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December 24, 2017

‘Lady Bird’ Is Now A24’s Highest-Grossing Film, Having Just Surpassed ‘Moonlight’

Lady Bird’s” list of accolades continues to accumulate. After becoming the highest-rated movie in Rotten Tomatoes history — it was 100% “fresh” with nearly 200 reviews until a lone contrarian came along — Greta Gerwig’s coming-of-age drama is now A24’s most financially successful film. After a little less than two months in theaters, it has now made $28,306,445 within the United States — placing it above the $27,854,932 earned by “Moonlight.”

Barry Jenkins’ Best Picture winner still holds the worldwide title for A24, having made more than $65 million total; “Lady Bird” has yet to open in foreign markets, and so those numbers won’t be available for some time. The film, which stars Saoirse Ronan in the title role, got off to a promising start when it earned $364,437 in four theaters during its opening weekend — a $91,109 per-theater average, one of the highest of the year.

With four Golden Globe nominations and a number of Oscar nods expected, “Lady Bird” is likely to continue its box-office ascent in the coming weeks and months.

Source: IndieWire film

December 24, 2017

‘The Post’ Joins Top 2017 Specialty Box Office Openers

The Post” (20th Century Fox), Steven Spielberg’s recreation of the 1971 Pentagon Papers First Amendment saga, opened strongly in nine theaters over three cities (Washington D.C. logically added to the usual New York and Los Angeles platform dates). On a weekend prior to Christmas that normally is not prime for its core older audience, it scored a strong initial result across the board. Its numbers in the four key usual platform theaters placed it among the biggest limited openers of the year, with likely better results still to come.

Two other openers, Michael Haneke’s “Happy End” (Sony Pictures Classics) and the Christian Bale western “Hostiles” (Entertainment Studios) also braved the tricky playtime to disappointing results. They are competing against multiple already established awards titles that continue to prosper in varying degrees.

“Darkest Hour”

Focus Features

“The Darkest Hour” (Focus) had its broadest break to date, edging out by a small margin the also expanding “The Shape of Water” (Fox Searchlight). Both look promising heading into the best period of the year for adult moviegoing. “I, Tonya” (Neon) took its initial steps into new big city markets with decent results.

Many of the wider players lost a large number of dates, with more attrition ahead as more new wide releases open on Monday. Most awards films will be able to return to screens with a new head of steam in a few weeks when the Oscar nominations are announced.

Opening

The Post (20th Century Fox) – Metacritic: 83

$495,000 in 9 theaters; PTA (per theater average): $55,000

With a pre-Christmas dead zone opening for older audiences, and playing nine rather than the normal four platform runs (one additional each in New York and Los Angeles which help reach more Academy members plus three in the D.C. area), Spielberg’s well-reviewed and topical Pentagon Papers story scored a strong opening. Isolating the four core New York/Los Angeles dates, despite the usual reduced older audience on this date, the PTA comes to around $75,000. That’s quite strong with seats at a premium and multiple other upscale titles in play.

“The Post” is headed for a likely doubling of its gross for the full week and similar results next weekend. That’s an excellent start for the film and positions it very well for its ongoing awards placement.

It isn’t the first Spielberg film to be platformed. “Lincoln” opened in 11 theaters in early November five years ago to an over $90,000 initial PTA. But that was on a more gross friendly, less competitive play date, with even better reviews. This on its own is a strong start.

What comes next: The national break comes on January 12.

“Happy End”

Happy End (Sony Pictures Classics) – Metacritic: 76; Festivals include: Cannes, Toronto 2017

$23,800 in 3 theaters; PTA: $7,933

Acclaimed German-Austrian director Michael Haneke’s first film since “Amour” five years ago received good, if not great reviews. Again set in France, with Isabelle Huppert and Jean-Louis Trintignant returning, this was given a prime holiday release date with an opened-ended run. Unlike several other recently opened SPC subtitled Oscar contenders (three of which were shortlisted for the foreign-language Oscar, which this was not) this has an open-ended run. The initial gross is mediocre in its three theater New York/Los Angeles debut, but it should improve over the week.

What comes next: Expect top market play starting in January for what will likely be a more limited run than the later full run SPC openers.

