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Issue #52 [Fall 2003]

Post Production Playground
By Jessica Hundley
New York City's choice for post service and expertise.

Action’s Back
By Jessica Hundley
Nona Gaye and Shin Koyamada will show their stuff in two of the year's most anticipated action movies, The Matrix and The Last Samurai.

Action’s Back
By Jessica Hundley
Nona Gaye and Shin Koyamada will show their stuff in two of the year's most anticipated action movies, The Matrix and The Last Samurai.

Austin & Houston
By MovieMaker Staff
Making movies at home in the Lone Star State is a way of life for residents of Austin and Houston.

Takashi Miike
By David Fear
The rising son of Japan's current New Wave proves you don't have to be over-the-top in real life to create some of the most memorable-and jaw-dropping-scenes in recent cinema history.

God, Sex & Apple Pie
By Jerome Courshon
The challenges a first-time moviemaker faces in getting his or her film made are nearly universal. But what it takes to get that same film seen is a much different-and just as hard-won-battle.

The Soul of a German Man
By Collin Kelley
Growing up in Germany, Wim Wenders not only heard the blues, but identified with the messages of sadness and lament from an America deeply divided by racial strife. In The Soul of a Man, he revisits his childhood.

How to Watch a Movie
By John W. Whitehead
For many of us, movies are much more than mere entertainment. They educate, indoctrinate and captivate the mind. But do moviegoers have a social responsiblitiy?

Tales from the Underground
By Christopher Zara
While underground film festivals may lack the prestige of their more established counterparts, these fledgling events can be invaluable to the not-ready-for-Sundance moviemaker.

Letters: Letters
By Letters

Features: Horror Stories
By MovieMaker Staff
For decades the horror genre has helped would-be cinematic masters get their start in the movie business. Many have used horror just to cut their teeth, but others have never strayed too far from their roots.

Notebook: MM Notebook
By Timothy Rhys

Features: Scare Tactics
By David Grove
Is it by coincidence or design that so many of our most bankable directors got their feet wet-and hands bloodied-in the micro-budget, horror genre?

Features: Film Technique for the Digital Age
Tim Rhys and Jennifer Wood
Looking for maximum picture quality on a minimum budget? Look no further than these techniques and gadgets, which will enhance the look of any indie picture.

Features: The Mythology of Anthony Minghella
By Phillip Williams
The highly celebrated and oft-awarded writer-director of Cold Mountain seems destined by both geography and birth to identify himself with the knotty concerns of the outsider.

Features: The Editorial Challenge
By MovieMaker Staff
Even with all the new technology, editors still face enormous challenges in the cutting room. Several of today's top editors speak about how they deal with-and overcome-some typical problems.

Features: Director.com
By Saul Austerlitz
David Lynch and Peter Greenaway are just two directors who are using the World Wide Web to reach the largest possible audience.

Features: Illeana Douglas’ Woolworth Touch
By David Fear
From the set of her latest film, The Californians, Illeana Douglas speaks with MM about her legendary career and why it helps when people can't place her.

Features: White (Makes Some) Noise
By Ryan Mottesheard
Charlie Kaufman may get all the ink, but you could make a strong case for Mike White as Hollywood's most idiosyncratic screenwriter.

Features: Rulers of the Rental House
Jennifer M. Wood with Ethan Bullard
Before you can yell "action," you've got to have all the right equipment. And before that, you have to make sure you're asking all the right questions of all the right people.

Features: Nobody’s Cooler
By Wayne Kramer
When Frank Hannah (my co-writer) and I first started talking about the character of "The Cooler," we immediately latched onto the idea of Bill Macy. I've always been a huge fan of Bill's. To me, he stands out in every role he's had. There's a great everyman quality to him, and on top of that, he projects an enormous amount of humanity. At one point years ago my wife and I pointed to him on screen and laughed, "There he is again! He's everywhere!" We were always delighted to see him, even before we knew his name.

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Issue #51 [Summer 2003]

Ross McElwee’s March
By Paula Hunt
Ross McElwee talks about his new project and how having a family has affected his career.

Academy of Converging Arts
By Timothy Rhys
One new film school is finding success by reaching out to a different kind of constituency.

Nikki Reed
By Jennifer M. Wood
With acclaimed performances in The Believer and The United States of Leland, Ryan Gosling is one young actor worth watching. And on the eve of her screenwriting and acting debut, 15-year-old Nikki Reed still thinks she's just your average teenager...

