Saturday, October 31, 2009

DIY Film Becomes Most Profitable Movie Ever

Today, Access Hollywood announced that the self-financed, DIY horror film Paranormal Activity has officially made history.



"Paranormal Activity" has just surpassed "The Blair Witch Project" to become the most profitable movie ever.

The box office hit was made for less than $15,000 and as of Wednesday has grossed a whopping $65.1 million, TheWrap.com reported.

The movie's box office success has reaped a staggering 414,233 percent return on its initial investment.

"Paranormal" has gradually expanded from 12 to 33 to 160 to 760 to this weekend's 1,945 theaters - a move that some criticized - but one that Executive VP of Distribution for Paramount, Don Harris, credits as a key to the horror film's success.

"Everybody else thought we should be going faster than we were," he told TheWrap. "But I thought we were doing a pretty good job of seeding the ground as we went. I don't know that we would have done a lot more last weekend if we would have added a bunch of runs then."

The studio has reportedly spent less than $10 million to market the movie."

Keep in mind that this is a direct result of two different elements. One, its a horror film. And for now, the only genre even remotely capable of reaching this wide an audience. The second factor is, that a film can be DIY all it wants. Its in the film festival circuit stage that this kind of buzz is created, and distribution of the film from outside sources other than a website or blog takes over, thus, making deals with the "evil" system becomes the single most effective tool for maximizing any film's - DIY, Indiewood, Hollywood, etc - overall profit margin. Congrats to a true genius, and on of my personal heroes, director/producer Oren Peli.

Happy Halloween

In honor of Halloween, here is the complete 5 episode web series DEAD or LONELY from IFC.com, and directed by horror auteur Ti West.

But first...Check out the creepy trailer to West's new film (currently in select theaters and on cable VOD) "The House of the Devil".


DATE OR DIE


MAKING CONTACT


SECOND THOUGHTS


THE DATE part one.


THE DATE part two.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

50 Greatest First Features



First time filmmakers, in my experience, tend to catch some grief. No one knows you (unless you have a lengthy track record for award winning shorts), and you are trying to convince people to believe in you, to invest in you (the answer most of the time is "No"), to work for you for free, to hold your camera. It's tough out there for first timers.

Which is strange because some of the best films of all time have been first time features. Could you imagine if Jean Luc Godard never got a chance to make Breathless? Well, don't try to. I don't even want to imagine living in a world without Breathless.

Here is Time Out London's list of 50 Greatest Directorial Debuts of All Time after the jump:



(HUGE DISCLAIMER: COOL LIST, BUT I SINCERELY HOPE THAT THESE ARE NOT IN ORDER)

50. Easy Rider (1969) Directed by Dennis Hopper
49: Throw Mama From the Train (1987) Directed by Danny DeVito
48: Kids (1995) Directed by Larry Clark
47: Jour de Féte (1949) Directed by Jacques Tati
46: Say Anything (1989) Directed by Cameron Crowe
45: Violent Cop (1989) Directed by Takeshi Kitano
44. Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969) Directed by Paul Mazursky
43. Celia (1989) Directed by Ann Turner
42. George Washington (2000) Directed by David Gordon Green
41. The Hired Hand (1971) Directed by Peter Fonda
40. Seul Contre Tous (1998) Directed by Gaspar Noe
39. Repo Man (1984) Directed by Alex Cox
38. Pepi, Luci, Bom... (1980) Directed by Pedro Almodóvar
37. Man Bites Dog (1992) Directed by Rémy Belvaux, André Bonzel, Benoît Poelvoorde
36. This is Spinal Tap (1982) Directed by Rob Reiner
35. Diner (1982) Directed by Barry Levinson
34. A Bout De Souffle (Breathless) (1959) Directed by Jean-Luc Godard
33. On The Town (1949) Directed by Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly
32. Bottle Rocket (1996) Directed by Wes Anderson
31. Targets (1968) Directed by Peter Bogdanovich
30. Pather Panchali (1955) Directed by Satyajit Ray
29. Alice (1988) Directed by Jan Svankmajer
28. Killer of Sheep (1977) Directed by Charles Burnett
27. The Evil Dead (1980) Directed by Sam Raimi
26. Mad Max (1979) Directed by George Miller
25. Knife in the Water (1962) Directed by Roman Polanski
24. L'Age D’Or (1930) Directed by Luis Buñuel
23. Shadows (1959) Directed by John Cassavetes
22. The Great McGinty (1940) Directed by Preston Sturges
21. Reservoir Dogs (1992) Directed by Quentin Tarantino
20. Primer (2004) Directed by Shane Carruth
19. Gates of Heaven (1978) Directed by Errol Morris
18. Eraserhead (1976) Directed by David Lynch
17. Buffalo ’66 (1997) Directed by Vincent Gallo
16. Bleak Moments (1971) Directed by Mike Leigh
15. Blue Collar (1978) Directed by Paul Schrader
14. Airplane! (1980) Directed by Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams and David Zucker
13. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) Directed by Tobe Hooper
12. Play Misty For Me (1971) Directed by Clint Eastwood
11. Accattone (1961) Directed by Pier Paolo Passolini
10. Performance (1970) Directed by Nicolas Roeg & Donald Cammel
9. The Maltese Falcon (1941) Directed by John Huston
8. Night of the Living Dead (1968) Directed by George A Romero
7. The 400 Blows (1960) Directed by François Truffaut
6. They Live By Night (1948) Directed by Nicholas Ray
5. Blood Simple (1984) Directed by Ethan & Joel Coen
4. L’Atalante (1934) Directed by Jean Vigo
3. Badlands (1973) Directed by Terrence Malick
2. Citizen Kane (1941) Directed by Orson Welles
1. The Night of the Hunter (1955) Directed by Charles Laughton

To read the full explanations for these choices, drop by and check it out HERE.

