Perhaps my favorite part of the last Oscar telecast was when Jon Stewart pulled out an iphone and said he was watching Lawrence of Arabia. In that moment everything good about technology and bad about the film business came into
Bathing with Bierko
Yep, that’s my friend Craig Bierko washing John Malkovich’s head. I am so proud of him. I have known Craig for 25+ years. For four of those years we were either roommates or next door neighbors. We walked around the
A Loss
The writer and director Anthony Minghella died the other day from complications of surgery to remove cancer of the tonsils and neck. He was 54 years old. When you think of the great filmmakers of the end of the 20th
Gone Baby Gone
I can’t believe it has been two weeks since I last posted. It must be the late winter, spring will never come to Chicago, doldrums. When I think of young, contemporary American filmmakers Ben Affleck is not a name that
The Oscars
It has been a week so I think it is about time the dumb filmmaker weighed in on the Oscars. The truth is I didn’t see enough of the nominated films to make an informed decision, but I can say
Teen Parents
Readers of this page know that Jim and I have been working on the Teen Parent film for months and years. Yesterday, we recorded the final voice over with Kathy Brock, the ABC7 Chicago news anchor. We recorded the session
57 Channels (and Nothin’ On)
With apologies to Bruce Springsteen, there’s nothing on TV. There is an interesting article in the current Atlantic called “The Revolution Will Be Televised.” In short it is about how some people are getting rid of their TVs and are
School Security
When I was in college, Security was the name of the most popular band at school, and thinking of them was the only time I ever thought about security on campus. But now I am on the other side of
The Red Camera
This is a picture of the Red Camera all stripped down. Not all that impressive looking, but it is a piece of technology which is going to change the film production process. For eight days beginning Jan. 30 and ending
Internet, Films and Education Reform
There is an interesting interview in today’s Wall Street Journal with Reed Hastings the CEO of Netflix. Netflix is partnering with a Korean company to create a (TV) set top box which will allow users to stream films from the
