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Notes from Movieland: Do-It-Yourself Distribution—Part III
NewFilmmakers Online
I’m going to end this short series on self-distribution with some info on yet another outlet for distribution. Many others exist or are about to be birthed—with a little research, I trust you’ll stumble on at least a dozen. For now, I humbly present NewFilmmakers Online.
I met Barney Oldfield, the brains behind the service, when his NewFilmmakers screening series featured my film, Red is the Color of, at the Anthology Film Archives in New York. Barney’s been faithfully screening and promoting independent films, short and feature length, for over a decade. He’s relentless in his support of the indies and with his new company, VLADIcast, Inc., he's offering another distribution option for independents—one that puts the profit right back in the moviemaker's pocket.
November 28th, 2008 | Category: Notes From Movieland | By Anne Norda
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' . $phpAds_raw['html'] . ''; } ?>In Theaters Now: Australia, Milk, Transporter 3, Four Christmases
Baz Luhrmann returns to the screen with an ode to his homeland, Gus Van Sant tackles Harvey Milk, Jason Statham finds more villains to battle while Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn gather 'round the Christmas tree.
November 27th, 2008 | Category: In Theaters Now | By Douglas Polisin
MySpace and Lionsgate Team Up for Movie Giveaways
Those MySpace junkies having a hard time walking away from their screens have got another reason to stay close to the keyboard. No, it’s not another friend request. After partnering with Lionsgate, MySpace has announced the launch of some themed skins from movies like Transporter 3, Punisher: War Zone, and The Spirit. By skinning your profile with the themes, you can be submitted into a sweepstakes to win some amazing prizes.
November 26th, 2008 | Category: Contests, News/Commentary | By Douglas Polisin
Episode Six: Behind the Screams of James Gunn’s “Scream Queens”
MovieMaker Tip of the Week: Make three shots lists!
When I’m directing a movie, I’m a big believer in preparation. I believe most the work on a film is done before you ever set foot on set. Being over-prepared actually allows more freedom for improv and fun on a set. And before I direct any scene I always have three shot lists.
The first shot list is my HOPEFUL LIST. This will usually have all the coverage and showy shots I would get if I actually had the time to get them. This seldom happens. But, every once in a while, a day moves more quickly than usual, and I’m able to get all my basic shots in and have a little time left over. That’s when I get into these HOPEFUL shots, that can spice up a scene.
November 25th, 2008 | Category: James Gunn: Behind the Screams | By James Gunn
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' . $phpAds_raw['html'] . ''; } ?>Vampires Victorious as Twilight Takes Top Spot
Highly anticipated vampire movie Twilight, starring Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, cast a shadow over the box office this past weekend, grossing $70.6 million—and making it one of the most successful independent films of all time. James Bond picture Quantum of Solace moved down to take second place with a respectable $27.4 million, while third place went to new animated movie Bolt, featuring the voices of Miley Cyrus and John Travolta, with $27 million.
November 24th, 2008 | Category: Top of the Box Office | By Kristin Forte
Cadillac Records Premiere to Benefit Phoenix House
Every now and then the glitz and glamour of the red carpet gets to be something more than just a flashy excuse for a new outfit or a ride in a limo, allowing the superficial side of moviemaking (pose for the camera!) to become something of substance, something more akin to the reason why a movie is made. With the New York and Los Angeles premieres of Cadillac Records, a period piece centered upon Leonard Chess (played by Adrien Brody) and the lives of the blues and soul artists who were part of his Chess Records label, the red carpet gets to do just that.
November 21st, 2008 | Category: News/Commentary | By Douglas Polisin
In Theaters Now: Twilight, Bolt, Special
The weekend that has caused hordes of teen girls and their mothers countless restless nights of feverish anticipation is here: Michael Rapaport's new movie finally gets released! (And something called Twilight?)—in theaters now.
November 21st, 2008 | Category: In Theaters Now | By Kyle Rupprecht
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' . $phpAds_raw['html'] . ''; } ?>Notes from Movieland: Do It Yourself Distribution - Part II
The Room: Cult phenom
Greg Laemmle—relentless supporter of indie moviemakers—suggested I include moviemaker Tommy Wiseau in my self-distribution series. Turns out Wiseau's movie, The Room, made 10 years ago, has not only become a “cult” phenomenon, but a veritable lesson in paint-by-numbers, cult-by-design moviemaking. Wiseau was very entertaining and still, after all these years, passionate to tell the story of his movie and its conception.
November 20th, 2008 | Category: Notes From Movieland | By Anne Norda
Gotham Independent Film Awards Series Comes to NYC
IFP, the nation's oldest and largest organization of independent moviemakers, presents the Gotham Independent Film Award Series. The three-week program of screenings and panel discussions will highlight the work of nominees and honorees from the 18th Annual Gotham Independent Awards, which take place on December 2.
November 19th, 2008 | Category: News/Commentary | By Kristin Forte
Episode Five: Behind the Screams of James Gunn’s “Scream Queens”
MOVIEMAKER TIP OF THE WEEK
Never hesitate to fire someone! One crap cog in a production can bring the whole thing down. If a cast or crew member starts showing some problems—whether it be bad acting or the inability to put together a budget or a prosthetic FX artist whose dragons look like Kermit the Frog—those problems will likely only get larger and worse as time goes on. This is where hope can kill you on set: You hope they’ll get better and things will be okay. Sure, sometimes they do get better. But four out of five times they don’t. Statistically, you’re better off getting rid of them immediately. Sure, it’s difficult to fire someone, and even more of a pain-in-the-ass to replace them. But it’s nothing compared to the problems the poor performance of a team member can cause.
