End on a high note

Music and Movies. Have I had time to compile a top ten list? Yes I have.

I will combine both film fest and general releases here because I haven't seen as much stuff as I wanted to. If I would have had more time to see films at the Vancouver Film fest this list would be a bit longer but working at the Hotel and the Docs doesn't leave time for much.

Little Miss Sunshine: Nietzsche and Proust don't usually make it into road trip comedies but they did here and that why I love it. Literate and dumb in all the right places.

A Scanner Darkly - a mind-fuck with great animation for people who flee from Pixar rendered nonsense at at every opportunity.

Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles - After Hero and House of Flying Daggers I thought Zhang Yimou had lost his soul. Zhang shows it is possible to do intimate and opulent with equal zeal. With this personal tale he showed Raise the Red lantern and To Live were not just the kind of films he used to do. Ken Takakura, who plays a parent struggling to connect with his dying son, evokes the grace and dignity of all the great father figures in OZU's movies. Also, China has never looked better.

The lives of Others - Amazing story about East Berlin in the eighties and how art thrived and infected the hearts of those trying to crush free thought. A great, almost wordless, performance by Ulrich Mühen as the Stasi agent who puts aside his politcal beliefs to help a talented playwright.

Radiant City - A hybrid doc about urban sprawl. Set in Calgary but it could be anywhere USA. A funny and informative vision of our every expanding neighborhood dystopias.

Brick - Film Noir set in High School with those kids from Third Rock from the Sun and Witness. A great concept expertly executed. One of it's many strong points is the slang and how they employed it without it sounding stilted.

Sketches of Frank Gehry - Inspirational and informative. For a first documentary Sydney Pollack did an amazing job.

Recent Discoveries
The Weather Man - A miracle it got made within the Hollywood system. I usually hate Nicholas Cage but he really was fantastic in this mid-life crisis epic.
Don't Move - Penelople Cruz is always great in non-english roles. In this one she uggs herself up and really breaks your heart. It really got to me the way only Bergman usually does. It thought about it for weeks after seeing it.

Music
I've been listening to lots of good music this year (I can do that while doing other things) so it's easy to come up with 10. Only a few new artists on the list. Mostly it's established bands coming up with near-career topping achievements.

The Greatest - Cat Power:
Hard to follow up "you are free" but she did it here with the help of the Memphis blues band. It came out early this year but when I put it on I still feel all those emotions I did in February.

Let's Get out of this Country - Camera Obscura:
Their others albums are great but this is simply magnificent. Doing what Belle and Sebastian should be doing (and getting paid substantially less). Lloyd are you ready to be Heartbroken? had me going back to the Lloyd Cole catalouge. I had forgotten about him but thanks to this song he's a staple in my itunes library.

Shut up I am Dreaming - Sunset Rubdown:
Holy shit, it's still a piece o' magic. Even after all these months.

Rubies - Destroyer:
Most accessible Destroyer and a timeless rock record to boot.

Mr. Beast - Mogwai:
Never been a Mogwai fan but this album made me go back to their back catalogue to find out how they got here. Even if Miami Vice is a lame turd, they aren't guilty by their association to said dud. They didn't write the album for the movie they wrote it for me.

Band of Horses- Everything All the Time:
A new band that just kicked my ass. Why do they care so much? It's only pop. The same question I ask myself all the time.

Axis of Evol - Pink Mountaintops:
More greatness from the Hive. I am biased but it looks like the rest of the people in the know are as well (from all the top tens they are on). They reference the greats yet wrestle originality out of every note they steal.

I am not afraid of you and I will beat your ass - Yo La Tengo: Renewed my interest in them. Makes up for the Summer Sun CD, which wuz dull to the second power.

Return to Cookie Mountain - TV on the Radio: Took me a while to get into this one but after seeing them live and taking it out on the run with the ipod I was taken in by these Brooklynites.

Almost on the list - need a few more listens

Bonnie Prince Billie - The letting go
Grizzly Bear - Yellow House
Peter Bjorn and John - Writers Block - Full review to come
Beast Moans -Swan Lake - Destroyer + Frog Eyes + Sunset Rubdown = a dense miasma that makes no sense on paper but in practice it shines. Mixed at the hive and still being untangled by many a scenester's brain.

The importance of titles and Wii

Why am i so obssesed with a title for the Dr. Tomorrow project. I want it to be named anything but Dr. Tomorrow. A lot of my favorite movies have horrible titles yet they made their way to me anyway (i.e. In the Mood for Love). This issue should be put away for now and dealt with during the edititing process, which will come in about a year.

Had a pretty good christmas party this weekend. Byron and Sonya brough over their Wii console. It was fun using those motion control wands. Although now my arms are sore. We played boxing, bowling, golf, baseball, Tennis and Zelda. I am seriously thinking of getting one of these in the spring. I still might get a PS3 though because that has the blu-ray player built in and you know I'm all about the movies.

Now the real work begins

The high of Whistler is over but so is the post-partem depress fest. David and I are now onto writing, writing and then a lot of re-writing. We also have to come up with a budget. I guess I knew all along there would be tons of work after Whistler but I was just so focused on the pitch that I couldn't see to next week. Tonight I've been writing some Dr. Tomorrow treatment stuff and I've come up with a few good ideas. When you finally see the film you'll know what I'm talking about.

The great thing about Doc Talk being held at whistler was that everyone was in the same confined area and we all had to interact. I got to know a lot of great people in the Canadian broadcast world (an oxymoronical statement, I know) and got to further loathe the myopic ones I met last year. They know who they are so I won't legitimize their sorry ass lives in this here blog.

I have 3 interesting projects that I'm excited to be a part of and I won't let these soul crushing broadcasters get me down.

Whistler and Doc talk

Mona and I just got back from Doc Talk which was held in Whistler. Seems that all that hard work has finally paid off.

Our pitch went great and we had some amazing meetings with Broadcasters and Distributors. All three of our doc projects now have some money people involved. David is really impressed with the progression of the whole situation and likewise I'm glad to be working with him. After talking to 15 different entertainment representatives my voice was shot by Friday.

I'm so glad I went down to 2 days a week at the Hotel. I believe positive thinking got me here. You just have to do it until you think it's beyond rational thought and then something good happens. I'm getting closer to 40 and I am happy that on my 40th birthday I will be considered a success (in my eyes as well as others).

closer to doc talk

Working hard on getting a 2 minute video and pitch ready for this years DocTalk. It is going to held in Whistler this time around. It should be fun although David and I have 14 meetings in 3 days so I don't think I will be hitting the slopes. What are we flogging this year? Dr Tomorrow of course. We were one of 8 teams chosen to pitch our idea of an 86 year old Futurist. I won't get into the details but you know this guy must have something going on if I'm gonna commit time to it.

We shot some doctor tomorrow yesterday on HD and I presume to say it is the best-looking footage available for this guy. My cinematographer (the amazing Kimm) is coming over this morning to drop off the footage. We will be editing all day. I will manage to go for a run sometime during the process.

Altman 1925-2006

Saw this coming but still a very sad day. I've been a fan for years. Must finish watching Praire Home Companion. Don't really have much to say but I knew I had to post. A man that has given so much to cinema needs to be remebered. After I saw Three Women in the 80's I wanted to know everything I could about the director. His imprint won't leave the landscape of independant film anytime soon. I'm just glad P.T. Anderson got to work with him on his last film.

xeon and on

Mona and I have had our new Mac Pro (with the intel 2.66ghz Xeon quad processor) for almost two weeks now and we have got to tell you: it is great. We are not going back to our emac anytime soon if you're wondering. Logging tons of footage (like we are doing now) takes the same time but when we get to the editing it is going to be a breeze.

We also took in Resfest this weekend. I tell you trying to balance the two is no easy task. In the end the logging won. We saw the radiohead video marathon and couldn't muster the energy to do more. So we went back home and starting pumping more tapes into the machine.

Some Resfest Highlights

0.08 - a short doc from the Netherlands about a Spanish boy who is legally blind. Great production design, editing and story. Front to back narration...but it worked god dammit. It didn't hurt that the narrator sounded like Samantha Morton.

Massive Attack, False flags - This rock video was shot at 1000 frames per second. It is amazing what they can do with digital video these days. Will try to use the Phantom 9 camera, that the director used, in the Superdogs doc.

Coldcut, Sound mirrors - Not usually into cgi stuff but the pairing of their new-found ambient sound (former cut and paste beat junkies) and striking visuals was a very satisfying experience. I'm always impressed with photo-luminescent jellyfish.

Jon Bon Jovi's Pool Cleaner - That says it all.

Family, All he needs - A shot-by-shot remake of Mike Mills Air video: All I need. This time around it's for laughs. Instead of a hetro love story about two people who meet at a skate park there's a gay/rollerblading twist thrown in. Friggin' hilarious and inspiring at the same time.

Go to youtube if you want to see any of these.

