The Chair's Workshop and Focus Features Present....

HENRY SELICK
DIRECTOR OF "THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS"
"CORALINE", AND "JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH"
A PRESENTATION AND Q&A W MR. SELICK

Wednesday, November 18th @ 5:15 PM, Room 1027

HENRY SELICK (Director; Screenplay; Producer; Production Designer)
Henry Selick is an American stop motion director, producer and writer who is best known for directing The Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach and Coraline. He studied at the Program in Experimental Animation at Cal Arts, under the guidance of renowned teacher Jules Engel.
While a student at CalArts, his two student films, Phases and Tube Tales, were nominated for Student Academy Awards. After his academic studies, he went to work for Walt Disney Studios. During his time at Disney, he met and worked around the likes of Tim Burton, Rick Heinrichs, Jorgen Klubien, Brad Bird,John Musker, Dan Haskett, Bill and Sue Kroyer, Ed Gombert, and Andy Gaskill.
Selick made his feature-directing debut in 1993 on Burton's production The Nightmare Before Christmas — the first full-length, stop-motion feature from a major American studio. An instant holiday classic, Nightmare was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and won the International Animated Film Society's Annie Award for Best Creative Supervision, beating out The Lion King.
In 1996, Selick followed with a second feature, James and the Giant Peach, his live-action/stop-motion adaptation of Roald Dahl's classic children’s book.
After developing stop-motion animation on Wes Anderson's feature The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Selick joined the Portland, Oregon-based animation studio LAIKA in mid-2004 as supervising director for feature film development. After joining LAIKA, Selick directed his first computer-generated animation film, the award-winning short film Moongirl, the inspiration for Candlewick Press's children's book of the same name.
Selick's first feature with LAIKA is CORALINE, which is based on the book by acclaimed author Neil Gaiman and was released in 2009. It is the first three-dimensional stop-motion animation movie.

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For ideas, suggestions, questions etc., please email Liliana Greenfield-Sanders at lgs248@nyu.edu

You may also visit the cinecity blog for this information: http://blogs.nyu.edu/blogs/jt42/nyugradfilmprogram/

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Congratulations to Grad Film alum, Geoffrey Fletcher, screenwriter of "Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire," and to 3rd year Grad Film student, Molly Cooper, Co-Producer of "Fantastic Mr. Fox." Molly Cooper has worked with Wes Anderson previously as an Associate Producer on his 2007 film, "The Darjeeling Limited."

The Chair's Workshop Presents....

Wednesday, November 11th @ 6:30 PM, Room 1027

Based on the novel by David Gilbert, "The Normals" is a dark comedy
about human clinical drug trials at a major pharmaceutical company.

Kevin Connors
A graduate of Brown and NYU's Tisch Film program, Kevin has been
writing, directing and producing short films for many years.
His short films credits include "Mini Mall Minivan" about a woman who
leaves her baby in the car on a hot summer's day and most recently
"Chicken Pox".
His first feature credit came as producer of "Brief Interviews With
Hideous Men", written and directed by John Krasinski and based on the
book by David Foster Wallace.

Chris Ciancimino
A graduate of the University of Manchester and NYU's Tisch Film
program, Chris has been working in the independent film industry for
the last 10 years.
Previously Head of Development for UK production company Portobello
Pictures (Kolya, Birthday Girl, The War Zone),
Chris was commissioned to write the adaptation of David Gilbert's
novel "The Normals" and is now a partner in Woodshed Entertainment. As
a writer and director,
Chris made a number of short films, his latest, "The Edge of Town",
won a Fotokem award for best screenplay and was officially selected
for the Woodstock Film Festival 2008.
Chris recently became a member of the Writer's Guild of America.

Synopsis:
The story centers around everyman Billy Schine; aimless Ivy League
Graduate, knee-deep in dept, with no career and a mother suffering
from some kind of expensive mental disorder.

With a debt collector hot on his trail, Billy enrolls in a clinical
drug trial to make a quick buck. Carted out of New York City with a
busload of oddballs, Billy and the rest of the guinea pigs,
affectionately referred to as "Normals", arrive at a hidden research
facility somewhere Upstate. When not popping pills, being drained of
blood, proded poked and color-coded, they spend their days and nights
sneaking around, sleeping around, plotting the destruction of "The
Facility" and driving each other crazy. As the test drags on, just
being there takes its toll, and tensions build until the dam finally
bursts. Billy starts to realize that there is no such thing as
"Normal".

