Posts Tagged ‘Jon Voight’

LA Film Festival Wraps with Awards by Marla Lewin

// June 29th, 2009 // Comments Off // Film Festivals

This was my first year covering the LA Film Festival.  I first remember going to some screenings in past years when it was held at the Sunset 5 in Hollywood, and later some parties and mixers in Westwood and at the W Hotel.  After Cannes, June is also a busy month for film festivals around the world.  This year, there was a greater focus on international film at the Festival. I spoke with new Executive Program Director Rebecca Yeldham at the award brunch, and shared how we enjoyed meeting many of the  filmmakers. This year there were many issue oriented stories, and some won awards including the film from Iran Cyrus Nowrasteh’s The Stoning of Soraya M., about women and their struggles for equal rights. This was all the more poignant because of the continuing protest going on at the neighboring Federal building in support of the Green party in Iran.

The big winners each received $50,000 cash prize from Target. Juan Carlos Rulfo and Carlos Hagerman from Mexico’s  Those Who Remain (Los Que se Quedan) won the Target Docmentary Award. Their film is about families who are torn apart, when some members need to leave to find work to feed their families.  The producer, told me how he is hoping people will return to Mexico after seeing this film.

The other big  winner was Sam Fleischner and Ben Chace’s Wah Do Dem (What They Do)which won the Target Filmmaker Award for best narrative film, made by the boys from Brooklyn about a young man who takes a journey from Brooklyn to Jamaca. They said they loved being in LA, and the festival treated them very well.  They told us they had won two tickets on a cruise ship and decided to buy two more to make their movie.  They brought one actor and another actor/sound man and staged a journey of a broken hearted boy who seeks redemption losing everything material and somehow finds himself by making friends in the strangest of circumstances along the way home. He finds pleasure in the simplist kindness, and through some island weed and music which dissolves his cares in a mystical return to Self and inner peace.

I spoke with actress Melissa Leo, opening night. She had won Best Actress at the Spirit awards this year, and she was thrilled to be back at the festival with a film she is in. Melissa said she loves the independents, and is a big supporter of the festival. Today she was a presenter of an award. She told me she is on her way to start shooting the new David O. Russell film, starring along with Mark Wahlburg and Christian Bale.

Jon Voight came to the festival with his film Midnight Cowboy. He and Dustin Hoffman introduced the film and stayed to do a Q&A after their screening.  Sunday Jon presented the team from Mexico the Target Docmentary Award andcongratulated the judges and filmmakers who were here. The director in his acceptance speech embraced the work of Swedish director Fredrik Gertien for his film Bananas which was pulled from competion, and was probably the most controversial film at the festival.

Jon Voight commented that when he arrived he was handed the list of the 11 final awards in the parking lot, he said this was a bit different than the Academy Awards. Still they were kept secret right up to the announcements.  He thanked Target for their support of the festival, and emphasized that La deserves a great festival like this.

Finally, I sat with Frank Laughlin from Affordablue who along with his partner had restored his father’s classic independent film Billy Jack, which played at the festival. He said that the costs associated with the Blu-ray format had made it very expensive to restore old films. They found a way to make it cost effective and thus became a company. Up till now only studios could afford to make the transfers.  I am really impressed with the blend of independent spirit and business that I saw at this year’s festival, and look forward to next year.

The opening night film Paper Man was developed in Sundance with producer RIchard Gladstein. There were Hollywood agents and producers like Mace Neufield, a friend of Richard’s in attendance. I sat with critic Kirk Honeycutt from the Hollywood Reporter who was reviewing the film.  Actor Christian Slater welcomed me with a two cheek French style kisses, and since he was only doing photos on the red carpet, we got to actually talk. We spoke about being at the Indiana Jones premiere last year in Cannes. He said he had watched that film again that day, and was looking forward to the Transformers premiere later in the week.

It was a packed house, and at the party which followed I spoke with Dawn Hudson, FIND exec director, who was excited about the festival and was busy greeting sponsers and representatives from the theatre chains. She said this was the festival’s biggest year ever. Their approach to the festival included a mix of main stream Hollywood and independent movies. This approach provided a unique opportunity for the LA film festival to stay afloat in these challenging times. Many indies are struggling to get funding, and many festivals are struggling to find sponsors.  All the filmmakers seemed grateful to be showing their films in LA. I saw students from UCLA, filmmakers from NY, Sweden, Mexico, Israel, Texas, Quebec, seeing their stories and dreams on screen.

Our last event on Sunday was a conversation with director Robert Rodriguez and his sons Rocket, Rebel, and Racer  along with Cheech Marin.  Robert remembered listening to radio when he was a kid with his brother, and Cheech had a Latino Santa Claus song. The names of the reindeers had the same names as two of his hispanic uncles, which inspired him to get into the business.  Cheech talked about how Robert had worked at a camera store, and in preparation to sell cameras the owner lent him one for the weekend. When Robert returned with his shots, the owner commented on his talent, and this encouraged him as well.  Robert said he was told if he could  learn to be a good technition and creative then the world is yours.

