Authors — Scott Macaulay

BILL LANDIS, R.I.P.

Bill Landis, a man who championed the world of underground exploitation moviemaking and exhibition, died this week of a heart attack at 49. With his wife Michelle Clifford he was the editor of Sleazoid Express, a zine that chronicled the films of the 42nd Street grindhouse scene, which he described in an interview at Nerve.com: Grind houses were opulent, old-style movie palaces with chandeliers, opera seats and huge screens. They seated several hundred people and played all kinds of films, across genres. A shoebox theater catered to the adult audience, seated eighty to 200, usually on one floor, and was […]
by Scott Macaulay on Dec 26, 2008
FILMMAKER YEAR IN REVIEW: DAMON SMITH

Damon Smith, who has contributed several feature interviews as well as, under his Filmcatcher affiliation, produced various videos we’ve presented on the site, sends his thoughts, below. Top Ten The ClassParanoid ParkMan on WireHappy-Go-Lucky35 RhumsRepriseWaltz with BashirTulpanSugarMunyurangaboBallastEncounters at the End of the WorldMy Winnipeg In a year that brought a wealth of new work by established filmmakers such as Mike Leigh, Gus Van Sant, Guy Maddin, and Werner Herzog, as well as exquisite follow-up efforts by James Marsh, Laurent Cantet, and Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden, it’s hard to be sanguine about lists. But three indelible, goose-bump-raising sequences will mark […]
by Scott Macaulay on Dec 24, 2008
FILMMAKER YEAR IN REVIEW: BRIAN CHIRLS

Brian Chirls, who contributed the piece on Soderbergh’s RED camera post-production in the current issue, weighs in with some of his ’08 personal bests. Best Foreign Film About Food That I Saw at a European Festival Of Which No One I Know In the States Has Ever Heard:Estômago Best Film About Zombies in High SchoolDance of the Dead Best Film of the Year/Best American Film About FoodPoultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead Best Film About Pistachios That I Never Heard From After Its Sundance Premiere (Even Though It’s Not About Cannibalism)Anywhere, USA Best Film That I Never Actually Got Around […]
by Scott Macaulay on Dec 24, 2008
FILMMAKER YEAR IN REVIEW: NICK DAWSON

In addition to penning features for the magazine — check out his Greg Mottola interview coming up in the next issue — Nick Dawson talks with one director a week for his web-original “Director Interviews” column. Here are his thoughts on 2008. Top Ten The Edge of Heaven, In Search of a Midnight Kiss, London to Brighton, Love Songs, Momma’s Man, My Winnipeg, Reprise (pictured), Silent Light, Synecdoche, New York, Timecrimes. First off, a quick note about the choices for my Top 10. The absence of many of the more critically acclaimed films is a result of the combination of […]
by Scott Macaulay on Dec 23, 2008
FILMMAKER YEAR IN REVIEW: HOWARD FEINSTEIN

Howard Feinstein, who regularly covers major festivals like Cannes and Toronto as well as contributes feature interviews, weighs in here with his “best of” thoughts. Without second-guessing awards and critics’ choices, I chose as honestly as possible the best of the films that got some kind of release in the U.S. in 2008. Here they are, in no particular order: Alexandra; The Secret of the Grain; Silent Light (pictured); Times and Winds; and Still Life. All are auteurist, all take their own sweet time to lay out narrative and develop characters. They are all from countries — Russia, France, Mexico, […]
by Scott Macaulay on Dec 23, 2008
FILMMAKER YEAR IN REVIEW: BRANDON HARRIS

Here, Filmmaker contributor Brandon Harris issues his thoughts on 2008 in film. Nothing was ordinary in 2008. As many have noted, a riveting, historic, perhaps transformational election and economic turmoil unlike any seen in several generations seemed to dwarf what was going on within the films we were watching or within the ever evolving business of making and distributing them. Yet, unlike years’ past, I was drawn to films that didn’t so much speak to the inescapable dread and great hope of the historical moment, but films that spoke to more elemental questions – what are the costs of ambition, […]
by Scott Macaulay on Dec 23, 2008
FILMMAKER YEAR IN REVIEW: NOAH HARLAN

Here are producer Noah Harlan‘s year-end thoughts: I think a lot of people missed Jake Mahaffy’s Wellness (pictured) which won SXSW this year and got a Gotham nomination. Also, I continue to be amazed by what is coming out of Israel. Each year I think that they have peaked and then they produce even more impressive films the next. With films like Beaufort, Jellyfish, The Band’s Visit and Waltz With Bashir they have had an exceptional year with awards (Academy Award nomination, Silver Bear at Berlin, Camera D’Or at Cannes…). Lastly, I think the introduction of the RED Scarlet system […]
by Scott Macaulay on Dec 23, 2008
FILMMAKER YEAR IN REVIEW: JAMES PONSOLDT

Here’s the next in our Filmmaker contributor ’08 wrap-ups, from James Ponsoldt. So…I don’t like “Best of” lists, or even the idea of “best” being used in regards to films (or any art). I mean, let’s be honest–there’s one reason why we have “Best of” lists: we like to argue. And that’s cool. Arguing is great. But isn’t “favorite” more appropriate than “best”? I think so. Does that sound precious? Eh, I don’t care. These are some of my favorite films, performances, and film moments of 2008. Favorite Film: MilkFavorite Documentary Film (Tie): South Main, Encounters at the End of […]
by Scott Macaulay on Dec 23, 2008
FILMMAKER YEAR IN REVIEW: KARINA LONGWORTH

Below Filmmaker contributor Karina Longworth, who can be regularly found at Spout.com, contributes her thoughts on 2008 in film. In the week or so since indieWIRE began posting individual ballots for their 2008 Critics’ Poll, I’ve found that all anyone really wants to talk about are the lists of Best Undistributed Films. For those of us who spend serious time on the festival circuit, the number of great and very good films which end the year without confirmed theatrical distribution is too high to be contained by a single list. Even in expanding my Best Undistributed Top 10 from the […]
by Scott Macaulay on Dec 22, 2008
FILMMAKER YEAR IN REVIEW: PETER BOWEN

I asked some of our editors and contributors to send me their lists, recaps or even just random thoughts on the past year in film. I’ll be running them over the next few days, starting with Peter Bowen’s, below. Strange that in such turbulent political times so few films deal head on with specific crises. Instead some of the most interesting films captured our time as nostalgia, symptom, suggestion, allegory, fable. Most of the films I found most resonant speak to our times by avoiding the subject. These are not in order of importance, but interest. Milk: Long before Prop […]
by Scott Macaulay on Dec 21, 2008

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