Exclusive: Lauren Oliver — the bestselling YA author, screenwriter and producer known for titles like Panic and Before I Fall — has today announced the launch of her new media company, StoryGiants, also naming projects currently on its slate.
StoryGiants is a decentralized company with employees and partners in L.A., NY, Palo Alto, Austin, Dubai and France, which will look to create powerful and compelling stories across a variety of mediums, leveraging both technological and structural innovation to improve production efficiency and grow the value of great IP faster.
Related Story David Dastmalchian Launches Production Company Good Fiend Films Related Story 'Panic' YA Drama Canceled By Amazon After One Season Related Story Amazon Studios Inks First-Look Deal With Lauren Oliver's Glasstown Entertainment
The company is building at launch upon its own library of IP, the goal being to introduce universes of content with myriad expressions of media and revenue opportunities.
StoryGiants is a decentralized company with employees and partners in L.A., NY, Palo Alto, Austin, Dubai and France, which will look to create powerful and compelling stories across a variety of mediums, leveraging both technological and structural innovation to improve production efficiency and grow the value of great IP faster.
Related Story David Dastmalchian Launches Production Company Good Fiend Films Related Story 'Panic' YA Drama Canceled By Amazon After One Season Related Story Amazon Studios Inks First-Look Deal With Lauren Oliver's Glasstown Entertainment
The company is building at launch upon its own library of IP, the goal being to introduce universes of content with myriad expressions of media and revenue opportunities.
- 2/7/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Additional speakers and a new keynote session have been revealed for South by Southwest 2023.
Event organizers announced Tuesday that featured speakers for the 37th edition of the annual conference spotlighting the convergence of technology and the film and music industries include Eric André, Blxst, Josh D’Amaro, Tommy Dorfman, Ashley Flowers, Gottmik, Nick Jonas, Martin Luther King III, Damon Lindelof, Eva Longoria, Alexis Ohanian, Maya Penn, Austin Russell, RZA, Dan Schulman, Simran Jeet Singh, Cheryl Strayed, Jen Wong and more.
‘Unfold The Universe: NASA’s Webb Space Telescope’ was also named as a new keynote session at SXSW. It will include members of the James Webb Space Telescope team and feature a never-before-seen image.
“We are honored to host a Keynote Session featuring members of the James Webb Space Telescope team,” said Hugh Forrest, chief programming officer and co-president. “They join an impressive group of Featured Speakers who have consistently strived...
Event organizers announced Tuesday that featured speakers for the 37th edition of the annual conference spotlighting the convergence of technology and the film and music industries include Eric André, Blxst, Josh D’Amaro, Tommy Dorfman, Ashley Flowers, Gottmik, Nick Jonas, Martin Luther King III, Damon Lindelof, Eva Longoria, Alexis Ohanian, Maya Penn, Austin Russell, RZA, Dan Schulman, Simran Jeet Singh, Cheryl Strayed, Jen Wong and more.
‘Unfold The Universe: NASA’s Webb Space Telescope’ was also named as a new keynote session at SXSW. It will include members of the James Webb Space Telescope team and feature a never-before-seen image.
“We are honored to host a Keynote Session featuring members of the James Webb Space Telescope team,” said Hugh Forrest, chief programming officer and co-president. “They join an impressive group of Featured Speakers who have consistently strived...
- 1/10/2023
- by Carly Thomas
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Dutch producer Submarine’s good week here in Rome at the Mia Market has continued as it unveiled its latest project.
The Amsterdam-, LA- and London-based firm has followed up its Bellingcat journalism thriller drama The Kollective being taken to series by revealing up Esports thriller series A.D.D. — a collaboration with Nick Luddington.
It is billed as a grounded sci-fi thriller about a young, genius gamer who joins the world’s premier e-sports team, A.D.D., in a bid to discover what happened to her older brother – a former A.D.D. megastar who mysteriously disappeared from the spotlight.” She realizes the team is part of a dark neurological experiment and gets sucked into a dangerous rabbit hole of “corporate corruption, data manipulation and social engineering.”
The series will explore how a corporation called Next-Gen could be harnessing the metaverse that the players compete within for more nefarious purposes.
The Amsterdam-, LA- and London-based firm has followed up its Bellingcat journalism thriller drama The Kollective being taken to series by revealing up Esports thriller series A.D.D. — a collaboration with Nick Luddington.
It is billed as a grounded sci-fi thriller about a young, genius gamer who joins the world’s premier e-sports team, A.D.D., in a bid to discover what happened to her older brother – a former A.D.D. megastar who mysteriously disappeared from the spotlight.” She realizes the team is part of a dark neurological experiment and gets sucked into a dangerous rabbit hole of “corporate corruption, data manipulation and social engineering.”
The series will explore how a corporation called Next-Gen could be harnessing the metaverse that the players compete within for more nefarious purposes.
- 10/14/2022
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Each week, The Hollywood Reporter will offer up the best new (and newly relevant) books that everyone will be talking about — whether it’s a tome that’s ripe for adaptation, a new Hollywood-centric tell-all or the source material for a hot new TV show.
Rights Available
The Unfolding by A.M. Homes (UTA)
After Barack Obama’s election, a group of wealthy, powerful Republicans gather to devise a plan to stop the country’s progressive momentum. The scenario is fictional, but Homes’ vision in The Unfolding is so cannily crafted, it feels like peering into a top-secret world.
People Person by Candice Carty-Williams (42Mp)
This boisterous novel from the author of the beloved 2019 debut Queenie revolves around a group of half siblings connected by an absent, highly idiosyncratic father. A spontaneous reunion could be the springboard for a tender, laugh-out-loud miniseries.
Survival of...
