When you’re an independent filmmaker, there are a few different ways of working within the TV/streaming space. You could be a TV repairman (of any gender!) or work for the cable company. Those are pretty good. But! If you’re reading this blog, chances are your ambitions run a little more toward creating the content actually populating these devices and platforms. In that case, you could A) create a brand-new series and become its ruthless, dictatorial showrunner, or B) step into an already-existing series as the director of an individual episode.
For the former, there’s always our Episodic Lab. But for the latter, there’s the Film Independent Episodic Directing Intensive–where in just three whirlwind days, a diverse cross-section of veteran directors, showrunners, actors, executives and cinematographers provide a heavy-duty brain dump to six up-and-coming filmmakers, sharing their experiences and knowledge of the episodic directing landscape.
For the former, there’s always our Episodic Lab. But for the latter, there’s the Film Independent Episodic Directing Intensive–where in just three whirlwind days, a diverse cross-section of veteran directors, showrunners, actors, executives and cinematographers provide a heavy-duty brain dump to six up-and-coming filmmakers, sharing their experiences and knowledge of the episodic directing landscape.
- 5/22/2024
- by Film Independent
- Film Independent News & More
Exclusive: Film Independent has named the six filmmakers selected for its third annual Episodic Directing Intensive: John Gutierrez, Lorena Lourenço, Alfonso Morgan-Terrero, Huriyyah Muhammad, Kelsey Taylor and So Young Shelly Yo.
A three-day program, the Intensive welcomes veteran directors, showrunners, actors, cinematographers and executives to share their experiences and knowledge of the episodic directing landscape. Notables set to appear this time around include Kyle Patrick Alvarez, Johnson Cheng, Gloria Fan, Georgina Gonzalez, Liz Kelly, Shari Page, Jeremy Podeswa, Alysia Reiner, Beth Schacter, Nancy Schreiber, ASC, Yira Vilaro, Rina Varughese and Daniel Willis, among others.
“In this ever-changing landscape, we are thrilled to support these talented directors and equip them with the knowledge to launch and sustain careers in episodic directing,” said Dea Vazquez, Associate Director of Fiction Programs.
Read more about this year’s Intensive participants below.
John Gutierrez
John Gutierrez is an award-winning Latine writer/director from California. He...
A three-day program, the Intensive welcomes veteran directors, showrunners, actors, cinematographers and executives to share their experiences and knowledge of the episodic directing landscape. Notables set to appear this time around include Kyle Patrick Alvarez, Johnson Cheng, Gloria Fan, Georgina Gonzalez, Liz Kelly, Shari Page, Jeremy Podeswa, Alysia Reiner, Beth Schacter, Nancy Schreiber, ASC, Yira Vilaro, Rina Varughese and Daniel Willis, among others.
“In this ever-changing landscape, we are thrilled to support these talented directors and equip them with the knowledge to launch and sustain careers in episodic directing,” said Dea Vazquez, Associate Director of Fiction Programs.
Read more about this year’s Intensive participants below.
John Gutierrez
John Gutierrez is an award-winning Latine writer/director from California. He...
- 5/22/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Members of Hollywood’s production community — citing “negligence” and “reckless” behavior — were generally unsurprised by Wednesday’s guilty verdict in the first trial to be held in connection to the accidental shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of “Rust.”
Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the armorer on the movie, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the incident, which occurred Oct. 21, 2021 during filming at Bonanza Creek Ranch in New Mexico.
Those contacted by Variety, including Dp Nancy Schreiber, a member of the American Society of Cinematographers, were angry and troubled by the failure to maintain a safe set. Citing the “negligence of loading live ammunition” near a film set, Schreiber wrote in an email to Variety, “Protocol was outrageously disregarded by the armorer as well as the first Ad in our industry, where safety standards must always come first.”
Calling the incident “reckless and totally unnecessary,” Steven Shaw — a member of the DGA,...
Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the armorer on the movie, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the incident, which occurred Oct. 21, 2021 during filming at Bonanza Creek Ranch in New Mexico.
Those contacted by Variety, including Dp Nancy Schreiber, a member of the American Society of Cinematographers, were angry and troubled by the failure to maintain a safe set. Citing the “negligence of loading live ammunition” near a film set, Schreiber wrote in an email to Variety, “Protocol was outrageously disregarded by the armorer as well as the first Ad in our industry, where safety standards must always come first.”
Calling the incident “reckless and totally unnecessary,” Steven Shaw — a member of the DGA,...
- 3/7/2024
- by Carolyn Giardina
- Variety Film + TV
Victor Gabriel’s “Hallelujah,” Seemab Gul’s “Mulaqat/Sandstorm” and Joseph Pierce’s “Scale” have won the top awards at the 2022 HollyShorts Film Festival, which presented its prizes on Saturday afternoon in Hollywood — thus qualifying for this year’s Academy Awards.
“Hallelujah” won the Grand Prix for the festival’s best short, “Mulaqat/Sandstorm” took the honors as the best live-action short and “Scale” won for animation. HollyShorts is an Oscar-qualifying festival for the short-film categories, and the winners of those three awards are automatically entered in the Oscar race.
The award to “Hallelujah” was presented via video by this year’s Oscar winners for Best Live Action Short, “The Long Goodbye” filmmakers Riz Ahmed and Aniel Karia. The Oscar winners for the 2018 live-action short “Skin,” Jamie Ray Newman and Guy Nattiv, presented the awards to “Mulaqat/Sandstorm” and best-director winner Carlos Segundo (“Sideral”), respectively.
Also Read:
Oscars Short Doc...
“Hallelujah” won the Grand Prix for the festival’s best short, “Mulaqat/Sandstorm” took the honors as the best live-action short and “Scale” won for animation. HollyShorts is an Oscar-qualifying festival for the short-film categories, and the winners of those three awards are automatically entered in the Oscar race.
The award to “Hallelujah” was presented via video by this year’s Oscar winners for Best Live Action Short, “The Long Goodbye” filmmakers Riz Ahmed and Aniel Karia. The Oscar winners for the 2018 live-action short “Skin,” Jamie Ray Newman and Guy Nattiv, presented the awards to “Mulaqat/Sandstorm” and best-director winner Carlos Segundo (“Sideral”), respectively.
Also Read:
Oscars Short Doc...
- 8/21/2022
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Hundreds of pro filmmakers will join forces in New York City this summer to create six short films, as part of the fifth Women’s Weekend Film Challenge.
A grassroots initiative founded in 2017 by filmmakers Katrina Medoff and Tracy Sayre, Wwfc aims to address the lack of women and nonbinary people behind the camera and on screen through a variety of programs, including its signature film challenge, which places creatives on teams to write, shoot and edit a short in just one weekend. This year’s challenge set for August will be the first to take place in-person since the outbreak of the Covid pandemic.
Film creatives of all kinds can apply for the challenge for free at this link, between June 1 and June 27. Participation is also free of charge. Organizers are expecting to select around 200 participants from a pool of more than 1,000 applications, with the help of guest judges including cinematographers Nancy Schreiber,...
A grassroots initiative founded in 2017 by filmmakers Katrina Medoff and Tracy Sayre, Wwfc aims to address the lack of women and nonbinary people behind the camera and on screen through a variety of programs, including its signature film challenge, which places creatives on teams to write, shoot and edit a short in just one weekend. This year’s challenge set for August will be the first to take place in-person since the outbreak of the Covid pandemic.
Film creatives of all kinds can apply for the challenge for free at this link, between June 1 and June 27. Participation is also free of charge. Organizers are expecting to select around 200 participants from a pool of more than 1,000 applications, with the help of guest judges including cinematographers Nancy Schreiber,...
- 6/3/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
When we think of strippers, we’re pretty quick to judge. Still, even in this day of #MeToo and TimesUp, of expanding sex workers’ rights and pole dancing classes available for suburban moms, we see a stripper’s outfit and immediately think we know all about them. But displaying bodies doesn’t have to be innately sexual. In fact, it can be powerful and provocative in ways that don’t have to do with sex at all. Costume designers Rita McGhee and Alita Bailey knew from the get-go that creating the looks for Starz’s “P-Valley”—a show that brings empathy, sincerity and honesty to the story we all think we know—was going to be a welcome challenge rooted not in sex, but in female power.
“For us, it was about learning the story, learning who these women are, their characters and diving into that world,” McGhee said in a recent interview with IndieWire.
“For us, it was about learning the story, learning who these women are, their characters and diving into that world,” McGhee said in a recent interview with IndieWire.
- 6/15/2021
- by Valentina Valentini
- Indiewire
For “P-Valley” creator and showrunner Katori Hall, going to strip clubs was simply part of her Southern coming-of-age experience growing up in Memphis. When Hall was on the Filmmaker Toolkit podcast, she explained how those experiences were the polar opposite of how strip clubs are commonly portrayed in popular culture, especially in movies and television.
“You saw athletes on the pole, you didn’t see sad broken women,” Hall said. “And so, for me, that was like, ‘Boom, I know this an art form, and yet people don’t understand this particular art form comes from these Black women down in the South.’ It is this culture, it is this vibe, is truly something to be explored and discovered.”
Hall first creatively explored this side of stripping — especially how it can often be a source of economic freedom and self-expression — in her play of the same name (except the p-word...
“You saw athletes on the pole, you didn’t see sad broken women,” Hall said. “And so, for me, that was like, ‘Boom, I know this an art form, and yet people don’t understand this particular art form comes from these Black women down in the South.’ It is this culture, it is this vibe, is truly something to be explored and discovered.”
Hall first creatively explored this side of stripping — especially how it can often be a source of economic freedom and self-expression — in her play of the same name (except the p-word...
- 6/9/2021
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
Cinematographers Guild president Steven Poster lost his bid for reelection last month, which will soon bring an end to his 13-year reign as Hollywood’s longest serving union president. In an exclusive exit interview with Deadline, he reflects on his legacy, and looks ahead to the future of the guild and the industry. His last day in office will be June 22, although he’ll continue to serve on the guild’s executive board.
“I’m very proud of the work that has been done over the last 13 years,” he said. “We really took a union on the brink of a very difficult time, and we have turned it into one of the strongest (Iatse) locals in the bargaining unit, and the legacy of craft and safety and technology and dedication to trade unionism is something that I will never, ever forget, and I’ll be very proud of it for all my days to come.
