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Archive.
(07/17/08.) indieWIRE Snagged - Congrats to the team at indieWIRE on their recent sale to SnagFilms. I am going to be honest here; One never knows how an acquisition will fit or how the day to day will work out. Change is never a guarantee. But I trust everyone involved that they have done...  (07/15/08.) What To Say? - It has been a crazy week for me as we prepare for our first child... and it hasn't involved watching a single movie. But one film has stayed with me... (07/01/08.) They're Back - My Bloody Valentine are back. My ears have just recovered from the last time I saw them sixteen years ago, 6/23/92, so the timing couldn't be better. Have a sample... (06/30/08.) Life Intervenes - A bunch of personal information. Not much movie related here. Stay tuned... (06/17/08.) Classified: Sony VX2000 Package - With a baby due in two months, the Mrs. and I decide to downgrade our video camera. (06/11/08.) I'm Four - Just a quick note to say Happy Birthday to the blog...It's our 4th anniversary! Today marks the start of the 5th year of The Back Row Manifesto. This blog has been a really great way to keep my thinking about films organized, a place to respond to the ideas of... (05/29/08.) A Response To Jonathan Marlow's Sales Model - In his recent (and much-linked to) piece on GreenCine Daily, Jonathan Marlow takes aim at the current climate of change and looks for answers to the dilemma of modern day film distribution. I have some major problems with this piece and I think a response is in order. First, a... (05/22/08.) Notes From The Sidelines - Or actually, I think "notes from the desktop" is probably more accurate, given that the sidelines are probably adjacent to the event itself. (05/16/08.) IFC Cannes Cam: Desplechin's Premiere - Oh, the pleasures of being a 21st Century cinephile. I just watched IFC's Cannes Cam coverage of Arnaud Desplechin's red carpet for Un Conte De Noël, and I know the phrase is cliché, but really, only at Cannes. Wow. It is interesting; When this film has its US Theatrical release,... (05/14/08.) Arnaud Desplechin's Un Conte De Noël Is Headed To IFC - Great news from Cannes; IFC Films has acquired Arnaud Desplechin's Un Conte De Noël for US distribution. I couldn't be happier; Say what you will about the First Take Program (and believe me, I have been a skeptic myself), no company, none, has done more in the last couple of... (05/11/08.) Mother's Day News - Wherein I get personal about some big news in my private life. But that's boring, right? Shouldn't you be reading about Cannes or something? (05/09/08.) Thoughts On Nico Muly Live (Merkin Concert Hall, 5/8/08) - Nico Muhly delivers a night of music to remember. Because memory is all I'll have. (05/08/08.) Independent Film Week Deadlines Approach - An invaluable resource for filmmakers and programmers like me, The IFP's Independent Film Week has implemented some changes for the event this September. I will be attending this year and am excited to see how the changes impact things; The decision to bring in accepted projects without charge seems to... (05/07/08.) Screening Alert: Wild Combination: A Portrait Of Arthur Russell - Wild Combination is a revelation and now, thankfully, it is headed for a few screenings in New York City. Catch it if you can! (05/06/08.) Reverent Attention - Free associating from classical music to totalitarianism to foreign film and back again. (04/29/08.) Trailer: Arnaud Desplechin's Un Conte De Noël - Ok, I think it is probably well known among longtime readers of thie little blog that Arnaud Desplechin is my favorite working filmmaker. I have been tracking the production of his newest film Un Conte De Noël for months now, with a first look at stills from the film and... (04/29/08.) 1968: Sois Jeune et Tais Toi (Be Young and Shut Up) - Forty years on, 1968 seems like an historical impossibility. (04/23/08.) On The Wagon - Is it possible to work in the film industry and not drink alcohol? Let's find out. (04/20/08.) Chelsea Prepare For Champions League Semi-Final - ... which explains THIS. Come On You Reds! Best Goal Ever Did You In The FA Cup First Goal In The League (Oh, the memories... sigh...)... (04/17/08.) Switched On - Let's get personal. (04/15/08.) 2008 Sarasota Film Festival | Au revoir. - An attempt to reflect upon the 2008 Sarasota Film Festival after being waaaay too close to it for eight long months. (04/03/08.) 2008 Sarasota Film Festival | Thank You - The festival starts in a few hours. The culmination of eight solid months of work and it will all be over in ten days. I think I am going to let the programming speak for itself (I hope you'll take a moment and look things over). Lots to do in... (04/02/08.) 2008 Sarasota Film Festival | Liv Ullmann - Our little Film Festival begins on Friday night. I can't believe it's finally here. It seemed at once like the week would never arrive but also as if it was always just around the corner; deadlines coming and going, the clock counting down, films confirming, others falling away, guests saying... (03/26/08.) Boom! - That singular moment when you realize you must be in Florida... (03/23/08.) 2008 Sarasota Film Festival | Interview - The good folks over at Movie Geeks United! were kind enough to invite me on for an interview. How could I say no? (03/19/08.) The First Annual Cinema Eye Awards - Congratulations to AJ Schnack, Thom Powers and all of the winners and nominees on what seems to have been an exceptional night at the IFC Center. As a Nominating Programmer for the First Annual Cinema Eye Awards shortlist and having voted for the awards, I am proud to have been... (03/06/08.) SXSW: Good Night and Good Luck - On my way to bed, but just a note to offer my friend and colleague Matt Dentler best wishes for a successful festival... I know he's been far too busy with preparations for his festival to post on his blog lately, but I do hope he can take a minute... (02/28/08.) Sarasota 2008 | Anatomy Of An Opening Night Film: The Deal - A lack of blogging? Embarrassingly true, but it has been a crazy few weeks of programming here in Sarasota. We're almost there; Our program locks tomorrow at the close of business and I am really proud of what we've been able to put together. I hope to post more about... (02/17/08.) Sunday Respite - Oh, the pressure is on here in Sarasota. With two weeks or so until we lock the program, it's a furious dash to the finish line. On my desk, a pile of DVDs that seems to reach to the sky. And this poor blog, which I love writing, sits relatively... (02/09/08.) Julia In Berlin: Opinions Wanted! - Looks like Zonca has divided critics... and that sounds good to me. (02/09/08.) TGIO (Thank God It's Over) - Now that the end is in sight, some thoughts from the very back row of the WGA Strike... (02/01/08.) Sarasota 2008 | Back In The Saddle - Sundance is behind me, and it's time to get ready for The Sarasota Film Festival. (01/27/08.) Sundance 2008 | ~Fin~ - If anything, I'll always think of 2008 as a line in the sand; This was the year that independent, personal cinema surpassed celebrity-driven genre films, hands down and no debate about it. (01/25/08.) Sundance 2008 | The End Is Nigh - One of the most condescending ideas in the whole of Western Mythology is the idea that if you work hard enough and think positively and try and try and try, you will eventually succeed. (01/24/08.) Sundance 2008 | Funny Games - Some eleven years later, Michael Haneke's arguments about on-screen violence and audience complicity are more relevant than ever. (01/22/08.) Sundance 2008 | Gonzo: The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson - It's just about the midway point at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, and I have to be honest; There is an grumpy little malaise that has settled over this place like a deep, dirty puddle of polluted snow. (01/20/08.) Sundance 2008 | Delirious - A full slate of films in my first two days has me dizzy and unfocused; So many friendly faces, so many movies... It has been a very productive start for us since the Press and Industry screenings began, but not all of the good news has been coming from the... (01/17/08.) Sundance 2008 | Off and Running - The inevitable first blog post from a film festival is one of my least favorite writing rituals; I, like everyone else, flew into Salt Lake City. I was indeed on an airplane. I landed. I caught a shuttle. I checked into our condo (it's fancy pants). It's cold here. I... (01/09/08.) FINALLY: Erick Zonca Returns! - This blog has only been around for four years or so, and in that time, I have rarely had the occasion to voice one of the great cinephilic obsessions of my life; Whatever happened to Erick Zonca? There is probably no movie from the great 1990's that meant as much... (01/08/08.) The BRM Top 10 Cinematic Moments of 2007 - With competing feelings bouncing around in my head, the moments that shaped my 2007... (12/31/07.) Happy New Year! - En route to FL after three bone-chillingly feverish days back in Brooklyn. I haven't been this sick since last January, but this flu has laid me low, destroying my plans to get up to the Upper West Side and see There Will Be Blood while I was home. Now, I... (12/21/07.) Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd - Ladies and Gentleman, may I have your attention please? Are you looking for cinema bloody yet wise with a hero and heroine you should despise? (12/12/07.) Does Size Matter? - There is a plague sweeping its way across the face of film writing, an anxious, foot-tapping idea that squirms and writhes its way into the sentences and paragraphs of some of our best minds; The length of a movie has become an international critical obsession. (12/11/07.) Big Things, Little Bites - A few of the little things on my mind this week... Citizen Kane Awoke to the news that Orson Welles' Screenwriting Oscar for Citizen Kane goes on the auction block today. Am I the only one fantasizing that in the Sotheby's auction room in Manhattan, Peter Bogdanovich, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Kent... (12/08/07.) Fun In The Sun: USA vs Brazil U-17 - Just up the road from the Sarasota Film Festival offices lies the IMG Academy; The premier sports academy in the United States for soccer, tennis and golf students. What started as Nick Bollettieri's modest tennis academy has grown into an amazing campus for young athletes of all types; They even... (12/05/07.) The Ann Arbor Film Festival Wins A Major Victory For Free Speech - Woke this morning to find some good news in my inbox; The State of Michigan has opened the door for funding for the Ann Arbor Film Festival after repealing its censoring guidelines in its funding laws. Instead, the state has aligned itself with federal rules that already govern institutions like... (12/04/07.) Todd Haynes' I'm Not There - There are certain moments in the cinema that leave a total sensory impression on the viewer, allowing moments to linger in the mind with an unprecedented totality. I have written about some of these moments before, the most powerful example being my first screening of Arnaud Desplechin's My Sex Life...... (11/30/07.) Mr. Warmth - Just a small note about a lovely movie; Mr. Warmth, John Landis' portrait of stand-up comedian Don Rickles, debuts on HBO this Sunday night at 8:00pm. When I read that the documentary was included in this fall's New York Film Festival line-up, I was skeptical of its place in the... (11/29/07.) El Niño: World Class - Any questions? An absolutely World Class finish. Stopped me in mid-sentence yesterday... Now, back to trying to assemble my thoughts on I'm Not There, which has been the most difficult experience I have ever had in terms of writing about a movie... More soon, come hell or high water!... (11/25/07.) Why We Fight (The Sarasota Version) - Sigh... SARASOTA -- Ninety minutes after the evil developer's daughter disappeared and her lover and best friend began playing footsie all over Italy, the man in the baseball cap had enough. "Boring," he said, willing to share his opinion of Monday morning's featured attraction... but not his name. "Normally I... (11/18/07.) Relocation - Driving to FL to get settled in for my annual five month trip to Sarasota... Taking this week off from the blog. More when I get relocated... Happy Thanksgiving everyone.... (11/17/07.) Lloyd Carr Must Go - Time's up. After an atrocious 14-3 (3?!?) loss to Ohio State today, one thing is obvious; The game has passed Michigan's Lloyd Carr by. Despite his record of relative excellence, this team does not have the mindset nor the philosophy required to overcome Ohio State nor has this program recognized... (11/16/07.) Go Blue! - On the eve of the best rivalry game in college football history, a message of support for my Wolverines. It has been a disappointing year. After an unfathomable loss to Appalachian St. (one that will sting forever) and two more losses, Michigan has simply not lived up to our potential... (11/14/07.) Angeles - Ever have a day where something seems to be missing? (From Lucky 3: Images: Jem Cohen, Performance: Elliott Smith)... (11/13/07.) This Blog Hosts A Rerun In Solidarity With The Writers Guild of America - In solidarity with the strike by the WGA (and even though their action means my wife will be without work until the strike is resolved, a fact that we both recognize is less than desirable when pondering our rent checks in the coming months), this blog will featuring a rerun... (11/09/07.) Deconstructing Hamlet - Earlier this week, the Mrs. and I looked at our upcoming schedules (busy!) and made a last moment decision to grab tickets for the Wooster Group's Hamlet, which today enters the second week of its run at the Public Theater here in New York. I have only seen a few... (11/07/07.) Note By Note (The Making of Steinway L1037) - Ben Niles' beautiful documentary Note By Note (The Making of Steinway L1037) opens Wednesday at Film Forum. The film, which won the Jury Prize for Best Documentary Film at the 2007 Sarasota Film Festival, is a tremendous accomplishment; It is a film about work, about physical labor and its intersection... (11/06/07.) Faithless - (A Contribution To The Reeler's Totally Unrelated Blog-A-Thon) If I can be said to have any heroes, the American thinkers of the late 19th century are probably near the top of my list. One man in particular holds a fascination for me; One of the greatest thinkers America has ever... (10/30/07.) In Paris - The honeymoon is wonderful and I've fallen in love with Paris. A photo from today's boat ride on the Seine to tide you over until I get back home later this week...... (10/24/07.) Au revoir lecteurs - Tomorrow morning, the Mrs. and I are off to Paris for our honeymoon. I'll be taking a break from the blog (obviously) as we explore the city of my dreams; I've never been before and I can't wait to take it all in for a week or so. A much... (10/22/07.) Enough - Despite my strong opinions and feelings on the subject, I have never written about my own experience on September 11, 2001 on this blog, primarily because my own experience pales in comparison to many of my fellow New Yorkers, the passengers on the planes, and the victims in Washington D.C.... (10/19/07.) A Rainy Day in Brooklyn - A good day for staying in... and for listening to old records...... (10/18/07.) The 2008 Sarasota Film Festival Call For Entries Open - I've been taking the last few days off from film; It's our annual "back to reality week" here at the ol' BRM. I've been catching on up on e-mails and planning for the 10th Annual Sarasota Film Festival, which takes place April 4-13, 2008. Last year, we had over 200... (10/12/07.) Arnaud Desplechin's L'AIMEE - The past week has been a constant stream of images, ideas and conversations; Before everything blurs together in my head, I wanted to take a moment to try and get things down so that I can address the events and ideas each in their own turn. Early Wednesday evening, I... (10/08/07.) The 2007 New York Film Festival | No Country For Old Men - Insert Requisite Spoiler Alert Here Everything you need to know about what will be remembered as Joel and Ethan Coen's masterpiece can be gleaned from the two sequences that open the film; The wide open spaces of the West Texas desert, empty yet forbiddingly beautiful, are seen in near-silence, until... (10/03/07.) A Conversation with Barry Sonnenfeld At The Apple Store SoHo, Thursday, October 4, 2007 - After being invited to moderate a terrific conversation with Darren Aronofsky at the Apple Store last November, I am happy to announce that indieWIRE has once again been generous enough to invite me to moderate another Apple Store conversation, this time with Director/Producer/Cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld this Thursday, October 4, 2007... (10/03/07.) As The Brits Say... - I refer the right honorable gentlemen to the reply I gave some moments ago... A.J. Schnack's gorgeous About A Son Tony Kaye's amazing Lake of Fire Knocked out of my socks by Paranoid Park and I'm Not There today. I feel incapable of commenting on the Todd Haynes film until... (10/01/07.) The Ann Arbor Film Festival: Putting The Money Where The Mouth Is - Oh, Michigan. Sigh... I was born in Michigan, raised in Michigan, went to college at the University of Michigan, spent untold hours watching films from the balcony of the Michigan Theater, was MARRIED a couple of months ago in the Michigan Theater; Let's just say I have some deep roots... (10/01/07.) The 2007 New York Film Festival | Maternity - Everyone is someone's child. As a narrative device, I think it's fairly obvious that the relationship between parents and their children has served as one of cinema's most sturdy tropes; From serving as a gauge of changing times and a platform for the political divide among generations (Guess Who's Coming... (09/28/07.) The 2007 New York Film Festival | The Darjeeling Limited - It's the big night; Opening Night of the 45th New York Film Festival! While the public gets its first taste of the festival's offerings with two gala screenings tonight, Friday also marks the halfway point in the festival's Press and Industry screening schedule. After a seemingly slow start, things have... (09/26/07.) The 2007 New York Film Festival | I Do - It has been a long week and a half at the 2007 New York Film Festival; With social obligations, deadlines and a general sense of exhaustion settling over me this past week, I haven't been able to make the time to write about the films I've been seeing. As usual,... (09/18/07.) The New York Film Festival 2007 | Julian Schnabel's The Diving Bell and The Butterfly - Monday morning arrived with the sound of an early alarm. I jumped from my bed, hit the off button on the clock-radio and grabbed a quick shower before a groggy, wordless walk with Holly to the subway and a relatively quiet D Train ride to Lincoln Center for the opening... (09/18/07.) The BRM About A Son Soundtrack Challenge - Recently, the inimitable AJ Schnack challenged a group of bloggers, myself included, to participate in a unique project. In his terrific new film About A Son (which, full disclosure, played in competition at the 2007 Sarasota Film Festival), Schnack uses the music that influenced Kurt Cobain as a form of... (09/14/07.) Toronto 2007 | Real And Wrap - Despite spending the majority of my time taking in fiction films at this year's Toronto Film Festival, I did make plenty of time to see some of the good work that