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Truly Free Film

The Really Good Things In FilmBiz 2014

Let's look at the bright side!
Let’s look at the bright side!

Some rituals help keep us focused throughout the year. This marks the 4th time I have looked back at all the good things that occurred in the film biz and listed them out for all of us. Tracking them through year, keeps me from abandoning hope. Sometimes they may just be the silver lining in the storm cloud, but nonetheless they keep me going, keep me convinced that in fact we truly are: building it better together. I hope they do something close to that for you. It’s been a good year, and I have thirty two morsels to tempt you with. And of course the year’s not through yet, so perhaps you have some to add to this too. 

If you’ve encountered elements of this list earlier on my postings in Film Comment and on Keyframe, pay careful attention as I have weaved some new points into all for your reading pleasure. And if you like a little of the bitter to wash down the sweet, don’t forget the list of 30 Bad Things In 2014’s Film Biz here.

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Truly Free Film

Why All Film Folk MUST Read My Book

Granted, Hope For Film is a good read if you are a film fan too, or really a creatively minded person, but it is all of us in the film business (or those that want to be) that my book is geared to.  I’ve shared with you the reasons why I wrote it, and many have shared with you excerpts from it. Yes, there are many good reviews out there too to tell you that it is worth your time too, but none of that yet tells you how you will directly benefit from reading the book, does it?

Fortunately, Film Courage came to the rescue.  They have released three prior interview segments to date, and this latest one lays out four key takeaways from my book.  You’ll have to read the book of course to get the nuance and all the secrets, but if you want more details, watch the video.  However, if you want a good idea of what’s in store for the read, here are my observations on my book:

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Truly Free Film

Hope For Film Speaking Tour

There is a lot to say
There is a lot to say

I have a lot to share with you.  I also have a lot of hope for film — and I am not just talking about copies of my book for you to pick up.  Anyway, you can hear it all directly from me as I will be on the road a lot over these next few months. Hopefully I will be coming to your town. If you happen to teach at a college, and I am coming through already, let me know, and maybe I can make an additional stop. If I am not passing through, and you’d like me to, let me know. Here’s a sampling of where I will be headed as well as the dates:

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Issues and Actions My Films

Read Some Excerpts From My New Book

I know what you are thinking. You are wondering “why should I go buy a book when I can just download a movie illegally for free?” right?  Well there is a price to pay for everything.  One of the reasons I wrote this book is to advance and preserve the film art and culture that I love — and that other option certainly does not do that! I wrote the book “Hope For Film” (with Anthony Kaufman) because I wanted to share some of the many lessons I have learned producing indie film.

Two recent excerpts give you

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My Films Truly Free Film

Can You Come To This Event In San Francisco?

BvFyvN4CMAAJ-Bp-1I hope we never run out of things that we get to do for the first time. Even more, I hope each of them is as exciting as this next one will be for me. I have never given a bookstore reading before, but I am going to do one very soon.

That’s why I write now: to invite you to the first bookstore reading of my first book.  It will be on Wednesday, August 27th at 730 PM at Books, Inc. in San Francisco at 2275 Market Street.

I must confess: I am a tad nervous.

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Truly Free Film

What I Learned Producing Ang Lee’s 1st Breakout Hit

The Wedding BanquetOne of the pleasures of writing my book “Hope For Film” was examining many of my films for the lessons I’ve learned. The book is structured around ten core lessons although most of them include many different films.  I learned a lot more than I could ever fit in one book. In going back and looking at my notes I realize of all my films, I might have learned most from Ang Lee’s 2nd film “The Wedding Banquet”.

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Truly Free Film

10 Reasons Why I Wrote A Book

Officially, my book “Hope for Film” comes out today.  It’s been many years in the making though.  Started and stopped, started and stopped. It was hard to get done and I feel fortunate to have found all the help I needed to get it done.  I hope you like it.

But why did I write it? Here are ten reasons.