David Fincher’s second consecutive stab at a blockbuster book adaptation, Gone Girl, seems likely to pop up on the festival circuit (i.e., Toronto) before its October 3 release. In the interim, we have a newer, longer trailer, that relays the brooding tone of his previous procedurals The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Se7en, with Ben Affleck’s antihero, Nick Dunne, front and center. Having only made it through the first few chapters of Gillian Flynn’s bestseller, it will be interesting to see how Flynn (who penned the script) and Fincher incorporate the dueling first-person perspectives of Nick and his missing wife Amy (Rosamund Pike), beyond what appears […]
In the latest in his Every Frame a Painting series, film essayist Tony Zhou breaks down the visual language of the visually dynamic, sometimes-maligned (although not by Filmmaker!) Michael Bay, showing why his shots still pack more punch than your average multiplex-crasher. Using commentary from Werner Herzog, references to West Side Story (one of Bay’s favorite films) and A/B comparisons of imitators interesting and not, Zhou explains Bay’s use of parallax, off-screen space, compression and speed. If you’re planning to see Transformers 4 — or even if you’re not — just check this out.
Roger Deakins is widely regarded as one of the industry’s top cinematographers, bringing his characteristic earthen hues to films as divergent as Skyfall and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. He is of course best known for his frequent collaborations with the Coen Brothers (Bruno Delbonnel nicely filled his shoes in Inside Llewyn Davis), and this Plot Point Productions montage, “Roger Deakins: Shadows in the Valley,” makes note of Barton Fink, Fargo, No Country for Old Men, and a little bit of what’s in between. Watch above.
In late May, Ted Hope kicked off the Reinvent Hollywood series, which employs the opinions and experiences of several familiar faces in independent film to address the industry’s pitfalls. From what I’ve seen in the three Google Hangouts thus far, Hope and his conspirators do a great job of summarizing and highlighting areas for improvement, but speak in more general terms when it comes to solutions. The latest 90-minute roundtable (and recap), which centered on audiences, aims to dismantle some of the more widely held beliefs that have resulted from the proliferation of crowdfunding. Says Sheri Candler of the muddled impetus […]
Last February, Filmmaker exclusively streamed for several days the latest feature from 25 New Face Ian Clark, MMXIII. For what is an experimental film, streaming here and, in the following weeks, on other sites was also an experiment in distribution. As he now reposts MMXIII online for viewing by all, Clark submitted the below comments when we asked him for a post mortem on his internet distribution endeavor. Watch the film above and visit Clark at his website here. I think its fair to say that this has been the most fulfilling project I’ve completed to date, both in terms […]
“David Cronenberg — The Exhibition” launched in Toronto last year and is currently on display at Amsterdam’s EYE Film Institute until September 14. Cronenberg directed The Next for the show, and from now until the closing date you can watch it online. It’s NSFW, unless your workplace doesn’t object to topless women, so perhaps bookmark this suggestively creepy one-shot short for later viewing. In a dirty cleaning supplies closet, a surgeon (psychiatrist? lunatic kidnapper? janitor?) with a camera strapped to his head questions a young woman convinced that her left breast contains an insect colony and needs to be amputated. […]
A minor traffic stop is a life-changing experience in Paola Mendoza’s short film, Broken Tail Light which stars Jamie-Lynn Sigler and, as her daughter, Heaven King. After viewing, Mendoza, one of Filmmaker‘s 25 New Faces in 2009, points us towards Immigrant Heritage Month.
Venice Grand Jury Prize winner and all around critical favorite Stray Dogs will be making its way into American theaters sometime this year, courtesy of Cinema Guild. Here’s an early look at the film, via a Unifrance trailer, which centers on a homeless family in Taipei. There’s little plot to tell of, as director Tsai Ming-liang prefers to relate his characters’ circumstance through series of unbroken, often excruciating takes: a scene in which the father, ashamed at his inability to provide, role plays caregiver and destroyer with a head of cabbage is particularly striking. As a Cinema-Scope review noted, Ming-liang’s austerity can […]
Shanks FX’s latest instructional video centers on the in-camera effect of projection mapping. Beginning with the “beam of light ” effect, created by cinematographer and VFX artist Eugen Schüfftan (Metropolis, Eyes Without a Face), Joey Shanks demonstrates how with a camera, a one way mirror, a projector and a computer at the controls, you can create the illusion of a three-dimensional conic light. Shanks also explains how to render a light tunnel on an one-dimensional black board. Good low-budget techniques to keep in your backpocket for sci-fi, dream sequences and the like.
Despite being an out gay couple, Ben and George (John Lithgow and Alfred Molina) nevertheless find themselves shouldering nasty ramifications after they decide to tie the knot in Ira Sachs’ Love Is Strange. Premiering to near universal raves at Sundance, Love Is Strange charts the fallout from this seemingly basic right, with Ben and George jobless and couchsurfing amongst a close-knit group of friends, including Marisa Tomei and Cheyenne Jackson. Sony Pictures Classics will release the film on August 22.