May 11, 2018

Eddy Cue on Curation in Media & Why It Matters at SXSW 2018 [Video]

On March 12 during SXSW 2018, hours before Eddy Cue Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services stepped on stage for his Featured Session, Apple announced the acquisition of Texture, a digital magazine subscription service known as the “Netflix for magazines.”

The acquisition is poised to bring new high quality and trusted content into the Apple News feed and represents a larger move on Apple’s part to become a content curator and guardian of free speech.

In Cue’s 30 year-career at Apple, he has come to oversee their industry-leading content stores including the iTunes Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, Maps, Search Ads, Apple’s innovative iCloud services, and more. On stage at SXSW, Cue sits down with CNN’s Dylan Byers for a discussion on Apple’s media strategy and content goals.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the conversation between Cue and Byers is Apple’s dedication to the old adage, quality over quantity. Despite the company’s purchasing power, Apple chooses to strategically invest in companies with the highest quality content and services.

“We don’t try to sell the most smartphones or tablets in the world – we try to make the best one.” – Cue

This philosophy carries over into all aspects of the business. From what Cue describes, Apple is “all in” on TV and content creation. Although still on the horizon and largely ambiguous, Cue suggests significant growth in the amount of original programming created by Apple. “We hope we bring some amazing, great-quality stuff. We’ll have a few surprises…I have been at Apple for 30 years and am hoping to be there another 20, so I am not going to answer questions about future products.”

Cue makes a point of saying that as Apple expands further into the entertainment industry and develops as a content powerhouse, the company will separate itself from Netflix and Hulu through its content.

“When you think of content, great storytelling is what’s important. You get storytelling from big name people and also get it from new and up-and-comers.” – Cue

Watch the video above for the full Featured Session at the 2018 SXSW Conference. Browse more 2018 Keynotes, Featured Sessions, Red Carpets, and Q&A’s on our YouTube Channel.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and SXSW News for the latest SXSW coverage and 2019 updates.

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Photo by Michael Caufield

The post Eddy Cue on Curation in Media & Why It Matters at SXSW 2018 [Video] appeared first on SXSW.

Source: SxSW Film

May 10, 2018

A Small Company Pivots to Deliver First 8K Global Shutter Cinema Camera

Cinemartin is not the company that most people assumed would deliver the first 8K global shutter cinema camera to the market.Cinemartin is probably …
Source: CW’s Flipboard Feed

May 7, 2018

How to Connect Better with Your Customers?

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May 7, 2018

José Andrés & Andrew Zimmern: Changing the World Through Food Featured Session at SXSW 2018 [Video]

At SXSW 2018, award-winning chefs and TV personalities José Andrés and Andrew Zimmern sat down for a conversation with Food & Wine Editor-in-Chief Dana Cowin. In their Featured Session, Changing the World Through Food, Andrés and Zimmern discuss the power of action, the crossover between politics and the kitchen, and the importance of cultural sensitivity.

On-stage, the two outspoken chefs trade stories, tell jokes, and deliver valuable insights about food, community, and helping others.

“I’ve never seen a better way to communicate with other people than to serve them a bowl of food or have them serve you a bowl of food and receive it. As I travel around the world, I reverse what my whole life had been out about. As the receiver, you allow somebody the privilege of giving – and if it’s somebody who doesn’t have much, by receiving it you are giving them dignity and respect.” -Zimmern

Named one of Time’s “100 Most Influential People” and “Outstanding Chef” by the James Beard Foundation, José Andrés is an internationally-recognized culinary innovator, author, educator, television personality, humanitarian and chef/owner of ThinkFoodGroup.

A close friend of Andrés, Andrew Zimmern brings an entirely different perspective to the table. During their session, Zimmern describes his struggle with addiction and experience being homeless. He shares stories about his journey and the path that led him to the kitchen and on-screen as the host of the Travel Channel series Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern.

While they come from different backgrounds, the two chefs are united by a common goal of creating positive change in the world through their food.

Andrés emerged as a leader in disaster relief efforts on the frontlines of the destruction after Hurricane Maria. He organized a grass-roots movement of chefs and volunteers and went from serving 1,000 meals to 3.4 million meals and from 20 volunteers to 20,000.

