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August 6, 2017
‘Batman’ Voice Actor Kevin Conroy Recites ‘The Dark Knight’ Monologue — Watch
For many “Batman” fans, Kevin Conroy will always be the true Caped Crusader. The actor voiced the scowling superhero on “Batman: The Animated Series,” the “Batman: Arkham” games, and several other cartoons, animated films, and games; to the delight of many, he’s now recited the famous monologue that Christian Bale delivers at the end of “The Dark Knight.”
The table reading came as part of Nerdist’s “Talkin Toons” alongside Rob Paulsen of “Animaniacs” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” who voiced Commissioner Gordon (played by Gary Oldman in Christopher Nolan’s three films). Bale’s raspy delivery while wearing the cape and cowl in that trilogy was a source of both praise and mockery; watching Conroy’s take on such iconic lines as “You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become a villain” certainly provides an interesting alternative.
Here’s Conroy’s tradition in two forms: the table read itself and a version in which his delivery is synced to footage from “The Dark Knight” itself.
When @RealKevinConroy‘s #Batman + Nolan’s Dark Knight collide it equals an epic read with @Yakkopinky on Talkin’ Toons! pic.twitter.com/dKF4jbcUAg
— Darknight Archivist (@HistoftheBatman) August 5, 2017
Source: IndieWire film
August 6, 2017
Princess Leia Had a PhD, and ‘Star Wars’ Fans Are Wondering Why She Didn’t Get More Respect
Princess Leia was a pretty impressive person, not that she always got credit for it. Her credentials became even more imposing to a lot of people this weekend when it became more widely known that, among her other accomplishments, Leia completed a PhD by the time she was 19. The revelation came courtesy of Becca Harrison, who shared George Lucas’ 2004 commentary from “A New Hope.”
Here’s the passage in question:
“Young, nineteen, the same age as what Luke was supposed to be, but instead of being kind of an idealistic naive farm boy from the far reaches of the netherlands, she’s like a very sophisticated, urbanized rule, a Senator, so she’s a politician, she’s accomplished, she’s graduated, got her PhD at nineteen and she rules people and is in charge. [I needed an actress] who could be younger and play with a lot of authority…and push these guys around.”
As you might expect, people are having pretty strong reactions to the news:
Every gif of Leia rolling her eyes takes on new meaning now I know SHE HAD A SODDING PHD. pic.twitter.com/fxmC4RfICo
— Dr Fern Riddell (@FernRiddell) August 5, 2017
Dr. Princess General Leia Organa, PhD https://t.co/JOoZQYBb2b
— terfle (@terfle) August 5, 2017
George Lucas: These guys are space monk wizards with magic laser swords
Me: Okay, cool.
George Lucas: Leia has a PhD at age 19
Me: pic.twitter.com/ZFbRGW6atZ— Spigon Ruxide (@ruxide) August 5, 2017
…became generals before her. Lando had been in the resistance for five fecking minutes. That is some bullshit.
— Little She-Bear
(@Morcelle) August 5, 2017
Source: IndieWire film
August 6, 2017
‘Wind River’ Scores at Specialty Box Office as ‘Step’ Gains a Foothold
During a competitive period when well-reviewed wide releases like “Dunkirk” and “Baby Driver” are luring adult audiences away from new smart-house fare, Weinstein stormed back at the specialty box office with Taylor Sheridan’s Wyoming western “Wind River,” which boasted one of the best limited openings of the year. A strong debut will help it stand out in the weeks ahead as the flow of new films declines.
Fox Searchlight welcomed a decent initial response for its heart-tugging inner-city dance documentary “Step” in seven cities. Also impressive is the two-theater launch for “Columbus,” starring Jon Cho as a Korean translator spending time in middle America due to a family emergency.
Opening
Wind River (Weinstein) – Metacritic: 73; Festivals include: Sundance, Cannes, Seattle 2017
$164,187 in 4 theaters; PTA (per screen average): $41,042
Taylor Sheridan’s well-received rural thriller debuted with the strongest limited debut since late June’s “The Big Sick” and “The Beguiled.” Since then an array of festival successes with similarly upbeat reviews have opened. It’s The Weinstein Company’s best limited opening since “Carol” in late 2015 (better than “Lion,” which went on with an Oscar boost to over $50 million), so this is a return to form for the once-dominant player in the specialized world. Saturday increased a healthy 23 per cent from Friday, suggesting good initial audience response.
