Not Your Typical Bigfoot Movie

A kind reader pointed me towards the trailer for Not Your Typical Bigfoot Movie, which gets its world premier at SXSW 2008. If the trailer is any indication, it seems like it'll be a wonderful film. I hope it makes it to some New England fests so I can catch it. (And if it does, I hope it doesn't wind-up as a "midnight" movie as it did at SXSW. When it comes to staying up late, I've become a real wuss.) 

You can find out more about the movie at its web site or at its SXSW page.

-Eric

The Ostrich Testimonies

Here is the trailer and the link to the web site for the SXSW 2008 documentary the Ostrich Testimonies. It seems like filmmaker Jonathan VanBallenberghe found a truly unique and remarkable man in D.C. Cogburn, the man behind the Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch. 

I also really liked what VanBallenberghe said in his director's statement: 

"I hope documentary filmmakers continue to directly address the 'big' topics like war, religion, genocide, and climate change. But I also hope that we continue to pay attention to smaller, lesser-known stories about private lives."

I wish him luck at SXSW!

  

-Eric

Living the dream: the creators of Homestar Runner

I stumbled upon this little video interview with the creators of Homestar Runner. 

It seems to me that they are living the dream.

-Eric

SXSW films of interest

It seems like every blog I read has something to say about the recently revealed SXSW 2008 line-up. You can get the full list (with cast, crew and synopsis) via indieWIRE Insider or Spout blog, but here are the films that sparked my interest as I read through the list: 

• Jake Mahaffy's Wellness
  
• Jonathan VanBallenberghe's Ostrich Testimonies 
  
• Josh Safdie's The Pleasure of Being Robbed
  
• Frank V. Ross's Present Company (of course)
  
• Aaron Rose and Joshua Leonard's Beautiful Losers
  
• Celia Maysles Wild Blue Yonder
  
• Jay Delaney's Not Your Typical Bigfoot Movie
• and two films that just played at Sundance, the Duplass Brother's Baghead (which has already found a distributor) and the Zellner Brother's Goliath. 
  

I wish them all the best.

-Eric

Kentucker Audley on his filmmaking influences

"I don't watch a lot of movies, in general. The idea is to be influenced primarily by real life. Most films do seem to be influenced by other films rather than by real life, and that's a shame to me." -Kentucker Audley (aka Andrew Nenninger) in the Memphis Flyer Online.

The Kentucker Audley interview I refer to above was from October of last year, but I just discovered it the other day. It's a nice little article about the Memphis filmmaker. For me, it's comforting to know that a person doesn't need to be some kind of cinephile to make great movies. I was also impressed that Audley stated that Mutual Appreciation was an influence when he was making his own feature, Team Picture. It's very refreshing for me to see a filmmaking acknowledge a contemporary film when naming their influences.

-Eric