Don't Sweat The Audition

So your agent just called and said you were up for a role in a film that is being directed by someone whose work you admire. Since she called, you have been so excited that you haven't been able to think about anything else. That is probably the worst thing you can do especially if you don't get the part. You should just try to relax.
There are many things you should and should not do at an audition and I could not even begin to scratch the surface in this column, but I will mention a few.
Since it is rude to keep people waiting your first priority should be to arrive on time.
The casting director is permitted to keep you waiting, but the reverse is not true. After all, you are the one trying to get a job. The casting director already has one.
READ MORE...
By Phyllis Petito Corella for http://www.castingnewyork.com

SCARY TRUE STORIES

In the early 1990s, film director Norio Tsuruta (Premonition, Ring 0:Birthday) and screenwriter Chiaki Konaka (Marebito) collaborated on a three-part series of programs based on actual paranormal events.
Collectively known as Honto Ni Atta Kowai Hanashi (Scary True Stories), it was an immediate hit. Not only did it mark Norio Tsuruta's directorial debut, it also became a pioneering work which lit the flame of the Japanese horror boom, shedding its influence on such films as Ringu, Ju-On: The Grudge, and Pulse.
Set in contemporary Japan and highlighted by creepy visuals and sound effects, these chilling dramatizations of supernatural horror are presented for the first time in the U.S.
LEARN MORE...
http://www.darkskyfilms.com/Display.asp?ID=16

CASTING NEW YORK

There is a reputable performing arts web site where you can post your casting notices for free!
Castingnewyork.com has been a free source for actors and artists since 1998. Backstage recently called Castingnewyork.com "one of the most reputable casting sites on the internet" and recently participated in a banner barter program with Backstage.
Their staff is growing because they are growing. They are located at www.castingnewyork.com.
Dave Stroebel says, "Click on the 'Post a casting notice' on the blue menu bar to send us your notice".
TO CASTING NY...
Dave Stroebel - http://www.castingnewyork.com/

ARE MOVIES ANY GOOD?

I'm not very critical or judgmental about whether or not a movie is any good. The way I look at it, if several hundred people got together every day for a year or so-a number of them willing to put on heavy makeup, wear clothes that weren't their own, and pretend to be people other than themselves-and their whole purpose for doing all this was to entertain me, then I'm not gonna start worrying about whether or not they did a good job. The effort alone was enough to make me happy." - George Carlin

The Director's Vision

Imagine you're being considered to direct a Hollywood film. You're handed a screenplay that has been "greenlighted" (given approval for production) by a major studio. As you read through it, you begin to imagine how it might play out on screen. You see the characters coming to life. You envision the lighting and hear the sound. You are absorbed in the world of the story until you see the script's final words: Fade Out.
When you're done reading the script, you ask yourself some key questions. What is the main idea or theme of the screenplay? What does the story say about the human condition in general? You also think about the script cinematically. How will the script translate to the visual language of the screen? Who is the audience? As the director, you must feel passionate about this soon-to-be film. Feeling connected and committed to the story will help you do your best work, and there's an enormous amount of work ahead.
LEARN MORE...
http://www.learner.org/exhibits/cinema/directing.html

SCREENWRITING 101

If you are new to screenwriting, planning to write a screenplay or script of any kind, the good news is that writing in screenplay format is easier and more intuitive today than at any time since first Lanier Word Processing Machine. Advances in screenwriting software now save the hours you would previously have spent learning how to write a screenplay in professional Hollywood format can now be allocated to polishing your plot, honing your dialogue, or learning screenplay structure. Some think screenplay writing is eclipsing the pursuit of the Great American Novel but it certainly isn't any easier. At any rate the making of movies is a collaborative process which demands that those in screenwriting produce a document in particular format, notation, and length called a 'script.'
This overview will begin acquaint you with the screenplay format writing rules and screenwriting etiquette you'll need to know about, and as you browse the following material you may notice the words 'don't', 'avoid' and '...' unless you are directing the movie.' Take that advice to heart. As you become more familiar with the world of screenwriting you'll understand why but for now the scope of this document prohibits a deeper explanation.
LEARN MORE...
http://www.screenwriting.info/

