Don’t try to conceal how wildly ecstatic you are over the forthcoming Birdemic 2: The Resurrection, “filmmaker” James Nguyen’s sequel to his micro-budget 2010 “classic” Birdemic: Shock and Terror. Weep, already. Don’t hold back — especially now that there is a teaser trailer.
Nguyen’s no-mage to The Birds has acquired a slightly more contemporary spirit, invoking the post-credits scene from The Avengers despite apparently setting to rest Nguyen’s insistence that his sequel would be in 3-D. Like I said, weep, already. Anyway, these 30 seconds may be light on screeching avian terror, but they do quietly portend the barely watchable joys to come.
[Bleeding Cool via Filmdrunk]
Topics ranging from film finance, pitching, marketing, video on demand and micro-budget filmmaking are set for the American Film Market, taking place October 31 – November 7 in Santa Monica. AFM attendees from over 70 countries will take part in the AFM Conference Series, which takes place 9:15 – 12:45 daily from November 2 – 6. The AFM Conference Series launched in 2011 and sold out in its first year with more than 700 attendees at each event. ”AFM is attended by industry leaders from more than 70 countries so the AFM Conference Series has a tremendous pool of experts and innovators to draw from.” said Jonathan Wolf, executive vice president of the Independent Film & Television Alliance and managing director of the AFM. ”This makes the AFM Conference Series unique and invaluable.” Details on the events follow:
The 2012 AFM Conference Series follows with information provided by AFM:
Finance Conference, Friday, November 2
Leading CEOs, filmmakers, financiers and studio executives converge to explore the state of independent film financing, emerging trends, where the money is, new opportunities and incentives, and what the future holds.
Pitch Conference, Saturday, November 3
A good pitch can get a bad film made and a bad pitch can leave a terrific project languishing on the shelf. Pitching is part art (it’s creative), part science (needs to follow a tight script) and part salesmanship. Conference attendees will first learn the essential rules and tools of pitching from the experts. Then, volunteers from the audience (you?) will pitch a panel of Hollywood decision makers. They will give unvarnished feedback on each pitch – saying what worked, what didn’t, and why. Warning: This session is not for the weak.
Marketing Conference, Sunday, November 4
Connecting with and engaging the audience in authentic, creative ways is critical. Word-of-mouth and friend…
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Happy Tuesday! Also in this edition of The Broadsheet: The President hits Hollywood… More about Joss Whedon’s micro-budget Shakespeare adaptation… John Cusack and Malin Åkerman, together at last… a definitive glimpse at Bill Cosby’s cinematic worst… and more
· Wal-Martus boomo! Or whatever the spell is that corresponds with Warner Bros.’ decision to pull the Harry Potter movie franchise out of retail circulation this winter: The studio will withdraw all eight of the films from shelves on Dec. 29 after a 10-year, $12.1 billion run. The Disney-esque news is expected to spark a holiday buying binge on the Complete Harry Potter Collection in particular and keep the market primed for special-edition Potter comebacks down the line. The studio hastens to add that VOD and games are not included; awards screeners for Deathly Hallows — Part 2 are presumably safe as well. [Deadline]
· Barack Obama’s Hollywood fundraising swing went off without a hitch, unless you count the president telling stars like Will Smith, Magic Johnson and, uh, Hilary Duff, “This election won’t be as sexy as the last one.” [AP]
· Joss Whedon has opened up a bit about his Shakespeare adaptation Much Ado About Nothing, the existence of which stunned fans early Monday. In a nutshell: It was filmed in 12 days, is in black-and-white, will debut next spring on the festival circuit, and is the “best vacation” Whedon has ever had: “I’ve never been so well-rested and so well-fed as I have on this movie.” [EW]
· John Cusack and Malin Åkerman are booked to star in The Numbers Station, featuring the pair (respectively) as a “disgraced black ops agent charged with protecting…
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