Horror icons are reimagined as popsicles in Freddy in Space's new enamel pins from Pin & Seller, and we have a look at all six collectibles and their release details in today's second Horror Highlights. We also have news on Charlie Sheen's upcoming appearances at Wizard Worlds in Minneapolis, Des Moines, and Philadelphia, as well as release details for The Follower and lineup info on both the fifth annual Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival and this year's Sci-Fi-London Film Festival.
Freddy in Space's Horror Popsicle Pins: From Freddy in Space: “Freddy in Space horror popsicle pins are now available through Pin & Seller. Can grab individuals or sets of three!”
Depicting horror icons as popsicles, these handmade enamel pins from Freddy in Space are now available as a set of three for $30.00 or as individual items priced at $12.00 apiece from Pin & Seller on Etsy. To learn more, visit:
https://www.
Freddy in Space's Horror Popsicle Pins: From Freddy in Space: “Freddy in Space horror popsicle pins are now available through Pin & Seller. Can grab individuals or sets of three!”
Depicting horror icons as popsicles, these handmade enamel pins from Freddy in Space are now available as a set of three for $30.00 or as individual items priced at $12.00 apiece from Pin & Seller on Etsy. To learn more, visit:
https://www.
- 4/13/2017
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
The Follower, New Indie Film, Starring Erika Christensen, New Face Bethany Lauren James and Val Lauren Psychological Thriller Available for Digital HD and On Demand, April 18 New York, NY – April 12, 2017 – The Follower, a new psychological thriller, will be available for Digital HD and On Demand, April 18, via MarVista Entertainment. …
The post The Follower – Psychological Thriller Available for Digital HD and On Demand, April 18 first appeared on Hnn | Horrornews.net 2017 - Official Horror News Site...
The post The Follower – Psychological Thriller Available for Digital HD and On Demand, April 18 first appeared on Hnn | Horrornews.net 2017 - Official Horror News Site...
- 4/13/2017
- by Horrornews.net
- Horror News
This Thursday on Graceland (USA Network, 10/9c), Paige Arkin will go undercover in a bid to get cozy with wannabe Armenian crime boss Ari’s rival, Toros. Offering Briggs a hand with his op is part of Paige’s “penance” for (very understandably) bungling the team’s recent attempt to gaslight Ari.
RelatedMr. Robot Snags Early Season 2 Renewal at USA Network
Paige of course also has some atoning to do — if only to herself — for her decision to sic murderous Sid Markham on Mike in the Season 2 finale, an impetuous, emotional decision made in the immediate wake of learning that her colleague,...
RelatedMr. Robot Snags Early Season 2 Renewal at USA Network
Paige of course also has some atoning to do — if only to herself — for her decision to sic murderous Sid Markham on Mike in the Season 2 finale, an impetuous, emotional decision made in the immediate wake of learning that her colleague,...
- 7/30/2015
- TVLine.com
Recently, CBS dished out the new,official spoilers,synopsis for their upcoming "The Mentalist" episode 2 of season 7. The episode is entitled, "The Greybar Hotel," and it turns out that we're going to Teresa go deep undercover as a prisoner in an attempt to take down a car theft operation, and more. In the new, 2nd episode press release: Lisbon will go undercover as a prison inmate to bust a car theft ring. Press release number 2: Lisbon is going to undercover as a prison inmate in order to get a convict to turn on her boyfriend, who is the leader of a high-end car theft ring. Cheat Tweet: Lisbon’s going to jail (undercover)! How will Jane feel about having a convict 4 a girlfriend? #TheMentalist 12/7 9pm Et/Pt http://bit.ly/1tZrC7c. Guest stars feature: Garcelle Beauvais (Danitra Cass), Brit Morgan (Marie), Val Lauren (Cole), Tom Kiesche (Hendricks), Ryan Dorsey...
- 11/30/2014
- by Chris
- OnTheFlix
Recently, CBS released the new,official synopsis/spoilers for their upcoming "NCIS: Los Angeles" premiere episode 1 of season 6. The episode is entitled, "Deep Trouble Part 2," and it sounds like things will get extremely intense and dangerous as Sam and Callen get caught up in another life threatening situation trapped on a death-bound submarine, and more! In the new, 1st episode press release: When Callen and Sam are trapped in an armed submarine which terrorists have aimed at an aircraft carrier in San Diego, The NCIS: La team is going to have to find them and prevent the attack. Press release number 2: Callen and Sam will get trapped in an armed submarine that terrorists have aimed to hit an aircraft carrier in San Diego. Meanwhile, Hetty is going to defy orders and forgoes her trip to Washington as the team tries to locate and save Callen and Sam and prevent the terrorist attack.
- 9/2/2014
- by Andre
- OnTheFlix
Recently,CBS released the new,official synopsis/spoilers for their upcoming "NCIS: Los Angeles" season finale episode 24 of season 5. The episode is entitled, "Deep Trouble," and it sounds like things will get pretty intense and intriguing as Sam and Callen go on the hunt for a cocaine-filled submarine, and more. In the new, 24th finale episode press release: Callen and Sam will search for a missing submarine that the Cartel plans to use to smuggle billions of dollars of cocaine to the United States. Press release number 2: When the NCIS: La team and the DEA uncover the cartel’s plans to slyly transport billions of dollars’ worth of cocaine from Colombia to the United States using a submarine, Callen and Sam are going to have to quickly locate the missing vessel. In the meantime, Hetty is going to get called to Washington in the aftermath of the controversial mission in Afghanistan.
- 5/6/2014
- by Derek
- OnTheFlix
Crazy, Stupid, Art: Carter’s Directorial Debut Less than the Sum of its Parts
Multimedia artist Carter makes his directorial debut with Maladies, an intriguing sounding project that stars James Franco, who collaborated with Carter back in 2008 on an experimental project called Erased James Franco, which, over the course of an hour, sees the actor re-enact scenes from his own filmography as well as a reinterpretation of Julianne Moore’s performance from the Todd Haynes film, Safe (1995). If you think that sounds lofty and ambiguous, then the meta-context attempted in their latest effort feels nearly mainstream in comparison (though, to be clear, sometimes reinterpretation is a euphemism for remake). Borrowing details from the similar events in Franco’s own life as it slips unexplainably between eras and anachronisms, a certain mystique fools us into thinking there’s something of actual substance going on under the vague veneer of mental illness...
Multimedia artist Carter makes his directorial debut with Maladies, an intriguing sounding project that stars James Franco, who collaborated with Carter back in 2008 on an experimental project called Erased James Franco, which, over the course of an hour, sees the actor re-enact scenes from his own filmography as well as a reinterpretation of Julianne Moore’s performance from the Todd Haynes film, Safe (1995). If you think that sounds lofty and ambiguous, then the meta-context attempted in their latest effort feels nearly mainstream in comparison (though, to be clear, sometimes reinterpretation is a euphemism for remake). Borrowing details from the similar events in Franco’s own life as it slips unexplainably between eras and anachronisms, a certain mystique fools us into thinking there’s something of actual substance going on under the vague veneer of mental illness...
- 3/21/2014
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Exterior. The Heternormative: Franco & Matthews’ Experimental Exercise Takes Temperatures
James Franco, already cementing a reputation as one of the most eclectic and noteworthy cinematic commodities as actor, writer and director, teams up with queer filmmaker Travis Matthews for what has to be one of the most excitingly experimental queer cinematic projects of recent memory, Interior. Leather Bar, a re-imagining of the lost 40 minutes from William Friedkin’s infamous and controversial 1980 film, Cruising. Franco, an oddity for his ability to use fame and notoriety as a way to produce and finance challenging projects and bring them to the befuddled mainstream, manages to make this concoction with Matthews intriguing, but it’s too bad that it ultimately feels like a footnote to a much greater discussion. Conversations and impressions reveal that while surface societal mores have undergone an inherent PC facelift, fear and discomfort with the queer community still runs deep.
Opening...
James Franco, already cementing a reputation as one of the most eclectic and noteworthy cinematic commodities as actor, writer and director, teams up with queer filmmaker Travis Matthews for what has to be one of the most excitingly experimental queer cinematic projects of recent memory, Interior. Leather Bar, a re-imagining of the lost 40 minutes from William Friedkin’s infamous and controversial 1980 film, Cruising. Franco, an oddity for his ability to use fame and notoriety as a way to produce and finance challenging projects and bring them to the befuddled mainstream, manages to make this concoction with Matthews intriguing, but it’s too bad that it ultimately feels like a footnote to a much greater discussion. Conversations and impressions reveal that while surface societal mores have undergone an inherent PC facelift, fear and discomfort with the queer community still runs deep.
Opening...
- 3/4/2014
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
No Salutation: Franco Resurrects Tragic Mineo to Aimless Effect
Like The Broken Tower, which documents the tragic end of poet Hart Crane, James Franco’s second directorial effort from 2011, Sal, also happens to resurrect an artistic queer figure from the past, this time Oscar-nominated actor Sal Mineo, murdered outside his West Hollywood apartment back in 1976. While the film is finally being granted a theatrical release, Franco has gone on to debut a slew of other directorial efforts, expanding his desire to provoke, titillate and subvert notions of queerness in a broader cultural discourse with items like his co-directed Interior. Leather Bar, and even adapting notable literary works, like Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying and Cormac McCarthy’s Child of God. Considering an equally heavy acting schedule, Franco’s output is quantitatively impressive, but quality thus becomes the lack in his exploration of the last hours of the life of Sal Mineo.
Like The Broken Tower, which documents the tragic end of poet Hart Crane, James Franco’s second directorial effort from 2011, Sal, also happens to resurrect an artistic queer figure from the past, this time Oscar-nominated actor Sal Mineo, murdered outside his West Hollywood apartment back in 1976. While the film is finally being granted a theatrical release, Franco has gone on to debut a slew of other directorial efforts, expanding his desire to provoke, titillate and subvert notions of queerness in a broader cultural discourse with items like his co-directed Interior. Leather Bar, and even adapting notable literary works, like Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying and Cormac McCarthy’s Child of God. Considering an equally heavy acting schedule, Franco’s output is quantitatively impressive, but quality thus becomes the lack in his exploration of the last hours of the life of Sal Mineo.
- 11/1/2013
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Behind the scenes on the Sal set with James Franco and Val Lauren
No one has a career quite like James Franco. There are his big screen star turns in films like Milk, Howl or 127 Hours, but he’s just as likely to pop up on television in everything from The Mindy Project to General Hospital. Then there’s his own writing and directing projects such as Interior. Leather Bar. Franco always manages to compel us and keep us interested in what he’s up to, including his latest project.
He may have directed the film Sal a few years ago but it’s only been his busy schedule that has kept it from reaching theaters (and VOD) until now. The film, written by Stacey Miller, chronicles the final day in the life of Sal Mineo, the twice-Academy Award-nominated actor (for Rebel Without A Cause and Exodus) who came out in the 1960s and,...
No one has a career quite like James Franco. There are his big screen star turns in films like Milk, Howl or 127 Hours, but he’s just as likely to pop up on television in everything from The Mindy Project to General Hospital. Then there’s his own writing and directing projects such as Interior. Leather Bar. Franco always manages to compel us and keep us interested in what he’s up to, including his latest project.
He may have directed the film Sal a few years ago but it’s only been his busy schedule that has kept it from reaching theaters (and VOD) until now. The film, written by Stacey Miller, chronicles the final day in the life of Sal Mineo, the twice-Academy Award-nominated actor (for Rebel Without A Cause and Exodus) who came out in the 1960s and,...
- 11/1/2013
- by Jim Halterman
- The Backlot
More than a decade after playing James Dean in the 2001 TV biopic of the actor, ultimate multitasker James Franco went behind the camera to direct Sal, a film depicting the final day in the life of Sal Mineo, Dean’s co-star, two-time Oscar nominee, and openly gay former teen heartthrob who was murdered outside his L.A. home in 1976 at age 37.
Franco pursued the film after reading the 2010 biography of Mineo. Starring Val Lauren as Mineo, Sal was reportedly shot in nine days — “It was shot quickly,” Franco tells EW, adding that he couldn’t remember the exact number — and...
Franco pursued the film after reading the 2010 biography of Mineo. Starring Val Lauren as Mineo, Sal was reportedly shot in nine days — “It was shot quickly,” Franco tells EW, adding that he couldn’t remember the exact number — and...
- 11/1/2013
- by Shirley Li
- EW - Inside Movies
Like everything with James Franco's name on it, Sal might stand a little taller in the world if it had been dispatched to us pseudonymously, without expectation — that is, if a film this intimate and meandering might have been picked up for distribution at all without the stamp of its celebrity author. A stubbornly not-bad character study that's moldered on the shelf a few years, Sal purports to examine the final day of Rebel Without a Cause actor Sal Mineo, who was stabbed to death outside his West Hollywood apartment in 1976. As Sal, Val Lauren is a charismatic motormouth, jabbering happily to friends and family about his new play, a gay-themed comedy, opening soon. He swans about a featureless L.A. — the period setting and the micro...
- 10/30/2013
- Village Voice
James Franco‘s Sal follows actor Sal Mineo’s final hours with a fly-on-the-wall approach. In the film we see the bright young actor, played by Val Lauren, prepping a directorial feature he won’t make any compromises on. After seeing Sal, it’s easy to draw comparisons between Franco and Mineo in that regard. Franco has spent the last few years directing personal projects that are nothing if not uncompromising. Behind the camera, he’s taken on norm-defying adaptations like As I Lay Dying, the experimental recreation of lost scenes from Cruising and a documentary focused on his guest starring appearances on soap opera General Hospital. Those projects, along with Sal, aren’t overtly commercial endeavors (as you may have noticed), but Franco’s directorial features have certainly found their audience. He works fast, and, as Franco tells us, that work ethic isn’t a matter of simply rushing through project after project. Despite...
- 10/29/2013
- by Jack Giroux
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Check out what's new to rent and own this week on the various streaming services such as cable Movies On Demand, Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, and, of course, Netflix. Cable Movies On Demand: Same-day-as-disc releases, older titles and pretheatrical exclusives for rent, priced from $3-$10, in 24- or 48-hour periods Before Midnight (romantic drama; Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy; rated R) The Conjuring (horror; Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Lili Taylor; rated R) R.I.P.D. (supernatural comedy; Jeff Bridges, Ryan Reynolds, Mary-Louise Parker; available before disc and in 2D or 3D; rated PG-13) Sal (biographical drama; Val Lauren, James Franco; available now on Mod before theatrical release; unrated) Girl Most Likely (comedy; Kristen Wiig, Matt Dillon, Darren Criss, Annette...
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- 10/22/2013
- by Robert B. DeSalvo
- Movies.com
He’s always up to something awesome, and James Franco is gearing up for the release of his new independent flick “Sal.”
The “127 Hours” hunk wrote, directed, and stars in the low-budget biopic, along with Val Lauren, Jim Parrack, and Trevor Neuhoff.
Scheduled to screen at the Austin Film Festival, “Sal” will hit theaters in limited release on November 1st.
Per the synopsis, “The film chronicles the final hours of the life of actor Sal Mineo, one-time teen idol and star of the blockbuster films Rebel Without a Cause and Exodus.”...
The “127 Hours” hunk wrote, directed, and stars in the low-budget biopic, along with Val Lauren, Jim Parrack, and Trevor Neuhoff.
Scheduled to screen at the Austin Film Festival, “Sal” will hit theaters in limited release on November 1st.
Per the synopsis, “The film chronicles the final hours of the life of actor Sal Mineo, one-time teen idol and star of the blockbuster films Rebel Without a Cause and Exodus.”...
- 10/2/2013
- GossipCenter
Long after playing the festival circuit in 2011, Tribeca Film has released the trailer for James Franco's directorial effort "Sal" ahead of its Fall debut. The biopic chronicles the final day in the life of actor Sal Mineo (Val Lauren), the 1950s teen idol and Academy Award nominee for his roles in "Rebel Without A Cause" and "Exodus," who found himself no longer the sensation he once was. Franco's films explores the actor's homosexuality and journeys with him as he tries to make his way to become the actor and director he always wanted to be. "Sal" will be available nationwide on VOD and iTunes on October 22 and will open in select theaters beginning on November 1, in Los Angeles at the Sundance Sunset Cinema. Watch the trailer below:...
- 10/2/2013
- by James Hiler
- Indiewire
Sneak Peek footage from director James Franco's "Sal", a biopic of murdered actor Sal Mineo, starring Val Lauren, Franco, Vince Jolivette, Jim Patrick, Trevor Neuhoff, Stacey Miller and Raymond T. Williams:
"...'Sal' chronicles the final day in the life of actor 'Sal Mineo' (Val Lauren), 1950's teen idol and an Academy Award nominee for his roles in 'Rebel Without a Cause' and 'Exodus'. Almost two decades later, Mineo is no longer the marquee sensation he had once been..."
Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Sal"...
"...'Sal' chronicles the final day in the life of actor 'Sal Mineo' (Val Lauren), 1950's teen idol and an Academy Award nominee for his roles in 'Rebel Without a Cause' and 'Exodus'. Almost two decades later, Mineo is no longer the marquee sensation he had once been..."
Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Sal"...
- 10/1/2013
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
From the mind of our foremost Young Actor Turned Serious Artist James Franco comes the story of another young star who tried to shed his youthful image in Hollywood – Sal Mineo. Franco’s latest directorial venture, the Mineo biopic Sal, focuses on the time after his celebrated turn in Rebel Without a Cause that set him up for a long road of typecasting. Rebel would define Mineo’s (Val Lauren) career, and his struggles to be seen as more than a pretty face, as you can see in the trailer, made his life hellish. Historical spoiler: Mineo’s story ends (and this biopic, likely), with his tragic stabbing in the alley behind his apartment at the premature age of 37. While the source material is compelling, the trailer is just awful. It looks like Franco slapped some 1950s-period accurate clothing on Lauren and his cohorts and then filmed in sketchy areas of La when other people just conveniently...
- 10/1/2013
- by Samantha Wilson
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Popular actor and supposed director James Franco has a busy release schedule, between his adaptations of Cormac McCarthy and William Faulkner novels and that movie where he fights Jason Statham. And now you can add in Sal, the biopic about Rebel Without a Cause Sal Mineo which Franco made a couple of years ago in the midst of what scholars now refer to as Franco’s Blue Period. The film stars Val Lauren as Mineo and explores the actor’s final hours. It’s available on VOD and iTunes on October 22.
- 10/1/2013
- by Darren Franich
- EW - Inside Movies
The official trailer for Sal is posted below, via Tribeca Film. Directed by James Franco (127 Hours), Sal chronicles the final day in the life of actor Sal Mineo (Val Lauren), 1950s teen idol and an Academy Award® nominee for his roles in Rebel without a Cause and Exodus. Almost two decades later, Mineo is no longer the marquee sensation he had once been — but he has become open about his homosexuality and is finding his way to becoming the actor and director he has always wanted to be. Featuring a magnetic performance by Lauren, Franco's intimate portrait finds the human details in a larger-than-life Hollywood story. Sal will be available nationwide on VOD and iTunes on...
- 10/1/2013
- by April Neale
- Monsters and Critics
First announced in the halcyon days of 2010, the James Franco-directed Sal Mineo biopic—simply titled “Sal”—will finally see release this fall, after briefly hitting the festival circuit in 2011, stopping in Venice and Austin. And the first trailer has now arrived online. Released through Tribeca Films, the film focuses on Mineo who, like James Dean before him, struggled against being typecast as the troubled kid before seeing his life cut tragically short in the alley behind his home. Val Lauren stars as Mineo alongside Franco, Jim Parrack, Trevor Neuhoff, and Raymond T. Williams. The film looks to be a completely low-budget affair with seemingly little disguising the modern age it was shot in, so perhaps there is a reason why it took nearly two years to finally see the light of day. “Sal” hits VOD and iTunes on October 22nd, followed by a limited theatrical run on November 1st.
- 10/1/2013
- by Cain Rodriguez
- The Playlist
In addition to acting, James Franco has been busy directing numerous passion projects, including "Child of God" and "As I Lay Dying." And now we have the trailer for his latest film, called "Sal," which is based on the life of actor Sal Mineo, who is best known for co-starring with James Dean in "Rebel Without a Cause" before falling into obscurity. Check out the trailer below. Plot: The film chronicles the final day in the life of actor Sal Mineo (Val Lauren), 1950s teen idol and an Academy Award nominee for his roles in 'Rebel Without a Cause' and 'Exodus.' Almost two decades later, Mineo is no longer the marquee sensation he had once been . but he has become open about his homosexuality and is finding his way to becoming the actor and director he has always wanted to be. Franco co-stars in the film as director Milton Katselas.
- 10/1/2013
- WorstPreviews.com
Birthday shoutouts go to Stark Sands (above), who is 35, Marion Cotillard is 38, Basia is 59, Fran Drescher is 56, and Ezra Miller is 21.
Hgtv star David Bromstad has responded on Facebook to the criticism he’s received since announcing he’s teaming up with the Salvation Army.
Why Drag Queens Are Better Role Models Than Disney Princesses.
In ratings news, Once Upon A Time was down 33% from last season’s debut, but up 13% from last season’s finale. Meanwhile, Revenge was down 25% from last season’s debut, but up a whopping 41% from last season’s finale (and it had to deal with the finale of Breaking Bad). And Betrayal was Doa.
Here’s the official trailer for James Franco‘s Sal, with Val Lauren as Sal Mineo.
It’s on its way! This should be interesting.
Daniel Radcliffe stopped by The Today Show and discussed that gay love scene in Kill Your Darlings.
Hgtv star David Bromstad has responded on Facebook to the criticism he’s received since announcing he’s teaming up with the Salvation Army.
Why Drag Queens Are Better Role Models Than Disney Princesses.
In ratings news, Once Upon A Time was down 33% from last season’s debut, but up 13% from last season’s finale. Meanwhile, Revenge was down 25% from last season’s debut, but up a whopping 41% from last season’s finale (and it had to deal with the finale of Breaking Bad). And Betrayal was Doa.
Here’s the official trailer for James Franco‘s Sal, with Val Lauren as Sal Mineo.
It’s on its way! This should be interesting.
Daniel Radcliffe stopped by The Today Show and discussed that gay love scene in Kill Your Darlings.
- 9/30/2013
- by snicks
- The Backlot
Leave it to James Franco! The prolific actor/director has created a new feature film about the last day in the life of "Rebel Without A Cause" star Sal Mineo from a script by Stacey Miller.
The film is called "Sal" and is set to premiere on-demand on Oct. 22nd with a debut at the Sundance Sunset Cinema in Los Angeles on Nov. 1st. Val Lauren (who also appeared in Franco's "Interior. Leather Bar.") stars in the title role.
Franco stars as Milton Katselas in the movie. Katselas was an American director and producer, as well as a Hollywood acting instructor and coach.
Just in 2013 alone, Franco has made "As I Lay Dying," "Interior. Leather Bar," "Child of God," and "Venice 70: Future Reloaded." On top of that, the actor has also appeared in "Spring Breakers" (fantastic performance, I might add), "Oz The Great and Powerful," "This is the End,...
The film is called "Sal" and is set to premiere on-demand on Oct. 22nd with a debut at the Sundance Sunset Cinema in Los Angeles on Nov. 1st. Val Lauren (who also appeared in Franco's "Interior. Leather Bar.") stars in the title role.
Franco stars as Milton Katselas in the movie. Katselas was an American director and producer, as well as a Hollywood acting instructor and coach.
Just in 2013 alone, Franco has made "As I Lay Dying," "Interior. Leather Bar," "Child of God," and "Venice 70: Future Reloaded." On top of that, the actor has also appeared in "Spring Breakers" (fantastic performance, I might add), "Oz The Great and Powerful," "This is the End,...
- 9/30/2013
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
No strangers in the Lbgt film distribution business, and for the matter, experimental hard-to-classify sorts such as James Franco’s and Travis Mathews’ Interior. Leather Bar., Strand Releasing find a little of both with their latest acquisition. Making for the rare pick-up of a Sundance New Frontier section programmed title, after pit stops in Park City and Berlin Film Festival earlier in the year, Strand will pick up the baton on this meta project and push towards an eventual 2014 release.
Gist: In order to avoid an X rating, 40 minutes of gay S&M footage was rumored to be cut and destroyed from the 1980 film, “Cruising.” Inspired by the mythology of this controversial film, filmmakers James Franco and Travis Mathews collaborate to imagine their own lost footage. Amid the backdrop of a frenzied film set actor Val Lauren reluctantly agrees to take the lead in the film. Val is repeatedly forced...
Gist: In order to avoid an X rating, 40 minutes of gay S&M footage was rumored to be cut and destroyed from the 1980 film, “Cruising.” Inspired by the mythology of this controversial film, filmmakers James Franco and Travis Mathews collaborate to imagine their own lost footage. Amid the backdrop of a frenzied film set actor Val Lauren reluctantly agrees to take the lead in the film. Val is repeatedly forced...
- 8/19/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Kristen Stewart movie Camp X-Ray reportedly gets leading man: Peyman Moaadi Two Kristen Stewart movie projects were announced a couple of weeks ago: Olivier Assayas’ psychological drama Sils Maria, to co-star Juliette Binoche and Chloë Grace Moretz, and writer-director Peter Sattler’s political drama Camp X-Ray. The latter movie reportedly has found its leading man: Best Foreign Language Film Oscar winner A Separation star Peyman Moaadi. According to TheWrap, in Camp X-Ray the 43-year-old (or 42, or 41, depending on the source) Moaadi will play Ali, a Muslim inmate who has been languishing in Guantanamo for eight years. Kristen Stewart is set to play an American soldier recently assigned to the American concentration camp, where she strikes an unusual friendship with Ali. Could there be hope for the world? Don’t hold your breath, but one never knows… TheWrap adds that Joseph Julian Soria, among whose credits are Fast & Furious and the television series Army Wives,...
- 6/24/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
James Franco seems to be everywhere on the IMDb (and on the world's screens) in 2013 Unlike the very unlucky Warner Bros., which has had no less than five box-office bombs so far this year (click on the link for more information), James Franco has been having a fantastic year so far, as he has been involved in some capacity or other in a number of widely debated films, among them two box-office successes, targeted to families of various shapes, fetishes, and entertainment orientations. (Pictured above: Franco with co-star Mila Kunis in Sam Raimi's Oz the Great and Powerful.) Directed by the Spider-Man movies' Sam Raimi, the fantasy Oz, in which Franco plays the man who becomes The Wizard of Oz, took the no. 1 spot at the worldwide box office last weekend and managed to do it again at the domestic box office this weekend, March 15-17. Also this weekend, Harmony Korine...
- 3/18/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
(Officially) straight guys must handle making a movie about gay sex In William Friedkin's much criticized 1980 cop thriller Cruising, which angered many gay activists at the time, then five-time Academy Award nominee Al Pacino plays a cop investigating a bloody murder in New York City's seedy and nasty (but all-too-alluring) Gay S&M Underworld. Having to "pass for" gay in order to do his job the right way, the cop ends up catching the gay virus (nope, not AIDS; just plain kinky and apparently deadly gay-ness) after hanging out at some really hardcore NY clubs. Now, according to the film's director, no less than 40 minutes of purportedly explicit gay sex scenes ("that material showed the most graphic homosexuality") were cut from the film so the Lorimar / United Artists production wouldn't receive a box-office-murdering X rating. Be that as it may -- well, stranger things have happened, and the "lost...
- 3/16/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
All hail mighty Sundance, the King of the Film Festivals (really, tell us one that's bigger, at least in America), that annual gathering where movie stars, journalists, Park City locals and even Paris Hilton join together to check out what Robert Redford considers the year's best independent films.
Sundance 2013 has been called one of the best fests in years as it features terrific new works by such renowned directors as Richard Linklater ("Before Midnight"), Shane Carruth ("Upstream Color"), David Gordon Green ("Prince Avalanche") and Joseph Gordon-Levitt ("Don Jon's Addiction") as well as some stunning premieres by first-time filmmakers ... and a lot of pretty amazing films that fall somewhere in-between.
Our sister site, Film.com, has a crack team of critics on site trying to catch as many of the 200+ films screening at this year's festival as possible. Here are the Sundance scoops so far ...
"Sound City": B-
Nirvana drummer...
Sundance 2013 has been called one of the best fests in years as it features terrific new works by such renowned directors as Richard Linklater ("Before Midnight"), Shane Carruth ("Upstream Color"), David Gordon Green ("Prince Avalanche") and Joseph Gordon-Levitt ("Don Jon's Addiction") as well as some stunning premieres by first-time filmmakers ... and a lot of pretty amazing films that fall somewhere in-between.
Our sister site, Film.com, has a crack team of critics on site trying to catch as many of the 200+ films screening at this year's festival as possible. Here are the Sundance scoops so far ...
"Sound City": B-
Nirvana drummer...
- 1/30/2013
- by NextMovie Staff
- NextMovie
Computer culture speeds everything up — makes it more instant, more immediate, maybe more disposable — and so it makes sense, in a way, that the biopics of the computer revolution are coming out so quickly, when the revolution is barely into its second act. (Most of the revered musical legends of the ’60s and ’70s are still waiting for their movie bios.) The Social Network was released just a few years after the launch of Facebook, but it was cuttingly incisive, brilliant, timeless. And now, only a little more than a year after Steve Jobs’ death, the time feels right for jOBS,...
- 1/26/2013
- by Owen Gleiberman
- EW - Inside Movies
When James Franco and Travis Mathews first announced that they were going to attempt to recreate the 40 minutes of footage in William Friedkin's Cruising that was deemed inappropriate by the censors of the day, everyone was sceptical. Such a project could easily tank Franco's career just like I'm Still Here was almost Joaquin Phoenix's demise. Sure, Franco's apparent crusade to expose United States audiences to different shades of sexuality is quite commendable, but there could also be a enormous backlash. Val Lauren -- Franco's choice to reenact the Al Pacino role -- was adamantly opposed to Franco's plan, but he opted to play along with Franco nonetheless; because, if anything, Franco had a lot more to lose.
- 1/23/2013
- by Don Simpson
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
This Saturday night, James Franco and filmmaker Travis Mathews ("I Want Your Love," "In Their Room") debuted their doc/narrative hybrid "Interior. Leather Bar." to a captive audience that was either slightly confused or completely excited. The film does its best to recreate the 40 lost minutes of William Friedkin's controversial 1980 thriller "Cruising" -- footage excised from the film that's assumed to be scenes depicting sex in the leather bars in which Al Pacino's detective character goes undercover. "Interior. Leather Bar." is much about the actual process of recreating those scenes as it is about the qualms the actor playing Pacino, Franco's friend Val Lauren, has about acting in the film. Read More: Sundance Review: James Franco Discusses His Sexuality (And Yours) In 'Interior. Leather Bar' Many in the audience wondered aloud why Franco wanted to delve into the themes in the film;...
- 1/21/2013
- by Bryce J. Renninger
- Indiewire
James Franco's point about gay sex gets lost in his latest vanity project because for someone so vocal, he's saying nothing
For reasons yet to be fully elucidated, James Franco – actor, writer, director, producer, painter, film-maker and aspiring poet – has an unquenchable interest in gay rights. Lately, he's been obsessing with William Friedkin's 1980 cop thriller Cruising, which starred Al Pacino as an undercover agent frequenting gay bars to solve a series of murders.
To Franco's disgust, Friedkin's treatment of "the scene" was so severe, 40 minutes had to be cut to avoid an X rating. None of the "lost" footage – which reportedly featured graphic scenes of gay sex – has ever been screened. Friedkin even received death threats, when word got out that he viewed this "other world" as dark and depraved. The victims, Franco believes, deserved better.
And so, 32 years later, Franco begins hatching an idea with a clutch of film-making friends in tow,...
For reasons yet to be fully elucidated, James Franco – actor, writer, director, producer, painter, film-maker and aspiring poet – has an unquenchable interest in gay rights. Lately, he's been obsessing with William Friedkin's 1980 cop thriller Cruising, which starred Al Pacino as an undercover agent frequenting gay bars to solve a series of murders.
To Franco's disgust, Friedkin's treatment of "the scene" was so severe, 40 minutes had to be cut to avoid an X rating. None of the "lost" footage – which reportedly featured graphic scenes of gay sex – has ever been screened. Friedkin even received death threats, when word got out that he viewed this "other world" as dark and depraved. The victims, Franco believes, deserved better.
And so, 32 years later, Franco begins hatching an idea with a clutch of film-making friends in tow,...
- 1/21/2013
- The Guardian - Film News
*Note Updates in next blog: Sundance By Numbers Update
Originally this report used a horserace as its metaphor. It was designed to see who was ahead of the others and who was lagging behind. U.S. talent agencies were increasingly acting as producer reps and thus inserting themselves into the sales of U.S. rights, an activity formerly the exclusive domain of international sales agents who would map their entire international strategy for sales, using the U.S. sale as a marketing tool for other sales. Now the race between producer reps and international sales agents for representing films, primarily at Sundance and Toronto is tracked in the By Numbers Report.
The report tracks which agents and which international sales agents are selling the most films, which titles are selling best, which distributors are buying the most, and any other noteworthy “races”, e.g., how many films are by women, Asians, African-diasporites, or are about such subjects as Jewish, Glbt, politics, whatever.
