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Coverage by Media Diva Judy Thorburn
Photos by Stephen Thorburn
"CINEVEGAS - THE
WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS FILM FESTIVAL"
The eighth annual CineVegas, which ran from June 9th through June 17th
at the Brendan Theatres inside the Palms Hotel and Casino, was billed
for the first time as “The World’s Most Dangerous Film Festival”. How’s
that for commanding attention? That motto seems apropos for this year’s
film festival because of entries that spotlight sex, drugs, adultery,
the Avante Garde, and well, you get the picture. Sideline offerings
included red carpet arrivals, panel discussions, nightly after party
bashes at some of the hottest sin city nightspots where the movie buff
with an all access pass can even rub shoulders with some of the A-list
celebrities, famous and up and coming filmmakers and movie stars. Thanks
go out to Las Vegas media moguls Robin Greenspun, President of CineVegas,
and her husband Danny along with returning programmer Trevor Groth (of
Sundance) and Dennis Hopper, who is in his third year as Chairman of the
Creative Advisory Board, for continuing to draw an impressive roster of
stars, filmmakers and their movies.
Danny Greenspun and his wife Robin Greenspun with Dennis
Hopper and Johnny Brenden
Dennis Hopper receives Brenden Theatre's Star Award
With 59 movie selections in categories such as World and U.S. premieres,
domestic and foreign films, documentaries, shorts, student films and the
non-mainstream, it is virtually impossible to see them all. As it turned
out, and it couldn’t have been worse timing, I came down with a bad case
of laryngitis/upper respiratory infection right at the start of
CineVegas and although I felt crummy for most of the time, I chugged
along, and managed to take in as many films, as I could plus panels and
a few after parties before hitting the pillow and getting some much
needed z’s each night.
The opening night movie on Friday was the debut of the film version of
Comedy Central’s “Strangers with Candy”, an offbeat comedy starring Amy
Sedaris as Jerri Blank, a 46 year old ex-junkie and ex-con who after
getting out of prison, tries to start her life over where she left off,
by moving in with her step mom and comatose Dad, and returning to high
school. Sir Ian Holm, Sara Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick, and recent
Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman even have cameo roles. If you liked
the TV series, this one, raunchier and more politically incorrect, will
grab your fancy. Many of the cast members, including director and
co-star Paul Dinello, but not Sedaris (or the other A-list stars) were
present at the screening and attended the after party at Rain, the very
hip nightclub at the Palms.
Cast of "Strangers With Candy" with Dennis Hopper
(center)
On Saturday I sat through three films, two of which were among my
favorites at this year’s festival. On the top of my list is “Danika”, a
psychological thriller, starring Academy Award winner Marisa Tomei, in
another Oscar worthy performance as an upper middle class suburban wife
and mother who appears to have it all. However, when she begins
experiencing more and more instances of terrifying delusions and
nightmares that are overtaking her life, it seems like she is slowly
descending into madness. Writer Joshua Liebner and director Ariel Vromen
have woven a complex and taut story that is absorbing, frightening,
includes a fitting eerie music score and is reminiscent of M. Night
Shyamalan at his best. Think “Sixth Sense” and you get the idea and
mood, plus a twist that will jolt you out of your seat.
I liked “The Puffy Chair”, which I highly recommend for its realistic,
truthful look at family and romantic relationships with a road trip as
the premise. Remember the names, the Duplass Brothers, (Jay, director
and co-writer with Mark, the film’s star) for bringing this witty and
insightful slice of life to the screen. I predict we will be hearing and
seeing a lot more from these talented siblings. The story goes like
this….Josh (Jay) has decided to give his father the perfect birthday
gift, a puffy recliner chair just like the one he grew up with. But,
since he won it on Ebay, he first has to pick it up in his car before
delivering it to his Dad in Atlanta. This entails a trip that brings
neglected girlfriend Emily (Diane Lane look-alike, charming Kathryn
Aselton) and “zen” younger brother Rhett (Rhett Wilkins) on board for
the ride that brings about honest, funny, and unexpected consequences.
Everything about this film is natural, the actors, dialogue and even
strange situations that might occur as we plot along in life. I
especially like the very UNformulaic ending.
Kathryn Aselton,, Mark Duplass and Jay Duplass of "The
Puffy Chair"
The third film was “The Favor”, which I thought had a good premise, and
was well acted by the two male leads (Frank Wood and Ryan Donowho). But,
the story of a lonely but caring man who takes in his former
sweetheart’s troubled teenage son after her unexpected death was, at 110
minutes, too long and drawn out.
Besides “Danika”, my other favorite film, in a total different genre,
was Sunday evening’s World Premiere of “Thanks to Gravity”, co-produced
by Amy Greenspun (Robin’s niece), which is a semi autobiographical film
by writer/director Jessica Kavana detailing the coming of age of a
Jewish Latin American girl from Miami. TTG explores Jordana Landa’s (a
very imressive Gina Phillips) struggle to find out who she is and what
she really wants out of life as she tries to live up to the expectations
of her family, while being involved in the world of college debate and
romantic entanglements. I loved the underlying theme that was interwoven
throughout the script and the genuine performances by the entire cast.
