Misplaced Pages

#814185

44-403: Hotel Chevalier is a 2007 short film written and directed by Wes Anderson . Starring Jason Schwartzman and Natalie Portman as former lovers who reunite in a Paris hotel room, the 13-minute film acts as a prologue to Anderson's 2007 feature The Darjeeling Limited . It was shot on location in a Parisian hotel by a small crew and self-financed by Anderson, who initially intended it to be

88-503: A TV special , a few films from the studio have added theatrical shorts as well. Warner Bros. often includes old shorts from its considerable library, connected only thematically, on the DVD releases of classic WB movies. From 2010–2012, Warner Bros. also released new Looney Tunes shorts before family films. Shorts International and Magnolia Pictures organize an annual release of Academy Award -nominated short films in theatres across

132-480: A low budget or no budget at all. They are usually funded by one or more film grants, nonprofit organizations , sponsors , or personal funds. Short films are generally used for industry experience and as a platform to showcase talent to secure funding for future projects from private investors, a production company , or film studios . They can also be released with feature films, and can also be included as bonus features on some home video releases. All films in

176-646: A Nation . By the 1920s, a ticket purchased a varied program including a feature and several supporting works from categories such as second feature , short comedy, 4–10 minute cartoon, travelogue , and newsreel. Short comedies were especially common, and typically came in a serial or series (such as the Our Gang movies, or the many outings of Charlie Chaplin 's Little Tramp character). Animated cartoons came principally as short subjects. Virtually all major film production companies had units assigned to develop and produce shorts, and many companies, especially in

220-471: A commercial category. The year 1938 proved to be a turning point in the history of film comedies. Hal Roach , for example, had discontinued all short-subject production except Our Gang , which he finally sold to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1938. The Vitaphone studio, owned by Warner Bros. , discontinued its own line of two-reel comedies in 1938; Educational Pictures did as much that same year, owing to its president Earle W. Hammons unsuccessfully entering

264-1001: A competitor for the Best Live Action Short Film of the Academy Awards, it was not among that year's nominations. It was included as an extra feature on the Darjeeling 2008 DVD release, and Anderson's screenplay for the short was published in the Winter 2007 issue of the literary magazine Zoetrope: All-Story . Hotel Chevalier was one of the year's most discussed short films, and attracted considerable praise from film critics, who compared it favorably to The Darjeeling Limited . Gary Susman of Entertainment Weekly described it as "an exquisite short story where we learn not much but exactly enough about these two characters", adding that " Chevalier sees Anderson working in his customary jewel-box/dollhouse mode, but

308-547: A hotel lobby, the concierge answers a phone call from a guest's room. Jack ( Jason Schwartzman ) lies on a hotel bed in a yellow bathrobe, watching the black-and-white American war film Stalag 17 and reading the newspaper. After ordering room service from the concierge in broken French , he receives a call from Rhett, his ex-girlfriend. She tells him she is on her way from the airport and asks for his room number. Despite objecting that he did not tell her she could come, Jack consents nevertheless. He then hurriedly attempts to tidy

352-513: A journey in India in Darjeeling . The dialogue between the characters at the end of Chevalier is recounted by Jack to his brothers at the close of the feature film, in the form of an excerpt from a short story he has composed. Rhett (Portman) has a brief cameo in the feature. Fox Searchlight Pictures , the studio that backed Darjeeling , was unaware of the short until the feature had been made and claimed to have no financial interest in it. When it

396-557: A month. It had been dismissed by USA Today columnist Susan Wloszczyna before its iTunes release as an amuse-bouche that was "destined to be a mere footnote". It was downloaded nearly 500,000 times during its run, and received wide acclaim. Following its withdrawal from iTunes, the short was distributed in theaters as the prologue to the feature-length film. Although The New York Times reported in October 2007 that distributor Fox Searchlight Pictures intended to promote Chevalier as

440-440: A regular series in 1946 and lasted until 1956. By and large, however, the movies' one-reel subject of choice was the animated cartoon, produced by Walt Disney , Warner Bros. , MGM, Paramount , Walter Lantz , Columbia, and Terrytoons . One of the movies' oldest short-subject formats was the adventure serial , first established in 1912. A serial generally ran for 12 to 15 chapters, 15 to 20 minutes each. Every episode ended with

