In “Flipside,” documentary filmmaker Chris Wilcha grapples with personal regrets and middle age through the lens of the documentary projects he started but never finished. The 96-minute doc, which premiered last year at the Toronto Intl. Film Festival, looks at those abandoned ideas including one about television writer David Milch and his connection to jazz photographer Herman Leonard; a passion project on the New Jersey record store where Wilcha worked as a teenager and a look at radio host Ira Glass’ attempts to make a musical.
Writer/director Judd Apatow executive produced “Flipside.” Apatow met Wilcha in 2009 when he hired him to make a behind-the-scenes movie about the making of “Funny People.” Wilcha moved his family of four from New York to Los Angeles to work on the project with the idea that he would become a successful documentary filmmaker. But when that career didn’t take off, Wilcha began a lucrative career making commercials.
Writer/director Judd Apatow executive produced “Flipside.” Apatow met Wilcha in 2009 when he hired him to make a behind-the-scenes movie about the making of “Funny People.” Wilcha moved his family of four from New York to Los Angeles to work on the project with the idea that he would become a successful documentary filmmaker. But when that career didn’t take off, Wilcha began a lucrative career making commercials.
- 5/31/2024
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Few big new studio wide releases, yes, but Viggo Mortensen’s latest is on 700 screens, plus limited openings for Chris Wilcha’s Flipside, Judd Apatow EP, and Spanish animated, Oscar-nominated Robot Dreams from Neon. Bleecker Street’s family drama Ezra and IFC Films’ arthouse slasher In A Violent Nature are technically wide but both well under 1,500 screens.
Viggo Mortensen directed, wrote and stars in Western The Dead Don’t Hurt presented by Shout! Studios on 730 screens. The story of star-crossed lovers on the western U.S. frontier in the 1860s sees Vivienne Le Coudy (Vicky Krieps), a fiercely independent woman, settle in Nevada with Danish immigrant Holger Olsen (Mortensen). But the outbreak of the Civil War separates them as Olsen goes to fight with the Union army, leaving Vivienne alone in a town full of corrupt officials. Premiered in Toronto, see Deadline review. It’s Mortensen’s second outing behind the camera since 2020’s Falling.
Viggo Mortensen directed, wrote and stars in Western The Dead Don’t Hurt presented by Shout! Studios on 730 screens. The story of star-crossed lovers on the western U.S. frontier in the 1860s sees Vivienne Le Coudy (Vicky Krieps), a fiercely independent woman, settle in Nevada with Danish immigrant Holger Olsen (Mortensen). But the outbreak of the Civil War separates them as Olsen goes to fight with the Union army, leaving Vivienne alone in a town full of corrupt officials. Premiered in Toronto, see Deadline review. It’s Mortensen’s second outing behind the camera since 2020’s Falling.
- 5/31/2024
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Image: Oscilloscope Laboratories
You don’t have to be of a certain age to appreciate everything Chris Wilcha sets out to do in his new documentary Flipside, but it certainly helps. The way this project speaks to the Gen X experience, especially if you’ve ever thought of yourself as an artist,...
You don’t have to be of a certain age to appreciate everything Chris Wilcha sets out to do in his new documentary Flipside, but it certainly helps. The way this project speaks to the Gen X experience, especially if you’ve ever thought of yourself as an artist,...
- 5/31/2024
- by Cindy White
- avclub.com
Fifteen years ago, writer/director Judd Apatow hired documentary filmmaker Chris Wilcha to film a behind-the-scenes movie about the making of “Funny People” and changed Wilcha’s life forever when the documentarian moved from New York to Los Angeles to work on the project. After he was done with the shoot, Wilcha had a hard time finding documentary work and ultimately settled into a life of directing commercials, returning to his first love of non-fiction filmmaking only sporadically as he accumulated hard drive after hard drive of footage from unfinished projects. Apatow was stunned to learn what an effect he had had on Wilcha’s life. “I didn’t even know that he moved to L.A. for the job,” Apatow told IndieWire, “and that his mom has been mad at me for decades.”
The unexpected connections between people and the unknown ways in which they affect each other are...
The unexpected connections between people and the unknown ways in which they affect each other are...
