January 2012
12 posts
#Acting #Technique :: Uta Hagen's Acting Class:...
Uta Hagen’s Acting Class: The DVDs (DVD)
By Uta Hagen
Buy new: $34.99
18 used and new from $24.42
Customer Rating:
Customer tags: acting technique(4), acting(3), uta hagen(3), stanislavski, herbert berghoff, hb studios, uta, a challenge for the actor, whoopi goldberg, respect for acting
#Acting #Technique :: The Well-Tempered Body:...
The Well-Tempered Body: Expressive Movement for Actors, Improvisers, and Performance Artists (Paperback)
By David Petersen
Buy new: $29.95
19 used and new from $22.46
Customer tags: acting(4), acting technique(4), improvisation(4), physical expression(3), actor training(3), improv(3), theater(3), dance(3), expressive movement(3), performance(3), theatre(2)
13 Films Make Their Digital Premieres Through the...
Sundance Institute announced thirteen films supported by the Institute that are for the first time available to rent, download and stream. Look for the films on iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, Hulu, SundanceNOW and YouTube. Films will be available on Netflix on March 1.
Films available today include Semper Fi: Always Faithful (currently on the Academy Award shortlist for Best Documentary),...
2012 #Oscars Nominations by Picture
The Adventures of Tintin
Paramount Pictures and Columbia Pictures Production (Paramount)
Original Score
Albert Nobbs
Trillium Productions, Mockingbird Pictures and Parallel Films Production (Roadside Attractions)
Glenn Close – Actress in a Leading Role
Janet McTeer – Actress in a Supporting Role
Makeup
Anonymous
Columbia Pictures Production (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Costume Design
The...
Your 84th Academy Award Oscar Nominees (2012)
Best Picture
“The Artist” Thomas Langmann, Producer
“The Descendants” Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” Scott Rudin, Producer
“The Help” Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers
“Hugo” Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
“Midnight in Paris” Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
“Moneyball” Michael...
The Sundance Institute Issues the following...
The Sundance Institute Issues the following statement:
Sundance Institute has learned that Bingham Ray, beloved friend of independent film, and Executive Director of the San Francisco Film Society, has been hospitalized while in Utah for the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. We have reached out to Bingham and his family and San Francisco Film Society to offer our support and are pleased to hear...
“Engagement” and “Connection”. Overused buzzwords...
I think those 2 words are starting to lose their meaning when talking about using social media to reach audiences. I am not offering another word because at the end of the day a word should only describe an idea of what you are truly doing and maybe THAT is the thing that is becoming lost in all of this talk. What are we truly saying when we use those words?
What is “engagement”...
Katie Aselton’s #blackrock First to Go at...
LD Entertainment dropped come coin on a female chiller. Wowza. More news of awards-set macrame excellence set to come from Park Slope.
#MPAA Accuses Wikipedia Of “Gimmick” In #SOPA...
WASHINGTON —The following is a statement by Senator Chris Dodd, Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) on the so-called “Blackout Day” protesting anti-piracy legislation:
“Only days after the White House and chief sponsors of the legislation responded to the major concern expressed by opponents and then called for all parties to work cooperatively together,...
Meet Some A Talent: Patrick Reis, Cameraman, HD
I have 15 years experience in the field of video production. I have planned and implemented special events, festivals, film and video productions and have established strong relationships with local equipment rental houses. I went to Brooklyn College for Film Production.
Click here to learn a little more about Patrick Reis
#Actors, #agyst - In #LA and Looking to Improve...
We hope that you had a wonderful holiday season, and are excited and ready for the next season…
Pilot season!
And the best way to ring in pilot season is with a brand new demo reel?
Fortunately, there are two spots left in the…
ACTOR’S GYM 5-WEEK REEL-BUILDING WORKSHOP
starting
This Weekend!
In 5 weeks, 8 actors will star in 5 scenes of various genres, and each actor walks away with...
Parker Posey to Host 2012 Sundance Film Festival...
Shari Berman, Scott Burns, Charles Ferguson, Nick Fraser, Mike Judge, Justin Lin, Anthony Mackie, Cliff Martinez, Julia Ormond, Dee Rees and Lynn Shelton Among Jurors
Park City, UT — Sundance Institute announced today the 22 members of the six juries awarding prizes at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, as well as the host of the Awards Ceremony on January 28. The Festival takes place January 19...