“I’m very proud of the work that has been done over the last 13 years,” he said. “We really took a union on the brink of a very difficult time, and we have turned it into one of the strongest (Iatse) locals in the bargaining unit, and the legacy of craft and safety and technology and dedication to trade unionism is something that I will never, ever forget, and I’ll be very proud of it for all my days to come.
- 6/14/2019
- by David Robb
- Deadline Film + TV
Cameron Mitchell in Trapped Alive (1988) will be available on Blu-ray June 4th From Arrow Video
Genre regular Cameron Mitchell stars in this thrilling tale of escaped hoodlums and underground-dwelling cannibals from director Leszek Burzynski and Hellraiser producer Christopher Webster.
One wintry night, pals Robin and Monica are making their way to a Christmas party when they re carjacked by a gang of crooks recently escaped from the local penitentiary. With the two young women taken as hostages, things take an even darker turn when their vehicle plummets down an abandoned mine shaft, trapping them underground with the dangerous crooks – and a mutant cannibal.
Filmed in 1988 under the title of Forever Mine but not released until 1993, Trapped Alive was the first film to come out of Wisconsin s now-defunct Windsor Lake Studios, which would go on to produce a number of films under the Fangoria Films label in the early-90s,...
Genre regular Cameron Mitchell stars in this thrilling tale of escaped hoodlums and underground-dwelling cannibals from director Leszek Burzynski and Hellraiser producer Christopher Webster.
One wintry night, pals Robin and Monica are making their way to a Christmas party when they re carjacked by a gang of crooks recently escaped from the local penitentiary. With the two young women taken as hostages, things take an even darker turn when their vehicle plummets down an abandoned mine shaft, trapping them underground with the dangerous crooks – and a mutant cannibal.
Filmed in 1988 under the title of Forever Mine but not released until 1993, Trapped Alive was the first film to come out of Wisconsin s now-defunct Windsor Lake Studios, which would go on to produce a number of films under the Fangoria Films label in the early-90s,...
- 5/20/2019
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Don’t tell cinematographer Nancy Schreiber that she’s having a renaissance. That would imply there’ve been slumps in her long career, and she won’t have any of that, even if for a time she was taking smaller jobs as the gaps widened between larger gigs.
“It’s never been about the money, for me,” says Schreiber over the phone as she preps to leave for five months to shoot a TV series in Atlanta. “It’s about the passion, the project, the director, the script and the actors attached. I would have been a banker if I were focused on money.”
Robert Mapplethorpe wasn’t focused on money either — at least not at first. The famed New York City artist, known for his sexually provocative photographs, is the subject of Schreiber’s latest film, “Mapplethorpe,” directed by Ondi Timoner, a two-time Sundance Grand Prize winner. The movie,...
“It’s never been about the money, for me,” says Schreiber over the phone as she preps to leave for five months to shoot a TV series in Atlanta. “It’s about the passion, the project, the director, the script and the actors attached. I would have been a banker if I were focused on money.”
Robert Mapplethorpe wasn’t focused on money either — at least not at first. The famed New York City artist, known for his sexually provocative photographs, is the subject of Schreiber’s latest film, “Mapplethorpe,” directed by Ondi Timoner, a two-time Sundance Grand Prize winner. The movie,...
- 3/15/2019
- by Valentina I. Valentini
- Variety Film + TV
Ondi Timoner’s Mapplethorpe starring Matt Smith had its world premiere at the 2018 Tribeca film festival, where James Kleinmann spoke to the writer and director for HeyUGuys about her decade long journey to bring the biopic about the controversial photographer to the big screen and the process of working with the “incredibly brilliant and tortured soul” Matt Smith.
James Kleinmann: My own introduction to Mapplethorpe was back in London at the Hayward Gallery. I was about eighteen and I went with a friend who was very into art and I had no idea what I was going into. The work kind of blew my mind really. I wondered what your introduction to Mapplethorpe was and how it eventually led to making the film?
Ondi Timoner: “I was introduced to Mapplethorpe when I was about ten because I have terrible parents!” Ondi’s mother, who has just celebrated her eightieth birthday,...
James Kleinmann: My own introduction to Mapplethorpe was back in London at the Hayward Gallery. I was about eighteen and I went with a friend who was very into art and I had no idea what I was going into. The work kind of blew my mind really. I wondered what your introduction to Mapplethorpe was and how it eventually led to making the film?
Ondi Timoner: “I was introduced to Mapplethorpe when I was about ten because I have terrible parents!” Ondi’s mother, who has just celebrated her eightieth birthday,...
- 2/25/2019
- by James Kleinmann
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Camerimage, the weeklong celebration of cinematography in Bydgoszcz, Poland, comes to a close today by handing out its prestigious Frog prizes. The big winner was South Korean drama “The Fortress,” which won the top prize, the Golden Frog, in the Main Competition. The film directed by Dong-Hyuk Hwang and lensed by Ji Yong Kim was a massive hit in its home country in late 2017 and has since been released in 28 countries, including the U.S., reaching 3.8 million viewers worldwide.
The competition jury gave the Silver Frog to cinematographer Łukasz Żal for “Cold War” and the Bronze Frog to director-cinematographer Alfonso Cuarón for “Roma.” With over 900 cinematographers from around the world in attendance, many voting members of the Asc, Camerimage is an important bellwether for the Oscar race for Best Cinematography. The silver and bronze prizes should be a big boost for the two black-and-white films angling for Oscar nominations.
Five years ago,...
The competition jury gave the Silver Frog to cinematographer Łukasz Żal for “Cold War” and the Bronze Frog to director-cinematographer Alfonso Cuarón for “Roma.” With over 900 cinematographers from around the world in attendance, many voting members of the Asc, Camerimage is an important bellwether for the Oscar race for Best Cinematography. The silver and bronze prizes should be a big boost for the two black-and-white films angling for Oscar nominations.
Five years ago,...
- 11/17/2018
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
There is a lot of penis in Ondi Timoner’s “Mapplethorpe,” a streamlined, straightforward biopic about the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. For those familiar with the late artist’s work, that may not come as much of a surprise — many of his most famous images center on male genitalia, rendering plump and veiny dicks with the same religious awe that Michelangelo sculpted “The Pietà.” On the other hand, it’s rare to see any peen in a major motion picture, let alone dozens of them in close-up. Not since the State of the Union have so many flaccid tools proudly displayed themselves in one place. How sad that it still feels transgressive to show them at all, and how much we owe to Mapplethorpe that depicting them is no longer considered obscene.
Of course, Mapplethorpe’s photography was less controversial for the flesh that it showed than for how it positioned...
Of course, Mapplethorpe’s photography was less controversial for the flesh that it showed than for how it positioned...
- 4/24/2018
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Mudbound’s Rachel Morrison has just become the first woman ever nominated for an Oscar for cinematography. The recognition is long overdue
Rachel Morrison’s Academy Award nomination in the best cinematography category is a landmark for women in film. This shortlist has long been the toughest Oscar ceiling to crack, but now, for the first time since the awards began in 1929, a woman has been included. Morrison, who shot the overcast landscapes and intimate interiors of 1940s drama Mudbound for director Dee Rees, stands a good chance of winning, but women in her field may be forgiven for celebrating already.
The American Society of Cinematographers (Asc), which counts Morrison as a member, was founded in 1919. It didn’t invite a woman to join until 1980, when it admitted Brianne Murphy, reportedly the first woman to work as a cinematographer on a major Hollywood studio film (Fatso, directed by Anne Bancroft...
Rachel Morrison’s Academy Award nomination in the best cinematography category is a landmark for women in film. This shortlist has long been the toughest Oscar ceiling to crack, but now, for the first time since the awards began in 1929, a woman has been included. Morrison, who shot the overcast landscapes and intimate interiors of 1940s drama Mudbound for director Dee Rees, stands a good chance of winning, but women in her field may be forgiven for celebrating already.
The American Society of Cinematographers (Asc), which counts Morrison as a member, was founded in 1919. It didn’t invite a woman to join until 1980, when it admitted Brianne Murphy, reportedly the first woman to work as a cinematographer on a major Hollywood studio film (Fatso, directed by Anne Bancroft...
- 1/25/2018
- by Pamela Hutchinson
- The Guardian - Film News
The American Society of Cinematographers (Asc) feature film nominees tends to lean toward big-scale movies, and this year is no exception. Their top five include frontrunner Roger Deakins for his stunning visuals in “Blade Runner 2049” as well as Rachel Morrison, who photographed “Mudbound.” Left out were viable but smaller-scale contenders “Call Me By Your Name” and “The Post.”
So far, neither the Asc nor the cinematography branch of the Academy has ever nominated a woman for a feature film. So Morrison’s nomination is a big deal. (Next up for Morrison: Marvel Cinematic Universe’s “Black Panther.”) According to a study by the Center for the Study of Women in Television & Film, women made up 5 percent of cinematographers on the top 250 domestic-grossing films in 2016.
Read More:‘Mudbound’: Why Rachel Morrison Deserves to Be the First Female Cinematographer Nominated for an Oscar
The Asc awarded Nancy Schreiber its 2017 Presidents award,...
So far, neither the Asc nor the cinematography branch of the Academy has ever nominated a woman for a feature film. So Morrison’s nomination is a big deal. (Next up for Morrison: Marvel Cinematic Universe’s “Black Panther.”) According to a study by the Center for the Study of Women in Television & Film, women made up 5 percent of cinematographers on the top 250 domestic-grossing films in 2016.
Read More:‘Mudbound’: Why Rachel Morrison Deserves to Be the First Female Cinematographer Nominated for an Oscar
The Asc awarded Nancy Schreiber its 2017 Presidents award,...
- 1/9/2018
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
The American Society of Cinematographers (Asc) feature film nominees tends to lean toward big-scale movies, and this year is no exception. Their top five include frontrunner Roger Deakins for his stunning visuals in “Blade Runner 2049” as well as Rachel Morrison, who photographed “Mudbound.” Left out were viable but smaller-scale contenders “Call Me By Your Name” and “The Post.”
So far, neither the Asc nor the cinematography branch of the Academy has ever nominated a woman for a feature film. So Morrison’s nomination is a big deal. (Next up for Morrison: Marvel Cinematic Universe’s “Black Panther.”) According to a study by the Center for the Study of Women in Television & Film, women made up 5 percent of cinematographers on the top 250 domestic-grossing films in 2016.
