Tomm Moore on THE SECRET OF KELLS

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I’m not sure when I first heard of THE SECRET OF KELLS. Probably last year, likely through AICN, definitely way before it wound up on the Oscar nominee list for animated feature (and everybody started going, “The what of who?”). At that time, the buzz was growing around this small, exquisitely designed film out of Ireland. Who imagined it getting any further than a small band of passionate geeks?

I got to finally see it courtesy of my friend Russ, who imported a U.K. region DVD and through channels too sinister to mention (I may be exaggerating a bit), had it converted to a U.S. region disk. The distributors announced press screenings not too long after, but I still felt Russ was well-justified in going to all that the effort. Over at Cinefantastique, we like to champion films with “a sense of wonder,” and THE SECRET OF KELLS meets that standard on nearly every front. Beautifully animated — imagine the simple but expressive designs of Genndy Tartakovsky (SAMURAI JACK; STAR WARS: CLONE WARS) wedded to the elaborate illuminations of the Book of Kells — and imbued with that rarefied magic that seems the sole domain of Ireland, the film well-earned its buzz, not to mention the Oscar nom and hopefully a growing audience as it is rolled out across the U.S. in the next few months.

I got to talk to KELLS’ Tomm Moore — who directed the film with Nora Twomey — a few days after the Oscar ceremonies, and we delved into matters both cultural and technical, as well as discussed the current state of the animation industry in Ireland. Click on the player to hear the interview. Read the rest of this entry »

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It’s a genre light week, with no new horror, fantasy, or science fiction titles released in cinemas, so Dan Persons, Lawrence French, and Steve Biodrowski take this opportunity to shine a little much-deserved light on some overlooked and/or under-rated genre titles. The main topic of discussion is INK, the surprisingly good low-budget fantasy film about a girl kidnapped by a dream demon. Also under analysis, Roman Polanski’s Kafkaesque thriller THE GHOST WRITER, starring Pierce Brosnan and Ewan McGregor, playing in limited release in New York and Los Angeles. And Terry Gilliam’s THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR. PARNASSUS, which received only a small release earlier this year.

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So actress Zoe Kazan slips into the room, gives director Bradley Rust Gray a hug, and lingers a minute to answer a couple of questions. Quite unanticipated, obviously. Very welcome, actually. And pretty much fitting for the film being discussed, THE EXPLODING GIRL, which itself has a low-key, idiosyncratic structure and a spare, spontaneous feel. With that spur-of-the-moment spirit at work in the production, is it any wonder that the film’s creators have carried the attitude to their interview sessions? What plays out on the screen doesn’t always translate to the street, but in this case, I’m glad it did.

We’re doubling up on the interviews in this episode. First is a conversation with director Peter Hanson about his new documentary, TALES FROM THE SCRIPT, in which a powerhouse collection of screenwriters — including Frank Darabont, Shane Black, and Paul Schrader — take viewers through the somewhat tortured, occasionally triumphant life cycle of those who labor away at the word processor for fame and glory (and occasional big bucks). That’ll be followed by my conversation with Brad Gray about THE EXPLODING GIRL, a small and quite satisfying story about a young woman (Zoe Kazan) facing the end of one relationship, even as she ponders the start of another.

Two very good films, two interesting discussions. What more could you ask for? Click on the player to hear the show. Read the rest of this entry »

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Dan Persons, Steve Biodrowski, and Lawrence French follow Tim Burton down the rabbit hole, analyzing his live-action redo of the Disney animated classic, ALICE IN WONDERLAND. Is it Burton at his best – or another blunder? Does it surpass the original, or does it fall flat as a knave of hearts? Also on the bill, a look at the weekend’s award winners for horror, fantasy, and science fiction films; plus the usual round-up of exciting news items, upcoming home video releases, and random recommendations.

Well, “next to” the Spirit Awards might be more accurate. We weren’t actually at the ceremonies, but over the past year we’ve been fortunate enough to cover a fair number of the 2010 winners.

