Written By: Jason Waterman | Category: News | Comments : 1 comment
Beverly Hills, CA – The 2nd Annual Film Detroit Panel Discussion took place Tue night, March 23rd at the WGA West Theatre in Beverly Hills. Twelve expert panelists from Detroit and their supporters traveled from Detroit to Los Angeles to present and answer questions about the state of the Michigan Film Industry. The two hour event was hosted by Chris Baum of Film Detroit and featured two panelist discussions – ‘People’ & ‘Places’. Over 200 attendees, mostly representing various Los Angeles based entertainment and production companies, came to learn more about the emerging Michigan Film Industry.
Panel #1: ‘People’ expert panelists included: Paul Fitzpatrick (Entertainment lawyer for Dickinson Wright), Ele Bardha (SAG Council Member), Joe Bessacini (Cast & Crew), and Carrie Ray (Owner of Carrie Ray Casting). Discussion topics centered on the growing experience level of Michigan cast and crews, moving of productions from Iowa to Michigan after the freezing of the tax credit in that state, availability of numerous cheap Detroit filming locations including hospitals and schools, and, of course, several questions concerning the details of the Michigan tax credit law.
Panel #2: ‘Places’ expert panelists included: Bart Rosenblatt (Producer of ‘The Irishman’), Jeff Spilman (Managing partner of S3 Entertainment Group), and Tony Wenson (Studio Operations Director for Raleigh Studios Michigan). Discussion topics for this session centered on the state incentive process, the status of the new Raleigh Studios in Michigan, and the new production permit processes for local cities.
A hosted reception followed the panel sessions and provided an opportunity for the Detroit and Los Angeles film communities to discuss together in a more informal and relaxed atmosphere. There was definitely a buzz in the air and the feeling that this is just the beginning of more good things to come for film in Michigan. After all, it is at events like this where partnerships are formed and deals are made in the City of Angels!
Thanks again to Film Detroit for the great Detroit hospitality shown and for putting on such a first class event!
Written By: Jonathan Rayos | Category: News | Comments : 0 comments
Costumed gorilla helped liven up the first night of the Ann Arbor Film Festival.
Two hours before anything hit the screen, AAFF’s opening reception attendees milled around the Michigan Theater lobby, where a DJ spun music on the stairway landing, and partygoers downed wine and coffee and various hors d’ouevres on offer.
The mood carried through to the short breaks between the films in AAFF’s opening night program. During one pause, attendees whistled like birds, and then cooed like pigeons. The animal noises grew louder, until a bleating lamb joined in, as did a clucking chicken.
After some opening remarks by Michigan Theater executive director Russ Collins; AAFF Board of Directors president Bruce Baker; and AAFF executive director Donald Harrison, the 48th fest kicked off with a backward glance to film poem, “Angel Blue Sweet Wings,” with Aretha Franklin’s “Dr. Feelgood” as its soundtrack.
4 of the evening’s 11 films fall into AAFF’s animation category. Joanna Priestley’s “Missed Aches” explores the disastrous potentials of spell-check programs; Naoyuki Tsuji’s “The Place Where We Were,” tells the story of a couple that wants a child; Laurie Hill’s inventively fun “Photograph of Jesus” and Caveh Zahedi’s hilarious “The Unmaking of ‘I Am a Sex Addict’”.
Documentary lovers got to see Vanessa Renwick’s “Portrait #3: House of Sound.” And Ann Arbor’s own Jack Cronin got to watch his black and white experimental doc, “Sleeping Bear” – filmed at the Sleeping Bear Dunes Natural Lakeshore – on the big screen.
Experimental films included, “De Mouvement,” by Richard Kerr, and Kent Lambert’s “Fantasy Suite.”
Written By: Jonathan Rayos | Category: News | Comments : 0 comments
AVATAR - Highest grossing film of all time
A few weeks ago I found myself in the projection booth of an Imax theater, (along with several other of my geek buddies) of one of the most advanced projection booth on the planet. And as I looked out through the window over the audience, I noted that it was a packed house. Here it was just days before Avatar was being pulled out of the theaters to be replaced by Alice in Wonderland and they were still selling out shows on weeknights to a nearly 3 month old movie.