Games for Learning: Serious Entertainment

America’s Army is the most successful Serious Game to date, and it is referenced at just about every conference. Initially developed as an U.S. Army PR tool, it also has a large civilian following. © America’s Army 2005.
One of the hot topics at the recent Game Developers Conference was Serious Games, videogames used for learning — by students learning physics in schools, by surgeons in hospitals, by corporations to train salesmen, by the Army to train soldiers in combat, by the Forestry Service to practice firefighting, and even by the Secret Service, to learn how to respond to crisis events.
In a time when it’s getting much more expensive and risky to produce games for entertainment (costs for PlayStation 3 games are expected to routinely top $10 million), Serious Games offer an interesting possibility for game houses to create moderately priced games, do some good for society, and get paid up front to prop up cash flow.
LEARN MORE... By Christopher Harz
http://mag.awn.com/index.php?ltype=pageone&article_no=2863

Sir! No Sir!

In the 1960’s an anti-war movement emerged that altered the course of history. This movement didn’t take place on college campuses, but in barracks and on aircraft carriers. It flourished in army stockades, navy brigs and in the dingy towns that surround military bases. It penetrated elite military colleges like West Point. And it spread throughout the battlefields of Vietnam. It was a movement no one expected, least of all those in it. Hundreds went to prison and thousands into exile. And by 1971 it had, in the words of one colonel, infested the entire armed services. Yet today few people know about the GI movement against the war in Vietnam.
The Vietnam War has been the subject of hundreds of films, both fiction and non-fiction, but this story–the story of the rebellion of thousands of American soldiers against the war–has never been told in film.This is certainly not for lack of evidence. By the Pentagon’s own figures, 503,926 “incidents of desertion” occurred between 1966 and 1971; officers were being “fragged”(killed with fragmentation grenades by their own troops) at an alarming rate; and by 1971 entire units were refusing to go into battle in unprecedented numbers. In the course of a few short years, over 100 underground newspapers were published by soldiers around the world; local and national antiwar GI organizations were joined by thousands; thousands more demonstrated against the war at every major base in the world in 1970 and 1971, including in Vietnam itself; stockades and federal prisons were filling up with soldiers jailed for their opposition to the war and the military.
Yet few today know of these history-changing events. - http://www.indie911.com/sir-no-sir
LEARN MORE...
http://www.sirnosir.com/

21st Century's 3DVX3 camera

3DVX3
Will 3D catch on for feature films like James Cameron believes? Whatever your bet, for some jobs 3D could be just the thing, whether for a kiosk, museum display, or other site specific presentation. If you're tempted, consider using 21st Century's 3DVX3 camera, the next generation of its 3D system built around two mated Panasonic AG-DVX100As. The unique direct-to-disk recording system employs two Mac Minis to record 1280×720p HD to paired sets of removable 7200RPM drives.
LEARN MORE...
http://digitalcontentproducer.com/cameras/prods/shoot_tools_21st_century_0406/

THREE BRIDGES

When a doctor begins an experimental drug therapy on a comatose boy, the boy's ghosts haunt his waking spells that only his nurse can see.
Don Gaile edited and provided many special effects for this 20-minute horror short film Three Bridges for Writer/Director Dorie Dunham. SEE THE HORROR TRAILER...
http://www.thumbprintpictures.com/entertainment/threebridges.html

HARD CANDY

The hunter gets captured by the game in "Hard Candy," a hard-hitting psychological thriller in which a 14-year-old girl engages in a high-tension confrontation with the 32-year-old pedophile she met online.
An impressive first feature by music video and commercial director David Slade, the often excruciatingly taut film, penned by playwright Brian Nelson, couldn't have arrived at a more opportune moment given recent headlines about child predators trolling MySpace.com and Internet chat rooms.
That timing certainly will help this Lionsgate release gain attention, but its ultimate success will ride on its own potency as an authentic nerve-jangler in the vein of Stephen King's "Misery" and William Mastrosimone's "Extremeties."
Young Canadian actress Ellen Page is shockingly good in the role of Hayley, a smart, charming teenager who agrees to get together with Jeff (Patrick Wilson), an engaging fashion photographer, at a local coffee shop after meeting cute on the Internet.
READ THE REVIEW,,, By Michael Rechtshaffen http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060413/review_nm/film_hardcandy
SEE THE TRAILER... http://www.apple.com/trailers/lions_gate/hardcandy/hd/
VISIT THE SITE... http://www.hardcandymovie.com/

