Slanted Screens

Jeff Adachi’s documentary Slanted Screen comes to PBS station KERA in Dallas as part of a series on Asian heritage.
“From silent film star Sessue Hayakawa to Harold & Kumar Go to Whitecastle, The Slanted Screen explores the portrayals of Asian men in American cinema, chronicling the experiences of actors who have had to struggle against ethnic stereotyping and limiting roles, according to the Slanted Screen website. The film presents a critical examination of Hollywood's image-making machine, through a fascinating parade of 50 film clips spanning a century.
“The Slanted Screen includes interviews with actors Mako (at left), Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, James Shigeta, Dustin Nguyen, Phillip Rhee, Will Yun Lee, Tzi Ma, Jason Scott Lee, comedian Bobby Lee, producer Terence Chang, casting director Heidi Levitt, writer Frank Chin, and directors Gene Cajayon and Eric Byler.
“The film was written, directed and produced by Adachi, co-produced and edited by Alex Yeung, with the opening music, titles and credits by Sean Dana. Michael Becker composed the musical score and the post-production sound and audio. The film also features a new song performed by the San Francisco rock-punk band Say Bok Gwai.
The documentary aires at 10 p.m., May 10 on KERA-TV Channel 13. Esther Wu, Dallas Morning News columnist, writes an interesting piece on her views on media as an Asian growing up in the United States.

This Movie is Totally “Sick”

The Japanese distributor of the movie Babel has begun warning Japanese audiences that some scenes make cause nausea or headaches.
Some 15 complaints had been filed with the distributor, Gaga Communications, which is investigating which scenes may lead to the nausea. The Academy Award-nominated film hasn’t reported this problem elsewhere in the world.
The film’s opening was highly anticipated, following the Best Supporting Actress nomination of Rinko Kikuchi (above left). The film starred Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett (above).
The film, which is directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, occurs in multiple countries and focuses on how lives in various cultures are intertwined.

Crazy Blood

Italian director Marco Tullio Giordana (above) has begun filming his next project Sangue pazzo, a film set in fascist Italy following WWII. The film is about two famous actors who were part of the Salò Republic, were accused of collaboration and were later tortured and shot.
It stars hottie Monica Bellucci (left), Luca Zingaretti and Alessio Boni. Filming is slated for a 13-week run in Venice, Milan, turn and Rome. "Sangue pazzo" translates literally as "Crazy Blood".
The €10 million film received €1 million in funding from Eurimages and was deemed of cultural interest by Ministero per i Beni e le Attivita Culturali – General Direction For Cinema, according to cineuropa.com.
It’s scheduled for a spring 2008 distribution. The €1 million is the largest amount granted by Eurimages this year.
Eurimages also funded Palestinian helmer Suleiman $500,000 for "The Time That Remains"; Michael Glawogger's "Das Vaterspiel"; Helma Sanders-Brahms' biopic on composer couple Clara and Robert Schumann, "Clara"; psychotherapy thriller-drama "Dorothy Mills" by France's Agnes Merlet; Denmark's Madsen for "Flammen & Citronen," with Mads Mikkelsen; "Ljubav i drugi zlocini" (Love and Other Crimes) by Serb director Stefan Arsenijevic; and music drama "Fados" from Portuguese director Carlos Saura.

Speed Racer Gets Cash Crash

The German Federal Film Fund is granting $12.3 million to the producers of “Speed Racer,” which will be produced at Babelsberg Studios near Berlin this summer.
Based on Tatsuo Yoshida’s hit cartoon series of the ‘60s, this version will be live-action. Joel Silver is producing and it’s his second film at Babelsberg. V for Vendetta was his first.
The film stars Emile Hirsch (left) as Speed along with Christina Ricci, John Goodman and Susan Sarandon and is slated for May 2008 opening.
Also slated for the fund is the Leo Tolstoy bio, "The Last Station," starring Anthony Hopkins and Meryl Streep.

Jack Valenti Dies

Jack Valenti, the Houston native born of Sicillian parents and former LBJ assistant who made a name for himself as the unapologetic lobbyist for the Motion Picture Association of America, died yesterday at 85. His biggest contribution likely was the introduction of the ratings system.

As we've worked to communicate with our international counterparts for the upcoming Lone Star International Film Festival, featuring the FWSCI Film Series, we've spent time recently reviewing the MPAA ratings system and comparing that to those of other countries.

The current MPAA movie ratings consist of:
G - General Audiences - All ages admitted
PG - Parental guidance suggested Some material may not be suitable for children
PG-13 - Parents strongly cautioned Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
R - Restricted Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
NC-17 No one 17 and under admitted.
If a film has not been submitted for a rating, the label NR (Not Rated) is often used; however, NR is not an official MPAA classification. Films that have not yet received MPAA classification, but are expected to, are often advertised with the notice "This Film Is Not Yet Rated" or "Rating Pending."

The Kirby Dick documentary This Film Not Yet Rated, takes a look at the ratings system. According to the Independent Film Channel's website, "The documentary asks whether Hollywood movies and independent films are rated equally for comparable content; whether sexual content in gay-themed movies is given harsher ratings penalties than their heterosexual counterparts; whether it makes sense that extreme violence is given an R rating while sexuality is banished to the cutting room floor; whether Hollywood studios receive detailed directions as to how to change an NC-17 film into an R, while independent film producers are left guessing; and finally, whether keeping the raters and the rating process secret leaves the MPAA entirely unaccountable for its decisions."

Filmies Meeting, 6 p.m. May 8

Funimation will be our guests at the next Filmies group meeting Tuesday, May 8, 2007, at the PourHouse, 209 W. Fifth St. in downtown Fort Worth.
In case you don't know, Funimation folks brought us Dragonball Z, Basilsk and other great anime via Cartoon Network and other media, plus the live-action film Shinobi on DVD, which I wrote about in February. Anime is Japanese animation.

Debra J. Kennedy, Funimation vice president of marketing and a University of Texas at Austin alumnae, will be the guest speaker.

Funimation is a Tarrant County-based company -- who knew? -- and they're doing a lot of cool things. So come out to the PourHouse and get the inside scoop.

Filmies is a Fort Worth Sister Cities International Film Special Interest Group. We meet monthly to hang out, talk about movies and have a beer after work.

Learn about our upcoming international film series that will be held simultaneously and in partnership with the Lone Star International Film Festival in Nov. 8-11, 2007.

RSVP to Lisa Gail Barnes at Sister Cities (lisa@fwsistercities.org), or request more information.

Kala Premiers

Joko Anwar’s new film Kala (Dead Time) hit theaters in Jakarta last weekend to raves.

“The reviews have been overwhelming. The buzz on the Internet and from filmgoers has been great,” Anwar told Filmies over the weekend.

Anwar’s film blends Indonesian culture and classic Indonesian horror films with film noir to create a film unlike any seen by audiences, according to the review in the Jakarta Post. The film evokes Dark City and Naked Lunch, the review says.

This is Anwar's second directorial project. His first was 2005's Janji Joni (Joni's Promise). Previously he wrote the script for the hit Indonesian film Arisan!.

Anwar cast his Kala with popular Indonesian stars, including Shanty, Fachri Albar and Fahrani.

The trailers look great, with cool cinematography. Hope we get to see it.