- @nathanwrann I am glad you thought Adventureland was excellent. I guess now I can offer you the $ back guarantee. Thx 4 not stealing it!
- Rob Zombie grew up in Haverhill, MA I blv. I grew up next door. How come we make such dif movies? We drank the same h2o but dif koolaid..
- Intnl Panl on Climate Chg (IPCC) predicts up to 30% of species worldwd r @risk of extinctn @a glbl temp increase of a few degrees Celsius.
- @FrontAve I recommend you contact an Indie Film mag or blog and offer to cover it for them if they can get you press credentials.
- Throw out ystrdy’s papers & reYer yr brain: IndieFilm v3.o is blossmg right now & if u aren’t participatg in http://bit.ly/11hC60 u r 2late
- Wow. My A Thousand Phoenix Rising speech for Film Indep. has just been translated into Spanish: http://bit.ly/4fHbV
- Hey, whoever sent me the box set of LoveTrain: The Sound Of Philadelphia, thank you! But it seems an intern threw away any note that went w/
- RT @prachman: the more we learn things on our own through inspiration, the more we own them.
- Even when it is more questions than answers, it is worthy. It is part of our process of discovery.
- Great co Adventureland is in! Goodbye Solo, Life Is Hot in Cracktown, Nights & Weekends, Rudo y Cursi, Sunshine Cleaning, Trouble the Water
- With this I pass Babe Ruth’s HR ttl & Quaalude’s ID# in # of tweets. Old Good Machine office was 417. What is it all about? GadDagGodDog?
- Forget about exhib glut, what about DVD glut. So many great DVDs came out on Tuesday!
- @vdovault min wkly amount of intros is bcz IndieFilmBiz crumbling needlessly. We have tools content & knowhow but every1 is solo. Why?
- the P2P user attends 34% more movies in theaters, purchases 34% more DVDs & rents 24% more films than avg Internet user.http://bit.ly/3XO51I
- What would happen if we all introduced 10 of our associates, friends,comrades, contacts to each other every wk? This wk I’ve done >20.
- Qualities Of Better Film #29 of 32: LEAVING SOME THINGS UNEXPLAINED now up at: http://www.hammertonail.com/
- I used RSS feeds to gather info but my mailbox just filled up unread. Now I use Twitter for the same thing & I like it better.
- @chlotrudis U R right! “COLD SOULS was really good! Witty, funny, moving, visually stunning and original.” Everyone MUST see this film.
- @JavianAshtonLe Thanks 4 help on Adventureland. Still wondering how many others optd to help t artist vs stealing (& thus how to survive).
- Mike Goodridge is going to moderate conversation w/ Thomas Mai & me at Toronto Intl Film Financing Forum 9.13.09 I hope you can come.
- I am a fan of t “my mind’s been blown by the life I’ve chosen” genre of film. There’s been a bunch, but WeLiveInPublic does it really proud!
- My wife just said (lovingly) that in the Adventureland bts featurette my hair looks like PeeWeeHerman’s, only sideways! & she’s right…!
- Bordwell: Storytllg is * all about control. It smtmes obliges t viewr 2 take advntrs she couldnt imagine. http://trulyfreefilm.blogsp…
- @prachman Ah, don’t go looking for the brightside. It’s one of the reasons why most films are redundant and dull. Same thoughts retold.
- Thx @SportaboutSarah! Thx @dom_lefebvre Thx @CineVegas I love that you love Adventureland! The world should follow all of you!
- Avg Studio director? male, 93% white, prev directed 6.1 films, age 45.62. Hmmm… Ready for a change? http://bit.ly/6v5Tp
- Big Fan opens 8/28. I loved it. Patton Oswald & Kevin Corrigan are the best screen team since, since, since… just the best period.
- @filmstudiesff Thanks & I dig your stuff 2. Here’s to more thoughtful mindful film consideratn! Btw check out http://www.hammertonail.com/
- Want to help out a struggling IndieFilm producer? Tweet; “I love Adventureland”. Also “Buy the Adventureland DVD now!” Thanks muchly.
- Completed my Adventureland Tweet Sentiment check with http://twitrratr.com/ Gives clearest presentation of 3 but still more to be done w/.
- We need to put “love” next to Adventureland more often. Just checked http://twendz.waggeneredstr… and many mentions w/o sentiment.
- “The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dreams shall never die.” ~Ted Kennedy
- September 4th at 8pm, Alec Baldwin hosts WILLIAM KUNTSLER: DISTURBING THE UNIVERSE at Guild Hall in East Hampton. http://bit.ly/2TCRzq
- Here is something I really like about some films: http://thesearethosethings….
