Synopsis
All his life, people have told Rudy he’s not good enough, not smart enough, not big enough. But nothing can stop his impossible dream of playing football for Notre Dame. From the time he’s a young boy, Rudy (Sean Astin) is determined to join the Fighting Irish. But his blue collar family only laughs at his ambitions – they know Rudy will follow his father and brothers to the local steel mill. And, for four long years after high school, he does just that. But some dreams won’t die, as Rudy proves when he goes to heroic, occasionally hilarious, lengths to win admission to Notre Dame. Once there, he becomes a walk-on player, serving as little more than a human tackling dummy against the starting players. Bloodied but unbeaten, Rudy wins the respect of legendary coach Ara Parseghian and the other Irish players, who give him one shot at gridiron glory.
All his life, people have told Rudy he’s not good enough, not smart enough, not big enough. But nothing can stop his impossible dream of playing football for Notre Dame. From the time he’s a young boy, Rudy (Sean Astin) is determined to join the Fighting Irish. But his blue collar family only laughs at his ambitions – they know Rudy will follow his father and brothers to the local steel mill. And, for four long years after high school, he does just that. But some dreams won’t die, as Rudy proves when he goes to heroic, occasionally hilarious, lengths to win admission to Notre Dame. Once there, he becomes a walk-on player, serving as little more than a human tackling dummy against the starting players. Bloodied but unbeaten, Rudy wins the respect of legendary coach Ara Parseghian and the other Irish players, who give him one shot at gridiron glory.
- 9/3/2023
- by ComicMix Staff
- Comicmix.com
The Long Dark Trail: "An official selection for numerous prestige film festivals around the globe, including Weekend of Fear and The Festival De Cannes Blood Windoal Selection, director ‘s The Long Dark Trail premieres on Digital, DVD, and Blu-ray February 21 from Cleopatra Entertainment.
Stand By Me meets Midsommar in an unnerving new folk horror tale from writer-directors Kevin Ignatius and Nick Psinakis. After two impoverished teenage brothers manage to escape their abusive father, they embark on a treacherous and haunted journey in the hope of finding their estranged mother who has joined a sadistic cult, deep in the woods of Northwestern Pennsylvania."
Starring Trina Campbell and Brady O’Donnell, The Long Dark Trail releases February 21 in the UK, US, and Canada.
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Medusa’S Venom: "The follow up to the provocative snake horror Medusa will release across the US & Canada February 14th 2023 with a home entertainment release, day-and-date DVD and Premium Tvod,...
Stand By Me meets Midsommar in an unnerving new folk horror tale from writer-directors Kevin Ignatius and Nick Psinakis. After two impoverished teenage brothers manage to escape their abusive father, they embark on a treacherous and haunted journey in the hope of finding their estranged mother who has joined a sadistic cult, deep in the woods of Northwestern Pennsylvania."
Starring Trina Campbell and Brady O’Donnell, The Long Dark Trail releases February 21 in the UK, US, and Canada.
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Medusa’S Venom: "The follow up to the provocative snake horror Medusa will release across the US & Canada February 14th 2023 with a home entertainment release, day-and-date DVD and Premium Tvod,...
- 1/20/2023
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
When Chloë Sevigny found herself walking the Oscars red carpet nominated for her work in 1999’s “Boys Don’t Cry,” it was surprising, to say the least. Her brand of indie film anarchy, which she shared with her sometime boyfriend Harmony Korine, wasn’t really Oscar material. “I remember like the year before Harmony and I watching and being like, ‘Wouldn’t it be funny if we could like nuke the Oscars and like just wipe away all the status quo?,'” she told IndieWire during a recent interview.
Sevigny’s 1990s in film started with her breakout role in Larry Clark’s ever-controversial 1995 “Kids” and ended with her at the Academy Awards, nominated for Best Supporting Actress, playing the girlfriend of Brandon Teena. It was a journey from the sensational fringes of the avant-garde to the biggest platform imaginable. “I told my publicist that the minute I’m in People magazine,...