Each week, The Hollywood Reporter will offer up the best new (and newly relevant) books that everyone will be talking about — whether it’s a tome that’s ripe for adaptation, a new Hollywood-centric tell-all or the source material for a hot new TV show.
Rights Available
The Unfolding by A.M. Homes (UTA)
After Barack Obama’s election, a group of wealthy, powerful Republicans gather to devise a plan to stop the country’s progressive momentum. The scenario is fictional, but Homes’ vision in The Unfolding is so cannily crafted, it feels like peering into a top-secret world.
People Person by Candice Carty-Williams (42Mp)
This boisterous novel from the author of the beloved 2019 debut Queenie revolves around a group of half siblings connected by an absent, highly idiosyncratic father. A spontaneous reunion could be the springboard for a tender, laugh-out-loud miniseries.
Survival of...
- 9/21/2022
- by Seija Rankin
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference and Festivals has confirmed its initial Featured Speakers for the 37th edition of its annual Conference. SXSW 2023 will take place March 10 – 19, 2023 in Austin, Texas.
“At SXSW, our goal is to always host a range of speakers who represent the full spectrum of the creative industries that converge in Austin every March,” Hugh Forrest, Chief Programming Officer, said in a statement. “Our initial group of Featured Speakers, which includes futurists like Amy Webb, lifelong activists and advocates such as Alexandra Reeve Givens and Cecile Richards, and athletic titan turned business leader Allyson Felix, marks a significant first step towards a phenomenal SXSW 2023.”
The SXSW Conference is organized into 25 programming tracks presented in a variety of session formats. The tracks for 2023 include 2050, Advertising & Brand Experience, Cannabis, Civic Engagement, Climate Change, Creating Film & Episodics, Culture, Design, Energy, Film & TV Industry, Food, Game Industry, Health & MedTech, Markets & Economies, Media Industry,...
“At SXSW, our goal is to always host a range of speakers who represent the full spectrum of the creative industries that converge in Austin every March,” Hugh Forrest, Chief Programming Officer, said in a statement. “Our initial group of Featured Speakers, which includes futurists like Amy Webb, lifelong activists and advocates such as Alexandra Reeve Givens and Cecile Richards, and athletic titan turned business leader Allyson Felix, marks a significant first step towards a phenomenal SXSW 2023.”
The SXSW Conference is organized into 25 programming tracks presented in a variety of session formats. The tracks for 2023 include 2050, Advertising & Brand Experience, Cannabis, Civic Engagement, Climate Change, Creating Film & Episodics, Culture, Design, Energy, Film & TV Industry, Food, Game Industry, Health & MedTech, Markets & Economies, Media Industry,...
- 8/30/2022
- by Armando Tinoco
- Deadline Film + TV
Sugar23, founded by Oscar-winning producer, manager and entrepreneur Michael Sugar, has tapped author and documentarian Douglas Rushkoff as Futurist in Residence.
In his new position, Rushkoff will serve as a sounding board and professor for the firm, helping clients who are looking to understand the contexts around their projects and to develop a more rigorous approach to their work. Rushkoff will assist clients in developing projects in an ever-changing digital society.
“We are thrilled to bring Doug in to the Sugar23 community and assist us and our clients to think through our approach to media and technology – both as story elements in their work, and platforms through which they deliver it,” stated Sugar. “We all have the responsibility to consider the social, cultural, and ideological impact of our collective work on society as we confront tremendous civilizational challenges.”
On joining Sugar23, Rushkoff said “We’ve finally arrived in the digital media environment,...
In his new position, Rushkoff will serve as a sounding board and professor for the firm, helping clients who are looking to understand the contexts around their projects and to develop a more rigorous approach to their work. Rushkoff will assist clients in developing projects in an ever-changing digital society.
“We are thrilled to bring Doug in to the Sugar23 community and assist us and our clients to think through our approach to media and technology – both as story elements in their work, and platforms through which they deliver it,” stated Sugar. “We all have the responsibility to consider the social, cultural, and ideological impact of our collective work on society as we confront tremendous civilizational challenges.”
On joining Sugar23, Rushkoff said “We’ve finally arrived in the digital media environment,...
- 6/29/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Michael Sugar’s management and multimedia platform Sugar23 has added Douglas Rushkoff as “Futurist in Residence,” the company announced Tuesday.
In his new role, Rushkoff will serve as “sounding board and professor” for the firm, Sugar23 said in a statement. Rushkoff will help clients “who are looking to understand the greater contexts around what they are doing, to develop greater congruence between purpose and practice, or to develop a more rigorous approach to their work. Additionally, he will assist clients in understanding the changing shape of narrativity in the increasingly digital society, as well as helping them brainstorm on projects with specific story elements involving new or as-yet-uninvented technologies, future societies, or speculative scenarios.”
“We are thrilled to bring Doug into the Sugar 23 community (to) assist us and our clients to think through our approach to media and technology — both as story elements in their work and platforms through which they deliver it.
In his new role, Rushkoff will serve as “sounding board and professor” for the firm, Sugar23 said in a statement. Rushkoff will help clients “who are looking to understand the greater contexts around what they are doing, to develop greater congruence between purpose and practice, or to develop a more rigorous approach to their work. Additionally, he will assist clients in understanding the changing shape of narrativity in the increasingly digital society, as well as helping them brainstorm on projects with specific story elements involving new or as-yet-uninvented technologies, future societies, or speculative scenarios.”
“We are thrilled to bring Doug into the Sugar 23 community (to) assist us and our clients to think through our approach to media and technology — both as story elements in their work and platforms through which they deliver it.
- 6/29/2021
- by Diane Haithman
- The Wrap
Sugar23, the company founded by Oscar-winning producer and manager Michael Sugar, is looking to the future.
