iW NEWS | Hamptons To Host Screenwriter's Lab

The Hamptons International Film Festival will host its 8th annual Screenwirters' Lab May 9-11, 2008, in East Hampton. Co-sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the event will allow emerging screenwriters to work with mentors who will advise them on revising their scripts in preparation for production. "The Screenwriters' Lab consistently provides one of the most exciting and fulfilling aspects of the Hamptons' year-round activities," said Director of Programming David Nugent in a statement. The fest announced the lab's participants: Alex R. Johnson with "La Sobrina," James Ponsoldt with "Refresh, Refresh," Bradford Tatum with "Book of Water," and Avi Weider with "Zeroes and Ones." They will be mentored by Maria Maggneti, Ira Sachs, Jeffrey Sharp and Whit Stillman. [Peter Knegt] 
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iW NEWS | Woodstock Fest Partners With STF

The Woodstock Film Festival will co-present three screenings as part of the Stranger Than Fiction series at the IFC Center in New York. On consecutive Tuesdays in May, directors Barbara Kopple ("My Generation"), Leon Gast ("When We Were Kings") and Jonathan Demme ("The Agronomist") will present and discuss their films. "We are thrilled to be able to show three amazing films as part of the Stranger Than Fiction film series at the IFC Center, and to offer the community a chance to meet and interact with these great filmmakers," said WFF executive director Meira Blaustein. [Peter Knegt] 
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indieWIRE PRESENTS | TODAY: Adam Yauch and Tribeca Student Filmmakers@ Apple Store SoHo

Tribeca Film Festival coverage sponsored by Stella Artois.

Apple and indieWIRE daily Filmmaker Talks CONTINUE at the Apple Store, SoHo during the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival.

Adam Yauch: Friday, May 2, 6:30 p.m.
Before turning to film and directing--first with Awesome; I Shot That! and then with Gunnin' for That #1 Spot (now screening at the Tribeca Film Festival)--Adam Yauch also remains a founding member of the hip-hop trio Beastie Boys. He brings a unique perspective to filmmaking, which you'll discover as he discusses his latest project and fields questions from the audience. ABC News Radio's Movie Critic David Blaustein will moderate the discussion.

Student Filmmaker Panel: Friday, May 2, 8:00 p.m.
You may not recognize their names now, but that's about to change. Meet some up-and-coming filmmakers whose movies are being screened at this year's Tribeca Film Festival. Apple's Michael Wong will moderate the discussion.

Read the entire lineup here.

 
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iW NEWS | Thirteen Projects on Tap for Sundance Directors and Screenwriters Labs

Thirteen projects have been selected by the Sundance Institute to participate in its June directors and screenwriters labs. Emerging filmmakers from the U.S., U.K., South Africa, China, Costa Rica and Brazil will participate in the programs which take place at the Sundance Resort in Utah May 26 - June 26 under the leadership of Michelle Satter and artistic direction of Gyula Gazdag. Projects participating in the June directors lab (May 26 - June 21) include: "Blood Abundance, or the Half-Life of Antoinette" by John Magary (writer/director, U.S.), "Casa Grande" by Felipe Gamarano Barbosa (co-writer/director) and Karen Sztajnberg (co-writer, U.S./Brazil), "Meadowlandz" by Moon Molson (writer/director, U.S.), "Pariah" by Dee Rees" (writer/director, U.S.), "Poletown" by Daniel Casey (writer/director, U.S.), "Return" by Liza Johnson (writer/director, U.S.), "Shockheaded Peter" by Frank Budgen (writer/director, U.K.), and "Tshepang" by Lara Foot Newton and Gerhard Marx (co-writers/co-directors, South Africa). Screenwriters lab participants (June 21 - 26) include: "Agua Fria de Mar" by Paz Fabrega (writer/director, Costa Rica), "All Fall Down" by Jonathan Wysocki (writer/director, U.S.), "Look for Water" by Jennifer Phang (co-writer/director) and Dominic Mah (co-writer, U.S.), "The White Circus" by Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski (co-writers/co-directors, Canada) and "That Year When We Were Young," by Peng Tao ) co-writer/director) and Zeng Wenwen (co-writer, China). "We are thrilled to be supporting such a promising group of filmmakers who bring authenticity, urgency, and innovation to their storytelling," commented Satter, director of the feature film program in a statement. "The June Lab offers a place to fully explore the potential of their material and to develop their craft as screenwriters and directors." [Brian Brooks] 
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indieWIRE PRESENTS | TODAY: Harmony Korine @ Apple Store SoHo

Tribeca Film Festival coverage sponsored by Stella Artois.