Things change

Went to my uncle Doug's funeral in Edmonton this weekend. He died of a heart attack a week ago. It was sudden and we were all pretty shocked. The good thing about it was it allowed our family to get together. We all hadn't been together for some time; I got to see my cousins, aunts and uncle and my dad and stepmom.

I made a slide show from pictures my dad emailed me. I thought it was something I could do that would be a good tribute to a great guy. My uncle Doug was always in a good mood and it's a shame that I hadn't seen much of him over the last few years.

This is a wake up call for me, I am going to make more of an effort to see my mom and dad. You don't know how many years you have left with the people you love. I've been busy trying to get my film career together but now that I'm going down to two days a week at the hotel I should have some more time to visit them (but not necessarily the cash to do it).

Sometimes I wonder why I left Edmonton but going there for the funeral I realized why. It's so damn cold, you have to stay indoors for 6 months of the year. That can't be good for you. Plus you have to drive everywhere. The city is just wrong. I always thought it was a cruel joke of god being raised there but some good had come out of it.

I'm developing two projects that are based in Edmonton. Enough time has passed that I can finally appreciate what I went through. The eighties were funny and sad especially if you grew up in such isolation. When I saw the Commitments one of the characters says something about Scotland being the shittiest place around. They've never been to Edmonton if they made that remark. When you're stuck in a place like that you have to make something great come from it because when you look around all you see is darkness. That's what these two projects are going to do. Unique lives are what people are looking for when they watch movies and in this northern albertan city I think there are more than enough to satisfy the most discerning film fan.

Projects a'plenty

My life is finally starting to get back to normal. Over the last few months my schedule has been turned upside down but now, alas, I am back to posting.

Currently I am working on 6 projects: 3 Docs, and 3 fiction pieces. I can't share all the information but lets just say that 2007 is going to be more slanted towards Drama narrative, not Reality.

Info I can share -

Was accepted to doc talk again. We are one of 8 groups that are pitching our idea to 60 broadcasters from around the world. I'll give more info on our project later.

Mona and I are developing a sit-com with the ultra-young and super talented Ken Tsui. He was the only guy that stood out to Mona and I at the MAMM contest. Yes, it is true the rest of the crop were uninspired poo merchants.

We shot our first wedding video as a favour to Mona's friend. We are yet to edit it. You can rest assured we'll throw in lots of filters and slow mo plus a few CSI tricks.

What will we edit it on? We are getting a Mac Pro Quad Processor this week. This little Emac has served us well but it's a too slow for all the new projects we want to do.



I have watched a few movies as of late...

Marie Antoinette - Mood, tone, the inner world and all those things that I love and the mainstream despises. Kirsten Dunst was just amazing in this picture. Not a perfect movie but I felt comforted and inspired at the same time.

The Weather Man - Watched it on a lark and was heavily caught off guard by this mid-life crisis tale by bigger-than-huge director Gore Verbinski. I kept thinking how bad the marketing for this movie was if I got no sense of what the movie would be like from the ads. I usually hate Nick Cage but in this I couldn't see any other actor pulling of this precarious balancing act. From the colour palette to the script, everything just worked and at the end I was overcome with emotion. I watched it twice. As far as Hollywood movies go this one slipped out unmangeled. I love the cameltoe bit.

So let's just say I'm back to writing and living my life. At work the busy season is over so now they get us to do menial jobs instead of just sitting around (back in Alberta they used to call that "fucking the dog"). Had to rake leaves the other day and put my back out. I just kept thinking the whole time that I'll be glad when I can do film full time.

Going to the Asian Film Fest kickoff party tonight. Mina Shum is giving a talk and we'll be schmoozing with lots of the local filmmakers. I don't think I'll go to the Karaoke bar (yes, you heard that right) afterwards.

MAMM

Recently, Mona and I competed in the Mighty Asian Moviemaking Marathon. We were one of 15 teams to write, shoot and edit a 10 minute film in one week. Luxurious schedule by 24 and 48 hours film fest standards but still we were under the gun and wished we had more time. Our film is called Just a Myth and we handed it in last Thursday. Mona was interviewed in the Georgia Straight and you can read the article at the end of this post . We won't find out if we win a prize until September 9th so we are kinda in an uneasy place, not really able to move forward until we hear how we did. Our friend Terry thinks it's the best thing we've done so that gives us hope. There are three prizes: First is 3000.00, second is 1500.00 and third is 300.00. Are chances are pretty good but we really didn't make a picture to please anyone but ourselves. Just like Departures we are going to be sending this one to as many film fests as we can afford. So cross your fingers for us. If we win the top prize we are buying a Panasonic DVX100b camera.

Brazen Asian gets real

By pieta woolley

Publish Date: 31-Aug-2006

In the world of racist jokes, Asian men’s penis size is right up there, according to filmmaker Mona Mok. But in politically correct North America, Mok says, stereotypes are off-limits. That’s why she subtly dropped penis size into the short film she’s made for the Mighty Asian Movie Making Marathon, which ends today (August 31). Mok’s out to be genuine, even if it means being shocking.

“I’m not going to worry about offending anyone,” she told the Straight, noting that North American Asian filmmakers are still struggling to find a voice. “Someone else might want to censor it [penis size], because they’re afraid to bring up stereotypes. But it’s something that me and my girlfriends talk about....I think we need to talk about Asian issues without being apologetic about it.”

This is the second year for the Vancouver Asian Film Festival’s competition, aimed at developing that voice in the local community. Each of the 15 teams was given a location, item, and fortune-cookie prediction to integrate into its film. Mok’s team, China Lily, got closet, Christmas tree, and “You and your partner will be happy in your life together.”

VAFF executive director Peter Leung told the Straight that last year’s contest did what he hoped it would. It brought the young Asian-Canadian filmmaking community together and started the process of thinking about what an Asian-Canadian story is.

“There’s a lot more buzz this year,” he noted. “I think the films will be more thoughtful.”

Mok recounted that she found filmmakers interviewed for articles about the movies Eve and the Fire Horse, Double Happiness, and The Joy Luck Club seemed apologetic, as if they needed to justify telling Asian stories.

“They should just tell their stories,” she said. “Don’t try to white-ify it because you think it’s going to be off-putting.”

The 15 movies, including that of the first South Asian–Canadian team to compete, screen at Tinseltown on September 9. Tickets, $10, will be available soon at www.vaff.org/. The three top films will be shown as part of the VAFF November 1 to 5.

No, I haven't been sitting on my hands

Holy Crap, multiple posts in one day. As you can see I have been writing this August. I was just working extra days at the Hotel, writing a short film, and sending out Departures to film fests. If anyone hasn't seen Departures and would like to, give me your address and I will send one off. Hopefully there aren't thousands of you, cause then you bastards will have to pay. Starting tomorrow Mona and I are participants in the mighty Asian movie making marathon. We have to make a ten minute short in a week, from start to finish --- out of thin air. We feel we have a great cast and by the end of this month we'll have another great short film. Whether we win or not we will be one step closer to making our feature.

Fitting into your proper aspect ratio: Part 2

I wish I could go back and meet Spielberg and Lucas in the 60’s and 70’s. I bet I would probably even want to hang out with these young filmmakers. They had so much promise. They remind me of the stories I heard about Truffault and Godard in the fifties: in love with cinema and ready to set the world on fire. It seems that over time they have fallen prey to artifice and have become immersed in their own myopia. And now they want to return to the a priori days but, as the saying goes, you can never go home -- they’re too dispassionate and these fat-cats can’t come back from that.

It comes down to this: people always want that which is most coveted. But if Hollywood is at your fingertips, do you really want the harsh realities of indie movies? Established directors presume to think they can make an artistic statement as potent as Pie, Donnie Darko, Brick, You and Me and Everyone we Know or Primer. Sorry, but it’s highly unlikely that this is going to happen. If you have handlers, pundits, and anyone you refer to as “your people” or use the term “working lunch” then making Killing of a Chinese Bookie might be a stretch, mais oui? And, anyone who considers the backlot at Universal “home”, as Spielberg did on a recent TV interview, will have a hard time fitting into the independent world where they won’t have their own personal assistants. The real shame is that after the fat cat directors finish their version of an indie movie, a large sector of the built-in audience will buy into their expensive marketing machine and think it’s going to be quality indie; that is until they step into the theatre and realize things really aren’t clickin’.

The only reason directors should want to make movies is to do work in an art form that is unique. If not, why not just write a novel or make and album or even commercials? One of the more brilliant literary adaptations of the past years, Morvern Callar, managed to subvert the pitfalls of screenplay translation and become something unto itself alone. By reading the synopsis of this movie (girl’s boyfriend commits suicide, she steals and publishes his manuscript, goes to Spain) you are in no way prepared for the visually arresting vision of director Lynne Ramsey’s final product. For most directors it would be a mind numbing string of enervating plot points. Ramsey understands the power of filmmaking and uses it to it’s fullest potential. Her success story, sadly, rarely exists in the straight world of corporate Hollywood.

So what does Independent mean?