- 5/29/2024
- by Jim Hemphill
- Indiewire
"It's beautiful and inspiring." Oscilloscope Labs has revealed an official trailer for a documentary film titled Flipside, which first premiered last year at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival. It's the latest creation from doc filmmaker Chris Wilcha, who worked for "This American Life" and also made a few docs, including Knock Knock It's Tig Notaro in 2015 and his breakout The Target Shoots First. Flipside is his comical attempt to save a New Jersey record store and confront a mid-life crisis. TIFF adds: "In the process of looking back, he gets inspired to revisit the half-finished documentaries that exist only on his hard drives. He pulls up old interviews that no one has seen with creative people who faced their own crossroads, including radio host Ira Glass, writer Starlee Kine, jazz photographer Herman Leonard, and television writer David Milch. The passage of time brings a deeper poignancy to their testimonies... His quest may be personal,...
- 4/18/2024
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Premiering at TIFF last fall, Flipside follows filmmaker Chris Wilcha as he reflects on his past and what it means to live a life of creativity. Picked up by Oscilloscope Laboratories for a North American release, featuring Judd Apatow on board as executive producer, the first trailer has now landed ahead of a May 31 debut.
Here’s the synopsis: “When filmmaker Chris Wilcha revisits the record store he worked in as a teenager in New Jersey, he finds the once-thriving bastion of music and weirdness from his youth slowly falling apart and out of touch with the times. Flipside documents his tragicomic attempt to revive the store while revisiting the abandoned documentary projects that have marked his career. In the process, he captures “The American Life” icon Ira Glass in the midst of a creative rebirth, discovers the origin story of David Bowie’s ode to a local New Jersey cable television hero,...
Here’s the synopsis: “When filmmaker Chris Wilcha revisits the record store he worked in as a teenager in New Jersey, he finds the once-thriving bastion of music and weirdness from his youth slowly falling apart and out of touch with the times. Flipside documents his tragicomic attempt to revive the store while revisiting the abandoned documentary projects that have marked his career. In the process, he captures “The American Life” icon Ira Glass in the midst of a creative rebirth, discovers the origin story of David Bowie’s ode to a local New Jersey cable television hero,...
- 4/18/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Documentarian Chris Wilcha is stepping back through time for his latest feature “Flipside.”
Wilcha revisits his own shelved past projects including capturing “This American Life” icon Ira Glass in the midst of a creative rebirth, an origin story of David Bowie’s ode to a local New Jersey cable television hero, and an unlikely connection between jazz photographer Herman Leonard and TV writer David Milch.
The film is the product of Wilcha returning to the record store where he worked as a teenager in New Jersey and realizing that the staple of his youth is now out of touch with the times. Per the official synopsis, “Flipside” documents Wilcha’s “tragicomic attempt to revive the store while revisiting other documentary projects he has abandoned over the years. This disparate collection of stories coheres into something strange and expansive — a moving meditation on music, work, and the sacrifices and satisfaction of...
Wilcha revisits his own shelved past projects including capturing “This American Life” icon Ira Glass in the midst of a creative rebirth, an origin story of David Bowie’s ode to a local New Jersey cable television hero, and an unlikely connection between jazz photographer Herman Leonard and TV writer David Milch.
The film is the product of Wilcha returning to the record store where he worked as a teenager in New Jersey and realizing that the staple of his youth is now out of touch with the times. Per the official synopsis, “Flipside” documents Wilcha’s “tragicomic attempt to revive the store while revisiting other documentary projects he has abandoned over the years. This disparate collection of stories coheres into something strange and expansive — a moving meditation on music, work, and the sacrifices and satisfaction of...
- 4/18/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
The Chattanooga Film Festival returns for its eleventh year, unleashing another summer camp for cinephiles from June 21-28, 2024. While the fest already teased exciting events for their 2024 event, the first wave of feature programming promises even more genre fun.
From the press release: “In filmmaker Michael Turney’s RetroTech Romance Video Vision, a woman unlocks a dark dimension through an old Vcr, combining romance, horror, and analog technology in unique and spellbinding ways.
“Video Vision in both vibes and execution perfectly embodies the genre-blending spirit of the Chattanooga Film Festival and serves as its opening night film selection for the year. Because of the festival’s ongoing commitment to accessibility for its 2024 edition, the Cff team endeavored to find filmmakers and partners who understand the importance of this issue, and audience members will have the option of tuning into this world premiere on-site and virtually (US residents only). This theme...