THE CALL - Horror takes a new twist

Pirelli Group makes its film debut with the first Pirellifilm, an innovative communication project that will take place over several years and consists in the production of superb short films to be broadcast over the Internet.
Created for the worldwide promotion of the Pirelli image, which has always been acclaimed for its innovation, this project combines Cinema and the Internet and uses them as a new communication tool that joins the instruments traditionally used by the group.
The first short film, which can be seen starting today at www.pirellifilm.com , is "The Call" starring John Malkovich and Naomi Campbell.
The director is Antoine Fuqua, who directed "Training Day" and "King Arthur".Filmed with a dark, gothic mood in a mysterious, tempting nighttime Rome , "The Call" is a breath-taking thriller of just 8 minutes and 45 seconds that depicts the eternal battle between Good and Evil.
It took five days to film on various locations - Borgo Santo Spirito, the streets of Rome , and an abandoned warehouse outside of Rome - and 4 months of post production. Nearly 120 persons worked non-stop on the set.
SEE THE CALL...
http://www.pirellifilm.com/thefilm/index.html

THE UTAH MURDER PROJECT

The most frightening part is...it really happened.
When three friends leave Los Angeles and head for the rural camping grounds of Coral Pink Sand Dunes, Utah, they encounter a strange car sitting idle on a lone, desert highway. After one of them (Amy Smart) is suddenly pulled into the car and abducted by a mysterious stranger, her ex-boyfriend, LA narcotics Detective Charlie DeSantis arrives to investigate.
His slick and cool demeanor instantly clashes with the town's hard-edged, no nonsense Sheriff (Jeff Conaway). However, the two men eventually put their differences aside when they suspect that Darcy may be involved in staging her own kidnapping and ransom.
What follows is a series of wild and unpredictable events and a surprise ending that will leave you asking yourself...How far would you go for family? LEARN MORE...
http://www.theutahmurderproject.com/
SEE THE TRAILER...
http://www.spearproductions.com/ump_trailer.htm

CONJURE

From the mind of acclaimed writer and world-renowned illustrator, Matt Busch, comes his first independent movie, Conjure.
Written, directed, and produced by Busch, Conjure is a unique supernatural thriller, guaranteed to run chills down your spine.
Busch and model Sarah Wilkinson, play themselves in this haunting tale of ghostly terror and manifestation of the darkest kind...
Finding his high profile pop-culture illustration career to be less than meaningful, Matt Busch sets out to find a more rewarding personal project. Visiting a nearby graveyard, Matt stumbles upon an old photograph of a South-American castle.
Obsessed with the photo, Matt begins to bring the castle to life with a vibrant full-color painting. At the same time, he creates sinister sketches of the tortured souls who he imagines inhabit the gothic dwelling.
While Matt creates his cryptic world in his studio, his girlfriend Sarah is confronted with phantom encounters throughout the rest of the home. The more Matt conjures the spirits through his art, the more intense these ghostly encounters become.
Eventually the art becomes so real, that Matt and Sarah find themselves manifested in the actual castle, lost in the never-ending jungles of South America. There they must find a way home, and confront the demonic spirits conjured from Matt's twisted nightmares...
LEARN MORE...
http://www.mattbusch.com/conjure/movie.html

COMING SOON: Horror Movie "Fingerprints"

Brittany Snow and Kristin Cavallari will topline indie psychological thriller Fingerprints. Director Harry Basil starts lensing pic in mid-April in Oklahoma, according to Variety. Snow stars as a girl fresh out of a rehab who moves back in with her parents and sister (Cavallari) and gets involved in an investigation of what has paralyzed residents. Story is loosely based on an urban legend involving haunted train tracks. Brothers Brian and Jason Cleveland penned the screenplay and the horror pic "Soul's Midnight," also helmed by Basil. Snow starred in NBC series "American Dreams." The film is based on the widely publicized urban legend that 50 years ago in a small Texas town, a school bus filled with children was hit by a train killing everyone on-board. The ghosts of the children are supposedly still in the area where the accident took place. It is said that if a car is put in neutral on the railroad tracks, the children will push the car off the tracks, leaving only their ghostly fingerprints behind. The movie centers around a troubled teenager who discovers the gruesome truth behind the legend.
Harry Basil will be directing the film, from a screenplay written by brothers Brian and Jason Cleveland, who are also producing.
LEARN MORE...
http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/6118

