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Agnes Varnum is a freelance writer, film programmer and communications manager for the Austin Film Society. She is the primary contributor to doc it out and Tribeca Film Institute's Resources.

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An Inconvenient Truth, part deux

May 23rd, 2006 • Related Posts • Tags

AJ Schnack contacted me last week for some impressions about the upcoming Gore movie on global warming, An Inconvenient Truth. I felt a little silly commenting on it since I hadn’t seen it, but that was kind of the gist of what he was getting at: what is the future for this film given the lead-up and preconceptions? So I indulged us both and as you can read in his post, I am feeling chilly towards it. But I have to admit that AJ’s yet again awesome journalistic opinion writing has swayed me – now I want to see it just to see what the hype is about.

Coincidentally, on Thursday night, Wired Magazine is hosting Al Gore at Town Hall for a discussion. I can’t tell if they are screening the film. Tix are $15 and up, and I’m close to forking over the dough just to be in the room. It’s like when I went to the George Bush rally at Drew University when he ran against Gore – I didn’t intend to vote for him but I couldn’t resist being at the rally (to which he showed up late and, naturally, had nothing of any interest to say, yet, here I am again…).

Snaps AJ for your work. I look forward to seeing how it all winds up. Oh, and by the way, you spelled my name with a “D” the second time – where you thinking of Agnes Varda? I swear, that’s the best part about my name being in the doc biz.

There Are 9 Responses So Far. »

  1. Comment by AJ Schnack on 24 May 2006:

    Agnes,
    You caught me. I must admit that the first few times I typed in your url, I entered http://www.agnesvarda.com. But don’t feel too bad, I do the same thing to my friends Albert Maysday and D.A. Pennebutton.
    Thanks for contributing to the post and for the kind words. You rock, despite my lapses.
    AJ

  2. Comment by agnes on 24 May 2006:

    There is no one I’d rather share syllables with than her – if anyone hasn’t seen The Gleaners & I, please rent it NOW!

  3. Comment by Robert Scales on 24 May 2006:

    What is more Ironic?

    Considering the fact that prior to our skype chat you didn’t know about the documentary, or that your are asked to comment on it within 72 hrs of learning that such film just premier!

    How can movie viewers trust film critics, if critics are not up to par on what new and hot and what’s not?

  4. Comment by agnes on 24 May 2006:

    For the record, and perhaps I’m splitting hairs here, but I don’t consider myself a film critic on this blog. I talk about films that are of interest to me, and if you take the time to visit AJ’s post, he clearly notes that I and and a few others he talked to hadn’t seen the film, and he includes comments from folks who have. That is part of his discussion.

    Here, I meander around aspects of films that are interesting, make me think in a new way or somehow spark reflections about my life, and perhaps occasionally, ones that I have an opposing view to. I don’t see much point in advertising bad films. I’ll be honest about whether I recommend it or not, but I have no desire to attempt critical review without having seen the film in question.

  5. Comment by Bob Alexander on 24 May 2006:

    I’m interested in the “lack of entertainment value” argument. I’m not sure I buy that. Many people think the Weather Channel is entertaining, and people gather around public screens to watch images of storms — ice, snow, tornados, hurricanes, and more. It’s not just icecaps melting, it’s the weather. I think that strikes a chord. I suspect that people are reasonably visual and when you string together images of the weather that reinforce the analytical points, I’m not sure that fails the entertainment test. I look forward to seeing the movie (I’ve seen the trailers often enough!), but at this point, I suspect that this presentation of the Gore statement will have a very major impact on public opinion which may or may not be captured by box office. And in that case, it will have been a huge success.

  6. Comment by Bob Alexander on 29 May 2006:

    Over at the Daily Kos (the political blogsite) folks talk about pretty much everything. There is an interesting analysis there of the implications of the opening weekend on An InconvenientTruth (or “AIT”, as the diarist charmingly calls it!). Based on patterns and comparables and a long winded discussion, he puts the box office in the $30-$40 range. You can see the write up here.

  7. Comment by agnes on 29 May 2006:

    Thanks for the update Bob. AJ Schnack (see link above) has also been keeping track of the film’s progress. I didn’t make it to the Town Hall event…Too tired and not that inspired…

  8. Comment by eric on 17 June 2006:

    Hello Agnes,

    Thanks for posting this note regarding the town hall event. I only wish I was in the area to be able to attend.

    Have you seen the movie at this point? If not, you are welcome to consider scoring a free ticket from http://sharethetruth.us. The site connects people who have been inspired by the film who want to share it with those who wouldn’t mind attending a free movie.

    Share The Truth is not for profit and has no affiliations with any political party or other organization – the aim is just to raise awareness on perhaps the most important issue of our time. And it’s pretty entertaining, I (and most critics, e.g. at Rotten Tomatoes) feel.

    Please consider going, for free.

    Thank you!

    eric

  9. Comment by agnes on 17 June 2006:

    Wow Eric. What a generous and amazing thing to do.

    Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has. -Margaret Mead