In Theaters, Week ending 1/30

Blood and Chocolate
directed by Katja von Garnier
How much do you really need from a werewolf movie, other than pretty faces, cool special effects and a little bit of gore? Blood and Chocolate has all this and more, with an interspecies love story and the director of the award-winning miniseries “Iron Jawed Angels” running the show. Based on the hit teen fantasy novel by Annette Curtis Klause, at the very least this flick will find an audience with the adolescent crowd.
Starring Agnes Bruckner, Hugh Dancy and Olivier Martinez.

Catch and Release
directed by Susannah Grant
You’d expect more from the Erin Brokovich scribe than a couple named Gray and Grady; but perhaps killing off one half of the cutesy-named pair was a statement by writer-director Grant. In the wake of her fiancé’s death, Gray (Jennifer Garner) is faced with several surprising secrets from the man’s past. Overall, we’re not big fans of “coping-with-grief” romantic comedies, but the presence of Kevin Smith and Timothy Olyphant might be enough to sway us.
Also starring Juliette Lewis.

Epic Movie
directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer
Okay, seriously: Hasn’t the genre spoof comedy been played out? We’re not saying that epic movies deserve any less ridicule than rom-coms or horror flicks, but in the years since Scary Movie, we’ve gotten so sick of the genre spoof that we’re reconsidering our love of Mel Brooks, simply for his part in popularizing the formula. But you may not agree with us—in which case, get your fill of sophomoric send-ups of Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean and Chronicles of Narnia, among others in this latest addition to the series.
Starring Kal Penn, Jennifer Coolidge and Fred Willard.

Seraphim Falls
directed by David Von Ancken
Pierce Brosnan seems to be settling nicely into middle age as his pretty-boy days come to a close. His most recent effort, Seraphim Falls, casts him as a rugged Civil War veteran pursued by a former Confederate colonel (Liam Neeson) who is dead-set on revenge. This feature-film debut from director Von Ancken boasts a formidable star presence, including Angelica Huston, and looks to be the perfect film for movie buffs in search of a gritty, gory and well-acted western some lazy Sunday afternoon.
Also starring Angie Harmon.

Smokin’ Aces
directed by Joe Carnahan
In his first feature since the surprise hit Narc, Joe Carnahan dives head first into a world of sex, violence, money and slick production values. Smokin’ Aces brings together a motley crew of assassins (played by an assortment of Hollywood has-beens and quasi-indie faves) in an attempt to keep Vegas magician Buddy “Aces” Israel from testifying against the mob. Aces is a mishmash of Domino, Ocean’s 11 and Snatch, and will no doubt capitalize on the continuing popularity of snappy-looking gangster comedies, with or without the support of the critics.
Starring: Jeremy Piven, Ryan Reynolds, Ray Liotta, Jason Bateman and Ben Affleck.

January 25th, 2007 | Category: In Theaters Now | By MovieMaker Staff

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This Day in Indie History: The Blair Witch Project

On this day in 1999, the cult hit The Blair Witch Project premiered at the Sundance Film Festival; however, the movie’s buzz began long before its premiere, when the moviemakers disseminated a story to make everyone believe their fictional experiment was made from actual documentary footage. The three students who made the film? Lost in the woods while tracking down a local Maryland legend, with the footage of their journey the only thing that remained. The producers even went so far as to air a television special, Curse of the Blair Witch, in order to build hype around the “unsolved mystery.” The publicity worked well, as Blair Witch grossed nearly $250 million, making it the most successful independent film of its time.

Film Star Factoid: Production on The Blair Witch Project took only eight days, during which the three young actors involved were armed with camera equipment and little more than vague guidelines standing in for a screenplay. As such, the majority of the film was ad-libbed, and many of the most terrifying moments in the film were not revealed to the cast until cameras were rolling.

January 24th, 2007 | Category: This Day in Indie History | By MovieMaker Staff

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Bringing Home the Gold

http://www.oscars.com.” id="image437" title="Credit: http://www.oscars.com.” src="http://www.moviemaker.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/070123a_155-p.jpg" />One morning each January the West Coast opens its eyes before the sun rises for the biggest news to come out of Hollywood since the previous summer’s celebrity tirade: The list of Oscar nominees! Here’s just a bit of the action.