For a first time screenwriter, Kavana did a great job. She was present
at the screening and afterwards, took questions from the audience. On an
interesting note, she said the film’s title came from a band she saw in
Boston and figured it into the storyline as something Jordan’s esoteric
roommate would say.
Amy Greenspun (producer), Jessica Kavana (screenwriter)
and Lead actress Gina Philips of "Thanks to Gravity"
Tuesday, being in the mood for something funny, I chose to see “Park”,
written and directed by Kurt Voelker. The ensemble cast includes, Ricki
Lake, Billy Baldwin, Cheri Otieri, with the story that unfolds at a
secluded Park overlooking L.A. where the lives of a group of strangers,
and others more closely related, cross paths and become entangled. A
motley bunch these are, ranging from a pair of male nudists, an
unfaithful husband, his suspicious, watchful wife and her best friend, a
pet groomer, and a woman trying to commit suicide. The situations that
ensue are hilarious and the cast, including some impressive newcomers,
(who, along with Cheri Otieri were at the screening) go all out to make
it work.
Cast of "Park" Cheri Otieri 3rd from left
During the week I also sat through “G.I. Jesus”, about a Mexican
American who arrives home from combat duty in Iraq, with hopes of
leading a normal life with his wife and young daughter, but soon begins
to experience hallucinations and paranoia as a result of post traumatic
stress disorder and feelings of guilt. Good acting, but I thought the
message was bit heavy handed and depressing, with a cop out ending.
Cast of "GI Jesus"
Rounding out my movie selections were “Wild Tigers I Have Known”, a
provocative look at a preteen boys sexually awakening and his crush on
another older male student, “5 Up 2 Down”, which was supposed to have a
spiritual backdrop, but although it was stylistically filmed, a story
that was basically almost two hours of watching two drug addicted best
friends who are artists constantly doing crack cocaine, or having sex
with numerous women bored me. Implied was a spiritual, re-incarnation
connection between the best friends, but an occasional flashback of the
artist haunted by his past, wasn’t enough to keep my interest or care
about the two. I managed to see two foreign films: The French/German
import, “The Ring Finger” (L’Annulaires) a very mysterious and erotic
film about a beautiful young French woman (Olga Kurylenko) and the
strange relationship she develops with her mysterious boss (Mark Barbe),
the director of a rather unusual laboratory where she winds up working.
Interesting, and thought provoking, I would describe it as David Lynch
meets the Twilight Zone. I was drawn to “One Last Dance”, (a Japanese
film with an American director, Max Makowski, who was present at the
screening) because Harvey Keitel was listed as co-star. Unfortunately,
if you blink you would miss him, since he appears only briefly in a
cameo. The story revolves around an assassin known only as “T”. I can
tell you this, there is a lot of killing, great camera work and editing,
but I got lost in what I thought was a confusing storyline.
Cast of "5 Up 2 Down"
When it came to the parties, I only made it to two. Tuesday night I
ventured to the Glaseau Vitamin water sponsored party at Shark Reef at
Mandalay Bay, and boy was I glad I pushed myself to go for many reasons.
First, I had never been to the Shark Reef, which is a great way to check
out the collection of underwater creatures like eels, big turtles,
exotic fish, and of course sharks. There is even a stand alone, circular
floor to ceiling aquarium that is home to a school of beautiful,
transparent jellyfish. We followed a walkway down to what appears to be
an underground grotto with bench seating, where delicious offerings of
hors de voures and drinks were a plenty. Circling among the guests were
the colorful, costumed performers from Circque du Soleil. It was dark,
but I saw Penn Jillette (without Teller) mingling about. I happened to
notice another fellow journalist and friend, Las Vegas Weekly
entertainment editor Martin Stein in line waiting for a drink, so I
stopped by for a hello and visited awhile before spending a good part of
the night chatting it up with Brent Holmes (Clint’s son) and his
girlfriend Shannon, who are both smart and delightful and always fun to
be around.
Listening to the filmmakers and stars discuss their craft in person has
got to be a big draw at CineVegas. This year, what was billed as an
“Outlaw Cinema Panel” was held Sunday, inside the Lounge at the Palms.
Five filmmakers, whose body of work has had an impact and influence on
“dangerous” filmmaking, making them so called “outlaws” in the world of
cinema were on hand. The panel discussion moderated by Scott Foundas,
film editor of L.A. Weekly, consisted of Abel Ferrara (Bad Lieutenant),
James Fotopoulos, Gregg Araki, Nina Menkes, and former standup comic,
Bobcat Goldthwait (Shakes the Clown, Windy City Heat). The difficulty in
making independent films, on low, even meager budgets, hard to come by
money and fighting the censors was a few of the topics discussed. The
mikes kept going out and if it weren’t for the very funny and
entertaining Bobcat, who showed up fittingly in black penciled in twirly
moustache and Cowboy hat, the afternoon discussion would have been a
disaster. At one point, Bobcat had everyone laughing out loud with his
remark about Fotopoulos who hardly spoke. “Contrary to what it seems, he
is not a silent filmmaker” Goldthwait joked. While all the others seem
to take themselves so seriously, Bobcat was quick to jump in with
truthful and honest words about his work, but always in a funny vein. On
a side note, everyone found it odd that Ferrara got up and left in the
middle of it all without saying a word and returned after a long break
