Prior to this year’s 25 New Faces hitting the stands and screens, we asked everyone previously selected for this feature to send us a short email updating us on their activities since. Here are the first three responses — thanks to the filmmakers who sent them in. More will appear in the coming days. And, if you are reading this, appeared on this list and haven’t replied yet, please drop us a line and update us. In the coming days you’ll read about people whose films have been made and people who have decided to take other paths in life, […]
With word that Quentin Tarantino has FINALLY begun work on a remake of Italian director Enzo G. Castellari’s EuroCult classic The Inglorious Bastards, Severin Films has put together a remastered three-disc release of the original, the first time it’s been available in the States (though there have been numerous incarnations — you may recall Deadly Mission and G.I. Bro). An homage to war films before it like The Dirty Dozen, Kelly’s Heroes and Peckinpah’s Cross of Iron but with a little more edge and a Spagheti Western feel (not to mention one of the best film titles ever created), Bo […]
Anthony Kaufman reports on indieWIRE today Netflix‘s folding of its production/acquisition unit, Red Envelope Entertainment. An excerpt: Due to changing marketplace conditions and the natural evolution of Netflix, according to Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos, the company decided it was time to move on. “The one thing we learned this year is that there’s no shortage of produced movies and there’s no shortage of money for viable projects,” Sarandos told indieWIRE yesterday. “The best role we play is connecting the film to the audience, not as a financier, not as a producer, not as an outside distributor or marketer.” “It […]
With the summer issue going live on the site tomorrow, which includes our 10th year doing “25 New Faces of Independent Film,” we thought it would be fun as a lead up to list “The 25” alumni. Click on the year below to read up on your favorite 25s of years past (sorry, ’98 – ’00 aren’t online). And keep your eyes peeled to the blog in the coming weeks as we’ll be catching up with some of these names to see what they’re currently up to. (If you were a 25 New Face, it’s not too late to let […]
LAU CHING WAN IN DIRECTOR JOHNNIE TO’S MAD DETECTIVE. COURTESY IFC FILMS. Somewhere between John Woo and the auteurs of the French New Wave lies Hong Kong native Johnnie To, currently one of the most engaging and vibrant directors in world cinema. The 53-year-old started making action movies in 1980, and over the course of the next decade and a half established himself as a skilled genre director, not only of thrillers but also of light comedies and melodramas. He rose to prominence with a number of highly successful collaborations with star Chow Yun Fat and in 1996, along with […]
While we were all sleeping last night the folks at indieWIRE were preparing the announcement of a deal with the site SnagFilms. What is SnagFilms? (I had to look it up myself) Variety describes it as “Hulu-style free streaming with social networking in that films stream for free but can also be shared or posted to Facebook pages or blogs.” The doc distrib site was created by former AOLers Ted Leonsis and backed by Steve Case and Miles Gilburne. Its Beta version launched today with 250 titles supplied by PBS, National Geographic, IndiePix, Arts Alliance America and Koch Lorber with […]
AN IRAQI ROLE PLAYER IN TONY GERBER AND JESSE MOSS’ FULL BATTLE RATTLE. COURTESY MILE END FILMS. A strong partnership always relies on both individuals bringing different things to the table, and documentary filmmakers Tony Gerber and Jesse Moss certainly draw on diverse backgrounds for their creative collaboration. New York City native Gerber began his career directing alternative theater and making films for theatrical productions, and went on to work with conceptual artist Matthew Barney on Cremaster III (2002) and Drawing Restraint 9 (2005). He directed the short film, Small Taste of Heaven in 1997, and his debut fiction feature, […]
At Stream, Jamie Stuart muses on the possibilities of theatrical for one’s first feature. An excerpt: More and more independent producers and distributors with years of experience are trying to convince indie filmmakers that theatrical distribution isn’t that important. This isn’t because these people in the know dislike the theatrical experience. It’s because they understand that the costs of going theatrical are becoming a legitimate burden, and that the real revenue streams lie in the ancillary markets, especially for small movies. Unfortunately, the thing that most filmmakers understand — and this has nothing to do with advocating the communal experience […]
SCOTT PRENDERGAST AND CHRISTINE TAYLOR IN KABLUEY. COURTESY REGENT RELEASING. Like his much buzzed shorts, Scott Prendergast’s debut feature brings to the screen his poignant outsider’s perspective and talent for creating vivid comic characters. Born in Galveston, Texas but raised in Portland, Oregon, Prendergast attended Columbia University and then pursued a career as a comic writer and improviser at L.A.’s Groundlings Theater. He went on to develop his own one man comedy improv show, UNman, which had a two-year run in NYC. In the late 90s, he started making short films – grounded as much in performance comedy as cinema […]
Over at Indiewire Anthony Kaufman writes about Ballast director Lance Hammer’s decision to withdraw from a planned distribution deal with IFC to self-distribute via his own Alluvial Film Company along with Required Viewing. From the piece: “IFC is a really good company,” Hammer told indieWIRE last week. “The problem is the larger issue that’s plaguing every filmmaker right now: The distributors don’t really offer any money. That’s not that big of a deal if they would allow you to have control of your project, but they don’t.” If the current art-house climate isn’t challenging enough, Hammer’s decision highlights the harsh […]