David Copperfield premiere
Student composer Ari Barack Fisher wrote the original score to the 1922 film "David Copperfield," which is having its premiere Saturday at the IU Cinema.
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Student composer Ari Barack Fisher wrote the original score to the 1922 film "David Copperfield," which is having its premiere Saturday at the IU Cinema.
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____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Why is my column called ‘Cine’cism?When I started seriously reviewing movies for my high-school paper, I had friends tell me I was being negative because I didn’t like certain films. “Why can’t you just enjoy it? Why do you have to think about?”That’s an argument I’ve defended myself against numerous times, even then. What I took away from those interactions, however, was that thinking somehow made me cynical. But now, after four years of writing reviews in my blog, agonizing about my column, editing stories in WEEKEND and devouring the work of professional critics, I’ve come to realize there are people much more cynical than I am. When people first gave me the idea that I hated things, I branded myself that way. I was the guy who had better taste than you and hung my head in shame at how awful things in Hollywood had become. However, I don’t think my column has ever been so bitter that I wanted to give up on the movies or that I was too much of a pessimist to find anything I actually liked. Sure, I’ve played devil’s advocate before, such as when I said it’s about time for the Harry Potter franchise to end (around the release of the actually quite good seventh film) or when I thought we should stop buzzing about “The Hobbit” when Guillermo del Toro dropped from directing (it’s probably still one of the films I’m looking forward to the most this year).If anything, watching more movies has only made me want to watch even more, not fewer.In the process, I’ve discovered directors and entire genres that never would have been on my radar four years ago. The films I didn’t understand before have become the films I love the most, not because I finally did my homework but because I grew up and became aware of how many new ideas these films spark.It’s easy to say how terrible things are in the movies today. There are bad films, bad actors, bad franchises, bad theaters, bad technology, bad directors and bad attempts at making the movies more interesting and popular than television.What’s hard, and thus much more rewarding, is showing people that there are great things worth seeking out. Critics have always made an effort to encourage their readers to try something new. But now, more than ever, the purpose of criticism should be to enlighten people to all the fantastic movies worth watching. Shouting to make your “yay” or “nay” opinion the loudest gets us nowhere. Coldplay’s Chris Martin said, “The great thing about the Internet is everyone hates everything, so you might as well just go on and do what you want.”Why add to that hatred? I love the movies, and I love talking about them, debating them and coming up with ideas that will push the movies forward. What I want to do is share that with as many people as possible.That’s not cynical at all.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Because all of “The Cabin in the Woods” comes as something of a surprise, this horror film’s real twist is that a movie this clever could end up having an ending so outrageous, cheap and dumb. It sets five teenagers loose in a slasher-film playground full of sex, booby traps and creepy gas station attendants before unleashing zombies to murder them. The clever conceit is that this is a game by a secret shadow corporation pulling all the strings.Director Drew Goddard and co-screenwriter Joss Whedon have a lot of fun calling attention to the fact this is all a set up, even going for big laughs in the way it tries to egg on these characters to whip out their breasts or choose between their deaths.But “The Cabin in the Woods” begs you to notice its clever twists before topping itself with something even more out of left field. Its ridiculously madcap and torrentially bloody ending dodges serious questions of voyeurism and human nature by employing a deus ex machina defending the greater good. “The Cabin in the Woods” is little more than an idea that avalanched out of control to the point that it looks really cool but is still a mess.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Building a movie theater is not a good business venture. It requires starting from scratch, working long hours, juggling numerous responsibilities and meeting a lot of people. It is an all-consuming endeavor.But IU Cinema Director Jon Vickers wants to change your life and the lives of others. This is the job for him.Vickers put out a similar manifesto before selling his privately owned theater, the Vickers Theater, in Three Oaks, Mich. He warned potential buyers that although the theater was profitable, running it meant heavy lifting in service to the community.For several years, IU lacked an on-campus movie facility. In two years and three seasons, Vickers has worked tirelessly to build a film-loving community in Bloomington. In the IU Cinema, he’s created something from nothing and done all he can to add to an already thriving arts scene.