Thom Powers assembled in the festival's non-fiction program. This year's crop of docs (at least the ones I saw)... (09/12/07.) Toronto 2007 | Defenses - A string of terrific films has me buzzing and, despite my lack of a proper meal in the past few days, my energy has been really good. Let me get to the films before I run out of time... Munyurangabo by Lee Issac Chung To this point in the festival,... (09/12/07.) Toronto 2007 | Norman Jewison on TCM - This past spring, I was fortunate enough to be able to host Toronto's own Norman Jewison at the 2007 Sarasota Film Festival as the recipient of our festival’s highest honor, the Regal Cinemas Career Achievement Award. In addition to the festival’s black-tie dinner honoring Mr. Jewison, I was able to... (09/11/07.) Toronto 2007 | Discipline - Another couple of days, another pile of screenings, meetings, conversations and perennial discussions of “what have you seen that you’ve liked?” and I’m doing just fine, thankyouverymuch. I feel in a somewhat uncomfortable position making any pronouncements about Toronto this year, mainly because I have chosen to steer clear of... (09/08/07.) Toronto 2007 | Dreaming - As many times as I try to remind myself that a film festival is a marathon and not a sprint, choices and professional obligations conspire to keep me going at top speed all of the time. I'm nowhere near fatigued yet, as I made a good decision by not socializing... (09/07/07.) Toronto 2007 | Family Ties - Toronto is exploding. Everywhere you look, cranes are hunched over the husks of buildings, feeding construction workers their materials like baby birds in nests of made of steel and glass. Condos, office space, so many reflective surfaces everywhere that the city seems to be admiring itself. The value of the... (09/05/07.) Toronto 2007 | Ready... Set... - The night before the Toronto Film Festival begins and I'm back into my old routines; Checked in at the hotel, sushi with Holly as we map out each day of screenings and events, and now back in my room for a good night's sleep before the madness begins. As always,... (09/04/07.) The 2007 BRM Fall Film Festival Preview #8: Michelange Quay's Eat, For This Is My Body - In the final installment of this modest little film festival preview, I wanted to take a moment to talk about one of the films in the Toronto Film Festival that I knew very little about, but which a little bit of research (and the power of persuasion) have me very... (09/03/07.) The 2007 BRM Fall Film Festival Preview #7: Julian Schnabel's Lou Reed's Berlin - This is the place where we used to live I paid for it with love and blood And these are the boxes that she kept on the shelf Filled with her poetry and stuff And this is the room where she took the razor and cut her wrists that strange... (09/02/07.) The 2007 BRM Fall Film Festival Preview #6: Grant Gee's Joy Division - While fans everywhere await Control (and while I count myself among those who are dying to see Anton Corbjin's Ian Curtis biopic, I'm waiting for its theatrical run at Film Forum), the Toronto Film Festival catalogue held an instant surprise for me when I saw that the festival would be... (09/01/07.) The 2007 BRM Fall Film Festival Preview #5: Santosh Sivan's Before The Rains - The issue of imperialism is one of the "big themes" that will be on display this autumn; From the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq to films like Micheleange Quay's story of Hatian race consciousness Eat, For This Is My Body (more on this film in a couple of days),... (08/31/07.) The 2007 BRM Fall Film Festival Preview #4: Julian Schnabel's Le Scaphandre Et Le Papillon (The Diving Bell And The Butterfly) - "Through the frayed curtain at my window, a wan glow announces the break of day. My heels hurt, my head weighs a ton, and something like a giant invisible cocoon holds my whole body prisoner. My room emerges slowly from the gloom. I linger over every item: photos of loved... (08/30/07.) The 2007 BRM Fall Film Festival Preview #3: Harmony Korine's Mister Lonely - Before we dive in, a bit of history; In the twelve years since Harmony Korine first appeared on David Letterman's show to promote his work on Larry Clark's Kids, he has gone on to produce only two polarizing feature-length films of his own; Gummo (1997) and Julien Donkey Boy (1999),... (08/29/07.) The 2007 BRM Fall Film Festival Preview #2: Shira Geffen and Etgar Keret's Meduzot (Jellyfish) - This past year at the Sarasota Film Festival, we programmed a sidebar of films called Emerging Jewish Voices which tapped into artists with some new perspectives about Judaism, Israeli life and culture, and the changes in identity that seem to be happening throughout the Jewish diaspora. The films themselves ranged... (08/29/07.) Day-And-Date - Anthony Kaufman's recent article in the Village Voice (also see his blog post about his decision to return to the critic-depleted Voice for this piece) is one of the paper's must-read pieces about New York City film culture in quite a long time. Reading it, I forgot how much I... (08/28/07.) The 2007 BRM Fall Film Festival Preview #1: Lee Issac Chung's Munyurangabo (Liberation Day) - While the rest of the world gears up for the autumn by turning their attentions from the parade of summer blockbusters (and the requisite discussion of money money money) to the fall festivals and their impact on the awards season (and the requisite discussion of money money money), I think... (08/20/07.) Categorical Defiance - This week marks the theatrical release of Joe Swanberg’s Hannah Takes The Stairs and New York City has been taking notice. First, there have been the commendable and tireless efforts of Matt Dentler, whose energy and enthusiasm in helping spread the word about Hannah are significant. In a terrific piece... (08/16/07.) Here We Go: The New York Film Festival Program Announced - It's August and the film festival line-ups have begun rolling in, piece by tantalizing piece. Is it any wonder that year after year, I end up waxing rhapsodic about the autumn, about these festivals and the true start of the film-going season? For cinephiles, this is the best time of... (08/13/07.) Toronto 2007 | Documentary Preview - The ever-excellent documentary programmer extraordinairé Thom Powers sent me an email earlier in the week asking me to participate in a survey of documentaries I am anticipating at the upcoming Toronto Film Festival. After reviewing the excellent lists of my fellow programmers (nice head shot, Nugent!), colleagues and dear friends,... (08/10/07.) Timing Is Everything - I am a married man. Thanks to everyone who sent their best wishes along to the Mrs. and me; The event went off without a hitch and was really special for us. We were surrounded by friends and family and while it was a whirlwind of work to get everything... (07/25/07.) Buh Bye - Hi all. I'm taking a couple of weeks off from The Back Row Manifesto to go and get myself married. Back in two weeks. Before I go, I thought I would leave you with a something personal to peruse in my absence. Enjoy. Portrait Of The Blogger As A Young... (07/23/07.) This Is England - Let me be honest with you from the get go in the hopes that a confession might be the best way to give what follows a little bit of much-needed context; I am an unabashed anglophile whose entire experience of England consists of a single 90-minute layover in Manchester airport.... (07/20/07.) The Beckham Dilemma - ...Wherein we take a break from regular film blogging to discuss football again. Breaking news from Major League Soccer; David Beckham, one of the most famous sportsmen in the world and recent transfer acquisition of the Los Angeles Galaxy, may miss his projected debut tomorrow night against Chelsea FC in... (07/17/07.) Tag, I'm It. - The über-talented rock star of a movie blogger Karina Longworth has graciously tagged me in the Eight Things blog meme, and I am more than willing to participate (and deeply flattered at her invitation). I don't usually write about personal things on my blog, but this seemed like a good... (07/13/07.) The Long Way Home: Jennifer Fox's Flying: Confessions Of A Free Woman - As fate would have it, I spent my Thursday night in cool confines of Film Forum, still my favorite place in New York City taking in Jennifer Fox's passionate, engaging Flying: Confessions Of A Free Woman, a six-hour (two admission) exploration of the state of the modern woman. I was... (07/11/07.) Yes, It's Another Un Conte De Noël Update - Pardon my enthusiasm, but my favorite film maker is working on a new project and I just can't help myself; I wrote a few weeks ago with news of the new Arnaud Desplechin film Un Conte De Noël... Well, there are a ton of new images (see below) and a... (07/05/07.) Sicko - Late in Michael Moore’s tremendous new documentary Sicko, the ever-controversial filmmaker charters three boats in Miami in order to take a few of his film's subjects to the US military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The reason? That they might receive the same free health care that the prisoners on... (07/04/07.) El Niño Arrives At Liverpool - Fernando Torres is a Red. Ask the boys down at Nevada Smith's and they'll tell you; I called this a few weeks ago. I am sad to see Luis Garcia head in the other direction (called that too), but it seems that the timing as right for the 29-year-old to... (07/02/07.) Oh, Paris!: Brad Bird's Ratatouille - After a long week of wedding planning with an extra splash of wedding planning on top, I was finally able to get away from the house this weekend and go on a good old fashioned date with the Mrs.