This year’s Cannes saw the number of women directors fall so drastically (from a steady 10 – 13% in festivals during the last few years), that an outcry was heard from professionals in the industry. Sundance significantly ups this figure. This year out of 16 fiction features in competition, 8 are by women. Of Sundance’s 113 features, 37 are by women which means 33%. We hope this is a trend and not an anomoly. Only time will tell. According to San Diego State University’s Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, only 5% of the 250 highest-grossing films last year were directed by women.
Over time, the reports spot trends in the business of buying and selling, especially during festivals like Toronto and Sundance.
With time, we may find the number of Asian, Asian-American, African diaspora, Middle-Eastern and female directed films impact the marketplace itself. For that reason, these reports will continue to be offered to film professionals. The criterion are not set in stone but depend upon the moment.
Sundance By Numbers
If there were a Sundance Institute Performance Metric, a measure of its activities and performance, inwardly focusing on the performance of the organization, would show a high value of performance against customer requirements and value. Its performance metrics would prove it to be very healthy and consistent with the six criteria: time, cost, resources, scope, quality, and actions.
Bravo Sundance! On all fronts it is carrying through its original purpose and vision.
Out of 12,146 features and shorts (429 more than in 2012) submitted this yearincluding 4,044 feature-length films and 8,102 short films. Of the feature film submissions, 2,070 were from the U.S. and 1,974 were international. 113 features were chosen. 98 of these are world premieres. 33% of these are directed by women.
This year half of the 16 narrative fiction features in competition are directed by women. In the 2012 festival, only 3 of the 16 dramatic competition films were made by women. Overall, 33% (37 out of 113) of the Sundance titles are directed by women.
For the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, 113 feature-length films were selected, represented films were selected from 12,146 submissions (429 more than for 2012), 98 feature films at the Festival will be world premieres.
Other numbers
Films by women are markedwith the♀, African American withthe symbol α (9). Latino is marked by the symbol ɤ (7). Jewish by ✡ (13), Asian by ¥ (10), Middle Eastern ᵯ (4), Lgbt (13)
Us in Progress, the two year old, innovative look at films in post held by American Film Festival in Wroclaw, Poland and by Champs Elysees Film Festival already has a track record with 3 of its films at Sundance. A Teacher by Hannah Fidell ♀ which was picked up subsequently by Visit and is being repped for U.S. by ICM, I Used to be Darker and Milkshake.
San Francisco Film Society's claims 5 of their films funded by San Francisco Film Society grants and incubated with the support of various Filmmaker360 programs will have their world premieres: Ryan Coogler's (α) Fruitvale will screen in the U.S. Dramatic Competition, and Joe Brewster (α) and Michèle Stephenson's (♀, α) American Promise, Zachary Heinzerling's Cutie and the Boxer, Jacob Kornbluth's (✡) Inequality for All and Shaul Schwarz's (✡) Narco Cultura will screen in the U.S. Documentary Competition.
11 Ifp program-supported projects at Sundance include Audrey Ewell♀, Aaron Aites, Lucian Read and Nina Krstic's ♀ 99%: The Occupy Wall Street Collaborative Film; Martha Shane ♀ and Lana Wilson's ♀After Tiller;Zachery Heinzerling's (✡)Cutie and the Boxer, Dawn Porter's ♀ Gideon's Army; and Roger Ross Williams' (α, Lgbt) God Loves Ugandain the U.S. Documentary Competition. Narrative films include David Lowery's Ain’t Them Bodies Saints and Stacie Passon's (♀,Lgbt)Concussion in the U.S .Dramatic Competition; Alexandre Moors' Blue Caprice,Shaka King's (α) Newlyweeds,and Chad Hartigan's This is Martin Bonner in Next; and Rama Burshtein's (♀,✡) Fill the Void in Spotlight. Blue Caprice and Concussion are alums of Ifp’s 2012 Independent Filmmaker Labs; Cutie and the Boxer, God Loves Uganda, and This is Martin Bonner are fiscally sponsored by Ifp; and all of the other films (and Cutie) were selections of Independent Film Week’s Project Forum in 2011-2012.
Number Of Producer Reps Repping U.S. Rights
What shows up most on this scorecard is the prevalence of the talent agencies and other “producers’ representatives”. In those “good old days” of Sundance before “Sex, Lies and Videotape” alerted Hollywood that there was some capital to be made in Park City, Sundance gave a home to the original visions of a few independent minded filmmakers, and there were no terms to describe “producer reps”. International sales agents (when these films had any such representation, which was also rare) did their work without deferring to dealmakers in Hollywood. And, as I said, these films usually did not have international representation. That is why the newly emerging acquisitions executives went to Sundance looking for films that they would not find in the existing markets (Cannes, Mifed or Afm).
Anyway, here we are today and here are the numbers:
There are about 12 Producers Reps. The newest fold in the relatively new “mini industry” of representing producers to the U.S. distribution community is that now, instead of one producer rep per film, often two competitive agencies might rep the U.S. rights as you can see in top scorers CAA, Wme or UTA’s lineups.
Producer reps do their best work in Sundance and in Toronto. They usually represent the producer to help make a lucrative U.S. deal. After the heat is gone in Sundance and Toronto, the producer reps usually fade away from the deal making, leaving the unpicked-up films in a limbo until some distributor finally makes a deal with the producer or the international sales agent directly.
In terms of capitol, while there is no official count, it is said that last year $30 million in deals were done at Sundance. If this is true, is it made primarily by the producer reps? What percentage do they get from the deal? Does this mean filmmakers have to have CAA rep them to break out of the gate? (The answer is no). Agents taking on the job of being producer reps are doing so because they have helped with packaging and/ or financing the films they are repping. Sometimes talent takes lower salaries when they work in indies and the agents must get as much back as possible.
It is not necessary to have an agent, there are other types of producer reps, including attorneys who act as attorneys but sometimes seem to be producers reps like Cinetic’s John Sloss, or Linda Licther, or Donaldson Callif who has 11 films in Sundance and 2 in Slamdance this year. There are also independent producer reps who are hungrier than the major agencies who must quickly earn their 10% (or not) and move on. These producer reps tend to work year round with the films they represent. Submarine, Preferred Content and Ronna Wallace’s Eastgate are the most important ones today.
Producer Reps “By Numbers”
12 Films
Creative Artists Agency (CAA) which repped a total of 14 films in 2012 is still calling a lot of shots this Sundance.
1 jOBS / U.S.A. (Director: Joshua Michael Stern (✡), Screenwriter: Matt Whiteley) — The true story of one of the greatest entrepreneurs in American history, jOBS chronicles the defining 30 years of Steve Jobs’ life. jOBS is a candid, inspiring and personal portrait of the one who saw things differently. (Synopses are written by Sundance staff.) Cast: Ashton Kutcher, Dermot Mulroney, Josh Gad, Lukas Haas, J.K. Simmons, Matthew Modine. Closing Night Film -- Open Road Filmshas U.S. Entertainment One (in collaboration with Remstar) has Canada except theatrical, VOD and French-language TV rights in Quebec which Remstarholds exclusively. Isa: If Entertainment
2 Anita /α/ U.S.A. (Director: Freida Mock ♀¥) — Anita Hill, an African-American woman, charges Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas with sexual harassment in explosive Senate hearings in 1991 – bringing sexual politics into the national consciousness and fueling 20 years of international debate on the issues.
3 Linsanity / U.S.A. (Director: Evan Leong ¥) — Jeremy Lin came from a humble background to make an unbelievable run in the NBA. State high school champion, all-Ivy League at Harvard, undrafted by the NBA and unwanted there: his story started long before he landed on Broadway.
4 Hell Baby / U.S.A. (Directors and screenwriters: Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon) — An expectant couple moves into the most haunted fixer-upper in New Orleans – a house with a demonic curse. Things spiral out of control and soon only the Vatican’s elite exorcism team can save the pair – or can it? Cast: Rob Corddry, Leslie Bibb, Keegan Michael Key, Riki Lindhome, Paul Scheer, Rob Huebel.
5 The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete / U.S.A. (Director: George Tillman Jr. α, Screenwriter: Michael Starrbury) — Separated from their mothers and facing a summer in the Brooklyn projects alone, two boys hide from police and forage for food, with only each other to trust. A story of salvation through friendship and two boys against the world. Cast: Skylan Brooks, Ethan Dizon, Jennifer Hudson, Jordin Sparks, Anthony Mackie, Jeffrey Wright.Isa: Aldamisa
6 The Lifeguard / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Liz W. Garcia ♀ɤ) — A former valedictorian quits her reporter job in New York and returns to the place she last felt happy: her childhood home in Connecticut. She gets work as a lifeguard and starts a dangerous relationship with a troubled teenager. Cast: Kristen Bell, Mamie Gummer, Martin Starr, Alex Shaffer, Amy Madigan, David Lambert. Isa: Joker Films
7 Narco Cultura / ɤ/ U.S.A. (Director: Shaul Schwarz (✡) — An examination of Mexican drug cartels’ influence in pop culture on both sides of the border as experienced by an La narcocorrido singer dreaming of stardom and a Juarez crime scene investigator on the front line of Mexico’s Drug War.Isa: K5
8 Don Jon’s Addiction / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Joseph Gordon-Levitt) — In Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s charming directorial debut, a selfish modern-day Don Juan attempts to change his ways. Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Tony Danza, Glenne Headly, Rob Brown. Shares rights with Wme Isa: Voltage Pictures has sold to Future Films for Finland, Remstar Films for Canada, Ascot Elite Entertainment Group for Germany and Switzerland, Midget Entertainmentfor Denmark, Noori Picturesfor So. Korea.
9 The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman / U.S.A. (Director: Fredrik Bond, Screenwriter: Matt Drake) — Traveling abroad, Charlie Countryman falls for Gabi, a Romanian beauty whose unreachable heart has its origins in Nigel, her violent, charismatic ex. As the darkness of Gabi’s past increasingly envelops him, Charlie resolves to win her heart, or die trying. Cast: Shia Labeouf, Evan Rachel Wood, Mads Mikkelsen, Rupert Grint, James Buckley, Til Schweiger. Isa: Voltage Pictures sold to Ascot Elite for Switzerland and Germany, Midget for Denmark, Vvs Films for Canada.
10 The Way, Way Back / U.S.A. (Directors and screenwriters: Nat Faxon, Jim Rash) — Duncan, an introverted 14-year-old, comes into his own over the course of a comedic summer when he forms unlikely friendships with the gregarious manager of a rundown water park and the misfits who work there. Cast: Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Allison Janney, Sam Rockwell, Maya Rudolph, Liam James. Shares rights with Wme Isa: Sierra/ Affinity
11 Very Good Girls / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Naomi Foner (♀,✡)) — In the long, half-naked days of a New York summer, two girls on the brink of becoming women fall for the same guy and find that life isn’t as simple or safe as they had thought. Cast: Dakota Fanning, Elizabeth Olsen, Boyd Holbrook, Demi Moore, Richard Dreyfuss, Ellen Barkin.
12 Two Mothers / Australia, France (Director: Anne Fontaine ♀, Screenwriter: Christopher Hampton) — This gripping tale of love, lust and the power of friendship charts the unconventional and passionate affairs of two lifelong friends who fall in love with each other’s sons. Cast: Naomi Watts, Robin Wright, Xavier Samuel, James Frechevile.Isa: Gaumont sold to Remstar for Canada, Hopscotch Features for Australia/ N.Z., Gaumont for France.
United Talent Agency (UTA)
1 Austenland / U.S.A., United Kingdom (Director: Jerusha Hess ♀, Screenwriters: Jerusha Hess, Shannon Hale) — Thirtysomething, single Jane is obsessed with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in Pride and Prejudice. On a trip to an English resort, her fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman become more real than she ever imagined. Cast: Keri Russell, Jj Feild, Bret McKenzie, Jennifer Coolidge, Georgia King, James Callis.
2 In a World... / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Lake Bell (♀,✡)) — An underachieving vocal coach is motivated by her father, the king of movie-trailer voice-overs, to pursue her aspirations of becoming a voiceover star. Amidst pride, sexism and family dysfunction, she sets out to change the voice of a generation. Cast: Lake Bell, Demetri Martin, Rob Corddry, Michaela Watkins, Ken Marino, Fred Melamed.
3 Crystal Fairy / Chile (Director and screenwriter: Sebastián Silva ɤ Lgbt ) — Jamie invites a stranger to join a road trip to Chile. The woman’s free and esoteric nature clashes with Jamie’s acidic, self-absorbed personality as they head into the desert for a Mescaline-fueled psychedelic trip. Cast: Michael Cera, Gabby Hoffmann, Juan Andrés Silva, José Miguel Silva, Agustín Silva. World Premiere. Day One Film
4 Breathe In / U.S.A. (Director: Drake Doremus, Screenwriters: Drake Doremus, Ben York Jones) — When a foreign exchange student arrives in a small upstate New York town, she challenges the dynamics of her host family’s relationships and alters their lives forever. Cast: Guy Pearce, Felicity Jones, Amy Ryan, Mackenzie Davis.
5 Ass Backwards / U.S.A. (Director: Chris Nelson, Screenwriters: June Diane Raphael, Casey Wilson) — Loveable losers Kate and Chloe take a road trip back to their hometown to claim the beauty pageant crown that eluded them as children, only to discover what really counts: friendship. Cast: June Diane Raphael, Casey Wilson, Vincent D’Onofrio, Alicia Silverstone, Jon Cryer, Brian Geraghty. Isa: Premiere Entertainment Group
6 Afternoon Delight / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jill Soloway ♀) — In this sexy, dark comedy, a lost L.A. housewife puts her idyllic hipster life in jeopardy when she tries to rescue a stripper by taking her in as a live-in nanny. Cast: Kathryn Hahn, Juno Temple, Josh Radnor, Jane Lynch. Shares rights with Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Adler & Feldman
7 C.O.G. / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Kyle Patrick Alvarez (ɤ, Lgbt) — In the first ever film adaptation of David Sedaris’ work, a cocky young man travels to Oregon to work on an apple farm. Out of his element, he finds his lifestyle and notions being picked apart by everyone who crosses his path. Cast: Jonathan Groff, Denis O’Hare, Corey Stoll, Dean Stockwell, Casey Wilson, Troian Bellisario. Shares rights with Preferred Content
8 Touchy Feely / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Lynn Shelton ♀, Lgbt) — A massage therapist is unable to do her job when stricken with a mysterious and sudden aversion to bodily contact. Meanwhile, her uptight brother’s foundering dental practice receives new life when clients seek out his “healing touch.” Cast: Rosemarie DeWitt, Allison Janney, Ron Livingston, Scoot McNairy, Ellen Page, Josh Pais. Shares rights with Submarine
9 The Spectacular Now / U.S.A. (Director: James Ponsoldt, Screenwriters: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber) — Sutter is a high school senior who lives for the moment; Aimee is the introvert he attempts to “save.” As their relationship deepens, the lines between right and wrong, friendship and love, and “saving” and corrupting become inextricably blurred. Cast: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kyle Chandler. Isa: The Exchange
10 Magic Magic / ɤ/ U.S.A., Chile (Director and screenwriter: Sebastián Silva ɤ, Lgbt) — An American girl vacationing in remote Chile mentally unravels, putting herself and those around her in danger. Cast: Michael Cera, Juno Temple, Emily Browning, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Augustín Silva. World Premiere Isa: The Exchange/6 Sales
11 Kill Your Darlings / U.S.A. (Director: John Krokidas Lgbt, Screenwriters: Austin Bunn, John Krokidas) — An untold story of murder that brought together a young Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs at Columbia University in 1944, providing the spark that led to the birth of an entire generation – their Beat revolution. Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Dane DeHann, Ben Foster, Michael C. Hall, Jack Huston, Elizabeth Olsen. Shares rights with Elevated Film Sales Isa: Inferno Entertainment
12 The Look of Love / United Kingdom (Director: Michael Winterbottom Lgbt, Screenwriter: Matt Greenhalgh) — The true story of British adult magazine publisher and entrepreneur Paul Raymond. A modern day King Midas story, Raymond became one of the richest men in Britain at the cost of losing those closest to him. Cast: Steve Coogan, Anna Friel, Imogen Poots, Tamsin Egerton. - UTAis No.American consultant to StudioCanal
Submarine along with Preferred Content is one of the truly independent producers reps.
1 Blackfish / U.S.A. (Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite ♀) — Notorious killer whale Tilikum is responsible for the deaths of three individuals, including a top killer whale trainer. Blackfish shows the sometimes devastating consequences of keeping such intelligent and sentient creatures in captivity.
2 Citizen Koch / U.S.A. (Directors: Carl Deal, Tia Lessin ♀) — Wisconsin – birthplace of the Republican Party, government unions, “cheeseheads” and Paul Ryan – becomes a test market in the campaign to buy Democracy, and ground zero in the battle for the future of the Gop.
