Monthly Archives: April 2021

television

ABOUT ENDLESSNESS

Leave a comment

Posted by Larry Gleeson

 

ABOUT ENDLESSNESS

Magnolia Pictures

Opening April 30th, 2021, in Theaters and on Demand

76 minutes

Swedish with English Subtitles

*2019 Venice International Film Festival –Winner: Silver Lion for Best Direction

A scene from ABOUT ENDLESSNESS, a Magnolia Pictures release.Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

SYNOPSIS: A reflection on human life in all its beauty and cruelty, its splendor and banality.

A scene from ABOUT ENDLESSNESS, a Magnolia Pictures release.Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

We wander, dreamlike, gently guided by our Scheherazade-esque narrator. Inconsequential moments take on the same significance as historical events: a couple floats over a war-torn Cologne; on the way to a birthday party, a father stops to tie his daughter’s shoelaces in the pouring rain; teenage girls dance outside a cafe; a defeated army marches to a prisoner-of-war camp.

A scene from ABOUT ENDLESSNESS, a Magnolia Pictures release.Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

Simultaneously an ode and a lament, ABOUT ENDLESSNESS presents a kaleidoscope of all that is eternally human, an infinite story of the vulnerability of existence.

A scene from ABOUT ENDLESSNESS, a Magnolia Pictures release.Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

Roy Andersson on ABOUT ENDLESSNESS

An interview by Philippe Bober

 

Some of the themes in ABOUT ENDLESSNESS are present in your other films: optimism represented by youth, but also war and despair, and the absence of God. Here you show a priest who doesn’t believe in God. Would you say there is always a balance between hope and despair?

Roy Andersson: The main theme of my work is the vulnerability of human beings. And I think it is a hopeful act to create something showing vulnerability. Because if you are aware of the vulnerability of existence, you can become respectful and careful of what you have.

I wanted to emphasize the beauty of existence, of being alive. But of course, to get that, you need to have a contrast. You need to show the bad side, the cruel side of existence.

Looking at art history, for example, a lot of paintings are very tragic. But even if they depict cruel and sad scenes, by painting them the artists have in some way transferred the energy and created hope.

For each of your films, you have taken inspiration from paintings. What were your influences for ABOUT ENDLESSNESS?

I am interested in the Neue Sachlichkeit artists because of the strength of their paintings. In my opinion, they are extraordinarily sharp and detailed: everything is in focus, everything is very clear and distinct. You can’t find this sharpness in film history: the background has to be out of focus. That’s why I find these paintings very inspiring for my scenes: everything is in focus, even the grotesque moments in life.

I am often very jealous of painting because I feel that film history doesn’t have the same quality as painting history. I really want movies to be as rich as painting can be.

Is there one specific painting that inspired you for this film?

I like Otto Dix’s “Portrait of the Journalist Sylvia von Harden” very much.

The Neue Sachlichkeit movement took place in the 1920s just before the apocalypse. Would you say that ABOUT ENDLESSNESS is also taking place just before an apocalypse?

I hope not. It would be very pessimistic to think we are living in such a moment. I don’t think even Otto Dix believed an apocalypse was coming, but he warned us about the possibility. All of his paintings can be seen as warnings. That is also true for the Old Masters, they portray our existence but also warn us about its briefness: “Let us remember that life is not eternal. And you have to be thankful for the time you have left.”

You also mentioned architecture as an influence, that the Swedish Functionalism movement of the 50’s was an inspiring aesthetic element for your films. What is the connection between functionalism and ABOUT ENDLESSNESS?

I had the ambition to show the existence in all its aspects: that includes functionalism, modernism, Stalinism. It’s a mixture of multiple ambitions to create houses, to create societies. I didn’t have the ambition to create a pure style, I wanted to show our time, and in Sweden, functionalism was very popular and used abundantly.

You have said that the presence of a narrator in the film is inspired by the character of Scheherazade in the Arabian Nights. Is this also why you chose a woman to be the storyteller?

Yes, that was a choice. I was hesitant: I tried with a man, and even with my voice but finally found it more interesting to choose a woman. She’s like a fairy, very clever, maybe even eternal. It is the first time that I have used a voice-over, it is new to me. I was influenced by the voice in HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR. In certain scenes, the main character describes what the audience sees on-screen at the same time. And I really loved it.

Your films always include historical scenes, why is it so important for you?

I’ve always been very interested in history. It was my major at university: I studied the history of literature, history of philosophy, even Nordic languages. I was especially interested in the two World Wars. For instance, I was fascinated by the pictures of WWI that I saw as a teenager.

In the film, the war scenes depict the losers. Why?

Yes, winners are not interesting. Because we are all losers in some sense. It is important to acknowledge that in the end, no one is a winner. I am not a pessimistic person but the fact is: there is no hope. Life is a tragedy. I’m not the first person to say it.

I thought it was about hubris, represented by Charles XII, or Hitler in your films.

