Jennifer's Body Red Band Trailer

So the trailer for the Diablo Cody horror movie Jennifer's Body is up. I actually like Diablo Cody, but the trailer is a little underwhelming, although Cody seems to have curbed the extraneous quips. I like what S.T. Van Airsdale had to say about it:

All seem to have acquitted themselves admirably, though spraying blood and mangled flesh aside, the grossest thing here might be the soundtrack listing preceding the actual credits. Any time Panic at the Disco and Dashboard Confessional get top billing over those responsible for the film, trouble can’t be far behind. Still, admit it: They had you at the Fox logo.

BWHAHAHA! Seth Cohen still looks cute, though.

"Humpday" Director Lynn Shelton in The New York Times

The New York Times has a nice profile on Lynn Shelton, whose movie Humpday, my own personal blockbuster, opens Friday in NY and Seattle. As the article points out, some bloggers have named her "the female Apatow", but the article illustrates what sets her apart from her studio counterparts:

“I really felt like, ‘O.K., if this film doesn’t get into Sundance, I throw up my hands,’ ” Ms. Shelton said. “I thought I had as strong a chance as I would maybe ever have.” But it was the execution that gave “Humpday” a life outside the festival’s hermetic buzz factory. Within the confines of its dizzyingly high concept Ms. Shelton has created an exploration of the male ego and the passionate rigors of platonic, dude-on-dude love.

It looks like this movie goes where a lot of "dude" movies don't go, and that's why I'm really enthusiastic about it. I thought it was supposed to be out on VOD on Friday too, but I haven't really heard anything about a VOD release date. To learn more about Humpday, click here.

As Seen on Twitter: Lena Dunham

Audrey Tautou in "Coco Before Chanel"

It's a little weird to be blogging about a French Film on the Fourth of July, but I digress.

Yesterday, I went to see Whatever Works (Not as bad as the reviews would have you believe, but Vicky Cristina Barcelona was definitely better), and a trailer for Coco Before Chanel played. I had no idea this movie existed, but now that I do, I can't wait to see it! Audrey plays Coco Chanel when she was just an upstart paying her bills as a seamstress. (Sorry if the trailer looks weird.)

At the risk of getting all Entertainment Tonight here, might it be possible that Amélie has a shot at an Oscar this time around? I mean this decade, Oscar has been all about Biopics, from Ray to Capote to The Last King of Scotland to Milk. Heck, she wouldn't even be the first French actress nominated for a biopic!

I'm planning on checking it out when it comes my way, regardless. Also, here's a recent Chanel ad with Audrey:

Orphan vs. Orphans

Here is the trailer for the movie Orphan:

Is Ry Russo-Young aware of this?

Indiewood and the "Hipster Market"

c/o CineVegas' Twitter

Reuters has published an article on "Hipster Movies", which the article defines as:

The pics are trying to be the next "Garden State," a 2004 film that, like other hipster pics, can be generally defined as trafficking in moody music, casual style and characters who are disaffected.

Some movies that might fall into this category include Juno, Little Miss Sunshine, and Napoleon Dynamite also fall into this category.

Anyway, the article reminded me of why I liked--dare I still call it this--mumblecore in the first place. I liked Juno and Napoleon Dynamite, and Away We Go and 500 Days of Summer weren't too bad, either. However, as far as I'm concerned, these movies can put the hippest music on their soundtracks, dress their characters in American Apparel and have them act as disaffected as possible, but all these movies do at the end of the day is re-invent the wheel. They're made and marketed to make their money back, not out of a real passion.

All of the angst over hipster movies has me anticipating Humpday's premiere on VOD!

Kris Swanberg & Nice Cream on TV

I interviewed Kris for The Film Panel Notetaker back in April, in which she discussed her entreprenurial venture, Nice Cream. Last night, Kris and Nice Cream were profiled on 190 North, a local Chicago program. Kris' piece starts @ 14:05:

VIDEO: Kris Swanberg on "190 North"

I'm heading to Chicago later this summer, and sampling Nice Cream will be a top priority!

Re-Opening Temporarily

I've decided to re-open this blog for a little while to post items related to independent film while I brainstorm for a potential new blog. I'm not going to be posting every day, just certain news items that catch my fancy.

Enjoy!

Good-bye Again, but not for long...

I've decided that after nearly a year, I'm going to shut down this blog. There really hasn't been much purpose for this blog, other than a way for me to bide time while I figure out what the next move in my life is going to be. When I started this, I was hoping to chronicle the making of my next movie (which I'm still planning on doing), but so many possibilities have opened up in the last year that self-promotion isn't quite as necessary as it once was.

My computer is having a second hard drive put onto it, so my new blog will be up whenever I get it back. I could re-fashion this blog, but I'd rather start fresh.

My New Blog is Open

My new blog, The Now People, is open. Have you ever had an idea that looked great on paper and seemed great in your head, but once you put it down, it didn't seem so great? This is one of those ideas. I thought it would be great to document and blog about stuff that I actually liked, but my enthusiasm for this stuff isn't as overwhelming as it was four, five years ago. I'm going to continue blogging in it for now until I figure out what I want to do with it.

Maybe I need to resurrect The Hot Teen News?