Peace, Love and Movies

Getting ready for Sundance 2012

2012-01-13T13:04:00.001-08:00

Sundance 2012 is starting in just a few days. Look for my daily blogs coming to you from the snowy resort town of Park City starting Friday January 20. So many movies, so many parties, so little time... The days will be packed and you can hear all about it right here. See you in a few days!

Final Few Thoughts

2011-01-31T03:44:00.000-08:00

Now that I'm back home and finally recovered from the Sundance frenzy I think back about the films, the people, the atmosphere. .. the highs and the lows, the successes and failures. Many are saying that this year was one of the best Sundance they have seen in awhile, and I certainly concur. The films were diverse and provocative, the filmmakers were exciting, the panels were strong and thoughtful and the overall lineup was high in quality and fresh in its approach.

But before talking more specifics about Sundance I'd like to point out something about Slamdance, a smaller more independent film festival that takes place right there in Park City during the Sundance Film Festival. Slamdance is held in one location only, all the way on the top of Main Street, with 2 screening rooms, one venue for panels, and of course, venues for parties. It is young at heart, low in budget and edgy in its approach. This year the programmers took some new risks and programmed a few films that have already screened at other festivals, which was a first for Slamdance. Among those films was Stranger Things, a small and wonderful indie film that world premiered at the Woodstock Film Festival this past fall and ended up winning the Lee Marvin Award for Best Feature Narrative. Well, lo and behold, this little film also won the Grand Jury Prize at Slamdance! I'm so thrilled for the two young directors, Ron Eyal and Eleanor Burke. Its a great validation of their talent and their work and hopefully will help propel them towards continued work and continued success. So here is to you Ron and Eleanor, and here is to you Slamdance programmers for spotting talent and taking a film that has already screened elsewhere! Your decision paid off!

Back to Sundance. This year is going to be known as one of the best for acquisitions. 27 films sold before I left Sundance with a few more days left for additional acquisitions to take place. And without a doubt more acquisitions will occur after everyone has gone home and the frenzy calmed down.

Many of the films we're associated with have been acquired by distributors. From Carly Hugo's Hot Coffee which was bought by HBO to Martha Marcy May Marlene which was bought by Fox Searchlight; and from Pariah (produced by Joey Carey, son of long time Woodstocker Tobe Carey) which was bought by Focus Features to Morgan Spurlock The Best Movie Ever Sold which was bought by Sony Picture Classics and Salvation Boulevard written by Woodstocker Larry Beinhardt which was sold to IFC and Sony. Buyers felt confident this year, noting the quality of the filmmaking and the level of acceptance of quality independent films by the wide audience. Just look at this year's nominees for Academy Awards. Many of them world premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, including The Kids Are All Right and Winter's Bone.

Awards night has also recognized some of the more outstanding films at Sundance this year, including films by WFF alums and friends, such as Martha Marcy May Marlene, Buck, Kinyarwanda, If a Tree Falls and Black Power Mixtapes 1967-1975. Congrats to all.

On the way back home from Sundance I met a documentary filmmaker and journalist who attended Sundance for the first time. She attended without a film, but rather in order to have a meeting with potential funders who, if the meeting was successful, would fund her film in full. Coming back to NY on the plane with me she was very happy as the meeting was a big success and the deal was sealed. I was reminded that there are many reasons for people to make the trip to snow Park City each January. Some are premiering their films, others are buying or programming those films, and others are there to meet those who will help them start a new film. Those are only a few of the reasons that people fly to Park City from all corners of the country and the world each year, there are countless more. Each year these type of people will make that trip, and each year I wish them all great success and hope that some of them will make a stop also at the Woodstock Film Festival a few month later, and / or shoot their next film in the Hudson Valley. Until then - do good work everyone and see you at the movies.

Getting Ready to Leave Sundance

2011-01-26T23:34:00.000-08:00

Its the last night. In a few hours it will be time to leave Park City behind. Been here for a whole week, Thursday to Thursday. When you're in Sundance you forget sometimes that there is a whole wide world out there, a world filled with many things that have nothing to do with film... State of the Union happened while we were here; revolution in Egypt... but while here all I do, think, sleep, talk is film film film...

Saw many good movies (and some not so great...) and talked to endless amount of people, but only weeks and months after Sundance will I know how fruitful its all been as there will be much follow up from now on.

This morning's film was about the market crash, possibly the first film about the subject. Margin Call, starring Kevin Spacey and Paul Bettany is a strong and eerie film about the sudden collapse of a financial company and all the corruption, implications and devastation that went along with it.

Another film, a doc, about corporate abuse and the legal system was Hot Coffee, a strong and moving film that is also quite educational, I saw quite a few things there that I was not entirely aware of before.

By contrast another movie I saw today, Pariah, a narrative about sexual identity of a black lesbian teenager and the conflicts and relationship between her family was rough, raw and strong.

Rounded it up was The Convincer starring Greg Kinnear, a fun and quirky journey of a insurance sales agent taken over by grid, with a surprising ending.

But the best part of the day was the night's BMI's Snow Ball. The evening featured a series of performances by different artists, with an rousing finale by Robert Randolph and the Family Band. That was GREAT.

And now its time to say good bye. Once I get back to snowy Woodstock I'll go over the past week and see if I can come up with a wise recap. Until then, see you at the movies.

Sundance tid bits

2011-01-26T05:37:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow we're going back to Woodstock. Thinking back, I remember fondly a few moments here and there. Like my conversation at the Higher Ground party with Vera Farmiga, along with her two sisters, including Taissa Farmiga who plays beautifully the young Vera in the film. The conversation was philosophical, discussing the essence of the film - a brave journey of self discovery within the closely knit community of evangelical christians.

Or the dinner at Claude and Brice Dal Farray, producers of Higher Ground. A fabulous home made dinner in their gorgeous condo in the midst of all the whirlwind here in Sundance was the perfect break from the never ending frenzy of activities here.

Or the chance encounter with Robert Randolph, the incredible musician, while at the famous BMI dinner here. This dinner is known for its musical chairs, where by after each course everyone is given a random number and gets up and moves to another table, thus changing completely the people they are seating with. Its a great dinner and a wonderful opportunity to meet people.

Among the never ending frenzy here in Park City of running around from venue to venue, brief moments like these provided much appreciated respite.

JUST AS YOU GET USED TO IT, ITS ALMOST TIME TO LEAVE

2011-01-25T14:19:00.000-08:00

It seems as if we have been here forever. Even those I have never seen before are now familiar faces, going to the same movies, hanging at the same parties... after days at Sundance the film community here of thousands of filmmakers had become a family...and soon it will be time to go...

At this point I have seen a good number of films and have heard a lot about many more. As always, much of the buzz revolves around the documentaries. Buck, The Last Mountain, Sing Your Song, When a Tree Falls, Front Page, Project Nim, The Greatest Movie Ever Sold... the list goes on and on. Those that I did not get the chance to see here I'll make sure to see soon after.

In the meantime the narratives are also strong and diverse, with many finding homes with distributors almost as soon as they have world premiered here. Some of the acquisitions I'm excited about include My Idiot Brother, Martha Marci May Marlene, Homework, Margin Call and more. Other films that have gotten great reactions and will hopefully get acquired soon include Higher Ground and Salvation Boulevard.

Its interesting how many films this year deal with religion, cults and individual's relationship with those cults. I can count at least 4 - Salvation Boulevard, Higher Ground, Martha Marcy and Red State. I wonder what it says about the state of independent filmmaking today, and more importantly, about our society today. Usually current trends of filmmaking are a reflection of the current state of our society...

When Kevin Smith's Red State premiered a couple of days ago there were demonstrators outside the Eccles theater who lined up hours before show time; some against the film and its subject, others for it and for the protection of freedom of speech (and those were high school kids! It was great to see them!). Smith announced right after the screening that he will distribute Red State himself (sending some angry distributors out of the room while generating cheers from many of the filmmakers in the 1300 seat theater…). With that Smith joined the independent filmmaker's growing trend of self distribution. And so according to what he said the film will have its first screening in NYC's Radio Music Hall this coming March.

Of course, there wouldn't be Sundance without the endless amount of parties and dinners - some are great ones, and some that aren't the best... but its always this way. There are always some parties where so many of those you have been wanting to talk to are there, and the food and drinks are great; and other parties where you're not sure what you are doing there and you leave quickly...Among my favorite parties so far have been HBO, Cinetic, Higher Ground...I look forward to BMI's dinner, NY's party and couple more.

Until next time

AND THE MARATHON GOES ON

2011-01-22T23:58:00.000-08:00

Another day in Park City, another marathon of screenings and extra curiculum activities. First thing in the morning I headed out to Headquarters (mind you I get up at 5 am in the morning, so heading to headquarters at 8 am is not first thing really, but rather the first thing I do when I go out...) to secure new tickets for public screenings at the press office. Managed to get tickets to Kevin Smith's new film Red State, a film that EVERYONE here is dying to see, and Salvation Boulevard. Soon after I headed to the Eccles to see the 9 am premiere of Tom MacCarthy's (who did Station Agent and The Visitor) new film Win Win. I saw the premieres of his previous films in Sundance, and was looking forward to seeing this one as he's such a wonderful director. Thankfully I was not disappointed. The film was fun, warm, quirky, smart and extremely well crafted and acted. The cast was excellent and I especially enjoyed Alex Shaffer, a new comer who reminded me of Paul Dano a bit. I have no doubt that this young man will go far.

Walking back to headquarters following the screening the snow was coming down, gently at first, then heavier and heavier, and pretty soon I was covered with the white stuff. Strange how it does not bother me here the way it does in NY...There is something about being in a ski resort that allows me to enjoy the cold and snow rather than suffer from it...

Hanging at Headquarters here, as well as the various other filmmakers and industry gathering venues throughout town is always fruitful as you are bound to run into old and new colleagues on every corner and at any given time. Its always good to reconnect as it is to make new contacts, and here in Sundance its easy to do both.

One of today's good afternoon parties was the NYU party. Great drinks, great food and good industry presence. Later on at the Sundance Channel event I was glad to see Jonathan Sehring, head of IFC Entertainment and a former honorary recpipient of our Trailblazer Award.

Later on I was able to catch the film Tryannosaur, a terrific British film, dark, intimate, emotionally charged and extremely well acted.

Soon after I headed back to the Eccles to see the premiere of My Idiot Brother, a charming family comedy that was truly entertaining endearing and should do very well in the box office. But first I hope it will do well with the buyers here, we'll soon know.

Back in Main Street my colleagues and I hit the parties again, always with the goal to promote WFF and HVFC and the Hudson Valley in general. And so we stayed out there until we could do no more, our eyes were closing and our bodies began to freeze as the temperature outside dipped well below freezing. And so we ended up going back to the hotel. Hopefully I'll be able to catch a couple of hours of sleep now as tomorrow, Sunday, is going to be the busiest day!

Good night for now.

MOVIES AND MORE MOVIES

2011-01-22T05:43:00.000-08:00

What is the difference between a documentary about Harry Belafonte and a fictionalized film about a recovery from life in a cult? EVERYTHING.

Sing My Song, co-produced by Sage Scully who produced Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune which screened in the 2010 Woodstock Film Festival is an inspiring documentary about the life and time of Harry Belafonte. Passionate and proactive in American Civil Rights movement for decades as well as social justice throughout the world, Belafonte's spirit comes to life on the screen, empowering and inspiring, and hopefully moving the younger generation of potential activists to step up. This tireless pursuit of justice and equality, coupled by footage from some of Hollywood's earlier and more colorfully wonderful footage, makes the film a joy to behold and an inspiration to experience.

Following Sing My Song I went to see Martha Marcy May Marlene, a film that was shot in Upstate NY. There has been growing buzz about the film here and since we know so many people in the film I was anxious to see it. And boy, was I glad I did. First of all, Elizabeth Olsen's performance was AMAZING. It made me think of the year when I saw Vera Farmiga in Debra Granik's Down to the Bone. For Vera this performance was her breakthrough and turning point, and my sense is that the same will happen for Elizabeth Olsen in Martha Marcy. The film itself was crafted beautifully, with excellent cast, thoughtful cinematography, great, eerie sound track and carefully nuanced pace that takes you along a spiraling journey that is both frightening and insightful. Its a dark film though, we'll see who it will be acquired by.

In between films there are always parties of course. Yesterday there was US Weekly's party celebrating the publication of our good friend Thelma Adam's book Playdate, IFP's 7 Faces to Watch Party, Israel's Consulate Party, Various films parties, and on and on.

With the weather continuing to be nice (coming from NY, things are always relative...), today promises to be super busy everywhere as the first weekend of Sundance begins. Lots of premieres are afoot and lots of parties are ahead. I'm off to headquarters to get some more tickets for public screening and then off to hit the theaters once again.

Day One

2011-01-21T05:56:00.000-08:00

While the flight from Newark to Dallas (our first part of our connecting flight to Utah) was literally empty, with each one of my co-travelers having a 3 seat row to herself (they slept, I worked...can't sleep on planes...), the flight from Dallas to Salt Lake was overbooked. But there almost everyone was heading to Sundance. First person I ran into was Elizabeth Olsen,one of the stars of Peace Love & Misunderstanding which shot in Woodstock this past summer. She was heading to Sundance with two films, including Martha Marcy May Marlene. It was so nice to see her there, in different setting. I remember how nice she was when she was shooting in Woodstock (I did background work on some of her scenes and was struck then by how friendly, nice and talented she was), and I look forward to seeing her today, Friday, in Martha Marcy. She was laughing at the stark difference between these two films, one so sweet, funny and warm, and the other so dark... both are supposed to be very good.

Others we talked to on the plane were friends of Larry Fessenden who were in his film Bitter Feast which we showed in Woodstock last year, they are in a short film here this year; a couple of film financiers and music promoters from Florida (would be nice to connect them with Woodstock), a filmmaker from India with a feature in Slamdance, and that is just what I can remember off hand...it was a fun flight, though super crowded.

Getting into headquarters in Park City later than day I ran into a ton of industry friends from all over the country, which is always a good way to start another Sundance. I was happy to get both my industry and press credentials in record time, and was off to main street with my colleagues to have dinner with friends on the sparkly and festive Main street, including the wonderful WFF's long time sponsor Doreen Ringer Ross of BMI, producer Anne Walker - McBay, director Alex Holdridge and others. I expect this to have been my last and only real meal while here, so it was a good way to start Sundance this year.

Now, Friday morning, I'm off to see a couple of Press & Industry screenings and then to the premiere of Martha Marcy., followed by a slew of parties and more screenings. Will see how much I can cram into the next 20 hours before I try to catch another couple of hours of sleep.

Until next time., regards from beautiful Park City, this week's capital of independent film!