484-510: A setting for the films Love in Paris (1996) and Place Vendôme (1998). It was shot by a crew of 15 in Panavision and used props from Anderson's apartment. Filming took two and a half days, and editing (done on Anderson's computer) another week. Despite his use of a wardrobe from prestigious fashion designer Marc Jacobs and a handmade suitcase from Louis Vuitton , the director described

SECTION 10

#1732794512815

528-453: A short along with each of its feature films during its initial theatrical run since 1995 (producing shorts permanently since 2001). Since Disney acquired Pixar in 2006, Disney has also produced animated shorts since 2007 with the Goofy short How to Hook Up Your Home Theater and produced a series of live-action ones featuring The Muppets for viewing on YouTube as viral videos to promote

572-605: A stand-alone work. Its first showing was at the Venice Film Festival première of the feature film on September 2, 2007, and it made its own debut later that month at Apple Stores in four U.S. cities. The day after the film's première, it was made freely available from the iTunes Store for one month, during which time it was downloaded more than 500,000 times. The film garnered acclaim from reviewers, who compared it favorably to The Darjeeling Limited and praised its richness, poignancy, and careful construction. In

616-640: Is an avenue in the 16th arrondissement of Paris , France, one of the twelve avenues that converge on the Place Charles de Gaulle . It was named after Jean Baptiste Kléber , a French general during the French Revolutionary Wars . Before 1879, it was called the Avenue du Roi-de-Rome , in memory of Napoleon II . The avenue is "lined with grand examples of the ceremonial, yet never austere, buildings favored by Haussmann ." Of note are

660-695: Is perched against an armoire , Jack approaches and covers her naked body with the yellow bathrobe, and the two move towards the window. After they step out on the balcony, Jack draws a toothpick from his pocket and hands it to Rhett with an upwards nod, which she reciprocates. After looking out for another few seconds she clasps his neck lightly and they step back inside. Wes Anderson first approached Schwartzman and Portman about Hotel Chevalier in 2005. Schwartzman and Anderson had previously worked on Rushmore (1998), Anderson's cult second feature, and had been living together in Schwartzman's Paris apartment in

704-408: Is playing. Receiving no response, she steps into the room and presents Jack with a bouquet of flowers. When she moves to kiss him on the mouth, he turns his head away and they embrace instead. He closes the door and asks how she found him; she replies that it "wasn't actually that hard". She moves around the room browsing through his possessions, brushes her teeth with his toothbrush and declines to take

748-401: The 2011 movie of the same name . In 2009 the horror short film, No Through Road, that would go viral was released, creating analog horror. The short film would spark 3 sequels, creating No Through Road (web series) DreamWorks Animation often produces a short sequel to include in the special edition video releases of major features, and are typical of a sufficient length to be broadcast as

792-489: The silent and very early sound era, produced mostly or only short subjects. In the 1930s, the distribution system changed in many countries, owing to the Great Depression . Instead of the cinema owner assembling a program of their own choice, the studios sold a package centered on a main and supporting feature, a cartoon and little else. With the rise of the double feature , two- reel shorts went into decline as

836-507: The 1960s before exiting the short film business in 1969 (by which point the shorts had been in televised reruns for years ). MGM continued Tom and Jerry (first with a series of poorly-received Eastern European shorts by Gene Deitch , then a better-received run by Warner Bros. alumnus Chuck Jones ) until 1967, and Woody Woodpecker lasted to 1972; the creative team behind MGM's 1940s and 1950s cartoons formed Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1957, mainly focusing on television. The Pink Panther

880-540: The US, UK, Canada and Mexico throughout February and March. Shorts are occasionally broadcast as filler when a feature film or other work does not fit the standard broadcast schedule. ShortsTV was the first television channel dedicated to short films. However, short films generally rely on film festival exhibition to reach an audience. Such movies can also be distributed via the Internet . Certain websites which encourage

924-603: The United States, short films were generally termed short subjects from the 1920s into the 1970s when confined to two 35 mm reels or less, and featurettes for a film of three or four reels. " Short " was an abbreviation for either term. The increasingly rare industry term "short subject" carries more of an assumption that the film is shown as part of a presentation along with a feature film. Short films are often screened at local, national, or international film festivals and made by independent filmmakers with either

SECTION 20

#1732794512815

968-428: The actress reconsider the wisdom of this aspect of her performance, and she subsequently swore off nude appearances in film. While The Darjeeling Limited did receive generally positive reviews—having attained a 68% approval rating on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes —many of the champions of Hotel Chevalier tended to combine praise of Chevalier with subtle shots at Darjeeling . Portman's performance as Rhett

