Left pane: Mister Lonely poster; Top Right: Scene from Mister Lonely; Bottom Right: Harmony Korine.

Afternoon Finger Lickers! Harmony Korine is back! Yes you heard right, after an eight-year hiatus from filmmaking the Indie legend has returned with a feature entitled Mister Lonely. Korine, known as the writer of Kids and director of the famed Gummo has produced a suitably off-the-wall premise for his comeback. Mister Lonely stars Samantha Morton and Diego Luna and follows a group of celebrity lookalikes who live together in a truly bizarre commune.

Unlike Gummo the film conforms much more to a mainstream narrative, which interests and troubles me in equally measure. I am extremely intrigued to find out what almost a decade out of the game has done to Korine’s style and unique storytelling abilities.

The clip below was posted on the Guardian’s film blog where the exclusive of this story can be found. After some trouble embedding the original I just decided to repost to the Finger Lickin’ YouTube account. Take a gander at the clip and drop me a comment with your thoughts! Mister Lonely opens this weekend at cinemas across the UK.

Check out the film’s official website for a trailer and more information.

That’s it from me for now,

K

Left pane: Jim Jarmusch; Top right: Bill Murray in Broken Flowers; Bottom right: Isaach De Bankolé in Night on Earth.

Gooood evening deadpan fans! There have been a number stories trundling around the Internet over the last few weeks about Mr. Jim Jarmusch, the director once described by me as the Marmite of indie film. I have been holding off talking about the story because a) I am somewhat of a Jarmusch fanboy and b) I didn’t really think I had anything to add. However, the temptation has proved too great, so here’s your Finger Lickin’ Jarmusch low down.

The reason for all the web chatter is that shooting has just got underway on Jarmusch’s first project since the magnificent Broken Flowers back in 2005. Way back in November he announced that he had secured funding and distribution from Focus Features for his new film The Limits of Control. The film will star Jarmusch regulars Bill Murray (Broken Flowers), Tilda Swinton (Broken Flowers) and Isaach De Bankolé (Ghost Dog, Night on Earth) along side newcomer Gael Garcia Bernal. As if that rip-roaring cast wasn’t enough, joining Jarmusch behind the camera is Cinematographer Christopher Doyle (Hero, In the Mood for Love) while Oscar winner Eugenio Caballero (Pan’s Labyrinth) is responsible for the film’s production designer.

Information about the exact plot outline is vague, however Focus announced that, De Bankolé plays a “mysterious loner, a stranger, whose activities remain meticulously outside the law.” They continue to explain that, “he is in the process of completing a job, yet he trusts no one, and his objectives are not initially divulged.” Sounds suitably ambiguous and wonderfully Jarmuschian to me. Cinematical Indie have also suggested that the film’s narrative will conform, in some way, to the road movie formula. An idea that is highly likely given Jim’s fervor for a good journey, both actual and metaphorical.

The film is currently in production in Madrid, Spain and will move to Seville and Almeria before the shoot wraps at the end of the month. Focus Features, who also distributed Broken Flowers, were obviously attracted to The Limits of Control because of the level of success that Broken Flowers enjoyed. This is a blessing for Jarmusch, because despite its tremendous cast, including Murray who is always a crowd pleaser, his films have had trouble finding distribution in the past, so this deadcert must be a weight off his mind. I fact, Focus Features have gone to great lengths to demonstrate their dedication to both Jarmusch as a director and this project. In a recent article in Paste Magazine Focus Features’ CEO James Schamus is quoted as saying:

“Jim Jarmusch defines what it means to be an independent filmmaker for audiences all over the world, and we’re delighted to rejoin with him following our success together with Broken Flowers.”

Paste also point out that this isn’t simple PR bullshit (they may have used a less vulgar noun) and describe Jarmusch’s impact upon independent film as being as significant as John Cassavettes, a statement with which I must whole heartedly agree.

If you haven’t sampled any of Jim Jarmusch’s work I highly recommend Broken Flowers and Night on Earth for starters.

Take it easy Finger Lickers,

K

Check out the Broken Flowers trailer:

If you’re in the UK click these links: Broken Flowers and Night on Earth

Broken Flowers
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Night on Earth - Criterion Collection
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48 used & new available from USD 27.89

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Left pane: A real moustache on a real magician; Top right: Rocket crash lands in the eye of the moon; Bottom right: Méliès in his own film.

