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“Disturbing”… “Provocative”… It’s Another Press Round-Up!

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

As WE LIVE IN PUBLIC tours around the world, we are racking up tons of great press and blog attention.  Big kisses to the Windy City and Canada for all of the recent love, and we are excited by the media response in the UK that is just starting to roll in as we gear up to play the London Film Festival…

National Public Radio / WBEZ
Eight Forty-Eight Reviews We Live in Public

“Maybe it was the money, maybe it was the attention… but things started going odd with Josh Harris… Ondi Timoner’s documentary focuses on a man through whom we can see the profound socio-cultural transformation wrought by technology in the last several decades.”

The Globe and Mail
Vancouver Int’l FIlm Festival 2009 Reviews

“[Josh Harris'] personal social skills are negligible, but his vision of society has been spot on.”

Chicago Sun-Times: Review by Roger Ebert

“This is a remarkable film about a strange and prophetic man. [FOUR STARS]”

Chicago Reader

“[Timoner] uses her access to create a frightening portrait of a man whose technological genius fails to compensate for his gaping emotional deficits… CRITIC’S CHOICE”

Chicago Tribune

“Here’s a cautionary tale for the virtual campfire… Timoner’s film offers a ton of surface flash and a hard-driving editing rhythm… provocative.”

Canada.com

“…a provocative and compelling examination of dot-com millionaire Harris and his cutting-edge art projects that attempted to plumb the profound differences between our understanding of private and public space.”

The Review List

“Provocative doc about ‘the greatest Internet pioneer you’ve never heard of’… Ondi Timoner has followed him for 15 years, in good times and bad, and returned with a portrait of a genius/eccentric/screwball who left it all to grow apples. For Harris, the brave new world is behind him. Four stars.”

Stop Smiling

“Documentarian Ondi Timoner stormed Sundance in 2004 with Dig!, her chronicle of rockers The Dandy Warhols and the Brian Jonestown Massacre. It won her the Grand Jury Prize — a feat she repeated in 2009 with We Live in Public, her take on privacy in the Internet age, as told through the lens of Web entrepreneur and artist Josh Harris.”

The Times (UK)

“The documentary maker Ondi Timoner specialises in portraits of charismatic, dynamic and dangerously deluded characters…”

EFilmCritic
VIFF ‘09 Interview with Ondi Timoner

“Timoner: Since our premiere at Sundance this year, we have had such a passionate response to the film; spawning debates that last for hours. People write and say they cant sleep or have been up for days. I say the film could be billed as a horror movie…”

Three Cheers for Darkened Years! Film Articles by Witney Seibold

“We Live in Public” is fascinating, raw, amusing, and… fascinating to look at.”

prePoSTeRoUS

After the film ended, Director Ondi Timoner addressed the audience and asked the following question, “are we losing our individuality and creativity through the internet?”… Don’t worry, I’m not going to drop off the grid or anything, but thanks to the thoughts provoked by this movie, I am going to try to do more things that none of you will see.

MovieSet Dailies

“Josh Harris’ path through the 90’s — from .com millionaire to web-casting visionary to financial refugee, hiding in Ethiopia from US creditors — is painted across Ondi Timoner’s film with great candor and remarkable fairness for Harris, who left a wake of alienated and estranged relationships when he left the map at the end of his fall…. Provocative.”

Gen X Reflects

“Mind-boggling… Run to this movie!”

Electric Sheep

“Ondi Timoner’s excellent documentary We Live in Public offers a fascinating insight into the way that living virtually through technology can affect our physical lives and our personal identities.”


Daily Freep

“Harris was a myopic visionary, a man who saw the future more vividly than his own life.”

Curtis Andersen Super Blog!

“Following [Josh Harris'] life and those who were affected by it and his projects, is shockingly self affronting and made both Rene and I re-examine just why we interacted with social media the way we do.”


And these two recent reviews made our last press round-up but deserve another shout-out!

Vancouver Sun
VIFF Reviews include the stunning documentary, We Live In Public

“(Critic’s Pick) Watching the social network short-circuit and the entire fabric of civility shred before your eyes can be very compelling, and Timoner doesn’t miss a syncopated beat in this detailed study of public personality, and the self denied… Timoner captures the blurry line between who we really are, and what we pretend to be.”


