Barry Levinson on <em>The Bay</em>: Cinefantastique's New York Comic Con 2012

Barry Levinson managed to teach everyone how effective the found-footage technique can be when it's used as a tool and not a crutch. Somebody had to.
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FILE - In this March 26, 2010 file photo, Barry Levinson, director of the HBO film "You Don't Know Jack," poses for a portrait in Beverly Hills, Calif. Levinson, as guest programmer, picks his five favorite horror movies for Associated Press. His new horror film, The Bay, premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival, and is scheduled for theatrical release on Nov. 2, 2012. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
FILE - In this March 26, 2010 file photo, Barry Levinson, director of the HBO film "You Don't Know Jack," poses for a portrait in Beverly Hills, Calif. Levinson, as guest programmer, picks his five favorite horror movies for Associated Press. His new horror film, The Bay, premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival, and is scheduled for theatrical release on Nov. 2, 2012. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

2012-11-20-DistressWomanatHospital_410.jpgFound footage horror is usually the domain of entry-level directors and cheapjack producers who have no problem using smeary images and awkward ellipses to cover for incompetent filmmaking. So what was Barry Levinson -- he of Diner and Good Morning, Vietnam -- doing slapping consumer equipment into his cast's hands and sending them out to shoot their own footage? It turns out that Levinson -- no stranger to breaking the rules of standard film production (after all, his political satire, Wag the Dog, was shot on the quick-n-dirty during an involuntary hiatus from the filming of Sphere) -- was whipping up The Bay, an effectively disturbing eco-terror tale in which a Maryland fishing town is decimated by a quite vicious parasite born from the rampant pollution of Chesapeake Bay. In the process, he also managed to teach everyone how effective the found-footage technique can be when it's used as a tool and not a crutch. Somebody had to.

Our coverage of New York Comic Con 2012 concludes, belatedly, with the roundtable interview Levinson gave during the con in support of the film. Click on the player button to hear the show, or right-click the link to download.

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