“If sometimes my job is all-encompassing, it’s because, plain and simple, I want it to be great,” Vickers said. “I want this to succeed, and I’ll do whatever it takes to reach our goals.”Forming relationshipsThe IU Cinema is equipped with two digital projectors — a 16mm projector and a 35mm projector running reel to reel — and a total equipment build-out exceeding $2 million, enough to trump any multiplex in the country.But one of the most important pieces of the IU Cinema is pinned to the wall of Vickers’ office: a list of contacts.Even before his time at the IU Cinema, Vickers learned that the movie theater business is built on relationships. Film prints are constantly delivered to the foot of his office door, so Vickers knows his bookers, distributors and FedEx deliveryman. He knows his audience, too. Vickers’ open door spills right into the cinema’s downstairs lobby, and signed posters of past film series provide a welcoming face for the public. “If they have enough trust in you, it doesn’t matter what’s playing,” Vickers said. “They’re going to come. I guess that’s as long as you don’t blow it by completely offending them or start showing garbage.”It’s a mission statement he might have borrowed from his family company, Vickers Engineering: “Quality is something that should be assumed, not applauded.” Born in Kouts, Ind., and raised in Lakeside, Mich., Vickers developed a love for film watching “Jaws” and other monster movies at the Lee Theater near his home. “Movies were escapism for me, purely entertainment,” Vickers said. “Kids like myself around the neighborhood just went and had a good time, but it wasn’t an addiction.”His dream then was not to own a theater but build a community centered around the movies for a new generation. So, when the Lee Theater went up for sale, Vickers and his wife, Jennifer, made an impulsive decision and bought it within five days. “It was recognizing there was a niche and a need, and there wasn’t an art theater for 60 miles,” Vickers said. “You had to go to Chicago or Grand Rapids to see an art film.”Renovation for the building took nearly two and a half years, and the newly named Vickers Theater finally opened in 1996. Vickers quickly grew his hobby project into a thriving art house in his small-town community. “For the first 10 years at the Vickers Theater, you would see no one at the ticket window but a Vickers,” he said. “People got to know us.”He and his family became household names in Three Oaks, and before long, the Vickers Theater audience was as close to them as anyone. Neighborhood residents gathered outdoors for the annual Sounds of Silents film festival or at their home for a free performance by legendary banjo player Béla Fleck. Their theater became a local staple.“I liked the idea of working with my family and spending more time with them,” said Vickers’ youngest daughter, 13-year-old Ava. “Even the customers became your family. Our theater was like a big family. We saw each other every day, and it was fun.”Starting from scratchWhen they first purchased the Lee Theater, the Vickers wanted to live a bohemian lifestyle. Vickers envisioned his theater work as a simple, relaxing change of pace. They could live in the projection booth, show obscure art films by night and display Jennifer’s artwork in a gallery by day.“At that point in our lives, we were both all for it, not knowing anything about it,” Jennifer said. “Maybe someone giving us advice would have said not to do that.”Vickers chimed in. “It was pretty naïve,” he said. “We put our hearts and souls into this project, making it into a romantic and elegant space. When we set up our theater, we set up our entire booth ourselves. We didn’t have equipment three months before we opened and didn’t know anything about it. One thing I’ve learned is that if you’re willing to have patience, common sense and put in the time, you can do anything.” Living a bohemian lifestyle would be no easier for him at the IU Cinema. Jon Stante, one of the cinema’s house managers, said Vickers simply doesn’t know the 40-hour workweek, as he greets patrons at the door, introduces films on stage and, finally, watches everyone leave. “Just as anyone who is passionate about anything, Jon likes to have his hands in everything, from the technical aspect to promoting and marketing,” Stante said. This is on a normal day, too, excluding the weekends when he has filmmakers and other guests in his home or treats them to lunch at FARMbloomington. He juggles their schedules and those of community donors or teachers using the space as a classroom. Communication and Culture Professor Greg Waller was the chair on the search committee for the IU Cinema director, and he said Vickers knew precisely the complications of building a campus theater.“Immediately with Jon, it was apparent how enthusiastic he was and how experienced he was,” Waller said. “He had done it. That was crucial. You know, in an interview like that, that they know to ask the right questions. They know the budget they’ll need. They know the tech support. If they don’t ask those questions, they’re naïve, and they’re going to get swamped when they take the job.”Vickers gained that knowledge from his work as the head of Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, a position he accepted while his wife continued to operate the Vickers Theater. “Anyone who has worked at a university and in the private sector will tell you they are two completely different animals,” IU Cinema Podcast Host Andy Hunsucker said. “He just seemed so capable and so certain that this was something he could accomplish. You never doubted for a second that he was going to create something really special.”Waller said no one, including Vickers, realized the sheer complexity of constructing the theater, programming a film schedule and dealing with its constituents in such a short amount of time.