“The Master” is a Masterpiece of Filmmaking

Paul Thomas Anderson’s “The Master” is a totally exhausting, fully encompassing movie about dangerous people.  This much anticipated film will show at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday–and it’s going to be the topic of every conversation after that.

“The Master” is a dangerous movie. I can’t remember a time in recent memory when I worried about what characters might do when they entered a scene. But when Joaquin Phoenix comes into a frame or scene at any time in “The Master,” you’re really concerned he’s going to hit or kill somebody, or do something utterly wild and unpredictable. His character, Freddie, is an alcoholic and a sociopath. Freddie has just been discharged from the Navy at the end of World War II. He’s a sexual deviant, who we learn later was abused by an aunt. Freddie is also a loner, a drifter whose temper is so bad he can’t hold a job. And then he meets Lancaster Dodd, and his life changes completely.

Dodd is played by Philip Seymour Hoffman. He comes with a family–wife Amy Adams, a daughter and son in law, and a son. What is Dodd? He says he’s a writer and a nuclear scientist, among other things. But he’s also already come up with his own religion, a cult called The Cause. His own son says later that Dodd is just making it up as he goes along. But his wife is sold and is his collaborator. The son in law sees opportunity in it as well. And soon The Cause picks up a couple of wealthy female patrons, played by Patty McCormack (star of “The Bad Seed” in the 1960s) and the much missed Laura Dern. (I wish she were in more movies. She’s spot on.)

There’s so much going on in “The Master,” you almost need two hours and 17 minutes to dissect it. It’s a gritty, edgy, uncomfortable film marked by Freddie’s deviancy and Dodd’s avuncular unease. Phoenix and Hoffman are completely riveting, never once hit a false note, and keep the action moving. Amy Adams peels back a new side of her very interesting, onion like sensibility. She seems to always have new tricks to show us. Knowing that Hoffman and Phoenix are show stoppers, Amy works along the edges until she sees her moment. She’s absolutely terrific.

The Cause is not Scientology per se. But it mimics it. The courses are called “Applications.” There are kind of EEG machines. There’s a violence to the Cause, mostly instigated by Freddie, that has been associated with Scientology. I was reminded of a lot of things– including Oprah tearing up every time a new New Age guru stops by with a book of aphoristic gobbledygook. Dodd knows he’s making it up as he goes along. Wait for the scene when Dern meekly questions something in his book. He’s contradicted an earlier stand. Dodd–Hoffman–loses it, and we get a glimpse into his Machiavellian mind.

But the sham that is The Cause is unveiled–at least for the audience. When Hoffman/Dodd finally reveals his big discovery–what will change everyone’s lives–you just shake your head. It’s as mundane as the stuff that comprises other cults’ revelations. The emperor has no clothes.

And while Hoffman and Phoenix are pungent, they never drift into cliche. There’s no scene chewing. Hoffman, who could have played the cartoon heavy, instead finds Dodd’s soul. He’s no routine huckster. His performance reminded me a little of Michael Caine’s abortionist doctor in “Cider House Rules.” He knows, we know, he’s doing something over the line, but we’re kind of cheering for him. Hoffman could not be better cast, and it’s best work ever with Anderson after films like “Boogie Nights” and “Magnolia.”

Phoenix bends his body into a malformation and seems to be listening to signals from beyond Neptune. Phoenix seems to transform his own body shape as Freddie. He looks almost like a human pretzel.  You can tell Freddie is in pain physically and mentally throughout. Phoenix is rather astonishing at conveying Freddie’s mystery and loss.

And then you have the cinematography. Mihai Malaimare Jr. has worked on the last three mostly lamentable Francis Ford Coppola movies. He doesn’t have a long resume. But there more than a dozen different examples of artistry at work in “The Master.” His framed shots are mini masterpieces. Also to be cited: Johnny Greenwood’s extraordinary dissonant score. It’s as if Anderson dreamt Greenwood, clanging on odd percussives to punctuate scenes.

Some early viewers said on the internet they were confused, or that the movie was dreamy. Others compared it to Terrence Malick. I disagree on both counts. The story was easy enough to follow. And it was ethereal when it was supposed to be, explicit at other times. It’s not an easy movie, it’s not “The Artist” or “The King’s Speech” in that it’s happily embraceable. “The Master” is very sophisticated, mature filmmaking. I’m glad they’re releasing it on Septmber 14th. It’s going to take at least two months for every one to digest it and discuss it before the cacaphony of awards season starts. But look out, because the main trio, and Anderson, Greenwood, and Malaimare are going to be players this winter.

Venice film festival kicks off with clash of civilizations


By Dario Thuburn | AFP
The Venice film festival kicked off an art house dominated line-up on Wednesday with a thriller by Mira Nair about a Pakistani man torn between East and West after the September 11 attacks.
Hollywood heavyweights, famous auteurs and up-and-coming starlets arrived in water taxis on the famous Lido island, sashaying along the red carpet for the opening ceremony of the world's oldest international film festival.

"Everybody's looking forward to getting down to work. There is a bunch of new work and inspiring films over the next few days," US producer and director Michael Mann, who is heading up the jury this year, told reporters.

Mann said he would look in particular at "new methods of story-telling."