Read More:‘Mudbound’: Why Rachel Morrison Deserves to Be the First Female Cinematographer Nominated for an Oscar
The Asc awarded Nancy Schreiber its 2017 Presidents award,...
So far, neither the Asc nor the cinematography branch of the Academy has ever nominated a woman for a feature film. So Morrison’s nomination is a big deal. (Next up for Morrison: Marvel Cinematic Universe’s “Black Panther.”) According to a study by the Center for the Study of Women in Television & Film, women made up 5 percent of cinematographers on the top 250 domestic-grossing films in 2016.
Read More:‘Mudbound’: Why Rachel Morrison Deserves to Be the First Female Cinematographer Nominated for an Oscar
The Asc awarded Nancy Schreiber its 2017 Presidents award,...
- 1/9/2018
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Before you completely check out for the year, make sure you take note of this week’s events. We’ve got you covered on industry connection-makers, special panels, even an up-close-and-personal visit with the “Stranger Things” set. A couple are a little further in advance to make sure you get access, so consider that a special holiday gift from us to you. Honor women in media.Join cinematographer Nancy Schreiber (“Better Things,” “Your Friends and Neighbors”), composer Germaine Franco (“Coco,” “Fargo [T.V.]”), cinematographer Kira Kelly (“Queen Sugar,” “East Los High”), and writer/director Amy Holden Jones (“Indecent Proposal,” “Mystic Pizza”) in conversation at Women in Media’s Holiday Lunch Celebration on Dec. 17. Open to all genders, events include a mixer, panel, and, of course, food, so this inspiring afternoon is well worth admission price. (Tickets: $30-115) Go behind the scenes of “The Path” with its stars.Though it’s technically more...
- 12/14/2017
- backstage.com
Denver native Emilie Upczak moved to Trinidad and Tobago and became Creative Director of the Trinidad + Tobago Film Festival where she worked for ten years. At that time, she not only helped set up the only Caribbean Film Industry Center but began making a fiction feature film about human trafficking.
She enlisted the prize winning Dp Nancy Schreiberwho also recently shot Ondi Timoner’s Robert Mapplethorpe biopic Mapplethorpe who was recently honored at the High Falls Film Festival, an annual event celebrating female filmmakers with the Susan B. Anthony “Failure is Impossible” Award “in recognition of her contributions to the art of filmmaking as one of the few female cinematographers working today.”
Moving Parts is about an illegal Chinese immigrant who, after being smuggled into Trinidad and Tobago to be with her brother, discovers the true cost of her arrival.
See the trailer here.
Emilie Upczak’s films reflect her...
She enlisted the prize winning Dp Nancy Schreiberwho also recently shot Ondi Timoner’s Robert Mapplethorpe biopic Mapplethorpe who was recently honored at the High Falls Film Festival, an annual event celebrating female filmmakers with the Susan B. Anthony “Failure is Impossible” Award “in recognition of her contributions to the art of filmmaking as one of the few female cinematographers working today.”
Moving Parts is about an illegal Chinese immigrant who, after being smuggled into Trinidad and Tobago to be with her brother, discovers the true cost of her arrival.
See the trailer here.
Emilie Upczak’s films reflect her...
- 11/21/2017
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
While Damien Chazelle predictably took the DGA Award for “La La Land” on Saturday night, the ASC rejected the self-reverential Hollywood musical in favor of the more dramatic and politically impactful “Lion,” honoring Australian cinematographer Greig Fraser. “Lion” director Garth Davis took home Best First Director at the DGAs.
However, “La La Land’s” cinematographer, Linus Sandgren, still remains the Oscar favorite, despite the fact that, in the last 20 years, the ASC winner has taken the Academy Award 11 times.
With “Lion,” the incredibly true story of Saroo Brierley (Dev Patel), the Indian who used Google Earth to locate his birth family several decades after his separation and adoption in Australia, Fraser essentially made two movies in one. Fortunately, the top Camerimage prize winner had previous experience shooting in India.
“Trying to capture the essence of India is almost like trying to bottle magic, which is hard to do because India...
However, “La La Land’s” cinematographer, Linus Sandgren, still remains the Oscar favorite, despite the fact that, in the last 20 years, the ASC winner has taken the Academy Award 11 times.
With “Lion,” the incredibly true story of Saroo Brierley (Dev Patel), the Indian who used Google Earth to locate his birth family several decades after his separation and adoption in Australia, Fraser essentially made two movies in one. Fortunately, the top Camerimage prize winner had previous experience shooting in India.
“Trying to capture the essence of India is almost like trying to bottle magic, which is hard to do because India...
- 2/5/2017
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
When director of photography Nancy Schreiber receives the Presidents Award at the 31st annual Asc Awards this Saturday, she’ll make history as the first woman to be honored with the award. It’s an appropriate – some might say overdue – recognition of an innovator who has consistently broken new ground in the fields of documentary, narrative features, and television. An early proponent of digital technology (she won the cinematography prize at Sundance in 2004 for her mini-dv work on November), Schreiber is also a fierce advocate for celluloid who creates stunning, expressive images regardless of the format. Her range is second to […]...
- 1/31/2017
- by Jim Hemphill
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
The American Society Of Cinematographers has announced the honorees for the 31st annual Asc Awards for Outstanding Achievement.
Carol cinematographer Edward Lachman, Ron Garcia, Philippe Rousselot and Nancy Schreiber will be recognised for their contributions to the art of cinematography at the awards gala in Los Angles on February 4, 2017.
Lachman will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, Garcia the Career Achievement in Television Award, Rousselot the International Award, and Schreiber the Presidents Award.
“The work of these individual cinematographers is varied, yet it all exemplifies a stellar level of achievement,” said Asc President Kees van Oostrum. “As a group, they also are a prime example of great careers in the industry and, over the years, they have set creative standards of the highest order.”
Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer has extended his contract through May 2023, effective immediately. Feltheimer has served 16 years in the role.Chris Rock and Netflix have struck what is reportedly a $40m deal for two stand-up...
Carol cinematographer Edward Lachman, Ron Garcia, Philippe Rousselot and Nancy Schreiber will be recognised for their contributions to the art of cinematography at the awards gala in Los Angles on February 4, 2017.
Lachman will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, Garcia the Career Achievement in Television Award, Rousselot the International Award, and Schreiber the Presidents Award.
“The work of these individual cinematographers is varied, yet it all exemplifies a stellar level of achievement,” said Asc President Kees van Oostrum. “As a group, they also are a prime example of great careers in the industry and, over the years, they have set creative standards of the highest order.”
Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer has extended his contract through May 2023, effective immediately. Feltheimer has served 16 years in the role.Chris Rock and Netflix have struck what is reportedly a $40m deal for two stand-up...
- 10/13/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Revered cinematographers Edward Lachman, Ron Garcia, Philippe Rousselot and Nancy Schreiber will be honored at the 31st annual American Society of Cinematographers Awards, which will be held on February 4, 2017, at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland. Lachman will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, while Garcia will be given with the Career Achievement in Television Award and Rousselot will take home the International Award. Schreiber will receive the Presidents Award, becoming the first female member of Asc to be given that honor. “The work of these individual cinematographers is varied, yet it all exemplifies a stellar level of achievement,” Asc.
- 10/13/2016
- by Matt Pressberg
- The Wrap
What's the right thing to say about a closeted movie career in an industry that feeds on gossip? There's plenty to say, if you're Tab Hunter. The '50s heartthrob breaks his silence with a remarkably candid and positive account of his astonishing, unique Hollywood experience. Tab Hunter Confidential Blu-ray FilmRise 2015 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 90 min. / Street Date August 23, 2016 / 19.95 Starring Tab Hunter, Allan Glaser, Clint Eastwood, Connie Stevens, Portia de Rossi, Robert Wagner, Debbie Reynolds, Lainie Kazan, George Takei, Noah Wyle, John Waters, Liz Torres, Tab Hunter, Dolores Hart, Terry Moore, Don Murray, Robert Osborne, Darryl Hickman, William Wellman Jr., Rae Allen, Rona Barrett, Venetia Stevenson, Rex Reed, Etchika Choureau, Marilyn Erskine, Henry Willson, Shannon Bolin, Eddie Muller, Ronnie Robertson, Gary Giddins, Tamara Asseyev, Neal Noorlag, Marilyn Gevirtz, Jo-An Cox Bunton, Lou Simon, Evelyn Kramer. Cinematography Nancy Schreiber Film Editor Jeffrey Schwarz Original Music Michael Cudahy Produced by Allan Glaser, Neil Koenigsberg,...
- 8/26/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
"Moving Parts," a film by Trinidad-based, American director, Emilie Upczak, whose crowdfunding campaign has only 11 days to go, is a story about two women from two opposite corners of the world brought together through circumstances beyond their control. Although set in the Caribbean, the film is globally relevant as it focuses on the issue of human trafficking.
“Moving Parts takes a fictional look at a very real issue”, Upczak said. “The film’s protagonist Zhenzhen, is a Chinese immigrant who is smuggled into Trinidad to be with her brother Wei following the death of their father. A tragic event leaves Zhenzhen vulnerable and only through the help of a neighboring art gallerist Evelyn and the restaurant’s Cook, does she have a chance at life”.
Emilie Upczak is a filmmaker and festival programmer specifically interested in ritual practice and sexual politics. These interests were first sparked after she spent two-years traveling throughout Southeast Asia, where she encountered numerous religious practices and worked as an escort in a hostess club in Tokyo. Since then, Emilie has produced short films and experimental video installations. Most recently, she was the Creative Director of the trinidad+tobago film festival in charge of the Caribbean Film Mart and Caribbean Film Database.
“We decided to crowd-fund the film in order to build our core audience and to engage individuals in our fundraising process,” she said. “We have been successful in engaging local government support and now we are turning to private sector and individuals”.
The film has been in development for two years and is now in the pre-production stage. Principal photography is set to begin in the Spring with a filming schedule of one month. One of the unique facets of the film is the female roster of most heads of departments. This line up includes, DoP Nancy Schreiber, Consulting Producer Annabelle Mullen, First Assistant Director Roma Zachemba, Co-Producers Rhonda Chan Soo and Rhian Vialva, Production Designer Shannon Alonzo and PR/Social Media Aurora Herrera.
Upczak noted, “I feel very strongly about having this film made by women and also by women primarily from the Caribbean.”