3 Cutie and the Boxer / U.S.A. (Director: Zachary Heinzerling ✡) — This candid New York love story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of famed boxing painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko. Anxious to shed her role as her overbearing husband’s assistant, Noriko finds an identity of her own.
4 Dirty Wars / U.S.A. (Director: Richard Rowley) — Investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill chases down the truth behind America’s covert wars.
5 God Loves Uganda / α / U.S.A. (Director: Roger Ross Williams (α, Lgbt)) — A powerful exploration of the evangelical campaign to infuse African culture with values imported from America’s Christian Right. The film follows American and Ugandan religious leaders fighting “sexual immorality” and missionaries trying to convince Ugandans to follow biblical law. -- Submarine handling U.S/ Canada (Excluding U.S TV Rights)
6 Twenty Feet From Stardom / α / U.S.A. (Director: Morgan Neville) — Backup singers live in a world that lies just beyond the spotlight. Their voices bring harmony to the biggest bands in popular music, but we’ve had no idea who these singers are or what lives they lead – until now. -- Submarine handling U.S/ Canada/ U.K/ Australia/ N.Zealand
7 The Summit / Ireland, United Kingdom (Director: Nick Ryan) — Twenty-four climbers converged at the last stop before summiting the most dangerous mountain on Earth. Forty-eight hours later, 11 had been killed or simply vanished. Had one, Ger McDonnell, stuck to the climbers’ code, he might still be alive. International Premiere
8 Who is Dayani Cristal? / United Kingdom (Director: Marc Silver) — An anonymous body in the Arizona desert sparks the beginning of a real-life human drama. The search for its identity leads us across a continent to seek out the people left behind and the meaning of a mysterious tattoo. World Premiere.
9 Charlie Victor Romeo / U.S.A. (Directors: Robert Berger, Karlyn Michelson ♀, Screenwriters: Robert Berger, Patrick Daniels, Irving Gregory) — An award-winning theatrical documentary derived entirely from ‘Black Box’ transcripts of six real-life major airline emergencies brought to the screen with cutting-edge stereoscopic 3D technology. Cast: Patrick Daniels, Irving Gregory, Noel Dinneen, Sam Zuckerman, Debbie Troche, Nora Woolley.
10 Running From Crazy / U.S.A. (Director: Barbara Kopple ♀, ✡) — Mariel Hemingway, granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway, strives for a greater understanding of her family history of suicide and mental illness. As tragedies are explored and deeply hidden secrets are revealed, Mariel searches for a way to overcome a similar fate.
11 Touchy Feely / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Lynn Shelton ♀ Lgbt) — A massage therapist is unable to do her job when stricken with a mysterious and sudden aversion to bodily contact. Meanwhile, her uptight brother’s foundering dental practice receives new life when clients seek out his “healing touch.” Cast: Rosemarie DeWitt, Allison Janney, Ron Livingston, Scoot McNairy, Ellen Page, Josh Pais. Shares rights with UTA
12 Muscle Shoals / α /U.S.A. (Director: Greg 'Freddy' Camalier) — Down in Alabama Rick Hall founded Fame Studios and gave birth to the Muscle Shoals sound. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Gregg Allman, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Alicia Keys, Bono and others bear witness to the greatest untold American music story. Shares rights with Wme
10 Films
William Morris Endeavor (Wme)
1 Inequality for All / U.S.A. (Director: Jacob Kornbluth (✡)) — In this timely and entertaining documentary, noted economic-policy expert Robert Reich distills the topic of widening income inequality, and addresses the question of what effects this increasing gap has on our economy and our democracy.
2 Fruitvale / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Ryan Coogler α) — The true story of Oscar, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family and strangers on the last day of 2008. Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Octavia Spencer, Melonie Diaz, Ahna O’Reilly, Kevin Durand, Chad Michael Murray.
3 A.C.O.D. / U.S.A. (Director: Stuart Zicherman ✡, Screenwriters: Ben Karlin, Stuart Zicherman) — Carter is a well-adjusted Adult Child of Divorce. So he thinks. When he discovers he was part of a divorce study as a child, it wreaks havoc on his family and forces him to face his chaotic past. Cast: Adam Scott, Richard Jenkins, Catherine O’Hara, Amy Poehler, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clark Duke.
4 S-vhs / U.S.A., Canada (Directors: Simon Barrett, Adam Wingard, Edúardo Sanchez ɤ , Gregg Hale, Timo Tjahjanto ¥, Gareth Huw Evans, Jason Eisener, Screenwriters: Simon Barrett, Jamie Nash, Timo Tjahjanto & Gareth Huw Evans, John Davies) — Searching for a missing student, two private investigators break into his abandoned house and find another collection of mysterious VHS tapes. In viewing the horrific contents of each cassette, they realize there may be terrifying motives behind the student’s disappearance. Cast: Adam Wingard, Lawrence Levine, L.C Holt, Kelsy Abbott, Hannah Hughes.
5 Ain’t Them Bodies Saints / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Lowery) — The tale of an outlaw who escapes from prison and sets out across the Texas hills to reunite with his wife and the daughter he has never met. Cast: Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Nate Parker, Keith Carradine. Shares rights with Elevated Film Sales
6 Big Sur / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Michael Polish) — Unable to cope with a suddenly demanding public and battling advanced alcoholism, Jack Kerouac seeks respite in three brief sojourns to a cabin in Big Sur, which reveal his mental and physical deterioration. Cast: Jean-Marc Barr, Kate Bosworth, Josh Lucas, Radha Mitchell, Anthony Edwards, Henry Thomas. Shares rights with Gersh
7 We Are What We Are / U.S.A. (Director: Jim Mickle, Screenwriters: Nick Damici, Jim Mickle) — A devastating storm washes up clues that lead authorities closer and closer to the cannibalistic Parker family. Cast: Bill Sage, Ambyr Childers, Julia Garner, Michael Parks, Wyatt Russell, Kelly McGillis.Isa: Memento Films
8 Blood Brother / U.S.A. (Director: Steve Hoover) — Rocky went to India as a disillusioned tourist. When he met a group of children with HIV, he decided to stay. He never could have imagined the obstacles he would face, or the love he would find. Shares rights with Preferred Content
9 Don Jon’s Addiction / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Joseph Gordon-Levitt) — In Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s charming directorial debut, a selfish modern-day Don Juan attempts to change his ways. Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Tony Danza, Glenne Headly, Rob Brown. Shares rights with CAA Isa: Voltage Pictures
10 The Way, Way Back / U.S.A. (Directors and screenwriters: Nat Faxon, Jim Rash) — Duncan, an introverted 14-year-old, comes into his own over the course of a comedic summer when he forms unlikely friendships with the gregarious manager of a rundown water park and the misfits who work there. Cast: Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Allison Janney, Sam Rockwell, Maya Rudolph, Liam James. Shares rights with CAA Isa: Sierra/Affinity
9 Films
Cinetic Led by John Sloss, premier N.Y. independent attorney who has represented films internationally, acted as an aggregator of digital rights and acts as a producers rep for North America:
1 After Tiller / U.S.A. (Directors: Martha Shane ♀, Lana Wilson ♀) — Since the assassination of Dr. George Tiller in 2009, only four doctors in the country provide late-term abortions. With unprecedented access, After Tiller goes inside the lives of these physicians working at the center of the storm. -- Isa: ro*co
2 Before Midnight/ U.S.A. (Director: Richard Linklater, Screenwriters: Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, Richard Linklater— We meet Jesse and Celine nine years on in Greece. Almost two decades have passed since their first meeting on that train bound for Vienna. Before the clock strikes midnight, we will again become part of their story. Cast: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Xenia Kalogeropoulou, Ariane Labed, Athina Rachel Tsangari, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick. -- Isa: Im Global
3 Blue Caprice / U.S.A. (Director: Alexandre Moors, Screenwriters: R.F.I Porto, Alexandre Moors) — An abandoned boy is lured to America and drawn into the shadow of a dangerous father figure in this film inspired by the real life events that led to the 2002 Beltway sniper attacks. Cast: Isaiah Washington, Tequan Richmond, Joey Lauren Adams, Tim Blake Nelson, Cassandra Freeman, Leo Fitzpatrick.
4 Escape from Tomorrow / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Randy Moore) — A postmodern, surreal voyage into the bowels of "family" entertainment; an epic battle begins when an unemployed, middle-aged father loses his sanity during a close encounter with two teenage girls on holiday. Cast: Roy Abramsohn, Elena Schuber, Katelynn Rodriguez, Annet Mahendru, Danielle Safady, Alison Lees-Taylor.
5 Milkshake / α / U.S.A. (Director: David Andalman, Screenwriters: David Andalman, Mariko Munro) — In mid-1990's America, we follow the tragic sex life of Jolie Jolson, a wannabe thug (and great-great-grandson of legendary vaudevillian Al Jolson) in suburban DC as he strives to become something he can never be – black. Cast: Tyler Ross, Shareeka Epps, Georgia Ford, Eshan Bay, Leo Fitzpatrick, Danny Burstein.
6 Prince Avalanche / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Gordon Green ✡) — Two highway road workers spend the summer of 1988 away from their city lives. The isolated landscape becomes a place of misadventure as the men find themselves at odds with each other and the women they left behind. Cast: Paul Rudd, Emile Hirsch.
7 Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer / Russian Federation, United Kingdom (Directors: Mike Lerner, Maxim Pozdorovkin) — Three young women face seven years in a Russian prison for a satirical performance in a Moscow cathedral. But who is really on trial: the three young artists or the society they live in? World Premiere -- Isa: Goldcrest Films
8 The Square (El Midan) / ᵯ/ Egypt, U.S.A. (Director: Jehane Noujaim ♀ ᵯ) — What does it mean to risk your life for your ideals? How far will five revolutionaries go in defending their beliefs in the fight for their nation? World Premiere -- Isa: Goldcrest Films
9 Toy's House / U.S.A. (Director: Jordan Vogt-Roberts, Screenwriter: Chris Galletta) — Three unhappy teenage boys flee to the wilderness where they build a makeshift house and live off the land as masters of their own destiny. Or at least that’s the plan. Cast: Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso, Moises Arias, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, Alison Brie.
6 Films
Preferred Contentis another truly independent producer’s rep started by Kevin Iwashina when he left CAA in L.A.
1 C.O.G. / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Kyle Patrick Alvarez ɤ, Lgbt) — In the first ever film adaptation of David Sedaris’ work, a cocky young man travels to Oregon to work on an apple farm. Out of his element, he finds his lifestyle and notions being picked apart by everyone who crosses his path. Cast: Jonathan Groff, Denis O’Hare, Corey Stoll, Dean Stockwell, Casey Wilson, Troian Bellisario. Shares rights with UTA
2 Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Francesca Gregorini ♀, Lgbt) — Emanuel, a troubled girl, becomes preoccupied with her mysterious, new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to her dead mother. In offering to babysit her newborn, Emanuel unwittingly enters a fragile, fictional world, of which she becomes the gatekeeper. Cast: Kaya Scodelario, Jessica Biel, Alfred Molina, Frances O’Connor, Jimmi Simpson, Aneurin Barnard.
3 Pit Stop / U.S.A. (Director: Yen Tan ¥ Lgbt, Screenwriters: Yen Tan, David Lowery) — Two working-class gay men in a small Texas town and a love that isn’t quite out of reach. Cast: Bill Heck, Marcus DeAnda, Amy Seimetz, John Merriman, Alfredo Maduro, Corby Sullivan.
4 Kink (documentary) / U.S.A. (Director: Christina Voros ♀) — A story of sex, submission and big business is told through the eyes of the unlikely pornographers whose 9:00-to-5:00 work days are spent within the confines of the San Francisco Armory building, home to the sprawling porn production facilities of Kink.com.
5 Blood Brother / U.S.A. (Director: Steve Hoover) — Rocky went to India as a disillusioned tourist. When he met a group of children with HIV, he decided to stay. He never could have imagined the obstacles he would face, or the love he would find. Shares rights with Wme
6 Sweetwater / U.S.A. (Directors: Logan Miller, Noah Miller, Screenwriter: Andrew McKenzie) — In the late 1800s, a fanatical religious leader, a renegade Sheriff, and a former prostitute collide in a blood triangle on the rugged plains of the New Mexico Territory. Cast: Ed Harris, January Jones, Jason Isaacs, Eduardo Noriega, Steven Rude, Amy Madigan.Isa: Atlas International
5 Films
The Film Sales Company- Andrew Herwitz is another independent Producer’s Rep, based in N.Y. repping worldwide rights to films.
1 The Crash Reel / U.S.A. (Director: Lucy Walker ♀) — The jaw-dropping story of one unforgettable athlete, Kevin Pearce; one eye-popping sport, snow boarding; and one explosive issue, traumatic brain injury. An epic rivalry between Kevin and Shaun White culminates in a life-changing crash and a comeback story with a difference. Salt Lake City Gala Film
2 Pandora’s Promise / U.S.A. (Director: Robert Stone) — A growing number of environmentalists are renouncing decades of antinuclear orthodoxy and have come to believe that the most feared and controversial technology known to mankind is probably our greatest hope.
3 Computer Chess / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Andrew Bujalski) — An existential comedy about the brilliant men who taught machines to play chess – back when the machines seemed clumsy and we seemed smart. Cast: Patrick Riester, Myles Paige, James Curry, Robin Schwartz, Gerald Peary, Wiley Wiggins.
4 Interior. Leather Bar. (Lgbt)/ U.S.A. (Directors: Travis Mathews Lgbt, James Franco, Screenwriter: Travis Mathews) — To avoid an X rating, it was rumored that 40 minutes of gay S&M footage was cut from the controversial 1980 film, Cruising. Filmmakers James Franco and Travis Mathews re-imagine what was in the lost footage. Cast: Val Lauren, James Franco, Travis Mathews, Christian Patrick, Brenden Gregory.
5 The Moo Man / United Kingdom (Directors: Andy Heathcote, Heike Bachelier ♀) — A year in the life of heroic farmer Steve, scene stealing Ida (queen of the herd), and a supporting cast of 55 cows. When Ida falls ill, Steve’s optimism is challenged and their whole way of life is at stake. World Premiere
Paradigm
1 Mother of George / U.S.A. (Director: Andrew Dosunmu α, Screenwriter: Darci Picoult) — A story about a woman willing to do anything and risk everything for her marriage. Cast: Isaach De Bankolé, Danai Gurira, Anthony Okungbowa, Yaya Alafia, Bukky Ajayi.Isa: K5
2 99% - The Occupy Wall Street Collaborative Film / U.S.A. (Directors: Audrey Ewell ♀, Aaron Aites, Lucian Read, Nina Kristic ♀) — The Occupy movement erupted in September 2011, propelling economic inequality into the spotlight. In an unprecedented collaboration, filmmakers across America tell its story, digging into big picture issues as organizers, analysts, participants and critics reveal how it happened and why.
3 Concussion Lgbt/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Stacie Passon ♀,Lgbt) — After a blow to the head, Abby decides she can’t do it anymore. Her life just can’t be only about the house, the kids and the wife. She needs more: she needs to be Eleanor. Cast: Robin Weigert, Maggie Siff, Johnathan Tchaikovsky, Julie Fain Lawrence, Emily Kinney, Laila Robins.
4 I Used To Be Darker / U.S.A. (Director: Matthew Porterfield, Screenwriters: Amy Belk, Matthew Porterfield) — A runaway seeks refuge with her aunt and uncle in Baltimore, only to find their marriage ending and her cousin in crisis. In the days that follow, the family struggles to let go while searching for things to sustain them. Cast: Deragh Campbell, Hannah Gross, Kim Taylor, Ned Oldham, Geoff Grace, Nick Petr.
5 Virtually Heroes / U.S.A. (Director: Gj Echternkamp, Screenwriter: Matt Yamashita) — Two self-aware characters in a Call of Duty-style video game struggle with their screwy, frustrating existence. To find answers, one abandons his partner and mission, seeking to unravel the cheat codes of life. Cast: Robert Baker, Brent Chase, Katie Savoy, Mark Hamill, Ben Messmer.
