Life is busy – Labor Day came and went; one labor strike ended (congrats WGA!); other labor strife continued. 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!
This Month’s Good Reads (September 2023)
These Film School Grads Ditched Studio Jobs for YouTube and TikTok. How’s That Going? (via Brian Contreras for Los Angeles Times)
Is social media influencing the new “getting your foot in the door”?
The Decomposition of Rotten Tomatoes (via Lane Brown for Vulture)
Inside the messy PR politics of the Tomatometer.
In Praise of Mink Stole, Trash Cinema’s Greatest Character Actress (via Kayleigh Donaldson for Mubi Notebook)
Putting John Waters’ longtime scene-stealer in the spotlight.
Lost in Translation at 20: A Tokyo Perspective (via James Hadfield for The Japan Times)
A remembrance of Sofia Coppola’s Oscar-winning film, from the people who were there.
Adapt or Die: Videogames at the Movies (via Thomas Flew for Sight & Sound)
The glitchy history of video game film adaptations.
7 Tips for Navigating a Career as a Cinematographer According to the DPs of Mudbound and The Woman King (via Stephanie Ornelas for The Sundance Institute)
Advice from DPs Rachel Morrison and Polly Morgan.
The Hollywood Dual Strike Isn’t Just About the Writers and Actors (via Shirley Li for The Atlantic)
The other industry professionals who are looking for a fair deal of their own.
Paradigm Shift: The Current State of Development Labs (via Anthony Kaufman for Filmmaker Magazine)
The good, the bad, and the in-between of filmmaker development labs.
The Hollywood Strike Is Ending. This Is How It Happened. (via Lucas Shaw for Bloomberg)
How the WGA and AMPTP got to a deal.
The Movie Song Guru (via Jake Kring-Schreifels for The Ringer)
Inside Once and Sing Street filmmaker John Carney’s ear-worm soundtracks.
The Safe Emotional Spaces of Wes Anderson’s Cinema – Part One and Part Two (via Sophie Monks Kaufman for Little White Lies)
A psychological deep dive into the Wes Anderson oeuvre.
Netflix Just Shipped Its Last DVD. The Algorithms Won (via Angela Watercutter for Wired)
RIP red envelopes.
25 New Faces of Independent Film 2023 (via Filmmaker Magazine)
We believe that new filmmakers are the future.
In case you were ignoring us (aka blatant self-promotion)
Film Music Connect Joins Forces with ColorCreative’s Find Your People Program
Read about our new partnership with Issa Rae and Deniese Davis’s ColorCreative.
A video worth watching
John Waters Hollywood Walk of Fame Ceremony Speech (via The Wrap)
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.