‘Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press’ Review: Hulk Hogan’s Gawker Trial Gets a Big, Scary Context
Well, let me tell you something, brother: Hulk Hogan always goes over in the end. The result of last year’s tabloid-friendly trial between Hogan (real name Terry Bollea, as Jenny Slate kindly reminded us in “Obvious Child”) and Gawker may have been less surprising to pro-wrestling fans than it was to everyone else, but its long-term impact will likely be even more consequential than the Hulkster body-slamming Andre the Giant in front of 93,000 screaming Hulkamaniacs.
Read More: ‘Nobody Speak’ Trailer: Hulk Hogan and Gawker Go to War in the Court Room
“Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press” isn’t as indulgent with wrestling references as that last paragraph, which is probably to its credit. Brian Knappenberger’s documentary is compelling and slickly produced in the way that timely Sundance documentaries often are, with no shortage of talking heads and trial footage assuring us that there’s nothing normal about the new normal in which we all find ourselves. Also like a lot of similar movies, the subject itself is more engaging than the filmmaking.
The plaintiff in the trial was a lifelong showman whose fame and fortune are a direct result of his ability work an audience, whether it be in an open-air arena or an intimate courtroom; one of the defendants made a massively ill-advised joke about child sex tapes. To say that Hogan acquitted himself well and his opponent did not would be an understatement.
But however self-inflicted Gawker’s wounds may have been — they chose a questionable hill to die on, and die they did — the implications of that trial are troubling, to say the least. What other casualties might follow suit in the future? This concern is put best by a First Amendment attorney interviewed here: “The reason to save Gawker is not because Gawker was worth saving,” he says. “The reason to save it is that we don’t pick and choose what sort of publications are permissible, because once we do, it empowers the government to limit speech in a way that ought to be impermissible.”
The reading of the verdict and $140 million in damages comes halfway through the film, and it’s then that “Nobody Speak” pivots to its ultimate focus: Peter Thiel and other billionaires who seek to muzzle the press. Lawyers are expensive, and litigants with deep war chests tend to win. Knappenberger presents his case with all the passion of a trial lawyer who knows that his case be unwinnable but presses on anyway.
Read More: Netflix Close to Acquiring Hulk Hogan Doc ‘Nobody Speak’ — Sundance 2017
It was Thiel who financed Hogan’s lawsuit and considered doing so a philanthropic act. He’d been outed by Gawker nearly a decade earlier. The potential danger is obvious: Other millionaires and billionaires could follow suit and use their vast financial resources to sue journalistic outlets they don’t like as a means of score-settling.
Knappenberger links this to Donald Trump’s promise to “open up libel laws” and his rabid supporters’ violent threats toward journalists at rallies, not least because Thiel was an early supporter of then-candidate Trump. These conclusions are persuasive, frightening and (one hopes) a little alarmist — surging background music and other theatrics have a tendency to detract from the film’s arguments rather than enhancing it. A film about the vital importance of speaking truth to power needn’t be so concerned with dressing up its own frightful truths, but “Nobody Speak” still compels as an opening statement on journalism’s dubious future.
Grade: B-
“Nobody Speak” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. It’s available to stream on Netflix as of June 23.
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Related stories'Transformers: The Last Knight' Review: Here's the Most Ridiculous Hollywood Movie of the YearJ. Hoberman's Best Movies of the 21st Century'En El Séptimo Dia' Review: Jim McKay's First Movie in a Decade is the Summer's Surprise Crowdpleaser...
Read More: ‘Nobody Speak’ Trailer: Hulk Hogan and Gawker Go to War in the Court Room
“Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press” isn’t as indulgent with wrestling references as that last paragraph, which is probably to its credit. Brian Knappenberger’s documentary is compelling and slickly produced in the way that timely Sundance documentaries often are, with no shortage of talking heads and trial footage assuring us that there’s nothing normal about the new normal in which we all find ourselves. Also like a lot of similar movies, the subject itself is more engaging than the filmmaking.
The plaintiff in the trial was a lifelong showman whose fame and fortune are a direct result of his ability work an audience, whether it be in an open-air arena or an intimate courtroom; one of the defendants made a massively ill-advised joke about child sex tapes. To say that Hogan acquitted himself well and his opponent did not would be an understatement.
But however self-inflicted Gawker’s wounds may have been — they chose a questionable hill to die on, and die they did — the implications of that trial are troubling, to say the least. What other casualties might follow suit in the future? This concern is put best by a First Amendment attorney interviewed here: “The reason to save Gawker is not because Gawker was worth saving,” he says. “The reason to save it is that we don’t pick and choose what sort of publications are permissible, because once we do, it empowers the government to limit speech in a way that ought to be impermissible.”
