In case you missed The Late Show last night, David Letterman brought on the mother of late comedian Bill Hicks and finally aired Hicks’ entire 1993 Late Show performance which was completely removed from the original broadcast, with Letterman being classy by taking responsibility and apologizing for the incident.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
New music video by our friend Steve Barone. It’s sure to be blowin’ up on the MTV’s in the very near future.
I first met Jim Brunzell III years ago when the Lagoon Cinema was a host for the Minneapolis/St. Paul Film Festival. At the time he was still working for Minnesota Film Arts. Nowadays Jim writes about film for Twin Cities Daily Planet and hosts KFAI’s MovieTalk. I caught up with him earlier in the week to ask how his trip to the 2009 Sundance Film Festival went.
Switchblade Comb: So how was Sundance this year?
Jim Brunzell III: It was good. It is always around the time of my birthday so it’s somewhat of a nice gift for myself in some capacity, I suppose. It was less attended this year, but I didn’t have any issues about getting tickets like the year before. I saw more films this time around, but I think I saw better ones in 2008. I mean last year there was Young@Heart, Bigger Stronger Faster, Anvil!, and Under the Bombs which I felt were all very strong films, and I guess I really only got excited about maybe one or two films, this year. The weather was one of the biggest surprises. I left Minneapolis on a Thursday morning and it was -17 when we took off, when I landed in Salt Lake it was 43 degrees. I mean it wasn’t Palm Springs but it was sweatshirt weather, for most of the time.
SBC: How many times have you gone to Sundance?
Jim: Last year was my first time. I went mainly to scout films for the Mpls/St. Paul International Film Festival. This year I went out as a journalist to cover the festival for Twin Cities Daily Planet and I did some scouting for a film festival that will be happening in Minneapolis during the last weekend of March called Beyond Borders Film Festival.
SBC: Is it getting to be too much of a zoo with some of the celebrities ruining the “integrity” of the festival?
Jim: To simply put it, it doesn’t bother me, but for others, without a doubt, I’m sure it bothers them like crazy. I mean sure, 20 years ago, Steven Soderbergh came out to Sundance with Sex, Lies, & Videotape and he said that he had never met another filmmaker until he came to Sundance. He is someone who should be coming to the festival to give lectures and do panel discussions about the state of film and where it is headed, which I think he did this year along with a sneak preview screening of his latest film, The Girlfriend Experiment.
But someone like Paris Hilton, unless she has a film playing, she is someone who just wants to come to be seen, which again I don’t really care because I’m not out here to take photos of her or do an interview with her. Park City is an attractive hot spot for mid-January because it’s a resort town with lots of skiing and winter activities to do that you couldn’t normally do in Manhattan or Los Angeles. So I guess, I can’t really blame any celebrity coming out to the festival just to enjoy themselves or get away for the weekend.
But I think it is important for actors, writers, directors, producers, to come to Park City and support the films that they’re in or that they have money invested in. Sundance has grown to be the first spot each year for many people in the U.S. and across the world to come together and have their sales meetings and talk about what’s going on in the industry.
SBC: With all that said, any celebrity sightings yourself?
Jim: I did. I actually got my picture taken with Paul Giamatti. He was out there for Cold Souls, which I didn’t see, but I walked out of a hotel lobby and he was standing right there. I’m not one to really ask for photos, but I didn’t get any last year, so I thought, I’d ask, and before I could finish my sentence he was like, “Sure…sure..” and that was it.
I saw quite a few, even though, celebrity sightings are different for me because I get more excited seeing other writers than I do actors and directors. I got to meet Scott Foundas, who writes for the L.A. Weekly, Variety, and Village Voice. I read all of Scott’s film reviews and articles, I think he’s one of the best critics around and meeting him really meant a lot to me. I saw and got to talk with other Minneapolis people out there too: I ran into Sheryl Mousley a few times, she is the film curator at the Walker Art Center. I also saw Rob Nelson from Minn Post and Variety at a screening, who is the best film critic in Minnesota in my opinion, so we chatted for a bit.
