Portland’s film scene requires a guide. The Oregonian provides three of them, Shawn Levy, Kristi Turnquist and Stan Hall. Stan Hall’s beat is oddball cinema. He writes about stuff that is new, strange, different or an acquired taste. This week he writes about five MIMBY - Made In My Back Yard - films now screening in Portland theaters

LOCAL WORKS GALORE
Various films, times and locations.

Most weeks (particularly this one), under-the-radar local filmmakers exhibit the results of their sweat and maxed-out credit cards. Movies are always being made in these parts, and the people who make them would love for you to come see for yourself.

Honor veterans on Memorial Day by seeing Eric G. Stacey’s drama “Purple Mind” (3 p.m. Monday, Hollywood Theatre; landfallprods.com), about an Iraq War vet’s (Will Shepherd) wrenching, dangerous struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Premiering the same weekend as “The Hangover Part II,” “John Gets Wasted” (7 p.m. Saturday, Hollywood Theatre) is the former’s low-budget, no-star, made-in-Portland, distant cousin. It’s about the wild adventures of John, a just-laid-off office drone who goes on an epic bender to forget his shame.

Prolific Bob Moricz, whose scabrous video productions carry on the lurid underground moviemaking legacy of Andy Milligan and the Kuchar brothers, presents “I Am Ugly and I Want to Die So …” (8 p.m. Tuesday, Recess Gallery, 1127 S.W. 10th Ave.), his parody of autobiographical filmmaking; freakish, wrong and weirdly compelling stuff.

Sean Parker and Austin Hillebrecht’s comedy “Coup de Cinema” (7:30 p.m. Saturday and 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Fifth Avenue Cinema, 510 S.W. Hall St.) has an amusing concept: The crew of a lousy-movie production secretly goes behind the back of the pompous, dim director in an attempt to make something that’s actually worth watching.

“Forge” (7 p.m. Wednesday, Hollywood Theatre; theforgeproject.com) is a slick, high-concept thriller about a man who gets mixed up with bad folks and a scary new technology while trying to save his scientist brother from going mad.

Matt Groening is one of five judges who will select the Best Documentary at this year’s Sundance.

Meanwhile, Kim Morgan, former Oregonian and Willamette Week film critic, is judging the Short Films.

]]> http://www.talltalestruetales.com/2011/01/oregon-goes-to-sundance-2011-judges-division/feed/ 0 http://www.talltalestruetales.com/2010/06/aaron-mesh-wins-altweekly-film-critic-award/ http://www.talltalestruetales.com/2010/06/aaron-mesh-wins-altweekly-film-critic-award/#comments Tue, 01 Jun 2010 20:39:30 +0000 Anne Richardson http://www.talltalestruetales.com/?p=8287

It would be pretty dreary covering all of Oregon’s film fabulousness by myself. So Aaron Mesh and I made a deal – he would cover writing brilliantly about current films playing in theaters. I would cover writing about Oregon connected films either a) too old to be playing in theaters or b) so new they haven’t yet played outside Portland.

The deal worked out beautifully for me, since Mesh consistently performed at a level far above and beyond the call of duty. Think I’m exaggerating?  Association of Alternative Newsweeklies just recognized the value of  Mesh’s work with a nomination for an award which places him alongside J. Hoberman of the Village Voice and Greg Cook of the Boston Phoenix.

Aaron Mesh has been consistently writing more thoughtful, original film criticism than any mid-sized city has reason to expect to find in its largest free weekly paper. The nomination makes a point of this – he was cited for his entire column, Screen Reviews, not for any one specific article.

Aaron Mesh has just been given the highest possible honor by a group of his peers — they are saying that his work is ALWAYS good.

Mesh has been running a marathon, all the while maintaining the wind and speed more usually found in a sprint.  I am sorry to report that he doesn’t locally get much credit for this, possibly since readers of Willamette Week have come to think of  brilliance as the norm,  as the list of Mesh’s predecessors includes David Walker and Kim Morgan.

