#sundance2024

[tinseltine]

LUTHER: NEVER TOO MUCH | Filmmaker Dawn Porter | Documentary

When I look at the covers of these albums I get a good, warm feeling in my heart.  These were the songs I grew up on. My sister, LeVonne and I were Luther nutz! Seeing him in concert every time he stepped foot into Philly. We started being fans around the ages of 12 and 14. Even as a kid I realized my musical taste was rather mature, we loved the same artists Luther loved – Roberta Flack, Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Aretha. There’s nothing throwaway or bubble gum pop with these artists, and Luther had that same ability to create lasting, timeless music.  As big a fan as I was/am, I can’t say I really knew much about his personal life.  I mean it was always a question as to his being gay or straight, which is addressed in the doc. Philly’s own, Patti outs him, but his closest friends and collaborators, who he’d known since high school: Fonzi Thornton, Robin Clark, Carlos Alomar continue to respect his privacy on the matter.  If he was gay, and most-likely he was, it’s even sadder that he didn’t live long enough to say F*ck it!  I’m me and I love who I love.  But I do understand that his main concern was how his mother would react.  I feel like over half of my life decisions were based on what I thought my mother would say if I did this or that. Giving undo deference to a parent can keep you hovering low to the ground.

There’s plenty of performance clips, including when the NAACP Honored Dionne, and Luther serenaded her but good with “A House is Not A Home”. Niles Rodgers is interviewed, of course, is there a music doc that doesn’t call upon him to be a talking head? Another usual suspect is Music Journalist Danyel Smith, she’s funny when she talks about the difference between Motown and the Sound of Philly – “Motown is formality – we’re matching and in by midnight vs. Sound of Philly is come as you are and scream a bit”. Jamie Foxx is a producer of the film and provides his Luther vocal impressions. Jon Platt Chairman/CEO, Sony Music Publishing is interviewed along with Clive Davis and Mariah Carey. 

How did I not know that Luther Vandross wrote “Can You See A Brand New Day” from The Wiz, what!?! And I either forgot or never knew about the devastating car accident that killed one of his close friends, which he pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter and just barely avoided prison time. That seemed truly a breaking point in his life, triggering the returning weight, as he always admitted to being an emotional eater. As would be expected, a good bit of the doc covers the struggles he had with yoyoing weight and diabetes. It’s hard to think of him without the thoughts of fat Luther vs. thin Luther? But Porter’s overall theme is to capture his musical talent and the career goals he met before leaving us all too soon.

This part is not in the doc. but I found out the Luther Vandross Foundation, which provides financial assistance to students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), is managed by The Philadelphia Foundation!

[ecsundance]

2024 Sundance Film Festival Summary

Sundance, Slamdance, what-a-chance to see a lot of movies and have a lot of fun!

I now have an idea of the evolution of the film festival in Park City, Utah. After attending both Sundance and Slamdance for the first time, I have come away with a new appreciation for the effort and challenges faced in making a film. I also have a better understanding of Michael Z. Newman’s claim in his book, Indie: An American Film Culture, stating that indie films cannot simply be defined in economic, stylistic, or thematic terms but rather, needs to be understood culturally. In his book Newman identifies three strategies to use when viewing films: characters as emblems, form is a game, and when in doubt, read as anti-Hollywood. Throughout my time watching here at the festival, I tried to engage with these films using these strategies.

Talking to people who have lived in Park City their entire lives, I have come to realize that the Sundance Film Festival has changed significantly over the years into what it is today. First off, the film festival scene has not fully recovered from the effects of COVID. Secondly, the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strike also had an impact on the filmmakers, some of which were not able to meet the Sundance deadline. In the years prior to COVID it was difficult to walk down the street due to the crowds. This year the crowds were definitely larger but did not get back to pre-COVID levels.

Sundance has grown over its forty-year history. It is still bringing indie filmmakers together, but often in a larger way in multiple areas. Whether it be star power, budgets, scope of the film, or trying to get studio or distribution support, it is definitely larger than it was. Additionally, there are now major companies sponsoring Sundance, setting up large tents, buildings, and erecting facades on the storefronts in the Main Street area during the festival. These included Adobe, Acura, Audible, Canon, Chase Sapphire, DoorDash, Dropbox, Shutterstock, United Airlines, and United Talent Agency (UTA) as well as media publications such as IndieWire, Variety, and Vulture.

Contrast this to Slamdance, which is held in three theaters right next to each other inside the same hotel. Having them close together along with lounges above provided convenient access for the production staff and created an atmosphere that makes it easier to speak and connect with the filmmakers. They were very willing to talk about the films, how they got there, lessons learned, and even to provide their contact information. Slamdance appears to be more like what Sundance started out as.

