S07 Fortune cookie #2—on fashion(able) criticism

After a couple hours up-down Main Street sampling the weave of swag and branding and “gifting,” this small thought: Fashion criticism often falls victim to fashion’s function in socializing and acculturation. If fashion bears the dual roles of self-expression and social registration, its criticism is inevitably a cultural criticism, addressing the abstract and applied terms of dress and appearance as a reflection of self-expression and self-confidence, but also implicating the terms of dress within the social contract. Fashion as a consumerist system exerts prodigious power; society, the entirety of our small and large social constructs, wields a like power over each client and potential purchaser… We expect fashion to be superficial, possessing beauty only in the limited category of craft/dazzle; we assume that fashion’s timely brevity is the soul of witlessness. (Richard Martin, “Addressing the Dress,” from “The Crisis of Criticism” (1998).)

S07 reviews: Chicago 10

“Look out, Haskell, it’s animated.” Brett Morgan’s The Chicago 10, aka Friends of Graydon Carter, continues the tradition of less-than-imperfect Sundance opening night attractions. Intercutting events on the streets of Chicago during the 1968 Democratic Convention and a recreation of the “Chicago Seven” trial of Yippie leaders Abbie Hoffman, Rennie Davis, Jerry Rubin,and others, the film makes a lurid, even fatal mistake: using crude, cheap-looking, never beautiful, merely illustrative videogame-style animation (with motion capture work as well) to capture the notorious courtroom theatrics. When you see footage of these young longhairs in all their indelicate stubbornness, especially Rubin in his red-yellow stripy jumper the colors of the Vietnamese flag, you look away from the failed anime and await the next burst of history. You can’t top the real stuff in the archival snippets: glimpses from the waterfront park of the John Hancock to the north, still under construction; a pale pair of martial shadows advancing against backlit teargas; a whip pan on Michigan Avenue that rests abruptly upon the dazed face of a pale young man with a high forehead riven and crusted with blood from his scalp; the vast jowls of the father of the current mayor, bleating about the threat of “terrorism” or smirking, “No, a snake dance never disturbed me”; Walter Cronkite, during the Convention week lockdown, stating flatly that the events are “about to begin in a police state. I’m afraid there is no other word.” It’s like seeing images from 1956 Budapest, except it’s the streets of the city I’ve lived in most of my adult life. Jeff Danna’s diverse, eclectic score stitches many rough transitions and boasts a few impressive passages of rangy guitar rock, as well as an ominous theme built on Philip Glass-like arpeggios as the riot starts to happen. The voice talent is largely mediocre and unsuited, seemingly chosen for their vantage to the reflective surface of Vanity Fair’s page including Mark Ruffalo, Hank Azaria, Nick Nolte, Jeffrey Wright, Liev Schreiber, and an unrecognizable Roy Scheider mewling as the doddering Judge Julius Hoffman. Almost, just almost, the fragments of historical material are pungent enough, iconic enough, to stand out against the underwhelming animation. It ain’t “Boondocks,” an accomplished feat of animation which is also far more incendiary and subversive while beguiling the eye. [At least one historical quibble: in a bit of testimony, reference is made to a “squadron,” when the correct word is “squadrol,” Chicago copspeak for police wagons.]

Sundance on Ice (Friday)

Sundance on Ice (Thursday)

Read the full article »

Sunderance: "Some mornings…"

SOME MORNINGS WHEN SUNLIGHT IS BRIGHT AND CLEAR, there’s a band of light on the south, bedroom wall in front of me, slicing beneath the venetians as through squinted eyes, and if the door is cracked more than slightly, I can into the next room, only part of one white wall and all of a white ceiling and on those mornings there is the flush of light followed by shapes of birds, or more properly, the Birds. The Birds circuit and spiral above the building, over the urban intersection, shadows like furious origami conveyed in flickery, reflected anime, avian Muybridge of piercing presence. They gather in hope of a market. They remember the market that’s gone; they can’t know a new supermarket is being built to replace the old one, the 1950s supermarket founded as an A&P. They expect flat roofs the span of a small beach, with irregular, shallow mirrors of sky from regular rain. That’s why the seagulls join the pigeons two, three miles inland from Lake Michigan. They recall the market, they expect the mirror. How easy it’s been to slip from lucid dreaming the past few weeks to morning light and into a metaphor for the braces, coveys, rookeries, sieges and flocks soon to circle baggage claim 8 at SLC then ascend I-80 up the hill toward Summit County and lodging and the Albertson’s off Park Avenue.

