As a child, the minute Director/Producer Jonathan Demme saw television he was hooked and obsessed. But, a career in movies never entered his mind – he wanted to be veterinarian. It was only when he hit a wall during his first week in college chemistry that his life took a dramatic turn to the world of movies. Starting first as a movie reviewer, then a publicist, Demme soon found himself working with the legendary Roger Corman. He has since gone on to make some of the greatest movies of our time, including Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia, Rachel Getting Married, music videos, and documentaries including his most recent on Neil Young.

Demme first worked with Neil Young on the movie Philadelphia. Young wrote the song ‘Philadelphia’, which received an Oscar nomination for the Best Original Song. Since that first collaboration in 1993, Demme and Young have worked together on the live video for Mirror Ball and three full-length performance films. The most recent is Neil Young Journeys, which Demme describes as a “portrait documentary disguised as a performance film.”  Demme hopes there are future collaborations and describes Young as an “endless fountain of cinematic material”. In this in-depth interview Demme discusses his favorite kind of film to make (movies about people who inspire him), his admiration for actors, and the people who inspire him the most (right now it’s Carolyn Parker a New Orleans Lower 9th Ward resident who as the last to leave her neighborhood before Hurricane Katrina and one of the first to return.  Click here to watch the full segment from this incredible and humble filmmaker and hear the gems of his experience including life on set of Silence of the Lambs, and what is next on his plate.

Brit Marling is a perfect example of someone who creates her own destiny. After graduating as Valedictorian from Georgetown University, she passed on a job at Goldman Sachs to pursue her love of filmmaking. Marling moved to LA and was offered only acting jobs in “Z horror movies” (she passed on all!), Instead, Marling co-wrote, produced and starred in two movies; both premiered at Sundance, making Marling the first female multi-hyphenate to have two films premiere side-by-side.  Both movies were acquired and Sound Of My Voice hits theaters this weekend with Marling stealing the show.

There is a reason Marling is on the cover of Vanity Fair’s Hollywood issue and the one everyone is watching.  In this exclusive interview with MakingOf CEO Christine Aylward, hear Marling discuss her courage to leave Wall Street behind and pursue acting. “I was going to dye a slow death doing these things I didn’t want to do. It was a survival instinct. I had to find something I wanted to do or some part of me would wither away and die,” shares Marling.  To catch a glimpse of this incredibly talented, humble and beautiful filmmaker, click here and watch the full interview.

This evening the SFFS host its Film Festival Awards Gala. The Gala takes place at the historic Warfield Theatre in downtown San Francisco. The evening is hosted by Susie & Pat McBaine, Katie & Todd Traina, and Melanie & Larry Blum. MakingOf’s CEO Christine Aylward is on the Host Committee. Tonight’s distinguished honorees include Kenneth Branagh who will receive the Founder’s Director Award, Judy Davis who will receive the Peter J. Owens Award for Acting, and David Webb People who will receive the Kanbar Screenwriting Award.  MakingOf sat down with Ken Branagh short time ago. To celebrate Branagh and his honor, we share experts of his interview.

“One must appeal to an actor’s imagination… On your imaginary forces work… Think when we talk of horses, that you see them printing their proud hoofs i’ the receiving earth; For ’tis your thoughts that now must deck our kings.” Ken Branagh (quoting Henry V) in conversation with MakingOf.

At age 16 Branagh’s involvement in sports gave him the security to ‘appeal to his imagination’ and audition for a role in the school production of “Oh What a Lovely War.” While his first experience with acting was fun, he had no idea the profession of ‘actor’ actually existed. When he learned it did, he immediately set out to understand what that meant. “If I could find a way for acting to be my job, that would be a lifetime dream.”

In this intimate interview Branagh discusses growing up in a working class family in Ireland and England, studying at The Royal Academy of Art, securing his first paid acting role on a television series, and “stepping out on the West End with Tim Roth, Rupert Everett, Daniel Day-Lewis, Gary Oldman and Colin Firth.” Branagh is extremely generous with his life experiences and covers too much ground for me to summarize the highlights in a short post! I hope you take the time to watch and learn from this humble, distinguished filmmaker. Click here to watch the full interview.

Everyone is talking about Cabin in the Woods. It is clear Director and Co-writer Drew Goddard is a true horror fan. In this in-depth interview Goddard talks about life growing up in New Mexico, his passion for writing as a child, and the moment he learned there was a “screenplay” and that he could write as a “day job”.   Goddard co-wrote Cabin in the Woods with Joss Whedon and the initial kernel for the movie came from Whedon’s “disappointment with the current state of horror cinema”.  “Cabin doesn’t exist without Sam Raimi and John Carpenter. But really Cabin wouldn’t exist without all the horror movies that came before. All of them have an affect one way or the other,” shares Goddard. Click here to watch the full interview to learn more about the creation of this unconventional take on the horror genre.

Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the writing/directing duo behind the hit animated film Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, are now back with 21 Jump Street. This week’s segment of Reel Life, Real Stories with Christine Aylward features a candid and very funny interview where Lord and Miller discuss life on set of a wild comedy w/Jonah Hill @ Channing Tatum, incubating ‘terrible’ ideas, why animation is all about
‘roman candles and dancing girls’, and much more! Click here for the full segment.