Yes, in some periods in your life, especially when you’re young, you experience this hubris. You think you are invulnerable, that you will always win. That is very characteristic of young and strong people. I also experienced that feeling myself, especially when I was around 25 and had just made A SWEDISH LOVE STORY. That was my hubris period when I thought I would always be a winner, that I would never lose if I fought and worked hard enough.

I wanted to ask you about youth in your films: what does it represent for you?

It’s very beautiful, most of the time. I especially like to look at children because they are so full of ideas, hope, and vitality; it’s beautiful to look at. As long as you are young you keep this hope but then you lose it step by step, as you grow older.

For instance, I really like the scene showing the father and daughter in the rain, on their way to a birthday party. The father forfeits his umbrella to help her, an act of selflessness, whilst the daughter just wants to have her shoes tied, and that is so nice to see. Also, in the scene with the girls dancing, I think it’s very charming to see the vitality of these young people who are very happy to exist, they love to dance and so that is what they do. There is something contagious about their energy.

You have a very special sense of humor. What do you find funny?

I think truth is very often funny. When I started my career, I was inspired by Milos Forman, Jiri Menzel, and other Czech filmmakers. They showed us existence in a very humorous tone. Depicting people that are a little lost, so to say. Not losers, but a little lost. And I really like these films, showing us that kind of humor: small but very funny stories. A lot of filmmakers attempt to create this everyday humor, but it’s very easy to fail. I also fail many times, but I don’t give up.

Did you shoot everything in your studio?

Yes. Apart from one exterior, the scene with the German army marching, which was shot in Norway.

What were the most challenging scenes in the film, from a technical point of view?

It has to be the flying couple scene. Even setting aside the making of the model city of Cologne, it took us a very long time. The scale is maybe 1/200. For example, the Cathedral is half a meter high.

The whole city is an enormous set. It took a month to build.

What does this scene mean to you?

It is a terrible reminiscence from history: that a beautiful city was bombed and destroyed. But in spite of that, I wanted to show that life goes on. Love, tenderness, sensuality keep existing. It was important to show these sides of existence over a destroyed city.

Though you have these historical scenes, there is a sense of timelessness to your films and here it also ties into the title.

Yes, I wanted to have these scenes which are very close to being timeless though we see it is September or snowing or a historical scene there should be a feeling of timelessness. Again, I am inspired by paintings, and artwork that talks to us in our time talked to others two hundred years ago, or more. It suggests that we human beings are quite similar throughout the ages and time.

The “endlessness” of the title has nothing to do with the never-ending space. It is not in terms of science, endlessness in this film is about the endlessness of signs of existence, the signs of being human.

A scene from ABOUT ENDLESSNESS, a Magnolia Pictures release.Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

television

DELROY LINDO ACCEPTS AMERICAN RIVIERA AWARD AT THE 36TH ANNUAL SANTA BARBARA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Leave a comment

Posted by Larry Gleeson

Delroy Lindo received the illustrious American Riviera Award at the 36th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival, April 8, 2021, and was recognized for his many attributes to the art of film over the years, most recently, for his work in Spike Lee’s DA 5 BLOODS from Netflix.

Lindo virtually sat down with Indiewire Editor-at-Large Anne Thompson for an in-depth discussion about his career in film, television, and in the theater.

Here are some highlights from the conversation:

  • On working with Chadwick Boseman without the knowledge of his illness & a special request for Denzel Washington: “We did not [know what he was going through]. In retrospect, it adds another layer of I don’t know what. To the extent that it was an extraordinary experience, it adds another component to the specialness of the experience of making this work…I thought it [his work in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom] was terrific. I remember seeing that play and I am all for having his [August Wilson] work committed to film. I thought they did a wonderful job…I will say to you Denzel, I want to play Bynum Walker in Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. So, I have no clue if that will ever get to Denzel’s ear…But I’m putting it out there into the ether.”

 

  • On deciding what roles to take: “The question always is ‘who is this human being? Where is this person’s humanity? And can I inform humanity of who this person is? If the answer is yes, I feel I can contribute then I’m more apt to take the work on. If the answer is no and if for whatever reason the writing is stereotypical or cliche or I do not feel like I can contribute something then I’m apt to say no, to pass.”

 

  • On acting for television: “Television has been really important to me…The challenge of television for me is it is really fast so what I am challenged to do when working in television is prepare, prepare, prepare, prepare…because when one shows up on set, you have to pretty much be ready to work because the speed is, if you’re not ready, you’re going to have a problem.”

 

  • On why he hesitated to take the role in The Cider House Rules: “Mr. Rose impregnates his daughter…I was deeply uncomfortable with that whole narrative and what caused me to be able to do the work and play that part is because I found what I hoped would be the humanity in Mr. Rose…What I decided for myself was that I had a deep, deep, deep and genuine love for my daughter and that was real and that comes out in a scene between me and Tobey Maguire when I say to him, “I love her!”