Sevigny’s 1990s in film started with her breakout role in Larry Clark’s ever-controversial 1995 “Kids” and ended with her at the Academy Awards, nominated for Best Supporting Actress, playing the girlfriend of Brandon Teena. It was a journey from the sensational fringes of the avant-garde to the biggest platform imaginable. “I told my publicist that the minute I’m in People magazine,...
- 8/19/2022
- by Esther Zuckerman
- Indiewire
Nobody did better with horror franchises than Wes Craven, who reinvigorated the genre in this relentlessly bloody thriller. Its self-referential gimmick should have been exploited decades before: what if the teenagers in movies were like real teenagers that watch horror movies. . . and that must rely on their movie knowledge when confronted with R-rated carnage? 25 years later the show holds up well, at least until the final revelations. Kevin Williamson’s screenplay and Mark Irwin’s camerawork make Drew Barrymore, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and Rose McGowan the most attractive and intelligent horror scream queens since Peggy Cummins tried to kick some sense into Dana Andrews.
Scream 4K
4K Ultra HD + Digital
Paramount/Miramax
1996 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 111 min. / 25th Anniversary Edition / Street Date October 19, 2021 / Available from Amazon
Starring: Drew Barrymore, Neve Campbell, Skeet Ulrich, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Rose McGowan, Matthew Lillard, Jamie Kennedy, W. Earl Brown, Joseph Whipp, Lawrence Hecht,...
Scream 4K
4K Ultra HD + Digital
Paramount/Miramax
1996 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 111 min. / 25th Anniversary Edition / Street Date October 19, 2021 / Available from Amazon
Starring: Drew Barrymore, Neve Campbell, Skeet Ulrich, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Rose McGowan, Matthew Lillard, Jamie Kennedy, W. Earl Brown, Joseph Whipp, Lawrence Hecht,...
- 11/2/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Exclusive: Tony nominated stage actor Micah Stock has joined the John Slattery directed feature Maggie Moore(s) in a supporting role, starring opposite Jon Hamm and Tina Fey.
The black comedy takes place in a dusty desert town where nothing ever happens, as a police chief is suddenly faced with the back-to-back murders of two women with the same name.
Stock will play Jay Moore, described as a lifetime schemer with a personality as greasy as his hair. Additional details about the character are under wraps. Slattery produces with Cary Woods, Vincent Newman, Dan Reardon and Santosh Govindaraju.
Stock most recently starred in Netflix’s Emmy-nominated short form comedy series Bonding; as well as a series regular role on Disney+’s drama series The Right Stuff, portraying real-life NASA astronaut Deke Slayton. He also starred in the 2019 Sundance Audience Award winner Brittany Runs A Marathon, the directorial debut of Paul Downs Colaizzo,...
The black comedy takes place in a dusty desert town where nothing ever happens, as a police chief is suddenly faced with the back-to-back murders of two women with the same name.
Stock will play Jay Moore, described as a lifetime schemer with a personality as greasy as his hair. Additional details about the character are under wraps. Slattery produces with Cary Woods, Vincent Newman, Dan Reardon and Santosh Govindaraju.
Stock most recently starred in Netflix’s Emmy-nominated short form comedy series Bonding; as well as a series regular role on Disney+’s drama series The Right Stuff, portraying real-life NASA astronaut Deke Slayton. He also starred in the 2019 Sundance Audience Award winner Brittany Runs A Marathon, the directorial debut of Paul Downs Colaizzo,...
- 9/2/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Jon Hamm and Tina Fey will reunite and star in the next film from director John Slattery, a dark comedy called “Maggie Moore(s).”
Hamm and Fey have starred together on “30 Rock” and “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” while Hamm and Slattery are both veterans of “Mad Men.”
“Maggie Moore(s)”, which will be Slattery’s follow-up to “God’s Pocket” from 2014, is a dark comedy about a police chief in a small town who is suddenly faced with back-to-back murders of two women with the exact same name. Paul Bernbaum (“Hollywoodland”) wrote the screenplay.
