Monthly archives:December 2015
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8 years ago
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As the year winds down and we’re suffused with holiday cheer (and perhaps making donations to our favorite causes), it’s a good time for film fans to take a look at some movies that need help getting made, ones we might not necessarily hear about otherwise.
For many a low-budget indie filmmaker, Kickstarter, Indiegogo and other crowdfunding sites have become the way to get it done – or at least try to get it done. (Actually, some not-so-low budget films, including Zack Braff’s Wish I Was Here and Spike Lee’s Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, were both made with money – $3.1 million and $1.4 million, respectively – raised via Kickstarter, but those are exceptions.) Offering potential backers several donation tiers that pay back perks ranging from a thank-you postcard and link to the finished product to set visits and a night out with the cast and crew, these campaigns are not only a way for films to get made, but for fans to become a part of something cool and exciting.
There are many worthwhile films seeking funds on a variety of crowdsourcing platforms (over 600 film and video projects on Kickstarter alone). Here is just a sampling of interesting-looking projects on Kickstarter and Indiegogo, several of them based right here in New York City, with campaigns that are currently open. The list includes both documentary and narrative films in various stages of production, from pre- to post. They range from fairly sophisticated endeavors with principals who have significant industry[...]
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8 years ago
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‘Tis the time of year for the radio stations to play Mariah Carey's cover of “All I Want For Christmas” (the “Extra Festive” version) on repeat. It’s a great song and it sure is festive, but after hearing it twenty or so times over the span of only a few hours it starts to wear down the holiday spirit. It doesn’t help that there are only a few dozen other really popular holiday songs played during December: Brenda Lee's “Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree”, Nat King Cole's “The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)”, Jose Feliciano's “Feliz Navidad”, Dean Martin's “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow”, Bing Crosby's “White Christmas”, that one song about shoes. Again, all great tunes, but they're hard to hear on repeat for an entire month. Especially when most of us are either coped up with relatives, stuck in holiday traffic or desperately trying to find the last toy lightsaber sold in the state...or trying to justify sneaking off to see Star Wars... again.
Instead of sitting through TSwift's "Last Christmas" one more time, listen to some other covers and holiday/Christmas songs that get less airtime. From groups like The Killers that annually put out their own holiday tune to bands like Weezer that cover classics, here are twelve songs to get you through to the New Year. Enjoy!
1. "Christmas Night Of The Living Dead" by MXPX
2. "Deadbeat Holiday" by Green Day
3. "Last Christmas" by Jimmy Eat World
4. "The Season's Upon Us" by Dropkick Murphys
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8 years ago
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Véronique Hyland of New York Magazine reported on Council of Fashion Designers of America's (CFDA) efforts to "revolutionize Fashion Week."
Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for NYFW
A major possible change to the twice-yearly showcase includes transforming Fashion Week into a consumer-driven event, instead of an industry one. And the redesigned series would "show in-season merchandise to the public."
This is a huge move because designers typically showcase collections for following seasons, amid rabid fanfare and exclusive pageantry. And, in turn, these fashion showcases would influence fast-fashion looks, clandestinely sold at stores like H&M and Zara, that surface sometime later in the future.
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week
However, this method is thought to be a great way to spur "buy now, wear now" opportunities for the public. The re-formmated showcases would require designers to host "smaller showroom presentations and appointments with retailers and press," presenting designs six months out for possible purchasing purposes. Then, designers would produce large-scale runway shows for a consumer audience, WWD reports.
CFDA Chairman Diane von Furstenberg tells WWD “ I have a feeling people will be showing what’s available closer to what’s in store. I don’t have all the answers." However, the general goal is to boost "full-price selling" of clothing.
This week, designer Rebecca Minkoff announced a big step—a Spring 2016 col[...]
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8 years ago
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"Our doubt is our passion, and our passion is our task." Henry James' words are apt in describing the art-making process, and how it can explore uncertainness through introspection. In the process, the artist and viewer enter into an intangible, unpractical, and highly emotional place that is ultimately the most passionate because it allows them to explore the more ambiguous realms of the self.
This is exactly the intent and effect of "I DREAMT," New York performance artist Nicholas' Gorham's recent production. In it, he lip syncs sound bites by Delia Derbyshire, a leading British electronic musician from the 1960s. He was utterly fascinated by their evocative beauty, and knew he would eventually incorporate them into a performance. The sound recordings are different voices describing a nightmare of being chased, and Nicholas switches from one character to another in a matter of seconds. This is achieved by having light projections of different outfits cast onto his body, which is the sole illuminated presence in a darkened room. Coupled with the haunting repetition of phrases, such as "I'm running away...running, and running, and running" in each of the different voices, the result is dark, painful, but incredibly engrossing especially if you have ever had nightmares.
He plans to take this the exploration of the subconscious further in his upcoming Christmas theater production, also focusing on time, space, identity, and superficiality but with a stronger social co[...]