The reading of the verdict and $140 million in damages comes halfway through the film, and it’s then that “Nobody Speak” pivots to its ultimate focus: Peter Thiel and other billionaires who seek to muzzle the press. Lawyers are expensive, and litigants with deep war chests tend to win. Knappenberger presents his case with all the passion of a trial lawyer who knows that his case be unwinnable but presses on anyway.
Read More: Netflix Close to Acquiring Hulk Hogan Doc ‘Nobody Speak’ — Sundance 2017
It was Thiel who financed Hogan’s lawsuit and considered doing so a philanthropic act. He’d been outed by Gawker nearly a decade earlier. The potential danger is obvious: Other millionaires and billionaires could follow suit and use their vast financial resources to sue journalistic outlets they don’t like as a means of score-settling.
Knappenberger links this to Donald Trump’s promise to “open up libel laws” and his rabid supporters’ violent threats toward journalists at rallies, not least because Thiel was an early supporter of then-candidate Trump. These conclusions are persuasive, frightening and (one hopes) a little alarmist — surging background music and other theatrics have a tendency to detract from the film’s arguments rather than enhancing it. A film about the vital importance of speaking truth to power needn’t be so concerned with dressing up its own frightful truths, but “Nobody Speak” still compels as an opening statement on journalism’s dubious future.
Grade: B-
“Nobody Speak” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. It’s available to stream on Netflix as of June 23.
Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
Related stories'Transformers: The Last Knight' Review: Here's the Most Ridiculous Hollywood Movie of the YearJ. Hoberman's Best Movies of the 21st Century'En El Séptimo Dia' Review: Jim McKay's First Movie in a Decade is the Summer's Surprise Crowdpleaser...
- 6/22/2017
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
Awards-watchers have been wondering where Mike Mills’ dramedy “20th Century Women,” starring perennial Oscar nominee Annette Bening (“American Beauty,” “The Kids Are All Right”), would land in the fall line-up.
Well, rising indie distributor A24, which is having a strong 2016, has picked up U.S. rights to the film from Annapurna’s Megan Ellison (“Her,” “Joy,” “Everybody Wants Some!!,” “Zero Dark Thirty”). A24 started out winning Oscars for three films (“Room,” “Ex Machina” and “Amy”), took smart horror flick “The Witch” wide to great success, and now with “The Lobster ” and “Swiss Army Man,” boasts the two highest per theater average limited openings of the year.
Read More: Daniel Radcliffe and His ‘Swiss Army Man’ Dummy: What We Learned From This Dynamic Duo On A24’s NYC Bus Tour
Writer-director Mills’ last film “Beginners” won one Academy Award, for Christopher Plummer. “20th Century Women” is a portrait of three women played by Bening,...
Well, rising indie distributor A24, which is having a strong 2016, has picked up U.S. rights to the film from Annapurna’s Megan Ellison (“Her,” “Joy,” “Everybody Wants Some!!,” “Zero Dark Thirty”). A24 started out winning Oscars for three films (“Room,” “Ex Machina” and “Amy”), took smart horror flick “The Witch” wide to great success, and now with “The Lobster ” and “Swiss Army Man,” boasts the two highest per theater average limited openings of the year.
Read More: Daniel Radcliffe and His ‘Swiss Army Man’ Dummy: What We Learned From This Dynamic Duo On A24’s NYC Bus Tour
Writer-director Mills’ last film “Beginners” won one Academy Award, for Christopher Plummer. “20th Century Women” is a portrait of three women played by Bening,...
- 6/29/2016
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Far be it from me to disagree with our staff, but I would hard-pressed to name 30 films from 2015 that I would consider among the “best” of the year.
The same can’t be said for film music, though. As predictable as each superhero template or franchise reboot may have been this year, composers keep finding new ways to reinvent the sounds of the cinema. Not to mention that the ever-widening landscape of VOD and streaming service-produced projects has increased the room with which artists can flex their musical chops.
2015 was an embarrassment of movie score riches. In indie horror gem Bone Tomahawk, Jeff Herriott & S. Craig Zahler inject hope and despair into a bleak, cannibal-stricken Wild West, where feeling anything is better than the unflinching mortality facing its characters. Patrick Doyle’s warmhearted Cinderella continued Disney’s tradition of attaching amazing scores to frivolous live-action do-overs, while on the other end of the spectrum,...
The same can’t be said for film music, though. As predictable as each superhero template or franchise reboot may have been this year, composers keep finding new ways to reinvent the sounds of the cinema. Not to mention that the ever-widening landscape of VOD and streaming service-produced projects has increased the room with which artists can flex their musical chops.