I also have a better understanding of some of the challenges that go into the business of independent filmmaking. The first is obtaining funding. Sources for funding include personal funding (like George Lucas who mortgaged his house to make Star Wars), state grants, crowdfunding, and major studio backing. The other challenges come from all directions. Planned and unplanned. Planned like trying to get the actors that you want to work with you such as the interviewees in The Greatest Night in Pop which was the “We Are the World” production. Unplanned challenges which can come from out of nowhere and are sometimes technical. For example, imagine losing part of the audio and having to later fill in the missing audio during editing and not having the actors available since they had already left. This happened to the filmmakers of Thirsty Girl.

Every film, regardless of size, will have its own goals. Some want to increase their funding to produce a larger project. Others want to make a political statement. Still, there are documentaries that may want to show the effort it takes to accomplish something like The Greatest Night in Pop or the film, Union.

When it comes to making indie films, Newman states, “It [independent cinema] is most centrally a cluster of interpretive strategies and expectations that are shared among filmmakers; their support personnel, including distributors and publicists; the staffers of independent cinema institutions such as film festivals; critics and other writers; and audiences. All of these different people are audiences who employ these [three viewing] strategies, and it is only because filmmakers are also film spectators that they are able to craft their works to elicit particular responses from the audience. Indie constitutes a film culture: it includes texts, institutions, and audiences. Indie audiences share viewing strategies for thinking about and engaging with the texts—they have in common knowledge and competence—which are products of indie community networks” (Newman 11).

While watching the films during the Sundance Film Festival I tried to analyze the films using Newman’s three strategies. For example, characters as emblems are used in Winner as the main character is symbolic of anyone that stands up for what they believe to be right but is in conflict with the law or society. Form is a game is another strategy of Newman’s that I saw used in the short film, Pasture Prime. This film transitions from a stalker to horror film with a twist at the very end as the snake slithers away. The third viewing strategy, when in doubt, read as anti-Hollywood, is identified as movies that do not have a happy or conclusive ending. Examples of this include Winner, where the hero goes to jail as well as the short film, The Lost Season, where people are indifferent to climate change. Anti-Hollywood movies also include films that leave you asking questions at the end. For example, in the instance of Winner, I am left wondering why there is such a difference in her punishment for crimes compared to others that were more serious. Also, in The Lost Season, I wonder if the next generations would care if they never got to experience winter. For short films, like Pasture Prime and The Lost Season, you have to wonder why they hit home for the director and how long they had this burning desire to make them. Newman’s three strategies are not mutually exclusive and often overlap as in Winner with the use of characters as emblems and when in doubt, read as anti-Hollywood.

As you can see, independent film is much more than inexperienced people with little money and unknown actors and directors producing a film. It encompasses films that are trying to send a message, provoke thought, think outside the box, or just be different.

Here is a list of the films I saw broken out between Sundance and Slamdance. My favorite film is Rob Peace, and my least favorite is I Saw The TV Glow.

Including both Sundance and Slamdance, I watched a total of 24 films (this is counting each short program as just one film).

Sundance:

Feature Films

A Different Man – Very well done. Psychologically the character in this film is crazed by the fact that he changed his appearance, but it did not make him who he wanted to be. This is because people preferred someone else that looked like he used to, begging the question, is personality or looks more important.

A Real Pain - Two cousins tour a concentration camp. They then have to rethink what they consider pain and suffering after seeing what the Holocaust victims experienced.

As We Speak - We have freedom of speech, however, the way our words are interpreted can be based on our skin color. This is a major problem when our words are used against us in court.

Freaky Tales - Based vaguely on real events, this movie intertwines the lives of four distinct groups in a very interesting and fun way. It reminds me of a live action anime, and I found myself engulfed in each story. The culmination was perfect.

How To Have Sex - An interesting take on consent and dealing with assault and the emotions that come along with it. Great cinematography and music selection. The director stated it was loosely based on personal experience.

Ibelin – A sad but heartwarming film about a boy who was born with muscular dystrophy and even though bound to a wheelchair he could still have friends online. It demonstrates that online communities should not be stigmatized and that you can find love, friendship, and be able to make a difference in others’ lives from across the globe.

I Saw The TV Glow – A strange film about a warped reality, where the TV show is the actual reality and not knowing you are trapped. It was very strange and confused me.

