William Mapother

Blog Archives

Blog Categories

William's Blog

A Little ‘Earth’ Love

Posted on: December 9th, 2010 by wmapother 4 Comments

In the week since ‘Another Earth’ was accepted — against ridiculous odds — into Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival (my post here), we’ve had a little love from around the web.  Get Addicted put us as a top pick here; Movie City News did the same here; and my hometown Louisville paper, the Courier-Journal gave me a shout-out (with this pic from I-don’t-know-where) here.

I’ll probably be mentioning this film a good bit the next six weeks, so for those of you who didn’t follow the links in the earlier post, here’s the official press release plot:  “On the eve of the discovery of a duplicate Earth, a horrible tragedy irrevocably alters the lives of two strangers, who begin an unlikely love affair.”

Posted in Press | 4 Comments »

Denver, parte trois

Posted on: December 6th, 2010 by wmapother 5 Comments

So this is the third and final section of photos I’ll subject you to.  On my last day in Denver I visited the Botanic Gardens.  They were beautiful, especially given that it was early winter and most things weren’t, well, in full bloom.

It was late dusk, and I caught these trees (they could be Poplars or Palms, for all I know) illuminated by last few moments of daylight..

Until January 31, the Gardens are offering a special exhibit of some works of English sculptor Henry Moore.
 In this photo to the right, the piece is the upper right is the same as the piece in the photo above..

If the sculptures mystify you, try this.  The men’s restroom two urinals are placed against their far walls.  Now ladies, men are not necessarily crazy about standing next to one another while they’re peeing, but this arrangement is perhaps a bit too coddling…as it were.

Posted in Photos by Wm, Places, Random | 5 Comments »

The Biggest Show

Posted on: December 2nd, 2010 by wmapother 4 Comments

There are some disadvantages to being an actor.  Waiting by the phone like a fifteen-year-old girl is one.   However, it does have its advantages.  Like participating in the Big Shows of the Young Storytellers Foundation, which are an absolute blast.

The YSF is a 501c3 charity which brings writers and actors into LA’s arts-poor public schools for mentoring in storytelling.  In one-on-one sessions writers help students create a short play over several weeks.  Then, at a Big Show in front of the students’ families, actors (lots whom you’d recognize) are brought in to perform the plays.
They’re moving, nonsensical, and hysterical, often all at once.  And the actors are encouraged to cut loose.  We’re often told not to worry about having an honest moment.  (Talk about freedom..)
Tonight is their Biggest Show 2010.  I’ll be performing along some terrific actors:  Andrea Anders, Ben McKenzie, Radha Mitchell, Stuart Pankin, Jason Ritter, Scott Weintraub, and Debra Wilson.
So if you’re looking for a good cause to support this Holiday Season.. (cough cough)
Tags:
Posted in Charitable Causes, In Person (or, like, Live), Louisville & KY, Stage | 4 Comments »

What are the Odds?

Posted on: December 1st, 2010 by wmapother 4 Comments

Life, the universe and everything is crazily random, as we know, and the movie business doesn’t straighten it out any.

Last autumn I shot Another Earth, a tiny indie drama.  We shot nearly all my scenes in mid-New York state, at an old, unheated country house  owned by the director’s friend, and the entire crew could almost fit around a table at McDonald’s.

Cut to a bit over a year later.  The 2011 Sundance Film Festival just announced its line-up (here) for January…and Another Earth was accepted into the Dramatic Competition Category, in which only 16 films were selected from among 1,102 films submitted.

The NY Times reports on the trends in this year’s selections here, including this photo of Brit Marling and me, and USA Today has a piece on the line-up here.

The director, my fellow cast, the producers, the crew and the casting director are all here, and there isn’t earth enough and time to thank them.  But thank you.

Posted in Acting Projects, Press | 4 Comments »

First Festival Genius Audience Award

Posted on: December 1st, 2010 by wmapother 4 Comments

Last night’s IFP’s Gotham Awards saw the presentation of the first-ever Festival Genius Audience Award.  The five nominees for the award were determined by over 12,000 votes from audiences around the country.

[The award was created by Slated, the company I started last year with a few friends, and it’s named after our Festival Genius technology, which operates the online program guides for film festivals.  We also recently released a free companion iPhone app you can get here.  I previously posted about Slated, first here and then here.]

I’m happy to report that the winner of last night’s Festival Genius award is Waiting for Superman, Davis Guggenheim’s highly acclaimed documentary on American’s public-education system.  It’s a terrific film and a fantastic start for a new award.

It seems only appropriate to to close with Mr. Wilder:  “An audience is never wrong.  An individual member of it may be an imbecile, but a thousand imbeciles together in the dark — that is critical genius.”

Posted in Film, Film Festival, Slated, Tech | 4 Comments »