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James Schamus
James Schamus made his start in Hollywood as a producer in 1990. After gaining modest success, he turned his attention to writing and has practiced both crafts ever since. Over the years he has been a part of such production companies as Christine Vachon, Todd Haynes and Barry Elsworth's Apparatus and his own Good Machine, which produced films for some of independent cinema's most famous names including Nicole Holofcener and Edward Burns.
October 1st, 2007 | Category: Screenwriter of the Week, Screenwriting | By Brian Hickey
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' . $phpAds_raw['html'] . ''; } ?>TARFEST
Los Angeles is a place where budding artists gather, work, live and play. So it's no coincidence that a festival founded to encourage the exposure of moviemakers, musicians and artists at all stages of their development should take place in the historic Miracle Mile district of Los Angeles. TARFEST, named for the La Brea Tar Pits of the area, is sponsored by the Miracle Mile Players, a group that feels their city, and the Miracle Mile in particular, needs and wants more community, pedestrian, cultural and really fun-events.
October 1st, 2007 | Category: Festival of the Week, Festivals | By Nina Boutsikaris
Top of the Box Office
Box Office results for week ending September 30, 2007.
October 1st, 2007 | Category: Top of the Box Office | By Mallory Potosky
Robert Benton’s Feast of Love
The acclaimed writer/director behind Kramer Vs. Kramer and Twilight is back. Robert Benton's newest movie, Feast of Love, follows territory familiar to Benton's fans and is described as a "meditation on love and its various incarnations."
October 1st, 2007 | Category: Moviemaker of the Week, Moviemaking | By Brian Hickey
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' . $phpAds_raw['html'] . ''; } ?>Boys Don’t Cry
Kimberly Peirce's directorial debut Boys Don't Cry opened at the New York Film Festival this day in 1999. Based on the true story of Teena Brandon, a transgendered Nebraska woman, the film's brutal portrayal of rape and murder contrasts with Peirce's efforts to demonstrate the humanity of Brandon's killers.
October 1st, 2007 | Category: This Day in Indie History | By Daniel Fritz
Allentown, PA
In 1762, Pennsylvania Chief Justice William Allen planted roots in the state's Lehigh Valley. He called the place Northamptontown, but as recognition of his devotion to the area and the respect he received from the locals, the acreage came to be known as Allen's Town. What started as a small community centered on the advancements of the Industrial Revolution is today a small community centered on much the same. Over the years the area has modernized but those small-town values remain a constant. Allentown's fame is largely derived from the safe haven it provided the Liberty Bell during Britain's search for the American icon, Billy Joel's popular 1980s single "Allentown," and, if local Zeke Zelker gets his way, for its moviemaking opportunities.
October 1st, 2007 | Category: Location of the Week, Locations | By Mallory Potosky
Naomi Watts
British actress Naomi Watts was born this day in 1968. After more than 10 years of steady but relatively unrecognized work, Watts landed a role in David Lynch's labyrinthine and surreal Mulholland Drive (2001). Her performance would ignite the rest of her career and launch her into dozens of subsequent movie roles.
September 28th, 2007 | Category: This Day in Indie History | By Andre Ward
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' . $phpAds_raw['html'] . ''; } ?>In Theaters Now: September 28, 2007
The Darjeeling Limited
directed by Wes Anderson
A tribesman strumming a guitar, a few rogue punches thrown, Bill Murray taunting neighborhood children—see any of these and you might be watching a Wes Anderson movie. Whether they’re performing onstage renditions of Serpico or waging vendettas against giant sharks, Anderson’s characters can never be accused of following the crowd. Now Anderson takes on the story of three brothers (played by Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman and Owen Wilson) as they embark on a spiritual journey through India. This won’t be the cash cow of the fall, but fans of the director should come out in droves. Besides, if The Darjeeling Limited bombs, Anderson can always make another American Express ad.
Feast of Love
directed by Robert Benton
Quick, name Morgan Freeman’s best performance in a romance. Stumped? Freeman has done comedy, small indie roles, more than his share of drama, but he’s almost always a solitary figure on-screen. Here he plays a professor on sabbatical in a deep and loving relationship, guiding a young coffeehouse owner played by Greg Kinnear. Feast of Love is an ensemble romance, but it’s not entirely a breezy Love Actually. Freeman is worth watching in anything, and the hushed-up affairs and lesbian betrayals should offer some good dramatic thunder.