Independent does not necessarily mean low budget. In fact, many indie directors have clandestine agendas of making the next bloated Hollywood production. Their real intentions aren’t exposed till much later. Movies like Hard Candy, Whale Rider and Bend it like Beckham are good case studies. Hard Candy is director David Slade’s attempt at a Morgan Freeman/Ashley Judd serial killer movie. Basically, it’s Slade’s demo reel to Hollywood. The latter 2 of this troika are little more than Disney kids movies done on shoestring budgets. They fit in perfectly on double bills with Freaky Friday and Princess Diaries. When those directors finally did make their big budget hollywood movies the gimmick of being indie darlings couldn't save their flacid tales. Shane Carruth (director of Primer) is the antithesis to this obsequious trio. Primer was a movie that didn’t sit well with the marketers or financiers. It was made for 7000 dollars after all. As gripping as all the presidents men and as complex 2001: a space odessey this movie had the power and gravitas of a master directors mid career masterpiece; not a debut. It will be remembered long after the sugar high created by North Country and Dallas have vanished.

The directors of Brick and Sin City have both been quoted as identifying inflated minimum wages as the main culprit of bloated budgets in Hollywood. Look at a movie like Sky Captain with its 100 million dollar budget compared to Sin City which was done for a measly 30 million. Both used A-list actors and no physical sets; all the actors performed in front of blue and green screens. Yet, Sin City has, arguably, a superior look, tone and script. So where did that 70 million dollars go? Into the hands of the useless so-called experts whom, we are told, are essential to getting’ a film “in the can”.

Richard Linklater, Steven Soderbergh and Gus Van Sant are good examples of directors who take advantage of Hollywood’s positive aspects yet retain their original visions of what filmmaking should be. Sure these guys make their overpriced star vehicles but then they return to what really inspires them. For instance, Linklater went from the Newton Boys to Tape and Waking Life with ease. After making Good Will Hunting and Finding Forrester, Gus Van Sant went on to make three plotless films that clipped along at leisurely pace (too leisurely for some). Soderbergh, the most successful of the three, started with a string of failures in the nineties, made the truly bizarre Schizopolis then came back hard with the universally excepted Out of Sight, Erin Brokovich and Ocean’s 11. These directors know how to play by the system’s rules yet have mastered that intangible quality that creates resonance with the audience.

After my rant, here’s a surprising thought. Amazing films are still getting made within this system. Luckily, there are just so many utter disasters to rail against that it’s easy to make a good film in this climate. American Beauty, Thin Red Line and Fight Club are prime examples of occasional miracles that ooze through the fissures of that hermetically sealed reality-suppressed bio-sphere in California. Miracles do happen, unfortunately the suits don't know how to bottle and reverse engineer it.

To Spielberg and your cronies, you claim to be powerless in the system but you are all both engineers and dramatis personae of this industry. You’re so powerful yet you complain you’re powerless to have your personal projects funded by Hollywood. This is complete bullshit. I call your bullshit and say you do have the power. Hell, Spielberg even has the financial power to fund his own indie movies without breaking his fund manager’s sweat.

How about taking a lesson from independent filmmakers who are willing to take risks, make sacrifices, and use their own money to realize their artistic visions? A nice dream but I don't figure it will happen anytime soon.

The real cure for this disease is to purge these messy tent pole disasters with a deluge of great films. If hollywood sees that films don't have to be made for so much money then maybe they'll sever the lifelines to these leeches. It is getting to the point where you can make a film for almost the same price it costs to make an Music CD. So instead of just making Dark side of the Moon you can also make the Wizard of OZ for a few dollars more. Then you and your friends can listen and watch your Opus as the Bong bubbles on ---- and yes the hapless schmucks in LA can spend millions marketing it and tell all the industry rags how they were truly responsible for its success.

The upshot is more and more young directors are taking cues from the new wave of hollywood directors and not the afformentioned old guard. David O' Russell's I heart Huckabees is more important to a young kid than the Terminal and it's a better world because of it. What inspires me even more is that kid from shit-spat Saskatchewan who knows nothing about film history, walks into Best Buy to buy a camcorder and makes his own personal Eraserhead.

Reinstate the obvious, disassociate the banal

I have been listening to Sunset Rubdown as of late and I can honestly tell you I am entranced by this newish cd of theirs. Shut up I am dreaming it is called and, hell yes, I like it better than the mothership from which this pod was jettisoned---Wolf Parade. I think the reason is, it delves a bit deeper into the realm of indie-rock esoteria. I'm a big fan of this crazy (at times ambient) almost-prog---due to the extreme length of some tracks---magic that Spencer Krug is laying down here. The symphonic soundscapes he whips up on this disc are topped off with amazing guitar work. If the guitar freak out on the title track doesn't affect you at a gut level then your guts are full of shit. Not since 1995 have I heard such great slop-tastic licks as these (see: Pavement, Sebadoh and Built to Spill). That old school shit I speak of saved my sanity as I made my way through the throngs of Salarymen in Seoul, South Korea--- walkman at extreme sound pressure levels.*

There are some true surprises on this disc. The first time I heard the ending on We took a vote and said no I felt like I was hearing Radiohead's The Bends for the first time (also a Korea discovery). You don't see a lot of the sounds coming at you on this album...that's how it should always be...but rarely is.

So, it's albums like this that give my life purpose and show that the perceived futility is worth it. In a world that can create such beauty as this album, well it can't be too bad. Be patient, it'll get better this album urges me. I can say that Spencer Krug is one of the few who has taken the baton from Destroyer and made something complementary and wholly originally from the experience. It makes me wonder what people see in all the hugely popular factory refurbished indie outfits as of late (No need to name them, they are abundantly aware of their sins).

definitely up there with Band of Horses and Cat Power in the best of 2006.

*Yes, you are going to get a bit of a history lesson ala Rube circa 1995. I taught English in that hotbed of world cinema: South Korea. Music and film were my saving grace. I would sit in my yahgwan and dream of the west. My friends and I didn't realize how much we were into North America until if was ripped from our greedy claws. We were only there for the money and the price we had to pay was loneliness. Yes, there is a screenplay in it and I will make the movie someday---starring Lou Pucci.

High and Low

Kevin Smith's recent blog entry explains his fascination with Linklater's Slacker and How that was the movie that inspired him to be a filmmaker. Apparently he watches it every birthday to remind him. Amazing he didn't carry on in the tradition of Linklater.

A Scanner Darkly and Clerks 2 are the most recent offerings from these two filmmakers that I've been watching closely over the last 10 years. I really enjoyed both of these movies albiet trying to reconcile the differences is almost shear lunacy.

Clerks 2: The worst movie I've ever loved.

Kevin Smith, although funny as shit, is as predictable as any other modern director. He is acutely aware of his flaws as a filmmaker yet not really interested, or even worse, capable of changing. This is fine but from a well-rounded movie goers point of view not the best situation. Kevin's knowing nods to the stupid plot contrivences (that are the wonder bread and butter of his films) doesn't in itself make them go away. It's the garbage in garbage out scenario. I saw Kevin's top ten list last year and... it's a sad, sad shit list except for the amazing Sin City. If he just watches mainstream North American movies (War of The Worlds) he will not rise above the muck.

Linklater, the more thoughtful of the two, consistantly surprises me. He can go from Tape to School of Rock (whilst making a shitload of money I might add) and then come back with Before Sunset. He is a fan of the oft maligned subtitled exotica known as the art house film. He puts that into his mainstream movies just as Tarantino does. If you're going to steal, do it from the Ozu, Godard, and Fassbinder not from the sludge merchants in LA.

When Kevin Smith takes a dip in the mainstream he drowns. Case in point: Jersey Girl. Sentimentality and cute moments don't really move a story along once you take out all the profanity and pop-culture banter. In School of Rock, Linklater had the amazing comic talent of Jack Black and the amazing writer Mike White as enabler and architect for this pre-teen flick.

Kevin is a terrible director who doesn't come up with stories that surprise you or make you think. I think Kevin should try to get someone else to interpret one of his scripts. See what happened when Rodriquez let someone co-direct one of his movies. Bam, motherfucker, he makes the best movie of his career.

Touchstones to these films:
A scanner Darkly - Alphaville, Stalker, Code 46
Clerks 2 - Meatballs, Porky's and even worse Wedding Crashers. Albiet the dialog is way better but it is constructed with the same artless abandon.

I will still read Kevin Smith's blog but I am becoming increasingly tired of his schtick. He is becoming more of a media figure than a filmmaker. We go to him for opinions and not revelations; that's why Kevin is filling in for Ebert during his recovery. I think Linklater will always be too busy making films to stop and comment on pop-culture. He prefers to keep it in-the-frame and not expound about it on his blog. Does he even have a blog? Probably not.

I still have some hope for Kevin but I think most will look at him as some one who triumphed over adversity than someone who changed the landscape of American cinema. Linklater on the other hand...

Three Times

A great review of Hou Hsiao Hsien's Three Times. Just thought I needed to make it abundantly clear I'm into this dude's films.

