Not Quite the Joy of Cooking
Written by Alejandro Riera
Thursday, 06 August 2009 09:00
“Julie & Julia” is one lousy “food porn” film. The food is lit flatly, unappetizingly. It lacks sensuality. You can actually watch this film on an empty stomach, whereas films like “Barbette’s Feast,” “Eat Drink Man Woman,” “Big Night” and “Like Water for Chocolate” makes you want to splurge on a huge dinner at a four-star restaurant right after the movie. The food is so sensually shot in those films that you really want to make love to it. The food in “Julie & Julia”? Well, let me put it this way: while Julia Child would easily win the “Top Chef Masters” reality show on Bravo, Gordon Ramsay would have no problem in booting out Julie Powell from his “Hell’s Kitchen” with the appropriate f-bomb.
The second biggest problem with “Julie & Julia” is that story is not interesting at all. In weaving her inconsequential story with Child’s more interesting one (the movie is based on Powell’s “Julie & Julia” and on Child’s “My Life in France”), director and writer Nora Ephron delivers a movie that stalls and stops for a good two hours.
To read entire review goto www.cafemagazine.com/index.php/component/content/article/224/224
Source: CafeMagazine.com
Latino Filmmakers & Producers Wanted - Entertainment Financing and Pitch Track at CHCC Conference
The 30th Annual California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce Annual Convention will feature an Entertainment Financing and pitch track organized by the Access to Entertainment Capital (AEC) Committee that will bring together top entertainment business executives, senators and leaders in the United States to discuss the past, present and future of the Latino entertainment business.
Three filmmakers will be selected to pitch to a panel of investors. To request a submission form e-mail Nilza Serrano at: Nilza@themediashop.tv .
Filmmakers are invited to attend Friday, August 21, 2009, from 10:30 a.m. through 3 p.m. at the US Grant Hotel in San Diego, 326 Broadway, San Diego, CA 92101. For more info on the conference call: 800.327.5029
Panelist include: Senastor Ron S. Calderon, Co-Chair of the Art and Entertainment Committee for the State of California; Alexis Garcia an agent in the independent packaging group with William Morris Agency where he identifies and works with international financiers, producers and filmmakers; Christopher Petzel, Media entrepreneur and CEO of Northwind Capital, an investment banking advisory and private equity boutique with a focus on the entertainment and media industries; Jeffrey Andrick, founder/Owner of XL Ent Media Group, an investor who has financed major studio releases and independent projects. Other panelist TBA.
Make ‘Em Laugh, Make ‘Em Laugh
Written by Alejandro Riera
Thursday, 30 July 2009 12:24
“Funny People” is not only a movie about comedians. It’s a movie about how people can sometimes be funny and I do not mean in a laugh-out loud way. More in the “leaves you befuddled” vein. Because, when all things are considered, the people inhabiting Judd Apatow’s new film are rather pathetic, insecure and flawed. In other words, the stuff of great comedy and great drama.
That is what is so surprisingly refreshing about “Funny People.” When you think of a Judd Apatow film, you think of comedies whose protagonists are men-child who have yet to fully grow up and mature, who do not quite know how to handle a relationship with the opposite sex and who disguise their insecurities behind penis and eschatological jokes. You think of raunchy, sometimes outrageous comedies. “Funny People” has a lot of those ingredients but there is so much more going on. The jokes here hide a world of pain and disillusion.
“Funny People” is an incredibly smart, intelligent film for adults. It is also an anti-Adam Sandler film, giving the comedian the opportunity to deliver one of his best performances yet. It is also the second funniest film of the summer after the British political satire “In the Loop” (which you have to see right freaking now).
To read entire review goto www.cafemagazine.com/index.php/component/content/article/220/220
Source: CafeMagazine.com
Dark Days for Harry Potter
| Written by Alejandro A. Riera |
| Tuesday, 14 July 2009 13:25 |
Welcome back, Steve Kloves. You were sorely missed. You very rarely get the credit you deserve for bringing the Harry Potter novels to life on the big screen. Yes, you were waaaay too literal on the first two films. But you began to spread your wings with “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.” With director Alfonso Cuaron as your best ally, you let Harry Potter fans know that, when it comes to adapting J.K. Rowling’s series (or for that matter any work of literature), you don’t need to do the “Greatest Hits of Harry Potter.” All you need to do is be faithful to the spirit of the books. Acknowledge that film is a different beast and that it can never compete with that big screen in our minds called imagination.
