In case you are not up on the particulars of Madonna's "secretprojectrevolution": Madge made a seventeen-minute short film with Steven Klein and Vice Media; it's part of Art for Freedom, "an online global initiative to further freedom of expression … to respond, address and pretext persecution around the world." You can watch the whole video below. How does this relate to Elliott Smith? Madonna covered "Between the Bars" at the premiere party last night. Also, she pretended to get arrested for art. You can watch that, too. Watch whatever you want; this is about freedom.And here's secretprojectrevolution:...
- 9/25/2013
- by Amanda Dobbins
- Vulture
It's been more than a decade since the 1990s ended, yet the Internet can't seem to go a day without a reminder of the neon slap bracelets that may have been banned from your school.
Yes, we get it. Times are tough and there's comfort in reflection, but enough is enough.
Below, a final goodbye to the 90s to end the nostalgia once and for all. (We're not kidding. There are 1990 items below.)
1. Scrunchies
2. "The Wild Thornberries"
3. Dawson and Joey
4. "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys"
5. Mr. Feeny
7. MTV playing music videos
8. Snick
9. The premiere of "Freaks and Geeks"
10. Levar Burton
11. "Daria"
12. "Arthur"
13. "The Powerpuff Girls"
14. "Smart Guy"
15. Comedy Central globe logo with buildings
16. "The X-Files"
17. Rosie O'Donnell
18. Bill Nye
19. "Dawson's Creek"
20. The Mighty Ducks"
21. "Are You Afraid of the Dark"
22. Cornholio
23. Rachel Green
24. Tim Allen
25. "All That"
26. "Beverly Hills 90210"
27. "Step by Step"
28. "The Ren & Stimpy Show"
29. "The Famous Jett Jackson"
30. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer...
Yes, we get it. Times are tough and there's comfort in reflection, but enough is enough.
Below, a final goodbye to the 90s to end the nostalgia once and for all. (We're not kidding. There are 1990 items below.)
1. Scrunchies
2. "The Wild Thornberries"
3. Dawson and Joey
4. "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys"
5. Mr. Feeny
7. MTV playing music videos
8. Snick
9. The premiere of "Freaks and Geeks"
10. Levar Burton
11. "Daria"
12. "Arthur"
13. "The Powerpuff Girls"
14. "Smart Guy"
15. Comedy Central globe logo with buildings
16. "The X-Files"
17. Rosie O'Donnell
18. Bill Nye
19. "Dawson's Creek"
20. The Mighty Ducks"
21. "Are You Afraid of the Dark"
22. Cornholio
23. Rachel Green
24. Tim Allen
25. "All That"
26. "Beverly Hills 90210"
27. "Step by Step"
28. "The Ren & Stimpy Show"
29. "The Famous Jett Jackson"
30. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer...
- 7/29/2013
- by The Huffington Post
- Huffington Post
Today is the Fourth of July, America's great big birthday, and what better to do on such a festive occasion than to barbecue some meat (or delicious vegetables), gather with friends and listen to some carefully chosen tunes while staring at the blinding light of impressive pyrotechnic shows overhead.
Well, you're in luck! We've put together a list of the 20 songs you should be listening to on Independence Day. Scroll down for the very indie playlist and let us know what songs you would add in the comments.
1. "Independence Day" - Elliott Smith
Let's start this holiday off with indie royalty.
2. "The Star Spangled Banner" - Sufjan Stevens
A little alternative patriotism.
3. "Parades Go By" - The Magnetic Fields
Because Fourth of July parades are almost as good as St. Patrick's Day.
4. "American Music" - Violent Femmes
An ode to American music on this uber-American day.
5. "4th of July" -...
Well, you're in luck! We've put together a list of the 20 songs you should be listening to on Independence Day. Scroll down for the very indie playlist and let us know what songs you would add in the comments.
1. "Independence Day" - Elliott Smith
Let's start this holiday off with indie royalty.
2. "The Star Spangled Banner" - Sufjan Stevens
A little alternative patriotism.
3. "Parades Go By" - The Magnetic Fields
Because Fourth of July parades are almost as good as St. Patrick's Day.
4. "American Music" - Violent Femmes
An ode to American music on this uber-American day.
5. "4th of July" -...
- 7/4/2013
- by Katherine Brooks
- Huffington Post
Billed as the definitive story of the greatest band who never made it, the new rock documentary "Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me" will no doubt be a must-see for serious music aficionados who already know every note the power pop group ever recorded. But what they may not be as versed in is just how Big Star came to be in the first place or how the band who inspired countless acts who would go onto great success (including R.E.M., The Replacements, Belle & Sebastian, Beck, Jeff Buckley and Flaming Lips among others), never found success of their own. Pitchfork called them “not just rock's greatest cult band [but] arguably rock's first cult band” and their music has inspired cultish devotion from its fans for decades. Even casual music fans are probably familiar with two of their songs: "In The Street" which graced the opening credits of "That 70's...
- 7/3/2013
- by Cory Everett
- The Playlist
Okay, we slept on this a bit, and given that soundtracks are sometimes our thing, we apologize for that, but with "Stuck In Love" in coming into theaters this Friday, it's better late than never, right? For you Conor Oberst and co. fans out there, this might also be a reminder that they've got some new material out there. That's right, the indie dramedy (starring Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Connelly, Logan Lerman, Lily Collins, Liana Liberato and Kristen Bell) features an original score by Mike Mogis and Nathaniel Walcott of Bright Eyes, with the duo also dropping the new songs “At Your Door” (featuring Big Harp) and “Somersaults In Spring” (in a group titled Friends Of Gemini with Corina Figueroa Escamilla) while Oberst himself contributes “You Are Your Mother’s Child.” The rest of the disc is rounded out by tunes from Elliott Smith, Bright Eyes and a small handful of...
- 7/2/2013
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
When it comes to interviews, Chris Mundy is better acquainted with the other side of the table. The Rolling Stone editor turned AMC showrunner sat down with everybody from Kurt Cobain to Elliott Smith during tenure at the magazine, which spanned the peak of the record industry, from 1989-2000. He got out at just the right time -- few in the grunge era would have foreseen that, by 2013, television writers would have more swagger than rock journalists, but lo and behold "Breaking Bad" creator Vince Gilligan. Mundy's forthcoming series "Low Winter Sun" is a remake of a two-hour BBC miniseries created in 2006 by Simon Donald, a "Crime and Punishment"-inspired story about two cops who kill one of their own, then spend the rest of their days trying to cover up the deed. AMC's version, filmed on location in Detroit, stars Mark Strong ("Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy") and Lennie James...
- 6/12/2013
- by Leah Churner
- Indiewire
Everyone seems just as pumped for the Jay-z-produced soundtrack for "The Great Gatsby" as they are for the flick itself. But before we look ahead at what The Hova has in store for what we can only imagine will be the coolest-ever soundtrack to something you were forced to read in high school, let's look back at some of the all-time great movie songs.
Feature by Adam D'Arpino
20. Three 6 Mafia: 'Hard Out Here For a Pimp' ('Hustle & Flow')
Three 6 Mafia took home the Oscar for Best Original Song for this jam that confirmed what we had all already suspected: Pimpin' ain't easy. Terrence Howard and Taryn Manning's performances in "Hustle & Flow" were stellar, but there's little doubt that Three 6 Mafia's Oscar appearance, combined with host Jon Stewart's verbal Oscar tally ("Three 6 Mafia 1, Martin Scorcese 0") is what everyone remembers most about the movie.
Feature by Adam D'Arpino
20. Three 6 Mafia: 'Hard Out Here For a Pimp' ('Hustle & Flow')
Three 6 Mafia took home the Oscar for Best Original Song for this jam that confirmed what we had all already suspected: Pimpin' ain't easy. Terrence Howard and Taryn Manning's performances in "Hustle & Flow" were stellar, but there's little doubt that Three 6 Mafia's Oscar appearance, combined with host Jon Stewart's verbal Oscar tally ("Three 6 Mafia 1, Martin Scorcese 0") is what everyone remembers most about the movie.
- 5/7/2013
- by NextMovie Staff
- NextMovie
Last night’s flashback-tastic New Girl episode, “Virgins,” was a treasure trove of music to set the mood — some songs more successfully than others — as the loftmates looked back on their first sexual encounters. Anchoring the eclectic mix (which ranged from Sublime to Boyz II Men and even figured in Lisa Loeb), Ellie Goulding’s “Anything Could Happen” kicked in during a fan-fulfilling scene between Nick (Jake Johnson) and Jess (Zooey Deschanel).
It got us thinking of some of our favorite first-time anthems from shows of yore. Below, our ultimate Spotify playlist of coupling tracks!
Liner notes…
New Girl
The song: Ellie Goulding,...
It got us thinking of some of our favorite first-time anthems from shows of yore. Below, our ultimate Spotify playlist of coupling tracks!
Liner notes…
New Girl
The song: Ellie Goulding,...