That Obscure Object of Desire

For almost a month now I have been immersing myself in the archaic sounds of the lovely Scottish band Camera Obscura. It seems I've come to their shore at just the right time. Previous albums have shown moments of great clarity and strength but this new one, Let's Get out of this Country, is phenomenal from start to finish. While listening to it on my run or while doing timed writing sessions I get all these great visual images. This is the third great Scottish album that has come out in the last year (behind Boards of Canada and Mogwai.) Tracyanne Campbell's vocals remind me of early 'everything but the girl'. This album is actually a logical progression from EBTG's cover of 'the only living boy in new york' (Simon and Garfunkel). When I heard that song on the soundtrack to the movie Tadpole I wanted more, more, more. But alas when I went to download more EBTG tracks I was left empty eared. Now, some years later, I'm satiated. Finally my sixties-meets-present urge has been quelled.

Of sense and nonsense

Obsolete films (the film production company that Mona and I run) have two short films "in the can". Yes, it is true. Mona and I have finished to short subjects that we are very proud of. Typewriter at 5 minutes, was conceived, shot and edited in a 24 hour period. Essentially little more than a fun romp through the "60's Miami" inspired architecture of West Vancouver. People have really responded to it. Departures at 9 minutes, is a meditation on the strains of teenage friendship/love. This was a year and a half in the making but we are finally free of it and ever so proud. This one takes a little more to get your head around but this is really the mood and the tone we are going for when we do our feature. These two films both star the radiant Bianca Versteeg; our own personal Monica Vitti. Departures also stars longtime collaborator Terry Stewart, who gets all the best lines. Typewriter Co-stars non-actor, software genius and all-American indie aficionado Ken Milne. We are packaging up and sending them off to several film fests; from Portland to Pusan.

In a couple of days David and I will have completed our third promo for the superdogs documentary. This one clocks in at 7 minutes (the other two were 2 and 10 minutes). We will then be sending it off to the BBC, Sundance Channel, CNN and of course the mothership: CBC.


Also, that crazy Thai (Pen-Ek Ratanaruang) who brought us Last life in the Universe has a new movie coming out soon. It's called Invisible Waves and he's once again paired up with Asano (actor) and Doyle (Godhead cinematographer). Saw the trailer and it looks like another stunner. Twitch gives it a great review so that's saying something. Go to the site.

Power, Corruption and Lies

No, I am not talking politics here but something far more soul enhancing: music. I know it's a little late for this revelation but the New Order album Power, Corruption and lies is a serious piece o' work. Ever since I started doing research for my new screenplay, I've been listening to it. It first re-emerged into my conscious through the gloriously anachronistic trailer for Marie Antoinette. The song age of consent was stuck in my craw for a good week...

"I'm not the kind that likes to tell you just what you want me to"

The aforementioned screenplay I am working on takes place in 1983 so I'm collecting all sorts of mainstream and underground songs from that era. This album by New Order is the idyllic transition piece between the techno-popers they would be and the doom-meisters that were Joy Division. All this and Anton Corbijn has just started filming the Ian Curtis Bio-pic. No better time to revel in the dark tones of these brilliant Mancunians.

Songs such as Your Silent Face, 5 8 6, The Village and Blue Monday (ubiquitous for years after it's intial release) really capture the other side of the 80's -- free of pastel polo shirts, rampant comsumerism and tanning beds. Through necessity this album still had a lot of the human touch that makes music really hit you. Unfortunately as technology evolved they went on to be a slave to "the midi". You can only be this great for one album, things are gonna change and usually not for the better. When so many teens are counting on you, you're bound to make a few missteps. At the time though I thought they were humming along nicely. Twenty some years on, their output in the mid 80's feels as sterile as a GP's rubber glove.

It's good that I still look back on my teenage years with some fondness, not just embarassment and shame. Hell, the screenplay will be all the better for it.

Fitting into your proper aspect ratio

Inspired by the movies Capote and Good Night, and Good Luck, Steven Spielberg now wants to make a low budget movie. What is it about the allure of independence that has made him step out of his cozy abode to throw his hat into the ring? I want to explore the ramifications of such a scheme. Are Hollywood heavyweights really interested in putting forth evocative messages or are they just working themselves up into a lather by the titular ecstasy of becoming an Indie-filmmaker?

He says he was willing to make Memoirs of a Geisha for 10 million in Japan with subtitles. As a matter of public record we know that another director (Rob Marshall) ended up making the movie that became a critical and financial disaster. It alienated fans of the book as well as Chinese and Japanese audiences.

While watching extra features on the THX 1138 DVD I listened to George Lucas talk about how glad he was to be done with the Star Wars movies so he could finally focus on doing his non-linear, low-budget personal films.

What up?

Open letter to Spielberg and Lucas,

or

Lucasberg, you ruined Hollywood and now you want to ruin independent cinema. Step off, you shallow fucks.

Stay the hell away from independent cinema. We don’t need you. We have our own institutions, sacred cows and wellsprings of talent. All slots are full and we’re doing fine without you. Further, you can keep your CGI because it’s not helping to bring forward our evocative images in a meaningful way. What we will do though is let you co-opt our style in about five years or so because that’s how long it’ll take you to realize how cool our style is. By then we’ll have moved onto something else that interests us. So, yes, we’ll give you our tired old acid wash jeans at that time.

Remember that movie where Harrison Ford lived in some jungle with his family. He gets a bone-headed idea that ice is like that greatest thing in the world. Similar to what you thought when you saw all these indie films winning Oscars this year. Anyways, in the jungle is this godless tribe that has never seen ice. Ford’s character believes they need some ice. Stat. His first attempt is to bring these needy tribesmen an ice machine. That turns out to be a friggin’ disaster. Then, he decides to take them a huge block of ice. It’s wrapped up but the heat’s too much and the tribesmen end up with a dribble of dirty water. They are less than jazzed.

We thought it was funny how you cast Tom Cruise (as Tom Cruise) and the Colin Farrell (essentially a young Tom Cruise) in a Philip K. Dick story, Minority Report. We thought it was funny because Tom and Colin are such Hollywood types and, really, the antithesis of the types you would find in a K. Dick experience. When Scanner Darkly comes out you’ll see how even Keanu can appeal to the Keanu-phobic (this word may already be on Wikipedia). Further, you’ll see how Linklater, who is considered a truly independently-minded filmmaker, can spend 15 million and made it look like 150 million yet keep all the paranoia and humor of the novel. But when you see it, you won’t be able to admit that it’s a better movie than your precious Minority Report but that’s because you aren’t able to stretch beyond your own predictableness. No one will change your minds. What the both of you don’t realize is, it’s about D-I-R-E-C-T-I-N-G, not biding your time until you get the creature pre-visualizations from your effects. But you can relax fellas. With all the stuff flying around the big screen they won’t notice you couldn’t get a handle on your character.

I have more hope for you, Lucas, as you’ve already made three great movies - American Graffiti, Star Wars: episode 4 and THX 1138. But you aren’t 25 anymore and nowadays a lot of people are directly dependent on your computer rendered hand. This responsibility to the unions and to your 12+ plus work days only add to the budget and if the audience can’t see or hear the difference, they can’t feel it. Lucas, you’ve great visual style, a great grasp of mythology and an unparalleled imagination. However, you’re a terrible dramatic director (“faster and with more intensity” doesn’t exactly help to rally the troops now does it?) and have no ear for dialogue. Unfortunately, these are the two things that all great filmmakers must possess even after you strip away the millions of dollars of artifice.

Mr. Close Encounter, you bemoan that the studio wouldn’t let you do Memoirs of A Geisha the way you wanted to (for 10 Million with subtitles in Japan) so you didn’t direct it though you were happy enough to take the cash to produce it. Even though I love hearing Asians speak in bad English accents I consider this technique the highest form of Comedy, not Drama. Maybe wait before buying that island you’ve been eyeing (the one just beside Richard Branson’s) and instead bankroll something you believe in, and then we might talk. But I have a feeling we cineastes still won’t be impressed when we see your low-rent labour of love finally flickering on the screen. It’ll be a labour to watch we are sure of that.

And, really, I just want to tell you both that you’re doing just fine. You don’t need us.

Keep on keepin’ on and keep your hands off my power supply.

All for now.

Signed,
Rube Lubener
Belly of the Cineaste

Cusack at 40

Which John Cusack Are You?

John Cusack turned 40 yesterday.

How does this affect me? Over the last couple of days I've been thinking about it. I am offically old now. I am no longer valid, I don't carry the clout I used to. Sure, I am 38 and still have a couple of years to go but now that Cusack has gone into middle age, so have we all. I'm speaking for the Breakfast Club/John Hughes generation. Even though Cusack wasn't in any Hughes movies, he is still a big part of our collective memories of that time. The Sure Thing and One Crazy Summer, even though those are pretty lame teen movies at the time, they served their purpose. They were predictable flicks but at the time I was pretty predictable too. Cusack would go on to make classics like Say Anything, Bullets over Broadway, Grosse Point Blank, Being John Malchovich and Hi-Fidelity but I'll always remember him as being the everyman for the eighties. They're were others, like the guy from Pretty in Pink, but Cusack is the only one who endured through the 90's and into the present.