I understood the need for you to take a break with “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” in order to prepare for the one-two punch of Books 6 and 7 in the series. For while scriptwriter Michael Goldenberg did a splendid job in streamlining that monster of a book (the most cumbersome of the entire series), into a manageable 139 minutes of screen time, something was missing. After seeing “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” I finally realized what it was. Kloves has been living with these characters since Day One. They are as much a part of his creative DNA as they are of Rowling’s. He knows personally what makes them tick.
To read entire movie review goto www.cafemagazine.com/index.php/component/content/article/209/209
Source: CafeMagazine.com
Electronica 2…the DARKER side of Hollywood?
Electronica is an Award Winning Short Film trilogy from Bolivian born Writer-Director
Anthony Rivero Stabley.
This time we interview part of the cast of Electronica 2.
Najarra Townsend::
Recently won a Best Actress Award at the Santa Cruz Film Festival for the film “Tru Loved”. She also had a Starring role in the Award Winning Cannes Film Festival Feature – “Me and You and Everyone We Know”. She played Eve Chance in Electronica & Electronica 2.
Q1. It seems people always want to talks about the Academy Awards, the big box office films and such, but there’s a whole other world out there isn’t there?
Yes! There’s a whole world of film out there that doesn’t have the budget for main stream advertising, So you either discover these films by going to film festivals or looking for them yourselves. Even Sundance has gone more mainstream. Every film seems to have star names and bigger budgets.
There’s a lot of pressure, competition, party invites and maybe a crowd that’s not so healthy. What’s your take on this Darker Side of Hollywood?
That’s a world that can be very intoxicating and in Hollywood is so easy to get in to, especially at a young age. Going to clubs and feeling like your part of the “It” crowd can feel like your on top of the world but it’s not real, it’s all an illusion. You get sucked in and then your stuck, It’s incredibly hard to get out of.
Q2. Tell me about Eve Chance. She seems like such a crafty, conniving character. What can you say about Eve Chance and people like her? Have you ever met anyone like this?
Eve is the “It” girl at the party. She knows everybody. But who is she really? We never find out why she’s so popular. She’s very mysterious, Very manipulative. Eve represents the fake side of Hollywood. She’s all show, she’s the facade.
I’m sure i’ve met people like this but i’ve never gotten close enough to the person to find out. I stay away from this crowd. So easy to get sucked in, why even go near it.
Q3. What’s it been like to work with Anthony Rivero Stabley? How much improvising did you do? What would you say is the theme of Electronica?
Working with Anthony is great! He knows what he wants and he knows how to get it out of you. It’s always a fun relaxed set. As for improvising, for Electronica 2 we just had one rehearsal, talked about the scenes and the character, and ran with it. Amy and I would improvise and Anthony filmed it. Then he would rewrite the scenes with some of our ideas in mind.
Electronica from my point of view is about the innocence you have when you first enter the business and how you quickly learn that it’s rough and a lot of it is just show. It’s the dark side of Hollywood, The partying and drugs and wrong crowd you can get mixed up in. Everyone trying to be somebody.
Amy Rose Drucker::
Playing Emily Dunn, a wannabe actress with a gift for photographing this glossy, conflicted world.
Q1. How would you compare Electronica 2 to the first installment?
The first installment was a highly visual, musically charged short where dialog was limited to the essentials. The second installment evolved in to a more character driven piece that still contained strong aesthetics. I love them both.
What did this project mean to you thematically?
Thematically this project is about any person struggling with their identity in what’s real and what’s not. It is about finding out who we really are as artists - Emily has to go through dark periods to find out what is important.
Q2. I understood over 3,500 people submitted for E2. What does that say to you about the pressure of acting in Los Angeles and what it does to people?
I think it is great that there were so many submissions for Electronica 2. People were really enthusiastic about the script. Actors are hungry for quality projects and there is a lot of competition. When we come into this business we know the chances are slim on getting cast. Often actors get so caught up in the process of submissions and auditions that they forget why they are acting in the first place. Electronica 2 has many characters like this that say they are actors but really they are just caught up in a scene - where they are pretending to be something they are not.