“Hostiles”

Hostiles (Entertainment Studios) – Metacritic: 67; Festivals include: Telluride, Toronto, AFI 2017

$26,000 in 3 theaters; PTA (per theater average): $8,667

The distributor is claiming a number that projects that their Sunday Christmas Eve gross will be the best of the weekend, which suggests optimism at a minimum (its two-day total per sources was $16,000). Whatever the ultimate total, this is not impressive for this Christian Bale/Rosamund Pike western which opened in advance of its wide release next month in hopes of gaining some awards attention, which has not materialized. Entertainment Studios has given this major ad support in hopes of positioning it in a crowded field, which makes the response in its initial three New York/Los Angeles theaters even more disappointing.

What comes next: A top city expansion on January 5 will be followed by a wider national break on January 19.

Ongoing/expanding (Grosses over $50,000)

Darkest Hour (Focus) Week 5

$4,150,000 in 806 theaters (+722); Cumulative: $6,957,000

The widest of the specialized breaks this weekend, Focus is betting that the older audience appeal for this Churchill 1940 war drama will kick in over the holidays. The gross is about the same as similar theater totals for their “Victoria & Abdul” in early October. That’s positive since the best should be yet to come for the film as its audience flocks to theaters in bigger numbers.

The Shape of Water (Fox Searchlight) Week 4

$3,050,000 in 730 theaters (+572); Cumulative: $7,615,000

With “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” already having its initial wider run, Fox Searchlight now gives priority attention to Guillermo del Toro’s acclaimed 1960s science-fiction romance. It made the Top Ten for the weekend with a strong cumulative total early in its run with much business and a wider release still to come.

"Lady Bird"

“Lady Bird”

A24

Lady Bird (A24) Week 8

$1,006,000 in 402 theaters (-575); Cumulative: $28,306,000

Greta Gerwig’s acclaimed coming-of-age comedy is now A24’s biggest grosser, and with the holidays adding some and the Oscar period ahead has millions left to gross (how much depending on its home viewing date). Note that between the company’s two current successes, the longer running one is leading the newer “Disaster Artist” despite also playing in fewer screens.

Disaster Artist (A24) Week 4

$907,247 in 517 theaters (-522); Cumulative: $15,718,000

A24 decided to push for a quick wider release for James Franco’s take on the making of the cult hit “The Room.” It lost about half its theaters going into Christmas. The holidays and likely awards attention ahead should get it over $20 million. With the incredible competition among specialized releases of late, and another of their own also in play, they have smartly amassed a strong total.

“Call Me By Your Name”

Sony Pictures Classics

Call Me By Your Name (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 5

$850,736 in 114 theaters (+84); Cumulative: $3,139,000

A decent response for the first expansion beyond core art houses for Luca Guadagnino’s gay 1980s Italian romance. Going into relatively few theaters with a strong total, the movie is just starting in the days ahead a lengthy run that will see the first wide national break ahead when Oscar nominations are announced.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Fox Searchlight) Week 7

$495,000 in 307 theaters (-680); Cumulative: $22,711,000

With its initial wider run having peaked and $23 million in the till, Fox Searchlight is settling in for some holiday gravy. This will have further life similar to other titles with the awards tracks set to revive this further next month.

“I, Tonya”

Courtesy of NEON

I, Tonya (Neon) Week 3

$445,694 in 37 theaters (+32); Cumulative: $1,099,000

The first top-city expansion for the Tonya Harding story had decent results, tempered by the slower pre-Christmas attendance. Neon is rolling this out slowly, with its first wide national release slated for a few weeks parallel to its expected acting Oscar nominations for Margot Robbie and Allison Janney.

The Man Who Invented Christmas (Bleecker Street) Week 5

$125,785 in 146 theaters (-173); Cumulative: $5,398,000

Though aimed at a holiday audience, this “A Christmas Carol” related film didn’t show the pre-holiday strength to play through in most theaters, leaving it with a modest result.

Wonder Wheel (Amazon) Week 4

$(est.) 60,000 in 113 theaters (-423); Cumulative: $(est.) 1,125,000

Woody Allen’s latest will make it through the holidays with fewer theaters as it nears the end of its weak run.

