The News: IFC Parks With Land Rover

By S.T. VanAirsdale

Some of today's movie news of note from around New York:

--Jesus Fucking Christ, here we go again: The Hollywood Reporter notes today that IFC will partner with Ford to develop a half-hour program about location scouts -- in which the subjects tool around in Land Rovers. They have the nerve to call this Action Indies: Extraordinary Location Scouts Presented by Land Rover. IFC's Alan Klein, senior VP partnerships and licensing, told Gail Schiller: "We're excited to be working with Land Rover on this groundbreaking partnership that provides them with a unique and creative opportunity to platform their brand. ... Even more unique to these partnerships is that IFC remains true to its 'TV. Uncut' brand by working with partners whose brand positioning is in line with what IFC represents and the audience it attracts." That's quite a mouthful for guy gagging on corporate cock, but it's not like he hasn't had two years to practice. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: No one begrudges your mandate to generate revenue. But for the last fucking time: STOP PISSING ON YOUR VIEWERS SHOES AND TELLING US IT'S RAINING.

--Speaking of IFC, the distribution wing picked up three more titles from Toronto, bringing its total of films in the fest to seven. No idea how this squares with that hypothetical restructuring plan of theirs, but I'll leave that to the experts.

--The Guardian, relaying Harvey's recent suicide threat in a news brief, features the deadpan of the year: "Harvey Weinstein has claimed that if Cate Blanchett is not Oscar nominated for her role in the forthcoming Bob Dylan biopic, I'm Not There, then he will kill himself." And now, the weather.

--Today's NY Times features a story about the tribulations of founding an independent film festival in New York City. I make no claims about the author or his work, but it seems fairly accurate.

Posted at August 23, 2007 7:45 AM