by Adam Charles.

Few things have been as equally discussed and deliberated over the past few weeks than that of who Lionsgate was going to choose to take the reigns from Gary Ross to direct the second installment in The Hunger Games franchise. The first film had one of the biggest opening weekends in history (and it didn’t even require 3D price-hikes to get there), earned a positive majority from critics, and has a dedicated fanbase that defies demographic lines of fandom; and they’re chomping at the bit to see the next adaptation in the series, Catching Fire, as quickly as possible.

Neither Lucas, Spielberg, or even Peter Jackson’s franchises could replicate just how much of the domestic populous is waiting for the next picture.

The studio was working with a rigidly limited time-frame of their own making by trying to get the next installment into theaters by next Spring. This was further complicated by only having a few months left to shoot before star Jennifer Lawrence has to revert her attention over to her other franchise role at Fox as Mystique in the next X-Men film. Oddly enough, the director of that franchise might have made a pretty good candidate to take over the position Lionsgate was trying to fill.

Over the past few weeks there were news items of Lionsgate wish-lists of filmmakers they wanted to approach with David Cronenberg, Alejandro Gonzalez-Inarritu and Alfonso Cuaron topping the list of experienced and critically-lauded directors. They are three of the most uniquely talented filmmakers in world cinema, so they obviously sparked deep intrigue from cinema lovers. I imagine the majority of the fans of The Hunger Games have no idea who any of them are; nor really care.

Read the rest of this article from Film School Rejects.

Sign up now for your own FREE monthly subscription to “The Director’s Chair” filmmaking ezine and get the first 30 pages of my 238 page Film Directing Multi-Media Online course, “The Art and Craft of the Director Audio Seminar.”

This article was written by Sheri McWhirter.

“A record number of speakers took the stage at the City Opera House for the largest discussion panel in the Traverse City Film Festival’s six-year history.

Fourteen documentary filmmakers spoke about the challenges they face through their work, as well as the payoffs, even when they’re not financial. Many argued that documentaries are best seen in theaters, but acknowledged how television becomes an important venue for their films to reach wider audiences.”

Read the rest of this article from California Chronicle.

This article was written by Rianne Hill Soriano.

“Who really are the ones called filmmakers (or should be called filmmakers)? A film – a collaborative art and audio-visual medium created out of moving pictures.

A filmmaker is someone who makes films. Most of the time, the only person who seems to have the ultimate right to be called a filmmaker is the director. Should it really end there?”

Read the rest of this article from Helium.

This article was written by Elliot Grove.

“Based on my observations, a couple of year’s ago, I wrote an article called: ’10 Stupid Mistakes Filmmakers Make’ which might wrongly imply that I think filmmakers are stupid. Which they are not. I seem to continually get flamed for my opinions. For example I wrote another article which I called the 8 Mistakes Filmmakers Make That Kills Their Movies – for which I was flamed and torn apart mercilessly.

I was just trying to help!

Here is a list of the really expensive mistakes I have seen filmmakers make…”

Read the rest of this article from Raindance.

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This article was written by David Meredith.

“Just four years ago, Justin Bieber was an average 12-year-old kid living with his single mother in Ontario who often posted clips on YouTube of her son performing covers of Ne-Yo and Aretha Franklin. In just a few short years, his numbers have skyrocketed and the dozens of videos of him online have been viewed tens of millions of times.

His new album, “My World 2.0″ debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and continues to top the sales charts. In fact, the entire nation, from Ellen to SNL to the White House, has been swept up by Bieber Fever. So what does Bieber’s story mean for the next Quentin Tarantino?”

Read the rest of this article from the Huffington Post.

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This article was written by Tyler Weaver.

“This may seem an odd post, one that might make one say “shouldn’t it be the other way ‘round?,” but bear with me. As someone who straddles both worlds (I’m a filmmaker, yes, but I ran a non-profit Foundation and both its publishing and documentary film wings), there are a few lessons I’ve learned (and applied) doing film that business owners and corporations might want to consider.”

Read the rest of this article from Multi-Hyphenate.

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This message is from Brandon Litman.

I’m part of a team of filmmakers producing a first ever multi-platform media project with participants in EVERY country throughout the world. We need help finding individuals and groups in Africa who would like to share their perspective and get involved.

Among other things, we are creating a film, event, video archive and social network that documents the 24-hour period of 10/10/10. This project, called One Day on Earth, will showcase a perspective from EVERY country in the world. We’d love for you to be a part of it a: www.onedayonearth.org

The project was presented at the United Nations 2 weeks ago and we have hopes to collaborate with the UN on documenting the Millennium Development Goals on 10/10/10. This project needs the support of the African filmmaking/media community to get the word out. So, if you know of anyone that has a camera and a perspective they would like to share, please send them to www.onedayonearth.org

You can follow up with me directly as well. There are a lot of exciting details to discuss.

Thanks!

Brandon
litman@onedayonearth.org

Award winning screenwriter and producer, Steven E. de Souza, whose credits include blockbusters such as genre-setting action films Die Hard and 48hrs, has partnered with Talenthouse to provide a fantastic opportunity for aspiring filmmakers.

Steven is hosting a Creative Invite (project) that is searching for filmmakers, who would like to collaborate with him on his Webby Award winning web suspense series Unknown Sender. He is asking interested filmmakers to produce their own short films that will be used as new episodes.

To be considered for this opportunity, filmmakers are asked to visit http://tlnt.at/a7oE07, select on of four scripts, produce the episode based upon the script and then submit the finished film to Talenthouse.

This is the link to the creative invite: http://tlnt.at/a7oE07

This is the link to Steven de Souza’s video in which he discusses this project: http://talenthouse.me/32S

Stephen Bishop
Talenthouse
stephen@talenthouse.com

This article was written by Patti Fantasia.

“One website for filmmakers that I am extremely partial to is www.openfilm.com/,  which is working hard to change how independent films and their producers are discovered and enjoyed.  To be honest, in the interest of full disclosure, I must say that one reason why I like this site is because my blog is syndicated on it.  However, there are many other reasons as well.

Unlike online video sites, Openfilm is dedicated to cultivating independent filmmakers and providing the best technology platform available for viewing films online.  Already named one of the 50 top websites for filmmakers last year by MovieMaker Magazine, Openfilm has attracted approximately 16,000 registered members and secured more than 4,500 independent films already and it has yet to reveal more upcoming marketing strategies. Divided into several sections, the website covers, films, community, film festivals, distribution and contests.”

Read the rest of this article from Filmmakers Notebook.

This article was written by Alex Sutcliffe.

“The unprecedented power of the Internet is threatening to bring down traditional barriers in the most closed industry in the world – the film industry.

The rules could well be changing in the film industry. Highly guarded personal connections and contacts could be fighting a losing battle with the speed and accessibility of vast online communities.

Suddenly the power in the game is shifting hands. As online film communities threaten to sweep control away from the traditional power holders, wise use of the new phenomenon can help movie-makers gain all the benefits of the internet. And whilst a multitude of new projects and talent can very quickly gain tremendous exposure, those same projects and talent can also serve as a valuable resource to sustain an industry that is undergoing rapid changes.”

Read the rest of this article from Filmmaking.net

Filmmaking Quotes 2009

A Collection of 470 Film Quotes
from“Twitterers” Around the World