http://www.backalleynoir.com/ Latest news around the web about film noir en Sat, 25 May 2013 16:15:20 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.backalleynoir.com/images/BittenFruit_fluid/misc/rss.png http://www.backalleynoir.com/ http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5028-City-Paper-s-overview-critic-Jeffrey-Day-has-some-insights-into-the-2013-festival-C&goto=newpost Wed, 22 May 2013 12:58:30 GMT My first Spoleto Festival was heavy on percussion — the sounds of rebuilding after Hurricane Hugo. In the 23 years since then, a lot has changed both... My first Spoleto Festival was heavy on percussion — the sounds of rebuilding after Hurricane Hugo. In the 23 years since then, a lot has changed both in Charleston and at Spoleto. The Spoleto Festival is both cleaner — more consistent quality and original productions — and dirtier, with a richer, more diverse lineup.
Before Charleston City Paper invited me to be their overview critic, my strategy was to tackle the festival the way I have for years (especially since I became unwillingly self-employed): cram in as much new, original, and unusual with a core curriculum of classical music in as little time as possible. My original five-day plan was five chamber music concerts, circus Le Grand C, dance company Compagnie Käfig, the opera double-bill Mese Mariano and Le Villi, the Rite of Spring Music in Time concert, A Midsummer Night's Dream, new opera Matsukaze, Oedipus, The Intergalactic Nemesis, and various art exhibitions.
When City Paper came calling, I started adding to my must-see list. First up were the festival orchestra concerts featuring Béla Bartók, John Adams, Peteris Vasks and Pierre Boulez's arrangement of Ravel. I also wanted more Music in Time and chamber concerts. At the other end of the spectrum was the Punch Brothers, who blew me away a few years back, and Rosanne Cash, who I've been a fan of since she moved out of Johnny's house.
Now I'll go to almost everything — that's the job — starting with Matsukaze, based on a Noh play about two ghost sisters. The opera, making its U.S. premiere at the festival, is by Toshio Hosokawa, one of Japan's most prominent composers, and is directed by Chen Shi-Zheng, who led the 18-hour Peony Pavilion (2004) and the wildly eclectic and electric Monkey: Journey to the West (2008).
The other operatic offering is a double bill of rarely performed turn-of-the-20th-century one-acts by Giacomo Puccini and Umberto Giordano. It too has ghosts. Both Puccini's Le Villi and Giordano's Mese Mariano are about women who have suffered a loss. Nearly everyone working on the operas — director, conductor, designer, and the soprano singing the lead in both operas — are festival first-timers. I'm looking forward to seeing how they transform the operas for today's audiences and how the singer transforms herself.
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• Agathe Poupeney
• The testosterone-heavy Compagnie Käfig brings a contemporary, raw element to this year's dance program

Opera at the festival nearly always promises something new even when it's something old. My most extensive, eclectic, and excellent experiences have been at Spoleto with favorites Die Vögel, I'ile de Merlin (a lost Gluck piece staged like an Austin Powers movie) Émilie, Ariadne Auf Naxos, Hydrogen Jukebox, Don Giovanni, Flora, Love's Fowl (the Chicken Little story acted out with puppets and sung in Italian), and The Peony Pavilion (I attended 15 of the 18 hours.) It's been incredible to have a front row seat at opera's unfolding history in a state with almost no opera.
Chamber music is a foundation of the festival with high-level performances and a decent mix of old and new. The series has become quite risk-taking under the direction of Geoff Nuttall, violinist with long-time festival residents the St. Lawrence String Quartet. Some people will be shocked that St. Lawrence won't even appear until the second weekend, but the excellent Brentano Quartet will be filling in. They'll team up with cellist Alisa Weilerstein for a Franz Schubert quintet, piano quintets by Dvorák with Pedja Muzijevic, and Brahms with newcomer Pavel Kolesnikov. Nuttall met Kolesnikov, 24, just six months ago at a Canadian piano competition which Kolesnikov won. He, Nuttall, and Weilerstein will perform Ernest Chausson's Trio in G minor, Op. 3 and he and Muzijevic will tag-team Ravel's two-piano La Valse.
Nuttall is continuing to expand the series' sonic range with percussionist Steven Schick, a founder of Bang on a Can All-Stars. Schnick and Weilerstein will play Mariel by Osvaldo Golijov and I'm trying to imagine how amazing that might be. The series ends on a celebratory but sad note: the final public performances of series founder Charles Wadsworth. We shall not see his like again.
Which brings us to Shakespeare and the theater. I've seen the same Shakespeare plays repeatedly, including A Midsummer Night's Dream, but that's one reason I'm charged up about seeing what the War Horse team brings to it. And it has puppets. I'm a sucker for puppets.
At my first festival I had one of my first great theater experiences — the beautiful and terrifying Salome by the Gate Theatre. The director of that magnificent production, Steven Berkoff, is finally back leading his own adaptation of the ancient Greek tragedy Oedipus.
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• Provided
• Spoleto vet Tristan Sturrock (Tristan & Yseult, 2006) returns to the fest for his one-man show, "Mayday Mayday"