French model and actress Laetitia Casta, a member of the jury who wore a black lace dress that left little to the imagination, said: "I prefer this place because I leave my ego behind to look at the work of others.

"For me it's an honour because this is a very respected festival," she said.

Joining Casta on the red carpet were Kate Hudson, Naomi Watts and the cast of Nair's "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" starring British actor Riz Ahmed as Changez -- a soulful Pakistani who rejects fundamentalism in all its forms.

Nair's clash of civilizations tale is set in New York and Lahore before and after September 11 and drew gasps from the audience as it portrayed the discrimination suffered in America by Changez following the attacks.

The character rises the Wall Street but is increasingly alienated by the United States and returns to Pakistan where he starts teaching at a university riven by militancy where CIA agents are searching for a kidnapped US professor.

"We all know there's been an enormous schism, a wall between East and West in the past decade. I wanted to bring some sense of bridge-making, some sense of healing that goes beyond stereotype," Nair said at a press conference.

"I believe I've been put on this earth to tell stories of people like me who live between worlds," she said, adding that she had drawn inspiration from her own experience of changing attitudes in the aftermath of September 11.

Among the most keenly awaited premieres are Terrence Malick's "To the Wonder" -- a complex love story starring Ben Affleck -- and Robert Redford's "The Company You Keep" with himself as a former Weather Underground militant.

One of the 18 films vying for the Golden Lion prize will be Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master" with Philip Seymour Hoffman as a character resembling Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard -- a movie bound to raise controversy.

Music is also on the menu with Spike Lee's hotly anticipated "Bad 25" documentary about pop icon Michael Jackson and Jonathan Demme of "The Silence of the Lambs" fame with his homage to Neapolitan crooner Enzo Avitabile.

Alongside US stars like director Brian De Palma and actresses Kate Hudson, Selena Gomez and Winona Ryder, there are also famous Asian directors Takeshi Kitano of Japan ("Outrage Beyond") and Kim Ki-duk of South Korea ("Pieta").

The first edition of the festival was held back in 1932 on the terrace of the glamorous Excelsior Hotel on the Venice Lido and featured movies by some of the best known directors of the time like Frank Capra and Howard Hawks.

This year's festival, which runs until September 8, will project a total of 52 films including 21 by women directors -- in contrast with the Cannes festival this year which featured no women directors for films in competition.

Organisers said they were also keen to scout out "new talent" in cinema.

"The world is exploding. In India, in China, in Europe and I'm hoping to see a new wave of cinema coming from different places, learn from it and do it myself," said Indian director Shekhar Kapoor, who heads up one of the juries.

Among the newcomers will be Haifaa al-Mansour from Saudi Arabia -- where cinemas are banned and women face sweeping discrimination -- with her film "Wadjda" about a little girl desperate for a bicycle which she is not allowed.

Going back into Hollywood lore, the festival will also feature reclusive Oscar-winner Michael Cimino ("The Deer Hunter") and a new director's cut of his epic Western "Heaven's Gate" -- one of the biggest movie flops of all time.

Clint Eastwood To Speak At Republican Convention on Thursday: Fox News



by The Deadline Team
Clint Eastwood will be speaking at the Republican Convention in Tampa on Thursday according to Fox News. The network’s website is reporting that a GOP source confirmed “that Eastwood is indeed the mystery speaker”. Thursday night’s line-up has a “To Be Announced” speaker scheduled ahead of Senator Marco Rubio and GOP Presidential nominee Mitt Romney himself. Eastwood’s name was floated earlier this week as the speaker along with former VP nominee Sarah Palin, Donald Trump and even a hologram of former President Ronald Reagan. No stranger to politics, Eastwood served as the Mayor of Carmel, California from 1986 to 1988. He supported John McCain in 2008 and endorsed Mitt Romney earlier this month at a Sun Valley fundraiser. “Now more than ever do we need Mitt Romney, I’m going to be voting for him,” the Oscar winner said as the GOP nominee stood next to him on August 4. If Eastwood is really heading to Tampa to speak Thursday evening, he’s going to have to get going soon. Deadline has learned that as of Wednesday afternoon, the actor/director was still at his home in Carmel. Eastwood’s latest film, Trouble With The Curve comes out on September 21, 2012.

'Obama's America' Filmmaker Lashes Out at Media


"A lot of these guys have just become moral cowards," Dinesh D'Souza says about Chris Matthews, Lawrence O'Donnell, Rachel Maddow and others.


TAMPA, Fla. – A frustrated Dinesh D’Souza called out a slew of reporters for bias and cowardice because they have ignored his film, 2016: Obama’s America, despite the film's ranking as the top documentary this year.

D'Souza said unlike with Michael Moore's films, cable and broadcast news interviews have been few and far between -- save for one on CNN and several on the Fox News Channel, the filmmaker told The Hollywood Reporter outside Radio Row at the Republican National Convention.

"A lot of these guys have just become moral cowards," D’Souza said.  "Look at MSNBC. You could watch that channel and you wouldn’t even know we have a film out. You look at Lawrence O’Donnell, You look at Rachel Maddow. You look at Chris Matthews. I mean, look at those cowards … trying to pretend that there’s no film.

"So, they’re just hoping that all of this will just go away, but it’s not going to. I would love to go on MSNBC and cross swords with those guys, but I just think they’re all hiding under their desks.”