Krazy House – Krazy is a perfect title for this film, with it being a completely normal sitcom and then as the director says, “everything gets f****d up.” This film foreshadowed later events in the film very well. It is the only film I have ever heard people laugh when a dog dies. It is just so entertaining, and you are left thinking after the film is over, “what did I just watch?” It is so hard to explain this film, but I highly recommend seeing it.

Little Death – This film asks questions about wholeness and drug addiction. It manages to tell the stories of two different characters over the course of one film while only following each story for half the film, which I found really cool, interesting, and very much enjoyed.

Presence – A creepy horror film about just that: a presence in someone’s home. It ends up saving someone’s life, but at what cost? I found this film intriguing as the camera is handheld the entire time from, I assume, the presences’ point of view. I really enjoyed this film, and it gave me chills.

Rob Peace – This was my favorite film. The acting was amazing. The storytelling was great. It was able to keep the audience engaged and take artistic liberties without losing the true story of the film.

Suncoast – This is about a girl, Doris, taking care of her brother who is dying of cancer while at the same trying to navigate the teenage years.

The Greatest Night In Pop - This film did a great job in capturing the stress that went into the making of the song, as well as how much was unknown going into that night. It showed the seriousness of the process, and the comedy that lightened the mood, which had the whole crowd laughing throughout the film. It was a heartwarming film that brought laughter and joy to the entire crowd.

Thelma – A heartwarming and humorous film based on Thelma, the grandmother of the director, Josh Margolin, who was scammed out of ten thousand dollars and her journey to get the money back while also asking questions about when to ask for help and is being on your own always best?

Union – A documentary about organizing the Amazon Labor Union in New York. You may have to offer new incentives to get people to listen to your pitch. Would you like pizza or weed?

War Game -A documentary about a simulation held to help prep the government if something like January 6th were to happen again. I got the opportunity to talk to the producer of the simulation after and it was very interesting.

Winner - I gave it five stars. I thought it was thought provoking on the difference between what is right and wrong in that situation. It must have been difficult having that inner conflict about what is morally right but illegal in the eyes of the law and trying to make the decision of what to do.

Shorts Films

Midnight Short Film Program (3 of 6 shorts watched)

Bold Eagle – This was about a man named Bold who is struggling during the pandemic. He talks to his cat and engages in online sex. I did not enjoy this film. The Looming – This was a very interesting horror film about the elderly and their struggles with mental disorders and dementia.

Dream Creep – This was about a monster living in his partner’s ear, and while trying to help her, he accidentally sets the monster free and traps his partner.

Short Film Program 2 (3 of 7 shorts watched)

The Lost Season – This is a narrated view of an entire season, winter, disappearing due to climate change and no one really seems to care after it is gone. Thirsty Girl – This was about one person’s battle with sex addiction while also trying to help her sister who is battling drug addiction. Pasture Prime – This is about one person’s obsession with another and ends with an interesting twist.

New Frontier

Being (the Digital Griot) – This film uses artificial intelligence, dance, and poetry to speak about race and slavery.

Eno – A film based on the life of musician Brian Eno. It is unique because you can watch it repeatedly and have a different experience every time.

Slamdance:

Feature Films

Citizen Weiner - This feature is about the true story of someone running for City Council in New York and the trials and tribulations that come with running a campaign. They filmed the entire process to encourage other young people to get involved in politics and I think they did a great job. This movie had the whole audience laughing from start to finish, sometimes unable to believe that this really happened.

Shorts Films

Dumpster Archeology Short - This was about a man who dumpster dives for things for his house as well as mementos. He feels as though every item tells a story and he enjoys uncovering those stories after he finds the objects.

Slamdance Short Narrative 2 (3 of 6 shorts watched)

Hunter - This short was about role reversal if animals were to hunt humans and humans be the food. I thought it was very clever and the director also made it as a music video which I thought was very interesting.

Fettyland – This was filmed in Sarasota, Florida, not far from Eckerd College. It is based on the drug crisis in the Tampa area and in the USA in general. There are no “actors” so to speak in this film; everyone in it is basically doing things they would do in daily life as they are all in this drug life and live it every day.

Dissolution – This is a film about going through a divorce after so many years of marriage. I thought it was such a great description of what that is like. The filmmaker’s parents actually went through this, and he used them as the actors.

I can’t believe my time at the Sundance Film Festival is over. I really had a great time! I saw a lot of wonderful movies and throughout, I tried to implement what I had learned in class prior to heading out to Park City. I really hope to continue this journey in film and add to what I have learned so far.

I really hope to make it back to another Sundance Film Festival!!

Referenced Text link:

Newman, Michael Z. Indie: An American Film Culture. Columbia University Press, 2011.

