Entries from May 2007
BY CYNDI GREENING, SAN FRANCISCO, USA — The long weekend and a friend with computer issues prompted an unexpected journey to the Bay Area. There was heavy fog and rain when we arrived. The Golden Gate was shrouded in fog, barely revealing the lowest section. We crossed over to Marin; the fog rolled over the hills, chasing us up the peninsula. At 6:00 a.m., it was only 54°F. It was around 100° when I left Phoenix, so the crisp air was a welcome relief. The winds were gusty. Refreshing. Cruising up and down the hills made me ever so happy.
Since it is Memorial Day weekend, a trip to The Presidio was in order. The gravestones had all been thoroughly cleaned and gleamed a brighter white than I had ever seen. The wind snapped the flags (and made the Eucalyptus creak). One could feel the historical devotion to freedom and the sacrifice made by so many to protect our independence. Click the image above to see The Presdio on Memorial Day. Photos by Jeniece Toranzo
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Tags: Personal
BY CYNDI GREENING, PHOENIX, USA – I spoke with filmmaker (and former student) Kohl Glass today about his adventures in Los Angeles since his short film screened at Sundance 2007. He talked about the meetings he’s been taking, the offers he’s been getting, how it’s going with his managers. It’s all so interesting. Another friend, Lucas (an actor) is going through the process of finding a manager and representation. We also got talking about another former student, Jake Parker, the wonderfully talented Agent 44. He has publications for sale on his site AND an amazing list of artist links. Enjoy!
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Tags: Film Prod & Animation
BY CYNDI GREENING, PHOENIX, USA — New York-based City Lights Pictures has acquired North American distribution rights to 2007 Sundance Film Festival Documentary Grand Jury Prize winner MANDA BALA (SEND A BULLET). Simultaneously, Celsius picked up foreign distribution rights, and the Sundance Channel took domestic broadcast rights, he added. MANDA BALA— from first-time director Jason Kohn, who produced with Jared Ian Goldman and Joey Frank — will be released theatrically in the summer. Cinetic Media repped the filmmakers in the deal.
Sarah Polley’s AWAY FROM HER was released theatrically on May 4. According to Box Office Mojo, the audience for the film continues to grow. It’s currently in 174 theatres and has generated $1.3 million. Starring Julie Christie and Olympia Dukakis, it’s the story of a woman’s deterioration to Alzheimer’s. Based on Alice Munro’s short story.
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Tags: Sundance
BY CYNDI GREENING, PHOENIX, USA — The NEW Golden Age of Mexican Cinema has dawned and the key players are filmmakers Alfonso Cuaron (CHILDREN OF MEN), Guillermo del Toro (PAN’S LABYRINTH), and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (BABEL). 
They have formed Cha cha cha, a production partnership debuting with Universal Pictures and its Focus Features International unit for financing, international sales and distribution on an upcoming slate of five films. The new projects include directorial efforts for all three men, as well as new films from writer/directors Carlos Cuaron (Alfonso’s brother, co-author of Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN) and Rodrigo Garcia (NINE LIVES). Garcia also directed five episodes of SIX FEET UNDER and six episodes of CARNIVALE. Unfortunately, GABRIEL GARCIA BERNAL and DIEGO LUNA aren’t in the partnership. The new golden age of Mexican cinema also boasts a couple of incredible acting talents.
The thing I love most about these filmmakers is the raw energy and pure passion of their films. A few years ago, I spent a summer in Guadalajara, Mexico, studying language and literature. Inarritu’s AMORES PERROS was just coming out and it was the talk of the city. It was a harsh film. At points during the film, I kept thinking, “What is the big deal about this film?” And then, the story came full circle and paid off in a powerful conclusion that had me thinking about it for days. It reminded me of the Macedonian film BEFORE THE RAIN. A non-linear story that hung with me for a very long time. A week later, we saw Cuaron’s Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN. I don’t know if my experience was altered because I saw those films with Mexican audiences; I only know that I was greatly affected by them. Checking IMDB Pro, I’m looking forward to their upcoming films. Andele!
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Tags: Film Prod & Animation
BY CYNDI GREENING, PHOENIX, USA – When Margaret’s daughter Bridget was younger, she always used to say that I reminded her of Velma on Scooby Doo. The combination of over-size glasses combined with the over-reliance on all things analytical, I guess. 
Well, today I noticed online that Linda Cardellini (”Velma” on the live action Scooby Doo films) is set to star opposite Paul Walker in HEAVEN PROJECT, an indie drama being directed by John Glenn. The story follows an ex-con who is sentenced to death and wakes up from his lethal injection in a small Oregon town. Working as a groundskeeper for a mental hospital, he is told he was given a second chance by God but questions whether he ever really died.
