Archive for April, 2004
Friday, April 30th, 2004
On Hollywood films and also those by conscientious independents, the American Humane Association is brought in by the production to “monitor animal activity” when animals are featured on the set. But as producers know, the AHA isn’t just there to protect the lives of the animals — the organization also serves to protect the sensibilities of the performers. Case in point: John C. Reilly reportedly walked off the set of Lars von Triers’ new Mandalay in protest after the production slaughtered an “old and sick” donkey on the set.
Animal slaughter is nothing new in contemporary filmmaking. Gaspar Noe’s Carne, the precursor to his I Stand Alone, opens with the killing of a horse in a French abbatoir, a single-shot scene that is clearly real. A similar event, also at a slaughterhouse, occurs in Barbet Schroeder’s s/m drama Maitresse. There’s that ending spectacle, which looks awfully real, in Apocalypse Now. And of course, the death of a donkey — although most probably staged — is the final transcendent moment of Robert Bresson’s Au Hasard Balthazar. Whether our favorite filmmaking Dane is emulating the shock of Noe and Schoeder or the spirituality of Bresson will have to be seen.
Commented Peter Aalbaek Jensen, executive producer with Zentropa films, to the Ritzau news service about the scene, “As it was explained to me from Sweden, everything went by the book and the entire process was monitored by a veterinarian. We were very conscientious about that, because we didn’t want 70,000 American animal rights groups on our back. (With regards to the above link, what’s with PETA? Their spokesperson went from Pam Anderson to Bea Arthur?)
Last we checked, the animal rights movement is essentially a global one, but still, it’s unlikely that Jensen’s veterinary Kevorkian will find much work in Hollywood. The Screen Actor’s Guild requires that SAG films sign an agreement with the AHA, an agreement that gets the producer a friendly AHA rep who hangs out and watches the animal scenes. In turn, good behavior by the production gets it that AHA logo that pops … Read the rest
Friday, April 30th, 2004
Beginning May 19, MediaRights’ fourth annual Media That Matters Film Festival presents a unique lineup of high-impact shorts online, on DVD, and at events throughout the U.S. This year the festival features a special program called the Just Media Project honoring the work of two media democracy pioneers with awards, profiles, films and a resource guide.
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) has launched a national competition to create the best 30-second TV commercial advocating same-sex marriage equality. GLAAD plans to broadcast the winning commercial across the country. The submission deadline for the “I Do” contest is June 1, 2004.
The winner, to be announced on July 12, will be chosen by a jury that includes writer Kevin Williamson (Scream), comedian Margaret Cho (Notorious C.H.O.), producer Craig Zadan (Chicago), director Jane Anderson (If These Walls Could Talk 2), actor Judith Light (Who’s the Boss?), director Paris Barclay (The West Wing), writer/actor Heather Juergensen (Kissing Jessica Stein), and producer Bruce Cohen (American Beauty), among others.
MediaLiquid, a New Haven-based corporation run by recent Yale graduates committed to helping companies find cost-effective ways to communicate their messages to TV, film and online audiences, has partnered with The America Prepared Campaign, Inc., to launch a nationwide contest for the best short films that “support the work already begun by the Department of Homeland Security’s ‘Ready Campaign’ to give Americans useful recommendations for preparing their homes and families for another terrorist attack.”
Miramax co-chairman Harvey Weinstein, who sits on the board of The America Prepared Campaign, an organization led by entrepreneur and journalist Steven Brill, will determine the winning entries. The contest begins today and the deadline for submissions is August 4, 2004. The winning films, which will share $10,000 in prize money, will be announced in September, after which they will be broadcast on the America Prepared Web site. Details can found at MediaLiquid.com.
… Read the rest
Wednesday, April 28th, 2004
The remaining two sidebars of the Festival de Cannes — Quinzaine des Realisateurs (Directors’ Fortnight) and Semaine Internationale de la Critique (International Critics’ Week) — were announced this week.
Among the American films in Directors’ Fortnight are Jonathan Caouette’s Tarnation, Nicole Kassell’s The Woodsman and Jacob Aaron’s Mean Creek, each of which premiered at Sundance earlier this year, and the world premiere of Asia Argento’s adaptation of J.T. Leroy’s The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things.
In addition, the Festival announced a new section, Cannes Classics, which will present restored and new prints of classic films together with a series of tributes.