3 Films
ICM Partners
1 Metro Manila / United Kingdom, Philippines (Director: Sean Ellis, Screenwriters: Sean Ellis, Frank E. Flowers) — Seeking a better life, Oscar and his family move from the poverty-stricken rice fields to the big city of Manila, where they fall victim to various inhabitants whose manipulative ways are a daily part of city survival. Cast: Jake Macapagal, John Arcilla, Althea Vega. World PremiereIsa: Independent Film Company-- Haut et Court has France
2 This Is Martin Bonner / U.S.A.(Director and screenwriter: Chad Hartigan) — Martin Bonner has just moved to Reno for a new job in prison rehabilitation. Starting over at age 58, he struggles to adapt until an unlikely friendship with an ex-con blossoms, helping him confront the problems he left behind. Cast: Paul Eenhoorn, Richmond Arquette, Sam Buchanan, Robert Longstreet, Demetrius Grosse. Shares rights with Traction Media
3 A Teacher / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Hannah Fidell ♀) — A popular young teacher in a wealthy suburban Texas high school has an affair with one of her students. Her life begins to unravel as the relationship comes to an end. Cast: Lindsay Burdge, Will Brittain, Jennifer Prediger, Jonny Mars, Julie Phillips, Chris Dubeck.Isa: Visit Films
2 Films
Elevated Film Sales- Cassian Elwes
1 Kill Your Darlings/ U.S.A. (Director: John Krokidas Lgbt, Screenwriters: Austin Bunn, John Krokidas) — An untold story of murder that brought together a young Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs at Columbia University in 1944, providing the spark that led to the birth of an entire generation – their Beat revolution. Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Dane DeHann, Ben Foster, Michael C. Hall, Jack Huston, Elizabeth Olsen. Shares rights with UTAIsa: Inferno Entertainment
2 Ain’t Them Bodies Saints / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Lowery) — The tale of an outlaw who escapes from prison and sets out across the Texas hills to reunite with his wife and the daughter he has never met. Cast: Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Nate Parker, Keith Carradine. Shares rights with Wme
Traction Media is an attorney led producers rep based in L.A. repping worldwide rights
1 This Is Martin Bonner / U.S.A.(Director and screenwriter: Chad Hartigan) — Martin Bonner has just moved to Reno for a new job in prison rehabilitation. Starting over at age 58, he struggles to adapt until an unlikely friendship with an ex-con blossoms, helping him confront the problems he left behind. Cast: Paul Eenhoorn, Richmond Arquette, Sam Buchanan, Robert Longstreet, Demetrius Grosse. Shares rights with ICM
2 Lasting / Poland, Spain (Director and screenwriter: Jacek Borcuch) — An emotional love story about two Polish students who fall in love with each other while working summer jobs in Spain. An unexpected nightmare interrupts their carefree time in the heavenly landscape and throws their lives into chaos. Cast: Jakub Gierszal, Magdalena Berus, Angela Molina. World Premiere
1 Film
Gersh
1 Big Sur / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Michael Polish) — Unable to cope with a suddenly demanding public and battling advanced alcoholism, Jack Kerouac seeks respite in three brief sojourns to a cabin in Big Sur, which reveal his mental and physical deterioration. Cast: Jean-Marc Barr, Kate Bosworth, Josh Lucas, Radha Mitchell, Anthony Edwards, Henry Thomas. Shares rights with Wme
Circus Road Films
1 Newlyweeds / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Shaka King α) — A Brooklyn repo man and his globetrotting girlfriend forge an unlikely romance. But what should be a match made in stoner heaven turns into a love triangle gone awry in this dark coming-of-age comedy about dependency. Cast: Amari Cheatom, Trae Harris, Tone Tank, Colman Domingo, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Adrian Martinez.
Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Adler & Feldman
1 Afternoon Delight / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jill Soloway ♀) — In this sexy, dark comedy, a lost L.A. housewife puts her idyllic hipster life in jeopardy when she tries to rescue a stripper by taking her in as a live-in nanny. Cast: Kathryn Hahn, Juno Temple, Josh Radnor, Jane Lynch. Shares rights with UTA
The Film Collaborative
1 A River Changes Course / Cambodia, U.S.A. (Director: Kalyanee Mam ♀ ¥) — Three young Cambodians struggle to overcome the crushing effects of deforestation, overfishing, and overwhelming debt in this devastatingly beautiful story of a country reeling from the tragedies of war and rushing to keep pace with a rapidly expanding world. World PremiereIsa: Cat & Docs
Azoff Music
1 History of the Eagles Part One / U.S.A. (Director: Alison Ellwood ♀) — Using never-before-seen home movies, archival footage and new interviews with all current and former members of the Eagles, this documentary provides an intimate look into the history of the band and the legacy of their music. Showtime picked up for cable.
Bunim-Murray
1 Valentine Road / U.S.A. (Director: Marta Cunningham ♀ α) — In 2008, eighth-grader Brandon McInerney shot classmate Larry King at point blank range. Unraveling this tragedy from point of impact, the film reveals the heartbreaking circumstances that led to the shocking crime as well as its startling aftermath.
Wavelength Pictures
1 The Stuart Hall Project / United Kingdom (Director: John Akomfrah α) — Antinuclear campaigner, New Left activist and founding father of Cultural Studies, this documentary interweaves 70 years of Stuart Hall’s film, radio and television appearances, and material from his private archive to document a memorable life and construct a portrait of Britain’s foremost radical intellectual. World Premiere
Mosaic
1 Upstream Color / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Shane Carruth) — A man and woman are drawn together, entangled in the life cycle of an ageless organism. Identity becomes an illusion as they struggle to assemble the loose fragments of wrecked lives. Cast: Amy Seimetz, Shane Carruth, Andrew Sensenig, Thiago Martins. -- Shane Carruth will self-distribute via his Erbp banner.
Rada Film Group
1 American Promise / α /U.S.A. (Directors: Joe Brewster α, Michèle Stephenson ♀ α) — This intimate documentary follows the 12-year journey of two African-American families pursuing the promise of opportunity through the education of their sons.Isa: ro*co
International Sales Agents Selling U.S. (And Other Territories)
4 Films
Visit Films
1 A Teacher / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Hannah Fidell ♀) — A popular young teacher in a wealthy suburban Texas high school has an affair with one of her students. Her life begins to unravel as the relationship comes to an end. Cast: Lindsay Burdge, Will Brittain, Jennifer Prediger, Jonny Mars, Julie Phillips, Chris Dubeck. Domestic: ICM
2 Il Future (The Future) ɤ/ Chile, Germany, Italy, Spain (Director and screenwriter: Alicia Scherson ♀ ɤ) — When their parents die, Bianca starts to smoke and Tomas is still a virgin. The orphans explore the dangerous streets of adulthood until Bianca finds Maciste, a retired Mr. Universe, and enters his dark mansion in search of a future. Cast: Manuela Martelli, Rutger Hauer, Luigi Ciardo, Nicolas Vaporidis, Alessandro Giallocosta. World Premiere
3 It Felt Like Love / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Eliza Hittman ♀) — On the outskirts of Brooklyn, a 14-year-old girl’s sexual quest takes a dangerous turn when she pursues an older guy and tests the boundaries between obsession and love. Cast: Gina Piersanti, Giovanna Salimeni, Ronen Rubinstein, Jesse Cordasco, Nick Rosen, Case Prime.
4 Halley ɤ/ Mexico (Director: Sebastian Hofmann ɤ, Screenwriters: Sebastian Hofmann, Julio Chavezmontes) — Alberto is dead and can no longer hide it. Before surrendering to his living death, he forms an unusual friendship with Luly, the manager of the 24-hour gym where he works as a night guard. Cast: Alberto Trujillo, Lourdes Trueba, Hugo Albores.
3 Films
Goldcrest Films International
1 Which Way is the Front Line From Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington / U.S.A. (Director: Sebastian Junger) — Shortly after the release of his documentary Restrepo, photographer Tim Hetherington was killed in Libya. Colleague Sebastian Junger traces Hetherington’s work across the world’s battlefields to reveal how he transcended the boundaries of image-making to become a luminary in his profession.
2...
Originally this report used a horserace as its metaphor. It was designed to see who was ahead of the others and who was lagging behind. U.S. talent agencies were increasingly acting as producer reps and thus inserting themselves into the sales of U.S. rights, an activity formerly the exclusive domain of international sales agents who would map their entire international strategy for sales, using the U.S. sale as a marketing tool for other sales. Now the race between producer reps and international sales agents for representing films, primarily at Sundance and Toronto is tracked in the By Numbers Report.
The report tracks which agents and which international sales agents are selling the most films, which titles are selling best, which distributors are buying the most, and any other noteworthy “races”, e.g., how many films are by women, Asians, African-diasporites, or are about such subjects as Jewish, Glbt, politics, whatever.
This year’s Cannes saw the number of women directors fall so drastically (from a steady 10 – 13% in festivals during the last few years), that an outcry was heard from professionals in the industry. Sundance significantly ups this figure. This year out of 16 fiction features in competition, 8 are by women. Of Sundance’s 113 features, 37 are by women which means 33%. We hope this is a trend and not an anomoly. Only time will tell. According to San Diego State University’s Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, only 5% of the 250 highest-grossing films last year were directed by women.
Over time, the reports spot trends in the business of buying and selling, especially during festivals like Toronto and Sundance.
With time, we may find the number of Asian, Asian-American, African diaspora, Middle-Eastern and female directed films impact the marketplace itself. For that reason, these reports will continue to be offered to film professionals. The criterion are not set in stone but depend upon the moment.
Sundance By Numbers
If there were a Sundance Institute Performance Metric, a measure of its activities and performance, inwardly focusing on the performance of the organization, would show a high value of performance against customer requirements and value. Its performance metrics would prove it to be very healthy and consistent with the six criteria: time, cost, resources, scope, quality, and actions.
Bravo Sundance! On all fronts it is carrying through its original purpose and vision.
Out of 12,146 features and shorts (429 more than in 2012) submitted this yearincluding 4,044 feature-length films and 8,102 short films. Of the feature film submissions, 2,070 were from the U.S. and 1,974 were international. 113 features were chosen. 98 of these are world premieres. 33% of these are directed by women.
This year half of the 16 narrative fiction features in competition are directed by women. In the 2012 festival, only 3 of the 16 dramatic competition films were made by women. Overall, 33% (37 out of 113) of the Sundance titles are directed by women.
For the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, 113 feature-length films were selected, represented films were selected from 12,146 submissions (429 more than for 2012), 98 feature films at the Festival will be world premieres.
Other numbers
Films by women are markedwith the♀, African American withthe symbol α (9). Latino is marked by the symbol ɤ (7). Jewish by ✡ (13), Asian by ¥ (10), Middle Eastern ᵯ (4), Lgbt (13)
Us in Progress, the two year old, innovative look at films in post held by American Film Festival in Wroclaw, Poland and by Champs Elysees Film Festival already has a track record with 3 of its films at Sundance. A Teacher by Hannah Fidell ♀ which was picked up subsequently by Visit and is being repped for U.S. by ICM, I Used to be Darker and Milkshake.
San Francisco Film Society's claims 5 of their films funded by San Francisco Film Society grants and incubated with the support of various Filmmaker360 programs will have their world premieres: Ryan Coogler's (α) Fruitvale will screen in the U.S. Dramatic Competition, and Joe Brewster (α) and Michèle Stephenson's (♀, α) American Promise, Zachary Heinzerling's Cutie and the Boxer, Jacob Kornbluth's (✡) Inequality for All and Shaul Schwarz's (✡) Narco Cultura will screen in the U.S. Documentary Competition.
11 Ifp program-supported projects at Sundance include Audrey Ewell♀, Aaron Aites, Lucian Read and Nina Krstic's ♀ 99%: The Occupy Wall Street Collaborative Film; Martha Shane ♀ and Lana Wilson's ♀After Tiller;Zachery Heinzerling's (✡)Cutie and the Boxer, Dawn Porter's ♀ Gideon's Army; and Roger Ross Williams' (α, Lgbt) God Loves Ugandain the U.S. Documentary Competition. Narrative films include David Lowery's Ain’t Them Bodies Saints and Stacie Passon's (♀,Lgbt)Concussion in the U.S .Dramatic Competition; Alexandre Moors' Blue Caprice,Shaka King's (α) Newlyweeds,and Chad Hartigan's This is Martin Bonner in Next; and Rama Burshtein's (♀,✡) Fill the Void in Spotlight. Blue Caprice and Concussion are alums of Ifp’s 2012 Independent Filmmaker Labs; Cutie and the Boxer, God Loves Uganda, and This is Martin Bonner are fiscally sponsored by Ifp; and all of the other films (and Cutie) were selections of Independent Film Week’s Project Forum in 2011-2012.
Number Of Producer Reps Repping U.S. Rights
What shows up most on this scorecard is the prevalence of the talent agencies and other “producers’ representatives”. In those “good old days” of Sundance before “Sex, Lies and Videotape” alerted Hollywood that there was some capital to be made in Park City, Sundance gave a home to the original visions of a few independent minded filmmakers, and there were no terms to describe “producer reps”. International sales agents (when these films had any such representation, which was also rare) did their work without deferring to dealmakers in Hollywood. And, as I said, these films usually did not have international representation. That is why the newly emerging acquisitions executives went to Sundance looking for films that they would not find in the existing markets (Cannes, Mifed or Afm).
Anyway, here we are today and here are the numbers:
There are about 12 Producers Reps. The newest fold in the relatively new “mini industry” of representing producers to the U.S. distribution community is that now, instead of one producer rep per film, often two competitive agencies might rep the U.S. rights as you can see in top scorers CAA, Wme or UTA’s lineups.
Producer reps do their best work in Sundance and in Toronto. They usually represent the producer to help make a lucrative U.S. deal. After the heat is gone in Sundance and Toronto, the producer reps usually fade away from the deal making, leaving the unpicked-up films in a limbo until some distributor finally makes a deal with the producer or the international sales agent directly.
In terms of capitol, while there is no official count, it is said that last year $30 million in deals were done at Sundance. If this is true, is it made primarily by the producer reps? What percentage do they get from the deal? Does this mean filmmakers have to have CAA rep them to break out of the gate? (The answer is no). Agents taking on the job of being producer reps are doing so because they have helped with packaging and/ or financing the films they are repping. Sometimes talent takes lower salaries when they work in indies and the agents must get as much back as possible.
It is not necessary to have an agent, there are other types of producer reps, including attorneys who act as attorneys but sometimes seem to be producers reps like Cinetic’s John Sloss, or Linda Licther, or Donaldson Callif who has 11 films in Sundance and 2 in Slamdance this year. There are also independent producer reps who are hungrier than the major agencies who must quickly earn their 10% (or not) and move on. These producer reps tend to work year round with the films they represent. Submarine, Preferred Content and Ronna Wallace’s Eastgate are the most important ones today.
Producer Reps “By Numbers”
12 Films
Creative Artists Agency (CAA) which repped a total of 14 films in 2012 is still calling a lot of shots this Sundance.
1 jOBS / U.S.A. (Director: Joshua Michael Stern (✡), Screenwriter: Matt Whiteley) — The true story of one of the greatest entrepreneurs in American history, jOBS chronicles the defining 30 years of Steve Jobs’ life. jOBS is a candid, inspiring and personal portrait of the one who saw things differently. (Synopses are written by Sundance staff.) Cast: Ashton Kutcher, Dermot Mulroney, Josh Gad, Lukas Haas, J.K. Simmons, Matthew Modine. Closing Night Film -- Open Road Filmshas U.S. Entertainment One (in collaboration with Remstar) has Canada except theatrical, VOD and French-language TV rights in Quebec which Remstarholds exclusively. Isa: If Entertainment
2 Anita /α/ U.S.A. (Director: Freida Mock ♀¥) — Anita Hill, an African-American woman, charges Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas with sexual harassment in explosive Senate hearings in 1991 – bringing sexual politics into the national consciousness and fueling 20 years of international debate on the issues.
3 Linsanity / U.S.A. (Director: Evan Leong ¥) — Jeremy Lin came from a humble background to make an unbelievable run in the NBA. State high school champion, all-Ivy League at Harvard, undrafted by the NBA and unwanted there: his story started long before he landed on Broadway.
4 Hell Baby / U.S.A. (Directors and screenwriters: Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon) — An expectant couple moves into the most haunted fixer-upper in New Orleans – a house with a demonic curse. Things spiral out of control and soon only the Vatican’s elite exorcism team can save the pair – or can it? Cast: Rob Corddry, Leslie Bibb, Keegan Michael Key, Riki Lindhome, Paul Scheer, Rob Huebel.
