Guy Maddin: Ann Savage and the Osmonds

Johnny Ray Huston
Sep 23, 2011

Guy Maddin talks about movies, writing, himself—and the allure of the Osmonds, re-published on the occasion of Fandor's Maddin blogathon.

Guy Maddin: Ann Savage and the Osmonds

Johnny Ray Huston
Sep 23, 2011

Guy Maddin talks about movies, writing, himself—and the allure of the Osmonds, re-published on the occasion of Fandor's Maddin blogathon.

Nonfiction's Future Lies in Optimism

Karen Everett
Mar 15, 2011

A new crop of filmmakers are building audiences by showing nonfiction doesn’t have to be depressing to reveal hard truths.

Nonfiction's Future Lies in Optimism

Karen Everett
Mar 15, 2011

A new crop of filmmakers are building audiences by showing nonfiction doesn’t have to be depressing to reveal hard truths.

Nonfiction's Future Lies in Optimism

Karen Everett
Mar 15, 2011

A new crop of filmmakers are building audiences by showing nonfiction doesn’t have to be depressing to reveal hard truths.

Burroughs’ Story Still Stranger than Fiction

Dennis Harvey
Mar 11, 2011

A new Burroughs documentary revisits a familiar story, but delivers fresh insight.

Burroughs’ Story Still Stranger than Fiction

Dennis Harvey
Mar 11, 2011

A new Burroughs documentary revisits a familiar story, but delivers fresh insight.

Burroughs’ Story Still Stranger than Fiction

Dennis Harvey
Mar 11, 2011

A new Burroughs documentary revisits a familiar story, but delivers fresh insight.

Beg For Your Life: In the Well with Laurel Nakadate

Mary Gaitskill
Feb 24, 2011

On the amoral goodness of nature, shapelessly shaped things and the hereness of bodies.

Beg For Your Life: In the Well with Laurel Nakadate

Mary Gaitskill
Feb 24, 2011

On the amoral goodness of nature, shapelessly shaped things and the hereness of bodies.

Beg For Your Life: In the Well with Laurel Nakadate

Mary Gaitskill
Feb 24, 2011

On the amoral goodness of nature, shapelessly shaped things and the hereness of bodies.

Soderbergh's Spalding Gray Rings True

Max Goldberg
Feb 18, 2011

Steven Soderbergh's Spalding Gray tribute gives us the true beating heart of the artist instead of talking-head punditry.

Soderbergh's Spalding Gray Rings True

Max Goldberg
Feb 18, 2011

Steven Soderbergh's Spalding Gray tribute gives us the true beating heart of the artist instead of talking-head punditry.

Soderbergh's Spalding Gray Rings True

Max Goldberg
Feb 18, 2011

Steven Soderbergh's Spalding Gray tribute gives us the true beating heart of the artist instead of talking-head punditry.

Writing Screenplays Is not Painting by Numbers

Lisa Rosenberg
Nov 30, 2010

When structuring a screenplay, sometimes you need to leave the "advice" behind.

Writing Screenplays Is not Painting by Numbers

Lisa Rosenberg
Nov 30, 2010

When structuring a screenplay, sometimes you need to leave the "advice" behind.

Writing Screenplays Is not Painting by Numbers

Lisa Rosenberg
Nov 30, 2010

When structuring a screenplay, sometimes you need to leave the "advice" behind.

Going Guerrilla with Zombies

Holly Million
Nov 23, 2010

Horror legend George Romero offers fundraising advice to first-timers: "Just make the movie. Don’t worry about the money."

Going Guerrilla with Zombies

Holly Million
Nov 23, 2010

Horror legend George Romero offers fundraising advice to first-timers: "Just make the movie. Don’t worry about the money."

Going Guerrilla with Zombies

Holly Million
Nov 23, 2010

Horror legend George Romero offers fundraising advice to first-timers: "Just make the movie. Don’t worry about the money."

Subtext: Catching the Drift Beneath the Dialogue

Lisa Rosenberg
Aug 3, 2010

Memorable lines of dialogue are like the tips of icebergs, floating above vast, submerged mountains of character history, and more.

