The 24th Annual Philadelphia Film Festival Coverage (October 22 – November 1, 2015)

Tinsel & Tine’s Look at the 11 Days of PFF24

By Editor, Le Anne Lindsay

Philadelphia Film Festival Day 1 – Opening Film”Anomalisa” (Prince Theater PFS) Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson in Attendance

Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson Philadelphia Film Festival Red Carpet Opening Night

The Opening night film ANOMALISA is a stop motion animation journey into the mind of writer Charlie Kaufman who also is behind such imaginative movies as Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Being John Malkovich (all playing during the festival “From the Vaults” click each title for screening dates & times). Anomalisa is directed by Duke Johnson, the co-collaborators were both in attendance on the red carpet and post screening Q&A.  

The movie is a bit difficult to describe, the characters “dolls” for lack of a better word all have constructed faces almost like masks with slits at the temples which makes each person look as if they are wearing eye glasses.  I was speaking to someone after the film and we were speculating on the symbolic meaning, like do we all wear masks and therefore…  But during the Q&A it was explained the slit faces made it easier to give the characters expressions. But I think there is more to it than that, but Kaufman would rather you do, do your own speculation.

The movie is about a man in his early 50’s, Michael Stone (David Thewlis) who has been successful in a career of teaching companies good customer service techniques – his book is called ““How May I Help You to Help Them?” He’s been invited to speak at another conference, this time in Cincinnati, and we’re taken through his day from airplane ride to hotel.  He’s not really curmudgeonly, but he is suffering with the banality and ennui of his life. What you may not pick up on at first is the fact that everyone he encounters looks the same and has the same voice (Tom Noonan), just different hairstyles and clothing. Upon getting to his hotel room he calls home and even his wife and child have the same voice. But upon emerging from a very funny shower scene, Michael hears a voice that sounds different. It’s a female voice, and he rushes to find the speaker and meets Lisa (Jennifer Jason Leigh). 

 Below my “I choked” Red Carpet Interview with
Charlie Kaufman and Mini Reviews of :

• Room
• Adaptation
• The Lobster
• Man Up
• An
• Our Brand is Crisis
• Besito & Burnt
• Spotlight
• A Rising Tide
• Synecdoche New York
• Where to Invade Next w/ Michael Moore in attendance
• Mini Restaurant review: Taste of the World
• Beer Runners
• LOVE
• Jury & Audience Winning Films

So I knew I’d be interviewing both Charlie and Duke on the red carpet, and knowing the types of movies Charlie writes, I wanted to have a more unique, thought provoking question.  But as you’ll see in the below video of us on the red carpet, I wasn’t able to pull off my deep, intellectual query and should have instead gone with a signature foodie type question instead.  The movie makes mention a few times of how awesome the chili is in Cincinnati, why didn’t I ask about that!?!!

T&T question – I read a review that said “Anomalisa” is a frequently hilarious inquiry into solipsistic challenges. I had to look up the word “solipsistic“, which is the theory that only the self exists, and everything else must be proven to exit. How does that description  resonate with each of you?
 
And here’s Charlie Kaufman’s answer:

The Opening Night Party 

was held at 1925 Lounge (111 S. 17th Street) Great spot. Plenty of cozy chairs to sit in conversation, but I think this may be the 10th renaming and redecorating of this same venue in the last 10 years.  

The Crew from Allied-THA Jessie, Andrew, Lisa, Rachel, Gina

The pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw, horseradish sauce and hot peppers were super good. But Dock Street Brewery (Thank you for being a PFF sponsor) served this Berliner Weisse (German white beer) mixed with their own Dock Street Spirit called Vicio Mezcal also
mixed with a ginger-lemongrass syrup. The combination was like drinking
shoe polish!  I’d like to try all 3 ingredients separately to try and
ascertain why as a mixture the whole thing was horrid (to my palate).
 

David aspiring writer, Dustin T&T subscriber! I asked the her name twice but didn’t write it down and my old Film Fest Friend Ted

Pic w/ me and festival attendee Richard Stein, PhD Biochemistry & Molecular Pharmacology! We hung around a bit last night, in fact we look rather cute together, but of course he has a girlfriend back in NYC.

 

See More Photos on Tinsel &Tine’s Facebook Page

Friday, I couldn’t make it to the festival until evening, at which time I screened ROOM directed by Lenny Abrahamson / written by Emma Donoghue.  I’ve seen Brie Larson in a number of movies over the last few years – The Spectacular Now, Don Jon, Digging for Fire, Trainwreck and I always think, that actress is very natural, but I’ll forget who she is from one movie to the next. I’ll never forget again. Larson’s role as a victim of kidnapping and rape, being held inside a shed for 7 years trying to raise a child inside the confines of this small space – has set her apart, I’m sure not only for me, but for the movie industry. Not only is she remarkable in this role and the actor who plays her son Jack (Jacob Tremblay) but on the whole, hands down, this is the best film I’ve seen all year!  

