Rubberneck
Written by Garth Donovan and Alex Karpovsky
Directed by Alex Karpovsky
USA, 2013
Lena Dunham isn’t the only filmmaker who also appears in front of the camera on the HBO series Girls. Alex Karpovsky (who plays Ray on the show) is a director in his own right, having directed the micro-indies The Hole Story and Woodpecker around the same time that Dunham was directing her earliest efforts. His new film Rubberneck is much like the characters in Girls: not completely together, but intriguing and well-intentioned.
Karpovsky himself plays Paul Harris, a scientist in Boston who is a rubberneck in many ways. In a few scenes he is literally rubbernecking on the side of a highway, which is maybe a too literal way to illustrate that he’s also rubbernecking at the people around him, watching them go by without being able to make any real connection. He thinks...
Written by Garth Donovan and Alex Karpovsky
Directed by Alex Karpovsky
USA, 2013
Lena Dunham isn’t the only filmmaker who also appears in front of the camera on the HBO series Girls. Alex Karpovsky (who plays Ray on the show) is a director in his own right, having directed the micro-indies The Hole Story and Woodpecker around the same time that Dunham was directing her earliest efforts. His new film Rubberneck is much like the characters in Girls: not completely together, but intriguing and well-intentioned.
Karpovsky himself plays Paul Harris, a scientist in Boston who is a rubberneck in many ways. In a few scenes he is literally rubbernecking on the side of a highway, which is maybe a too literal way to illustrate that he’s also rubbernecking at the people around him, watching them go by without being able to make any real connection. He thinks...
- 2/26/2013
- by Mark Young
- SoundOnSight
Editor’s Note: This review originally ran during the 2012 Laff, but we’re re-running it now as the film opens in limited theatrical release. There are few things that navel-gazing filmmakers like gazing at more than, well, their own navels, which is why independent cinema is flooded with vaguely veiled stories that are obviously about their makers and little else. In Red Flag, writer/director/producer/star Alex Karpovsky embraces this mini-genre (to the point that his character is named “Alex Karpovsky” and he’s on the road showing his film Woodpecker, a film Karpovsky actually made and a trip he really did take) to characteristically witty and dry effect. But it’s Karpovsky’s willingness to make his own character not look like a sensitive genius (or “a charismatic mega-fauna” as a deranged fan calls him or even “an adroit filmmaker” as he eventually tries to tout himself as) that frees the film from ego and...
- 2/23/2013
- by Kate Erbland
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Alex Karpovsky is a busy, busy guy. He's best known for his role as Ray, the coffee-slinging man-child entangled with the naive Shoshanna on HBO's "Girls," but when he's not wearing his characters Cafe Grumpy apron, you might find Karpovsky in an editing bay, behind a camera, holed up writing, or starring in one of his own films.
Though two of these features, "Rubberneck" and "Red Flag," are both out on VOD and in limited release Friday, their openings and top billing (Karpovsky is writer, director and star of both) are about all they have in common. "Rubberneck" follows meek research scientist Paul (Karpovsky), whose infatuation with a co-worker escalates to dangerous levels, while in "Red Flag," Karpovsky plays himself as a filmmaker struggling with life and love on the road.
Karpovsky sat down in New York to chat with NextMovie ahead of the films' release to talk "Girls," keeping busy,...
Though two of these features, "Rubberneck" and "Red Flag," are both out on VOD and in limited release Friday, their openings and top billing (Karpovsky is writer, director and star of both) are about all they have in common. "Rubberneck" follows meek research scientist Paul (Karpovsky), whose infatuation with a co-worker escalates to dangerous levels, while in "Red Flag," Karpovsky plays himself as a filmmaker struggling with life and love on the road.
Karpovsky sat down in New York to chat with NextMovie ahead of the films' release to talk "Girls," keeping busy,...
- 2/21/2013
- by Kase Wickman
- NextMovie
Watching “Red Flag” at a film festival is a delightfully meta affair, a darkly funny autobiographical road movie from "Girls" and "Tiny Furniture" star Alex Karpovsky. Yes, he's not just one of Dunham's boys on the hit HBO show, he's also a promising filmmaker in his own right, and he plants his 'Flag' definitively. Karpovsky turned lemons into lemonade after a recent breakup. He was scheduled to take his film "Woodpecker" on a tour of the South, and brought along some friends and a one-man crew (talented Dp Adam Ginsberg -- keep a look out for him) to make a film about his situation. In the movie "Red Flag," Karpovsky plays a filmmaker named Alex Karpovsky who's taking his film "Woodpecker" on tour after his girlfriend Rachel kicks him out of their house. He begs some friends to join, but it turns out Alex hasn't been the best friend and...
