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Among all the diverse documentaries that had their premieres at this year’s Telluride Film Festival, Chris Smith’s Sr. stands as one of the most unique and affecting. The film is on one level a portrait of indie film pioneer Robert Downey Sr., who was part of the American New Wave that energized cinema in the late 1960s. But the film is also a loving tribute to a father by his very famous son, Robert Downey Jr., who participated in the filming with his wife and fellow producer, Susan Downey.
While the film chronicles Downey Sr.’s career and sometimes tumultuous personal life, it is also a poignant — if inevitably incomplete — father-son chronicle. Downey died last year from Parkinson’s Disease, and he was ill during much of the filming, so that adds an element of pathos that is never overstated.
It...
Among all the diverse documentaries that had their premieres at this year’s Telluride Film Festival, Chris Smith’s Sr. stands as one of the most unique and affecting. The film is on one level a portrait of indie film pioneer Robert Downey Sr., who was part of the American New Wave that energized cinema in the late 1960s. But the film is also a loving tribute to a father by his very famous son, Robert Downey Jr., who participated in the filming with his wife and fellow producer, Susan Downey.
While the film chronicles Downey Sr.’s career and sometimes tumultuous personal life, it is also a poignant — if inevitably incomplete — father-son chronicle. Downey died last year from Parkinson’s Disease, and he was ill during much of the filming, so that adds an element of pathos that is never overstated.
It...
- 9/7/2022
- by Stephen Farber
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Last Week’S Podcast: ‘The Amazing Race’ Host Phil Keoghan on Job Hazards: Too Much Sun and Sensory Overload — IndieWire’s Turn It On Podcast
If there’s a line in comedy, both Kathy Griffin and Bill Maher crossed it this month. Both comedians have made a career out of being politically incorrect –but given the reaction to their antics, Griffin’s photo shoot of a bloodied pumpkin head made to look like Donald Trump, and Maher’s casual use of the “n” word on his “Real Time” series, both took it a step too far.
But where’s the bar in comedy, when being offensive is often part of what it means to be a comedian? Back in January, long before the Griffin/Maher uproar, IndieWire’s Turn It On podcast spoke with Jim Carrey about how comedy has changed as standups have become more scrutinized by their every word.
If there’s a line in comedy, both Kathy Griffin and Bill Maher crossed it this month. Both comedians have made a career out of being politically incorrect –but given the reaction to their antics, Griffin’s photo shoot of a bloodied pumpkin head made to look like Donald Trump, and Maher’s casual use of the “n” word on his “Real Time” series, both took it a step too far.
But where’s the bar in comedy, when being offensive is often part of what it means to be a comedian? Back in January, long before the Griffin/Maher uproar, IndieWire’s Turn It On podcast spoke with Jim Carrey about how comedy has changed as standups have become more scrutinized by their every word.
- 6/7/2017
- by Michael Schneider
- Indiewire
For production designer Karen Murphy and composer Elliott Wheeler, “The Get Down” was a far cry from the fantastical liberties taken with “The Great Gatsby.” Fulfilling Baz Luhrmann’s ambitious vision — recreating the rise of hip-hop in the burned-out wasteland of the late ’70s South Bronx — required a special authenticity. They had to immerse themselves in the revolutionary time and place before mastering “The Get Down,” inspired by hip-hop DJing, cutting, and mixing legend Grandmaster Flash.
The expensive musical extravaganza (cancelled by Netflix after its first season) was a wild convergence of music, politics, and rebellion. The series not only focused on teens from the South Bronx with larger aspirations than graffiti art, who become “The Get Down Brothers,” but complicated their lives with an unrequited love story, hampered by disapproving parents.
A Bronx Tale
Murphy first took inspiration from the South Bronx photo exhibit, “Seis Del Sur: Dispatches from Home,...
The expensive musical extravaganza (cancelled by Netflix after its first season) was a wild convergence of music, politics, and rebellion. The series not only focused on teens from the South Bronx with larger aspirations than graffiti art, who become “The Get Down Brothers,” but complicated their lives with an unrequited love story, hampered by disapproving parents.
A Bronx Tale
Murphy first took inspiration from the South Bronx photo exhibit, “Seis Del Sur: Dispatches from Home,...
- 6/1/2017
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Hiro Murai comes from the world of music videos, which gave him experience in creating stylized visuals. Now, as a key director in television, that background has helped inform his work on shows like FX’s comedy “Atlanta,” which includes surreal moments woven into the narrative, and the trippy Marvel series “Legion.”
