Filmmaking

THE SELLING OF THE DUDE

With the movie namechecked in many of the reviews for Thomas Pynchon’s new novel and a cult audience that shows no signs of abating, I suppose it’s time that the Coen Brothers’ The Big Lebowski is evoked in an advertisement.

By Scott Macaulay on Aug 16, 2009 Filmmaking
THE ADRIENNE SHELLY MEMORIAL GARDEN OPENS IN THE WEST VILLAGE

Earlier this month a memorial garden dedicated to the life and work of director and actress Adrienne Shelly was unveiled in Manhattan’s West Village. Filmmaker intern Melissa Silvestri was there for the opening and files this report. Nearly three years ago this November, actress/writer/director Adrienne Shelly’s life was cut short by a brutal act of violence. Her unique and indelible spirit is sorely missed, as evidenced by her most recent film, Waitress, which she wrote, directed, and co-starred in as the shy but sweet waitress named Dawn, looking for love. Since then, her husband, Andrew Ostroy, has carried on his […]

By Scott Macaulay on Aug 16, 2009 Filmmaking
PARSING THE MEANINGS OF NEIL BLOMKAMP’S DISTRICT 9

Unlike many critics, I liked the $30 million South African-shot sci-fi feature District 9 better as it went along, finding the apartheid metaphor set-up a little awkward and unrewarding. The more I thought about it, the more I found some of the movie’s strategies kind of contradictory to its implied social conscience. But the film works as a straight-out action film, which why its is looking like this week’s box-office winner. It’s easy to get off on the movie’s pulp-y energy and a vibe that reminded me of Robocop and the first Terminator movie. For a discussion of the metaphors […]

By Scott Macaulay on Aug 15, 2009 Filmmaking
FROM ROBERT FRANK TO JEM COHEN TO… GOOGLE

After seeing Jem Cohen’s excellent historical reverie/political essay/performance documentary/poetic image symphony Empires of Tin at the IFC Center the other night, I’ve been thinking about street photography. Cohen’s practice has always involved a vaguely melancholy and Sebaldian filmic extension of the work of great street photographers like Robert Frank. In Empires of Tin, the kind of people typically captured by the street photographer (more, perhaps, Cartier-Bresson than a skeptic like Frank) are less caught in meaningfully decisive moments as they are announced as anonymous everymen, markers of history or, perhaps, poetic ciphers. Wall Street workers drifting down those sad streets […]

By Scott Macaulay on Aug 13, 2009 Filmmaking
SUPPORT THE NORTHWEST FILM FORUM!

Recently the Pacific Northwest’s venerable Northwest Film Forum, which has been behind not only the exhibition but also the production of some of our most striking independent features, issued an urgent plea for financial assistance. By August 15, the organization requires $70,000 to forestall severe changes in the organization. With two days left to go, the NWFF is not quite half way there, helped by both its members and audiences but also companies like Sub Pop, which matched donations. There is still time to close the gap, though, in the next 48 hours. Here is executive director Lyall Bush’s latest […]

By Scott Macaulay on Aug 13, 2009 Filmmaking
STEVEN SODERBERGH ON FIGHTING FOR 2.40

Yesterday I took note of a lead item posted by Ray Pride at Movie City News: a Steven Soderbergh-authored piece for the Directors Guild Quarterly on the movement in the HD world to make 16:9 a default format for a theatrically released film when released on video. I saw the headline, meant to click back to it, but then the magazine’s site went down. Fortunately, I was forwarded a link to the cached version this morning. (You have to scroll down the page to get to the article.) Here’s Soderbergh on the crux of the issue: Television operators, the people […]

By Scott Macaulay on Aug 12, 2009 Filmmaking
IFP ANNOUNCES 31st ANNUAL INDEPENDENT FILM WEEK LINE UP

The IFP has announced its line up for the 31st annual Independent Film Week, taking place in NYC Sept. 19-24. In a release the organization has also announced the expansion of its strategic relationship with the Sundance Institute; and new partnerships with B-Side, the four-year-old tech company which runs websites that handle ticketing and mine audience response data for 250-plus fests in North America, and The Good Pitch, a forum produced by Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation which brings together inspiring social-purpose film projects and a group of expert participants from charities, foundations, brands, government and media to form powerful alliances […]

By Jason Guerrasio on Aug 12, 2009 Filmmaking
ALMODOVAR’S BROKEN EMBRACES TO CLOSE 09 NYFF

The line up for the 47th New York Film Festival has been announced. The U.S. premiere of Alain Resnais‘s Wild Grass will open the fest and Pedro Almodóvar‘s Broken Embraces will close. NYFF will run Sept. 25 – Oct. 11. (Click here to watch our video coverage of last year’s fest by Jamie Stuart.) Full line up is below. OPENING NIGHTWild Grass / Les herbes follesAlain Resnais, France, 2009; 113mThe venerable Alan Resnais creates an exquisite human comedy of manners, mystery and romance with some of France’s – and our – favorite actors: Sabine Azéma, André Dussollier, Emmanuelle Devos and […]

By Jason Guerrasio on Aug 12, 2009 Filmmaking
DUBAI FILM CONNECTION DEADLINE, AUGUST 15

As my brief interview with Cherien Dabis in festival coverage of the Dubai International Film Festival (in our Spring, 2009 edition and which I’ve just posted online) noted, some of the financing for her debut feature Amreeka was found at the DIFF’s Dubai Film Connection, a CineMart-like financing market aimed at films from directors of Arab nationality or origin. Producers (who can be of any nationality) have until August 15 (that’s one week from now) to submit projects for this year’s edition. Here’s the official word: The DFC is open for documentary and feature film projects that are currently in […]

By Scott Macaulay on Aug 8, 2009 Filmmaking
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE SECOND TRAILER

More greatness:

By Scott Macaulay on Aug 7, 2009 Filmmaking

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