The cast includes Canadian actresses Valerie Tian known for her role as Su-Chin in "Juno" and Burns in "21 Jumpstreet" and Kandyse McClure known for her role as Officer Anastasia Dualla in "Battlestar Galactica."
You can support "Moving Pats" via its Kickstarter campaign https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/381237657/moving-parts?token=9ec81861...
“Moving Parts takes a fictional look at a very real issue”, Upczak said. “The film’s protagonist Zhenzhen, is a Chinese immigrant who is smuggled into Trinidad to be with her brother Wei following the death of their father. A tragic event leaves Zhenzhen vulnerable and only through the help of a neighboring art gallerist Evelyn and the restaurant’s Cook, does she have a chance at life”.
Emilie Upczak is a filmmaker and festival programmer specifically interested in ritual practice and sexual politics. These interests were first sparked after she spent two-years traveling throughout Southeast Asia, where she encountered numerous religious practices and worked as an escort in a hostess club in Tokyo. Since then, Emilie has produced short films and experimental video installations. Most recently, she was the Creative Director of the trinidad+tobago film festival in charge of the Caribbean Film Mart and Caribbean Film Database.
“We decided to crowd-fund the film in order to build our core audience and to engage individuals in our fundraising process,” she said. “We have been successful in engaging local government support and now we are turning to private sector and individuals”.
The film has been in development for two years and is now in the pre-production stage. Principal photography is set to begin in the Spring with a filming schedule of one month. One of the unique facets of the film is the female roster of most heads of departments. This line up includes, DoP Nancy Schreiber, Consulting Producer Annabelle Mullen, First Assistant Director Roma Zachemba, Co-Producers Rhonda Chan Soo and Rhian Vialva, Production Designer Shannon Alonzo and PR/Social Media Aurora Herrera.
Upczak noted, “I feel very strongly about having this film made by women and also by women primarily from the Caribbean.”
The cast includes Canadian actresses Valerie Tian known for her role as Su-Chin in "Juno" and Burns in "21 Jumpstreet" and Kandyse McClure known for her role as Officer Anastasia Dualla in "Battlestar Galactica."
You can support "Moving Pats" via its Kickstarter campaign https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/381237657/moving-parts?token=9ec81861...
- 3/5/2016
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Along with Sandi Sissel, Ellen Kuras, Lisa Rinzler and Nancy Schreiber, Maryse Alberti was a groundbreaking female cinematographer at a time when the field was overwhelmingly male (more so than today). Even as more women have steadily entered the field, Alberti still stands out for her versatility and inventiveness. Since starting out in the late 1980s working on a short film with Christine Vachon, Alberti has worked steadily with some of the boldest directors of our time. She's shot a wide range of films, alternating between nonfiction and fiction, with directors including Todd Haynes ("Velvet Goldmine," "Poison"), Darren Aronofsky ("The Wrestler"), Terry Zwigoff ("Crumb"), Michael Apted ("Moving the Mountain," "Incident at Oglala") and Liz Garbus ("Love, Marilyn") and Amy Berg ("West of Memphis"), among others. She received Sundance Film Festival Best Cinematography honors for documentaries...
- 9/15/2015
- by Paula Bernstein
- Indiewire
Birdman, Fury and Leviathan among main competition titles; Roland Joffé to preside over main jury.
Alejandro G Ińárritu, Yimou Zhang, Mike Leigh and Jean-Marc Vallée are among the directors with films screening in competition at the 22nd Camerimage (Nov 15-22), the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography.
The main competition at the festival, held in the Polish city of Bydgoszcz, comprises:
Alejandro G Ińárritu’s Birdman (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance); USA, 2014; Cinematographer: Emmanuel Lubezki
Yimou Zhang’s Coming Home (Gui lai); China, 2014; Cinematographer: Zhao Xiaoding
Richard Raymond’s Desert Dancer; UK, 2014; Cinematographer: Carlos Catalán Alucha
Lech J. Majewski’s Field of Dogs - Onirica (Onirica - Psie pole); Poland, 2014; Cinematographers: Paweł Tybora and Lech J. Majewski
Krzysztof Zanussi’s Foreign Body (Obce cialo); Poland, Italy, Russia, 2014; Cinematographer: Piotr Niemyjski
David Ayer’s Fury; USA, 2014; Cinematographer: Roman Vasyanov
Tate Taylor’s Get on Up; USA, 2014; Cinematographer: Stephen Goldblatt
Łukasz Palkowski’s Gods (Bogowie); Poland, 2014; Cinematographer:...
Alejandro G Ińárritu, Yimou Zhang, Mike Leigh and Jean-Marc Vallée are among the directors with films screening in competition at the 22nd Camerimage (Nov 15-22), the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography.
The main competition at the festival, held in the Polish city of Bydgoszcz, comprises:
Alejandro G Ińárritu’s Birdman (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance); USA, 2014; Cinematographer: Emmanuel Lubezki
Yimou Zhang’s Coming Home (Gui lai); China, 2014; Cinematographer: Zhao Xiaoding
Richard Raymond’s Desert Dancer; UK, 2014; Cinematographer: Carlos Catalán Alucha
Lech J. Majewski’s Field of Dogs - Onirica (Onirica - Psie pole); Poland, 2014; Cinematographers: Paweł Tybora and Lech J. Majewski
Krzysztof Zanussi’s Foreign Body (Obce cialo); Poland, Italy, Russia, 2014; Cinematographer: Piotr Niemyjski
David Ayer’s Fury; USA, 2014; Cinematographer: Roman Vasyanov
Tate Taylor’s Get on Up; USA, 2014; Cinematographer: Stephen Goldblatt
Łukasz Palkowski’s Gods (Bogowie); Poland, 2014; Cinematographer:...
- 10/31/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Polish film festival sets competition juries; Roland Joffe to preside over main competition.
Camerimage (Nov 15-22), the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography, has set an impressive roster of jurors for its various competition categories.
The Killing Fields director Roland Joffe will preside over the main competition jury, which incldues cinematographers Christian Berger and Manuel Alberto Claro.
Caleb Deschanel has been appointed president of the Polish Films Competition.
The full list of jurors is below.
Main Competition
Roland Joffé – Jury President (director, producer; The Killing Fields, The Mission, Vatel)
Christian Berger (cinematographer; The Piano Teacher, Hidden, The White Ribbon)
Ryszard Bugajski (director, screenwriter; Interrogation, General Nil, The Closed Circuit)
Ryszard Horowitz (photographer)
David Gropman (cinematographer; The Cider House Rules, Chocolat, Life of Pi)
Arthur Reinhart (cinematographer, producer; Crows, Tristan + Isolde, Venice)
Oliver Stapleton (cinematographer; The Cider House Rules, Pay It Forward, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark)
Manuel Alberto Claro (cinematographer; Reconstruction, Melancholia, Nymphomaniac...
Camerimage (Nov 15-22), the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography, has set an impressive roster of jurors for its various competition categories.
The Killing Fields director Roland Joffe will preside over the main competition jury, which incldues cinematographers Christian Berger and Manuel Alberto Claro.
Caleb Deschanel has been appointed president of the Polish Films Competition.
The full list of jurors is below.
Main Competition
Roland Joffé – Jury President (director, producer; The Killing Fields, The Mission, Vatel)
Christian Berger (cinematographer; The Piano Teacher, Hidden, The White Ribbon)
Ryszard Bugajski (director, screenwriter; Interrogation, General Nil, The Closed Circuit)
Ryszard Horowitz (photographer)
David Gropman (cinematographer; The Cider House Rules, Chocolat, Life of Pi)
Arthur Reinhart (cinematographer, producer; Crows, Tristan + Isolde, Venice)
Oliver Stapleton (cinematographer; The Cider House Rules, Pay It Forward, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark)
Manuel Alberto Claro (cinematographer; Reconstruction, Melancholia, Nymphomaniac...
- 10/31/2014
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
When everyone arrives at Emma (Erinn Hayes) and Pete’s (Blaise Miller) house, they have absolutely no idea just how disastrous this Sunday brunch will become. First their cell phone reception goes dead, then the television goes to static. What? No Ut football game? Now the shit gets serious! (Hook ‘em!) Cut off from the rest of the world, the four couples are left with a table covered with food and wine, and good old fashioned conversation; yet, in a captivating tip of the cap to Luis Buñuel, they never quite get to the food... It’s a Disaster is an impeccably-written, dark-as-a-moonless-night satire that hearkens back to the glory days of classic comedy. Existing in the surreal ether somewhere between Preston Sturges and Woody Allen, Berger takes on disaster films as well as the trope of trapping characters in one location; all the while, Berger and cinematographer Nancy Schreiber...
- 11/25/2012
- by Don Simpson
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
Interview conducted by Tom Stockman November 14th, 2012
A co-founder in 1994 of the Slamdance Film Festival, Dan Mirvish is a busy director, screenwriter and producer. Labeled a “cheerful subversive” by The New York Times, and “Hollywood’s Bad Boy” by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Mirvish has made quite a name for himself in the world of Independent Film. He remains actively involved with Slamdance, frequently serving as master of ceremonies and mentor to the incoming crop of filmmakers each year. The festival has served as a launching pad for such filmmakers as Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight, Inception), Marc Forster (Quantum of Solace), Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite) and Oren Peli (Paranormal Activity).
Most recently, Mirvish has directed the feature Between Us, based on the hit Off-Broadway play of the same name and starring Julia Styles, Taye Diggs, Melissa George, and David Harbour. Mirvish co-wrote the screen adaptation with original playwright Joe Hortua...
A co-founder in 1994 of the Slamdance Film Festival, Dan Mirvish is a busy director, screenwriter and producer. Labeled a “cheerful subversive” by The New York Times, and “Hollywood’s Bad Boy” by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Mirvish has made quite a name for himself in the world of Independent Film. He remains actively involved with Slamdance, frequently serving as master of ceremonies and mentor to the incoming crop of filmmakers each year. The festival has served as a launching pad for such filmmakers as Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight, Inception), Marc Forster (Quantum of Solace), Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite) and Oren Peli (Paranormal Activity).
Most recently, Mirvish has directed the feature Between Us, based on the hit Off-Broadway play of the same name and starring Julia Styles, Taye Diggs, Melissa George, and David Harbour. Mirvish co-wrote the screen adaptation with original playwright Joe Hortua...
