Authors — Scott Macaulay

HOLLYWOOD OR BUST

The Hollywood Reporter hosts a roundtable on the economics of independent production with five noted players: Newsweek film critic David Ansen; Kirk D’Amico, president and CEO of Myriad Pictures, a production and sales company; Cassian Elwes, co-head of William Morris Independent; Mark Gill, CEO of finance and production company the Film Department; and Avi Lerner, co-chairman and CEO of Nu Image/Millennium Films. Stephen Galloway leads a conversation that, by my read, offers a pretty accurate and succinct take on the American independent film market at the moment. They discuss overproduction, the demise of New Line, foreign markets, the plight of […]
by Scott Macaulay on May 3, 2008
BLOGGER EXODUS

In a post below, we noted Matt Zoller Seitz’s decision to abandon print journalism — and that includes blogging — in order to concentrate on filmmaking. Now, at GreenCine, David Hudson draws attention to one other blogger calling it quits and another who is contemplating an exodus as well. Over at Flickhead, Ray Young issues a simple farewell, reprinted here in its entirety: ““It was more than being holy and it was less than being free” All things must pass…I’m outta here… A more detailed explanation is found buried in his comments thread, when Young responds to the various posters […]
by Scott Macaulay on May 1, 2008
LINKAGE

Here are a few noteworthy links from the last few days. First, a must-read (or must-listen) is an interview with Matt Zoller Seitz on his blog, The House Next Door. (The hour-long talk is available as a transcript or as a download.) In the piece, Seitz discusses his decision to abandon print criticism and concentrate on both moviemaking and things other than movies. Here’s how he opens: Well, the short of it is: I’m out of print criticism. I’ve been thinking about it for a while and for a variety of reasons. One of them is that I’ve been doing […]
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 29, 2008
PORTISHEAD, THIRD

From Portishead’s excellent Third, “The Rip,” one of the album’s best songs performed live on Jools Holland’s U.K. tv show.
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 29, 2008
GREAT BUT PROBABLY QUITE IMPRACTICAL HORROR FILM LOCATION #2

The BLDGBLOB has a great post entitled “Hotels in the Afterlife” that is very J.G. Ballard — a series of shots of abandoned hotel exteriors on the Sinai peninsula, “monuments to failed investment.” Based on a photography show that opened last week in Vienna by Sabine Haubitz and Stephanie Zoche. From Geoff Manaugh’s blog post: The hotels now look more like “architectonic sculptures” in the desert, the photographers claim, or derelict abstractions, as if some aging and half-crazed billionaire had constructed an eccentric sculpture park for himself amongst the dunes. The billionaire goes for long walks at night alone amongst […]
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 28, 2008
DOCUDRAMA

The artist Cindy Sherman has made a statement disavowing a documentary, Paul H-O’s Guest of Cindy Sherman, in which she is featured that is playing at the Tribeca Film Festival. Mike Jones has the story in Variety, and he reprints her statement, posted below: As my name is in the title and my work and self are so abundantly represented, I would like to counter any assumption that I am or wish to be personally associated with it. I am not a participant in any events related to the film’s screenings in this festival or future presentations. I apologize to […]
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 26, 2008
INDIE TIMES TWO

Two stalwarts of the New York indie scene, producers Ted Hope and Christine Vachon, are the hosts of a program on PlumTV entitled “Very Independent Producers.” Five episodes have already been produced, and all are viewable online at the link I just posted. Here’s how PlumTV describes the program: On “Very Independent Producers,” Ted and Christine get a chance to share their wit and hard-earned wisdom as they kick back with friends and colleagues from all corners of the film world. Ted, Christine, and their impressive roster of guests share their film experiences past and present and discuss the inner […]
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 26, 2008
30%

It’s official — Governor Patterson has signed the enhanced New York tax incentive. The state now offers a 30% tax credit against qualified expenses and it’s now payable to the production company in one year, not two. The city’s five percent remains intact, meaning a 35% credit for films lensed within the five boroughs.
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 24, 2008
GLORIOUS GLORY

One of the hits of this year’s SXSW was the 25-minute short, Glory at Sea. Set in a magically real, emotionally honest post-Katrina New Orleans, the film is something of a mini-epic, a grand tale of outsized, heartbreaking ambition set against both a devastated city and the boundlessness of the open waters. The story of Ben Zeitlin’s film, unfortunately, did not end with its triumphant Austin premiere. Zeitlin and members of his crew were injured in a serious car accident on the way to a screening. The uninsured Zeitlin broke his hip and pelvis and has two sprained ankles. So, […]
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 23, 2008
WHACKING THE WACKNESS

Over at Ain’t It Cool News, Quint calls the trailer for Jonathan Levine’s The Wackness “an okay trailer for a great movie” and “a little clunky.” At Hollywood Elsewhere, Jeffrey Wells thinks star Josh Peck “is basically Leo Gorcey” and is not likely to ever play “anything other than a what-up homie who sells tabs of ecstasy and dilaudid in Tompkins Square Park” while one of his readers, Hallick, calls the clip “the dullest trailer of 2008” and asks, “What the hell are they trying their hardest not to sell here?” Yep, the trailer’s underwhelming, but it does set you […]
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 22, 2008

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