2016: Obama’s America, based on D’Souza’s best-selling book, The Roots of Obama’s Rage, is a negative take on the president’s agenda. The film also uses Obama’s own book, Dreams From My Father, as source material. The movie, produced by Oscar-winning producer Gerald Molen (Schindler's List), surged to No. 2 at the domestic box office on Monday and is expected to expand into 2,000 theaters next week, a rare feat for a documentary.

Yet, says D’Souza, even the New York Times shows little interest.

Tom Friedman writes a column. He’s supposed to be Mr. Know-it-All on a whole bunch of subjects, but the truth of it is he’s kind of ignoring the film because it has ideas that he’s unable to contend with,” 

D’Souza said. "Maureen Dowd  … I don’t get that. She fulminated against my book. She called me Ann Coulter in pants. But I put out a thinking movie that addresses some of the issues that she’s raised … It’s a riveting story but it has huge political implications, and I think Maureen’s a little bit scared of what those political implications are.”

He also criticized Charlie Rose of CBS, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos and HBO’s Bill Maher.
"You think of yourself as a smart guy, and you are," he said of Maher. "But I also happen to be a smart guy who knows what he’s talking about."

D’Souza’s harshest criticism, though, was directed at Matthews and the MSNBC anchor’s pronouncement in 2008 that he "felt this thrill going up my leg" after listening to Obama speak.

"You get to sort of prove that you’re not a racist by supporting Obama," said D’Souza. "Why would a hard-bitten reporter like Matthews feel a thrill up his leg? I mean, that’s abnormal behavior. Matthews is a guy who’s patting himself on the back and saying, 'I’m a morally wonderful person because I support Obama.' Well, if you’re such a morally wonderful person, why don’t you engage in some real debate?
"Chris Matthews is always shrieking about this or that, and the evil Tea Party and so on,” said D’Souza, "but when it comes to a film of real ideas, in which we interview people who knew Obama’s dad, knew his mom and knew Obama, and interview George Obama, somehow Chris Matthews – I don’t know. Maybe he doesn’t like me. Maybe I don’t send a thrill up his leg.”
Email: Paul.Bond@thr.com

Oprah Winfrey still highest paid celeb


Oprah Winfrey's trials as the CEO of the OWN network have been covered in detail - occasionally by the media titan herself. But for now, at least, Winfrey still reigns as Forbes magazine's highest-paid celebrity for the fourth year in a row.
The publication estimates Winfrey earned $165 million between May 2011 and May 2012, thanks to her brand stretching across media. There's O magazine, a satellite radio station, Harpo productions programming - "The Dr. Oz Show," "Dr. Phil" and "Rachael Ray" - and, of course, the vulnerable OWN.
Forbes also took into account syndication profits from "The Oprah Winfrey Show," which ended in 2011. But this is also the last year the publication will add in any of her syndication dollars, and Forbes hints that may cause Winfrey to stumble on the list in the future.
As it stands, Winfrey's haul dropped by $125 million when compared to last year's earnings, and she squeaked past Hollywood filmmaker Michael Bay for the top spot by $5 million. Bay comes in at No. 2 on the highest-paid celebrity list with an estimated income of $160 million.
Steven Spielberg followed at No. 3 with an estimated $130 million earned between May 2011 and May 2012; Jerry Bruckheimer was at No. 4 with $115 million; and Dr. Dre came in at No. 5 with $110 million, a yearly income boosted from sales of his Beats By Dr. Dre headphones line

Steven Spielberg Shoots Down Bin Laden Movie Report

The director-producer's spokesman denies that DreamWorks is in talks to make a film adaptation of "No Easy Day," written by a former Navy SEAL.

Neither Steven Spielberg nor his DreamWorks production company plans to option No Easy Day, the new book about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden written by one of the Navy SEALs who took part in the attack.

No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama bin Laden, which is being published by Dutton on Sept. 11, is credited to a pseudonymous author, Mark Owen, although Fox News has named as the author a 36-year-old former SEAL named Matt Bissonette.

On Monday, the New York Post’s Page Six reported that the author “is in talks with Steven Spielberg to turn the book into an action movie.”

But according to Spielberg spokesman Marvin Levy, “Neither Steven Spielberg, DreamWorks Studios or DreamWorks Television will be optioning Mark Owen's book, No Easy Day.”

Several other hunt-for-bin-Laden movies are already in the works. Sony Pictures will release Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty, written by her Hurt Locker collaborator Mark Boal and starring Jessica Chastain, on Dec. 19.

The Weinstein Co. has acquired rights to John Stockwell’s Code Name: Geronimo, which also concerns the hunt for the al-Queda leader, although it hasn’t announced a release date yet.

Sony Pictures Classics buys Robert Redford's 'The Company You Keep'

By Nicole Sperling/August 24, 2012, 10:42 a.m.

A few weeks ahead of the trifecta of fall film festivals, Sony Pictures Classics has purchased all U.S. rights to Robert Redford's new film "The Company You Keep."

Redford stars in the film that he also directed opposite Shia LaBeouf, Julie Christie and Susan Sarandon. The movie centers on a former Weather Underground activist (Redford) who goes on the run from a journalist (LaBeouf) who has discovered his identity.

Lem Dobbs ("Haywire") adapted the script from the 2003 novel by Neil Gordon.

