And raise your glasses high, dear Doc viewers. The leaves are starting to fall, the weather is getting chillier, and Doc-toberfest is about to begin.?Ǭ† That means a whole new month’s worth of exclusive?Ǭ†Documentary Channel themed programming (and, of course,?Ǭ†entertaining web content from?Ǭ†yours truly and the one-and-only Chris Dortch II).?Ǭ† There may even be lederhosen, but don’t quote me on that. So?Ǭ†get out there?Ǭ†and?Ǭ†jump in those leaf piles, go on a hayride or two, and don’t forget to take a break and curl up on the couch with a cup of hot cocoa and the Documentary Channel.

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Ladies and Gentlemen it’s been far too long since the last time I had a free moment to say hello. Soooo, hello, hope you’ve all been well things are going very well here at Doc HQ and in general it’s been a good week. Certainly my inner cinephile has had a good week with three of the most interesting films of the recent vintage being released on DVD this week. The Devil and Daniel Johnston’s official release alone would be cause for fanfare but this Tuesday when I went on my weekly DVD run I picked up not only that little gem but also the Nick Cave scripted blood spattered Western The Proposition and director David Slade’s debut feature Hard Candy (which along with Neil Marshall’s The Descent stands as one of the most original horror pictures in ages).?Ǭ†Other than Rian Johnson’s Brick I can’t think of any recent films i’ve enjoyed quite as much as these three and I’d whole heartedly recommend going to pick them up if you have the means. In other news on www.documentarychannel.com this week you’ll find a new piece on our terrific Michael Haneke doc 24 Realities Per Second (Haneke’s recent film Cache’ is also well worth the time and effort to check out) and an interview with Barry Zevan a man who’s worked in the industry since before I was drawing breathe Barry even used the exact same model of Bolex camera to make his first film as our own fearless leader Tom Neff. So go forth and support the filmmakers behind the above mentioned DVD releases and don’t forget to make a little time to check the Documentary Channel for a slew of other great films. Take care of yourselves and I’ll be around again soon.

Just got back from a week’s vacation on the shores of Lake Tahoe, a deep cold massive?Ǭ†body of water?Ǭ†atop the Sierra Nevada?Ǭ†mountain range?Ǭ†on the borders of California and Nevada. I guess because of?Ǭ†the isolated outdoor culture there my friends had never heard of,?Ǭ†let alone watched, You Tube. These guys have been using the Internet for years, much longer than I, and somehow hadn’t heard about this web site.

It’s?Ǭ†a place where you can repeatedly?Ǭ†watch a?Ǭ†nine-second clip of a news reporter getting run over by a motorcyle?Ǭ†during her broadcast.?Ǭ†A place where?Ǭ†there’s a trove of High on Fire (my favorite band) concert clips?Ǭ†from?Ǭ†around world.?Ǭ†A place where you can watch shark attacks, cliff jumping or a?Ǭ†teen-ager’s video blog about the boyfriend none of her friends want her to have. I guess, and I hate to say it, it’s kind of like Maxim TV. But it also has a lot in common with The Documentary Channel because most of what it?Ǭ†broadcasts is produced independently by?Ǭ†people who want to document part of their own or someone else’s life.

Www.youtube.com, in essence, much like The Documentary Channel, is an entertainment revolution. One of the first sledgehammer blows to?Ǭ†smash?Ǭ†the computer into the TV and the TV into the computer.

Just a few weeks ago?Ǭ†my friend at Tahoe gave away his computer?Ǭ†desk and chair. Now his computer sits?Ǭ†on a long coffee table inbetween the TV and the record player. He accesses the?Ǭ†Internet and selects iTunes sitting on the carpet in his living room?Ǭ†using a wireless mouse and keyboard. He plans to?Ǭ†get rid of his computer monitor and replace it with a?Ǭ†large digital TV screen. Yes, nearly 10 years after its introduction, web?Ǭ†television is finally here.

What does this mean for documentary filmmakers? It could mean?Ǭ†that a?Ǭ†short film?Ǭ†broadcast?Ǭ†on You Tube gets 50,000 views in a month?Ǭ†and leads to a request from a production company to make it a full-length film. More importantly, it means people get to watch what they want, not what corporate America wants them to watch.

No, not the Incredible Hulk*. Apparently his tastes run to the romantic comedy side of things. What we’re talking about is the indie film geek’s version of Netflix: a not so little website called GreenCine where you can rent, download, or buy cult classics, documentaries, and anything else your standard film junkie could possibly desire. In fact, they even refer to themselves as “the film addict’s film site”. Consider it the Pitchfork Media of Film, with film news, movie reviews, articles, and interviews with top filmmakers. So check them out (www.greencine.com), become a member, and try to out-film nerd us, we dare you.

*This statement sparked an office-wide knockdown dragout here at the Doc Channel. The initial lines were drawn on whether or not the answer to the question “What’s big and green and makes great movie recommendations?” should be the Incredible Hulk or Godzilla. Now this brings up the main argument: was the original Godzilla brown or green? My vote was with brown. Wanna fight about it?

This month’s Featured Doc Maker article showcases Eddie Schmidt, one of the masterminds behind This Film is Not Yet Rated. This timely doc examines the veil of secrecy under which the MPAA board operates, revealing the uber-discriminatory (ahem, yes that is a word) nature the board displays towards the independent filmmaker. For you local Nashvillians out there, the film has an exclusive engagement at the Belcourt Theater starting October 13th. Go to the Belcourt website for details and show times.