Healing from past trauma, film preservation, Isis, libraries, chimps, rats, and cats — these were just a few of the subjects and stories that this year’s documentary offerings brought us. With 2017 wrapping up, we’ve selected 21 features in the field that left us most impressed, so check out our list below and, in the comments, let us know your favorites.
Abacus: Small Enough to Jail (Steve James)
Steve James’ filmography has long been about finding entry into larger conversations through intimate portraits. The director’s landmark debut, Hoop Dreams, and latter-day efforts like 2014’s monument to critic Roger Ebert, Life Itself, don’t have much in common on the surface, but they both use their central characters to tell larger stories about big picture topics like structural dysfunction and the purpose of film criticism. That double purpose is the quiet genius of James’ latest documentary, Abacus: Small Enough to Jail.
Abacus: Small Enough to Jail (Steve James)
Steve James’ filmography has long been about finding entry into larger conversations through intimate portraits. The director’s landmark debut, Hoop Dreams, and latter-day efforts like 2014’s monument to critic Roger Ebert, Life Itself, don’t have much in common on the surface, but they both use their central characters to tell larger stories about big picture topics like structural dysfunction and the purpose of film criticism. That double purpose is the quiet genius of James’ latest documentary, Abacus: Small Enough to Jail.
- 12/19/2017
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit platforms. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.
Abacus: Small Enough to Jail (Steve James)
Steve James’ filmography has long been about finding entry into larger conversations through intimate portraits. The director’s landmark debut, Hoop Dreams, and latter-day efforts like 2014’s monument to critic Roger Ebert, Life Itself, don’t have much in common on the surface, but they both use their central characters to tell larger stories about big picture topics like structural dysfunction and the purpose of film criticism.
Abacus: Small Enough to Jail (Steve James)
Steve James’ filmography has long been about finding entry into larger conversations through intimate portraits. The director’s landmark debut, Hoop Dreams, and latter-day efforts like 2014’s monument to critic Roger Ebert, Life Itself, don’t have much in common on the surface, but they both use their central characters to tell larger stories about big picture topics like structural dysfunction and the purpose of film criticism.
- 9/15/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
[Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for “Outlander” Season 3 Episode 1, “The Battle Joined.”]
Unrequited Love
At its heart, Diana Gabaldon’s saga is a tale of romance about how love conquers all: war, continents, and even time travel. Viewers have caught on with their own passionate and often outspoken love for Jamie Fraser and Claire Randall/Fraser. And that makes a third season, marked by the lovers having been separated for nearly two decades, a tricky thing. Rather than picking up where the second season left off — with Claire, her daughter Brianna, and historian Roger tracking down the presumed dead Jamie through the history books — “Outlander” returned to the period just after Jamie and Claire’s separation to dig into some of that lost time. With 20 years to cover, there’s certainly a lot of story to incorporate, but the more writers fall down that rabbit hole the longer they separate the couple people are waiting to see. That makes this season a hard,...
Unrequited Love
At its heart, Diana Gabaldon’s saga is a tale of romance about how love conquers all: war, continents, and even time travel. Viewers have caught on with their own passionate and often outspoken love for Jamie Fraser and Claire Randall/Fraser. And that makes a third season, marked by the lovers having been separated for nearly two decades, a tricky thing. Rather than picking up where the second season left off — with Claire, her daughter Brianna, and historian Roger tracking down the presumed dead Jamie through the history books — “Outlander” returned to the period just after Jamie and Claire’s separation to dig into some of that lost time. With 20 years to cover, there’s certainly a lot of story to incorporate, but the more writers fall down that rabbit hole the longer they separate the couple people are waiting to see. That makes this season a hard,...
- 9/11/2017
- by Amber Dowling
- Indiewire
Dave Lawrie Aug 4, 2017
Blackfish, The Act Of Killing - we celebrate the great documentaries distributed by the UK's Dogwoof...
Did you know that around 20 percent of the films released in the UK are documentaries? It’s a surprisingly large figure. I think the reason behind it might be that ‘documentary’ is considered to be a genre in and of itself. “And the Academy Award for best documentary feature goes to…”. They're all lumped into the same bracket. Also, they're relatively cheap to make and can be assembled independently by a team of only a few people. Success at the box office is often down on the priorities list for creators wanting to spread a message, tell a story or get a point across and, when they only need to recoup that small amount to be considered successful, documentary cinema becomes fertile ground for ambitions to grow in.
See related Preacher...
Blackfish, The Act Of Killing - we celebrate the great documentaries distributed by the UK's Dogwoof...
Did you know that around 20 percent of the films released in the UK are documentaries? It’s a surprisingly large figure. I think the reason behind it might be that ‘documentary’ is considered to be a genre in and of itself. “And the Academy Award for best documentary feature goes to…”. They're all lumped into the same bracket. Also, they're relatively cheap to make and can be assembled independently by a team of only a few people. Success at the box office is often down on the priorities list for creators wanting to spread a message, tell a story or get a point across and, when they only need to recoup that small amount to be considered successful, documentary cinema becomes fertile ground for ambitions to grow in.
See related Preacher...
- 8/3/2017
- Den of Geek
2017 has now crossed the halfway mark, so it’s time to take a look back at the first six months and round up our favorite titles thus far. While the end of this year will bring personal favorites from all of our writers, think of the below 28 entries as a comprehensive rundown of what should be seen before heading into a promising fall line-up.
Do note that this feature is based solely on U.S. theatrical releases from 2017, with many currently widely available on streaming platforms or theatrically. Check them out below, as organized alphabetically, followed by honorable mentions and films to keep on your radar for the remaining summer months. One can also see the list on Letterboxd.
Abacus: Small Enough to Jail (Steve James)
Steve James’ filmography has long been about finding entry into larger conversations through intimate portraits. The director’s landmark debut, Hoop Dreams, and latter-day...
Do note that this feature is based solely on U.S. theatrical releases from 2017, with many currently widely available on streaming platforms or theatrically. Check them out below, as organized alphabetically, followed by honorable mentions and films to keep on your radar for the remaining summer months. One can also see the list on Letterboxd.
Abacus: Small Enough to Jail (Steve James)
Steve James’ filmography has long been about finding entry into larger conversations through intimate portraits. The director’s landmark debut, Hoop Dreams, and latter-day...
- 7/3/2017
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Chicago – The documentary maker Steve James, one of the best in the history of cinema, has a resume of quality reporting through feature film that is stunning in its context. The director of “Hoop Dreams,” “Stevie,” “The Interrupters,” “Head Games” and the Roger Ebert biography “Life Itself” has a new doc, focusing on one repercussion of the financial crisis of 2008, subtly entitled “Abacus: Small Enough to Jail.
The film is about the Abacus Federal Savings Bank of Chinatown New York City, a financial house built through the sweat and toil of Thomas Sung, who opened the institution because he wanted to help his community… he was inspired to do that from the film “It’s a Wonderful Life” and the George Bailey character. His successful enterprise had one bad apple in it, which resulted in fraudulent mortgage applications, much like the “too big to fail” banks that did the same thing.
The film is about the Abacus Federal Savings Bank of Chinatown New York City, a financial house built through the sweat and toil of Thomas Sung, who opened the institution because he wanted to help his community… he was inspired to do that from the film “It’s a Wonderful Life” and the George Bailey character. His successful enterprise had one bad apple in it, which resulted in fraudulent mortgage applications, much like the “too big to fail” banks that did the same thing.
- 6/16/2017
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Legendary documentary filmmaker Steve James has a gift for effortless empathy. His films have a pre-natural ease with their subjects, chronicling the ordinary and extraordinary with equal levels of awe, and regularly showcasing an ability to enter his subjects’ inner most sanctums without feeling intrusive. James’ films are primarily observational with a few exceptions, but there’s never a sense that James’ camera is anything less than an old friend.
His latest film, Abacus: Small Enough To Jail, is a formal and tonal departure, but also a reiteration of some of James’ most prevailing thematic interests – namely underexposed communities and their mistreatment. A procedural probing into the stranger than fiction court saga of Abacus, a Chinatown bank plagued with wide-scale fraud, it’s anything but a pedestrian court film.
Embracing the disadvantages of recounting an ongoing court case — James and his crew were barred from filming the trial, and were...
His latest film, Abacus: Small Enough To Jail, is a formal and tonal departure, but also a reiteration of some of James’ most prevailing thematic interests – namely underexposed communities and their mistreatment. A procedural probing into the stranger than fiction court saga of Abacus, a Chinatown bank plagued with wide-scale fraud, it’s anything but a pedestrian court film.
Embracing the disadvantages of recounting an ongoing court case — James and his crew were barred from filming the trial, and were...
- 6/7/2017
- by Michael Snydel
- The Film Stage
Steve James has been consistently crafting some of the smartest, most groundbreaking, most effective works of non-fiction for decades. Vaulted to the public eye with the majestic Hoop Dreams, his works have ranged from intimate portrayals of troubled men (Stevie), inner-city activists (The Interrupters) to giants in their field (the Roger Ebert doc Life Itself), often finding stories in and around his Chicago home. There’s no specific shtick to James’ films; it’s not like a few minutes in you immediately know they’re his (unless, of course, he shows up on camera). Yet viewed as a throughline, you find a filmmaker interested in justice and the complexity surrounding it, finding situations that easily could be documented on simplistic, black-and-white terms and instead using all his craft...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 6/4/2017
- Screen Anarchy
Financial Risk: Steve James Banks on Chinatown Community Bank and Finds Political Returns
Steve James has a habit of sticking up for the little guy, as is evidenced by his many films on troubled youth – Hoop Dreams, The Interrupters, and Stevie – as well as his cinematic celebration of a major supporter of directorial little guys in his end of life profile of Roger Ebert, Life Itself.
Continue reading...
Steve James has a habit of sticking up for the little guy, as is evidenced by his many films on troubled youth – Hoop Dreams, The Interrupters, and Stevie – as well as his cinematic celebration of a major supporter of directorial little guys in his end of life profile of Roger Ebert, Life Itself.
Continue reading...
- 5/16/2017
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
The summer movie season is upon us, which means a seemingly endless pile-up of superheroes, reboots, and sequels will crowd the multiplexes. While a select few show some promise, we’ve set out to highlight a vast range of titles — 40 in total — that will arrive over the next four months, many of which we’ve already given our stamp of approval.
There’s bound to be more late-summer announcements in the coming months, and a number of titles will arrive on VOD day-and-date, so follow us on Twitter for the latest updates. In the meantime, see our top 40 picks for what to watch this summer below, in chronological order, and let us know what you’re looking forward to most in the comments.