The film is scheduled to premiere at the Venice Film Festival in early September before heading to Toronto to screen for media there.

Redford has maintained a steady stream of work in the director's chair, helming three films in the last five years. Neither of his last two outings -- "The Conspirator," about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and 2007's political thriller "Lions for Lambs" -- fared well at the box office.

Perhaps the addition of LaBeouf and the all-star cast behind "Company You Keep," which also includes Sam Elliott, Brendan Gleeson, Terence Howard, Richard Jenkins, Anna Kendrick, Stanley Tucci, Nick Nolte and Chris Cooper, will turn his fortunes around.

Sony Pictures Classics, which has a heavy fall slate, has not announced a release date for the thriller.

TENNESSEE - $300,000 Competition for Second Screen Storytellers


Samsung Electronics America, Inc. and the NYTVF have launched a landmark partnered initiative providing indie producers and production companies with the opportunity to compete for a guaranteed production budget of $300,000 to create an original short series with accompanying second screen material. The winning selection and subsequent series will debut at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2013 and will then be exclusively distributed via Samsung Smart TVs and Galaxy devices. The partnership marks the first NYTVF development initiative conceived to specifically solicit content intended to be experienced across multiple devices and challenges creators to creatively expand storytelling norms by maximizing the viewing experiences enabled by Samsung's unique second screen technology. 

How should "Second Screen Material" be incorporated into my submission?
We encourage you to think of the second screen as more than just an extra or deleted scene, but rather as an additional opportunity to provide perspective and enhance the story. At the same time, make sure the primary show offers a complete viewing experience - the second screen shouldn't provide spoilers or otherwise necessary information central to the story. Additionally, submitters are encouraged to think of additional interactive elements that can complement the second screen material.

Needed to submit?

An original short pilot or excerpt scene that is six (6) to ten (10) minutes in length
One (1) piece of corresponding second screen content that is a maximum of two (2) minutes in length
One (1) series treatment outlining the show concept and second screen extension opportunities that is a maximum of four (4) pages in length

The submission period will open at 12pm (noon) EST on August 6, 2012 and will close at 12pm (noon) EST on September 24, 2012. All submissions must be received during this time period, without exception.

Finalists will receive designation as 2012 NYTVF Official Artists and be invited to the New York Television Festival, held in NYC in October 2012.

samsungA screening committee of NYTVF officials will narrow the pool of entrants down to 5 finalists which will be presented to Samsung executives. One winner will be selected by Samsung and he/she will receive a production budget of $300,000 to create an original short series with accompanying second screen material. Additionally, Samsung may elect to enter into development agreements with additional finalists. 

For additional information and a video visit http://www.nytvf.com/2012_samsung.html#video .

Elisabeth Murdoch takes aim at brother on media morality


By Paul Sandle
(Reuters) - Elisabeth Murdoch urged the media industry on Thursday to embrace morality and reject her brother James's mantra of profit at all costs, in a speech seen as an attempt to distance herself from the scandal that has tarnished the family name.

