Filmmaker

These both look great - I wish I were able to make either screening this weekend!BALLAST followed by Q&A with writer/director Lance HammerSaturday and Sunday, 10/4 and 10/5 at the Film ForumAfter 8:00 PM showsA young boy drifts through the spare flatlands of a wintry Mississippi township and a middle-aged man sits in his rural home, frozen in grief after his brother’s suicide. These striking ima

CHICAGO – The “mumblecore” movement, which is the made-on-digital-video movie revolution, has two significant practitioners: filmmaker brothers Mark Duplass and Jay Duplass. Lauded in 2006 at Film Independent’s Spirit Awards for their first feature entitled “The Puffy Chair,” the Duplass brothers have their first major feature release in “Baghead”. It’s a funny send-up of “Frid

New Delhi, July 7 (IANS) Meet Sonam Tsetan, one of the many young Tibetan filmmakers living in exile outside their country, who is trying to redefine the political turbulence in Tibet through his lens and narrative.

CHICAGO – Chicago filmmaker Jerry Vasilatos says “no copyright infringement is intended” by his shoestring-budgeted short film “The Dark Knight Project,” which he announced to HollywoodChicago.com in the middle of the night on June 13, 2008. The timing is but hours before the June 14 and June 15, 2008 shoot this weekend. Asserting he’s not looking to get rich or famous with the effort

Operation Filmmaker, Rated: NR, Opens: 06/04/2008Follows Baghdad film student, Muthana Mohmed, who Liev Schreiber invited to join the production of "Everything Is Illuminated" after his film school was bombed. Link - Feed (1 subs) Sent using SendMeRss.com. Visit here to unsubscribe from Hollywood.com Entertainment. Recommended Feeds/Actions Subscribe DealMeRSS.com -

Operation Filmmaker, Rated: NR, Opens: 06/04/2008Follows Baghdad film student, Muthana Mohmed, who Liev Schreiber invited to join the production of "Everything Is Illuminated" after his film school was bombed. Link - Feed (2 subs) Sent using SendMeRss.com. Visit here to unsubscribe from Hollywood.com - New Movies this. Recommended Feeds/Actions Subscribe DealMeRSS.c

This is a style that stays aside all the other music trends. Not aside, but somewhat deeper. The reason is it is a reflection of the race, the plurality of people united by roots and origin. Rap is the culture of Afro-Americans, the continuation of their language and traditions. Rap is a mixture of speech and music, actually it is speech laid on music or beat it’s better to say. And when we clai

We See : Director: Tapa Bhowmik Synopsis: A touching film about children's rights made by a 13 year old filmmaker. The film explores the issue of child exploitation throughout the world and offers a positive vision for our future. This film is created, directed and acted by children at the Muktaneer Boys' Shelter in Kolkata, India.

New Delhi, May 18 (IANS) Environmental and wildlife filmmaker Mike Hari Pandey, who has won three Green Oscars for his documentaries, is more preoccupied with the state of the country's water resources and rural health now.

Go read. In case any of you don't remember, Liberal filmmaker and general mouth piece of the Communist, Socialist, Liberal movement in America, produced a film called "Fahrenheit 9/11" in which he attempted to lay the blame for the 9/11 terrorist attacks at the feet of President George W. Bush. He also made a film called "Sicko", No, it wasn't his autobiography. However, it

Mumbai, (IANS) Bollywood’s glam girl Sameera Reddy, who worked with Bengali filmmaker Buddhadeb Das Gupta in “Kaalpurush”, says he has changed her into a serious actor. “Dada (Buddhadeb) has made me an actor. He has taught me everything about acting. He has turned me into a serious actor. I consider him as my mentor. ‘Kalpurush’ has [...]

Wedding Day is een bruid, de grootste dag en ze houdt van te heroveren elk moment van het af en toe over haar leven. Geen paar wil belasten met het filmen van hun huwelijk tot een slordige filmmaker, maar alleen aan de beste professionals. Sommige van de kwaliteiten die ze moeten zoeken in een filmmaker [...]

