Exclusive articles:
Christine Vachon Unplugged
Even though she has a French name, I was surprised to see that a festival showcasing the best in past and upcoming Quebecois cinema (Les Rendez-Vous Du Cinema Quebecois) had managed to lasso a very busy, legend producer in American Independent Cinema. For those who have seen clips of her masterclasses and/or have read two great books on what is it to be an indie producer know that Christine Vachon tells it likes it is.
Seven Cesars for Provost’s Seraphine
A biopic about an unknown painter cleaned up the 34th edition of the Cesar awards (France's equivalent to the Oscars). You would have thought that it was an homage to Sean Penn (the actor was in attendance, first row ticket) and the dearly departed Claude Berri, but this was Martin Provost's night upsetting favorites Jean-François Richet and Mesrine (who won for Best Director and Best Actor) and the Palme d'Or winner The Class from Laurent Cantet winner went home with only the Best Adapted Film. Séraphine won a total of seven awards.
Recession Friendly Hitchcock
I'm still not at that stage where I'd be willing to watch anything longer than Todd Haynes' Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story off my computer screen. The film (Top 100 of All Time for me) lasts a total of 48 minutes. I recently pulled my own copy of The Lodger out of my own library and queued it for an eventual watch... and, this action coincided with this press release from Joost.com who've just added eight of the Master of Suspense's earlier films.
Recession Proof Kubrick
My coffee table is already cluttered enough with Taschen and now, Jeffrey Wells had to point to something that Kubrick fans such as myself will want to splurge on. It's called Stanley Kubrick, the Napoleon Film and looks at the Kubrick's creative process in terms of how he went about researching his subject. Let's just say it was extensive.
Timonder Finds ‘The Perfect Moment’ for Doc to Fiction Transition
Ondi Timoner, whose Sundance winner We Live in Public has mysteriously not been picked up yet, will be heading in them same biopic territory that Steven Shainberg went with Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus. For the record, Picturehouse Films screwed up the release of that picture, and I imagine Timoner will go a more conventional route to tell the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe's story.
