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Netflix Streaming Pick of the Week: The Queen of Versailles
January 11, 2013 Leave a Comment

Netflix Streaming Pick of the Week: The Queen of Versailles

It’s been a while since we’ve posted one of these! But this one is a “can’t miss.” The Queen of Versailles, IFFBoston 2012′s closing night film, is an excellent documentary from Lauren Greenfield. It follows David and Jackie Siegel as they are beginning to build what will eventually be the largest home in America. David Siegel, a timeshare mogul, came from humble beginnings, to eventually build his Westgate empire.

The bottom falls out from under them, and they find themselves suddenly struggling financially, and the future looking bleak. The film doesn’t poke fun, but shows you what sort of affect the economic recession had on this super wealthy family. You MUST watch this movie. Read the full review from IFFBoston 2012 here.

Add the film to your Netflix Queue here!

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IFFBoston ’12 Review: The Queen of Versailles
May 3, 2012 Leave a Comment

IFFBoston ’12 Review: The Queen of Versailles

What happen’s when you go from having anything, to not being able to afford it?

It’s easy to look at Lauren Greenfield’s documentary the The Queen of Versailles and be shocked, even disgusted at the wealth of David and Jackie Siegel. But that’s not what the film is about. Not once did I feel that Greenfield was mocking, or asking the audience to laugh at her subjects. What she was doing was painting an elaborate, detailed portrait of an extremely wealthy family. Queen of Versailles is the anti-Real Housewives of wherever – rather than romanticizing their position in life, the film does a really great job of showing them us as they are. This isn’t a caricature, it’s definitely the real deal.

The film starts as David and Jackie Siegel are in the midst of planning and designing the largest single-family home in America. Both came from humble beginnings, and in the 70s and 80s, Siegel built his empire, Westgate, a timeshare company. Jackie, his fourth wife, was former Miss Florida, and married David in the mid 90s. Together, the couple has 7 children, and have taken on an 8th, Jackie’s niece.

The home, a merger of Versailles and the top three floors of the Paris hotel in Vegas, is a 90,000 square foot structure that is the definition of luxury. The plans for the finished house have marble everywhere, gold plating, paintings, antiques, and 30 bathrooms.

The film turns from a story about living in luxury to a riches to [almost] rags tale – following the completion of the Planet Hollywood Westgate towers in Las Vegas, the bottom falls from underneath them as the sub-prime mortgage based timeshare business falls apart along with the rest of the economy.

Greenfield followed the Siegel family for two years, and it seemed like nothing was denied as far as access goes. There’s a lot of stuff that could be fairly embarrassing for the family, moments like Jackie asking what the name of her driver is while renting a car from Hertz. With limited staff at their home, the house becomes overrun with dog feces and clutter.

Should we feel bad for the Siegel’s? No, because I don’t believe that was Greenfield’s intention either. What we have here is an amazing record of just how the economic downfall affected even the most well off family. What’s it like for the super rich to have to cut back? Just as much a culture shock as it’d be for a middle class family to cut back. Just super amplified. To borrow a quote from a friend who also saw the film, if I’m ever that rich, I’ll be sure to have a rainy day fund.

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April 11, 2012 1 Comment

UPDATED: Who will be at IFFBoston 2012?

One of the best parts of the Independent Film Festival of Boston are the great Q&A’s that follow the film, last year featured the great Kevin Clash in an amazing Q&A for “Being Elmo.” We’re going to try to keep you guys in the know for who will be attending the screenings of their films at IFFBoston ’12, and this is whose coming so far, the list will keep expanding as we get closer, so be sure to check-back!

