adults and adolescents to define youth.
Incredible archival material mixes seamlessly with 16mm recreations featuring actors. Based on actual teenage diaries, the footage resembles period home movies made by kids themselves. Stylized narration dramatizes this turbulent story and a contemporary soundtrack heightens emotions. The result is a visually explosive, pop meditation on how teenagers were born. Teenage is in-progress and seeking funding. The film will be completed in 2012. Log onto the Teenage website for more info.
Film Review | Bill Cunningham New York
I must admit that I never heard of Bill Cunningham until I became a fan of the On The Street video slide-shows on The New York Times website. I was immediately intrigued by Bill’s voice and manner of speaking and wanted to know more about him. The film Bill Cunningham New York by Richard Press absolutely satisfied that need. Bill Cunningham has the whole visual history of fashion in New York in the last 40 or 50 years. He is the pioneering force behind fashion street photography. You might think that someone with that kind of legacy working in the center of arguably the most self absorbed industry in New York might have an ego to match. Instead what we find is an unassuming photographer of the utmost integrity, so focused on his art that he can’t be bothered with the perks of life, fame or celebrity. As he put it “I’m not interested in celebrities with their free dresses, I’m interested in clothes.”
This film also gives an intriguing portrait of the colorful group of fashionistas and artists that make up Bill’s circle of friends. Most notably a series of scene stealing cameos by one of Bill’s Carnegie Hall neighbors photographer to the stars Editta Sherman. In one memorable scene Editta in her 90′s who is constantly pressing the camera crew for more attention refers to herself as a legend of Carnegie Hall, in turn the crew asks her whether she means legend or fixture? This film is littered with gems like that.
The most touching moment in the film came when with much trepidation the crew asks Bill if he has ever regretted not having a relationship. For one brief somewhat uncomfortable moment, Bill lets us in and reveals without words how his love for his art did not come without sacrifice. Myself being a 40 year old single male simultaneously addicted to, yet terrified of living the rest of my life alone, it gave me a rare glimpse as to where such single minded focus can lead. No pun intended.
Also to be acknowledged is Richard Press’ fly on the wall approach to filmmaking. As the filmmaker states on his website…
“Bill’s reticence to be filmed set the practical terms for how the documentary could be made. The spectacle of a camera crew, sound recorder, and boom operator would be impossible. We had to capture him the way he claims to capture his own subjects: “discreetly, quietly, and invisibly.”
While this approach may be a bit unorthodox to traditional filmmakers, blending in is an approach long embraced by New Media filmmakers everywhere. We have always taken our cues from the event and street photographers. It is great to see this approach utilized in a film about the photographer that pioneered this approach. The editing of Ryan Denmark should also be applauded. Seamlessly incorporating vintage footage with contemporary footage added to Bill’s never-ending Worker Bee aura. Plus it’s always cool to see old footage of pre-Guiliani Times Square. I was also very impressed with the photographic animation of Keira Alexandra. It was critical that the photo sequences look and worked right, and Kiera nailed it.
My one criticism is that the filmmakers did not go into much depth about how Bill makes his living. Bill says that “If you don’t take money, they can’t tell you what to do.” So how does he make his living? The only insight is an off hand reference from Bill about having a “Day Job,” accompanied with vintage b-roll of him coming out of the old New York Times office on 43rd street. His belief that even taking a glass of water translates to a loss of freedom can’t possibly play out in a practical world right? We will never know from watching this film. A more in depth look at how his income streams fit into this rigid philosophy would have served the audience well.
That aside, the power in this film lies in the fact that it strips away all the nonsense and frivolities that New York society places on art and breaks Bills work down to it’s bare essentials, the clothes. If you have somehow forgotten how you felt at that moment when you first realized that you would sooner give up your right arm than put down your camera, your paintbrush, your notepad or whatever tool you use to express yourself, this film acts as a poignant reminder.
TrVZ
Bill Cunningham New York is playing at the Film Forum through Tuesday March 29th. For other dates log on to the official website here.
Tarantino – Who Do You Think You’re Fooling?
If you remember recently I posted a video titled “Everything is a Remix” that showed a frame by frame comparison between Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill and some of the movies that inspired it. Recently an individual by the name of Mike White posted a comment on my blog that read “apparently you guys haven’t seen this.” along with a link to a film he produced called “Who Do You Think You’re Fooling?” This film was a frame by frame comparison between Tarantino’s breakout film “Reservoir Dog’s” and a film by Ringo Lam titled “City on Fire.” The similarities are amazing and leave little doubt as to where Tarantino found his “inspiration.” Judge for yourself.
