sundance

The new shape of opera

Though it may look like a steel-clad battleship, the Bavarian State Opera pavilion is light-weight (relatively) and transportable. Recently erected for the 2010 Opera Festival in Munich, the pavilion marks the end of a 130-year gap since the Bavarian State Opera last inaugurated a performance space. Situated beside the main opera house, the architecture firm Coop Himmelblau wanted to design a structure that not only showed a marked contrast between the traditional opera house, but they also wanted the design to be based on acoustical principles, meaning that not only does the concert space have excellent acoustics, but the shape of the outer shell reflects sound patterns.

Covering Lolita: 150 different covers

This is a 1967 Danish edition of Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita. Its cover looks like something that Saul Bass would have designed. I found it on an interesting website with scans of the covers of over 150 different editions from around the world of Nabokov’s novel. [Hat tip: Melissa]

Habitat houses now come with organic gardens

From reselling used building materials through its Restores to contributing to the development of Biotown USA, Habitat for Humanity has a definite green streak… if you have doubts, just check out the international organization’s efforts on sustainable building and energy efficiency. The Inland Valley chapter in Southern California has taken this green focus to heart: not only has it incorporated solar power into many of its projects through a partnership with GRID Alternatives (like many California chapters), but it also now includes an organic garden with every “new” home.

First ever interview with @BPGlobalPR

In the aftermath of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico this summer and the subsequent inept response by BP, a Twitter account “@BPGlobalPR” became an overnight retweeted sensation. Parodying a faceless corporate PR spokesperson, this anonymous writer began tweeting on May 19, and Journalists, bloggers, and Tweeters quickly ate them up. Unsurprisingly, it [...]

Jimmyjane’s new Form 3

First there was Form 6, a waterproof rechargeable body-safe vibe in the shape of a slim, melting pin-ball created by JimmyJane. Then came Form 2, a waterproof rechargeable body-safe vibe in the shape of little, minimal bunny ears. Now there’s Form 3, a waterproof rechargeable body-safe vibe with a malleable shape. Don’t ask us to [...]

Celebrating Bjork

Bjork and Ennio Morricone received the 2010 Polar Music Prize from Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf earlier this month. The award is not just recognition but also comes with some cash, 1 million kronor ($136,000). Bjork sat in the audience looking like a glam doll. The highlight of the evening were the three musical performances honoring the Icelandic songstress. Swede Robyn tackled the opus “Hyperballad.” Ane Brun did a convincing reading of “Jóga” and “Human Behaviour” was reinvented by Wildbirds & Peacedrums.

The long take

I was recently preparing to teach my film students about coverage – the act of filming a scene multiple times from different angles in order to cut between the shots – when I happened to see GOMORRAH, Matteo Garrone’s grit-positive 2008 film about Neopolitan gangster life, filmed “like a documentary” (according to the director). Indeed. There’s nary a close up or a cutaway in sight. In fact, the entire film unfolds (basically) in one-shot scenes, the camera deftly moving between actors and what they happen to be holding/looking at, or where they happen to be going. And then back again. To the relevant action. In one shot! We call this the long take. (Don’t know why – it’s really a long shot, as ‘take’ implies one iteration – longer? — of a particular shot, but I suppose it might be confused with the term that describes filming something from a distance, or long/wide shot.)

New Banksy

A slightly saccharine piece by Banksy. View two other brand spankin’ new works by him over at Wooster Collective. Relatedly, last week I came across an interview he gave the Sun and was struck by this quote: “But maybe all art is about just trying to live on for a bit. I mean, they say [...]

Murakami at Versailles

Photos from Coolhunting.com

“Murakami Versailles” opens today at the 17th-century French palace, and surprise, surprise: some French are offended. It’s probably the same stuffed shirts that reacted to Jeff Koons 2008 installation, and I’m willing to bet that this time around their petitions will have about the same impact, which is to say none at all.

The oil spill’s over… right?

Heard much about the BP oil spill lately? Nope, me either… once the oil stopped spewing, the news also seemed to dry up. Time to move on, right… after all, there are crazy pastors in Florida to interview.

Not so fast.

Röyksopp’s Senior

Royksopp – The Drug (Official video) from EMINOchannel on Vimeo.

Röyksopp‘s album Junior, from last year, was one of the top albums of 2009. Featuring the lead singer from The Knife and Robyn, it was a Scandinavian disco stomper. A mere year later the boys are back with the companion album to Junior, titled Senior. It’s trippy and moody and streaming live right now on Hype Machine.

Photos: on set and behind the scenes of Mad Men

Rolling Stone published a great photo gallery of behind the scenes of Mad Men, including this awesome photo of “Ken Cosgrove and Harry Crane” accidentally stumbling upon a MacBook Pro left behind accidentally by a time traveler.

Know Your Meme

We’ve been long-time fans (well, long-time in terms of Internet years) of the website and podcast “Know Your Meme,” a “web series and online database dedicated to documenting Internet culture, one scientismic investigation at a time.” They give you information on the back-story, viral development and spin-offs of every crazy contemporary meme out there, from [...]

Avoiding Fashion Week and dreaming of Eminem

The man of my dreams—Eminem. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/GETTY IMAGES)

I had this crazy dream like a week ago — two of ‘em actually. The first one was more of a realization. I woke up in the middle of the night and was like, “Damn. I’m gonna be busy next year… So I better get some traveling in!”

