Tag: janie jones

Tribeca 2011: Full Festival Recap

It has been one week since the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival came to a close and I wanted to share with you one last look at my festival experience. Here is the good, the bad & the ugly of Tribeca 2011.

HIGHLIGHTS

There were a lot of great films and moments at this year’s festival. Here are some of my favorites.

  • RABIES – My favorite film of the festival. Smart, funny, inventive & surprising. A slasher that removes the killer from the start and toys with genre conventions.
  • THE DUNGON MASTER – It won best online short, which was well deserved. My favorite short of the festival and one of the best I’ve seen in a long time. Bravo Rider & Shiloh Strong.
  • JANIE JONES – This film is like most road trips in that you may know where it is gong but it is the journey that really counts. Sweet, heartwarming, well made and full of great performances.
  • SAINT – This is an above average horror comedy that reaches levels of perfection at times but sadly those scenes are spread far apart.
  • GRAVE ENCOUNTERS – There is nothing original about the characters or story in this flick but the fantastic execution by the Vicious Brothers makes this one of the best “found footage” films I’ve ever seen.
  • THE TRIP – A very funny, mostly improvised English comedy starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon as themselves.
  • Interviews – A big thank you to Abigail Breslin, Alessandro Nivola, Rider Strong & Shilog Strong for sitting down and talking with me during the festival. It was an honor speaking with each of them. I’d also like to thank Dick Maas for answering questions about SAINT via email.
  • Parties – While most are drawn to them for the free alcohol, I actually look forward to the networking opportunities. Festival parties are a great way to meet people within the industry. Thanks to Tribeca, I got to spend some time with awesome people like Peter Gutierrez & Ben Umstead from Twitch.com and Alan LaFave from the Hell’s Half Mile Film + Music Festival. Also, at the JANIE JONES after party I got the chance to watch Abigail Breslin & Alessandro Nivola perform live.
  • Tribeca (Online) Film Festival – A fantastic way for people nationwide to enjoy films from Tribeca & even vote for audience favorites. This is something all film festivals should be doing.
  • Free Magnum Ice Cream And Kind Fruit & Nut Bars – Everyone loves free food, especially when it tastes good.

DISAPPOINTMENTS

When seeing films at a festival like this, there is often not much information available about them. Many of them don’t have a trailer or an official website and sometimes all you have to go by is the description in the program guide. The same goes for some of the events as well. Because of this, there is bound to be some big surprises but there will also be some disappointments. Here are a few of mine.

  • DETACHMENT – I’m not sure what I was expecting but it certainly was not what I got. It almost feels like Ridley Scott made an art film about public education.
  • HIGHER GROUND – A lot of times a festival darling like this one will leave people divided. I was on the other side of the line for Vera Farmiga’s debut as a director.
  • RABIES – This is my favorite film of the festival. I’m just disappointed it did not win Best Online feature because it absolutely deserved it.
  • Chambers Press Pass – It is the lowest level pass one can have at Tribeca and it severely limited the number of events I was able to attend.
  • Online Press Screening Room – In addition to having a public screening section, there was another screening room site only open to press & industry. This is an absolutely brilliant idea that I wish more festivals would adopt. However, I was shocked to discover that this screening room was closed before the festival ended. Because I had the Chambers Pass (see above), there were no screenings I could attend on the last two days of the festival. I saved a bunch of shorts & features to watch online on those days only to find out that it was no longer available Saturday morning. Since this is meant for the press, it would be smart for it to be available when most of us have extra time due to limits on our passes. Ideally, this screening room would be available before and after the festival so that more films could be covered.
  • The Filmmakers – I have said it before but I am extremely upset in how filmmakers promoted their films at the festival. It seems as if there was mostly an attitude of “my film is playing Tribeca so I don’t have to promote it” and that is just not true. There were a few exceptions, such as the Vicious Brothers and their intense online promotion of GRAVE ENCOUNTERS. They really went out of their way to spread the word about their film and it worked; people were talking about the film that did not even attend the festival. Unfortunately many of the filmmakers did absolutely nothing.

WHAT I MISSED

It is impossible to see every film and attend each panel at a festival like this. It is just too massive that you must make tough choices when creating a schedule. Talent availability, overlapping screenings and having the lowest level press pass made creating my schedule especially difficult this year. Here are some things I wish I were able to check out at this year’s festival.

