The SPOKE Daily » Film

From Class to Crass; Final High/Lo lights from SXSW

Rachel Noonan — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 15:55:56 +0000

Music is coming to SXSW. It starts slowly; the hair gets longer, the button downs are now distressed vintage t’s, and the beards multiply. Before you know it the geekfest turns into a city wide rock concert. Bands are performing in every nook and cranny throughout the city. Music is spilling into the streets from all different directions. People are jumping on trucks, sleeping on the street and looking to do two things; drink and vibe. It was kind of weird thinking of nature vs nurture paired with the juxtaposition of the Interactive, Film and Music crowds. How people communicate and why. From a hyper tuned in group of over communicators to another group who communicate through instruments and song lyrics, it made me wonder who is getting their message across in the most effective way. Then I remembered interactive is about connecting and music is about feeling. We can’t really exist without both. Well, we could, but it would be a pretty boring. I know I will be swallowed soon by the rock locks and dirty bass lines. In an attempt to create some space in my brain I took a mental look back for my final SX highlights.. What were the awesome new discoveries? The inspiring talks? The newly created connections with the international “Futures Community” (I just made that up and will now create a wiki page for it)? Perhaps the next level bionic style partying that took place? Here are the top 10, in no particular order: HIGHLIGHTS Crowdtap Party. Good product. Good people. The most amazing chocolate fountain EVER. FROG Design. AWESOME. Joseph Kahn’s new Movie Detention. He did a bunch of Britney’s vids. Detention is a real-time pop culture satire time travel horror comedy. The script was crazy tight, the story was funny and the pop culture references were plentiful. Stylistically it felt like a series of single shots. The music video DNA is embedded in Kahn. He made no apologies for it in the Q&A. He does what he does and knows his audience. Talk with Pete Cashmore and David Crowley from Four Square. Crowley did some serious tap dancing around Cashmore’s pointed questions about selling foursquare. Chevy making life a little easier with 30 cars providing complimentary rides throughout the city. They also created the best photo experience I’ve ever seen in the history of photo experiences! Check it: http://social-gen.com/sxsw11/index-v.php?u=eC6. Checked out their new electric car, VOLT. It’s nice to see a “Dinosaur” surprise the scene with a product the future gen may actually like. Feel free to judge me on this, I don’t care. Mashable events. You could tell they cared and they worked really hard to make it fun. They were missing their actual content integrated into the activities, which was a bit of a bummer. GE’s Carosolar. A beautiful use of solar energy. A white on white old era carousel outfitted with slick neon lighting sat in a large parking lot inviting people to take a ride. Powered by solar energy, the carousel moves around and around, throwing people back to a time of fun and magic. Beyond the slick activation, this new solar technology seems to have legs. I’ve been trying to decide what to invest in. Something that’s part of today while constantly evolving to reflect new technologies, the environment and our constantly decreasing shared space. GE’s new solar technology is IT. Andrew WK talked. It was inspiring. I wish he was my big brother. Check out the venue Santos he opened with some friends in Manhattan. PARTY HARD. Artists you have to hear; Sheepdogs, Cold War Kids, Dikta from Iceland, The Kills, Kawarka, Malajube, Defences, Does it offend you, Yeah?, The Naked and the Famous, Phantogram In closing; SXSW Interactive was has the largest concentration of the most amazing thought leaders, trend setters and visionaries I have ever come across. SXSW Film was good, wish I had seen more. They need to separate film from Interactive. SXSW Music is dirty, loud and one of a kind. SPOKE will be back in 2012 ready to learn, play and connect. SIDE NOTE: For the ladies who are reading: Geeks are hotter than music dudes.

BMW: Getting Inside Heads

Jeff Greenspoon — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 16:12:46 +0000

How BMW used basic science to get inside the minds of consumers, without actually showing them anything.

THE SOCIAL NETWORK

Rachel Noonan — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 17:58:00 +0000

From director David Fincher and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin comes The Social Network, a film that proves you don’t get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies. The film is produced by Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, and Ceán Chaffin and based on the book “The Accidental Billionaires” by Ben Mezrich.