Q3. What are your reflections on Electronica and where it’s going? What’s next for Emily Dunn?
In Electronica 1 - Emily Dunn was naive and idealistic. She came to Hollywood as a wannabe actress and thought everyone wanted to take her picture. In Electronica 2 she becomes more skeptical, hardened and doesn’t know who to trust. Emily gives up the dream of acting and begins to develop herself as a photographer - at the same time she struggles with drugs and her identity. As for what’s next for Emily… I think she has to hit rock bottom before she can truly find who she is.
Travis Quentin Young::
Winner - Best Actor Award – Winnipeg International Film Festival for “The Replacement Child”. Plays Buck – a part time model, part time actor.
Q1. Hollywood is filled with some amazing people. It also has its share of users, bullshit artists. You must have come across a little darkness in your journey through Los Angeles. What can you say about the world of Electronica?
The world of Electronica for me has a surreal almost dream like or intoxicated feel through and through (la la land). This feel symbolizes the dreams and nightmares of Hollywood (where “dreams are made”). Electronica paints a realistic depiction of the darkness of certain characters/people while keeping the audience in the head of this aspiring photographer who can be in a world with tons of people, places, and things but feel completely alone and lost.
Q2. What kind of guy is Buck? In Hollywood, they say that often we build people, just so we can tear them down. Is that true of Electronica 2? Anything surprise you about the shoot, script?
My choice for Buck was that his philosophy of life was “life’s an adventure, don’t knock it till you try it.” He’s happy go lucky and not the sharpest pencil in the box. But to him ignorance is bliss. I think he’s honest but in the end Amy’s character is spinning and her perception of everyone seems to be changing so Buck comes off a little strong in his last moments (from her perspective). I feel in future shows of Electronica Buck will come back in her life and become an important character for her story as she evolves. (hint hint) 
“we build to tear down….” I think this is only true in Electronica 2 from the Leads prospective . I don’t think these characters are deliberately trying to build her up to tear her down, they are just the “wrong crowd” maybe for her. We all learn from our mistakes out here though and sometimes you don’t know you are hanging with the wrong people until it stops working for you and/or you wake up.
Nothing really surprised me about this project because it just flowed from the beginning….but I guess that did surprise me because my experience was so great with these guys. Everyone involved was excited and believed in the work and the captain (Anthony). The cast and the crew were the nicest people to work with. Total opposite of the tale told on camera.
Q3. Having seen the first installment and participating in Electronica 2… What would you say Electronica is about?
Electronica is about evolution. It’s about the realities of pursuing your dreams and how you adapt to how the cards are dealt. It’s about living the dream and the nightmare.
Lost Mexican Highway
By Juan Data
“I’ve always been interested in the connection of animal spirits and things like that… the afterlife. What happens when you die? Maybe through evolution, somehow, there’re still animal instincts connected to us.” That’s the initial premise behind Ryan Harper’s first feature movie, Circulation, the story of a Mexican woman who suffers a car accident after being kidnapped on an empty highway in Baja California, Mexico.
But Circulation, which will be premiering on June 7th at The Roxy Theatre in San Francisco and was selected for the horror and sci-fi film festival Another Hole In The Head, is a lot more than a bizarre b-class indie flick with a little bit of gore. Circulation is also the story of a college teacher with a degree in biochemistry that one day, while having some beers at the local bar with his childhood best friend, made the resolution, “why can’t I make a movie? I like to write and I can figure out how to film a movie!”
With absolutely no background in filmmaking and no connections to the industry, he started the lonely journey of self-producing his own first movie. To make matters even more difficult, he decided the movie would be totally shot in location in Mexico, oh, and did we mention he doesn’t speak Spanish?
“Right before I had that discussion with my friend about making a movie, I took a long trip to Mexico. I was driving the truck, the same one you see in the movie, all the way down to Cabo San Lucas and back, on a two weeks road-trip by myself. And I remember driving one night and I fell asleep on the side of the road, and I woke up and it was the middle of the night but I didn’t know what time it was because I didn’t have a watch. I’m like ‘I can’t go back to sleep so I might just get on the road and start driving’ and… I thought that I was driving for like five hours, or eight hours, indefinitely, and it never became light and I thought ‘well maybe I died and this is like my afterlife, just driving this highway forever’. That’s where the idea came from.”
