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Marginalia
No Limits No Control
Marjorie Baumgarten
Wed May 27, 4:30pm
Certainly it comes at little surprise, given the near-universal harshness of the reviews, that Jim Jarmusch's latest, The Limits of Control, is vacating Austin after a mere one-week run. This Thursday, May 28, will be the last day to catch a screening at the Arbor Theatre. Consider making Limits a priority because I'm here to tell you that all the naysayers are flat-out wrong. Distributor Focus Features has probably already given up on garnering any more business in the hinterlands after the poor showings the film had in its New York and L.A. debut and decided to cut its losses. Since no advance screenings were held in Austin for critics, I caught the movie over the weekend. Yes, the film is dreamy and enigmatic, but is by no means as ponderous and abstruse as many of the reviews have made it out to be.
'Inglourious Basterds' Equals Happy Jews
Marjorie Baumgarten
Wed May 6, 4:46pm
Tags: Inglourious Basterds
Film distribution titan Harvey Weinstein spoke via satellite with John Pierson's Master Class at UT-Austin on Monday. Asked for comment about Quentin Tarantino's new war movie Inglourious Basterds, which will premiere in Cannes in a couple of weeks, Weinstein quipped: "There are gonna be a lot of happy Jews out there." Brad Pitt stars in the film as the leader of an American unit of Nazi killers. The film opens nationally on August 21.
Drag Me to Hell: The Wait Is Almost Over
Marjorie Baumgarten
Mon Mar 16, 5:37pm
There's not much that'll get my tired carcass out to midnight screenings anymore, however last night's SXSW screening of Sam Raimi's work-in-progress print of his new horror film Drag Me to Hell is definitely one of those things. Fans of Darkman and his Evil Dead films have been seriously geeking out over the great director's return (after a near-20 year absence) to the horror genre that kicked his career into gear. Not that movies such as the Spider-Man trilogy and A Simple Plan are chopped liver, nor are most of his other producing and writing credits – but horror fans have longed for the kind of Raimi film that might slice body parts into literal chopped livers, and then maybe dice ’em into mincemeat.
Office Spaced in Austin
Marjorie Baumgarten
Wed Feb 11, 2:26pm
My AFF Friday
Marjorie Baumgarten
Sun Oct 19, 3:41pm
, 2008
The Austin Film Festival’s annual barbecue on the grounds of the French Legation Friday evening was again one of the highlights of the weeklong event. It’s a lovely gathering of the out-of-towners, festival filmmakers, and members of the local film community. The beer and wine flowed freely (though I would have loved it even more if festival sponsor Absolut had participated in the event), and the cloudy residue from our once-quarterly rainfall (it’s been a little parched here in case you’re not up on Austin’s annual rainfall totals) earlier in the week cleared out and made for perfect, sunshiny BBQ weather. The schmooze was lively, but catching up with old friends and connecting with new ones got in the way of getting my feed on. The food was all gone by the time I made my way to the chow line, sending me out to my first film of the fest with a hunger in my belly.
Can't Tell the Flix Without the Pics
Marjorie Baumgarten
Wed Sep 24, 7:32pm
, 2008
Tags: Fantastic Fest
All week long, I've been digging this fun pictograph reference guide to the festival's movies. The chart takes up a full page in the program book, and T-shirts have also been emblazoned with the hand-drawn symbols. 130 little squares depict handy tips to the movies' contents – everything you might imagine and more that you hope you can't. Some of the pictures are straightforward: a doll with pins in it signifies "voodoo," a drawing of a 1¢ coin indicates "no budget" while a 2¢ coin ups the stakes to "low budget," a skull sucking on a ciggie means you should be ready for some necrophilia. Other pictures are more hilariously conceptual. Say you're looking for a movie with animal attacks, puppet sex, castration, and scenery chewing, Fantastic Fest has the pictograph to demonstrate the concept and also the movies to fit the tastes. The idea was borrowed from Fantastic Fest's pals at New Zealand's Incredibly Strange Film Festival, where the reference guide has been a longtime staple.
