Filmme Fatale

On reviews and requests

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 14:48:00 -0500

I’ve been getting a lot of messages lately asking me to check out various video projects and indie films and write about them on here. While I’m flattered that these filmmakers are interested in my opinion and endorsement, I want to nip this in the bud: I rarely do reviews, and I don’t plug projects by request. Never have, never will.

I’d be happy to write about how to get your project out to a wider audience, though, if enough people want me to. I’m also, as ever, totally game to answer any questions, give advice to or otherwise discuss film/media/art stuff with anyone and everyone.

Thanks for your understanding, and good luck to all of you!!

Submit your film. Accepting entries till August 31st

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 14:29:33 -0500

chicago8fest:

We want your small gauge wonders! As always it’s free to submit. We’re accepting submissions till the end of August. If you need an extension contact us at info@chicago8fest.org or karen@chicago8fest.org.

Quick music post: Chicago-based indie rock thundercloud, Suns,...

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 12:24:04 -0500

Quick music post:

Chicago-based indie rock thundercloud, Suns, recently released their new record and it sounds sooo good. Check out this track, Field Poison (one of my faves), and give ‘em a “Like” on FaceBook or somethin’.

CHICAGO 8: A Small Gauge Film Festival: Now Accepting Entries

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 10:46:12 -0500

CHICAGO 8: A Small Gauge Film Festival: Now Accepting Entries:

Just a reminder that the deadline for submitting your small-gauge masterpiece to the Chicago 8 Film Fest is in one month!

Since posting message responses seems to be broken, I’ll try this again: Anonymous asked:...

Fri, 13 Jul 2012 15:01:00 -0500

Since posting message responses seems to be broken, I’ll try this again:

Anonymous asked: Quick question; Is film school worth it? specifically NYU film. I love writing, directing and acting. But my intended major is dramatic writing. I think I should stay in dramatic writing to hone in writing skills, all while pursing film making outside of school.

I am not the best person to answer this, because I chose to leave school to pursue my art directly. In my opinion, unless you work long and hard to build a solid portfolio, use much of your free time establishing and maintaining contacts, take any and every PA job/creative internship you can handle ‘til you’re “discovered”, and enter your work into as many film fests as you can afford, art school is just a very expensive hobby.

Filmmaking is an intricate art and requires a LOT of technical know-how, as well as artistic instincts finely tuned through practice. To me, film school is worth it to learn how to actually make films, but if you just want to write, direct, and act, you’re better off just throwing yourself into developing a portfolio and getting into the local art/writing/performance/film scene. Get your critiques from real working artists, collaborate with everyone you can, and learn the biz by being the biz. Save your money for your projects, or for getting a degree that will not just help you start your career, but give you a knowledge base that makes you unique and indispensible.

Followers: what do you guys think?

Job Opp: Program Director for Chicago Filmmakers

Fri, 13 Jul 2012 14:08:00 -0500

Job Opp: Program Director for Chicago Filmmakers:

Chicago-based filmpeople and film businesspeople should check this out - it’s an awesome opportunity to have your hand in (and direct) everything Chicago Filmmakers is up to, and get involved in the film community in a very big way. Full-time, salaried position, hiring now. Get on it!

Orlando and West Palm Beach, check this out! My friends need...

Fri, 13 Jul 2012 14:02:35 -0500

Orlando and West Palm Beach, check this out! My friends need you!

stepdad:

ENTER FOR A CHANCE TO SING ON STAGE WITH STEPDAD IN FLORIDA DURING THE VANS WARPED TOUR!!!

Here’s the details. Ultramark will be gone for 2 Warped Tour dates.

July 27th in Orlando, FL
July 28th in West Palm Beach, FL

We are counting on YOU to take his place. We are picking 2 winners (1 for each city) to come on stage during our set and sing “My Leather, My Fur, My Nails”

Here’s what you need to do:

*Submit a video of yourself singing “My Leather, My Fur, My Nails” to stepdadmusic@gmail.com

*Put “I want to live ULTRA in (specify which city)” in the subject line

* Obviously you must be in or near Florida. If you are not able to get to the show, don’t enter, ya dingus.

