Authors — Scott Macaulay
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What Would Steven Soderbergh Watch? Learning from the Director’s 2014 Media Diet
In a world of countless choices — and insistent demands by others on your viewing time — the simple act of choosing a movie, a TV show, a book, a play can be fraught with indecision. After all, you only have so many hours left… For fans of Steven Soderbergh looking to step away from the algorithmic in terms of their media consumption — or just anyone looking for insight on the relationship between that director’s inputs and his output — there is his year published media diet, a list of everything he consumed the prior year. 2014’s has just […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jan 6, 2015 -
Watch Burst, Celine Tran’s Bid to Become an Action Star
It’s fascinating to watch how DIY production possibilities are changing the nature of the resume and showreel. A couple of months ago we posted this video by Lawrence Rebeiro about how he was able to use a small crew to pre-viz a fight scene. Now, via James Marsh at Twitch comes this impressive fight scene produced by French/Vietnamese performer Celine Tran (formerly the adult actress Katsuni and featured in Gaspar Noe’s episode of Destricted) showcasing her knife-fighting and martial arts abilities. It’s just one of several videos created as standalones showcasing assorted fighting styles and intended to launch her as […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jan 1, 2015 -
How to Borrow from Yourself: This Smart Video Reveals Martin Scorsese’s Enduring Style
If you’re going to borrow, borrow from yourself… For an example, check out this well-done video by Milad Tangshir that finds visual, editing and storytelling parallels between Martin Scorsese’s 1964 student short, It’s Not You, Murray and his most recent film, The Wolf of Wall Street.
by Scott Macaulay on Jan 1, 2015 -
The Year in Filmmaker: Favorite Articles and Top Posts of 2014
After four print issues, hundreds of online articles and a few dozen weekly newsletters, Filmmaker wraps 2014. I’m proud of our content this year and look forward to, alongside our writers and other editors, making it even stronger in the next year. Below you’ll find an issue-by-issue breakdown of the year, with links to highlights from each print edition. Following that are two Top Tens — the first is our list of most-read online pieces published in ’14, and the second our top reads from the archives. There’s a holiday weekend worth of reading here easily; thanks for following Filmmaker […]
by Scott Macaulay on Dec 31, 2014 -
Watch: Honesty, Directed by Mark Pellington
Feature and music video director Mark Pellington has released via Nowness a short film, Honesty, that adapts the words of poet David Whyte. Here’s Pellington: “The words written by David blew me away. They don’t preach but they speak their own beliefs in a very strong and challenging way. Each person was cast randomly having no knowledge of the essay. They were only asked if they had experienced loss. They entered the room four at a time and were asked to simply walk forward, stand in front of the camera and listen to the soundtrack–the poem read by David accompanied […]
by Scott Macaulay on Dec 29, 2014 -
Guinevere Turner and Rose Troche Interview Jenni Olson about Writing, Archival and the Sundance-bound The Royal Road
At this past summer’s Frameline festival, where their Go Fish received its 20th Anniversary Screening, actress and writer Guinevere Turner and director Rose Troche interview filmmaker Jenni Olson about her Sundance-bound documentary, The Royal Road. Topics include Olson’s influences (including Chantal Akerman, James and Sadie Benning), archival documentary practice, urban landscapes and shooting on 16mm film. Check it out above.
by Scott Macaulay on Dec 24, 2014 -
A Best Cinematography of 2014 Supercut
Here’s an elegant and understated supercut from Jacob T. Swinney, scored with a meditative cue by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Alongside some of the big Hollywood titles — Interstellar, Godzilla — are a number of indies and foreign films like Blue Ruin, Ida and White Bird in a Blizzard. Check it out.
by Scott Macaulay on Dec 24, 2014 -
The Reel Distribution Politik of The Interview
The year’s most fascinating entertainment story gets even more so today, as the Seth Rogen/James Franco North Korea-baiting The Interview becomes available for online rental and purchase via YouTube, Google Play and Sony’s own site, with a limited theatrical release occurring tomorrow. (As I post this, Sony’s site just reveals the film’s poster art.) Only days after issuing a statement saying the studio “had no plans” to release the film, it has suddenly become the poster child for the day-and-date exhibition of a studio release — a distribution strategy the theater chains have been balking at for years. From Todd […]
by Scott Macaulay on Dec 24, 2014 -
How to Find a Producer for Your Independent Film
“How do I find a producer?” It’s a question asked by many first-time independent writer/directors, and there’s good reason this seemingly simple query is so vexing. Screenwriters selling commercial screenplays and directors seeking employment on Hollywood pictures are guided by standard, usually market-based protocols. But it’s not so easy for budding independent auteurs — those without agents, managers or box-office track records. For them, partnering with a producer is as much about building a personal relationship as scoring a business transaction. At least, that’s what a number of producers interviewed here likened it to. Mary Jane Skalski (Very Good Girls, […]
by Scott Macaulay on Dec 21, 2014 -
Borscht Short Film: Sea Devil, Directed by Dean C. Marcial and Brett Potter
As Borscht 9 — Miami’s delirious cinematic fete comprising afternoons spent in the middle of the ocean, machete fencing and bike rides to the multiverse — hits its midpoint, Borscht Corporation releases to Filmmaker one of its recent short films, Sea Devil. Sea Devil, directed by by Dean C. Marcial and Brett Potter of Calavera Films, was screened in work-in-progress form at Borscht 8 and now it’s having its online premiere here on the site. Winner of the Bronze Audience Award at Fantasia 2014, Sea Devil is the story of a fisherman smuggling Cuban immigrants into Miami, a mysterious stranger […]
by Scott Macaulay on Dec 19, 2014
