Audio file: Interview with Exodus Film Group

Last week, I went to see John Eraklis, the president of Exodus Film Group in Venice, CA, and Max Howard, a producer who is working with Exodus to make an animated, computer-generated short called "Igor." (They eventually plan to turn "Igor" into a full-length feature.) Exodus is also working with Jim Rygiel (who won visual effects Oscars for each of the three "Lord of the Rings" movies). Rygiel is slated to direct an Exodus project called "Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox," which will start shooting this fall. Comic Eddie Griffin will be the voice of Babe.

We talked about how new technologies are changing the way movies are made, distributed, and shown... what's behind this summer's box office slump... what it means that innovation is happening the home faster than in the movie theater... the democratization of film-making... how a small film production company like Exodus can succeed... and whether movies will always need stars.

Here's the audio file. It's a 26-minute long MP3.