One part comedy of error, one part failed love story, The Normals is
and examination of what it's like to make money with your body whilst
losing your mind.

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Future Workshops

November 18th - Henry Selick, Director of "Coraline" and "The
Nightmare Before Christmas"

November 25th - NO CW during Thanksgiving Break

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For ideas, suggestions, questions etc., please email Liliana
Greenfield-Sanders at lgs248@nyu.edu

You may also visit the cinecity blog for this information: http://blogs.nyu.edu/blogs/jt42/nyugradfilmprogram/

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ADELAIDE, written and directed by Liliana Greenfield-Sanders as her 2nd year film in Grad Film, continues to wow judges at festivals.

Adelaide Awards:

2009 National Board of Review Student Grant Award

Grand Jury Prize Best Short Film, 2009 Gen Art Film Festival

Audience Award, 2009 Gen Art Film Festival

Best Short Film, 2009 Woodstock Film Festival

Best Short Film, 2009 New Orleans Film Festival

Special Jury Award, 2009 Austin Film Festival

Special Jury Award, 2009 Indie Memphis Film Festival

Audience Award, Haig P. Manoogian Screenings at DGA Los Angeles

Wasserman/King Finalist, 2009 First Run Film Festival

OFFICIAL SELECTIONS:

Angelus Student Film Fest (Semi-Finalist)

Aspen Shortsfest

Austin Film Festival

BEFILM Festival

Bend Film Festival

Big Apple Film Festival

Calgary International Film Festival

DC Shorts Film Festival

Gen Art Film Festival

First Run Film Festival

Foyle Film Festival

Haig P. Manoogian Screenings

Indie Memphis Film Festival

LA Shortsfest

Moondance Film Festival (Semi-Finalist)

New Orleans Film Festival

Newport Beach Film Festival

Newport International Film Festival

Oldenburg Film Festival

Palm Springs Shortfest

Philadelphia Independent Film Festival

Raindance Film Festival

Starz Denver Film Festival

Vancouver International Film Festival

The Wassaic Project

Williamstown Film Festival

Woodstock Film Festival

"MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME" A.K.A "FETISH"
DIRECTED BY SOOPUM SOHN
a feature length thesis film

Wednesday, November 4th @ 6:30 PM, Room 1027
Q&A with the director will follow the screening

Please RSVP to Marlie McGovern at mmm306@nyu.edu if you plan to attend this event.

SOOPUM SOHN writer / director / cinematographer

As director/writer, Soopum’s short films include “Island to Island”, winner of a 2002 Student Academy Award, and “Fish in the Sea Is Not Thirsty”, an official selection of the 2002 Cannes Film Festival (Quinzaine). “Make Yourself at Home”, Soopum’s first feature film as a director/writer, was invited to the 2008 Pusan International Film Festival, Gala Presentation, Oldenburg Film Festival, San Diego Asian Film Festival and Athens Film Festival.

As cinematographer, Soopum’s films include “Michellville” (dir: John Harkrider), which screened at the Sundance Film Festival 2005 (American Spectrum); and “SA-KWA” (dir: Yi-Kwan Kang), winner of the International Critics Award at the Toronto International Film Festival 2005.

Soopum holds MFA’s from American Film Institute (cinematography) and New York University (film directing).

Synopsis:
Peter, a Korean-American Christian has returned home from a trip overseas with his beautiful and mysterious new wife: Sookhy. A terrible accident occurs, leaving Sookhy to fend for herself. Sookhy, rumored to be a shaman, fights to keep a piece of the American dream.

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Future Workshops

November 11th - Kevin Connors' Feature Table Reading

November 18th - Henry Selick, Director of "Coraline" and "The Nightmare Before Christmas"

November 25th - NO CW during Thanksgiving Break

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For ideas, suggestions, questions etc., please email Liliana Greenfield-Sanders at lgs248@nyu.edu

The Chair's Workshop Presents....

ULTIMATE CHRISTIAN WRESTLING
Directed by Tara Autovino and Jae-Ho Chang.

Wednesday, October 28th. Screening @ 6:30 PM, Room 1027. Workshop with Tara and Jae-Ho after the film.

