Latest news with #MoMI
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Own Your Audience, Shape Your Future: How Filmmakers Are Rewriting the Rules at Cannes
'When you own your audience, you own your future.' That line set the tone at 'Build Your Audience, Own Your Future,' a panel at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival hosted by the American Pavilion. The takeaway: If you're a filmmaker, your success doesn't depend on getting picked. You can start building your path now. More from IndieWire Tom Cruise to Be Celebrated at MoMI with 'Above and Beyond' Retrospective Festival Cannes 2025 Films Sold So Far: Janus Films Acquires Hlynur Pálmason's 'The Love That Remains' Filmmaker Richard Olla shared how her short film 'Cow Heavy and Floral,' a split-screen portrait of a postpartum writer, didn't follow the traditional festival route. 'You wait 12 to 18 months to see if the festivals say yes,' she said. 'But that was unacceptable to us.' Instead, she and her team built their own screenings, connected with parenting groups and policy advocates, and created a companion initiative called Meals About Motherhood to host conversations around the film. 'We're not trying to do it for the money,' Olla said. 'But we have to make it accessible. And it makes me feel like the joy of creating is back in my hands.' The result is a film that's now screened in 19 states and never had a festival premiere. Producer Leila Meadow O'Connor, co-founder of The Popcorn List, took a different approach to audience-building. Her platform, which has been called 'the Black List for undistributed films,' collects strong festival titles that haven't yet found distribution. 'Art houses needed new films,' she said. 'Great movies were out there. We created a signal boost.' The Popcorn List has already highlighted nearly 40 features, many from first-time directors. Next up: a national tour to bring these films to theaters in 10–15 cities. 'Filmmakers may not have money,' O'Connor said, 'but they have social capital. We're asking: How can we all lift each other up?' Few people understand the indie landscape like Ted Hope, who's produced dozens of films including 'American Splendor' and 'Martha Marcy May Marlene.' But even he's looking forward, not back. 'I don't need your films,' he said. 'I've already picked every movie I want to see before I die. The only reason I need your work is because it reflects today's world. That's your power.' Hope now runs Hope for Film, a Substack and filmmaker community focused on ownership, transparency, and sustainability. His big prediction? 'In five years, distribution will be a service,' he said. 'And the core of that shift will be your relationship with your audience.' He encourages filmmakers to think beyond one project. Post updates. Share lessons. Build a community. Just start. 'Success isn't measured by money,' he said. 'It's about sustaining your practice without needing permission.' The message was clear: You don't have to wait. Whether you're making a short, a doc, or your first microbudget feature, you have the tools to reach people now. But it starts with clarity. 'Ask yourself: What's your goal?' Olla said. 'Is it prestige? Impact? Community? That answer shapes everything else.' As the panel wrapped, Ted Hope handed out QR codes for his newsletter—and reminded filmmakers to give something of value, right there in the room. 'The cinema is no longer just your neighborhood,' he said. 'It's global. Everything you've felt has already been felt by someone else, somewhere else. And they're waiting to hear from you.' Best of IndieWire Guillermo del Toro's Favorite Movies: 56 Films the Director Wants You to See 'Song of the South': 14 Things to Know About Disney's Most Controversial Movie The 55 Best LGBTQ Movies and TV Shows Streaming on Netflix Right Now
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Tom Cruise to Be Celebrated at MoMI with ‘Above and Beyond' Retrospective Festival
Patron saint of theaters Tom Cruise will be at the center of a well-deserved retrospective at the Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI). IndieWire can announce that starting June 20, 22 of Cruise's most iconic films will screen at the museum. Titled 'Tom Cruise, Above and Beyond,' the retrospective festival will 'capture the full range of Cruise's charismatic star performances from the 1980s to present,' as the description teases. 