“What was a challenge but was an exciting challenge was building something from scratch,” Vickers said. “Building every protocol, policy, every piece of infrastructure that you need to run a business from scratch, with a small staff and not doing it on a minor scale but on a major scale where hopefully we can make an impression and make a reputation. It’s a super exciting challenge, but it is almost all-consuming.”Making a changeVickers didn’t take the IU Cinema job out of desperation. He and his family were rooted in their hometown, and his job at Notre Dame was equally overwhelming. “At this late stage, to build a cinema this good devoted to the movies is really rare,” Waller said. “You want someone who knew that immediately. You do it because you realize certain jobs offer an opportunity to really build something, and we realized how much he knew that.”In embracing that opportunity to create something special, the Vickers family made some sacrifices upon coming to Bloomington. Jennifer had established a large network of friends and contacts from running the theater, and Vickers’ mother, Doralee, was battling cancer.“We knew her health wasn’t good,” he said. “I moved at a time when her health was pretty volatile. We had a very close family, and from 1991 until I moved down here, we had a scheduled dinner every Sunday. My kids grew up with their grandma, and that’s tough for families to do these days.” Doralee passed in October 2010 as Vickers was starting his new job. She never made it to Bloomington. But IU provided the family a new beginning. Vickers said his children and his wife now have more opportunities and time to be active in the community. What’s more, his kids would rather be Hoosiers than Fightin’ Irish. “I’ve got a really supportive family that really likes what we do,” Vickers said. “And when I say we, even though they’re not a part of this (IU Cinema), they are a part of this. They’ve come to live with our careers as being more than careers. It in many ways defines who we are.”Being a daredevilThe one thing 15-year-old Frankie Vickers misses most about Michigan is the sand dunes.While sitting in the Vickers’ home, Frankie jumps up to get a stark black-and-white photo of his dad, wearing sunglasses and bowling down a mountain of sand on something close to a snowboard. Sandboarding is one of Vickers’ more radical hobbies. It was inspired by his kids but became a welcome diversion for him all the same. It’s probably the closest he can get to living one of his favorite movies, “Lawrence of Arabia.”Beyond that, he’s skated on longboards with his oldest son, 17-year-old Max, and traveled through 38 states on a motorcycle.“There’s really nothing more freeing than getting on a motorcycle and just taking off,” he said. “I’ve always been a bit of a daredevil, but it’s nice to be able to do things with these guys.”And while this is a side Vickers’ children know all too well, he wonders if those who have come to know him as the friendly and gentle IU Cinema director would scratch their heads.“I’m a very casual person, and I don’t mind the attention, but if my casualness comes out, different folks in the University administration might think differently of me,” he said. “But that’s fine. That’s who I am. But I also feel I’m a professional, even though I have a casual side.”Waller assured him this was hardly a problem for anyone in this administration.“His love of movies, his deep knowledge of the movies, his experience in running different kinds of places and, above all, his ability to talk to everyone he met,” Waller said. “They all responded enthusiastically about his openness and friendliness. That’s crucial in a job like this because he has to deal with so many different people.”Now Vickers’ goal is to grow the cinema’s national reputation until it is driving enrollment at IU and attracting A-list talent to stay in Bloomington.As part of accomplishing that dream, Vickers expressed hopes of one day touring each of the 50 states with the American Film Institute’s Top 100 films. He even hopes to make a movie inspired by the ancient Chinese poet Dogen’s thoughts about impermanence.“Being a couple of years into this, I have the ability to be a little more casual here than I was at Notre Dame,” he said. “I love music, love the arts, love seeing plays, love seeing the opera and I love being outside sitting with nothing to do. I just like enjoying what’s around us, and Bloomington’s a great place to do that.”Changing your world “A line that I repeat often is from a song from the ’80s by a band called The The. ‘If you can’t change the world, change your world.’ I’ve repeated that often,” Vickers said.Vickers started by changing his job in Michigan and ended up changing his neighborhood. At Notre Dame, he changed his perspective and found a new direction for the entire arts scene there. In the last two years, his change has been a radical relocation, a completely fresh position and a new family of people. His effect can be seen in those who work most closely with him.“This has been a life journey for him,” Stante said. “His goal is to encourage the discovery of life through film.”Hunsucker agreed.“I don’t think there’s anyone in the world that I have more respect for than Jon,” Hunsucker said. “He’s just so dedicated to everything he does. He’s so serious about the cinema, but at the same time, he’s certain to make time for his family and make time for himself. He is literally one of the best people I’ve ever met.”Vickers loves his audience, his staff, his colleagues and, most importantly, the cinema. As Vickers tries to change the lives of others, his job has changed his life to the point that it’s hardly work anymore.