Berlin Syndrome (Cate Shortland; May 5)
While the recent 10 Cloverfield Lane and Room told stories of captivity with various hooks — science-fiction and the process of healing, respectively — Cate Shortland...
There’s bound to be more late-summer announcements in the coming months, and a number of titles will arrive on VOD day-and-date, so follow us on Twitter for the latest updates. In the meantime, see our top 40 picks for what to watch this summer below, in chronological order, and let us know what you’re looking forward to most in the comments.
Berlin Syndrome (Cate Shortland; May 5)
While the recent 10 Cloverfield Lane and Room told stories of captivity with various hooks — science-fiction and the process of healing, respectively — Cate Shortland...
- 4/18/2017
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Keep up with the wild and wooly world of indie film acquisitions with our weekly Rundown of everything that’s been picked up around the globe. Check out last week’s Rundown here.
– Kino Lorber has acquired the North American rights to Bill Morrison’s “Dawson City: Frozen Time,” about the true history of a collection of 533 reels of film (representing 372 titles) dating from the 1910s to 1920s, which were lost for over 50 years until being discovered buried in a sub-arctic swimming pool deep in the Yukon Territory. The film tells the unique history of a Canadian gold rush town and how cinema, capitalism and history intersect.
“Dawson City” had its world premiere at the 73rd Venice Film Festival and North American premiere at 2016 New York Film Festival. The film also played at the BFI/London Film Festival and the 2017 Rotterdam International Film Festival, and screened Thursday at the TCM...
– Kino Lorber has acquired the North American rights to Bill Morrison’s “Dawson City: Frozen Time,” about the true history of a collection of 533 reels of film (representing 372 titles) dating from the 1910s to 1920s, which were lost for over 50 years until being discovered buried in a sub-arctic swimming pool deep in the Yukon Territory. The film tells the unique history of a Canadian gold rush town and how cinema, capitalism and history intersect.
“Dawson City” had its world premiere at the 73rd Venice Film Festival and North American premiere at 2016 New York Film Festival. The film also played at the BFI/London Film Festival and the 2017 Rotterdam International Film Festival, and screened Thursday at the TCM...
- 4/7/2017
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
Unsurprising surprises dominated this morning’s Producers Guild of America documentary nominees. While the PGA’s feature nominees often align with Oscar contenders, that’s often untrue for the documentaries. In 2014, the PGA nominated “The Green Prince,” “Life Itself,” “Merchants of Doubt,” “Virunga, and “Particle Fever;” only “Virunga made the final Oscar five. (The winner was Laura Poitras’ “Citizenfour.)
Last year, the PGA did select eventual Oscar nominees “Amy” (which won the Oscar) and “The Look of Silence,” but also chose “The Hunting Ground” and “Meru,” both of which made the Oscar shortlist of 15; PGA selection”Something Better to Come” didn’t even make that cut.
Today, the committee of some 30 or more PGA documentary producers nominated two anticipated films in Roger Ross Williams’ “Life, Animated” (The Orchard/A & E) and Ezra Edelman’s “O.J.: Made in America” (Espn Films). Both were much-lauded Sundance hits and made the Doc NYC Shortlist.
Last year, the PGA did select eventual Oscar nominees “Amy” (which won the Oscar) and “The Look of Silence,” but also chose “The Hunting Ground” and “Meru,” both of which made the Oscar shortlist of 15; PGA selection”Something Better to Come” didn’t even make that cut.
Today, the committee of some 30 or more PGA documentary producers nominated two anticipated films in Roger Ross Williams’ “Life, Animated” (The Orchard/A & E) and Ezra Edelman’s “O.J.: Made in America” (Espn Films). Both were much-lauded Sundance hits and made the Doc NYC Shortlist.
- 11/22/2016
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Unsurprising surprises dominated this morning’s Producers Guild of America documentary nominees. While the PGA’s feature nominees often align with Oscar contenders, that’s often untrue for the documentaries. In 2014, the PGA nominated “The Green Prince,” “Life Itself,” “Merchants of Doubt,” “Virunga, and “Particle Fever;” only “Virunga made the final Oscar five. (The winner was Laura Poitras’ “Citizenfour.)
Last year, the PGA did select eventual Oscar nominees “Amy” (which won the Oscar) and “The Look of Silence,” but also chose “The Hunting Ground” and “Meru,” both of which made the Oscar shortlist of 15; PGA selection”Something Better to Come” didn’t even make that cut.
Today, the committee of 30 PGA documentary producers nominated two anticipated films in Roger Ross Williams’ “Life, Animated” (The Orchard/A & E) and Ezra Edelman’s “O.J.: Made in America” (Espn Films). Both were much-lauded Sundance hits and made the Doc NYC Shortlist.
However, the...
Last year, the PGA did select eventual Oscar nominees “Amy” (which won the Oscar) and “The Look of Silence,” but also chose “The Hunting Ground” and “Meru,” both of which made the Oscar shortlist of 15; PGA selection”Something Better to Come” didn’t even make that cut.
Today, the committee of 30 PGA documentary producers nominated two anticipated films in Roger Ross Williams’ “Life, Animated” (The Orchard/A & E) and Ezra Edelman’s “O.J.: Made in America” (Espn Films). Both were much-lauded Sundance hits and made the Doc NYC Shortlist.
However, the...
- 11/22/2016
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Deadline is reporting that Oscar Isaac will star in “Life Itself,” which unfortunately is not an adaptation of Roger Ebert’s memoir. Dan Fogelman (“This Is Us,” “Pitch,” “Danny Collins”) will write and direct the project, which is a co-production between FilmNation and Temple Hill.
Read More: Oscar Isaac and Catherine Keener Will Lend Their Voices to ‘Homecoming,’ a Psychological Thriller Podcast
Isaac, who was most recently seen in “X-Men: Apocalypse” and will next appear in “The Promise,” is playing “the catalyst character who triggers an ensemble multi-generational love story that weaves together several characters whose lives intersect over the course of decades from the streets of New York to the Spanish countryside and back,” according to Deadline.
Read More: ‘The Promise’ Trailer: Oscar Isaac and Christian Bale Are In A War-Torn Love Triangle
Isaac has become one of Hollywood’s most sought-after actors in recent years, with a high-profile...
Read More: Oscar Isaac and Catherine Keener Will Lend Their Voices to ‘Homecoming,’ a Psychological Thriller Podcast
Isaac, who was most recently seen in “X-Men: Apocalypse” and will next appear in “The Promise,” is playing “the catalyst character who triggers an ensemble multi-generational love story that weaves together several characters whose lives intersect over the course of decades from the streets of New York to the Spanish countryside and back,” according to Deadline.
Read More: ‘The Promise’ Trailer: Oscar Isaac and Christian Bale Are In A War-Torn Love Triangle
Isaac has become one of Hollywood’s most sought-after actors in recent years, with a high-profile...
- 11/1/2016
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
Have you been watching “This Is Us“? Is it worth all the hype? I haven’t yet caught up with NBC‘s new dramedy, but it’s the kind of hit the network has been aching for. The show’s creator Dan Fogelman isn’t wasting a moment, as he’s gearing up a movie project with a tremendously talented actor at the center.
Read More: Review: Slow-Burning And Rewarding ‘A Most Violent Year’ Starring Oscar Isaac & Jessica Chastain
Deadine reports Oscar Isaac has signed up to star in “Life Itself,” which is not a feature adaptation of the Roger Ebert documentary.
Continue reading Oscar Isaac Will Experience ‘Life Itself,’ Lends Voice To Podcast Thriller ‘Homecoming’ at The Playlist.
Read More: Review: Slow-Burning And Rewarding ‘A Most Violent Year’ Starring Oscar Isaac & Jessica Chastain
Deadine reports Oscar Isaac has signed up to star in “Life Itself,” which is not a feature adaptation of the Roger Ebert documentary.
Continue reading Oscar Isaac Will Experience ‘Life Itself,’ Lends Voice To Podcast Thriller ‘Homecoming’ at The Playlist.
- 11/1/2016
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
"This case is about exonerating our entire community." There's a brand new film from the director behind Ebert's Life Itself and the classic documentary Hoop Dreams. Steve James' latest documentary is titled Abacus: Small Enough to Jail, and it first premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and is playing at the New York Film Festival next. Abacus is about the Abacus Federal Savings Bank in Chinatown in New York City, which was one of the few banks labeled as "small enough to jail" during the mortgage crisis. They were targeted by the Manhattan District Attorney, despite that all the bigger banks were given free passes and government support. This doc examines how Abacus, a family-run bank, is fighting to stay alive and clear their name. This isn't a full trailer, but it is our first look - this seems to be another unique doc worth seeing. Here's the first...
- 10/16/2016
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
While Venice, Cannes, Berlin, Sundance, and Toronto premiere some of the year’s best films, no annual cinematic event boasts finer curation than the New York Film Festival, which kicks off this weekend. Those attending will witness, over two weeks, some of the best features that this year — and next — have to offer.
When it comes to a preview of what to see, a simple copy-and-pasting of the line-up would suffice, but we’ve done our best to narrow it down to 25 selections that are the most worth your time. This doesn’t even include shorts from Bertrand Bonello, Jia Zhangke, and more, as well as comprehensive Retrospective and Revivals sections that include restored films from Robert Bresson, Jean-Pierre Melville, Edward Yang, Marlon Brando, and more — but it should serve as a basic primer for what to seek out.
Check out our favorites below, and look for our complete coverage over the next few weeks.
When it comes to a preview of what to see, a simple copy-and-pasting of the line-up would suffice, but we’ve done our best to narrow it down to 25 selections that are the most worth your time. This doesn’t even include shorts from Bertrand Bonello, Jia Zhangke, and more, as well as comprehensive Retrospective and Revivals sections that include restored films from Robert Bresson, Jean-Pierre Melville, Edward Yang, Marlon Brando, and more — but it should serve as a basic primer for what to seek out.
Check out our favorites below, and look for our complete coverage over the next few weeks.
- 9/28/2016
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Cinema Eye has named 10 filmmakers and 20 films that have been voted as the top achievements in documentary filmmaking during the past 10 years. Founded in 2007 to “recognize and honor exemplary craft and innovation in nonfiction film,” Cinema Eye polled 110 members of the documentary community to determine the winning films and filmmakers just as the organization kicks off its tenth year.
Read More: Behind the Scenes of Cinema Eye’s Secret Field Trip for Nominees
Among the films chosen are Joshua Oppenheimer’s “The Act of Killing,” Laura Poitras’ Oscar-winning “Citizenfour” and Banksy’s “Exit Through the Gift Shop.” Poitras and Oppenheimer were both also named to the list of the top documentary filmmakers, joining Alex Gibney, Werner Herzog and Frederick Wiseman, who recently won an honorary Oscar and will be saluted at the annual Governors Awards on November 12.