'Tom Cruise has been so central to our conception of Hollywood for so many decades that he's more than a movie star — he encourages us to ask: what is it that makes a movie star? Cruise's entire captivating career speaks to his legacy as a singular movie star, and all the contradictions— of mystery and emotional transparency, of relatability and untouchability, of strength and vulnerability— that entails.' From '80s classics such as 'Risky Business,' 'Top Gun,' 'Cocktail,' and 'The Color of Money' to '90s genre benders like 'The Firm,' 'Jerry Maguire,' and 'Interview with the Vampire,' and auteur works 'Eyes Wide Shut' and 'Magnolia' — not to mention Cruise's Oscar-nominated turn in 'Born on the Fourth of July' — Cruise's career is legendary. Festival highlights further include Ridley Scott's 'Legend,' Francis Ford Coppola's 'The Outsiders,' Barry Levinson's 'Rain Man,' Michael Mann's 'Collateral,' and Rob Reiner's 'A Few Good Men.' Both 'Top Gun' and 'Top Gun: Maverick' will screen, as well as 'Tropic Thunder;' Cruise has teased more respective franchise installments for both. More from IndieWire Cannes 2025 Films Sold So Far: Janus Films Acquires Hlynur Pálmason's 'The Love That Remains' Ana de Armas 'Hated' Singing in Ron Howard's 'Eden': 'I Would Rather Do 100 Stunts' The 'Tom Cruise, Above and Beyond' festival concludes August 17. But that's not all the Cruise programming this summer: The king of blockbusters will be back on the MoMI big screen for the annual 'See It Big: 70mm!' festival at the museum. Both 'Edge of Tomorrow' and 'Top Gun: Maverick' will be presented in 70mm. The weekly 'Summer Saturdays with Dolby Atmos,' presented by MUBI, additionally will showcase 'Top Gun.' Cruise's 'Mission: Impossible' franchise will also be celebrated with the 'Mission: Impossible — Story and Spectacle' exhibition; Cruise is both the producer and star of the film franchise, which concludes with 'Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.' While Cruise's 'Mission: Impossible' career may be over (or, at least for now), the actor turned stuntman told The Hollywood Reporter that he has no plans to ever retire. 'I will never stop. I will never stop doing action, I will never stop doing drama, comedy films — I'm excited,' Cruise said when asked about his former statement that like Harrison Ford, he will keep acting into his 80s. Cruise also had one amendment: 'I actually said I'm going to make movies into my 80s; actually, I'm going to make them into my 100s.' He added, 'There's been so many levels of reward with the filmmakers that I've collaborated with, the crews, the people, the cultures that we've worked in. Everything that I've learned and continue to learn about storytelling, about life, about leadership, about character and every aspect of filmmaking. It's been exceptional, it really is exceptional. I feel very fortunate to be able to make the films that I make and I love it. I love just making movies.' Best of IndieWire Guillermo del Toro's Favorite Movies: 56 Films the Director Wants You to See 'Song of the South': 14 Things to Know About Disney's Most Controversial Movie The 55 Best LGBTQ Movies and TV Shows Streaming on Netflix Right Now
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Bella Ramsey Wants ‘The Last of Us' Fans to Watch Upcoming Indie Films Like They're ‘Game of Thrones'
'The Last of Us' Season 2 went out with a bang, but star Bella Ramsey wants fans thinking about their upcoming indie film projects as much as the eventual return of HBO's zombie apocalypse. Ramsey spoke positively to IndieWire about seeing themselves grow up on screen at the prestige network, having broken out at 13 years old playing the steely Lyanna Mormont for 'Game of Thrones.' Now, age 21, Ramsey is a globally recognized superstar who is ready to use their clout in other corners of the industry. 'I really hope that people will stick with me throughout stuff with 'The Last of Us' and beyond with all the little indie films I'm going to be doing as well,' Ramsey said. 'I hope that those will get as much love as amazing shows and franchises like 'The Last of Us' and 'Game of Thrones.' I feel very grateful for the support that I've had.' All in various stages of production, Ramsey has announced four upcoming film projects. More from IndieWire Tom Cruise to Be Celebrated at MoMI with 'Above and Beyond' Retrospective Festival Cannes 2025 Films Sold So Far: Janus Films Acquires Hlynur Pálmason's 'The Love That Remains' Currently, Ramsey is in Scotland shooting the coming-of-age comedy, 'Sunny Dancer' with Jessica Gunning, James Norton, and Neil Patrick Harris. Writer/director George Jacques' sophomore effort (following 2023's 'Black Dog') takes place at a summer camp for children impacted by cancer. It casts Ramsey as Ivy, an unwilling participant in remission, alongside a younger cast with Ruby Stokes, Quinn-Toye, Earl Cave, Conrad Khan, and Jasmine Elcock. Meanwhile, Carrie Coon and Lily James have joined Ramsey and co-star Odessa Young on the upcoming thriller, 'Harmonia.' Directed by Guy Nattiv, the production from Bleecker Street is expected to release in U.S. theaters sometimes in 2026. Set in the 1980s, the script was co-written by Nattiv and Noa Berman-Herzberg. The story follows sisters Ella (Ramsey) and Jo (Young) as they attempt to