Authors — Scott Macaulay

FILMMAKER FLASHBACK: SPRING, 1996

Spring, 1996. It’s so strange now to look back at a piece in this issue by David Leitner on the new digital camera technology and read this bit of breaking news: 1996 will witness the inauguration of prerecorded films on CD-sized Digital Versatile Disks or “DVDs” (you and I will call them Digital Video Disks). DVDs not only doom VHS but also CD-ROMs as we know them for the mere reason that single-sided DVDs store 8.5 gigabytes compared to the puny 680 megabytes of CDs while manufacturing costs are the same. Also in this issue was filmmaker John Landis (yes, […]
by Scott Macaulay on Aug 17, 2010
ROONEY MARA IS THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

Rooney Mara — profiled in Filmmaker last summer when we selected her for our “25 New Faces” list — has won out in the most public casting process I can remember in years for the lead role as Lisbeth Salander in David Fincher’s adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It’s interesting to read some coverage that has called her an unknown and then to compare the comment to my lede in last year’s profile, reprinted below. She talks about why she got into acting, her love of John Cassavetes, and her non-profit organization, Faces of Kibera. The careers […]
by Scott Macaulay on Aug 17, 2010
ROTTERDAM CINEMART DEADLINE, SEPTEMBER 1, APPROACHING

One of most vital stops on the funding circuit for European arthouse films as well as select American independents is the Rotterdam Cinemart, held each year at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in late January. Here is how the festival describes the Cinemart: CineMart was the first platform of its kind to offer filmmakers the opportunity to launch their ideas to the international film industry and to find the right connections to get their projects financed. Launching about 36 new projects in need of additional financing, CineMart also heralds an important start of the ‘film year’. Every year, the CineMart […]
by Scott Macaulay on Aug 16, 2010
FILMMAKER FLASHBACK: WINTER, 1996

Spike Lee was our cover in Winter, 1996, and there were two tie-ins. First, his movie Girl 6 was about to be released. And, second, John Pierson’s Spike, Mike, Slackers and Dykes was just being published. For Filmmaker, Pierson gave us an expanded version of a talk he had with Lee and Kevin Smith that includes this interesting note from Lee. I had forgotten that Lee’s intended first feature was Messenger, an autobiographical tale about a young bicycle messenger. The film collapsed in pre-production when financing was pulled. Kevin: I want to do goofy young filmmaker questions, the kinds of […]
by Scott Macaulay on Aug 15, 2010
WHAT’S IN MY INSTAPAPER: SUNDAY MORNING LINKS

Here’s what piled up in my Instapaper this week: Director Armando Iannaccui on the proposed shutdown of the UK Film Council: An excerpt: Here’s what happens when you try to make a film. You have no money, but you have an idea. You need people, helpful, experienced people, to guide you to where the money is, fit you up with the best sort of financial backing, who understand the film you want to make, can nudge it in a direction that will see it gets the audience it merits. That’s what the UK Film Council built up 10 years of […]
by Scott Macaulay on Aug 15, 2010
FILMMAKER FLASHBACK: FALL, 1995

A number of cool things about our Fall, 1995 issue. First, the cover portrait of Tim Roth was an original by Nan Goldin, which was a pretty amazing coup for us at the time. Roth was one of the stars of Four Rooms, a now barely-remembered omnibus film all set in a hotel with segments helmed by Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Allison Anders and Alexandre Rockwell. Roth had shaved his head for a part when this photo was taken, so he was kind of unrecognizable, but we were still thrilled to have an original of Nan’s. L.M. Kit Carson did […]
by Scott Macaulay on Aug 14, 2010
FILMMAKER FLASHBACK: SUMMER, 1995

Summer, 1995. Safe. The Usual Suspects. Kids. Living in Oblivion. Double Happiness. The Brothers McMullen. The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love. Art for Teachers of Children. All in the same issue. What a quarter for independent film releases! Julianne Moore from Safe was on the cover, inaugurating our irregular tradition of the big-head cover photo. Larry Gross interviewed Haynes, and it’s a great interview. An excerpt: Gross: Leaving the world of the film for just a second, do you ever feel ambivalent about making a film that’s this pessimistic? Is somebody watching the film gonna say “I […]
by Scott Macaulay on Aug 13, 2010
FILMMAKER FLASHBACK: SPRING, 1995

Terry Zwigoff’s Crumb was our cover story in Spring, 1995. Consensus was that our cover, which was an illustration by the film’s subject, R. Crumb, didn’t really work. Newsstand distributors mistook the issue for a comics magazine, leading to retail confusion. Also in the book: Swimming with Sharks, Basketball Diaries, My Family, and Berenice Reynaud interviewing filmmaker Lourdes Portillo about her The Devil Never Sleeps. Liza Bear interviewed Atom Egoyan about his Exotica, who spoke of the film and his impending fatherhood: Filmmaker: You were becoming a father while Exotica was in production. What effect did being an expectant parent […]
by Scott Macaulay on Aug 12, 2010
FILMMAKER FLASHBACK: WINTER, 1995

Winter, 1995, was a great issue. Our cover story was Rick Linklater’s Before Sunrise. Andrew Hindes interviewed Linklater, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, while Jean-Christopher Castelli detailed the film’s use of Austrian tax funds for its financing. Paula Bernstein interviewed James Gray about Little Odessa, and then there was one of the best pieces we’ve ever run: development executive (and, later, Oscar-winning short film director) Barbara Schock’s “The Write Stuff: Intelligent Screenplay Development.” Technology and methods of financing may change, but these notes on working with writers don’t date. From the piece: One of the biggest impediments I’ve encountered in […]
by Scott Macaulay on Aug 11, 2010
WRITING FOR FILMMAKERMAGAZINE.COM

As the Fall approaches we’ll be adding new content and columns to the website. We have a number of ideas we’re working on, but I thought I’d also post this general call-out to writers who have particularly interesting, well-informed, idiosyncratic or simply personal perspectives on films, filmmaking or the film business. I’m not looking for traditional film reviewers, or people to do regular interviews. Instead, I’m interested in people who can contribute regularly to the site columns or pieces coming from original places and points of view. Mostly, I’m looking to discover some really good new voices about film. You […]
by Scott Macaulay on Aug 11, 2010

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