Advertisement
Acting | Associations | Auteur | Cinematography | Digital | Directing | Editing | Education | Exhibition | Festivals | Indie Movie Guide | Internet | Locations | Screenwriting
Acting
Ellen Page's Not So Still Life
Canadian newcomer gets Oscar buzz Juno
Don’t misunderstand: It’s not like Ellen Page is hiding out or lying low. But even as the Oscar-hype machinery is revving up to push her toward a well-deserved nomination for her star-making performance in Jason Reitman’s Juno—well, she’d simply prefer to be on the other side of the continent, far away from Hollywood, on this particular October afternoon.
(No comments yet)
Colleen Foy Hits the Big Time in There Will be Blood
For most aspiring young actresses, that first glimpse of success comes in the form of some sort of low-budget horror flick where the only job requirement is the ability to scream a piercing scream. But not Colleen Foy. For her feature film debut, she’s starring opposite Daniel Day-Lewis and working under the tutelage of director Paul Thomas Anderson in There Will be Blood. While many still believe that it takes a hustler to make it in Hollywood, Foy is proving that a little good nature can go a long way.
(7 comments)
John C. Reilly: Things I’ve Learned
"If you take parts that are the same as other stuff you’ve done, then you’ve only got yourself to blame," "Shoes and costume are a quick shortcut to feeling like the character" and other lessons from the star of Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.
(No comments yet)
Illeanarama: Where the Stars Go
The question used to be: What happens when an actor can't land another part? Now, with no end in sight to the writers' strike, the question becomes: How can an actor make some money when movie production has come to a screeching halt? Either way, it seems the answer is: Go to work at Bel Air Foods, of course. Apparently, that's the place to shop to catch Illeana Douglas and her pals Ed Begley Jr., Justine Bateman and Jane Lynch, who all star in the Web comedy "Illeanarama: Supermarket of the Stars."
(1 comment)
Joe Pantoliano’s Golden Rules
The outspoken character actor with more than 100 credits to his name shares his secret to success in the business of making movies.
(2 comments)
Geoffrey Rush’s Golden Year
Lifelong student of acting reprises his role in The Golden Age
Known for depicting unique and unusual characters like David Helfgott in Shine,” Captain Barbossa in Pirates of the Caribbean, Sir Francis Walsingham in Elizabeth and a wide assortment of misfits and madmen, Geoffrey Rush has steadily become one of the most preeminent actors of our time.
(1 comment)
Jodie Foster: The Brave One
Still on top after more than four decades in Hollywood, the two-time Oscar-winner takes a "monstrously existential journey" in Neil Jordan's The Brave One.
An Oscar nominee at 14 and still at the top of her game after more than four decades, Jodie Foster knows how to get what she wants--like director Neil Jordan and a killer script for her latest thriller, The Brave One.
(No comments yet)
Ethan Hawke Grows Up in The Hottest State
Writer-director-actor Ethan Hawke finds meaning in an autobiographical work—15 years later
When I was 21 and under the influence of books like James Baldwin’s Go Tell It on the Mountain, Jack Kerouac’s The Subterraneans and Larry McMurtry’s All My Friends Are Going to Be Strangers, I started writing a wildly autobiographical piece of fiction about my experiences upon arriving in New York. I wanted to write about trying to “make it” as an actor and centered the story on a soul-crushing, identity-defining encounter with first love.
(2 comments)
Silent Movies Are Still Creating an Echo
With silent films more available than ever, now is the time to remember the era's most influential directors
From Griffith and Eisenstein to Chaplin and Keaton, MM revisits the 15 greatest directors of the silent era.
(1 comment)
Julie Delpy's 2 Days in Paris
Richard Linklater's muse offers her own quirky take on cross-cultural romance with her directorial debut, 2 Days in Paris
After sharpening her multi-tasking skills with Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy is writing, directing, producing, editing, scoring and starring in her own take on cross-cultural romance with 2 Days in Paris.
(No comments yet)
Random Thoughts From the Set of Jeff Garlin's I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With
Star of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" turns his attention to the big screen
From soundless filming to nausea on the set, Jeff Garlin relives the experience of writing, directing and starring in his directorial debut, I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With.
(No comments yet)
Things I’ve Learned As A Moviemaker
Follow through with your word. People give a lot of false promises in this business. Fight that temptation.
(No comments yet)
Mr. Roboto Revisited
Actor Tony Hale is living life after "Arrested Development" to the fullest
He's voiced a pope, rocked out to Mr. Roboto and lost his hand to a dolphin. Now he's playing best friend to an almost-serious Will Ferrell. After rising to fame as Buster Bluth on the tragically short-lived series "Arrested Development," Tony Hale is taking Hollywood by storm, with a slate of new films in various stages of production--including Paul Feig's Unaccompanied Minors and Marc Forster's Stranger Than Fiction.
(1 comment)
Kevin Costner Goes Psycho
Hollywood's golden boy gets dark in Mr. Brooks
Earl Brooks is a fabulously successful businessman, a devoted father and husband, a much-respected pillar of his community and, on those occasions when he simply cannot suppress his baser instincts, a coolly meticulous serial killer. Kevin Costner is an Oscar-winning director and a chronically underrated actor who delights in exploiting his own star power to illuminate every facet of his starring role in Mr. Brooks, a movie that is equal parts ice-cold thriller and pitch-black comedy.
(No comments yet)
Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker
Working with great actors-be they stars or not-doesn't matter. But it's usually the non-stars that are the impressive actors because all they do is work on their craft. I study them and watch them and see how they finesse and massage their characters. So I got to say my inspiration in acting is the journeymen-the working character actors.