Subtext: Catching the Drift Beneath the Dialogue

Lisa Rosenberg
Aug 3, 2010

Memorable lines of dialogue are like the tips of icebergs, floating above vast, submerged mountains of character history, and more.

Subtext: Catching the Drift Beneath the Dialogue

Lisa Rosenberg
Aug 3, 2010

Memorable lines of dialogue are like the tips of icebergs, floating above vast, submerged mountains of character history, and more.

Crafting Motifs in Documentary Films

Karen Everett
Jul 6, 2010

Choosing and implementing the right motif can help convey a narrative documentary's theme.

Now…what exactly is a motif? And why would you want to edit one into a documentary film?
During one of my recent group coaching calls, we addressed these questions. . . .

San Francisco Habitue John Waters Offers Role Models

Michael Fox
Jun 10, 2010

With a new book, gallery exhibition, appearances on local radio and stages, John Waters is quickly becoming a Bay Area fixture, a welcome addition to the film and cultural landscape.

Thinking Like a Screenwriter for your Documentary

Karen Everett
May 31, 2010

Moving past genre distinctions may help some filmmakers find the best dramatic arc and the most powerful truths.

A Short Guide to Funding Short Narratives

Holly Million
May 11, 2010

If you re making a short narrative, foundations give you no respect. Financiers turn a cold shoulder. Government grantors snort. And festivals slot your film Sunday at midnight.

SFIFF53 Reports: James Schamus, Roger Ebert and the Writing Life

Dennis Harvey
May 3, 2010

Few would argue that a good movie often starts with a good story. Yet it has been the screenwriter s lot to be underappreciated.

Dialogues: Gary Snyder on Art, Anarchy and the Environment

Robert Avila
May 3, 2010

Poet, essayist, environmentalist, Buddhist, public intellectual and teacher Gary Snyder speaks on life and the making of 'The Practice of the Wild.'

Dialogues: Gary Snyder on Art, Anarchy and the Environment

Robert Avila
May 3, 2010

Poet, essayist, environmentalist, Buddhist, public intellectual and teacher Gary Snyder speaks on life and the making of 'The Practice of the Wild.'

SFIFF53 Reports: California Dreamin' at Film Society Awards Night

Susan Gerhard
Apr 30, 2010

San Francisco itself took a lead role at Film Society Awards Night, the dinner and awards program benefiting the Film Society s year-round Youth Education initiative.

SFIFF53: 'At the Movies' with Roger Ebert

Dennis Harvey
Apr 30, 2010

You know someone is well liked when they re used as the standard by which you fall short.

SFIFF53: The Art of Revival

Dennis Harvey
Apr 29, 2010

Through most of its history, the Festival has featured revivals of restored classics and little-known gems. This year s selections run an unusually wide gamut.

SFIFF53 Reports: 'Utopia,' 'Morning'

SF360
Apr 27, 2010

Live & Onstage thought globally and drafted locally with Sam Green and musician Dave Cerf s live Utopia in Four Movements, which never takes the exact same form.

SFIFF s Porchlight On For Guests

Michael Fox
Apr 24, 2010

Ch‚ Sandoval of Chile, Kaspar Astrup Schroder of Denmark, Pedro Gonzal‚z-Rubio of Mexico, John Herschend and Claudia Gonson don t have much in common except stories to tell.

Dialogues: Jim Harrison on Poetry, Documentary

Robert Avila
Apr 23, 2010

Writer Jim Harrison offers thoughts about his relationship to Gary Snyder and his contributions to 'The Practice of the Wild.'

Dialogues: Jim Harrison on Poetry, Documentary

Robert Avila
Apr 23, 2010

Writer Jim Harrison offers thoughts about his relationship to Gary Snyder and his contributions to 'The Practice of the Wild.'

'Utopia' in San Francisco

Susan Gerhard
Apr 18, 2010

I found Sam Green deep in preparation, but he found time to walk me through the greatest dreams and worst nightmares of the 20th century.