“Don’t think and start cooking. One plate at a time, we fed the many.” – Andrés

Both Andrés and Zimmern are firm believers in the power of action and use their platforms for advocacy.

“I don’t believe in political solutions. I believe in civic solutions. In America of the 21st century… it’s no longer an embarrassment that children are hungry, it is criminal.” – Zimmern

Watch the video above for the full Featured Session at the 2018 SXSW Conference. Browse more 2018 Keynotes, Featured Sessions, Red Carpets, and Q&A’s on our YouTube Channel.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and SXSW News for the latest SXSW coverage and 2019 updates.

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Photo by Luis Bustos

The post José Andrés & Andrew Zimmern: Changing the World Through Food Featured Session at SXSW 2018 [Video] appeared first on SXSW.

Source: SxSW Film

May 7, 2018

Lena Dunham and Samantha Barry on Authenticity and Media at SXSW 2018 [Video]

What does it mean to be “authentic” media in 2018? When it comes to a female audience, what do they value and connect to? These are some of the questions that Editor-in-Chief of Glamour Magazine Samantha Barry and actor, writer, and filmmaker Lena Dunham explore during their Featured Session, Authenticity and Media in 2018, at the 2018 SXSW Conference.

“I’ve always wanted to operate from a place of erasing shame. I haven’t always done it successfully and I haven’t always pulled it off perfectly.” – Dunham

The pair spoke about a number of different topics from Dunham’s decision to get a hysterectomy and her award-winning series Girls to social media and what she is currently working on. When discussing advertising and finding an audience, the subject of Dunham’s feminist publication Lenny Letter, which she co-created with her producing partner Jenni Konner in 2015, naturally came up. “It is really, really, really important that women get paid to tell their stories and to do their work,” said Dunham. “It is something that is becoming increasingly rare on the internet.”

In addition to her session, Dunham made an appearance in the SXSW Film Festival selection, Half the Picture. The documentary consists of interviews with high profile women directors including SXSW alums Ava DuVernay, Jill Soloway, and many more. These powerhouse female filmmakers discuss how they made their first features, how they transitioned to studio films or television, how they balance a demanding directing career with family, and challenges and joys along the way.

Watch the video above for the full Authenticity and Media in 2018 Featured Session with Lena Dunham and Samantha Barry. Browse more 2018 Keynotes, Featured Sessions, Red Carpets, and Q&A’s on our YouTube Channel.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and SXSW News for the latest SXSW coverage and 2019 updates.

Watch Now

Photo by Amy E. Price/Getty Images

The post Lena Dunham and Samantha Barry on Authenticity and Media at SXSW 2018 [Video] appeared first on SXSW.

Source: SxSW Film

May 6, 2018

‘Avengers: Infinity War’ Rules #1, While ‘Overboard’ Stays Afloat and ‘Tully’ Drowns

“Avengers: Infinity War” dropped 56 percent in its second weekend to gross an estimated $112.5 million. Despite three new wide openings led by “Overboard,” the Marvel film comprised more than two thirds of all ticket sales. It looks like we’re back to the feast-or-famine trend, especially with “Deadpool 2” in two weeks and “Solo: A Star Wars Story” right after.

If the feasts like “Black Panther” and “Infinity War” keep performing, exhibitors will be happy for the short term. Those two Marvel titles took #1 for seven weeks so far in 2018, and have a domestic take to date over $1.1 billion. “A Quiet Place” is a very distant if impressive third, but in the top titles of 2018 it takes nos. 3-15 to equal those two Marvel movies.

“Avengers: Infinity War” has now made $450 million domestic in 10 days. Internationally it’s $713 million, with China still to come, for a combined total of $1.164 billion. By the end of next week, it should surpass all other films worldwide since “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” And depending on China, it could be the first since that smash to reach $2 billion.

Domestically, it’s now $47 million ahead of “Panther” at 10 days (that film dropped 45 percent in its second weekend. “The Avengers” reached $420 million (adjusted) and dropped 50 percent. At this point, it looks like “Infinity War” should have a domestic total between $625 million-$700 million, most likely over $650 million.