April 1, Channel News AsiaJAKARTA: Indonesia's president has urged the mainly Muslim nation not to resort to violence in protests against an anti-Islamic film, and barred the Dutch filmmaker behind it from entering the country.President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono also said the screening of "Fitna", which has sparked several protests here since its release on the Internet last Thursday, would be banned in the former Dutch colony."I am asking (Indonesians) not to engage in actions such as destruction, violence and sweepings (harassing foreigners), because Islam and the other religions forbid violence and it is also against the law," Yudhoyono told journalists late Monday.The 17-minute film features imagery of the attacks on New York in 2001 and Madrid in 2004 combined with quotes from the Kora

CHICAGO – Welcome to a new HollywoodChicago.com column called CineOnSceneChicago. “Cine” is a French word derived from “cinematograph,” is pronounced like its connector word “scene” and roughly means “moving picture”. Our goal is to present a moving picture of the Chicago film scene and have fun with it, too. The debut focuses on Chicago filmmaker Darryl Roberts. The CineOnSceneChicago mission is to celebrate and communicate the Chicago “scene” in “cine” (moving pictures). This involves the people, places and film traditions of Chicago in all its glory and infamy through the use of interviews, overviews and historical perspective. The column also serves the Chicago film buff by highlighting where the action is whether through showcasing special screenings, TV sc

CHICAGO – Adi Refaeli, who’s currently touring the U.S. with her short film debut “Empathy,” has taken a circuitous route to the finished project. Born and raised in Tel Aviv, Israel, she spent three years in Toyko to start a family. All the while, she never let go of her interest to pursue filmmaking. When she returned to Tel Aviv, she completed “Empathy” as a student project. Its power and purpose, though, has caught the attention of film festivals all around the world and has won at the Jerusalem International Film Festival and the Syracuse International Film Festival. “Empathy” by writer and director Adi Refaeli.Photo credit: Other Israel Film Festival “Empathy” has often been described as an Israeli version of the 2006 best-picture Oscar winner “Crash”. Ref

In Stu Maschwitz' excellent manual, The DV Rebel's Guide, he points out that the little movie guy has something the giant Hollywood studio does not: all the time in the world. The small player can utilize this resource by refining and polishing and tweaking ad nauseum. This is an advantage if you want to spend an eternity on each project, but what if you want to avoid burnout or attempt to make a living at this sort of thing?In a recent Renart Films Podcast, host Daniel Schechter interviewed Josh Alexander, writer of Backseat. It was a good interview, but I find it alarming at the time it takes to get even a low budget film completed through traditional methods. Josh wrote his script in 2000, and the final product is just now getting a limited release in theaters. That's EIGHT YEARS for o

Cashback (http://www.cashbackthemovie.com/) is so cool, so visually appealing and so damn good, I can still remember many of the scenes until now. It's been more than a week since I watched it. - - - - - - Says Ellis: I think I was always a frustrated filmmaker who worked in the medium of photography… I think these days it’s become easier to become a filmmaker because with the invention of high def or home video or DV cameras. If you’ve got an idea for a story, you can pretty much go and shoot it. Whereas fifteen or twenty years ago people weren’t into looking at home video films. I have the same feeling and gush of emotions when I watched Ditto Montiel (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1996918)'s 'A Guide to Recognizing your Saints' another awesome movie from another young filmmaker who really made waves with his film.

By: Sid Kali When I first got into screenwriting I was told to read Aristotle's Poetics, Syd Field's Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting, Lew Hunter's Screenwriting 434, and host of other books by brilliant people that I devoured religiously. I was a regular at screenwriting workshops, took classes, and felt very much the screenwriter despite not having wrote any part of a script. It's like a fighter that always trains, but never gets in the ring to go to war. In theory I knew what to do. In practice I was unproven. It's like you really never know if you can take a punch until you've been clipped on the chin. My mind was clogged thinking about three act structures, plot points, paradigms, story arch, and writing detailed biographies for characters. Writing a script was much more involved than just sitting at your computer typing fade in, then fade out. But I was fired up to a write a script that was high concept, smart, and followed all the advice I had taken in.I scanne

The deadline has been extended for the Underground Filmmaker Festival orchestrated by one of my favourite media hosting sites Underground Film - the latest press statement I received from them says ..."As more films come in and more sponsors come on board with more awards, we have decided to extend the festival deadline and move our screening to January 31st.I would like to invite you to submit your films to the Undergroundfilm Maker Festival, a new way to celebrate film. Seagate Technologies is offering a Grand Prize of $5000 and Current TV will give winners the opportunity to have their work broadcast to 40 million cable TV subscribers. There is no entry fee.The UGFMF is a filmmaker-centered festival. To enter, you must submit a portfolio at least two films, old or new. The best portfolios will go to the next round, where the filmmakers will complete a videotaped interview and a short film assignment. Finalists will have their films, interviews and assignments screened at the Roxi