Read the full article »

S07 Fortune cookie #1—Joe Carnahan

“Commerce marches, Art wanders.” —Joe Carnahan.

Sun '07: begin the penguine

WEATHER FOR THURSDAY AFTERNOON on 7,000 foot elevation Main Street, Park City, about 35 miles up the hill from Salt Lake City: 17 degrees and partly cloudy. Lovely weather for penguin slapdown!

Knowing Dick: re-rating the MPAA

No, no, no, we never take advice, we never react, we are the sons of Jack Valenti, you’d think the MPAA would say in re: the ratings system, but it looks like Kirby Dick’s bullhorn got heard. In the wake of This Film is Not Yet Rated, writes Variety’s Pamela McClintock, the MPAA will be at Sundance tub-thumpingchanges to the film rating system that incorporate many of the suggestions in Dick’s doc. “Looking to reform and demystify the ratings system, the MPAA and National Assn. of Theater Owners are planning… changes, including a new admonishment to parents that certain R-rated movies aren’t suitable for younger kids, period.” The surge starts Monday at Sundance “when MPAA topper Dan Glickman and Joan Graves, chair of the Classification & Rating Administration, will meet with indie filmmakers, producers and specialty arm execs to go over the alterations.” When This Film was shown at Sundance 2006, McClintock avers, “Glickman had already been meeting with… various stakeholders [sic] in the ratings system—including filmmakers, guilds, parents’ groups and Washington lawmakers—but Dick’s film had an impact. “The documentary made it clear that we probably haven’t done as much as we can to explain how it all works,” Glickman [said], adding that the voluntary ratings system—devised and implemented by Jack Valenti, his predecessor—is a “gem,” even if it needs some polishing.” [Much like apples.] For the first time, CARA will post the ratings rules on the MPAA Web site, describing… The ratings and appeal processes also will be described in detail, along with a link to paperwork needed to submit a film for a rating… CARA will formalize its rule that a member of the ratings board doesn’t stay on the board after his or her children are grown.” [More particulars at the link.]

S07: empaneling the juries

Sundance ’07 announces its juries, highlighting these members: “Mos Def, Sarah Polley, Catherine Hardwicke, Carlos Sandoval, Raoul Peck, Carlos Bolado, Jared Hess, and Darren Aronofsky.” Among the other 24 are Alan Berliner, Jared Hess, Lauren Greenfield, Julia Reichert, Lynne Ramsay and U-Wei Bin Haji Saari. [Full press release with bios in extended entry.]

Read the full article »