After being yanked out of 3-D screens nationwide, Avatar’s weekly gross – which had held steady for quite some time – dropped dramatically. As it turns out, people were, as Cameron had long surmised, paying again and again to get the immersive 3-D experience; going on a cinematic theme park ride for the third or fourth time. But the ride’s existence at the park was cut short because there simply aren’t enough 3-D screens in the world yet to support multiple, big draw 3-D movies. Immediately FOX and Cameron began to speak about a possible Fall re-release of the film (when the window would be open without a big budget 3-D film to interfere) and even have tossed around the notion of cutting scenes back into the film.
Of course, despite 40 minutes of deleted footage, Cameron only wants to put 10 minutes back in – because 170 minutes is as long as IMAX can support . Besides, why wouldn’t Cameron want his film re-released in the best possible theater? Avatar is the highest grossing movie of all time – the 14th highest when adjusted for inflation against films that enjoyed sometimes decades of re-releases – but its run wasn’t done yet. It had not, as some bitter bloggers have noted this week, run its course. It was still making more money every week than most other new releases. But it looks like FOX and Cameron have a small, but profitable window waiting for them to shake out any interest left.
My question is this: now that every studio is turning their tent-pole releases into 3-D projects, whether before or after filming, how long can the current screen limitations allow for an Avatar? FOX wasn’t happy the their film was bumped out of theaters despite still making money – and many theaters weren’t happy to see that steady income go away in lieu of a gamble that might not pay off in the long run. Right now many people are excited about the coming stream of 3-D content, and while industry folk seem to be writing piece after piece denouncing the rising trend of 3-D, it isn’t in any way diminishing real interest in the films.
There are a limited amount of screens in this country capable of showing 3-D movies. It requires expensive pure silver screens, top of the line digital projectors and often eats up the largest seating areas in a Cineplex. What’s going to happen when the weekly summer tent-poles that pop in, dominate the chart for a week or two and then slowly fade away over the course of a few weeks all instead begin fighting over the same handful of screens in a given area? What will happen if movies can only secure a 2 week 3-D run – or worse, can’t book a screen at all because another company has booked them up by locking in their release date a year or two in advance?
This is the next, big, ugly trend you’ll see us writing about, folks. The 3-D Wars. You think the studios can get ugly now? Wait until the question isn’t “who made the better or more marketable movie” and becomes “Who can book all the 3-D screens first?”
It doesn’t have the lifestyle suites of Sundance or the $1,000-a-night hotel rooms of Cannes, but when it comes to eclectic programming, the South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival, running Friday to March 20, has few peers.
Part fanboy gathering and indie-film hot spot, the festival hasn’t yet generated the buyer frenzy of other festivals but it is now considered one of the best launching pads for crowd-pleasing studio romps. In addition to hosting the world premiere of April 16′s “Kick-Ass” from Lionsgate, this year’s Austin, Texas, festival will be showing July 9′s “Predators” from 20th Century Fox and May 21′s “MacGruber” from Universal.
The film festival, which will be covered for The Times by Indie Focus columnist Mark Olsen, also has set screenings for a number of Sundance titles, including its grand jury prize-winning “Winter’s Bone,” along with “The Runaways,” “Tucker and Dale vs. Evil,” “The Taqwacores,” “Skateland” and “Lovers of Hate.”
Read the full article by Marc Olsen and John Horn | L.A. Times
Excerpt from the great interview on the Jimmy Fallon Show, with Michael Moore in the guest chair…
Moore: “I’ve always had this feeling that great art, music, film, whatever- comes out of places that are really struggling. The Beatles were from Liverpool, not from the West End of London. So Michigan is kind of like our Liverpool.”
Fallon: “There’s definitely a lot of cool stuff coming out of there. I hope the best for them, I know you do, too. I had so much fun there, I’d definitely go back.” (on shooting Whip It in Michigan)
Written By: Jonathan Rayos | Category: News | Comments : 0 comments
Rapper 50 Cent is taking the movie industry by storm. Having opened up his own production company, Cheetah Vision Films, earlier this year, the rapper has reportedly signed a deal with Georgia-based entrepreneur Richard Jackson and his newly-minted Action Jackson Film that will joint finance and produce up to five films per year.
