Today started out with a major disappointment; not with a movie but with New York City traffic. The final press screening for one of the movies I was most looking forward to started at 9:30 am today. Being one of the most talked about films, I decided to leave early so that I would get there around 9 am. For those who do not know, a building collapsed in the early morning hours today in downtown Manhattan. Because of this, traffic was absolutely horrendous. I was stuck on the bus by the Battery Park tunnel entrance for about 30 minutes. I did not get to the theater till 10 am, which screwed up my entire schedule for the day. Worst of all, it made me miss The Girlfriend Experience. Since it already has distribution from Magnolia, and is already ON Demand, I know I will see it soon but I am still mad to have missed it.
I followed my huge disappointment with a screening of Eric Bana’s documentary, Love The Beast, which I originally planned on attending a later screening of. It was a good documentary but overall it was not something special. I believe if it had been about any other racecar driver on the track besides Eric Bana, it would not be in the festival. It is still an enjoyable film but I think I would have loved it a lot more had I been a big fan of cars.
After loving the Beast, I spent some time online at the DirectTV Tribeca Press Center drinking some free Snapple. I then headed back to see Newsmakers, which is a great Russian film. It is hard to describe because it is mainly an action film; however, there are also some very funny moments, as well as some biting satire of media culture. Newsmaker’s is a remake of the 2004 film Breaking News and there is already talk of an American remake. It will be amazing if done right but more likely it will turn out to be a bastard child of Showtime. The film had an old school action feel to it but it also felt very modern with its various uses of media in the film.
After seeing some bodies hit the floor, I headed home. I haven’t decided yet if I will go tomorrow. I have to work in the morning and I was only planning on seeing 1 film. Since the weather is supposed to be terrible and traffic will suck due to streets still being closed off because of the collapsed building, it may not be worth it. Instead I may stay in and actually catch up on all the reviews I need to write. I also scored a few screeners that I have yet to watch. I’m already taking off Saturday due to work but I will definitely be going in on Sunday for the final day of the festival. Don’t worry though, our coverage will continue well into next week. I am also in the process of setting up interviews with some NY based Tribeca filmmakers so it may run even longer. Hope you are enjoying everything so far.
Jerry Cavallaro – www.AreYouStuckLikeChuck.com
