A few weeks ago, I headed over to a hotel on the Upper East Side of Manhattan to sit down with directors Ricki Stern and Anne Sundebrg (who prefers to be called Annie). No doubt the setting was picked to appease the eponymous subject of their new documentary, Joan Rivers — A Piece of Work, who actually lives a few blocks from where we met. The day started with a roundtable with Ms. Rivers, who unleashed her token scathing wit. Bits of that session, and the one you are about to hear, were for a piece I wrote for Heeb Magazine. The real story of any documentary, however, comes not from the subject but from the filmmakers themselves, which is why I was delighted to talk to Ricki and Annie about their latest project.

The film is a solid study of an extraordinary woman, and it avoids the pitfalls an trappings many similar documentaries fall victim too. There are limited talking heads and archival footage is used in a very organic manner; it is neither reality show nor biography, but something more. Perhaps this has to do with the fact that the Ms. Stern and Ms. Sunberg’s previous works deal in much weightier material, such as Darfur. As they explain, they are simply after a good story and Joan provided one for them. They simply wanted to capture something compelling. Listen in for some fascinating insight from these excellent filmmakers.

 
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The British film The Infidel just reached American shores this week at the Tribeca Film Festival here in New York City. The irreverent comedy is about a Muslim who learns he is adopted and his parents are in fact Jewish. What ensues is a delightful comedy of errors that delves into the murkier depths of religious and ethnic stereotypes. You can read my full review over at Heeb Magazine.

I was able to get some face time with four people connected to the film. Josh Appignanesi is the film’s director and David Baddiel wrote the script. The two offered up some deadpan wisdom on the weighty subject their film deals with. The bulk of my questions (as you’ll hear) focus on reactions to the film and whether or not it is controversial. Both Baddiel and Appignanesi are passionate about their creative choices and the power of comedy in the most uncomfortable of social conversations. They say it better, so definitely check it out.

Omid Djalili and Richard Schiff, the film’s stars, are similarly serious when it comes to discussing The Infidel. Schiff, who is most well known in the states for his role as Toby Ziegler on The West Wing, takes particular offense at having any of his roles, including that of Lenny in The Infidel, labeled as stereotypically Jewish. The two exhude a comic energy that made it difficult for me to keep a straight face while chatting them up. Especially at the end of our talk, the two go off on the provenance of a few racial epithets. It is quite hilarious.

As always, I’ve said too much. Just click play already.

 
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As Hollywood enjoys this latest wave of 3D filmmaking, I have long hoped that their innovations would eventually trickle down to benefit the independent filmmaking community. Noël Paul’s short film, Annie Goes Boating, which just had its world première here at SXSW, may be the film that proves indie directors are dying to get their hands on the technology. Gone are the flaming projectiles and the prickly protrusions that are commonly found in big budget 3D films. Instead, Noël gives us a gorgeous look at a day in the park.

I sat down with Noël to discuss how he was able to make this film on an indie budget. Once he realized he had access to two Red Digital Cinema cameras, the filmmaker went to work with his creative team to try to hack together a workable 3D rig. However, it wasn’t until he got in contact with Lightspeed Design, whose DepthQ technology is used in a number of 3D applications, that the pieces really began to come together. The result is a 10 minute short that is absolutely gorgeous.

 
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Annie Goes Boating feels like a painting, one you could get up and walk around in. The plot is simple by design: some friends go boating and play badminton; a love triangle appears and then it ends. The photography, by Michael Ragen, is reminiscent of impressionist painting. Your eye is free to wander around the woods throughout the film. The depth is astounding. Some shots of ducks on a pond make you feel almost as if you could touch the water, as if the ducks might fall off the screen. Perhaps I’m romanticizing it, but if you see the film in 3D you will understand my reaction.

It is great to listen to Noël talk about 3D technology and how he likes to use it. I can’t think of another independent filmmaker who has tried a hand at 3D, but I truly hope that it sticks. Noël doesn’t care to guess whether or not 3D will catch on, but he says that he has every intention of making more 3D films if he is able to get them off the ground. With this one under his belt, I don’t see how that could be a problem.

I have hardly scratched the surface here. Listen in to my conversation with Noël Paul, where he gets into some of the nitty gritty of 3D production as well as speaks on his artistic influences behind this film. It’s one of the most interesting conversations I’ve had on the subject. Enjoy.

Justin Molotnikov’s Crying With Laughter was the first screener I watched in advance of SXSW this year. Though it is described as a thriller, that is a particularly unfair label to put on it. When I sat down with Justin, who is here in Austin for the North American première of his film, I learned that he couldn’t agree more, and in the best of senses.