As mentioned in my second “Everything is a Remix” post, taking something and making it yours is nothing new to art. However when the inspiration is obvious, not giving credit or acknowledging where one gets his or her ideas is at best in bad taste, and at worst downright illegal.
After watching “Who Do You Think You’re Fooling?” I checked out another video from Mike, this one an MTV news report on the controversial ban of Mike’s film from the New York Underground Film Festival. The MTV report ends with a Tarantino comment denying the plagiarism accusations and even going as far as saying that he would look forward to watching “City on Fire.” The MTV clip is followed with another side by side comparison with one of my all-time favorite movie scenes (the “Ezekiel 25:17″ scene), from my all time favorite film Pulp Fiction, which was eerily similar to the title crawl in the 1973 film ‘The Bodyguard’ starring Sonny Chiba.
One IMDB comment summed up this charade the best.
“Who do you think you’re fooling, QT? Yes, the teens who watch MTV News and haven’t seen “Who do you think you’re fooling?”. But anyone who did see Mike White’s short won’t believe you.”
Back in olden times before the Internet, it was more difficult to cross reference old films with new ones, so Tarantino took his chances. It seems that as time has passed and information became more readily available, more people got wise to Tarantino’s game. These days he readily reveals his sources and openly pays homage to genre films, even incorporating some of the stars from the movies that inspired him. However at the very beginning it seems that QT stole what he thought he could get away with. Well you know what Picasso said, “Good artist borrow, great artist steal.”
TreVZ
Tiny Feature Saturday’s – Everything is a Remix Parts 1 & 2
Yesterday I was introduced to an amazing series “Everything is a Remix” Produced by Kirby Ferguson and Robert Grigsby Wilson. In this episode they did a side by side comparison of the film Kill Bill and older genre films. This compelling view into the mind of Quentin Tarantino, Hollywood’s most prolific remixer, was insightful and entertaining. That video led me to Part 1 of the web series for further investigation into the recent history of remixing. Included in this episode are examples from the early hip hop anthem Rappers Delight, to the notorious Led Zeppelin plagiarism cases. Part 2 titled “Remix Inc” goes into more detail about the history of remixing in genre films. It is truly a joy to watch and I am looking forward to parts 3 and 4 from these guys.
Enjoy
TreVZ
Everything is a Remix – Kill Bill
This video courtesy of producer Kirby Ferguson and and editor Robert Grigsby Wilson does a side by side comparison of the film Kill Bill and the older movies it referenced. It is not a secret that Quentin Tarantino who worked in a video rental store before he got his break, relied heavily on old genre films to inform his work. Not being a film student or a indie art-house film buff I must admit that I either didn’t recognize or make the connection between many of the films referenced in this remix, so I was a little taken aback by the fact that my all-time favorite director would rely so heavily on older movies, even lifting scenes frame for frame to create what I considered masterpieces. My opinion of Tarantino as an “original” artist took a hit after viewing this edit, until one of the comments on the vimeo page put some perspective and historical context to this sampling technique.
“Tarantino truly is the first hip-hop filmmaker. He samples everything and still manages to make it unique. He frustrates the hell out of me because I can see him pulling from some of my favorite sources, but you can’t deny the end product, which is always entertaining as hell.”
On the Everything is a Remix website they provide us with scholarly insight into the age old question ‘Is anything Original?’ For those among us who hang out in indie art circles or were attentive in film class this site may seem a little passe. But if you like me have been raised mostly on pOp culture, music videos and blockbuster movies, this site will give a little insight into the mind of the indie art film buff. These guys really know their stuff.
Enjoy
TreVZ
Exit Through The Gift Shop – Free on Hulu
If you haven’t seen Exit Through the Gift Shop yet it is now playing on Hulu for free. In exchange you get to sit through a few corporate pitches. A small price indeed. Check it out here.
