And so here’s to a writer who chooses to tell rather than show, and to a director who makes ongoing dialogue work and action feel unnecessary. Whit Stillman stays faithful to his principles through all his four feature films and establishes his very own filmmaking style that might remind us of Woody Allen…
Unsung Films watched Mike Freedman’s Critical Mass this year when it screened at the Biografilm Festival in Bologna. On approaching the filmmaker with a short review of his documentary, we ended up with a great deal more: a 3000-word interview taking readers deep into the story of how Freedman’s film came together, how it affected him – both personally and professionally — and what we should expect in the years to come.
The man who’d brought There Will Be Blood to the screen just five years ago — possibly one of the most accomplished films since entering the 21st century — turned just forty-two this year. He’d released his debut feature at twenty-six, and continued his immensely explorative journey since.
After Bruce Robinson directed his third film, Jennifer 8, he promised himself that he would never direct again. While intended to establish his reputation in Hollywood, it ended as a box office disaster, garnishing negative reviews and unfavourable reception among both critics and the public all over. While the film was not as substandard as general public reaction led Robinson to believe – presenting itself as an enjoyably gripping thriller with a stellar cast and expectedly quality performances – his directing career was placed aside, giving way to various screenwriting endeavours, including Return to Paradise and In Dreams.
Tony Kaye wrote a deeply confessional piece in the Guardian around a decade ago, admitting to have asked a priest, a rabbi and a Buddhist monk to join him in a meeting with New Line studio executive Michael De Luca, concerning the release of his debut feature, American History X. He didn’t want them on his side – he only wanted ‘some help from God’ because he needed ten extra weeks to recut the film.
Anton Corbijn’s career can be traced back to 1972, when he borrowed his father’s camera and took it around the smaller musical venues scattered across Holland to experience Dutch rock bands in a closer, more personal way – triggered more by his love of rock music than a passion for Read More
Adam Spiegal aka Spike Jonze got his nickname from the owner of Bethesda community store, where he hung out in his later high school days. The name was given in reference to Spike Jones (25th Hour, Boyz in the Hood). This was before his directing and his cinema days, at Read More
It was in 1989, at the age of 26 that Steven Soderbergh returned to the place of his childhood, Baton Rouge in Louisiana. After graduating from high school he had chosen not to attend Louisiana State University where he had been enrolled in and instead moved to Hollywood to try his Read More
Today, many of cinema’s best writers are politely squeezed out of position while the industry’s actors, directors and producers are placed at the forefront of film advertising and distribution. The writer provides his story, leaving it up to the bigger men to turn it into whatever they are capable of. Read More
It was 1969 when a young Michael Wadleigh found himself on his way to a Max Yasgur’s farm, followed by a large and excited camera crew to document what was soon to become the world-renowned ‘Woodstock Music & Art Fair’ and the three most talked about days of peace and Read More
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