Addressing television executives, she said profit without purpose was a recipe for disaster and the phone hacking scandal at the News of the World tabloid - which has badly hurt her father Rupert Murdoch's News Corp empire - showed the need for a rigorous set of values.
The comments from a woman who has powerful friends in the British establishment and the support of her PR husband Matthew Freud, are likely to be examined for whether she could one day run News Corp instead of her brothers whose chances have faded.
"News (Corp) is a company that is currently asking itself some very significant and difficult questions about how some behaviors fell so far short of its values," she said in the annual television industry MacTaggart lecture.
"Personally I believe one of the biggest lessons of the past year has been the need for any organization to discuss, affirm and institutionalize a rigorous set of values based on an explicit statement of purpose," she said in remarks which drew applause.
Elisabeth Murdoch - a successful television producer who was overlooked for senior jobs at News Corp that went first to her brother Lachlan and then James - said a lack of morality could become a dangerous own goal for capitalism.
Rupert Murdoch last year closed the News of the World, which was owned by a News Corp unit, amid public anger that its journalists had hacked into the voicemails of people from celebrities to victims of crime. A number of former executives have appeared in court over the case and the government set up a judicial inquiry into press standards.
"There's only one way to look at this," Murdoch biographer Michael Wolff told Reuters. "This is part of a strategic repositioning of Liz Murdoch within the media world, with the business world and within the family."
The often humorous lecture delivered at the annual Edinburgh Television Festival came three years after James Murdoch used the same platform to confront a largely hostile audience with his vision for the industry.
Elisabeth, 44, and 39-year-old James had been very close, according to sources close to the family, but their relationship became strained by the hacking affair.
"Writing a MacTaggart (lecture) has been quite a welcome distraction from some of the other nightmares much closer to home. Yes, you have met some of my family before," she said to laughter, in a rare speech for the founder of the successful television production company Shine.
Stewart Purvis, the former head of broadcast news provider ITN, said on Twitter that the speech should be called "Why I am not my father or my brother".
Her highly personal speech appeared designed to win over any doubters, with references to childhood conversations at the breakfast table with dad to her continuing affection for the much-loved British playwright Alan Bennett.
She even lavished praise on the state-owned BBC, previously the butt of jokes by her brother but which also regularly airs programs made by her Shine company.
RECIPE FOR DISASTER
Referring to her younger brother James's 2009 speech, Elisabeth said his assertion that the only reliable, durable and perpetual guarantor of media independence was profit had fallen short of the mark.
"The reason his statement sat so uncomfortably is that profit without purpose is a recipe for disaster," she said.
"Profit must be our servant, not our master," she added. "It's increasingly apparent that the absence of purpose - or of a moral language — within government, media or business, could become one of the most dangerous own goals for capitalism and for freedom."
British tabloids have been accused of producing ever-more salacious stories before the scandal broke in an effort to maintain circulation. Rupert Murdoch admitted that the scandal had left a serious blot on his reputation.
The sharp change in tone, with its emphasis on personal responsibility, underlined how much had changed since James Murdoch used his own MacTaggart lecture to accuse the BBC of having "chilling" ambitions.
That speech, delivered in his role as chairman of the pay-TV group BSkyB and head of News Corp in Europe and Asia, consolidated James's position as heir apparent to his father's role. It also echoed Rupert Murdoch's own 1989 speech that broadcasting was a business that needed competition.
Since then, both men have been chastened by the fallout of the phone hacking affair.
At the height of the scandal News Corp had to halt a $12 billion bid to buy the rest of BSkyB it did not already own, angering investors and sowing doubts as to whether James had what it took to run the $55 billion empire.
News Corp announced in June that it was splitting off its newspaper business.
While brother Lachlan was often pictured with the family last year, Elisabeth stayed in the background. Lachlan stood down from his role as News Corp deputy chief operating officer in 2005 after clashing with senior executives.
Now James Murdoch's fall from grace has turned the spotlight onto Elisabeth in the long-running debate over who will one day replace their 81-year-old father at the head of the company.
"I think she was trying to put her mark on where she had come from and where she fits in," Enders analyst Toby Syfret told Reuters after emerging from the speech. "She made it clear where she didn't agree with James, and she made clear the things about her father that she admired.
"From a political level it was quite interesting."
Stressing her links to her father and the vision he espoused when he built his company over 60 years ago, she spoke in glowing terms of his 1989 speech.
"A quarter of a century later, I am still wholly inspired by those words and they are still deeply relevant today," she said. "I understood that we were in pursuit of a greater good - a belief in better."
(Writing by Kate Holton; editing by David Stamp)

DreamWorks Animation Enters Into New Five-Year Distribution Agreement With Twentieth Century Fox


GLENDALE, Calif., Aug. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. (Nasdaq: DWA) today announced that the Company has entered into a new five-year distribution agreement with Twentieth Century Fox. 
Under the terms of the agreement, Fox will assume certain marketing and distribution responsibilities in both domestic and international markets for all animated feature films produced by DreamWorks Animation for release in 2013 through 2017.
"Fox has long been an industry leader in both theatrical and home video thanks in large part to its well-integrated approach to distribution across a wide range of platforms around the globe," said Jeffrey Katzenberg, Chief Executive Officer of DreamWorks Animation. "Jim Gianopulos and Tom Rothman have built a world-class distribution team and we are excited to apply their expertise, robust infrastructure and global resources so that DreamWorks Animation's films can reach their fullest possible potential over the next five years."
"DreamWorks Animation is a great company that makes terrific films and everyone here feels privileged and honored to have been chosen to distribute their marvelous work throughout the world," stated Fox Filmed Entertainment CEOs and Chairmen, Jim Gianopulos and Tom Rothman. "We are particularly excited to add DreamWorks Animation's films to the strong and growing slate of movies from our outstanding Blue Sky Studios division, which is coming off another global blockbuster with Ice Age: Continental Drift, and has EPIC and RIO 2 in advanced production. Together we will be a dominant force in animated entertainment for years to come."
"Starting in 2013, DreamWorks Animation content will be distributed in the more traditional markets under a fee structure that is similar to our existing arrangement with our current distributor," continued Katzenberg. "However, our new agreement with Fox presents more favorable economics overall for DreamWorks Animation because we are taking advantage of lower costs associated with the emerging digital distribution landscape and managing domestic television distribution in-house."
Under the terms of the agreement, Fox will receive a distribution fee on worldwide theatrical and home video gross receipts as well as on international television, and on certain digital businesses, including rentals, SVOD and EST. DreamWorks Animation will retain the rights to distribute its product in the domestic television windows without paying a fee to Fox.
For more information visit:  http://www.dreamworksanimation.com

David Christopher Loya: The heart of filmmaking

Executive Producer/Director - President
David (aka David C. Bojorquez) is a 20 time Telly Award winning director, who has also won honors at the New York Film Festival and the Banff World Television Festival. Applying “authentic storytelling” to all genres, David has directed nationally broadcast dramas, reality segments, commercials and acclaimed documentaries. Committed to the Conscious Filmmaker® approach, David is an artist with the aware intent to create productions imbued with an enlightened purpose.

The power of a film is directly proportional to the power of the story it tells. The gestalt of moving images, music, dialogue and narrative are truly mystical in the way they can viscerally move us. Film can serve as a catalyst for tremendous social change and raise consciousness, or it can be used for darker purposes. The Nazis recognized its power leveraging Leni Rieifenstahl's tragic cooperation in cinematically romanticizing one of the most evil movements in the history. Conversely, Speilberg's Schindler's List awakened an entire generation that had nearly forgotten what humanity must never forget. 

