Amy Lo
-
The Trump Effect
When Moonlight won the Academy Award for Best Picture, writer-director Barry Jenkins and his team weren’t the only ones celebrating. For many filmmakers, the Moonlight triumph was both a victory for indies but also a rebuke against the racism, sexism and prejudice of Trump’s America. It was, perhaps, the entertainment industry’s biggest embrace of “the Resistance” yet. But the Trump regime isn’t just affecting awards shows and celebrity Twitter accounts. Financiers and producers speak about an uncertain marketplace, fueled by the wild vacillations of the Trump presidency, which has the ability to both hinder and bolster independent films. Yellow Bear […]
by Anthony Kaufman on Apr 13, 2017 -
Memories of Underdevelopment
With a few exceptions, independent movies are rarely developed like studio-produced ones. Certainly for ultra-low and micro-budget independents, the process is much less formal and far less cash-infused. Multiple paid rewrites until a script shines; thinking through all the creative and logistical problems with top-line producers before firing up the camera; packaging the right combination of talent and money that works best for the material at hand — studios and larger production companies have salaried executives responsible for this undeniably crucial work. But in the independent world, when overtaxed producers perform these tasks, it can be unreliable in its timeline […]
by Kishori Rajan on Jul 17, 2014 -
Sundance Creative Producers Lab Diary: Amy Lo, Part Two
Producer Amy Lo with Producing Advisor Ron Yerxa Here’s part two of Amy Lo’s Sundance Creative Producer’s Lab Diary. Part One can be read here. Back in New York, a director I’d just met the other day told me, “You’re really nice for a producer.” Have we sunk so low? He was surprised that I was…nice? In fact, at the Sundance Creative Producing Summit, there was nothing but niceness all around. It began on Friday; specifically, after lunch. Pre-lunch, we were still ensconced in our intimate, small-group sessions for the Feature Film Creative Producing Lab, which had started five days […]
by Scott Macaulay on Aug 26, 2010 -
SUNDANCE CREATIVE PRODUCERS LAB DIARY: AMY LO
Here is the first of two filmmaker reports filed from the just-finished Sundance Producer’s Lab. Reporting back here is Amy Lo. The Sundance Lab was my rehab. In the most transformative, astonishing way. Here we are, Day One, four fellow Fellows and me gathered up from parts east, west and south, hurtling up the hill, forward-pressing and fueled by anxious hope. We come to a sudden stop, a moment to inhale and exhale. High-elevation, low-oxygen. Rising disorientation. The Sundance Creative Producing Lab spans five days of project-focused tough love, naked honesty, catharsis and renewal. All framed by breath-taking mountainous isolation. […]
by Scott Macaulay on Aug 25, 2010
