One film that was very well received at the 2012 Las Vegas Film Festival is the heart wrenching and spiritually uplifting documentary “The Eyes of Thailand,” which was directed and produced by Windy Borman.  Recipient of one of the 2011 ACE Film Grants from The Humane Society of the US, “The Eyes of Thailand” takes...

Part 2 on Filmmakers Notebook with Oscar-winning Actor Louis Gossett Jr., who received the 2012 Male Indie Icon Award at the Las Vegas Film Festival. The role was demanding physically as well as emotionally.  For one thing it required that Louis separate himself from his fellow cast members and the crew in order to develop...

On Saturday, July 21st actor Louis Gossett Jr. was awarded the 2012 Male Indie Icon Award at the Las Vegas Film Festival during festivities that included a press conference and a special screening celebrating the 30 year anniversary of his hit film “An Officer and a Gentleman” followed by an audience Q&A.  Gossett was joined...

One recent highlight was playing Lela Rogers in Clint Eastwood’s “J. Edgar” starring Leonardo DiCaprio.  Thompson found Eastwood’s style interesting and was happy for the opportunity to see how he runs his set.  She said that he’s quiet and doesn’t say action, preferring to use words like when you’re ready spoken in a low voice....

Actress Lea Thompson was presented the 2012 Female Indie Icon Award  by actor/director Ash Adams during the Las Vegas Film Festival following the World Premiere of her new film “The Trouble with the Truth” on Friday, July 20th at the Las Vegas Hotel.  Thompson also answered questions posed by Adams and the audience during a...

This is an interesting week for indie filmmakers looking for workshops and other events they can attend in person or online..  For those in the LA area IndieCon is presenting a Film Finance & Distribution Workshop on Saturday, July 14th at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica at 2pm.  Financing Panelists include Executive Producer Palak...

For filmmakers who aren’t able to attend classes in order to learn about different types of software one way of adding to their skill set is by signing up for webinars and/or other online programs and purchasing tutorial type programs.  For those who are new to Adobe’s After Effects Chris and Trish Meyer are offering...

This week June 23rd and June 24th have quite a bit to offer independent filmmakers.  For starters the Writer’s Store is kicking off the Master the Craft of Screenwriting Webinar Series with Syd Field beginning on the 23rd. Conducted from 10am to 12pm PDT on Saturday and Sunday, the first two sessions will cover Setting...

When I accepted the honor of being one of the three judges for the Las Vegas 48 Hour Film Project I really didn’t know what was involved.  Along with my fellow judges Kelly Schwarze, director of “You People” and Founder of the Indie Film Factory, producer Christopher Webster (Hellraiser, Heathers) and the producer of the...

CinemaCon, the four day annual convention of NATO (National Association of Theater Owners), returned to Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas from Monday, April 23rd through Thursday, April 26th bringing with it the latest word on films, lots of celebrities promoting their movies and receiving awards and the industry’s latest in technological advances. As an added...