Is VOD the New Theatrical Release?

Well yes, in the same way as your festival run should be.

Filmmaker Magazine has a cool piece on the growing VOD market and the ability for filmmakers to turn it into a profitable distribution tool. Our friend Joe Swanberg is also mentioned. Seems like audiences are still going to flock to genre films as well as star driven vehicles, but overall, looks like an interesting avenue nevertheless. It would be even cooler, if this avenue of cable VOD options for filmmakers was opened up to more films than just those that were lucky enough to premiere at a top tier film festival, since films without theatrical releases tend to benefit the filmmaker the most. What are your thoughts? Read about it after the jump:



If you're a filmmaker looking for an edge in today's new digital distribution universe, it can't hurt to come up with a title for your movie that begins with the letter "A" or "B."

It may sound facile or crass, but with Video-On-Demand an increasingly important segment of the business, recent indie movies like The Answer Man, A Quiet Little Marriage or Bart Got a Room will advantageously sit atop the catalogue of cable operator's On-Demand listings, while movies like World's Greatest Dad and What Goes Up will sit at the bottom.

"It always helps," admits Nolan Gallagher, CEO of Gravitas Ventures, a new independent company which licenses VOD content to cable operators. "We've seen examples where films have benefited from the fact that cable guides are alphabetical in nature," he says, noting the success of a recent documentary called American Meth. "We definitely think the titling had an effect on its buys."

VOD is certainly here to stay and growing at 20 percent annually, according to recent industry estimates, which has prompted more and more distribution companies, from the biggest studios to the smallest indies, to stake their future on it. But how much can individual filmmakers actually gain from the new distribution platforms, both monetarily and in exposure?

Read the full piece HERE.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

West Coast Premiere of Uptown



Uptown, the debut feature film from director Brian Ackley, has been selected as the only feature film to screen at the Blue November MicroFilm Fest in Seattle, Wa. The film will screen on Saturday, November 14th, 2009, @ 10:15 am.



THE BLUE NOVEMBER MICROFILMFEST RETURNS FOR YEAR SEVEN

The Blue November MicroFilmFest moves forward with financial backing of the City of Seattle!

SEATTLE – The Seventh Annual Blue November MicroFilmFest is a totally free film and arts festival that supports the artist first and foremost, with a dedication to vision and artistic integrity in cinema, music and the arts. Designed for the true filmmaker and the art of film, this festival focuses on the people behind the creation. It is free to those who attend, and it is always free for the artists.

The Opening Night Gala will begin at the Green Bean Coffeehouse (210 N 85th St). It is here that they will unveil the film shot live at last year’s Festival, The Marriage of Luna and Sol. In addition to a performance from Essence Dance Company and a collection of work from Reel Grrls (www.reelgrrls.org), the sounds of local music will welcome the official beginning of their seventh year. Official festivities will begin at the Upper Crust on Friday, November 13th.

FILM – the centerpiece of any film festival is the gift and art of the visual artist. They have received films from all over the World and from all walks of life offering a multitude of viewpoints. They have chosen the best of these, the most diverse and the most passionate, with selections from the local community. They are continuing the annual awards competition and Filmmaker Q&A, and they are adding their first workshops to inspire and inform Seattle’s next filmmakers.

As a Festival they may be small, but they are focused. The Blue November MicroFilmFest offers a unique experience not to be found elsewhere in the City of Seattle. They keep taking steps forward to insure a positive road for the future of film and art, and those who will create it.

For more information and the film's listing, visit HERE.

For more about Uptown visit HERE.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Dead and Lonely

Here's a promising new web series by horror auteur TI West on IFC.com
New Episodes DAILY at 12noon.

DEAD AND LONELY



Cinedigm To Issue In Up to 10,000 Digital Cinema Projection Systems

Cinedigm Announces Agreement With Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. to Supply Content to Cinedigm-Enabled Digital Cinema Systems

Agreement Marks Major Step Forward in Cinedigm's "Phase Two" Deployment of Up to 10,000 Digital Cinema Projection Systems

Here is the official Press Release after the jump:



"MORRISTOWN, NJ, Oct 26, 2009 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX News Network) -- Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp. ("Cinedigm") (NASDAQ: CIDM) today announced an agreement with Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. by which Warner Bros. will supply movies in DCI-compliant digital form to Cinedigm-installed theaters in the United States and Canada. The Warner Bros. Domestic Distribution agreement represents another major milestone in Cinedigm's Phase Two Digital Cinema Deployment Plan, which is designed to eventually deliver content to as many as 10,000 additional digital cinema projection systems. Warner Bros. will also pay Virtual Print Fees (VPFs) to promote conversion to DCI-compliant digital cinema technology.

Warner Bros. was an early supporter of Cinedigm's Phase One Deployment Program. During Cinedigm's Phase One deployment, which commenced in the fall of 2005 and was completed in the fall of 2007, more than 3,700 digital cinema systems were converted from film across the United States.