The first project between 50′s Cheetah Vision Films’ and Action Jackson is titled ‘The Gun.’
Written By: Jonathan Rayos | Category: News | Comments : 0 comments
Last year, amid the height of excitement over the popularity of The Dark Knight(arguably one of the very best films of the decade) the Oscars did something that would haunt them throughout the season – they failed to nominate it for Best Picture.
The snub was a PR disaster. Not only was The Dark Knight the highest grossing film of the year, but it was also at the top of a number of critic and organization ‘Best Of’ lists, and a young, hungry fanbase found itself embittered against awards they saw as elitist and dismissive of genre film. And it really wasn’t Oscar’s fault. . It didn’t get the votes.
Dark Knight - Last Years Oscar leading contender
Oscar needed a solution; they needed a way to breathe new life into an award show that was losing viewership.
So they reinvented the Best Picture category.
The idea was simple: allow 10 films instead of 5 to battle it out, making for an even tighter, more diverse and interesting category in which anything could happen.
The idea is both interesting and insane; a gamble that could prove to bring a lot of excitement to the aging show while bridging the divide between critical and public opinion.
But it could also blow up in Oscar’s face, especially in a year like this, in which the landscape is filled with perfect mainstream fare while devoid of the type of films critics usually go gaga over.
And that’s a real problem, with the film industry’s largest grossing film of all time as the leading contender.
Written By: Jonathan Rayos | Category: News | Comments : 0 comments
Transformers 3 Movie to be in 3D
Not really much of a suprise here.
Darkhorizons is reporting that Transformers 3 will indeed be a 3D film. However, due to time constraints and the complexity of the CGI work, the film will be converted to the 3D format rather that shoot and produce the film in that manner.
The yet to be named, officially, Transformers 3 hits theaters July 1, 2011.
This film is joining the throngs of other films hopping on this money train. I am not a huge fan of 3D films, I could take it or leave it.
Written By: Jonathan Rayos | Category: News | Comments : 0 comments
3D: Is it a passing craze yet again or is it here to stay?
We’ve seen the 3D craze a couple times before, but will it stick this time around? You be the judge.
The recent influx of 3D movies has me perplexed: Is this yet another fad, as it has been the last several times it hit theaters, or is this actually going to stick this time? Ask all the “professionals” and they will tell you that 3D films will be the new standards; but hey, if they don’t promote the company they work for, they are out of a job. So, naturally, they are going to be positive about the current trend.
Jus a quick history of the 3D film before I get into the “Editorial” part of this article. I was suprised to see that this style of film has actually been around since the beginning of the 20th century. The “Golden Era” of 3D films is considered to be during the years of 1952-1955, in which movie goers were pulled into such films as “Man in the Dark,” “House of Wax” (no Paris Hilton in this one, mind you), “The House on Haunted Hill” and “13 Ghosts.”
From there, we move into the “Revival” which occurred during the years of 1980-1984. Some of us from the older crowd may remember films like “Jaws 3-D,” “Parasite,” and “Friday the 13th Part III.” Now, there were a few other periods where 3D films snuck into the lime-light again, but these are the major time periods. One thing they all have in common are the good ol’ red and blue paper-framed glasses. See Mr. Vader above for an example.
Now days, it seems just about every other movie that is released is in 3D IMAX format. It seems, in my eyes at least, that this format works best with animated films, such as Robert Zemeckis’ “Beowulf” and more recently, his adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.”
Enter James Cameron’s “Avatar.” Now, I am not here to discuss the quality of the film, rather the technology of the film is what piqued my interest here. The style of animation and 3D filming process is truly ground-breaking and it really helps the case that 3D films are here to stay.
It is fair to say that 3D movies have a preconceived reputation that after the film is over you have headaches, nausea (both during and after the film), as well as the joy of wearing the most uncomfortable glasses known to man. But they have come a long way, as fewer and fewer people complain of such issues.
