Category: Independent Film

10 Years Ago…A Family Odyssey (part 3)

Part 1 of this article can be found here, and part 2 can be found here.

Day Three: Thursday September 13, 2001

When I awoke the next morning, Beth was already out and about. I went off to deliver the 35mm print of “Ball in the House” and to arrange for a tech check later in the day. The streets in Toronto’s Yorkville neighborhood were not bustling the way they usually are in the middle of the festival. Walking back to the hotel, I ran into Paul Cohen, then the head of Manhattan Pictures. He greeted me with “Have you found a way back to New York yet?” I responded, “I just got here last night.” He said “You’re kidding.” I explained that I had driven up to deliver the print and to premiere my film. He informed me that all the Americans at the festival were gone already or were desperately trying to get home, by whatever means necessary. My heart sank as I realized that whatever hopes we had of making a distribution deal on the film at the festival were pretty much over.

I found Beth back in the hotel room with the kids. She told me she had gotten up early and gone into the underground shopping mall that lies beneath the Marriott to get coffee. She bought a local newspaper, sat down with her coffee and as she started reading, she began to cry. That newspaper was to be the beginning of a collection of local newspapers that she began to acquire as we continued our trip. Continue reading “10 Years Ago…A Family Odyssey (part 3)”

10 Years Ago…A Family Odyssey (part 2)

Part 1 of this article can be found here.

Day Two: Wednesday September 12, 2001

When morning arrived, the apartment started to empty out. Subway service had been partially restored, and there was now a way for everyone to get home. Everyone, that is, except for Laura and her kids. Their Tribeca loft was still in a cordoned off zone, and it was unclear how much longer she would be kept from going home.

The phone rang, and it was a perfect stranger. This person wanted to reach out to a New Yorker to express her solidarity, so she dialed 212 and then her own phone number, hoping to reach someone that way. I thanked her for her good wishes, and it crossed my mind that this was the first time I had ever experienced being considered a “victim.” Continue reading “10 Years Ago…A Family Odyssey (part 2)”

10 Years Ago…A Family Odyssey

Day One: Tuesday September 11, 2001

It was one of those glorious mornings that the weathermen on TV refer to as “one of the top 10 days of the year.” There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and there was a hint of autumn in the air. The light was crystalline, with every detail in sharp relief.

Beth and I awoke with a lot on our minds.

It was the first day of school for our daughter Emily, who was entering the 10th grade.  Our son Jeff was already packed in preparation for his first year of college at Northwestern; he was to fly to Chicago with Beth on Friday. I was about to meet up with my producing partner Stephen Dyer to fly to Toronto for the world premiere of our film “Ball in the House.” It was also Election Day.

My bag was packed and sat in the foyer by the front door of our apartment on the Upper West Side, as I headed out to the polling place down the block. As I was leaving the building, the doorman said, “Did you hear? A plane flew into the World Trade Center.” I turned to him and nodded. I didn’t think much of it, since I knew that over the years, a number of planes had flown into the Empire State Building. I pictured a small Cesna crumpled against the building. Continue reading “10 Years Ago…A Family Odyssey”

More from the Traverse City Film Festival

Here’s a fun video from the Traverse City Film Festival. It’s the “Traverse City Lipdub.” I don’t know if you’ve ever encountered this phenomenon, but it seems to have caught on at college campuses, especially in the midwest. Just try searching for the word “lipdub” and you’ll see. This one is particularly well done. It shows off all the highlights of Traverse City, starting at Michael Moore’s theater, continuing up Front Street and ending up at the all the recreational areas on the shores of Lake Michigan. It also stars what seems to be the entire population of the city. Enjoy!

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Interviewing Elmo

Just got back from the Traverse City Film Festival, Michael Moore’s exemplary use of film exhibition to educate, enlighten and grow a community. Michael and the festival’s incredible Executive Director Deb Lake, asked me to moderate Q&As and panels, and I was glad to oblige. The filmmakers and audiences were enthusiastic and made for a number of great events. My personal favorite was a panel discussion with the entire filmmaking team behind the film “Being Elmo,” the story of Kevin Clash, the man who created the Elmo character on “Sesame Street.” Here is a quick snippet of a moment in the panel, when I actually got to interview Elmo. This was recorded by a cell phone in the front row, so forgive the sound quality.

