NEWS/
SCOOP DU JOUR:
MONDAY, 7 MAY
Catch the video edition of Scoop du Jour, featuring Susan Dynner and Todd Traina, the director and producer of Punk’s Not Dead.
Scoreboard Ceremony
The running theme at last Thursday’s Film Society Awards Night centered around one crucial point: the status of the Golden State Warriors playoff matchup against the Dallas Mavericks. Throughout the evening, presenters and award recipients provided a tally of the current score as they took the stage. Though Kanbar Award recipient Peter Morgan, the lone non-American of the group, demurred in droll British fashion, announcing coyly, “I have no idea what sport you are talking about.” All in all, the evening was a platform for recognizing some of filmdom’s most creative talents. John Lasseter, head of Pixar, introduced Irving M. Levin Award recipient George Lucas by recalling where he was in May of 1977: perched for six hours in line at Grauman’s Chinese Theater awaiting the Opening Night of Star Wars. “I got into the theater,” he said, “and I saw how this film entertained an audience of all ages.’ I thought, ‘This is what I want to do.’” When Lucas took the stage, he credited the fact that he has been able to make movies in the Bay Area with his success. “Living up here, out of the mainstream, I can do things that aren’t considered to be logical,” he grinned, “or too smart.”
And the Honor Goes to…
Director Ron Howard, who introduced Morgan, noted that before they started collaborating on the upcoming Frost/Nixon, the screenwriter had passed on one of his projects. Howard admitted that he easily forgave the writer because “he’s so talented. It’s like a pretty girl—you kind of forgive anything.” Morgan, noting his successes in the last year with The Last King of Scotland and The Queen among his many accomplishments, admitted that “people think I’m a debutant on crack, writing like Rick Wakeman plays keyboards. But it’s all just a coincidence.” Directing Award recipient Spike Lee, introduced by NFL Hall-of-Famer and actor Jim Brown as “the Nelson Mandela of filmmaking,” observed that he shared something in common with the golden anniversary of the Festival. “I’m also 50 years old,” he said. “And my film career really started here in 1986, with the world premiere of She’s Gotta Have It. I feel like I’ve come full circle.” Bonnie Hunt presented the final prize of the evening, the Peter J. Owens Award, to Robin Williams. She recounted a story of their first meeting, when Williams descended upon Second City (where she worked nights) and did 40 minutes playing “an altar boy behind a priest ruining the entire mass.” Williams, a longtime San Francisco resident, remembered first arriving in the city 40 years ago, because, he joked, his “dad said, ‘There’s a Festival. We’ve got to get in early.’”
Small Film, Big Country
The Chinese film How Is Your Fish Today? is an example of a truly independent small production. “Ours is probably the smallest budget of all,” says the director Xiaolu Guo, though she would not reveal the price tag. Her crew consisted of five people in total; the screenwriter Rao Hui and Guo starred in the film, and the lavish orchestra music was, for the most part, performed solely by composer Matt Scott. Answering the inevitable question about censorship in China, the London-based director explained that Chinese filmmakers must acquire governmental approval of their projects before they even begin shooting. Young independent filmmakers like herself eschew these restrictions and “just jump into making the film,” she says. Alas, Chinese theatrical distribution is out of question. Guo noted that by incorporating a story-within-the-story about a man on the run, the crew had the opportunity to travel great distances to capture the landscapes of China. People in the north, where the film journey ends, were quite indifferent to the cameras. “They have hardly ever seen a film in their life,” explained the director.
Chen upon the Brain!
“It’s a feverish and delirious dream and nightmare wrapped in one.” So says Joan Chen about Guy Maddin’s silent movie extravaganza Brand upon the Brain!, which will unfurl at the Castro Theatre tonight. Chen will narrate the film live, backed by a 13-piece musical ensemble, foley artists and a “castrato” singer. Apparently Maddin was elated at the choice of Chen as narrator—he giddily recalled her performance as the not-so-innocent Josie Packard on Twin Peaks and saw her as a perfect candidate to fill the role occupied by Isabella Rosselini at the New York Film Festival. According to Chen, Maddin encouraged her “to be BIG and DRAMATIC. He would rather have me go over the top than to not give enough.” Chen admits to a bit of stage fright at her first public performance. “I have hid behind the camera within the comfort of the cast and crew since I began acting at 14. This seems like a perfect opportunity to force myself to step outside my comfort zone.”
Today's Best Bets
At the Kabuki today, Monday May 7, you can still buy tickets for local director Michael Jacobs’ documentary Audience of One at 12:45 pm; the family drama Along the Ridge at 3:30 pm; and How Is Your Fish Today?, a story about a Beijing-based screenwriter, at 9:45 pm, featuring a Q&A with director Xiaolu Guo and actor/screenwriter Rao Hui. At the Castro, you can catch Guy Maddin’s semiautobiographical Brand upon the Brain! with live narration by Joan Chen and musical accompaniment by a 13-piece orchestra at 8:00 pm.