Watch the trailer for Acidman, Alex Lehmann‘s most recent directorial effort. Co-written by Lehmann and Chris Dowling, the film was produced in part by Liz Cardenas, who won the 2022 Film Independent Spirit Award for producing the Duplass Brothers’ 7 Days. This year, she was nominated for the Independent Spirit Producers Award. The film stars Dianna Agron as Maggie, a woman who decides to track down her long-estranged father Lloyd (Thomas Hayden Church), a recluse who’s been given the nickname “Acidman” by locals. Part of their reunion entails attempting to make contact with UFOs, a search that reveals difficult truths about Lloyd’s […]

The post Trailer Watch: Alex Lehmann’s Acidman first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Chicken & Egg Pictures has announced their latest initiative, teaming up with Netflix on a $450,000 fund to support women and non-binary documentary filmmakers who have previously made at least two feature films and are currently working toward their next project. As many as 30 filmmaking teams will receive a $10,000 grant for research or a $20,000 grant for development. In addition to the grant, recipients will be provided with “peer support, mentorship opportunities and deeper connections in the documentary film industry.” The Chicken & Egg Pictures Research & Development Grant is accepting applications through 12 p.m. ET on Monday, April […]

The post Applications Are Now Open for the Chicken & Egg Pictures Research and Development Grant first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

At Filmmaker, we are seeking freelance writers to cover new media — AR, VR, XR, the metaverse, AI-generated work, etc. — as well as audio (podcasts, etc). Opportunities exist for regular print columns as well as web columns and one-off web pieces. Ideal writers will have published writing samples and deep knowledge of these topics and be able to cover them from a Filmmaker style, which is to mix critical appraisals with insights into the production, technical and financing issues that affect both individual works and the respective fields. If you feel you qualify and would like to pitch or […]

The post Filmmaker Seeks New Media and Audio Writers first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

After premiering at Sundance earlier this year, a trailer and release date have arrived for Nicole Holofcener‘s latest, You Hurt My Feelings. The film stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus (who previously starred with James Gandolfini in Holofcener’s 2013 effort Enough Said) as a struggling author and instructor at the New School in Manhattan who receives unexpected negative feedback about her forthcoming book. Also starring are Tobias Menzies, Owen Teague, Michaela Watkins, Arian Moayed and Jeannie Berlin. In my review out of Sundance, I wrote: The real crux of the film’s story involves Beth overhearing her therapist husband Don (Tobias Menzies) voicing his […]

The post Trailer Watch: Nicole Holofcener’s You Hurt My Feelings first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Jeremy Jordan is probably best known for his Tony and Grammy-nominated portrayal of Jack Kelly in Newsies on Broadway, as well as his many roles on television including series regulars on CW’s Supergirl, NBC’s Smash and Disney Channel’s Tangled. And now he leads a star-studded cast as the tenacious record industry giant Neil Bogart in the epic new feature film Spinning Gold. On this episode, he talks about how finding a character’s physicality and where they hold tension informs his preparation, the importance of letting every single moment of a performance tell the story, why he’s still getting used to […]

The post “Yes He Was a Visionary, but He Pissed a Lot of People Off”: Spinning Gold Star Jeremy Jordan (Back To One, Episode 245) first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Continuing his string of against-type performances for independent filmmakers, Jim Gaffigan stars in writer-director Colin West’s SXSW 2022 premiere Linoleum as Cameron, a Ohio-based family man who hosts a children’s science program from his garag; he always wanted to become an astronaut, but this adolescent show will have to suffice). One day, a car unexpectedly crashes down from the sky, its driver revealed to be Cameron’s doppelgänger who—as we will find out in later scenes—has moved in across the street and is taking over hosting duties for Cameron’s television program. Understandably deflated and confused, Cameron arrives home one evening to discover […]

The post “We Were Begging and Borrowing and Stealing To Make the Film Happen”: Colin West on Linoleum first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

David desperately wishes to change the color of his eyes. Thanks to an experimental procedure peddled by an Indian company called BrightOcular, his fantasy of physical transformation might actually manifest. Documentary filmmaker Liza Mandelup (who made our 25 New Faces of Film list in 2017) follows David on this journey in her sophomore feature Caterpillar, as he meets other BrightOcular patients in India and grapples with the not-so-subtle side effects of these implants. Unsurprisingly, many of these patients are Western people of color who’ve been overwhelmed with images of European features (which ostensibly represent the pinnacle of physical perfection) for […]

The post “Sometimes You Just Get Incredible Access”: Liza Mandelup on Caterpillar first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

With the 40th anniversary of Jonathan Demme’s impeccable Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense on the horizon, A24 has announced a worldwide theatrical re-release of the film, which has been remastered in 4K. While dates have yet to be announced, it’s likely that the restoration’s theatrical run will tie into the band’s forthcoming deluxe vinyl reissue of the soundtrack, which will hit shelves on August 18. Notably, the vinyl reissue will also feature two previously unreleased tracks: “Cities” and “Big Business/I Zimbra.” Tied into the announcement is a brief teaser that depicts David Byrne picking up his iconic “big suit” […]

The post Watch: A24 Is Bringing Jonathan Demme’s Stop Making Sense Back to Theaters in 4K first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

A thief breaks into a Manhattan penthouse filled with priceless art. Trapped by a high-tech security system, unable to communicate with the outside world, he must figure out a way to survive. At the same time, he begins to question how much the art surrounding him is really worth. Working on his first feature, writer-director Vasilis Katsoupis set his appropriately-titled film Inside almost entirely within a single set. A few other characters appear on monitors, through windows and in flashbacks, but the movie is a showcase for Willem Dafoe, who plays the thief. Starring with him is a remarkable collection […]

The post 32 Days with Willem Defoe on a Virtual Volume Set: Vasilis Katsoupis on Inside first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.