In Dubai, ( GFF) will be screening a number of films made which is a product of the thriving and growing Saudi film industry. Films like “Revenge” and ” The Fort” are voices of a part of the world that we don’t often hear. There are also a number of short films which have come from Saudi Arabia. This is one part of the world, where a multitude of stories and perspectives are starting to get noticed and this film festival is giving a platorm for this to finally start happening. This is a 6 day event being programmed by the Dubai Culture and Arts Association.
I came across another interesting article posted from indieWire regarding distribution. Peter Marshall also brought it to my attention. We all know that getting a good theatrical run is tough and very limited so at least we have the internet as an outlet. Panelist at SXSW, Gary Huswit did earn 60 grand in digital sales for his doc, “Helectiva”. There is hope. Filmmakers now have a means to go directly to their audiences but is this enough? Another great point raised is why strengthen someone else’s company with online sales when you can do it yourself ( for your own company) and in fact strengthen your own voice and brand.
The fact is many filmmakers don’t have an interest in distribution. However times are changing. Instead of getting ripped off by a traditional sales company or distributor for a domestic video release, there is opportunity now to manifest sales of your film on your own so you don’t have to share any profits with anyone else. Its getting easier and not as time consuming. I guess you do have to have some interest in distribution though. I can understand why a filmmaker would want to focus on the film alone and nothing more. A solution is work with someone you trust that can help you with online distribution. A friend or colleague who understands the potential and has a vested interest in knowing how much of an advantage you have with the present day marketplace in today’s world of entertainment.
If you are in paris or live in Paris, Check out the 11th Brazilian film festival at the end of April. The Birth of the Bossa Nova and Claude Levi-Strauss will be highlighted. Three documentaries will be shown, highlighting Nova’s life. This is also gives you a chance to discover new fiction films and documentariescoming out of Brazil’s rich historic and cultural heritage. I wish I could go!
Dante’s Inferno will be made into an animated feature film by Electronic Arts in Mumbai and Starz Media. This is the second collaboration between a video game company and the animation studio. Starz Media will display it for the international TC. Community. Starz is already doing intl. sales for Dead Space: Downfall at MIPTV. It will be interesting to see how Dante does in the intl. marketplace. Animation is a more challenging sell in the tv arena domestically or on an international level. However, the team is taking a very creative approach. For one, using multiple studios.
I am excited to see “Antichrist”. The story is about a couple who is suffering the loss of a child. They decide to take refuge in a cabin where all of these unthinkable things start happening. Need I say more? In that case, check out IndieWire for more details.
This is an amazing time. Professionals from Google, BBC, SKY , Facebook and a handful of others speak in an internet marketing class about how social media is crucial to marketing in today’s world, even for the “corporates” or bigger companies. They have to keep up. Social media is growing faster in the North America but Europe is catching up too.
Scary Cow Productions is an easy way to get started with meeting other filmmakers to get inspired and supported.This environment and model allows you to make feature films in an affordable way. You work in small teams and compete with other teams , the best team goes to the next level in order to make another film funded by Scary Cow. You are learning filmmaking by making films. This model is similar to the American Film Inst. MFA program. This is the best way to learn, hands on and ego off.
What a great way to take advantage of a disability and transform it into a means of seeing and experiencing the world in a unique way. This is the story of someone who is using his disability as a way to empower. As filmmakers we hope to share and inspire others to see, capture and celebrate alternative ways of experiencing our environment. What if you as a filmmaker, were lacking one eye?
Rob Spence is a courageous man to put a camera in his prosthetic eye. His muscles in his eye socket will move the camera. Rob won’t include anyone in his doc about “sleepwalking into an Orwellian society” without their permission. I think this is a great experiment and unique to Rob’s voice and his perspective. Its honest and nobody can actually use this same tactic unless they are missing an eye! This is what is so powerful about Rob. I wish him the best of luck with the documentary and I cannot wait to see it!
The Berlinale film festival in Berlin was not affected by the recession from a consumer’s perspective. Interestingly enough, by mid festival, there were more tickets sold in 2009 than were sold by the end of the festival in 2008. Galas were also sold out as well. Berlinale was successful because of the selection of films and the quality of their events. Inspite of the global economic recession, International movie goers or even buyers are looking for interesting stories that are unique and that can appeal to the masses. Berlinale has always been known for recognizing talent and producing unique events for the general public.
