Tales From the NY FIlm Festival

1. Closing Night On the RC with Clint and Matt

Sunday was closing night of the 2010 New York Film Festival. That is where have I been for the last month - quietly (and obsessively) shooting photographs of directors and actors at press conferences and in green rooms.  That's what I do every fall. As the unofficial official photographer for the Festival, I  photograph the action behind the screens, and at the same time get to see about 25 amazingly beautiful and sometimes agonizingly artistic new films from all over the planet. Over the next few days on this blog, I'll try to give you the rundown on what I saw, what you should go out of your way to see, and what you shouldn't waste your time on (but need to know enough about to hold up your end of the  conversation). Oh right, and my photographs as well.

Matt Damon arrives with his wife

Luciana Bozan Borroso

T.S.Eliot said "In the end is my begining".  So I'll start at the end. Closing night is a big event, and at 6:30pm Sunday night, I found myself in the middle of the Red Carpet madness, waiting for Clint Eastwood to show up and "walk the carpet" to promote his new film  "Hereafter", starring Matt Damon.  A little background info. This is not my usual beat -  hordes of photographers and entertainment television crews are lined up under a long horizontal party tent waiting to spend several minutes time with tonight's focus of attention. An event carefully organized and played out several times every evening around this city, these same players - photographers and video crews -  move about this town in search of the big money photo, and tomorrow night's entertainment sound bites and blog exclusives, following the carefully laid out rules of the stars and their publicists. They all know the game and are familiar with the pecking order at these events. 

Clint Eastwood talks to the press

The first group Clint Eastwood will walk by are the photographers. Separated into "pens" of about 20 photographers each, behind barriers with some in the front row and others standing behind them on their traveling step stools, they will have about 45 seconds to shoot off a barrage of flashes and call out "this way Clint...to your right, to your left", before he passes on to the next group.  Maybe Clint will do something more interesting for "pen 2", causing those in "pen 1" to grumble for a few more good minutes with him, before he eventually moves on to the hallowed video crews - the place where Mr. Eastwood will spend most of his time on the Red Carpet this evening. On the carpet, video is king. The photographers are the serfs.

Bryce Dallas Howard

But on this night I was given the equivalent of a photographer's "get out of jail free" card - a "Roaming Pass" that allows me to walk and shoot anywhere on the "carpet".  There are three of us "roamers"  tonight, and I  am given this pass because I shoot for the Film Festival.  The other two "roamers" are heavy duty pros who do this every night, so I will keep my eyes on them to guide me through this urban safari. Meanwhile we three  get to wait at the head of the Red Carpet for Clint Eastwood to arrive. He will walk right past us before he heads into the madness. 

Clint Eastwood arrives with wife Dina Ruiz

At 6:45 there is still no sign of Clint. The film is set to screen at 7pm, where the Lincoln Center audience is anxiously awaiting a first look at the new film "Hereafter". Matt Damon has already passed us with his very pregnant wife, and is talking to the television crews. He too is awaiting Clint. Every photographer is waiting to get the money shot, which tonight is a "2 shot' of Clint and Matt. This will be the focus of tonight's madness. When Clint shows up at 6:50 the fun starts, and the flashes in Pen 1 go wild. You can not imagine what it's like to try to stand in front of 25 photographers shooting 10 flashes per second on automatic pilot. This is the crazy modern world that is about as far away from the "decisive moment" as one can get. All these photographers will talk into a microphone on their camera, and read off the name of the subjects in the photo so their editor can ID everyone in the picture. These photos will be uploaded to their agencies wirelessly from their cameras in the next half hour. Time is of the essence. You will be looking at them in your local paper on your way to work tomorrow morning.

Bryce Dallas Howard and Cecile De France

The cast of "Hereafter" with director Clint Eastwood

And speaking of time, the audience inside the theater is still waiting for the start of the film. At 7:15 Clint Eastwood and Matt Damon are separately talking to video crews. Publicists are aware that there are still shots to be taken of Matt and Clint and the whole cast. But the whole cast is upstairs in the green room, having done the red carpet long ago. I am stuck against the photo backdrop of logos, trying to stay out of the background of the television shots. We three "roamers" are patiently waiting for the money shot. The photographers in the "pen" won't get it - they are done for the night. Word comes at 7:20 that the money shot will happen upstairs in the green room. We leave the red carpet and run ahead of Matt and Clint to be able to shoot them entering. And the green room is packed! None of the cast, producers, and friends have taken their seat. They are waiting for Clint and Matt. The audience in the theater is unaware of all this. At 7:25, the cast - Matt Damon, Bryce Dallas Howard, Cecile de France, and director Clint Eastwood are all brought into the photo section of the green room for our big moment. It will last 5 minutes at the most. It is a very tight squeeze just to stand back and get them all in the shot. In the middle of that bubble it will be very difficult to get everyone to look in your direction. But I've got to admit it's an adrenaline rush. Not my favorite thing to do, but every photographer should experience it at least once. We finish this whole thing up at 7:30pm, Clint and Matt will go directly into the theater to introduce the film, and the show will go on. One half hour later, I will be sitting alone on a park bench  amazed that I survived the madness.

the "money shots"

Tomorrow, more Tales (and photos) from the NY Film Fest 2010.

