Authors — Scott Macaulay
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“LAST NIGHT” DIRECTOR MASSY TADJEDIN
The eponymous prior evening of Massy Tadjedin’s Last Night takes the form of an out-of-town business trip between handsome, somewhat taciturn and very married Michael (Sam Worthington) and Laura, his sexy and very interested coworker (Eva Mendes). Or, you could view it, the “last night” is the clandestine evening spent between Sam’s beautiful author wife, Joanna (Keira Knightley) and her still-charming ex, Alex (Guillaume Canet), while Sam is away. But most accurately — and no matter what your gender or point-of-view on modern relationships is — the film’s “last night” is best considered from its morning after, when whatever rash […]
by Scott Macaulay on May 4, 2011 -
Zenith Creator Vladan Nikolic
As Vladan Nikolic’s Zenith continues its slow roll-out — finishing its U.S. screenings while premiering on Amazon and iTunes — I thought I’d post on the blog this piece on the film that originally ran in slightly different form in our Winter, 2011 issue. “What is Zenith?” was the question posed on About Top Secret and other conspiracy-related websites last Spring. Paranoid-minded posters jumped in and followed a breadcrumb-trail of online clues relating to everything from the Bavarian Illuminati and fluoridated drinking water to biochemistry and the New World Order. They clicked through a maze of 50 other websites (priestoftruth.com, […]
by Scott Macaulay on May 4, 2011 -
NICK FLYNN ON THE SET OF HIS “ANOTHER NIGHT” ADAPTION
From Focus Features comes this on-set interview with author Nick Flynn, whose book Another Bullshit Night in Suck City is being turned into a movie by director Paul Weitz. Here he talks about recreating his Boston youth in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and what it’s like to have Robert De Niro playing his dad and Paul Dano playing himself.
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 28, 2011 -
POLY STYRENE, R.I.P.
Singer Poly Styrene (Marian Joan Elliott-Said), best known for her work in the iconic punk band X-Ray Spex, died today from breast cancer at 53. From Dangerous Minds: Poly upended every stereotype of the female rock and roll front person. She looked like an innocent school girl but when she opened her mouth she had a soul searing wail that made John Lydon sound like a squealing mama’s boy with his dick stuck in a zipper. Poly had one of the greatest punk rock voices in all of rock and roll. From banshee to wounded vulnerability, Styrene emoted with a […]
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 26, 2011 -
KICKSTARTER: “BE LIKE AN ANT”
Rocks. That’s what you get when you support Mike Plante’s hour-long portrait film, Be Like An Ant. But they aren’t just everyday rocks. They are rocks from underneath the subject of the film’s home, and he has selected, polished and cut them. Here’s how Plante describes his project: The story: Post-Vietnam, Paul bought a trailer for his family to live in. Annoyed by how bad living inside a mobile home during winter could be, he took matters into his own hands and started to build a house – around the trailer. He never made any blueprints. As the house took […]
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 25, 2011 -
KICKSTARTER: “THE HAPPY SAD”
Amidst all the online talk about DIY and arguments over who is “indie” and who isn’t, sometimes real directors quietly and steadfastly pursuing an independent agenda don’t get the attention they deserve. One such director is Rodney Evans, whose 2004 Brother to Brother ambitiously fused an exploration of the Harlem Renaissance with a contemporary tale dealing with gay African-American identity. Now he’s got a new movie, and he’s using Kickstarter to raise funds for actors’ salaries and equipment rental. Here’s how he describes the picture, titled The Happy Sad. Armed with roses and art, Stan brunches with his girlfriend Annie, […]
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 25, 2011 -
KICKSTARTER: “IN THE FOREST ONE NIGHT”
A number of former “25 New Faces” are involved with the production of Sarah Daggar-Nickson’s short film, In the Forest One Night. They include the cinematographer Sean Kirby and executive producers Lars Knudsen and Jay Van Hoy. Also involved are producers Tory Lenosky and Andrea Roa, and production designer Amanda Ford. Rewards include the director’s own DVDs and books of poetry, and a pitch-meeting with the two exec producers. According to her Kickstarter bio, Daggar-Nickson “specializes in stories from the darker side of life, where hope shines a little brighter.” I like that. Check out the video and consider supporting.
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 25, 2011 -
DAVID LOWERY’S “ST. NICK” OPENS AT reRUN
Opening today at Brooklyn’s gastropub theater, reRun, is David Lowery’s first feature, St. Nick. Here’s Alicia Van Couvering’s introduction to her interview with Lowery for Filmmaker at the film’s festival premiere: There is almost no dialogue in the first half of David Lowery’s feature debut, St. Nick. A young boy and a girl enter an abandoned house, clean it up, build a fire, forget to open a window and fill the house with smoke, figure out a chimney and watch the embers turn into flames. They sleep, they forage for food; somehow they survive, until reality starts bearing down on […]
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 22, 2011 -
TIM HETHERINGTON, R.I.P.
While traveling today I heard the very sad news that photojournalist and documentary filmmaker Tim Hetherington, winner of the Sundance Documentary Grand Jury Prize, with Sebastian Junger, for their documentary, Restrepo, was killed while covering the conflict in Libya. Lauren Wissot interviewed Hetherington and Junger earlier this year for Filmmaker, and she began her piece like this: “Most documentary filmmakers attempt to see the world through the lens of the subjects they’re shooting, but few put their lives on the line to do so.” Of the film, which looked at the conflict in Afghanistan through the viewpoints of U.S. soldiers […]
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 21, 2011 -
WATCH IFP/POWER TO THE PIXEL CROSS-MEDIA FORUM HERE
The IFP and Power to the Pixel present today the Cross-Media Forum. You can read the complete line-up here and also check it out via the livestream below. See you there… or online. Live Broadcasting by Ustream
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 19, 2011