-To-Be. The plan; An early movie, a trip to the grocery and... (06/21/07.) Special Screening Of Michael Haneke's Caché - I recently received an invitation from UniFrance and The Rubin Museum of Art to introduce a special screening of Michael Haneke's Caché tomorrow, Friday, June 22nd at 9:30pm. The screening is free (there is a $7 drink minimum) and is held at the museum, located at 150 West 17th Street... (06/20/07.) More from the new Desplechin... - UPDATE: It looks as though Arnaud Desplechin's latest film, Un Conte De Noël (Tale Of Christmas), is set in Northern France and is a family drama in a similar vein of La vie des morts... an in depth article by Pierre Murat in Telerama.fr about the film production (roughly, and... (06/19/07.) First Look: Arnaud Desplechin's Un Conte De Noël - From the Why Not Productions website, the first image from Arnaud Desplechin's Un Conte De Noël (Tale Of Christmas), starring long-time Desplechin collaborator Mathieu Amalric and the luminous Catherine Deneuve. The cast includes Emmanuelle Devos, Chiara Mastroiani, Melvil Poupaud and Jean-Paul Roussillon and the film was written by My Sex... (06/18/07.) SilverDocs 2007 - On Thursday morning, I woke up nice and early and made the drive from Brooklyn to Silver Spring, MD to spend a few days taking in the 2007 SilverDocs International Documentary Conference. I was immediately impressed with the organization of the festival; A walk down the block to pick up... (06/11/07.) Purgatorio: The Sopranos Comes To An End - I am issuing a major SPOILER alert: If you did not see The Sopranos finale, are a Tivo user, a Netflix-er who is behind on the series or simply do not want to know what happened, please stop reading now. It's only going to be problematic from here... In an... (06/05/07.) Summer Movies: Paris, Texas - In the spirit of The New Yorker Magazine Summer Movies essay series, I present my own contribution to this wonderful exercise.... Summer Movies Paris, Texas Like most teenage summers, the summer of 1985 was full of anticipation. It was the summer before I began High School, fraught with all the... (05/26/07.) Manohla and Ryan, Tony and Pierre - Last year, one of my favorite on-line experiences from the Cannes Film Festival was the NY Times Cannes Blog, written by Manohla Dargis and A.O. Scott. Their insights into the day to day grind of the festival, the petty behind the scenes intrigues and reactions to the films, reminded me... (05/24/07.) Gutted, Then Onwards - The road to Athens ran into a dead-end last night in Greece as Liverpool FC lost in the Champions League Final. Congratulations to AC Milan and their supporters for winning their 7th European Cup. Liverpool are left to rue missed opportunities and despite playing very attractive football and creating several... (05/22/07.) Liverpool FC: The Road To Athens - With apologies to Oliver Stone, a brief summary of Liverpool FC's road to Athens and tomorrow's Champions League Final. I'm so nervous that I can't sleep. Come on you Reds! Bring home Number 6!... (05/22/07.) New Look! - Thanks to the tireless efforts of my dear friend (and Sarasota Film Festival roomie), the über-talented Colin Panetta, The Back Row Manifesto has a new look! I am really grateful to Colin for doing these banners for me; I think they look great. I am also enjoying my lame stab... (05/17/07.) In Defense of The New York Film Festival - While everyone else is in Cannes, news from Stu over at The Reeler that J. Hoberman and Scott Foundas, two alt-weekly legends, have replaced John Powers and Philip Lopate on the New York Film Festival selection committee. I think this is great news for cinephiles as I know both Hoberman... (05/16/07.) No Cannes Do. Again. - I am missing Cannes for the seventh year in a row. It's the most amazing cinematic experience and a place where I feel all festival programmers should be; The world comes to Cannes and I will work to see if I can't make it next year... again... In the meantime,... (05/14/07.) The Ankle Of Fate - Grr. I sprained my ankle on Saturday night, which effectively ended my plans for Sunday's screening of Ma Mere at BAM (it is on my Netflix Queue now), but before I ruined my recent running program (I was up to 3.5 miles which, starting cold after months of inactivity, was... (05/09/07.) Life and How To Live It: Charles Burnett's Killer of Sheep - Back in Brooklyn, and honestly, very little time for reflection since returning; Moved all of my belongings back into the apartment and used the opportunity to re-organize the place, leading to a several large bags of recycling, Salvation Army donations and some trash. I am still in the process of... (05/01/07.) LFC: Team of Destiny? - Another Champions League Semi-Final victory over Chel$ki for my beloved Liverpool Reds! What a match! Unbelievable! Can't write now...Come on You Reds! On to the Final! Never Stop Believing! Pepe Reina Saves The Day! (AP Photo/ Dave Thompson) Dirk Kuyt Celebrates His Winner (AP Photo/ Dave Thompson) Pepe Reina Celebrates... (04/27/07.) Mstislav Rostropovich (1927-2007) - A small remembrance of an amazing musician... One of the most important records in my collection is Mstislav Rostropovich's performance of Benjamin Britten's Cello Suites, as beautiful a collection of music as I have ever heard. Rostropovich's playing made me fall in love with the cello, and to this day... (04/27/07.) Coming Home - Arrive in Brooklyn very early on May 4. May 5th? Giving myself a treat and taking in The Marathon. May 10? I'm all over the The Garrel Retrospective. Can't wait to be back!... (04/26/07.) My Sarasota Film Festival Diary - The old adage is true; There is truly no rest for the wicked. After the curtain came down on this year's Sarasota Film Festival, I immediately began the process of wrapping things up here in Sarasota before I head back home to Brooklyn. The little details all pile up, and... (04/23/07.) Over - 3:00 in the mornin' you call me up without warnin' tellin' me all of my dreams of love and affection are OVER AMAZING FESTIVAL...I'll blog Sarasota FF 2007 asap Until then, much love to Ry, Mike, Sophie Fiennes, Chad Lowe (the coolest), Joe, Greta, Craig, Aaron, Pablo, Nate, Chris and... (04/12/07.) Sarasota Film Festival Preview: Launch - When I started this post, I looked at the clock and we're less than 24 hours from the start of the Sarasota Film Festival. So much has been accomplished in the run-up to 7:00pm tomorrow when we take our seats at the Van Wezel and In The Shadow Of The... (04/09/07.) Sarasota Film Festival Preview: Jonathan Sehring - Busy week ahead, but I wanted to drop a note to preview our 2007 Producer's Award Tributee Jonathan Sehring. In the interest of full disclosure, I started my career at IFC/Bravo back in 1997, and I very much enjoyed working with Jonathan; We were even on the Corporate League basketball... (04/05/07.) Foreign Film In Crisis? - Uh-oh. I love stepping into the middle of a good clean debate (*batting eyelashes*), so when Anthony Kaufman's typically excellent indieWIRE article examining the creation of Dreamachine (the brand new foreign equivalent of a mini-major which has the potential to bring major changes to the overall availability of foreign films... (04/04/07.) Sarasota Film Festival Preview: Edward Norton and Brian Koppelman - As I mentioned in my previous post, The Sarasota Film Festival has a tradition of honoring different artists for different reasons. This year, we're working with Edward Norton and Brian Koppelman to not only celebrate their careers with a salute on April 14th and a public In Conversation With... event... (04/01/07.) Sarasota Film Festival Preview: Norman Jewison - One of the most exciting aspects of our festival each and every year is our community's interest in paying tribute to filmmakers, actors and producers; The creative people who have made a siginifcant contribution to the art of film. We honor artists in several different ways and for several different... (03/30/07.) Sarasota Film Festival Preview: Opening Night - I know, I know. I promised I wouldn't be posting a ton about the upcoming Sarasota Film Festival, but I have been reading all of my favorite blogs these past few weeks and, to be fair, I want to write and the festival is just about all I have to... (03/16/07.) Up For Air... - ...Before diving back into the prep for the Sarasota Film Festival. We announce our line-up on Monday, and I am really excited about the program Holly and I have been able to bring together. Stay tuned, as I'll be posting the line-up next week. I don't think I have the... (02/26/07.) Congratulations, Martin Scorsese! - It is a very rare moment in Academy Awards history when my own tastes and those of the Academy align, so please, permit me a moment of happiness; I loved The Departed and truly believe that "in the universe of Hollywood movies that earn this type of industry recognition, the... (02/22/07.) The New Platforms - In a typically excellent and provocative post, Anthony Kaufman asks some good questions about the role 'alternative' distribution (TV, DVD, On Demand) can play for filmmakers seeking an audience for their work and why, in general, the film press seems to ignore films premiering in these alternative forms. Is it... (02/21/07.) A Grassroots Revival? - Since I've been back from Sundance, my blogging has fallen off the map as I have been buried in piles of film screeners, invitations, more film screeners, meetings, planning sessions, e-mail, phone calls and more film screeners. Preparations for April's Sarasota Film Festival are going well, and I have to... (02/11/07.) The Sarasota Film Festival and The Historic Asolo - This fall, a true treasure re-opened its doors in Sarasota when The Historic Asolo Theater at the Ringling Museum of Art hosted its Grand Opening. The theater is an 18th century playhouse from Asolo, Italy that was disassembled under Mussolini and purchased