Authors — Scott Macaulay

CANNES: ABOUT THAT RUSSIAN PRE-SALE…

A report in Screen Daily by Geoffrey McNab details problems independent producers and sales agents are having with Russian buyers as a result of the financial crisis. I’m not surprised to know that the below is happening, but it’s a little unusual to hear it discussed by the buyers themselves at a public panel. From the article: Russian distributors have issued a stark warning to U.S. sales agents – renegotiate deals on films acquired before the economic crisis or else they will stop buying altogether. Their fiercely worded remarks came during a panel discussion at the RussianPavilion in Cannes today […]
by Scott Macaulay on May 16, 2009
CANNES 2009: THE YACHT, TRAFFIC AND LOBBY CHAIR INDICATORS

Producer Noah Harlan is in Cannes taking part in the Atelier with Jake Mahaffy’s new project, and he sent the following report on the business and marketplace vibe there (along with comments on two films). Cannes is slow. No question about it. Last year I heard how the pace of coffees in the market was slow. This year these are my unofficial barometers of how crowded it is here? 1) Everyone agrees there are about 1/3 as many yachts in the bay off of the Croisette. (Admittedly that’s probably fewer rich sightseers than actual participants but it’s noticeable) 2) Tonight, […]
by Scott Macaulay on May 16, 2009
BABELGUM RELEASES SALLY POTTER FILM

Babelgum and Cinetic Rights Management have negotiated a deal in which Sally Potter’s latest feature, Rage, will be released in multiple international territories on Babelgum’s online service in webisode form as it concurrently rolls out in theatrical venues. The deal is reported in today’s Screen International by Jeremy Kay. The film will be streamed episodically on the web as well as on mobile platforms in the U.S., U.K. and Italy. The interesting thing here is the restructuring of a feature film to web-friendly webisode form, with each screening experience cross-marketing the other. Indiewire quotes the producers in a statement: “We […]
by Scott Macaulay on May 13, 2009
SPIKE JONZE LOVES YOU SO

Spike Jonze and the whole team who made Where the Wild Things Are have launched a group blog titled We Love You So. It’s already kind of amazing, with a post about Miranda July, some comments on films that influenced WTWTA, which include Ratcatcher and Paperhouse (!), and the following first focus group for the Wild Things mask. Where The Wild Things Are Focus Group #1 from Lance Bangs on Vimeo.
by Scott Macaulay on May 11, 2009
THE REACTIVE VERSUS THE REFLECTIVE BRAIN

Laura Miller’s essay in Salon on Willifred Gallagher’s Rapt: Attention and the Focused Life is a must read for anyone pondering with alternating degrees of fascination and worry the effect of internet communication and online media on our attention spans as well as our psyches. This is stuff I think about myself as I wonder why, for example, I’ve never rewatched Berlin Alexanderplatz, the beautiful Criterion edition of which sits right in front of me, while I did just watch Justin Timberlake’s Mother’s Day SNL spoof. It’s easy for some of us to joke about being ADD and for others […]
by Scott Macaulay on May 10, 2009
NELSON GEORGE CONTINUES HIS URBAN ROMANCE

Back in November I linked to A Barber’s Tale, the first of a series of web shorts by director, writer and producer Nelson George. George, who has been doing a series of readings and events in conjunction with the release of his City Kid: A Writer’s Memoir of Ghetto Life and Post-Soul Success, has posted the second of these pieces, A Survivor’s Tale, as well as several short videos created around his book tour. You can see them both as well as other work by George on his Vimeo page, or watch the two clips I’ve pulled below. A Survivor’s […]
by Scott Macaulay on May 10, 2009
TREVOR GROTH APPOINTED SUNDANCE DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMMING

I’m a couple days late catching up with news on the blog, but congratulations to Trevor Groth, who was appointed this week as the Sundance Film Festival’s Director of Programming. He’s taking over the position from John Cooper, who, following Geoff Gilmore’s move to Tribeca, was appointed the festival’s director. From the press release: A 16-year veteran of the Festival, Groth had been a Senior Programmer handling both narrative and documentary feature selection and leading the Festival’s Short Film Section. In his new role Groth will head up the six person programming team that is responsible for curating the Festival’s […]
by Scott Macaulay on May 10, 2009
DAVID LYNCH, STRAIGHT UP AND MASHED

David Lynch has launched Interview Project, a “20,000 mile road trip over 70 days across and back the United States,” in which Lynch and his team interview ordinary people. “It’s something that’s human and you can’t stay away from it,” Lynch says on the promo teaser currently up on the site. It’s a simple idea, and from the teaser it seems very Straight Story, but I have to admit that the faces of the interviewees and the basic questions they pose to themselves will have me back at the site on June 1 when it formally launches. Click on the […]
by Scott Macaulay on May 10, 2009
DOCUMENTARIANS GO TO WASHINGTON TO DEBATE THE DMCA

This past week the effect of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act on educators, documentary filmmakers and remix artists was debated during one of the Copyright Office’s tri-annual hearings. Several bloggers and participants have written about the hearings, and one, Gordon Quinn, is the subject of an article by Lindsay Muscato on the Gapers Block blog. Her article offers a good overview of the issue. Her lede: This week in Washington, Chicago filmmaker Gordon Quinn and other advocates prepare for the next battle for filmmakers’ right to quote from their culture. Mass-produced DVDs often encrypt films so that they can’t be […]
by Scott Macaulay on May 9, 2009
POWERPOINTING TRENT REZNOR’S BUSINESS PLANS

Thanks to Steve Gallagher for alerting me to this YouTube clip in which Michael Masnick gives us a presentation on Trent Reznor’s forward-thinking business models with Nine Inch Nails following the band’s departure from a major label. People talk a lot about Radiohead, but Reznor’s strategies are deeper and more far-reaching and include everything from free distribution, use of the torrent sites as delivery mechanisms, cultivation of fan communities, Creative Commons licenses, remixing and alternate reality games (ARG’s). There are plenty of ideas here we can apply to our own film marketing campaigns.
by Scott Macaulay on May 5, 2009

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