- 11/15/2012
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Los Angeles Film Festival and the Spirit Awards, announced on Sunday the jury and audience award winners for the 2012 Festival at the Awards Brunch, hosted by Chaya Downtown for the third year. Actors Jon Heder and Ari Graynor were on hand to present the awards. The La Film Fest, presented by Film Independent and Host Venue Regal Cinemas L.A. Live Stadium 14 and presenting media sponsor Los Angeles Times, ran from Thursday, June 14 to Sunday, June 24 in downtown Los Angeles.
“Every single filmmaker in this year’s Festival deserves kudos for their artistry and compelling stories. Our juries had such gems to choose from in each competition and the winners truly represent what we hold dear.diversity and uniqueness of vision,” said Festival Director Stephanie Allain.
The two top juried awards of the Los Angeles Film Festival are the Narrative Award and Documentary Award,...
“Every single filmmaker in this year’s Festival deserves kudos for their artistry and compelling stories. Our juries had such gems to choose from in each competition and the winners truly represent what we hold dear.diversity and uniqueness of vision,” said Festival Director Stephanie Allain.
The two top juried awards of the Los Angeles Film Festival are the Narrative Award and Documentary Award,...
- 6/25/2012
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
HollywoodNews.com: Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Los Angeles Film Festival and the Spirit Awards, announced the jury and audience award winners for the 2012 Festival at the Awards Brunch, hosted by Chaya Downtown for the third year. Actors Jon Heder and Ari Graynor were on hand to present the awards. The La Film Fest, presented by Film Independent and Host Venue Regal Cinemas L.A. Live Stadium 14 and presenting media sponsor Los Angeles Times, ran from Thursday, June 14 to Sunday, June 24 in downtown Los Angeles.
“Every single filmmaker in this year’s Festival deserves kudos for their artistry and compelling stories. Our juries had such gems to choose from in each competition and the winners truly represent what we hold dear—diversity and uniqueness of vision,” said Festival Director Stephanie Allain.
The two top juried awards of the Los Angeles Film Festival are the Narrative Award and Documentary Award,...
“Every single filmmaker in this year’s Festival deserves kudos for their artistry and compelling stories. Our juries had such gems to choose from in each competition and the winners truly represent what we hold dear—diversity and uniqueness of vision,” said Festival Director Stephanie Allain.
The two top juried awards of the Los Angeles Film Festival are the Narrative Award and Documentary Award,...
- 6/24/2012
- by Josh Abraham
- Hollywoodnews.com
Film Independent today announced the jurors for the 2012 Los Angeles Film Festival. The Narrative jury will consist of "Natural Selection" actress Rachael Harris (who we interviewed at Laff last year), filmmaker Robert Townsend, and critic Sheri Linden. The Documentary jury is comprised of producers Heather Rae and Karin Chien and filmmaker Mark Landsman ("Thunder Soul"). Film critic and author Ernest Hardy, Spirit Award-nominated cinematographer Nancy Schreiber ("Your Friends And Neighbors," "The Celluloid Closet") and writer/director/editor Javier Fuentes León ("Contracorriente"), who won the Audience Award at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival round out the shorts jury. This jury will deliberate on the cash prizes during the festival's run from June 14-24. The competition and audience award winners will be announced at the Awards Brunch held at Chaya Downtown on the last day of the festival. ...
- 6/7/2012
- by Austin Dale
- Indiewire
At its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, then festival director Geoff Gilmore introduced to the stage the group of “fucking tough” women involved in Katherine Dieckman’s “Motherhood.” Beyond Dieckman, who repeated Gilmore’s assertion on stage at the screening while introducing her colleagues, that group includes producers Jana Edelbaum, Rachel Cohen, Pamela Koffler and Christine Vachon, cinematographer Nancy Schreiber, and stars Uma Thurman and Minnie Driver (as well as Jodie …...
- 10/19/2009
- indieWIRE - People
At its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, then festival director Geoff Gilmore introduced to the stage the group of “fucking tough” women involved in Katherine Dieckman’s “Motherhood.” Beyond Dieckman, who repeated Gilmore’s assertion on stage at the screening while introducing her colleagues, that group includes producers Jana Edelbaum, Rachel Cohen, Pamela Koffler and Christine Vachon, cinematographer Nancy Schreiber, and stars Uma Thurman and Minnie Driver (as well as Jodie …...
- 10/19/2009
- indieWIRE - People
At its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, then festival director Geoff Gilmore introduced to the stage the group of “fucking tough” women involved in Katherine Dieckman’s “Motherhood.” Beyond Dieckman, who repeated Gilmore’s assertion on stage at the screening while introducing her colleagues, that group includes producers Jana Edelbaum, Rachel Cohen, Pamela Koffler and Christine Vachon, cinematographer Nancy Schreiber, and stars Uma Thurman and Minnie Driver (as well as Jodie …...
- 10/19/2009
- Indiewire
The 2009 American Film Market today announced its schedule of seminars and conferences to be held between Nov. 4 and 11. Celebrating its 30th year, the Afm will showcase panels on film financing opportunities, local and international distribution trends, marketing strategies and digital technologies. The sessions will include film executives, producers, writers, directors, distributors, financiers and attorneys. This year’s seminars and conferences will include the annual “Afm Finance Conference” on Friday, Nov. 6; “Pitch Me!” on Saturday, Nov. 7; “No Direction Home – Changing Indie Distribution Strategies” on Sunday, Nov. 8; “Writing for the Genre World” on Monday, Nov. 9; “Case Study: How to Package and Finance Your Independent Project Overseas” on Monday, Nov. 9; and “The New Hollywood Movie Studio, New Media and Social Networking” on Tuesday, Nov. 10.
Programming the seminars and conferences will be the American Society of Cinematographers, British Academy of Film & Television Arts/Los Angeles, Directors Guild of America, Film Independent, Hong Kong Trade Development Council,...
Programming the seminars and conferences will be the American Society of Cinematographers, British Academy of Film & Television Arts/Los Angeles, Directors Guild of America, Film Independent, Hong Kong Trade Development Council,...
- 10/16/2009
- by sean
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
Relativity Media's Ryan Kavanaugh, Comerica Bank's Morgan Rector and Media Rights Capital's Modi Wiczyk will discuss the current state of the indie film business at the opening panel of the American Film Market's finance conference on Nov. 6.
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld's P. John Burke will moderate the session to be held at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica.
The conference will also include a session on foreign investment as a source of film financing, to be moderated by Kpmg's Benson R. Berro, and a look at Hong Kong as a co-production partner programmed by the Hong Kong Development Council.
Afm's lineup of panels, programmed by the Independent Film & Television Alliance, consists of:
Nov. 7
-- "Pitch Me!," moderated by Peggy Rajski; panelists, Caroline Baron and Ron Yerxa.
-- "Produce & Sell Your Film with Dov S-s Simens," presented by Dov S-s Simens.
Nov. 8
-- "No Direction Home - Changing Indie Distribution Strategies,...
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld's P. John Burke will moderate the session to be held at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica.
The conference will also include a session on foreign investment as a source of film financing, to be moderated by Kpmg's Benson R. Berro, and a look at Hong Kong as a co-production partner programmed by the Hong Kong Development Council.
Afm's lineup of panels, programmed by the Independent Film & Television Alliance, consists of:
Nov. 7
-- "Pitch Me!," moderated by Peggy Rajski; panelists, Caroline Baron and Ron Yerxa.
-- "Produce & Sell Your Film with Dov S-s Simens," presented by Dov S-s Simens.
Nov. 8
-- "No Direction Home - Changing Indie Distribution Strategies,...
- 10/14/2009
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The second annual Doorpost Film Project will hand out $175,000 in prize money when winners of the short film contest are announced Sept. 19 at the Belcourt Theatre in Nashville, Tenn.
Ten finalists, who were chosen earlier this year, were each given $30,000 to produce 15-20 minute films.
On Sept. 19, a new committee of industry professionals -- directors Catherine Hardwicke and Dan Ireland; producers Ralph Winter, Todd Black and Fred Roos; screenwriter Larry Lasker; journalists James Greenberg and Sharon Waxman; attorney Michael Donaldson; cinematographer Nancy Schreiber; and producer's rep Jeff Dowd -- will choose the three top winners, who will all receive cash prizes.
The public can also watch the competing films and vote at www.thedoorpost.com.
All 10 films will be screened next Thursday at the Belcourt Theatre.
"This project was created for filmmakers who have a vision for life, a passion for filmmaking and the determination to get their creations seen,...
Ten finalists, who were chosen earlier this year, were each given $30,000 to produce 15-20 minute films.
On Sept. 19, a new committee of industry professionals -- directors Catherine Hardwicke and Dan Ireland; producers Ralph Winter, Todd Black and Fred Roos; screenwriter Larry Lasker; journalists James Greenberg and Sharon Waxman; attorney Michael Donaldson; cinematographer Nancy Schreiber; and producer's rep Jeff Dowd -- will choose the three top winners, who will all receive cash prizes.
The public can also watch the competing films and vote at www.thedoorpost.com.
All 10 films will be screened next Thursday at the Belcourt Theatre.
"This project was created for filmmakers who have a vision for life, a passion for filmmaking and the determination to get their creations seen,...
Michael Goi has been elected president of the American Society of Cinematographers.
The organization's other officers are VPs Richard Crudo, Owen Roizman and Victor J. Kemper; treasurer Matthew Leonetti; secretary Rodney Taylor; and sergeant-at-arms John C. Flinn, III.
Board members are Curtis Clark, George Spiro Dibie, Richard Edlund, John Hora, Stephen Lighthill, Isidore Mankofsky, Daryn Okada, Nancy Schreiber, Haskell Wexler and Vilmos Zsigmond.
Goi earned his first narrative film credit for "Moonstalker" in 1987. He has received Asc outstanding achievement awards nominations for the telefilms "The Fixer" and "Judas." Last year, Goi also earned an Emmy nomination for an episode of "My Name is Earl."
Asc was founded in 1919 by 15 charter members. In 1934, the organization created an associate membership category for individuals in other sectors of the industry who have made notable contributions to advancing the art and craft of cinematography. There are currently 310 active members and 160 associate members.
The organization's other officers are VPs Richard Crudo, Owen Roizman and Victor J. Kemper; treasurer Matthew Leonetti; secretary Rodney Taylor; and sergeant-at-arms John C. Flinn, III.