December 2011
1 post
The #Hollywood Meat Grinder, or War Without...
We’ve all been there, minus the lovely blond…
(Note: I’d planned to foist another pilot season re-run on you today, but that plan — like so many in life — was hijacked by the subsequent flow of events. If you’re interested in those posts, click here, then scroll down to “The Making of a Pilot.”)
If you haven’t read this post over at...
Digital: The Smart Choice
Nic Wistreich, co-founder of Netribution, explains why those filmmakers and distributors taking full advantage of digital opportunities have the most to gain…
During a keynote speech at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, social-media expert Danah Boyd made a smart observation. “While teens are in love with indie rock, they are not that familiar with indie film—most have little to no access to it,...
How Indie #Filmmakers Can Engage Fans Throughout...
I recently answered a few questions for the kind folks over at Fanbridge for their blog. Below is an excerpt from that post…more to come.
First, filmmakers should start by knowing for whom their story is. NO, it isn’t for everyone. You can’t reach “everyone” so really narrow it down, even beyond demographic characteristics, to interest levels. What would this person wear to your screening?...
The Importance of #Actors Doing it Their Way
Frank Sinatra made the words famous, of course, “I did it… myyyyyy waaaaay.” And we’re all grateful. The song even starts with a theater reference about facing the final “curtain.” Nice. Auditioning actors are always caught in a slight pickle: wanting to make choices (good), but worrying about making the wrong choices (bad), that is, not doing it the way they want it. Of course, we can never be...
October 2011
6 posts
What Happens to #Actors AFTER the Show? #AGYST
It’s a good practice to have the next gig lined up, always, but that’s not necessarily the easiest thing to do. Still, when a show or a shoot ends, there’s a fallout of sorts, and, I believe, a critical moment in the Actor’s life. How it’s handled can make a big difference in a career.
We are emotional creatures. After spending days, weeks, months working on a part, investing time and sweat and...
How the #Independent #Film Sector Can Reap...
Distribution experts Mick Southworth and Martin McCabe explore how the independent film sector could reap financial rewards by embracing new digital business models.
How do you get a million pounds in the bank working as a film producer?
Oh, that’s simple; start off with 10 million.
Let’s be honest. This is an industry, in the UK at least, where the film distributors, what’s left of the tax...
About The #Hollywood Money Machine
Like Randy Newman said, “It’s Money that Matters”
The goal of every commercial (non-PBS) television show — broadcast or cable, scripted or unscripted, drama or comedy — is to become a money machine. Once a show attains that lofty status, it can feed a lot of people for a long time. For an actor or producer atop the food chain, that money machine can buy a monster...
How to collect email addresses from fans of your...
All this week, Jon Reiss and I have been participating in a virtual Q&A panel on the D Word site for documentary filmmakers. I have to say, I like this virtual panel a ton better than the usual live panels at film events. You can ask very specific questions of the panelists without the need for a moderator controlling the questions and having a bunch of panelists sit up there and basically...
#Independent #Filmmakers Set 99 Percent: The...
99 Percent: The Occupy Wall Street Collaborative Film is a documentary film project founded by independent filmmakers working in conjunction across the country. Award-winning directors, producers, editors and cinematographers have come together and pledged their time, skills and gear to document the events taking place in NYC and across America. And they’re inviting you to do it with them.
As...
Motion Picture Academy Museum Opens at LACMA
Beverly Hills, CA – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) have taken a step toward realizing a museum dedicated to motion pictures and the creation of a new and unique cultural center for the city of Los Angeles. On Tuesday night (10/4), the Academy’s Board of Governors joined their LACMA counterparts in agreeing to sign a memorandum of...
September 2011
10 posts
The Hollywood Juicer, Michael Taylor on "Season...
People come, people go, but nothing ever changes.
(Bastardized from – and with apologies to — Grand Hotel)
Heading into the heat of late summer, good news came over the telephone: my little cable show was picked up for a second season. The re-up order of fifteen episodes is better than the ten to twelve most cable networks typically offer, and there’s an option for nine additional...
Rory Dean Reviews ::Like Dandelion Dust (2009)
Like Dandelion Dust simmers, no steep or steeple.