OFF TO SUNDANCE

2011-01-20T15:01:00.000-08:00

Ever since the Woodstock Film Festival was launched in the fall of 2000 the January trip to snowy Park City, Utah has become my annual tradition. Sundance is the launching pad for many emerging and established filmmakers world wide and marks the starting line for a new and exciting crop of films for the given year. Many of these films, seen for the first time by thousands of key taste makers, will go on to garner multitude of coveted awards throughout the year and will be regarded as some of the most evocative, creative and innovative films of that year. The sense of discovery, sitting in the darkened theater, surrounded by all the key distributors and industry members, and seeing an exciting film for the very first time is unparalleled. It is that discovery of an unexpected gem that will later make its way to hundreds and thousands of screens and move millions of hearts that is truly most special. Past films such as Winters Bone, Precious and Memento come to mind.

I’ve traveled to Sundance alone and I have traveled with company. I stayed alone in a hotel room and I stayed with a large group in a condo. Naturally its easier to travel with colleagues, and this year I’m fortunate to travel with both Ilene Marder, our Communication Director and board member, and Heidi Johnson, our Office Manager and Operations Director, as well as friend and colleague actress Reagan Leonard. And I am to meet up with colleagues Katie Cokinos and Anne Walker - McBay of Richard Linklater’s Slacker (which is screening at Sundance’s Collector’s Circle program this year). This should make the trip easier and more fun and I hope we’ll all accomplish a lot and enjoy doing it.

After many preparations, research of the films shown at the festival, connecting with a litany of people from all corners of the country and the world, rsvping to many party invites, setting up some press interviews (for Huffington Post video along with journalist Stewart Nusbaumer) and mapping out the parties and screening schedules, sending off the invite to our Breakfast Party at the NY Lounge in Sundance, and packing lots of warm clothes, I’m finally ready and on my way.

Many films in Sundance and Slamdance have connection to the Woodstock Film Festival and / or Hudson Valley Film Commission which is very exciting. So included in all the films I need to see as I seek out exciting new content for WFF’s year round programming or the upcoming Film Festival this September there will be many films with connections to us.

Some of the highlights include Higher Ground which was shot in the Hudson Valley, directed by and starring the wonderful Vera Farmiga (very excited about going to the premiere Sunday at the Eccles). The comedy My Idiot Brother produced by WFF’s advisory board member and good friend Peter Saraf; Martha Marcy Mary Marlene produced by WFF’s advisory board member and good friend Tedd Hope with sound design by Woodstocker Coll Anderson; Salvation Boulevard based on the novel by Woodstocker Larry Beinhardt and much more. I look forward to seeing them all with the hope of bringing many of them to the Hudson Valley.

And so with jam packed schedule of activities all planned (though I know it will all change once I get there…all good plans do…), the goal to promote the Hudson Valley in general and WFF and HVFC in specific, and the hope to bring films, filmmakers, press, sponsorship and new industry connections, I’m prepared to give up sleep for the next week and embark on yet another snowy Sundance.

Getting ready to leave

2010-01-27T23:29:00.000-08:00

The time has come to pack up and leave Sundance 2010. At the last party I went to, a nice, small gathering at a private condo thrown by the Zipline company (a new marketing, publicity and distribution company that has set new models here in Sundance with films such as Bass Akward), we all got to have real conversations with people rather than yell at each other's ears, as we do in some of the big, crowded and loud parties. Conversations were about war movies (Restrepo, The Dry Land), about new trends of distribution (Do It Yourself, youtube, itune, amazon...etc) and about the end of the era of large studios...It was a good way to bring Sundance to an end.

In the past few days I have seen many films, including Welcome to the Rileys with Melissa Leo, James Gandolfini and Kristen Stewart. The cast was great and the story intimate and tight. It was good to see Melissa shine again. I also finally got to see Leon Gast's film Smash His Camera - terrific film, masterfully done! I loved it. I saw it at a P&I screening and was pleased to see that the audience, made of industry and press, stayed with the film throughout, laughing at the right moments, gasping at the right moments, and sticking around until the last frame and the last credit. Leon has become quite the hit here in Sundance. I missed the BMI Roundtable as I had to go to a screening, but I heard that out of all the many directors and composers on that roundtable, Leon was the biggest hit. People came to me afterwards and thanked me for introducing them to him (as I've been doing here and there when I was at the same event here with Leon).

At the BMI dinner Tuesday night at Zoom, a great event where everyone has to get up after each course and move to another arbitrarily pre-assigned table so that you always set with different people at each course, I sat down first with Leon and his wife Geri along with Bob Gruen, the manager of Alice Cooper and others, but quickly moved to other tables to sit with totally different people, getting the chance to meet those I otherwise would have never talked to. It was great.

I also got to see Heidi Ewing and Rache Grady's documentary 12th & Delaware. Amazing film. The craftsmanship is superb and the story they tell, a tale of two clinics on the same corner, one performing abortions, the other a pro life center that tries to change the young women's mind before they go ahead with an abortion, is strong, tight, disturbing and moving at the same time. I applaud both filmmakers for creating such a sensitive and strong film.

Sitting one day at the Filmmakers Lodge in Sundance I got into a conversation with The Dry Land writer / director Ryan Pierce Williams and producer Heather Rae (Frozen River, The Dry Land) and talked about the process of shooting the film in Texas and New Mexico (they loved shooting there), about working with the actors, about how much Ryan loved working with editor Sabine Hoffman and how much he appreciated her dedication and emotional investment in the film... I plan on interviewing Ryan when we're all back in NY and hope to show the film sometime prior to its release.

Heading out of Sundance now. Will try to recap things in a day or two. Until then, stay warm!

2010-01-26T08:25:00.000-08:00

Still in Sundance. Just heard a filmmkaer sitting next to me saying that this week has been the most stressful ever...Oh boy. Once again I am reminded that Sundance can be hard to manage. Its so big, so many things are going on, so many people try to achieve so much, it certainly can get stressful. For me one the main challenges is to manage my time as I constantly get pulled in conflicting directions. Shall I go to the movie on my schedule or shall I go to that party? Shall I move my meeting, risking cancelling it all together, or shall I keep the meeting and forgo the screening everyone says is a must see? Shall I forgo everything for a couple of hours and go to my hotel room and disappear and re-energize, or shall I just continue to go go go? Normally I just go go go.

I was glad to have seen Mother & Child yesterday, starring Hudson Valley part time resident Naomi Watts, who was excellent in it. Directed by Rodrigo Garcia (son of Gabriel Garcia Marquez) the film is a beautifully crafted tappestry of relationships and motherhood told in gentle strokes through three interweaving stories. I think it will do well in the box office once it hits the theaters.

Another film I caught yesterday was Gasland, a documentary about "fracking". Very interesting, disturbing and well done, I hope to bring it to the Hudson Valley before long.

I was also happy to see The Imperialists Are Still Alive, a dramatic narrative that takes on an innovative approach all of its own in terms of style and subject. A brave work by a team of women writer / director and producer. I look forward to see what those two will do next.

Somewhere in the middle of the day yesterday I got to interview Davis Guggenheim, the director of the Sundance hit Waiting for Superman, a comprehensive exploration of our ailing educationa system. Davis, who did An Incovenience Truth a couple of years ago and with it delved into a social action campaign that made an impact on our lives, plans to develop similar campaign for Superman with the goal to impact the public education in the US. If anyone can do it, Davis can, and I wish him luck!

Today I'm interviewing the Duplass Brothers as well as the director of Bass Ackwards, looking forward to both. Couple of meetings, a few parties and the tradional BMI Sundance dinner (where I'm told in the middle of the meal everyone is asked to get up and change seats so that they are forced to start talking to new people), as well as film screenings will fill my day. And oh yea, forgot to mention; its snowing again! What a surprise...thankfully I'm going to remain indoors at Headquarters for the next couple of hours as after that its going to be out into the snow for the day.

Until next time. See you at the movies.

Sunday party Sunday...

2010-01-24T23:56:00.000-08:00

It was fun to cap off the day with Lyle Lovett at The Dry Land party Sunday night. The place was jam packed, including America Ferrera, Scott Ritter, Donovan Leitch, Melissa Leo, Josh Radnor and an endless amount of people who packed the room. Lyle played a great set. Talking to America at the party I was moved to see her dedication to the film (The Dry Land) and how much she championed it since it was only an idea germinating in the filmmaker's mind. It was also great to see Melissa Leo letting loose and dancing on the floor. Melissa has been having a great year and has many reasons to celebrate, I was happy to see her do that.

Prior to that there were so many other parties. The HBO party up at the Canyons was, as always, a swanky event situated a gorgeous ski resort with great food, excellent industry participation and good time. Adrian Grenier who is here with his documentary Teenage Paparazzo was there, along with Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) who is on the Documentary jury and many filmmakers and industry.

There was also the Fuji party at another ski resort, filled with a battery of massage therapists (I got a great massage!) and oxygen bar (I tried that as well...) and once again lots of great food and drinks.

Leon Gast's gallery reception, featuring Ron Galella's work, was held earlier in the day. Thelma Adams (US Weekly), David D'Arcy (Screen International), and of course Leon and his subject, Ron Galella and many more mingled about, viewing Galella's work and discussing the film and the various films everyone has seen so far at Sundance. Called The Picasso of Paparazzi in the Entertainment Weekly's review of Smash His Camera earlier on Sunday, Ron, Leon and the team had a reason to celebrate.

Special events with senator Barbara Boxer surrounding the documentary Climate Refugees were held at the same time at another venue on main street, attracting a lot of attention as people clamored to hear what Barbara Boxer had to say regarding global warming and climate related issues. The documentary, executive produced by WFF's advisory board member Stephen Nemeth is screening at Sundance. Very good film that should be seen by many.

In between parties of course there were movies to be seen (well, its really vice versa...). I was happy to see Cyrus on Sunday, the new film by Mark and Jay Duplass, who used to attend WFF ever since their first film The Puffy Chair. It was amazing to witness how much these talented brothers have grown. The film, starring John C. Reily and Marissa Tomei was charming, intimate, unique and compelling.

Then of course was the world premiere of The Dry Land, the film thatfriend and WFFs' advisory board member Sabine Hoffman edited, and friend and Hudson Valley resident Melissa Leo co-stars in. Very strong film, starring and executive produced by America Ferrera, with an amazing performance by lead actor and new comer Ryan O'Nan. The film focuses on the struggles of an American soldier as he tries to reconcile his traumatic experiences in war with his life back home. It was great to see how well received the film was. Wising it lots of luck! Wising all the Sundance films that are associated with us. Here is to all of you!

Saturday in Sundance

2010-01-24T01:14:00.001-08:00

The first Saturday in Sundance. By now almost everyone is here. The snow is still coming down and the streets and walkways are covered with snow and slush and everything that has to do with, well, a lot of snow...The celebrities have flocked to the snowy ski resort as well, attending screenings, parties, panels, various special events and even just hanging in the streets. The list is endless (and I'm not one to drop names...), but imagine if you will Kristen Stewart, James Franco, Marisa Tomei, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Michael Moore, Lyle Lovett, and Paris Hilton all in one room... and that is just a tiny snippet.

But being in Sundance is all about the movies. You watch, talk, think, pitch, listens, discovers and dissects movies. In the theaters, on the shuttle buses, at the parties, on the streets. Everywhere. And everyone seems to be excited to be in the midst of it all. Its Sundance after all, where new worlds are discovered.

My day started with the screening of one of the most talked about surprise hits in Sundance,a small documentary about the age of Facebook, titled Catfish. Loved it. Charming, funny, compelling, intense at times and totally fresh, this film takes you on a journey with the filmmakers and their subject as he goes through an intense Facebook relationship that twists and turns like any great thriller. Going in I saw the whole team from the IFC Films. I wonder if by now they have already bought it...

Next I headed to the Eccles for the world premiere of Debra Granik's Winter Bone. I remember sitting in that theater a few years ago, watching her feature directorial debut and the world premiere of Down to the Bones, a film that was shot in the Hudson Valley and discovered Vera Farmiga... As the Sundance programmer introduced Debra she recalled that as well...Debra is an eloquent and serious filmmaker who is very generous towards her cast and crew. As she talked about their process of collaboration you could see that their camaraderie and mutual appreciation was deep and true.

A couple more films on Saturday, Davis Guggenheim's Waiting For Superman and Phillip Seymour Hoffman's Jack Goes Boating filled the rest of the day for me, leaving room for a few parties in the afternoon and late into the night. I look forward to interviewing Davis Guggenheim later on about Waiting for Superman, an important film about our education system. And I hope to bring Jack Goes Boating to Woodstock for a special screening! Hoffman is sooooooo great. We all know what an amazing and versatile actor he is, but now he proved to be also a deep and talented director.

In between and after movies I managed to go to a few parties, some at restaurants on Main Street, others at condos. Meeting so many filmmakers and industry members, from marketing directors, casting directors, financiers, producers, entertainment attorneys and on and on, the conversation always turns to the Woodstock Film Festival and I'm always happily surprised to hear the great reputation that the festival has, so far reaching and so good. These words are always music to my ears and I'm happy to invite those who have never been but would love to come to do so. Having new faces, new movers and shakers from the film world in Woodstock and the Hudson Valley is good for everyone; good for the economy, good for future film production in our area, good for the community and good for the newcomers. So expect many exciting new faces in Woodstock this fall. It will be great.

First full day in Sundance has come and gone

2010-01-23T03:48:00.000-08:00

The first full day at Sundance has come and gone, and what a snowy one it has been. I think the snow has started coming down early in the morning and went on and on all day. Everywhere you went you were knee deep in snow, slush and the occasional puddles. Luckily most of us were sensible enough to wear good snow boots so wadding in the snow was not that much of a problem other than slowing everything down.

Standing at Headquarters Friday morning sipping hot tea before heading out I ran into Michael Moore who seemed completely unfazed by the weather as he got ready to go to a screening. I headed out shortly after and made it to my first movie of the day.

Get Low is a film about a an elderly hermit who has been nursing a secret too painful for words for over 40 years. The film is set in the 30's and is remarkably beautiful to look at. The hermit, Felix Bush, portrayed exquisitely by Robert Duval, finally gets ready to unveil his secret, assisted throughout by the local funeral home owner played by Bill Murray. The two give great performances.

Next I headed to Eccles to see Happythankyoumoreplease, a film with a local connection to the Hudson Valley as Woodstocker Jade Healy was the production designer on the film (and she did a great job!). Written, directed and starring by the talented Josh Radnor (How I Met Your Mother) the film was definitely a crowd pleaser, receiving a standing ovation at the end from the sold out audience. Funny, witty, alternately heart warming and heart breaking this was an overall feel good movie for the hip generation. Set in NYC East Village the film features a cast of "hipsters" as they all work on their respective relationship and on themselves. Talented cast, smart writing, plenty of witty humor and a good number of emotional situation that could tug at your heart should make this film an enjoyable experience for a wide audience.

Later it was time to get ready for our Woodstock Film Festival party at the Yarrow. I was happy to welcome directors, producers and other industry folks from throughout the country to our gathering and watch them as they networked and had a good time. Thanks to 120dBfilms for sponsoring the party!

And thanks to all who came - Cynthia Kane of the San Francisco based ITVS, Stephen Nemeth of the LA based Rhino Films (here in Sundance with the film Climate Refugees), Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing who are world premiering the doc 12th & Delaware in Sundance, Jonathan Gray and his partners, Jason Kliot and Joana Vicnete, Peter Saraf (here with Jack Goes Boating and Lucky), Louiville KY based producer Gill Holland, producer Amy Hobby (here at Slamdance with the new Steven Soderbergh film), Variety film critic John Anderson, Woodstocker Leon Gast and his team (here with Leon's new doc Smash His Camera) and so many more...