In a bid to have an edge in the media space, the banner has hired thought leader Douglas Rushkoff to act as futurist in residence, the company announced Tuesday.
“We are thrilled to bring Doug in to the Sugar23 community and assist us and our clients to think through our approach to media and technology, both as story elements in their work and platforms through which they deliver it,” said Sugar in a statement. “We all have the responsibility to consider the social, cultural and ...
In a bid to have an edge in the media space, the banner has hired thought leader Douglas Rushkoff to act as futurist in residence, the company announced Tuesday.
“We are thrilled to bring Doug in to the Sugar23 community and assist us and our clients to think through our approach to media and technology, both as story elements in their work and platforms through which they deliver it,” said Sugar in a statement. “We all have the responsibility to consider the social, cultural and ...
- 6/29/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Sugar23, the company founded by Oscar-winning producer and manager Michael Sugar, is looking to the future.
In a bid to have an edge in the media space, the banner has hired thought leader Douglas Rushkoff to act as futurist in residence, the company announced Tuesday.
“We are thrilled to bring Doug in to the Sugar23 community and assist us and our clients to think through our approach to media and technology, both as story elements in their work and platforms through which they deliver it,” said Sugar in a statement. “We all have the responsibility to consider the social, cultural and ...
In a bid to have an edge in the media space, the banner has hired thought leader Douglas Rushkoff to act as futurist in residence, the company announced Tuesday.
“We are thrilled to bring Doug in to the Sugar23 community and assist us and our clients to think through our approach to media and technology, both as story elements in their work and platforms through which they deliver it,” said Sugar in a statement. “We all have the responsibility to consider the social, cultural and ...
- 6/29/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“A.rtificial I.mmortality” provides a diverting if superficial survey of how fast-evolving technology might be able to extend our lives — or at least some of our memories and characteristics. Featured as Hot Docs’ opening night selection, this Canadian documentary from director Ann Shin presents once-fantastical ideas now edging toward reality in a form palatable to broadcast viewers looking more for casual entertainment value than weighty investigation. But the film is weakened by its gratuitously first-person perspective, chosen for no obvious reason beyond the director evidently wanting to “star” in her own movie.
After an opening quote from Seneca, Shin takes center stage and stays there, as introduced at her 52nd birthday party, then perusing old family photos with two daughters. Her own mother has died, and her 78-year-old father is in a retirement home with dementia. But what if her own existence could somehow be elongated so that one...
After an opening quote from Seneca, Shin takes center stage and stays there, as introduced at her 52nd birthday party, then perusing old family photos with two daughters. Her own mother has died, and her 78-year-old father is in a retirement home with dementia. But what if her own existence could somehow be elongated so that one...
- 5/1/2021
- by Dennis Harvey
- Variety Film + TV
The zombie genre may owe its existence to George Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead,” but the concept of flesh-eating reanimated corpses has never sat still. The world’s problems metastasized throughout the second half of the 20th century as the speed of the information yielded a new age of confusion, the constant sense of rapid-fire anxiety that media scholar Douglas Rushkoff termed “Present Shock.” By the time Zack Snyder’s “Dawn of the Dead” remake came out in 2004, zombies were sprinting, unstoppable monstrosities — essentially the same consumerist metaphor of Romero’s original “Night” sequel, but turned up to 11.
And it was Snyder’s movie, not the 1978 original, that filmmaker Yeon Sang-ho recalled as his first encounter with the undead. “That was when I started my interest in zombies,” Yeon said, in an email interview through a translator from South Korea. Even today, he added, “it’s the most...
And it was Snyder’s movie, not the 1978 original, that filmmaker Yeon Sang-ho recalled as his first encounter with the undead. “That was when I started my interest in zombies,” Yeon said, in an email interview through a translator from South Korea. Even today, he added, “it’s the most...
- 8/21/2020
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Sight Unseen has acquired The Event, a pitch from 21 Laps and writer Zach Craley based on Douglas Rushkoff’s Guardian article “How tech’s richest plan to save themselves after the apocalypse.” Rushkoff is a futurist/author/documentarian who studies human autonomy in a digital age.
21 Laps’ Shawn Levy and Dan Levine are producing with Sight Unseen’s Eddie Vaisman, Julia Lebedev, and Oren Moverman. They are keeping plot specifics close to the vest. 21 Laps’ Becca Edelman and Sight Unseen’s Rachel Jacobs will oversee development.
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Sight Unseen most recently produced Justin Simien’s sophomore feature, the social horror satire Bad Hair.
21 Laps’ Shawn Levy and Dan Levine are producing with Sight Unseen’s Eddie Vaisman, Julia Lebedev, and Oren Moverman. They are keeping plot specifics close to the vest. 21 Laps’ Becca Edelman and Sight Unseen’s Rachel Jacobs will oversee development.
More from DeadlineFacebook Canceling All Events With 50 Or More Attendees Until June 2021, Zuckerberg Encourages Working From Home'Broadway On Demand' Streaming Service Sets May Launch, Will Offer Library, Live Concerts, InstructionJennifer Lopez Drug Lord Pic 'The Godmother': Reed Morano In Talks To Direct; William Monahan Writing
Sight Unseen most recently produced Justin Simien’s sophomore feature, the social horror satire Bad Hair.
- 4/16/2020
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Garbage’s Shirley Manson and Chvrches’ Lauren Mayberry will unite at the South by Southwest 2019 conference to deliver a joint keynote speech, a conversation with Prs Foundation’s Keychange program. Instagram CEO and co-founder Kevin Systrom and writer-director Marti Noxon (Sharp Objects) will also speak at the event, set for March 8th through 17th in Austin, Texas.