The main appeal of Cusack's characters was that they eschewed material gains for a higher calling. In The Sure Thing he gives it all up to travel cross country to be with a girl he knows is a sure thing only to realize that it's a truly empty endevour. In Say Anything he was such a breath of fresh air when everyone thought it would be a good idea to be just like Alex P. Keaton or Gordon Gecko. Here comes this guy who justs wants to live a life where he doesn't want to process, market or sell anything. A proponent of sustainablity well ahead of his time. I think their's even a scene of him recyling. Looking back at those movies, they are dated (Say Anything survives without as many scratches) but at the time they really gave me hope that once I got out of my teens things might be a little bit better.

If this world had allowed someone like Cusack to excel, things couldn't be so bad.

When Hi-Fidelity came out, I saw it in the theatre 5 times. It was my Titanic and I was the lovesick girl waiting for the ship to finally hit the iceberg. Just as she was surprised every time it happened I was surprised when he got back together with his girlfriend (especially after hitting so many icebergs along the way). At the time, my life mirrored his in many ways (sans owning the record store, I owned a recording studio). Something about the perpetual Slacker appealed to me deeply. Sure he wanted to have opinions on wine and jet lag but in the end he was happy to put his energies into what others considered worthless. Anyone who can do anything without the promise of monetary gain, I Love.

Now that I am offically invalidated, what does that mean? It means the pressure is off. No one is paying attention to me. I can go about my business as usual and if I do manage to say something to a person in their teens that's considered worthy then cool. But as for now, I will write my stories, make my films and live my life as if their is no biological clock looming in the distance. All this with the presence of mind to put as much individuality and creativity in all that I do. Pretty well the same existence Lloyd Dobbler or Rob Gordon had fashioned for themselves.

Up to no good

Just got through The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Dear Wendy, Syriana and the commentary track on Good Night, and Good Luck. FATF:TD was similarly themed to The Last Samurai but infinitely more entertaining. File it under: to bad to be actually awful. It's a great Drive-Movie. As far as Syriana goes, I love hearing the Director Steve Gahgan speak but I think he's too intelligent for his own good. I really couldn't get emotionally involved in this movie. Critic Armond White said we learn more about world politics from watching Sahara (Yes, the one with Penelope Cruz) than we do from sitting through Syriana. I want to see Sahara now cause lord I wants to learn.

Dear Wendy is one of my current cinematic crushes. The combination of Lars Von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg works famously. The visual style, concept and musical choices (The Zombies) are the strengths of this movie. The only minor flaw I found was in the overly expository voice over at the start. Granted they had a lot of ground to cover but once that sequence passed my senses were held prisoner for the remainder of this great flick. If I was 16 I would watch it over and over again and if a prospective girlfriend didn't like it she'd be toast. As Mona said "it works on so many levels".

I've been writing two screenplays (one with Misli, one with Mona) and trying to get a 10 minute dog promo down to 5 minutes. Other than that I'm trying to decide whether I am getting a sinus infection again or if I'm allergic to something.

Dangerously close to the P-word

I spewed this out during my weekly writing group. Posting this is either brave or...well, you decide.

I am co-opted sentiment for the masses pre-digested for your particular demographic. I am a graphic representation of a soul that has been dragged behind a car for its entire journey through South America in the rainy season. I am Melba toast that has been reconstituted with heat and fluid. I am the fluidity of analogue impulses, the way it was before digital codes took the place of real emotion. I am the Kilometer from Granville Island to Science World, where we see the city in flux. We hope it will be so much more but are expecting the worst. I am child-like co-ordination when doing a skillful act for the first time. I am the ball and gag on the oppressor of youth. I am terrible soup that can’t decide if it really wants to be stew. I am perturbed by impatience but not persistent enough to do anything positive or earth changing. I am two people walking in the desert looking for their twins when really they should be content with each other. I am the Canada arm on the space shuttle, which is ever powerful in zero gravity but on earth in can'’t even lift its own weight. I am Priscilla before she met Elvis and before she experienced the gaudy wonder of Graceland. I am Bob Dylan before he plugged in and got booed. I am a hybrid car that will save you 5000 dollars over 5 years. I am the 5000 dollars you saved only to spend it on expensive Lattes at Starbucks. I am a Robot that does all the things a human does only better. I am a pitch for the best movie in the world but I’m too time consuming and cost prohibitive. I am puppy’s breath before it turns into shit scented gob. I am a Velvet curtain in an old lounge that hasn’t seen daylight in 32 years. I am taller than a giraffe yet quicker than a cheetah. I am the resonance you feel after watching an Italian movie from the early 60’s. I am the de-saturated colour you pull from the overstated 1950’s Hollywood Epic. I am to long in the tooth to be short sighted. I am pleased to report that fat is still tasty. I am so much more than a jiggling ass and a great set of tits writhing up and down a brass pole as the lights randomly illuminate my soul. I am the tigress that eats her young because her DNA won’t let her go. I am a CSI lab sequence that needs expensive editing techniques and pumping music to make it more palatable. I am sturdy as a fireplug and used just as rarely. I am Peter Parker before he gets bitten by the spider. I am the geek in the Dugeons and Dragons club after he discovers booze and pot. I am leather chaps that don’t cover the really important parts. I am Monday night football that gives hope to America’s dull work-a-day existence. I am 60’s French pop that gets its message across without making any of its lyrics comprehensible. I am vocal chords that have been strained beyond repair yet still sing like they did 29 years ago. I am the perpetual oyster movement in a Rolex watch; all smooth, no click. I am joining the ranks of the disenfranchised fast food franchise owners.

Mormons VS. Scientologists

As we know, celebrities have a propensity for bat-shit crazy behaviour. So to stave off this madness they must search for some meaning in life. What's the salve, the balm, the panacea? The two most interesting are Mormonism and Scientology. So which camp holds the most street cred? Well lets take a look...

Scientologists
Tom Cruise
Beck
Jenna Elfman
Jason Lee
John Travolta

Mormons
Low
Neil Labute
Napoleon Dynamite
Fay Wray
Aaron Eckhart

On the Mormon side you must be thinking "holy shit these people know how to compartmentalize". To me, Mormons generally are more depressed and doom-centric. A band like Low questions those big questions in life just like Neil Labute does. As far as Napoleon Dynamite, well that cat is funny and that's because he keeps a cache of canned goods and emergency supplies in his basement plus he's allowed to have several wives. Fay Wray, an inspiration to Peter Jackson, needs no introduction. When King Kong is about to mash her in his jaws she knows she's one of the chosen and she's guaranteed to go to Mormon Valhalla.

I spent most of my formative years surrounded by Mormons in Lethbridge and Edmonton. They all had tons of kids and most of them where these gorgeous Aryan creatures that wouldn't be out of place on Laguna Beach. If you wanted that hot pussy all you had to do was dive head first into the rich talent pool Joseph Smith cooked up. At what cost though? Yes, you would have to deny yourself every joy man has concocted: Caffeine, Coca Cola, booze, cigarettes, Premarital sex (you could be in close proximity to the pussy but you just couldn't utilize it to it's full potential) and masturbation (can't get to the pussy; can't relieve yourself either). All the Latter-Day Saint boys would have to prepare for their missionary work which usually consisted of them sinning as much as they could before such task took place. I remember these kids were usually the first to get laid, drunk, toke up and come out of the closet. Directly after these life changing spirtuality questioning experiences they would repent hard and denounce any one who could slip that low, cause they'd been there and now they're so much above it. They were all so cute in the way they were hypocritical. Latter-day amnesia would wash away their sins after a Saturday night of debauchery, leaving them only a faint glimmer of guilt in the Sunday morning church light.

On the Scientologists side, Ok, you’re thinking Beck and Jason Lee are pretty cool. If you think that, you must have been in a coma since the 90's cause their output as of recent is less than engaging. When we take an even closer look the Scientologists don't fair too well. First of all, legend has it, Kurt Vonnegut had a bet with L. Ron Hubbard that he couldn't start a religion. At the time it must have been the most outrageous thought ever; that a Science fiction writer could have loyal minions following his insane ramblings.

Now look at the followers and you'll understand.

It's one of the few cults that actually legitimizes these people's inappropriate behaviour. When you're jumping on a couch in "Cruise control" or telling Brooke Shields she shouldn't be going to psychotherapy you need a fucked up support system to back up these preposterous claims. Or, to quote Top Gun - Your mouth is writing cheques your ass can't cash. I've hated Jenna Elfman's perky disposition for years. I couldn't put my finger on her source of inspiration but now I know and fuck it makes me happy. I couldn't wish Scientology on a nicer person.

What's great about Mormon artists is that no subject is taboo. Aaron Ekhart has played every manner of amoral misogynist sleezeball imaginable; usually under the tutelage of Neil Labute. Low sing about Whores, Clinical Depression and all the great sins of the secular world. Scientologists are simply swelling the ranks of bad action films, chick-flicks and turgid sit-coms. They would rather perpetuate the idea of this escapist dreamworld that mainstream media champions than delve into the grittier alcoves of real life.

