Ryan Murphy is looking to part ways with a historic mid-century home designed by iconic architect Richard Neutra — to the tune of $33.9 million.
The clean-lined house in Bel Air, California is known as The Brown House and was built in 1955 by the late architect, who was known for pioneering the idea of indoor-outdoor California living and whose houses have since been owned and prized by such entertainment names as Flea, Mitch Glazer and Kelly Lynch, stylist Jeanne Yang, and directors Josef von Sternberg and Marc Forster.
Feud and American Horror Story creator Murphy purchased the Brown House in 2022 and set about renovating it and decorating it in an eclectic style that wasn’t slavish to its mid-century roots. As he wrote in Architectural Digest earlier this year, “Instead of surrounding ourselves in one particular midcentury style that had long gone out of fashion (and was actually uncomfortable), why not invite...
The clean-lined house in Bel Air, California is known as The Brown House and was built in 1955 by the late architect, who was known for pioneering the idea of indoor-outdoor California living and whose houses have since been owned and prized by such entertainment names as Flea, Mitch Glazer and Kelly Lynch, stylist Jeanne Yang, and directors Josef von Sternberg and Marc Forster.
Feud and American Horror Story creator Murphy purchased the Brown House in 2022 and set about renovating it and decorating it in an eclectic style that wasn’t slavish to its mid-century roots. As he wrote in Architectural Digest earlier this year, “Instead of surrounding ourselves in one particular midcentury style that had long gone out of fashion (and was actually uncomfortable), why not invite...
- 5/14/2024
- by Degen Pener
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The official start of fall is days away, and Zegna and The Elder Statesman made sure a select set of Los Angeles VIPs are armed and ready with a new collection of cozy cashmere thanks to a pair of parties on Wednesday evening.
Following a launch in Paris earlier this year, the two brands teamed to unveil the wares locally, first during an outdoor bash at West Hollywood luxury hideaway Maxfield in the late afternoon. The festivities continued in the evening at a private residence in the Hollywood Hills designed by modernist architect Richard Neutra. Zegna artistic director Alessandro Sartori and The Elder Statesman founder and CEO Greg Chait made the rounds at both to chat up the Oasi Cashmere collab which merges the sensibilities of their respective companies by combining Zegna’s eye for the finest in materials with Elder Statesman’s bold and eye-catching prints.
Greg Chait and...
Following a launch in Paris earlier this year, the two brands teamed to unveil the wares locally, first during an outdoor bash at West Hollywood luxury hideaway Maxfield in the late afternoon. The festivities continued in the evening at a private residence in the Hollywood Hills designed by modernist architect Richard Neutra. Zegna artistic director Alessandro Sartori and The Elder Statesman founder and CEO Greg Chait made the rounds at both to chat up the Oasi Cashmere collab which merges the sensibilities of their respective companies by combining Zegna’s eye for the finest in materials with Elder Statesman’s bold and eye-catching prints.
Greg Chait and...
- 9/7/2023
- by Chris Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
[Editor’s note: The following interview contains spoilers.]
Of all the movie references crammed into Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster “Barbie,” the most important is “The Matrix” because it serves as the foundational basis for Barbie’s (Margot Robbie) journey from the feminism of Barbie Land to the patriarchal “real world” of Century City and Venice.
That’s the moment, of course, when Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon) offers Robbie’s Stereotypical Barbie the choice of maintaining the status quo with the pink heel or escaping to the real world in a Birkenstock to solve her existential crisis.
For production designer Sarah Greenwood and set decorator Katie Spencer (who have six Oscar nominations between them), Barbie Land was unknown territory. But it was instructive to have the contrast between Barbie Land and L.A. in the script by Gerwig and Noah Baumbach.
“Not that it’s real, but L.A. was a given,” Greenwood told IndieWire. “Even though we’re [British] outsiders,...
Of all the movie references crammed into Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster “Barbie,” the most important is “The Matrix” because it serves as the foundational basis for Barbie’s (Margot Robbie) journey from the feminism of Barbie Land to the patriarchal “real world” of Century City and Venice.
That’s the moment, of course, when Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon) offers Robbie’s Stereotypical Barbie the choice of maintaining the status quo with the pink heel or escaping to the real world in a Birkenstock to solve her existential crisis.
For production designer Sarah Greenwood and set decorator Katie Spencer (who have six Oscar nominations between them), Barbie Land was unknown territory. But it was instructive to have the contrast between Barbie Land and L.A. in the script by Gerwig and Noah Baumbach.
“Not that it’s real, but L.A. was a given,” Greenwood told IndieWire. “Even though we’re [British] outsiders,...
- 7/28/2023
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
“Don’t Worry Darling,” a movie whose surrounding controversies have somewhat managed to eclipse the actual movie, is finally here.