During Lindo’s conversation with Thompson, numerous clips were shown from his acting career, including Malcom X, Crookland, Clockers, Get Shorty, Soul of the Game, Feeling Minnesota, Ransom, The Cider House Rules, Romeo Must Die and Da 5 Bloods.

 

Following the conversation, Oscar-nominated composer Terence Blanchard presented him with the American Rivera Award. Blanchard opened his remarks by saying: “The thing about Delroy is that he leaves an impression. The way he can effortlessly inhabit the characters, the authority in which he delivers his lines, the impact he leaves on a project, whether you remember the story or not, you definitely remember Delroy…He stands out in these vast ensembles…It is my great honor to present my brother, Delroy Lindo, with the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s American Rivera Award to Delroy. Congratulations!”

Upon accepting his award, Lindo said: “Thank you so much Terence…To the extent that I inspire you, I’m saying right back at you bro, you inspire me…I can’t imagine being more honored to get the award from you…Thank you to the Santa Barbara International Film Festival…I appreciate the recognition. That recognition comes all down to Spike Lee and him bringing us all together to work on this particular film. On a lot of levels, my appreciation for Spike stems from that time [1992]…I have a deep, deep, deep appreciation for Spike specifically for this film but also for all of the work that we’ve done. Spike, if you’re watching I want to say that I have an enhanced appreciation for your particular genius…I want to say thank you to my brothers, the cast and crew of Da 5 Bloods in terms of the community they created and the safe space that we all created together to make this work possible…A particular thank you to my brothers in arms…My cousins Ronnie and Ted, they were Vietnam veterans…and to all the black and brown vets who’s stories never get told on film…Thank you to my son…my son inspires me in ways that you never know…Thank you to my wife, Neshormeh, I love you…Thank you all, god bless. I really really appreciate it.”

The American Riviera Award was established to recognize actors who have made a significant contribution to American Cinema. Previous recipients include Renée Zellweger, Viggo Mortenson, Sam Rockwell, Jeff Bridges, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo, Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke, Robert Redford, Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, Annette Bening, Sandra Bullock, Mickey Rourke, Tommy Lee Jones, Forrest Whitaker, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kevin Bacon and Diane Lane.

 

The 36th Santa Barbara International Film Festival, presented by UGG, will continue through April 10th, 2021, online and with the two ocean-front drive-ins sponsored by TOYOTA. Tickets and passes are available at SBIFF.org.

About the Santa Barbara International Film Festival

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts and educational organization dedicated to discovering and showcasing the best in independent and international cinema. Over the past 35 years, SBIFF has become one of the leading film festivals in the United States – attracting 100,000+ attendees and offering 11 days of 200+ films, tributes and symposiums, fulfilling their mission to engage, enrich, and inspire the Santa Barbara community through film. In 2016, SBIFF entered a new era with the acquisition of the historic and beloved Riviera Theatre. After a capital campaign and renovation, the theatre is now SBIFF’s new state-of-the-art, year-round home, showing new international and independent films every day. In 2019, SBIFF opened its own Education Center in downtown Santa Barbara on State Street to serve as a home for its many educational programs and a place for creativity and learning.

#SBIFF, Santa Barbara International Film Festival

Chloé Zhao, David Fincher, Lee Isaac Chung, and Thomas Vinterberg receive the Outstanding Directors of the Year Award at SBIFF

2 Comments

Posted by Larry Gleeson

CHLOÉ ZHAO, DAVID FINCHER, LEE ISAAC CHUNG, AND THOMAS VINTERBERG ARE HONORED WITH OUTSTANDING DIRECTORS OF THE YEAR AWARD AT THE 36TH ANNUAL SANTA BARBARA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

The 36th Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) presented by UGG featured a tribute to this year’s recipients of the Outstanding Directors of the Year Award, sponsored by The Hollywood Reporter. Chloé Zhao (Nomadland), David Fincher (Mank), Lee Isaac Chung (Minari), and Thomas Vinterberg (Another Round) received their awards during the live virtual event and discussed their work with The Hollywood Reporter’s longtime awards columnist and host of its popular Awards Chatter podcast, as well as a professor at Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, Scott Feinberg.

Some of the highlights from the conversation included:

Chloé Zhao on connecting with Francis McDormand: “She’s so authentically herself and tries to live a life that’s authentic to herself. And she brings that with her to whichever character she plays. When we first met, we both took off our shoes and sat on the floor….that was pretty telling. We all know that she is an incredible actress, but for me it was most important for her ability to be vulnerable and to not always know the character in the moment, to not always know what’s going to happen and yet be completely present.”

When speaking about the film The Searchers, Zhao noted, “If there is a modern-day John Wayne, it is Francis McDormand.”

