Interview: ‘Quirky Female Protagonist’ Creator Shares Her Secrets [Embarrassed Giggle]
I caught up with the creator of web series “Quirky Female Protagonist” at this year’s LA Film Festival. She shared her secrets with me.
‘Don’t Think Twice’ with Keegan-Michael Key – Success Can Be Both Funny and Sad – But Mostly Funny
The new dramedy “Don’t Think Twice” begins as if it’s a documentary on how to do improv. Then the members of the fictional improv group, The Commune, violate all the rules in their improv dire results, in their personal lives.
‘Opening Night’ – A Screenwriting School in Ninety Minutes
The LA Film Festival ‘Opening Night’ world premiere was Screenwriting 101 in 90 minutes. Filmmakers did everything right in this film, which stars Topher Grace as a failed Broadway star.
‘Girl Flu’ – A Movie About Firsts that Gives New Meaning to the Phrase ‘Period Piece’
In Hollywood parlance, a “period piece” is a script or film that takes place in the past. ‘Girl Flu’, a film written and directed by Dorie Barton, gave a new meaning to that phrase. It’s a film about firsts. Without a doubt, it is the only film you’ll ever call charming, funny and heartwarming that has menstruation as its focus.
LA Film Fest: Kiernan Shipka of ‘Mad Men’ and Meg Ryan make ‘Fan Girl’ Fun
‘Fan Girl’, by director Paul Jarrett and screenwriter Gina O’Brien, was a total trip when it premiered at the LA Film Festival. A “trip”? Dude, that’s so last century. If there is anything this movie isn’t, it’s last century. Fan Girl is a winner of a movie because of the writing, the casting, and the acting. If all that works together, the director deserves credit as well. On the surface Fan Girl is a story of teenager Telulah Farrow, played by Kiernan Shipka (Mad Men, Flowers in the Attic), who adulates the punk band All Time Low. She thinks she needs to connect with the band and create a music video for her filmmaking class to launch her movie career. What she really needs, and the story beneath the surface, is to learn what is really important in human relationships.
LA Film Fest: Bits and Pieces
(First published on blogcritics.org) This year’s LA Film Fest, sponsored by Film Independent, continued to be a remarkable cultural achievement. But within its 10-day run there were highs and lows. Family Day, coinciding with the premier of My Little Pony: Equestria Girls was a great event for kids and parents. I’ve attended a lot of film festivals and this […]
LA Film Fest – ‘Europa Report’
(First published on blogcritics.org) Europa Report is “hard” sci-fi. That means that its plot cannot be separated from the science involved. This distinguishes it from, for instance, the original Star Wars, which I love, because the plot of Star Wars could be easily moved to a pirate ship, the old west or WWII. Does that mean Europa Report is nerdy or […]
LA Film Fest: ‘The Spectacular Now’
(First published on blogcritics.org) As this film got underway, I found myself thinking, “I’m not going to enjoy this. Well, that scene was pretty good, but I’m going to write a bad review.” The protagonist was a jerk. OK, he was a charming jerk, as many of them are. He also reminded me of a […]
LA Film Fest: ‘My Stolen Revolution’
Originally published on blogcritics.org “My brother refused to tell the authorities where I was hiding, and because of that he was executed,” explained Nahid Persson Sarvestani, creator of the documentary My Stolen Revolution, which held its North American premiere at the LA Film Fest. Sarvestani was a member of the resistance to the Shah of Iran, participating in the […]
LA Film Fest: When (Creative) Worlds Collide
(First published on blogcritics.org) On June 23, 2013, at the LA Film Fest worlds collided. This was no hokey sci-fi flick, but a discussion of the impact of new media on the movie industry and the art of storytelling. Hollywood and Silicon Valley Collide: Immersion, Interactivity and Narrative Expansion brought together panelists Florian Henckel Von Donnersmark (The Lives of Others, The […]
LA Film Fest: ‘Ain’t Them Bodies Saints’
Originally published on blogcritics.org Writer/director David Lowery has what seems like a cliché story. In 1970s Texas, an outlaw escapes from prison to find the wife and the daughter he’s never met. But Lowery paints this story with a different, intimate, film-noir brush. Lowery’s Ain’t Them Bodies Saints opened at the LA Film Festival Saturday, June 15. He is aided in […]
LA Film Fest: ‘Crystal Fairy’
(First published on blogcritics.org) I don’t like hippies or recreational drug use and that’s what Sebastián Silva’s Crystal Fairy is all about. Strangely, I enjoyed the film and recommend it. Part of the Los Angeles Film Festival Summer Showcase series, Crystal Fairy chronicles the road-trip and psychedelic-trip adventures of Jamie, played by Michael Cera, (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Arrested […]
Over the Top: A Conversation with John Lithgow at the LA Film Festival
(Originally published on blogcritics.org) “I’m always glad to publicly discuss a great subject – me!” was John Lithgow’s tongue-in-cheek opener at the Los Angeles Film Festival for an evening of humorous and insightful stories about movies and acting. “Over the Top: A Conversation with John Lithgow” was moderated by David Anson, Artistic Director for the […]
Offbeat Rom-Com Cyrus Premieres at LA Film Festival
(Originally published on blogcritics.org) “We shot improvisational style and edited documentary style,” explained Mark of the brothers Duplass. Mark and Jay Duplass, screenwriters and directors, used the indie talents they developed on earlier projects to bring to life Cyrus, a creepy romantic comedy which premiered June 18 at the Los Angeles Film Festival. Moving on up […]
Los Angeles Film Festival Features Affleck, Stallone, and Lithgow
(Originally published on blogcritics.org) LA is big. Big time, big celebrities, and one of the world’s biggest, most influential cinematic events, the Los Angeles Film Festival (LAFF). LAFF, running June 17-27, enters its 17th year with over 200 features, shorts, and music videos from more than 30 countries with special appearances by Ben Affleck, John […]