And beyond the din of the tabloid machine, the movie is a mystery – less a whodunnit than a what-the-hell-is-going on, as we watch the life of 1950s housewife Alice (Florence Pugh) unravel as Alice discovers the disturbing truth about her idyllic desert enclave. (She is very much through the looking glass here.)
What is going on in her community? What is the Victory Project? And what is Chris Pine’s deal, anyway? For that, we must have an in-depth discussion of the film’s ending, so consider yourself warned.
Major spoiler warning. If you haven’t watched “Don’t Worry Darling” yet, seriously turn back around now. We’ll be here when you’re ready.
A Brief History of the Victory Project
We are introduced to Alice in the middle of a debaucherously wild weekday mixer.
And beyond the din of the tabloid machine, the movie is a mystery – less a whodunnit than a what-the-hell-is-going on, as we watch the life of 1950s housewife Alice (Florence Pugh) unravel as Alice discovers the disturbing truth about her idyllic desert enclave. (She is very much through the looking glass here.)
What is going on in her community? What is the Victory Project? And what is Chris Pine’s deal, anyway? For that, we must have an in-depth discussion of the film’s ending, so consider yourself warned.
Major spoiler warning. If you haven’t watched “Don’t Worry Darling” yet, seriously turn back around now. We’ll be here when you’re ready.
A Brief History of the Victory Project
We are introduced to Alice in the middle of a debaucherously wild weekday mixer.
- 11/8/2022
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
In “Don’t Worry Darling,” young housewife Alice (Florence Pugh) lives with her husband Jack (Harry Styles) in a 1950s housing development that, for both the characters and the audience, is one of the most inviting and luxurious environments to be seen in a Hollywood movie since the heyday of Vincente Minnelli and Douglas Sirk. That was every bit the intention, according to production designer Katie Byron. “There was a lot of talk about what a modern version of a 1950s utopia would be,” she told IndieWire.
From the beginning, that meant shooting in Palm Springs, where Byron took inspiration not only from the rich architecture by legends like Albert Frey and Richard Neutra, but also from the history of debauchery underneath the placid surfaces. “There was a lot of investigation into The Rat Pack and how Palm Springs became this place where the Hollywood elite — as well as artists and...
From the beginning, that meant shooting in Palm Springs, where Byron took inspiration not only from the rich architecture by legends like Albert Frey and Richard Neutra, but also from the history of debauchery underneath the placid surfaces. “There was a lot of investigation into The Rat Pack and how Palm Springs became this place where the Hollywood elite — as well as artists and...
- 9/24/2022
- by Jim Hemphill
- Indiewire
Despite its striking architecture, Palm Springs has seldom been captured effectively on film — even the movie “Palm Springs” shot somewhere else. But no longer. The Olivia Wilde-directed dystopian fantasy “Don’t Worry Darling” makes ample use of the California resort town’s well-preserved mid-century buildings to showcase her vision of 1950s suburban bliss covering up something menacing underneath. Endless sunny skies, broad avenues lined with swaying palm trees and turquoise swimming pools are signifiers of an idealized life for the inhabitants of the fictional Victory Project, like the attractive young couple played by Florence Pugh and Harry Styles.
Production designer Katie Byron, the art and set decoration teams and location manager Chris Baugh pushed hard to be able to shoot in landmark mid-century buildings, and furnished them with period-appropriate items – despite the difficulty of filming in pristine historic locales.
Byron took inspiration from several of the architects and designers most associated with Palm Springs,...
Production designer Katie Byron, the art and set decoration teams and location manager Chris Baugh pushed hard to be able to shoot in landmark mid-century buildings, and furnished them with period-appropriate items – despite the difficulty of filming in pristine historic locales.
Byron took inspiration from several of the architects and designers most associated with Palm Springs,...
- 9/22/2022
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Stylist Jeanne Yang — whose client list of stylish actors includes Robert Downey Jr., Anthony Mackie, Jason Momoa, Jamie Dornan, Simu Liu, Christian Bale and Regé-Jean Page — has discerning taste in home design as well as clothing.
Twenty-two years ago, she and her husband, Scott Cort, bought an architecturally significant home in Woodland Hills, California, designed by the influential architect Richard Neutra.
Now, the couple has decided to list the house (with Allen Roth of Sotheby’s International Realty), putting it on the market for 3.3 million. The four-bedroom residence — known as the J.N. Baldwin House and located in the western San Fernando Valley — was built in 1962. Among the details that have been faithfully preserved are an original built-in wall clock, sconces and light switches, all chosen by Neutra. Original chalk drawings by Neutra, plus blueprints and a construction book, also are included in the listing.
Stylist Jeanne Yang — whose client list of stylish actors includes Robert Downey Jr., Anthony Mackie, Jason Momoa, Jamie Dornan, Simu Liu, Christian Bale and Regé-Jean Page — has discerning taste in home design as well as clothing.
