Authors — Scott Macaulay
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Trailer Watch: A Journal of Insomnia
One of the Storyscapes projects I’m looking forward to at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival is A Journal of Insomnia, an “interactive fresco” combining confessions from insomniacs the world over and gathered since 2012. The “unique nocturnal premiere” happens April 18. From the press release: The original idea for the project comes from Hugues Sweeney, Executive Producer of NFB French Program’s Digital Studio in Montreal. Hugues explains that, “This is not a traditional Web documentary. It is a genuine attempt to push the boundaries of the genre by merging art and design with technology and social media, to create a […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 26, 2013 -
Tugg Co-Founder Nicolas Gonda on Curators, Brand Ambassadors and Artist Entrepreneurship
Celebrating its first anniversary at SXSW 2013 was Tugg, the web-based, theatrical-on-demand platform that allows movie fans to create their own theatrical events while also providing exhibition opportunities for both studio and indie films. The company used SXSW to launch its new website, which offers greater analytics tools for event promoters, and co-founder Nicolas Gonda was on hand to talk up some of Tugg’s recent milestones. Those include the theatrical run of Honor Flight, a doc about World War 2 veterans that, according to Tugg, scored 56% of its total theatrical box-office via the platform. After a limited theatrical run […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 26, 2013 -
All Six Star Wars at Once
Here, via a YouTube user named Michael McNulty, is an incredible piece of nearly psychedelic mash-up collage art for our media overloaded, scheduled impacted era. All six Star Wars films played side by side, at once. I’m not the hugest fan of the series, and I have to admit, I find this completely hypnotic.
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 25, 2013 -
What’s In My Instapaper: Jason Molina, Google Reader, Female Road Narratives and More
I discover the links for these weekly columns through one source: Google Reader. Well, last week, Google sent the beloved Google Reader to its graveyard. I didn’t initially understand how difficult it will be to replace Google Reader until listening to last week’s Accidental Tech Podcast, even as the show’s Marco Arment believes that Google’s departure from the RSS space will be a good thing in the long run. Still, the shutdown has prompted a lot of press, and not all in the tech field, questioning our dependence on Google given their penchant for launching and shuttering services. For Google […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 24, 2013 -
Ray Carney Responds to the Mark Rappaport Charges
In numerous online and print articles, including in Filmmaker‘s Winter, 2013 issue and on this website, the story of the dispute between experimental filmmaker Mark Rappaport and critic and Boston University professor has played out, with Rappaport charging that Carney has improperly refused to return film prints and original master materials entrusted to him for safekeeping. The dispute between the two men has traveled to court and then into the larger filmmaking world, as many celebrated directors signed a petition to Boston University urging the school to intervene. One mystifying element of the conflict has been Carney’s refusal to respond […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 17, 2013 -
What’s In My Instapaper: Veronica Mars, Bollywood, and More
Jon Taplin is in India, where he attended the Big Bollywood Conference and thought about filmmakers, their content and the country’s class and religious divisions: Mumbai is a big confident city with some of the wealthiest men in India building houses that would have embarrassed the Maharajas for their opulence. I heard that there are more than 100 members of Parliament worth over $1 billion. This may of course be an urban myth,but the perception that the powerful live in a different world seems well founded. Of course this is no different than the U.S., but what does stand out […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 17, 2013 -
@SXSW: Digital Bolex and New Beyond the Bolex Documentary
Sharing a booth at the SXSW trade show were the teams behind the forthcoming Digital Bolex RAW-file camera and Beyond the Bolex, a new documentary film by Alyssa Bolsey, whose great grandfather invented the celebrated and influential camera. I stopped by the booth on the last day of the conference, and spoke very briefly to one of its inventors, Joe Rubinstein, above. In my video, Rubinstein says he expects the release of the camera soon. Red Shark News has reproduced a post from the Digital Bolex forum by member James M, who also stopped by the booth and provides more […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 16, 2013 -
Destin Cretton’s Short Term 12, Ben Nabors’ William and the Windmill and the Full List of SXSW 2013 Winners
As screenings continue and the music folks roll into town, SXSW last night announced the winners of its 2013 Film Festival. At the Paramount Theater, Destin Cretton’s crowd-pleasing Short Term 12 and Ben Nabors’ African-set, sustainable energy doc William and the Windmill took the top juried prizes. Audience prizes will be announced at the festival’s conclusion. A complete list of winners follows: Feature Film Jury Awards DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION Grand Jury Winner: William and the Windmill Director: Ben Nabors Special Jury Recognition for Cinematography: Touba Director of Photography: Scott Duncan Special Jury Recognition for Directing: We Always Lie To Strangers […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 13, 2013 -
Destin Cretton Talks Short Term 12
Winner of the Narrative Grand Jury Prize at the 2013 SXSW Film Festival, Destin Cretton’s Short Term 12 is a warm, generous drama about counselors and youth at a group home for troubled teens. A feature expansion of his 2009 short of the same name, winner of the Best Short Award at the Sundance Film Festival, Cretton’s new picture has a low-key authenticity — the writer/director worked himself in such a facility, and his experiences inspire some of the subplots here — as well as the classic values of good, character-based storytelling. (At the premiere’s post-screening Q&A, Cretton cited One […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 13, 2013 -
Rambling On… Independent Directors Discuss Soderbergh and the Auteur Theory
Rambling On, the independent film interview show produced by filmmakers Russell Costanzo and Melissa B. Miller (The Tested), returns with this latest installment featuring directors talking about, well, directing. Costanzo hosts, and the directors featured are Craig Zobel (Compliance), Ry Russo-Young (Nobody Walks), Alex Karpovsky (Red Flag) and Antonio Campos (Simon Killer). Check it out above, and then in next week for another installment.
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 8, 2013