Abigail Breslin scored a nom for her role as the frank and innocent Olive in Little Miss Sunshine (a surprise Best Picture Nominee). The 10-year old joins eight of the other supporting nominees who were recognized for the first time in their careers.

Leading acting roles, of course, brought the fourteenth nod for Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada), who now holds the record for most acting nominations. She’ll be up against odds-on favorite Helen Mirren (The Queen), and Kate Winslet, who saw her painfully honest performance in Little Children pay off with her fifth acting nomination—making her the youngest actress to achieve that feat.

As SAG had predicted, Ryan Gosling pulled an impressive coup when his name was announced alongside Peter O’Toole (Venus) and Leonardo DiCaprio’s (Blood Diamond) for playing a drug-addicted teacher in Half Nelson. But after snagging the Golden Globe and numerous critics awards, Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland) finally seems a sure bet.

The new millennium has been good to Paul Haggis who, for the third time, heard his name announced—this time for his writing contribution to Eastwood’s Letters from Iwo Jima (a Best Motion Picture nominee). Also noted for writing this season, the inimitable Alfonso Cuarón for his adapted screenplay for Children of Men. But perhaps the biggest surprise in the screenplay categories was for the seemingly un-scripted Borat. Then again, the Academy loves to court controversy.

View the full list of nominees.

Sound Off: Do you think it might finally be Scorsese’s year to win the big one? Will Jennifer Hudson go from “American Idol” reject to Oscar-winning actress? Which nomination caught you most by surprise? Which one do you think is a sure bet? Who got snubbed? Post your thoughts in our Comments section!

January 23rd, 2007 | Category: Moviemaker of the Week | By MovieMaker Staff

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This Day in Indie History: The Grapes of Wrath

It was this day in 1940 that John Ford’s The Grapes of Wrath made its premiere in New York. Starring Henry Fonda and Jane Darwell, and based on John Steinbeck’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book of the same name, The Grapes of Wrath depicted the trials of the Joad family as they traveled across the U.S. in search of reliable work. It is the typical tale of numerous families who attempted escape from the country’s dustbowl to a land of promise—only to find disappointment upon arrival. In 1941, Ford received one of two Oscars awarded to the film (the other went to Darwell for Best Supporting Actress), preparing him for the following year when he would win the same prize for How Green Was My Valley.

Film Factoid: The film’s cinematographer, Gregg Toland, spent his entire career contracted by Samuel Goldwyn, working on some of the most celebrated films of all time. In addition to The Grapes of Wrath, Toland went on to work with Ford in The Long Voyage Home and spent the following year alongside Orson Welles, filming the iconic Citizen Kane. His experimentation with deep focus and other innovative camera techniques quickly became the gold standard of Hollywood moviemaking.

January 23rd, 2007 | Category: This Day in Indie History | By MovieMaker Staff

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This Day in Indie History: Sergei Eisenstein

The movie montage might never have existed in its current form if not for moviemaker Sergei Eisenstein, born this day in 1898. October: Ten Days That Shook The World, perhaps one of his most famous movies (alongside 1925’s The Battleship Potemkin), was commissioned by the Soviet Union for the tenth anniversary of the 1917 October Revolution. The Latvian director made movies under Soviet guidelines until May 1930, when he moved to Hollywood under a contract with Paramount Pictures. Despite international acclaim for The Battleship Potemkin, his efforts in the broader world of cinema failed. Eisenstein returned home only to find himself unmarketable; subsequently, he chose to take a leading role in the Direction Department at the Moscow Film School until he passed away in February of 1948.

Filmmaker Factoid: Sergei Eisenstein was often known for casting by type—choosing to work with non-professional actors who fit the bill (of a market woman, a carriage driver, the middle-class masses, etc.) instead of trained thespians. While his innovative screen work continues to be studied today, the director’s legacy also lives on with the published works Film Form and The Film Sense.

January 22nd, 2007 | Category: This Day in Indie History | By MovieMaker Staff

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SILVERDOCS

In June of this year, Silver Spring, MD will celebrate the fifth anniversary of the SILVERDOCS Film Festival.  A joint effort between the American Film Institute and the Discovery Channel, SILVERDOCS is held each year to further the impact of documentary film. But just when you think you’ve heard this story before, “Surprise!” says festival director Patricia Finneran. “Last year, SILVERDOCS audiences took part in the production of a community video diary inspired by Linda Pattillo’s The Breast Cancer Diaries, saw Jim Jarmusch interview the legendary Martin Scorsese [and] heard Al Gore discuss the future of public media.”