Endeavor Content is representing the film’s international sales at the European Film Market. Contentious Media is financing. Endeavor Content, Gersh and CAA Media Finance are representing domestic sales.
Slattery will also produce “Maggie Moore(s)” along with Cary Woods. Vincent Newman, Ross Kohn and Nancy Leopardi will executive produce.
As an actor, John Slattery most recently...
Hamm and Fey have starred together on “30 Rock” and “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” while Hamm and Slattery are both veterans of “Mad Men.”
“Maggie Moore(s)”, which will be Slattery’s follow-up to “God’s Pocket” from 2014, is a dark comedy about a police chief in a small town who is suddenly faced with back-to-back murders of two women with the exact same name. Paul Bernbaum (“Hollywoodland”) wrote the screenplay.
Endeavor Content is representing the film’s international sales at the European Film Market. Contentious Media is financing. Endeavor Content, Gersh and CAA Media Finance are representing domestic sales.
Slattery will also produce “Maggie Moore(s)” along with Cary Woods. Vincent Newman, Ross Kohn and Nancy Leopardi will executive produce.
As an actor, John Slattery most recently...
- 2/23/2021
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Exclusive: John Slattery is setting up his second feature as a director, Maggie Moore(s), with fellow Mad Men alum Jon Hamm and Tina Fey.
The black comedy reps the reteaming of Hamm and Fey, the former who has starred on two of her series: in seven episodes of 30 Rock playing the characters of Abner, Dr. Drew Baird and David Brinkley; and as cult leader Richard Wayne Gary Wayne in 13 episodes of Netflix’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
Maggie Moore(s) takes place in a dusty desert town where nothing ever happens, as a police chief is suddenly faced with the back-to-back murders of two women with the same name.
Endeavor Content is launching international sales at the European Film Market for Maggie Moore(s). Slattery’s feature directorial debut was the 2014 crime title God’s Pocket starring John Turturro, the late Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman, Mad Men alum Christina Hendricks and Richard Jenkins.
The black comedy reps the reteaming of Hamm and Fey, the former who has starred on two of her series: in seven episodes of 30 Rock playing the characters of Abner, Dr. Drew Baird and David Brinkley; and as cult leader Richard Wayne Gary Wayne in 13 episodes of Netflix’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
Maggie Moore(s) takes place in a dusty desert town where nothing ever happens, as a police chief is suddenly faced with the back-to-back murders of two women with the same name.
Endeavor Content is launching international sales at the European Film Market for Maggie Moore(s). Slattery’s feature directorial debut was the 2014 crime title God’s Pocket starring John Turturro, the late Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman, Mad Men alum Christina Hendricks and Richard Jenkins.
- 2/23/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
TV and film development executive and producer Jennifer Gwartz has been appointed Evp of Development, Comedy and Drama of 20th Century Fox Television, part of Disney Television Studios.
Gwartz, who has been partnered with Jon Harmon Feldman in ABC Studios-based Random Hill Productions, will oversee the scripted development of the label’s live-action comedies and dramas as well as the teams of executives in the studio’s comedy and drama developments. Starting on Nov. 4, she will report to 20th TV’s President of Creative Affairs Carolyn Cassidy. Gwartz succeeds Terence Carter who departed last month to head TV for Jada Pinkett Smith & Will Smith’s Westbrook Studios.
“Jen is a smart, thoughtful leader and a champion of ideas and talent, which makes her the perfect person to lead our development,” said Cassidy. “I also value her ability to look at the process and possibilities of television from multiple perspectives...
Gwartz, who has been partnered with Jon Harmon Feldman in ABC Studios-based Random Hill Productions, will oversee the scripted development of the label’s live-action comedies and dramas as well as the teams of executives in the studio’s comedy and drama developments. Starting on Nov. 4, she will report to 20th TV’s President of Creative Affairs Carolyn Cassidy. Gwartz succeeds Terence Carter who departed last month to head TV for Jada Pinkett Smith & Will Smith’s Westbrook Studios.