Most folks are familiar with Cardellini from ER, of course, but it was her role as the murderous Chutney Winhdham on the comedy LEGALLY BLONDE oppostie Reese Witherspoon, that really caught my attention. It was a small but critical role because the resolution of the film depended on her performance. The SCOOBY DOO films followed that role. Recently, she appeared in the Academy Award winning BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN. She played, Cassie, the post-divorce love interest of Heath Ledger. I enjoyed the subtlety of the role. Since the audience knows of Ledger’s relationship with Gyllenhaal, there is a bittersweet melacholy in her effort to sustain a connection to Ledger and his daughter. I’m eager to see what she’ll do in this new role.
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Tags: Film Prod & Animation
TERMINATOR FOUR is coming back. The Halcyon Company has acquired the franchise rights to the popular movie series from C2’s Mario Kassar and Andrew Vajna, intending to make a new trilogy that would anchor the movie company. TERMINATOR FOUR will be based on a script by John Brancato and Michael Ferris, which was part of the transaction. Halcyon plans to immediately begin preproduction on the film. While no distribution agreement has been set, Halcyon is hoping that “T4″ will be ready for release in the first half of 2009.
The deal includes the right to produce any future Terminator films, as well as all future merchandising and licensing rights, certain future revenue derived from TERMINATOR THREE, as well as certain rights in the television project THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES and the sole right to produce all future Terminator projects in any new or existing media.
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Tags: Film Prod & Animation
BY CYNDI GREENING, PHOENIX, USA – I got home LATE Sunday evening. Flight delays out of LaGuardia. Missed flight in Denver. Two hour Super Shuttle trip home. No wonder I was wiped out yesterday. I was finally able to get my head back into work today. 
After two good meetings with distributors and broadcasters in NYC last week, I’m feeling eager to get going on this project and others. We were back at editing today and also started working on new scripts. I wish there were more hours in the day. There just isn’t enough time to do all of the things I want to do. And my phone call return is far worse than usual. Even five minutes is precious these days.
Last week, at the Met, I snapped this photo of Pam looking at a painting of Mary Magdelene. I ended up liking the photo so much that I wanted to use it even though I didn’t really have anything to write about it at that moment. Pam got me going with this whole “Where are all the women in art history?” question … not to mention, where are all of the women in history. This photograph evokes the gestalt of the inquiry. We’ve got a woman, taking a picture of a woman who is looking at a woman who appears to be hiding herself from view … the painting an interpretation by a man. An enigma wrapped in a cypher buried in a puzzle struggling to find the light of day. Or the organic form of one of those infinite mirror photos.
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Tags: Fine Art
Peter Jackson’s adaptation of the Alice Sebold novel THE LOVELY BONES has found a home at DreamWorks. DreamWorks acquired the package late Friday, beating out Warner Bros. Pictures, Sony Pictures and Universal Pictures. DreamWorks acquired the package with Film 4, which originally acquired the project, then developed it with Jackson.
BONES, which went out to the town on Monday, generated a lot of heat because of Jackson’s name but came under intense scrutiny for the way it was being sent to market. Jackson and his team shopped the script with a budget in the $80 million range, complete with a start of production date and, uniquely, a focus on marketing. Integral to the deal were conversations about release dates and what other films the winning company will have in the same quarter, because Jackson wanted to know how time and attention will be divided between his movie and others.
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Tags: Personal
The Emmy-winning adventure series, LOST, will run for 48 more episodes over three seasons. Each season will consist of 16 episodes, which will air uninterrupted. LOST executive producers/showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, who have been vocal about setting up an endgame for the show, have signed on to stay for the remainder of the series’ run. Their separate new eight-figure deals with LOST producer ABC TV Studio include their services on the show as well as multiyear development pacts set to kick in when LOST bows out during the 2009-10 season.
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Tags: Personal
BY CYNDI GREENING, MANHATTAN, USA – The irony of it is noteworthy. I spent ten days in NYC covering the Tribeca Film Festival, researching a story and meeting with potential distribution sources for the Zambia films. All in all, a productive and encouraging week. The weekend arrives and I’m getting ready to return to Phoenix. Alec asks, “If you love film and filmmaking so much, why didn’t you ever move to NYC or LA? 
That’s where the industry is.” I explain that my teaching job is at a college in Mesa (which is not in LA or NYC) and that he was growing up in PHX (which kept me there) and I was always a little bit afraid to move in case I wasn’t talented enough to make it. Now, after he’s grown, I’ve grown accustomed to a substantial paycheck which makes it challenging to consider any options besides continuing down the teaching path. The “golden handcuffs are on, the mortgage must be paid.
