Archive for the 'documentary' Category

Filed under: Documentary, Cannes, Celebrities and Controversy, Movie Marketing, Politics

You know you’re an expert at causing controversy when you earn your very own investigation from the Treasury Department. So, we should all probably get comfortable with the arrival of Michael Moore’s new documentary Sicko, which just recently screened at Cannes, and will be stirring up who knows what kind of trouble as its release date gets closer. Moviefone is now hosting the trailer for the documentary, which gives us a look at what looks to be another well-meaning, if not-a-little-biased entry from the socially conscious filmmaker. It includes a quick look at the stunt that landed Moore in trouble with the Treasury Department in the first place.

The film, as you probably know, is Moore’s expose of the U.S. health care system. The response to it has been pretty positive so far, and inexplicably the doc even managed to get thumbs up from Fox News. But not everyone is feeling the love for the film — a group of disgruntled Canadian journalists recently confronted the filmmaker at a press conference claiming, “We Canucks were taking issue with the large liberties Sicko takes with the facts.” Mainly, their problem is that Moore patronized Canada by claiming their health-care system was problem-free, which, as I am sure my fellow countrymen know, is not the case. Sicko is set to hit theaters June 29th.

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Filed under: Documentary, Deals, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand

If someone gave you the option of either jumping in a pool of acid or interviewing Mike Tyson for thirty hours, which one would you choose? Well, we know which route director James Toback took because he’s currently prepping a new documentary based on the rise and fall of this legendary boxer. With completion set for this fall, Tyson will cover it all — I mean, tell me you’re not dying to find out how one man can go from being married to the ultra hot Robin Givens to biting the ear off Evander Holyfield. Who does sh*t like that? I guess we’re about to find out.

At one time, Iron Mike was regarded as the greatest boxer in the world; the man was a machine, with guns the size of skyscrapers. However, the pressure to perform — coupled with the money, the power and the glory — transformed this lightening bolt into a monster. A monster, mind you, who sounded like a seven year-old. Toback, who’s probably best known for helping the 1987 comedy The Pick-up Artist, has been fascinated with Tyson since meeting back in 1985; so much so that the director gave Tyson roles in two of his more recent films (Black and White, When Will I Be Loved). According to Toback, “[Tyson] was honest about all the things that have highlighted his life, from the bitter divorce, the ear-biting, prison, to his becoming a sex addict. He is self-aware, smart and a totally fractured personality, and he made himself completely vulnerable.” Personally, I could care less about the man. In my opinion, once you start beating women (regardless of your state of mind or how many drugs you’re on), I have no further interest in anything you might have to say. But that’s me. No word yet on a release date; ICM is scheduled to sell all worldwide rights.

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Filed under: Documentary, Celebrities and Controversy, The Weinstein Co., Politics, Michael Moore

So yes, you’ve probably heard more about Michael Moore in the last two days than you ever needed to hear in, say, a month: First there was the announcement of the June 29 release date for Moore’s health-care documentary Sicko, then the news that Moore is under federal investigation for taking Sept. 11 workers to Cuba, and let’s not forget the Weinstein Company’s hiring of a political strategist to run interference when Moore inevitably gets sued.

But finally we have something actually related to the movie itself — yup, we’ve snagged key art from the poster for Sicko. We’re told that the tagline for the poster, when it’s finished, will be “This might hurt a little,” and while I can’t wait to see what sort of treatment the title is going to get, I have to say the sight of Michael Moore pulling on the rubber gloves is already creeping me out enough. (Click on the art for a larger image.)

Want Moore? (Sorry, couldn’t resist.) Check out three exclusive photos from Sicko, after the jump.

Continue reading ‘Sicko’ Key Art and Photos: Exclusive First Look

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Filed under: Documentary, Music & Musicals, Fandom, Newsstand

It seems like you aren’t a music legend these days unless you have your own biographical film. Variety has reported that rock legend Van Morrison (born George Ivan Morrison) had been compiling material for a documentary about his life and career, but the production has stalled. In talking about the idea, Morrison said, “I have all this material collected and I realized we weren’t getting past 1968. We were really squeezing everything in. It was getting very complicated and I realized, ‘I need someone to collaborate with,’ so I just put it all aside for now.”

Morrison also spoke about his relationship with the movies over the years and some of the great and not-so-great uses of his music — Julia Roberts trying on silly hats to the strains of Brown-Eyed Girl comes immediately to mind. Morrison is pretty protective of his music and still likes to watch a clip of the film that wants to use one of his songs; saying, “when top directors ask to use one of your songs. If Neil Jordan wants to use a song, you can be pretty sure he’s going to use it appropriately and he’s going to be sensitive to the material.” The interview comes on the heels of the release of Morrison’s soundtrack compilation Van Morrison at the Movies: The Soundtrack Hits. So until Van Morrison finds a collaborator for his own biopic, we’ll have to settle for hearing his music in other films.

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Filed under: Documentary, Columns, 400 Screens, 400 Blows, Cinematical Indie

Knowledgeable people have been talking a lot about documentaries lately, about how new, smaller digital technology is allowing people to get closer to their subjects — not to mention producing films much more cheaply. It’s a renaissance for documentaries, they say. Eight documentaries released in 2006 cracked the list of the top 100 highest-grossing documentaries of all time, and another 15 currently reside on the second hundred.

But here’s a simple question: how many of these would anyone want to watch a second time? How many have a shelf life? For example, here’s my personal documentary “shelf life” top five: Crumb (1995, Terry Zwigoff), Fast, Cheap & Out of Control (1997, Errol Morris), Lessons of Darkness (1992, Werner Herzog), To Be and to Have (2002, Nicolas Philibert) and My Voyage to Italy (1999, Martin Scorsese).

Continue reading Jeffrey M. Anderson’s 400 Screens, 400 Blows - Docs Around the Clock

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Filed under: Documentary, Independent, Sundance, Theatrical Reviews, Cinematical Indie

If you can imagine what it would be like to try to document the life of one of your closest friends after their death, and to assemble everything into feature film length, you can probably see how difficult the process might be. This is what director Julien Temple had to do while he directed Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten, about the lead singer for one of the world’s best known bands, The Clash. Temple’s documentary utilizes an enormous amount of archival footage, personal interviews, news interviews, vintage photos, audio recordings and footage that he himself had been filming since 1976. Temple also had access to Strummer’s personal notebooks, writings and recordings, so they feature heavily in the doc. He uses Strummer’s doodles and writings in animations that serve as transitions between scenes, or to underscore different pieces of the film. Of course, the main element that keeps everything sticking together is Joe Strummer and his music.

Continue reading Sundance Review: Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten

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