Workshop Topics:
Shooting on no budget
Working on the same project for years
How to scam your local fitness center
How to subsist on fast food only
How to blend in when you clearly don't belong
How to seem Christian without ever admitting your faith
The importance of online coupon codes
How to play the race card
Where to eat in Georgia
What to do when you're not shooting
Avoiding Deliverance-type scenes
Hurting people's feelings the nice way
Using the words 'feature-length documentary' as justification for mounting debt, periods of unemployment, and frittering away years of your life

Synopsis:
Where else but the Bible Belt could a concept that marries Christianity and professional wrestling hatch and thrive? Ultimate Christian Wrestling Ministries did just that. Set in rural Georgia, USA, and filmed between 2006 and 2009, this documentary follows the lives of three members of UCW - "The Modern Day Warrior" Rob Adonis, "God's Property" Billy Jack, and "The Custodial Crippler" Justin Dirt - in an attempt to find a connection between a passion for pro-wrestling, the challenges of everyday life, and a faith described not as religion, but as a "personal relationship with Jesus Christ."

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Future Workshops

November 4th - Screening of Soopum Sohn's new feature film "Make Yourself at Home (aka Fetish)"

November 11th - Kevin Connors' Feature Table Reading

November 18th - Henry Selick, Director of "Coraline" and "The Nightmare Before Christmas"

November 25th - NO CW during Thanksgiving Break

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For ideas, suggestions, questions etc., please email Liliana Greenfield-Sanders at lgs248@nyu.edu

Legendary Cinematographer and Grad Film alum, Fred Elmes (Blue Velvet, The Ice Storm, Synedoche NY, and many more), conducted a workshop for Grad Film cinematography students. Thanks to Professor Sandi Sissel for organizing the workshop. Thanks also to DeWitt Davis from Kodak, and to folks at Deluxe, for their generous support.
Photos by Joey Kuhn.

Fred Elmes

DeWitt Davis, Fred Elmes, Peter O'Leary, Leonardo D'Antoni

Thomas Kim, Fred Elmes

Kristina Nikolova, Rob Leitzell

Nadiah Hamzah, Fred Elmes, Hye Mee Na, Leonardo D'Antoni

Edna Biesold, Thomas Kim

Kristina Nikolova, Fred Elmes

The CHAIR'S WORKSHOP presents...

NYU Grad Film alums Katie Jacobs and Larry Kaplow visited Chair's Workshop on Wednesday, October 21.

They discussed WRITING FOR TV; developing the concept for a show, getting it set up, the difference between network and cable, creating a pilot, writing a season, and more.

Katie Jacobs is co-showrunner of HOUSE, MD, nominated for three consecutive Emmy Awards for best Drama Series. (See full bio below)

Larry Kaplow is a Television Writer and Producer for HOUSE, MD. He won the 2005 Writers Guild of America Award for "Outstanding Television Script, Episodic Drama" for the House episode "Autopsy" (2.02).

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Future Workshops

November 11th - Kevin Connors' Feature Table Reading

November 18th - Henry Selick, Director of "Coraline" and "The Nightmare Before Christmas"

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For ideas, suggestions, questions etc., please email Liliana Greenfield-Sanders at lgs248@nyu.edu

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Katie Jacobs Bio:
Katie Jacobs is co-showrunner of HOUSE, nominated for three consecutive Emmy Awards for best Drama Series. Previously, Jacobs served as co-show runner on the critically acclaimed series "Gideon's Crossing" starring Andre Braugher, as well as the futuristic legal drama "Century City" and produced the Emmy-nominated telefilm "A Father for Charlie" starring Louis Gossett Jr.
Jacobs has directed several episodes of HOUSE including the season six premiere, a two-hour movie, chronicling House's journey through the Mayfield Psychiatric Hospital. Before turning her focus to television, Jacobs produced several films, including Alan J. Pakula's thriller "Consenting Adults" and the Carl Reiner comedy "Fatal Instinct." Jacobs is a product of the graduate film school at NYU.
Jacobs resides in Los Angeles.

The Chair's Workshop Presents....

John Hamburg

John Tintori, John Hamburg

Susan Hippen, Jay Franklin, John Hamburg

John Hamburg, Elena Greenlee

JOHN HAMBURG

Wednesday, October 14th @ 6:30 PM, Room 1027

After screening his 1996 short film Tick at the Sundance Film Festival, Hamburg wrote and directed the 1998 film Safe Men. Hamburg then found success co-writing Meet the Parents and Zoolander, and returned to the director's chair with Along Came Polly, which he also wrote. He also co-wrote the hit sequel Meet the Fockers. In 2009, Hamburg wrote and directed the hit comedy I Love you, Man. He is currently working on the second sequel to Meet the Parents, entitled Little Fockers.

