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Show I r i r r r r r r r r r r p-p r r r r v v r r r v r r ' pp rrr rr r"r rrrrrrrr'rrrri',rri"rrrmrri'pri'rr rrrrrrr 'n'.' .'ry Wednesday, January 26, 2000 Film Reviews: Park City shoots first Pair of Slamdance take a lot of dough to by Josh Chin OF THE RECORD STAFF Money is what it's all about. Even if you are an artist. Even if you are an independent filmmaker attending one of the many festivals taking place in Park City this week. The ubiquity of limousines and designer clothing, the inflated food prices, and the general flash and dazzle of the Utah film fest scene all send the message that money matters in this business, perhaps more than anything else. But. then again, maybe it doesn't. does-n't. At least, not to some. Slamdance has brought two movies to town - "R2PC: Road to Park City" and The Target Shoots First" that challenge chal-lenge the hegemony of economic concerns, con-cerns, in the film and the workaday worlds. Both are cheaply made, both are hilarious, and both are worth the trip to the TMI main iewing room. R2PC: Laughter as medicine Hollv wood has always been willing to make fun of itself. By turning a critical and comedic lens on the internal workings of the film industry, movies like " Sunset Boulevard" and ' Get Shorty" have enabled those in the business of making movies to laugh at their own absurdities. Now that the indie film scene has risen to such economic and social heights, the film fest community commu-nity is also in need of some therapeutic, thera-peutic, self-directed laughter. At least, that seems to be the logic behind the making of Bret Stern's " R2PC a satirical pseudo-documentary that covers the trials and tribulations involved in trying to make a Sundance-worthy film. "Basically, we just wanted to make people laugh." says Stern, a New York-based cinematographer and Director of Photography who began his filmmaking career by blowing up his toys with fireworks and recording the explosions on v ideo. Stern's film follows John, a bumbling Ben Stiller-esque film-t... film-t... iking everyman, as he tries to make a movie that he can bring to Park City. The film is composed of fake documentary footage interspersed with actual interviews inter-views with real filmmakers and is based on Stern's joke of a book. " How To Shoot A Feature Film For I'nder $10,000 And Not Go To Jail." And it does make people laugh. Indeed, it is almost over-tilled over-tilled with hilarious moments that make audiences want to cringe and guffaw simultaneously. At times, the movie becomes bogged 'FREE" IN-HOME ESTIMATES TtMtjT5TT15RrBt5Mf j i i -r bist am bistbcy rsr"" IJ.U ft -ISO. ft " SALT .SHOVUtOOM 2432 So. State 487-5662 GLADSTONE DECORATIVE ANTIQUES Chic Rustic Extravagant' JoAJfite-6fa Mia1. iSV-t6hOOZS Poor Copy flicks prove it doesn't do movies right dow n in its attempts to make light of the filmmaking process, but a few choice sequences more than make up for tt. One is a scene in w hich John tells his mother that he has quit his job to become a filmmaker. She initially assumes that he has come to tell her that he is gay and begins spouting her support for his new lifestyle. When John finally reveals why he is talking to her and that he plans on going to Sundance, she transitions, without skipping a beat, into telling him that he has to be gay to win the festival. "R2PC" suffers from the same debilitating self-consciousness that afflicts its main character, but this only makes the film better, as evidenced evi-denced by a sequence in which a friend of John's tells him that he should shoot his film like the French do. The movie immediately immediate-ly switches to a series of jumpy, erratic black-and-white shots that mirror the style favored by people like Rent' Girard the famous French New Wave director. "R2PC may. at first glance, seem humorous only to film insiders. insid-ers. Stern claims that such is not the case. "We've found that a lot of people who are not even in film laugh at it," Stern says He explains that this is because it mirrors mir-rors the embarrasNing. awkward process of starting any career. In actuality, the punch lines in R2PC are more likely to induce laughter in those with at least a little bit of film knowledge But this shouldn't be a deterrent to anyone who has observed the film fest phenomenon in Park City the past few years. John Veiner. the actor who plays the protagonist, describes the film as cathartic." This may be equally true for locals who have dealt with the industry-types who swarm Park City in January as it is for those who actually make the films that come here. The Target Shoots