5Q: MATTHEW BISSONNETTE / PASSENGER SIDE
Posted by CQ Central
Matt Bissonnette
1Q: Tell us a little about the origins of PASSENGER SIDE, from concept to financing.
Well, I had always wanted to make a road movie, so I lifted the idea from the Wilco song “Passenger Side”, and then situated it in Los Angeles, as I live there, and it’s a big car town, and it’s sort of near to Modesto (relative to say Montreal, my home town), which is, of course, the location of American Grafitti, a movie I really like, and one I was thinking about while making Passenger Side.
Corey Marr, my trusty producer, raised the money through television pre-sales from our favorite people, Movie Central and The Movie Network, and then later Telefilm Canada stepped in with some finishing funds, so it was half capitalism, half socialism, like Vermont. »More
Tags: 5Q, COMEDY, Corey Marr, CQ20, Matthew Bissonnette, Passenger Side.
5Q: Zach Weintraub / BUMMER SUMMER
Posted by CQ Central
Zach Weintraub
1Q: Tell us a little about the origins of BUMMER SUMMER, from writing to financing.
My writing process spanned a couple of years, and saw the film take on various incarnations. I started writing it as a very traditional screenplay about halfway through film school in New York because I had been warned that graduating without a feature script was the worst error that an aspiring director could commit. Just before my senior year I was getting exposed to a lot of the great new no-budget work that was coming out and was inspired to try my hand at it. So the screenplay changed a lot as I started writing it realistically according to my means. But I never even finished a complete draft. The dialogue was all so long-winded and mouthpiece-y, and all of the characters just sounded like me, so I scrapped it and wrote a detailed outline instead. That was what we shot from. I recruited friend/classmate Nandan Rao to move to Olympia, WA (my hometown) with me to shoot/co-produce the film. Because we were first-timers, we gave ourselves about six months to feel everything out before shooting anything. This time was also spent fundraising, which was a dismal failure. We threw events like a roller-disco, a garden pizza party, and an art show/raucous dance party (a bad combo for fragile ceramic pieces). Altogether, we milked less than a grand out of it all. Because the film coincided with my college graduation, I was able to finance it using gift money and some excess student loan money that I sneakily neglected to return to the loan company. It was an absurdly cheap movie, but I don’t think that’s apparent at all.
Tags: 5Q, Bummer Summer, CQ20, DRAMA, Nandan Rao, world premiere, Zach Weintraub.
5Q: CULLEN HOBACK / FrICTION
Posted by CQ Central
Cullen Hoback
In the summer of 07′, I made an agreement with a private high school wherein I would teach film a couple hours a day (paycheck…) if they would let me spend the rest of the time working on my own projects with my writing partner Jerome Schwartz. So while driving in a short bus to pick up my co-writer Jerome from the airport, I was struck with a crazy idea. There were all of these resources available– food, lodging, transport, and a well of filmmaking equipment. Additionally, the entirety of the arts program was a total failure lacking any coherent structure (explained in the film)–I realized the creation of a film would give the program a purpose. I had also noticed that the couple ‘running’ the program had a seemingly tenuous relationship; and both hadn’t grown out of the fame-craving phase. So I had a setting, I had a subject, but I didn’t have a plot. »More
Tags: 5Q, COMEDY, CQ20, Cullen Hoback, DRAMA, FrICTION, Jerome Schwartz, Monster Camp, world premiere.
5Q: JARROD WHALEY / HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE
Posted by CQ Central
Jarrod Whaley
The core concept of the film–that it would be built around an inscrutably shady character who makes his meager living by working out of his vehicle–came out of a conversation I overheard somewhere. The details of the conversation elude me given that this took place nearly four years ago now, but one of the “conversationalists” was telling the other about an experience he’d had with a weird computer repairman who would only meet his customers in liquor store parking lots in a beat-up old van. Something about that scenario suggested to me the potential for some rather dark and awkward humor. That being the kind of humor I’m attracted to, I stole the idea and started trying to flesh it out with my own details. »More
Tags: COMEDY, CQ20, Hell Is Other People, Jarrod Whaley, Richard Johnson, world premiere.
Vote for your favorite 60-second film, Win a Prize!