2015 was an embarrassment of movie score riches. In indie horror gem Bone Tomahawk, Jeff Herriott & S. Craig Zahler inject hope and despair into a bleak, cannibal-stricken Wild West, where feeling anything is better than the unflinching mortality facing its characters. Patrick Doyle’s warmhearted Cinderella continued Disney’s tradition of attaching amazing scores to frivolous live-action do-overs, while on the other end of the spectrum,...
- 1/3/2016
- by David Klein
- SoundOnSight
San Francisco Film Critics Awards 2013: ’12 Years a Slave,’ Chiwetel Ejiofor win (photo: Michael Fassbender and Chiwetel Ejiofor in ’12 Years a Slave’) The 2013 San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards were announced this past Sunday, December 15, at a gathering of 31 Bay Area film critics at the Variety Club Preview Room on Market Street. Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave was chosen as the Best Picture of 2013; additionally, the slavery drama earned John Ridley the Best Adapted Screenplay Award, while Chiwetel Ejiofor was voted Best Actor for his performance as free man Solomon Northup, who was kidnapped and forced into slave work at a Southern plantation in the 1850s. However, Gravity received the most awards from the San Francisco Film Critics: four in all, namely, Best Director for Alfonso Cuarón, Best Film Editing (Cuarón and Mark Sanger), Best Cinematography (Emmanuel Lubezki), and Best Production Design (Andy Nicholson). Starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney,...
- 12/18/2013
- by Steve Montgomery
- Alt Film Guide
A scene from Room on the BroomPhoto: Magic Light Pictures Ltd. Today the Academy announced the shortlist of ten animated short films that will be competing for nominations at the 2014 Oscars and I have gone ahead and found trailers/previews for seven of them, the complete short film for one of them and pictures for the two that didn't seem to have any video preview online as of yet. The Academy's Short Films and Feature Animation Branch Reviewing Committee viewed all 56 eligible entries for the preliminary round of voting at screenings held in New York and Los Angeles and now the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch members will select three to five nominees from among the 10 titles previewed below. The 86th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 16, 2014, at 5:30 a.m. Pt. Check out the titles contending for this year's race over the next couple of pages.
- 11/7/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Miami — When actor Jonathan Pryce first received a copy of River Phoenix's last film "Dark Blood," it sat unwatched on his desk for months. He worried about how he would feel reliving Phoenix's death, growing nostalgic about memorable dinners the two shared after long days of filming in Utah and recalling the shocking 5 a.m. phone call telling him the young actor had died.
"It's very hard to comprehend for a while. It was a terribly sad time," said Pryce, who starred in the film alongside Phoenix and Judy Davis.
Now, 20 years later, "Dark Blood" made its U.S. premiere at the Miami International Film Festival on Wednesday, a testament to the endurance of 80-year-old director George Sluizer, who almost died before the film was completed, and a tribute to Phoenix's timeless charisma. It's uncertain whether the film will ever go to a general release. Sluizer said negotiations are...
"It's very hard to comprehend for a while. It was a terribly sad time," said Pryce, who starred in the film alongside Phoenix and Judy Davis.
Now, 20 years later, "Dark Blood" made its U.S. premiere at the Miami International Film Festival on Wednesday, a testament to the endurance of 80-year-old director George Sluizer, who almost died before the film was completed, and a tribute to Phoenix's timeless charisma. It's uncertain whether the film will ever go to a general release. Sluizer said negotiations are...
- 3/8/2013
- by AP
- Huffington Post
On a recent summer afternoon, Johnny Depp walks into a luxury suite at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles. Oddly, he is dressed like a pirate. A faded paisley do-rag is tied around his head. Smaller strips of cloth are braided into his hair, and he has gold caps on several teeth. His loose white T-shirt, with its blue horizontal stripes, maybe more sailor than pirate, but it's definitely in the nautical family.
We should note that Depp has not come directly from the set of his latest film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest...
We should note that Depp has not come directly from the set of his latest film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest...
- 11/12/2012
- Rollingstone.com
Yes, I have too much time on my hands. Here's a new feature that was fun to put together (though quite time-consuming, which makes me worry about my ability to do this every month). I look back at rock, pop, and R&B albums that came out five years ago, ten years ago, etc.
1967
Buffalo Springfield: Again (Atco)
There was much chaos surrounding the creation of this quintet 's second album. Bassist Bruce Palmer, in some ways the soul of the band, was unavailable due to a drug charge deportation, and a string of session players took his place. Stephen Stills, who saw himself as the leader of the group, was feuding with Neil Young, who considered himself an equal, and Young actually quit -- but returned. And that's without getting into the fiasco that was the band's management team.
Nonetheless, it was a quantum leap forward from their debut,...
