Hola! Father Geek esta aqui con Coffin Joe Jr. and another issue of our popular Latin-AICN Column for Tuesdays, pero before I get to Joe's report there are some cosas that came directly to ol' Father Geek here in Austin, Texas that I want to share with all of you...
I´m writing to you from Paraguay/South America. I recently completed a 30 minute video (it took me and my brother 2 years to complete) and it´s opening in theatres here tomorrow. It´s a big deal because we don´t have a film industry here in Paraguay and we know it´s video, but we´re giving it the feature film marketing treatment. Suspension of disbelief or what have you. We´ve even set up an oficial site which I´d like you all to visit and tell me what you think of it. Just click on unaymedia.net and enjoy.
The guy who designed the site was also my editor and he´s currently living in San Diego, USA.
Keep up the great work.
Luis Aguirre(h)
PARAGUAY... That's a first for Father Geek. I've never gotten an E-mail from there before... Ahora, un otra contribucion pobre de mi parte...
alesinjale here, from san anto...
not much of a scoop, but interesting nonetheless. the beautiful san antonio downtown enchilada red library -you have to see it to know what im talking about-had most of its first 2 floors closed off today. Roberto Rodriguez was in town doing some filming for Spy Kids 2. While I didn't see any of the stars, there was chingos of kids, all dressed in little black schoolkid uniforms. As I was leaving, the local news trucks were pulling up so its no real secret.
and that's that from this broke vato
Father Geek was with Harry a few days ago at the Austin Aeropuerto Film Studio sound stage shoot with Khan. The film's got a real classic sci-fi look to it. The submarine set we were on could easily pass for the bridge of some command ship in Star Fleet right down to the clothes some of the actors were wearing. Annnnnd Robert's storyboard book, well, this one is going to WOW you! Now here's another very enjoyable little report sent to us here at Geek Headquarters from a bonita nueva cuate...
I'm bummed I didn't get to meet you on set the other day. I know I'm no Ricardo Montalban -- but had I known you were there I would have thanked you for a very nice review of JUDAS KISS a couple years back. That movie is very close to my heart and didn't get much attention in this country. That director (Sebastian Gutierrez) and I just did this 3-mil, 18-day Creature Feature for Stan Winston (HBO) called SHE CREATURE which there's a chance you might like.
Take care,
Carla Gugino
How cool is that, I wonder if her little Creature flick is based on the old 1956 SHE CREATURE from Sam Arkoff with the lovely Cathy Downs and that phantastic iconic costume by the great Paul Blaisdell? I do know Rufus Sewell is her (Carla's) co-star and that Arkoff and his son produced along with Winston. Someone told me the monster was like an undersea version of the Alien Queen-Mother, but I don't know because I haven't seen the feature. I'd love a tape of it if someone out there has a copy. Now I have one more bit for all you CineLocos that read us every week...
Attention all Cinéma Bis lovers,
On CANAL+'s website, cult Spanish filmmaker Jess Franco tells all in an exclusive interview!
Just Click Here To Go To It...
During the November 2 evening of Cinéma Bis at the Cinémathèque des Grands
Boulevards in Paris, Jess Franco granted us an exclusive interview, taking a
look back at his career, films, tastes and the first time he met Orson
Welles. A true lesson in independent cinema!
Check that out, its too cool. Well that's all for Father Geek, here's Coffin Joe Jr...
Latin-AICN
Hello there, how is everybody doing? Coffin Joe Jr. is here for one more week of news and reviews from the Latin world of filmmaking. Sorry I wasn´t with you guys last week, technical difficulties, but hey we´re back.
I saw Jeepers Creepers yesterday for the second time, and I still enjoyed the heck out of it, going to get the DVD when it comes out too. It´s really cool to see a genre flick with sort of a hip, modern sensibility, but rooted in classic horror tradition. That monster is so cool, and there´s a good chance that McFarlane Toys is going to make an action figure of it, for next year´s line of the Monster Maniacs series. Can´t wait.
Anyway, enough of me talking, here´s this week´s column.
MEXICO
-I got the following message in my e-mail this week, regarding the Mexican choice for next year´s Academy Awards. Thanks to Dante for the scoop. Read on my creepy little fiends:
"Greetings Coffin,
You know how it goes: "long time reader, first time writer". I´ve been a longtime fan of the AICN website and being myself from Mexico, i´ve particularly enjoyed your contributions to the site. Truth is, I really don´t have any real insider scoop but since i haven´t seen you tackle this issue, i´ll just get to the point: this Friday 9th the Mexican Academy of Cinematographical Arts and Sciences announced the film they selected to represent Mexico in the category of Best Foreign Film at the Oscars: Maryse Sistach´s"Perfume de violetas".
