Announcing its second exciting season, the Portland Maine Film Festival’s call for entries is now open. The PMFF invites international and local filmmakers to submit their films for consideration through August 29, 2011. The Festival, Oct. 6, 7, 8 and 9, 2011, will host four days of diverse film celebrations and screenings of work by independent-minded filmmakers and emerging cinema artists of Maine and across the globe.
Details on how to apply may be found online at www.withoutabox.com and www.portlandmainefilmfestival.com.
“Our mission this year is to promote and foster an appreciation of the film arts in our region with special, locally produced film screenings,” says festival founder Tyler Johnston. “We will feature some of today’s cutting-edge international cinema while placing a well-deserved spotlight on the creative filmmaking community here in Portland.”
Joining PMFF this year is Corey Norman, professor in the Communications and New Media Department at Southern Maine Community College. Norman is a video producer and mentor to film students whose work has included nationally broadcast programming for the History Channel, Discovery Channel, National Geographic and PBS’s Nova among others.
“I’m thrilled to play a big part in this year’s PMFF and delighted to announce a special youth produced screening that will celebrate emerging young talent,” Norman says. “Please join us for our second year and support the motion picture arts in Maine.”
The PMFF is proud to showcase today’s most creative independent films in the categories of cutting-edge Narrative Features, Shorts, Documentaries, Experimental, Animation, and Student & Youth produced films. The festival honors each year’s winners with Audience Awards in categories of Best International Film, Best of the Fest Feature, Best of the Fest Documentary, Best Short Subject Narrative, Best Short Subject Documentary, Best One Minute Cell Phone Video, Best Music Video, Best Animated Film, Best Experimental Film, Best Student Film, Best Made in Maine Filmmaker, and Best Youth Produced Film (<18 years of age).
About
The Portland Maine Film Festival features contemporary, entertaining and informative movies, as well as, panel discussions and networking opportunities for local filmmakers.
Thriving with contemporary art and a rich history, Portland, Maine is a creative hub. Featuring excellent food, a diverse and thriving art scene, exotic night life, and all the outdoor activities of Maine, this beautiful coastal city in the heart of Casco Bay is the perfect place to visit and experience a film festival.
Announcements on jury members and festival updates to follow.
News
All the News.
All the News.
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Second Annual Portland, Maine Film Festival Accepting Submissions
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Daniel Craig, Sci-Fis and thrillers abound at the upcoming Locarno Film Festival
The Festival del film Locarno once again makes its presence felt as the essential rendez-vous for auteurs, observers and key players in world cinema.
The Festival, faithful to its origins and resolutely looking forward, continues its adventurous course, always attentive to changes in cinematography and the emergence of new talent. It continues to strive to limit the number of films selected, in order to guarantee maximum visibility of those selected while offering a range of appealing and tempting views of world cinema, film production in all its forms and landmarks in film history. Nearly 180 feature films and documentaries, as well as a retrospective of Vincent Minnelli films will be screened over ten days.
Those expected to attend this 64th edition include Claudia Cardinale, Harrison Ford, Leslie Caron, Ingrid Caven, Kabir Bedi, Guy Bedos, Abel Ferrara, Mike Medavoy, Bruno Ganz, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Olivia Wilde, Claude Goretta, Hitoshi Matsumoto, Kati Outinen, Nicolas Winding Refn, Daniel Craig, Pierre Richard, Maribel Verdú, Anri Sala and Daniel Brühl…Olivier Père is the Artistic director. This is Switzerland’s most prestigious film festival. And it sounds pretty damn glamorous, too.
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Sundance Institute to Host a Week of Independent Film Producing Initiatives
Nine Projects Selected for Creative Producing Labs and Fellowships
Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute today announced the participants for its annual Creative Producing Labs and Creative Producing Summit, both held in the same week at the Sundance Resort in Sundance, Utah.
Nine projects have been selected to participate in the Labs (July 18-22) and receive ongoing creative and strategic support throughout the year, as well as direct granting to further development and production. The Fellows represent five projects from the Feature Film Program and four from the Documentary Film Program.
Immediately following the Labs, leaders in independent film and a wider group of Sundance Institute-supported projects will join the Fellows for the Creative Producing Summit (July 22-24).
“The Sundance Institute Creative Producing initiatives are a unique combination of intensive focus on the producers’ individual projects and larger discussions with industry leaders about the state of the independent film community and where it’s headed,” said Keri Putnam, Executive Director of Sundance Institute. “These initiatives are an opportunity for producers to explore and develop their projects in a forward-thinking, supportive community. We thank the many experts that will participate.”
FEATURE FILM CREATIVE PRODUCING LAB
The Feature Film Creative Producing Lab is a five-day Lab where narrative feature film producers work with an accomplished group of Creative Advisors to develop their creative instincts, communication and problem-solving skills in all stages of film production. This year’s Creative Advisors include producers Paul Mezey (Cold Souls), Jay Van Hoy (Beginners), Alix Madigan (Winter’s Bone) and Amy Kaufman (Sin Nombre).
The Fellows and projects selected for the Feature Film Creative Producing Fellowship are:
Ad Inexplorata
Producing Fellow: Danielle DiGiacomo
Captain William D. Stanaforth is a NASA pilot alone on a one-way mission toward the unknown. (Writer/Director Mark Elijah Rosenberg)In the past decade, Danielle DiGiacomo has worked as the Community Manager at IFP and Head of Documentary Acquisitions at IndiePix Films, produced the first two Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Film, and associate produced Jennifer Venditti’s Billy the Kid (Best Documentary Feature, Los Angeles Film Festival 2007 & SXSW 2007) and Samantha Buck’s 21 Below. In 2010, she produced three short films (two premiered at the 2011 Cannes’ Short Film Corner) and Associate Produced one feature, Andrew Semans’ Nancy Please. She is currently producing Chris Kelly’s documentary The Cause of Progress and Samantha Buck’s Best Kept Secret. (Mark Silverman Honoree)
Ain’t Them Bodies Saints
Producing Fellows: James M. Johnston & Toby Halbrooks
Ain’t Them Bodies Saints tells the story of an outlaw who, in the 1970s, escapes from prison and sets out across the Texas countryside to reunite with his wife and the daughter he never met. Along the way, however, his past starts to catch up with him. (Writer/Director: David Lowery)James M. Johnston and Toby Halbrooks, collectively known as Sailor Bear, produced the award winning and critically acclaimed short film Pioneer. Johnston also produced the feature films St. Nick and Carried Away, operates two successful vegan restaurants with his wife, and has directed and produced several short films of his own. Halbrooks came to film after touring the world for six years as a member of the rock group The Polyphonic Spree. He has been working in Dallas as a commercial producer/director for the last 6 years.