The wild card and what looks like a wild time should be the two-part, multimedia, comic book- and pulp-inspired The Intergalactic Nemesis. The adventure story has giant projections of comic book images, three actors performing dozens of roles, live music, extraterrestrials, and a Foley artist creating all the sound effects on stage.
Spoleto theater got a bad rap for years, but I've seen some amazing works — Peter and Wendy, A Doll's House, MedEia, Battle of Stalingrad, The Great War, Lady Windermere's Fan, Mamba's Daughters, Tristan & Yseult — and I've sat through some dogs. Among the latter have been many of the one-person theatrical pieces often (badly) written by the performer about (boring) personal trials. I hope Tristan Sturrock's Mayday, Mayday, about an accident that left him paralyzed for a time, will not be.
The small dance companies have always been one of my festival favorites. Compagnie Käfig, which mines the music and dance of Brazil as well as hip-hop, was one of those small delights, and after a decade they're back, but no longer small. They've been a huge success and it's always good to see groups and individuals that got a start at Spoleto make a triumphant return.
The festival still has some small groups this year covering a wide range of styles, from tap dancer Jared Grimes to classical Indian dancer Shantala Shivalingappa, and the film noir-inspired The Better Half by Lucky Plush Productions.
Jazz at Spoleto seems like it's part of a different festival, and jazz isn't my strong point. I've never been interested in the mainstream acts nor do I keep abreast of Catalonian bassists and Norwegian pianists. But this year I'm intrigued by the percussion and bass duo Andre Mehmari and the guitar and clarinet duo from Brazil. I'll hit the first and regret not getting to the second. How I wish for more 10 p.m. shows.
The Americana/roots music/bluegrass/country/blues concerts also have a tacked-on aura, although this is a genre I know and like better. These concerts do diversify the audience, but they make Spoleto too much like other festivals such as the Savannah Music Festival. And many of these musicians or others like them perform in Charleston outside the festival. Still, it's hard to go wrong with Chris Thile's Punch Brothers. And if two of my favorite songwriter/performers, Tom Waits and Nick Lowe, dig J.D. McPherson, that's good enough for me.
What I'd really like to see is a collaboration between this series and the classical side of things. I want to hear Punch Brothers and the St. Lawrence String Quartet together. And I'd like Thile or someone like him running the series.
I've never done much Piccolo-ing; so many Piccolo shows overlap with Spoleto events and I've often been burned by Piccolo performances. I know quality has improved and hope to attend several concerts, although I've always thought that Piccolo's classical music emphasis was misguided, since that's the strength of the big festival. What I'll attempt: the Spotlight Classical to Contemporary, some early music and Jewish music concerts, the Charleston Chamber Opera's L'Enfant Prodigue, and plays The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, Venus in Fur, and Clybourne Park.
And of course there's the wonderful city of Charleston too, which I will see at a fast clip dashing from performance to performance. I'll try to take a dip at Folly to wash off the concert-hall smell. I eat to live — if I get to eat at all — during the festival although I usually get shrimp and grits at the Marion Square farmer's market and lunch at the chef's table at SNOB. I'll duck into the Second Presbyterian Church Tea Room for coffee and dessert and a dessert to go. I appreciate that the Spoleto press room offers the ink-stained (or Word weary) wrenches wine, but I'm bringing a coffee maker..



More... ]]> Film Noir News Film Noir Press - Noir news from the internet http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5028-City-Paper-s-overview-critic-Jeffrey-Day-has-some-insights-into-the-2013-festival-C http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5026-10-Essential-Neo-Noir-Authors-Flavorwire&goto=newpost Wed, 22 May 2013 00:49:54 GMT What is neo-noir fiction? It’s contemporary dark fiction. It was built on the backbone of classic noir and hardboiled fiction, but it’s evolved to be... What is neo-noir fiction? It’s contemporary dark fiction. It was built on the backbone of classic noir and hardboiled fiction, but it’s evolved to be so much more than that. It is a genre-bending subgenre that includes edgy literary fiction, as well as fantasy, science fiction, and horror. It also touches on niche storytelling like magical realism, slipstream, transgressive, and the grotesque. There is a movement out there, right now, one that has been heating up over the last ten years, the most recent installment of which, Benjamin Percy’s Red Moon, comes out next week. Here are some of the names you need to know.

Dennis Lehane
Quite possibly the best-selling author of neo-noir fiction, you may recognize the work of Dennis Lehane from the films that have sprung from his novels: Gone, Baby, Gone and Shutter Island, as well as Mystic River. His work builds on the lives of ordinary people in extraordinary situations — abductions, murder, and slips in reality. Lehane has mass appeal, writing novels that are easy to digest, but complicated in their layers of imagery, plot, and depictions of the truth. His latest novel is Live By Night, which asks the question, “Can a man be a good mobster and a good person at the same time?” These are the dilemmas Lehane creates, pushing back against the temptations of the night.



More... ]]> Film Noir News Film Noir Press - Noir news from the internet http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5026-10-Essential-Neo-Noir-Authors-Flavorwire http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5021-Life-lessons-from-film-noir-history-Our-Corner-Bonney-Lake-and-Sumner-Courier-Her&goto=newpost Tue, 21 May 2013 12:36:28 GMT By DENNIS BOX... By DENNIS BOX
Bonney Lake-Sumner Courier-Herald Courier-Herald Editor
May 20, 2013 · 2:51 PM

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Robert Rossen hooked me for a couple of hours Sunday.
I came across the 1947 movie “Johnny O’Clock” starring William Powell, Lee J. Cobb, Evelyn Keyes and Nina Foch.
It has one of my favorite lines in film noir history, uttered by Johnny, played by Powell.
“I do not know what’s going on, and I don’t like it when I don’t know what’s going on.”
That sums up Rossen’s dialogue and life in many ways.
Rossen was one of the great dialogue writers and directors of his day. “Johnny O’Clock” was his first job as a director. He was promoted after the original director left, I think King Vidor.
Rossen directed three of my favorite pictures, “All the King’s Men,” “Body and Soul” and, in 1961, “Hustler,” with Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason and George C.. Scott.
There are few moments in film like the end of “Hustler” when Scott growls across the pool hall at Newman, “I want my money.”
Rossen is an interesting character. He was one of the best at writing story and dialogue. His film talk lives well after the picture has ended.
But in 1951 it was Rossen not talking, then finally talking, that got him into the trouble that plagued him until his death in 1966 at the age of 57.
The House Un-American Activities Committee named him a communist in 1951. Rossen refused to name names the first time the committee brought him before the members, but two years later he named 57.
I became interested in that period of American history when I did a story about Alger Hiss, who went to jail for perjury after Whittaker Chambers named him as a communist.
Like almost all stories I have done over the years, once you peel back the basic layer of facts, beneath is a team story of conflict, confusion and contradiction. The truth of a story is never as simple as most would like it to appear. The truth winds its way through half steps of what appears to be facts. The Hiss story was an example and his guilt and innocence is argued to this day.
Rossen’s career is a fascinating study in the conflict of what we do and say. His films are filled with warp and woof of words.
Rossen could write great dialog, but couldn’t find the right words at the right time to keep himself out of trouble with friends and foes.
“I do not know what’s going on, and I don’t like it when I don’t know what’s going on.”
See ya, Johnny.
Contact Bonney Lake-Sumner Courier-Herald Courier-Herald Editor Dennis Box at dbox@soundpublishing.com or 1-360-825-2555 (ext 5050).