Included in the fest’s innovative programming is the SILVERDOCS International Documentary Conference—a networking event with valuable workshops and seminars. The festival’s socially-conscious atmosphere is exemplified by prizes like the Sterling Award in the Feature Film Competition, which singles out moviemakers who have shown their dedication not only to the craft of documentary film, but to the subject matter as well (the 2006 award went to Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady’s Jesus Camp). This year, Finneran says, audiences should look out for a new featured program, “Beyond Belief: Religion, Politics and Film,” more offerings for the future documentarians (read: students) and further exploration of “how mobile media affects real-life storytelling.”

For more information, visit www.silverdocs.com.

Sound Off: Substantive documentary films are becoming more mainstream of late, with An Inconvenient Truth making headlines this past summer and March of the Penguins breaking box office records at the time of its release. What do you think is the most compelling documentary of all time? Talk back in the comments section!

January 22nd, 2007 | Category: Festival of the Week | By MovieMaker Staff

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Nick Cassavetes

Talented moviemaking progeny seem to have become a commonplace sight among the Hollywood ranks—Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, Emilio Estevez, and more recently Jaden Smith have all carried on their families’ film legacies—but somehow Nick Cassavetes stands out. Perhaps it’s because he’s the son of John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands, and is therefore bred of great artistic talent on both sides. Or maybe his cinematic vision is just that good.

Last January the writer-director watched his latest movie, Alpha Dog (which opened on January 12), close the Sundance Film Festival. As the lights went down on Park City, this little film (starring some big names—Sharon Stone, Bruce Willis, Justin Timberlake and Emile Hirsch among them) seemed to have generated the most buzz. Cassavetes wrote and directed this take on the true story of Jesse James Hollywood, a notorious young drug dealer who made the FBI’s “Most Wanted” list at the tender age of 20.

Cassavetes had minor success as an actor (see Face/Off and The Astronaut’s Wife) before moving on to directing (including his father’s screenplay, She’s So Lovely, and The Notebook, in which his mother starred). More recently, Cassavetes has moved on to penning the films Blow and Whatever We Do before starting work on the controversial Alpha Dog (Cassavetes was given access to the Hollywood case files while the trial was still pending). Next up for the writer-director is God is a Bullet, which follows one cop’s attempt to take down a dangerous cult, with the assistance of a former member of the organization.  The film is currently in production, but is slated for a 2007 release.

Check out www.alphadogmovie.com for more information on Cassevetes’ latest flick.

Sound Off: Although Nick Cassavetes has made it in Hollywood largely on his own merit, he is an undeniable part of the Cassavetes dynasty. What Hollywood dynasties do you see as being under-appreciated? Which are most talented? The least? Talk back in the comments section.

January 22nd, 2007 | Category: Screenwriter of the Week | By MovieMaker Staff

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IndieFlix.com

IndieFlix is the fee-free answer to all independent moviemakers seeking representation and distribution assistance. Through its Website, IndieFlix.com, the company recruits and helps independent-minded moviemakers market and sell their movies on-demand.

“All of the time and energy required [for] marketing while managing your film’s metadata—updating, uploading, shipping masters and inventory or tracking the accounting and payments—is a daunting task when you’re selling on 10 or 20 different, hopefully credible, sites,” says Scilla Andreen, IndieFlix’s co-founder. “While providing fans with the access to one’s work is wonderful, it doesn’t leave much time for filmmaking.”

By listing with the company, moviemakers can gain time and money to begin or continue another project. Plus, they receive one-third of the profits, and automatically increase their exposure through access to the company’s numerous distribution partnerships. “We’re confident [moviemakers] will see greater profits from IndieFlix and will appreciate the control, simplicity and interactivity they get from us,” says Andreen.

According to the company’s founding partners, in the U.S. alone there are over 8,000 independent films produced annually that never see a theatrical release. Now, with companies like IndieFlix on the rise, theaters are no longer the only answer to reaching a wide audience.

For more information, visit www.indieflix.com.

Sound Off Question: As an audience, would you be likely to shop at IndieFlix.com (or a similar site) to purchase that hard-to-find independent film you saw at the local film festival last year? Let us know in the comments section!