1012-608: The arrival of room service. Once alone again, the two kiss and Jack begins to undress Rhett. They have an uncomfortable exchange about not having slept with other people and when Jack notices bruises on her arm after undressing her further, Rhett chooses not to comment on them. Lying on top of him, she tells Jack that she does not want to lose his friendship, that she loves him and never meant to hurt him. He responds coldly that he "will never be [her] friend", but holds her when she embraces him. "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)?" starts again and Jack offers to show Rhett his view of Paris. Rhett

1056-454: The audience. The short was made available the following day as a free download from Apple's iTunes Store . On September 28, it preceded the showing of the feature on the opening night of the 2007 New York Film Festival . A press release posted before the première described the short as "the brief coda to a doomed romance and the prologue to The Darjeeling Limited ". The film was withdrawn from iTunes after having been available for download for

1100-451: The bath he had run for her. Stepping back into the bedroom, Rhett turns to face the man and confronts him, asking slowly "what the fuck is going on?" Jack motions for her to join him on the bed and at her prompting, he reveals in the ensuing conversation that he has been living in the hotel room for "more than a month", and that he had left to escape their relationship. They lie back on the bed looking at one another before being interrupted by

1144-452: The beginning of cinema were very short , sometimes running only a minute or less. It was not until the 1910s when films started to get longer than about ten minutes. The first set of films were presented in 1894 and it was through Thomas Edison 's device called a kinetoscope . It was made for individual viewing only. Comedy short films were produced in large numbers compared to lengthy features such as D. W. Griffith 's 1915 The Birth of

1188-406: The feature-film field. With these major comedy producers out of the running, Columbia Pictures actually expanded its own operations and launched a second two-reel-comedy unit in 1938. Columbia and RKO Radio Pictures kept making two-reel comedies into the 1950s. Theater managers found it easier and more convenient to fit shorter, one-reel (10-minute) subjects into their double-feature programs. In

1232-427: The form and length really suit each other here." Armond White of New York Press judged the short "moving and genuinely contemporary", citing its "lost-girl poignancy". The film drew some attention for Portman's brief, partial nude scene, and for her bruised body. Portman expressed disappointment at this undue focus, saying "[i]t really depressed me that half of every review ... was about the nudity". The episode made

1276-519: The hero or heroine trapped in a life-threatening situation; audiences would have to return the following week to see the outcome. These "chapter plays" remained popular through the 1950s, although both Columbia and Republic Pictures were now making them as cheaply as possible, reusing action highlights from older serials and connecting them with a few new scenes showing identically dressed actors. Even after Republic quit making serials in 1955 and Columbia stopped in 1956, faithful audiences supported them and

1320-448: The live-action field, humorist Robert Benchley had been making short comedies since the dawn of sound; his various series for Fox, Vitaphone, MGM, and Paramount ran from 1928 to 1944. MGM's Pete Smith Specialties had been a standard "added attraction" in moviehouse programming since 1935 and lasted through 1955. RKO's Flicker Flashbacks revivals of silent films ran from 1943 to 1956, and Warner Bros. ' Joe McDoakes comedies became

1364-557: The months leading up to the shoot. Portman was approached after the director obtained her email address from Scott Rudin , executive producer of 2004's Closer in which she starred. The actors appeared for free, and Anderson financed the remainder of the production himself. It was filmed at the Hôtel Raphael in Paris, on Avenue Kléber , two blocks south-southwest of the Arc de Triomphe . The Hôtel Raphael had previously been used as

Hotel Chevalier - Misplaced Pages Continue

1408-398: The oldest film festivals dedicated to short films are Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival , France (since 1979), Tampere Film Festival , Finland (since 1969) and International Short Film Festival Oberhausen , Germany (since 1954). All of them are still considered the most important short film festival in the world to date. Avenue Kl%C3%A9ber The Avenue Kléber

1452-553: The one told outright in The Darjeeling Limited ", and calling the short "very close to perfect". The Guardian columnist Danny Leigh contrasted the lukewarm reception of the feature among bloggers and critics with the "genuine ardour" that greeted the "perfectly measured narrative" of Chevalier . He proposed that the constraints of the short-film format suited Anderson, whose trademark deadpan humor, idiosyncratic set designs and choice of soundtrack inclined to exhaust