November 18th, 2008 | Category: James Gunn: Behind the Screams | By James Gunn
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' . $phpAds_raw['html'] . ''; } ?>Bond Beats Box Office Competition
Quantum of Solace, starring Daniel Craig in his reprisal as James Bond, hit its mark this past weekend, raking in an impressive $70.4 million—making it the biggest debut ever for a Bond movie. Dropping into second place was Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, voiced by Ben Stiller, Chris Rock and Jada Pinkett Smith, with $36.1 million. Trailing far behind was the Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott comedy Role Models at number three with $11.7 million, followed by teen sensation High School Musical 3: Senior Year at number four with $5.9 million. Rounding out the top five was Clint Eastwood's Changeling with $4.2 million.
November 17th, 2008 | Category: Top of the Box Office | By Kristin Forte
In Theaters Now: Quantum of Solace, Slumdog Millionaire, A Christmas Tale
Bond is back, director Danny Boyle switches gears yet again and we get our first taste of the season's holiday fare—in theaters now.
November 14th, 2008 | Category: In Theaters Now | By Kyle Rupprecht
Repo! The Genetic Opera Goes On The Road
Beginning November 10, director Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II, III and IV) and the star-writer-composer (Terrance Zdunich) of the much-anticipated gothic rock musical Repo! The Genetic Opera kicked off an exclusive road tour, traveling the country for seven days for one-night-only screenings in seven cities (including Portland, Seattle, Chicago, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Atlanta and Orlando). Each screening is followed by a Q&A with the moviemakers. Other cast members, including Paul Sorvino, Alexa Vega (Spy Kids), Anthony Head (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) Bill Moseley (The Devil’s Rejects) and Paris Hilton, may appear as surprise guests.
November 13th, 2008 | Category: News/Commentary | By Kyle Rupprecht
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' . $phpAds_raw['html'] . ''; } ?>Episode Four: Behind the Screams of James Gunn’s “Scream Queens”
Slither director gives an insider's look at his VH1 reality show
This was perhaps my favorite episode of all to make I really felt like I was directing for the first time In the other directing challenges, I was giving the girls notes on their acting, but in shooting the trailer for Reform School Zombie Squad I felt like we were creating something fun and funny and stupid and cool. The girls and the whole "Scream Queens" crew were my creative partners in fulfilling this ludicrous vision, and I think all of us had a fantastic time.
November 11th, 2008 | Category: James Gunn: Behind the Screams | By James Gunn
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa is a Roaring Success
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, featuring the voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith and Sacha Baron Cohen, was king of the jungle this past weekend, grossing an impressive $63.5 million. Trailing way behind at number two was the Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott comedy Role Models, with $19.2 million. Zac Efron and his fellow Wildcats from High School Musical 3: Senior Year were demoted to the number three spot, making $9.3 million. Following at number four was Clint Eastwood's Changeling, starring Angelina Jolie, which brought in $7.3 million. Kevin Smith's Zack and Miri Make a Porno rounded out the top five with $6.5 million.
November 10th, 2008 | Category: Top of the Box Office | By Kristin Forte
In Theaters Now: Role Models, Repo! The Genetic Opera, Soul Men, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott are Role Models, Ben Stiller, Chris Rock and Jada Pinkett Smith go wild and Paris Hilton, Bernie Mac and Samuel L. Jackson sing—in theaters now.
November 7th, 2008 | Category: In Theaters Now | By Douglas Polisin
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' . $phpAds_raw['html'] . ''; } ?>Notes From Movieland: Do It Yourself Distribution - Part I
From Boogie Man to Everyman
When Gregory Laemmle of the priceless L.A. independent Laemmle theatre chain suggested I speak to Stefan Forbes about his experiences with self-distribution, I had not yet been exposed to the rapidly growing cinematic phenomenon: Boogie Man. As I spoke with Stefan over an extremely choppy cell phone connection, I mistakenly heard him say the subject of his documentary was “Leon Waters” who I assumed had been some obscure blues musician resurrected by this well-meaning moviemaker. When Stefan mentioned that this Leon dude had mentored George Bush Sr., Ronald Reagan and Karl Rove, I realized we were discussing different men. My Leon wasn’t interested in politics. Lee Atwater, on the other hand, had been knee deep in it. He’s often referred to as the godfather of modern negative campaigning. Oy, was I embarrassed.
November 6th, 2008 | Category: Notes From Movieland | By Anne Norda
Episode Three: Behind the Screams of James Gunn’s “Scream Queens”
Slither director gives an insider's look at his VH1 reality show
I’ll be honest. I went into the week hoping we were going to boot Jessica. At the first director’s challenge—the only real acting challenge we’d had thus far—three girls were far worse than the others: Jo-Anne, Kylah and Jessica. Jo-Anne and Kylah were gone. So I thought week three was going to be an easy decision.
The girls who I thought were at the front of the bus—Michelle, Sarah and Tanedra—were poor to bland in the Director’s Challenge. The girls who I thought kinda sucked—especially Jessica and Lina—kicked it up a notch. I came out of the week wondering if I was going to be able to make any sort of informed decision at all about our Scream Queen, the future star of Saw VI. Were the girls just going to be randomly better or worse from week to week? Or were some real frontrunners going to emerge?
November 4th, 2008 | Category: James Gunn: Behind the Screams | By James Gunn
High School Musical 3 Upstages Zack and Miri to Take the Weekend Box Office
Zac Efron and the gang of High School Musical 3: Senior Year upstaged their box office competition once again this past weekend, pulling in $15 million. Coming in second with $10.7 million was Kevin Smith's latest comedy Zack and Miri Make a Porno, closely followed by Saw V at number three with $10.1 million.
November 3rd, 2008 | Category: Top of the Box Office | By Kristin Forte
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