ARTHOUSE FILM NEWS - Cosmic Disco Detective Rene at Facets, Chicago 11/29/23

This post by Brian Newman , blogger & CEO of the Tribeca Film Institute (and, according to the intro. to Brian at the blog, "The views on this blog are not those of TFI."), is a few weeks old, but I do not think I've highlighted it here before, and Brian's view is the minority view re: Mark Gill's "sky is falling" speech (at least from what I've read & heard) in the real indie world & also one I agree with, so here it is: "Mark Gill’s analysis, even the parts I would debate, is fairly accurate, but pretty much meaningless to 99% of the indies I (and you) know. For most of us – those making truly indie films, and those watching them – not one of Gill’s thirteen disaster points mean anything to us." Read the rest at SpringBoardMedia . - Sujewa

Check out the May '06 article How to Make Money From Your Blog at Steve Pavlina.com . - Sujewa

Interesting article at National Association for Down Syndrome (thanks Amanda for the FWD), from the article: "If people with Down syndrome ruled the world: Affection, hugging and caring for others would make a big comeback . Despite the fact that my family was not terribly affectionate, I have had a crash course in hugging at the Center. I am confident that if people with Down syndrome ran the world, everyone would become very accustomed to the joys of hugging. Fortunately for me, I had a head start. My wife is a native of Argentina, and I got some intense exposure to hugging when I landed in her country and found there were 6000 members of her family waiting to be hugged as we got off the plane. All people would be encouraged to develop and use their gifts for helping others . In our world, too often people with Down syndrome are “DONE FOR” by others, when in fact they are great givers. If they ran the world, their ability to minister to others would not be wasted. People would b

(Though Federales has been historically a slang term for Mexican federal police , I am using it here to mean the US Federal gov.) I think for indie filmmakers & journalists laptops are/can be a daily essential work tool; some filmmakers write their script, manage their shoots, and edit video on the same laptop. Thus, being without your laptop for even a day while on an oversees or across the border project can be a nightmare for an indie filmmaker. So, check this out; turns out the U.S. government can confiscate your laptop for an unspecified amount of time WITHOUT ANY SUSPICION OF WRONGDOING at the border. Check out the Washinton Post article : "Federal agents may take a traveler's laptop computer or other electronic device to an off-site location for an unspecified period of time without any suspicion of wrongdoing, as part of border search policies the Department of Homeland Security recently disclosed. Also, officials may share copies of the laptop's contents wit

When I first heard that this adapter that allows one to plug in XLR audio cables to the Canon GL2 (pictured at the top of the blog, my favorite MiniDV camera at the moment) did not have any cables connecting the adapter to the camera, I did not believe that was how the unit worked. But, after trying it out in the Indie Film Blogger Road Trip project, yeah, it works; really well, and that's how it works - no cables from the unit to the camera. The shoe (place for the thingy that slides into a slot on top of the camera's microphone) sends the audio signal down to the camera/the MiniDV tapes, apparently (i am sure you can find a more accurate description of the technology involved elsewhere :). One thing: the camera mic goes offline/does not work, as soon as you attach the adapter, so, if you want to capture two tracks of audio, you'll have to hook up two mics to the adapter (i think on the PD 150 i was able to have a boom mic attached to the XLR jack and also have the camera

It's a brief review, but I am just starting to explore Henry Jaglom 's movies, so it is a good start. From the review : "A gentler, more wistful Henry Jaglom wrote and directed "Hollywood Dreams," his 15th and perhaps most accessible film. Filled with movie memories and gender confusion, the story shows one of our most polarizing independent filmmakers in a nostalgic mood, musing over the burdens of fame and the price of success — which would be love, as if you didn't know." Read the rest of the review here . - Sujewa

Check it out . He's made a bunch of movies; some of them sound interesting, I do not think I've seen any yet. Something for the 2 Do List. - Sujewa

The larger canvas, Hollywood budget & distribution, famous characters & stars brings with it certain grand expectations; and the new X Files movie I Want to Believe is a big let down. The story would have made for a somewhat decent TV episode, but I was expecting much more, at least much better writing, from the movie. The only good thing about the movie was seeing Mulder & Scully again, but the dialogue in the movie was pretty horrible. And the central story; about an attempt to attach one person's head to another person's body, is, well, gory, but, not that interesting. And what's with several women getting killed & butchered in that movie? What happened to the aliens? Why'd you guys settle for some garden variety crazy Soviet science experiment/horror show idea? Hopefully there will be another X Files movie, but with much better writing and greater ambition. If you guys & ladies need help writing a better X Files movie script, let me know,

i think this will be the last in this series of video posts:

pretty nice.

Through Janet Pierson's blog , from a Newsweek article: "Why do people write confessional blogs? It's a creative outlet. It's a forum to vent. It's an exercise in exhibitionism. To mental-health experts, though, it's more than that: a blog is medicine. Psychiatrists are starting to tout the therapeutic power of blogging, and many have begun incorporating it into patient treatment. A forthcoming study in the journal CyberPsychology & Behavior even suggests that bloggers might be happier than nonbloggers." Read more, follow link at Friends Are My Art Form . - Sujewa

Check out the story at New York Times . - Sujewa

Check out the page with information on submitting your film to Sundance 2009 here. - Sujewa