More... ]]> Film Noir News Film Noir Press - Noir news from the internet http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5021-Life-lessons-from-film-noir-history-Our-Corner-Bonney-Lake-and-Sumner-Courier-Her http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5018-Film-Noir-fest-speaker-Lindsay-Hogg-links-eras-The-Desert-Sun&goto=newpost Mon, 20 May 2013 11:52:53 GMT *PALM SPRINGS* — Guest appearances by golden age of cinema stars are almost as important as the films in the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival,... PALM SPRINGS — Guest appearances by golden age of cinema stars are almost as important as the films in the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival, launching tonight at Camelot Theatres.
And with a program featuring six stars or relatives from 12 classic and rarely seen gritty, black-and-white movies made between 1944 and 1960, film historian Alan K. Rode says this year’s festival may be the best in his six years as producer and host. Guests include Stuart Whitman, appearing at a Saturday night screening of “Murder Inc.,” and actress Joan Evans appearing at Friday night’s “Edge of Doom” — the only film noir ever produced by studio mogul Samuel Goldwyn.
The opening night film by John Huston, “Three Strangers,” was supposed to be the great director’s follow-up to “The Maltese Falcon” with Humphrey Bogart. So Rode found a guest who can not only can tell behind-the-scenes story about that film, but also tales of rock stars he’s directed.
“I’m really thrilled to be opening with ‘Three Strangers’ and Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who is a talent who transcends generations,” said Rode. “He has one foot in the epoch of old Hollywood because his mother was Geraldine Fitzgerald (star of “Three Strangers”) and his father was Orson Welles. So he bridges eras from the ’40s at Warner Bros. and inventing music videos with the Rolling Stones and the Beatles.”
Lindsay-Hogg, who recently discovered Welles fathered him during an affair with his mother, will sign copies of his 2011 autobiography, “Luck and Circumstance: A Coming of Age in Hollywood, New York and Points Beyond,” before and after the 7:30 p.m. screening of “Three Strangers.”
If called upon, he may tell stories about how his Irish-born mother moved from Ireland in the late 1930s and joined Welles’ Mercury Theater company, famed for its 1938 “War of the Worlds” radio broadcast. She earned a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her role in “Wuthering Heights” in 1939 and played Rodney Dangerfield’s rich mother-in-law in 1983’s “Easy Money.”
He could also talk about his music videos for “Hey Jude” and “Jumping Jack Flash,” and his fabled music films, “Let It Be” and “The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus.”
Or he could discuss the five years he lived in Palm Springs and how he still considers the desert “a holy place.”
Lindsay-Hogg, 73, said in a telephone interview during a stay in Desert Hot Springs this week he didn’t direct the first Beatles video, but the group liked his work on the British music TV show “Ready, Steady, Go” so much they hired him to develop films to promote singles — a method that would eventually be employed by every band on MTV.
“In those days there weren’t any particular videos because the bands would turn up on a TV show to plug their song and usually lip-synch it,” Lindsay-Hogg said. “But then the Beatles a) had gotten powerful enough to dictate to the TV stations what they wanted to do and b) appearing live in those days was too much of a hassle for them and there were genuine security issues. The other thing was, there were TV shows in America and Germany and France and England and sometimes they could be there and sometimes they couldn’t, so they needed a video to promote the songs.”
Lindsay-Hogg had studied Shakespeare as a teen in Stratford, Conn. He worked as a floor manager at a television station in Ireland, where his assumed father, Sir Edward Lindsay-Hogg, was a baronet, and directed a play in the Dublin Theatre Festival, which led to him to “Ready, Steady, Go.”
He said Beatles manager Brian Epstein just called him out of the blue at the station and said the lads wanted him to shoot a video for their 1966 song “Paperback Writer.” He shot it the same way he shot bands on “Ready, Steady, Go” — using four cameras to capture each band member.
“The Beatles and I talked originally about doing a story video for ‘Paperback Writer,’ and Brian Epstein didn’t want to do that,” he said. “So we just did a performance. Then I realized, if you have a John Lennon or Mick Jagger on the screen, you don’t want to fool around with it too much because they are the drama. They are the art. Later on, the Stones and I did videos with little stories to them.”

Beatles - Paperback Writer
Lindsay-Hogg also directed the Beatles’ video for “Rain,” “Hey Jude” and “Revolution.” He shot “Hey Jude” on a sound stage with The Beatles surrounded by fans caught up in the spirit of the “na-na-na” chorus.
“We shot that on video tape, so we had four old fashioned television cameras, which the operator would move around by rotating a wheel and focus it themselves, “ he said. “We did it in six takes.”
The video’s success prompted the Beatles to ask him to direct a TV special titled “Let It Be.” They didn’t have a script or story line, but Lindsay-Hogg agreed just to film the Beatles rehearsing.
“The Beatles had never been shot rehearsing,” he said. “It’s like showing Picasso paint.”
The Beatles fought so much that Harrison said he didn’t want to make a special. But Lindsay-Hogg kept shooting every rehearsal with two cameras. No one knew what to do with the footage, he said, but the band agreed to do a rooftop concert to give the film an end. Lindsay-Hogg readied 11 cameras to chronicle what would turn out to be the end of an era.
“It was their goodbye,” he said. “People (say) ‘Frank Sinatra retired 10 times.’ This was the last time they ever played to any kind of audience. They played up there for 40 minutes and then John Lennon steps up to the microphone and says, ‘Thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves, and I hope we passed the audition.’ And you know if anybody ever passed the audition they did.”
Lindsay-Hogg met the Rolling Stones in 1965 when they performed “The Last Time” on “Ready, Steady, Go.” They hired him for “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and “The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus” partly because the Beatles used him.
“Although they were very close, there was a rivalry,” he said. “Mick wanted me to come up with an idea for a TV special like the Beatles had done for ‘Magical Mystery Tour.’ We had the studio booked in the middle of December (1968) and I had the Rolling Stones and the Who and I didn’t have an idea! I was doodling on a legal pad up in their office and I sort of drew a circus tent. So I called Jagger and said, ‘I’m going to tell these words to you, tell me what you think: The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus and he got it immediately.
“We wanted a super group and the original was going to be Stevie Winwood of Traffic. He was going to figure out who he wanted to play with, but he dropped out two days before the show. We agreed that John Lennon probably had the kind of excitement to be able to put together a band in a couple days,’ so Mick pulls out the (personal phone) book, calls John Lennon and, ‘OK, he’s in.’ It was all done in a very ma and pop cottage industry way.”
The film wasn’t released until 1996 because, after the Stones looked at the original performance footage they realized the Who, who were also on the bill, were better than them.
“The Who did their set at 4 o’clock in the afternoon and had just come off the road,” said Lindsay-Hogg. “So they were very tight. The Stones hadn’t been touring. They didn’t get on stage until 2 in the morning and didn’t finish until 5 in the morning. They had been there almost 24 hours. So the Who just were better. Then, what happens in rock ’n’ roll, things, if they lose momentum, they get put in a drawer. It got put in a drawer and got lost. It was in a barn in England for 15 years. Then it resurfaced, we made some new edits and it screened for the first time at the 1996 New York Film Festival.”
The actor, director and author says, “The whole atmosphere of the times is hard to conjure up now.” But Rode says what makes Lindsay-Hogg an ideal opening night speaker is he can speak to those times and today’s industry. He went on to do “Paul Simon, Graceland: The African Concert” in 1987, “Celebration: The Music of Pete Townshend and The Who” in 1994, and “Two Of Us,” an imagination of Lennon and McCartney considering a reunion of the Beatles in 2000.
Lindsay-Hogg was 6 years old when his mother made “Three Strangers,” but he can tell how she was considered for “The Maltese Falcon.” Rode said Huston tried to reunite Bogart, Sydney Greenstreet and Mary Astor for “Three Strangers,” but wound up with Fitzgerald, Greenstreet and Peter Lorre.
Lindsay-Hogg remembers being around many of those actors during his youth.
“Edward Lindsay-Hogg went back to Ireland about 1942 so my mother pretty much was a single mother looking after me,” he said. “Her friends were Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, John Huston — people I call a renegade bunch of Hollywood people. They sort of pushed the envelope and weren’t polite to the Warner brothers, particularly. They enjoyed having a good time and a drink and there were fist fights and brawls. It was an artistic community with some hard livers who were great stars.”
It seemed like a perfect preparation for the Stones, who employed him through their last big hit, “Start Me Up.”
“Well, certainly one of them was a hard liver,” he said, “and another has a hard liver.”
Contact Bruce Fessier at bruce.fessier@thedesertsun.com and follow him on Twitter @brucefessier



