Life is busy – flowers are in bloom, Netflix DVDs are dead, and your Twitter checkmark is probably gone. It can be tough to stay up-to-date on all the latest film industry news, profiles, analysis, and advice. That’s why we’ve curated some essential reads you may have missed over the past month. So take some time to catch up with this month’s good reads! (Also, RIP BuzzFeed News!)
This Month’s Good Reads (April 2023)
The Data Is In: Theatrical Films Massively Outperform Straight-To-Streaming Films (via The Entertainment Strategy Guy)
Some streaming-vs-theatrical numbers to consider.
A New Kelly Reichardt Movie? These Actors Keep Showing Up (via Esther Zuckerman for The New York Times)
The high-pedigree acting troupe for low-budget films.
50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee (via Tim Molloy for MovieMaker Magazine)
Where to screen and/or network next.
As Hollywood Strike Looms, Five Writers Share Their Stories (via Stacy Perman and Anousha Sakoui for Los Angeles Times)
Anecdotes on the current state of film and TV writing.
The Wet Dreams and Twisted Politics of Erotic Thrillers (via Beatrice Loayza for The Criterion Collection)
A reflection on the belovedly trashy genre of the ’80s and ’90s.
The Empty Hour: An Inquiry Into French Existential Films (via Axelle Ropert for Lucky Star)
An investigation: What is an existential film?
Is AI the Future of Filmmaking? (via Andrew S. Allen for Short of the Week)
The different levels (and potentials) of using AI in your production.
L.A. Movie Theaters Ready for a Big Comeback This Year With the Egyptian, Vista and Vidiots (via Pat Saperstein for Variety)
Meet the new (or newly-revamped) movie theaters coming to LA!
In Praise of the Long Movie (via Richard Brody for The New Yorker)
Support for the three-hour movie.
Joyce Chopra: Memoirs of a Trailblazer (via Kat Sachs for Mubi Notebook)
An interview with the Smooth Talk filmmaker about her career and new memoir Lady Director.
Is Final Draft the Final Answer? On Alternatives to the Popular Screenwriting Software (via Jesse Pasternack for Filmmaker Magazine)
What to use for writing your next masterpiece.
Hollywood’s First Professional Stuntwoman Jumped From Planes and Swung Onto Trains (via Elizabeth Weitzman for Smithsonian Magazine)
Meet Helen Gibson, 1910s movie badass.
The Everlasting Appeal of Party Girl (via Rich Juzwiak for Jezebel)
The 1995 cult classic gets a re-release.
In case you were ignoring us (aka blatant self-promotion)
2023 Stowe Story Labs SAGindie Fellowship
Congrats to this year’s SAGindie Fellows, Chaseedaw Giles and Benjamin Mulholland!
Filmmaker Interview: Franklin Ritch, writer/director/star of The Artifice Girl
We talked to the creator of the new low-budget sci-fi drama.
A video worth watching
Producers who act, actors who produce (via SAG-AFTRA Foundation)
How ’bout you? Read anything good this month?
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If you’re an independent filmmaker or know of an independent film-related topic we should write about, email blogadmin@sagindie.org for consideration.