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Indie Jones
Indie Jones is not an archaeologist and adventurer, although he would certainly love to be. He lives in Paris, a city that not only shelters rat chefs, but is reputed for offering the richest film programming on the planet. And so he goes, an avid reader and self-declared film addict, haunting theaters, searching for the next cinematic treasure, be it European, American, Asian, African, or maybe one day, who knows, extraterrestrial.
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Shrykespeare
Shrykespeare is a native Arizonan, one of the few who actually has the nerve to admit it. He is a movie, TV and sports junkie, who occasionally finds time to spend with his tolerant but exasperated wife. His talents include witty banter, golf, Scrabble, and reciting Monty Python and The Holy Grail from memory. His role models are Homer Simpson and Al Bundy, and he vows to make the world a better, lovelier, happier place as soon as those damn Powerball numbers come in.
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Howard Roark
The person hiding behind the Howard Roark moniker is an industry veteran who will refrain from listing his credits and accomplishments as it would negate the use of the Howard Roark moniker. Just accept that he thinks he knows more than you. In the words of Kazunori Nozawa: Trust me!

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Lee Farber
Lee Farber is currently a writer for "The Soup" on the E! channel. Before that, he wrote on "The Wayne Brady Show" and won an Emmy. It's shiny and pointy and looks great when worn around the neck. He is putting together his first feature, "The Yentas of Sunrise Lakes", about old ladies in Florida, because he knows what the public wants. Lee lives in Los Angeles with his wife and his collection of bootleg CDs.

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Ronald Banks
Ronald Banks lives in the heart of Hollywood where his hobbies are going to the movies, renting movies, and buying movies on DVD. If you see him in the theater, please remember - there is no talking during the film.

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Thomas Donnelly
Thomas Dean Donnelly is the screenwriter responsible for 2005's Sahara and A Sound of Thunder, as well as other films. There is nary a studio he hasn't worked for nor an agency he has not been represented at. In his spare time, he designs games, like the one you are playing right now.

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Whiting Tattoon
Whiting has been intimately involved with no less than twelve Academy and Golden Globe nominated and/or winning films. He has worked for talent, production companies and studios, in capacities ranging from PA to editing to marketing executive to screenwriter. He is an unabashed lover of cinema, a student of the art form and prone to seizure-like moments of clarity.

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Dmitry Portnoy
Dmitry Portnoy has watched more than 100 movies a year since he was three. And so have you.

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Steve Mason
Steve Mason is a Los Angeles-based talk show host for 710 ESPN Radio. He has previously hosted the nationally-syndicated "The Late, Late Radio Show with Tom Snyder & Steve Mason" for CBS Radio and worked the last five Olympic Games for NBC and Westwood One Radio Network. He is also President of Flagship Theatres which owns the University Village Theatres near downtown Los Angeles and Cinemas Palme d'Or in Palm Desert, California.

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Mike Ogle

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Nicodemus
Noted sage and mystic Nicodemus, a reputed cyber-scavenger and data carrier, recently escaped from the National Institute of Mental Health. He spends his hours scuttling amongst the pipes running directly beneath the Information Superhighway, collecting scraps of knowledge and overlooked treasures that fall, unnoticed, through cracks and gratings from the world above. He also writes in characters of magic fire and, on occasion, he really, really likes a nice hunk of moldy cheese.

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Mister Informative
Mister Informative is a college student from Appleton, Wis. He is a staff leader/projectionist for Carmike Cinemas, a national theater chain headquartered in Columbus, Ga., and is a big fan of the new DLP digital cinema technology. He's also been an associate architect of award-winning, in-lobby promotional displays for Over the Hedge and Talladega Nights. Upon discovering Fantasy Moguls, he promptly joined a league with his co-workers -- and that's where the fun began!

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Recent Posts

Shrykespeare: BARD'S EYE VIEW: Maybe Somewhere Down the Road a Ways / You'll Think of Me and Wonder Where I Am These Days - November 28

Indie Jones: DANCES WITH THE ARTHOUSE: All Good Things ... - November 28

Mister Informative: TIP OF THE WEEK: Giving Thanks for Movies and Farewell to Fantasy Moguls - November 26

Steve Mason: FINAL WEEKEND TRACKING: 'Four Christmases' Likely Winner w/$38.5M for 5-Day; 'Twilight' Next in Line w/$30.7M; 'Bolt' Potentially at No. 3, Followed by 'Transporter 3' at $26.8M and 'Australia' at $24M! - November 25

Shrykespeare: BARD'S EYE VIEW: Jumbo Jim Tangles with Big Willy on the Weekend Before Christmas - November 25

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Dances With the Arthouse

November 28, 2008

DANCES WITH THE ARTHOUSE: All Good Things ...

by Indie Jones

Sad news happens all the time around the planet, and each sad story is of different proportions. I can't say that the news that shook my world (and some of yours, who are reading this) this week could be considered terrible in regards to what many societies are going through every day. The fact is, however, that Fantasy Moguls will no longer exist in a matter of days, and with that disappearance, this is officially the last Dances with the Arthouse column I will ever write for the site.