More... ]]> Film Noir News Film Noir Press - Noir news from the internet http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5018-Film-Noir-fest-speaker-Lindsay-Hogg-links-eras-The-Desert-Sun http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?4984-Naomi-is-provocative-memorable-Quad-City-Times&goto=newpost Sat, 18 May 2013 23:10:39 GMT IF YOU GO

What: The first Cinema Israel series presented by the Jewish Federation of the Quad-Cities in honor of Israel's 65th birthday and sponsored by the Rauch Family Foundation II Inc.
Where: Figge Art Museum Auditorium, 225 W. 2nd St., Davenport
When: 4 p.m. Sundays, May 19 and June 16
How much: Adults $6, students admitted for free
Note: All films in the series have adult content.

'NAOMI'

HHHH*
Running time:*95 minutes
Rated:*Unrated, but similar to an “R” rating for violence, foul language and sexual situations
Screenwriter and director: Eitan Tzur
Stars:*Yossi Polak, Melanie Peres, Orna Porat, Suhel Haddad and Rami Heuberger
Note:*In Hebrew with English subtitles

A noir-ish, serious thriller, “Naomi” contains just the right elements of romance, intrigue and mystery to keep a grownup audience entertained. It’s about deceit and lies while simultaneously addressing the question of how to define real love.
Naomi (Melanie Peres) is a lovely young woman (think actress Gwyneth Paltrow) who has married a man twice her age. Her husband is an astrophysics professor named Ilan (Yossi Pollak), who is somewhat of a celebrity: He’s a scientist who appears on television and is recognized widely by many of the people he meets.
Ilan is in love with Naomi, and it’s obvious that she’s fond of him. They lead a comfortable, easy life. Ilan is supportive of Naomi’s design work and she has every creature comfort.
Ilan’s critical mother (Orna Porat) constantly questions her son and nags him about marrying someone who is so much younger than he is. We first see Ilan as he searches for Naomi, and we get the idea that he’s concerned about her but also concerned about where she might be. As time goes by, Ilan's mother tells him that even though Naomi might be having an affair, he should just let it burn out rather than confronting her.
“You’re smothering her,” she tells him.
It won’t be spoiling the movie to let you know that Naomi is indeed having an affair with a man much younger than her husband. He is an artist named Oded (Rami Heuberger).
Ilan goes to great lengths to find out what Naomi is doing. He follows her day and night until he figures out what’s going on. Ilan makes a decision to confront Oded by ensuring that all three of them end up at the same restaurant simultaneously. Meanwhile, his longtime friend Anton (Suhel Haddad), a detective, suspects that something is going on with Ilan’s marriage that he isn’t sharing with him.
I like the way the deceits build up and how Ilan’s decisions play out until the drama builds into a thriller full of cat-and-mouse ploys and suspense. And I also appreciate the multi-dimensionality of the characters: They all have flaws and hide secrets from each other.
What would you put up with for the love of another person? That’s the question you'll continue to address long after you see this provocative, memorable film.



More... ]]> Film Noir News Film Noir Press - Noir news from the internet http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?4984-Naomi-is-provocative-memorable-Quad-City-Times http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?4985-Cannes-2013-Review-Stranger-by-the-Lake-Tells-a-Kinky-Neo-noir-Tale-Film-Sch&goto=newpost Sat, 18 May 2013 23:10:39 GMT Image: http://smhttp.14409.nexcesscdn.net/806D5E/wordpress-L/images/review-stranger-by-the-lake-e1368855301397.jpg Opening with scenes of graphic...
Opening with scenes of graphic full-frontal male nudity and proceeding towards seemingly unsimulated depictions of sexual acts on occasion, Alan Guiraudie‘s Stranger by the Lake certainly begins as it means to continue. If the initial glimpses of naked men on a makeshift French nude beach act as an opening statement for the film, over the course of the runtime this frank imagery serves to remind that nudity for nudity’s sake does not necessarily constitute good cinema in of itself, in spite of the film’s many other qualities.
Our protagonist, Franck (Pierre Deladonchamps) finds himself quite literally flirting with danger when a trip to his local gay hookup place, a secluded beach area next to a lake, sees him meet and take a liking to the moustachioed Michel (Christophe Paou). It all seems cutesy and (relatively) innocent until late one night Franck catches Michel drowning one of his sexual partners, yet in the throes of passion nevertheless still finds himself irrevocably drawn to him. Soon enough, the cops come a-calling, and Franck and Michel’s burgeoning, uneasy romance becomes a whole lot more complicated.
To say one thing about Stranger by the Lake, it is certain that you will have likely never seen anything quite like it. This is surely the most explicit film to flush down the Croisette in some time, and its controversial nature is liable to make it a hot ticket at the festival, at least before audiences become aware of quite how affected the rather self-ingratiating explicitness is. Full-frontal male nudity aside, the various liaisons between the film’s characters are depicted in sub-pornographic style, with shots of ejaculation and seemingly real oral sex adding little to the narrative while appearing to exist solely to shock (though they do cement a sense of place rather aptly).
In fact, the film seems far more preoccupied with layering on the nudity that it, to a point, forgets about the serial killer shtick. After the initial murder scene around the end of act one, it’s almost act three before this thread announces itself fully once again. Indeed, you’ve not seen anything like this, though whether that is a good thing or not will be up to audiences to decide for themselves. The picture is a pleasant enough provocation, though feels unquestionably calculated in its pursuit to cause outrage.
What perhaps surprises most, then, is how funny Stranger by the Lake is; campy gay humor runs rife throughout, from the sheer lasciviousness of the set-up itself to the incredulity of the characters stumbling around the beach in search of some action (most notably raising laughs is a serial masturbator, who nevertheless wears his presence thin through repeated appearances).
Strongest of all the film’s elements is Franck’s friendship with an overweight, sad sack Gerard Depardieu-lookalike named Henri (Patrick D’Assumcao), a lonely married man who begins to fall for the lad though seems unable to commit himself to any homosexual acts. Instead, he sits on the beach, watching the waves, and this time he spends thinking — rather than rutting — makes him one of the few wise to the apparent identity of the murderer.
While act three veers off into more familiar slasher film territory, there’s still a pleasurable effort made to shirk stereotype — or in one hilarious instance, thoroughly mock it — leading to an intense, haunting finale that should go down well with an audience open-minded enough to rise to director Guiraudie’s challenge. At this stage, it becomes easy to forget about the excessive nudity, which is employed almost entirely for its own sake, and focus on the characters — or at least, those who are still alive.
Though set entirely in one location, there’s a firm contrast here between the sunny optimism of the afternoon scenes and the sinister oppressiveness of the night-kissed ones. That’s nothing to be surprised at, given the film’s constant flavor not of a seedy crime thriller but instead a kinky neo-noir. It’s almost Hitchcockian in the most lurid sense of the word. What’s clear above all else is that Stranger by the Lake will exasperate as many as it entertains.
The Upside: Performances are solid across the board, and there’s absolutely nothing out there like it.
The Downside: Totally inaccessible to multiplex audiences — not always a bad thing, mind you — due to the insistently graphic nudity and sex scenes, which feel superfluous, simply to beef-up an already engrossing enough premise.
On the Side:*This is*Guiraudie’s fourth film to debut at Cannes but only the first in the Un Certain Regard section.