“Jen is a smart, thoughtful leader and a champion of ideas and talent, which makes her the perfect person to lead our development,” said Cassidy. “I also value her ability to look at the process and possibilities of television from multiple perspectives...
- 10/30/2019
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Development exec and producer Jennifer Gwartz has been tapped to become 20th Century Fox Television’s executive vice president of development, comedy and drama.
At the Disney-owned studio, she will oversee scripted development of live-action comedies and dramas, identifying writing talent, guiding ideas from pitch to pilot, overseeing teams of execs in comedy development and drama development, and leading live-action scripted strategy.
“Jen is a smart, thoughtful leader and a champion of ideas and talent, which makes her the perfect person to lead our development,” said 20th’s president of creative affairs Carolyn Cassidy, to whom Gwartz will report. “I also value her ability to look at the process and possibilities of television from multiple perspectives as a result of her background as a studio executive and hands on producer. I know she will be an extraordinary asset as we seek to create quality television and bring both new and accomplished voices,...
At the Disney-owned studio, she will oversee scripted development of live-action comedies and dramas, identifying writing talent, guiding ideas from pitch to pilot, overseeing teams of execs in comedy development and drama development, and leading live-action scripted strategy.
“Jen is a smart, thoughtful leader and a champion of ideas and talent, which makes her the perfect person to lead our development,” said 20th’s president of creative affairs Carolyn Cassidy, to whom Gwartz will report. “I also value her ability to look at the process and possibilities of television from multiple perspectives as a result of her background as a studio executive and hands on producer. I know she will be an extraordinary asset as we seek to create quality television and bring both new and accomplished voices,...
- 10/30/2019
- by Elaine Low
- Variety Film + TV
20th Century Fox Television has hired Jennifer Gwartz as executive vice president of comedy and drama development.
Starting Nov. 4, she will report to Carolyn Cassidy, president of creative affairs at Twentieth Century Fox Television, which is a label of Disney Television Studios. In her new role, Gwartz will oversee the scripted development of the label’s live action comedies and dramas, from identifying writers to steering ideas from pitch to pilot order. She will also oversee the drama and comedy development executive teams and lead the label’s live action scripted strategy.
“Jen is a smart, thoughtful leader and a champion of ideas and talent, which makes her the perfect person to lead our development,” Cassidy said. “I also value her ability to look at the process and possibilities of television from multiple perspectives as a result of her background as a studio executive and hands on producer. I know...
Starting Nov. 4, she will report to Carolyn Cassidy, president of creative affairs at Twentieth Century Fox Television, which is a label of Disney Television Studios. In her new role, Gwartz will oversee the scripted development of the label’s live action comedies and dramas, from identifying writers to steering ideas from pitch to pilot order. She will also oversee the drama and comedy development executive teams and lead the label’s live action scripted strategy.
“Jen is a smart, thoughtful leader and a champion of ideas and talent, which makes her the perfect person to lead our development,” Cassidy said. “I also value her ability to look at the process and possibilities of television from multiple perspectives as a result of her background as a studio executive and hands on producer. I know...
- 10/30/2019
- by Margeaux Sippell
- The Wrap
“There are so few things in the world that you can stand up and scream from the rooftops and not care what anyone says, because you know there’s absolute right and absolute wrong,” says Sean Astin, who played Rudy Ruettiger in the quintessential underdog movie, “Rudy.”
“And it is an absolute right and an absolute truth that this score by Jerry Goldsmith is perfect. It’s a perfect score.”
Goldsmith’s music, a glorious paean to the unflagging heart, will be celebrated Saturday in a live performance accompanying a 25th anniversary screening of the 1993 film at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. “Rudy in Concert,” conducted by Justin Freer — the co-founder of CineConcerts, who studied with the late composer — will also feature a pre-show panel with Astin, director David Anspaugh, screenwriter Angelo Pizzo, producers Robert Fried and Cary Woods, Carol Goldsmith (the composer’s widow) and Ruettiger himself.
