All posts by Jeff Schwager
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Bulletproof on Broadway
“We go to the movies because a picture is playing there. Griffith knew that and said it repeatedly, but always to his... -
The Motion Picture Association of America: Natural Born Censors?
According to a recent New Yorker profile, the door to director Oliver Stone’s office is decorated with the following legend, courtesy of... -
Out of the Shadows
In Hollywood, where everyone’s, writing a screenplay, your odds of selling a script are about as good as winning the lottery. If... -
Stillman’s Wit
Early on in Barcelona, the new film from writer-producer-director Whit Stillman, Ted Boynton reveals to his cousin Fred that he has given... -
And The Beat Goes On
The movies been very good at capturing the spinit of rock and roll, and that’s one of the reasons that Backbeat is... -
The Movies are Shrinking
Here I am, in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip, where Hollywood has spent the last week throwing one of its... -
Spielberg Finally Wins the Gold
The Academy Award nominations have been announced, and to absolutely no one’s surprise, they were dominated by Steven Spielberg, whose Holocaust opus,... -
“I Make Populist Entertainment Films:” Mike Leigh on Naked
Like his movies, British filmmaker Mike Leigh is confrontational and acerbic, with a dark wit and strong opinions. But Leigh, who first... -
Making History Hollywood Style
For better or worse, movies are the closest thing we’ve got to a cultural Rorshak test. Like Rorshak’s inkblots, movies are infinitely... -
Joy & Luck in Hollywood
Success doesn’t exactly come easy to Ron Bass, but Bass, the co-writer and co-producer of The Joy Luck Club and Significant Other,...
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Spring 2018
Year in MovieMaker
Inside the Issue: Acting
Flash Forward: Grace Van Patten Takes a Leap into the Unknown in David Robert Mitchell’s Under the Silver Lake
Many actors will tell you that when you read a great script, you just know. But for Grace Van Patten, it was actually not knowing that...1Inside the Issue: Directing
Success in Succession: Matteo Garrone Shot Dogman Entirely in Sequence to Put Viewers in His Character’s Shoes
I wrote the script for my new film, Dogman, 12 years ago, and during those years I changed it many times, arriving at six or seven...Inside the Issue: How To
Journalism Plus: How Hail Satan?, The Brink, and Leaving Neverland Blend Truth-Seeking With Cinematic Storytelling
“Journalism Plus” is how Academy Award-winning moviemaker Laura Poitras (Citizenfour) characterizes making documentaries. If you’re a documentarian, you may not have a degree or credentials in...8