Anchor Bay Entertainment

Classic film restoration is one of the greatest byproducts of the DVD revolution. The devotion of a niche audience is perfectly served by these technological advances, which offer better viewing experiences of well-loved films as well as an inside look at the minds behind these masterpieces. Several distribution companies have made their name by specializing in this subset of the film world, but few have dedicated themselves to classic horror and cult cinema as passionately as Anchor Bay Entertainment.

Anchor Bay is currently one of the top independent DVD distributors in the U.S., covering a variety of genres from anime to TV series. However, the company’s primary boon is its impressive collection of restored horror and cult films, from Robin Hardy’s The Wicker Man to Michael Lehman’s Heathers. Now Anchor Bay is one-upping itself with the creation of the Anchor Bay Collection, a new series of limited edition DVDs featuring some of the most celebrated modern classics in cult and horror.

“Fans have trusted the Anchor Bay name, ever since the beginning of DVD, to present their favorite cult and horror films with care and respect,” says Mark Ward, vice president of acquisitions at Anchor Bay. “Not only will the Anchor Bay Collection create definitive, archival editions of some of the greatest horror films ever made, but also embrace the best in cult films as well.” First up on the roster will be Stuart Gordon’s 1985 classic Re-Animator, to be released March 20.

For more information on the Anchor Bay Collection and other releases, visit http://www.anchorbayentertainment.com.

Sound Off: What other neglected film genres do you think deserve special attention from a distribution house? Let us know in the comments section!

February 12th, 2007 | Category: Exhibitor of the Week | By MovieMaker Staff

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Film Society of Lincoln Center

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when the Film Society of Lincoln Center (FSLC) became the behemoth film hub it is today. What is certain, however, is that sometime between its founding in 1969 and today, the organization has supported the movie industry in every way available. Just count the premieres, retrospectives and film festivals held by the FSLC over the years and you’ll get a hint of what makes it the respected institution it is today.

Right alongside some of the biggest festivals each year, FSLC’s New York Film Festival is used by prominent moviemakers and lucky first-timers alike to screen new films each September. Without competition categories or prizes, the festival remains one of a few still dedicated to the true visual art that is moviemaking rather than the art of the deal.

Each year, the society holds programs at its own Walter Reade Theater, built in 1991. Richard Peña, program director at FSLC calls this the most significant advancement for the society. “Having our own space for year-round programs has enabled us to increase the impact of the work of the New York Film Festival, New Directors/New Films and Film Comment magazine exponentially, and soon the creation of our two new screening spaces (due in 2009) should have a similar effect.” From February 14 - 27, look for the Film Comment Selects series held at the New York theater featuring movies chosen especially by the staff of Film Comment.

For more information on this and other FSLC programs, visit http://www.filmlinc.com.

Sound Off: The Film Society of Lincoln Center opened its Walter Reade Theater 15 years ago in order to create a space dedicated to the exhibition of independent cinema. Would you be inclined to travel the distance to see a specific movie at a specially built theater, or are you more likely to go see whatever is playing at the theater nearest you? Let us know in the comments section!

February 12th, 2007 | Category: Association of the Week | By MovieMaker Staff

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Top of the Box Office

1. Norbit
Paramount Pictures
Weekend Gross: $33,740,000
Total Gross: $33,740,000

2. Hannibal Rising
Weinstein Co.
Weekend Gross: $13,350,000
Total Gross: $13,350,000

3. Because I Said So
Universal
Weekend Gross: $9,041,175
Total Gross: $25,625,765

4. The Messengers
Sony Pictures
Weekend Gross: $7,200,000
Total Gross: $24,724,000

5. Night at the Museum
20th Century Fox
Weekend Gross: $5,750,000
Total Gross: $232,145,996

6. Epic Movie
20th Century Fox
Weekend Gross: $4,450,000
Total Gross: $35,474,169

7. Smokin’ Aces
Universal
Weekend Gross: $3,793,275
Total Gross: $30,854,395

8. Pan’s Labyrinth
Picturehouse Entertainment
Weekend Gross: $3,549,446
Total Gross: $26,591,220

9. Dreamgirls
Dreamworks SKG
Weekend Gross: $3,093,000
Total Gross: $97,119,000

10. The Queen
Miramax
Weekend Gross: $2,510,000
Total Gross: $49,035,000

All data courtesy of www.the-numbers.com

February 11th, 2007 | Category: Top of the Box Office | By MovieMaker Staff

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This Day in Indie History: Jean Renoir

Renowned French moviemaker Jean Renoir died of a heart attack on this day in 1979. Born September 5, 1894 to impressionist painter Auguste Renoir, Jean saw his early career built on the shoulders of his father—funding his first film from the sale of his deceased father’s paintings and using his father’s former model as a lead actress in many of his early works. It was during WWII that the younger Renoir, recuperating from his tour of duty, discovered his love of the medium he would later famously revolutionize.

