November 1998

The small room on the second floor of the Boston Film & Video Foundation was packed for the Master Class on Distribution. Jason Bloom, Senior Vice President of Co-Productions and Acquisitions at Miramax, walked in carrying his Au Bon Pain coffee, and everyone settled down. He was the only guy there in an Armani suit.

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If all movies are beginning to look the same to you ("Wasn’t that the film with a handful of male main characters and a skinny woman as the girlfriend?"), then the perfect antidote is right around the corner. From November 4-8, Northampton, Massachusetts, is taken over by the Northampton Film Festival, a five-day festival of film and video featuring more than four dozen truly independent works from around the country.

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Martha Swetzoff is haunted by an image: her father lying dead in a pool of his own blood. Beaten and left to die in his apartment, Hyman Swetzoff found the strength to go out for help. But his pleas fell on deaf ears, and he returned home, where he was found the following night. His killer was never found. In the 30 years since, the events surrounding her father’s death have grown into an obsession for Martha. "The pool of blood has become a river of blood," she tells us in her documentary/memoir read more...

Technological overhauls are everywhere these days, as if you need me to tell you that. New computers, new processors, new Internet services—sometimes it's hard to even say the word "new" before yet another upgrade, another new innovation appears on the landscape.

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One of America’s foremost nonfiction filmmakers, Albert Maysles, along with his brother and partner David (1932 - 1987), has been recognized as the creator of "direct cinema," the distinctly American version of French "cinéma verité."

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Now, I'll grant you that I don't spend a whole lot of time in Charlestown. Most of the people I know were drawn to the greater Boston area by some sort of academic magnet; they aren't "townies." That doesn't change the fact that Ted Demme's recent film, "Monument Ave," failed to strike a single chord of familiarity with me. None of the characters reminded me of anyone I've ever met in five years in Boston, though they did remind me of any number of movie clichés, from the read more...

There are three P’s which screenwriter Richard Krevolin deems essential for a successful career. But before you learn them, before you descend on L.A. with your Final Draft software and "Citizen Kane" poster, there are some tips about writing for Hollywood, and writing in general, you should know.

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Lender financing is one of the best ways for a filmmaker to secure funding for a picture without going through the studio system. Though lender financing is time-consuming and complicated, it is a great resource for independent producers.

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In many ways, Marlene Booth was just like any other girl growing up in the fairy-tale world of 1950s Iowa. She went to football games with her father, sang the Iowa Corn Song with pride, dreamed of being a cheerleader, was a member of the Girls Club and Student Court, and ended up marrying her high school sweetheart. But there was something about her that made her feel always different and alone: She was Jewish.

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Got a scoop? Email all news to michele@newenglandfilm.com

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