Authors — Scott Macaulay
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Your Disney Video on the Escape from Tomorrow DVD?
Want to see your own Disney fan or parody video on the DVD for Randy Moore’s Escape from Tomorrow? The film’s distributor, PDA, announces today that the winner of its current fan video contest, in which homemade videos are uploaded by applicants to Vine or Instagram and hashtagged #DisneyEscapeExperience, will be included as a special feature on the Escape from Tomorrow DVD. In addition, winners will receive Disney gift cards, signed posters and more. (See details below.) For the filmmakers and distributor behind Escape from Tomorrow, Disney’s Magic Kingdom is the gift that keeps on giving. In addition to being […]
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 17, 2013 -
Screenwriter John Ridley Talks 12 Years a Slave
12 Years a Slave — the title of Steve McQueen’s latest, taken from its source material, the Solomon Northup memoir — is one of the most direct and descriptive of recent cinema history. But consider further the subtitle of Northup’s 1853 book: “Narrative of Solomon Northup, a citizen of New-York, kidnapped in Washington city in 1841, and rescued in 1853, from a cotton plantation near the Red River in Louisiana.” It’s one of the film’s extraordinary achievements that, as it lands in theaters nationwide with the headwinds of an Oscar frontrunner, it tells, on its most basic level, that story. […]
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 16, 2013 -
On Watching Half of The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby
In the Fall issue of Filmmaker that went to the printer last week is my coverage of the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. But there’s one film — or, rather, half a film — I didn’t write about. I’ll explain, but that involves a detour into a discussion of ’90s experimental theater. The Sarajevo-based Open Stage Obala’s Tattoo Theatre is a lovely work that follows a couple from courtship to old age, tracing their loves, infidelities and reunions with evocative, unexpected imagery. (Old age, for example, is represented by the actors standing face to audience and covering themselves with flour.) […]
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 15, 2013 -
Jillian Mayer on How to Hide from Cameras
25 New Face Jillian Mayer has long been attuned to the impact of technology on identity and personal expression. Here, she offers a helpful tutorial to those worried about biometric tracking, face recognition and the profusion of surveillance cameras on our streets.
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 14, 2013 -
What Would You Do with Daniel Radcliffe and Ten Minutes?
Director Joe Connor was recently given ten minutes to make a short film with actor Daniel Radcliffe. The 26-year-old director and the star of the current Kill Your Darlings met for just a few moments, quickly tossed around some ideas and settled on the theme of fear. The resulting short, Wait, is a nicely pitched essay about stage fright that will resonate with anyone who has felt their heart pace as they prepare for public speaking.
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 14, 2013 -
Nicholas Rombes, Grace Krilanovich Discuss their Microbudget The Removals
The Indiegogo campaign for Two Dollar Radio’s microbudget film division continues, with screenwriter (and Filmmaker contributor) Nicholas Rombes and author and now director Grace Krilanovich posting videos explaining their approach to the first production, The Removals. Check out the videos below. Read more about Two Dollar Radio at Filmmaker here.
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 14, 2013 -
How Much Would You Pay for a Banksy?
How much would you pay for a Banksy? A shot of a Banksy, that is, not the actual work itself. As RobertoofParkSlope’s Instagram documents, the British artist’s New York tour seems to be providing income opportunities for enterprising folks over here.
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 10, 2013 -
Thinkmodo Scores Viral Hit with Carrie Coffee Shop Prank
The New York-based Thinkmodo has specialized in the best form of advertising on the internet: viral content that is shared freely by viewers and placed by editors — like this one — on websites free of charge. “Thinkmodo mashes-up viral fun with marketing function to create effective viral video campaigns for brands,” they write on their site. “Our unique strategy generates tremendous online engagement and valuable earned media coverage worldwide.” Case in point is their latest, advertising Kim Peirce’s upcoming Carrie remake, which I learned about from the Twitter feed of U.K. mentalist Derren Brown, who declared it “magnificent!” (The […]
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 8, 2013 -
On James Schamus and Focus Features
Yesterday’s sad news that James Schamus is leaving Focus Features, the company he co-founded 11 years ago, and that the New York office is being shut down is a blow — a blow to not only the filmmakers supported by Focus and the company’s employees but also our broader independent film community. Schamus is unique and irreplaceable, and his particular strengths are ones we have needed and relied upon. These strengths include his defining concept of what a 21st-century specialty distributor could be, one that demonstrated smart-minded business practices while cracking its door open to allow outsider voices, subversive points […]
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 3, 2013 -
Gamechanger Films, Supporting Women Narrative Directors, Launches Today
Gamechanger Films, a new for-profit film fund exclusively targeting narrative feature-length films directed by women, was announced today. The New York-based company was founded by Julie Parker Benello (Afternoon Delight, Pariah, Brooklyn Castle), Dan Cogan (Hell and Back Again, How to Survive a Plague, The Queen of Versailles), Geralyn Dreyfous (Born Into Brothels, The Invisible War, The Square) and Wendy Ettinger (Semper Fi: Always Faithful, The War Room, Eye of God), and will be led by producer Mynette Louie (Cold Comes the Night, California Solo, Children of Invention). Producer Mary Jane Skalski (Very Good Girls, Win Win, The Visitor) is […]
by Scott Macaulay on Sep 27, 2013