More... ]]> Film Noir News Film Noir Press - Noir news from the internet http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?4985-Cannes-2013-Review-Stranger-by-the-Lake-Tells-a-Kinky-Neo-noir-Tale-Film-Sch http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?4975-Cannes-LA-Film-Noir-With-Smiths-Tunes-Hits-The-Market-(Exclusive)-Hollywood-Report&goto=newpost Sat, 18 May 2013 11:06:12 GMT A contemporary film noir set to a soundtrack of covers by L.A. bands of legendary British group The Smiths has Mark Boone Junior (TV's Sons of Anarchy) and Sam Hazeldene (The Monuments Men) attached to star is tuning up.
PHOTOS: 'The Bling Ring' Steals the Spotlight at Cannes Premiere
It tells the story of a surveillance contractor who drifts through Los Angeles at night photographing "cheating couples" and their illicit sexual acts. Crippled by loneliness and alienation, he falls for a jilted wife and unwittingly photographs her husband burying the body of dead girl in the high desert plunging him into a morass of intrigue, deception and murder.
LA-based British filmmaker Trevor Miller will direct with London music impresario Sean McLusky producing through the pair's London based production banner 1234 Films.
McLusky*said he is scheduled to put the idea out to post-Punk bands from the Californian city, likely to include musicians who play at the Smell club in downtown L.A.
U.S.-based Brink Films, the label behind Spun, with Mickey Rourke and Jason Schwartzman, will co-produce.
McLusky, who lands in Cannes Saturday to shop the movie to buyers and financiers and play a DJ-set at a pop up version of hot Paris club Silencio, told THR the aim is to shoot in L.A. next spring.
The pair is also developing a big screen version of Miller's own acid-house sci-fi novel Trip City set in London.
Originally published by sci-fi legend Brian Aldiss in 1989 the book garnered cult status.
It has long been identified as the leading novel set within U.K. dance music culture and was originally released with four track EP by A Guy Called Gerald (of Voodoo Ray fame).
1234 Films takes its name from the indie record label and the British capital's Shoreditch Music Festival of the same name with the pair aiming to produce "bespoke, little Rock & Roll movies for an international audience."
Their first and to date only project Riot On Redchurch Street was executive produced by seasoned veteran Hamish McAlpine, one of the movie industry's most flamboyant characters.
That project is being sold at the Cannes Market by Moviehouse Entertainment.



More... ]]> Film Noir News Film Noir Press - Noir news from the internet http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?4975-Cannes-LA-Film-Noir-With-Smiths-Tunes-Hits-The-Market-(Exclusive)-Hollywood-Report http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?4974-What-to-Watch-Warehouse-13-visits-film-noir-universe-Pittsburg-Morning-Sun&goto=newpost Fri, 17 May 2013 22:51:35 GMT On TV
Pete and Myka search for an artifact in a film noir universe on "Warehouse 13." Artie, Steve and Cluadia pursue a phantom car thief. But which group will hit "The Big Snag," the episode is named after? Syfy 10 p.m. EST.
Trending topic
Barbara Walters announced this morning on "The View" that she will retire after 52 years on TV, Yahoo News reports. Walters plans to retire in the summer of 2014, meaning she will appear on "The View" for the next year and host one more edition of both her "10 Most Fascinating People" and Oscars specials. The 83-year-old Walters has said she will remain an executive producer of "The View." Walters also assured fans she was "completely healthy," and just wants to take a break and enjoy retirement.
Hot video: Kate Middleton recycles dress amid due date rumors
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More... ]]> Film Noir News Film Noir Press - Noir news from the internet http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?4974-What-to-Watch-Warehouse-13-visits-film-noir-universe-Pittsburg-Morning-Sun http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?4965-Film-Noir-Festival-opens-in-Palm-Springs-Thursday-KESQ&goto=newpost Wed, 15 May 2013 22:11:10 GMT PALM SPRINGS, Calif. -The 14th annual Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival,*which screens "landmark and obscure" vintage movies from the 1930s to the*1950s, opens Thursday in Palm Springs.

The festival runs through Sunday at Camelot Theatres and is organized by*the Palm Springs Cultural Center. The festival will open Thursday with a 7:30*p.m. screening of 1946's "Three Strangers," starring Sydney Greenstreet and*Peter Lorre. After the screening, Michael Lindsay Hogg, son of co-star*Geraldine Fitzgerald, will answer questions and sign his book, "Luck and*Circumstance: A Coming of Age in Hollywood, New York and Points Beyond."