The Maglev Story
Producing Fellow: Melissa Lee
Actions speak louder than words in this offbeat romance set in Shanghai between a reclusive Japanese hikikomori (“shut-in”) boy and a broken-hearted Chinese girl. Well, at least this unlikely couple hopes so. (Writer/Director Anthony Ng)Melissa Lee graduated magna cum laude with a BA in Literature from Harvard University and received her MFA in Producing from USC. She has produced two feature films: Dear Lemon Lima, co-starring Academy Award winner, Melissa Leo, which was released theatrically earlier this year; and Circumstance, which premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, received the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award, and is being released theatrically in August 2011. A Hong Kong native, Melissa splits her time between Los Angeles and China. (Steve Bing Fellow)
One & Two
Producing Fellow: Kim Sherman
Set at an isolated farmhouse, One & Two is a look at the bond between siblings in an abusive and neglectful home, told through a sci-fi lens. (Director Andrew Droz Palermo, Co-Writers Andrew Droz Palermo & Neima Shahdadi)Kim Sherman is a Missouri-based filmmaker and musician. Most recently, Sherman produced the feature A Horrible Way To Die from director Adam Wingard and Sun Don’t Shine from Amy Seimetz. Sherman has won numerous advertising awards for her directorial commercial work and produced a handful of daring and groundbreaking narrative shorts, including the experimental drama, A Face Fixed, by director Andrew Droz Palermo. Sherman serves as one half of the psych-folk duo, Jerusalem and the Starbaskets. Their latest full-length album, Dost, is out now on De Stijl Records.
Sadie
Producing Fellow: Lacey Leavitt
A young girl living in a trailer park with her mother while her father serves repeated tours overseas resorts to inappropriate measures to preserve her family when a handsome and mysterious stranger threatens to tear it apart. (Writer/Director Megan Griffiths)Lacey Leavitt is a Seattle-based producer whose first two narrative features, The Off Hours (director Megan Griffiths) and The Catechism Cataclysm (director Todd Rohal), premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. She also produced and co-directed the roller derby documentary Blood on the Flat Track (Strand Releasing) and produced Dan Brown’s award-winning short film Your Lucky Day, starring Rider Strong. She recently co-produced Safety Not Guaranteed, executive produced by Mark and Jay Duplass, and is in pre-production on Hayden Lake, the new feature directed by Ryan Page and Christopher Pomerenke (Blood Into Wine), which she is line producing. (Sheila C. Johnson Fellow)
DOCUMENTARY FILM CREATIVE PRODUCING LAB
Participants for the five-day Documentary Film Creative Producing Lab are selected from a pool of Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program grantees and invited to participate in one-on-one consultations, and presentations aimed at honing the craft of producing documentaries.
Producers Bonni Cohen (Producer, The Island President) Ellen Schneider (Founder, Active Voice), Joslyn Barnes (Producer, Black Power Mixtape) and publicist Nancy Willen will serve as Creative Advisors at the Lab.
The Fellows and projects selected for the Documentary Film Creative Producing Lab are:
Ai Wei Wei: Never Sorry
Producing Fellow: Alison Klayman
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry follows three tumultuous years in the life of Ai Weiwei, when he became a superstar of the art world, a “dissident” in the headlines, a first-time father, and an online god to tens of thousands of Chinese netizens. But can an artist change China?Alison Klayman is a freelance journalist and documentary filmmaker. Living in China from 2006 to 2010, Klayman shot and produced radio and television feature stories for programs. Ai Wei Wei: Never Sorry is her first feature documentary. Klayman speaks Mandarin Chinese and graduated from Brown University in 2006.
Betting the Farm
Producing Fellows: Cecily Pingree and Jason Mann
In a desperate attempt to save their farms, a group of Maine farmers launch a new, organic milk company. Will their gamble rescue them – and with them an entire way of life – or will it leave them worse off than when they started?Cecily Pingree is an independent filmmaker who began her film work with Big Mouth Productions in New York. She has worked on stories ranging from the controversy surrounding media consolidation to rural health in Africa to fishing and farming issues in Maine.
Jason Mann has worked as a cinematographer and editor on numerous documentary projects. Most recently, he collaborated with Cecily Pingree on Meet Your Farmer, a series of eight short films about Maine farmers.
Cesar’s Last Fast
Producing Fellow: Lisa Remington
Cesar’s Last Fast is a multi-platform feature documentary film about the private sacrifice behind Cesar E. Chavez’s struggle for the humane treatment of farm workers, and the impact Chavez’s inspirational and complex legacy has on new generation of organizers fighting today.Lisa Remington is an independent documentary producer who recently teamed with Lawrence Bender (producer) and Lucy Walker (director) on Participant Media’s chilling nuclear weapons documentary Countdown to Zero. Lisa regularly consults with emerging and established filmmakers in early stage fundraising strategies to create actionable production plans and lives in Los Angeles.