David Fincher on Mank and the script written by his father: “My father was sort of raised in movie theaters. He was a latch key kid during the depression in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and had a fairly difficult relationship with his father who drank a lot. My grandfather’s idea of taking care of little Jack was to leave him in a movie theater for the 11 o’clock, 1 o’clock, and 3 o’clock so he saw the dream factor of Hollywood as very much a safe place to sort of nestling in and spend one’s afternoons. Mank was a film that began with sort of a quest for a challenge, he was retiring and decided that he wanted to take a swing at writing a screenplay. He was the kind of person and writer who very much had a great deal of respect and almost awe for how screenplays were constructed. I mean that not in a highest-minded way, but he loved entertainment, he saw movies very much in the same way people now love television shows. So, for him, it was a way to go out into the world and to sort of experience anything else that was happening in Tulsa.”

Lee Isaac Chung’s objective of making Minari for his daughter: I came to a point in my work where I wasn’t sure of what I was doing, if what I was doing was really what I wanted to do, especially once my daughter came. I started to think more on the long term, what would it be that she’s watching based on work that I’ve made. That question stayed with me and haunted me quite a lot and so naturally I ended up coming to this point where I just started to want to make a film that she could have in the future. She was the age that the character of Alan [Kim] is in the story and that helped me kind of figure out how to write a story that’s told from her perspective and also captures a little bit of what I see in her.”

Thomas Vinterberg on filming Another Round during a personally challenging time: “As you know, I lost my precious daughter while making this movie and it has made this whole situation very different from anything I’ve ever tried and hopefully anything I’ll ever try again. It made this film precious to me. As we decided to make this movie for her. She died four days into shooting this film. She was supposed to be in it, she loved it dearly, she loved the whole project. Making this movie, I guess, kept me from insanity. The whole thing is inseparable from what we experienced with my daughter. All these people, including Madds, knew my daughter since she was born and we were all in grief, of course particularly myself and my family and we still are, and they carried me through, the actors and the crew of this film. There was so much love on the set, there was so much embracement and I hope you can see that on the screen.”

The honorees came together at the end of the discussion and spoke about what it’s been like meeting each other for the first time during this year’s award season and participated in a rapid-fire list of questions from Feinberg. Here are the top things we learned:

On their “Must Watch Film” this season:

  • Chloé Zhao – Ramin Bahrani’s The White Tiger

  • Lee Isaac Chung – Eliza Hittman’s Never Rarely Sometimes Always

  • Thomas Vinterberg – Sofia Coppola’s On the Rocks

 

On the one question they never want to be asked again about their current film:

  • David Fincher – Did the film have to be in black & white?

  • Chloé Zhao – Why isn’t this a documentary?

  • Lee Isaac Chung – Did I really feed my grandmother pee?

  • Thomas Vinterberg – Were the actors drunk on set?

 

On the first thing to do post-pandemic:

  • David Fincher – “To go back to movie theaters and fly.”

  • Chloé Zhao – “International travel, going back to China and eating the food I can digest.”

  • Lee Isaac Chung – “Drinking together again.”

  • Thomas Vinterberg – “To sleep a full night.”

SBIFF Executive Director Roger Durling provided glowing accolades to the recipients making filmic connections to their work that brought admiring smiles from me, Scott Feinberg, Chloe Zhou, and David Fincher. Thomas Vinterberg seemingly sat in a dumbfounded form of awe. Unfortunately, at the time of publishing, I did not have access to a clip that I might share as Durling is quite remarkable.

The Outstanding Directors Award was created to recognize a select group of directors who have pushed the boundaries in their storytelling and created films that showcase the art of filmmaking at its best.

The 36th Santa Barbara International Film Festival, presented by UGG, will continue through April 10th, 2021, online and with the two ocean-front drive-ins sponsored by TOYOTA. Tickets and passes are available at SBIFF.org.

About the Santa Barbara International Film Festival

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts and educational organization dedicated to discovering and showcasing the best in independent and international cinema. Over the past 35 years, SBIFF has become one of the leading film festivals in the United States – attracting 100,000+ attendees and offering 11 days of 200+ films, tributes and symposiums, fulfilling their mission to engage, enrich, and inspire the Santa Barbara community through film. In 2016, SBIFF entered a new era with the acquisition of the historic and beloved Riviera Theatre. After a capital campaign and renovation, the theatre is now SBIFF’s new state-of-the-art, year-round home, showing new international and independent films every day. In 2019, SBIFF opened its own Education Center in downtown Santa Barbara on State Street to serve as a home for its many educational programs and a place for creativity and learning.

#SBIFF, Santa Barbara International Film Festival

Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Mia Neal, Leslie Odom, Jr. + more receive the 7th Annual Variety Artisans Award at SBIFF

Leave a comment

Posted by Larry Gleeson

The 36th Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival presented by UGG continued with the presentation of and interviews with the recipients of the Variety Artisans Award, an honor that celebrates those essential to the filmmaking process and who have exhibited the most exciting and innovative work of the year in their respective fields. The evening is one of the most educational events of the festival serving as a primer for young people looking at the arts and crafts that support the film industry.