- 5/1/2013
- by Lanford Beard
- EW.com - PopWatch
Vinyl nerds can start their comprehensive planning for Record Store Day 2013, because a full list of what will be available has finally been released. This year, LP-heads can queue up for records from bands like Big Star, The Black Lips, and Bob Dylan. The Cure is reissuing its 1987 classic Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me on red vinyl, and Kill Rock Stars is offering four unreleased outtakes from Elliott Smith’s Either/Or as part of a limited-edition 7-inch. Grizzly Bear’s Horn Of Plenty will finally be available on vinyl, and Gza is releasing a vinyl box ...
- 3/22/2013
- avclub.com
If you don't know who Nat Wolff is, a) you might be living under a rock, and b) you will soon. The high school senior just wrapped work on the much buzzed about indie flick "Palo Alto," in which he portrays a character from the twisted imagination of James Franco. There are also pictures of him making out with Selena Gomez all over the internet right now -- granted, he was shooting a scene for his role in "Behaving Badly," but don't think it hasn't gotten tongues wagging.
Perhaps best known as one half of the "Naked Brothers Band," Nat took a break from the Nickelodeon spotlight to grow up and reappear in front of cameras as a young man -- a remarkably talented and winsome young man. Among his upcoming film roles, Wolff stars opposite Tina Fey and Paul Rudd in Focus Features' upcoming "Admission." A songwriter and multi-instrumentalist,...
Perhaps best known as one half of the "Naked Brothers Band," Nat took a break from the Nickelodeon spotlight to grow up and reappear in front of cameras as a young man -- a remarkably talented and winsome young man. Among his upcoming film roles, Wolff stars opposite Tina Fey and Paul Rudd in Focus Features' upcoming "Admission." A songwriter and multi-instrumentalist,...
- 2/14/2013
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
- J.J. Abrams plans to direct a movie about disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong. Bad Robot, Abrams' production company, secured the rights to a HarperCollins' book proposal "Cycle of Lies: The Fall of Lance Armstrong." The book will be written by NYT reporter Juliet Macur, who has covered Armstrong for more than a decade. Sony Pictures has reportedly abandoned their Armstrong project in light of Armstrong's recent confession. More Toh reporting about the Armstrong scandal and how it affects the movies here. - Clips! Click here to watch Nicole Kidman in Park Chan-wook's "Stoker" and Amanda Seyfried in a sweet first clip from "Lovelace." - Director Paul Thomson Anderson has revived some lost performance footage of late indie songwriter and performer, Elliott Smith. Anderson uploaded the VHS footage to YouTube on Thursday, to the delight of Smith's fans. Watch here or below for 43 minutes of wonderful music. - Anne...
- 1/21/2013
- by Maggie Lange
- Thompson on Hollywood
Lost performance footage of the late indie rocker Elliott Smith surfaced on YouTube Thursday, and fans will shed a tear listening to the crooner perform some of his most popular songs in this up-close-and-personal venue.
The VHS footage was uploaded to YouTube by director Paul Thomas Anderson, who had directed a VH1 pilot for the "The Jon Brion Show" in 2000, reports the Los Angeles Times. The show was never picked up by VH1.
To describe the video on YouTube, Anderson writes, "I tore up the floorboards at H.Q. the other day and came up with this little number on VHS. She holds up well. Love, Al."
She holds up very well indeed.
Both bashful and meticulous during the performance, Smith takes the time to ask if he can start a few songs over after he thinks he messed up the intro. For "Bottle Up And Explode," for instance, Smith...
The VHS footage was uploaded to YouTube by director Paul Thomas Anderson, who had directed a VH1 pilot for the "The Jon Brion Show" in 2000, reports the Los Angeles Times. The show was never picked up by VH1.
To describe the video on YouTube, Anderson writes, "I tore up the floorboards at H.Q. the other day and came up with this little number on VHS. She holds up well. Love, Al."
She holds up very well indeed.
Both bashful and meticulous during the performance, Smith takes the time to ask if he can start a few songs over after he thinks he messed up the intro. For "Bottle Up And Explode," for instance, Smith...
- 1/19/2013
- by Anna Almendrala
- Huffington Post
"I tore up the floorboards at H.Q. the other day and came up with this little number on VHS. She holds up well." So reads the description for the video below from Al Rose Promotions, Paul Thomas Anderson's YouTube account. It's a slightly scatchy 2000 pilot for a VH1 series that was never made called "The Jon Brion Show," a musical variety show hosted by musician/producer Brion and directed by Anderson, featuring performances from the late, great singer-songwriter Elliott Smith and jazz pianist Brad Mehldau. Brion composed the scores for Anderson's "Punch-Drunk Love," "Magnolia" and "Hard Eight," but it's the footage of Smith, who committed suicide a decade ago, that makes the video so stunning. The songs performed include Smith's own "Son of Sam," "Independence Day," "Bottle Up and Explode," "Everything Means Nothing to Me" and "Happiness," along with...
- 1/17/2013
- by Alison Willmore
- Indiewire
Touring across the world with their immensely popular fifth album, Mylo Xyloto, Coldplay have released a long-awaited new live film this week, Live 2012, marking their first full live album/concert film in almost a decade.
By far one of my favourite concert films of all time, Live 2012 is directed by Paul Dugdale, whose impressively long list of credits features some of the biggest names in the industry, including (but not limited to) Adele, The Killers, Rihanna, The Prodigy, David Guetta, Jessie J, Lostprophets, The Kooks, Labrinth, Calvin Harris, Skrillex, and most recently Emeli Sandé – a picture of awesomeness clearly starts to emerge.
Whilst busy in the editing room, having just filmed Emeli Sandé’s performance last week at the Royal Albert Hall in London, I had the opportunity to speak to Dugdale about his work with Coldplay on Live 2012, following its theatrical release across the globe last week.
The film...
By far one of my favourite concert films of all time, Live 2012 is directed by Paul Dugdale, whose impressively long list of credits features some of the biggest names in the industry, including (but not limited to) Adele, The Killers, Rihanna, The Prodigy, David Guetta, Jessie J, Lostprophets, The Kooks, Labrinth, Calvin Harris, Skrillex, and most recently Emeli Sandé – a picture of awesomeness clearly starts to emerge.
Whilst busy in the editing room, having just filmed Emeli Sandé’s performance last week at the Royal Albert Hall in London, I had the opportunity to speak to Dugdale about his work with Coldplay on Live 2012, following its theatrical release across the globe last week.
The film...
- 11/21/2012
- by Kenji Lloyd
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
There was no shortage of music news this week as the famous mural from Elliott Smith’s album Figure 8 was renovated by a group that calls themselves the Punk Rock Marthas, Neil Young & Crazy Horse took to their website to offer an advanced stream of their album Psychedelic Pill, Sufjan Stevens released an awesome—and gory—claymation video for his song, “My. Frosty Man,” fans got to hear the result of Cee Lo’s collaboration with The Muppets for his upcoming Christmas album, two members of Pussy Riot were sent to Siberian prison camps and Calexico played through a blackout. In movie...
- 10/28/2012
- Pastemagazine.com
Rating: 3.5/5.0
Chicago – I can still remember when I first heard the band Morphine. It was the title track from their stellar 1993 album, “Cure For Pain,” which also serves as the title for a strong new rock doc about this underrated and underappreciated trio that’s now playing On Demand. The movie has some rough edges in terms of production and its subject’s notorious privacy makes him a difficult centerpiece but if the greatest accomplishment of “Cure For Pain: The Mark Sandman Story” is merely that it reminds viewers of the pure genius of Morphine then it’s done some good.
A two-string bass, a baritone saxophone, and a drum set. That shouldn’t be a band. But with the amazing songwriting of Mark Sandman, it became a very successful one under the name Morphine. 1992’s “Good” was a strong debut but it was 1993’s “Cure For Pain” that really...
Chicago – I can still remember when I first heard the band Morphine. It was the title track from their stellar 1993 album, “Cure For Pain,” which also serves as the title for a strong new rock doc about this underrated and underappreciated trio that’s now playing On Demand. The movie has some rough edges in terms of production and its subject’s notorious privacy makes him a difficult centerpiece but if the greatest accomplishment of “Cure For Pain: The Mark Sandman Story” is merely that it reminds viewers of the pure genius of Morphine then it’s done some good.
A two-string bass, a baritone saxophone, and a drum set. That shouldn’t be a band. But with the amazing songwriting of Mark Sandman, it became a very successful one under the name Morphine. 1992’s “Good” was a strong debut but it was 1993’s “Cure For Pain” that really...
- 9/3/2012
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
A few days ago, Relativity Music Group released the soundtrack to Paranorman, which is out in theaters today. The soundtrack is from singer-songwriter Jon Brion, and is streaming all week on AOL Music and MSN Music and can be purchased from iTunes here. We have the press release straight from Relativity Music below:
Los Angeles, CA - August 14th: The soundtrack to ParaNorman by famed composer, record producer, and singer-songwriter Jon Brion is available today, August 14th from Relativity Music Group. The new stop-motion animated comedy thriller, will be released in theaters everywhere on Friday, August 17th. The soundtrack is streaming all week on AOL Music and MSN Music and is available for purchase on iTunes here: http://bit.ly/ParaNormanITUNES.