All that said, overall grosses dropped about 15 percent ($30 million) from the same weekend last year. (Last year had “Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2.”) Three new, somewhat offbeat titles tried their luck, with one initial success in “Overboard,” and two failures in “Tully” and “Bad Samaritan.”

Diyah Pera

“Overboard,” from Lionsgate’s Pantelion (along with MGM) is the newest English-language film starring comic Eugenio Derbez. Costarring Anna Faris, it is a remake of the 1987 Garry Marshall comedy with Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. It retains the story of the original with a gender switch: Derbez plays a wealthy yacht owner who falls and loses his memory, with a cleaning woman taking advantage of the situation to pose as his wife.

It’s the best opening so far for a Derbez-lead film. The mostly Spanish “Instructions Not Included” opened to over $8 million in 2013, while the bilingual “How to Be a Latin Lover” last year started at over $12 million. This had an impressive 23 percent Saturday increase from its opening number, validating its positive A- Cinemascore.

screencap

Despite positive reviews for “Tully” and the pedigree of Jason Reitman as director and Charlize Theron as a flailing mother, the comedy failed to gain traction at 1,353 theaters and grossed only $3.1 million. Reitman has struggled in recent years: “Juno” made $184 million in 2007 and in 2009, “Up in the Air” made $100 million. Since then, he’s been mired below $20 million.

Quirky (which this is) can be tricky, as initially unsympathetic characters (Reitman’s increasing focus). It’s his third time with “Juno” writer Diablo Cody, but failed to generate similar interest. Focus chose a wide release over platform. The right move? It is increasingly the new normal; staggered releases seem reserved for guaranteed name directors who can generate sustained interest outside awards season. Here, Focus bet on reviews and counterprogramming for adults. The reality is that a film like this, whatever its release pattern, is increasingly tricky to release in theaters.

The other new wide release, horror thriller “Bad Samaritan” from “Geostorm” director and longtime Roland Emmerich producer Dean Devlin, was released via his production company. With the date, it managed to get over 2,000 theaters and a possible top 10 placement (final figures tomorrow needed to confirm). It also managed an average of under 100 ticket buyers per theater. Foreign presales and other non-domestic theatrical revenues will determine its fate.

The generally weak new film scene led to strong holds for the usual suspects. Leading the way was “A Quiet Place” (down 30 percent, now at $160 million), “Black Panther” (down 34 percent, just under $700 million), and “Rampage” (off 35 percent, $84 million domestic, on track for over $400 million worldwide).

The Top Ten

1. Avengers: Infinity War (Disney) Week 2; Last weekend #1

$112,474,000 (-56%) in 4,474 theaters (no change); PTA (per theater average): $450,807,000

2. Overboard (Lionsgate) NEW – Cinemascore: A-; Metacritic: 45; Est. budget: $12 million

$14,750,000 in 1,623 theaters; PTA: $9,088; Cumulative: $14,750,000

3. A Quiet Place (Paramount) Week 5; Last weekend #2

$7,600,000 (-31%) in 3,413 theaters (-152); PTA: $2,227; Cumulative: $159,894,000

