AI Gets Its Day in Court (and Loses)
Thoroughly Modern Horror Premieres; Emmy DPs Talk Shop; New Shorts on Climate + Opioid Crises; Sundance Grantees Announced
Happy Thursday, friends.
Thanks to everyone who shared this news item with us: AI-Created Art Isn’t Copyrightable… in Ruling That Could Give Hollywood Studios Pause. Our favorite tidbit came from Bloomberg Law:
Howell found that “courts have uniformly declined to recognize copyright in works created absent any human involvement,” citing cases where copyright protection was denied for celestial beings, a cultivated garden, and a monkey who took a selfie.
(We hyperlinked that wacky case law for you. You’re welcome.)
What does that mean for strike negotiations? We look forward to your predictions.
For now, let’s jump into your (copyrighted) work of the week.
— Jean Ellen & Kasia
Co-Founders, Portrait
Roll of Honor
Premieres, Press, Awards, and Standout Member Work This Week
This Week’s Premieres: Classic Horror Made Modern… and a Con for the Ages
‘A Queer Spin on The Shining.’ Check out “Bad Things,” out this week, as well as this great NYT feature on the story behind the film. Shudder; AMCPlus. Stewart Thorndike, Director; Lexi Tannenholtz and Lizzie Shapiro, Producers; Kathryn J. Schubert, Editor; Grant Greenberg, DP; Allison Twardziak, Casting Director; Amy Williams, Production Designer; Nell Simon, Costume Designer.
Frankenstein Meets Motherhood. ‘Amid the body horror, maternal terror, and wicked trespasses these mothers tromp into, “Birth/Rebirth” stuns with its macabre sense of humor’ (Mashable). In theaters. David Grove Churchill Viste, Producer; Tricia Mears, First Assistant Camera.
A Football Team From A High School That Didn’t Exist. ‘…one of the wildest sports stories in years. “BS High” is a thoughtful and thorough dive into how it all went down’ (Decider). HBO. Dean Gonzalez, Editor; Meech Golden, Producer; Travon Free, Director; David Markun, DP; Colin Lupe, Camera; Spencer Paysinger, Executive Producer; Mary Pilon, Producer.
On the Pod: Cinematographers Talk Shop
Lots of Portrait people on The Cinematography Podcast this week:
Clair Popkin, Julia Liu, and C. Kim Miles talk about “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie,” and what it was like to work separately on different portions of the film. All three are Emmy-nominated for their work on the doc
Natalie Kingston talks about Emmy-nominated “Black Bird” and maintaining the integrity of the show’s visual language across multiple directors,
Breaking Down the News: A Trio of New Shorts
“Keeping Cool in A Warming World.” As August keeps breaking records, this piece from BBC Storyworks and Studio Desk feels especially pertinent. Martha Halliday, Animator. We also love these behind-the scenes storyboards!
“The Opioid Crisis Is a Tragedy, but America’s Response Created a New One.” Check out the full story on NYT Opinion. Vishakha Darbha, Producer.
”Design Your Life!” Diane von Furstenberg shares her philosophy for her career — and for living. Severine Reisp, Director, Producer, Editor; Wolfgang Held, DP; Ali Cengiz, AC. Check out Serverine’s Portrait post for the backstory.
Accolades Round Up
Chicken & Egg Pictures Project: Hatched 2023 Grantees
“Liquor Store Dreams.” So Yun Um, Director; Eddie Kim, Producer; Diane Quon, Executive Producer; Will Zang, Publicist
“Pay or Die.” Rachael Dyer and Scott Ruderman, Directors & Producers; Yael Melamede, Producer; Will Rogers, Editor; Toby Shimin, Supervising Editor; Jenise Morgan, Story Producer
Sundance Doc Fund Grantees
“Widow Champion.” Heather Courtney, Producer.
“When They Were Here.” Mridu Chandra, Producer.
“Ride with Delivery Workers.” Jing Wang, Director & Producer; Annie Berman, Producer.
And congratulations to…
Ed Ou, for his photography “A Uranium Ghost Town in the Making,” which just won an Edward R. Murrow Award.
Monica Sorelle, a recipient of the 2023 WaveMaker Grants: Research & Development + Implementation.
Window of Opportunity
Weekly Jobs, Grants, Labs, Intensives, Screenings, Workshops, and More
Closing Soon: August/September Deadlines
Film Independent Screenwriting Lab (non-member: 8/28; member: 9/11)
Sundance Graton Fellowship (8/28 deadline)
Unlock Her Potential Mentorship (8/31 deadline)
The Gotham Documentary Development Initiative (8/31 deadline)
Bloomberg Green Docs (9/1 deadline)
Berlinale Talents Summit (9/4 deadline)
Mountainfilm Commitment Grants (9/5 deadline)
NewFilmmakers Los Angeles: NewNarratives (9/6 deadline)
MacDowell Fellowships (9/10 deadline)
US In Progress (9/10 deadline)
Tasveer Film Fund (9/10 late deadline)
Nostos Screenwriting Retreat (9/15 deadline)
Voices with Impact Production Grant (9/17 deadline)
Bendfilm BIPOC Women Production Grant (9/15 deadline)
Stowe Story Labs: Feature Campus (9/15 deadline)
The Athena List (9/15 deadline)
AFI Conservatory: Directing Workshop for Women (DWW+) (9/15 deadline)
Black Public Media Open Call (9/25 deadline)
Graton Fellowship for Artists from California-Based Tribes (9/29 deadline)
Jobs/Gigs Roundup
Member Requests — DM them on Portrait!
Peter Gerard: 90s-style house to film interiors and a Spanish revival mansion for exteriors — both in LA
Lulu Men: Theater for a roughcut screening in the Bay Area
Communications Director, Chicken & Egg Pictures.
Digital Audio Video Content Producer/Editor, Audacy, Inc.
Senior Video Editor, Profiles.
Editor / Photographer, Rhode Island PBS.
KTRK Digital Producer - Part Time, The Walt Disney Company.
Video Editor, Performance Innovation, HelloFresh.
Associate Producer, News Now- Stay Tuned, NBCUniversal.
Supervising Producer, Lifestyle, Dotdash Meredith.
Sr. Producer/Editorial, Laura Coates Live, CNN, Warner Bros. Discovery.
CNN, Producer II, White House, Warner Bros. Discovery.
Senior Producer, CBS News and Stations, Paramount.
Freelance Producer, Psyop.
Line Producer, CNN, Warner Bros. Discovery.
Senior Producer, Scopely.
Anthropologie Senior Producer, Anthropologie.
Photographer/Editor, NBCUniversal.
Executive Producer - NBC10 Philadelphia, NBCUniversal.
End Credits: Portrait Post of the Week
Until next week, friends. See you on the app.