 
|
|
|
S21 TO LAUNCH NEW COLLABORATION
First Run Features and Human Rights Watch will collaborate to bring films dealing with human rights' issues to a wider audience. The first of their collaborative efforts is First Run's release of Rithy Panh's S21:The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine, which opens in NYC at the Film Forum on May 19th.S21 was a Cambodian prison where thousands were tortured and murdered by the Khmer Rouge after it came to power in 1975; in total, 1.75 million Cambodians were killed between 1975-1979. Director Rithy Panh, who lost his parents and a sister in the genocide, reconstructed the horrors from the testimonies of two survivers and various prison guards.
According to a jointly issued press release: "First Run Features and Human Right Watch will work together to bring the theatrical release of S21 and future titles to the attention of the public and media through joint marketing and advertising campaigns, including First Run's newly designed Community Website. The collaboration will also culminate in a new line of DVDs from First Run called 'Human Rights Watch Selects', where films will be supplemented with extra features, including background information on subject matter, information on HRW as well as how to get involved in the issues addressed."
# posted by Steve Gallagher @ 5/14/2004 05:08:41 PM Comments (1)
HBO and the New York International Latino Film Festival (NYILFF) have joined forces to host a competition for a Latino filmmaker to direct and produce a short narrative film on DV. The winning project, which will receive $15,000 towards production, will premiere at the NYILFF this July. Submission fee: $10. Deadline for entries is May 31.
# posted by Steve Gallagher @ 5/14/2004 04:29:56 PM Comments (0)
Most producers I know have their favorite teamster captains and are skilled at figuring out whose personality will mesh best with the particular needs of production. But the "teamster casting" process takes a new twist according to day's Variety, which notes that 500 New York and L.A. casting directors are formally seeking to be represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
"The casting directors and associates cite lack of health care coverage, late pay and performing uncompensated work as key issues that have driven the organizing effort," Variety writes.
The Variety article goes on to suggest that casting directors may be unhappy with their independent contractor status: "Currently, casting directors operate as independent contractors. Among the complaints: They're routinely hired for eight-week periods and then required to work two extra weeks without compensation, and they're forced to absorb such costs as office space, payroll taxes and worker's compensation insurance for their employees."
Of course, all the above applies to any small business owner, and most casting agencies are structured as small businesses, with all the negative but also positive tax and employment benefits that that designation implies.
I spoke to one casting director who pooh-poohed the effort, claiming that the rules being discussed would prevent casting agents from casting the small films that allow them to find new actors and boost their careers.
According to the article, casting directors are threatening to strike if they are not formally recognized as a bargaining unit. We'll keep you informed...
# posted by Scott Macaulay @ 5/14/2004 01:33:40 PM Comments (0)
The Virtual Doc Conference is an ongoing dialogue between filmmakers on documentary filmmaking and is facilitated by filmmaker Doug Block and the D-word online community of filmmakers throughout the world.
Upcoming dialogue, May 17-21: Sustaining a Career in Documentary with director Jonathan Stack (The Farm: Angola USA)
Register for free to ask questions during the online discussion.
# posted by Steve Gallagher @ 5/14/2004 11:54:59 AM Comments (0)
Entrance to Abu Ghraib prison, Iraq.
Electronic Iraq is a supplementary news portal from the people who brought you the Electronic Intifada (founded 2001) and veteran antiwar campaigners Voices in the Wilderness (founded 1996).
Electronic Iraq was launched on 8 February 2003 to offer a humanitarian perspective during the then-looming conflict, as the U.S. government made clear its determination to go to war against Iraq.
It was the alternative news moonshot. Before, during, and after the U.S. "Shock & Awe" bombing campaign, eIraq writers from Voices in the Wilderness's Iraq Peace Team reported on what they saw and heard via available Internet and a satellite modem connection. Visitors got a never-before-seen glimpse of war and its aftermath through the eyes of peace activists based at ground zero.
Post war, eIraq's work continues, documenting the U.S. occupation and the rebuilding of Iraq, offering a range of reportage that includes News & Analysis; Opinion/Editorial; Iraq Diaries; International Law; Aid & Development; The Media; Art, Music & Culture; and Action & Activism.
# posted by Steve Gallagher @ 5/14/2004 11:24:27 AM Comments (0)
New York Women In Film & Television (NYWIFT) will host Green Light Night, an event that gives writers, producers and filmmakers the opportunity to pitch their feature film projects to a panel of industry executives including Doreen Oliver, Lee Daniels Entertainment; Arianna Bocco and Julie Goldstein, Miramax; Merideth Finn, New Line Cinema/Fine Line Features; and Sofia Sondervan, ContentFilm.