Porno Presented at the Paramount
Marjorie Baumgarten
Sat Sep 20, 5:23pm
, 2008
Tags: Fantastic Fest
Leave it to the inimitable Kevin Smith to slip the word, if not an actual skin flick, into the grand lady of Austin theatrical venues: the Paramount Theatre. A screening of his new film Zack and Miri Make a Porno was the opening film at the fourth annual Fantastic Fest. Smith's simultaneously sweet and unsavory new comedy stars box-office king Seth Rogen and delightful Elizabeth Banks (who is soon to appear as Laura Bush in Oliver Stone's W.
Matt Stone Visits Austin Via South Park
Marjorie Baumgarten
Fri May 2, 4:56pm
, 2008
John Pierson was clearly delighted. It took three years but now the guest he had most wanted to book was finally in the house. Since beginning his Master Class at UT three years ago, Pierson has tried to get South Park's co-creator Matt Stone to visit with his Austin students. But the timing has never been right due to the congruence of UT's spring semester and Comedy Central's spring season. The stars aligned, however, in 2008 and Stone was able to hop on a flight right after completing work on the 12th season of South Park and make an appearance in Pierson's final class of the semester.
Stone and his creative partner in South Park, Trey Parker, never work more than a week ahead on each episode of the show. This is part of what makes it impossible for the two to get away from L.A. while the season is in progress. Stone confesses they "get bored" pretty quickly, and that's part of why they like having only a week to produce a show. Mostly, though, it's "procrastination" that takes them down to the wire.
Mike Wallace: Before He Was a 60-Minute Man
Marjorie Baumgarten
Fri Apr 4, 12:19pm
, 2008
Back in the early Sixties, when TV journalist Mike Wallace and the University of Texas' Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center were both young pups, Wallace donated to the HRC some 16mm kinescopes of the interview show that catapulted him to prominence: the nationally televised program, The Mike Wallace Interview. The HRC, along with the University's School of Information, have now digitized these unique programs and have made them available online.
Although the show aired from 1957 to 1960, the HRC's collection is limited to 65 interviews on kinescope and audio tape from the years 1957-58. But what a panoply of guests Wallace attracted in that time!
Six Degrees of Steve Buscemi
Marjorie Baumgarten
Tue Mar 18, 1:59pm
, 2008
Steve Buscemi ducked in to some SXSW showcases over the weekend while in town to catch his son's punk outfit Fiasco perform and also visit with John Pierson's RTF Master Class on Monday for a wide-ranging discussion with the students of his legendary career in film.
The extensiveness of Buscemi's acting career (IMDB credits the actor with more than 100 film and TV appearances since his start in the mid-Eighties) prompted Pierson to wonder why the game isn't called Six Degrees of Steve Buscemi instead of Kevin Bacon (an actor, Buscemi pointed out ironically, with whom he has never worked).
The extensiveness of Buscemi's acting career (IMDB credits the actor with more than 100 film and TV appearances since his start in the mid-Eighties) prompted Pierson to wonder why the game isn't called Six Degrees of Steve Buscemi instead of Kevin Bacon (an actor, Buscemi pointed out ironically, with whom he has never worked).
Sundance: The Order of Myths
Marjorie Baumgarten
Wed Jan 23, 6:01pm
, 2008
Tags: Sundance
The photo I posted yesterday of Louis Black and Jackie “the Jokeman” Martling was taken at a dinner for Margaret Brown’s documentary competition film The Order of Myths. Margaret is the Austin filmmaker also responsible for the lovely musician portrait Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Sant. Her new film examines the culture of Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama, the location of the oldest running Mardi Gras festivities in the country. Two separate organizations govern the celebrations: one for whites and one for blacks. In the process, she provides a unique look at the remnants of segregation and racism in America today, institutions that, over the decades, have grown in subtlety and as a consequence of universal complacency. The film smartly avoids blame-mongering in favor of a display of the deep roots of our racial enculturation and complacency. We’ll have much more to say about Brown’s film when it inevitably plays in Austin.