January 22nd, 2007 | Category: Exhibitor of the Week | By MovieMaker Staff

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MediaMoghul.com

Whether you’re a major studio or a first-time indie director, film financing is a tricky business. Coming up with a great idea for a film is hard enough, and finding the needed dough to make that great idea into a movie can be an intimidating endeavor. Lucy Sato, vice president of MediaMoghul.com, understands this, and she and her staff are determined to make the process easier for everyone involved. “It is amazing that in this day and age it is still the accepted norm… that creative people with talent and ideas must spend years trying to establish the contacts with the major players who can offer them a deal and finance their project,” Sato says. “But unfortunately, most of the time, most people do not get any funding! And the few that do get the funding usually end up with little creative control… which is a ridiculous situation.”

MediaMoghul.com is a Website that aims to democratize the financing process by connecting artists with backers and helping them to sell their projects, piece by miniscule piece, until a project is fully funded. For instance, a moviemaker can post a description of a film he or she is working on as well as the percentage of the project that he or she is willing to sell off in return for funding. This amount is then divided into points of $10 or $15 increments, which are purchased by “investors” (or Average Joe movie fans looking to own a piece of a project) visiting the site. At the end of the process, you’ll have the money you need to get your film up and running, provided by movie lovers instead of faceless corporations. “Let’s face it, give or take the few indies that make it, mainstream entertainment is pretty stagnant at the moment,” notes Sato. “Yet there are thousands of interesting films out there, waiting to be financed and released—and the public wants to see them!”

For more information, visit www.mediamoghul.com.

Sound Off: MediaMoghul.com is innovating the way indie moviemakers can finance their work. What are other ways in which we can democratize the moviemaking process, and bring movie fans and moviemakers closer together?

January 22nd, 2007 | Category: Association of the Week | By MovieMaker Staff

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School of Visual Arts

Most people would agree that there are few better places to study film than New York, which plays home to countless major and independent movies every year. With so many resources throughout the city, Manhattan-based film students have the opportunity to dive head-first into the indie movie world, and at the School of Visual Arts (SVA), the faculty of the graduate and undergraduate film programs make this a requirement. Students who pursue a BFA at the School of Visual Arts study every aspect of moviemaking from screenwriting and acting to cinematography and production design. At the graduate level, explains SVA director of communication Samantha Hoover, the curriculum tends toward an experimental and interdisciplinary approach, “challenging traditional assumptions of how the mediums of photography and video are taught.”

Though both programs incorporate cinema studies into their curriculum, the very names of each department—“Film, Video, Animation” for undergrad, “Photography, Video and Related Media” for graduate studies—belie SVA’s understanding of film as one of many artistic mediums that can be integrated for a deeper, and more well-rounded education. “We seek students of all ages, of all backgrounds, from all over the world who have a deep passion for storytelling, love working in a collaborative atmosphere, are hardworking and dedicated to learning the craft,” says Reeves Lehmann, chair of the BFA Film, Video and Animation department.

In addition to their current four-year BFA and two-year MFA tracks, SVA continues to expand with the addition of television production classes, a studio and a digital movie theater within the next several years in order to provide students with the most cutting-edge resources possible as they develop their artistic style. It is, above all, SVA’s mission to turn out a community of moviemakers who are engaged in the world around them and reflect this within their work. As Lehmann explains, “[Film] is an art form that can speak to the masses, therefore it is important that once they gain the knowledge and skills [students] use it responsibly and take their work seriously. We encourage this throughout their learning experiences at SVA.”

For more information, visit www.sva.edu.

Sound Off: With constant innovations in moviemaking technology, the lines between film and other artistic mediums are becoming increasingly easy to cross. What do you think are some of the benefits of integrating moviemaking with other art forms, such as animation and photography, particularly in an educational setting? Do you think being a “multidisciplinary artist” will make you a more experimental moviemaker? Talk back in the forums!

January 22nd, 2007 | Category: Film School of the Week | By MovieMaker Staff

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This Day in Indie History: D.W. Griffith

Controversial moviemaker D.W. Griffith was born this day in 1875. Despite having made an impressive 400-plus short films between 1908 and 1913—and being the first person to shoot a movie in Hollywood (In Old California, 1910)—Griffith is inextricably linked to the disturbingly racist film, The Birth of a Nation. Griffith, whose father was a colonel in the Confederate Army, used white actors in blackface to play the black characters in his interpretation of the heroically portrayed Ku Klux Klan during the American Civil War. Still, the film is notable for solidifying the director’s original technique of crosscutting, for being the first feature-length American film, for its record-breaking box-office numbers at the time of its release and for the controversy that has forever surrounded it. Griffith died in July of 1948.