Q1: Exactly how dangerous was filming in Mexico?
- People say it’s dangerous, I never had any problem.
- I certainly looks dangerous in your movie!
- Yeah, but you know, people always warned me “don’t go to Mexico” or whatever, but I’ve been down there a lot of times I never had any problems. Never heard of anybody having any serious problems.
The challenges of self-producing your own big screen debut are many more than regular people think. First of all, you have to come up with a budget. “I kinda have a rough idea for the budget,” explains Ryan whose only income source at the time was a part-time teaching position, “My dad gave me 5 thousand dollars and my aunt gave me another 5. I paid for the rest. Maxed out my credit cards. It ended up being 50 grand total and for me that’s a lot of money, but not so much for a normal film made in a foreign country”.
Q2: What other difficulties did you encounter while filming in Mexico?
- There were far less problems than I imagined. Everybody was very hospitable. I got all the permits before hand. I had to get a permit from the State of Baja and one from the city of San Felipe and the highway. They were all very easy to get, people were very nice. The people from the highway patrol didn’t even gave us a permit, they just said it was OK to come down and shoot there… on an email…. and that was it!
Circulation is a bilingual movie with subtitles. The main star, Yvonne De La Rosa only speaks Spanish throughout the film. Her counterpart Sherman Koltz does all the English talking. Ryan says he was dating a Mexican girl while working on the script and she helped him with the Spanish dialogue, but his original idea was not to use subtitles.
Later in the production process he changed his mind, the movie, directed in the style of David Lynch and David Cronenberg, was already confusing enough as it was. “The plot isn’t very clear, a lot of people are confused by the movie because it’s not straight forward and I don’t give any answers, you kinda have to figure it out. Also the characters are doing things that are very animalistic, but the audience might not realize why. Luckily most of the reviewers, played close attention to the movie and they seemed to get it, but I’ve shown it to friends and family member who didn’t understand it.”
Someone who apparently loves challenges, Ryan Harper is already planning his next big move for his filmmaking career. He’s flying to Iraq, all by himself, to shoot a documentary “about film makers in Iraq. About a film festival that takes place in Baghdad,” and he concludes, “my parents still don’t know, so I’ probably won’t send them this interview.”
Visit webpage www.circulationfilm.com
Six Sex Scenes & A Murder
Interview with Writer, Producer, Director Julie Rubio
Q1: There are lots of strong characters you establish in the film. How did you go about casting?
We casted her locally and then moved on to LA. Ramona
Maramonte and myself did all the casting. Overall it went smoothly. We rented out the Film Art Foundation audition space and did casting there. In LA we rented out the Beverly Hills playhouse and held auditions there. I also met with actors in LA at Aroma Cafe. Aroma is a really cool hip coffee shop with tons of movers and shakers. Overall it was a lot of fun! I grew up in LA so I like that sort of thing sometimes.
Q2: You explore a few themes with the film, can you tell us a little more about writing then directing the film?
Writing the film was really kind of strange.
At first I wrote one screenplay and was asked by another director if we could collaborate and he was only interested in less then half of the original screenplay, he even wanted to change the name. At that point I had over half of a screenplay left so I then changed directions and wrote another screenplay adding in what I had already written. Confusing I know. But it really made me have to stretch as a writer. Six Sex Scenes And A Murder is complex because of it. You have to watch closely to understand. There are many layers.
Directing was amazing! I had so many talented people I was working with. The crew were like family or I should say they were like family if you picked your family:) They really were lovely and they worked their asses off. We have worked on a few films together and really respect and love one another. The actors were fun, crazy and talented! Really our set was a total love fest!
Don’t get me wrong we had our problems like every movie has, but overall it was fantastic.
Q3: Good looking actors, dialogue, and colorful visual style drive the film, what challenges or welcome surprises happened when matching these elements while shooting the film?
Most days went fast and well.
One night it rained. No not rained, it stormed, all night and we were outside filming in San Francisco. One of our cameras blew over in the wind. We were down and out a camera and wet to the bone. It was 2:00am and we still had hours to go. We pushed on with one camera and we laughed all night and had blast. I even crashed my Landrover and took out the side of two passenger doors. Ouch.
We all remember that as our favorite night. It was crazy! Filmmakers are crazy…chasing the shot and running on adrenalin. We were soaking wet with guns hanging out the window of my crashed Landrover and SF Police watching to make sure all was legal. Fun times!
