INDIE CITY ENTERTAINMENT: October 2009

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Over The Edge - An Oral History

From the I.C.E. staff**>>>

More cool and quirky content from across the internet....

OVER THE EDGE
An Oral History of the Greatest Teen Rebellion Movie of All Time

BY MIKE SACKS

In the spring of 1979, a small-budget movie with a somewhat corny-sounding name was released in just a handful of theaters in New York and Los Angeles, only to be pulled a few days later due to concerns that audiences would riot. Based (loosely) on a true story about suburban youth gone wild in the suburbs of San Francisco in the early 70s, Over the Edge would never receive wide distribution. In fact, over the next 25 years, the film would be shown in only a few art houses and on cable TV, until its eventual DVD release in September 2005.

The film, as certain critics like to label it, is a “lost classic,” and yet—unlike the majority of lost or “cult” classics—Over the Edge is actually worth seeking out. Filled with scenes that are difficult to shake, with teen characters played by real-life teenagers (how often does that happen anymore?), and with an authenticity so intense that it appears at times as if the film could very well be a documentary, Over the Edge remains as thrilling today as it must have appeared three decades ago. While somewhat raw and certainly not without imperfections, it’s easy to understand why Kurt Cobain claimed that the movie “pretty much defined my whole personality,” and why it so heavily influenced Richard Linklater in making his own ode to restless youth, Dazed and Confused.

Starring a 14-year-old Matt Dillon in his first screen role, as well as a cast of mostly young unknowns (discovered, for the most part, while they were ditching school), Over the Edge manages to highlight a problem that has only grown and become more problematic since the 70s: kids, stuck in the suburbs, far from any city center, with nothing much to do beyond the usual Teen Axis of Evil: drugging, drinking, and petty-criminal acts. (That the film was shot in Greeley, Colorado, less than an hour from where the Columbine High School massacre would take place 20 years later, is, at the very least, a sad, if bizarre, coincidence.)

The plot is simple: Carl (played by Michael Kramer), a decent teen who feels estranged from his distracted parents, befriends a miscreant from the poorer section of the community (Richie, played by Matt Dillon). The two, along with friends, including a druggie and a mute, attend parties, fire stolen guns, drink in abandoned, half-built houses, and get arrested (in a scene that birthed the classic line, sneered by Matt Dillon, “A kid who tells on another kid is a dead kid.”). Continually harassed by the local policeman Sergeant Doberman (Harry Northup) and looking for adventure, Carl and Richie attempt to run away in a stolen Jeep. They are caught, and Richie is killed when he aims an unloaded gun at Doberman. Carl escapes back to the development, where, later that night, a group of angry teens attack the junior high school while a parents’ meeting on youth violence is taking place. The teens lock the adults inside as they burn cars, shoot guns, and cause mayhem in the parking lot. They are subsequently arrested and sent off to “the Hill.”

On this, the movie’s 30th anniversary, Vice spoke with nearly 20 of the film’s cast and crew to try to piece together the often arduous making of Over the Edge, the frustrations felt upon its initial release, and how the film, all these years later, still manages to influence generation after generation of filmmakers.

CONTINUED...

http://www.viceland.com/int/v16n9/htdocs/over-the-edge-134.php

** The I.C.E. staff ranges from myself, to various actors, writers and filmmakers associated with indie city entertainment... as well as my little brother... who is consistently internet content curious... this little nugget was from him...

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Paranormal Activity

While you may or may not be brave enough to go see this film... the story behind this project is both impressive and promising...

We love to see more signs of big changes in the BIZ...

Surprise hit 'Paranormal Activity' scares money out of moviegoers

(From www.cnn.com)

The new horror movie "Paranormal Activity" could be filling movie studio marketing departments with fear.

Using a campaign of limited showings, social media and word-of-mouth fan buzz, the film has managed to become a breakout hit without the aid of a glitzy marketing campaign -- or even a traditional movie trailer.