Filmmaker Factoid: D.W. Griffith was a revolutionary moviemaker in many ways, and a central figure in early Hollywood social circles. Counted among his friends were Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. Together, the foursome formed United Artists in 1919.

January 21st, 2007 | Category: This Day in Indie History | By MovieMaker Staff

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Grassroots Moviemaker: The Cost of Important Little Pictures

I went to two holiday parties last week and ran into two old friends. Both have the kind of careers many moviemakers I know would envy: They’ve done what they love and they’ve always kept their families in groceries, if not dinners at The Ivy. The first guy, an indie producer, told me his wife tried for years to gently nudge him out of the business. These days, though, she’s finally on board. The difference?

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January 20th, 2007 | Category: Grassroots Moviemaker | By Timothy Rhys

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This Day in Indie History: Hedwig and the Angry Inch

John Cameron Mitchell’s Hedwig and the Angry Inch screened at the Sundance Film Festival on this day in 2001. An adaptation of Mitchell’s award-winning play, Hedwig follows the adventures of Hedwig Robison, a transsexual rock star from East Berlin, as s/he tours her way across the United States. The film received critical acclaim from critics and festivals nationwide, gaining one Golden Globe and five Independent Spirit Award nominations, as well as a GLAAD media award for Outstanding Film in Limited Release.

Film Factoid: Unlike most movie musicals, many of the numbers in Hedwig and the Angry Inch were performed live, in order to capture the spontaneity of a real-life rock show.

January 18th, 2007 | Category: This Day in Indie History | By MovieMaker Staff

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This Day in Indie History: Archibald Alexander Leach

Archibald Alexander Leach was born in England on this day in 1904. By 1931 the actor had received a five-year contract with Paramount and adopted the now world-famous name of Cary Grant. Carving a niche as the suave and sophisticated gentleman opposite such starlets as Ingrid Bergman, Eva Marie Saint and Grace Kelly, Grant also collaborated numerous times with Katharine Hepburn in Bringing Up Baby, Holiday and The Philadelphia Story. Hitchcock also used Grant’s skills time and again in Suspicion, Notorious, To Catch a Thief and most famously as Roger O. Thornhill in North by Northwest. The debonair actor died from complications of a stroke in November 1986.

Film Star Factoid: Throughout his long and respected career, Cary Grant was nominated for four Golden Globes and only two Academy Awards—never bringing home a trophy. He finally received an Honorary Oscar in 1970 for his mastery on screen.

January 17th, 2007 | Category: This Day in Indie History | By MovieMaker Staff

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This Day in Indie History: Freddy Rodríguez

Freddy Rodriguez in the “Planet Terror” segment of Dimension Films’ Grindhouse - 2007

Chicago native Freddy Rodríguez entered the world 32 years ago today. In 1988 Rodríguez landed his first film role—after a considerable high school stage career—in the drama The Undertaker, though his first significant role came in 1995 when he appeared alongside Keanu Reeves in A Walk in the Clouds. But the Puerto Rican-American actor is perhaps best known for his role in the HBO series “Six Feet Under,” landing an Emmy nomination and two SAG awards for his performance as the harried apprentice undertaker Federico Diaz during his five years with the show.

For representing his Latino origins, Rodríguez also won Imagen and ALMA awards for this role. The actor launched back into film after the series’ finale with four features released in 2006 alone. You might have caught him in Harsh Times with Christian Bale, in the recent remake of Poseidon, as the oddly muscular tenant in Lady in the Water or in Emilio Estevez’s ensemble drama Bobby.

Film Star Factoid: Freddy Rodríguez will next be seen in Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror segment of Grindhouse—the highly anticipated horror flick that is comprised of two separate films, written and directed by the Texan director and his quirky pal, Quentin Tarantino.

