Movie News from the Net: An Endless Source of Information

Like my earlier post, I have searched the internet, looking for possible sources of info regarding film that I can share with you, and I didn't come back empty handed (see linkroll to the right). Using the Webby and IMSA criteria to judge the quality of site, this post should help provide more resources to help broaden one's knowledge of the latest happenings in film. One area that I have not really covered is the movie sections of newspaper sites. Since a lot of the world is moving to the internet, newspapers are following the trend, and putting their articles up for easy access. The Los Angeles Times' movie section has a very simple layout, which isn't bad, but it doesn't stand out. It does cover a lot of major news in film, but one thing that would be nice would be a place for readers to leave comments, because it seems to lack that interactivity that other sites have. The New York Times' film section avoids this problem, by having a place for readers to put up their own reviews of movies. Also, a great part of this site is the content, because not only does it bring up news, it also has short pieces about historical happenings in film and the lives of those that made them. The visuals for this site is also a little bland, but it's hardly noticed, as it makes up for it in content. Guardian.co.uk is a British newspaper's website, which has a nice look, and puts all the latest news right in the beginning so it's easy to find, which is nice. But for a British site, it seems to cover more of other countries films, and less of its own. To make up for that, there's The Independent's film section. Not only does it cover latest film news in the U.S. and around the world, but a nice part of it is that it talks about what's happening in England's film industry. The only issue is that it only puts out a few of the articles on the main page, and it's a little difficult finding the others.

The Hollywood Reporter is a sort of newspaper website, but for a paper just about the entertainment industry. The content is great with it listing all the latest news, big or small, happening in the industry. Unfortunately, the site's layout isn't the best, because it's not so easy to navigate and find articles. Another form of news and info, magazines, has followed the trend of putting it's stuff online, and one example is Total Film. The nice thing about their site is that the biggest news is right up in the beginning of the main page, easy to notice. One thing I noticed about the site, though, is that several of the stories are short, and often further details come from links they provide which take readers to a lot of the newspaper websites of mentioned earlier in this blog. Entertainment Weekly is also good about making things easy to find. Another great thing is the content, because it includes interesting little segments, like the "20 worst comic-book movies ever." The site only seems to lack the amount of news it covers, as it seems to cover the biggest news and movie blockbusters. Empire magazines' website is great in many ways (see image on the right). It covers a lot of the latest news, and often provides "first look" pictures of movies people are looking forward to. Plus, the look of the site is pretty sleek. The only problem is that it may seem a little bit cluttered, but that's hardly noticeable with all the interesting things it offers. Blogs are the internet's news source, and so, to add to this list of printed news that have moved online, here are a couple of good movie blog websites. The Movie Blog is a great site for the latest news and rumors in the film industry. The only downside to it is that the look is really simplistic, and a little boring. /Film is great about covering movie news and rumors, but it also looks into lesser known, interesting subjects related to larger films. The only problem this site faces is, again, the look of the site isn't so appealing. But something like look is not so big a deal when the content is good, because, in the end, that's what really matters. Hopefully these sites will further provide more resources to expand one's knowledge of film. With the internet's size, these sites are just a little taste of what one can find. Enjoy!

Film School: Is It Necessary?

There is an ongoing debate whether or not film school is necessary for a career in film making. I am currently attending film school here at USC, but even I feel that it is not required in order to make movies. It's true that there are benefits, but it's possible to succeed without paying a penny for film school (the money can instead go to the movies being made!). The truth is there are benefits to both sides. But while Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg went to film school, there are those, like Quentin Tarantino (see image to the left) who never went. Tarantino even dropped out of high school, and yet he is still just as successful as other big name directors. There is living proof for both sides of the argument, but while it's possible to make films without going to school, it certainly can help.

Why go to film school? "I decided to go to film school because I loved the idea of making films." This is George Lucas' answer. Many have taken this path, such as Bryan Singer, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, and, as just mentioned, George Lucas. We all know their names. Going to film school offers the opportunity not only to learn about the different aspects of film making, but also to make mistakes. Which is valuable because in the real world it costs money to make mistakes, where as in school, mistakes can be learned from for free. And the instructors are all wise in the ways of the work, and can offer a lot of experience in the classroom that would possibly have taken longer to learn out in the real world. The result of going to school is that when one comes out of it, they are pretty much a jack of all trades, and therefore will not be as surprised by what comes their way on the job as they would if they had never gone through it before. So, it really prepares people for the real world. But probably the biggest benefit, one that everyone agrees on, is the connections. Going to film school puts a person together with a lot of people they will be working with in the future. By getting to know them and work with them, it establishes a contact that may be used later to get a job, or to look for extra help on a movie. And a lot of this business relies on who knows whom. Coming out of film school, they'll not only have a broad knowledge of the business, but also a list of names and numbers, and with both, they can go out and start working!

