Filmmaking

Director Ellen Kuras on The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)

Leading up to the Oscars on Feb. 24, we will be highlighting the nominated films that have appeared in the magazine or on the Website in the last year. Nick Dawson interviewed The Betrayal director Ellen Kuras for our Director Interviews section of the Website. The Betrayal is nominated for Best Documentary. THAVISOUK PHRASAVATH AND ORADY PHRASAVATH IN DIRECTOR ELLEN KURAS’ THE BETRAYAL (NERAKHOON). COURTESY CINEMA GUILD. Since she first came to prominence almost twenty years ago, Ellen Kuras has established herself as one of the most talented directors of photography working today. Film was not Kuras’ primary focus when […]

By Jason Guerrasio on Jan 19, 2009 Directing
Performance Driven

Leading up to the Oscars on Feb. 22, we will be highlighting the nominated films that have appeared in the magazine or on the Website in the last year. James Ponsoldt interviewed Rachel Getting Married director Jonathan Demme, as well as other principals from the film, to dissect the creation of the title character for our Fall ’08 issue. Rachel Getting Married is nominated for Best Actress (Anne Hathaway). Jonathan Demme has made a career out of revealing the humanity in oddballs, eccentrics, zealots and rock stars. As a storyteller, Demme doesn’t judge. He trusts that if you listen to […]

By Jason Guerrasio on Jan 19, 2009 Actors
IFC ANNOUNCES SXSW PREMIERE/ON DEMAND PROGRAM

At a Sundance press breakfast this morning IFC Films announced a partnership with SXSW in which five films screening at the festival will be available simultaneously on IFC’s on-demand platform. The films include Joe Swanberg’s premiering Alexander the Last as well as our Filmmaker mag cover film Medicine for Melancholy, which will return to the festival for a special screening. Attending the event was Steven Soderbergh, who spoke about independent filmmakers’ need to “let go of the fantasy” that their film will receive a conventional theatrical release in this tough climate. He also quipped that the Festival Direct program appealed […]

By Scott Macaulay on Jan 19, 2009 Filmmaking
ROCK ‘EM, SOCK ‘EM SAG

While some in the industry are at Sundance and others are preparing for the inauguration, the folks at SAG, according to a post on the Digital Media Law blog, are engaged in knock down cage fight. Check the account of the proceedings at the link.

By Scott Macaulay on Jan 19, 2009 Filmmaking
THE TEXTUAL INSTABILITY OF BROOKLYN’S FINEST

In the first major deal of the festival, Antoine Fuqua’s cop drama Brooklyn’s Finest was sold to Senator, reports Gregg Goldstein at MovieCityNews, in a “low-to-mid seven-figure pact” with a “$10 million P&A commitment.” Senator President Mark Urman has always been good for a quote, and that’s no exception here. After noting to Mike Jones at Variety his personal connection to the material — “Being from Brooklyn, this film is important to me” — he muses on the film’s poorly-received, Hamlet-like ending with the kind of postmodernist flair I’d expect to hear in a discussion of the David Foster Wallace […]

By Scott Macaulay on Jan 18, 2009 Filmmaking
A QUICK TAKE ON BIG RIVER MAN

Before I head out to Strand Releasing’s 20th Anniversary dinner here at Sundance I want to quickly note John Maringouin’s eccentric and winning documentary Big River Man. It’s like an updated, black comic Aguirre, the Wrath of God with the quest for power and search for gold replaced by the subject’s environmental consciousness and love affair with both long distance swimming and the media. Briefly, it’s the tale of 52-year-old Slovenian swimmer Martin Strel, who, after swimming many of the world’s longest rivers, decides to swim the length of the Amazon to both complete his life goal but to also […]

By Scott Macaulay on Jan 17, 2009 Filmmaking
HUMPDAY IS "WOW"

Last night director Lynn Shelton’s Facebook status report was “Lynn Shelton is… wow.” An appropriate indicator of her mood and well-being because, as Mike Jones reports in Variety, her well-loved Humpday is “in play,” with four distributors circling. With all the speculation about sales and acquisitions, it’s great that this true indie from the Pacific Northwest is the first major buzzed-about title here. Expect Nick Dawson’s inteview with Shelton on these pages in the next few days. (And you can also check out my take on Shelton’s previous film here.)

By Scott Macaulay on Jan 17, 2009 Filmmaking
HOPE’S KEYNOTE ADDRESS

Courtesy of the Workbook Project, here is Ted Hope’s closing speech at the Sundance Art House Convergence confeence. From their description: This year before Sundance kicked off a number of exhibitors, bookers and filmmakers gathered for an event called Art House Convergence. During the three day conference 51 Art Houses met in Salt Lake City to discuss the major issues facing the industry and how they can work together to share resources. The following video is of producer Ted Hope’s closing keynote. Hope’s remarks present his vision of where filmmakers will be a year from now thanks to new distribution […]

By Scott Macaulay on Jan 17, 2009 Filmmaking
JOY DIVISION HERE, FOR ONE WEEK

I may be at Sundance, but it’s still cool to be able to embed Grant Gee’s Joy Division doc for you here, courtesy of Pitchfork. It’s live for one week.

By Scott Macaulay on Jan 17, 2009 Filmmaking
QUIET PARK CITY

Wake up, edit a few pieces for our standalone festival page, and then head to the registration office where I get my badge in about one minute’s time. Walk over to a press screening where I enter just as the movie is starting and get a seat. Later, meet some friends and snag a table for six on Main Street for dinner. Another press screening — this time I stroll in during the opening credits and easily score a good seat. Am I at Sundance? Yes, it is quieter this year. It feels like a lot less people are here. […]

By Scott Macaulay on Jan 17, 2009 Filmmaking

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