5 The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete / U.S.A. (Director: George Tillman Jr. α, Screenwriter: Michael Starrbury) — Separated from their mothers and facing a summer in the Brooklyn projects alone, two boys hide from police and forage for food, with only each other to trust. A story of salvation through friendship and two boys against the world. Cast: Skylan Brooks, Ethan Dizon, Jennifer Hudson, Jordin Sparks, Anthony Mackie, Jeffrey Wright.Isa: Aldamisa
6 The Lifeguard / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Liz W. Garcia ♀ɤ) — A former valedictorian quits her reporter job in New York and returns to the place she last felt happy: her childhood home in Connecticut. She gets work as a lifeguard and starts a dangerous relationship with a troubled teenager. Cast: Kristen Bell, Mamie Gummer, Martin Starr, Alex Shaffer, Amy Madigan, David Lambert. Isa: Joker Films
7 Narco Cultura / ɤ/ U.S.A. (Director: Shaul Schwarz (✡) — An examination of Mexican drug cartels’ influence in pop culture on both sides of the border as experienced by an La narcocorrido singer dreaming of stardom and a Juarez crime scene investigator on the front line of Mexico’s Drug War.Isa: K5
8 Don Jon’s Addiction / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Joseph Gordon-Levitt) — In Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s charming directorial debut, a selfish modern-day Don Juan attempts to change his ways. Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Tony Danza, Glenne Headly, Rob Brown. Shares rights with Wme Isa: Voltage Pictures has sold to Future Films for Finland, Remstar Films for Canada, Ascot Elite Entertainment Group for Germany and Switzerland, Midget Entertainmentfor Denmark, Noori Picturesfor So. Korea.
9 The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman / U.S.A. (Director: Fredrik Bond, Screenwriter: Matt Drake) — Traveling abroad, Charlie Countryman falls for Gabi, a Romanian beauty whose unreachable heart has its origins in Nigel, her violent, charismatic ex. As the darkness of Gabi’s past increasingly envelops him, Charlie resolves to win her heart, or die trying. Cast: Shia Labeouf, Evan Rachel Wood, Mads Mikkelsen, Rupert Grint, James Buckley, Til Schweiger. Isa: Voltage Pictures sold to Ascot Elite for Switzerland and Germany, Midget for Denmark, Vvs Films for Canada.
10 The Way, Way Back / U.S.A. (Directors and screenwriters: Nat Faxon, Jim Rash) — Duncan, an introverted 14-year-old, comes into his own over the course of a comedic summer when he forms unlikely friendships with the gregarious manager of a rundown water park and the misfits who work there. Cast: Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Allison Janney, Sam Rockwell, Maya Rudolph, Liam James. Shares rights with Wme Isa: Sierra/ Affinity
11 Very Good Girls / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Naomi Foner (♀,✡)) — In the long, half-naked days of a New York summer, two girls on the brink of becoming women fall for the same guy and find that life isn’t as simple or safe as they had thought. Cast: Dakota Fanning, Elizabeth Olsen, Boyd Holbrook, Demi Moore, Richard Dreyfuss, Ellen Barkin.
12 Two Mothers / Australia, France (Director: Anne Fontaine ♀, Screenwriter: Christopher Hampton) — This gripping tale of love, lust and the power of friendship charts the unconventional and passionate affairs of two lifelong friends who fall in love with each other’s sons. Cast: Naomi Watts, Robin Wright, Xavier Samuel, James Frechevile.Isa: Gaumont sold to Remstar for Canada, Hopscotch Features for Australia/ N.Z., Gaumont for France.
United Talent Agency (UTA)
1 Austenland / U.S.A., United Kingdom (Director: Jerusha Hess ♀, Screenwriters: Jerusha Hess, Shannon Hale) — Thirtysomething, single Jane is obsessed with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in Pride and Prejudice. On a trip to an English resort, her fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman become more real than she ever imagined. Cast: Keri Russell, Jj Feild, Bret McKenzie, Jennifer Coolidge, Georgia King, James Callis.
2 In a World... / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Lake Bell (♀,✡)) — An underachieving vocal coach is motivated by her father, the king of movie-trailer voice-overs, to pursue her aspirations of becoming a voiceover star. Amidst pride, sexism and family dysfunction, she sets out to change the voice of a generation. Cast: Lake Bell, Demetri Martin, Rob Corddry, Michaela Watkins, Ken Marino, Fred Melamed.
3 Crystal Fairy / Chile (Director and screenwriter: Sebastián Silva ɤ Lgbt ) — Jamie invites a stranger to join a road trip to Chile. The woman’s free and esoteric nature clashes with Jamie’s acidic, self-absorbed personality as they head into the desert for a Mescaline-fueled psychedelic trip. Cast: Michael Cera, Gabby Hoffmann, Juan Andrés Silva, José Miguel Silva, Agustín Silva. World Premiere. Day One Film
4 Breathe In / U.S.A. (Director: Drake Doremus, Screenwriters: Drake Doremus, Ben York Jones) — When a foreign exchange student arrives in a small upstate New York town, she challenges the dynamics of her host family’s relationships and alters their lives forever. Cast: Guy Pearce, Felicity Jones, Amy Ryan, Mackenzie Davis.
5 Ass Backwards / U.S.A. (Director: Chris Nelson, Screenwriters: June Diane Raphael, Casey Wilson) — Loveable losers Kate and Chloe take a road trip back to their hometown to claim the beauty pageant crown that eluded them as children, only to discover what really counts: friendship. Cast: June Diane Raphael, Casey Wilson, Vincent D’Onofrio, Alicia Silverstone, Jon Cryer, Brian Geraghty. Isa: Premiere Entertainment Group
6 Afternoon Delight / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jill Soloway ♀) — In this sexy, dark comedy, a lost L.A. housewife puts her idyllic hipster life in jeopardy when she tries to rescue a stripper by taking her in as a live-in nanny. Cast: Kathryn Hahn, Juno Temple, Josh Radnor, Jane Lynch. Shares rights with Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Adler & Feldman
7 C.O.G. / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Kyle Patrick Alvarez (ɤ, Lgbt) — In the first ever film adaptation of David Sedaris’ work, a cocky young man travels to Oregon to work on an apple farm. Out of his element, he finds his lifestyle and notions being picked apart by everyone who crosses his path. Cast: Jonathan Groff, Denis O’Hare, Corey Stoll, Dean Stockwell, Casey Wilson, Troian Bellisario. Shares rights with Preferred Content
8 Touchy Feely / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Lynn Shelton ♀, Lgbt) — A massage therapist is unable to do her job when stricken with a mysterious and sudden aversion to bodily contact. Meanwhile, her uptight brother’s foundering dental practice receives new life when clients seek out his “healing touch.” Cast: Rosemarie DeWitt, Allison Janney, Ron Livingston, Scoot McNairy, Ellen Page, Josh Pais. Shares rights with Submarine
9 The Spectacular Now / U.S.A. (Director: James Ponsoldt, Screenwriters: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber) — Sutter is a high school senior who lives for the moment; Aimee is the introvert he attempts to “save.” As their relationship deepens, the lines between right and wrong, friendship and love, and “saving” and corrupting become inextricably blurred. Cast: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kyle Chandler. Isa: The Exchange
10 Magic Magic / ɤ/ U.S.A., Chile (Director and screenwriter: Sebastián Silva ɤ, Lgbt) — An American girl vacationing in remote Chile mentally unravels, putting herself and those around her in danger. Cast: Michael Cera, Juno Temple, Emily Browning, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Augustín Silva. World Premiere Isa: The Exchange/6 Sales
11 Kill Your Darlings / U.S.A. (Director: John Krokidas Lgbt, Screenwriters: Austin Bunn, John Krokidas) — An untold story of murder that brought together a young Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs at Columbia University in 1944, providing the spark that led to the birth of an entire generation – their Beat revolution. Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Dane DeHann, Ben Foster, Michael C. Hall, Jack Huston, Elizabeth Olsen. Shares rights with Elevated Film Sales Isa: Inferno Entertainment
12 The Look of Love / United Kingdom (Director: Michael Winterbottom Lgbt, Screenwriter: Matt Greenhalgh) — The true story of British adult magazine publisher and entrepreneur Paul Raymond. A modern day King Midas story, Raymond became one of the richest men in Britain at the cost of losing those closest to him. Cast: Steve Coogan, Anna Friel, Imogen Poots, Tamsin Egerton. - UTAis No.American consultant to StudioCanal
Submarine along with Preferred Content is one of the truly independent producers reps.
1 Blackfish / U.S.A. (Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite ♀) — Notorious killer whale Tilikum is responsible for the deaths of three individuals, including a top killer whale trainer. Blackfish shows the sometimes devastating consequences of keeping such intelligent and sentient creatures in captivity.
2 Citizen Koch / U.S.A. (Directors: Carl Deal, Tia Lessin ♀) — Wisconsin – birthplace of the Republican Party, government unions, “cheeseheads” and Paul Ryan – becomes a test market in the campaign to buy Democracy, and ground zero in the battle for the future of the Gop.
3 Cutie and the Boxer / U.S.A. (Director: Zachary Heinzerling ✡) — This candid New York love story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of famed boxing painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko. Anxious to shed her role as her overbearing husband’s assistant, Noriko finds an identity of her own.
4 Dirty Wars / U.S.A. (Director: Richard Rowley) — Investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill chases down the truth behind America’s covert wars.
5 God Loves Uganda / α / U.S.A. (Director: Roger Ross Williams (α, Lgbt)) — A powerful exploration of the evangelical campaign to infuse African culture with values imported from America’s Christian Right. The film follows American and Ugandan religious leaders fighting “sexual immorality” and missionaries trying to convince Ugandans to follow biblical law. -- Submarine handling U.S/ Canada (Excluding U.S TV Rights)
6 Twenty Feet From Stardom / α / U.S.A. (Director: Morgan Neville) — Backup singers live in a world that lies just beyond the spotlight. Their voices bring harmony to the biggest bands in popular music, but we’ve had no idea who these singers are or what lives they lead – until now. -- Submarine handling U.S/ Canada/ U.K/ Australia/ N.Zealand
7 The Summit / Ireland, United Kingdom (Director: Nick Ryan) — Twenty-four climbers converged at the last stop before summiting the most dangerous mountain on Earth. Forty-eight hours later, 11 had been killed or simply vanished. Had one, Ger McDonnell, stuck to the climbers’ code, he might still be alive. International Premiere
8 Who is Dayani Cristal? / United Kingdom (Director: Marc Silver) — An anonymous body in the Arizona desert sparks the beginning of a real-life human drama. The search for its identity leads us across a continent to seek out the people left behind and the meaning of a mysterious tattoo. World Premiere.
9 Charlie Victor Romeo / U.S.A. (Directors: Robert Berger, Karlyn Michelson ♀, Screenwriters: Robert Berger, Patrick Daniels, Irving Gregory) — An award-winning theatrical documentary derived entirely from ‘Black Box’ transcripts of six real-life major airline emergencies brought to the screen with cutting-edge stereoscopic 3D technology. Cast: Patrick Daniels, Irving Gregory, Noel Dinneen, Sam Zuckerman, Debbie Troche, Nora Woolley.
10 Running From Crazy / U.S.A. (Director: Barbara Kopple ♀, ✡) — Mariel Hemingway, granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway, strives for a greater understanding of her family history of suicide and mental illness. As tragedies are explored and deeply hidden secrets are revealed, Mariel searches for a way to overcome a similar fate.
11 Touchy Feely / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Lynn Shelton ♀ Lgbt) — A massage therapist is unable to do her job when stricken with a mysterious and sudden aversion to bodily contact. Meanwhile, her uptight brother’s foundering dental practice receives new life when clients seek out his “healing touch.” Cast: Rosemarie DeWitt, Allison Janney, Ron Livingston, Scoot McNairy, Ellen Page, Josh Pais. Shares rights with UTA
12 Muscle Shoals / α /U.S.A. (Director: Greg 'Freddy' Camalier) — Down in Alabama Rick Hall founded Fame Studios and gave birth to the Muscle Shoals sound. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Gregg Allman, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Alicia Keys, Bono and others bear witness to the greatest untold American music story. Shares rights with Wme
10 Films
William Morris Endeavor (Wme)
1 Inequality for All / U.S.A. (Director: Jacob Kornbluth (✡)) — In this timely and entertaining documentary, noted economic-policy expert Robert Reich distills the topic of widening income inequality, and addresses the question of what effects this increasing gap has on our economy and our democracy.
2 Fruitvale / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Ryan Coogler α) — The true story of Oscar, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family and strangers on the last day of 2008. Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Octavia Spencer, Melonie Diaz, Ahna O’Reilly, Kevin Durand, Chad Michael Murray.
3 A.C.O.D. / U.S.A. (Director: Stuart Zicherman ✡, Screenwriters: Ben Karlin, Stuart Zicherman) — Carter is a well-adjusted Adult Child of Divorce. So he thinks. When he discovers he was part of a divorce study as a child, it wreaks havoc on his family and forces him to face his chaotic past. Cast: Adam Scott, Richard Jenkins, Catherine O’Hara, Amy Poehler, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clark Duke.
4 S-vhs / U.S.A., Canada (Directors: Simon Barrett, Adam Wingard, Edúardo Sanchez ɤ , Gregg Hale, Timo Tjahjanto ¥, Gareth Huw Evans, Jason Eisener, Screenwriters: Simon Barrett, Jamie Nash, Timo Tjahjanto & Gareth Huw Evans, John Davies) — Searching for a missing student, two private investigators break into his abandoned house and find another collection of mysterious VHS tapes. In viewing the horrific contents of each cassette, they realize there may be terrifying motives behind the student’s disappearance. Cast: Adam Wingard, Lawrence Levine, L.C Holt, Kelsy Abbott, Hannah Hughes.
5 Ain’t Them Bodies Saints / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Lowery) — The tale of an outlaw who escapes from prison and sets out across the Texas hills to reunite with his wife and the daughter he has never met. Cast: Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Nate Parker, Keith Carradine. Shares rights with Elevated Film Sales
6 Big Sur / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Michael Polish) — Unable to cope with a suddenly demanding public and battling advanced alcoholism, Jack Kerouac seeks respite in three brief sojourns to a cabin in Big Sur, which reveal his mental and physical deterioration. Cast: Jean-Marc Barr, Kate Bosworth, Josh Lucas, Radha Mitchell, Anthony Edwards, Henry Thomas. Shares rights with Gersh
7 We Are What We Are / U.S.A. (Director: Jim Mickle, Screenwriters: Nick Damici, Jim Mickle) — A devastating storm washes up clues that lead authorities closer and closer to the cannibalistic Parker family. Cast: Bill Sage, Ambyr Childers, Julia Garner, Michael Parks, Wyatt Russell, Kelly McGillis.Isa: Memento Films
8 Blood Brother / U.S.A. (Director: Steve Hoover) — Rocky went to India as a disillusioned tourist. When he met a group of children with HIV, he decided to stay. He never could have imagined the obstacles he would face, or the love he would find. Shares rights with Preferred Content
9 Don Jon’s Addiction / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Joseph Gordon-Levitt) — In Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s charming directorial debut, a selfish modern-day Don Juan attempts to change his ways. Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Tony Danza, Glenne Headly, Rob Brown. Shares rights with CAA Isa: Voltage Pictures
10 The Way, Way Back / U.S.A. (Directors and screenwriters: Nat Faxon, Jim Rash) — Duncan, an introverted 14-year-old, comes into his own over the course of a comedic summer when he forms unlikely friendships with the gregarious manager of a rundown water park and the misfits who work there. Cast: Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Allison Janney, Sam Rockwell, Maya Rudolph, Liam James. Shares rights with CAA Isa: Sierra/Affinity
9 Films
Cinetic Led by John Sloss, premier N.Y. independent attorney who has represented films internationally, acted as an aggregator of digital rights and acts as a producers rep for North America:
1 After Tiller / U.S.A. (Directors: Martha Shane ♀, Lana Wilson ♀) — Since the assassination of Dr. George Tiller in 2009, only four doctors in the country provide late-term abortions. With unprecedented access, After Tiller goes inside the lives of these physicians working at the center of the storm. -- Isa: ro*co
2 Before Midnight/ U.S.A. (Director: Richard Linklater, Screenwriters: Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, Richard Linklater— We meet Jesse and Celine nine years on in Greece. Almost two decades have passed since their first meeting on that train bound for Vienna. Before the clock strikes midnight, we will again become part of their story. Cast: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Xenia Kalogeropoulou, Ariane Labed, Athina Rachel Tsangari, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick. -- Isa: Im Global
3 Blue Caprice / U.S.A. (Director: Alexandre Moors, Screenwriters: R.F.I Porto, Alexandre Moors) — An abandoned boy is lured to America and drawn into the shadow of a dangerous father figure in this film inspired by the real life events that led to the 2002 Beltway sniper attacks. Cast: Isaiah Washington, Tequan Richmond, Joey Lauren Adams, Tim Blake Nelson, Cassandra Freeman, Leo Fitzpatrick.
4 Escape from Tomorrow / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Randy Moore) — A postmodern, surreal voyage into the bowels of "family" entertainment; an epic battle begins when an unemployed, middle-aged father loses his sanity during a close encounter with two teenage girls on holiday. Cast: Roy Abramsohn, Elena Schuber, Katelynn Rodriguez, Annet Mahendru, Danielle Safady, Alison Lees-Taylor.
