James Beard Q&A with Josh Penn: Food & Beasts

The James Beard Foundation interviewed producer Josh Penn about the role of food in Beasts of the Southern Wild and within film in general.

JP: So much of the culture in the Louisiana bayou is about food, and more specifically, living off the water. It’s intertwined with everything, it defines the community, and is something that we really wanted to capture. Our first day of shooting was actually the day of the BP oil spill. Most people in the area live off the water in some way or another, and the spill threatened their entire lifestyle—because whether or not it’s your livelihood, it’s still the source of what you eat. It’s what’s all around you. It really underscored how food is interwoven into every aspect of life there. And the approach to food and how it should be eaten would obviously be different if we were telling a story about another community. I’m sure they eat crabs pretty differently on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

Read the full interview here.

Quvenzhané Wallis to star in Annie Remake

You won't have to wait long to see our girl, Quvenzhané Wallis, back on the big screen.

Industry blog, The Wrap, reports that Quvenzhané has been cast in the lead role of Annie in a remake to be produced by "James Lassiter, Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith through Overbrook Entertainment, and by Shawn “Jay Z” Carter, Jay Brown and Tyran “Ty Ty” Smith through Marcy Media". The film will be directed by Will Gluck whose credits include Easy A and Friends with Benefits.

Congrats to Quvenzhané!

The Little Indie That Could

Made by a rag tag crew of filmmakers and artists, Beasts of the Southern Wild was financed with the help of grants, film institutes and non-profit financiers, Cinereach. While the motivation for making the film was never about how it would perform at the box office, this week's Business Insider, takes a closer look at the financial breakdown of how a small, independent film like Beasts can still perform alongside big blockbuster studio movies.

"The little indie that could was produced for a mere $1.5 million and pulled off a worldwide gross of $12.3 million. Though perfectly respectable for an avant-garde picture with no stars, that final tally is a far cry from blockbuster status. Indeed, it’s the lowest grossing film among all the nominees, but it still represents the biggest return on investment for its producers. The film made more than seven times its budget -- a better return even than “Life of Pi,” which is tops in terms of total box office among all the Best Picture nominees."

Read the full article here.

10 Lessons on Filmmaking from Benh Zeitlin

Filmmaker Magazine asked director Benh Zeitlin for a list of 10 lessons on filmmaking.

1. Pay tribute to your heroes, in your own voice. 2. Your film must be a done deal. Only the journey is negotiable. 3. Direct the camera just as another actor in your story. 4. Find a story that anyone can relate to. 5. Stay true to the key theme of your film, every frame of every scene. 6. Direct truth, even in fiction. 7. The old Hollywood formula for what makes a successful film is dead. 8. There’s no one-size fits all path toward making a feature. 9. Cinema is alive and thriving outside of New York and L.A. 10. Filmmaking is an adventure. Treat it as such.

Whether you are a filmmaker or a fan, the full article is worth a read. Find it here.

Quvenzhané Wallis in People Magazine!

Quvenzhané Wallis was featured in People Magazine's Salute to the Oscar Nominees photo spread alongside actors Robert DeNiro, Amy Adams, Jessica Chastain, Sally Field, Anne Hathaway and more.

What a cutie. That is all.