No Classified Ads for Critics

What outlet do you write for?

And you work at...?

I've been asked the above questions often when meeting with other NOLA area reviewers. Of course, I'm proud to plug MovieBoozer and my own blog, but when they drop the names of their home outlets, I admit a little jealousy on my part.

Why? Because they are local outlets.

With a family deeply rooted in the area, and an industry that I want to help flourish, working at a local publication would fill me with great pride. Now, don't misunderstand me - I love MovieBoozer and will be contributing for them well into the future (such an awesome format and concept), but I really want to make what I do into a career that I can live off of without having to move out of state.

Unfortunately, classified ads for film critics are hard to find. Previously, on this blog, I wrote two pieces that helped me in advancing towards my goal a bit. So, maybe third time's a charm?

Here are some ideas for how my movie blogging can be incorporated into the content of two local outlets:

Off Beat Magazine

This publication is mostly known for providing news and reviews about the music industry, from Louisiana and beyond. They also cover culture, which the booming Hollywood South is part of. However, there is zip to none film coverage to be found on their site.

I'd like to help change that.

I understand that print space might be limited, so how about a blog to kick things off? OffBeat.com is a pretty user friendly domain that's easy to navigate and read. They also use social networking pretty well, so I get that writing for the digital audience is something they're cool with.

Here's what I propose:

• We set up a film blog on the site, perhaps called Off Beat Film, along with a facebook page and twitter account. 
• The blog will cover reviews of independent/obscure (or "off beat") movies, as well as the ones opening theatrically in the area. It can also feature editorial pieces on the NOLA moviegoing scene, as well as special screening recaps (Timecode:NOLA and NOFS events, or backyard/community showings).
• If interested, a youtube account can be created, where video conversations on movies would be hosted. This would provide more content and engage the audience beyond the webpage, should they choose to participate.
• Live tweet-a-thons (where I watch a movie or awards show, and use a hashtag to link all of the tweets together) can be posted on the blog, using Storify.

WWNO.org

Last year, the New Orleans Reporter initiative - a digital news coalition between WWNO, NOLAvie and The Lens - was announced. It has since morphed from a website to a content partnership. Changes are still being implemented, but what about film criticism?

WWNO is the only one of the three that I know has hosted reviews. While written very well, they were not done by NOLA critics, and some were about movies not coming to the area. Even an interview with Quvenzhané Wallis was not conducted by an area writer.

Here's what I propose:

• Reviews of movies coming to the local area, by a local critic. Specialty pieces (interviews, event recaps) can also be provided.
• WWNO.org is chock full of excellent audio podcasts. Currently, I take part in a podcast called #TeamNOLAFilm, where I and other industry members discuss the current Hollywood South happenings. It's mostly been an independent production, but we'd be more than happy to have an official home for the show, and be able to reach more listeners. 

More than likely, I'll be moving closer to the city soon. Also soon will be the official launch of the New Orleans Film Critics Association. Could I soon be sitting in a press screening as an official local critic?

Review: "Cleanflix"

There is a great website with a great community of video editors called FanEdit.org. They encourage the re-imagining, re-organizing and re-editing of popular movies and TV shows - like, for example, a Grindhouse style version of "Star Wars".

To avoid any legal troubles, the site makes it clear that edits using sources not legally obtained will not be allowed. Of course, they mean torrents and bootlegs, but even software that rips video off of DVD's can be attacked. If I pay $20 for a Julia Roberts film, I should be able to remove her from it, right?

We own it, so why can't we change it?

Hollywood and major music labels are so far behind the times. As proof, all you have to do is watch "Cleanflix". In this documentary, we witness the rise and fall of video stores in Utah (and a few other states) that offered rentals for movies that have been edited for family viewing. If you wanted to see "Titanic" minus Kate Winslets' nude body, they had a copy.