with no mention of where he went and why. I guess “independent”
filmmaker is a fitting title indeed!
Outlaw Cinema Panel
The first acting tribute took place on Monday when actor Laurence
Fishburne, was presented with the Half Life Award, an honor given to
those in the prime of their career with an already impressive body of
work. Dennis Hopper introduced his fellow actor stating that he became
Fishburne’s mentor when they worked together on “Apocalypse Now” when
Fishburne was only fifteen. Fishburne thanked Hopper saying that, “He
taught me how to swing. Acting is like jazz music. I pledge to continue
to swing as I hard as I can in the future”. Later he added more to that
saying “acting is about rhythm, time, texture, and colors. It’s all
about feeling, to communicate with whatever texture.” Film critic Elvis
Mitchell was the moderator of the 30 minute conversation before the
screening of Fishburne’s new movie, “Five Fingers”, that co-stars Ryan
Philippe, in his best work yet, as Martijn, a Dutch pianist, who travels
to Morocco to start a food program for malnourished children but winds
up being abducted, interrogated and tortured by a mysterious terrorist
played by Fishburne. The film is a well-acted, tense and
thought-provoking thriller. But, back to the revealing chat. Fishburne
appeared relaxed and shared the process of growing from a teenage actor
to the accomplished professional he is today. “Great acting is when
someone is completely vulnerable, exposed and naked. It is what is in
here (he touched his chest). I do it for you (pointing to the audience),
not for me”, he said.
Laurence Fishburne - Half Life Award recipient - Photo by
Lindsay Hebberd
On Wednesday, there was star power in the house when Sylvester Stallone
walked the red carpet in front of a crowd of fans, photographers and
press, before accepting The Brenden Theatre Star Award from theatre
owner Johnny Brenden, which was unveiled on the floor of the theatre
lobby. He looked fit and was happy to be in attendance prior to the 30th
Anniversary Celebratory screening of the original Rocky (a special treat
for those too young to have seen it on the big screen when it was first
released). Sly thanked everyone, and spoke about editing the upcoming
Rocky 6 saying, “I am overwhelmed, but in a good way.”
Sylvester Stallone receives Brenden Theatre's Star Award
Johnny Brenden, Sylvester Stallone, Diva and Dennis
Hopper
Friday was the day director Taylor Hackford and his wife actress Dame
Helen Mirren both had films of theirs screened and each were honored
with awards. First was the morning screening of Taylor’s 1987
documentary “Chuck Berry Hail, Hail, Rock and Roll”. At 2PM he received
the Vanguard Director Award and participated in an insightful discussion
before the screening of another of his films, “The Idolmaker” (a film
the moderator said has become an underground classic) starring the late
Ray Sharkey, about a rock and roll promoter that is based on the guy who
discovered 50’s idol, Fabian and others. Hackford said that he was
worried the film would never be released since it was scheduled to come
out around the same time as “Heaven’s Gate”, one of the most expensive
bombs in movie history. The studio, United Artists couldn’t afford
another box office disaster and Hackford thought the film was doomed,
which of course didn’t happen.
Taylor Hackford
Hackford discussed his earlier years, in which he said that he grew up
with many of his best friends being Latin and that he had an affinity
with Latin people. He spoke about his college years, joining the Peace
Corps, becoming an investigative reporter in L.A., how he got started in
making documentaries and films about a “huge part of the population
studios weren’t serving” and also the making of many of his films
including “Officer and a Gentleman” and “White Nights”. About his method
of filmmaking, the director said, “The actor is my collaborator. Give
them as many tools, and together we chart a course. However, I don’t
shoot in continuity. I know it is difficult for actors. They build a
progression and we (film) jumping back and forth, beginning, end, and in
between.”
Regarding “An Officer and A Gentleman” (made for $130 million, but today
would be close to $300 million), the film that launched the careers of
both Richard Gere and Debra Winger, yes, we were told, John Travolta was
offered the lead but got an offer to fly jet planes and decided to do
that instead. Years later Travolta said he was sorry he didn’t do the
film. Hackford went on to speak about problems surrounding the making of
the movie. “The military originally thought the movie was blasphemous
and didn’t want anything to do with it. But it was a good working class
movie, a romance, and about someone finding himself through the
military. It was also the first time you ever saw a black authority
figure (played by Louis Gossett, who won the Oscar for Best Supporting
Actor for his role) in a real honest way. Eventually the military wound
up promoting the film.” The studio also didn’t like the song he chose
for the end, “Up Where We Belong”, sung by Joe Cocker and Jennifer
Warnes. What people don’t know is they didn’t record it together, with
each of their voices recorded separately and later mixed together. The
song wound up winning Best Song at the Oscars.
At 6PM, the lovely Dame Helen Mirren received her Marquee Award and sat
for a Q&A with NY Times film critic Sharon Waxman, before the screening
of her 1999 film “The Passion of Ayn Rand” for which she won an Emmy.
Dennis Hopper introduced Mirren as “one of the world’s greatest
actresses”, and then said “I am really humbled and honored to be in her
presence- great integrity – that’s all I can say”. It was an informative
discussion where Mirren, preferring to be addressed as Helen rather than