1967
Buffalo Springfield: Again (Atco)
There was much chaos surrounding the creation of this quintet 's second album. Bassist Bruce Palmer, in some ways the soul of the band, was unavailable due to a drug charge deportation, and a string of session players took his place. Stephen Stills, who saw himself as the leader of the group, was feuding with Neil Young, who considered himself an equal, and Young actually quit -- but returned. And that's without getting into the fiasco that was the band's management team.
Nonetheless, it was a quantum leap forward from their debut,...
- 10/30/2012
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
Filmmaker Pj Raval has been involved with a number of Film Independent programs, from participating in our Documentary Filmmaker Lab to serving as a juror for the Spirit Awards and screening his work at the Los Angeles Film Festival. His constant stream of work has not gone unnoticed (his projects have screened at Sundance, SXSW, and on Showtime), which is especially rewarding as he regularly works to feature communities not receiving the notice they may deserve and need.
Raval is currently in production on a feature documentary about Lgbtq senior and retiree communities and has less than one week to raise the funds needed to complete his film via USA Projects, a United States Artists program used to fundraise online. Read on to learn more about Raval’s trajectory through the world of independent filmmaking and what he hopes to achieve with his latest endeavor:
Tell us how you got your start in film.
Raval is currently in production on a feature documentary about Lgbtq senior and retiree communities and has less than one week to raise the funds needed to complete his film via USA Projects, a United States Artists program used to fundraise online. Read on to learn more about Raval’s trajectory through the world of independent filmmaking and what he hopes to achieve with his latest endeavor:
Tell us how you got your start in film.
- 5/22/2012
- by Film Independent
- Film Independent
Rachel Mwanza, War Witch Tribeca 2012 Politics Nation: Una Noche Movie World Narrative Competition Categories The jurors for the 2012 World Narrative Competition were Patricia Clarkson, Dakota Fanning, Mike Newell, Lisa Schwarzbaum, Jim Sheridan, and Irwin Winkler. The Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature – War Witch, directed by Kim Nguyen (Canada). Best Actor in a Narrative Feature Film – Dariel Arrechada and Javier Nuñez Florian as Raul and Elio in Una Noche, directed by Lucy Mulloy (UK, Cuba, USA). Best Actress in a Narrative Feature Film – Rachel Mwanza as Komona in War Witch, directed by Kim Nguyen (Canada). Best Cinematography in a Narrative Feature Film – Cinematography by Trevor Forrest and Shlomo Godder, for Una Noche, directed by Lucy Mulloy (UK, Cuba, USA). Special Jury Mention – Alex Catalan for Unit 7. Best Screenplay for a Narrative Feature Film – All In (La Suerte en Tus Manos), written by Daniel Burman and Sergio Dubcovsky and directed by...
- 4/29/2012
- by Steve Montgomery
- Alt Film Guide
War Witch, a Canadian-made film about a young girl who escapes from the African rebels who forced her to be a child soldier, was named Best Narrative Feature at the 11th annual Tribeca Film Festival. “This indelible character study of a girl who becomes a woman before our eyes in the midst of harrowing war gives words to the unspeakable,” said the jury, which included Patricia Clarkson, Dakota Fanning, Mike Newell, EW’s Lisa Schwarzbaum, Jim Sheridan, and Irwin Winkler. “Riveting, heartbreaking, vivid, and eloquent, the movie balances scenes of crazy enemy hatred with moments of luminous private love.”
Rachel Mwanza,...
Rachel Mwanza,...
- 4/27/2012
- by Jeff Labrecque
- EW - Inside Movies
The Tribeca Film Festival awards ceremony took place on Thursday, and the controversial Cuban film "Una Noche" turned out to be the toast of the town. Though "War Witch" won the award for Best Narrative Feature and Rachel Mwanza was named Best Actress, "Una Noche" became the breakout story of the festival after two of its actors disappeared en route to New York.
Director Lucy Mulloy, cinematographers Trevor Forrest and Shlomo Godder were honored for their work on the film. Actors Dariel Arrechada and Jaiver Nunez Florian both won Best Actor in a Narrative Feature.
Other big winners include Nisha Pahuja's "The World Before Her" for Best Documentary Feature, Bryan Buckley's "Asad" for Best Narrative Short and Frederic Golding's "On the Mat" for Best Feature Film in the festival's online competition.
Florian and Anailin de la Rua de la Torre, were flown from Cuba to the United States...
Director Lucy Mulloy, cinematographers Trevor Forrest and Shlomo Godder were honored for their work on the film. Actors Dariel Arrechada and Jaiver Nunez Florian both won Best Actor in a Narrative Feature.
Other big winners include Nisha Pahuja's "The World Before Her" for Best Documentary Feature, Bryan Buckley's "Asad" for Best Narrative Short and Frederic Golding's "On the Mat" for Best Feature Film in the festival's online competition.
Florian and Anailin de la Rua de la Torre, were flown from Cuba to the United States...
