Thompson on Hollywood

No Budget Film School August 20-21: Bellflower Case Study with Glodell & Grashaw

No Budget Film School began in 2005 to give filmmakers the know-how that was lacking from other traditional schools and workshops, and to teach them how to make films with only the resources they currently have available--embracing their limitations to focus on the most important elements, rather than getting discouraged. Founder Mark Stolaroff informs the NBFS from his own no-budget experience, working at Next Wave Films (which supported the likes of Christopher Nolan), viewing thousands of micro-budget films and relationships with working directors.

By Sophia Savage
|
August 11, 2011 5:50 AM
|
0 Comments

More:

Kenny Ortega to Direct Lionsgate Dirty Dancing Remake

We haven't heard too much of Kenny Ortega since This Is It, his 2009 Michael Jackson documentary, but Lionsgate announced today that it will be producing a remake of Dirty Dancing with Ortega at the helm.

By Jacob Combs
|
August 8, 2011 11:52 AM
|
1 Comment

More:

Los Angeles Screenplay Competition: Deadline August 15

The deadline for the Los Angeles Screenplay Competition is August 15. The mission of the competition is "to find high quality screenplays" that can be produced and screenwriters who can be contracted to write new screenplays. President of of the LA Screenplay Competition, Rafael Primorac, has brought such low-budget B-fare as Game of Death (starring Wesley Snipes), Giallo (Adrien Brody, pictured) and Mysteria (Danny Glover, Billy Zane) to the big screen and is looking for his next projects. You can find more information and enter the competition here.

By Sophia Savage
|
August 8, 2011 6:22 AM
|
1 Comment

More:

Hitchcock Footage Unearthed: Academy to Show Found Reels from First Feature White Shadow

It's been a big year for Hitchcock devotees. First, there was the latest unveiling of the 12-hour audio file from Hitchcock's famous interview with French critic and director Francois Truffaut. Now, the National Film Preservation Foundation and the New Zealand Film Archive have announced their discovery of the opening half-hour of The White Shadow, Hitchcock's first credited film.

By Jacob Combs
|
August 3, 2011 7:39 AM
|
2 Comments

More:

Spurlock Takes Comic-Con Episode Four: A Fan's Hope to Toronto, Starts Hulu Day in the Life Series

It's a good day in the eventful life of Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me). In July he promoed his latest book and documentary Comic-Con Episode Four: A Fan's Hope (2012), starring such fan-friendly fanaticals as Kevin Smith, Harry Knowles, Eli Roth, Seth Rogen, Stan Lee and Joss Whedon at Comic-Con's Hall H. Now he's taking the film to the Toronto Film Festival, and announces the first-ever long form original series on Hulu, A Day in the Life.

By Anne Thompson
|
August 3, 2011 5:33 AM
|
0 Comments

More:

Drafthouse Films Acquires Post-Apocalyptic The FP, Names Evan Husney Company Director

Alamo Drafthouse distributor Drafthouse Films has acquired U.S. rights to its its second indie release, The FP at Montreal's Fantasia International Film Festival. The film is directed by brothers Jason and Brandon Trost, and exec produced by Jason Blum and Steven Schneider (Paranormal Activity, Insidious). Alamo's Tim League says: "The Trost brothers have an amazing, fresh creative vision and I want to be a part of the team that helps evangelize their strange new gospel.”

By Sophia Savage
|
August 1, 2011 7:39 AM
|
0 Comments

More:

Deutchman Takes Over as Chair of Columbia University School of the Arts Film Program

Ira Deutchman, ever since his early days as an indie film distributor, always gave good quote. He went on to do many things, including co-founding Emerging Pictures, but for 24 years he was a popular professor of professional practice at Columbia University's School of the Arts. That's one of the reasons he was so smart about things--he always had an overview. Now Dean Carol Becker is appointing Deutchman as the new chair of Columbia’s Film Program. Deutchman will succeed Jamal Joseph, who has stepped down as chair after five years.

By Anne Thompson
|
July 27, 2011 8:22 AM
|
1 Comment

More:

Amazing Spider-Man Comic-Con Thunder Stolen by Ifans Arrest

The big reveal at Sony's Friday The Amazing Spider-Man panel at Comic-Con was the villain of Marc Webb's superhero reboot, The Lizard, played by gifted Welsh actor Rhys Ifans, who is pixellated when in giant Lizard mode. In Hall H the studio screened a clip of Lizard terrorizing two school girls in a school lavatory, breaking up through a toilet. (The LAT made a fuss about Ifans here).

By Anne Thompson
|
July 23, 2011 6:30 AM
|
1 Comment

More:

EXCLUSIVE: Coolidge Corner Theatre and Alfred P. Sloan's Science on Screen Picks Eight Cinemas

To implement their collaborative Science on Screen programs, The Coolidge Corner Theatre and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation have selected eight independent non-profit cinemas throughout the US to each receive $7,000 in grant funding. (The eight theaters that will host the programs are listed below.) Each has a strong reputation for contributing to their cultural community. Applicants were asked to pitch program concepts and detail strategies for recruiting speakers and building audiences, and the recipients will each host a minimum of three events during the June 2011-June 2012 period.

By Sophia Savage
|
July 14, 2011 7:42 AM
|
0 Comments

More:

Sundance Announces Creative Producing Lab & Summit Participants

The Sundance Institute announces the participants for its annual Creative Producing Labs and Creative Producing Summit, to be held July 18-24 in Sundance, Utah. The nine projects (five features, four documentaries) chosen for 2011 labs will receive grants and ongoing support for a year, and will be joined by indie film leaders immediately following the lab for the Summit. Sundance's Keri Putnam says the "Creative Producing initiatives are a unique combination of intensive focus on the producers’ individual projects and larger discussions with industry leaders about the state of the independent film community and where it’s headed,..[and] an opportunity for producers to explore and develop their projects in a forward-thinking, supportive community." Below are details on each of the chosen projects: