Traditional film school is overrated, according to Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Werner Herzog, who has signed on to teach an online filmmaking class. “You spend way too much time in film school. It costs way too much money. You can learn the essentials of filmmaking on your own within two weeks,” said Herzog in the (above) trailer for his class. The new class, which will focus on the art of both feature and documentary filmmaking, will be offered as part of the online education platform MasterClass. Pre-enrollment is open to everyone and the class will become available this summer. “Werner Herzog vibrantly and charismatically […]
Though smallpox has been eradicated, stocks of the virus remain for research purposes. Should these samples be destroyed in order to prevent them from being used as a biological weapon? Demon in the Freezer, the compelling short documentary from Academy Award-winner Errol Morris (The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons From the Life of Robert S. McNamara), explores the issue as part of The New York Times Op-Docs series. The film is Morris’ eighth film published by Op-Docs and the 200th Op-Doc video since the series launched in 2011. “It all comes down to the question of how best to protect ourselves against ourselves. […]
In his latest, The Nerdwriter considers how David Lynch manipulates audience expectations to subvert cliches and mess with your response as a viewer. Central talking points: Betty’s audition and, of course, Club Silencio.
In Tony Zhou’s latest video, the question isn’t how editing is done technically, it’s how it feels. What does it mean to feel an emotion, and how much time does that take to register? Breaking down sequences from Hannah and Her Sisters and The Empire Strikes Back, among others, Zhou dives into the intangibles and instinctual particulars of editorial timing. With interview cameos from, among others, Michael Kahn, Walter Murch and Thelma Schoonmaker.
With films such as Home Sick, Pop Skull and A Horrible Way to Die, and more recently, You’re Next and The Guest, Adam Wingard has established a reputation as one of the most inventive filmmakers working in the horror genre today. Wingard’s latest film, The Woods, tackles the found footage sub-genre and we’re bracing ourselves for maximum scares. Written by Simon Barrett (The Guest, You’re Next), The Woods involves a group of college students on a camping trip who discover they are not alone. The trailer (above) reveals little in terms of plot, but surely succeeds at setting the creepy tone. On Twitter, Wingard boasted that The Woods “is my first full on […]
The title pretty much says it all: is Takashi Miike’s indelibly scarring Audition feminist, misogynistic exploitation or both? The answer in Jessica McGoff’s video essay is a mixture of the two, which isn’t too surprising. Caution: contains both graphic violence and also some brief nudity, either of which might be objectionable in your workplace.
For his debut feature, The Land, Steven Caple Jr. pulled off an impressive feat. He attracted top talent from the music industry, including Nas as executive producer producer and Erykah Badu and Machine Gun Kelly in supporting roles. The Cleveland-set drama, which focuses on four teens living in the projects, premiered earlier this year at The Sundance Film Festival’s Next section. In advance of the film’s premiere at Sundance, the director told Filmmaker Magazine that each of the four boys in the film represents a different aspect of his life. “On surface you see a film about four boys who […]
Auteur Paul Thomas Anderson, for whom Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood scored his There Will Be Blood, has directed the band’s new video, which has dropped just days after their stop-motion animated clip for debut single Burn the Witch. Check out Dreaming above.
Jacob T. Swinney’s latest video essay examines the many subjective POV shots of Taxi Driver. As Travis sees the world, we see it through him, and the result is a movie that locks us in his head more than most. A little more over here at Fandor.
Author Daniel H. Wilson, whose Roboapocalypse has been in the works for some time from Steven Spielberg, has the first adaptation of one his stories receive its online premiere today over at Wired. Embedded here, The Nostalgist is the adaptation of Wilson’s first published work of fiction, and it’s described thusly: In the futuristic city of Vanille, with properly tuned ImmerSyst Eyes & Ears the world can look and sound like a paradise. But the life of a father and his young son threatens to disintegrate when the father’s device begins to fail. Desperate to avoid facing his traumatic reality, […]