-
A Wonderstruck Tweetstorm
Larry Gross first appeared in Filmmaker with the Todd Haynes/Safe cover story of our Summer 1995 issue. A screenwriter (48 Hours, We Don’t Live Here Anymore, Porto), producer and director, he has contribued many interviews and essays since, but, in our Winter 2015 “Super 8” column, we took note of another element of the Gross oeuvre: his seductive and compelling use of Twitter, in which carefully honed critical arguments on myriad topics cascade onto screens in the form of tweetstorms. For this 25th anniversary issue, we asked Gross to commit one of these tweet storms to dead-tree media before he […]
by Larry Gross on Sep 14, 2017 -
“You May Have Made the Most Amazing Film in the World, But You Have Zero Followers on Twitter”: VHX’s Jamie Wilkinson on Building Film Communities
Jamie Wilkinson, CEO of the direct-to-fan online video platform VHX, had some words to filmmakers on Peter Katz’s Hollywood 2.0 podcast. Specifically: amp up your social media game. In the conversation, which also discusses some of the platform’s early successes, the role of filters and gatekeepers, and VHX’s partnerships with distributors, he preaches the virtues of building an audience online. “How do we get people promoting each other’s works?” he asks. “You may have made the most amazing film in the world, but you have zero followers on Twitter. How are you going to get the word out? In the […]
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 26, 2014 -
The Way It Is Now
For the past half-year or so, I have been in constant dialogue with the distribution and foreign sales companies who are releasing four of my recent productions. While engaging these companies, in conjunction with the four directors, I noticed some patterns emerging that are revealing of the current distribution landscape — patterns that differ dramatically from the old ways of theatrical and home video release. Rest assured, it’s not all bad news. It used to be that foreign pre-sales would help us get our dramas financed. Now we can barely find foreign sales agents for our American independent films, even […]
by Mike S. Ryan on Jul 18, 2013 -
Soderbergh x 2: Listen to His SFFS Keynote and Read His Twitter Novella
Steven Soderbergh has retired from movies — for now, at least. But while we wait for his HBO Liberace biopic to arrive, there’s a couple of recent things to remind us of his continuing greatness and furious productiveness. Firstly, his San Francisco Film Society keynote speech at the weekend drew a lot of attention for decrying the Hollywood system for destroying cinema. Via TOH, you can listen to the entire speech below. It’s a typically smart and thoughtful piece of oratory, and well worth a listen. And after that, why not start following the Bitchuation account on Twitter, where Soderbergh […]
by Nick Dawson on Apr 30, 2013 -
Seven Ways to Fail at Promoting Your Film Online (Broken Record Edition)
Since repetition in the form of rote memorization is a major element of education, I’m not going to apologize for this, one of my periodic rants on the ways in which filmmakers (and, sometimes, their publicists) fail in the promotion of their films online and through social media. I’m sure that over the years I’ve posted every one of these points before, as have other writers on our site, like Jon Reiss. But, based on my encounters with filmmakers, their films, and their websites these past few weeks, these are worth repeating. Want to decrease press interest and the size […]
by Scott Macaulay on Feb 17, 2013 -
The Microbudget Conversation: Down And Dangerous
In sticking with our “Do Your Homework” theme, this week on the conversation we dissect one aspect of the micro-budget equation – crowdfunding. As someone who is about to use Kickstarter for the first time, I felt it was best to leave you in the capable hands of someone who had not only successfully met his goal, but who doubled it. Zak Forsman is no stranger to the world of microbudget filmmaking and I love his advice on crafting a great campaign. At IFP week I heard tons of questions from filmmakers on how to wrestle the task of a […]
by John Yost on Oct 19, 2011 -
FEMALE FRIGHT DIRECTORS AND LIVE TWEETING HORROR AT SXSW
I like live tweeting panels if the panels hold up to the process, and yesterday’s “Directing the Dead 2,” here at SXSW, did. (The funny thing about live tweeting is that people entering mid-stream can become confused — as happened yesterday, I realized, as I tweeted Vikram Gandhi’s comments on religion at the Q&A for his Kumare. I’d write, “Ghandi” before his comments, and several people tweeted me Jesus quotes or passages from the Bible back.) The panelists were James Wan (Insidious), Simon Rumley (Little Deaths), Ben Wheatley (Kill List), Jacob Eisener (Hobo with a Shotgun), Nicolas Goldbart (Phase Seven), […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 15, 2011 -
THIS IS YOUR OSCAR HOST ON THE INTERNET
When it comes to James Franco’s Oscar-hosting performance, which has been described as squinty and blasé, I’m not going to pile on for two reasons. The first is that I’d suck at hosting something like this. Panels, Q&A’s, I’m fine, but hosting a nearly four-hour show, even with an amped-up cohost? My hat’s off to anyone who tries. (Especially anyone who tries with less than top-notch writing… what was up with that?) The other reason? Well, I recognize too well that frozen smile, that seemingly focused but actually distracted into-the-distance gaze. It’s not like Franco didn’t want to be there. […]
by Scott Macaulay on Feb 28, 2011 -
FLIPBOARD: FIRST TAKE
I’m finding Flipboard, a new app/web reader that launched this week, kind of cool, but I can’t tell how much I really like it yet. What Flipboard does is create on your iPad a “personal magazine,” displaying an aggregation of different feeds and channels in a design-y format. What makes it more than an aestheticized RSS reader is that it pulls in social as well, turning your Facebook and Twitter feeds into channels that you read like flipbooks. So, open the Flipboard version of your Facebook and the cover image might be a collage of Japanese movie posters that a […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jul 22, 2010 -
FILMING TWITTER
If you hate the idea of Twitter (which, for the record, I do not as I find it generally positive and useful), this video may not change your mind. Jen Oslislo has just posted the second of her videos in which her friends turn their favorite tweets into short films. (Hat tip: Daring Fireball, aka John Gruber, who contributed one of the better ones to this collection.) Twitter: The Criterion Collection, Vol II from Jen Oslislo on Vimeo.
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 20, 2010
