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Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker
Nothing matters but the characters and the acting. As a production designer, I would put so much effort into making the set perfect and then I would watch some movies I had done and realize none of it mattered. There are a lot of films with great sets, but we don't care to watch them if the story and the characters aren't compelling.
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Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker
You're told in film school that in order to direct an actor properly, more important than directing is the ability to write a scene in which the actor will feel comfortable, with dialogue which makes sense. Then put this actor in the right set, with the right clothes, with the right partner--and pick the right actors. (laughs) If all those elements have been carefully prepared, you have nothing to do but enjoy.
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It’s All About Pleasure
Jean-Jacques Annaud returns to theaters with Two Brothers
After a three-year absence, French moviemaker Jean-Jacques Annaud is back--returning to theaters this summer with Two Brothers, a sort of spiritual companion to his acclaimed international hit, The Bear. Always ready to go where no moviemaker has gone before, Annaud speaks with us about his latest project, the HD technology and why he finds beauty in the most unlikely places.
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Even Sweeter the Second Time Around
With her new film, Lords of Dogtown, Catherine Hardwicke shows the success of Thirteen was no fluke
Catherine Hardwicke’s first film, Thirteen, won her the 2003 directing award at Sundance. But her “overnight success” was actually 15 years in the making. Now she’s back with the Lords of Dogtown, another film about troubled teens set in and around Venice, California with a bigger budget to handle—and a reputation to live up to.
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How to Make a Movie in 48 Hours
Joe Mefford discusses the art of weekend moviemaking
Think you need a year to learn how to make a movie? Four years? A long apprenticeship? At New York City's Weekend Film School, aspiring auteurs can learn the tools they need, both creative and professional, to stop talking about movies and start making them--and, according to Joe Mefford, it takes them all of 48 hours.
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Virginia is for Movie Lovers
The Old Dominion State offers moviemakers everything they need in one place
Ever since he first came onto the scene in 1998, Ramzi Abed has been pushing the boundaries of moviemaking to their utmost. In his latest film, Black Dahlia, Abed leaps forward technologically, using the digital format to present his take on the gruesome Hollywood murder mystery. Abed speaks with MM about the pros and cons of digital moviemaking.
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Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker
Get to know your cast and crew very well, and open yourself up to the ideas and talent they bring to the table. More importantly, work with people who are like-minded and can understand how you think, or at least how you see and hear your vision.
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Things We’ve Learned as Moviemakers
It takes a long time to make a movie. You spend months getting the script just so. You spend months in production, getting all the footage you think you need. Then you go into the editing room-and there, you start from scratch again.
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A Moviemaker’s Journey Back to School
Home Room's Writer-Director-Producer-Editor Paul F. Ryan
Paul F. Ryan may not yet be a household
name. But this
September, he'll
be living
the dream of every independent moviemaker when his debut feature, Home Room,
begins its nationwide theatrical run through DEJ Productions, the distribution
arm of Blockbuster. Here, Ryan speaks with MM about the challenges
of working
with an extremely sensitive subject line and what it's like to wear the simultaneous
hats of writer, director,
producer and editor.
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Forward Leap
Ramzi Abed pushes the boundaries of digital technology
Say that you’re an aspiring moviemaker, fresh out of college or high school, looking for that perfect film school—the one that will give you all of the experience, training and contacts you need to help you find a great job in the industry. MM speaks with Krane about why The Krane Academy could well be the film school for you!
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A Summer Blockbuster on a Blair Witch Budget
Chris Kentis and Laura Lau go into shark-infested waters on Open Water
Despite actors with knee injuries, shark-infested waters and fighting the elements 20 miles from shore in the Caribbean Islands, luck was on the side of moviemaking couple Chris Kentis and Laura Lau. Armed with Sony NTSC VX2000 and PD-150 cameras, the couple headed south of their New York base to shoot the feature, Open Water, a film which has “summer blockbuster” written all over it.
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Thick Skin & Short Memory
Jonathan Krane is taking on film education one principle at a time
Say that you're an aspiring moviemaker, fresh out of college or high school, looking for that perfect film school-the one that will give you all of the experience, training and contacts you need to help you find a great job in the industry. MM speaks with Krane about why The Krane Academy could well be the film school for you!
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Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker
Start it as soon as you can and be as thorough as possible before you ever even think about shooting. Any problems before production will only be magnified-and more expensive-to solve once production starts.
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Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker
When you walk onto a set you have to be able to think on your feet and find a way to make it work.
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From Idaho to Kiliminjaro
Jeremy Coon takes reins as producer and editor on Napoleon Dynamite
USC, UCLA and NYU may still get most of the glory. But when it comes to producing some truly talented—and independent-minded—teams of moviemakers, BYU is giving even the top film schools a run for their money. Following in the footsteps of Neil LaBute and Aaron Eckhart, writer-director Jared Hess and producer-editor Jeremy Coon have taken their collaboration from the mountains of Park City, Utah to theaters across America with this summer’s Napoleon Dynamite.
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Memoirs of a DP
Dion Beebe re-teams with Rob Marshall for Memoirs of a Geisha and Michael Mann for Miami Vice
by Bob Fisher
Success found Dion Beebe, ASC, ACS, early on—and has followed him ever since. As he reteams with director Rob Marshall for Memoirs of a Geisha (after earning an Oscar nod for their first film together, Chicago),MM speaks with Beebe about his start in the industry and where that's taken him.
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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.
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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.
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Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker
I work on a laptop, so when I'm in writing mode, I can be anywhere at all and still put in a good day's work.