Writer and film historian Alan Rode will host the festival for the sixth*straight year, festival spokesman Michael C. Green said. The festival will*include celebrity appearances and introductions by film historians. Those*scheduled to appear are actresses Marsha Hunt and Joan Evans, actors Jimmy*Lydon and Stuart Whitman, and Patricia Ward Kelly, widow of actor and*choreographer Gene Kelly.

"I try to keep the festival fresh for our core audience members who*aren't necessarily habitues of the film noir festival circuit," Rode said. "While the guest stars and the commentators are a major component of the*festival's rich heritage, our loyal patrons continue to sustain the Arthur*Lyons Film Noir Festival primarily because of the unique mix of films that are*programmed every year."

The festival was founded in 2000 by mystery author and Palm Springs*community leader Arthur Lyons and his wife, Barbara, as the Palm Springs Film*Noir Festival. The event was renamed the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival in*2008 after Lyons' death.

All-access passes are $125, and include the opening night reception.*Individual tickets are $13; $11 for 10 a.m. matinees.

For tickets, go to www.arthurlyonsfilmnoir.org or*www.camelottickets.com, call (800) 595-4849, or go to the Camelot Theatres box*office from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.



More... ]]> Film Noir News Film Noir Press - Noir news from the internet http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?4965-Film-Noir-Festival-opens-in-Palm-Springs-Thursday-KESQ http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?4958-Film-Noir-Festival-Brings-Black-and-White-Classics-to-Life-Palm-Springs-Life&goto=newpost Tue, 14 May 2013 21:45:30 GMT By Ebony March Image:... By Ebony March
The opening movie of the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival on May 16 is "Three Strangers" starring (from left) Sidney Greenstreet, Geraldine Fitzgerald and Peter Lorre.
allmovie.com

As kids, we’re taught to root for the good guy in our favorite movies. But the beauty of film noir is that the good guys are often the antagonists, and those tough-talking bad boys are the unlikely heroes.
Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival gives cinephiles every chance to immerse themselves in the dirty deeds of characters portrayed by actors like James Cagney and Charles McCraw. Themes of double-crossing, jealousy, and malice often prevail within the noir genre. Criminal activity is also King.
Arthur Lyons founded the festival in 2000. Lyons was a leading figure in Palm Springs community affairs, and a celebrated mystery writer. His love of tall tales and dark characters led him to create a showcase of long-forgotten films, as well as cherished favorites.
The Camelot Theatres (2300 E. Baristo Rd., Palm Springs. 760-325-6565) hosts the event once again. Twelve films will be showcased, with Q & A sessions to follow. Special guests and film historians will also be on hand to discuss each screening.
Catch the event in its 14th year, May 16-19, as it kicks off with the film Three Strangers (1946). Host Alan Rode will deliver colorful introductions to each movie, including the closing film, The Asphalt Jungle (1950).
For more information, visit www.arthurlyonsfilmnoir.ning.com
This article appears in the May*2013 issue of Desert Guide
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More... ]]> Film Noir News Film Noir Press - Noir news from the internet http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?4958-Film-Noir-Festival-Brings-Black-and-White-Classics-to-Life-Palm-Springs-Life http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?4897-Film-Noir-Obscuring-The-Roxie-SF-Weekly-(blog)&goto=newpost Fri, 10 May 2013 17:30:05 GMT

New York and Los Angeles are sometimes unrecognizable in films noir because A) it was often taken for granted that those movies simply needed a big city as a back-drop, and B) many of those films lacked location photography. San Francisco was rarely used merely as a stand-in for "big city America," probably because it is instantly recognizable - even if it's only as a black-and-white, rear-projection backdrop. But San Francisco made an enormous contribution through its appearances in The Mal-tese Falcon, Dark Passage, The Lineup, The Lady from Shanghai, and a number of others. Today, the city hosts two of the country's best film noir festivals. The Roxie's two-week celebration, I Wake Up Dreaming!, begins on Friday and features 30 films. As always, the program will include a handful of beloved classics, such as Criss Cross (1949) and Sweet Smell of Success (1957), both of which star Burt Lancaster in very different roles. The latter is unusual in that the plot does not revolve around a crime -- but the story of moral corruption, photography by James Wong Howe, and the nighttime Times Square settings make it as noir as is possible. The festival also includes several obscurities that hover on the fringes of noir. Blues in the Night (1941), starring Priscilla Lane, is based on a Depression-era play by Elia Kazan (who has a small role in the film) about down-on-their-luck musicians. All Through the Night (also 1941) is a Warner Brothers programmer starring none other than Humphrey Bogart. The twist here is that it's a semi-comic story set in motion when boxing promoter "Gloves" Donahue (Bogart) discovers that the restaurant where he holds court no longer carries the cheesecake he likes. Furious, Donahue is led down a winding path and uncovers a conspiracy hatched by Nazi fifth columnists. It's terrific, pulpy stuff.
I Wake Up Dreaming! starts Friday at 8 p.m. and runs through Thursday, May 23, at the Roxie Theater, 3117 16th St. (at Valencia), S.F. Tickets are $10; call (415)-863-1087 or visit www.roxie.com.
For events in San Francisco this week and beyond, check out our calendar section. Follow us on Twitter at @ExhibitionistSF and like us on Facebook.