He showed a short film that demonstrated how he works with his children, each with their own  creative gifts.  The film Shark Boy and Lava Girl came from a story idea by one of the boys, and they all developed the film together.

Aspiring filmmakers have a great opportunity to learn at the festival through panels and casual meetings with peers and experienced professionals there is something for everyone. I wish to thank all the staff and volunteers at the festival who made me feel so welcome. See you next year.

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Transformers 2 thrills audiences, Big Toys Equal Big Box office by Marla Lewin

// June 24th, 2009 // Comments Off // Movie Premiere

Transformers thrills audience with Airplanes, Cars, and Giant Battling Robots.
Tonight was the U.S. Premiere of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen as part of the Los Angeles Film Festival. Shia La Beouf attended the premiere in Westwood, with his mother, Shayna.  It was a star studded event with the entire cast in attendance including Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson and John Turturro. Some celebrities with films in the festival who didn’t attend their own premieres showed up for this major event, including one of Shia’s mentors Jon Voight.
Sam Witwicky’s (Shia LaBeouf) parents in the film provide the humor as well as the pathos.  His character Sam, is headed to college, and his girlfriend played by Megan Fox is considering breaking up with him since he is leaving town.  He asks her to join him, and she realizes they have been through a lot in their past, and she cannot give him up.
They are once again off on  a journey to assist the good robots, discover ancient symbols, and save the world. Michael Bay uses an enormous palette to tell his story. Action is set against large cities and even the pyramids. The cast and crew shot in Egypt, Jordan, New Mexico, San Diego, Paris and on the Playa Vista set.
Children of all ages will want to see the film at least twice to absorb all the special effects and transforming trucks, cars, planes, and other eye candy.
The film is already number one internationally and looks to be the film of the summer.

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CineVegas 2009 by Marla Lewin

// June 21st, 2009 // Comments Off // Film Festivals

Dennis Hopper in the CineVegas Lounge
Dennis Hopper was a constant fixture in the CineVegas Lounge.

Cinevegas is set off the Las Vegas strip at the Palms Hotel and Brenden Theatre complex. Parties were held at the Playboy Club, the Rain Night club, the Venetian and Mandalay Bay Hotels.  The festival closed with a street party and Drive-In showing of a 1950′s movie “classic” that recently served as the inspiration of Monsters versus Aliens. There is a casino level suite where filmmakers and industry meet for a once a day feed, and a cocktail hour. There has been much said and written about a party held in a gentlemen’s club the size of a Costco. Las Vegas is a city of excess,neon and excitement and CineVegas is a product of its enviorment.
Willem Dafoe an admitted to be a Vegas virgin when he spoke with Elvis Mitchell about his career. He had just returned from Cannes where he appeared to support Antichrist the latest controversial film from Lars Van Trier. Elvis reminded Willem he was a boy from a large middle class mid-west American  family who wanted to live an interesting life. WiIlem says he loves to work. He is like an ox. He is happiest to be in every scene of a movie, and he loves the physical work of the stage. He has one in New York, the Wooster Theatre, and he remembers that it was his stage performances that first brought him to the attention of Billy Friedkin and Oliver Stone. Most recently Willem had his manager call Lars to see what he was up to, and discovered that he had been in a deep depression. Lars was casting his new movie with two leads and hadn’t decided how to go.  Elvis commented that WiIlem is always making films with the theme of flirting with danger. Willem said that character is revealed through action.  He said he never read the book Last Temptation of Christ, where again he played every scene. Willem felt it was an actor’s dream to play a character who was basically unconscious so that both he and the audience experience together how he became aware of what was going on around him.  He said working with Scorcese was a dream. Marty gave him things about forgiveness to read in preparation for the role.
He met Dennis Hopper, the president of the CineVegas festival while David Lynch was casting Wild At Heart and they then worked together.  That was another out of the system tribal type experience of filmmaking.  When Dennis suggested he show a piece of his work, Willem chose his first film Loveless from then first time director Kathleen Bigelow shot in 1982.  He has had an impressive carreer and been nominated for two academy awards. We appreciated his sharing his insights about acting with the audience.
Jon Voight CineVegas on Stage

Jon Voight also has had an impressive career with many award winning films including Midnight Cowboy and Coming Home for which he received the Academy Award.  Jon was humbled, and choose to show a film that he co wrote with writer Al Swartz, who was in the audience. Looking to Get Out was directed by the late Hal Ashby and is rarely seen. Only recently was the original Director’s cut found and that was the version we were shown. Jon had just wrapped shooting The Champ, and got energized working with kids. Also starring in Lookin’ to Get Out are Burt Young, and Anne Margaret. Jon’s daughter, Angelina had her first role in this film at age 7. Although set in Las Vegas, the casino sets were created in Hollywood by famed production designer Robert Boyle now 99 years old. Camera work was provided by Haskell Wexler. This now classic gem of a film will be released on DVD by the end of the month by Warner Bros. A special program is planned in Los Angeles to coincide with the release.

