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Episode 36 - Peter Bogdanovich
Filmmaking great Peter Bogdanovich joins Joel and Kamala to talk about his extensive career in film. Topics include: learning from the masters of film's Golden Age, studying acting with Stella Adler, the benefits of longer takes and much more.
Peter Bogdanovich is the director of films such as The Last Picture Show, What's Up, Doc?, Paper Moon, Mask, and The Cat's Meow. He is also the author of several books such as Who the Devil Made It: Conversations with Legendary Film Directors and Who the Hell's in It: Conversations with Hollywood's Legendary Actors. On top of that he is also an accomplished actor who can currently be seen as a Dr. Elliot Kupferburg on the Sopranos.
Episode 35 - Mark Steven Bosko
Joel and Kamala interview independent distribution representative and consultant Mark Steven Bosko, author of The Complete Independent Movie Marketing Handbook and DVD On Demand as well as the upcoming Making Movies that Make Money. They talk about marketing your indie film and what to do to make that the path of least resistance and maximum profitability.
A well-known professional in the industry, Bosko regularly speaks at film festivals around the country via his FilmPush seminar series and writes regularly for Moviemaker, IndieSlate, Videomaker, Super 8 Today and Millimeter magazines. He is actively searching to acquire films for his new DVD releasing labels: InspireDVD – which distributes family-friendly feature films and documentaries and, Dragonfly Releasing – slated to release independent features and documentaries of all genres. Both labels have titles on schedule for an October 2006 launch. You can reach him directly at mark*at*theboskogroup.com, and he promises to personally return all emails.
Episode 34 - Alan Berg and Matthew Franklin
At the Los Angeles Film Festival, Alan Berg director of the film "A Place to Dance" and Matthew Franklin director of photography on the film, join Joel and his new co-host Kamala Lopez-Dawson. Topics include, the filmmaking scene in Austin, developing a feature from a short film, making a film in New Orleans.
This is the first Episode with the new co-host Kamala Lopez-Dawson. She is has appeared in many films such as I (Heart) Huckabees, Deep Cover, Clear and Present Danger, Born in East LA, as well as countless television shows, from Sesame Street to 24. She is also a director and a writer. We welcome Kamala and look forward to her contribution.
Episode 33 - Stewart Stern Part 1
Oscar® Winner Stewart Stern is Joel's guest. He is the author of the screenplay "Rebel Without a Cause." as well as "Teresa," "Rachel Rachel" and the documentary "Benjy." Subjects include: The Group Theatre, Paul Newman, screenwriting technique, and John Huston.
Stewart is teaching writing at The Film School in Seattle.
Episode 32 - Laura Kim and John Anderson
Warner Independent's Laura Kim and Variety critic John Anderson talk with Joel about their new book I Woke Up Screening - What to Do Once You've Made that Movie. Topics covered include: marketing your film, attending film festivals, the Seattle International Film Festival and what to do before your movie is made so that you can sell it when it's finished.
Joel Marshall and special guest host Chris Brandt join their guest Paul Dinello to talk about his film Strangers with Candy. Topics include Paul's days with Second City in Chicago and working with Amy Sedaris, Steven Colbert and Steve Carell.
Beth Barrett - Programming Manager of The Seattle International Film Festival. Beth discusses the festival this year, their process of choosing films and what you can do as a filmmaker to get your film into festivals.
Episode 29 - Arianna Ortiz and Erik Heiberg
Arianna Ortiz and Erik Heiberg talk about their film project called Earthbound. Raising development funds through an online auction, structuring your project for the raising of funds, working for Roger Corman and getting feedback on your script are discussed. The filmmakers budgeting website by Erik called Budgetbone.com
Their auction can be found at http://earthboundthemovie.com/auction.html
Mora Stephens talks about her film "Conventioneers" which was the winner of the John Cassavetes Award this year at the Independent Spirit Awards. Topics include: working with friends to develop films, setting a start date, shooting on a tight budget and using your dog in your film. Mora's dog, Basil, also joins in on the conversation.
Episode 27 - Fat Free Film is Born
Joel and Jesse look back on the past 6 months of FilmShots. They discuss the formation of Fat Free Film. Joel will be hosting this show that will continue to explore the making of indie films through interviews with industry professionals. Jesse will continue to host FilmShots.