Twenty-two years ago, she and her husband, Scott Cort, bought an architecturally significant home in Woodland Hills, California, designed by the influential architect Richard Neutra.
Now, the couple has decided to list the house (with Allen Roth of Sotheby’s International Realty), putting it on the market for 3.3 million. The four-bedroom residence — known as the J.N. Baldwin House and located in the western San Fernando Valley — was built in 1962. Among the details that have been faithfully preserved are an original built-in wall clock, sconces and light switches, all chosen by Neutra. Original chalk drawings by Neutra, plus blueprints and a construction book, also are included in the listing.
- 7/11/2022
- by Degen Pener
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Click here to read the full article.
Late in 1971, a shaggy, 23-year-old college student and aspiring screenwriter was toiling away at his master’s thesis at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Born Feb. 2, 1948, in Waukegan, Illinois, David Ray Johnson displayed nothing particularly remarkable at first glance. He stood about 5-foot-7, had long brown hair and a thick mustache, and was “your basic Midwestern kid,” as one friend would later describe him.
But he was not entirely basic. Johnson was openly gay and rather flamboyant. He was entranced by drag queens. He spoke with a breathy, halting affectation. He’d often declare of things that met his approval, “What a hoot!”
And he was obsessed with Mae West.
The pioneering sex symbol was the subject of Johnson’s film studies thesis. The 72-page dissertation, “An Historical and Interpretive Analysis of the Development and Perpetuation of the Mae West Phenomenon on...
Late in 1971, a shaggy, 23-year-old college student and aspiring screenwriter was toiling away at his master’s thesis at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Born Feb. 2, 1948, in Waukegan, Illinois, David Ray Johnson displayed nothing particularly remarkable at first glance. He stood about 5-foot-7, had long brown hair and a thick mustache, and was “your basic Midwestern kid,” as one friend would later describe him.
But he was not entirely basic. Johnson was openly gay and rather flamboyant. He was entranced by drag queens. He spoke with a breathy, halting affectation. He’d often declare of things that met his approval, “What a hoot!”
And he was obsessed with Mae West.
The pioneering sex symbol was the subject of Johnson’s film studies thesis. The 72-page dissertation, “An Historical and Interpretive Analysis of the Development and Perpetuation of the Mae West Phenomenon on...
- 6/17/2022
- by Seth Abramovitch
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Amazon has released its list of every new title coming to its Prime Video streaming service in August. New additions include “Free Meek,” which covers rapper Meek Mill’s 2017 arrest for probation violations, which sparked outrage. The Amazon Prime original series will be released on Aug. 9 and will re-investigate his original case and explore allegations of police corruption.
A trio of new comedy specials are coming in August as well. “Jim Gaffigan: Quality Time,” his seventh comedy special, arrives Aug. 16. Here, the four-time Grammy-nominated comedian talks about how he doesn’t understand why we aren’t more honest about the reasons we don’t want to attend events.
“Alice Wetterlund: My Mama is a Human and So Am I,” is out on Aug. 23, features comedian and actor Alice Wetterlund as she reveals her personal struggles with peeping toms, cat-rearing, alcoholism and the secret alien conspiracy behind new country music in her breakout comedy special.
A trio of new comedy specials are coming in August as well. “Jim Gaffigan: Quality Time,” his seventh comedy special, arrives Aug. 16. Here, the four-time Grammy-nominated comedian talks about how he doesn’t understand why we aren’t more honest about the reasons we don’t want to attend events.
“Alice Wetterlund: My Mama is a Human and So Am I,” is out on Aug. 23, features comedian and actor Alice Wetterlund as she reveals her personal struggles with peeping toms, cat-rearing, alcoholism and the secret alien conspiracy behind new country music in her breakout comedy special.
- 8/1/2019
- by Margeaux Sippell
- The Wrap
Summer keeps chugging along into August and so does the spate of new releases on Amazon Prime to keep you busy on leisurely sunny days. The streaming platform will debut its monster-filled fantasy “Carnival Row” as well as make available the monster classic sequel “Hellboy II: The Golden Army.” Amazon has a bit of everything for the upcoming month: Jim Gaffigan will provide the laughs with his first Amazon stand-up special “Quality Time,” Tom Cruise will provide the thrills with “Mission Impossible: Fallout,” and Michael Cera and Kat Dennings will provide the heart with “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist.”
See the full list of titles below:
Aug. 2
This is Football (Season 1)
Aug. 7
All I See Is You
Aug. 9
Free Meek (Season 1)
Pete the Cat
Aug. 12
Andy Irons: Kissed by God
Aug. 16
Jim Gaffigan: Quality Time
Photograph
Aug. 21
A Simple Favor
Aug. 23
Alice Wetterlund: My Mama is a...