SPOKE @ TIFF

Rachel Noonan — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 23:46:46 +0000

Collectively, the SPOKE team drank 15 Bottles of vodka, 6 bottles of wine, saw 13 movies, attended 18 parties and tried to get in as much trouble as possible. We went highbrow with Toro Magazine’s Preview Exhibition of the New York Times CANADIAN PHOTO ARCHIVE, and lowbrow with some beer shot-gunning and head banging at the World Premiere of FUBAR II. As TIFF continues to grow bigger each year, it gets harder and harder to decide which films are “must see’s”, which parties are worth the time and how far you can roll with the least amount of sleep possible. SPOKE took the time to navigate TIFF and bring back a few tidbits for you. Listed below are nine movie, party and fest mentions that surprised, entertained, disgusted or amazed us over the 10 day TIFF Toronto takeover. 1. TIFF Insider info: If you see a Film Premiere party advertised like this: “ X ACTOR” WILL BE IN ATTENDANCE TO CELEBRATE THE PREMIERE OF HIS/HER FILM. $40 AT THE DOOR, BOTTLE SERVICE MANDATORY.” The party will be lame. Some promoter paid an appearance fee which could have your hot actor of the moment pass by the club for a hot second to shake a few hands and then head out to the real party where YOU will not be invited. 2. It’s all about the movies. Do NOT attend film parties celebrating a film premiere unless you HAVE seen the movie. It’s bad form and you could get caught looking lame if someone asks you a question like “What did you think of the protagonists fall from grace”. Potentially EPIC Fail! 3. Keanu Reeves is super hot in person. We have seen our share of “The Beautiful people” at SPOKE. Over the course of the festival we saw Clive Owen, Ryan Reynolds, Kelly Preston, Kevin Spacey, Abagail Breslin and more. None of them were as much of a surprise as our own Canadian cutie turned dark Matrix Warrior Keanu. 4. MONSTERS is a movie you should see. Done with no script, very little money and a traveling production team, MONSTERS set out to be the most realistic monster movie ever made. It was sweet and you need to watch it. 5. The King’s Speech is a movie you should see. King’s Speech tells the story of the man who became King George VI (Colin Firth), the father of Queen Elizabeth II. After his brother abdicates, George (’Bertie’) reluctantly assumes the throne. Plagued by a dreaded stutter and considered unfit to be king, Bertie enlists the help of an unorthodox speech therapist, Lionel Logue. Sounds a little dry right? WRONG. Stripped down, it’s a story about a guy who had a brutal father and no support or outlet for his frustrations. All his issues manifest themselves in the form of a stutter and the most insane cultural pressures prevent Bertie from getting to the real issues. In comes Lionel (Jeffrey Rush). Lionel doesn’t give a hoot about Kings and Queens and all that “Royal” stuffiness. He shakes things up, inspires you, and leaves you with a warm heart. 6. FUBAR II: Get drunk and go see it. “Knowledge of non-knowledge is power” 7. THE TOWN: Will be reviewed as one of the best movies in years. Haven’t seen such amazing car chase scenes since HEAT. 8. If you really want to experience TIFF, do a combo of pre-purchase and RUSH lines. There is something special about the anticipation of being a lucky RUSH line winner to a premiere you never could have purchased a ticket. 9. Don’t be a stalkarazzi. It’s lame.

