Filmmaking
Filmmaking
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Sun Don’t Shine Acquired by Factory 25 for World Distribution
Factory 25 announced today that it has acquired world rights to Indiewire’s number one undistributed film of 2012 and SXSW award-winning film Sun Don’t Shine. Written and directed by acclaimed actress/filmmaker Amy Seimetz (Tiny Furniture and Sundance Film Festival 2013 films Upstream Color and Pit Stop), Sun Don’t Shine was nominated for the “Best Film Not Playing” category at IFP’s Gotham Independent Film Awards in 2012 and was produced by Kim Sherman, a member of last year’s edition of “25 New Faces” here at Filmmaker. Sun Don’t Shine follows Crystal (Kate Lyn Sheil) and her boyfriend Leo (Kentucker Audley) on a tense and mysterious road trip […]
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SXSW Announces Opening Night & More
Earlier today, SXSW announced their Opening Night lineup. Set on kicking off the fest with a healthy dose of pizzazz, SXSW first night will host the world premiere of the upcoming Steve Carrell/Steve Buscemi comedy The Incredible Burt Wonderstone. In the film, Carrell and Buscemi play former best friends/magic show partners Burt and Anton. When Anton is injured and leaves the act, Burt is left vulnerable to the opportunistic street performer Steve Gray (Jim Carrey). Also starring in the film are James Gandolfini, Olivia Wilde and Alan Arkin. Joining Wonderstone on opening are six films that are a testament to […]
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The Berneys Return to Distribution with the Revived Picturehouse and a Netflix Deal
Distribution veterans Bob and Jeanne Berney are returning to the business of releasing movies with Picturehouse, reviving the distribution brand Bob Berney headed in the mid-’00s. Reports Michael Ciepley in the New York Times, the Berneys, along with a group of investors, have bought the Picturehouse name and logo from Warner Bros. and have signed a deal with Netflix, which will release the company’s films following their theatrical release. A first picture is already lined up: “a 3D action movie,” Metallica Through the Never, starring the band. From the New York Times: On Tuesday, Mr. Berney said he is seeking […]
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Shooting the Short BART: an Interview with the Director and DP
When L.A.-based director Rich Landes was offered the chance to shoot a short narrative piece for Canon he jumped at the chance. Landes has extensive experience as a commercial director, but this was a chance to direct a narrative based on his own idea, and with few restrictions from the “client.” But first he had to come up with an idea and treatment in two days. Then he had to fly to New York and cast, find locations, and hire a DP in four days, and then shoot the whole thing over the course of two days. None of this […]
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4K comes to CES and Canon announces new Cine Primes
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which ran January 7-10 in Las Vegas, is not the place to see the latest pro gear, but it is a good place to see the general direction of the electronics entertainment industry. Just a couple of years ago 3D was the rage, with manufacturers showing off their 3D displays and headsets. By all reports, 3D wasn’t so hot this year. Instead, we saw the first salvos in the 4K battle to convince consumers to part with their money for another high-end display. But when it comes to televisions, 2013 may be seen as the […]
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Behind The Scenes on BART: a Narrative Short Shot with the Canon C100
Recently we published an interview about the making of the short film Pulse, which was financed by Canon and shot on their new C100. Canon subsequently contacted us about a second short, BART, which was also shot on the C100. While Pulse is a documentary piece, BART is a four-minute short that is entirely an exercise in narrative story telling. Canon was specifically looking for a film that had little language and had a lot of visuals to it. BART will premiere next week at a special screening and workshop at the Sundance Film Festival, but today Canon is releasing […]
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Paul Mazursky Loves Talking To Women
I don’t really know how to describe my conversation with Paul Mazursky. The phone connection was weird, his wife Betsy was trying to control the dog in the background, I was working with this new recording device on my phone and he could hear only every other world I was saying. I was late to watch my kid play soccer so I was rushing and he was so patient but I could tell he was busy too. But halfway through the call I realized I might be in a Paul Mazursky film where everything happens at once, energy is flying […]
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Tom O’Brien, Fairhaven
Three thirtysomething buddies reunite for a funeral in a sleepy Massachusetts fishing hamlet in Tom O’Brien’s finely tuned Fairhaven. They beat about the shores of this southeastern Massachusetts town in the dead of brutal winter, one which ace DP Peter Simonite photographs in such a way as to chill the bones of attentive audience members–even ones who don’t find themselves, or this movie, which debuts today both theatrically and on VOD, in a typically over air-conditioned modern movie house. Close knit and working class, the milieu of O’Brien’s movie is at once confining and comforting for its three leads. Jon […]
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A 180 on 181
Nothing like a good fiscal crisis to get things moving in our federal government. After months of speculation and hand-wringing, the often misunderstood and underutilized Section 181 is back for producers, and it’s retroactive to 2012! Here are the specifics: The recently-enacted American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, which halted various tax increases scheduled to go into effect as part of the fiscal cliff, also retroactively extended the temporary rules for deducting certain film and television production expenses. The provision, Section 181 of the Internal Revenue Code, generally allows a deduction of up to $15,000,000 of the cost of a […]
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A Night Out at the Movies Courtesy of Hyde Park on Hudson
In tandem with their ongoing release of Hyde Park on Hudson, Focus Features is giving away a night at the movies! Be the first person to answer the question below correctly and you will will a $25 American Express Gift Card. In which film did Bill Murray and Olivia Williams previously co-star? Email answers to nick@filmmakermagazine.com. Hyde Park on Hudson tells the story of the King and Queen of England’s (Samuel West and Olivia Colman) stay at the Roosevelt household in 1939. The occasion marked the first-ever visit of a reigning English monarch to America, and with England on the brink […]
