On Saturday September 27th in Los Angeles, producer Ted Hope gave the keynote speech at Film Independent’s Filmmaker Forum “There is no crisis,” Hope proclaimed in his opening comments.” Creativity is not a victim of any distribution meltdown, but the intoxication of acceptance via ‘officialdom’ has turned itself on its head.” Hope notes that the moment when the constraints of traditional models are changed for the collective good is now.

(Yahoo)

Dave Matthews has acted in a few films, but the Grammy-winning musician has been playing a behind-the-scenes role in Hollywood of late — that of film producer.

The singer of his namesake band co-founded ATO Pictures and has served mostly as a silent partner. But in the company’s latest film, “Choke,” the musician was adamant that ATO do more than help finance the film.

(Associated Press)

Whatever else comes to mind in connection with the actor Mark Wahlberg, who first gained national attention by dropping his pants as Marky Mark on stage during rap concerts and posing in Calvin Kleinunderwear ads, one thing now stands out in the public’s mind. “I don’t care what I’m doing, what filmmaker I’ve worked with,” Mr. Wahlberg said in an interview over lunch at the Beverly Hills Hotel, “people spend 20 minutes talking about the project I’m involved with and then they mention ‘Entourage.’ ”

It even happens at church, which Mr. Wahlberg attends regularly. “Young, old, men, women, black, white, everywhere I go,” he said. They all want to know about “Entourage.”

More or less a chronicle of Mr. Wahlberg’s own ascension as a Hollywood leading man and the enviably sybaritic life that has followed, “Entourage” was an instant sensation among voyeurs wondering what celebrity life might really be like, and among young men who like to dream of wealth and indolence. Now, heading into its fifth season on Sunday with three Emmy Awards under its belt and five fresh nominations, the show has become a powerful calling card and more for Mr. Wahlberg, one of its producers.

(New York Times)

Bernie Brillstein wasn’t a household name like Bernie Mac or Isaac Hayes — as a talent manager and producer, his work was all strictly behind the scenes — but his vast impact on entertainment shouldn’t be forgotten amid this weekend’s tragic showbiz losses. Brillstein, who died Thursday night at 77, had a hand in countless classic TV and film projects, from Sesame Street to Saturday Night Live to The Sopranos, and he guided the careers of numerous top stars and scriptwriters.

(EW)

The way to see movies is in a movie theater with real people. If everyone in Hollywood turned off their plasma TVs and experienced films this way, we could probably be spared 70% of the dreck that gets greenlighted by studio executives woefully out of touch with what stories actually resonate with rank-and-file moviegoers. That’s why I’ve been checking in with producer Avi Lerner every few weeks to get his take on the current summer movies. He’s made more than 200 films in the past 20 years, most of them low-low budget action-adventure vehicles, but always with a close eye on what moviegoers want to see.

(LA Times)

As the founder of FedEx, Frederick W. Smith has been celebrated as one of the smartest minds in business. So why, at a time when American investors are avoiding Hollywood, does he keep pouring millions into movies?

Mr. Smith, who continues to serve as chief executive of FedEx, recently agreed to be the equity partner — the riskiest position in movie financing arrangements, as the last to be paid — in a $550 million, 15-movie deal with Alcon Entertainment. The small production company, which has a long-term distribution deal with Warner Brothers, is supposed to deliver the films over the next five years.

(New York Times)

Vancouver movie producer Bill Vince has died of cancer at the age of 44.

Vince was nominated for an Academy Award in 2007 for producing Capote, a biography of American writer Truman Capote that saw Phillip Seymour Hoffman win an Oscar for best actor.

In a statement, Hoffman said Vince wore his heart on his sleeve, was attracted to passion and stood by Hoffman, something the actor says he’ll never forget.

Vince and his brother Robert formed Infinity Features and produced such films as Snow Walker, Saved, Bullet Proof Heart and the Air Bud series.

Bill Vince was also active on the social front, helping implement and fund drug-addiction treatment programs for young people on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, and redeveloping an abandoned theatre in the neighbourhood.

He is survived by his wife, Cynthia Miles, and three children, Miles, Michaela, and Nathanial.

It was a pretty typical two weeks for the television producer Thom Beers:

He spent several days in May on a crab boat in the bitterly cold Bering Sea, followed by a trip with big-rig trucks past the Arctic Circle all the way to Deadhorse, Alaska, where the snow was piled seven feet deep; and then, a couple of days later, he was headed toward an appointment on an oil rig in West Texas, answering questions on his cellphone while barreling down the highway in his 1969 Pontiac GTO Judge convertible.

The visits to the locations where his company, Original Productions, is following rugged men (it’s almost always men) doing rugged jobs left Mr. Beers even more energized than usual, at least if measured by how many times he dropped one of his favorite words, “awesome,” into the conversation. As in: “We’ve got great characters on these shows, great stakes. It’s awesome!”

No one else in television has a business — or a life — anywhere close to what Mr. Beers has carved out in the past decade.

(New York Times)

Leaders of the Screen Actors Guild publicly declared war on another union during a rally this week, increasing the likelihood of new labor strife in a the U.S. entertainment industry, which is still recovering from a writers’ strike that ended four months ago.

Standing outside the headquarters of the guild on Wilshire Boulevard, Alan Rosenberg, president of the 120,000-member guild, urged supporters Monday to reject a tentative deal that was reached last month between the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, known as Aftra, and Hollywood production companies.

(International Herald Tribune)

But before they know it, the vengeful and treacherous snow leopard Tai Lung (Ian McShane) is headed their way, and it’s up to Po to defend everyone from the oncoming threat. Can he turn his dreams of becoming a kung fu master into reality? Po puts his heart into the task, and the unlikely hero ultimately finds that his greatest weaknesses turn out to be his greatest strengths.

(Movies Online)