by an Italian art dealer who sold it... (02/10/07.) Walk - It's been a long week of screening, e-mail, phone calls, meetings and more screening. Today, it was an irresistible 74 degrees and sunny so I went for a walk... Sarasota Bay, Saturday February 10, 2007 Anoymous couple watches ships roll in, roll away again Back to the DVD player...... (02/05/07.) The Convergence of Parallel Lives: Martin Scorsese's The Departed - If this blog can be said to have three causes célèbres, they would be my desire to reverse the ongoing decline of foreign film in the United States, my longstanding defense of Michael Moore and my deep wish to see Martin Scorsese finally get what's coming to him; An Academy... (01/28/07.) Sundance 2007: Just Rewards - The annual scrutiny applied to the award winning films at the Sundance Film Festival borders on the paranoid; Conspiracy theories abound, many of which propose the idea that festival jurors, not sequestered from the hype and flow of information surrounding the numerous film sales at the festival, often award prizes... (01/27/07.) Sundance 2007: The Year of The Asshole - It has been a long week, and the festival blues are kicking in; Many of the members of the industry have left town, the screenings are less frequent and the exhaustion of seeing five or six films a day has started to wear on me. There have been many surprises... (01/24/07.) Sundance 2007: Excuses - Too... Many... Screenings... Not... Enough... Time... My fav so far? Zoo. Best Quote? "Don't tell me to talk to my lawyer. My lawyer doesn't work for me, YOU work for me, so get it together over there..."-- Random woman at the Yarrow, screeching into her Bluetooth earpiece. Ah, Sundance...... (01/20/07.) Sundance 2007: Leveled - Between screenings (love the free Wi-Fi at the Albertson's!), so apologies for the brevity... One of the best reasons to come to Sundance is to re-connect with colleagues and friends and today, my third day in Park City, offered me my first real chance to catch up. So far, so... (01/17/07.) Sundance 2007: The Prelude - The bags are packed and the plane, shuttle, condo, pass and movies await. It's Sundance again, and while I always enjoy going to the festival, this time, I feel a little bit stressed. I have my own fish to fry; A looming Programming deadline for Sarasota, a ton of invitations... (01/11/07.) More from Nuri Bilge Ceylan - I know, you're kicking yourself for missing Climates, this blog's choice as The Best Film of 2006. But there's good news for you while you wait for the film to roll into your town; Director Nuri Bilge Ceylan's stunning photographs are available for viewing online. You also buy them (if... (01/09/07.) The 2007 Sarasota Film Festival Call For Entries - Since I arrived in Florida in early December, we've been hard at work watching films, talking to filmmakers and distributors while getting everything in place for the 2007 Sarasota Film Festival (April 13th through 22nd, 2007). As we begin to finalize our program, I wanted to take a moment to... (01/08/07.) The Dystopian Mirror: Alfonso Cuarón's Children of Men - Dystopia is a mirage, hovering forever on the horizon, always just a bit further down the road, seemingly beyond our grasp. It sits both behind us, an interpretation of the horrors of the past, and in front of us, an imagined future where our worst actions bear terrible, unforeseen fruit.... (12/21/06.) The 2006 indieWIRE Blog Poll - Earlier this week, when indieWIRE announced the launch of its 2006 Critics Poll, I spoke to Eugene Hernandez about organizing a parallel poll for bloggers who would like to participate. He agreed to the idea, and so for the next few days, you'll hopefully be seeing indieWIRE's network of bloggers... (12/17/06.) One: Cut A Hole In The Box - Caught SNL last night, which was mostly disappointing, but much like last year's terrific Lazy Sunday video, this year's Christmas episode featured a new SNL Short Film starring Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake called... well, you'll have to watch and see for yourself. I was watching the show with a... (12/08/06.) The Forgotten Christmas Special - It's that time of year; Time to grab your favorite brand of holiday treat and sidle up to the TV for a heavy dose of the ol' Rankin/Bass magic. For those not in the know, you're probably in the know but just don't know it; Rankin/Bass is the studio famous... (12/05/06.) Cold Storage - Browsing around the internet today, I came across this article on Jim Emerson's blog detailing MoMA's continuing inaction regarding the promised re-opening of their Film Stills Archive. Four years ago, as the MoMA went about re-designing their main space, they shipped the film stills and much of their ephemera to... (12/04/06.) Preoccupied - "They've got organizations for people like me with stupid preoccupations..." -- Vic Chesnutt Well. I've been in Florida for just about a week now and things are settling in at work, but I have been so preoccupied with transition and change that I have been a bad blogger! Here's the... (11/22/06.) Goodbye, Mr. Altman - I arrived in Sarasota at 3:00am after an 18 hour drive from Brooklyn, and the first thing I heard upon waking was the news that Robert Altman had passed away. I had the ultimate privilege of hosting Mr. Altman and the East Coast Premiere of his film A Prairie Home... (11/19/06.) In Transit - The holidays are closing in and I am off to Florida until May; Time to co-locate and continue to work on the Sarasota Film Festival. This will be my third winter in Florida, and I am excited to see my colleagues and focus on the festival. A long drive with... (11/10/06.) Apple Store Event With Darren Aronofsky on Monday November 13, 2006 - Last month, after a screening at The New York Film Festival, James Israel asked me if I might be interested in moderating indieWIRE's upcoming evening with Darren Aronofsky at the Apple Store SoHo here in NYC. I was deeply honored to be asked and accepted the invitation. The event is... (11/07/06.) VOTE! - This is a re-print of a post written in November of 2004. It is shocking how little has changed in our country in the two years since, but I hope to see you at the polls today! You live in a representative republic. Your interests are represented by powerful politicians... (11/06/06.) Adrienne Shelly Was Murdered - According to Gothamist, Adrienne Shelly was murdered for complaining about construction noise in her building. More from WCBS, who report: "(CBS/AP) NEW YORK -- Prosecutors have charged a man with murdering actress Adrienne Shelly, who was found hanging from a shower rod in her West Village office last Wednesday, CBS... (11/06/06.) Big Bad Borat - I Told You So! Who thought Borat should go on 867 screens? Winning the weekend on that number of screens at $26.4 million dollars isn't a victory, its leaving millions of dollars on the table. I love people equating the "internet buzz" for Snakes on A Plane with Borat; Reading... (11/05/06.) Remembering Everitt and Carver: The Greensboro Massacre - I was watching a little late night television this weekend when I passed by the History Channel, which was re-running their documentary KKK: A Secret History. As the film was winding to a close, the story eventually found its way to one of the most troubling pieces of film footage... (11/03/06.) The Joke's On You: Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan - Spoiler Alert!! Borat Sagdiyev is a television reporter from the small town of Kuzcek (it's near Almaty) in Kazakhstan who has been sent to the United States of America to report on our culture to the people back home. Of course, that is no easy task; The Kazakhstan that Borat... (11/02/06.) No Blogging? No Worries! - It's been a while since I have taken time to blog, but that's nothing new; Every once in a while, there are stretches of life that pull me away from the cinema, from my on-line rambling, and replenish me with the engaging energy of real-life. Which is not to say... (10/18/06.) 51 Birch Street Opens - 51 Birch Street, which opens today at the Cinema Village here in New York City, is a marvel. I was fortunate enough to see the film at last year's Toronto Film Festival and after talking with Director Doug Block at the festival, I was able to have the film and... (10/11/06.) The 2006 New York Film Festival | Capsules III: The Friends and Family Plan - Friends and family have long been the source of compelling stories; We all have both, don't we? This year's NYFF is chock full of the social units that we all know and love, and any discussion of the festival program should include a look at this year’s biggest trend; the... (10/11/06.) Let's Get Trivial! - Hi everyone... Just a note to all New Yorkers that I will be hosting a bi-weekly trivia game tonight in Park Slope. Details below. Hope you can join us tonight or, if not, the next time we play on Wednesday, October 25. Topics are wide-ranging, so bring three friends (teams... (10/10/06.) The 2006 New York Film Festival | David Lynch's Inland Empire - Last Friday, I joined my good friends and bloggers at one of the best-attended press screenings of the 2006 New York Film Festival, David Lynch’s hotly anticipated Inland Empire. I had read a little bit about the project and its reception at Venice, but it was last Sunday’s press screening... (10/08/06.) Zodiac (or Capote Revisited?) - I was recently clicking around on-line when I stumbled upon a small item on David Poland's site which featured a look at the poster for David Fincher's upcoming film Zodiac, based on the unsolved Zodiac Killer crimes in the San Francisco Bay area in the late 1960's and early 1970's.... (10/05/06.) The 2006 New York Film Festival | Capsules II: Wake Up The Global Village! - The cinematic intersection of