JR: Inside Out
Producing Fellow: Alastair Siddons
The French artist JR wins the TED Prize 2011. He gives his wish, and in turn, his art back to the people, and creates a global participatory art project called ‘Inside Out’. He becomes the ‘printer’ and invites people to stand up for what they care about through the power of their own image. From Tunisia to the Bronx, Lisbon to Iran, the film follows individuals and communities pasting their portraits in the streets. Now they don’t just see the art, they make it.Alastair Siddons is a London based film maker who has worked across a range of formats including documentary, drama and music video. His first feature was the large scale documentary Turn It Loose. The film followed six b-boys from very different corners of the globe preparing to battle in the world championships held in Soweto, South Africa. The film was produced by Partizan Films and picked up for international distribution by MK2.
My Good Name is Stalin
Producing Fellow: Kavita Pillay
My Good Name Is Stalin is the story of two young men named Stalin and Lenin in Kerala, India – home to the world’s first democratically elected communist government – as they struggle to reconcile their shifting notions about communism and capitalism in the Age of Migration.Kavita Pillay is a Boston-based media consultant and film producer. My Good Name Is Stalin is her first feature-length documentary.
CREATIVE PRODUCING SUMMIT
The Creative Producing Summit is a three-day, invitation-only gathering that connects 40 independent filmmakers with 30 top independent film professionals including producers, agents, distributors, and other executives to build a dialogue on film producing and the state of independent film. Programmed events include case study sessions, panels, roundtable discussions, one-on-one meetings and pitching sessions. Panelists include Josh Braun (Submarine Entertainment), Victoria Cook (Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz), Liesl Copland (William Morris Endeavor), Eric d’Arbeloff (Roadside Attractions), Marian Koltai-Levine (PMK*BNC), Alex Kruglov (Hulu.com), Tim League (Alamo Drafthouse), Susan Margolin (New Video), Celine Rattray (Maven Pictures), John Sloss (Cinetic Media), Dan Steinman (Creative Artists Agency), Ricky Strauss (Participant Media) and Nancy Utley (Fox Searchlight). For a full list of panelists visit http://www.sundance.org/programs/creative-producing-summit/.
Sundance Institute receives major support for its Creative Producing Initiatives from B.Co., Cinereach Foundation, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, The Charles Engelhard Foundation, the Ford Foundation, The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Sheila C. Johnson, the Open Society Institute, SAGindie, the Skoll Foundation, and Sundial Pictures, LLC.
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Philippine Indie Film Director still drawing flak for comments that he hires theater actors because … you can pay them in cat food
The Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) is demanding an apology from independent film director Rafael Santos after the comments he made last month in an interview with ANC’s “Cityscape.”
In the interview, Santos reportedly said he usually gets theater actors because he “personally find[s] the theater actors are better to work with because they don’t complain.”
“You can feed them Skyflakes 3 meals a day and pay them in cat food basically,” he said.
“They’re never late. They cry when you want them to cry. ….. So that’s why I like working with theater people,” Santos added.
Santos is the director of the short film “Samarito,” which is an entry in this year’s Cinemalaya Film Festival, and stars theater actors.
Santos later apologized.
“I am truly sorry for the things I said especially because it is not what I think about theater actors. They are the best to work with and they do it for the passion of art,” he said.
Santos added that “the lesson here is awareness in what you will say because it can hurt.”
In an official statement PETA said theater actors do not deserve what Santos has said and that they “must be given due respect.”
PETA added that although they are aware that Santos already apologized to Cinemalaya about the incident, they still want “a public apology on television addressed directly to the theater community.”
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Great Date Movie! Delhi Belly-opening today
“Delhi Belly” is the hilarious, raunchy and new Bollywood Movie from director Abhinay Deo, starring international dream guy Imran Khan, along with Vir Das and Kunaal Roy Kapur playing his hapless yet sweet roommates.
In an almost old Hollywood twist of mistaken identity, and strange, missing bag of something mysterious (Drugs? Money? What?), “Delhi Belly” is really so much fun, like a sweeter, more Eastern version of a deft Judd Apatow film. This is also Bollywood-lite, low on the dance numbers and empty calories, and a great Western intro to the genre. Go, go, go! You and your Saturday night date will adore it. It has something for the girls and the guys, although it does get a bit audibly raunchy (the title is international slang for food poisoning.) Enjoy!
Tashi, Arup and Nitin – flatmates, buddies and partners in crime. Tashi is to get married in a month but still doesn’t know if his fiancé is THE ONE! Arup can’t make up his mind who he wants to kill first – his girlfriend who has just dumped him or his stupid, annoying boss whose idea of creativity is sketching a smiling banana! And Nitin is about to discover that eating delicious tandoori chicken off a street vendor is going to give him the worst case of Delhi Belly he’s ever known! Three regular blokes, living the regular life EXCEPT for one small detail – they are on the hit list of one of the world’s deadliest crime syndicates. Will they be able to get away before the ‘s#!t hits the roof’ and it comes crashing down?
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Azazel Jacobs’ New Film “Terri” Will Win Your Heart
“Terri,” the new film by Azazel Jacobs (“Momma’s Man”) starring John C. Reilly and newcomer Jacob Wysocki, is a wholly new and refreshing coming-of-age film.
Wysocki plays the lead character Terri Thompson in “Terri” ( a pretty astonishing star turn), an overweight high school student who is abandoned by his parents to his mentally flagging Uncle James (Creed Bratton of “The Office,” doing a complete and memorable 180 from anything we’ve seen him in) in a small, wooded Midwestern town. Like a blown-out breeze of a kid, Terry shlumps into class wearing only his pajamas, and can barely muster up the effort to care about the itinerant teasing and badgering gently yet deftly inflicted upon him by his classmates. The weight on his shoulders seems undefined yet pretty dense. Wysocki’s performance defines the film as a new type of teen movie- a mainstream film with actual teenagers in it- not at one extreme of the adorable, sassy extreme, or the wicked-slash-drug-doing-slash classic indie film-versionized other. Wysocki’s “fat kid” portrayal here is neither jolly or wisecracking nor self-loathing and hell-bent on destruction. He appears to be, quite simply, tired and bored- like most teenagers historically represent themselves. He is deadpan funny and gracefully enlightening in this exacting, momentous performance.