Continue reading "DANCES WITH THE ARTHOUSE: All Good Things ..." »

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Posted at 08:54 AM in Advice and Analysis, Dances With the Arthouse, Indie Jones | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

November 19, 2008

DANCES WITH THE ARTHOUSE: Howard's End or Why Indie Thinks You Should Not (or Maybe Should) Shell Out for Tricky Dick and Frosty the Snowman

by Indie Jones

America is a nation of proud people. Proud of their country, proud of their image, proud of their beliefs. The feeling of collective confidence is probably more developed than in any other nation on the globe. That pride does not skip the cinema, and by the calendar alone, it is easy to guess which films distributors are proud to be releasing. Your movie is getting a January release? An end-of-August/beginning-of-September release? A March or April release? It looks like your distributor does not entirely believe your film will be remembered by cinephiles. Of course, small distributors are less apt to think that way as most of the time they only buy films they've been charmed by.

Continue reading "DANCES WITH THE ARTHOUSE: Howard's End or Why Indie Thinks You Should Not (or Maybe Should) Shell Out for Tricky Dick and Frosty the Snowman" »

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Posted at 02:58 AM in Advice and Analysis, Dances With the Arthouse, Indie Jones | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

November 12, 2008

DANCES WITH THE ARTHOUSE: Feeling Betrayed While Sipping from a Tall, Cold Glass of Sean Penn

by Indie Jones

Choosing an arthouse film as a Fantasy Moguls player is sometimes as tricky as choosing an arthouse film to go and see at your local arthouse theater (if you happen to live near one). Sometimes you think you just need to bank on a respected director, on a critic's favorite, or on a festival winner. Or even better if those three qualities are united in the very same film (they are easy to spot, and don't come along every week).

Continue reading "DANCES WITH THE ARTHOUSE: Feeling Betrayed While Sipping from a Tall, Cold Glass of Sean Penn" »

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Posted at 05:32 AM in Advice and Analysis, Dances With the Arthouse, Indie Jones | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

November 04, 2008

DANCES WITH THE ARTHOUSE SPECIAL EDITION: Think Small for the Holidays or 15 Things to Do in Fantasy Moguls When You're Dead

by Indie Jones

A little break in everyday life is always welcome. Even when you have an exciting and challenging everyday life. In real life, you take a plane and fly half the way across the globe to resource yourself. In Fantasy Moguls, you may pause in your usual examination of films to take a more global view of what's cooking in the coming trimester. So prepare for a little survey on the 15 biggest, or at least most promising, arthouse films of the upcoming holiday season, from November to January.

Continue reading "DANCES WITH THE ARTHOUSE SPECIAL EDITION: Think Small for the Holidays or 15 Things to Do in Fantasy Moguls When You're Dead" »

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Posted at 11:35 PM in Advice and Analysis, Dances With the Arthouse, Indie Jones | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)

October 22, 2008

DANCES WITH THE ARTHOUSE: Go See 'JCVD' and Other (Have You Seen 'JCVD' Yet?) Items (How About Now?) of Business (What Are You Waiting For, a Presidential Invitation?) from Nov. 7

by Indie Jones

Nov. 7. Just a date in the calendar. Another Friday, with new films opening at America's theaters. Animated animals, horror nightmares, funny men with funny kids. If it all should come down to one film though, on that particular weekend, there is one that will not get much attention outside of a few geeks who know what JCVD means. That's right, if you are not reading my column for the first time, then you know what I am talking about. The comeback of Van Damme. In fact that is not even true, because JCVD looks nothing like anything the famous Belgian actor has ever done. It's his first lead role in his native French language. His first true dramatic performance. And an amazingly good one.

Continue reading "DANCES WITH THE ARTHOUSE: Go See 'JCVD' and Other (Have You Seen 'JCVD' Yet?) Items (How About Now?) of Business (What Are You Waiting For, a Presidential Invitation?) from Nov. 7" »

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Posted at 07:30 AM in Advice and Analysis, Dances With the Arthouse, Indie Jones | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)

October 16, 2008

DANCES WITH THE ARTHOUSE: Hang Up on MGM's Latest Call and Other Advice for an Independent-Starved Last Weekend in October

by Indie Jones

Fall is the season of prestigious arthouse pictures. The season when a small film has a shot at garnering as much attention as a Hollywood blockbuster, thanks to word of mouth, reviews and, of course, awards hopes. This year will be no different, except on the weekend of Oct. 31 when ... Well, when you won't need to rush to a theater near you — except if you want to catch a movie from a prior week you will have missed. Because that last weekend of October (or first one of November, if you prefer), is pretty darned impoverished, film-wise. While Kevin Smith and Seth Rogen fans will have plenty to get excited about, arthouse fans will feel bored.