- 4/27/2012
- by The Huffington Post
- Huffington Post
Our critics' picks of this week's openings, plus your last chance to see and what to book now
• Which cultural events are in your diary this week? Tell us in the comments below
Opening this weekTheatre
The Master and Margarita
Bulgakov's poetic maelstrom is transferred from page to stage by Simon McBurney and Complicite. The devil is abroad in a godless Ussr. Barbican, London EC2 (0845 120 7550), to 7 April.
Anne Boleyn
The Globe goes out on tour with Howard Brenton's delightful and intelligent look at English Protestantism and the woman who furthered its cause. New Alexandra, Birmingham (0844 871 3011), 20-24 March, then touring.
Filumena
Samantha Spiro stars as the canny Neapolitan woman who has been a mistress for 25 years but is determined to be a wife. Michael Attenborough directs this new version of Eduardo de Filippo's lively comedy. Almeida, London N1 (012 7359 4404), to 12 May.
Film
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan...
• Which cultural events are in your diary this week? Tell us in the comments below
Opening this weekTheatre
The Master and Margarita
Bulgakov's poetic maelstrom is transferred from page to stage by Simon McBurney and Complicite. The devil is abroad in a godless Ussr. Barbican, London EC2 (0845 120 7550), to 7 April.
Anne Boleyn
The Globe goes out on tour with Howard Brenton's delightful and intelligent look at English Protestantism and the woman who furthered its cause. New Alexandra, Birmingham (0844 871 3011), 20-24 March, then touring.
Filumena
Samantha Spiro stars as the canny Neapolitan woman who has been a mistress for 25 years but is determined to be a wife. Michael Attenborough directs this new version of Eduardo de Filippo's lively comedy. Almeida, London N1 (012 7359 4404), to 12 May.
Film
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan...
- 3/18/2012
- The Guardian - Film News
March 21 will see The Lunchbox Fund hold its annual Book Fair and auction – hosted by Salman Rushdie and Michael Stipe – at the Piedmonte Room, Del Posto.
As well as the chance to enjoy cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and the most beautiful gathering of books to behold, the event will give you the opportunity to bid on one-of-a-kind handmade books created in collaboration with Ruth Lingen by Salman, Stipe, Sting, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Mario Batali, Ben Kingsley, Yoko Ono, Tony Bennett, Shepard Fairey, Deepak Chopra and many more.
An online auction will also take place, which starts on March 20 and can be accessed here.
Read more...
As well as the chance to enjoy cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and the most beautiful gathering of books to behold, the event will give you the opportunity to bid on one-of-a-kind handmade books created in collaboration with Ruth Lingen by Salman, Stipe, Sting, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Mario Batali, Ben Kingsley, Yoko Ono, Tony Bennett, Shepard Fairey, Deepak Chopra and many more.
An online auction will also take place, which starts on March 20 and can be accessed here.
Read more...
- 2/3/2012
- Look to the Stars
With thanks to the good folks at Kickstarter, today we debut our curated page on the crowdfunding platform. At Filmmaker Magazine on Kickstarter you’ll always find a half dozen or so projects that we believe deserve your support. These will be projects by filmmakers we support through the magazine or site (like, for example, those from our annual “25 New Faces” list), those whose work has impressed us in the past, or perhaps just those whose project descriptions are particularly compelling. And while film and video projects will, naturally, comprise the bulk of our recommendations, I hope to sprinkle in projects in other areas like technology, music and publishing. There will always be a short blurb explaining why we’ve made the pick.
We’ve launched the page with the following projects:
* Fourplay. Kyle Henry made our 25 New Faces list following his eerie, assured independent feature, Room. For the last...
We’ve launched the page with the following projects:
* Fourplay. Kyle Henry made our 25 New Faces list following his eerie, assured independent feature, Room. For the last...
- 1/15/2012
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Director George Sluizer says re-edited version will be finished in 2012 and Joaquin Phoenix may fill in for late brother
Eighteen years after River Phoenix's death, the director of his last movie has announced that he will release Dark Blood, the drama the actor was working on when he died of a drug-induced heart attack outside La's Viper Room nightclub.
Dutch director George Sluizer has re-edited footage from the unfinished shoot and believes he can release a final cut of the film next year, according to the Hollywood Reporter. He plans to ask River's brother, Joaquin Phoenix, to provide a voiceover as Boy, the character River was playing when he died, aged 23, 11 days from the film's wrap. "The voices of both brothers are very much alike," said the director.
Dark Blood, which also stars Jonathan Pryce and Judy Davis, sees Phoenix play a hermit living on a nuclear test site.
Eighteen years after River Phoenix's death, the director of his last movie has announced that he will release Dark Blood, the drama the actor was working on when he died of a drug-induced heart attack outside La's Viper Room nightclub.
