"After dipping his toes in the big-budget, big-star movie production pool, director Kevin Smith is returning to his no-budget roots with a sequel to his 1994 cult favourite, 'Clerks,'" The Guardian reports.

"Mira Nair found success as a marriage planner with her last film, 'Monsoon Wedding.' Now she's out to play matchmaker for one of 19th century England's most notorious husband hunters," David Germain speaks with Nair for A.P.

"Asked about McCain's remarks, Moore said, 'I can't believe they're dumb enough to bring up the film and help its box office,'" A.P. reports.

"Fahrenheit 9/11" filmmaker Michael Moore, hired by USA Today to cover this year's Republican National Convention, was singled out by John McCain during the Republican Senator's primetime, televised speech. McCain referred to Moore as a "disingenuous film-maker who would have us believe that Saddam's Iraq was an oasis of peace," instigating a huge, extended ovation from the audience. Moore watched on from a booth and waved to the audience. Editor and Publisher reports on the moment, including an incident in which Moore was caught on camera being hassled for his credentials by security.

Meanwhile, Michael Moore has published his first report for USA Today, entitled "The GOP doesn't reflect America." He writes, to Republicans:

Let me also say I admire your resolve. You're true believers. Even though only a third of the country defines itself as "Republican," you control the White House, Congress, Supreme Court and most state governments.

Hanging out around the convention, I've encountered a number of the Republican faithful who aren't delegates. They warm up to me when they don't find horns or a tail. Talking to them, I discover they're like many people who call themselves Republicans but aren't really Republicans. At least not in the radical-right way that George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, John Ashcroft and Co. have defined Republicans.

The 5th Woodstock Film Festival (October 13 - 17 in New York) will welcome Bela Fleck and Edgar Meyer on the opening night of the festival this year. Fleck and Meyer will perform an evening of acoustic music at the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson on October 13th. Sascha Paladino's doc, "Obstinato: Making Music for Two," about the Fleck/Meyer partnership shot on the first leg of their tour, will screen in the Focus on Music section during the Festival.

In other festival news, organizers announced that they have created the Maverick Award for Excellence in Film Editing for narrative feature film and documentary work. Jurors will be Sarah Flack ("Lost in Translation"), Sabine Hoffman ("Personal Velocity"), and Doug Abel ("Metallica: Some Kind of Monster").

Looking ahead to its 7th anniversary, the Sarasota Film Festival has named Tom Hall its new director of programming. Hall is also program director at the Nantucket Film Festival and will return to that fest for his third year in the position.

The Sarasota festival, set for January 28 - February 6 in Florida, is currently seeking submissions for its 2005 edition. Complete call for entries information is available below and more information is also available on the festival website.

Roger Ebert and Vincent Gallo recently sat down in Chicago to patch things up and talk about "The Brown Bunny." Ebert reported on their encounter in The Chicago Sun-Times:

Vincent Gallo and I have a history. In May 2003, I called his "The Brown Bunny" the worst film in the history of the Cannes Film Festival. Then he put a hex on me to give me colon cancer. Now we're about to meet for the first time.

It was a little tense in the Lake Street Screening Room, following the screening recently of the re-edited, shorter version of "The Brown Bunny." I heard Gallo was in the elevator. I heard he was in the hallway. I heard he was around the corner. Then there he was. The atmosphere lightened after he explained he had never wished colon cancer on me in the first place. He was misquoted. He actually specified prostate cancer.

Next month, indieWIRE will launch a new interview series featuring questions posed by our readers. Our first interview will be with acclaimed indie filmmaker, John Sayles.

John Sayles' new film, "Silver City," will have its world premiere next month at the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival and open in theaters on September 17th. We are currently seeking questions from indieWIRE readers. More information on the film is available below.

Please submit questions by email, or feel free to post them in the comment section of this blog entry.

Moving up a week in the calendar, presumably to avoid a pre-Cannes crush, the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival will expand to a whopping 11 days (April 21 - May 1, 2005). Organizers will begin accepting entries for the 4th annual festival in early September (early deadline is Nov. 1 and late is Dec. 10).