Apple and indieWIRE daily Filmmaker Talks continue at the Apple Store, SoHo during the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival.

Harmony Korine: Thursday, May 1, 6:30 p.m.
Hear screenwriter, director, and producer Harmony Korine (Gummo, Julien Donkey-Boy) discuss Mister Lonely, his third feature film. Screening at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival, Mister Lonely debuted at Cannes, and is scheduled for release by IFC Films on May 2, 2008.
Film Producer Scott Macaulay (Gummo, Julien Donkey-Boy, Raising Victor Vargas) will moderate the discussion.

Read the entire lineup here.

 
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indieWIRE PRESENTS | TODAY: Greg Mottola @ Apple Store SoHo

Tribeca Film Festival coverage sponsored by Stella Artois.

Apple and indieWIRE daily Filmmaker Talks CONTINUE at the Apple Store, SoHo during the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival.

Greg Mottola: Wednesday, April 30, 6:30 p.m.
The director of last year's smash hit Superbad, Greg Mottola (The Daytrippers, Undeclared, Arrested Development) has written and directed a new film, Adventureland, scheduled for release by Miramax later this year. Greg will discuss his latest comedy with audience members. indieWIRE Editor in Chief Eugene Hernandez will moderate the discussion.

Read the entire lineup here.

 
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indieWIRE PRESENTS | TODAY: Tom Kalin and Isabella Rossellini @ Apple Store SoHo

Tribeca Film Festival coverage sponsored by Stella Artois.

Apple and indieWIRE daily Filmmaker Talks CONTINUE at the Apple Store, SoHo during the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival.

Tom Kalin: Tuesday, April 29, 6:30 p.m. Screenwriter, director, and producer Tom Kalin (Swoon) comes to the Tribeca Film Festival to screen Savage Grace, which tells the story of the Barbara Daly Baekeland murder case. Starring Julianne Moore, Savage Grace is scheduled for release by IFC Films on May 30, 2008. During his Filmmaker Talk, Tom will discuss his latest film project and answer audience questions. indieWIRE Editor in Chief Eugene Hernandez will moderate the discussion.

Isabella Rossellini: Tuesday, April 29, 8:00 p.m. Successful model and actress Isabella Rossellini (Blue Velvet, Big Night, Fearless) wrote My Dad Is 100 Years Old and makes her directorial debut in the experimental Green Porno, a series of short films she also conceived, wrote, and appears in. She produced Green Porno in association with the Sundance Channel. Comical but insightful studies of the sex lives of various creatures, Green Porno screens at this year's Tribeca Film Festival, and Isabella will discuss the series during her Filmmaker Talk. US Weekly film critic Thelma Adams will moderate the discussion.

Read the entire lineup here.

 
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indieWIRE PRESENTS | TODAY: Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock @ Apple Store SoHo

Tribeca Film Festival coverage sponsored by Stella Artois.

Apple and indieWIRE are again proud to present daily Filmmaker Talks at the Apple Store, SoHo during the upcoming 2008 Tribeca Film Festival.

Morgan Spurlock: Monday, April 28, 6:30 p.m. With Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?, screenwriter and documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) seeks to do what the CIA, FBI, and U.S. military have not been able to: find Osama. Join Morgan as he discusses the film (being released this month by the Weinstein Company). The event will be moderated by indieWIRE Editor in Chief Eugene Hernandez.

Read the entire lineup here.

 
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indieWIRE Presents: Filmmaker Guy Maddin @ Apple Store SoHo

Tribeca Film Festival coverage sponsored by Stella Artois.

Apple and indieWIRE are again proud to present daily Filmmaker Talks at the Apple Store, SoHo during the upcoming 2008 Tribeca Film Festival.

Guy Maddin: Sunday, April 27, 5:30 p.m. Filmmaker Guy Maddin (The Saddest Music in the World, Brand Upon the Brain!) discusses his latest film, My Winnipeg. A docu-fantasia, as he calls it, My Winnipeg won the Best Canadian Feature Film award at the Toronto International Film Festival. After screening at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival, it will be released by IFC Films on June 13, 2008. The event will be moderated by film journalist and regular indieWIRE contributor Dennis Lim.

Read the entire lineup here.

 
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indieWIRE Presents: Filmmaker Tony Gilroy and Actress Amy Poehler @ Apple Store SoHo

Tribeca Film Festival coverage sponsored by Stella Artois.

Apple and indieWIRE are again proud to present daily Filmmaker Talks at the Apple Store, SoHo during the upcoming 2008 Tribeca Film Festival.

