Thompson on Hollywood

Michael Fassbender Joins Ridley Scott's Your Film Festival as Juror and Co-Executive Producer; Video

News

Ridley Scott just got a mighty fine partner in crime for his new Your Film Festival, naming its first winner at this year's Venice Film Festival; Michael Fassbender will help the director-producer co-executive producer and choose the Grand Prize Winner of the Your Film Festival competition...

By Sophia Savage
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February 28, 2012 12:57 PM
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Film Independent Fast Track Applications Due This Monday

News

Got an idea in your head for a movie but having trouble finding funding for it? If you do, and have you have weekend plans, cancel them: this Monday is the application deadline for Film Independents Fast Track, the financing market/conference for up-and-coming filmmakers that takes place at the Los Angeles Film Festival.

By Jacob Combs
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February 24, 2012 1:50 PM
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SXSW FIRST LOOK: 'Prince of Broadway' Director Sean Baker Debuts Poster for 'Starlet'

Festivals

Sean Baker's "Prince of Broadway" was a fine second feature and an honest indie gem. Check out our interview with Baker and "Price of Broadway" presenter Lee Daniels below. His third film, "Starlet," is set to debut at SXSW on March 11 and stars Dree Hemingway. Check out the full poster and synopsis below:

By Sophia Savage
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February 23, 2012 3:07 PM
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New Directors/New Films 2012 Opens With 'Where Do We Go Now,' Adds Horror, Family, Kubrick to Full Line-Up

Festivals

The Film Society of Lincoln Center and The Museum of Modern Art have unveiled the 2012 lineup for the 41st New Directors/New Films festival, running March 21–April 1. The festival will showcase 29 features and 12 shorts, hailing from 28 countries.

By Anne Thompson & Sophia Savage
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February 23, 2012 2:58 PM
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Berlin Fest Review & Prize Round-up: 'A Royal Affair,' 'Tabu,' Thornton's 'Jayne Mansfield's Car'

Festivals

Saturday the Berlin Film Festival dispensed its prizes, and the general mood pervading the air was that the docu-style feature “Caesar Must Die” by veteran Italian duo Paolo and Vittorio Taviani was a surprise Golden Bear winner in a weaker than usual Competition year.

By Matt Mueller
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February 19, 2012 4:08 PM
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Berlin Review: 'Bel Ami' Stars Rob Pattinson as Sexy Seducer

Festivals

It makes sense that Rob Pattinson would continue his attempts to broaden his fan base as the "Twilight" franchise nears its end. Starring in a new film adaptation of Guy de Maupassant’s 1885 novel advances that project: Playing an unscrupulous ex-soldier who makes his way up the ladder of Parisian society by seducing wives of powerful men.

By David Gritten
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February 16, 2012 8:54 PM
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Santa Barbara Film Fest Screenwriters Panel: Personal Experience Informs Both Adaptations and Originals, from 'The Help' to 'Margin Call'

Festivals

Per usual, this year's screenwriters delivered at my "It Starts with the Script" panel at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Both Writers Guild nominee Will Reiser ("50/50") and Indie Spirit nominee Mike Mills ("Beginners") were digging into their own lives for their often painful and self-revelatory fictionalized stories.

By Anne Thompson
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February 16, 2012 7:08 AM
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SXSW Releases Full 2012 Festival Lineup

Festivals

Unknown ObjectThe South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival today revealed the full lineup for its 2012 conference and festival, scheduled to open on March 9 with the premiere screening of Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard's "The Cabin in the Woods," and run through March 17 in Austin, Texas.

By Jacob Combs
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February 15, 2012 3:00 PM
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Sundance Institute's FILM FORWARD Lands in Arizona, February 27-March 1: 'Beginners,' 'On the Ice' & More

Festivals

The Sundance Institute's FILM FORWARD: Advancing Cultural Dialogue initiative kicks off February 27 in Tucson and Sells, Arizona. Six films will screen: Ali Samadi Ahadi's "The Green Wave," Andrew Okpeaha MacLean's "On the Ice," Mike Mills' "Beginners," Jasmila Zbanic's "Grbavica," Linda Goldstein Knowlton's "Somewhere Between" and Benjamin Murray & Alysa Nahmias' "Unfinished Spaces." Three of the films' directors (Ahadi, Maclean, Mills) will attend and participate in Q & A's, workshops, discussions and meet-and-greets. Sundance's Keri Putnam hopes that "this collection of films and events sparks imaginations, inspires cross-cultural dialogue and opens up a real exchange of ideas and issues."

By Sophia Savage
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February 14, 2012 2:49 PM
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Berlin Fest Reviews: From Period Opener 'Farewell My Queen' to Demented Nazis on the Moon

Festivals

The Berlin Film Festival got off to a more than respectable start with “Farewell My Queen,” Benoit Jacquot’s smart, elegantly mounted costume drama about the court of Versailles as it’s about to be swept away by the French revolution.