See the full list of titles below:
Aug. 2
This is Football (Season 1)
Aug. 7
All I See Is You
Aug. 9
Free Meek (Season 1)
Pete the Cat
Aug. 12
Andy Irons: Kissed by God
Aug. 16
Jim Gaffigan: Quality Time
Photograph
Aug. 21
A Simple Favor
Aug. 23
Alice Wetterlund: My Mama is a...
- 7/31/2019
- by Dano Nissen
- Variety Film + TV
In our new reality series Mansion Hunters, Paul Kim and his team of Image Locations associates scour Los Angeles to find beautiful and exotic homes and mansions to serve as locations for movie shoots and weddings or simply as get-away pads for the rich and famous. It can't be easy for Kim and company, dealing with extremely demanding clients with very particular tastes, but the hardest part of their job has to be finding just the right location for a major movie. After all, what's a good scene without an equally compelling setting? The best locations in movies are often remembered as vividly as the actors who appeared in them, transcending beyond simple structures to become characters unto themselves. Mark your calendar or set an alert for July 9th to watch the premiere of Mansion Hunters and then check out our list of the Hollywood Movie Mansion we love the most.
- 6/10/2014
- by BJSprecher Sprecher
- Reelzchannel.com
We have noticed recently with seemingly endless proliferation of film fests here and worldwide how many of them hew to very specific business and content areas for their films and, obviously, audiences. This is a good example of this tendency.
Recent films about architecture and design and panel discussions on urban design, restoration and more are part of L.A.'s first Architecture & Design Film Festival, which began Wednesday (March 12-16).
The photo is a still from Telos: The Fantastic World of Eugene Tssui, one of 30 films screening during this week's Architecture & Design Film Festival.
The Los Angeles edition of the Architecture & Design Film Festival kicks off its five-day salute to art, architecture, design, fashion and urban planning Wednesday with showings of If You Build It, Design Is One: Massimo & Leila Vignelli and 16 Acres.
The L.A. film festival, running through Sunday, will feature 30 recent feature-length and short films from around the world. "There is something for everyone who likes design at the festival," said the festival's founder and director, architect Kyle Bergman.
The films will screen at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 S. Spring St.
Several documentaries in the series will focus on designs specific to California, including The Oyler House, a film about the Lone Pine retreat designed by Richard Neutra; Coast Modern, a look at West Coast Modernist architecture; and Telos: The Fantastic World of Eugene Tssui, making its world premiere.
Director Kyung Lee said she hoped her documentary on Tssui, considered by some to be an eccentric nature-based architect, would challenge viewers' perception of what architecture should be.
"So many people have opinions about architecture and what they like and what they don't like," she said. "I'd like people to come and see for themselves. Maybe it's not practical, but we should be able to extend our idea of architecture."
The festival also will feature question-and-answer sessions with the filmmakers, including Kyung Lee and Eugene Tssui (Telos: The Fantastic World of Eugene Tssui), Aimee Madsen (Paolo Soleri: Beyond Form) and Doug Pray (Levitated Mass), as well as five hourlong panel discussions.
Thursday
Clifford Pearson, deputy editor of Architectural Record, will moderate "Remaking the City," a panel on population, scale, urban design and Danish architect and urban planner Jan Gehl, whose work is featured in the film The Human Scale. Panelists are architect Jonathan Ward, Los Angeles Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne and Mina M. Chow, professor at the USC School of Architecture. 7 p.m.
Saturday
Frances Anderton, host of Kcrw's "DnA: Design and Architecture"; Knud Erik Hansen, chief executive of Danish furniture company Carl Hansen & Son; architectural historian Barbara Lamprecht; and others will discuss "No Easy Chair: Architects and the Design of Furniture." 2:30 p.m.
Saturday
Architect Alice Kimm, professor at USC's School of Architecture, will moderate "Learning Culture: Embedded Architecture," a discussion on the current state of architectural education, with Kevin Kennon, founding principal of United Architects; architect and educator Ingalill Wahlroos-Ritter; professor and designer Amy Murphy; and urban historian Norman Klein. 4:30 p.m.
Sunday
Architecture critic Michael Webb will moderate "Purism and Pragmatism: Restoring Classic Modern Houses," a panel on the restoration and delicate balance between idealism and practicality. He will be joined by actress and preservationist Kelly Lynch, who owns Richard Neutra's Oyler House; designer Michael Boyd of Boyd Design; and architect Frank Escher, partner at Escher GuneWardena Architecture and an expert on John Lautner. 2:30 p.m.
Sunday
Mimi Zeiger, critic, curator and founder of the architecture zine and blog Loud Paper, will present "Hands-on, Ground-up: Community and Design/Build" with Steve Badanes, director of the Neighborhood Design Build Studio at the University of Washington; artist Jenna Didier; and Dave Sellers, architect and co-creator of the utopian Prickly Mountain enclave in Vermont. 5:30 p.m.
