Let the good times (and film) roll....

In this week's New Times I have an interview with Josh Brolin of recent Best Picture-winner No Country For Old Men. Josh is debuting a film titled X, which he both wrote and directed and stars his daughter. It's a great film, which everyone can see on March 14 at 4 p.m. at Downtown Cinema. I talked to Josh the day after his film won Best Picture at the Oscars, which he seemed really happy about, but what was most impressive is that he came across as such a down to earth person. As a complete movie geek, I often wonder what it's like to work with people like the Coen brothers, Robert Rodriguez, and Tarantino. I can't help but imagine it as being a part of a very quirky, exclusive club. And, while Brolin described his colleagues as creative, he debunked my "exclusive club" myth a little bit. I think sometimes we don't want to see filmmakers and actors as real people. We want to preserve them as heroes who strut across a huge screen and make us laugh and cry and believe that we are, for a liminal period of time, elsewhere. And we need these heroes, of course. But the film festival has taught me that there is also something to be gained by drawing back the curtain and exposing more of the inner workings of the industry to us common movie lovers, if only because it inspires us to step behind our own cameras, meagerly purchased at Best Buy, and do what we can with them. Movies were unidsputably made for the screen, but the opportunity to come into greater contact with their creators and stars can only enrich our experiences of them in theaters.
That said, New Times' editorial staff boldly, though perhaps not wisely, decided to take on our own film project in honor of the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival. The result, a mockumentary about the making of a New Times Movie, can be viewed here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYSsfdUWp84 I did most of the filming for this on my personal video camera and Steve, our photographer, did the rest on his camera. Then, I took it home and edited it with software I have never used before. I think the New Times staff is proud of the result, but doubt that we will be giving the Coen brothers a run for their money any time soon.
Tomorrow, the festival kicks off with a train ride at Santa Margarita Ranch and a showing of Emperor of the North at 6 p.m. It sounds like a great event, unique among the many screenings that the festival affords, and a guaranteed unique evening. I'll have more to say tomorrow. 'Till then, see you at the movies!
-Ashley Schwellenbach