When I went to The Slammin’ Salmon screening at Slamdance I sat in the same row as Adam Duritz [lead singer from Counting Crows]. I guess he is going to be a producer on the next Broken Lizard film. But I saw, Spike Lee, Mike White, Peter Gallagher, Robin Williams, Brittany Snow, Kristin Stewart, Martin Starr, Woody Harrelson, Ben Foster, so I guess I saw quite a few celebs.
SBC: Cool! Can you briefly talk about the films you liked and disliked and to the best of your knowledge when they’ll be coming out?
Jim: Geez, hmmm the ones that are sticking with me during this interview are: Amreeka, Big River Man, We Live in Public, The Missing Person, The Carter and 500 Days of Summer.
Michael Shannon in The Missing Person is really fantastic and the film, a modern day film noir is so-odd that I wouldn’t be surprised if many critics out there pan it, but its worth seeing just for his performance only.
500 Days of Summer will be out in July and I was really surprised how much I enjoyed it, considering the trailer doesn’t do it justice and Brooklyn’s Finest, with Richard Gere, Ethan Hawke, Don Cheadle, and Wesley Snipes was entertaining but needs a good editor to fix some trouble spots is being released in the fall.
The ones that I wouldn’t recommend seeing are Moon, which is being released in June by Sony Pictures Classics, The Killing Room, and The Messenger. I saw a lot of medorce stuff, which may never get released in theaters and might come on DVD within a year or two.
I laughed the hardest at Dead Snow. which IFC picked up, where this Nazi zombie squished this guy’s head and his brain came flying out, that was really hilarious and gory which I love but I can’t really recommend something like that to everyone.
SBC: Lastly, what did you think of Mystery Team. I’ve read on other film sites it was pretty good yet they still don’t have a distributor.
Jim: I think a small studio could possibly take a chance on the film, otherwise it might do well on the festival circuit for a few months. It was tough to sit through some scenes while others had some big belly laughs. If it would have been about 80 minutes it would probably already be scooped up, but it runs 105 and it drags at the end. There was about 30 to 40 walkouts in the screening too, but it is targeted for the 15 to 30 year old crowds. Donald Glover who plays Jason “the master of disguise” is going to be a big star, for sure. That guys timing was genuis and some of his outfits were really silly. The film does feel like a long, LONG, Saturday Night Live skit. But I will be honest, that trailer, that I first saw on Switchblade, still makes me laugh every time I see it.
SBC: Well, that’s all the questions I have for now. Welcome home, happy belated birthday, and thanks again for chatting.
Jim: Thank you.
Shot in Minneapolis. Directed by Todd Cobery & Scott Wenner. I think they’ve seen Children of Men a few too many times. This is the first of six upcoming videos from P.O.S. off his new record.
Never Better comes out on February 3 via Rhymesayers.
Usually it’s Ratatat who are the ones to sample and remix hip-hop, but Chicago via St. Paul’s J.Loonz flips it around on them with “Look At Me Now.” It’s one of the hottest tracks of this young year and hopefully the start of a trend of sampling more of Ratatat’s awesome music.
MP3: J.Loonz – “Look At Me Now”
From volume 1 of J.Loonz’s Nerd-Hop mixtape series available for free at Midwest Broadcast.
Update: Pre-sale February 2 HERE via Ticketmaster. Password = SUGARLUMPS.
