For a summary of nationwide celebrations, check this. I'm spending mine amongst hoodlums and $50 worth of a taxpayer-bought fireworks display downtown Trenton.
I'm skipping the commentary, because figuring out this order was work enough, but quickly regarding Wall-E, I was mesmerized. There are so many complexities to the film's many layers (robot love story, homage to Chaplin-era silent film, commentaries on the environment and utilitarian societies, and the way they play with gender between the two robots at the center of the story... its pretty amazing), but its so graceful aesthetically and narratively you don't at all feel overwhelmed. Pixar's growing filmography truly challenges any era of animated feature films in terms of consistency or pretty much any complimentary aspect, as they churn out exceedingly brilliant films year after year (if you just ignore the slightly under-par Cars). Bring on Up.
Anyway, Wall-E tops my list, just as Ratatouille did a year ago. The list has all 30 2008 releases I've seen, and includes films I've seen at festivals that have an announced 2008 release date coming up. Glancing at it, particularly the top bunch, its pretty gay and Canadian, but I swear its not biased. Films from either of those groups (unless they involve Sarah Polley) have been getting much play on personal lists as of late.
1. Wall-E | A
2. Up The Yangtze | A
3. Paranoid Park | A-
4. Derek | A-
5. Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired | A-
6. Chris & Don. A Love Story | A-
7. My Winnipeg | B+
8. Vicky Cristina Barcelona | B+
9. The Visitor | B+
10. Iron Man | B+
11. A Jihad For Love | B+
12. American Teen | B+
13. Sunshine Cleaning | B+
14. Be Kind, Rewind | B
15. Savage Grace | B
16. Forgetting Sarah Marshall | B
17. In Bruges | B
18. Towelhead | B
19. Stuck | B-
20. Then She Found Me | B-
21. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | B-
22. Stop-Loss | C+
23. Sex and the City: The Movie | C+
24. Baby Mama | C+
25. Fugitive Pieces | C+
26. Choke | C+
27. Married Life | C
28. Changeling | C
29. Mad Money | D+
30. Meet Bill | D+
Regretfully missed (as of today): Wanted, The Edge of Heaven, Chop Shop, Flight of the Red Balloon, Bigger, Faster Stronger, Young@Heart
Opening within weeks and eagerly anticipated (make what you want of this, particularly with the third one): The Dark Knight, Hellboy II, Mamma Mia!, Pineapple Express
For a summary of nationwide celebrations, check this. I'm spending mine amongst hoodlums and $50 worth of a taxpayer-bought fireworks display downtown Trenton.
This is not new news, and Gregg Goldstein summed most of it up a few weeks back, noting:
Strand Releasing's 22 films in theaters last year (most with GLBT themes) grossed just $462,000. Killer Films has shifted its focus from queer-themed features to true crime dramas and other films, with tepid critical and financial success. Rotten Tomatoes says that gay- and lesbian-themed films averaged a 51.5% rating in 2006 and 2007 (well below its under-60% "rotten" threshold), while projects like the 2005 Toronto fest's best Canadian feature winner, "C.R.A.Z.Y.," can't secure U.S. theatrical distribution.
With all this talk about the troubles of the independent film industry, its already been clear for a few years that gay independent film has been undergoing a bit of a negotiation. Theatrically, a "gay film" hasn't made over $700,000 since Brokeback Mountain made 80 times that in 2005 (unless you count Notes on a Scandal).
The top five grossing GLBT-themed films since Brokeback?
1. Imagine Me and You FoxS $672,243
2. Another Gay Movie TLA $654,132
3. Adam & Steve TLA $309,404
4. Boy Culture TLA $220,409
5. The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green Reg. $153,122
According to boxofficemojo, none of them are even among the top 100 grossing gay-themed films of all time. Only 1 2008 release, Shelter, has grossed over $100,000.