Frank Hannah, co-writer of the terrific film, The Cooler, talks with Joel and Jesse from his home in Hollywood. Topics discussed are: film structure, character development, Robert McKee's seminars, attaching stars to your project, and whether or not there is such a thing as a "cooler."
Documentary filmmaker and casting director Pattey Rayne talks with Joel and Dr. Jesse about her documentary project. Pattey was moved to make a documentary film about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. She talks about the incredible struggles people are having in these areas and the difficulties she's had documenting this. We talk with her about how she is funding this movie, non-profit vs. for-profit moviemaking, and fundraisers.
U.S. Navy photo by Gary Nichols
Prolific comic book writer and screenwriter, Scott Lobdell is our guest. He tells us how he got into comic book writing, gives us a game to stimulate our creativity, and provides tips oFFFMainn pitching projects. Scott wrote the feature film Man of the House, that stars Tommy Lee Jones, and he was a long time writer of the X-Men comic book as well as Spiderman, Alpha Flight, currently The Hardy Boys and many others.
Cita's World voiceover and motion capture artist Kittie talks with us about doing voiceovers, where to get the talent and what it is like to be voiceover talent. Loop, voiceover demos and ADR are discussed.
Episode 22.1 - FilmShots Special Report from NAB
Interview with Red Digital Cinema "Leader of the Rebellion" about the new Red camera. Ted Schilowitz joins Joel at the National Association of Broadcasters.
Director of the feature film Special Ed starring D.W. Moffett, Greg Germann, Bill Cobbs and Connie Britton. Jeffrey talks about his experiences as a first-time director directing a film that he wrote. He talks about Writers Boot Camp, taking acting classes and creative ideas for reducing the budget.
Producer Stephen Nemeth of Rhino Films joins Joel and Jesse on a rare rainy day in Beverly Hills. Stephen is an inspirational figure in filmmaking and shares his ideas on how he approaches filmmaking with a solid sense of social responsibility and an equally solid sense of the business of filmmaking. They discuss films he has produced such as Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, working with Terry Gilliam and developing films in association with Amnesty International.
Superman Returns and X-Men casting director Roger Mussenden, talks with Joel and Jesse. Topics include: what casting directors do, putting projects together using a casting director, becoming a casting director, method acting and unionizing.
Emmy® Award-winning casting director of Mission Impossible III, Lost, Alias, CSI, Independence Day and Godzilla talks about the job of casting film and television. Joel joins her in her very busy office.
David Venghaus - Veteran AD Dave Venghaus talks about his work on Gore Verbinski's Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3, Spielberg's A.I. and Minority Report, Garry Marshall's The Other Sister, Oliver Stone's JFK and Natural Born Killers and many other films.
Dave is the director and writer of the film They Call Him Sasquatch, starring Neal Mc Donough and Garry Marshall.
Episode 17 - Sandra Chwialkowska
Sandra Chwialkowska, director of It's About College, a documentary film that is making the festival rounds. Sandra documented the ivy league experience by turning the camera on her Yale roommates for their entire college experience. We also talk about her internship on Squid and the Whale, the director's role in documentary filmmaking, and what the difference between an agent and a manager is.
Louise Frogley, costume designer of Good Night, and Good Luck, Syriana, Skeleton Key, Man on Fire, Traffic, Mona Lisa and many many more great movies. On the job breaking down the script for her latest project directed by Kimberly Pierce, about an American soldier in Iraq. Costumer Richard Schoen also joins Joel, Jesse and Louise as a surprise guest. Louise and Richard explain how they go about creating costumes for some of our favorite films.
Episode 15 - Kyle Henry and Cyndi Williams
Independent Spirit Award Nominees Kyle Henry and Cyndi Williams talk about their film Room and its journey from their home in Austin Texas to Sundance, official selection at Cannes director's fortnight and now to nominations for best female lead and the John Cassavetes Award. They also talk about the companies that were involved in this project such as The Edit Center, The 7th Floor, Michael Stipe and Jim McKay's C-Hundred Film Corp. and Celluloid Dreams.
Joel and Jesse interview independent Sales Agent Stacey Parks. She is the author of “Insider’s Guide to Film Distribution”, a comprehensive manual for filmmakers and producers dedicated to film distribution and the marketplace. Stacey has worked in Independent film for over ten years and is currently an Independent Sales Rep. She was previously a Foreign Sales Agent for several years. Joel and Jesse talk with Stacey about what you should consider about distribution when making a film, what gets a film sold, who are the people involved, what genres sell best, and how to check the current market. They also debate the idea of film as art as opposed to pure commerce.