Wired
Smart We Live in Public Probes Web Genius’ Hubris

“Disturbing… [Timoner] captures the de-evolution of optimistic arty types into semi-deranged test subjects… Imminently watchable.”

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WE LIVE IN PUBLIC Opens Cambridge Theatrical Run Tonight at the Brattle

Friday, September 4th, 2009

Head to Cambridge this weekend for the very exciting Boston-area theatrical launch of our 2009 Sundance-winning documentary.   We will be at the Brattle Theater and you can BUY TICKETS HERE.  Director Ondi Timoner and star Josh Harris will be on-hand for lively Q+As.  This is a rare opportunity to not only see our film on the big screen but also to meet the masterminds behind the film and grill them with your toughest questions ;) .

Check out some of the excellent advance Boston-area press:

Boston Globe
WE LIVE IN PUBLIC: The rise and fall of a dot-com darling: ‘Public’ traces a visionary’s virtual ruin
“WE LIVE IN PUBLIC is… fascinating, like a car wreck seen through a rearview mirror… the film touches eerily on the paranoia and power games that can come from having an ever-present audience.”
http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2009/09/04/the_rise_and_fall_of_a_dot_com_darling/

The Providence Phoenix

REVIEW: WE LIVE IN PUBLIC
Call it Woodstock crossed with Salò and The Real World
“…As Ondi Timoner’s lively and chilling documentary reveals, [Josh Harris] did embody… excesses of narcissism and puerility and delusions of grandeur.”
http://thephoenix.com/Providence/Movies/80793-WE-LIVE-IN-PUBLIC/?rel=inf

We launched in NYC at the IFC Theater last week (and we are still running!) and sold out our opening weekend screenings, so grab your tickets for Boston in advance.  We’ve gotten some big love from the press during our New York run so far!  Take a look-see at a few samples:

New Yorker
“Disturbing yet fascinating footage… [Josh Harris] is graced and cursed with a visionary strangeness; artist, con artist, and businessman; genius, clown, and control freak…”
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/reviews/film/we_live_in_public_timoner

Huffington Post
We Live in Public shows what happens when one follows a dangerous idea to its logical conclusion… the film serves both as a disturbing and mesmerizing drama, and a sobering warning.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-persons/emmighty-movie-podcastem_b_276021.html

Fast Company
“We Live in Public is a voyeuristic and captivating look at our growing dependence on the Internet… The film will undoubtedly cause you to think long and hard.”
http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/stephanie-schomer/write/we-live-public

We’ve just extended our limited run in NYC at the IFC, so tell your New York friends to catch it while they can!

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WE LIVE IN PUBLIC Now Playing In NYC at the IFC and a New Press Roundup!

Thursday, September 3rd, 2009

WE LIVE IN PUBLIC has extended our theatrical run in NYC at the IFC Center.  Do not miss out on one of the most talked-about and acclaimed docs of 2009 — this is a very limited engagement!  Go get your seat and be sure to tell your New York area friends.  BUY TICKETS HERE.

Screening times: 1:10pm and 7:30pm daily.   Next on the whistle-stop tour: Boston.

DSC02118WE LIVE IN PUBLIC marquee!

DSC02134Ondi + Josh at an IFC Q+A

We continue to get incredible press on our documentary and as of today we have an 89% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.  Here’s the latest media round-up for you!

NEW YORK MAGAZINE—August 28th, 2009—Vanita Salsbury asks Josh Harris 21 questions
“Josh Harris: I am staying in a Hollywood pool house driving a yellow Corvette. I can barely afford the gas to make it go. I am lucky to have good friends…”
http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2009/08/internet_pioneer_josh_harris_i.html

joshinnymag

HUFFINGTON POST—September 2nd, 2009—Dan Persons interviews Ondi Timoner for the Mighty Movie Podcast
“The film serves both as a disturbing and mesmerizing drama, and a sobering warning.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-persons/emmighty-movie-podcastem_b_276021.html

WNYC: THE LEONARD LOPATE SHOW: WE LIVE IN PUBLIC—August 27, 2009—Radio Interview
“Award-winning director Ondi Timoner and Josh Harris discuss the new documentary WE LIVE IN PUBLIC…”
http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/episodes/2009/08/27/segments/139503