Renoir’s love of his country and his politically-charged ideals would later become evident in films such as A Day in the Country, The Lower Depths, The Human Beast and, perhaps most famously, Grand Illusion and The Rules of the Game. Although he received very little public or critical approval while he was alive, Renoir has become one of the most accomplished moviemakers in history—making strides in his home country and abroad. In 1975, he received his only career Oscar: An honorary lifetime achievement award.

Factoid: In 1931 Jean Renoir made his first sound film, On Purge Bebe, which went on to become a huge success. Later that year, riding the wave of his earlier talkie, Renoir released the full-length feature The Bitch. The film established his technique of using only the naturally synched-sound made during production instead of later creating noise as filler.

February 11th, 2007 | Category: This Day in Indie History | By MovieMaker Staff

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This Day in Indie History: Mia Farrow

The porcelain-like, golden-tressed actress Mia Farrow was born in Los Angeles on this day in 1945. Her father was Australian director John Farrow and her mother was actress Maureen O’Sullivan, who is best known for playing Jane to Johnny Weismuller’s Tarzan. But when the young Mia expressed an interest in acting, her father sent her to a European convent school. After his passing in 1963, the actress landed a role in an Off-Broadway production of The Importance of Being Earnest and her career soon took off. Her stint in the television hit “Peyton Place” led to screen time and her now famous character in Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby. While Farrow’s version of Daisy Buchanan in 1974’s The Great Gatsby was critically panned, she soon found herself the muse of director Woody Allen. Together they made seven films in 10 years, including Hannah and Her Sisters and Husbands and Wives.

Factoid: Mia Farrow’s romantic relationships have often been tabloid fodder, but her caring nature never gathers quite the same publicity coverage. In 1970 the actress and her then husband, conductor Andre Previn, gave birth to twin boys. Since then Mia’s brood has grown to 14 in number—10 of whom she has adopted from foreign countries.

February 8th, 2007 | Category: This Day in Indie History | By MovieMaker Staff

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This Day in Indie History: Taxi Driver

Nominated for four Academy Awards, Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver opened to the public at New York’s Cinema I on this day in 1976. Running with the tagline “On every street in every city, there’s a nobody who dreams of being a somebody,” the movie addressed not only the gritty realism of the city, much as Scorsese’s Mean Streets had, but also touched on the post-War environment and its affects on soldiers returning from Vietnam. In its immediate commercial success, the movie launched the careers of both Robert De Niro and Jodie Foster.

Film Factoid: Taxi Driver marked the second of eight films (s0 far) that Scorsese has directed De Niro. The New York duo also collaborated on 1973’s Mean Streets, 1977’s New York, New York, the Oscar-nominated Raging Bull, The King of Comedy, Goodfellas, Cape Fear and, most recently, Casino.

February 7th, 2007 | Category: This Day in Indie History | By MovieMaker Staff

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This Day in Indie History: James Spader

James Spader was born this day in 1960. Despite the influence of his academic parents, the Boston-born actor had left school by the age of 17, only to land roles in mundane television movies and serial duds. Feature films came shortly after though. Perhaps most memorably, he played a yuppie heartthrob in the 80s cult-hit Pretty in Pink before moving on to Diane Keaton’s conniving successor in Baby Boom and a drug pusher in Less Than Zero (1987). But it wasn’t until 1989 that Spader found his niche with sex, lies, and videotape. The Steven Soderbergh-directed hit helped to make Sundance the goliath festival it is today and earned its leading man the Best Actor trophy at Cannes that same year. No doubt it also launched his career as the sexually piquant man you want to hate, but can’t help liking—just a little bit.

Film Star Factoid: Unfortunately for audiences, James Spader dropped off the map for a while, only seen in films such as 1996’s 2 Days in the Valley and Walter Hill’s Supernova. But it was Sundance that once again made him a star, when the film Secretary became a festival hit in 2002. His return to prominence led to his current Emmy-winning role on the television drama “Boston Legal.”

February 6th, 2007 | Category: This Day in Indie History | By MovieMaker Staff

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This Day in Indie History: François Truffaut

French moviemaker François Truffaut was born this day in 1932. Famous for being part of the French New Wave, the writer-director originally found himself a member of the French Army. After deserting early and a resulting prison sentence, Truffaut began dedicating his life to film. To this day, his contributions—including the script for Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless and the semi-autobiographical The 400 Blows—remain some of the most memorable to emerge from the period.