Sundance: Jackie, Ohhh
Marjorie Baumgarten
Tue Jan 22, 5:25pm
, 2008
Tags: Sundance
Can’t resist posting this photo taken at Sundance of Austin Chronicle editor Louis Black with Jackie “the Jokeman” Martling, the notorious comedian who is a frequent visitor to Austin. As a passionate listener of Howard Stern, Black has been a longtime fan of Martling’s. This chance meeting is the happiest I think I’ve seen my boss in this new millennium.
Sundance: A Good Start
Marjorie Baumgarten
Mon Jan 21, 3:39pm
, 2008
Tags: Sundance
My first few film picks all turned out to be winners. The Black List, which just received word as the festival opened of a sale to HBO, is a collaboration between filmmaker Timothy Greenfield-Sanders and interviewer Elvis Mitchell. The documentary offers clips from interviews with some 20 influential African-American figures on a variety of subjects. Collectively, their abbreviated dialogues demonstrate many of the commonalities but, moreover, the differences among them regarding individual and racial identity. Pretty fascinating stuff and trenchant as can be in this moment in time when the campaign for the presidency is inciting a closer examination of identity politics.
Who Needs Hannah Montana?
Marjorie Baumgarten
Fri Jan 18, 6:06pm
, 2008
For most Sundance festivalgoers, the opening-night film was In Bruges, a hitman slice-of-life story directed by playwright Martin McDonagh that stars Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleason, and Ralph Fiennes. It’s scheduled to open in Austin in a couple of weeks on Februray 8. For me, still in Austin, the opening-night film was U2 3D, which press-screened on Wednesday night at the IMAX Theater at the Bob Bullock History Museum. The feature-length film is premiering on Saturday at Sundance, but it is also due to open at the Austin IMAX next Friday, January 25. For me it served as my kickoff to Sundance.
And what a kickoff – not only for a celebration of film but for the new year as well. It’s certainly the most fun I’ve had a movie in a long while. It may also be the best concert film since Jonathan Demme’s Stop Making Sense.
And what a kickoff – not only for a celebration of film but for the new year as well. It’s certainly the most fun I’ve had a movie in a long while. It may also be the best concert film since Jonathan Demme’s Stop Making Sense.
The Peaks and Peeks of Sundance
Marjorie Baumgarten
Mon Jan 14, 1:37pm
, 2008
Tags: Sundance
No coy excuses for the absence of Marginalia over the last few months. But the blog is back and now mobilizing to check out the 2008 Sundance Film Festival's peaks and peeks. Beginning this weekend, Utah's Wasatch mountains will be seen from picturesque solid ground (no ski slopes for this klutz) but the festival films will be viewed from an up close and personal position. Join me in the annual search for the Sundance heat.
Local teens on TV
Belinda Acosta
Wed Oct 10, 1:25pm
, 2007
Tags: TV
Leslie Powell and Andres Ramirez can now be seen beyond the hallways of their local high schools, as they are now starring in Endurance: Fiji on the Discovery Kids Channel.
There Will Be Blood
Marjorie Baumgarten
Fri Sep 28, 2:08pm
, 2007
The closing night film of Fantastic Fest was a real doozy: Paul Thomas Anderson's eagerly awaited Christmastime release There Will Be Blood. Despite the film not falling into the sci-fi, crime, and horror genres that populate the fest, the film is certifiably "fantastic." Anderson was present for the screening and brought along some of his key personnel (editor Dylan Tichenor, production designer Jack Fisk – who appeared to be accompanied by his wife Sissy Spacek, and others). Variety invited me to write a post about the screening on their Fest Central blog, so I won't repeat myself here, except to include one thing I neglected to mention: Anderson dedicates the film to Robert Altman, who died last year but not before completing A Prairie Home Companion, on which Anderson served as Altman's insurance-required backup director.