NYU Grad Film alum, Cruz Angeles, won the Lee Marvin Best Feature Narrative Award at the Woodstock Film Festival for his first feature film, “Don’t Let Me Drown”
Liliana Greenfield-Sanders won the Diane Seligman Award for Best Short Narrative with her 2nd year film, “Adelaide”

IndieWIRE run-down of the Festival

Richard Linklater, Liliana Greenfield-Sanders, and NYU film alum Ted Hope

Cruz Angeles and Marie Topete

Grad Film alum, Tom DiCillo, at a Q&A after a screening of his feature doc, WHEN YOUR STRANGE

Grad Film alum, Carlo Mirabella-Davis, KNIFE POINT, with Molly Donovan and Michael Vincent

Industry Luminaries: Peter Saraf, Emily Russo and NYU Grad Film Adjunct Professor Ira Sachs (flashing the peace sign), at the awards ceremony.

Louis and Rachel Edwards-Glover

Thesis student, Lee Manansala (center) presented a table reading of his "Talky, Romantic, Funny, Dramatic, Loopy, Ridiculous, Articulate, Awkward, and Shy script about young people in love," at the Char's Workshop on October 1.

Several feature projects that have been read at Chair's Workshop in the past few years have gone on to be produced as feature length films, including TRUE ADOLESCENTS by Craig Johnson, FETISH by Soopum Sohn, and ST. JOHN OF LAS VEGAS by Hue Rhodes.

TICKETS

NYU graduate thesis "Adventures of Power," a comedy starring Michael McKean (Spinal Tap), Jane Lynch (Glee), and Adrian Grenier (Entourage) is being released in theaters in October by Variance Films.  It will be premiering in New York on October 9th.  The movie will also be hosting a benefit party to support music education for kids.

Director Ari Gold welcomes people to read his daily blog about the making of the movie.  Also, film students may be interested in the process of making the movie and are encouraged to write to Ari at ari@arigoldfilms.com if they're interested in helping out with the party or the film!

SITE: http://www.AdventuresOfPower.com
BLOG: http://www.powerthepower.com
TWEETS: http://twitter.com/arigoldfilms
FACE: http://www.facebook.com/adventuresofpower
TUBE: http://www.youtube.com/adventuresofpower
SPACE: http://www.myspace.com/arigold

Ari Gold in ADVENTURES OF POWER

After a lengthy deliberation to decide who should win the $100,000 Columbus/Vague production grant, Chris Columbus and Richard Vague each donated another $25,000 to the fund, then split the award three ways, giving $50,000 each, to three Grad Film alums; Andrew MacLean (On the Ice), Rob Meyer (A Birder's Guide to Everything), and Dee Rees (Pariah).

Dee Rees, Rob Meyer, Andrew MacLean

Chris Columbus, UGF&TV winner Ben Epstein, Dee Rees, Rob Meyer, Andrew MacLean, and Richard Vague

Richard Vague and Dee Rees

Andrew MacLean with producer Cara Marcous

Rob Meyer, Richard Vague, and Chris Columbus

Grad Film finalists for the 2009 Columbus/Vague Alumni Award.
Front row: Jeff Seymann, Sasie Sealy, Sen-I Yu, Sharri Hefner.
Back row: Dee Rees, Rob Meyer, Janet McIntyre, Andrew MacLean, Ming Ling Chen.

Thomas Ranese, CMO of I LOVE NY, delivers the brief to students from Tisch and Stern at the I LOVE NY promo kick off event. Past sponsors for ProMotion Pictures projects include: Verizon, Heineken, Axe Body Spray, Johnny Walker, and Cisco.

For more information on how to get involved in the I LOVE NY competition, contact Ryan Heller at ryan.heller@nyu.edu.

MILLION IN THE MIRROR WINS COMPETITION

Marc Parees and Ryan Silbert's Public Service Announcement for the Love/Avon Army of Women will be broadcast on Lifetime during the month of October for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  The commercial spot, which they co-conceived won the PSA Competition, sponsored by the Avon Foundation and Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation.  The PSA will also be distributed on the web on Glamour.com.  The production's largely NYU crew included Jeremy Brunjes as Director of Photography, Parees as Director and Silbert and Mollye Asher as producers.