What comes next: This expands to the top 20 markets this Friday, with likely extensive wider play beyond.
“Step”
Step (Fox Searchlight) – Metacritic: 83; Festivals include: Sundance, San Francisco, Seattle 2017
$145,000 in 29 theaters; PTA: $5,000
Per usual, Fox Searchlight opened this documentary focused on a step-dancing team at an inner-city girls school in Baltimore in more than the standard two coastal cities. Its seven-market start in varied specialized and mainstream theaters will serve as a launch for its rapid expansion to 125 or more theaters this Friday.
Word of mouth is key, so the Sundance hit has been seen by a sufficient number of viewers to give it a shot at broader play. On the other hand, Saturday’s numbers stayed even with Friday, better than some studio releases but not as strong as many limited releases. (Searchlight’s recent “Gifted” opened in nearly double the theater count in April and increased 35 per cent on its second day.)
What comes next: The second week expansion is the start of a much wider planned national release.
“Columbus”
Columbus (Superlative) – Metacritic: 91; Festivals include: Sundance, Rotterdam, Seattle 2017
$28,800 in 2 theaters; PTA: $14,400
Rave reviews helped the two-theater New York/Los Angeles initial release for this Sundance Next section premiere. John Cho plays an estranged son who rushes to Columbus, Indiana (a center of modern architecture) when his father collapses. While his encounters there with a young tour guide make an unlikely basis for a contemporary specialized American movie, this debut feature has struck a chord. This could be sleeper success with continued careful handling (it is self-distributed).
What comes next: Seattle and San Francisco are next this Friday with top markets set over the upcoming weeks.
We Love You Sally Carmichael! (Purdie)
$(est.) 28,000 in 7 theaters; PTA: $(est.) 4,000
This home-grown Utah family story is about an anonymous popular romance novelist whose true identity is discovered, to his horror. It played top Salt Lake City and other area theaters to a passable initial response.
What comes next: This will likely get additional local attention for starters.
Also available on Video on Demand:
Brave New Jersey (Gravitas Ventures/Austin 2016) – $14,105 in 14 theaters
“An Inconvenient Sequel”
Courtesy of Sundance
Week Two
An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power (Paramount)
$900,000 in 180 theaters (+170); PTA: $5,000; Cumulative: $1,052,000
Paramount is lending major support to this climate change activist documentary sequel, with credible if not spectacular results. The second weekend for the original grossed (adjusted) an average of almost $25,000 in 77 theaters. This looks headed for a result that will place it both among the top-grossing documentary titles of the year but far below the “An Inconvenient Truth” total in 2006.
Menashe (A24)
$80,317 in 10 theaters (+7); PTA: $8,032; Cumulative: $178,834
Among the few foreign-language films finding success these days, a handful about Orthodox communities in Israeli have stood out. Now a domestic New York divorce story set in an ultra-orthodox community where observance controls all aspects of life is showing some initial success in its second weekend as it slowly expands.
“Brigsby Bear”
Courtesy of Sundance
The Brigsby Bear (Sony Pictures Classics)
$42,790 in 15 theaters (+12); PTA: $2,853; Cumulative: $97,377
A mediocre second weekend limited expansion for this quirky independent story about the impact on one young man whose life goes into a downfall when his favorite kids’ TV show is cancelled.
Ongoing/expanding (Grosses over $50,000 in under 1,000 theaters)
Maudie (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 17
$262,496 in 187 theaters (-41); Cumulative: $5,148,000
This Canadian/Irish coproduction has dropped from its widest point, with the U.S. component of its combined gross reaching a decent $2.4 million so far.
“Landline”
Landline (Magnolia) Week 3
$240,000 in 131 theaters (+93); Cumulative: $503,128
Amazon’s Sundance independent drama about a Manhattan family confronted with domestic turmoil broadened to most major cities in its third weekend. It shows a mixed response at best, similar to several other well-received films that have faced competition from multiple other sources (both studio and independent) aimed at review-oriented audiences.