From the press release: “In filmmaker Michael Turney’s RetroTech Romance Video Vision, a woman unlocks a dark dimension through an old Vcr, combining romance, horror, and analog technology in unique and spellbinding ways.
“Video Vision in both vibes and execution perfectly embodies the genre-blending spirit of the Chattanooga Film Festival and serves as its opening night film selection for the year. Because of the festival’s ongoing commitment to accessibility for its 2024 edition, the Cff team endeavored to find filmmakers and partners who understand the importance of this issue, and audience members will have the option of tuning into this world premiere on-site and virtually (US residents only). This theme...
- 3/18/2024
- by Meagan Navarro
- bloody-disgusting.com
Exclusive: Oscilloscope Laboratories has taken North America on Flipside, a new documentary from filmmaker Chris Wilcha, which world premiered at last year’s Toronto Film Festival. Exec produced by Judd Apatow, the film is slated for release in theaters this year.
Flipside sees Wilcha revisit the New Jersey record store he worked at as a teenager, finding the once-thriving bastion of music and weirdness slowly falling apart and out of touch with the times. The film chronicles his tragicomic attempt to revive the store while revisiting other documentary projects he has abandoned over the years. In the process, Wilcha captures This American Life icon Ira Glass in the midst of a creative rebirth, discovers the origin story of David Bowie’s ode to a local New Jersey cable television hero, and uncovers the unlikely connection between jazz photographer Herman Leonard and TV writer David Milch. This disparate collection of stories...
Flipside sees Wilcha revisit the New Jersey record store he worked at as a teenager, finding the once-thriving bastion of music and weirdness slowly falling apart and out of touch with the times. The film chronicles his tragicomic attempt to revive the store while revisiting other documentary projects he has abandoned over the years. In the process, Wilcha captures This American Life icon Ira Glass in the midst of a creative rebirth, discovers the origin story of David Bowie’s ode to a local New Jersey cable television hero, and uncovers the unlikely connection between jazz photographer Herman Leonard and TV writer David Milch. This disparate collection of stories...
- 1/16/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
It’s easy to measure your life in accomplishments, to look at the accumulation of honors and accolades, of personal and professional victories, and to say, “This accumulation represents empirical success.”
It’s harder to measure your life not necessarily in failures but in potentials left unfulfilled, in half-completed tasks or the stashed items left unused, and to say, “Despite or perhaps even because of this, there is still success.”
Chris Wilcha’s new documentary, Flipside, takes on the second challenge to deliver an autobiographical portrait of how a life seemingly of disappointments and failures can be a life well lived. Glimpse Flipside in the wrong moment or from the wrong angle and it can feel a little solipsistic, albeit in a way that will be relatable to many viewers. But taken in totality and with some reflection, it’s a borderline-profound and philosophical expression of satisfaction with everything that is unfinished in life.
It’s harder to measure your life not necessarily in failures but in potentials left unfulfilled, in half-completed tasks or the stashed items left unused, and to say, “Despite or perhaps even because of this, there is still success.”
Chris Wilcha’s new documentary, Flipside, takes on the second challenge to deliver an autobiographical portrait of how a life seemingly of disappointments and failures can be a life well lived. Glimpse Flipside in the wrong moment or from the wrong angle and it can feel a little solipsistic, albeit in a way that will be relatable to many viewers. But taken in totality and with some reflection, it’s a borderline-profound and philosophical expression of satisfaction with everything that is unfinished in life.
- 9/12/2023
- by Daniel Fienberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Flipside,” an endearing, dizzying documentary about the crushing convergence between art and commerce, begins with a common cold open. What we presume to be our enigmatic subject, the late legendary jazz photographer Herman Leonard, offers us a few pearls of wisdom that have led to his success. An array of close-ups of the singular, black and white portraits he took of Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra, and Nat King Cole, from a retrospective exhibition of his work, further instills his importance to an unknowing audience. These are also Leonard’s final days. He’s dying from cancer. From the opening, we think “Flipside” will be a “great man you must know more about” story.
But this documentary isn’t about the jazz photographer. At least, not directly. There are other stories: A woman writer battling writer’s block, “This American Life” creator Ira Glass’ musical, and the documentary’s primary inspiration,...
