Category: Independent Film

The Digital Transition & What It Means for Indies

With more and more studios moving away from 35mm prints, can art house cinema survive in a digital world?

This article was originally published on the Tribeca Future of Film web site, and was reprinted at Thompson on Film, among other sites. However, I decided to post it here as well, to make it easier to find and for archival purposes.

That sound you’ve been hearing over the last month that resembles the  opening strains of the soundtrack from Jaws is a collective moan from  true independent distributors and the mission-driven exhibitors who play  their films. The catalyst for this distress was a letter from Fox  Searchlight, which is now widely referred to as “the Searchlight  letter.” Continue reading “The Digital Transition & What It Means for Indies”

Let’s Finish the Oscar Doc Overhaul

When AMPAS announced its new documentary rules this week, I thought the idea of having a New York Times or Los Angeles Times review be a qualification for the Oscars was a good idea. Putting outsiders who have no stake in the results in a position of defining what is considered “theatrical” is a brilliant stroke. This is especially true of the New York Times, which has a commitment to review everything that plays a full week run in New York City. Their definition of a theatrical run has included venues like MOMA and films that have opened day & date on VOD, so this should not be a difficult obstacle for any film that mounts a real theatrical release.

On the other hand, there is still an obstacle created by the rules that I strongly feel is not only unnecessary, but is destructive to the integrity of the award. Earlier today I expressed my displeasure in two tweets and the reaction was so strong that I felt that I should use more than 140 characters to flesh out what I was referring to. The tweets were as follows:

In case you didn’t know, @MMFlint is Michael Moore, who has been credited with influencing the Academy’s change of rules.

The problem I am referring to is something that I have been preaching for a long time. Continue reading “Let’s Finish the Oscar Doc Overhaul”

The 10 Best Films of 2011 (in my humble opinion)

After gorging on films over the last few weeks, and having seen a larger number of films at festivals than has been the case in recent years, I feel somewhat qualified to offer up a ten best list. The following is in approximate order of preference.

1. The Descendants: It’s been a long time since I’ve been so moved by a film that I have gone to see it multiple times. The film’s portrayal of a family in crisis is as realistic as anything I’ve ever seen on film. And even though the surface level of the story is what one might call depressing, underneath it is a life-affirming exploration of the regret we all feel at momentous times in our lives. This is not only Alexander Paine’s most fully realized film, it is also George Clooney’s most nuanced performance. It’s far more entertaining than it has any right to be.

2. The Interrupters: Arguably a better film than “Hoop Dreams.” Now, with two masterpieces under his belt, Steve James rises to the first ranks of documentarians. Continue reading “The 10 Best Films of 2011 (in my humble opinion)”

Catching Pitches in Beijing

Just got back from Beijing, where I participated in a series of seminars for film students from all over Asia. The seminars were co-sponsored by the Motion Picture Association and the CICE (China International Copyright Expo?), and consisted of three days of information exchanged about story structure, development processes, career advice and more. One of my presentations was the use of social media to create a fan base, and although all the U.S. social media sites are blocked in China, I was told that there are local equivalents that can be used in the same ways. The seminars ended with a pitching contest, judged by the international panel of presenters, which included Bec Smith of UTA, Former AMPAS President Sid Ganis, Jon Kuyper of Warner Brothers,  screenwriting teacher David Freeman, Lora Chen, who is principal consultant at China Media Consulting and a teacher at Beijing Film Academy, L.A. Lawyer Harris Tulchin, Tropfest founder John Polson and multi-hyphenate Pauline Chan among others.

It was great fun to hear the stories from these smart and ambitious students, and I can only hope that we were of some help to them. Below is a photo of the whole gang.

 

The Art House Convergence

Here is a video created by Doug Tirola and his team at 4th Row Films for the Art House Convergence. For those of you who don’t know, this is an organization of all the mission-driven art houses from around the country every year. It’s one of my favorite events because I get to hang out with other folks who are devoted to showing movies of all types on the big screen. I’m looking forward to being there again this coming January. If you are involved with a local art house, you should be there too! Oh, and extra points if you can find me in my little cameo, being my usual cynical self.


 

Comments after the break… Continue reading “The Art House Convergence”

Let River Rest in Peace

It was a Sunday morning, and I was making breakfast for the kids, sipping on a cup of coffee and flipping the french toast. The home phone rang (this was before everyone had a cell phone) and it was Nik Powell, the British producer.

It was surprising to hear from Nik on a weekend, even though we were in the process of working on a film together. I rested the phone on my shoulder and continued making breakfast. The conversation went something like this…

NIK
Are you sitting down?

ME
Nope. What’s up?

NIK
River’s dead.

ME
You’re kidding.

NIK
No.

Nik filled me in on the horrible details. River Phoenix, one of the stars of the film “Dark Blood,” which Nik was producing and my company, Fine Line, had co-financed, had died of a drug overdose. Continue reading “Let River Rest in Peace”

Master Class: Independent Film Financing

Last week, I moderated a master class on Independent Film Financing at the IFP’s Independent Film Conference. The panelists were Nekisa Cooper, producer of “Pariah,” Philipp Engelhorn, founder of Cinereach, Pat Kaufman, the Executive Director of the New York State Film Office, Richard Sheehan from HSBC Bank and Jonathan Gray, Senior Partner at Gray Krauss Des Rochers. It turned out to be an interesting overview of how to piece together financing in the current environment. I only wish it had lasted longer. You can read more about it at indieWIRE.

10 Years Ago…A Family Odyssey (Final Chapter)

This is the final post of a series. You can find the other parts at Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4

Conclusion:

It was with a combination of hope and fear that we approached the George Washington Bridge. The first sign of the new world we had entered was the substantial police presence at the toll plaza.

Then from the bridge, we got our first glimpse of the new skyline. Beth recalls it being like a blow to the solar plexus. We were both getting choked up. Beth started to cry.

Entering our apartment provided a sense of security that only “home” can provide, no matter that everything outside was now different.

But our little adventure was over. Our hurried trip as a family to Toronto, Chicago and back had served many purposes. Born out of the perceived need to deliver a film print and to deliver our son to college, it turned into a family catharsis. We were able to work through our anger, our fears and a whole host of other issues, and to do it as a family. By staying together, we instinctively knew that whatever was to come, we would deal with it… together. And by staying on the move, we avoided sitting in front of the television and wallowing. In other words, we dealt with this new threat in our lives by staying busy. Continue reading “10 Years Ago…A Family Odyssey (Final Chapter)”

10 Years Ago…A Family Odyssey (part 4)

This is Part 4 of a series. You can find the other parts at Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

Day Four: Friday September 14, 2001

Bright and early, we piled back into the car for the next leg of our journey. We had a sort of deadline in that Northwestern’s orientation was to begin at 6:00 that evening. I was calculating that the drive from Toronto to Chicago would be about 8 hours, so we would be there in plenty of time.

As we headed toward the border, traffic was getting heavy, and the radio was reporting delays ahead. I remembered the advice I had been given the night before, and we got off the highway and started heading north. It only took about a half hour to get to the border crossing that had been suggested. We passed a few signs and a couple of cute gift shops that confirmed we were on a native Canadian reservation. As we approached the border crossing, we were suddenly in a long line of cars. Even worse, what had not been told to us was that this border crossing required a ferry, which only ran once per hour. So we sat waiting for almost a full hour for the ferry to arrive, then it took another half hour to load the cars aboard, a 15-minute ride across the river, and then some additional time to unload. We had lost significant time. Continue reading “10 Years Ago…A Family Odyssey (part 4)”

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)”