“It’s fantastic that he is being recognized by the Academy for a...
Read More: Behind the Scenes of Cinema Eye’s Secret Field Trip for Nominees
Among the films chosen are Joshua Oppenheimer’s “The Act of Killing,” Laura Poitras’ Oscar-winning “Citizenfour” and Banksy’s “Exit Through the Gift Shop.” Poitras and Oppenheimer were both also named to the list of the top documentary filmmakers, joining Alex Gibney, Werner Herzog and Frederick Wiseman, who recently won an honorary Oscar and will be saluted at the annual Governors Awards on November 12.
“It’s fantastic that he is being recognized by the Academy for a...
- 9/21/2016
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
When a few hundred films stop by the 41st Toronto International Film Festival, it’s certainly impossible to cover everything, but we were able to catch over 120 features — and, with that, it’s time to conclude our experience, following the festival’s own award winners. We’ve rounded up our top 20 films seen during the festival, followed by a list of the complete coverage.
Stay tuned over the next months (or years) as we bring updates on films as they make their way to screens. Note that we didn’t include films screened at other festivals in our “best of” round-up, but you can see Venice, Cannes, Berlin, and Sundance wrap-ups at those links, which feature some of the most-praised films of the festival, including La La Land, Arrival, Manchester by the Sea, Certain Women, Elle, Things to Come, Nocturnal Animals, and many more.
One can also click here for...
Stay tuned over the next months (or years) as we bring updates on films as they make their way to screens. Note that we didn’t include films screened at other festivals in our “best of” round-up, but you can see Venice, Cannes, Berlin, and Sundance wrap-ups at those links, which feature some of the most-praised films of the festival, including La La Land, Arrival, Manchester by the Sea, Certain Women, Elle, Things to Come, Nocturnal Animals, and many more.
One can also click here for...
- 9/19/2016
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Steve James’ filmography has long been about finding entry into larger conversations through intimate portraits. The director’s landmark debut, Hoop Dreams, and latter-day efforts like 2014’s monument to critic Roger Ebert, Life Itself, don’t have much in common on the surface, but they both use their central characters to tell larger stories about big picture topics like structural dysfunction and the purpose of film criticism.
That double purpose is the quiet genius of James’ latest documentary, Abacus: Small Enough to Jail. The central story recounts the stranger-than-fiction courtroom saga of Abacus Federal Savings Bank, a family-owned Chinatown bank that is still the only bank indicted in the aftermath of the 2008 American financial crisis. But James’ priorities are less about the courtroom minutiae than the case’s reverberations through the owner Thomas Sung, his family, and their misunderstood immigrant community.
What’s compelling about the case is not whether Abacus is innocent or guilty,...
That double purpose is the quiet genius of James’ latest documentary, Abacus: Small Enough to Jail. The central story recounts the stranger-than-fiction courtroom saga of Abacus Federal Savings Bank, a family-owned Chinatown bank that is still the only bank indicted in the aftermath of the 2008 American financial crisis. But James’ priorities are less about the courtroom minutiae than the case’s reverberations through the owner Thomas Sung, his family, and their misunderstood immigrant community.
What’s compelling about the case is not whether Abacus is innocent or guilty,...
- 9/16/2016
- by Michael Snydel
- The Film Stage
The Toronto International Film Festival kicks off this week, and with it, the rest of a very busy fall festival season. In preparation for the Canadian festival, we’ll be rolling out a series of previews to point you in the direction of all the movies you have to see (or at least, all the movies you have to start anticipating right now). Next up, a batch of new features we’ve yet to see…and can’t wait to check out in the coming days.
“The Promise”
Oscar-winning director Terry George has been Mia from the big screen since 2011’s “Stand Off” (a little-seen Brendan Fraser vehicle that’s hardly worth mentioning) and the awards conversation since 2004’s “Hotel Rwanda” (though his subsequent film, the 2007 Mark Ruffalo-starring “Reservation Road” got a little love), but he seems poised to be back in a big way, thanks to a sweeping...
“The Promise”
Oscar-winning director Terry George has been Mia from the big screen since 2011’s “Stand Off” (a little-seen Brendan Fraser vehicle that’s hardly worth mentioning) and the awards conversation since 2004’s “Hotel Rwanda” (though his subsequent film, the 2007 Mark Ruffalo-starring “Reservation Road” got a little love), but he seems poised to be back in a big way, thanks to a sweeping...
- 9/6/2016
- by Kate Erbland, Eric Kohn, Anne Thompson, David Ehrlich, Chris O'Falt, Graham Winfrey and Steve Greene
- Indiewire
Hoop Dreams, The Interrupters and Life Itself director Steve James's latest, Abacus: Small Enough to Jail, in the New York Film Festival Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Films by Steve James, Alexis Bloom and Fisher Stevens (on Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds), Errol Morris (on Elsa Dorfman), Bill Morrison, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, Raoul Peck, Kasper Collin (on Lee Morgan), Sam Pollard, Aaron Brookner (on William Burroughs and Robert Wilson documentarian Howard Brookner), Olatz López Garmendia, Shimon Dotan, Mohamed Siam, Linda Saffire and Adam Schlesinger (on Wendy Whelan), Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker will shine in the New York Film Festival Spotlight on Documentary section.
Ava DuVernay’s documentary The 13th was announced earlier as the Opening Night Gala film, Gimme Danger's Jim Jarmusch appears in Brookner's Uncle Howard and Sacro Gra director Gianfranco Rosi has his latest Fire at Sea (Fuocoammare) screening in the Main Slate program.
Chaired by Festival Director Kent Jones,...
Films by Steve James, Alexis Bloom and Fisher Stevens (on Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds), Errol Morris (on Elsa Dorfman), Bill Morrison, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, Raoul Peck, Kasper Collin (on Lee Morgan), Sam Pollard, Aaron Brookner (on William Burroughs and Robert Wilson documentarian Howard Brookner), Olatz López Garmendia, Shimon Dotan, Mohamed Siam, Linda Saffire and Adam Schlesinger (on Wendy Whelan), Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker will shine in the New York Film Festival Spotlight on Documentary section.
Ava DuVernay’s documentary The 13th was announced earlier as the Opening Night Gala film, Gimme Danger's Jim Jarmusch appears in Brookner's Uncle Howard and Sacro Gra director Gianfranco Rosi has his latest Fire at Sea (Fuocoammare) screening in the Main Slate program.
Chaired by Festival Director Kent Jones,...
- 8/25/2016
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Last Friday, 1,000 people gathered in Chicago to pay tribute to 50 years of Kartemquin, a non-profit documentary company that was started by three Univerisity of Chicago students amidst the political activism and direct cinema movement of the 1960s. When Stan Karter, Jerry Temaner and Gordon Quinn founded the documentary unit in 1966 the mission was to challenge social power-structures by telling intimate stories of ordinary people. Over the years that mission has largely stayed intact, but the method and approach as the company evolved and grew.
Gallery: Kartemquin’s 50 Year History in Pictures
In the 1970s, Kartemquin veered away from auteurism and entered their “collective” period. During this time they took a large step in the direction of left-wing activism and agitprop filmmaking, often becoming partners with those struggling for labor, women’s and civil rights by tackling issues of women’s healthcare, gentrification, race and poverty.
In the 1980s, Kartemquin left...
Gallery: Kartemquin’s 50 Year History in Pictures
In the 1970s, Kartemquin veered away from auteurism and entered their “collective” period. During this time they took a large step in the direction of left-wing activism and agitprop filmmaking, often becoming partners with those struggling for labor, women’s and civil rights by tackling issues of women’s healthcare, gentrification, race and poverty.
In the 1980s, Kartemquin left...
- 6/29/2016
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
Chicago – In the final chapter of a three-part interview, Gordon Quinn of Kartemquin Films desires to evolve forward, soon after the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the iconic Chicago documentary house have past.
The “studio” Quinn co-founded has kept their integrity intact, and strives to keep cinematically exploring human drama that promotes understanding between all levels of contemporary society.
There have been several high profile documentaries that have expressed that understanding, and have forged a pathway that “Hoop Dreams” opened up for them. “Vietnam, Long Time Coming” (1998), “The New Americans” (2004) series on PBS, “No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson” for Espn, “The Interrupters” (2011), “The Trials of Muhammad Ali” (2013) and “Life Itself” (2014) stand proudly alongside the best of the last 50 years, with three more films in post production awaiting release.
Director Steve James Composes ‘The Interrupters’ (2011)
Photo credit: Kartemquin Films
In Part Three, Kartemquin filmmaker Gordon Quinn reflects on the post “Hoops” year,...
The “studio” Quinn co-founded has kept their integrity intact, and strives to keep cinematically exploring human drama that promotes understanding between all levels of contemporary society.
There have been several high profile documentaries that have expressed that understanding, and have forged a pathway that “Hoop Dreams” opened up for them. “Vietnam, Long Time Coming” (1998), “The New Americans” (2004) series on PBS, “No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson” for Espn, “The Interrupters” (2011), “The Trials of Muhammad Ali” (2013) and “Life Itself” (2014) stand proudly alongside the best of the last 50 years, with three more films in post production awaiting release.
Director Steve James Composes ‘The Interrupters’ (2011)
Photo credit: Kartemquin Films
In Part Three, Kartemquin filmmaker Gordon Quinn reflects on the post “Hoops” year,...
- 6/23/2016
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Chicago – Two months ago, producer/director/cinematographer/editor Gordon Quinn received the Baadasssss Award from the 2016 Cimm Fest, for his longtime contributions to the cinema scene in Chicago through Kartemquin Films. The famous production house, known for their documentaries, is celebrating their 50th anniversary.
Kartemquin began in 1966 when three newly minted University of Chicago grads partnered to create socially conscious films, and took part of their names – Stan KARter, Jerry TEManer and Gordon QUINn – to form Kartemquin Films. Towards the end of the 1960s, Karter and Temaner had moved on, and the late Jerry Blumenthal stepped in to become the de facto fourth founder. It is Gordon Quinn that remains after 50 years, and he is the standard bearer for a film company that seeks to be a home for independent filmmakers who develop documentaries that deepen our understanding of society through everyday human drama – focusing on people whose lives are...
