The monologue I discuss is found at this link.

The info on the follow on film about the making of the movie (Capturing The Libertine – which IS by the Brownlee Brothers) is found at this link.

We both felt pretty strongly about Food, Inc. and the message it portrays. It is periodically available to view for free online at sites like Hulu. We highly recommend taking a look at it – you’ll learn something and be entertained.

note: video compressed to iPhone size – full size, HD video available on request

“It is time to blow the whole thing up.” In September 1960, when those words were lobbed at the world by a New York-centric, off-Hollywood circle of malcontents called the New American Cinema Group, there was no mistaking their radical urgency. Given the cold war times — one of the first large ban-the-bomb rallies had been held in Madison Square Garden some months earlier — this call to annihilation might have seemed tasteless. But for this group, whose numbers included the film critic, later filmmaker Jonas Mekas and the not-yet-director Peter Bogdanovich, the time for a free American cinema, one rooted in personal vision and liberated from censorship and the distribution and exhibition strangleholds, was now.

We can see that independent film has been a rallying cry since the 1960s. Now, in 2010, the tools and networks have converged to truly create the shakeup of the industry needed to put the world of film back in the hands of the visionaries who sweat over each creation. The interesting possibilities here are that only truly creative films will make the grade in this audience driven environment.

Leaving us are the days when studios can shove meaningless dreck down out throats at the theater. Sure, there will always be that demographic, but now other films will be able to see the light of day. Even better, viewers will drive what they want to watch. On one hand, in this day and age anyone can be an amateur filmmaker – the tools are out there and low cost – but not all of these creative visions will be able to grab an audience, or better, keep it.

With more and more mainstream press turning the spotlight on DIY film marketing and sales and indie filmmakers, the time is certainly now to follow that dream and that creative vision. The speed at which the film world is changing is dazzling, and filmmakers should be grabbing on with both hands.

In this film, Casey Affleck, Jessica Alba and Kate Hudson create a dark version of Texas and explore the dark side of human nature. The movie was adapted by John Curran from the book by Jim Thompson. the film, directed by Michael Winterbottom, should create quite a stir when released in the US.

Why are people embracing the darker films coming out now, from Paranormal Activity to noir films like The Killer Inside Me? Some say it is a reflection of the times: as if romantic comedies and light dramas were no longer enough of an escape in the face of the unrelenting march of economic stress and global changes. Regardless, it will be interesting to watch this film as it hits theaters and see how it matches up against other pulp fiction based shockers in its genre.

A recent Filmmaker Summit held at Slamdance was just one example of filmmakers using knowledge sharing and DIY tools to help everyone become successful as the market changes from a studio driven one to an audience driven one. For filmmakers passionate about their art, there has never been a more perfect time to take the risk and make your film than now, when the audience is directly within your reach using social tools.

You can see the tweets from the summit this past week by going to Search.Twitter and looking for hashtag #fs10 (or just click this #fs10 link). You can also see video from the summit, recorded tweets and comments on the FS10 web site. We hope to see many more collaborative learning environments like this spring up, with filmmakers of all sizes riding the DIY social wave.