Board members are Curtis Clark, George Spiro Dibie, Richard Edlund, John Hora, Stephen Lighthill, Isidore Mankofsky, Daryn Okada, Nancy Schreiber, Haskell Wexler and Vilmos Zsigmond.
Goi earned his first narrative film credit for "Moonstalker" in 1987. He has received Asc outstanding achievement awards nominations for the telefilms "The Fixer" and "Judas." Last year, Goi also earned an Emmy nomination for an episode of "My Name is Earl."
Asc was founded in 1919 by 15 charter members. In 1934, the organization created an associate membership category for individuals in other sectors of the industry who have made notable contributions to advancing the art and craft of cinematography. There are currently 310 active members and 160 associate members.
- 6/9/2009
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Daryn Okada has been selected to serve a third one-year term as president of the American Society of Cinematographers.
The 2008-09 officers are vps Michael Goi, Owen Roizman and Richard Crudo; treasurer Victor J. Kemper; secretary Isidore Mankofsky; and sergeant at arms John Hora. The board members include Curtis Clark, Caleb Deschanel, John C. Flinn III, William A. Fraker, Stephen Lighthill, Robert Primes, Nancy Schreiber, Dante Spinotti and Kees Van Oostrum.
Membership in the 90-year-old ASC is by invitation based upon the individual's body of work.
Okada's credits include "Baby Mama" and "Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay," which opened at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, at the boxoffice on the same weekend this year. His upcoming titles include "The Goods: The Don Ready Story" and "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past".
"We are looking forward to a banner year," Okada said. "ASC has broken ground for the renovation of our historic Hollywood clubhouse, where our members and friends have met for 70 years. It contains a treasure trove of early film history and is a constant reminder of our mission." The project is expected to be completed next spring.
The 2008-09 officers are vps Michael Goi, Owen Roizman and Richard Crudo; treasurer Victor J. Kemper; secretary Isidore Mankofsky; and sergeant at arms John Hora. The board members include Curtis Clark, Caleb Deschanel, John C. Flinn III, William A. Fraker, Stephen Lighthill, Robert Primes, Nancy Schreiber, Dante Spinotti and Kees Van Oostrum.
Membership in the 90-year-old ASC is by invitation based upon the individual's body of work.
Okada's credits include "Baby Mama" and "Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay," which opened at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, at the boxoffice on the same weekend this year. His upcoming titles include "The Goods: The Don Ready Story" and "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past".
"We are looking forward to a banner year," Okada said. "ASC has broken ground for the renovation of our historic Hollywood clubhouse, where our members and friends have met for 70 years. It contains a treasure trove of early film history and is a constant reminder of our mission." The project is expected to be completed next spring.
- 6/17/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Sundance Institute has announced the members of the competition juries for the Sundance Film Festival, which runs from Thursday through Jan. 29. The dramatic competition jury includes Terrence Howard, the star of last year's festival hit Hustle & Flow, filmmakers Miguel Arteta (The Good Girl), Alan Rudolph (The Moderns) and Audrey Wells (Under the Tuscan Sun), and cinematographer Nancy Schreiber (November). On the documentary competition jury are editor Joe Bini (Grizzly Man) and filmmakers Zana Briski (Born Into Brothels), Andrew Jarecki (Capturing the Friedmans), Alexander Payne (Sideways) and Heather Rae (Trudell).
- 1/17/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
PARK CITY -- Family man Kevin Bacon goes behind the camera to explore a mother's obsessive love for her son in "Loverboy", a film starring his wife Kyra Sedgwick and featuring his daughter Sosie Bacon. It may take a parent to really appreciate what attracted him to such one-dimensional material. Good performances and a keen eye for period detail can't disguise the fact that not much is happening here story-wise. Beyond fans of the Bacon clan, pic is unlikely to generate much boxoffice sizzle.
Adapted from Victoria Redel's novel by Hannah Shakespeare, "Loverboy" may have been better suited to the page where it could have the subtlety and resonance missing on screen. As a film it works on only one level--crazy love.
As we see in flashbacks to her neglectful childhood with her lovebird parents (Bacon and Marisa Tomei), Emily Stoll (Kyra Sedgwick) is damaged goods. Her parents became a model for her of the limitations of exclusivity, so when she reaches adulthood, all she wants in life is to be a single parent totally devoted to raising her child. She reasons that by sleeping with a succession of men chosen for various qualities, her child will have no father, which is fine with her.
After years of moving around the country and trying to become pregnant, she finally conceives after a one-night stand with a conventioneer played charmingly by Campbell Scott. For some reason, insufficiently explained, she could never bear to have just an ordinary child, so she showers her son Dominic Scott Kay) with every attention and advantage. For a while it works: they have a great time camping out in the backyard, splashing purple paint on the walls of his room and talking to sheep. But by the time Loverboy, as she calls him, is six, cracks start to appear. He wants to have friends, go to school, have a normal life. Emily wants him all to herself.
And that's pretty much the entire set up for the ninety minutes of the film. Although they move from Yonkers to Cape Cod, the story has nowhere to go. Stuff happens--neighbors meddle, teachers get in the way--but the film doesn't get deeper or richer. Even the flashbacks to Emily at 12 (Sosie Bacon), where she visits her idealized mother in the neighborhood (an uncredited Sandra Bullock), fail to explain why she has a psychological need to totally control her son. Every mother has separation anxiety but this goes way beyond that.
Sometimes it's unclear what tone Bacon is shooting for. Things like sex in a library are too over the top to be realistic yet too serious to play for laughs. Although there's plenty of humor, the ending qualifies the film as a tragedy, despite the attempt to put a happy face on it. And Bacon doesn't seem to want to get into the implications of a mother kissing her son on the lips and calling him "Loverboy".
So, as far as it goes, the film is entertaining, thanks largely to Kay's natural likability. He belongs to the new generation of child actors who can actually create a character. Segdwick's great accomplishment is making Emily sympathetic even in the face of monstrous behavior. Tech credits are excellent for a limited budget, especially Nancy Schreiber's sensitive lensing and a lovely score by Kevin's brother Michael.
Bacon clearly has the ability to work well with actors and he's called in favors from friends like Matt Dillon, Oliver Platt, Bullock and Scott, who show up in small roles. But perhaps as a young director (he did one other film, "Losing Chase", in 1996) he held back on the story and stayed with something familiar. Hopefully, next time he will chose fuller material that allows him to spread his talent.
LOVERBOY
A Mixed Breed Films, Daniel Bigel/Michael Mailer production
Credits:
Director: Kevin Bacon
Writer: Hannah Shakespeare
Producers: Daniel Bigel, Michael Mailer, Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick, Avi Lerner
Director of photography: Nancy Schreiber
Production designer: Chris Shriver
Music: Michael Bacon
Co-producer:
Costume designer: John Dunn
Editor: David Ray.
Cast:
Emily Stoll: Kyra Sedgwick
Paul Stoll (age 6): Dominic Scott Kay
Marty Stoll: Kevin Bacon
Sybil Stoll: Marisa Tomei
Mark: Matt Dillon
Paul's father: Campbell Scott
Jeanette Rawley: Blair Brown
Emily (age 10): Sosie Bacon
Mr. Pomeroy: Oliver Platt
Mrs. Harker: (uncredited) Sandra Bullock.
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 87 minutes...
Adapted from Victoria Redel's novel by Hannah Shakespeare, "Loverboy" may have been better suited to the page where it could have the subtlety and resonance missing on screen. As a film it works on only one level--crazy love.
As we see in flashbacks to her neglectful childhood with her lovebird parents (Bacon and Marisa Tomei), Emily Stoll (Kyra Sedgwick) is damaged goods. Her parents became a model for her of the limitations of exclusivity, so when she reaches adulthood, all she wants in life is to be a single parent totally devoted to raising her child. She reasons that by sleeping with a succession of men chosen for various qualities, her child will have no father, which is fine with her.
After years of moving around the country and trying to become pregnant, she finally conceives after a one-night stand with a conventioneer played charmingly by Campbell Scott. For some reason, insufficiently explained, she could never bear to have just an ordinary child, so she showers her son Dominic Scott Kay) with every attention and advantage. For a while it works: they have a great time camping out in the backyard, splashing purple paint on the walls of his room and talking to sheep. But by the time Loverboy, as she calls him, is six, cracks start to appear. He wants to have friends, go to school, have a normal life. Emily wants him all to herself.
And that's pretty much the entire set up for the ninety minutes of the film. Although they move from Yonkers to Cape Cod, the story has nowhere to go. Stuff happens--neighbors meddle, teachers get in the way--but the film doesn't get deeper or richer. Even the flashbacks to Emily at 12 (Sosie Bacon), where she visits her idealized mother in the neighborhood (an uncredited Sandra Bullock), fail to explain why she has a psychological need to totally control her son. Every mother has separation anxiety but this goes way beyond that.
Sometimes it's unclear what tone Bacon is shooting for. Things like sex in a library are too over the top to be realistic yet too serious to play for laughs. Although there's plenty of humor, the ending qualifies the film as a tragedy, despite the attempt to put a happy face on it. And Bacon doesn't seem to want to get into the implications of a mother kissing her son on the lips and calling him "Loverboy".
So, as far as it goes, the film is entertaining, thanks largely to Kay's natural likability. He belongs to the new generation of child actors who can actually create a character. Segdwick's great accomplishment is making Emily sympathetic even in the face of monstrous behavior. Tech credits are excellent for a limited budget, especially Nancy Schreiber's sensitive lensing and a lovely score by Kevin's brother Michael.
Bacon clearly has the ability to work well with actors and he's called in favors from friends like Matt Dillon, Oliver Platt, Bullock and Scott, who show up in small roles. But perhaps as a young director (he did one other film, "Losing Chase", in 1996) he held back on the story and stayed with something familiar. Hopefully, next time he will chose fuller material that allows him to spread his talent.
LOVERBOY
A Mixed Breed Films, Daniel Bigel/Michael Mailer production
Credits:
Director: Kevin Bacon
Writer: Hannah Shakespeare
Producers: Daniel Bigel, Michael Mailer, Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick, Avi Lerner
Director of photography: Nancy Schreiber
Production designer: Chris Shriver
Music: Michael Bacon
Co-producer:
Costume designer: John Dunn
Editor: David Ray.
