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So you’ve decided to pursue filmmaking. Perhaps you’re inspired by how director Ava DuVernay brings stories to light about underrepresented communities, or George Lucas’ ability to take audiences on cosmic adventures. Either way, being a filmmaker means that you have stories to share with the world. Congratulations on finding your passion. Now that you know what it is that you want to do, you’re going to need a few supplies to help you achieve those filmmaking goals.
Having your own equipment allows you the freedom to practice shooting film for however long you want (you can also rent out your equipment and make a few extra bucks from your investments...
So you’ve decided to pursue filmmaking. Perhaps you’re inspired by how director Ava DuVernay brings stories to light about underrepresented communities, or George Lucas’ ability to take audiences on cosmic adventures. Either way, being a filmmaker means that you have stories to share with the world. Congratulations on finding your passion. Now that you know what it is that you want to do, you’re going to need a few supplies to help you achieve those filmmaking goals.
Having your own equipment allows you the freedom to practice shooting film for however long you want (you can also rent out your equipment and make a few extra bucks from your investments...
- 9/25/2021
- by Angel Saunders
- Indiewire
Producer-director Bryan Michael Stoller’s First American Cinema has filed a lawsuit charging that the international and home entertainment distributors of his movie First Dog breached contract, failed to pay him the money he had coming and committed accounting fraud. In the process, he alleges they lowered the future potential value of his movie about a foster boy who befriends a dog gone missing from the White House. Photos: Top 10 Legal Disclaimers in Hollywood Stoller filed suit in L.A. Superior Court against Maitland Primrose Group, Icap Media and Screen Media Ventures for at least $600,000, plus punitive
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- 10/15/2012
- by Alex Ben Block
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
By Erin Talbert-Brust
(from Moving Pictures, winter issue, 2011)
They say a dog is a man’s best friend, yet when Bryan Michael Stoller first began his career in the early 1970s hosting a Canadian children’s TV program called “Film Fun,” he never dreamed that 30 years later an irresistible little canine would be so connected to his career.
Teaching has always been important to the 50-year-old filmmaker, and if it had not been for his venture into directing, he says he surely would have would become an educator. “Film Fun” was a show in which a then-10-year-old Stoller, his sister Nancy and featured guests taught youngsters about the art of filmmaking with an emphasis on animation techniques. In 2003, he authored a title for the popular “Dummies” how-to series, “Filmmaking for Dummies,” and edited “Screenwriting for Dummies.”
However, it was his four-legged companion that revived his interest in filmmaking. Stoller...
(from Moving Pictures, winter issue, 2011)
They say a dog is a man’s best friend, yet when Bryan Michael Stoller first began his career in the early 1970s hosting a Canadian children’s TV program called “Film Fun,” he never dreamed that 30 years later an irresistible little canine would be so connected to his career.
Teaching has always been important to the 50-year-old filmmaker, and if it had not been for his venture into directing, he says he surely would have would become an educator. “Film Fun” was a show in which a then-10-year-old Stoller, his sister Nancy and featured guests taught youngsters about the art of filmmaking with an emphasis on animation techniques. In 2003, he authored a title for the popular “Dummies” how-to series, “Filmmaking for Dummies,” and edited “Screenwriting for Dummies.”
However, it was his four-legged companion that revived his interest in filmmaking. Stoller...
- 5/3/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Magazine
By Erin Talbert-Brust
(from Moving Pictures, winter issue, 2011)
They say a dog is a man’s best friend, yet when Bryan Michael Stoller first began his career in the early 1970s hosting a Canadian children’s TV program called “Film Fun,” he never dreamed that 30 years later an irresistible little canine would be so connected to his career.
Teaching has always been important to the 50-year-old filmmaker, and if it had not been for his venture into directing, he says he surely would have would become an educator. “Film Fun” was a show in which a then-10-year-old Stoller, his sister Nancy and featured guests taught youngsters about the art of filmmaking with an emphasis on animation techniques. In 2003, he authored a title for the popular “Dummies” how-to series, “Filmmaking for Dummies,” and edited “Screenwriting for Dummies.”
However, it was his four-legged companion that revived his interest in filmmaking. Stoller...
(from Moving Pictures, winter issue, 2011)
They say a dog is a man’s best friend, yet when Bryan Michael Stoller first began his career in the early 1970s hosting a Canadian children’s TV program called “Film Fun,” he never dreamed that 30 years later an irresistible little canine would be so connected to his career.
