| Filmmaker Magazine

“ART AND COPY”‘S DOUG PRAY By Alicia Van Couvering

Documentarian Doug Pray has made films about grafitti artists (Infamy), an iterant surfing family (Surfwise), Seattle punk scene (Hype!) Hip Hop DJ’s (Scratch) and truckers (Big Rig), and now, with Art & Copy, he profiles the living legends of corporate advertising. Advertising has a complicated relationship to filmmaking — for one thing, many feature and documentary directors make a living doing commercials. The men and women profiled in Pray’s film have been responsible for most revolutionary campaigns of the ad business — VW’s “Lemon” and “Think Small” were by George Lois, who also provoked controversy with his Esquire Covers and […]

by Scott Macaulay on Jan 25, 2009

SUNDANCE AWARDS PUSH WITH THREE AWARDS, INCLUDING TOP HONOR

The award winners of the 2009 Sundance Film Festival were announced this evening and Lee Daniels‘s Push: Based on a novel by Sapphire was the big winner as it took not only the Dramatic Grand Jury prize but also the Audience Award and Special Jury prize for actress Mo’Nique. Ondi Timoner‘s We Live In Public was awarded the top Documentary prize. The full list of winners are below. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize:Push: Based on a novel by Sapphire, Lee Daniels Documentary Grand Jury Prize:We Live In Public, directed by Ondi Timoner Dramatic World Cinema Jury Prize:The Maid, directed by Sebastian […]

by Jason Guerrasio on Jan 24, 2009

A QUIET LITTLE MARRIAGE TAKES TOP PRIZE AT SLAMDANCE

Closing its 15th year, the Slamdance Film Festival announced the winners of its 2009 edition Friday night with Mo Perkins‘s A Quiet Little Marriage winning the Best Narrative Feature Award. The full list of winner are below. Best Narrative FeatureA Quiet Little Marriage, directed by Mo Perkins Special Jury Mention for Best Performance: Larry Fessenden in I Sell the Dead Best Documentary FeatureStrongman, directed by Zachary Levy Special Jury Mention: Second Sight, directed by Alison McAlpine Best Narrative ShortPrincess Margaret Blvd, directed by Kazik Radwanski Best Documentary ShortRare Chicken Rescue, directed by Randall Wood Best Animated ShortUndone, directed by Hayley […]

by Jason Guerrasio on Jan 24, 2009

YOUTUBE RESTORES LEE’S VIDEOS

Previously I posted some thoughts on the Kevin Lee/YouTube situation, and now, via Lee’s Shooting Down Pictures blog, it’s great to report that YouTube has responded to criticism and restored Lee’s account. In a long post entitled “Things I Learned from Losing — and Regaining — my YouTube Account,” Lee tells all of us how we can defend ourselves against a similar type of complaint, the nature of copyright laws and why YouTube may not be to blame for his situation, and also how we can fight further for digital rights and fair use issues. Thanks to Kevin for his […]

by Scott Macaulay on Jan 23, 2009

“MOON” director, Duncan Jones

[PREMIERE SCREENING: Friday, Jan. 23, 6:15 pm — Eccles Theatre, Park City] Moon was a challenge to write. There were a set of pretty stringent criteria that we had come up with for ourselves in order to give us the best chance of getting the film made. I had to keep in mind a very limited budget, keep the cast as small as possible, write something that would best be done in a controlled, studio environment all while utilizing a very specific set of visual effects that would maximize production value for minimum cost. All that, and we didn’t want […]

by Jason Guerrasio on Jan 23, 2009

WINTER ISSUE ONLINE

Over on the main page, select stories from the Winter issue have been posted. Steve McQueen talks about his amazing first feature, Hunger; Greg Mottola chats about his return to indie films with Adventureland; and the always talkative James Toback reveals how it was to get inside the mind of Mike Tyson for his documentary, Tyson. Also, Jon Reiss continues his series of pieces on self-distribution, this time focusing on the home video aspect, and Lance Weiler gives tips on how to build a film industry via the Web. And much more, enjoy. Don’t forget: You can get the latest […]

by Jason Guerrasio on Jan 23, 2009

CHILLY WORDS FOR FROZEN RIVER

So you come from outside the industry, scrape up enough money to make a small movie about working-class characters… and get slagged off on MSNBC by Courtney Hazlett for being a member of an “elite, effete” group who made a movie that you have to see on “some website.” Check out the clip at the link.

by Scott Macaulay on Jan 23, 2009

AGAINST THE CURRENT’S PETER CALLAHAN By Alicia Van Couvering

Peter Callahan’s Againt the Current is road movie that takes place in a vehicle that “couldn’t out-run a turtle.” It’s a story about Paul Thompson (Joseph Fiennes), a man in his mid-30’s who is still grieving for his wife five years after her death. Emotionally adrift, Thompson decides to make it literal by enlisting his best friend (Justin Kirk) to man a boat as he swims the entire length of the Hudson River. The pair are joined by a pretty, single barfly named Liz, played by Elizabeth Reaser, and they all stop briefly at Liz’s Rhinebeck house, where her mother […]

by Scott Macaulay on Jan 22, 2009

OWN NOTHING

I’m in the group that believes that physical media — books, DVDs, CDs — is essentially going away. I think a sentimental or nostalgic connection will be required to convince us in the future to actually buy something that will sit on our shelves. You love Thomas Pynchon, you have all his books, so when his new one comes out you’ll buy it to reconnect to that part of you that used to love to buy things and loved the idea that your own literary cool could be signified by a physical object. That new writer who has gotten great […]

by Scott Macaulay on Jan 22, 2009

MANOHLA DARGIS ON THE INDIE FINANCING CONUNDRUM

I agree with Manohla, the reduced crowds make this Sundance the most pleasant in years. In her just-posted piece in the New York Times on the festival, however, she includes a bit of historical summary that nails the current conundrum facing the independent sector. An excerpt: The industry was still in attendance this year, but the high-roller fever that has gripped the festival for the last decade has cooled. Although this made for the most pleasant Sundance in memory, it also presents a host of unknowns. If the studios don’t buy independent films, fewer investors in turn may be inclined […]

by Scott Macaulay on Jan 22, 2009

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