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News & Updates
March 13, 2017
How Edgar Wright’s ‘Baby Driver’ Was Inspired By One Catchy Song and a Music Video — SXSW 2017
Twenty-two years ago, writer-director Edgar Wright was constantly listening to the album “Orange” by the rock group The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.
“The first track on the album, ‘Bellbottoms,’ which is a fantastic rock track, I just listened to that song over and over again,” said Wright at a Q&A during the 2017 SXSW Film Festival. “I don’t know what it was, but I just thought that would make a great car chase song.”
Wright laid in his bedroom listening to the song on repeat, visualizing a car chase set to “Bellbottoms.” He also started coming up with the idea of a character: a getaway driver for a bank heist, who cannot do his job properly without the right music playing.
That core idea is the premise of Wright’s new film, “Baby Driver,” which premiered this weekend at the SXSW Film Festival to rave reviews and will be released by Sony on August 11. Wright wouldn’t sit down to actually write the script until 2010, but that germ of an idea is something he’d develop over two decades.
Edgar Wright discusses “Baby Driver” at a SXSW press event moderated by Alicia Malone
Chris O'Falt
“I didn’t really know when to start writing it [because] you don’t really have car chases in the UK, London in fact has sort of become car chase proofed,” said the British filmmaker. “If you have ever driven around London and seen the amount of one way systems…they basically rubbed out all car chase crime. In fact, if you get bank robberies in the UK, they’re using scooters.”
For that reason, Wright instinctively thought of the film as being set in America. In 2002, he decided to test out some of his ideas in a music video for the band Mint Royale.
“I sort of used my opening scene for that video,” said Wright. “At the time, I was annoyed at myself for doing it, because I shouldn’t waste this idea on a music video.”
Wright said the video had a long shelf life because it stars Noel Fielding (“The Mighty Boosh,” “Never Mind the Buzzcocks”), who afterwards would go on to become a well-known British comedian and actor.
“It was one of those videos that kept coming around, the actor in the video became famous afterwards, so it was one of those videos that reappearing throughout my career,” said Wright.
Before writing, Wright started researching cop car chases in Los Angeles (and later Atlanta, when the film switched locations) to find out what techniques were used by successful getaway drivers.
“In a lot of action films, people are driving muscle cars or vintage cars, where as in reality, getaway drivers would choose commuter cars and find ways of blending into freeway traffic as quickly as possible,” said Wright.
The filmmaker even went so far as to start interviewing ex-cons and law enforcement, explaining he wanted the film’s action sequences to feel grounded in reality.
“I really wanted people to get the feeling of what it would be like to be a getaway driver in the middle of a pursuit,” said Wright. “Not everybody fantasizes about robbing a bank, but I think most people have that fantasy of being in a high speed chase.”
In his previous films. Wright has played with choreographing scenes to music. “Baby Driver” is an attempt to take this to another level.
“I always have so much fun doing those sequences that I basically came up with this movie as a way of doing that for the entire movie essentially,” said Wright.
Wright emphasized that it wasn’t simply a matter of cutting the chase scenes to music, but writing, shot listing and then choreographing the scene with a stunt coordinator, cinematographer, actors and an actual choreographer to get the precise timing and movement in lock step with each specific song.
“It’s sort of like a musical in a way,” said Wright. “I took that premise that Hong Kong movies are musicals that have about five big numbers, it’s five action set pieces, a song for each.”
“Baby Driver” premiered at the 2017 SXSW Film Festival and will open nationwide on August 11.
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Source: IndieWire film
March 13, 2017
The First Electric Track From Nicolas Winding Refn’s ‘The Neon Demon’-Inspired Album Is Here — Listen
Music has always played an integral part in setting the mood for Nicolas Winding Refn’s films, so the director’s recent announcement that he would be compiling a collection of songs that inspired his 2016 fashion industry horror flick “The Neon Demon” only made sense.
READ MORE: Listen: ‘The Neon Demon’s’ Seductive Score by Cliff Martinez Will Blow Your Mind
The vinyl album, titled “The Wicked Die Young,” will feature tracks from Dionne Warwick, Giorgio Moroder, Suicide, and the film’s composer Cliff Martinez, as well as Refn’s nephew, Julian Winding, who also contributed to “The Neon Demon.”
Winding’s “When You Want To Hurt Someone” fits perfectly with the electric, bumping mood of the film.
About the song, Refn commented, “Julian Winding is a super-charged, esoteric-sounding, unadulterated, speed-seeking musical wonder boy and his track, ‘When You Want To Hurt Someone’ is a beat trip.”
The vinyl-only collection is out April 14 on Milan Records. Take an exclusive listen to “When You Want To Hurt Someone” below and familiarize yourself with the full, neon-tinged track list in preparation.