The Game Plan
directed by Andy Fickman
“I want something I can really sink my teeth into,” thinks Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and lo and behold we have The Game Plan. After showing some acting promise in Be Cool and starring in the solid Gridiron Gang, you have to wonder why The Rock would choose a movie that should be the Friday night special on ABC Family. Here he plays a star quarterback whose Super Bowl dreams hit the skids when he discovers he has a young daughter from a previous marriage. Fill in the blanks, and the movie will probably end with the little girl drawing up the winning Statue of Liberty play from the sidelines. Rock must get hundreds of these kinds of scripts a day; maybe he’ll pick something riskier than another The Pacifier for his next role.
The Kingdom
directed by Peter Berg
Jamie Foxx has already done his tour in Iraq, hoo-rahing his way through burning oil fields at dawn in Jarhead. And Chris Cooper has wrangled out the details of oil company mergers as a wildcatter CEO in the thrilling Syriana. So why would they return so soon to the Middle East, playing members of an FBI team investigating a bombing in Saudi Arabia? The Kingdom feels like it wants to be a roller-coaster action-fest while reminding us that Arabs are people too. Get ready for lots of gory jump-cuts offset with close-ups of sad little children, all set to the soundtrack of a woman wailing.
Lust, Caution
directed by Ang Lee
After hitting it big with Brokeback Mountain, Ang Lee won’t take his foot of the gas; his follow-up, starring Wei Tang and Tony Leung, may outdo even his ambitious Western. During the 1938 occupation of Shanghai by Japan, a Chinese loyalist recruits Tang’s character for a crucial mission: Seduce Japanese ally Mr. Yee (Leung) so that he can eventually be killed. Leung has covered similar themes in his previous work, most notably Wong Kar-Wai’s In the Mood for Love and 2046. Profit-wise, the movie has two kiss-of-death factors working against it—subtitles and an NC-17 rating. But with Lee’s name attached, you can probably bet the house on success.
September 27th, 2007 | Category: In Theaters Now | By Andre Ward
Capote
Capote, the movie that nabbed Philip Seymour Hoffman an Academy Award for Best Actor, was released today in 2005 at the New York Film Festival. Before the movie, Hoffman had been considered one of the finest working American actors, but it was his portrayal of the high-voiced, arrogant and flamboyant Truman Capote that brought Oscar gold.
September 27th, 2007 | Category: This Day in Indie History | By Andre Ward
The Squid and the Whale
The title may sound like a kiddie movie, but The Squid and the Whale, released today at the New York Film Festival, is anything but. Director Noah Baumbach based the story on his childhood -- depicting on screen the life he and his brother lived amidst their parent's divorce.
September 26th, 2007 | Category: This Day in Indie History | By Andre Ward
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' . $phpAds_raw['html'] . ''; } ?>The Hustler
The Hustler, one of the most influential sports movies in cinema history, was released today in 1961. The movie that takes the audience inside the sweaty pool halls of the 1960's sparked a revolution -- expanding the game's popularity and inspiring legions of wannabe champions.
September 25th, 2007 | Category: This Day in Indie History | By Andre Ward
New York Film Festival Takes Manhattan
Unlike other festivals of its size and stature, when attending The New York Film Festival, you are guaranteed a chance to see movies that have never before been screened within the United States. "Over the past 45 years I believe people have come to see the NYFF as a great platform for releasing a film, so most producers are happy to work with us if our interests coincide," explains Richard Peña, Program Director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center, the organization that hosts the annual event. "We have great, intelligent audiences, the core of the film press and the major distributors of foreign language and independent cinema here in New York."
September 24th, 2007 | Category: Festival of the Week, Festivals | By Mallory Potosky
Joe Leydon’s Moving Picture Blog
Being a prominent movie critic and correspondent for Variety isn't a bad gig, but aside from commenting on the specific movie at hand, can't allow for a ton of creative license. Ever the professional, Joe Leydon sticks to the subject at hand -- even in his entertaining articles for MovieMaker. So in July 2006 he began Joe Leydon's Moving Picture Blog, an online forum to air an endless amount of hodgepodge and tangential thoughts on everything film.
September 24th, 2007 | Category: Website of the Week | By Andre Ward
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' . $phpAds_raw['html'] . ''; } ?>Global Film Initiative
The world is a vast expanse of water, land and people but it's human nature to focus only on the immediate surroundings that affect us. Of course, there are those things that affect the entire planet and those that affect other people as well. But sadly, for the most part, few are interested in what lies outside of their own personal space. Insert Global Film Initiative who takes the curiosity of artists the world over and turns them into a result that affects everyone -- even if that means the effect takes place on a more emotional, visceral level.