Also noted:

Loving Vincent (Good Deed) – $(est.) 40,000 in 41 theaters; Cumulative: $(est.) $6,085,000

The Florida Project (A24) – $39,104 in 43 theaters; Cumulative: $5,205,000

Marshall (Open Road) – $11,419 in 58 theaters; Cumulative: $9,449,000

Source: IndieWire film

December 24, 2017

‘The Last Jedi’: Rian Johnson Explains Why Adam Driver’s Shirtless Scene Was All About ‘Intimacy’ Between Kylo Ren and Rey

The Last Jedi” features many a surprising scene, few of them more attuned to the meme-loving segment of online fandom than one that finds Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren without his shirt. There’s no apparent reason for it beyond fan service — even his scene partner, Daisy Ridley’s Rey, asks if he can cover up — but director Rian Johnson says there’s more to the moment than meets the eye.

“It’s all about those Force connection scenes,” Johnson tells People in a new interview. “The keyword being intimacy. And the idea that this was a way to just, why not step that up? The idea that, what’s even more uncomfortable having a conversation face to face with a person you don’t want to, is if they’re half-naked during it, while you’re having to do it. And so it was just another way of kind of disrobing Kylo literally and figuratively a little bit more, and pushing that sense of these conversations becoming increasingly more intimate.”

There’s much tension between Kylo and Rey in the latest “Star Wars” movie, much of it implicitly sexual, as they try to turn one another toward their respective sides of the Force. Asked whether Driver was shy about the scene, Johnson says the actor “knew he looked good.”

Source: IndieWire film

December 24, 2017

Jessica Chastain Responds to Criticism of All-White Photo Shoot: ‘The Industry Needs to Become More Inclusive’

When the Los Angeles Times released its actress-themed edition of the Envelope earlier this week, readers instantly noticed something about the featured performers: All of them are white. Jessica Chastain (“Molly’s Game”), Margot Robbie (“I, Tonya”), Diane Kruger (“In the Fade”), Saoirse Ronan (“Lady Bird”), Kate Winslet (“Wonder Wheel”), and Annette Bening (“Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool”) lead the cover story, with Chastain — who’s outspoken about inequality within the film industry — taking much of the criticism online.

Her defense, which she shared on Twitter, was that the lack of diversity in the story is reflective of a larger systemic issue. “Its a sad look that there’s no WOC in this pic of us promoting our female lead films. The industry needs to become more inclusive in its storytelling. What were your favorite WOC lead films this year? I LOVED @salmahayek in #BeatriceAtDinner,” she tweeted.

“Its TERRIBLE that I can’t think of at least 5 female lead films with woc this year,” she added. “In 12 months there’s not even 5?!”

Chastain’s followers mentioned both Mary J. Blige in “Mudbound” and Tiffany Haddish in “Girls Trip” as worthy contenders, to which the actress responded that, though she admired both, they were supporting rather than lead performances.

Source: IndieWire film

December 24, 2017

The Power of Focal Length: How to Use Lenses for Storytelling

Learn how focal length can change the way your images communicate to your audience.With so many lenses out there to choose from, it can be difficult …
Source: CW’s Flipboard Feed

December 24, 2017

Jonas Mekas at 95: How He’s Keeping Anthology Film Archives Alive and Why ‘Lady Bird’ Is His Favorite Film of the Year

No other New Yorker embodies the concept of a “living legend” more than Jonas Mekas. The avant garde filmmaker, poet, and former Village Voice film critic founded Anthology Film Archives nearly 40 years ago, and as he turns 95 on December 24, shows no signs of slowing down. A haven for experimental cinema and first-rate retrospectives, Anthology remains a fixture of the city’s underground arts scene even as much of the culture surrounding it has undergone constant evolution — or, in many cases, gone extinct. In an era of constant paranoia about the future of creativity, Mekas’ survival is a beacon of hope.

The Lithuanian immigrant continues to oversee Anthology as its artistic director and touts big ideas for its future — specifically, a long-dormant expansion plan to build a cafe, a rooftop terrance and a library to house decades of film materials gathered around the world. (To date, he has raise around $4.5 million from donations and silent auctions; his target goal is just over $12 million.)

In the meantime, Mekas continues to gather his writings into published books and travel the globe engaging with creative communities around the world. An unexpected new member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, he continues to keep an eye on contemporary cinema even as he fights to preserve the exhibition of its past. A few days before his birthday, Mekas sat down across the street from Anthology and discussed all of these issues over a glass of red wine (his drink of choice).