Q4: What noir films inspired you or did you draw from?
I have a collection of all the old ones. Muholland Falls is one of my favorites as well as LA Confidential.
Q5: How was working with such a great DP as Marty Rosenberg?
Well Marty Rosenberg has been around the block and knows his stuff. Sometimes we butted heads but again it was still a love fest. God I love that guy! What a great eye for lighting and it was an honor to be respected and heard by such a talent.
Q6: Not many films actually get made in San Francisco Bay Area, can you explain what it was like?
Yeah, people seem to think you have to be in LA. I think ignorance is bliss. What I didn’t know helped me to keep going. People will tell you “You can’t do that” I just had to keep going and not listen to them or to even myself sometimes. Telling myself and them to shushhhhh, we can do it. Too many people don’t believe. You just can’t listen.
Q7: Tell us about next steps for the film?
We just got distribution with Panorama Entertainment and we are going to be doing a theatrical release here in SF. Next is film festivals and selling it. We have a few good reviews so far and things are really looking up.
Q8: I understand you are now working on your next film, what would you like to say about it?
It is called ‘Masked Pleasures’. I will be filming the summer of 2008 and I am really excited about that. I think ‘Masked Pleasures’ will be a lot easier to understand. It’s about honesty. Real honesty and slaying one’s dragons. It’s a psychological thriller that’s sexy and of course real. I can’t wait!
First International Webcast Appearance LIVE…STAN LEE
LatinLounge.tv is a proud sponsor of the First International Webcast Appearance LIVE…STAN LEE
Stan Lee, co-creator of Spiderman, the Incredible Hulk, Fantastic Four, Stripperella and other famous superheroes, wanted to do a world tour of personal appearances, but WHY, when you can see him live on your own computer!
On April 24 Stan gave writers, artists and filmmakers a sneak peek into his creative process LIVE. There will be a chat room, where the host, Biscayne Writers, will be fielding the best questions to Stan.
Check Back for new dates to hear and see Stan or go to http://www.BiscayneWriters.com for latest information.
From Dream to Discipline: Biscayne Writers Takes Wannabes from Start to Finish in 12 months
Interview with Kemila Velan Founder of Biscayne Writers.
1. What types of writers do you work with?
I started Biscayne Writers, Inc. in 2005 to empower writers in South Florida. I had been living in Miami (not on the beach, but on Biscayne Bay) for about two years and I couldn’t believe how poorly editors and publishers regarded professional writers and journalists. Ads, to them, were king, and writers should be happy to see their bylines and paychecks that barely paid the rent.
Having lived in New York, Chapel Hill, Michigan, Denver and San Francisco — where writers get more respect — I decided I would become a cheerleader for journalists, creative writers, poets and screenwriters. So, in June 2006, when I got the opportunity to start my own publication, The Angel Journal, I didn’t hesitate to pay almost every writer I hired $1/word. As a result, I got professionally written, fact-checked, on-time articles that impressed and hooked the US and Canada-based investors who read the monthly newspaper.
Moreover, the process of creating a 2007 editorial calendar for The Angel Journal flicked a switch in my mind about writing projects: Each month is a different chapter; each day is a page that adds up to 365 — enough content to make a novel. The 2008 Biscayne Writers calendar of online workshops aims to transform aimless writers/screenwriters with a dream into disciplined, monthly magazine-style publishers. Each month, there is a different focus. February will help the writer map out his/her character matrix; March will help the writer create his/her first dramatic scene. From April through August, the writer will get into the nitty gritty of writing and re-writing scenes so that by Fall, when it’s time for harvest, the book will be ready for publishing, marketing and distribution. It’s an ambitious schedule, but I believe that it is possible because when people are doing what they love best — in this case, writing — they are committed and they want to reach a successful exit…to borrow from the entrepreneurial world. ;-D
2. How do you work with screenwriters?
I think screenwriters are the most important kind of writers in the 21st century because people don’t read anymore. They watch. Every writer at some point will have to consider the survival of their art. If you’re a journalist, you’re probably thinking about making a documentary. If you’re a poet, you’re probably writing marketing slogans or advertising copy.