September 24th, 2007 | Category: Association of the Week, Associations | By Mallory Potosky
Sean Penn Goes Into the Wild
Sean Penn has spent the majority of his career in front of the camera. In 1982 when he made a splash in Amy Heckerling's Fast Times at Ridgemont High, he was the young, blonde, carefree surfer dude. By 2007, at the age of 47, Penn has turned himself into a thought- and discussion-provoking actor-writer-director-producer. Throughout his journey he has starred in Carlito's Way (1993), Dead Man Walking (1995), U Turn (1997) and 21 Grams (2003) and made a name for himself as the dark and brooding actor's actor. Now he's stepping behind the camera for the fourth time, detailing another man's life-changing journey in the drama Into the Wild, released in the U.S. on Friday, September 21.
September 24th, 2007 | Category: Moviemaker of the Week, Moviemaking | By Mallory Potosky
Pedro Almódovar
Renowned Spanish moviemaker Pedro Almodóvar was born today in 1949. He first earned international recognition for 1988's Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, which won the award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 1990 BAFTA awards. His fame rose higher when All About My Mother (1999), an ensemble drama about family identities, won a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.
September 24th, 2007 | Category: This Day in Indie History | By Andre Ward
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' . $phpAds_raw['html'] . ''; } ?>Top of the Box Office
Box Office Results for week ending September 23, 2007
September 24th, 2007 | Category: Top of the Box Office | By Mallory Potosky
See Michael Ian Black Run
He's got three names and more comedic energy than seems humanly possible. Michael Ian Black has become a ubiquitous commentator on popular culture with his stints on VH1's "I Love the..." series and "Best Week Ever," and an increasingly prolific writer with such shows as Comedy Central's "The State" and "Stella" to his credit. In early 2008, he'll see his script for Run, Fatboy, Run, starring Simon Pegg and directed by David Schwimmer, brought to the big screen.
September 23rd, 2007 | Category: Screenwriter of the Week, Screenwriting | By Alexis Buryk
San Diego UnderSea Exhibition
As relatively low-cost HD video cameras continue to reach the market, natural cinema has the potential to be more startlingly beautiful and full of more visual information than ever before. That's just the type of experience one can look forward to at this year's San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition. What started out as a few local divers sharing information on shooting and editing underwater footage has evolved into a nationally recognized two-day screening program of the best videos of weird and wonderful undersea life.
September 24th, 2007 | Category: Exhibitor of the Week, Exhibition | By Nina Boutsikaris
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' . $phpAds_raw['html'] . ''; } ?>Luke Wilson
Versatile actor Luke Wilson was born today in 1971. In addition to working often with brothers Owen and Andrew, Luke has made three movies with director Wes Anderson, including the men's critically acclaimed debut Bottle Rocket in 1996. Together the four have a knack for bringing out childlike whimsy in kooky and flawed characters.
September 21st, 2007 | Category: This Day in Indie History | By Andre Ward
In Theaters Now: September 21, 2007
The MovieMaker spin on what you can expect to see at the multiplex this week including: Resident Evil: Extinction, Good Luck Chuck, Into the Wild, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and Sydney White
September 21st, 2007 | Category: In Theaters Now | By Andre Ward
Big Night
Big Night, the Italian-soul-filled tale of two brothers racing to save their restaurant from bankruptcy, opened this day in 1996. The movie tells the story of Chef Primo (Tony Shalhoub), strongly considering a return to his European homeland, but business manager Secondo (Stanley Tucci) wants to do whatever it takes to make it in America.
September 20th, 2007 | Category: This Day in Indie History | By Andre Ward
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' . $phpAds_raw['html'] . ''; } ?>Goodfellas
"As far back as I can remember, I've always wanted to be a gangster." So reads the tagline for Goodfellas, Martin Scorsese's take on the life of New York mobster Henry Hill, released today in 1990. Ray Liotta stars as hitman-turned-informant Hill, with all-star performances by Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci.
September 19th, 2007 | Category: This Day in Indie History | By Andre Ward
Fatal Attraction
Released today in 1987, Fatal Attraction set the bar for the "sexy thriller." Michael Douglas stars in the movie as a married New York attorney who has a casual fling with an acquaintance, played by Glenn Close. When he tries to end the relationship, trouble begins and Close's character reveals that she will do anything to prolong the affair.
September 18th, 2007 | Category: This Day in Indie History | By Andre Ward
Top of the Box Office
Box Office Results for week ending September 16, 2007
September 17th, 2007 | Category: Top of the Box Office | By Mallory Potosky
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