January 16th, 2007 | Category: This Day in Indie History | By MovieMaker Staff

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Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival

Where: Nevada City, CA
Festival Dates: January 12th-14th, 2007

Last summer the United States found itself wrapped up in debate, but not about the typical topics of the Iraq War or stem cell research. Instead, the debate turned to environmental issues when docs Who Killed the Electric Car? and An Inconvenient Truth highlighted the disturbing consequences that modern living has had on the environment. It seems likely, then, that the popularity of those films is what led to the sheer volume of films submitted to this year’s Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival (WSEFF) in Nevada City, California. Organized by the South Yuba River Citizens Leagues, the festival screened an impressive 100 films in its three-day run, which took place this past weekend.

This year’s theme for the largest West Coast environmental film fest—Truth, Hope, Action—"sets the tone for the festival,” says director Kathy Dotson. “We selected films that not only expose environmental problems and issues, but also offer inspiration and hope for the audience.”

The South Yuba River Citizens League formed in 1983 to protect the California watershed. Five years ago it began hosting the WSEFF. When discussing the League’s motivation for founding the festival, Dodson offers the following explanation: “Film viewing—particularly when framed within a context of civic engagement and with subject matter that links the human to the natural world, and links local and planetary issues—can be a transformative community experience for participants.” For more information, visit www.wildandscenicfilmfestival.com.

Sound Off: Do you believe, as Dodson suggests, that film has the ability to transform society? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments section!

January 16th, 2007 | Category: Festival of the Week | By MovieMaker Staff

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Zeitgeist Films

Zeitgeist, as defined by the Webster’s College Dictionary, is “the spirit of the time.” That is to say, those trends and opinions which characterize a particular culture in any given period. With this all-encompassing word as their moniker and mission statement, Nancy Gerstman and Emily Russo, co-founders and presidents of Zeitgeist Films, have made a point of capturing this spirit by distributing some of the best foreign and independent cinema of the last 20 years.

Founded in 1988, Zeitgeist has always focused on cultivating what they call the “auteur-driven film,” selecting works that might be overlooked or avoided by other companies. From Todd Haynes’ Sundance award-winner Poison to the theatrical reissue of Jacques Demy’s The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Zeitgeist swiftly made a name for itself as a company with discriminating—and impeccable—tastes.

Over the years, says Russo, “We’ve maintained our mission by continuing to acquire and release auteur-driven and challenging foreign films and documentaries, which reflect the world we live in today.”

Next up, Zeitgeist is set to release several exciting new films, including the three-hour acclaimed monastic epic, Into Great Silence by Phillip Groening, as well as Jennifer Baichwal’s multiple award-winning Manufactured Landscapes, which explores the photography of artist Edward Burtynsky.

For more information on Zeitgeist and its upcoming projects, visit www.zeitgeistfilms.com.

Sound Off: Zeitgeist Films has devoted itself to exhibiting those films it feels capture “the spirit of the times.” What recent films do you feel have captured the zeitgeist of the 21^st century? Talk back in the comments section!

January 16th, 2007 | Category: Exhibitor of the Week | By MovieMaker Staff

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Florida State University

When asked to describe the ideal applicant to Florida State University’s College of Motion Picture, Dean Frank Patterson replies, “You know the kind of person who is compelled to shoot photos from inside a crashing plane as it’s plummeting to the earth? We are looking for filmmakers who, even in the face of death, feel compelled to capture the human experience.” It follows then that FSU is a school whose reason for being is to fuel the passion of its students.

Offering both graduate and undergraduate programs in film production, as well as a minor in film studies and an MFA in professional writing, FSU is the only film school in the country that fully funds all films produced by its students.  This, Patterson explains, “create[s] a level playing field for students, so that they may focus on art, craft and imagination—instead of fundraising.” Now, with a program that has already been commended by the Directors Guild of America for its contribution to American culture, FSU is expanding even further with the creation of Torchlight Pictures.

Torchlight Pictures, which will be headed by a top New York distributor, will give FSU students the chance to learn the business side of moviemaking and get their work seen by a larger audience. While Torchlight will distribute student works, its primary function will be to provide hands-on-experience in the business side of moviemaking, as students work with faculty to actually distribute feature films that are picked up by the company. After all, notes Patterson, “A filmmaker who doesn’t understand distribution doesn’t understand filmmaking.”

For more information on FSU’s graduate and undergraduate film programs, visit www.film.fsu.edu.

