Film – Page 12 – Ted Mills

High school and college students gather to begin SBIFF’s filmmaking competition

January 27, 2015August 6, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

The 20 finalists for this year's 10-10-10 competition gather for a group shot at the Canary Hotel. Ten are from area high schools, and 10 are from colleges such as SBCC, UCSB, Allan Hancock and Brooks Institute. The 10 teams of screenwriters and directors have the length of the festival to shoot and complete a short film, with prizes for the winning four films. — The 20 finalists for this year’s 10-10-10 competition gather for a group shot at the Canary Hotel. Ten are from area high schools, and 10 are from colleges such as SBCC, UCSB, Allan Hancock and Brooks Institute. The 10 teams of screenwriters and directors have the length of the festival to shoot and complete a short film, with prizes for the winning four films.

Starting positions, everyone! The 12th annual 10-10-10 Student Competition kicked off yesterday at a press conference at the Canary Hotel, a day before the 12-day Santa Barbara International Film Festival begins. High school and college students get the span of the festival to shoot and edit a film to be screened on the final day of the film fest, with cash prizes and summer workshop scholarships going to the winners.

This year the competition has brought on a new sponsor, Relativity Education, part of Relativity Media, which is also hosting tonight’s opening film, “Desert Dancer.” According to programmer Mickey Duzdevich, the media company runs a summer workshop for film students and was seeking to partner with a film festival nationwide that ran a similar competition. The sponsorship may continue through the following years with the possibility of equipment loans during the week.

The theory of Eddie: Affable actor Eddie Redmayne on becoming Stephen Hawking

January 23, 2015August 9, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Eddie Redmayne received a Santa Barbara International Film Festival Virtuoso Award two years ago for his work on "Les Misérables." Ruven Afanador photo — Eddie Redmayne received a Santa Barbara International Film Festival Virtuoso Award two years ago for his work on “Les Misérables.”
Ruven Afanador photo

When Eddie Redmayne picks up the phone, he’s got handlers waiting outside, already prepared to take him to rehearsal. He’s had a full morning. On this particular Thursday, Oscar nominations have been announced and his portrayal of astrophysicist and all-around genius Stephen Hawking has earned him a Best Actor nomination and his co-star Felicity Jones, who plays Mr. Hawking’s wife Jane, a Best Actress nomination.

“I was in Los Angeles and asleep and I was woken up with this rapping on the door, and it was my manager at the hotel with a phone with a cacophony of screams from the team of people who have been supporting me for years,” he says. “I went from naught to 100 in the space of three seconds. I’ve been flying on adrenaline ever since.”

All in the family: SBIFF honors the film and environmental work of the Cousteau family

January 23, 2015August 9, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Jean-Michel Cousteau, along with son Fabien and daughter Céline, will be honored for their excellence in nature filmmaking. Ocean Futures Society — Jean-Michel Cousteau, along with son Fabien and daughter Céline, will be honored for their excellence in nature filmmaking.
Ocean Futures Society

The well-loved Wes Anderson film “The Life Aquatic” offered a parody of the ocean-bound family— the patriarch with his zeal for the open sea, and a family following in his footsteps, some with enthusiasm, some begrudgingly— and it worked so well because a generation knew the love-object of its satire, the Cousteau family. The real Cousteau family, now in its third generation (or fourth if you count their children), has wavered a bit from their grandfather Jacques’ mission, but they have never stopped putting the earth and the oceans first.

And so on Wednesday night, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival honors father Jean-Michel, along with son Fabien and daughter Céline for the many documentaries, non-profits and awareness they have brought while carrying on the family name. The Richard Attenborough Award, which the festival has not awarded for five years, will feature an evening of interviews and screenings.

A cinephiliac’s cornucopia: What to watch at this year’s SBIFF

January 23, 2015August 6, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

The late British star Alan Bates in a scene from "Sins of a Father" SBIFF photo — The late British star Alan Bates in a scene from “Sins of a Father” SBIFF photo

Happy 30th birthday Santa Barbara International Film Festival! Now expanded by one full day and moved up to open on a Tuesday, the fest that draws film and movie star lovers from all over keeps getting bigger and better. With 23 world premieres and 53 U.S. premieres, along with loads more films on offer, from shorts to documentaries and back again, it can get quite overwhelming, especially when time is of the essence and major decisions need to be made.

As of this writing, days and times have not been announced, so this is our cursory look at the upcoming line-up of films, section by section, with our favorites based on trailers, director reputation and spidey-sense. From experience, some films at SBIFF never see the light of day in terms of DVD, VOD or streaming after the fest circuit, so we’ve learned not to wait. So let’s get to it!

All hail the king: Legendary producer of Elvis Presley’s ’68 comeback special will be at local screening at Plaza playhouse theater

January 9, 2015August 10, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Elvis Presley in 1964 Associated Press Photo — Elvis Presley in 1964
Associated Press Photo

Very few people could stand up to Elvis Presley’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker, least of them Elvis himself. But legendary producer Steve Binder did. It’s a story he loves to tell, and it resulted in one of The King’s shining moments, the famous 1968 comeback special. After years of Hollywood movie musical pablum, the Elvis people saw in ’68 was revitalized, dressed in black leather and — in the section of the special that would become its most beloved — sat down with Scotty Moore and D.J. Fontana, his original Sun Records band, and jammed. That section influenced every similar acoustic set from MTV Unplugged onward.

Viewers will get a chance to see that special (with 30 minutes cut from original broadcast) in a screening Saturday night at Carpinteria’s Plaza Playhouse Theater, followed by a Q&A with Mr. Binder himself. This follows Mr. Binder’s previous appearance at the theater, where he screened the other famous show he produced, “The T.A.M.I. Show,” which showcased James Brown, The Rolling Stones and The Supremes. That screening, which was also a fundraiser for the theater, was sold out. No wonder they demanded Mr. Binder return.