He says all sorts of complimentary things about how smart and talented and skilled I am (he is, of course, terribly biased) and says I’m silly to have worried about such a thing. “I can’t work somewhere for $10 per hour or as a “free” intern to get into the business,” I say, “I’ve got to be pragmatic here.” He tells me that I am getting in my own way. Do you get the irony here? This is what I am always telling him. Get outta your own way! Why is it so much easier to see what other people should be doing than acknowledging what one needs to adjust? The best thing about this whole conversation is that Alec started noticing how he was getting in his way and I was able to look at my “issues.” I can rationalize it by noting that we’re both doing “better.”
With Todd’s help (thanks Todd!), Alec is getting his own job for PBS. He’ll be working on a documentary. He has to scan a bunch of photos in HD and then animate them using AfterEffects. Big fun. He’s been working on commercials for Dove and several Broadway shows. He was doing a toilet brush for a while (don’t really know what commercial that was for). Regardless, he’s building some good solid skills and is getting guidance from a post-production artist with a lot of great credits. It’s a good thing for a 19-year-old from Phoenix. He loves working. While I was in New York, he rarely got home before eight (8) in the evening.
There’s another thing I’m noticing that really gets in the way … OTHER PEOPLE … whether it’s jealousy or a desire to have one’s selfish needs met, several of the other crew members and I have found many other people to be quite unsupportive. There are snide comments about how we’re sooooo important now or that we just don’t know what it’s like to be an average person anymore. We’ve got family members complaining about things that take us away even though they’re not really there when we are. I’ve decided that one must be extremely determined, self-confident and focused to make it in this business. There are so many things that will come up to stop you (besides yourself), you have to be a real animal about finishing. It brings to mind the Kim Basinger quote about why she was successful when so many others were not … “They all quit a week too early,” she said. So, we’re all on the path now, running for the finish line. We’ll have to see who crosses and who quits a week too early.
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Tags: Film Prod & Animation
BY PAMELA BOWMAN, MANHATTAN, USA – She went into teacher mode before we even arrived at the museum. I had to tease her and asked if there would be a quiz at the end of the field trip! She wasn’t sure if I was serious until she saw me trying to hide my smile.
“My apologies. It’s just that I want you to suggest how you might want to look at the work as we … blah, blah, blah.”
To sustain ourselves, we bought an ice cream before we entered the museum. Good thing, because I needed that Ben and Jerry! That museum is HUGE!!
We began in the Renaissance area. Now, in all fairness I have taken art history classes. Cyndi calls them “Art in the Dark.” I called it almost flunking my first college course in my senior year! So I am wandering around looking at the artwork that I had studied and I immediately realized that it would have been much more impactful, memorable and understandable for me to have visited the Met for my class. I would have been able to see how artists, their skills and styles evolved through the centuries. It was enlightening to see how (and when) artists discovered how to represent perspective, human form, texture, light and atmosphere.
Sometimes, in seeing the work of these great artists I realized many of their pieces were just practice works or efforts at honing their craft. Each time we entered a new room, I noticed that I would be immediately drawn to a painting or sculpture or mural because I could “read” the story in the eyes of the subject. 
The posture of the body, the placement of hand or the attire of the subject would make me see what the artist was trying to evoke. It was amazing and inspiring.
Having my own personal tour guide did not hurt, except my feet! We ended in the Asian wing. I have always loved Japanese art. I am drawn to its simplicity and its complexity. It was a very peaceful and joyous way to end my tour.
And yes there was a full blown verbal test that afternoon. As we walked the down Central Park East and through the streets of New York, we discussed artists, movements, color and light. The discussion continues as we apply the work and knowledge of those artists to our current film project. Ever notice how sfumato and chiaroscuro in film is as powerful as it is in painting? Now, how …
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Tags: Fine Art
BY CYNDI GREENING, MANHATTAN, USA – Tribeca is done and I was prepared for the long journey back to Phoenix. I had never had any problems going in or out of La Guardia (this is my fourth trip in the last 18 months) so I was counting on a smooth trip. Granted, Pamela’s flight out on Wednesday was delayed four hours and she ended up missing any connection in Denver, but I was still optimistic. I got to the airport with plenty of time to spare and was at the gate about an hour ahead of time. Our plane came in and then … we waited. And waited. And waited. Police officers came to our gate. Then, the Port Authority arrived. Our departure time kept getting pushed back. We were told that our plane was going through an “extensive security search” and there was no way of knowing when we’d be able to board. Finally, we were informed that the dangerous substance that was discovered and being investigated on the plane was … baby formula. That’s right. We sat on the ground for three hours because someone had left a baggie of baby formula behind. So, now, I’m enroute from Denver to Phoenix (flying time one hour and 34 minutes) to arrive home considerably behind schedule. Better safe than sorry, I guess but, heck, we were grounded by a bit of baby formula.