the political and the aesthetic is an eternally precarious place; Make a point too eagerly, too earnestly and you risk preaching only to the choir but divest too much political reality from the story you tell in favor of the obliquely beautiful image and you risk... (10/02/06.) The 2006 New York Film Festival | Capsules: Buñuel's Legacy, For Better Or Worse - It's been a glorious couple of weeks at The Walter Reade Theater. I know I always blather on about how much I love attending The New York Film Festival and how it simply wouldn't be autumn if I weren't scrambling every morning to get the D Train to Columbus Circle,... (10/02/06.) The 2006 New York Film Festival | Inherit The Kingdom: Pan's Labyrinth vs. Lady In The Water (or Homework II) - Mike Tully loooves giving me shit to do. One day, when he least expects it, revenge will be mine. In the meantime, I hand in my second homework assignment. Having mastered the historical horror film (The Devil’s Backbone) and restored the comic book movie to its darkest roots (Hellboy)... (09/29/06.) Ladytron: Webster Hall, NYC, 9/28/06 - Lots of films in the past week, and apologies for the lack of blogging, but I've been buried in screenings, post-work activities, and life in general. I have set aside a few hours on Friday to get caught up on the NYFF, but tonight, I took a break from the... (09/25/06.) The 2006 New York Film Festival | Love Boats (or My Homework) - Last week, after taking in the second day of NYFF press screenings, Michael Tully gave me a homework assignment; to write a single, unifying essay about Ingmar Bergman's Summer With Monika and Roman Polanksi's Knife In The Water. This is my rather futile attempt to earn a passing grade. Love... (09/25/06.) The 2006 New York Film Festival | Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette - In the build up to this year's New York Film Festival, I had been participating in the annual ritual of scanning the global festival circuit to see what films on the American horizon were generating interest, but I was still surprised when Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette was included in the... (09/20/06.) Old Joy - It is so difficult in this day and age to find independent films that transcend the 'indie' label and aspire to the level of great art, so when you find a film that deserves the full attention of the film-going audience, a modest, beautiful heart-breaking film, there is a responsibility... (09/19/06.) Toronto 2006 | Wrap - After writing some long posts in the last week, I thought I should cover some of the other films and experiences I've enjoyed at this year's Toronto Film Festival. As I have said many times before, when you see six films a day for nine days, things get a little... (09/15/06.) Toronto 2006 | Lake Of Fire by Tony Kaye - Today, as many press and industry members left town, I was excited to take in a couple of the most highly-anticipated titles on my list of must-see movies. First up was Hal Hartley's Fay Grim (more on this at another time, but I liked it very much), and after a... (09/12/06.) Toronto 2006 | Deliverance - The buzz at the festival today was steeped in tragedy, yet somehow (and of course), a day in the cinema gave me some respite from the news of the world. As any New Yorker waking up on September 11, my first thought as I opened my eyes was for my... (09/10/06.) Toronto 2006 | Ideas And Liberation - The weather has cooled considerably in Toronto today, giving the air the cool, damp feeling I love. It's clearly autumn now. The sun is setting a little bit earlier each day, the sweaters are coming out in force, and at the film festival, I had two solid days of screenings.... (09/08/06.) Toronto 2006 | Beginning - Before this blog mentions a single word about the 2006 Toronto Film Festival, I must start by saying that for the first time in years, I LIKE THE FESTIVAL TRAILER! Readers who have read this site in the past will remember my previously mentioned (see the comments! Hilarious!) and longstanding... (09/06/06.) Toronto 2006 | Let's Get Started... - Today was an adventure. Up at 6:30am in order to get on the internet for some very special tickets; the public tickets for the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival! The box office opened at 7:00am this morning and I can only imagine the hordes of people who bombarded the festival... (08/29/06.) The Festival Season Is Kicking Off... - The cinematic alarm clock just went off this weekend, and after rubbing my eyes, the reality of the season ahead quickly sunk in. I just spent an entire Saturday in a state of dread, sprawled on the couch like the mangled corpse of some minor character in an Oscar Wilde... (08/21/06.) Once Again... Francophilia! - Off to Las Vegas on Tuesday for a wedding. We're staying at the Luxor (because who doesn't love faux-Imperial Egyptian decor?l) and I will try desperately not to flush my money down the toilet. Plus, I'm looking forward to some, um, serious sunshine. Insert 'dry heat' joke here. As I... (08/18/06.) American Soccer Fans: Can Internet Television Save The Day? - I have to admit, with the heat receding in the city, pre-season football on TV, the absence of friends from the city on the weekends; Autumn, the official season of The Back Row Manifesto, is on the way. Before the leaves fall from the trees and the coats and sweaters... (08/16/06.) Best Wishes to The Rabbi - My dear friend and fellow left wing fanatic blogger, bon vivant, and Liverpool supporter Mark Rabinowitz, co-founder of indieWIRE and author of The Rabbi Report, has been dealing with a very difficult personal crisis these past few days. Just a note today to tell Mark he is in my thoughts... (08/15/06.) Günter Grass Confronts His Past - It has been a summer of reading for me, both high (I have just started reading Michel Houellebecq's The Possibility of An Island which, to this point, blends sex and humor in an unsettlingly enjoyable way) and low (Theodore Roszak's terrificly fun ode to the dangers of obsessive cinephilia, Flicker)... (08/08/06.) Puffy Chair... Respect - In honor of one of my favorite films (The Puffy Chair) and three of my favorite people (Mark and Jay Duplass and the incredible Kathryn Aseltlon-- two of whom taught me how to play the addictive Big Buck Hunter), I now showcase what was once only hinted at: Volcano, I'm... (08/07/06.) Take One: A Personal Take - Kudos to the good folks at Reverse Shot for my favorite piece of reading this summer; The Reverse Shot Take One Survey. Sure, I blew through Marshall Fine's Accidental Genius, which is a nice companion to Cassavetes' films if a little too reverent (and dismissive of one of my favorite... (08/02/06.) L'Intrus - Today is the Avant-Garde Blog-A-Thon. Thanks to Girish for the invitation. Please check his website for a full list of participants. I. August, 2006. Thinking about how I have personally tried to understand cinema and an ‘avant-garde,’ as someone who came to these ideas as a teenager with no access... (07/28/06.) Vacation... - I am still away on vacation, having just arrived in Flint after spending much of the last week cooling my heels on the shores of Lake Superior. I'll have photos and a recap soon, and will be participating in the upcoming avant garde blog-a-thon on Wednesday August 2nd, with a... (07/21/06.) Hounddog: Art or Scandal? - On CNN.com today, the 'most popular' story of the day carries the following headline: Dakota Fanning, 12, raped in her next film (see list on right) I have a fundamental problem with this headline. This is clearly a noxious attempt to shock and mislead the public. Obviously, Dakota Fanning is... (07/20/06.) Haneke's Triangle - This past Saturday, I hopped the F Train down to the vortex of the universe and visited the corner of 2nd and 2nd in Manhattan (“How can a street cross itself?!?!”). I like Manhattan on a summer weekend; Everyone heads out of town to escape the city, and the usually... (07/17/06.) Ten Years Gone: Happy Birthday, indieWIRE! - As a proud member since July 18, 2001, an indieLooper, and as one of the lucky people who somehow tricked you into allowing me to blog on this tremendous website, I wanted to extend a happy birthday and big thank you to indieWIRE for your consistently excellent work over this... (07/14/06.) The Old Lady Goes Down - No, not like THAT. Juventus, The 'Old Lady' of Italian Football (la Vecchia Signora), has been relegated to the Italian Second Division, (Serie B) along with Fiorentina and Lazio, for their roles in the Italian match fixing scandal. All three clubs will carry massive points deductions as well, leaving it... (07/12/06.) Michael Haneke Retrospective At The Anthology - Buckle up. Director Michael Haneke, whose powerful films explore the underbelly of race, family, and the conventions of cinematic violence, is finally getting the retrospective treatment he deserves thanks to the good folks at The Anthology Film Archives. The retrospective runs Friday, July 14th- Sunday, July 23rd. I am a... (07/10/06.) World Cup 2006: The BRM All-Tournament Team - Now that the World Cup is over, here are my choices for the BRM's All-Tournament Team, the players who gave their best and entertained us during this wonderful World Cup. Goal: Gianluigi Buffon (Italy) (AP Photo) Buffon, facing shame back in Italy for his role in a match-fixing scheme (which... (07/10/06.) World Cup 2006: Champions - After 120 minutes of hard fought football, a piece of unexpected violence, and penalty kicks, we have a winner: Italy has won the 2006 World Cup and I can finally re-claim my life* and get back to the cinema. I doubt any film I will see in the coming days... (07/06/06.) World Cup 2006: Zidane Delivers - France 1-0 over Portugal. Goal by Zinédine Zidane. Just like I wrote