- 2/21/2013
- by Katie Walsh
- The Playlist
Best known as Ray, cynical comedic foil and deflowerer of Zosia Mamet’s Shoshanna on the HBO series “Girls,” Alex Karpovsky is also the writer and director of four feature films and a documentary, whether you knew it or not. On February 19th, Karpovsky the budding auteur will finally get some more widespread attention when Tribeca Film and American Express release his two most recent films, the semi-autobiographical “Curb Your Enthusiasm” inspired comedy “Red Flag,” and the decidedly darker dramatic thriller “Rubberneck.” The two movies, both of which were directed by and star Karpovsky, couldn’t be more different: “Red Flag” is a quasi-documentary following the actor as he journeys around the south on a screening tour of his second feature, “Woodpecker,” reeling from a recent breakup and a bad case of back pain as he maneuvers through crappy hotel rooms, psychotic stalkers, and post...
- 2/20/2013
- by Mark Lukenbill
- Indiewire
In Red Flag, Alex Karpovsky plays a filmmaker named Alex who tours his film, Woodpecker, through the South immediately after breaking up with his longtime girlfriend. In real life, Karpovsky made a film called Woodpecker and toured it through the South; whether this immediately followed a breakup was not known as of press time. Probably most recognizable for his recurring role on Girls, the actor/writer/director is a fairly prolific filmmaker whose non-hbo work tends to go under the radar. Some genuinely tender moments—especially the final scene, which at this admittedly early point in 2013 qualifies as one of the best of the year—offset the occasional dramatic misfire, and Karpovsky's Diy know-how helps maximize a pint-size budget. Karpovsky use...
- 2/20/2013
- Village Voice
Editor's note: A version of this review initially ran during the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival. Tribeca Film releases "Rubberneck" and "Red Flag" on VOD today and theatrically at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center in New York on Friday. Indiewire co-hosts a conversation with Karpovsky at the Apple Store in Soho tonight at 6 p.m. For more information, go here. Alex Karpovsky is a man of considerable talent whose time has come. Lost in the hype of the so-called mumblecore movement when it first erupted out of the SXSW scene, Karpovsky was not as prolific or media-savvy as Joe Swanberg or the Duplass brothers, but his interests as both actor and filmmaker have more complex ingredients. Over the last five years, Karpovsky has directed a wide variety of projects: a mockumentary about bird watching ("Woodpecker"), a real documentary about improvisation ("Trust Us, This is All Made Up"), and now both a tense thriller,...
- 2/19/2013
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Tribeca Film has extended its relationship with multi-hyphenate Alex Karpovsky, acquiring North American rights to Rubberneck, a film he co-wrote, directed, and starred in, and plans to release it in February 2013. Read on for more details and a new still.
Tribeca Film's release plans include select theatrical screenings and offering the film on demand in more than 40 million homes in the U.S. and Canada through a variety of video-on-demand offerings as well as iTunes, Amazon Watch Instantly, Vudu, Xbox, Google Play, and YouTube.
Rubberneck had its world premiere at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival and has had a robust showing at festivals internationally thereafter. A slow-burn character study-turned-psychosexual thriller, Rubberneck, co-written by Karpovsky and Garth Donovan, is a chillingly believable story of workplace romance gone wrong. It co-stars Jaime Ray Newman and Dennis Staroselsky and was produced by Michael Bowes, Garth Donovan, and Adam Roffman.
Karpovsky is one of the...
Tribeca Film's release plans include select theatrical screenings and offering the film on demand in more than 40 million homes in the U.S. and Canada through a variety of video-on-demand offerings as well as iTunes, Amazon Watch Instantly, Vudu, Xbox, Google Play, and YouTube.
