Last night I attended the DANCES WITH FILMS "Meet the Filmmakers" cocktail party at The Standard in West Hollywood. The film festival is celebrating their 10th year. The founders, Leslee Scallon & Michael Trent are I'm sure the reason this festival has beaten the odds in a town where having a celebrity in your film is the only way to get attention. This festival prides itself on being dedicated to truly independent films and the people behind them. The mood was ...
I thought this was a particularly good interview with Michael Bay and since Transformers premiered at the LA Film Festival, I wanted to include this interview in this blog. Robin Rowe, a Los Angeles screenwriter and facilitator of weekly filmmaker events, asks Bay practical questions that I think a lot of filmmakers will appreciate. Enjoy! (Contact information for Robin is at the bottom of this email.) Michael Bay Interview: Transformersby Robin Rowe [More articles] Read Robin's Sci-...
Since Transformers premiered at the LA Film Festival, I am including this review here. Personally, I love this movie. I have a short video from the Transformers premiere and block party posted on this site. Check it out if you haven't seen it!Transformers Review* * * * (Guest review by Robin Rowe, Movie Editor)STARRING: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Jon Voight, Bernie Mac, Tyrese Gibson, Rachael Taylor, Amaury Nolasco, Kevin Dunn, Ronnie Sperling2007, 144 Minutes, Directed by:...
Wow...what an amazing festival. I'm a little bummed it's over but then my overflowing laundry basket reminds me that it's time to resume normal life. :-) I had a great time and I just can't stop talking about the LA Film Festival staff and volunteers. They are the greatest group of people ever. It would be an honor for me to screen my film at this festival. As a matter of fact, that's all I could think about the entire week! And every filmmaker I met told me that this ...
On Saturday June 30, 2007 at the Italian Cultural Institute, I attended "Behind the Curtain With ILM, A Talk With Scott Farrar followed by a special screening of Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) is an SFX company started by George Lucas, the director of Star Wars. Scott Farrar joined ILM in 1981 as a camera operator on Star Trek ll: The Wrath of Khan and was promoted to Visual Effects Supervisor on Who Framed Roger Rabbit in 1987. Scott discussed the step by ...
Congratulations to Jennifer Venditti whose film BILLY THE KID won "Best Documentary Feature"! (My personal favorite of the festival!)Did you catch my interview with Jennifer? You do not want to miss this one...she is an incredibly insightful person...scroll down for video interview... Congratulations to Chris Eska whose film AUGUST EVENING won "Best Narrative Feature"! I didn't get a chance to see this one...did you? Want to send in your review/comments?? Email me! ...
WOW! The Transformers preimere and block party last night at the LA Film Festival was OFF THE HOOK! What an event. The movie premiered in 5 theatres. It was a little chaotic down there but with a "life-sized" Bubblebee guarding the "red" (it was blue) carpet, it was allll good! This was my second time seeing this movie and I have to tell you, I loved it the second time just as much as I loved it the first time! The crowd reaction is priceless. People cheer and c...
This blog was submitted by Libbey Coghlan of www.artfxfilms.com (Thanks Libbey!) Saturday June 23rd I attended "Behind the Curtain With ILM, A Talk With Dennis Muren" followed by a special screening of A.I. Artificial Intelligence. Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) is an SFX company started by George Lucas, the director of Star Wars. Dennis is the senior visual effects supervisor at ILM. In the late 1990's Kubrick collaborated with Dennis on the special visual effects for the ...
So as it totally happens during the festival... sometimes you have to not go to one event or screening to go to another, secretly hoping you picked the "right" one. Well, I had the choice to either go to a open bar cocktail reception with Women in Film at The Forum or to see the Centerpiece Screening of Joshua at the National. I chose the screening, and here's why: I wanted to make sure that in all the hoopla that I see FILMS! It gets tempting to jump from one open bar...
When I came around the corner at lunch today and saw the Transformers trucks parked around the fountain, I literally felt like I was seeing Madonna, Elvis, James Dean and Marilyn Monroe!! LOL I went back and got my camera! I also took some video which will be uploaded soon. I am so amazed how they could make this big, blockbuster movie with out of this world effects (and I mean OUT OF THIS WORLD) and still create CHARACTERS that I developed strong feelings for! I mean, I feel like I *...
Yesterday I had tickets to two films: BILLY THE KID and PRISON TOWN, USA. I went to the festival site a little early because I had an interview lined up with BILLY THE KID director, Jennifer Venditti. (She is amazing by the way!) This was my first time back at this particular area since the opening night screening and gala and again I was so impressed with how clearly the signs were for parking! And the entire festival location atmosphere is just so wonderful! I took a bunch of pics so you...
I wasn't able to attend the Finance Conference, but Kristina F. Jordan was and she sent in this:Firstly, it was held in the newly opened (only three weeks old) Landmark Theatres at Pico and Westwood, which significantly elevates the theatre going experience for indie audiences. It looks good, it feels good, and there's a cool bar where we were hosted to tasty hor d'oeuvres and drinks by American Express during the lunch break and after conference reception.Secondly, given the chan...
Last night I attended Film Independent's Diversity Expo at the Hammer Museum. It was a well-attended event! It was great to walk around and look at all the different companies representing the diverse landscape that is independent film. There was a crew there from Stickam.com streaming the event live on their site! They grabbed me for a quick interview and I kept my camera going during the entire interview! (You can check out the video on my website.) I took some video but was hav...
If last night is any indication of what is to come for me over the next 10 days, I am VERY excited! This is my first time at the LA Film Festival and I have to say, this festival is top notch! I came straight from work (in Hollywood) to the first night of the festival. There were very clear signs for parking and friendly staff guiding the cars. (They had me at "clear signs&...
I just got back from the opening night of the LAFF!! It was a lot of fun and I will write about the film screened as well as the big opening night gala tomorrow (along with some uploaded pics!) Right now, it's time for BED! You really have to conserve your energy when you're doing the entire festival. Come back tomorrow for more!!...
Clint Eastwood will receive this year’s Spirit of Independence Award at the 2007 Los Angeles Film Festival. The Spirit of Independence Award will be given to Eastwood at a special event on Thursday, June 28 sponsored by Target. Tony Bennett, who is the focus of a new documentary for which Clint Eastwood serves as executive producer, will present Eastwood with this honor.The Spirit of Independence Award event is an opportunity for emerging filmmakers to hear Eastwood speak about his work, h...
Film Independent announced the full program line-up for the 2007 Los Angeles Film Festival (Thursday, June 21 – Sunday, July 1), including the Opening Night and Closing Night films.As previously announced, Academy Award®-winning actor and filmmaker Clint Eastwood will receive this year’s Spirit of Independence Award on Thursday, June 28 at a special event sponsored by Target. Tony Bennett, who is the focus of a new documentary for which Clint Eastwood serves as executive producer, will pre...