“I...
“And it is an absolute right and an absolute truth that this score by Jerry Goldsmith is perfect. It’s a perfect score.”
Goldsmith’s music, a glorious paean to the unflagging heart, will be celebrated Saturday in a live performance accompanying a 25th anniversary screening of the 1993 film at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. “Rudy in Concert,” conducted by Justin Freer — the co-founder of CineConcerts, who studied with the late composer — will also feature a pre-show panel with Astin, director David Anspaugh, screenwriter Angelo Pizzo, producers Robert Fried and Cary Woods, Carol Goldsmith (the composer’s widow) and Ruettiger himself.
“I...
- 3/28/2019
- by Tim Greiving
- Variety Film + TV
A beloved sports movie will receive the live-to-picture concert treatment when “Rudy” is screened on Nov. 10 at Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium with an 80-piece orchestra performing Jerry Goldsmith’s original score.
Star Sean Astin, director David Anspaugh, writer Angelo Pizzo, producer Cary Woods and Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger (the real Rudy) are all slated to appear in a pre-show panel discussing the film and its music.
Justin Freer will conduct the 80-member Hollywood Chamber Orchestra. His CineConcerts organization (in partnership with Sony Pictures) is behind the event.
The 1993 movie – which told the true story of a young man who, against the odds, realizes his dream of playing football for the University of Notre Dame – ranks no. 54 on the American Film Institute’s list of “most inspiring films.”
A portion of the proceeds will go to the scholarship fund of the Notre Dame Alumni Club of Los Angeles and to Southern California high school sports programs.
Star Sean Astin, director David Anspaugh, writer Angelo Pizzo, producer Cary Woods and Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger (the real Rudy) are all slated to appear in a pre-show panel discussing the film and its music.
Justin Freer will conduct the 80-member Hollywood Chamber Orchestra. His CineConcerts organization (in partnership with Sony Pictures) is behind the event.
The 1993 movie – which told the true story of a young man who, against the odds, realizes his dream of playing football for the University of Notre Dame – ranks no. 54 on the American Film Institute’s list of “most inspiring films.”
A portion of the proceeds will go to the scholarship fund of the Notre Dame Alumni Club of Los Angeles and to Southern California high school sports programs.
- 9/24/2018
- by Jon Burlingame
- Variety Film + TV
It was the summer of 1995. Bill Clinton was president, Rudy Giuliani was mayor of New York, and Oj Simpson was on trial. That summer’s youth-oriented movies included Pixar's first movie Toy Story, the Disney musical Pocahontas — and Kids, in which wayward, stoned teens fuck each other senseless and head-stomp random strangers.
It might be hard to remember just how notorious Larry Clark's indie-skater odysey was. The movie grossed a modest $7 million at the box office that summer — a wild success when you account for the fact that it...
It might be hard to remember just how notorious Larry Clark's indie-skater odysey was. The movie grossed a modest $7 million at the box office that summer — a wild success when you account for the fact that it...
- 7/16/2015
- Rollingstone.com
Read More: 20 Reasons Why 'Kids' is an American Masterpiece BAMCinemaFest celebrated the 20th anniversary of "Kids" with great fanfare Thursday night. A retrospective screening of the iconic 1995 drama that changed the face of independent cinema was followed by a special reunion that included director Larry Clark, screenwriter Harmony Korine, producer Cary Woods and cast members Chloë Sevigny, Leo Fitzpatrick, and Rosario Dawson. Moderated by film critic Eric Hynes, the lively post-screening discussion gave the audience an idea of what went on behind-the-scenes of the now iconic street film. Read our recap of the evening here, and watch two excerpts from the discussion below, courtesy of Bam. Larry Clark and Harmony Korine on the Making of 'Kids' The Legacy of Larry Clark's 'Kids' 20 Years Later Read More: Here's How 'Kids' Happened 20 Years Ago...