Now to my point: With at least four, maybe five different eras of 3D films, what is it that has people thinking 3D movies are here to stay? Each time these movies are released, they all boast new and ground breaking technology, yet 5 years later, the 3D films are gone and movie goers have moved on. First thing that comes to my mind is the money factor. Theaters and/or studios are able to charge any where from $2 to $5 more per movie ticket, sometimes more. Is this greed or an attempt to cover the cost of filming with such technology? Both I’d suspect. Studios and 3D filming companies are so big on this idea that they are paying for theaters to upgrade their screens to handle the new technology, as there are only about 1,000 screens out of approximately 40,000 in the country that can handle the techology. This leads me to think that they will be forcing 3D films down our throats for some time.
I don’t mind seeing films in 3D, but it’s not something that makes me go see a film…I could take it or leave it. I think it works for kid’s movies, as it helps hold the attention of their little ADHD minds (no offense to any readers). I’m OK with not seeing Spiderman or Iron Man in regular movie technology. I go to a movie to escape reality and I have to say that 3D films just don’t add to the experience for the most part. Are there films that I will see in 3D? You bet! I don’t think I would have enjoyed “Avatar” as much had I not. Let’s face it, most of us will head to the theaters in hoardes to see the next Batman or Transformers films whether they are in 3D or not.
All that being said, I can’t help but think that this current “era” will be just like the others and will slowly come to an end. I believe this one may last longer than the others, but it will die off eventually. And if I’m wrong, I will gladly eat crow and admit my misjudgement.
Written By: Jason Waterman | Category: News | Comments : 0 comments
Highlights from the CBS news reports on the recent success of the Michigan Film Industry:
Michigan has the biggest film incentives in the country. 42% rebate of all production money spent in Michigan.
Cost the taxpayers $40M.
INCENTIVE BENEFITS
Landed 87 film & TV projects
Brought in $325M
Created 7000 jobs
MICHIGAN BREAKS INTO THE TOP 5
In just 2 years Michigan has because one of the top 5 movie making states (California, New York, Lousisiana, New Mexico, Michigan)
Ken Droz (Michigan Film Office) was asked if the mood is changing here in Michigan. “[the industry has] Injected a huge morale and emotional element of positivity that just wasn’t here very long ago.”
RED DAWN HAS BEEN THE BIGGEST PRODUCTION TO DATE
Beau Flynn (producer, Red Dawn) says that they got the green light from backers because they said they’d shoot in Michigan. “We could not have hit our numbers without the rebate, ” says Mr. Flynn.
Beverly Hills, CA – The 2nd Annual Film Detroit Panel Discussion took place Tue night, March 23rd at the WGA West Theatre in Beverly Hills. Twelve expert panelists from Detroit and their supporters traveled from Detroit to Los Angeles to present and answer questions about the state of the Michigan Film Industry. The two hour event was hosted by Chris Baum of Film Detroit and featured two panelist discussions – ‘People’ & ‘Places’. Over 200 attendees, mostly representing various Los Angeles based entertainment and production companies, came to learn more about the emerging Michigan Film Industry.
Panel #1: ‘People’ expert panelists included: Paul Fitzpatrick (Entertainment lawyer for Dickinson Wright), Ele Bardha (SAG Council Member), Joe Bessacini (Cast & Crew), and Carrie Ray (Owner of Carrie Ray Casting). Discussion topics centered on the growing experience level of Michigan cast and crews, moving of productions from Iowa to Michigan after the freezing of the tax credit in that state, availability of numerous cheap Detroit filming locations including hospitals and schools, and, of course, several questions concerning the details of the Michigan tax credit law.
Panel #2: ‘Places’ expert panelists included: Bart Rosenblatt (Producer of ‘The Irishman’), Jeff Spilman (Managing partner of S3 Entertainment Group), and Tony Wenson (Studio Operations Director for Raleigh Studios Michigan). Discussion topics for this session centered on the state incentive process, the status of the new Raleigh Studios in Michigan, and the new production permit processes for local cities.
limitations allow for an Avatar? FOX wasn’t happy the their film was bumped out of theaters despite still making money – and many theaters weren’t happy to see that steady income go away in lieu of a gamble that might not pay off in the long run. Right now many people are excited about the coming stream of 3-D content, and while industry folk seem to be writing piece after piece denouncing the rising trend of 3-D, it isn’t in any way diminishing real interest in the films. 
