filmmakers

17 Stories

Tyler Perry Is Going Through Some Things Over AI

Actor says artificial-intelligence tech is 'mind-blowing,' but warns industry will hemorrhage jobs

(Newser) - Just days ago, the world was introduced to Sora , OpenAI's new text-to-video generator—and there's already one big name experiencing conflicting feelings about it. Tyler Perry comes at the AI technology from two different perspectives, per his interview with the Hollywood Reporter : that of a business owner, and...

Filmmaker Demands Probe Into Parasite Actor's Death

Bong Joon-ho wants answers on what happened to Lee Sun-kyun, who died of an apparent suicide

(Newser) - South Korea is still reeling from the death last month of popular Parasite actor Lee Sun-kyun, whose body was found in a car in a Seoul park. Lee's family says he'd left behind what appeared to be a suicide note, and now the director of his hit 2019...

'Hollywood of the South' Struggles Amid Strikes

Atlanta, once booming with work for crew and actors, is now at a virtual standstill

(Newser) - A lighting technician is mowing lawns. A camera assistant is teaching guitar again. An actor has thought about shifting careers. For more than a decade, work had been nonstop in Atlanta's booming film industry, thanks to Georgia's extremely generous tax break. Dubbed the "Hollywood of the South,...

Little-Known Film Project Gets Attention of Jan. 6 Panel

House committee subpoenas filmmaker who had inner-circle access to Trump, shot footage of riot

(Newser) - The House Jan. 6 panel gavels back into session on Tuesday afternoon, with the focus expected to be on efforts by former President Trump and his allies to pressure state officials to reject election results, reports NBC News . But Politico is reporting an intriguing new wrinkle expected to be sussed...

'Outrage' After Student Cinematographer Dies

Chapman University mourns the 'brilliant' Peng Wang, killed in rollover crash

(Newser) - A student cinematographer at Chapman University was killed Friday while riding sand dunes with film students from the University of Southern California, which has only added to concerns about a lack of safety protocols on film sets. The 29-year-old was acting as cinematographer on a USC production, though it's...

He's Won 2 Oscars, Is Now Accused of Plagiarism

At issue: Asghar Farhadi's film 'A Hero'

(Newser) - Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi took home Oscars in 2012 and 2017 in the best international feature category. His 2021 film, A Hero, managed to win the grand prize at Cannes—but also land him in court to fend off allegations of plagiarism. The director has been accused by former film...

Russian Minister Dies in Lifesaving Attempt

Yevgeny Zinichev jumped off cliff to save film director Alexander Melnik; both died

(Newser) - Russia's emergencies minister died Wednesday during a drill exercise while attempting to save a filmmaker, who also died. Film director Alexander Melnik slipped off a cliff at the Kitabo Oron waterfall in the Putorana nature reserve in northern Siberia, landing in water, the BBC quotes Margarita Simonyan, the head...

BIPOC Filmmakers Have a Problem With PBS, Ken Burns

Exclusive partnership comes at the expense of diversity, they argue

(Newser) - Almost 140 filmmakers, including some who work with PBS, have signed a letter calling out the public broadcaster for a "systemic failure to fulfill [its] mandate for a diversity of voices." The letter , implying an overemphasis on white creators, notes Ken Burns, a white man, has created about...

Amateurs' Drone Video Catches Hollywood's Attention

Director Lee Unkrich says bowling alley clip is 'one of the most amazing things I've ever seen'

(Newser) - Filmmakers who posted an 87-second video to YouTube earlier this month are now getting calls from Hollywood directors. That's how impressive "Right Up Our Alley" is. The continuous clip, shot March 2 with a "first-person view" racing drone, offers a zigzagging view inside Minneapolis' Bryant-Lake Bowl, which...

Director Detained in France's Shocking #MeToo Accusation

Adele Haenel accused Christophe Ruggia last year, now he's in custody

(Newser) - A French filmmaker is in custody while authorities investigate accusations that he sexually abused an actress when she was between 12 and 15 years old, the AP reports. Director Christophe Ruggia was detained for questioning Tuesday based on allegations last year by actress Adele Haenel , according to the Paris prosecutor'...

Filmmakers Hate This New Netflix Feature

It allows content to be sped up or slowed down

(Newser) - If you want to binge-watch Stranger Things in record time with the characters sounding like Alvin and the Chipmunks, you might like a new feature Netflix is testing—but filmmakers are not happy about it. Netflix is facing a backlash over the new feature, which allows viewers to speed up...

Goodbye to the Filmmaker Who Brought Us Romeo and Juliet

Franco Zeffirelli was 96

(Newser) - Italian director Franco Zeffirelli, who delighted audiences around the world with his romantic vision and often extravagant productions, most famously captured in his cinematic Romeo and Juliet, has died in Rome at 96. Zeffirelli's son Luciano said his father died at home on Saturday, per the AP . "He...

Durst's Final Jinx Words Seem 'Damning.' They Were Also Edited

As trial approaches, documentary makers under fire for presenting his words out of order

(Newser) - Dramatic storytelling or manipulation of the truth? That's the question posed by the New York Times about the HBO documentary The Jinx, which in 2015 aired an apparent "confession" by Robert Durst—accused of killing friend Susan Berman and long suspected of killing his wife—in its final...

Steve Bannon: the Hollywood Bigwig Who Wasn't?


Steve Bannon:
the Hollywood
Bigwig Who
Wasn't?
LONGFORM
Apr 26, 2017 2:13 PM CDT

Steve Bannon: the Hollywood Bigwig Who Wasn't?

Trump's strategist brags about his time in Tinseltown, but others' memories are murky

(Newser) - Over the past eight months, Steve Bannon has worked his way into the general US consciousness, first as an ex-Breitbart exec tapped as Trump's new campaign chief , next as a "terrifying man" who wanted to set the DC establishment ablaze, and finally, as a White House fixture . But...

Best Friends With Down Syndrome Make Epic Zombie Movie

'We're naturally amazing'

(Newser) - Two best friends with Down syndrome from Rhode Island are living their dream of making an epic zombie movie and becoming celebrities, the AP reports. "Down syndrome causes us to think slower than others, but we don't let that get in the way," Sam Suchmann says. "...

Cove Oscar Winners Stage Sting at LA Sushi Joint
Cove Oscar Winners Stage Sting at LA Sushi Joint
hunting illegal whale meat
Mar 9, 2010 11:05 AM CST

Cove Oscar Winners Stage Sting at LA Sushi Joint

Filmmakers go undercover to find illegal whale meat

(Newser) - The makers of The Cove, the Oscar-winning documentary about dolphin killing in Japan, have aimed their cameras closer to home in a sting to expose illegal whale meat served at a California sushi joint. The operation began in October, when they heard rumors that the Hump, a Santa Monica restaurant,...

Prop 8 Trial Is on YouTube
 Prop 8 Trial Is on YouTube 
RE-ENACTED, THAT IS
Feb 1, 2010 11:02 PM CST

Prop 8 Trial Is on YouTube

Filmmakers use transcripts, reports, blogs in recreation

(Newser) - Though the Supreme Court kept California’s gay-marriage trial off YouTube, some enterprising filmmakers have fixed that. Using court transcripts and various reports of the proceedings, they’ve put 12 “episodes” of the Prop 8 trial on the Internet, using Hollywood actors (including Oscar nominee Tess Harper) to play...

17 Stories