4. I Feel Pretty (STX) Week 3; Last weekend #3

$4,900,000 (-40%) in 3,232 theaters (-208); PTA: $1,516; Cumulative: $37,798,000

5. Rampage (Warner Bros.) Week 4; Last weekend #4

$4,620,000 (-36%) in 3,151 theaters (-357); PTA: $1,466; Cumulative: $84,793,000

6. Tully (Focus) NEW – Cinemascore:; Metacritic: 76; Est. budget: $(unknown)

$3,186,000 in 1,353 theaters; PTA: $2,355; Cumulative: $3,186,000

7. Black Panther (Disney) Week 12; Last weekend #5

$3,146,000 (-34%) in 1,641 theaters (-9); PTA: $1,917; Cumulative: $693,000,000

8. Truth or Dare (Universal) Week 4; Last weekend #7

$1,885,000 (-42%) in 1,904 theaters (-516); PTA: $990; Cumulative: $38,236,000

9. Super Troopers 2 (Fox Searchlight) Week 2; Last weekend #6

$1,815,000 (-51%) in 2,118 theaters (-7); PTA: $857; Cumulative: $25,446,000

10. Bad Samaritan (Electric) NEW – Cinemascore:; Metacritic: 45

$1,758,000 in 2,003 theaters; PTA: $876; Cumulative: $1,758,000

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Source: IndieWire film

May 6, 2018

‘RBG’ Reigns Supreme at Subdued Specialty Box Office

While Cannes may supply some oxygen to its most export-worthy titles before they reach cinephiles stateside, the current scene is in dire need of new titles. Magnolia’s “RBG,” a documentary about Ruth Bader Ginsberg, stands out as a major new specialty opening, with a robust per-theater-average for a multi-city release.

Last week’s top opener “Disobedience” (Bleecker Street) expanded to continued good response in new cities; its crossover potential is enhanced by name stars in a sexy story as well as little competition.

Opening

RBG (Magnolia) – Metacritic: 77; Festivals include: Sundance, Miami, San Francisco 2018

$560,000 in 34 theaters; PTA (per theater average): $16,471

Magnolia could replicate its “I am Not a Negro” triumph early last year. That documentary about the iconic James Baldwin grossed over $7 million after it also launched with a strong multi-big city debut. This Sundance-debuted film about the life and career of the Supreme Court Justice notched an even better PTA in somewhat fewer theaters (“I am Not Your Negro” scored $15,962 in 43).

Magnolia (along with partner Participant Media) pursued grassroots, outside group marketing efforts to boost opening day sales; whether it sustains the level of interest of “I Am Not Your Negro” remains to be seen. Friday’s figures topped Saturday, so whether it can come close to the awards-boosted Baldwin film remains in question.

What comes next: 150 theaters will play next week (tied in with Mother’s Day), and doubling to 300 the following.

“The Guardians”

The Guardians (Music Box) – Metacritic: 72; Festivals include: Toronto 2017

$7,199 in 1 theater; PTA: $7,199

French director Xavier Beauvois broke out domestically with “Of Gods and Men,” which grossed nearly $4 million in 2011. He focuses again on another historical story at war time, with the focus on women maintaining the home front during World War I. The single theater opening came with favorable reviews and a modest initial result.

What comes next: Los Angeles and a New York area expansion begin the roll out this Friday.

Racer and the Jailbird (Super) – Metacritic: 54; Festivals include: Toronto, Venice 2017

$2,222 in 2 theaters; PTA: $1,111

Two leading younger European actors (Adele Exarchopoulos and Matthias Schoenaerts) are the main draw of this sexy, dark Belgian romance between a top female race car driver and a criminal hiding his underworld milieu. That draw was limited, with less than favorable reviews dooming its initial New York/Los Angeles tallies.

What comes next: Limited at most upcoming dates seem the best hope.

 

Bleecker Street

Week Two

Disobedience (Bleecker Street)

$310,072 in 31 theaters (+26); PTA: $10,009; Cumulative: $638,645

The lesbian romance starring Rachels Weitz and McAdams as London friends and lovers in a close-knit Jewish community expands to top cities with top results beat only by second weekend results for “Isle of Dogs” and “The Death of Stalin.” But “Disobedience” is showing enough strength to go broader, propelled by niche audiences and the two star draws.

Let the Sunshine In (IFC); also available on Video on Demand

$66,574 in 8 theaters (+6); PTA: $9,536; Cumulative: $123,770

Claire Denis’ latest, with Juliette Binoche as a mature woman juggling romantic relationships (with an all-star French cast) expanded to a handful of new cities to a decent result these days for a subtitled film, especially given its parallel home viewing alternatives.

Ongoing/expanding (Grosses over $50,000)

Isle of Dogs (Fox Searchlight) Week 7

$790,000 in 702 theaters (-299); Cumulative: $28,453,000

Wes Anderson’s animated success continues its march to over $30 million and the bench mark among specialized releases for 2018 so far.