Teaching has always been important to the 50-year-old filmmaker, and if it had not been for his venture into directing, he says he surely would have would become an educator. “Film Fun” was a show in which a then-10-year-old Stoller, his sister Nancy and featured guests taught youngsters about the art of filmmaking with an emphasis on animation techniques. In 2003, he authored a title for the popular “Dummies” how-to series, “Filmmaking for Dummies,” and edited “Screenwriting for Dummies.”
However, it was his four-legged companion that revived his interest in filmmaking. Stoller...
- 5/3/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Network
A year after his death, we've seen 'This Is It' and heard the leaked songs, but where's that robot hotel?
By Gil Kaufman
Michael Jackson
Photo: Getty Images
In the twilight of his career, Michael Jackson was almost as well known for the projects he never completed as he was for the ones that came to fruition. From the mid-1990s on, fans were frequently tantalized with the promise of movies, theme parks, tours and song collaborations with the day's hottest music stars that came and went without ever being realized.
As the one-year anniversary of Jackson's death approaches, MTV News is taking a look at the many plans the King of Pop dreamed up before his premature end, some of which are finally becoming reality.
Despite more than a decade out of the pop-culture spotlight, Jackson also clearly never stopped having his finger on the pulse of...
By Gil Kaufman
Michael Jackson
Photo: Getty Images
In the twilight of his career, Michael Jackson was almost as well known for the projects he never completed as he was for the ones that came to fruition. From the mid-1990s on, fans were frequently tantalized with the promise of movies, theme parks, tours and song collaborations with the day's hottest music stars that came and went without ever being realized.
As the one-year anniversary of Jackson's death approaches, MTV News is taking a look at the many plans the King of Pop dreamed up before his premature end, some of which are finally becoming reality.
Despite more than a decade out of the pop-culture spotlight, Jackson also clearly never stopped having his finger on the pulse of...
- 6/23/2010
- MTV Music News
With family films taking a bite out of the boxoffice, Bryan Michael Stoller hopes Little Bear, a 28-pound Queensland heeler, can follow in the paw prints of Marley, Marmaduke and the Beverly Hills Chihuahua.
Most movies starring a dog, like "Beethoven," use 10 or more look-alike animals. In Stoller's "First Dog," about a foster kid who returns the president's lost dog to the White House, Little Bear is the solo star. He did his own stunts and even barked for postproduction looping.
"I have a credit in the movie as his acting coach, not as a trainer," said Stoller, who directed, produced, wrote and edited the movie, which was made for less than $3 million and screens Tuesday night for the first time for distributors and backers.
As a movie, TV and commercials director and author of "Filmmaking for Dummies," Stoller first sniffed...
Most movies starring a dog, like "Beethoven," use 10 or more look-alike animals. In Stoller's "First Dog," about a foster kid who returns the president's lost dog to the White House, Little Bear is the solo star. He did his own stunts and even barked for postproduction looping.
"I have a credit in the movie as his acting coach, not as a trainer," said Stoller, who directed, produced, wrote and edited the movie, which was made for less than $3 million and screens Tuesday night for the first time for distributors and backers.
As a movie, TV and commercials director and author of "Filmmaking for Dummies," Stoller first sniffed...
- 6/21/2010
- by By Alex Ben Block
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Michael Jackson's posthumous popularity continues to be a major selling point.
As Sony's theatrical release of "This Is It" crossed the $100 million mark in overseas grosses Thursday, several sellers at the American Film Market were feeling bullish on Jackson-related content, no matter how fringe.
LongTale International is peddling some rare concert and travel footage of the Jackson 5 in Africa in 1974. The Senegalese performance footage, picked up by Televentures in New York City, includes 13 songs and loads of classic Jackson brothers synchronized dancing as part of a back-to-their-roots movement in the mid-'70s.
The filmmakers plan to add two extra songs, converted to 3D, from a separate concert of the same era. Titled "The Jackson 5 in Africa," the documentary has already drawn interest from buyers in Japan, the U.K. and the States.
The international bet is a good one, considering that "This Is It's" appea lhas...
As Sony's theatrical release of "This Is It" crossed the $100 million mark in overseas grosses Thursday, several sellers at the American Film Market were feeling bullish on Jackson-related content, no matter how fringe.