If you want to hear the entire panel (with great sound quality), it is also available below (courtesy of Interlochen NPR Radio).

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Looking Back at the Last 15 Years of Distribution

The video below is of a panel that I participated in last weekend at the Film Society of Lincoln Center. It was in honor of the 15th anniversary of indieWIRE and the idea was to reflect on the changes that the film distribution business has undergone during that 15 year period. In spite of the large number of people on the panel, a lot of information was discussed. It was fun seeing all these people in one place (and several other prominent folks in the audience) especially because we’ve all worked together at one time or another. Anyway, enjoy!

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Marty Zeidman – A Small Tribute

This past Sunday morning, was the memorial service for Marty Zeidman at the Landmark Sunshine Theater in Manhattan. For those of you who didn’t know Marty, he was a very well-liked and respected film distribution guy, who is commonly credited as having helped to bring independent films more into the mainstream.

Back when I was at Fine Line, I was increasingly frustrated by the fact that New Line distribution, which was handling Fine Line’s films, was sacrificing our product in order to placate their big chain customers. In other words, our films were booked into the wrong types of theaters so that New Line could get “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3” on the right screens. I finally convinced the powers that be that we should take distribution in house, and I put out the word out on the street that I was looking for someone to run it. Bert Manzari, then of Landmark Theaters, called me to suggest that I talk to Marty Zeidman, who had recently left Miramax. Continue reading “Marty Zeidman – A Small Tribute”

Kickstarter Project Support

Like many of you, I have mixed feelings about Kickstarter campaigns that are helping to finance micro-budgeted films. On the one hand, it’s great that so many projects are finding the necessary financing through this simple, but apparently effective mechanism. On the other hand, I am inundated with requests to donate by the many people I have encountered in my years in the business. I simply cannot afford to donate to every film that comes along, and I don’t want to have to spend the time evaluating the projects, or the emotional stress of choosing among friends.

Therefore, I have decided that the way I will help support these projects is to dedicate some small amount of real estate on this web site to support one project at a time. As soon as each project’s deadline passes, I will replace it with another. By focusing on one project at a time, I will hopefully help a worthy film get off the ground.

Right now, I’m helping to promote a documentary called “Growing Small.” You can learn more about it by checking it out in the right hand column—>

If you want to be next, just drop me a line by clicking here. Please don’t Facebook me, or Google+ me or email me bat my business address. Just use the designated link above. Don’t expect any acknowledgement or discussion. Whatever somehow strikes my fancy will end up being promoted here for a period of time. It’s a very small contribution, but makes me feel like I can do a little something to help.

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Tech Test Completed

Check this out…We just completed a test of the technology we are using to do a live Q&A with participants in the UK and Australia, that will be broadcast live into Emerging Cinemas venues this Saturday morning. The film is “Third Star,” which will be screened at 11am Eastern time as part of the “From Britain With Love” series, followed by the Q&A with the director from Sydney and one of the cast members and the writer from London. In NY the screening will be at the new Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center. For other locations, check out the Emerging Cinemas web site. Or if you can’t make it to the theaters, you can watch the Q&A live at www.tinyurl.com/britfilmlive at approximately 12:40.

Here’s what the test looked like. That’s me standing in for the director.

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A Theatrical Showcase Points the Way

For a very long time, I’ve been proselytizing to just about anyone who would listen about how digital projection could change the way we think about a theatrical release. While most people in the industry focus on cost savings, which can be substantial over time, I’ve been fascinated with the disruptive element–the fact that our entire notion of what constitutes the traditional theatrical model has been built around the economics of shipping these precious items called “prints” around. These assets, once bought, beg to be used as often as possible to justify their cost. Yet, every time the print is run through a projector it is deteriorating, and constantly at risk of being severely damaged. Switching from one film to another in the projection booth is a clunky process of splicing and unsplicing reels, subjecting the prints to even further potential damage. It’s not for nothing that the budgets for theatrical release are called P&A, indicating that the budget for prints has a prominence that is equal to or greater than any other part of the distribution budget. Continue reading “A Theatrical Showcase Points the Way”