FILMMATTERS

Giant Robot/Filmmatters screening of Mother - Martin's blog

noreply@blogger.com (gr) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:17:00 +0000

Thanks to Magnolia, MPRM, and the Laemmle Music Hall for helping Giant Robot present an advance screening of Bong Joon-Ho's new movie, Mother. On a chilly Tuesday night, we had a big enough turnout to get promoted to the larger screen and filled it out comfortably. Two guests walked away with posters signed by the director. One had to answer a trivia question provided by MPRM regarding actress Kim Hye-Ja. The other was the first GR subscriber to hold up her hand!

Lots of faces in the crowd. Above, director Reggie Hudlin, who has impeachable taste in film and comic books. I can count always count on seeing him at the San Diego Comic-Con and GR screenings.

Cate with actors Perrey Reeves (Entourage) and Johann Urb (2012).

Lana Kim of The Directors Bureau, The Lana Show, and J.Lep. In addition to bringing a boxful of GR47 (which featured an interview with Bong) to distribute to early arrivals, I brought new one and wound up giving it to her because she's featured in our mutual friend Saelee Oh's article about Kona coffee and so is her brother Ely.

Inside, GR's own Minister of Color, Pryor Praczukowsski. He makes the photography in our magazine look great. Look for a new, improved Cine House site to go up soon, as well as the movie he served as DP for, Strangers, which screens at FAAIM's Asian American Showcase next month.

Ken Wong (a.k.a. Monkmus) contributes the excellent "'Tween the Cracks" comic to the back page of every GR but is best-known for his music videos and his cool wife Linda, who gave me some popcorn when I was starving.

GR's longtime friend/lawyer/enforcer Mitch Mitchell and his better half, Emiko.

Oscar is one of los bros, who I can always count on to see at GR events. But were was Luis?

Rudy was part of the crew at GR's table at Comic-Con last year. Says he can't wait for this year...

Alexi helps out with proofreading when she can. Excellent spelling and command of grammar, as well as taste in movies.

Filmmaker Wing Ko probably worked on some of your favorite skate videos and provided "the voice" of ON Video. Only recently have I learned about his astounding jello-making skills (GR58) and mastery of Italian cuisine (two weeks ago).

This is what the crowd looked like. You should have been there. I'm serious. Sign up to be on our mailing list at the Filmmatters site. We don't have events every week, but when we do something it's always cool.

Above: the trailer. Mother opens on Friday, March 12. Below: my review which appears in GR64.

Mother (South Korea, 2009)
Director Bong Joon-ho has told the story of a dumb guy, the corrupt world that takes advantage of him, and the female family members who save him before. Last time, it was the protagonist’s smarter and stronger sisters that saved his ass from a sea monster. This time, it’s the protagonist’s mom who fights for him after he is framed for murder by the local, lazy, small-town cops. The lengths to which she goes to protect her dull son are astounding, and so are the twists to the dark plot that Bong masterfully weaves. Can a mother’s love go too far? The only thing that could possibly make the movie better would be to have Danzig’s “Mother” play over its closing credits. [Magnolia] mw

Mother - In Theatres March 12th

noreply@blogger.com (gr) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:47:00 +0000

Mother - In Theatres March 12th

Special Screening of Bong Joon-Ho's Mother

noreply@blogger.com (gr) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 18:57:00 +0000

Magnolia Pictures and Filmmatters are very proud to present an advance screening of Bong Joon-Ho's Mother.

The South Korean filmmaker is known to most American moviegoers for his post-modern monster movie, The Host, but before that he directed the much darker works -- Barking Dogs Never Bite and Memories of Murder. Since contributing the otaku-themed "Shaking Tokyo" segment of the Tokyo! omnibus (along with Michel Gondry and Leos Carrax), Bong has gone on to direct Mother, which competed at Cannes in 2009 and has gone on to win accolades for his unrelenting direction and lead actress Kim Hye-ja's gritty performance.

Trust us: (1) The less you know about the plot about a single mother's relentless efforts to defend her obtuse son from a murder charge, the better, and (2) you'll want to see this harsh-but-human movie in a theater.

The free screening will take place on:
Tuesday, March 9
7 p.m.
Laemmle Music Hall
9036 Wilshire Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
(310) 274-6869

To attend, please send an email with your name to rsvp@filmmatters.com and specify if you will be bringing a guest. Spaces are limited, so first come, first serve.

Mother opens in theatres March 12th. Please join them on Facebook.