Do not underestimate the power of film... If the historical Jesus were walking the earth today, he'd be a conscious filmmaker, using the medium to tell his stories. For nearly a century, Conscious Filmmakers have been making viable celluloid parables that serve as new scripture, new revelation - that advance the compassion and heart of humankind. To be a filmmaker is to be an artist who has no other choice but to make film. It is not something we do. IT IS WHO WE ARE. That's why when people ask me why do I do what I do, I always give them the following answer: "I have no other marketable skills". To create work that can be a catalyst for change requires a passionate, option-less commitment. Great filmmaking demands nothing less.

David’s portfolio includes hundreds of projects that have aired on CBS, NBC, PBS, Nickelodeon, Bravo, the History Channel and the A&E Network. As a documentary filmmaker, he directed and produced the acclaimed PBS special The Big One: The Truth About the San Andreas (New York Festivals' Finalist and Telly Gold Award Winner), served as line producer for the A&E Series First Flights with Neil Armstrong; produced and directed Journey of Loss…Discovery of Hope (Telly Gold Winner) and directed and produced the multiple award-winning NFL sports documentary The Moss Method.
David directed Quincy Jones on Jazz (produced by Microsoft and Harvard University) and directed and produced Voices - Rock & Roll's Invisible Instrument for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. David is also an award-winning commercial director whose portfolio includes productions for Sprint International, TCI, National Medical Enterprises, The Salvation Army, eHarmony.com, Beckman-Coulter, Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis and The University of California, Los Angeles.
David is both a co-founder and President of Vision4Media Entertainment.

Tony Scott Did Not Have Brain Cancer: Now ABC Saying Its Claim “Appears In Doubt”

 ,
By NIKKI FINKE AND MIKE FLEMING
BREAKING…UPDATED: Tony Scott’s widow Donna has told police that the famed filmmaker/TV producer did not have brain cancer,  informed insiders tell Deadline. That makes erroneous this morning’s Good Morning America report that he “had inoperable brain cancer” and quoting “a source close to him”. The ABC claim was widely picked up by media outlets globally and all the Hollywood press (but not Deadline) as the reason why Scott committed suicide Sunday by jumping off a Los Angeles County bridge at 12:35 PM. Within half an hour ABC was backing off its story (see below). This is the third time in a month that ABC News has erroneously reported on a sensitive news story. During the Aurora movie theater shooting tragedy, ABC News first claimed the gunman was a Tea Party member which was not true. And then the shooter’s mother accused ABC News of mischaracterizing a quote from her. The issues all seem the same: ABC News is not properly vetting its reporting.

Around 6:30 PM, a half-hour after Deadline corrected the ABC morning report, ABC News put out this new headline, “Tony Scott Brain Cancer Report Appears in Doubt” and this new text backing off its story:

    “The family of director Tony Scott, who died Sunday after jumping off a Los Angeles bridge, was not aware Scott had cancer, Los Angeles County Coroner Ed Winter told ABC News station KABC in Los Angeles. ABC News was unable to reach Scott’s family to confirm the coroner’s statement. ABC News had reported the director of films such as Top Gun, Days of Thunder, and Crimson Tide had inoperable brain cancer, citing a source close to Scott.”

On the Aurora shooter’s identity, ABC ran this correction: An earlier ABC News broadcast report suggested that a Jim Holmes of a Colorado Tea Party organization might be the suspect, but that report was incorrect. ABC News and Brian Ross apologize for the mistake, and for disseminating that information before it was properly vetted.

Also during the Aurora tragedy, ABC News rushed out with a story quoting the shooter’s mother Arlene Holmes as saying: “You have the right person.” The media outlet said she was referring to her son. But Holmes through her attorney said later: ”I was awakened by a call from a reporter by ABC on July 20 about 5:45 in the morning. I did not know anything about a shooting in Aurora at that time. He asked if I was Arlene Holmes and if my son was James Holmes who lives in Aurora, Colorado. I answered, ‘Yes, you have the right person.’ I was referring to myself.”

Meanwhile, Lt Fred Corral with the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office tells Deadline that an autopsy was completed today on the 68-year-old Scott, but the cause of death was deferred pending toxicological and other tests. The results will take 4 to 8 weeks. The Coroner’s Office Craig Harvey also tells Deadline that his office is in possession of “part of a suicide note” found in Scott’s black Prius car found at the scene of the suicide. Harvey says “multiple” notes were found.The contents have not been made public. Harvey also said the Coroner’s Office will not be releasing any of that information at this time.
KTLA News 12:07 a.m. PDT, August 20, 2012
LOS ANGELES -- Legendary comedian Phyllis Diller has died.

Diller died at her L.A. home, surrounded by family. She was 95.

Diller was recovering from a fall and had been sick for the last few months.

She had been living in hospice care at her home.

Diller suffered a heart attack in 1999 and was later fitted with a pacemaker.

Phyllis began her career all the way back in 1952.

She rose to fame with her TV specials alongside Bob Hope in the 1960s.

Later that decade, Phyllis starred in her own show called "The Phyllis Diller Show" ... as well as a variety show called "The Beautiful Phyllis Diller Show." She was also a regular on "Laugh In."

