Tag: film industry

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71st DGA Awards Recap and Winners

 

The World Wide team was pleased to be in attendance at the 71st DGA awards held at the Ray Dolby Ballroom in Hollywood this past Sunday (Feb 3rd). Despite the rainy weather which soaked the red carpet, the stars were in attendance to show their support for the nominated directors. There was another win for Alfonso Cuaron, director of ROMA which is a good thing for Foreign Language Films like the upcoming release of WWMPC’s THE ROAD TO MOTHER!

As the ceremony commenced, it was clear that this year’s DGA Awards were especially friendly to independent-leaning films like Alfonso Cuaron's ROMA, Peter Farrelly’s GREEN BOOK, and Bo Burnham’s EIGHTH GRADE. With recognition going to veterans like Spike Lee for BLACKKKLANSMAN and new directors like Bradley Cooper for A STAR IS BORN, the nominations for a wide variety of feature film and television projects appear to be becoming more diverse in both genre and story.

Diversity was a major theme of this year’s awards for both in front of and behind the camera, and was well-served with the wide variety of artists and filmmakers both new and old in attendance.

A few of the evenings highlights were:

Further recognition was afforded the UPM department (Unit Production Manager) for Kathleen McGill as well as the Directing teams including 1st and 2nd AD’s (Assistant Director) like Michael “Shelley” Ziegler (A STAR IS BORN) and Matt Rebenkoff (VICE).

All of the feature film directors were recognized, most being introduced by the stars of their films like John David Washington, Laura Harrier and Topher Grace for BLACKKKLANSMAN, Yalitza Aparicio and Marina de Tavira for ROMA, Christian Bale for VICE, as well as a touching introduction from Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali and Linda Cardellini for GREEN BOOK director Peter Farrelly.

Jordan Peele humorously delighted the crowd as he presented the award for First-Time Feature Film Director which went to 24-year-old Bo Burnham for the film EIGHTH GRADE. In his speech Burnham claimed that he didn’t see this as “a room of his peers, but rather a room full of people he admired”

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Also spotlighted at this year’s awards were documentaries like THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS, directed by Tim Wardle.

We hope the momentum for recognizing foreign language films continues into the 91st Academy Awards later this month and beyond.

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Actor Malcolm McDowell Through the Years

 

 

At 75 years old, actor Malcolm McDowell has had an intensely unique and successful career. His boisterous, sometimes controversial roles have led to vast experience in various genres. McDowell has been best described as a character actor and first gained recognition 50 years ago in the film titled, If. Directed by Lindsay Anderson, this feature became a landmark of British counter culture cinema and became the 12th greatest British film of the 20th century. Just three years later, he played the sinister Alex DeLarge in the classic A Clockwork Orange (1971). He is perhaps best known for that role to this day.

Actor McDowell’s following feature works included Tinto Brass’s Caligula (1979), Time After Time (1979), Star Trek Generations (1994), remakes of the Halloween films, Easy A (2010), and The Artist (2011). In 2003, he starred in the Irish feature, Red Roses and Petrol which was distributed by World Wide Motion Pictures Corporation. McDowell has also had a string of television roles in shows such as Entourage (2009-2011) and Heroes (2007-2008). He has also become a prolific voice actor for video games and other animations like Fallout 3 (2008), God of War III (2010), Call of Duty: Black Ops III (2015), and the Walt Disney Studios film Bolt (2008). The British actor began his training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame back in 2012. His profound ability to succeed in a variety of roles and film genres is what makes his career truly impressive. Happy birthday, Malcolm! We wish you many more successes and triumphs throughout the years and projects to come!

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Recognition for Women in film: Happy Women’s History Month

 

To celebrate this Women’s History Month, we acknowledge the work of many female actresses and filmmakers set to make a difference in the film world.

It is clear that women have come very far in the course of history. When pertaining to the film industry, women have heavily influenced the progression of film as a form of entertainment and as a form of art.

The first woman to direct a full-length feature film was Lois Weber. She was also a silent film actress is credited for being the first to use the “split screen” method where there is a visible division of the screen, typically in half, to show simultaneous action.

Weber was an important part of early Hollywood and the role of women in it. She was determined to make a difference with her work. Her best-known films today include: Suspense (1913), Merchant of Venice (1914), and Hypocrites (1915). Weber often spoke of using motion pictures as a “means of achieving political change, aspiring to produce work that will have an influence for good on the public mind.”

Lois Weber was “rediscovered” in the 1970’s by historians who described her as a “director who lost her way in history.” However, she is not the only woman in the industry who may have been under-appreciated.

Tamar Simon Hoffs, best known for her work in the film Red Roses and Petrol (2003), distributed by World Wide Motion Pictures, is an award winning director, writer, and producer. In 1987, she was the first woman to receive credit for all three of those positions for the major studio film, The Allnighter (1987).

Nadia Tass is another female director known for her film, Amy (1997), which won 10 awards at various film festivals.

Something that makes today’s women in the industry different is their spreading of public awareness of these women, who were under-appreciated and disrespected.

Female actresses have stepped up to the plate in terms of demanding equal treatment in the industry. Golden Globe and Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence wrote an essay on a topic that she kept quiet about for a long time throughout her career: feminism.

Lawrence stated that her compensation for the film American Hustle (2013) was much less than her male co-stars but she didn’t want to come off as spoiled by saying something and chose to avoid the conversation. However, she then realized that “every man” she’s worked with never had to worry about how they were perceived during discussions. Therefore, why should she?

This issue has lead to the question of whether or not women need to be likable to earn respect, especially in the film industry. There is a list of actresses who have spoken up on the issue, such as Meryl Streep and Emma Thompson.

However, men still dominate the film industry. A study made in 2014 by the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University showed that 85% of films had no women directors and 33% had no women producers.

There is a 5 to 1 ratio of men working on films to women. Forbes 2013 list of the top ten highest paid actresses made an average of $181 million, versus the $465 million made by the top ten male actors.

The film industry has a long way to go in terms of equalizing the obstacles faced by female actresses and filmmakers, but with people speaking out, it is doubtless that a change will be made over time in order to give women the credit they deserve.