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Tags: Tribeca
Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength;
loving someone deeply gives you courage.
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Tags: Quotes
BY PAMELA BOWMAN, MANHATTAN, USA – I walked through the halls of the Metropolitan Museum of Art experiencing the work of great artists through the ages. It was an overwhelming experience. On each wall, in each crevice and around every corner was a record in some form of our history. I kept searching because I felt it was not complete. It was not whole. Finally I couldn’t stand it any longer.
“Cyndi, where is the artwork of the women? Where can I see paintings by women?” My question did not surprise her, but she did take a moment to answer. “There were very few women artists during the Renaissance period. It was not thought that women could be great artists. They were expected to stay home and tend to the children and take care of the house.”
“But wait, I have seen movies where women are tutored in art … like Sense and Sensibility.”
“Tutored as a school exercise yes, but not seriously taught as a career. Men could take the time to develop their skills, women did not have the luxury of time.”
She was trying to diplomatic. I was appalled.
“How can human history be really accurate without the perspective of women? You have got to be kidding me? There were no women artists? What if they wanted to pursue art? Would they be allowed to?” Later research revealed that there were a few women painters of the Renaissance but most of them were taught by famous fathers and created only miniatures. It didn’t appear that any women were making their living creating art. Surely there must have been women who wanted to create art as a way of living. The only famous woman artist she could come up with was Artemisia Gentileschi.
Cyndi brought me to a room where there were sculptures by Auguste Rodin and his confidante and lover, Camille Claudel. 
As a young woman, she studied at the Académie Colarossi with sculptor Alfred Boucher. At the time, the École des Beaux-Arts barred women from enrolling to study. A gifted sculptor and graphic artist, she caught Rodin’s eye in 1883. An idea of how women artists were received? The famous art critic Octave Mirbeau wrote that Claudel was “A revolt against nature: a woman genius.”
My heart was heavy as room after room showed the meticulous work of male artists. It seemed that so many of the pieces lacked warmth. The level of skill was exquisite but there was a dimension that was often absent. Perhaps it was the lack of feminine interpretation of life. How much richer our history might be if we all are encouraged to participate equally.
My first thought was, “Good thing I live in the world today.” But then we started the discussion of today. Is it much different? We find more women artists in the world of art than at any other time. But, how many is that, really? In my medium of film, how many women are represented? How many women directors do we have? Producers? Cinematographers? How are they received? The small numbers reflect the truth.
This is NOT a discussion of division but of inclusion. What would be possible if we all were included. I would NOT want people to look at my work simply because I am a woman any more than I would want to have my work NOT taken seriously because I am a woman.
The difficulty is that in the past many women behaved more masculine in order to pursue their dreams. While women entered the art (and other) arenas, the feminine was still missing. Everyone has something to offer this world. It seems that we should embrace our differences and relish in the three-dimensional realm of possibility when all are represented. I believe that I have something to offer and each of you do as well. It is the contribution of all of the points of view that is important.
Today we have the choice to support and nurture each other. It is my hope that one day, my grandchildren will be walking those same halls of that same museum but it will be different as the scope of art becomes wider and deeper. The artwork of today will reflect a fuller spectrum because we’re all represented. The picture it provides will be more complete. Wholly representative of the human experience.
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Tags: Fine Art
BY CYNDI GREENING, MANHATTAN, USA – The week before Tribeca, New York experienced a week with an unusually heavy rainfall. There was a bit of rain at the beginning of the festival but, overall, the weather was quite nice. 
The benefit of the rain was that the entire city was in bloom. The cherry blossoms – both pink and white – were everywhere. The petals blew about like giant snowflakes. And there were tulips everywhere. Yellow ones, red ones, purple ones, orange ones. I felt like I was in Holland. This photo was taken on Park Avenue. Now I know why Park Place is the expensive property on Monopoly AND Eva Gabor sings about it on GREEN ACRES. (”I just adore a penthouse view. Darling, I love you but give me Park Avenue!) It is a beautiful stretch of the city.
Earlier in the week, on the way back from The Hamptons, we were travelling on the Long Island Expressway. One of my favorite films from a few years back was LIE (Long Island Expressway). It was about a kid whose mother had died on the LIE and the impact of that on his life. It starred the fabulously extraordinary Paul Dano (LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE). I got to thinking about how differently a film occurs if one has actually spent time in the area. I saw THE BIG EASY differently after being in New Orleans. Every SEINFELD and LAW AND ORDER is different now that I’ve spent time in NYC. I understand LIE differently now that I’ve seen it in person. An interesting challenge for filmmakers.
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Tags: Tribeca
