Authors — Kishori Rajan
-
Sheltering in Place: The Independent Film Community Faces the Coronavirus Shutdown
It was February, 2020. At New York’s Steiner studios, the largest studio lot outside of LA, people were busily prepping Lin Manuel Miranda’s highly anticipated directorial debut, Tik, Tik…Boom! The movie was set to begin shooting in two weeks, and Jessie Pellegrino, a seasoned assistant prop master, paused her work to sit through a mandatory Netflix HR meeting. Near the end of the session, one of her colleagues raised his hand. “What’s Netflix’s plan for us if coronavirus forces our shoot to shut down?” The HR rep responded the best she could at the time. They were working on it; […]
by Kishori Rajan on Mar 24, 2020 -
Distant Locations
Deciding where to shoot a movie can be one of the most consequential decisions a filmmaker can make. There are numerous and obvious reasons, but when deciding how to allocate resources, location is one of the most pressing riddles to solve. “Put your money on the screen” is a mantra producers mutter in their sleep; the meaning, of course, is to prioritize expenses that will discernibly make the final film better, avoiding big spends that are invisible to the eye of the audience. Despite where a script takes place on the page, it’s no secret that artful filmmaking can often […]
by Kishori Rajan on Mar 14, 2019 -
The Faces of Comedy: Platforms That Look for (and Bring) the Funny
On Monday September 19th, IFP will host a panel entitled “The Face of Comedy: Platforms That Look for (and Bring) the Funny.” Moderated by comedian and filmmaker Todd Bieber, the panel has a refreshingly diverse array of speakers including executives Marc Lieberman and Winnie Kemp, and the comedic duo behind the Gotham-winning web series Shugs & Fats, Nadia P. Manzoor and Radhika Vaz. In broad terms, the panel will be about the intersection of comedy and digital platforms, from the perspectives of both the content creators and the executives who curate them. Bieber has known Lieberman for close to ten […]
by Kishori Rajan on Sep 18, 2016 -
Fashionable Outsiders: A Conversation with Refinery 29’s Amy Emmerich and Comedian and Author, Jacqueline Novak
On Sunday, September 18th, IFP Film Week will host a discussion between Refinery29’s Chief Content Officer, Amy Emmerich, and stand-up comedian and author Jacqueline Novak, who recently released her non-fiction memoir, How to Weep in Public: Feeble Offerings on Depression from One Who Knows. Novak’s corresponding video series on mental health was developed and produced with Refinery29, and is just one example of how the popular lifestyle media site has turned its focus toward video content with full force. Their video production unit, R29 Originals, has released so far over a dozen original content series. The site aims to “debut […]
by Kishori Rajan on Sep 17, 2016 -
Memories of Underdevelopment
With a few exceptions, independent movies are rarely developed like studio-produced ones. Certainly for ultra-low and micro-budget independents, the process is much less formal and far less cash-infused. Multiple paid rewrites until a script shines; thinking through all the creative and logistical problems with top-line producers before firing up the camera; packaging the right combination of talent and money that works best for the material at hand — studios and larger production companies have salaried executives responsible for this undeniably crucial work. But in the independent world, when overtaxed producers perform these tasks, it can be unreliable in its timeline […]
by Kishori Rajan on Jul 17, 2014 -
Uneasy Does It: The Comedic Filmmaking of Issa Rae
“My name is J, and I’m awkward and black. Someone once told me those were the two worst things anyone could be. That someone was right.” So says the title character in the pilot episode of The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, one of YouTube’s biggest Web series that’s spawned two seasons and a major career. Issa Rae, 28, is the creator and lead actress of the series (commonly referred to as ABG), which has millions of views and legions of fans, including Pharrell Williams, now an executive producer on the series, and Shonda Rhimes, who has added Rae’s forthcoming […]
by Kishori Rajan on Apr 23, 2013 -
Second-Time Director: Jane Weinstock and The Moment
“Complexity” is a word that Jane Weinstock likes to use when describing her ideal movie, and it’s certainly an attribute that could be applied to her own work. “I crave it as an audience member. I think people are contradictory, and I like that kind of psychological realism,” she says. The same word is an apt description for her own pathway into the director’s chair, especially for her most recent film, The Moment. It was a fulfilling journey for the filmmaker, but one she also calls “a really long struggle.” Weinstock has had a varied career, having gotten her start […]
by Kishori Rajan on Feb 26, 2013 -
Second-Time Director: Kyle Patrick Alvarez and C.O.G.
Industry veterans and fresh faces alike are descending onto Park City this week, and for filmmakers with premieres it’s a heady mixture of excitement and anxiety. Writer/director Kyle Patrick Alvarez is among this crowd, ready for not only his film’s first screening, but his personal festival debut. It’s a significant career-high for the second-time director, but Alvarez is approaching the week with the well-worn wisdom his first feature brought. Alvarez wasted little time in launching his industry career. Immediately after graduating from University of Miami’s film program, Alvarez moved straight to Los Angeles and landed a job as Warren Beatty’s […]
by Kishori Rajan on Jan 16, 2013 -
Second-Time Director: Craig Johnson and The Skeleton Twins
This is the second in a series of articles about the path towards a director’s second film. Read part one, with Tze Chun, here. It was in the middle of prepping for The Skeleton Twins that Craig Johnson realized something was missing. “That sickening feeling in my stomach that I had the first time around in prep,” Johnson said with a laugh. “I’m so much more at peace this time. Craig Johnson, 36, is currently in production on his second movie. It’s a project that contains a dream comedic cast (Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Ty Burrell) It’s a project that […]
by Kishori Rajan on Dec 19, 2012 -
Second-Time Director: Tze Chun and Cold Comes the Night
At Filmmaker we continuously cover the struggles of first-time directors to make their debut pictures. But the second film comes with its own set of unique challenges, issues that will be explored in this five-part series by Kishori Rajan. Below is the first installment, chronicling Filmmaker 25 New Face Tze Chun’s move from the microbudget character drama Children of Invention to a thriller with stars like Bryan Cranston. Look for further articles in the weeks ahead. — SM The late producer Laura Ziskin once remarked that movies “aren’t made, but forced into existence,” an expression never more apt than when […]
by Kishori Rajan on Dec 10, 2012