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Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker
If a character is in a hurry, what kind of hurry is she in? God, of course, is in the details, but the devil's there too. I think a lot of directors get very impatient with actors and you see movies where you know the choices were generic.
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A Family Affair on the Maine Coast
Roy Finch gets a hand from Martin Landau on Wake
What’s a first-timer supposed to do when all he’s got to show for himself is a great idea and a burning desire to make movies? If you’re Roy Finch, writer-director of Wake, you assemble a stellar cast of actors, grab a digital camera, fly off to the coast of Maine and make your dream happen!
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Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker
Don't let anyone else steer the direction of your film, your vision and your creativity. Let your own voice do the talking.
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Renaissance Man
Longtime writer Craig Lucas turns first-time director with The Dying Gaul
Most people would settle for any one of Craig Lucas’ illustrious careers, but the multi-talented Lucas is always looking for a new challenge. After incarnations as a Broadway performer, playwright and screenwriter, Lucas is making his directorial debut with The Dying Gaul. Here, Lucas talks with MM about making the transition from writer to director.
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Weighty Subject Benefits from Humor
Morgan Spurlock on his engaging, enlightening Super Size Me
McDonald’s is by now surely tired of hearing the name Morgan Spurlock. But moviegoers everywhere are eating up his new documentary, Super Size Me, in which Spurlock commits to a diet of three square Mickey D meals a day—for 30 days. Here, Spurlock offers up his dieting tips and talks about how one person can make a difference.
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Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker
Break down the ego and create from truth. You need to tear yourself down and create from a clean place where nothing is certain and vision can grow. When you let your ego interfere your only hindering your art and limiting yourself in your abilities.
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Everything Comes Together
For Marc Forster, it's still all about telling stories
Five years ago, a little film called Monster’s Ball snuck into theaters and changed the landscape of contemporary independent film, propelling its director, Marc Forster, straight onto the Hollywood A-List. As he prepares for Stranger than Fiction and The Kite Runner and the DVD release of his latest film, Stay, Forster speaks with MM about his indie breakthrough.
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New Age Education
It's all about the cutting-edge at Boston University's Center for Digital Imaging Arts
s Center for Digital Imaging Arts
To hear David Tames tell it, a great education is all about being on the cutting edge. And as Program Director of Digital Filmmaking at Boston University’s Center for Digital Imaging Arts, he’s certainly willing to back that up. Tames spoke with us about the school’s philosophy, why it’s better to learn from pros, and the history of moviemaking as a technologically-intensive art form.
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Things We’ve Learned as Moviemakers
Hire a good still photographer to not only take pictures of your actors, but of you-the director (with the camera), the producer, the camera crew, the sets, etc. It's amazing what's requested for publicity and what you wind up needing.
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Moviemaking Required
Hands-on moviemaking is a requirement at Columbia College Hollywood
A school for moviemakers with serious ambitions, Columbia College Hollywood offers the equipment, the courses and the instructors to prepare young artists who believe they're ready for a rigorous and rewarding learning environment.
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Adapting For Digital
Harper and Jaggars chart new technology in 30 Miles
While there are still advocates on both sides of the film vs. digital debate who refuse to see much common ground, few moviemakers are promoting the benefits of both mediums as effectively as director Ryan Harper and producer Josh Jaggars. Their latest film, 30 Miles, is the first HD feature to make use of the P+S Technik 35mm adapter. The moviemakers recently spoke with us about their decision to go digital, how they chose the Sony HDW-F900 camera and how two motion picture mediums can complement one another.
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Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker
Film editing is a grueling process. There's no glamour in spending months at a time shut up in a dark room with a director who's spent years struggling to bring their story to the light of day. An aspiring editor has to be realistic about what the process entails: Does the minutiae of editing work actually inspire you? Are you content to rake through countless hours of footage and piece it together into a coherent story? For me, this meticulous, rigorous form of problem-solving is the reward in itself. I get tremendous satisfaction being in the editing room, looking at the same footage over and over-and seeing something different every time.
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Slamdance, Circa 2004
Founders Staying True to Mission, Seeking New Ground
Since its founding in 1995, the Slamdance Film Festival has established itself as one of the premier alternative film festivals in the world. Peter Baxter, a Slamdance co-founder, continues to support the festival’s rapidly expanding presence in the moviemaking community, while making sure that it stays true to its “by filmmakers for filmmakers” motto. Here, Baxter talks with MovieMaker about the keys to Slamdance’s success, how it has adapted to today’s festival climate, and how the festival will continue to push the boundaries of what it means to support the independent moviemaker
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In Search of the Story
Indie editor Meg Reticker discovers something new with each viewing
Fresh off the Sundance screening of Joey Lauren Adams’ Come Early Morning, Meg Reticker’s latest editorial effort and ninth Park City premiere, she sat down with MM to talk about her editorial philosophy, what attracts her to the indie side of the business and why it pays to enjoy the process.
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Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker
Never hire your brother to be your teamster. Because no matter how much he loves you, you'll still be taking a taxi home every night. I'm joking, of course. One of the greatest joys of getting a little success is being able to work with my brothers.
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Crash-Course in Collaboration
Writer-producer Bobby Moresco's 11-year partnership with Paul Haggis turns into an Oscar nomination
Writer-producer Bobby Moresco is no stranger to multiple points of view. For more than a decade, he has collaborated with Paul Haggis on a handful of projects, including this year’s Oscar nominee for Best Original Screenplay, Crash. Moresco spoke with MM about his early days in the business, he and Haggis’ collaborative process and whether or not he’s got that Oscar speech ready.
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