Like a Diamond by Glass Ghost from Western Vinyl on Vimeo.

Recent Grad Film alums Nat Johnson and Greg Mitnick have signed with Station Films for commercial representation. Their new video for LIKE A DIAMOND by "Brooklyn art-wobble duo" Glass Ghost premiered on the Village Voice website last week.

Woodshed Entertainment, an independent film production company started in 2006 by NYU Grad Film producing partners Kevin Connors and Chris Ciancimino, is proud to announce that John Krasinski's directorial debut, "Brief Interviews With Hideous Men," opens on Friday, September 25. Krasinski also wrote and stars in the dark comedy, based on the book by David Foster Wallace.

"Brief Interviews," which premiered at the Sundance festival in January, stars Julianne Nicholson as a graduate student interviewing a series of men for her thesis project. Krasinski plays one of the interview subjects, alongside Will Arnett, Dominic Cooper, Bobby Cannavale, Timothy Hutton, Christopher Meloni, Max Minghella and Ben Shenkman. The film was produced by Krasinski, Eva Kolodner, Yael Melamede and James Suskin and exec produced by Kevin Connors.

Woodshed Entertainment is based in New York. The company was established to seek out, develop and produce motion pictures for theatrical release. Woodshed is committed to making independent films with strong commercial appeal and thought-provoking content.

New York University’s Mary Schmidt Campbell, dean of the Tisch School of the Arts, has been appointed by President Barack Obama as vice chair of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. The appointment was announced yesterday (Sept. 16) in a press release issued by the White House.

At the same time, the President announced that Tisch School of the Arts’ Dean’s Council member and theatrical producer Margo Lion would serve as co-chair.

President Obama said, “My administration is committed to […] investing in the future of arts and the humanities, and these individuals will serve my team well as we work to accomplish these goals. I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead.”

The White House announcement went on to state these distinguished appointments are exemplary of this Administration’s belief that the arts and humanities are at the core of a vital society. And that both individuals bring to the President’s Committee a wealth of experience in the arts and humanities and have, throughout their varied and illustrious careers, demonstrated a deep and abiding commitment to these fields.

Read the rest of the press release

Read the White House press release

NYU Film Alum Karyn Kusama directing JENNIFER'S BODY. Grad Film Visiting Professor Plummy Tucker edited the film, and has edited Karyn's earlier films, GIRLFIGHT and AEON FLUX.

Megan Fox in Karyn Kusama's JENNIFER'S BODY

Armando Diaz with Jose Santana

Armando Diaz visited Chair's Workshop on September 16 with a group of actors from the Magnet Theater to demonstrate improv acting techniques used by actors, writers, and directors. Assistant Arts Professor Jose Santana hosted the event.

Armando Diaz is widely regarded as one of the best improv teachers in New York City and beyond. His list of teaching credits is a long one: the ImprovOlympic Theater, Victory Gardens Theater, The Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, The Peoples Improv Theater, and Michael Howard Studios. He has trained dozens of actors who have performed or written for Saturday Night Live, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Mad TV, and The Daily Show.

A Chicago native, Armando studied improv under Del Close at the ImprovOlympic, Mick Napier at the Annoyance, and graduated from the Second City Conservatory. He performed in and helped create one of the most popular improvised longforms in Chicago, "The Armando Diaz Experience...." For the last decade, "the Armando" has been performed weekly in Chicago, and is now taught and performed in many other cities including Los Angeles and New York.

In addition to writing and producing short films, Armando wrote sketches for the show Upright Citizens Brigade on Comedy Central, and has performed on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. 

Recent Grad Film alum, Etienne Kallos, won the Corto Cortissimo Lion for Best Short Film at the Venice Film Festival with his Thesis project Eersgeborene (First Born). The film also had successful screenings this month at the Telluride Film Festival.

Todd Solondz, Grad Film alum and professor, won the "Osella" for Best Screenplay at Venice, for his new film, Life During Wartime.

Click here for the complete list of winners at Venice.

Hazel Sophie Fox Veileux, born September 10, 2009

Congratulations to Amy and Zach!

"Marina of the Zabbaleen," directed and produced by Grad Film student Engi Wassef as her Thesis project, will open Friday, September 11, at the ImaginAsian Theater. This 70 minute feature documentary tells the story of 7-year-old Marina, who lives in a village of recyclers at the base of a mountain outside Cairo, Egypt.