Enjoy
TreVZ
Trailer – Bill Cunningham New York
This past year has brought us some incredible indie films like “Radiant Child” and “Exit Through the Gift Shop” Now comes a film from Richard Press about the iconic New York Times photographer Bill Cunningham appropriately titled “Bill Cunningham New York”
About the film:
“the “Schwinn-riding cultural anthropologist has been obsessively and inventively chronicling fashion trends and high society charity soirées for the TimesStyle section in his columns “On the Street” and “Evening Hours.””Cunningham’s enormous body of work is more reliable than any catwalk as an expression of time, place and individual flair. In turn, Bill Cunningham New York is a delicate, funny and often poignant portrait of a dedicated artist whose only wealth is his own humanity and unassuming grace.”
BILL CUNNINGHAM NEW YORK OPENS AT NEW YORK’S FILM FORUM ON MARCH 16, 2011.
For more info you can log onto the website here.
The End Titles – Warner Bros
Here is a collection of The End titles from Warner Bros thru the years courtesy of this really cool website annyas.com. This website archives and displays movie title stills from every era for our enjoyment. According to Christian Annyas who produced this site…
“I’ve seen a lot of movies over the years, and to prove I’ve sat through at least the first ten minutes of them I started making screenshots of the titles. Then my computer crashed and I almost lost them all. To save them for future generations I created this little website.”
Well thanks for geeking out on this for us Christian.
Teaser – Ai Weiwei “Never Sorry”
This is a teaser for what looks like an amazing documentary titled ”Never Sorry” by Alison Klayman about the Chinese artist, curator, architectural designer, social commentator, and activist Ai Weiwei. They call him the Beijing Andy Warhol. I am not sure if Warhol would have risked his life in the name of free expression. Ai refers to himself as “A brand for liberal thinking and individualism.” I can’t wait to see this film, in the meantime enjoy the trailer.
TreVZ
TimeScapes – Rapture
Here is a cool trailer for an upcoming film by Tom Lowe called TimeScapes – A Modern Portrait of the American Southwest. It may seem like a one-trick pony sort of thing, but oh how that one note is played so brilliantly in this trailer. The visuals are nothing short of breadth-taking.
Enjoy
TrevZ
Locked
Very cool short someone sent me this morning. The twist at the end makes it worth reading 9 minutes of subtitles.
Enjoy
Trevz
GTKU – J.R. Melanie & Basquiat
Life is like a box of Chocolates, so are people. That is the inspiration behind the Getting to Know You project.
This past Monday I finally got around to seeing The Jean-Michel Basquiat documentary Radiant Child. Director Tamra Davis did a great job presenting a more disarming and thoughtful side of the talented but tormented artist. The commentary from Nelson George about the artist struggle with being a black man in a mostly white scene is fresh and insightful. And if you are a fan of the Julian Schnabel bio pic Basquiat you’re going to love seeing much of it play out through photos, video and interviews. One major critique I have is the poor camera and audio on some of the interviews. Nelson’s being the worst. Still I would higly recommend seeing this film.
After the film I thought it would be great to get a review from a fellow theatre goer. Say hello to J.R. and Melanie. They seemed like a great duo and I just had to approach them as a part of my Getting to Know You series.
BTW the film only runs through August 3rd. For more info log onto the film forum website.
Enjoy
Trevz
Missed Connections
Really Cool Video I saw On Babelgum TV featuring illustrator Sophie Blackall who started this really clever blog missed connections. I’m a sucker for whimsical watercolor illustrations.
Also I noticed that the soundtrack was remixed by my friend Bisc 1.
Enjoy
Trevz
Exit Through the Gift Shop – Are Warhol’s 15 minutes up?
I finally got around to seeing the street art documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop. This much hyped documentary is one of the more fascinating and entertaining films I have seen in a long time. It poses the age old question ‘what is art?’
Many people feel like (and there are clues to suggest) that this film is a manufactured experiment. An insiders joke orchestrated by the Master Prankster and the most well known street artist Banksy. A commentary on how easily the masses are “Brainwashed.” The film focuses on a French filmmaker named Thierry Guetta who seemingly transforms himself into an art star overnight and goes by the nom de plume Mr Brainwash. Even if this film is a complete work of fiction scripted for gullible audiences it still holds up as a fascinating commentary on the concept of Pop Art and a look into the birth of the Street Art movement. The idea that one can appropriate everyday items, utilize assembly line techniques, brand it and call it art has been called into question on the big screen.