When I do become famous don't be surprised if I'm waving my Latter-Day Saints flag with great vigor.

Vegas, I abhor you, though I know you not.

My grandfather Victor Leickner in the desert near Vegas, 1958

I have never been to Vegas but people are always telling me to go to Vegas. First off they all know what type of person I am so they make excuses for Vegas. They add substance to Vegas. If that fails they go on to say Vegas is a vacation from substance (and too much substance is just plain boring). They don’t actually say all that but that’s their general synopsis of the Vegas experience. What is it about Vegas then, that makes the enlightened babbling apologists? Is it an Oasis that Bugsy Seagel created out of sand as an ode to a woman he adored? Sometimes I think Vegas is all that’s wrong with North America. It’s too much make-up, too much development, too much glitz and mega-consumption. It’s cacophonously loud and open all night. All this is bound to bring out the worst in people. Then again I’m not so sure about that last point. This is all speculation; it’s all a priori. I don’t think I can judge the veracity of this city’s intentions unless I am there. Will I love it or will I just be disgusted and bored. Is the lack of substance going to overwhelm me or will I fall for Cirque Du Soleil’s latest offering: Love by the Beatles. It probably won’t change me in any great way. I’m 38 and relatively set in my ways. So do I even need to go to Vegas to feel what everyone tells me to feel? Will I find this ecstatic truth that Werner Herzog speaks of? He laments there are no pure images left, that if we want such a thing we must go to another planet. So must we then search out the most impure, inorganic images ever crafted by man? Probably. Vegas does not have a monopoly on these manufactured images but it’s a good place to start. Perhaps through progressive images we may find truth. Through a Frank Gehry Building or a Miami Skyline we may see snatches of ecstasy. This is not so hard to find these days, now that every centimeter of our planet contains man’s enormous carbon footprint. So the place to start really is Vegas. All spokes are attached to this hub. So yes, I will go to Vegas and yes something will be reinforced in me and I will learn cause that is all we really want; to be better than we were last week. And if we can pass this knowledge unmangled to others so much the better. I won’t go tomorrow or in the near future but I will report back to you when I’ve accomplished my mission.

Holding out hope

I hold out a lot of hope for the future of Cinema. It's good to hope for something and then to finally discover a work of art embodies the sentiments and sensibilities you find most compelling in fiction. Two films I am looking forward to this summer are The Puffy Chair and Little Miss Sunshine. The former because this movie seems to exemplify what indie filmmaking is all about. Supposedly the budget was 10 grand; which won’t even cover the coke and hooker per diem in a Hollywood production. It was shot on mini DV and visually it looks like poo. The real draw to this is the acting, which further proves you can film on any format as long as you have a great script and compelling performances. The latter because it contains the brilliant Steve Carrel, (40 year old Virgin, Daily Show, The Office) a stellar supporting cast and a funny-as-hell script. Alan Arkan does well in his comedic roles and he seems to have a few zingers in this one. This of course is from the trailers I have seen (plus the 8 min featurette for the Puffy Chair) so I could be way off. Garden State is a perfect example of a movie that I had high expectations for that let me down big time. I hate all movie endings that have a chase to stop the lover from getting on a plane. The Airport scene must die. Zach Braff, stick to making great mixed tapes cause that’s all the good that came out of this little vanity project. So we will see if either of these are this years Lost in Translation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or just mindless wastes of time.

Gorky's break up

It gives me great sadness to announce one of the great Welsh bands of our time, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, have broken up. I give you Poodle Rockin to remember them by.


Someday, I will do that movie where I use songs exclusively from their sublime album How I long to feel that summer in my heart.

Top 9 Docs (couldn't come up with 10)

Top 10 Documentaries
Since I’ve been on this Documentary trip for about 9 months now I should probably list my 10 favourite Docs of all time. As you can see, overt politics has no place in Documentaries for me. When you take out the topical you get to the deeper truths. I dare you to show me an Iraq Doc that can compare to any of these for pure entertainment value alone.

These are in no particular order:

Grey Gardens : Maysles Brothers – The ultimate mother daughter team. So glad they made a Broadway musical out of it.
Gates of Heaven: Errol Morris – Why do dogs make people so crazy?
American Movie: Bad Horror + Headbangin’ Director = Funny as shit doc. This is the movie Fubar was trying to be. You can’t fake a Mike Schank (god knows I’ve tried).
Cinema Verite: Defining the Moment: Peter Wintonick – A great doc about the history of documentaries.
Searching for the Wrong Eyed Jesus – Exploring the virtues of the deep south through the lens of a Brit with Jim White (alt country star) as our guide. Great structure to this offbeat film.
Half Japanese: The band who would be King – A great story of perseverance over lack of musical talent. This strangely moving tale of a couple of naïve brothers who made serious waves in the early days of indie rock.
Project Grizzly: Peter Lynch – On man’s vision to build the ultimate Bear-proof suit for wildlife preservation---I don’t think so. This guy is one f—ed up cookie but highly watchable. He’s Kind of the Hobbit version of Patrick Swayze.
Hell House – For Christians and those of the secular world this movie has something for you. It can be viewed as anti or pro depending on your faith. Essentially it is a tale of a famous Haunted house that is set up every year in Texas, to literally scare the hell out of impressionable Christian teens, thus leading them onto the path of redemption and salvation. Mel Gibson must have got the idea for the Passion of the Christ from this little movie (at least the gore elements).
Grizzly Man: Werner Herzog – Why do bears make people so crazy?

Bergman Central

Being a huge Bergman fan, I am wildly excited to report the English version of the much awaited Berman site is now up. This site gives you a real feel for what type of person he is as well as all those tasty tidbits we all yearn for...

Here is Bergman's top ten list -

The Circus (Charles Chaplin, USA 1928)

Port of Shadows (Quai des brûmes, Marcel Carné, France 1938)

Orchestra Conductor (Dyrygent, Andrzej Wajda, Poland 1979)

Raven's End (Kvarteret Korpen, Bo Widerberg, Sweden 1963)

The Passion of Joan of Arc (La passion de Jeanne d'Arc, Carl Th. Dreyer, France 1927)

The Phantom Carriage (Körkarlen, Victor Sjöström, Sweden 1921)

Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa, Japan 1951)

The Road (La Strada, Federico Fellini, Italy 1954)

Sunset Blvd. (Billy Wilder, USA 1950)

The German Sisters (Die bleierne Zeit, Margarethe von Trotta, BRD 1981)

Andrey Rublyov (Andrej Tarkovskij, Soviet Union 1969)


This site is the most comprehensive on the web and a must for all of his fans. Go there and Learn.

Ingmar Bergman Face to Face

Overheard at the Hotel

I was given this on a disgruntled employees last day. Wherever you see a series of 4 asterisks feel free to insert that person that causes you grief on a daily basis.

This is your notice that I no longer accept you as my employer. Time and time again your employee, ****, has been unfair, rude, and atrocious in her behaviour to me. We have discussed this situation in the past, several times, and after brief respite **** returns to her foul behaviour towards me. **** is incapable of normal human relationships in the workplace and I cannot work with such a vengeful and inept supervisor/manager, or whatever her title is! I am heartbroken - I love the ****** *****, its guests, location, history and staff, but **** makes it unbearable with her constant lack of correct protocol. I am tired of giving her chances and hearing excuses for her digesting behaviour. I am tired of her calling me down in front of the other staff for imagined offences. I am tired of her contemptuous cronies and I am tired of being lied to and unjustly accused! Clearly **** is not going anywhere, so I am. I will not indulge a sociopathic tyrant anymore and do not understand why you do! Send my remaining paycheque and any money owing to ----

Soft Confection

Just a short vitriol about a lackluster piece of physiological horror I had the misfortune to sit through yesterday. Go to IMDB if you want to know what this movie is about. I don't have the energy to recount it here on my blog. Hard Candy is dull beyond belief and with all it's CSI style editing it becomes so visually invasive I became numb to any drama that they were trying to offer me. Ellen Page's performance is so one dimensional it's almost a caricature and Patrick Wilson mostly winches when she starts monologuing (As I did) and groans or grunts for a bit of variety. Even though this is just my personal opinion I think anyone who likes subtlety or the Northern European approach to heavy subject matter will dismiss this nasty piece of kitsch faster than you can say Misery. That is giving this movie too much credit actually, for as inert as Stephen King's Misery is, it's still exists in a higher class of filmed Drama. Sorry to tell you, David Slade (the Director), independent is not synonymous with small budget. Like Whale Rider and Bend it Like Beckam all this movie exists for is as a demo real for his big bloated Tent-Pole movie we'll have to suffer through next year. Go see this if you enjoyed Identity, Butterfly Effect or anything where Ashley Judd plays a Detective.

Wes Anderson

Great American Express ad (I can't believe I actually wrote that). I think this was done for the Tribeca film fest. M. Night Shyamalan did one but that sucks huge.

