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NEIL YOUNG, JONATHAN DEMME, AND STAN LEE HEADLINE MASTER CLASSES AT THE 2012 SLAMDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

Posted Tuesday, January 17th, 2012 - Comments Off on NEIL YOUNG, JONATHAN DEMME, AND STAN LEE HEADLINE MASTER CLASSES AT THE 2012 SLAMDANCE FILM FESTIVAL
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LOS ANGELES – Slamdance Film Festival announced today its popular annual Park City series of Morning Coffee Master Classes at the 2012 Slamdance Film Festival – a series of intimate public conversations with world class, visionary artists and filmmakers.

This year’s series of classes features musician/filmmaker Neil Young and filmmaker Jonathan Demme in a rare public dialogue about their lives and artistry, and their unique collaboration creating the documentary Neil Young Journeys, which will have its US premiere at the 2012 Slamdance Film Festival.

Artist and comic legend Stan Lee will also appear in discussion about his multifaceted career as a maverick pop culture artist. Will Hess, director of With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story, screening in the 2012 Slamdance Film Festival, will moderate this anticipated career tribute. An additional coffee chat, presented by Kodak, will feature the industry’s leading Directors of Photography in an exclusive discussion about the past, present, and future of the art of cinematography.

“These events with Stan Lee, Neil Young and Jonathan Demme are incredible opportunities to learn from some of the world’s best storytellers, and a rare chance to experience the stories, wisdom, and tribulations of iconic artists and filmmakers,” said Peter Baxter, Slamdance President and Co-Founder.

“Slamdance is about community, collaboration, and the exchange of information and ideas to further the very independent director’s experience and career. I cannot think of better individuals for Slamdance filmmakers to have coffee with than musician/filmmaker Neil Young , writer/director/producer Jonathan Demme, and maverick artist Stan Lee, who command the kind of careers and artistic paths Slamdance directors aspire to. They’ve come to Slamdance to share their knowledge and experience in the film world with the Slamdance class of 2012, and we’re honored to have them here,” said Paul Rachman, Slamdance East Coast Director & Programmer, who will moderate the discussion.

The 2012 Slamdance Film Festival will also feature Fireside Chats, a traditional series of themed gatherings of filmmakers, industry figures, and leading technology gurus in an informal setting to discuss issues relevant to today’s creative film industry. More information can be found at: www.slamdance.com

Morning Coffee Master Classes will be held in the Main Screening Room of the Treasure Mountain Inn and priority access will be given to Slamdance Film Festival pass holders:Sunday Jan. 22nd, 11:00am – 1:00pm: Coffee with Neil Young & Jonathan Demme, in conversation with filmmaker & Slamdance Director Paul Rachman.

Monday, January 23, 2012 10:00am-11:30am: Coffee with notable luminaries in the world of cinematography. Hosted by Kodak.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012 9:30am-11:30am: Coffee with Stan Lee, in conversation with filmmaker Will Hess

Neil Young Journeys, Directed by Jonathan Demme, Screens Saturday, January 21st, 3:00pm, Treasure Mountain Inn, Main Screening Room

With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story, Directors: Will Hess, Nikki Frakes, Terry Dougas, screens, Screens Tuesday, January 24th, 5:00pm, Treasure Mountain Inn, Main Screening Room

The 2012 Slamdance Film Festival will take place January 20 – 26, 2011 in Park City, Utah, at the Treasure Mountain Inn. All Access, Industry, and Student Festival passes are available now online, and individual tickets will be available shortly. To purchase, go to: http://showcase.slamdance.com/#1598746/Passes-and-Tickets

Slamdance TV, a newly developing year round initiative of the Slamdance Film Festival, will broadcast during and after the 2012 Slamdance Film Festival, including original content, filmmaker interviews, Master Coffee Classes, and Fireside Chats. Slamdance TV can be viewed during the festival at www.slamdance.com

Slamdance Announces Continuation of Zune/Xbox VOD Distribution Platform

Slamdance and Microsoft will again present a special Festival Showcase and extend its year- round distribution on Zune and Xbox platforms.

Slamdance continues a successful third-year distribution partnership with Microsoft that includes three films from the 2012 Festival, which are featured in the Festival Showcase running exclusively on Xbox LIVE and Zune for the duration of the festival, January 20-26.

Zune video Marketplace will make these selected films available through video-on-demand or download to own in the US for viewing on Xbox 360, Windows PC, Zune devices or Windows Phone 7. Movie fans have the opportunity to rent some of the best films screened at the Slamdance Film Festival through digital downloads and Xbox LIVE.