LongTale International is peddling some rare concert and travel footage of the Jackson 5 in Africa in 1974. The Senegalese performance footage, picked up by Televentures in New York City, includes 13 songs and loads of classic Jackson brothers synchronized dancing as part of a back-to-their-roots movement in the mid-'70s.
The filmmakers plan to add two extra songs, converted to 3D, from a separate concert of the same era. Titled "The Jackson 5 in Africa," the documentary has already drawn interest from buyers in Japan, the U.K. and the States.
The international bet is a good one, considering that "This Is It's" appea lhas...
- 11/6/2009
- by By Jay A. Fernandez and Borys Kit
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Agent Michael Jackson -- His Movie You Probably Didn't See! But I Found a Behind-the-Scenes Footage!
To my surprise, there was a campy 2005 film featuring the iconic Michael Jackson titled "Miss Castaway and the Island Girls." This is a product of the singer's association with B-movie director Bryan Michael Stoller. (Check Stoller's website right here)
Stoller has many interesting nuggets about Jackson's dabbling with the film industry. And he recently came forward with his story to The Hollywood Reporter (for an in-depth look at Stoller's revelations, click here).
Of course, Stoller is also marketing his video, audio, and photos featuring the late, great singer.
The director told THR, "He (Jackson) was very excited about making movies and wanted his hands on everything, from working on screenplays to producing, to writing the music."
And yes, one of their brilliant collaborations is the super-campy movie "Miss Castaway and the Island Girls" also featuring Eric Roberts.
Jackson made a cameo in the 2005 farce as Agent M.J. who rescues...
Stoller has many interesting nuggets about Jackson's dabbling with the film industry. And he recently came forward with his story to The Hollywood Reporter (for an in-depth look at Stoller's revelations, click here).
Of course, Stoller is also marketing his video, audio, and photos featuring the late, great singer.
The director told THR, "He (Jackson) was very excited about making movies and wanted his hands on everything, from working on screenplays to producing, to writing the music."
And yes, one of their brilliant collaborations is the super-campy movie "Miss Castaway and the Island Girls" also featuring Eric Roberts.
Jackson made a cameo in the 2005 farce as Agent M.J. who rescues...
- 7/22/2009
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
Michael Jackson had a secret ambition to become a filmmaker and direct his own feature film, according to a close friend of the singer. Speaking to E! News, director and producer Bryan Michael Stoller said that he had bonded with Jackson over their love of movies and that the star invited him to tutor his two eldest children about filmmaking. "He'd set up a makeshift classroom... We were talking about how animation was done, scripts, screenplays. He was totally into that. I would tutor them at the [Neverland] ranch," he explained. Stoller, who met (more)...
- 7/22/2009
- by By Lara Martin
- Digital Spy
Los Angeles, California (X17online) - Michael Jackson was preparing to direct his first feature film in the months leading up to his death, a producer tells "The Hollywood Reporter." According to Bryan Michael Stoller, Jackson was planning to direct a drama about foster children, titled "They Cage the Animals at Night," which Stoller said he planned to get started on as soon as he completed his London concerts. The project was based on a 1985 book about the real-life experiences of author Jennings Michael Burch who met with Michael at Neverland Ranch about the project. It was a project that resonated with Jackson according Stoller. "Michael told me often he felt like he grew up as an orphan, like a foster kid, because he never was in one home. To him every hotel was like a different foster home. He said he used to sit in the window and see...
- 7/22/2009
- x17online.com
We have to (slightly) hand it to director Bryan Michael Stoller: While other associates of Michael Jackson were rushing to cash in on their relationship with the singer after his death, it took Stoller weeks! Now, though, the director of Jackson's final cinematic effort, Miss Cast Away (which, you may remember, starred Jackson opposite Joe Millionaire and Pat Morita) is ready to sell out, and he's got a very unlikely story to pitch.
- 7/22/2009
- Movieline
Michael Jackson was preparing to make his debut as a moviemaker after signing up to co-direct and finance a drama about foster children just three months before his death, according to a new report.
The pop superstar passed away on 25 June, days before he was due to return to the stage with a 50-date live spectacular in London.
But he was also planning to move into Hollywood as a director, claims producer/filmmaker pal Bryan Michael Stoller.