SFIFF53: Ephemeral Film and Music, Live & Onstage

Marc Capelle
Apr 14, 2010

If you imagine the S.F. International Film Festival as an circus tent, with Opening and Closing nights the main supports, the other tent poles are interactive live experiences.

Streetfilms' Two-Wheeled Revolution

Adam Hartzell
Mar 31, 2010

Pedestrians have always propelled cinema narratives, but the bicycle has rarely had a starring role.

San Francisco International Film Festival's 53rd Edition

Susan Gerhard
Mar 30, 2010

Director of Programming Rachel Rosen and programmers Rod Armstrong, Audrey Chang and Sean Uyehara shared thoughts on 177 films from 46 countries.

Childhood's Richness on Film

Lisa Rosenberg
Mar 23, 2010

When a child assumes center stage on film, the potential for both thematic richness and unexpected plot directions increases exponentially.

SF International Asian American Film Festival's Archival Tour

Adam Hartzell
Mar 19, 2010

A theme that emerged in this year s SFIAFF was the importance of archives in the film world.

Reed's Promise of Prodigal Sons

Michael Fox
Mar 3, 2010

If Kimberly Reed took a not particularly unique path into filmmaking, she certainly took an interesting road out of it.

Do Ask, Do Tell

Holly Million
Mar 1, 2010

I've asked people for all kinds of money for all kinds of reasons. Whether I'm asking for $1,000 or $100,000, I've found some key concepts rule.

Cohen and Lipman's Recovering Friend in Forest

Michael Fox
Feb 23, 2010

Injured in a crash on the Golden Gate Bridge, Dr. Grace Dammann spent 45 days in a coma and 13 months in the hospital.

Wendy Slick's 'Virtuoso' Turn

Michael Fox
Feb 9, 2010

Olga Samaroff, the path-breaking 20th-century concert pianist, critic and teacher, was born Lucy Hickenlooper in San Antonio, Texas. That's right, she reinvented herself.

Best Length for Documentary Films

Karen Everett
Feb 9, 2010

How long should your documentary be? If your audience begins to glaze over or feel restless, you've lost the opportunity to leave them wanting more.

The Greatest Finds of My Generation

Susan Gerhard
Jan 26, 2010

The harsh glare of the spotlight that brought Howl mixed reviews from critics on opening night of Sundance had melted into a warm glow by Saturday.

Road-Tested Rules For Bang-up Fundraising Events

Holly Million
Jan 12, 2010

Seems like every filmmaker I know is ready to party! Everyone s throwing fundraising events for their films. So many babes in the party-planning woods.

George Csicsery's Hard Problems

Michael Fox
Jan 4, 2010

With more than 25 documentaries to his credit, many on mathematicians and scientists, George Csicsery is arguably the most prolific filmmaker in the Bay Area.

Best Practices For Naming Sequences

Karen Everett
Dec 30, 2009

For handy access to your most valuable footage, here s a method of organizing sequences.

Top 10s of the 2000s

Susan Gerhard
Dec 30, 2009

Not surprisingly, Bay Area critics, fans, exhibitors and filmmakers did not arrive at a consensus on the best films of the decade.

Top 10s of 2009: Insiders and Fans

Susan Gerhard
Dec 29, 2009

It was a big year for 3D, but Bay Area critics and film-industry folk found many other dimensions in the cinema of 2009.

After Sept. 11, 2001, A Decade Found Its Way

B. Ruby Rich
Dec 23, 2009

On Sept. 13, 2001, I stood in a Toronto park and spoke to Canadian television: Movies wouldn't be the same. I was wrong.

David Thomson Revisits 'Psycho's' Critical Moment

Michael Fox
Dec 14, 2009

David Thomson's new book commemorates the golden anniversary of Hitchcock's "Psycho."

Legal Eagle Eye Kristine Enea Zooms 'Off the Grid'

Michael Fox
Dec 8, 2009

Kristine Enea's documentary shows The EcoCenter, a San Francisco environmental educational facility that treats and recycles wastewater and generates its own solar power.

Sequence Names

Karen Everett
Dec 1, 2009

The Edit Room: Karen Everett shares tips on how to track multiple versions of Final Cut Pro projects and sequences.

