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Budapest, Belgrade, Prague, Sofia, and Vienna have quietly developed an immensely profitable industry: film production. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, this region’s economy has been amplified by a plethora of studio.
When Costner gambles, he rarely loses. Maybe it is divine intervention; maybe it is a long run of dumb, prolonged luck, but reality proves that Costner’s “My Way or the Highway” approach to Hollywood stardom resonates with audiences. Whether it's his love of sports, his gift for playing stubbornly, or his wry smile that signals to audiences he may be rough around the edges, but he is a good guy.
Doom and gloom may well be coming for movie studios, but for a vastness of reasons, including studio overspending, the streaming model, and an inability to manage audience expectations -- The Fall Guy, IF, and Furiosa all seem to have fallen victim to self-imposed failure brought about by poor studio financial strategies.
Anyone who has followed the Oscars knows that factors outside artistic integrity play into the eventual winners. Must a film or performance be great to land a nomination? Generally, yes. But the art is only part of the equation. Studio support, marketing campaigns, the past work of a nominated artist, and even the reputation of key players have a role in determining winners. Therefore, we think it’s worthwhile to toss those factors aside and talk about who deserves to win this year’s Academy Awards.
In a new video for Highbrow Magazine, contributing writer and film critic Ben Friedman discusses a poignant story of filmmaker Sav Rodgers and his new film, Chasing Chasing Amy, which pays fond tribute to acclaimed indie director Kevin Smith's film. Friedman discusses how Rodgers relates his own personal story, while documenting the important role Smith's film played in his own life -- in addition to featuring interviews with Smith and the film's stars.
If you have never seen The Graduate, you can’t really call yourself a film buff. This astounding 1967 movie, directed by the late, great Mike Nichols, co-written by Buck Henry, and starring Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft, took the world by storm when it was first released. The bizarre love triangle – boy has affair with married woman, then falls in love with her daughter – is riveting, and under Nichols’s direction, the blend of comedy and drama are interwoven perfectly.
In failing to reach agreements with the striking guilds, Hollywood executives are essentially forced to promote movies without their A-list cast. The first signs of danger may present themselves this month – August -- with the Venice International Film Festival and Telluride Film Festival beginning at the end of this month. In the meantime, film festivals such as the Cinequest Film and Creativity Festival offer a glimpse of what this upcoming season has in store for Hollywood, both professionally and creatively.