More... ]]> Film Noir News Film Noir Press - Noir news from the internet http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?4897-Film-Noir-Obscuring-The-Roxie-SF-Weekly-(blog) http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?4823-Blackjacks-and-Wise-Cracks-The-Portland-Mercury&goto=newpost Thu, 09 May 2013 01:55:55 GMT AS THE 20TH CENTURY recedes, film noir seems more an attitude than an actual genre. The phrase itself—which wasn't coined until after the fact, by French critics—refers to gritty, bleak American thrillers from the '40s and '50s, almost always shot in black and white. There's usually a murder and a femme fatale to accompany it; trench coats, fedoras, and plumes of cigarette smoke are de rigueur. But watching the 11 selections in this year's edition of Cinema 21's noir series, the commonality doesn't have so much to do with murders, or dames, or nicotine. These films are all about love—more specifically, about passion and obsession, about some poor johnny getting dizzy over a skirt.
That's the case with 1944's Laura, in which Dana Andrews' detective falls head over heels for a picture of murder victim Gene Tierney (who can blame him?). In 1946's The Postman Always Rings Twice, John Garfield attempts to off Lana Turner's older husband. Love, similarly, runs through Nicholas Ray's masterful In a Lonely Place (1950), in which Bogart's not-so-nice guy is accused of murder—but the film is more interested in his troubled, wild relationship with Gloria Grahame. It's a stunning movie, crazily romantic and monumentally fucked up, just like most love affairs.
1950's terrific Gun Crazy dwells in the inherent romanticism of lovers on the run (a theme revisited years later in Bonnie and Clyde and Badlands); here, circus sharpshooters John Dall and Peggy Cummins become bank robbers and quickly run out of road and rope. The family drama of 1945's Mildred Pierce is bookended by an excellent noir framework, and Fritz Lang's The Big Heat (1953) follows an honest detective taking down his entire, corrupt police bureau. Jules Dassin's Night and the City (1950) transplants noir conventions to London, where American hustler Richard Widmark tries to take over the city's wrestling racket; it includes some great-looking chases and the classic wrestling match between Stanislaus Zbyszko and Mike Mazurki.
Speaking of fight scenes, there's an incredible one in a tiny train compartment in 1952's The Narrow Margin (it was later borrowed wholesale for From Russia with Love). Shot almost entirely aboard that claustrophobic train, Margin is one of the true gems in the series, a lean, razor-sharp thriller about a cop escorting a witness from Chicago to LA with baddies in pursuit.
The series includes three neo-noirs from later decades, too, which update noir conventions with a few twists—like color. 1981's outstanding Body Heat is Lawrence Kasdan's first and best film, asking: What happens when you add graphic sex to a film noir? (Answer: lurid awesomeness.) Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye is a riff on Rip Van Winkle, with Philip Marlowe (Elliott Gould) about 20 years out of step with 1973 Los Angeles. It removes all the passion from classic noir tropes in favor of pot-haze detachment and washed-out pastels, and the result, surprisingly, feels far more dated than noirs from the '40s and '50s. Meanwhile, the Coen brothers' 1985 debut Blood Simple is a breezy, bloody, wickedly funny Texas thriller that does noir conventions a solid.
A 13-day festival pass is only $40, and individual shows are $6. You can't go wrong with any of the selections, but if time or dollars are tight, let me steer you toward The Narrow Margin, In a Lonely Place, and Body Heat.



More... ]]> Film Noir News Film Noir Press - Noir news from the internet http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?4823-Blackjacks-and-Wise-Cracks-The-Portland-Mercury http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?4759-Neo-noir-tale-of-vice-Otago-Daily-Times&goto=newpost Tue, 07 May 2013 03:23:13 GMT It could be the political mean streets of any city, in any country, in the world. A city councillor, once young and idealistic, has become cynical,... It could be the political mean streets of any city, in any country, in the world.
A city councillor, once young and idealistic, has become cynical, weak and saturated with booze as the power, the women, the strip clubs and the payments from corrupt businessmen sap his will.
Beatings, murder, adultery and inappropriate use of photocopiers bubble up until the dam holding back a cesspool of filth bursts, overflows and forth spews a river of depravity and graft through the august halls of local government. It could happen in Dunedin.
Could it?
Probably not; this society is too decent.
But in other places? You bet!
It is precisely what is happening in Blackout's northern metropolis, a city producer Matthew Bird has been reported as describing as a cross between Manchester and Gotham City.
Our councillor - drowning in a pit of alcoholism and cronyism - is Daniel Demoys, played by former Doctor Who Christopher Eccleston.
Eccleston has starred in quality television shows such as Inspector Morse, Poirot, Cracker and one of the best shows of all time - League of Gentlemen.
He was also in films G. I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra and Gone in 60 Seconds but, hey, you have to pay the bills.
Eccleston, of course, is from Salford, a borough of Greater Manchester.
So he fits in well as Demoys, whose northern soul is beginning to unravel spectacularly.
Talk about drink!
He guzzles spirits straight from the bottle as he begins his drive to work - and he is in the driving seat.
He slugs red wine at a city do, then goes clubbing, skolling tequila slammers at the bar before stumbling with intent after a dancing girl.
He is probably too sloshed to hear the foreboding background music.
If he did he might not have ended up with photocopies of a contract for city services in a back alley with the corrupt businessman, who starts to threaten him.
If he did he may not have woken the next day with blood all over his shirt, and the businessman in hospital, beaten within an inch of his life .
And if he hadn't drunk so much he might remember if he was the one what done it.
But he doesn't.
So far all well and good (or not).
But then the writers open a can of cats and throw them, and some worms, into the Pandora's box of pigeons.
Demoys saves the day with an act of selflessness, runs for mayor, and sets up a nail-biting part two of the three-part drama on SoHo, tonight at 8.30pm.
Blackout is a gritty rain-soaked neo-noir tale of corruption and - perhaps - personal redemption.
Let's just hope election year in Dunedin is so dramatic.
- Charles Loughrey