The featured speakers for SXSW 2019 include Jason Blum in conversation with John Pierson; 2017 Time Person of the Year Susan Fowler; musician Amanda Palmer; author Michael Pollan; and media theorist and author Douglas Rushkoff,...
The featured speakers for SXSW 2019 include Jason Blum in conversation with John Pierson; 2017 Time Person of the Year Susan Fowler; musician Amanda Palmer; author Michael Pollan; and media theorist and author Douglas Rushkoff,...
- 9/10/2018
- by Ryan Reed
- Rollingstone.com
The initial slate of Keynotes and Featured Speakers for 2019’s South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference and Festival have been announced and they include Academy Award-nominated Jason Blum, Garbage frontwoman Shirley Manson as well as Instagram CEO and co-founder Kevin Systrom. The fest kicks off March 8 and continues through March 17, 2019.
Known for its diverse, collaborative and inventive community, SXSW presents ideas that encourage and empower its audience of creative professionals to achieve their goals. Other speakers announced include 2017 Time Person of the Year Susan Fowler; world-renowned architect Bjarke Ingels; artist and musician Amanda Palmer; co-founder of Upworthy and Fellow at the New America Foundation Eli Pariser; New York Times bestselling author Michael Pollan; media theorist and author Douglas Rushkoff; Benevolent AI CEO Joanna Shields; futurist and author Amy Webb; and more.
SXSW Conference programming is organized into 25 tracks divided between Interactive, Film, Music, and Convergence, presented in a variety of session formats.
Known for its diverse, collaborative and inventive community, SXSW presents ideas that encourage and empower its audience of creative professionals to achieve their goals. Other speakers announced include 2017 Time Person of the Year Susan Fowler; world-renowned architect Bjarke Ingels; artist and musician Amanda Palmer; co-founder of Upworthy and Fellow at the New America Foundation Eli Pariser; New York Times bestselling author Michael Pollan; media theorist and author Douglas Rushkoff; Benevolent AI CEO Joanna Shields; futurist and author Amy Webb; and more.
SXSW Conference programming is organized into 25 tracks divided between Interactive, Film, Music, and Convergence, presented in a variety of session formats.
- 9/10/2018
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Jason Blum, Marti Noxon, Kevin Systrom and Shirley Manson have been selected as speakers at next year’s South by Southwest Conference.
The quartet were among the high-profile name announced Monday in the first wave of keynote and featured speakers for the 2019 conference, running concurrently with the SXSW Film Festival on March 8-17 in Austin, Texas.
Keynotes announced include Instagram CEO Systrom, interviewed by TechCrunch editor-at-large Josh Constine, and a keynote conversation between Shirley Manson, lead vocalist of the rock band Garbage, singer-songwriter Lauren Mayberry of the Scottish electronic pop band Chvrches, and writer, producer, and director Marti Noxon.
Among the featured speakers revealed are Jason Blum in conversation with John Pierson; writer and 2017 Time Person of the Year Susan Fowler; architect Bjarke Ingels; artist and musician Amanda Palmer; co-founder of Upworthy and Fellow at the New America Foundation Eli Pariser; New York Times bestselling author Michael Pollan; media theorist...
The quartet were among the high-profile name announced Monday in the first wave of keynote and featured speakers for the 2019 conference, running concurrently with the SXSW Film Festival on March 8-17 in Austin, Texas.
Keynotes announced include Instagram CEO Systrom, interviewed by TechCrunch editor-at-large Josh Constine, and a keynote conversation between Shirley Manson, lead vocalist of the rock band Garbage, singer-songwriter Lauren Mayberry of the Scottish electronic pop band Chvrches, and writer, producer, and director Marti Noxon.
Among the featured speakers revealed are Jason Blum in conversation with John Pierson; writer and 2017 Time Person of the Year Susan Fowler; architect Bjarke Ingels; artist and musician Amanda Palmer; co-founder of Upworthy and Fellow at the New America Foundation Eli Pariser; New York Times bestselling author Michael Pollan; media theorist...
- 9/10/2018
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Like dystopian sci-fi cyberpunk tales? Like virtual reality? Check out Harsh Reality! This short film has already begun production, but the cyberpunk thriller needs your help for completion funds. The story is about a professional gamer who’s been kidnapped and subjected to a mind-altering Vr program. It reminds me a little of a certain Black Mirror episode (and even A Clockwork Orange a touch) in both theme and content. Harsh Reality is about how technology separates us from the consequences of our actions, and on the flip side of the coin, how that same technology connects us to others. To prep for the film — including the commercial — writer/director Iain Marcks researched Vr, Emdr, media theory, and the political roots of cyber culture. He also consulted Dr. Douglas Rushkoff, an early...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 4/27/2017
- Screen Anarchy
Zero #1-18 (2013-2015)
Written by Ales Kot
Art by Various Artists
Colours by Jordie Bellaire
Lettering by Clayton Cowles
Designs by Tom Muller
Published by Image Comics
Zero is a very special comic whose strength lies in collaboration. Almost every single issue of Zero features a different artist, providing their own unique style to the dark and muddled world of super spy Edward Zero. Utilizing this approach is fairly unheard of in the world of comics and is really only delved into in an anthology series. To showcase a fresh approach artistically is a very brave thing to attempt, let alone pull off. Most series benefit by maintaining a creative team for as long as possible, allowing for a consistency in quality. The experimental approach by Zero does not suffer from a lack of consistency.
Led by a firm, confident script by Ales Kot, the world of Edward Zero is...