Here is to all of you. See you again out in the snow.

First film

2010-01-22T05:48:00.001-08:00

Just a quick note about the documentary Restrepo which I saw last night at the Eccles. It was the film's world premiere. Directed by a couple of veteran journalists from Vanity Fair who lived with and documented their subjects for a whole year. The film brought you up close and personal with a platoon at the deadliest valley in Afghanistan. You lived through their constant, terrifying and at times deadly fights with the often unseen enemy, you got to know their fears and their dreams, you were swept away into their special camaraderie, you learned to respect their skills and their tenacity, and you asked yourself why, why, why are they there...

The house was full (it seats 1,300), with people like Michael Moore in the audience...and everyone stayed for the Q&A. Sundance new festival director John Cooper remarked that this was the biggest audience Sundance has had for a documentary...

Co-executive produced by National Geographic I know the film will have television broadcast. We'll see if it will have theatrical release as well. I wish the film luck.

First day

2010-01-21T18:30:00.000-08:00

Its Sundance once again. Getting off the plane in Salt Lake is already a scene as planes arrive at the same time from all corners of the country carrying filmmakers and industry, and they are all getting their luggage at the same time...crazy. I was lucky to run into Jason Kliot, film producer with Open City, who is one of the jurors at the festival this year. As a jury member Jason is assigned a driver who will stick with him throughout the whole festival, starting at the airport where he came to pick him up. Jason is a great guy, and true to his kind nature he offered me a ride to my hotel in Park City. And so we ended up driving through the snowy mountainous road from Salt Lake to Park City in style. Thank you Jason.

Arriving at Headquarters in the Mariott, the place was buzzing with folks getting in, registering, setting up meetings, and buzzing about the new films. Everywhere you go you run into people you know, a great gathering place. One of the first people I ran into was the wonderful David Strathairn who is in Howl, one of tonight's opening night films. That film has the biggest buzz in town so far, can't wait to see it.

Another film everyone has been talking about is Davis Guggenheim's (An Inconvenient Truth) Waiting for Superman which was just acquired by Paramount, the first big acquisition in Sundance. I'm interviewing Davis on Monday for a video segment, very excited about that. Will make sure to see the film first of course.

After the Mariott and after sitting down with Stewart with whom I'll be doing the video interviews, I headed off to the main Supermarket here to stock up on some basic healthy foods - fruits, vegetables, juice...and of course, I kept on running into colleagues there as well. As I was standing there between the milk and the yogurts chatting with Sandy Dubowski, an old filmmaker friend, another one joined us, joking that this is THE place to meet friends...and he was right...

Soon I'm going to see Restrepo though, a film documenting one year, one platoon, in the deadliest valley in Afghanistan. Should be very strong. We're interviewing the filmmakers in a couple of days also.

Tomorrow promises to be a very busy day. Lots of movies; the Woodstock Film Festival party, other parties. Will try to catch some sleep later on as after that the Sundance marathon will be in full force.

Until next time.

Getting Ready

2010-01-19T15:23:00.000-08:00

Two days before take off. Things are beginning to get crazy. Why do all the invites come in so late? I have so many conflicts in my schedule its ridiculous. Can someone see a movie, go to a party and conduct an interview all at the same time? I don't think so...

Some of the buzz films right now are Howl, Welcome to the Rileys and Happythankyoumoreplease, all with connections to the Hudson Valley, all films I'm going to see. Looking forward to it.

The gods have spoken

2009-10-04T15:49:00.000-07:00

So - I am walking to Woodstock Town Hall to see "Junior" and I try to take pictures of the Woodstock drum circle, which happens each Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m., I think?

But - my camera tells me that I have no more memory on my memory card. So, I delete a few pictures, then take a few pictures, then go see "Junior."

My next stop is the Bearsville Theater, to post on the blog and gear up for "Redlight," which is narrated by Lucy Liu, and which will be introduced by Lucy Liu.

So - I put the memory card into the card reader but nothing is uploading. I'm hosed, No pictures. Nuttin'. Error this. Or Error that. It's really no big deal, it's just hundreds of pictures I've taken since Wednesday, but which I haven't uploaded. Really, no big deal.

Thank GOD I have an iPhone. Let's hope it works for Lucy Liu. I'm off to the screening. Smell ya later.

Amazing (and bizarre) Women in Film

2009-10-04T15:46:00.001-07:00

A very bizarre moment occurred at the panel discussion on women in film Saturday morning, the one chaired by Hyde Park's very own Thelma Adams, which also included Woodstock's very own Uma Thurman.

An animator, her name is Signe, I don't recall her last name, out of the blue, brought up a certain undergarment worn by one of the two sexes, that would be male or female, and then started to discuss why that sex wears that undergarment.

I can't tell you which sex she was talking about, or what undergarment, but I can tell you that the reason for the undergarment involved a human secretion, but because I'd like to keep my job, and my health coverage, I'm going to have to remain vague. If you were there, you know what I'm talking about.

Gregg Bray from SUNY New Paltz

2009-10-04T15:40:00.000-07:00

I first met Gregg Bray several years ago when I was asked to speak about my (ahem) illustrious career as a journalist.

Gregg's a good guy with a cool electronic business card on his e-mails:

GB
Gregory Bray
Program Coordinator, Media Major
Department of Communication and Media

Advisor, Communication and Media Society
SUNY New Paltz
www.newpaltz.edu/commmediasociety

Doctoral Student, Communication
European Graduate School Saas-Fee Switzerland

"Emancipate yourself from mental slavery." --Bob Marley

I met him again a few years later right here, at a recent Woodstock Film Festival. He was coordinating video coverage of the WFF.

And he sent me these two links:

www.youtube.com/woodstockfilmfestival

Yes, the letter "L" is missing at the end.

Check out last year's:

www.youtube.com/wffvideo

Check 'em out.
You'll be glad you did.

Woody Allen and Roman Polanski

2009-10-04T15:28:00.000-07:00

I heard on the radio today that Woody Allen signed a petition calling for Roman Polanski's release from a Swiss jai.

So - that would be, Woody Allen, who married his much younger adopted daughter, calling fo the release of Roman Polanski, who has been on the run for three decades after being charged with drugging, then having sex with a 13-year-old.

That's really sick.

The Doors - Never heard of them

2009-10-04T15:24:00.000-07:00

A few friends went to see "When You're Strange," the documentary about The Doors, Saturday night at the Rosendale Cafe.

The 13-year-old son of a couple I know said he had never heard any of the songs in the documentary. None of them.

"Moonlight Drive." "Light My Fire." "The End." "Touch Me."

Hmmm. Never heard them?

My name is Jimmy. That's the name they gimme.

2009-10-04T15:02:00.000-07:00

I had an uncle Jim, my father's brother, who was really a piece of work. He was in the Navy during World War II, on an aircraft carrier I think. I also think he was a boxer, and had the scars to show for it.

He was a sweet guy, but just one of those uncles that everyone has had, including my cousins, who had my dad, as their uncle.

Anyway, good 'ol Uncle Jim, when we were kids, would shake your hand, then say, "are you afraid of me?" you would say, "no." And he would say, "then why are you shaking?"

So - I just saw a documentary called "Junior' about this guy Eddie Belasco, and his very sweet relationship with his 98-year-old mother. Well - Eddie Belasco was my late Uncle Jim. He looked like him. He talked like him. He had the same vibe.

After running late today and missing the two sets of short films I had planned to see, I looked to see what fit in the schedule. It was "Junior." And as I was scrambling to file my print story for Monday's Poughkeepsie Journal, I saw that "Junior" won the WFF award for best documentary.

Eddie is a pretty complex guy - he's very close to his mother, but it's not one of those weird, close relationships. He was a nightclub performer and when this movie was filmed, worked with young kids in a theater company.

He and his mother - he always said 'MA!' - would always shout back and forth at each other.

There came a point in the movie where Eddie's mother's health just declined, as Eddie's own eyesight was failing. And this really struck a nerve, as my own mother's health has been rapidly declining and she is currently in a physical therapy rehabilitation facility.

This was a great movie, and it was amazing to see Eddie in person at the q and a afterward.

I was very glad to see this film and highly recommend it.

John Barry? Never heard of him.

2009-10-04T11:08:00.000-07:00

So I'm walking down Rock City Road, away from the Colony, and this guy is walking toward me with these really cool, crazy looking sunglasses. So because I have no qualms about walking up to people cold, I just approach this guy and say, "can I take your picture for the blog I am keeping for the Poughkeepsie Journal." This guys says sure, I take his picture, and as he's walking away, he says, "Say hello to John Barry for me."

Well - giddy up!!!

Turns out this guy is Mickey Cottrell, publicist for "Neil Young: Trunk Show," who I recently worked with to arrange an interview with director Jonathan Demme. I also worked with Mickey on Neil's movie from a few years ago, "Greendale." I talked with Mickey for a good little while and learned that he's working on two other movies at the film fest, "Big River Man" and "Easier With Practice."

Good to meet you Mickey. And I really do LOVE those glasses.

Egg salad and pasta on a tortilla chip. mmm.

2009-10-04T11:04:00.000-07:00

They have some delicious food here at the Colony. But I am in such a rush that I am downing it all at once - egg salad, peanut noodles, bow tie pasta, washed down with hot tea.

i've got to slow down.

Blues concert at the Colony

2009-10-04T10:52:00.001-07:00

The Colony Cafe was packed last night for a blues concert featuring Hubert Sumlin and Pinetop Perkins, as well as Sugar Blue on harmonica and Bob Margolin on guitar. Margolin recalled the time he came to Woodstock in the mid-1970s to record with Muddy Waters, the famous "Woodstock Album," with Levon Helm from The Band.

Sugar Blue played harmonica on "Miss You" by the Rolling Stones and had the coolest pair of pants I've ever seen this side of Hurley.

I"m late, I'm late, I'm late

2009-10-04T10:33:00.000-07:00

Is today Sunday? Or Saturday? I don't know. Day five of the Woodstock Film Festival and it all just kind of melts together. I keep saying "good morning" to people but wonder if it's after noon. As the kids would say...OMG!

I'm two hours behind schedule today, missed two movies I had wanted to see and still have to file a story for tomorro's print edition of the Poughkeepsie Journal.

And post photos from last night.

wish me luck.

Move over soccer moms

2009-10-03T17:53:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid, I played soccer, and I'll never forget this one parent being told to leave the field because they were screaming at everyone - their kid, the referee, the coach, other people's kids.

I couldn't help but think of this parent as I watched "Racing Dreams" Friday night at the Rosendale Theater.

This movie was about these three kids who raced in this go-kart league, that was kind of set up like NASCAR. Their parents spent tens of thousands of dollars and they all drove all over the place. It was pretty intense.

The movie followed three kids - Annabeth, Brandon and Josh. They drove these really low-to-the ground go karts, and EVERYONE took things pretty seriously.

The movie was good, but at 90 minutes, could have been an hour, and could have focused more on racing and what went on at the track. They went WAY too deep into Brandon's father, an ex-con who was a no good drug binger.

And this whole back and forth between Annabeth and Brandon liking each other was really silly and distracting. But Brandon was a bad boy, getting disqualified on the track, shaving his head, you know the type.

Overall, a good movie, but just Ok.

So - back to the parents. Annabeth's dad and mom, and Josh's dad, were all a little ridiculous in how seriously they took this whole thing. But Brandon's grandfather was the one in charge of his whole racing scene, and that was a nice dimension to the story.

But I still couldn't help thinking about that parent thrown off the field when I was a kid.

Some wisdom from Uma Thurman and Hyde Park's very own Thelma Adams

2009-10-03T17:29:00.000-07:00

Thelma Adams is a part-time Hyde Park resident, film reviewer for US Weekly and someone I have interviewed more than once...

She moderated a panel on Saturday at the Woodstock Film Festival, on women in film.

Here are some of Thelma's thoughts...on the question, "what would you tell your 21-year-old self?"

"I would tell my 21-year-old self...if you want to be a writer, if you think you're a writer, don't go asking other people for validation. Parallel, if you're a filmmaker, if you're an actor or you want to be an actor, if you have that drive, just do it and do it and get better."

From Uma Thurman, a panel participant, in the same discussion:

"In hindsight, just be in the moment. I think if one tries to manufacture knowledge or get ahead of it - at 21 I had already been making movies for five years. I thought I was really old and really, really experienced."

Only in Woodstock....

2009-10-03T16:32:00.001-07:00

I know I'm here for the Woodstock Film Festival....but as you walk around Woodstock, you can't help but see that there is so much more going on, beyond the cinema. Case in point, this car, which I saw pull into the parking lot across from the Colony Cafe, forget about it as I walked around town, then was reminded when I saw someone taking pictures of it.

Jonathan Demme and Neil Young

2009-10-03T13:38:00.001-07:00

So - I asked Jonathan Demme, during the q and a portion of the panel discussion on music and film, about Neil's involvement in post-filming portion of the production of "Neil Young: Trunk Show."

(photo of Jonathan Demme filming Neil Young by Larry Cragg)

Here's what he said:

"When Neil and I did "Heart of Gold," a film inspired by the music on his then-new album, "Prairie Wind," I had nothing to do with the music and, on the film part, I kept spouting ideas, but Neil and I were like one brain. Everything had to go by him from me and lots of stuff was coming to me and it was fusion, fusion, fusion."

His fingerprints were on eveyr individual frame of that movie. Neil is a fantastic filmmaker. It went great. We never had a misstep. It was a really glorious experience.

On this movie, he was on tour. He recognized a number of the camera operators, he knew them anyway, he now had a lot of trust in me and my taste, because he could see how closely we lined up on so many things.

I sent him a couple songs and I'd wait a long time to hear back. I'd get paranoid and I'd track him down and he hadn't had a chance to look at it yet and we just kept putting the movie together and the next thing I knew, we had a cut that I loved.

I told him, I sent him e-mails, 'we're departing from the set list, we're not going ot use this.' He didn't even want to see dailies of all the footage, which he did on "Heart of Gold." And he came into the cutting room and wanted to re-edit a song and I said, 'here's the test, here's the test.' And he tried some stuff and he said, 'O.K - what do you think, Jonathan?' And I said, "I don't like that version of the ending." He said Ok.

The punchline is, that finally Neil Young came to New York and we got a screening room. We turned it up very loud and we played "Neil Young: Trunk Show" for him. The lights came on. It was a great experience watching him. It played really good...
I came down to where Neil is sitting. He's sitting in his chair and he's never speechless. And he's just sitting there, still staring at the screen. I said, 'so?'"

Let's just say that, according to Demme, Neil loved it and used an expletive to express his approval.

"He just let it happen. That was part of his thing - to stay back."

Om. Om on the range....

2009-10-03T13:23:00.001-07:00

I saw this bumper sticker as I was leaving the Bearsville Theater. Only in Woodstock.