Tale of a Dark Horse
By Jennifer M. Wood
With acclaimed performances in The Believer and The United States of Leland, Ryan Gosling is one young actor worth watching. And on the eve of her screenwriting and acting debut, 15-year-old Nikki Reed still thinks she's just your average teenager...

Chicago
By MovieMaker Staff
Windy City moviemakers tell us why Chicago is their kind of town.

Truth and the Tropics
Tim Rhys and Jason Mann
MM hits the beach for the Bermuda International Film Fest-and breaks out the barbecue at Full Frame.

My Time with Frankenheimer
By John Weidner
In the last three months of his life, Hollywood legend John Frankenheimer didn't just teach the author a few things about moviemaking-he taught him something about being a person.

Zero Day
By Ben Coccio
One young writer-director explains how to go from lousy temp job to award-winning moviemaker in two years or less.

Liz Garbus Gets Out of Prison
By Travis Crawford
With her new film, The Nazi Officer's Wife, Garbus shows she's more than just an Oscar-nominated documentarian with a knack for examining the criminal justice system.

Letters: Letters
By Letters

Notebook: MM Notebook
By Timothy Rhys

Features: The Economics of Oscar
Randy Nelson with Doug Atchison
Those glitzy year-end Oscar ad campaigns may seem extravagant, but studio execs aren't making any apologies. "When Oscar talks, the box office listens."

Features: Basics on Budgeting Your Movie
By Jerry Kolber
"Budget" comes from the French meaning "small purse." Big surprise. But whether you crunch the numbers yourself or hire someone else to do it, here are a few things you should know.

10 Drive-In Theaters Worth Visiting
By Monty Mickelson
MM looks at the resurgence of a cultural classic-and discovers a few drive-ins worth the drive.

Features: Parting the Wizard’s Curtain
By James D. Tocher
Despite what you've heard about all the technological advancements, taking video to film is still not a simple process. On assignment from MM, one "insider" gets some top transfer experts to reveal what makes their job easy… and a living hell.

Features: A Brief Interlude with Giovanni Ribisi
By Jessica Hundley
Despite the fact that he has been languishing in the camera's eye since the tender age of nine, Giovanni Ribisi is rarely at ease in the spotlight. Here's why…

Features: Kid Moviemakers in the Digital Revolution
By Gregg Rossen
Armed with a boatload of high-quality consumer digital technology and a few original ideas, thousands of young moviemakers are quietly reshaping our entire visual world.

Features: Does Sex Still Sell?
By Belinda Baldwin
Women have really come a long way in the film industry over the past few years… Haven't they? The perceptions and the facts are alarmingly different.

Features: The 25 Greatest Girl Power Movies Ever Made
By Kirsten Smith
From Carrie to Chaos and Alien to Amelie, MM counts down the 25 greatest Girl Power movies of all time.

Features: Moviemaking Education on the Festival Circuit
By Bryan Reesman
From Arizona to Australia, "film school" is taking on a whole new meaning, as aspiring moviemakers have begun training in an unexpected venue: the worldwide film festival circuit.

Features: Film School Perk Sheet
By Jason Mann
Where can you get the biggest bang for your film education buck? Find out which film schools are offering the most unique-and money-saving-perks for their students.

Features: MM’s Guide to Film Education
By MovieMaker Staff
From one day to one year, completion certificates to PhDs, London to Los Angeles, whatever your educational desire, the growing crop of film programs is making experts out of novices every day.

Features: Robert Rodriguez’s New Toy
By Mel Rodriguez
His phenomenal success may have sprung from his days with a 16mm camera, but auteur Rodriguez shows he's still a rebel as he divorces film in favor of his new sweetheart, HD.

Features: Improvising the Perfect Script
By Phillip Williams
"Naturalistic" writer-directors Robert Duvall, Mike Leigh, Ken Loach and Henry Jaglom let their actors in on the creative process.

Features: Cinema Speed-Dating
By Christina Hamlett
Just like speed-dating, agents and producers playing the field need to be wowed from the get-go.

Features: The Adventures of Guy Pearce
By James Grant
After much Hollywood success, actor Guy Pearce is still a feisty, insecure, hilarious bloke determined to go his own way.

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Issue #50 [Spring 2003]

Features: 50 Memorable Quotes from our First 50 Issues…
By MovieMaker Staff
Fifty memorable quotes from our first 50 issues.