Factoid: The movies of François Truffaut are still studied today, but the creative mind is also noted as the first advocate of the popular “auteur theory.” The theory, first published André Bazin in Cahiers du Cinema, is said to be the start of the French New Wave—pressing directors to imprint a unique signature to their work.

February 5th, 2007 | Category: This Day in Indie History | By MovieMaker Staff

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Anthony Minghella

Though you might think of Anthony Minghella as only a director, it is the screenwriting trade that first brought the now world-famous moviemaker to a career in film. Born to Scottish-Italian parents in 1954, Minghella worked briefly as a university professor, where he began writing music and plays. By 1984, he had won the London Theater Critics Award for Most Promising Playwright. Eventually, Minghella would move to television writing, making his directorial debut with the 1991 BBC made-for-TV film Truly, Madly, Deeply. When the company decided to release his film into theaters, Minghella would make the leap from small screen to big with almost immediate success, winning a BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay in the process.

In 1996, the writer-director showed his talent for epic romances with The English Patient. The film would be nominated for 12 Academy Awards, winning a total of nine, including Best Picture and Best Director, catapulting Minghella to international fame. Most recently, Minghella has teamed up for a third time with actor Jude Law in Breaking and Entering, which opens in limited release on February 9. An examination of the repercussions of literal and emotional theft, Breaking and Entering pairs Law with The English Patient star Juliette Binoche in a story of love and betrayal that crosses class boundaries in modern-day London. Says Minghella of writing his first original script since Truly, Madly, Deeply: “Oddly enough, when I’m writing, I don’t really think about actors. The truth is that, in the most banal sense, writing is an investigation of self… What I aspire to, as a writer, is to go as deeply into my own turmoil and debate and pain and joy, and try and animate it in some way.”

For more information on Breaking and Entering, visit its website.

Sound Off: Do you agree with Minghella’s assertion that “writing is an investigation of self?” Why or why not? Let us know in the comments section!

Director Anthony Minghella of Weinstein Company’s Breaking and Entering - 2006.

February 5th, 2007 | Category: Screenwriter of the Week | By MovieMaker Staff

Comments: 3

The Pang Brothers

Identical twins are known for being intrinsically bonded to one another. Studies have shown that twins separated at birth will follow remarkably similar paths, even giving their children the same names. In the world of moviemaking, twin brothers Danny and Oxide Pang have translated this bond into a career as two of the hottest names in horror.

The Pang brothers, who hail from Hong Kong, began collaborating on films with the 1999 gangster flick Bangkok Dangerous. However, it was not until 2002’s The Eye that the siblings would come to the attention of the international film community. The chilling horror film, whose blind heroine inherits psychic powers after an eye transplant, became a worldwide hit and spawned two sequels as well as an upcoming English-language remake.

The brothers most recently collaborated on their first American film, The Messengers, which opens in theaters on February 2 and is produced by horror auteur Sam Raimi. In a unique move, the brothers split their duties by alternating days as director, and spending their “time off” editing the previous day’s footage. “They really have a symbiotic mind,” says The Messengers producer Jason Sherman. “They can be together and you can ask them a very detailed question and they don’t even need to look at each other… They are totally on the same wavelength—this one unified vision they share.” Next up, the siblings will implement their unified vision on the set of the Nicolas Cage thriller, Time to Kill.

For more information on the Pang brothers and their recent projects, visit their website.

Sound Off: Do you think you could ever collaborate creatively and professionally with a sibling the way the Pang brothers do? Or does the prospect of working that closely with your brother or sister make you run screaming? Talk back in the comments section!

Directors Oxide Pang and Danny Pang on the set of Columbia Pictures’ The Messengers - 2007.

February 5th, 2007 | Category: Moviemaker of the Week | By MovieMaker Staff

Comments: 1

Victoria, Australia

We all know the Land Down Under has several claims to fame in the movie world: Films like Shine, Strictly Ballroom and Muriel’s Wedding have been hits worldwide, and many Australian actors are among Hollywood’s biggest draws, including Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman and of course, MM’s latest covergirl, Cate Blanchett. What you might not have realized is the growing popularity of the world’s smallest continent as a moviemaking locale, in particular the southeastern state of Victoria.