We recently learned about filmmakers David Meiklejohn and Davy Rothbart and their project “My Heart is an Idiot”. It’s a documentary in progress that’s partially using the Internet as its director.Meiklejohn, who’s actually directing, is publishing video chunks weekly at the film’s Web site for feedback, criticism and the submission of “great ideas we can steal and make millions from,” he jests.The film’s Web site is here. The film’s MySpace is here. I have embedded the first video chunk below.“My Heart is an Idiot” is about love through the lens of a 32-year-old man who doesn’t know what he wants in a relationship. The filmmakers hope the experience will help viewers learn to “love better”.The film is currently in post-production, which means Meiklejohn “spends more time in front of a computer than out in sunlight with normal people”.He’s soliciting the online community because he says “working for 12 hours a day in a basement by myself gets …

Last week I read a blog post over at Pronet Advertising called Learning from Netflix's Rules for Success. It basically took the Netfilx mission statement and related it to becoming a better blogger. It was a good post, and I did learn from it. I also saw value in applying it to movie making purposes. Not only the Netflix stuff, but the Pronet comments as well.The following is my own take on how we can use the "Netflix Eight" to make our productions even better.1. Netflix Delights PeopleSurround your project with quality talent, who are better at their given job than you are. This will discourage micromanaging (which keeps your crew happy), and allow you to focus more on directing. The ultimate delight will come from your audience when they see, and are impressed by, the final product.2. We're democratizing movie distributionThink about new ways to get your work out there. Create an online serial that will keep viewers returning to your site for weekly or daily updates. Make your crea

James Chean kicking back at the Asian Film Market in Korea.A few reasons why we need to listen to the tales of woe to go from our fellow filmmakers is to keep our creative lives in perspective, to be inspired, to reconfigure our own strategies, to troubleshoot and learn from those who have broken molds or may be able to give us tips, if not more importantly hope, in producing our own scripts.James Chean has been busy making films for the last thirty years. Ten years ago James had a script, "Silent Scream" he was shopping around for funding, but no-one was giving him a break, so James came to that inevitable conclusion that if no-one was willing to pick up his idea and run with it, he would produce it himself. That is why he started up KYC, a self contained production company that housed a 35mm camera, HD camera, and HD editing gear. That is the very basic tools of production, from which he could then concentrate on all the other fiddly bits of filmmaking.James didn't have enough fundi

Coke zero , Coca-Cola’s Real Taste, Zero Sugar soft drink, has a new website that allows you to make your own short film and send it to friends. It’s as easy as typing in your own dialog to match one of the five old movie clips they’ve made available for your use. You can choose from a wife preparing her husband to leave the home, a man defending his actions of the night before, a woman signing an unknown contract, a couple sharing a secret or a young man publicly humiliating his young lady. You simply choose which clip you’d like to use, enter a name, type in your dialog, and enter the email address(es) of the friends you’d like to send the movie to. It will also be added to the “Get A Taste Of Life As It Should Be” website for other visitors to watch and vote on it. Sure, it’s not exactly On The Lot, but it’s still a fun way to kill a few minutes on the web. none

Dear OSA friends and supporters: Aaron Russo, the freedom-loving filmmaker responsible for “America: Freedom to Fascism,” passed away yesterday after a long and courageous battle with cancer. I loved Aaron Russo and feel like the ground has been kicked out from under me at the news of his passing. I pray that he finds rest and reward for his efforts. Aaron’s family has asked that all cards and support via US Post be sent to: All Your Freedoms, Inc. P.O. Box #1213 264 South La Cienega Blvd. Beverly Hills, California 90211 If you wish to send support to the family in the form of a financial gift please do so via this link (CLICK HERE) or by visiting http://www.russomedicalfund.com/.  All funds go to Aaron’s family. If you wish to post a message online please visit, “Tributes to Aaron’s life and legacy” at this link: http://restoretherepublic.com/forum/index.php?topic=1518.0 If you have not yet seen “America: Freedom

A Nintendo short-film depicting Wii at the center of a cosmic battle between benevolent and malevolent forces earned top honors at the inaugural Nintendo Short Cuts Showcase. The winner, New York-based filmmaker Jack Paccione Jr., gets $10,000 in cash to put towards his next film, a Wii system, a Nintendo DS Lite, Nintendo games and a “power lunch” with Tribeca Film Festival co-founder Craig Hatkoff. His flim, called Good vs Wiivil, will also get an exclusive screening, along with the second and third-place winners as part of the Tribeca Drive-In Short Film Series at Top of the Rock, at the Observation Deck at Rockefeller Center. The open-call competition invited aspiring filmmakers to flex their creative skills by creating a three-to-five-minute Nintendo-themed video or film. New York-based filmmaker Jack Paccione Jr. wowed festival judges with his short featuring a hapless ice cream shop worker whose actions are controlled by dueling Wii Remotes. The 10 finalists can be

