1. Where’s your byline?
Vue Weekly
2. Education:
Not much.
3. Film education:
I have no formal education in film.
4. Indispensable film books:
David Thomson's Biographical Dictionary of Film
5. Favorite film magazines and/or websites:
Film Comment, Cineaste, Cinema Scope, GreenCine Daily.
6. Describe a typical work week:
They vary widely, but often involve too many movies, too many books, too much coffee, way too much time in front of a computer, phone calls and public transit. But mostly I really enjoy all of those things, especially going to see movies at places like Cinematheque Ontario or Metro Cinema.
7. How many movies did you review in 2006?
I'm guessing maybe 150.
8. What do you take with you to a screening?
A notepad and pen. I've a bad memory for quotes. And I like to practice writing in the dark.
9. Movie you lambasted that then got you lambasted, & have you since backpedaled?
I don't think I've ever been lambasted all that much. People don't write in. But there are plenty of movies that I've written negative things about yet have stuck with me one way or another. Often I see this coming, so I usually mention it in the review. Dogville
10. To what extent do you believe home theatres will make movie theatres obsolete?
I just don't understand the either/or argument. I'm confident that as long as we have movies we'll always have both, even if only in larger cities, though that's sad to consider. I just can't see people in New York or Paris or Toronto suddenly not going to movies. It’s a cultural, communal, quasi-religious experience with a lot of history, one that plays a large role in the lives of some strange and sometimes interesting people.
11. Advice for hitting a film fest; What are your objectives?
See good movies by people you believe in. Don't do too much research -let yourself be surprised as often as possible. Don't see everything. Talk to people in line, especially out-of-towners. Buy somebody a drink. Don't forget to sleep one in a while. Wear sunglasses and a ball cap and look like you're hiding -everyone will wonder if you're with a cool movie nobody's heard of.
12. Most over/under-rated film fest and why:
Can't say.
13. What fests did you attend in 2006, and which would you like to attend in 2007?
The only big one was TIFF. I haven’t been able to travel for fests.
14. How do you fuel yourself during a hectic fest schedule?
I run away between screenings, watch people do things that have nothing to do with movies, read, eat, take a walk, drink more coffee, do jumping jacks. Keep the blood pumping.
15. Your ideal film fest theme:
I'd love to see a festival of movies inspired by other art forms. Or maybe movies inspired by particular wars or diseases or foods.
16. What do you consider the most prestigious non-Oscar film award?
Don't pay much attention to awards.
17. Movies/genres you can discuss better than anyone else:
I've spent an awful lot of time with Bergman films. I've also seen a number of old Mexican films, which few outside Mexico seem to know or have access to. I also have a weird thing for Conan the Barbarian
18. If you were locked in a theatre with the work of three directors...
Hmm... For variety's sake, Ingmar Bergman, David Cronenberg, Luis Buñuel. But I could just as easily say Hitchcock, Akira Kurosawa and Krzysztof Kieslowski.
19. How often do you watch movies that you aren’t critiquing?
Depends, but generally pretty often. Let's say three or four a week.
20. Three favorite sick-in-bed/easy-on-the-head movies:
Fantastic Planet
21. Surprising turn from one of your least favorite actors/directors:
Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
22. Three essential movies for a proper film-snob library:
Well, if you really want to prove your film-snobbery, you better have something like Satantango
23. How did you become a film critic?
Poverty, movie-love, arrogance and an astounding inability to get a job doing anything else. Seriously, you can't do anything today without credentials, its absurd. Plus, the guy who hired me already kind of knew me.
24. Career moment you’re most proud of:
I really have no idea. Thing is, it's a racket. Believe me, I try to put some heart and soul into every piece, but time, space and other sorts of constraints keep this from being a fine art if you know what I mean. I hope people read the stuff, and if they do, I hope they feel part of a conversation about movies and how we watch them. Maybe they even learn something from having heard a single, hopefully thoughtful, hopefully well-articulated subjective perspective. I'd be very proud if that were the case. But I have no idea.