- 6/26/2015
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
The Weinstein Company (TWC) and Cary Woods Pictures have sealed an exclusive first-look production deal.
The parties are familiar as Woods produced seven titles for Miramax back in the day when Harvey and Bob Weinstein ran that company.
Those titles include Scream, Swingers [pictured] and Citizen Ruth. Woods’ credits include Kids and Gummo.
He began his career at the William Morris Agency before moving to Sony Pictures Entertainment where he served as vice-president, office of the chairman and segued into a production deal with the studio before launching Independent Pictures.
The parties are familiar as Woods produced seven titles for Miramax back in the day when Harvey and Bob Weinstein ran that company.
Those titles include Scream, Swingers [pictured] and Citizen Ruth. Woods’ credits include Kids and Gummo.
He began his career at the William Morris Agency before moving to Sony Pictures Entertainment where he served as vice-president, office of the chairman and segued into a production deal with the studio before launching Independent Pictures.
- 6/17/2013
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive Details: Signing an exclusive first look deal with The Weinstein Company, Cary Woods is making his way back. Back to the features game, back with Harvey Weinstein, and back from a near death experience that took almost two years of recovery. In the 1990s, Woods was a charming dealmaker with relentless optimism who was one of the producers on Godzilla (the disappointing 1998 version), and who launched a lot of new talent with Weinstein at Disney-owned Miramax. His films there included launching the Wes Craven-directed and Kevin Williamson-scripted Scream franchise, the Larry Clark-directed Harmony Korine-scripted Kids, Korine’s directing debut Gummo, Doug Liman’s Swingers, James Mangold’s Cop Land and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth. They fell out over a deal extension that was as bruising as feuds with Weinstein tended to be back then. Woods calls that water under the bridge. It’s understandable...
- 6/17/2013
- by MIKE FLEMING JR
- Deadline
SAN FRANCISCO -- The raw, uncompromising Ghosts of Cite Soleil from Danish writer-director Asger Leth is a relentless, in-your-face, verite documentary set in war-torn Haiti during the reign and fall of the Aristide government circa 2004. It's an unforgettable, visceral journey into the heart of darkness, grueling poverty and anarchy. Imagery of garbage-strewn streets and squalor as well as news footage and a pulsing soundtrack by Haitian-born Wyclef Jean, who also is an executive producer and appears briefly, add to the docu's hard-edged, driving force.
Ghosts will have a limited U.S. theatrical run this month and could build a respectable audience with good press and word-of-mouth.
Shooting in a gritty, guerilla style, primarily with a hand-held 16mm camera, Leth and co-director Milos Loncarevic put themselves in considerable danger following the violent, dead-end lives of two charismatic brothers with nothing to lose. 2Pac and Bily are gang leaders in Cite Soleil, one of the meanest and poorest slums in Port-au-Prince. The phrase, "They could just as easily kill you as look at you" comes to mind with this duo. (The ghosts of the title are the already dead or "chimeres," armed gangs employed by Aristide to do his dirty work, whose members don't have much life expectancy).
Slim and taut, Bily, the more eloquent and philosophical of the two young men, wants to improve his situation. However, he lives by the gun and is prescient enough, as it turns out, to know that oblivion awaits him around the next corner. 2Pac, a profane wannabe rapper, is the pragmatist, a man of action whose sober world view has been toughened by his harsh existence. He's not without aspirations, though, and in one remarkable scene he calls Jean and sings the story of his life over the phone. The enigmatic Lele is a French relief worker involved with both men; all are trapped in a pointless cycle of fear, revenge, rivalries -- real or imagined -- and murder.
Guns are the accessories of choice, and through no fault of the filmmakers, it's difficult to keep up with or sort out the internecine warfare between gangs and the different government regimes. Leth, son of director Jorgen Leth (The Perfect Human), lives in Haiti, so he gained extraordinary access to his subjects and won something approaching trust. (The gangsters were, after all, offered an irresistible chance to immortalize themselves on film.) Cloaked in darkness and with the camera inches away from his face, 2Pac free-associates for posterity while sitting on the floor of his dingy shack.