When a small town comes under siege by zombies, who can it call? “Norman!” From Focus Features and Laika, the companies behind the Academy Award-nominated animated feature Coraline, comes the comedy thriller ParaNorman.
Los Angeles, CA - August 14th: The soundtrack to ParaNorman by famed composer, record producer, and singer-songwriter Jon Brion is available today, August 14th from Relativity Music Group. The new stop-motion animated comedy thriller, will be released in theaters everywhere on Friday, August 17th. The soundtrack is streaming all week on AOL Music and MSN Music and is available for purchase on iTunes here: http://bit.ly/ParaNormanITUNES.
When a small town comes under siege by zombies, who can it call? “Norman!” From Focus Features and Laika, the companies behind the Academy Award-nominated animated feature Coraline, comes the comedy thriller ParaNorman.
- 8/17/2012
- by Andy Greene
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
L.A. band Everest has some pretty solid credentials. Formed by Russell Pollard—formerly of Sebadoh, The Folk Implosion, and Earlimart—the group is touring later this year with Neil Young and is tight with producers Richard Swift and Rob Schnapf, the latter of whom made Beck’s Mellow Gold and Odelay, Elliott Smith’s Xo and Figure 8, and Foo Fighters’ self-titled debut. Swift and Schnapf tag-teamed Everest’s new record, Ownerless, which is out now on Ato. Below is the debut of the video for the record’s title track. The band is on tour now with Alberta ...
- 7/10/2012
- avclub.com
Joshua Sanchez, a native of Houston, Tejas graduated from Columbia University’s Mfa Film Program with several internationally screened short films under his belt along with the HBO Films Young Producer’s Development Award. His feature debut, Four, based on a play written by Christopher Shinn, participated in the Tribeca All Access program at the Tribeca Film Festival and after a few false starts and delays, Joshua cast Wendell Pierce ('The Wire', 'Treme'), Emory Cohen ('Afterschool', TV's 'Smash'), Aja Naomi King ('Blue Bloods') and Ej Bonilla ('Mamitas', 'Don't Let Me Drown') as his "Four". Once in the can he was able to complete the post production when he became the recipient of the Jerome Foundation’s Film and Video grant. Adding his favorite New York bands to the soundtrack as icing on the cake, Joshua is ready to world premiere the film at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 15th.
LatinoBuzz: Four is based on a play by Christopher Shinn - What drew you to adapting it for the screen and how much did race factor in your desire to tell this story? Was there ever an urge to stray from the original story?
Joshua Sanchez: I saw one of Chris' other plays called Where Do We Live at the Vineyard Theatre in New York in 2004, right around the time I finished film school. The play had such a fresh voice that spoke to me, so I sought out Shinn's other work. Of all of his plays up to that time, Four really floored me mostly because it felt like experiences that I had in my adolescence, growing up as a closeted gay Mexican-American kid in a conservative suburb in Houston, Texas. The play also felt very cinematic and contained in that it takes place over one night and sort of roves around the city. It really could be any American city, which is how we shot it, although the play takes place in Hartford. I could see and feel the story so clearly right after I read, which is a good sign if you're thinking about whether a play could make a good movie.
I definitely appreciate the way race was dealt with in the play and it made me want to do the film more, although I probably initially responded more to the gay aspect of it. I'm Mexican-American and grew up in Texas but I don't speak Spanish, regrettably because I think it was sort of frowned upon in my generation of trying to assimilate into being an American. I think that sad aspect of my upbringing helped me deal with the race aspect of Four because I think that the story is so unconventional in its dealing with the race of the characters. Race in my life was never a 'normal' thing to deal with and I think the way it plays into the characters lives in Four is very complex as well.
This version of Four does stray away from the original story to some degree, which I think you'll pick up on if you read the play and see the movie. But I think the initial core of the characters and their arc in the story remains true to what Shinn wrote. We tried to make this as much of a cinematic experience as possible. But this is my interpretation of this story. I'm sure there will be others in the future.
LatinoBuzz: From your '04 short film Kill or Be Killed to your feature film Four - you've shown characters who are searching for something to fill an emotional void. What's Joshua Sanchez looking for?
Joshua Sanchez: When I first stared to watch movies seriously as an adolescent, I wanted them to echo back to me what I felt inside.I think a lot of where Kill or Be Killed and Four were coming from for me personally was the loneliness and isolation I felt as a kid trying to make sense of the intense dysfunction of my family life and the fact that my sexuality made me very different from what was in any way desirable to the people around me as a child.
A lot of time has passed between the time I directed Kill or Be Killed and now. A lot of that time for me creatively was spent trying to get Four off the ground. I've gone through a lot of changes as a person in that period. I would say at this point in my life, I value the people that I'm close to. I have wonderful friends and a wonderful partner that I'm so blessed to have in my life. My main priority in life is to practice trying to love them and to love myself every day and to balance that with trying to make work that is meaningful and fulfilling to me.
I think film can be a really powerful vehicle to share and be witness to the experiences that we go through in our daily lives. Film really helped me when I was a kid and had nobody to turn to. I know they work that way for others and I feel a certain responsibility to myself and to any audience that watches my work to be as honest as possible.
And I still have a lot to learn as well. This is my first feature film, so I'm looking forward to pushing the boundaries of what I've learned and what I'm capable of in this medium.
LatinoBuzz: Is there a songwriter you've admired that had they gone that route would have made amazing filmmakers? (and why?)
Joshua Sanchez:I would like to have seen what Elliott Smith would have done with film. He was such a clever lyricist and inventive musician. I actually taught myself how to play guitar from listening to Either/Or and his self-titled album. 'Needle in the Hay' was the first song I learned. He's a weird player to learn from because his tunings are so off and he used a lot of strange variations and chord progressions that are really not normal, but it really opens up your mind to what is capable on a guitar. I learned the basic chords of guitar with my guitar tuned a step down because that's how a lot of his songs are tuned. I didn't know it for a long time that it wasn't the standard tuning. He had such an evolved sense of imagery and metaphor. When I hear 'Say Yes' I can almost see the movie in my head.
LatinoBuzz: Do Latino filmmakers have a responsibility on the images we convey to the broader audience? Or should we have the freedom as artists?
Joshua Sanchez: I think it's more important to maintain authenticity and honesty than it is to portray a certain PC image of what it means to be Latino. I've always felt somewhat out of place as a Latino since I don't speak Spanish very well and I'm fairly light skinned. I was essentially a shy skateboard, punk rock, lower middle class kid from the suburbs and that is really my perspective and where I come from. I appreciate it when I see work that challenges me to look at the world through different eyes. It's more important that Latinos feel free to express their own individual realities, rather than an accepted version of Latinoness.
LatinoBuzz: Which of the following villians best describes you as a director on set? Rasputin? Dick Dastardly? The Guy from Caligula? or Han from 'Enter The Dragon'?
Joshua Sanchez: Probably Rasputin if I had to pick one. He was a mystic.
LatinoBuzz: You've written short stories too as well as short films - Where do you draw your stories from?
Joshua Sanchez: The stories I write are usually somewhat autobiographical, or contain aspects of my observations and experiences. I started writing short stories in the middle of making Four actually, which took almost six years. Partially, I wrote these because I wanted to practice storytelling and keep my mind sharp in this realm. But in general, I love to write them because they are very low pressure to me. It's really fun to keep my mind working as a writer and to be able to practice turning my observations into story. I am inspired a lot by the short stories of John Cheever, who is probably my favorite fiction writer of all time.
LatinoBuzz: Ok -- For this interviews sake only -- Your life has spiraled out of control, You've hit rock bottom -- You are offered a second chance. Butyou have to direct a film based on a childhood game (Board or Video game). Anyone. Michael Bay is producing so you are in Great hands. Pick one. And who stars in it?
Joshua Sanchez: Definitely 'The Legend of Zelda'.
Bradford Cox from the band Deerhunter had a great idea that he posted on his blog of making one of their music videos about a lonely boy who is playing the original Nintendo 'Legend of Zelda' and the hero of the video game is echoing the kid's feeling of loneliness, walking aimlessly around these dark landscapes in the game. Then his abusive, drunk father comes in and starts beating him, and it's the beginning of a story about how the kid is escaping into playing the video game and how he transcends his abusive surroundings.
I would want to collaborate with Bradford and Michael Bay about turning this into a feature film version of 'Zelda' starring Justin Bieber. This is a movie I would definitely want to see.
LatinoBuzz: You went to Columbia Film School. There's the endless discussion of Film School versus skipping it and just making a film -- Both sides have great arguments. How do you feel about some of these short films with outrageous budgets when some people are trying to make features with the same amount?
