PSIFS screening: Paper Heart + director Nicholas Jasenovec

Nicholas Jasenovec will be joining us for a special advance screening of Paper Heart on May 28!

The film doesn't hit theatres until August, but our guest has already snagged the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at Sundance, where the film was also nominated for the Grand Jury Prize.

If you attended, what did you think of the film?

Behind the Scenes with producer John Cameron

Did you meet John Cameron, the producer behind Fargo, The Big Lebowski & Lars and the Real Girl? We had a great turnout with 200 of our closest friends, and it was fun to have such an interactive audience.

What did you think? What did you learn? What's your favorite film of his?

Check out The Desert Sun article.

Behind the Scenes

Better knowledge makes for a better filmgoing experience. Be sure to attend our monthly Behind the Scenes speaker series, and in the meantime read up on the people who help create a movie.

NPR talks to Kokayi Ampah, the location manager who found the big, beautiful tree in Shawshank Redemption, for example.

Natalie Portman launches MakingOf.com, interviewing those in the know. Check out a few:

Director Michel Gondry


Costume Designer Ann Roth


Editor Ryan Brown

Producer John Cameron

We are very excited to present producer John Cameron on Tuesday, May 19 at 7pm as part of our new Behind the Scenes filmmaker speaker series!

Watch his movies (Lars and the Real Girl, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Rushmore, The Big Lebowski, Fargo, Army of Darkness), bring your questions & learn a little something about the filmmaking biz!

PSIFS screening: The Soloist

Directed by our very own Sonny Bono Visionary Award honoree Joe Wright, The Soloist is based on a true story about LA Times writer Steve Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.) who builds a friendship with a mysterious street musician (Jamie Foxx, who presented Wright's award at the 2008 PSIFF Black Tie Awards Gala). It has been receiving buzz as the spring film to watch.

Read the LA Times series which inspired the film.

What did you think? Is it an early Oscar contender?


FAQs:
• Actor Jamie Foxx was trained for the role by LA Philharmonic cellist Ben Hong who is a friend of Nathaniel Ayers and thus familiar with his style; Alyssa Park trained him for the violin. Hong performed the cello tracks, altering his performance for each stage of Ayers' life.
• Extras were in fact pulled from homeless outreach centers, including the Lamp Community. SAG actors were mixed in when specialized skills were required.

Screenwriter John August

We are very excited to present screenwriter John August on Tuesday, April 14 at 7pm as part of our new Behind the Scenes filmmaker speaker series!

Watch his movies (The Nines, Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Big Fish, Charlie's Angels, Go), bring your questions & learn a little something about the filmmaking biz!

Catch up with John August on his web site.

PSIFS screening: Is Anybody There?

John Crowley, award‐winning Irish director of Boy A and Intermission, directs his third feature film, Is Anybody There?

In 1980s seaside England, 10‐year‐old Edward's (Bill Milner, young star of last year's PSIFS screening Son of Rambow) parents have turned their house into a retirement home. While his mother struggles to keep the business afloat and his father copes with a midlife crisis, Edward becomes increasingly obsessed with the afterlives of the residents when they die. It's a lonely existence until he meets Clarence (Michael Caine), a retired magician and grieving widower who refuses to gracefully give in to old age. Writer Peter Harness drew from his own experience growing up in a retirement home.

Is Anybody There? was one of the PSIFS April member screenings.
What did you think?