Features: 50 Memorable quotes from our first 50 issues…
By MovieMaker Staff
Fifty memorable quotes from our first 50 issues.

On Location: San Francisco
By Letters
Independent moviemakers are finding all the inspiration they need on the streets of San Francisco.

Lisa Cholodenko
By Jennifer M. Wood
With one foot in contemporary cinema and the other back in the 1970s, Lisa Cholodenko creates a sense of place and purpose in Laurel Canyon.

Lasse Hallström
By Donald Dewey
Oscar-winning writer/director Lasse Hallström finds comedy in the oddest places as he prepares for his latest venture, An Unfinished Life.

The Fall of Bollywood
By Iain Ball
A country whose film industry has long been considered their one "unifier" is coming to terms with a changing market-and audience.

Park City 2003
Belinda Baldwin, Jason Mann and Jennifer M. Wood
MM hits the Park City scene at Sundance, Slamdance, Nodance, Slamdunk and Tromadance.

The Chinese Shoes
By Victor Muh
Actor/musician John Hawkes has made a career out of embracing the underdog.

Once Upon a Time in America
By Jennifer M. Wood
Two new documentaries, Easy Riders, Raging Bulls and A Decade Under the Influence, investigate the disillusionment-and brilliance-of the New Hollywood movement of the 1970s.

Callboard
By MovieMaker Staff

Letters: Letters
By Letters

Notebook: MM Notebook
By Timothy Rhys
Robert Duvall, the Oscar-winning actor, independent moviemaker and icon of the American cinema, who recently turned 72, told me he's going shopping for a DV camera sometime soon. He thinks he might like to use one for his next movie.

Features: Have Films, Will Travel
By Christopher Henderson
The traditional film festival is defined not only by its film selections, but by its geographical location. Cannes wouldn't be Cannes without Southern France, Sundance wouldn't be Sundance without Park City, condos and skiers. For moviemakers, attendees and distributors, navigating the festival circuit means extensive travel plans. Increasingly however, some festivals are offering the opposite: mobile venues.

Features: Time to Squelch the Sequels Trend
By James L. Menzies
Now that every movie since the Eisenhower administration has been remade and/or digitally enhanced, it's time for Hollywood to go back to making sequels-films featuring the same old characters that no one gives a damn about anymore. Here, then, is a list of actually planned sequels, all of which will prove to be yet another nail in the coffin of originality.

Features: Mogul by Day, Screenwriter by Night
By Kirsten Smith
One could look at today's studio landscape and say that screenwriters have never been in a better place than they are today, with three WGA members occupying key seats of power at major studios. But is anything going to change for the better?

Features: The Right Way to Raise Money for a No-Budget Film
By Jerry Kolber
A veteran indie film consultant and production accountant shares his thoughts on the best ways to raise money for a no-budget film.

Features: Making Waves: Sound Technology in the Field
By Phillip Williams
With a wealth of new toys comes a host of technical variables to consider.

Features: Getting the Best Sound for Your Movie
By Phillip Williams
Sound is one aspect of the film craft which, because of the medium's overwhelming visual bias, is often undernourished-even by experienced moviemakers. But savings taken out of the front end of production can come back to bite you during post.

Features: The Dos and Don’ts of Dialogue
By Christina Hamlett
For as many conversations as we engage in and eavesdrop on every day, it's still not easy to duplicate that natural energy, flow and realism in a screenplay.

Features: Could You Shoot The Deer Hunter on DV?
By Bob Fisher
Twenty-five years after its release, Michael Cimino's The Deer Hunter still holds up as cinematic masterpiece. But could today's moviemakers create similar emotional impact using DV? Top cinematographers weigh in on the issue while the film's original DP, Vilmos Zsigmond, reminisces.

Features: The Zen of Screenwriting Software
Neil Turitz with Jason Mann
Finding true love in the world of writing programs isn't easy, but MM recently went on a dating spree, test-driving the best-selling software on the market.

Features: James Mangold’s Identity Crisis
By Ryan Mottesheard
At the age of 21, James Mangold was the envy of every aspiring moviemaker, landing a development deal at Disney only weeks after graduation. But things don't always work out the way you plan. On the eve of his latest release, Identity, Mangold looks back on his journey.

