MPI Creative Council member David Zucker (Airplane!, The Naked Gun) appeared on Hannity & Colmes last night to talk about his new film, An American Carol. Read the transcript, and check out the video. Written with seed money from MPI, this gutsy spoof of post-9/11 political piety in America is slated for nationwide theatrical release on October 3.
Most indie films don't get picked up by major distributors. And for most, that spells the end of the film's run. After a few appearances at film festivals, that's it. If a given film is lucky, it might become a DVD--but not always. It can be a devastating finish to the years of effort and commitment and hope that go into filmmaking.
But there are ways around it, as MPI well knows. We've been cited by The Economist, National Review Online, and others for our innovative approach to bringing important freedom-oriented films to wide audiences--entirely without the help of Hollywood or the financial support of distributors.
Now the New York Times is taking up the subject of self-distribution, as it is coming to be called -- and mentions The Singing Revolution as one of self-distribution's great success stories.
You've read a lot about The Singing Revolution here and in other MPI publications. And the word is really getting around about this film. Since it premiered in Los Angeles last fall, it has screened in over one hundred cities across North America -- and audiences love it so much that it is still going strong.
A 3-disc educational DVD will also be available in September. Watch our site for details.
Check out the trailer for MPI fellow Myrna Sokoloff's new film, An American Carol.
Directed, co-written, and co-produced by MPI Creative Council member David Zucker (Airplane!, Naked Gun), this devilishly funny spoof of anti-Americanism will be in theaters nationwide on October 3.
Last fall, MPI fellow Jared Lapidus released a short film that informed the world about libel tourism--and made particularly strong points about how Britain's plaintiff-friendly libel laws were being exploited by those who wish to suppress the free exchange of information and ideas about terrorism. Since then, New York State has passed a law reaffirming the First Amendment rights of New York authors--no matter where their work is published. An analogous federal bill has followed.
Now the United Nations is paying attention, too. The Guardian has the details:
Britain's libel laws have come under attack from the United Nations committee on human rights for discouraging coverage of matters of major public interest. The use of the Official Secrets Act to deter government employees from raising important issues has also been criticised.The intervention by the UN comes in the wake of international disquiet over the use of British courts for "libel tourism", whereby wealthy plaintiffs can sue in the high court in London over articles that would not warrant an action in their own country.
The criticisms are made as part of the committee's concluding observations on the report submitted by the UK on civil and political rights. UN member states are required to submit reports on human rights in their jurisdictions every three years.
The committee warns that the British libel laws have "served to discourage critical media reporting on matters of serious public interest, adversely affecting the ability of scholars and journalists to publish their work, including through the phenomenon known as libel tourism".
[...]
The committee's report highlights the grey area created by the internet whereby alleged libel can be read in different countries. There is a risk, warns the committee, that restrictive libel laws could affect legitimate international discussion, contrary to article 19 of the covenant on civil and political rights, which guarantees the right to freedom of speech "regardless of borders".
The UK government has been urged to consider "a so-called 'public figure' exception" that would require a would-be claimant to prove actual malice by a publisher or author.
This would apply in cases involving public officials and prominent public figures, as currently exists in the US, where a public figure can only sue for libel if he or she can demonstrate malice, recklessness or indifference to the truth and that the statement is false.
Don't miss 2081, MPI fellow Chandler Tuttle's magisterial adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron." Starring James Cosmo (Braveheart), Julie Hagerty (Airplane!), and Armie Hammer (Justice League: Mortal), with an original score performed by the world-famous Kronos Quartet (Requiem for a Dream), this short film is a visual feast and a major philosophical statement about freedom.
Learn about the film, and sign up for information about screenings, at finallyequal.com.
A couple of years ago, MPI awarded a grant to former Barbara Boxer staffer Myrna Sokoloff to work on a script for a film lampooning the excesses of post-9/11 American political culture. Now that script has been transformed into a major motion picture. Based on the Dickens tale, An American Carol is directed by MPI Creative Council member and award-winning director David Zucker (Airplane!, The Naked Gun); it stars Kelsey Grammer, Jon Voight, Dennis Hopper, Leslie Nielsen, and a host of other familiar faces. An American Carol will be released nationwide on October 3.
Read all about it at The Weekly Standard.
The Association of American Publishers and the American Library Association are endorsing the Free Speech Protection Act, which was inspired by New York state's Libel Terrorism Protection Act, passed earlier this year.
The occasion for both, as readers well know, is author Rachel Ehrenfeld's struggle to defend her First Amendment rights in the face of a foreign libel judgment brought against her for exposing the financial networks that underwrite terrorism. That struggle was marvelously documented by MPI fellow Jared Lapidus in his short film, The Libel Tourist, which played a role in inspiring both pieces of legislation, and which is currently being recommended by the AAP in its emails regarding the proposed federal law.
Three cheers to Elisabeth Hasselbeck for recommending Indoctrinate U--twice!--yesterday.
The Moving Picture Institute wishes to express our sincere thanks to everyone who has offered their generous support to Indoctrinate U. Over the past sixteen months, your contributions, your interest, and your well wishes have helped MPI in our campaign to bring Evan Coyne Maloney's scorching documentary expose of ideological bias on America's college and university campuses to the widest possible public. It's our pleasure to outline here some of the many achievements your support has made possible for this film.
As you know, our campaign to promote and publicize Indoctrinate U began in the spring of 2007 with a massive marketing effort centered on both traditional and alternative media. On March 19, 2007, Maloney appeared on the Fox News Channel's Hannity's America, where he showed clips from Indoctrinate U and launched a grassroots effort to promote the film. A dedicated website, Indoctrinate-U.com, went live the day of Maloney's Fox appearance; it featured the trailer, advance reviews, and information about upcoming events. Its most innovative feature, however, was a system for allowing visitors to sign up for screenings in their area, along with a map to track sign-ups by geographical location (our sign-up system has since drawn the praise of The Economist, National Review Online, and others who recognize its power to circumvent the closed world of Hollywood).
MPI fellow Ben Lewis has turned his funny and revealing documentary about Communism, jokes, and freedom, Hammer & Tickle, into a book--and it is getting rave reviews.
The Spectator calls it "charming, highly original, elegantly written and valuable piece of cultural history."
The Sunday Times pronounces it "marvelously original."
The New Statesman calls it "wonderful," "marvelous," and "deeply scholarly."
Reviews have also appeared in the Telegraph, the Scotsman, and a host of other blogs and mainstream media outlets.
Check out the book (read an excerpt here), and if you can, see the film, which won Best New Documentary at the 2006 Zurich Film Festival.