Happy Birthday Dave & Joe Swanberg! Yay1!!

My trip to NYC so far has been okay. I've been down to New York many times in the last decade, but this is the first time I've had a chance to experience what it feels like to be a New Yorker--conversations with random people, jumping on trains without a second thought, and so on.

After I arrived at my apartment Friday afternoon, I took a nap, then went over to Greenwich Village, bought the movie tickets, ate a pizza, then headed back over to the IFC Center.

The first movie I saw was Aaron Katz's Quiet City, which was really good. An awkwardly adorable slice-of-life piece set in New York. A girl comes up to visit her friend, whom she can't get ahold of. She meets up with this guy and ends up spending time with him.

After the screening, Aaron Katz, the cast, and crew answered questions about the movie. When that was over, I came to the front, gave him a copy of Are You From Bingo?, and told him what an inspiration he, Joe Swanberg, and Andrew Bujalski are. I told him that I hoped that we would meet again. He said the same.

The next movie I saw was Hannah Takes the Stairs. That movie was AWESOME, but before that, I saw the movie's director, Joe Swanberg, outside, talking on his cell phone. I would've gone down and given him a copy of my movie as well, but he left before I had a chance to get him.

Anyway, as I said, Hannah was RAD. Greta Gerwig plays the title character, and we see her going through relationships with three men. The movie seamlessly transitions from one relationship to the other. If this movie comes out to your neighborhood, run out and see it! If not, put it at the top of your Netflix Queue.

I'm really tired. I would like to take the opportunity to say "Happy Belated Birthday" to Mr. Swanberg. He recently married his longtime collaborator (and frequent co-star), Kris Williams. Below I have linked to his wedding video, along with Hissy Fits a short film of his that I uploaded.

Finally, I'd like to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my friend Dave. He also turns 26 today (it's after midnight as I write this), so HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVE!! You, Mr. Indie Rock, you! Yippee!!

Erin takes the Greyhound

I apologize for not blogging the past couple of weeks. I've been working on my show--and working out. In addition, I've also been copying and reading like crazy.

For weeks, I've had plans to work on something--what, I'm not so sure, but that it would criticize some aspect of the movie business. For awhile, I was thinking screenwriting gurus. Now, I'm not quite sure. Whatever it was that I was going to write, I'm not ready to write it. It would take time, energy, stability, and knowledge that I do not yet have. Besides, when it comes time for me to make my movie, I'll be able to structure it anyway I want to. I'll be in charge of the material, not some producer or studio head. Or another director.

One thing I may still have in the pipeline is an essay on mumblecore. My goal for the essay is to take the works of Bujalski, Swanberg, Katz, Duplass, Russo-Young et al and contrast it with how the rest of the movie world works. Right now, I have some quotes that illustrate "the other side" of the equation. I still have yet to see a few of those movies, and I still need to get all the interviews with the directors in one spot. However, unlike the project I was mentioning in the previous paragraph, I do think that writing this essay is a goal within reach. The big question is...where will it be published?

Speaking of "mumblecore", I discovered that Hannah Takes the Stairs is opening at the IFC Center in New York on August 22. I really hope it's still playing by the time I arrive August 31. Here is the trailer for the movie: