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Independent Filmmakers Fight the Battle of Budgets and Box Office 'Hudson Hawk,' intended as a Hollywood summer blockbuster, reportedly cost about $50 million but already is pegged as a gigantic [...]

Entry-level jobs in film-making are available despite tremendous obstacles for beginners. However, it almost always means working without pay as a production assistant for many months and requiring long hours at work. In addition, beginners in pursuing a career in film making need great determination and initiative to continue despite repeated rejection. Production assistant internships offer the most opportunites and can sometimes lead to paying jobs. Another means to a film career is learning the basics of the profession by going to film school or writing a script for film or television., OK, so you want to be a movie-maker. So do thousands of others who are all competing for relatively few openings. The obstacles of getting started are legendary, but how [...]

The original script to Arnold Schwarzenegger's film 'Last Action Hero' was written by 24-year-old Zak Penn and 25-year-old Adam Leff, both totally new to the business. Penn and Leff have earned about $1 million between them from the Schwarzenegger film and other scripts. The two screenwriters admit that it was not all luck, since they had a few connections in the industry who dropped word about the script to the right people at the right time. Both share tips on how to succeed in the business., Would-be screenwriters, take heart. Behind all the hoopla surrounding the new superbudget Arnold Schwarzenegger film 'Last Action Hero'--which tied up the Times Square are during part of its two-week shoot [...]

The success of independent new filmmakers are revitalizing the cinematic medium. Young filmmakers such as Stacy Cochran, Anthony Drazan, Joe Berliner, Bruce Sinofsky, Alexandre Rockwell, Carl Franklin and Allison Anders are being heralded as the future of the art of filmmaking. Their works, financed with only modest shoestring budgets unlike most Hollywood-produced films, are examples of movies that are able to achieve both critical acclaim and commercial success., Stacy Cochran, right after emerging from Columbia University film school, writes a quirky script titled 'My New Gun' and gets to direct it. The film earns commercial distribution and critical [...]

Anthony Heald Keeps 'Lips Together' While in 'Sessions' Now that more filming is taking place in New York, actors have a better opportunity to flit between theatre and screen. The [...]

The urge to get behind a movie camera can be a strong one. Currently, Don Scardino and John Turturro, both of whom began their flourishing careers as actors, are staking [...]

Creative 'Juice's Flow in Harlem Ernest Dickerson Shoots Uptown Shooting films in the streets of New York is nothing new for Ernest Dickerson, but with 'Juice' there's a big difference. [...]

'New Jersey Drive' is an independent film which began shooting on Mar. 21, 1994, and continues through May 12, 1994. About 30 locations, mostly in Brooklyn, NY, have been employed for the film shoot. Nick Gomez is directing the movie whose cast includes Sharron Corley, Gabriel Casseus, Saul Stein, Sean Squire and Gwen McGee. Bob Gosse and Larry Meistrich are the independent producers while Spike Lee is the executive producer., Under a sunny sky one recent afternoon in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, a camera crew squeezes into a small Chinese restaurant near the Cooper housing project and focuses on several actors portraying [...]

Three novice actors were casted in the feature film 'Amongst Friends' because of casting notices in the performance arts periodical 'Back Stage.' Joseph Lindsey, Steve Parlavecchio and Patrick McGaw won the parts over many other aspiring actors. Due to the favorable notices given the film the actors' careers have stepped up, and acknowledge Back Stage for the opportunity given them., Three actors in their 20s, winners of the starring male roles in the just-released feature film 'Amongst Friends,' are walking proof that it pays to read Back Stage casting notices. [...]

The use of New York, NY, as the site for the film 'Quiz Show' set in 1950s New York created a believable effect which offset the costs of the on-site production. Support from various unions further lightened the financial load and encouraged the producers to claim that it would bring more film-making business to the city. Among the noncontemporary sites visited include the New York Historical Society and the Grolier Club at 33rd Street., Call it a victory for those who believe a film with real New York ambience can be shot in only one place--New York--instead of in an alternate city substituted to [...]

'Tribeca' is a new television series of anthologies being shot in New York, NY. Each weekly episode of the series will feature different stories of various people living in the area of Tribeca. The one-hour drama program will feature only two regular actors but will include numerous guests. The television show is a joint venture between TriStar Television and Tribeca Films., Chalk up another victory in New York's battle to stimulate more television and film production in the city. 'Tribeca,' the new anthology television series made for future broadcast on the [...]