John Lithgow in Buckaroo Banzai
Comedy Film Festival Interview Science Fiction

Over the Top: A Conversation with John Lithgow at the LA Film Festival

(Originally published on blogcritics.org) “I’m always glad to publicly discuss a great subject – me!” was John Lithgow’s tongue-in-cheek opener at the Los Angeles Film Festival for an evening of humorous and insightful stories about movies and acting. “Over the Top: A Conversation with John Lithgow” was moderated by David Anson, Artistic Director for the […]

Comedy Film Festival Romance

Offbeat Rom-Com Cyrus Premieres at LA Film Festival

(Originally published on blogcritics.org) “We shot improvisational style and edited documentary style,” explained Mark of the brothers Duplass. Mark and Jay Duplass, screenwriters and directors, used the indie talents they developed on earlier projects to bring to life Cyrus, a creepy romantic comedy which premiered June 18 at the Los Angeles Film Festival. Moving on up […]

Peter Ong Lim
Filmmaking

Peter Ong Lim: A Writer’s Perspective on the PGA ‘Produced By Conference’

(Originally published on blogcritics.org) Enough with the producers already. How did the Producers Guild of America’s “Produced By Conference” look from a writer’s perspective? Peter Ong Lim is a Seattle-based “writer/producer/creative entrepreneur.” Peter started out in entertainment, took a detour through medicine, but now is back with his first love: “I sold my first script at age 14 […]

horseman
Filmmaking

Creative Alchemy: What Does a Producer Add?

(Originally published on blogcritics.org) At this month’s Producers Guild of America “Produced By Conference”, a distinguished group of filmmakers tackled the question “Do producers bring anything to the creative process?” Maybe it doesn’t apply to every producer, but these gentlemen bring a lot. David Pickler, former CEO or United Artists and producer of Lenny, The Man with […]

Filmmaking

Producers Guild Sits Down to Business – and Breakfast and Martinis

(Originally published on blogcritics.org) Action! Wait… nothing’s happening? Why isn’t a movie being made right now? Because a director isn’t enough. We need actors, crew members, lights, cameras, a location, props, costumes, technology services, sound systems, catering, insurance, doctors, accountants, tax breaks, furniture and, God help us, lawyers. We need the work of a producer. […]