Congratulations, Aaron!

How did Portland become so cinema saturated?

The blacklist holds some answers.

Andries Deinum,  a Dutch film editor turned educator turned uncooperative House on Un-American Activities Committee witness, was exiled from Hollywood in 1957.  He accepted an offer to move north to teach film at Portland State University and remained here, teaching film and civic engagement through film, for the rest of his life. Long distance, he helped found Film Quarterly magazine. (This is after Ernest Callenback got worn out, and Pauline Kael proved not to be such a great fit.)  He also founded the Center for the Moving Image at PSU (1969 -1981), a precursor to the Northwest Film Center, itself  founded by two Deinum students, Brooke Jacobson and Robert Summers, in 1971.

Here’s an article which explains the role Deinum played in the founding of Film Quarterly, whose motto, “For serious lovers of film”, seems to have inspired all three of Portland’s February film festivals: the Beer and Movies Film Festival, the Cascade African Film Festival, and the Portland International Film Festival.

Another Deinum contribution to Portland’s film culture:

In 1960, Deinum confronted the Portland City Council over censorship of The Lovers, a film directed by Louis Malle, and drew media attention to the role of the arts in public life. He believed that public television, then in its infancy, held the potential “to personalize the impersonalization of mass media . . . the packaging of shows that left them devoid of content.” His 1961 television series, Speaking for Myself, sought citizen involvement in “thinking and feeling” about civic life. Adopting the personal essay form delivered in a conversational mode, Deinum shared his views and invited viewers to respond by writing letters or appearing on the show.

Not a snob, Deinum used Oregon public television to “demonstrate for us relevant and purposeful ways of speaking for ourselves, of confronting corporate media’s control of our theaters and public airwaves, and bringing ethics and aesthetics to bear on public life.”

PSU film professor Brooke Jacobson is writing a book about Deinum, and the above quote is from an essay about his influence.

Meanwhile, with the arrival of Wim Wiewel, Portland has its second dynamic Dutch intellectual urging Portland to think outside the box, when it comes to envisioning an intellectually, economically, and architecturally more abundant future.

It began with a bang. Andries Deinum arrived at PSU in 1957 from LA, and co-founded (long distance) the magazine Film Quarterly. He served on its editorial board until his death in 1995.

The following are the children of Andries. All have some Oregon connection: either they were born here, or moved here, or began their careers here before moving away.

Andries has other film addled children (Cinema Project, I’m looking at you!). These are the ones who write.

Sean Axmaker, Videodrone

Jeff Bayer, The Scorecard Review

Jason Bellamy, The Cooler

Nick Bruno, The Rain Falls Down In Portlandtown

Dennis Cozzalio,  Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule

Erin Donovan, Steady Diet Of Film

Travis Ezell, No Time For Love, Mr. Jones!

Ryan Gallagher, The Criterion Cast

Stan Hall, Beyond The Multiplex

D. K. Holm, Cinemonkey

Brian Kellow, Kael: A Life After Dark

Shawn Levy, Mad About Movies

Jon Lewis, Oregon State University

Aaron Mesh, Willamette Week

Marc Mohan, Mohanthropy, Far From Hollyeood

Kim Morgan, Sunset Gun

Gary Morris, Bright Lights Film Journal, Bright Lights After Dark

Kevin J. Olson, Hugo Stiglitz Makes Films

Darleen Ortega, Opinionated Judge

Jamie S. Rich, Criterion Confessions, dvdtalk.com

Anne Richardson, Oregon Movies, A to Z

Bobby “Fatboy” Roberts, Damnit, Bobby, Nerd Puddle

Mike Russell, Culture Pulp

Eric Snider, Cinematical

Dawn Taylor, Cinematical

John Varley, varley.net

David Walker, Bad Azz Mo Fo, Indie Film Journal, The Missing Reel

Bill Warren, pioneering online film critic

Gary Wolcott, Mr. Movie

Kyle Yount, Kaijucast

Q: Why did Stan Hall choose film criticism over his clearly marked gifts as a rock and roll back up singer?