However, I must state that I do not think that it was a wise decision, considering the other possible candidates included Cuarón´s"Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN" as well as Guillermo del Toro´s "EL ESPINAZO DEL DIABLO", undoubtedly much more popular films internationally, which would have favoured us greatly. Other candidates were "De ida y vuelta", "De la calle", "Guerrero", "Demasiado amor" and "Sin dejar huella".
I never thought much of the Oscars, but I do know that our Academy could have seen the larger picture and realized the potential such publicity would have benefited our film industry, knowing "Amores perros" got such rave reviews last year and, were it not because of that marvelous little film called "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", would have probably won us the golden statuette. But instead they (we) chose the under(budget)dog no one has heard much of. Sigh. Who knows? Maybe we get lucky and everyone loves it. But something in my gut tells me a better movie (possibly the french with their "Amélie") will trounce us without mercy.
Oh well. What´s done is done. I just hope you post this or acknowledge it, since I believe it is important that it´s known. Thank you for your time.
Call me: Dante Jerusalem"
BRAZIL
-I got this e-mail a while back, but since we had no column last week, I´m only posting this now, regarding the onslaught of Harry Potter stuff. Check it out:
"Hi there,
I'm Renato Silveira, from the Brazilian website "Cinema em Cena". The marketing over "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" has arrived in Brazil with full power. Warner has placed an enormous 18 story banner of the film on the two sides of an office building here in São Paulo . The studio is planning to leave it there until Christmas, when it will be replaced by other images from the movie, to promote the end of the year's festivities. Harry Potter opens in Brazil on November 23th.
Renato"
COFFIN JOE JR. MOVIE REVIEWS
"Lavoura Arcaica"
(Brazil - 2001)
Director: Luiz Fernando Carvalho
(Brazil - 2001) Director: Luiz Fernando Carvalho
This movie was shown at the São Paulo Film Fest a couple of weeks ago, but I decided to skip it, because the idea of watching an art house movie that runs for 3 hours did not strike me as something very appealing, sorry, just not my cup of tea. There was some serious buzz around this one, had glowing reviews, and one friend of mine talked about the cinematography, but I just didn´t feel like checking it out at the time. Well, a couple of weeks have gone by, the movie has opened in theatres here in São Paulo, and I felt like going to, at least, take a look at the damn thing. I had no expectations whatsoever, I knew nothing about the plot, I just went for it, praying for something that wouldn´t put me to sleep. I think I got my money´s worth. "Lavoura Arcaica" is pretty good, dense, difficult sometimes, but a rewarding experience for those who choose to go along for the ride.
The cinematography, by D.P. Walter Carvalho ("Central Station"), really is outstanding, but this movie has a lot more to offer, and the visuals are not too flashy or just coll for the sake of being cool, they do complement the story, and are an integral part of the storytelling. The images do speak volumes in this case, when the characters don´t say it, their behavior is captured in beautiful shots that astound visually, while moving things forward, their actions do the talking. Really good stuff. The performances are all on the same level of emotional intensity, and the tragic aspects of the script are dealt in a very true and real way. Impressive acting from young actor Selton Mello in particular. The family drama is subdued by the quietly emotional performances, and it still has a great impact on the viewer, because the cast is so sharp. There´s never an easy resolution to things, and when the shit hits the fan, and all the whispers become screams, the movie shifts gears in a major way, with the big drama, which is pulled off by the director and his cast, because they set up the complicated relationships very well from the beginning.
The father/son relationship depicted in the movie is specially difficult, because it is so harsh. No apologies from anyone, it is painfully honest, dealing with miscommunication in a very real manner. The family party is another tough scene to sit through. I won´t spoil a damn thing, not even a plot description, because, this movie is so much more. I´m just rambling now, sorry, but this movie really is a whole different beast, not average stuff, something with a bit more meat for the adventurous viewer. I liked it, but I don´t think I would watch it again though. Emotionally demanding, Mentally exhausting, really heavy stuff. Recommended by your pal Coffin Joe Jr., see it at least once if you can catch it in a film fest.
"Lavoura Arcaica" won the "Best Artistic Contribution" award at this year´s Montréal World Film Festival.
Check out the film´s official site at: www.lavouraarcaica.com.br