Lady Macbeth (Roadside Attractions) Week 4
$164,245 in 131 theaters (+27); Cumulative: $736,877
Another quality specialized drama this summer that has struggled to find its audience amid major competition.
A Ghost Story (A24) Week 5
$146,232 in 208 theaters (-181); Cumulative: $1,137,000
David Lowery’s artful return to independent film after his Disney detour with “Pete’s Dragon” had Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara in tow. But the admittedly strange film never caught on after its initial decent launch, and a little more than a month after opening, it’s down to virtually no business with a per theater average of only around $700.
“The Midwife”
The Midwife (Music Box) Week 3
$82,698 in 43 theaters (+15); Cumulative: $225,548
Music Box continues its commitment to French among other subtitled movies with this Catherine Deneuve vehicle. The drama expanded wider in its third weekend to marginal results, with further markets planned for next weekend and beyond.
The Little Hours (Gunpowder & Sky) Week 6
$75,260 in 60 theaters (-36); Cumulative: $1,348,000
A Decameron-based story about nuns and their fun is another recent decent opener that hasn’t blossomed in wider dates.
The Beguiled (Focus) Week 7
$54,495 in 89 theaters (-55); Cumulative: $10,451,000
Sofia Coppola’s Civil War drama is wrapping up its run with a respectable total.
Also noted:
Lost in Paris (Oscilloscope) – $50,000 in 30 theaters; Cumulative: $410,036
Beatriz at Dinner (Roadside Classics) – $39,632 in 43 theaters; Cumulative: $6,926,000
The Hero (The Orchard) – $31,383 in theaters; Cumulative: $3,922,000
Source: IndieWire film
August 6, 2017
Awesome tech you can’t buy yet: Home steam cleaning, futuristic pianos, e-skin
Check out our roundup of the best new Kickstarter and Indiegogo projects and product announcements that hit the web this week. You can’t buy this stuff yet, but there’s no denying that it’s fun to gawk!
The post Awesome tech you can’t buy yet: Home steam cleaning, futuristic pianos, e-skin appeared first on Digital Trends.
Source: Digital Trends VR
August 6, 2017
Here Are All the Reasons Why You Should Stop Making Films
Most of the time, there are more reasons to quit than to shoot.
How many times have you told yourself that you don’t have what it takes to make films? Films take time, money, talent, and creativity and more often than not you feel like you just don’t have any of those things. Maybe your parents have told you that it’s a waste of time. Maybe you’ve already tried to break into the industry and failed. Maybe you haven’t made anything in years because your inner child has been replaced by your inner critic who is constantly telling you that if you try you are going to fail.
If this is you, you should watch this video by Simon Cade of DSLRguide immediately.
When I was in first grade, my teacher asked the class to draw a picture of our favorite animal. Once everyone was done, we sat in a circle so we could show everyone what we drew. When my teacher held up my picture—it was of a cheetah—a boy laughed and pointed at it, and that was the first time in my life that I ever realized that something I made could be seen as “good” or “bad.”
Source: NoFilmSchool
August 5, 2017
13 Must-Have Accessories for Making Films on Your Smartphone
These tools will certainly come in handy if you want to make movies on Apple and Android smartphones.
Smartphones on their own make for some pretty rough filmmaking. Their lenses, microphones, and settings all have limitations that can make capturing the shots you want difficult at best and impossible at worst. But, if you’re a smartphone filmmaker whose ideas and visions surpass these technological constraints, there are lots of relatively cheap accessories out there that can help turn your device into a pretty beefy cinematic tool. The team over at Film Riot lists 13 pieces of gear, including lenses, stabilizers, and microphones, that you should definitely take a look at.
Here are the accessories (and app) mentioned in the video. (Links are available in the video’s description.)
Source: NoFilmSchool
August 5, 2017
Watch: How to Create Handheld Camera Shake in After Effects
This simple technique can help you give your static footage a nice handheld feel.