Nicolas Becker (Sound of Metal), Joshua James Richards (Nomadland), Donald Graham Burt & Jan Pascale (Mank), Alexandra Byrne (Emma), Alan Baumgarten (Trial of Chicago 7), Mia Neal (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Sean Faden (Mulan), Leslie Odom, Jr. and Sam Ashworth (One Night in Miami), Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (Mank) discussed their work, their influence and offered advice to the younger generation with dreams of breaking into the industry with Variety’s Senior Artisans Editor Jazz Tangcay. Clips from each of the films were shown in advance of the conversation. Following the conversation, David Wasco and Sandy Reynolds-Wasco presented the award to the artisans.

Some of the highlights from the conversation included:

Leslie Odom, Jr. on the genesis of Speak Now: “She (Regina King) showed us an early cut of her beautiful film and we went to work…We only had two weeks…If you use your time well a week is plenty of time, there is a lot of hours in a week. We just kept coming back to it and making it better every time we came back. Doing our best anyway, trying to be artisans, you know.”

Mia Neal on the research she did before starting work on Ma’s hair and makeup: “Ma is a very interesting character…If you think about, you know, this was a woman of color during the 1920s, probably the first generation born free from enslavement in her family to leave the rural south and to start to travel and be a blues singer and her lyrics very racy for the time. She had a husband and a wife. She didn’t follow the rules, she just set the tone. There aren’t many photos of Ma. I think there’s a total of 7 that exist in the world…A lot of our decisions were just based on descriptions that other people gave of her and then thinking about the psychology of her, just her life and where she came from and how she really recreated herself…Of course, I followed the leadership of Ann Roth, our costume designer, who through her research discovered that Ma Rainey wore horsehair wigs so we kept that authentic. Putting her in a fur coat in the summertime, that was like ‘okay, this woman follows absolutely no rules and social norms.’…Her clothing alone – whatever store that would’ve sold that clothing, they would not have allowed blacks in at that time but she still had it…It’s nice to have been challenged in that way where I didn’t have the photos…I really got to play more with this psychologically than normal.”

Mia Neal on the wig creation process: “Leah Loukas and I built over 100 wigs to bring down for the production. That was for the background, for Ma’s dancers, and then a separate set of wigs for the main principal characters…The horsehair wig came from Europe and it just came in a stalk. It had string tied around it and it was covered in manure and lice eggs, nothing active. It had clearly been stored away somewhere for a very long time because I had to peel it apart…The hairs were so wiry and thick that I could only fit one through the lace that I used to build the wigs on so the entire wig is single strand. I boiled it afterwards trying to clean it and clean it. I figured out that it softened the hairs once I boiled it, so I used that process to set the wig as well. I wish I would’ve timed myself…close to 80 hours.”

Trent Reznor on how their experience with Watchman helped their experience working on Mank: “From the timeline of things, we were deep in the world of Watchman when we knew Mank was coming out. Soul was also lingering around. We had quite a bit of time before we actually started working on these projects to deeply think about them and feel tremendous anxiety about them. We thought it [Mank] would require us, and it did, to move into a different lane that we’re not that accustomed to, in this case, every note being played by other musicians in an orchestral setting, in a different style, with the added challenge of it happening during a pandemic…An opportunity came up during Watchman where we needed the exact same thing [as we needed here with Mank]…so it was a good test run to see if we could pull it off and it worked out great and I think that experience gave us the confidence…that we can pull of the unique to us challenges. We can adapt into this new canvas. It greatly influenced how we approached the score writing for Mank.”

Atticus Ross on recording during the pandemic: “The challenge was there is no other option. We were lucky we had a very good team on this who helped put the musicians together, phenomenal musicians, probably the only bonus of the pandemic was there wasn’t a lot of music being recorded so we had incredible musicians at our disposal. Every part was recorded separately at home by the musician, our engineer would supply us with mics that would be transported from one place to another, sanitized, with instructions on how they should be set up to record. The sheet music obviously and then we basically just prayed to god that it would work out.”

Sean Faden on creating the epic battle scene: “We visited the Valley in the south of New Zealand in helicopters…We found a location that would work great for the open space. We knew if we added special effects steam…We ended up having 80 real soldiers for the imperial side and we had at most 67 horseman riders but in the end it had to look like at least 500 on each side…Sony Pictures Imageworks did that work. We started by creating soldier assets so we could replicate the soldiers. We built horses…We also needed to create the mountain that was going to be around it…I just used my iPad to sketch where the mountain would be…The reason why that sequence works well is because it was conceived as an epic battle that was not going to be gory…We used layers of steam to hide some of the violence so it was almost just suggested.”

Sean Faden on the transformation of Gong Li: “The one takeaway from the visual effects is there’s a lot of it, we did over 2,000 shots. Most of them are supporting the story and expanding the world that Niki [Caro] was creating…The scene plays out as one shot and the transformation is so subtle you almost have to play it back because there’s so many layers…The mandate for that was to make it subtle to make it beautiful…It was a challenge to create something that was that sleight of hand.”