What sort of significance does turning 95 have for you?

None, it’s normal. Maybe 100 will. You know, having two zeroes there is something different. I come from an area of the country where we didn’t celebrate birthdays. We celebrated name days. Mine came during the summer solstice in June.

But I don’t feel there’s anything to celebrate about being 95. You have to do something really wrong with your life not to reach 95. People are asking me if I have any advice. “What did you do?” My answer is, we shouldn’t ask why I’ve lived to 95, or how I’m still in good shape, more or less. We should ask, “Why don’t people live to 95? What are they doing wrong?” That’s where the problem is. If you do everything right and don’t overdo anything — avoid excess — it’s normal. People overeat, over-worry about tomorrow, have too much sex. Of course the cult of a pleasure society ruins the body.

Artists often burn out early.

Some of them live very intensely and burn out, yes, but those are exceptions. Now, almost anybody who has an exhibition somewhere is an artist. There are millions of them. Those are not the ones who burn out fast. Many of them live long, but some of them are bad artists, and I’d prefer if they’d die young. Some very important artists in the past have burned out, but that is not the rule in history. Many Japanese haiku writers lived long lives.

How have the challenges of theatrical exhibition changed since you started Anthology?

When we started, there were at least five other venues where semi-independent productions could screen, like the 55th Street Cinema and the Bleecker Street Cinema. They all closed. Film Forum came up, but the old ones closed. Our function became just avant garde and classic examples of cinema — Godard, Eisenstein, Vertov — and new classics of the international avant garde. A few years later, all these theaters started closing and we realized we had to go beyond just the classics. So we opened our screens to new films from small countries.

Anthology Film Archives New York USAAnthology Film Archives

Anthology Film Archives

Michael Kirby/REX/Shutterstock

How will your expansion plans for the theater help it stay in business?

Angelika and Film Forum lose money on their programming and they survive thanks to their little cafes. Ours will be larger and open to the outside. We think we’ll do better. We’ll have some wine.

Do you worry about dwindling support for the arts now that the U.S. government is so conservative?

We were not supported by Washington in 1970 and we get only peanuts today. We depend only on individuals. I do not believe in government support of art. Maybe opera. The cities should support some public art organizations. There are enough Bloombergs in every city to support the art there and they should. That’s how it used to be in other centuries, in Europe. But once you begin to depend on the government, then the government begins to dictate the art. Even organizations like the New York State Council on the Arts — who’s deciding who should get those grants? They may have no idea, really. I don’t even believe in that.

Once I ran into the avant garde filmmaker Paul Sharits. He said he wasn’t doing anything because he didn’t get a grant that year. The whole body of the American avant garde cinema was created without grants. It was hard, they took teaching jobs or whatever, but they didn’t use not getting grants as an excuse for not making films. But government can and must support the arts by bringing back into all public schools art education. The situation of art education in all educational systems presently is shameful.

Anthology’s year-round Essential Cinema program has been continuing in the same form for so long. Will you ever update it?

It’s supposed to show typical examples of what has been achieved in cinema. It’s where it was in 1972. Jerome Hill was the main sponsor and he died then. Our support ended and we couldn’t acquire any prints. So the idea was to continue it indefinitely. Now we need somebody crazy enough to raise money for a project to bring it up to date.

What sort of films are you watching these days?

Nothing new that we have shown at Anthology is on the level of Jim Jarmusch’s “Paterson,” or Greta Gerwig’s “Lady Bird.” These are the best films I’ve seen in a long time. Both are minor films in a way, but they’re perfect for what the filmmakers want to do. They’re very well made, and acted.

What did you like about them?

“Paterson”

With “Paterson,” it’s not easy to make a film about an artist, especially a poet. There are so many films about artists — like five about Van Gough — and they usually fail. This is one where Jarmusch keeps it low key, unpretentious, and it’s perfect. And Gerwig’s film is just amazing, how she treated this growing teenage girl in a very real way with a unique kind of character, very independent and self-asserting. No man could have made this film. It’s one-hundred percent a woman’s film. There are so many little details. No big gestures; it’s made up of little scenes. And it works.

The other one I loved was “Faces Places.” It’s fun. You come out happy because [co-directors Agnes Varda and JR] are such a perfect team.