Dutch director George Sluizer has re-edited footage from the unfinished shoot and believes he can release a final cut of the film next year, according to the Hollywood Reporter. He plans to ask River's brother, Joaquin Phoenix, to provide a voiceover as Boy, the character River was playing when he died, aged 23, 11 days from the film's wrap. "The voices of both brothers are very much alike," said the director.
Dark Blood, which also stars Jonathan Pryce and Judy Davis, sees Phoenix play a hermit living on a nuclear test site.
- 10/19/2011
- by Henry Barnes
- The Guardian - Film News
In celebration of Slacker's 20th anniversary, local filmmakers are re-creating scenes from the Richard Linklater movie for Slacker 2011, a fundraising project benefitting the Texas Filmmakers Production Fund (Tfpf). As we await the August 31 premiere, we're chatting with some of the filmmakers participating in one or more of the short films that will comprise the project -- check out our interviews so far.
Today's interview is with Austin cinematographer and filmmaker Pj Raval. He's directed several short films as well as the feature documentary Trinidad, about the "sex-change capital of the world." His cinematography credits include local movies such as Room and Gretchen, as well as the Academy-Award nominated documentary Trouble the Water and Kyle Henry's Fourplay shorts.
Slackerwood: Which scene from the film did you re-shoot?
Pj Raval: The scene I directed is lovingly referred to as "Rantings" or Scene 22, which originally featured a young woman...
Today's interview is with Austin cinematographer and filmmaker Pj Raval. He's directed several short films as well as the feature documentary Trinidad, about the "sex-change capital of the world." His cinematography credits include local movies such as Room and Gretchen, as well as the Academy-Award nominated documentary Trouble the Water and Kyle Henry's Fourplay shorts.
Slackerwood: Which scene from the film did you re-shoot?
Pj Raval: The scene I directed is lovingly referred to as "Rantings" or Scene 22, which originally featured a young woman...
- 8/17/2011
- by Jette Kernion
- Slackerwood
I ran into filmmaker — and Filmmaker “25 New Face” — Kyle Henry at the American Pavilion in Cannes, and I was startled to learn that he was attending the festival… but skipping his screening. He offered to explain in a blog post.
Your film gets into the Directors’ Fortnight of the Cannes Film Festival, and you can’t stay for your screening… are you crazy?
Well, that was my case this year. My film Fourplay: Tampa, a short that is part of the anthology-of-shorts feature Fourplay, got the magical golden ticket to one of the festival sections at Cannes this year, the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs/Directors’ Fortnight. (For a wonderful short history of the Directors’ Fortnight, check out this article by Scott Foundas.) I’m 40 years old and also a full-time assistant professor at Northwestern University, my first tenure track job, where I’m teaching a full course load with 35 students that need my care and attention.
Your film gets into the Directors’ Fortnight of the Cannes Film Festival, and you can’t stay for your screening… are you crazy?
Well, that was my case this year. My film Fourplay: Tampa, a short that is part of the anthology-of-shorts feature Fourplay, got the magical golden ticket to one of the festival sections at Cannes this year, the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs/Directors’ Fortnight. (For a wonderful short history of the Directors’ Fortnight, check out this article by Scott Foundas.) I’m 40 years old and also a full-time assistant professor at Northwestern University, my first tenure track job, where I’m teaching a full course load with 35 students that need my care and attention.
- 5/24/2011
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
I ran into filmmaker — and Filmmaker “25 New Face” — Kyle Henry at the American Pavilion in Cannes, and I was startled to learn that he was attending the festival… but skipping his screening. He offered to explain in a blog post.
Your film gets into the Directors’ Fortnight of the Cannes Film Festival, and you can’t stay for your screening… are you crazy?
Well, that was my case this year. My film Fourplay: Tampa, a short that is part of the anthology-of-shorts feature Fourplay, got the magical golden ticket to one of the festival sections at Cannes this year, the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs/Directors’ Fortnight. (For a wonderful short history of the Directors’ Fortnight, check out this article by Scott Foundas.) I’m 40 years old and also a full-time assistant professor at Northwestern University, my first tenure track job, where I’m teaching a full course load with 35 students that need my care and attention.
Your film gets into the Directors’ Fortnight of the Cannes Film Festival, and you can’t stay for your screening… are you crazy?
Well, that was my case this year. My film Fourplay: Tampa, a short that is part of the anthology-of-shorts feature Fourplay, got the magical golden ticket to one of the festival sections at Cannes this year, the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs/Directors’ Fortnight. (For a wonderful short history of the Directors’ Fortnight, check out this article by Scott Foundas.) I’m 40 years old and also a full-time assistant professor at Northwestern University, my first tenure track job, where I’m teaching a full course load with 35 students that need my care and attention.