Not to say that gay films aren't making money, or getting made or being seen. Its just gay film festivals are more relevant than ever, Logo is easily filling its programming, and in a throwback to old school methods of gay distribution, mail order catalogues like TLA's have become an increasing form, which takes the act of watching farther into the private in a similar way beefcake magazines or gay porn did decades ago (and entire other problem, one that begs more consideration that I have to offer here, is how very, very white all the films are, and how predominant masculine pretty men and feminine pretty women are in the lead roles...)
But anyway, this is not the point of this entry. These conclusions and accusations have been drawn many a time, and I just spent four months analyzing them in a thesis. And maybe someday when Im done edits and defending the fucker, I'll share more. But what I'm trying to lead into is as Goldstein's RT ratings suggest, since Brokeback, there hasn't been really too much that's made me feel sorry for the works being screwed over by these changes in distribution. Its quite possible I just wasn't seeing enough, and because of these trends missed out on some very hidden gems that didn't see the light of day. But in the past few months, I've seen four gay-themed films that really deserve some attention: three documentaries.. Derek, Chris & Don: A Love Story and A Jihad For Love, and one narrative film.. Were The World Mine. And I fear they won't. The latter two docs are already in release, doing good business in very limited locations, and though I hope that they expand nicely, I would not bet on it. And one, World, doesn't even have a distributor.
I heard about Were The World Mine a month or so back, but kept missing its screenings. I missed it at Inside Out and wasn't around for NewFest, but when fellow iW-ers, Brian and Charlie raved about their viewings, I felt like I needed to catch up. So I asked the publicist for a screener, and he happily obliged. Which is always a tad risky, since I might have hated it, and then obviously would have no warm things to blog about. But this was not the case.
Were The World Mine is a musical inspired by A Midsummer Night's Dream. Directed by Tom Gustafson, it centers around a high school production of that very play, where a small town gay boy, Timothy (Tanner Cohen) finds a recipe hidden with the script for a love potion. In the form a purple "love pansy," Timothy know has a weapon of mass sexual disorientation, transforming his small town into a bunch of queers, including a very hot jock boy that Timothy pines over.
Extending the themes of Midsummer, Gustafson explores ideas of identity, love and sexuality with the help of vibrant imagery, great performances, excellent production value despite a very limited budget, and wonderfully executed musical numbers. Its not perfect, particularly if you pay close attention to the script, but its undoubtedly a joyous cinematic experience.
The film has played a couple mainstream fests - Florida and Nashville most notably - but mostly GLBT fests (winning audience awards left and right). Unfortunately, I watched this film alone, on a laptop, and it simply did not feel right. I needed an audience. I needed mutual cheers and mutual laughter. Were The World Mine doesn't belong in a DVD catalogue or on a download-site. It belongs in theatres.. not just in New York and not just in GLBT film festivals. Now, I can't imagine it won't get picked up (apparently the film is entertaining offers), but it remains to be seen whether it can overcome the gay-indie obstacles that have been facing past the festival circuit.
A former small-town gay myself, I am a sucker for this narrative, especially when its told originally and with the frankly unparalleled energy of Were The World Wine. And small town gay boys all over deserve to at least be able to take a trip to the nearest mid-size city to see this in a theatre. But they probably won't, and maybe they wouldn't even if they could. Maybe they'd rather watch Zac Efron and place naughty subtexts in their minds while doing so. Or maybe they'd rather watch reruns of Queer as Folk, taking it too seriously and breeding a new generation of shallow. Or maybe that's all a little harsh, and all they need is to experience something more innovative and more important. And I can only wish that Were The World Mine somehow plays a little role in doing that. On a big screen.
]]>Premiering at Montreal's Fantastia Fest in the next few weeks, Repo! The Genetic Opera was admittedly something I laughed off when I heard about it. A futuristic musical starring Paris Hilton? But this trailer is actually kinda promising... and not just because all of the Giles-singing-moments included.
