Twelve Thirty introduces sex to LA
Here’s an abbreviated review of the film I shot with Jeff Lipsky a few summers ago.
“With four films behind him (three as both a writer and director), Jeff Lipsky, a co-founder of the independent distribution companies October and Lot 47, has been a vigorous creative force in the independent-film movement. As a maturing filmmaker, he has a style as distinctive as that of John Cassavetes, the independent-movie god who was his forerunner in the distribution business. Personal intimacy is Mr. Lipsky’s theme. His uninhibited, compulsively talkative characters are likely to remove their clothes at the drop of a hat and to carry on intense personal conversations while naked. Their body language conveys as much information about them as their hyper-articulate outpourings; it often feels that with the shedding of their clothes, an outer layer of skin has been removed, the better to peer into their souls. But the more they communicate, the more you sense their physical and emotional isolation from one another and grasp Mr. Lipsky’s notion that each person is a little planet in its own orbit, with its own history and climate. Mr. Lipsky is committed to the concept that every person is an infinitely complex, ultimately unpredictable bundle of contradictory forces. The paradox of aggressively pursuing intimacy and discovering the idiosyncratic chaos inside everyday people runs to the heart of “Twelve Thirty.” — Stephen Holden”I feel proud of my work during the production of the movie, and I think there a lot of personal triumphs in the film, it’s a complicated film, but one that will reward a close viewing. It looks great and I am very happy with what we achieved on the film, the budget was small, the work very intimate and the schedule quite a challenge, yet somehow we pulled off a movie that I believe is worth watching. It’s the first film I’ve done to make it to theaters and it makes me very happy that folks will have a chance to see it. We shot in Iowa with a great crew, and I think we got the most out of the locations. Please support my work, see the movie. There will be a Q&A on opening night (I won’t make it there…shooting) but you can ask Jeff all sorts of questions about the film, where he was coming from when he wrote it, and his perspective on film making. He’s been at it for years and has has a front row seat to the process of film making and distribution for the last few decades. He was also John Cassavettes’ distributor and worked with him very closely for a long time.
Here’s a link to buy tickets, get ‘em soon.
http://www.laemmle.com/viewmovie.php?mid=6880
The full review from the New York Times to download if you like and a link to the trailer
Additional Reading: http://www.rubenomalley.com/film/twelvethirty/