Written by Ales Kot
Art by Various Artists
Colours by Jordie Bellaire
Lettering by Clayton Cowles
Designs by Tom Muller
Published by Image Comics
Zero is a very special comic whose strength lies in collaboration. Almost every single issue of Zero features a different artist, providing their own unique style to the dark and muddled world of super spy Edward Zero. Utilizing this approach is fairly unheard of in the world of comics and is really only delved into in an anthology series. To showcase a fresh approach artistically is a very brave thing to attempt, let alone pull off. Most series benefit by maintaining a creative team for as long as possible, allowing for a consistency in quality. The experimental approach by Zero does not suffer from a lack of consistency.
Led by a firm, confident script by Ales Kot, the world of Edward Zero is...
- 9/25/2015
- by Anthony Spataro
- SoundOnSight
Technology moves so fast these days that what seemed normal for one group of teens can become obsolete for their younger brothers and sisters, let alone their children.
Once upon a time, the young wanted to be seen as rebelling against "The Man," separating themselves from the mainstream, even if that separation was largely illusory.
A decade ago, correspondent Douglas Rushkoff did "The Merchants of Cool" and "The Persuaders" for PBS' "Frontline," exploring how savvy marketers lured teens into brand loyalty.
On Tuesday, Feb. 18 (check local listings), Rushkoff's latest "Frontline" report, "Generation Like," shows that no luring is needed anymore.
Producer/writer Frank Koughan tells Zap2it, "The kids all kind of get how this stuff works and are willing participants in it and have a level of sophistication and understanding that actually was quite surprising to me. Yet when you brought up a concept like 'selling out' ... the blank...
Once upon a time, the young wanted to be seen as rebelling against "The Man," separating themselves from the mainstream, even if that separation was largely illusory.
A decade ago, correspondent Douglas Rushkoff did "The Merchants of Cool" and "The Persuaders" for PBS' "Frontline," exploring how savvy marketers lured teens into brand loyalty.
On Tuesday, Feb. 18 (check local listings), Rushkoff's latest "Frontline" report, "Generation Like," shows that no luring is needed anymore.
Producer/writer Frank Koughan tells Zap2it, "The kids all kind of get how this stuff works and are willing participants in it and have a level of sophistication and understanding that actually was quite surprising to me. Yet when you brought up a concept like 'selling out' ... the blank...
- 2/18/2014
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
I want to start by saying I appreciate Steven Soderbergh's passion as presented in the above "State of Cinema" speech he gave at the San Francisco Film Festival on Saturday, April 27. I watched all 30+ minutes nodding my head in agreement, finding comfort in his frustration only because it's a shared frustration with the state of cinema (and/or movies) today depending on how you want to define the two as Soderbergh himself doesn't see them as one and the same and even that, I agree. However, within all that agreeing you have to then take a step back and evaluate everything that's being said as an objective observer, which I'm happy to see Soderbergh does. His rant targets the studio system while at every turn he is able to interpret why things are the way they are. He talks about how spending $60 million to promote a $100 million film is...
- 5/1/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
It’s totally fair to call Steven Soderbergh’s keynote address on the State of Cinema at the San Francisco International Film Festival a rant. After all, he did. The filmmaker, who came of age during the halcyon Down and Dirty Pictures days of 1990′s nascent indie movement, has expressed his increasing frustration about being boxed-in by the studio’s increasing reliance on blockbuster tentpoles. “I’ve been in meetings where I can feel it slipping away, where I can feel that the ideas I’m tossing out, they’re too scary or too weird,” he told the festival audience.
- 4/30/2013
- by Jeff Labrecque
- EW - Inside Movies
Steve Niles, Matt Pizzolo, and Brett Gurewitz are getting into the comic book publishing game with the new comic book company, Black Mask Studios.
They want the label to be indicative of their punk roots, and put the onus on the creators.
Pizzolo: “Comics has a troubled history with its treatment of creators…our goal is to bring the supportive ethic of record labels like Epitaph, Dischord, and Revelation to comics.” Niles: “Brett, Matt, and I all came up in the Diy punk scene…And we’re bringing that kind of attitude to this… the constructive part about supporting voices who are talking about real things but in a bold and exciting way. We’re not afraid to bring in activism and politics and counterculture. What publisher today could be bringing out the next V For Vendetta? Nobody.“
The trio’s new venture start with a bang, with four new series in May,...
They want the label to be indicative of their punk roots, and put the onus on the creators.
Pizzolo: “Comics has a troubled history with its treatment of creators…our goal is to bring the supportive ethic of record labels like Epitaph, Dischord, and Revelation to comics.” Niles: “Brett, Matt, and I all came up in the Diy punk scene…And we’re bringing that kind of attitude to this… the constructive part about supporting voices who are talking about real things but in a bold and exciting way. We’re not afraid to bring in activism and politics and counterculture. What publisher today could be bringing out the next V For Vendetta? Nobody.“
The trio’s new venture start with a bang, with four new series in May,...
- 2/18/2013
- by Andy Greene
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
Vertigo has unveiled the cover for A.D.D.. The graphic novel marks the return of Douglas Rushkoff to the publisher. The media theorist and Testament writer will team with Y: The Last Man artists Goran Sudzuka and Jose Marzan on the title, which will be released in January. "The Adolescent Demo Division (A.D.D.) are the world's luckiest teen gamers," said Vertigo on its Graphic Content blog. "Raised from birth to test media, appear on reality TV and enjoy the fruits of corporate culture, the squad (more)...
- 8/16/2011
- by By Hugh Armitage
- Digital Spy
Wrapping up the report for this morning, I'm already predicting that tomorrow's feed will include numerous well-articulated critiques of the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con hotel registration process, but for now, the big topics of the day are Julian Assange's arrest in London and reactions to the "Tron: Legacy" soundtrack that's shown up on Amazon for $3.99.
