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Justin Lader is up for his work on The One I Love. The film tells the story of a couple (Mark Duplass, Elisabeth Moss) whose marriage is on the skids. Their therapist (Ted Danson) sends them on a weekend getaway to help them re-stitch the tie that binds. Here, Justin talks about the challenges—and unexpected advantages—of working with a micro budget, and the part G.I. Joe played in his storytelling skills....

Award Season Fever is about to reach epidemic proportions thanks to this morning’s announcement of the 2014 Film Independent Spirit Awards nominees. We are excited to reveal that the Best Feature nominees are: 12 Years a Slave, All Is Lost, Frances Ha, Inside Llewyn Davis and Nebraska. (See the full list of nominees in all categories below.) We’re especially thrilled this year that seven of the nominees are Film Independent Members: Neal Dodson (Producer, All Is Lost); Rose Troche (Producer, Concussion); Troche is also a Film Independent Fellow (Fast Track 2011); Michael H....

In HBO’s new dark comedy, which stars Tim Robbins, Jack Black and Pablo Schreiber, desert warfare, high stakes diplomacy and banana hammocks all have their place. The show was created by brothers Roberto and Kim Benabib (Roberto Benabib wrote and executive produced Weeds). The Brink‘s Executive Producer Jay Roach (Meet the Parents, Austin Powers) directed the pilot. Roach and the Benabibs—along with cast members Eric Ladin and Maribeth Monroe—were present for Tuesday’s Film Independent at LACMA screening of episodes five and six of the show’s first season....

So without freaking you out or falling headlong down the conspiratorial rabbit hole, in this month’s Doc Life column I want to look at implementing digital security measures for your nonfiction film project. Think of this as sort of an addition to last month’s article about choosing the right field equipment. There are a wide range of security measures a filmmaker might want to think about incorporating into their production process, such as, legal council, local fixers, security guards, etc....

And while the classic bedsheet-ghost ensemble would certainly count as a Fauci-approved face covering, better to instead just Postmates some bulk-buy Rite Aid candy to your door and bunker up from the safety of home for an extended horror movie marathon. And sure, you could click around and guess what to what yourself—but why not let he professionals handle it? For the fourth year in a row, our friends at The Frida Cinema—Orange County’s only nonprofit art house theater—are staging Camp Frida, a 12-hour, all night horror movie marathon featuring a unique, specially-curated selection of hard-to-find titles, interspersed with special guests and interactive elements....

We’re just a few weeks into the 2015 MLB season, but last night at Film Independent at LACMA, the Live Read series went into extra innings. Film Independent announced months ago that we’d be adding a special bonus Live Read to the lineup, with Magic Mike and True Blood star Joe Manganiello taking over directing duties from series creator Jason Reitman. The 1989 baseball comedy Major League proved the perfect way to ring in one season and cap off another....

Alaska is a Drag, Kaz Kipp (producer) Ass Backwards, Heather Rae (producer) Before You Know It, PJ Raval (director) Big Gay Love, Ringo Le (director) C.O.G., Kyle Patrick Alvarez (writer/director) and Cookie Carosella (producer) Concussion, Rose Troche (executive producer) Elliot King Is Third, Rose Troche (director) Eighteen, Jules Nurrish (director) Forgiving Heart, Adelina Anthony (director) George and Brad Live Long and Prosper, Jessica Sanders (director) Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia, Nicholas Wrathall (writer/director) The Happy Sad, Rodney Evans (director) Housebroken, Wade Gasque (director) The Most Fun I’ve Ever Had with My Pants On, Jason Berman (director) She Gone Rogue, Rhys Ernst (co-director) Test, Chris Mason Johnson (writer/director) Valencia, Silas Howard, Michelle Lawler (directors) You’re Dead to Me, Melissa Haizlip (producer), Wu Tsang (director)

Months have passed since the 2014 Los Angeles Film Festival wrapped, but many of our Festival filmmakers are still hard at work, making the rounds on the circuit. We caught up with writer-director Kimberly Levin, whose debut feature Runoff premiered at the Festival, about the current status of her film and what she’s learned on her travels. Here’s what she wrote: On what’s new on the circuit: We’re at the very beginning of our festival journey with Runoff....

The film was Booksmart, the wildly fresh and original new high school comedy marking the feature directorial debut of actor-turned-filmmaker Olivia Wilde. The screening was followed by an in-depth Q&A with Wilde and co-screenwriter/producer Katie Silberman, moderated by Film Independent President Josh Welsh. Booksmart is a witty, fast-talking exploration of ambition, youthful priorities and the powerful friendship between young protagonists Molly (Beanie Feldstein) and Amy (Kaitlyn Dever). The script—originally by Emily Halpern—first came to Hollywood’s attention as part of the prestigous Black List in 2009, with Dever attached for a full two years before Wilde came onboard in 2016....