Kartemquin began in 1966 when three newly minted University of Chicago grads partnered to create socially conscious films, and took part of their names – Stan KARter, Jerry TEManer and Gordon QUINn – to form Kartemquin Films. Towards the end of the 1960s, Karter and Temaner had moved on, and the late Jerry Blumenthal stepped in to become the de facto fourth founder. It is Gordon Quinn that remains after 50 years, and he is the standard bearer for a film company that seeks to be a home for independent filmmakers who develop documentaries that deepen our understanding of society through everyday human drama – focusing on people whose lives are...
- 6/21/2016
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Exclusive: Veltri replaces Christina Rogers at the Us sales company.
Scott Veltri has been promoted to head of worldwide sales forcand replaces Christina Rogers, who is departing to pursue other opportunities.
Veltri previously served as vice-president of international sales and worked closely with Rogers over the last three years to increase the profile of the division.
He sold titles such as Sean Baker’s Tangerine, Steve James’ documentary Life Itself, Crystal Moselle’s The Wolfpack, Albert Maysles’ Iris, and Morgan Neville and Robert Gordon’s Best Of Enemies.
“Scott has proven himself to be an invaluable asset to the international sales team, and we’re very pleased for him to take on this new responsibility,” said Magnolia president Eamonn Bowles.
The Magnolia sales slate features Sundance horror The Eyes Of My Mother, and a slew of Park City documentaries that includes Werner Herzog’s Lo And Behold: Reveries Of The Connected World, Tickled and [link...
Scott Veltri has been promoted to head of worldwide sales forcand replaces Christina Rogers, who is departing to pursue other opportunities.
Veltri previously served as vice-president of international sales and worked closely with Rogers over the last three years to increase the profile of the division.
He sold titles such as Sean Baker’s Tangerine, Steve James’ documentary Life Itself, Crystal Moselle’s The Wolfpack, Albert Maysles’ Iris, and Morgan Neville and Robert Gordon’s Best Of Enemies.
“Scott has proven himself to be an invaluable asset to the international sales team, and we’re very pleased for him to take on this new responsibility,” said Magnolia president Eamonn Bowles.
The Magnolia sales slate features Sundance horror The Eyes Of My Mother, and a slew of Park City documentaries that includes Werner Herzog’s Lo And Behold: Reveries Of The Connected World, Tickled and [link...
- 5/12/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
The 2015 Ida Documentary Awards took place at the Paramount Theater hosted by comedian Tig Notaro. Notaro was quick to point out this was the first year of the awards being “broadcasted…” on Periscope, and for that reason alone maybe the last.
The Best Feature Award was given to Joshua Oppenheimer’s “The Look of Silence,” which made the Oscar shortlist earlier in the week and happens to be the film companion for “The Act of Killing.” “The Look of Silence” has been banned in Indonesia and screenings of the film are only available through NGOs, schools/universities, religious organizations and other limited outlets.
Read More: 12 Things Joshua Oppenheimer Wants You to Know About 'The Look of Silence
The winner for Best Short Award went to the animated short “Last Day of Freedom” directed by Dee Hibbert-Jones and Nomi Talisman. The directors thanked the Ida for giving the award to an animated film.
Read More: Oscar Shortlisted Doc Short 'Last Day of Freedom' is a Gentle Animated Look at Complex Issues
Ida’s Career Achievement Award was presented to Gordon Quinn, Founder and Artistic Director of Kartemquin Films. The award was presented by Chaz Ebert, whose husband Roger Ebert was the subject of Quinn’s film “Life Itself” and by Haskell Wexler, influential cinematographer, producer, and director.
Academy Award® winning director Kathryn Bigelow presented the Courage Under Fire Award to Director Matthew Heineman for his immersive and brave work in the pursuit of truth in “Cartel Land.” Bigelow executive produced Heineman’s “Cartel Land.”
Read More: Matthew Heineman on Going Beyond the Headlines and Body Count in 'Cartel Land'
Ted Sarandos, the Chief Content Officer at Netflix, was awarded with The Pioneer Award, in recognition to the company’s game-changing and support to the production of non-fiction programming. The Pioneer Award is presented by the Ida to acknowledge extraordinary contributions to advancing the nonfiction form and providing exceptional vision and leadership to the documentary community.
Read More: 'Best of Enemies' Co-Director Morgan Neville on Intellectual Divas and the Theatricality of Politics
Actor, director and political activist Danny Glover presented Tony Tabatznik and the Bertha Foundation ( www.berthafoundation.org) with the Ida’s Amicus Award in recognition of their work supporting the essential needs of the non-fiction media landscape.
Full List of 2015 Ida Documentary Awards Honorees & Winners:
Career Achievement Award
Gordon Quinn
Pioneer Award
Ted Sarandos
Amicus Award
Tony Tabatznik and the Bertha Foundation
Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award sponsored by the Archibald Family Foundation
Lyric R. Cabral and David Felix Sutcliffe
Courage Under Fire Award
Matthew Heineman
Best Feature Award
"The Look of Silence"
Director: Joshua Oppenheimer
Producer: Signe Byrge Sørensen
Drafthouse Films and Participant Media
Best Short Award
"Last Day of Freedom"
Directors: Dee Hibbert-Jones and Nomi Talisman
Pare Lorentz Award
"How to Change the World"
Director: Jerry Rothwell
Creative Recognition Award Winners
Best Cinematography
"The Russian Woodpecker"
Cinematography by: Artem Ryzhykov
Best Editing
"Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck"
Edited by: Joe Beshenkovsky and Brett Morgen
Best Writing
"Listen to Me Marlon"
Written by: Stevan Riley
Co-Writer: Peter Ettedgui
Best Music
"Best of Enemies"
Original Score by: Jonathan Kirkscey
ABC News VideoSource Award
"Best of Enemies"
Directors: Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville
Magnolia Pictures
Best Curated Series Award
"Independent Lens"
Executive Producers: Sally Jo Fifer and Lois Vossen
Itvs, PBS
Pov
Executive Producers: Simon Kilmurry and Chris White
Pov, PBS
Best Limited Series Award
"The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst"
Executive Producer: Jason Blum
Co-Executive Producer: Zac Stuart-Pontier
Produced by: Andrew Jarecki and Marc Smerling
HBO
Best Episodic Series Award
"Chef’s Table"
Executive Producers: David Gelb and Andrew Fried
Netflix
Best Short Form Series Award
"Do Not Track"
Executive Producer: Hugues Sweeney
National Film Board of Canada, Upian, Arte, and Br
David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award
"The Archipelago"
Director: Benjamin Huguet
The National Film and Television School...
The Best Feature Award was given to Joshua Oppenheimer’s “The Look of Silence,” which made the Oscar shortlist earlier in the week and happens to be the film companion for “The Act of Killing.” “The Look of Silence” has been banned in Indonesia and screenings of the film are only available through NGOs, schools/universities, religious organizations and other limited outlets.
Read More: 12 Things Joshua Oppenheimer Wants You to Know About 'The Look of Silence
The winner for Best Short Award went to the animated short “Last Day of Freedom” directed by Dee Hibbert-Jones and Nomi Talisman. The directors thanked the Ida for giving the award to an animated film.
Read More: Oscar Shortlisted Doc Short 'Last Day of Freedom' is a Gentle Animated Look at Complex Issues
Ida’s Career Achievement Award was presented to Gordon Quinn, Founder and Artistic Director of Kartemquin Films. The award was presented by Chaz Ebert, whose husband Roger Ebert was the subject of Quinn’s film “Life Itself” and by Haskell Wexler, influential cinematographer, producer, and director.
Academy Award® winning director Kathryn Bigelow presented the Courage Under Fire Award to Director Matthew Heineman for his immersive and brave work in the pursuit of truth in “Cartel Land.” Bigelow executive produced Heineman’s “Cartel Land.”
Read More: Matthew Heineman on Going Beyond the Headlines and Body Count in 'Cartel Land'
Ted Sarandos, the Chief Content Officer at Netflix, was awarded with The Pioneer Award, in recognition to the company’s game-changing and support to the production of non-fiction programming. The Pioneer Award is presented by the Ida to acknowledge extraordinary contributions to advancing the nonfiction form and providing exceptional vision and leadership to the documentary community.
Read More: 'Best of Enemies' Co-Director Morgan Neville on Intellectual Divas and the Theatricality of Politics
Actor, director and political activist Danny Glover presented Tony Tabatznik and the Bertha Foundation ( www.berthafoundation.org) with the Ida’s Amicus Award in recognition of their work supporting the essential needs of the non-fiction media landscape.
Full List of 2015 Ida Documentary Awards Honorees & Winners:
Career Achievement Award
Gordon Quinn
Pioneer Award
Ted Sarandos
Amicus Award
Tony Tabatznik and the Bertha Foundation
Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award sponsored by the Archibald Family Foundation
Lyric R. Cabral and David Felix Sutcliffe
Courage Under Fire Award
Matthew Heineman
Best Feature Award
"The Look of Silence"
Director: Joshua Oppenheimer
Producer: Signe Byrge Sørensen
Drafthouse Films and Participant Media
Best Short Award
"Last Day of Freedom"
Directors: Dee Hibbert-Jones and Nomi Talisman
Pare Lorentz Award
"How to Change the World"
Director: Jerry Rothwell
Creative Recognition Award Winners
Best Cinematography
"The Russian Woodpecker"
Cinematography by: Artem Ryzhykov
Best Editing
"Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck"
Edited by: Joe Beshenkovsky and Brett Morgen
Best Writing
"Listen to Me Marlon"
Written by: Stevan Riley
Co-Writer: Peter Ettedgui
Best Music
"Best of Enemies"
Original Score by: Jonathan Kirkscey
ABC News VideoSource Award
"Best of Enemies"
Directors: Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville
Magnolia Pictures
Best Curated Series Award
"Independent Lens"
Executive Producers: Sally Jo Fifer and Lois Vossen
Itvs, PBS
Pov
Executive Producers: Simon Kilmurry and Chris White
Pov, PBS
Best Limited Series Award
"The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst"
Executive Producer: Jason Blum
Co-Executive Producer: Zac Stuart-Pontier
Produced by: Andrew Jarecki and Marc Smerling
HBO
Best Episodic Series Award
"Chef’s Table"
Executive Producers: David Gelb and Andrew Fried
Netflix
Best Short Form Series Award
"Do Not Track"
Executive Producer: Hugues Sweeney
National Film Board of Canada, Upian, Arte, and Br
David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award
"The Archipelago"
Director: Benjamin Huguet
The National Film and Television School...
- 1/3/2016
- by Alejandro Torres Rezzio
- Sydney's Buzz
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50 fabulous documentary films, covering hard politics through to music, money and films that never were...