Antonelli's 'Crossing Over' and Cooke's Soulful Genius

Michael Fox
Dec 1, 2009

Marin County filmmaker John Antonelli talks about his documentary on influential late singer-songwriter Sam Cooke for PBS's "American Masters" series.

Carmen Madden on Watching People, Writing Characters

Lisa Rosenberg
Nov 16, 2009

Writer/director Carmen Madden's writing reflects just how intimately she comes to see and know a screenplay's world and the characters that inhabit it.

Gerald Peary on the Rise and Fall of the Film Critic

Susan Gerhard
Nov 14, 2009

Boston Phoenix film critic Gerald Peary's film tours the rise, fall and reorientation of film criticism in the United States.

Russell Merritt at the SF International Animation Festival

Sura Wood
Nov 9, 2009

A conversation on Walt Disney's Alice Comedies with a lively raconteur and Professor of Film Studies at UC Berkeley.

A Tour Through the 2009 Taiwan Film Days

Adam Hartzell
Nov 5, 2009

For three days, the SFFS offers a chance to see contemporary Taiwanese cinema beyond the work of the usual Taiwanese film masters.

Robert Mailer Anderson on Mendo Madness of 'Pig Hunt'

Dennis Harvey
Oct 26, 2009

After ripping it up at various genre fests, the Bay Area indie horror flick settles in for a theatrical run at the Red Vic.

Remembering Chick Strand

Max Goldberg
Oct 23, 2009

Chick Strand, a crucial pioneer of West Coast experimental cinema, died July 11 at 78.

Dave Eggers, Spike Jonze and 'Wild Things'

Michael Read
Oct 19, 2009

Where the Wild Things Are is directed by Spike Jonze from a screenplay by Jonze and Bay Area–based writer Dave Eggers, based on the classic 1963 picture book by Maurice Sendak.

Christopher Upham Back to 'Dakto,' Vietnam

Michael Fox
Oct 13, 2009

The writer has had ample opportunity in the last 40 years to come to terms with his stint as an ambulance driver and medic.

The Importance of Supporting Characters

Lisa Rosenberg
Oct 13, 2009

Beyond Words: The people who back up the main character are often key sources of revelation, unmasking aspects of personality, motivation and backstory.

Pamela Jean Smith Brings Home Movies to Big Screen

Max Goldberg
Oct 12, 2009

Though often made for private reasons, home movies are treasure troves of culture ephemera and social history.

Mill Valley Film Festival's 32nd

Dennis Harvey
Oct 9, 2009

The program offers a surprisingly potent mainstream industry presence, with tributes to A-list types more frequently seen at the multiplex than at the art house.

A Fat Line Between Love and Hate

David Munro
Oct 6, 2009

First Person: How can people respond in diametric and, at times, vitriolic opposition to the same film? Mine.

Organizing your bins effectively

Karen Everett
Sep 22, 2009

The Edit Room: Learning how to organize saves you time and money in the editing process; a walk-through just how to do it.

Toronto International Film Festival 2009

B. Ruby Rich
Sep 19, 2009

The Toronto International Film Festival has always allowed a generosity of pursuits to co-exist, rewarding the adventurous and satiating the lazy, all without judgment.

High Drama in High school in 'The Beautiful Person'

Max Goldberg
Sep 4, 2009

The story of teenagers living like a savage, roaming pack of animals, The Beautiful Person locates a classic in a contemporary setting.

Understanding Backstory

Lisa Rosenberg
Aug 25, 2009

Behind any narrative for the screen is the story that came before it—the life that shaped the central character, who arrives fully formed as your story opens

'Howl' is Poetry in Post

Michael Fox
Jul 28, 2009

Academy Award-winning documentary filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman combine live-action period drama and animation in retelling of Ginsburg's Howl

Berkeley-based writer Barry Gifford's wild screen-rides

Sura Wood
Jul 19, 2009

A peripatetic childhood laid fertile ground for the heated imagination of Berkeley-based author Barry Gifford, who has written Wild at Heart and Lost Highway. 