Cast:
Emily Stoll: Kyra Sedgwick
Paul Stoll (age 6): Dominic Scott Kay
Marty Stoll: Kevin Bacon
Sybil Stoll: Marisa Tomei
Mark: Matt Dillon
Paul's father: Campbell Scott
Jeanette Rawley: Blair Brown
Emily (age 10): Sosie Bacon
Mr. Pomeroy: Oliver Platt
Mrs. Harker: (uncredited) Sandra Bullock.
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 87 minutes...
- 1/27/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IFC Prods.
PARK CITY -- How annoyed a viewer will get with Greg Harrison's psychological thriller "November" will depend on how many times one has seen movies that play games with reality by tracking back and forth over a single incident, each time providing new and contradictory clues. This InDigEnt production, shot in digital video on a skimpy budget, does show how filmmakers can use light, color and design to push movies into experimental modes of storytelling more intriguing than big-budget thrillers that pay scant attention to style. The problem lies with the story these filmmakers choose to tell.
Benjamin Brand's script never levels with a viewer. Each time you witness the events of a Nov. 7 convenience store robbery, in which several people die, things transpire differently. This turns out to be neither a case of "Rashomon" nor recovered memory. Rather, the film is b.s.-ing you all along. What happens in the first act is shown to be a misrepresentation by the second act, which in turn proves a deliberate distortion in the third.
Like "Blow Up", the protagonist is a photographer, a person who supposedly can capture reality. On the night in question, Sophie (Courteney Cox) and boyfriend Hugh James Le Gros) stop at a corner market. While she waits in the car, Hugh is shot during the robbery.
A while after the murders, Sophie goes to a therapist (Nora Dunn) for help with stress and headaches. One day in the photography class she teaches, a slide taken of the store the night of the robbery turns up in the projector's carousel. She then experiences nightmares about the event that contradict her original story to police. Is she cracking up? Or did some other person witness the murders?
The night of Nov. 7 is shown three times, each with the circumstances and outcome drastically altered. The film also plays fast and loose with chronology, making it unclear whether events take place before or after the murders.
Playing a bewildered if not clueless character, Cox is as convincing as she could possibly be. Le Gros, Dunn, Michael Ealy as Cox's secret lover and Anne Archer as her mother are game, but the story line keeps changing their attitudes and motivations.
Cinematographer Nancy Schreiber is the movie's real heroine, as she dramatically meshes the real with the surreal, creating different looks and emotions for each segment through light and color.
PARK CITY -- How annoyed a viewer will get with Greg Harrison's psychological thriller "November" will depend on how many times one has seen movies that play games with reality by tracking back and forth over a single incident, each time providing new and contradictory clues. This InDigEnt production, shot in digital video on a skimpy budget, does show how filmmakers can use light, color and design to push movies into experimental modes of storytelling more intriguing than big-budget thrillers that pay scant attention to style. The problem lies with the story these filmmakers choose to tell.
Benjamin Brand's script never levels with a viewer. Each time you witness the events of a Nov. 7 convenience store robbery, in which several people die, things transpire differently. This turns out to be neither a case of "Rashomon" nor recovered memory. Rather, the film is b.s.-ing you all along. What happens in the first act is shown to be a misrepresentation by the second act, which in turn proves a deliberate distortion in the third.
Like "Blow Up", the protagonist is a photographer, a person who supposedly can capture reality. On the night in question, Sophie (Courteney Cox) and boyfriend Hugh James Le Gros) stop at a corner market. While she waits in the car, Hugh is shot during the robbery.
A while after the murders, Sophie goes to a therapist (Nora Dunn) for help with stress and headaches. One day in the photography class she teaches, a slide taken of the store the night of the robbery turns up in the projector's carousel. She then experiences nightmares about the event that contradict her original story to police. Is she cracking up? Or did some other person witness the murders?
The night of Nov. 7 is shown three times, each with the circumstances and outcome drastically altered. The film also plays fast and loose with chronology, making it unclear whether events take place before or after the murders.
Playing a bewildered if not clueless character, Cox is as convincing as she could possibly be. Le Gros, Dunn, Michael Ealy as Cox's secret lover and Anne Archer as her mother are game, but the story line keeps changing their attitudes and motivations.
Cinematographer Nancy Schreiber is the movie's real heroine, as she dramatically meshes the real with the surreal, creating different looks and emotions for each segment through light and color.
IFC Prods.
PARK CITY -- How annoyed a viewer will get with Greg Harrison's psychological thriller "November" will depend on how many times one has seen movies that play games with reality by tracking back and forth over a single incident, each time providing new and contradictory clues. This InDigEnt production, shot in digital video on a skimpy budget, does show how filmmakers can use light, color and design to push movies into experimental modes of storytelling more intriguing than big-budget thrillers that pay scant attention to style. The problem lies with the story these filmmakers choose to tell.
Benjamin Brand's script never levels with a viewer. Each time you witness the events of a Nov. 7 convenience store robbery, in which several people die, things transpire differently. This turns out to be neither a case of "Rashomon" nor recovered memory. Rather, the film is b.s.-ing you all along. What happens in the first act is shown to be a misrepresentation by the second act, which in turn proves a deliberate distortion in the third.
Like "Blow Up", the protagonist is a photographer, a person who supposedly can capture reality. On the night in question, Sophie (Courteney Cox) and boyfriend Hugh James Le Gros) stop at a corner market. While she waits in the car, Hugh is shot during the robbery.
A while after the murders, Sophie goes to a therapist (Nora Dunn) for help with stress and headaches. One day in the photography class she teaches, a slide taken of the store the night of the robbery turns up in the projector's carousel. She then experiences nightmares about the event that contradict her original story to police. Is she cracking up? Or did some other person witness the murders?
The night of Nov. 7 is shown three times, each with the circumstances and outcome drastically altered. The film also plays fast and loose with chronology, making it unclear whether events take place before or after the murders.
Playing a bewildered if not clueless character, Cox is as convincing as she could possibly be. Le Gros, Dunn, Michael Ealy as Cox's secret lover and Anne Archer as her mother are game, but the story line keeps changing their attitudes and motivations.
Cinematographer Nancy Schreiber is the movie's real heroine, as she dramatically meshes the real with the surreal, creating different looks and emotions for each segment through light and color.
PARK CITY -- How annoyed a viewer will get with Greg Harrison's psychological thriller "November" will depend on how many times one has seen movies that play games with reality by tracking back and forth over a single incident, each time providing new and contradictory clues. This InDigEnt production, shot in digital video on a skimpy budget, does show how filmmakers can use light, color and design to push movies into experimental modes of storytelling more intriguing than big-budget thrillers that pay scant attention to style. The problem lies with the story these filmmakers choose to tell.
Benjamin Brand's script never levels with a viewer. Each time you witness the events of a Nov. 7 convenience store robbery, in which several people die, things transpire differently. This turns out to be neither a case of "Rashomon" nor recovered memory. Rather, the film is b.s.-ing you all along. What happens in the first act is shown to be a misrepresentation by the second act, which in turn proves a deliberate distortion in the third.
Like "Blow Up", the protagonist is a photographer, a person who supposedly can capture reality. On the night in question, Sophie (Courteney Cox) and boyfriend Hugh James Le Gros) stop at a corner market. While she waits in the car, Hugh is shot during the robbery.
A while after the murders, Sophie goes to a therapist (Nora Dunn) for help with stress and headaches. One day in the photography class she teaches, a slide taken of the store the night of the robbery turns up in the projector's carousel. She then experiences nightmares about the event that contradict her original story to police. Is she cracking up? Or did some other person witness the murders?
The night of Nov. 7 is shown three times, each with the circumstances and outcome drastically altered. The film also plays fast and loose with chronology, making it unclear whether events take place before or after the murders.
Playing a bewildered if not clueless character, Cox is as convincing as she could possibly be. Le Gros, Dunn, Michael Ealy as Cox's secret lover and Anne Archer as her mother are game, but the story line keeps changing their attitudes and motivations.
Cinematographer Nancy Schreiber is the movie's real heroine, as she dramatically meshes the real with the surreal, creating different looks and emotions for each segment through light and color.
- 1/27/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Neil LaBute's follow-up to his breakthrough debut, "In the Company of Men", is a similarly themed, tough-talking exploration of sexual politics.
A larger budget and big-name actors give this film a glossier sheen than its predecessor and should result in bigger boxoffice as well, but "Your Friends & Neighbors" suffers from the same artificiality and stiffness that made "Men" such an academic exercise.
LaBute seems determined to shock in his portraits of the war between the sexes, and here he takes on marital relations, focusing on two couples: Jerry (Ben Stiller), a pretentious college drama professor, and his beleaguered wife Terri (Catherine Keener); and Barry (Aaron Eckhart, so powerful as the sleazy protagonist of "Men") and his dissatisfied wife Mary (Amy Brenneman).
Also figuring prominently are the misogynistic Cary (Jason Patric), a friend to both men, and Cheri (Nastassja Kinski), a beautiful artist's assistant who is hit on by every male character but who begins an affair with Terri. These names, incidentally, come courtesy of the press notes; LaBute, using the by now cliched method of universalizing his characters, uses no names in the film.
Both couples are clearly having problems.
When we first encounter Jerry and Terri together, she is complaining about his habit of constantly talking to her during sex, a complaint she expresses in the most colorful terms. Barry and Mary's sex life is nonexistent despite his constant reminders to her of his physically aroused state. He's the kind of man who is able to advise, in utter seriousness, "You need to see me as a penis".
The good-looking Cary is equally messed up; the film's opening shot features him earnestly humping his empty bed, all the while practicing his sex talk for the "chicks."
Jerry and Mary make an ill-fated attempt at an affair, but he, much to Mary's frustration, fails to physically perform. The resulting complications form the crux of the story, which resembles one of Woody Allen's tales of urban, love-starved neurotics, as interpreted by David Mamet.
LaBute, who wrote and directed, is clearly onto something in his depictions of the fractured relationships between the sexes; one has only to consult the best-seller list, filled with titles by the likes of John Gray, to gauge how skillfully he's tapping into the national zeitgeist.
But this film, like his first work, feels more like an exaggerated polemic than a drama (or comedy) filled with living, breathing characters. Although everyone in the audience should wince with the recognition of a common attitude with one of the onscreen figures, the overall effect is more repellent than enlightening, more dependent on shock value than insight.