“Putting together and inspecting films at 4 a.m.,” he said about operating his theater in Three Oaks. “That’s the level of commitment to running this hobby business. But it was also fun to be there. It was fun to meet people, and it was fun to impose your tastes of music and films on people. Turning people on to new music, books or films — it’s fun to do that. It was easy to be committed, and it still is. Even though it is a heck of a lot of work, it’s fun, and it’s something that’s really enjoyable. If it weren’t, I don’t think I could be this committed.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU Cinema is coordinating the largest series in its existence this weekend to celebrate, explore and study contemporary Latino culture.The Latino Film Festival and Conference is packing eight films and nearly a dozen guest filmmakers and scholars into three days, kicking off tonight with a screening of the 2008 sci-fi “Sleep Dealer.”“What we want to do is showcase the vibrancy of Latino cinema today,” said John Nieto-Phillips,associate professor in the history department and the director of the Latino Studies Program. “We’d like to offer a window into the complex lives of Latinos within the context of the United States but also within a transnational context.”The films are all being shown in accordance with three panels centered on social, political and cultural topics relevant to Latinos and Latin Americans. Issues such as immigration, gender identities and Cuban cinema will be debated and discussed in free conferences following the films.“So often, issues that pertain to Latinos are hotly politicized, but they often lose sight of the wide-ranging experiences that Latino communities realize,” Nieto-Phillips said. “Those films put a human face on the issue of immigration, legality, discrimination and exploitation.”The selection of these films was also designed to target misconceptions toward Latinos. Anke Birkenmaier, assistant professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and a co-organizer of the festival, said how diverse Latino culture can be in relation to racial, socioeconomic and gender backgrounds. “It’s important to know that Latinos have been living in the U.S. now for decades,” Birkenmaier said. “These are hot topics everywhere, but the Latino community has started to speak out.”Birkenmaier is also a specialist in Cuban studies and will be leading the panel discussion about Cuban cinema. “Oftentimes there is the idea that Cuba is a dictatorship and not much interesting production comes out of Cuba,” Birkenmaier said. “I think these films show that some of the questions that are important in Cuba are just as important in the United States.” But Nieto-Phillips stressed the importance of accessibility in promoting a sense of cultural understanding, encouraging anyone on campus or in the broader Bloomington community to attend this entirely free and open film festival.“This would provide people who may not have a chance to understand the complexity of Latinos lives on an everyday basis and will help to provide insight,” Nieto-Phillips said. “It will also help to dispel the impressions that all Latinos are immigrants or that all immigrants are Latino. There’s a whole range of diverse human conditions.”Birkenmaier said the pair of Cuban films “Memories of Underdevelopment” and “Memories of Overdevelopment,” amongst others this weekend, will be universally relatable. “That feeling a Latino might have upon living in the U.S., that feeling of alienation in speaking a different language and coming from a culture that no one knows about — that is a feeling people in a lot of different situations will be able to understand,” Birkenmaier said.
Our film columnist visits Bloomington's Starlite Drive-In
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>I’m not a 12-year-old girl, but I would imagine they would not want to see children their age being gruesomely murdered with spears any more than I would.“The Hunger Games,” then, is a puzzling blockbuster.For something being marketed as the next “Twilight,” the film is a shockingly bleak and brutal story of survival and mortality in the face of massive pressure and little hope. It is a deftly powerful piece of filmmaking that more closely resembles “Children of Men” than light entertainment.Thankfully, Gary Ross’ film never tries to be something it’s not. From its outset, we are plunged into the gritty, dark, ruthless world of the futuristic nation Panem’s District 12.We learn that 24 children ages 12 to 18 are annually selected as tributes for a reality TV death match with only one survivor. District 12’s victim is Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), a volunteer in place of her helpless younger sister, Prim. She’s paired with a male sacrifice, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), and both are shipped off to the central, aristocratic hub that craves such entertainment.The lively color in the Capitol is a welcome change of pace, but in “The Hunger Games,” even the garish is grim.The problem is, once we are dumped into the forested world of the games, the film never leaves. We are constantly locked in an uncomfortable struggle with no optimism to propel us forward.And as opposed to fun, stylized action, Ross’ battle scenes are intended to be claustrophobic, nightmarish experiences free of glamorous money shots or special effects wizardry. Ross’ skill is in keeping the constant kill-or-be-killed anticipation tense, making for a truly pulse-pounding final hour and a half.So I’m still trying to figure out why this riveting but frankly depressing movie would be appealing to any mass audience.My money is on Katniss, a more relatable and complex feminine figure than the one-dimensional badass Lisbeth Salander of “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” or the blindly devoted Bella Swan of “Twilight.”It’s hard to imagine tweens swooning for any of this, and nor should they. For as hard to watch as “The Hunger Games” can be, this is a smartly made film with a wonderful role model who keeps you hungry for more.