1496-437: The production as "like making a student film". Anderson initially intended it to be a stand-alone short film, but shortly before filming commenced, he realized that Jack (Schwartzman) bore a close resemblance to one of the protagonists of a feature film he was writing at the time. That film would begin production a year later as The Darjeeling Limited . Chevalier takes place two weeks before Jack joins his two older brothers on

1540-407: The room – pausing to play the opening bars of the song " Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)? " by Peter Sarstedt on his stereo system – and runs a bath. Jack is again lying on the bed, now in a gray suit. Hearing a knock, he starts the song playing again before opening the door to Rhett ( Natalie Portman ). After staring at him for several seconds, Rhett breaks the silence by asking what music

1584-421: The studios re-released older serials through the mid-1960s. The 1964 revival of Columbia's Batman serial resulted in a media frenzy, spurring a new Batman TV series and a wave of Batman merchandise. With the rise of television , the commercial live-action short was virtually dead; most studios canceled their live-action series in 1956. Only The Three Stooges continued making two-reel comedies; their last

1628-908: The submission of user-created short films, such as YouTube and Vimeo , have attracted large communities of artists and viewers. Sites like Omeleto, FILMSshort, Short of the Week, Short Films Matter, Short Central and some apps showcase curated shorts. Short films are a typical first stage for new filmmakers, but professional actors and crews often still choose to create short films as an alternative form of expression. Amateur filmmaking has grown in popularity as equipment has become more accessible. The lower production costs of short films often mean that short films can cover alternative subject matter as compared to higher budget feature films. Similarly, unconventional filmmaking techniques such as Pixilation or narratives that are told without dialogue, are more often seen in short films than features. Tropfest claims to be

1672-524: The viewers' patience in a feature-length work. A. O. Scott of The New York Times hailed Chevalier as "a small gem" in comparison to the "overstuffed suitcase" of the feature, and wrote that "It is worth seeking out, not only because it fleshes out part of the story of the Whitman brothers but also because, on its own, it is an almost perfect distillation of Mr. Anderson's vexing and intriguing talents, enigmatic, affecting and wry." Short film In

1716-468: The world's largest short film festival. Tropfest now takes place in Australia (its birthplace), Arabia, the US and elsewhere. Originating in 1993, Tropfest is often credited as being at least partially responsible for the recent popularity of short films internationally. Also Couch Fest Films , part of Shnit Worldwide Filmfestival, claimed to be the world's largest single-day short film festival. Among

1760-543: Was all done, I didn't want to incorporate the short into the movie. But I couldn't decide how I wanted it to go. I wanted to play the short in front of the movie, but not always. Sometimes I preferred to watch the movie without the short. It became a puzzle to me. So in the end I decided that I would like to have the movie open in America without the short, but I would like people to have access to it if they want to see it first. —Wes Anderson, October 2007 Hotel Chevalier

1804-432: Was praised by TIME reviewer Richard Corliss , who declared her to be "a comic actress in fresh bloom" in the "beguiling vignette", and expressed his wish that her role in Darjeeling had been greater. The feature, he felt, lacked "the feeling and wit of the short film". Stephanie Zacharek of Salon concurred, stating that "the untold story of Hotel Chevalier is 10 times more interesting, and infinitely richer, than

Hotel Chevalier - Misplaced Pages Continue

1848-432: Was released in 1959. Short films had become a medium for student, independent, and specialty work. Cartoon shorts had a longer life, due in part to the implementation of lower-cost limited animation techniques and the rise of television animation , which allowed shorts to have both theatrical runs and a syndication afterlife. Warner Bros. , one of the most prolific of the golden era, underwent several reorganizations in

1892-601: Was screened as part of the program at the world première of The Darjeeling Limited at the 64th Venice International Film Festival on September 2, 2007. The short had its own première at Apple Stores in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco and Santa Monica, California, on September 25. Anderson, Schwartzman and Portman appeared at the New York screening in SoHo , after which they held a questions-and-answers session with

1936-426: Was the last regular theatrical cartoon short series, having begun in 1964 (and thus having spent its entire existence in the limited animation era) and ended in 1980. By the 1960s, the market for animated shorts had largely shifted to television, with existing theatrical shorts being syndicated to television. A few animated shorts continue within the mainstream commercial distribution. For instance, Pixar has screened

#814185