If You Like DOG DAY AFTERNOON, You'll Love THE DOG

One of the best documentaries I've seen in a while is opening Friday. It's called THE DOG and it's about the real life guy who robbed a Brooklyn bank on a sweltering summer day nearly 40 years ago, the story of which became the basis for Sidney Lumet's classic DOG DAY AFTERNOON. John Wojtowicz was the man behind the crime that gripped the city that August and ended up having a hold on him for the rest of his life too. What's just as fascinating about John's story is his life leading up to that moment, particularly how he was involved in some of the protests of the nascent gay rights movement, including a wedding action at City Hall caught on video in the early '70s.

The film was directed by two good friends of mine, Frank Keraudren (here on the left) and Allison Berg. I've known them both for quite a while, Frank since we were students at NYU film school!  Frank also he worked with me as the editor of my first feature I THINK I DO.

As they developed this film painstakingly over the course of 10 years, I've been privileged to see it grow and change as they followed "The Dog" (how John refers to himself) around New York,  dealt with his crazy voice mails (some featured in the film), and went through various edits of the film. The final version which I saw before it headed off to the Toronto Film Festival was really moving in its depiction of this unique man's life. Whether you know DOG DAY or not, I can't recommend this film enough as it really captures the life of a true New York character.

THE DOG opens here at the IFC and Lincoln Center tomorrow August 8. And other theaters around the country this fall. Check it out!

New Doc Delves Into Mystery of Photographer Vivian Maier

Since first hearing about her in 2010, I've been fascinated with the mystery of now legendary urban photographer Vivan Maier. She was a mid-century professional nanny, living in NYC and then Chicago, who took nearly 100,000 photos that were all stashed away in a storage locker and never seen by anyone. The locker was auctioned off in 2007 and the man who bought it, John Maloof, started posting the pictures online (the one here is from her New York days), showing the world a remarkable body of work that drew comparisons to contemporary artists like Evans, Arbus, Weegee and even Cindy Sherman. 

Now Maloof, along with producer Charlie Siskel (Gene's nephew!), has made a documentary which looks at the curious story of the woman behind these remarkable photos. The movie, profiled in yesterday's TIMES, comes out this Friday that IFC Center and I can't wait to see it. The trailer is great, hinting at the revelations about her extremely private life from the children she cared for. 

A 7-Hour Documentary About FRIDAY THE 13TH

The horror film FRIDAY THE 13TH cost half a million dollars to make and grossed nearly 40 million dollars when it was released back in 1981. A success of this magnitude in Hollywood demands not only one sequel but, believe it or not, 11! That's right--there have been a total of 12 FRIDAY films over the last 30 years, one where Jason even went to space.

Given that ouvre, a fanboy/filmmaker named Daniel Ferrands decided to make an epic documentary about the FRIDAY series. His film, CRYSTAL LAKE MEMORIES, is a 7-hour exploration of the series of movies in which Jason, wearing his iconic hockey mask, slays his way through countless teenagers and even a few adults. There's an article by my friend Erik Piepenberg in todays' TIMES arts section about the doc and why that length was necessary to tell the story of Jason. Actually, it sounds like the film is 12 mini-docs (one for each FRIDAY movie) that have been strung together.

Unfortunately, Ferrands didn't get Kevin Bacon or Crispin Glover (who made appearances opposite Jason) to open up about their horror stories. But he does have lots of remembrances from other cast and crew. Apparently, there's even a gayish FRIDAY too--the seventh one in the series. I knew that NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET's sequel is infamously homoerotic but didn't know Jason swung both ways too, as it were. Will have to check that one out...and the mini-doc too.

Doc Up For Oscar Was Shot (And Saved) By An iPhone App

The documentary SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN, which has been nominated for an Academy Award, was partially shot using a $1.99 iPhone app. The story of the film itself is remarkable, about an Detroit singer unknown in the U.S. but wildly popular in South Africa in the 1970s.  The filmmaker, Malik Benjeliou, was originally shooting his b-roll on Super-8 film to get that groovy, 70s vibe. But, like all indie filmmakers, he ran out of money.  Enter the iPhone app called iSuper8 (of course) that recreates the look of that classic stock by shooting with an iPhone. Voila--film saved.

Malik shows exactly how he did it on this piece that ran on CNN last night. It's a very clever move by a filmmaker whose efforts have been rewarded with a trip to the Oscars on Sunday night. Let's hope he shoots some vintage-style footage of the big night on his phone.

Two New Docs To See This Weekend: OUT OF THE CLEAR BLUE SKY and THIS TIME

This weekend, I want to draw your attention to two new documentaries that are opening for limited runs in the Village. The first one is a project I worked on called OUT OF THE CLEAR BLUE SKY. It's about Cantor Fitzgerald, the company that had it's offices on the top floors of the World Trade Center and, on 9/11, they lost 658 employees, nearly nearly two-thirds of their workforce.  Their surviving CEO Howard Lutnick (left), who was taking his son to kindergarten that morning, drew a lot of media attention because of his loss but the film goes into the real story behind the headlines and how the company survived against all odds.

I've worked on this documentary for the last 6 years as an associate producer and my good friend Danielle Gardner is the film's director, bravely telling this incredibly personal story (her brother was a Cantor exec who did not survive). The film has its premiere tonight at the IFC Center as part of the annual IDA Docuweeks series and it will play there every day for the next week. For those on the west coast, the film will be out there starting next Friday August 17 as part of Docuweeks LA. Oh--and we got a great review in the NY DAILY NEWS today too!

The other film is a doc by my Victor Mignatti, a filmmaker I met way back when I was in film school. His film is called THIS TIME and follows the story of the stories of a number of singers in show business (including Cissy Houston), some looking for second chances and other for their big break. In an age of IDOL where there is so much hype surrounding recording artists, this doc keeps it real and shows you the hard work and the heartbreak that goes hand in hand with a career in the performing arts. I saw a nearly finished cut a couple years ago and found it moving, intense, emotional and, of course, very musical and inspiring as well. It opens today at the Quad Cinema on 13th Street.

So no whining about "ah, there's nothing to see out there"...all you have to do is look and you will find some indie treasures. Especially this weekend.