The Death of Stalin (IFC) Week 9

$181,623 in 205 theaters (+55); Cumulative: $7,491,000

IFC maximized theatrical interest in this unlikely mixture of satire and Stalin intrigue. Now in its final weeks, the political satire remains the second biggest specialized initial platform release of 2018.

You Were Never Really Here (Amazon) Week 5

$168,905 in 185 theaters (-48); Cumulative: $2,154,000

Lynne Ramsay’s acclaimed tough drama with Joaquin Phoenix struggling to do good has not achieved interest equal to its strong reviews. It looks, despite a major push from Amazon, to finish up around $2.5 million.

The Rider (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 4

$141,192 in 47 theaters (+10); Cumulative: $567,272

The grosses remain modest, but this portrayal of a young rodeo competitor coping with injury and a questionable future in the modern American west is ahead of most recent expanding films. SPC continues its slow release, boosted by near the best reviews of the year.

Lean On Pete (A24) Week 5

$121,110 in 187 theaters (+20); Cumulative: $906,050

A troubled teen finds his way with the help of a kindred soul horse. Though Andrew Haigh’s latest film continues his run of upbeat reviews, his first American film has lagged behind his earlier results.

Beirut (Bleecker Street) Week 4

$104,875 in 140 theaters (-97); Cumulative: $4,749,000

This Jon Hamm hostage negotiation drama didn’t make a deep impact; most of the runs for this mainstream-arthouse hybrid are already done.

The Leisure Seeker (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 9

$50,250 in 76 theaters (-41); Cumulative: $3,012,000

In the fifth month of the year, this senior road trip movie with Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland has the fourth highest gross among platform specialized features.

Also noted:

Finding Your Feet (Roadside Attractions) – $47,400 in  60 theaters; Cumulative: $1,266,000

Itzhak (Greenwich) – $30,730 in theaters; Cumulative: $433,915

Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami (Kino Lorber) – $26,432 in theaters; Cumulative: $243,757

1945 (Menemsha) – $21,753 in 18 theaters; Cumulative: $640,341

After Auschwitz (Passion River) – $12,079 in 13 theaters; Cumulative: $47,677

Godard Mon Amour (Cohen) – $11,293 in 20 theaters; Cumulative: $51,222

Borg vs McEnroe (Neon) – $10,885 in 13 theaters; Cumulative: $218,757

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Source: IndieWire film

May 6, 2018

Pierre Rissient, Warrior of Cinema and Advocate of Major Filmmakers Worldwide, Dies at 81

Pierre Rissient called me on Thursday, welcoming me to Paris and hoping I would see “Burning,” Korean director Lee Chang-dong’s latest film set to premiere in a week at the Cannes Film Festival. He was organizing local screenings and advising the filmmaker, much like this indefatigable warrior of cinema had done for over 50 years. Two days later, he died in a Paris hospital after suffering complications from a blood clot. He was 81.

Rissient had struggled from health problems for years, but continued advising on the movies he loved until the day of his death. That should come as no surprise to those who fell into his orbit, and there were many.

Rissient was dubbed “Mr. Everywhere” by longtime pal Clint Eastwood for good reason: The multi-tasker was a critic in the ’50s, then an assistant director on the set of Jean-Luc Godard’s “Breathless,” and joined forces with future filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier to handle international publicity on a range of films before making a few of them himself over the next decade. (His second feature, “Five and Skin,” played at Cannes in the Un Certain Regard sidebar, and the festival will screen a restored version of it at the 2018 edition.)

After that, Rissient entered a new stage of his career as an advocate. He was the first European figure to discover the work of Jane Campion and introduce it to Cannes, where she would eventually become the first (and so far only) woman to win the Palme d’Or. Rissient was beloved by many American filmmakers, including Alexander Payne, Quentin Tarantino, and Oliver Stone, though he was especially influential in championing Asian cinema. He was a major supporter of Hou Hsiao Hsien, widely considered the greatest living Taiwanese filmmaker, and also helped raise the awareness for directors such as Zhang Yimou and Hong Sang-soo. Though Rissient was reportedly disliked by some members of the Asian film industry for meddling in its affairs, he continued to be a treasured consultant for the Asian directors he supported.