Dame, was ever the eloquent lady, and spoke about her roots as daughter
of a working class British mother and Russian aristocrat father, who
grew up in “Britain’s version of Coney Island, a funky seaside resort.”
Asked when she first knew she wanted to act, Helen replied, “ I knew I
loved the imaginative world. I was transported by Hamlet. My first route
into pretending was Shakespeare. I did some school things and was good
at it. It engaged me imaginatively. The idea of films didn’t come into
my mind until I was exposed to European films and then I thought it was
a good idea.” She spoke about her roles on TV, which she says are “more
interesting because material can be more daring”, and her roles in
various movies as “Caligula” (“Everyone was naked. It was mind boggling,
surreal, extreme and wonderful in a way”), “White Nights” (that’s how
she met her husband, the director) and as two English Queens, Elizabeth
I and Elizabeth II the living Queen of England. “Elizabeth I was the
greatest role I will ever get. It is never going to be as good as this
again. I love being in big dresses and big hair. It is wonderful to be
the queen. But it was so intimidating since noone REALLY knows what she
looked like or how she moved. I was lucky that the writing was so great.
The thees and thows sound so silly. I had to find a way to engage (in
the speech) imaginatively. I looked at portraits of her but only spent
30 minutes in the makeup chair. As for the living Queen Elizabeth II, “I
was frightened and intimated by the thought. Friends say I look
extraordinarily like her and couldn’t look at me. When I saw the
costumes I literally cried. I like her better now. I thought she was
grumpy and cold. I see it more now from her perspective.” About using
her sexuality, “Vanessa Redgrave and Glenda Jackson were inspirations
before me. They took it all off. I had nude scenes to do in “The Age of
Consent”. I somehow find myself in material with edgy directors.
However, I never felt intimidated, that they would think of me in one
way. I’ve always done theatre which grounded me.” Is there a role she
wishes for? Helen’s response was, “No. Real great roles come to you from
left field. I like ones that take me by surprise”. Asked if she prefers
any role, she quickly replied, “My preference is the one I am not doing
at the time. The grass is always greener”. Spoken like a real thespian!
NY Times film critic Sharon Waxman interviews Marquee Award recipient
Helen Mirren
Christina Ricci seems a bit young to receive the Half Life Award, and
although she is probably far from midpoint in her career, her body of
work has been phenomenal with an acting range that includes innocence,
charm, sultry, powerful and everything in between. On Saturday she sat
down in the theatre after accepting her award and spoke how she started
as a child actor in TV commercials and how it led to her diverse film
resume. She said she was “bored in school and needed a creative output.
I was a menace, writing on walls, and getting into fights. Going on
auditions with my mom gave me a sense of purpose, that I was good at
something. My mother wasn’t a stage mother, even though she helped me
get a lot of movies. A mother can make a shoot hell. But, she was
understanding, rational and pragmatic. Everyone liked her. She’s
soft-spoken and very nice.” Christina spoke about how incredibly lucky
she felt working with such professional and talented actors like Johnny
Depp, Cher, Angelica Houston (“She demands respect and is like
royalty”), Jessica Lange (“It is amazing watching her work”) and how she
developed a close relationship with Kevin Kline, her co-star in “Ice
Storm”, who took her home to have dinner with his family. Ricci said
that with almost 40 movies under her belt, she feels like she belongs on
a set where she knows what she is doing. “It’s the only life I’ve ever
known. I don’t have the perspective to compare it to anything else,” she
said. In retrospect, Cristina said “It’s true youth is wasted on the
young. If I was a bit mature I would have enjoyed the success those
movies brought me. It had to with the fact that I was an awkward 17 year
old. I was supposed to have insight, but I had nothing insightful to
say. I was uncomfortable in my own skin. I was ugly. I didn’t understand
adults. Some were nice while others were not. I was just too young and
didn’t handle it well. Success was something scary.”
Christina Ricci - Half Life Award Recipient - Photo by
Zee Matoulonis
I am sorry I didn’t stay to see her movie, “The Opposite of Sex”, which
was screened right after her Q&A session. The timing of that movie
coincided with the last film of the festival. Christina laughed about
her role in “The Opposite of Sex”, saying that when her mother first
read the script she said “You can do this in your sleep. She’s just like
you.” With that Christina added, “The character says mean and nasty
things and its funny, just like I did when I was her age.”
So at the last minute, I decided to go with CineVegas’ closing film, the
U.S. Premiere of Lies and Alibis because l) the ensemble cast that
includes Rebecca Romijn, Steve Coogan, Sam Elliot, Henry Rollins, John
Leguizamo, James Marsden, Selma Blair and Jaime King and 2) I thought
the premise of a risk management firm in the business of saving
marriages and relationships by creating false alibis for husbands and
wives that cheat was a good idea. The black comedy started off on the
right foot but as soon as the service proves not to be foolproof and the
then switches into a con caper, I thought all the plot turns and twists
turned into one big convoluted mess, funny at times, but not worth my
recommendation. Once more, a good idea that loses its tracking.
Red Carpet for "Lies
and Alibis" at the Palms Casino in Brenden Theatres
  
