Authors — Scott Macaulay
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Vilmos Zsigmond, 1930 – 2016
Legendary cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, who shot a string of iconic pictures for Robert Altman, Steven Spielberg, Michael Cimino and Brian DePalma, among others, died January 1, Variety reports. Hungarian-born, Los Angeles-residing, Zsigmond was a steadfast proponent of shooting on film his entire life, and he was known for innovative techniques — such as flashing the stock on films like McCabe and Mrs. Miller — and his ability to create unique looks for his various movies. His work encompassed rugged styles in films like Deliverance or The Sugarland Express to composed, dense, painterly work in Heaven’s Gate. He won an Oscar […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jan 3, 2016 -
5 Questions for Yosemite Writer/Director Gabrielle Demeestere
Distracted fathers and sons left to their own devices; father surrogates and the salve of friendship — these are the themes that circle around Gabrielle Demeestere’s lovely and composed feature debut, Yosemite, which opens today in New York from Monterey Media at the IFC Center. Based on two short stories by James Franco (taken from the same collection that led to the film Palo Alto), as well as Demeestere’s own original material, Yosemite is set in 1985, when pre-adolescent dangers are symbolized by mountain lions descending from the wilds into this Northern California town, and when father-son bonding trips into […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jan 1, 2016 -
Michael Mann Interviews Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu about The Revenant
Here’s a pairing! Two notoriously obsessive, driven, perfectionist and demanding directors in an on-stage dialogue. The DGA hosted this talk between Alejandro González Iñárritu and Michael Mann about the former’s epic frontier saga, The Revenant. Says the director of Heat and Miami Vice, The Revenant “embraces the totality of life, nature and experience… not like anything I’ve seen before.” Check out the detailed, candid conversation above or below.
by Scott Macaulay on Jan 1, 2016 -
Christmas Surprise Tracks from LCD Soundsystem and Radiohead
Here’s hoping this becomes a new tradition — surprise releases from great bands that are actually pretty good! The first, what will become a seasonal classic for melancholics everywhere, is from a band that technically doesn’t even exist anymore: LCD Soundsystem. And the second is an unused theme for the James Bond film Spectre by Radiohead. First, here’s what LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy wrote to accompany “Christmas Will Break Your Heart”: so, there’s been this depressing christmas song i’d been singing to myself for the past 8 years, and every year i wouldn’t remember that i wanted to make it […]
by Scott Macaulay on Dec 25, 2015 -
Quentin Tarantino and Paul Thomas Anderson Talk 70mm on Christmas Eve
One of the nice things about a Weinstein Company Christmas Day release of a film by Quentin Tarantino (The Hateful Eight) is that the accompanying marketing material is necessarily cinephilic. Take this yuletide chat between Tarantino and Paul Thomas Anderson, shot in Tarantino’s home theater and moderated by Deadline’s Pete Hammond. Over forty minutes long, it deals with topics like the lifespan of the celluloid format (Tarantino says it has experienced “a reprieve”) as well why both he and Anderson like using the format for shooting films largely set in interiors. Check it out above.
by Scott Macaulay on Dec 25, 2015 -
Section 181, Film Production Tax Incentive, Reinstated (and Retroactive!) in 2016 Spending Bill
Great news for independent film producers: the omnibus spending bill passed by Congress this week and signed by President Obama contains a reinstatement of Section 181, the tax provision that incentivizes film and television production by allowing for immediate deduction of production costs up to $15 million. What’s more, the provision, which expires December 31, 2016, was made retroactive to include costs spent during 2015. (In recent years, Section 181 was retroactively renewed for the prior year at the beginning of the next fiscal year; in 2015, it was allowed to expire completely, and many observers didn’t expect to see […]
by Scott Macaulay on Dec 19, 2015 -
Showtime Unveils a New Twin Peaks Teaser
We’ll just start by apologizing up front — at Filmmaker, you know, we don’t report on every trailer, one-sheet or still photo released in support of projects of interest. These things are marketing items, you know? Advertisements. But I suspect we will be making an exception for Twin Peaks, especially now that David Lynch is back behind the camera of this Showtime 25-years-later series. A new teaser has just dropped. It’s not much, but it’s something.
by Scott Macaulay on Dec 18, 2015 -
Filmmaker Announces 2015 40%-Off Holiday Sale
Filmmaker announces this week the 2015 edition of its annual subscription drive. Subscribe by the morning of December 23rd for yourself or a friend or loved one and receive a digital or print edition of the magazine for 40% off. Print subscriptions are $10 and digital subscriptions are only $6. Plus, be eligible to win one a great collection of film-related prizes. The full list will be up on the site tomorrow, but some include gifts from our contributors — the brand new edition of Alix Lambert’s documentary, Mark of Cain; columnist Nicholas Rombes’s debut novel, The Absolution of Roberto […]
by Scott Macaulay on Dec 16, 2015 -
Short Film Premiere: The Nutcracked (NSFW), by Alexandra Nicole Hulme & Celia Rowlson-Hall
Just in time for the holidays is a new realization of the classic Nutcracker — a NSFW, burlesque-themed version full of seasonal cheer, pasties, stripper poles, classical portraiture and surprisingly high production values — choreographed, directed and performed by Alexandra Nicole Hulme and 25 New Face Celia Rowlson-Hall. Rowlson-Hall’s MA is one of our favorite independent features of the year, so this new short is truly an early present. Here are the filmmakers describing the piece: We have dreamed for years now of creating a two-person Nutcracker in which we perform all the roles. We wanted to take this traditional […]
by Scott Macaulay on Dec 15, 2015 -
Dial it Down a Little: Disney Lets You Shape Actors’ Performances with New Face Director Software
The director Ruben Östlund shoots wide in 4K, composing the individual shots for films like Force Majeure by, in post-production, pushing in and moving from side to side. Now, Disney Research has developed a new tool, Face Director, that offers directors even greater possibilities; it crosses the final frontier in post-production manipulation: actors’ performances. Whereas, previously, directors would shape a performance by using multiple takes or, in post, skillful editing and music, with Face Director directors can alter performance by modulating them between two extremes. From Disney’s page: We present a method to continuously blend between multiple facial performances of […]
by Scott Macaulay on Dec 13, 2015