More... ]]> Film Noir News Film Noir Press - Noir news from the internet http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?4759-Neo-noir-tale-of-vice-Otago-Daily-Times http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?4758-Blu-ray-DVD-review-quot-Jack-Reacher-quot-always-hits-his-mark-Geek-Magazine-Geek-Magazi&goto=newpost Tue, 07 May 2013 03:23:13 GMT Image: http://stwww.geekexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/blu-ray-dvd-jack-reacher-still-geek.jpg Lee Child’s endlessly engrossing Reacher... Lee Child’s endlessly engrossing Reacher series has been thrilling readers since 1997 with creatively concise storytelling and action that reads like a mean right hook.
And while ‘Reacher Creature’ loyalists may balk at the sight and size of Cruise trying to step into the Major’s larger-than-life shoes, “Jack Reacher” successfully captures much of Child’s imagery and intrigue. For those not familiar with the controversy surrounding Cruise stepping into the Reacher role, what follows is a description of Reacher and his menacing form penned by Child in the last novel installment, “A Wanted Man”: “He was one of the largest men she had ever seen outside of the NFL. He was extremely tall, and extremely broad, and long-armed and long-legged. The lawn chair was regular size, but it looked tiny under him. It was bent and crushed out of shape. His knuckles were nearly touching the ground. His neck was thick and his hands were the size of dinner plates.” Even despite the pint-sized plight of Cruise however, the veteran actor brings every other nuance of Reacher’s persona to brilliant clarity, nailing both Reacher’s imposing demeanor and his wry sense of humor. The film itself rages along well, with the usual omissions brought about in the conversion from novel to film – the most missed being the sultry characters of news reporter Anne Yanni and Brigadier General Eileen Hutton, both of which whose absence robs the film of more than a few juicy bits – but the heart and soul of Child’s creation remains relatively intact. Child’s novels perpetually read like kneaded together tributes to both the great detective noir’s and throwback gun-for-hire sagas, and for fans that can get past Cruise’s hindered height chart, the film serves up those same spectacular styles in spades. The extras menu offers a multitude of insights into Reacher, both production and book-form, as well as plausible arguments from Child and Cruise about the film choices made. Cruise convincingly argues that if Child had not given his blessing in taking on the Reacher role, then the veteran action actor was prepared to concede it. And Child offers his own approval defense by pointing out that it*wasn’t*as if he was passing up six-foot-plus actors, it’s simply that there are no actors that remotely match Reacher’s description. To play devil’s advocate I believe actors such as Duane “The Rock” Johnson and Chris Hemsworth might take issue with that assessment, but I agree with Child when he explains that when the current number one action star wants to play your character, you’d be remiss not to let him. Composer Joe Kramer offers a respectable commentary track, complete with peppered remarks by Kramer and an isolated score feature, but it’s the commentary offered by Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie that remains the true go-to. Cruise and McQuarrie cover a massive amount of material, generously providing an almost scene by scenes breakdown throughout. All while covering a wide spectrum of topics, categories of which range from creating crafty camera angles and stunt-work, to contrasting the novel and film differences and Reacher’s ultimate style and impact. The remaining three supplements round out Reacher’s world, with an expansive “When The Man Comes Around” making-of feature underpinning the same aforementioned themes, a brief “Reacher Phenomenon” discussion with author Lee Child that provides both fodder for fans and foundation to the uninitiated, and a title misleading “You Do Not Mess with Jack Reacher: Combat & Weapons,” which despite the promise never individually goes through the combat or weapons of the film, but does provide an ample amount of stunt coordination coverage. So though engaging Reacher’s public Cruise’s size might pose a sore subject, “Jack Reacher” remains as smart, hard-hitting and rebellious as ever.
Studio Synopsis: Six shots. Five dead. One heartland city thrown into a state of terror. But within hours the cops have it solved: a slam-dunk case. Except for one thing. The accused man says: You got the wrong guy. Then he says: Get Reacher for me. And sure enough, ex-military investigator Jack Reacher is coming. He knows this shooter, a trained military sniper who never should have missed a shot. Reacher is certain something is not right, and soon the slam-dunk case explodes. Now Reacher is teamed with a beautiful young defense lawyer, moving closer to the unseen enemy who is pulling the strings. Reacher knows that no two opponents are created equal. This one has come to the heartland from his own kind of hell. And Reacher knows that the only way to take him down is to match his ruthlessness and cunning, and then beat him shot for shot.
Studio: Paramount
Running Time: 130 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Number of Disks: 2
Special Features:
- Commentary by Tom Cruise and Director Christopher McQuarrie
- Commentary by Composer Joe Kraemer
- When the Man Comes Around
- You Do Not Mess with Jack Reacher: Combat & Weapons
- The Reacher Phenomenon
Additional Resources:
Central Cast: Tom Cruise*|*Rosamund Pike*|*Richard Jenkins*| Robert Duvall*|*Werner Herzog*|*Jai Courtney*|*David Oyelowo
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Central Writers: Christopher McQuarrie*|*Lee Child
Theatrical Release: December 21, 2012
Blu-Ray/DVD Release: May 7, 2013
Genre: Action*|*Crime*|*Thriller
Supporting Cast and more Writers found HERE
Get it on Amazon! MSRP $39.99 (price will vary by retailer)



More... ]]> Film Noir News Film Noir Press - Noir news from the internet http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?4758-Blu-ray-DVD-review-quot-Jack-Reacher-quot-always-hits-his-mark-Geek-Magazine-Geek-Magazi http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?4754-Multiple-Trailers-for-The-Canyons-Play-Up-Noir-Elements-Variety&goto=newpost Mon, 06 May 2013 15:12:46 GMT Filled with intrigue and suspense, the story follows a beautiful troubled former ingenue as she follows a path of possible self destruction … and that’s just the casting Lindsay Lohan.
SEE MORE: The Golden Trailer Awards
The saga behind the making of Bret Easton Ellis’ modern-day film noir “The Canyons” is perhaps just as tawdry as the plot itself. Since the first day of shooting, “The Canyons” has been a dream come true for TMZ editors: naked scene shoots, screaming matches, porn stars and, of course, the media’s ever-present anticipation of Lohan’s next potential misstep.
Which begs the question: How do you market a film where the production overshadows the story?
First you have to have a writer, a producer and director willing to play with traditional concept of trailers. Then you given them some chutzpah.
But before there was marketing, there was financing, and the trio had to figure out a way to raise coin for their micro-budget pic.

In June, the first teaser trailer for “The Canyons” hit the Internet. Set to the music of the Dum Dum Girls, the slow rhythmic beat of the song “Coming Down” paired with iconic City of Angels landmarks to inspire Angelenos to pry open their wallets and give generously to “The Canyons’” Kickstarter campaign. In the end, 1,050 folks gave $159,015 to producer Braxton Pope, director Paul Schrader and writer Ellis to make their movie, which features the legit debut of porn stud James Deen.
“I worked with director Joey Valenti on the first trailer, and he brought a new dimension to it,” Pope says. “People wanted to know more about the song, the Dum Dum Girls and the movie, because at that point, it didn’t have a cast.”
In December, after filming was complete, the trio released a grindhouse-style trailer for “The Canyons,” which followed a 1970s exploitation-style template usually reserved for the likes of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez.
“We didn’t want to be constrained by the usual movie trailer style,” explains Pope, who collaborated with Schrader and Ellis on the ensuing campaigns, in true DIY style. “Schrader thought misdirection would be interesting. We wanted it to be as non-traditional and unconventional as the movie. The trailers had to be different and experimental. So instead of an orthodox trailer used as a marketing tool, we wanted to play with genres and concepts, so that the trailers would lead to conversations. We didn’t want people to take us literally.”

In November, the second trailer portraying Lohan as a femme fatale caught in a ’50s melodrama hit the Web. Borrowing heavily from noir period pics like “Man Bait” or “Blonde Ice,” the trailer comes closest to “The Canyons’” tone.
“Film noir is a huge interest of mine, and when Bret wrote the script, he defined it as a contemporary noir, so that was the style that we shared an affinity for,” says Pope.

The third trailer, released in December, depicted the heady drama as a screwball ’30s comedy. Even the producer admits this was strange departure for a genre-bending, tongue-in-cheek trailer.
“This trailer is the furthest from the actual movie,” Pope says.
One more trailer is expected, which will be generated by IFC, and “will reflect the tone and sensibility of the movie,” says Pope.
In addition, Pope has commissioned an animated short from filmmaker Sascha Ciezata as “kind of a companion art piece.”
Also, we have been very open to the community of fans and people who have sent in things for ‘The Canyons.’ We want to continue that.”




More... ]]> Film Noir News Film Noir Press - Noir news from the internet http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?4754-Multiple-Trailers-for-The-Canyons-Play-Up-Noir-Elements-Variety