So this morning, my nephew, Keir, send me this link, listing his fim as a upcoming Fall release in the New York Times! The purists among you can see it for yourselves, but here's what it reads:
UNSPOOLED A promising young director from N.Y.U.'s film school finds his lushly produced thesis film, a feature called "Bemoana," coming apart at the seams. Keir Moreano, a member of the crew, captured it all on his video camera for this documentary
What is so cool is to see it listed not as one of a group of indie film festival flicks, but flanked by big ass releases like "Nights in Rodanthe" and "The Duchess." This film is very close to me, because when I came out of prison and spent my first Christmas in Albuquerque, I spent an entire day with my nephew, helping shape the the narration. (And let me tell you, I was a newly sober nervous wreck at the time.) Later on I gave him extensive notes as the film gained shape in the editing process. I can genuinely claim to have influenced the process, but mostly the very fine result reflects his dogged commitment to his craft, to going back to it over and over at every stage until he got it right. This has been an invaluable inspiration to me, who used to be the same way in my 20s, until the weight of life and loss and disappointments and drug addiction took a heavy toll. I feel positively rejuvenated by his success. Check out the trailer of the film--it's grand. (I'm sending you to the site instead of posting it here in case you want to click around and read about it as well.)
And that's not all. Those fans of HBO and vampires among you may have caught the premiere of the new Alan Ball series: True Blood. If so, you may have noticed the opening credits--the shot of "God Hates Fangs" is hysterical. Guess who put those together? That's right, supernephew again.
I thought the show was good campy fun, but most critics weren't so kind. But there's three reviews we loved!
The opening credits are great -- bottleneck-blues thump over fretted images of snakehandlers, swamp shacks, midnight roads, trembling Pentecostalists . . ."
-- -- The Boston Phoenix
"The best thing about (True Blood) is their opening credits."
-- -- Entertainment Weekly
". . . amazing, hallucinatory opening montage."
-- N.Y. Times
" I'm so proud"
-- Uncle Marc
MCO 2008
I always feel a bit out of touch when I miss reading your blog for a few days, but there is delight to be had in having multiple entries to catch up on in a single reading.
Congratulations to your nephew, and to Uncle Marc whose influence is clearly a part of this talented young man. I had read with some interest reviews of TrueBlood. As a long time fan of vampire lore, as well as a fan of actress Anna Paquin (ever since The Piano) I looked forward to the series. I was also a fan of Alan Ball's previous production, Six Feet Under. I didn't judge the first episode as harshly as the critics, but I confess that I was highly impressed by the opening credits, and loved the irony of the "God Hates Fangs" proclamation. The good reverend and his church, Fellowship of the Sun are a wonderful parody of the the homophobic character of so much of allegedly Christian churches. I shall watch future episodes with the delight that comes from knowing that I know someone whose nephew contributed to this production. I get the pleasure of celebrity twice removed as I share with my local friends the news that my friend Marc's nephew is responsible for the cool opening credits.
As for the big kahuna, the film Unspooled, the premise is intriguing. I love pulling back the curtain and seeing behind the scenes. Who wasn't enthralled in the Wizard of Oz when Toto dragged aside the curtain and revealed what was really going on! I have to check my local listings for films opening on September 26. We have several theaters that specialize in showing independent films. I was captivated by the trailer and look forward to seeing the film.