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The Challenges (and Rewards) of Big Miracle
Director Ken Kwapis: "It was brutal, but I loved every minute of it."
Let's not beat around the bush: Directing a movie with ten major characters sounds pretty tough. Directing a movie with ten major characters, a bunch of non-professional actors and three massive animatronic whales that can only be reached for repairs by diving into some pretty chilly water? Even tougher. Shooting in Alaska, where one of the only weather conditions that stays consistent from day to day is the freezing cold? Was Big Miracle director Ken Kwapis nuts?!
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Top 10 Cities to be a Moviemaker: 2012
It’s been more than 10 years since MovieMaker began citing the best cities to be an independent moviemaker—those places that go the extra mile in welcoming lower-budget productions just as much as they do the “big guns.” With more and more moviemakers opting to shoot in their own backyards, a city’s ability to offer a sustainable, creative community in addition to production support, tax incentives and local and experienced crew bases has never been more important to the indie industry. Read on to discover which cities topped our list for 2012.
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Lessons From the Jungle
Director Lavinia Currier shares lessons learned from shooting her film Oka! in the remote jungles of the Central African Republic
Director Lavinia Currier’s (Passion in the Desert) film Oka! is based on the unpublished memoir of ethnomusicologist Louis Sarno, a New Jersey native who has lived with the Bayaka pygmies in the southwestern part of the Central African Republic (CAR) for more than 25 years as a welcome member of their community. Currier shot most of the film in the remote jungles of CAR with a cast comprised primarily of members of the Bayaka tribe. Here, Currier describes the most important lessons she will take away from this extreme and profound experience.
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Daron Ker on Biker Bars, Baseball and Cambodian Heritage
Our past informs our present and our future. For moviemaker Daron Ker, his past as a Cambodian refugee has informed his career as a director of documentaries. In Rice Field of Dreams, Ker follows a refugee’s return to Cambodia to start the nation’s first baseball team, while his I Ride tells the very different story of The Fryed Brothers Band, famous among American bikers. Ker, who is now in pre-production on his film Holiday in Cambodia, about a Cambodian deported from the U.S., spoke with MovieMaker about the pride he feels in his Cambodian heritage, the inspiration for his films and his first foray into narrative moviemaking.
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Aaron Yeger Discovers A People Uncounted
In his feature directorial debut A People Uncounted, directed Aaron Yeger sheds light on the story of the Roma, commonly referred to as Gypsies. While the Roma have to a large extent been romanticized in popular culture, the real-life intolerance and persecution, both past and present, inflicted upon them has been largely ignored. With his documentary, Yeger explores the rich culture of the Roma, linking their present state to the tragedies of their past, notable among them the murder of an estimated 500,000 of the Roma during the Holocaust.
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Ami Canaan Mann Visits Texas Killing Fields
The world outside the camera and the world inside the camera. On the set of Texas Killing Fields, the world outside the camera is the swamps of Louisiana in July and it is hot. Really, really motherfucking hot.
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The Montana Film Office Wants You to “Pitch the 406”
As all indie moviemakers know, one of the toughest parts of getting a film made happens well before the first day of shooting: Fundraising. But there’s some good news for every moviemaker who wants to get the money and just start making their movie already (so, all of them): The Montana Film Office’s recently-launched “Pitch the 406” contest is giving moviemakers the opportunity to win $20,000 worth of production equipment and labor, including access to rent-free equipment and an experienced local crew.
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Brendan Moriarty Walks The Road to Freedom
The recent death of photojournalist Tim Hetherington—killed while covering political unrest in Libya—made more people aware of the danger faced by those who go into war zones to document and publicize human rights atrocities that would otherwise be far too easy for the world at large to ignore. Hetherington’s tragic death caught the world’s attention, and rightly so. Photojournalists are fully aware of the dangers they face but do not let those dangers stop them in their pursuit of the truth. So it was for photojournalist Sean Flynn, whose life and tragic death is the subject of director Brendan Moriarty’s The Road to Freedom, in theaters tomorrow.
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André N. Anton is Defying Deletion
Documentary Short Increases Awareness of the Persecution of Assyrians in Iraq
Defying Deletion: The Fight Over Iraq’s Nineveh Plains portrays the struggle of the Assyrian race since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Assyrians are part of Iraq’s surviving indigenous population, but they are being persecuted and pushed to the brink of extinction. The emotionally-charged story told in Defying Deletion is an important one because of how this injustice has gone largely unreported by the mainstream media. Assyrians have faced persecution in Iraq—largely as a result of their Christianity—for generations, but in my documentary short Defying Deletion, I chose to focus on on post-Saddam Iraq, because the acuity of the current persecution threatens the very survival of the Assyrians as a people.