It’s hard to even put it all into words, and I’m glad I don’t have to, as T&T’s blog contributor Mikhail Revlock has written the expanded version of the “Room” movie review.  But I will note, that I don’t agree with his assessment that the movie goes off track in the second act.  Not true for me at all. One of the things that impresses me most about the film, is it doesn’t lose momentum or make a wrong turn once the pair are freed; nor does it feel like the confinement is just a build up to their freedom; instead it’s evenly paced and really good storytelling!  

READ A REVLOCK REVIEW: ROOM

As previously mentioned, #PFF24 is doing a retrospective on writer Charlie Kaufman’s films. So since it had been a long time since I’d watched ADAPTATION, I decided to screen it as my 2nd movie of the evening. 

For anyone who hasn’t seen the movie, Adaptation (2002) is a life imitating art, imitating life, type movie. The main character (Nicolas Cage) is named Charlie Kaufman and he’s a screenwriter hired by a studio, represented by a very young and still pretty Tilda Swinton, to write a screenplay based on an actual book, which was actually based on a New Yorker article by an actual writer Susan Orlean (Meryl Streep) called “The Orchid Thief”. The real Charlie Kaufman, truly did lose sleep over trying to adapt this book into a screenplay and wound up writing himself into the story and eventually, instead of making a movie based on “The Orchid Thief” he just uses the idea of Susan’s interviews with “the thief” John Laroche (Chris Cooper) as a jumping off place for a more lurid and surreal tale.  SEE article the True Story Behind Adaptation.

What most people have questioned over the years, is whether or not Donald, Kaufman’s twin (in the movie, not in real life)  is a figment of his character’s imagination, or an actual character in the movie who easily writes a Hollywood-esque screenplay without any trouble or angst and cares little about what people think of him.  You get the feeling this brother doesn’t really exist, but represents the person Kaufman’s character, and perhaps Kaufman in real life, wishes to be at times.  

Love Donald’s line: “You are what you love, not what loves you back, I decided that a long time ago” – So simple, eliminates all expectation. If many of us could apply this statement to our lives, just think how much anxiety and disappointment it would erase. 

NEXT from #PFF24: “The Lobster & “Man Up”

 Didn’t attend #PFF24 on Saturday, instead I covered the 1st Annual Philadelphia Cheesesteak Festival click for RECAP

Rom/Coms always seem to have a devil of a time coming up with a good movie title. “Man Up” I suppose is a better name than those totally forgettable cliched statement titles like “As Good As It Gets” Or “How Do You Know”. Title aside, “Man Up” Directed by Ben Palmer and written by Tess Morris is a really decently constructed Rom/Com with quick, plausible dialog and excellent chemistry between the prerequisite couple Nancy (Lake Bell) and Jack (Simon Pegg) about to embark on a bumpy road to love after a situation comedy meet cute. 

Nancy is only 34, but feels damaged by her last relationship which ended 4 years prior and is less than hopeful about ever finding love. On the train to her parents 40th Anniversary party, she happens to sit across from a perky 24 year-old who recommends a self help book. Nancy promptly tunes her out and takes a nap. Upon waking from her nap she finds the 24 year-old has left the book with a sticky indicating Nancy should open to a chapter entitled “Your Negative Energy is Ruining Your Life and Everyone’s Around You”. Nancy attempts to find the girl in the train station and forcefully return the book, but instead gets mistaken for the perky Miss, by Jack, who’s there to meet a blind date holding said book.  

The resulting false identity date, complete with bowling montage, fights and major baggage revealed on both sides, all make for what you look for in a good romantic comedy.

Didn’t attend #PFF24. It rained day and night  and I needed to work.  But too bad it meant missing the screening of “SPOTLIGHT” starring Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Michael Keaton, Stanley Tucci & Liev Schreiber  Synopsis: In 2001, editor Marty Baron of The Boston Globe assigns a team of journalists to investigate allegations against John Geoghan, an unfrocked priest accused of molesting more than 80 boys. I’m sure I’ll have another chance to catch this one! –  Post Update: 11/23/15  Spotlight on: SPOTLIGHT MOVIE (click for post)

A RISING TIDE by Philly Filmmaker Ben Heckernell (Lebanon PA 2010). This movie takes place in New Jersey not far from Atlantic City, shortly after Hurricane Sandy.  Well, the scene in the beginning of the movie takes place during Sandy and then we skip to a year later, but really Sandy is just a backdrop, and not very key to the plot, which is mainly a romance between Sam, played by that really handsome boy from the TV show “Weeds” Hunter Parrish, and a married woman Sarah (Ashley Hinshaw), who Sam meets while working as a chef in his family’s restaurant.

Sam is a culinary school trained chef and the last thing he wants to do is take orders from his father to make simple dishes, but he’d already tried opening up his own restaurant in New York, failed, lost everything and was forced to come back home. Sarah is that perfect kind of blonde beauty who is not stunningly pretty, but has really good genes and looks the part of a wife to a successful businessman; and that’s what she is. The successful business man, Roger (Jonathan Togo) is a full of himself, Wall Street-ish type, who Sarah has already stopped loving even before meeting soulful eyed Sam.