FUBAR II Head-Bangs Toronto

Karen Lo — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 16:47:44 +0000

SPOKE helped launch FUBAR II on Thursday September 9, 2010 at The Toronto International Film Festival with a traveling street party that filled the streets with Rock, Energy and the Spirit of FUBAR. To kick-off the activation, over 1 million online ads were placed on YouTube and specialty lifestyle web portals. To build buzz, Facebook and Twitter were used to connect fans of the FUBAR legacy and the stars of the film, “Terry & Deaner”. The event took place on a tricked-out Flatbed truck, with vinyl branding and QR codes, alongside a police escorted convoy of Ford F-150 pickup trucks. A live stream was active from 5:OO PM EST, during an on-air interview with Terry & Deaner at The Edge 102.1’s Yonge Street location. Following a tour around Yonge-Dundas and throngs of fans vying for a photo, the loud and wild music by aptly-titled local Hamilton rocker band Monster Truck, continued down Queen West. “The crowning moment? When a hot girl we nicknamed Olive Oil hopped aboard and tore off her shirt while grinding to Black Sabbath’s Die Young. As the crowds grew, the convoy was joined by a bagpiper and FUBAR II’s rowdy cast of characters, including Terry & Dean, Trish, TRON and the film’s director, Michael Dowse. The grand entrance down to Ryerson Theatre for the Midnight Madness Premiere was reminiscent of the AC/DC classic, Long Way to the Top. Following a street-side performance to the endless lineup, the film stars were interviewed to a live streamed online audience of over 5000, following by a crowd surf onto the Red Carpet. PS: THE MOVIE ROCKS!

A DOC WITH HEART, TEENAGE PAPARAZZO

Rachel Noonan — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 18:00:05 +0000

Yet again, Torontonians were spoiled with another exclusive, and SPOKE was there. An intimate advanced screening of Adrian Grenier’s documentary, Teenage Paparazzo. SYNOPSIS When precocious 13-year-old paparazzo Austin Visschedyk snapped a photo of celebrity Adrian Grenier (HBO’s Entourage), little did he know his life was about to change. Turning the tables on the juvenile paparazzo, Grenier stepped to the other side of the lens in an attempt to mentor a teenager obsessed with the lure of the Hollywood lifestyle. Grenier develops a meaningful relationship with his camera-clicking young friend as he attempts to reconcile their mutual exploitation. Indeed, Grenier puts himself on the line here, trying to make sense of his own recently acquired fame. Post screening, a poorly managed Q&A session (Get a mic people) took place where Adrian and the host bantered back and forth about Plato, the contrast between Old and New Hollywood and how many times the host could call Adrian “Vince”. Some good questions were asked about the social commentary of the story and why society has this hyper obsession with celebrity. Much to my surprise, Adrian was reflective, articulate and very mild mannered. It became clear his intention with this documentary was not to exploit Austin, but to put a lens inward to the core of the industries intent. Why do we care about people we don’t know? Why do we want them built up and broken down? Why have we decided to idolize only a few, putting the common folk into a sort of “Peasant” like status? Paparazzo does not attempt to take a position about whether societies collective confidence is decreasing due to “us” creating unrealistic personal expectations set against these “god like” creatures. It doesn’t try to paint the “shooters” in a particular light or make excuses for celebrities. Paparazzo just asks questions. It was actually one of the most unbiased documentaries I have seen in a while. I am sure considering the intense nature of the subject, it was tough to keep it clean and not veer in one particular direction. It’s really cool that a “celebrity” is taking the time to look at the world we put on a pedestal. It’s the don’t bite the hand that feeds you thing. Nobody wants to put a microscope on it, especially when they are in it. With Adrian, he’s not just in it, but represents the epitome of it with his character “Vince” in Entourage. It was brave for him and his supporters to make this documentary. Well worth watching. I am going to go ahead and put this out there; I think Adrian Grenier’s calling may be behind the camera.

BFF Toronto Dates Announced!

Karen Lo — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 20:12:52 +0000

After much anticipation, the Bicycle Film Festival has finally announced its return to Toronto from August 18-22. Friday and Saturday Screenings at THE ROYAL 608 College St. Sunday EMPIRE Screening at CINECYCLE 401 Richmond St. Complimentary valet bike parking will be provided by Toronto Cyclists Union at screening locations. See program details here.

