Here is Night Catches Us producer Ron Simons’ fourth post from Sundance. January 24th was a good day. I finally got to have in-person conversations with two of the powerhouses of the Sundance Institute: Michelle Satter and Anne Lai (both of whom have been crucial in making this film come into being). They’d both fielded worried, stressed, beseeching calls from Sean, Tanya and myself. They were ever supportive with sage advice administered with calming tones and gracious patience. I also got to meet a number of other filmmakers at the Producer’s Brunch. The key note speaker was Lynette Howell, who […]
Here’s the second of the New Breed videos discussing the current and future states of distribution. From the makers: Filmmakers Zak Forsman and Kevin K. Shah of Sabi Pictures arrive at Park City with an intent to define the questions most relevant to independent distribution options. Insights from Brian Newman, Dan Mirvish, Jon Reiss and Ira Deutchman open a path toward discovering some real solutions. NEW BREED PARK CITY – Discovering the Questions from Sabi Pictures on Vimeo.
Producer Ron Simons has been blogging from Sundance about his trip there with his first film, Tanya Hamilton’s Night Catches Us. Scroll back through the blog for his earlier posts. Night Catches Us has premiered! The last two days have been a symphony of interviews and press meetings. The day of the premiere our PR firm (Fatdot — a great PR firm by the way!) shuffled Tanya (our director) and me off to TV interviews, photo shoots and a taping for the Sundance Channel, among others. We’d wanted to include my producing partner Sean Costello in these activities but all […]
Here is the first of the New Breed video reports realized this year in collaboration with Filmmaker and The Workbook Project. This one’s an open discussion between Lance Weiler, Peter Baxter, Saskia Wilson-Brown, Brian Newman and Paul Rachman just prior to Slamdance and the Open Video Alliance’s Filmmaker Summit in Park City, which starts in just a little more than an hour. If you’re not in town you can stream the summit here. NEW BREED PARK CITY – AN OPEN DISCUSSION from Sabi Pictures on Vimeo.
[PREMIERE SCREENING: Sunday, Jan. 24, 8:00 pm — Racquet Club, Park City] For the last eight years I’ve taught directing at Columbia University’s Film Program — in my opinion, the best, most comprehensive film school anywhere. More than 25 of my students, past and present, were all working on 3 Backyards in a variety of positions ranging from production designer, co-producer, editor and script supervisor to key p.a. and craft services. One student in particular, Russ Harbaugh, decided he wanted to be part of the entire process, and so he signed on as my assistant. One day during preproduction I […]
Here’s the second of the New Breed videos discussing the current and future states of distribution. From the makers: Filmmakers Zak Forsman and Kevin K. Shah of Sabi Pictures arrive at Park City with an intent to define the questions most relevant to independent distribution options. Insights from Brian Newman, Dan Mirvish, Jon Reiss and Ira Deutchman open a path toward discovering some real solutions. NEW BREED PARK CITY – Discovering the Questions from Sabi Pictures on Vimeo. Watch New Breed Part 1.
[PREMIERE SCREENING: Saturday, Jan. 23, 8:30 pm — Prospector Square Theatre, Park City] Decisions, decisions. I was practically penniless again and semihomeless after finishing my last film, Great Speeches from a Dying World (ironically enough a film about homeless people) when I decided to start on Bass Ackwards. Not the best time to make a movie, one could argue. So…why? Well, I like to make movies and I have things to say, and because my friend, Todd Rohal, sent me a link to a Craigslist ad for a “strange van.” Of course, I bought the van and started writing a […]
[PREMIERE SCREENING: Saturday, Jan. 23, 8:30 pm — Library Center Theatre, Park City] The single biggest decision I was faced with during the making of Climate Refugees literally happened on the first day. Was it possible to make a documentary film about climate change that would be politically bipartisan? I wanted to create a film that would play to both sides of the aisle. To me, I saw climate change as a metaphor in which a woman is swimming in the ocean. She is attacked by a shark. She is barely able to swim to shore. Two men see the […]
New Frontier Performances and Installations [PREMIERE SCREENING: Saturday, Jan. 23, 6:30 pm — New Frontier on Main, Park City] One of the most difficult things that has come up in my projects over and over is the casting. For different reasons, many of my projects have never included the original intended cast I had in mind. I have learned to be open to this, but at the same time I have to wonder if I compromised my original vision or maybe the universe has a plan of its own. Either way I’ve learned from the experiences and hope that I […]
Here is the first of the New Breed video reports realized this year in collaboration with Filmmaker and The Workbook Project. This one’s an open discussion between Lance Weiler, Peter Baxter, Saskia Wilson-Brown, Brian Newman and Paul Rachman just prior to Slamdance and the Open Video Alliance’s Filmmaker Summit in Park City, which starts in just a little more than an hour. If you’re not in town you can stream the summit here. NEW BREED PARK CITY – AN OPEN DISCUSSION from Sabi Pictures on Vimeo. For Filmmaker‘s complete Sundance coverage, visit our special Sundance section.