Late last week, another long list appeared out of thin air to clue us in to what AMPAS might be up to this year. Here, it was the near record 145 contenders up for nominations in Best Documentary Feature. Below you’ll see all of the 145, but I also want to just point out that the ultimate five nominees could literally be any one of them. Sure, there are some smarter bets, which I’ll address momentarily, but the way the Academy works, it may just come down to which winds wind up getting seen. Oscar will have their say soon, but until then, it’s a guessing game. Still, that’s kind of what I do for a living. As such, let the guessing on my part continue! It can sometimes be hard to figure out which hopefuls turn out to be the frontrunners, but there’s definitely some higher end titles.
- 10/31/2016
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
The Academy will announce its list of Oscar-eligible documentaries this week, a field that counted just 82 entries in 2005; last year, there were 124. And along with this growth comes a new attribute for the much-admired/often ignored genre: Power.
Under Sheila Nevins, HBO led the way in showing how documentaries could draw audiences with nonfiction programming that’s skillful, dynamic, and relevant. Under Lisa Nishimura, Netflix upped the ante with deep-pocketed algorithms that not only proved audiences craved this content (after all, documentaries are the original reality TV), but also guided exactly where those viewers could be found, and what they wanted to see. And while social justice has always been the bailiwick of documentary filmmakers, Diane Weyermann at Participant has given that niche the financing and clout it deserves.
While their business models differ, they’re all producing documentaries that might not otherwise exist, making them better and getting them seen.
Under Sheila Nevins, HBO led the way in showing how documentaries could draw audiences with nonfiction programming that’s skillful, dynamic, and relevant. Under Lisa Nishimura, Netflix upped the ante with deep-pocketed algorithms that not only proved audiences craved this content (after all, documentaries are the original reality TV), but also guided exactly where those viewers could be found, and what they wanted to see. And while social justice has always been the bailiwick of documentary filmmakers, Diane Weyermann at Participant has given that niche the financing and clout it deserves.
While their business models differ, they’re all producing documentaries that might not otherwise exist, making them better and getting them seen.
- 10/24/2016
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
The Academy will announce its list of Oscar-eligible documentaries this week, a field that counted just 82 entries in 2005; last year, there were 124. And along with this growth comes a new attribute for the much-admired/often ignored genre: Power.
Under Sheila Nevins, HBO led the way in showing how documentaries could draw audiences with nonfiction programming that’s skillful, dynamic, and relevant. Under Lisa Nishimura, Netflix upped the ante with deep-pocketed algorithms that not only proved audiences craved this content (after all, documentaries are the original reality TV), but also guided exactly where those viewers could be found, and what they wanted to see. And while social justice has always been the balliwick of documentary filmmakers, Diane Weyermann at Participant has given that niche the financing and clout it deserves.
While their business models differ, they’re all producing documentaries that might not otherwise exist, making them better and getting them seen.
Under Sheila Nevins, HBO led the way in showing how documentaries could draw audiences with nonfiction programming that’s skillful, dynamic, and relevant. Under Lisa Nishimura, Netflix upped the ante with deep-pocketed algorithms that not only proved audiences craved this content (after all, documentaries are the original reality TV), but also guided exactly where those viewers could be found, and what they wanted to see. And while social justice has always been the balliwick of documentary filmmakers, Diane Weyermann at Participant has given that niche the financing and clout it deserves.
While their business models differ, they’re all producing documentaries that might not otherwise exist, making them better and getting them seen.
- 10/24/2016
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Watching “Everything Is Copy” (HBO), on the life of Nora Ephron, it’s clear that the late writer and filmmaker was willing to use, and to massage, the truth. Of the narrator’s hamster-loving first husband, in her 1983 novel “Heartburn,” Ephron’s own ex-, Dan Greenberg, says the strange trait is an invention; of 1989’s “When Harry Met Sally…” the screenwriter admits that Meg Ryan’s cheerful, high-strung co-lead is based “more or less” on herself. As New Yorker editor David Remnick remarks of Ephron’s inimitable essays, “her voice in print really replicated her voice—almost—in life.”