Of ubiquity and chicken skin

Atom Egoyan, not known for non-fiction filmmaking, had a high profile doc at Hot Docs this year. Here is the blurb on it:

"Things in this city are never what they seem," says Atom Egoyan of Beirut. He's traveled to Lebanon with his wife, the actress Arsinée Khanjian, and their son, Arshile. It has been 28 years since Khanjian has been here, where she lived as a child. Egoyan has purchased a new Mini DV camera for their family vacation, and he's "still trying to work things out." The result is a playful, provocative film hinging on Egoyan's "peculiar alchemy" with Khanjian, but with curious diversions into religion, history, politics and the nature of documentary itself. Peppered with tender family observations and self-deprecating humour, somewhere along the way a modest journal effortlessly morphs into an engaging travelogue and astute personal essay. In particular, Egoyan's interrogation of the ubiquity of captured images, and their availability for mediation and construction, firmly places Citadel within the director's impressive body of work.

Do we really need to see his Vacation video? This review is typical of a film that has no redeeming qualities and thus substance must be added to the selling of said shit.

So I'm here at Hotdocs in Toronto and what a ride this is. This is probably the only film fest I've attended where I haven't seen a film; I'm restricting myself to the trade forum this time around. It's all about selling, selling, selling. We sat through 30 Documentary pitches and had several meetings in hopes of flogging our Superdogs Doc. There are hundreds of commisioning editors from all over the world here and it's all a little overwhelming. Pitching the show has been hard for me because I'm not naturally extroverated. I need time to warm up and this world is still very foreign to me. David is a vetran of this world so he's helping me out quite a bit.

My three favourite pitches were Basement tapes, Scott Walker: 30 Century Man and Up the Yangtze. Basement Tapes is a film about these ever popular mash-ups ala Dangermouse and it'as basically an ode to open-source culture. The Scott Walker film is basically self explanitory. I met the director Stephen and he's a great guy. Up the Yangtze is about the flooding of a valley to provide power for many needy Chinese. It takes place on cruise ship and one of the villages that is going to be flooded. The characters are great and it's a huge historical event, so yes, I will see it when it comes out. During a pitch for a film about Jazz pianist Bill Evans a European broadcaster said: This music of Bill Evans gives me Chicken Skin. Shit, I thought that was priceless. The cross-cultural differences are running rampant here all week but that just topped it off.

I've been able to meet three of my heros of Candaian Documetary - Peter Lynch (Project Grizzly), Peter Wintonick (Manufacturing Consent, Cinema Verite: Defining the moment) and Allen Zwig (Vinyl, I Curmudgeon). I had a long talk with Peter Lynch and we have a lot in common. I will email him and hopefully we will form some sort of correspondence.

Toronto itself is a large, sprawling piece o' crap. There are all these piles of trash on the streets and assorted junk lying all over the place. It's very different than the experience that we are accustomed to in Vancouver. This is the first time I've been here in over 20 years and I think it's better than most people say. I don't hate Toronto I just hate the idea of it.

On my last night we went to a party hosted by one of David's friends. It was held a really cool loft in an older part of Toronto. Everyone was friendly there and having been a part of this world for nine months now I'm starting to feel comfortable around these filmmakers. Velcro Ripper (Scared Sacred) was there and I just thought he was going to be the biggest freak/prick ever to commit his ideas to film. He was actually approachable and pretty normal. We talked about problems with broadcasters and budget concerns; just standard stuff all filmmakers bitch about. I probably won't see his film cause it's not really my taste but good to know the "it boy of the moment" isn't what you'd think he'd be.

In the end there was a lot of positive response for our film and I look forward to taking it into production. The Dog movie marches on.

Stop Smiling

I just discovered this magazine. Where have I been? Touted as "The magazine for High-Minded lowlifes" it was just prententious enough to perk my interest. This particular issue (no. 25) is all about Documentaries. There are great interviews with Errol Morris, D.A. Pennebaker and Albert Maysles. It's well written (better than it needs to be) and it's got a minimalist layout. Far better than Res Magazine, which was trying to be the coolest magazine in the world, only they forgot to put in the all important ingredient known as substance. A friend of mine bought me a subscription a few years back and I held out hope for that rag for the longest time since every issue came with a DVD. More often than not the DVD had only one or two interesting things on it. Nowadays I only flip throught it halfheartedly as I pass by the magazine rack. Stop Smiling is more of a lifestyle magazine as far as I could figure as they don't really focus on just film and music but art, politics, books and humor. I noticed Vince Vaughn was on one of the back issues so they aren't afraid to go mass market as long as it's the best of the A-listers (Vince still has some street cred). It's more accesible than The Believer which I find a little too elitest but still in the same stylistic vein.

In the music section I found a spot-on and somewhat lenghty review of Cat Power's The Greatest CD. This issue had a lot of what I crave and reminded me that it's not all about the internet, print still has it's strengths. Hopefully the next issue will be as good.

July Inspires

Here is a fabulous piece of Apple propoganda starring Miranda July. She was responsible for one of my favourite movies last year so you should watch this.

What Up?

Been back to work now since the 14th. The month off was pretty great. Got some good stuff for the Doc, went to Whistler and just managed to relax.

Next week I'm off to The HOTDOCS Documentary Forum in Toronto. Werner Herzog will be there, don't think I'll get to talk to him though. What'll I say "Hey man, did you really eat that shoe?" We hope to pitch our Superdogs idea to broadcasters and get some much needed funding. Then and only then can we start seriously making this thing. We've got some great footage already but need a lot more if we want it to be a feature. So I'll post more about this after the forum.

In other creative news - Mona and I plan to do a series of 1 minute shorts. This is a way to keep our creative muscles pumping. As we finish them I'll find a way to post them on the web.

Movies and shows I've been watching:



V for Vendetta - Mona dragged me to it but I thouroughly bought into what they were laying down. This coming from someone who really found the matrix trilogy to be one of the sillier film events of the last 10 years. Portman was just great in this and they used a Cat Power song.


Brick - Film Noir set in a High School. Never done seen nothin' like it. The film creates a world we've never seen, commits to this crazy notion, and pummels us with truly unique colloquilisms, situations and dangerous females. They pull all this off in an organic way just like Donnie Darko did before it. The real coup is that it was made for 500 000 US$. Lukas Haas, who was great in Last Days, continues to surprise in this dark piece of magic.


Battlestar Galactica - Yes, I've lost my indie-cred. A recommendation from Kevin Smiths Blog, this new series totally reinvents the original sans the camp. Cylons are now soft, supple, sweaty and sometimes smokin' hot babes. They don't have those metalic silver shells and moving led eyes, thank god. Speaking of god, the Cylons are all hard-core Christians and if they're female they're thankfully nymphos. Oh, yeah and they're mostly Candadian. It's just a ruse that we're all friendly up here. Anyway, this show is totally compelling because of the strong female leads, great acting and fantastic dialogue - all rarities in Sci-Fi. Did I mention I abhor Science Fiction? See it and get back to me. Also, this is of local interest - it's filmed in Vancouver, making it the best series to be filmed in our fine city. No, I'm not forgetting X-files...cause' I wasn't a fan o' that roswell obsessed piece of poo.

The Hive: #2 - P:ano, When It's Dark and It's Summer

...most of October I had trouble remembering your name...

NICK KRGOVICH and LARISSA LOYVA are the only constant from the early days of P:ano. There's been lineup changes and incarnations since 2000 but they're still making the same great music they did when we recorded them in that damp East Van Basement.

They came to us at a young age (similar to the Ids). Nick was a 17 year old highschool student and Larissa was a little bit older. We saw them at the Brickyard with a couple of bands but the only one we could remember was P:ano. They had elements of all the bands we were into: Low, Yo La Tengo, Belle and Sebastian. One thing that Colin and I were fascinated by was the maturity of his song writing. To us, it was crazy that no one had recorded this band or even approached them to record.

Over the next 6 months Colin recorded their debut album: When It's Dark and It's Summer. He brought in all his friends from the Vancouver music scene: Josh Wells, Ida Nilsen, Andy Herfst, Stefan Udell and others I can't recall. We recorded this one on our 16 track 1 inch to achieve that munchy dark sound we so love on all our favourite albums. Colin knew what he was doing this time as 5 years had passed since the Id's and he'd recorded dozens of great bands in the meantime. From the start it was clear Nick was endlessy creative and wasn't interested in the status quo. Colin and Nick pushed each other to make something they could never have achieved on their own. Highlights from that album were All of November, Tut Tut and Dinosaurs but honestly this is an entity unto itself not just a collection of singles. Languidly beautiful intros and codas bookend stunningly written pop songs on this amazing debut. I was just far enough removed from the proceedings to fully comprehend the magnitude of this musical watershed of form and function.

After we had finished the album no labels were interested in putting it out. Today the mere thought of this seems ludicrus but back then nobody gave a shit. We had to take things into our own hands so Terry started our label Hi-Fidelity with the sole purpose of making this amazing piece of art availble to the public. We were very proud to have this as our first proper release. This time around it was one of the highest selling albums on our indie distributor, Scratch Records (a little different scenario from Nettwerk).

