Filmmaking
Filmmaking
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ENVISION PROGRAM STREAMS LIVE TOMORROW
Envision 2012, a program presented by IFP, the United Nations and the Ford Foundation exploring the subject of “Stories for a Sustainable Future,” will be streamed live tomorrow on the Envision website. Launching this evening and continuing Tuesday, the Envision sessions are filled with talks concerning the role documentary film can have in shaping discussion and action on pressing global issues. Filmmakers Jessica Yu, Rachel Grady, Alexandra Cousteau, and Lixin Fan, among others, will be presenting, and special guests include Don Cheadle and Michael Franti. Tune in tomorrow beginning at 9:30 AM for this thoughtful and engaging event. A complete […]
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VIA HOLOGRAM, TUPAC PERFORMS AT COACHELLA
This is some kind of watershed. Dre and Snoop Dogg were joined by a hologram of the late Tupac Shakur at Coachella this weekend. Audience response was reportedly mixed, with some creeped out by the hologram’s “What’s up Coachella!” “The place just went silent. People are genuinely horrified by the Tupac hologram,” tweeted the L.A. Weekly. Others on Twitter, however, said the crowd went nuts for it. Watch it below.
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The Blue Velvet Project, #103
Second #4841, 80:41 1. The spell is broken. Frank has shut off the song. Ben seems insulted, and punishes Frank with silence. Dorothy refuses to smile. A joy ride is suggested. Paul’s (Jack Nance’s) shadow offers evidence of a hidden light. There is also a folded newspaper or magazine in his jacket pocket. 2. In October 1986, the month after Blue Velvet’s release, Ronald Regan delivered a speech at the Republican Governors Association Dinner. He used the word revolution numerous times, and spoke of permanently altering the balance of power: But if I could, tonight, I’d like to take a […]
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MUSIC VIDEO: “HEART OF GLASS,” ELISE
Blondie meets Jeanne Dielman in this cover by Elise. Don’t know who the director is.
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Amazon Studios Revises Terms for Writers
About 18 months ago I blogged about the new Amazon Studios venture, in which screenwriters submit their projects to the internet commerce giant for crowdsourced development and possible production. There was a lot of initial interest in Amazon Studios when it was announced, but I, like many other observers, found the terms shockingly poor for writers. I asked, why would you give “a company with a $74 billion market cap an 18-month free option on your original project?” Especially when, according to Amazon Studio’s original terms, there were scenarios in which that original work could have been exploited with you […]
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The Empire Strikes Back: Canon Goes 4K
Was it only last week that Sony announced the NEX-FS700, and had everyone wondering where this left the Canon C300? One week later and Canon has seemingly fired back a huge broadside, announcing not one, but two new cameras; the EOS-1D C, (a 4K video DSLR that Canon had pre-preannounced at the unveiling of the C300 late last year) and the C500, a true 4K version of the C300. Note that the C500 – like the C300 – will be available in two variants; one with an EF mount, and the other with a PL mount. For those who haven’t […]
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The Blue Velvet Project, #102
Second #4794, 79:54 The gap between Frank and Ben, and the more radical gap between the viewer and Blue Velvet. For whom does Ben sing? He begins by singing for Frank, but then he seems to lose himself in “In Dreams,” the same way that Dorothy loses herself in her rendition of “Blue Velvet.” Ben’s face at this moment registers a catastrophic loss, his secret loss, and in this frame he’s more humanized than perhaps any character in the film. His eyes look away from Frank and into something even darker. In his book The Vital Illusion, Jean Baudrillard wrote: […]
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MUSIC VIDEO: OFF!’S “WIPED OUT” BY RICHARD KERN
Here’s a new video from Richard Kern, a celebration of West Coast punk/skate culture by OFF!, which features ex-Black Flag singer Keith Morris.
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Sundance Announces New Artists Services Distribution Partners
Four additional distribution outlets — Microsoft Xbox, SnagFilms, Sony’s Video Unlimited Service and VUDU — have joined the Sundance Institute’s Artists Services program, Sundance Executive Director Keri Putnam announced today. “Audiences are accessing independent films via a range of platforms and storefronts, which speaks to the need for filmmakers to make their work available in a variety of ways,” Putnam said in a statement. “Beyond that, the more options we’re able to offer our filmmakers, the better able they are to customize their self-distribution programs and work towards individual goals for their films.” Artists Services is a program helping Sundance […]
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Post Mortem — A Hammer to Nail Review
(Post Mortem world premiered at the 2010 Venice Film Festival. It’s being distributed by Kino Lorber Incorporated and opens at the Film Forum in NYC on Wednesday, April 11, 2012. Visit the film’s page at the Kino Lorber website to learn more.) There is such a thing as pitch black comedy, and then there is the work of Chilean director Pablo Larraín, whose warped sense of humor deserves its own adjective. Tar black, maybe? With his latest two films, Larraín has returned to his country’s unpleasant recent past to try to make sense of what transpired. In Tony Manero, the Pinochet […]