Indeed, in “Everything Is Copy,” as in the other films nominated for Outstanding Documentary/Nonfiction Special at this year’s Emmys, the subject’s work inhabits this space between the dashes, the “almost” and the “more or less.” It’s where the biographical blurs into the fictional, where fact and craft diverge.
Indeed, in “Everything Is Copy,” as in the other films nominated for Outstanding Documentary/Nonfiction Special at this year’s Emmys, the subject’s work inhabits this space between the dashes, the “almost” and the “more or less.” It’s where the biographical blurs into the fictional, where fact and craft diverge.
- 8/17/2016
- by Matt Brennan
- Indiewire
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit the interwebs. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.
Becoming Mike Nichols (Douglas McGrath)
Tracing the early career of the prolific filmmaker, from his early collaborations with Elaine May to his first few adventures in Hollywood, Becoming Mike Nichols may very well become a required text in an introduction to narrative filmmaking course. Generous with his knowledge of the craft, text, performers, and the mistakes he made along the way, he opens up to fellow...
Becoming Mike Nichols (Douglas McGrath)
Tracing the early career of the prolific filmmaker, from his early collaborations with Elaine May to his first few adventures in Hollywood, Becoming Mike Nichols may very well become a required text in an introduction to narrative filmmaking course. Generous with his knowledge of the craft, text, performers, and the mistakes he made along the way, he opens up to fellow...
- 2/26/2016
- by TFS Staff
- The Film Stage
The second documentary by Douglas McGrath (best known for his narrative films Emma and Nicholas Nickleby), Becoming Mike Nichols explores the early career of Nichols through three specific phases: his early life as a German immigrant living in New York, his early collaborations during and after college with Elaine May, and his early directing career on stage and eventually on screen. Playing as a cross between a biography and directing master class, Becoming Mike Nichols is an engaging study of the filmmaker’s early career. We spoke with McGrath at the Sundance Film Festival, where his film had its world premiere, about what would be the director’s final performance, so to speak, as discussed in the interview.
The Film Stage: Can you tell us a little about how you approached these interviews?
Douglas McGrath: I think of the film as a sort of film version of what his...
The Film Stage: Can you tell us a little about how you approached these interviews?
Douglas McGrath: I think of the film as a sort of film version of what his...
- 2/23/2016
- by John Fink
- The Film Stage
In the late 1940s, young émigré Mike Nichols — born Mikhail Igor Peschkowsky in the waning days of the Weimar Republic — headed to Broadway to catch a new play, starring a then-unknown transplant from Nebraska. "To this day," he tells interlocutor Jack O'Brien in Douglas McGrath's "Becoming Mike Nichols" (HBO), "it was the only thing I've seen that was 100% real and 100% poetic, both at the same time." Though "paralyzed" by its remarkable confluence of writing, acting, and directing, he nonetheless absorbed from the production something like a calling: Nichols aspired to recreate that alchemy of the real and the poetic for the rest of his life. Watch: "The Best of Mike Nichols" The play was "A Streetcar Named Desire," the performer Marlon Brando, and Nichols the filmmaker cleared this extraordinary bar twice: in his dreamy anthem for doomed youth, "The Graduate" (1967), which remains an...
- 2/22/2016
- by Matt Brennan
- Thompson on Hollywood
Tracing the early career of the prolific filmmaker, from his early collaborations with Elaine May to his first few adventures in Hollywood, Becoming Mike Nichols may very well become a required text in an introduction to narrative filmmaking course. Generous with his knowledge of the craft, text, performers, and the mistakes he made along the way, he opens up to fellow theatre director and longtime friend Jack O’Brien in a series of two interviews recorded in 2014 at the John Golden Theater — the venue that hosted An Evening with Mike Nichols and Elaine May in 1960. O’Brien interviews Nichols, once with an audience and once without one, allowing some stories to be told twice — sometimes performing for the entire room, others simply opening up to an old friend in a more casual setting.
Director Douglas McGrath permits scenes from The Graduate and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf to play...
Director Douglas McGrath permits scenes from The Graduate and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf to play...