The filmmakers get us in closer than we want to be to these explosive men, tagging along while they're out looking to hurt someone or hanging with their soldiers. Natural-born leaders and killers, the brothers share a battle-worn intelligence and a love of rap. Who knows what they could have been had fate dealt them a better hand. But intuition and history dictate a bloody end to their story. There's no way out for these two, not even through the magic of music.
GHOSTS OF CITE SOLEIL
ThinkFilm
A Nordisk Film A/S, Sakpase Films, Sunset Prods., Independent Pictures production in association with the Danish Film Institute.
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Asger Leth
Co-director: Milos Loncarevic
Producers: Mikael Chr. Rieks, Tomas Radoor, Seth Kanegis
Executive producers: Kim Magnusson, Cary Woods, Wyclef Jean, George Hickenlooper, Jerry Duplessis, Jorgen Leth
Directors of photography: Asger Leth, Milos Loncarevic
Production designers: Asger Leth
Music: Wyclef Jean, Jerry Duplessis
Editor: Adam Nielsen
Running time -- 90 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Ghosts will have a limited U.S. theatrical run this month and could build a respectable audience with good press and word-of-mouth.
Shooting in a gritty, guerilla style, primarily with a hand-held 16mm camera, Leth and co-director Milos Loncarevic put themselves in considerable danger following the violent, dead-end lives of two charismatic brothers with nothing to lose. 2Pac and Bily are gang leaders in Cite Soleil, one of the meanest and poorest slums in Port-au-Prince. The phrase, "They could just as easily kill you as look at you" comes to mind with this duo. (The ghosts of the title are the already dead or "chimeres," armed gangs employed by Aristide to do his dirty work, whose members don't have much life expectancy).
Slim and taut, Bily, the more eloquent and philosophical of the two young men, wants to improve his situation. However, he lives by the gun and is prescient enough, as it turns out, to know that oblivion awaits him around the next corner. 2Pac, a profane wannabe rapper, is the pragmatist, a man of action whose sober world view has been toughened by his harsh existence. He's not without aspirations, though, and in one remarkable scene he calls Jean and sings the story of his life over the phone. The enigmatic Lele is a French relief worker involved with both men; all are trapped in a pointless cycle of fear, revenge, rivalries -- real or imagined -- and murder.
Guns are the accessories of choice, and through no fault of the filmmakers, it's difficult to keep up with or sort out the internecine warfare between gangs and the different government regimes. Leth, son of director Jorgen Leth (The Perfect Human), lives in Haiti, so he gained extraordinary access to his subjects and won something approaching trust. (The gangsters were, after all, offered an irresistible chance to immortalize themselves on film.) Cloaked in darkness and with the camera inches away from his face, 2Pac free-associates for posterity while sitting on the floor of his dingy shack.
The filmmakers get us in closer than we want to be to these explosive men, tagging along while they're out looking to hurt someone or hanging with their soldiers. Natural-born leaders and killers, the brothers share a battle-worn intelligence and a love of rap. Who knows what they could have been had fate dealt them a better hand. But intuition and history dictate a bloody end to their story. There's no way out for these two, not even through the magic of music.
GHOSTS OF CITE SOLEIL
ThinkFilm
A Nordisk Film A/S, Sakpase Films, Sunset Prods., Independent Pictures production in association with the Danish Film Institute.