Jacobs has a keen way of filling us in on the details without telling us much- which is, quite happily for the audience, how one’s high school experience probably was for most of us. It works so very well here, his way of letting the film breathe, and just as we are getting a feeling of the movie’s off-kilter atmosphere, in strides John C. Reilly.
Who doesn’t love him, first of all? He can do no wrong, it seems, and casting Reilly, as Vice Principal “Mr. Fitzgerald,” was the perfect complement to a cast of characters that is rounded out only by their own sense of feeling terribly lost. Mr. Fitzgerald is someone who wants to make a difference, and does this by befriending and trying to become a defacto mentor to all of the misfits in the school. Soon, Fitzgerald is inviting Terri into his office for malted milk balls and guy talk. What happens may sound predictable, but in the hands of Reilly and Wysocki, something truly beautiful develops: A real friendship, with genuine give and take, and the realization that everyone, always, is forever growing up.
Bridger Zadina plays Chad- truly one of the sweetest, funniest and most oddball high school outcasts in recent cinematic history, and Olivia Crocicchia plays Heather, the object of first systematic lust, then derision, by the entire high school student body. Heather first comes across as every high school girl termed “slut” always does- oddly powerful and simultaneously powerless. The scene in the shed will leave many recalling how an innocent night can turn somehow oddly dangerous right after one hits puberty, and the turn the film takes is quickly brought back to life, just as soon as the characters sober up themselves. The film seems to have the steady heart of an actual life rhythm, and really is one of those films that leaves you guessing – is it Jacobs, the actors, the writing, or all three that pumps the life blood through it? Novelist Patrick DeWitt (author of “Ablutions” and “My Brothers Sisters”) turned in an amazing freshman effort here, and Jacobs himself told me that they were in constant communication as DeWitt turned in first pages. It all works perfectly well.
Not formally perfect, stylized or over-produced in the least, Terri is a movie to watch, enjoy and revel in. We will hopefully be seeing much more of Azazel Jacobs work in the future. Go and see this film this weekend. Vimooz highly recommends it…
Review by Francesca McCaffery
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Azazel Jacobs Talks About Directing His New Film “Terri” – Opening Today
Hello! Azazel, you’re in town (in NYC) for the BAM Festival?Yeah! It feels really nice. It’s the best way to kind of kind of home. You know, I live in Los Angeles now- so, to come home to New York, where my folks and friends are, where I was raised, and to have a film that’s being well received, it’s been really important to me. And it’s summer here!
Everyone is so curious about how you cast Jacob Wysocki (who plays Terri in the film), and how you found him. Was that pretty instantaneous?
No. We were lucky enough to be able to hire Nicole Arbusto and Joy Dickson before we had any real money for the film. We knew it was going to be a really long search to find the right Terri. So, one of the very things we did was hire the casting directors to start them on our search. I saw SO many talented kids, really, some very, very strong possibilities- for different Terris, different Chads, different Heathers (all lead characters in “Terri.”) But Jacob just brought in a kind of confidence that I thought would be very hard for a director to manifest. I kept calling him back in to read with this Heather, or that Chad, and it became really clear that he was the one.
He is pretty amazing in the film. Sort of a star turn, similar in a way to what “Rushmore” did for Jason Schwartzman.
And can you imagine going up against John (John C. Reilly, star of “Terri”) in your first film? I mean, John was the most experienced person on the set, you know- crew included! And then here’s this kid on his first movie, on his day- sitting in a room with John. And I’m watching him, and watching them push each other, in different ways…
Was Jacob a child actor?
No! He was a side character in the TV series “Huge,” and this was actually I think his very first audition for a film.
You originally planned to co-write this with the screenwriter Patrick DeWitt, who is also novelist?
I planned on co-writing it, but I ended up writing up so much less, I took my name off the credit. He came to me with these pages about a long, eternal monologue of this kid who wears pajamas, and comes to school every day in his pajamas-all these different issues. So, the idea was that we’d turn it, together, into a screenplay. So, he’d send me the first few pages every other day or so, and I was adding series of commas! I was doing nothing! So, I just let him go, and he came up with the script. It was great. (Patrick’s novels include “Ablutions” and “The Brothers Sisters.”)
Tell us about Creed Bratton, who plays Uncle James in “Terri.”
Total surprise! He was somebody that I was just so excited to meet, and to just be able to audition! When I saw he was coming in to read for Uncle James, you know, I’m a huge fan of “The Office,” so I was so thrilled. But I didn’t think he’d be our Uncle James right away. But he transformed himself during that audition. This was one of the best auditions I’ve ever seen. It became really clear.
Azazel, you have quite an interesting background. I know that your father is a pretty famous experimental filmmaker…
Famous among four people! (laughs.) That’s what he used to say to me and my sister growing up. We’d say: “You seem like people know who you are,” and he’s like,” I’m famous among four people.”
Was he a pretty profound influence on you growing up, as far as your artistic choices and leanings?
Yeah, I grew up extremely, extremely wealthy- obviously not money-wise, but just in terms of what my parents have offered me. In terms of telling me that what I thought about things was important, that what you make is important, and it can be. That art itself can be very important.
That’s pretty lucky…
I know. It is lucky. It’s a good weight to have. It doesn’t allow me to come up with easy excuses to doing things I don’t believe in, you know? I mean, I’ve obviously had to make a living, and sometimes work on things that I don’t care for as much as my own stuff. But when it comes to my own work, it’s a nice pressure to have.
That’s fantastic. As a little aside, I read that you were obsessed of Joe Strummer of the Clash?
I was, and I am! If there’s any way I can steer this conversation to talking about Strummer, I’m all for it.
