Welcome to the Special Fall 2013 Edition of SHOOT’s Directors Series. Since our fall Directors Series coincides with the first installment of our annual multi-part The Road To Oscar Series, there’s a bit of crossover between the two features in this issue as we have directors who are scoring early season Oscar buzz among the talent profiled–from filmmakers Paul Greengrass (Captain Phillips) to Brian Percival (The Book Thief), Ben Stiller (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty), Scott Cooper (Out Of The Furnace) and J.C. Chandor (All Is Lost).
And in our Cinematographers & Cameras feature within this Directors Series are two DPs who also have been deemed worthy of Oscar contention this awards season: Barry Ackroyd, BSC (Captain Phillips), and Anthony Dod Mantle, ASC, BSC (for Rush directed by Ron Howard).
The third DP profiled is Adam Arkapaw who earned this year’s primetime Emmy Award for Best Cinematography in a Miniseries or Movie on the basis of BBC/Sundance TV’s Top Of The Lake.
Rounding out our lineup of Director Series profiles are: Drake Doremus, a lauded feature filmmaker (Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner Like Crazy) who made a major splash in the ad arena with Intel/Toshiba’s The Beauty Inside, which scored three Grand Prix honors at the 2013 Cannes International Festival of Creativity; John X. Carey, who’s landed at a new production house roost after his “Real Beauty Sketches” for Dove drew more than 56 million YouTube views on its way to netting the Titanium Grand Prix at Cannes; and Nicolai Fuglsig, the director behind this year’s primetime Emmy Award-winning commercial, Canon’s “Inspired.”
We also have our separate feature on Up-and-Coming Directors, spotlighting eight individual filmmakers: an actress/writer who has successfully diversified into filmmaking; a music video director who shows promise as a commercialmaker; a spot director Down Under who has moved stateside; a production company principal who initially served as a DP to his shop’s roster of directors only to later gain momentum as a director himself; a comedian, radio show host and former producer of the TV series Monk who recently gained his first commercial production house representation; an artisan from Spain who’s extending her creative reach into the U.S. market; a 2013 SHOOT New Directors Showcase helmer who just joined his first production house; and a director who just missed the Showcase cut earlier this year but has since made major strides.
Plus we have two sponsored content profiles in which directors Jay Patton of Dictionary Films and James Lipetzky of Foundation Content reflect on their most significant, creative challenging work this year, as well as lessons learned about the business and/or themselves based on their experience/projects in 2013.
So read on and enjoy. As always, we very much welcome your feedback.
Gene Hackman Died Of Heart Disease; Hantavirus Claimed His Wife’s Life About One Week Prior
Actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease a full week after his wife died from hantavirus in their New Mexico hillside home, likely unaware that she was dead because he was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease, authorities revealed Friday. Both deaths were ruled to be from natural causes, chief medical examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell said alongside state fire and health officials at a news conference. "Mr. Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer's disease," Jarrell said. "He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that's what resulted in his death." Authorities didn't suspect foul play after the bodies of Hackman, 95, and Betsy Arakawa, 65, were discovered Feb 26. Immediate tests for carbon monoxide poisoning were negative. Investigators found that the last known communication and activity from Arakawa was Feb. 11 when she visited a pharmacy, pet store and grocery before returning to their gated neighborhood that afternoon, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Friday. Hackman's pacemaker last showed signs of activity a week later and that he had an abnormal heart rhythm Feb. 18, the day he likely died, Jarrell said. Although there was no reliable way to determine the date and time when both died, all signs point to their deaths coming a week apart, Jarrell said. "It's quite possible he was not aware she was deceased," Jarrell said. Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City medical examiner, said he believes Hackman was severely impaired due to Alzheimer's disease and unable to deal with his wife's death in the last week of his life. "You are talking about very severe Alzheimer's disease that normal people would be in a nursing home or have a nurse, but she was taking care... Read More