The Screengrab

SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950)



Long before Robert Altman gave three quarters of the Screen Actors Guild an opportunity to parody and celebrate themselves in The Player, Billy Wilder managed to corral a Golden Age Who’s Who (including Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim, Buster Keaton, Hedda Hopper and Cecil B. DeMille, playing funhouse mirror versions of themselves) for a project which, even had it failed, would still have been a worthwhile snapshot of an epochal changing of the guard at the crossroads of Old Hollywood and the dawn of the modern era. But, of course, Sunset Boulevard didn’t fail: this classic dance of death between Swanson’s desperate, deluded has-been and William Holden’s bitterly conflicted never-was received critical hosannas, eleven Academy Award nominations and three wins, a fairly secure spot on the AFI list of the greatest American movies and a mediocre musical adaptation (a sure sign of massive cultural penetration). Box office-wise, the movie failed to click with the hix in the stix upon its initial release, possibly contributing to the movie industry’s ongoing conviction that Middle America has little interest in movies about (A) the movie industry and/or (B) monkey funerals.

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One of the nice things about living in a big city is that there's always a lot of big corporations with money to throw around.  If you're an aspiring filmmaker, they might just throw some at you!  Such is the case with the Silent Film Festival, which, despite the name, is actually a competition.

Here's how it works:   You make a film (silent, but it can be accompanied by live music) under three minutes long.  It revolves around one of these themes:

-  What is New York?

-  What's your favorite emotion?

-  What emotion is New York?

-  Your favorite ghost story 

No explicity nudity or violence; otherwise, go nuts.  Submit your work on a DVD in .mpeg or QuickTime format by August 11th, along with your full name, phone number, e-mail, mailing address, and a description of your fim, category, and inspiration to:

ATTN:  Silent Film Festival

60 E. 42nd Street Ste. #659; NY, NY  10165 

The ten best films will be displayed in a prominent place in the city by the competition's sponsor, a major Manhattan real estate developer.  In addition to the free publicity, the sponsors will also pay your way into two major film festivals (your choice) you'd like to submit the film to.  You can contact the festival with any questions.

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