Posted by Cynthia Corral
The first audience and fan participatory event is here already! SanDisk has given 20 Cinequest filmmakers a smart phone and a SanDisk® 8GB microSDHC™ mobile memory card, and have asked them to make a 60 second film. The results are incredible, ranging from one minute documentaries, animated film, sci-fi, comedy, and narratives. The filmmakers are competing for a grand prize of $5,000, but you can win your own smart phone and SanDisk® 8GB microSDHC™ mobile memory card by helping to vote for the winner. Just go to http://www.youtube.com/sandisk to view all twenty films and then vote for your favorites. Each film is only 60 seconds, so it takes 20 minutes to watch each and every one of them. After you’ve voted, sign up to win a smart phone of your own. The contest runs from January 26 through February 16.
After that, the top four film finalists will be chosen by text votes where you have additional chances to win. That voting period will run during the Film Festival, from February 23 to March 6. We will keep you updated on the progress of the contest.
So visit the YouTube/SanDisk site now! There are a great bunch of films and you don’t want to miss your chance to win your own smart phone. It’s like an early mini Cinequest!
Please visit www.youtube.com/sandisk for Official Rules, complete entry instructions, prize descriptions, eligibility limitations and other restrictions.
Tags: 60 second film, contest, prize, smart phone.
Announcing Jason’s CQ Pass giveaway, version II
Posted by Jason Wiener
Originally posted at Jason Watches Movies
So I just got confirmation that I will have a press pass for Cinequest this year (the big 20th anniversary). And like last year, I also donated at a level that gets me an all-festival pass (specifically, a VIP Pass that gets me into every film, every event, and every party). Last year, I gave that pass away as a “travelling pass“–use it, write what you saw, and pass it on. That was half successful. I know a lot of people used it, because I saw it full of comments on the final weekend, but it never got back to me at the end. Some would call that completely unsuccessful, but I’ll count it as half-successful. Anyway, I’m trying a new way to do it this year.
This year I’ve decided to give away the pass to just one person, but someone I know will write about what they see. If you are that lucky person, you may keep the pass to yourself or pass it among friends (or even strangers). The only rule is, as before, you must note everything you (or your friends) saw. And you/they must write opinions of some of the movies you see . I don’t plan to provide a notepad this year, as my old one never reappeared. So bring your own. Better yet, just post your opinions here on CQCentral.com, or e-mail them to me at puppymeat(at)gmail(dot)com and I’ll post them. If you do keep a physical notebook, just give it to me at the end of the festival and I’ll scan/transcribe them online (depending on my energy and your handwriting)
So now how do you win this pass? Easy, just e-mail me with your reviews of at least two movies you saw last year. I’ll pick a winner. The idea is I want to give it to someone who can can show that he or she can write movie reviews and is willing to do it in exchange for a pass (really, the idea is that more people should be like me). You can send me more than two reviews, and it might increase your chances (unless they suck. I don’t need any competition on the quantity over quality front). My fellow bloggers are welcome to enter, however my idea is really to challenge new people to put their opinions out there, so I’ll probably be biased against well-established bloggers. Besides, if you already blog and want to cover Cinequest, you could just e-mail the publicity office and ask for your own press pass.
Anyway, let the contest begin!
Film, Fiestas, Forums and Famous Figures — It must be time for Cinequest!
Posted by Cynthia Corral
The countdown has begun to the 20th Anniversary of our own Cinequest Film Festival and there is plenty to get excited about.
You can count exactly 76 premieres at this year’s festival and we got a sneak peek at them some of them last night. SO EXCITED!! There are an amazing amount of return filmmakers to the festival, including San Jose’s Alejandro Adams (Around the Bay, Canary) with his new film Babnik. Congrats to Adams for coming back to Cinequest for the third consecutive year. New to the Bay Area but already loved by the Cinequest family is our own Jarrod Whaley who is bringing his much anticipated Hell is Other People. And Cinequest fan favorite Cullen Hoback (Freedom State, Monster Camp) is returning for his third time with Friction. These are only three of the amazing directors bringing films to Cinequest this year.
To help you organize your film watching, Cinequest has developed an interactive scheduler that will sync to your mobile device. This went live at midnight and will be very helpful to festival attendees. Personally, I prefer the scheduler that Festival Fanatic developed, but they both have their pluses and minuses. FF’s schedule is a little more helpful for the filmgoer with a large amount of movies to watch, but Cinequest’s schedule is downloadable (I am not sure if FF’s is) and will sync from your computer to your phone and vice versa. I recommend you look at them both and use what works for you – the important thing is that you get to the festival, not which scheduler you use.
