6294 Results for “Open ”
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FAIR USE
Lawrence Lessig, in a “Guest Column” in today’s Variety writes: “Robert Greenwald’s latest film, ‘Outfoxed,’ is a political documentary about Republican bias at Fox News. It is also, as the New York Times Sunday Magazine dubbed it, a ‘guerrilla documentary.’ “In addition to interviews with former Fox employees, academic studies evaluating the ‘Fox effect’ and internal Fox memos, Greenwald has used a significant number of clips from Fox News to show the bias that the slogan ‘fair and balanced’ belies. “He had no permission to use those clips. “Fox has called Greenwald’s use stealing. It has warned other networks that […]
by Jason Guerrasio on Jul 14, 2004 -
RED LIGHT, GREEN LIGHT
There’s a great lead article in Variety this week by Dana Harris and Claude Brodesser — sorry, subscription only — titled “Films Buried Alive.” And although the headline might lead you to think that the piece is about the many long-delayed films on the Miramax release shelf, it’s actually a perceptive article about the politics involved in greenlighting a studio film. It confirms in print something producers have long known: despite the importance placed by studio execs on the development process, the scripts that actually get greenlit by the studios are often the least developed ones. And if there’s one […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 20, 2004 -
JACKASS
On Hollywood films and also those by conscientious independents, the American Humane Association is brought in by the production to “monitor animal activity” when animals are featured on the set. But as producers know, the AHA isn’t just there to protect the lives of the animals — the organization also serves to protect the sensibilities of the performers. Case in point: John C. Reilly reportedly walked off the set of Lars von Triers’ new Mandalay in protest after the production slaughtered an “old and sick” donkey on the set. Animal slaughter is nothing new in contemporary filmmaking. Gaspar Noe’s Carne, […]
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 30, 2004 -
SCARY FLORIDA
I’ve got no plans to jet down to Miami anytime soon, but if any of our readers happen to be down there, check out this gallery exhibition featuring artists like Sue de Beer (pictured) and Cameron Jamie, and shoot us an email about it. It sounds cool, and I’m sorry I missed it in New York. From the press release: “SCREAM at THE MOORE SPACE 10 artists x 10 writers x 10 scary movies Curated by: Fernanda Arruda and Michael Clifton April 8 – July 3, 2004 Opening Reception: Thursday, April 8, 2004, 7 – 10 pm THE MOORE SPACE […]
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 11, 2004 -
Great Expectations
Years ago, before I worked in film, I was a curator and programmer at The Kitchen, New York’s center for contemporary performance and video. In my first year there, the organization produced a one-off TV special entitled “Two Moon July,” and in it David Byrne performed a work of solo performance art that involved the Talking Head running in giant circles through The Kitchen’s Soho loft space, chanting out the names of future movies culled from the AFM issue of Variety. It might sound a bit slim, but it was a nice piece — there is something oddly poignant and […]
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 4, 2004 -
THE CUBAN CONNECTION
With his purchase of the Landmark Theatres and Magnolia Pictures and his creation of production company 2929 and the high definition cable network HDNet, which boasts an NYC-based production arm run by Open City Films’ Jason Kliot, Dallas Maverick-owner Mark Cuban has quickly announced himself as one of indie film’s key players. For those who want to know more about Cuban, check out his weblog, which boasts regular postings about the Mavericks, Godsend, the Robert DeNiro/Rebecca Romijn-Stamos movie Cuban produced with Todd Wagner, and Mamma.com, the search engine he just picked up stock in. Regular reading might help you figure […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 21, 2004 -
DANGER AFTER DARK
Haute Tension If you’re a regular reader of Filmmaker, you’ll recognize Travis Crawford‘s byline. He’s often in our pages writing about cutting-edge genre films, Asian auteurist work, and unclassifiable Euro arthouse pics. (See his feature on Bruno Dumont’s 29 Palms in our current issue.) But when he’s not writing for Filmmaker, Crawford is, among other things, programming the Philadelphia Film Festival‘s “Danger after Dark” program, the genre-section that allows him to cherrypick the best new titles as well as the essential works that have been on the fest circuit for the past year. Crawford is the king of the long, […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 4, 2004 -
THE 2004 INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDS
The biggest surprise at the 2004 IFP/Los Angeles Independent Spirit Awards occurred during John Waters’s opening monologue. As Waters spun out an outlandish, increasingly hilarious story involving him being imprisoned in an MPAA cell for participating in screener bootlegging, none other than MPAA topper Jack Valenti appeared to grab the microphone away from Waters, handcuffing and dragging the mustachioed director offstage. Indeed, the tale of the screener battle — recounted by IFP/Los Angeles (a co-plaintiff) Executive Director Dawn Hudson — was, more or less, the afternoon’s sole political topic of discussion. There was no Michael Moore rant and, perhaps remembering […]
by Scott Macaulay on Feb 29, 2004 -
“25 NEW FACES” AT SUNDANCE
Every summer Filmmaker runs a feature entitled “25 New Faces of Independent Film” in which we try to apply our long-lead editorial approach to talent spotting. We identify promising new writers, directors and actors who are flying well below the industry radar, and several of our pics usually show up at Sundance each year. Here are Filmmaker‘s “25 New Faces” picks in this year’s festival. The advance industry buzz on The Clearing has been all over the map, but Justin Haythe’s screenplay was the best I read a couple of years ago. It’s a terse, emotionally rich drama about a […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jan 15, 2004 -
The 2000 Berlin International Film Festival
Major transitional years occur only occasionally in the festival world. It is, in part, continuity of venue and curatorial staff that makes these institutions tick; their very consistency allows filmmakers and film professionals to make informed choices about how films might be received at their premieres. In this context, the 50th Berlinale was a traumatic and difficult event. Ten years ago, when the Wall fell, rumors had already begun that the Festival would be moved from its hideous, if comforting, decades-old home in Breitscheitzplatz to new digs in the just-liberated wasteland of Potsdamer Platz, the former center of all things […]
by Noah Cowan on Mar 15, 2000
