Some good news for those crushed by the looming demise of FilmStruck: The Criterion Collection, a major part of the cinephilic streaming site that’s coming to an end on Nov. 29, will be launching its own freestanding service. Their solo venture is scheduled to go live in spring of 2019, and it will act much as it did on its FilmStruck channel, with thematic programming, spotlights, retrospectives, supplemental features, double features and guest introductions. Those interested in signing up as a “charter member” — meaning you’ll be notified when the service is officially launching and receive a subscription at a reduced rate — can do so here. As for the non-Criterion sections of FilmStruck, well, there’s news for some of… Read more
By Matt Prigge
Persona
Olivier Assayas speaks eloquently about his own work, able to talk about them both abstractly and practically. No surprise, then, that he’s as sharp when talking about other filmmakers’ films. A new video from TIFF finds the acclaimed French filmmaker — most recently of Non Fiction, Personal Shopper and Clouds of Sils Maria, and whose 1994 classic Cold Water was reissued earlier this year — talking Ingmar Bergman. Specifically he discusses Persona, the Swedish legend’s game-changing 1966 whatzit, about a caretaker (Bibi Andersson) tending to a damaged actress (Liv Ullmann). Bergman, according to Assayas, showed “that you could be both a great writer and a great filmmaker, meaning you could have the skills of a director and also be one… Read more
By Matt Prigge
[Image: Judy Becker, photo by and (c) Clarissa Bonet]
As a kid, the first and only thing I ever wanted to be when I grew up was an artist. I never got bored or minded being sent to my room as long as I could draw. I wasn’t the “good artist” at school—I couldn’t draw a superhero, or a realistic Snoopy. But I was often told (only by adults, so it didn’t mean much to me) that I had a great imagination. I had a pretty rich fantasy life and drew pages and pages of imaginary interiors, collections of objects and fashion wardrobes. If I had known what a production designer was I would have wanted to be one, but that had to wait a while. Last year, I… Read more
By Judy Becker
For Filmmaker‘s 25th Anniversary issue, we took note of production designer Judy Becker’s lovely Instagram, where she posts location scout photos and other inspirations that inevitably find their way into her design work. We asked her to write more about this convergence with social media and production design practice, and here’s what she wrote back. To: Filmmaker Magazine From: Judy Becker Subject: My Instagram Today at 11:34am I’m happy you guys liked my Instagram. I’ve taken photographs pretty much my whole life. I got my first camera when I was about seven, when my family spent the summer in Rotterdam, Netherlands, everyone’s first trip to Europe. My parents were lax, to say the least, and I remember walking around by… Read more
By Judy Becker
Mr. Soul!
In Jim Jarmusch’s 1989 Mystery Train, two rock ‘n’ roll-loving Japanese teenagers arrive in Memphis, Tennessee, and make their way over to Sun Studio, the legendary recording studio once the stomping grounds for the likes of Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, and, of course, Elvis Presley, who recorded his first song there at the age of 18. In part because of the faint replay of this scene that had lingered in my head for some years, I’ve long wanted to take the Sun tour, one of my many Memphis to-dos, which also included a bunch of famous barbecue spots (shout-out to Cozy Corner) and all the movies I wanted to see during Indie Memphis Film Festival (Nov. 1–5),… Read more
By Kristen Yoonsoo Kim
The Clovehitch Killer
Duncan Skiles’ new thriller The Clovehitch Killer is the kind of horror movie that gets under your skin and stays there, reverberating in the viewer’s head for hours, days, even weeks after it’s over. Its impact is all the more impressive given its low-key, understated quality. Skiles patiently, meticulously creates a mounting sense of dread without melodrama or explicit violence, relying instead on eerily stark, formal compositions and a career-best performance from Dylan McDermott. McDermott plays Don Burnside, a family man and active member of his community whose affable, slightly goofy façade masks a serious dark side. When Don’s teenage son Tyler (Charlie Plummer) finds some extremely unpleasant photos and pornography hidden in his father’s truck and shed, trust starts… Read more
By Jim Hemphill
At home in L.A. (photo: Jamie Stuart)
Filmmaker Jamie Stuart has contributed to this publication since the mid-aughts. When he told me he that after completing his NY-set one-man independent feature A Motion Selfie that he’d be moving to L.A., I asked if he’d want to contribute a final Gotham piece in the “Goodbye to All That” genre. Below, he writes about not just his move but the changing independent film culture in New York over the past decade-plus. — SM The day before the move was literally the worst day of my entire life. Popping half tabs of Valium every five hours, I spent 7:00 AM until midnight packing, shipping and gutting my apartment of 11 years — often making split decisions about what sentimental artifacts… Read more
By Jamie Stuart
Whatever
Cam
Watch: Olivier Assayas Discusses Ingmar Bergman’s ‘Absurdly Important’ Persona
Nov 16, 2018
Watch: Tim Burton’s Dumbo gets a trailer
Nov 15, 2018
Watch: David Lynch’s Music Video, Ant Head
Nov 14, 2018
Indie Memphis: Not Just an Inclusion Rider
Nov 14, 2018
“I Didn’t Want the Movie To Fall Into the Category of Just Being a Film for Other Filmmakers”: Duncan Skiles Talks About Directing The Clovehitch Killer
Nov 14, 2018
Outside the Box (Or, New York Is Not the Place to Be for Filmmakers Anymore): Jamie Stuart on His Move to LA.
Nov 13, 2018
Watch: The New ‘Roma’ Trailer
Nov 13, 2018
Top 10 Picks for IDFA 2018
Nov 13, 2018
“What We Really Seem To Be Documenting…Is A Concerted Shift Away From An America That Sees Itself As A Land Of Immigrants Towards Something Else”: Andrés Caballero And Sofian Khan On Their DOC NYC Premiering The Interpreters
Nov 11, 2018
SFFILM and Dolby Institute Launch A Fellowship, Which Will Go to Michael Tyburski and Ben Nabors’ Film Palimpsest