Track List:
(Side A):
01 Electric Youth: “Good Blood”
02 Lynsey de Paul: “Won’t Somebody Dance With Me”
03 Suicide: “Cheree (1998 Remastered Version)”
04 999: “Homicide”
05 Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers: “Pirate Love”
06 Dionne Warwick: “(Theme From) Valley of the Dolls”
07 Tommy Seebach: “Bubble Sex”
08 Amanda Lear: “Follow Me”
(Side B):
01 Giorgio Moroder: “Knights In White Satin”
02 Sparks: “The No. 1 Song In Heaven”
03 Cliff Martinez: “Becoming”
04 Pino Donaggio: “Dressed to Kill (Pulsion) (1980): The Shower (Theme from Dressed to Kill)”
05 Claudio Gizzi: “End Of A Myth”
06 Julian Winding: “When You Want To Hurt Someone”
Source: IndieWire film
March 13, 2017
Isabelle Huppert Talks Paul Verhoeven Film That Made Her Want to Make ‘Elle’ in Home Video Release Featurette
Isabelle Huppert gave one of the most dynamic and memorable performances of last year in Paul Verhoeven’s “Elle,” spinning gold out of a tricky character in an even trickier film. But it was Huppert’s familiarity with Verhoeven’s work — specifically “Turkish Delight” — that helped prepare her for it, as she reveals in this exclusive clip ahead of the film’s DVD and Blu-ray release.
READ MORE: ‘Elle’: Isabelle Huppert on Why Her Controversial Film About Rape Is ‘Post-Feminist’
In a recent career-spanning talk with the Hollywood Reporter’s Stephen Galloway, Huppert discusses how her love for “Turkish Delight” was a major part of why she signed on for “Elle” in the first place. She explains how the film “struck her forever” with its balance of comedy and melodrama, and how she found something similar working on “Elle.”
READ MORE: ‘Isabelle Huppert: A Tribute’ Is Essential Viewing for All Huppert Super-Fans — Watch
“It was one of my favorite films ever, and when I thought that I was going to work with Paul Verhoeven, that was really something like the bond or the bridge between that moment when I saw “Turkish Delight” and now,” Huppert said. “Sometimes you have that kind of feeling in life, and it’s very rare, and it happened, you know, with ‘Elle.’”
“Elle” will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on March 14. Check out our exclusive clip below.
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Source: IndieWire film
March 13, 2017
The Memphis Picnic Has Got the Blues
If you’re a music fan, you probably know a thing or two about Memphis: birthplace of blues, city of Elvis and Al Green, Sun Studio, Hi Records, Stax and American, Ardent, and Big Star. But what do you know about what’s happening right now?
Memphis is still a city of originals, and you can sample some of them when Music Export Memphis brings its Memphis Picnic to Brush Square Park’s East Tent tomorrow, March 14 from 3-7pm.
There’ll be music, of course. The centerpiece of the picnic is a diverse lineup of Memphis music, featuring Emi Secrest, Chris Milam, Marcella & Her Lovers, Dead Soldiers, and Southern Avenue. You can listen to a preview on Spotify.
If music is the main course, try a few more Memphis originals on the side. Gus’s will be frying up chicken just a few feet from where it’ll hit your plate. Between bites, grab some Memphis swag—and try your brain at Memphis trivia—from New Memphis Institute and enter to win a trip to Memphis courtesy of the Memphis Convention & Visitors’ Bureau. Remember the day with a photo op you’ll never forget inside the Amurica Photo Trailer.
The Memphis Picnic is hosted by Music Export Memphis, a not-for-profit initiative that creates opportunities to showcase Memphis music outside the city to drive talent attraction, business development, music tourism and the music economy. It’s co-hosted by StartCo, a Memphis venture development organization, and EPIcenter, a collaborative community-wide strategic initiative that helps entrepreneurs conceive, launch and scale businesses.
Add the Memphis Picnic to your schedule.
Content and image provided by Music Export Memphis
Related News:
- Register to attend SXSW 2017
- Explore the SXSW Music Festival
- Check out the Music Bloggers Guide to SXSW
The post The Memphis Picnic Has Got the Blues appeared first on SXSW.
Source: SxSW Film
March 13, 2017
Newly-Released Michael Brown Surveillance Video From SXSW Doc Sparks Protests
About 100 protestors gathered at the Ferguson convenience store that police accused the late Michael Brown of robbing Sunday night, after newly-released surveillance footage shows the 18-year-old calmly buying marijuana from the store clerks. The video is part of the documentary, “Stranger Fruit,” which chronicles the events of August 9th, 2014, through the eyes of the Brown family. The film premiered at SXSW Saturday night.
Filmmaker Jason Pollock says the video not only proves Brown did not rob the convenience store, but that the Ferguson Police Department intentionally obfuscated the timeline of events. At least one report reveals that the police knew of the existence of the video.
“What this video shows is that they lied to the world about what happened,” Pollock told CNN. “They wanted to make [Michael] Brown look bad, so they put out half a video to destroy his character in his death.”
Police say the video is irrelevant to the investigation of Brown’s death at the hands of officer Darren Wilson, who claimed he feared for his life. A grand jury and the U.S. Justice Department declined to indict Wilson.
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Source: IndieWire film
March 13, 2017
‘Barry Lyndon’ Live Score First Look: Experience Stanley Kubrick’s Period Drama Like Never Before — Watch
Getting to experience a Stanley Kubrick movie on the big screen is always a treat, especially in 2017. But when you throw in a 50-peice orchestra performing a live score, that experience suddenly becomes even more jaw-dropping.
