Wow. I think David Lynch had a time machine and went back to 1944. This is simultaneously twisted and wholesome.
Thanks BoingBoing!
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Year: 2010
I blogged about this at this time last year. The National Film Registry just released this years films. And although we do have a real indie (The Exiles) and some amateur work in the 25 selected, the Amer-Indie wave of the last 20 years is still missing. We can do something about that. We can nominate films for the registry.
Write in to the Registry and suggest a film. Email them at:
sleg@loc.gov
In fact you nominate up to fifty! It must be at least ten years old. But let’s get started for oh ten.
The indie community needs to wake up to preservation issues. All the digi work is extremely vulnerable. There needs to be more of a discussion on this, and active effort of all to at least get to a film print (which can last 100 years vs. the 10 of digital formats).
Anyway: my recommendations this year are a lot like last years:
Melvin Van Peebles’ SWEET SWEETBACK’S BADASSSS SONG (1971)
Susan Seidelman’s SMITHEREENS (1982)
Bette Gordon’s VARIETY (1983)
Alex Cox’s SID AND NANCY (1986)
Spike Lee’s SHE’S GOTTA HAVE IT (1986 )
Hal Hartley’s THE UNBELIEVABLE TRUTH (1989)
Whit Stillman’s METROPOLITAN (1990)
John McNaughton’s HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER (1990)
Todd Hayne’s POISON (1991)
Hal Hartley’s TRUST (1991)
Gregg Araki’s THE LIVING END (1992)
Allison Anders’ MI VIDA LOCA (1993)
Ang Lee’s THE WEDDING BANQUET (1993)
Tom Noonan’s WHAT HAPPENED WAS… (1993)
Terry Zwigoff’s CRUMB (1994)
Greg Mottola’s THE DAYTRIPPERS (1996)
Neal Labute’s IN THE COMPANY OF MEN (1997)
Todd Solondz’s HAPPINESS (1998)
What are your recommendations?
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Film-based "Radio" Shows
With Sundance around the corner, many filmmakers are wondering how to get some publicity for their work. The great wide open of the internet has opened a host of new options. There are audio and video podcast shows all over the web. Some still are primarily radio based, others are purely internet. Whatever they are, they are the truly free filmmakers’ friends.
From an industry standard, the gold standard remains Elvis Mitchell’s The Treatment on LA’s KCRW, yet new podcasts and shows are leaping up all over. Some are going to give Elvis a run for his money. Okay, granted none have the audience level of Elvis’ show either, but it has got to build somewhere.
Savvy producers will keep track of these shows, not just for the information they deliver, but also to use for promotional purposes themselves. Some of these shows may only garner listener ship in the hundreds, but think of that as the hub of the wheel, with each listener speaking it up via six spokes and so on and so forth, and well that wheel can get pretty large.
I have not found a list anywhere of these internet and radio film shows and felt we could use one. I hope in this new year the community, the blogs, and the film support orgs join together and really dig up the info that is in our reach that could help lift us into something far more substantial than we are now. We can’t keep our words looping back among ourselves endlessly. We have to push it out of our house and into our friends’, neighbors’ and family’s.
Some shows I have participated in are:
Back By Midnight (here’s my show)
Film Courage (here’s my show — and btw, I was their 5th most listened to show of the year, but with your help I could easily catch #4)
I am going to do this one soon:
Others I know of but that they haven’t asked me on:
The Business (KCRW)
Film Snobbery (vpodcast)
The Film Talk
Film Week (So Cal Radio 89.3 KPCC)
The Indie Music Show (vpodcast that focuses on music but also has an indie film segment)
Other similar things filmmakers could do to gain exposure:
I am sure there are a lot more similar things out there. Let us know so we can build a comprehensive list together.
LA After Midnight has a good post about the next crisis. I wonder what can be done about this one…
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Legos!: Legos GO High Fashion
Everyone loves Legos — even faaanncy fashion designers. Although I the customs are definitely bowl worthy, it’s kinda funny how runway shows look as dull in legoform as they do in the real life too…
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Where The Rules Are Made
Are you going to make the rules or are you going to break the rules? Okay, so you don’t have to decide that today. We get it, but still, shouldn’t everyone get a peak inside and see how it’s done. Well, we are not going to do that. The best we can do today is go take a look inside the US Capitol. How about another virtual tour?
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Marching Orders For The New Year
For those of us that love diverse and ambitious work and/or desire a truly free film culture, this is what we need to do most now (IMHO):
1. Recognize the time we are living in;
2. Reposition our mindset;
3. Redefine our content;
4. Reorder our priorities;
5. Rebalance our emphasis;
6. Restructure Our Primary Business & Creative Relationships;
7. Create New Methods & Processes;
8. Create New Tools;
9. Work to make it better, together.
SIMPLE, right? !! I am sure you have some ideas on what we need to do on each of these 9 items. I know I do. I look forward to discussing them further with you in the new year. Thanks for all the help this past year in trying to figure it out.
And for those that didn’t help, I hope you do this year, or stop taking advantage of those that truly want a diverse and ambitious culture — just leave the field altogether. Time is short and there is a lot to do. No one can afford to be patient or silent any longer. Creativity can not be limited to the work itself; we need to create the world that will allow it to flourish for all.
