Freelance multi-hyphenate specializing in writing/directing for film, creative marketing, and new media strategy. I've worked on projects for National Geographic, produced a documentary for Jon Stewart, and have spent the last couple years making "Ghost from the Machine" (my feature directorial debut). I am a Fellow of the IFP Filmmaker's Lab and am currently in pre-production on my next feature film.
Ghost from the Machine Website
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Imdb.com
Email: matt "at" mattosterman.com
This is what I look like after a few dozen meetings and a couple late night/early morning trailer screenings in NYC. Would I do it all over again? In a heartbeat…
*Hat tip to Jon Thomas for the pic
** I did not have a monopoly on fatigue as you can see my producer (Jennifer Kramer) napping peacefully behind the bars.
The end of post-production is only a few days away and we figured it’s the perfect time to throw a party. Come celebrate with us and help me thank all the brave folks who worked on the film!
A very cool Polish movie site, opium.org.pl, just posted a fun interview they did with me last week.
Here’s a bit:
Does the PHASMA EX MACHINA story have any reflection in your own convictions? Do you believe that there is something highly spiritual/metaphysical in high technology?
Absolutely, but maybe in a different way. I read a great quote the other day. It was something like, “humans are a clever bunch, but our cleverness is far outstripping our intelligence.” I took this to mean that humanity has the ability to create world-changing technology, yet we may be too stupid to understand the implications of doing so. Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease. As an example, the main character in the movie, Cody, creates this device to make up for his past mistakes. In his attempt to create the machine, he neglects the people around him and ultimately makes his situation even worse.
We live in an interesting world that is going to be increasingly so in the coming decades. A really smart guy named Ray Kurzweil predicts that computers will outperform human intelligence as early as 2050. Once computers are allowed to improve their own source code, all bets are off. I don’t want to get too philosophical, but the lines between technology and spirituality are beginning to blur. At some point, science may indeed be the key that answers all our big questions about life, death, and god.
Check out the rest of the english version or click here to read the translated version for all you Polish speakers out there.
Check out this fun little video game trailer I wrote and directed. The game comes out this fall. Buy it.
Video Games | Bass Pro Shops: The Strike | Exclusive Gone Fishin’ TrailerXBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii
For more info click here: TheStrikeGame.com
Hat tip to http://w-angle.com for their awesome work.
It’s no secret that the Northwoods of Wisconsin was a favorite hangout of Chicago gangsters back in the prohibition era, but I was still surprised that Michael Mann elected to keep it real and shoot most of the movie at or near the locations where they happened.
Via The New York Times:
“For bad guys on the lam, Wisconsin was once the refuge of choice. Al Capone, John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson all headed for the state’s north woods when the heat was on.
…
Even if Capone didn’t leave much solid evidence, it’s possible to follow the route taken by F.B.I. agents in April 1934 when they flew into Rhinelander and raced northwest to Manitowish Waters in hopes of capturing Dillinger and his gang of bank robbers. The coming film “Public Enemies” — er, shot around Wisconsin — has heightened interest in the gangster haunts, particularly Dillinger’s.”
As luck would have it, I’ll be traveling back to my hometown of Rhinelander in a few days to celebrate the 4th of July weekend with friends and family. My scheduled event for Thursday night? A bucket of popcorn and a ticket to Public Enemies.
So it looks like post-production on Phasma Ex Machina should be complete sometime in mid-September. That gives us a little over two months to make it sing. It’ll also give us enough time to get all our legal, clearance, and deliverables buttoned up before festival season. I’m not sure if we can roll up our sleeves any further, but we’re gonna do our darndest. Wish us luck!
The Minnesota Film Board just posted a nice interview of me on their MNdialog blog.
Here’s a taste:
Acceptance into the program is just one achievement out of several that point to the fact that the film is headed for great things. Osterman was one of seven nominees for the McKnight Fellowship for Screenwriters last year for the Phasma script. And when they put the trailer online back in March, they had websites all over the world talking about it and sharing the video within two days. They experienced a tremendous rush of interest; festivals and sales agents swamped them with requests for the film. But Osterman, speaking like a true Minnesotan, warns that no one has seen the finished product yet so it may all be a moot point. “I think everyone got excited because they saw a spooky flick that didn’t fall back on cheap gags and or talk down to them,” he said. “I’ve found there’s a big subset of movie fans who abhor things like the Sawfranchise and are desperate for smart supernatural fare. It seems most people pinned the trailer as a Primer-meets-The Six Sense. I’d say that’s pretty close to accurate in the most obvious way.”
Check out the entire article here.
Sportsfan - Opening Sequence
This is a little nugget from a cool project I worked on a few years back. We followed a group of hardcore Minnesota Vikings fans around for an entire year and attempted to show the psychology of fanaticism and how such an addiction can subsume your life (for better or for worse). It was a blast to work on (I was the associate producer) and I learned a lot working on a network feature doc. Sportsfan aired on SpikeTV and was executive produced by Jon Stewart (The Daily Show, Colbert Report), and directed by Aaron Lubarsky (Journeys With George, Speedo).
Received some amazing news the other day. Phasma Ex Machina was one of ten films in the nation to be selected to the IFP Narrative Labs in NYC this June.
Having a little late night fun on the set of Phasma Ex Machina.