Jonathan Demme and The Doors

2009-10-03T13:08:00.000-07:00

Academy Award winning director Jonathan Demme is at the Woodstock Film Fest to promote his new Neil Young documentary, "Neil Young: Trunk Show," and a panel discussion on music and film, featuring him and Tom DiCillo, who made the documentary on The Doors, just wrapped up. It was a great discussion and I'll get to what was said in a minute, but here are some pictures.

The panel was moderated by Doreen Ringer-Ross, head of BMI, a performer's rights organization.

Here comes the sun

2009-10-03T12:53:00.001-07:00

The sun is trying its darndest to break through the clouds here in Woodstock. But a few minutes ago, this serious cloud was just hanging over nearby Overlook Mountain, where the ghosts of Henry Hudson and his crew are rumored to have taken up residence after their passing.

It's about 4 p.m. on day four of the film festival and this is where the high point usually hits - everyone has arrived, the panels and screenings are in full swing, and the film fest has established a vibe. And downtown Woodstock is JAMMIN'. And tied up with traffic.

Shortly, everyone will be looking toward the awards ceremony and then - mop up tomorrow.

Uma and Ethan

2009-10-03T12:50:00.000-07:00

Uma Thurman, as noted earlier, spoke during a very engaging, lively and funny panel discussion on women in film, held this morning at the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock, as part of the Woodstock Film Festival. Her ex-husband, actor Ethan Hawke, is scheduled to present an award at the awards ceremony Saturday night.

I knew both would be here at the wff, but really wasn't going to go down the road of - will they cross paths, won't they. It's too tabloid. But - since I crossed paths with both of them - I just saw Ethan leaving the Colony Cafe....Naaaah. I'm not going there.

No karaoke?

2009-10-03T10:32:00.000-07:00

So I was in the lobby of the Bearsville Theater Thursday night, posting photos from Woody Harrelson's appearance at the Tinker Street Cinema, and the movie there had just ended, and folks were filing out, and this woman walks up to me, stomps to a halt, and loudly asks, "No karoake?"

The Bearsville Theater each Thursday hosts Miss Angie's Karaoke, but not this Thursday, because of the film festival.

Now - I was too busy posting those photos to really tell that woman where it was at, but if you take a very quick ride through Woodstock with one eye closed, it's going to be pretty hard not to notice this little film festival they've got going on. Not to mention that there is a HUGE TENT at the entrance to the Bearsville Theater and like many signs for the, ahem, "WOODSTOCK FILM FESTIVAL."

So I'm trying to post my photos and I quickly tell this woman what the deal is, but she doesn't just go away, she tells me to move over on the bench where I am sitting, so she can sit too. This was my big mistake.

While I'm scrambling to post my photos of Woody Harrelson, before the theater shuts down, or my battery dies, this gal tells me:

- she is buying the Woodstock laundromat, the one near the library
- she will turn it into a "green" laundromat. With all those chemicals to clean the clothes, I ask? Yes, she said. They will be "green" laundry chemicals. Ok??!
- Her father was a tug boat captain and the laundromat will have a tug boat theme
- She recently bumped into actor Liam Neeson in New York City on three separate occasions and thinks there might be some bigger connection happening with him. She asks if I know Liam Neeson. I say no. Actually, she spent a lot of time trying to convince me his name is Liam Nillson

Finally, FINALLY, this couple comes over to admire one of Elliott Landy's pictures of Janis Joplin on the wall, and this gal turns to them and says, "I KNOW YOU!"

THANK YOU LORD! AND THANK YOU JANIS JOPLIN!!

I pack up my computer as quickly as I can, tell Bearsville Theater manager Lisa Hantes she's got a live one and head to New World Home Cooking for the after-party.

Now, I've got to get to the music in film panel with Jonathan Demme, whose film, "Neil Young: Trunk Show," screens at 4:30.

Smell ya later.

And just to recap for those following along at home. There was no karaoke at the Bearsville Theater.

The Mighty Uke

2009-10-03T08:24:00.001-07:00

I stayed for only about a half hour at a ukulele concert Friday night at the Colony Cafe, but what sweet sounds I heard, particularly a rendition of "Que Sera, Sera." The show was a benefit for the Killian Mansfield Foundation, named for a local uke player who recently died. Great Stuff. It stayed with me all night.

This movie lit my fire.

2009-10-03T08:20:00.001-07:00

"When You're Strange," a documentary about the doors, was screened Friday night and it was unreal. If you're a Doors fan, you don't know WHAT you're in store for. If you like good filmmaking, then strap on your seat belt. Did you know that "Light My Fire" was the first song that Doors guitarist Robbie Krieger ever wrote? Did you know that Jim Morrison wrote "Moonlight Drive" while living on a friend's roof, long before The Doors were ever started? Did you know that Jim Morrison's girlfriend, Pamela, sat on Mick Jagger's lap during the band's infamous Hollywood Bowl show? It's all in the film, along with footage from a movie Morrison made in the California desert. The narration was a little overwritten. But all in all - Great Stuff. AND it's narrated by Johnny Depp.

Here is the filmmaker, Tom DiCillo, at a q and a following the film.

Uma

2009-10-03T08:15:00.000-07:00

Uma Thurman at a panel on women in film. Here are some pictures. More to come later.

That panel discussion on the economy

2009-10-02T12:13:00.000-07:00

...Didn't quite unfold the way I had thought. Ron Nyswaner, who moderated the panel, explained that the panel wasn't going to be this, and it wasn't going to be that, but it would focus on, pretty muhc, the evolution of the storytelling process, primarily from the screenwriter's point of view. Funny - no one mentioned the economy, no one, except, the person who wrote the description in the festival schedule.

Anyway, it was a VERY GOOD panel discussion about the writing process, as it pertains to filmmaking. More on it later. I have to file a story for Saturday's print edition of the Poughkeepsie Journal. Yes - we still publish a print edition.

Stay tuned.

A panel and a movie and more insanity

2009-10-02T10:33:00.000-07:00

I am off to a very timely panel discussion on the economy and filmmaking, moderated by Ron Nyswaner, who wrote the screenplay for "Philadelphia."

At 7 p.m. I will be in my former hometown, two times around, to see "Racing Dreams."

SYNOPSIS:
Hands gripped to the steering wheel, feet light and quick on the peddles, eyes fixed on the track, and hearts pumping out of their chests, Annabeth, Josh, and Brandon whiz past the finish line and into our hearts in Marshall Curry's “Racing Dreams.” The racers, ages 11-13, are competing in the World Karting Association’s National Championship, with dreams of becoming professional NASCAR drivers one day. Marshall's lens captures both the thrill of the races and the ups and downs his subjects deal with off the racetrack: the giddiness brought on by young love, the tears of a boy whose father can't seem to get it together, and the struggles of parents and guardians trying to find the funds to support their child's dream. Winner of the Best Documentary award at this year's Tribeca Film Festival, the film is sure to delight and inspire audiences of all ages. (Emily Suttmeier and Julie Mariel Anzovino)
BIO:
Marshall Curry directed the Academy Award¨-nominated documentary, "Street Fight," which won numerous awards and was nominated for a News and Documentary Emmy. Marshall was selected by Filmmaker Magazine as one of "25 New Faces of Independent Film" and he was awarded the International Documentary Association (IDA) Jacqueline Donnet Filmmaker Award.

Then it's a stop off at the ukulele concert at the Colony Cafe, then onto the Bearsville Theater for the documentary on The Doors, "When You're Strange."

My jets are fired, and I am off, full of a second wind. Though this is starting to become a grind.

Leon Gast

2009-10-02T10:22:00.000-07:00

Here are three filmmakers with strong ties to that guy Oscar.
Leon Gast, Barbara Kopple and Doug Abel, at the WFF's New World Home Cooking party Thursday night

Leon Gast is an Academy Award winning documentary filmmaker, Woodstock resident and one of those folks I bump into only at the WFF.

I wrote my weekly column on Leon, and here it is:

Oscar-winning filmmaker inspires

John W. Barry • October 1, 2009

Any film festival lives and dies on who arrives from out of town to promote the film they have appeared in, put money into or directed.
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The Woodstock Film Festival, which runs through Sunday, certainly brings in big names from out of town, most notably Academy Award-winning director Ang Lee last year.

There is one guy who lives in Woodstock whom I typically only see during the film festival, who really embodies the Hudson Valley's strong link to the arts, Woodstock's legendary link to the arts and the Woodstock Film Festival's wealth of history when it comes to exploring cinema.

Leon Gast won the 1996 Oscar for Best Documentary for "When We Were Kings," about the legendary boxing match in Zaire between champion George Foreman and underdog challenger Muhammad Ali.

Gast's other film credits include "Celia Cruz: Guantanamera," "Hell's Angels Forever," "The Grateful Dead Movie" and "Soul Power." His latest project, forgive the pun, focuses on paparazzi photographer Ron Galella.

Just about everyone loves the movies, whether it's a slasher flick, romantic comedy, adventure, drama or documentary.

Indiana Jones may be your guy or perhaps Bridget Jones is your gal. It doesn't matter.

Who doesn't love a night out at the movies or curling up in a sleeping bag and watching a DVD at home?

This commonality I share with just about everyone I know takes on a sense of grandeur, a sense of awe, when I have my annual run-in with Gast and his wife, Geri.

Leon Gast took his love of filmmaking into another dimension, where he makes films instead of only watching them.

And then he took that passion one step further, by making a movie that won an Oscar.

Gast is truly inspiring.
In awe of award

I can't help but shake my head in amazement when I think of his Oscar on a living room mantle - or maybe it's inside a glass case.

This is largely because I am as familiar with the Oscar as I am with the idiosyncracies of my favorite film characters.

As ridiculous - and long - as the Academy Awards ceremonies can sometimes be, I always allow myself this guilty indulgence and watch.

Since May 2007, I have been producing, shooting and editing high-definition video for the Journal.

I recently purchased an iPhone that lets me shoot video.

I feel like a little kid with a new toy anytime I shoot or edit video. I can't help but pretend I am some big-shot movie director telling Harrison Ford to crack the whip a little harder.

When I look through that viewfinder, I can't help but think of Oscar, along with someone who has accomplished as much as Leon Gast.

John W. Barry is the music writer for the Poughkeepsie Journal. His column appears every Friday. Contact him at jobarry@poughkeepsiejournal.com or call 845-437-4822.
In Your Voice
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Woody at New World Home Cooking

2009-10-02T10:14:00.001-07:00

After doing his thing at the Tinker Street Cinema for "The Messenger," Woody Harrelson ambled on over to New World Home Cooking on Route 212, on the border of Woodstock and Saugerties, otherwise known as Saugerstock. Woody posed for some pictures with the folks who starred in and put together "The Messenger," then hung around for hours, chatting folks up and hanging out in a gazebo out in back of New World.

That's Woody, actor Ben Foster with the beard and WFF Executive Director Meira Blaustein at New World

After Letterman, after the helicopter, Woody Harrelson at the Tinker Street Cinema

2009-10-01T18:42:00.000-07:00

He made it!
Woody Harrelson made it to the Tinker Street Cinema for a q and a after the 6:30 p.m. screening of "The Messenger," which also stars Steve Buscemi. Buscemi was at the q and a as well. Harrelson was scheduled to return for another q and a, after the 9:30 screening. Here are some pictures. I'll share what was said first thing in the morning. I AM SPENT!!

Woody Harrelson enters the Tinker Street Cinema in Woodstock about 8:30 p.m. tonight:

Steve Buscemi enters the Tinker Street Cinema

That's actor Ben Foster with Woody

Here is the deal on the messenger:

SYNOPSIS:
”No such thing as a satisfied customer,” says Captain Tony Stone to his rookie partner, Staff Sgt. Will Montgomery, and indeed, the horrors of war are brutally understated when seen through the eyes of these two unlikely partners serving together as a “Casualty Notification Team.” Their job? To personally deliver the devastating news of a loved ones’ death to the next of kin. A bullet to the chest seems no less powerful than the anguish of such news. In a riveting performance, Ben Foster as Will Montgomery, a war hero with three months left to serve, perfectly expresses the pain and anger of a soldier scarred inside and out as he takes his first tentative steps toward healing. Woody Harrelson is at the top of his game as the gruff and demanding Tony Stone, and Steve Buscemi appears as a bereaved father lashing out. Samantha Morton is remarkable as Olivia, a widow raising a child, who must now struggle with the ambivalence of death. This is a brilliant film, destined to be a classic, in which the darkest side of war is depicted without a single shot being fired. (Barbara Pokras, A.C.E.)
BIO:
Born and raised in Israel, Oren Moverman now lives and works in New York. He has had an extensive career as a screenwriter. He cowrote Todd Haynes's Bob Dylan biopic, "I'm Not There," and collaborated with Ira Sachs on the films "Married Life" and the upcoming "The Goodbye People." He also wrote the screenplays for two other upcoming films: Phillip Kaufman's "Interrupted" about legendary director Nicholas Ray, and Steve Buscemi's "William Burroughs' Queer". Moverman first appeared at the Sundance Film Festival with the screenplay for Face, which played at the 2002 Festival. He both wrote and served as associate producer for "Jesus' Son." "The Messenger" is his first film as a director.
MAIN CREDITS:
Cast/Featuring: Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, Samantha Morton, Jena Malone, Eamonn Walker
Producer(s): Mark Gordon, Lawrence Inglee, Zach Miller
Director(s): Oren Moverman
Screenwriter(s): Oren Moverman, Alessandro Camon
Editor(s): Alex Hall
Composer(s)/Music: Nathan Larson
Sound Editor(s): Leslie Shatz, Javier Bennassar
COURTESY OF
Oscilloscope Laboratories

I think I'll PASS on this press kit

2009-10-01T13:58:00.001-07:00

For the movie "Trimpin"

More news

2009-10-01T13:46:00.000-07:00

Mira Nair, the Indian director whose resume includes "Monsoon Wedding," "Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love" and "Mississippi Masala," will participate in a panel on women in film moderated by Uma Thurman.

The Woodstock Film Festival just announced this. Stay tuned for more details.

And I will be at this panel. So YOU won't miss a beat.

Ciao.
j

The Tinker Street Cinema

2009-10-01T13:06:00.000-07:00

The Tinker Street Cinema is one of my most favorite movie theaters anywhere, right up there with the Rosendale Theater, and, Upstate Films, before Upstate split into two theaters. Anyway, I was just admiring this structure, which, believe it or not, sits on Tinker Street in Woodstock.

Also, you should know that Jimi Hendrix once gave a concert here. Perhaps it was when Jimi was living not far from Woodstock, in West Shokan, near the Ashokan reservoir.

From Splinterheads to Coneheads

2009-10-01T12:58:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, one of the most identifiable features of the Woodstock Film Festival for me is the hallowed traffic cone. These are lined up on double yellow lines and in other places throughout the village, so the folks walking to see movies aren't run over by the folks driving to see movies.

I'm not kidding ya. But when I was arriving in Woodstock on Wednesday and I was coming up Mill Hill Road, past Bread Alone, and I saw those cones, well, I knew that it was film fest time.