With FilmVictoria’s help, it’s no wonder moviemakers continually flock to the region. The office provides everything from funding incentives and alternatives to online production and location directories. As Australia’s second most populous state, Victoria is home to over five million people and boasts a diverse and beautiful landscape of rock formations, caves, beaches and lakes. Several moviemakers have recently used the area (which includes the city of Melbourne) as the setting for their films, including the live-action version of Charlotte’s Web, the horror film Rogue, the superhero flick Ghost Rider (starring Nicolas Cage) and Spike Jonze’s upcoming Where the Wild Things Are.

For more information on making your next movie on Victorian turf, visit www.film.vic.gov.au.

Check out Victoria’s past film appearances in:
A Cry in the Dark
Darkness Falls
Queen of the Damned
Picnic at Hanging Rock
The Hard Word

Sound Off: From Strictly Ballroom to Where the Wild Things Are, Australia has served many a moviemaker’s needs. What films do you think could have benefited from being filmed on location in the country? Let us know in the comments section!

Photo: Dakota Fanning as Fern in Paramount Pictures’ Charlotte’s Web - 2006.

February 5th, 2007 | Category: Location of the Week | By MovieMaker Staff

Comments: 2

Animation Mentor

It’s not uncommon to see ads for online universities on your favorite Website, or even have them pop-up with an accidental click of the mouse. Like many people, you’ve probably wondered about these schools—are they real? Will they help? Are they reputable? The answers to those questions are yes, yes and yes… at least if you’re talking about Animation Mentor.

The first school of its kind, Animation Mentor offers its international student body a diploma in Advanced Studies in Character Animation. Courses are taught by experienced animators, employed by some of the top companies in the field (i.e. Pixar, Industrial Light & Magic, Dreamworks and Sony Pictures Imageworks). “We call our teachers ‘mentors,’ because this is exactly what they do: One-on-one mentoring, in addition to leading interactive Web classes,” says Animation Mentor CEO and president Bobby Beck.

This online film school began from a conversation between Beck and his peers Shawn Kelly (ILM) and Carlos Baena (Pixar). What and how would they want to learn if they were given the chance to begin again? Establishing an online school was an obvious choice, Beck explains: “All of our mentors spend long days working on films such as Shrek 3, Pirates of the Caribbean and Ratatouille, and the Internet provides the best way for them to teach at the same time.” Last month, the student body gathered in San Francisco to celebrate the commencement of its first class, and since then many graduates have already received job offers from the top studios. Looks like this online education revolution just might work out.

Looking to apply? Head over to www.animationmentor.com for more information.

Sound Off: Animation Mentor seems to have found a way to optimize online education. Do you think this kind of long-distance learning can work with other moviemaking specialties? Let us know in the comments section!

Photo: Student Taylor Mahoney participating in an online class with microphone and headset.  Courtesy of Animation Mentor.

February 5th, 2007 | Category: Film School of the Week | By MovieMaker Staff

Comments: 3

The East Lansing Children’s Film Festival

Location: East Lansing, MI
Dates: February 23 - March 1, 2007

It’s common knowledge that the younger you are when you start learning a language, the easier it is to gain fluency. This same principle should be applied to the language of film, something which the East Lansing Children’s Film Festival (ELCFF) understands better than most. For the past 10 years, the festival has brought the young people of East Lansing, Michigan together to appreciate the world of film, exposing them to international cinema and shining a spotlight on the young moviemakers in their midst. “I believe it is important to expose kids to independent film because it allows them to view into worlds and experiences that they normally do not have a chance to experience,” says festival director Michelle Carlson. “It is equally important to expose them to filmmaking, [which] allows kids to express themselves and have a voice in other ways than they normally do.”

The 2007 festival, which marks the ELCFF’s tenth, will include more than 100 feature and short films from around the world. Additionally, the festival will feature acting, animation and moviemaking workshops, a special slate of films geared toward the teenaged members of the audience and a presentation of the winning films from the previous year’s Youth Film Competition. In addition to the yearly festival, the ELCFF also offers a Junior Film Critics Club and a Young Directors Workshop, geared toward burgeoning moviemakers in fourth through sixth grades. Over the past decade the ELCFF has proved, with its diverse and continually expanding programs, that it is never too early to start learning the language of film.

For more information on the 2007 festival, visit www.elcff.com.

Sound Off: For many film buffs, love of the medium began in childhood. What is the first film you remember seeing? What is the first film that made you want to become a moviemaker? Reminisce in the comments section!

February 5th, 2007 | Category: Festival of the Week | By MovieMaker Staff

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Facets Multi-Media

Facets Multimedia is changing the face of independent film exhibition and distribution, one movie at a time. Founded in 1975, the Chicago-based organization prides itself on remaining one of the nation’s largest go-to distributors for hard-to-find niche films. According to the company’s marketing director, Ed Husayko, Facets was founded in order “to give people a chance to see films they had read about in film books or seen at a university film society. We were defined at the time [as a] ‘revival house.’”