Still, the film should fulfill its mission of inviting debate and discussion, and there are some moments that resonate with a comic horror. The skillful performers don't flinch from depicting the more unsavory sides of their characters. Stiller (on an acting roll these days) delineates Jerry's smugness and falsity with clinical precision. Keener's portrayal of the sharp-tongued Terri should strike a chord with unhappy women everywhere, and Brenneman, as the more vulnerable Mary, is quite affecting.
Eckhart, who gained considerable weight for his role, is the perfect embodiment of male sluggishness, while Patric, no doubt happy to be free of the mindlessness of a "Speed 2", conveys Cary's slimy chauvinism with all-out gusto. And Kinski, conveying intelligence as well as stunning beauty, is a perfectly cast object of desire.
The canny choice of musical score features the music of Metallica as interpreted by a string quartet. These refined, prettified renditions of dark, incendiary material perfectly reflect the characters' attempts to mask their immoral behavior under the guise of sophistication.
YOUR FRIENDS & NEIGHBORS
Gramercy Pictures
Director-screenplay: Neil LaBute
Producers: Steve Golin, Jason Patric
Executive producers: Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Stephen Pevner
Co-producer: Philip Steuer
Director of photography: Nancy Schreiber
Editor: Joel Plotch
Color/stereo
Cast:
Mary: Amy Brenneman
Barry: Aaron Eckhart
Terri: Catherine Keener
Cheri: Nastassja Kinski
Cary: Jason Patric
Jerry: Ben Stiller
Running time -- 100 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
A larger budget and big-name actors give this film a glossier sheen than its predecessor and should result in bigger boxoffice as well, but "Your Friends & Neighbors" suffers from the same artificiality and stiffness that made "Men" such an academic exercise.
LaBute seems determined to shock in his portraits of the war between the sexes, and here he takes on marital relations, focusing on two couples: Jerry (Ben Stiller), a pretentious college drama professor, and his beleaguered wife Terri (Catherine Keener); and Barry (Aaron Eckhart, so powerful as the sleazy protagonist of "Men") and his dissatisfied wife Mary (Amy Brenneman).
Also figuring prominently are the misogynistic Cary (Jason Patric), a friend to both men, and Cheri (Nastassja Kinski), a beautiful artist's assistant who is hit on by every male character but who begins an affair with Terri. These names, incidentally, come courtesy of the press notes; LaBute, using the by now cliched method of universalizing his characters, uses no names in the film.
Both couples are clearly having problems.
When we first encounter Jerry and Terri together, she is complaining about his habit of constantly talking to her during sex, a complaint she expresses in the most colorful terms. Barry and Mary's sex life is nonexistent despite his constant reminders to her of his physically aroused state. He's the kind of man who is able to advise, in utter seriousness, "You need to see me as a penis".
The good-looking Cary is equally messed up; the film's opening shot features him earnestly humping his empty bed, all the while practicing his sex talk for the "chicks."
Jerry and Mary make an ill-fated attempt at an affair, but he, much to Mary's frustration, fails to physically perform. The resulting complications form the crux of the story, which resembles one of Woody Allen's tales of urban, love-starved neurotics, as interpreted by David Mamet.
LaBute, who wrote and directed, is clearly onto something in his depictions of the fractured relationships between the sexes; one has only to consult the best-seller list, filled with titles by the likes of John Gray, to gauge how skillfully he's tapping into the national zeitgeist.
But this film, like his first work, feels more like an exaggerated polemic than a drama (or comedy) filled with living, breathing characters. Although everyone in the audience should wince with the recognition of a common attitude with one of the onscreen figures, the overall effect is more repellent than enlightening, more dependent on shock value than insight.
Still, the film should fulfill its mission of inviting debate and discussion, and there are some moments that resonate with a comic horror. The skillful performers don't flinch from depicting the more unsavory sides of their characters. Stiller (on an acting roll these days) delineates Jerry's smugness and falsity with clinical precision. Keener's portrayal of the sharp-tongued Terri should strike a chord with unhappy women everywhere, and Brenneman, as the more vulnerable Mary, is quite affecting.
Eckhart, who gained considerable weight for his role, is the perfect embodiment of male sluggishness, while Patric, no doubt happy to be free of the mindlessness of a "Speed 2", conveys Cary's slimy chauvinism with all-out gusto. And Kinski, conveying intelligence as well as stunning beauty, is a perfectly cast object of desire.
The canny choice of musical score features the music of Metallica as interpreted by a string quartet. These refined, prettified renditions of dark, incendiary material perfectly reflect the characters' attempts to mask their immoral behavior under the guise of sophistication.
YOUR FRIENDS & NEIGHBORS
Gramercy Pictures
Director-screenplay: Neil LaBute
Producers: Steve Golin, Jason Patric
Executive producers: Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Stephen Pevner
Co-producer: Philip Steuer
Director of photography: Nancy Schreiber
Editor: Joel Plotch
Color/stereo
Cast:
Mary: Amy Brenneman
Barry: Aaron Eckhart
Terri: Catherine Keener
Cheri: Nastassja Kinski
Cary: Jason Patric
Jerry: Ben Stiller
Running time -- 100 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 8/14/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A chain, we're told, is only as good as its weakest link, and in ''Chain of Desire, '' an erotic tale in which characters seek revivification from emotional deadness more than genuine sensuality, each link seems equally dysfunctional.
Writer-director Temistocles Lopez has created a stylish, intriguing contemporary fable that, in lamenting its own sexiness, should find a cult audience fully attuned to the prevailing zeitgeist.
''Chain'' is an updating of Max Ophuls' 1950 ''La Ronde, '' which has been previously reworked as Jacques Demy's ''Lola'' (1960) and Roger Vadim's ''Circle of Love'' (1964) -- it's a Rube Goldberg concoction set in perpetual motion by sex. Set in trendily decadent New York, ''Chain'' opens on a singer at an exotic underground club, Alma D'Angeli (Linda Fiorentino) -- her name seems a knowing wink at Pedro Almodovar, master of this sort of pansexual politics.
Alma rejects an urgent phone call from a former lover and, distraught, heads to a nearby church to clear her head. There she encounters a painter named Jesus (Elias Koteas), whose tenderness seduces her. Jesus then heads home and makes love to his wife, who goes to work the next day, only to be propositioned by her kinky employer. And so on.
As further trysts ensue -- Malcolm McDowell, Seymour Cassel and Grace Zabriskie figure prominently in the proceedings -- they cross gender and economic boundaries, and run the gamut from satire to pathos. They also become increasingly dispassionate and disconnected, angry and confused, until, finally, three voyeurs masturbate while watching each other from separate apartment buildings, safely conjoined by their isolation.
Perhaps too tidily, Lopez wraps things up by bringing everyone together at the nightclub where Alma performs, a finale that recalls Robert Altman's ''Nashville, '' with the pulsing throng partying away, oblivious to the tragedy enveloping them. Songs performed throughout the film serve as an unnecessary Cliff Notes for the movie, baldly spelling out its themes.
Lopez's clever schematics reveal just enough about each character to engage the audience, yet the film seems too pat in its cross-sectioning of society; its ambitions are more easily admired than enjoyed.
Still, there's a disquieting power to the work -- visual compositions are striking, and well-photographed by Nancy Schreiber -- as Lopez incisively essays a culture in the last-gasp days of AIDS denial.
CHAIN OF DESIRE
Mad Dog Pictures
Director-writer Temistocles Lopez
Producer Brian Cox
Cinematographer Nancy Schreiber
Editor Suzanne Fenn
Music Nathan Birnbaum
Color
Cast:
Alma Linda Fiorentino
Jesus Elias Koteas
Linda Grace Zabriskie
Hubert Malcolm McDowell
David Dewey Weber
Diana Holly Marie Combs
Mel Seymour Cassel
Cleo Assumpta Serna
Running time -- 105 minutes
No MPAA rating
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
Writer-director Temistocles Lopez has created a stylish, intriguing contemporary fable that, in lamenting its own sexiness, should find a cult audience fully attuned to the prevailing zeitgeist.
''Chain'' is an updating of Max Ophuls' 1950 ''La Ronde, '' which has been previously reworked as Jacques Demy's ''Lola'' (1960) and Roger Vadim's ''Circle of Love'' (1964) -- it's a Rube Goldberg concoction set in perpetual motion by sex. Set in trendily decadent New York, ''Chain'' opens on a singer at an exotic underground club, Alma D'Angeli (Linda Fiorentino) -- her name seems a knowing wink at Pedro Almodovar, master of this sort of pansexual politics.
Alma rejects an urgent phone call from a former lover and, distraught, heads to a nearby church to clear her head. There she encounters a painter named Jesus (Elias Koteas), whose tenderness seduces her. Jesus then heads home and makes love to his wife, who goes to work the next day, only to be propositioned by her kinky employer. And so on.
As further trysts ensue -- Malcolm McDowell, Seymour Cassel and Grace Zabriskie figure prominently in the proceedings -- they cross gender and economic boundaries, and run the gamut from satire to pathos. They also become increasingly dispassionate and disconnected, angry and confused, until, finally, three voyeurs masturbate while watching each other from separate apartment buildings, safely conjoined by their isolation.
Perhaps too tidily, Lopez wraps things up by bringing everyone together at the nightclub where Alma performs, a finale that recalls Robert Altman's ''Nashville, '' with the pulsing throng partying away, oblivious to the tragedy enveloping them. Songs performed throughout the film serve as an unnecessary Cliff Notes for the movie, baldly spelling out its themes.
Lopez's clever schematics reveal just enough about each character to engage the audience, yet the film seems too pat in its cross-sectioning of society; its ambitions are more easily admired than enjoyed.
Still, there's a disquieting power to the work -- visual compositions are striking, and well-photographed by Nancy Schreiber -- as Lopez incisively essays a culture in the last-gasp days of AIDS denial.
CHAIN OF DESIRE
Mad Dog Pictures
Director-writer Temistocles Lopez
Producer Brian Cox
Cinematographer Nancy Schreiber
Editor Suzanne Fenn
Music Nathan Birnbaum
Color
Cast:
Alma Linda Fiorentino
Jesus Elias Koteas
Linda Grace Zabriskie
Hubert Malcolm McDowell
David Dewey Weber
Diana Holly Marie Combs
Mel Seymour Cassel
Cleo Assumpta Serna
Running time -- 105 minutes
No MPAA rating
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
- 6/29/1993
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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