Diary of the Undead
Marjorie Baumgarten
Sat Sep 22, 4:18pm
, 2007
Hopping from one film festival to another is certainly the way to live – but it does cause one to adopt a certain diary-of-the-undead feeling. Which is perfect for my return to Austin from Toronto (and anyone wondering about that sticky passport situation I had … let's just say that it proved disturbingly easy to re-enter the U.S. with expired papers). After a segue into putting out this week's issue – which had the ungodly number of 13 new film reviews (how does that much new stuff open in any given week?) – it's time for Thursday's opening night of Fantastic Fest. The third annual edition of this quickly maturing fest kicked off with a screening of George Romero's Diary of the Dead, with the horror legend Romero in attendance. I caught the movie in Toronto and had a thorough blast watching it there. It's smart, funny, and wise. Over the decades, nobody has demonstrated as well as Romero the malleability of the horror genre to speak to all eras. To those who think Diary of the Dead's use of video cameras is too Blair Witchy and derivative of recent J-horror, guess what: We're living in the Videodrome era. (Maybe Anyway, Alamo Romeo was introduced by Drafthouse and Fantastic Fest host Tim League, who spoke from the heart about why this particular filmmaker means so much to him. Romero answered questions from the audience ’til it was time to make way for the next screening, and left the auditorium spotlight only after commenting on what a great time he had with this crowd and what a hospitable town Austin is.
The Moral of 'Body of War': Don't Make Precipitous Decisions
Marjorie Baumgarten
Wed Sep 19, 3:50pm
, 2007
I'm sitting here with my pocket copy of the U.S. Constitution, a parting gift I was handed upon my exit from the film Body of War, an eloquent and emotionally moving account of the toll the war in Iraq has had on American soldiers and their families. Co-directed by Austin documentarian and UT professor Ellen Spiro and former talk-show host Phil Donahue, the film is a biting essay on the American Congress' rush to war and the effect of battle on one soldier, Tomas Young. Young enlisted on September 13, 2001 after seeing that iconic image of the president rallying Americans with a bullhorn at the site of the World Trade Center. He was eager to go to Afghanistan and fight the "evildoers," but was instead sent to Iraq, where, on his first mission on only his fifth day in country, he was hit in the spine and subsequently paralyzed from the chest down. Following his return and marriage to his girlfriend, the wheelchair-bound vet eventually became an ardent member of Iraq Veterans Against the War. The moral of his story, he says, is "don't make precipitous decisions," and it's a moral also echoed in the words of Sen. Robert Byrd, whose hectoring defense of the Constitution in the months after 9/11 did little to sway his fellow elected representatives to stay the course and not abdicate to the president their power to wage war.
I attended a dinner before the premiere at which I had the honor and pleasure of sitting at a table with Young and musician Eddie Vedder, who wrote and performs a couple of original songs for the movie. Vedder also performed the songs live at the theatre following the screening. But before the mini-concert began, the film garnered the biggest standing ovation I witnessed for any movie at the festival. And though there were Vedder fans in attendance who would have been at any movie that featured music by him (Sean Penn's Into the Wild is another festival film that features Vedder's work), the film's standing O can't be chalked up to the Vedder effect. This audience genuinely moved by Young's personal saga, and the experiences of his wife and mother as they accompanied him on his journey from war supporter to dissenter. Donahue worked the microphone during the Q&A like the seasoned pro he is (he also introduced wife Marlo Thomas, who he joked was sitting in the worst seats in the house - and she was – she waved from the nosebleed section of the balcony), while Spiro appeared to drink it all in.