For more information visit Here...
Recent films about architecture and design and panel discussions on urban design, restoration and more are part of L.A.'s first Architecture & Design Film Festival, which began Wednesday (March 12-16).
The photo is a still from Telos: The Fantastic World of Eugene Tssui, one of 30 films screening during this week's Architecture & Design Film Festival.
The Los Angeles edition of the Architecture & Design Film Festival kicks off its five-day salute to art, architecture, design, fashion and urban planning Wednesday with showings of If You Build It, Design Is One: Massimo & Leila Vignelli and 16 Acres.
The L.A. film festival, running through Sunday, will feature 30 recent feature-length and short films from around the world. "There is something for everyone who likes design at the festival," said the festival's founder and director, architect Kyle Bergman.
The films will screen at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 S. Spring St.
Several documentaries in the series will focus on designs specific to California, including The Oyler House, a film about the Lone Pine retreat designed by Richard Neutra; Coast Modern, a look at West Coast Modernist architecture; and Telos: The Fantastic World of Eugene Tssui, making its world premiere.
Director Kyung Lee said she hoped her documentary on Tssui, considered by some to be an eccentric nature-based architect, would challenge viewers' perception of what architecture should be.
"So many people have opinions about architecture and what they like and what they don't like," she said. "I'd like people to come and see for themselves. Maybe it's not practical, but we should be able to extend our idea of architecture."
The festival also will feature question-and-answer sessions with the filmmakers, including Kyung Lee and Eugene Tssui (Telos: The Fantastic World of Eugene Tssui), Aimee Madsen (Paolo Soleri: Beyond Form) and Doug Pray (Levitated Mass), as well as five hourlong panel discussions.
Thursday
Clifford Pearson, deputy editor of Architectural Record, will moderate "Remaking the City," a panel on population, scale, urban design and Danish architect and urban planner Jan Gehl, whose work is featured in the film The Human Scale. Panelists are architect Jonathan Ward, Los Angeles Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne and Mina M. Chow, professor at the USC School of Architecture. 7 p.m.
Saturday
Frances Anderton, host of Kcrw's "DnA: Design and Architecture"; Knud Erik Hansen, chief executive of Danish furniture company Carl Hansen & Son; architectural historian Barbara Lamprecht; and others will discuss "No Easy Chair: Architects and the Design of Furniture." 2:30 p.m.
Saturday
Architect Alice Kimm, professor at USC's School of Architecture, will moderate "Learning Culture: Embedded Architecture," a discussion on the current state of architectural education, with Kevin Kennon, founding principal of United Architects; architect and educator Ingalill Wahlroos-Ritter; professor and designer Amy Murphy; and urban historian Norman Klein. 4:30 p.m.
Sunday
Architecture critic Michael Webb will moderate "Purism and Pragmatism: Restoring Classic Modern Houses," a panel on the restoration and delicate balance between idealism and practicality. He will be joined by actress and preservationist Kelly Lynch, who owns Richard Neutra's Oyler House; designer Michael Boyd of Boyd Design; and architect Frank Escher, partner at Escher GuneWardena Architecture and an expert on John Lautner. 2:30 p.m.
Sunday
Mimi Zeiger, critic, curator and founder of the architecture zine and blog Loud Paper, will present "Hands-on, Ground-up: Community and Design/Build" with Steve Badanes, director of the Neighborhood Design Build Studio at the University of Washington; artist Jenna Didier; and Dave Sellers, architect and co-creator of the utopian Prickly Mountain enclave in Vermont. 5:30 p.m.
For more information visit Here...
- 3/16/2014
- by Peter Belsito
- Sydney's Buzz
During Afm I was privileged to interview Beki Probst, Director of the European Film Market, one of the three top international film markets in the world and Wieland Speck, Director of the Berlin Film Festival’s Panorama. Both are innovators of what have become the standard features of film markets and festivals. Beki and Wieland speak about their roles live-on-video filmed during Afm by doc filmmaker Robert Ball.
The Berlin International Film Festival began in 1951 at the height of the Cold War as a signal to East Germany that West Berlin was still in the Avant Garde. It is now one of the world’s leading film festivals selling something more than 300,000 tickets to the public.
When the festival moved from West Berlin to Potsdamer Platz in time for its 50th anniversary in 2000, its name was changed and trademarked as the Berlinale.
The European Film Market (Efm) was created by the Berlin International Film Festival somewhere in the mid 1980s because those whose films were screening in the Festival also needed a place where distributors around the world could meet to acquire the rights to license the burgeoning home video rights along with the theatrical and TV rights. Other festivals scouting films to program also began attending in greater numbers. Today about 20,000 industry visitors attend along with some 4,000 journalists from a total of 130 countries. Trade alone purchases some 175,000 additional tickets to screenings.