The film follows down-on-his-luck comedian Joey Frisk, whose visceral brand of jokes can be tough to laugh at. Very quickly the film changes its tone from the mundane to the mysterious. Then  again to the adventurous, and eventually to the melancholy. The brevity with which it moves from emotion to emotion, or from genre to genre, is astounding. Crying With Laughter will surprise you around every turn.

Justin and the film’s producer, Claire Mundell, took some time out of their schedule to sit with me and discuss their film and some other tid-bits. Perhaps the most interesting thing Justin and Claire mention is that the script grew out of a lot of workshopping and improv. In fact, they say, it was easier to get the film funded without a script than it would have had they had a finished one from the outset. Sound backwards? Listen in as they explain their process in making this first feature.

Crying with Laughter has two more screenings at SXSW: Tuesday March 16^th, 1:30am at the Alamo Ritz and Wednesday, March 17^th, 4:30pm at the Alamo Lamar. It is also available on Amazon Video On Demand and will soon be available on demand through your cable provider in the U.S. You can find out more information at the film’s Official Website.

 
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The other day, director Miao Wang invited me to her Brooklyn home to discuss her new film, Beijing Taxi. The documentary follows three Beijing cab drivers over the course of two years leading up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. All working class locals, each character offers a unique perspective on the society that has seemed closed for so long to westerners. The film is an eye-opener for anyone who has ever wanted to take a closer look at China’s capital, even, as Ms. Wang explains in our interview, for the taxi drivers themselves. Beijing Taxi will have its world première next week at SXSW in Austin, Texas. For more details, you can visit the film’s official website. Listen in as we discuss the current state of China, the making of the film, and what bands Miao is most excited to hear when she heads to Austin for the festival.

 
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Music Featured in this Podcast (from the Beijing Taxi soundtrack):
• An Yang “安阳” — Miserable Faith
• Our Healthy Upward Ideals “我们目前健康向上的小理想” — Sand
• Together “在一起” — Sound Fragment

Certainly new media has changed the way we approach filmmaking, but how does that mentality actually manifest itself? To find out, I talked to Todd Tue of Milk Products Media this week. Where once makers would upload their work to the web in hopes of gaining exposure to head down a traditional distribution path, Todd is now finding that the internet may be the best outlet for his work, period.

The bulk of our conversation is about Milk Products’ latest documentary endeavor, a feature film about a family owned and operated dairy farm in Ohio. You can view the short documentary on Vimeo right now, then head on over to their Kickstarter page to learn more about the feature they plan to make. As Todd tells me in our interview, the fact that over 10,000 people have already viewed a short piece he made is pretty satisfying, but he hopes they will get to make the full length story. Listen in as we talk about making films on the cheap, bringing some creativity to paying gigs, and why it is such a great time to be making media.

 
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Photo Credit: Mary-Claire Runchey on flickr

This week we’re delving back into the world of tech for a nice chat with Andrew Kippen, VP of Marketing for Boxee. For those who are unaware of Boxee, it is a free piece of software that allows you to experience any kind of digital content, be it local or streaming, from the comfort of your couch. It is available for Windows, Mac, Linux and AppleTV, and they will soon be releasing the Boxee Box in conjunction with D-Link. If it is still unclear what Boxee is, first go to boxee.tv and click around, maybe install the app. Then listen to the podcast to hear why this scrappy little company is on the front lines of a major media distribution revolution.

This summer, Boxee plans to roll out a payments system. Imagine, if you will, paying only for the channels you actually watch instead of dishing out around $70 per month for hundreds of channels you don’t watch. Better still, given the openness of the web and Boxee, almost any content maker can get in on the fun. As has become painfully honest to networks and studios over the years, you know longer need to be a major corporation to create content that people want. With the advent of digital workflows, content creation is already democratized. Boxee is working to even the playing field for content distribution.

I’ve said too much already. Click and listen, and tell us your thoughts on Boxee, streaming video, and the media revolution in the comments.

 
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If you travel in meme circles, then you’ve probably heard of Parry Gripp. If not, then let me fill you in. Gripp is a singer and songwriter who, before 2008 at least, is known for starting the band Nerf Herder, whose music was featured as the theme song for Joss Whedon’s “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”. On January 1, 2008, he launched a website, Parry Gripp Song of the Week, whose purpose is self explanatory. Since then, he has kept true to his promise, uploading at least one song every week. He has also written jingles that go along with some of the most popular Youtube videos, which in turn become even more popular Youtube videos. As such he has become something of a web phenom, most recently with his iPad/Nachos song and video featured below. I recently had a chat with Parry about his career, the oddities of internet-creation, and some of the darker legal corridors that come with trying to have a good time online. It’s worth a listen and features some of his silliest work.

 
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