A struggling Warner Bros has high hopes that they can work magic on the box office with the creation of an entire franchise built on the coattails of J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world of Harry Potter. Opening weekend predictions are strong (most estimate $80 million range) and initial reviews are positive. Since there are no otherRead more
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Disney will take an increasingly large piece of the box office pie over the next decade.
In decades past, you could only see movies in theatres. Not until the rise of home theatres, in the late 1970s, with the introduction of the VHS machine, did rewatching a film in the comfort of your living room become a reality. DVDs and now Blu Rays allow us to watch and rewatch our favoriteRead more
As I have mentioned in other posts, the pitch competition has begun to rise in popularity over the past few years, and, during the Austin Film Festival two weeks ago, I had an opportunity to hear some great pitches and catch up with some of the people behind them. Pitch: The Republic of Bensonville Author:Read more
The Austin Film Festival has wrapped, and I have finally had an opportunity to compile the reviews and interviews from the week. First, the Film Zaire. Set on a distant planet, two researchers gather data, run tests, and maintain an outpost to bring organic life to the remote world. Immediately, the cinematic aesthetic leaps offRead more
The Austin Film Festival Short Film Blocks offered hope for Hollywood this weekend, as up-and-coming talent showcased what they could do on small budgets, absurd shooting schedules, and only a few minutes of screen time. That is why short films are so important; they afford opportunities to new filmmakers otherwise impossible, due to barriers ofRead more
If you listen to podcasts at all, you’ve likely heard about one called Lore. Lore has been written, produced, and performed by one person, Aaron Mahnke, since its inception in March of 2015. From the start, Lore garnered a following of people who loved good stories. Mahnke bases Lore almost strictly off myths, legends, wives’Read more
With the Austin Film Festival imminent, I thought it would be appropriate to explain why there are so few truly great festivals (although the number is certainly growing) and why so many people, including myself, find so much beauty in a good film festival. “…Filmmaking is all about appreciating the talents of the people youRead more
Marketing can prove a difficult job, especially in today’s world, where every person is inundated constantly with offers and advertisements. Yet, Hollywood studios have had plenty of time to adapt to changing markets and methodology of storytelling, and we still do not have a very different model for movie trailers. Most of them show theRead more
Last week, Netflix CFO, David Wells, announced that the streaming company will make every effort to have 50% of their entertainment produced in house. This means that more than half of the content available to Netflix users will soon be Netflix originals. That may not seem like an outrageous or ground-breaking goal, but if youRead more
