pictures dept.

SUNDANCE WATCH from a distance.
Saturday, 21 January 2011

J.C.Chandor, who is a rookie director with great promise,
has leapt directly to the top level due to his good skill as a scriptwriter.
His directorial debut film, MARGIN CALL
has it’s world premiere at Sundance yesterday. 
  
J. C Chandor makin Kevin Spacey to act.  ©©JOJO WHILDEN
The competition section at the Berlin Film Festival,
which starts on the 10th of February, has been announced.
Although no Japanese film has been selected this year,
to me, J.C.Chandor is a notable American director with MARGIN CALL.
In spite it being his feature film debut,
it is crammed with many distinguished film stars,
like Liam Neeson, Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany,
Jeremy Irons, Stanley Tuschi and Demi Moore.
Having had it’s world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival,
it will have it’s international premiere at the Berlin Film Festival next.
It will then roll out across America in October,
with it’s eye firmly on the Academy Awards, of course.
In 2011 Chandor must be on the fast track
to become the red-hot director in Hollywood.
The story is a thriller that covers 24 hours in the life of the protagonists,
who take advantage of the 2008 financial crisis in America.
I heard that, if anything, it is a drama-documentary.
J.C.Chandor had only made a short film called DESPACITO,
for a cost of 5,000 dollars (only about 400 thousand yen)
seven years ago.  Then he was suddenly catapulted
on to this big budget film with a cost of 3.5 million dollars.
He is both director and scriptwriter on the film.
His next film will be PORTOFINO, which is
a Warner Brothers Studio production,
and will be produced by Leonard DiCaprio! Morever,
he is contracted to write another script for Warners.
I read that his father is a stockbroker,
who worked for Merrill Lynch for forty years,
so I think he is perfectly placed to write about inside traders.
Distinguished films stars want to perform in his films,
plus DiCaprio wants to produce his next one (and maybe even star in it),
plus the majors have their eyes on him.
So he is definitely in the industries “well-written script”.
Chandor said it took a considerable amount of time
to fund-raise,  in the 2009 to 2010 cold attitude
toward American Independent filmmaking,
despite having such a prestigious cast attached.
“I couldn’t write this script without the hard times,
but then it was difficult to make a film
because of the hard times. It was perfect irony”.
Bring him some cold beer, it’s on me!
Well, I certainly have high expectations of this film given the all-star cast.
However, on the other hand, I feel a sense foreboding for this film,
which is talking heads heavy, given my personal taste.
Great actors do appeal, but their performances are
underacted and monotonous, as the film’s setting is in financial circles.
I might loose my concentration watching a film.
This is my sense of smell from my experience as a non-native buyer.
Recent young Japanese audience loose their tension
on too many subtitles, that’s truly unfortunate.
Obviously, some of the film critics at the Sundance premiere really liked it.
I suppose it is like the independent version of WALL STREET.
Welcome Mr. Chandor!
I am really looking forward to seeing it.
I hope it is not a midnight screening in Berlin,
otherwise there might be a shroud of drowsiness in the theatre.
Though I know nothing about the financial world,
If the film takes me in there and drawn into
it’s world immediately from the beginning
and makes me feel I am on a roller coaster, thrill ride till the end,
then I would consider he must be he is the next Chris Nolan, but,
who knows?