FILMMATTERS is a national list of innovative films, screenings, festivals and related events that we at Giant Robot find important and worth noting.

Free Movie Screening - Shinjuku Incident Tuesday, February 2, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (gr) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 02:48:00 +0000

Free Movie Screening - Jackie Chan's Shinjuku Incident in Santa Monica

You and a guest are cordially invited to a special advanced screening of Derek Yee's Shinjuku Incident, starring Jackie Chan & Daniel Wu.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

7:00PM Doors open

7:30PM Screening

This special evening is presented by Barking Cow Distribution & FILMMATTERS, a national list of innovative films, screenings, festivals and related events that we at Giant Robot find important or worth noting.

RSVP Essential: filmmatters@giantrobot.com

Laemmle Monica 4-plex

1332 2nd Street (between Santa Monica Blvd & Arizona Ave)

Santa Monica CA 90401

310-478-3836

Parking in nearby City Lots on 2nd & 4th Streets

Map

SHINJUKU INCIDENT opens February 5, 2010 at a theatre near you.

Follow us on: Filmmatters x Twitter x Facebook

"More in common with The Yakuza Papers than The Young Master." - Martin Wong, Editor, Giant Robot 61

Director Derek Yee's intense, action-packed film about lowly Chinese immigrants taking on the yakuza first gained notice when it was announced that its legendary star Jackie Chan would not be doing martial arts to concentrate on dramatic acting. It made deadlines once more when it was deemed too violent to show in China. Please join us for a special screening of the movie, which also features Hong Kong cinema upstart and Giant Robot contributor Daniel Wu, on Tuesday, February 2nd.

For more information on Shinjuku Incident, please check out their site & follow them on Facebook.

GR interview with John Woo

noreply@blogger.com (gr) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 19:16:00 +0000

John Woo - The GR interview previewed

"I always wanted to make a great, epic movie like Lawrence of Arabia, Seven Samurai, or Spartacus. But I was young and that was just a dream to me." - John Woo (Giant Robot 63)

GR63 preview/interview excerpt with John Woo, up at Martin's blog.

Catch RED CLIFF on VOD or in a theatre near you.

GR interview with Louie Psihoyos, director of The Cove

noreply@blogger.com (gr) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 20:19:00 +0000

GR63 preview/interview excerpt with director of The Cove and enemy of dolphin killers, Louie Psihoyos, up at Martin's blog.

More fun at JANM - Screening of "The Killing of a Chinese Cookie"

noreply@blogger.com (gr) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 21:30:00 +0000

Join us for a special one-night event! Come sample fortune cookie-inspired desserts from the best and brightest of LA-based culinary schools followed by a special free screening of the documentary"The Killing of a Chinese Cookie."

6:30 PM Doors open/tasting
7:30 PM Film begins

There will be a Q&A after the screening with writer/director Derek Shimoda.

Space is limited on a first-come, first-serve basis. For RSVP, please email:contact@thekillingofachinesecookie.com (Please include "RSVP" in the subject line and name of attendees in the body of email)

Special Screening of John Woo's Red Cliff

noreply@blogger.com (gr) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:40:00 +0000

"I always wanted to make a great, epic movie like Lawrence of Arabia, Seven Samurai, or Spartacus. But I was young and that was just a dream to me." - John Woo (Giant Robot 63)

John Woo's return to Chinese cinema is a massive painted tapestry come to life with Tony Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Zhao Wei, and thousands of actual solders. The 2-part, 5-hour epic broke box-office records in Asia, and you can be one of the first to witness the streamlined and solid 3-hour version for North America at this special screening presented in association with Flux at The Montalbán, followed by an after party featuring music by DJ Wendy City and specialty cocktails by Belvedere Vodka.

7:00PM Doors open
7:30PM Screening + Reception with DJ Wendy City

This special evening is part of Cinema Tuesdays, a monthly series curated by Flux celebrating innovative film at The Montalbán, Nike Sportswear’s unique retail and special events theatre in Hollywood.

RSVP Essential: http://www.flux.net/gr

Nike Sportswear at The Montalbán
1615 Vine Street
Hollywood, CA

Giant Robot Biennale - Screening of Dirty Hands This Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (gr) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:35:00 +0000

Come and see the film that sold out 3 nights at the LA Film Festival! Harry Kim’s Dirty Hands: The Art and Crimes of David Choe.