Joshua Sanchez: I think it's less about the budgets of these films and more about whether they work as films at all. A few of my film school classmates went really overboard making their shorts that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, and trying to be the star of the class or win an award right out of the gate. I think it's wiser to think of making films as a progression through a body of work. Your budget can be small, but if you have a great idea that is well executed, this will always win out in the end. There are also really great short filmmakers that don't transition well into feature films.
For me film school was beneficial in the sense that it got me out of Texas and forced me into a situation where I had to learn how to tell stories and work on the basics of narrative filmmaking. But in retrospect, the most beneficial aspect of the whole film school experience was being in New York City and beginning to take advantage of all the resources that are here. So much of that was outside of film school for me. It wasn't really until I started going out downtown and moved to Brooklyn that things began to change for me. I was meeting other artists and having experiences that made me want to keep working and coming up with ideas.
The downsides are that it left me with a lot of debt and the environment of film school itself can be somewhat unbearable and suffocating. It's competitive and can often times can be a difficult place to find support and inspiration.
When I started film school it was in the late 90's. The equipment was terrible and there was a very old model of distribution and exhibition in place for up-and-coming filmmakers. Now, anyone can by a 5D and Final Cut and make something that looks fantastic.
I don't think film school is right for everyone and would encourage filmmakers that are interested in doing it to weigh their options very carefully. At the end of the day what you buy is a sort of entrance into the film world, but if you don't have an interesting perspective to back it up, you can get lost in the shuffle.
LatinoBuzz: Any particular films or filmmakers that inspired the aesthetic of your vision for 'Four'?
Joshua Sanchez: The two films I kept coming back to with Four were John Cassavetes' Faces and Larry Clark's Kids. They are both films that take place over a day or a night and both have a sort of intimacy in style that I found fit well with the story and characters of Four. I wanted the film to have the sort of Americana feel of say American Graffiti, mixed with the emotional rawness of Kids or Faces. I also watched a lot of Two Lane Blacktop and the film Over The Edge, which is about a teen rebellion in a small American suburban town.
LatinoBuzz: Anything as a filmmaker so far you wish you had done differently?
Joshua Sanchez:I think there are always things that you wished you'd done differently, but there is really nothing I regret in terms of my career as a filmmaker. It's a long road for anyone that wants to do this and it certainly has been for me as well. But I came to the conclusion a long time ago that I was only interested in doing the films that I feel passionate about partially because it's so much work and sacrifice. You really have to believe in what you are doing to make it worth your time. I'm proud of the body of work I've produced and hope I can continue to do it!
Joshua's website is http://www.joshuasanchez.net
his twitter world is: www.twitter.com/joshuasanchez76
and his Facebook face is: www.Facebook.com/joshuasanchez76.
And Click Here for the latest on Four
Written by Juan Caceres and Vanessa Erazo, LatinoBuzz is a weekly feature on SydneysBuzz that highlights emerging and established Latino indie talent and upcoming trends in the Latino film world with the specific objective of presenting a broad range of Latino voices. Follow @LatinoBuzzon twitter.
LatinoBuzz: Four is based on a play by Christopher Shinn - What drew you to adapting it for the screen and how much did race factor in your desire to tell this story? Was there ever an urge to stray from the original story?
Joshua Sanchez: I saw one of Chris' other plays called Where Do We Live at the Vineyard Theatre in New York in 2004, right around the time I finished film school. The play had such a fresh voice that spoke to me, so I sought out Shinn's other work. Of all of his plays up to that time, Four really floored me mostly because it felt like experiences that I had in my adolescence, growing up as a closeted gay Mexican-American kid in a conservative suburb in Houston, Texas. The play also felt very cinematic and contained in that it takes place over one night and sort of roves around the city. It really could be any American city, which is how we shot it, although the play takes place in Hartford. I could see and feel the story so clearly right after I read, which is a good sign if you're thinking about whether a play could make a good movie.
I definitely appreciate the way race was dealt with in the play and it made me want to do the film more, although I probably initially responded more to the gay aspect of it. I'm Mexican-American and grew up in Texas but I don't speak Spanish, regrettably because I think it was sort of frowned upon in my generation of trying to assimilate into being an American. I think that sad aspect of my upbringing helped me deal with the race aspect of Four because I think that the story is so unconventional in its dealing with the race of the characters. Race in my life was never a 'normal' thing to deal with and I think the way it plays into the characters lives in Four is very complex as well.
This version of Four does stray away from the original story to some degree, which I think you'll pick up on if you read the play and see the movie. But I think the initial core of the characters and their arc in the story remains true to what Shinn wrote. We tried to make this as much of a cinematic experience as possible. But this is my interpretation of this story. I'm sure there will be others in the future.
LatinoBuzz: From your '04 short film Kill or Be Killed to your feature film Four - you've shown characters who are searching for something to fill an emotional void. What's Joshua Sanchez looking for?
Joshua Sanchez: When I first stared to watch movies seriously as an adolescent, I wanted them to echo back to me what I felt inside.I think a lot of where Kill or Be Killed and Four were coming from for me personally was the loneliness and isolation I felt as a kid trying to make sense of the intense dysfunction of my family life and the fact that my sexuality made me very different from what was in any way desirable to the people around me as a child.
A lot of time has passed between the time I directed Kill or Be Killed and now. A lot of that time for me creatively was spent trying to get Four off the ground. I've gone through a lot of changes as a person in that period. I would say at this point in my life, I value the people that I'm close to. I have wonderful friends and a wonderful partner that I'm so blessed to have in my life. My main priority in life is to practice trying to love them and to love myself every day and to balance that with trying to make work that is meaningful and fulfilling to me.
I think film can be a really powerful vehicle to share and be witness to the experiences that we go through in our daily lives. Film really helped me when I was a kid and had nobody to turn to. I know they work that way for others and I feel a certain responsibility to myself and to any audience that watches my work to be as honest as possible.
And I still have a lot to learn as well. This is my first feature film, so I'm looking forward to pushing the boundaries of what I've learned and what I'm capable of in this medium.
LatinoBuzz: Is there a songwriter you've admired that had they gone that route would have made amazing filmmakers? (and why?)
Joshua Sanchez:I would like to have seen what Elliott Smith would have done with film. He was such a clever lyricist and inventive musician. I actually taught myself how to play guitar from listening to Either/Or and his self-titled album. 'Needle in the Hay' was the first song I learned. He's a weird player to learn from because his tunings are so off and he used a lot of strange variations and chord progressions that are really not normal, but it really opens up your mind to what is capable on a guitar. I learned the basic chords of guitar with my guitar tuned a step down because that's how a lot of his songs are tuned. I didn't know it for a long time that it wasn't the standard tuning. He had such an evolved sense of imagery and metaphor. When I hear 'Say Yes' I can almost see the movie in my head.
LatinoBuzz: Do Latino filmmakers have a responsibility on the images we convey to the broader audience? Or should we have the freedom as artists?
Joshua Sanchez: I think it's more important to maintain authenticity and honesty than it is to portray a certain PC image of what it means to be Latino. I've always felt somewhat out of place as a Latino since I don't speak Spanish very well and I'm fairly light skinned. I was essentially a shy skateboard, punk rock, lower middle class kid from the suburbs and that is really my perspective and where I come from. I appreciate it when I see work that challenges me to look at the world through different eyes. It's more important that Latinos feel free to express their own individual realities, rather than an accepted version of Latinoness.
LatinoBuzz: Which of the following villians best describes you as a director on set? Rasputin? Dick Dastardly? The Guy from Caligula? or Han from 'Enter The Dragon'?
Joshua Sanchez: Probably Rasputin if I had to pick one. He was a mystic.
LatinoBuzz: You've written short stories too as well as short films - Where do you draw your stories from?
Joshua Sanchez: The stories I write are usually somewhat autobiographical, or contain aspects of my observations and experiences. I started writing short stories in the middle of making Four actually, which took almost six years. Partially, I wrote these because I wanted to practice storytelling and keep my mind sharp in this realm. But in general, I love to write them because they are very low pressure to me. It's really fun to keep my mind working as a writer and to be able to practice turning my observations into story. I am inspired a lot by the short stories of John Cheever, who is probably my favorite fiction writer of all time.
LatinoBuzz: Ok -- For this interviews sake only -- Your life has spiraled out of control, You've hit rock bottom -- You are offered a second chance. Butyou have to direct a film based on a childhood game (Board or Video game). Anyone. Michael Bay is producing so you are in Great hands. Pick one. And who stars in it?
Joshua Sanchez: Definitely 'The Legend of Zelda'.
Bradford Cox from the band Deerhunter had a great idea that he posted on his blog of making one of their music videos about a lonely boy who is playing the original Nintendo 'Legend of Zelda' and the hero of the video game is echoing the kid's feeling of loneliness, walking aimlessly around these dark landscapes in the game. Then his abusive, drunk father comes in and starts beating him, and it's the beginning of a story about how the kid is escaping into playing the video game and how he transcends his abusive surroundings.