Shooting handheld is really straightforward; it’s literally “put camera in hand and shoot.” But handheld shots are not only created while filming, they can also be created in post-production with your favorite NLE or VFX program. In this After Effects tutorial, Nathaniel Dodson of tutvid shows you how to utilize the wiggle expression to transform your static footage into dynamic and realistic-looking handheld camera work. Check it out below.
So when would you ever need to use this technique—I mean, if you want the handheld look why not just plan ahead and shoot handheld, right? Right. You should probably try to plan ahead and figure out what look you want to give your footage, but let’s be real—that doesn’t always happen. Sometimes your unplanned, casual shoot turns into something much more important or maybe you thought you wanted a static shot and decided later that handheld would look better.
Source: NoFilmSchool
August 4, 2017
How a ‘Musical Doc’ Became One of Sundance’s Biggest Acquisitions
Amanda Lipitz, director ‘Step,’ shot 400+ hours of footage. Here’s how she did it.
There’s no razzle-dazzle, no fireworks, no mega screens. It’s only high school girls in jeans and T-shirts, stomping and clapping. And yet, the performance on stage is one of the most captivating that you’re likely to see. The work of the Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women’s step dance team is so powerful, in fact, that a documentary film about it had members of the cultural elite at Sundance 2017 on their feet, landing a multi-million dollar deal for distribution and remake rights from Fox Searchlight.
Source: NoFilmSchool
August 4, 2017
Live in LA and Need a Place to Write? Apply for This Free Fellowship
Coffee shops were not designed with writers in mind, but theOffice was.
Are you a writer living in LA who needs to get out of the house to write but is tired of trying to find a table at the local coffee shop? TheOffice is now seeking submissions for its free six-month fellowship until August 8, 2017.
TheOffice is a members-only, quiet, communal workspace for writers featuring 26 workspaces with Aeron chairs, plus complimentary coffee, tea, wifi, and Bose headphones. The free six-month fellowship is the equivalent of a Premium Membership, which offers private door code access to theOffice 24/7. So if the muse strikes at 3 AM on Thursday, theOffice is available to you.
Source: NoFilmSchool
August 4, 2017
PanelPicker Community Voting Begins Monday, August 7
We need YOU – the community – to lend us your expertise and weigh-in on the proposals we have received for the 2018 SXSW season during PanelPicker Community Voting from August 7-25. Browse submitted ideas, leave comments, and vote on what programming you would like to see at the 2018 SXSW Conference, SXSW EDU, and SXSW Gaming in March.
How to Vote
To be a part of the voting process beginning Monday, August 7, visit panelpicker.sxsw.com and login or create an account. If you created a SXSW account in 2013 or later, you will be able to use the same login and password.
Once you are logged in to PanelPicker, you can begin the voting process. Filter through proposals by session format, programming track, and level. You can also search for by title, description, tags, and speakers in the search field.
Each voter can vote once per proposal – selecting “arrow up” for yes or “arrow down” for no. You can also leave a constructive comment about the proposals you vote on. Have a question for the organizer? This is also a great place to post all of your questions.
During Community Voting, it’s also important for anyone who submitted a proposal to rally online support for your idea and encourage voting through your personal blog or social media channels. We have created handy “Vote For My PanelPicker Idea” graphics for you to use for social media sharing on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Inside the PanelPicker Process
Each year, SXSW PanelPicker helps shape the majority of the SXSW Conference programming. Community Voting comprises 30% of the SXSW Conference programming decision, plus input of the SXSW Staff (30%) and Advisory Board (40%) helps ensure that less well-known voices have as much of a chance of being selected to speak at SXSW as individuals with large online followings. Together these percentages help determine the final content lineup.
For more information about the Community Voting process, read the PanelPicker FAQ and visit the SXSW PanelPicker page.
Join Us in March
SXSW 2018 registration and housing are open for business! The SXSW early-bird has a lot of advantages including the biggest discount on registration fees and the best choice of Austin hotel rooms – register before September 8 and save.
SXSW 2017 Music Industry Track Panel – Photo by Judy Won
The post PanelPicker Community Voting Begins Monday, August 7 appeared first on SXSW.
Source: SxSW Film