Currently the company houses over 60,000 titles available for sale, and many for rental with their rent-by-mail membership program. In addition to these efforts, Facets’ recent venture into DVD production has produced nearly 15 new movies each month on the Facets DVD label. For Windy City natives, Facets’ Cinémathèque division manages daily screenings, festivals and “CineChats” with top directors at its two Chicago theaters. “We give the people of Chicago an alternative to what is commercially shown and the more commercial side of ‘independent cinema’,” says Husayko. “We still believe that there are movies produced for a certain niche audience and we are still committed to allowing this great, sometimes challenging, cinema to be shown.”

Visit www.facets.org for more information on what Facets has to offer you!

Sound Off: Facets Multimedia is truly a champion of indie cinema. As the independent film world becomes increasingly commercialized, do you think that companies like Facets will become obsolete? Or will there always be an audience for the avant-garde? Talk back in the comments section!

February 5th, 2007 | Category: Exhibitor of the Week | By MovieMaker Staff

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Independent Feature Project

As nonprofit film groups go, the Independent Feature Project (IFP) is one of the most impressive. Now approaching its twentieth anniversary, the organization has become a leading resource for independent moviemakers, with 9,000 members and branches in New York, Chicago, Minneapolis, Phoenix and Seattle. IFP’s wide range of programming includes conferences, seminars, the Independent Spirit Awards and the IFP Market, a four-day showcase that brings the best of indie cinema to high-level industry executives.

“Though particular programs might change over time in response to the changing landscape, IFP’s primary mission has remained consistent—which is to provide various platforms and means to connect the work and talent of independent film and mediamakers to the film industry,” says Milton Tabbot, senior director of programming at IFP. One of the more recent programs created in the interest of this mission is the IFP Rough Cut Labs, which, explains Tabbot, “are designed to foster ‘market readiness’ for a select group of films—offering mentorship and advice on new projects by first-time feature filmmakers, prior to their exposure of this work to festivals and the industry at large.” As an IFP member, moviemakers are given access to a variety of funding and grant programs, production discounts and preview and premiere screenings of up-and-coming indie films.

For more information on IFP’s programs or to become a member, visit www.ifp.org.

Sound Off: IFP has branches in a variety of locations nationwide. What other cities (domestic or international) do you think would benefit from a moviemaking group like this one? Let us know in the comments section!

February 5th, 2007 | Category: Association of the Week | By MovieMaker Staff

Comments: 1

This Day in Indie History: United Artists

Breaking outside of the pressures and restrictions of the studio system, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and D.W. Griffith established United Artists in 1919. Without the assistance of studio intermediaries between the creative and business aspects of moviemaking, UA failed to stay afloat. In 1951, company control was turned over to a forward-thinking pair of lawyer-producers named Arthur Krim and Robert Benjamin. Under their guidance, UA found success in the late 1950s and early 1960s with the rights to the James Bond and Pink Panther franchises, and later supported newbie directors including Brian De Palma, Woody Allen and the late Robert Altman.

Film Star Factoid: After the infamous couch-jumping incident and the 2006 Vanity Fair cover revealing his famous new offspring, Tom Cruise and producing partner Paula Wagner took over United Artists (today a division of MGM). Previously the partners had made hits out of Cruise’s Mission: Impossible franchise, War of the Worlds and The Others.

February 4th, 2007 | Category: This Day in Indie History | By MovieMaker Staff

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This Day in Indie History: A Clockwork Orange

Stanley Kubrick’s film version of A Clockwork Orange was released in New York and L.A. on this day in 1972. Englishman Malcolm McDowell played the central character, Alex de Large, who leads his pack of violent droogs through Britain’s streets each night—stealing, raping and wreaking general havoc. Based on the novel by Anthony Burgess, Kubrick chose to faithfully follow the book in its grim account of the psychological torture that would supposedly cure Alex of his violent tendencies. Distribution of the film was limited in both the U.S. and the U.K. because of the violence it portrayed. Upon its first release it received an X rating and is said to have inspired copycat crimes by young fans of the film.

Film Quotable: “Appy-polly-loggies. I had something of a pain in my Gulliver so I had to sleep. I was not awakened when I gave orders for awakening.” –Malcolm McDowell as Alex de Large, speaking Nasdat, a futuristic youth dialect created out of Russian and English slang. Burgess’ novel, narrated from Alex’s perspective, is written entirely in the language.

February 1st, 2007 | Category: This Day in Indie History | By MovieMaker Staff

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