*One more thing - tonight, the film "Carlos" (about the terrorist Carlos the Jackal from the 70's), by the great French director Olivier Assayas (if you have not seen "Summer Hours" from last year, go directly to Netflix), will be screening on Sundance Channel in three parts - part 2 tonight. I saw it at the Festival last week. Perhaps there will be repeat screenings. But in part 2, there is great use of the Dead Boys song "Sonic Reducer". I know this is late notice, but be sure you catch it somehow.

all photos © GODLIS

summer photography

Acropolis photographer, Athens 1972

So it's summer. You could set yourself up on a hill in Athens taking souvenir postcard photos of tourists at the Acropolis. But that all sounds so ancient. Are these photogs out of business now? Is the Acropolis still there? Is there now an app for that?

While summer is still in full swing, here are a few summer memories from the Godlis archives. Get out the barbecue, get out the sunglasses, get out the camera...

Brian demonstrates jellyfish grabbing, Massachusetts summer 1975

Hassid, Coney Island - summer 1979

Fenway Park, Boston summer 1975

Sadie walking across the Brooklyn Bridge - summer 2001

Abandoned Roadside Cabins, Adirondacks  summer 2003

Central Park, Summer 1980

Coney Island, Summer 1978

Eileen, Coney Island - summer 1979

Watching Minor League Baseball -  Massachusetts, summer 2009

Coney Island, Summer 1990 - shot on plastic mail order camera

Quatorze Juillet...pardon my french

Ooh La La! C'est la vie. There I am in Paris in the 1990's. Vive la difference! Quel heure est il?  Bien sur. OK, to honor Bastille Day, what better than a little Jean-Luc Godard . Here is  the trailer for "Vivre Sa Vie" starring the great Anna Karina, from 1962, en noir et blanc. LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!

Da Doo Ron Ron / LaLa Brooks of The Crystals at Film Forum!!!

LaLa Brooks with Phil Spector in the 1960's

LaLa Brooks last night at the Film Forum

         When the documentary, "The Agony And The Ecstasy of Phil Spector" now playing at the Film Forum, ended and the lights in the theater came up, in she walked - the other Great Voice fronting the Spector Wall of Sound - Delores LaLa Brooks. She was just 15 when she sang lead vocals with The Crystals on "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "Then He Kissed Me".  Answering questions at the Film Forum last night she looked positively radiant.  Born in Brooklyn and living in NY's East Village now, she talked openly about Phil and the Crystals sessions. About being on the road with The Crystals when they heard the Darlene Love vocal on "He's A Rebel".  How little room there was inside the Wall of Sound studio. About leaving The Crystals and singing "Aquarius" in the original Broadway production of Hair. About trying to get money from Phil. Like Darlene Love and Ronnie Spector, she saw little payment and no royalties, and had to eat from the studio vending machine while recording.  With any luck, Film Forum was taping and will upload as one of their podcasts. 

          The documentary itself is a must see - strange, in that it mixes in-depth interviews with the ultra-reclusive producer, beside Court TV footage of his murder trial.  J.Hoberman's review in the Village Voice is right on the mark: "Round-faced and wide-eyed, snugly fitted with a bowl-cut blond wig and ever eager to vent, Spector has the look of the imp off a Rice Krispies box." 

          Find out why he holds a grudge against Tony Bennet. Hear him imitate John Lennon. See the Teddy Bears performing "To Know Him Is to Love Him". Find out why he held Martin Scorsese's career in the palm of his hand. How he named the song Da Doo Ron Ron. And decide for yourself whether he shot Lana Clarkson. Teenage Tycoon Megalomania unleashed + Incredible music. Weird indeed. Go see it now!

          In the meantime, watch LaLa Brooks and The Crystals knock one out of the park. 

heat wave 4th

July 4th 1975 - Boston

After two days of brutal 100 + temperatures here in New York City - with the prospect of a 90 degree day tomorrow sounding like a relief - I'm reminded of this photo I took on July 4th in 1975.  If there's anything worse than trying to get through a heat wave, it's trying to get through a heat wave with a baby. I remember seeing this mom and kid at a MacDonald's in the Allston Brighton section.  I knew this woman was not having an easy day. Still I had to take this photo. The only one who noticed me was the baby. Hey I was just as hot as her.  This is what it is to endure a heat wave.  Even indoors, the air looks thick with humidity.  Definitely hot town summer in the city time. Sound familiar?

the 4th revisited

re: the July 4th photos I posted yesterday.  

July 4th is a street photographer's working holiday.  With Robert Frank's photograph "Fourth of July - Jay, New York" in mind, and camera in hand,  every year I walk through a world of flags, patriotism, parades, and hot dogs looking for one more shot to explain it all. 