First: Subversion and Subjugation With the popular documentary "Roger and Me." Michael Moore proved that one can expose the hideous underbelly of big business, busi-ness, have fun and make a movie all at the same time. With "The LAKE OGOEN 732-1666 1800-444-6555 o it i - i - The Park Target Shoots First," Chris Wilcha has proven that you can do all of this on a minimal budget The story behind ''The Target Shoots First" is simple. Wilcha graduated from college in the early '90s with a useless degree in philosophy and a gift from his parents a Hi-8 camera. He then took an entry-level position the marketing department of Columbia House (the massive mail-order music club) and began filming at work. 200 hours of tape and a few years later, he had a film praised by media and applauded by audiences. Because of the w ay it was shot (basically home video footage), "Target" is less than dazzling on the visual level. The editing is pretty straightforward nothing you couldnl accomplish with a VCR. a little patience and some wit. But the end effect is wonderfully wonder-fully funny if not somewhat thought-provoking. The film convers the entire period of W'ilcha's employment at Columbia House, from his first day to his eventual resignation. It begins somewhat slowly, taking a long time to introduce the dreary drea-ry details of thf job and the other employees, but picks up w hen the Nirv ana craze hits the music charts and Wilcha and some of his twenty-something co-workers are asked to produce an catalogue magazine that covers the company's alternative music offerings. From this point on. one cannot help but delight in the hijinks as Wilcha and his band of sometimes-merry -sometimes-ornery pranksters do every thing they can to undermine the sterile and exploitive marketing strategies of their employer. The film is populated popu-lated with a number of jaded and 1 WhklJE 31888 241" W17 nwtatoMV Mr taw bttn Man StitM hr cW AMI cnftSK 0 ) WcrrE IWcEftL xxxffrr- - IlaM I Jl 1MHIV II : . VTL I 1 1 m 11 -j- ir .rwv 1 1 mm Ikf Mt-7CMSI Record engaging characters who perfectly capture the conflicted, sarcastic, absurd attitude that accompanies working for a stifling and profit-obsessed profit-obsessed company. Perhaps one of the most precious pre-cious scenes, and an audience favorite, is the one in w hich Wilcha1 dad arrives at the Columbia House office for lunch and slaps his son five out of misplaced mis-placed fatherly pride while Wilcha narrates his embarrassment. Wliile extremely funny, the real value of "Target" is the fact that it is exactly what everyone who works in a dysfunctional office wishes they could do. The extraordinary thing about Wilcha is that he actually had the guts and the inclination to carry a camera cam-era to work w ith him and record the ridiculousness. "Initially, it was sort of nuisance, , but it eventual-I eventual-I ly became 1 invisible," J Wilcha - explains, "i was just the dork with the , camera." -I .' ' Unfortunately. economic con-. con-. cerns have reared their ugly head. Ss Despite consid- erable atten tion from the press. "The Target Shoots First" has yet to make a profit and money matters have forced Wilcha to return Columbia House (a revelation that sent chuckles rippling through the audience at the Slamdance premier pre-mier of "Target"). Likewise, Stern has vet to turn "R2PC"into a cash cow. Nevertheless, both films stand as solid evidence that it is possible to make good movies without much money a realization that may be reassuring for many in light of the glamour and glitz that have descended upon the Park City film fest scene. -R2PC Road to Park City" is screening at Slamdance today at 9:30 a.m. "The Target Shoots First" sadly had its last regular Park City screening yesterday, but look for it to appear during the award winners screenings at the end of the festival, as well as at other film festivals throughout the U.S. 1377" H m 995? v coton wy bi teMun crrr riu HiRnoa ironc iraoMiAjE PttfaaPrtct iwuaoy ptdeaPrtet r-r Pwuct Prtet onr799 1 RW7irif799 'VCWm CQ99 r II X fnh I iCStw lftr I Childre n are prone to getting ear infections, especially during winter, and chiropractic care can help It helps maintain a healthy nmtus svslem and increases their immune svstem Chiropractic may Help prevent problems, and can assist the body in healing It s sate for children, is a great alternative to meditations, and may be the solution for chronic problems Call today to schedule an Phillips Chiropractic wife PureUr - 1 comfort furnishings 435.647-5880 SALOMON SALOMON X .que tt 8am i.qe .sm Mt ii.r Som mm WW jCO0C"5 K-oty Soon? 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