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Comedian Erik Stolhanske can do on one leg what the rest of Hollywood does on two — including appearing as a workout demonstrator in P90X videos.Now, as a motivational speaker, he’s channeling P90X creator Tony Horton when Horton says, “I don’t wanna hear no excuses from any ’a you!”Stolhanske is part of the comedy team Broken Lizard, the group that produced “Super Troopers” and “Beerfest,” and to bring Indiana Disability Awareness Month to a close, Stolhanske is speaking at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Indiana Memorial Union’s Whittenberger Auditorium about his experiences as a disabled comic. The Indiana Daily Student spoke with Stolhanske about recently completing the script for “Super Troopers 2,” his early experiences with Broken Lizard and the inspirational message he’s trying to send now. IDS Did you ever have a mindset to brand yourself as a disabled comic?ERIK STOLHANSKE No. I never came out about my leg until recently. I came out during the P90X video program around 2007. I didn’t want to get pigeonholed in roles that only saw me as being disabled. I never saw myself as disabled, so I didn’t want to come to Hollywood and only get roles for someone who was. IDS Would you have come out if not for P90X? STOLHANSKE I think I would’ve come out eventually. This was a good way to inspire people and show that you can do on one leg what most people do on two. I wanted to build up a body of work first to show that it is possible even with an artificial leg.IDS How did you get started with Broken Lizard?STOLHANSKE We parodied events on campus, fraternities and professors. I always liked a sketch we had called “Father Tom” where we turned the Catholic priest on campus into a crusading crime fighter. He would stop crimes of passion.IDS How did that go over?STOLHANSKE (Laughs) It was one of our popular sketches. He would be presiding over mass, then fly across campus with a cape flying in the wind and break into a dorm room, and whenever a transgression was about to occur, he’d stop it from happening before coming back and finishing mass.IDS Did you face any hurdles in Hollywood once you came out as disabled?STOLHANSKE What was nice was that I worked with a group of guys who knew about my leg. Because I was close friends with Jay (Chandrasekhar), he would always shoot me at a convenient angle or not put me in a compromising scene. He was very easy to work with in collaborating to help me play normal, everyday people. But other people might not have the advantages I had. IDS How are disabled people depicted in Hollywood?STOLHANSKE I don’t think you see enough disabled people in film or TV programs. Hollywood often tries to show only the beautiful people, and it would be nice to see a truer reflection of the population of America.IDS What inspired you to do motivational speaking work?STOLHANSKE I started getting involved in wounded warrior programs, and I saw a lot of veterans coming back who had lost limbs. It motivated me to start reaching out and talking to people that you can have potential even if you have lost a limb or have a prosthetic. There’s a lot of potential and hope to have a normal life. IDS What’s the most important thing you try and communicate now?STOLHANSKE There are possibilities in this world even if you have a perceived limitation. If you set a realistic goal, you can overcome those.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>I’m grappling with the idea that it’s cooler to be a TV fan than a movie buff.Today’s most critically acclaimed TV shows are also the most buzzed about in circles that don’t revolve around Chuck Lorre sitcoms. “Breaking Bad,” “Mad Men,” “Downton Abbey” and “Community” are just some in the mix of what’s both cool and smart.But movie critics are all jumping to see “The Turin Horse.” It’s the final film by the aging Hungarian master Béla Tarr. It’s slow, it’s depressing, it’s in black and white, it has little dialogue and it’s bound to be this year’s art house masterpiece. It’s not exactly a blockbuster.I love movies for their artistry, abstractness and technical wizardry. What’s frustrating to me is that people groomed on TV neglect those points because TV, much as I watch it, possesses none of these.My goal now is to address these gaps without condemning TV as a whole.TV is not a visual medium.The image of Luke Skywalker stepping outside to watch Tatooine’s two setting suns burns vividly in my mind. The wedding from “The Godfather” is there too, along with E.T. riding a bike in front of the moon and Lawrence of Arabia standing victoriously on a raided train.I have fond memories of many of TV’s finest moments, but I can hardly visualize any of them.TV lacks iconic visual moments. A Google image search will prove me right. Search any good movie last year, even one you haven’t seen, and familiar images will still be there.You might get Walter White standing in his underpants with a gun if you search a TV show, but you’ll mostly get cast photos and promos.Many of these shows are gorgeous in high