Lucrecia Martel and a Case for Decadence

Sean Uyehara
Jul 17, 2009

Lucrecia Martel's films, including La Ciénaga and The Headless Woman feature what have come to be known as her primary concerns: classism, decay and femininity.

Britta Sjogren and "Women's Film"

Max Goldberg
Jul 16, 2009

Sjogren threads her vexations with feminist film theory into a study of sound and voice in "women's film" touchstones like Letter from an Unknown Woman.

Are Your "Friends" Worthless?

Holly Million
Jul 13, 2009

Fear-Free Fundraising: Are Your "Friends" Worthless?

Beyond Words: Comedy That Sticks

Lisa Rosenberg
Jul 7, 2009

What's the key to writing comedy that sticks with us, despite perhaps an overblown story line or how lost and low-down the characters seem at the time?

"Just Make Them Love It"

Holly Million
Jun 8, 2009

Make them love it. Make? Oh, words of dread! How do you MAKE somebody love your film?

The Hero, Deconstructed

Lisa Rosenberg
May 18, 2009

Beyond Words: Linda Rosenberg explores the transformation of the contemporary film hero in Doubt and In Bruges.

Elliot Lavine: 'I Wake Up Dreaming'

Sura Wood
May 11, 2009

Elliot Lavine, a Bay Area film scene fixture, returns to The Roxie to curate I Wake Up Dreaming: The Haunted World of the B Film Noir, a series of 28 lowdown and tawdry films.

SFIFF52: Movie-Scribe Meltdown

David Winks Gray
May 2, 2009

SF360.org interviews film critics about the changing landscape of film criticism. A panel discussion and screening of For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism will take place on Sunday, May 3, at 6 p.m.

Film Society Awards: Ballard, Coppola, Redford and Toback

Susan Gerhard
May 1, 2009

The San Francisco Film Society honored Francis Ford Coppola, Carroll Ballard, Robert Redford and James Toback. Coppola surprised the audience by turning over the Founder's Directing Award he received to longtime colleague Carroll Ballard.

SFIFF52: Chris Felver's "Ferlinghetti" Captures an Icon

David Winks Gray
Apr 26, 2009

Chris Felver traces the life of antiauthoritarian Lawrence Ferlinghetti, owner of City Lights Books, from his days as a Navy serviceman in World War II through the landmark First Amendment trial in Ferlinghetti.

"Fans, Friends & Followers"—an excerpt

Scott Kirsner
Apr 8, 2009

Fans, Friends & Followers, focuses on strategies artists can use to support their careers in the digital age.

Character, Stripped to the Bone

Lisa Rosenberg
Apr 7, 2009

Chop Shop, and Frozen River, present challenges in the building of character: attention to details of behavior and shifts in the character's world signal a hero's journey both profound and deeply internal.

SF International Film Festival Lineup

Susan Gerhard
Mar 31, 2009

The two weeks of programs offers 151 films from 55 countries, awards and prices, and a wide array of San Francisco talent, from legendary names to the fledgling artists.

On the Road, in Search of a Film

Michael Fox
Mar 10, 2009

Caroline Kraus is embarking on a project with a rough outline, a firm destination, little money and no ending, but with a unifying theme: underdogs, and our notions of success, failure and disappointment.

'Examined Life' Puts Ideas into Action

Dennis Harvey
Mar 6, 2009

An engaging documentary sampler of nine leading contemporary theorists, interviewed in settings that one way or another in real world terms illustrate (or contrast with) the concepts they discuss.

The Alchemy of Adaptation

Lisa Rosenberg
Feb 19, 2009

Beyond Words: To pull off an adaptation, you must translate the unwieldy bulk of the original story into a breathing and transformative tale on screen.

Re-Viewing 'The Savage Eye'

Dennis Harvey
Feb 18, 2009

This "dramatized documentary" was a labor of love–if also a graphic portrayal of the vast LA detached from Hollywood's success-bubble glamour.

'Strand' Follows Thread to Rep Cinema's Glory Days

Michael Fox
Feb 3, 2009

In Strand: A Natural History of Cinema, Christian Bruno pays homage to the pivotal and shifting role of movie theaters in San Francisco's cultural life.