  • TURN ME ON, GODDAMNIT – With a title like this, your film is sure to get talked about but the buzz around this flick was insane. It left the festival with some awards / honorable mentions and nearly everyone there I spoke with could not stop raving about it.
  • JESUS HENRY CHRIST – It was cute that they had the press screening on Easter but that unfortunately meant I could not see it. I’ll be honest, I heard nothing about the film from anyone at the festival but I still think it looks great.
  • THE GUARD – My choice was to either cut the Rider & Shiloh Strong interview short or skip this dark comedy starring Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle. I made the right choice but I hope to see this soon.
  • GOD BLESS OZZY OSBOURNE – It’s Ozzy open and uncensored. What more do you need?
  • NEWLYWEDS – I am a huge fan of Edward Burns and was upset that there were no press screenings for his latest offering.
  • TROLLHUNTER – Whoever approved the press screenings for TROLLHUNTER & GRAVE ENCOUNTERS to be at the same time sucks. I have heard some amazing things even before the festival and look forward to eventually checking out this Magnolia release.
  • A GOOD OLD FASHIONED ORGY – What the hell is a film like this doing in the Tribeca lineup? I’m not sure but I am mad as hell they did not have a press screening for it. I’m also very curious as to what the after party was like.
  • CHEAT – I got an email asking me to check out this short film starring Bill Burr, Colin Quinn and Rich Vos. With comedic talent like that, I was really looking forward to checking it out but this short ended up as one of the casualties of the Online Screening Room problem I mentioned above.
  • YEAR ZERO – A 24 minute short zombie epic made by a fellow New Yorker. Another unfortunate casualty of the online screening room.
  • PREFERABLY BLUE – A short animation about a feud between the Easter Bunny & Santa Clause that claims to be based on a real story. Yet another online screening room missed opportunity.
  • Meet the Filmmaker At Apple Store SoHo – One of the really cool things Apple does with Tribeca is invite some of the filmmakers and actors from the fest to do a Q & A at the nearby Apple Store. Luckily all these events are available to download as audio podcasts. Just search for MEET THE FILMMAKER on itunes.
  • Opening Night – The festival kicked off with a free outdoor screening of THE UNION by Cameron Crowe followed by a concert from the film’s subject, Sir Elton John. This is all kinds of awesomeness that I unfortunately was unable to attend.

While there was a lot that I missed and some that I wish I missed, this was still a very cool festival experience. I’d like to thank everyone at the festival for putting on a great event and letting me attend. I’d also like to thank all of you for reading my coverage throughout the festival. There will be a few more reviews coming in as I have a chance to write them but this will be my final posting about the festival itself.

Jerry Cavallaro  – www.StuckLikeChuck.com

Tribeca 2011: JANIE JONES After Party

The final event I attended of the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival was the After Party for the film JANIE JONES. It was a very fitting conclusion to my festival experience since I saw the film on my first day and interviewed stars Abigail Breslin & Alessandro Nivola halfway through the festival.

When I arrived at Marquee, I realized this was unlike the other parties I had attended at Tribeca. This was less of a networking event and much more of a celebration for cast, crew, friends & family. I immediately felt out of place but I’m used to that. The guest list included stars of the film Abigail Breslin, Alessandro Nivola and Frank Whaley, as well as other celebrity guests including Marisa Tomei, Ethan Hawke, and Emily Mortimer.

Towards the end of the night, I had a chance to spend some time with Alessandro who remembered me from our interview. He mentioned that he has been checking out our coverage of the film and that he really enjoyed my review of JANIE JONES. It is always gratifying to receive compliments about your coverage from someone associated with the film so that was very cool.

In addition to getting to talk with some really cool people, I also got to watch Abigail Breslin and Alessandro Nivola perform a short acoustic set.  Below are some photos from their performance. While I did take video of them, I was asked not to post any audio or video from the night. Sorry but I have to honor their request. However, if you would like to hear one of the songs Abigail Breslin performed from the film, “Fight For Me” is now available via iTunes.

While I have many more, these are some of my favorite images of the night. I also included a few random shots of the crowd before they lowered the lights. The guys in the last picture thought I was the event photographer and asked me to take a photo. Sure, why not?

