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Wes Craven Screams Anew
Legendary Master of Horror Prefers to Be Known as a Working Stiff In honor of the late Wes Craven’s would-be birthday, we’re revisiting our interview with the icon of fright. This article originally...
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Crossing the Line: Jonathan Demme, 1944-2017
I only met Jonathan Demme once, on March 14, 1992. The place was a ballroom at the United Nations. The occasion was the annual DGA Awards dinner, held that year concurrently in New York and Los...
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Ace in the Hole: Aaron Sorkin Plays Molly’s Game
After decades as one of Hollywood’s most lauded screenwriters, Aaron Sorkin makes a play for directing with the high rolling thriller Molly’s Game. On the set of Molly’s Game, each day that was spent...
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Things We’ve Learned as Moviemakers
Voices of Iraq Sometimes things are so crazy and outlandish that they’re bound to work—like sending 150 cameras into Iraq. “No” always means “maybe.” So never give up. Work on projects you’re...
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Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker
Jennifer Esposito, Don Cheadle and Kathleen York star in Crash. Photo: Lions Gate Films. Never hire your brother to be your teamster. Because no matter how much he loves you, you’ll still be taking a...
View ArticleThings I’ve Learned As A Moviemaker: Taylor Hackford
You have to be passionate. When a script is ready, I commit to it. That’s one of the problems with me. I usually develop my own material, and it takes a while, so therefore I am not directing as much...
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Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker
Former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling outside Enron Headquarters, from Alex Gibney’s Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. Photo: Wyatt McSpadden 1. Always embrace the contradictions. 2. In the beginning, be...
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Batman and Kramer
Wayne Kramer Ask any of today’s top writer-directors about the work that first inspired them to make movies and you’re likely to hear the names of Ford, Welles, Fellini or Godard bandied about. But...
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Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker
Katie Holmes and Aaron Eckhart in Thank You for Smoking. Photo: Dale Robinette/Fox Searchlight Trust your script. It’s easy to fall in love with something that’s “set funny.” Trust the document that...
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Make Them Laugh-Then Make Them Think
Jason Reitman directs Thank You for Smoking. Photo: Dale Robinette/Fox Searchlight Since its premiere at last year’s Toronto Film Festival, where two major studios fought for the rights to distribute...
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Second Chances
After coping with the loss of childhood friends from overdoses and prison, writer-director Laurie Collyer let out her aggression the only way she knew how— through movies. Gaining recognition for her...
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In True Indie Fashion
Bill Pullman, Dylan Baker and Curtiss Clayton Photo: Vitagraph Films You’d think that after 20 years in the business, making movies would only get easier. But as editor-turned-director Curtiss Clayton...
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Auteur Seeks Complex Character
David Jacobson directs Edward Norton in Down in the Valley. Photo: THINKFilm For many moviemakers, the traditional characters of the protagonist and the antagonist are clear-cut. But writer-director...
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Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker
Chen Kaige’s The Promise. Photo: Warner Independent Pictures. Soundstages are more reliable than Mother Nature. We traveled everywhere to make The Promise. It started on a Beijing soundstage. Then we...
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Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker
Maria Bello, David Koechner and Aaron Eckhart in Jason Reitman’s Thank You for Smoking (2006). Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures. Work out if at all possible. If you’re not too tired, it can clear your...
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Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker
Michael Winterbottom’s The Road to Guantanamo (2006). Get off your butt and make a movie. I think, especially these days, one of the big advantages of DV is you can just make a film. You don’t have to...
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The Color of Forbidden Fruit
Chen Kaige’s The Promise. Photo: Warner Independent Pictures. The Promise glows with the richest colors this side of an April tulip field. A gorgeous opening shot tracks pink flower blooms shaken from...
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Things I’ve Learned As A Moviemaker
Things Behind The Sun On Advice for New Moviemakers Watch as many old movies as possible. On the Importance of Film School Film school isn’t just a trade school, you learn things you’re not going to...
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Prolific Aussie Helmer Beresford takes on Bride of The Wind
Bruce Beresford directing Sarah Wynter as “Alma Mahler” in the historical drama Bride of the Wind. After 30 years of moviemaking and almost as many features to his credit, Australian director Bruce...
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The Director who Defies Audience Expectations
Brad Anderson Leave it to writer/director Brad Anderson to defy audience expectations. Though he’s often been pigeonholed as ‘the romantic-comedy guy’ following the success of his first two features,...
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