joshua chamberlain

Category: film

  • poking the envy

    This past weekend, I went to a screening of the film, Poser, an indie feature produced by and featuring artists and musicians from Columbus, Ohio. First, I have to say, I was blown away by the film. It was truly impressive and one of the most original things I’ve seen…

  • Linklater on time

    Linklater has been one of my favorite filmmakers for some time now. From Dazed and Confused to The Before Trilogy, School of Rock to Boyhood, Linklater has always managed to capture youthful enthusiasm in tandem with the human experience of navigating time. While I’d always enjoyed his films, it wasn’t…

  • “inviting in”

    In a recent piece for Variety, Seth Rogen writes how Mills’ most recent film, C’mon C’mon made him rethink the old adage that good artists borrow and great artists steal. “[Mills] made me realize the best artists include,” Rogen writes. “Mike is the first filmmaker I’ve seen to actually credit…

  • summoning something

    Here’s a great interview Mike Mills gave on Bullseye with Jesse Thorn, in which Mills discusses how working on his most recent film, C’mon C’mon, was almost an act of summoning something otherworldly. “I don’t think I’m in any control of what I make or what I do. I feel…

  • how to have more than one success

    In a conversation on Illeana Douglas’s podcast, Matthew Weiner recounts asking Larry Gelbart the secret to having more than one success. Gelbart, famous for M*A*S*H and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, responded: Don’t do anything for money, don’t do anything you’ve done before, and don’t…

  • stepping through the door

    While it could certainly be described as pretentious, narcissistic, or even masturbatory, the Netflix documentary, Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond really shook me. Featuring unreleased behind-the-scenes footage, the documentary explores Jim Carey’s process of becoming Andy Kaufman for the 1999 film, Man on the Moon. While recounting his experience,…

  • Mike Mills on black & white

    Mike Mills has been one of my favorite filmmakers for years. From his intertextual citation to the naturalistic performances he captures, Mills is not just a master filmmaker, but a true artist. His most recent film, C’mon C’mon, continues his exploration of unconventional family dynamics, following an audio journalist who…

  • lessons from Mike Nichols

    I finally finished reading Mark Harris’s biography, Mike Nichols: A Life. A few takeaways: “I passionately believe that in art, certainly in theater, there are only two questions…The first question is: ‘What is this, really, when it happens in life?’ not what is the accepted convention…but what is it really…

  • we wear the mask

    It’s both chilling and appropriate that Facebook announced its name change and shift in business the week of Halloween. ‘Tis the season for all the mischief that accompanies wearing a mask. And Facebook has always been in the business of mask-making. It’s fair to say that most of us on…

  • pushing the button

    I worked a party at an expensive house in Hollywood this week. The front door was fifteen feet tall and latched automatically. Instead of twisting a knob, you had to push a button on the wall to unlatch the door and exit the house. One of my co-workers came to…