Ira Glass
co-writer of SLEEPWALK WITH ME

Julie Delpy
director/star of 2 DAYS IN NEW YORK

Guy Maddin (Will be Skyping in for Q&A)
director, Keyhole

Xan Aranda
director of ANDREW BIRD: FEVER YEAR

David France
director of HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE

Tom Putnam & Brenna Sanchez
directors of BURN

Denis Leary
producer of BURN

Matt Ruskin
director of BOOSTER

Nico Stone
star of BOOSTER

Seymour Cassel
star of BOOSTER

Tom O’Brien
director of FAIRHAVEN

Bobcat Goldthwait
director of GOD BLESS AMERICA

Bishop Gene Robinson
focus of the documentary LIVE FREE OR DIE

David Redmon & Ashley Sabin
directors of GIRL MODEL and DOWNEAST

Ben Shapiro
director of GREGORY CREWDSON: BRIEF ENCOUNTERS

Steve Maing
director of HIGH TECH, LOW LIFE

Scout Shannon
director of JUST LIKE BEING THERE

Beth Murphy
director of THE LIST

Rebecca Richman Cohen
director of CODE OF THE WEST

Macky Alston
director of LOVE FREE OR DIE

Nate Meyer
director of SEE GIRL RUN

Jonathan Lisecki
director of GAYBY

Stephen Kessler
director of PAUL WILLIAMS: STILL ALIVE

Ry Russo-Young
director of NOBODY WALKS

Alex Karpovsky
director/star of RUBBERNECK

Garth Donovan
co-writer/producer of RUBBERNECK

Keith Miller
director of WELCOME TO PINE HILL

Victoria Bruce and Karin Hayes
directors of WE’RE NOT BROKE

Alvin Case
director of THE WHIRLPOOL

Bryan Wizemann
director of THINK OF ME

Juan Vallejo
director of CERRO RICO, TIERRA RICA

Daniel Martinico
director of OK, GOOD

Trish Dalton & Elisabeth Sperling
director of ONE NIGHT STAND

Alison Klayman
director of AI WEIWEI: NEVER SORRY

Grant Hamilton
director of TIME ZERO: THE LAST YEAR OF POLAROID FILM

Brian Knappenberger
director of WE ARE LEGION: THE STORY OF THE HACKTIVISTS

Jeffrey Kimball
director of THE CENTRAL PARK EFFECT

Caveh Zahedi
director of THE SHIEK AND I

Neil Berkeley
director of BEAUTY IS EMBARRASSING

Jay Bulger
director of BEWARE OF MR.BAKER

Lauren Greenfield
director of THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES

Todd Solondz
director of DARK HORSE

Jordan Gelber
star of DARK HORSE

Ted Hope
producer of DARK HORSE

Ricki Stern & Annie Sundberg
directors of KNUCKLEBALL!

Tom Bean & Luke Poling
directors of PLIMPTON! STARRING GEORGE PLIMPTON AS HIMSELF

Lyda Kuth
director of LOVE AND OTHER ANXIETIES

Tim Cawley
director of FROM NOTHING, SOMETHING

Drew Stone
director of ALL AGES: THE BOSTON HARDCORE FILM

Tom & Melissa Dowler
directors of 24 HOURS AT THE SOUTH STREET DINER

Howard Libov
director of AGLOW

Joshua Weinstein
director of I BEAT MIKE TYSON

Cynthia Wade
director of MONDAYS AT RACINE

John Wilson & Chris Maggio
directors of PEOPLE PARADE

Filed Under: Front Page, IFFBoston, Movies, News Tagged: , , , , , , , ,
March 22, 2012 Leave a Comment

IFFBoston 2012 Lineup Announced

My favorite time of year is upon is, the Independent Film Festival of Boston (IFFBoston) announced today the films that will be featured at the 2012 festival. The tenth annual festival will take place April 25- May 2, 2012. The festival will take place at the Somerville Theatre in Davis Square, the Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square, and the  Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline.

The festival will screen over 130 films screenings, and as always, have filmmaker Q&A sessions, panel discussions, visiting filmmakers, parties and events! Many of the screenings will feature special appearances, including directors Lauren Greenfield (Queen of Versailles), Bobcat Goldthwait (God Bless America), July Delpy (2 Days in New York), as well as co-writer Ira Glass (Sleepwalk with Me) - many more to be announced in the coming weeks.

Look to LonelyReviewer for the latest on IFFBoston 2012!

Opening Night Film

SLEEPWALK WITH ME
directed by Mike Birbiglia

Closing Night Film

THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES
directed by Lauren Greenfield

Narrative Features

2 DAYS IN NEW YORK
directed by Julie Delpy

BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW
directed by Panos Cosmatos

DARK HORSE
directed by Todd Solondz

FAIRHAVEN
directed by Tom O’Brien

FOR ELLEN
directed by So Yong Kim

FRANCINE
directed by Brian Cassidy & Melanie Shatzky

GAYBY
directed by Jonathan Lisecki

GOD BLESS AMERICA
directed by Bobcat Goldthwait

HEADHUNTERS
directed by Morten Tyldum

I WISH
directed by Hirokazu Koreeda

KEYHOLE
directed by Guy Maddin

KID-THING
directed by David Zellner

LIBERAL ARTS
directed by Josh Radnor

THE LONELIEST PLANET
directed by Julia Loktev

NOBODY WALKS
directed by Ry Russo-Young

OK, GOOD
directed by Daniel Martinico

POLISSE
directed by Maiwenn

RUBBERNECK
directed by Alex Karpovsky

SEE GIRL RUN
directed by Nate Meyer

SUN DON’T SHINE
directed by Amy Seimetz

THINK OF ME
directed by Bryan Wizemann

TRISHNA
directed by Michael Winterbottom

V/H/S
directed by Ti West, Adam Wingard, Joe Swanberg, Radio Silence, Glenn McQuaid, and David Bruckner