Sound Off: FSU’s newest innovation is the creation of a distribution company to help students learn the business of moviemaking. Do you think that it’s key for students to learn about distribution while still in school, or is it better to simply focus on developing your own moviemaking style? Talk back in the comments section!

January 16th, 2007 | Category: Film School of the Week | By MovieMaker Staff

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Alex Film Society

The historic Alex Theatre of Glendale, California is a magnificent specimen of 1920s architecture. With a striking art deco neon column gracing its entrance and a Greco-Egyptian-inspired interior, the theater is a key element of Glendale’s landscape, speaking to its history as a home for the movie world. With this in mind, the citizens of Glendale banded together, restoring the venue to its original glory, and in 1994 founded the Alex Film Society (AFS).

The foremost priority of the AFS is to maintain the theater as a venue for classic film in the modern day. From their opening night, which featured a reunion of the surviving cast members of Gone with the Wind, the society has more than proven its ability to accomplish this goal with panache. Today, the AFS hosts a series of screenings, including the Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn comedy Desk Set (on February 10), and William Wyler’s Best Years of Our Lives, which will be shown in the spring. In addition, AFS president Randy Carter notes that the society is “constantly looking for ways to make our screenings [into] real events, with pristine 35mm prints, interesting guests, fun programs and in-theater promotions.” With such a diverse and entertaining roster of films and the magnificent Alex Theatre as its home, it seems the Alex Film Society will have no trouble maintaining its mission as guardians of classic cinema history.

For more information or to become a member, visit their website.

Sound Off: What classic films are you dying to see up on the big screen?  Let us know in the comments section!

January 16th, 2007 | Category: Association of the Week | By MovieMaker Staff

Comments: 1

Celeste Davis

Celeste Davis as Silver Strand in Purgatory House.

Stories of troubled or angst-ridden teens are no stranger to the independent film landscape. Nevertheless, eloquent stories written by girls that have just entered those teen years are pretty few and far between. We last saw Nikki Reed accomplish this feat, when her much talked about indie drama, Thirteen, was released in 2003. And now itâ€(tm)s Celeste Davisâ€(tm) turn. At the young age of 14, the young writer-actress recorded her life struggles on paper and, soon after, on screen. The result was Purgatory House (shot a year before Thirteen), which has experienced a wide run on the festival circuit and will be released on DVD January 16.

When Davis was seven, her parents divorced and she moved across the country with her alcoholic mother. Things became tense and she left shortly after. Back in California, Davis lived for a time with her father, but ultimately landed herself in a shelter for runaway teens, struggling to find meaning in a life she didnâ€(tm)t ask for and couldnâ€(tm)t deal with alone. Serendipitously, Davis’ attempt to rehabilitate herself was what also landed her a spot in the world of moviemaking.

Davis joined The Big Sisters of Los Angeles and met her would-be director Cindy Baer.  Davis came to Baer with her script for Purgatory Houseâ€"a film that examines the female perspective of life through its protagonist, a lost soul named Silver Strand, and her communication with a god that is distinctly feminine. “Like [Silver] in Purgatory House, I am learning that I canâ€(tm)t run away from my problems,” says Davis, now a mature and adjusted young adult. “They go where I go. I have to deal with them, and only I can make them better.”

For more information on Davis and Purgatory House, visit her website.

Sound Off: Every moviemaker was a teenager at one point in his or her life. But does it take an actual teenager to accurately convey all of those turbulent emotions puberty brings about? Can adults do it just as well by recalling their own adolescence?

January 16th, 2007 | Category: Screenwriter of the Week | By MovieMaker Staff

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This Day in Indie History: Raising Victor Vargas

Peter Sollett’s Raising Victor Vargas screened at the Sundance Film Festival on this day in 2003. Based on the writer-director’s short film, Five Feet High and Rising, his feature chronicled the efforts of a young Dominican teen finding his place within his family, his Lower East Side community and the world. After Victor is caught in the bedroom of an overweight neighborhood girl, he tries to reestablish his reputation and regain trust inside the walls of his grandmother’s restrictive household. Sollett developed the screenplay through the Sundance Screenwriter’s Lab and first saw it released at Cannes in May 2002. The film went on to nab five Independent Spirit Award nominations but unfortunately was never widely released in the U.S.

