blog posts in movies
05/20/2009 • comments ()
metal gods
Posted by Zadi Diaz

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Metal Gods
, a new film by Matt Porterfield, follows the lives of two damaged teenagers living in a Baltimore suburb. We follow Sean and Jenny's life routine over the course of a week, revealing who they are as they're thrown together by a sudden act of violence.

Quiet complexity comes to mind when I look at the test footage. It'll be cool to see the finished film, which begins shooting this summer. You can make a donation and contribute to the production of the film.

Check out some of the casting test footage with Sky Ferriera, who plays Jenny in the film.

04/29/2009 • comments ()
why piracy is winning against the studios
Posted by Steve Woolf

On this week's show we talked at some length about the firestorm of coverage and conjecture surrounding the conviction of the Pirate Bay founders on charges of aiding copyright infringement in a Swedish court. Warners, Fox, Sony, and EMI led the fight and hailed it as a great victory.

They couldn't be more wrong.

» This article continues

04/29/2009 • comments ()
brett gaylor RIPs it up with his remix manifesto
Posted by Zadi Diaz

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With all that's happening in online entertainment, it's inspiring to see people take more innovative approaches to making and sharing media. Case in point, Brett Gaylor, creator of Open Source Cinema.

Long-time videoblogger, web activist, and filmmaker, Brett's most recent project is an open source documentary about copyright and remix culture. RiP: A Remix Manifesto, focuses on the state of media in the age of free-flowing information. Featuring Girl Talk, Lawrence Lessig, Gilberto Gil, and Cory Doctorow, all influential media figures, the film is set to really delve into some serious issues.

» This article continues

04/06/2009 • comments ()
hybrid cars are "to die for"
Posted by Paul Dateh

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If you've been itching to watch a terribly awful movie this year, Voltage Pictures may have what you're looking for. In what Gizmodo calls "possibly the best worst movie of 2009", "Hybrid" features an evil car that goes around killing people. Seriously.

"Hybrid" is still in post-production, so you'll just have to wait to see the awesome horror the flick has in store. Or, if you simply can't wait, you could always ask a friend to run you over with a Prius.

[ Via: Philip of Wong Fu Productions ]

filed: movies, wtf
tags: cars, horror
01/28/2009 • comments ()
change is in the air for the movie industry
Posted by Steve Woolf

Still of Freida Pinto as Latika from Slumdog Millionaire

I couldn't help notice the number of relatively small films that were nominated for Oscars this year. In the Best Picture category alone, The Reader and Slumdog Millionaire are up against movies with huge budgets like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. "Small" is a relative term, since these films all had budgets in the millions. But I'm getting hopeful that we're seeing the start of a new trend in studio filmmaking; one where we have massive $200MM tentpole projects like The Dark Knight and a myriad of small films designed to be profitable by new methods of marketing and distribution online.

» This article continues

11/18/2008 • comments ()
jessica mae stover is using crowd-funding to make her movie
Posted by Steve Woolf

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Artemis Eternal is a movie created by filmmaker Jessica Mae Stover that aspires to create a studio-quality short film, but without the studio. She could have gone to wealthy private investors to raise the money, but instead she is using crowd-funding to raise the budget needed to shoot her picture. This is a very new type of model for movies that only the web could have enabled, and with the right energy and approach, it definitely sounds like she is really going to make it happen.

» This article continues

11/15/2008 • comments ()
dj:la short film is los angeles, remixed
Posted by Paul Dateh

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In DJ:LA, filmmakers Jerry Chan and Mitchel Dumlao combine the sights and sounds of Los Angeles with hip-hop music to create one of the most innovative short films I have ever seen.

» This article continues

[ Via: via: militantangeleno ]

09/29/2008 • comments ()
bill murray on ghostbusters 3
Posted by Rick Rey

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Wall Street is disintegrating before our very eyes, but at least Bil Murrary is in for Ghostbusters 3! Well not officially, but it looks promising. Apparently a few of the writers from The Office are doing the latest script re-write. If it's half as good as the original and only half as bad as the sequel, I think most fans will be satisfied.

On a related note, anyone else pumped about the new GB game supposedly coming out next month?