Interestingly, the event will now debut on the same night as the San Francisco International Film Festival (running April 21 - May 5, 2005), that festival was run by Tribeca Film Fest executive director Peter Scarlet for nearly 20 years.

Planners have also announced the calls for entry for the annual Tribeca All Access Connects program supporting directors & screenwriters of color (early deadline Dec. 10, late February 4), as well as the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation program for scripts with scientific or technological themes and/or characters (deadline Oct. 22). Applications for those programs are available online.

Complete press release available below.

In Montreal, questions surround the fate of the Montreal World Film Festival, set to kick off this week. The Globe and Mail weighs in with a look at a former PR rep for the fest who is working to repair the event's image:

It's a tall order. Novek, at 67, is one of the most seasoned PR veterans in Montreal, having advised both the Toronto Festival of Festivals (now the Toronto International Film Festival) and Montreal's World Film Festival in their inaugural editions almost 30 years ago. Now he's been called out of semi-retirement to prop up the World Fest, an organization that could politely be described as in a shambles.

"Film studio 20th Century Fox has launched a massive marketing campaign in US religious communities for the DVD of The Passion of the Christ," BBC reports.

Earlier this month, West Hollywood's Silent Movie Theater was forced to cancel a screening of "The Birth of a Nation" after protest groups vowed to picket the theater. Variety reports.

"Replacing a director, even a first-timer, during production is rare in Hollywood. On Aug. 6 Warner Brothers booted Ted Griffin as director of his original story inspired by the 1967 classic 'The Graduate' and replaced him with Rob Reiner 12 days into shooting. The script, about a young woman from Pasadena who discovers that her grandmother was the inspiration for the Mrs. Robinson character in 'The Graduate,' was strong enough to lure a cast of top-notch actors, led by Jennifer Aniston," Anne Thompson unveils the Hollywood controversy in the New York Times.

"A new film which breaks one of the last taboos of German cinema by portraying Hitler in a central role, has premiered in Berlin," BBC reports.

"The old saying that there is no such thing as bad publicity rings hollow for film director Vincent Gallo, whose movie 'The Brown Bunny' starts its U.S. run this coming Friday," Bob Tourtellotte reports in Reuters.

"'Bourne Supremacy' star Matt Damon, 'Lost in Translation' actress Scarlett Johansson and other celebrity artists are donating their talents — not just their cash — to an online effort to unseat President Bush," Beth Fouhy reports in A.P.

"Summer still has a few more weeks before it breathes its last, but it's already dead to Hollywood. Studios are dragging out dogs like 'Alien vs. Predator' to make a quick buck before the fall (and awards) season kicks off in September. This downtime gives us a chance to recognize films and performances from the hot season with our Summer Movie Awards," Carla Meyer gives her opinion in the San Francisco Chronicle.

"Morgan Spurlock, director of fast food film Super Size Me, has dismissed as 'laughable' newspaper adverts taken out by McDonald's to defend their food," BBC reports.

"Sarajevo opened its annual film festival with the help of such guests as John Malkovich, Mike Leigh and Gerard Depardieu," A.P. reports.

"An Indonesian movie depicting a controversial teenage love story was pulled from cinemas after complaints from Muslim groups that the film encouraged youngsters to have sex. Based on a government decision, the Film Censor Institution has been asked to issue a notice withdrawing the censor institution's approval for the film Buruan Cium Gue!," Agence France Presse reports.

"Contrary to popular belief, sex doesn't necessarily sell. While movie ads are usually rife with the promise of romance and sensuality, the rare film that frankly delves into explicit sexuality does so at its own risk," Gregg Kilday writes in the Hollywood Reporter.

"Zhang Ziyi, who co-starred in 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,' is in final negotiations to play the title character in the long-in-the-works film adaptation of 'Memoirs of a Geisha,' while the Oscar-nominated Ken Watanabe has signed on to play the male lead," says the Hollywood Reporter.

"John Cameron Mitchell, the creator and star of the drag hit 'Hedwig and the Angry Inch,' would like your money to make a sex film, please. No, it's not pornography, Mr. Mitchell says. It's a comedy with real live sex taking place on camera. There'll be none of those fake encounters found in films like 'Monster's Ball' or 'In the Cut,'" Dinitia Smith reports in the New York Times. (Viewing requires free subscription)

"Get ready for more Michael Moore this fall. The activist, best-selling author and Academy Award-winning filmmaker has two new books coming out, publisher Simon & Schuster announced Wednesday," A.P. reports.