Jerry Cavallaro  – www.StuckLikeChuck.com

Tribeca 2011 Daily Recap: April 29th

For anyone that follows me on Twitter (@GetStuck), you know that I made a major error this morning. My final screening of the festival was going to be the 2 pm press screening of THE BLEEDING HOUSE. The only problem is that screening was actually at 12pm. Luckily I realized my error before I made the 90-minute commute to the festival. Since that was my only screening for the day and I had no interviews scheduled, I declared Thursday my last day actually at the festival. A few hours later, I was back on the bus to the city anyway.

I received an invite to the JANIE JONES after party and knew it would be fun to attend. Since I arrived at the festival about 45 minutes early, I decided to take one last walk around the Chelsea Theater, which is where I spent most of my Tribeca Film Festival experience. I walked around looking for more promo materials and didn’t find anything new. I mentioned it in a previous post but I am extremely disappointed in how filmmakers represented themselves and their films at this festival. I also thought I’d pick up a Tribeca Film Festival shirt that has been tempting me the entire festival. Then I saw the price and decided I already have plenty of shirts from smaller film festivals that I’d rather support anyway.

On my way out the door, I ran into the beautiful and talented Maria Rusolo. She is a NY based actress/producer that I am friends with and we have been trying to meet up the entire festival. It turns out we were in the same theater at least once and completely missed each other. We talked a little about the festival before I made my way over to the JANIE JONES party.

Rather than load this recap with photos, I created a separate post for the JANIE JONES party that you can view right HERE. The party turned out to be my final event of the festival and it was a perfect way to end it. While I am finished with the festival, my coverage will continue into next week. I have reviews to catch up on, as well as interviews to post. Be sure to keep an eye out for my continuing coverage and thank you for reading my daily updates on my festival experience.

Jerry Cavallaro  – www.StuckLikeChuck.com

Tribeca 2011 Interview: Abigail Breslin & Alessandro Nivola

On Tuesday I had the pleasure of sitting down with Abigail Breslin and Alessandro Nivola to discuss their new film, JANIE JONES. The film had its US premiere on Friday night at the Tribeca Film Festival. I saw an early cut of the film last week and really enjoyed it. (Review HERE)

Sometimes arriving early to a press event has its rewards. Prior to the interview, I had the chance to watch Abigail Breslin perform a quick acoustic song for a few people. I never would have guessed that she is still learning to play. As I said in Tuesday’s daily recap, she is insanely talented in everything she does. Alessandro joked that she made a deal with the devil and that would honestly explain a lot.

Here is a video of our full interview. The only thing trimmed from it is when a bee decided to invade as we were about to begin. We talk about JANIE JONES, crying on cue, Jordan Creek Mall and even ZOMBIELAND 2. Enjoy!

Jerry Cavallaro  – www.StuckLikeChuck.com

Tribeca 2011 Daily Recap: April 26th

For me, today’s experience at the Tribeca Film Festival was the definition of short but sweet. It opened once again with free Magnum ice cream for breakfast followed by a press screening of EVERYTHING MUST GO. The film brings us a more reserved Will Ferrell similar to what we saw in films like STRANGER THAN FICTION and he once again does a great job with that type of character. The film follows a man who lost his job only to come home and find out his wife is leaving him so he does what everyone would do in that situation, decides to live on his front lawn.

After the screening I found out that my first interview for the festival fell through, which was disappointing. However, the next email I read made me forget all about it. I got confirmation for an interview with Abigail Breslin and Alessandro Nivola for JANIE JONES, which I just reviewed yesterday. They were able to squeeze me in at the end of their press day, which I was very grateful for. It is funny how these things work out sometimes.

Since I had some time to kill before the interview, I grabbed a surprisingly cheap & delicious lunch at Dallas BBQ and then went back to the press lounge to work on my questions. The interview was set to take place right next door at the GEM Hotel. Since they had finished early, they said I could come up sooner so I got to listen to Abigail Breslin jam for a few minutes before the interview. That girl is insanely talented in everything she does. Alessando Nivola said that she is a machine and it’s true. They were both really cool to talk with and sadly our 10 minutes flew by. I will post the full interview tomorrow but for now here is a screen grab:

After that, I headed home. As I said, short but sweet.

Jerry Cavallaro  – www.StuckLikeChuck.com

Tribeca 2011 Review: JANIE JONES

Ethan Brand is a struggling rocker (Alessandro Nivola) who is forced to look after the daughter he’s never met before (Abigail Breslin) after her junkie mother abandons her at one of his concerts. The 13 year old happens to be a very talented musician on her own and a lot more mature than most girls her age. Ethan happens to be an unfriendly alcoholic whose life is all about music even though it can’t pay the bills. If you think you know what is going to happen next, you are probably right. While the story offers nothing new, JANIE JONES is still a well-made film that left me with a smile on my face at the end of the screening.

