News for
Palindromes (2004) More at IMDbPro »

2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2004

5 items from 2012

---

Indie Icon Todd Solondz Explains Later-Life Childhood and His ‘Dark Horse’

24 May 2012 8:58 AM, PDT | FilmSchoolRejects.com | See recent FilmSchoolRejects news »

As Todd Solondz explains, Dark Horse is a different kind of take on the Judd Apatow celebration of the Manchild. It’s a bit more aggressive, a lot more realistic, and complex in the way that fans have come to expect from the director of Welcome to the Dollhouse and Palindromes. Set beyond cheerful pop music, the film follows Jordan Gelber, looking a lot like Jeff Garlin, as he attempts to navigate what he views as a cruel, unfair world in the yellow hummer his parents bought for him. He discovers something like love with the depressed Miranda (a differently-named character reprised by Selma Blair from Storytelling), and he struggles (often hilariously) to understand a world shifting around him. Fortunately, Solondz took some time out to discuss his take on later-life childhood, how to respond to fans who laugh at child-rape, and how the indie filmmaking world has changed since the 1990s. Download »

- Cole Abaius

Permalink | Report a problem

---

Christopher Walken And Selma Blair Star In Solondz’s ‘Dark Horse’ Trailer

10 May 2012 11:43 AM, PDT | The Hollywood News | See recent The Hollywood News news »

Todd Solondz is set to return with Dark Horse and we have the new trailer and an extra splash of images for you to mull over. Solondz has previously given us the controversial Welcome To The Dollhouse, Happiness and also Palindromes. His films are usually a dark, wry affair and despite its happy nature, we don’t think this will fall far from that twisted tree.

He’s got an impressive cast as well, Christopher Walken, Mia Farrow, Selma Blair, Jordan Gelber, Justin Bartha, Zachary Booth, Aasif Mandvi and Donna Murphy. Dark Horse centres around 30-something Abe (Gelber), a man who still lives at home and is oblivious to the real world. Abe falls into a relationship with Miranda (Blair), a quiet soul who suffers depression.  I know, this may not sound like the most exciting set-up but there’s always an interesting exploration into character with Solondz and them »

- Dan Bullock

Permalink | Report a problem

---

Daily Briefing. Believer Film Issue, More Cannes Contenders

5 March 2012 1:17 PM, PST | MUBI | See recent MUBI news »

The Believer's 2012 Film Issue is out and you can sample every essay, interview and list that's in it, though only a handful of texts are online in full. Joshua Jelly-Schapiro, for example, talks with Peter Doig, "a figurative painter whose lush dreamscapes at once evoke his medium's past and suggest the feel of photos and films," who also co-runs the StudioFilmClub in Trinidad: "In an airy old rum factory with a digital projector on one wall, a large screen on another, and a homey bar stocked with coconut water and local Stag beer, he hosts free screenings. Each Thursday night, FilmClub's patrons thrill to independent and art-house films ranging from Killer of Sheep and Klute to — on the night of my first visit a couple years ago — Nagisa Oshima's 1976 classic of sensual obsession, In the Realm of the Senses." You can see more of the flyers Doig's painted for the FilmClub here. »

Permalink | Report a problem

---

David Doernberg, 1967 – 2012

5 March 2012 7:24 AM, PST | Filmmaker Magazine - Blog | See recent Filmmaker Magazine news »

Production designer David Doernberg, who brought a sensitive, finely crafted and observant touch to many excellent independent films, died in New York on Friday after a battle with cancer.

Doernberg began his career in the late ’80s/early ’90s working on music videos for bands like Sonic Youth, Yo La Tengo and Superchunk. He quickly moved into independent features, working as a propmaster for films by Hal Hartley (Amateur), Daisy von Scherler Mayer (Party Girl) and Eric Schaeffer (If Lucy Fell). Soon after he became a production designer, bookending his career with films by Kelly Reichardt. He designed her 1994 debut film, River of Grass, as well as her 2010 period tale of frontier life on the Oregon Trail, Meek’s Cutoff. Other notable credits include Phil Morrison’s Junebug, Alison Maclean’s Jesus’s Son, Morgan J. Freeman’s Desert Blue, Todd Solondz’s Palindromes and Pete Sollett’s Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. »

- Scott Macaulay

Permalink | Report a problem

---

DVD Review: ‘Another Happy Day’ Plunges Headfirst Into Familial Hellhole

9 February 2012 7:18 AM, PST | HollywoodChicago.com | See recent HollywoodChicago.com news »

Chicago – “Another Happy Day” is essentially the inverse of “Rachel Getting Married.” Instead of an unstable, self-pitying girl wreaking havoc on an otherwise pleasant wedding, we have a sensitive, otherwise pleasant woman driven mad by her unstable, self-pitying family…at a wedding, no less. I’ve seen war enemies with less animosity than this group of miserable basket cases.

Of course, weddings have routinely been a hotbed of family dysfunction typified by Robert Altman’s flawed yet woefully underrated 1978 satire, “A Wedding.” “Happy Day” is closer in spirit to Noah Baumbach’s caustic and somewhat repellant 2007 effort, “Margot at the Wedding,” albeit without the handheld photography. There’s a lot of talent on display that’s worth admiring, but the film is more depressing and drab than it is funny or insightful.

DVD Rating: 2.5/5.0

It’s the directorial debut of Sam Levinson (son of Barry), and it’s clear that »

- adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)

Permalink | Report a problem

---

2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2004

5 items from 2012

---