Authors — Scott Macaulay
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Scott Glosserman Discusses Gathr and Theatrical On Demand
“Tipping.” “Pulling.” “Gathring.” Yes, a new tech start-up has entered the independent film space, and with it a nomenclature that speaks to its ambition to “democratize” the business of theatrical distribution. Launched by a filmmaker, Scott Glosserman (Behind the Mask), Gathr offers “TOD,” or theatrical-on-demand, an audience-driven process by which fans request (or “pull”) films to local venues by aggregating their interest and pledging their funds in advance via credit card. When enough fans support a screening on a particular day, the film “tips,” and credit cards are charged. Fans get to see films that might never come to their […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 9, 2012 -
20 FILMS (AND OTHER THINGS) I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO AT SXSW
SXSW starts tomorrow, hotels and airfares were sold out long ago, and Austin’s data networks are already trembling. I’ll be there, and here are 20 films and other things that I’m looking forward to catching. 1. Tchoupitoulas. Bill and Turner Ross won Best Documentary at SXSW in 2009 with their doc, 45365. Their new film, Tchoupitoulas (pictured), promises to be a similarly beguiling exploration of time and place. It is about, in the words of the filmmakers, “three kids, New Orleans at night, and MUSIC,” and it’s produced by the founding members of Court 13, whose Beasts of the Southern […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 8, 2012 -
TED HOPE INAUGURATES FILMLINC SERIES WITH MARK JACKSON’S “WITHOUT”
Producer Ted Hope, who has been running a regular independent film screening series at Goldcrest for the last few years, is moving uptown — he’s the inaugural curator of the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s monthly Indie Night showcase. And for the series opening film, he’s picked a favorite of ours here at Filmmaker: Mark Jackson’s Without. On the basis of this first feature, Jackson was selected as one of our 2011 25 New Faces. In his write-up, Brandon Harris wrote: Comprised of shots that make you feel as if you’re glimpsing the most private of moments, a fly on […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 6, 2012 -
BENNETT MILLER, RY RUSSO-YOUNG, JONATHAN AMES TO APPEAR AT IFP’S “SCRIPT TO SCREEN”
The IFP’s popular conference for writers and writer/directors, Script to Screen, returns to the 92nd St. Y Tribeca on Saturday, March 17 with a program that promises to mix practical advice with freewheeling programs intended to generate creative sparks. The day’s program features a keynote presentation by Bennett Miller, the Oscar-nominated director of Moneyball and Capote, and a Screenwriter’s Roundtable featuring up-and-coming auteurs Ry Russo-Young (Nobody Walks), Leslye Headland (Bachelorette), Madeline Olnek (Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same) and Liza Johnson (Return). As a promising change of pace from traditional panels, Script to Screen also features a pair of interactive […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 5, 2012 -
David Doernberg, 1967 – 2012
Production designer David Doernberg, who brought a sensitive, finely crafted and observant touch to many excellent independent films, died in New York on Friday after a battle with cancer. Doernberg began his career in the late ’80s/early ’90s working on music videos for bands like Sonic Youth, Yo La Tengo and Superchunk. He quickly moved into independent features as a propmaster for films by Hal Hartley (Amateur), Daisy von Scherler Mayer (Party Girl) and Eric Schaeffer (If Lucy Fell). Soon after he became a production designer, bookending his career with films by Kelly Reichardt. He designed her 1994 debut film, […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 5, 2012 -
Ridley Scott Teases Prometheus with TED Talk from the Future
Now this is transmedia! Ridley Scott has created a TED Talk from the future for his forthcoming Prometheus. (Actually, here are the credits: “Conceived and designed by Ridley Scott and Damon Lindelof and directed by Luke Scott.”) The talk is by “Peter Heyland,” who looks quite a bit like Guy Pearce and is introduced on the TED page like this: Peter Weyland has been a magnet for controversy since he announced his intent to build the first convincingly humanoid robotic system by the end of the decade. Whether challenging the ethical boundaries of medicine with nanotechnology or going toe to […]
by Scott Macaulay on Feb 29, 2012 -
FILMMAKER READERS RECEIVE DISCOUNT TO ONLINE SCREENING OF “RETURN”
The IFP and Focus World are hosting a screening of the highly recommended drama Return, by Liza Johnson, on the online screening platform Constellation tonight. Filmmaker readers receive 25% off, and Johnson will be participating in a post-screening Q&A. From last week’s newsletter, here are the details. (And if you haven’t subscribed to our newsletter, why not? It’s free, and I write something special for it most weeks.) On the heels of its theatrical release earlier this month, IFP will be co-presenting with Focus World a special interactive screening of the feature film Return on Tuesday, February 28th – presented […]
by Scott Macaulay on Feb 28, 2012 -
NATIONAL FILM SOCIETY HOSTS PBS ONLINE FILM FESTIVAL
Wow, that was quick. At Filmmaker we’re used to spotting and promoting young filmmaking talent and, within a few years, seeing them graduate to studio blockbusters whose press screenings we aren’t invited to. But when we partnered this Sundance with the nascent National Film Society, we figured we had at least 24 months before they busted out of this joint. Just five weeks after we ran the National Film Society’s Park City spots, though, the duo of Patrick Epino and Stephen Dypiangco have gone network…. Well, they’ve gone PBS, and that’s a network in our book. From February 27 – […]
by Scott Macaulay on Feb 28, 2012 -
RECAPPING THE 27TH ANNUAL FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDS
Actress Penelope Ann Miller took the stage early at the 27th Film Independent Spirit Awards to accept the first of four awards Michel Hazanavicius’s The Artist would receive Saturday afternoon. It was for cinematography, and when it was announced d.p. Guillaume Schiffman was on a plane to Los Angeles along with the rest of the film’s contingent following their wins (six awards, including French Film of the Year) at France’s Cesars just a night before. (Befitting a movie that traffics in self-aware nostalgia, The Artist was shot on film, not digitally, although it was lensed in color and converted to […]
by Scott Macaulay on Feb 27, 2012 -
ETERNAL COPYRIGHT: A MODEST PROPOSAL
At the Daily Telegraph, Adrian Hon, Founder of the online games company Six to Start, writes a modest proposal providing an answer to the controversies over copyright, remixing, piracy, filesharing, etc: eternal copyright. In 1710, the Statue of Anne decreed that the term of copyright last from 14 – 28 years. In the 300 years since, that term has only increased to 70 years from the death of the author. Swift implementation of an eternal copyright law would not only spur creative innovation but redress societal wrongs. From the piece: Imagine you’re a new parent at 30 years old and […]
by Scott Macaulay on Feb 20, 2012