While the film is fairly straightforward, there are still a few ways it manages to take risks. For one thing, I was surprised that the film seems to be going for an R-rating when this type of film is typically a bit cleaner to reach a wider audience. I was also surprised by the character of Ethan Brand, who is the film’s real protagonist. I was surprised because he is such an asshole. He is not likeable at all nor does he start off with any redeeming characteristics. As the late great Blake Snyder would say, he does not “save the cat.”

If you are unaware of Snyder, he was a screenwriter who suggested the main character must do something early in the film to get the audience on board with him, such as saving a cat. When it comes time for him to “save the cat” by looking after Janie when she is abandoned, he is reluctant to even do that. He is forced to take her in and constantly reminds everyone that he doesn’t believe she’s really his kid and doesn’t even remember meeting her mom, despite a valid birth certificate. For a good chunk of the film we could care less about Ethan but because we are invested in Janie, we stick it out.

Then something happens. Slowly we come to feel sorry for Ethan and eventually we begin to root for him. He is self-destructive but he really does love his music. He is not trying to be a rock star for the sex, drugs or money. He is doing it because it is his passion. And when the time comes that he could exploit Janie’s talent, he doesn’t want to do it. It is very obvious that Ethan would evolve into a likeable father figure but it is still an interesting arch to follow.

The other big risk in the film is the music. Writer/Director David M. Rosenthal likes to linger on the musical sequences. Whenever Janie gets upset, she grabs her guitar and sings her heart out. This happens many times throughout the film. When other characters hear her playing and approach her, we always wait until she finishes her song for the scene to continue. It becomes overkill because we get that she loves to play and that is her retreat, we don’t need to see it happen constantly.  At one point I actually became suspicious of Janie because of how often she played just close enough for band members and managers to hear her. I thought maybe she was scamming Ethan and she was not really his kid. That being said the music is not half bad and while so many sequences may be unnecessary, it fits in with the film.

The highlight of the film are the performances. Everyone does a great job with the roles, especially Abigail Breslin and Alessando Nivola who both did their own singing and guitar work. The always brilliant Peter Stormare was also fantastic as Brand’s managaer. I especially loved his first scene with Janie when she is still getting used to the band. I also enjoyed seeing Joel Moore (He got rid of the David?) in this since I have always been a fan of his work.

You know exactly what kind of film you are in for with JANIE JONES. It has flaws and lacks some originality but it has heart and solid performances throughout. If the plot description interests you, definitely give this one a watch.

Jerry Cavallaro  – www.StuckLikeChuck.com

I HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED THAT THE VERSION OF THE FILM I SAW WAS NOT THE FINAL CUT. I WILL LEAVE THIS REVIEW UP BUT PLEASE NOTE THERE MAY BE CHANGES FROM WHAT IS MENTIONED HERE AND WHAT IS IN THE FINAL FILM. IF GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY, I WILL REVIEW THE FILM AGAIN UPON RELEASE.

Tribeca 2011: Two Day Recap

I want to start off by apologizing for the delay in my coverage. I originally planned to do daily recaps from each day at the festival but my 90-minute commute to and from the festival quickly killed that idea. Below is a recap of my experience at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival so far…

THURSDAY APRIL 21

My first day at the festival didn’t start off with a bang. I planned on attending the press screening of THE BANG BANG CLUB but just couldn’t get to the festival in time. Instead I picked up my press badge and decided to check out the complimentary snack area. I opted for a breakfast ice cream bar courtesy of MAGNUM Ice Cream. Free Ice Cream for breakfast? Yes, I am living the dream.

Following my deliciously inappropriate breakfast, I decided to canvas the press lounge and theater to see what kind of promo materials I could find. I love collecting that kind of stuff to see what other filmmakers are doing to promote their films. Sadly, there was not much out but since it was only the first full day I didn’t think much of it.

At noon I caught the press screening of THE TRIP, which stars Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon as themselves on a food tour through the English countryside. The film was hilarious and definitely a good way to kick off the movie watching portion of my festival experience.