Jhonen Vasquez and Jeremy Haun's responses to the new music from Daft Punk for "Legacy" differ greatly, and the range of posts about WikiLeaks' founder being taken into custody was mixed as well. Find out who's predicting what, where Andy Kuhn and Jimmy Palmiotti agree on "Skyline" and who's playing "World of Warcraft: Cataclysm" down below.
I'm @brianwarmoth, and these retweets comprise the Twitter Report for December 7, 2010.
"Cataclysm" pt. 1: @billamend Game now in hand...french bread pizzas in the freezer...half a case of red bull in the garage...I think I'm good to go.
Jhonen Vasquez and Jeremy Haun's responses to the new music from Daft Punk for "Legacy" differ greatly, and the range of posts about WikiLeaks' founder being taken into custody was mixed as well. Find out who's predicting what, where Andy Kuhn and Jimmy Palmiotti agree on "Skyline" and who's playing "World of Warcraft: Cataclysm" down below.
I'm @brianwarmoth, and these retweets comprise the Twitter Report for December 7, 2010.
"Cataclysm" pt. 1: @billamend Game now in hand...french bread pizzas in the freezer...half a case of red bull in the garage...I think I'm good to go.
- 12/7/2010
- by Brian Warmoth
- MTV Splash Page
Photo Illustration by Glen Wexler
Happy Mutants: From left, Mark Frauenfelder, David Pescovitz, "band manager" John Battelle, Cory Doctorow, and Xeni Jardin | Photograph by Bart Nagel
It's eccentric. It's unprofessional. And it makes money. How four people who do exactly what they want run one of the most popular blogs on the planet.
Back in 1999, Mark Frauenfelder wrote an article about new web tools that made it easier to do something called "blogging." His editors at the technology magazine The Industry Standard declined to publish it, concluding that blogging didn't really seem like a very big deal. Turns out it was.
It's certainly been a very good thing for Frauenfelder, who deployed the tools he learned about for his ill-fated article to start posting interesting links and offbeat observations on boingboing.net. In time, three friends who shared a similar appetite for curious information filtered through a nonmainstream worldview -- Cory Doctorow,...
Happy Mutants: From left, Mark Frauenfelder, David Pescovitz, "band manager" John Battelle, Cory Doctorow, and Xeni Jardin | Photograph by Bart Nagel
It's eccentric. It's unprofessional. And it makes money. How four people who do exactly what they want run one of the most popular blogs on the planet.
Back in 1999, Mark Frauenfelder wrote an article about new web tools that made it easier to do something called "blogging." His editors at the technology magazine The Industry Standard declined to publish it, concluding that blogging didn't really seem like a very big deal. Turns out it was.
It's certainly been a very good thing for Frauenfelder, who deployed the tools he learned about for his ill-fated article to start posting interesting links and offbeat observations on boingboing.net. In time, three friends who shared a similar appetite for curious information filtered through a nonmainstream worldview -- Cory Doctorow,...
- 11/30/2010
- by Rob Walker
- Fast Company
Director: Ben Steinbauer Writers: Malcolm Pullinger, Ben Steinbauer Starring: Jack Rebney, Ben Steinbauer, Keith Gordon, Nick Prueher, Joe Pickett, Douglas Rushkoff, Charlie Sotelo, Cinco Barnes, Alan Berliner, Mike Mitchell, Alexsey Vayner The bootleg VHS footage of an angry Rv salesman’s expletive-riddled rants rescued from the cutting room floor of a Winnebago commercial garnered cult acclaim via The Found Footage Festival and Austin’s infamous access television program The Show With No Name; then YouTube came along and skyrocketed the footage and the Rv salesman man, Jack Rebney (dubbed “the angriest man in the world”), to international stardom. Some fans boast to have watched the foul footage thousands of times, others claim it is their surefire cure to a bad day at work. No one seemed to care about the man himself (nor did Rebney care about his fan base); that is until writer-director Ben Steinbauer decided to make it...
- 8/4/2010
- by Don Simpson
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
I’ve been interested in the concept of alternative forms of currency, barter and exchange with regards to independent film production and distribution for a little while. Back in November I blogged about a Doug Rushkoff speech on video in which he discussed some of the new start-ups exploring these ideas. I wrote: With two-and-a-half minutes to go, Rushkoff reaches the reason I decided to watch the video: a discussion of alternate forms of currency to facilitate creative value exchange. Of course, the idea of local currency or script, actually being practiced in some communities, has surfaced recently in discussions about local solutions to the current economic crisis, and the idea of peer-to-peer value exchange led in the past to...
- 7/14/2010
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Late last year, we brought you the first trailer for "Grant Morrison: Talking With Gods," the upcoming feature-length documentary about one of the comics industry's most popular (and fascinating) creative minds.
Today we bring you the exclusive news that the biopic has not only been picked up by indie distributor Halo-8 Entertainment, but it will also make its debut at New York Comic Con later this year (instead of Comic-Con International in San Diego), followed by a limited theatrical run. Oh, and we also have a brand new clip from the film:
Directed by Patrick Meaney, "Grant Morrison: Talking With Gods" chronicles the "We3" and "All Star Superman" writer's long career in the comics biz, which includes groundbreaking runs on "Animal Man" and "The Doom Patrol," among other critically acclaimed projects. Interviews with the writer are cut with discussion of his work with notable comic creators from every corner of the industry,...