- 2/22/2016
- by John Fink
- The Film Stage
Documentary shows Nichols discussing Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and The Graduate before a New York theater audience, shortly before his death in 2014
Anyone who ever spent any time alone with Mike Nichols will tell you he was one of the most charming men who ever lived. I had that experience once, long ago, over a four-hour lunch. Thanks to HBO’s Becoming Mike Nichols, a splendid new documentary debuting on Monday night, everyone can have their own tête-a-tête.
Related: Mike Nichols remembered by Philip French: ‘A pleasure to work with and a delight to talk to’
Continue reading...
Anyone who ever spent any time alone with Mike Nichols will tell you he was one of the most charming men who ever lived. I had that experience once, long ago, over a four-hour lunch. Thanks to HBO’s Becoming Mike Nichols, a splendid new documentary debuting on Monday night, everyone can have their own tête-a-tête.
Related: Mike Nichols remembered by Philip French: ‘A pleasure to work with and a delight to talk to’
Continue reading...
- 2/21/2016
- by Charles Kaiser
- The Guardian - Film News
Exclusive: Frank Rich recently had an email conversation with Deadline’s Jeremy Gerard about his upcoming HBO documentary Becoming Mike Nichols. In addition to executive producing the film, Rich is a creative consultant for HBO and an executive producer of Veep. Becoming Mike Nichols was unveiled at Sundance and will have its HBO premiere February 22. Deadline: You’ve written movingly about watching Mike Nichols at work with Neil Simon during the Washington, D.C. tryout…...
- 2/15/2016
- Deadline
People might remember the late Mike Nichols differently for his various achievements, but if there's anything we can collectively agree on, it's that the man was a legend. As a producer, director and improv comedy icon, it's easily more than fair to say that the man accomplished much to be celebrated in his lifetime. Read More: Here Are Mike Nichols' Best Films, From 'The Graduate' to 'The Birdcage' "Becoming Mike Nichols," a new documentary from HBO, gives us insight into the artist's life like we've never seen him before. Directed by Douglas McGrath, the documentary features Nichols in some of his final interviews, filmed a mere four months before his passing. The documentary takes the audience through Nichols's life, from the beginning of his career, to his celebrated comedy work with Elaine May, his direction of Neil Simon plays "Barefoot in the Park" and "The Odd Couple," to finally,...
- 2/11/2016
- by Nix Santos
- Indiewire
“In your life, you get lucky in various strange ways,” Mike Nichols tells fellow director Jack O’Brien in this HBO documentary, filmed shortly before Nichols’ death in November 2014. Becoming Mike Nichols — which was unveiled at Sundance — is an apt title for a film about Mikhail Igor Peschkowsky, who was born in Germany, raised in New York and, almost by chance, launched his film directing career with Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? The Graduate, Catch-22 and Carnal Knowl…...
- 2/11/2016
- Deadline TV
Comprising a considerable amount of our top 50 films of last year, Sundance Film Festival has proven to yield the first genuine look at what the year in cinema will bring. Now in its 38th iteration, we’ll be heading back to Park City this week, but before we do, it’s time to highlight the films we’re most looking forward to, including documentaries and narrative features from all around the world.
While much of the joy found in the festival comes from surprises throughout the event, below one will find our 25 most-anticipated titles off the bat, which doesn’t include some of the ones we’ve already seen and admired, notably Cemetery of Splendour, The Lobster and Rams. Check out everything below and for updates straight from the festival, make sure to follow us on Twitter (@TheFilmStage, @jpraup, @djmecca and @DanSchindel), and stay tuned to all of our coverage here.
While much of the joy found in the festival comes from surprises throughout the event, below one will find our 25 most-anticipated titles off the bat, which doesn’t include some of the ones we’ve already seen and admired, notably Cemetery of Splendour, The Lobster and Rams. Check out everything below and for updates straight from the festival, make sure to follow us on Twitter (@TheFilmStage, @jpraup, @djmecca and @DanSchindel), and stay tuned to all of our coverage here.
- 1/18/2016
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
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