Posted on 06 February 2012 by DttM
In this episode: John and Titus discuss the polarizing similarities between “The Tree of Life” and “Melancholia”… but that’s where the similarities end.
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Posted on 02 February 2012 by DttM
In this episode: Titus, Jared, and John discuss their Top 10 lists of 2011 and debate about what they think are the worthy, and unworthy, picks.
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Posted on 28 June 2011 by John Chapman
And I’ll be danged if I’m not interested.
The story looks genuinely interesting, and the filmmakers have a National Geographic pedigree.
Here’s the trailer:
See the release below:
PALADIN HAS ‘WHALE’ OF A TIME
Ryan Reynolds narrates and executive produces documentary about friendly orca
New York, June 28, 2011 – THE WHALE, a new documentary about a lonely young killer whale who causes upheaval in a small town and amazement around the world when he tries to make friends with humans, will be released theatrically by Paladin, it was announced by company president, Mark Urman.
THE WHALE (http://www.thewhalemovie.com/) was directed by noted journalist Michael Parfit and veteran producer-cinematographer Suzanne Chisholm, who encountered the young orca whale, nicknamed Luna, at the height of his celebrity and spent several years chronicling his adventures both in print and on film.
Ryan Reynolds, who hails from the very region in Western Canada where the story unfolds, narrates the film and served as executive producer, along with Scarlett Johansson and Eric Desatnik. THE WHALE will play its first commercial engagements in late summer and expand in the fall.
Set on the rugged western coast of Vancouver Island, THE WHALE describes what happens when Luna, a baby orca, gets separated from his family and unexpectedly starts making contact with people along a scenic fjord called Nootka Sound . Because orcas are highly social creatures who spend their lives traveling with their pods, Luna attempts to find a surrogate family among the area residents, much to their delight. But as word spreads about Luna, people become torn between their love for the lonely young whale and fears that human contact might harm him.
Luna’s saga is seen through the eyes of the colorful characters who live and work along the Sound and who fall in love with the whale — including a cook on an old freighter, a fisheries officer conflicted by what he thinks Luna needs and what he is told to do, a grandmother who is arrested for petting Luna, and a Native American elder whose tribe believes Luna is the reincarnation of a chief.
The film also describes how Parfit and Chisholm themselves, who first went to Nootka Sound on assignment for Smithsonian, grow so concerned about Luna’s fate that they get involved in trying to help him, crossing the traditional line between journalist and subject and becoming characters in the very story they are telling. Their efforts to find ways to safely give Luna the attention he seems so determined to get are a major part of the film’s climax.
“THE WHALE is a wondrous experience,” said Urman. “It speaks volumes about our complex and ever-changing relationship with nature. Michael and Suzanne have told this story so effectively that, while it has all the power of truth, it also has all the emotion and beauty of a perfect fable.”
“We’re thrilled to be releasing THE WHALE with Paladin,” said producer Chisholm. “The team’s experience and success is extraordinary, and we could not have found a better place for this movie.” Parfit adds: “Working with people like Ryan Reynolds on the narration, and Mark Urman and his team on distribution has been a great example of how collaborative film is. The fact that all of them love Luna as much as we do is wonderful.”
Parfit, an award-winning writer, director, and cinematographer, has authored four books, scripted two Imax films and has written many major articles for National Geographic and Smithsonian magazines. A heavily illustrated feature, written by Parfit, about the couple’s adventures with Luna and how they brought the story to the big screen, appears in Smithsonian’s double summer issue, currently on stands. The article is also on the Smithsonian website, here: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/Luna-A-Whale-to-Watch.html#.
Please visit THE WHALE on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thewhalemovie.
THE WHALE deal caps a particularly busy season for Paladin, following the highly successful release of Tom Shadyac’s “I Am,” which has grossed over $1.5 million, making it the highest grossing non-studio, non-3D documentary release of the year. The company launches the award-winning “Love Etc.” on July 1st and recently announced the fall release of Tiffany Shlain’s Sundance favorite, “Connected.” Also opening this summer for the company is Marcus Dean Fuller’s “One Fall,” and coming in autumn is Margaret Whitton’s romantic comedy, “A Bird of the Air.”