it. France vs Italy Sunday, July 9th, 2006 2:00pm EST... (07/05/06.) World Cup 2006: The March to the Final - What a tournament. After weeks and weeks of football action, the end of the road is in sight. It has been a great World Cup in my opinion, and despite the usual run of somewhat negative football in the knockout stages (with teams bunkering down and playing not to lose),... (07/03/06.) Review: The Devil Wears Prada - The bad boss, whose ambition and extravagant sense of entitlement are the foundation of his (in most cases, his) downfall, is one of the great archetypal villains in the history of American cinema. The examples are too numerous to count; films as diverse as Nine To Five, Office Space, The... (06/30/06.) Review: Superman Returns - It is almost impossible to write about Superman without diving headlong into the history of the iconography that surrounds the character; the image of the red, diamond-enclosed ‘S’ ranks among the most universally recognizable symbols in our marketing-soaked culture. The Golden Arches, The Mouse Ears, The Cross, The Red ‘S’.... (06/28/06.) We Are Swimming In Your Speakers - At the risk of this blog going all rock and roll... Wow. One day after I mentioned the likelihood that we'd never hear from Jeff Mangum and Neutral Milk Hotel ever again, I read on Pitchfork reports from the Elephant Six message boards... "Hello again. for the past few months... (06/28/06.) Sleater-Kinney: The End Of You - Sleater-Kinney, The Best Band In America, are breaking up. I found the news on their website today and I am heartbroken. "After eleven years as a band, Sleater-Kinney have decided to go on indefinite hiatus. The upcoming summer shows will be our last. As of now, there are no plans... (06/25/06.) Give Me A Taste Of Me Not On My Knees - I miss The Spinanes. I love their music. Some twelve and a half years years after I first bought Manos at Schoolkids' Records in Ann Arbor on a cold, early winter afternoon in 1993, The Spinanes' debut album (and one of the best $10 I have ever spent in my... (06/22/06.) World Cup 2006: The Definition of Insanity (or An Open Letter To Bruce Arena) - Dear Bruce, I can't begin to state the depths of my disappointment in you and the absolutely terrible choices you have made as a manager in this World Cup, but I will do my best to articulate my thoughts to you about how you, and you alone, are responsible for... (06/18/06.) World Cup 2006: The Battle of Kaiserslautern - Tonight, I am so proud of Team USA. In one of the most physical, bizzare, and intense matches I have ever seen, the USA ground out a 1-1 tie with Italy and kept their hopes of advancing to the second round of the World Cup alive. Italy is a three-time... (06/16/06.) Sarasota FF Update: The Deal Gains Momentum - In his recent article in the NY Times, Neil Amdur profiles William H Macy's recent trip to the Sarasota Film Festival and our screening of Edmond, Macy's recent collaboration with writer David Mamet and director Stuart Gordon. The article discusses the audience reaction to this dark and challenging film and... (06/14/06.) World Cup 2006: Thrashed - Well, it has taken me about 48 hours to be able to calmy discuss the USA's disasterous 3-0 loss to the Czech Republic on Monday. I was hoping for a draw or a win, but the absolute thrashing that the Czech Republic laid on this team was a textbook example... (06/12/06.) Blog Crush: The Party Is On! - Blog Crush 2006 "It's when you love somebody, and they don't love you, and you do something about it" -- Todd Solondz's Storytelling When you have a crush, it can be a very hard thing... Just ask Samantha. Do you have a blog crush? Do something about it. In recent... (06/11/06.) World Cup 2006: Group C Steals the Show - What a weekend of football! The World Cup kicked off this weekend with eight games, all of which produced various thrills and excitement. Highlights include Ecudaor thumping Poland 2-0, Trinidad and Tobago, the smallest nation ever to qualify for the tournament, holding group power Sweden to a 0-0 draw thanks... (06/08/06.) World Cup 2006: Why I Am Proud To Support Team USA - I've waited four years and the day is finally here. The World Cup kicks off in just a few hours and I can't wait. Everything is in place for an amazing tournament, and I will be glued to the whole thing. I'll be blogging about my experiences with the Cup,... (06/07/06.) WC 2006: Racism Dominating American Coverage - For all of the stories available to the American media regarding the upcoming World Cup, there has been an almost singular focus among our sports media to bring the game into disrepute and give Americans who are not familiar with the sport more reasons to ignore it. That focus has... (06/06/06.) The BRM 2006 World Cup Primer - “Some people believe that football is a matter of life and death. I am very disappointed with that attitude, it is much, much more important than that!”--Bill Shankly, 1981 You probably know that sometimes this blog dives from the cliffs of cinema into the glorious waters of football (aka soccer).... (06/01/06.) Unlikely Masterpiece: Michelangelo Antonioni's The Passenger - This past winter, deep in the throes of programming the Sarasota Film Festival, I left the office late at night and walked to the local art house theater in Sarasota to catch the final screening of the day, Michelangelo Antonioni’s The Passenger, which I had missed at the New York... (05/25/06.) I'm All Over the Place At The Moment.... - Another year, another Cannes not seen. I am in my apartment in Brooklyn, sipping from my cup, typing away with casual abandon on my laptop and clicking away on link after link from writers, bloggers, photographers, and critics. I am working on other things as well; a film series and... (05/18/06.) The Cannes Cam and I - In 1997, after a fortuitous meeting at a Philadelphia restaurant (long story), I went to work for the Independent Film Channel as a Manager in their New Media Department. Rewind your mind to the booming internet world of 1997; cable providers were starting to offer broadband internet service to high... (05/13/06.) FA Cup Champions! - At the end of one of the best Cup finals I have seen in my life, a virtual replay of our famous win in Istanbul last year, Liverpool are once again Champions, this time winning the FA Cup in an amazing victory over West Ham United. I can hardly speak... (05/12/06.) Red Tide: The 2006 FA Cup Final - Tomorrow, some friends and I will be gathering at our favorite football pub, Nevada Smith's at about 8:30am to take in the spledor of the Football Association Cup Final between my Liverpool Reds and London's West Ham United. The FA Cup, basically the Superbowl of English football, is a year... (05/11/06.) Things Are What You Make Of Them - Fans (like me) of Andrew Bujalski's films take note: In two weeks (May 26), Justin Rice, who starred as Alan in Bujalski's Mutual Appreciation, and his excellent band Bishop Allen (mp3's available) will be performing at Piano's in NYC. Really? Beer is Usually The First Thing To Go...: Andrew Bujalski's... (05/04/06.) The BRM in TriBeCa - I’ve been back from Florida for almost two weeks, and so far, most of my time has been spent in anticipation of being settled into my apartment. Boxes, bags, moving things in and moving things out. I have had a lot of things to do, lots of running around to... (04/28/06.) My Dinner With Herzog - It is not everyday you get to meet the artists that have inspired you; it’s even more special to be able to receive their validation. Last month, in conjunction with my work as the Director of Programming at the Sarasota Film Festival, I was honored to host Werner Herzog and... (04/26/06.) Michael Moore Is Alive and Well - After an initial report in Variety highlighting the filmmaker (and fellow Flint, MI escapee) Michael Moore's low profile of late, everyone from a curious Cinematical to a grumpy Anthony Kaufman wants to know where Michael Moore has gone. Even the bag of rocks known as moorewatch.com (oh, I will never... (04/24/06.) Stolen Arrives - At the 2005 Sarasota Film Festival, I had the privilege to host the World Premiere of Rebecca Dreyfus’ terrific documentary, Stolen. The film is an engaging mystery that examines the 1990 robbery at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, focusing in particular on Vermeer’s The Concert, one of the... (04/16/06.) The Post-Festival Decompression Plan - Back home to Brooklyn this coming Friday... Already planning the post-festival return.... 1. Organize the Big Day. 2. See Old (and disparate) Movies. 