Sponso®ing Sundance 2007: con and p®o

IT ISN’T MUCH, but it’s better than nothing in this cockeyed caravan: Over at indieWIRE, Anthony Kaufman leads the perennial charge against commercialism in the Wasatch range, as he composes “5 ironies of Sundance,” among which are the fact that experimental work will be shown on Park City’s Main Street at Sundance 2007. “Does it not strike anyone odd that Main Street, home to the horrible hawking of everything from movies to pet-food [sic], is the permanent home of Sundance’s new avant-garde space, New Frontier on Main[?] To see the Martha Colburn installation, you must suffer through countless filmmakers carrying masks, sandwich-boards [sic], bullhorns, etc, in [addition] to the rabble trying to get into some party at Cicero’s [sic] or Harry O’s, etc…I’ll never forget my days hiking up Main Street, trying to avoid the chaos as I try to catch some obscure entry from South Korea or Singapore.” Plus, harsher words against idle swagolatry®: “What the hell is gifting, and how has this new verb become such an integral part of the entertainment business[?] I just got an email for the “Gifting Lounge,” a place that has decided to take the high road and disguise its gross gluttonous impulse by giving celebrities a gift card so they can ‘select their own swag in the privacy of their own home.'” Also today: the Sundance Institute pr’s a few additional corporate sponsors to the festival itself, bringing the total to 20, including AOL, ABSOLUT®, EW, HP, KRUPS, VW, Adobe, Delta, AmEx, DIRECTV, Blockbuster, Aquafina, NY Times, Ray-Ban, L’Oreal Paris, Sony Electronics, Inc., Stella Artois®, Turning Leaf Vineyards, the Utah Film Commission and CESAR® Canine Cuisine. Sayeth Ken Brecher, Executive Director, Sundance Institute: “The sponsors are critical to the success of the Sundance Film Festival. Their continued support and dedication, enables Sundance Institute to present the work from the most diverse and original filmmakers from around the world. We are grateful to be able to work with a group of companies that support the mission and goals of Sundance Institute, and recognize the importance of art in today’s world.” [Full P.R. below.]

Read the full article »

S07: Cold with a chance of colder

Well, if it was below 0c overnight Friday in Santa Monica, why shouldn’t it be freezing up high up in the hillocks of Utah? [Full disclosure: Chicago is all about the purity of driven slush at this moment.] Here’s a link for up-to-the-minute weather reports for those who are about to chill.

S07: Swag the dog: no more heavy bags full of useless merchandise

A few days before Sundance and information is still king and Indie® is but a peasant: while sorting through a couple hundred emails about things other than the movies being shown in Park City, this “But How Do You REALLY Feel About Sponsorship and Swag?” entry stands up and salutes: the inauguration of the kinda-sorta anti-swag swaghouse. (Not all sentences are claimed to have been ever spoken aloud.) “ GIFTING LOUNGE CONGRATULATES DIRECTORS AT THE SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL. “For the FIRST TIME EVER, there will be a brand new way of gifting at the Sundance Film Festival. The Winter Warm Up Retreat invites filmmakers and their casts to come and enjoy the lounge while viewing new products that are being showcased. The Directors in the competition category will be congratulated for their achievements and gifted exclusively with high-end products. All attending press and celebs will have access to various products and services that will be offered on Luxestar. This is not your typical swag house. No more heavy bags full of useless merchandise, no more oversized clothing or oddly colored promotional items. Throughout the year we have spoken with celebrities and other VIP’s about their feelings on the new IRS restrictions and backlash that comes with receiving decadent items in public. After hearing the responses, the Luxestar Card was created… The enormous success of last years[‘] Self Magazine lounge, has urged us to step it up and offer every celebrity who visits the Luxestar Lounge one item only. The Platinum Luxestar Card. In addition to new products,” there’s a flipside, “The Freedom Campaign will [also] showcase the campaign for [Myanmar house-arrest prisoner of conscience] Aung San Suu Kyi and introduce Hollywood’s famed actors and actresses [to] the cause in Burma. All [attendees] will receive a signature Freedom Campaign t-shirt and trailer for [a] soon to be finished… documentary… [T]he Luxestar Card gives celebrities the chance to select their own swag in the privacy of their own home. Representatives will… guide guests through the LuxeStar website and even assist them in ordering items on the spot. They simply log on and pick their favorite size, color, style and have it shipped… For our high end products [and] services, taxes then become the responsibility of the celebrity only for what they select and not for what they are given. The celebrity also becomes a unique user [of] the Luxestar website offering them goods year round through the use of their LuxeStar card… [S]ponsors include BlackBerry®, C Magazine, Jaeger Le Couture, Monarchy Collection, Lolly Lu, [and] Snow Queen Vodka… Specialty cocktails will be provided [at a] Hollywood Happy Hour at the end of each day.” [Footnote: Snow Queen vodka is a Kazakh product, distilled five times for reasons unspecified.]