Beki thus took a leading role in how markets operate, although hers was originally a market strictly for festival art films. This is in contrast to the American Film Market which had no affiliation to a festival and offered genre films as well which were being licensed for home video. At that time in the 80s, there was also the Cannes Market which ran alongside the Cannes Film Festival but was pretty chaotic. There was also the now defunct Mifed, a market in Milan Italy for international films.
When Mifed went out of existence, the Efm expanded its role by popular demand and became an equal on “The Film Circuit “ as a Must-Attend Market for most of the world’s 400 + international sales agents. In spite of its growth, Beki has retained the jewel-like quality of the market.
When the Berlin Wall fell and the wasteland which had been Potsdamer Platz was reclaimed and rebuilt by the united Germany, “Her Market” (she is still very much the elegant grand dame of the international film business), retained its artful demeanor by relocating to the Martin Gropius Bau.
It remains the unique trait of Efm that the Berlin Market was developed by the festival programmers. The festival programmers are still influential for the market offerings. The market and the festival are symbiotic and are also symbolic of more than the former cold war challenge it threw down to the Eastern European Soviet block. It remains a beacon for discussion of art, culture, politics and international coproductions which reflect countries’ unique points of views.
While the larger international sales agents like Im Global, The Weinstein Company, FilmNation and others are located in the nearby Ritz-Carlton, Hyatt or Marriot Hotels, the originators of the market, the German entities, the Italians, French, Latino, Spanish, Scandinavian and other international sales companies, along with some U.S. companies, are housed in the Martin Gropius Bau, one of Berlin’s top museums except for the 10 days of the Efm in February.
The Martin Gropius Bau was built by Martin Gropius who was the father of Walter Gropius, one of the original architects who gave Los Angeles, California its modern look.
Parenthetically, as I write this from Havana, I must remark on how the Walter Gropius signature seems to appear on many of the houses and apartment buildings here as well. Bauhaus architects brought their ideas to Cuba as well as to L.A. In Havana, I visited the Swiss Embassy which is in a house by Richard Neutra, another of the German/ Austrian modernists.
The Efm maintains its jewel museum quality even with the larger sales agents selling out their slates. As you enter the Martin Gropius Bau, you are greeted during the first days by guards, dressed in quite beautiful red and gold uniforms wearing white gloves. I get great pleasure from the gorgeous red carpet awards ceremony where I can see the sort of films winning the top awards which then go on to win Oscars like the Golden Bear winning A Separation which later won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film 2011, or Child’s Pose which should have been nominated for Best Foreign Language Academy Award. On the last two days after the Awards, going to Friedrichs Palast, another jewel of a theater in the old East Berlin to see the best of the films I missed, seeing filmmakers there doing the same is a rare treat, one that I count on having every year.
Beki and Wieland present themselves as active but also the “memory” of the festival. Knowledge of the past is important even while they are choosing the best of new films. It is important for the market that the public audience of more than 300,000 (plus another 175,000 professionals) also attend the festival, unlike in Cannes where the public is not included at all, or Afm where there is no festival or public participation. Likewise, the market is important as part of support for the big city audiences in on the five continents as the buyers are encouraged to take films which will play well in big cities. Professionals need to experience public reactions to films and the public enjoys its ability to view with a critical eye the films selected for the festival.
Festival audiences are not exactly like normal year round moviegoers, even though Berliners are spoiled by cultural events galore and therefore are a very critical audience. Berlin is also a very historical city with its own special memories with a politicizing effect.
Afm, Efm and Cannes are all very collegial and each one is quite different. Afm’s nature is different – ocean, sun, it is in a beautiful setting. Efm is cold, it forces the people to watch movies — both art and mainstream. Small films still have a place in the sun. They get attention at Efm which is very important. Press is not allowed unless the producers want to Ok their presence in their screenings.
The Place of Documentaries
Beki recently developed The Doc Corner, but docs have a long history in Berlin. The Forum was begun in 1971 as a sort of counter-program to the Berlinale and from day one docs had a strong role. In 1980 the Panorama began as a different sort of counter programming, including Glbt programming and docs. Out the 50 films shown, ⅓ are docs. In 1990 the docs changed because television had shortened the doc form and the audiences wanted something more substantive to chew on. Cinema took over the documentaries with in depth subject being covered. Panorama Dokumente showed premieres during the festival at 5pm. Earlier in the day were market films, later in the evening were the larger gala and competitive films.
Beki saw the market as including docs of course since there are lots of docs in the festival sections. A woman at the Jerusalem Film Festival said to Beki it would be good if Berlin had a place doc producers, buyers and sellers could meet up, and so Beki set up The Doc Corner. This year in partnership with the Leipzig Doc Festival and Visions du Reel from Nyon, there will be a strong place for documentaries to attract attention.