Competition Feature Films selected for this year’s Festival and VOD Showcase are world premiere Narrative Feature Competition Films, Bindlestiffs and Welcome To Pine Hill, and Narrative Special Screening, Holiday Road.

About Slamdance

As a year-round organization, Slamdance serves as a showcase for the discovery of new and emerging talent and is dedicated to the nurturing and development of new independent artists

and their cinematic vision. The Slamdance 2012 Film Festival will run concurrently with the Sundance Film Festival, January 20-26, in Park City, Utah. Slamdance continues to live by its mantra: “By Filmmakers, For Filmmakers.” No other festival is fully programmed by filmmakers. Slamdance is proud to count among its alumni many notable writers and directors who first gained notice at the festival, including such cinematic luminaries as Christopher Nolan, Marc Forster, Jared Hess and Oren Peli. New filmmakers and writers today realize that Slamdance is a place to launch their careers.

Supporting the filmmakers beyond the festival and improving distribution opportunities for its films has become increasingly essential and at the core of what Slamdance stands for. After beginning an exclusive video on demand partnership with Microsoft in 2010 Slamdance has continued to expand its year-round platform and exhibition efforts in 2011 both theatrically and online. This year Slamdance introduced a new distribution award for a best feature won by Superheroes and best short won by Hello Caller. The films combined for a twelve-city On The Road theatrical program that began in Fall 2011 as a collaboration between the filmmakers, sponsors and regional film organizations.

The 2012 Slamdance Film Festival is presented by Kodak. Major Sponsors this year include The Directors Guild of America, Good Health Natural Foods and Monkeybars. Official Sponsors include: Panasonic, Pierce Law Group, OneBar USA, LUNA, Different By Design, Festival Genius, InFocus, Monster, BlueStar Coffee, Pacifico, Negra Modelo and Zevia. Slamdance is once again proud to partner with sponsors who share our unique vision and support emerging artists who are pushing the boundaries of independent filmmaking.

Additional information about the Slamdance Film Festival is available at www.slamdance.com Connect with Slamdance: http://twitter.com/slamdance and http://www.facebook.com/SlamdanceFilmFestival

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It shows how out of it I was in trying to be in it, acknowledging that I was out of it to myself, and then thinking, “Okay, how do I stop being out of it? Well, I get some legitimate illogical narrative ideas” — some novel, you know?

So I decided on three writers that I might be able to option their material and get some producer, or myself as producer, and then get some writer to do a screenplay on it, and maybe make a movie.

And so the three projects were “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” “Naked Lunch” and a collection of Bukowski. Which, in 1975, forget it — I mean, that was nuts. Hollywood would not touch any of that, but I was looking for something commercial, and I thought that all of these things were coming.

There would be no Blade Runner if there was no Ray Bradbury. I couldn’t find Philip K. Dick. His agent didn’t even know where he was. And so I gave up.

I was walking down the street and I ran into Bradbury — he directed a play that I was going to do as an actor, so we know each other, but he yelled “hi” — and I’d forgot who he was.

So at my girlfriend Barbara Hershey’s urging — I was with her at that moment — she said, “Talk to him! That guy really wants to talk to you,” and I said “No, fuck him,” and keep walking.

But then I did, and then I realized who it was, and I thought, “Wait, he’s in that realm, maybe he knows Philip K. Dick.” I said, “You know a guy named—” “Yeah, sure — you want his phone number?”

My friend paid my rent for a year while I wrote, because it turned out we couldn’t get a writer. My friends kept on me about, well, if you can’t get a writer, then you write.”
~ Hampton Fancher

“That was the most disappointing thing to me in how this thing was played. Is that I’m on the phone with you now, after all that’s been said, and the fundamental distinction between what James is dealing with in these other cases is not actually brought to the fore. The fundamental difference is that James Franco didn’t seek to use his position to have sex with anyone. There’s not a case of that. He wasn’t using his position or status to try to solicit a sexual favor from anyone. If he had — if that were what the accusation involved — the show would not have gone on. We would have folded up shop and we would have not completed the show. Because then it would have been the same as Harvey Weinstein, or Les Moonves, or any of these cases that are fundamental to this new paradigm. Did you not notice that? Why did you not notice that? Is that not something notable to say, journalistically? Because nobody could find the voice to say it. I’m not just being rhetorical. Why is it that you and the other critics, none of you could find the voice to say, “You know, it’s not this, it’s that”? Because — let me go on and speak further to this. If you go back to the L.A. Times piece, that’s what it lacked. That’s what they were not able to deliver. The one example in the five that involved an issue of a sexual act was between James and a woman he was dating, who he was not working with. There was no professional dynamic in any capacity.

~ David Simon