Authors — Scott Macaulay

PLAYLISTING AUTEUR DIRECTORS

At his blog Keef has assembled a tasteful playlist of music videos by feature film directors. Van Sant, Jarmusch, Wong Kar Wai, Sayles, Scorsese, Lynn Ramsay and Gaspar Noe all make appearances. Here are two. “Savoure le Rouge” by Indochine, directed by Marc Caro. “Disapearer,” by Sonic Youth, directed by Todd Haynes.Sonic Youth – New Music – More Music Videos
by Scott Macaulay on Nov 30, 2008
HAMMER TO NAIL FIRST OUT OF THE AWARD SEASON GATE

The excellent indie criticism site Hammer to Nail has taken the stratagem of being the first to publish its 2008 “10 Best” list, posting its selection (a baker’s dozen of 13, actually) the day after Thanksgiving, when some of us film bloggers were still digesting the previous evening’s turkey dinner. The rules: eligible films had to be American narrative films (features or shorts) budgeted at less than $1 million and which premiered or received theatrical distribution in 2008. I’m very happy to see Filmmaker favorite Frownland nabbing the number one spot! Ronnie Bronstein’s miserabilist masterpiece has been heralded here many […]
by Scott Macaulay on Nov 30, 2008
A SUNDAY AFTERNOON WITH THE GOTHAM BREAKTHROUGH DIRECTORS

I moderated a panel this rainy Sunday afternoon in New York with the five nominees for the Gotham Breakthrough Director Award: Lance Hammer (Ballast), Dennis Dortch (A Good Day to be Black and Sexy), Barry Jenkins (Medicine for Melancholy), Antonio Campos (Afterschool) and Alex Rivera (Sleep Dealer). I’m not a big fan of reading (and writing) panel conversation blow-by-blows, but it was a good talk and some interesting contrasts and comparisons between the directors emerged during the conversation. I’ll note them here. 1. Independent films can take a long time to make. Four out of the five directors spend several […]
by Scott Macaulay on Nov 30, 2008
BREAK UP AT&T AND VERIZON?

In Filmmaker‘s Summer issue we ran David Rosen’s “The Next Telecom War,” which argued that net neutrality debates are distracting us from the real goal of infrastructure common carriage. Now, Rosen has contributed to “What Now for Broadband and the Telecoms,” posted on the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard’s Nieman Watchdog site. Bruce Kushnick’s article poses a series of relevant questions regarding broadband and telco policy to the incoming Obama administration: Q. Will you set the goal of broadband access at 1 gigabit in every American home? Q. Why aren’t telecom subsidies being directed to cover much-needed infrastructure improvements? […]
by Scott Macaulay on Nov 29, 2008
ALL THE COLORS OF SOFIA COPPOLA

Andrew Sullivan picked this up from the Today and Tomorrow blog, which in turn picked it up from Bored and Beautiful: Alan Woo’s “Pie,” described thusly: “Curious to see if there were any stark similarities or contrasts within particular films, Pie aims to create an incredibly simple and concise baseline of comparison of films trough one particular trait: colour. The outcome is a number of triptychs comparing various films of particular trilogies, directors or genres. A program written in processing captures each frame of each movie and essentially creates a ‘pie chart’ of the colours contained within each film producing […]
by Scott Macaulay on Nov 28, 2008
MONEY, THAT’S WHAT I WANT

Expertly timed to premiere today, on so-called “Black Friday” when many parents rush to the stores to buy the latest must-have gifts for their sons and daughters is Lauren Greenfield‘s documentary Kids + Money. Greenfield is the photograher and author of the seminal Girl Culture, a book chronicling the reality of being a teenage girl in America today. Visit any filmmaker, screenwriter, production designer, of costume designer who has worked on a teen film and you’ll find this book on their shelf of reference materials. Next Greenfield made Thin, a photo essay and also documentary film about girls with eating […]
by Scott Macaulay on Nov 28, 2008
HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL OUR READERS

Before I head out of town for a couple of days I want to post here my best wishes for a great Thanksgiving to you, our readers, and your friends and families. It’s been a tumultuous year for independent film and independent filmmakers, but on the eve of this holiday, it is clear that we have much to be thankful for. The indie film world may be cash and credit-deprived at the moment, but, at least from my vantage point, it is rich in creativity and passion. It’s also blessed with a deep brain-trust capable of thinking ourselves out of […]
by Scott Macaulay on Nov 26, 2008
TOP 100 CRIME FILMS

The people who run the Masters of Criminal Justice website, which provides “valuable resources to help you make a career transition into criminal justice or to advance your current criminal justice career,” like lists. On the site now are the “100 Best Open Source Security Tools” and “DIY Home Security: 100 Essential Tips, Tools and Resources.” There is also the site’s picks for the “100 Top Crime Movies of All Time.” A lot of the expected classics are there — The Godfather, Goodfellas, Pulp Fiction — but what’s interesting is that the list is broken down by sub-genre. The Matrix, […]
by Scott Macaulay on Nov 26, 2008
FLY ATTACK! TOUR DE FOURS, EPISODE 4

A fly infestation, event-based audience building and a grape-eating contest at the Golden Gate bridge — they are all part of what is turning into the On the Road of indie film web series, Tour de Fours. The webisodes are Todd Sklar and Range Life Entertainment’s chronicles of their movie road tour in which four titles — Box Elder, In Memory of My Father, On the Road with Judas, and Registered Sex Offender — are presented by their makers in theaters across the country. For more on the tour click here.
by Scott Macaulay on Nov 26, 2008
LEAKING SUNDANCE ’09?

Look forward to a blog post later this week or early next in which we print and comment upon the list of films accepted into this year’s Sundance Film Festival. And while word-of-mouth generally circulates that a few titles are in, for the most part filmmakers keep a lid on it until the list comes out. This year, however, leaks are occurring. Sean Means’s blog at the Chicago Tribune lists a few films that the filmmakers themselves have posted news of their acceptance. The blog for Cory McAbee’s Stingray Sam says that the director’s follow-up to The American Astronaut will […]
by Scott Macaulay on Nov 26, 2008

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