Tony Gilroy: Saturday, April 26, 6:30 p.m. Nominated for two Academy Awards for Michael Clayton--for directing and original screenplay--Tony Gilroy wrote the scripts for Dolores Claiborne, Devil's Advocate, and all three Bourne movies. He'll speak with us about his next film, Duplicity (starring Clive Owen and Julia Roberts), which he wrote and is directing. SPECIAL GUEST MODERATOR! The event will be moderated by director/screenwriter Nora Ephron(When Harry Met Sally..., Sleepless in Seattle, Bewitched.)

Amy Poehler Saturday, April 26, 8:00 p.m. Currently in her seventh season of Saturday Night Live, Amy Poehler (Blades of Glory, Shrek the Third, Mr. Woodcock) has a busy year ahead of her. With filming under way on Hoodwinked 2: Hood vs. Evil, four of her films--Hamlet 2, Horton Hears a Who!, Baby Mama, and Spring Breakdown--will debut in theaters in 2008. Hear the comedienne and actress talk about her various roles and film and TV projects. SPECIAL GUEST MODERATOR! The event will be moderated by actor and Saturday Night Live cast member Fred Armisen. 
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indieWIRE PRESENTS | TODAY: Clive Owen @ Apple Store SoHo

Tribeca Film Festival coverage sponsored by Stella Artois.

Apple and indieWIRE are again proud to present daily Filmmaker Talks at the Apple Store, SoHo during the upcoming 2008 Tribeca Film Festival.

Clive Owen: Friday, April 25, 6:30 p.m. Academy Award-nominated actor Clive Owen (Closer, Gosford Park, Inside Man, Children of Men) comes to the Apple Store, SoHo, to talk about two upcoming film projects--The International (with Naomi Watts) and Tony Gilroy's Duplicity (opposite Julia Roberts)--and to take audience questions. SPECIAL GUEST MODERATOR! The event will be moderated by filmmaker Mary Harron (American Psycho, I Shot Andy Warhol, The Notorious Betty Page.)

Read the entire lineup here.

 
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Apple & indieWIRE Daily Filmmaker Talks Kick Off This Week

Tribeca Film Festival coverage sponsored by Stella Artois.

Apple and indieWIRE are again proud to present daily Filmmaker Talks at the Apple Store, SoHo during the upcoming 2008 Tribeca Film Festival. Get a peek behind the scenes from leading filmmakers and actors. Come to Apple Store, SoHo to hear these filmmakers share their stories: Tony Gilroy, Paul Haggis, Tom Kalin, Harmony Korine, Guy Maddin, Matthew Modine, Greg Mottola, Clive Owen, Amy Poehler, Isabella Rossellini, Morgan Spurlock, and Adam Yauch. Read the entire lineup here. 
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indieWIRE Presents: Errol Morris at Apple Stores in NYC and San Francisco

Tribeca Film Festival coverage sponsored by Stella Artois.

Join Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker, Errol Morris ("The Fog of War") at the Apple Store as he screens clips and discusses the making of his latest film, "Standard Operating Procedure." The film explores how photographs taken by soldiers in Abu Ghraib prison have changed the war in Iraq and changed America's image of itself. After the discussion, Morris will take questions from the audience. Sony Pictures Classics will release the film on April 25.

indieWIRE contributor and journalist Anthony Kaufman will moderate the NYC discussion.

Apple Store, SoHo
Wednesday, April 23, 6:30 p.m.

Apple Store, San Francisco
Wednesday, April 30, 7:00 p.m.

 
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iW NEWS | Institute for Critics and Journalists Continues in New York City

Tribeca Film Festival coverage sponsored by Stella Artois.

Thirteen writers from around the U.S. are participating in the second annual Museum of the Moving Image Institute in Film Criticism and Feature Writing which began last night and is running through Monday in Queens, NY. A New York Times Company Foundation Institute, the program includes panels and workshops for a group of print and online journalists exploring, in the words of the Museum of the Moving Image, "the art, business, and history of film, and a global view of the complex and rapidly evolving nature of the film and entertainment industry." Participating journalists include: Aaron Aradillas from Movie Geeks United, Stephen Becker from The Dallas Morning News, Doug Cummings from MastersofCinema, Cynthia Fuchs from George Mason University and PopMatters, Jette Kernion from Cinematical and the Slackerwood blog, David Kipen from The Bob Edwards Show, regular indieWIRE contributor Eric Kohn from The New York Press, Dan Kois from New York Magazine's Vulture blog, critic and filmmaker Kevin Lee, Karina Longworth from SpoutBlog, writer for numerous publications Artemisia Ng, Peter Noble-Kuchera from the Bloomington Herald-Times, and Karen vanMeenen from Afterimage. For more information, visit the MMI website. [Eugene Hernandez] 
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IFP Abandons "Market" Moniker, Moves NYC Event Uptown

Tribeca Film Festival coverage sponsored by Stella Artois.