SF Cinematheque: New Year, New Direction

Susan Gerhard
Feb 2, 2009

SF360.org joined in on a conversation about Cinematheque's past and present when Steven Jenkins lunched with Jonathan Marlow at Caffe Centro.

Essay Films at the Pacific Film Archive

David Winks Gray
Jan 30, 2009

The PFA's series of "essay films," a collection of diverse work, offers the viewer an opportunity to adapt to the peculiar tone of these films.

Reading Between the Frames: Fleming and Sturges

Michael Fox
Dec 18, 2008

Victor Fleming: An American Movie Master and Glenn Lovell's Escape Artist: The Life and Films of John Sturges are splendid biographies by critics with local ties.

Sundance Harvests an Eclectic Crop of Local Films

Michael Fox
Dec 11, 2008

Bay Area filmmakers represented at Sundance.

What Crisis? Fundraising During an Economic Meltdown

Holly Million
Dec 3, 2008

Fear-Free Fundraising: Holly Million advises filmmakers on where to get funding when the going gets tough.

Sragow on 'An American Movie Master'

Michael Fox
Nov 30, 2008

Former San Francisco Examiner film critic Michael Sragow talks about his newly released book Victor Fleming: An American Movie Master.

Scott MacDonald's 'Canyon Cinema' Book--Both History and How-to

Michael Fox
Nov 17, 2008

Scott McDonald's Canyon Cinema: The Life and Times of an Independent Film Distributor, details the formation of the revered Bay Area artists' collective in the early 1960s.

David Thomson and 1,000 Unusual Suspects

Michael Fox
Nov 3, 2008

Film historian and essayist David Thomson talks to SF360 about his new book, Have You Seen . . . ? A Personal Introduction to 1,000 Films.

Yiyun Li, The Voice of 'A Thousand'

Judy Stone
Sep 30, 2008

The title story of her Hemingway/Pen Award-winning collection of short stories, A Thousand Years of Good Prayers, has been adapted by Wayne Wang.

Mendocino's Swine Country

Michael Fox
Sep 17, 2008

"Horror films can hold a lot of crazy ideas and political ideas and no one blinks," says Pig Hunt writer and producer Robert Mailer Anderson, "and that serves our purposes."

'The Dark Cinema of David Goodis' at the PFA

Dennis Harvey
Aug 7, 2008

The Pacific Film Archive screens a survey of Goodis-related works from both the big and small screen, spanning nearly five decades.

'The Dark Cinema of David Goodis' at the PFA

Dennis Harvey
Aug 7, 2008

The Pacific Film Archive screens a survey of Goodis-related works from both the big and small screen, spanning nearly five decades.

Riffling through '1000 Journals' with Someguy

Michael Fox
Jul 28, 2008

Andrea Kreuzhage speaks about her documentary, 1000 Journals, which raises a host of fascinating questions about creativity, collaboration, community, and communication.

Alex Gibney on Going 'Gonzo'

Cathleen Rountree
Jun 30, 2008

SF360.org sits down with director Alex Gibney, whose film, Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson played at the 51st SFIFF.

Contemporary Jewish Museum's DAWN

Miriam Wolf
May 30, 2008

Looking for something meaningful to do Sunday at 2 a.m.? Try the all-night Dawn festival.

Capelle on Composers: Back to Back

Marc Capelle
May 7, 2008

Back to music.



I have some friends that were in a Sub Pop band that pre-dated Nirvana. They were known as the Dwarves. Their music is and was a snotty suburban unholy mixture of the Sonics, the Orlons, the Stooges and a vat of amphetamines. Their record covers usually featured midgets and half-naked woman covered in either blood or some sort of Nestle syrup of some sort. Here is one of their lines.



[Editor’s note: For the San Francisco International’s 51st edition, SF360.org has asked Bay Area musician/composer/cineaste Marc Capelle to blog his thoughts on movies, music, and the films showing in the Festival. This is the third of three installments.]

