Authors — Scott Macaulay
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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 -
Trailer Watch: Days of Gray
Days of Gray, the Iceland-set debut picture from New York production company Bicephaly Pictures, will have its world premiere October 4 at, appropriately, the Reykjavik International Film Festival. The film will screen at the historic Gamla Bio theater with the seven-piece orchestral band Hjaltalin performing their original score. The filmmakers have blogged for Filmmaker about the production of the film, and now they are debuting here their first trailer, posted above. Here’s the synopsis from the film’s Vimeo page: It is a world without language. A world where one is raised to respect the rules. Every possession is strictly utilitarian. […]
by Scott Macaulay on Sep 24, 2013 -
Two Dollar Radio Launches Microbudget Film Division with Rombes Script, The Removals
Two Dollar Radio, the Columbus, OH-based independent literary house is launching a microbudget film division, and the first project out of the gate is The Removals, written by author, critic and frequent Filmmaker contributor Nicholas Rombes. (His Blue Velvet Project remains a high water mark of this site.) Directing will be Grace Krilanovich, author of acclaimed teen vampire novel, The Orange Eats Creeps, which made a guest appearance recently in Rombes’ essay on Only God Forgives. “The story is part-thriller, part-nightmarish examination of the widening gap between originality and technology, told with remarkable precision,” writes Two Dollar Radio on its […]
by Scott Macaulay on Sep 24, 2013 -
The Dark Side of the iPhone: Casey Neistat Documents iPhone 5s Hysteria
Filmmaker Casey Neistat, selected as one of our “25 New Faces” in 2006, camped out at Apple’s New York City 59th Street store to make this short film about the fans who waited on line, credit cards in hand, for over a week to purchase the iPhone 5s. (Were any there for the cheaper, “unapologetically plastic” iPhone 5c? I doubt it.) He asked the Apple fans one question: Why? Watch the video above.
by Scott Macaulay on Sep 22, 2013 -
Ava DuVernay and AFFRM Launch Podcast, “The Call In,” with Andrew Dosumnu
Filmmaker and distributor Ava DuVernay of AFFRM has launched a new podcast series, “The Call-In,” featuring conversations with black filmmakers. If you’ve read her conversation with Ryan Coogler in this issue’s Filmmaker, you know that DuVernay conducts an excellent interview. Here, in this first episode, she talks with Andrew Dosumnu, whose Mother of George is in theaters now and is highly recommended. The conversation also delves into the director’s recent hiring on Focus Features’ planned Fela Kuti biopic.
by Scott Macaulay on Sep 19, 2013 -
Roddy Bogawa Retrospective, If Films Could Smell, Opens at MoMA
Opening tonight through September 23 at New York City’s Museum of Modern Art is “Roddy Bogawa: If Films Could Smell,” a retrospective of the provocative L.A.-raised, New York-based Japanese American filmmaker. From Assistant Curator Sally Berger’s note in the program guide: Born and raised in Los Angeles, Japanese American artist Roddy Bogawa (b. 1962) studied art and sculpture and played in punk bands before turning to film. In his youth, Bogawa struggled with a desire to assimilate until the punk scene gave him a way to truly express himself, and the DIY punk aesthetic continues to influence his work. Other […]
by Scott Macaulay on Sep 18, 2013 -
David Cronenberg Introduces Body/Mind/Change
Filmmaker scooped the competition this Spring with Lance Weiler’s story about Body/Mind/Change, the West Coast start-up that licensed the IP of David Cronenberg to develop new biotech products. The main project discussed was POD, an implanted personalized consumer recommendation engine that’s also an actual living organism. When this story ran, some wondered whether Weiler’s account was some kind of spoof, but now Cronenberg himself has surfaced to endorse the project, even as other publications — and, um, the press release itself — question its authenticity. (Our friends at Motherboard dubbed Weiler’s piece a “faux profile,” or “fauxfile.”) Regardless, the project […]
by Scott Macaulay on Sep 13, 2013