July 4th,  1980 - Middleboro, Massachusetts

This photograph from the southeastern Massachusetts town of Middleboro is one of my favorites.  Middleboro, as it turns out, is the hometown of Lavinia Warren, who was married to  General Tom Thumb (yes P.T. Barnum's Tom Thumb) in 1863, at Grace Church in NYC.  So every year, they would commemorate Lavinia's wedding ceremony in Middleboro's 4th of July parade.  You really can't make these things up.  Taken 30 years ago, I can't help thinking that these kids, pretending to be dwarfs, are in their 40's now. 

From Harper's Weekly 1863

July 4th, 1975 - Nantasket Beach, Massachusetts

This photo, which I didn't post yesterday, is also one of my favorites.  I took it on a very hot summer night in the beach town of Nantasket, Massachusetts - site of Paragon Park.  This was the summer before I moved to NYC. This night photograph, with these gypsy types lit up by the amusement park lights, precedes and points to all the hand held 35mm night shooting I would be doing the next year on the Bowery.  

July 4th, 2010 - Onset, Massachusetts

And then there's this year's July 4th picture.  Actually shot on July 3rd, I believe it still qualifies for a July 4th pic if it's taken at the July 4th fireworks. This is the beach town of Onset, Massachusetts nearby to Cape Cod.  Standing atop the bluffs overlooking the beach, I shot this hand held night shot at 1/8th of a second to get the crowded beach lit up by fireworks. Totally a guessed exposure, I pass this info on for the benefit of all so inclined.  

Gotta go barbecue. A final July 4th roundup tomorrow...

the 4th

A few pix from 4th of July past & present.  More about these later. Got to go out now and shoot a few more.  

July 4th, 2010 - Onset,Massachusetts

July 4th, 2010 - Onset, Massachusetts

July 4th, 1980 - Middleboro, Massachusetts

July 4th, 1992 - New York City

ALL PHOTOS BY GODLIS

Exile, the Stones, Diane Arbus, & Robert Frank

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Where I Was At: George Romero at BAM Cinematek 5/15/10

George Romero at BAM 

Saturday at BAM Cinematek was the night of the living Romero.  In town for a preview screening of his new film "Survival of the Dead", George Romero entered the post screening hall to thunderous applause. Watching him waving back to fans as he carefully made his way down the steep balcony staircase to the stage,  the ultra tall Romero reminded me very much of Joey Ramone. Dressed in black and cool to the max, his modesty, honesty, and humor shined right through everything he said.

This new film was all action and gore right from the start. Everyone there - though admittedly true fans - loved all the twists and turns of this sixth installment in the 'Dead' series. An excited George Romero sounded like he was ready to make three more of these films right now.  In an engaging talk after the film he talked about his love of  his "slow undead creatures", the kind you can easily get away from. What these undead in fact do, he said, is expose the very human flaws of those who manage to allow themselves to get caught and eaten by them. Brilliant.

Meanwhile, next door at Brooklyn Academy of Music, the streets were lined with mobile video trucks that were there to broadcast a concert by The National, while Brooklyn hipster music fans roamed the streets like it was their night of the living dead. But where it was really happening was at the Cinematek, where the legend, George Romero, a very talented director who has done things his way for  a very long time, showed he is still at the top of his game, and ready to go higher.

all photos © GODLIS

Rebecca Lepkoff - photographer TODAY 5/13 IN PERSON!

She was in the Photo League in the 1940's, shooting extraordinary pictures on the streets of New York. Today - May 13th -  she will be at The Tenement Museum  on 108 Orchard Street, signing her book "Life On The Lower East Side". She also has an exhibition at Soho Photo Gallery on White Street in Tribeca, of her vintage prints, where I shot these pictures. She's in her ninth decade, and still clicking madly. Cancel your plans - get downtown today and greet a legend! 

ALL Photos copyright Rebecca Lepkoff

ALL PHOTOS copyright Rebecca Lepkoff

the fifth day of may

Four days after May Day, you just gotta start off your Cinco de Mayo with a listen to Bob Dylan's ISIS, circa 1975.  Opening up with,  "I married ISIS on the fifth day of May, but I could not hold on to her very long", this gem from Desire, is an ode to Bob's marital troubles, thinly disguised as a Marty Robbins' gunfighter road ballad. It is must listening every May 5th. Unfortunately for those of us living in the youtube universe, the greatest clip of this song from the 1975 Rolling Thunder tour, is missing the just quoted first verse. But this killer version does include Mick Ronson on guitar,  a wild-eyed Bobby Neuwirth facing down Dylan in white face paint, and a very young T-Bone Burnett onstage decades before he won an academy award.  As the song's long journey winds down, the last verse is intact : "I still can remember the way that you smiled, on the fifth day of May in the drizzling rain."   So go ahead, start your 5/5 off right...

And if you have a few more minutes to kill, here are two more versions. First the White Stripes (Jack White meets Jack Frost). Then a slightly bedraggled Bob Dylan (on tour after one year)  doing a full version that includes that wonderful opening verse. Happy Cinco de Mayo pardner.