Alan Baumgarten on his editing process: “I had the great gift of a wonderful script and great performances from our incredible ensemble cast…It’s just a matter of working my way through. Building it for the script and then finding the unexpected moments where we can explore and diverge from what was there on the page. I let the performances lead me. I find that when I’m working on a scene I really concentrate on that and I let the acting and the performance tell me which shot selection I want to be in and where I want to be for the emotional moments.”

Alexandra Byrne on changing Emma’s color palette changing with the seasons throughout the film: “I was talking to Autumn and we felt that because the story goes over a calendar year, we could use Emma as the central character to tell that story…By making her the pivotal role, and locating her palette in a seasonal palette, we could then really put the other characters in her context which is how she viewed the world and that everything was orbital to her existence. It just helped us contain what could’ve gotten out of control.”

On films that influenced and inspired them:

“My parents thought it was really important to take us to see Spike Lee movies on the weekends that they came out…I do remember Malcolm X being a high watermark for Spike as a filmmaker at that time. I think because I had a context for the filmmaker too, I knew a little of Spike, I knew a little of Denzel, so just to see them achieve new heights had a profound impact on me and I don’t think I’ve ever shaken that.” –Leslie Odom, Jr.

“I got hold of that Michael Jackson Thriller box set…it had the behind the scenes of Thriller… The other big one was Charlie Chaplin. The idea of the iconic always fascinated me.” –Joshua James Richard

“Raiders of the Lost Arc…blown away by the world that was created…It inspired me and I didn’t know I was going to get into visual effects or anything like that at the time but I knew there was a world for being creative.” –Sean Faden

Lawrence of Arabia…I was just astounded that this world existed. I’d never seen anything like it.” –Alexandra Bryne

“I was really into horror films growing up. It was something about that burnt face on Freddy Krueger…I was always fascinated like ‘how do they do that?’…The first film that really transformed me was Little Women…that movie made me feel different about this industry.” –Mia Neal

“…I have to go back to the movies with the soundtracks that impacted me the most which would be Good Will Hunting and Magnolia…The entire Magnolia soundtrack probably planted the seed that I’d want to make music for movies one day.” –Sam Ashworth

“Bladerunner…I think for me the most important is the real-life…My favorite film is life.” –-Nicolas Becker

“Birdman…it blew my mind…It was an eye-opener.” –Jan Pascale

“…In Cold Blood which scared me to death…When I went to college I remember seeing a movie called Eraserhead and I think that was the movie that made me turn the corner there.” –Donald Graham Burt

The 36th Santa Barbara International Film Festival, presented by UGG, will continue through April 10th, 2021, online and with the two ocean-front drive-ins sponsored by TOYOTA. Tickets and passes are available at SBIFF.org.

About the Santa Barbara International Film Festival

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts and educational organization dedicated to discovering and showcasing the best in independent and international cinema. Over the past 35 years, SBIFF has become one of the leading film festivals in the United States – attracting 100,000+ attendees and offering 11 days of 200+ films, tributes, and symposiums, fulfilling their mission to engage, enrich, and inspire the Santa Barbara community through film. In 2016, SBIFF entered a new era with the acquisition of the historic and beloved Riviera Theatre. After a capital campaign and renovation, the theatre is now SBIFF’s new state-of-the-art, year-round home, showing new international and independent films every day. In 2019, SBIFF opened its own Education Center in downtown Santa Barbara on State Street to serve as a home for its many educational programs and a place for creativity and learning.

#SBIFF, Maltin Award, Santa Barbara International Film Festival

BILL MURRAY ACCEPTS MALTIN MODERN MASTER AWARD AT THE 36TH ANNUAL SANTA BARBARA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, PRESENTED BY SOFIA AND ROMAN COPPOLA

Leave a comment

Posted by Larry Gleeson

The 36th Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival presented by UGG featured a tribute to Academy Award-nominated actor and American film legend Bill Murray, who received the prestigious Maltin Modern Master Award, presented by Sofia and Roman Coppola. Murray was recognized for his long-standing contributions to the film industry, most recently in the role of Felix Keane in Coppola’s On the Rocks opposite Rashida Jones and Marlon Wayans, for which he received Golden Globe and Critic’s Choice nominations.

Murray, above right, virtually sat down with Leonard Maltin, who returned for his 31st year to moderate the evening for an insightful conversation and look back at his career.

Highlights from the conversation included:

On who he enjoyed watching when he was younger: “To me it was more interesting was the people that I really didn’t quite understand when I was younger that later I got to really like. The person that jumps into my mind is Jack Benny who I thought was a little bit dry for a 10 or 12 year old, but later when I watched him I saw that he was daft. His timing was so precise, his face was such a beautiful photograph that I would turn on the TV and record him just to go back and watch him. I didn’t really care for John Wayne much when I was a kid. I thought he was kind of stiff but later I got to like him and watched him more. I thought he had extraordinary self control; he didn’t push it, he let the story come to him. Cary Grant is another one where people thought ‘well he’s just a really good looking guy,’ but I can watch, like most of the world, North by Northwest at any hour of the day. If it’s on the TV, I can’t not watch it. Part of it is Hitchcock, but Cary Grant is just stunning in that role and he does so many things. He is funny, he’s romantic, he’s heavy, he’s frightened. It’s a really nice performance and he did it all the time. Unfortunately, he had this beautiful body and handsome face and people didn’t take it seriously.”