Ryan McCormick

[justapillowpetpanda]

My Wishlist

[favorite-colors]

01/21/2024 - "A Different Man" premiere #Sundance #Sundance2024

[neutron669]

Kristen Stewart by Lucas Michael at #sundance2024.

[chiburkie]

Our Opening Night Gala: Celebrating 40 Years Presented by Chase Sapphire® is just one week away!

Presenters:

✨ Jesse Eisenberg is presenting the Sundance Institute Visionary Award Presenter to Kristen Stewart. 🤩

#Sundance2024 #VisionaryAward #KristenStewart #JesseEisenberg

[anothersebastianblog]

@jasonosia A DIFFERENT MAN is fantastic! A bleak and uncomfortable nightmare comedy that plays like the misanthropic love child of Dostoevsky's The Double and Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut. Sebastian Stan losing every fiber of his mind for two hours as a disfigured tortured artist is as glorious as it sounds

@Carlosfilm Sebastian Stan gives the best performance of his career in A DIFFERENT MAN. It’s an uncomfortable meta look at societal norms, the notion of authenticity, self-perception. The performance wouldn’t exist without Adam Pearson, so the film’s mere existence is itself fascinating.

@mrbrianrowe

Aaron Schimberg’s A Different Man is a cult movie in the making. Ambitious, beguiling, unusual, totally original. Excellent performances from Sebastian Stan, Renate Reinsve, and Adam Pearson. It didn’t all work for me on a narrative level, but there’s a lot to love. #Sundance2024

@kristenlopez88

Sebastian Stan and

@Adam_Pearson

are dynamite in A DIFFERENT MAN. They need to make more movies together. A biting look at disability that dives into so much murky territory. I haven’t stopped thinking about it. #Sundance

❤️

[theomenmedia]

Richa Chadha Shares an Appreciation Post, Says it Takes a Village to Raise a Child and Expresses That she Can’t Wait to be Back on Sets

https://www.theomenmedia.com/post/richa-chadha-shares-an-appreciation-post-says-it-takes-a-village-to-raise-a-child-and-expresses-tha

#RichaChadha #AliFazal #Heeramandi #PushingButtonsStudios #Sundance2024 #Bollywood #IndianCinema #ActressLife #Motherhood #PregnancyJourney #Parenting #NewMom

[houstonfilmcommission]

The Houston Film Commission will be attending Sundance Film Festival & Slamdance FRI1/19-WED1/24. CONGRATULATIONS selected filmmakers! #Sundance2024 #Slamdance2024 #FilmHouston #FilmTexas https://www.houstonfilmcommission.com/contact-us/

[haute-lifestyle-com]

The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the 16 jurors granting awards for artistic and cinematic excellence at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, along with the five jury members who present the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize.

[ecsundance]

My 2024 Sundance Film Festival Experience

I can’t believe we are at the end of our time here at the Sundance Film Festival. It has been such a great ride! Here are some things I experienced along the way.

First, it is important to note that there is so much to do at Sundance and as hard as you may try, you just can’t get everything in that you might want to experience. You just have to come to terms with that pretty quickly, making some difficult choices and fast.

We started off with the film, How To Have Sex, which was an interesting take on consent and dealing with assault and the emotions that come along with it. The film included great cinematography and music selections. Afterwards, in the Q&A, the director said it was loosely based on situations that happened to her and her friends when they were younger. Later during the festival, I saw the short film Thirsty Girl which was also based on the experience of its director. Personal experience is evidently a big contributor to many of these films.

Talks are another great experience and there are many opportunities to attend them. The first one I went to was “The Importance of Casting Directors” which was held at the Impact Lounge. There were three casting directors on the panel. This talk was very interesting, and I learned that casting directors are the only female dominated job in film. The panelists stated that to do this job well, you need to be really good at reading people. They then explained the process of looking at actors and how it has pivoted more online. This has made it possible to see more actors from many places they normally would not have access to if they had been only doing in person casting in say LA or NYC. Afterwards, I met an editor whose wife is a casting director for Hit Man which premiered at Sundance and was bought by Netflix for twenty million dollars. She is also one of the casting directors on this three-person panel. He gave me his email so that I could connect with him at a later date which was very exciting because after listening to this panel, I found that I might be interested in becoming a casting director.

Not only did I see Sundance films, but I also saw many Slamdance films, both short and feature films. One such film was Citizen Weiner. This is a feature film and is about the true story of someone running for City Council in New York and the trials and tribulations that come with running a campaign. They filmed the entire process to encourage other young people to get involved in politics. I think they did a great job. This movie had the whole audience laughing from start to finish, sometimes unable to believe that this really happened.

