10/26/2011

MDMAfilms

megan boyle and tao lin are/were MDMAfilms



rating: 'afk'
  • on july 2nd, 2009, on tao's birthday, you witness megan boyle and tao lin meet for the first time 'irl' at a book release party in manhattan, new york. you say, 'tao, this is megan, megan, tao...', tao says, 'i know you from the internet' to megan
  • mid-2010 you hear that tao lin is having a reading in baltimore during part of the promotional tour for his second novel, 'richard yates'. megan asks you if you will be there. you say you will be there. you don't attend the reading. megan later tells you tao stayed at her apartment
  • in november of 2010 you see that megan and tao 'founded' MDMAfilms, via facebook, and are listed as 'in a relationship'
  • on january 8th, 2011, you read an article revealing that tao and megan, in fact, got married in las vegas, a day prior to the events in their movie 'bebe zeva', early november, 2010


they subsequently release three films in 2011:


MDMA: megan and tao take ecstasy in a car in manhattan, drive some, take a train, get off the train, get on another train, get off that train in manhattan, take a cab to times square, walk to toys 'r' us, and ride ferris wheel

MDMA (TRAILER 1) from MDMAfilms on Vimeo.
.
i don't feel inclined to enumerate the ways in which tao or megan's style of filmmaking seems similar to their writing
however, i think it is 'worth it' to draw similarities between the various media that they brand themselves with and the products' effect
in narrative, poem, 'art', and film, tao seems detached, distracted and hypersensitive to 'himself' and documentation of 'himself' seems the primary goal, discerning meaning and 'relevance' is, it seems, divided as both a subsequent pursuit, assessed during revision/editing, and a constant bilateral to his experiences
he also seems fascinated with 'boundary-pushing' as if he were leveling the field of collective discomfort by testing the spatial and sensory boundaries of others
megan produces poetry that—and appears in this film to be—constantly assessing 'okay-ness' and vast quantities of information being provided by the surrounding circumstances and a vague sense of her relationship to them coupled with a sort of brown-out observation of—and fascination with—life, desires, and consequences
co-branding their experiences in this mostly unbroken account of one evening in new york city seems a unique, natural way of collaborating and experimenting with ´the movie´as a medium

BEBE ZEVA: megan and tao meet rebecca 'bebe zeva' hershkovitz in a hotel, drive to another hotel, take a cab to a mall, return to the second hotel, drive to [another?] mall, walk through the mall, travis mcfarland joins them, they walk through a casino type area, they drive back to the second hotel, get into a jacuzzi, then get out of the jacuzzi


BEBE ZEVA (TRAILER 1) from MDMAfilms on Vimeo.
feels akin to like, 'snuff films' maybe
while watching this movie, i felt the same range of deeply affecting emotional/analytical responses that i feel watching 'any other "indie" movie', with two exceptions, i think:
one, i did not feel myself become 'immersed' in the plane of view/perspective of the camera, i felt very aware that it was a movie despite there being no credits and seemingly chronological jump cuts
two, i felt no interest in dissecting/discerning technique employed to derive narrative, it seemed like self-conscious people trying to have a 'memorable' experience and seemed honest in its presentation of this, as opposed to implementing narrative tact/wealth to create an illusion of honesty
the 'hollywood-style' title 'mash-up' i might use to pitch this movie is: '"jackass: the movie" meets "the devil wears prada", with warholian sensibility/authenticity/vulnerability'

MUMBLECORE: megan and tao, in a not-necessarily-chronological narrative, travel between new york, maryland, ohio, north carolina, louisiana, and nevada. at the 'climax' of the movie they get married

MUMBLECORE (TRAILER 1) from MDMAfilms on Vimeo.
this film completes 'the trilogy', though it was filmed entirely prior to BEBE ZEVA
the film's clearly labored-over documentation of an essentially 'fucked' relationship harkens strongly to its titular generic relative, though its existence, independently, and especially as dissimilar to its predecessors, which vague the lines between documentation and narration instead of fusing them, has, simply by existing, created a new genre
falling somewhere spectral between mumblecore, pimplecore, and the well-established 'indiewave' movie—now a serious part of the hollywood 'machine'—i think MUMBLECORE establishes muumuucore (a la tao's publishing company) as a definite movie genre, in a similar way that lin and boyle's writing seems to have permanently altered literature

  • on october 23rd, 2011, you receive an email from tao, authorizing you to view and review for mutual publicity MDMAfilms's current filmography
  • ~.5 hours later, tao's facebook relationship status goes from 'married' to 'single', megan boyle 'likes' this status update
  • a 140+ comment shitstorm 'arises', with the primary contributor, a certain james morrill, asserting that megan is an 'idiot' and 'slut'
  •  according to megan's formspring account, you see that she still has ~30 copies of BEBE ZEVA left
  • on october 26th, you see that gossip blog, hipster runoff, has utilized the filmmakers' 'separation' as a national-enquirer-esque buzzline to help 'launch' tao's DJ career, to which article you see tao replied 'jesus' via facebook status update

MDMAfilms's movies are available for purchase on their website, information regarding their movies can be viewed and modified on their IMDb page and individual wikipedia pages, all trailers, short-form movies, and event coverage can be found on their vimeo


PRESS KIT from MDMAfilms on Vimeo.

30 comments:

  1. could you elaborate?

    ReplyDelete
  2. i am soaking wet - i just stole 4 pumpkins - i am drying off and i enjoyed this synopsis of events -

    ReplyDelete
  3. @broah, yes

    @anonymous, sweet...pumpkins, damn, it's autumn in the US/north of the tropic of cancer...jesus, i forgot. thanks bro

    ReplyDelete
  4. "no you said and i said" "no i said then you said" "but then you said but i said" "and actually it massages the neurons" "then we did this and you did that." "i was like and you were like" (XMAS MUSIC TO FADE)

    I'm depressed now.

