Ira Deutchman
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“Theaters, Distribution and Craziness”: Ira Deutchman on Searching for Mr. Rugoff
A film for cinephiles generally and New York theater dwellers in particular, Ira Deutchman’s documentary, Searching for Mr. Rugoff, brings attention to the late Donald R. Rugoff, head of influential East Coast theater chain and distribution company Cinema 5. An intimidating figure, Rugoff was responsible for bringing much of the best in international arthouse cinema to audiences on the Upper East Side via his moviehouses, including the the Gramercy, the Cinema I and Cinema II, the Paris and the Sutton. When he later opened the company’s distribution wing, their acquired films collected a combined 25 Academy Award nominations, lead by […]
by Erik Luers on Aug 17, 2021 -
Looking Backwards To Look Forward
Lately, it seems that events are conspiring to make me look backwards. First of all, about two years ago, I was invited to donate my personal archives to the University of Michigan’s Screen Arts Mavericks & Makers Collection. It was an incredible honor to be joined with such illustrious company as Orson Welles, Robert Altman, John Sayles, Alan Rudolph, Nancy Savoca and, most recently, Jonathan Demme. But it was also a bit nerve-wracking to think that total strangers would be rummaging through my proverbial attic—a hoarder’s collection of film posters, correspondence (actual hardcopy letters, memos and mimeographs!), grosses and marketing […]
by Ira Deutchman on Sep 17, 2018 -
What’s Ego Got to Do With It? At Sundance’s Arthouse Convergence, Ira Deutchman Imagines the Future of Specialty Exhibition
Just delivered in Utah at Sundance’s pre-festival 2014 Arthouse Convergence — where specialty exhibitors gather to discuss and debate trends, developments and threats to their collective business model — Ira Deutchman’s keynote is a witty and forward-thinking speech that looks to the past to consider reshaping the future. In his opening, Deutchman cites two truths he learned early on in his career: First, I learned that Business is dominated by people who are driven, sometimes myopic, and willing to do almost anything to succeed. The second thing I learned is that the Film Business, specifically, is driven more by ego […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jan 14, 2014 -
The New Professionalism
Over the last decade, as the tools of filmmaking became less expensive and more generally accessible, there was much excitement about what came to be known as the “democratization” of filmmaking. Suddenly, one didn’t have to be rich or the relative of a studio executive to get a movie made. In addition, websites such as YouTube and others opened up distribution to the masses, creating a new paradigm that was dubbed “user-generated content.” All of this sounded great on the surface, but like other seemingly positive advances — remember the “1,000-channel universe” or the “long-tail theory?” — there are always […]
by Ira Deutchman on Jan 17, 2013 -
Columbia U. Launches Screenplay Revision Workshop
Becoming a good writer is not just about writing well — it’s about rewriting well. I know plenty of promising writers who positively fail at that essential skill. They are unable to move beyond their first drafts, to process feedback, and to shape their own raw material into production-worthy scripts. This summer a resource for the self-aware among this set is being offered by Columbia University. Columbia’s Film School chair Ira Deutchman recently announced the Screenplay Revision Workshop, which is open to all. From Ira’s blog at Tribeca: In all my years in the film business and my travels around […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 17, 2012 -
IFP TO STREAM 2011 FILMMAKER CONFERENCE
Did you miss the Filmmaker Conference at Independent Film Week last month? Me too – I managed to catch a few panels, but I spent most of the week running around, working, and attending other IFW events (as evidenced by my photo blogs here, here, and here). Luckily, IFP will streaming the entire conference available to members. One new video will be added to ifp.org every weekday this month. Membership levels start at $35, which for roughly 30 hours of film industry education (and tons of other benefits) is not a bad deal. One video is already online – a […]
by Jane Schoenbrun on Oct 14, 2011 -
IRA DEUTCHMAN CHAIRS COLUMBIA FILM SCHOOL
Producer, distributor, and longtime professor (24 years!) at Columbia Film School, Ira Deutchman has been appointed the division’s new chair. He takes over from the film school’s previous chair, Jamal Joseph. Well known in the independent community, Deutchman was a founder of indie distributor Cinecom, a former head of Fine Line Features, and is currently Managing Partner of Emerging Pictures. Film’s he’s worked on as either a distributor or marketer include The Player, An Angel at My Table, Hoop Dreams, Naked, and sex lies and videotape. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Deutchman commented, “I’ve been teaching at Columbia […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jul 29, 2011 -
Why Filmmaking Cannot Be A Hobby
by Pauldevlin on Jul 19, 2011Blast! director Paul Devlin on the IRS’s battle with documentary filmmakers. -
DEEP BACKGROUND ON THE SUNDANCE INSTITUTE AND FESTIVAL
At The Film Stage, Kristin Coates has a long and impressively detailed take on the early days of the Sundance Institute and Festival, tracing the social, political and industry currents that lead to the formation of what is now one of the dominant institutions in the world of independent film. The Directors Lab is currently unfolding at Redford’s Sundance Institute in Utah, and Coates’ article is not only a timely tale of Sundance but also a history of the transition from the “New Hollywood” of the mid-’70s to a self-identifying American independent film movement that gathered steam in the ’80s. […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 12, 2010