A: Because in Portland, Stan doesn’t have to choose. He gets to do both.

When Peter Ames Carlin held his release party for Paul McCarthy: A Life, he invited Stan Hall to cover a song from Rubber Soul. Stan had to be lured with the promise that Corin Tucker would sing with him. Undaunted, Peter offered to cement the artistic deal with his blazing guitar work.

Read Stan’s wonderful description of why Portland keeps him from pursuing a vagabond career as lone boy back up singer.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Number of Oregon films with a Michael Jackson theme song: 1

Number of Oregon filmmakers who have directed Michael: 2

Number of Oregon filmmakers who directed Michael twice: 1

Number of pop critics with roots in Portland  who were chosen to write about Michael Jackson: 2

Number of Oregon filmmakers who danced with Michael at his Neverland Ranch: 1

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Key for the Oregon/Michael Jackson challenged:

Michael Jackson sings the theme song Will You Be There in Free Willy (1993), which was shot on the Oregon coast and starred Medford resident  Jason James Richter.

Will Vinton directed Michael in the “Speed Demon” sequence of Moonwalker (1988).

Jim Blashfield directed Michael in the “Leave Me Alone” sequence of Moonwalker (1988).

Will Vinton directed Michael Jackson first as a California Raisin, in 1987.

Former Portland journalist Mikal Gilmore wrote the cover story for Rolling Stone’s memorial issue devoted entirely to Michael Jackson.

Former Portland journalist Kim Morgan has three chapters in the forthcoming “Official Michael Jackson Opus” book, which, at 38 pounds, serves dual purpose as a weight training system..

Will Vinton traveled to Neverland Ranch to co-create, in person, the choreography of the duet which ends the “Speed Demon” sequence. Just as experienced Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers fans know that Fred worked out his routines with Hermes Pan before shooting them with Ginger, the experienced Oregon movie buff can see that in the “Speed Demon” duet, Spike Rabbit stands in for Vinton himself. Vinton studied dance growing up in McMinnville, along with his sister, who later, as Mary Vinton Folberg, founded Portland’s Jefferson Dancers.

Kim Morgan checks out the decor at the Playboy Mansion.

Color me proud. Kim Morgan, the one time Portlander who now rules the blogosphere from LA, was asked to contribute not one, not two, but three chapters to a forthcoming book about Michael Jackson.

What the book like, Kim? From the Film In Focus interview:

……a beautiful Opus book (out this December) about Michael Jackson – the first one approved by the family and estate. I wrote three chapters – one about Michael Jackson the video visionary, one about his fashion, and one on Michael the dancer, which was actually emotional for me. Watching and studying all the things I love that inspired Michael, from Fred Astaire to James Brown to Bob Fosse, was profoundly moving. And sad.

David Walker is an award-winning journalist, filmmaker, comic book writer, and the creator of the pop culture magazine BadAzz MoFo. For over six years he was the screen editor and lead film critic for Willamette Week, the Pulitzer Prize-winning alternative weekly in Portland, Oregon. During his time at Willamette Week, Walker also created and programmed the Longbaugh Film Festival, an international showcase for independent film. He has contributed to MSN, Giant Robot, Rap Pages, Screenwriter Monthly, DVDTalk, DVD Journal and has worked for HBO, A&E, American Movie Classics, E!, and VH-1. You can find out more about his other projects at the Official BadAzz MoFo website. Bio from Walker’s   www.indiefilmjournal.com.

Writer-director David Walker’s second feature film, Uncle Tom’s Apartment (2009), premieres at the Northwest Film Festival on Nov. 14 at the Whitsell Auditorium in Portland, Oregon at 8:30 PM.

Take that, dead tree media! Portland film critic Fatboy publishes a guide to the Five Most Unintentionally Racist Movies About Racism on the internet, and two days later it has 497, 296 views.