Authors — Nick Dawson
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Richard Linklater to Receive Tribute at Gotham Awards
IFP announced today that Richard Linklater will receive the Director’s Tribute at this year’s Gotham Independent Film Awards. The helmer of Before Midnight, one of the most respected, gifted and prolific figures within U.S. independent film over the past two decades, will be the recipient of this honor 21 years after making his breakthrough feature with Slacker. Last year at the Gothams, Bernie (his 16th feature), was nominated for the Best Feature award. “It is with great enthusiasm and pride that we give honor to a man who has played a significant role in expanding the language of film throughout the […]
by Nick Dawson on Sep 17, 2013 -
Win a DVD/Blu-ray Copy of Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring
Filmmaker has teamed up with A24 and Lionsgate to offer five lucky readers the opportunity to win a DVD or Blu-ray copy of Sofia Coppola’s kinetic drama about a gang of Los Angeles teens who targeted and robbed the homes of celebrities they were obsessed with. The film is out to buy from tomorrow, but to get your own free copy from Filmmaker all you have to do is be among the first to email nick AT filmmakermagazine DOT com with the correct answer to the following question: The Bling Ring was the final film of which revered cinematographer? […]
by Nick Dawson on Sep 16, 2013 -
Five Questions with Life of Crime Director Daniel Schechter
After two small-scale New York indie features, set in the world of standup comedy (2007’s Goodbye Baby) and low-budget film (2012’s Supporting Characters), writer/director Daniel Schechter has made the unlikely but extremely welcome step up to a very different kind of movie. Life of Crime, which closes the Toronto International Film Festival this weekend, is not only based on a novel (The Switch) by the late, great Elmore Leonard but boasts a high-caliber cast featuring Jennifer Aniston, Tim Robbins, Isla Fisher, John Hawkes, Yasiin Bey (aka Mos Def), Will Forte and Mark Boone Jr. A dark crime comedy, Schechter’s film […]
by Nick Dawson on Sep 12, 2013 -
Trailer Watch: Randy Moore’s Escape From Tomorrow
To my mind, the quality of a really great trailer is that it makes you want to watch the film right then — even if you’ve already seen it. I saw Randy Moore’s Disneyland-shot excursion into the bizarre, Escape from Tomorrow, at Sundance earlier this year — admittedly under less than ideal circumstances — but this incredible and joyously subversive trailer makes me excited all over again about the movie. Though declared unreleasable at Sundance because Moore filmed at Disneyland without permission, Escape From Tomorrow will be having a day-and-date release through PDA (the distribution arm of the film’s sales […]
by Nick Dawson on Sep 11, 2013 -
Filmmaker Conference Chat with IFP’s Rose Vincelli Gustine
IFP’s cornerstone event, Independent Film Week, is less than a week away. The event is made up of Project Forum, which showcases in-progress projects from emerging filmmakers, and the Filmmaker Conference, which stages numerous panels and events to help filmmakers with myriad aspects of their work. In anticipation of Film Week, Filmmaker spoke with IFP’s Producer and Program Manager, who oversees the Conference, about what it has to offer this year. N.B. Filmmaker magazine readers can use the code 13Friends13 to get a special discounted price for tickets to the Filmmaker Conference. Filmmaker: First up, can you tell me about […]
by Nick Dawson on Sep 11, 2013 -
Five Questions with The Armstrong Lie Director Alex Gibney
Alex Gibney, the Oscar-winning director of Taxi to the Dark Side, is not only the most prolific figure within American documentary but also always seems to tackle solely the most complex, fascinating subjects. In recent years, he has put his focus on jailed lobbyist and con artist Jack Abramoff, disgraced politician Eliot Spitzer, Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters, sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, Tea Party funders the Koch brothers, and Julian Assange and WikiLeaks. To this list can be now added fallen sports hero Lance Armstrong, the cancer survivor turned seven-time Tour de France winner who, after years of rumors, […]
by Nick Dawson on Sep 8, 2013 -
Five Questions with Beneath the Harvest Sky Directors Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly
Filmmaking team Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly first made their mark on the U.S. independent scene in 2009 with the documentary The Way We Get By, a heartwarming festival favorite about a trio of senior citizens who have spent years greeting U.S. troops returning from combat as they arrive at Bangor International Airport in Bangor, Maine. Four years on, the pair are once again telling a story set in Maine, but this time it’s a bleak, fictional narrative. Beneath the Harvest Sky, a 2013 IFP Narrative Lab project, tells the story of two teenage best friends whose paths in life are sharply diverging: […]
by Nick Dawson on Sep 8, 2013 -
Five Questions with The Dog Directors Allison Berg and Frank Keraudren
The real-life incident of a man robbing a bank to fund his lover’s sex-change operation was immortalized in Sidney Lumet’s 1975 classic Dog Day Afternoon, with Al Pacino winning an Oscar nod for his fine performance as Sonny Wortzik. However the true story of John Wojtowicz — the man on whom Wortzik was based — remains all but unknown. The remarkable tale of that robbery and of Wojtowicz’s life after he emerged from prison is chronicled in Allison Berg & Frank Keraudren’s documentary The Dog, which the pair shot over the course of over a decade, starting in 2002. It has its […]
by Nick Dawson on Sep 6, 2013 -
Now Online: Hannah Fidell’s A Gathering Squall
Last year, watching The Gathering Squall, based on a short story by Joyce Carol Oates, alerted me to the talent of the film’s writer/director, Hannah Fidell. Seeing shortly afterward a rough cut of her debut feature, A Teacher, confirmed that considerable talent. A Teacher is being put out theatrically by Oscilloscope this Friday, and to help promote the release The Gathering Squall is now on Vimeo, where it is a Staff Pick. Fidell was one of our “25 New Faces” last year, and Squall was shot by another New Face, Andrew Droz Palermo, who also shot A Teacher and Adam Wingard’s […]
by Nick Dawson on Sep 4, 2013 -
First Clip from Alex Gibney’s The Armstrong Lie
Despite what its title might suggest, The Armstrong Lie is a film which Alex Gibney made with full cooperation from disgraced cycling cheat Lance Armstrong. Errol Morris’ Rumsfeld doc The Unknown Known somewhat disappointed when it screened at Telluride, so maybe this will be the season’s definitive doc about a high-profile American male owning up to his deceit and misdeeds? Here’s the first clip from the film, which shows Armstrong talking to Gibney directly after filming his mea culpa interview with Oprah Winfrey.
by Nick Dawson on Sep 4, 2013
