Authors — Scott Macaulay

ERROL MORRIS’S BEST COMMERCIAL EVER

Via Twitter, Errol Morris called this the best commercial of all time. He may have a point. (Hat tip: HTML Giant.)
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 24, 2010
INCREDIBLE YOUTUBE FIRE ILLUSION

YouTube illusions are becoming a genre all their own. This one is kinda gorgeous. (Hat tip: iTricks.)
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 23, 2010
AMC Announces “AMC Independent”

For a while AMC has been an approachable theater chain for independent filmmakers seeking a direct way to get their films in front of theatrical audiences. Now, the company has announced AMC Independent (“AMCi”), a program that commits screens in 60 AMC venues to independent fare. Most of the films upcoming on the initial AMCi slate are mini-major titles (Please Give, Babies) that I’m sure would have wound up on AMC screens anyway, but the fact that the company has positioned the program they way it has — and the noises they are making about future programming — are encouraging […]
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 23, 2010
DOUG BLOCK’S “THE KIDS GROW UP” AT STF

Last night’s Stranger Than Fiction screening of Doug Block’s The Kids Grow Up was a homecoming of sorts. Block’s previous foray into personal documentary 51 Birch Street was actually the first ever film to be screened in the series, a fact announced by its organizer, Thom Powers, when he introduced it (and his new baby) to the audience. In 51 Birch Street, Block recounted how his mother’s death and his father’s subsequent remarriage crystallized doubts he’d always had about his parent’s marriage. Block’s latest outing, The Kids Grow Up, is similarly a family affair — it weaves archival footage of […]
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 21, 2010
SUPREME COURT STRIKES DOWN INFRINGING DOC RULE

Yesterday, in an 8-1 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a statute that would have infringed on certain documentary makers’ First Amendment rights. Relating to the depiction of animal cruelty and killing on screen, the statute, by criminalizing such depictions, would have limited filmmakers’ abilities to cover any number of subjects ranging from hunting to our food industry to, ironically, animal abuse itself. The IFP New York was one of several organizations filing an amicus brief in support of the filmmaker filing the case, a documentarian named Robert Stevens who was sentenced to 37 months in Federal prison for […]
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 21, 2010
Is Our Indie Scene too Marketing Obsessed?

Too enthralled by the latest social media craze? Those are the questions posed by producer Mike Ryan (Junebug, Life During Wartime, 40 Shades of Blue) in his essay in the new issue of Filmmaker, which you can read online now. From his piece: Developing content and nurturing auteurs should be our top concern, not figuring out distribution models or revenue schemes. The whole purpose of independent film is to make films that aren’t prefabricated to hit a target audience of someone else’s devising. In fact, it’s that kind of market-centric thinking that puffed up the bubble with derivative films; it’s […]
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 19, 2010
INDIE PANELS HAVE HIT THE BIG TIME

If, after all the talk about indie film panels this past week, you would like to attend one… More info here. (Hat tip: Jamie Stuart)
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 19, 2010
VIEWS FROM THE WINDOW

Tired of waking up in the same place every day? Then WinScape may be for you. The company’s plasma monitors and software allow you to change your definition of “outside” whenever you want. Most impressively, the view changes as you walk around your apartment… only if, that is, you walk around your apartment wearing a radio-emitting headpiece.
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 18, 2010
WHAT SHOULD A NEW DOC FESTIVAL LOOK LIKE?

That was the question asked a group of about 40 filmmakers and members of the filmmaking community at an IFC Center Friday breakfast by Thom Powers (artistic director), John Vanco (managing director) and Raphaela Neihausen (executive director) about their new event, DOC NYC. Powers, Vanco and Neihausen are teaming to present the inaugural edition of this new Gotham doc fest this November, and their first step has been to reach out to the community for opinions on what’s needed to distinguish their festival. From their initial release: “DOC NYC will fill an important void in New York City and will […]
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 17, 2010
THOM YORKE COVERS “LOVE WILL TEAR US APART”

Some Friday night listening pleasure from the Atoms for Peace concert (I sadly missed).
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 16, 2010

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