Authors — Scott Macaulay

GO, SPEEDCINE, GO!

Former publicist Reid Rosefelt resurfaces today with the launch of SpeedCine, a site that acts as a database for legal film viewing and downloading on the web. It’s a clever idea. You scan through the titles listed on the site, click one, and you’re sent to a page with links to the various viewing options on the ‘net. For example, say I want to watch Jeff Lipsky’s Flannel Pajamas. One click and I see that I can instantly watch it on Amazon VOD or, if I have a subscription, via Netflix. I can also download to rent from Jaman or […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 11, 2009
JOHN COOPER ANNOUNCED AS DIRECTOR OF THE SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

Tonight the Sundance Institute announced the appointment of John Cooper as the new director of the Sundance Film Festival. Cooper has been with Sundance for 20 years and now, following Geoff Gilmore’s departure to Tribeca Enterprises, steps into the leadership position. When Holly Willis interviewed him for this magazine three years ago she wrote, “Funny, self-deprecating and entirely approachable, Cooper is known to thousands of American filmmakers as the guy who calls with really excellent news. For the festival, he’s integral, the armature that supports everything.” We congratulate Cooper on the appointment and look forward to talking with him in […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 11, 2009
HBO’S IN TREATMENT THREATENS TO LEAVE NEW YORK OVER TAX CREDITS

While we wait for a resolution to the problems facing the New York Film and Television Tax Credit program, pressures mount on the filmmaking community here in New York as more productions contemplate moving out of the State. The latest is the HBO series In Treatment. From Roger Kimpton in the New York Post: The executive producer of HBO’s In Treatment series said he will yank the show and its 70 jobs from the Big Apple if Gov. Paterson doesn’t fund the state’s 30 percent tax credit for TV and movie production. The producer, Warren Leight, said the four episodes […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 9, 2009
THE NEW YORKER DISCOVERS MUMBLECORE

A bit late to the Dance Party USA, David Denby discovers mumblecore in this week’s New Yorker, devoting his entire film column to the genre. From the piece: You’re about twenty-five years old, and you’re no more than, shall we say, intermittently employed, so you spend a great deal of time talking with friends about trivial things or about love affairs that ended or never quite happened; and sometimes, if you’re lucky, you fall into bed, or almost fall into bed and just enjoy the flirtation, with someone in the group. This chatty sitting around, with sex occasionally added, is […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 9, 2009
KEN BURNS LOSES GM FINANCING

The economic crisis has hit filmmaker Ken Burns. As reported in the Detroit News, General Motors, which has been a major funder of the director, is ceasing its support due to its own economic woes. From the piece by Robert Snell: The cash crunch ends a 22-year relationship between GM and Burns, a graduate of Ann Arbor’s Pioneer High School and award-winning filmmaker who has created documentaries for public television about the nation’s wars, jazz and baseball, among others. Under a 10-year deal that started in 1999, GM paid for 35 percent of each film’s budget and funded educational outreach […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 9, 2009
TRAILER TALKBACK: PUBLIC ENEMIES

Mann, Depp, Bale, French Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard, and digital cinematography by Dante Spinotti… what do you think? 'Public Enemies' Theatrical Trailer @ Yahoo! Video
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 8, 2009
WEEKEND LINK ROUND-UP

Here are a few links that have caught my eye in the past week: Barack Obama is doing his small part to cut back on federal spending by regifting an AFI box set of the “25 Greatest American Films of all Time” to visiting British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. As The Guardian reports, the British press is up in arms by the chintzy perceived snub, noting that Brown previously gave Obama a pen carved from the sister ship the White House desk is made from and a first edition of a seven-volume Churchill biography. The gift has also turned political […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 8, 2009
MASHING UP USER-GENERATED VIDEO

Having long been interested in compositional mash-ups (from Stockhausen to the Beatles, Holger Czukay, Byrne/Eno, John Oswald, Christian Marclay and myriad hip-hop artists), I guess I am late to the party when it comes to Israeli producer Kutiman, who has become an internet star by remixing the work of musicians who have uploaded their own work to YouTube. He has created a video album, Thru You comprised entirely of unrelated YouTube clips. It’s pretty great. Here Kutiman explains his approach: And here’s probably the flashiest of the clips, but check out the album link above as I actually prefer some […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 8, 2009
TIPS FROM THE PRO’S ON PACKAGING AND PITCHING YOUR PROJECT

Entertainment attorney Steven Beer of Greenberg, Traurig prepared the below in advance of his presentation this weekend at the IFP’s Script to Screen conference, and he was kind enough to let the blog publish it. For those attending the conference, Beer will discuss these points further tomorrow at the New York Film Academy, 100 East 17th Street, New York, New York 10003. The “Tips from the Pros” panel will be on Sunday, March 8, 2009 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. I am excited to address this topic. From my experience, not enough attention is paid to packaging and pitching […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 7, 2009
A CHANCE ENCOUNTER BETWEEN BLAINE AND PETIT

Philippe Petit’s brief bit of coin sleight-of-hand and Oscar chin-balancing when James Marsh’s Man on Wire won the Oscar was one of the more entertaining moments at this year’s Academy Awards. Now, on his website, New York magician David Blaine posts a video of a kind of magical face-off that occurred when he ran into the French tightrope-walker on the street.
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 6, 2009

Cookie	Duration	Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional	11 months	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy	11 months	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Cookie	Duration	Description
cfmrk_cic		Used by Cloudflare to route user traffic for this Site.
sparrow_id		Installed by Cloudflare. Used to identify individual clients behind a shared IP address and apply security settings on a per-client basis. It does not store any personal identifiable information.

Cookie	Duration	Description
OAGEO		Installed by the Revive Ad Server. Used to cache geolocation (session, deleted when closing the browser)
OAID		Installed by the Revive Ad Server to distinguish users.