Rubberneck had its world premiere at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival and has had a robust showing at festivals internationally thereafter. A slow-burn character study-turned-psychosexual thriller, Rubberneck, co-written by Karpovsky and Garth Donovan, is a chillingly believable story of workplace romance gone wrong. It co-stars Jaime Ray Newman and Dennis Staroselsky and was produced by Michael Bowes, Garth Donovan, and Adam Roffman.
Karpovsky is one of the...
- 12/7/2012
- by The Woman In Black
- DreadCentral.com
When you first watch Red Flag, a new dark comedy from HBO “Girls” star and independent director Alex Karpovsky, it feels a little autobiographical—especially since the character Alex plays in the film is literally, well, Alex Karpovsky. Red Flag is the story of Alex, a solipsistic filmmaker that takes his independent film Woodpecker (a real film Alex made) on tour.
- 10/31/2012
- MovieMaker.com
Here's the latest in Austin and Texas movie news.
Sometimes-Austinite actor/filmmaker Alex Karpovsky will be in attendance for a Q&A following the Austin premiere of his film Red Flag this Sunday, Sept. 30 at 8 pm [note time correction] at Cheer Up Charlie's. Austin Film Society and Cinema East are co-sponsoring the screening of this indie comedy about a filmmaker named Alex Karpovsky who, after being dumped by his longtime girlfriend, takes his film Woodpecker on the road. The movie was partially shot in Austin. Read Jette's review for details.Rooftop Films announced the 2012 Rooftop Filmmakers' Fund recipients, which include Austinites David and Nathan Zellner's short film Part-Time Jobs, as well as Bill and Turner Ross's untitled documentary, about the lives of a cross-section of residents in-and-around Eagle Pass, Texas. The Ross brothers won the 2009 SXSW Grand Jury Prize for their documentary 45365.The Hollywood Reporter announced that Drafthouse Films has partnered...
Sometimes-Austinite actor/filmmaker Alex Karpovsky will be in attendance for a Q&A following the Austin premiere of his film Red Flag this Sunday, Sept. 30 at 8 pm [note time correction] at Cheer Up Charlie's. Austin Film Society and Cinema East are co-sponsoring the screening of this indie comedy about a filmmaker named Alex Karpovsky who, after being dumped by his longtime girlfriend, takes his film Woodpecker on the road. The movie was partially shot in Austin. Read Jette's review for details.Rooftop Films announced the 2012 Rooftop Filmmakers' Fund recipients, which include Austinites David and Nathan Zellner's short film Part-Time Jobs, as well as Bill and Turner Ross's untitled documentary, about the lives of a cross-section of residents in-and-around Eagle Pass, Texas. The Ross brothers won the 2009 SXSW Grand Jury Prize for their documentary 45365.The Hollywood Reporter announced that Drafthouse Films has partnered...
- 9/24/2012
- by Jordan Gass-Poore'
- Slackerwood
In Red Flag, writer-director Alex Karpovsky plays a somewhat fictionalized version of himself. His character, Alex, embarks upon a tour of the southern United States with his cinema verite mockumentary, Woodpecker. The trip immediately follows an emotionally tenuous break-up with his longterm girlfriend, Rachel (Caroline White). While I have no knowledge of Karpovsky's actual romantic life, I do believe that Red Flag was mostly shot during an actual theatrical tour of Woodpecker. Taking his cue from the neo-realists, Karpovsky intersperses his fictional characters within real settings and among real people. Then again, this might be another elaborately staged ruse along the lines of Woodpecker -- maybe it really is all just fiction? I sat down with Alex Karpovsky, Jennifer Prediger, Onur Tukel and Caroline White shortly before the world premiere of Red Flag at the 2012 La Film Festival to discuss the film...though things did drift off track occasionally...
- 8/21/2012
- by Don Simpson
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
Filmmaker/actor Alex Karpovsky likes to tinker with reality in ways that make for fascinating movies. The Hole Story is about a filmmaker named Alex who travels to Minnesota to film a natural winter phenomenon that does in fact occur there ... but is Alex's story fact or fiction? In Woodpecker, he interposed fictional characters into a real-life situation: a small town that believed an extinct bird species had been spotted nearby. Part of the movies' charm is determining where the documentary footage ends and where the fictional narrative begins.