Tomorrow marks the opening of one of my most anticipated summer films, Wall-E. Reviews are finally in, and they are astounding, only aiding this anticipation.
Some Metacritic-made-easy quotes:
NYT: The first 40 minutes or so of Wall-E -- in which barely any dialogue is spoken, and almost no human figures appear on screen -- is a cinematic poem of such wit and beauty that its darker implications may take a while to sink in.
Voice: A film that's both breathtakingly majestic and heartbreakingly intimate.
But Radar Online brought a different take than any of the reviews (so far, at least. maybe this will catch on)..
An opera version of Brokeback Mountain. Same-sex marriage in California. Madonna's new album. America is, by any reasonable measure, getting its gay on. And nowhere is this more apparent than when it comes to robots.
Take Wall-E, the new movie about an ostensibly male robot's romance with an ostensibly female visitor robot. Seems hetero enough, sure. Yet, on a closer inspection, Wall-E's story of overcoming isolation and social awkwardness in a new, fast-moving cosmopolitan world seems like a classic coming-out tale.
Radar celebrate's Wall-E's coming out with a trip down homo-robot memory lane. Check it.
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I'm just posting the top 5 to make this fun-for-me observation: Canadians don't like The Love Guru either, despite its hometown appeal. They made up just under 10% of The Love Guru's domestic $13.9 box office haul last weekend, and therefore, exactly the same per-capita as Americans did (Canadians make up about 9.83% of the possible movie theatre patrons in the overall North American numbers you see every Sunday and Monday).
1 - Get Smart Warner Bros. $2.42M $2.42M 1
2 2 Kung Fu Panda Paramount $1.92M $10.61M 3
3 1 The Incredible Hulk Universal $1.64M $6.44M 2
4 - The Love Guru Paramount $1.40M $1.40M 1
5 4 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Paramount $909,312 $24.43M 5
This pleases me as I am a bit of a Mike Myers anti-fan.. somewhat because I haven't found him funny since he was on SNL, and mostly because when I was 18, I worked in the bottom of the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto (selling ties in a stand in the lobby, no less), and he was an asshole to me on two occasions.
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This isn't a new proposition, but its one that's quickly gaining relevance. HBO, a network I dare not criticize because of the literally thousands of hours of quality original programming its given me, has officially hit a commercial, if not critical slump. Entourage and Curb Your Enthusiasm are aging, and their last seasons were below par. Big Love, their new tent pole, is no The Sorpanos. Flight of the Conchords is officially my favourite HBO series, but I question how far the premise can go. And, sure, Tell Me You Love Me and In Treatment are great, innovative series, but I doubt they'll ever catch on, even with some sort of The Wire-esque following.
Showtime, on the other hand, has got some serious goods right now: British import Diary of Call Girl is fantastic, and kudos for not Americanizing it and just airing the original form (a la Extras, and not unlike Showtime's own Queer as Folk... learning lessons, we are). Weeds is down but certainly not out. Dexter, This American Life, Californication, The Tudors, Brotherhood, The L Word, Tracey Ullman... its an impressive slate. To be sure, its a pale comparison to HBO's heyday, but the horizon is looking better and better for Showtime.
In the past week, Showtime announced two very promising new developments: a Matthew Perry starring dark comedy and George Clooney produced dark comedy. This comes after news of yet another dark comedy, The United States of Tara, which boasts some of the best joint pedigree to ever grace a pilot: Toni Collette, Steven Spielberg and Diablo Cody.
The overdose on dark comedy is not as bad an idea as you'd might think. Its branding the network to a genre that has produced some of the best cable series (even The Sopranos or The Wire occasionally dip their tone in that direction), and its done them right so far. Its certainly better than HBO's bizarre new genre of choice: the shrink narrative, the focus of both In Treatment and Tell Me You Love Me, and as we all know, a central theme in their dearly departed big gun.
The two freshly announced series both look promising (though their very, very similar names but prove way to cute for a programming block). Clooney's series, The Fall of Bob, will follow the lead character, Bob, who jumps from a building and then narrates his life as it flashes before him. Im sure whoever is cast as Bob could be a deal breaker, but Im guessing Clooney's cred might get someone impressive. Perry will star in his series (and exec produce and write), The End of Steve. Co-created by Rescue Me/Larry Sanders vet Peter Tolan, Perry will star as "s a local afternoon talk show host whose smooth, cheery on-screen demeanor contrasts with his bitter off-camera personality and his chaotic personal life, which includes a tentative romance with a co-worker." Larry Sanders in the Afternoon? Fine by me.
]]>The Fete nationale des Canadiens Francais (English: Canada's French Canadian National Holiday) is an official holiday of the Canadian province of Quebec. The festivities occur on June 23 and June 24, and are organized by the Comite organisateur de la fete nationale (national holiday organizing committee). Originally, June 24 was a holiday honouring one of the patron saint of French Canadians, St. John the Baptist, and in ordinary conversation the day is still often called la Saint-Jean by Quebecers.
Although the holiday has official status only in Quebec, it is also celebrated by some francophones in other Canadian provinces and in the United States as a festival of French Canadian culture. In these contexts, it is more often called Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day.
In 1925, June 24 became a legal holiday in Quebec.
After the Quiet Revolution, Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day became very political. The religious symbolism associated with the celebrations was rejected by the younger generations. During this period, Governor General Georges Vanier, who, as viceroy, always fostered unity and biculturalism, found himself the target of Quebec sovereigntists in Montreal, on Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, 1964, wherein a group of separatists held placards reading "Vanier vendu" ("Vanier sold") and "Vanier fou de la Reine" ("Vanier, jester to the Queen"). Four years later, with the new Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in attendance on the eve of a general election, a riot broke out on Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, and 290 people were arrested. Trudeau was filmed refusing to take cover or leave the grandstand when the rioters pelted it with rocks, as well as bottles containing paint and acid. The scene was broadcast on Radio-Canada's and CBC's evening news. Many saw it as an open act of courage, and it impressed the electorate. The incident contributed to his Liberal Party winning a significant majority the next day.
In 1969, the little St. John the Baptist icon was destroyed during a riot. This led to the interruption of the parade, which did not take place the next year.
]]>I post this clip with sincere appreciation for what he's saying. Crude, he definitely could be. But George Carlin spoke many an unspoken truth in his comedy. He was an anti-hero in the best possible way, and one can only hope his influence will continue to resonate for many years to come.
Remember George with this wonderful collection of videos.
The streets are packed, and the widest variety of people you can imagine are out all hours of the day and night. I only brought my camera once and it died within an hour, so these pictures are nothing special, but do set the mood:
That last one is outside Cinema L'Amour, North America's oldest running XXX theatre, which even got festive by selling boxes of porn outside on the street. This man was checking it out, and its an homage to a day earlier, when me and some friends went to see what was in the boxes, and an old man literally knocked my friend out of the way to get to the box, picking up F'ing Teens 2 (It actually said "F'ing").
I also managed this clip:
I watched this guy for an hour and I still don't know why.
It all kicks off a pretty amazing season here. There are at least one, if not three festivals continuously running from now until September, JazzFest, Just For Laughs, World Film Festival, etc, etc, and fireworks every Wednesday and Sunday where countries compete for whos got the best (I sound like a Montreal tourism ad, I realize). The streets are often closed to pedestrians only, and the entire gay village, essentially a whole mile of St. Catherine street, is permanently shut down, everyday, until September. This was the first time they've ever done this. I have to walk through it to get to one of Montreal's only giant grocery stores and its essentially like walking through gay pride. Wonderfully enough, last week on the day it started, this was the scene on my balcony: a rainbow basically starting and ending where the pedestrian-only zone does the same. If that ain't a sign from God: Make those cars leave the gays alone to drink beer on patios in the widest variety of tank tops on Earth.