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On the Road Again… with Four of the World’s Best Road Trip Movies
Ah, the road trip. A small group of people are forced to cohabit a confined space as they journey through strange locales and encounter eccentric people, all in an effort to achieve some goal before time runs out. Is there any scenario better suited for the silver screen? Much-loved classics like Easy Rider, The Grapes of Wrath and The Wizard of Oz are among the hundreds of movies where the central plot revolves around a group of people who must get from point A to point B. Most real-life road trips are more soul-crushingly boring than their cinematic counterparts, but audiences are still drawn to the mystique of the movie road trip.
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Exploring The Myth of the American Sleepover
"Coming of Age" is a genre of film to which everyone can relate. We're all capable of understanding the struggles and confusion that accompany one's adolescent years, as a kid awkwardly transforms into a adult and leans on his or her friends in order to endure those trying times. David Robert Mitchell's The Myth of the American Sleepover is one such story. Set in suburban Michigan (the site of Mitchell's own coming-of-age years), the film tells the story of a group of adolescents on the eve of the first day of the new school year.
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Darren Aronofsky to Head Margaret Mead Film Festival Jury
The Margaret Mead Film Festival, which will be held November 10th through 13th, 2011 at New York City’s American Museum of Natural History, is the longest running international documentary film festival in the United States. Since 1977, the MMFF has been dedicated to presenting audiences with the best in nonfiction film from around the world.
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To Hogwarts and Beyond
Cinema's best, worst and just plain creepiest boarding schools
Maybe you haven't heard, but July 15th sees the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. At the start of the series, Harry was left on the steps of #4 Privet Drive, and in the seven books since he's enrolled at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, made some friends (and some rivals), discovered his arch enemy, found (and lost) his beloved godfather, become a central figure in the resistance against said arch enemy, witnessed the death of his mentor, gotten into some fights and done some camping, all while learning how to use magic.
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Albuquerque, Austin, New Orleans… Cape Town
Indies look to South Africa for their production needs
Production companies based outside L.A. and N.Y.C. have grown increasingly popular over the last several years as financial incentive programs have drawn low-budget productions away from the bright lights of Sunset Boulevard and Broadway. But Film Afrika, located in Cape Town, South Africa, is giving independent movies a reason to go even further afield. Film Afrika's Vlokkie Gordon spoke with MM about the financial benefits of shooting in South Africa and how the recent upswing in international productions has impacted the country's own local film industry.
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Dan Hannon Visits The Pond
New Hampshire provides the location—and inspiration—for award-winning short film
Short films don't always get the respect they deserve. You can see Transformers anywhere, but it takes a dedicated fan to track down a short film he or she wants to see. Unless they are attached to the beginning of a Pixar movie, short films have a very limited theatrical exposure to the public.
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Celebrating Richard Linklater's Slacker in Austin
On June 22nd, writer-director Richard Linklater (School of Rock) was in Austin, Texas at the Alamo Drafthouse. Why? To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Slacker, an American indie classic. In a celebration of life in Austin, the cast of the original film was there in support of the film and its upcoming sequel/reimagining, Slacker 2011. The event was presented by the Alamo Drafthouse and the Austin Film Society, an organization Linklater—who lives and works in Austin—founded in 1985.
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Lisa Strout Named Head of Massachusetts Film Office
Great news for residents of Massachusetts: Lisa Strout has just been named the head of the Massachusetts Film Office (MFO). Why is this great news? Well, let’s look at Strout’s track record: She has worked in the film industry for more than 30 years as a location manager on such films as A Room with a View, Mystic Pizza and Falling Down and, as the director of New Mexico’s Economic Development Department, she was responsible for inspiring big-budget films like No Country for Old Men and The Avengers to shoot in New Mexico, creating thousands of jobs and boosting the local economy. So basically, having Lisa Strout as head of the MFO means that all you Massachusetts moviemakers will have more opportunities to work on bigger films.
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James Cameron Named National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence
James Cameron’s preference for geographically inconvenient film projects may have finally paid off. The Academy Award-winning moviemaker and alternative energy proponent was named Explorer-in-Residence by the National Geographic Society.
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Studios Off the Beaten Path
Move Over Los Angeles and New York... Here Come Canton and Utley
They may be off the beaten path, or at least away from the bright lights of Los Angeles and New York, but they’ve been spot on in making cities like Austin, Texas and Albuquerque, New Mexico burgeoning production beds for both big-budget and indie moviemaking.
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Dennis Gansel Directs The Wave
Dennis Gansel has covered a lot of ground in the 11 years since he completed his first feature, The Phantom. He jumped right from directing the teen sex comedy Girls On Top to the historical drama Before the Fall, about an elite Nazi-run boarding school. Gansel’s next film two films, The Wave and We Are the Night, feature a high school-based experiment in fascism and a group of hard-partying vampires (respectively). Gansel took the time to chat with MovieMaker about which genres he’d still like to explore, his upcoming film In the Year of the Dog and his opinion of all those teen vampire flicks out there today (hint: He doesn’t like them).