[ Via: (via scifi scanner) ]

filed: movies
tags: movies, sci-fi
09/02/2008 • comments ()
the king of voiceovers dies
Posted by Zadi Diaz


If you haven't heard yet, Don LaFontaine, otherwise known as the "In a world..." guy passed away yesterday of complications from a collapsed lung. He was 68 years old.

LaFontaine had done over 750,000 television spots and 5,000 movie trailers. Wow.

08/28/2008 • comments ()
stream full-length chiptunes documentary "reformat the planet"
Posted by Rick Rey

Reformat the Planet

A few months ago, I posted an interview Zadi did with two of the people behind the chiptunes documentary Reformat the Planet. This week Pitchfork.tv is streaming the full length version of the film. Definitely check it out!

Reformat the Planet is a documentary about the "chiptunes" music scene and its premiere event -- the annual Blip Festival in New York. Chiptunes music is inspired by video game and computer soundtracks of the 80's and 90's -- when music was synthesized in real-time by a sound chip capable of only a limited number of sounds.
08/20/2008 • comments ()
movie poster game
Posted by Sarah Atwood
can
you

Take one letter out of a movie poster...can you guess which movie its from? This actually sounded pretty easy to me. Then I stared at the letters and stared and stared. None of the movies are obscure and the font's are pretty specific but unfortunately for me, when the letter was put next to another letter that is from a different movie, my brain went all jumbly.

I was only able to get 3 correct. Boo! What's your score? The Empire Poster Quiz

filed: movies
tags: empire, movie, poster
07/17/2008 • comments ()
sarah's rave reviews!
Posted by Sarah Atwood

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With The Dark Knight opening this weekend...which you all are going to LUV...I've got superheroes on the brain. So, I checked out some superhuman entertainment that you might want to check out too!

» This article continues

07/09/2008 • comments ()
interview: second skin
Posted by Annie Tsai

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On Thursday's episode, Zadi talked to Peter Brauer and Juan Carlos Piñeiro, the director and producer of Second Skin, a film about MMOs. The film goes way beyond the video game addiction that gets so much attention in traditional press and covers the social aspects of games, both virtually and in real life. World of Warcraft, Second Life, and Everquest create worlds where players can truly come as they are, or take on entirely different personas. Second Skin asks whether or not our lives are really becoming encapsulated inside these virtual worlds.

» This article continues

07/09/2008 • comments ()
movie stereotypes i love - bad dancer wins over crowd
Posted by Rick Rey

In this first installment of Movie Stereotypes I Love, check out this example of the classic "bad dancer eventually wins over crowd" moment by Patrick Dempsey in Can't Buy My Love.

This stereotype is usually found in teen movies during a pivotal school dance scene where the main character puts it all on the line. You'll find another great example in Michael J. Fox's coming-of-age opus Teen Wolf.

The underlying message here is just be yourself! Who cares if they call you a spaz. Just because you aren't the best dancer in the world, it doesn't mean you can't get out there and have fun with the cool kids. Who knows, you may be pleasantly surprised by other people's reactions.

(cross-posted to OMGRICK)

filed: funny, movies
tags: 80s, dancing
04/26/2008 • comments ()
EXTRA! the golden egg
Posted by Rick Rey

Here's a short interview with J. Rick Castaneda, Director of the short film The Golden Egg. See more shorts from Rick and his team at Psychic Bunny.

filed: movies
tags: sxsw, video
04/21/2008 • comments ()
EXTRA! interview with chris burke and paul owens of "reformat the planet"
Posted by Rick Rey

Reformat the Planet is a documentary about the "chiptunes" music scene and its premiere event -- the annual Blip Festival in New York. Chiptunes music is inspired by video game and computer soundtracks of the 80's and 90's -- when music was synthesized in real-time by a sound chip capable of only a limited number of sounds.

In this interview, Zadi speaks to Paul Owens, the director of the film, and Chris Burke, one of the most recognized chiptunes artists in the scene. Chris also gave us a private live performance, which you can watch in its entirety.