The nearly thirty year old IFP Market, once also known as the Independent Feature Film Market (IFFM), has been entirely re-named Independent Film Week by the IFP and its core works-in-progress screening component will now simply be called a "Project Forum." The New York non-profit is also leaving the event's longtime downtown home and moving it to the Fashion Institute of Technology (F.I.T.) in Chelsea. Set for September 14th - 19th, Independent Film Week will include the Project Forum and the Independent Filmmakers Conference, as well as special screenings and the annual awards ceremony. "In the film industry, the word 'Market' suggests business transactions, but IFP's commitment to filmmakers and their projects extends long beyond the six days of Independent Film Week," said IFP exec director Michelle Byrd, in a statement. "Our goal is to provide a launching pad for career-spanning relationships, and we wanted our new name to encompass that broader mission." The organization is accepting project submissions through May 2nd via their website. [Eugene Hernandez] 
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AFP: Film event uses digital-age technology to unite cultures

A filmmaker's wish to unite people worldwide by letting them see life through each others' eyes is coming true. It is the result of a wish documentary filmmaker Jehane Noujaim was granted as part of a Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) conference prize in 2006, and counts movie stars Meg Ryan and Cameron Diaz among its supporters. Glenn Chapman reports. 
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indieWIRE Presents: Wong Kar Wai at Apple Store SoHo on Tuesday

Tribeca Film Festival coverage sponsored by Stella Artois.

indieWIRE's ongoing series of filmmaker talks at the Apple Store - SoHo continues on Tuesday evening with special guest Wong Kar Wai.

WHEN: Tuesday, April 1st, 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

WHERE: Apple Store - SoHo, 103 Prince Street, NYC

COST: Free, No RSVP required. Seats are first come, first serve. Seating is limited.

Filmmaker Wong Kar Wai ("In The Mood For Love," "Chungking Express," "Happy Together") will participate in a discussion and show scenes from his latest film, "My Blueberry Nights," which tells the story of Elizabeth (Norah Jones) and her journey across America where she leaves behind a life of memories, a dream and her soulful new friend - a cafe owner (Jude Law) - all while in search of something to mend her broken heart. Film journalist Dennis Lim will moderate the discussion.

"My Blueberry Nights" is being released by The Weinstein Company on April 4th, 2008. 
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David Schwimmer at Apple Store SoHo

Actor and director David Schwimmer (from TV's "Friends") will appear at the Apple Store SoHo on Tuesday, March 18th to discuss and screens clips from his directorial debut, "Run Fat Boy Run." In the film, Simon Pegg plays Dennis, a man who enters a marathon to prove he's not a quitter but soon finds out just how much sweat, strain, and tears it takes to run for 26 miles. 
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indieWIRE Presents: David Gordon Green @ Apple Store SoHo

indieWIRE continues its ongoing series with Apple Store - SoHo that presents indie film professionals discussing various aspects of the filmmaking process.

Actress Olivia Thirlby ("Juno", "The Wackness") CONFIRMED TO ATTEND!

WHEN: Wednesday, March 5th, 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m
WHERE: Apple Store SoHo, 103 Prince Street, NYC
COST: Free, No RSVP required. Seats are first come, first serve. Seating is limited.

Filmmaker David Gordon Green ("George Washington," "All The Real Girls") will participate in a discussion and show scenes from his latest film, "Snow Angels," which stars Sam Rockwell, Katie Beckinsale, Olivia Thirlby, Amy Sedaris and Griffin Dunne. "Snow Angels" (based on Stewart O'Nan's novel) is the haunting story of two broken families and two romantic relationships, one just beginning and one nearing its end. Warner Independent Pictures will release "Snow Angels" in theaters on March 7, 2008.

 
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iW NEWS | Lee and Schamus to Receive ShoWest Kudos

Director/producer Ang Lee and screenwriter/producer and Focus Features CEO James Schamus will be presented with the very first ShoWest/NATO Freedom of Expression award, organizers announced Friday. Lee and Schamus will be presented with their award at the opening day luncheon to be held on Tuesday, March 11th at Bally's and Paris Las Vegas. The focus of this year's luncheon is going to be on the "importance of Specialty and Independent films and distribution companies in today’s marketplace." The event takes place March 10 -13. [Brian Brooks] 
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