Not that I’m advocating a “Farenheit 451″ book-burning fest — as writers, reading has become our number-one job, since so many others aren’t doing it. It is important for writers to understand metaphor, symbolism, historical context, archetypes, themes and the myriad other elements of literature, so that we can pass them along intelligently to viewers.
For example, Sofia Coppola is a 21st century auteur. On the surface, “Marie Antoinette” looks like a fluffy music video about a hated historical figure, but underneath, Coppola is commenting on modern American suburban culture — we’re all pampered, educated little brats with mini dogs as accessories (think Paris Hilton and MTV’s “My Sweet 16″). This idea of literary elements in film was an important lesson in my Film Criticism course at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where I was majoring in journalism and mass communication. Next to my philosophy of feminism and censorship courses, this was the course that made a HUGE impact on me. I learned how to “read” films like “Citizen Kane,” “Blazing Saddles,” (yes, Mel Brooks IS an auteur), “Unforgiven,” and of course all the Alfred Hitchock films. I’ll never forget watching “The Birds,” and the fact that the entire class burst out in laughter at the attack scenes. Within a generation, this film transformed from horror to camp.
3. What are the goals of Biscayne Writers?
To help myself and others become a distinct collective of online storytellers…like The Beat generation, digital style. I have three stories that deal with transformation in the 21st century: Porto Rican Princess (http://www.biscaynewriters.com/princess), Boomtown Fever (http://www.biscaynewriters.com/boomtown) and The Femmebots (http://www.thefemmebots.com). I published my very first online story, called a “Hypertext,” in 2001 about an agoraphobic woman who runs a porn web cam site from her home called “Angela’s Lair”: http://www.thefemmebots.com/angela/angela_home.htm
Other stories being written by the collective: The Latina’s Guide to Corporate Spirituality by Pluton (http://www.biscaynewriters.com/pluton) Health News/Para tu salud by Ruben Soto (http://www.biscaynewriters.com/rubensoto) 21st Century Media Literacy by Tennille Martinez (http://www.biscaynewriters.com/tennillemartinez) And there are others that I do, personally, for clients: The Power of Yin by Hazel Henderson: http://ipbcorp.com/ethicalmarkets.com/?cat=16 The Yummiest by Clutch Deluxe: http://www.theyummiest.com Balance Boost by Tiffany Houser: http://campaign-archive.com/archive.phtml?cid=9fsp66BBhY
4. What is my perspective on Latino and Latina writers?
We — Gen X & Gen Y Latinos — have stories that have never been told in the mainstream. We are totally American but our experience is distinct in that we are bi-cultural. Some of us don’t even speak Spanish and we can’t stand watching novelas on Univision/Telemundo. Although Biscayne Writers is a resource for all writers, I guess it has Latin flavor by default because I am 100% Puerto Rican. But being 32, college-educated, female and single, I am the first to step out of my traditional family network and I feel like I am more than Latino/a. That’s when the magic happens for anybody — universal truth is what every storyteller aspires to so that every human being can relate.
5. Am I excited about what’s going on? How do I see things progressing?
Hell yeah! I’ve been covering the “Latin Boom” since 1999 when I worked for Latino.com and wrote an article about the significance of Ricky Martin prancing around with my feminist hero, Madonna, at the Grammys.
Since then, Latinos have gotten some flexibility in their roles…It’s empowering to know that Salma Hayek is the producer behind “Betty La Fea.” It’s empowering to see Jennifer Lopez NOT playing a maid (I’m particularly obsessed with her role in “The Cell” as a badass professional woman by day and a hot chic who walks around in her underwear at night).
And, quite frankly, it’s empowering to watch LatinLounge.tv — this is my generation’s expression of our distinct experiences.
We are experiencing a massive transformation of creative expression at this time and I am thrilled to be a part of it!
Thank you Kemila…Check out BiscayneWriters.com for online workshops for creative writers.
Marta’s Sex Tape - The Making of a Pop Art Comedy
Interview with Anthony Rivero Stabley (Designer & Filmmaker) known best as the Art Director of “Stigmata”, “White Oleander” and Todd Hayne’s “Safe”. In 2001, using the pen name Antonio Rivero he began making short films in Mexico City with fellow artists Mariana Kahlo & Marco Niro. As a result, we now have the Pop Art Comedy “Marta’s Sex Tape” and the Award Winning Series “Electronica”
Q1: What is Marta’s Sex Tape about?