After the screening, I grabbed a quick lunch (plus another free ice cream bar) and headed back to the Clearview Cinemas for the press screening of JANIE JONES. The film stars Abigail Breslin as a talented 13-year-old musician who is abandoned by her mother (Elizabeth Shue) and is forced to stay with a struggling rocker (Alessandro Nivola) who doesn’t believe she is really his kid. While fairly conventional, it was still an enjoyable film.

Following the screening I headed over to the Filmmaker Lounge where they were hosting a filmmaker / press reception. While waiting for the doors to open, I started talking with Alan J. LaFave, Festival Director for the HELL’S HALF MILE FILM + MUSIC FESTIVAL. Although we never actually met before, he recognized me from STUCK LIKE CHUCK, which screened at his festival in 2009. We ended up chatting for over 2 hours about movies and festivals.

As the party ended, I grabbed one more ice cream bar for the road and made my way to the bus home. I got home about 10:30 and called into FILMSNOBBERY LIVE! which is a weekly live show about indie film that I cohost. After speaking with actor Jay Ferraro, I talked about my first day impressions of the festival before signing off and passing out on my bed.

FRIDAY APRIL 22

I woke up late but somehow managed to make it to the Clearview Cinemas in time for SAINT. The Dutch horror comedy reimagines Saint Nicholas as a bloodthirsty bishop who emerges whenever there is a full moon on December 5 to kidnap children and murder anyone else who gets in his way. There are many moments of crazy batshit insanity that I absolutely loved but others that I felt took down the movie as a whole. It is still a very enjoyable flick that is destined to become a holiday cult classic.

After SAINT, I headed across the lobby to theater 7 for the press screening of PUNCTURE. The film stars Chris Evans as a drug addict / lawyer who takes on a major health care case that could save millions of lives but may also be too much for him and his partner to handle. Just like its main character, the film is flawed but still enjoyable.

After the screening, I spoke briefly with Alan J. LaFave again before bumping into the legendary Bob Hawk. For those unfamiliar, he is a film consultant known for discovering Kevin Smith, Edward Burns and many others. Several months ago I went to lunch with him to discuss my current film project so it was great getting to catch up. Since talking with Hawk used up much of my break, I grabbed another Magnum Ice Cream bar from the press lounge before heading back to the theater to catch my final screening for the day.

I got back just in time for the press & industry screening of Israel’s first ever horror film, RABIES. This is my favorite film from the festival so far and set the bar pretty high for the rest. This flick brilliantly plays with genre conventions and makes for one hell of a good time. I was completely caught by surprise and ended up raving about it to several people right after.

Besides being an amazing film, this screening was especially awesome because one of the Tribeca jury groups was in attendance. I watched the film sitting behind Paul Dano, Anna Kendrick, Rainn Wilson and several other really cool people. I was able to remain professional but really wish I had a chance to talk with some of them after the screening. I also hope Paul Dano got his hat back. He left it at his seat and the woman next to me brought it to one of the volunteers. Fingers crossed for a safe recovery.

I made my way to the Cadillac Press Lounge for the Documentary Filmmaker & Press Reception. While I didn’t meet any filmmakers, I did quickly become friends with Peter Gutierrez and Ben Umstead from Twitch. We talked about the festival, horror films and general movie geekdom. We also all seemed to agree that we have not seen any filmmakers actively promoting their films and that there should be an easier way to distinguish who is a filmmaker based on our badges. Apparently I was the first filmmaker they had even spoken to at the festival. Despite it not being part of Tribeca, I gave them both copies of STUCK LIKE CHUCK because I am a total press whore.

Eventually we made our way to the Filmmaker Lounge where the DOHA Film Institute was hosting its own reception. I again bumped into Alan LaFave. I find it funny that I keep missing tons of celebrities that are popping up in pictures all around the festival but I keep running into Alan. I wonder if there are secret backrooms that us lower level press people don’t know about? When they were getting ready to close, I grabbed yet another ice cream for the bus ride and left. That night I sat on my computer determined to begin my coverage. About 20 minutes later I was out cold, which brought an end to my second day at the festival.

SATURDAY APRIL 23 & SUNDAY APRIL 24

I did not attend the festival these days because I had to spend time with my family. However, I was able to make some time to write this article as well as a few of my reviews. I will not be attending the festival on Monday but I will check out some of the online films throughout the day. I will be back at the festival starting Tuesday morning to cover Will Ferrell’s new film, EVERYTHING MUST GO.

Jerry Cavallaro  – www.StuckLikeChuck.com