Though her main claim to fame is her stand-up comedy act, Diller has also appeared in other films besides the three mentioned above, including a cameo appearance as Texas Guinan, the wisecracking nightclub hostess in the 1961 film Splendor in the Grass.

She appeared in more than a dozen, usually low-budget, movies, including voice work as The Monster's Mate in the Rankin/Bass animated film Mad Monster Party (1967), co-starring Boris Karloff.

More recent television appearances for Diller have included at least three episodes between 1999–/2003 on the long-running family drama 7th Heaven, in one of which she got drunk while cooking dinner for the household, and a 2002 episode of The Drew Carey Show, as Mimi Bobek's grandmother. She posed for Playboy, but the photos were never run in the magazine.

Her voice can be heard in several animated TV shows, including The New Scooby-Doo Movies (1972) as herself, The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2002) as Jimmy's grandmother, and on Family Guy in 2006 as Peter Griffin's mother, Thelma Griffin.

Robert Duvall to host fundraiser Sept 6th

Actor Robert Duvall is hosting a fundraiser for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in September, National Journal reports:

    Academy Award winning actor Robert Duvall--yes, the actor whose character in Apocalypse Now loves the smell of Napalm in the morning--and his wife Luciana are holding a Mitt Romney fundraiser on Sept. 6 at their Loudon County, Va., home, the Alley has learned.

    General reception tickets are $2,500 per person. The VIP photo reception goes for $10,000 a person. Tickets to dinner are $25,000. Ann Romney will be in attendance, according to the event flier.

Tony Scott Dies after Jumping off Bridge


The 68-year-old Scott's death was being investigated as a suicide, Los Angeles County Coroner's Lt. Joe Bale said.
Tony Scott, director of such Hollywood hits as "Top Gun," ''Days of Thunder" and "Beverly Hills Cop II," died Sunday after jumping from a Los Angeles County bridge, authorities said.
"I can confirm that Tony Scott has passed away. The family asks that their privacy is respected at this time," Scott's spokesman, Simon Halls, said in a statement.
Several people called 911 around 12:35 p.m. to report that someone had jumped from the Vincent Thomas Bridge spanning San Pedro and Terminal Island in Los Angeles Harbor, according to Los Angeles police Lt. Tim Nordquist.
A dive team with Los Angeles Port Police pulled the body from the murky water several hours later, Nordquist said. Scott's body was taken to a dock in Wilmington and turned over to the county coroner's office.
One lane of the eastbound side of the bridge was closed to traffic during the investigation. Cargo vessels moved at reduced speeds through the east side of the port's main channel during the search, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey.
Investigators found a note in Scott's black Toyota Prius, which was parked on the bridge, according to the Los Angeles Times. That note listed contact information. A suicide note was later found at his office.
The British-born Scott, who lived in Beverly Hills, was producer and director Ridley Scott's younger brother. Distinct visual styles mark both siblings' films — Ridley Scott mastering the creation of entire worlds with such films as "Gladiator," ''Blade Runner," ''Alien" and this year's "Prometheus," Tony Scott known for hyper-kinetic action and editing on such films as his most recent, the runaway train thriller "Unstoppable," starring regular collaborator Denzel Washington.
Scott was a thrill-seeker himself in his personal life, an avid rock climber who also liked driving fast cars and motorcycles. Still, filmmaking was his real thrill.
"The biggest edge I live on is directing. That's the most scary, dangerous thing you can do in your life," Scott said in an interview for his 1995 naval adventure "Crimson Tide." ''The scariest thing in my life is the first morning of production on all my movies. It's the fear of failing, the loss of face and a sense of guilt that everybody puts their faith in you and not coming through."
Tony was the first of the Scott brothers to enjoy blockbuster success with "Top Gun," starring Tom Cruise, the top-grossing film of 1986 at $176 million. Scott teamed with Cruise again four years later on the hit "Days of Thunder." He also had a sequel to "Top Gun" in development.
But Ridley Scott later managed more and bigger hits than his brother and earned a level of critical respect never achieved by Tony Scott. "Gladiator" won the best-picture Academy Award for 2000 and earned Ridley Scott one of his three best-director nominations; Tony Scott never was in the running for an Oscar, and critics often slammed his movies for emphasizing style over substance.
Even Scott admitted that it was a challenge to infuse drama into some of his scenarios — for example, cars racing in circles in "Days of Thunder." In an interview for that 1990 summer hit, Scott was blunt about where some of the ideas came from.
"I went back and I stole from all race movies to date," Scott said. "I took the better elements, then tried to build on them. Really, the speed, the energy and the placement of the audience inside some of the cars came in the editing room. ...
"I'm always pushing for something new and fresh in the way things are shot, and the rest happens in the editing room. ... The real speed comes from the cutters and what they do with the celluloid."
While Ridley Scott had an auspicious start to his film career with 1977's acclaimed period drama "The Duellists" and 1979's "Alien," Tony Scott bombed with his debut, 1983's supernatural romance "The Hunger," with David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve.
He vaulted into Hollywood's top ranks the next time out, with "Top Gun," followed a year later by "Beverly Hills Cop II," both with producer Jerry Bruckheimer.
The two brothers ran Scott Free Productions and were working jointly on a film called "Killing Lincoln," based on the best seller by Bill O'Reilly. Along with countless commercials, their company produced the CBS dramas "NUMB3RS" and "The Good Wife" as well as a 2011 documentary about the Battle of Gettysburg for the History Channel.
Tony Scott said he gained perspective by mixing things up between film, TV and commercials.
"I like changing the pace of my life, changing my discipline. It gives me ideas for how to see the world differently," Scott said in a 2007 interview.
Besides "Unstoppable," Scott worked with Washington on four other movies: "Crimson Tide," ''Man on Fire," Deja Vu" and "The Taking of Pelham 123."
In a tweet Sunday, director Ron Howard said, "No more Tony Scott movies. Tragic day."
Director Jon Favreau tweeted, "Such sad news about Tony Scott. Heartfelt condolences to his family and friends."
Other Scott films include "True Romance," written by Quentin Tarantino, "The Fan," with Robert De Niro, and "Enemy of the State," starring Will Smith.
Scott was married to actress Donna Scott, who appeared in several of her husband's films. They have twin sons.
Completed in 1963, the 6,060-foot Vincent Thomas Bridge links rises 185 feet at its highest point above the Los Angeles Harbor. Many have taken their lives by jumping from the span.
The bridge has been used in many Hollywood productions, among them "Charlie's Angels," ''Gone in 60 Seconds" and "The Fast and the Furious."