3. Repair the body. 4. Prepare for the Cup. 5. Read for the first time in far too long. 6. Fix the HQ. 7. Play Soccer in... (04/13/06.) A Sarasota Film Festival Wrap Up of Sorts - There is a tender moment near the end of Robert Altman’s terrific new film A Prairie Home Companion when Guy Noir (Kevin Kline) sits on a piano bench and tickles the ivories as moving men glide past, carrying away the remnants of the theater in which Noir has worked for... (03/24/06.) Directors First: Robert Altman and the 2006 Sarasota Film Festival - One week to go and I'm in full on festival mode... Just this week, after lots of help and support from our friends at Picturehouse Films (THANK YOU!), we were able to confirm Robert Altman to attend the 2006 Sarasota Film Festival to recieve an award at our Tribute Dinner... (03/13/06.) The 2006 Sarasota Film Festival - On Thursday March 9, about 400 press and guests gathered at the gorgeous The Long Boat Key Club and Resort here in Sarasota, FL for the announcement of our 2006 Sarasota Film Festival lineup. As I mentioned before, the city loves its film festival; Friday's newspapers had us above the... (03/09/06.) There's A Big Day Coming... - Tonight is the night! After MONTHS of hard work, we are announcing the Sarasota Film Festival line-up tonight and I have to say, I am really proud of this year's festival program. Not only do we have some amazing artists and their work coming to the festival, but I have... (03/07/06.) Liveblogging La Captive - I’m new to this liveblogging phenomenon, but from what I understand it involves posting updates to a single blog entry during an event, keeping the reader abreast of the author’s impressions as the event unfolds. So, in an effort to keep up with what the hip kids are doing nowadays... (03/06/06.) No, no... You're Thinking of Happiness... - The #1 Freudian Slip of Oscar Night goes to.... "I was so happy for Reese Witherspoon... I love her. But I was really glad to see Philip Semen Hoffmore win." -- Tennis Star Serena Williams on E!, upon entering the Vanity Fair party.... (03/05/06.) What's News? - I know that everyone is basking in their Spirit Awards/ Academy Awards weekend media frenzy, where the annual rites of naming artists winners and losers and best of the year will continue alongside the secondary cottage industry of criticizing the clothes and hair and make up of attending celebrities. And... (02/26/06.) Let's Party, Academy Awards Style! (or not.) - When living far from my home in New York City, as I have been these past months working on the Sarasota Film Festival, the internet is an invaluable tool in staying close to my old routines; I can still listen to my favorite radio stations via an iTunes stream (WNYC... (02/22/06.) Wellspring R.I.P. - I fucking KNEW It... I consider the closing of Wellspring's theatrical distribution arm to be a death knell for foreign film distribution in America. There are already far too few opportunities for foreign films to be seen on our theatrical screens, but I consider this to be a complicated problem.... (02/14/06.) Happy Valentine's Day! - Buried in a pile of DVD submissions as we finalize the Sarasota Film Festival line-up. Apologies for the lack of posting, but I haven't a spare moment. J is in Sarasota with me, so we're doing dinner tonight at my favorite restaurant in town, so that should be nice. In... (02/03/06.) Your Guess Is As Good As Mine: The BRM Oscar Preview - It’s Oscar time, and in the tradition of columns past, The Back Row Manifesto is dedicating itself to incomplete, ranting coverage of Hollywood’s always entertaining onanistic orgy of self-congratulation by piping up with our own highly selective look at the nominees. To be honest, this year’s crop of nominated films... (02/03/06.) The Number One Post of All Time! - As some of you may know, aside from cinema, my primary passion is English football (specifically, Liverpool FC). Months ago, my two passions collided (sort of) when I posted a review of Lexi Alexander's Green Street Holligans, a film I liked quite a bit but which, I argued, seemed to... (01/28/06.) The BRM Sundance Journal: Entry #3 - Yeah, that's right: #3 Somehow, my last post, totalling 1500+ words and full of life and vigor (ha!) was lost in the ether somewhere between the publishing interface and the very dodgy wi-fi connection here in our rented condo. We are living next door to some sort of video production... (01/21/06.) The BRM Sundance Journal: Entry #1 - Ah, Sundance, you never change. Reports of your demise this year have been greatly exaggerated, what with the industry complaints of exclusion and an amazing ass-covering piece in the NY Times detailing the extensive programming process for the festival (John Cooper, pleased let me know who handles your PR… genius!)... (01/17/06.) Launching - Before heading off to Sundance on Thursday morning (and scrambling to watch as many submissions as I can before we take off), some news on The Sarasota Film Festival (March 31-April 9, 2006): We have launched our new website! Aside from the nice new design (which is a huge improvement... (01/16/06.) Connecting - Friday night, Zeitgeist Films’ terrific Ballets Russes opened here in Sarasota, and I ran off to see the 8:15 show. It was a wonderful respite from the festival programming routine. Sure, I have been spending every waking hour pouring through films as we are slowly but surely finalizing our line... (01/10/06.) Previewing Park City - With only little over a week to go until Sundance kicks off and makes its annual case for the state of American cinema, I have been looking high and low for a comprehensive preview of the festival, and I’m having a hard time finding buzz, news, and overall build-up for... (01/06/06.) A Disturbing Trend - Today's article in the NY Times regarding Microsoft's decision to close down the blog of Zhao Jing, a well-known blogger with an online pen name An Ti, at the request of the Chinese government highlights a disturbing trend among American companies who, in order to "comply with local laws", have... (12/30/05.) The BRM Top 10 Cinematic Experiences of 2005 - Ah, lists. Lists represent a problem for me in any form. While most of the blogosphere has chimed in with a traditional ten best list, I have had a hard time making one myself. All of the starts and stops have lead me to the understanding that art is not... (12/29/05.) iW Foreign Film Poll: My Full Ballot - This year, I was honored to once again be invited by the team at indieWIRE to participate in their Best of Foreign-Language Film Poll. Interestingly, my own votes echoed quite a few of my peers in the industry, while others were clearly different. My only complaint was the exclusion of... (12/20/05.) Mr. Pibb + Red Vines = Crazy Delicious - Don't Act Like You've Never Seen A Ten Before... Click It! Thanks To E-Liz For the Link!... (12/20/05.) The Holiday Season: A View From The Front - All of those promises to blog, oh so long ago. Sigh. I forgive myself for not writing more, and frankly this time, no excuses aside from the general holiday madness. I have been running around like the chicken from Caché! (Insert rim shot). Let me get you up to speed,... (12/01/05.) Sights Unseen: The BRM Holiday Film Preview - There are no X-Box 360’s left in the entirety of America. Don’t have one yet? You blew it. Somehow, a mere 4 days after the season’s big-ticket kiddie gift was released, the good ol’ US of A has managed to consume the entire first run of Microsoft’s new video game... (11/27/05.) Adam Curtis' The Power of Nightmares - This past year, I enviously read reports from the TriBeCa and San Francsico Film Festivals about Adam Curtis' documentary on the rise of fundamentalism, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/3755686.stm" target="outside">The Power of Nightmares. Reviews of the film were tantalizing, but despite demand, the film never saw a theatrical release in this country. I was... (11/27/05.) Bye-Bye Brooklyn... - (11/18/05.) The Sarasota Film Festival Salutes Kevin Bacon - Ah, Florida! It’s been a great week. I finally got down to Sarasota to get situated and start work on the Film Festival. I also had a chance to work with our team on the Festival’s big fundraiser for the year; The Sarasota Film Festival Career Tribute to Kevin Bacon.... (11/04/05.) BAM Does It Again - These past couple of weeks, I have been pretty much holed up in Brooklyn, working from home, getting started on my work for The Sarasota Film Festival. I will be moving to Florida in the next couple of weeks, so I have been bunkering a bit, trying to frequent my... (10/27/05.) Things That Scare Me - It’s Halloween time, need I say any more? This is one holiday that is all about atmosphere, and I am a big fan of setting the proper mood, so please follow this recipe before making the jump and reading the rest of this post: ** Put on your favorite copy... (10/26/05.) Where Has Our Love Gone?: Anand Tucker’s Shopgirl - Intimacy is always a tricky subject for a film; there are a million and one representations of romantic and sexual connection committed to film that get everything all wrong. So, on that rare occasion when a movie gets it right, when the stars align and you leave the theater feeling... (10/25/05.) Decompressing - It’s been a while! What is it they say about rainy days and Mondays? After the long Toronto/NYFF month, I needed a bit of a mental break from all of the blogging and the festival life in order to re-establish some sense of a thoughtful approach to film. I felt... (10/12/05.) Ideas vs. Ideology - In The Trouble With Films That Try To Think, her recent document of the shortcomings of Hollywood films that take on political themes, The New York Times' Caryn James writes: "The studios (and their artier specialty divisions) back [films that think] for the same reason celebrities double as political pundits:... (10/08/05.) The 2005 New York Film Festival | Closing Weekend: Where Is The American Art Film? - I am off tomorrow morning to Indiana for a lecture on Monday at DePauw University; very excited, but sad to miss the end of the New York Film Festival. Thankfully, I was able to see two films at this week's press screenings and they turned out to be my two... (09/30/05.) There is Life Beyond The Cinema... - ... even though I sometimes forget it. I haven't blogged about the many other things going on in my life right now, and I'm sure most of you don't care... But for the interested, here are the non-film items that are capturing my interest at the moment. Enjoy! 1. The... (09/29/05.) The 2005 New York Film Festival | Breaking Up Is Hard To Do: Noah Baumbach's "The Squid and The Whale" - Divorce has shaped my generation. I am not sure I can count on one hand the number of my friends whose parents are still together, mine included. Growing up, divorce seemed so natural I often grew suspicious of homes not touched by it; surely these were the people who attended... (09/28/05.) The 2005 New |