definition with rich set dressing and costumes, but the nature of TV requires cinematic simplicity and familiarity.If one episode of a show looks too radically different from the next, people become wary. So directors develop patterns when shooting on a set, including reused establishing shots and lots of close-up, over-the-shoulder conversations.Rarely do we stand back and marvel at the beauty or craft of an individual shot. Often, film has the luxury of larger budgets and a longer shooting schedule, but there are dozens of indies that do away with HD cameras and are still more visually stimulating.In fact, TV is not a visual medium. Its closest relative following World War II was radio, which likewise pushed TV to evolve into an art form that valued story more than style.TV is all about story.Any film school will tell you the three most important things a filmmaker can focus on are story, story, story.Students then crank out a concept-driven show such as “Lost” with a million different narrative threads and an intricate web of clues that will add up by the series’ end.But what that neglects are either shows with elegant, artistic simplicity or shows that are truly surreal.And when something such as “The Tree of Life” comes along and is a visual and emotional feast rather than a narrative one, people flip out.“What does it all mean?” they cry, as if analyzing a string of lottery numbers that will key in the secret behind an island and smoke monster.There’s a reason it’s called an “unconventional narrative.” Often, there’s not a complex answer to unravel because it’s anything but conventional. It’s art, beauty and expressionism for its own sake, and anyone who has seen the films of Luis Buñuel, Stanley Kubrick, Andrei Tarkovsky, Federico Fellini, Terrence Malick and countless others would know that. TV is never-ending.Some cringe at the length of “Lawrence of Arabia” but don’t bat an eye at a TV marathon.If I don’t get into a show, it’s because I can watch a dozen movies in the time it takes to watch just one season on Netflix.And if I get behind on a new, must-see TV show, the moment has already passed. There’s no catching up with so many other things to watch.But TV thrives on its endless narratives. In fact, TV is the only art form that can actually change between episodes and seasons as people watch and debate.This ability is so true that TV now encourages live discussions on Twitter through strategic hashtags, whereas doing so in a theater is plain rude.If I was an old-fashioned troll, I could say that a work of art should stand alone with one artist behind it, and a TV series with a million contributors on social media is intrinsically not that.TV is not film.Everything I’ve argued could also be a reason for why TV is so special.The strength of TV is that it’s not film’s bastard child. In the last decade alone, it has learned to tell stories in a way no other medium can and dispelled most rumors that TV is nothing but a trashy wasteland.And there are even exceptions to my rules. “Louie” is a show that represents what TV could be if it chose to follow that path. It’s a program that uses a serialized format to its advantage to essentially create short films. “Louie” is not only well made and often surreal, but it has individual episodes that can stand alone as art. Not to mention, Louis C.K. is TV’s closest example of an auteur.What we’re left with is a war between two completely different art forms and two sets of preferences. It’s black and white, but we’ve been comparing two shades of gray.That’s why I’m scared when movie theaters are losing business to a digital age, episodic film franchises dominate the market, and Netflix moves closer and closer to just being another HBO.Film is becoming the cultural dinosaur, and TV is thriving in a way that threatens to make interesting movies extinct.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Only Chuck Workman can show you 470 movies in seven minutes. Workman’s Oscar-winning short film “Precious Images” is a love letter to cinema, and it’s one of several films being shown at the IU Cinema that capture segments of popular culture.Workman will be present for screenings of his films at 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, as well as at a seminar in the cinema at 3 p.m. Friday. He’ll discuss his work as an editor for the Academy Awards ceremony since 1988, the premiere of his latest short film, “The Possibilities” and his documentaries, such as “The Source,” which IU Cinema Director Jon Vickers called “the best documentary on the Beat Generation ever made.”IDS What intrigues you about popular culture?Chuck Workman I’m interested in how we look at movies and certain things that stay with us in a movie. There are certain things that stay with us and we remember that are part of our lives. I’m trying to work with those images and ideas constantly and turn them into films in some way or another. IDS How is working on the Oscars?Workman The Oscars are fun. With a good producer, they’ll basically just give me an assignment, and I take it from there. I’m able to make my own film up to my own standards. It’s been a very good experience for me most of the time. IDS What is it like knowing “Precious Images” is so widely seen and is giving people a love for the movies?Workman It’s great! I’m very happy I made it. I think every filmmaker should have a hit like that. It’s usually totally on accident. You do your work as well as you can, and occasionally something hits the popular culture you would never expect. IDS I’m racking my brain thinking if I’ve ever talked to an Oscar winner