Outtake from “Searching for Mr. Rugoff” #1: Roger Corman

The idea for a documentary of some sort had been rumbling around in my head for a long time. At first I thought it would simply be a way of capturing a bit of history by interviewing people that I knew were getting up in age and had great stories to tell about the early era of independent film distribution. 

It was 7 years ago this week that I heard Roger Corman was being honored at Michael Moore’s Traverse City Film Festival, an event that I have attended yearly for quite some time. It dawned on me that this was an opportunity to capture one of those interviews for my yet to be defined project. I reached out to Michael and asked if I could interview Roger at the festival. The resulting interview was just as informative and colorful as I had hoped, but as my project took shape, it turned out that Roger did not make the final cut. However, I decided that this interview, and the many others that followed, deserved to see the light of day as a sort of side project. My goal is to eventually create an online oral history about this particular period in the business.

In any case, below is a small portion of that interview.

Comments after the break… Continue reading “Outtake from “Searching for Mr. Rugoff” #1: Roger Corman”

Traverse City Film Festival Panels Take On Big Issues

For the last 11 years, I’ve been attending Michael Moore’s Traverse City Film Festival in Michigan, sometimes as a panelist, sometimes as a juror, but mostly as a moderator. In addition to being a very pleasant place to visit, the festival is always well-curated and screenings take place in theaters with state-of-the-art projection and enthusiastic audiences. In other words, it’s a great event.

Every year, Michael has panel discussions that deal with issues that are on his mind, taking advantage of the availability of guests who are at the festival. I was asked to be on two panels this year, both of which are posted below, courtesy of Interlochen Public Radio. I think you’ll the discussions to be pretty interesting.

And the Future of Film…

Moderator: Michael Moore, Panelists: Andrew Ahn, Bob Byington, Ira Deutchman, Rachel Mason

Cinema Saves the World

Moderator: Ira Deutchman, Panelists: Karim Amer, Darren Dean, Christina Ibara, Jehane Noujaim, Lije Sarki

Comments after the break…

Continue reading “Traverse City Film Festival Panels Take On Big Issues”

2017 TCFF Panel: One great movie lover can change the world

The following is a panel I moderated at this year’s Traverse City Film Festival about the impact that social issue documentaries can have on society, as well as the responsibilities that come with it. The panelists were Pamela Yates, Paco de Onis, Pau Faus, and Zaradasht Ahmed. The panel was recorded on July 26th and broadcast on the local NPR station in Northern Michigan.

Feel free to comment after the break. Continue reading “2017 TCFF Panel: One great movie lover can change the world”

TCFF Panel on the 40th Anniversary of “Nashville”

Here is a panel that was hosted at this year’s Traverse City Film Festival on the career of Robert Altman in honor of the 40th Anniversary of “Nashville.” Panelists include Kathryn Altman, Ron Mann, Geraldine Chaplin, Michael Murphy & yours truly. It was moderated by Phil Hallman of the University of Michigan. Enjoy!


Comments after the break. Continue reading “TCFF Panel on the 40th Anniversary of “Nashville””

Equality Now Panel at TCFF

Among the many panels and Q&As that I participated in at this year’s Traverse City Film Festival was one entitled, “Equality Now.” It was meant to be both a celebration of the Supreme Court decision that legalized gay marriage and a discussion among the filmmakers who were involved with films that touched on LGBT issues. I was the moderator and the panel turned out to be quite illuminating (if I must say so myself) and even included some fireworks. Fortunately the panels were recorded for posterity, so here it is. I’ll post some others in the next few days…

Comments after the break… Continue reading “Equality Now Panel at TCFF”

One Great Movie Can Change You

One of the great things they do at the Traverse City Film Festival is that every year they create these powerful, inspirational videos that are are riffs on the theme of that year’s festival. This year it was “One Great Movie Can Change You.” Check it out…

TCFF 2013: One Great Movie Can Change You from Traverse City Film Festival on Vimeo.

Oh, and yes, that was me at the beginning. You can comment after the break… Continue reading “One Great Movie Can Change You”

A Song to Cinema

With all the bad news floating around about movie theaters going out of business, this video, courtesy of the Traverse City Film Festival, stands as a reminder of why we need to preserve the theatrical experience. Kudos to The Treefort Collective for a great job creating the video, and for putting me in a starring role alongside Wim Wenders!

Comments after the break… Continue reading “A Song to Cinema”