I would want to collaborate with Bradford and Michael Bay about turning this into a feature film version of 'Zelda' starring Justin Bieber. This is a movie I would definitely want to see.
LatinoBuzz: You went to Columbia Film School. There's the endless discussion of Film School versus skipping it and just making a film -- Both sides have great arguments. How do you feel about some of these short films with outrageous budgets when some people are trying to make features with the same amount?
Joshua Sanchez: I think it's less about the budgets of these films and more about whether they work as films at all. A few of my film school classmates went really overboard making their shorts that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, and trying to be the star of the class or win an award right out of the gate. I think it's wiser to think of making films as a progression through a body of work. Your budget can be small, but if you have a great idea that is well executed, this will always win out in the end. There are also really great short filmmakers that don't transition well into feature films.
For me film school was beneficial in the sense that it got me out of Texas and forced me into a situation where I had to learn how to tell stories and work on the basics of narrative filmmaking. But in retrospect, the most beneficial aspect of the whole film school experience was being in New York City and beginning to take advantage of all the resources that are here. So much of that was outside of film school for me. It wasn't really until I started going out downtown and moved to Brooklyn that things began to change for me. I was meeting other artists and having experiences that made me want to keep working and coming up with ideas.
The downsides are that it left me with a lot of debt and the environment of film school itself can be somewhat unbearable and suffocating. It's competitive and can often times can be a difficult place to find support and inspiration.
When I started film school it was in the late 90's. The equipment was terrible and there was a very old model of distribution and exhibition in place for up-and-coming filmmakers. Now, anyone can by a 5D and Final Cut and make something that looks fantastic.
I don't think film school is right for everyone and would encourage filmmakers that are interested in doing it to weigh their options very carefully. At the end of the day what you buy is a sort of entrance into the film world, but if you don't have an interesting perspective to back it up, you can get lost in the shuffle.
LatinoBuzz: Any particular films or filmmakers that inspired the aesthetic of your vision for 'Four'?
Joshua Sanchez: The two films I kept coming back to with Four were John Cassavetes' Faces and Larry Clark's Kids. They are both films that take place over a day or a night and both have a sort of intimacy in style that I found fit well with the story and characters of Four. I wanted the film to have the sort of Americana feel of say American Graffiti, mixed with the emotional rawness of Kids or Faces. I also watched a lot of Two Lane Blacktop and the film Over The Edge, which is about a teen rebellion in a small American suburban town.
LatinoBuzz: Anything as a filmmaker so far you wish you had done differently?
Joshua Sanchez:I think there are always things that you wished you'd done differently, but there is really nothing I regret in terms of my career as a filmmaker. It's a long road for anyone that wants to do this and it certainly has been for me as well. But I came to the conclusion a long time ago that I was only interested in doing the films that I feel passionate about partially because it's so much work and sacrifice. You really have to believe in what you are doing to make it worth your time. I'm proud of the body of work I've produced and hope I can continue to do it!
Joshua's website is http://www.joshuasanchez.net
his twitter world is: www.twitter.com/joshuasanchez76
and his Facebook face is: www.Facebook.com/joshuasanchez76.
And Click Here for the latest on Four
Written by Juan Caceres and Vanessa Erazo, LatinoBuzz is a weekly feature on SydneysBuzz that highlights emerging and established Latino indie talent and upcoming trends in the Latino film world with the specific objective of presenting a broad range of Latino voices. Follow @LatinoBuzzon twitter.
- 6/6/2012
- by Juan Caceres
- Sydney's Buzz
Today sees the latest film from director Wes Anderson, "Moonrise Kingdom," hit theaters, and consistent with the music-obsessed filmmaker's work, it's as much a treat for the ears as it is for the eyes. 'Moonrise' boasts another soundtrack of unexpected cuts assembled with the great music supervisor Randall Poster, including Francoise Hardy, Hank Williams, and for the first time, a significant amount of classical music including Benjamin Britten and Leonard Bernstein. And if that's not enough, there's also additional pieces by Alexandre Desplat and drum percussion by old musical cohort Mark Mothersbaugh.
But as is the case with most films, not everything's on the official soundtrack release, which is in stores now: the movie features three additional Hank Williams songs, and pieces by Mozart and Schubert that aren't included on the disc. Given that Anderson's films are so replete with music, the soundtracks have quite often left out key songs for licensing or other reasons,...
But as is the case with most films, not everything's on the official soundtrack release, which is in stores now: the movie features three additional Hank Williams songs, and pieces by Mozart and Schubert that aren't included on the disc. Given that Anderson's films are so replete with music, the soundtracks have quite often left out key songs for licensing or other reasons,...
- 5/25/2012
- by The Playlist
- The Playlist
Wes Anderson loves family dramas dressed as fantasies, and this notion is no less palpable with The Royal Tenenbaums, the film that essentially set him on the map. A lot of us remember finding Bottle Rocket in video stores or trekking out with friends to see Rushmore, but that was mostly because of Bill Murray. The Royal Tenenbaums was the movie that made people realize this voice in the world of independent film making had arrived. 11 years later, and Anderson’s latest, Moonrise Kingdom, another light-hearted drama made to look like a fable, is upon us. However, we felt it was time to go back and see exactly what the writer/director had to say about his pinnacle film, The Royal Tenenbaums. There’s sure to be references of French movies and anecdotes about writing with Owen Wilson, but that’s the obvious stuff. We’ve got 28 more items beyond that. So...
- 5/24/2012
- by Jeremy Kirk
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Directors who plug their favorite songs into films is nothing new, but Wes Anderson is one of the few -- along with Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson and Cameron Crowe -- who have turned the movie soundtrack into an art form.
From the underappreciated Rolling Stones song "2000 Man" in Anderson's debut feature "Bottle Rocket" to a Brazilian acoustic guitarist playing David Bowie tunes in the oceanography adventure movie "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou," Anderson's musical choices for his films are as patiently awaited by his fans as the films themselves.
Though the tweed-stylin' director has stated that his new movie, "Moonrise Kingdom" (which opens May 25), "has a big musical element, but there are not really songs in it," his previous films are a master class in how to use songs in movies. Here are 11 of our favorites.
'2000 Man,' The Rolling Stones ('Bottle Rocket,'...
From the underappreciated Rolling Stones song "2000 Man" in Anderson's debut feature "Bottle Rocket" to a Brazilian acoustic guitarist playing David Bowie tunes in the oceanography adventure movie "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou," Anderson's musical choices for his films are as patiently awaited by his fans as the films themselves.
Though the tweed-stylin' director has stated that his new movie, "Moonrise Kingdom" (which opens May 25), "has a big musical element, but there are not really songs in it," his previous films are a master class in how to use songs in movies. Here are 11 of our favorites.
'2000 Man,' The Rolling Stones ('Bottle Rocket,'...
- 5/24/2012
- by Jason Guerrasio
- NextMovie
One Tree Hill finishes its ninth and final season tonight with an even 186 episodes. It's astonishing how long this show has been on. When One Tree Hill premiered, American armed forces had been in Iraq for six months. MySpace was one month old. The DaVinci Code was still only in hardback. Elliott Smith, Ronald Reagan, George Harrison, Johnny Carson, Julia Child, Hunter S. Thompson, Rosa Parks, and Betty Friedan were alive. Britney Spears had never been married. Kanye West had not released an album, Pluto was still a planet, and Friends was still on. Miranda and Steve weren't married yet on Sex and the City.These shows have come and gone during Oth's run: Nip/Tuck, Arrested Development, Joan of Arcadia, Deadwood, Dead Like Me, Pimp My Ride, Best Week Ever, Rescue Me, Heroes Lost, Ugly Betty, and Battlestar Galactica. Oth has been on longer than Dancing With the Stars,...
- 4/4/2012
- by Margaret Lyons
- Vulture
One of the brightest young talents rising right now in Hollywood is Paul Dano. Since breaking out with "Little Miss Sunshine" and "There Will Be Blood," the actor has kept a low profile, preferring supporting roles in bigger films ("Knight And Day," "Cowboys & Aliens") and much smaller indie fare ("For Ellen," "Meek's Cutoff").
Dano has a few projects in the works at the moment, including the soon to be retitled "He Loves Me," a reunion with 'Sunshine' directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris that shot last summer; another reunion planned for this summer with Kelly Reichardt for the thriller "Night Moves," and a role in Rian Johnson's long-awaited "Looper," which is due out this fall. Before all that, however, the actor is starring opposite Robert De Niro in Paul Weitz's "Being Flynn," and recently took the opportunity during press rounds to discuss with Vulture the music playlists that...
Dano has a few projects in the works at the moment, including the soon to be retitled "He Loves Me," a reunion with 'Sunshine' directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris that shot last summer; another reunion planned for this summer with Kelly Reichardt for the thriller "Night Moves," and a role in Rian Johnson's long-awaited "Looper," which is due out this fall. Before all that, however, the actor is starring opposite Robert De Niro in Paul Weitz's "Being Flynn," and recently took the opportunity during press rounds to discuss with Vulture the music playlists that...
- 2/29/2012
- by Simon Dang
- The Playlist
An Elliott Smith documentary has been announced. Heaven Adores You will focus on the life and work of the singer-songwriter, who died in 2003. Nickolas Rossi will direct the project, which will also cover his effect and influence on fans and artists since his untimely death, reports Flavorwire. The film's Kickstarter page describes the picture by saying: "By threading together musical performances of those influenced by the music of Elliott Smith, through the lush and often isolating images of the three major cites he lived in throughout his short life, (more)...
- 12/8/2011
- by By Tom Eames
- Digital Spy
As RawkBlog reports, there’s another Elliott Smith documentary in the works. The documentary is titled Heaven Adores You and it takes a look at Smith’s influence on Portland, Ore., a town he lived and released records in for many years. This isn’t to be confused with another Smith doc, titled Searching for Elliott Smith, which had a very limited release in 2009.
- 12/5/2011
- Pastemagazine.com
"Misery Let Me Down" sounds like an Elliott Smith song you might have heard before, but chances are, you haven't.
Smith performed the song in 1997 during a session at Wmuc-fm, University of Maryland, College Park's student radio station. Smith played about 10 songs, one of which included "Misery Let Me Down," a two-minute track that's been lost for more than 10 years.
The recording session at Wmuc, and the lost disc containing its music, have since made their way into internet lore among Smith-devotees -- and you can find the story of how the disc was found over at the Washington Post.
The sweet, folky song is strung through with typical Smith anguish, with lines like, ""If you see misery going through the things in my place, won’t you do me a favor and come invade my space," and "I've been pretending to care, crying the tears of a clown."
Listen...
Smith performed the song in 1997 during a session at Wmuc-fm, University of Maryland, College Park's student radio station. Smith played about 10 songs, one of which included "Misery Let Me Down," a two-minute track that's been lost for more than 10 years.
The recording session at Wmuc, and the lost disc containing its music, have since made their way into internet lore among Smith-devotees -- and you can find the story of how the disc was found over at the Washington Post.
The sweet, folky song is strung through with typical Smith anguish, with lines like, ""If you see misery going through the things in my place, won’t you do me a favor and come invade my space," and "I've been pretending to care, crying the tears of a clown."
Listen...
- 11/22/2011
- by The Huffington Post
- Huffington Post
Surrogate Valentine
If Paper Heart wasn’t precious enough for you, Surrogate Valentine might well be your dream movie; for the rest, keep back. Dave Boyle’s deeply tiresome musical travelogue’s greatest virtue is its brevity. The film stars San Francisco singer-songwriter Goh Nakamura as a version of himself as he takes on a “method” actor, Danny (Chadd Stoops), who intends to model a performance and character for an upcoming film role on Nakamura, who brings him along on tour in order to teach Danny how to play the film’s central tune. Meanwhile, Goh struggles with his rekindled feelings for high-school crush Rachel (Lynn Chen, a charming figure in an otherwise charmless realm), who clearly carries a torch for the terminally awkward Goh but is involved with a sycophantic businessman.
The central premise of Valentine is not a bad one – there are certainly intriguing dramatic and thematic possibilities...
If Paper Heart wasn’t precious enough for you, Surrogate Valentine might well be your dream movie; for the rest, keep back. Dave Boyle’s deeply tiresome musical travelogue’s greatest virtue is its brevity. The film stars San Francisco singer-songwriter Goh Nakamura as a version of himself as he takes on a “method” actor, Danny (Chadd Stoops), who intends to model a performance and character for an upcoming film role on Nakamura, who brings him along on tour in order to teach Danny how to play the film’s central tune. Meanwhile, Goh struggles with his rekindled feelings for high-school crush Rachel (Lynn Chen, a charming figure in an otherwise charmless realm), who clearly carries a torch for the terminally awkward Goh but is involved with a sycophantic businessman.
The central premise of Valentine is not a bad one – there are certainly intriguing dramatic and thematic possibilities...
- 9/23/2011
- by Simon Howell
- SoundOnSight
When they're not developing popular shooters, Epic Games sure know how to put an emotional trailer together. With every "Gears of War" release, the company issues forth a trailer that incorporates a seemingly out-of-place, sad song played over crazy action. The first "Gears" trailer used the haunting "Mad World," as sung by Gary Jules. "Gears of War 2" video featured Devotchka's "How It Ends." Today, Epic has released the latest trailer for "Gears of War 3" and – big surprise – it features a real tear-jerker from Mazzy Star, "To Dust."
You can check out the video posted by Machinima this morning below.
So, now that you've taken some time to wipe away your tears, lighting a candle under your "Marcus + Dom 4-ever" shrine, let's take a deeper look at these "Gears" trailers. No, not just at the gameplay they're showing off – which looks excellent, of course – but at this sort of auteur method...
You can check out the video posted by Machinima this morning below.
So, now that you've taken some time to wipe away your tears, lighting a candle under your "Marcus + Dom 4-ever" shrine, let's take a deeper look at these "Gears" trailers. No, not just at the gameplay they're showing off – which looks excellent, of course – but at this sort of auteur method...
- 9/1/2011
- by Matt Clark
- MTV Multiplayer
Your Weekly Source for the Newest Releases to Blu-Ray Tuesday, August 30th, 2011
The 5th Quarter: Special Edition (2010)
Synopsis: In February, 2006, young Luke Abbate accepted a ride home from a fellow student following his high-school team practice. In a severe case of irresponsible and reckless teen-age driving, and over the objections of Luke and the other young passengers, the driver lost control of the car at nearly 90 miles-per-hour, spinning off a narrow road and landing in an embankment some seventy feet below. Luke suffered irreparable brain damage, and died in the hospital two days later – just four days before his sixteenth birthday. (highdefdigest.com)
Special Features: Making-of Featurette.
Bereavement (2010)
Synopsis: The horrific account of 6 year old Martin Bristol, abducted from his backyard swing and forced to witness the brutal crimes of a deranged madman. (highdefdigest.com)
Special Features:
Commentary track with director/writer Stevan Mena Behind the scenes featurette Deleted...
The 5th Quarter: Special Edition (2010)
Synopsis: In February, 2006, young Luke Abbate accepted a ride home from a fellow student following his high-school team practice. In a severe case of irresponsible and reckless teen-age driving, and over the objections of Luke and the other young passengers, the driver lost control of the car at nearly 90 miles-per-hour, spinning off a narrow road and landing in an embankment some seventy feet below. Luke suffered irreparable brain damage, and died in the hospital two days later – just four days before his sixteenth birthday. (highdefdigest.com)
Special Features: Making-of Featurette.
Bereavement (2010)
Synopsis: The horrific account of 6 year old Martin Bristol, abducted from his backyard swing and forced to witness the brutal crimes of a deranged madman. (highdefdigest.com)
Special Features:
Commentary track with director/writer Stevan Mena Behind the scenes featurette Deleted...
- 8/29/2011
- by Travis Keune
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
In this week's Music in the Movies, we pick out ten of cinema's finest non-score soundtracks...
Having focused mainly on scores in this column, I thought I’d turn my attention to soundtracks that consist mainly of sourced material. I've chose some of my favourites, and also asked some Den of Geek 's writers to suggest a few choices of their own. And just to make the list a little more balanced, I've made sure to only choose one film per director...
A Life Less Ordinary
Nominated by N P Horton
I originally intended to include Trainspotting in this article, but I decided to ask my followers on Twitter (comprising largely of DoG writers) to nominate their favourite scores, and this was Mr Horton’s. So given that I wanted to include only one film per filmmaker, out went Trainspotting, and in came A Life Less Ordinary.
Ash’s titular...
Having focused mainly on scores in this column, I thought I’d turn my attention to soundtracks that consist mainly of sourced material. I've chose some of my favourites, and also asked some Den of Geek 's writers to suggest a few choices of their own. And just to make the list a little more balanced, I've made sure to only choose one film per director...
A Life Less Ordinary
Nominated by N P Horton
I originally intended to include Trainspotting in this article, but I decided to ask my followers on Twitter (comprising largely of DoG writers) to nominate their favourite scores, and this was Mr Horton’s. So given that I wanted to include only one film per filmmaker, out went Trainspotting, and in came A Life Less Ordinary.
Ash’s titular...
- 8/26/2011
- Den of Geek
In addition to packing stadiums and arenas around the world for teenage dream-like concerts featuring her own songs and a procession of big set pieces from a wedding march to snowfall and a balcony that flies out over the audience, Taylor Swift is turning heads on her current "Speak Now" tour by performing oddball covers.
