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My Golden Rules: McG
He has directed music videos for Sugar Ray, Cypress Hill, Sublime and Wyclef Jean. Executive produced more than a dozen popular television series, including "The O.C." and "Chuck." And he's been the chosen director to re-boot "Charlie's Angels" and resurrect the Terminator franchise for the big screen. Now he's making Reese Witherspoon choose between Chris Pine and Tom Hardy in This Means War. As the new action-rom-com makes its way into theaters, writer-director-producer McG shares his golden rules of moviemaking.
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Winning Big in the Amazon
When you hear the word “Amazon,” one of two things probably come to mind: Online retailer Amazon.com or (maybe) that river in South America. Well, here’s a third option: Amazon Studios, the online moviemaking arm of Amazon.com, which awards cash prizes to scripts, trailers and test movies submitted by members as a way to help up-and-coming moviemakers get discovered and complete their films.
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From the Classroom to the Kodak Theatre
Max Zähle picks up an Oscar nomination for his student film Raju
The Oscar-nominated short film Raju is something of an enigma. A German student film shot, not in a crew member's backyard, but in India, the film's small budget meant that, for director/co-writer Max Zähle, paying the cast wasn't an option—but he snagged two A-list German actors, Wotan Wilke Möhring and Julia Richter, to star all the same. And, of course, it's a student film that's been nominated for an Oscar... and that's not something that happens all too often.
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Explosions and Kisses: When Action Meets Romantic Comedy
There are perhaps no two genres less alike than the romantic comedy and the action adventure. Yet when these two seemingly dissimilar genres combine, they have the potential to score big. The latest example to hit theaters, This Means War, stars Reese Witherspoon as a woman caught in a love triangle with two CIA agents who happen to be best friends in addition to romantic rivals. With This Means War hitting select theaters today for a special Valentine’s Day engagement, we're taking a look at some of the best romantic action-comedies from the past 30 years.
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Funny Valentines: Cinema’s Quirkiest Couples
Some people are Valentine’s Day people and some just aren’t. As a service to our readers, MM has chosen several movies that break the typical romantic comedy mold, making for fine Valentine’s Day viewing for those looking to forgo the overpriced, overcrowded restaurants and gooey Valentine’s Day crowd.
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The Rising Stars of 2012
There’s quite the array of emerging actors out there in the film world, most of whom have been referred to as the "next big thing" at one point or another. But which of these "next big thing"s will actually live up to the title? Social media research company Fizziology (fizziolo.gy) has endeavored to find out by tracking and analyzing the social media buzz of over 1,500 actors and actresses, and after an exhaustive look at the general public's three social media must-haves—Facebook, Twitter and blogs—they've compiled their list of seven much-buzzed-about stars on the brink of a breakout year.
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The Artist Dominates at the 2012 BAFTA Awards
As expected, The Artist was the big winner at last night's Orange British Academy Film Awards—or, as they're better known, the BAFTAs—winning in seven of the 12 categories in which it was nominated, including Best Film, Best Director (Michel Hazanavicius) and Best Actor (Jean Dujardin). Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which went into the ceremony with 11 nominations, came out on top in the Outstanding British Film and Best Adapted Screenplay categories.
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The Vow Takes a Bite Out of the Box Office
Last weekend's three new releases (and one new re-release) pass the $20 million mark.
Four of the top five spots at last weekend's box office went to new releases, all of which broke the $20 million threshold, the first time since December 2008 four movies have debuted with such strong numbers. At the top of the pack was the romantic drama The Vow, which cost an estimated $30 million to make and pulled in a (much)-higher-than-expected opening weekend gross of $41.7 million. Coming in a close second was the crime thriller Safe House, while the $27.5 million haul of family-friendly film Journey 2: The Mysterious Island was enough to land it in spot number three.
