Olivia DrakeAccording to Variety, Ray Tintori '06 is slated to direct Shane Jones' debut novel "Light Boxes." Spike Jonze has acquired feature rights. "Light Boxes," published earlier this year by Genius Press, is centered on a mysterious town that endures a deadly 1,000-day winter. Tintori's directed numerous music videos plus short films "Jettison Your Loved Ones" and "Death to the Tinman," the later of which was completed while he was a student at Wesleyan and later featured at the Sundance Film Festival.
David LowTransformers: Revenge of the Fallen directed by Michael Bay ’86 with a screenplay by Ehren Kruger, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman ’95, opened in late June to mixed reviews, but the film, a sequel to Transformers (2007), sold some $201.2 million in tickets at North American theaters over its first five days as the number one film at the box office. In his review of the film in The New York Times, A. O. Scott wrote: “Mr. Bay is an auteur. His signature adorns every image in his movies … and every single one is inscribed with a specific worldview…
Other presenters at the Shasha Seminar for Human Concerns included author Mark Harris; Mark I. Bomback ’93, screenwriter, whose credits include Race to Witch Mountain, Live Free or Die Hard, and Deception; Miguel Arteta, film and television director of Chuck & Buck, The Good Girl, Six Feet Under and Youth in Revolt. Also Liz Garcia ’99, producer, editor and writer of Cold Case; Evan Katz ’83, screenwriter and the executive producer of the television series 24; David Kendall ’79, director of several television series, including Jonas, Hannah Montana and Growing Pains; Dan Shotz ’99, producer, editor and writer, Jericho, and the…
The Connecticut League For Nursing Board has requested Wesleyan students enrolled in the class, "Making the Science Documentary," show and display samples of their films during the board's annual convention June 4 in Portland, Conn. The science and film hybrid class, designated a Service Learning Course, was designed to introduce students to topics in the life sciences and the basics of documentary filmmaking, in order to teach students the skills and art of communicating science-related issues through visual media. The class was co-taught by Manju Hingorani, associate professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, and Jacob Bricca, adjunct assistant professor of…
Baltimore native Esther McCready grew up in segregated, discriminatory world and was denied admission to the University of Maryland School of Nursing. At that time, the school did not admit "Negros." With help from NAACP civil rights leaders like Thurgood Marshall, she sued for admission to the university, and in April 1950, McCready won her right to attend classes. In the spring semester course "Making the Science Documentary," molecular biology and biochemistry major Christopher Doucette '11 had the opportunity to interview and film McCready about being the first African American woman to attend Maryland's School of Nursing. He also interviewed…
Eco-activist. filmmaker and reality television star Shalini Kantayya spoke about the global water crisis during Wesleyan’s Earth Day Celebration April 15. Her production company, 7th Empire Media, is committed to using media to give a powerful voice to the unheard. Kantayya captured the attention of the nation during the television series “On the Lot,” a reality show created by Steven Spielberg for the purpose of finding Hollywood’s next great director. Out of over 12,000 filmmakers, Kantayya was the only woman to finish in the top 10. (Photos by Alexandra Portis '09)
Matt Tyrnauer ’91, special correspondent for Vanity Fair magazine, has produced and directed an engaging new documentary, Valentino: The Last Emperor, which was released nationwide in March. (The film opened in Manhattan on March 18 at the Film Forum.) Co-produced by Adam Leff ’90 with Carter Burden ’89 as executive producer, the film celebrates the colorful career of the renowned Italian fashion designer Valentino, covering the period between his 70th birthday and his final couture show. It tells the story of his extraordinary life, examines the fashion business today, and deals with the designer’s relationship with fame. At the center…
The New York Times’ Michael Cieply recently interviewed Laurence Mark ’71, the producer, and Bill Condon, the executive producer, of the upcoming Academy Awards ceremony, scheduled to be telecast on ABC on Feb. 22, 2009. Mark said he hoped to bring back “a little bit of the party flavor” of past ceremonies and also would welcome “a few shocks and shivers, intended or otherwise.” Both producers expect to make the ceremony more popular with viewers by featuring 2008 films that moved audiences, including films that did not receive nominations. Mark is currently preparing for the release later this year of…
After 42 years of teaching, and a lifetime of painting and drawing, John Frazer isn't ready to rinse his brushes clean just yet. Although the professor of art, emeritus, is wheelchair-bound after six knee surgeries, his art studio remains intact. Set-up easels, brushes and oil paints, a painter's palate and untouched cotton canvases await his return. "I haven't been able to paint in over a year, but I will return to painting. I am sure of that, but I prefer to work standing up," Frazer says. "It's the only way I've ever worked." Frazer, a Texas native, came to Wesleyan…
When Frank, Angela, and their two children are evicted from their New York City apartment, they have no choice but to move into a homeless shelter. After a few difficult months, an apartment becomes available in a nearby housing project. There’s only one catch: Frank needs a job in order to qualify or the apartment will get rented to someone else. While the rest of the city prepares for Christmas, Frank and his 10-year-old stepson, Justin, roam the cold streets of New York trying to find a job by day's end. While this is the story line for the feature…
Matt Connolly '09 is the author of several film reviews , published in Reverse Shot, a quarterly, independently published film journal. Last winter, Connolly sent writing samples to the Reverse Shot editors and he was offered a contributing writer position. Since, he has written reviews on the films Boy A, The Chronicles of Narnia: Price Caspian, Felon, The Incredible Hulk, Frozen River, and others online here. Connolly also had the opportunity to attend press screenings for select films and have his reviews published the day a film is released. "As film criticism is ultimately a field I want to pursue,…
Jeanine Basinger, the Corwin-Fuller Professor of Film Studies, chair of the Film Studies Department, curator of Cinema Archives, discussed the life of actor Paul Newmanfor "On Point" Oct. 2 on National Public Radio. The show can be heard online here.