Slamdance is a great way to meet directors, editors, filmmakers, and others in the film industry. Being a smaller venue, Slamdance provides greater access and is more informal. They are very excited to receive feedback, answer questions, and to provide information, contacts, and resources for those interested in getting into the business. They were very open and communicative which made me feel like this must have been what Sundance was like forty years ago before it became more “Hollywood” with larger budgets, star power, etc. in their movies.

Talks were not the only places to network and make connections. Just standing in line or commuting on the buses allowed you to meet other people. Connections can happen anywhere. I met a gentleman named Rudy outside of the Vulture Spot who has done some acting in Out of Exile (2022) as well as Bloodthirst (2023) and is hoping to do some more. We discussed many of the Sundance Films and he was very interested in my takes on the ones that I had seen. It was a great conversation.

While I was speaking with Rudy, I learned that Will Ferrell would be interviewed at IndieWire for his film Will & Harper which also premiered at Sundance. What a coincidence. My college class was invited by Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire Managing Editor, to come at three o’clock for a tour. Now I know why we couldn’t come before then. Needless to say, Rudy and I went over to Indiewire and below is the picture of Will Ferrell coming out of his interview.                                                              

How cool! This was my first sighting of a celebrity outside of seeing Lionel Ritchie at the Q&A after the premiere of Greatest Night in Pop (see below).

All in all, this was a fabulous trip! I learned a lot, met a lot of new people, made some connections, and it opened my eyes to the many different opportunities that exist in the film industry.

Hopefully I will get back here again!

Ryan McCormick

[ecsundance]

Winner Film Review

There is something wrong with our government and society when being idealistic and truthful becomes a crime. The film Winner directed by Susanna Fogel is a true story about an Air Force veteran and National Security Agency (NSA) contractor who as a translator becomes disillusioned with the government and the lies they tell the public and decides to act upon her beliefs.

The story is about Reality Winner (Emilia Jones), a woman who is unyieldingly idealistic, a trait she gets from her father Ron (Zach Galifianakis). This film which premiered at Sundance demonstrates this characteristic in a flashback of her at the age of nine. Here she frees all the dogs from a pet store which in her mind was saving them from death if they were not sold in time. Winner has very definitive beliefs about right and wrong and follows her own moral compass whether it be freeing puppy mill dogs to stealing a dog that is being neglected by its owner.

That same year 9/11 occurred and while watching it unfold with her family, she learns through her father that violence can be avoided. You just have to work to understand each other. After that, she teaches herself Arabic hoping that she can help with the initiative of understanding each other.

Later, after meeting a recruiter at her high school, she is pursued by the Air Force to enlist promising her many things like her dream of going to Afghanistan to help translate for convoy missions providing aid. Winner becomes convinced that joining the Air Force will enable her to help people in other countries.

After joining the Air Force, she discovers that her real job was not to help people in these countries, but rather, through her translations to identify terrorists who were then assassinated by means of drone strikes. As stated in the film, Winner never met the people she was saving but instead she only saw the people killed.

She eventually realizes that her hope of going to Afghanistan with the Air Force where she could meet and help the locals was not going to happen. As a result, she becomes disillusioned with the military and on finding an opportunity to work in Afghanistan, she decides to leave the military. This did not go in her favor either because the organization would not accept her experience in lieu of a college education.

Since she was unable to get a job requiring a degree, she went to work as an NSA contractor which although did not fulfill her dream, was at least a lucrative job. Here, she translates data related to Iran. However, through the continuously running television at work, Winner ends up watching President Trump deny that Russia was involved in election interference in the 2016 election.

Questioning whether that was indeed true, Winner decides to access classified information on the 2016 election discovering that the government indeed knew that Russia had tampered in the election. With that knowledge, she decides the people need to know the truth. She prints the material and mails it to a media outlet. She does this knowing that leaking information is a federal offense. Winner is quickly discovered by the FBI and the government decides to make an example of her. This offense carries up to a ten-year prison sentence.

The film raises an interesting question. Why is Winner’s punishment harsher than others such as Paul Manafort and Maria Butina who receive minimal punishments for acts that are much less altruistic than Winner. Her mother Billie (Connie Britton), a social worker, championed this idea by promoting it through the press. She was able to go on national television and state this information showing the disparities. This pressure eventually led to a reduction in Winner’s sentence.