A Place for First Timers
Last year an introductory session, “Shortcuts for First Timers” to the market was held in the Mirror Restaurant for some 300 to 400 newcomers. This year it will continue, perhaps with some changes. If I might suggest some changes, I would recommend that the names of those explaining how to navigate within the market and all its sidebars and attractions have their names posted visibly on the screen behind them, where maps and other graphics could also be displayed. It would helpful to know the audience makeup - are they filmmakers? journalists? actors? It was a surprise to hear such a question as “How do I meet financiers for my film?” asked last year. I would also love to post a replay of the panel to help my students learn about what to expect at a film market.
The new Berlinale Residency Program for writer/ directors to stay four months in Berlin working on their fiction, doc or cross-media projects with professional mentors in September to December, followed by the February presentations at the Co-Produciton Market was introduced last year.
The Talent Campus which has now changed its name to Berlin Talents and the tours I give are also briefly explained at the First Times event. This program was one of Dieter Kosslick’s best ideas when he took over the festival from Moritz de Hadlin so many years ago.
And the use of Wi-Fi and the password written on our badges needs a bit of explanation along with the red-lighted paths which direct participants to screening venues are other innovations. Also there is a new educational innovation called Making Waves in which five film schools participate by making business plans for the sales and distribution of films in the market. Making Waves includes the London Film School under the leadership of Ben Gibson and Columbia University Film School under the leadership of Ira Deutchman, Le Femis from France, the dffb from Germany and l’Escac, the Romanian Film and Theatre University.
Structural Changes in 2014
This year will be remarkable in a shift back to West Berlin which will evoke memories of those who recall the old market. The festival returns to the newly restored 800 seat Zoo Palast where the festival was originally held. Panorama Specials and Generations will show there along with market films in the smaller theaters.
This is a shift back to the west of Berlin which will evoke memories of those who recall the old glamorous West. The Kempinski and Savoy Hotels are very hot there as well. So the Berlinale is regaining the past in some ways.
For more info on the European Film Market visit Here...
The Berlin International Film Festival began in 1951 at the height of the Cold War as a signal to East Germany that West Berlin was still in the Avant Garde. It is now one of the world’s leading film festivals selling something more than 300,000 tickets to the public.
When the festival moved from West Berlin to Potsdamer Platz in time for its 50th anniversary in 2000, its name was changed and trademarked as the Berlinale.
The European Film Market (Efm) was created by the Berlin International Film Festival somewhere in the mid 1980s because those whose films were screening in the Festival also needed a place where distributors around the world could meet to acquire the rights to license the burgeoning home video rights along with the theatrical and TV rights. Other festivals scouting films to program also began attending in greater numbers. Today about 20,000 industry visitors attend along with some 4,000 journalists from a total of 130 countries. Trade alone purchases some 175,000 additional tickets to screenings.
Beki thus took a leading role in how markets operate, although hers was originally a market strictly for festival art films. This is in contrast to the American Film Market which had no affiliation to a festival and offered genre films as well which were being licensed for home video. At that time in the 80s, there was also the Cannes Market which ran alongside the Cannes Film Festival but was pretty chaotic. There was also the now defunct Mifed, a market in Milan Italy for international films.
When Mifed went out of existence, the Efm expanded its role by popular demand and became an equal on “The Film Circuit “ as a Must-Attend Market for most of the world’s 400 + international sales agents. In spite of its growth, Beki has retained the jewel-like quality of the market.
When the Berlin Wall fell and the wasteland which had been Potsdamer Platz was reclaimed and rebuilt by the united Germany, “Her Market” (she is still very much the elegant grand dame of the international film business), retained its artful demeanor by relocating to the Martin Gropius Bau.
It remains the unique trait of Efm that the Berlin Market was developed by the festival programmers. The festival programmers are still influential for the market offerings. The market and the festival are symbiotic and are also symbolic of more than the former cold war challenge it threw down to the Eastern European Soviet block. It remains a beacon for discussion of art, culture, politics and international coproductions which reflect countries’ unique points of views.
While the larger international sales agents like Im Global, The Weinstein Company, FilmNation and others are located in the nearby Ritz-Carlton, Hyatt or Marriot Hotels, the originators of the market, the German entities, the Italians, French, Latino, Spanish, Scandinavian and other international sales companies, along with some U.S. companies, are housed in the Martin Gropius Bau, one of Berlin’s top museums except for the 10 days of the Efm in February.
The Martin Gropius Bau was built by Martin Gropius who was the father of Walter Gropius, one of the original architects who gave Los Angeles, California its modern look.
Parenthetically, as I write this from Havana, I must remark on how the Walter Gropius signature seems to appear on many of the houses and apartment buildings here as well. Bauhaus architects brought their ideas to Cuba as well as to L.A. In Havana, I visited the Swiss Embassy which is in a house by Richard Neutra, another of the German/ Austrian modernists.
