6. I predict the death of mumblecore movies by 2011. Independent films will once again boast strong scripts and, as such, will reach a broader audience. This is probably as good a time as any to reiterate to critics who invoke the name of John Cassavetes in their reviews of so-called mumblecore fare: John’s only improvised film was Shadows. Suck it.

Indie film distribution stalwart-turned-director Jeff Lipsky has written a two-part, ten item list of reasons he’s “bullish on the state of indie” film for Ted Hope’s blog Truly Free Film. There’s no denying that Lipsky has seniority in this realm, even if the introduction to the piece, presumably written by Hope, strains credibility by refering toLipsky’s recent Sundance premiere Once More With Feeling as a “hit” (John Anderson’s declaration that the film “would be a natural for cable, if the execution weren’t so distractingly strange” was one of the kinder notices). But much of Lipsky’s numbered so-called optimism comes off as cranky old man-ism.

Whether he’s celebrating setbacks in digital projection via questionable cause-and-effect logic (”Fewer digital screens…will mean fewer bad digital movies”), dismissing “download, PPV, and VOD numbers” as “paltry” without offering examples or comparisons, or making broad generalizations about the production methods of emerging filmmakers, as in the quote above (we’ll presume critics of Andrew Bujalski, Barry Jenkins, and any other “mumblecore”-associated writer/director who works off a screenplay are excused from “sucking it”), the whole post is anti new-technology, anti-experimentation, pro-traditionalism. It’s as if Lipsky’s ultimate reason to be bullish is something along the lines of, “all this shit you crazy kids keep throwing at the wall ain’t sticking, and that makes me feel good personally.”

The Vicious Kind, a love triangle drama starring Adam Scott and Brittany Snow, directed by Lee Toland Krieger and executive produced by Neil LaBute, is described in the always remarkable Sundance catalogue as “a glimpse into the soul of a damaged man whose obstinate defense mechanisms are laid bare by his fractured relationships.” We subjected Krieger to the 4 Questions We Ask Everyone, and he divulged about his unusual choice of film stock and taking cues from Cassavetes, and twice implied seething hatred for Paris Hilton.

…Read more

As the hipster kleptomaniac at the center of Josh Safdie’s adorable debut feature The Pleasure of Being Robbed, Eleonore Hendricks steals a lot of things, but mainly the audiences’ hearts. The twentysomething actress, despite her newfound indie cinema fame, still works at the video store Cinema Nolita and binges on way too much Lukas Moodysson. After just wrapping Eric Juhola’s short film The Nowhere Kids (a fictional speculation on Gotham Award nominee and Slamdance winner Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa), Hendricks is getting ready to begin production on Safdie’s new project, Go Get Some Rosemary. In the meantime, I caught up with her to chat about Barbara Loden’s Wanda, her extra special week of moviegoing and why she gave up listening to WFMU. …Read more

Film Quarterly, my favorite high-brow criticism journal, has released a free sample issue that you can download online. The issue includes three articles: an essay on Jean Seberg by filmmaker Mark Rappaport; Todd Berliner on realism and the dialogue of John Cassavetes; and Abe Mark Nornes on “abusive subtitling.” Download your own copy here; you’ll have to submit some contact information, but otherwise, it’s painless and free.

[Via GreenCine Daily]

photo by Karina Longworth

At Monday afternoon’s press conference following the NYFF screening of Go Go Tales, the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Richard Pena introduced Abel Ferrara as “a dear old friend of the Festival,” but the maverick filmmaker went on to tell one or two stories that put that characterization into question. I had never seen Ferrara in person, but I thought I was prepared for his persona: something like the drunken, half-psychotic uncle that you can’t help but love. That perception didn’t turn out to be totally off, but I was surprised by Ferrara’s extremes: passive-aggressively needling Pena and the Festival one minute, lapsing into by all indications heartfelt tributes to his influences the next.

I’ll have more on Ferrara’s gaga Go Go Tales later today. For now, you’ll find transcribed highlights from the press conference after the jump, including Ferrara’s thoughts on Cassavetes, Leonardo DiCaprio, and how Harvey Keitel convinced him to start shooting digitally.

…Read more

Breaking from Oscar buzz, the Spout guys talk to Alison Willmore from IFC Blog about Sundance, what “independence” means these days and what role the Independent Spirit plays in filmmaking. Discussion continues from our interview with Tim Robbins, to the work of John Cassavetes and Terry Gilliam.

Download FilmCouch #6 or subscribe to FilmCouch in the iTunes store (search for “filmcouch” or click here to launch iTunes) and a new free episode will download every Friday.