SAGIndie

A quick indie news item to spice up the post-awards season doldrums: Time magazine tries to make sense of the whole Zyzzyx Road kerfuffle, and (mostly) succeeds. The “New Ishtar” headline is kinda misleading, though.

SAG Theatrical Business Representatives will walk you through signing SAG Low Budget Agreements from start to finish.

Workshops are held the 2nd Thursday of every month from 6 to 8pm, and are absolutely FREE.

Workshops fill up quickly! Click here for more info and to RSVP.

Independent Spirit Awards Swag 2007:

- One IFC branded Twelve bag with shoulder strap

- One box Light Butter Pop Secret popcorn

- One airline bottle of Grey Goose Le Citron vodka

- One tin Altoids Raspberry Sours

- One mark. makeup combo stick, with Glow Baby Blow Luxe lip gloss and Winkstick eye shadow

- One set of You Go Girl Stereo! Headphones

- One package Hollywood Fashion Tape and Hollywood Tag Tamers

- One Acura electronica mix CD

- One set AMC coasters

- One set of 3 tubes of Vee-STICK Hemp Seed Oil Lip Balm from Axium (our neighbors on the Miracle Mile)

- One Gelaskins iPod Nano covering

- One WE keychain with dog themed charms

- One ELLE magazine with Jessica Simpson on the cover

- One circular advertising the Los Angeles Film Festival

- One issue of the Film Independent Calendar

- One Independent Spirit Awards program, with the nominees listed in the wrong running order

- One solicitation to join Film Independent

Pretty good haul for a 13 year old girl from Sherman Oaks, no? Unfortunately, I didn’t see any 13 year old girls at the Awards ceremony. In fact the youngest person there was most likely the poised young actress (and Spirit Award winner) Shareeka Epps, who clocks in at just a shade under 18 - still probably too old for the ridiculous flower-shaped You Go Girl! earbuds.

Has the bag gotten more useless than ever? Click here to see last year’s haul and judge for yourself.

Under the priceless headline “IRS Jerks Indie Perk,” Variety delivers some bad news for indie producers looking for a tax break from the Feds. It’s just one more case of the Man keeping us down…

I’m out sick today with the dreaded Two Week Cold that is making the rounds of Los Angeles and environs, but a cursory “Better check the email in case I’m missing something really, really important (like an email from my boss, or a MySpace friend request)” trip to my Gmail inbox unearthed this unbelievable news story money quote, courtesy of Cinematical, which Ross A. Lincoln was kind enough to forward it along:

“George Lucas, giving the [Publicist Guild] award to Sid Ganis, who was the in-house publicist on Star Wars: Episode Five - The Empire Strikes Back, said, ‘Sid is the reason why The Empire Strikes Back is always written about as the best of the films, when it actually was the worst one (emphasis added).’”

Wow.

I may have a terrible head cold, may be hopped up on Tylenol and Nyquil, may be groggy, somewhat feverish, and sick of watching television all day, but I have enough of my wits about me to judge that one of the most ill-advised statements to ever issue forth from the bearded lips of the flanneled one, right up there with his mind-boggling statement that “You can’t make these movies for the fans.”

Ah, well. Maybe I’ll wake up tomorrow, after a night of Jar-Jar haunted nightmares, to find this insidious cold a distant memory, and realize in relief that it was all a fever dream - cuz Lucas can’t really believe that Empire is the worst Star Wars movie…can he?

Since many people around this office today need some cheering up, and since everyone I know loves lists, and I think maybe some of the people I know might like stereotypes, I figure someone will like Radar’s Top Ten Stereotypes in film. How’s that for a recommendation?!

If you watch this video, an inane locker room song and dance number from 1989’s Teen Witch, and you study it very carefully, you might be able to spot SAGIndie’s very own Scott F. Garner!

Ok, well, there will be something worth reading here once my eyes focus. It was a long night.

Welcome to the soft launch of the brand new SAGIndie web site!

We’ve been aware for some time that we had outgrown our old site, and felt that our 10th Anniversary would be an appropriate time to redesign the site from the ground up. From our clean, new interface, to the the handy RSS feeds, to the soon-to-be-implemented changes in the submission processes for casting breakdowns and resources, we just know you’re going to love the new design as much as we do.

This site is for you, after all. We want to make it as easy as possible for you to find the information you need to make your film, which is why we’ve de-cluttered the interface, merged indieBlog with our main site, and made it easier than ever to access our contract information. In that spirit, please let us know how you like the site, and please also let us know if you bump into any bugs that our dedicated team of designers need to be aware of.

Just drop us a line here. We’d love to hear from you.

SAG Theatrical Business Representatives will walk you through signing SAG Low Budget Agreements from start to finish.

Workshops are held the 2nd Thursday of every month from 6 to 8pm, and are absolutely FREE.

Workshops fill up quickly! Click here for more info and to RSVP.

Film Independent’s 2007 Spirit Awards ceremony takes place on Saturday, February 24. The Spirit Awards will be broadcast live on IFC (Independent Film Channel) with an edited re-broadcast airing later that evening on AMC. Be sure to tune in!

As the first event to honor independent film exclusively, Film Independent’s Spirit Awards has made a name for itself as the premier awards event for the independent film community. It’s a celebration of the spirited pioneers who bring a unique vision to filmmaking.

Along with being a great party, the Spirit Awards ceremony also brings together the top talent from independent film and Hollywood. Trophies are presented for the years’ best achievements in independent film, with statues awarded for Best Feature, Best First Feature, Best Feature Made for Under $500,000 (the John Cassavetes Award), and many more.

Keeping with its roots and L.A. location, the Spirit Awards takes place each year inside a beachfront tent in Santa Monica. Currently in its 22nd year, the show is as original as the films and filmmakers it honors.

Winners are chosen by those in the know: Film Independent members, with voting privileges extended to IFP members. Voters attend nominee screenings and view nominated films through Netflix before selecting the Spirit Awards winners.
Details: http://filmindependent.org/spiritawards/