Well, the current festival I am working (Tribeca) announced that the festival would be postponed, after Gov. Cuomo made a speech and banned gatherings of over 500 people (so yeah, basically we were done). But, silver lining, we were only postponed, and we have some clean up to do, so those of us already on contract are still employed through May 1st. My next gig was also canceled (Seattle International Film Festival), so once that May 1st date hits I’m officially unemployed, and with things up in the air, who knows how long my Industry will take to recover. I feel like the universe is like “look, just finish your novel already”. Geez! Okay, I’ll work on this.
I want to add that I am also so grateful for my housing situation this year. I’m with good friends and we get along amazingly and have played card games, watched the first season of Mad Men, various episodes of 30 Rock, Broad City, and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Plus we can also just chill and have reading time or just not talk and watch the dog play.
The news is changing just about hourly, so stay safe everyone, and wash your hands.
What I’ve done during Quarantine:
Catching up on some of my film lists and shows.
Film lists: I have a binder and a spreadsheet of different film lists I’ve come across over the years and slowly chip away at them. A few have overlap which is helpful.
One list I kept when I considered applying to SFSU Dept. of Cinema Graduate program – a list of films they wanted you to be familiar with. I printed it out and it’s 6 pages long. I’ve been working on it for over 10 years, but not rigorously. Here’s what I watched from that list:
Within Our Gates, dir. Oscar Micheux (1920). The earliest known surviving film directed by an African-American director. I enjoy Silents and reading up on this, I very much agree that this was a reaction to DW Griffith’s Birth of a Nation.
Birthright, dir. Oscar Micheux (1939). A remake of Micheux’s 1924 film of the same name, which is lost, the first two reels of this were additionally lost. There are nightclub scenes that include some very scantily dressed women dancing, and I’m curious about the censors when they made this.
The Naked Kiss, dir. Samuel Fuller (1964). Fuller’s work is interesting, considering the time it was produced in (the Hays Code still in effect). A film about a prostitute that leaves her pimp for suburbia and a better life. Things are looking up and she gets engaged, but then discovers her fiance is a pervert and then things get terrible.
Not on the list, but checked ’em out:
Fighting With My Family, dir. Stephen Merchant (2019). I remember when this was our secret film at Sundance last year (that the Rock spoiled on his Instagram), and that it had really positive reviews. Like everyone else, I’m a growing Florence Pugh fan, plus Lena Headey and Nick Frost – this was very heartwarming and I totally recommend.
Ocean’s 11, dir. Steven Soderbergh (2001). I’ve seen this one many many times, and it’s always nice to watch a good film that takes place in my hometown (they are few and far between, let’s be really real folks). Plus, the cast!
Newsies, dir. Kenny Ortega (1992). So I had never seen this before, but my roomie loved it as a kid so I rode the nostalgia wave with her. It was very fun to watch with someone so into it. The songs were better than I anticipated, and both young Bill Pullman and young Christian Bale! Swoon.
Hook, dir. Steven Spielberg (1991). My first Netflix party viewing! A group of us that worked a mish-mash of festivals together, so it was fun chatting with a bunch of people together with a film that is another comfort food type film.
Groundhog Day, dir. Harold Ramis (1993). Film Church! Though every day feels a little like this at the moment. It was fun to watch with my Film Church peeps, even when 3 of us chose the same icon lol.
Sleeping Beauty, dir. Clyde Geronimi (1959). Probably the one film in my life I’ve seen the most. It’s a comfort food sort of thing– I feel like the art gets better as I get older, and has one of the more complex scores of a Disney film, being variations on Tchaikovsky.
Shows:
Harlots, 2017 (season 3). If you love a trashy drama and period dramas, this is totally for you. I binged the first two seasons last summer before the third dropped and am just catching up now. It just drips with melodrama and beautiful clothes. Like if Jerry Springer or Dr. Phil or any of those took place in the 18th century. So many cat fights! And definitely not one for the kids.
Man in the High Castle, 2016 (season 4). Watched the first two, and it’s great, but wasn’t in the mood at the moment, so I’m gonna hold off a bit.
The New Pope, 2016 Season 2 Finale. I love Paolo Sorrentino’s style. He’s so on the nose visually, and sometimes a bit meta. This was a great season finale, and I actually enjoyed how it ended. Would love another season, because Jude Law is pretty hot in this, but will not be disappointed if there isn’t.
Westworld, 2017 Season 3 premiere. Lots to set up for the new season, and Tommy Flanagan! I’m on board.
The Tick, 2016 Season 2. Had started this season a few months back and finally finished it. They left it with a cliffhanger so I don’t think they anticipated not being renewed. I enjoyed it, but not as much as the cartoon or the other incarnation. Would have liked to have seen more though.
Mad Men, 2007 Season 1 (Rewatch). One of my roommates hadn’t seen the show, so we binged the first season together. It is a masterful show, with the character development over the first season and the period accuracy.
Killing Eve, 2017 (Season 1). It took me a moment to finally get to this one, and it is so good! Phoebe Waller-Bridge is quickly becoming one of my heroes for story writing/creation (along with Tina Fey, Carrie Fisher, and Emma Thompson to name a few.) I’m enjoying so far!
Agatha Christie’s The Pale Horse, 2020. This Amazon two-parter really twisted up the Agatha Christie story from what I read of the original novel summary, and honestly turned out to be a bit disappointing.
Books:
Finishing All the Birds in the Sky, Charlie Jane Anders 2016. I wanted to like this more, but I may have also been distracted while reading. I enjoy Anders’s style, so I’m definitely going to pick up their next book.
Starting If on a winter’s night, a traveler, Italo Calvino 1979. I enjoyed The Baron in the Trees, and this was on a list so I picked it up. Very enjoyable so far.
Hit me up with what you’ve been reading and watching!
Redheaded Rewrites 