“I think you get a really good grasp of the visual language of film,” Murai said of music videos. “The downside is not working with dialogue or actors as much. But you learn how to tell simple stories visually very quickly.”
Read More: ‘Atlanta’: Meet the Secret Weapon Behind FX’s Baffling and Beautiful New Series
Murai moved to the United States from Japan around age nine and learned some of the English language and American cultural cues from watching “The Simpsons.” In middle school, he started shooting small projects on handicam, and by college he landed his first paid gig,...
“I think you get a really good grasp of the visual language of film,” Murai said of music videos. “The downside is not working with dialogue or actors as much. But you learn how to tell simple stories visually very quickly.”
Read More: ‘Atlanta’: Meet the Secret Weapon Behind FX’s Baffling and Beautiful New Series
Murai moved to the United States from Japan around age nine and learned some of the English language and American cultural cues from watching “The Simpsons.” In middle school, he started shooting small projects on handicam, and by college he landed his first paid gig,...
- 6/1/2017
- by Hanh Nguyen
- Indiewire
Welcome to PeekTV, your daily look at the best that television has to offer. In each installment, we make three picks for the best shows to watch and…toss in a little extra.
Thursday, June 1
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (ABC, 11:35 p.m.) – Sarah Silverman, Jimmy Butler, Music from Post Malone
With Silverman’s special as Netflix’s big non-“House of Cards” original release of the week, it’s a no-brainer return trip to Kimmel’s show, where the two crafted some of the most memorable late night moments of the past decade.
“The President Show” (Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m.) – Scholar Michael Eric Dyson discusses race in America.
Comedy Central’s surreal weekly late night experiment is coming into its own. Whether or not the show has a bizarre, Kubrick-inspired diversion this week, it’s become a dependable stop on the after-11:00 p.m. tour.
“The Amazing Race” (CBS,...
Thursday, June 1
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (ABC, 11:35 p.m.) – Sarah Silverman, Jimmy Butler, Music from Post Malone
With Silverman’s special as Netflix’s big non-“House of Cards” original release of the week, it’s a no-brainer return trip to Kimmel’s show, where the two crafted some of the most memorable late night moments of the past decade.
“The President Show” (Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m.) – Scholar Michael Eric Dyson discusses race in America.
Comedy Central’s surreal weekly late night experiment is coming into its own. Whether or not the show has a bizarre, Kubrick-inspired diversion this week, it’s become a dependable stop on the after-11:00 p.m. tour.
“The Amazing Race” (CBS,...
- 6/1/2017
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
Although the argument of TV vs. film primacy has moved to the point of psychic exhaustion, “cinematic” remains the #1 adjective used in every Emmy pitch. The highest praise that can be accorded small-screen stories is when a creator’s vision is expressed in visual language… that evokes a movie.
Read More: ‘The Leftovers’ Is the Best Show on Television Because It’s Breaking the First Rule of Storytelling
However, what so often gets lost in all this sound and fury is, no matter the budget, it’s the film and TV production processes that shape the final product. For the creative team behind “Mr. Robot,” they wanted to find a path that would give them the aesthetics that can only come with expansive planning, while maintaining much of the run-and-gun pace TV production demands.
How TV Gets Made
After wrapping season one of “Mr. Robot,” cinematographer Tod Campbell wasn’t particularly satisfied.
Read More: ‘The Leftovers’ Is the Best Show on Television Because It’s Breaking the First Rule of Storytelling
However, what so often gets lost in all this sound and fury is, no matter the budget, it’s the film and TV production processes that shape the final product. For the creative team behind “Mr. Robot,” they wanted to find a path that would give them the aesthetics that can only come with expansive planning, while maintaining much of the run-and-gun pace TV production demands.
How TV Gets Made
After wrapping season one of “Mr. Robot,” cinematographer Tod Campbell wasn’t particularly satisfied.
- 5/31/2017
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
Two years ago, was it more improbable that Jonah Ryan would be a congressman or that he’d have a girlfriend?
Timothy Simons takes a long time to answer this question. He should. It’s a tough one. Go ahead, and ask yourself: Two years ago, when Simons’ “Veep” character was getting his balls fondled by Patton Oswalt’s hands-y VP staffer, Teddy, was it harder to imagine him with a girlfriend, or as a United States Congressman?
“It would probably be that Jonah would have a girlfriend,” Simons said after a considerate pause. “And for these reasons: [Congressmen] don’t end up having to spend a lot of individual time with the voters. [Jonah] could probably spend five minutes with anyone and get them to believe that he’s a good dude, and that would be the lasting impression. Even if he met a girl that was into him, the more...
