Filmmaking

BATTSEK EXITS MIRAMAX

According to Variety, Miramax president Daniel Battsek has been let go. This is on the heels of parent company, Disney, scalling down the specialty division’s staff and release schedule. Under Battsek Miramax released award-winning titles The Queen and No Country for Old Men. And according to Nikki Finke at Deadline Hollywood, Miramax’s New York office is closing down and its LA office will move to the Disney lot in Burbank.

By Jason Guerrasio on Oct 30, 2009 Filmmaking
DIGITAL DILEMMA SURVEY RESULTS

In September we put up a survey on our site that aimed at getting input from filmmakers about some of the issues that impact the making and preservation of their films. Below are the results of the survey. These stats have been passed on to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for their final report which they will be publishing sometime next year. The only results that aren’t posted below are the ones where a written answer was required. And for those who aren’t familiar, read the story that inspired this survey. Thanks to those who participated. Please […]

By Jason Guerrasio on Oct 30, 2009 Filmmaking
TOASTING THE MEDIA MELTDOWN

Producer Gill Holland forwarded me a link to this provocative interview by Eric Garland, whose company Big Champagne reports on filesharing activity for its customers — the major studios and broadcast networks. A lot of people talk about the relationship between what’s happened to the music business and what’s happening to the film business, but Garland effectively points out not only the similarities but also, promisingly, the differences. That said, he is not predicting that the mainstream film business will be able to maintain its revenue figures in a time of migrating audiences and technological change. An excerpt from the […]

By Scott Macaulay on Oct 29, 2009 Filmmaking
ATTENTION PRODUCERS! THE IFP/ROTTERDAM LAB FELLOWSHIP DEADLINE NOV. 13

Young producers should seriously think about applying for the IFP/Rotterdam Lab Fellowship. I go to Rotterdam every year, and for U.S.-based producers it’s a great place to learn the ins and outs of the global market for arthouse and specialty film. The deadline for this year’s program is Friday, November 13. The official word is below. Through its No Borders’ partnership with CineMart, IFP will select and provide travel assistance to two American producers to participate in the 2010 Rotterdam Lab Fellowship. The Rotterdam Lab is a four-day training workshop which runs concurrently with the CineMart Co-Production Market. Designed to […]

By Scott Macaulay on Oct 28, 2009 Filmmaking
THE WINDMILL MOVIE ON HBO TONIGHT

We here at Filmmaker have been big fans of Alexander Olch‘s experimental memoir/documentary The Windmill Movie since seeing it at the New York Film Festival in ’08. If you missed it in theaters over the summer it will premiere on HBO2 tonight @ 8pm. For those who don’t know about it, the film is about the 300 hours of autobiographical footage left behind by filmmaker/professor Richard P. Rogers after his death in 2001. Olch (who was a student of Rogers’s) was calling in to look over the footage and finish the film his mentor never could. What he delivers is […]

By Jason Guerrasio on Oct 28, 2009 Filmmaking
THE LATEST IN OUR FIRST-PERSON DIY STORIES: STRONGMAN’s ZACHARY LEVY

You may have noticed that I’ve been posting in our Web Exclusives a number of first-person pieces by filmmakers discussing their distribution saga. We have already had producer Jake Abraham on distributing his film, Lovely by Surprise, and then writer/director Rob Perez on making the transition from studio distribution to DIY distribution with his nobody. The latest in our informal series is from Zachary Levy, director of the documentary Strongman. His piece, “Making our DIY Moment Matter,” is a refreshingly thoughtful take on what the trend towards alternative distribution should mean for our filmmaking. Check it out, and look for […]

By Scott Macaulay on Oct 27, 2009 Filmmaking
ERR ON THE SIDE OF CAUTION

Though Oren Peli‘s Paranormal Activity was number one at the box office last weekend and has a total gross of $62 million since its release late last month (and is primed for a big upcoming Halloween weekend), The New York Times reports that the film’s overnight success hasn’t impressed Hollywood as Peli’s next film, Area 51, a $5 million horror set at the infamous UFO site, is still looking for a distributor. An excerpt: At least six companies, including several major studios, have expressed interest in the film, according to people associated with the deal for “Area 51,” who spoke […]

By Jason Guerrasio on Oct 27, 2009 Filmmaking
SEE PETER SOLLETT’S NEW EPISODE OF THE BURG

Here’s the new episode of The Burg, directed by Peter Sollett (Raising Victor Vargas, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist). Visit the show’s site for more, including previous episodes and behind-the-scenes clips.

By Scott Macaulay on Oct 27, 2009 Filmmaking
Making Our DIY Moment Matter

Aw man, I am thinking. Last Thursday’s New York Times is up on my computer screen and I’m looking at the virtual front page, just below what would be the fold. The headline: INDEPENDENT FILMMAKERS DISTRIBUTE ON THEIR OWN. It’s turf I’ve become increasingly familiar with in the last couple of months since I started plotting a DIY course for my documentary Strongman and I dig in to the article. I don’t get too far before I realize I have a serious problem—Sacha Gervasi took out a second mortgage on his house to pay for the distribution on Anvil. I […]

By Jason Guerrasio on Oct 27, 2009 Directing
U CAN LEARN ABOUT THE NEW

Saturday, November 7, in Los Angeles Peter Broderick and Scott Kirsner are teaming up for “Distribution U,” a “one-day crash course on the new rules of marketing and distribution.” From their announcement: This one-day course will reveal the techniques successful filmmakers are using to: • Design customized distribution strategies• Harness the Internet and social media to launch their projects• Reach core audiences directly• Maximize revenue from multiple distribution channels• Build a fan base to support your future work This course is designed for independent filmmakers and artists determined to get their work seen widely and earn a real living in […]

By Scott Macaulay on Oct 27, 2009 Filmmaking

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