The Lorax took the top spot at the Box Office last weekend with 70M.  This weekend, three big films open Silent House, John Carter and A Thousand Words. Also opening is the independent film starring Jon Hamm, Friends with Kids. The general consensus (and early Box Office numbers) is that The Lorax will remain the top spot at the Box Office.  No surprise – we love this movie find out why in our exclusive The Lorax featurette. This weekend SXSW Festival kicks off this weekend and several highly anticipated films make their debut including Cabin in the Woods from Drew Goddard and 21 Jump Street from the directing duo behind Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and screenwriter Michael Bacall. The hyperlinks above take you to all the great MakingOf content – so click away and decide which movie you’re going to see this weekend!

MakingOf has teamed up with Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment to give our viewers the chance to win a DVD copy of Immortals.

For your chance to win one of three DVDs, follow these three easy steps:

1. Sign up for our free newsletter HERE.
2. Register on the MakingOf film community HERE.
3. Email us at contests@makingof.com and answer this question: If you were to go into battle like Theseus, what would be your battle quote? Make sure to get creative because we’re picking our favorite ones! Please including your mailing address and put “Immortals” in the subject line.

Deadline ends at 11:59 PM on Tuesday, March 6th. On Wednesday, March 7th we will select three winners and notify them by email. Good luck, movie lovers and stay tuned for more contests. Immortals battles on Blu-ray and DVD shelves on March 6th!

ONE ENTRY PER HOUSEHOLD. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. CONTESTANTS MUST LIVE INSIDE THE U.S. or CANADA. ITEMS CANNOT BE SHIPPED TO P.O. BOX.

Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax
Director: Chris Renaud,  Kyle Balda
Cast: Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, Danny DeVito, and Ed Helms
Synopsis: A 12-year-old boy searches for the one thing that will enable him to win the affection of the girl of his dreams. To find it he must discover the story of the Lorax, the grumpy yet charming creature who fights to protect his world.

MakingOf Featurette | Trailer

Project X
Director: Nima Nourizadeh
Cast: Thomas Mann, Oliver Cooper, Jonathan Daniel Brown, Dax Flame
Synopsis: 3 high school seniors throw a birthday party to make a name for themselves. As the night progresses, things spiral out of control as word of the party spreads.

Theatrical Trailer

Being Flynn
Director: Paul Weitz
Cast: Paul Dano, Robert De Niro, Julianne Moore, Olivia Thirlby
Synopsis: Working in a Boston homeless shelter, Nick Flynn re-encounters his father, a con man and self-proclaimed poet. Sensing trouble in his own life, Nick wrestles with the notion of reaching out yet again to his dad.

MakingOf Featurette

Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie (LIMITED)
Director: Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim
Cast: Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim, Robert Loggia, Will Ferrell
Synopsis: Two guys get a billion dollars to make a movie, only to watch their dream run off course. In order to make the money back, they then attempt to revitalize a failing shopping mall.

The Snowtown Murders (LIMITED)
Director: Justin Kurzel
Cast: Lucas Pittaway, Daniel Henshall, Louise Harris, Bob Adriaens
Synopsis: Based on true events, 16 year-old Jamie falls in with his mother’s new boyfriend and his crowd of self-appointed neighborhood watchmen, a relationship that leads to a spree of torture and murder.

Boy (LIMITED)
Director: Taika Waititi
Cast: James Rolleston, Te Aho Aho Eketone-Whitu, Taika Waititi,Moerangi Tihore
Synopsis: Set on the east coast of New Zealand in the year 1984, Boy, an 11-year-old kid and devout Michael Jackson fan gets a chance to know his father, who has returned to find a bag of money he buried years ago.

Let the Bullets Fly (LIMITED)
Director: Wen Jiang
Cast: Yun-Fat Chow, Wen Jiang, You Ge, Carina Lau
Synopsis: In 1920s China, a bandit arrives in a remote provincial town posing as its new mayor, where he faces off against a tyrannical local nobleman.

The Salt of Life (LIMITED)
Director: Gianni Di Gregorio
Cast: Gianni Di Gregorio, Valeria De Franciscis, Alfonso Santagata,Elisabetta Piccolomini
Synopsis: Gianni is a retiree who has become invisible to most everyone around him. In response, he tries his best to generate some kind of extracurricular love life.

Source: IMDb

Our weekly interview series features living-room style conversations with some of the most admired personalities and filmmakers. Ever wonder how your favorite actor began their career? What does your favorite director look for in a script? Get all the answers by watching the complete episodes.

This week’s episode is with Joel Edgerton, a member of the Aussie film crew Blue-Tongue Films, and star of WARRIOR, THE THING (2011), and the upcoming GREAT GATSBY. Check out the full episode below!

Our weekly interview series features living-room style conversations with some of the most admired personalities and filmmakers. Ever wonder how your favorite actor began their career? What does your favorite director look for in a script? Get all the answers by watching the complete episodes.

This week’s episode is with ACT OF VALOR’S directors Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh. Check out the full episode below!