Okay, I have an idea. The film is about, in a way, bullying in different forms. I heard you were a bit of a “punk rock bully” in high school. Is that true?
(Laughs.) You know, well, I was one of those bullies that would hide behind other people, not start trouble or anything. But that really was my way into Terri. Because I know if Terri had gone to my school, I would have been one of those kids who would have just kind of seen him as something to make fun of. It sucks. I was a fucking idiot! But I feel for them (the bullies) as well. During those trying teenage years, you can’t control what’s going on, both internally or externally. It’s not an excuse, but it’s a reality.
The one scene with Heather and Chad near the end is incredible. It reminds me of something strange that may actually happen to someone in high school, rather than what we normally see on film. Did that come from any direct experience?
Absolutely! I mean, I felt like if there was anything that I could offer in making a coming-of-age movie, it would be a different depiction than what I’ve seen of those long, (high school era) nights depicted on film. I knew the movie as a whole, but I also know that when we get to that scene- that scene is something different. I thought, if everything that preceded it led me to this place (in the film), than there’s something really valuable here going on here.
That’s also quite a delicate scene. How was that handled?
Yeah, I was scared sick about that scene! Because it’s one of those scenes that you do not want to mess up. It’s so impossible to get the most skilled actors to depict being under the influence in any kind of honest way. And then to have these kids, who have all different varying degrees of experience. Bridger Zadina (who plays Chad in “Terri”) had to Google “being drunk” to even play it! He’d never drunk anything before! They were definitely all really stretching- these characters weren’t them at all. But we saved that scene for last. And it kind of gave us the ability to have built up a trust between all of us- with me as director, and each other as actors to director. The producers really gave us enough time. They gave us enough time to go into that shed, and to not emerge until we had that scene.
Congratulations again on the film. It’s really wonderful.
Thanks! Wait, did we figure out to get the Clash in?
Go ahead!
I’ll tell you this. I went to see him (Joe Strummer of the Clash) when I was nine. I slept overnight to see them in ’82. And it comes in waves (the obsession) . Now that the film is being released, and I need all the strength, and all the courage cause I went this film to go out and do well…. I’ve just been listening non, non-stop to the Clash! It’s been a great comfort.
You can rest pretty easy, I think! Thank you so much, Azazel. it was a real pleasure.
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Russian Film ‘Silent Souls’ to open Sept. 16 in NYC; Releases Controversial Picture
Silent Souls, a film by Russian director, Aleksei Fedorchenko, and an offficial Selection at 2010 New York, Toronto and Venice film festivals, will open at Angelika Film Center in New York on Friday, September 16, and at Laemmle Theaters in Los Angeles at the end of September. Other cities will follow.
When Miron’s beloved wife Tanya passes away, he asks his best friend Aist to help him say goodbye to her according to the rituals of the Merja culture, an ancient Finno-Ugric tribe from Lake Nero, a picturesque region in West-Central Russia. Although the Merja people assimilated into Russians in the 17th century, their myths and traditions live on in their descendants’ modern life.
The two men set out on a road trip thousands of miles across the boundless land, with them, two small birds in a cage. Along the way, as is custom for the Merjans, Miron shares intimate memories of his conjugal life. But as they reach the banks of the sacred lake where they will forever part with the body, he realizes he wasn’t the only one in love with Tanya…
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False Evacuation at LA Film Festival’s Closing Night Screening of “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark”- Starring Katie Holmes
Guests at the LA Film Festival’s Closing Night Screening of co-writer/producer’s Guillermo del Toro’s new thriller “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark,” starring Katie Holmes and Guy Pearce, were scared by more than just the film itself: Festival-goers actually had to actually leave the screening briefly (during a pivotal point on the horror film!) after wailing alarms and a recording told them that it was an “emergency,” and they had to evacuate immediately.
Del Toro was overheard to have been much more riled about the film’s R rating, although the film was, by all accounts, pretty scary. (A young girl is tortured by scary creatures in a scary house. Jeez!) Apparently, it was not Holmes’ acting, but rather, simply a glitch in poor Regal LA Live’s Theatre’s alarm system which drove the guests quickly into the theatre lobby.
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Dabangg (Fearless) is big winner at 12th International India Film Academy
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Dabangg (Fearless)[/caption]Dabangg (Fearless) was the big winner at the 12th International India Film Academy (IIFA) awards ceremony held in Toronto, Canada on Saturday night.
The Hollywood Reported, reported that Dabangg won for best film and took home three of the four major music awards: best male playback singer for Rahat Ali Fateh Khan for the song “Tere mast mast do nain,” best music director shared by Sajid Wajid and Lalit Pandit, and the best female playback singer trophy went to Mamta Sharma for the song “Munni badnam hui.” Also for Dabangg, the best screenplay trophy went to Abhinav Kashyap and Dilip Shukla, while Sonakshi Sinha earned the female debut award for her star-turn in the hit Bollywood film.