The independent voices of entertainment are suffering because the freedom to distribute movies and television is being pushed out by major media companies. Our industry is being led by a handful of conglomerates such as TIME WARNER and CBS. They have combined TV, cable networks, studios and as many possible distribution channels to all be one entity for any given conglomerate. The result is there is no room for independent air time. This is affecting the Internet as well. The independent’s hope of creating a presence online and with new media may be at major risk. Telecom and cable companies are striking deals to secure program supply for broadband networks they control… YIKES!!! This is what scares me the most. You can do something about this. Read more in detail at Fight for Independents.
President Obama signed a bill delaying the changeover of TV broadcasting signals from analog to digital. The proposed change was to take effect on Tues Feb 17th, 2009, and has been delayed until June 12th. It affects older TV sets that use antennae. In a nutshell, this means your non-digital TV will cease to get signals after the changeover. You will have to buy a converter box which is about $60. The supply of free coupons for consumers was exhausted.
The question is will this really enable the U.S to take advantage of “free” frequencies used by emergency organizations. What are these emergency organizations?
One of my favorite design websites, Smashing Magazine, recently published a collection of 50 beautiful movie posters. I’m not sure if “beautiful” is the right word, but there really are some great examples in this collection. Many of my favorite “lo-fi design” movie posters are represented, so I’m happy. And then there’s the American Beauty poster above - sorry but I’m just a sucker for a bare belly button.
A blogging colleague of mine, Mubs, has just launched his See It? Skip It? site. Not only does it show some of the latest movie posters, but you can also see trailers. Want to vote on something? Just register and have fun. Of course, now I don’t have to finish the movie poster/ trailer site I’d set up elsewhere at this site
This is the first in an irregular series of posts providing links to possible freelance work in the area of film. Initially, the opps listed might only be writing, but I’ll try to expand over time.
Here are today’s items:
Articles about Accolade-winning filmmakers - $100 - Craigslist.
Writers for web series to film project - Craigslist.
Dramatic screenplay needs writer - LA - Craigslist.
Writer needed for movie summary - $150 - South Bay - Craigslist.
If you have paid film-related work that you would like listed, please email them to rdash001 at yahoo dot ca. Listings are currently free. Please put “FilmScenic Work Listings” in the subject line.
Edward Norton plays Dr. Bruce Banner in the new The Incredible Hulk movie, opening Fri Jun 13, 2008. Except apparently he hasn’t been doing any publicity, and is supposedly hiding away on some island.
Mark Wahlberg, long an established actor, says no funking way he wants to be part of any Funky Bunch reunion. He will, however, be seen in M. Night Shyamalan’s new Drama/ Sci-Fi movie The Happening, opening Fri Jun 13, 2008.
Writer/Director Bryan Bertino has created a new category of film: Terror. In the IMDB database, The Strangers is listed under the genres of Action, Crime, Horror, Mystery, Thriller. These tags couldn’t be more wrong. What the movie’s tags should be is Terror. None of the other labels apply. Action? Are you kidding me? The movie drags on and on in the same setting static, boring setting. Mystery? Mystery suggests that for a good portion of a film, you don’t know who the perpetrators are. That’s hardly the case here. Thriller? No. As I said, Torture.
Granted there were a few instances where I jumped out of my front-row seat, this is otherwise an ugly, sadistic film. At least with Saw’s near-gratuitous violence, there really was some “reason”, and there was a story. The Strangers is pure ugliness - like experiencing a home invasion first hand - something that’s seemingly justified by the titling at the very beginning, and not so subtly echoed by the shaky camera. (I’m so damn sick of shaky cameras. It sucked for Blair Witch, sucked for Cloverfield and will suck for any other movie. Future directors: shaky cameras suck. They’re irritating and the scense DO NOT build tension.)
I rarely pan horror films because I love them good or bad, but this one made me sick. Instead of being a horror movie, it ends up being a manual for terrorizing people. The dialog seemed to be an afterthought to the torture, and the character buildup is so slow that I started to despise the lead characters as much as the asswipe villains, hoping it would be over quickly. Fortunately, The Strangers is only 86-90 minutes (varies by country), so if you dislike it as much as me, you won’t have to suffer through much.
Eighteen year old actor Robert Knox died after being stabbed outside a London, UK nightclub. In some reports it’s said that Knox was defending his brother from a brawl. Knox had already completed filming for his role in the next Harry Potter installment, The Half-blood Prince. He was also to have appeared in the final Harry Potter film.
The NY Times is reporting that director Sydney Pollack passed away today in Los Angeles at age 73. Pollack is known for numerous movies, including The Way We Were (Barbra Streisand, Robert Redford), Tootsie (Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange), Out of Africa (Meryl Streep, Robert Redford), The Firm (Tom Cruise, Jeanne Tripplehorn), and many others which he was part of as a cinematographer, director, producer and/or actor.