AWEARNESS: The Kenneth Cole Blog—September 2nd, 2009—Dan Persons interviews Ondi Timoner for the Mighty Movie Podcast
“Many of Harris’s seemingly insane ideas have been manifest in the ubiquity of sites like Facebook and Twitter: we really do live in public now, so why isn’t Harris getting any props for being way ahead of the curve? Just think of it: when Harris founded Pseudo, in 1994, the founders of Facebook were still in grade school.”
http://awearnessblog.com/2009/09/long-before-facebook.php

SCATTER/GATHER:ideas+opinions from content strategists at Razorfish—September 1, 2009—Now Watch This: WE LIVE IN PUBLIC
“Dozens of people lived together in close quarters and had cameras pointed at them everywhere they went, every minute of the day. It got messy. Days later, we were still thinking about it.”
http://scattergather.razorfish.com/691/2009/09/01/now-watch-this-we-live-in-public/

DALLASBLACK.COM—August 28th, 2009—Four star review by Kam Williams
“Vividly recounted… A cautionary documentary about the dire prospects of a culture where people feel most validated by a television camera.”
http://www.dallasblack.com/reviews/movie/frweliveinpublic

See more recent press for WE LIVE IN PUBLIC here:

http://www.weliveinpublicthemovie.com/2009/08/31/reviewers-heart-wlip-says-rotten-tomatoes-press-roundup/

http://www.weliveinpublicthemovie.com/2009/08/28/hot-off-the-presses-for-we-live-in-public/

http://www.weliveinpublicthemovie.com/2009/08/26/nyc-advance-press-accolades/

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Screening at Burning Man TONIGHT – WLIP Plays at the Giant Pig Jail?

Thursday, September 3rd, 2009

We are showing the film tonight (or tomorrow morning, depending on how you look at it) at 2:30AM, certainly setting an official record for Weirdest Screening Time Ever at Interloper Films. Because the details via our Burning Man liason are in festival-speak, I’m just going to quote this one…. “we’ll be showing it right on the playa from an art car outside the 3:00 plaza”  Evidently there is a bar on hand and “the art car is either Scotty Soltronic’s famous Solar Saucer (Discovery Channel, etc, famous eco-power device) or a giant pig with a jail as its belly.”   Check at the Social Media Booth in 3:00 Plaza for the most up-to-date info, but let me boil it down for ya.

BURNING MAN
Film: WE LIVE IN PUBLIC
Time: 2:30 in the morning on Friday
Place: By the Solar Saucer or the Giant Jail Pig in the 3:00 plaza

Can somebody take some pictures of this for me? Thanks.

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Reviewers Heart WLIP, says Rotten Tomatoes – Press Roundup!

Monday, August 31st, 2009

WE LIVE IN PUBLIC is getting tons of raves from the media and we are excited to have an 88% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, as of today.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/we_live_in_public/

Look at some the great press that keeps rolling in for WE LIVE IN PUBLIC!  Bloggers like us too… :)

MTV.com – review by Kurt Loder
“WE LIVE IN PUBLIC, Ondi Timoner’s new documentary about Harris, prompts a number of questions — about the future of privacy, the decay of intimacy, and technological totalitarianism… It’s a maddening, mesmerizing film.”
http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1619798/story.jhtml

New York Daily News
“Compelling… Fascinating…”
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/2009/08/28/2009-08-28_short_movie_reviews_big_fan_still_walking_.html?page=1#ixzz0PUKmWIHt
Fast Company
“Award-winning director Ondi Timoner’s latest documentary is a captivating look at our growing dependence on the Internet.”
http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/stephanie-schomer/write/we-live-public

MovieLine
“Ondi Timoner… is gambling her superb, Sundance-winning We Live in Public on the same mass-media concepts that, ironically, doomed her protagonist.”
http://www.movieline.com/2009/08/in-search-for-oscar-and-audience-public-director-goes-it-alone.php

The Brooklyn Socialite
“This was an experiment with human guinea pigs… [the film asks] some very frightening moral questions…”
http://thebrooklynsocialite.wordpress.com/2009/08/29/we-live-in-public-opening-ifc-center/

NYConvergence
“WE LIVE IN PUBLIC is film making at its finest.”
http://www.nyconvergence.com/2009/04/nyconvergence-reviews-we-live-in-public.html

Hammer to Nail
“Even thinking about Ondi Timoner’s Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning film makes me want to cut off my electricity and join a monastery.”
http://www.hammertonail.com/genre/documentary/movies-on-big-screens-theatrical-releases-new-and-old-august-28-2009/

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