On transitioning from improv comedy to film: “The most difficult thing is that when you tell a joke or say something funny and no one laughs for nine months, you forget and you have this incomplete feeling in your gut that something’s wrong. And when you go to the movie and you realize that I said something funny a long time ago and no one laughed. And then when you see it with an audience you think ‘oh thank God that’s over, what a relief that was.”

On filming Ghostbusters: “A script is two-dimensions, a script can be as good as can be, but when you enter the physical world and you have to stand, move, walk and talk, something arise that’s unexpected and unaccounted for and that’s where you make your bones; it’s what happens there. A movie that is sort of lifeless is one where sometimes the script is all you get and the actors don’t take into it all that’s happening in the moment of the real shooting…the more alive the scene becomes and the more alive the film becomes. That movie had great cinematography. Of course, László Kovács…you know a lot of special effects movies look pretty weak nowadays but that movie [Ghostbusters] still has a real look to it. It is pretty legit, it was ahead of its time, we had great special effects people. They were really good and László was really good. The four of us, Ernie Hudson, Danny and Harold, we knew we were gonna sink or swim together so we were always looking out for each other. We were constantly making sure that everybody was pumping and all getting it. As far as improvising goes, Harold was the mind of the Ghostbusters, Danny was the heart of the Ghostbusters, Ernie was the soul of the Ghostbusters and I was the mouth of the Ghostbusters.”

On his introduction to Wes Anderson: “My agent kept sending me cassettes of his [Wes Anderson] first film, Bottle Rocket. Finally, they sent me the script to Rushmore and asked me if I would like to meet him and I said that’s not necessary. He knows exactly what he wants to do. When I read the script, I thought this guy knew exactly what he was going to do. My agent asked well do you want to meet him? I said it’s not necessary, when do we shoot? Sort of like that.”

On writing and directing: “I really think of myself as I should be writing. I really do wish to be a writer. I can write dialogues and scenes, but to write a full-length anything is different…I just haven’t buckled down. I really do enjoy directing, and I thought I was going to do it all the time because I liked it. I liked working with actors and I thought I understood actors, I could do that. My life changed and to direct a movie it takes a long time out of your life to make. When it was time for me to continue directing movies, I didn’t have that time to give.”

During Murray’s conversation with Maltin, guests enjoyed nostalgic clips of his film career, including Caddyshack, Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, Lost in Translation, St. Vincente, On the Rocks, and more.

Roman Coppola, lower left, with sister Sofia Coppola, lower right, presented Bill Murray, upper right with the 2021 Santa Barbara International Film Festival Maltin Modern Master Award. Leonard Maltin, upper left, for whom the award is named after, moderated the tribute virtually on April 2, 2021. (Photo courtesy of SBIFF)

Following Murray’s conversation with Maltin, Sofia and Roman Coppola presented him with the Maltin Modern Master Award. Sofia opened her remarks by saying: “I’m so happy to join and present Bill with the Maltin Modern Master Award. It’s been fun to look at the clips from all the great films. Thank you for all the fun and love you bring to our lives through your work and as a person. It’s always fun making movies with you and thank you for helping me make the movies that I wanted to make. I’m happy to know you and have you in my family.”

Upon accepting his award, Murray said: “I’d like to say a few words before sentencing… it’s really an honor to receive the Maltin Milk award. When I heard I was involved in the award, I was taken by surprise, thinking that you had passed away. I had worked up so many nice things to say about you. But I was very happy to hear you were still alive. That’s my happy-sad moment.”

The Modern Master Award was established in 1995 and is the highest accolade presented by SBIFF. Created to honor an individual who has enriched our culture through accomplishments in the motion picture industry, it was re-named the Maltin Modern Master Award in 2015 in honor of long-time SBIFF moderator and renowned film critic Leonard Maltin. Past recipients include Judy Garland, Brad Pitt, Glenn Close, Denzel Washington, Michael Keaton, Bruce Dern, Ben Affleck, Christopher Plummer, Christopher Nolan, James Cameron, Clint Eastwood, Cate Blanchett, Will Smith, George Clooney and Peter Jackson.

The 36th Santa Barbara International Film Festival, presented by UGG, will continue through April 10th, 2021, online and with the two ocean-front drive-ins sponsored by TOYOTA. Tickets and passes are available at SBIFF.org.