I remember reading about Ted Turner wanting to colorize "King Kong", and I'm very familiar with George Lucas constantly changing "Star Wars" while holding back the theatrical versions. There is a difference between those actions and the ones in "Cleanflix". It's called demand. People actually wanted slightly censored versions of popular movies, and they were willing to pay money for them. They weren't owners of those properties like Turner and Lucas, meaning that the original films with their original intent would remain intact for other people to view.

The customers just wanted another option, is all. It's interesting how this battle could be boiled down to self censoring repressive customers vs. oppressive rights holders and artists. Which side does one take, huh? The store owners just wanted to sell a product. No ideological agenda necessary for them, just the joy of providing a service and giving people movies (even if watered down). The legal challenges from California and the religious beliefs of the local community would take such a toll on this niche market that chain stores would close and owners would struggle and crumble under the pressure of it all. That such drama could come from video rentals is amazing.

Now, most stores have been replaced by kiosks and on demand services. It's funny watching someone outside of a grocery, trying to rent a movie while blocking out the glare from the sun to see the screen. Digital downloads are more my thing, but some come encoded to avoid "piracy". What if I wanted to make an amusing youtube clip? To those that break on through and make re-purposed videos, I salute you.

4/5 *s

Review: "President Wolfman"

There will always be a part of me that will love "Kung Pow: Enter the Fist". Don't look at my review like that... When I was in grade school, I would take the newspaper cartoons, cut out different characters and lines of dialogue and rearrange them to create a new strip that I called The Funnies. A boy can do wonders with a pair of scissors and a stick of glue.

And people can do similar feats with a foreign film and some editing software. "Kung Pow" was basically the movie version of The Funnies; you take old footage, shoot some new footage, do some voice overs and you've created a whole new flick! The final product hasn't exactly aged well, but I still appreciate its remix / re imagining attitude (and so did my cousins when I showed it to them).

It's that very attitude that makes me love this digital renaissance so much.

"President Wolfman" is not on the juvenile level of humor that "Kung Pow" lived on, but it does share a similar spirit. You see, the filmmakers took footage from public domain films - the majority of which coming from "Werewolf of Washington" - hired some voice actors, wrote a new script and put together what I can only best describe as a joyous romp. This new story follows President of the United States John Wolfman, as he deals with a popular piece of legislation that would sell America to China (marketed to the country as Chi-merica) in an effort to erase our debt. Oh, and he's also a werewolf.

Political satire can be hard to do without hitting the audience over the head with some kind of message, but "President Wolfman" is only interested in making you laugh at how ridiculous it all is. I once did a speech for public speaking class where I announced my candidacy for President. I laid out a goal, where not only would I stop the War in Iraq, but I would make it up to the country by offering a product placement with Pepsi; change the name of their capital to that of a soda, and you've got reparations. Of course, I was just being cheeky, but it also made a good point about where we were at as a country at the time - our ignorance towards a region of the world we didn't understand.

We see Chinese officials as classic racial stereotypes, tv commercials used as propaganda against its own people (us) and a congress that just likes to party. Sure, it's somewhat cartoonish in its presentation, but it really does nail certain things on the head; our national mindset towards other countries and races is still pretty tasteless, our government and media have no problem manipulating the voters into agreeing with anything they want and the only way a President can accomplish something is by morphing into a beast. This is my kind of political / social commentary. Through silliness, there is truth.


PW LocalScreen promo from Mike Davis on Vimeo.

The movie is also very aware at what it's doing. At one point, a sequence involving an emergency pregnancy is shown. This piece of footage has been circulated all over the internet, and really doesn't forward the story in any way. It's clearly meant to take the audience out of the film for a moment, and realize how much fun the filmmakers are having. One of the most obvious wink winks I've ever seen, in one of the most enjoyable projects I've seen in years.

I almost want to dust off my copy of "Kung Pow: Enter the Fist". Almost. Maybe I'll give "What's Up, Tiger Lily?" a view. Or maybe I should grab a newspaper (while I still can) and cut and paste away. Ought to be fun, no matter what I choose...

3/5 *'s