"Film composer Elmer Bernstein, who created a brawny, big-sky theme for 'The Magnificent Seven,' nerve-jangling jazz for 'The Man With The Golden Arm' and heart-rending grace notes for 'To Kill a Mockingbird,' has died," Bob Thomas reports in the Associated Press.

Britain's Guardian newspaper recaps its coverage so far leading up to the Edinburgh Film Festival, which has now opened, complete with profiles of films as well as interviews with people involved with the event's program.

"'La Dolce Vita' is the great Fellini film. It received universal acclaim upon its release in 1960, and in retrospect it's the work that best represents its director. In this one masterpiece, Federico Fellini achieved the ideal balance -- between social observation and unconscious imagery, between artistic discipline and freedom, and between the neo-realism of 1950s Italian cinema and the orgiastic flights of his later work," Mick LaSalle takes a look at the film, which re-opened in the Bay Area for the San Francisco Chronicle.

"Sharon Stone, Jessica Lange, Tilda Swinton and Chloe Sevigny are joining Bill Murray in director Jim Jarmusch's next movie. The untitled project, details of which are being kept under wraps, will begin shooting in upstate New York next month. It is expected to be budgeted at $8 million-$10 million," Boys Kit writes in the Hollywood Reporter.

The word on Jarmusch's latest:

Sharon Stone, Jessica Lange, Tilda Swinton and Chloe Sevigny are joining the cast of director Jim Jarmusch's untitled movie that is to begin shooting next month. Bill Murray is already on board. Details of the script are being kept under wraps. The film will shoot in upstate New York and is expected to be budgeted at $8 million-$10 million.

News of a DVD deal for "Control Room":

Lions Gate Entertainment president Steve Beeks said the company picked up DVD rights to "Control Room" because docs are hot right now, and people are more in tune with political issues during this election year. The DVD includes more than 50 deleted scenes and audio commentary by Al-Jazeera staffers, as well as U.S. Army Central Command press officer Josh Rushing.

NYC gossip blog Gawker.com dispatched indie scenester Jared Abbott to mix and mingle at Monday's premiere for "The Brown Bunny." Abbott liked the flick but was underwhelmed by the party. However he did chat up Vincent Gallo:

When I asked Vincent for a photo, he very politely declined, introduced me to his friends, and went into a story about how the Times, the Voice, LA Weekly, etc, had all fucked him over in the last week, so he's very apprehensive about dealing with anyone from "the press". I even gave him the opportunity for photo approval but he said "next time I see you." Vinnie feels that most major outlets are completely irresponsbile, and added that the nicest people he dealt with during "Buffalo '66" was a local gay weekly. We then had a nice discussion about Claire Denis and what fine work she does. He's sweet, charming, and funny....not what you'd expect from a Republican, but that's a whole nother issue.

"Four months ago the web was buzzing with speculation over the identity of a self-proclaimed pseudonymous web blogger who claimed he was a Hollywood celebrity. Was it Ben Affleck? George Clooney? Owen Wilson?" Anne-Marie McQueen speculates and profiles the blog in the Ottawa Sun.

"It's been a decade since her white-hot period, when she moved seamlessly from David Lynch's go-to actress to an Oscar nod for 'Rambling Rose' and blockbuster success in 'Jurassic Park.' Always a character actress with leading-lady looks, she then bypassed studio films for edgy independents like "Citizen Ruth," Carla Meyer profiles Laura Dern in the San Francisco Chronicle.

"In a blow to the Edinburgh international film festival, its closing movie, Wong Kar-Wai's 2046, has been pulled because it is not finished," Charlotte Higgins reports in The Guardian.

"Cinematographer Neal L. Fredericks, best known for his work on 'The Blair Witch Project,' was killed Saturday while shooting the independent film 'Cross Bones' in the Florida Keys. He was 35." Sheigh Crabtree writes in the Hollywood Reporter.