Sometimes, they're keyed to whatever city she's in, such as her choice of Fall Out Boy's "Sugar, We're Going Down" in Chicago this week. (Fob are from Chicago, Btw.) It added to a list that already included Pink's "Who Knew" (in Philadelphia), Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" and Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer" (New Jersey), Eminem's "Lose Yourself" (in Detroit), Justin Bieber's "Baby" and Alanis Morissette's "You Learn" (Toronto) and the Dixie Chicks' "Cowboy Take Me Away" (with Chicks member Martie Maguire in the house.)
So, we...
Sometimes, they're keyed to whatever city she's in, such as her choice of Fall Out Boy's "Sugar, We're Going Down" in Chicago this week. (Fob are from Chicago, Btw.) It added to a list that already included Pink's "Who Knew" (in Philadelphia), Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" and Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer" (New Jersey), Eminem's "Lose Yourself" (in Detroit), Justin Bieber's "Baby" and Alanis Morissette's "You Learn" (Toronto) and the Dixie Chicks' "Cowboy Take Me Away" (with Chicks member Martie Maguire in the house.)
So, we...
- 8/11/2011
- by Gil Kaufman
- MTV Newsroom
At the Minneapolis, Minn., stop on their record-shattering "360 Tour," U2 dedicated “Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of” to the late Amy Winehouse, who passed away Saturday at the age of 27. "We wrote this next song for Michael Hutchence, but you will understand tonight if we play it for Amy Winehouse,” Bono said before playing the song.
“Stuck In A Moment” was written for Hutchence, the lead singer of Inxs who committed suicide in 1997. The singer was a close friend of the members of U2.
The gesture is the latest of many that have flooded in since Winehouse’s passing. On Saturday night, just hours after the news broke, M.I.A. released the demo “27” on her Soundcloud in the “Back to Black” singer’s honor. “I recorded this song B4 vickileekx and never put it out,” M.I.A. said on Twitter. “It's a unfinished demo.
“Stuck In A Moment” was written for Hutchence, the lead singer of Inxs who committed suicide in 1997. The singer was a close friend of the members of U2.
The gesture is the latest of many that have flooded in since Winehouse’s passing. On Saturday night, just hours after the news broke, M.I.A. released the demo “27” on her Soundcloud in the “Back to Black” singer’s honor. “I recorded this song B4 vickileekx and never put it out,” M.I.A. said on Twitter. “It's a unfinished demo.
- 7/26/2011
- by John Mitchell
- MTV Newsroom
Taylor steps out with Dustin Lance Black and Gus Van Sant — do you think he is being considered for the film version of the popular rock musical?
Taylor Lautner enjoyed a lovely dinner at Bottega Louie in Los Angeles July 13 with two very unlikely companions — Oscar nominees Dustin Lance Black and Gus Van Sant. Is Taylor in talks to take a role in the film version of American Idiot?
Not to slight young Mr. Lautner, but Dustin and Gus seem like Very unlikely dinner mates for the 19-year-old. Furthermore, news that Dustin is developing the script for American Idiot makes it seem like Taylor may be in talks to take a role in the rock musical. He might be looking for a departure after Twilight and the role of Johnny, the “Jesus of Suburbia,” would be ideal. A sex crazed heroin addict is a far cry from the chaste and...
Taylor Lautner enjoyed a lovely dinner at Bottega Louie in Los Angeles July 13 with two very unlikely companions — Oscar nominees Dustin Lance Black and Gus Van Sant. Is Taylor in talks to take a role in the film version of American Idiot?
Not to slight young Mr. Lautner, but Dustin and Gus seem like Very unlikely dinner mates for the 19-year-old. Furthermore, news that Dustin is developing the script for American Idiot makes it seem like Taylor may be in talks to take a role in the rock musical. He might be looking for a departure after Twilight and the role of Johnny, the “Jesus of Suburbia,” would be ideal. A sex crazed heroin addict is a far cry from the chaste and...
- 7/14/2011
- by cspargo
- HollywoodLife
There's been a quite a bit of 1990s relapse going on lately, whether it's been the threat of new albums from Blink-182 or Bush, or that Soundgarden reunion, or the fact that Primus and Stephen Malkmus have a fresh ones on the way and early Elliott Smith and Modest Mouse have been recently unearthed. And if you were an Archers of Loaf fan, then you must know already, but the band is back at it for the first time since 1998. They're on tour on and off through September -- mostly shows in the South where they're from, the East Coast...
- 7/13/2011
- Hitfix
On July 19th, and imprint called Greyday Records will release a second volume of its "Live From Nowhere Near You" charity compilation. Looking through the first one, out in 2003, a few artists jump out: Spoon, Emily Haines, Brad Hargreaves of Third Eye Blind. For "Live From Nowhere Near You, Vol. 2," many of the names may be familiar to you. Over three discs, musicians including Elliott Smith, Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst with Spoon's Britt Daniel, the Strokes' Julian Casablancas and Fabrizio Moretti, Modest Mouse, the Shins' James Mercer, Wilco, Ryan Adams, Josh Homme (hi, Josh), Sleater-Kinney's Corin Tucker, the Decemberists'...
- 7/9/2011
- Hitfix
The Strokes, Queens Of The Stone Age singer Josh Homme and Pearl Jam have joined forces for charity. The musical acts, together with various other bands and soloists, will feature on a three-disc compilation called Live From Nowhere Near You: Volume Two to raise money for Outside In, an organisation that helps homeless youths. The compilation CD is scheduled for release in the Us on July 19 and possibly in the UK by August 15. It will feature a cover version of Marvin Gaye's 'Mercy Mercy Me' by Homme, Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder and The Strokes band members Julian Casablancas and drummer Fab Moretti. Ryan Adams, Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst, Elliott Smith, (more)...
- 7/1/2011
- by By Rebecca Davies
- Digital Spy
The Strokes, Queens Of The Stone Age singer Josh Homme and Pearl Jam have joined forces for charity. The musical acts, together with various other bands and soloists, will feature on a three-disc compilation called Live From Nowhere Near You: Volume Two to raise money for Outside In, an organisation that helps homeless youths. The compilation CD is scheduled for release in the Us on July 19 and possibly in the UK by August 15. It will feature a cover version of Marvin Gaye's 'Mercy Mercy Me' by Homme, Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder and The Strokes band members Julian Casablancas and drummer Fab Moretti. Ryan Adams, Bright Eyes's Conor Oberst, Elliott Smith, (more)...
- 7/1/2011
- by By Rebecca Davies
- Digital Spy
Liam Finn’s moody but mannered debut featured a song called “The Shadow Of Your Man.” Why be coy, though? I’ll Be Lightning bore the musical DNA of Elliott Smith, but Liam himself bears the genetic material of Crowded House and Split Enz frontman Neil Finn. His sophomore effort, Fomo, is a valiant, largely successful attempt to carve out a unique identity by dint of buzzing guitars, overdubbed harmonies, and busy production. It helps that Finn has never been as convincingly unhinged as he is on “The Struggle,” where he wails “Are you worth the trouble?” over a seesawing ...
- 6/21/2011
- avclub.com
We probably don't have to tell you that we're huge fans of Jon Brion. The acclaimed songwriter, Largo showman, music producer and composer has been behind the boards for artists as varied as Kanye West, Elliott Smith, Fiona Apple, Of Montreal and of course, wrote some amazing scores for films like "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," "Punch Drunk Love," "Synecdoche, New York" and "I Heart Huckabees," but surprisingly, his instantly recognizable style--which falls somewhere between Tin Pan Alley and "Pet Sounds"--has never been used for an animated film. Until now. Focus Features has announced the two-time Grammy nominated Brion…...
- 6/14/2011
- The Playlist
Madeleine Peyroux is best known for her dusky, out-of-time croon, whose lustrous grain will never live down—or up to, for that matter—the Billie Holiday comparisons that have dogged her over the last 15 years. While her vocals have certainly earned her many fans, perhaps her truest gift is her impeccable taste in material. Largely eschewing the oversung classics of the American Songbook, Peyroux has lent her voice to an array of songs representing an adventurous diversity: from Fred Neil and Leonard Cohen to Elliott Smith and Serge Gainsbourg. Half the excitement over a new album is anticipating who she’ll cover...
- 6/8/2011
- Pastemagazine.com
Agnes Obel - Between The Bars (Elliott Smith cover) iTunes Live From Paris Ep by Girlie Action
Danish singer/ songwriter Agnes Obel is a bona fide star at home in Europe, with big sales and shows across much of the continent during the last year. When I saw her play in Norway this Winter during Oslo's by:Larm conference, a rapt audience hung on every piano note she played and every tale she told between songs. It was as if she was slated to emerge spontaneously as an international sensation, and they'd hate to miss a moment of the metamorphosis.
But Obel has struggled to meet those expectations across the Atlantic, despite many favorable notices in the press and over-reaching comparisons to Joanna Newsom and Cat Power. Those two have taken many more musical chances than Obel on her half-there, even if occasionally stunning debut album, Philharmonics, and that's the idea...