"Cinedigm's success with its Phase One wide-scale deployment is unparalleled. Warner Bros. is proud to be Cinedigm's partner in their Phase Two program, bringing more high quality digital movies to theatres and their patrons across the U.S. and Canada," said Dan Fellman, President of Domestic Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.

"Warner Bros. has been from the start a strong proponent of the transition to digital cinema," said Bud Mayo, chairman and chief executive officer of Cinedigm. "We are proud to announce their support of Cinedigm's Phase Two Deployment Plan. The momentum for this deployment is clearly building on both the distribution side and the exhibition side and we are delighted to be leading the way."

Chuck Goldwater, president of Cinedigm's Media Services Group, said, 'Throughout the years Warner Bros. has been leading the industry in both quantity and quality of movies at the boxoffice. We are thrilled to have their continued commitment for our digital cinema deployment program. Their valued partnership is a keystone to helping us move ahead toward our goal of another ten thousand digital screens in Phase Two.'"

About Cinedigm

Cinedigm is the leader in providing the services, experience, technology and content critical to transforming movie theaters into digital and networked entertainment centers. The company is a technology and services integrator that works with Hollywood movie studios and exhibitors to bring movies in digital cinema format to audiences across the country. Cinedigm's digital cinema deployment organization, software, unique combined satellite and hard drive digital movie delivery network; pre-show in-theater advertising services; and distribution platform for alternative content such as CineLive(R) 3-D and 2-D sports and concerts, thematic programming and independent films provide a complete suite of services required to enable the digital theater conversion. http://www.cinedigm.com/ [CIDM-G]

Cinedigm's contact information HERE.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Paul Osborne Spills the Festival Beans

Our friend Paul Osborne has a great piece in MovieMaker Magazine on the truth about film festival Do's and Dont's. Check it out after the jump:


"You’ve made your little independent feature film, financed with love, credit cards and some spare change from mom and dad. Now you’re going to take it to Sundance, where it will be watched by excited buyers from all of the major distributors. One of said distributors will cut you a big check, gather your movie up into its warm, welcoming arms and sprinkle it into theaters all across the land. Right?

Guess what? This never happens. And even when it did occasionally happen back in the late ’80s and ’90s, it was an extremely rare thing.
Any independent moviemaker who has worked the film festival circuit can tell you that this “Myth of Sundance” is about as real as the “Rich and Famous” contract offered to Kermit the Frog at the end of The Muppet Movie. However, the media still largely covers the major film festivals—Sundance, Toronto, Cannes—as if it’s 1994 and little can-do features actually have a fighting chance to be discovered in today’s indie landscape, the way Kevin Smith’s Clerks did.

This disconnect between the fantasy and reality of film festivals led me and my producing partner, Scott Storm, to make Official Rejection, the first documentary to really show what truly indie moviemakers experience on the film festival circuit."

Read the full piece HERE.

The 5 Obstructions



Here is one of my favorite films, one I discovered over 5 years ago on an independent film cable channel. Throwback Sundays this week, remembers a fantastic film, one that reminds me of the creative relationship sometimes shared between myself and my friend and fellow collaborator, Brian Ackley (Uptown).



With THE FIVE OBSTRUCTIONS, notoriously mischievous director Lars von Trier performs yet another cinematic experiment. This time around, the Danish prankster tries to outwit his mentor, director Jorgen Leth, forcing him to remake his classic 1967 short, "The Perfect Human," five different times, with a series of increasingly outlandish guidelines. His goal is to break down the abnormally stable Leth, teaching him a valuable life lesson in the process.

In the first film, von Trier sends Leth to Cuba and sets his first seemingly insurmountable rule: make a film that consists of shots that are no longer than twelve frames at a time. Miraculously, Leth uses his forced limitations to create a beautiful work, which obviously irks von Trier.

Next up, von Trier challenges Leth to return to Bombay--which he calls the "most wretched place on Earth"--in order to confront some demons from his past. Once again, the clever mentor rises to the challenge.

Frustrated and sensing defeat, von Trier's next challenge is deceptively simple: Leth must remake his film with no limitations whatsoever. He travels to Brussels and succeeds once again. After a foray into animation, von Trier creates the final obstruction, a film in which von Trier admits defeat and pays tribute to his mentor.

THE FIVE OBSTRUCTIONS is a thoughtful, entertaining meditation on the filmmaking process.




www.netflix.com

Saturday, October 24, 2009

The Brand Behind the Band

Here is a teaser announcing the launch of The Brand Behind the Band - a new venture by Oli "Power" Grant, Exec Producer of Wu Tang and One Way or Another Productions. Stay tuned here for the official project announcement coming very soon. This teaser however, is unrelated to the project (but in some ways is). Less cryptic and full update around the corner.

Here is the site for all things Wu Tang related to this project: www.thebrandwutang.com



Follow Power on Twitter HERE.

Follow Wu Wear on Twitter HERE.

For Twitter updates about this particular project, follow HERE.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Move Over DIY, Hello DIWO

IndieGoGo provides tools for fundraising, promotion, and discovery. The platform enables people to showcase their work, mobilize fans, and DIWO (Do-It-With-Others!).

Founded on the principles of opportunity, transparency, choice, and action, IndieGoGo launched in 2008 to address the fundraising challenges and market inefficiencies affecting independent media. IndieGoGo provides an open platform for people to pitch projects to the world, and gives fans the vehicle to experience, influence and fuel the projects they want to see created.