"elected as one of only a few youth films to appear in this week's Roxbury Film Festival, 'The Haiti Project' will get its world premiere Saturday at Northeastern's Behrakis Health Sciences Center. In its sixth year, the festival has grown into an internationally recognized forum for filmmakers of color," Avi Steinberg reports in the Boston Globe.

"Britain took aim at the ubiquitous Hollywood blockbuster Monday by enlisting the latest digital technology to broaden the reach of independent films that often struggle to win wide distribution," Jason Hopps reports for Reuters.

In today's New York Times, Sharon Waxman reports on a new documentary about the Iraq war being finished by David O. Russell, Juan Carlos Zaldivar, and Tricia Regan:

Warner Brothers is financing the $180,000 project, which involves interviewing Iraqi refugees who acted as extras in "Three Kings," the caper about the 1991 Persian Gulf War (starring George Clooney), and American veterans of the current war in Iraq.

"It will look at both sides of the war, people who feel good about the war, who believe in the mission, people who feel bad," said Mr. Russell, speaking at the Santa Monica editing room where editors are working in 24-hour shifts to complete the film before the November election.

Jill Kipnis looks at a new move to show indie and foreign films on airlines:

Film Movement is partnering with in-flight entertainment producer IKA Media to launch a movie channel on Continental Airlines called Continental Presents Independent Film. The channel will feature independent films that have screened at leading festivals around the world. These will be the same titles that subscribers to New York-based Film Movement receive on DVD.

Randy Kennedy spends a few hours with Vincent Gallo, for The New York Times:

Despite flashes of anger from Mr. Gallo during the rambling, frenetic and often very entertaining interview, it became clear that he was almost happy that things had turned out this way — casting him once again in his familiar role as the outsider, the misunderstood auteur pursuing an intensely personal vision, spurning not only Hollywood but also the independent movie community he is supposedly a part of. ("When I hear the word `indie,' " he said, "it just means someone who's not going to pay me.")

"Do you hate me yet?" Mr. Gallo asked, smiling, only 30 seconds into the conversation.

A total of 65 employees at Miramax were laid off today, with the cuts touching many areas of the company's film unit. The company now has 420 staffers, losing 13% to the cuts. Publicity, marketing, and production areas at Miramax were especially hard hit, with the Dimension unit mostly untouched.

"Recent impressive headlines have shown the UK film industry in seemingly robust health, with production and employment numbers up and movie goers flocking to the cinema," Bill Wilson reports for BBC.

"The German-language drama ('Rosenstrasse') -- based on a true, though little-known, bit of history -- is set in Berlin in 1943. Its story is set in motion when the SS and the Gestapo begin to round up Jews who are married to Aryan Germans. The Jews who were part of 'intermarriages' were detained separately at several areas in the city, including a Jewish community center at 2-4 Rosenstrasse, where as a group of German wives gathered in the street, a mounting protest grew," Gregg Kilday profiles the film in the Hollywood Reporter.

"Filmmaker Michael Moore makes no apologizes for his Bush-bashing documentary 'Fahrenheit 9/11,' and his attorney says he'll make no apologies for its use of an Illinois newspaper headline, either," A.P. reports.

"Sofia Coppola's next project will reunite her with Virgin Suicides star Kirsten Dunst for a film about the life of the French queen consort Marie Antoinette," The Guardian reports.

"Home-video chain Blockbuster Inc., under competitive pressure from Internet rental service Netflix Inc. on Wednesday launched its own online DVD rental program," Reuters reports.

Frank Pierson has been re-elected the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the group announced Wednesday. [The complete press release is available below.]

"Miramax boss Harvey Weinstein is due for high-level discussions with parent company Walt Disney this week which could result in him splitting with the entertainment and media group to set up his own production business. Under a deal being proposed, Mr Weinstein would become an independent producer, securing his own financing and licensing the Miramax name from Disney. His brother, Bob Weinstein would remain at Disney," David Teather reports in The Guardian.

"Russia's fastest-grossing film has all the ingredients of a Hollywood blockbuster but is out-doing them in the box office and was made for a fraction of the price.
Blood, action and suspense helped 'Night Watch' rake in $13 million in the three weeks after it was released on July 8, almost as much as the last 'Lord of the Rings' film made in two months in Russia," Sonia Oxley reports in Reuters.