BREAKING DOWN BONNAROO 2010

Rachel Noonan — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 20:10:37 +0000

It is not the summer of 69. The flower power generation is long gone and in its place decades later come hybrid yuppies, high rises and lots of debt. 2010 is a time when North America is slowly coming out of the recession that hit because a small amount of people were extremely greedy and mega douche bags. Born of that recession has come the realization that money doesn’t mean happiness and family does really matter. The social and moral makeup of North America is leaning from right to centre, with a focus on reclaiming our souls. We all know work is important and being accountable is now not only mandatory but essential to sustaining our communities. In addition to that, we are looking for a new center. Trying to find a place in our hearts, minds and souls where we can connect with each other living in the same moral field. We are looking for it in many ways; our consumer decisions, our environmental impact, sharing our wealth and most importantly, our music. Music is the soundtrack of our lives, often mirroring current shifts in lifestyle and points of view and sometimes creating awareness about issues with a fresh perspective. This connection with music couldn’t be more apparent right now with artists such as Interpol, Rise Against, MIA and even Shakira standing up for what they believe in. Of all the worldwide festivals that holistically encapsulate that DIY shift from music to mosh pit, Bonnaroo hits a homerun. The following is an attempt to describe the woven tapestry which include colors of Woodstock, Glastonbury, Lollapolloza, DEMF and a topped off with a little local mall. Myself, and four others arrive at Nashville airport ready to rock out, put some beads on and get down with nature. Some nights I will be camping, and a few at a hotel. We are equipped with tents, sleeping bags, baby wipes and lots of sun screen. After getting our rental car, we plot out our first stop; Third Man Studio Jack White’s studio and store. As we approach the studio we realize it’s in an industrial/ghetto part of town minutes away from where the Country Music Festival is taking place. We pass the Scott Mission and what appeared to be the local hangout for every local bum in the hood. Arriving at the shop early we park only to be pulled from our spot because Conan O’Brien’s people will be arriving soon. Well, fine then. We circle the hood to find a spot. Once in the shop, we are met with limited edition LP’s, custom Meg and Jack cameras, 14” singles from Karen Elson, The Dead Wather and other acts on Third Man records. We stare, we shop, we buy, and we leave. I am now the owner of a 14” single and the cutest Raconteurs baby T for a friend. Jumping on the highway from Nashville to Manchester, the excitement is palpable. We have our afternoon itinerary set, including The XX and Miike Snow and talk about how quickly our tent will be up. As we approach the exit we realize it’s closed. State Troopers and the dedicated Bonnaroo radio station instruct us to drive 20 exits ahead. As we drive further along, it becomes clear there is a massive car line on the other side of the highway. We make peace with sitting in a line for a few hours; how long could it really take? It could and DID take eight hours. By hour seven we had entered into a deep meditative state, keeping us from leaping from the car in a fit of rage towards the entrance. At one point each of us got out, went to the bathroom, got some food and trotted back to the car knowing we could probably go to the local Cineplex and catch a flick, returning to find the car a few feet ahead. Once we get on-site, it’s a gong show. I am supposed to pick up my ticket, which ends up at a hotel media check in at the Holiday Inn. Over 55,000 people were checked that day, most of them camping, RV’s, Minivans and Cars navigated through the 700 acres to find a home for the next four days. Rather than attempt to persuade someone to let me in, I romance a production manager who golf carts me to a staff shuttle that takes me to the hotel, where I get my ticket and a cab back to my hotel. Thursday is a wash. Friday is a new day. Relatively well rested, I make my way to Bonnaroo. Walking onto the grounds, I realize how massive the festival is. In addition to the 700 acres of owned land, other surrounding property owners lease their land for the event, making the total space well over 800 acres. The Tennessee sun beats down on me as I approach my friend’s camp site. I walk past showers and washrooms, water stations and hundreds of vendors selling more glass pipes than I have ever seen. Next to the camp site is a beautiful table housing musical instruments. Guitars, mandolins and drums are laid out for all to use. No connecting wires or security tags. If someone wanted to walk away with an instrument, they could. When the festival was over, all instruments laid peacefully on the table. When you arrive at Bonnaroo, there is no way to realize how many things are going on, how far things are and how dirty you are going to get. From my suede designer flip flops to my friend’s