Is film school really necessary? As mentioned earlier, Quentin Tarantino is living proof of how one can become successful without it. In fact, most of his education came from his vast knowledge of films, as he worked in a video store. Film school is expensive. That amount of money put into going to school could probably cover the cost to make a low budget movie. And many directors start out by making a low budget movie. Robert Rodriguez made his first feature, El Mariachi, with seven thousand dollars, much of which he earned by letting his body be used for drug experiments. Rodriguez emphasizes the fact that anyone can be a film maker (although he went to film school at the University of Texas). He says, "the moment you think that you want to be a filmmaker, you're that," in something he calls ten-minute film school, which can be found on DVDs of his movies. And it's true. A lot of what is learned in film school is available through the internet, and the rest comes from the willingness of the person to take what they learn and put it to use. And another fact is that, in this digital age, it's easy to make movies. Digital video cameras are very affordable, compared to when there were only film cameras, and now people can get their films out to the world through the internet. A good example is called Chad Vader (see image to the right), a fan film series on YouTube which became popular on the internet and has gone on to win at several festivals.

When it comes down to the decision whether or not one should go to film school, it's really up to the person. The fact is, each side has their benefits, but it is possible to be a successful film maker without going to school. And likewise, it's possible that, even with a degree in film, one may still find it difficult in the world. A degree is not a guarantee, but what comes with going to school definitely gives an extra push into the business. I chose to go to film school because the fact was I had ideas for movies, but did not have a clue how to make them. I had not touched a video camera in my life until going to USC, and since coming here, I can definitely say that, while I'm am by far not an expert in any field in film making, I am at least comfortable and know what's going on. And I've met many talented film makers along the way who I can see myself working with in the future. True, film school is not necessary to succeed, but it can help. But this is a choice that has to be made by the person, and not just by the facts they read about.

The Linkroll: Surfing for Movies

In my last post, I talked about how the internet and blogs allow audience members to now have a more active part with movies. So to keep with that theme, I figured I should share with you some websites and blogs that can point you in the right direction, some of which I check constantly for the latest news in the movie industry (see link roll on the right). To help give an idea of how good these websites are, I will be using the Webby Awards Criteria and the IMSA Criteria for judging websites and blogs. Since we're covering the movie industry, it would be best to first look at the Motion Picture Association of America, seeing as they decide the ratings of all the movies. The website is basic in presentation, with some images of recent movies, but the content is what's valuable, as it covers their system of censorship and what all the ratings mean and what decides the rating. Now, with an understanding of the rating system, one can go to the American Film Institute, a very well respected institution, which holds the lists of what are considered to be America's 100 best films. The website has and overall pleasant design, with the navigation through the site set up in an easy format, plus the site provides information regarding film events, including AFI film festivals. Now that we know what are considered to be some of the best films, we might want to know what other people think about it, and so this would take us the next two sites. The first is Rotten Tomatoes, a site that is more or less about rating movies. It is a bit cluttered with its appearance, but it provides a lot of the latest information with the opening page, and then the search can be used to find other movies and see other opinions and ratings. There are links to the latest movie news, but they're not as extensive as some of the other sites I'll be talk about in a little bit. The next site for reviews and general movie info is the Internet Movie Database (See image to the right). It's not the most visually appealing site, but it provides a great deal of info, not just movie ratings, but also other various aspects of movies, both existing and currently in production. It's a constant reference for film students. When it comes to movie news, where better to look than movie magazines? So as a good source, here are two website extensions of magazines. The first is Vanity Fair, which right from the beginning has a very nice, simplistic design. In that first page, it has links to the latest articles regarding the film industry, and it is pretty easy to navigate through the rest of the site to find the other articles. The other magazine site is Premiere. It's easy to navigate through this site and find what you're looking for, and it even has a handy calendar right in the beginning of the "coming soon" section that gives an idea of what's to come. But when it comes to the latest news, there are four blog sites that I constantly check, as they provide the latest updates on news and rumors in the film industry. The first, Superhero Hype!, caters to the superhero side of movies. What's great is the first thing you see on the site is the latest news, so you know what's out. Then it's not so difficult to cycle through it and look at older posts. The biggest problem with site is just that it's limited only to comic book movies. So, to make up for that, there's WorstPreviews, which covers a lot of news and rumors regarding mainstream films. It does not have the most attractive layout, but it is definitely on top of things when it comes to the latest news. Another similar site is IGN Movies, which covers a lot of the same subject matter, but it has a more attractive layout. All the latest news are laid out in the beginning, and is constantly updated. But this site, too, focuses on mainstream movies. So, the final blog, Ain't It Cool News, offers the widest coverage for news and rumors of the film industry. It's probably, of all the ten sites, the least attractive in appearance, but it covers everything, from mainstream, to indie, to cult films, and it releases news anytime of the day, as soon as they find out. And these last four blog sites all offer the opportunity for readers to comment and discuss on the topics. With these ten sites, I hopefully have offered a start in where to go to learn more about films and the latest happenings in the industry. More sites will be added to the linkroll as I find them, so keep a look out for more!