Heckernell, said he really wanted to make a movie about wanting something at all costs and the steps to get there, the food in film aspect of things wasn’t really his motivation.  But because it has some foodie scenes, I asked about the food stylist.

Click below for the audio of the post screening Q&A.

After Heckernell Q&A,  I headed to catch the last film in the Charlie Kaufman Retrospective – SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK (2008). This Philip Seymour Hoffman driven movie is depressing and long. I think the theme is – Life imitates ridiculous art & Art imitates the ridiculousness of life. The one part of the movie that I felt was strange in a way that didn’t fit the oddity of the rest of the movie, was the constant burning of Hazel’s (Samantha Morton) house. Nothing else is quite that dream like without explanation, but her house is always full of smoke and crackling flames behind the walls. Why?

Although the festival continued all weekend. The Closing Night Film WHERE TO INVADE NEXT and Closing Night MASQUERADE PARTY was held Friday Night. Documentary Filmmaker, Michael Moore was in attendance on the red carpet and post screening Q&A (Prince Theater).

Below video is my red carpet exchange with acclaimed documentary filmmaker Michael Moore:

WHERE TO INVADE NEXT : I didn’t want to see this move from the title. I figured it was about the Middle East and whether boots should or shouldn’t have been or will be again on the ground, and how much the US spent on military operations etc… Not that these issues aren’t important, but they’re not my cup of tea. I’m happy to report this is NOT what the movie is about!

Where to Invade Next is an uplifting, humorous, almost wistful look at Quality of Life and what that looks like in other countries. Moore makes it clear that these countries may have other difficulties, but each one has something that works really well and should be adopted, or rather re-adopted back into the United States. We start in Italy where normal working class people are given 8 weeks vacation, 5 months maternity leave, paid honeymoon, and 2 hour lunches.

And what’s most astonishing is the fact that the corporate leaders have no qualms about it. They don’t begrudge their employees these days and make them feel guilty about taking them. It’s just understood that too much work causes stress and stress causes sickness and that basically human-beings were not put on this earth to work 50-60 hour work weeks. Taking a long weekend here and there, where you’re still basically tied to your laptop and phone is not sufficient down time.

PFF Artistic Director Michael Lerman PFS, Filmmaker Michael Moore and Producer Tia Lessin

Then we go to France where we visit an ordinary public school in a modest neighborhood, we’re brought into a meeting which looks like faculty discussing an important matter pertaining to the students. It is important, and it’s not just faculty attending the meeting, also included are nutritionists and community officials and what they are intently discussing is the menu that the school cafeteria will prepare and serve the students. We’re not talking about sloppy joes, mystery meatloaf, pizza and hoagies. This is 4 star dining, farm to table ingredients, sauces, courses – well balanced meals. And the kids don’t just scarf it down in a hurry and get to their next class; rather they have time to eat leisurely, they get taught how to serve each other, converse over the meal, and drink water instead of cans of sugary sodas. It’s unbelievable!!!

Greater Philadelphia Film Office President Sharon Pinkenson introducing Michael Moore #PFF24

Country after country finding unheard of things like safe, cheerful maximum security prisons; a bank that thrived in the banking crisis because it had always been run by women; finding out the most educated children in the world, only have 3 hours of school a day and little to no homework…

In each country, Moore plants a flag and says I am stealing this idea to bring back to the States.

Journalist Buzz Bissinger didn’t see it as picking the best of. He felt manipulated by the film.  Below video shows him getting heated with Michael Moore and Moore’s response to the criticism:

Buzz was just crotchety. I wanted to stand a cheer at every concept presented in the film. I pray this movie doesn’t just preach to the choir, but instead sinks into “the powers that be” that these policies discussed in “Where to Invade Next” are important to society, and would wholeheartedly improve the quality of our lives!

Closing Night Masquerade Party – full size images found on our Facebook page

Didn’t attend #PFF24 on Saturday because I had my first meeting with Ira Wollins, Tinsel &Tine’s new sales associate who will promote our Advertising Campaign Package.

Then met some friends in New Hope for Halloween Ghost Tour and Dinner.  We tried a new BYOB restaurant called Taste of the World located in New Hope’s Union Square.  Unfortunately, none of us were very impressed. The service was good, but the restaurant doubles as a banquet facility and so you can imagine the hotel lobby like decor and business meeting chairs.  The menu needs fine tuning and it should be divided up into countries or regions.  We received 4 different menus which was overwhelming, however the menu choices were underwhelming.  I eventually just chose a standard plate of pork chops with sweet potatoes and green beans.  Which was fine.  One of my friends is a vegetarian and those options were plentiful, he really liked his kale salad.  We shared a $12 plate of cheeses with nice standard choices of both hard and soft cheeses, but it didn’t come with any bread or crackers and they were very stingy about bringing some to the table when asked.  Bottom line: Food/Decor/Location 1.5 Tines