25 Years of the Columbia University Film Festival

As many of you know, this year marked the 25th Anniversary of the Columbia University Film Festival. We decided to mark the occasion with a huge celebration at Alice Tully Hall. As Chair of the Film Program, I had the honor of being the host. It was an opportunity to reflect on our history and to talk about who we are and what we do. While I would have like to have had my opening speech videotaped for posterity, the folks at Alice Tully make such an endeavor way too expensive, so instead I decided to share the text of my opening remarks. I welcome your comments.

Opening Remarks at Alice Tully Hall, May 4th, 2012

Good evening…

If you’re wondering why I’m dressed like this, it’s because we run a very democratic institution and the student committee (I’m told) voted to have me dress this way. So, who am I to argue?

The fact that I am standing here as Chair of the Film Program as we celebrate this momentous occasion, is an accident of fate. I am simply a representative of the amazing faculty of the Film Program, a group of groundbreaking writers, director and producers who have truly dedicated themselves to mentoring the next generation of filmmakers. I don’t have time to mention you all by name, but let’s have a round of applause for the Columbia Film Faculty. Continue reading “25 Years of the Columbia University Film Festival”

Let’s Focus on the Grown Ups

I just got back from a trip to Brussels, where I gave a master class at RITS on “New Business Models in the Digital World.” The audience, a combination of students and professionals from all over Belgium was managing to stay awake as I spouted off about all the various disruptive forces that were moving the film business in new directions. I talked about diminished windows, squeezed margins, pricing disparities, consumer confusion, conflicting technologies and much more.

During the Q&A period, a fellow raised his hand and challenged one of my earlier statements. I had mentioned that theatrical box office was trending upward only because of increasing ticket prices–mainly due to the premium paid for 3D–and in fact, the number of actual admissions had been trending downward for decades. Continue reading “Let’s Focus on the Grown Ups”

Andrew Sarris – Film Critic and Icon

Molly Haskell, Andrew Sarris, Annette Insdorf and Ira Deutchman at the 25th Anniversary of the Columbia University Film Festival

I’m sure I am hardly alone in the devastation I’m feeling in hearing of the death of Andrew Sarris. I grew up reading his reviews in the Village Voice, and he was one of the major influences in my love of film.When I was a young aspiring cinephile, the much hyped feud between Sarris and Pauline Kael was in full throttle. Personally, I found myself more frequently in Kael’s corner. Her more emotional response to films seemed more in line with my youthful spirit, while  Sarris seemed both more orthodox and more academic than I was ready to accept at the time. In spite of this, his early embrace of auteurism was the kindling that lit my fire for many filmmakers that otherwise would never have been on my radar screen. Continue reading “Andrew Sarris – Film Critic and Icon”

Emerging Dances With the Joffrey

Earlier this year, Emerging Pictures worked with Jon Reiss and Sheri Candler on the release of the film “Joffrey: Mavericks of American Dance.” We had a simultaneous premiere of the film in 44 cities, at the same time it was having its World Premiere at the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center, as part of the Dance on Camera Series. After the film, the panel discussion was broadcast to the theaters nationwide, with a Twitter feedback loop. This is a great example of what I’ve been preaching for quite some time–that we need to more focus on “eventizing” independent films, in order to entice people out of their homes and into movie theaters. Check it out…

Comments after the break… Continue reading “Emerging Dances With the Joffrey”

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.


 

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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”