Knowingly or unknowingly Exit Through the Gift Shop reveals that The Emperor that is Street Art has no clothes. The Street Art movement finds much of it’s inspiration from Andy Warhol’s factory and the assembly line techniques born out of that legendary space. This film places street artists in the very same cross-hairs that took aim on the mighty Warhol. In less than 6 months Mr Brainwash manufactures his own stardom utilizing the Warholian blueprint. The question arises, if all it takes to be an art star is a great marketing strategy and a craigslist ad (Which is how Mr Brainwash finds his little elves) then when does it cease to be art and start to be product? And it begs the bigger question, is this Pop Art movement all a big fraud? Are Warhol’s 15 minutes up?
I have been a fan of street art since the mid 90′s and after leaving the theatre I found myself really struggling with the question, is this art? Suddenly I challenged my own visceral appreciation of this movement because the process was being called into question on the big screen. It is this debate that make Exit Though the Gift Shop a stimulating and entertaining film.
Check out the trailer below.
Trevz
Life According to Woody Allen
In this great scene from the film Hannah & Her Sisters Woody Allen gives a very simple reason for not ending it all. It is elegant in it’s simplicity.
A Walk Through Fort Greene
Here is a teaser for an upcoming full length documentary I am working on titled A Walk Through Fort Greene co-directed by Nelson George & Diane Paragas. This documentary highlights the community of artist that resided and collaborated in Fort Greene during the 80′s & 90′s. Filmmaker Spike Lee, comic Chris Rock, actress Rosie Perez, rap star Talib Kweli, visual artist Lorna Simpson, jazzman Branford Marsalis, rock guitarist Vernon Reid, and poet/rocker Saul Williams are just a sampling of the Fort Greene artists featured in this film.
I first saw the teaser for this film on Hypebeast about a month back. My initial thought was why wasn’t this done already? Growing up in East Flatbush Brooklyn I always held a fascination for the aesthetic beauty and the bohemian cool vibe that Fort Greene held over the rest of the borough. When I got an email from Nelson a few days after seeing the trailer asking me if I can work with them on the edit, I was thrilled to say the least. I am a die-hard documentary junkie, and after working on this for countless hours I have to say that it has exceeded my expectations. The legendary parties by Spike Lee and Wesley Snipes, the collaborations born out of chance meetings, the then unknown artist making their first steps to iconic status, it is an incredible documentary and I can’t wait for you to see it.
My dad a NYC taxi driver for over 35 years who loves his work has a favorite quote, ‘Find something you love to do, and you will never have to work a day in your life.’ That is how I feel about working on this film. I will keep you updated on our progress and maybe with permission from Nelson post more teasers on this blog, in the meantime check out the trailer posted below.
TrevzNewPop
Razor Face an Exercise in Storytelling
In all mediums of art arguably the most important skill is the art of storytelling. Everything else is just window dressing. A couple of days ago I blogged about the film The Legend Of 1900 calling it one of the greatest films you never heard of. It is about a Piano virtuoso named 1900 (Played by Tim Roth) who is born on a ship and never steps foot on land. 1900 has a single minded approach to his art. An idiot savant kind of perspective in which little else mattered beyond his music. In one scene I found particularly fascinating, 1900 gives his best friend Max Tooney (Played by Pruitt Taylor Vince) a glimpse of what is going on in his head. What is revealed is a world where everyone moves to his soundtrack. A world where a woman sitting at a table becomes the main character in a scandalous murder mystery. Or a man walking across the room is the centerpiece in a thriller about the immigrant experience. It is a world where everything becomes foder for drama, intrigue, comedy and all the rich elements that color our lives.
For my first 21 years due to my Seventh Day Adventist upbringing I wasn’t allowed to take part in any secular activities from Friday sundown until Saturday sundown. No TV, no radio, no magazines, just church in the morning and religious music until sunset. For my first 21 years I would routinely spend my Saturday afternoons looking out the window at people walking by. I would entertain myself with imagined stories of what went on in the lives of these total strangers in a way very similar to the scene posted below. It was fun and a great exercise in the art of storytelling. Below the 1900 post I embedded a live performance of the song Razor Face performed by Elton John and written by Bernie Taupin. One of the greatest storytelling teams in recent memory. It is the type of song that is full of storywriting potential. Give it a listen and observe the world around you. Observe yourself. Create stories the way 1900 did.
Enjoy
TrevzNewPop