February 2012
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Before starting, I hope to make a fine movie. The problems begin and I aim...
– Francois Truffaut, Day for Night.
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I’ve always tried to make, I guess, what you’d call pop songs with...
– Annie Clark
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When I Used To Wake Up Yelling "COMMAND-V!"
A part of my dead soul is in an office on 33rd street. It was an internship for a teensy production company that did commercials like the Jennifer Hudson thing where she gets all sassy about losing weight and those spiffy reels for universities that make them look like NASA. This was real movie business shit. No pay for you, bitch.
I should’ve turned away when I found out that they also...
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When I Saw 'The Conversation'
When I first watched The Conversation, I smiled when Harry Caul makes a point about not using God’s name in vain. I used to do the same thing and it freaked people out in the same way. I wanted to force order to those around me just as he does in the film. The entire film is filled with truthful moments - like the way in which he builds the nerve to brag relentlessly in the face of...
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A Fake Interview With Micael Preysler
As production on Lily & Kat looms, I found it useful to interview myself while I have the time. When Lily & Kat becomes a raving success I wont be able to get away from those journalists and their questions. This will serve as easy practice. I think it also serves as the first time a filmmaker has done this. Kudos to me for being psychotic.
I will interview myself under the guise of...
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January 2012
7 posts
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When I List My Favorite Films of 2011
1. Shame
Cold and minimalist but wholly mesmerizing.
2. Beginners
Sweet, moving, and sporting a droll humor that perfectly complements the melancholy.
3. Martha Marcy May Marlene
Incredibly tense and disturbing, marking Sean Durkin as someone I envy.
4. Tree of Life
Christmas reunion this year felt profound for some reason…
5. The Descendants
A portrait of a family struck by...
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When I Think of Inspiration
Every time I get lost in the LILY & KAT script I think, “What would JD Salinger do if he wrote “Catcher in the Rye” in 2012 with an obsession with John Hughes, Sofia Coppola, and Wong Kar Wai and then worked in some Jules & Jim?”
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December 2011
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We Need To Talk About Kevin
We see the world through the eyes of a mother trying to keep it together despite having the worst son in the world. It’s the growth of your child seen through nightmare-colored glasses.
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My Top 10 Albums of 2011 (a.k.a. wow, I have...
1. Burst Apart by The Antlers
2. Strange Mercy by St. Vincent
3. Days by Real Estate
4. Wounded Rhymes by Lykke Li
5. Father, Son, Holy Ghost by Girls
6. Nine Types of Light by TV on the Radio
7. Slave Ambient by The War on Drugs
8. Bon Iver by Bon Iver
9. Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming by M83
10. El Camino by The Black Keys
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When I Still Get Angry About Film Students
You know that smug asshole that asks ten minute questions at Q&A’s?
Film student.
That douche at the party who loudly pontificates about Black Swan?
Film student.
Isn’t it amazing how his cousin’s friend’s sister’s boyfriend works as Michael Bay’s assistant / body oiler? I know! Now imagine being in a room with these terribly delusional humans that...
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When I Decided I Wanted to Make Movin' Pictures
I wanted to be a filmmaker because of Kill Bill. I’ll always feel insecure about that fact. Surely, anyone that becomes a master filmmaker realizes this at six, right? And they realize it because of the world-shattering brilliance of a masterpiece - like The Godfather or, hell, even E.T. at the very least. Sadly, I wasn’t shown La Dolce Vita as a five-year old. I didn’t...
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Martha Marcy May Marlene
Seamlessly structured and exuding such a palpable sense of dread in every frame, it’s hard to believe it was crafted by a first-time director. It’s a drama that can give you nightmares.
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Director's Roundtable
“Went there for three months and hated it at NYU. Film school was like work; it wasn’t like art… you need freedom and you’re put in this space where you can’t fit.” Steve McQueen is officially one of the coolest directors on the planet. Watch here.
November 2011
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Awards Season
Here are some very rational wishes…
1. Fassbender must not get screwed.
2. ‘War Horse’ must not win Best Picture.
3. Christopher Plummer must sweep his category. That is, unless Nick Nolte is somehow nominated.
4. Give the “yeah-this-movie-wasn’t-your-best-but-you-still-deserve-it” Oscar to Woody Allen.
5. Show ‘Dragon Tattoo’ some love.
I...