People get resources to build and engage a loyal fan base to assist in making their projects happen. They can raise money and awareness, and gain credibility through their number one resource: their fans.

Fans get the opportunity to discover, share and directly impact the projects of their choosing while also getting insider access and VIP perks.



To learn more, see HERE.

Hot Trailer Online? So What?

Do trailers that get tons of views online translate to box office revenue? According to Business Insider, the answer is "No." Take a look at this chart that everyone is talking about...



More info HERE.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

The Examiner Reviews Opa


Here is a good review of the film OPA from Trina Yannicos of The Examiner. Read the full review after the jump:


"The new movie, OPA!, starring Matthew Modine and Agni Scott, takes place on the island of Patmos in Greece. OPA! offers a virtual trip to Greece by absorbing the viewer in the atmosphere and flavor of how Greeks really live. The movie centers around the local taverna owned by Katerina (Scott) where people come every night to enjoy food, drink and Greek dancing.

The film, which opened the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival in 2007, follows an American archaeologist, Eric, played by Matthew Modine, who travels to Patmos in search of the sacred cup of St. John. Eric meets up with a British archaeologist, Tierrney, played by Richard Griffiths, who has made Patmos his permanent home. Tierrney introduces Eric to the Greek taverna and to Katerina and a romance blossoms.

Tensions build when Eric discovers St. John's cup in an undesirable location on the island. As Eric starts falling for Katerina, he is warned by Spiros (Alki David) never to lie to her. Therefore, it is surprising that what wins Katerina over in the end involves a huge lie.

Unlike the recent Nia Vardalos movie, My Life in Ruins, which follows a group of tourists around Athens in a tour bus, OPA! immerses the audience in the Greek lifestyle and culture. Instead of outsiders looking in, the film's perspective is similar to Under the Tuscan Sun where an American decides to live in Tuscany and adopts the Italian way of life. While Eric is in Greece, he learns the Greek way of life from Katerina and learns to have some fun in the process.

As Spiros tells Eric, "In Greece, we don't hide what we're feeling... feeling is like breathing." Perhaps the real beauty of Greece is not found in the ancient ruins of Athens but in the joie de vivre on the scenic islands."

The film opened nationwide on October 16. Go See It Now!

For more information, visit their site HERE.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Tom's Corner w/a Quick Shot



For this installment of Tom's Corner, Tom introduces a new feature called "Quick Shots" where he gives you a simple synopsis of Hollywood films that lack imagination & are predictable. If he saves you any $, be sure to thank him if you see him. I'm sure if you offered him the $, he'd gladly take it...ah, forget it.



Bart Got a Room (2009), Brian Hecker

Does anyone have fond memories of high school? Ok, how about brutal combat in the jungles of Vietnam? If you answered yes to either of these, you sir or madam, are a liar or one of those ten percent who we all despised. But enough about my own high school traumas, and onto Danny's. Everybody got a room after prom, even uber-geek Bart. Danny doesn't even have a date. Over the course of the movie, Danny follows the whims of everyone around him to attempt to find a date. His best friend Craig, his loser father Ernie (played brilliantly by William H. Macy) and his ditzy mother Beth (Cheryl Hines) all offer their completely off and ofttimes hilarious advice. Danny's best friend, Camille (Alia Shawkat, who I've loved since her portrayal of Maebe Funke on Fox's much overlooked sitcom “Arrested Development”) want nothing more than to go with Danny, who has been her best friend for years. Danny...well, wants to get laid, and doesn't think that'll happen with Camille.

This is not your average teenage comedy. This one is not a gross out fest brimming with innuendo and blustering bullshit. This movie has a heart, and Steven Kaplan, with all his nerdy quirky charm, is that heart. It's worth a few laughs, and at 79 minutes, not overly padded with scenes that aren't necessary.

Quick Shots – A movie that can be reviewed in a paragraph (or less).



Year One



2009, Harold Ramis

If you love juvenile humor and Michael Cera's default personality in all his movies, by all means see this. Also, please, Hollywood, STOP CASTING JACK BLACK IN LEAD ROLES. He works as a sidekick, but just sucks as a lead character.

Waste of time.



Tuesday, October 20, 2009

The next viral sensation!

This isn't film related...but purely for a laugh.
I wanted to see if I could make the next viral sensation---using old viral sensations.
It's like an Eminem remix of a Tupac song! Check it out:

Monday, October 19, 2009

Filmmakers Come Clean



Finally! A site that honestly rates film festivals by filmmakers themselves! Hopefully this stays on the up and up, and corporate fests dont try to use bots to take over. Sqirrl.com is here!

I remember being at the Idaho International Film Festival and hearing several people discussing the need for a site exactly like this (I believe it was right after viewing the very informative documentary Official Rejection by Paul Osborne). Well, now, here it is.

After an experience in Idaho that was so mind blowing that its taken me this long still to sum it up in a blog entry here, I started things out with entering the fest on the site, then writing my own review. Check it out HERE!

Trust Me

Here's the trailer to another film starring our friend Rick Borgia (Cookies & Cream).

"MAFIA IT'S A SHORT CUT BUT A SHORT LIFE" quote Roberto Rizzo - In a world where, the Mafia, drug dealers, and money launderers collide, a Ponzi scheme is in the works. Frank Dileo, is a Mafia don controls everyone and everything around him, or so he thinks".