The Efm maintains its jewel museum quality even with the larger sales agents selling out their slates. As you enter the Martin Gropius Bau, you are greeted during the first days by guards, dressed in quite beautiful red and gold uniforms wearing white gloves. I get great pleasure from the gorgeous red carpet awards ceremony where I can see the sort of films winning the top awards which then go on to win Oscars like the Golden Bear winning A Separation which later won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film 2011, or Child’s Pose which should have been nominated for Best Foreign Language Academy Award. On the last two days after the Awards, going to Friedrichs Palast, another jewel of a theater in the old East Berlin to see the best of the films I missed, seeing filmmakers there doing the same is a rare treat, one that I count on having every year.
Beki and Wieland present themselves as active but also the “memory” of the festival. Knowledge of the past is important even while they are choosing the best of new films. It is important for the market that the public audience of more than 300,000 (plus another 175,000 professionals) also attend the festival, unlike in Cannes where the public is not included at all, or Afm where there is no festival or public participation. Likewise, the market is important as part of support for the big city audiences in on the five continents as the buyers are encouraged to take films which will play well in big cities. Professionals need to experience public reactions to films and the public enjoys its ability to view with a critical eye the films selected for the festival.
Festival audiences are not exactly like normal year round moviegoers, even though Berliners are spoiled by cultural events galore and therefore are a very critical audience. Berlin is also a very historical city with its own special memories with a politicizing effect.
Afm, Efm and Cannes are all very collegial and each one is quite different. Afm’s nature is different – ocean, sun, it is in a beautiful setting. Efm is cold, it forces the people to watch movies — both art and mainstream. Small films still have a place in the sun. They get attention at Efm which is very important. Press is not allowed unless the producers want to Ok their presence in their screenings.
The Place of Documentaries
Beki recently developed The Doc Corner, but docs have a long history in Berlin. The Forum was begun in 1971 as a sort of counter-program to the Berlinale and from day one docs had a strong role. In 1980 the Panorama began as a different sort of counter programming, including Glbt programming and docs. Out the 50 films shown, ⅓ are docs. In 1990 the docs changed because television had shortened the doc form and the audiences wanted something more substantive to chew on. Cinema took over the documentaries with in depth subject being covered. Panorama Dokumente showed premieres during the festival at 5pm. Earlier in the day were market films, later in the evening were the larger gala and competitive films.
Beki saw the market as including docs of course since there are lots of docs in the festival sections. A woman at the Jerusalem Film Festival said to Beki it would be good if Berlin had a place doc producers, buyers and sellers could meet up, and so Beki set up The Doc Corner. This year in partnership with the Leipzig Doc Festival and Visions du Reel from Nyon, there will be a strong place for documentaries to attract attention.
A Place for First Timers
Last year an introductory session, “Shortcuts for First Timers” to the market was held in the Mirror Restaurant for some 300 to 400 newcomers. This year it will continue, perhaps with some changes. If I might suggest some changes, I would recommend that the names of those explaining how to navigate within the market and all its sidebars and attractions have their names posted visibly on the screen behind them, where maps and other graphics could also be displayed. It would helpful to know the audience makeup - are they filmmakers? journalists? actors? It was a surprise to hear such a question as “How do I meet financiers for my film?” asked last year. I would also love to post a replay of the panel to help my students learn about what to expect at a film market.
The new Berlinale Residency Program for writer/ directors to stay four months in Berlin working on their fiction, doc or cross-media projects with professional mentors in September to December, followed by the February presentations at the Co-Produciton Market was introduced last year.
The Talent Campus which has now changed its name to Berlin Talents and the tours I give are also briefly explained at the First Times event. This program was one of Dieter Kosslick’s best ideas when he took over the festival from Moritz de Hadlin so many years ago.
And the use of Wi-Fi and the password written on our badges needs a bit of explanation along with the red-lighted paths which direct participants to screening venues are other innovations. Also there is a new educational innovation called Making Waves in which five film schools participate by making business plans for the sales and distribution of films in the market. Making Waves includes the London Film School under the leadership of Ben Gibson and Columbia University Film School under the leadership of Ira Deutchman, Le Femis from France, the dffb from Germany and l’Escac, the Romanian Film and Theatre University.
Structural Changes in 2014
This year will be remarkable in a shift back to West Berlin which will evoke memories of those who recall the old market. The festival returns to the newly restored 800 seat Zoo Palast where the festival was originally held. Panorama Specials and Generations will show there along with market films in the smaller theaters.
This is a shift back to the west of Berlin which will evoke memories of those who recall the old glamorous West. The Kempinski and Savoy Hotels are very hot there as well. So the Berlinale is regaining the past in some ways.
For more info on the European Film Market visit Here...
- 1/2/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
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- 11/6/2012
- by tooFab Staff
- TooFab
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