The list of the winners of the 2011 IIFA Awards:
Best Film
Dabangg
Best Direction
Karan Johar (My Name Is Khan)
Leading Role Male
Shahrukh Khan (My Name Is Khan)
Leading Role Female
Anushka Sharma (Band Baaja Baaraat)
Supporting Role Male
Arjun Rampal (Raajneeti)
Supporting Role Female
Prachi Desai (Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai)
Comic Role
Riteish Deshmukh (Housefull)
Negative Role
Sonu Sood (Dabangg)
Debut Male
Ranveer Singh
Debut Female
Sonakshi Sinah (Dabangg)
Best Story
Shibani Bhatija (My Name Is Khan)
Screenplay
Dilip Shukla, Abhinav Kashyap (Dabangg)
Dialogue
Vishal Bhardwaj (Ishqiya)
Music Direction
Sajid – Wajid & Lalit Pandit (Dabangg)
Lyrics
Niranjan Iyengar (My Name Is Khan – Sajdaa)
Playback Singer Male
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan (Dabangg – Tere Mast Mast Do Nain)
Playback Singer Female
Mamta Sharma (Dabangg – Munni Badnam)
Outstanding Achievement in International Cinema
Irrfan Khan
Lifetime Achievement Award
Asha Bhonsle
Outstanding Contribution to Indian cinema
Dharmendra (50 years in cinema)
Outstanding Achievement in Indian cinema
Sharmila Tagore
Best On-Screen Jodi
Anuksha Sharma and Ranveer Singh (Band Baaja Baaraat)
Special ‘Green’ Award
Priyanka Chopra
Best Editing
Namrata Rao
Band Baaja Baaraat
Best Sound Recording
Pritam Das
Love Sex aur Dhokha
Best Sound Re-recording
Leslie Fernandes
Dabangg
Best Special Effects
V. Srinivas Mohan
Robot
Best Art Direction
Sabu Cyril
Robot
Best Cinematography
Sudeep Chatterjee
Guzaarish
Best Dialogue
Vishal Bharadwaj
Ishqiya
Best Costume
Niharika Khan
Band Baaja Baaraat
Best Make-up
Banu
Robot
Best Screenplay
Abhinav Kashyap, Dileep Shukla
Dabangg
Best Choreography
Farah Khan
Dabangg
Best Action
Master Vijayan
Dabangg
Best Story
Shibani Bhattija
My Name Is Khan
Best Background Score
Shankar Ehsaan Loy
My Name Is Khan
Best Music
Sajid – Wajid
Dabangg
Best Lyrics
Niranjan Iyengar
My Name Is Khan
Best Playback Singer (Male)
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan
Dabangg
Best Playback Singer (Female)
Mamta Sharma
Dabangg
Debutant Star Award (Male)
Ranveer Singh
Band Baaja Baaraat
Debutant Star Award (Female)
Sonakshi Sinha
Dabangg
Best Performance in a Comic Role
Ritesh Deshmukh
House Full
Best Performance in a Negative Role
Sonu Sood
Dabangg
Best Performance in a Supporting Role (Female)
Prachi Desai |
Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai
Best Performance in a Supporting Role (Male)
Arjun Rampal
Raajneeti
Lifetime Achievement Award
Dharmendra
[via india-spicy]
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Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Extend Invitations to 178 New Membes
[caption id="attachment_1471" align="alignnone" width="550"]
Anthony Mackie in [/caption]The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has extending invitations to join the organization to 178 artists and executives who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures. Those who accept the invitation will be the only additions in 2011 to the Academy’s roster of members.
“These individuals are among the best filmmakers working in the industry today,” said Academy President Tom Sherak. “Their talent and creativity have entertained moviegoers around the world, and I welcome each of them to our ranks.”
The Academy’s membership policies would have allowed a maximum of 211 new members in 2011, but as in other recent years, several branch committees endorsed fewer candidates than were proposed to them. Voting membership in the organization has now held steady at just under 6,000 members since 2003.
In an unprecedented gesture, the list of new members includes documentary filmmaker Tim Hetherington, who was killed in action in Libya in April. Hetherington had been a 2010 nominee for his film “Restrepo,” but died prior to the Academy’s spring meetings to select new members. The Documentary Branch proposed that Hetherington’s name be included among the year’s invitees. The governors agreed.
The 2011 invitees are:
Actors
Russell Brand – “Arthur,” “Get Him to the Greek”
Gerard Butler – “The Ugly Truth,” “300”
Vincent Cassel – “Black Swan,” “Eastern Promises”
Robbie Coltrane – “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1,” “Mona Lisa”
Bradley Cooper – “Limitless,” “The Hangover”
John Corbett – “Sex and the City 2,” “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”
Rosemarie DeWitt – “The Company Men,” “Rachel Getting Married”
Peter Dinklage – “Find Me Guilty,” “The Station Agent”
David Duchovny – “Things We Lost in the Fire,” “The X-Files”
Jesse Eisenberg – “The Social Network,” “The Squid and the Whale”
Jennifer Garner – “Arthur,” “Juno”
John Hawkes – “Winter’s Bone,” “The Perfect Storm”
Thomas Jane – “The Mist,” “The Thin Red Line”
Nastassja Kinski – “An American Rhapsody,” “Tess”
Beyonce Knowles – “Dreamgirls,” “Austin Powers in Goldmember”
Mila Kunis – “Black Swan,” “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”
Jennifer Lawrence – “Winter’s Bone,” “The Burning Plain”
Tea Leoni – “Ghost Town,” “Spanglish”
Anthony Mackie – “The Hurt Locker,” “Million Dollar Baby”
Lesley Manville – “Another Year,” “Topsy-Turvy”
Rooney Mara – “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” “The Social Network”
Dominic Monaghan – “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”
Connie Nielsen – “Brothers,” “Gladiator”
Ellen Page – “Inception,” “Juno”
Wes Studi – “Avatar,” “The Last of the Mohicans”
Mia Wasikowska – “Jane Eyre,” “The Kids Are All Right”
Jacki Weaver – “Animal Kingdom,” “Cosi”
Animators
Geefwee Boedoe – “Let’s Pollute,” “Monsters, Inc.”
Alessandro Carloni – “How to Train Your Dragon,” “Over the Hedge”
Sylvain Chomet – “The Illusionist,” “The Triplets of Belleville”
Jakob Hjort Jensen – “How to Train Your Dragon,” “Flushed Away”
Biljana Labovic – “The Cow Who Wanted to Be a Hamburger,” “Idiots and Angels”
Tomm Moore – “The Secret of Kells,” “Backwards Boy”
Teddy Newton – “Day & Night,” “Ratatouille”
Bob Peterson – “Up,” “Finding Nemo” (also invited to the Writers Branch)
Javier Recio Gracia – “The Lady and the Reaper,” “The Missing Lynx”
Andrew Ruhemann – “The Lost Thing,” “City Paradise”
Kristof Serrand – “How to Train Your Dragon,” “Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas”
Shaun Tan – “The Lost Thing,” “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!”
