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"The Guard" is a cross between Quentin Tarantino and Edgar Wright—and one of the most dementedly fun movies screened so far.
With everyone fussing about who the new, fresh faces are at Sundance, not much has been said about one of the older, less fresh faces who is nonetheless emerging as one of the festival’s early delights: Brendan Gleeson, the 56-year-old Irish actor who was once told by a Hollywood agent that he was “too old and too ugly” for movies, and who is the star of the much-buzzed-about The Guard, written and directed by John Michael McDonagh (brother of In Bruges writer-director Martin McDonagh). A cross between Quentin Tarantino and Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, etc.), by way of Ireland, The Guard is one of the most dementedly fun movies screened so far at Sundance, and has excited huge interest both in buyers and audiences—the 9:30 a.m. screening on Saturday was packed to the gills.
Brendan Gleeson in "The Guard" (SundanceChannel.com)
The director of "Man on Wire" is back with a new documentary about a chimpanzee living in Manhattan.
Who knew that a chimp could get in the middle of a human love triangle? And enjoy the pleasures of marijuana?
2008 Sundance Grand Jury (and 2009 Oscar) winner Director James Marsh, evidently, whose new documentary, Project Nim, is about the chimpanzee (Nim), who in the 1970s was taken from his mother and sent to live with a bunch of Upper West Side hippies in a nature-versus-nature experiment gone terribly wrong.
Nim Chimpsky in the film, Project Nim. (Credit: Harry Benson) (Laporte Sundance Chimp)
The film is mostly tragic, but Marsh has an uncanny eye for the comedic and perverse elements in his story, which went over well with the packed house at the historic Egyptian Theater Thursday night. The tiny screen, cramped seats and no line in the ladies room was a reminder that we are not in L.A. anymore! Which, of course, is precisely the appeal of this festival—it still feels homey, despite what everyone says about all the limos and swag. With hot chocolate, and a neighbor who kindly did not spill too much of his puffy jacket onto our seat, we adjusted.
To read the rest of Nicole's post on Sundance Channel, click here
Nicole LaPorte checks in from Park City, Utah on the eve of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival's official kick-off.
Already, there’s the annual debate: will this year’s festival be another Hollywood-infused red carpet extravaganza, flush with A-list names more typically seen this time of year on the slopes of Aspen? Or will it harken back to its true, indie roots-to a time when only the cool kids knew who Parker Posey and Chloe Sevigny were?
Sundance Theater (SundanceChannel.com)
The reality? Probably both. But there are good signs of the latter scenario prevailing. Indie darling Kevin Smith, one of the original Sundance progeny, is back this year, with his film Red State. As is a (relatively) more recent festival discovery: Miranda July, who’s bringing The Future, her follow-up to Me and You and Everyone You Know. And the documentary category is feeling particularly strong, with Page One, Andrew Rossi’s inside look at The New York Times, and the ubiquitous Alex Gibney’s film about the Merry Pranksters (Magic Trip), to name just a few.
Sundance Film Festival 2011 (Frazer Harrison / Getty Images)
As the Sundance welcomes its first crowdfunded film, here's a look at the rise of websites that make it easier than ever to get funding from strangers online.
Matthew Lessner has a lot of strangers to thank.
As the clock strikes midnight tonight inside Park City’s Holiday Village Cinemas on the second day of the Sundance Film Festival, his indie satire The Woods will make its premiere in front of a sold-out crowd.
It nearly didn’t happen.
It was late summer, in 2009, and Lessner was running out of money as he neared the completion of his film. His credit was drying up too. So he turned to a website called Kickstarter.com. “With your help and support (whoever you may be) we hope to make the dream of finishing and releasing—what we believe to be a truly unique and dynamic film—a reality,” he wrote to nobody in particular. “Help us save The Woods!”
Before long, nearly 100 people he’d never met had given him $11,584 to complete his project and help send it to the prestigious annual festival in the mountain town of Park City, Utah.
With budget cuts drying up arts funding, the internet is fast becoming a reliable stream of revenue for people who have a dream and a plan—but not a lot of cash. And it’s not just for professional filmmakers, writers, artists, and inventors. Kickstarter and other websites like it are letting just about anyone with an interesting concept grab some free cash from their fellow benevolent web surfers to make their idea a reality.
Click here to read the rest of this article.
Click here to see the coolest crowdfunding projects.