5 Milkshake / α / U.S.A. (Director: David Andalman, Screenwriters: David Andalman, Mariko Munro) — In mid-1990's America, we follow the tragic sex life of Jolie Jolson, a wannabe thug (and great-great-grandson of legendary vaudevillian Al Jolson) in suburban DC as he strives to become something he can never be – black. Cast: Tyler Ross, Shareeka Epps, Georgia Ford, Eshan Bay, Leo Fitzpatrick, Danny Burstein.
6 Prince Avalanche / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Gordon Green ✡) — Two highway road workers spend the summer of 1988 away from their city lives. The isolated landscape becomes a place of misadventure as the men find themselves at odds with each other and the women they left behind. Cast: Paul Rudd, Emile Hirsch.
7 Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer / Russian Federation, United Kingdom (Directors: Mike Lerner, Maxim Pozdorovkin) — Three young women face seven years in a Russian prison for a satirical performance in a Moscow cathedral. But who is really on trial: the three young artists or the society they live in? World Premiere -- Isa: Goldcrest Films
8 The Square (El Midan) / ᵯ/ Egypt, U.S.A. (Director: Jehane Noujaim ♀ ᵯ) — What does it mean to risk your life for your ideals? How far will five revolutionaries go in defending their beliefs in the fight for their nation? World Premiere -- Isa: Goldcrest Films
9 Toy's House / U.S.A. (Director: Jordan Vogt-Roberts, Screenwriter: Chris Galletta) — Three unhappy teenage boys flee to the wilderness where they build a makeshift house and live off the land as masters of their own destiny. Or at least that’s the plan. Cast: Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso, Moises Arias, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, Alison Brie.
6 Films
Preferred Contentis another truly independent producer’s rep started by Kevin Iwashina when he left CAA in L.A.
1 C.O.G. / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Kyle Patrick Alvarez ɤ, Lgbt) — In the first ever film adaptation of David Sedaris’ work, a cocky young man travels to Oregon to work on an apple farm. Out of his element, he finds his lifestyle and notions being picked apart by everyone who crosses his path. Cast: Jonathan Groff, Denis O’Hare, Corey Stoll, Dean Stockwell, Casey Wilson, Troian Bellisario. Shares rights with UTA
2 Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Francesca Gregorini ♀, Lgbt) — Emanuel, a troubled girl, becomes preoccupied with her mysterious, new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to her dead mother. In offering to babysit her newborn, Emanuel unwittingly enters a fragile, fictional world, of which she becomes the gatekeeper. Cast: Kaya Scodelario, Jessica Biel, Alfred Molina, Frances O’Connor, Jimmi Simpson, Aneurin Barnard.
3 Pit Stop / U.S.A. (Director: Yen Tan ¥ Lgbt, Screenwriters: Yen Tan, David Lowery) — Two working-class gay men in a small Texas town and a love that isn’t quite out of reach. Cast: Bill Heck, Marcus DeAnda, Amy Seimetz, John Merriman, Alfredo Maduro, Corby Sullivan.
4 Kink (documentary) / U.S.A. (Director: Christina Voros ♀) — A story of sex, submission and big business is told through the eyes of the unlikely pornographers whose 9:00-to-5:00 work days are spent within the confines of the San Francisco Armory building, home to the sprawling porn production facilities of Kink.com.
5 Blood Brother / U.S.A. (Director: Steve Hoover) — Rocky went to India as a disillusioned tourist. When he met a group of children with HIV, he decided to stay. He never could have imagined the obstacles he would face, or the love he would find. Shares rights with Wme
6 Sweetwater / U.S.A. (Directors: Logan Miller, Noah Miller, Screenwriter: Andrew McKenzie) — In the late 1800s, a fanatical religious leader, a renegade Sheriff, and a former prostitute collide in a blood triangle on the rugged plains of the New Mexico Territory. Cast: Ed Harris, January Jones, Jason Isaacs, Eduardo Noriega, Steven Rude, Amy Madigan.Isa: Atlas International
5 Films
The Film Sales Company- Andrew Herwitz is another independent Producer’s Rep, based in N.Y. repping worldwide rights to films.
1 The Crash Reel / U.S.A. (Director: Lucy Walker ♀) — The jaw-dropping story of one unforgettable athlete, Kevin Pearce; one eye-popping sport, snow boarding; and one explosive issue, traumatic brain injury. An epic rivalry between Kevin and Shaun White culminates in a life-changing crash and a comeback story with a difference. Salt Lake City Gala Film
2 Pandora’s Promise / U.S.A. (Director: Robert Stone) — A growing number of environmentalists are renouncing decades of antinuclear orthodoxy and have come to believe that the most feared and controversial technology known to mankind is probably our greatest hope.
3 Computer Chess / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Andrew Bujalski) — An existential comedy about the brilliant men who taught machines to play chess – back when the machines seemed clumsy and we seemed smart. Cast: Patrick Riester, Myles Paige, James Curry, Robin Schwartz, Gerald Peary, Wiley Wiggins.
4 Interior. Leather Bar. (Lgbt)/ U.S.A. (Directors: Travis Mathews Lgbt, James Franco, Screenwriter: Travis Mathews) — To avoid an X rating, it was rumored that 40 minutes of gay S&M footage was cut from the controversial 1980 film, Cruising. Filmmakers James Franco and Travis Mathews re-imagine what was in the lost footage. Cast: Val Lauren, James Franco, Travis Mathews, Christian Patrick, Brenden Gregory.
5 The Moo Man / United Kingdom (Directors: Andy Heathcote, Heike Bachelier ♀) — A year in the life of heroic farmer Steve, scene stealing Ida (queen of the herd), and a supporting cast of 55 cows. When Ida falls ill, Steve’s optimism is challenged and their whole way of life is at stake. World Premiere
Paradigm
1 Mother of George / U.S.A. (Director: Andrew Dosunmu α, Screenwriter: Darci Picoult) — A story about a woman willing to do anything and risk everything for her marriage. Cast: Isaach De Bankolé, Danai Gurira, Anthony Okungbowa, Yaya Alafia, Bukky Ajayi.Isa: K5
2 99% - The Occupy Wall Street Collaborative Film / U.S.A. (Directors: Audrey Ewell ♀, Aaron Aites, Lucian Read, Nina Kristic ♀) — The Occupy movement erupted in September 2011, propelling economic inequality into the spotlight. In an unprecedented collaboration, filmmakers across America tell its story, digging into big picture issues as organizers, analysts, participants and critics reveal how it happened and why.
3 Concussion Lgbt/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Stacie Passon ♀,Lgbt) — After a blow to the head, Abby decides she can’t do it anymore. Her life just can’t be only about the house, the kids and the wife. She needs more: she needs to be Eleanor. Cast: Robin Weigert, Maggie Siff, Johnathan Tchaikovsky, Julie Fain Lawrence, Emily Kinney, Laila Robins.
4 I Used To Be Darker / U.S.A. (Director: Matthew Porterfield, Screenwriters: Amy Belk, Matthew Porterfield) — A runaway seeks refuge with her aunt and uncle in Baltimore, only to find their marriage ending and her cousin in crisis. In the days that follow, the family struggles to let go while searching for things to sustain them. Cast: Deragh Campbell, Hannah Gross, Kim Taylor, Ned Oldham, Geoff Grace, Nick Petr.
5 Virtually Heroes / U.S.A. (Director: Gj Echternkamp, Screenwriter: Matt Yamashita) — Two self-aware characters in a Call of Duty-style video game struggle with their screwy, frustrating existence. To find answers, one abandons his partner and mission, seeking to unravel the cheat codes of life. Cast: Robert Baker, Brent Chase, Katie Savoy, Mark Hamill, Ben Messmer.
3 Films
ICM Partners
1 Metro Manila / United Kingdom, Philippines (Director: Sean Ellis, Screenwriters: Sean Ellis, Frank E. Flowers) — Seeking a better life, Oscar and his family move from the poverty-stricken rice fields to the big city of Manila, where they fall victim to various inhabitants whose manipulative ways are a daily part of city survival. Cast: Jake Macapagal, John Arcilla, Althea Vega. World PremiereIsa: Independent Film Company-- Haut et Court has France
2 This Is Martin Bonner / U.S.A.(Director and screenwriter: Chad Hartigan) — Martin Bonner has just moved to Reno for a new job in prison rehabilitation. Starting over at age 58, he struggles to adapt until an unlikely friendship with an ex-con blossoms, helping him confront the problems he left behind. Cast: Paul Eenhoorn, Richmond Arquette, Sam Buchanan, Robert Longstreet, Demetrius Grosse. Shares rights with Traction Media
3 A Teacher / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Hannah Fidell ♀) — A popular young teacher in a wealthy suburban Texas high school has an affair with one of her students. Her life begins to unravel as the relationship comes to an end. Cast: Lindsay Burdge, Will Brittain, Jennifer Prediger, Jonny Mars, Julie Phillips, Chris Dubeck.Isa: Visit Films
2 Films
Elevated Film Sales- Cassian Elwes
1 Kill Your Darlings/ U.S.A. (Director: John Krokidas Lgbt, Screenwriters: Austin Bunn, John Krokidas) — An untold story of murder that brought together a young Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs at Columbia University in 1944, providing the spark that led to the birth of an entire generation – their Beat revolution. Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Dane DeHann, Ben Foster, Michael C. Hall, Jack Huston, Elizabeth Olsen. Shares rights with UTAIsa: Inferno Entertainment
2 Ain’t Them Bodies Saints / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Lowery) — The tale of an outlaw who escapes from prison and sets out across the Texas hills to reunite with his wife and the daughter he has never met. Cast: Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Nate Parker, Keith Carradine. Shares rights with Wme
Traction Media is an attorney led producers rep based in L.A. repping worldwide rights
1 This Is Martin Bonner / U.S.A.(Director and screenwriter: Chad Hartigan) — Martin Bonner has just moved to Reno for a new job in prison rehabilitation. Starting over at age 58, he struggles to adapt until an unlikely friendship with an ex-con blossoms, helping him confront the problems he left behind. Cast: Paul Eenhoorn, Richmond Arquette, Sam Buchanan, Robert Longstreet, Demetrius Grosse. Shares rights with ICM
2 Lasting / Poland, Spain (Director and screenwriter: Jacek Borcuch) — An emotional love story about two Polish students who fall in love with each other while working summer jobs in Spain. An unexpected nightmare interrupts their carefree time in the heavenly landscape and throws their lives into chaos. Cast: Jakub Gierszal, Magdalena Berus, Angela Molina. World Premiere
1 Film
Gersh
1 Big Sur / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Michael Polish) — Unable to cope with a suddenly demanding public and battling advanced alcoholism, Jack Kerouac seeks respite in three brief sojourns to a cabin in Big Sur, which reveal his mental and physical deterioration. Cast: Jean-Marc Barr, Kate Bosworth, Josh Lucas, Radha Mitchell, Anthony Edwards, Henry Thomas. Shares rights with Wme
Circus Road Films
1 Newlyweeds / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Shaka King α) — A Brooklyn repo man and his globetrotting girlfriend forge an unlikely romance. But what should be a match made in stoner heaven turns into a love triangle gone awry in this dark coming-of-age comedy about dependency. Cast: Amari Cheatom, Trae Harris, Tone Tank, Colman Domingo, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Adrian Martinez.
Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Adler & Feldman
1 Afternoon Delight / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jill Soloway ♀) — In this sexy, dark comedy, a lost L.A. housewife puts her idyllic hipster life in jeopardy when she tries to rescue a stripper by taking her in as a live-in nanny. Cast: Kathryn Hahn, Juno Temple, Josh Radnor, Jane Lynch. Shares rights with UTA
The Film Collaborative
1 A River Changes Course / Cambodia, U.S.A. (Director: Kalyanee Mam ♀ ¥) — Three young Cambodians struggle to overcome the crushing effects of deforestation, overfishing, and overwhelming debt in this devastatingly beautiful story of a country reeling from the tragedies of war and rushing to keep pace with a rapidly expanding world. World PremiereIsa: Cat & Docs
Azoff Music
1 History of the Eagles Part One / U.S.A. (Director: Alison Ellwood ♀) — Using never-before-seen home movies, archival footage and new interviews with all current and former members of the Eagles, this documentary provides an intimate look into the history of the band and the legacy of their music. Showtime picked up for cable.
Bunim-Murray
1 Valentine Road / U.S.A. (Director: Marta Cunningham ♀ α) — In 2008, eighth-grader Brandon McInerney shot classmate Larry King at point blank range. Unraveling this tragedy from point of impact, the film reveals the heartbreaking circumstances that led to the shocking crime as well as its startling aftermath.
Wavelength Pictures
1 The Stuart Hall Project / United Kingdom (Director: John Akomfrah α) — Antinuclear campaigner, New Left activist and founding father of Cultural Studies, this documentary interweaves 70 years of Stuart Hall’s film, radio and television appearances, and material from his private archive to document a memorable life and construct a portrait of Britain’s foremost radical intellectual. World Premiere
Mosaic
1 Upstream Color / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Shane Carruth) — A man and woman are drawn together, entangled in the life cycle of an ageless organism. Identity becomes an illusion as they struggle to assemble the loose fragments of wrecked lives. Cast: Amy Seimetz, Shane Carruth, Andrew Sensenig, Thiago Martins. -- Shane Carruth will self-distribute via his Erbp banner.
Rada Film Group
1 American Promise / α /U.S.A. (Directors: Joe Brewster α, Michèle Stephenson ♀ α) — This intimate documentary follows the 12-year journey of two African-American families pursuing the promise of opportunity through the education of their sons.Isa: ro*co
International Sales Agents Selling U.S. (And Other Territories)
4 Films
Visit Films
1 A Teacher / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Hannah Fidell ♀) — A popular young teacher in a wealthy suburban Texas high school has an affair with one of her students. Her life begins to unravel as the relationship comes to an end. Cast: Lindsay Burdge, Will Brittain, Jennifer Prediger, Jonny Mars, Julie Phillips, Chris Dubeck. Domestic: ICM
2 Il Future (The Future) ɤ/ Chile, Germany, Italy, Spain (Director and screenwriter: Alicia Scherson ♀ ɤ) — When their parents die, Bianca starts to smoke and Tomas is still a virgin. The orphans explore the dangerous streets of adulthood until Bianca finds Maciste, a retired Mr. Universe, and enters his dark mansion in search of a future. Cast: Manuela Martelli, Rutger Hauer, Luigi Ciardo, Nicolas Vaporidis, Alessandro Giallocosta. World Premiere
3 It Felt Like Love / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Eliza Hittman ♀) — On the outskirts of Brooklyn, a 14-year-old girl’s sexual quest takes a dangerous turn when she pursues an older guy and tests the boundaries between obsession and love. Cast: Gina Piersanti, Giovanna Salimeni, Ronen Rubinstein, Jesse Cordasco, Nick Rosen, Case Prime.
4 Halley ɤ/ Mexico (Director: Sebastian Hofmann ɤ, Screenwriters: Sebastian Hofmann, Julio Chavezmontes) — Alberto is dead and can no longer hide it. Before surrendering to his living death, he forms an unusual friendship with Luly, the manager of the 24-hour gym where he works as a night guard. Cast: Alberto Trujillo, Lourdes Trueba, Hugo Albores.
3 Films
Goldcrest Films International
1 Which Way is the Front Line From Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington / U.S.A. (Director: Sebastian Junger) — Shortly after the release of his documentary Restrepo, photographer Tim Hetherington was killed in Libya. Colleague Sebastian Junger traces Hetherington’s work across the world’s battlefields to reveal how he transcended the boundaries of image-making to become a luminary in his profession.
2...
- 1/20/2013
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
James Franco’s new art film Interior. Leather Bar., directed by him and filmmaker Travis Mathews, is all about gay sex, and Franco’s damn proud of it.
Premiering at this week’s Sundance Film Festival, the gay S&M film reimagining 40 minutes of footage rumored to be taken out of William Friedkin’s 1980 drama Cruising blurs the boundaries between observer and observed, truth and fiction, delight and pain.
Just check out this seriously Not Safe For Work exclusive clip from the movie, below, featuring Franco — playing a version of himself — flinching as a man is pleasurably beaten off camera.
Premiering at this week’s Sundance Film Festival, the gay S&M film reimagining 40 minutes of footage rumored to be taken out of William Friedkin’s 1980 drama Cruising blurs the boundaries between observer and observed, truth and fiction, delight and pain.
Just check out this seriously Not Safe For Work exclusive clip from the movie, below, featuring Franco — playing a version of himself — flinching as a man is pleasurably beaten off camera.
- 1/15/2013
- by Solvej Schou
- EW - Inside Movies
James Franco’s New Movie Interior. Leather Bar. To Premiere At Sundance, Here’s The Festival Poster!