If you need to familiarize yourself with the aforementioned cones, just take a gander here and, no need to thank me....

Splinterheads

2009-10-01T12:41:00.000-07:00

I'm not one to judge.....BUT...!!!!?????
Getting a call from someone involved with a film, about doing press for their film, less than 24 hours before the film screens....hmmmmmm!!!!!

But ya never know when you might stumble upon a good story, just like I stumbled onto this great film called "Ricky." Did I tell ya? Just joking.....

So I'm talking with this gal about the film "Splinterheads," which will be shown Friday, and, quite frankly, I don't have the slightest idea what this movie is about, but the title grabbed me, and, the poster for this movie was on the wall at the Tinker Street Cinema, where I saw....(I'm whispering now) "Ricky."

So I'm talking to this gal and hearing her out with her spiel and her pitch and she tells me one of the filmmakers is leaving his honeymoon to come to the Woodstock Film Festival. NOW I AM HOOKED!! A good human interest story and a good omen for what I thought might be a sappy romantic comedy. But - come on you Splinterheads, you...don't let me down.

Ok. So. About that movie "Ricky."

2009-10-01T12:30:00.000-07:00

As the kids would say, 'OMG!! I just saw that "Ricky," you know, the movie about the baby, with the wings, is playing again at the WFF, at 9 p.m. Friday at Upstate Films in Rhinebeck. I might just go again.

Bravo. And I don't even remember why I picked this movie. I think I looked at the time first. Bravo.

Hey Ricky, you're so fine. You're so fine you blow my mind, hey ricky.

2009-10-01T12:12:00.002-07:00

MY GOODNESS. I just saw a film called "Ricky," about a baby who grows wings. His mother sees bruises on his back after leaving him with the boy's father for the day, and, well, I'll just say that they weren't bruises. They were the first signs of wings. The wings in their early stages were pretty gross, kind of like uncooked, hairy chicken wings from the supermarket.

But this movie was a GRAND SLAM homerun. See ya later. Out of the park. Sad, funny, triumphant, content...this is what I was feeling. I ran out of the Tinker Street Cinema before the lights went up because I didn't want anyone to see that I was about to cry.

Talk about a lesson in letting go. And reconciliation. And acceptance. And hope. My goodness. Did I mention that I liked this movie?

More Woodstock.....

2009-10-01T09:23:00.000-07:00

I know this is a little off topic, but with Michael Lang, the man behind Woodstock, here at the festival, and the fact that, well, Woodstock wouldn't be Woodstock without the Woodstock festival, I've got to share this link with you, for Woodstock.com. Woodstock Ventures, which Lang runs with Joel Rosenman, one of the three other partners with whom Lang staged Woodstock in 1969, operates Woodstock.com with Sony Music Entertainment.

I'll even save you the trouble of typing. Just click here.

Take a spin. It's not bad.

Back to Woodstock, the other Woodstock

2009-10-01T08:57:00.001-07:00

So you should know that "Woodstock: Now & Then," the documentary screened last night, offers a fresh take on a story that has been dissected and analyzed and explored for 40 years. Click here to learn more.

I did more reporting on the 40th anniversary of Woodstock between Dec. 2008 and Aug. 2009 than anyone should have really been permitted to do in one lifetime. You can see the fruits of my many labors by clicking here and clicking here.

And after all that research, I feel like I got a pretty good handle on what this whole Woodstock thing was and is about. And this documentary kind of placed everything I learned over those months into a new context, giving me a fresh perspective.

Some highlights of the documentary are interviews with Woodstock concert promoter Michael Lang, fresh footage that I've never seen before and crazy stories about then-New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller wanting to send the National Guard into the festival and farmers who sued the concert organizers because their cows didn't give milk for several weeks after the festival.

I had already seen the documentary, so I showed up toward the end and watched with many others in the bar of the Bearsville Theater, on monitors. The crowd cheered Michael Lang, Jimi Hendrix and Wavy Gravy. But they saved their loudest cheers for the footage of President Barack Obama, who was featured in the context of Woodstock manifesting itself in his election last year.

Lang has told me that he sees the spirit of Woodstock living on very clearly in his election, and the movement that elected him. A statement like that really makes you think.

Also - someone else in the film said "Woodstock was not a movement. Woodstock was a moment."

It was a very good film.

Woody Harrelson and the helicopter

2009-10-01T08:49:00.000-07:00

More breaking news..

Dig this:

Woody Harrelson's big day: Letterman, then helicopter ride to Woodstock Film Festival tonight; check out our blog
October 1, 2009

Actor Woody Harrelson will be at the Woodstock Film Festival tonight, in conjunction with the screening of "The Messenger," in which he appears.

Harrelson is set to appear on "Late Show with David Letterman," which is shown on CBS at 11:35 but tapes its broadcasts in the late afternoon at the Ed Sullivan Theater on Broadway in Manhattan. Once he concludes that obligation, Harrelson will board a helicopter and travel to an undisclosed location in the Hudson Valley, where he will land and travel by ground to the Woodstock Film Festival.

Harrelson will participate in a question-and-answer session following the 6:30 p.m. screening of "The Messenger at the Tinker Street Cinema in Woodstock. Harrelson will also introduce the 9:30 p.m. screening of "The Messenger," also at the Tinker Street Cinema. Both showings are sold out.

Actor Ben Foster, who also appears in "The Messenger," will also be at the screenings.

Harrelson will also be at the film fest's party at New World Home Cooking. The party is a ticketed event.

Earlier Wednesday, the Journal reported that actress Uma Thurman will moderate a panel on women in film on Saturday morning.

Can you think of anything cooler than riding in a helicopter with Woody Harrelson?

It would be even better if he was teh pilot. Can't you just imagine him, yelling 'WOO-HOO' and flying under the Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge, maybe doing a few loop-de-loops over Poughkeepsie City Hall, then buzzing the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome befoer heading to that super-secret undisclosed location in the Hudson Valley. Yeah. Now that's what I call an entrance to a film festival.

By the by, I'll be tracking Woody's every movement, once he lands of course.

Last night in downtown Woodstock

2009-10-01T08:17:00.001-07:00

So I had some time to kill before attending the whole Bearsville Theater gig for "Woodstock: Now and Then." I wandered around downtown Woodstock and took some pictures. If you've never been to Woodstock, then let me say, that the village center of this historic town is really a big part of this festival. It just gives the whole shebang a sense of place, a sense of context, and a stage on which to unfold.

Day two begins

2009-10-01T08:05:00.000-07:00

It was raining. Now the sun is coming out. I am back at the Colony Cafe and have it all set up.....Laptop, camera, card reader, iphone, second cell phone and digital voice recorder...and some water. Wish me luck. More in a few minutes.

Who is Ike Phillips and WHY is he following me around Woodstock?

2009-10-01T05:05:00.002-07:00

Just kidding, Ike. Ya know I love ya!!!

Seriously, I was entering the Bearsville Theater last night for the kickoff event for the Woodstock Film Festival and who do I almost bump into in the pitch dark, but Ike Phillips, who is a big-time executive over there at WDST, the Woodstock FM station, which can be found at 100.1 FM on your dial. Ike was on his cell phone, and was courteous enough to leave the theater before speaking, UNLIKE SOME OTHER PEOPLE AT THE COLONY CAFE EARLIER IN THE DAY WEDNESDAY!!!!!

But anyway, I hear my name shouted out in the darkness, realized it was Ike, and snapped this picture. Ike has lived in Woodstock forever and attended the festival in 1969, having arrived by helicopter. I'm sure I'll be seeing more of you, Ike.

More Woodstock. That Woodstock.

2009-10-01T04:21:00.000-07:00

The 40th anniversary of the Woodstock Music and Art Fair was celebrated in August. The 10th anniversary of the Woodstock Film Festival is being celebrated this weekend. The two collided last night at the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock. There was a big WFF party at the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock Wednesday night, after the screening of the opening night film, "Woodstock: Now & Then," which was executive produced by Woodstock promoter and Town of Woodstock resident Michael Lang, and directed by Academy Award winner Barbara Kopple.

Now is that a cake, or is that a cake? But it looks like our good pastry chef needs a spell check.

With the beard and the hat is Duke Devlin, who came for Woodstock in 1969 and still lives in Bethel today; Woodstock Film Festival Executive Director Meira Blaustein, with hands crossed; Woodstock concert promoter Michael Lang next to her, and Academy Award-winning director Barbara Kopple next to Lang.

A q and a followed the screening. Michael Lang, Woodstock Film Festival Executive Director Meira Blaustein and Oscar-winning director Barbara Kopple during the q and a after "Woodstock: Now & Then":

Check out this guy's vest. An image of the crowd at Woodstock has been placed on the fabric. Cool, dude:

Gilles Malkine, who performed at Woodstock 1969 with Tim Hardin:

The Bearsville Theater lobby:

David Becker is a filmmaker and worked on "Woodstock: Now and Then," as well as "Saint Misbehavin' about Wavy Gravy, the man who helped Woodstock avoid a catastrophe by feeding hundreds of thousands. More on that later.

Elliott Landy, with the microphone, spoke during the q and a. Now, if you don't know who Elliott is, he shot the Woodstock festival in 1969 and has chronicled the amazing musical history that lies at the heart of the Town of Woodstock. Elliott shot The Band, Van Morrison, Janis Joplin, Hendrix AND that very famous album cover for Bob Dylan's "Nashville Skyline." Elliott lives in Woodstock and said a few words at the q and a after "Woodstock: Now and Then."

First Uma. Now Woody. More breaking news.

2009-10-01T04:17:00.001-07:00

Actor Woody Harrelson will be at the Woodstock Film Festival tonight, participating in a q and a at the Tinker Street Cinema after the screening of "The Messenger," in which he stars. Then Woody will head over to New World Home Cooking, down Route 212, to chill at the fest's big party. Woody is a past WFF Maverick winner. I learned this news last night at the WFF party after the screening of "Woodstock: Now and Then" at the Bearsville Theater. From Woody on "Cheers" to that sicko in "Natural Born Killers," how can you not love this guy?

Woodstock. Not that Woodstock. The other Woodstock.

2009-09-30T14:25:00.003-07:00

Woodstock concert promoter Michael Lang, the guy who brought us THAT Woodstock, will be on hand tonight for a screening of "Woodstock: Now and Then," a film for which he served as executive producer. Oscar winner Barbara Kopple directed the movie, and she and Lang will be on hand for a q and a after the film. The traditional opening night party follows, and it all happens at the Bearsville Theater.

I'll be on hand for it all. So check back late tonight, or, maybe it will be early tomorrow, for pictures, reviews, recaps and hopefully some video.

Ricky

2009-09-30T14:23:00.000-07:00

I usually have each day at the WFF planned out...what films I'm seeing, where they are, the times, etc. This year, life has been so crazy that I have very little planned. But things are taking shape. I think I will check out this film, "Ricky," tomorrow. Here is the deal...

Love is “in the air” in this charming French fable of working class lovers whose passion produces an extraordinary child. Sparks fly when single mother Katie and Spanish co-worker Paco meet in the sterile factory where they both work. Soon they are living together as Lisa, Katie’s seven-year-old daughter, struggles to find her place in this new family. Lisa’s feeling of abandonment escalates with the birth of Ricky, a child quickly changing in the most amazing ways. Accused of harming the baby and tiring of fatherhood, Paco leaves, only to return when Ricky’s “abnormalities” create a media frenzy.

But “love has wings,” and loss has the power to unite. Director Francois Ozon blends mystery with magic, humor and irony, while maintaining the reality of the story. Finely crafted performances make “Ricky” less a fantasy than exploration of the complexities of love and family, and what it means to be “different.” (Barbara Pokras, A.C.E.)
BIO:
Francois Ozon was born in 1967 in Paris. He received his master's degree in Cinema after attending the director's section of the famed French film school La FEMIS, in 1990. Since then, he has made many movies using super-8, video, 16mm and 35mm. Many of his short movies have been in competition in various international festivals. "Truth or Dare" (Action Verite) marked the beginning of his collaboration with Fidelite Productions.

"A Summer Dress" (Une Robe d'ete) received the Golden Leopard award at the Locarno International Film Festival. "Sitcom," his first feature, was invited as an official selection in competition at the International Critic Week during the 1998 Cannes Festival.
MAIN CREDITS:
Cast/Featuring: Alexandra Lamy, Sergi Lopez, MŸlusine Mayance, Arthur Peyret
Producer(s): Chris Bolli, Claudie Ossard, Vieri Razzini
Director(s): Francois Ozon
Screenwriter(s): Francois Ozon
Cinematographer(s): Jeanne Lapoirie
Composer(s)/Music: Philippe Rombi
COURTESY OF
IFC Films

Now THIS guy's story would make a heck of a movie. Yes - I'm talking about Roman Polanski

2009-09-30T14:05:00.001-07:00

Talk about a thriller of a movie plot. Young child escapes the Warsaw Ghetto and the Nazi, goes on to become world famous movie director, then his pregnant wife is murdered by Charlie Manson's sickos, then he is arrested and charged with having sex with a 13-year-old girl he's loaded up booze and drugs, then he flees the country before his case his resolved, then more than three decades later he is arrested on a warrant issued by the LAPD, while he is in Switzerland, attending, would you believe, A FILM FESTIVAL????

You may have heard of Roman Polanski's incredible story? And how many, many people have come out in his defense? It's wild. I'd like to secure the rights for this film.

But in any event, you can be sure I'll be asking all the filmmakers I bump into what they think of 'ol Roman's plight, as he sits in a Swiss jail.

Check out this picture:

Film director Roman Polanski is seen as he leaves court in this Oct. 25, 1977 file photo taken in Santa Monica, Calif.,

Here is Roman Polanski as he looks today:

Cell phone etiquette

2009-09-30T14:00:00.000-07:00

Right now, the only people in the main room of the Colony Cafe (see pics below) are me and another woman, who I don't know. It's not bad enough that her loud musical ring tone went off when she received a phone call, but now she is barking into her phone, holding a conversation. I'm tempted to just invite her over to my table, as it seems as though she really wants me to be a part of her discussion.

Why do I think this won't be the first time I run into this this weekend?

Noel Nelson

2009-09-30T13:56:00.000-07:00

The Woodstock Film Festival is a grand exercise in that very American notion of volunteerism. There are many volunteers who make the film festival a critical success each year, and one of them is Noel Nelson.

I've known Noel forever, since his days working at the Woodstock FM radio station, WDST. Noel is one of those guys I bump into A LOT at the film festival, so much so that we stop saying hello round around Friday morning!!! ha!!

It was quite fitting that the very first person I bumped into upon entering the Colony Cafe was - who else? - Noel Nelson. Here he is with Julie, a WFF intern.

Breaking News: Uma Thurman

2009-09-30T13:50:00.001-07:00

This just in. No kidding. Uma Thurman, whose family has had very strong roots in Woodstock for a very long time, will moderate a Woodstock Film Festival panel discussion on Saturday morning, called, "Amazing Women in Film." Here is the tout: "Join us as a diverse group of powerful women discuss their work and the state of the film industry, from the woman's perspective." It's at 10 a.m. Saturday at Utopia Studios, in the same complex as the Bearsville Theater, on Route 212, just a few miles west of downtown Woodstock.