Gibney Going "Gonzo," Part Two

Cathleen Rountree
May 7, 2008

The second installment of Alex Gibney's interview about Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, which closes the San Francisco International Film Festival.

SFIFF51: Eddie Muller's Muses

Jennifer Preissel
Apr 26, 2008

A self-described "cultural archeologist," the noir expert's debut short, The Grand Inquisitor, pays homage to the Dashiell Hammett-style detective story.

Ten SFIAAFF Picks From Judy Stone

Susan Gerhard
Mar 13, 2008

Longtime San Francisco Chronicle film critic Judy Stone offers her top ten picks from the 2008 San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival.

"Paranoid Park"

Dennis Harvey
Mar 11, 2008

Just when Gus Van Sant seemed on the verge of turning into just another Hollywood selloutÑhe did a total about-face. His four features since have been true art films

Alan K. Rode on Noir and Charles McGraw

Michael Fox
Jan 28, 2008

Alan K. Rode, a cofounder of the Film Noir Foundation, sang the praises of San Francisco movie audiences on the horn from L.A., then got down to brass tacks.

Laura Albert, The Real J.T. Leroy, Charged With Fraud

Eugene Hernandez/indieWIRE
Jun 26, 2007

The story of literary sensation and media darling J.T. Leroy, a persona created by Laura Albert, took another dramatic turn Friday in New York.

Reviews: "Black Snake Moan"; "Cinemachismo"

Michael Guillen
Feb 27, 2007

risks ridiculousness in chasing down unpolished redemption, while de la Mora delivers essential reading in Mexican film, gender studies, and theories of queer spectatorship.

Michael Arndt, Little Mr. Sunshine

Michael Guillen
Feb 23, 2007

The Oscar-nominated screenwriter of Little Miss Sunshine made a Cody's San Francisco bookstore appearance promoting the publication of the shooting script.

Noir City5, Fun with Dicks and Janes

Robert Avila
Jan 25, 2007

A preview of the festival's rich program with festival's organizer Eddie Muller

Reopening "Pandora's Box"

Dennis Harvey
Nov 7, 2006



Many stars are forgotten for a while, then “rediscovered” and newly appreciated by a later generation. But the case of Louise Brooks is somewhat unique — she was, really, only a “star” in retrospect. Her Hollywood profile was headed that-a-way when she foolishly (according to the industry) abandoned it to make a couple European movies. When she returned, her moment had passed.



A paltry if promising career and early dead-end-at the time, it constituted barely a blip on the radar. Yet those European films grew in stature over ensuing years, and with that the gradual realization that Brooks had been one of the great screen presences, however briefly. Her striking look — porcelain skin, alert features, sleek jet-black flapper bob — and naturalistic acting haven’t dated at all.



As a result, it seems there’s more interest in her with each passing year. The latest evidence is critic and historian Peter Cowie’s new book “Louise Brooks: Lulu Forever,“ published in time to commemorate the centenary of her birth. He’ll be signing copies and presenting a special commemorative film program at the Balboa this Sunday. The evening promises a rarely screened feature, a short and trailers showcasing Brooks, as well as “special guests, door prizes and more.” (Cowie will also appear the prior night at the Smith Rafael Film Center to screen a new 35mm print of her best-known vehicle “Pandora’s Box.”)



Why the fuss? Why, indeed, is there such a thing as The Louise Brooks Society (which is co-presenting this event with The Booksmith)? The explanation is all on-screen, in any role where she wasn’t entirely wasted.



Kansas-born Brooks started out as a dancer, first in touring troupes and then in Broadway revues. This led to Hollywood in 1925, where bit parts led steadily to larger ones, finally female leads in two good 1928 Paramount releases: Howard Hawks’ rollicking “A Girl in Every Port” and William Wellman’s more delicate “Beggars of Life.”