(No comments yet)
John Leguizamo Hates Labels
The consummate scene-stealer goes from class clown to zombie hunter
Actor. Writer. Producer. Director. Comedian. Playwright. John Leguizamo has been called many things, and for a guy who above all else doesn't want to get "pigeon-holed," that suits him just fine. The former class clown speaks with MM about his formidable body of work and why it's always better to "pick the shit part" in a great movie.
(No comments yet)
Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker
Even if you think it's crap, you'll be glad you finished it. Do a lot of random favors for people so that when you make your movie you can guilt them into working on it for free.
(No comments yet)
One Sucker at a Time
Jenna Fischer shows her philanthropic side in LolliLove
Jenna Fischer, the actress best known to audiences as Pam, the sweet receptionist on NBC’s “The Office,” is proving she’s more than just a pretty face. Fischer spoke with MM about her hilarious new mockumentary, what it takes to make it as a director and the difficult task of keeping her husband—writer-director James Gunn—under control.
(No comments yet)
Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker
Budgets have never scared me as an actor or as a director or as a producer. I've worked on movies that cost $3 million and I've worked on movies with larger budgets. It's just the question about whether one feels the emotional connection to the material and the need to tell that story. I think a lot of movies have very large budgets because they're mismanaged and have indulgent qualities that don't need to happen. Lower budget doesn't mean lower quality. Look at the movies that were celebrated at the Oscars.
(No comments yet)
For Love or Country
After 16 years, Andy Garcia brings The Lost City to life
Though he’s considered one of the most talented actors of his generation, bringing The Lost City to life was no easy task for Andy Garcia. A project 16 years in the making, the quadruple threat producer-director-actor-composer took time out from working on the film’s soundtrack to speak with MM about bringing his passion project to the screen and directing his first feature.
(No comments yet)
Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker
Gone with the Wind in the morning and The Dukes of Hazzard just before wrap. You can't take way too much time with stuff-you have to pick and choose what your vital scenes are to get done because you have a finite time to get them done in (unless you're Stanley Kubrick).
(No comments yet)
The Dark Side of the Circus Performer
Donal Logue goes from comedic supporting actor to dramatic scene-stealer in The Groomsmen
Donal Logue has one of those faces-the kind that you'll spot in a movie or on TV and immediately think, "Hey, that guy looks familiar." There's a reason for that. With more than 60 film and TV roles to his credit, including this month's The Groomsmen, Logue is proving that he is a leading man's worst nightmare-a rare character actor who, even in the smallest of parts and armed only with wit and charm, can upstage the star.
(1 comment)
Cate Blanchett’s Golden Age
If it's not impossible, she's not interested...Playing complicated women is what this versatile, Oscar-winning actress does best.
Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett, never your typical Hollywood ingénue, never looked back from her Academy Award-winning turn as Katharine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator. Now, on the heels of her stunning performance in Babel, and with powerful roles in four highly anticipated new films (Notes on a Scandal, The Good German, I'm Not There and The Golden Age), this Aussie's star has never shone brighter.
(No comments yet)
Frances McDormand
The 40-something actress proves that age is no match for talent.
Don't tell Frances McDormand that Hollywood is a tough place for actresses over 40. Her versatile body of work has allowed her to become one of cinema's more prolific character actors.
(No comments yet)
From Stage to Screen, Made Easy
If the next stage of your acting career is film, you'll want to hear what "Pocahontas" director Daniele Suisa has to say
If the next stage of your acting career is film, you'll want to hear what "Pocahontas" director Daniele Suisa has to say.
(1 comment)
Stars in Your Eyes? Here’s Looking at You
Great directors will tell you that one of the secrets to becoming an effective movie actor is the ability to communicate through the eyes.
Take it from Frank Capra - using your eyes effectively is one of the keys to becoming a film star.
(No comments yet)
Auditioning for Love and Money
Forget about trying to please the director-getting the part takes getting the character
Auditioning is what actors really do for a living. Here's how to do it better.
(3 comments)
Bullets as a Gimmick
An indie producer must go to great lengths to get his film noticed.
A moviemaker "bites the bullet" to get his film in the limelight.
(2 comments)
American Messiah
Distributors often promise you "Titantic" but deliver the "Minnow."
American Messiah diary, part IV. In the wee hours, a moviemaker ponders his feature's box office potential.
(No comments yet)
Making a Movie, Cont.
A moviemaker's enthusiasm for a project often returns during the editing stage
At the editing stage a movie takes ona life of its own.
(No comments yet)
Providence Comes Through
- but sometimes the view is better from below. (A post-mortem of a moviemaker's dream).
The maker of Seattle's latest no-budget feature has a chance to catch his breath.
(No comments yet)
Making Movies
A monthly journal of a moviemaker's first feature film.
The founder of Seattle's Screenwriter's Academy embarks on his first feature film.
(1 comment)
Advertisement
Latest from the blog:
Jaman Launches “Movie Channel for the World”
Jaman.com announced the availability of instantly streamed, HD-quality movies—for free.
With nothing more than a simple click, cineastes can watch one of 100 ad-supported titles from the online distributor's collection of more than 3,000 films at no cost. Alternatively, those viewers who are less inclined to "pay" for the free films by watching the ads can pay just $1.99 to watch them commercial-dree. “By offering a free streaming media service along with our current rental and ownership download options, we are anticipating the future of digital cinema," says Jaman founder and CEO, Gaurav Dhillon. "With streaming, we provide our community with a quality viewing experience that is free and for our advertisers, we deliver a unique audience and premium and targeted placement opportunities.”
Posted 05.15.08 | News/Commentary | 1 comment
Other recent posts:
Posts people are talking about:
SITE DELIVERY OPTIONS