The panel will be moderated by producer's rep Page Ostrow, president of Ostrow and Company, who has arranged financing and negotiated distribution for over 80 feature films.
No submissions are allowed at the event, but the evening's best pitch will receive consideration by all panelists and their respective companies.
Date: June 9
Time: 6-9 pm
Location: Marymount Manhattan College, Theresa Lang Theatre, 221 East 71st St. (b/ Second and Third Avenues)
Cost: general admission $40; IFP/NY members receive a $10 discount.
Tickets or call 212.679.0870 x0
# posted by Steve Gallagher @ 5/14/2004 10:32:03 AM Comments (1)
PROJECT GREENLIGHT'S TOP 10 DIRECTORS
Project Greenlight has announced the top 10 directors in this year's contest. Videos created by the directors can also be viewed at the PGL site.
The top 3 finalists will be announced on June 29, and a winner will be crowned July 14.
# posted by Steve Gallagher @ 5/13/2004 03:53:50 PM Comments (0)
A scene from Fahrenheit 9/11: Michael Moore is stopped by the secret service outside the Saudi Arabian embassy in Washington, D.C.
Miramax toppers Harvey and Bob Weinstein has been given the greenlight to privately buy back the rights to Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 from Disney, ending speculation about the fate of Michael Moore's latest film, at least for now. (The film, which premiers this Monday in competition at the Festival de Cannes, has yet to secure a U.S. distributor.)
"We are very happy that Disney has agreed to allow Bob and Harvey to buy back the company's entire financial interest in Fahrenheit 9/11," Miramax senior vp of corporate communications Matthew Hilzik is quoted as saying in Variety.
Disney had previously vetoed the release of the film, saying "it was not appropriate for Disney, a family entertainment company, to be the distributor of a politically charged movie in an election year." (However, as Moore has since pointed out, Disney and its various TV and radio channels do air programs featuring Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and Pat Robertson.)
Fahrenheit 9/11 is reportedly critical of President Bush's handling of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and connects the Bush family with Osama Bin Laden's.
Meanwhile, Michael Moore complains on his Web site: "This morning, a columnist for The Wall Street Journal -- who has not seen the film -- has decided, instead, to review a 'synopsis' of the film. That's right, a 'synopsis' from a fax of an early version of a press release someone gave him from the studio. Based on this, he accuses the film of being inaccurate. But guess what? Everything he says about the film in his column is completely false. I mean, seriously, NOTHING of what he describes is in the film!
"Most real journalists would be embarrassed to do such a thing. What's next -- 'I can't see the film, I can't see the synopsis -- so I'm reviewing the poster!' I worry that Fahrenheit 9/11 is already driving otherwise sane people to lunacy."
# posted by Steve Gallagher @ 5/13/2004 10:36:38 AM Comments (0)
Agent Mike Lubin has rejoined the William Morris Agency, his home for eight years before he left for the Gersh Agency in 2000. You may remember that we blogged his abrupt departure from Gersh a few weeks ago and wondered where he'd wind up. According to Variety, such indie directors as Nicole Kassell, Rose Troche, Debra Granik and Alan Taylor will be travelling to WMA with him.
# posted by Scott Macaulay @ 5/13/2004 03:58:41 AM Comments (0)
NBC UNIVERSAL
As reported by Reuters today: "Vivendi Universal Entertainment and NBC have completed their merger to create NBC Universal, a media and entertainment giant with expected 2005 revenues of $15 billion, the companies said Wednesday.
"The deal between VUE, the movie studio and television wing of France's Vivendi Universal, and NBC, the U.S. television arm of General Electric Co. ... is part of Vivendi's plan to restructure after expansion in the 1990s brought it to its knees.
"GE will own 80 percent of NBC Universal and Vivendi Universal the remaining 20 percent. Vivendi Universal will have the right from 2006 to sell its stake over time at fair market value, the statement said.
"The new company's assets range from television networks such as NBC, Telemundo, USA Network and CNBC to film studios Universal Pictures and interests in five theme parks including Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando."
# posted by Steve Gallagher @ 5/12/2004 03:55:18 PM Comments (0)
Sony's new Playstation Portable
According to Daily Variety, Sony and Nintendo "both revealed new mobile gaming devices Tuesday as vidgame pros from around the world converged on Los Angeles for the 10th annual E3 confab, which opens today.
"Sony's new device, the Playstation Portable (PSP), will be of particular interest to Hollywood, since it plays video and audio content along with games."
