Authors — Scott Macaulay
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Jay Z’s Picasso Baby, directed by Mark Romanek
Here’s Mark Romanek’s first music video in a decade or so, a capturing of Jay Z’s recent performance art event at Pace Gallery, where he performed the single “Picasso Baby” for six hours straight. Shot by 25 New Face Jody Lee Lipes (Martha Marcy May Marlene), it features an all-star cast of participatory spectators, including, first and foremost, artist Marina Abramovic, whose own The Artist is Present performance it was clearly inspired by. Others include Judd Apatow, Adam Driver, Jim Jarmusch, Marilyn Minter, Rose Lee Goldberg, Fab Five Freddy, Rosie Perez (dancing!), George Condo, Jemima Kirke, Alan Cumming and Radical […]
by Scott Macaulay on Aug 3, 2013 -
Day 1 of 25: James Ponsoldt and The Spectacular Now
A new, occasional column here at Filmmaker, “The Shooting Schedule” looks at film production through the prism of a single shoot day. I peruse a film’s call sheet and production report and ask the director questions solely based on what I see there. To launch the column, I couldn’t think of anyone better to talk to than my friend James Ponsoldt, whose third feature, The Spectacular Now, opens today. A contributor to Filmmaker — and a director whose first feature, Off the Black, Robin O’Hara and I produced — Ponsoldt has made with The Spectacular Now an indelible teen romance […]
by Scott Macaulay on Aug 2, 2013 -
Filmmaker’s Most Popular Posts of July, 2013
Via Google Analytics, here are our most popular posts of July, 2013. 1. 25 New Faces of 2013. No surprise here. Our annual survey of new talent regularly nabs our top traffic of the year — so much so that our site has crashed for two years straight. (Thanks, site5!) If you haven’t surveyed the list, you can find all 25 of our directors, actors, cinematographers and new media artists here. 2. Summer Grant Deadlines for Filmmakers. Dante Pilkington’s listing of funding opportunities for both fiction and documentary filmmakers took the number two spot. But if you’re just coming across […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jul 31, 2013 -
Braden King Creates Haunting, Tumblr-based Music Video for Califone
Filmmaker Braden King has made a hauntingly beautiful, web-only “interactive music video” for “Stitches,” the new single from Califone. In real time, the video pulls and sequences images from a curated selection of Tumblrs, sidescrolling them across your monitor in sync to the song’s elegant melancholy. Black-and-white photos and animated GIFs drift by, and by highlighting one with your cursor color bleeds back in. Click and the image flips over, allowing you to write a caption that is then sent to the band (and included on the “Stitches” home page) or, if you want, reblogged. Califone’s Tim Rutili and King are […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jul 31, 2013 -
Filmmaker Seeks Contributing Web Editor
Are you a good writer, knowledgeable about new developments in film and new media, and a reader of Filmmaker? Filmmaker is currently seeking an NYC-based Contributing Web Editor. This is a part-time position involving daily writing and posting to this site. In addition to possessing strong writing, reporting and editing skills, our ideal candidate will have experience with filmmaking itself, whether that’s in features, shorts or web/new media work. Our Contributing Web Editor will report on developments of interest to our filmmaking audience, including reports on new equipment and technologies, software and events as well as stories focusing on the […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jul 29, 2013 -
IFP Announces 2013 Independent Film Week Selected Projects
IFP, publisher of Filmmaker Magazine, announced today 163 projects in development selected for its Independent Film Week Project Forum. Projects include documentaries by such directors as Academy Award Winners Louis Psihoyos and Cynthia Wade; fiction features by documentarians Jennifer Fox and Jeremiah Zagar; fiction features by web creators Mesh Flinders and Thom Woodley; and an original web series, Awesome Asian Bad Guys, by Patrick Epino and Stephen Dypiangco. In addition, a number of projects from Filmmaker Magazine 25 New Faces have been selected, including new work from Carlen Altman, Sophia Takal, the Zellner Brothers, Alex Jablonski, Pete Ohs & Andrea […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jul 25, 2013 -
Trailer Watch: Bryan Cranston and Alice Eve in Tze Chun’s Cold Comes the Night
Tze Chun, a 2007 25 New Face based on his great short, Windowbreaker, appears to have done a 180 follow-up to his first feature, the low-key, character-based drama Children of Invention. Cold Comes the Night stars Breaking Bad‘s Bryan Cranston, rising star Alice Eve and a missing bag of cash. But, note that I wrote “appears” in the above sentence. Last year, Kishori Rajan spoke to Chun about this movie while it was in production, and the director says it’s not entirely unlike his previous work: When his manager sent him as a writing sample a psychological thriller script by […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jul 24, 2013 -
Trailer Watch: 21st Century
With dozens, sometimes hundreds, of press releases landing in my in-box every day, what makes me click on a link to learn more? Usually, it’s not overuse of superlatives. Nonetheless, there was something about this letter from Manhattan Project Films that made me want to watch the trailer: Manhattan Project Films is set to release its latest movie “21st Century”. We invite you to be part of our celebration and witness first hand the beauty and joy of our new cinematic masterpiece. The event promises you the opportunity to enjoy the charming atmosphere of the movie industry, food and drinks, […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jul 24, 2013 -
Trailer Watch: Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity
Long single takes are some of the most thrilling shots in cinema, and many would argue their thrills are reliant, in part, on the audience’s knowledge that they are choreographed and filmed in real time. But CGI-enabled single takes can be thrilling too, as this amazing trailer for Alfonso Cuarón’s upcoming Gravity proves. The film opens October 4.
by Scott Macaulay on Jul 24, 2013 -
Music Video: Fiona Apple’s Hot Knife, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
For his first music video in 11 years, Paul Thomas Anderson reunites with his ex, Fiona Apple, for “Hot Knife,” from the singer/songwriter’s The Idler Wheel…. Mixing black-and-white and color, split screen and tight close-ups, the video was, Apple said in an earlier interview, developed with Anderson prior to his shooting of The Master. It’s just been released today; check it out above.
by Scott Macaulay on Jul 24, 2013
