Columns
-
“I Think That Being Unapologetic Gets You Farther Sometimes”: Anna Weinstein on Comedy and Working with Talent
I’d heard the rumors about Cannes. About the heels of shoes that are measured if they appear suspiciously low. About some authorized shoe detective (random festival volunteer) who is qualified to deem a heel unfit for a premiere and deny entry. About how this unwelcomed fashion consultation excludes nobody — except men. When I first heard of this supposed Cannes custom — since confirmed by recent celebrity outbursts and Facebook posts from friends in attendance — I lost interest in attending myself. It’s not about whether or not I like getting dolled up, or if I like to wear heels […]
-
“As a Younger Person, You are Also Closer to the Social Moment”: Emily Buder on Film Criticism
I spent months complaining about the drug dealers on my doorstep. I didn’t like dodging their transactions or how they’d hover or call after me. But when one of them offered to help adjust my bike seat, witness to my prolonged and embarrassing struggle, an alliance was formed, and over the course of a few weeks, a friendship. Despite the language barrier — I speak poor German, and he, worse — I learned how he fled Senegal on a crowded boat of sick and dying refugees, and how he arrived in Italy without knowing a soul, the language, or an […]
-
“A Lot of People Don’t Know the Added Value of Publicists”: Mirjam Wiekenkamp on Film Publicity
I can’t say I’ve had many positive experiences with publicists. I once met one who texted throughout our entire first meeting, another who pretended not to have a spare ticket for a screening, and another who set up an interview and then told me afterward it couldn’t be published. But a series of lousy experiences by no means speaks to the universal personalities that PR attracts. It’s just that I’ve found publicity in general to be more on the unpleasant side of film industry unpleasantry, so it’s somehow been easier to judge. When I think of PR, I have a […]
-
“I Strive To Be Professional with Everyone, and I Never Hold Grudges”: Corrine Aquino on Management and Production
I remember signing with an agent. As an eleven-year-old actress, the prospect of TV and radio work was thrilling. When I didn’t book a print job, my agent blamed it on the braces. But when I landed a local Cleveland radio spot, my flair for voiceover was celebrated, but not too much. With children for clients, my agent was careful to keep any star-driven egos in-check (even though the moms were bigger hazards). What I remember most during this year-long agency exploit is not the disappointment of frequent rejection or the high of occasional validation; I mostly remember the relationship between my agent […]
-
“In a Dream World, I’d Want People to Leave with the Feeling They Could Do Anything”: Verena von Stackelberg on Film Exhibition in Berlin
I’m walking to a bar after seeing Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin in Berlin’s progressively gentrified neighborhood, Neukölln. Our group of four is unanimously in favor of the sci-fi thriller starring Scarlett Johansson. But by the time we take our seats in the bar, rumblings of an argument have begun. When my challenger brings up male-gaze, I say that its existence in cinema may be fundamentally problematic, but for me, its presence in Under the Skin is necessary in the experience of the film. He says his issue with male-gaze actually relates to the objectification of the male subjects, not […]
-
Panavision’s Dan Sasaki on their Large Format Digital Lenses, the Primo 70
Late last year Panavision introduced a new lens line, the Primo 70. These lenses are specifically designed for use on larger sensor digital cameras and, according to Panavision, cannot be used on film cameras. We spoke with Dan Sasaki, VP of Optical Engineering at Panavision, about the development of these lenses, and how they differ from film lenses. Filmmaker: What was the impetus for developing digital lenses? Sasaki: Our Primo 35 lenses have been around since the late ’80s, early ’90s, and they are designed to work with film cameras. The Primo lenses have what’s called the blue line shift on […]
-
“I Still Love Film, But This is the New Golden Age of TV, with Deeper and Darker Approaches to Storytelling”: Molly Breeskin on Developing Television
I remember my first summer in New York. Washington Square Park was my backyard, I had an unconvincing fake ID that somehow worked, and I ate frozen yogurt for breakfast. I also remember spaceship battles and Cylons because when I wasn’t outside living the dream, I was in a Battlestar Galactica fantasy in my dorm room. And when I wasn’t binge-watching the television show, I was dreaming about it. The memories of my first summer in New York are largely constructed around this BSG association; it’s as if the context of my real life has been grounded in the memories of the fantasy one. I similarly refer […]
-
“I am Optimistic about the Film Industry Finding Alternative Methods of Distribution”: Leslie Vuchot on Non-Theatrical Distribution
I’m sitting in a small 190°F room. I have taken my glasses off because I think they’d melt, so I can’t see. Also, I’m naked, as is everyone around me. My friend and I are whispering, most likely disturbing the neighboring nudes, but this is my first time in a Berlin sauna, so I’m not familiar with the collective sweaty silence that Germans call relaxation. As my friend escorts me through the different bathing rooms, I try to keep an open mind because a night at the Stadtbad is a Berlin staple. Twenty-five years ago, two friends also made a […]
-
Job Listing: Filmmaker and IFP Are Seeking an Advertising Sales Associate
Filmmaker and its parent organization IFP are seeking an Advertising Sales Associate, a salaried position based out of the IFP’s DUMBO-based office. A short description of the job is listed below, and this post will be updated with links to LinkedIn and Vediabistro when they go live. In short, though, the Advertising Sales Associate is responsible for ad sales for Filmmaker across print and web as well as IFP. IFP, a world class nonprofit devoted to independent film and its creators, seeks a mid-level Advertising Sales professional to secure revenue for its publication, Filmmaker, and online channels. The successful candidate […]
-
David Carr, R.I.P.
David Carr flew under my radar for a little while. I never read his book, The Night of the Gun, and my general disinterest in the Oscar Industrial Complex meant that I wasn’t a regular reader of his late aughts Carpetbagger column at The New York Times either. I had heard rumblings that there was a guy with an arresting voice and upright posture bringing an outsider (and from his basement) attitude to awards season coverage. Maybe I read a few of them, but it wasn’t until Carr sequed into his Media Equation column that he became essential to me. […]