Thanks to streaming services such as Netflix, we’ve never had better access to documentaries. A whole new audience can discover that these real life stories are just as thrilling, entertaining, and incredible as the latest big-budget blockbuster. What’s more, they’re all true too. But with a new found glut of them comes the ever more impossible choice, what’s worth your time? Below is my pick of the 50 best modern feature length documentaries.
I’ve defined modern as being from 2000 onwards, which means some of the greatest documentaries ever made will not feature here. I’m looking at you Hoop Dreams.
50. McConkey (2013)
d. Rob Bruce, Scott Gaffney, Murray Wais, Steve Winter, David Zieff
Shane McConkey was an extreme skier and Base jumper who lived life on the edge, and very much to the full.
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50 fabulous documentary films, covering hard politics through to music, money and films that never were...
Thanks to streaming services such as Netflix, we’ve never had better access to documentaries. A whole new audience can discover that these real life stories are just as thrilling, entertaining, and incredible as the latest big-budget blockbuster. What’s more, they’re all true too. But with a new found glut of them comes the ever more impossible choice, what’s worth your time? Below is my pick of the 50 best modern feature length documentaries.
I’ve defined modern as being from 2000 onwards, which means some of the greatest documentaries ever made will not feature here. I’m looking at you Hoop Dreams.
50. McConkey (2013)
d. Rob Bruce, Scott Gaffney, Murray Wais, Steve Winter, David Zieff
Shane McConkey was an extreme skier and Base jumper who lived life on the edge, and very much to the full.
- 11/12/2015
- by simonbrew
- Den of Geek
Chicago – Roger Ebert is an icon, in both film criticism lore and his inspirational life. Two years after his passing, the Black Ensemble Theater of Chicago is honoring his legacy by focusing on a love story, the passionate relationship with his wife Chaz Ebert. Actor Kevin Pollack portrays Roger in “The Black/White Love Play.”
The play is written and directed by Jackie Taylor, one of the most significant theater names in Chicago (and founder of the Black Ensemble Theater). It co-stars Rashada Dawan as Chaz Ebert, and opened on October 4th, 2015. The story is certainly about Roger’s fame as the preeminent film critic in cinema history, but it also is about the struggle that any relationship faces in adversity – in this case Roger’s debilitating fight against cancer. The connection between Chaz and Roger Ebert is a love bond for the ages, and “The Black/White Love Play...
The play is written and directed by Jackie Taylor, one of the most significant theater names in Chicago (and founder of the Black Ensemble Theater). It co-stars Rashada Dawan as Chaz Ebert, and opened on October 4th, 2015. The story is certainly about Roger’s fame as the preeminent film critic in cinema history, but it also is about the struggle that any relationship faces in adversity – in this case Roger’s debilitating fight against cancer. The connection between Chaz and Roger Ebert is a love bond for the ages, and “The Black/White Love Play...
- 10/7/2015
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
This review was originally published during our coverage of Tiff 2014.
For more than a century, great artists, novelists and filmmakers have examined the question: What is the American Dream? Their stories of men and women rising from rags to riches, in means dignified and corrupt, have electrified audiences. The latest masterwork to explore that dream state (or the lack thereof) is Ramin Bahrani’s 99 Homes, a masterfully acted and searing look at a fractious time of modern American history: the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, which left both rich and poor out of their homes. However, in a world of enormous disparity between the ultra-rich and the paycheck-to-paycheck poor, a better question would be: Where is the American Dream?
Well, it is certainly not in Florida, where 99 Homes is set, a state where the prosperity of gated communities meets the grind of small-town poverty. Bahrani’s drama opens on a...
For more than a century, great artists, novelists and filmmakers have examined the question: What is the American Dream? Their stories of men and women rising from rags to riches, in means dignified and corrupt, have electrified audiences. The latest masterwork to explore that dream state (or the lack thereof) is Ramin Bahrani’s 99 Homes, a masterfully acted and searing look at a fractious time of modern American history: the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, which left both rich and poor out of their homes. However, in a world of enormous disparity between the ultra-rich and the paycheck-to-paycheck poor, a better question would be: Where is the American Dream?
Well, it is certainly not in Florida, where 99 Homes is set, a state where the prosperity of gated communities meets the grind of small-town poverty. Bahrani’s drama opens on a...
- 9/25/2015
- by Jordan Adler
- We Got This Covered
'Best of Enemies' Co-Director Morgan Neville on Intellectual Divas and the Theatricality of Politics
Politics are a spectacle now more than ever, a trend encouraged by the current state of the media and content platforms that thrive on outrageous comments and destroyed reputations. In this climate, a film like Robert Gordon & Morgan Neville‘s “Best of Enemies” reminds the public that, though there’s always been an air of theatricality to political debates and expressing polarizing opinions, there used to be a certain elegance and sophistication in the way two ideological adversaries rallied behind their beliefs.
Their larger-than-life subjects are Gore Vidal, a prolific liberal writer, and William F. Buckley, a brilliant conservative debater, who were one another’s nemesis. Leading up to the 1968 presidential election the two intellectuals got a chance to make television history on ABC - then the least prominent of the broadcast networks - during 10 debates that felt like exhilarating boxing rounds in which the opponents replaced punches for a much more brutal arsenal of sharply written arguments.
We had a chance to have a lengthy conversation with co-director Morgan Neville, whose film “Twenty Feet from Stardom” earned him an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2014. Neville wanted to explore a completely different aspect of American culture in “Best of Enemies,” one that is as relevant now as it was over 40 years ago: the crucial importance of the way we argue, civil discourse, and debate.
Aguilar: I honestly didn't know about these two characters prior to watching the film. How did you become aware of them? You were probably not born yet or were very young when these debates took place.
Morgan Neville: I was born the year before these debates. I was one-year-old when they happened, so I wasn’t paying a lot of attention [Laughs]. I knew who Buckley and Vidal were growing up being a political junkie. I actually used to work for Gore Vidal as a fact-checker right out of college. It was one of my very first jobs. We came across a bootleg copy of these debates like five years ago from a friend of a friend. They were just transfixing and we started to think, “There is something here that’s interesting, that’s so contemporary and so foreign to what I’m used to seeing on TV.” It just seemed like something I wanted to investigate, and so here we are five years later [Laughs].
Aguilar: They are certainly bigger-than-life characters. Did you notice this right away when watching the debates?
Morgan Neville: Yes, you only find characters like this in Nöel Coward plays [Laughs]. They are unlike people you see today. You don’t see people like this on TV. You don’t see people like this anywhere today. They lived these kind of huge lives that were at the center of so many things: politics, television, media. If you look at them they were such polymaths. Vidal was a novelist, an essayist, a playwright, a screenwriter, and many other things. Buckley started a magazine, hosted a TV show, lead a political movement, and was a master debater. They were multihyphenates in a way that you rarely see anymore.
Aguilar: Regardless of what anyone thinks of their opinions we have to admit they were very passionate about their views. Do you think some of that passion for one's beliefs is gone from politics and culture in general?
Morgan Neville: Yes. They believed the stakes were incredibly high for what they were doing. They truly believed that the other person was evil and that the other’s ideas would ruin America. They weren’t just fighting about 1968, they were fighting about the empire. They were fighting about everything from the Founding Fathers till today. When you see pundits arguing on TV today, they never seem to be very sincere. You always know what they are going to say before they say it. You don’t get the sense that they feel the stakes are all that high, even though the stakes are, of course, incredibly high. They all seem to be playing at it as though it’s a game, which for them it is.
Aguilar: Tell me about the arduous labor of finding all these footage from many decades ago to piece this story together.
Morgan Neville: It was a massive hunt for footage. One of the big treasures was ABC itself. They have an amazing archive and we found some much stuff buried in cans of films that had never seen the light of day. After spending so many years working on it, we kept turning up more things, these little nuggets that would make our day. For an archive documentary like this you kind of live or die by the strength of your material.
Aguilar: Besides telling Buckley and Vidal’s story, you also tackle a piece television history and ABC. Would you you say these debates were game-changers in terms of how we relate to news and broadcast programming?
Morgan Neville: The actual ABC story was the story we didn’t know when we started making it. We knew about Vidal, Buckley, and these debates, but what we didn’t really understand was how they came to be and that is was really an act of desperation that lead to this happening. That’s fascinating. We felt like, of course, what they were doing then was so different from what we have today, but we didn’t understand the connection until we really started getting into it. I don’t want to say that if it weren’t for these debates television would be completely different today because I think in some ways it was inevitable, but this was certainly one of those crystallizing moments for how television viewed news commentary. They realized that commentary got ratings, it’s cheap, and it’s easy.
Aguilar: It seems as if these debates could have only happened out of desperation because ABC threw this two polarizing agents into a formula and they didn’t know how it would turn out. They were taking a chance.
Morgan Neville: Yes. I don’t think ABC was expecting it to get this explosive. I think they thought that there was going to be some good friction and some sparks, but I don’t think they expected it to get as out of control as it did. I think initially they were a little embarrassed about it until they realized how successful it was. News at that times was seen as a public service and news departments of networks were seen as having a higher calling. News department were not the profit centers of networks as they are now.
Aguilar: When you are making a film like this that’s so polarizing in terms of the opinions the subjects express, how do you keep it as objective as possible and avoid taking sides based on your own opinions?
Morgan Neville: I thought it was important from the beginning not to take sides because it’s very easy to get caught in the arguments Once you start doing that half the people are going to agree with you and half the people are going to disagree with you. I think you’d fall into the same trap we are in now as a country. We wanted to make a film about how we argue and say, “Can we at least have some agreement about how we should talk to each other, what civil discourse is about, and about what debate can do for us?" We should agree on a common set of facts not just all go to our own corners and to our own cable channels and tell each other what we want to hear.
Aguilar: Although the debates took place over 40 years ago, they feel so relevant. You are also sort of introducing these characters to a new audience that perhaps didn't know bout them.
Morgan Neville: I kind of feel like people under 40 don’t know who these guys are. We realized that people don’t really remember who they are. We didn’t even know until we were making it how much educating we had to do to let people know who they were. But I felt like regardless of whether or not you know who they are, there’s still a kind of drama and a theatricality to it that should draw you in even if you don’t know who they are.
Aguilar: While watching the film I couldn't help but think about Siskel and Ebert, two big and contrasting personalities that, though in a different context, were tough on each other but also respected one another. Did they ever cross your mind while working on "Best of Enemies" ?