According to Variety, the very low-budget film (it reportedly cost $11,000), which played in fewer than 200 theaters, raked in $7.1 million over the weekend -- a record for a limited-release film. The film had an impressive $44,163 per-screen average and placement in the top five of the box office ratings over the weekend.

"We think it's exciting that they are taking this grassroots approach to independent film because sometimes independent films do get lost in the shuffle," said Kevin Carr, a writer/reviewer for the site Film School Rejects. "It's a unique test to see if people can demand things outside of standard marketing campaigns."

"Paranormal Activity" bills itself as "the first-ever major film release demanded by you."

The movie, which was an audience favorite at the alternative Slamdance festival in early 2008, was acquired by Dreamworks (then a part of Paramount Pictures) two years ago.

The studio initially planned to remake it using better-known actors. But after studio executives, including Steven Spielberg, viewed it, they decided the film could stand more or less as it was (though director Oren Peli did shorten the film and shoot a new ending).

The movie gained buzz after Paramount began late-night screenings in college towns, and fans took to Twitter and other sites to hail the scary flick, which centers on a young couple who believe their house may be haunted.

Paramount increased the interest by urging fans to sign on to ParanormalMovie.com and demand theaters in their locations show the film.

Peli posted a video on YouTube expressing gratitude to the fans and urging them to continue rooting for the movie.

"I just wanted to take this opportunity to speak directly to the fans and thank you all for the amazing support," Peli said on the video. "It's just been overwhelming especially considering the long road this film had for three years and the studio wanting to do a remake."

More than a million people have heeded the call. The result has been a groundswell of interest rivaling that of big-budget films.

Megan Colligan, co-president of marketing for Paramount, said the studio had a limited budget for advertising the film, so its marketing had to be tightly targeted.

Moreover, condensing its atmosphere into a 30-second TV spot was a challenge, so executives opted to produce a trailer showing fans waiting in line for the movie and their reaction to the film, said Josh Greenstein, who also serves as co-president of marketing for Paramount.

"It was very important that we sold this as an experience and rather than just a movie," he said. "When people saw the movie they loved it so much and there is such a slow build of terror that you have to sit through to experience the full effect of the movie, so we changed the marketing techniques in advertising and online to make it more experiential."

The unique marketing campaign appears to have paid off.

"The fans have really made this their film and they are doing the bulk of the work [to market the film]," Colligan said.

"The film is selling itself," Greenstein added.

Critics have also taken notice, and have showered the film with good reviews.

In giving the movie an A-minus grade, Entertainment Weekly film critic Owen Gleiberman wrote "With its this-is-really-happening vibe, 'Paranormal Activity' scrapes away 30 years of encrusted nightmare clichés. The fear is real, all right, because the fear is really in you."

Overall, the film has earned a strong 85 percent approval rating at review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

Moviegoers agree. Rajiim Gross, an iReporter who posted a review of the film, said he found "Paranormal Activity" to be much better than "Blair Witch Project," another indie-horror film to which it is being compared. Check out Rajiim Gross' iReport

"It actually scared the hell out of me," Gross said. "I saw it during the day and I would hate to be someone who went home after seeing it late at night."

Gross said he believed the studio was smart to leverage the Internet to spread the word. Video Watch Rajiim Gross' review of 'Paranormal Activity' »

"The best advertising is word of mouth," Gross said. "People tell 10 friends, they go see it and they tell 10 more friends and soon you have an entire community who wants to see it."

Carr, whose Film School Rejects site has been following the frenzy, said the movie "gets inside of your head" and benefits from the traditional fan support that horror films often enjoy.

That, coupled with the big cinema thrills and chills, should add up to continued box office success, Carr said.

"Watching it with 250 strangers in a movie theater and getting everybody to jump at the same time definitely has an effect," he said. "It's the event film right now of the year, which is something that needs to be experienced."

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/10/12/paranormal.activity.movie/index.html