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Paris, Je T’Aime: Americans in Paris
The art. The architecture. The food. It’s no wonder Paris is one of the top tourist destinations in the world. It’s also a city that has proven to be the ideal shooting location for many American moviemakers. Fish-out-of-water stories about Americans touring the historic city and (usually) finding love have been around for quite awhile. The latest film in this unique sub-genre is Woody Allen’s new romantic comedy Midnight in Paris, which opened this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Here are some other "Americans in Paris" movies that every Francophile should see.
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Industry Expert Tim Caldwell Joining Fletcher Camera & Lenses
Fletcher Camera & Lenses, the Midwest’s leader in high-end camera and lens rentals for the television, film and commercial industries, has announced Tim Caldwell as their new Technical Services Manager. “Tim’s rich technical background and commitment to service make him an ideal fit to lead our Services Division,” says Zoe Borys, General Manager of Fletcher Camera & Lenses.
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Darth Vader vs Me
Using The Force to make Footprints
What's so unique about Footprints, the independent movie I directed, isn’t the price tag, though we did make it for way, way under the SAG Ultra Low budget contract of “under $200,000.” The real miracle of Footprints is the army we had to conquer—an army known as Hollywood Boulevard--and how many days it took to win the war. Sure, you can make a low-budget indie with 20-somethings mumblecoring in someone’s apartment, but try making a movie in the courtyard of Mann’s Chinese Theatre.
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Designing Red Riding Hood
How carrot dirt inspired this modern day twist on a fairtyale
Production designer-turned-director Catherine Hardwicke on the childhood creativity that inspired the world of Red Riding Hood.
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Roger Deakins Show True Grit
With more than 30 features under his belt, Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC is one of the world’s master cinematographers. While Deakins has collaborated with some of today’s top moviemakers, including Martin Scorsese (Kundun), Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind) and Sam Mendes (Revolutionary Road), he has enjoyed an especially fruitful relationship with Joel and Ethan Coen, with whom he has worked for nearly two decades.
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Alejandro González Iñárritu's Biutiful Life
Over the course of just three feature films, Alejandro González Iñárritu has established himself as an international director whose work addresses both social issues and the most personal yearnings of the human soul. Conceived with screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga, these films have examined how chance and accident connect disparate characters in surprising and heartbreaking ways
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Grete Eliassen Hits the Slopes in Say My Name
23-year-old Grete Eliassen is quickly emerging as a breakout star in the skiing world. Raised in Minnesota and Norway, Eliassen started skiing at the age of two, began competing when she was 10 and turned pro at 17.
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Gotham Independent Film Awards Nominees Announced
Award season has swung into gear with the Independent Filmmaker Project's announcement of the 20th anniversary Gotham Independent Film Award nominees.
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Spike Lee in HD, Courtesy of Canon
Five years after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, famed director Spike Lee returned to document the city’s ongoing recovery efforts.
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10 Legal FAQs That Can Make or Break Your Production
As lawyers who regularly work with independent moviemakers, we see the same legal pitfalls on a regular basis. The 10 below are easy to avoid and, simply by being able to recognize them as issues, you will be ahead of the competition.
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Mixed Reviews: Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.
Sam Wasson’s new book, Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman (204 pages, HarperCollins, $19.99), is the story of how the revolutionary film Breakfast at Tiffany’s was sewn together with passion, finesse and luck—and why it shocked the nation in 1961.
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Josh Crook Transforms with La Soga
It’s every moviemaker’s dream: Embarking on a life-changing project with a universal story, ample room for creative leeway, an ever-supportive cast and crew and—upon completion—celebrated reviews. “La Soga was a transformational experience and I am a different person because of it,” says director Josh Crook, on what he considers to be his first feature film. Crook and his brother Jeffrey have jointly directed six films and produced some six more, yet this one is distinct.
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Total Badass Bob Ray Gets Down and Dirty
In today’s era of $200 million Inception-esque films, the independent moviemaker’s latest project tends to get lost. Studios just don’t seem to care about the little fish, regardless of how great their stories may be, how innovative their techniques are or how passionate they are about the art of moviemaking. A great marketing and distribution deal is nearly impossible to come by in this corporate film world, and it’s unfortunate to see (or not see) how many amazing independent works are left unnoticed.
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At the Movies With “Kid Critic” Jackson Murphy
As far as present-day film critics go, there’s the old folks, such as Roger Ebert and Leonard Maltin; the pseudo-hip like Peter Travers; and rising star Jackson Murphy. Haven’t heard of him? Give it a few years—or, at least until he graduates from the eighth grade.
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Ellen Page’s Dream Job
From Canadian darling to Hollywood star, Ellen Page navigates success on her own terms with Inception
Rising star Ellen Page—the heart and soul of Jason Reitman’s 2007 indie hit Juno—is turning up on Hollywood marquees more and more these days. But her success, while much deserved, has been a relatively long time coming. Next playing opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Christopher Nolan’s Inception, Page—at the age of 23—has been clocking set time consistently for well over a decade.
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