Features: Squeezed, Screwed and Hardballed
By Jennifer M. Wood
Roy Frumkes and Rocco Simonelli, screenwriting-partners-turned-digital-moviemakers, discuss how to navigate the marketplace without selling out.

Features: Small Market, Big Box Office
By Christopher Henderson
Leave the New York or LA metro areas and you're likely to face a dearth of independent cinema at local theaters. But film companies, distributors and festivals are devising innovative ways to engage smaller film markets.

Features: Something Old, Something New
By Andy Rose
While the thought of seeing Chucky, Rocky or Freddy yet again may cause even diehard film buffs to cringe, Hollywood studios have more than 20 sequels in the pipeline. Screenwriters Adam Herz (American Wedding), Kate Kondell (Legally Blonde 2) and Don D. Scott (Barbershop 2) discuss creating originality in something familiar. Plus, upcoming sequels that "had to be made."

Robert Duvall: Soldier of Fortune
By Timothy Rhys
He's a writer, producer, director, Oscar-winning actor-and we believe him when he says his best work is yet to come.

Robert Duvall: Soldier of Fortune
By Timothy Rhys
He's a writer, producer, director, Oscar-winning actor-and we believe him when he says his best work is yet to come.

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Issue #49 [Winter 2003]

Andre De Toth
By Patrick Francis

Andre De Toth
By Patrick Francis

Andre De Toth
By Patrick Francis

Andre De Toth
By Patrick Francis

Fernando Mereilles
By Ryan Mottesheard
City of God

Mixed Reviews
By Jennifer M. Wood

Miami Rhapsody
By Letters

Lava
By Joe Tucker

Hong Kong to Hollywood
By Patrick J. Gorman, Esq.

Denver, Woodstock
By Jennifer M. Wood

The Best & Worst of 2002
By Travis Crawford

Letters: Letters
By Letters

Notebook: MM Notebook
By Timothy Rhys

Features: Three Reasons Independent Film Will Survive
By Sherman Alexie
A challenge to the year's highest-grossing moviemakers.

Features: In Memoriam 2002
By Bob Mastrangelo
Though their passings didn't make many national headlines, their contributions to cinema history shouldn't go unrecognized.

Features: Why Independent Film is Alive and Well
By Timothy Rhys
The mainstream media has been heralding the death of indie film as we know it. But rumors of its demise may be greatly exaggerated.

Features: Digital Cameras: Top DPs Speak
By Jennifer M. Wood
When investigating the digital medium, there's no better source than the experts. Several top DPs talk about which cameras to use and why.

Features: Directing for TV
By Andy Rose
Just a few years ago there were two types of directors: those who made feature films and those who worked in episodic TV. The distinctions are beginning to blur.

Features: The Future of Movies on the Internet
By Brita Wanger
The Internet's arrival seemed to herald a seachange in the way we would watch movies. What happened?

Features: Dante Ferretti’s Designing Dreams
By Phillip Williams
The legendary production designer and his wife, set decorator Francesca LoSchiavo, discuss art, collaboration and Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York.

Features: How to Avoid a Lawsuit in Waiting
By Walter J. Coady, Jr.
In today's litigious world, the act of producing a film puts you face to face with all kinds of potential legal peril. Find out how to avoid being vulnerable.

Features: Art of the Actor-Director
By Allen Baldwin
Today's best films are being made by actors. Jon Favreau, Bill Paxton, Stanley Tucci and Forest Whitaker tell us why.

Features: Top 10 Cities to Live and Make Movies in 2003
By Lenny Smith
MM's third annual countdown of the most indie-friendly cities in North America.

Philip Seymour Hoffman: Triumph of the Uncommon Man
By Jennifer M. Wood
With two films in release (Spike Lee's 25th Hour and Todd Louiso's Love Liza), one upcoming (Anthony Minghella's Cold Mountain) and a Sundance premiere (Richard Kwietniowski's Owning Mahowny), Philip Seymour Hoffman has raised the art of scene-stealing to new heights-and frequency.

Features: Oscar-Winning Perspectives on Producing
By Shelley Friedman
When a movie achieves critical success, the credit usually goes to the director, writer and/or actors. But what about the force of nature whose passion, dedication and vision see the project through from concept to distribution?

What about the ultimate multi-tasker, the backbone of the picture—the producer? The fact is that even the most successful Hollywood producers are usually not household names. And most moviegoers have only the vaguest notion of what a producer really does.<