The festival chose to honor two maverick filmmakers the Kuchar twins who have been making pictures for the last 50 years, and now in their late 60′s.  They have influenced filmmakers like John Waters, and Chris Coppola.  The festival included a excellent new documentary IT CAME FROM KUCHAR that chronicles their lives and provides context for their work. George Kuchar said he has made 200 videos with his students at the San Francisco Art Institute.  Michael makes his own films and used to also edit, and do cinematography for known directors in Europe, which gave him an opportunity to travel.  European museums seemed to really value their work and their unique style of creating art from their own lives, their students lives and nature.

Kuchars Bros

Monday we saw Palermo Shootings a film we had missed seeing in Cannes, and I loved the visual aspects of the film. It is set in Italy and Germany, and contrasts the commercial and artistic struggles that artists deal with constantly. It reminds us  that we are all artists, and we continually make choices as we are busy creating how we live our lives.

Many of us live life half dead, until we have a near death experience, or detect a reflection of love in another’s face.  I appreciated that Wim Wenders choose two beautiful actors as the leads, and Dennis Hopper was perfect as the voice of Death. He conveyed the passing of time and what we value. He too was once beautiful as a young man, the beauty now in his wise eyes.  The female image in art and life is what leads us, as Beatrice led Dante into the underworld.

I remember studying Wim Wenders early films in film school, and being fascinated by his creativity.  He shot films in the US, with his European perspective, and then he made Wings of Desire set in his homeland, Germany.Dennis Hopper awards.preview

A few years ago in Cannes, I was at the screening of a film he directed from a Sam Shepard script which again for me was very exciting, as I am a Padua Hills playwrite, and Sam started that school. Sam is considered one of the great American voices, and has been revered in England and Ireland.  When I was at the British National Film School, I remember all the teachers and students that summer, running out to see Paris, Texas.  Sam was considered an icon.  So here you have Sam and Wim working together, doing a piece about the Wild West, and was I the only one excited about this in Cannes.  It seems to me that Wim was more ambitious with this film, than any of his others, writing and directing, with different locations, using the backdrop of murals and italian artifaces, and myths, along with an existential approach to story, for which there is no exit, other than death.

There was a series of scenes in this film where the female lead, a wonderful young Italian actress and Venice film festival award winner is working to restore an old mural. I have concerns about art crumbling off screen as well. Over the last several years we have seen critics and newspapers disappearing at an alarming rate. We for the sake of our culture must work to uphold structures like newspapers and nurture critics who support art. The internet is a wonderful place but the established critics from the newspapers and magazines are a treasured resource that we can little afford to lose. It is important as well to try not to kill art with the poisoned arrows of opinion. Not many years ago films played for more than a week in theatres and were allowed to find an audience. In today’s world they are often poorly advertised because of the costs involved and disappear without a trace. The internet or download services might have a future but if audiences can’t find quality new films or build a community of like minded voices it will be very difficult for film to survive as a medium.

And now something about film festivals in general:

There has been much talk lately about film festivals serving to fill the gap between the old and new methods of distribution.

I am not sure if this really fills the void. It just seems to replace one set of gate keepers with another. In many cities there are too many festivals chasing too little quality film and it is hard to rise above the clutter. I often see films win audience awards at festivals, because some friends know how to twitter or text and it sometimes comes down to how many friends one can get to show up at the theatre. We have been at festivals where a majority of the seats were reserved for cast members, friends and family. This means that the true audience doesn’t get to vote on the films only  a pre-arranged group’s vote really counts. This chicanery doesn’t end with this category. Too often jury awards end up being the second or third consensus choices because the juries are so divided by personal taste. I remember being at a major world class festival and running  into a friend who is a major award winning director who confided he was having a hard time continuing with his jury duties because all of the films were so bad that he was finding it painful to sit through them. He swore he would never subject himself to this experience again.

Why do we do it for the same reason everyone attends movies and especially film festivals to take a chance on seeing or discovering a really great film. It comes down to the taste of programmers and critics that we depend upon to filter out the crap and point us towards great film. So be discerning find voices you can trust and stick with them whether they are on the internet, radio, television or print.

And if you really feel adventurous try producing or writing a movie, and working with actors to tell a story, it is hard work. And when it is successful the audience becomes riveted.  But not everyone can tell a story and some stories may not be worth telling. The democratization of filmmaking tools means that more people are trying but the quality has not gone up. But when it does work it is miraculous.

See you at the movies.


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