The museum is free from 5-8 pm so you can see the art and then at 7:30 pm (maybe with some leeway), the film will begin. The film is $8 and goes to a good cause -- the under funded Museum. Harry Kim will be there to talk a bit as well. He’ll be selling some Dirty Hands t shirts and nice items. It’s going to be a fun night.

SF International Animation Festival

noreply@blogger.com (gr) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 01:12:00 +0000

Giant Robot is proud to sponsor the 4th San Francisco International Animation Festival

San Francisco Film Society Presents
4th Annual SF International Animation Festival

November 11-15 at Landmark’s Embarcadero Center Cinema

The San Francisco International Animation Festival celebrates San Francisco’s prominence as a hub for one of the most creative forms in cinema. In its fourth year, this five-day festival continues to present a wide range of works, including Wes Anderson's new sure-fire blockbuster Fantastic Mr. Fox and the celebrated experimental films of artist Nate Boyce. With a selection of the best shorts from Annecy and a special presentation of Walt Disney’s Alice Comedies, the SF International Animation Festival continues to explore one of the most fertile practices in contemporary film and television in all its forms.

SFIAF kicks off Wednesday, November 11 with a celebration of live music and animation at Mezzanine. American underground avant-garde legend Lawrence Jordan will present live animation based on the live, plaintive musical accompaniment of local duo Pale Hoarse, and Jacob Ciocci and David Wightman of 2 Blessed 2 Be Stressed will unveil a variety of media-defying entertainments.

For tickets and information, please visit SFIAF.

Died Young, Stayed Pretty in LA

noreply@blogger.com (gr) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 21:21:00 +0000

Giant Robot is proud to co-present with American Cinematheque the LA screening of Eileen Yaghoobian's DIED YOUNG, STAYED PRETTY at the Aero Theatre.

Wednesday, September 16 - 7:30 PM

Aero Theatre

1328 Montana Avenue at 14th Street

Santa Monica, CA 90403

DIED YOUNG, STAYED PRETTY, 2009, 95 min. Dir. Eileen Yaghoobian. A candid look at the underground indie-rock poster subculture in North America that was reborn, post-punk, with the launch of groupie Clayton Hayes’ website Gigposters.com. With original music by Mark Greenberg and visual effects by Pete Dionne, DIED YOUNG, STAYED PRETTY features posters for Radiohead, White Stripes, Arcade Fire, The Flaming Lips, The Melvins, Nick Cave, Broken Social Scene and Ween, as well as legends Bob Dylan and Marianne Faithful. Discussion following with director Eileen Yaghoobian.

Check out this great slide show of posters | Trailer | Official Website

$10 General Admission, $8 Student/Senior with ID

For more info & tickets, click here.

"Raw -- an outlaw movie about outlaw artists"- PETER RAINER, NPR

"Yaghoobian proves she has a flair for the telling detail every bit as keen as her subjects".
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail

"It may be underground art but the film gives a cultural thumbs up to an art form that deserves more space in the foreground."
Tim Basham, Paste Magazine

"Yaghoobian's documentary is unexpectedly excellent, a bracingly free-form group portrait of people who only recently discovered each other's existence when the founding of GigPosters.com showed isolated artists they weren't just working alone in the dark."
Vadim Rizov, Spout.com

"Died Young, Stayed Pretty made me want to seek out the art on display. Strictly as a documentary, it made me want to watch it again, just to soak it all in."
Peter Martin, Twitchfilms.com

"It's a terrific piece of work"
Jeff Monk, Cinematheque.com

Follow us on Twitter to hear more.

Echo Beach

noreply@blogger.com (gr) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 18:58:00 +0000

Join Giant Robot at the LA Premiere of Echo Beach -- a film about innovation, individualism, and surfing directed by former pro surfer Jeff Parker. The film establishes 1980's Newport Beach as the center of the surfing industry and worldwide influencer of youth culture.

Laemmle Monica
1332 2nd Street
Santa Monica CA 90401

Thursday, August 20, 2009
8 PM
Get your tickets here.

Accompanied by a collection of spectacular still and film images from the era, many of which have previously never been published or seen, set to a seminal 80s soundtrack, Echo Beach includes candid interviews with:

* Danny Kwock
* Jeff Parker
* Preston Murray
* John Gothard
* Peter Schroff
* Jeff Yokoyama
* Shawn Stüssy

AND MANY OTHERS!

Check out the trailer.
And join them on FB.