Timothy Simons takes a long time to answer this question. He should. It’s a tough one. Go ahead, and ask yourself: Two years ago, when Simons’ “Veep” character was getting his balls fondled by Patton Oswalt’s hands-y VP staffer, Teddy, was it harder to imagine him with a girlfriend, or as a United States Congressman?
“It would probably be that Jonah would have a girlfriend,” Simons said after a considerate pause. “And for these reasons: [Congressmen] don’t end up having to spend a lot of individual time with the voters. [Jonah] could probably spend five minutes with anyone and get them to believe that he’s a good dude, and that would be the lasting impression. Even if he met a girl that was into him, the more...
- 5/31/2017
- by Ben Travers
- Indiewire
For FX’s “Legion,” showrunner Noah Hawley takes a deep dive into the traumatic mindscape of Marvel mutant David Haller (Dan Stevens). And when it came to his institutionalization at Clockworks in the pilot, Hawley and his team turned to Stanley Kubrick’s “A Clockwork Orange” for visual inspiration, with its oppressive concrete architecture and narcissistic interior design (lots of white space with raw metallic ornaments).
The aesthetic proved just the right recipe for distorting reality and memory, as Haller discovers his extraordinary and dangerous psychic powers.
A Brutalist Production Design
Hawley wanted to embrace the look of the concrete buildings where they shot in Vancouver, which flaunted the Brutalism of the ’60s and ’70s. It was a tough, no-nonsense, architectural look perfectly suited to the cold brutality of “Legion’s” tyrannical society.
And production designer Michael Wylie went straight to the source that inspired Kubrick’s future dystopia in “A Clockwork Orange.
The aesthetic proved just the right recipe for distorting reality and memory, as Haller discovers his extraordinary and dangerous psychic powers.
A Brutalist Production Design
Hawley wanted to embrace the look of the concrete buildings where they shot in Vancouver, which flaunted the Brutalism of the ’60s and ’70s. It was a tough, no-nonsense, architectural look perfectly suited to the cold brutality of “Legion’s” tyrannical society.
And production designer Michael Wylie went straight to the source that inspired Kubrick’s future dystopia in “A Clockwork Orange.
- 5/30/2017
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
The Mystery of Why Top TV Producers Shonda Rhimes, Greg Berlanti and Chuck Lorre Haven’t Won an Emmy
Shonda Rhimes, Chuck Lorre and Greg Berlanti are easily the most powerful producers on TV. Yet none of them have ever won a Primetime Emmy.
Ten years ago, that might not have been the case. But Rhimes, Lorre and Berlanti produce populist fare for (mostly) broadcast networks, at a time when those shows are no longer on the Emmy radar.
In 2016, the broadcasters were shut out of the top Emmy categories for the first time in the award’s history. Never before had the top drama, comedy and actor and actress prizes gone exclusively to cable and streaming services.
But last year’s results were the culmination of a trend that began when “The Sopranos” star Edie Falco won the Emmy in 1999 for Outstanding Drama actress. By 2001, HBO had grabbed the first outstanding series prize for a cable series (“Sex and the City”), as well as both top drama acting...
Ten years ago, that might not have been the case. But Rhimes, Lorre and Berlanti produce populist fare for (mostly) broadcast networks, at a time when those shows are no longer on the Emmy radar.
In 2016, the broadcasters were shut out of the top Emmy categories for the first time in the award’s history. Never before had the top drama, comedy and actor and actress prizes gone exclusively to cable and streaming services.
But last year’s results were the culmination of a trend that began when “The Sopranos” star Edie Falco won the Emmy in 1999 for Outstanding Drama actress. By 2001, HBO had grabbed the first outstanding series prize for a cable series (“Sex and the City”), as well as both top drama acting...
- 5/30/2017
- by Michael Schneider
- Indiewire
It's no surprise that Kate Moss was tapped as the cover star for L'Officiel Spain's debut issue, but we were shocked to see the photo they chose! The magazine opted for a '80s yearbook pic of a pre-teen Kate, complete with a gap-toothed grin, face-framing hair and a blouse buttoned up to the top. "Kate the Great," the caption reads on the cover in capital letters. While we're hoping for more pre-fame photos of Moss inside, the issue also spotlights other famous Kates, including Washington Post publisher Katherine Graham and actress Tilda Swinton (whose real name is Katherine Mathilda "Tilda" Swinton). Moss continues to be one of the most iconic supermodels of all time. She recently revealed her go-to beauty tips -- and it's all about going au natural. "I prefer to keep my hair natural and just pull it up, and make-up wise I also like to go...
- 8/27/2015
- by tooFab Staff
- TooFab
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