INVISIBLE CHILDREN

Telling the Untold: The Documentary Storytelling of Invisible Children
Jacob, an African boy, looks into the camera and lets go with great, chest-heaving sobs. He cries until both he and the viewer hurt. Then he cries some more.
Surely at some point the camera will look away. But it never does.
When night falls, Jacob runs and hides with thousands of other youngsters in basements and back alleys of towns in Northern Uganda. They flee a rebel army composed largely of children like them who were beaten and brainwashed into fighting in a pointless, 18-year civil war the world has largely ignored.
Jacob cries for his brother who was slaughtered by the rebels. The boy expresses his grief in plain English. He hopes, Jacob says, to rejoin his brother someday in heaven.
LEARN MORE...
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050131/news_mz1c31uganda.html

BROTHERS OF THE HEAD

A raucous ride through a burning flash of glory in seventies British rock music, Brothers of the Head is an utterly uncharacterizable tour de force from two of the world's most interesting emerging directors. Neither truly fake documentary nor fly-on-the-wall tour film - although it tips its hat to both those genres - the film perhaps feels most like underground horror, with characteristic physical expressions of psychological trauma in abundance. This should come as no surprise, as sci-fi guru Brian Aldiss authored the novel on which it is based. It also absolutely, definitively has the coolest soundtrack of any movie this year: a sweltering hybrid of Small Faces-styled classic rock and early, hyper-angry UK punk.
The film follows a pair of conjoined twin brothers who are plucked from rural obscurity, groomed into rock stars and soon launched on an unsuspecting music scene as the "next big thing." The abusive manager, slicked-back impresario, two-faced journalists, groupies galore, booze and drugs and more booze and more drugs fill in the gaps.
READ MORE...
http://www.e.bell.ca/filmfest/2005/films_description.asp?id=44

'Scary Movie': HORROR TOPS ALL

Bob and Harvey Weinstein returned to the box-office lead as "Scary Movie 4" debuted with $41 million, the first No. 1 opening for the new company founded by the former Miramax bosses.
It was the best Easter weekend debut ever, beating the $30.1 million opening of "Panic Room" in 2002, according to studio estimates Sunday.
With the success of "Scary Movie 4," Bob Weinstein said he hopes to have a fifth film in the horror-spoof franchise in theaters over Easter weekend next year.
"I say the Weinsteins should be getting `Scary Movie' 5 through 10 ready right away," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.
US actress Carmen Electra at St Martin's Lane Hotel in London, Thursday, April 13, 2006, during a photocall to promote her new film Scary Movie 4. (AP Photo/Yui Mok/PA)
READ MORE... By DAVID GERMAIN, AP Movie Writer for
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060416/ap_en_mo/box_office

THE LAND OF COLLEGE PROPHETS

Hale Manor's new release The Land of College Prophets has seven festival wins as of right now (Five of them from the B-movie awards including best picture) They boast that they have created the most elaborate prop in a low-budget underground film history. The Land of College Prophets has already been called "An elaborate comic-book world and a guaranteed good time"-Boston Underground Film Festival and "like a Roald Dahl creation with H.P. Lovecraft’s brain running the entire operation."-Rory Aronsky of Film Threat.
It is a comic book tale of two brawling, bar goers that belong to a guild of men known as the "College Prophets". They awaken a gigantic, two-story tall, haunted wishing well (The Well That Ate Children). It begins pumping water into the ground causing the townspeople to go insane. Only with math, magic and violence can they attempt to shut down the well and restore things back to what they consider normal. But they'll need help from their friends because not only has the Well come alive, but it has turned other Prophets evil and they now fight on its side. The film is like Batman meets Pi meets the Wonder boys. Yes, it's weird, but utterly captivating.
MORE INFO-SEE THE TRAILER...
http://halemanor.com/hm2/locp.php

FACE X

A killer never caught.
A game never beaten.
SEE THE TRAILER...http://www.moonghost.net/facex.html

The Seven Best Examples that Ante Up the Anti-Hero

Anti-heroes aren't all Clint Eastwood. These six types show the breadth and depth of just how anti a hero can be -- and how far an anti-hero can rise, given the opportunity.
Let's get one thing straight. The definition of an anti-hero does not begin and end with Clint Eastwood. Although his resumé of raw and rebellious heroes is iconic in the likes of Dirty Harry and The Man With No Name, he still doesn't define what an anti-hero is (although he comes pretty damn close). In total, there are at least six models of anti-heroes. This list purposely strays from the obvious choices (sans A Clockwork Orange's Alex de Large) like Snake Plissken and includes different examples than those simply pursuing honorable goals through dishonorable means. Anti-heroes generally lack traditional hero qualities, such as idealism or courage, which essentially makes them more common than we all think.
READ MORE... by nick birren for www.creativescreenwriting.com/

'Friends With Money': Cash Rules

Independent Film Guide
Smart, witty and alert to the buried resentments that poke through the shiny surface of affluence, Holofcener's film recognizes that money is the new sex.
Why You Should See It
Movies rarely discuss the complexities of money and the problems it can cause. Holofcener's dramedy is about the ways it can ruin life, make life better or have no effect whatsoever. It's a movie that makes you weigh the things and people in your life, evaluate what you would change and think about how you wish things were different.
Unforgettable Scene Jane (McDormand) is suffering from a midlife crisis, refusing to wash her hair and avoiding the fact that her extraordinarily effeminate husband (Simon McBurney) may be gay. Then comes a total breakdown at the cash register of an Old Navy store. As she lashes out at the couple that cut in front of her, she manages to run straight into a wall and break her nose. Moral of the story: don't shop at Old Navy.
SEE THE TRAILER... by Claire Grant for Moviefone - http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony/friendswithmoney/high.html

Lovecraft's Reanimator: The Foretelling of a Sub-Genre

I’m supposed to be a huge fan of King, possibly a loyal fan of Barker, and most certainly an obsessive Lovecraft fan—an obsession I should have started cultivating since at least junior high.
I actually knew this at about that time, and I gave Lovecraft a shot. Whatever the reason, he didn’t take, and I didn’t pick him up again until a couple of years later, when I was turned on to the Herbert West – Reanimator stories. I don’t recall what my reaction was at the time was, except that I, of course, loved the movie.
I’m happy to say that this month’s topic here at The Zombie Blog has prompted me to re-read the stories. I couldn’t be happier with the timing; after years of loving and getting to thoroughly know the zombie sub-genre, and having been around long enough to witness certain arcs and dips in its history, I’m glad to have this perspective when re-evaluating these stories anew.
READ MORE... Posted by Zombie-A-GoGo for http://wewantbrains.blogspot.com/2006/03/lovecrafts-reanimator-foretelling-of_27.html

TERRACE STREET: Independent Horror

Four friends are ready to let loose after a long week; what better way to unwind than by going to the first big event of the summer, an underground party being held in Boston's old brewery district. Without a care in the world, Finley, Brooke, Lauren and Jason venture out for a night of fun, blissfully unaware of their fate. They arrive at what they believe is the correct location and venture inside.
The air is still and eerily quiet, at odds with the expected noise and laughter of a party in full swing. Suddenly, a scream pierces the silences and the kids are faced with an unexpected dilemma: do they ignore it and go on their way or do they investigate, potentially helping someone in need?
After heated debate, they venture further into the building to search for the source of the screams. Things begin to quickly spiral out of control as the kids discover the source of the sounds and of their ultimate undoing. The situation becomes increasingly dire and as they bear witness to things they can never un-see, the question is no longer "where's the party", but rather "will I survive the night"?
LEARN MORE...
http://www.terracest.com/about.phtml

Zodiac’s Tapeless HD Workflow

The recent spate of high-profile feature films shot with HD cameras has led to a wide range of workflow approaches for industry-watchers to study. At least four of those films—A Prairie Home Companion, Superman Returns, Miami Vice, and Zodiac—will be profiled in upcoming issues of Millimeter and Digital Content Producer, as well as in HD Focus and at digitalcontentproducer.com.
Of this growing group of HD-acquired features, the first one to adopt an entirely tapeless workflow from camera capture through the final digital intermediate was David Fincher’s Zodiac. The movie is slated to debut later this year, and is about the notorious serial killer who terrorized San Francisco in the 1960s and 1970s. Upcoming issues of Millimeter and Digital Content Producer will cover different aspects of Zodiac’s workflow, built around Viper FilmStream cameras recording to specially configured hard drives called D.MAG Digital Film Magazines from S.two of Reno, Nev. The “digital negative” emerging out of those hard drives was backed up each day to LTO data tape during production, and imagery eventually will be reloaded from those data tapes for making the final digital intermediate master at the very end of the movie-making process.
Learn More...
by Michael Goldman for http://digitalcontentproducer.com/hd/hd_focus_041106/

SUBWAY

'Subway' is a 7 minute thriller, conceived and storyboarded in 1999, written in 2002 and shot on digital over the course of two weekends in August and September of 2002.
The main characters are Stacey, an off-work bartender, played very subtle and convincingly by the engaging Heather Soto; and Denis, a marginal, warped individual who 'just wants to talk' to women, played superbly by the diverse Gideon Horowitz.
Directed by James Murray, 'Subway' makes us question what is real...and what is only in our minds.
TO THE TRAILERS...
http://www.jamessmurray.com/subway_clips.html

"American Chinatown"

An independent karate film starring: Henry Lee, Robert Z’Dar, Liat Goodson.
A sect of the Triads controls the streets of Chinatown. An orphaned street fighter, Yong (Henry Lee), is torn between his loyalty to the gang and his love for Lily (Liat Goodson), the adopted sister of Yong’s Triad boss, Eric (Robert Z’Dar). Eric eventually discovers the love affair between Yong and Lily, and a violent confrontation ensues. Eric cannot run from his destiny or hide from his fate. Chinatown is the ultimate test of Yong’s honor.
TO THE TRAILER... http://www.globalvillagetelevision.com/alltrailers/americanchinatowntrailer.html

FANBOYS

Henry, a newly employed loner, is befriended by his supervisor who introduces him to his buddies. Little does he know they have plans to make him play out a comic book fantasy, where they get to play villians and force him to be the Hero, by kidnapping his wife. Henry must now play along in order to save her.
CLEVER ANDROID presents TO THE VIDEO...
http://cleverandroid.com/shorts/fanboys/fanboysvideo.php

How to get an Agent

Basic Tips for Actors
By Ronald K. Armstrong
It is not easy getting an agent but it is almost necessary if you want to work in this business. There are no easy methods to secure one; rather it takes hard work and lot of tenacity. The irony of it all is that agents want established actors yet to really get established you may need the help of a talent agent. Although trade publications such as Backstage are a good source of job opportunities the real work comes through an agent. They usually keep a circle of clients to whom they channel out the work to first. If you are apart of that circle then it makes life a little easier for you.
Through the years I’ve seen young actors trying to achieve their goals make simple little errors which could have been avoided. Most don’t have a mentor to help them through the difficulties and thus have to feel around in the dark.
LEARN MORE...
http://www.rkacinemasociety.com/page/page/2787227.htm

DISSONANCE

Nothing can come between a true believer and his faith.
Adam is a simple but mysterious man with a sinister past. With his faith and moral hanging in the balance, he is left with a daedly dilemma when his obsession with a nun, his volatile bond with a menacing best friend and his business relationship with a psychotherapist collide in disaster.
LEARN MORE...
http://www.dissonancethemovie.com/
GO TO THE TRAILER...

"Deadly Discovery"

"Deadly Discovery" the independent action film stars Walter Baziak, Jack Rooney, and Kerol Rae.
Ike Walters is a smart, big-city cop. While visiting his former partner, Stetson Avery, in rural Greentown, he inexplicably finds himself the prime target in a game of deceit. Befriended by the alluring-yet-suspicious Renee, it becomes obvious to Ike that he’s seen too much.
SEE THE TRAILER... - http://www.globalvillagetelevision.com/alltrailers/deadlydiscoverytrailer.html

MR. JINX

"Mr. Jinx" Thriller
Phil Crane is a master of the lens and a celebrated genius with the camera. He is also a serial lover: dubbed Mr. Jinx, as wives and a model die in circumstances that point to Phil, being the killer. Everyone suspects Phil Crane is a very sick man, who needs to be locked up, and the key thrown away.
Experts believe Phil is driven by psychological demons, and possessed by manic episodes. He attacks and kills not in self-defence, but for perverse pleasure. Phil thinks he is misunderstood and falsely accused. In Phil's quest to find the killer, does the smoking gun lead back to him?
SEE THE TRAILER... - Henry Jones Film - http://www.globalvillagetelevision.com/alltrailers/mrjinxtrailer.html

FILM BUSINESS PLANS

The landscape for film finance has changed radically. Today, successful independent film producers must cobble together film financing from a variety of sources:
Private equity investors comfortable with film investing
Soft-money motion picture funding from U.S. state tax incentives
International film co-productions from the UK, Canada, EU, and elsewhere
Foreign territory pre-sales of film, video, DVD, television, and other distribution rights
Studio financing, production company backing, and distribution deals
Film business plans are most helpful for indie filmmakers who want to raise money from private investors. In financing a film, potential investors want to know that there is a strong producing team in place. They also want to feel confident that the filmmakers have a strategy for generating film revenues from a variety of distribution channels. Film business plans help to deliver the information an investor will need to make a reasoned judgement.
READ MORE... http://www.sharpangle.com/filmbusinessplans/filmbusinessplans.html

The Devil and Daniel Johnston

Henry Rosenthal, is an award-winning SF filmmaker and his latest film, The Devil and Daniel Johnston, won the documentary award at Sundance. Jeff Feuerzeig is an independent filmmaker and commercial director formerly based in New York, now living in Los Angeles.
Jeff has completed production of his second feature length film, The Devil and Daniel Johnston, about legendary cult musician and artist Daniel Johnston. Daniel Johnston is a manic-depressive genius singer/songwriter/artist, revealed in this portrait of madness, creativity and love.
The Devil and Daniel Johnston is a stunning portrait of a musical and artistic genius who nearly slipped away.
Director Jeff Feuerzeig exquisitely depicts a perfect example of brilliance and madness going hand in hand with subject Daniel Johnston. As an artist suffering from manic depression with delusions of grandeur, Daniel Johnston's wild fluctuations, numerous downward spirals, and periodic respites are exposed in this deeply moving documentary.
LEARN MORE... http://www.sonyclassics.com/devilanddaniel/

SCREEN WRITER'S MARKET

VISIT a site dedicated to helping you market your screenplay. Post a logline or discuss screenwriting topics with other writers on the message board. Perhaps you would like to post the first ten pages of your screenplay in our password protected area.
Producers, feel free to browse the loglines board, or if you have the password, read the first ten pages of an author's screenplay.
TO BUY & SELL SCREENPLAYS...
http://www.screenwritersmarket.com/

WHO WAS BERNIE BLOCK?

As a student at New York University I have had the opportunity to work with an entire spectrum of talents. I’ve seen and learned more than I ever expected upon receiving my acceptance letter. I’ve experienced and realized creative collaboration and applied that to my filmmaking process. And when I look back on my education, it’s just beginning.
I can make a film, but what I really want to do is tell a story. We all have the ability to over produce till our hair falls out - and it will fall out – but what is the point unless you have something to say? So please join me if you’d like to enter the door of possibility and into a world of entertainment for thirty minutes by a student filmmaker that has something to say - and don’t forget to ask yourself: Who Was Bernie Block? - Ryan David Kohler
LEARN MORE...
http://www.whowasbernieblock.com/

Pointless Pictures Pre-Production Party & Fundraiser

Pointless Pictures was formed in 2004 on the set of “My Last Fall”
Pointless Pictures is curently in Pre-Production on “Landlocked”
Help Landlocked get off the ground! Join us at Mannahatta (Bleecker St. and Bowery)on April 10th from 7:30-9:30pm for Open bar with donation, great door prizes and raffles!
Sometimes, the end is where everything begins...
WATCH "MY LAST FALL"...
http://www.youare.tv/watch.php?id=14

My Scripts

“Forgive Me Not” was written within a little over a year.
A serial killer wreaks havoc in a small close knit community. A hard nosed detective, Moana Moore is pushed to the forefront of the investigation as the gruesome murders challenges the safety of her daughter. Time seems to be running out for Moana as old demons tare at her emotional state.
Mary Woods - Synopsis
Mary, a sweet and lovable twelve year old is at her ropes end. Tired of being mentally, physically and sexually abused by her father Raymond, finally musters the strength to stand up for what is right, and tells her father for the very last time "stop it, you're hurting me daddy, I don't care if momma don't believe me, I'm telling the police". On this day Mary's life was ended. LEARN MORE...
http://www.blacksheepfilms.biz/html/scripts.html

Hollywood Studios to Sell Movies Online

Hollywood studios will start selling digital versions of films such as "Brokeback Mountain" and "King Kong" on the Internet this week, the first time major movies have been available online to own.
The films can't be burned onto a disc for viewing on a DVD player. Still, the move is seen as a step toward full digital distribution of movies over the Internet.
Six studios said they would announce Monday that sales will begin through the download Web site Movielink. The site is jointly owned by five of the seven major studios.
Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, Sony Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox and MGM will offer some first-run and older titles on Movielink. New films will be priced similar to DVDs — between $20 and $30 — while older titles will sell for $10 to $20.
In a separate announcement, Sony and Lionsgate said they will sell films through the CinemaNow site.
Only films from The Walt Disney Co. will not be available, although both services say talks are ongoing.
LEARN MORE... By GARY GENTILE, AP Business Writer for
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060403/ap_en_mo/online_movies
This undated publicity photo provided by Focus Features, shows actors Heath Ledger, left, and Jake Gyllenhaal, in a scene from 'Brokeback Mountain.' Hollywood studios will start selling digital versions of films such as 'Brokeback Mountain' and 'King Kong' on the Internet in April 2006, the first time major movies have been available online to own. (AP Photo/ Focus Features/ Kimberly French, File) Email Photo Print Photo

MAKING IT HAPPEN

Indie Actor/Screenwriter travels the world to make his film
So what do you do when your stuck doing independent films for free and no end in sight, you leave the country.....John Ray Gutierrez a San Francisco bay area actor/screenwriter did just that. He traveled to Sweden,Romania and Thailand on a quest to make a film he wrote and would star in "The Lucid Dream." "It all really started when I won an award as an up and coming screenwriter for a trip to Romania. There I met with emerging artists in the film community and pitched my script. From then on it was like a snow ball effect! I met with a Indie film director iulian-manuel ghervas of Romania who had access to Maia Morgenstern "Passion of Christ" and MARCEL l URES "The Professional" and within a week we had them attached to the film."
But it didn't stop there, John Ray befriended an award winning film student (Ekarat from Thailand) who he had met on set of a film for the academy of arts film school in San Francisco. Ek and John Ray instantly became close friends having the same vision of combining indie film markets from different parts of the world. "We wanted to give emerging and seasoned talent from different countries a chance to work with each other on a film that would promote the beauty of the countries while giving the audience a taste of the culture. It's been an amazing experience!" LEARN MORE...
By Phoenix Good for http://www.latinola.com/story.php?story=3289

SILENT HILL

FEAR WITHOUT END
As a fan I knew I had to be respectful of the original material but at the same time I knew I had to focus on the arch of the characters and the narrative from a filmmakers perspective. For both the fans of the games and non-gamers this was the only way to do a successful adaptation. You must also remember that my adaptation was done through the eyes of a Westerner not through the eyes of someone from the East. This movie just had to be different even though I hope I have successfully captured the essence of the Silent Hill experience.
SEE THE TRAILER...
http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/silenthill/high.html

THE READER

What happens when the truth you know is not the truth you share? On a sunny Thursday morning two women find out. Can an act of great love be based in a lie?
SEE THE FILM...
http://motionflicks.com/search_index.php?id=419&type=mom

THE MESSENGER

The goal in making the independent short film THE MESSENGER is to win an Oscar!
Pat Croce, former president of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and owner of a pirate museum in Key West, financed and executive-produced the film.
"I love history, ideally pirate history," Croce says. "But when Quincy said he had this story about the end of World War II that wasn't even in President Truman's biography, I thought this film has to be made. ... I told him, 'Don't settle for anything. Our goal is an Oscar.'
Perkins says he pulled out all the stops making the short movie.
"We did everything they tell you not to do," the young filmmaker says. "We used extras, made a period piece, shot eight locations and used kids. This film theoretically should not have been made."
Filmmaker Quincy Perkins stumbled upon Jones' anecdote at the end of a sentence on page 461 of David McCullough's Truman and became inspired to make a short film, The Messenger, that follows the boy's eventful day. The film will get its first showings April 1 and 2 at the 2006 Philadelphia Film Festival.
Read More... By Patrick Gavin, USA TODAY
http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/