Delayed Gratification for a Better Product
Benji Tunnell The stories ran rampant. Tales of poisoning on the set, of studios in conflict, of the director’s angry outbursts. Then there was the budget. Set initially at $100 million, it began to swell in the hands of a director not known for pinching pe... MORE
Producers Into Writers with a Flippped Script
Joanna Czapska As the writer’s strike stretches longer, producers might amuse themselves with ideas of movie remakes that could be produced with existing storylines and scripts in this slightly turbulent downtime. There are centuries of stories for children ... MORE
One Strike and You're Out?
Matt Wedge With a winning streak that started in 2004 with Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and ran through 2007’s Superbad, the goodwill that greeted Judd Apatow’s productions was bound to eventually turn sour. When his latest production, Walk... MORE
Why Boston's an Unlikely “Hollywood North”
Jacqueline Church [Headline] Panning Shot: Hollywood North? It doesn't take the gift of Divination to foresee a grim future for big Hollywood productions in the Hub City. Boston's flurry of movie-making activity was spurred by a tax credit of 25% (equal to Rhode Isla... MORE
A Latin Dental Experience
Mitchell Warren There is one of those movies every year that attempts to push boundaries and turn stomachs. In 1966 it was Michelangelo Antonioni's scandalously nude Blowup. Twenty years later -- David Lynch's sexually assaulting Blue Velvet. Then David Cronenberg'... MORE
A Quick Take on the Low Budget Script
Barbara Johnson When writing an original low-budget script or rewriting an existing script to lower the budget, it's important to keep in mind that the script isn't really about the big-budget elements. Granted, certain subjects are difficult to tackle on a low bud... MORE
A Beginner's Contemplation of Digital
Scott W. Hannan For better or worse, digital technology is changing the way independent filmmakers make movies. With few exceptions digital editing has become status quo and while there is some hesitancy toward digital color correction, it won’t be a long figh... MORE
Woody Takes Cassandra to London
Emily Monaco Woody Allen’s Cassandra’s Dream is continuing in the vein of his last few releases. Ever since Allen moved away from the neurotic New York comedy that characterized his cult-followed films, he has been distancing his public. Reviews hig... MORE
The Bounty of Pirate Radio
Cole Hornaday Dwelling on the fringes of entertainment media leads independent filmmakers in pursuit of some innovative subjects. For a greater part of their adult lives, independent documentary filmmakers Mary Jones and Jeff Pearson have found creative undergro... MORE
Nightschool on Mulberry Street: Lesson 4
Kanfer Scott Previously Discussed: Production Disasters and Performances Jim Mickel (director/co-writer) and Ryan Samul (cinematographer) had very little time to plan the cinematography. The time they did have was spent watching films and discussing what works ... MORE
From Air Force to Big Screen
Benji Tunnell After his initial exposure to drama in high school -- at the time an exercise to impress a girl - Frederic Doss attended Missouri Southern State University on an acting scholarship. When he met the woman who would become his wife, he decided that act... MORE
C H E C K...I T...O U T !
A career that spans Hollywood history
In a career that brushes extremes of cinema, from early Black Exploitation film to an Academy Award Nomination, Actor Margaret Avery approaches all with an equal level of poise, grace, and gratitude. Ms. Avery shares a rare perspective on her varied career, some insights into her versatility as an actor, and her newest film Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins.
Q: You have an amazing resume that covers a whole gamut of experience spanning not only different eras and genres of filmmaking but eras of cultural transition as well.
A: The work I’ve done does go back quite some time, because when I look back I realize there are many people that are no longer with us. I think, “Oh my God, I’ve been at this a long time…” (laughs)
Q: Can you tell us a little bit about your education and career background?
A: My mother, who was a hard-working, yet uneducated woman, instilled in me that education was the most important thing. As a child I wanted to learn to dance and to sing and that to her was not acceptable, she felt, ...
Read the rest of the interview here