Drive
-
Watch: Tony Zhou on Drive and “The Quadrant System”
This quick Tony Zhou video starts by breaking down a shot from Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive in which Carey Milligan and Ryan Gosling walk to their respective doors in a hallway, pointing out how the left and right sides give us two separate stories in one composition. Then Zhou moves on, repeatedly slicing the film’s frames in half vertically and horizontally. A model of textbook visual analysis, Zhou gets to the essence of what thoughtful shot composition looks like. Heed Zhou’s wise parting words: “You don’t need Steadicams or cranes or drones, or the latest 4K whatever. You need top, […]
by Vadim Rizov on Feb 2, 2015 -
Ursula Meier and Agnes Godard on Sister
Switzerland’s submission for the best international picture is Ursula Meier’s Sister, starring the stunning and earthy Léa Seydoux as a Swiss hot mess and Kacey Mottet Klein as her weedy 12-year-old brother who supports them both through petty thefts. It’s a subtle, complex film that avoids obvious polarities of class, family, even landscape. As director Meier said to me recently of the mountain resort setting, and about finding her way into the script by focusing on the location of the ski lift cable cars, “It’s the place where he belongs, between two worlds. And it’s also the rhythm of the […]
by Miriam Bale on Oct 5, 2012 -
10 Tips On Producing And Financing From SXSW
Troublemaker Studio’s Aaron Kaufman hosted a panel titled “Making it Happen: Financing an Independent Film” at SXSW this year, gathering together fellow execs Katie McNeill (V.P. of Production, Electric City Entertainment, the new venture between producers Lynette Howell and Jamie Patricof) and Garrick Dion, Senior Vice President of Development at Bold Films, and a co-producer of Drive (pictured). (Troublemaker, of course, is the production company of Robert Rodriguez.) The three offered thoughts on how to develop and put together projects able to financed in today’s independent film marketplace as well as tips on keeping that development on track. Here are […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 15, 2012 -
THIS IS WHAT THE (OBSCURE) MOVIES DID TO ME IN 2011
They moved me. Often deeply, in ways I failed to articulate to myself until much later. That is, of course, the whole reason I go to the movies, to have some sort of visceral, emotional (or intellectual) response, be it laughter or sadness or pain or empathy or disgust or profound understanding. Why else do it? Nothing, beside having those emotions, meets the criteria of entertainment, at least for me. See, I’m one of those lucky few that gets to travel the world just to see films. Crazy, I know, especially in this era of not so cheap oil, but it’s […]
by Brandon Harris on Jan 5, 2012 -
JANUARY 2012 VOD TITLES
Now on our VOD calendar are titles available for the month of January 2012. Some highlights: Nicolas Winding Refn‘s ’80s flavored pulp thriller Drive, Danfung Dennis‘ fantastic doc Hell and Back Again, Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie (which will also be at Sundance), Moneyball, The Ides of March and Steven Soderbergh‘s disaster movie Contagion. For titles from previous months go to our VOD Calendar homepage.
by Jason Guerrasio on Jan 1, 2012 -
My 10 Favorite Movie Moments of 2011
As 2011 comes to a close it’s time to look back on the year in movies. It’s always tough for me to come up with a yearly best movie list because I never feel I’ve seen everything by Jan. 1. By this time of year I’m still trying to finish watching the award contenders (still on my list: Hugo, War Horse, Moneyball, Tinker Tailor Solider Spy, The Help). So here are 10 movie moments from 2011 (in no particular order) that have stayed with me. “I Want You To Help Me Find A Killer of Women” I know you’re probably […]
by Jason Guerrasio on Dec 31, 2011 -
THE OCCUPY ZEITGEIST IN 2011 CINEMA
1. A sense of outsideness. Buildings turned inside out on 9-11, and people outside in the streets of Manhattan. The mind, outside of itself with disbelief. The brutal and temporary restoration of the natural world in the middle of one of the world’s largest cities. Located a block from the World Trade Center, Zuccotti Park, terribly damaged on 9-11 and slowly restored, would become the locus of the Occupy Movement. Encampments. Tents. The incongruous sight of camping gear in urban spaces and beneath the shadows of skyscrapers, in a forest of steel and concrete and glass. It is not films […]
by Nicholas Rombes on Dec 19, 2011 -
“TAKE SHELTER” & “THE ARTIST” LEADS SPIRIT AWARDS NOMS
With last night’s Gothams Awards ceremony in New York, awards season is now in full swing. Adding to the momentum, Film Independent just announced the nominees for its 27th annual Independent Spirit Awards. Leading the pack with five nominations each is Jeff Nichols’ apocalyptic southern gothic, Take Shelter and Michel Hazanavicius’ silent romance, The Artist. Next in line, receiving four nominations, were Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive and Mike Mills’ Beginners (which split Best Picture with The Tree of Life at the Gothams last night). J.C. Chandor’s Margin Call will receive the annual Robert Altman Award, given each year to one […]
by Jane Schoenbrun on Nov 29, 2011 -
NICOLAS WINDING REFN NARRATES A SCENE FROM “DRIVE”
We here at Filmmaker haven’t been able to stop talking about Drive since we saw it a few months ago. Nicolas Winding Refn‘s first foray into the mainstream is a fresh take on the crime thriller with an amazing ’80s electronica score and just enough violence and gore to settle the appetite of those who loved Bronson and Valhalla Rising. Over at the New York Times, Mekado Murphy produces this excellent video piece narrated by Refn that breaks down one of the getaway scenes in Drive. Want more Refn talking about Drive? Check out our interview with the Danish director. […]
by Jason Guerrasio on Sep 15, 2011 -
Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive
“Riveting” is an adjective quite frequently used by entertainment journalists when describing crime movies, thrillers, or really anything that might simply offer its fair share of violent and shocking surprises. After seeing Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive, however, one must reevaluate this clear over usage. Refn’s film, for which he took home the Cannes Best Director prize, brings fresh meaning to the term as it regards to narrative cinema. I must emphasize: this is an absolutely engrossing entertainment, surely one of the most potent and unforgettably propulsive stories you’ll encounter on a silver screen this year. A simple recap of its […]
by Brandon Harris on Sep 14, 2011
