Japanese band Sour employed an army of fans with webcams for this very innovative video.

Nice find ADK.

This is for you Dad, on your birthday, the latest person to answer a resounding Yes to the question: Is it time for Americans to care about soccer?

Via SoccerByIves

Micheal Gregory’s Auto Tune the News is so popular it got written up in Time Magazine. This week’s installment is really really really funny. I’m crying.

Thx p.trick

A very cool animated short.

Good find Mihae.

Steven Soderbergh’s latest feature distribution experiment The Girlfriend Experience has taken the non-traditional route of festival to video-on-demand to theaters. From my perspective, the buzz has all been around the distribution plan and the fact that the film features adult film star Sasha Grey in its lead role (check out her extensive and hilarious list of credits). I was a bit surprised to discover the film is actually quite excellent and has quickly joined my short list for best films of the year. Sasha does a very good job in the role of upscale call girl Chelsea, though the real credit quite obviously goes to the director. Soderbergh has crafted an emotionally honest character whose subtle insecurities paint a dynamic portrait. I was a big fan of the film’s unique style, which I would stop short of calling verite – yet employed a mixture of traditional and voyeuristic methods. There are a number of reasons that this style felt different (a big one is likely that it was shot on the RED camera which looks digital… yet beautifully digital), but what is most important is that all of the decisions WORK and actually add to the narrative instead of distracting from it. The same can be said for the choices made in mixing up the chronology in such a way that had me discovering elements of the plot until the very end. The film feels very relevant – like a snapshot of the times in the sense of topic (a lot about the economy, politics, etc.), but also definitely in its look and style. It will certainly be interesting to rewatch this film in ten years. Getting cohesive success from so many elements is quite a feat. Soderbergh should be commended – take a rich and dynamic character and put her in a simple yet topical story and then really nail a unique and appropriate style – and you end up with a great film.

Alex has got his photoblog up and running and right now it is packed to the gills with great shots like these two from last month’s amazing Sasquatch Festival. Check out the awesome power of the fisheye!

For a lot more from Sasquatch check out Danz’s flickrset and Alex’s flickrset. Nice work guys.

J.me reminded me I should be reading Monkeys For Helping for gems like that. And like this on titled “Serious Business.”

Wow I had no idea that Mitch Hedberg had written and directed a film. Check out the Wikipedia on Los Enchiladas! (imdb) for proof. The film will be screening at LA’s Silent Movie Theater as part of a Mitch Hedberg tribute this Sunday. While I won’t be going – I sure imagine it will be a fun event.

They aren’t all bad… but some certainly are. Pretty damn funny idea regardless.

Thx Jodi

then…

domo p.trick

I’m happy to present a continuation of the MyLA series with this guest post by SoCal native George Velasco. George has since moved on to the cloudier confines of the east coast (currently DC) but has been kind enough to give us his take on the city of angels.

My LA is omelets after midnight at Mel’s diner after a show at The Palace. My LA is fried chicken and waffles at 3am at Roscoe’s. My LA is meeting friends for a Lakers game at Staples Center, sitting in the last row loving every minute of it. My LA is wearing Jordan Farmar’s Laker jersey and not getting made fun of. My LA is ice cream and cookies at Diddy Reese. My LA is drinking Tecate on a friend’s balcony in Los Feliz. My LA is a late night kiss on the Santa Monica Pier . My LA is Saturdays at the Rose Bowl. My LA is UCLA basketball. My LA is short skirts. My LA is smoking cigars while watching the sunset on Venice Beach. My LA is seeing punk rock shows at the Roxy. My LA is the Town House bar in the 90291. My LA is tattoos on Ocean Front Walk. My LA is the guy holding the 99 cent pizza sign on the Venice boardwalk. My LA is the paintings of Brian Mylius. My LA is a can of Colt 45 at Stinkers and a tumbler of Basil Hayden’s at 4100. My LA is a mexican restaurant in Silver Lake. My LA is a rendezvous at the poolside bar at the Roosevelt Hotel. My LA is free parking in Beverly Hills. My LA is shy models at The Coffee Bean. My LA is Dodgerdogs at Dodger Stadium. My LA is t-bone steaks at Norm’s at any hour of the day. My LA is Cabernet Sauvignon with an intriguing stranger. My LA is wearing sunglasses inside a restaurant. My LA is wearing your sweatshirt hood up. My LA is driving a 1980’s convertible down Sunset Blvd while listening to The Doors. My LA is the view from the Getty Center. My LA is USC sorority girls with a sense of humor. My LA is presetting your car stereo to KROQ, KXLU, KLAC, and KCRW. My LA is Henry Waxman. My LA is Larry Flynt. My LA is art. My LA is love. My LA is family. My LA is home. My LA is better looking than Boston.