So if the acceptance speeches didn’t get anywhere close enough to satisfying your curiosity about how these films came about, click on the players below. We’ve got MIGHTY MOVIE PODCAST interviews with the directors of all these films:

Cassavettes Award: HUMP DAY

Documentary: ANVIL: THE STORY OF ANVIL

Screenplay: (500) DAYS OF SUMMER

Ensemble: A SERIOUS MAN

First Feature/Lead Actor: CRAZY HEART

And come back Friday, when have an interview with the director of the Piaget Producer’s Award winner, THE EXPLODING GIRL

Podcast: Download (Duration: 18:31 — 17.1MB)

It’s typical in these circumstances to say, “I don’t know what came over me.” But I do know what came over me: I was going to interview Felix Moeller about his new documentary, HARLAN – IN THE SHADOW OF JEW SUSS — the film about German director Veit Harlan, his infamous, anti-Semitic 1940 creation JEW SUSS, and the repercussions said film and the man himself had on his descendents — when I was informed that one of the film’s subjects, journalist, critic, and Harlan niece Jessica Jacoby, would also be available. I agreed to interview them both, but then ran into a brick wall in my planning: I wished to have a candid discussion with Moeller about how he confronted so difficult a subject, and the presence of Jacoby — a woman who, I figured, had undergone every form of questioning on the subject from polite discussion to accusatory interrogation — threw me a curve. I was left not sure how I could ask the questions I wanted about Harlan’s work, how Moeller got the family to open up about the impact of that legacy, and the restrictions Germany has placed on the public exhibition of the film, without making the woman feel that she had travelled down this road far too many times.

I never came up with a solution for my dilemma — in hindsight, the best approach probably would have been just to ask the frakkin’ questions and let the chips fall where they might — and it shows in my awkward approach to the interview. Nevertheless, Jacoby and Moeller were quite forthcoming in discussing how they tackled the story of one of the darkest chapters of film history, and provided good insight into the creation of a compelling, revelatory, and surprisingly beautiful documentary. Click on the player to hear the interview. Read the rest of this entry »

Every now and then there’s a casting choice that seems predestined, a true chicken/egg situation. A role it’s impossible to believe wasn’t written with a particular actor in mind. Or a case where it seems cosmic forces must have been at play, birthing the perfect star for a role just waiting to make the jump from the page to the big screen.

We certainly had that reaction when we saw the first Alice in Wonderland poster. In the following video feature, our Mighty Movie Geek takes a look at Johnny Depp’s Mad Hatter, along with five other stars and the roles they were born to play. We call it the Deppage Factor.

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What’d you think? Did we miss your favorite casting kismet? Drop us a comment below.

Podcast: Download (Duration: 56:08 — 51.4MB)

Dan Persons, Steve Biodrowski, and Lawrence French are back with an in-depth discussion of THE CRAZIES, the new horror-thriller about a small town caught between a rock and a hard place when a bioweapon contaminates the drinking supply, turning the locals into homicidal maniacs and prompting a take-no-prisoners quarantine by the military. It’s based on the 1973 film by George Romero, which is sort of the missing link between NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968) and DAWN OF THE DEAD (1979).

Also in the podcast: a look at current news in the world of horror, fantasy, and science fiction; a discussion of the upcoming Oscars (2 science fiction films are nominated for Best Picture this year, AVATAR and DISTRICT 9); and a preview of the week’s home video releases (WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, PONYO, 2012, and more).

Click on player above to hear the discussion.

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At one point in the new film THE ART OF THE STEAL, one of the people protesting the moving of Dr. Albert Barnes’ art collection (Picasso, Modigliani, Renoir, Cézanne, amongst others) from its home outside Philadelphia into the city proper stands outside the gates of the museum’s eventual home, screaming, “Philistines!” The art world occasionally turns on such clashes of passion, but this level of fervor is particularly striking, and says a lot about a near-century-long struggle between one man’s vision and the acquisitional imperative of the moneyed elite.

THE ART OF THE STEAL traces the history of Dr. Barnes — himself quite wealthy, but also quite progressive when it came to ideas on art, culture, and education — the foundation he formed after the Philly elite initially derided his collection, and how said elite has tried for decades to gain control of that collection, now valued at over $25 billion. They finally succeeded, but not before director Don Argott, producer Sheena M. Joyce, and executive producer Lenny Feinberg (himself a graduate of the Barnes Foundation) managed to trace the manipulation and subterfuge employed to finally win the prize. The film’s a riveting examination of how noble goals can be undone by the most insidious of politics, and how the quest for a literally priceless collection of art can motivate powerful people to circumvent a man’s dying wish.

I got to speak to Argott, Joyce, and Feinberg about the difficulties in portraying the full dimension of this story on the screen, and why a big, shiny, high-profile new museum will not necessarily serve Dr. Barnes’ collection well. Click on the player above to hear the interview. Read the rest of this entry »

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In the second installment of Cinefantastique’s new weekly podcast, Dan Persons, Steve Biodrowski, and Lawrence French look at Martin Scorsese’s new horror-thriller, SHUTTER ISLAND, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Kingsley, Mark Ruffalo, and Max Von Sydow. Also: a look at the SHUTTER ISLAND videogame, and other news and reviews.

Click on the player above to hear the show.