Today we bring you the exclusive news that the biopic has not only been picked up by indie distributor Halo-8 Entertainment, but it will also make its debut at New York Comic Con later this year (instead of Comic-Con International in San Diego), followed by a limited theatrical run. Oh, and we also have a brand new clip from the film:
Directed by Patrick Meaney, "Grant Morrison: Talking With Gods" chronicles the "We3" and "All Star Superman" writer's long career in the comics biz, which includes groundbreaking runs on "Animal Man" and "The Doom Patrol," among other critically acclaimed projects. Interviews with the writer are cut with discussion of his work with notable comic creators from every corner of the industry,...
- 7/6/2010
- by Rick Marshall
- MTV Splash Page
Underground film is all around us online. It’s just buried in the nooks and crannies of the Internet, which is, of course, why it’s thought of being underground. For example, you can find underground films listed in the Internet Movie Database, but you won’t find trivia questions or quotes or pictures of them listed on the homepage. Wikipedia has entries for underground films and filmmakers — some I’ve written myself — but how would you know how to find them unless you already knew about them to search for their names?
This is why I think it’s important to build up an underground film loop in 2010. The more we can make each other visible and provide valuable information on the oddball and the obscure, the more chances underground films will float by casual, Internet-surfing audiences.
And audiences who are new to underground film may become interested in the form’s history.
This is why I think it’s important to build up an underground film loop in 2010. The more we can make each other visible and provide valuable information on the oddball and the obscure, the more chances underground films will float by casual, Internet-surfing audiences.
And audiences who are new to underground film may become interested in the form’s history.
- 3/6/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
So, I’ve been thinking a lot about that Douglas Rushkoff video interview I embedded the other day, the one in which he counters the myth that all online content is “free.” However, prior to discussing the issue of “free,” Rushkoff also mentioned how the Internet has evolved over the past 20 years or so from a free-form place of personal expression to a highly-structured, commodified marketplace.
In many ways, Bad Lit follows exactly the evolution that Rushkoff maps out, from being a goofy HTML-based hobby of self-expression to a very rigid website that delivers advertising to its visitors. (And by “rigid” I mean in navigational structure and in that I only write about one topic anymore.)
But, on the other hand, as Internet technology has improved over the years, the ability for underground filmmakers to share their works of personal expression with a large and nearly infinite audience has increased dramatically.
In many ways, Bad Lit follows exactly the evolution that Rushkoff maps out, from being a goofy HTML-based hobby of self-expression to a very rigid website that delivers advertising to its visitors. (And by “rigid” I mean in navigational structure and in that I only write about one topic anymore.)
But, on the other hand, as Internet technology has improved over the years, the ability for underground filmmakers to share their works of personal expression with a large and nearly infinite audience has increased dramatically.
- 3/2/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
B-Side, the film festival listings website and film distribution company, is folding on March 1 after being in business for a decade. Filmmaker Magazine has the scoop.
This is particularly crappy news for several reasons. One, yes, obviously the unemployment for its employees. Two, B-Side’s festival listings were a fantastic product. Three, the loss of yet another distribution opportunity for indie filmmakers.
Sadly, according to Filmmaker’s interview with B-Side CEO and founder Chris Hyams, it seems like it was the distribution arm of the company that ultimately killed the whole thing. The venture capital firm, Valhalla Partners, that was backing B-Side was unahppy with the amount of revenue the distributed films was bringing in, so they cut off all funding. Then, B-Side was unable to find another investor.
One of the things that surprised me personally reading B-Side’s obit is that the company didn’t charge for their festival listings.
This is particularly crappy news for several reasons. One, yes, obviously the unemployment for its employees. Two, B-Side’s festival listings were a fantastic product. Three, the loss of yet another distribution opportunity for indie filmmakers.
Sadly, according to Filmmaker’s interview with B-Side CEO and founder Chris Hyams, it seems like it was the distribution arm of the company that ultimately killed the whole thing. The venture capital firm, Valhalla Partners, that was backing B-Side was unahppy with the amount of revenue the distributed films was bringing in, so they cut off all funding. Then, B-Side was unable to find another investor.
One of the things that surprised me personally reading B-Side’s obit is that the company didn’t charge for their festival listings.
- 2/23/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Last night PBS's Frontline screened "Digital Nation," an excellent examination of the consequences of digital culture. It's all watchable online too. The show's expert correspondent is Douglas Rushkoff, an early Internet apostle who, like another Internet champion Jaron Lanier, is having second thoughts about what the cybergenie is ushering in now we've uncorked its botttle. In the show, we meet a video-game addicted South Korean teen; and a bunch of college kids who are multitasking whizzes -- supposed whizzes, that is, until we learn from a psych experiment that they're lousy at all the cognitive skills involved. Are we raising a generation of kids (man, their multitasking makes your head spin) who are lacking real analytic skills? But the show doesn't address one great elephant in the room: the devouring presence of digital porn. Too steamy for public TV? Too bad....
- 2/4/2010
- by Barry Yourgrau
- Huffington Post
I came across this short video of Doug Rushkoff speaking at the Web 2.0 Expo, and in it he echoes some of the things he spoke about at the Diy Days in Philadelphia, which I attended back in June. In that keynote as well Rushkoff hopskotched through the creation of central currency, detailing the role of governments in controlling the our ability to exchange value. It's a lot to cover in 12.5 minutes, and while I'm no expert in economic history, there's plenty to quibble with in his broad shorthand. Like, as a colleague pointed out after his Philadelphia lecture, didn't the creation of currency also have something to do with the fact that people didn't want to carry around big bushels of grain around everywhere? This video also has its...
- 11/22/2009
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
The work I’m going to talk about in this edition of "Watch Out!" is actually a TV show, albeit a short-lived one. How short-lived? Well, they pulled the plug at the last minute from its Us airing.