Kamikaze Girls

noreply@blogger.com (gr) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:36:00 +0000

Giant Robot is proud to support CAAM's presentation of an outdoor screening of KAMIKAZE GIRLS

Check out the KAMIKAZE GIRLS Fashion Show and Contest

A film by Tetsuya Nakashima
103 mins
Japanese with English Subtitles

Friday August 14, 2009
at 8:15PM
Japantown Peace Plaza
Post Street at Buchanan Street
San Francisco, CA

Early arrival highly suggested
Seating is first-come, first-served.

Died Young, Stay Pretty

noreply@blogger.com (gr) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:08:00 +0000

Giant Robot is proud to be a co-presenter of the New York Premiere of Eileen Yaghoobian's Died Young, Stay Pretty.

IFC CENTER, New York Premiere!
ONE WEEK ONLY
Friday July 17-Thursday July 23rd
Filmmaker & Special Guests Julie Lasky and Robert Newman in Person Opening Weekend
323 Sixth Avenue @ West Third Street
Afterparty @ 92YTribeca
bands BM LINX & Hypernova & DJ

For more info:
NY Premiere
Trailer
Facebook

Official Selection of the 2009 South By Southwest Film Festival and 2008 Montreal World Film Festival, DIED YOUNG, STAYED PRETTY is a candid look at the underground indie-rock poster subculture in North America that was reborn, post-Punk, with the launch of groupie Clayton Hayes’ website Gigposters.com. The documentary reveals a new breed of subculturists who’ve set out to destroy the mainstream through their controversial and intensely visceral design work.

Under the guise of advertising for rock shows, these unheralded masters of the silkscreen and Xerox machine carry on public discourses that range from hot button political issues to lewd, inside jokes. Stealing pieces from America’s disposable culture, these graphic artists pervert classic references into beautiful obscenities that they slap in the face of polite society while safely treading under the radar.

Director Eileen Yaghoobian gives an intimate look at a few of the giants of the subculture, some who go broke to maintain their creative workshops while others have found commercial success. Featuring interviews with Tom Hazelmyer, Art Chantry, Brian Chippendale, the Ames Brothers, Jeff Kleinsmith, Jay Ryan, Print Mafia, and Rob Jones, among others, outside their own circle, they are virtually unknown, but within their ranks they are bareknuckle brawlers. Yaghoobian sneaks her lens into the lives of these self-professed radicals to discover where the real power lies, if any remains.

MY FILM IS DONE:HOW DO I MONETIZE IT?

noreply@blogger.com (gr) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 05:45:00 +0000

MY FILM IS DONE:
HOW DO I MONETIZE IT?

A conversation about independent film distribution and marketing

Learn everything you've always wanted to know about a very complicated process - the distribution of your film. Where do you start? Who are the players? How do you recoup? What's the current state of the market?

Join expert sales agent and producer

Kevin Iwashina
Partner/IP Advisors

as he moderates domestic distribution and marketing experts:

Chan Phung
Manager of Worldwide Acquisitions, Focus Features

and

Laura Kim
Owner, Inside Job

Co-sponsored by
Korean Film Council (KOFIC)
Date:
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Time:
7:00 to 9:30 PM
Place:

Korean Film Council (KOFIC)
5509 Wilshire Blvd
(cross street and parking located on Dunsmuir) Los Angeles, CA 90036
Cost: Free to all CAPE members, $20 for non-CAPE members, $10 for students with ID
Cash Only Please

Seating is limited. Please RSVP HERE

Reception with snacks and beverage to follow panel discussion.

NYAFF 2009

noreply@blogger.com (gr) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 03:38:00 +0000

New York Asian Film Festival opens June 19th!

Subway Cinema presents Asia's finest!
Guests include Lau Ching-Wan, Wai Ka-Fai, Nick Chin and more...

Catch the Festival June 19-July 5. Check out the schedule here and order your tickets now.

Made in America

noreply@blogger.com (gr) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 13:58:00 +0000

Community Cinema Presents Stacy Peralta's CRIPS AND BLOODS: MADE IN AMERICA
April 28, 2009

Support KCET and your local PBS station!

Eric Nakamura x Daniel Wu + CAPE

noreply@blogger.com (gr) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 18:34:00 +0000

Please join us in supporting CAPE - the Coalition of Asian Pacifics In Entertainment - this Wednesday.

* * * * * * * *

CAPE, the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment, is pleased to announce its 2009 Entertainment Industry and Membership mixer featuring Giant Robot magazine founder and publisher, Eric Nakamura. Open to CAPE members and the general public, the event includes Nakamura and a Special Guest Interrogator, Daniel Wu, leading a casual discussion.

