Filmmaking

SPIRIT AWARD NOMINEES ANNOUNCED

Ballast, Frozen River and Rachel Getting Married lead in nominations for this year’s Film Independent Spirit Awards with six apiece. The awards will be handed out Feb. 23. BEST FEATURE Rachel Getting Married The Wrestler Wendy and Lucy Ballast Frozen River BEST DIRECTOR Tom McCarthy, The Visitor Jonathan Demme, Rachel Getting Married Courtney Hunt, Frozen River Ramin Bahrani, Chop Shop Lance Hammer, Ballast BEST FIRST FEATURE Afterschool Medicine for Melancholy Synecdoche, New York Sleep Dealer Sangre De Mi Sangre JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD Prince of Broadway Take Out The Signal Turn the River In Search of a Midnight Kiss BEST SCREENPLAY […]

By Jason Guerrasio on Dec 2, 2008 Filmmaking
SUNDANCE ANNOUNCES NEW FRONTIER SELECTIONS

The first wave of Sundance selections has just been announced by the festival with this list of filmmakers who will appear in the fest’s New Frontier program. (Congrats to Filmmaker contributor Mike Plante, whose Lunchfilm series made the cut!) Said Sundance programmer Shari Frilot, “New Frontier is best understood both as a physical space and a metaphor for discovery. It is a convergence of art, film, and technology where creative alliances are formed around innovative methods of cinematic storytelling, and where audiences are drawn in to a story through visual, aural, and tactile stimuli.” This year’s films and filmmakers are […]

By Scott Macaulay on Dec 1, 2008 Filmmaking
GOTHAMS GO MOBILE

Can’t get to the Gotham Independent Film Awards tomorrow night? IFP has put together a fun way to keep you connected to what’s going on throughout the evening. Go to http://Twitter.com/GothamAwards to get updates on everything from the red carpet entrances to the announcement of the evening’s winners, receive text updates and go “behind the scenes” with photos and gossip from the show’s insiders.– Already have a Twitter account? Text “FOLLOW GothamAwards” to your Twitter number to follow along on your mobile.– Go behind the scenes with online gossip & photos from our Indie Ambassadors at http://gotham.ifp.org or on your […]

By Jason Guerrasio on Dec 1, 2008 Filmmaking
KILLER JUMPS THROUGH TIME

A few weeks ago we blogged about Killer Film’s 50% equity sale to venture capital fund GC Corp., a deal that will see Killer developing and producing larger-budgeted properties. Today, Jones reports on one such project. From Variety: GC Corp. has bought rights to Israeli TV series “Danny Hollywood,” assigning it to the venture capital fund’s production unit, Killer Films. Story follows three time-traveling journalists investigating the mysterious death of a pop star. Killer will reset the skein in 1960s America.

By Scott Macaulay on Dec 1, 2008 Filmmaking
THE FLAMING LIPS IN OUTER SPACE

“How couldn’t you be existentialist in space?” asks Mike Plante in his just-posted interview with Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips about his feature, Christmas on Mars. From the piece: Indeed, the film has more existentialism on purpose than accidental ambience. “I’ll take that as a compliment,” Coyne said with a laugh. “I think some kind of bleak isolation left over from my childhood in Oklahoma seeped into this. I don’t know if you are feeding off your subconscious, but there are things about making movies that you cannot justify or understand. I like stories and I like intense things, […]

By Scott Macaulay on Dec 1, 2008 Filmmaking
The Flaming Lips’ Christmas On Mars

How couldn’t you be existential in space? Cut off from Mother Earth, becoming a machine of sorts with only memories of holidays to pass the time? In the lovably lo-fi sci-fi Christmas On Mars, psych rock band The Flaming Lips have invented a straight-to-DVD film that could be a lost cousin to 2001, but born on the other end of the budget universe. Stuck on Mars with the gravity control device and the oxygen supply failing, a group of young colonists try to fix their space home, while battling hallucinations of babies. Part of the space colony also houses a […]

By Jason Guerrasio on Dec 1, 2008 Directing
SUNDANCE’S GILMORE INAUGURATES POLLACK AWARD

Congratulations to Sundance Film Festival director Geoff Gilmore for receiving the inaugural Sydney Pollack Award at tonight’s tribute to Samuel L. Jackson presented by the American Cinematheque in L.A. Anne Thompson has the story at Variety. From Thompson’s piece: Cinematheque said the award honors “someone who has been of critical importance and continuing influence in nonprofit film exhibition, film preservation and/or independent film promotion and distribution –people whose work Sydney supported and found to be so valuable, who are not often recognized for their efforts.” Cinematheque director Barbara Smith wanted to honor the memory of the late producer-director, who as […]

By Scott Macaulay on Dec 1, 2008 Filmmaking
HOMEMADE THRILLER

Okay, one more music video posting. Via Kottke, who gets a hat tip: In a compilation of 64 videos all shown on the same page, one man recreates “Thriller” — the beats, the howling, the singing — all by himself. This is pretty awesome, like Christian Marclay on speed.

By Scott Macaulay on Dec 1, 2008 Filmmaking
PLAYLISTING AUTEUR DIRECTORS

At his blog Keef has assembled a tasteful playlist of music videos by feature film directors. Van Sant, Jarmusch, Wong Kar Wai, Sayles, Scorsese, Lynn Ramsay and Gaspar Noe all make appearances. Here are two. “Savoure le Rouge” by Indochine, directed by Marc Caro. “Disapearer,” by Sonic Youth, directed by Todd Haynes.Sonic Youth – New Music – More Music Videos

By Scott Macaulay on Nov 30, 2008 Filmmaking
HAMMER TO NAIL FIRST OUT OF THE AWARD SEASON GATE

The excellent indie criticism site Hammer to Nail has taken the stratagem of being the first to publish its 2008 “10 Best” list, posting its selection (a baker’s dozen of 13, actually) the day after Thanksgiving, when some of us film bloggers were still digesting the previous evening’s turkey dinner. The rules: eligible films had to be American narrative films (features or shorts) budgeted at less than $1 million and which premiered or received theatrical distribution in 2008. I’m very happy to see Filmmaker favorite Frownland nabbing the number one spot! Ronnie Bronstein’s miserabilist masterpiece has been heralded here many […]

By Scott Macaulay on Nov 30, 2008 Filmmaking

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