It’s been a momentous year for cinematographer Alex Lehmann, who successfully made the transition to director/DP with his first two features. His documentary feature Asperger’s Are Us, about the first comedy troupe consisting of openly autistic people, premiered earlier this year at SXSW, where it was bought by Netflix. Blue Jay, Lehmann’s narrative feature debut, recently premiered at TIFF and will hit select theaters on October 7 before heading to digital on October 11 and Netflix later this year. Mark Duplass and Jay Duplass executive produced both films. Starring Mark Duplass (based on his screenplay) and Sarah Paulson as two former high school sweethearts who reconnect […]
Every film not only tells a story but is a story. Lumping several movies together to find commonality is a perilous pursuit. For example, we have to determine if shared traits operate at the level of content, plot or characters. Or might they be more in the vein of form — style, perhaps, or generic membership? Last week, zeroing in on what I consider the six finest features screening in the first third of the New York Film Festival led me to a marked thematic thread, which we can file under “loneliness and the attempt to escape it.” From the […]
Do women filmmakers need to wear certain clothes on set to be taken seriously? Is a female filmmaker’s wardrobe the real secret to success? When Refinery 29 recently posted a story, “How to Dress for the Job You Want” including “film director,” they inadvertently irked a number of actual female directors and producers with their career outfit suggestions. “You’ll likely be on your feet for long days on set, but still don’t want to look sloppy, so opt for a thick ‘grandma’-style heel that can last you the whole day through, along with some soft trousers and a stylish take on the […]
Before IFP Film Week fades too far in our rearview mirror, we’re elaborating upon several of our snaps from our Instagram feed with further comments by the filmmakers, speakers and panelists. View all of Meredith Alloway’s Instagram diaries here at the link. The financiers are the wanted. The people looking for financing are the ones who want. That’s always been the dynamic, the power play. And no matter how genius you are, how many people support you creatively, how many outstanding New York Times reviews you get, you still someone to believe in your next film and give you money […]
Before IFP Film Week fades too far in our rearview mirror, we’re elaborating upon several of our snaps from our Instagram feed with further comments by the filmmakers, speakers and panelists. View all of these Instagram diaries here at the link. “There’s a huge power today in building a following.” — Mark Lieberman, Above Average On Monday, September 19, at “The Faces of Comedy: Platforms that Look for (and Bring) the Funny,” IFP Film Week panel it was clear that having an audience is crucial. When you find out who that audience is, well that’s another thing. And for these […]
Considering cinematographer Paul Cameron is responsible for a portion of the seminal digital photography in Michael Mann’s Collateral, one might assume Cameron is a proselytizer of the digital revolution. Not so — Cameron remains an ardent devotee of celluloid, extolling its virtues as an “elegant, eloquent” medium. With the blessing of series co-creator Jonathan Nolan, Cameron sped film through the gate on the HBO pilot for Westworld. An extension of Michael Crichton’s taut 1973 sci-fi thriller about an Old West theme park where “guests” indulge their baser desires through interactions with robot “hosts,” this new Westworld digs its spurs into […]
Before the recently-completed IFP Week fades too far from memory, we’ll wrap up our coverage with something new: an IFP Instagram Diary. We’ve already clocked how many times the words “branded,” “followers” and “content” were used at the event, and apparently social media is the future. Who knew? When Refinery29’s CCO Amy Emmerich urged during a panel, “Paramount Pictures should not be above Snapchat,” well, we figured we should hop on the social media bandwagon too. No, we don’t have a Snapchat yet – we will? The tag line for the conference, “Everybody Gets Creative,” acknowledges the way we’re all […]
For me, IFP Film Week fell at a serendipitous time. It was the week leading up to the final Sundance short film submission deadline — the looming September 23rd — that also happened to be my birthday. I told myself that if I could finish this damn movie I’d have the best birthday I’ve ever had in my life. I was one audio mix and one color session away from sending this butt naked baby off into the frigid forest that is the larger industry. How cute, how hopeful my film is! Yes, it is time to actually do something with […]
San Sebastián may have a population of less than 190,000 but when it comes to culture and gastronomy the Basque seaside resort punches well above its weight. It combines the two during its annual film festival, even going so far as to team up with local bars to offer movie-themed pintxo snacks and a bottle of beer for less than $3, with names ranging from the elegant Monica Bellucci (roe and smoked herring perched on bread), to the less cerebral Porky’s (braised ham, pepper, onion and cheese) and the frightening Tarantino, which features a mushroom whose name translates as “trumpets […]
By the sound of it, “languish, from the Latin “languere,” meaning loose or lax, is sexy. It’s old-timey yet coolly sexy: Monica Vitti staring down giant waves in an Antonioni film. Except when used to describe a feature or series in development, that is, when it becomes trouble. Past the giddy rendezvous of filmmakers and industry types at the 2016 IFP Film Week, “languish” is a dirty dirty word no one would touch with a 10-foot boom pole. As participants head back to the trenches and roll up their sleeves, we wonder: will the new connections lead to a walk […]