- 5/24/2011
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Laura Gabbert, Scott Hamilton Kennedy, Caroline Libresco, Doug Pray, Heather Rae, Eddie Schmidt, Aj Schnack to Serve as Lab Mentors .
Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, has launched a new Documentary Lab, sponsored by Latino Public Broadcasting, with 14 filmmakers and 9 projects participating. Documentary Lab is an intensive seven-week program, with a main focus of assisting documentary filmmakers on their works-in-progress and providing creative feedback. All of the Film Independent Labs are designed to support strong, original voices develop their filmmaking careers in a nurturing, yet challenging creative environment. Documentary Lab Mentors include filmmakers Laura Gabbert (No Impact Man), Scott Hamilton Kennedy (The Garden), Doug Pray (Art & Copy), Aj Schnack (Convention),Sundance Film Festival Senior Programmer Caroline Libresco, and producers Heather Rae (Frozen River) and Eddie Schmidt (Troubadours). filmmakers Jen Arnold (A Small Act), Jeff Malmberg (Marwencol), Chicken & Egg.s Julie Benello,...
Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, has launched a new Documentary Lab, sponsored by Latino Public Broadcasting, with 14 filmmakers and 9 projects participating. Documentary Lab is an intensive seven-week program, with a main focus of assisting documentary filmmakers on their works-in-progress and providing creative feedback. All of the Film Independent Labs are designed to support strong, original voices develop their filmmaking careers in a nurturing, yet challenging creative environment. Documentary Lab Mentors include filmmakers Laura Gabbert (No Impact Man), Scott Hamilton Kennedy (The Garden), Doug Pray (Art & Copy), Aj Schnack (Convention),Sundance Film Festival Senior Programmer Caroline Libresco, and producers Heather Rae (Frozen River) and Eddie Schmidt (Troubadours). filmmakers Jen Arnold (A Small Act), Jeff Malmberg (Marwencol), Chicken & Egg.s Julie Benello,...
- 3/16/2011
- by Melissa Howland
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Austin, TX – SXSW has released their 2011 SXSW Film Conference lineup, which includes two exciting key panels with Todd Phillips (The Hangover), and Paul Reubens (The Pee-wee Herman Show), as well, the cast and crew from Source Code will also be in attendance, in addition to many other panels and workshops to feed the creative mind.
Additionally, the complete schedule for the event, including screening and panel dates and times will be live starting Tuesday. at: http://schedule.sxsw.com.
SXSW 2011 – Saturday, March 12
A Conversation with Todd Phillips
Director Todd Phillips has forever left his mark on comedy entertainment with his own brand of films exploring, in often-outrageous ways, the nature of male relationships. With films like Old School, Starsky & Hutch, School For Scoundrels, Due Date and The Hangover, the highest grossing R-rated comedy of all time, he has worked with some of today’s most innovative and acclaimed comic actors.
Additionally, the complete schedule for the event, including screening and panel dates and times will be live starting Tuesday. at: http://schedule.sxsw.com.
SXSW 2011 – Saturday, March 12
A Conversation with Todd Phillips
Director Todd Phillips has forever left his mark on comedy entertainment with his own brand of films exploring, in often-outrageous ways, the nature of male relationships. With films like Old School, Starsky & Hutch, School For Scoundrels, Due Date and The Hangover, the highest grossing R-rated comedy of all time, he has worked with some of today’s most innovative and acclaimed comic actors.
- 2/15/2011
- by Albert Art
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
South By Southwest have announced the 2011 SXSW Film Conference lineup, which includes two key conversations with Todd Phillips (director of The Hangover), Paul Reubens (aka Pee-wee Herman), the cast and crew of Super (James Gunn, Ellen Page and Rainn Wilson) and filmmaker Duncan Jones (Source Code, Moon). Additionally, the complete schedule for the event, including screening and panel dates and times are live at: http://schedule.sxsw.com [1]. You can read the full press release after the jump. SXSW Film Festival Announces 2011 Conference Lineup Todd Phillips & Paul Reubens Among Key Panelists Schedule of Screening and Panel Dates & Times Now Live Austin, Texas – February 15, 2011 – The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival is thrilled to announce over 100 Film Conference sessions for the 2011 event, which will take place Friday, March 11 – Saturday, March 19, 2011 in Austin, Texas. These panels, largely selected from proposals submitted via the SXSW PanelPicker™ interface, offer fresh perspectives on...
- 2/15/2011
- by Peter Sciretta
- Slash Film
Got a scoop request? An anonymous tip you’re dying to share? Just want to say hi? You can send any/all of the above to ausielloscoop@ew.com.
