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!

Outta My System

Before I discovered Mumblecore or even made a documentary, I wrote three spec scripts. The quality of these scripts varied, I suppose. Obviously, I didn't sell them, or otherwise, you'd be reading a very different blog right now.

By the time I had finished up the last script, I'd grown discouraged and frustrated. Joining a screenwriting group who kept saying "No, you can't do it this way because they don't like that" didn't help matters. I felt like that this was my major creative outlet, and I was being deprived of being able to do it the way I wanted to. Besides, who are they, anyway?

This past Friday Night, something happened. I was working the register when I decided it was time to confront some of these old demons. The next day, I wrote a scene for a movie, just to let the whole thing play out. I was too embarassed to finish it, but I got the whole thing out of my system. Whether or not it will find its way into an actual movie remains to be seen.

Now that I got this out of my system, what am I going to write?

All is not as it seems

Have you ever pursued an idea, a dream, or a vision for several years, only when you tried to make it a reality it didn't seem as great as you imagined?

For few years now, I've had this idea that I've bounced around in my head that centered around two things: indie rock and twentysomething life in a college town. (Think Cornell University's Fanclub Collective). I did plenty of interviews and talked to plenty of people while I lived in Ithaca, and of course, I drew from my own memories.

Monday afternoon, I began to have visions and jotted down a list of scenes. But something was amiss. First, I felt like the idea was too reminiscent of Funny Ha Ha and Susan Seidelman's first film, Smithereens. A few years ago, had I realized this avenue was open to me, this would've been a perfect project to pursue. Now? Not so much.

I'll be honest and say that I do want to be accepted as a filmmaker, not just a mumblecore fangirl. In order to do this, I'm really going to have to do something that separates myself from them.

A-ha Moment #1

Last night, I found myself wallowing in a flurry of...well, worry. I was thinking, "What if the people are sooo over mumblecore and these DIY filmmakers by the time my movie hits the festival circuit?" Then I realized: If you're worried about that, then you've already forgotten why you want to make this movie in the first place.

And then I realized something else. From a more careerist angle, once this movie is done, I will have had a script produced. Something that my 20 year old self woul've loved to hear. Until I thought about that last night, I never looked at it that way.

No more pressure.

Last night, I met up with Brian, The Film Panel Notetaker last night. We talked Mumblecore (and, in particular, Amy Taubin's evisceration of it), Film Festivals, and my attempt to get down to SXSW, among other things.

He told me that the script for Hannah Takes the Stairs was only a page and a half long. That takes off soooo much pressure.

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:

OMG, I'm Famous Now! (Sorta)

Well, I've had my first major links from other blogs from some videos I've done:

HOWL (for Lindsay Lohan) has been linked at Defamer, Matt Dentler's Blog, and The Spout.

How Mumblecore Saved My Life was blogged over at Matt Dentler's Blog and LOL co-writer and star C. Mason Wells' privately set MySpace page.

I must say that all this attention is very flattering and overwhelming. It's important for me not to get too distracted by this sudden attention. That's why I'm going to reward myself by taking some time off and getting some cleaning done. I seriously need to finish up cleaning my room.

Finally: