Category: Movies

One for Ten: Traveling Online Film Series on Capital Punishment

oneten

Documentary filmmakers Will Francome and Mark Pizzey are traveling around the country to produce a unique set of documentaries on capital punishment in the U.S. As the filmmakers travel, they will create a One for Ten series of short documentaries about innocent people who were sentenced to death. These documentaries will be immediate, shot in one day and edited overnight in motel rooms. After each documentary is uploaded, viewers may contribute to the final versions of the films through suggestions, artwork, and other input.

As Fancome and Pizzey describe the project on their website: “One for Ten will be a completely new form of film-making, utilizing modern video technology, social networking, user generated content and a strong media and charity coalition to make what we like to think of as ‘democratic documentary'” They explain the project in more detail in the following video.

They will be on the road March and April driving across the United States, filming a different person every few days. For example, their blog recently announced that one of their movies will feature Kirk Bloodsworth, the first person who was sentenced to death who was exonerated by DNA evidence. They will release a new short film online every Tuesday and Friday. Below is their pilot 5-minute movie about Ray Krone, who was wrongfully sentenced to death in Arizona. Danny Glover narrates the short documentary.

Besides the interesting and cutting edge plan for the way Francome and Pizzey are making the movies, the project highlights problems with the U.S. death penalty. If innocent people can end up on death row, it shows that there are other underlying problems with the capital punishment system too. These and other reasons have led to states repealing the death penalty in recent years. Currently, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley and Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe are saying they would support ending the death penalty in their states too. And the Maryland Senate is close to voting on a bill that would repeal the death penalty. For more on the One for Ten project, check out the website or follow the project on Twitter.

Will you follow the progress as Fancome and Pizzey work their way across the country? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • The End of Maryland’s Death Penalty and “Green, Green Grass of Home”
  • Chronicling the Struggle for Justice in “True Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s Fight for Equality”
  • “Nebraska” and the Death Penalty
  • Dylan’s “Julius & Ethel”
  • The Journey of “Hang Me, Oh Hang Me” From the Scaffold to the Screen
  • The Killing of “Two Good Men”

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    Searching for Sugar Man (Missed Movies)

    Rodriguez Best DocumentarySearching for Sugar Man, which recently won the 2012 Oscar for Best Documentary, is one of those films where the less you know about it, the more you will enjoy the film. I was one of those who was unfamiliar with musician Rodriguez and watched the film Searching for Sugar Man based only on a general sense about the content of the film. So during the movie, I was engrossed in the story and felt like I was discovering a long-lost epic tale of a legendary musician.

    Searching for Sugar Man is about the search for Sixto Rodriguez, a singer-songwriter who released two albums in the early 1970s and then disappeared into obscurity after his music failed to find an audience, even though many talented producers and others thought Rodriguez was even better than Bob Dylan. The story might have ended there, but his music did find an audience in South Africa, where many people, suffering during the apartheid years, found a special connection with Rodriguez’s music. There are various theories about how his albums ended up in South Africa, but the one thing for certain is that many South Africans put him on a level with other famous international artists like The Rolling Stones.

    Searching for Sugar Man begins with the legend of Rodriguez and his disappearance, and then it follows several fans in South Africa who search to find out what happened to Rodriguez. Using old photos and new interviews, the film explores the power of music and myth. To reveal any more about the movie would ruin your enjoyment of the film. The trailer even reveals too much, so here are a couple of songs by Rodriguez to whet your appetite. Now go watch the film. (But if you must watch the trailer, it is here.)

    “I Wonder”

    “Cause”

    Perhaps Chimesfreedom will revisit Rodriguez’s music more in the future, but for now watch the movie first so you can enjoy the mystery and the discoveries in the film.

    What did you think of Searching for Sugar Man? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • New Documentary About Guy Clark
  • “The Staircase” Is a Fascinating Real-Crime Documentary
  • That Time George Kennedy Gave a Great Movie Its Name
  • Gary Cooper’s Three Oscars
  • “Paul Williams Still Alive” (Missed Movies)
  • Watch “Mel Brooks: Make a Noise”

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    Jimmy Kimmel’s All-Star Trailer for “Movie: The Movie 2V”

    Jimmy Kimmel Oprah Winfrey
    After putting together the biggest actors for the biggest fake movie in the fake trailer for Movie The Movie last year, Jimmy Kimmel has done it again. Following the Academy Awards, his late-night show Jimmy Kimmel Live featured the trailer for the sequel for the greatest movie never made. The star-studded trailer includes Jessica Chastain, Jude Law, Channing Tatum, Rachel Weisz, Bradley Cooper, Oprah Winfrey, and more. Check it out.

    If that is not enough, Kimmel later presented the behind-the-scenes story of the trailer in “Making of ‘Movie: The Movie 2V.'”

    What is your favorite part of “Movie: The Movie 2”? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Jimmy Kimmel’s “Movie: The Movie”
  • What Tarantino’s “Star Trek” Might Look Like
  • New Honest Trailer for “The Princess Bride”
  • Billy on the Street Thanksgiving Parade
  • Batman vs. Superman, Old School
  • Norm Macdonald’s Touching (and Funny) Tribute to Letterman

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    Video of Every Best Picture Winner

    rocky

    With the Academy Awards show this Sunday, February 24, everyone is wondering which movie will win Best Picture this year. Most prognosticators believe Argo will walk away with the big prize because it has been cleaning up with other awards. A few wonder whether Argo will win because Director Ben Affleck was not nominated in the directing category. Yet, while some pull for a dark horse like Silver Linings Playbook, it seems clear that Argo is the front-runner going into Sunday.

    I will not make a guess, but I do think this year was one of the best years for movies in recent years. In addition to Argo, I enjoyed many of the other nominated films like Life of Pi and Django Unchained. But if I had a vote for the Best Picture Oscar, I would vote for Lincoln.

    Of course, nobody knows who will win this year, but we can look back on past Best Picture winners. Nelson Carvajal has created this cool video of all of the Academy Award Best Picture winners. How many can you identify?

    The music for this Oscar montage is “November” by Max Richter.

    Which film do you think should win Best Picture? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • The “I Shoulda Won” Best Picture Oscar Quiz
  • Kansas’s Controversial Attempt to Make Toto the State Dog
  • That Time George Kennedy Gave a Great Movie Its Name
  • Gary Cooper’s Three Oscars
  • Marlon Brando’s Lonely Oscar
  • 2013 Pawscars Award Winners Announced

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    2013 Pawscars Award Winners Announced

    While we wait for the Oscars announcements this weekend, Malcolm McDowell and Uggie (The Artist) recently announced the winners of the Pawscars Awards. The American Humane Association gives these annual awards for best animal and animal-related performances in movies as part of the organization’s work to ensure humane treatment of animals in films.

    Winners this year include Django Unchained (2012) for “Best Horsemanship.” The American Humane Association specifically noted the work by Jamie Foxx, a horse rider since childhood who used his own horse Cheetah in the film. Check out the other winners from McDowell and Uggie in this video.

    On a regular basis, the American Human Association awards movies with the famous words “No Animals Were Harmed®” at the end of the film. But this is the fifth year the Association also has given out the Pawscars Awards.

    What was your favorite animal performance this year? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • That Time George Kennedy Gave a Great Movie Its Name
  • Gary Cooper’s Three Oscars
  • Marlon Brando’s Lonely Oscar
  • Cartoonish Gunfire But Brutal Slavery in “Django Unchained” (Review)
  • Jonah Hill “Doesn’t” Let Oscar Nom Go to His Head (SNL video)
  • Kansas’s Controversial Attempt to Make Toto the State Dog

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)