- Want to see a whole lot of great stuff? Check out: http://marcschiller.postero…
- RT @MarcDSchiller “This fan created vide for Grizzly Bear’s “Two Weeks” is absolutely lovely http://post.ly/2roW ” I 100% agree!
- Wondering what’s the best way for composers & musicians to break into FilmScoring? Surely there is some easy way to access filmmkrs.
- The best thing to do when you don’t have the money is work on the script. But what’s the second best thing to do?
- Our next Goldcrest Screening is Wed Sept 2nd. NY Premier of Pastor Brothers’ CARRIER starring Chris Pine & Lou Pucci. A Likely Story Prod.
- Tweetfeel says 71% of TwitterUniverse feel the right way about Adventureland — they love it! What did I do wrong that its not higher?
- I wonder how many ppleare going to race out & buy the ADVENTURELAND DVD when it hits the shelves today? How soon until it is on BitTorrent?
- Adventureland DVD hits the streets tomorrow. I am definitely putting this one in my collection.
- Just met with my IFP MADE IN NY mentoree — who’s great. You can’t SAVE INDIE FILM without being a mentor or 2 or 3. Better get yours asap.
- @kvpi print is a different sort of attentn & commitmt, & thus pleasure. We lose much with its loss. We gain w access & speed but lose more
- Fantastic! Harvey Pekar has a new comic up for free over at Smith: http://www.smithmag.net/pek… & follow him at:@PekarProject
- No News IS bad news. I nvr thought that havg a hometown newspaper was a privilege. I hope the NYTimes nvr goes bust: http://bit.ly/1JWP1x
- “The tree of crazy is an ever-present aspect of America’s flora.”: Rick Perlstien on Birthers, HealthCareHecklers etc: http://bit.ly/cJcUL
- @alisap27 tipped me to Poland’s Why Twitter Doesn’t Matter (Much) To Film Marketing: http://bit.ly/RDzqQ
- How great Costume Designer Arianne Phillips got started (& why she’s successful): http://bit.ly/18uP91
- Top Indie Distribs this yr? First Run & Zeitgeist. Then: Argot, IFC, Koch Lorber, Regent & Strand – @indigochameleon http://bit.ly/ZblWc
- RT @gflahive By Michael Erard: A Short Manifesto on the Future of Attention http://bit.ly/4SGYr #filmmakers MUST READ
- Bordwell: “Storytelling is artistic tyranny, and not always benevolent.” http://bit.ly/dICOz
- RT @noahharlan Bordwell on transmedia, specifically work of @lanceweiler and @tedhope (& HT’s @filmmakermag) http://is.gd/2sTxg – Must Read
- Bordwell: Storytelling is crucially all about control. It sometimes obliges the viewer to take adventures she could not imagine.
- Chris Jordan AGAIN does some great art that dramatizes the real story well:http://bit.ly/phIk5
- 90% Americans don’t listen to music on cell: http://bit.ly/Wscdj but Blkbstr puts movies on some cells: http://bit.ly/OOAQX
- @powertothepixel ‘s position on digital innovation should be adopted by all: http://bit.ly/gSDnu
- American consumers looking for less exp alt to local cineplexes (click twice to enlarge: http://bit.ly/SqYPG (thanks to Reed Martin)
Month: August 2009
On Episode Four of Christine & Ted Talk To Directors At Sundance ’09, Alan explains how being an actor helped him later direct:
As mentioned earlier here, The Filmmakers’ Alliance in LA were kind enough to bestow upon me their Vision Award on August 19th. As this had only gone to directors before, I was pretty pleased. As it came from true indie filmmakers, I was thrilled. Alan Ball was kind enough to present the award to me.
By the way, Alan did give my wife his jacket. Man, was it cold in there!
Also btw, the speech I reference from last year is this.
And if you are still here, please watch part two, where I give my mantra for the future:
Okay, so now we have someone to add to our list of great web curators: Marc Schiller:
David Bordwell had a great post on his blog pointing out both the historical precedents for transmedia storytelling and the problems inherent in it. You should definitely read the whole thing, but this gives you a nice taste:
At this point someone usually says that interactive storytelling allows the filmmaker to surrender some control to the viewer, who is empowered to choose her own adventure. This notion is worth a long blog entry in itself, so I’ll simply assert without proof: Storytelling is crucially all about control. It sometimes obliges the viewer to take adventures she could not imagine. Storytelling is artistic tyranny, and not always benevolent.
Another drawback to shifting a story among platforms: art works gain strength by having firm boundaries. A movie’s opening deserves to be treated as a distinct portal, a privileged point of access, a punctual moment at which we can take a breath and plunge into the story world. Likewise, the closing ought to be palpable, even if it’s a diminuendo or an unresolved chord. The special thrill of beginning and ending can be vitiated if we come to see the first shots as just continuations of the webisode, and closing images as something to be stitched to more stuff unfolding online. There’s a reason that pictures have frames.