Rip and Wendy Porter are in a quandary; after seven years of incarceration, Rip learns that Wendy was pregnant with their son before his alcohol and rage fueled misbehaving sent him to prison. Worse yet, conflicted on what to do she put the child up for adoption. Fueled by jailhouse religion, self-redemption or notions of fatherhood...
When Working, Work Even More
There’s a part to working that lies in the opportunity to advance your career. In a fierce blow of irony, the very time that you are at your busiest – under the lights, memorizing lines, sleeping very little – is when you need to be even busier. Promotional material should be flying, meetings should be taking place, and networking should be at its most frenzied.
The life of an actors is a bit of...
Distribution EXTRA – With AFM's Jonathan Wolf
Every autumn, the global film community converges in Santa Monica for one reason: the American Film Market is where business gets done. Whatever you’re looking for—whether it’s big-budget, art, genre, action-adventure or drama—you can find it at the AFM. It’s all part of a world-class market that offers a diverse range of films and projects, one-stop global shopping, and access to the film capital...
The Importance of Having a Good Trailer
Many times when independent filmmakers send a request for help to me, they attach a link to their film trailer. This is the video they have on Youtube and on their website as a representation of their film, a reason to see it or buy it. Often, they are terrible. They are too long, they are too slow, there is no sense of what the film is about or why I would want to see it. A trailer should not...
Directing the Money
Directing the Money
Production accountant John Gaskin relates the skills and experience required to manage the business and creative aspects of film production.
There is skill, creativity and good old blood ‘n’ guts involved with directing the money in film production, with reputations at stake and careers on the line for more than just the producers and directors. Even in this turbulent...
Book Release: Selling Your Film Without Selling...
We released the book Selling Your Film Without Selling Your Soul 2 days ago. Not counting those who bought from the Amazon site or from Apple, we have had 1800 downloads so far. Not bad since this is a very niche interest book. I want to emphasize this book is FREE until October 1 on our site. After which it goes to $4.99 for all premium digital copies (Kindle, Nook, iBook) but there will always...
Back on the Gang - More Notes from the Hollywood...
The phone rings in the evening with an offer I can’t refuse – a day of work on the studio rigging crew. After three and a half months off (thanks to some minor-but-unpleasant surgery and the annual spring/summer television hiatus), this will be my first paid day since April. I hang up with a smile, knowing that the wheel has finally turned and Hollywood is getting back to work.
It’s a welcome...
Actors, What Kind of Success Do You Want?
In the span of two hours I was referred to as a “semi-celebrity,” and had a woman write me asking “Who are you?” (Why she bothered to write is entirely a mystery, but hey…) Still, it did illustrate the murky waters of notoriety actors can swim in. Somewhere circling amongst the “A-listers,” the “has beens,” and the “never should have beens” are the “aren’t you?… no, never minds.”
Most people go...
An insider’s guide to working the Cannes Film...
Life’s a Beach – an insider’s guide to working the Cannes Film Festival
Distribution experts Mick Southworth and Martin McCabe present their insiders guide to making the Cannes Film Festival market work for you…
For many film folk, there is a short period of time every May that represents the centrepiece of their professional and artistic lives. It is an opportunity to show off their bravura...
August 2011
19 posts
Charlotte Gainsbourg – No Compromise
An actress famous for taking strong roles in provocative films like 21 GRAMS, ANTICHRIST and the upcoming THE TREE and MELANCHOLIA, Charlotte Gainsbourg reveals why she draws so much inspiration from her own life.
If famous parents can be a burden that weighs heavy, Charlotte Gainsbourg is the exception that proves the rule. The actress-musician — who turns 40 in July — has defiantly emerged...
A Candid Talk About Film Funding
Christine Langan, head of BBC Films, reveals why investing in British films may be challenging but can bring financial and creative rewards.
As creative director of BBC Films, Christine Langan is one of the most important figures in British filmmaking. We spoke to her about the corporation’s involvement with Cannes favourite We Need to Talk About Kevin—Lynne Ramsay’s adaptation of Lionel...
Auditioning in NYC 101
So you’re ready to start auditioning professionally. Your calendar is brimming with auditions, your book is full of your best material, and you have the perfect outfit for the role. But really, how prepared are you? Here are some tips I’ve learned from auditioning professionally.