Counterindietuitive: IFC's Evan Shapiro speaks

Will IFC’s acronym become as distant a memory as what AT&T really stands for the in 21st century? [Indie fuckin’ controversies®?] Reports AP’s David Bauder,“For much of its life, the Independent Film Channel was essentially content to show independent films. That wasn’t enough for Evan Shapiro. Since taking over as general manager two years ago, he’s sought to establish IFC as a haven for free speech, a network that relishes taking on controversial issues. His slogan for IFC is “TV, Uncut.” “If cable does what broadcast cannot, IFC needs to do what cable does not,” said Shapiro… One example is the recent documentary, This Film is Not Yet Rated, that explores the politics behind Hollywood’s movie ratings system. [Shapiro] reasoned that “if we don’t do this, we don’t deserve to be the Independent Film Channel.” IFC is also financing and showing series. “I think we attract far more libertarians than any other classification,” Shapiro said. “Mavericks, independents, libertarians the stay-out-of-my-business mentality.” It took a marketer,” Bauder touts, “to understand that IFC, which began operating in 1994 and is seen in a little more than 1/3 of the nation’s television homes, hadn’t done enough to distinguish itself from rivals like Sundance and Bravo… “Evan has earned his indie cred and earned respect within the industry by the films that he’s putting his money behind,” [indieWIRE’s Eugene] Hernandez said. “At the end of the day, it comes down to the projects.” … “It’s not enough to just have a lot of films on your network,” Shapiro said. “You have to curate it.’ … “One in 10 Americans tell the other nine what to do… and I’d rather talk to the one than the nine. I’d rather make Napoleon Dynamite than King Kong.” [The press release is at the jump.]

Read the full article »

Indie® returns Sunday afternoon

Oh, WiFi. oh travel delays… A CRICKET IS A PROPHET WITHOUT A NATION and only the most modest of sandwich boards (with no subsidy from Lyndon LaRo*che, unlike this stalwart fella):

Lettting the scat out of the bag: Borat's boys speak

In the January issue of the WGAW’s monthly, Written By, John Koch and Borat co-writers Peter Baynham, Dan Mazer, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Anthony “Ant” Hines exchange over 5,000 words about how to write for the kamikaze Kazakh and a “new and exciting art form.” “Mazer, Baynham, and Hines constitute a small inner circle of writers with comedy carte blanche when it comes to writing with Cohen, a versatile performer and writer his team compares to Peter Sellers, Buster Keaton, and John Cleese… The Borat team obliged our request to publicly expose the fact that their work is written. It is ironic that a film so often referred to by the media as unscripted has writers writing on preproduction, during production, on location, postproduction, and even scripting original Borat bits for each of Cohen’s many television appearances. This… the first time they’ve spoken in-depth about their writing process.” Dan Mazer: “The film is quite pioneering and different, and I think we’re going to start to see lots of imitators now. What’s interesting is it’s taken us eight years to refine the art of doing it and knowing how to do it. It’s an incredibly difficult and unique skill, the actual writing of it…. We’ve helped craft what I think is this new and exciting art form.” Koch: “Sacha, what is it about these co-writers that you need for your process to work? What are their skills, what are their attributes?” Sacha Baron Cohen: I mean, what’s clearly obvious is they’re incredibly attractive. You’ve got Dan, who’s darker and swarthier. You’ve got Peter, who’s got everything that a middle-age woman can provide… And Ant-40, virile, and aerodynamic [i.e., shaved head].” … Dan Mazer: “The weird thing is, we have incredibly serious discussions about incredibly stupid things. Like, can we bring a shit down to a dinner table? We debated that for an hour.” … Ant Hines: “I’d say the unsung hero in this production is Jason Alper, the costume guy who provided that shit. He has a credit on the movie: FECES PROVIDED BY JASON ALPER.” [Much, much more at the link.]