At Sundance, some new thinking about distribution
I was really encouraged to see this piece in the New York Times today, 'At Sundance, New Routes to Finding an Audience,' Brooks Barnes. It suggests that at least a few filmmakers who've gained entrance...
View ArticleVideo interview with Ian Calderon of the Sundance Institute
Here's an interview I shot in 2009 with Ian Calderon, who since 1981 has been the chief digital guy for the Sundance Institute and Film Festival. In the 17-minute video, filmed at DCTV in Manhattan,...
View ArticleAnnouncing The Conversation 2010, in New York: On Social Media, Digital...
I'm excited that we're finally announcing the date, place, and a few of the early speakers for the next edition of The Conversation, a gathering we first held in the Bay Area back in 2008.It'll be held...
View ArticleWhat I'll Be Up to at SXSW
I'm always psyched to go down to Austin in March for South by Southwest. Austin makes you feel hip even if you are not. I love seeing movies at the Alamo Drafthouse and the Paramount. I really enjoy...
View ArticleThree Quick Links for the SXSW Crowd
- For my session with ze frank on Saturday, March 13th at 3:30 PM, you can submit questions (and vote on questions submitted by others) right here. - For my session with Gary Hustwit on Sunday, March...
View ArticleConvo NYC Sold Out ... But We're Looking for a Shooter
I'm both happy and a bit sorry to say that the New York edition of The Conversation, March 27th at Columbia University, is now sold out. (I've already gotten a handful of e-mails from people asking how...
View ArticleIn SoCal? "Produced By" Conference, June 4-6
The line-up for the 2010 "Produced By" Conference, organized by the Producers Guild of America, looks great. Speakers include Mark Cuban of Landmark and 2929 Entertainment; James L. Brooks; Brian...
View ArticleThe Conversation 2010: Post-Game Notes & Analysis
Thanks to everyone who made The Conversation @ Columbia happen last Saturday — after I'd moderated my opening panel on building an audience, I mostly felt like I was free to goof off and just eavesdrop...
View Article'Filmmakers Taking Charge,' May 7th at the Maryland Film Festival
I've been helping out the good folks at the Maryland Film Festival with a new event, coming up on May 7th in Baltimore: the Filmmakers Taking Charge Conference.It'll focus on topics like "generating...
View ArticleVideo from The Conversation @ Columbia
We shot the three main panels at the March edition of The Conversation, held at Columbia University. (The audio is a bit rough at points, due to some mics onstage that were cranked up a bit too high.)...
View ArticleChad Hurley Interview Notes from 2005
YouTube is marking its fifth anniversary this month.It felt like a good time to go back to the notes from my October 2005 interview with co-founder Chad Hurley; I'd interviewed him while working on...
View ArticleTen links for today's DIY panel at the "Produced By" conference
I'm panelizing later today at the PGA's "Produced By" conference in LA, and just wanted to share some links with the audience (and you). The title of the session is "Smashing Windows: D.I.Y. and the...
View ArticleNotes and quotes from the PGA's 2010 "Produced By" conference
It was a real treat to be invited to speak at the PGA's "Produced By" conference this weekend; I was on a panel moderated by Emerging Cinemas' Ira Deutchman called "Smashing Windows: DIY and the New...
View ArticleTV Ennui: Are Viewers Totally Content, or Just Really Averse to Change?
There's a great collection of stories in today's NY Times, focusing on efforts to change the way we watch TV (online and in our living rooms.) The overall message is that viewers are either pretty...
View ArticleClips: IFP Panel on "Big Ideas for the Small Screen"
These are the clips I would've shown in this morning's IFP Filmmaker Conference panel on "Big Ideas for the Small Screen." (Conference venue couldn't show video from the Internet.)- Thom Woodley's Web...
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Distribution U., coming to NY (Nov. 13th) and LA (Nov. 20th)
I'm really excited to be collaborating again with Peter Broderick to put together two new "Distribution U." workshops next month: one at NYU on November 13th, and one at UCLA on November 20th. We did...
View ArticleHow to Get a Free Pass to Distribution U.
The two Distribution U. events that I'm organizing with Peter Broderick are fast approaching... and I've been remiss in telling you how you can get a free pass.First, the New York edition happens...
View ArticleLinks from Distribution U. in NY...And looking ahead to Saturday at UCLA
Wow... we had a great group of 200 filmmakers converge on NYU's Cantor Film Center last Saturday for the first Distribution U. of 2010... and now we're looking ahead to the second (and thankfully,...
View ArticleWhat's the biggest challenge facing indie filmmakers?
We posed that question to our Distribution U. audience at UCLA last Saturday. Here's what they said:
View ArticleTime Warner CEO compares Netflix to the Albanian army
Couldn't resist posting about this quote from Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes, on Netflix being overhyped. (Netflix CEO Reed Hastings was named "businessperson of the year" by Fortune.)"It's a little bit...
View ArticleAdvice from Joel: Tools for Connecting with Bloggers, Twitterers, Superfans...
Indie producer and editor Joel Heller ran a great lunch discussion at last month's Distribution U. event in Los Angeles, focused on developing a powerful online outreach strategy. Joel worked on the...
View ArticleUpcoming: Jill Sobule in LA, and One More 'Fans, Friends' Workshop in Boston
An upcoming events alert for those of you in the Los Angeles or Boston areas... - Jill Sobule, the singer/songwriter/entrepreneur who was such a hit at the 2010 edition of Distribution U. in LA (and...
View ArticleLooking for People Who've Made the Leap
I've started work on my next book project. It's about people who've taken the leap... leaving a secure job for the unknown.I'm hoping to interview you, or someone you know, if this describes you:- You...
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Goodbye to Bob Lambert, one of Hollywood's true champions of innovation
Visiting Bob Lambert in his office in the ABC Studios Building, for me, was like going to see an archivist, an oracle, and a city councilman. Bob, who spent 25 years at Disney, eventually becoming the...
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Now totally free, forever: The e-book version of "Fans, Friends & Followers"
I've been slow to do this, with busy-ness as my only excuse, but I'm now making the PDF/e-book version of my 2009 book Fans, Friends & Followers: Building an Audience and a Creative Career in the...
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