Edwards recently returned to the director’s chair with the 2016 dark comedy My Dead Boyfriend, starring Heather Graham as Mary, an aspiring writer who is shaken from her go-nowhere routine when she returns home to find her boyfriend expired on the couch, stumbling through a series of life-reinventing misadventures as she attempts to dispose of the ashes. The film costars John Corbett, Gina Gershon, Scott Michael Foster and Katherine Moennig (more on her later)....

For his new film Dead Within, Film Independent Fellow Ben Wagner locked his lead actors in his kitchen, filming them for three continuous days. Well, not really locked–Wagner says he used his kitchen (the only location in the movie) as a black theater space, where the actors would learn to ignore the camera and workshop various ideas for three days. “It allowed us to genuinely surprise them with loud noises, things slamming into or crawling under doors, like a fun house,” he said....

BEST FEATURE: Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), Producers: Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher, Arnon Milchan, James W. Skotchdopole BEST DIRECTOR: Richard Linklater, Boyhood BEST SCREENPLAY: Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler BEST FIRST FEATURE: Nightcrawler, Director: Dan Gilroy, Producers: Jennifer Fox, Tony Gilroy, Jake Gyllenhaal, David Lancaster, Michel Litvak BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY: Justin Simien, Dear White People JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD:
Land Ho! Writers/Directors: Aaron Katz & Martha Stephens,Producers: Christina Jennings, Mynette Louie, Sara Murphy BEST FEMALE LEAD: Julianne Moore, Still Alice BEST MALE LEAD: Michael Keaton, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE: Patricia Arquette, Boyhood BEST SUPPORTING MALE: J....

In Season One, Ryan’s globetrotting exploits through the Middle East and Europe to thwart impending acts of terror were brought to life—with painstaking detail—by the team of Senior Visual Effects Supervisor Erik Henry. Already a winner of two Emmys for Black Sails (Starz) and John Adams (HBO), Henry is nominated for his sixth Emmy this year for his work in fully realizing Tom Clancy’s vision of world espionage. We recently caught up with Henry to learn about the Herculean task his team faced during the six months of post-production for the first season....

Anomalisa When: Now Playing Where: Theaters Directors: Charlie Kaufman, Duke Johnson Starring: Jennifer Jason Leigh, David Thewlis Why We’re Excited: In our opinion, the wildly imaginative Charlie Kaufman is already an indie film icon who continues to take the boundaries of original storytelling to great new heights. His method of blending compelling characters with experimental filmmaking technique is continued on his latest cinematic journey; an innovative animated feature about a lonely man struggling to connect with others....

Happily, there are plenty of young creatives out there willing to share their journeys, warts and all. Take Femme Regard, the upstart production company begun by actors-turned-producing-partners Carolina Alvarez and Tess Markle. Aside from developing a wide slate of projects, the duo’s Femme Regard podcast has popped to become an important and empathetic resource for fresh-faced filmmakers in search of an online community. Part behind-the-scenes production diary, part industry shootaround, part hangout, there’s plenty of stuff to dig into....

OPENING NIGHT Everyone is so excited. Everyone. The crowds of people milling outside the ArcLight Culver City. The yellow-clad festival volunteers. The packed theater(s) full of people waiting to take in the first film of the 2017 LA Film Festival, all faintly humming with the same electrical undercurrent. The fancy folks in slick duds, the shop talk, the passersby wondering what’s happening. Everyone is excited—and so are we. It’s only 7pm on June 14—Day One, Opening Night—but we battle traffic, find parking and navigate the Culver Studios maze to find Theater 2 and claim our seats....

Emma Seligman’s directorial debut is a collision of culture and a refreshing bite of comedy that leaves audiences in a state of renewal at its end—something we experienced firsthand at the film’s September 29 Film Independent Presents screening and Q&A. Our main character, Danielle (Rachel Sennott), lost in life, feels the societal pressures of becoming something better than “Who you are.” How does she fix this? Lying. Trying on the skins of others who she believes are worthy of glory....

“We really wanted to shine a light on the filmmakers that we’ve worked with over the years,” Film Independent President Josh Welsh said to the room, “and really, this brunch is for you—it’s for the filmmakers. We’re so excited for you and proud of you, and this is a chance for everyone here to meet you.” “I think it’s important that everyone who supports Film Independent see that what they do actually turns into people learning, and into films, and into careers,” Board member and Sundance-screening filmmaker (Last Days in the Desert, Premieres) Rodrigo Garcia said....

Election Day in the US is coming—November 3, 2020. And whichever way it goes (gulp!) Tuesday is guaranteed to be a landmark day in the history of human civilization. We’re not being hyperbolic; the stakes are that high (make sure you know how to vote and how to fight for your vote.) And while we would normally recommend movies as a balm for troubled times or a pleasant distraction, the fact is that for the next little while its going to be pretty hard to concentrate on anything else....

Just kidding. This is some of the hardest goddamn shit you’ll ever try to do. But for 30 years Film Independent has been doing all it can to support filmmakers across every discipline and career level. In theory, of course, producers are everyone else’s best resource—the adult in the room solving problems and providing steady leadership. But who watches the watchmen produces the producers? Well, around here it’s the Film Independent Producing Lab....