(First published on blogcritics.org) Filmmaker Reaves Washburn quoted Oscar Wilde: “Wilde said, ‘If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise, they’ll kill you.’ For us,” he continued, “that means give them good themes, peak their interest, ease people in and make it fun in every way.” Washburn, whose film Knocked Down won the short […]
(First published on blogcritics.org) On June 23, 2013, at the LA Film Fest worlds collided. This was no hokey sci-fi flick, but a discussion of the impact of new media on the movie industry and the art of storytelling. Hollywood and Silicon Valley Collide: Immersion, Interactivity and Narrative Expansion brought together panelists Florian Henckel Von Donnersmark (The Lives of Others, The […]
(First published on blogcritics.org) I don’t like hippies or recreational drug use and that’s what Sebastián Silva’s Crystal Fairy is all about. Strangely, I enjoyed the film and recommend it. Part of the Los Angeles Film Festival Summer Showcase series, Crystal Fairy chronicles the road-trip and psychedelic-trip adventures of Jamie, played by Michael Cera, (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Arrested […]
(First published on blogcritics.org) Studies of really young love won top honors at two LA film events last month. At the LA Comedy Shorts Festival (LACSF) the Audience Award went to Harry Grows Up by Writer /Director Mark Nickelsburg, and Writer Cindy Chupack. At the second annual Collaboration Filmmakers Challenge, both the judge’s and the audience awards went to A Simple Test, […]
(First published on blogcritics.org) If you left the May meeting of the Alameda Writers Group (AWG) with unanswered questions about screenwriting, it was your own fault. The featured speaker at the AWG General Membership meeting was writer, director, producer, author and UCLA instructor Tom Lazarus. AWG President Marc Cushman (Star Trek, Diagnosis: Murder) introduced Lazarus whose credits include writer/story consultant for many […]
(First published on blogcritics.org) The Collaboration Filmmakers Challenge, now in its second year, brings a new twist to film contests. You not only have to make a film in two weeks, you also must collaborate on another filmmaker’s project. Both of you have to succeed, or neither one qualifies for the prize competition. For actors and technical crew, it […]
(First published on blogcritics.org) The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show, held April 6-11 in Las Vegas, claims to be the world’s largest electronic media show covering entertainment production and delivery across all mediums. This was my first visit to this media-culture Mecca, along with more than 90,000 attendees from 151 countries. The NAB Show totally […]
(First published on blogcritics.org) “Famous People talking about S&%!” (I don’t know why they insist on spelling “stuff” like that) is perennially one of the most popular panels at the LA Comedy Shorts Film Festival. That’s probably because of the life changing profundities and insightful observations by the panelists; or, maybe because the panelists are famous. This year’s […]
(First published on blogcritics.org) Everyone agrees this is a failure of a movie. Spoilers (if it were possible to spoil this movie any more than it already is) follow. As writers and filmmakers, what lessons can we learn? Plot problems: The plot follows the formula “Hotshot FBI Agents come into town and bump heads with […]
(First published on blogcritics.org) A lot goes into creating the “willing suspension of disbelief” needed for an audience to become immersed in a film and experience it — laughter, tears, fear — as “real.” The most important factor? The characters must be believable. In reviewing films to vote for in Film Independent’s Independent Spirit Awards, I watched […]
(First published on blogcritics.org) Opening e-mail is usually pretty uneventful, but that day in August was different. I saw an ad for the “The 2nd Annual Debra Hill Fellowship presents Producers Guild Weekend Shorts Contest”. Heck of a long name for a shorts contest. I’d heard of competitions like this before and they intrigued me. The goal […]
(First published on blogcritics.org) Are you a filmmaker or a journalist? If the script you’re working on is titled Zombie Princesses vs. Sharkzilla, this is probably not an issue. But if you are using your filmmaking skills to document the reality of social issues such as unjust imprisonment or the AIDS epidemic, you’d better put on your […]
(First published on blogcritics.org) You’ve made your short film to show your mastery of story, directing, and editing. Now what? One of the venues open to new LA filmmakers to strut their shorts happens monthly at the El Cid Restaurant (4212 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90029), in the historic artist neighborhood of Silverlake. The […]
(First published on blogcritics.org) How would you like to rub shoulders with producers and directors, find out insider secrets from produced screenwriters, recruit actors and production talent, and learn how to jump start your Hollywood career? You could havedone all of this and more at the September meeting of the Alameda Writers Group in Glendale, California. The […]
(First published on blogcritics.org) How do you make a movie? According to horror and fantasy queen Sybil Danning, the rules have changed. Danning, whose acting credits include Hercules, Howling II, Grindhouse, and Halloween has added producer, writer, and director to her resume. I spoke with Danning at PopConLA. PopConLA debuted this year, running July 5 – 8 as a new convention for fans of […]
(First published on blogcritics.org) PopConLA, a new popular culture convention debuted July 5-8, spotlighting fantasy/sci-fi, art, music, fashion, extreme sports, and other pop-culture memes. It hosted a Screenwriters Panel as a part of a series of indie-TV-Movie events. The panel of working professionals shared their take on how to succeed in TV and Hollywood. They conducted […]
(First published on blogcritics.org) Music can make or break your indie film, TV show or Internet series. Getting the right music means working with composers, music supervisors and/or licensing library tracks. PopConLA, a new popular culture convention which spotlights fantasy/sci-fi, art, music, fashion, extreme sports and other pop-culture memes, brought together a stellar group of veteran composers […]
(First published on blogcritics.org) Attack of the Bat Monsters by writer/director Graham Kelly Greene is an independent filmmaker fairy tale. It premiered in 2000 at the Dances with Films festival and, even though the soundtrack wasn’t finished, it won the Best of DWF Award and got good reviews. Then, like so many other quality indie films it disappeared […]
(First published on blogcritics.org) “Dare, Dream, Do” is the mantra of the Dances with Films independent film festival, May 31 through June 7 at the Chinese 6 Theaters in Hollywood. On opening night they lived up to their slogan for the year, “Dream Big or Go Home,” with the biggest red carpet parade I’ve ever seen. My […]
(Originally published on Blogcritics.org) Ailuromortuusphilia [ahy-loo r-uh-mor-toos-fil-ee-uh] noun a liking for dead cats, as by indie film directors. While viewing a preview of Kill List (unrated, directed by Ben Wheatley), I realized my place in psycho-babble science had been secured: I had discovered ailuromortuusphilia. Or, in short, why do indie film makers love dead cats? In Kill List, which I’m sure will […]