She hadn’t set the world on fire yet, but was certainly expected to graduate from starlet to star. Paramount was not pleased, however, when she chose — just as “talking pictures” were becoming the rage — to end her contract and accept a silent-film offer in Germany. This was G.W. Pabst’s “Pandora’s Box,” drawn from Franz Wedekind’s play “Lulu,” and with beguiling lack of affectation she played that titular seducer/destroyer of both men and women, herself finally destroyed by Jack the Ripper. Perhaps even better (if less shocking) than that famous classic was a second Pabst movie, “Diary of a Lost Girl,” in which her victimized innocent is indelibly touching. She also starred as an exploited beauty-contest winner in a French film, 1930’s “Prix de Beaute.” These are all wonderful movies in which she was superb. But for a long time they were little seen outside their home countries — particularly in the U.S., where silent cinema was already stone-cold-dead.



Returning to Hollywood, Brooks was now — at age 24 — a has-been. She unwisely turned a couple good offers and accepted a handful of humiliatingly poor ones, including bit parts. Those few who remembered her considered her “difficult” and past expiration date. Her last movie role was a nondescript heroine in a nondescript 1938 “Z” western, “Overland Stage Raiders” — one of a zillion such that John Wayne starred in before becoming an “A”-list star.



Found living in seclusion in the mid-‘50s, Brooks was surprised and delighted that latterday film buffs not only remembered but worshipped her. She returned the favor by writing very intelligently about her own movies and the art form in general (mostly famously in the essay collection “Lulu in Hollywood,” which is still in print). She admitted sabotaging her own career as readily as she enjoyed her new iconic status in retirement, dying at a no doubt satisfied age 80 in 1985 — secure in the knowledge that her legend would continue to grow.



[“Pandora’s Box” plays Sat., Nov. 11, at 7 pm, Smith Rafael Film Center, 1118 4th St., San Rafael. $6.25-9.50. (415) 454-1222. “Celebrating Louise Brooks: An Evening of Rare Films,” issues Sun., Nov. 12, at 7:30 pm, Balboa Theatre, 2630 Balboa, SF. $6-8.50. (415) 221-8184.]

Truman Capote , 1974

Susan Gerhard
Nov 1, 2006

A visit to the 50th anniversary portion of San Francisco Film Society’s web site nets not just the real Truman Capote candidly essaying on life and the movies in a 1974 visit to the SF International Film Festival.

Joseph McBride: All is Welles

Michael Fox
Oct 16, 2006

Joseph McBride's What Ever Happened to Orson Welles?: A Portrait of An Independent Career catalogs the director's amazingly prolific final 15 years.

Fighting for Freedom: Exploring Vachon's "Killer Life"

Eugene Hernandez/indieWIRE
Oct 3, 2006

Killer Films' Christine Vachon's new memoir, A Killer Life (written with Austin Bunn), bolsters the producer as the driving force of independent film.

David Thomson on Nicole Kidman

Michael Fox
Sep 4, 2006

The renowned local critic and historian talks about his book about the iconic Hollywood beauty.

Bukowski By the Bunch

Dennis Harvey
Aug 24, 2006

The author's cult gets another buck-up from the release of Norwegian director Bent Hamer;s first English-language feature, Factotum.

Screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga on the Weight of Words

Michael Fox
Jul 24, 2006

Arriaga, who authored Amores Perros, 21 Grams, and The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, discusses working in collaboration and across mediums.

One Screen, Three San Francisco Cinephiles

Johnny Ray Huston
May 15, 2006

Christian Bruno, Julie Lindow and R.A. McBride discuss their love of San Francisco and its theaters over beers at the Uptown.

A Writer and Filmmaker Bring "Alice" to the Screen

Staff
May 10, 2006

Insights into the initial process of bringing the screenplay adaptation of a short story to the screen.

Totally, Tenderly 20th-Century: Lopate Curates Critics

Thomas Logoreci
Apr 11, 2006

With American Movie Critics: An Anthology From the Silents Until Now, N.Y. essayist Phillip Lopate compiles nearly a century of groundbreaking and entertaining criticism.

A JT LeRoy Reader

Susan Gerhard
Mar 23, 2006

The List: How JT LeRoy went from fiction to fact in the media.

David Kipen Posits New Auteur Theory

Michael Fox
Mar 6, 2006

A conversation with David Kipen about his book, The Schreiber Theory, which reclaims the contribution of screenwriters to motion pictures.