event reviews

I’ve been going to ComicCon since the early 90's when a film company I was working with sent me down to talk to the creators of a comic book that they wanted to produce into a movie (yes, we were making movies from comic books even back then.)

It was simpler by many degrees in the 90's - not the overcrowded zoo it’s turned out to be in 2010. In some ways it’s awesome to behold these days but it’s become so crowded and impacted that going at times seems like an exercise in futility.  They just need more space (or less greed from packing in every vendor in the Universe.)

Saturday we gathered to hear one of the most prolific and versatile writers of our time.  

J. Michael Straczynski, aka JMS, aka Joe, put aside his crushing deadlines and came to the Regency South Coast Village Theater to take the stage and make us think, make us laugh, and make us feel good about being filmmakers.

Last night at the Regency South Coast Village Theater the Polish Film Fesitval played two stunning films, neither of which is easy to categorize.  Sometimes that can be bad but in the case of "My Flesh, My Blood" and "Zero" that is most definitely good.

Imagine the anguish and pathos of  "The Wrestler" and the dangerous, raw anger of "Raging Bull" but dialed up and amped times ten.

The Polish Film Festival - every time I mention it people chuckle.  I'll admit, it does sound a little like a punch line to a bad joke.  

But make no mistake - this is serious, professional,  wonderfully conceived and executed filmmaking on a par with anything that Hollywood has ever churned out.

Take "Trick" the film I saw this afternoon at the Regency South Coast Village Theater.  Simply excellent.  Directed by Jan Hryniak from a screenplay by Michal J. Zablocki, nothing in the film ever made me think it wasn't produced at the highest levels of filmdom.  Trust me on this - had this film been in English and you didn't know it was a Polish film you'd think it came out of the best film minds available from Hollywood.

So, after "Jesse's Story" I'm talking with director Marc Jacobs and getting ready to leave and my niece. Kayleigh, and her friend, Monika, come into the Island Theater.  They are going to see "Ondine," an Irish film starring Colin Farrell.  Now the reason I mention this is because nowhere on the movie schedule does  it show the screening.  And since I'm on the press email list and also signed up for the NBFF Facebook page I would have expected something to come my way regarding this film.

After “Clearpix” I wasn’t sure what I wanted to see. Nothing was really grabbing me. While I was standing outside deciding, an old friend Cath Brandom (who I hadn't seen since last year's film fest) and her son Dusty approached. They were heading to “Jesse’s Story,” a film about talented surfer Jesse Billauer who broke his spine surfing on the eve of turning pro at the age of sixteen.

I'd had my fill of surf movies and didn't think I wanted another one but Cath and her son coming up like that changed my mind. You see Dusty is in a wheelchair. I had to see the film and get his reaction if he’d let me.  A Q&A with Dusty follows this review.

This is part one of three of the last day of the Newport Beach Film Festival so let’s get right to it.

“CleanFlix” is the story about the attempt by some in Utah’s Mormon community to “sanitize” Hollywood films which turned litigious and really ugly. This narrative has more twists and turns than a road to Bear Bear and more dirt than a convention of failed preachers.

It’s too complicated to go into all the permutations but here are the high points:

Maybe I’m just tired and grumpy after long days of festival but today just wasn’t a peak day at the Newport Beach Film Festival.

I didn’t go at all yesterday because of professional obligations so I was looking forward to today.

The first film I saw started the day right although they held the press out until the very last because the showing was sold out. “Accidental Icon: The Real Gidget Story” is a short (60 minutes) documentary based on a book written by novelist Fredrick Kohner who was the father of the real girl called Gidget by the boy surfers in the late-50's. Gidget (Girl mIDGET) was/is Kathy Kohner (Zuckerman) who at about the time of her fourteenth birthday wanted to surf and hang out with the boys at Malibu.

You know it's a long festival when you find yourself waiting in the lobby of the Island Cinemas for your camerman (Eric Hensman from Lennexe Productions), eating a cold Wahoo fish sandwich left over from the day before, drinking theater coffee, and downing supplements from a ziplock bag - while talking to a short-film director who desperately wants you to come to his film - which you can't because of a scheduling conflict.  But he continues anyway and all you're hoping is that you won't be burping up either the sandwich or the coffee in the upcoming screening.  Fun.

The first film I saw today was "My Run."  