Episode 13 - Sharyn Blumenthal and Linda J. Brown
Director Sharyn Blumenthal and Cinematographer Linda J. Brown enlighten us on their new film "Take Two." We talk with them about developing scripts, their use of mulit-media, and cinéma vérité. Raw food enters into the conversation once again. We also learn about how being film professors enriches their craft. Sharyn teaches at Cal State University Long Beach and Linda teaches at USC. Edward Hopper and Dogma influences in their film are discussed.
How a film is scored. Composer John Plenge of Tone Factory is this week's guest. He is also known as Tone Factory. John joins Joel over the Skype. They talk about scoring films, collaborating with directors and other musicians, the Orange Project and his deaf cat. Samples of John's music are featured in show and can also be found on his website. Films that he has scored include Kelvin Bias' Photographic Memory and Richard D'Angelo's First Person.
In the editing room with Henry Jaglom and Tanna Frederick where we find out about Jaglom's new film Going Shopping. Tanna is starring in the film that Henry is currently editing called Hollywood Dreams and she describes what it's like to work on a Jaglom movie. Henry talks about his filmmaking process, working with actors, cutting his own films by hand on a KEM flatbed editor, his friendship with Orson Welles, and being an auteur.
Dan Mirvish, Slamdance founder and director of Open House and Omaha the Movie is our guest. Joel hangs out with him in his Culver City garage/studio, just down the street from Sony Pictures. Green screens, Slamdance, American Kickboxer 2, and independent musicals are the subjects covered.
Director Kathy Busby is the guest. Her short film "Max and Josh" will be premiering at the Sundance Film Festival. She is also Senior VP of Production for New Line Cinema. Joel and Jesse talk with her about how she got her film into Sundance, her experience making the film, and hearing pitches and developing scripts at New Line and formerly at Carsey Werner Productions.
Oscar® Winner Tom Rolf, editor of The Right Stuff, Taxi Driver, Jacob's Ladder, Heat, Equilibrium and many other films. Joel and Jesse sit down to a cup of tea with the master editor. Topics include: working with Martin Scorsese and Adrian Lyne, editing on film vs. editing on computers, focus groups, director/editor relations and filmbytes.
Josh Welsh of the organization Film Independent joins Rhines and Marshall. They discuss Film Independent's filmmaker labs, the Spirit Awards, as well as what constitutes an independent film.
Episode 6 - Software and Film Editing
Software and film editing. Joel and Jesse discuss non-linear editing software, script writing software, the new Panasonic HD camera and the idea of film criticism.
Interview with musician and freelance film scorer Johnny Wilson at his funky music studio in downtown Los Angeles. Johnny talks about the equipment he uses, explains some music terminology and gives some tips on creating great tunes. He also discloses his secret name, gives us some health food recipes and describes his yoga bathing habits. Dr. Jesse Rhines serenades us with a tune on the piano.
In the home of Phaedra (aka Erika Ellis), Jesse and Joel get a home-cooked, well, prepared raw meal. Phaedra tells us about how her book Good Fences became a movie starring Whoopie Goldberg and Danny Glover. They discuss the organization for independent filmmakers called Film Independent and the nominations for their upcoming Spirit Awards.
Episode 3 - Juliano's Raw Food
Takes place on location at Juliano's Raw food restaurant in Santa Monica, Californina. Jesse and Joel discuss many different topics while enjoying raw food. Topics include the film CSA: The Confederate States of America by Kevin Willmott. They also discuss film structure and how to get your film into a major festival like Sundance.
Episode 2 - Kamala Lopez-Dawson
Taped outside the Coffee Bean Restaurant on Larchmont Boulevard in Hollywood, special guest Kamala Lopez-Dawson discusses her upcoming pilot presentation starring Judd Nelson, Willie Gault and our own Joel Marshall. She also discusses her turn on Star Trek Voyager, her role in Deep Cover and the subject of being an independent actor/writer/producer.
The opener of the FilmShots podcast. Joel and Jesse are testing the waters of podcasting while downing non-alcoholic beer. Some of the ground-rules are set and discussed. Also, they discuss the upcoming Yale in Hollywood Festival of Film.