Morning Finger Lickers! Today I bring you news from the world of French film. No sighing at the back. French film is wonderful! No, no, really, if you’re moaning about subtitles you shouldn’t be on this site.

Parisian and 1900s filmmaker Georges Méliès is not only credited as the forefather of special effects but is also one of the first true independent filmmakers. He not only developed cinema technically but also narratologically, wowing audiences with such spectacles as Le Voyage dans la lune (1902), that’s A Trip to the Moon for all you linguistically challenged Finger Lickers. A Trip to the Moon also features the iconic image of a rocket crash landing in the man in the moon’s eye, a still which has become synonymous with filmmaking and is identifiable by film scholars worldwide. Méliès was a magician and owned the famed Theatre Robert-Houdin in Paris, he built the first film studio and the likes of D.W. Griffith and Charlie Chaplin credit him with a huge debt of gratitude.

This is man that was hugely powerful as both an entertainer and an innovator. His work is inspirational and magical. And now through the power of DVD you can see a huge number of his films restored, stablised and re-scored. The box set, entitled Georges Méliès: First Wizard of Cinema, features 173 of Méliès films that have been collected from all over the world by Lobster Films in Paris and were found in the possession of the likes of the British Film Institute, the Academy Archives and private collectors. Really, truly, honestly if you care about film in any way at all you must see Georges Méliès work. The DVD, as usual, seems to be only available in North America at the moment but that shouldn’t stop us Finger Lickers. Lets face it folks, the US dollar is like Monopoly money these days, God bless George W. for helping us feed our DVD habit.

That’s it from me for now,

K

Check out A Trip to the Moon here, and remember folks, it’s 1902!

Buy yourself a copy of the DVD box set:

Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913)
Price: USD 80.99

19 used & new available from USD 66.91

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Evening finger painting Finger Lickers! So, I have some great news for all you documentary fans. Buzztastic flick My Kid Could Paint That, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, has been released on DVD in North America by Sony Pictures Classics.

The film itself follows the amazing story of four-year-old Marla Olmstead who caused a huge stir in the art world when her paintings started selling for big money. Marla, who loved to paint with her father, was suddenly thrown into the media spotlight when the New York Times got hold of the story. Inspired by what he read in the press, New York documentary filmmaker Amir Bar-Lev sprang into action and gained the Olmstead’s permission to document Marla’s story.

At first all seems well, then shortly after Bar-Lev’s arrival USA TV show 60 Minutes runs a probing investigation into whether it is actually Marla or her father doing the painting. Bar-Lev, wondering what he has stumbled upon, begins to investigate the claims himself and ultimately ends up producing an unusually balanced picture. The film has, in fact, been praised for its ethical journalism, at no time does Bar-Lev demonize Marla’s parents or take a purely accusatory stance in his investigations, however, the overtone does seem to suggest that something shady is going on in Binghamton, N.Y.

So, what can you expect from the DVD? Well, in addition to the feature length documentary, you also get an audio commentary by director Amir Bar-Lev, and two behind-the-scenes features. All you British Finger Lickin’ documentary fans need to bear in mind that this is only available as a region 1 DVD from the USA. So, ensure you have a multi-region DVD player, and then check out the Amazon link below to get your hands on this critically acclaimed documentary.

That’s it from me,

K

Check out the My Kid Could Paint That trailer:

My Kid Could Paint That
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Left pane: Suspiria poster; Top right: David Gordon Green; Bottom left: Vibrant lighting in a scene from Suspiria.

Afternoon splatter fans! What is it with remakes that really enrage me this week? Today, Finger Lickin’ Indie has learnt that rising indie director David Gordon Green, known for his 2000 film George Washington and his upcoming flick starring Seth Rogen, Pineapple Express, is planning to remake 1977 slasher-classic Suspiria by Italian horror maestro Dario Argento.

Suspiria is a stylised and overtly expressionistic film which is the first of a trilogy known as The Three Mothers, all focusing on evil/supernatural forces attempting to break through into our world. The film stars Jessica Harper as Suzy Bannion, a young American dancer who arrives at her prestigious German dance school to discover it is actually an evil witches coven. Logical. Honestly though, Suspiria is brilliant, with vibrant colours and dramatic lighting, and while some would dismiss his work as disgusting or depraved, I believe Argento should be considered alongside Hitchcock and Orson Welles.