This UK-produced series (from Channel 4) was bought by The Channel Formerly Known As Sci-Fi, who decided to cut the 16 episode 30-minute show down to 4 reasonably sanitized one-hour specials. But even that, they didn’t air. Sometimes, you just can't edit around the obscene content.
The show is called Disinformation (alternatively known as DisinfoNation) and has been succinctly dubbed as “the punk rock 60 Minutes.” I really couldn’t have said it better. It is a 60 Minutes-Dateline-type documentary program, but with an obvious slant towards the alternative lifestyle. They tackle subjects like she-male porn, modern-day Satanic cults, and redneck home videos. Fringe science, the occult and conspiracy theories, basically. They also have human interest...
This UK-produced series (from Channel 4) was bought by The Channel Formerly Known As Sci-Fi, who decided to cut the 16 episode 30-minute show down to 4 reasonably sanitized one-hour specials. But even that, they didn’t air. Sometimes, you just can't edit around the obscene content.
The show is called Disinformation (alternatively known as DisinfoNation) and has been succinctly dubbed as “the punk rock 60 Minutes.” I really couldn’t have said it better. It is a 60 Minutes-Dateline-type documentary program, but with an obvious slant towards the alternative lifestyle. They tackle subjects like she-male porn, modern-day Satanic cults, and redneck home videos. Fringe science, the occult and conspiracy theories, basically. They also have human interest...
- 9/12/2009
- by Arya Ponto
- JustPressPlay.net
Award-winning director Ondi Timoner's latest documentary is a captivating look at our growing dependence on the Internet.
When you got up this morning, did you immediately update your Twitter account? How many pictures of you are tagged on Facebook? When was the last time you posted a video on YouTube? If you answered "yes, a lot, and recently," you're not alone. So here's one more question: As we continue to display our lives to the eyes of the World Wide Web, are we chipping away at our very notion of and right to privacy?
We Live in Public is a voyeuristic and captivating look at our growing dependence on the Internet, through the bizarre world of Internet entrepreneur Josh Harris as he rides the rise and fall of the 1990s dot-com boom and bust. A successful businessman-artist, Harris was one of the most eccentric characters of Silicon Alley, carrying...
When you got up this morning, did you immediately update your Twitter account? How many pictures of you are tagged on Facebook? When was the last time you posted a video on YouTube? If you answered "yes, a lot, and recently," you're not alone. So here's one more question: As we continue to display our lives to the eyes of the World Wide Web, are we chipping away at our very notion of and right to privacy?
We Live in Public is a voyeuristic and captivating look at our growing dependence on the Internet, through the bizarre world of Internet entrepreneur Josh Harris as he rides the rise and fall of the 1990s dot-com boom and bust. A successful businessman-artist, Harris was one of the most eccentric characters of Silicon Alley, carrying...
- 8/28/2009
- by Stephanie Schomer
- Fast Company
I recently received copies of Chris Anderson's "Free: the Future of A Radical Price" and Douglas Rushkoff's "Life, Inc." While I'm still reading both, I'm struck by the relationship they have to the work that we're currently doing. In a little less then three weeks, Diy Days will kick off in Philadelphia on Saturday, August 1st with a day of talks, panels, roundtables, case studies and workshops. All told there will be over 30 speakers sharing their knowledge and hopefully within the process unlocking some ways that storytellers can fund, create, distribute and sustain. Another obvious connection to the literary work mentioned above is that the conference is totally Free. But beyond the simple connections lies a more interesting...
- 7/16/2009
- by Lance Weiler
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
However comforting it might be to blame Southern California's movie industry for unleashing Governor Terminator on the state's economy, the real seeds of the current crisis were sewn further north, in the seemingly prosperous corporate parks of Silicon Valley. In fact, the dot.com boom and subsequent, inevitable bust are the real causes of our economic malaise. For while Californians were hit first, hardest and most directly by the rise of dot.com-style capitalism, the rest of us are soon to follow.
Put simply, California cannot afford to pay its bills because its tax base contracted at the same time as its investments tanked. Like any of us contending with the double-whammy of lower pay and shrinking portfolios, the state is getting slammed on both income and savings at the same time. Unable to secure credit, the state will instead be forced pay its bills to citizens and local governments with IOUs.
Put simply, California cannot afford to pay its bills because its tax base contracted at the same time as its investments tanked. Like any of us contending with the double-whammy of lower pay and shrinking portfolios, the state is getting slammed on both income and savings at the same time. Unable to secure credit, the state will instead be forced pay its bills to citizens and local governments with IOUs.
- 7/10/2009
- by Douglas Rushkoff
- Fast Company
In his latest book, Life Inc.: How the World Became a Corporation and How to Take It Back (Random House), Douglas Rushkoff claims that currency was invented to prevent transactions and put a brake on economic growth, corporations exist to stifle competition, and banks do not fund competition--they drain it. But he's no communist: "A true free marketeer, actually," Rushkoff says. "I'm just trying to point out that we're not operating in anything close to a free market."
A well known member of the cyberpunk movement--he hung out with acid-tripping Timothy Leary--and the author of books like Media Virus! and Get Back in the Box: Innovation from the Inside Out, Rushkoff, in Life, Inc., offers a unique perspective on the economic problems plaguing America today. He offers some solutions as well, as you'll discover in this Q&A, and the sample chapter of Life Inc. that follows.
If...
A well known member of the cyberpunk movement--he hung out with acid-tripping Timothy Leary--and the author of books like Media Virus! and Get Back in the Box: Innovation from the Inside Out, Rushkoff, in Life, Inc., offers a unique perspective on the economic problems plaguing America today. He offers some solutions as well, as you'll discover in this Q&A, and the sample chapter of Life Inc. that follows.
If...
- 6/17/2009
- by Adam Penenberg
- Fast Company
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