Hmmm…. Is the Facebook community more activist, participatory, and just generally helpful than the blogging world? These comments came in on my FB page via my inquiry here on behalf of a filmmaker about other labs & colonies.
Producer Jack Lechner pointed out:
The colonies aren’t labs — they’re just places to write. There’s no mentoring or criticism involved, although colonists sometimes present their new work to each other.
Cornelia Ravenal made a comment that:
Waiting to be accepted by one of the more prestigious labs often takes 2 or 3 tries, as in years. Best guidance to get started immediately is John Truby’s book THE ANATOMY OF STORY: 22 STEPS TO BECOMING A MASTER STORYTELLER or his genre CDs. In fact, anything he offers at http://www.truby.com is useful.
Filmmaker Rodney Evens added:
Hi Ted- I just finished the Binger FilmLab’s Director’s Coaching Programme which was fantastic (http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.binger.nl). They also have a screenplay development program as well which is 6 months.
I can also recommend Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA), Hambidge, the Vermont Studio Center and the Edward Albee colony (in Montauk during the summer). I have also heard good things about The Millay Colony, Ucross, Djerassi and Blue Mountain Center but haven’t been to those. Chateau de La Napoule in the south of France is great and people have also said good things about Sacatar in Brazil. http://www.facebook.com/l/;resartis.org is a good website for international residencies and here is a book for domestic places:
I write a lot at art colonies and residency programs and find it very helpful to get away from the distractions of everyday life. They definitely work for me.
Jade Wu these additional Screenwriting Labs & Colonies recommendations:
Film Independent (LA) – many projects graduate to production and festivals(LA Film Fest and Spirit Awards)
IFP Narrative Lab (NY) – a younger program, but has helped projects move to the next level and most have played the festival circuit
BlueCat Seminars (throughout U.S. cities) – the contest is run by Gordy Hoffman (Love Liza) and has garnered reputable status. Didn’t do the seminars, but I placed as Semi-finalist – no cigar in the reality scheme of things, but I was thrilled nevertheless. Ballast won a BlueCat Award.
Disney/ABC Writing Fellowship (and they pay you to learn). I was a Fellow in the Daytime Drama Series Writing Program.
Marilyn Horowitz, whose on FB, is a great teacher/mentor. She’s teaches at NYU, in addition to her own seminars (private/group/online).
The answer really depends on what this filmmaker expects/wants out of a lab and where he/she falls on the writing level scale. “Learning how to write” and “developing a screenplay” are very different goals.
Screenwriter Caitlin McCarthy (and TFF blog contributor) said:
The Atlanta Film Festival Screenwriters Lab is amazing. They accept six people each year. I participated in their inaugural lab in 2007 with Joy Lusco Kecken and Michael Lucker as my mentors. I can’t think of any other screenwriting labs out there, other than what’s been posted. This is why more labs are needed in the industry for up-and-coming screenwriters who want to develop their craft and find mentors. Without labs, budding writers are on their own. MacDowell and Yaddo won’t accept budding writers, from my experience. They seem to want more established artists with at least one produced work. The Virginia Center for the Creative Arts is supposed to be more “budding writer” friendly, but I’ve never applied to it, so I don’t know how it really is. The San Francisco Film Society has a Djerassi/SFFS Screenwriting Fellowship which provides a one-month residency for emerging or established screenwriters in the Santa Cruz Mountains. But it doesn’t provide mentors like the labs. More labs, please!!! The fact that no one can rattle off a list of labs here speaks volumes. The film industry as a whole is not actively trying to mentor new talent. The question is WHY? So no one new can break in unless by some miracle these days? Makes you wonder….
Not bad, considering we have yet to have a comment directly here. Dang.
When did American movies start trying to clarify absolutely everything? What is our national obsession with trying to provide a psychological explanation for all characters’ behavior? If you ask me, I think we have gone overboard. Way overboard. Time to leave that practice behind.
It’s refreshing to see a few films recently start to abandon this practice. Miyazaki’s PONYO did not try to explain the magic (at least in the version released Stateside). Neil Blomkamp’s DISTRICT 9 did not try to explain why the aliens landed here or how people learned their language.
It is fun for the viewer to come up with their own explanations, to discuss these possibilities with their friends. We certainly don’t know everything about our world and leaving some gaps in the narrative feels truer as a result.
David Bordwell touched upon the need for spaces in his great essay “Now Leaving From Platform 1” where he explores the hopes of expanding the narrative (and yes, okay, I am referenced therein). Our storytellers really need to take it to heart. It’s curious that both of these examples come from abroad.
You can even see Bronkamp employing this strategy in the short film that launched his feature: “ALIVE IN JOBERG”.
