Google
 

Will Academy Award nominees include San Diego’s Destin Cretton?

January 30th, 2010 by Scott Marks

When the Motion Picture Academy announces its nominees on Feb. 2, don’t be surprised if San Diego’s “Sundance Kid,” Destin Cretton, turns out to be an Oscar contender. The 31-year-old director of the dramatic short “Short Term 12″ could soon go down in history as South Park’s only Academy Award-winning resident.

So far, his film has racked up seven awards at festivals across the country.

“Boston was our first audience award, so it’s nice to know that normal people like the film, too,” Cretton joked about winning the Audience Choice Award for Best Short Film at Boston’s 2009 Independent Film Festival.

In addition, “Short Term 12″ took home another audience award at the Gen Art Chicago Film Festival, special mention at both Aspen and Chicago, a Jury Prize at CineVegas and Best in Show at Seattle and Sundance.

Why did it take a year for the Academy to catch on?

According to Cretton (and the Academy’s bylaws), in order to qualify to submit to the Academy Awards, “you have to win one of their qualifying festivals. Sundance and the jury prize at Seattle International Film Festival qualified us to win,” Cretton explained. “That’s how they narrow down the number of short films that they allow to be submitted.”

“Short Term 12″ is a knockout: a semi-autobiographical tale of a supervisor at a residential facility housing 15 kids who have suffered from child abuse and neglect. Destin was fortunate enough to get actor Brad Henke (”SherryBaby,” “Choke,’ “World Trade Center”) to star as Denim, the leader of a staff that is only slightly less pressured than air traffic controllers.

Many of the kids are just one step away from “juvy.” In just under 22 minutes, his camera pinpoints crucial details, befitting a far more experienced director, and skillfully tells us everything we need to know about these characters.

He did that before with his feature documentary “Drakmar: A Vassal’s Journey” (2006), made in San Diego with then-partner Lowell Frank. Lauded by local critics, the story of a fiercely committed boy hobbyist went on to HBO after director Bennett Miller (”Capote,” “The Cruise”) came to San Diego for an award and was given a copy of the film by Cretton. (Fortunately, Cretton had brought a screener with him.)

Writing and directing movies wasn’t even a blip on Cretton’s radar when he was picking pineapples near his hometown of Haiku, Hawaii. Soon after Cretton graduated from high school, he moved to Ocean Beach and attended Point Loma Nazarene University, where in 2001 he received a B.A. in communication.

Continue reading Will Academy Award nominees include San Diego’s Destin Cretton?

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Filed Under Interviews, Rants

Random thoughts on Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Richard Nixon and “Il Divo”

June 26th, 2009 by Scott Marks

Last month my computer died. This month, my new computer caught a virus. It’s in the shop, as they say, and I should get it back by Tuesday. AAARGH! If I’m gone over the next few days, you will know why. In the meantime here are a few random thoughts concerning movies and names in the news.

For those of you living in San Diego, Paolo Sorrento’s “Il Divo,” my vote for best picture of the year (until “Shutter Island” arrives) opens today at Landmark’s Ken Cinema, It’s a whopping tale of a stagnant leader the likes of which I haven’t seen since Bertolucci’s ”The Last Emperor” and at 105 minutes it’s tied with “Land of the Pharaohs” as one of the shortest epics on record. Unless you are an expert on Italian politics, this will require a second, third and fourth viewing.

__________

An earlier tape finds Bob wishing Mr. President a Happy Birthday

News arrived earlier in the week that fresh excerpts from the Watergate tapes were going to be released. I sat through an hour of Anderson Cooper to find one 30-second clip concerning Nixon’s thoughts on abortion read by the host.

Thursday I was all fired up when Chris Matthews took to the airwaves with actual audio portions. First thing out the gate, Bob Hope, right here!

Hey, Bob put in a call to the Oval Office and he and President Nixon talked briefly about the 1973 release of POWs:

NIXON: You know, it makes—you know, after all the business that you and I have taken through the years, it makes you feel pretty good, doesn‘t it?
BOB HOPE: Oh boy. Oh, it‘s just—it‘s (AUDIO GAP) a thrill. It‘s just a thrill.
NIXON: And the main thing is, apart from—apart from the personal thing, Bob, it‘s so good for the country. The country could not lose this war.
(INTERFERENCE)
NIXON: We had to win it.
HOPE: What they did for this country, you know, this—and it emanates from you, your strength and how right you were.
NIXON: Our enemies respect us. Our allies now trust us.
HOPE: Isn‘t that something?

Minutes after this tape was broadcast, Michael Jackson was dead.

A source close to RH2 Entertainment, who begged that his name not be divulged, told EC that Mr. Hope was reluctant to let this news leak out. In light of that “commie punk Obama’s” efforts to undo George W. Bush’s fine work, Mr Hope felt that if this information were to fall into the wrong hands it would bring about a speedier resolution to the war.

Hope needed a diversion. Instead of bringing down another public landmark and risking the lives of thousands of Americans, Ol’ Ski Nose put out a hit on the Gloved One.

Bob was there to meet MJ at the Pearly Gates. The two shook hands and as Bob patted Jacko on the shoulder he leaned in and whispered in his ear, “I thought it would be a good career move for you.”

__________

Was there a greater, more subliminally seductive masturbatory aid in the 70s than this poster. (Look carefully and you’ll see the word “S-E-X” airbrushed into Farrah’s locks.) Farrah Fawcett did for hair what James Dean did for red jackets and John Travolta mechanical bulls.

She was beautiful, but sadly forgettable. I never watched more than a few minutes of “Charlie’s Angels” and her film career wasn’t much to speak of. (The only two Farrah features I own are “Myra Breckinridge” and “Cannonball Run 2.”) Her beauty made such a strong impact that she remained in the headlines throughout her career. Sadly, the last decade was marked by news of scandal and sorrow in her relationship with Ryan O’Neal. She was the textbook example of what happens to a starlet once they lose their looks. Megan Fox take heed.

__________

So many people asked me why the Academy decided to up the stakes from 5 best picture nominees to 10. It’s so obvious. There are still a lot of fans out there that insist on seeing every best picture nominee. Since the industry has fallen on hard times Sid Ganis and the boys at Oscar, Inc. decided to boost attendance by doubling the amount of nominees. Don’t buy into this nonsense that the Academy was pressured into expanding the field by those who believe the best picture should be the biggest blockbuster. They could nominate 50 films and “The Dark Knight” would still not take home the gold.

__________

See you next Tuesday, unless they fix my computer sooner.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Filed Under Rants

keep looking »