Marina premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival last year, and won the Silver Muhr award at the Dubai International Film Festival.

Grad Film alum Rob Hauer shot the film. His work is described by Jeanette Catsoulis in the NY Times as 'elegant cinematography, which creeps inside the mind of a child to turn a rat carcass into a shiny toy and mounds of rubbish into a mysterious kingdom."

Click here for the NY Times review.

Tickets for the screenings are available at: www.movietickets.com

Jon Matthews, Jarreau Carrillo, Kiandra Parks

Adriana Cepeda Espinosa, Zach Kerschberg

Uzoma Emukah, Fina Lloyd

Perry Blackshear, Tati Barrantes, Alan Blanco

Anastasia Frank, Heather Jack, Claire Harlam, Uzoma Emukah, Ash Bhalla, Ryan Johnson

Alexis Gambis, Bella Wing-Davey, Jon Mathews

Ryan Johnson, Anastasia Frank, Jeffrey Bliss, Virginia Urreizietta, Jonas Carpignano, Charles Rogers

Bonds being formed at The Apple.

Produced and Directed by Grad Film Alum Mitch McCabe
HBO Broadcast Premiere
MONDAY AUGUST 31, 9PM E/PST, 8PM CT

In YOUTH KNOWS NO PAIN, an age-obsessed daughter of a plastic surgeon (filmmaker Mitch McCabe) takes a journey through America's $60 billion a year anti-aging world. In this Alice-in-Wonderland tale, McCabe spends 2 years traveling across America visiting doctors, experts and lives with a cross-section of characters from Minnesota to Texas who've gone to varying lengths to "beat the clock", to paint a funny, thought-provoking and even disturbing portrait of a country that desperately needs to stay forever young.

YOUTH KNOWS NO PAIN.COM

"Youth Knows No Pain subjects America's anti-aging obsession to an intimate, often unflattering closeup, and with an appreciable lack of vanity, director Mitch McCabe also holds up her own face -- lines, imperfections and all -- for the camera's scrutiny. McCabe's unique perspective as a plastic surgeon's daughter informs this lively, candid and thoughtful piece, which avoids the fashionable alarmism of so many social-issue docs as it weighs the costs and benefits of wrinkle creams, breast implants and Botox injections and allows viewers to decide for themselves. Elsewhere, Youth Knows No Pain smartly and amusingly sends up the $60 billion anti-aging industry..."
-Justin Chang
Variety (June 2009)

an HBO Documentary Films and Open Pictures production

in association with Chipped Nail Polish Productions

Directed and Produced by Mitch McCabe
Produced by Linda Chiu and Kathleen Rosenbloom
Executive Produced by Dale Rosenbloom, Seth Willenson and W.Wilder Knight, II
HBO Executive Producer Sheila Nevins, HBO Supervising Producer Sara Bernstein
Co-Produced by Elena Parker, Carmen Cuba and Ellen Killoran
Edited by Michael Taylor and Mitch McCabe

Featuring Sherry Mecom, Norman Deesing, Julia Allison, Erica Rose, Gary Baldassarre, Lyndsay Bertie, Charla Krupp and Simon Doonan

Grad Film Alum Ang Lee directs Demetri Martin and Paul Dano in TAKING WOODSTOCK

Emile Hirsch and Ang Lee on the set

TAKING WOODSTOCK Trailer

TAKING WOODSTOCK Featurette

Ally Sheedy, Paul Reubens, and Shirley Henderson in LIFE DURING WARTIME, written and directed by Grad Film Professor and Alum, Todd Solondz.

LIFE DURING WARTIME, which played at the Cannes Film Festival in the spring, will be in four major film festivals this fall; Toronto, Telluride, Venice, and New York.

Congratulations to NYU Grad Film alums Paul Mezey and Andrij Parekh, who produced COLD SOULS, written and directed by Sophie Barthes, starring Paul Giamatti, David Strathairn, Dina Korzun and Emily Watson.
Andrij Parekh is also the Cinematographer of the film.

COLD SOULS trailer

The Princess Grace Foundation - USA announced that Rashaad Ernesto Green has won their prestigious Cary Grant Film Award.

For a complete list of Princess Grace Awards click here.

The Grad Film faculty nominates one student per year to the Princess Grace Awards Committee. Students from Grad Film have now won a Princess Grace Award in four of the past five years, including Cary Joji Fukunaga '05, Andrew Okpeaha MacLean '06, Nikyatu Jusu '08, and Rashaad Ernesto Green '09.