Following the discussion and Q&A, will be a CAPE membership and entertainment industry mixer. Catering is complimentary with cash bar, only $2 per drink. The event is free to CAPE members and $20 for non-members and general public.

For more information about CAPE, please click here.

Make sure to RSVP here.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009
7:00pm to 10:00pm

National Center for the Preservation of Democracy building at JANM
(JAPANESE AMERICAN NATIONAL MUSEUM)
369 East First Street
Los Angeles, California 90012

Celebrate Indian Cinema!

noreply@blogger.com (gr) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 16:32:00 +0000

Come join us at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles April 21- 26, 2009!

Nagisa Oshima: Films of a Japanese Master

noreply@blogger.com (gr) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 16:13:00 +0000

American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre Presents

In the Realm of Oshima: The Films of A Japanese Master

In collaboration with LACMA
Co-sponsored by the Japan Foundation

April 23 – 26 at the Egyptian Theatre

Trailblazing Nagisa Oshima was one of the fathers of the Japanese Nouvelle Vague in the early 1960s, and his work still has the capacity to shock, provoke thoughtful reflection and entertain. Oshima's works exhibit such wit, beauty and furious invention, never mind profound feeling, that their conceptual gambits take on sensual and emotional force. They are less the product of a postmodernist sensibility, as some critics have characterized Oshima's strategies, than of a desperate intelligence. Oshima made films as if they were a matter of life and death. Though born into privilege, the son of a government worker in Kyoto (reportedly of samurai ancestry), Oshima was a nascent socialist whose ideals were formed in his youth by the general strike of 1947; the Pacific War, Emperor Hirohito's capitulation after the bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the subsequent American occupation of Japan; the mass student struggle against the Korean War and, most markedly, against AMPO, Japan's security pact with Cold War America. Steeped in Marxist and Freudian thought from his father's prodigious library, Oshima opposed using ideological systems to probe his nation's psyche: "I am not a Marxist," he insisted. "In fact, I find Marxism and Christianity to be the same thing and both of them are bad."

American Cinematheque will be screening various startlingly provocative films directed by Oshima including IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES, EMPIRE OF PASSION, CRUEL STORY OF YOUTH, VIOLENCE AT NOON, PLEASURES OF THE FLESH, DIARY OF A SHINJUKU THIEF and more. His movies are for mature audiences, and films like IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES will be restricted with no one under 18 admitted. Many of the films will be screened in new 35mm prints! All films in Japanese with English subtitles. This retrospective continues at LACMA's Bing Theater in May with a different selection of Oshima masterworks.

For more information and the full schedule, click here.

Asian Spotlight at Newport Beach Film Festival

noreply@blogger.com (gr) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 17:28:00 +0000

Join us at the Newport Beach Film Festival, April 23-30, 2009!

We are proud to support the Asian Spotlight - 3 films from China, Japan and Korea - and Harry Kim's Dirty Hands: The Art & Crimes Of David Choe.

Please order your tickets here:

Dream Weavers: Beijing 2008
Modern Boy
Suspect X
Dirty Hands: The Art & Crimes Of David Choe

Get the full schedule here.

Follow NBFF on Twitter and Facebook.

Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (gr) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 21:19:00 +0000

Chicago Asian American Showcase starts tomorrow!

noreply@blogger.com (gr) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 21:10:00 +0000

The Gene Siskel Film Center and the Foundation for Asian American Independent Media (FAAIM) present the 14th edition of Asian American Showcase, April 3 - 16, 2009.

Join Harry Kim on opening night (tomorrow) for his award-winning film, DIRTY HANDS: THE ART & CRIMES OF DAVID CHOE.

There are bunch of great films at the Showcase, including THE DWELLING, so please check it out!

Korean Film Festival DC 2009

noreply@blogger.com (gr) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 21:04:00 +0000

Copresented by Smithsonian's Freer and Sackler Galleries and AFI Silver Theatre, the Korean Film Festival DC 2009 showcases new films, two Korean classics, and a special focus on Korean women directors.

These films are in Korean with English subtitles. This festival is made possible by the Korea Foundation and the Korean Film Council.

For more info, check out Committed to Film.

12th Annual Spring Showcase

noreply@blogger.com (gr) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 20:40:00 +0000

Hawaii International Film Festival presents the 12th Annual Spring Showcase - April 3-9, 2009

Check out the program.

Get your tickets here.

Aloha!