August 1998

According to writer-director Greg Joyce, the double entendre in the title Working Stiff is the most ribald aspect of his first feature film. A low-budget dramatic comedy, Working Stiff just wrapped principal shooting in and around the Boston area, including locations in Cambridge, South Boston, Salem and right in the heart of Beantown’s financial district.

I arrived at the June meeting of the Association for Independent Video and Filmmaker’s Boston Salon a bit late and so had to grab the slightly ripped Naugahyde chair behind a desk in the back. Either the legs were cut off or there had been a manufacturing defect, because my knees boxed my ears, and my head barely peered over the desk in front of me after I landed in the seat. I’d missed the pot-luck dinner but that was OK, the reason that I’d come was to listen to a read more...

Let's begin where we left off last month. The office at Paramount did not materialize, as we were led to believe it would, right after the July 4 Holiday, and by the time we were mid-month, we were getting antsy. We need it to do business. What's going on?

So Ruben calls Howard W. Koch and asks, and when the answer does not satisfy him ("...the guys in the office aren't moving out yet...") he pushes for a meeting. Today!

NEF: What are the five (or more) most commonly made mistakes by beginning screenwriters?

• Do not submit your script before it's ready. You have one shot, this is your calling card - your script must be perfect. If you're "sick of it," put it in a drawer for a few weeks and then look at it again with a fresh eye.

• Do not submit a script before submitting a query letter to a potential production company. And, be sure your query letter is an attention-grabber! read more...

At a time when yet another film festival may seem like the last thing this world needs, the first Maine International Film Festival (or MIFF – winner of the prize for best festival acronym!) emerges as a testament to the importance of events like this for the vitality of film culture in New England. You won't find glitzy, star-studded parties with lines of limousines in front at MIFF. You also won't find many pretentious self-important industry types, nor screenings where you need read more...

This August, there’s something film-related going on in just about every town, so it’s the filmmaker/film buff/burgeoning film-whatever’s lucky month...

Starving Artists has something for everyone. Puns, anyone? Don't like puns? Don't worry; there's slapstick. Slapstick's not your bag? How about satire? Satire not satisfying? Try romance. And did I forget to mention the barrel of monkeys?