Deadline is FRIDAY JULY 20th!!!

Winners will be announced on MONDAY JULY 23rd!!!

Good luck!

<3 Stepdad

Clips from Double Dare (2004), dir. by Amanda...

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 21:35:00 -0500

Clips from Double Dare (2004), dir. by Amanda Micheli
(Subtitled/CC’d)

Stuntwomen are so cool.

While I found the film to be a little slow and meandering - would’ve loved the entire backstories of Epper and Bell, would’ve loved for more stuntwomen to have been formally interviewed, would’ve loved for some critical discussion of the Hollywood politics of and about women who do stuntwork, etc. - Epper and Bell are absolutely delightful to watch. It is interesting to hear them talk about the almost dual life of being a woman and a stuntperson. As stuntwork is extremely physical and often involving bodily risk, it is considered “masculine”, and thus it is still not possible to be both “feminine”/”ladylike” and a stuntworker. This is particularly true in Epper’s experience, who struggles to keep up appearances in not only a sexist industry, but also an ageist one. Bell, the newcomer, faces her own challenges: nerves, injury, and leaving her home in New Zealand to find work in the States. Despite such odds, though, Bell excels in the craft that Epper helped pave for women the world over, and it’s so heartwarming and inspirational to see Epper share in Bell’s enthusiasm. We also get to see how Bell got her first big break as Uma Thurman’s stunt double in Kill Bill. I’m not an emotive moviewatcher, but this film had me smiling with every success (and sassy candid moment). Highly recommended, especially to feminist filmgoers! Watch it now on Netflix.

Sorry if we missed your email...

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 15:02:03 -0500

Chicago and Chicago-area small-gauge filmmakers - submit your 8mm and Super8 films!

chicago8fest:

Due to an unfortunate technical glitch with our domain host we have not received any emails for approximately the last month! Yikes! We also have no way of retrieving the lost mail. If you sent us an email or an online submission through our email address we are very sorry that we have missed it. We will have the problem fixed in the next day or so.

We want to hear from you and please continue to submit your work to us at Chicago8fest.org

oh a side note, i don't like all his movies, but I thought Moonrise Kingdom did an excellent job of capturing the oddities of childhood. Not perfect, full of weirdness, and only a couple memories will stick with you in the end, but while your in it the world seems slightly different... i dunno just saying. kind of reminded me of the french new wave film '400 Blows'

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 14:44:00 -0500

Thanks for your thoughts! I feel The 400 Blows is actually the exact opposite of Moonrise Kingdom. While both films definitely romanticize childhood in a stylized manner, the emotional journey in 400 Blows is tangibly moving, with powerful and candid performances by the young stars. Moonrise Kingdom showed me awkward middle-upper-class youths monotonously engaging eachother. The French New Wave itself was actually influenced by the tragic Italian Neo-Realism and the emotive films of Classic Hollywood, and inherently interested in the subjective realism of the emotionality therein. Granted, the New Wave’s two Big Bads, Truffaut and Godard, had very different approaches in writing this kind of emotionality; I feel if Anderson’s work could be compared to theirs, it’d be more Godard than Truffaut, though I could see him being heavily influenced by both (and the rest of the French New Wave).

You like that?

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 12:57:07 -0500

You like that?

But first! An Unpopular Opinion

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 12:52:00 -0500

I don’t “get” Wes Anderson films. Feel free to stop reading here.

I’ve seen several of his films, and after mulling it over for a long, long time (read: years of turmoil) I can say with confidence that perhaps I’m just not his target audience. I find his films to be souless and cardboard, and while I recognize that beautiful sceneries devoid of emotion is whimsical, I just can’t get into it.

Don’t get me wrong - I loved Fantastic Mr. Fox, and I do think his films are absolutely gorgeous to look at and listen to (Margot Tennebaum exiting the bus to Nico’s “These Days” still gives me chills). Anderson is a master of the meticulous. I don’t even dislike his dialog, or the way he directs his actors’ deliveries to be so blunt. Personally speaking, though, I feel alienated by most of his work - and not in a way that interests me. I recently sawMoonrise Kingdomand I’m still trying to figure out why it underwhelmed me. Maybe I just couldn’t love the characters due to their emotional inaccessibility (except for a few of the starring adults, but I wonder how much of that comes from my love of those actors in general). I like to be moved - fed emotion, even - and beyond thinking that young Jared Gilman is totally gonna be a heartbreaker when he gets older and being dazzled by the film’s visuals, I was kinda bored and restless.

Is the emotional restraint a commentary on Rockwellian Americana through the juxtapositioning rich settings and colorfully-dressed characters with deadpan dialog? For what purpose? Despite such heavy stylization, the characters remain completely unaware of their artifice and thus makes it impossible to witness their emotional journies, if there are even meant to be any. Again, I remind myself that perhaps I’m not Anderson’s target audience.

Fandersons and non-fandersons, what are your thoughts?

Heatwave, and a personal post

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 11:57:00 -0500

After not feeling it for a while, I’m ready to start blogging again. Coming up:

Yorgos Lanthimos’s Dogtooth (2009) and Alps (2011) - analysis
Sci Fi Sol (2012), dir. by Joseph Richard Lewis - part of a series focusing on Chicago-based artists, bonus review of Sci Fi Sol’s soundtrack composed by Melody Nife
A short interview with Chicago-based filmmaker and documentarian Jess Price
Answering messages

What follows is a quick update on ma lyfe.

I ended up not doing the doc - no money, no time on my end - and have since gotten a day job as an assistant manager at an adult store. I’m starting to make more music these days, been writing more, editing medical trial videos when handed them, hanging with a ton of really cool artists and overall just enjoying life without pressure. My fella and I are still great. After a week straight of oppressive heat, Chicago’s finally cooled down to mid-high 80-degree weather, though we’re still dehydrated. I bought a new swimsuit, and I’m looking for a scar artist. I’ll get around to updating Filmme Fatale’s look sometime soon. Thass about it.

What have you been up to?

Attention: Evanston and Chicagoland-area film/videomakers

Tue, 08 May 2012 18:02:00 -0500

Wanna teach kids how to make videos? The Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre in Evanston is looking for someone to direct a youth (11-15) video class this summer. This is a full-time gig from July 9th through August 17th, and compensation’s pretty good. Get at me for more info.

Also - looking for a video editor in Chicago

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 10:16:00 -0500

Do you edit videos on Final Cut Pro? Do you enjoy video editing? Are you quick, reliable, communicative and professional? Get at me.

This is a paying gig.

DP/Cameraperson Needed ASAP - San Francisco and Portland

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 10:14:06 -0500

Hey everyone - this is really important. Please reblog to help me spread the word.

filmme-fatale:

Looking for a San Francisco-area DP or camera op, ASAP, for a low-budget/indie documentary on queercore and queer punk rock. Own equipment optional, should be willing to travel (driving from SF to Portland for more shooting), LGBTQ+ affiliation a huge plus. Shooting starts in SF on April 22nd and will wrap in Portland on June 1st. If you or someone you know would be interested, PLEASE shoot me a message - and please reblog to help spread the word!

Thanks so much!

DP/Cameraperson Needed ASAP - San Francisco and Portland

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 11:46:00 -0500

Looking for a San Francisco-area DP or camera op, ASAP, for a low-budget/indie documentary on queercore and queer punk rock. Own equipment optional, should be willing to travel (driving from SF to Portland for more shooting), LGBTQ+ affiliation a huge plus. Shooting starts in SF on April 22nd and will wrap in Portland on June 1st. If you or someone you know would be interested, PLEASE shoot me a message - and please reblog to help spread the word!

Thanks so much!

Thank you so much for all your awesome messages and encouragement!

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 14:11:43 -0500

I don’t even know why I wanted to think not going was even an option.

If he’s serious, I’m gonna do it.

My life could be changing.

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 11:59:00 -0500

This is an unedited personal post. It gets very wordy.
Filmmakers, video artists, and creatives of all genres - I could use some advice.