PARTIES: Without parties, Cinequest would just be another day at the movies. This year there will be the usual fabulous opening and closing night festivities, 12 nights of soirees for filmmakers and VIPs, and ten nights of meet-ups for anyone to come have a drink, discuss film, and make friends. A variety of downtown establishments are participating and the whole city is going to be a flurry of excitement this year.
This year’s Maverick Spirit Award is going to Benjamin Bratt, and he’ll be bringing along a special screening of his latest film La Mission. This is a special screening on March 4 at 7pm and tickets will be $15, which includes a 30 minute conversation with Benjamin Batt where he’ll be presented with his award.
This year’s Life of a Maverick Award will be presented to Deepak Chopra. Head to the California Theatre on March 2 at 7pm to hear a conversation with this influential writer and motivator.
Day of the Writer will be March 5th this year. Part 1 is How to Write Comedy for the Big Screen, Part 2 is Comedy Writing for Television, and Part 3 will be a Maverick Spirit Conversation with a soon to be announced writer.
Cinequest will continue its tradition of presenting the future of film while never forgetting its roots. Silent Cinema is returning to the California Theatre with showings of The Merry Widow (1925) and The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (1927) and there will be a 3D showcase examining the new wave in film that is quickly moving from gimmick to norm.
Is that it? No. There is still much, much more to come. More Maverick award winners are waiting to be announced, and there is even a “surprise” screening scheduled where you won’t know what movie you’ll be seeing until you’ve sat in your seat. There is the return of Outsourced, one of my personal favorites, which fans voted most requested encore film from Cinequest past. CQCentral writers have piles of screeners to get through and you should start seeing reviews of some new Cinequest films very soon!
Keep your eye on the Cinequest website for more news, and as always CQCentral will be packed with reviews, interviews and more news updates as we become aware of them. We look forward to seeing you all at the festival and hopefully meeting you as well!
Film Festival programs are now available at a Peet’s Coffee near you starting today!
THE END (CQ 2008) is coming to DVD
Posted by Jason Wiener
And you should Netflix it.
Originally posted at Jason Watches Movies:
Back in Cinequest 2008, I saw this brilliant little no-budget thriller, and loved it (scroll down for my review). Since then I’ve been waiting for it to come to DVD. And just a couple days ago I got an e-mail from the director Jeremy Thomas announcing my wait is (almost) over. Cinequest is actually releasing it on their own DVD label (good for Cinequest!) No firm date yet, but could be early December (in time for Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Solstice Festival/Festivus/whatever else you celebrate in winter)
But the size of the DVD release depends on pre-orders, and the best way to get pre-orders up is for more people to put it in their Netflix queue. So if you have a Netflix account, click here and click Save.
If you don’t have a Netflix queue, then follow these instructions:
- Go to Netflix.com. (US residents only)
- Register for a free-trial.
- Pick a plan (one DVD at a time, 2 at a time, unlimited, etc.), and enter billing info.
- Click “Get Started”
- Click tab reading “Your Queue”
- Type “The End” in the Search Box in the upper right corner
- Click the second title (the one directed by Jeremy Thomas)
- (Optional) It would be great if you gave it a 5 star rating!
- Hit “Save” when the confirmation box comes up!
If enough of you do this, it’ll get a bigger DVD release. So let’s show ‘em what my army can do!
Okay, enough of my shilling for others, let me talk a bit about my favorite subject–myself.
In my review I mentioned that I was telling everyone else at Cinequest to go see it. Well, a few of them took my advice and came back to me thanking me for recommending it. That was really cool. In fact, I realized that’s what I want to do with this blog and all my movie watching/reviewing. I love it when someone sees a movie on my recommendation and comes back and tells me they liked it. In fact, I realized that is exactly what I want to do with this blog (how to do it is something I haven’t figured out yet). So the reason I’m pushing you to see THE END is:
- If you read my blog regularly I assume you’re interested in strange, obscure, independent movies. And if that’s the case, I think there’s a good chance you’ll like THE END.
- You’ll be helping a young independent filmmaker who I want to see succeed so he can make more movies that blow my mind.