Anyone with even a passing relationship to cinema felt the impact of Rissient’s work. Over the years, despite his work as a publicist, distributor, festival consultant and film producer, he lived as his own distinct brand, a fierce advocate of filmmakers who can take credit for putting many of them on the map.

In addition to serving as an artistic advisor to Cannes, Rissient was a fixture on the international festival circuit, often introducing restorations of classic films. He was treasured figure at the Telluride Film Festival, which named a theater after him — The Pierre — where an outline of his bald, bulky frame adorns the walls. Rissient lived as much for celebrating classic cinema as contemporary filmmakers, and often positioned his favorite new discoveries in the context of a broader historical timeline.

Rissient was a charming raconteur who exuded stories at every waking moment, so it came as no surprise when he became the subject of documentaries about his life. Critic Todd McCarthy’s 2007 “Pierre Rissient: Man of Cinema” gathers many of the major filmmakers Rissient celebrated together to talk about his impact, while the 2016 documentary “Pierre Rissient: Gentleman Critic,” co-directed by Benoit Jacquot, Pascal Merigeau, and Guy Seligmann takes a simpler approach: a static camera in a Paris apartment, as he shares countless stories about films and filmmakers. Both movies played at Cannes, and in them he shares his ethos. “We must champion the smaller films,” he says in “Gentleman Critic,” while in McCarthy’s film, he elaborates: “It’s not enough to like a film,” he says, “You must like it for the right reasons.”

This sort of dogged commitment to his sensibilities was especially resonant in an age of aggregation and open-ended questions about the future of the movies. As a young moviegoer exploring the frontlines of film culture on the festival circuit, Rissient was one of the few figures from an earlier era of cinephilia to welcome me into his orbit, as he did for countless others across the decades. (The image at the top of this article is from a meeting that I took with Rissient and IndieWire co-founder Eugene Hernandez in Paris in 2017.) He became a regular visitor to the Critics Academy, the workshop for aspiring writers I ran for several years in Locarno and New York with the Film Society of Lincoln Center, extolling the virtues of French magazine Cahiers du Cinema in the ‘50s and ‘60s as well as the many filmmakers he discovered over the years. He was always committed to sharing honest perspectives with filmmakers on their new films even when it upset them.

“What makes cinema is the eye of the director, beyond the script, beyond the acting,” Rissient said at the Locarno Critics Academy in 2013. “Like Mozart was born a musician, there are people who are born directors.” He said that seeing Akiro Kurosawa’s narrative-shifting “Rashomon” at the age of 15 first made him excited about the possibilities of the medium. “Cinema, of course,” he said, “is an art by itself.”

He mounted startling intellectual arguments for the works of Howard Hawks, Fritz Lang, and Otto Preminger, though he was less a fan of Alfred Hitchcock. “He is not a pure director,” Rissient said at the Critics Academy. “He was a great showman.”

Though he had trouble walking in recent years, Rissient would often hobble or wheel his way around festival parties over the past decade to ensure that audiences were seeing some of the classic films on display. At last fall’s Telluride, he was adamant that festival crowds see “Kean, or the Disorder of Genius,” a 1924 silent film adapted from the Alexander Dumas play.

“It’s such a shock,” Cannes artistic director Thierry Fremaux, who also runs the Lumiere Festival in Lyon where Rissient was a regular, wrote me. “Pierre was such a friend for so many people he helped. He loved talented directors and his taste was perfect. (‘Almost perfect!’, he would have said.) He has been helpful for a lot of people, not only from cinema, as he was interested in youth. He has been so important for me when I started, for the Lumiere Festival when we created it.” With Tavernier, Fremaux added, Rissient “invented the job of the auteur film press agent in the sixties,” noting that their clients included John Ford and Howard Hawks.

Fremaux acknowledged that Rissient had been advising Cannes on the decision to screen Lee Chang-dong’s Haruki Murakami adaptation “Burning” in competition, and had also pushed for the inclusion of Chinese director Bi Gan’s “Long Day’s Journey Into Night,” which is set to become one of this year’s big discoveries — a technologically-complex production partly shot with 3D cameras and drones in a unique context, it premieres in Un Certain Regard, where Rissient’s own film once screened. As for that production, Fremaux said that the Cannes Classics screening of “Five and Skin” will be “the best memorial we could expect for him. All his friends will be around, the world of cinema he loved so much.”