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8 years ago
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“If it doesn’t inspire you in some way, I failed as a filmmaker,” says Richard “R.G.” Miller, the subject of Justin Johnson’s new documentary Double Digits: The Story of a Neighborhood Movie Star. Of course the same can be said of Johnson’s homage to Miller, a prolific, super low-budget auteur who makes movies for the sheer love of it. Against many odds, Miller has succeeded in not only pursuing his passion, but getting many other people enthused and involved in the process. Double Digits celebrates the fact that while some may may aim for mega fame and fortune, those with extremely modest means and realistic ambitions should not be discounted as artists, and in fact, may be truer to their art.
We’re introduced to 52-year-old Miller at his Wichita, Kansas apartment -- which doubles as his studio -- and learn that his one-man production company RG Internet Art Films has released several half-hour to hour-long features on Miller’s Youtube channel. "Thank God for the Internet,” he chuckles, not attempting to create a viral sensation with his compelling, delightfully lo-fi movies. “If I get double digits [more than nine "likes"], I’m successful.”
Double Digits, which was shot over the course of three years, shows the making of Miller's newest effort, The Mask Man, shot in his apartment and on his side lot, as are all of his films. His painstaking DIY efforts include miniature stand-ins (dolls), homemade costumes and masks, and various household items that have been[...]
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8 years ago
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Tommy Siegel is best known as the guitarist of either piano band Jukebox the Ghost or noise rock group Drunken Sufis. The two bands exist on fairly opposite ends of the genre spectrum, with one brimming with gentle introspection and optimism while the other stopping its feet and howling against the government. Siegel has pooled elements of both projects, like the political-savvy of the Sufis and the humor of a younger Jukebox, to fuel his newest act: Narc Twain.
A dystopian punk band, the group was born from of all things a book of poetry. The symbiotic nature of Brooklyn is perhaps to thank for Siegel’s chance encounter with the book. He found Jeremy Schmall & Cult of Comfort by Jeremy Schmall in the recycling bin of his apartment building last year. The 99-page collection is brief, with fifty or so poems channeling anxiety, paranoia, pain, discomfort, understanding, introspection, hunger and hitting on a myriad of other emotions that the reader didn’t necessarily see coming. The poems twist and hairpin turn in a way that would make all MFA students smile and all passer-bys wonder what exactly did they pick up out of the recycling. The commentary on capitalism and cynicism struck a chord with Siegel. He wrote Schmall, whose email was hidden in plain sight in a poem in Cult of Comfort, eventually sending him music. And thus Schmall inspired what would eventually become the six song EP that is Narc Twain.
The band released the debut EP last week, playing a show in c[...]
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8 years ago
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Just announced on December 2: The British Fashion Council has chosen its eight emerging designers for its biannual Newgen initiative, sponsored by Topshop. The designers will present their 2016 looks during London Fashion Week this February.
Image Credit: British Fashion Council
The Newgen initiative has been bolstering designers-to-watch since 1993. Former winners include current design legends Alexander McQueen, Christopher Kane, and Marta Marques.
The selected designers are Ashley Williams, Claire Barrow, Danielle Romeril, Faustine Steinmetz, Marta Jakubowski, Molly Goddard, Ryan Lo and Sadie Williams. And designer Rebecca Einer, a recent Westminster fashion graduate, has been given the special distinction of "One-To-Watch."
Images of Danielle Romeril, Ashley, Williams, Marta Jakubowski
As ElleUK.com reports, this opportunity will "help rocket these young designers into the international spotlight," helping them to build strong connections within the industry.
Ryan Lo and Ashley Williams will unveil collections on the runway at London Fashion Week, while the remaining honorees will showcase their designs in static installations, according to ElleUK.com.
"Supporting emerging talent is at the very heart of the Topshop brand and we are incredibly proud sponsors of the Newgen initiative," says Topshop managing director Mary Homer to Vogue UK. "Seeing the prestigious alumni that the scheme has nurtured, as well as the promising names that are currentl[...]
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8 years ago
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The turkey has been eaten, the in-laws have left, the traffic has settled and the flurry of the Thanksgiving has finally subsided. We were meant, during the holiday, to reflect and give thanks for all that we have in our lives, but those sentiments sometimes get lost in the craze surrounding Black Friday/Small Business Saturday/Cyber Monday. We forget the “giving” part of Thanksgiving. To counteract this, “Giving Tuesday” was launched by organizations like 92nd Street Y, the United Nations Foundation, the website Mashable and the brand (RED). The day is meant to remind us to pause our consuming (figuratively. you can keep working on those leftovers if you want) and give back this holiday season. Here are five charitable organizations, both for the music and by the music, that you could give to this Tuesday:
Dear Jack Foundation
The Dear Jack Foundation (DJF) was founded by Andrew McMahon of Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness. While on tour with his first band, Something Corporate, McMahon was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL). After undergoing treatment, he resolved to ‘initiate change and provide a voice for the generations of young adults who have been diagnosed with cancer.” With the specific aim of helping adolescents and young adults (AYA), DJF aims to support organizations, ‘which recognize the unique challenges the AYA community faces, during and post-treatment.” The programs that have benefited from DJF include the UCLA stem cell transplant progr[...]
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