A movie starring Uma, and Minnie Driver, and Anthony Edwards, "Motherhood," has already sold out its 1:45 p.m. screening on Saturday at the Tinker Street Cinema. But tickets are still available for a 5:30 p.m. showing Sunday at Upstate Films in Rhinebeck.

Here is the tout from www.woodstockfilmfestival.com:

Eliza wants it all -- motherhood, a writing career, an egalitarian marriage. Her search for identity presents as a faceless woman beginning her day. When finally we meet Eliza “head on,” it’s at high speed, a pace which generally typifies Eliza’s daily life in the West Village walkup she shares with husband Avery (Anthony Edwards) and their two young children. This particular day is fraught with preparations for the party she’s throwing for daughter Clara, about to turn six. A “writing career” translates into a few scattered moments blogging to other mothers, but the blogging also offers the potential to become a paid position if the deadline can be met. The accumulation of minor crises, familiar to any urban dweller, is perfectly expressed by Uman Thurman’s frantic, fragile and frustrated Eliza. Newly separated, very pregnant single mom Sheila (Minnie Driver) serves as witty counterpoint, and Jodie Foster is hilarious in a brief cameo. A wise, warm and gentle comedy, “Motherhood” has much to teach about finding meaning and passion in the shared sacrifices of parenthood. (Barbara Pokras)
BIO:
Katherine Dieckmann began her career making music videos for such bands as R.E.M., Wilco, Aimee Mann, and Everything but the Girl. She was also the originating director for Nickelodeon's groundbreaking children's serial, "The Adventures of Pete and Pete," which earned her a CableAce nomination. Her first feature was "A Good Baby" (1999), which was developed at the Sundance Institute's Screenwriters and Directors Labs. Her second film was Diggers (2007). Dieckmann is an assistant professor at Columbia University's Graduate School of the Arts, where she teaches screenwriting. She lives in New York City and Rensselaerville with her husband and two children.
MAIN CREDITS:
Cast/Featuring: Uma Thurman, Anthony Edwards, Minnie Driver
Executive Producer(s): Daniel Crown, Peter M. Graham, Stephen Hays, Michael Lesser, John Wells
Producer(s): Jana Edelbaum, Rachel Cohen, Pamela Koffler, Christine Vachon
Director(s): Katherine Dieckmann
Screenwriter(s): Katherine Dieckmann
Cinematographer(s): Nancy Schreiber
Editor(s): Michael R. Miller
Composer(s)/Music: Joe Henry
COURTESY OF
Freestyle Releasing

It's her party

2009-09-30T13:38:00.001-07:00

I arrived at the Colony Cafe to find WFF Executive Director Meira Blaustein hard at work (surprise, surprise!) at her laptop, but never too busy for a quick hello.

The calm before the storm.....

2009-09-30T13:10:00.000-07:00

The Colony and Woodstock are on the cusp of an incredible influx of people, cinema, community, a scene, a vibe and a hang. There is nothing like it. Covering the Woodstock Film Festival is one of the highlights of my year.....But, shhhhh.

It's all about to happen.

Here's a quick peek at a quiet Colony Cafe.

Houston - I have arrived

2009-09-30T12:59:00.001-07:00

You know when you're trying to get out of the house for a trip and the distance from your front door to the car seems like a million miles. Well, that's what my day has been like. But - I am here, at the Woodstock Film Festival, just 90 minutes later than I had hoped.

I have arrived at the Colony Cafe in Woodstock, the headquarters for the Woodstock Film Festival. This building will be my home for the next five days.

Oh, Lonesome Neil......

2009-09-25T10:51:00.001-07:00

The Poughkeepsie Journal has got a story running this Sunday, Sept. 27, about Jonathan Demme's Neil Young Documentary, "Neil Young: Trunk Show." I saw the film and it was quite good. Demme told me during phone interview this week that the movie's not for non-Neil Young fans. But I have to disagree. It's a real analysis of this very complicated man. I'll post a link to the story once it publishes Sunday. Until then, it's a state secret. But here are some stills from the movie. Enjoy.
Oh - almost forgot. For our Neil Young fans out there, the man with the maid plays a haunting version of "Oh, Lonesome Me," from "After the Gold Rush," one of the saddest songs ever written. His harmonica is downright sorrowful.

Rock and Roll. Shake and Bake. Lights, Camera, Action.

2009-09-25T10:47:00.001-07:00

Ok folks, it's that time of year again. Cool days and nights, the turn of the season, the changing of the color of the leaves.....The Woodstock Film Festival is at hand. And I will once again be eating, sleeping and drinking cinema from Sept. 30-Oct. 4, all but sleeping at the media hq at the Colony Cafe, armed with a laptop computer, iPhone and cell phone.

I will be updating this blog as fast as humanly possible. So check back often. That's all for now. I've got to rest up.

The Last Day Of The First Part Of Her Life

2009-01-22T03:54:00.000-08:00

As this year's Sundance experience came to a close, I went along with my friends and colleagues Ilene Marder, Danielle DiGiacomo, Jordan Matthews and Dimitri to the NY Film Commission's annual condo party, celebrating all the NY filmmakers with films at Sundance. Its a fabulous party in a gigantic condo somewhere in the Canyons region outside of Park City. Surrounded by mountains, white snow and sparkling trees, adorned by golden christmas lights, the party quickly became very crowded as the never ending stream of filmmakers continued to arrive. While mini burgers were being passed around and business cards were being exchanged, I talked to many filmmakers and invited them all to submit to the Woodstock Film Festival and to shoot their next film in the Hudson Valley.

Hours later, as we gathered to leave outside by the entrance, I ran into our good friend Melissa Leo who arrived with a couple of young musicians from the Hudson Valley who now live in LA near her. Hugging there, we both knew that while Sundance for me came to a close, something new could be starting for her. It was Wednesday night, January 21, as we stood there hugging for a long time. The following morning the nominations for the Academy Awards were going to be announced at 6:30 AM Mountain Time. "I wanted to see you Meira" Melissa said as we stood there on the snow. "Tonight might be the last day of the first part of my life". As she said that, my heart stopped. "I'll call you and let you know if I got nominated" she said. "No way" I said. "You'll be much too busy. I'll try to call you. But whether I'm able to reach you or not, you will know that I, along with all your many friends back home, are enormously happy for you".

Getting up early Thursday morning before leaving for the Salt Lake City airport I packed everything fast, sat down, put on the TV and logged on to CNN online, waiting for the announcement.

And now I watched it. Melissa is one of the five actresses nominated for the 2009 Academy Award. This is huge, and indeed, the second part of her life has just begun. My huge congratulations!

2009-01-21T07:02:00.000-08:00

Tuesday morning started in Park City like everywhere else in the United States, with folks gathering in places, public or private, to watch the Inauguration. Ilene Marder and I were fortunate to be invited to the BMI condo by Woodstock Film Festival's friends Doreen Ringer Ross and Linda Livingston, so first thing in the morning we headed down to the Caledonian at the bottom of Main Street for an intimate viewing party. The BMI condo happens to be overlooking the public gathering on Main Street, where a giant screen and numerous flat screens were set up, broadcasting loud and clear the whole process to the delight of the hundreds who gathered there, young and old, Sundance participants and regular folks, all celebrating the momentous occasion together. The sun was shining and the air was filled with camaraderie and excitement. While keeping the doors open so we could get a sense of the crowd below, a group of us, including film producers, industry CEOs, composers and musicians all gathered together in the condo over a great breakfast, tears in many people's eyes, as we watched the historic inauguration. It was a memorable event, one that no one in the room will ever forget. My thanks to the wonderful folks at BMI for inviting us to join them.

Soon enough it was back to business as everyone dispersed to their respective screenings, meetings and events. After going to a press screening of Sin Nombre, I went to the highly anticipated sneak preview of Steven Soderbergh's new film, The Girlfriend Experience, at the Eccles. The place was buzzing with press members blogging on their iphones and blackberries as soon as the film was over and Soderbergh stepped on stage for Q&A, as everyone wanted to post their blogs ASAP... A few parties,including the always crowded Sundance Channel's event where Robert Redford made his annual appearance; the wonderful A&E gathering and the high octane, late night BritDocs party, as well as the always crowded Kodak Party, capped the day as our stay in Sundance, which started last Thursday the 15th, is quickly nearing its end.

What a week this has been.

Our Breakfast

2009-01-19T14:18:00.000-08:00

My thanks go out to the wonderful folks at the NY State Film Commission, including Jerome Stoeffhaas and Pat Kaufman, for hosting our Breakfast today, and to our co-sponsor, 120db Films for helping make it all happen. Every time you host a reception at Sundance or at any other event this size, there is a lot of work that goes into its planning and production. Thankfully we had a few WFF's staff here, Ilene Marder, Jordan Matthews and Daniel Blaustein Rejto who were here to help with the pre production and on site, and that certainly made it all much easier. Add to that my former assistant and Sundance current Volunteer Coordinator Rachel Katz who was on hand, helping when needed, and the event went off without a hitch.

It was great to see so many WFF's alumni at the reception, as well as industry folks whom I've never met before. Some of the guests included David Dinerstein from Lakeshore Entertainment in LA; actress Melissa Leo; director Tze Chun and director Larry Fessenden; documentary filmmakers Barbara Kopple, Hart and Dana Perry, Sarah and Emily Kuntsler; Participants Media's Bryan Stamp; SXSW's Janet Pierson; Cinetic's Matt Dentler; entertainment attorney / producer Jonathan Gray and his partners, and entertainment attorney / producer Steven Beer; producers Amy Hobby and Anne Hubbell, and many more. It was quite wonderful and my feeling is that we'll do it again next year.

2009-01-19T06:22:00.000-08:00

Its Monday morning. In less than two hours the Woodstock Film Festival & Hudson Valley Film Commission are about to host our Breakfast at the NY Lounge. We received so many RSVP, I hope it won't end up being too crowded as I' like people to be able to talk to each other at ease. We'll see.

Yesterday was a another long day in Park City. After walking out on a film at a Press & Industry screening (I'd rather not give away the title but it was pretty much unwatchable), I ended up seeing a few good films throughout the day, making the memory of the early film nothing but a bad dream...). One of the highlights was Peter Callahan's narrative film Against the Current, which was shot on the Hudson River, with locations including Beacon and other beautiful spots along the river. With terrific performances by Joseph Fiennes, Justin Kirk and Elizabeth Reaser, along with a hilarious scene with Mary Tyler Moore, the film played an ode to the Hudson in a way that I've never quite seen before. I would love to show it at the festival along with cast and crew.

Another very touching film was Tze Chun's premiere screening of his feature directorial debut Children of Invention. Such a beautiful film, with amazing performances by the two child stars, one age 8, other age 11, who drew laughter, tears and warm applause from the sold out house. Our personnel director, Lisa Myers, who was sitting next to me, was very moved by the story and wiped a few tears herself at the end (as did I...). During the Q&A I was watching Tze in amazement as he conducted the lengthy Q&A with confidence, dignity, kindness and intelligence well beyond his young years. I hope very much that the film will sell soon and many will get to see it and I look forward to Tze's next project.

Later on at the fabulous HBO dinner party I was talking to some old friends about football (yes, me...good thing the conversation quickly shifted to something else or I would have exhibited my football ignorance soon enough...), the upcoming inauguration, and of course, the movies we've all seen. It was nice to see that I was not the only one who shared the positive sentiments about the films mentioned above. Talking to Rick Allen, CEO of Snag Films, along with his staff member Andrew Mer and his executive vice president Stephanie Sharis, we discussed the growing trend of online distribution, the movies we've seen so far and our thoughts on the future of indie film. I was thrilled to see people like Nancy Abraham, vice president of documentary programming for HBO, Michael Maggiore of Film Forum, and many others who I have not seen for a couple of years. It was nice to engage in conversations again and, of course, invite them all to come back to the Woodstock Film Festival this fall. They are all invited to our breakfast this morning of course. Which reminds me. Gotta run and get to the NY Film Lounge now to prepare for our Breakfast gathering. Until next time then.

The movies

2009-01-17T18:18:00.000-08:00

I heard that Lee Daniels’ dramatic narrative film in competition, Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire, was greeted by standing ovation at the Premiere last night, and so I caught it this morning at the Press & Industry screening. Indeed I understand why the audience loved it. What a film, absolutely amazing. Very strong, Serious, so unique and from the heart. With Mo’Nique, Mariah Care and Lenny Kravitz in key roles, and with a story that comes straight from the dark and harrowing depth of Harlem, this movie is disturbing and amazing at the same time. Frankly, I was pretty much blown away. I highly recommend it. Funny, walking in I was told by one close industry colleague that I wont like the film, warning me of extreme violence, and so I selected a seat at the aisle, in case I wanted to leave after the first 10 minutes. But nothing was further from the truth. Go figure. WFF's long time friend John Sloss and his sales company Cinetic is repping the film. My feeling is that they will sell it shortly.

A few hours later I went along with my son Daniel and his friend Jordan Matthew to the premiere screening of Davis Guggenheim's It Might Get Loud. I remember a couple of years ago sitting at the same theater in Sundance, watching for the first time along with everyone at the theater the world premiere of Guggenheim's An Inconvenience Truth. It was an unforgettable experience then, complete with Al Gore's appearance at the end for Q&A which drew a huge standing ovation. Fast forward a couple of years later, and here was Guggenheim with this high octane, unique, fabulous music documentary, featuring Jack White (White Stripes, The Raconteurs), Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) and The Edge (U2). Following Guggenheim's opening remarks acknowledging this repeat experience here in Sundance, and following the standing ovation at the end of the film, Guggenheim brought Jack White to the front for Q&A, and the cameras began to click away by the many admirers in the room. I'm glad my son got to meet Guggenheim, inviting him to HIS film festival (not the Woodstock festival) at Brown, as Guggenheim is a Brown alum. I hope for his sake that it will work for him. Sony Picture Classing are releasing the film theatrically in the summer, and so everyone should be able to see it then.

Gotta go back to Main Street (oh God, its so crowded now, shuttle ride can take close to an hour, not fun...) for a couple of parties. Until next time.

End of a Day

2009-01-16T22:54:00.000-08:00

What a difference a day makes. While Thursday was relatively calm and empty, Friday was crowded, full of activities and hustle and bustle everywhere. Although the big buzz is that attendance is low this year due to the economy, walking on Main Street, sparkling with lights and floating with many sounds of music, tonight felt just as busy and wild as in years past. While during the day everyone was attending movies, panels, meetings and other networking opportunities, the evening brought with it endless parties with crowds spilling onto the streets left and right. What a scene.

But I'm regressing. Let me go back to the day. After talking to some press and industry members at headquarters this morning I headed out to Main Street and the NY Lounge to meet with Josh Zeman (Against the Current) and discuss showing the film in the Hudson Valley. As we were talking a panel featuring SAG Indie, an organization I have been hoping to bring on board the festival for years, was going on. I was glad I was able to talk to SAG Indie's rep following what was an excellent panel, as it will be great to bring them to the festival for our 10th Anniversary this fall. While we began discussing that at the Lounge, this is definitely something to follow up on once I get back home.