In a world where, the Mafia, drug dealers, and money launderers, collide, a Ponzi scheme is in the works. Frank Dileo, a Mafia don controls everyone and everything around him, or so he thinks.



For more info on the film, go HERE.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Coppola's Dark Prediction

What are your thoughts about this? Francis Ford Coppola predicts the future of cinema (or his vision of it), after the jump:



"Oct. 12 (Bloomberg) -- “The cinema as we know it is falling apart,” says Francis Ford Coppola.

“It’s a period of incredible change,” says the director of “The Godfather” and “Apocalypse Now.” “We used to think of six, seven big film companies. Every one of them is under great stress now. Probably two or three will go out of business and the others will just make certain kind of films like ‘Harry Potter’ -- basically trying to make ‘Star Wars’ over and over again, because it’s a business.”
Coppola, 70, sporting a dark suit, is being interviewed in the Lebanese capital Beirut, where his latest movie “Tetro” opened the Beirut Film Festival after premiering at the Cannes Film Festival this year.

“Cinema is losing the public’s interest,” says Coppola, “because there is so much it has to compete with to get people’s time.”
The profusion of leisure activities; the availability of movies on copied DVD and on the Internet; and news becoming entertainment are reshaping the industry, he says. Companies have combined businesses as customers turn to cheap downloads rather than visit shops or movie theaters."

Read full piece HERE.

Taxi Driver on Youtube

For Throwback Sundays this week, we have a whole film for you! Free!

Scorsese's 70's classic Taxi Driver is now available on Youtube HERE.

Read more in the LA Times about classic studio films streaming on Youtube after the jump:



"You lookin' at YouTube?

Continuing its slow journey to add premium Hollywood content, YouTube has just posted its second major studio film to the site, the 1976 classic "Taxi Driver."

The film, when went on the Google-owned viral video site today and will be available for just a week, comes from Sony Pictures' Crackle video website, which also streamed "Ghostbusters" on YouTube for a week in August. Like that film, "Tax Driver" is playing under a number of limitations intended to benefit Sony: It steams in Crackle's own video player with prominent branding for the site and the video advertising is sold by the studio, which gets most of the revenue."

Read the full article HERE.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Award Winning Film “Still Green” Released Today Nationally on DVD



Today my friend Andrea Ajemian's independent teen drama, Still Green, will be released throughout theUnited States on DVD by Osiris Entertainment.

After a successful festival run, including winning awards for Best Narrative Feature at the 2007 New England Filmand Video Festival, as well as Best Ensemble at the 2007 Fort Lauderdale InternationalFilm Festival, Still Green ran in select theaters in May of 2009.

Produced by UncoveredProductions and Artigo/Ajemian Films, the Still Green DVD will be available forpurchase or rental at numerous outlets including Hollywood Video, Movie Gallery,Blockbuster Entertainment, Netflix, Amazon, Best Buy.com, DeepDiscount.com,Critics Choice, and Planet Video.

Still Green follows a group of recent high school graduates on their final vacation beforeseparating for college, where a tragedy occurs that tests the bonds of their friendships.Referred to as “a thoughtful and sobering movie that lingers with us.” – Jeffery Long,Worcester Telegram and Gazette, the movie stars Hollywood up and comers Sarah Jones(HBO’s Big Love, The Riches), Ryan Kelley (Mean Creek, Prayers for Bobby), and NoahSegan (Brick, What We Do is Secret).

Written by Worcester native Georgia Menides, and Directed by Jon Artigo, who teachesfilmmaking at The Los Angeles School of the Arts, Still Green was produced byWorcester based producer Andrea Ajemian, Clark University alum Doug Lloyd, and Ms.Menides. The after party of the local premiere of Still Green, in May of 2009, raised over$1400 for gardens to be planted in front of the Worcester Youth Center. In addition,producers collaborated with teen organizations GOYA (Greek Orthodox YouthActivism), Naples YMCA’s Project Graduation, and Project Disney, among others,during their limited theatrical run. “In our film we deal with serious teen issues, and wewanted to help give back to organizations that provide support for teenagers,” saidProducer Andrea Ajemian.

The film's DVD special Features consist of:

Making Still Green- Behind the ScenesPhoto Gallery, Slideshow, TrailerMusic Video from The Jediah Band, Worcester band featured on soundtrackCommentary from Writer/ Producer Georgia Menides and Producer Doug LloydQ and A between Director Jon Artigo and students at Los Angeles School of the Arts

Visit the Official Website HERE.

Here is the Official Trailer:

New Uptown Fan Page



Become a fan of Uptown HERE.

Wu-Tang A Drive-By Away From Never Existing

According to Wu Tang's The RZA, the group was a drive-by away from never existing. Read some of the CNN interview after the jump:



(CNN) -- "The Wu-Tang Clan -- the New York hip-hop supergroup that spawned millions of album sales, nine solo acts and a few acting careers -- almost never was.

Method Man, the group's most recognizable voice, was nearly killed before the band formed, Wu-Tang's chief producer, RZA, writes in his forthcoming memoir.

Meth was walking to buy marijuana at 160 Park Hill Avenue in Staten Island -- the house in Wu-Tang's "Protect Ya Neck" video -- when RZA saw him across the street, he writes in the book.