The other one, also random — involved Eminem, of all people. I mean, huh? I don’t even listen to or think about him. Must have heard his song somewhere — like the time I was in K-mart and heard a lovely muzak version of Richard Marx’s “Ocean’s Apart.” Had a dream that night that I was at my mom’s dinner table introducing Richard Marx as my fiancé. My mother kept looking at his mullet with a hairy eyeball and my sister leans over and says, “Richard? What’s your last name again?” and as soon as he says “Marx,” I woke up to her mocking laughter in my ears. I didn’t go to K-Mart for a long time after that.

The raw sex scenes of “Blue Valentine”

One of the films we’re most excited to see in the next few months is the indie-flick 12 years in the making, “Blue Valentine,” starring Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling and out December 31st. It’s an intimate portrait — almost documentary style — of a relationship/marriage over the course of several years, cross-cutting between different time periods. There was very little rehearsing, lots of time spent together in character before shooting, picking fights on the days they were filming fights. The two actors are on the cover of W magazine this month, with an interview by Lynn Hirschberg inside, in which they discuss, among other things, the very intense sex scenes:

Get your New York Fashion Week news on Full Frontal Fashion

Hard to believe, but it’s already time for New York Fashion Week. And to celebrate, we recently relaunched FullFrontalFashion.com to give you up to the minute fashion news, show reviews and photos along with all the amazing fashion series and documentaries you’re used to during the month of September right here on Sundance Channel.

The good, the bad, and the ugly of the porn world… for women

We’ll admit it: we know very little about porn. In theory we know that there’s better porn out there than the crap our male hallmates used to watch in college with their doors “accidentally” left open. And we know that, as a professional obligation, we really should investigate this good porn more — especially given how many people write to us asking for advice about porn: what to watch, how to get over a partner’s porn habit, how to convince a partner that watching porn isn’t cheating, how to find ethically produced porn, etc. But we somehow never seem to get around it. Which is why we are beyond thrilled by the release of the excellent book Good Porn: A Woman’s Guide by Erika Lust. It’s our round tuit. Lust did the leg-work so we don’t have to. We chatted with the filmmaker, journalist, and cofounder of Lust Films…

EM & LO: You have a lot to say in your book about what exactly is wrong with male-produced porn. When and why did you decide to stop just critiquing and start actually producing yourself?

ERIKA LUST: My relationship with porn wasn’t quite love at first sight. But for me it seemed clear from the beginning that this does not lie in the nature of porn — it’s a matter of how it’s done. It just needed somebody to do it. But who? This bunch of guys that dominated the industry for decades, pestering us with the same sleazy sets, boring or hardly elaborated plots, bad make-up, terrible acting, and unrealistic or simply ridiculous sex scenes? Not really. They had their shot. We can simply complain about those guys, or we can get it on ourselves.

Bike By Me

I am far from a jock. And bikes scare me. They say you never forget how to ride one, but I am too chicken to try. What if I fall? I am as afraid of bikes as I am of horses. And clowns. And Log Cabin Republicans. Bike By Me may have me changing my [...]

Myth busting piranhas (not in 3D)

I have a couple friends who love B movies, gorier the better. So unsurprisingly they saw PIRANHA 3D and couldn’t stop talking about it (spoiler alert: dismembered male member flying at your face…in 3D). In case you were wondering, James Cameron hated it. Apropos, the National Geographic blog “dislike films that vilify animals—even a species [...]

Murat Germen in Istanbul

I was in Istanbul last week and on a rather unusual rainy day I ventured to Istanbul Modern. I did not know what to expect from the museum, but was pleasantly surprised when I stumbled upon the work of Murat Germen. The exhibit, called Way, is a series of photographs of cities, people, and they [...]

Takashi Murakami x Thanksgiving Parade

It may be a little too early to think about Thanksgiving for most of us, but Takashi Murakami is busy preparing “Kaikai and Kiki” for their balloon debut at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade this year. Kaikai, a childlike character in a rabbit costume, and Kiki, a companion with three eyes and sharp fangs, are examples [...]

Epic Faile

Since its creation in 1999, Faile, the Brooklyn street art collaboration between Patrick McNeil and Patrick Miller, has had an overwhelming influence on “low art” and “high art” alike. Beginning with wheatpaste and stencils, the classic tools of the trade, Faile gradually moved onto printmaking, painting, sculpture and multimedia installations, maintaining their signature collage-style throughout. Their ability to branch out in other mediums is what ultimately established them as legitimate artists. Their recent work, which includes “customized Buddhist prayer wheels and an American flag reworked with Pueblo-inspired linework, relies on re-imagining sacred objects on an increasingly grand scale.”

Vinyl from the grave

Gays have always had a thing for records. Perhaps this goes back to the disco era I guess when gays escaped into clubs to dance to black women screaming to electro-beats. Gays, too, have always been more likely to embrace dj-culture. We like dance music. We like dancing. Rock’s always been a bit too machismo for some of us.

How to survive being dunked into liquid nitrogen

So I thought this is kind of crazy: this science writer submerges his hand into liquid nitrogen, which is something like -320 degree Fahrenheit. His hand emerges unharmed thanks to the Leidenfrost effect, which he explains here: I hadn’t realized that my hand was quite so deep into the liquid. Amazingly, I barely felt the [...]

Slaughterhouse 90210

The LA Times interviews Maris Kreizman, 31-year-old New Yorker and the brain behind the hilarious blog Slaughterhouse 90210 which marries high-brow literary quotes with pop culture television screen captures. Jacket Copy: Did you really start with just Vonnegut and “90210″? Maris Kreizman: I knew I wanted to start a blog that featured my favorite literary [...]