People loved this album and even though it's now out of print it's one of the best albums to come out of Vancouver in the last 6 years. Like Sean (the Ids), Nick also started off as a nice naive kid from the burbs whose personality changed but is now back on track and he's even turned into a respectable adult - albeit one who writes amazing songs. They toured the west coast of the USA with this album and even though many substantial offers were dangled before their eyes none ever transpired. No, they didn't get a coveted spot on the OC soundtrack but Nick eventually wrote a song called OC.

When it came time to record their sophomore album, The Den, things got a little tense but we won't get into that here. It's all behind us and we're glad to say this tale didn't include drug addiction but instead it was about big budgets, late nights and gargantuan ambitions.

Hive-Fidelity put out those two albums before they buckled to the pressure of the much maligned major-indie label. Thankfully they didn't sign to Nettwerk but the much superior (ethically and aesthetically) Mint Records. At present they are happily churning out pop gems for that imprint and we are all still friends.

Miss Terry

My good friend Terry Stewart is now a part of the blogsphere. Go to her site and see why she is the most powerful and opinionated woman in Vancouver's indie-rock scene. I've added her to my links so go there now.

Mogwai, now more than ever

My self-imposed exile from the isle of Mogwai is now officially over. These Scotch F—er’s simply rock. I don’t know why I’d been so apposed to these guys over the past 9 years. Yes…now I remember. The Beans (The Hive Top 10 review coming soon) are to blame for this. Back in 97 I was painfully attached to the sounds of said Beans and nothing close to that could shake my faith in them. Whether it be God Speed you black Emperor, Fridge, or whatever Post-Rockers were making serious inroads back then, none could enter the sonic domain that the Beans held. I now know there is room for many flavours of the tasty pudding that is Drone-rock.

I downloaded the album a couple of weeks ago and last week I decided to buy the physical Disc. I went down to Zulu (something I haven’t done for a while) and once I saw the gorgeous packaging and read that it contained a “making of DVD”; I couldn’t rightly ignore the impending purchase. At 16.98 it was a true bargain.

The sound: Solid and enveloping (Glasgow Mega-Snake) to ethereal and spare (Emergency Trap, I Chose Horses, Team Handed) but always with an undercurrent of tension. On Glasgow Mega-Snake the guitars come in heavy and continually up the intensity until you are wrapped in dense curtains of noise. It’s not all guitars all the time as there are enough synth-y bits and piano flourishes to keep the ambience alive. I know heavy guitars are an easy out when it comes to manipulating the listener but these guys have been at it long enough to know when to employ it for amazing effect. As always; listen and get back to me. I'm sure you'll agree. On I Chose Horses we are treated to Japanese spoken word via the singer Tetsuya Fukagawa of Tokyo Hardcore rockers Envy. Not knowing what he’s saying only adds to the aural scenery that Mogwai has captured on this impressive CD.

Since I have a background in recording I also can't ignore how great the pure sonics of the album are. When you have that many layers of guitars going it can almost get counterproductive. Eventually the whole mess can implode on itself and when you add too much in the end it sounds like a tiny muddy mess. Their producer/engineer Tony Doogan (Belle and Sebastian, Delgados, Mojave 3) knows how to keep things dynamic, alive and is extremly skillful in maintaining precise separtation throughout the stereo field. The quieter songs breathe beautifully which isn't an easy task for a lot of volume-centric knob twisters but that is his forte as he comes from more of a folk background, that was to be expected of him the latter was a great surprise. He's done a great job on this CD especially since it was all conceived and mixed in the digital domain. To me it sounds as good as any analog recording, so no, that isn't a small feat at all. I am glad I left the recording arena because guys like this make it seem too easy.

It’s a well rounded album that I have found works well to keep me motivated when I’m running through East Van with my ipod.

The DVD isn’t that great cause you can hardly hear their voices (it doesn’t help that those harsh Scottish accents aren’t the easiest for a Canadian to comprehend under the best of conditions) and not much of a story to it. It does look great and the mood of the album is captured pretty well. I guess that’s all you can really expect in a free DVD. I really liked the look of it though and if anyone knows that camera they used could you please email me the technical info ( I emailed the band but I guess they are too busy to respond).

I will be there once they play at the Commodore in May. Mark my words. Even thought it is pretty steep at 37 bucks people have told me they are best digested in the live setting. So I’ll see you there.

M for Movie

F for Fake - A late masterpiece from Orson Welles. This shows how doc and fiction can co-exist as well as giving us some truth about lying. Or is it the other way round?
Metropolitan - How come I've never seen this gem. Great dialogue and no, Vince Vaughan, you didn't invent the silver tongued asshole routine, Chris Eigeman did.
The Yes Men - Corporate hijinx has never been so funny. So great to see how two little guys can create P.R. nightmares for the evil Corporations. Manages to skirt the oft-used "preaching to the converted" formula by employing outlandish gags and glitter phalluses.

The music never stops

Listening to -
Mogwai - Mr. Beast (Yes...yes...OH YES...full review to come)
Banda of Horses - Everything all the time (tasty stuff, full review coming soon)
Sondre Lerche - Two way monologue (to soon to tell)
Loose Fur - Born again in the USA (Dunno...tell you later)
Assorted New Zealand stuff from the 80's courtesy of Rose (thank you, I'm loving it)
Morrissey - Ringleaders of the Tormenters (So far no good)

Back from the Prairies

I've been back for a few days now and I've had some time to reflect on last weeks events..

Due to legal issues and because I am involved in development for a film which may or may not get made I must refrain from giving away too many details.

I can however say that after viewing Incident at Loch Ness, that movie, although fiction, does ring true to what I went through this last week. In a documentary it's all about your subject, it can really make or break your film. We are still involved in the casting of this movie and we still don't have a concrete treatment. Every day something new and exciting shows itself. Who will be the star? What will the spine of the story consist of? In the next couple of months we will know for sure. This gets some people nervous and in turn creates a lot of stress for David and I. This film has been deep-sixed and resurrected a half dozen times over the last few weeks. Currently it's a go but for how long...

Sufjan Stevens wins New Pantheon award

No it's not some overpriced Volkswagen, it's an award given to the best artist to sell under 500 000 copies of their album. It's judged by so called taste makers like Frodo, Elton and Margaret "Fo Sho" Cho.

This was one of my favourite albums of last year so it gives me great pleasure to announce this. To me this is like the Grammys, as most of the bands nominated are what I listen to on a daily basis (of course with the occasional Pink song thrown in, but only when I'm at the strip clubs).

The Hive: #1 - The Ids, Psycho Babylon (1997)

This was the Hive's first serious girlfriend, if you will. We met up with the lead singer Sean McDonald when he was still in his late teens. He showed up at our basement studio, played a few songs on the acoustic and soon after we began production on their first album, Psycho Babylon. We took no money for the album as we wanted to see it get to the audience it deserved, such was the altruistic leanings of the early Hive. Their sound was compared to Beck, Sebadoh, Jane's Addiction and GBV. At the time Lo-Fi was hot and we almost rode that aesthectic to success.

After the first six months of bliss our relationship with them became less than ideal. They got signed to Nettwerk records (career suicide), egos raged, unnecessary rock videos were filmed, drug habits formed and elusive success never materialized. When we started to record the second album nobody was enthused and we felt the band had abandoned their unique sound for a shot at the coveted "radio friendly unit-shifter". Eventually they went to another producer/studio and if you ever lay your ears on that one, you will experience how unfortunate a sophomore album can be.

Psycho Babylon is a classic indie-pop album that Vice Magazine said was "the best release in the History of Nettwerk Records". As a result to it being so unique to the rest of their roster the album has the distinction of being their lowest selling album to date. That record still stands, hallelujah.

Today, Nettwerk still sucks and the album still stands as a testament to what you can do with no money and a lot of drive to get something done. Locked in a Room with death is a perfect indie-pop song that will be remembered years from now.

Flaming Lips: At War With The Mystics

I started listening to this album about a month ago but I thought I would wait to post a comment. I wanted to be clear headed when I piped in on this mega-release. Ya know, ya get over exicted about an album the first few listens but that sometimes fades (all that production voodoo f--n' with your aural recepters and newness of the moment shit). I didn't want to regret anything I said about this little CD and now I can truly say these are my sober thoughts on the music that is At War With the Mystics.

I haven't been an "official" fan of the Flaming lips since the 90's so this comes as much as a shock to me as it does to my dear friends: At War With The Mystics is a Masterpiece (a shallow one but a masterpiece none the less). This album cannot be ignored. All the elements I like are in place on this album - the fuzz guitar, unconventional song structure, analog tape effects, fragile Neil Young inspired vocals, great keyboard sounds, bizzare non sequitur lyrics - it's got it all.


Note of local interest: Pink Mountaintops are opening two CD release parties for the lips in New York. This may have already happened.