Review of DRIVE

On Wednesday, August 3rd, we hosted a special event for the students of the American Pavilion’s L.A. Intensive Program. We screened the indie film, HAMILL, and director OREN KAPLAN was in the house for a very special Q&A.

RELATED ARTICLE: Filmmaker Interview: EBEN KOSTBAR and JOSEPH MCKELHEER, writers/producers of HAMILL

“MoviePass, a new $50-per-month service for film fans, will let subscribers watch unlimited movies in theaters using their smartphones as tickets.

Using an HTML5 application (native smartphone apps coming soon), MoviePass will let users search for a film, find a local show time, check in to the theater and go straight to the ticket-taker.”

Read the rest of the article over at WIRED.

Review of THE TROLL HUNTER

Yeah, not really. Don’t get me wrong, it’s the south of France, so complaining isn’t worth it. No one cares if you’re not happy in Cannes. And I am pretty happy. The weather has held up decently, though we’re all praying to hold off the rain. The people actually seem less obnoxious – with a few notable exceptions. And the movies – heck, I have no idea about the movies. One week in and we haven’t seen a movie. We really doubt we will. There are some here that we were interested in seeing, and some that it would just be cool to see. I even have a fancy dress. What I do not have, is the time, the energy to finagle a ticket, and the desire to put on high heels. Cuz, the truth is, Cannes is tiring. We spend every day filling our schedule with the best and the brightest the industry has to offer and we bring them in to do one hour roundtables. They speak to the film students at the American Pavilion Student Program; a great program for those who want to learn what film life could be like once you leave the hallowed halls of film school. If you’re lucky. The lucky ones this year are people who were part of the AmPav program in 2008, and this year, are back with films. I’d say they parlayed pretty well. People like producer, Charlie Birns, who is here this year with a film called THE RETURN. Great work if you can get it.

But enough about other people, what about me? Other than the two (2) hours I sat on a runway, in a plane that “had a small problem”, and the major attack of hay fever, I feel pretty good. It helps that the weather is neither storming nor blazing hot. And the people we meet here in Cannes are really great and generous with their time. And the best aperitif is a Kir Royal. So I hear (ahem). Eliza and I are amazed that it’s already Saturday, which means our first week is about over. It really does fly once you get here. Our days are full of meetings, panels, roundtables, and then dinner. An occasional after-party might be in the cards. Wash, repeat. For 12 straight days.

Eh, I’ll sleep when I’m dead.  Or, at least, when I stop sneezing.

“Details of the Los Angeles Film Festival were unveiled today with 200 feature films, shorts, and music videos on tap for the event’s 2011 edition, including 19 films screening in the ten-day event’s Narrative and Documentary Competition. LAFF will return to its downtown hub at L.A. Live with 27 World, North American, and U.S. premieres set to screen.

The number of films competing in the narrative and documentary competition categories increased this year from 18 to 19, of which 11 are world premieres and 8 are North American or U.S. premieres. The number of female feature filmmakers also increased this year from 21 to 23.”

Read the rest at INDIEWIRE.

Some of these you’ve heard of and will have the opportunity to see in cinemas around the globe. Others might not even come close to getting a distribution deal. Either way, they’re all great stories told in true, risk-taking style. We strongly encourage you to seek some of these out and continue to support independent film in 2011.

TOP 5 Favorite Films picked collectively by the SAGIndie Staff (in no particular order):

1. Black Swan
2. Winter’s Bone
3. Holy Rollers
4. Blue Valentine
5. Splice

Individual Staff picks:

DARRIEN

1. Black Swan – Cannes
2. Let Me In (U.S. version) – Toronto
3. Winter’s Bone – Sundance
4. Holy Rollers – Sundance
5. Splice – Sundance
6. Night Catches Us – Sundance
7. Hamill – AFI

ELIZA

1. Black Swan – Toronto
2. Black Swan – Toronto
3. The Promise: Making of The Darkness on the Edge of Town – Toronto
4. Blue Valentine – Sundance
5. Black Swan – Toronto
6. Holy Rollers – Sundance
7. Technically it was not a festival screening, but I watched some crazy Lifetime movie in my hotel room when I went to Santa Barbara
8. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives – Cannes
9. Tucker and Dale vs. Evil – Sundance
10. The King’s Speech – AFI (Oh my God, just kidding, I hated this.)
11. Winter’s Bone – Palm Beach

WILL

1. Cyrus – Sundance (Duplass bros. and John C. Reilly, FTW!)
2. Black Swan – AFI
3. Micmacs – SXSW (Jean-Pierre Jeunet was there!)
4. Blue Valentine – Sundance
5. Winter’s Bone – SXSW
6. The Extra Man – Seattle International Film Fest/Sundance
7. Fanny, Annie & Danny – Waterfront 
Film Festival (Check out my interview with the filmmakers!)
8. Tiny Furniture – Maryland 
Film Festival
9. Bass Ackwards – Sundance
10. Holy Rollers – Sundance

ELLEN

1. Hesher – Sundance
2. Splice – Sundance
3. Hermano – LALIFF
4. Black Swan – AFI
5. The Extra Man – Sundance
6. Hamill – AFI
7. Let the Right One In (Swedish ’08 version listed in response to Darrien’s vote for the U.S. version because it is also quite amazing)

The Screen Actors Guild is looking for qualified Independent Film and New Media Producers to participate in a special focus group in early January. The overall purpose is to gain a better understanding of how producers work with SAG as well as some real world views of SAG’s new online production center.

If you are interested, please email the following items to hbarkan@sag.org.

• Name
• Email
• Phone
• Primary field of expertise (e.g. new media, indie film, or both)
• Link to IMDB page or list of current filmography

Please note that this a purely volunteer-based opportunity and that only Producers with legitimate production experience will be considered.

Thanks and all the best,

SAGIndie