After two years of sitting in you, and getting paid to do so, our time has come to an end.
There are many things about you I won't miss. I won't miss your horrible florescent lighting that by day's end would give me glazed eyes and a headache. I won't miss your environmentally friendly heating system that works off motion, which often left me freezing in the winter months, jumping up and down hoping it would turn on again. I won't miss the fact that it requires 90 minutes of Starbucks cup-grasping early morning transit to get to you, or that the only place to eat near you is Subway. I won't miss your iMac circa 2002 that always froze, often requiring me to rewrite pages of my thesis. I won't miss your printer that always broke down, leading an endless line of undergrads to repeatedly ask me if the printer was working, despite the 5 handmade signs I placed around you informing them that it wasn't. I won't miss some of the people that visited you, especially the girl that always farted at the computer near my desk and never apologized, and the guy that told me I had "flock of seagulls" hair, and more seriously, the 50 year old non-student who used you to download child pornography.
But Learning Centre, despite all that, I will miss YOU. You paid me very well for doing little-to-no work. I wrote most of my thesis in you, did many an indieWIRE buzz in you (giving me the pleasure of getting paid for two jobs simultaneously), and watched endless hours of YouTube clips in the mildly comfy chair you provided me with. You never got mad at me for being an hour, or even two hours late (but the man who runs you did). You are the second-longest job I've ever held, and though I'll never put you on my resume, or perhaps even tell people I knew you, you'll always have a place in my heart.
I write this letter to you from within you, and will savour my last few hours with you, before lying to students about what you time you close and leaving early for the ever-important activity of watching television in bed.
Be well.
Sincerely,
Peter
Simple, nostalgic, fantastic poster, I'd say. And just seeing all those names together, it rarely gets better than that cast. Check out Sasha Stone's more historically considered analysis here.
]]>I downloaded the program Handbrake to try and convert some to AVI or MP4 so I could play with some clips just for fun. But for some reason, Handbrake will only encode random portions of the DVDs, which results in 2 or 3 hours of footage being turned into a 2 minute "preview." Does anyone out there know what I'm doing wrong or if there is a better program for this kind of encoding? Either way, though, I spent an entire day playing around with the disfunctional encoding, as each time it produced a different result. As annoying as it was to not get the full clips, I ended up having a lot of fun.
And I'm posting two of my favourites, mostly for the pleasure of the people in them. The first is a night in 1987 with my parents, my grandmother and my all of my mother's siblings which I had no part of but am fascinated by (theres 4 hours of rather high-quality footage all together, involving everything from political conversations to charades, here edited randomly down to about 2 minutes). The most annoying part is that it squeaks in between the cuts, and is likely not entertaining to anyone who doesn't know these people.
The second is a ton of really embarrassing "short videos" I made from 1998-2001 or so, with my parents' super-crappy camcorder. Some of them are improv comedy-style, some are assignments for school (hand in a video, you get an "A", even if you made it 30 minutes.. for a book report on the book "1984" 6 of us just made a 20 minute clip about what "the real 1984 was like" and my teacher ate it up despite it having no relevance to class material), and some are just a bunch of us sitting around stoned. As a whole, I would never post them due to the extreme cringeworthyness of my "performances" (characters I played included a misogynist small-town thug; a virgin who hires 3 prostitutes to take his virginity; and a not-so-butch lesbian with enormous breasts and a killer wig), but condensed into a minute or two, its not so bad.
Though I understand its a tough sell and admit its a rough watch, the theatrical release of 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days wasn't supposed to go down like it did. It should have been nominated, and then won, the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, reaping the benefits of such to gross at least $5 million. But it didn't get nominated. Or make the shortlist. And the significantly less-deserving The Counterfeiters reaped those benefits instead. But here's your chance to give the film the legacy it deserves. Its on DVD as of today, so there's no longer any excuse to have not seen it.
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