before.Workman (Laughs) What happens in Hollywood is that when you win an Oscar, it makes your career a lot easier. It doesn’t make it that easy, but you have a certain amount of cache, where they say, “Well, he’s won an Oscar. He must know what he’s doing.” IDS Tell me about “The Source.”Workman I’m very interested in the counterculture. Even though I make films that are mainstream Hollywood films, I’m very interested in what’s not the mainstream. There are people that came before us that were ahead, whether they were filmmakers, artists, poets or writers. “The Source” was about people, the beats, who came before the hippies, who led the way for a lot of people in art, politics and in just living. They opened up life to less structure and rules and allowed people to be creative and experimental. I think that’s incredibly important. IDS What can you tell me about your most recent short, “The Possibilities?”Workman I’m making five short films all about the same family that will be put together as a feature. “The Possibilities” is the third. Each one is about a different member of the family, and each one has a particular style to it. It’s a complicated story told in an unconventional way about the randomness of life.IDS What’s your philosophy when you work as an editor?Workman Shut the door and work very hard. I try not to play down to the audience and let the audience have the same experience I have. So I’m always working toward that sweet spot where they’re getting it, but they have to engage with the material. IDS What advice can you give to a young editor or filmmaker?Workman Take it real seriously. A lot of filmmakers are just happy to do it and learn what’s expected of them, but I think people have to go past what’s expected of them and find their own style. Find something of your own that you can bring to the material, and use that as something that’s personal. It’s so hard to make films. People will ask how someone does it, but after a while it’s how you do it.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Sometimes movies try so hard to be realistic that they forget they’re still movies.The heartwarming comedy “Jeff, Who Lives at Home” has a mystic fascination with the idea that some signs that point to our destiny are almost too powerful to not be scripted.Jeff (Jason Segel), the 30-year-old stoner living with his mom (Susan Sarandon), believes in such a fate, and he thinks it’s more than coincidence he bumped into his brother Pat (Ed Helms) to help him investigate if his wife Linda (Judy Greer) is having an affair.If the film’s nonsensical camera movements weren’t enough of a sign, some noticeably predictable and ridiculously madcap segments involving Pat colliding his new Porsche with a tree are indicative of a constantly self-aware movie.Yet through likeable characters, economical editing and a surprising level of depth and character growth in key scenes, directors Jay and Mark Duplass create a wonderfully-contained movie universe that is simple and elegant.“Jeff, Who Lives at Home” is a beautiful, endearing and funny film worth leaving the couch for.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A person with a stutter is not a serial killer. Hollywood has perpetuated a myth that disabilities are bad by depicting disabled individuals as James Bond villains or worse.In the movies, the disability is visible: It defines the characters and shoves them into the background. But as part of Disability Awareness Month, the Office of Disability Services for Students at IU is bringing disabilities to the forefront with a series of films that positively portray disabilities as a part of everyday life.“A night out at the movies is a popular American pastime and is a way to immerse yourself in another identity,” said Tanner Terrell, a graduate assistant with the disability services department. “With the IU Cinema partnership, we were presented with the possibility to immerse someone in the identity of a person with a disability.”Through these films and Disability Awareness Month’s theme of “Celebrating a World of Difference,” the department hopes to instill a sense of diversity and optimism.“People might automatically assume the negative aspects of having a disability, but we’re interested in portraying a positive and empowering sort of perspective,” Terrell said. “That’s what’s not out there.”Following a March 6 screening of “The King’s Speech,” the IU Cinema will offer screenings of “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?” at 7 p.m. today and “Lars and the Real Girl” at 9:30 p.m. March 29. 1993’s “Gilbert Grape” tells the story of a teenager (Johnny Depp) who lives with his morbidly obese mother (Darlene Cates) and a younger brother with autism (Leonardo DiCaprio). As one disability is visible and the other is not, Disability Services Director Martha Engstrom said it’s important to understand the difference in the ways we react to them.“Disability is a broad group, and it isn’t just about someone in a wheelchair,” Engstrom said.IU Cinema Director Jon Vickers even noted how disabilities go beyond the medical aspect in the first film of the series, “The King’s Speech.”“Disabilities are everywhere. Disabilities are non-discriminating to where you can have people of all races and social climates in the same boat,” Vickers said. “There are no boundaries. Even a king can have the same problem as someone on the lowest economic scale and can share those issues in their daily lives.”But the goal of Disability Awareness Month as a whole, which also includes student panels and a talk by comedian Erik Stolhanske on March 27, is to alter the negative perception disabilities carry with them.Engstrom stressed the need to correct the two operating clichés that disabled people must either be coddled with praise or assistance.