Authors — Nick Dawson
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Gary Hustwit’s 10 Web Tips For Doc Filmmakers
I dropped in on the IFP Documentary Labs a couple of times, and one of the highlights for me was the “Web Tools for Documentary” workshop run by guest speaker Gary Hustwit, a filmmaker who used the web to great effect in the production and self-distribution of his “Design trilogy” of Helvetica, Objectified and Urbanized. Hustwit, who worked in publishing and distribution before he moved behind the camera, really knows this stuff inside out – and considers his engagement with the web an integral part of what he does now. “I think of all this stuff as filmmaking – […]
by Nick Dawson on May 29, 2012 -
SEAN DUNNE ANNOUNCES DEBUT FEATURE “OXYANA”
For some years now, I have been a big fan of the work of Sean Dunne, whose shortform documentaries are not only intelligent and compassionate but also visually accomplished and highly cinematic. Anyone looking to get a sense of Dunne’s talent should check out The Archive, his 2008 debut, or American Juggalo, which he put out last year. (To see all of his work, go to Dunne’s Vimeo page.) Given my admiration for his shorts, I was very excited yesterday to receive an email from Dunne about the new project he’s working on: Oxyana, his debut feature. He wrote, “I […]
by Nick Dawson on May 24, 2012 -
POLANSKI / PRADA
As Jeff Wells noted, this stuff “pays the bills,” but if you’re Roman Polanski there have to be worse ways to spend your time than making little movies with the likes of Ben Kingsley, Helena Bonham Carter, Ronald Harwood, Alexandre Desplat, Dean Tavoularis and Eduardo Serra…
by Nick Dawson on May 24, 2012 -
WIN “MOONRISE KINGDOM” SWAG!
We’re all caught up in the spirit of Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom (read this, if you don’t believe me!), so we’re excited to be able to give away a bunch of rather cool (and also very useful) swag related to the movie, which opens in selected cities this Friday through Focus Features. The two Filmmaker readers who are quickest on the (email) draw can get their hands on: a T-Shirt, a set of two patches, a cooler, a canteen and a Moonrise Kingdom soundtrack. All you have to do is email nick@filmmakermagazine.com and tell me which Hollywood movie star appeared […]
by Nick Dawson on May 23, 2012 -
HEADS UP: SUNDANCE SHORTSLABS
Strangely, the details of the 2012 Sundance ShortsLabs passed us by when they were announced a couple of weeks ago. (Particularly strange as both Scott and I are involved in panels at the NYC event in June!) So, I’m playing catch up now by posting the info on the workshops, including the first to be held in Seattle, which is currently undergoing an indie filmmaking renaissance. So, from the press release, here’s the skinny on this year’s excellent events: ShortsLabs offer filmmakers first-hand insight and access into the world of short filmmaking through panels and sessions with industry representatives, as […]
by Nick Dawson on May 23, 2012 -
MARK KERMODE’S FILM CLUB KICKS OFF WITH JIM MCBRIDE’S “BREATHLESS”
As a teenager in the U.K., I grew up reading the reviews of film critic Mark Kermode, whose smart and opinionated engagement with contemporary cinema rapidly won him a following and led to him becoming a familiar presence on TV and radio arts programs. Kermode is now one of the most passionate and prominent voices in (populist) film criticism — his slot on Simon Mayo’s BBC Five Live radio show has been a very successful podcast on iTunes for some years — and he has used his position as a figure of influence to champion films and directors that his […]
by Nick Dawson on May 22, 2012 -
BILL MURRAY’S SLIGHTLY TIPSY TOUR OF “MOONRISE KINGDOM”
Bill Murray has been in every Wes Anderson movie bar one (“Bottle Rocket, still not seen that one”), so who better to give you a tour of the set of Anderson’s latest opus, Moonrise Kingdom, than Murray himself. The film — which received rave reviews when it opened Cannes last week, and we love so much that we put Anderson on the cover of our Spring issue — opens stateside on Friday. Keep your eyes peeled for a Moonrise Kingdom giveaway in this space later in the week. Oh, and just to warn you, Murray was under the influence of […]
by Nick Dawson on May 22, 2012 -
LUCY WALKER & TRUDIE STYLER ON WOMEN IN FILM
The Guardian has been taking the lead in coverage of the controversy surrounding the complete absence of work by female filmmakers in this year’s Cannes Competition section. Last week, it published the English translation of an open letter by the French feminist group La Barbe, and over the weekend interviewed Trudie Styler (who runs Maven, a production company specifically supporting women in film) and Lucy Walker, the Academy Award-nominated documentarian who was one of Filmmaker‘s 25 New Faces in 2002, about gender imbalance within cinema. Here’s an extract from Walker and Styler’s conversation about the difficulties facing women in the […]
by Nick Dawson on May 21, 2012 -
FIRST CLIP FROM PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON’S “THE MASTER”
We featured Paul Thomas Anderson in conversation with Robert Downey Sr. last week on the blog, and now we’re pleased to share the first clip from Anderson’s upcoming The Master. The 1950s-set drama about a religion not dissimilar to Scientology will be released by the Weinstein Company on October 12 and is bound to be a major player come awards season. Just from this sneak peak alone, it looks like this might be a career-defining role for Joaquin Phoenix…
by Nick Dawson on May 21, 2012 -
EIGHT THINGS ALEX HOLDRIDGE MISSES ABOUT L.A.
As expected, Alex Holdridge’s inspirational interview — about the creative boost he received from making a life change and swapping L.A. and “the system” for a very different life in Berlin — prompted some spirited discussion in the comments section. In case you read the article but not any of the dialogue that followed on from it, it’s definitely worth flagging up one of the comments — from Holdridge himself — that responded to director Zak Forsman’s list of things he loved about Los Angeles. Here’s what Holdridge had to say: I spent 8 years living there, making a film […]
by Nick Dawson on May 21, 2012