"Come over here, yo!" RZA beckoned, according to "The Tao of Wu" (Riverhead). "He stopped and came running over. A few seconds later -- pow-pow-pow-pow-pow! -- a guy started shooting up the front of 160. A buddy of ours, Poppy, an innocent, school-going, nice guy -- he was shot and killed right there."

It wasn't the only close call RZA said could have snuffed the band that rewrote the rule book for hip-hop acts. The year before the group formed in 1993, RZA was acquitted on an attempted murder charge that could have put him behind bars for eight years, he writes in "The Tao of Wu," out Thursday.

Expanding on the book's anecdotes in an interview with CNN, RZA explained that if he had been imprisoned or if Method Man, aka Clifford Smith, had been killed, the band never would have come to fruition."

Read the full piece HERE.

Are Internet Pirates Our Friends?

Much has been said about the business of "free", as it relates to filmmakers trying to get their work seen and their potential to drive would-be customers to their personal websites to purchase special edition DVDs, and other merch. For those that are interested in this sort of thing, this may be an alternative (or even something to add) to your free online streaming efforts. The following is an interesting point of view from TorrentFreak about the pirating of feature films, and how in one case, they may have actually helped the film's producers financially. Read all about it, and feel free to offer your thoughts on the subject, after the jump:



"When a filmmaker first discovered that his new movie had leaked to the Internet, he was pretty upset. However, this creator has some hacker friends who persuaded him to feel more relaxed about reaching a whole new audience. Right now, he is embracing file-sharing and even the uploader who released his work via BitTorrent sites.

Last week, ‘godcanjudgeme‘, a prolific uploader to Demonoid, The Pirate Bay, Mininova and OneBigTorrent, made another upload to add to his long list of releases, but this one turned out a little differently to all the others.

Blue Gold : World Water Wars from director Sam Bozzo is a movie about one of planet earth’s most precious resources – water. It examines the ‘future’ for water and how various corporations are plotting to control its supply, how governments use water for political gain and how the control of this essential liquid could be the source of future military conflicts.

Of course, when anyone uploads a movie to the Internet in breach of copyright, there is always the chance of a different type of conflict – one with the entertainment companies and their anti-piracy allies. However, this particular movie is independent and less likely to attract that type of attention. Perhaps because of this and a warmth towards independent creators, the movie’s BitTorrent uploader godcanjudgeme added a note to his release on The Pirate Bay, encouraging people to financially support the movie by giving donations to the creators via their website."

Read all about this and the film's producer's personal note to the torrent uploading community HERE.

Watch "The Motivator" For Free



"The Motivator: The Business of Selling Hope" - A voyeuristic look at the business of professional speaking from the inside. Victor Antonio G. gives unprecedented access to what goes on in the life of a motivational speaker. Join him as he travels to a major speaking event all the while sharing his triumphs, defeats and providing an insider's perspective on the business of speaking. Victor also retraces his journey from poverty to success in business. Documentary filmmaker Dan Perez pulls back the curtains and dims the spotlight to reveal the professional costs and personal sacrifices of being a professional speaker.

You can watch The Motivator now for free HERE. You can order a copy of the DVD there as well.

Speaking of Myspace...



Here are our films' Myspace profiles. Just click on the title of the film.

Is Myspace Worth Anything?

Social networking sites are the bread and butter of indie film advertising. The beginning of this new era was without question ushered in by Myspace, an easy to use, far reaching network that allowed you to become "friends" with countless potential customers, or potential collaborators, or both.

I can understand how Facebook made it a little easier to navigate your options, add friends, send messages, etc, but geez! Personally, besides Twitter which I can understand, this whole Facebook surge is a little surprising to me. I personally like our films' Myspace profiles and the information/graphics/design/options they feature more than those on other free sites. Facebook groups or fan pages to me are just like...blah.

Despite my personal tastes, this new Huffington Post piece was a real eye-opener. After the jump:




"A few years ago, Rupert Murdoch was heralded as an Internet genius.

Why? Because unlike most of his digital-dunce mogul brethren, he somehow managed to buy MySpace for only $580 million!

This "steal" was cited again and again as evidence that Rupert Murdoch had something that no other mainstream media mogul (excepting possibly Barry Diller) had: Brains enough not to get taken to the cleaners when it came to buying Internet properties.

Last summer, the brilliant digital Rupert even emerged as a potential white-knight in the Microsoft-Yahoo struggle: He would merge MySpace into Yahoo and save Yahoo from Microsoft's clutches... as long as Yahoo agreed to value MySpace at something like $10 billion.

Even Yahoo wasn't that stupid."

Read the rest of this piece HERE.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

The Future of Independent Film?

Here is more about the internet as a marketing tool and the future of independent filmmaking from the Film News Briefs Blog.



"For the last couple weeks now, we’ve been talking a lot about independent film (and, to a lesser extent, the studios) and how technology and the economy have been affecting filmmaking. We’re going to continue with that in a sense this week, but with a definite spin into the world of the interwebs, as foreshadowed at the end of last week’s editorial.

Near as we can figure, there’s two more parts (for the time being, though we expect that to change, and fairly soon) to this thread we started a couple weeks ago, so the obvious move would be to cover one this week and the other next week. Since we’re only so interested in trailblazing an editorial narrative, we’ll stick to that pattern and begin the process of winding this thing up.