Simon Wells – “Mars Needs Moms,” “The Prince of Egypt”Art Directors
Anahid Nazarian – “The Virgin Suicides,” “The Godfather, Part III”
Lauren E. Polizzi – “Cowboys & Aliens,” “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”At-Large
George Aguilar
Barry Bernardi
Christopher Dodd
Ted Gagliano
James L. Honore
Dawn Hudson
Beverly Pasterczyk
Randall Poster
Ric Robertson
David Schnuelle
Randy Spendlove
Beverly Joanna WoodCasting Directors
Nina Gold – “The King’s Speech,” “Jane Eyre”
Jina Jay – “The Reader,” “Layer Cake”
Lora Kennedy – “The Town,” “Syriana”Cinematographers
Frank Byers – “Illegal Tender,” “Boxing Helena”
Patrick Cady – “Lottery Ticket,” “Broken Bridges”
Danny Cohen – “The King’s Speech,” “Pirate Radio”
Lukas Ettlin – “The Lincoln Lawyer,” “Middle Men”
Steven Fierberg – “Love & Other Drugs,” “Secretary”
Barry Markowitz – “Crazy Heart,” “Sling Blade”
Charles Minsky – “Valentine’s Day,” “Pretty Woman”
Lawrence Sher – “The Hangover,” “Garden State”
Eric Steelberg – “Up in the Air,” “(500) Days of Summer”Costume Designers
Odile Dicks-Mireaux – “An Education,” “The Constant Gardener”
Sarah Edwards – “Salt,” “Michael Clayton”
Danny Glicker – “Up in the Air,” “Milk”Directors
Gregg Araki – “Kaboom,” “Nowhere”
Susanne Bier – “In a Better World,” “After the Wedding”
Neil Burger – “Limitless,” “The Illusionist”
Lisa Cholodenko – “The Kids Are All Right,” “Laurel Canyon” (also invited to the Writers Branch)
Debra Granik – “Winter’s Bone,” “Down to the Bone” (also invited to the Writers Branch)
Tom Hooper – “The King’s Speech,” “The Damned United”
John Cameron Mitchell – “Rabbit Hole,” “Shortbus”
Yojiro Takita – “Departures,” “Himitsu”
Documentary
Jon Alpert – “China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province,” “Lock-up: The Prisoners
of Rikers Island”
Amir Bar-Lev – “The Tillman Story,” “Fighter”
Lesley Chilcott – “Waiting for ‘Superman’,” “It Might Get Loud”
Carl Deal – “Capitalism: A Love Story,” “Trouble the Water”
Charles Ferguson – “Inside Job,” “No End in Sight”
Tim Hetherington – “Restrepo” (posthumous)
Sebastian Junger – “Restrepo”
Thomas Lennon – “The Warriors of Qiugang,” “The Blood of Yingzhou District”
Diane Weyermann – “Waiting for ‘Superman’,” “Food, Inc.”
Ruby Yang – “The Blood of Yingzhou District,” “The Warriors of Qiugang”Executives
William J. Damaschke
Richard M. Fay
Donna Langley
Leslie Moonves
Vanessa L. Morrison
Bill Pohlad
Rich Ross
Jeff Small
Thomas TullFilm Editors
Tariq Anwar – “The King’s Speech,” “American Beauty”
Naomi Geraghty – “Limitless,” “Reservation Road”
Jon Harris – “127 Hours,” “Layer Cake”
Darren Holmes – “How to Train Your Dragon,” “The Iron Giant”
Pamela Martin – “The Fighter,” “Little Miss Sunshine”
Joel Negron – “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” “The Karate Kid”
Terilyn A. Shropshire – “Jumping the Broom,” “Eve’s Bayou”
Angus Wall – “The Social Network,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Andrew Weisblum – “The Black Swan,” “The Wrestler”Live Action Short Films
Luke Matheny – “God of Love,” “Earano”
Makeup Artists and Hairstylists
Judy Chin – “Black Swan,” “Requiem for a Dream”
Kathrine Gordon – “3:10 to Yuma,” “Ocean’s Eleven”
Trefor Proud – “W.,” “Topsy-Turvy”
Cindy Jane Williams – “Burlesque,” “Hancock”
Wesley Wofford – “Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son,” “A Beautiful Mind”Music
Terence Blanchard – “Inside Man,” “Malcolm X”
Fernand Bos – “Crazy Heart,” “Cold Mountain”
Graeme Revell – “Darfur Now,” “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider”Producers
Iain Canning – “Oranges and Sunshine,” “The King’s Speech”
Cean Chaffin – “The Social Network,” “Fight Club”
Kevin Feige – “Thor,” “Iron Man”
Gary Goetzman – “Where the Wild Things Are,” “Mamma Mia!”