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Activism and Terrorism Collide in If a Tree Falls
With the Oscar-nominated documentary If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front, co-directors Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman turned their camera on an issue that is at once historical and current: The Earth Liberation Front (ELF), a '90s environmental activist group made up of once-peaceful protestors who took to committing acts of arson after the non-violent demonstrations they had been participating in were ignored by the government and often met with brutality by the police. Though the film resonates with the protest movements that have sprung up since its release, Curry didn't make the film with any particular agenda—environment, political or otherwise—in mind. Instead, he was intrigued by the story of Daniel McGowan, a former ELF member facing life in prison for his acts of what the government considers terrorism.
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Bringing Together Comedy, Politics and Economic Meltdown in Gnarr
In case you haven't heard, the economy hasn't been doing that well for the past few years. No country has felt the economic crisis so keenly as Iceland, where the collapse of a once-soaring economy left citizens feeling betrayed by their politicians. Against this backdrop rose an unlikely political hero: Jón Gnarr, the comedian who ran for mayor of Reykjavík as a joke… and won. His campaign—in which he promised to build a Disneyland in the city and refused to talk to his opponents if they hadn't watched "The Wire"—was filmed, from start to finish, by Gaukur Úlfarsson for his feature documentary Gnarr.
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Form Meets Function with Rampart
Something about procedural cop dramas makes them inherently powerful, and director Oren Moverman’s Rampart is no exception. Millenium Entertainment brings this intense feature film—about an arrogant, macho cop (played by Woody Harrelson) on an emotional downward spiral—to theaters this Friday, February 10th. Many of the reviews to have come out since the film’s premiere at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival focus on Harrelson’s gritty performance as the corrupt cop Dave Brown. But much of the grittiness of the film itself comes from its visual style, which took Moverman and DP Bobby Bukowski a special creative approach to achieve.
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Into the Sunset: Cinema’s Greatest Swan Songs
There’s a circular pattern to the careers of many directors: Their early films tend toward rough experiments. Then they mature and develop their own distinct artistic voice. Finally, secure in their success, they drive off into the sunset of their career, all too often trading in the fame they had at their peak for something more like the obscurity they started with. The decline of a director’s work at the end of their career is an all-too-common trend, but it's one that Hungarian director Bèla Tarr, with his final film The Turin Horse, has managed to avoid. With The Turin Horse coming out on Friday, we're taking a look at three other directors who refused to leave their legacy poorly wrapped.
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Annie ♥s Rango
Rango, Kung Fu Panda 2 and The Adventures of Tintin pick up multiple awards at this year's Annies
It's not time for the Oscars yet, but the Annies have already rolled into town. Last Saturday saw the Annie Awards, which honors the year's highest achievements in (you guessed it) animation, take place in UCLA's Royce Hall in a ceremony hosted by actor Patton Oswalt. The night's big award—Best Animated Feature—went to Rango, which is regarded as the frontrunner for that same award at this year's Oscars.
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Celebrating the Flavors of Filmmaking at Slamdance
Last month, Josh Gibson went to the Slamdance Film Festival with his short film Kudzu Vine… and came back with his very own Panasonic AG-AF100, a full HD camcorder that retails for $4,995.00. Gotta say, not too shabby. For Gibson, an associate director and instructor of film at Duke University, the boon came courtesy of Panasonic's Five Flavors of Filmmaking contest, held in cooperation with Slamdance. The contest called upon five teams to use the AF100, the official camera of the festival, to create a one-minute film based on a flavor. Gibson chose to interpret the flavor he was assigned—watermelon—with an experimental film that brought to life three haiku poems by the 17th century Japanese poet Basho.
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Chronicle and The Woman in Black Duke it Out at the Box Office
New releases Chronicle and The Woman in Black each took in a higher-than-expected haul over Super Bowl weekend, though it was the former film that managed to climb to the top with a weekend gross of $22 million. Still, The Woman in Black wasn't that far behind, pulling in $21 million over the weekend. Last week's surprise box office victor, The Grey, slid to number three, while new release Big Miracle's weekend take of $8.4 million was only enough to land it at spot number four. Rounding out the top five was Underworld: Awakening.