The inaugural Cannes Classics includes the world premiere of the short film Lo Sguardo di Michelangelo (The Gaze of Michelangelo) by Michelangelo Antonioni, as well as restored prints of Blow Up, Ralph Thomas’s Deadlier than the Male (1966), which will be screened on the beach with Quentin Tarantino in attendance, Samuel Fuller’s The Big Red One (1980), Robert Bresson’s Pickpocket (1959), Carl Th. Dreyer’s Ordet (1955), Gillo Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers (1965), with Pontecorvo in attendance, and Tony Richardson’s The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, among others.
The festival will also present a tribute to Brazil’s Cinema Novo movement, a series of film by Buster Keaton, and several documentaries about filmmaking, including La fantome de Henri Langlois, about the co-founder of the Cinematheque Francais.
… Read the rest
Tuesday, April 27th, 2004
Seeking financing for your script? Completion funds for your work-in-progress? Trying to sell your doc? Looking to expand your contact list?
The IFP Market is a great place to begin: the only place in the U.S. to introduce new work to an industry-only audience of sales companies, distributors, festival programmers, television buyers, producers, and agents from the U.S. and abroad.
An essential networking opportunity, IFP Market programs connect you directly with the industry reps you need to know to get your work financed, completed and distributed.
If you seek financing or sales for your script or work-in-progress, this is the place to start.
MORE THAN $150,000 IN AWARDS
$150,000 in cash and prizes include a $100,000 completion package for a narrative work-in-progress; two $10,000 cash awards for African-American filmmakers and other awards.
SUBMISSION DEADLINES
May 10:
-Emerging Narrative Scripts
-No Borders International Co-Production Market
May 28:
-Emerging Narrative Works-in-Progress & Shorts
-Spotlight on Documentaries
SUBMISSION & REGISTRATION FEES
-Submission: $40-$50
-Registration: $200-$450 (paid on acceptance)
-Students attend free
INFORMATION & APPLICATIONS
-September 19-24, New York City
-Apply Online: http://www.ifp.org
-Info: MarketReg@ifp.org or 212-465-8200 x207… Read the rest
Monday, April 26th, 2004
Thanks to David Poland and his Hot Button for posting this link to the Holy Grail of underground videos: Todd Haynes’s Barbie-doll-epic Superstar. The Illegal Art organization, which highlights and exhibits works that tangle with and illuminate the complexities and inequities of copyright law, has posted a downloadable copy of Haynes’s hard-to-find first film. The 43-minute work draws on the same Sirkian influences displayed in his more recent Far from Heaven in telling the tragic tale of anorexic pop diva Karen Carpenter. And while you’re there, check out the rest of the site, which features work by Joe Gibbons, Negativeland and others.
Walter Yetnikoff, author of the recent biography Howling at the Moon, knows something about superstars, having signed artists like Bruce Springsten, the Clash and Barbara Streisand to CBS Records in the late ’70s through early ’90s. Last issue in Filmmaker we reported on the new company, A Record Commotion, Yetnikoff set up with veteran music supervisor Tracy McKnight. Dedicated to music soundtracks, the company is releasing the soundtrack to Tony Kalem’s A Slipping Down Life, David Holmes’s score to Michael Winterbottom’s Code 46, and a compilation of composer Nathan Larson’s work from films like Storytelling, High Art, and First Love, Last Rites. The company went online today with a new Web site. Check it out and note the call to e-mail them the name of your favorite unavailable movie soundtrack — they’ll try to track it down and release it!
… Read the rest
Monday, April 26th, 2004
The Nantucket Film Festival, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), and FILMMAKER magazine will present a screening of Brad Anderson‘s The Machinist, featuring Christian Bale and Jennifer Jason-Leigh, at the MFA on Sunday, May 9, 2004 at 7:00 PM.
The film, which will be released by Paramount Classics later this year, stars Bale as an insominac factory machinest. His lack of sleep leads to his physical and mental deterioration. (Bale reportedly lost 65 lbs. to play the part.)
Although Scott Kosar’s (Texas Chainsaw Massacre) script is set in California, the film was financed by Barcelona-based producer, distributor and exhibitor Filmax on the condition that it be shot entirely in Spain, where The Machinest filmed eight weeks last summer in the most generic locations possible. “Obviously we weren’t going to shoot around [Antonio Guadi's cathedral] Sagrada Familia,” Anderson told Screen International, adding that he brought in American street signs and cars and “avoided wide shots” whenever possible. In the end, “the anonomity [of the locations] enhanced the story,” says Anderson. “The audience feels Christian Bale’s alienation.”
Anderson also hired mostly local crew, including d.p. Xavi Gimenez, and cast numerous local actors to meet Spanish film subsidy requirements.
Following the screening, critic Gerald Peary will lead a discussion with Anderson. Tickets are $12; $10 students, seniors and MFA members. For more information call the MFA box office at 617-369-3306, or visit the museum Web site.