We’re going to break it down like this: one part assumes that you’ve either made your feature or are in the process of making it, and the use of the internet in that regard, while the other involves using the internet to either directly tell your story or to help get your feature made at all. We’re dealing with the former now, and that’s why 'Paranormal Activity,' which we mentioned last week, is such an excellent touchstone for us."

Read the full piece HERE.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Cookies & Cream Invited to the Red Wasp Film Festival



Cookies & Cream has been invited to screen at the Red Wasp Film Festival as the only feature film in the line up. The 2009 Red Wasp Film Festival in Bryan, TX will be held Friday, November 6, and Saturday, November 7, 2009, at StageCenter. Cookies...will close out as the last film on Friday night.

The Red Wasp Film Festival began in 2003. Founders Carol and Craig Conlee first held the festival at 7F Lodge in Wellborn, TX.

In 2006, Brazos Progressives partnered with Carol and Craig, and the festival moved to Conlee Auctions in downtown Bryan, TX, and 2008 was the first year that it was held at StageCenter.

Check out the Full line up of films HERE.

For more about Cookies & Cream check out the Official Website HERE.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Brown Sugar

This Throwback Sunday we remember Brown Sugar. Just when I thought I had seen every possible variation of an American Romantic Comedy, along came Brown Sugar in 2002 to really take the genre and throw it in a new and surprising direction. This is especially true for African-American comedies, as the tired recreation of romantic comedies from Hollywood period were starting to take its toll on me.

"Brown Sugar is a celebration of love, and a mourning of the death of hip-hop music. It is the second film from director Rick Famuyiwa to explore the roots that tie African Americans to hip-hop, the first being his 1999 comedy 'The Wood.' Famuyiwa obviously has a fondness for the early-80s era of street corner rhymes and break dancing, and he translates that love without a drip of sweat. 'Brown Sugar' is more about the loss of dignity that hip-hop is currently going through, and how that loss parallels the ascent into adulthood for most individuals." - Brian Orndorf

Here is the trailer:



www.netflix.com
www.amazon.com

Friday, October 9, 2009

Exclusive Interview with Lynn Shelton



We asked our friend Lynn Shelton (My Effortless Brilliance, Humpday) some questions for our readers via an interview. I can remember discussing the new DIY filmmaking movement with her right before she would start her 2nd feature, My Effortless Brilliance, also right around the time we started our first one, Cookies & Cream. The camaraderie was contagious and inspiring. It was surreal to turn on OnDemand and watch MEB, not long after she revealed to us her plans to change her direction and try out a new, improvised, and fully collaborative approach to filmmaking.

For those that aren't as familiar with her story, Lynn Shelton grew up in Seattle, studying acting, painting, poetry and photography in her formative years. After a decade spent acting for the stage, she attended the MFA program in Photography at the School of Visual Arts in NYC. She then spent a decade learning the ins and outs of cinema as an experimental and documentary filmmaker (The Clouds That Touch Us Out of Clear Skies, The Fruits of Our Labors), and as an editor, (Outpatient, Hedda Gabler, Measure), before writing and directing her first feature-length film upon invitation from The Film Company, a nonprofit film studio. The result, We Go Way Back, premiered at SLAMDANCE 2006 where it picked up the Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature and the Award for Best Cinematography.

Her second feature film, My Effortless Brilliance, premiered at SXSW 2008 and screened at a bevy of festivals across the country. The film was awarded the Special Jury Prize for Excellence in Direction at the Atlanta Film Festival and was picked up for distribution by IFC Films. Humpday, Lynn's third feature starring Mark Duplass and Joshua Leonard, premiered at Sundance early this year. Our chat with her, after the jump:



OneWayTV: Your last two films (Humpday, My Effortless Brilliance) focus on male relationships. What draws you to that subject?

Lynn: "Every time a human being wants to connect to another human being, it's never a simple endeavor. If it's two straight guys we're talking about, it seems like the relationship is often especially fraught with layers and complications, which I seem naturally attracted to. That being said, I'm also looking forward to exploring the complications of female relationships and female-male relationships at some point as well."

OneWayTV: In regards to an on screen relationship, how far is it safe to go, both physically and emotionally?

Lynn: "It's absolutely essential to me that my actors (as well as everyone else on my set) feel emotionally and physically safe at all times. I absolutely will not push an actor to go somewhere or do something they are not 100% comfortable with. Inviting actors into the project as true collaborators at a very early stage seems to encourage a level of commitment and engagement that gives me what I need from them as a director."

OneWayTV: How does utilizing improvised scenes influence your camera frame set up and motion?

Lynn: "I feel like I am improvising as a director in a way that is parallel to the way the actors are working. I need to be very 'on my feet' when on set, flexible enough to adjust as the scenes evolve."

OneWayTV: What's been your experience with the online distribution of My Effortless Brilliance? Is that a model you will seek for your future work as well?

Lynn: "I want folks to see my films. After a theatrical release (in an ideal world), having the film available for viewing on both DVD and digital download would be my ideal. Basically giving folks as many options as possible for viewing it. If online distribution is the only option, I'll take it!!! By the way, My Effortless Brilliance will be available on DVD starting November 17th."

OneWayTV: How important is it for filmmakers working on low to no budget films to participate in the film festival circuit?

Lynn: "The film festival circuit is often the only opportunity that a filmmaker will have to present their film in theaters. It is also an incredibly essential networking platform. Facebook and Myspace are great but there's nothing like a little face-to-face interaction with other folks who live in the DIY filmmaking trenches with you."