About the Santa Barbara International Film Festival

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts and educational organization dedicated to discovering and showcasing the best in independent and international cinema. Over the past 35 years, SBIFF has become one of the leading film festivals in the United States – attracting 100,000+ attendees and offering 11 days of 200+ films, tributes and symposiums, fulfilling their mission to engage, enrich, and inspire the Santa Barbara community through film. In 2016, SBIFF entered a new era with the acquisition of the historic and beloved Riviera Theatre. After a capital campaign and renovation, the theatre is now SBIFF’s new state-of-the-art, year-round home, showing new international and independent films every day. In 2019, SBIFF opened its own Education Center in downtown Santa Barbara on State Street to serve as a home for its many educational programs and a place for creativity and learning.

#SBIFF, Santa Barbara International Film Festival

SBIFF Modern Master Award Goes to Bill Murray

Leave a comment

Posted by Larry Gleeson

Academy Award-nominated actor and American film legend Bill Murray received the prestigious Maltin Modern Master Award at the 36th Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) Friday, April 2, 2021, in a live virtual tribute for his long-standing contributions to the film industry, most recently in the role of Felix Keane in Sofia Coppola’s ON THE ROCKS opposite Rashida Jones and Marlon Wayans, for which he received Golden Globe and Critic’s Choice nominations.

After an exceptionally riveting musical score accompanying the introductory frames, SBIFF Executive Director Roger Durling introduced the tribute that “honors an individual who has enriched our culture through accomplishments in the motion picture industry,” remarking Murray has been a Maltin Modern Master for years and this year was the year SBIFF bestowed the honor before giving way to the event’s moderator, Leonard Maltin.

In turn, Maltin introduced Murray including a montage of clips providing a warm fuzzy retrospective with some of Murray’s more memorable characters. Laments of not having an audience registered.

 

Nevertheless, hearing and listening to these two motion picture industry giants discussing a career that spans five decades with background details and anecdotes of Murray’s career was not diminished in the virtual format. Quite the opposite as Sofia Coppola popped in with an effervescence followed closely by her brother, Roman Coppola. As the Coppolas joined the conversation so did a wave of nostalgia as though the passing of the torch was occurring between generations.

The Maltin Modern Master Award is the highest award SBIFF bestows and Bill Murray was given his due this evening for decades of entertaining audiences across the globe.

Leonard Maltin celebrated his 31st year moderating at SBIFF. And, the Coppola siblings, Sofia and Roman, added a depth of presence to the special moment in time.

The event was presented by the Manitou Fund.

The 36th Santa Barbara International Film Festival, presented by UGG, will continue through April 10th, 2021, online and with the two ocean-front drive-ins sponsored by TOYOTA. Tickets and passes are available at SBIFF.org.

television

Made For Love

Leave a comment

Posted by larry Gleeson

Based on the novel by Alissa Nutting, the MADE FOR LOVE comedy series is a darkly absurd, somewhat dystopian, and cynically poignant story of love and divorce following Hazel Green (Cristin Milioti), a thirty-something woman on the run after 10 years in a suffocating marriage to Byron Gogol (Billy Magnussen), a controlling, Orwellianesque tech billionaire.

Cristin Milioti, pictured above, stars as Hazel Green, a thirty-something woman on the run after 10 years in a suffocating marriage to a controlling tech billionaire who has implanted a monitoring device – the Made for Love chip – in her brain, allowing him to track her, watch her, and know her “emotional data” as she tries to regain her independence. (Photo courtesy of Warner Media)

In a nutshell, Hazel discovers that her husband has implanted a monitoring device – the Made for Love chip – in her brain, allowing him to track her, watch her, and know her “emotional data” as she tries to regain her independence. Through the chip, Byron’s able to watch Hazel’s every move as she flees to her desert hometown to take refuge with her aging widower father Herbert (Ray Romano) and his synthetic partner, Diane.

Cristin Milioti, pictured above, stars as Hazel Green, a thirty-something woman on the run after 10 years in a suffocating marriage to a controlling tech billionaire who has implanted a monitoring device – the Made for Love chip – in her brain, allowing him to track her, watch her, and know her “emotional data” as she tries to regain her independence. (Photo courtesy of Warner Media)

Milioti is a compelling screen presence force as Hazel and comes across as a female embodiment of a mega superstar Tom Cruise.

In addition to Cristin Milioti, Made for Love starts Billy Magnussen as Byron Gogol, the controlling tech billionaire. husband. Other actors include Dan Bakkedahl, Noma Dumezweni, Augusto Aguilera, Caleb Foote, and Ray Romano.

The series is executive produced by Christina Lee, Alissa Nutting, Patrick Somerville, Dean Bakopoulos, Liza Chasin, and SJ Clarkson. Christina Lee is the showrunner and Paramount Television Studios is the studio. Stephanie Laing directed the pilot and is a Co-EP. The season was directed by Laing and Alethea Jones.

Made for Love premiered on HBOMax on April 1st, with episodes 1-3. Episodes 4-6 of the Max Original are set to debut on April 8th, and the season concludes with two episodes scheduled to drop on April 15th.

Excellent writing, strong narrative, well-executed comedic timing, the high-tech futuristic setting, and the highly compelling work of Milioti make Made for Love the HollywoodGlee Critics Choice for this week’s episodic viewing!