The story is less about whether she commits a crime, or if she will get away with it. It is really about her personal journey and how her internal rigid compass conflicts with society. The film is more philosophical. There is no doubt that she has committed a crime. There is no doubt that she knows she committed a crime. It begs multiple questions. The questions to be answered are threefold. First, is Winner going to be punished for her lawlessness? Second, why is she punished for telling the truth? Third, what would you do if you were faced with making a decision that put your own moral compass competing against what the law says? Would you have the stomach to step up to what you believe should be done?

We will all face these questions at some degree in our lives. The questions become: Are you willing to stand up for your beliefs? Will you sacrifice anything for them? This is seen through Winner’s father when he says, “We all need a hill to die on.” This is the theme throughout the story. Winner takes it to heart as she stands up for multiple causes she believes in.

This film does a great job of setting us up for making this decision. It also does a wonderful job of keeping the subject matter light through dark humor. Lots of comedy is included and it helps to emphasize various points. For example, every so often images would appear of a military plane. At the same time there were voice overs that would state that Winner was finally going to Afghanistan. Almost immediately after, the voice over would state that was not true.

I give this film five stars as I thought it was thought provoking on the difference between what is right and wrong in that situation and what you should do. That is to stand up and take action for what you believe in.

Ryan McCormick

[ecsundance]

Greatest Night in Pop Film Review

How do you get fifty of the world’s greatest performing pop artists together at the same time to record one song to raise funds and awareness for the poor in Africa? Would you be up for the challenge? Could you imagine simultaneously managing this, writing the song with someone you have never worked with (Michael Jackson), and preparing to host the American Music Awards (AMA) to be held immediately prior to the recording? Would you do it if you knew it would take eight hours to complete and that is after attending the AMAs? Oh, and by the way, do you think you could pull it all together in three weeks without the benefit of cell phones, texting, or even email, using only a landline and a Rolodex?

These are the questions the film answers with the assistance of those who were actually there. With the help of the AMA host Lionel Ritchie, Bruce Springsteen, Cindy Lauper, Sheila E., Kenny Loggins, and Huey Lewis, Director Bao Nguyen was able to capture the emotion, drive, and the planning that went into the making of the “We are the World” recording in 1985.

I got much more than I expected from this movie. I was expecting a documentary like the ones I have seen on PBS. That is interviews of different experts who may or may not have actually been there with backup footage of what was happening in the film with a commentator voice over. It was much more than that and much more insightful as well. The only people interviewed were those with firsthand knowledge who were there.  Bao captures the emotions they were experiencing at the time. The feelings of the artists are captured as the interviews are held in the actual A&M studio where the recording was made. For most, they had never been back to that room since the 1985 recording. This was evident in multiple examples. Whether it was Sheila E. realizing she was a pawn in an attempt to get Prince to perform or the nervousness of Huey Lewis being told at the last minute he would be taking Prince’s place and so had to rework a portion of the song.

The admiration the artists showed for each other was displayed in all of them wanting autographs from each other the night of the recording. The humor displayed in getting through the all nighter included Stevie Wonder telling Ray Charles he would show him the way to the bathroom as well as when Paul Simon reportedly joked, “If a bomb lands on this place, John Denver’s back on top.”

Before the premiere of the Greatest Night in Pop at the Eccles, everyone was very excited to see the film. There was a lot of good buzz leading up to it and it did not disappoint. Afterwards there was a Q&A session that included the director, Bao Nguyen, producer, Julia Nottingham, as well as Lionel Ritchie. It was cool. One of the questions asked was how Dan Aykroyd qualified to be in the group. You just have to remember he was one of the Blues Brothers. 

This film did a great job in capturing the stress that went into the making of the song, as well as how much was unknown going into the night of making the song. It showed the seriousness of the process, and also the comedy that lightened the mood, which had the whole crowd laughing throughout the film. It was crazy to me that this was all planned on such short notice. Overall, it was a heartwarming film that brought laughter and joy to the entire audience!

The impact of the song was enormous. It generated over sixty-four million dollars to aid in African relief and is still generating money for the effort to this day.

OK. In full disclosure the production was easier than that. There were only forty-six recording artists not fifty. Does that help?

Ryan McCormick

[ecsundance]

2024 Sundance Film Festival Buzz

We made it! We are finally at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

We are about four days into the festival which runs from January 18th to the 28th. Even though it is early in the festival, there is already a lot of buzz. In case you don’t know what I mean by that, buzz refers to what everyone is talking about, what they are all excited about, and what they are all thinking about! This could be about the films, the different events, the celebrities, etc.

No matter where you go you hear buzz. People are talking buzz on buses, in ticket lines, at restaurants, coffee shops, and basically anywhere you can think of.