What did you make of the way Godard treats Varda in the film?

There’s something personal that she has not yet digested about that experience. Godard can be very arrogant, and she felt a little insulted by him, and it’s OK to feel that way. But as far as the best documentary of the year, I would go for “Jane.”

Are you planning to vote for the Oscars now that you’re an Academy member?

I will vote. I’m still trying to catch up with some of the films that have been suggested to me. I had no idea they would invite me, and I didn’t care about it, but once they invited me I figured, why not? It’s another experience.

Would you ever go to the Oscars?

No, I don’t go to those kind of parties.

Source: IndieWire film

December 24, 2017

Watch: The Most Breathtaking Cinematography of 2017


From Deakins and Storaro to relative newcomers, the work of these DPs defined a gorgeous year in cinema.


The cinematography that captured our imaginations this year is a balance of the sweeping and the intimate, the urgent and the languid. In the year when many have predicted that Roger Deakins may finally win an Oscar, we naturally had to include his masterwork Blade Runner 2049, but our list also includes everything from highly stylized period pieces to documentaries to understated narratives that feel like documentaries.



To compile our list, we asked No Film School writers to submit a single film that stood out visually above all others for them this year. Excerpts from each were then cut into a supercut by video essayist Nelson Carvajal of Free Cinema Now. See his gorgeous video, and read our thinking behind each inclusion, below.



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Source: NoFilmSchool

December 24, 2017

Best New Video Essays: Your 2017 Cinema Studies Curriculum


This list reminds us what a big year it has been for video essays.


If I had to use one word to describe this year in video essays it would be “growth.” We’ve seen the number of video essays grow astronomically. We’ve seen the number of video essayists grow astronomically. We’ve seen video essayists grow in popularity, even in celebrity. Some have grown to become the creators of that which they have been analyzing all of these years, as in with kogonada’s feature debut Columbus, while others have grown out of the space they helped create, like Tony Zhou.



As 2017 comes to a lumbering close, we get to look back on all of the video essays that dug deep and opened our eyes to all the fantastic cinematic knowledge hidden beyond the high visibility of entertainment and surface-level criticism. Here is your 2017 Cinema Studies curriculum, complete with links to our write-ups of each informative video:




Screenwriting and Writing for the Screen


A good film can’t come from a bad script. Hopefully, these video essays will give you a few tools to ensure that you don’t write one of them.

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Source: NoFilmSchool

December 23, 2017

This Infographic Gives You 30 Ways to Brainstorm Film Ideas


Can’t seem to spark any new film ideas? This infographic will help.


Isn’t life good when your brain seems to be a wellspring of creativity and good ideas? Yeah—and then the tap runs dry and your brain shrivels up into what is basically a crunched up piece of paper with shitty ideas and life, you begin to realize, has no meaning. To avoid this kind of nihilism, it’d benefit us all to learn a few ways to combat this creatively arid season, and StudioBinder has just the resource to help you.



It’s a nifty infographic that gives you 30 ways to come up with new and exciting film ideas when your own efforts are leaving you wanting, nay, needing more. However, instead of giving you mere story prompts, it shows you how and where to look to find potential stories. Some examples include taking note of cheap/free locations to which you have access, browsing Wiki articles, and making mood boards.

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Source: NoFilmSchool

December 22, 2017

Speed Up Your Editing Workflow in Style with Logickeyboard’s ALBA Shortcut Keyboard


This plug and play shortcut keyboard comes with a built-in chip made just for macOS.


Whether you edit your projects on Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, or AVID, Logickeyboard’s all-new ALBA was built to make your life a little easier. ALBA is a dedicated Apple shortcut keyboard that comes with a bunch of great features, including a built-in macOS chip (no need for drives or setup), scissor-switch keys, and two built-in USB ports.



Check out this promo video to learn more:





ALBA is compatible with nearly every major NLE on the market, including Adobe Premiere Pro, Apple Final Cut X, and AVID Media Composer. Or, if you already know your video editor’s keyboard shortcuts, Logickeyboard also offers ALBA with standard keyboard layouts. It’s 100% plug and play, meaning you don’t need any drivers or setup to get going. Just plug it in and you’re good to go.

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Source: NoFilmSchool