Film Factoid: Moviemaker Sollett has made only two films so far in his career. Right out of the gate Five Feet High and Rising won big at both Cannes and Sundance in 2000. Like their director, this was the first time most of the actors had worked on a film. Victor Rasuk, who played the title character in both Sollett films, has since moved on to significant supporting roles in Lords of Dogtown and I’m Reed Fish.

January 15th, 2007 | Category: This Day in Indie History | By MovieMaker Staff

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This Day in Indie History: Dead Poets Society

Carpe diem! Peter Weir’s Dead Poets Society finished filming on this day in 1989. The film starred comedian Robin Williams in a smart and dramatic role as the inspiring teacher Mr. John Keating. As an English teacher at a 1950s boys’ boarding school, Keating somehow gets the young men to break out of their monotonous routines to enjoy the flow of poetry, literature and, most importantly, life. The film was nominated for a total of four Oscars in 1990 (including a Best Actor nod for Williams and one for Best Picture), with writer Tom Schulman bringing home the sole trophy for his original screenplay.

Film Quotable: “O Captain, my Captain. Who knows where that comes from? Anybody? Not a clue? It’s a poem by Walt Whitman about Mr. Abraham Lincoln. Now in this class you can either call me Mr. Keating, or, if you’re slightly more daring, O Captain my Captain.” –Williams as John Keating, addressing his students.

January 15th, 2007 | Category: This Day in Indie History | By MovieMaker Staff

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This Day in Indie History: Mary Harron

Canadian writer-director Mary Harron was born on this day in 1953. The creative and technical mastermind behind some of the most provocative films of the last decade, Harron found her way to the movie world after a brief stint as a journalist both in North America and abroad. Her first feature film, I Shot Andy Warhol, starring indie maven Lili Taylor, was made for under $2 million and ended up a critical darling. The Oxford educated moviemaker is often drawn to ideas of patriarchy and the subversive culture that results from that system. For further examples, see her filmic interpretation of Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho (about a Wall Street banker’s desire for sexual conquest and murder) and her biographical tribute The Notorious Bettie Page (an unauthorized account of the 1950s pinup model’s pornography career and the subsequent Senate investigation).

Filmmaker Factoid: American Psycho was almost a different film altogether. After finding fame with Titanic, Leonardo DiCaprio was reported to be interested in the project. However, when DiCaprio bowed out, the female director successfully brought the controversial drama to the big screen, choosing Christian Bale to embody the role of the psychopathic Patrick Bateman.

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

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This Day in Indie History: Maurice Pialat

Divisive French moviemaker Maurice Pialat died on this day in 2003, at the age of 77. Over the course of his career, Pialat developed a unique style of storytelling that relied on disjointed narratives and elliptical timeframes, yet somehow also maintained a stark realism. After a failed career as an artist, Pialat moved on to moviemaking when he was in his late thirties, winning the Prix Jean Vigo for his first film, L’Enfance nu, in 1968. Aside from the creation of morally ambiguous and challenging films, Pialat’s most essential contribution to the film world was his discovery of the acclaimed French actress Sandrine Bonnaire, who made her debut in Pialat’s À Nos Amours.

Filmmaker Factoid: When Pialat’s Sous le soleil de Satan controversially won the Palme d’Or at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival, the audience responded with a chorus of boos. As he accepted the award, the director famously turned to the audience, raised his fist and replied, “Since you don’t like me, I can tell you that I don’t like you either.”

January 10th, 2007 | Category: This Day in Indie History | By MovieMaker Staff

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This Day in Indie History: Adaptation

The second collaboration between director Spike Jonze and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, Adaptation, released nationwide on this day in 2003, continued the duo’s pattern of quirky, cerebral moviemaking. The story of a creatively-blocked screenwriter and the novel he is attempting to adapt for the screen, the film stars Nicolas Cage as the brothers Charlie and Donald Kaufman, as well as Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper, Tilda Swinton, Maggie Gyllenhaal and a host of other notable actors. While Cage received high praise for his work in the film, it was Cooper who came away with the most tangible honors—in the form of both Academy and Golden Globe Awards for Best Supporting Actor.

Film Factoid: The screenwriting credit for this film, as well as all consideration for awards, went to both Charlie and Donald Kaufman, the screenwriter’s on-screen twin brother/alter ego, a totally fictitious character.

January 9th, 2007 | Category: This Day in Indie History | By MovieMaker Staff

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