   
Director/Writer Kurt Voekler
  
Jim Cody Williams
   
Jarreth J. Merz
 
Johnny Brenden with Izabella Miko
  
 
Izabella Miko
 
Francesco Quinn
   
Deborah Kara Unger
 
   
  
Amiee Garcia
The closing day’s luncheon was, one again as in previous years held at
Postrio Restaurant at the Venetian Hotel (I was told press wasn’t
invited this year, so I wasn’t there) where festival awards were given
to the following: Grand Jury Award: G.I. Jesus; Honorable Mention: The
Favor, Audience Award: Park, Special Award for Cinematography: 5 Up 2
Down and Best Nevada Filmmaking Short: 19 Miles to Vegas.
I have to say the closing night party, which took place poolside at the
Green Valley Ranch Hotel and Casino, was one fabulous way to wrap up
CineVegas 2006. What a bash, consisting of some of the hippest and most
beautiful people in Las Vegas, filmmakers and stars such as Dylan
McDermott, Chris Kattan, Sanaah Lathan, Brande Roderick attending,
tables upon tables of food and desserts, open bars, music and a tall
stage with amazing dancers in skimpy, colorful salsa costumes shaking
their booty to the rhythms, plus holographic images rising from the
pool. It was a night to remember.
Closing Night Party at Green Valley Ranch
So folks, that’s my scoop on CineVegas 2006. Even though I am pooped, I
can’t wait till next year!
Remember, The Media Divas make entertainment news DIVALICIOUS!
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