Westwood’s LA Film Fest is upon us again – running this year from June 18 to 28. As normal, it is a rather svelte fest (at least compared to the bloated bastard still going on in Seattle). Most of the highlights seem to be Sundance hold overs but there are also quite a few interesting sounding int’l flicks that I’m hearing about for the first time. It would have been cool to see a few Cannes premiers make the quick turnaround debut but hey. Here are my highlights starting with a few I hope to catch. Lemme know if anything interests you.

We Live in Public
I mentioned this Ondi Timoner (Dig!) doc in my SIFF’09 write-up and now plan to check it out. This Sundance premiering story of a group of people living underground and in front of the cameras plays in the evenings on Sun. 6/21 and Weds. 6/24. Lemme know if you can make either one.

Ponyo
Mentioned way back in September, Hayao Miyazaki’s newest animated masterpiece is the closing night gala for this year’s LAFF. That means it costs $100 to go to. F-that! I’m just gonna have to do my best to finaggle my way in.

High-Rise
I’ve been fascinated by Brazil’s high rise upper class since watching Manda Bala a few years back. This film claims to focus on exactly that. It plays in the evening Sat. 6/20 and as a matinee Sun. 6/21.

It Might Get Loud
Davis Guggenheim’s latest doc gives the viewer an backstage pass for a jam session between Jimmy Page, The Edge, and Jack White. Sounds Awesome. It plays Fri. 6/19 evening and Mon. 6/22 afternoon.

Sex, Booze, and Copywriting: Behind the Scenes of Mad Men
This conversation with Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner and some of the cast is sure to sell out. It happens at 7pm on Weds. 6/24. Lemme know ASAP if any of you MMMs (Mad Men Maniacs) wanna go.

More from LAFF’09 after the jump

Wow! The interactive video for the Cold War Kids’ great track I’ve Seen Enough just pushed the limits for anything I’ve ever seen as far as videos go. Click the colors on the top to chose from 4 different instrument per band member or click them to mute them altogether. This lets the user remix the song and video on the fly. Incredible! I could play with this thing all day.

Link

Thx Timoney!

Feed yer brain. Henry Jenkins is the co-dir of MIT’s Comparative Media Studies program and leader in field of Transmedia Stroytelling. There is some overlap here with some of the subjects touched on by Clay Shirky in his book Here Comes Everybody. I find myself fascinated by books and media that explore this forefront of the changing media and information landscape. Let me know if you have read/seen/x-casted anything lately that addresses this sort of thing.

Good find Seth.

With this week’s amazing Champions League Final completed, the less amazing FA Cup in the books, and the final weekend of Serie A and La Liga all wrapped up, the season of European Football is over. It has been a hell of a ride and Wednesday’s defeat of Manchester United by Barcelona was a fitting swan song. Although it has only been my first season of fandom, I’ve jumped in with both feet and I’m already ready for next season. But before the first kick of the 09-10 season, we get all the excitement of the summer transfer window! So who is going where? At this point we can only guess – so let’s take some guesses. Please feel free to chime in with your thoughts fellow soccer fans.

Well first thing’s first and that’s that Chelsea needs a new manager. While it is still up in the air, my money is firmly on AC Milan’s Carlo Ancelotti (if no other reason than because he looks so much like Guus Hiddink). So what does an Ancelotti Chelsea look like? Here’s my guess, no more Didier Drogba. I’m going out on a limb, but I think Drogba leaves Chelsea for Inter Milan and his old boss Jose Mourinho. So who is out there to replace Drogba? How about Valencia’s David Villa? We know Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich isn’t afraid to spend money.