“Both of them are kind of obnoxious to someone who is just living and moving on with life,” Engstrom said.This is no easy task because even the word disabled implies the negative connotation of “not abled.” There is no neutral word to express a prescribed disability.“We need to take away the idea that disability is an ailment and needs to be fixed,” Terrell said. “There’s the thought that there’s the ideal human, the norm, and everyone else that’s trying to strive for that, and that’s not accurate. We want people to think about disability differently.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>“Wanderlust” is a silly mess of a comedy in the way it tries to mock a hippie lifestyle while still grooving off their good vibrations.David Wain’s film follows New York married couple George and Linda (Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston) to the Elysium commune in Georgia, a place where every hippie cliché ever imagined is piled on to a disturbing degree, after they lose their jobs and apartment.George and Linda are the only two characters who are not on an extreme end of the spectrum, be it the free-loving, voodoo-chanting, nature-embracing and technologically-challenged Seth (Justin Theroux) or George’s aggressive, douchebag brother Rick (Ken Marino).Rudd is amusing in small-scale moments when the script allows one of the “normals” to be funny, namely because he will say yes to any bit, no matter how ridiculous.But the movie’s screwball nature in attempting to top itself can be overwhelming and just plain gross. Not even an actor as likeable as Rudd can make carrying a newborn’s placenta around funny.
WEEKEND takes a look at each of this year's Best Picture nominees
WEEKEND acknowledges the performances that the Academy snubbed
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>What will we say about 2011 as a year for movies when the potential Best Picture winner quite literally doesn’t say anything at all?“The Artist” was once the controversial contender for Best Picture. Not since the first Oscars in 1927 had a silent film won, and it was doubtful this French crowd-pleaser would be the one to change that.The narrative even fit the tumultuous Academy landscape with the lopsided number of nominees and changing rules in other important categories.Now, however, “The Artist” seems like the safe bet, and in just a few weeks since the nominations, the race has lost its energy as obvious frontrunners make their way ever closer to the podium.The Oscars remain the last important awards ceremony, but the movies nominated need to reflect the awards’ significance.Consider for a moment that of all the films nominated for Best Picture, not one is a dark, feel-bad movie like “Drive,” “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” or “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.”There is also only one film, “The Help,” which grossed more than $100 million at the box office.And of those, only “The Descendants” or “Moneyball” can be called 21st Century films.Something remains to be said about a silent film winning Best Picture, namely that a movie, in this case a foreign film that would typically be Best Picture poison, can be universal.But the problem is that “The Artist” will not inspire a wave of silent films from young, aspiring filmmakers. It may temporarily generate some fascination for the silent era, but the nostalgia of Michel Hazanavicius’s film, as well as the many other backwards-looking films in 2011, is fleeting.If something like “The Tree of Life” could win, heads would really turn. Films such as “No Country for Old Men,” “The Hurt Locker” and “The Lord of the Rings” are all masterpieces in their own ways, but Terrence Malick’s film carries with it the aura that still belongs to “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Rarely is such an important film this close to being recognized as such by a populist voting body.Short of ensuring that the best films always win, I’m struggling to think what the Oscars still need to do to remain relevant.Many have leveled critiques that the Oscars can seem like an old man’s club, and this year is no exception. The average age of the nominees in the Best Supporting Actor category is 62.6, and even the Best Director field is stacked with aging masters.The Oscars could very easily slate younger people if only they nominated Shailene Woodley, “Bridesmaids” or included performances in “The Muppets,” but part of what makes the Oscars special is that they are distinguished and made to be taken seriously. If the Oscars are anything, they are not the Grammys or the MTV Movie Awards.There’s the thought to go back to five nominees, but even if nominating “Inception” and “Toy Story 3” meant little in terms of ratings, a changing, broader field of films has kept movies such as “The Tree of Life,” “Bridesmaids,” “Tinker Tailor,” “Drive,” “Dragon Tattoo” and even “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” or “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” in the conversation long enough for them to actually be recognized.Even if the nomination for “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” was infuriating, at the very least it created some buzz and actually got people to go out and see the damn thing.Fixing the Oscars might not come easy, but it’s clear that something must be done to address the Oscars’ problems. They’re too important to just ignore.