Later on, waiting on line for the premiere of Humpday, starring one of our favorite actors / directors Mark Duplass, a group of us was discussing the changing conditions of independent film distribution and the ever changing paths indie filmmakers can take these days. I was interested in what Karina Longworth, a respected blogger from Spout and a great writer, had to say, as she was describing the book she was working on, following the journey of a few select indie filmmakers at film festival's throughout the country during the course of one year. Sounds like a great project.

At the Eccles, laughter and discomfort ensued during Humpday, an improvisational comedy sets to challenge the norms, as hilarious situations between two straight young men, old college friends, who decide upon their reunion to have sex with each other in a low budget porno in the name of art, unfold in a series of twists and turns. The film received warm response from audience and some potential buyers, we'll see where it ends up and if it gets snatched here in Sundance, or later on.

As the sun went down and parties began to fill up Main Street, a group of us went to the IFP & Filmmaker Magazine reception, where you could see producers, directors, sales agents, press and buyers discussing, what else, but the situation of indie films today...It was a very nice party, though incredibly crowded. But not as crowded as the Gen Art party that followed. That one became rather crazy soon after we arrived. Stepping out onto the balcony to get some air and get a birds eye view of beautiful Main Street, filled with party tents, christmas lights, limos and people milling about everywhere, we ended up having a fun conversation with folks from LA who do special events for Sundance, the Oscars etc. To our surprise they were very familiar with Woodstock and knew exactly where our WFF's office was. They actually drove by it not too long ago... Small world. We'll see, perhaps they will put together a great event at our upcoming festival this fall.

After talking to more filmmakers, including Hudson Valley resident Robert Stone whose film Earth Days is closing Sundance later on, and who told me that this film is his "Citizen Kane" (!), meaning his masterpiece (can't wait to see it!), it was time to bid Main Street good night. Saturday is bound to be much busier day. Must get some sleep.

Day Two in Park City

2009-01-16T06:10:00.001-08:00

Its Friday morning. Everyone is still asleep at my condo, but with 30 minutes to go before I have to go to Sundance's headquarters to pick up a couple of complimentary press tickets and have a meeting with one of our programmers, I need to take the time now and figure out my schedule for today. Press and industry screenings. Public screening. Meetings, and parties. Should be a very full day.

Yesterday, upon our arrival we were struck by the lack of snow on the roads and pathways, I think it may be my first time in Sundance without having to slush through the snow everywhere, its amazing. During the day the weather was beautiful, the sky was perfectly blue, the sun was shining and the temperature could have been up to 40. However, as the afternoon wore off and the evening began, that has changed, and by the time we were out on main street having dinner, it was freeeeeeezing....So lesson number one for today - wear long johns!

Amazing how many people you run into on the first day of arrival here. Its good to arrive on Thursday, the day of the Opening Night Film, as town is not nearly as packed yet. You can actually walk around without pushing your way through the crowds, see familiar faces and stop and say hi, give a hug, wish people luck. Going to headquarters yesterday I saw so many of the filmmakers we're supporting this year. Tze Chun (Children of Invention) , Jeff Lipsky (Once More With Feeling), Josh Zeman (Against the Current), Molly Thompson (The September Issue)... as well as our IFP friends Michelle Byrd, Amy Dotson and Milton Tabbot, our Indiepix friend Danielle DiGiacomo, specialty distributor Orly Ravid, film sales rep extraordinaire Josh Braun... and many more. Everyone was just gathering their thoughts and making their plans, excited to be in Park City again and looking forward to a rewarding experience.

After checking in at the NY Lounge to touch base with NY State Commissioner Pat Kaufamn regarding our Breakfast Party there on Monday the 19th, saying hi to my beautiful former assistant and this year's Sundance's Volunteer Coordinator Rachel Katz, we headed back to Main Street (it was cold then) for a quick bite, and then off to Opening Night Film at the Eccles.

Running into our friend Bill Plympton, one of America's best animators, he quickly made a fantastic flyer for our Breakfast Party, signed and gave it to me to copy and distribute (thanks Bill!), which was great. People actually stopped and looked to see what he was doing...

Then, the movie. Max and Mary. An Australian animation, which was a first for Sundance as an opening night film. And you know what, it was great. Five years in the making, all hand animation (not one single computer generated frame, as the filmmaker stressed in his opening remarks). Funny, heart warming, and moving, this was an opening night film unlike any other. The film does not have US distribution yet, hopefully it will get it here.

Well, must leave now for a very full day. See you later at the movies!

Getting Ready for Sundance 09

2009-01-13T08:52:00.000-08:00

Oh boy, it's Tuesday. Two days before Sundance. I think I'm ready, but of course, there is still so much to do, and work for the Woodstock Film Festival and the Hudson Valley Film Commission is never ending.

Big films are scouting for locations in the area now, which is very exciting. We hope some will work out as it will be great for the local economy. Crossing my fingers. Can't release the names of the stars, but believe me, they are big.

And work for the festival is mounting. With deadlines for grant applications drawing near, talks with potential sponsors are ongoing, and programming for Year Round Screenings, special events, and the festival itself is starting to pick up. It's all very exciting, but also requires a lot of work. Lets hope that '09, which will be our TENTH anniversary will indeed be our best. I have high hopes.

In the meantime, Sundance is celebrating its TWENTY FIFTH anniversary this year. The program looks good. The parties look fabulous. I have good meetings lined up. Plenty of people traveling with me who will represent us. Should be good.

I see that some of the films in Sundance have already been bought by distributors, some of which are brand new companies, for who these Sundance acquisitions are the first in their slate. Does that mean that this year will be a good one for buyers? Will many films find a home because of Sundance? It's possible, as the preliminary numbers indicate, but its still too soon to know. I know that many filmmakers are already working on their plan B - a DIY (Do it Yourself) distribution plan - in case their films won't get picked up (and more often than not, that is the case).

Curious if there will be a runaway hit this year in the same vein as Little Miss Sunshine a few years ago. There is some growing buzz on some of the films already, can't wait to see them.

It's a different year this one. With the economy the way it is (many people who are watching their spending are opting to go to the Berlin Film Festival instead of Sundance, or just skipping the upcoming big film festivals all together...) and with the inauguration thats pulling quite a few people to DC instead of Sundance (for instance, Ted Sarandos, CEO of Netflix and the recipient of Woodstock's honorary Trailblazer Award in 07 will be in Washington this year instead of Park City, alas), some of the people I'm used to seeing out there won't be there this year. Perhaps that means that a whole new crop of industry folks will be there in their stead! We'll see.

I'm getting excited. Leaving Thursday at 3 AM, and the trip officially start once you get to the airport, as many New York industry members traditionally takes the same flight that I do. I look forward to it.

Until then.

The film fest is long over, but the movies continue........

2008-10-21T13:59:00.000-07:00

For some reason, the aura of the film fest lingers...I am getting slammed by movies.

- My wife and I have been trying to set aside time to watch Michael Moore's "Sicko" for weeks (we got it from Netflix.)

- I just got a DVD of the Tom Petty documentary, "Running Down A Dream."

- I still have to watch the interview with former UN General Secretary Kofi Annan, that is part of the documentary on the U.N. and Darfur that was screened at the WFF, and which was excellent. But this interview wasn't part of the documentary, so I am anxious to see it.

- And I am trying to block out time to see Oliver Stone's "W." This film should be a hoot. I am a big fan of Oliver Stone's, with "JFK" and "The Doors." And I am NOT a big fan of W.

- Thankfully, I did make time to see "All Together Now," the documentary on The Beatles show put together by Cirque Du Soleil, which I missed at the WFF. It was simply fantastic and I am looking forward to watching it again, when I am not on deadline to write a story about it......

More to come once I see all these dang movies......

Leon Gast -a new film

2008-10-09T12:21:00.001-07:00

I think I have recovered from the Woodstock whirlwind, so I can finally catch up on the whole lot of news I gathered while up there.

And here is some big news. Leon Gast, who I first bumped into at the opening night Bela Fleck concert, told me he is working on a new film, and it sounds pretty interesting. This movie is about Juan Gallela, a notorious member of the paparazzi, circa 1970s, who had a legendary relationship with Jacqueline Onassis.

Of course, I don't have to tell you that Leon lives in Ulster County and won the Academy Award for making "When We Were Kings." He also made "The Grateful Dead Movie."

Click here to read a nice recolletion of Gallela by a fellow photographer, which includes a pretty funny story about Ron and Jackie, though I don't think Jackie would find this funny.

Click here for information on a photo book by Gallela, with a great shot of Grace Jones on the cover.

Leon is directing this movie, and Doug Abel, who lives not far from Woodstock, and not far from Leon, and who worked on the Academy Award-winning documentary, "Fog of War," is editing Leon's new movie. Doug's credits also include "30 Rock," "Metallica: Some Kind of Monster" and the 2002 Academy Awards.

"I've worked with a lot of good editors," he told me at the Bearsville Theater on opening night of the Woodstock Film Festival. "He's the best."

BOO!

2008-10-08T13:36:00.001-07:00

I still have news from the Woodstock Film Festival that I need to post on this site, but here's a quick time out.

On Sunday, the Journal will publish a list of staff picks: the horror movie that scared me the most. The submissions, from all departments at the paper, have been really creepy. However, one takes the cake. It's from cops reporter Christine Pizzuti and it's posted below. And it's a doozy. I got creeped out just reading it.

But just so you know, the story Sunday will ask readers to submit THEIR pick for the horror movie that scared them the most. This is all in anticipation of Halloween, and the picks of readers will be published in the very near future.

Let's consider this a sneak-peek of Sunday's story. Thanks, Christine:

Christine Pizzuti
General assignment reporter

I’ve seen a lot of horror movies. My friends and I used to have a Christmas Eve tradition of watching Nightmare on Elm Street and the Halloween movies. But those never phase me. The one movie that has stayed with me, and affects the way I enter the house and pick up the phone at night, is When a Stranger Calls — the 1979 version with Carol Kane. The movie takes place in one night, when the baby sitter answers the phone to a stranger asking, “Have you checked the children?” The children are found dismembered in their beds.

I watched the movie in 7th grade at a friend’s house on All Hallow’s Eve. We were in the basement, sitting next to the sliding door, when my friend’s father, wearing a white mask, knocked on the door and disappeared into the night. We ran upstairs screaming, and found him sitting at the kitchen table, eating dinner. He told us there were reports of someone running around the neighborhood with a mask on, and for us to go back downstairs and finish the movie. He said he would let us know if he heard anything. Of course he showed up again at the slider, and we screamed and cried, and he was forced to give up his identity.

So, it’s not as much the movie that scared me, but the association with a practical joke. But I still fear sliders and the possibility of a stranger lurking around the property, waiting to tear off my limbs. Before entering my home at night, I check a lot of the windows from the outside first, and enter the bedroom talking on the cell phone with a kitchen knife in my hand.

I love this town

2008-10-06T06:51:00.000-07:00

The reason I missed the screening of "All Together Now," as well as the Garrison Keillor documentary, was that I was offered an opportunity I could not pass up, as a journalist, music lover and student of the Woodstock generation.

During a rare quiet moment at the Colony Cafe during the film festival, I got to talking with Doreen Ringer-Ross, vice-president of film/tv relations at BMI, which, according to the organization's Web site, "collects license fees on behalf of its songwriters, composers and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed."

Hmmm. Artists getting paid for their craft. For someone who writes for a living, and is married to a visual artist, I couldn't be happier about what BMI does.

So I was talking to Doreen at the Colony and after introducing myself I told her how much I enjoyed her panel discussion at the 2007 Woodstock Film Festival with, among others, local hero John Sebastian. It was a good talk with no grizzle and lots of information, lots of facts, and lots of insight on the guy who WAS the Lovin' Spoonful, but who I knew better as the guy who sang the theme to "Welcome Back, Kotter."

I told Doreen I would be attending her talk Friday with Donovan, and then we got to talking about Donovan's documentary, and his legacy. She told me this wonderful story about being with Donovan in Austin, Texas, and a 25-year-old or so radio journalist said something to the effect of, "Donovan, you were around in the 1960s, what's the best drug?" And without missing a beat, Doreen explained, Donovan replied, "Love."

Now, coming from someone else, that could be a condescending, cliche answer. But coming from Donovan, who I learned at the film festival was a real 1960s, flower-power, true to the spirit of Woodstock the concert and Woodstock the town kind of guy, this was holy scripture.

And as she did with Sebastian last year, Doreen during her discussion with Donovan really drew out of of him a lot of great stories, about The Beatles, India, songwriting, working with kids, and more. She really let the audience at the Donovan panel discussion get to know a human being who has done incredible things, a real person, a true human being, rather than a star who existed in some other plane, out of reach from the rest of us.

So while I'm talking to Doreen at the Colony, she invites me to an extremely exclusive dinner at Oriole 9, one of the finer restaurants in downtown Woodstock, just off the village green. I know from years past that this is dinner is a big deal and I'm flattered to be invited and of course, I go.

And what an event it was. I don't want to say the elite or hierarchy of Woodstock was there, because that would be disingenuous. These people are not elite, nor are they a hierarchy. Like Donovan, these are regular people, like you and me, who have done incredible things with their talent, their art, their craft, their love for what they do, then indulged their eagerness and willingness to share it with others.

At the dinner was Michael Lang, the man who staged the 1969 Woodstock concert. There was also Eliott Landy, whose rock and roll photography of Bob Dylan, The Band, Janis Joplin, Van Morrison and many, many others is as much a part of the American music legacy as any band. Donovan was at the dinner, as was legendary cinematographer Haskell Wexler, and so many more I can't put all their names here.

I particularly enjoyed my very brief conversation with Morgan Spurlock, the journalistic genius who a few years ago ate nothing but McDonald's food for a month and chronicled his descent into love handles in a film, "Supersize Me." I told Morgan that his film really made me think about what I eat. He then took a step back, looked me up and down and said, "well, you look pretty dapper."

I chatted with Michael Lang about the Wavy Gravy documentary that is in production and said hello to Elliot Landy, with whom I had spoken last Wednesday at the Bela Fleck concert. And I sat at dinner with Suzanne Hilleary from Wacbiz, Academy Award-winning filmmaker Leon Gast and his wife, Geri; and Ike Phillips from WDST and his wife Carol.

I had a great time. And overseeing it all was Doreen, who sat at one end of a table, just beneath a big BMI banner that read, "You may be independent, but you are not alone." A nice thought for all of these artists in the room, and for this aspiring artistc, as I slug it out at the local daily newspaper, and try to make my way as a writer, striving to reach that horizon beyond the daily deadlines and fading future of the newspaper industry in the U.S.

Leon spoke about recording sessions where Billy Joel and David Sanborn were unknown studio musicians; Leon and Ike spoke about the days when you could just dial the last four digits of a phone number in Woodstock, and leave out the 679 you now need (that conversation was spurred by the name of the restaurant, Oriole 9, which recalled the days when 6-7-9, the Woodstock phone exchange, was called, O-R-9, or Oriole 9.)