Rissient is survived by his wife, Yung Hee, as well as a sister and her son, though many filmmakers and cinephiles considered him extended family. He had been attempting to hire an American publicist for “Burning” up until the moment he went to the hospital on Friday — when, according to his assistant Benjamin Illos, “He was the usual Pierre until the last moment,” answering requests about Cannes films and hoping to make sure “Burning” received the support he believed it deserved at the festival.

Above all else, Rissient’s support of current cinema goes beyond the narrow confines of movie-worship; he was a cultural activist who forced an industry to accommodate his standards for the art form, and cinema will forever owe him a debt.

A week before his death, Rissient circulated an email sharing his thoughts on “Burning,” with a typical blend of analysis and historical context. It is published below.

Destinies of “Burning,” by Pierre Rissient

How time flies.

It was more than 20 years ago when, in Kuala Lumpur, almost by accident, I saw U-Wei bin Haji Saari’s “Kaki Bakar.” An adaptation of William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning,” rooted in Malaysian culture, entirely unexpected. The film was screened with success in Un Certain Regard, and then went on to Telluride, New Directors/New Films, Busan and quite a few other festivals.

The film ends very emotively with a long, backwards tracking shot which shows the child moving forward. We, the viewers, rediscover our innocence.  Innocence itself.

A while back, Lee Chang Dong mentioned to me that he’d like to adapt a short story by Murakami Haruki, itself based on “Barn Burning.”  I reacted with skepticism.

But from the opening shot, a sinuous reverse track, and from the opening sounds, we are plunged into the teeming life of a busy working-class district, at once close and distanced. Every moment will reveal something unexpected.

The beautifully titled “Bend of the River” is for sure more an intimate epic than a simple western. It works in much the same way as Burning. Is there anything more cherishable in a film than the moment when it breaks away from what its author seems to have intended and begins to have a life of its own, with its own impulses?

Lee Chang-dong belongs to the rare breed of humanist directors, although his work is never burdened with “messages.” Also, to my surprise, I find myself dreaming that “Burning” prefigures the reunification of Korea, restoring at long last its ancestral culture. Maybe this was the hidden ambition of directors Shin Sang-ok and Im Kwon-taek yesterday, as it might be of Lee Chang-Dong today.

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Source: IndieWire film

May 5, 2018

Diablo Cody Has One ‘Juno’ Regret: ‘I Wasn’t Clear Enough Why She Chose to Not Have an Abortion’

This year marks the 10 year anniversary of Diablo Cody winning the best original screenplay for “Juno,” but there is one thing she would change about her breakout script if she had the chance. Speaking to The Guardian in promotion of her latest project “Tully,” which reunites Cody with “Juno” director Jason Reitman, the screenwriter admitted she could’ve been more overt and specific about the titular character’s stance on abortion.

“[I wouldn’t have changed anything] in terms of the pregnancy, no,” Cody said. “But I don’t feel I was clear enough in terms of why Juno chose to not have an abortion. It was simply because she did not want to. It was not about any type of feeling that abortion was wrong – I’m pro-choice. So for it to be interpreted as an anti-choice movie, that’s upsetting to me.”

“Juno” received critical and commercial success, plus four Oscar nominations, but it did find itself in the middle of the abortion debate between pro-life and pro-choice advocates. Cody said the anti-choice backlash to “Juno” became so loud and unavoidable that it somewhat affected her career and led to her decision to become “more private.”

“It hasn’t affected my writing,” she said. “But it’s certainly affected the way that I talk to people about the projects. I’ve become very boring because I want to protect myself and my children. I would like to just keep a low profile and continue to work, and I’ve had to really stay under the radar in order to accomplish that.”

The Cody-scripted “Tully” is now playing theaters courtesy of Focus Features. Head over to The Guardian to read Cody’s profile in its entirety.

Source: IndieWire film