03/03/2008 • comments ()
cate blanchett on indy mogul!
Posted by Steve Woolf

Rounding out the EPIC-FU and Indy Mogul videos from the Spirit Awards, the good people from Indy Mogul shot this great video of Cate Blanchett in the press tent after winning her Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress. They also grabbed an interview with fellow New Yorker Marcus Carl Franklin. Great job, Indy Mogul'ers!

tags: movies
02/25/2008 • comments ()
juno's diablo cody at independent spirit awards
Posted by Zadi Diaz


Yesterday we got a chance to hang out and talk to a lot of interesting people at the Independent Spirit Awards. Here, Juno screenwriter, Diablo Cody, answers some questions in the press room.

(Sorry about the shaky camera. The other one was in use.)

tags: movies
02/24/2008 • comments ()
pulp fiction in typography
Posted by Steve Woolf

I just love this too much. An example of how even the most simple visuals can be compelling in the hands of a talented artist.

[ Via: [Via Eva Olive] ]

02/12/2008 • comments ()
there will be badass billboards
Posted by Rick Rey
there will be badass billboards

Check out this amazing piece of billboard graffiti by AUGOR in LA at Melrose & Mansfield. Pay attention to the detail and integration with the original billboard art. PT Anderson should be proud.

More pics and info at LAist.

filed: art, movies
tags: art, graffiti
02/11/2008 • comments ()
dark knight trailer in legovision
Posted by Rick Rey

YouTube user Keshen8 recreated the official Dark Knight trailer (embedded after the jump) shot-for-shot using Legos. There's a higher quality version of the video on Stage 6.

» This article continues

filed: art, movies, wtf
tags: movies, weird
02/11/2008 • comments ()
second skin
Posted by Zadi Diaz


I saw this trailer and got pretty excited. An official selection of the 2008 SXSW film festival, Second Skin takes a look at the people and lives of those who inhabit Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) games like World of Warcraft, Everquest, and Second Life.

Second Skin introduces us to couples who have fallen in love without meeting, disabled players who have found new purpose, addicts, Chinese gold-farming sweatshop workers, wealthy online entrepreneurs and legendary guild leaders - all living in a world that doesn't quite exist.

Sounds pretty damn awesome. Can't wait to see it.

tags: movies
01/26/2008 • comments ()
wtf trailer of the week
Posted by Zadi Diaz


I can't explain what this is, or what it means, but it is awesomeness. Can someone please translate? :)

filed: movies, wtf
tags: movies
01/23/2008 • comments ()
profiting through tragedy
Posted by Rick Rey
Heath Ledger and Best Buy
A shopper took this photo inside Best Buy only a few hours after Heath Ledger's death was announced. I'm not easily offended, but this seems *a bit* rushed. Don't ya think?


Thanks to Josh for the heads up. Read more at Best Week Ever.

filed: movies
tags: celebrity
01/11/2008 • comments ()
romero goes indie for diary of the dead
Posted by Rick Rey

Looks like George Romero is going back to his indie roots. Check out the trailer (just released today) for Diary of the Dead -- in theaters February 15th. It's supposedly the first film he's had complete control over since the original Night of the Living Dead. I like the "Blair Witch" approach to horror films, so this might be worthy of Romero's name after all -- hey it can't be worse than 2005's Land of the Dead. Wow that was bad.

» This article continues

filed: movies
tags: movies
12/31/2007 • comments ()
we live in public
Posted by Zadi Diaz

We live in public trailer from RADAR on Vimeo.


I saw my friend Kenyatta twitter about this a few days ago, and just recently my other friend Jay was discussing it in the videoblogging group.

If you haven't seen it yet, definitely check out web entrepreneur/multi-media artist Josh Harris' trailer for his new documentary We Live In Public. It's a socio-political and artistic experiment that looks at what happens as we propel ourselves into lives that are on perpetual public display via the web. Eight years in the making, the million dollar project hooks up 32 web cams in a Manhattan loft that's set up bunker-style and records the lives of a 100 volunteer artists/guinea pigs while discussing the implications of the project as it d/evolves into madness. It asks the question: Will we survive in public?

filed: art, movies
tags: art, movies
12/11/2007 • comments ()
the machine girl will kick your ass!
Posted by Zadi Diaz

Never double-cross a Japanese schoolgirl. :)

Noboru Iguchi's latest film, Kataude Mashin Garu, will make you laugh and cringe at the same time. Always the best.

filed: movies
tags: pulp