Many films are getting a good amount of buzz with some even getting picked up by major studios and streaming services.

On January 19th Variety posted that one of the first festival sales had occurred. This was the Netflix purchase of the documentary, Ibelin. This film is about a Norwegian gamer, Mats Steen, who at 25 years old died of a degenerative muscle disease. His parents, sad because they felt their son did not have many friends due to his illness, learned through condolences from Mats’ fellow gamers that he had friends from all around the world.

Channel 4 News San Antonio also announced that Hit Man was bought by Netflix as well. The rom-com film, directed by native Texan Richard Linklater, was inspired by a true story about a man that goes undercover as a hit man. Things soon become complicated as a potential client is a woman in distress.

I have also heard some buzz about Freaky Tales by multiple people on buses and in lines, etc. Basically, they are saying that the film is not living up to all the hype that it was given. After initially reading about this film, I really wanted to see it but couldn’t seem to procure a ticket for it. However, when I went in person to waitlist for the film, I was lucky enough to be gifted a ticket for it. After seeing it, although I did enjoy it, I unfortunately tend to agree with this buzz that the hype surrounding Freaky Tales seems to have been unjustified.

I also heard a lot of buzz about DiDi, Presence, and Krazy House.

For DiDi they stated it is a great film and a must watch at Sundance this year. I am hoping I still have a shot at getting a ticket for it.

For Presence, the buzz is that it is also a great film, but it is so scary that it is causing some people to have to walk out of the theater. I have not seen this one yet and I am not sure if I am up to being scared like that.

I have seen Krazy House, and I do agree that it is a great film. It is so funny and there is never a dull moment even during the violent killings. They land perfect jokes that make everyone laugh.

Before the premiere of the Greatest Night in Pop at the Eccles, everyone was very excited to see the film. There was a lot of good buzz leading up to it and it did not disappoint. Afterwards there was a Q&A session that included the director, Bao Nguyen, producer, Julia Nottingham, as well as Lionel Ritchie. It was cool. One of the questions asked was how Dan Aykroyd qualified to be in the group. You just have to remember he was one of the Blues Brothers.  

In addition to hearing buzz, I have also seen buzz posted online. One item that I found interesting involves the discreet transportation arrangements for celebrities. I saw this on ABC4 Salt Lake City. In this report it explains how some celebrities try to maintain their privacy when arriving at the Sundance Film Festival. They do this by flying into Heber Valley airport which only accepts small private planes. By flying into Heber Valley, celebrities can avoid the paparazzi. It is worth noting that the number of arrivals increases during Sundance from ten to fifty a day. Tight airport security helps keep VIP arrivals under wraps. One can only imagine who is on these flights. As much as I would love to get a glimpse of them now and again, I can understand they want to maintain some privacy. As Wendy Swann who is one of the transportation providers stated in the article, “They’re normal, everyday people that have a job to do, like everyone else.”

That’s all the buzz I have! Until next time!

Ryan McCormick

[ecsundance]

What is Independent Cinema?

In preparation for our long-awaited trip to the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, my fellow film enthusiasts, and I learned a lot about independent films. So, what exactly are independent films, you ask? Let me try to explain what I have learned so far.

When I think of indie films, I think of films that are different from the normal Hollywood style films, those produced by major studios speaking to mainstream ideas. Indie films are more realistic and less escapist and focus on niche subject matter addressing more relevant thematic topics that are important to the filmmaker and important for the world to see. Arbitrage (2012) is such an example, portraying the pitfalls that can come with wealth, power, and privilege. Indie films also use stylistic features. For example, Stranger Than Paradise (1984) was filmed only in black and white, and its scene transitions always cut to black. From an economic perspective, often, these films are low budget as they do not have access to the money the major studios have. An example of this is The Blair Witch Project (1999) which was filmed in eight days costing less than sixty thousand dollars and with only three characters. Also, early indie films did not have much star power but currently, you can find major actors in many of these films like Richard Gere in Arbitrage. This can be for many reasons. Often it is because they believe in the film and its message and so are willing to reduce their salaries to take part in a film that is important for the world to see.

All of this is indeed true. However, in Michael Z. Newman’s Indie: An American Film Culture, he claims that indie films cannot simply be defined in economic, stylistic, or thematic terms but rather, needs to be understood culturally. He states, “It [independent cinema] is most centrally a cluster of interpretive strategies and expectations that are shared among filmmakers; their support personnel, including distributors and publicists; the staffers of independent cinema institutions such as film festivals; critics and other writers; and audiences. All of these different people are audiences who employ these strategies, and it is only because filmmakers are also film spectators that they are able to craft their works to elicit particular responses from the audience. Indie constitutes a film culture: it includes texts, institutions, and audiences. Indie audiences share viewing strategies for thinking about and engaging with the texts—they have in common knowledge and competence—which are products of indie community networks” (Newman 11).