Stoller alleges former child star Jackson had agreed to be his partner in the film company Magic Shadows and they were preparing to co-direct They Cage the Animals at Night, a project they had been working on for the last seven years.
Stoller claims the movie, based on a 1985 autobiography by author Jennings Michael Burch, was the brainchild of Jackson, who wanted to highlight the plight of foster kids because he felt he could relate to their circumstances.
He says, "Michael told me often he felt like he grew up as an orphan, like a foster kid, because he never was in one home. To him every hotel was like a different foster home. He said he used to sit in the window and see kids playing outside and cry because he couldn't be part of that."
But Jackson had no plans to step in front of the camera again, following his acting turn in The Wiz in 1978.
Stoller adds, "He was very excited about making movies and wanted his hands on everything, from working on screenplays to producing, to writing the music. However, he never showed any interest in acting."
Stoller videotaped a series of meetings between Jackson and Burch and he now hopes to turn the collection of footage into a documentary to shed light on the Thriller singer's life behind the walls of his Neverland Ranch, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The pop superstar passed away on 25 June, days before he was due to return to the stage with a 50-date live spectacular in London.
But he was also planning to move into Hollywood as a director, claims producer/filmmaker pal Bryan Michael Stoller.
Stoller alleges former child star Jackson had agreed to be his partner in the film company Magic Shadows and they were preparing to co-direct They Cage the Animals at Night, a project they had been working on for the last seven years.
Stoller claims the movie, based on a 1985 autobiography by author Jennings Michael Burch, was the brainchild of Jackson, who wanted to highlight the plight of foster kids because he felt he could relate to their circumstances.
He says, "Michael told me often he felt like he grew up as an orphan, like a foster kid, because he never was in one home. To him every hotel was like a different foster home. He said he used to sit in the window and see kids playing outside and cry because he couldn't be part of that."
But Jackson had no plans to step in front of the camera again, following his acting turn in The Wiz in 1978.
Stoller adds, "He was very excited about making movies and wanted his hands on everything, from working on screenplays to producing, to writing the music. However, he never showed any interest in acting."
Stoller videotaped a series of meetings between Jackson and Burch and he now hopes to turn the collection of footage into a documentary to shed light on the Thriller singer's life behind the walls of his Neverland Ranch, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
- 7/22/2009
- WENN
Michael Jackson has always been known for headlining innovative music videos like Thriller. But now we're learning he also had aspirations of being a big-screen filmmaker. Bryan Michael Stoller, a Los Angeles-based director and producer, tells E! News that his decades-long friendship with the late King of Pop was fueled by their shared love of movies and that the latter one day hoped to tap his inner Coppola. "Michael really wanted to be a filmmaker and direct a feature film," Stoller said. Stoller first met Michael in 1985 after he produced a spoof on his infamous Pepsi commercial. Stoller says the singer personally called him to tell him he was a fan of the video and that they bonded over their...
- 7/22/2009
- E! Online
Mj was working with filmmaker on adapting book 'They Cage the Animals at Night' for the big screen.
By Eric Ditzian
Michael Jackson
Photo: Eamonn McCormack/ WireImage
In the months before his death, Michael Jackson wasn't only gearing up for the start of his 50-show run in London; he was also getting set to co-direct and finance an indie film based on a true story about an orphan, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Last March, Jackson and his longtime friend and filmmaker Bryan Michael Stoller were having serious talks about adapting for the screen the memoir "They Cage the Animals at Night," a 1985 book about the experiences of Jennings Michael Burch, who was shuttled from one foster home to another as a child.
"Michael told me often he felt like he grew up as an orphan, like a foster kid, because he never was in one home," Stoller told the Reporter.
By Eric Ditzian
Michael Jackson
Photo: Eamonn McCormack/ WireImage
In the months before his death, Michael Jackson wasn't only gearing up for the start of his 50-show run in London; he was also getting set to co-direct and finance an indie film based on a true story about an orphan, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Last March, Jackson and his longtime friend and filmmaker Bryan Michael Stoller were having serious talks about adapting for the screen the memoir "They Cage the Animals at Night," a 1985 book about the experiences of Jennings Michael Burch, who was shuttled from one foster home to another as a child.
"Michael told me often he felt like he grew up as an orphan, like a foster kid, because he never was in one home," Stoller told the Reporter.