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Get Connected with Scriptapalooza
Now in its 14th year, Scriptapalooza remains unlike any other screenplay competition. When you submit your script to Scriptapalooza, it will be read by the elite of the film industry: Over 90 producers, managers and agents with the power to turn your script into a feature film. With the next deadline—March 5th—looming on the horizon, MM recently caught up with Scriptapalooza president/co-founder Mark Andrushko to find out more about this year’s competition.
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Don’t Go in There! Cinema’s Scariest Haunted House Movies
Creaky floorboards. Rattling window shutters. Creepy noises in the attic. What could be scarier than a lonely old house on a dark and stormy night? The haunted house subgenre has been around for a long time and has proven to be endlessly fascinating to moviemakers and audiences alike. With the two newest entries in this enduring subgenre—The Woman in Black and The Innkeepers—hitting theaters today, MM is taking a look back at some of the scariest haunted house movies of all time.
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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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Who Needs HD When You’ve Got 4K?
Techies rejoice! A new toy is hitting the market. Of course, JVC's GY-HMQ10, the world's first handheld 4K camcorder, isn't a toy, per se; the high-tech wonder captures, records and plays video at a resolution that trumps the 1080p image quality of high-definition television four times over.
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Supporting Global Film, One Director at a Time
A hefty check of $10,000 and year-round support from one of indie film’s leading role models? This fantastic prize has been awarded to four moviemakers courtesy of the Mahindra Global Filmmaking Award, presented by India-based conglomerate the Mahindra Group in cooperation with the Sundance Institute. Designed to recognize and support moviemakers from around the globe, the award provides its winners with financial support, mentoring from creative advisers, participation in a Sundance Institute Directors or Screenwriters Lab, attendance at the Sundance Film Festival and additional support over the course of the year.
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Say Hello to the Happy Couple
One in three films at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival were helped to the screen by NYU alumni
The Sundance Film Festival ♥s New York. At the 2012 edition of the celebrated festival, which wrapped up its ten days of indie mayhem yesterday, one in three of the films screened was impacted in some way by a graduate of New York University's (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts in the form of a director, producer, writer, editor, set designer, cinematographer or actor who graduated from the world-renowned film school.
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Box Office Goes to the Wolves with The Grey
The box office went to the wolves this weekend, with Joe Carnahan's The Grey beating out last week's reigning champ Underworld: Awakening to land at the number one spot. The man vs. nature actioner did better than expected, earning $20 million in its first weekend; meanwhile, the latter film's weekend haul of $12.5 million brings its total gross to $45.1 million.
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Where the Wild Things Are: The Best Man vs. Nature Movies
It's like a bad nightmare: Being stranded in the wild with scant resources and no guarantee of survival, your very existence hanging in the balance. What can you eat? How do you make it out alive? How do you manage to hang on to your humanity? This harrowing scenario has provided grist for many movies over the years. The latest of these is The Grey, in which Liam Neeson plays a man stranded in the Alaskan wilderness and hunted by a pack of hungry wolves. With the film hitting theaters today, it seems a perfect time to take a look back at some of the most thrilling man vs. nature movies from the past 40 years.
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Distribution in the Year 2012
Distribution is the sole source by which film revenue is earned, but between the advent of digital theatrical distribution, the rise of Netflix and VOD and the collapse of the DVD market, recent years have seen some radical changes in how films are distributed. It makes sense that independent moviemakers, always been on the cutting edge themselves, should be the ones to race to exploit emerging distribution methods.
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Putting the “Audio” in “Audio Visual” with the Golden Reel Awards
To be fair, some great films came out before the advent of sound cinema. Still, when the link between sound and image was formed by the coming of the first "talkies," the art of moviemaking made a mad dash to achieve levels silent features could only dream of. A tribute to the value of sound can be seen at many major awards ceremonies in the form of a Best Sound Editing award... but when it comes to something as important as sound, a dedicated awards ceremony is well-deserved. That's where the Motion Pictures Sound Editors (MPSE) comes in.
