Tuesday on the blog we asked what films inspired young viewers (in their 20s or below) to identify with the independent film movement. Here are responses from filmmaker Lena Dunham (Tiny Furniture). I was raised on independent film — spent hours every afternoon in Tower Video and Kim’s. My parents always encouraged me to rent more obscure titles and Disney seemed like an exotic treat. I had a John Waters-themed 3rd grade birthday party that many children left crying (I think the choice to show Pink Flamingos was a flawed one. the blame falls to my mom…) In terms of […]
Presented by the IFP and UN, Envision is a daylong program dealing with the addressing of global issues through documentary. It takes place Saturday, July 10, and you can learn more here. Jennifer Arnold’s A Small Act is one of two features that will be screened at the event. As an impoverished boy in Kenya, Chris Mburu received the fortune of one person’s small donation. When WWII-survivor Hilde Back anonymously sponsored an African child’s education, Chris not only went through school but also became a Harvard-educated human rights lawyer for the UN, all unbeknownst to Hilde. So inspired, Chris and […]
Mark Litwak has great excerpt from his book Risky Business on his Entertainment Law Newsletter today dealing with default by distributors. He begins: Many years ago I represented a filmmaker who entered into an agreement with a small home-video distributor. The company had a decent reputation, and since there were no other offers for this $80,000 movie, a deal was struck. The filmmaker was promised a $40,000 advance for U.S. home video rights. The advance was payable in four installments over the course of a year. After the second installment was received, the distributor was acquired. The new owners stopped […]
Yesterday on the blog we asked what films inspired young viewers (in their 20s or below) to identify with the independent film movement. Here are responses from filmmaker, critic and Filmmaker Contributing Editor Brandon Harris. Short Cuts (1993) – Saw it on cable TV sometime in 1994. I was too young to understand its significance at the time, but I believe it was the first American Independent film I ever saw. The fact that I watched it all at that age probably explains alot about me. Clerks (1994) & Chasing Amy (1997) – Saw both of these during winter break, […]
Alica Van Couvering’s interview with Mark and Jay Duplass in the current issue of Filmmaker was conducted at the Sundance Film Festival, where their latest film, Cyrus, premiered. Starring John C. Reilly, Marisa Tomei and Jonah Hill, the film is a comedy/drama about mid-life romance and the borderline aggro-child that stands in its way. Alicia’s interview was filmed by Zak Forsman, Kevin Shah and the Sabi Pictures team, and here’s an edit of their conversation. See more videos on our YouTube channel. The film opens Friday, June 18.
In retrospect it seems inevitable that some enterprising pornographers in Hollywood’s shadow industry would look to the Coen brothers’ quintessential Venice Beach bum The Dude for inspiration. Not only is southern California the hub of the sex biz, The Dude is SoCal made flesh. And now a company called New Sensations has done just this with The Big Lebowski: A XXX Parody, a passionate, nearly shot-for-shot recreation that shows that cute porn is not an oxymoron. Sure, New Sensations has already tackled pop culture with 30 Rock: A XXX Parody and Seinfeld: A XXX Parody, but The Big Lebowski: A […]
Just because it looks kinda nuts… From an email I received: We’re making an independent film called The Beast Pageant, a surreal adventure with giant machines, exploding heads, and a tiny singing cowboy. We’re almost done and we’ve got a trailer up here. We need help getting the word out there so if you know anyone who might be interested pass it on! The Beast Pageant – Trailer from Albert Birney on Vimeo.
The following letter, drafted from materials provided by Donaldson and Callif, is an update on an amicus brief filed in support of filmmaker Joe Berlinger. If you’re not familiar with the situation regarding his film Crude and Chevron, please read the below and then this editorial by Robert Redford detailing the importance of this case. On June 23, 2010, the IFP joined thirteen other organizations and nine individuals in signing an amicus brief in support of filmmaker Joe Berlinger, who was ordered to turn over 600 hours of outtakes from his documentary Crude to petrochemical company Chevron Corporation. Chevron, threatened […]
Perhaps it goes without saying that the world of independent film missed the boat on Wendell B. Harris Jr. No one, especially this author with the same surname as the now fifty-six year old Michigan native, wants to play the woulda, shoulda, coulda game. Yet whenever I think about the career I would have liked to have seen Mr. Harris have, it’s hard not to turn a bit melancholy. I guess being in the right place in the right time with the right people and a large enough sum of money counts for something, but if being at the podium […]
This is perhaps the longest gestating blog post in Filmmaker Blog history. Back in December, Ted Hope commented on the graying of the arthouse audience in a post entitled “Can Truly Free Film Appeal to Younger Audiences?” He asked: What is it that new audiences want? What must the indie community do to engage them? It is really surprising how few true indie films speak to a youth audience. In this country we’ve had Kevin Smith and Napoleon Dynamite, but nothing that was youth and also truly on the art spectrum like Run Lola Run or the French New Wave (Paranormal […]