Andrew Okpeaha MacLean was also named as a recipient of a Princess Grace Special Projects Award, which are grants given to past winners for projects that advance their artistic development.

Zeina Durra

Recent NYU Grad Film alums make IFP. Zeina Durra, Ron Eyal, Eleanor Burke, Craig Johnson, Mark Heyman, Thomas Woodrow, and Craig Marsden all will be with their projects at September's Independent Feature Project.

The lineup for the the event is broken down into three sections, as described by IFP: Emerging Narrative (for first-time feature directors currently in post seeking representation, completion funding, and festival invitations), No Borders International Co-Production Market (for producers with partial financing seeking additional partners), and Spotlight on Documentaries (for filmmakers in production, post, or with a completed film seeking financing partners, broadcast/distribution, and festival invitations).

2 projects in Emerging Narrative:
THE IMPERIALISTS ARE STILL ALIVE!, written and directed by Zeina Durra, produced Vanessa Hope, starring Élodie Bouchez (THE DREAMLIFE OF ANGELS; SORRY, HATERS)
STRANGER THINGS, directed and produced by Ron Eyal & Eleanor Burke (Filmmaker Magazine 2009 “25 New Faces”)

One in the No Borders section for International co-productions:
THE SKELETON TWINS, written and directed by Craig Johnson (TRUE ADOLESCENTS) and Mark Heyman, produced by Thomas Woodrow (TRUE ADOLESCENTS)

One project in Spotlight on Documentaries:
PIPESTONE, directed and produced by Craig Marsden

Grad Film Professor Jose Angel Santana has directed "The Killing" by William Inge, with Neal Huff, left, and J. J. Kandel, as part of the Summer Shorts 3 series of world premiere one-act plays.

NY Times feature piece

Times Review

Theatermania

Backstage

nytheater.com

.....Todd Solondz................Nancy Savoca....................

Writer/Director and Grad Film alum, Todd Solondz, will join the Tisch faculty on a full time basis in the fall of 2009. Professor Solondz will alternate semesters between the new campus at Tisch Asia in Singapore and the original Grad Film Program in NY.

Also joining the Grad Film faculty in the fall 2009 semester are Writer/Director Maggie Greenwald, Writer/Director Susanna Styron, and Writer/Director Alex Sichel.

Grad Fim alums Tanya Steele and Vincenzo Tripodo will begin teaching in the department this semester. And we'll be welcoming back Cinematographer Tony Jannelli from his tour of duty in Singapore, as well as Writer/Director and Tisch Film School alum, Nancy Savoca.

Julianne Nicholson stars as Sara Quinn and Dominic Cooper stars as Daniel in Brief Interviews with Hideous Men

Woodshed Entertainment, an independent film production company started in 2006 by NYU Grad Film producing partners Kevin Connors and Chris Ciancimino, is proud to announce that John Krasinski's directorial debut, "Brief Interviews With Hideous Men," has secured U.S. distribution in a deal with IFC Films. Krasinski also wrote and stars in the dark comedy, based on the book by David Foster Wallace.

"Brief Interviews," which premiered at the Sundance festival in January, stars Julianne Nicholson as a graduate student interviewing a series of men for her thesis project. Krasinski plays one of the interview subjects, alongside Will Arnett, Dominic Cooper, Bobby Cannavale, Timothy Hutton, Christopher Meloni, Max Minghella and Ben Shenkman. The film was produced by Krasinski, Eva Kolodner, Yael Melamede and James Suskin and exec produced by Kevin Connors.

IFC will release "Hideous Men" on September 25 in theaters and as a video-on-demand offering. The film also will go through IFC's exclusive DVD rental deal with Blockbuster.

Woodshed Entertainment is based in New York. The company was established to seek out, develop and produce motion pictures for theatrical release. Woodshed is committed to making independent films with strong commercial appeal and thought-provoking content.

...sending text, photos, graphics, and links to Marlie McGovern at:

mmm306@nyu.edu

Jacob Robinson is all smiles as his film Alice Jacobs is Dead wins Best Horror/Suspense Film at the Comic-Con Festival. Jacob is part of the first Dual MBA/MFA Degree class.

Alice Jacobs is Dead reviews and trailer

Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart with the Comedy Central interns.

