Filmmaking

CAMP CLOSED

On the heels of evangelist Ted Haggard’s troubles (which Scott blogged about yesterday), reports have surfaced that the summer camp featured in Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady’s Jesus Camp is being discontinued due to “negative reaction sparked by the film and recent vandalism at the camp site,” according to a Reuters story.

By Jason Guerrasio on Nov 9, 2006 Filmmaking
HOLLYWOOD 2.0

Like we do with our 25 New Faces feature, which spotlights very emerging writing, directing, acting and below-the-line talent, the Hollywood Reporter has just come out with its own list, a survey of industry execs moving up the Hollywood ladder. (These round-ups are always fun pieces that people actually take very, very seriously. I once met a Hollywood exec who half-boasted, half-apologized that he was one of only two people in some magazine’s years ago profile of up-and-coming folks who didn’t go on to run a studio or agency.) Anyway, the editors at THR have picked 35 people for their […]

By Scott Macaulay on Nov 8, 2006 Filmmaking
MR. RAY GOES TO HOLLYWOOD

David Carr has an interesting piece in today’s New York Times on Shattered Glass writer-director Billy Ray who had some refreshing things to say while at a Writers Guild seminar during AFM. Carr writes: Mr. Ray said during the panel that the movie business was akin to Prada and Dior’s hitting the runway with the same fashions year after year and expecting to wow the people sitting there. But he remains stuck on the idea of people sitting in the dark, sharing a communal “dream state,” as he calls it. He pointed out that in a business where no one […]

By Jason Guerrasio on Nov 8, 2006 Filmmaking
YOUTUBE, VIRAL VIDEO, AND THE ELECTIONS

Over at The Daily Reel, which has become a go-to site for the latest in viral video as well as occasional media-related political commentary (disclosure: I’m a writer for the site), there are a couple of postings up about yesterday’s election. Anthony Kaufman looks at election day improprieties, centering on YouTube clips highlighting the inadequacies of the Diebold voting machines. And Alexandra DeLyle looks at the effect of YouTube on the elections, highlighting the George Allen/”Macaca” clip and the Claire McCaskill/Michael J. Fox ad.

By Scott Macaulay on Nov 8, 2006 Filmmaking
COME AS YOU ARE

Over at Nerve, Daniel Nemet-Nejat interviews A.J. Schnack,, whose Kurt Cobain Without a Son recently played at the AFI Festival. Constructed around a series of audio recordings of Cobain conducted by journalist Michael Azerrad, the doc is a surprisingly poetic and non-didactic portrait of a reluctant rock star’s interior life. Here’s Schnack on his approach towards constructing the film: I tried to pay attention to Michael’s desires that it be unusual, not the typical cut-and-paste piece about a band. Immediately I thought what would be interesting to me is if the tapes would be the single source for the narrative, […]

By Scott Macaulay on Nov 8, 2006 Filmmaking
SETTING UP SHOP

In Sharon Swart’s piece on the major agency indie financing units in our Spring issue, Endeavor’s Graham Taylor discussed his work philosophy: “I’m not interested in setting up financing so people can just collect fees,” adds Endeavor’s independent packaging agent, Graham Taylor. “It’s about the artists owning their films and truly benefiting when the films work. People have the misperception that packaging is only about attaching talent and finding financing. It’s a much lengthier process. It’s about development and taking it all the way through ancillary markets. Even on the indie side, you have to be connected to the marketing […]

By Scott Macaulay on Nov 8, 2006 Filmmaking
TOUCH FOOTBALL

On the web and in the magazine we have Annie Nocenti’s interview with directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, filmmakers currently receiving a second burst of publicity due to some fortuitous casting. Massage-loving, meth-indulging evangelist Ted Haggard, whose recent troubles may have depressed the Christian Right vote in yesterday’s election, is prominently featured in the duo’s Jesus Camp, still in national release. If you’ve been watching the cable news you’ve probably seen clips like this one in which Haggard’s comments in the film are quite at odds with his recently revealed private life. Here on the Huffington Post is a […]

By Scott Macaulay on Nov 8, 2006 Filmmaking
DOES BORAT HAVE LEGS?

Now that Borat has proved that it is worthy of all the hype, many question why it only opened on 800-plus screens. Was Fox cleverly building the word of mouth? Were they scared it could have possibly been a Snakes on a Plane? Variety explores the studio’s thinking. Here’s a little taste: Some close to the comic thesp point to the pic’s amazing $31,607 per-playdate average as a sign the film had enough appeal for a wider release. But some distrib execs point to the still-low awareness of “Borat” — in the latest tracking, which reflects polling from over the […]

By Jason Guerrasio on Nov 7, 2006 Filmmaking
POLICE CHARGE CONSTRUCTION WORKER IN ADRIENNE SHELLY’S DEATH

I posted below the incredibly sad news about Adrienne Shelly’s death and never mentioned that it was initially thought a suicide as a friend had told me that there was an ongoing police investigation. Now, CNN and other news organizations are reporting that a construction worker who apparently was heard arguing with Shelly has been charged in her death.

By Scott Macaulay on Nov 7, 2006 Filmmaking
"PAUL NEWMAN SERVED ME A MEATBALL"

There were many amazing moments at the Sundance Institute’s 25 Anniversary Gala in New York this evening — including a great piece of performance art by Miranda July — but the evening’s most unexpected surprise may have occurred during the pre-dinner cocktail party. The wait staff serving hors’ d’oeurves were all actors who were giving back to Sundance as they produced expressions of shock, amazement, and slight embarassment among the attendees. Parker Posey, Kathy Bates, and yes, Paul Newman were all game, circulating through the crowds in white shirts and black aprons, handing out the finger food to those who […]

By Scott Macaulay on Nov 7, 2006 Filmmaking

Cookie	Duration	Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional	11 months	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy	11 months	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Cookie	Duration	Description
cfmrk_cic		Used by Cloudflare to route user traffic for this Site.
sparrow_id		Installed by Cloudflare. Used to identify individual clients behind a shared IP address and apply security settings on a per-client basis. It does not store any personal identifiable information.

Cookie	Duration	Description
OAGEO		Installed by the Revive Ad Server. Used to cache geolocation (session, deleted when closing the browser)
OAID		Installed by the Revive Ad Server to distinguish users.