Filmmaking
Filmmaking
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HALLOWEEN SHORT: LARS VON TRIER’S “OCCUPATIONS”
Here’s the ultimate “don’t talk in the movie theater” short by Lars Von Trier. Occupations – short film by Lars von Trier by vahea
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DICTATORS, JENNIFER EGAN AND HILARY SWANK
In Jennifer Egan’s brilliant, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, A Visit from the Goon Squad, Dolly, a desperate, down-and-out celebrity publicist, takes on the job of rehabilitating the image of a genocidal African dictator. Perhaps it’s a book Hilary Swank should have read. Reports Deadline, Swank has fired members of her team following criticism from human rights organizations for accepting a fee to fly to Chechnya and celebrate the birthday of its president, Ramzan Kadyrov. From an article on the event at The Guardian: “Ramzan Kadyrov is linked to a litany of horrific human rights abuses,” said a statement from Human Rights […]
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HALLOWEEN SHORT: “KITCHEN SINK”
Here’s the first of a few short films particularly appropriate for Halloween. It’s a short classic from years ago — Kitchen Sink, the movie that introduced director Alison Maclean (Jesus’s Son.)
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Editor Tariq Anwar on the Art of Postproduction
Thursday night EditShare sponsored a seminar with Oscar-nominated film editor Tariq Anwar at the Florence Gould Hall on East 59th Street in Manhattan. Despite rain the evening was well attended by writers, directors, and especially editors, and Anwar’s presentation — basically a low-key Q&A session moderated by Manhattan Edit Workshop’s Josh Apter — was fun and informative. Here are a few thoughts he shared. Anwar got into filmmaking somewhat accidentally, starting by driving a truck then getting work as an assistant director. After doing a great deal of yelling at crews, he decided “the cutting room was the most civilized […]
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Walter Murch on FCPX: “Where is the ‘Pro’ Part of It?”
Here’s editor Walter Murch on his first encounter with Apple’s new Final Cut Pro X, his correspondence with Apple, and the Kremlinology of Cupertino. This was recorded at this past week’s Boston Supermeet. For a detailed report on his appearance, visit Chris Portal’s blog. (Hat tip: Notes on Video.)
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KIRSTEN DUNST, JOHN GIORNO IN FINAL R.E.M. VIDEOS
First that Cannes press conference and now the new R.E.M. video — Kirsten Dunst knows how to hold a close-up. After her series of conflicted, painful expressions while Lars Von Trier rambled on about Nazism endeared her to the world press corps, Dunst now appears in the final video of R.E.M., again transfixing without speaking. But what got me really excited was seeing the second version of this song, “We All Go Back to Where We Belong,” which features poet and performance artist John Giorno. I knew John a little bit back when I worked at The Kitchen, and I […]
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SAG, AFTRA CALL ON IMDB TO STOP PUBLISHING AGES
A couple of weeks ago on this blog Randy Astle wrote about an unnamed Texas actress’s lawsuit against IMDb for printing her age on her professional iMDB Pro profile. Many scoffed at the suit, wondering how an actress could sue an industry database for publishing accurate information. While they haven’t gone so far as to join the suit, Hollywood’s two unions representing actors have made a public statement supporting its aim. Reports The Guardian: In a joint statement, the Screen Actors’ Guild, Sag, and Aftra, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, said IMDb had a “moral and legal […]
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BLACKHOUSE FOUNDATION STRESSES STRATEGY AND COMMUNITY IN THE FESTIVAL PROCESS
Last night at HSBC’s corporate headquarters in New York, The Blackhouse Foundation celebrated the launch of the 2012 film festival season with a networking event and panel discussion focused on festival strategy. Now in its fifth year, Blackhouse is a non-profit organization set up to support communities of black filmmakers throughout the festival process. The Foundation has had a presence at many of the top North American festivals, including Sundance, Tribeca, Toronto, and the LA Film Festival. Blackhouse exists to help black filmmakers at all stages in their careers, a fact made clear by the event’s attendees. The talent in the […]
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The Blue Velvet Project, #35
Second #1645, 27:25 A slow dissolve, from Sandy’s house (she has just agreed to break her date with Mike and go to the Slow Club with Jeffrey) and the red neon sign of the Slow Club, in its elegant—but somehow slightly off-kilter–cursive. The dissolve, deriving from the pre-cinema technology of the magic lantern (there’s a nice example of a magic lantern dissolve about half-way down the webpage) to create transitions or to suggest time-lapsed effects, and isn’t there something magic in the very act of “dissolving” time? Two images: Sandy’s house, steady and unmoving, slowly overtaken by the Slow Club, […]
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Martha Marcy May Marlene — A Hammer to Nail Review
(Martha Marcy May Marlene earned Sean Durkin a Best Director award at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, where it was picked up for distribution by Fox Searchlight. It opened theatrically on Friday, October 21, 2011. Visit the film’s official website to learn more. EDITOR’S NOTE: HTN co-founder Ted Hope is an executive producer on the film.) Looking at Elizabeth Olsen, you know exactly who she’s related to. It’s a trait that lends the actress both familiarity and strangeness—as though you know her but you don’t. It also makes her perfect for the title role in Sean Durkin’s Martha Marcy May […]