Continue reading "DANCES WITH THE ARTHOUSE: Hang Up on MGM's Latest Call and Other Advice for an Independent-Starved Last Weekend in October" »

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Posted at 09:37 AM in Advice and Analysis, Dances With the Arthouse, Indie Jones | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

October 10, 2008

DANCES WITH THE ARTHOUSE: Name-Dropping on the Indie Scene with Clint, Kaufman, Angelina Jolie, Kristin Scott-Thomas and Anne Hathaway

by Indie Jones

Amazing, what can happen in a short lapse of time when you are out of reach and disconnected from your everyday life. I exiled myself for 10 days of vacation, and by the time I come back, Paul Newman had passed away, Kenneth Branagh had exchanged his usual Shakespeare material for Marvel and a Chihuahua had taken the U.S. box office by storm. As a fan of Branagh, I'm curious about his vision for Thor, but I could hardly tell you I'm happy about the other two news items. Enough introduction, however, as I am here to tell you about the Oct. 24 limited releases: Is there any film worthy of your Fantasy Moguls attention, between a Bollywood animated feature, a supernatural thriller, a French melodrama, a Charlie Kaufman fantasy and a Clint? (That's right. Just ... a Clint. Go ahead. Make my day.) Let's find out.

Continue reading "DANCES WITH THE ARTHOUSE: Name-Dropping on the Indie Scene with Clint, Kaufman, Angelina Jolie, Kristin Scott-Thomas and Anne Hathaway" »

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Posted at 09:01 AM in Advice and Analysis, Dances With the Arthouse, Indie Jones | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

October 03, 2008

DANCES WITH THE ARTHOUSE: Unmoved by Madonna and Lovin' Levinson

by Indie Jones

Note: Indie Jones is on vacation. We continue his musings from last week with a report on the state of the Madonna family's cinematic ventures.

Talking about Mike Leigh and Wong Kar Wai in an arthouse-dedicated column [as Indie did last week] seems perfectly right. Guy Ritchie ... well a bit less of course, but he's still a "foreign" filmmaker. But Ritchie's wife?! Exactly, Madonna, the once sulfurous pop music queen, who has "achieved" a work which puts her in the same category in my column as great masters of cinema. I know, that does not feel right. But Filth and Wisdom does open limited on Oct. 17 ... one week after the arrival of Ritchie's RockNRolla. (What are the odds?)

Continue reading "DANCES WITH THE ARTHOUSE: Unmoved by Madonna and Lovin' Levinson" »

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Posted at 08:10 AM in Advice and Analysis, Dances With the Arthouse, Indie Jones | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

September 23, 2008

DANCES WITH THE ARTHOUSE: Just 'Roll' with Guy Ritchie, Baby, but Don't Expect to Get 'Lucky' with Mike Leigh

by Indie Jones

The fall film season is in full swing these days, with the successful limited launches of The Duchess and Appaloosa, both of which collected strong PTA numbers (unfortunately reducing Towelhead to scraps after only one week). With the number of serious pretenders to PTA crowns among the weeks of autumn, we shall not be surprised by such turnovers, as there will only be a few chosen ones at the end of the season that were true arthouse goldmines at the box office, in the shadow of the bigger prestigious films produced by Hollywood. Among last year's champs were Into the Wild, The Darjeeling Limited, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and Persepolis.

Continue reading "DANCES WITH THE ARTHOUSE: Just 'Roll' with Guy Ritchie, Baby, but Don't Expect to Get 'Lucky' with Mike Leigh" »

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Posted at 11:14 PM in Advice and Analysis, Dances With the Arthouse, Indie Jones | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

September 17, 2008

DANCES WITH THE ARTHOUSE: Feeling 'Religulous' About Spending the Big Money for a Date with 'Rachel'

by Indie Jones

Gooooooood eeeeveniiing, laaadieeees and gentlemen. I am today's entertainment. Or, more precisely, today's adviser. Well, I guess I'm an entertainer, too. it's always interesting (and sometimes helpful, I hope) to have another man's opinion, when it comes to deciding which independent film will make a good impression in America's arthouse theaters. RIght? Most of us won't catch up to these films on opening weekend, for they are playing in so few locations, but patience is a virtue most film lovers are accustomed to exerting. (Okay, I must confess, I was too tired of waiting for Napoleon Dynamite to be released in France, so I bought the Region 1 DVD years ago. Had I not done so, I'd still be waiting to see the film).

Continue reading "DANCES WITH THE ARTHOUSE: Feeling 'Religulous' About Spending the Big Money for a Date with 'Rachel'" »

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Posted at 03:27 AM in Advice and Analysis, Dances With the Arthouse, Indie Jones | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

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