Filmmaking

Paul Devlin on the Afterlife of Blast!

‘Theatrical Launch,” Paul Devlin’s account of self-distributing his documentary Blast!, ends with his post-mortem on that release, a self-examination that takes into account not only box office but the press and further bookings the film received. I asked Devlin if he could update us on what’s happened since the article, specifically how he approached the educational market. (He had received offers from non-theatrical distributors.) Here is his response. And, if you haven’t read the article, you can pick it up on the stands or receive it immediately as a PDF when you subscribe to Filmmaker. We turned down the distribution […]

By Scott Macaulay on Feb 2, 2010 Distribution
ACADEMY AWARDS NOMINATIONS REVEALED

Moments ago the nominations for the 82nd Academy Awards were announced. Though most of the obvious choices did come through, there were some nice surprises on the indie side, including multiple nominations for The Messenger, including Best Supporting Actor for Woody Harrelson and The Last Station (Helen Mirren for Best Actress and Christopher Plummer for Best Supporting Actor). Colin Firth received a nomination for his moving lead performance in A Single Man, and another surprise was Maggie Gyllenhaal receiving a Best Supporting Actress nomination for Crazy Heart. And for the first time since the late 30s the Academy is recognizing […]

By Jason Guerrasio on Feb 2, 2010 Filmmaking
A VENTURE CAPITALIST TALKS MEDIA AND MOBILE START-UPS

Fred Wilson runs the blog A VC. NYC 3.0 is a blog about tech start-ups in New York. The latter interviewed the former in this video, which works its a way towards Wilson’s recommendations about pitching new media and the mistakes people make. Fred Wilson talks trends, advice for startups from Vadim Lavrusik on Vimeo.

By Scott Macaulay on Feb 2, 2010 Filmmaking
COLLEAGUES REMEMBER EDITOR KAREN SCHMEER

I didn’t know documentary film editor Karen Schmeer, but I certainly knew her work. Her first credited feature, Errol Morris’s Fast, Cheap and Out of Control, is one of my all-time favorite documentaries and a Filmmaker magazine cover story. Brilliantly constructed, it weaves portraits of four oddball individualists and dreamers into a single meditative essay on creativity, self-worth and man’s desire for legacy. The film would be an incredible feat for even the most seasoned of editors; that she cut it early in her career is astounding to me. She also edited The Fog of War and Mr. Death (again, […]

By Scott Macaulay on Feb 2, 2010 Filmmaking
WHY YOU SHOULD BUY OUR PRINT ISSUE

An apology for this brief plug, but now that Sundance is over I wanted to write this short blog post on the difference between Filmmaker in print and Filmmaker online. As most of you know from reading this site, we make about 50% of each issue available online. (We also put up a lot of stuff — this blog, the Director Interviews, our Videos, our Web Exclusives — which is not in the magazine.) Here’s a breakdown of articles in the current issue that aren’t available online: 1. The longest article we’ve ever published — almost 10,000 words — is […]

By Scott Macaulay on Feb 1, 2010 Filmmaking
SUNDANCE WINNERS ANNOUNCED

Announced moments ago, the Sundance Film Festival awards were given out in Park City. The dramatic Grand Jury prize went to Debra Granik‘s Winter’s Bone (pictured), which was picked up by Roadside Attractions earlier in the day. Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington‘s look at a platoon stationed in Afghanistan, Restrepo, won the Grand Jury doc prize. Josh Radnor‘s relationship dramedy happythankyoumoreplease took the dramatic audience award, and Davis Guggenheim‘s Waiting For Superman, which was the first big acquisition of the fest, won the documentary audience award. And winning the first ever best of the NEXT films was Todd Barnes & […]

By Jason Guerrasio on Jan 30, 2010 Filmmaking
ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS GRABS WINTER’S BONE

Buyers are still hard at work in Park City as we close in on the Sundance awards ceremony later tonight. Variety reports that Roadside Attractions has acquired Debra Granik‘s Winter’s Bone. Deal is for low to mid six figures. Roadside plans for a summer release. Sony Classics, Apparition, Samuel Goldwyn Films, among others, were also vying for the film. Winter’s Bone follows a young mother who goes in search for her father, a meth dealer who jumped bail.

By Jason Guerrasio on Jan 30, 2010 Filmmaking
KILLER INSIDE ME GOES TO IFC

According to Variety, Michael Winterbottom‘s adaptation of Jim Thompson‘s novel, The Killer Inside Me sold to IFC in the early hours this morning for $1.5 million. The film, which had mixed reviews at Sundance for it’s controversial scenes of violence and sexual content, stars Casey Affleck as small town psychotic sheriff Lou Ford. Films also stars Jessica Alba, Kate Hudson and Bill Pullman. The film will be released in the late summer theatrically and through VOD. Read how Winterbottom adapted Thompson’s novel to the screen.

By Jason Guerrasio on Jan 30, 2010 Filmmaking
PRODUCER RON SIMONS ON FINALLY GETTING TO SEE FILMS AT SUNDANCE

This is the fifth of our posts from guest blogger Ron Simons, who produced Tanya Hamilton’s Sundance Competition film Night Catches Us. Scroll back through the blog for his earlier entries. I’ve finally transitioned into the cooler, calmer phase of the festival. The weather is warmer and the snow is starting to melt (including the gargantuan stalactites hanging from the roof edges of about town). No more press interviews in backrooms of galleries, TV studios or revamped office spaces. Gone are the paparazzi blocking traffic to get the best shot of Ben Affleck, Ryan Gosling or Paris Hilton. Exit the […]

By Scott Macaulay on Jan 29, 2010 Filmmaking
WEINSTEIN COMPANY TAKES BLUE VALENTINE

As the Sundance Film Festival comes to a close The Weinstein Company has acquired Derek Cianfrance‘s Blue Valentine in a low seven figure deal. Starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams, Cianfrance’s (named to our “25 New Faces” list this past summer) look at a marriage crumbling received positive reviews when it screened at the fest. Numerous outlets are also reporting that TWC is close to nabbing another hot commodity from the fest: Amir Bar-Lev‘s powerful doc, The Tillman Story.

By Jason Guerrasio on Jan 29, 2010 Filmmaking

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