Newman developed three strategies for viewing indie films which relate to three important aspects of independent cinema: character-focused realism, formal play, and oppositionality (Newman 15). “These strategies often overlap with each other and often in mutually reinforcing ways” (Newman 29).

The three strategies are characters are emblems, form is a game, and when in doubt, read as anti-Hollywood (Newman 29).

Characters Are Emblems

This refers to characters representing a segment of the values of society.

An example of this can be found in the film Arbitrage directed by Nicholas Jarecki. Two of the main characters represent the current state of societal behavior today. The main character, Robert Miller, signifies much of what is wrong with today’s society. He uses people to get what he wants. To stay out of prison, he was willing to throw his own daughter under the bus for things that he was responsible for. He likes to be well thought of, however, he is lacking in character.

Contrasting him is Jimmy Grant who is held out as a beacon of hope compared to Miller. He believes in keeping his word. He is not willing to betray Robert to save himself even though the legal threat he faces is entirely Robert’s doing. He has trouble believing that the police would tamper with evidence to convince him to talk. Jimmy is the opposite of Robert and seems to be outnumbered in society. Later in the film when he decides to accept the two million dollars from Robert, he does it with the acknowledgement that his debt is repaid and that he will do something good with the money.

Form is a game

This is defined as how the viewer experiences the film. Here the viewer becomes a player in the movie helping to work through the puzzles.

Both The Blair Witch Project and Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989) created films where the viewer is more of a player trying to understand what is happening.

Through Myrick and Sanchez’ immersive style in The Blair Witch Project, the viewer uses their imagination to determine what is really happening throughout the film as the three protagonists pursue their investigation of the reality of the Blair Witch. It is up to the viewer to determine if it is all real or not. The missing map, the piled-up stones, and the stick bundles that the protagonists find all contribute to the thinking that there is something wrong going on. It is a mystery and the viewer, along with the protagonists, is trying to figure it out.

When in doubt, read as anti-Hollywood

This references movies that appear to lack the usual attributes of what we are accustomed to seeing in a movie and therefore, can be considered as anti-Hollywood. Some of these attributes in a typical Hollywood movie include: a happy ending, special effects, background music, more complex camera work, and editing to name a few.

An example of this can be found in Stranger Than Paradise directed by Jim Jarmusch. Here the cinematography is as basic as you can get. Per Winters, the film was “shot on location in purposely drab black-and-white” (Winter 123). The film is shot using one camera. It does not move around in scenes, nor is it repositioned. There is some tilting or zooming but for the most part they are static shots and there is no repositioning of the camera for different angles in the scene. There is no sophisticated editing. The ending of all scenes is cut to black.

The Blair Witch Project written and directed by University of Central Florida film school classmates, Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez is another good example. It is evidently lacking in camera setup and what would be considered normal scene shots. The resulting effect makes it seem that the film is unplanned, and it is being shot live as the actors experience it. This is true in the minimal direction the directors have given the actors. Contrast this to the detail and planning of all scenes shot in what we would consider a normal Hollywood movie that has storyboards detailing the proposed shots made up prior to the filming.

These three strategies help us differentiate between mainstream Hollywood movies and independent films.

All in all, I agree with Newman’s claim that indie films cannot simply be defined in economic, stylistic, or thematic terms but rather, need to be understood culturally. Identifying these films requires the use of his methods as it is not as simple as checking off a list of criteria that qualifies a film as indie. How films are accepted culturally compared to mainstream Hollywood movies identifies it as indie.

Hope this has provided you with some insight into what independent cinema is and how you can evaluate it.

Referenced Texts links:

Newman, Michael Z. Indie: An American Film Culture. Columbia University Press, 2011.

Winter, “Stranger Than Paradise,” pp. 121-123.

-Ryan McCormick

[theomenmedia]

Will Ferrell's Heartfelt Journey in "Will & Harper": A Documentary That Promises Laughter, Love, and Discovery

https://www.theomenmedia.com/post/will-ferrell-s-heartfelt-journey-in-will-harper-a-documentary-that-promises-laughter-love-and

#WillAndHarper #WillFerrellDocumentary #NetflixDocumentary #TransJourney #RoadTripDocumentary #FriendshipGoals #LGBTQStories #ComedyMeetsReality #Sundance2024 #RealLifeStories