Posted on 22 March 2011 by DttM
by Stephen McCullough
If highly intelligent men can’t stop themselves from hating their fellow man, is there any hope for the rest of us? This is the chilling question ultimately raised in The Parking Lot Movie. Filmed over the course of a year in the Corner Parking Lot in Charlottesville, VA, Meghan Eckman’s directorial debut documentary exhibits an unlikely cast of opinionated parking lot attendants. The film shows the humorous but slightly disturbing result when over-educated intellectuals work a service sector job.
The Corner Parking Lot’s proximity to the University of Virginia makes it an ideal workplace for graduate students. Poets, philosophers, and anthropologists are just some of the learned who work this lowly job. These young intellectuals exhibited their brainpower by finding a job that pays to do almost nothing. The lot owner, Chris Marina, is a jovial fellow who, by his own admission, cares more for his employees than he does for his customers. There’s no need to attract parkers in a busy restaurant and bar district. So Chris is a friend to his employees as much as he is a boss. And his employees respect him. The lack of real effort and the great employer make a job at the Corner Parking Lot difficult to land.
The film maintains a lighthearted, quirky tone as we learn the daily routine. Every morning they decorate the wooden entrance gate with random and cerebral slogans. They paper the walls of the “booth” with newspaper clippings, all of which must somehow incorporate the words “parking lot”. They overcharge the unruly and undercharge the flirtatious. It’s a lively place.
Although it sounds like a great job, there is constant tension between customers and attendants. The educated, bike-riders who work the lot all seem to have a developed a mortal hatred for the SUV driving frat boys that park there.
The attendants wonder why a guy driving a $50,000 automobile would quibble over a paltry parking fee. Does he think he’s entitled to a parking space? They spend a great deal of screen time complaining about people, and their complaining paints them in an ugly light. They are very much defined by their own bitterness. One would expect that years of graduate study would have given these men a decent understanding of humanity. But yet it seems their interaction with customers has done the most to shape their view of human nature.
On the surface The Parking Lot Movie is whimsical and quirky. In fact, I found myself hard pressed to discern any sort of structure. But as I thought about it afterward, the depth of this film became apparent. It is rich in deceptively subtle societal critique. For instance, why do people feel they can behave poorly toward those working service jobs? Do we view people in service jobs as servants, even sub-human? The film goes on to demonstrate that this rotten treatment results in class hatred—even in highly educated, yea even spiritual men. What is it about being looked down upon that makes one hate the condescender? Why would a guy who is about to give his dissertation in philosophy throw a wrench at car that drove away without paying?
While wrench throwing is an overt example of the revenge enacted by the attendants, many of them admit to a surprising feeling of godhood, desiring to mete out judgment on lousy parkers and rude customers in a variety of ways. One guy pulls the parking brake on any SUV that he parks, hoping devilishly that the owner will forget to release it and burn up his brakes. Being disrespected breeds disrespect, and these attendants have become downright spiteful.
The Parking Lot Movie makes us laugh while plumbing the depths of human nature. It is an unassuming but brilliant documentary.
Find The Parking Lot Movie on Netflix instant streaming.
Stephen McCullough is a documentary filmmaker and Christian missionary based in Atlanta, GA.
Posted on 16 March 2011 by Titus Richard
Recap of Day 4 at SXSW 2011.
Recap of Day 5 and wrap-up of SXSW 2011.
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death2themovies Do D-Wade & Lebron dress each other? And isn't it odd that every b-ball player wears glasses now but none of them wear goggles on the court?death2themovies Is PROJECT X out of theaters yet?death2themovies I think Americans have officially adopted "no worries" I'm sorry Aussies, it's ours now. Don't worry though, we will never take "g'day mate"
