Authors — Scott Macaulay

IRA DEUTCHMAN CHAIRS COLUMBIA FILM SCHOOL

Producer, distributor, and longtime professor (24 years!) at Columbia Film School, Ira Deutchman has been appointed the division’s new chair. He takes over from the film school’s previous chair, Jamal Joseph. Well known in the independent community, Deutchman was a founder of indie distributor Cinecom, a former head of Fine Line Features, and is currently Managing Partner of Emerging Pictures. Film’s he’s worked on as either a distributor or marketer include The Player, An Angel at My Table, Hoop Dreams, Naked, and sex lies and videotape. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Deutchman commented, “I’ve been teaching at Columbia […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jul 29, 2011
FESTIVAL FILM WATCHING AND THE DEATH OF THE DVD

I always feel odd holed up in my hotel room watching DVDs while at a film festival. After all, a film festival is supposed to be festive, and that means audiences, excitement, buzz. But invariably, once you’ve missed a screening those DVD screeners that weren’t available pre-fest are suddenly pressed into your hands by anxious publicists. Or, maybe you just meet a cool filmmaker on the shuttle bus and agree to watch HIS short that night. If you’re doing your job as a journalist, at least some of your festival stay will be spent watching DVDs in your room, perhaps […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jul 29, 2011
GOOD QUOTES FROM CHRISTINE VACHON

From her conversation with Anthony Kaufman, recapped at Indiewire. On money, producing and responsibility: “In film producing there is an inherent tension between the director, the money and the producer, and that’s what keeps it flowing and honest and accountable. Sometimes, when I work with financiers or a studio, they see my job as the one who has to tell the director he can’t have something. And that’s a drag. So I have to figure out ways to come up with creative solutions, before I tell him what we’re up against, so it’s not a state of crisis. And Todd […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jul 28, 2011
SUNDANCE ANNOUNCES NEW ONLINE DISTRIBUTION INITIATIVE

At a Los Angeles press conference today, Sundance Institute Executive Director Keri Putnam announced an expansion of the organization’s Artist Services Initiative that will bring independent films to digital platforms. Exclusively partnering with aggregator New Video, Sundance is offering its festival and lab films distribution opportunities on iTunes, Amazon, Hulu, Netflix and SundanceNOW. Filmmakers will retain ownership and control of their titles, will be free to publicize and market them, and Sundance will conduct its own marketing efforts as well as leverage the potency of its brand to gain the films wider audiences. Commented Putnam, “By acting as a conduit […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jul 27, 2011
WHAT DOES A SCRIPT SUPERVISOR DO?

Over at The Rumpus, Andrea Manners breaks down her job. From the piece: Rumpus: What’s a typical production day like? Manners: Before we start production, I meet with other departments. I ask the hair department to communicate their ideas for the film, and I ask the makeup department what they plan to do. I’m basically making sure the director’s idea and vision is translated from the script’s point of view. I’m also the liaison between the director and the editor. The editor needs a lot of notes to make the movie since he’s not there. I represent the editor on […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jul 27, 2011
BRILLIANTE MENDOZA AND KICKSTARTING “THE JEEPNEY MOVIE”

Filmmakers Esy Casey and Sarah Friedland recently sent me a short video documenting their visit to the Philippines where they met the Cannes prize-winning filmmaker Brilliante Mendoza and visited his construction studio. The video, which catches Mendoza in the lead-up to his new feature, Prey, is posted below. After I received this link, Friedland informed me of the new project of Casey’s she’s producing. Also set in the Philippines, it’s called Jeepney, and it’s a feature doc about this vehicle and the people who drive it. From the project’s Kickstarter page: Visualizing the rich cultural heritage of the Philippines, this […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jul 26, 2011
WATCHING SETH FISHER MAKE A MOVIE

There’s a lot of filmmaking advice out there, but as you know from reading this magazine and website, I favor instruction from people who are in the trenches themselves. Director Seth Fisher sent me an email about his movie, Passing Harold Blumenthal, a while back, and I’m only just getting to it now. Consequently, I missed the chance to plug his Kickstarter — not that he needed it, though, because he successfully raised $50,000. But it’s not too late to plug his blog, which I’ve just paged through. At Watch Me Make a Movie, Fisher is walking you through his […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jul 26, 2011
PRESCREEN ANNOUNCES CALL FOR ENTRIES

While in Cannes this year I moderated a panel on new distribution thinking, and one of the panelists was Shawn Bercuson of PreScreen. I wrote: … PreScreen’s business operates on an entirely different principle. Using a targeted email approach similar to GroupOn’s, PreScreen blasts fans with invites to watch films via secured streaming before their theatrical release. Then, says Bercuson, detailed information flows to the filmmakers regarding the demographics of the audience who responded to the invites. This information can help in the further crafting of marketing, or the digital release can simply generate good old word-of-mouth. PreScreen, which promises […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jul 25, 2011
KICKSTARTER: “DEATH IN ARIZONA”

I’m a sucker for performance art projects dealing with things like solitude and personal healing. For example, there’s Sophie Calle’s famous Exquisite Pain, which documented her being dumped by a lover by phone at the tail end of a trip to Japan. Another piece involving Japanese hotel rooms, but with a different kind of pain, is Laurel Nakadate’s Love Hotel, currently on view at P.S. 1. In that piece, Nakadate checks into, alone, a series of Japanese sex hotels and photographs herself simulating the acts that go on there. Slotted into this sub-genre is a new film project by Mexican […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jul 25, 2011
ANNA CALVI AND… GUY MADDIN?

Anna Calvi’s self-titled album, recently shortlisted for the U.K. Mercury Prize, has been a grower with me in the last few weeks. Now, an interview with Calvi in The Guardian has bumped it up even further. A lot of reviewers have referenced the cinematic quality of Calvi’s songs and, indeed, singles like “Blackout” make one think that she’d be a natural for the next James Bond soundtrack. So, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Calvi’s inspirations are a lot less obvious. Indeed, the only movie that has inspired one of her songs is one of the past decade’s best […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jul 24, 2011

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