from Exhibitors Herald,via Wikimedia Commons Today, we learned about a truly bizarre moment in film history that we want to share. For as often as you hear people (usually wrongly) claiming censorship of media, you’ve never lived through anything like the reign of Major M.L.C. Funkhouser, film censor of the city of Chicago. As The […]
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FiveThirtyEight figures out the most and least successful movies based on books
A book is not a film. Each format has strong and weak points, and as common as book-to-movie adaptations are, not every story is well-suited for both. Fans of the original books might bemoan when the movie version misses the point, but sometimes movies end up being the right way to tell a story that […]
Continue readingThe next time you need a camera, check KitSplit
The AU Library is happy to lend out cameras, tripods, and microphones for students, staff, and faculty working on film projects, and SOC students also have the option to borrow equipment from the Media Production Center. But what happens if you graduate, or if you need something higher-end or specialized? You’d normally rent from a […]
Continue readingMeet the new canon of black film
As much as we enjoy poring over lists of the best films ever made, Aisha Harris and Dan Kois make a good point over at Slate: those lists are overwhelmingly white. And when film buffs follow those recommendations in search of the great art, they’ll watch predominantly white movies. We can lose sight of contributions […]
Continue readingWatch AU commencement addresses from years past
AU’s commencement ceremonies this year featured addresses from notable speakers like CNN’s John King and US Attorney General Loretta Lynch. Luckily, since we live in the era of free high-quality web video, you can watch all those on AU’s official YouTube channel. We’ve had a lot of exciting commencement speeches in the years before that, […]
Continue readingYou can own a piece of Mad Men history – even just an ashtray
Prop auctions are so irrationally fun. A pen might be worth a few cents, but if that pen appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy, my god, it’s worth hundreds or thousands of dollars. The chance to own a small piece of a movie or television show is the chance for a connection to art and […]
Continue readingWhy do TV characters who love coffee not actually drink coffee?
Want to ruin every television show you’ll watch for the next week? Look at the cups people drink coffee from. Critic Myles McNutt has noticed the prevalence of people drinking coffee on TV. It’s an easy way to make characters seem relatable and gives them a reason to stand around or meet together. But something […]
Continue readingWhat does independent film look like today?
via Maryland Film Festival The slow roll into summer is the time of year when we start to look at our big-picture tasks, so it seems appropriate to share a big-picture article about the state of film. For The New Yorker, Richard Brody wrote a lengthy piece about the state of “independent film” and what […]
Continue readingGraduated and moving onto filmmaking? Kodak may have a deal for you
Congratulations to everyone who graduated this weekend! We have no doubt you’ll go on to do great things. In particular, we want to talk to AU’s graduating film students, many of whom may be looking to start film projects. If you’re considering going down that path, you might need a little crowdfunding money. And if […]
Continue readingOn cinema and hunkiness
As we get closer to the end of the finals, we bring you hunky dudes. More specifically, we bring you an examination of the future outlook of hunky dudes in cinema. (Is there anything academic analysis can’t un-sexify?) Flavorwire‘s Lara Zarum wrote an insightful post about the changing representation of masculinity in movies. As the […]
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