At the Rome Film Fest: 'Middle of Nowhere'

I got to see one more movie yesterday afternoon at the Rome Film Festival: 'Middle of Nowhere,' directed by John Stockwell, who also did 'Blue Crush' (and some less-memorable movies.)

Now I know why I kept thinking that Eva Amurri, who plays Grace, the main character, looked so much like the actress who plays her mom in the movie, Susan Sarandon. (As a non-reader of celebrity gossip mags, I wasn't aware that they actually are mother and daughter.)

The movie focuses on two teens who're struggling to leave home and break free of their parents. Sarandon plays a distracted mom who doesn't seem to have her daughters' best interests at heart; Anton Yelchin plays Dorian Spitz, a 17-year old who doesn't click with his ultra-wealthy adopted family (all of whom disappear abruptly after the first scene), but quickly falls for Grace when the two end up working at the same water park for the summer.

The movie effectively captures that series of experiences you have -- around love, work, friends, your family, your siblings -- when you are crossing the threshold from childhood into adulthood. I could have done without a few predictable moments (Dorian meeting his birth mother outside a bingo parlor), but on the whole it was one of those rare instances where you get to absorb some solid performances, writing, and directing -- all in the same movie.

Susan Sarandon Explains Digital Cinematography to You ... 'Manufacturing Dissent' Debuts on AOL ... CNET Q&A with MPAA Piracy Exec

- So apparently the Wachowski brothers are doing something innovative with the digital cinematography on their next project, which a live action version of the cartoon 'Speed Racer'. Will you understand exactly what they're up to by reading this interview with actress Susan Sarandon? Probably not.

- AOL is making 40 minutes of the doc 'Manufacturing Dissent' available online for free. It's a somewhat critical profile of Michael Moore that played at South by Southwest; it felt toothless and overly-long to me when I saw it there... but maybe a 40-minute cut is an improvement.

What's the business model? Ads will be shown throughout the online version, and the distributor (Liberation Entertainment) hopes that when the DVD is released on November 6th, the online marketing will help. (November is a long way from August, guys...) Video can be found here.

- CNET interviews Dean Garfield, an attorney (no surprise there) who is the MPAA's chief strategy officer. (I interviewed Garfield in LA a year or so ago, and his responses to my questions were so milque-toasty I never did anything with it. A shame Jack Valenti is no longer around to give him some media training.) Here's a sample exchange:

CNET: What kind of technologies are you guys using to help prevent piracy?

Garfield: We're at the point where technology provides real opportunity, and it's not just down the road, but today. We're conducting requests for proposals in conjunction with MovieLabs around content recognition technologies. (MovieLabs is a company started by the six major studios to develop technologies that can help distribution of film.)

That testing is still ongoing, but the reports are that the technology really works. It is really effective. You can distinguish one piece of content versus another. That's real potential for monetizing and filtering out copyright content. Technology gives us real opportunities to give consumers what they want while also protecting the investment.