From the E3 Web site: Nintendo's new handheld device, code-named DS, "will offer backwards compatibility with Game Boy Advance as well as a new bay for new DS games. Two wireless communications protocols allow up to 16 people to play up to 100 feet apart, as well as across the internet via Wi-Fi. The console is controlled through Game Boy-style buttons and cross, as well as a new touch-screen interface that works with a stylus or your finger.""As Nintendo is fond of pointing out, they are the undisputed kings of the portable gaming world," writes Eric Bangeman at Ars Technica, "and they hope to continue their dominance with the Nintendo DS. As widely rumored, the DS indeed has two screens, one of which is touch-sensitive. A demo given at the announcement showed an example of how developers could use the two screens: the DS version of Metroid had a map on one screen and a first-person view on the other, and another picture of the device shows a Mario Brothers game using the dual displays in a similar fashion. In addition, games can be programmed to span images and scenes across the two displays and is programmable in either 2D or 3D.
"Other features of the DS include built-in Bluetooth support, WiFi, two media bays, and a microphone for voice control. The Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity are intended primarily for head-to-head gaming, and the DS will support up to 16 players going head-to-head. One of the two media bays is for GameBoy Advance games, so there should be full backwards compatibility for the DS. Numerous third-party vendors have promised support for the DS, including Sega, Activision, and Atari. Questions remain about the true usability of the dual screen (is it more of a gimmick than something that makes the gaming experience better?), battery life, and the controls not being particularly friendly to southpaws. Pricing is expected to be in the US $150 range and availability is expected by year end (read: holiday shopping season) in the US and Japan, with Europe and Australia seeing shipments in 1Q 2005.
"Touted as the 'Walkman of the 21st Century' by father of the PlayStation Ken Kutargi, the Sony PSP does more than just play video games. In addition to its primary purpose, the PSP can be used for listening to music or watching video on its 4.3" widescreen LCD (480x272 resolution). The PSP measures 6.7" x 2 .9" x 0.9" and sports the same button layout as the PS2 controller. Connectivity comes via USB 2.0, 802.11b, and IrDA. In addition, it has a Memory Stick slot and can be controlled via an infrared remote. The guts of the PSP include 32MB of system RAM, 4MB of embedded DRAM, a 333MHz CPU (proprietary), a Li-ion battery with 2.5 hours of usage for video and 8-10 hours for gaming/audio, and Sony's Universal Media Disc (1.8GB) for media. The choice of optical media for the games over cartridges is an odd one, especially given Sony's poor track record with the PlayStation2 and the increased battery demands over cartridges. The PSP will be available in Japan for the 2004 holiday season and in US and Europe in early 2005. Pricing has not yet been announced, but it speculated that it will be around US$ 50-100 more than the DS."
"Handheld gaming is [still] a relatively small size of the gaming market, generating just $750 million in hardware sales and two of the top games in the $11.2 billion videogame industry last year. But it's a space totally dominated by Nintendo," echoes Ben Fritz in Variety. "Company execs said they expect to lose some market share among dedicated gamers to the PSP, which features a larger screen and better graphics, but that they hope to maintain the lead among younger and casual players."
In a related gaming report from E3:, CNN.com reports, "Nekkid people are coming to a video game near you. Some will be funny. Some will be sexy. And some will be just plain raunchy. At least three games on display at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo (better known as E3, the annual trade show of the gaming industry) feature characters frolicking au naturale -- with two of those introducing sexual elements."
# posted by Steve Gallagher @ 5/12/2004 11:40:36 AM Comments (1)
THE BUYING GAME
IndieWIRE has posted an updated version of its Guide to Acquisitions online.
Profiling "the people who attend festivals (in addition to other events) scouting for projects that will fit their respective companies' distribution goals," the updated list includes: Udy Epstein (7th Art Releasing), Jason Resnick (Focus Features), Sarah Lash (IFC Films), Jason Constantine (Lions Gate Films), Eammon Bowles and Tom Quinn (Magnoia Pictures), Matt Brodie (Miramax), Bob Berney (Newmarket), David Koh (Palm Pictures), Ruth Vitale and David Dinerstein (Paramount Pictures), Doug Witkins (Picture This Entertainment), Howard Cohen and Eric d'Arbeloff (Roadside Attractions), Dylan Leiner (Sony Pictures Classics), Marcus Hu (Strand Releasing), Daniel Katz (ThinkFilm), Richard Wolff (TLA Releasing), Jack Turner (United Artists), Paul Federbush (Warner Independent Pictures), Marie Therese Guirgis and Rob Williams (Wellspring Media), and Emily Russo (Zeigeist Films).