Sisse Graum Jorgensen – “In a Better World,” “After the Wedding”
Jeffrey Levy-Hinte – “The Kids Are All Right,” “Laurel Canyon”
Todd Lieberman – “The Fighter,” “The Proposal”
Robert Lorenz – “Letters from Iwo Jima,” “Mystic River”
Celine Rattray – “The Kids Are All Right,” “Grace Is Gone”
Emile Sherman – “The King’s Speech,” “Candy”
Emma Thomas – “Inception,” “The Dark Knight”
Gareth Unwin – “The King’s Speech,” “Exam”Production Designers
Howard Cummings – “I Love You, Beth Cooper,” “John Grisham’s The Rainmaker”
Therese DePrez – “Black Swan,” “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days”
Guy Hendrix Dyas – “Inception,” “The Brothers Grimm”
Jess Gonchor – “True Grit,” “Capote”
Jane Musky – “Something Borrowed,” “Finding Forrester”
Eve Stewart – “The King’s Speech,” “Topsy-Turvy”Public Relations
Susan Ciccone
Alissa Grayson
Jeffrey Hall
Jill Ann Jones
Mark Markline
Carmelo Pirrone
Ira Rubenstein
David Schneiderman
Loren Schwartz
Lance VollandSet Decorators
Judy Farr – “The King’s Speech,” “Death at a Funeral”
Gene Serdena – “The Fighter,” “House of Sand and Fog”
Sound
Andrew DeCristofaro – “Hall Pass,” “Crazy Heart”
Joe Dorn – “The Wolfman,” “Spider-Man 3”
Marc Fishman – “Bridesmaids,” “Crash”
Lora Hirschberg – “Inception,” “The Dark Knight”
Chris Jargo – “Robin Hood,” “American Gangster”
John Midgley – “The King’s Speech,” “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace”
Ed Novick – “Inception,” “The Dark Knight”
Hammond Peek – “King Kong,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”
Brian Vessa – “Nemesis,” “Lambada”
Mark Weingarten – “The Social Network,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”Visual Effects
Tim Alexander – “Rango,” “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”
Rob Bredow – “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” “The Polar Express”
Tim Burke – “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1,” “Gladiator”
Peter Chesney – “No Country for Old Men,” “Men in Black”
Paul Franklin – “Inception,” “The Dark Knight”
Kevin Tod Haug – “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,” “Quantum of Solace”
Florian Kainz – “Mission: Impossible III,” “The Perfect Storm”
Marshall Krasser – “Iron Man 2,” “Titanic”
Sean Phillips – “Alice in Wonderland,” “The Polar Express”
Peter G. Travers – “Watchmen,” “The Matrix Reloaded”
Brian Van’t Hul – “Coraline,” “I, Robot”
Mark H. Weingartner – “Sex and the City 2,” “Inception”Writers
Stuart Blumberg – “The Kids Are All Right,” “Keeping the Faith”
Lisa Cholodenko – “The Kids Are All Right,” “Laurel Canyon” (also invited to the Directors Branch)
Debra Granik – “Winter’s Bone,” “Down to the Bone” (also invited to the Directors Branch)
Karen McCullah Lutz – “The Ugly Truth,” “Legally Blonde”
Aline Brosh McKenna – “27 Dresses,” “The Devil Wears Prada”
Bob Peterson – “Up,” “Finding Nemo” (also invited to the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch)
David Rabe – “The Firm,” “Casualties of War”
Anne Rosellini – “Winter’s Bone”
David Seidler – “The King’s Speech,” “The King & I”
Scott Silver – “The Fighter,” “8 Mile”
Kirsten Smith – “The Ugly Truth,” “Legally Blonde”
Aaron Sorkin – “The Social Network,” “A Few Good Men”
Daniel Waters – “Batman Returns,” “Heathers”Additionally, the Academy invited John Coffey, Risa Gertner and Robert C. Rosenthal to Associate membership. Associate members are not represented on the Board and do not have Academy Awards® voting privileges.
source: AMPAS
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Academy Shakes Up Best Picture Rules Again
The governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted on Tuesday (6/14) to add a new twist to the 2011 Best Picture competition, and a new element of surprise to its annual nominations announcement. The Board voted to institute a system that will now produce anywhere between five and 10 nominees in the category. That number won’t be announced until the Best Picture nominees themselves are revealed at the January nominations announcement.
“With the help of PricewaterhouseCoopers, we’ve been looking not just at what happened over the past two years, but at what would have happened if we had been selecting 10 nominees for the past 10 years,” explained Academy President Tom Sherak, who noted that it was retiring Academy executive director Bruce Davis who recommended the change first to Sherak and incoming CEO Dawn Hudson and then to the governors.
During the period studied, the average percentage of first place votes received by the top vote-getting movie was 20.5. After much analysis by Academy officials, it was determined that 5% of first place votes should be the minimum in order to receive a nomination, resulting in a slate of anywhere from five to 10 movies.
“In studying the data, what stood out was that Academy members had regularly shown a strong admiration for more than five movies,” said Davis. “A Best Picture nomination should be an indication of extraordinary merit. If there are only eight pictures that truly earn that honor in a given year, we shouldn’t feel an obligation to round out the number.”
If this system had been in effect from 2001 to 2008 (before the expansion to a slate of 10), there would have been years that yielded 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 nominees.
The final round of voting for Best Picture will continue to employ the preferential system, regardless of the number of nominees, to ensure that the winning picture has the endorsement of more than half of the voters.
Other rules changes approved by the Board include:
In the animated feature film category, the need for the Board to vote to “activate” the category each year was eliminated, though a minimum number of eligible releases – eight – is still required for a competitive category. Additionally, the short films and feature animation branch recommended, and the Board approved, refinements to the number of possible nominees in the Animated Feature category. In any year in which eight to 12 animated features are released, either two or three of them may be nominated. When 13 to 15 films are released, a maximum of four may be nominated, and when 16 or more animated features are released, a maximum of five may be nominated.
In the visual effects category, the “bakeoff” at which the nominees are determined will expand from seven to 10 contenders. The increase in the number of participants is related to a change made last year in which the number of films nominated in the visual effects category was increased from three to five.
Previously, the Board approved changes to the documentary feature and documentary short category rules that now put those categories’ eligibility periods in line with the calendar year and thus with most other awards categories. The change means that for the 84th Awards cycle only, the eligibility period is more than 12 months; it is from September 1, 2010 to December 31, 2011.
Other modifications of the 84th Academy Awards rules include normal date changes and minor “housekeeping” changes.
Rules are reviewed annually by individual branch and category committees. The Awards Rules Committee then reviews all proposed changes before presenting its recommendations to the Academy’s Board of Governors for approval.
The 84th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 24, 2012, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.
Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.[ press release via AMPAS ]