Category Archives: In the Works

The filmmakers behind SMALL TOWN GAY BAR, BEAR NATION and FAT GIRLS turn their attention to the Continental Baths, which catered to NYC’s gay men in the aftermath of Stonewall.

The Continental Baths were a sign of newly won freedom and visibility, while at the same time a respite from continued homophobia and discrimination. They existed in the too-brief moment between Stonewall and AIDS, a time of hedonism but also of the embrace of gayness as a political and personal identity, alongside but not exclusively a sexual one. The Continental was part of this celebration, and is famous as the site of performances by now legendary gay-friendly performers like Bette Midler, known by some as “Bathhouse Betty,” who launched her career there. Director Malcolm Ingram and producer Ash Christian promise to explore the importance of this gay cultural landmark via archival and new material.

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First-time feature directors Heidi Burkey and Tim Larson go behind the scenes of a musical stage version of one of the most influential stories in 20th Century popular culture, enacted by 6th and 7th graders.

That story, of course, is STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, as realized by Anaheim CA’s Arts & Learning Children’s Conservatory. Their version is a musical parody, and the cast is populated by a diverse cross-section of tweens and early teens. As noted in one of the teaser trailers for the film, these early teenage years are a particularly challenging time, as the former little boys and girls deal with growing up and forming more distinct identities, developing more serious interests, and dating. Examining these kids’ stories against the backdrop of George Lucas’ space opera, Burkey and Larson promise to provide a unique way of looking at the challenges of adolescence.

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BIGGER, STRONGER, FASTER*’s director Chris Bell is working on a new doc exploring the drive to groom the next generation of athletes, beginning at younger and younger ages.

Using ESPN reporter Tom Farrey’s book, GAME ON: THE ALL-AMERICAN RACE TO MAKE CHAMPIONS OF OUR CHILDREN, as inspiration, Bell’s film, which has used the tag line “Bigger, Stronger, Faster, Younger,” looks at the way our culture has led parents to push their kids to become the next professional athlete, despite the odds against them – often putting their safety at risk through the use of steroids, and generally costing them their childhood. On the other end of the spectrum from these super-fit kids, Bell also promises to address the growing childhood obesity epidemic, and how to strike a healthier balance between the two extremes.

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Matt Wolf, the director of the acclaimed WILD COMBINATION, explores the historical and cultural development of the concept of teenager in his new film in development, TEENAGE.

Wolf’s film is based on Jon Savage’s 2007 book, TEENAGE: THE CREATION OF YOUTH CULTURE 1875-1945, which, as indicated by its title, traces the origins of the teenager far before the typically cited post-World War II period. In the mix are flappers and swing kids, sub-debs and Hitler youth, bright young things and juvenile delinquents, as revealed through teenagers’ own self-expression in diaries and through remarkable archival footage combined with artful recreations. The project has already received support from the PUMA.Creative Catalyst Award, Tribeca Film Institute, Cinereach, Jerome Foundation, Guggenheim Foundation, and LEF Foundation, which speaks to the promise it already shows in this unfinished form.

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First-time director Rachel Saltzman (though possessed of a number of production crew credits) attempts to tackle the adaptation of “the worst book ever written” in ATLANTA NIGHTS: THE MOVIE, creating a hybrid documentary/fiction work with echoes of AIRPLANE.

As recounted here, the origins of ATLANTA NIGHTS were in late 2003, when vanity press PublishAmerica insulted sci-fi and fantasy authors, leading a group of them to hatch a plot to write an unpublishable manuscript in order to demonstrate that PublishAmerica, despite its claims of professionalism, would nevertheless publish just about anything. The intentionally nonsensical, error-ridden result, titled “Atlanta Nights” by “Travis Tea,” was accepted for publication – an offer withdrawn after the hoax was publicly revealed. Saltzman’s film will mix interviews with the various authors responsible for the hoax with an attempt to bring a zany sensibility to the adaptation of the chapters making up the incoherent fictional story.

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San Francisco Bay Area filmmaker Max Good (assistant producer, THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN AMERICA: DANIEL ELLSBERG AND THE PENTAGON PAPERS) takes a distinctly different look at street art in his feature documentary directorial debut, focusing on anti-graffiti activists.

In VIGILANTE VIGILANTE, Good and producer Nate Wollman track down four men who have made it their missions to clean up their cities from graffiti in its various forms – artwork, tags, stickers, and posters – usually by painting over it. As a result, they’ve started to become condemned not only by graffiti artists whose work they destroy, but also by authorities and other critics who note that the anti-graffiti vigilantes are themselves engaging in the same behavior of their sworn nemeses. In 2008, Good noticed a particular back-and-forth battle being waged between one subject, known as “the Silver Buff” or “Buffman” (“buffing” is the term used to describe removing or painting over the street art), and graffiti artists in Berkeley and set out to get the story.

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Kristy Guevara-Flanagan, whose documentary feature debut about female adolescence, GOING ON 13, premiered at Tribeca, continues to focus on “girl power” by exploring female superheroes, and perhaps their most famous representative, Wonder Woman, in her new feature documentary.

Through an exploration of the seventy year history of DC Comics’ Amazon princess and other heroines, THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE AS TOLD BY WONDER WOMAN explores how our culture navigates female identity and empowerment, and the need for powerful, non-sexualized examples of women role models. The twists and turns of the character’s history and representation serves as a case study of modern women’s experiences. Featuring commentary from Lynda Carter, who played the character in the 1970s TV series; Lindsay Wagner, known for another popular female TV hero, THE BIONIC WOMAN; feminist activist Shelby Knox; comic book creators; and more, the film aims to provide a rounded view of women’s place in not only the superhero landscape but in pop culture in general.

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Director Gary Hustwit is in the midst of production on URBANIZED, the third film in his design trilogy which began with the acclaimed 2007 doc HELVETICA and continued with 2009’s OBJECTIFIED.

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