Life is busy – you’re celebrating Black History Month and the Super Bowl, not to mention keeping tabs on a tragic global conflict. It can be tough to stay up-to-date on 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!
This Month’s Good Reads (February 2022)
So Many Actors Are ‘Method’ Now. A New Book Explains What That Means and Why It Matters (via Stephanie Zacharek for Time)
The misconceptions of The Method.
Imposter Syndrome or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Filmmaking (via Emily Bennett for The Talkhouse)
How to find a sense of belonging behind the camera.
Missing Movies Is Determined to Democratize Independent Film Preservation (via Samantha Bergeson for IndieWire)
Discovering and saving the films that never made it past VHS.
“We Joke About it, But I Get Very Anxious When Guys Get Hurt”: Set Medic Eloy Lara on Jackass Forever (via Aaron Hunt for Filmmaker Magazine)
Safety supervising to the extreme.
Irwin Young, Patron of Independent Filmmakers, Is Dead at 94 (via Richard Sandomir for The New York Times)
Paying tribute to the DuArt Film Laboratories chairman and early champion of Spike Lee and Michael Moore.
The Learning Tree: Personal History (via Odie Henderson for The Criterion Collection)
Studying the first studio film from an African-American director, Gordon Parks.
Jockey Star Clifton Collins Jr. Isn’t Ready to Leave Indies (via Manuel Betancourt for Backstage)
Profiling the Spirit-Award nominee who double-dipped this year in budgets big (Nightmare Alley) and small (Jockey).
MAGA Movies Are Here. Does Anybody Care? (via Amos Barshad for Vice)
The filmmakers and producers (and political pundits) chasing right-wing moviegoers.
Francis Ford Coppola’s $100 Million Bet (via Zach Baron for GQ)
Coppola talks Hollywood, winemaking, and his plan to self-finance his next ($120 million) film.
“The Minions Do the Actual Writing”: The Ugly Truth of How Movie Scores Are Made (via Mark Rozzo for Vanity Fair)
From “ghost composers” to dwindling profits, fed-up musicians are speaking out.
Ukraine Filmmakers Unite to Send Everything From Bulletproof Vests to Power Banks to Those Documenting War (via Patrick Frater for Variety)
It’s easy to feel helpless, but here’s how some filmmakers are rising to the occasion for Ukraine.
In case you were ignoring us (aka blatant self-promotion)
2022 Sundance Film Festival Recap
Favorite films, highlights, and award-winners from Sundance ’22.
Film Independent Directors Close-Up 2022 Recap
Filmmaking insight from Maggie Gyllenhaal, Janicza Bravo, Barry Jenkins, and more.
A video worth watching
A “Blackfamous” Roundtable with Loretta Devine, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Larenz Tate, and Lynn Whitfield (via The Hollywood Reporter)
How ’bout you? Read anything good this month?
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