rescue their mother (Coon) from a mesmeric cult leader (James). This time last year, Ramsey was attached to star as the real Samantha Lewthwaite in 'The White Widow' from writer/director Bruce Goodison. Lewthwaite is the widow of the terrorist behind the 2005 London bombings, believed to be responsible for hundreds of deaths. BFI backed the film's development. In 2023, another fiction based in fact found Ramsey when filmmaker Romola Garai ('Atonement') tapped them to play Barbara Field in 'Monstrous Beauty.' The 17th-century period piece follows a playwright in the court of King Charles II, whose rare medical conditions leaves her covered in hair. Dominic West, Ruth Negga, and Fiona Shaw were also announced. Ramsey has repeatedly voiced their desire to be 'challenged' by new roles and is expected to return for 'The Last of Us' Season 3. 'The Last of Us' is now streaming Season 1 and 2 on HBO. Best of IndieWire Nightmare Film Shoots: The 38 Most Grueling Films Ever Made, from 'Deliverance' to 'The Wages of Fear' Quentin Tarantino's Favorite Movies: 65 Films the Director Wants You to See The 19 Best Thrillers Streaming on Netflix in May, from 'Fair Play' to 'Emily the Criminal'
Associated Press
26-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Lone Wolves Will Have NY Premiere at the Marvels of Media Film Festival on Friday, March 28 at 6:00 P.m.
The comedy feature Lone Wolves will screen at the prestigious Marvels of Media Film Festival on Friday, March 28 at 6:00 PM in the Redstone Theatre at the Museum of the Moving Image. Lone Wolves is an Indie Feature directed by the Emmy and Peabody award winning filmmaker, Ryan Cunningham and starring and co-written by Kennedy Center award winner and Austin Film Festival Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch, Matt Foss, and Tony Nominee, Cora Vander Broek about a single, pragmatic forty-something who recruits the eclectic guy she didn't go to prom with back in high school to be her D-I-Y sperm donor, but learns that he's Autistic and navigating some significant mental health issues, turning her carefully planned hopes upside down in one crazy weekend in Toledo, Ohio. The film was inspired by the experiences of Gen X women foregoing expensive IVF treatments and sperm banks in search of more affordable and safe ways to find volunteer sperm donors and take their fertility journeys into their own hands. These stories struck a chord with co-writer and lead Actress, Cora Vander Broek; Director, Ryan Cunningham; and Producer, Heidi-Marie Ferren, who all had their own connection to that journey, along with Matt's experience as an adult living with Autism. Excited about Lone Wolves' potential to explore fertility and aging from a nuanced and comedic angle they crafted a story that also dives into friendship and shared anxieties over belonging and acceptance. Foss stated that, 'As a person with Autism, I was particularly thrilled to also tell a story around neurodiversity and those Gen X'ers discovering how their brains worked when they grew up in a system and time without the tools or interest in investigating who and how they were.' So, with a diverse, female-led team of first-time filmmakers who grew up loving 90's era, grassroots features shot on shoestring budgets, the team embarked on making a passion project of their own with an ambitiously small budget and homegrown resources. Their budget was a mere twenty thousand dollars in an indie film market of projects that average at least ten to fifty times that number. 'We feel this model honors the true meaning of 'independent' film, " says co-writer and lead actress, Cora Vander Broek, 'There's nothing like creating and collaborating with like-minded artists you trust. There was so much love in the room that it made working within our constraints less of a burden and more of an enticing challenge that galvanized the process.' The Marvels of Media Film Festival is part of the Museum of the Moving Image's initiative to promote and expand the accessibility efforts for autistic visitors through the creation of the MoMi Visual Story Guide, a sensory relief space in the Media Lab. This year's festival was organized by MoMI's Associate Curator of Public Programs Tiffany Joy Butler, MoMI's Director of Education Leonardo Santana-Zubieta, Access Consultant Miranda Lee, Tour Consultant Sachar Mathias, and MoMI Intern Alex Poppe, with the Marvels of Media Steering Committee: filmmaker and playwright Jackson Tucker-Meyer, President and Founder of Strokes of Genius, Inc. Rosa Martínez, and Film Event Accessibility Consultant and Producer Yaara Kedem. Lone Wolves is honored to be a part of the Marvels of Media Film Festival programming and their commitment to highlighting and supporting neurodivergent stories, filmmakers and viewing experiences. Contact Information: Lone Wolves Feature Film Heidi-Marie Ferren