The news that Green is planning to remake Suspiria is extremely unfortunate as the horror canon is already deluged with crappy remakes that do nothing to reinterpret the original and often copy the films frame for frame. Even worse, some of them attempt to explain the unexplainable. A perfect example being the case of Michael Myers in Rob Zombie’s remake of Halloween. These films that try to provide a reasonable impetus to a formerly motivationally devoid killer baffle me! Anyway, it is true that these films have had some box office success but with torture porn fans crawling all over the horror scene, this is only to be expected. One thing I can say is that I don’t expect the same expressionistic flare to the lighting because lets face it, that really wouldn’t sell these days. It could only have been the 70s folks!

Finally, I want to leave you with this. Instead of going out and rampantly consuming all these horror remakes. Go online, go to your DVD rental shop, rummage through some old VHS and find the original and enjoy!

Here’s just a taste of what to expect from Suspiria:

And if you’re looking for the full uncut Suspiria experience treat yourself here:

Suspiria
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTehTbT7aho]

And click some links…

From Here to Awesome - A new way forward.

Submit a Film - And join the revolution.

Arin Crumley - Democratizing Indie Film Distribution.

YouTube - Watch more of the same.

K

[digg=http://digg.com/movies/Indiepix_Film_Festival_uses_online_distribution_and_voting]US indie film festival the Cinema Eye Honors presented by Indiepix has announced that it is to add a new audience award that will utalise both online distribution and voting process. The festival have chosen the BroadRamp platform to distribute the films and is requesting that viewers cast their vote online after watching. Indiepix are said to have chosen BroadRamp’s Content Distribution System because it does not require the user to download a third party browser plugin. However, this is a claim that confuses me slightly because taking a look at BroadRamp’s site they seem to be very much utalising flash video in their player which of course uses the “third party plugin” Shockwave. Soooo… unless I’m missing a trick and I they’ve some swanky technology they’re not showing off on their website… you still need a plugin folks.

BroadRamp seem to be best known for their work in the field of interactive e-commerce video. What’s interactive e-commerce video I hear you cry. Well, the basic concept is that you’re sitting watching a video online, or wherever, and you see a t-shirt you really like. You hover your mouse over that t-shirt and a pop-up appears giving you information, price and an option to buy the shirt. An idea then that seems to be genius and utterly horrific all at the same time.S o the cynic in me is thinking, will the content from this film festival be used as a film testbed for this evil genius video creation? Or am I turning into a internet conspiracy theorist? Either way, I am delighted to see that festivals are recognising the problems in the industry and making steps to rectify it. It does however seem bizarre to me that they would not use a more well known platform, such as blip.tv, vimeo or even the big daddy YouTube. My jaded mind is still mulling over the marketing potential of the BroadRamp system in festivals to come - you’ve been warned!

Anyway, the festival selections have been made and announced, more information can be found at the Indiepix and Cinema Eye Honors websites and voting commences on March 1st.

Right, that’s enough from me. Good night Finger Lickers, I will see you in the morning.

K

[digg=http://www.digg.com/movies/Zombie_2_0]Afternoon finger lickin’ fans. So I mentioned a while ago that horror legend George A. Romero was at Sundance discussing the democratization of filmmaking in a spout.com interview. However, I didn’t really get into the reason why he was at the festival. His latest installment in the “Dead” saga premiered at Sundance and, as any good film director should be, he was whoring the hell outta it. The flick is basically a Blair Witch shakey handy cam take on his other apocalyptic tales. I am a big horror fan but not especially into the living dead stuff I’m more of a slasher man, however this really took my fancy.

The trailer is ridiculous and there’s obviously some jolly good hammy acting going on, but of all the horror remake dirge out there it actually caught my attention. From what I’ve read Romero has always worked in a very independent fashion and his latest film is no different, he’s using web 2.0 marketing techniques with exclusive MySpace goodies as well as tapping into the wannabe-filmmaker You Tube revolution to inspire his craft. I for one wanna give it a chance!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MdqNr0gN4Y]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHUwTkbAvn4]

Anyway, I haven’t seen this film but they seem to be generating a great buzz and I’m very keen to check the flick out. However, my reason for writing about this is to request that you all support these DIY filmmakers by signing up for ourstage.com. Just like Four Eyed Monsters, ourstage.com have been brilliant and offered to pay 10mph $1 for every sign up they get. This is an amazing model for independent film revenue generation and it deserves all the support we can give.

So, please, please, please, sign up for ourstage.com via http://www.10mph.com/ourstage to make a real difference to some great filmmakers. Likewise, please check out the video below where Hunter talks about the project and how you can help them make their next film.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdR41fe9Zeg]