Where to watch the Oscars
0 Comments Published by Steven Friedman on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 at 12:39 PM.
Holland is basically a third world country when it comes to enthusiasm for - or even general interest in - large international (televised) showbiz-events, such as The Golden Globes, Emmys and of course The Academy Awards-ceremony.This may have something to do with our so-called Dutch calvinistic take on life (which sort of comes down to: be as normal and down-to-earth as you possibly can be - it translates very well to: boring as hell), but whatever it is; it bothers me because... well, as a film-geek and Oscar enthusiast, I want to watch that crazy Hollywood-baloney. And the fact is I'm not the only one like that over here.
Now this year's Academy Awards-ceremony actually will be shown live on a Dutch channel called Film1, but that's a subscription-only service (and I surely don't want to pay for a year's subscription just for the awards, I'm not that crazy), whereas the same show can be seen for free (on ABC) in the United States. Yeah, it's an unfair world sometimes. Then again, it's just the Oscars, right?
Film Festival Rotterdam
0 Comments Published by Steven Friedman on Wednesday, January 24, 2007 at 10:32 AM.
And so it starts again... For about ten days, Rotterdam (that's the city where I live) is host to one of the biggest film festivals in the world. Yes, I said the world. The 36th edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam is a public festival, showing dozens of feature films, shorts and weirdo experimental stuff from all over the world.I know, usually this time of year, it's that 'independent' Robert Redford Fest up in Park City, Utah that gets the most attention, but don't underestimate 'our' little festival. If you're really interested in independent cinema, this is actually the place to look. Many films in the main programme won't ever hit a cinema near you, simply because they won't get picked up by an international distributor (even if they're little gems).
As I'm pretty busy at the moment, I probably won't be able to see as many festival films as I'd like to. I've already booked tickets for the Korean film 'No Mercy for the Rude' (Yeui-eomneun geotdeul) from director Cheol-hie Park. Mainly because I think South Korean cinema is the most asskicking in the world at this moment. 'No Mercy' tells the story of a mute hitman who vows to kill only the rude (hence the title, I guess) and save up enough money for a tongue surgery. Sounds a bit familiar doesn't it?
In case you were wondering... I am still here. It's just that the holiday season was a very busy period (as it usually is, workwise and otherwise) and I didn't get around to updating this blog. I know it's sort of a blogger's sin not to refresh your site regularly, but hey, it was Christmas. And New Year and stuff, so that's kind of a valid excuse, isn't it?Anyway, I know there's some sort of supersticious rule that says you can't wish anyone happy new year after a certain date in january, but in case it's still allowed: have a great, healthy, successful and filmtastic 2007!
It looks like it's going to be a very interesting year, with many exciting projects in development. We're still working hard on finding investors for Fragma (there's a nice twist on this story, but more on that later) and I'm currently writing my ass off on a new and potentially great television series.