Local TV News Photographer Dies While Diving Off Catalina Island


Longtime KABC Photographer Artie Williams III apparently suffered some kind of medical emergency while diving with a friend off Catalina Island Saturday ABC7.com reported this morning.
ABC7 General Manager Arnie Kleiner released the following statement: 
'It is with an extremely heavy heart that I must share with you the news of the passing of our dear friend and colleague ENG Photographer Artie Williams.  We don't have a lot of details right now, but he apparently suffered some kind of medical emergency while diving with a friend off Catalina Island this morning (Saturday). Authorities told us very late tonight that Artie's family had been notified, but we have not yet been able to speak to them directly.
'We will share with you whatever information we can gather as soon as we have it'.  Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.  This is a terrible loss for all of the ABC7 family as well'.
Funeral arrangements are still pending.

"All That Matters Is Past" is the fourth Norwegian selection for the Toronto International Film Festival.


Norwegian director Sara Johnsen’s All That Matters Is Past (Uskyld) will have its world premiere at the 37th Toronto International Film Festival - one of the world’s largest film festivals, with more than 300 films from 60 countries, which runs between 6-16 September. 

Johnsen’s third feature will join Espen Sandberg and Joachim Ranning’s Kon-Tiki, Eva Sarhaug’s 90 Minutes (90 min) and Aleksander Nordaas’ Thale in the most extensive Norwegian participation at the festival since 2001.Starring Maria Bonnevie, Kristoffer Joner and David Dencik, All That Matters Is Past follows the fatal consequences when a woman meets her lost love and leaves her partner to spend the summer with him.

Scripted by Johnsen, and produced by Turid versveen, of 4 Fiksjon, the film will be domestically released on 2 November by Nordisk Filmdistribusjon, while Denmark’s TrustNordisk handles international sales.

Both Johnsen’s previous films, Kissed by Winter (Vinterkyss/2005) and Upperdog (2009) were prize winners and frequent festival travellers – the took two and five Amandas, respectively, Norway’s national film award.

Ron Howard: Young Actors Are Under ‘Intense’ Scrutiny These Days

Access Hollywood
Ron Howard poses on the set of Access Hollywood Live with Kit Hoover and guest co-host Donny Deutsch on August 17, 2012Caption

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Director Ron Howard is thankful the Internet wasn’t around when he was rising through the ranks as a young actor in Hollywood.

“Let me just say, every so often something pops on the Internet and I am saying, ‘I’m glad it wasn’t around when I was 19 years old,’” he laughed as he hit Access Hollywood Live on Friday to promote the Project Imaginat10n Film Festival with Canon U.S.A.

While speaking with Access Hollywood Live’s Kit Hoover and guest co-host Donny Deutsch, the “Happy Days” and “Andy Griffith Show” legend said he marvels at how tough it is for young, rising stars these days.

“It is intense and I think that you must be aware of it,” he said of scrutiny placed on new talent, when Donny asked him about Jodie Foster’s recent essay about Kristen Stewart and the price of fame. (Click HERE to read more about Jodie’s essay.)

“Politics, professional sports, all of it,” Ron continued of the groups that can have trouble in the spotlight. “If you’re not sort of willing to understand that should I actually gain the kind of profile that I’m dreaming of, along with it is going to come this other level of scrutiny.

“It’s a kind of funny thing of what technology has done. We didn’t need big brother to have ‘1984,’” he said. “We invited it into our lives because of all the other great things that come with it. And to me, there’s a tremendous irony that all of us face a measure, a level of scrutiny that we never had before.”

And Ron will be part of the journey for a new crop of rising stars who are coming into the limelight as part of the Project Imaginat10n film festival.

Earlier this week, Canon announced that with Ron, they have a partnership with directors Eva Longoria, Jamie Foxx, Biz Stone, Georgina Chapman and James Murphy.

The celebs will take inspiration from consumer submitted photos and head behind the camera to direct short films. Those films will then be unveiled at the upcoming film festival.