But this documentary isn’t about the jazz photographer. At least, not directly. There are other stories: A woman writer battling writer’s block, “This American Life” creator Ira Glass’ musical, and the documentary’s primary inspiration,...
- 9/10/2023
- by Robert Daniels
- Indiewire
There is no surprise twist in Chris Wilcha’s Flipside, a documentary making its world premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. This is not a true-crime doc or a story of unearthed family secrets. (Although there is lots of ephemera excavated after years of quasi-hoarding.) Instead of a twist, though, there is an audience awakening, one that takes a rather standard there-are-places-i-remember doc into surprisingly resonant territory. Ultimately, Flipside is a moving, funny, inventive film that may cause viewers to follow Wilcha’s lead and ask tough questions about their own lives. That is no small feat for a documentarian.
Of course, Wilcha is no novice. His first success, 1999’s The Target Shoots First, brought him rave reviews and modest fame. Wilcha shot it while working at Columbia House Records––yes, the “8 CDs for a penny” mail-order service many remember with great fondness. In Flipside, Wilcha shows the viewer his early-20s self,...
Of course, Wilcha is no novice. His first success, 1999’s The Target Shoots First, brought him rave reviews and modest fame. Wilcha shot it while working at Columbia House Records––yes, the “8 CDs for a penny” mail-order service many remember with great fondness. In Flipside, Wilcha shows the viewer his early-20s self,...
- 9/10/2023
- by Christopher Schobert
- The Film Stage
Exclusive: Spy Kids franchise and Predators producer Elizabeth Avellán and Full Tilt Boogie and Kicking & Screaming producer Rana Joy Glickman are opening the doors to their new global multimedia production company Tealhouse Entertainment which will develop and produce content across horror thrillers, comedies, dramas, docs and auteur-driven narratives, including films from underrepresented voices. Tealhouse will have offices in Austin, TX and Los Angeles, CA. The first pics that are being produced under Tealhouse include supernatural horror feature The Whistler, an English-language reimagining of the award-winning South American film El Silbón: Orígenes. Gisberg Bermúdez, who co-wrote, directed, co-produced and edited the original movie, will direct the new pic. There’s also Quincy Rose’s Margaux From Manhattan, the story of a renowned memoirist from Manhattan who is forced to move to Brooklyn after a nasty divorce turns her world upside-down. Grappling with her new identity and sexual freedom, Margaux once again finds herself coming of age.
- 1/27/2020
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Jazz
by Herman Leonard (Bloomsbury USA)
Herman Leonard soaked his film in chemicals before he headed out to capture jazz players, so its emulsion would be able to capture low light images. That's the left brain.
Smoke from cigarettes explodes, curls, whispers, hisses, and punctuates jazz giants from Duke to Billie to Louie to Miles -- a literal expression of a cliche, "cooking," that instead of making the image smaller, enlarges it. That's the right brain.
read more...
by Herman Leonard (Bloomsbury USA)
Herman Leonard soaked his film in chemicals before he headed out to capture jazz players, so its emulsion would be able to capture low light images. That's the left brain.
Smoke from cigarettes explodes, curls, whispers, hisses, and punctuates jazz giants from Duke to Billie to Louie to Miles -- a literal expression of a cliche, "cooking," that instead of making the image smaller, enlarges it. That's the right brain.
read more...
- 11/1/2010
- by Ken Krimstein
- www.culturecatch.com
The three exclusive photo portfolios included in V.F.'s November app. Photographs (left to right) by Richard Burbridge, Leo Fuchs, Herman Leonard. The November issue of Vanity Fair is available today in the iTunes App Store for users of the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch, and with it we are introducing a new monthly feature: in addition to every article and every photo from the print magazine, the V.F. app will include several exclusive photo portfolios culled from the most exciting new visual books. This month you’ll find: Leo Fuchs’s behind-the-scenes pictures from Hollywood’s golden era; Herman Leonard’s vivid portraits of America’s jazz legends; and unforgettable images of the late fashion icon Isabella Blow. As usual, the app also features bonus photos and video, and you can experience it two ways: hold your device horizontally to flip through a replica of the print edition,...
- 10/12/2010
- Vanity Fair
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