When people talk about the New Orleans Saints they ask about quarterback Drew Brees or running back Reggie Bush or NFL Coach of the Year Sean Payton. Me? I want to know about Mark Campbell. He’s the team’s tight end, and my curiosity has nothing to do with what Campbell did for the Saints last season. No, it’s more about what he did for the Saints — and the people of New Orleans — after the season ended. < more…

One of Italy’s greatest post-war filmmakers, Luigi Comencini has dies at the age of 90. Rome’s mayor, Walter Veltroni released a statement describing Comencini as, “A master, one of the (more…) ---Related Articles at In Entertainment:Anna Nicole Smith DiesIan Richardson Dies aged 72Derek Waring dies at 79Novelist Dibdin diesSongwriter Ray Evans dies

Meet Josh Forbes, Los Angeles filmmaker. Josh directs music videos for independent music artists.He is one-half of the force behind the Winch and Pulley production Co.COLD WAR KIDSHAIR DOWN videoRyan (RSL): Wow. That's a tremendous video! How did you get involved with the Cold War Kids?Josh Forbes: Thanks. I went to college for a couple years with Matt Maust (the bassist and graphic design guru for the band). We were never really friends, and to be honest he kind of scared me. He was super punk rock. MM: CWK Bassist, Graphic Artist, Intimidator. Carl Ernst photo for the Cold War Kids webpageJF: I was friends with Matt's older brother Dave, who's in the band Havalina ( link ), and I had Dave star in the first video I directed for the band Thee Spivies ( link ). At some point along the way I got to know Matt and started bugging him to do some design stuff for me, back when his design company was called Cold War Kids. When the band started up, I started bugging him to let me do a vide

The Washington Post went to the NY ComicCon, and found there filmmaker Deepak Chopra, who wants to make some made-for-movie superheroes, but who also had this to say:Chopra is outside a Coffee Bean in Santa Monica, Calif., where he's drinking a cup of coffee containing two scoops of white chocolate powder. ("It's my own concoction," he says.) He sounds like a guy living the sweet life. He's just come from a two-hour workout, which included weight training and yoga, and he's taking the rest of the day off.As he tells it, he isn't in this comics thing just to make a few bucks off a major motion picture. No, he's thinking way bigger than that. He believes comic books can bridge cultural gaps, including the yawning maw that stands between the United States and its enemies."Kids all over the world are reading comic books," he says, "and if we could create a transcultural hero that appeals to kids in countries like Iran and Syria, that could have a huge impact. We've even made a propo

Lance Weiler is one of the guys who brought us The Last Broadcast (1998), a faux documentary about a killer in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. Last year he self-distributed his latest feature Head Trauma, to seventeen theaters across the country, followed by a prompt DVD release. A master of web promotion, Weiler has as wealth of knowledge and wants to share it--which makes him even

Nokia Nseries has joined hands with Bollywood filmmaker Subhash Ghai’s Whistling Woods International (WWI), a film institute and Mediamatics Entertainment Private Limited to announce Nokia Nseries Film Awards. It will provide a platform to wannabe filmmakers to showcase their talent through Nokia’s latest model N93i, which will allow the users to shoot a film, edit it [...]

Two local actresses of Indian-origin have protested against an advertisement brought out by a Bollywood production house here seeking “white males and females” as junior artistes for a movie being shot here alleging that it amounted to racial discrimination. Assia Khan and Shirdika Pillay had responded to an advertisement in a local newspaper seeking “good-looking white [...]

Two local actresses of Indian-origin have protested against an advertisement brought out by a Bollywood production house here seeking “white males and females” as junior artistes for a movie being shot here alleging that it amounted to racial discrimination. Assia Khan and Shirdika Pillay had responded to an advertisement in a local newspaper seeking “good-looking white [...]

Jackson, Mississippi: When Keith Beauchamp, an African American teenager tried interracial dating, his parents told him a tale of Emmett Till who was killed for whistling at a woman of white origin. The story of Till was sealed in the mind of Beauchamp and when he became a filmmaker in ...