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Sally Menke Passes Away at 56
Editor Sally Menke was found dead this morning in Beachwood Canyon. She was well-known for her work with director Quentin Tarantino on such films as Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, Jackie Brown and Inglourious Basterds. She was nominated for two Academy Awards – one for her work on Inglourious Basterds, (2009), and the... »
Costume Designers Guild draws the lines at Comic-Con
A sea of close to 150,000 Comic-Con attendees will swarm the San Diego Convention Center July 21-25, dressed in costumes they made impersonating their favorite idol, action hero or theme. Of course, most of these costumes were originally designed and illustrated by professional costume designers and costume illustrators for movies and television shows. In... »
Much Ado About Nothing
Call it much ado about nothing. Just about a year after their last contract expired, the Screen Actors Guild finally reached an agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers last week, following an overwhelming vote by the membership to cut a deal. In the end, a faction-torn SAG membership basically capitulated... »
The Oscar interviews: Stephen Daldry on The Reader
Of “Readers,” writers, and other close collaborators: Director Stephen Daldry on making The Reader When Below the Line caught up with director Stephen Daldry, he was in town for the kick-off to award season, as a Golden Globe nominee for best direction for The Reader — a couple of weeks ahead of knowing he’d... »
The Oscar interviews: Eric Barba on supervising FX in time passage — and reversal — in Benjamin Button
“More on the breakthrough side:” Eric Barba on supervising FX in “Benjamin Button” by Mark London Williams Eric Barba has a long, fruitful history with director David Fincher, currently Oscar and DGA-nominated for overseeing writer Eric Roth’s translation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novella “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” Unlike the eponymous hero, Barba... »
Some words of wisdom on Hollywood, "stimulii," and right-wing fear of showbiz, from "SoCalDem"
While perusing showbiz headlines in the service of an easier blog reading experience for you, I came across this salient screed/posting from someone named “SoCalDem,” over at the Democratic Underground board. Germane to many below-the-line issues, the comment is reproduced here for your general perusal and rumination: The “Hollywood” diversion “Republicans are slavering and... »
The Oscar interviews: Director Danny Boyle on Slumdog Millionaire
So begins our award-season series of blog posts with interviews and profiles from both current, and previous, issues of Below the Line, on this season’s Oscar nominees: Danny Boyle: From “Sunshine” to “Slumdog,” and sleeping with cameras by Mark London Williams In his latest film, the India-set magical realist romantic fable “Slumdog Millionaire,” director... »
Fighting acne on vampire skin: Supervisor Richard Kidd on effects work in Twilight
A post-supervisor profile from the latest print issue of BTL… Writers, of course, don’t have to worry about effects budgets — or even existing digital technology. Except, perhaps, for the Amazon Kindle. At least, if you’re an author of books. But then again, if you’re one of those anointed scribes whose book becomes a... »
Of the UAW, SAG, and "interesting times" for labor columnists
from the current print issue of BTL… Union Roundup by Mark London Williams It’s a lively time to be a labor columnist — even a Hollywood labor columnist, a sentence whose very construct might garner laughs in auto plants and machine shops anyplace east of Barstow. The reason things are so lively is that... »
Post-rumor day: "Screen Actors Guild sets strike vote on Jan. 2"
Here’s a snippet from the AP article, reporting news that’s all over the (showbiz side of) the web today: LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Screen Actors Guild plans to send strike authorization ballots to more than 100,000 union members on Jan. 2, a date that leaves the Golden Globes safe but puts Oscar night... »
Director Series
Iran’s Best Foreign Film Nominee: Asghar Farhadi’s A SeparationJanuary 2012 | By Jack Egan
One of the surprises of this awards season is A Separation, a highly lauded film from Iran that has captivated reviewers and moviegoers and... »
Danish Director Nicolas Windng Refn Pushes Drive into High Gear
January 2012 | By Jack Egan
Nicolas Windng Refn, director of Drive, doesn’t himself drive. He has failed his driver’s license test eight times. Yet the heralded Danish director came... »