May I have your attention, please? Interior. Leather Bar. is an upcoming homo-sex-art-film which comes from James Franco and San Francisco filmmaker Travis Mathews. Sounds weird? Wait until you see the first poster for the whole thing! The movie will debut at this month’s Sundance Film Festival, it is also set to screen at the 2013 Berlinale, and that’s pretty much all you’re going to see from the full poster if you check out the rest of this report!
Originally titled, James Franco’s 40 Minutes, Interior. Leather Bar. is actually an homage to William Friedkin‘s 1980 thriller Cruising, which starred Al Pacino as a police detective who goes undercover in the gay S&M sex scene to investigate the serial murders of gay men within the subculture.
Beside James Franco, the movie also stars Val Lauren, Christian Patrick, Travis Mathews, Brenden Gregory and Brad Roberge.
Check out the...
Originally titled, James Franco’s 40 Minutes, Interior. Leather Bar. is actually an homage to William Friedkin‘s 1980 thriller Cruising, which starred Al Pacino as a police detective who goes undercover in the gay S&M sex scene to investigate the serial murders of gay men within the subculture.
Beside James Franco, the movie also stars Val Lauren, Christian Patrick, Travis Mathews, Brenden Gregory and Brad Roberge.
Check out the...
- 1/5/2013
- by Jeanne Standal
- Filmofilia
One of the more fascinating projects in the Sundance New Frontiers section this year is Interior. Leather Bar, by writer/director/actor James Franco and director Travis Matthews. Here’s the synopsis: In order to avoid an X rating, 40 minutes of gay S&M footage was rumored to be cut and destroyed from the 1980 film, Cruising. Inspired by the mythology of this controversial film, filmmakers James Franco and Travis Mathews collaborate to imagine their own lost footage. Amid the backdrop of a frenzied film set, actor Val Lauren reluctantly agrees to take the lead in the film. Val is repeatedly forced to …...
- 12/20/2012
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
One of my favorite parts of the Sundance Film Festival is the Park City at Midnight movie line-up. This is where they put on a lot of the horror, sci-fi, comedy and other genre type films. They've also announced the movies that will be a part of the Spotlight and New Frontier sections.
Once again it looks like we've got a lot of solid films to look forward to. Of course there's going to be a few duds in the mix, but for the most part this looks like it's going to be an exciting year at Sundance. I can't wait to watch these movies!
Look over the list, read about the films, and let us know which movies sound interesting to you that you'd like to more know about!
Sundance Institute announced today the films selected to screen in the 2013 Sundance Film Festival out-of-competition sections Spotlight, Park City at Midnight and New Frontier,...
Once again it looks like we've got a lot of solid films to look forward to. Of course there's going to be a few duds in the mix, but for the most part this looks like it's going to be an exciting year at Sundance. I can't wait to watch these movies!
Look over the list, read about the films, and let us know which movies sound interesting to you that you'd like to more know about!
Sundance Institute announced today the films selected to screen in the 2013 Sundance Film Festival out-of-competition sections Spotlight, Park City at Midnight and New Frontier,...
- 11/30/2012
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
Sundance Film Festival 2013 announced its initial line-up last night, with a very promising slew of films competing in the Us and World Dramatic and Documentary categories, as always.
Tonight, we have more news from Park City, Ut, with the announcement of the films that will be screening in the Spotlight, Park City at Midnight, and New Frontier categories.
Rising young star, Alice Englert (Ginger & Rosa, Beautiful Creatures), will be heading to the festival in the Park City at Midnight category with Jeremy Lovering’s horror, In Fear, which has a very tense and promising synopsis.
Ben Wheatley’s Sightseers will be getting its long-awaited Us premiere, having debuted at Cannes earlier this year, and been earning critics’ praise ever since. Steve Oram and Alice Lowe co-wrote the film and star in the leads, and with the ever-brilliant Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World), there’s...
Tonight, we have more news from Park City, Ut, with the announcement of the films that will be screening in the Spotlight, Park City at Midnight, and New Frontier categories.
Rising young star, Alice Englert (Ginger & Rosa, Beautiful Creatures), will be heading to the festival in the Park City at Midnight category with Jeremy Lovering’s horror, In Fear, which has a very tense and promising synopsis.
Ben Wheatley’s Sightseers will be getting its long-awaited Us premiere, having debuted at Cannes earlier this year, and been earning critics’ praise ever since. Steve Oram and Alice Lowe co-wrote the film and star in the leads, and with the ever-brilliant Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World), there’s...
- 11/29/2012
- by Kenji Lloyd
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Lone Survivor
Eric Bana is in negotiations to join Mark Wahlberg and Ben Foster in Peter Berg's drama-actioner "Lone Survivor" at Emmet/Furla Films and Universal. Shooting kicks off next month in New Mexico
The story chronicles Afghanistan war hero Marcus Luttrell's account of a Navy Seal mission gone bad. Bana will play a Seal lieutenant while Emile Hirsch and Taylor Kitsch also star. [Source: Heat Vision]
Unicorn Store
Rebel Wilson ("Bridesmaids," "Bachelorette") has joined Miguel Arteta's quirky indie comedy "Unicorn Store". Wilson is attached to play the imaginative lead character.
The storyline for the comedy is being kept under wraps. Samantha McIntyre penned the script while Mike White and David Bernad are producing. [Source: Variety]
The Hangover Part III
Sasha Barrese will reprise her role of Tracy in Todd Phillips' upcoming "The Hangover Part III" at Warner Bros. Pictures.
The model and actress was the bride of Justin Bartha's character...
Eric Bana is in negotiations to join Mark Wahlberg and Ben Foster in Peter Berg's drama-actioner "Lone Survivor" at Emmet/Furla Films and Universal. Shooting kicks off next month in New Mexico
The story chronicles Afghanistan war hero Marcus Luttrell's account of a Navy Seal mission gone bad. Bana will play a Seal lieutenant while Emile Hirsch and Taylor Kitsch also star. [Source: Heat Vision]
Unicorn Store
Rebel Wilson ("Bridesmaids," "Bachelorette") has joined Miguel Arteta's quirky indie comedy "Unicorn Store". Wilson is attached to play the imaginative lead character.
The storyline for the comedy is being kept under wraps. Samantha McIntyre penned the script while Mike White and David Bernad are producing. [Source: Variety]
The Hangover Part III
Sasha Barrese will reprise her role of Tracy in Todd Phillips' upcoming "The Hangover Part III" at Warner Bros. Pictures.
The model and actress was the bride of Justin Bartha's character...
- 8/14/2012
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Falcon Theatre and The Mineral Theater Company previously announced that Melanie Griffith has joined the cast of the world premiere play No Way Around But Through written by Scott Caan and directed by Val Lauren. Academy Award-Nominated actress Melanie Griffith will portray the role of Lulu, the mother to Jacob, played by Scott Caan. Ms. Griffiths credits include the 1988 film Working Girl Academy Award Nominee as Best Actress and Golden Globe Award Winner as Best Actress in a Comedy, the Academy Award Nominated film Nobodys Fool, Another Day in Paradise, Woody Allens Celebrity, and Rko 281, in which she played actress Marion Davies, a part that garnered her Golden Globe and Emmy nominations.
- 6/3/2012
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Falcon Theatre and The Mineral Theater Company have announced that Melanie Griffith has joined the cast of the world premiere play No Way Around But Through written by Scott Caan and directed by Val Lauren. Academy Award-Nominated actress Melanie Griffith will portray the role of Lulu, the mother to Jacob, played by Scott Caan. Ms. Griffiths credits include the 1988 film Working Girl Academy Award Nominee as Best Actress and Golden Globe Award Winner as Best Actress in a Comedy, the Academy Award Nominated film Nobodys Fool, Another Day in Paradise, Woody Allens Celebrity, and Rko 281, in which she played actress Marion Davies, a part that garnered her Golden Globe and Emmy nominations.
- 5/4/2012
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Director: James Franco Writers: James Franco, Vince Jolivette, Stacey Miller, Michael Gregg Michaud (book) Starring: Val Lauren, Jim Parrack, James Franco, Vince Jolivette, Stacey Miller I have not read it yet, but I bet Dave Wilson's review of Sal is much more informative than mine. I plan on more of a drunkenly loose diatribe of why James Franco's bio-pic of Sal Mineo (Val Lauren) -- the teen idol and star of Rebel Without a Cause and Exodus -- is so damn important. Sure, Sal is destined to suffer the same cultish fate of most films about gay protagonists (Howl being an all too perfect example), but I think it deserves much, much more than that because Sal is a beautiful, sexually ambiguous portrait of a gay film star's final day of existence. Making a film that takes place within the rigid confines of the final day of its...
- 11/1/2011
- by Don Simpson
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
James Franco’s Sal is a slow-paced, indie piece that requires a certain artistic mindset to appreciate. While lead actor Val Lauren shines brightly in what is often a very quiet role, Franco’s directing style takes some getting used to. Filmed almost entirely in extreme close-ups, Sal examines the last day of one-time teen idol Sal Mineo’s life in 1976.
Loosely based on Michael Gregg Michaud’s biography, the film captures a glimpse at Mineo’s life through the happenings of just one day: his last. He eagerly plans his future which includes an upcoming play he rehearses for and promotes . There’s a glimpse at his relationship with his lover Courtney, and his friends. His financial struggles, his addictions and his active lifestyle. All leading up to his unfortunate, seemingly random murder and the culprit’s arrest.
While the film does have its fair share of shortcomings, it...
Loosely based on Michael Gregg Michaud’s biography, the film captures a glimpse at Mineo’s life through the happenings of just one day: his last. He eagerly plans his future which includes an upcoming play he rehearses for and promotes . There’s a glimpse at his relationship with his lover Courtney, and his friends. His financial struggles, his addictions and his active lifestyle. All leading up to his unfortunate, seemingly random murder and the culprit’s arrest.
While the film does have its fair share of shortcomings, it...
- 10/25/2011
- Cinelinx
James Franco To Direct Joe Namath Biopic And A Streetcar Named Desire
Not long ago we told you that James Franco will direct both Cormac McCarthy's Child Of God, and another McCarthy novel, Blood Meridian. Looks like that's not enough to keep the actor busy though. While at the Carmel Film Festival promoting his latest film Sal with star Val Lauren, Franco announced that he will direct a biopic about NFL great Joe Namath in 3D and plans to begin shooting next summer.
Thanks for reading We Got This Covered...
Not long ago we told you that James Franco will direct both Cormac McCarthy's Child Of God, and another McCarthy novel, Blood Meridian. Looks like that's not enough to keep the actor busy though. While at the Carmel Film Festival promoting his latest film Sal with star Val Lauren, Franco announced that he will direct a biopic about NFL great Joe Namath in 3D and plans to begin shooting next summer.
Thanks for reading We Got This Covered...
- 10/18/2011
- by Blake Dew
- We Got This Covered
Simone Eder and Carlotta Corvi report from the Venice International Film Festival.
The 68th was certainly a memorable year with the overall quality of the films being very high and the films for the lineup well selected. Some films surprised while some films disappointed, and most of them will be talked about in the coming weeks and months.
Day 1
The longest running Film festival in the World kicked off its 68th Edition Festival at the Lido in Venice with the world premiere of George Clooney’s political drama The Ides of March starring Ryan Gosling, Clooney himself, Paul Giamatti and Phillip Seymour Hoffman,and was the first film shown in competition for the Golden Lion. Promoted as intense tale of sex, ambition, loyalty, betrayal and revenge the film was however less cynical and shocking than promised and contained a couple of weak plot points. The actors, especially the supporting cast,...
The 68th was certainly a memorable year with the overall quality of the films being very high and the films for the lineup well selected. Some films surprised while some films disappointed, and most of them will be talked about in the coming weeks and months.
Day 1
The longest running Film festival in the World kicked off its 68th Edition Festival at the Lido in Venice with the world premiere of George Clooney’s political drama The Ides of March starring Ryan Gosling, Clooney himself, Paul Giamatti and Phillip Seymour Hoffman,and was the first film shown in competition for the Golden Lion. Promoted as intense tale of sex, ambition, loyalty, betrayal and revenge the film was however less cynical and shocking than promised and contained a couple of weak plot points. The actors, especially the supporting cast,...
- 9/23/2011
- by Guest
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The star-studded action at the Venice Film Festival continued over the weekend with Michael Fassbender stepping back into the spotlight Sunday for a Shame photo call alongside director Steve McQueen. Michael, who was before the cameras last week showing of Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method, changed out of his jeans and flip-flops to hit the red carpet for a premiere that night. James Franco was also busy that afternoon doing press for his movie Sal with costar Val Lauren. Yesterday, Selma Blair showed her postbaby body at a photo call, where she wore a green number from Roland Mouret and premiere for Dark Horse. Colin Firth lent his glamour to the proceedings at events for Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy, and his wife Livia was on hand for a special screening. Livia blogged about the evening for Vogue UK, saying she was more nervous than usual since she wore a dress of her own design.
- 9/6/2011
- by Allie Merriam
- Popsugar.com
Michael Fassbender is on my radar today for two reasons. First up is a rumor that a sequel to X-Men: First Class (and Rise of the Planet of the Apes) is beginning planning. Based on the box office, this doesn't surprise me.
The other reason Fassbender has popped up on my radar is the premiere of Shame in Venice. He stars as a sex addict in the new film by Steve McQueen, and evidently the nudity from Fassbender and costar Carey Mulligan is so prevalent that the film is destined for an Nc-17 rating of death in the United States.
Katy Perry, never one to miss an avenue of self promotion, put out a video about Freddie Mercury's birthday yesterday.
A Frenchman has been ordered to pay his ex-wife monetary damages for a lack of sex during their 21 years of marriage. In a first of its kind ruling, the...
The other reason Fassbender has popped up on my radar is the premiere of Shame in Venice. He stars as a sex addict in the new film by Steve McQueen, and evidently the nudity from Fassbender and costar Carey Mulligan is so prevalent that the film is destined for an Nc-17 rating of death in the United States.
Katy Perry, never one to miss an avenue of self promotion, put out a video about Freddie Mercury's birthday yesterday.
A Frenchman has been ordered to pay his ex-wife monetary damages for a lack of sex during their 21 years of marriage. In a first of its kind ruling, the...
- 9/6/2011
- by Ed Kennedy
- The Backlot
[Editor's Note: Manolis, Tfe's Greek correspondent at the Venice Film Festival chimes in briefly on a very busy screening day. Notes on four films, the last of them a probable prize winner. -Nathaniel]
Alps
The Greek entry of the festival divided the critics assembled here, just as Dogtooth did two years ago. The Italian critics that are featured at the Daily Variety issue of the festival here have given it from 1 to 5 stars. So it’s difficult to say what it’s chances are with the jury. In Dogtooth the protagonist was trying to escape from a fake world, but in Alps the protagonist is trying to enter one; she feels she must belong to another reality, not her actual one. Aggeliki Papoulia gives an excellent performance and Yorgos Lanthimos’ fans will not be disappointed. But that said, he won’t win any new fans with Alps.
Wilde Salome
This isn't quite a film or a documentary but something inbetween as Al Pacino chronicles his attempts to make a film out of Oscar Wilde’s Salome shortly after the play was staged in Los Angeles.
Alps
The Greek entry of the festival divided the critics assembled here, just as Dogtooth did two years ago. The Italian critics that are featured at the Daily Variety issue of the festival here have given it from 1 to 5 stars. So it’s difficult to say what it’s chances are with the jury. In Dogtooth the protagonist was trying to escape from a fake world, but in Alps the protagonist is trying to enter one; she feels she must belong to another reality, not her actual one. Aggeliki Papoulia gives an excellent performance and Yorgos Lanthimos’ fans will not be disappointed. But that said, he won’t win any new fans with Alps.
Wilde Salome
This isn't quite a film or a documentary but something inbetween as Al Pacino chronicles his attempts to make a film out of Oscar Wilde’s Salome shortly after the play was staged in Los Angeles.
- 9/5/2011
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Getty Al Pacino at the 2011 Venice Film Festival.
Al Pacino and James Franco — two stars closely associated with their roles in big-budget commercial movies — each unveiled their latest directorial works over the weekend at the Venice International Film Festival: small-budget films about real-life gay figures of the stage and screen.
“Wilde Salome” from Pacino — the Academy Award-winning actor of “Scent of a Woman” and star of some of the most influential American films of the past 40 years, including “The Godfather...
Al Pacino and James Franco — two stars closely associated with their roles in big-budget commercial movies — each unveiled their latest directorial works over the weekend at the Venice International Film Festival: small-budget films about real-life gay figures of the stage and screen.
“Wilde Salome” from Pacino — the Academy Award-winning actor of “Scent of a Woman” and star of some of the most influential American films of the past 40 years, including “The Godfather...
- 9/4/2011
- by Dean Napolitano
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
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