- 7/22/2009
- MTV Movie News
Michael Jackson had a 30 second cameo in "Men in Black II" and to expand on that, he appeared in a 2005 movie called "Miss Cast Away," starring Eric Roberts and the guy from "Joe Millionaire." In addition to Jackson, the movie is also the last time we see Bob Denver and Pat Morita. "Miss Cast Away" was released on DVD in 2005 and is directed by longtime Jackson friend Bryan Michael Stoller. It is a spoof that attempts to combine "Cast Away" with "Miss Congeniality," "Planet of the Apes," "Love Boat," "Gilligan's Island," "The Sixth Sense," "Jurassic Park," and more. The trailer for this ridiculous movie is below. And we also included a video of Stoller interviewing Jackson, while he is being interviewed by a giant Ape. Trailer: If you cannot see the player, click here. Behind the Scenes: If you cannot see the player, click here.
- 7/9/2009
- WorstPreviews.com
One of the great features over at the Internet Movie Database is the Bottom 100. Based on ratings viewers of the site give to various films, the worst of the worst films get put on this list. Some of them are on and off in a matter of days. Others stick around for the long haul, showing just how much suckage they truly emit.
It’s time to look at these movies and determine where they stand. Do they deserve to be on the Bottom 100 list? Are they not as bad as everyone says? Will they be off the list any time soon?
Here’s the breakdown for this week’s film:
Title: ‘Miss Cast Away’
Release Date: July 26th, 2005
Ranking on Bottom 100 (as of 7/7/2009): #84 (based on 1260 votes)
Why It’s Here: It actually means something, speaks volumes, in fact, when ones of these “Pop Culture” comedies, as they are called,...
It’s time to look at these movies and determine where they stand. Do they deserve to be on the Bottom 100 list? Are they not as bad as everyone says? Will they be off the list any time soon?
Here’s the breakdown for this week’s film:
Title: ‘Miss Cast Away’
Release Date: July 26th, 2005
Ranking on Bottom 100 (as of 7/7/2009): #84 (based on 1260 votes)
Why It’s Here: It actually means something, speaks volumes, in fact, when ones of these “Pop Culture” comedies, as they are called,...
- 7/8/2009
- by Kirk
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
It should have been the opportunity of a lifetime for a Michael Jackson fan: a behind-the-scenes invitation to a rehearsal for the superstar's upcoming concert tour in the United Kingdom. But when the fan got to the stage, she was horrified. "He is a skeleton," she wrote Monday in an email to other Jackson fans. Worse, she said, was seeing her idol surrounded by people she deemed too frightened to say anything. "I have to say: He may die." Three days later, Jackson, 50, collapsed in his rented Holmby Hills mansion - with his personal physician on the premises. His heart stopped; he wasn't breathing.
- 6/26/2009
- by Mike Fleeman
- PEOPLE.com
It should have been the opportunity of a lifetime for a Michael Jackson fan: a behind-the-scenes invitation to a rehearsal for the superstar's upcoming concert tour in the United Kingdom. But when the fan got to the stage, she was horrified. "He is a skeleton," she wrote Monday in an email to other Jackson fans. Worse, she said, was seeing her idol surrounded by people she deemed too frightened to say anything. "I have to say: He may die." Three days later, Jackson, 50, collapsed in his rented Holmby Hills mansion - with his personal physician on the premises. His heart stopped; he wasn't breathing.
- 6/26/2009
- by Mike Fleeman
- PEOPLE.com
Pop mega-star Michael Jackson's extreme legal problems may have thwarted his attempt to relaunch his career as a film star. The singer was delighted with his 10-minute appearance in director Bryan Michael Stoller's spoof Miss Cast Away - but distributors are anxious about the film since Jackson's arrest on child-molestation charges. The director explains, "We've sort of had to put things on hold. It's a shame because Jackson has an amazing vision." Stoller spent at least one day a week at Jackson's Neverland Ranch home "mentoring" him for the movie which also stars former Joe Millionaire Evan Marriott and depicts what might happen if a plane-load of contestants on their way to a beauty pageant crash-landed on an island. Miss Cast Away is already facing problems over its release - bosses at Twentieth Century Fox are attempting to keep the film out of cinemas because the title is too close to their hit Tom Hanks movie Cast Away.
- 6/2/2004
- WENN
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