# posted by Steve Gallagher @ 5/11/2004 04:07:15 PM Comments (0)
vyZ Music has launched a Web site to promote its new movie, NOVUS (short for Novus Ordo Seclorum -- New Order of the Ages), an experimental documentary celebrating the achievements of one of the world's greatest inventors, Nikola Tesla.This off-the-wall film is described in a press release as follows: "NOVUS paints an inspiring, yet highly controversial, picture of Tesla's most incredible invention, which was his greatest secret: the flying saucer. Do flying saucers really exist? Did Tesla really invent them? Are they humanity's greatest invention? What about free unlimited energy? The playful combination of Mother Goose nursery rhymes, pirate cartoons, Superman, UFO mythology, black-hole astronomy and investigative journalism, evoke a trailblazing tale of the past 100 years with an optimistic vision of the future. While avoiding the cliche of 'New World Order' conspiracy theory, the film does 'connect the dots' to the genius of Tesla and the real possibility that we can create a better world: A New Order of the Ages."
Personally, I am looking forward to Ken Russell's Charged: The Life of Nikola Tesla, from a script by Ljiljana Kojic-Bogdanovich and Katarina Bogdanovich, reportedly starring Paul Rhys and featuring music by Michael Nyman. (Russell dismissed rumors that Jack Nicholson -- who at one point had optioned the rights to Margaret Cheney's Tesla biography -- had been cast to play Tesla, as the actor was "too old".)
According to The Sunday Telegraph, the family of Thomas Edison are unhappy with Russell's plans to depict Tesla's arch rival as a ruthless sadist who encouraged NY prison authorities to use Tesla's alternating current (AC) to carry out the country's first electrocution of a death row prisoner.
Previously called Tesla & Katharine, Ken Russell's film, still in pre-production, deals primarily "with aspects of [Tesla's] private life based on his correspondence with close friends, Robert Johnson, poet and editor of the magazine Century, and his wife Katharine, in New York during [the] 1890s. This is [the] story of [a] complex and delicate triangular relationship, and Tesla and Katharine's love."
Although Tesla did have a close relationship with J.P. Morgan's daughter, Ann Morgan, who Jean Strouse once told me she suspected was a lesbian, perhaps Russell has discovered information that Tesla's biographers -- who generally support the claim that he was asexual -- previously overlooked... or perhaps Tesla's "greatest secret" remains his invention of the flying saucer!
# posted by Steve Gallagher @ 5/11/2004 01:22:32 PM Comments (0)
Threshold Digital Research Labs' Lady X
The always interesting Ratchet Up has posted an item about Threshold Digital Research Labs, a company described as "next generation Pixar."
TDRL recently teamed with IBM "to create CG films that can be produced at the same speed as a traditional film and at roughly half the cost of past CG features. Or at least that's their claim, and IBM is buying it. Literally."
# posted by Steve Gallagher @ 5/11/2004 10:49:37 AM Comments (0)
CLAUDE CAHUN
A rare exhibition of a complete collection of photomontages by Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore opened May 7 at Studio 1347, 601 W. 26th Street, in NYC. After a three-day preview, the exhibit moves to Pool New York, 450 W. 24th Street, #1EE, where viewings can be scheduled by appointment (917-257-0207) from May 10-28.The exhibition is organized by Alix Umen, who is currently working on a feature film, I am in Training Don't Kiss Me, inspired by the life of Claude Cahun. The film, which screened as a work-in-progress at the IFP Market this past fall, follows Cahun as she and her lover/stepsister Suzanne Malherbe (a k a Marcel Moore) become involved in the Surrealist movement.
Born in 1894, Cahun, the daughter of a prominent Jewish newspaper publisher in the French port city of Nantes, was a "poet, essayist, literary critic, novelist, translator, comedienne, 'constructor and explorer of objects,' and revolutionary activist" who gained renown for advocating sexual and intellectual freedom in her polemical prose and for a series of photographic self-portraits in which she often appeared in masks, costumes and wigs.Cahun and Moore moved to the Channel Islands in 1937, where they became active in the resistance against the German Occupation of Jersey. They were eventually arrested by the Gestapo in 1944 and remained in prison until the liberation of Jersey in 1945.
According to the Video Databank catalogue, "Alix Umen grew up in the midwest and early on discovered the differences between boys and girls. With a dislike for the conventional, she often cut her Barbie dolls' hair short and made G.I. Joe wear dresses. She has attended the Minnesota College of Art and Design and the University of Minnesota. She made her directorial debut with Mad About the Boy."
# posted by Steve Gallagher @ 5/10/2004 04:55:26 PM Comments (0)
From DW Hudson at Green Cine Daily, the best film blog on the Web, comes an interesting post on May 9 about Criterion's plans to issue a box set of five films by John Cassavetes, placing the company squarely in the middle of a blood feud between Gena Rowlands and Ray Carney over Carney's recent discovery of a print of the original version of Shadows.
# posted by Steve Gallagher @ 5/10/2004 10:34:20 AM Comments (0)
back to top
home page | subscribe | merchandise | history | order form | advertise | contact
archives | links | search
© 2004 Filmmaker: The Magazine of Independent Film