Authors — Scott Macaulay
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Five Questions for Sebastien’s Deborah Twiss
New York-based Deborah Twiss burst on the scene as the co-writer and star of the 1997 thriller, A Gun for Jennifer. The film achieved cult success in the U.S. and abroad, and since then Twiss has built a diverse career by juggling multiple hats. For Eric Schaeffer’s After Fall, Winter, she co-produced and acted. For School of Rock: Zombie Etiquette, she starred and wrote. She wrote and directed her own feature, In Between, in 2005, and she also regularly appears in both mainstream movies (Kick-Ass) and television (Law and Order). Now she’s producing and wrote the screenplay for a psychological […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jan 9, 2013 -
David Bowie Returns with a New Single and a Tony Oursler Video
After the pleasant shock of learning that there’s a new David Bowie single — a beautiful, Berlin-referencing melancholic ballad reminiscent of his Thin White Duke days — I was even more thrilled to see that the accompanying video is directed by one of my favorite artists, Tony Oursler. Check out the song and the video above.
by Scott Macaulay on Jan 8, 2013 -
Josh and Benny Safdie Take On the Illegal Wildlife Trade
Directors Josh and Benny Safdie (Daddy Longlegs) take on the illegal wildlife trade in The Trophy Hunter, a PSA made for the Turtle Conservancy and supporting Traffic.org. Here’s how the group describes the video: This year we are sending out a video whose content may be difficult for some viewers. However, the video highlights an important issue: the illegal wildlife trade and its role in the global extinction crisis. This holiday we are supporting TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade-monitoring network (traffic.org). The illegal wildlife trade is the third largest illicit trade after drugs and arms and is responsible for the extinction […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jan 6, 2013 -
Kourtney Roy’s Cinematic Portraits
At the Telegraph, Anne Billson explores the work of Canadian artist and fashion photographer Kourtney Roy, who draws from Guy Bourdin, Cindy Sherman, William Eggleston but also various film directors in her ravishing, psychologically mysterious, yet bordering on kitsch portraits. From Billson: Where does [Roy] get her ideas? “I’m always struck by images in films. I love Douglas Sirk.” Sirk is the Hollywood film director best known for sumptuous 1950s melodramas such as Written on the Wind and Imitation of Life. “I love the colours and the décor. I really like Hitchcock, too, but he’s been referenced so many times […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jan 2, 2013 -
Walter Murch Discusses the “Rule of” and the Perfect Cut
Is it emotional? Does it advance the story? Those are two of six questions editor Walter Murch argues that editors must ask themselves for every cut. The other four? That’s the deep stuff. Watch the video to find out. (Hat tip: Cinephilia and Beyond.)
by Scott Macaulay on Dec 28, 2012 -
Zach Wigon’s Someone Else’s Heart Wins Hammer to Nail Short Film Contest
Congratulations to Filmmaker contributor Zach Wigon, who won this month’s Hammer to Nail Short Film Contest with his cyber-age paranoid romance, Someone Else’s Heart. From Michael Tully’s post: Is our increasing dependence on virtual communication deforming the way we interact with others in our real, everyday lives? Isn’t there something inherently strange about all this “how many friends and followers do you have” business of late? While the internet is without question an incredibly useful contribution to our modern world, on the other side of that coin, take a few steps back and watch someone “interacting” with their computer. Whether […]
by Scott Macaulay on Dec 27, 2012 -
Delay in Crowdfunding Rules Stalls Independent Film Investment Options
The Jumpstart our Small Business Startups Act (JOBS Act), passed by Congress earlier this year, promised new investment opportunities for filmmakers. For the first time, entrepreneurs of all stripes could raise equity financing — not just donations — via crowdfunding sites like Indiegogo. The law was signed by President Obama on April 5, and the SEC was given 270 days to draft the regulations required for its implementation. But, as Robb Mandelbaum in the New York Times reports today, that deadline is likely to be missed, and some believe it won’t be until 2014 before a filmmaker can sell an […]
by Scott Macaulay on Dec 27, 2012 -
Our Top 12 Posts of 2012 (or, the Tyranny of the Listicle)
In 2012 we relaunched our website with the new design by Area 17 you’re staring at now, created an iPad edition and dramatically upped the quantity of our web content. A number of these are still works-in-progress; the site will see continued improvements and tweaks; the iPad edition will be enhanced each issue with original video content; and, by Spring all print subscribers should receive the iPad edition free. So, as we march into 2013, we take our annual look back at what — at least from the POV of Google Analytics — stood out on the site these past […]
by Scott Macaulay on Dec 26, 2012 -
Tom DiCillo Remembers Howard Brookner and Burroughs
One of the projects currently up on our curated Kickstarter page is a restoration of Howard Brookner’s documentary, Burroughs, on the legendary Naked Lunch novelist. Brookner died of AIDS in the ’80s, with this and the feature Bloodhounds of Broadway (which costarred Madonna) to his credit. Brookner was a great director poised to have an exciting career, and now his nephew Aaron Brookner is raising funds on Kickstarter to restore the original Burroughs film as well as 300 hours of additional archival material discovered in Burroughs’ NYC home, The Bunker. The team behind this restoration submitted to Filmmaker the following […]
by Scott Macaulay on Dec 22, 2012 -
Werner Herzog on Tom Cruise and Harmony Korine
Last year I interviewed Werner Herzog about his Into the Abyss, and before our talk I quickly re-introduced myself, reminding him that we had worked together when I produced julien donkey-boy over a decade ago. “Ah, yes, I remember,” he said. “You know, I have your film to thank for being cast as the villain in this new Tom Cruise movie.” It was the first I had heard of Jack Reacher, and I expressed a tiny bit of doubt that Harmony Korine’s Dogme ’95 feature was what really secured Herzog a role in a mega-budget action film. “Paramount Pictures is […]
by Scott Macaulay on Dec 21, 2012
