Authors — Billy Brennan
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Marion Cotillard Added to Gotham Honorees
Last week it was announced that Matt Damon, David O. Russell and Jeff Skoll will be presented with career tributes at the 22nd Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards™. Today, Marion Cotillard is joining their ranks. Cotillard is a critically acclaimed actor, who has built up an enviable filmography, working with some of the industry’s most renowned directors, domestically and abroad. “Marion Cotillard is not only a delight to watch, she is one of the most talented women working in cinema around the world today,” said Joana Vicente, Executive Director of the IFP. “Her acting choices are always challenging and rewarding, and her performances […]
by Billy Brennan on Oct 9, 2012 -
Matt Damon, David O. Russell and Jeff Skoll to be Honored at Gothams
The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) announced today that Matt Damon, David O. Russell and Jeff Skoll will be presented with career tributes at the 22nd Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards™ on Monday, November 26th at Cipriani Wall Street, in New York City. These honorees also represent some of the most highly anticipated films of 2012 including: Promised Land from Focus Features (co-starring and co-written by Matt Damon and John Krasinski and directed by Gus Van Sant, produced by Participant Media); and the upcoming Weinstein Co. release Silver Linings Playbook (directed by David O. Russell and featuring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence). “It is with pride and […]
by Billy Brennan on Oct 1, 2012 -
Five Questions with Easton’s Article Director Tim Connery
Start out with a seed of Back to the Future and end up with the atmospheric uneasiness of Memento or Pi. Perhaps it’s not a trajectory that one would normally project, but Easton’s Article fits the bill. Sub the Internet in for the Delorean and information rather than Marty McFly as the passenger, and you begin to pick up the path left by writer/director/producer Tim Connery. He states, “Think if you received an email from a ‘future you’. You could alter a lot of things by just reading one sentence. And in 1997 websites weren’t slick and efficient; the web was still weird and buggy […]
by Billy Brennan on Sep 14, 2012 -
Jones and Koehler Named New Film Society Programming Directors
The Film Society of Lincoln Center has announced Robert Koehler and Kent Jones as the replacements for longtime Program Director Richard Peña. Film Society Executive Director Rose Kuo said, “Richard Peña has played a fundamental role in defining our organization and its commitment to discovering and supporting the best and most important cinema in the world. Kent Jones and Bob Koehler, whose thinking and writing about cinema I deeply respect, are the perfect team to build upon Richard’s vision and carry it forward.” Peña will be honored at a Gala Tribute during this year’s New York Film Festival. Jones, who was a […]
by Billy Brennan on Sep 13, 2012 -
Chris Kenneally on Side by Side
Over the past few decades, film’s iron-clad grip on the motion industry has gradually been chipped away by emerging digital technology. Yet it hasn’t necessarily been a smooth transition. Traditional celluloid film has gone largely unchanged as a medium for a century and has been the canvas for works from Casablanca and Apocalypse Now to this summer’s blockbuster The Dark Knight Rises. As the saying goes: old habits die hard. In this case, for good reason, a film produces a picture quality, texture, and dynamic range unparalleled by digital. But digital technology has continued to make leaps and bounds in […]
by Billy Brennan on Aug 16, 2012 -
SUNDANCE INSTITUTE ANNOUNCES CREATIVE PRODUCING LABS
This week, Sundance Institute announced its 2012 participants in the Creative Producing Initiatives. The week-long program begins with two concurrently-running Creative Producing Labs (July 30-Aug. 3)—the Feature Film Program and the Documentary Film Program and Fund—before capping off with the Creative Producing Summit (Aug. 3-5). Keri Putnam, Executive Director of Sundance Institute, said, “Sundance Institute is committed to supporting emerging independent film producers, and our Creative Producing Initiative is a rare opportunity for them to sharpen their creative instincts, evolve their problem-solving skills, and deepen their knowledge of the distribution landscape. In doing so, they are better equipped to successfully […]
by Billy Brennan on Jul 17, 2012 -
Don Winslow on Savages
“Fuck you.” With those opening words of Savages, author Don Winslow delivered a kick to the teeth of the literary world. The jarring and unorthodox novel — about a trio of beach bum lovers-turned-drug kingpins and with a writing style that ranges from poetry to screenplay — became a New York Times Bestseller and a shot in the arm to Winslow’s already successful career. The author had penned more than ten novels prior to Savages, including the Neal Carey series, while moonlighting as a private investigator during grad school and the meticulous DEA/drug cartel fueled intrigue of The Power of the Dog, […]
by Billy Brennan on Jul 5, 2012 -
Kitao Sakurai
A typical route for an archetypal, coastal-based independent filmmaker might look something like this. First, one goes to film school, hopefully at either one of the well-known private universities in New York or Los Angeles (Columbia, NYU, USC) with large alumni networks, or at one of the big state schools with laudable programs (Texas at Austin, UCLA). Ideally one makes a killer short that catches the attention and gains the respect of the gatekeepers. These individuals, whether they are agents, sales reps, festival programmers or writers for Filmmaker, may help a new filmmaker get the recognition and reputation within the […]
by Billy Brennan on Jul 17, 2011
