Filmmaking
Filmmaking
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GARY WINICK, 1961 – 2011
Director and producer Gary Winick, a friend and mentor to many in the independent film community, died Sunday afternoon in New York at the age of 49. The cause was brain cancer, a friend told Indiewire. As the comments in that Indiewire piece — “an amazing mentor,” “a generous visionary,” “one of the finest human beings in our industry”— attest, Winick was a rare soul in the world of independent film. He was a smart, compassionate and truly giving person, and, even as his Hollywood career took off, he never forgot his roots. While he was crafting smart and heartfelt […]
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Josh Radnor, happythankyoumoreplease
Josh Radnor, the writer-director-actor of, happythankyoumoreplease, has a day job: he stars on the hit CBS sitcom, How I Met Your Mother. (Radnor plays the titular “I”— perhaps the most famous “I” in pop-culture since Withnail & I.) happythankyoumoreplease is an immensely likeable New York ensemble film about young people trying to negotiate love and responsibility, and its Audience Award win at Sundance in 2010 marks Radnor, who makes his directorial debut with the movie, as a filmmaker to watch. happythankyoumoreplease features a number of outstanding performances by actors including Malin Akerman, Tony Hale, Zoe Kazan, Kate Mara, Pablo Schreiber, […]
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THIS IS YOUR OSCAR HOST ON THE INTERNET
When it comes to James Franco’s Oscar-hosting performance, which has been described as squinty and blasé, I’m not going to pile on for two reasons. The first is that I’d suck at hosting something like this. Panels, Q&A’s, I’m fine, but hosting a nearly four-hour show, even with an amped-up cohost? My hat’s off to anyone who tries. (Especially anyone who tries with less than top-notch writing… what was up with that?) The other reason? Well, I recognize too well that frozen smile, that seemingly focused but actually distracted into-the-distance gaze. It’s not like Franco didn’t want to be there. […]
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The Economist Film Project’s Gideon Lichfield
“We want to encourage people to make good documentaries because we feel like there’s not enough good explaining in the world.” That’s The Economist Film Project’s editorial director, Gideon Lichfield (pictured right), about the recently announced partnership between the British weekly and the PBS News Hour. Beginning April, that “good explaining” will arrive in the form of segments on the PBS News Hour that will include six-to-eight minute clips from full-length and short documentaries as well as related discussions by the anchors, outside experts and, sometimes, the filmmakers. The Economist Film Project is currently in the midst of a submission […]
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“BLACK SWAN” WINS BIG AT SPIRIT AWARDS
The Film Independent Spirit Awards just wrapped (see it on IFC tonight @ 10ET) and Darren Aronofsky‘s thriller Black Swan was the big winner taking home four awards, including Best Feature, Best Director for Aronofsky and Best Female Lead for Natalie Portman. Winter’s Bone won the supporting acting prizes with John Hawkes taking it for actor and Dale Dickey for actress while James Franco won Best Male Lead for 127 Hours, Banksy‘s Exit through the Gift Shop won Best Documentary and Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg won Best Screenplay for The Kids Are All Right. Also, “25 New Face” alum […]
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“MEEK’S CUTOFF” TRAILER
Here’s the trailer for Kelly Reichardt’s new Meek’s Cutoff, which is the cover story of our Spring, 2011 issue.
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Robbo In Berlin For Yelling To The Sky
Filmmaker Victoria Mahoney premiered her first feature,Yelling to the Sky, in Competition at the Berlin Film Festival this month, and arriving in the city with her was British graffiti artist Robbo. And by the time of the film’s premiere, the city was the richer for a wall-sized mural of the film’s lead character, Sweetness (Zoe Kravitz). Below, Mahoney writes about the process of finding a home for Robbo’s work. Her story has an ironic coda given Robbo’s recent street rivalry with Banksy. Read on. I always knew I’d be mounting a graffiti piece in tandem with the premiere of Yelling […]
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HARMONY KORINE SHOOTS URBAN OUTFITTERS CATALOG
Director Harmony Korine has shot the Spring, 2011 Urban Outfitters catalog. From The Fox is Back: “It’s a pretty crazy looking affair. Lots of analog photos that have been fucked up in some way or another. It seems to me like less of a fashion catalog and more of a collection of art, which I think is admirable for UO to be doing.” I can’t find these images on the Urban Outfitters site, but they appear to be all from a print-only piece that arrived in people’s mailboxes this week. Click on the link for scans of many of the […]
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MIKE HEDGE’S SPECTACULAR YEAR
A couple of years ago filmmaker Mike Hedge did a great photo-compilation video out of SXSW and now he’s emailed his list with a new video that’s a diary of his 2010. I like this idea. Rather than my seldomly-updated journal something like this would actually make me want to revisit my own musings on the past. Watch “Every Day is Spectacular” here.
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PAUL HAGGIS REACTS TO SCIENTOLOGY STORY
You couldn’t escape it if you tried. Where ever you went, whoever you talked to, and whenever you were on Twitter and/or Facebook for the last few weeks, The New Yorker piece on Paul Haggis and the inner workings of Scientology has been the topic of discussion. The USA Today asked Haggis about the story at a Vanity Fair Oscar party Tuesday night and the Oscar-winning director says he stands by it. Haggis, who was a member of the Church of Scientology for over 30 years, disbanded from the religion in 2009 after the church refused to publicly denounce Proposition […]