- I hope some of you who see it will let me (and more important, Jeremy Thomas–you can find his contact info at the film’s website) know what you thought of it. Even if you hated it, and hate me for telling you to see it, go ahead and let me know (and tell all your enemies to see it out of spite)
Well, that’s pretty much all I have to say. Other than re-posting my review from 2008:
…I ended the night with “The End”. I am so grateful that I ran into Jeremy at the VIP party [earlier that night, where he convinced me to see his film instead of whatever else I was planning on], because this ended up possibly being my favorite film of Cinequest. Absolutely awesome. In this no-budget existential thriller/comedy Jeremy stars as Joseph Rickman, a schoolteacher with a legendary past. Years ago, he could see what no one else could see, and as a result saved a girl. Now he’s got the same feeling again. Pulled by some force, he wanders into the woods and witnesses a shadowy figure lobotomizing lawn gnomes (yeah, and it hasn’t gotten weird yet). Perhaps he’s going crazy, and if it wasn’t for his past, the local detective (and sister of the girl he saved way back when) would have him locked up. But she goes with it, at least for the time. And then…there’s a huge freakin’ twist, and I won’t tell you what it is. This actually put me in a weird position, because for the rest of the festival I was telling people to see this movie and also telling them to not be afraid to walk out. You see, when the twist happens you’ll know, and if you’re not ready to follow the premise to well beyond it’s logical conclusion, this movie will be painful for you. So just go ahead and walk out. And that’s all I can tell you of the plot. I’ll just tell you it’s weird, it’s original (although I could name a half dozen movies that employ some part of the twist, I haven’t seen it handled quite like this), it’s funny, and it’s exciting. It keeps you guessing, and just when you think you know the next twist, something even stranger happens.
Say Goodbye to the Cinequest Happy Hour
Posted by Cynthia Corral
WHAT?? Happy Hours are OVER??
You may not believe this, but Friday is the very last Cinequest Happy Hour! For all of you who thought you might go “next time”, that time is now here. Cinequest has pulled out all the stops for this last CQHH and you will not want to miss it!
From Cinequest:
Prepare yourself for a fun and provocative time when Cinequest brings you Bingo Bin Laden during this Friday’s Cinequest Happy Hour. But if you think this is your ordinary bingo game, guess again. Join us this Friday, July 10th, 4:30pm-7:00pm at Eulipia (310 S. 1st St, San Jose) as we challenge your movie, politics, and Cinequest knowledge. Also, prepare your questions for special guest Osama bin Laden as we invite him to candidly divulge his darkest Maverick secrets.
Cinequest Happy Hour participants will get an opportunity to meet filmmaker, Scott Sublett, as well as enjoy the irreverent bin Laden festivities. PLUS…Scott has directed a second film that Cinequest will release, Generic Thriller, so expect cast and crew to be on hand to help us lampoon terrorism and politics.
This month, Build-the-Fest asks you to tell us your all-time favorite Cinequest Film Festival movies. Cast your votes and debate the nominees on our Facebook or Twitter pages. Next month, we will vote on the top 10 finalists, pick the all-time favorite Cinequest film, AND it will be showcased at the upcoming 20th Anniversary Cinequest Film Festival (Feb. 23 – Mar. 7, 2010). *Subject to film availability.
Curious to see who won last month’s vote for the top Maverick Spirit Guest? Find out on Facebook, Twitter and the Cinequest homepage.
It's not goodbye, just See ya later!
CQCentral will be sad to see these fun Fridays end but we have all made many new friends and cemented old ones. Cinequest 2010 is surely going to be the most fabulous of them all. Come join us on Friday to say hello to Summer and goodbye to the Cinequest Happy Hours – but it certainly will NOT be a goodbye to our new Cinequest friends and family.
Tags: Bingo Bin Laden, cinequest, CQ Happy Hour, Eulipia, GENERIC THRILLER, Scott Sublett.
CQ Happy Hour to be at Fahrenheit Ultra Lounge & Restaurant
Posted by Cynthia Corral
This week’s Cinequest Happy Hour will be held at Fahrenheit Ultra Lounge at 99 E. San Fernando Street, downtown San Jose. Visit their website and feast your eyes on their delicious sounding menu. I hear they have excellent food and good Happy Hour prices.
Once again I urge everyone to spend an hour or two visiting with the Cinequest Family. We have all had a great time at each of these events and have been made to feel very welcome. I must confess that I am a somewhat shy person in social situations, but I have always felt comfortable and welcome at the CQHHs and have easily made new friends each time. Whether you come with a group of friends, with your significant other, or all by yourself, I can assure you a great time will be had by all. We have had games and drawings, great food and drink, and the company of some really incredible people.
Celebrate the end of another work week, and another week closer to Cinequest 20, by spending time with us this Friday, June 26 from 4:30 – 7pm. Why not give it a try this time?
Fahrenheit Ultra Lounge & Restaurant
99 E San Fernando Street
San Jose, CA
408 998-9998
Cuisine: Modern Global Fusion