All excuses aside, I haven’t posted much on here (or at least at the level I was posting when I first started Filmme Fatale) because I’m lazy. I’m not very good at “work”, and I get complacent very easily when I’m my own boss. It’s something I struggle with constantly, especially now that I am 22 and seeing other filmmakers my age making films and touring with them and becoming prolific young talents in the indie film world. I’ve been trying to find my “motivation” for such a long time that I’ve become more attached to the haphazard searching than I am committed to actually “getting it”. This is, of course, a huge problem for someone who wants to be an artist - and I think I’ve realized that yes, I do want to be an artist. I don’t necessarily want to be a career artist, but I want to make art for the rest of my life. I don’t want to be a couch critic, and I don’t want to keep hiding behind my academia and comfort with simple film analysis.

I want to DO, but what am I doing about that?

Last night, I met up with Yony Leyser. I’ve mentioned his documentary, William S. Burroughs: A Man Within, a couple times on here. We talked about project ideas, how we were connected (went to the same high school, I’m a fangirl, etc.), and what our specialties are in filmmaking. It was a really nice time, and he said a lot of things that I probably needed to hear to quell some of my deep-dark fears of being a shitty artist. I offered to help him with his latest project - a documentary about queercore and the queer punk scene from the mid-’80s to present day - and he seemed enthused by that. Then he dropped a bombshell: if I was available, I could fly out to LA and help him shoot this doc. At the end of the month. I don’t know for how long.

I’m kind of in a panic. Not because I don’t think I could do this - I was slated to all but take over a huge road doc starting this week through the beginning of May, then the project fell through - but because I desire love just as much as I desire filmmaking. And I’m very much in love with someone.

Disclaimers are stupid, so I’m not going to go in saying, “Oh, if it’s just for two weeks, that’s fine, but I dunno if I can go more than that.” But to be away for, say, a month or longer would be really hard for me in terms of missing my guy. I know, I know, “Suck it up, little grrl, this is your life,” but I’ve been trying and failing to combat this feeling for years. I’ve come to accept that this attachment and neediness is just a part of who I am. I’m scared. Plus, my guy’s gonna be away for the entire month of September when his band’s on tour. Missing up to two months of time with him? What if something happens and we’re continuously separated? Did I mention that I’m scared and needy? Ladders of logic can’t reach this kitty’s crazy-branch. I’m stuck.

The more ironic part of all this is, I’m absolutely not afraid of stepping out into the world on my own. I’ve been out there since I was 14, first in getting myself to school downtown and back everyday, then by exploring this city, and going to Europe by myself for a month before I was even 20. I love being out, by myself and with my friends. For some reason, though, I still have it in my head that absence makes the heart grow bitter, instead of fonder - and that holds me back even more than my laziness. And don’t get me wrong, I recognize that this is an extremely cushy feeling, all things considered: I have a supportive, super-cool boyfriend, I have an opportunity that excites me, and I have the money and time to pursue this. I’m not complaining. I just need some words of encouragement from my peers.

I follow so many cool directors, ADs, writers, producers, cinematographers, editors, location scouts, crew members and PAs, performers and touring artists - many of you are a few of these - and people working in all facets of the art world. I know a lot of you have families and/or lovers who you sometimes have to part with on a regular basis for gigs, sometimes for weeks or months at a time. Could you share your stories with me? Do you, too, worry about leaving your loved ones’ sides, or is it just all a part of the biz at this point? Did you ever worry? What was your first big-deal gig like? What were you nervous about? What were you excited about? Tell me as much as you want to tell - either through a message on here, or by my e-mail (message me if you’d like it).

All that said, I know I need to reach out and take this. CIMMFest is happening this week and Yony is curating Saturday night’s festivities (featuring Sister Spit!), and I’m going to soak it all in. I’m great at networking and connecting with people, so at least I can shake hands and have a night of fun before I make this big decision.

What say you, friends?

Currently watching: Mega Shark vs Crocosaurus (2010), dir. by...

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 16:13:00 -0500

Currently watching: Mega Shark vs Crocosaurus (2010), dir. by Christopher Ray

It’s exactly as good as it sounds.