Authors — Scott Macaulay

BARRY LEVINSON ADVISES JOHN McCAIN

Or, maybe, director Barry Levinson should have advised John McCain. In his blog at the Huffington Post, Levinson conjectures: Over the years since directing Wag The Dog I have been asked whether Hollywood producers are directly involved in political campaigns. I hear rumors from time to time that they might be pulling the strings but no hard evidence. But my suspicion is, no Hollywood producer is involved in the McCain presidential run. I say this for a simple reason, it’s badly orchestrated, lacks a narrative, and when they come across a good story idea they bungle it. An example: When […]
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 10, 2008
LEARNING FROM THE PORN INDUSTRY

Even more so than independent film, the porn industry has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to capitalizing on new trends in the entertainment industry. It capitalized on home video early on and more recently has been in the forefront of downloadable content, content for iPods and PSPs, and the segmentation of content into niche-targeted “clips.” Now, it may be at the forefront of dealing with two challenges — the threat from user-generated free concert and the atomization of our attention spans. Like both Hollywood and independent film, porn is facing tough times. In fact, they may […]
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 9, 2008
LANCE HAMMER BLOGS BALLAST

In addition to making a great film (and shouldn’t that be enough?), Ballast director Lance Hammer has energized the growing DIY distribution community by turning down an industry deal and releasing his Sundance-winning feature himself. But it’s one thing for all of us to applaud what Hammer has done; it’s another to support him — and the filmmakers who follow in his wake — by going out and seeing his film. It’s a great movie, and if you live in New York and haven’t seen it, I recommend heading down to the Film Forum this weekend. Below is the first […]
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 9, 2008
25 NEW FACES AWARDED SUNDANCE TIME WARNER STORYTELLING FELLOWSHIPS

Congrats to two of Filmmaker‘s 2008 25 New Faces, John Magary and Dee Rees, for being selected as Sundance Institute 2008 Time Warner Storytelling Fellows. Congrats also to the third winner, playwright Kirsten Greenidge. From the press release: Sundance Institute and Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) announced today the selection of playwright Kirsten Greenidge and filmmakers John Magary and Dees Rees as the 2008 Time Warner Storytelling Fellows. Greenidge (with her project BOSSA NOVA) participated in the 2008 Sundance Theatre Lab. Magary (with his project BLOOD ABUNDANCE, OR THE HALF-LIFE OF ANTOINETTE) and Rees (with her project PARIAH) participated in […]
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 9, 2008
KILL THEM ALL!!!

Mad at humanity? Wipe it out. In Dark Realm Studios’ online game Pandemic 2, you try to wipe out all of mankind by being perfect disease.
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 9, 2008
MUMBLEBEFORE: RICK LINKLATER’S SLACKER

From Matt Dentler and Cinetic Rights Management comes news that Rick Linklater’s seminal indie, Slacker, is now available for free viewing on Hulu. When, in 1996, Filmmaker picked the 50 Most Important Independent Films, Slacker was number 10. Here’s what we wrote: Rick Linklater’s Slacker was rejected by several domestic festivals, but then a Film Comment scribe spotted the film at the Seattle Film Festival and wrote a laudatory piece. And when a tape made its way to John Pierson, who forced distribution execs to travel to Linklater’s hometown of Austin to attend the film’s run at the local Dobie […]
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 9, 2008
"YOU CAN’T CALL IT ‘THESE PEOPLE’"

Over in Director Interviews, Nick Dawson interviews Marianna Palka, writer/director of the Sundance Competition film Good Dick, which opens this weekend in Los Angeles at the NuArt and then rolls out to other cities around the country. (New York opens next weekend at the Sunshine.) In it she explains the title, saying, “It’s like titling a poem or something. You have to title it, you can’t just call it ‘These People.’” From the piece: Filmmaker: The film tackles the subject of dislocation and the difficulty of connecting with people in L.A. Palka: Right, and everybody’s so isolated in their car. […]
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 8, 2008
JAMIE STUART: NYFF46 #3

On the Filmmaker Video page you’ll find the third part of Jamie Stuart’s NYFF46. Appearances by Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Clint Eastwood, Mike Leigh, Wong Kar-Wai, Christopher Doyle, Alexander Olch and Susan Meiselas. If you haven’t seen the first two episodes in this year’s series, which you need to have seen to follow this one, you can find them here.
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 7, 2008
TIFFANY SHLAIN ON THE CONVERSATION

Fresh DV has posted a podcast with filmmaker and Webby Awards founder Tiffany Shlain. Shlain is an organizer of and presenter at The Conversation, coming up next week (October 17 and 18) in Berkley, California. Below you can watch Shlain discuss her new project, “Connected: A Declaration of Independence.” And as noted in my post below, The Conversation is offering a special discount to Filmmaker readers who would like to attend the event. Click on the links here for more info and to take advantage of the discount.
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 7, 2008
THE CANDIDATES ON NEW TECHNOLOGY

As noted on Jon Taplin’s blog, one of his students, Russell Newman, with the Annenberg Research Network on International Communication, has “compiled a list of the main presidential candidates’ views on hot-button political topics about media and technology such as media ownership/consolidation and network neutrality.” Click on the link to compare the candidates’ views on Net Neutrality, Media Ownership and Consolidation, and other topics.
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 7, 2008

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