Morgan Neville: I saw “Life Itself,” the Roger Ebert documentary, and certainly when I watched them bickering in that film I was thinking about Vidal and Buckley because I was already working on this film. Sometimes we have our perfect foils or you can call them their bête noir, the person who brings out both the best and the worst in you because you disagree with them so completely. Yet, you understand and respect them enough to give it your all. I feel like underneath that kind of hatred between Vidal and Buckley was respect, because if you didn’t respect somebody you wouldn’t take it so personally and you wouldn’t be so prepared.
Aguilar: Something that's very interesting is Vidal's work as a screenwriter. He seemed to have had a talent for discussing politics via entertainment.
Morgan Neville: It’s very interesting. He wrote a lot and even his fiction and screenwriting are all around the same themes. He was interested in power and corruption, hubris, and the close-mindedness of our society and his films play that out. “The Best Man,” which was a play made into a movie and which I loved, says so much of what Gore once said about politics and he’d done that just before these 1968 debates.
Aguilar: Both Buckley and Vidal were giving a performance during this debates. They created a persona for this appearances.
Morgan Neville: Absolutely, Vidal and Buckley both understood that television was a theatrical medium. Gore was a playwright and a screenwriter, he knew how to deliver a good line, and Buckley was a master debater. He was one of the debate champions at Yale and really understood that debate is theater and that it’s about delivering a good line. They had a very similar skill set coming from slightly different backgrounds and that’s why it was such a perfect match.
Aguilar: When the big moment in the film happens and Buckley loses his cool, it comes a cross as a really provocative occurrence for the time. Today we see worst things on any reality show or TV in general.
Morgan Neville: People didn’t do that on TV then and often if people do it on TV now, if it’s on a reality show or on the news show, you get the sense that they are just handing it out to the camera. In this case it was the opposite, the last thing Buckley wanted to do on camera was to lose his cool.
Aguilar: Do you feel like you've gotten to know these two people closely by making the film?
Morgan Neville: Absolutely, they are both very complex men, which is what makes it so rewarding to make a film like this. You don’t mind spending so much time getting into the character because both of these characters were so rich. I came to understand them much, much better. Because I was much more familiar with Vidal when we started, Buckley was a revelation for me just in terms understanding things about him that I didn’t know. In spite of his political leanings he didn’t really like to talk about politics when he was on camera. Speaking in public was mostly a trend for liberals. That I didn’t know.
Aguilar: Did the fact that you knew Vidal from working with him made a difference in your approach?
Morgan Neville: I don’t think it actually really did, bu since I knew him I came with some knowledge. We actually interviewed Gore for the film too about a year and a half before he died. We decided not to use it because Gore had already gotten the last word in a way. To have Gore speak and not Buckley, because he had already died, felt somehow unfair and would tilt the film to one side, which we didn’t want to do.
Aguilar: Do you think that under other circumstances Vidal and Buckley could have been the best of friends rather than the best of enemies?
Morgan Neville: Yeah, you wonder. Today everybody is a “frenemy” [Laughs]. I don’t know if being a “frenemy” means you are an enemy but you are kind of winking at it and you play along at the enemy side of it, which is so much of what we see in news media now. There is an alternate universe where they are good friends but God knows where that universe is.
Aguilar: It probably wouldn’t have been as interesting.
Morgan Neville: Yeah, I probably wouldn’t have made a film about it [Laughs].
Aguilar: In terms of your career as a filmmaker, do you feel like the stakes and expectations are the stakes higher after winning an Oscar? "Best of Enemies" is definitely a departure in terms of subject matter from "Twenty Feet from Stardom"
Morgan Neville: No, the stakes are always high. You always want to make the best film you can. If anything I feel more relaxed after the Oscar. I feel like I have a chance to just tell the stories I want to tell and it’s actually been really nice. I’m so happy that this is the next film I’m putting out because it’s a whole other area I’m interested in that people wouldn’t know about. But they are both films about divas [Laughs].
Aguilar: What’s your next project now that "Best of Enemies" is hitting theaters?
Morgan Neville: I’m working on a Yo-Yo Ma film, which is almost done, and I’m working on Keith Richards documentary.
"Best of Enemies" opens today in Los Angeles at The Landmark and in NYC at IFC Center and Lincoln Plaza Cinemas...
Their larger-than-life subjects are Gore Vidal, a prolific liberal writer, and William F. Buckley, a brilliant conservative debater, who were one another’s nemesis. Leading up to the 1968 presidential election the two intellectuals got a chance to make television history on ABC - then the least prominent of the broadcast networks - during 10 debates that felt like exhilarating boxing rounds in which the opponents replaced punches for a much more brutal arsenal of sharply written arguments.
We had a chance to have a lengthy conversation with co-director Morgan Neville, whose film “Twenty Feet from Stardom” earned him an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2014. Neville wanted to explore a completely different aspect of American culture in “Best of Enemies,” one that is as relevant now as it was over 40 years ago: the crucial importance of the way we argue, civil discourse, and debate.
Aguilar: I honestly didn't know about these two characters prior to watching the film. How did you become aware of them? You were probably not born yet or were very young when these debates took place.
Morgan Neville: I was born the year before these debates. I was one-year-old when they happened, so I wasn’t paying a lot of attention [Laughs]. I knew who Buckley and Vidal were growing up being a political junkie. I actually used to work for Gore Vidal as a fact-checker right out of college. It was one of my very first jobs. We came across a bootleg copy of these debates like five years ago from a friend of a friend. They were just transfixing and we started to think, “There is something here that’s interesting, that’s so contemporary and so foreign to what I’m used to seeing on TV.” It just seemed like something I wanted to investigate, and so here we are five years later [Laughs].
Aguilar: They are certainly bigger-than-life characters. Did you notice this right away when watching the debates?
Morgan Neville: Yes, you only find characters like this in Nöel Coward plays [Laughs]. They are unlike people you see today. You don’t see people like this on TV. You don’t see people like this anywhere today. They lived these kind of huge lives that were at the center of so many things: politics, television, media. If you look at them they were such polymaths. Vidal was a novelist, an essayist, a playwright, a screenwriter, and many other things. Buckley started a magazine, hosted a TV show, lead a political movement, and was a master debater. They were multihyphenates in a way that you rarely see anymore.
Aguilar: Regardless of what anyone thinks of their opinions we have to admit they were very passionate about their views. Do you think some of that passion for one's beliefs is gone from politics and culture in general?
Morgan Neville: Yes. They believed the stakes were incredibly high for what they were doing. They truly believed that the other person was evil and that the other’s ideas would ruin America. They weren’t just fighting about 1968, they were fighting about the empire. They were fighting about everything from the Founding Fathers till today. When you see pundits arguing on TV today, they never seem to be very sincere. You always know what they are going to say before they say it. You don’t get the sense that they feel the stakes are all that high, even though the stakes are, of course, incredibly high. They all seem to be playing at it as though it’s a game, which for them it is.
Aguilar: Tell me about the arduous labor of finding all these footage from many decades ago to piece this story together.
Morgan Neville: It was a massive hunt for footage. One of the big treasures was ABC itself. They have an amazing archive and we found some much stuff buried in cans of films that had never seen the light of day. After spending so many years working on it, we kept turning up more things, these little nuggets that would make our day. For an archive documentary like this you kind of live or die by the strength of your material.
Aguilar: Besides telling Buckley and Vidal’s story, you also tackle a piece television history and ABC. Would you you say these debates were game-changers in terms of how we relate to news and broadcast programming?
Morgan Neville: The actual ABC story was the story we didn’t know when we started making it. We knew about Vidal, Buckley, and these debates, but what we didn’t really understand was how they came to be and that is was really an act of desperation that lead to this happening. That’s fascinating. We felt like, of course, what they were doing then was so different from what we have today, but we didn’t understand the connection until we really started getting into it. I don’t want to say that if it weren’t for these debates television would be completely different today because I think in some ways it was inevitable, but this was certainly one of those crystallizing moments for how television viewed news commentary. They realized that commentary got ratings, it’s cheap, and it’s easy.
Aguilar: It seems as if these debates could have only happened out of desperation because ABC threw this two polarizing agents into a formula and they didn’t know how it would turn out. They were taking a chance.
Morgan Neville: Yes. I don’t think ABC was expecting it to get this explosive. I think they thought that there was going to be some good friction and some sparks, but I don’t think they expected it to get as out of control as it did. I think initially they were a little embarrassed about it until they realized how successful it was. News at that times was seen as a public service and news departments of networks were seen as having a higher calling. News department were not the profit centers of networks as they are now.
Aguilar: When you are making a film like this that’s so polarizing in terms of the opinions the subjects express, how do you keep it as objective as possible and avoid taking sides based on your own opinions?
Morgan Neville: I thought it was important from the beginning not to take sides because it’s very easy to get caught in the arguments Once you start doing that half the people are going to agree with you and half the people are going to disagree with you. I think you’d fall into the same trap we are in now as a country. We wanted to make a film about how we argue and say, “Can we at least have some agreement about how we should talk to each other, what civil discourse is about, and about what debate can do for us?" We should agree on a common set of facts not just all go to our own corners and to our own cable channels and tell each other what we want to hear.
Aguilar: Although the debates took place over 40 years ago, they feel so relevant. You are also sort of introducing these characters to a new audience that perhaps didn't know bout them.
Morgan Neville: I kind of feel like people under 40 don’t know who these guys are. We realized that people don’t really remember who they are. We didn’t even know until we were making it how much educating we had to do to let people know who they were. But I felt like regardless of whether or not you know who they are, there’s still a kind of drama and a theatricality to it that should draw you in even if you don’t know who they are.
Aguilar: While watching the film I couldn't help but think about Siskel and Ebert, two big and contrasting personalities that, though in a different context, were tough on each other but also respected one another. Did they ever cross your mind while working on "Best of Enemies" ?
Morgan Neville: I saw “Life Itself,” the Roger Ebert documentary, and certainly when I watched them bickering in that film I was thinking about Vidal and Buckley because I was already working on this film. Sometimes we have our perfect foils or you can call them their bête noir, the person who brings out both the best and the worst in you because you disagree with them so completely. Yet, you understand and respect them enough to give it your all. I feel like underneath that kind of hatred between Vidal and Buckley was respect, because if you didn’t respect somebody you wouldn’t take it so personally and you wouldn’t be so prepared.
Aguilar: Something that's very interesting is Vidal's work as a screenwriter. He seemed to have had a talent for discussing politics via entertainment.
Morgan Neville: It’s very interesting. He wrote a lot and even his fiction and screenwriting are all around the same themes. He was interested in power and corruption, hubris, and the close-mindedness of our society and his films play that out. “The Best Man,” which was a play made into a movie and which I loved, says so much of what Gore once said about politics and he’d done that just before these 1968 debates.