In Red Flag, which recently premiered at Los Angeles Film Festival, Karpovsky returns to a character very much like "Alex" in The Hole Story, set during events that actually occurred, but wrapped in a narrative shot with actors and a story that might or might not have its roots in Karpovsky's life. If that sounds confusing ... it might be intentionally so.
In Red Flag, which recently premiered at Los Angeles Film Festival, Karpovsky returns to a character very much like "Alex" in The Hole Story, set during events that actually occurred, but wrapped in a narrative shot with actors and a story that might or might not have its roots in Karpovsky's life. If that sounds confusing ... it might be intentionally so.
- 7/6/2012
- by Jette Kernion
- Slackerwood
In his achingly personal film Red Flag, writer-director-producer-actor Alex Karpovsky (Tiny Furniture, HBO's Girls) plays a narcissistic indie filmmaker named Alex Karpovsky who hits the road to take his latest film (nature mockumentary Woodpecker, which Karpovsky actually directed in 2008) on a promotional mini-tour across the South. Alex is having a rough time. His inflated ego and crippling fear of commitment cost him his relationship with his longtime girlfriend who, after five years of disappointments, finally got sick of his shit and kicked him to the curb. Desperate to avoid the loneliness of the open road, Alex tries to recruit a friend to join him on his film tour, but he soon finds out that most of his friends aren't too happy with him either....
- 6/27/2012
- Screen Anarchy
Director: Alex Karpovsky Starring: Alex Karpovsky, Jennifer Prediger, Onur Tukel, Caroline White, Keith Poulson, Dustin Guy Defa In Red Flag, writer-director Alex Karpovsky plays a somewhat fictionalized version of himself. His character, Alex, embarks upon a tour of the southern United States with his cinema verite mockumentary, Woodpecker. The trip immediately follows an emotionally tenuous break-up with his longterm girlfriend, Rachel (Caroline White). While I have no knowledge of Karpovsky's actual romantic life, I do believe that Red Flag was mostly shot during an actual theatrical tour of Woodpecker. Taking his cue from the neo-realists, Karpovsky intersperses his fictional characters within real settings and among real people. Then again, this might be another elaborately staged ruse along the lines of Woodpecker -- maybe it really is all just fiction?...
- 6/23/2012
- by Don Simpson
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
Watching “Red Flag” at a film festival is a delightfully meta affair. In fact, the whole film is delightfully meta, a darkly funny autobiographical road movie from "Girls" and "Tiny Furniture" star Alex Karpovsky. Yes, he's not just one of Dunham's boys on the hit HBO show, he's also a promising filmmaker in his own right, and he plants his 'Flag' definitively.
Karpovsky turned lemons into lemonade after a recent breakup. He was scheduled to take his film "Woodpecker" on a tour of the South, and brought along some friends and a one-man crew (talented Dp Adam Ginsberg -- keep a look out for him) to make a film about his situation. In the movie "Red Flag," Karpovsky plays a filmmaker named Alex Karpovsky who's taking his film "Woodpecker" on tour after his girlfriend Rachel kicks him out of their house. He begs some friends to join, but it turns...
Karpovsky turned lemons into lemonade after a recent breakup. He was scheduled to take his film "Woodpecker" on a tour of the South, and brought along some friends and a one-man crew (talented Dp Adam Ginsberg -- keep a look out for him) to make a film about his situation. In the movie "Red Flag," Karpovsky plays a filmmaker named Alex Karpovsky who's taking his film "Woodpecker" on tour after his girlfriend Rachel kicks him out of their house. He begs some friends to join, but it turns...
- 6/20/2012
- by Katie Walsh
- The Playlist
Red Flag follows the misadventures of narcissistic indie filmmaker named Alex Karpovsky who, after a bad breakup with his longtime girlfriend, hits the road to take his latest film (Woodpecker, which Karpovsky actually directed in 2008) on a mini-tour across the South. Karpovsky's continued humiliations--a particularly tenacious groupie follows him from screening to screening before sleeping with his friend, his mother calls him out being such a wuss--are hilarious and he's the first to laugh at his own personal pain. The film screened on Friday night as an Official Selection (Narrative Competition) of the 2012 Los Angeles Film Festival. After the Laff premiere of Red Flag, we spoke with writer-director-actor Karpovsky and his co-stars Onur Tukel, Jennifer Prediger, and Caroline White about commitment and...
