I’ve always been a fan of the director’s commentary on DVDs (I would really love to hear Iñárritu discuss his films!) In fact, if I have the time, I’ll watch a film three times: once to watch it, a second time with the director’s commentary, and a third time to appreciate what the director discusses.

Sadly, many director’s commentaries are disappointing (I suppose speaking about one’s art is a gift that not all artists possess?) So…when I come across a really good director’s commentary, I like to pass on the intel. In case you were wondering, yes, Tom Hooper’s director’s commentary on The King’s Speech DVD is well worth watching – a real education in film/directing. Hooper discusses his relationship with his art directors and location scouts, how he uses the locations to visually tell his story, how the soundtrack contributes to telling his story, which lenses he chooses to use (when and why), and much more. Hooper’s an excellent director and would be an excellent educator as well, I think. Until he begins teaching, however, check out his director commentaries!

If you’re interested in learning more about Hooper’s directing style right now, check out Wikipedia.

I just stumbled upon this interview with Vincent LaForet and Philip Bloom at the Vimeo Awards in NYC. It’s quite long, but they have helpful things to say regarding DSLRs and the future of filmmaking. If you don’t want to watch the whole thing, you can safely skip the first ten minutes: DSLR Cinema- The

I’ve posted before on transmedia; this time, however, I get the sense that by posting I’m actually participating, in some small way, in Lance Weiler’s latest project, Pandemic 1.0. Weiler is unveiling the first part of his newest project at/in/around Sundance over the coming days. This should give you a sense of what Weiler is

While Terrence Malick’s highly anticipated Tree of Life has yet to see its theatrical release, there is already a great deal of buzz surrounding the highly acclaimed writer/director’s latest film. In an interview with the LA Times, Malick’s cinematographer, Emanuel “Chivo” Lubezki, describes working on the set with Malick: “Once you think you got the

Chan-wook Park, an award-winning South Korean filmmaker is about to release his film, Night Fishing, which was filmed entirely on the iPhone 4. Park’s film is yet another example of how technology is empowering filmmakers to work in innovative ways. Remarkably, Park’s 30 minute film was not, actually, extremely low-budget, having a budget of about

Chan-wook Park, an award-winning South Korean filmmaker is about to release his film, Night Fishing, which was filmed entirely on the iPhone 4. Park’s film is yet another example of how technology is empowering filmmakers to work in innovative ways. Remarkably, Park’s 30 minute film was not, actually, extremely low-budget, having a budget of about

If you haven’t checked out Gen Ip’s 2010 movie trailer mashup yet, it’s worth a few minutes of your time. The video is yet another excellent example of an innovative way of gaining notoriety, eyeballs, and street cred for the young filmmaker. While I’m always interested in seeing well-edited YouTube clips, I am even more

If you haven’t checked out Gen Ip’s 2010 movie trailer mashup yet, it’s worth a few minutes of your time. The video is yet another excellent example of an innovative way of gaining notoriety, eyeballs, and street cred for the young filmmaker. While I’m always interested in seeing well-edited YouTube clips, I am even more

If you are as yet unfamiliar with Creative Screenwriting Magazine’s podcasts, now is the time to get acquainted! Host (and Senior Editor) Jeff Goldsmith does excellent, in-depth interviews with many top screenwriters (both independent as well as big-budget filmmakers). I recently listened to his interview with Edward Burns and felt compelled to post about it.

If you’re already familiar with Robert Rodriguez’s back story and filmmaking philosophy, you won’t find a whole lot that’s new in his recent interview with Gizmodo Australia. If, however, you’re not familiar with his “Ten Minute Film School,” with his book Rebel Without a Crew, or the DVD extras on his first film, El Mariachi,