WELCOME TO PINE HILL
directed by Keith Miller

THE WHIRLPOOL
directed by Alvin Case

WITHOUT
directed by Mark Jackson

WUTHERING HEIGHTS
directed by Andrea Arnold

YOUR SISTER’S SISTER
directed by Lynn Shelton

Documentary Features

AI WEI WEI: NEVER SORRY
directed by Alison Klayman

ALL AGES: THE BOSTON HARDCORE FILM
directed by Drew Stone

ANDREW BIRD: FEVER YEAR
directed by Xan Aranda

THE ATOMIC STATES OF AMERICA
directed by Don Argott & Sheena M. Joyce

BEAUTY IS EMBARRASSING
directed by Neil Berkeley

BEWARE OF MR. BAKER
directed by Jay Bulger

BURN
directed by Tom Putnam & Brenna Sanchez

CERRO RICO, TIERRA RICA
directed by Juan Vallejo

THE CENTRAL PARK EFFECT
directed by Jeffrey Kimball

CODE OF THE WEST
directed by Rebecca Richman Cohen

DETROPIA
directed by Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady

DOWNEAST
directed by David Redmon & Ashley Sabin

FROM NOTHING, SOMETHING
directed by Tim Cawley

GIRL MODEL
directed by David Redmon & Ashley Sabin

GREGORY CREWDSON: BRIEF ENCOUNTERS
directed by Ben Shapiro

HIGH TECH, LOW LIFE
directed by Steve Maing

HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE
directed by David France

THE IMPOSTER
directed by Bart Layton

JASON BECKER: NOT DEAD YET
directed by Jesse Vile

JEFF
directed by Chris James Thompson

JUST LIKE BEING THERE
directed by Scout Shannon

KNUCKLEBALL! (Sneak Preview Screening)
directed by Ricki Stern & Annie Sundberg

THE LIST
directed by Beth Murphy

LOVE AND OTHER ANXIETIES
directed by Lyda Kuth

LOVE FREE OR DIE
directed by Macky Alston

ONE NIGHT STAND
directed by Elisabeth Sperling & Trish Dalton

PELOTERO
directed by Ross Finkel, Trevor Martin, & Jonathan Paley

PLIMPTON! STARRING GEORGE PLIMPTON AS HIMSELF (Sneak Preview Screening)
directed by Tom Bean & Luke Poling

PAUL WILLIAMS STILL ALIVE
directed by Stephen Kessler

THE REVISIONARIES
directed by Scott Thurman

THE SHIEK AND I
directed by Caveh Zahedi

TIME ZERO: THE LAST YEAR OF POLAROID FILM
directed by Grant Hamilton

UNDER AFRICAN SKIES
directed by Joe Berlinger

WE ARE LEGION: THE STORY OF THE HACKTIVISTS
directed by Brian Knappenberger

WE’RE NOT BROKE
directed by Karin Hayes & Victoria Bruce

Short Films

24 HOURS AT THE SOUTH STREET DINER
directed by Tom Dowler & Melissa Dowler

AARON BURR, PART 2
directed by Dana O’Keefe

AGLOW
directed by Howard Libov

AMERICAN JUGGALO
directed by Sean Dunne

BEAR
directed by Nash Edgerton

BELLY
directed by Julia Pott

BIRDBOY
directed by Alberto Vazquez

BLANCHE FRAISE
directed by Frederick Tremblay

BRUTE FORCE
directed by Ben Steinbauer

CATCAM
directed by Seth Keal

DONALD CRIED
directed by Kris Avedisian

FULL-TIME MINISTRY
directed by Helen Hood Scheer

THE FUSE: OR HOW I BURNED SIMON BOLIVAR
directed by Igor Drljaca

HELLION
directed by Kat Candler

HURDY GURDY
directed by Daniel Seideneder & Daniel Pfeiffer

I BEAT MIKE TYSON
directed by Joshua Weinstein

IT’S SUCH A BEAUTIFUL DAY
directed by Don Hertzfeldt

LAS PALMAS
directed by Johannes Nyholm

THE LOOKOUT
directed by Brian Bolster

THE LOVE COMPETITION
directed by Brent Hoff

THE MAKER
directed by Christopher Kezelos

MEANING OF ROBOTS
directed by Matt Lenski

MONDAYS AT RACINE
directed by Cynthia Wade

NEVE & SONS
directed by Duygu Erucman

ONCE IT STARTED IT COULD NOT END OTHERWISE
directed by Kelly Sears

PEOPLE PARADE
directed by John Wilson & Chris Maggio

SLOW DEREK
directed by Dan Ojari

SONG OF THE SPINDLE
directed by Drew Christie

SPOILS: EXTRAORDINARY HARVEST
directed by Alex Mallis

TABULA RASA
directed by Matthew Rankin

TWO’S A CROWD
directed by Tom Isler & Jim Isler

WE REFUSE TO BE COLD
directed by Alexander Carson

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