I attended a dinner before the premiere at which I had the honor and pleasure of sitting at a table with Young and musician Eddie Vedder, who wrote and performs a couple of original songs for the movie. Vedder also performed the songs live at the theatre following the screening. But before the mini-concert began, the film garnered the biggest standing ovation I witnessed for any movie at the festival. And though there were Vedder fans in attendance who would have been at any movie that featured music by him (Sean Penn's Into the Wild is another festival film that features Vedder's work), the film's standing O can't be chalked up to the Vedder effect. This audience genuinely moved by Young's personal saga, and the experiences of his wife and mother as they accompanied him on his journey from war supporter to dissenter. Donahue worked the microphone during the Q&A like the seasoned pro he is (he also introduced wife Marlo Thomas, who he joked was sitting in the worst seats in the house - and she was – she waved from the nosebleed section of the balcony), while Spiro appeared to drink it all in.
Hook ’Em in the Sprocket Holes
Marjorie Baumgarten
Fri Sep 14, 7:06pm
, 2007
Is it a hallucination due to lack of sleep, or are these Canucks toying with my Lone Star state of mind? The official T-shirts worn here by the army of TIFF volunteers brandish a distinctive burnt-orange color. A gal could be forgiven for thinking that she was at a north-of-the-border Longhorn rally.
Man From Plains
Marjorie Baumgarten
Thu Sep 13, 4:39pm
, 2007
Thirty years ago, our nation was gently bemused by the words and actions of our one-term president, Jimmy Carter, as he spoke candidly about having lusted in his heart and challenged us to fight the oil embargo by lowering thermostats, donning sweaters in the cold and casual clothes instead of business suits in the heat of summer. Nowadays, as we confront the realities of blowjobs in the Oval Office, the defilement of congressional pages by our purportedly righteous officials, and the indisputability of global warming, the plainspoken man from Plains, Georgia, seems a lot more less naïve than we once made him out to be. Even his devout Christianity no longer seems out of step with the national sentiment but rather the guiding principles of a man who practices what he preaches instead of mouthing the anti-life religiosity of some (our present born-again Commander in Chief comes to mind).
Jonathan Demme, whose documentary career is turning out to be almost as interesting as his narrative films, has made Man From Plains about President Carter. Primarily, the film follows the president on this past winter’s book tour conducted on behalf of Carter’s 21st book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. The book proved highly controversial, mostly for the use of the word “apartheid” to describe the Israeli treatment of their Palestinian population. In addition to documenting the book tour, Demme also records the work the Nobel Peace Prize-winning former president performs for Habitat for Humanity, the Carter Center, and other organizations, as well as seeking out meetings with those who call choose to call him an anti-Semite and bigot. At the age of 81, Carter seems more vigorous than many people half his age. The film is a revealing portrait (which won three separate awards at the Venice Film Festival last week), and is greatly enhanced by the original music contributions of Austin treasure Alejandro Escovedo, whose background guitar work and arrangements help provide a connective through-line for the movie. Escovedo’s work as a rock & roller, orchestra conductor, and solo musician all coalesce in this project, and offer great promise for Demme’s next documentary project, which is reported to be a film about Escovedo that will be shot in Austin. Can’t wait.
Jonathan Demme, whose documentary career is turning out to be almost as interesting as his narrative films, has made Man From Plains about President Carter. Primarily, the film follows the president on this past winter’s book tour conducted on behalf of Carter’s 21st book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. The book proved highly controversial, mostly for the use of the word “apartheid” to describe the Israeli treatment of their Palestinian population. In addition to documenting the book tour, Demme also records the work the Nobel Peace Prize-winning former president performs for Habitat for Humanity, the Carter Center, and other organizations, as well as seeking out meetings with those who call choose to call him an anti-Semite and bigot. At the age of 81, Carter seems more vigorous than many people half his age. The film is a revealing portrait (which won three separate awards at the Venice Film Festival last week), and is greatly enhanced by the original music contributions of Austin treasure Alejandro Escovedo, whose background guitar work and arrangements help provide a connective through-line for the movie. Escovedo’s work as a rock & roller, orchestra conductor, and solo musician all coalesce in this project, and offer great promise for Demme’s next documentary project, which is reported to be a film about Escovedo that will be shot in Austin. Can’t wait.