I think that all Artists eventually have to expose themselves to the outside world and well, as you can imagine, there’s a lot fear that’s attached to that process. So understanding this creative journey and feeling good about oneself is the essence of “Marta’s Sex Tape”. It’s also, honestly, a rather comical reflection of all the self doubts & concerns that I had during the editing.
Q2: What was the inspiration behind the film?
This all sort of happened during the time that I was shooting some short films down in Mexico City with Mariana Kahlo & Marco Niro. I was experimenting with this concept that Cinema & Love both share this amazing, yet rather intangible “Make Believe” quality. So for me, “Marta’s Sex Tape” was a thematic continuation of that blurred celluloid world.
Q3: For those not familiar how would you define pop art comedy?
I call this a Pop Art Comedy for many reasons. Firs off, it’s a very funny film and second, the main character (Marta) is a struggling artist, so the idea was to make this all very painterly by using a restrictive color palette like one you might see in a Pop Art canvas. We used broad strokes of blue, purple, pink, black, white and golden tones to tell our story. Marta’s Sex Tape is also very Pop Culture because making a “sex” tape is so ridiculously prevalent in these absurd, cyber loving days.
Q4: How was shooting on location? Did you find all talent locally?
Marta’s Sex Tape was made over a course of four plus years. The principle photography took place in Mexico City, using English and Spanish speaking actors. Pilar Padilla (Marta) had recently finished “Bread & Roses” for Director Ken Loach and we were really lucky to get her. There was also this big mix of non-actor talent, just funny, interesting people. Marta’s parents were shot in Albuquerque (New Mexico) while I was working on another project. Emilia Carbajal (Marta’s Mom) was a housekeeper at a hotel when I met her and I have to say that she is one of the best, most genuine parts of the movie. We also shot some portions in L.A. – so it was quite a collage in a filmmaking sense.
Q5: What were the biggest challenges directing this film?
Marta’s Sex Tape had to be an art film because of the work I do as a Production Designer and because the main character was an Artist, So creating a language for the film that was genuine, fresh and more importantly, that made sense was my biggest task. I also had to learn how to edit on my own, I had to keep adding and taking away bits and honestly, having the film to myself and not quitting was my biggest undertaking. We also had some last minute music issues and that was a big hurdle. Luckily, my wonderful Music Supervisor (Claudia Andrade) came in and saved the day.
Q6: Have you participated before in Miami Undeground Film Festival? Where else would you like to take the film?
This will be my first time at the Miami Underground Film Festival and I am really looking forward to it. Last year, this Festival showcased another Bolivian born Filmmaker (Rodrigo Bellot) and that made me really happy. As for future screenings – I think any well-organized Festival that embraces Art & Latin Cinema would be perfect for us. I am sure we will also put together screenings in L.A. and Mexico City as a gesture to all the generous people that helped us out.
Q7: What are the prospects for Distribution?
I think we will do well with getting the film out. The landscape has changed tremendously in the last year or so. We can now combine self-distribution, while using various websites as platforms for broader markets. So far the clips playing on the web have attracted considerable attention, because people are really curious. Marta’s Sex Tape is foremost a Comedy, but it also has so many crazy aspects to it’s personality. It’s a real strong original piece and people are gravitating to it. Please visit… MartaSexTape.com, Amazon.com and Filmbaby.com – the DVD will be available at these sites and more.
Q8: What is next for Super Grande Films?
We did really well with our Web-Series pilot “Electronica” last year. It screened at Cannes (Short Film Corner). It received Nominations and Awards at the HDFEST & the IPOD Film Festival. So we feel we are on the right track with this project. We will get into Production later this year and finish it up. Producers David Hillary (Spun) and Tim Peternel (Buffalo 66) have come on board as mentors. We are quite happy with this. For more info go to… SuperGrandeFilms.com
We can’t wait to host the “Electronica” series on LatinLounge.tv. - Mitch
Popular Posts
- Marta's Sex Tape - The Making of a Pop Art Comedy
- From Dream to Discipline: Biscayne Writers Takes Wannabes from Start to Finish in 12 months
- Nataly Pena
- Los Pajarracos - A Mexican Filmmaker Experience in the U.S.
- Six Sex Scenes & A Murder
Blogroll
Categories