Flight of the Conchords 2009 Tour Dates:
(with Kristen Schaal)
04.06 – Tampa, FL – Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center
04.07 – Coral Gables, FL – BankUnited Center
04.08 – Orlando, FL – UCF Arena
04.10 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
04.11 – Atlanta, GA – Fox Theatre
04.13 – Washington, DC – Constitution Hall
04.14 – New York, NY – Radio City Music Hall
04.17 – Boston, MA – Agganis Arena
04.18 – Philadelphia, PA – Tower Theatre (2 shows)
04.19 – Kent, OH – Kent State University
(with Eugene Mirman)
04.21 – Toronto, ON – Massey Hall
04.22 – Toronto, ON – Massey Hall
04.24 – Detroit, MI – Fox Theatre
04.25 – Bloomington, IN – IU Auditorium
04.26 – Madison, WI – Overture Center for the Arts
04.28 – Chicago, IL – Aerie Crown
04.30 – St. Louis, MO – Fox Theatre
05.02 – Milwaukee, WI – Riverside Theatre (2 shows)
05.03 – Minneapolis, MN – Northrop Auditorium
05.05 – Dallas, TX – Nokia Theatre
05.06 – Houston, TX – Jones Hall
05.07 – Austin, TX – Bass Concert Hall
(with Arj Barker)
05.10 – Vancouver, BC – Vancouver Performing Arts Center
05.11 – Seattle, WA – Paramount Theatre
05.12 – Seattle, WA – Paramount Theatre
05.14 – Portland, OR – Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
05.16 – Denver, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre
05.17 – Salt Lake City, UT – Abravanel, Hall
05.19 – Phoenix, AZ – Dodge Theatre
05.20 – San Diego, CA – RIMAC Arena
05.22 – Santa Barbara, CA – County Bowl
05.23 – Las Vegas, NV – The Joint
05.24 – Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theatre
05.25 – Berkeley, CA – Berkeley Community Theatre (2 shows)
A testament to the power of animation, there’s never been anything quite like Waltz with Bashir. It’s a documentary of sorts, following director Ari Folman as he attempts to piece together what happened to him during the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, of which he has no recollection of. After talking to a friend about his post-war dreams ten years later, Folman has his own hallucinatory flashback that prompts him to interview those who were in the same places at the same time in hopes of remembering.
That in itself is a fascinating look into memory, but the choice to animate the proceedings and put it to Max Richter’s haunting score provides for something so much more powerful. Capable of putting audiences in a trance state, the bold animation style turns the story into a brilliant, surreal exploration of war that perhaps only Terence Malick’s Thin Red Line has previously accomplished.
Waltz with Bashir opens in Minneapolis today at the Uptown Theatre.
Trailer
- New Brother Ali (Ant produced) full-length LP due out Fall 2009!
- New Truth is Here DVD “that features Brother Ali’s sold out homecoming performance during The Undisputed Truth Tour at the legendary First Avenue nightclub in Minneapolis as well as interviews, a special commentary by Brother Ali, and videos of ‘Take Me Home’ and ‘Uncle Sam Goddamn’ from The Undisputed Truth.”
- New Truth is Here EP “featuring two highly sought after b-sides and seven new and previously unreleased songs. Vinyl version includes the DVD, a second record with the instrumentals, and a digital download card.”
Tracklist:
1. Real As Can Be
2. Philistine David
3. Little Rodney
4. Palm the Joker
5. Good Lord
6. Baby Don’t Go
7. Talkin’ My Shit
8. The Believer (ft. Slug)
9. Begin Here
Both the DVD+EP are due out March 10, 2009.
(Thanks to Fly High, Duluth! and City Pages for the tip.)
Friendly Fires 2009 Tour Dates:
(On tour with White Lies and the Soft Pack.)
03.24 – Washington, DC – Black Cat
03.25 – Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church
03.26 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
03.27 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
03.28 – Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club
03.30 – Montreal, QC – Les Saints
03.31 – Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace
04.01 – Ann Arbor, MI – Blind Pig
04.02 – Indianapolis, IN – Radio Radio
04.03 – Chicago, IL – Double Door
04.04 – Minneapolis, MN – Triple Rock Social Club
04.07 – Seattle, WA – Neumo’s
04.08 – Vancouver, BC – Richard’s On Richards
04.09 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge
04.11 – San Francisco, CA – Slim’s
Friendly Fires – “Skeleton Boy”
Visit L’etoile for some ideas how to spend your weekend in the Twin Cities.
Forget that pansy-ass Outlander . . . Severed Ways is the real viking movie of 2009. How can you tell? The soundtrack includes Judas Priest and the black metal of Burzum, Morbid Angel, and Dimmu Borgir, and you know nothing says ‘vikings’ like black metal.
In the 11th century, Vikings, Indians, and Irish monks collide on the shores of North America in a historical epic adventure of exploration, personal glory, and religious dominance. Abandoned by a Western exploration party and stranded in the New World, two lone Vikings wade through a grand primeval landscape, struggling for survival while still in the grip of their Norse ways.
Release Date: March 20
Epic Trailer
Acoustic Bruce Springsteen cover.
(via PTV)