Question: I know you are busy and all with getting your fall season tactics together, but can you please give me some Private Practice scoop? —Vernice
Ausiello: Fall season tactics? You tickle me, Vernice. Let’s grab a drink sometime. Here’s your Private spoiler: Something tragic will happen to a major character during November sweeps. It’s probably the darkest story Pp has ever tackled—and this show has tackled some dark stories.
Question: I know you are busy and all with getting your fall season tactics together, but can you please give me some Private Practice scoop? —Vernice
Ausiello: Fall season tactics? You tickle me, Vernice. Let’s grab a drink sometime. Here’s your Private spoiler: Something tragic will happen to a major character during November sweeps. It’s probably the darkest story Pp has ever tackled—and this show has tackled some dark stories.
- 9/16/2010
- by Michael Ausiello
- EW - Inside TV
Director: Kyle Henry Writer: Carlos Trevino Staring: Paul Soileau, Cyndi Williams, Gary Chason Aliya (Paul Soileau), a stunningly styled transvestite prostitute, is hired by Anne (Cyndi Williams) for her dying husband, Tom (Gary Chason). Tom is bedridden and permanently attached to a respirator, he can only communicate via blinking his eyes (one for “no,” two for “yes”) and he only has feeling in his extremities. Lucky for Tom, he can feel his toes! Aliya sure can work wonders with her clients’ toes! Essentially a two-character one-act play, Soileau’s (whom some might know as Christeene or Rebecca Havemeyer) onscreen chemistry with Chason is pitch perfect. Soileau plays Aliya with tenderness and delicacy; occasionally she reveals subtle glimpses of apprehension and fear while navigating her client, obviously not wanting to cause any damage to his fragile being. Directed by Kyle Henry (Room), written by Carlos Trevino and shot by Pj Ravel,...
- 9/5/2010
- by Don Simpson
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
Local filmmaker Kyle Henry, whose feature Room played Cannes in 2005, is preparing to shoot a short film called Tampa, the third in a series of four planned shorts called Fourplay. Actor/writer Carlos Trevino has written the script, and the director of photography will be Pj Raval (Trouble the Water, Trinidad).
Now all Tampa needs is a cast, and Vicky Boone is working on that -- an Austin casting director who made a very funny short film herself in 2005, Attack of the Bride Monster (which Raval also Dp'd). A message posted to the Austin Film Casting mailing list details the roles the production needs to fill. I've reposted all the info after the jump. The deadline for sending your picture and resume to Boone is today (Jan. 18), so if you think you're perfect for one of these characters, get cracking.
The Fourplay blog, which you must be 18 to read, calls...
Now all Tampa needs is a cast, and Vicky Boone is working on that -- an Austin casting director who made a very funny short film herself in 2005, Attack of the Bride Monster (which Raval also Dp'd). A message posted to the Austin Film Casting mailing list details the roles the production needs to fill. I've reposted all the info after the jump. The deadline for sending your picture and resume to Boone is today (Jan. 18), so if you think you're perfect for one of these characters, get cracking.
The Fourplay blog, which you must be 18 to read, calls...
- 1/18/2010
- by Jette Kernion
- Slackerwood
Filmmaker Kyle Henry was one of our "25 New Faces" in 2006 on the basis of his excellent debut feature, Room, and now he's blogging about his fascinating follow-up, Fourplay. Executive produced by Jim McKay and Michael Stipe, and produced by Jason Wehling, Fourplay is a series of short films highlighting sexual transgressions, and, as the blog makes clear, the final product may be compiled into a feature, released as a series of shorts, or may be part of some other, more fluid kind of format. From the description of the film on the blog: Four transgressions, four transmissions, four true tales of sexual intimacy: in Austin, a young heterosexual couple debate independence vs conceiving and arrive at a startling compromise; in Tampa, a...
- 11/23/2009
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Actress Laura Linney was in for a big shock when she read out the 2006 Independent Spirit Awards nominations yesterday - her hit new movie The Squid Amd The Whale picked up six nods. Noah Baumbach's autobiographical tale of two boys dealing with their parents' divorce, led the list of nominees for the indie film prize-giving, which traditionally takes place on the eve of the Oscars. The film will compete for Best Feature along with Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain, Capote, The Three Burials Of Melquiades Estrada and Good Night, And Good Luck, while stars Linney and Jeff Daniels have both been nominated as Best Actress and Best Actor respectively. Daniels will be up against Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote), Terrence Howard (Hustle & Flow), Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain) and David Strathairn (Good Night, And Good Luck). Meanwhile, Linney will compete for the Best Actress prize with Felicity Huffman (Transamerica), Dina Korzun (Forty Shades Of Blue), S. Epatha Merkerson (Lackawanna Blues) and Cyndi Williams (Room).
- 11/30/2005
- WENN
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