Hundreds line up to see ‘The Interview’

December 26, 2014August 12, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Moviegoers wait in line Christmas Night for the screening of "The Interview" at the Arlington Theatre. KENNETH SONG/NEWS-PRESS — Moviegoers wait in line Christmas Night for the screening of “The Interview” at the Arlington Theatre.
KENNETH SONG/NEWS-PRESS

At the beginning of Christmas week, controversial comedy “The Interview” looked like a film doomed to obscurity, after threats made by the anonymous hackers behind the increasingly embarrassing Sony leaks.

But on Thursday night, following similar moves by independent cinemas across the United States, the Arlington Theatre screened a special 10:45 p.m. showing of the film, starring James Franco and Seth Rogen.

Jessica Lange kicks off SBIFF season: Actress honored with Kirk Douglas Award in opening film fest fundraiser

November 17, 2014August 13, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Jessica Lange poses for a photo with Demi Moore. Ms. Lange was joined by Kathy Bates and Ms. Moore for the Santa Barbara International Film Festival's ninth annual Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film, which was presented to the Academy Award-winning Ms. Lange. — Jessica Lange poses for a photo with Demi Moore. Ms. Lange was joined by Kathy Bates and Ms. Moore for the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s ninth annual Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film, which was presented to the Academy Award-winning Ms. Lange.

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival kicked off its upcoming 2015 installment two months ahead of time with its annual fundraiser at the Bacara on Sunday. The Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film ceremony honored actress Jessica Lange for her lifetime of work in the movies and did so with a gala dinner, a series of retrospective clips, and celebrity presenters. This was the ninth year for the popular event.

Currently, Jessica Lange is riding a career high as the central character in FX’s award-winning creepshow, “American Horror Story.” Because of its season specific stories, Jessica Lange has played a different character every season, from a spooky neighbor in the first one, to a cruel Mother superior in season two, a supreme witch in season three, and now the leader of a traveling freak zone in the ongoing fourth season. While other actors are resting on their laurels in their 60s, or playing to their familiar strengths, Ms. Lange keeps stretching her abilities, pushing herself to grander and more outré directions. And while Hollywood is having a hard time finding any meaty roles for women these days, Ms. Lange has owned her corner of the television world and won two Emmys.

Beauty and thrills: David Holbrooke’s Mountainfilm in Telluride on Tour film fest returns to UCSB with some local flavor

November 7, 2014August 17, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

In "The Balloon Highline" slacklining no longer seems to need the expanse of trees, crevasses or other earthbound objects — only some kind of helium and a cool buzz. Montaz-Rosset Film — In “The Balloon Highline” slacklining no longer seems to need the expanse of trees, crevasses or other earthbound objects — only some kind of helium and a cool buzz.
Montaz-Rosset Film

David Holbrooke, the director of the “Mountainfilm in Telluride Festival,” appropriately enough lives high on a steep mountain in the town of the same name. When we talk on the phone he’s bouncing back and forth from this interview to the hordes of trick-or-treaters making their way to his door, and he’s convincing them that the climb is worth it. Much in the same way, his festival — a selection of which comes to UCSB on Wednesday — sets out to convince people to get outside and enjoy life.

“Get up and out!” he says. “I don’t mean that in a bad way. I want people to enjoy.”

The enlightened mind Awakened Film Fest promises three full days of life-changing films

October 24, 2014August 19, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

"Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago" is an up-close look at the ancient spiritual pilgrimage known as the Camino de Santiago, or Way of St. James. Since the 9th century, millions have embarked on this pilgrimage across northern Spain. — “Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago” is an up-close look at the ancient spiritual pilgrimage known as the Camino de Santiago, or Way of St. James. Since the 9th century, millions have embarked on this pilgrimage across northern Spain.

Ten years ago, the documentary “What the Bleep Do We Know?” bundled together quantum physics and spirituality, brought in a slew of modern thinkers and went from an outsider documentary to a rousing success. Since then, the market for consciousness-raising films has expanded. So it makes sense that the Awakened World International Film Festival — a three-day combination film festival and conference — would honor the decade anniversary of this film. Executive director Barbara Fields also says our location also makes sense:

“We’ve done about 20 of these conferences in the same amount of years, all over the world,” she says. “But we picked Santa Barbara for this event because there’s an element here that somehow goes unappreciated, or is relegated to the ‘new age’, but this is a highly spiritual town.”

Image consciousness: Cathryn Michon’s new comedy film promotes positive body image

October 17, 2014August 19, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Melissa Peterman, left, and writer-director-actor Cathryn Michon star in "Muffin Top: A Love Story." Deraney PR — Melissa Peterman, left, and writer-director-actor Cathryn Michon star in “Muffin Top: A Love Story.”
Deraney PR

Do creators have to suffer for their art? Well, in the case of writer-director-actor Cathryn Michon, the indignities of a bad breakup and the levels to which she sunk to conform to ideals of beauty turned out to be a fertile ground for comedy. First a book and now a movie, “Muffin Top” is a “body image rom com” that takes a farcical look at a serious issue. The film gets its sneak preview this Monday, with a red carpet screening at Fiesta 5, with the select members of the cast and director in attendance.

“Muffin Top: A Love Story” is about Suzanne (Michon), whose husband dumps her for a younger, skinnier model. She’s helped by her best friend Elise, played by Ms. Michon’s real-life best friend, the Tony-winning (for “Hairspray”) Marissa Jaret Winokur. And the man Suzanne goes out of her way to woo is played by David Arquette. Other funny people in the cast include Maria Bamford, Dot-Marie Jones (“Glee”) and the recently passed and sorely missed Marcia Wallace.