Karma Calling, a first feature film directed by Grad Film alum Sarba Das, was part of the aaiff'09 in NYC last week.

"The Raj family is definitely not a household comprised of your stereotypical Asian model minorities living the American Dream. On top of the family’s troubled finances, the family hosts a recently widowed relative, Mausi, a fount of comic disasters."

complete list of aaiff'09 films

Short films by Grad Film alum Wing-Yee Wu Tiger, and current students Han Lee Walking While Sleeping, and ManSee Kong Here to Stay, were also screened as part of the festival.

ManSee Kong on the Brian Lehrer Show

Carol Dysinger blogs from the the Sundance Documentary Edit and Story Lab for Filmmaker Magazine.

Guest Blogs

Dysinger, right, with Associate Editor Michelle Chang.

Alums Ron Eyal and Eleanor Burke were named to the list of "25 New Faces of Independent Film" in Filmmaker Magazine.

25 New Faces of Independent Film

Eleanor and Ron recently participated in the IFP's Rough Cut Lab with their first feature, Stranger Things. They co-wrote and co-directed the film, which served as their thesis project.

Thomas Woodrow has been selected as one of five producers for the Sundance Producing Fellowships with "The Skeleton Twins," a script written by Craig Johnson and Mark Heyman . "The Skeleton Twins" was read as part of the Chair's Workshop Feature Table Reading Series. Thomas produced Craig Johnson's thesis, the feature film "True Adolescents," which is currently on the festival circuit.

Sundance Press Release

Thomas Woodrow visits the Chair's Workshop in April 2009

Grad Film alum, Dee Rees, is a finalist for the Netflix $500,000 feature film award. The script is based on her award winning short film, Pariah.
The Netflix Finalists

Adjunct Professor Michael Showalter stars in a new show on Comedy Central.
NY Times article

Jason Sokoloff's 2nd year film, Mr. Brooklyn, continues its successful festival run, picking up the Best Narrative Short at the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival last weekend.

Other stops along the way include:

FESTIVAL WINS:
#1) Mr. Brooklyn wins "BEST STUDENT NARRATIVE" at the 33rd Carolina Film and Video Festival.
#2) Mr. Brooklyn wins "BEST FICTION AWARD" at the Open APPerture Short Film Festival.
#3) Mr. Brooklyn wins "BEST SHORT FILM" at the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival.

ALL FESTIVALS:
Dam Short Film Festival
Cleveland International Film Festival
Tiburon International Film Festival
International Short Festival Salento Finibus Terrae
Washougal International Film Festival
Palm Beach International Film Festival
Tupelo Film Festival
Siouxland Film Festival
West Chester International Film Festival
Nickel Independent Film Festival
NewFilmMakers NY Festival
Marblehead Festival of Arts Film Festival
New Jersey Film Festival

Nat Johnson, Laura Belsey, Greg Mitnick

Article and more photos

Spec commercials made by NYU Grad Film students have notched up some notable successes in recent months.

Four of the ten student finalists in the prestigious AICP awards were commercials made by current students: 'Find Your Match' by Lapo Melzi, 'Timeless' by Harry Mavromichalis and two commercials jointly directed by Greg Mitnick and Nat Johnson, 'Slim Jim' and 'Apple'.

Greg and Nat have also won Gold and Silver Student Addy awards at the local and regional levels with their commercials 'Balloons' and 'Slap', while Lapo has been featured in Shoot magazine's New Directors Showcase for his commercial 'Paper Child', for the African-American Planning Commission.

These projects were largely developed as part of the 'Directing Television Commercials' course taught by Adjunct Professor Laura Belsey, and offered as an elective in the third year of the Grad Film program.

Rising 3rd Year Grad Film student, Kiel Scott, walked off with the Grand Prize in the HBO Short Film Competition at the American Black Film Festival in Miami last week.

Kiel, his producer Kiara Jones, and Grad Film finalists, Rashaad Ernesto Green and Randy Wilkins, share the stage. Congratulations to all!

Michael, Annie, Nat and baby Ben

Netflix Find Your Voice Film Competition - The winning filmmaker receives a $150,000 production grant, plus donations and services worth more than $350,000.

VOTE NOW

4 of the 10 Semi-finalists are from NYU Grad Film.

Sasie Sealy - SarahN_12
Maryam Keshavarz - Circumstance
Dee Rees - Pariah
Eric Lin - Why We Pull The Trigger

Christina Voros' photo album