Filmmaking
Filmmaking
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“BLUE VALENTINE” NC-17 RATING OVERTURNED
Mike Fleming is reporting at Deadline that the MPAA has overturned the NC-17 rating originally given to Derek Cianfrane‘s Blue Valentine. The film will be given an R rating. The appeals board was unanimous in its decision. Blue Valentine chronicles the budding relationship of a couple, played by Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams, and its eventual collapse. The MPAA originally gave the film an NC-17 rating for a scene they deemed too sexual in nature. The ruling sent shock waves through the movie industry and led to the film’s distributor, The Weinstein Company, filing an appeal which included, Fleming says, […]
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SUBMISSIONS OPEN FOR “THE ECONOMIST FILM PROJECT”
The Economist magazine and PBS NewsHour have teamed to create The Economist Film Project, an initiative that will “showcase independent documentary films from around the world,” according to its website. Segments from selected films will air regularly on PBS NewsHour in a national primetime feature through 2011-2012. Thompson on Hollywood spoke to The Economit‘s deputy editor, Gideon Lichfield, who says the project “will bring viewers new perspectives and insights in the form of films they might not otherwise see on the kinds of issues that The Economist itself covers.” The Economist Film Project is currently seeking submissions of completed documentary films […]
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SUNDANCE ’11 SHORT FILMS ANNOUNCED
The Sundance Institute has announced the short films that will be screening at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. The full list of titles are below. See the complete list of competition titles here and out-of-competition titles here. The festival will take place Jan. 20-30, 2011 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah. U.S. NARRATIVE SHORTS After You Left (Director: Jef Taylor; Screenwriters: Jef Taylor and Michael Tisdale) – A man in his mid-thirties searches for meaning in the aftermath of a relationship. Andy and Zach (Director and Screenwriter: Nick Paley) – When Zach decides to move out, […]
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STARS ON STAGE IN MARRAKECH
Before arriving, invitees traveling to this 10th anniversary edition of the Marrakech Film Festival were presented with an eye-popping list of stars — actors and directors both — who would be in attendance. Keanu Reeves, Martin Scorsese, Susan Sarandon, Eva Mendes, Francis Ford Coppola, Harvey Keitel (the subject of a retrospective), the Dardennes Brothers… the list went on and on. Some of these stars showed up to promote their films — Reeves, for example, arrived with James Caan (also the subject of a tribute) to support their opening night picture, Henry’s Crime. Coppola and the Dardennes along with Lee Chang-dong […]
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FILMMAKER’S CO-OP BENEFIT SCREENING TONIGHT IN NYC
The Filmmaker’s Cooperative is having a benefit screening tonight at the Millennium Film Workshop. As the accompanying graphic states, there are films by Jonas Mekas, Jackie Raynal, Mike Kuchar, Jennifer Reeves and more. Tickets are only $10 and include free pizza and wine courtesy of Two Boots. The event starts at 8:00PM, so come out for good films and a good cause.
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A LETTER TO FILMMAKERS NOT GOING TO SUNDANCE
Last year I ran the below post, “So You Didn’t Get Into Sundance.” As the Sundance list came out this week, I thought I’d give it a once over and pen a new version for ’11. But after reading it again, I’m not sure what I’d change. Once, more then… So you didn’t get into Sundance…. I’m sorry. Trust me, I feel your pain. As a producer I’ve received both the acceptance calls as well as the rejection ones. (Actually, the rejection call is sometimes not even a call, but a form email or letter.) In some cases, I’ve known […]
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SUNDANCE ’11 OUT-OF-COMPETITION SLATE REVEALED
The Sundance Institute has released the films screening in the out-of-competition sections of the Sundance Film Festival and have announced that the closing night film will be Dito Montiel‘s The Son of No One (pictured right). The film, set in a post-9/11 New York, follows two men as their lives unravel due to incidents from their past. It stars Channing Tatum, Al Pacino, Katie Holmes, Tracy Morgan, Ray Liotta and Juliette Binoche. Other highlights from the list include George Ratliff‘s Salvation Boulevard, Morgan Spurlock‘s The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, Joshua Leonard‘s The Lie (which will play in the fest’s NEXT […]
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FILMMAKER’S 2010 HOLIDAY SUBSCRIPTION SALE
Filmmaker‘s holiday subscription sale is here! From now until December 25 we’re offering a fantastic deal on Filmmaker Magazine subscriptions. One-year print subscriptions are discounted from $18 to $10. Two-year subscriptions are only $18. Digital subscriptions are only $6 for a year, and those include access to all of our back issues through 2007. To sweeten things just a bit more, we’ve very grateful to have a number of gifts to give away from our friends and supporters. The first 100 new one-year print subscribers and 100 new two-year print subscribers will get a free digital copy of Jon Reiss’s […]
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TWO APPROACHES TO TRAILERING KICKSTARTER
Two worthy Kickstarter projects have uploaded new trailers illustrating opposite but effective approaches to fundraising. The first is an irreverent long take for Jocelyn Towne’s I Am I, a first-person address from the director aided by a bed full of guest stars, including Marianna Palka, Jason Ritter and producers Cora Olsen and Jen Dubin. The second is a new trailer for a project I’ve posted about before: Alix Lambert and Jill Peters’s He/She/He. Here, dialogue is withheld, and a beautiful piece of source music juxtaposed with the stunning images conveys the emotional power of the project. He/She/He is in its […]
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Sundance 2011 Competition Lineup Announced
The Sundance Institute announced today the competition films for its 2011 edition of the Sundance Film Festival. At first glance, it looks like an exciting list with quite a few filmmakers we follow here at the magazine premiering their work, including Rashaad Ernesto Green’s Gun Hill Road, Sean Durkin’s Martha Marcy May Marlene, Andrew Okpeaha MacLean’s On the Ice, Dee Rees’ Pariah, Azazel Jacobs’ Terri and Marshall Curry’s If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front to name just a few. In the release sent out today, festival director John Cooper commented, ““The Festival is a challenge […]
