Authors — Scott Macaulay

THINKING ABOUT (AND LISTENING TO) DATA PORTABILITY

Because our Winter, 2009 issue went up online during the Sundance Film Festival, I think some of what’s in it has been slightly overlooked by the blogosphere. One article I want to point you towards is Lance Weiler’s “Virtual Discovery.” It looks at some of the ways that creators are building audiences by embracing collaborative models of marketing and even production. Weiler also discusses the importance of data portability — the ability for filmmakers to take the aggregated info about their audiences from online platform to online platform. Why is this important? From the piece: The real strength of data […]
by Scott Macaulay on Feb 15, 2009
GONDRY FANS, SET YOUR TIVO’S

Fans of Michel Gondry should tune in to HBO tonight, February 15, for “Unnatural Love,” the episode of Flight of the Conchords he directed. Calling the show “pure, unadulterated pleasure,” the newsletter Very Short List writes, “The Conchords, of course, are a New Zealand folk band. But the love interest here is Australian, and that allows for endless, over-the-top Aussie jokes (expect plenty of references to the continent’s criminal past). As for Gondry, his distinctive, dreamlike touch turns both of the episode’s musical numbers into surreal showstoppers.”
by Scott Macaulay on Feb 15, 2009
SITA SINGS THE BLUES TO PLAY ON WNET AND ONLINE

Following its Gotham Award and the week of the Spirit Awards, for which its director, Nina Paley, was nominated for the Someone to Watch Award, Sita Sings the Blues scores a Sunday New York Times feature article by Margy Rochlin. In the piece, Rochlin discusses watching the film when it played the San Francisco International Animation Festival and talking with Paley afterwards, a talk that reveals that the film will play on PBS next month. After the final credits rolled, the gangly, curly-haired Ms. Paley bounded onstage and announced, “You’ve all just participated in an illegal act.’ ” Though Ms. […]
by Scott Macaulay on Feb 14, 2009
TOM TYKWER AND THE PARANOID TRADITION

On the main page, Nick Dawson interviews The International director Tom Tykwer, and here they discuss one of my favorite sub-genres: the paranoid thriller. Filmmaker: You’ve said that you’re a movie maniac, so what were you influences for this film? You talked about paranoia and the thrillers of the 70s come to mind, especially those of Alan J. Pakula. Tykwer: Pakula obviously is probably the quintessential filmmaker for what we would call the paranoia drama. Even though it’s not so obviously politically related, even a film like Klute has that vibe where there’s an uncertainty. There’s a feeling that Jane […]
by Scott Macaulay on Feb 13, 2009
TARANTINO, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

Hmmm… Comments?
by Scott Macaulay on Feb 11, 2009
GETTING THINGS DONE WITH GMAIL

In the last few months I’ve talked a few producers who have been reading Dave Allen’s Getting Things Done, the productivity manual. I read it a couple of years ago and by no means have adopted all of its recommendations. (A couple of things in it — the Two Minute Rule and thinking of the Next Action — are useful.) One problem is that it’s too paper-oriented for me. But in the years since its publication, a number of sites have run with its ideas and come up with systems to integrate them into the Palm Pilot, Blackberry, etc. I […]
by Scott Macaulay on Feb 10, 2009
WELCOME TO THE BLOGOSPHERE, NOAH

The very smart producer Noah Harlan, who has been responsible for many great tips here on the Filmmaker blog, has just launched his own blog, The 401st Blow. For his inaugural post he argues that The Feature Will Never Die. His lede: There is a depression spreading like a virus in the indie film community and I don’t like it. People are watching the rise of new media and see the four horsemen on the horizon. I want to say to filmmakers out there who want to work in long-form narrative: do not despair! You have a future… I’ll look […]
by Scott Macaulay on Feb 10, 2009
SAVE THE NY TAX CREDITS!

As I posted below, New York has run out of money to fund its film and televsion tax credit program. In a New York Post article entitled “TV and Film Tax Credit Program, Hollywood on the Hudson, Runs Out of Money,” Governor Patterson’s office is quoted as saying that the budget due to be presented in April does not include further funds for the program. From the Post: When the program was begun in 2004, the state budgeted $425 million to fund its share of tax credits through 2013. But the funds were used up faster than expected, due in […]
by Scott Macaulay on Feb 9, 2009
IS PIRACY THE NEW FIRST WEEKEND?

In a post a couple of weeks ago entitled “Taken and the Piracy Effect,” I wrote about the surprise theatrical success of the French action film Taken, which topped distributor forecasts despite the fact that it has been easily available on the filesharing sites for almost a year. Of course, the film’s killer trailer and TV campaign had something to do with it as well, but the fact that the early word from the downloaders was overwhelmingly positive (see the quotes from the various bulletin boards in my original post) I’m sure had something to do with convincing fanboys that […]
by Scott Macaulay on Feb 9, 2009
CONTEXT IS KING

Mentalist and all around social theorizing provocateur Derren Brown posted on his blog a link to an interesting study chronicled in The Washington Post. Brown writes: A wonderful experiment conducted in a Washington DC Metro station. Playing some of the greatest music the human race has created, one of the finest violinists in the world anonymously busks: will his art cut through the rush and bustle of the commuters’ morning? Will a crowd form? I love this article and find it very moving. It’s a splendid modern demonstration of the question of context and presentation in art, and what is […]
by Scott Macaulay on Feb 8, 2009

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