1. Look on show websites at headshots of the cast members. Read their bios too. If you find that...
The Off Season
Over the wire and gone…
Until relatively recently, the television season in Hollywood followed a familiar routine. The new fall season geared up in mid-July with the construction of sets on dozens of stages at all the major studios, followed by rigging and lighting those sets for grip and electric. Meanwhile, all the other departments – props, set dressing, wardrobe, hair/makeup,...
Meet Some A Talent: Jai Moi, Actor/Director
Another essay…I wish I could say I like these things but I don’t. I am what happened when the elements and the color blue collided. Earthy, eclectic, humanitarian, pleasant and just a chill demeanor yet I have a fire burning inside that I can’t extinguish for my art. I was born to be a singer and have been singing since I can recall. I have been writing poetry and short stories...
Ridley Scott to Direct New Blade Runner Film
Hanging on for a sequel: Harrison Ford as Deckard in Blade Runner Thirty years on it will be interesting…
Notes from a Filmmaker: Lee Bailes on the iPhone 4
The Steadicam Smoothee in action
In the first of our series, Notes from a film-maker, Lee Bailes of Eibon Films gives an excellent insight into some of the pros and cons of filming on an iPhone 4
So a while back I got hold of an iPhone 4 deliberately to play with its HD filming capabilities; because I was dismayed at the utter lack of filming over the last 15 months of hell in my old job and also...
Meet Some A Talent: Tania Zapata, Voiceover Artist
Tania Zapata is a business owner, voice over talent and aspiring filmmaker. She co-found a post-production company that allows producers to cast Voice-over talents online. It was the first voice over market place and continues to be strong. She is finishing her film studies and wants to focus on sound recording and cinematography.
Click here to learn a little more about Tania Zapata
Meet Some A Talent: Graham Rhodes, Writer
Freelance scriptwriter, thirty five years at the cutting edge of corporate communications having written for a/v, video. DVD, corporate training, heritage, product launches, conferences print, and web sites
Click here to learn a little more about Graham Rhodes
On Art vs Commerce
The Eternal Struggle
“Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television. Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers… choose rotting away at the end of it all… choose your future.”
(From the deliriously wonderful opening scene of Trainspotting)
I recently came across an interesting post that got me...
Meet Some A Talent: Ally Weinberg, Television...
I’ve been working for several years in various producing capacities for non-fiction/reality television programming.
Click here to learn a little more about Ally Weinberg
The Importance of Having a Good Trailer for your...
Many times when independent filmmakers send a request for help to me, they attach a link to their film trailer. This is the video they have on Youtube and on their website as a representation of their film, a reason to see it or buy it. Often, they are terrible. They are too long, they are too slow, there is no sense of what the film is about or why I would want to see it. A trailer should not...
If you're in Acting or Filmmaking, You'll... →
Meet Some Talent: Padriac Farma, Utility Assistant
I am a utility man. I can fill in any spot, and perform with skill and efficiency.
Click here to learn a little more about Padriac Farma
Richard Linklater on Filmmaking
Richard Linklater talks about how he’s carved out his own niche, and how he maintains a baseline level of sanity in the Business.
Show Me the Money
So we launched a fundraising campaign, and I, the actor/producer, suddenly found myself being the guy who asks for money. It’s not a role I’m particularly adept at, though believing in the project helps a lot. But it did get me thinking: how different is this really from the rest of what I do?
Actors are always asking for something. We ask for parts, ask for attention, for praise, for reality to...
Why Film Distributors Aren't Necessarily Evil
It’s a shocking title coming from me, I know and I had a hard time typing it. It isn’t as though I hate distributors, it is just that I see them largely as exploiting filmmakers’ work where the filmmaker receives very little in the process. A post yesterday from Seth Godin’s Domino Project made me stop and think about it from their side. His post takes the publishers’ view but that is the...
Spurlock Sells Six Hour-Long Docs To Hulu
LOS ANGELES — Hulu’s first long-form original show debuts this summer with “A Day in the Life,” a documentary series with six, half-hour episodes by acclaimed filmmaker Morgan Spurlock (“Super Size Me,” “Greatest Movie Ever Sold,” “30 Days”). In “A Day in the Life,” Spurlock presents an intimate, first-hand account of a complete day in the lives of fascinating people. The series will premiere...