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Say Hello to Your 2012 Oscar Nominees
Hugo and The Artist Lead Nominations
This morning saw the announcement of the 2012 Academy Award nominations, and while many of the films to have their names called out by nominee presenters Jennifer Lawrence and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) president Tom Sherak came as no surprise, there were (as always) some additions and snubs that have Oscar pundits scratching their heads.
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PGA Win Helps The Artist Break (Further) from the Pack
The Artist continued its intermittent awards season domination on Saturday, winning the Producers Guild of America (PGA) Award for Best Feature Film and shoring up its chances for Best Picture victory come Oscar night. While Steven Spielberg and co-producer Kathleen Kennedy didn't take home an award for War Horse, nominated in the Best Feature Film category, the producing duo didn't go home empty-handed; their The Adventures of Tintin was named the year's Best Animated Film. In the documentary category, director Michael Rapaport's Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest was the surprise winner.
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Underworld: Awakening Takes a Bite Out of the Box Office
Underworld: Awakening took a bite out of the box office last weekend, earning $25.4 in its first three days and beating out second-place finisher, fellow new release Red Tails, by a substantial margin. Last week's number one film, Contraband, fell two spots to number three, while Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close celebrated its first weekend in wide release—it hit select theaters across the country over Christmas weekend—with a weekend gross of $10.5 million. Rounding out the top five was the newest from Steven Soderbergh, Haywire, which earned $9 million over its first weekend.
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Why Sundance?
With the 2012 Sundance Film Festival now in full swing, we've asked some Park City-bound moviemakers one burning question: Why Sundance? Here's what they had to say.
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Re-Vamping: Ten Unique Takes on Vampire Mythology
It’s pretty much impossible to escape vampires these days. The Twilight movies are as insanely popular as ever, the HBO series “True Blood” has a large and dedicated fanbase and Justin Cronin’s best-selling novel The Passage looks poised to kick off the next must-read vampire series. The newest piece of vampire pop culture to sink its teeth into movie audiences’ necks is Underworld: Awakening, out in theaters today. With so many blood-suckers baring their fangs, vampires have started to feel a bit tired and clichéd. But never fear, MM is here to save the day. We’ve come up with a selection of ten films that put wonderfully original spins on vampire mythology.
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Haskell Wexler: The Last Indie Rebel
As the director’s cut of Latino is released, the Oscar-winning moviemaker/social philosopher looks back on his long career
Haskell Wexler is simply one of our greatest living cinematographers. He’s in a class by himself as much for his fearless sense of justice as for his groundbreaking technical innovations, but it’s his lifelong commitment to putting his lens where his mouth is—as with his second film as a writer-director, 1985's stunning Latino—that makes Wexler such a unique source of inspiration to so many moviemakers.
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The World's Weirdest Shakespeare Adaptations
Featuring Lions, Fry Cooks and Robot Butlers
In Coriolanus, out in theaters tomorrow, director and star Ralph Fiennes brings to the screen one of Shakespeare's least-adapted plays. Replete as it is with guns, tanks and army fatigues, Fiennes' directorial debut is a decidedly modern take on a story that was originally set in pre-Imperial Rome. Still, even with all its modern accoutrements, Coriolanus is actually fairly traditional adaptation of the Bard's work... at least compared to some of the more off-the-wall approaches that other directors have taken in years past.
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Exploring the Mystery of Creativity with Old School New School
My documentary Old School New School explores the nature of creativity, all within the context of storytelling through various crafts, including acting, cinematography, music, theater, dance and poetry. The film is an extension of many conversations I’ve had over the years with my artist friends. We’d meet in a café to talk about life, art and philosophy. They were stimulating discussions that ultimately segued to the obligatory question all serious artists eventually examine: How can we, as creative people, grow in the direction we want to grow?
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The Artist, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Lead 2012 BAFTA Award Nominations
Though Tomas Alfredson's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy has been notably absent from much of the awards season hoopla, the spy drama's dry spell may now be over. Its 11 nominations in this year's British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards, announced today, place it on the top of the heap; the only film to receive more nominations is The Artist, with 12. Martin Scorsese's Hugo also cleaned up with nominations in 11 categories, including Best Director.
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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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