Liverpool has already been rumored to have made an offer for ManU’s Carlos Tevez and while I do think they could use a bit more depth at striker (move Kuyt to the bench spot), I just gotta think the money is better spent on defense. Liverpool needs a strong Rio Ferdinand type to lead in central defense. For me the best case scenario would be to lure Gerard Pique away from Barca. I know that this is unlikely as Pique just left ManU for Barca last year – but after his performance in the Champions League, he has gotta be on the top of the list. What are other options for potential Liverpool defenders? How about Everton’s Joleon Lescott or Juve’s Chiellini. Basically anyone better than Jamie Carragher will do.

Around the rest of Europe, the hottest player up for grabs has got to be Frank Ribery. Expect all the big clubs to make a play for him but my guess is that it will be the deep pockets of Manchester City that lure the frenchman away from Bayern. That is, of course, assuming that Cristiano Ronaldo stays at Manchester United, which I suspect he will (if he leaves watch Ribery go there instead). So if Ronaldo stays at ManU and Ribery goes to ManCity, where does that leave Real Madrid? My prediction is that they spend their rich transfer budget on Inter’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Of course this assumes that Drogba does indeed go over to Inter… and now it’s obvious how fragile this house of cards I’ve built really is.

So these are just some thoughts on a few of the potential big moves. Will Adebayor stay at Arsenal? Will Figo or any of the other old euro stars come to MLS? Where will big names like David Silva, Juninho, and Gareth Barry end up? Let the summer excitement begin!

It is time once again for the massive Seattle International Film Fest, and once again I find myself in Seattle as it kicks off. However, with 395 films (!!) over three weeks I will only be able to catch a flick or two towards the beginning. Still I have poured through the catalog in order to give NWers a few recommendations of films that might be worth checking out. The fest website is great this year with trailers for many of the films on their own slick embedded player. Click the film title for the SIFF page and Enjoy!

(500) Days of Summer
Quite possibly the film I am most looking forward to this summer is music video director Marc Webb’s feature debut. This Sundance hit stars Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in an offbeat romance. Fox Searchlight is set to release the film in mid-July but if you can’t wait (why would you?) then catch it at SIFF during the fest’s last week.

We Live in Public
Ondi Timoner, director of one of my favorite documentaries ever, DiG!, finally has a new film out and it looks incredibly interesting. The film goes inside a social experiment that put 100 people underground New York to live and party together – all in front of a ton of cameras. Anyone who saw DiG! knows Timoner is one of the best at letting his subjects tell the story and this is sure to be a first rate doc.

Il Divo
This award winning Italian film is the dramatization of the true story of a highly influential Italian politician with deep mafia roots. The film won a Jury prize at Cannes last year. SIFF says: “Sorrentino’s stylized portrait of Andreotti manages to be seriously political but wraps its message in an entertaining package featuring wicked wit and brilliant cinematography.”

Maradona by Kusturica
What film festival would be complete without a soccer documentary? This is award winning filmmaker Emir Kusturica’s examination of the life and career of one of the best footballers of all time, Argentine Diego Maradona.

Continue to plenty more of SIFF’09

There have been rumors of a long awaited Arrested Development movie swirling around even longer than the TV DVDs have topped the Amazon charts. If it will ever see the light of day is anyone’s guess. On the other hand, this documentary titled The Arrested Development Documentary Project (pretty lame site btw) seems to have come out of nowhere. With the trailer touting its rejection from this year’s big fests, there’s a pretty good chance that the movie is nothing special – but at least it exists.

Coming next fall to NBC is the new comedy Community from Sarah Silverman writer Dan Harmon. With a cast featuring Joel McHale, Chevy Chase, and John Oliver, it looks like it could be a real winner. If this teaser featurette is any indication, it is gonna be funny as hell.

NBC’s Official Page

Ever wonder exactly what a “Hipster” is? Yeah me too. Well Look at the fucking hipster .com (actually latfh.com – if you spell it out you get some fugly bunny) has the definition in pictures for you – complete with all wonderful snarkiness you’ve come to expect from that sort of site. Enjoy!

Link – Good find j.me