Authors — Nick Dawson
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Watch Wes Anderson’s Charming Prada Short Castelo Cavalcanti
I’m not totally optimistic about Wes Anderson’s upcoming The Grand Hotel Budapest — which will open the Berlinale early next year — but watching his latest offering has somewhat raised my hopes. Castelo Cavalcanti, a short film made for Prada, is a charming, self-contained little effort about a racecar driver (Jason Schwartzman) who crashes in the tiny Italian village of Castelo Cavalcanti, which just happens to be his ancestral home. Written and directed by Anderson, it was shot by Darius Khondji and filmed at Rome’s legendary studio, Cinecittà.
by Nick Dawson on Nov 13, 2013 -
Now Online: Barry Jenkins’ Short Chlorophyl
The Borscht Film Festival does great work, not only playing films already on the circuit but also specially commissioning shorts by Miami-based filmmakers for the event. Amy Seimetz’s When We Lived in Miami was the most notable of these from last year’s fest, and from the previous year that distinction arguably went to Barry Jenkins’ Chlorophyl. The short by the Medicine for Melancholy dirctor is, finally, online. And for a little background, check out Borscht collective member Andrew Hevia’s post for Filmmaker‘s own The Microbudget Conversation about how the film came about.
by Nick Dawson on Nov 12, 2013 -
Sharp Teams with RED and THX for “Art of Amazing 4K Film Competition”
The following is a sponsored editorial post from Sharp. Sharp recently put out its 70” class AQUOS® 4K Ultra HD LED television, which is the first ever TV to have THX 4K-certified image quality. To celebrate this pivotal breakthrough, the company has teamed with two other picture pioneers, RED and THX, for a 4K short film contest, the Art of Amazing 4K Film Competition. To meet the submission criteria, short films need to be four minutes long or less. The films can be made especially for the contest, but entrants can also put forward preexisting work that is repurposed to […]
by Nick Dawson on Nov 4, 2013 -
Nick Kroll to Host 2013 Gotham Independent Film Awards
Comedian and actor Nick Kroll was announced this afternoon as the host of the 2013 Gotham Independent Film Awards, which will take place at Cipriani Wall Street in Manhattan on December 2. Kroll is perhaps best known for playing Ruxin on the FX sitcom The League, and also stars in Kroll Show, which started airing on Comedy Central earlier this year. Commenting on the announcement, IFP’s Executive Director Joana Vicente said, “We are so thrilled that Nick Kroll will be hosting the Gotham Awards this year. Coming off an exciting year with a new Comedy Central series, and winning the […]
by Nick Dawson on Oct 30, 2013 -
“25 New Face” Mohammad Gorjestani’s Refuge a Staff Pick on Vimeo
Those 25 New Faces folks seem to crop up everywhere, so it’s no surprise that 2013 alum Mohammad Gorjestani‘s Refuge, an excellent sci-fi-tinged short about an Iranian immigrant set in the San Jose of the near future, has been chosen as a Staff Pick on Vimeo, by the cultured curatorial eye of Jason Sondhi, who was chosen for our 2011 list. Check out the film above, or here at Vimeo.
by Nick Dawson on Oct 25, 2013 -
Dallas Buyers Club Giveaway: Win a Focus Features Blu-ray Pack
The real-life story of good ol’ boy Ron Woodruff (Matthew McConaughey), a homophobic Texan electrician who discovered he was dying of Aids and decided to fight the system as he fought for his life, Dallas Buyers Club comes out on November 1 through Focus Features. To celebrate the film’s release, Focus is offering a prize pack of some of the finest films from its back catalogue. Dallas Buyers Club is a strong Oscar contender for its performances by McConaughey and Jared Leto (as transgender drug addict Rayon), so fittingly the Blu-rays up for grabs are also Focus titles that were […]
by Nick Dawson on Oct 24, 2013 -
Jamie Stuart’s NYFF51, Shot on the Blackmagic Design Cinema Camera
Jamie Stuart was back at the New York Film Festival this year, getting up to his usual antics, except this time with a hot new camera, the Blackmagic Design Cinema Camera. (You can read his review of the camera here.) Look out for appearances by a host of film luminaries who graced NYFF this year — Alexander Payne, Spike Jonze, Tom Hanks, the Coen brothers, John Goodman, Tilda Swinton and Rooney Mara — plus cameos from Glenn Kenny and, um, me.
by Nick Dawson on Oct 24, 2013 -
12 Years a Slave Leads 2013 Gotham Award Nominations
IFP this morning announced the nominations for the 2013 edition of the Gotham Independent Film Awards, with Steve McQueen’s Oscar front-runner 12 Years a Slave leading the pack with nods in three categories, Best Feature, Best Actor and Breakthrough Actor. Receiving two nominations were Alexandre Moors’ Blue Caprice, Stacie Passon’s Concussion, Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station, Joel and Ethan Coen’s Inside Llewyn Davis and Shane Carruth’s Upstream Color. Commenting on today’s release, Joana Vicente, Executive Director of IFP and the Made in NY Media Center, said, “The Gotham Awards celebrate and showcase the very best of the vibrant, entertaining, challenging, and innovative films presented by our community, and help new […]
by Nick Dawson on Oct 24, 2013 -
Jared Leto
It’s been six years since moviegoers last saw Jared Leto, but it’s not as if he has been slacking. Since playing John Lennon’s murderer, Mark David Chapman, in Chapter 27, Leto has been occupied by his other creative passion: music. While most actors’ bands are merely a pop culture punch line, 30 Seconds to Mars has sold more than 10 million albums and recently completed a record-breaking, two-year global tour. Even the group’s trials have borne fruit: their legal battle with record label EMI was chronicled by Leto in the Gotham Award-winning documentary Artifact. Now, though, Leto the actor is […]
by Nick Dawson on Oct 21, 2013 -
Out of the Ashes
The term “immersive storytelling” is being heavily used at the moment, but it describes something that has been around for more than just the last few years. For evidence of this, you only have to look to the work of the innovative theater company FoolishPeople, founded in 1989 by British writer/director/actor John Harrigan. “We’ve watched as immersive theater and transmedia has grown in popularity,” Harrigan says, “and audiences have become more receptive to our work as their vocabulary of immersive theater and interactive experience increases.” Through his work utilizing early storytelling techniques, Harrigan developed what he calls the Theater of […]
by Nick Dawson on Oct 21, 2013
