Filmmaking

TICK, TICK, TICK… NOT

Commercial mortgages, CDOs, the derivatives market — there are a lot of ticking time bombs present in American society right now. Something that is not, however, such an impending explosive is the type of scenario regularly featured on shows like 24 — interrogations that promote torture as a tool to keep America safe. Don’t believe me? Then check out this video by a group of army interrogators who preach the message that “Jack Bauer is a great fantasy hero… and [the real world] doesn’t work that way.” In addition to the interrogators, the video includes comments from the producers of […]

By Scott Macaulay on Feb 3, 2009 Filmmaking
HEY, WE’RE RECESSION PROOF… AREN’T WE?

Yes, the economy is tanking, but, hey, we’re in the entertainment business! Escapism rules in downturn. People want to go out and forget the troubles, and the price of a movie ticket is just… Reality check: Nick Wingfield and Piu-Wing Tam argue in The Wall Street Journal that the economically distressed are not heading out to the movies — they’re staying home and surfing the ‘net. From the piece: It’s been decades since Americans had this much time on their hands and — thanks to the Web — never have there been so many opportunities to burn it. In November, […]

By Scott Macaulay on Feb 3, 2009 Filmmaking
YOUTUBE CAST-OFF’S, READ THIS!

Via Boing Boing comes this link to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which is jumping into the fray to help those who, like Kevin Lee recently, have found their clips taken down by the user-generated video giant. (For the record, Lee’s account was reinstated, although I believe individual videos remain pulled.) From the Electronic Frontier Foundation: Fair use has always been at risk on YouTube, thanks to abusive DMCA takedown notices sent by copyright owners (sometimes carelessly, sometimes not). But in the past several weeks, two things have made things much worse for those who want to sing a song, post […]

By Scott Macaulay on Feb 3, 2009 Filmmaking
I AGREE WITH HARRY…

It’s a workplace incident that occurred eight months ago. None of us were there and we have no idea what happened before or after. It’s BS to post it. Have I witnessed similar? Sure… but I don’t post it here.

By Scott Macaulay on Feb 3, 2009 Filmmaking
2ND BABELGUM FEST KICKS OFF

Babelgum, the free-to-view independent Web TV service, announced this week that the finalists of their 2nd annual Online Film Festival is now available for public screening and voting. Heading the festival jury this year is Spike Lee, who will award the top films in each category (Short Film, Animation, Documentary and Mini Masterpiece) with a cash prize of $27,000. Screening and voting are currently available at: http://www.babelgum.com/online-film-festival

By Jason Guerrasio on Feb 3, 2009 Filmmaking
A MONTH OF OSCAR

Beginning today on the main page, we will be posting stories that ran either in the magazine or online of films nominated for Academy Awards this year. Check in often as we’ll be running pieces all the way up to the big night on Feb. 22. First up is Howard Feinstein‘s piece on Tom McCarthy’s The Visitor, which is nominated for Best Actor (Richard Jenkins).

By Jason Guerrasio on Feb 3, 2009 Filmmaking
LIONSGATE TAKES PUSH

According to Variety, Lionsgate has taken North American rights to Lee Daniels‘s Sundance Grand Jury Prize winning film Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire. Film will also get the help of powerhouses Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry, who have signed on to help promote the film. A release date was not mentioned in the Variety piece.

By Jason Guerrasio on Feb 2, 2009 Filmmaking
CANDID CAMERA

Over at Festival Ambassador, check out the photo diary director Jay DiPietro did for us from Sundance where his debut feature, Peter And Vandy, starring Jess Weixler and Jason Ritter, screened in competition.

By Jason Guerrasio on Feb 2, 2009 Filmmaking
DON’T BE A JERK

That’s the message of Heidi Van Lier at her recently posted “Indie Film Q&A” over at Film Independent. She’s right. An excerpt: Last week, in Park City, I watched several talented directors quickly ruin their opportunities right before my eyes. I wanted to use this as a chance to explain something VERY IMPORTANT to the festival process, and indie film as a whole, which is… DON’T BE AN A-HOLE. Sure this is much less important in the studio world, as that is more about who makes the most cash in the end, but in the indie world, where there isn’t […]

By Scott Macaulay on Feb 2, 2009 Filmmaking
SXSW ANNOUNCES LINE-UP!

The SXSW Film Festival, unspooling in Austin, Texas from March 13 – 21, has just announced its line-up. Without further adieu… NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITIONThis year’s 8 films were selected from 737 submissions. Films screening in Narrative Feature Competition are: Artois the GoatDirector: Kyle Bogart. Writer: Cliff and Kyle BogartLab technician Virgil Gurdies embarks on an epic quest to craft the greatest goat cheese the world has ever known and reclaim the heart of his beloved Angie. Cast: Mark Scheibmeir, Sydney Andrews, Stephen Taylor Fry, Dan Braverman (World Premiere) Bomber Director/Writer: Paul CotterA bittersweet comedy about love, family and dropping bombs […]

By Scott Macaulay on Feb 1, 2009 Filmmaking

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