Aguilar: Both Buckley and Vidal were giving a performance during this debates. They created a persona for this appearances.
Morgan Neville: Absolutely, Vidal and Buckley both understood that television was a theatrical medium. Gore was a playwright and a screenwriter, he knew how to deliver a good line, and Buckley was a master debater. He was one of the debate champions at Yale and really understood that debate is theater and that it’s about delivering a good line. They had a very similar skill set coming from slightly different backgrounds and that’s why it was such a perfect match.
Aguilar: When the big moment in the film happens and Buckley loses his cool, it comes a cross as a really provocative occurrence for the time. Today we see worst things on any reality show or TV in general.
Morgan Neville: People didn’t do that on TV then and often if people do it on TV now, if it’s on a reality show or on the news show, you get the sense that they are just handing it out to the camera. In this case it was the opposite, the last thing Buckley wanted to do on camera was to lose his cool.
Aguilar: Do you feel like you've gotten to know these two people closely by making the film?
Morgan Neville: Absolutely, they are both very complex men, which is what makes it so rewarding to make a film like this. You don’t mind spending so much time getting into the character because both of these characters were so rich. I came to understand them much, much better. Because I was much more familiar with Vidal when we started, Buckley was a revelation for me just in terms understanding things about him that I didn’t know. In spite of his political leanings he didn’t really like to talk about politics when he was on camera. Speaking in public was mostly a trend for liberals. That I didn’t know.
Aguilar: Did the fact that you knew Vidal from working with him made a difference in your approach?
Morgan Neville: I don’t think it actually really did, bu since I knew him I came with some knowledge. We actually interviewed Gore for the film too about a year and a half before he died. We decided not to use it because Gore had already gotten the last word in a way. To have Gore speak and not Buckley, because he had already died, felt somehow unfair and would tilt the film to one side, which we didn’t want to do.
Aguilar: Do you think that under other circumstances Vidal and Buckley could have been the best of friends rather than the best of enemies?
Morgan Neville: Yeah, you wonder. Today everybody is a “frenemy” [Laughs]. I don’t know if being a “frenemy” means you are an enemy but you are kind of winking at it and you play along at the enemy side of it, which is so much of what we see in news media now. There is an alternate universe where they are good friends but God knows where that universe is.
Aguilar: It probably wouldn’t have been as interesting.
Morgan Neville: Yeah, I probably wouldn’t have made a film about it [Laughs].
Aguilar: In terms of your career as a filmmaker, do you feel like the stakes and expectations are the stakes higher after winning an Oscar? "Best of Enemies" is definitely a departure in terms of subject matter from "Twenty Feet from Stardom"
Morgan Neville: No, the stakes are always high. You always want to make the best film you can. If anything I feel more relaxed after the Oscar. I feel like I have a chance to just tell the stories I want to tell and it’s actually been really nice. I’m so happy that this is the next film I’m putting out because it’s a whole other area I’m interested in that people wouldn’t know about. But they are both films about divas [Laughs].
Aguilar: What’s your next project now that "Best of Enemies" is hitting theaters?
Morgan Neville: I’m working on a Yo-Yo Ma film, which is almost done, and I’m working on Keith Richards documentary.
"Best of Enemies" opens today in Los Angeles at The Landmark and in NYC at IFC Center and Lincoln Plaza Cinemas...
- 7/31/2015
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Sydney's Buzz
We’re huge fans of the Roger Ebert documentary Life Itself, but now we could be getting a movie based on the life of a critic who inspired even him. What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael is a documentary based on the life of New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael, and you can help the documentary get made by donating to a Kickstarter for the film.
Director Rob Garver has made a number of shorts and TV projects, and for the purpose of this documentary he’s gathered together an A-list assortment of directors, actors, and film critics, all of whom were either inspired or scorned her work. The list of names is long, but here’s a short list via their Kickstarter: Quentin Tarantino, David O. Russell, Paul Schrader, Robert Towne, Greil Marcus, Francis Ford Coppola, David Edelstein, Molly Haskell, and Alec Baldwin.
Kael wrote for the...
Director Rob Garver has made a number of shorts and TV projects, and for the purpose of this documentary he’s gathered together an A-list assortment of directors, actors, and film critics, all of whom were either inspired or scorned her work. The list of names is long, but here’s a short list via their Kickstarter: Quentin Tarantino, David O. Russell, Paul Schrader, Robert Towne, Greil Marcus, Francis Ford Coppola, David Edelstein, Molly Haskell, and Alec Baldwin.
Kael wrote for the...
- 7/10/2015
- by Brian Welk
- SoundOnSight
Academy invitee Eddie Redmayne in 'The Theory of Everything.' Academy invites 322 new members: 'More diverse and inclusive list of filmmakers and artists than ever before' The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has offered membership to 322 individuals "who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures." According to the Academy's press release, "those who accept the invitations will be the only additions to the Academy's membership in 2015." In case all 322 potential new members say an enthusiastic Yes, that means an injection of new blood representing about 5 percent of the Academy's current membership. In the words of Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs (as quoted in the press release), in 2015 "our branches have recognized a more diverse and inclusive list of filmmakers and artists than ever before, and we look forward to adding their creativity, ideas and experience to our organization." In recent years, the Academy membership has...
- 7/1/2015
- by Anna Robinson
- Alt Film Guide
©Renzo Piano Building Workshop/©Studio Pali Fekete architects/©A.M.P.A.S.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced this week that the Los Angeles City Council, in a unanimous vote, approved plans for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Construction will begin this summer, and ceremonial groundbreaking festivities will occur this fall.
“I am thrilled that Los Angeles is gaining another architectural and cultural icon,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti. “My office of economic development has worked directly with the museum’s development team to ensure that the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will create jobs, support tourism, and pay homage to the industry that helped define our identity as the creative capital of the world.”
“We are grateful to our incredible community of supporters who have helped make this museum a reality,” said Dawn Hudson, the Academy’s CEO. “Building this museum has been an Academy...
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced this week that the Los Angeles City Council, in a unanimous vote, approved plans for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Construction will begin this summer, and ceremonial groundbreaking festivities will occur this fall.
“I am thrilled that Los Angeles is gaining another architectural and cultural icon,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti. “My office of economic development has worked directly with the museum’s development team to ensure that the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will create jobs, support tourism, and pay homage to the industry that helped define our identity as the creative capital of the world.”
“We are grateful to our incredible community of supporters who have helped make this museum a reality,” said Dawn Hudson, the Academy’s CEO. “Building this museum has been an Academy...
- 6/27/2015
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Strangely dropping a press release on a historic day where the nation's attention is elsewhere, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revealed their annual list of new member invitees this morning. For those who criticize the makeup of the Academy there was some good news and the stark realization the organization still has a long way to go. The Academy has spent the last eight to 10 years attempting to diversify its membership and this year's class mostly reflects that. There are significantly more invitees of Asian and African-American descent, but the male to female disparity is still depressing. Out of the 25 potential new members of the Actor's Branch only seven are women. And, no, there isn't really an acceptable way for the Academy to spin that sad fact. Additionally, It's important to realize the 322 people noted in the release have only been invited to join Hollywood's most exclusive club.
- 6/26/2015
- by Gregory Ellwood
- Hitfix
2 Men. 10 Debates. Television would never be the same. Magnolia Pictures has debuted an excellent trailer for Best of Enemies, a fascinating documentary about two enemies for life - Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley Jr. Back in the late 60s, these two were recruited to debate each other on television during the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, and it changed television forever. I saw this at Sundance and it was one of my favorite documentaries from the fest. "This thoroughly entertaining and effortlessly fascinating doc examines their relationship on and off the screen, similar to the love-hate battle between Ebert and Siskel shown in the doc Life Itself." It's so good, full of so much fun footage of these two fighting. Here's the trailer for Robert Gordon & Morgan Neville's Best of Enemies, direct from Magnolia: In the summer of 1968 television news changed forever. Dead last in the ratings, ABC...
- 6/9/2015
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Despite how prepared you think you are to undertake a documentary project, as any filmmaker can tell you, things never go according to plan. But often these mishaps and detours end up being silver linings in the final film, according to award-winning director Steve James ("Life Itself," "Hoop Dreams"), during his masterclass at Oregon Doc Camp on May 29 in Sublimity, Oregon. Read More: 'Life Itself' Director Steve James Explains Why Roger Ebert Deserved a Documentary "When things don’t go like you planned, and in my experience, that has happened on every single film and in a way, I'm thankful for that because anytime I've had an idea for a film and then had the good fortune to make it, my ideas about what it was going to be, what came out at the end was better than I could have imagined," he told the audience of filmmakers.
- 6/1/2015
- by Paula Bernstein
- Indiewire
Before Cards Against Humanity, we played Apples to Apples, and if you wanted to make that game any fun at all for someone over 10, you had to have an inside joke wild card. And of course the only good wild card that could win every time no matter what was Helen Keller. Her name has become more synonymous with a meme than with her actual life. And Pro Tip: Helen Keller and Anne Frank are two different people.
But Helen Keller remains so awesome, that this latest movie that you should absolutely give all your money to is so epic that the crazy wild Wtf name Helen Keller vs. Nightwolves cannot even do it justice.
Currently Helen Keller vs. Nightwolves has 16 days left in a $1 million Indiegogo campaign to complete post-production on the film. Directed by Ross Patterson, who wrote the tongue-in-cheek Western novel At Night She Cries While He Rides His Steed,...
But Helen Keller remains so awesome, that this latest movie that you should absolutely give all your money to is so epic that the crazy wild Wtf name Helen Keller vs. Nightwolves cannot even do it justice.
Currently Helen Keller vs. Nightwolves has 16 days left in a $1 million Indiegogo campaign to complete post-production on the film. Directed by Ross Patterson, who wrote the tongue-in-cheek Western novel At Night She Cries While He Rides His Steed,...
- 5/21/2015
- by Brian Welk
- SoundOnSight
Richard Corliss, the film critic for Time Magazine, passed away at the age of 71 due to complications following a stroke Thursday night. Time editor Nancy Gibbs sent a note to the staff Friday morning about his passing, which you can read here.
Corliss was a film critic with Time for 35 years, sharing bylines alongside fellow critic Richard Schickel. Prior to that he was the editor in chief of Film Comment and had written for National Review among many other magazines.
Corliss challenged Andrew Sarris’s auteur theory, despite being one of Sarris’s students, and he likewise penned a scathing critique of the movie review show Siskel & Ebert, “All Thumbs“. Ebert would later include that article in one of his own books, and Corliss spoke highly of Ebert in the tribute documentary Life Itself.
Time compiled a list of 25 of his greatest movie reviews, all of them classics, but not...