… Read the rest
Friday, April 23rd, 2004
Working as a producer over the years, one is given pieces of advice about the job that initially seem vague, counterintuitive, or just plain silly. But as time passes, these pearls of wisdom ultimately prove their worth… if one is smart enough to apply them. Here, then, are a few thoughts people have passed on to me that may read a bit Erma Bombeck-ish but which I think are worthwhile if contemplated correctly.
1. From producer and Focus Films co-president James Schamus a long time ago: When seeking financing for a film, don’t get people to say “yes.” Get them to say “no” and move on. (The one time I ignored this advice — the one time I convinced myself that a somewhat flakey person’s “yes” was truly a “yes” — I was burned very badly.)
2. From French producer and now head of Euro script development org Moonstone International Jean-Luc Ormieres: Producing a film is like taking a train. You have to be at the right station at the right platform at the right time. (This one was repeated in my office today, but I won’t say the context…)
3. Another one from Ormieres: When producing a film, you can gamble on the script, the director, or the cast — but only one.
4. And finally, one from me: During moments of creative confusion, revert back to the director’s first instinct. It’s usually the correct one.
… Read the rest
Thursday, April 22nd, 2004
Depressed screenwriters upset over their latest rejection should check out this unusual front page New York Times story detailing F. Scott Fitzgerald’s failed Hollywood screenwriting career. Quoting documents just unearthed from the Fitzgerald estate and collected at the University of South Carolina, the story paints a portrait of an earnest, dedicated writer futilely struggling to balance art and studio politics on a succession of never-realized pictures. There are some great quotes in the piece — Billy Wilder dubs Fitzgerald “a great sculptor who is hired to do a plumbing job” — and the documents overall correct, in the words of University of South Carolina scholar Matthew Broccoli, “this distorted view of Fitzgerald’s Hollywood years, the idea that he was just staggering around drunk all the time and not earning his salary.” Indeed, the story describes Fitzgerald “drinking Coca-Cola by the case in a not entirely successful effort to stay off the hard stuff” while he scribbles away, earning $1,000 a week.
… Read the rest
Wednesday, April 21st, 2004
Casino Royale
Via Elston Gunn’s invaluable Weekly Recap in Ain’t It Cool News comes this link to an online petition urging the once daring but now depressingly conservative Broccoli clan to accept Quentin Tarantino’s offer to helm a remake of Casino Royale as the next James Bond film. Remembering pre-adolescent times when Bond films were the essence of forbidden entertainment, I put my name down. If you’d like to as well, click here.
… Read the rest
Wednesday, April 21st, 2004
Organizers of the 57th Festival de Cannes, May 12-23, 2004, announced today the lineup for this year’s Competition and Un Certain Regard, and the short films in Competition as well as the Cinefondation film school selection.
“Cannes 2004 is presenting 56 feature films,” says Festival director Thierry Fremaux on the event’s Web site. “There are a total of 46 world premieres in the combined sections, more than in 2003 and 2002. Furthermore, the Selection is presenting 9 first films, twice that of last year. The figure that stands out though is the number of films submitted: 3562 feature-length and short films. In 2003, there were 2498 (2281 in 2002, 1798 in 2001 and 1397 in 2000). Compared to last year, the number of films submitted has increased 42.5 percent. It was not so long ago, at the end of the ’90s, that less than 1,000 films were the norm.”
Among the newcomers to the Cannes Competition, Fremaux adds, are “Argentine filmmaker Lucrecia Martel (La Nina Santa), Korean Park Chan-wook (Old Boy) and Hong San-soo (La Femme est l’avenir de l’homme), Italian Paolo Sorrentino (Les consequences de l’amour), Agnes Jaoui (Comme une image) and Tony Gatlif (Exils) from France, as well as Apitchapong Weerasethakul (Tropical Malady) — discovered in the Certain Regard section in 2002 with Blissfully Yours — marking the first time Thailand has a film in competition. And also Hans Weingartner (28 years old) who is bringing Germany back in the arena with his film Edukators. These film directors represent almost one half of the competition features.”
“The Certain Regard section is quite different from the competition. [These] films present a particular perspective, whether the work of a young filmmaker or a confirmed auteur. In this regard, the young Austrian Jessica Hausner, Lea Fazer from Switzerland and Yang Chao from China will mingle with Sembene Ousmane from Senegal making a trip back to Cannes at the age of 83.”
This year’s Feature Film competition jury is comprised of director Quentin Tarantino (whose Kill … Read the rest