Ike and Leon also had some great stories about the Rolling Stones recording at Bearsville Studios, up the road from the village green in Woodstock, and the legendary private party the Stones threw at the Joyous Lake, once a club, now home to Not Fade Away clothing.

This was a real party, with real people, who discovered something they love to do and worked their entire professional lives at doing it as best as they could. They were inspiring to me, as artists and as people. I've had some pretty extraordinary times at past Woodstock Film Festivals, filming a one-on-one video interview with Wavy Gravy, watching Trey Anastasio and Mike Gordon from Phish play a surprise set at the now-closed Allaire Studios, and speaking with Peter Gabriel after a screening of his daughter's documentary.

But this BMI dinner was an event for the ages.

I had a great time.

Thank you, Doreen.
See you next year?

Goodnight Irene.

2008-10-05T20:59:00.002-07:00

It's midnight and I am spent, tapped, fried, floundered, cooked, roasted, broiled basted and beat. Stick a fork in me because I-A-M-D-O-N-E.

But I've got plenty more to add and will be back at this blog first thing Monday morning, just as soon as I go throgh the hundreds of e-mails I haven't looked at since the film festival started last Wednesday.

Many thanks to Meira, Laurent, Ilene, Gabe, Reni, Lisa, Andrea, Donovan, Paul, George, Ringo, John, Earl, Sterling, Maeve, Mick, Keith, Sleepy, Dopey, and whoever else I have forgotten. It was a blast....

One that got away - I'll have to wait until Oct. 21

2008-10-05T20:26:00.000-07:00

I had planned to see, and was very excited and very much looking forward to, a movie called "All Together Now," which chronicles the Cirque Du Soleil show that was built around Beatles music, called "Love," and made with Paul, Ringo and Yoko's blessing. "Love" was screened at the Woodstock Film Festival Friday night.

We can all see "All Together Now," Oct. 21, when it comes out on DVD. Read more about the Cirque Du Soleil show by clicking here and you can read about the movie by clicking here

And this looks like fun, contained on the DVD, along with the 84-minute documentary:

‘All Together Now’ documentary (84:00)

Bonus Features:

“Changing The Music” 22 minutes: An in-depth look at the decision to rework and remix the Beatles music for the show

“Music In The Theatre” 9 minutes: A look at the process of creating the LOVE show’s unique audio design in the theater

“Making ‘LOVE’” 10 minutes: A backstage pass to explore the design of LOVE, including the art direction, costumes, props, screen imagery and the use of The Beatles’ voices in the stage production and soundtrack.

My next posting will explain why I missed this movie, but here is a little bit from the director, with whom I spoke last week:

Adrian Wills had worked for Cirque before working on this film, and actually, when he started shooting this movie, there was no movie, which worked to his advantage.

- "We went in under the radar."

- "It was kind of clandestine, that is why the film is so intimate."

- "When you are making a Cirque Du Soleil film, they really don’t care about you, they have a huge show to put out. You are kind of an annoyance, you have to figure out a way so they don’t know you are shooting."

- The interview with Ringo Starr was 16 minutes long - only 9 minutes longer than when I had him on the phone this summer, before his show at Bethel Woods - and 12 minutes of that were used in the film.

- "The whole film was an insane challenge."

- "The film is crafted on moments and interviews and we really picked the times we would go in and talk to people, and be at places."

- "My first reaction was, 'oh my God, it’s a film with The Beatles and Cirque Du Soleil.' "

- Wills had 90 minutes with Beatles producer George Martin and his son, Giles, the duo in charge of the music aspect of "Love," and George Martin discussed the last time he saw John Lennon.

- The spirit of George Harrison was strong, Wills said - "You really got the feeling they were doing this for George."

I haven't seen this movie, but I have heard the CD of the music used in the show and it is mind-bending, psychedelica, pure Beatles post-"Revolver" weirdness. The Martins layered songs, removed tracks, so, for example, some songs now only have a vocal track, or this instrument or that instrument, or there are crazy segues that are just so, well-Beatles-esque.

And this is sacred territory for me. The Beatles album, "1962-66," the red one, where they are looking over the hotel balcony, was my doorway into rock 'n' roll in 6th grade. These guys, for me, mark the spot where it all started, and The Beatles are a big reason why I write about music for a living today.

Speaking with Ringo on the phone for five minutes earlier this year was a holy experience. I was shaking before, during and after. So I really can't wait for this DVD to come out.

Bravo, boys!!

Mary Stuart Masterson - jury duty and a crush on Mrs. Lee Marvin

2008-10-05T20:23:00.000-07:00

....was among those laughing the loudest when Kevin Smith was giving his raunchy acceptance speech.
She also told the audience that while she was serving as a juror for films in the film fest, she was actually serving real jury duty.

She also said the following after speaking immediately after Mrs. Lee Marvin:

" I got to sit in a car with her for 20 minutes and I have a crush."

hmm. OK. Whatever you say, Mary Stuart Masterson.

Throwing the script to Jaws in the fire

2008-10-05T20:09:00.000-07:00

I had heard in the past of the bits and pieces of Lee Marvin's connection to Woodstock, but this Hollywood bad boy's widow really filled in the dots when she presented an award at the awards ceremony Saturday night.

I didn't know that:

- Lee Marvin vacationed in Woodstock with his family as a boy
- He was obsessed with fishing and honed his love in the many streams of the Catskill Mountains
- He served in the Marine Corps during World War II, in the Pacific Theater
- In 1945, his family bought a home in Woodstock
- He acted for the first time in a Maverick Theater production in Woodstock, earning $7 a month for playing the lead
- The couple married in 1970
- Lee Marvin was a stickler for narrative
- After reading the script to Jaws, which I guess could have been his, though I'm not sure which role, he began hurling expletives from his mouth before hurling the script into the fireplace
- When making "The Big Red One," he eithe cut his dialogue altogether or gave it to another actor, because his "character just wouldn't say it."

Earl. Gail. Sterling and Saphin

2008-10-05T20:02:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from the big gig at the Colony Cafe Friday night. Earl Slick on guitar, Gail Ann Dorsey on bass and Sterling Campbell on drums showed why David Bowie has them backing him up. That's Saphin on vocals.

Playing catch-up on WDST

2008-10-05T19:57:00.000-07:00

These pictures are from Saturday, but I'm just getting to them now...it's Carmel, Gattine and Malley broadcasting from the Colony Cafe......

He loves NY

2008-10-05T19:47:00.000-07:00

I saw a pretty good documentary tonight on the graphic designer and illustrator, who created the "I Love NY" logo. And he never earned a dime for it.

Milton lives in New York City but has had a second home in Woodstock for more than 40 years. He also designed the logos for the Bear Cafe in Woodstock, Grand Union supermarkets, Brooklyn Beer and tons of other stuff, including this iconic album cover for Bob Dylan, the image of which I got from www.woodstockfilmfestival.com:

Milton's not big on using the computer, but he does like the fact that his office window opens up to a school playground, so about noon each school day, the sounds of kids playing inspires him.

A good flick on somebody who seems like a good guy.

Attention Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin

2008-10-05T14:50:00.000-07:00

I haven't seen any of your supporters in Woodstock this weekend, but in the interest of ethics, fairness, and everything I learned in Kindergarten, I am anxious and eager to post either:

a) Pictures of people bashing Sen. Obama and Sen. Biden
b)Pictures of people supporting either McCain or Palin
c) Other

In the meantime, let's watch Sarah Palin impersonate Tina Fey impersonating Sarah Palin. Just click here.

There is a W in Woodstock, but you'll never likely to see this other W. in Woodstock

2008-10-05T14:39:00.000-07:00

I hear it was President George W. Bush Day in Woodstock Saturday..........

The End is Near, but more awards photos first

2008-10-05T14:25:00.000-07:00

The end is at hand. WFF base camp is shut down at the Colony Cafe and the last films will be rolling soon.

After wandering a bit through Woodstock, and enjoying quite nicely the weekly Sunday afternoon drum circle on the green, I have landed in the lounge of the Bearsville Theater, with wireless up and about 45 minutes until my last film.

As this is a time to reflect, here are some photos, courtesy of the film fest, of Saturday night's awards ceremony......click here.

I gotta go

2008-10-05T12:28:00.000-07:00

I am home again to blog, but am leaving for my final round-up at the film fest. First to the Colony Cafe for some yukking it up, then off to see Milton Glaser at 6:30....

later alligator.

A story with sole

2008-10-05T12:24:00.000-07:00

So I was waiting with my wife for "32A" to begin when this guy sits down across the aisle from us, with these outrageous shoes......

The guy wearing the shoes was Steve Schoen from High Falls. The shoes were designed and brought to life by Richard Murphy, who owns The Egg's Nest in High Falls. If you've ever been in that restaurant, then the shoes make sense, as the interior decorating is similar to the shoes.

Click here to learn more about Steve.

The Quinn siblings score big in Rosendale

2008-10-05T12:07:00.000-07:00

The Irish are taking over this film festival. First it was "Eden," now it's "32A," which, to quote the main character of the film, 14-year-old Maeve, "it was GRAND!"

These characters were real, the parallel story lines were gripping, and anyone who loved or hated their teenage years will identify with the rebellion, the clique of friends, the boyfriend or girlfriend, fake ID, hassling with the folks and getting punished. Marian Quinn, above at the q and a, directed; her brother, High Falls resident and actor Aidan Quinn, starred in the film.

Anyone who was young in 1979 will identify with Maeve's brother solving the Rubik's Cube and Maeve receiving Joe Jackson's "Look Sharp" record as a gift for her 15 birthday.

What a movie. I loved it, loved it, loved it.

I asked Aidan Quinn during the Q and A after what it was like working with a script that contained so little dialogue for his character, Maeve's Dad. He said jokingly, "when your sister is the director, you do what your told."

Bravo.
P.S. - Aidan's High Falls neighbor, Gerry Leonard, scored the movie, which, to again quote Maeve, was "BRILLIANT!" Gerry's gentle touch went a long way. Click here to read about Gerry and the movie, and to hear Gerry play his original composition, "The Getaway."

Giddy up!

2008-10-05T08:41:00.001-07:00

It's 11:41 a.m. and I am still in my pajamas, filing blog posts.

I have to shower, drink 10 more cups of tea, and be at the Rosendale Theater, about 15 minutes away, by 12:45, for "32A," and the q and a with Aidan and Marian Quinn that follows.

I hope I make it.
Wish me luck.

More later from Woodstock. I've got the Milton Glaser documentary at 6:30 p.m. and a lot of posting in between from the Colony.
ciao.
jb

Thursday, Oct. 2, a lifetime ago

2008-10-05T08:33:00.001-07:00

After reading the Poughkeepsie Journal each day, I enjoy the Daily News.

I bought this copy of the paper last Thursday, on my way up to Woodstock for the film festival. But I have literally been running around like a mad man since arriving there on WEDNESDAY - and I still haven't read the paper. So I figured I would at least post a picture of it here. why not?

Donovan - what a show.

2008-10-05T08:26:00.001-07:00

I was only at the sold-out, Saturday night Donovan concert for about 25 minutes, because I had to get to Kingston for the awards ceremony. But this guy sure knows how to work a room. The Colony Cafe was packed, everyone was singing along and there was love, love, love in the air. Everything I heard this guy talking about - in the documentary, at the panel discussion, about peace and love and renaissance and poetry and the 1960s - he embodies it. He lives it. He really is a pied piper. He lead that room through some peace and love, man, for sure. It was happy AND peppy AND bursting with love, to quote Felix Unger.

Bravo!

Saturday afternoon in Woodstock

2008-10-05T08:16:00.000-07:00

The film fest vibe hits something of a crescendo on Saturday afternoon. It's pretty cool. The streets are packed, traffic is backed up. There is a V-I-B-E.

Here are some pictures I took on a walk from the Colony Cafe to the Tinker Street Cinema.....

A word on the winners.....

2008-10-05T07:56:00.001-07:00

• PRINCE OF BROADWAY, directed by Sean Baker, takes THE LEE MARVIN BEST FEATURE NARRATIVE AWARD

- I was handed a ticket to see this Saturday morning at WFF base camp. I had no plans to see it, but my schedule opened up. I was looking forward to seeing it after hearing in Meira's introduction that Prince had won top prize at the LA film festival. Also, one of the filmmakers announced that the movie would be shown at the exact same time - 4:15 p.m. Saturday - in Krakow, Poland, at a film festival there, 10:15 p.m. Krakow time.

I had to leave early to attend to some personal matters in Kingston - namely, seeing my wife, who I hadn't really seen since Tuesday, and going to two art openings - so I really only saw the setup - Two guys in NYC lure pedestrians into a back room of a clothing store, where they sell Prada and Gucci and Nike knockoffs - shoes handbags, etc. Then, one of the guys, I think his name was Lucky, is approached by a woman, her girlfriend, and the small child the woman she is holding. While Lucky is working over two middle-aged woman looking for shoes, the woman basically dumps the kid on Lucky and takes off with her new boyfriend.

When I left, ol' Lucky was trying to figure out what to do. This movie didn't really leave any impression on me either way, good or bad, and I didn't feel bad leaving early because I didn't think I'd miss anything. Apparently, I blew it.

The Diane Seligman Award for BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY went to PICKIN’ AND TRIMMIN’, directed by Matt Morris.

This short was G-R-E-A-T. I saw it and am glad I did. It focused on a barber shop in Drexel, North Carolina, that is run by a guy who is probably 70. There is a back room in which musicians gather every Saturday and jam hard on bluegrass - guitar, stand-up bass, fiddle, banjo - you get the idea. The music was great, the characters, all real people, were even better. This was right out of The Andy Griffith Show.

A few fine details - The certificate on the wall from the "North Carolina Board of Barber Examiners." The sign with new prices on the wall and their "Efective" date. And that old Barber shop light, wiht the red and blue lines, from when I was a kid. You know what I mean. I remember hearing that that dates back to the days when the local barber was also the local doctor.

The Haskell Wexler Award for BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY went to AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD, directed by Dan Stone and shot by Daniel Fernandez, Tim Gorski, Simeon Houtman, James Joyner, Jonathan Kane, Mathieu Mauvernay, and John “Rip” Odebralski.

- THIS WAS THE BEST MOVIE I SAW AT THE FILM FEST. The Sea Shephers roam the Antarctic sea, looking for ships that illegaly hunt whales in a sanctuary. They mess with these hunters big time - ram their ship up against the hunting ship, have their helicopter buzz them, destroy propellers with big mesh ropes. A gripping point came when they lost one of their chase pontoon boats, which circle the whalers and like the whole team, just mess with their heads. What a film. What a story. And you are right up front for everything, on the bridge, in the helicopter. Great stuff and a great cause.

And consider the fact that I was very late for this movie and didn't even have a ticket - I only caught the last 20 minutes of a 96 minute movie.

And that picture up top is from the film, and I wanted to go see it based on that alone.

Also, a filmmaker speaking after the movie said the Japanese government - the whalers in the movie - have issued arrest warrants for three Sea Shepherds crew members.