Corliss was a film critic with Time for 35 years, sharing bylines alongside fellow critic Richard Schickel. Prior to that he was the editor in chief of Film Comment and had written for National Review among many other magazines.
Corliss challenged Andrew Sarris’s auteur theory, despite being one of Sarris’s students, and he likewise penned a scathing critique of the movie review show Siskel & Ebert, “All Thumbs“. Ebert would later include that article in one of his own books, and Corliss spoke highly of Ebert in the tribute documentary Life Itself.
Time compiled a list of 25 of his greatest movie reviews, all of them classics, but not...
- 4/24/2015
- by Brian Welk
- SoundOnSight
April is around the corner with a fresh crop of streaming options for your at-home viewing pleasure, but March still has a ton of movies and TV shows that we think are totally worth watching. This week Stream On! recommends you check out the fabulous Roger Ebert documentary, "Life Itself," on Netflix. Plus, catch up on "Turn" Season 1 before the AMC Revolutionary War drama returns next month. And if you're searching for something fun and a little outrageous to indulge in, look no further than Comedy Central fave "Drunk History." Binge-watch responsibly. Stream on!
- 3/26/2015
- by Alana Altmann
- Moviefone
At a loss for what to watch this week? From new DVDs and Blu-rays, to what's streaming on Netflix, we've got you covered.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
"Into The Woods"
The Blu-ray release of this star-studded musical extravaganza has some cool extras, like a deleted scene featuring Meryl Streep singing Sondheim's "She'll Be Back," a doc about the production design and costumes, and even the option to watch the individual performances with the lyrics onscreen. Below, get an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at the special effects (and sneakers) used in the making of Disney's hit musical.
"The Thin Blue Line"
This game-changing documentary by Errol Morris has gotten the Criterion treatment, complete with a high-def digital transfer, an interview with Morris, and more.
"The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies"
The final movie in the "Hobbit" trilogy has arrived on Blu-ray. There aren't a ton of extras, but hey,...
New on DVD and Blu-ray
"Into The Woods"
The Blu-ray release of this star-studded musical extravaganza has some cool extras, like a deleted scene featuring Meryl Streep singing Sondheim's "She'll Be Back," a doc about the production design and costumes, and even the option to watch the individual performances with the lyrics onscreen. Below, get an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at the special effects (and sneakers) used in the making of Disney's hit musical.
"The Thin Blue Line"
This game-changing documentary by Errol Morris has gotten the Criterion treatment, complete with a high-def digital transfer, an interview with Morris, and more.
"The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies"
The final movie in the "Hobbit" trilogy has arrived on Blu-ray. There aren't a ton of extras, but hey,...
- 3/23/2015
- by Jenni Miller
- Moviefone
Read More: Steve James and Chaz Ebert Tackled 'Life Itself' If you're an experienced documentary filmmaker, Women In Film-Portland has an opportunity for you. Registration is open for the Oregon Doc Camp. Seasoned filmmakers will have the chance to experience a networking retreat to Silver Falls Conference Center at Silver Falls State Park in Oregon, where they'll have the opportunity to network, attend panels, workshop and pitch ideas. The keynote speaker for the 2015 Camp is award-winning documentary director Steve James ("Life Itself," "Stevie," "Hoop Dreams"). The event takes place May 29-June 1. To apply, click here. Read More: How They Funded It: 'Life Itself' Director Steve James Shares the Secrets to Crowdfunding Success...
- 3/9/2015
- by Travis Clark
- Indiewire
Chicago – Oscar! Oscar! Oscar! Say it three times to win it, and you’ll win every Academy Award pool you enter – at least for the nine categories covered here – if you follow the advice of the HollywoodChicago.com “experts.” We have the Oscar magic, so if you believe in it, then we deliver.
Three film writers of HollywoodChicago.com – Patrick McDonald, Nick Allen and Spike Walters – will not only predict Sunday’s big night, but will suggest choreography to Neil Patrick Harris for his opening number. The crew will opine on Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor/Actress and Director. As in previous years, the prognostications are broken down into thoughts on who Will Win, Should Win and Should Have Been Nominated (for one last gasp of dissent). The predictors will also take on a wild card guess for several other categories, and the latest odds on the rest of...
Three film writers of HollywoodChicago.com – Patrick McDonald, Nick Allen and Spike Walters – will not only predict Sunday’s big night, but will suggest choreography to Neil Patrick Harris for his opening number. The crew will opine on Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor/Actress and Director. As in previous years, the prognostications are broken down into thoughts on who Will Win, Should Win and Should Have Been Nominated (for one last gasp of dissent). The predictors will also take on a wild card guess for several other categories, and the latest odds on the rest of...
- 2/21/2015
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Cinematographer Michael Ballhaus talks about working with Rainer Werner Fassbinder in a generous excerpt from mono.kultur #19. More interviews in today's roundup: Cristina Álvarez López and Adrian Martin on audiovisual essays, plus Francis Ford Coppola, Spike Lee, Joe Dante, Ava DuVernay (Selma), Boyhood editor Sandra Adair, C.S. Leigh, Molly Ringwald, Approaching the Elephant director Amanda Rose Wilder, Life Itself director Steve James, Rian Johnson's recent conversation with Christopher Nolan, a special section on Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel and more. » - David Hudson...
- 2/17/2015
- Fandor: Keyframe
Cinematographer Michael Ballhaus talks about working with Rainer Werner Fassbinder in a generous excerpt from mono.kultur #19. More interviews in today's roundup: Cristina Álvarez López and Adrian Martin on audiovisual essays, plus Francis Ford Coppola, Spike Lee, Joe Dante, Ava DuVernay (Selma), Boyhood editor Sandra Adair, C.S. Leigh, Molly Ringwald, Approaching the Elephant director Amanda Rose Wilder, Life Itself director Steve James, Rian Johnson's recent conversation with Christopher Nolan, a special section on Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel and more. » - David Hudson...
- 2/17/2015
- Keyframe
Birdman The special features on this early release of Birdman are very limited as I assume Fox Searchlight wanted to get it on shelves before it won Best Picture at the Oscars this weekend and then move forward with a more "special" edition some time later down the line, though it seems to me that's an old school strategy that might not work as well any longer unless they go the Criterion route. How many people are really waiting for the special edition of something if it isn't something similar to the extended cuts of The Lord of the Ringsc I know there will be a few people, but I think studios are going to have to learn to start giving audiences the goods the first time out or their going to miss out. People are moving on rather quickly nowadays.
Game of Thrones: Season 4 With Season Five just around the corner,...
Game of Thrones: Season 4 With Season Five just around the corner,...
- 2/17/2015
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Mark Kermode on modern film criticism, critics of his own work, Michael Bay, Jason Statham and male oil wrestling.
The last time we spoke to Mark Kermode, he'd just launched his book about the state of movie criticism, Hatchet Job. Since then, he's embarked on a nationwide tour with the book, and undertaken dozens of Q&As with audiences about it.
And that, as Hatchet Job continues to thrive in paperback, is where we started...
I spoke to you just as you launched Hatchet Job, and in your words, since then you've "toured the arse off it". You've done Q&As with the people who've read your book, and who you wrote it for.
So what have you learned about what audiences feel regarding film critics, and where they sit in the world?
I think the most important thing was when I started writing it, I was, as you know,...
The last time we spoke to Mark Kermode, he'd just launched his book about the state of movie criticism, Hatchet Job. Since then, he's embarked on a nationwide tour with the book, and undertaken dozens of Q&As with audiences about it.
And that, as Hatchet Job continues to thrive in paperback, is where we started...
I spoke to you just as you launched Hatchet Job, and in your words, since then you've "toured the arse off it". You've done Q&As with the people who've read your book, and who you wrote it for.
So what have you learned about what audiences feel regarding film critics, and where they sit in the world?
I think the most important thing was when I started writing it, I was, as you know,...
- 1/28/2015
- by simonbrew
- Den of Geek
Spoiler alert, but Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) was, in fact, not my favorite film of the year. I figured I should just get that out of the way at the start for those of you who feared I might have the same #1 film as Brad and Mike, both of whom listed Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's latest as their favorite film from 2014. Don't get me wrong, I really liked Birdman, but in a surprise to even myself, it didn't make my list, which I think you can pretty much chalk up to the surprisingly good year 2014 wound up being. I was certainly among the scoffers last fall about it being a bit of down year, and just a month or so ago I was of the opinion 2014 offered a lot of films to like, but very few to love. After going through and finalizing my list, I'd like to retract that statement.
- 1/27/2015
- by Jordan Benesh
- Rope of Silicon
Just about every year, brilliant movies are utterly ignored by the Oscars. The Searchers, Groundhog Day, Breathless, King Kong, Casino Royale, Touch of Evil, Caddyshack, Mean Streets, The Big Lebowski, Blackfish — the Academy has a long history of overlooking comedies, action movies, horror flicks, hard-boiled genre pics, artsy foreign films, and documentaries that aren’t about World War II. Before the ceremony, we’ll be taking a closer look at films that were too small, too weird, or perhaps simply too awesome for the Academy Awards. These are the Non-Nominees. The film: Directed by Hoop Dreams' Steve James, Life Itself...
- 1/27/2015
- by Ariana Bacle
- EW.com - PopWatch
Two films forgotten by the Academy, the animated adventure "The Lego Movie" and the Roger Ebert Documentary "Life Itself," triumphed at the recently concluded 2015 Producers Guild Awards.
"The Lego Movie" took home the Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures for producer Dan Lin while "Life Itself" won the Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures for producers Garrett Basch, Steve James, and Zak Piper.
Meanwhile, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher, and James W. Skotchdopole took the Oscar glitter away from Richard Linklater's "Boyhood" when "Birdman" was awarded the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures.
The Oscars just got interesting! Will "Boyhood" triumph over "Birdman" at the Academy Awards?
In TV land, NBC was the big winner of the evening with two of their shows taking home trophies for Competition Television ("The Voice") and Live Entertainment & Talk Television ("The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon...
"The Lego Movie" took home the Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures for producer Dan Lin while "Life Itself" won the Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures for producers Garrett Basch, Steve James, and Zak Piper.
Meanwhile, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher, and James W. Skotchdopole took the Oscar glitter away from Richard Linklater's "Boyhood" when "Birdman" was awarded the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures.
The Oscars just got interesting! Will "Boyhood" triumph over "Birdman" at the Academy Awards?
In TV land, NBC was the big winner of the evening with two of their shows taking home trophies for Competition Television ("The Voice") and Live Entertainment & Talk Television ("The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon...
- 1/26/2015
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
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