Writer Lauren Wissot emailed me after I blogged about the Antidote Films vs. JT Leroy verdict with a link to her own blog, Beyond the Green Door, where she’s posted several pieces about the case. Wissot takes the pro-Laura Albert position in two posts, beginning with: I guess I’m trying to find the humor in all this because, frankly, Laura Albert’s Kafkaesque nightmare scares the hell out of me. Though the defense lawyers have broached the subject of Albert’s psychiatric history on the stand, Albert’s mental health is irrelevant. (Though as a good friend of mine pointed out, amputees who […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 25, 2007Paranormalist Jim Callahan has created a psychologically subtle piece of interactive noir/horror in the form of a short film. He’s a contestant trying out for the Spielberg-produced On the Lot show. Check it out and see if Callahan’s magic works on you…
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 24, 2007A jury in Manhattan this afternoon ruled for plaintiff Antidote Films International in its lawsuit charging Laura Albert, the writer behind fictitious literary star JT Leroy, with fraud. Antidote was awarded the $110,000 it paid for film options to the Leroy novel Sarah and $6,500 in punitive damages. In a blog posting below I noted the reference to coverage in the New York Times discussing the fact that the trial has had the effect of entering the story behind the creation of the Leroy material into the public record, making it fair game for filmmakers, documentarians, writers, etc. It’s this […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 22, 2007Over on the main page, Howard Feinstein’s interview with Michael Moore.
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 22, 2007The Antidote Films vs. JT Leroy trial has gone to jury in New York today, and Alan Feuer’s most recent piece in the New York Times touches on what may be the most notable byproduct of the trial. There’s been discussion in the trial of director Steven Shainberg’s idea to do a “Sarah Plus” version of the Leroy story, blending elements of novel Sarah with the real-life story of its creation by writer Laura Albert. Of course, that would require some kind of purchasable or in the public domain material documenting Albert’s life to pull off. Writers Feuer: It is […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 22, 2007Variety is reporting that Monster’s Ball director Marc Forster will direct the next James Bond movie. I loved Casino Royale and think Forster’s choice is definitely keeping my interest up for the next one.
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 19, 2007Over at the Wholphin blog, Mike Plante has started a great, occasional series entitled “Lost Pets.” It’s his rescue-by-blog of worthy films from the last ten years that have drifted out of the public and industry consciousness. In his most recent entry he discusses Jennifer Shainin and Randy Walker’s Apart from That: As I think about those accolades for past films, I think about APART FROM THAT from just last year. I think about it as great American cinema, made by enthusiastic filmmakers and actors and crew. I think about how it looks and sounds great, not about how much […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 19, 2007I didn’t know Daniel Robert Epstein personally, but I read and admired the smart, cinephilic and always entertaining interviews he’d do with film directors over at the Suicide Girls site and would often link to them here. Now, Epstein is reportedly dead at 31. There are few details, but click on the link for some remembrances from Missy Suicide and, at current count, over 300 other posters. And here is another appreciation from Edward Douglas at Coming Soon. Here’s an excerpt from one of Epstein’s favorite interviews — Alejandro Jodorowsky: Epstein: El Topo became a seminal movie after its release […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 18, 2007Scott Kirsner just passed along a few links that aren’t yet up on his great CinemaTech blog. The three clips linked below are Kirsner’s interview with indie film consultant (and sometime Filmmaker contributor) Peter Broderick just after the Cannes Film Festival. In part one Broderick and Kirsner discuss film and new technology. In part two they talk about the changing world of film financing. And part three is all about marketing and audience building. Peter has always been a thoughtful, ahead-of-the-curve commentator on independent film distribution, so I suggest you check these out on Google Video.
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 16, 2007Metafiction collided with the law in a New York court this week as Antidote Films, the production company of producer Jeff Levy-Hinte (Thirteen, Laurel Canyon), sued Laura Albert, the woman behind the fictitious author JT Leroy and the novel Sarah, for fraud. Reports Alan Feuer in The New York Times: This intricate game of hide-and-seek with its interlocking issues of identity, fame, money and the healing power of art has now leapt from the media to what is arguably the culture’s second most obsessive arena: the courts. A film production company has sued Ms. Albert for fraud, saying that a […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 16, 2007