Such will be the case on April 8 when the musicians of the Wordless Music Orchestra take the stage at the Kings Theater in Brooklyn to accompany “Barry Lyndon.” The original score, which has been newly transcribed by composer Frank Cogliano, will be performed in its entirety and synced live to the film.
READ MORE: How Live Film Scores Are Finding New Life in the Age of Netflix
Last Tuesday night, members of the Wordless Music Orchestra performed a preview concert of selections from the one-night-only event, and you can check out a first look at their arrangements in the video below.
Songs performed include Handel’s Sarabande, the third movement of Vivaldi’s Cello Concerto in E Minor, an arrangement of the Adagio from Bach’s Concerto for Two Harpsichord’s and Orchestra in C Minor, and the second movement of Schubert’s Piano Trio in E-flat, which concludes both the first and second acts of “Barry Lyndon.” An Irish ensemble also played all of the traditional folk songs heard in the film.
The preview concert was held at the American Irish Historical Society in Manhattan, and was attended by members of the Society, colleagues and associates of Wordless Music, and members of the press.
Tickets for ‘Barry Lyndon with Live Orchestra’ on Saturday, April 8 are $55 – $100, and available now at Ticketmaster and the Kings Theatre Box Office. Now through March 19, you can use the discount code BARRYIRISH to unlock select seating at up to 30% off.
Source: IndieWire film
March 13, 2017
From Brilliant Color to Black and White, Two DPs Explain Their Process [PODCAST]
“To be able to show someone something is one of our universal languages as humans.”
Different DPs may have different styles and approaches to lensing a film, but the through-line is always the power that they have to show, not tell. No Film School sat down with two talented, up and coming DPs who shot award-winning films that first premiered at Sundance 2017, and are now continuing on the festival circuit.
Andrew Ackerman shot the colorful, underwater documentary Chasing Coral, and speaks about the numerous logistical nightmares of shooting underwater timelapse, as well as character arcs back on land. Ante Cheng shot the Justin Chon’s actor-director narrative Gook, which is a black and white period piece set amid the 1992 LA riots (not to mention the first feature film Cheng has shot!) Below is an excerpt from the discussion.
Source: NoFilmSchool
March 13, 2017
‘Spettacolo’: SXSW Stranger-Than-Fiction Documentarians on Why Art Makes Life Worth Living
Jeff Malmberg and Chris Shellen’s ‘Spettacolo’ is an elegiac testament to the power of art.
Of all the virtues of art, perhaps the least celebrated is its ability to provide catharsis. In his 2010 Spirit Award-winning documentary Marwencol, Jeff Malmberg told the story of a veteran who returned home only to suffer a brutal attack at a local bar. He processes the trauma of the assault, which left him with severe brain damage, by building a miniature fictional town in his backyard in which he enacts complex theatrical narratives. Malmberg is at SXSW 2017 with Spettacolo, another documentary that examines art’s therapeutic capacity. But this time, it’s not just one man—it’s an entire village.
Source: NoFilmSchool
March 13, 2017
Vimeo Curators Reveal the Secret to Getting a Staff Pick
Here are six places where the Vimeo Staff Picks pickers find new videos to feature.
Since Vimeo’s Staff Picks launched back in 2007, the program has become the stuff of legend for independent filmmakers, generating an average of 100,000 views on the chosen videos, and launching the careers of makers like DANIELS and Kirsten Lepore, whose latest short Hi Stranger is playing at SXSW this year.
While it’s clear that a Staff Pick can be very meaningful for filmmakers, it’s been a little murkier to understand just how these picks are made—until now. At SXSW, three of the five members of Vimeo’s curation team—Sam Morrill, Meghan Oretsky, and Ian Durkin candidly shared some of their process.
The panelists said that, of the thousand or so videos featured as Staff Picks annually (out of tens of millions of uploads), each and every one is hand selected by curation team—no algorithms in sight. One of the main takeaways of use to aspiring pick-ees was the list of places where the team actually goes to find new videos to feature. Here are the top six:
Source: NoFilmSchool
March 13, 2017
ABDZ Photo Challenge: #abdz_nightphoto
ABDZ Photo Challenge: #abdz_nightphoto
A photo challenge! Yes! Mainly, It’s an open concept that is made purely for fun and also to improve your photography or mobile photography skills. The idea is simple! At the beginning of the week, we’ll share a theme through a hashtag for your pictures. During that given week, you will use that hashtag whenever you seem is appropriate or not. On Friday we’ll select and publish our favourite photos on the blog and also on Instagram account (@Abduzeedos). We look forward to see what you will come up with.
This for this week, we are going for the hashtag: –> #abdz_nightphoto. We thought about changing the game a little and push your creative boundaries. Let’s see how far we can take the technology of our smartphones and your vision of things at night. We can’t wait to see what you guys come up with.
Some Examples
qliebin
ghostdogpr
tatikoma1984
pierreputman
tty3122
Make sure to follow: @Abduzeedos
AoiroStudio
Mar 13, 2017
Source: Abduzeedo Photography