virgin white sun dress, there will be some casualties over the weekend. We begin the 15 minute walk into the centre passing official and non-official vendors selling food, sundries, drug paraphernalia and of course water. If there is anything I can advocate at Bonnaroo is buy a mister and drink gallons of water each day. Upon arrival at the gates, we get searched, cleared and sent our way to the first act of the day; The National. After referring to our guidebook we determine they are performing at the Which stage. Get this, these are the OFFICIAL names of the stages; Which, This, That, The Other and What. If people aren’t confused enough already, they send you on a verbal sparring match with your buds figuring out where Tori Amos will be… Question: What stage is Tori at? Asnwer: She’s at What stage. Question: She’s at WHAT stage? Answer: I already told you, What stage. Statement: Either I am really stoned, or this place is insane. I fall in love with the National during their performance, with a lively lead singer jumping off the stage to perform as he navigates the crowd. Post performance we walk through Centreroo where we find food vendors, volleyball nets, slip and slides and an actual post office. Knowing that stopping too long will ensure we get sucked into the vortex, we keep focused and head over to watch Conan O’Brien. The comedy and adjacent satellite viewing tent offer a great way to break up the day and keep cool for a few hours in the air conditioning. Everyone laughs, cheers and gets a surprise treat with an appearance from Triumph the Insult Dog. We enter back into Centreroo to find more awesomeness. I pop into the Silent Auction tent and bid on a picture of Alison from the Dead Weather and some tickets for Bonnaroo 2011, losing both bids within hours. Outside the auction, we can see The Garnier Fructis Hair washing tent, the FUZE/Twix barn and a fantastical water fountain located in the heart of Bonnaroo. Approaching sensory overload, I take a seat and spent a few minutes observing my fellow festival goers. Through my oversized sun glasses and hat I see hundreds of people; some walking, some eating, and many participating in a water party under the fountain. None of us knew what kind of people came to Bonnaroo, but assumed it would have a folk feel. In a way we were right, but the variety of festivals it took its cue from extended into each individual festival goer as well. I zeroed in on a group of four people. Three girls sat in a circle eating, what was later confirmed as a sausage waffle combination. Each girl wore Abercrombie and Fitch tanks, denim shirts and large Camelback backpacks. The guys were equally as prepped out with pastel button downs, pop collars and khaki shorts. I watched as they laughed and went on like they were in a bubble nestled deep in their minds. Continuing on I spot a man wandering alone wearing a full length floral print skirt with a drawstring. He is looking at the grass as though it is speaking to him with great importance. His head is shaved bald and beard moist with the Tennessee humidity. Within minutes he seems to forget what he was doing and wanders into the Odwalla music tent for a shot of fruit nutrition and indie band entertainment. Next we have an older couple who I speak to for a few minutes. They are from Michigan and drove up in their RV. They paid $1,500 for a VIP package that included their ticket, separate entrance and exit, served dinner and an RV space. They double fist their beers and talk about the last few Bonnaroos. Living childless, they travel a lot and take vacation from their lives as a carpenter and teacher. I am beginning to see a theme as I continue to scan the crowd; there is NO theme. There are so many people from so many places in the world from both a physical and social perspective. I decided to get back into the mix and make my way side stage for Tori Amos. Later in the evening we are ready for the first headliner; Kings of Leon. Setting our blanket down amongst the other concert goers, we are ready for something special and special it was. I have never seen such grand stage production. From the hundreds of headlights setting the backstage to the 200 foot tall stage, it takes time to realize how big everything really is. We take in the KOL hits, drink the Malt liquor and watch as girls dressed as fairies and men dressed in one piece lime green body suits float by. It is as much a people watching festival as it is a musical experience. Post KOL, we roll to The Black Keys. After the auditory assault of the main stage, our ears can’t adjust to the small stage and we retreat for the evening. Walking back to our respective homes for the evening, we pass people dancing, giving light shows and lying side by side with their friends in a meditative fetal position. And so we sleep. Day three and still so much remains to see and do. Getting back into Centreoo, we hit the Canon photo experience where we print our pictures onto postcard paper and send off to our loved ones. We eat more of the amazing food, drink from the free water fountains and head over to the main stage for Dead Weather. Yet again, we listen with amazement as