Danish singer/ songwriter Agnes Obel is a bona fide star at home in Europe, with big sales and shows across much of the continent during the last year. When I saw her play in Norway this Winter during Oslo's by:Larm conference, a rapt audience hung on every piano note she played and every tale she told between songs. It was as if she was slated to emerge spontaneously as an international sensation, and they'd hate to miss a moment of the metamorphosis.
But Obel has struggled to meet those expectations across the Atlantic, despite many favorable notices in the press and over-reaching comparisons to Joanna Newsom and Cat Power. Those two have taken many more musical chances than Obel on her half-there, even if occasionally stunning debut album, Philharmonics, and that's the idea...
- 5/19/2011
- by Grayson Currin
- ifc.com
Mark Oliver Everett, better known as the driving force of the band Eels, is nothing if not ambitious. After releasing a trilogy of albums in 2009-2010 ("Hombre Lobo", "End Times", and "Tomorrow Morning" for those keeping track), he has just announced a world tour that leaves no far-flung corner untrodden. Fans from China to Toronto to Austin will be able to watch live as Eels performs their uniquely darkly beautiful songs that are evocative of Tom Waits, Mark Kozelek, and Elliott Smith. The tour kicks off June 1st in California and then heads to the Far East with shows in Beijing and Shanghai. Next stop is Europe with Eels' first appearance at the Glastonbury Festival. Then they kick off their North American tour with dates spanning from sea to shining sea. While a tour is gift enough for the devoted Eels fans across the globe, in the words of the...
- 3/30/2011
- by Melissa Locker
- ifc.com
In this week’s Music in the movies, we look back over the work of Jon Brion, whose compositions have graced such films as Magnolia, I Heart Huckabees and The Other Guys...
Producer for the likes of Aimee Mann, Kanye West, Of Montreal, Spoon and Elliott Smith, to name but a few, Jon Brion is a name you may have seen appearing on some credits for great movies over the years.
His break into composing for movies came through helping out Michael Penn on P T Anderson's score for Hard Eight (aka Sydney). Since then, he has composed two other scores for the director, as well as appearing briefly in Boogie Nights.
Below are the notable scores he has composed to date:
Magnolia
Brion's debut score for Paul Thomas Anderson's epic is somewhat overshadowed by the songs featured by Aimee Mann (covered in this column last year), but does...
Producer for the likes of Aimee Mann, Kanye West, Of Montreal, Spoon and Elliott Smith, to name but a few, Jon Brion is a name you may have seen appearing on some credits for great movies over the years.
His break into composing for movies came through helping out Michael Penn on P T Anderson's score for Hard Eight (aka Sydney). Since then, he has composed two other scores for the director, as well as appearing briefly in Boogie Nights.
Below are the notable scores he has composed to date:
Magnolia
Brion's debut score for Paul Thomas Anderson's epic is somewhat overshadowed by the songs featured by Aimee Mann (covered in this column last year), but does...
- 2/22/2011
- Den of Geek
Of all the rock stars who died tragically before their time (including the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Janis Joplin and Elliott Smith), the one that still seems to cut the deepest is John Lennon, who was killed by Mark David Chapman 30 years ago today. Lennon was 40 years old when he died, which made him slightly older than a lot of musicians who have an early exit, but in a way that makes it all the more heartbreaking. Lennon was right on the cusp of huge musical and personal transitions, and his death robbed the world of what could have been an amazing twilight to his career.
Though it's impossible to know exactly what would have become of Lennon's work and art, there are some inklings about what it probably wouldn't have been. The latter day Lennon probably wouldn't have ended up like Paul McCartney, making trifles of albums...
Though it's impossible to know exactly what would have become of Lennon's work and art, there are some inklings about what it probably wouldn't have been. The latter day Lennon probably wouldn't have ended up like Paul McCartney, making trifles of albums...
- 12/8/2010
- by Kyle Anderson
- MTV Newsroom
For some, Fall is a time of great beauty and nostalgia, a boon for the sartorialist who can finally break out favorite jackets and scarves. Others are less thrilled, perhaps victims of some primal human apprehension about the coming of winter. One thing is certain, it's a season of greater introspection after the wanton abuses of summer. It's also a great time for music as all the vapid pop hits of the sweltering months fade out and people give more airplay to music with a bit more depth.
Digging through my records for Halloween weekend, I decided it was time for the ultimate Fall playlist -- and the following list is a distillation of that. I dispensed with most of werewolf tunes and tried to focus in on that hazy Autumnal groove, with a touch of foreboding. Consider it a list of costume ideas as well, I've already seen one...
Digging through my records for Halloween weekend, I decided it was time for the ultimate Fall playlist -- and the following list is a distillation of that. I dispensed with most of werewolf tunes and tried to focus in on that hazy Autumnal groove, with a touch of foreboding. Consider it a list of costume ideas as well, I've already seen one...
- 10/31/2010
- by Brandon Kim
- ifc.com
David Bowie Buy: iTunes.com Genre: Rock Song: Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) Album: Scary Monsters Ryan Adams Buy: iTunes.com Genre: Rock Song: Halloweenhead Album: Easy Tiger Elliott Smith Buy: iTunes.com Genre: Alternative Song: Fear City Album: New Moon John Cale Buy: iTunes.com Genre: Rock Song: Fear Is a Man's Best Friend Album: The Island Years Ladytron Buy: iTunes.com Genre: Electronic Song: Ghosts Album: Velocifero Jukebox the Ghost Buy: iTunes.com Genre: Alternative Song: Where Are All the Scientists Now? Album: Let Live and Let Ghosts Mekons Buy: iTunes.com Genre: Alternative Song: Psycho Cupid (Danceband on the Edge of Time) Album: Fear and Whiskey Bob Schneider Buy: iTunes.com Genre: Rock Song: Ghosts (Bonus Track) Album: Lovely Creatures (Bonus Track Version) The Dears Buy: iTunes.com Genre: Alternative Song: Fear Made the World Go Round Album: Gang of Losers The Low Anthem Buy: iTunes.com...
- 10/29/2010
- by Phil Ramone and Danielle Evin
- Huffington Post
Every morning I listen to John Richards on Kexp. He is Such a good DJ. So good. The best. You should really listen to him. The first song of his show always wakes me up and it’s usually something rad like The Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind?” or an LCD Soundsystem song so I start dancing in bed and then dance my way out of bed and two feet over to my computer where I will stay for the rest of the day. Even when I’m not part-time blogging (pause for you to be impressed) I don’t want to leave the house until noon because I want to hear the entire show. You get it. But this morning? First thing John plays is Jeff Buckley’s “Hallelujah” transistioned into Leonard Cohen’s “Famous Blue Raincoat.” Come On, John! I mean, it’s obviously a genius music connection,...
- 10/13/2010
- by Sarah Walker
- BestWeekEver
Michael Bay has played a blinder by tapping into the lucrative market for movie-Pink Floyd crossovers. Which other classic albums could he hitch a ride on?
Transformers fans, if they're able to get through a block of text this size without drifting off because nothing explodes and there aren't any abstract scenes of robot-on-robot violence, have every reason to rejoice. Next year's Transformers 3 finally has a title. It looks like it'll be called - wait for it - Transformers: The Dark Of The Moon.
Without hyperbole, this is a brilliant title. Not only is it even more overblown and self-important than last year's Revenge Of The Fallen, but it perfectly describes everything that will happen in the film: it'll be set on the moon and it'll be both literally and emotionally dark, as evidenced in the scene where Optimus Prime gets addicted to OxyContin and starts self-harming on...
Transformers fans, if they're able to get through a block of text this size without drifting off because nothing explodes and there aren't any abstract scenes of robot-on-robot violence, have every reason to rejoice. Next year's Transformers 3 finally has a title. It looks like it'll be called - wait for it - Transformers: The Dark Of The Moon.
Without hyperbole, this is a brilliant title. Not only is it even more overblown and self-important than last year's Revenge Of The Fallen, but it perfectly describes everything that will happen in the film: it'll be set on the moon and it'll be both literally and emotionally dark, as evidenced in the scene where Optimus Prime gets addicted to OxyContin and starts self-harming on...
- 10/11/2010
- by Stuart Heritage
- The Guardian - Film News
In the wake of 80's week, I found myself contemplating the state of the modern teen comedy. After the end of John Hughes' stellar track record of teen-themed films, we haven't had much to take their place. Sure, we had Can't Hardly Wait and American Pie, Clueless and Ten Things I Hate About You, but it feels like the genre is still strangely empty. And then I remembered 2004's The Girl Next Door. It's not your conventional high school movie -- it's filled with gratuitous nudity, copious swearing, drug use, and all kinds of other fun stuff. It's one of those films that I feel oddly guilty about liking... no. Fuck that. I love this flick. I can't help myself.
The Girl Next Door is a simple boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl story, with a couple of twists thrown in. Taking place during the final days of high school, Matthew (Emile Hirsch...
The Girl Next Door is a simple boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl story, with a couple of twists thrown in. Taking place during the final days of high school, Matthew (Emile Hirsch...
- 9/9/2010
- by TK
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