Catching Up With No Country for Old Men
Marjorie Baumgarten
Wed Sep 12, 1:04pm
, 2007
The first film I attended was something I really wanted to see, but also an attempt to catch up with festival-goers who had already caught some of Toronto’s films at Cannes in May and Venice last month. No Country for Old Men by the Coen brothers is based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy and stars Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Woody Harrelson, and Javier Bardem, whose demented appearance provides and use of oxygen-tank weaponry is merely a hint of the character’s way-off-the-charts psychopathology. At first glance, the pairing of McCarthy and the Coens might seem an unlikely match. But the combo ends up working beautifully. The film is a crime drama, as are so many of Joel and Ethan Coen’s efforts from Blood Simple to The Ladykillers. Although No Country’s tone doesn’t share the goofy vibe of works such as Raising Arizona or The Big Lebowski, one look at Bardem’s ‘do and fearless performance as a beyond-the-pale whackjob (literally) lets us know that the Coens are somewhere behind the scenes cracking up with laughter. The film’s violence has moments that fall into the ultra-violence territory, yet remain creative and memorably stunning. Jones delivers another immensely satisfying performance here, but the real surprise is Brolin, whose character is more the story’s protagonist than Jones’. Brolin commands our full attention as a leading man, and the film should be a breakthrough role for him. It’s through his character’s storyline that the Coens once again challenge us to follow the money trail. Although I haven’t read McCarthy’s novel, I assume that some of the story’s themes about the lapsed values of the past and the way America is changing for the worse are incorporated into Jones’ sheriff, who is on the trail of those following the money trail. No County for old Men kind of subsides precipitously after reaching a dramatic crescendo, which again I presume is a reflection of the novel. This unsatisfyingly rapid narrative closure, however, may just be a sign that No Country is one of those totally involving stories that one just hates to see end.
Fly the Friendly Skies
Marjorie Baumgarten
Fri Sep 7, 5:53pm
, 2007
Yesterday I wrote that I believed I had been attending the Toronto Film Festival for around 12 years. Well now, in a roundabout way, I have proof that it's been at least 10. At the Austin airport, I thought all my problems were behind me after they finally found my reservation in their system. Ten minutes of fumbling behind the counter, plus a phone call to a head office somewhere, finally turned up my information. It looked like all systems were go until that horrible moment when I handed over my passport. Turns out it had expired three weeks ago. What followed was about 20 minutes of sheer panic – not to mention total embarrassment – on my part. Supervisors of supervisors were called in, some voodoo was eventually performed, and I was allowed to proceed. Made my gate with only a few minutes to spare. I was so ready for a drink (plus the lunch I planned to grab at the airport before all my time became consumed with figuring out how the hell I was going to get out of the country). But they had no liquor on this flight, not to mention food, which, as we all know, has become nonexistent in the friendly skies. Ultimately, the computer was the only being that cared about my expired passport. Nobody else I was required to show it to noticed or gave a damn. Don’t know what this portends for my re-entry to the U.S. Maybe I’ll just have to stay up here a few extra months while my new passport is being processed. Anyway, this incident is how I know that I have been coming here for more than 10 years. My first couple of times visiting Toronto, I entered on the basis of my Texas driver’s license and a smile before deciding it was time to re-apply for a passport. But times are different now; flying has become arduous and customs officials evidence even less sense of humor than before. I promise I’ll write about the movies soon, once I get a moment to catch my breath.
Off to the Races
Marjorie Baumgarten
Wed Sep 5, 10:18pm
, 2007
"My bags are packed, I'm ready to go." Whoa – wrong song. That's not me. No matter how much I hum the tune, it does no good. I'm running around like an ADD nutjob trying to get everything done in order to head out of town to the Toronto International Film Festival.