the sound seems to get better and better. Alison from Dead Weather goes toe to toe with Jack White and if I were judging, it would be a draw. Your body fills up with the festival spirit and although not political or social in nature, the tone of the afternoon allows you to project The Dead Weathers words within your own world: Let’s go walk to the border Let’s go walk along the inch Let’s go when no one can see us And find the difference between us Each listener can personalize based on their own challenge, struggle or place they are in life. After a few hours of projecting, we head back to the tents to reconvene. It’s getting dark and as I continue to observe, I notice more “dark” characters looming about. The guys you see at the back of the bars that don’t quite belong. They may have bought a hemp shirt and some Vibram sandals, but something just doesn’t feel right. They are the ones the State Troopers are here for and I feel confident they are watching every step they take. Once we attempt to wash our hands, feet and face for the 100th time we make our way back for the main attraction: JAY-Z. Because they don’t sell vodka on-site, I stop at a local vendor for some homemade Vodka Lemonade for my walk. As they pour we make small talk and my friend asks them where they live. “We live here “ they reply. After letting that response marinate for a few seconds, I say “on one of the local farms?” To which they reply “No, we live here and travel around some during the year”. Did she just tell me the land Bonnaroo is on it a yearly commune? I have emailed the promoters for answers and am waiting to hear back. Back at the main stage, we are ready. Pre show I throw the frisbee around for a while and talk to the locals about how the festival is so profitable, it actually affects State Tax, insane! It’s dark, warm and tens of thousands of people wait patiently. Two massive screens that flank the stage start a countdown from 10 minutes. By minute six, it’s a sight to see with all heads forward ready for the 10 second countdown. 10..9..8..7..6..5..4..3..2..1..bang. Massive direct spotlights shoot down onto Jay-Z’s back as he swaggers (I don’t think the man is capable of anything else) across the stage to start the show. From the 100 foot by 80 feet digital screens rotating imagery of the NY skyline to the thousands of lighters dancing across the crowds, people are transfixed. Irony abounds as the majority white audience is transfixed listening to one of the most influential black musician talk about Barack in office and his times of selling crack in the hood while deep in the southern states. But here was this community that seemed to transcend color, culture and personal views. It was like when I was in alternative school. We had thugs, gays, rockers and ravers all living in relative peace. It was the collective union we felt having been rejected by “normal” society that gave us the sympathy and apathy for one another. I felt that as Jay-Z sang the hell out of 99Problems. Following Jay-Z we headed to see DeadMau5 for some, in my opinion, horrible house music. Two of the closest stages played dance music well into the morning. The problem; they were so close, they competed. After days of walking, dancing, watering and discovering I was ready to collapse, so I did. Waking at 8AM, we headed into Centreoo to grab our last breakfast. As we crossed the rainbow shaped entrance all we could see were hundreds and hundreds of water bottles. I looked at my friend and said “I guess the cleaning crew got pretty high last night and forgot a few things”. After eating a pretty decent spinach omelet, we started to make our way back to camp to pack up. Turning the corner past the post office we were blown away. Almost EVERY water bottle was gone? Did we just eat an omelet spiked with ACID? No, we had just witnessed what a community clean up program with benefits can do. To the left of us was a 20X20 booth with dozens of items; backpacks, shampoo, food, chairs, sleeping bags. Beside each item was a number. 50 for a t-shirt, 20 for hair gel, etc. We approached a guy behind a computer to inquire and he gave us the skinny. “For every bottle you bring to the station, they give you one point towards an item. Items range from 50 points to 1000.” We sat there almost in amazement for the next two minutes. Sometimes it is that simple. Do something good and someone will do something good for you. It was a beautiful last moment to a memorable festival. There was nowhere else in the world I wanted to be.

Culture Tracking: New Styles

Rachel Noonan — Thu, 20 May 2010 17:03:08 +0000

MELENA RYZIK wrote this article Mapping the Cultural Buzz that appeared in the NY Times. The amount of collaboration involved is pretty intense. Most of the results are not surprising, but there are a few ” Wow, didn’t see that coming”. Check it:

Galactica Cometh!

Rachel Noonan — Fri, 14 May 2010 19:01:25 +0000

New York invasion by 8-bits creatures ! PIXELS is Patrick Jean’ latest short film, shot on location in New York. Written, directed by : Patrick Jean Director of Photograhy : Matias Boucard SFX by Patrick Jean and guests Produced by One More Production