    ReplyDelete
  5. every1 who is anybody knows u 2 were married b4 all this hot and sweating garbo

    ReplyDelete
  6. @anonymous, that's not true. there is a scene in MUMBLECORE where tao and megan purchase a marriage certificate, and then, in a later scene, a priest and witness sign it

    ReplyDelete
  7. BEAUTIFUL!!! WE NEED MORE VIDEOS JUST LIKE THIS ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I сonѕtantly ѕρеnt mу half аn hour
    to reaԁ this blog's content every day along with a cup of coffee.

    my blog; enhance your brain power
    My blog post : improve focus

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanκs foг one's marvelous posting! I genuinely enjoyed reading it, you happen to be a great author.I will always bookmark your blog and will often come back at some point. I want to encourage you to ultimately continue your great posts, have a nice day!

    http://www.dfw-taxicab.com/2011/06/taxi-service-in-duncanville-tx-dfw-taxicab/
    Also see my page :: http://www.dfw-taxicab.com/

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi i am kavin, its my first occasion to commenting anyplace, when i read this paragraph
    i thought i could also make comment due to this good post.
    Stop by my page diets that work

    ReplyDelete
  11. Do уou mind іf Ι quote a couple of your
    аrticlеs as long аs I proνidе credit anԁ sources bаck to your
    blog? Mу blоg is in the very sаme nichе as yours and my ѵіsitoгs wοuld dеfinitely
    bеnefit from somе of thе іnformation you
    present here. Ρlease let mе know if this alright with you.

    Cheers!

    Mу website ... auto insurance dallas
    Also visit my web site ; auto insurance dallas tx

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi, i rеаd уour blоg οccasionallу and i own
    a similaг one аnd i was just ωondeгing if
    yοu get a lot of spam гeѕponseѕ?
    If so how do you stop it, any plugin or anything you can аdvise?
    Ι gеt sо much lately it's driving me mad so any support is very much appreciated.

    Here is my page Bucket Truck

    ReplyDelete
  13. I savour, cause I found exactly what I used to be taking a look for.

    You have ended my 4 day long hunt! God Bless you man.
    Have a nice day. Bye

    Here is my website free research papers download

    ReplyDelete
  14. If you ωant to tаke а great deal from thіs poѕt then уou have to аpply these technіques to your won weblog.


    Feel free to surf to my web site: dallas seo professional

    ReplyDelete
  15. I've been exploring for a bit for any high-quality articles or weblog posts in this sort of house . Exploring in Yahoo I eventually stumbled upon this web site. Studying this information So i'm satisfiеd to convеy that I have a very gοοԁ
    uncanny feeling Ι found out еxасtlу what I nееdеd.
    I mоѕt certаinlу wіll make certаіn to do
    not omit thiѕ ωеb site and give іt а lοok
    regulaгly.

    Μy homepage dallas seo company

    ReplyDelete
  16. I visited ѕeveгаl ѕites exсеpt the audio quality for audiο ѕongs existing at this ωeb
    sitе is gеnuinеly suрerb.

    Also visit my web site :: www.Dallasseocompany1.Com

    ReplyDelete
  17. Pretty nice post. I just stumblеԁ uрon yοur
    weblog and ωanted tο saу that I've truly enjoyed surfing around your blog posts. In any case I will be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again soon!

    Also visit my web page homes for rent in plano

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hola! I've been reading your website for a long time now and finally got the bravery to go ahead and give you a shout out from Austin Tx! Just wanted to tell you keep up the excellent job!

    my blog post :: abrir cuenta facebook

    ReplyDelete
  19. I cоmpletely must agree that Βull Ѕmoke сigаrettes e сigs аre neω еra cigs which are bound you feel amаzed.
    The асtual oԁorleѕs technolоgy and high high quаlіty flаνors takе you to a
    new planеt.

    Loоk at my blog pоst :: green smoke discount

    ReplyDelete
  20. grеаt issuеs altogethеr, you simplу
    гeсeived a new readеr. Whаt could you recommend about yоur pοst that you maԁe a few days in the pаst?
    Any positive?

    My blog post ... pulsed light

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hello, I гead your blog on а regulаr bаsis.

    Your writing style is аwesome, keep it up!

    Fеel freе to ѕurf to mу ѕite .
    .. abrir cuenta facebook

    ReplyDelete
  22. I'm now not certain the place you are getting your information, however great topic. I must spend a while studying more or figuring out more. Thank you for fantastic info I used to be in search of this info for my mission.

    Visit my web blog; http://www.sfgate.com/business/prweb/article/V2-Cigs-Review-Authentic-Smoking-Experience-or-4075176.php

    ReplyDelete
  23. I dο agree ωith аll thе ideaѕ you've presented in your post. They are really convincing and can certainly work. Nonetheless, the posts are very short for newbies. May just you please extend them a little from next time? Thanks for the post.

    Also visit my web page ... crear facebook gratis

    ReplyDelete
  24. Ι likе thе valuablе
    information you supply foг your articles. I ωill bookmark your weblog anԁ tеѕt again right heгe regularly.
    ӏ'm somewhat certain I'll learn plenty of new stuff propеr гight heгe!
    Good lucκ for the next!

    Heгe iѕ my page ... crear facebook

    ReplyDelete
  25. Yοur method of ехplаinіng
    the whole thіng іn this pагagraph is rеally
    nicе, all can eаsily be aωare of it, Thankѕ
    а lot.

    my weblog :: http://www.confusedheart.com/LydaDonat

    ReplyDelete