Authors — Scott Macaulay

Zizek and Henri-Levy on Kusturica

In a piece entitled “Clash of the Titans” at the Haaretz.com blog, Shlomzion Kenan writes about the recent debate between two “superstar philosophers,” Bertrand Henri-Levy and Slavoj Zizek, at the New York Public Library in late September. At one point, the conversation veered into a discussion of the Serbian director Emir Kusturica, whose vision of his homeland Zizek subjects to a a typically idiosyncratic critique of “the carnival.” From the piece: Joyously, Zizek spreads arms out and declares to Levy: “I hope we share another point, which is – to be brutal – hatred of [director] Emir Kusturica. ‘Underground’ is […]
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 28, 2008
THE ELEPHANT IN THE SCREENING ROOM

At The Hollywood Reporter, Gregg Goldstein reports on the stellar per-screen gross of Seth Grossman’s The Elephant King this weekend at the Angelika Film Center. The 2006 Tribeca selection, now being distributed by producer Unison Films and Strand Releasing did $16,000 despite modest P&A. The secret was apparently a blend of grass-roots marketing targeting non-film constituencies as well as a Gen Art-like blend of a screening and premiere party for a higher ticket price. From the piece: Unison head Emanuel Michael worked with Priority Films to contact Asian, Thai, drug and alcohol groups, and film schools at local universities. The […]
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 27, 2008
ONLY CONNECT

Over at Cinema Echo Chamber, Evan Louis interviews filmmaker Celia Maysles, whose debut, Wild Blue Yonder, deals with her father, documentary filmmaker David Maysles, and her relationship to him. From the interview: The whole idea behind Blue Yonder [for David] was trying to figure out who his greatest influences were in his life, and who he was, through making a film. He was closest with his father and his cousin Alan, who was a real risk taker, a fighter pilot. But his father never missed a day of work for thirty years. He worked in a dayjob, postal service, in […]
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 27, 2008
THOUGHTS ON MAX RICHTER AND FILM

I wrote the below for Filmmaker’s weekly newsletter back in late August when the digital iTunes version of Max Richter’s new album was released. (Each week in the newsletter I try to write something that’s different from what appears on the blog — if you don’t get the newsletter, you can subscribe by submitting your email address at left). Now the CD is out and in the stores, so I thought I’d repost what I wrote here — a kind of musing on the record and some of the new-media related thoughts it inspired. I’ve been listening lately to Max […]
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 25, 2008
WORD OF MOUTH: RECAPPING "THE CONVERSATION"

I wasn’t able to make it out to The Conversation in Berkeley last weekend, but I heard great things from people who did attend. In a post on his CinemaTech blog, organizer Scott Kirsner gives a quick run-through of some of the highlights. Here, for example, is one of the 15 or so brief bullet points he includes in the post — from Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix, a discussion of the “90-minute-plus chunk of viewing time” that he says is on the decline. Reed Hastings, founder and CEO of Netflix, participated in a great on-stage interview with filmmaker (and […]
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 24, 2008
THE HORROR, THE HORROR (THE ECONOMY AND REPO: THE GENETIC OPERA)

The always excellent KCRW podcast “The Business” has an interesting juxtaposition today. The first half of the program features an interview with Monica Karo, President of Integrated Sales, OMD on the effect of the recession on TV ad buying. The second half is an interview with Saw 2, 3, and 4 director Darren Lynn Bousman on his seven-or-so year saga to bring Repo: The Genetic Opera to the screen. “Darren Lynn Bousman was a kid who loved rock opera… and he’s got the wedgies to prove it,” says The Business’s Claude Brodesser-Akner as he intros the latter segment. In it, […]
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 23, 2008
A COMMUNITY HAS GOT MILK

One of the challenges any film faces these days is building a community of people around it — an audience that is energized and inspired by not just the movie, when it comes out, but the idea of the movie before it hits the theaters. One film sure to draw passionate engagement is Gus Van Sant’s upcoming Milk, and already its website is drawing moving and personal postings on Harvey Milk and his importance to multiple generations of gay and lesbian men and women. Check out the Milk site and read not only about Harvey Milk’s life but also the […]
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 23, 2008
SHOOTING AND LIGHTING ROUTE 30

On his blog, The Camera Eye, D.P. Keith Duggan has a straightforward, practical post on how he shot and lit the low-budget road movie Route 30. The film stars Dana Delany and is described as a “hilarious backwoods comedy,” and it was made with “no AD’s, no honeywagons, no equipment trucks of any kind.” But shooting on two Panasonic HVX200 cameras and carrying four P2 cards and a small amount of lighting and grip equipment in half the interior and on the roof rack of the director’s SUV, Duggan found a way to light the movie and give it a […]
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 22, 2008
READING (AND LOOKING AT) SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK

William Horberg, exec producer of Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York, has a blog, and in today’s post he compares his first reading of Kaufman’s script — in one of those annoying “you have to read this in two hours and then hand back immediately to a bonded messenger” sittings — to his first assignment at script coverage back in 1986. (Hat tip: Ted Hope.) From the piece: As a test, the first screenplay I was given to read and analyze as a sample of my reading, writing and comprehension was, believe it or not, How To Get Ahead In Advertising, […]
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 22, 2008
BALLAST ANNOUNCES SCREENING DATES

Ballast, which picked up several Gotham Award nominations yesterday, closes at New York’s Film Forum today But the film’s website has just been updated with screening dates across the county as well as in New York. (The film will move to the Cinema Village and the Brooklyn Heights Cinema for one week beginning Friday.) Here are the other upcoming dates that have been announced so far: Walker Art Center Minneapolis MN Oct 29 Q&A with director Lance Hammer following screening. Music Box Theatre Chicago IL Oct 31 – Nov 06 Q&A with filmmaker Lance Hammer on Friday, October 31. Screening […]
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 21, 2008

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