- 6/17/2012
- Screen Anarchy
Whether truly narcissistic or an eloquent portrait of narcissism, Alex Karpovsky's "Red Flag" is an utterly hilarious ode to the modern struggles of the microbudget American filmmaker. While the prolific Karpovsky has starred in Andrew Bujalski's "Beeswax" and Lena Dunham's "Tiny Furniture" -- and more recently appears in Dunham's "Girls" -- his trajectory behind the camera predates those notable turns. "Red Flag" merges his skills as actor and filmmaker better than anything preceding it by telling a quasi-autobiographical story. The movie, in which Karpovsky plays himself, finds him hitting the road with his 2008 feature "Woodpecker" while reeling from a recent breakup. This could be a recipe for excessive self-indulgence, but the meta quality of "Red Flag" is entirely irrelevant to its low key charm and persistent irreverence -- anchored, as always, by Karpovsky's loopy screen presence. ...
- 6/16/2012
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
I have to hand it to Alex Karpovsky. Every time I attend a film festival, he's either acting in a movie playing there, or has directed one. This guy is always working. His hard work has really paid off on the boob tube recently, and you can watch this festival darling every week on the Lena Dunham-created, Judd Apatow-produced HBO show, Girls. Alex is still on the move and will be premiering his fifth directorial feature (he also wrote and stars in the film), Red Flag. Starring as himself, Red Flag follows a self-involved independent filmmaker, Alex, who takes his film (Woodpecker, which Karpovsky actually made in 2008) on a 12-screening tour across the U.S. He hopes this journey of self-discovery will help him...
- 6/15/2012
- Screen Anarchy
Alex Karpovsky is a man of considerable talent whose time has come. Lost in the hype of the so-called mumblecore movement when it first erupted out of the SXSW scene, Karpovsky was not as prolific or media-savvy as Joe Swanberg or the Duplass brothers, but his interests as both actor and filmmaker have more complex ingredients. Over the last five years, Karpovsky has made a mockumentary about bird watching ("Woodpecker"), a real documentary about improvisation ("Trust Us, This is All Made Up"), and now a tense thriller, "Rubberneck," in which he also stars. He has additionally acted, usually in comically discomfiting roles, including Andrew Bujalski's "Beeswax," Bryan Poyser's "Lovers Hate," and Lena Dunham's "Tiny Furniture," as well as several other bit parts. He's in fine form in "Supporting Characters," once again teetering on the edge of sarcasm and emotional fragility, and always the...
- 4/26/2012
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Director: Alex Karpovsky (documentary) Starring: Tj Jagodowski, Dave Pasquesi In his follow-up to the 2008 mockumentary Woodpecker (for which Trust Us, This Is All Made Up would have been an apt title), director/editor/producer Alex Karpovsky tracks T.J. Jagodowski and David Pasquesi as they relentlessly take in their surroundings, as if sponges in search of more liquid to saturate their beings. Allow me to take one step back in case you do not know who Jagodowski and Pasquesi are…In some circles, they are respected masters of the long form improv comedy craft. Jagodowski (whom you will probably recognize from the Sonic Drive-In commercials) and Pasquesi are alumni of Chicago’s illustrious improv comedy Mecca – The Second City – as well as the Improv Olympic (currently known as iO). They have been performing together as "T.J. and Dave" in Chicago since 2002 (and monthly in New York City since 2006). Even when they are side by side,...
- 2/21/2010
- by Don Simpson
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
Director: Alex Karpovsky Writer(s): Alex Karpovsky, Jon e. Hyrns Starring: Jon e. Hyrns, Wesley Yang The Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis) – the most famous being the cartoon character Woody Woodpecker – ranks among the largest woodpeckers in the world and the largest in the United States. Shiny blue-black with white markings on its neck, back and trailing edges of its wings, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker when perched with the wings folded presents a large triangular patch of white on the lower back. Among North American woodpeckers, the ivory-bill is unique in having a bill whose flat tip is shaped much like a beveled wood chisel. The ivory-billed is sometimes referred to as the Lord God Bird (Sufjan Stevens wrote a song about the ivory-billed titled “The Lord God Bird”), because the sight of one is as awe-inspiring as seeing God. Unfortunately, sightings of the ivory-billed are few and far between. The...
- 12/9/2009
- by Don Simpson
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.