Okay, so student films aren't brilliant, ultra-clean, well-acted productions like professional films.  That's a given.  On budgets less than dinner for four, the productions often suffer from no production money, too little time, too little experience and perhaps a bit too much youthful hubris.

But the energy...oh, my - what a treat to watch the young filmmakers fairly vibrating with enthusiasm and adrenalin (but trying to look chill) as they participated in the after-screening Q&A.

World premiers - now just how many of those do we get to go to?  Tonight, the Regency South Coast Village Theater was host to the Newport Beach Film Festival showing of surf documentary "The Westsiders" which was premiering for the first time anywhere.  

I'm an Ohio native - basically landlocked except for Lake Erie.  I played in plenty of lakes when I was a kid but surfing?  Nada.   Zero.  No interest.  I am a huge fan of biolgraphical documentaries however and this film does not disappoint.  

Today started early(ish) at a screenwriting seminar that was well attended.  I won't cover it here since another member is going to do a write up.  

Afterwards, several of us had lunch and someone commented about the quality of the films, which to this point had been uneven to this point.

I think that's to be expected in a festival.  Many of these productions don't have the huge machines behind them that even smaller films out of Hollywood enjoy - like some of the boutique imprints that most studios support.

I wasn't able to go last night to the opening gala so this was my first night at the fest.  To see some quick video hits from the opening go here.

In a word the festival is - fabulous.

The first videos of opening night of the Newport Beach Film Festival are up on our YouTube page.  OCSWA members Tom Sullivan and Rudy Garcia do the reporting thing.

HERE

When I was a kid, my dad and I would go fishing a lot.  No matter where we went, what time of year or whatever weather we almost always heard the same thing: You should have been here last week - when the fishing was really good.

That's the feeling I got attending the Anaheim Comic Con today and Friday - I probably should have been there on Saturday.  Unfortunately, I couldn't so I went in-between the show's busiest day.  

Today you really got an end-of-show feeling.  Booth denziens were looking a little ragged; merchandise was discounted, and there wasn't a lot of people there when we walked in at 10:00am.

Since there is already an excellent review of the film and the brothers Edgerton on this site this review will be brief and not talk much about what's already been covered.

On Saturday night at the Regency Theater, I got the distinct pleasure of meeting Nash Edgerton, director and producer of "The Square" and short film, "Spider."  Nash was personable and accessible.  He is totally without pretense.  What you see is what you get and that's already pretty special since his body of work shows a filmmaker who is in touch with exactly what he wants. 

 I got home late and don't have a lot of time to post this but I wanted to get something out about Anaheim ComicCon which started today and runs through Sunday, April 18th. (info)

Thumbs up.  It was entertaining and delivered on a lot of what you go to Cons for.  

I went with OCSWA board members Eric Hensman (Lennexe Productions) and Chris Stambouli.  Eric has been to many shows of this type but for Chris it was his first since he doesn't do the fanboy thing much.  Both enjoyed it as did I.

Although it may seem like they just landed in L.A. with their indie film noir feature The Square, Aussie brothers Nash and Joel Edgerton are no strangers to major Hollywood productions. I had an opportunity to take part of a roundtable interview with the guys;  ironically they were seated before a panoramic view of the city, ripe for conquest!

This weekend in Burbank, Monsterpalooza haunts the Marriott Burbank Convention Center.

Along with OCSWA board member, producer/director Eric Hensman and seemingly everyone from his immediate family, I ventured forth into the stinking bowels of hell (or actually the front lobby.)

Thursday night, MAOC and OC Screenwriters gathered four preeminent  documentary filmmakers to discuss their craft.

The men and their subjects couldn't have been more different:

First things first; gratz to all the nominees!

oscar.go.com/nominations/nominees

Extremely happy with all of this.

I am a little surprised by a couple of nomination in a couple of categories, but won't begrudge any.  Some of these are going to be extremely difficult to predict winners.

Last night at the Orange County cultural center of film, The Regency South Coast Plaza Theater, a small but enthusiastic group of film lovers watched the movie "Uncertainty" and then were treated to a Q&A with the writers/producers/directors.

Scott McGehee and David Siegel have created an interesting, "experimental" film about the choices we make and the consequences of those decisions.  

The film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Lynn Collins as a couple who flip a coin, head off in different directions and meet different versions of each other's significant other at opposite ends of the Brooklyn Bridge.