OneWayTV: Is it okay for you to reveal to us when the DVD release for Humpday will be?

Lynn: "Mid-November!"

OneWayTV: What are you working on now?

Lynn: "I'm in the midst of editing a 12-episode web series called '$5 Cover Seattle' for mtv.com. It's a postcard from Seattle via a slice of our indie music scene: 12 bands are represented via musical performances interwoven with vignettes that provide a glimpse into their creative processes and their everyday lives. Look for it online at the end of January 2010!"

For more on Lynn, visit her SITE.

To track Humpday and receive DVD news go HERE.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

RZA Lands Movie Role W/Robert Downey Jr. & Jamie Foxx



Wu-Tang Clan musical maestro the RZA has landed a new movie role alongside actors Robert Downey, Jr. and Jamie Foxx in an upcoming film called Due Date. (Sohh)

Due Date is a road trip movie that centers on a father (Downey) to be as he anxiously tries to venture cross country to make it in time for his child's birth. Unfortunately, he has to hitch a ride with an annoying slacker (Zach Galifianakis) in order to make that happen. Michelle Monaghan has been cast as the pregnant wife, and Jamie Foxx will star as her ex-boyfriend, who also happens to be one of Downey's best buds. (Screen Crave)

Warner Bros. has set RZA to star alongside Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis in Due Date, the Todd Phillips-directed comedy. Phillips is producing through his Green Hat banner with Daniel Goldberg. Scott Budnick is executive producer. Warner Bros is partnered with Legendary Pictures on the film, and Susan Downey is executive producing. (Variety)

He previously secured a role in the Adam Sandler comedy Funny People over the summer.

Latest info on the clan HERE.

5 Films That Influenced Uptown


Here is Brian Ackley's personal list of 5 films that influenced his debut feature film Uptown. For those who have seen it, can you spot the influences?

Uptown: Dir. Brian Ackley



and the 5 are...

Quiet City: Dir. Aaron Katz



Cookies & Cream: Dir. Princeton Holt



Manhattan: Dir. Woody Allen



Hannah Takes The Stairs: Dir. Joe Swanberg



Castaway: Dir. Robert Zemeckis

for more about Uptown visit HERE.

Is RED Overrated?


Ever since the RED camera was rumored to become available, filmmakers from all over - DIY to Hollywood have had a hard on for it. Even now, to hear some filmmakers talk about RED, you would think they were describing what its like to see Pamela Anderson naked for the first time (in her prime of course). The eyes glaze over and dart upward. The gushing subsides, then the wishing begins. "Dude, I cannot wait to shoot on RED."

However, there have been some rumblings from other industry insiders about RED, and not from filmmakers, but from actual technicians. You know, those people who actually have a technical skill who do the actual work to make you look like a genius while you take all the credit. Still not sure? The cinematographers, and the post team ring a bell? Yeah them. Those people who have to actually perform the work you filmmakers have wet dreams about? Yeah. Them.

Word is, in the post production phase, that RED's software is a little suspect. Thats something thats being put into question and immediately received the "overrated" label, even before the camera itself. A recent comment post from one working DP included this phrase: "Although I can't deny the image quality, we are having huge issues with Redcine and overall .r3d file support. I honestly hate the post side of Red now. " Mmmm. Sounds like fun!

Here is another interesting post from our new friend we are working with on an upcoming project, and DP of a film I really enjoyed recently at the Idaho International Film Festival called Drawing With Chalk. Michael LaVoie is a New York based Director of Photography, and a graduate of the film program at SUNY Purchase in 2000. You can check out his great camera work and package at his site HERE. Speaking on the worship of RED, here is a very informative post from his blog:

"The buzz on the RED camera has finally saturated the low/no budget film world and a lot of filmmakers are desperately seeking it. The sad thing is that most don’t have enough to even afford my camera, let alone a RED. They also seem to be putting the importance of the camera ahead of the person responsible for creating an image with it, the cinematographer. People are missing the point that camera alone will not give you a good image if the DP isn’t qualified to shoot your film.

I just got back from the 4 day long Idaho International film festival and there were a couple of films shot on the RED. They looked nice but they too suffered from the noise of low light situations. The only footage that was really “stunning” was the stuff shot in available light outdoors and I didn’t see much of a difference between that footage and what I saw in our daylight exteriors on Sneakers. The only difference I suppose was that in Idaho, the RED films were shown on Digibeta and my Sneakers premiere was HD CAM. So there you go, 1080p shown in 1080p can hold up nicely against the RED shown in Digibeta. 1080p however is certainly easier to post. This comparison however is from the top of the line screening experience at festivals today. Most of the time, people are watching indie films on a HD LCD tv or computer and that’s going to be extremely difficult to tell the difference between 2K and HD. When 2K TV’s and projectors are readily available, the obvious choice will be RED. For now, it’s overkill."

Read the full piece HERE.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

TWO Jace Nicole Trailers



2 more trailers for films that feature the versatile Jace Nicole in leading roles. The indie actress has been incredibly busy since her first leading role in Cookies & Cream. The first one, Razorblade City, is highly reminscent of Hype Williams' gangster, photographically stylized, urban classic Belly. It looks insane!




RAZORBLADE CITY SEPTEMBER TEASER from richard JOHnSON on Vimeo.





"Sleeping With Fate" Teaser from richard JOHnSON on Vimeo.

www.myspace.com/jacenicole