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Asger Leth
Co-director: Milos Loncarevic
Producers: Mikael Chr. Rieks, Tomas Radoor, Seth Kanegis
Executive producers: Kim Magnusson, Cary Woods, Wyclef Jean, George Hickenlooper, Jerry Duplessis, Jorgen Leth
Directors of photography: Asger Leth, Milos Loncarevic
Production designers: Asger Leth
Music: Wyclef Jean, Jerry Duplessis
Editor: Adam Nielsen
Running time -- 90 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 6/27/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Oscar-winner Dustin Hoffman is so desperate to play gay pianist Liberace in a new movie - he's prepared to pile on weight for the role. Cary Woods, who's producing a biopic about the flamboyant musician, has lined-up the legendary actor for the part - although he's half-expecting Hoffman to change his mind. Woods says, "Dustin Hoffman really wants to do the job. Dustin says he is prepared to gain like 30 pounds to show Liberace as he got fat late in life, but you never know with Dustin because all his career he has a history of being extremely choosy about roles which is why he makes so few movies." In the event Hoffman backs out of the project, Robin Williams and Nicolas Cage are reportedly contenders for the part.
- 6/12/2003
- WENN
VENICE, ITALY -- The ultimate in acquired tastes, the films of 22-year-old Harmony Korine veer between the unwatchable and the strangely hypnotic. His second feature, "Julien Donkey-Boy", shot on digital video under the aesthetic creed of Danish film collective Dogme 95, brackets the formal experimentation of his notorious first feature, "Gummo", with a greater emotional force and depth of feeling.
This is difficult material, but Korine is genuinely talented -- an intuitive, innate artist with a strong command for the language of cinema.
The film is not, as some of its champions are breathlessly heralding it, a masterpiece, but it is a fascinating experiment in essentially nonlinear filmmaking and a bracing alternative to the increasingly compromised American independent cinema. Fine Line Features, which gave only a perfunctory release to "Gummo", is releasing the film as part of its deal with Cary Woods' Independent Pictures.
Let the buyer and viewer be aware: "Julien" goes even further than the Korine-scripted "Kids" or "Gummo" in conjuring up images of the bleak and dispossessed, but there is a tenderness for most of its characters.
The film works much better as a succession of free-form, associative images than any kind of sustained story. Its theme is schizophrenia, and the bleary, grainy images are the logical visual corollary of that unexplained condition. Korine and his technical collaborators, including cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle (who photographed Thomas Vinterberg's Dogme film "Celebration"), shot the film on digital video, transferred the image to 8mm, printed it on highly unstable reversible stock and then blew up the image to 35mm. The effect is impressive -- the detailing and contour of the image is lost, but there is an immediacy and frenzy that has a dreamlike texture.
It opens with a scene of shocking, unmotivated violence, as the title character, Julien (Ewen Bremner), who works as an attendant at a school for the blind, commits a random, horrifying act against a young boy. The story shifts to his bizarre, utterly nonconventional family: a loopy, abusive father (New German Cinema icon Werner Herzog), Julien's pregnant sister Pearl (Chloe Sevigny) and his sports-obsessed brother Chris (Evan Neumann).
Like "Gummo", "Julien" is an ambitious, innovative melange of forms: collage, reportage and stills mixed with open, unscripted sequences. The best parts of the film are the free-form, documentary-like examination of marginalized, dispossessed people.
Korine is less condescending than he was in "Gummo", finding a beautiful empathy with a man born without arms who is seen performing card tricks and playing the drums. Rather than employ these characters for their shock value, Korine finds their common humanity.
Another high point to the film is a joyous black Baptist church performance in Harlem that is electric. All of this corresponds to Julien's need to absolve himself of the horrifying act from the opening. The film ends with the most emotionally honest representation in Korine's small body of work -- an act of decency, honesty and hope.
JULIEN DONKEY-BOY
Independent Pictures
in conjunction with Forensic Films
A Harmony Korine film
Credits: Producers:Cary Woods, Scott Macaulay, Robin O'Hara; Director-screenwriter:Harmony Korine; Director of photography:Anthony Dod Mantle; Editor:Valdis Oskarsdottir; Sound recordist:Brian Miksis. Cast: Julien:Ewen Bremner; Father:Werner Herzog; Pearl:Chloe Sevigny; Chris:Evan Neumann. No MPAA rating. Color/stereo. Running time -- 94 minutes.
This is difficult material, but Korine is genuinely talented -- an intuitive, innate artist with a strong command for the language of cinema.
The film is not, as some of its champions are breathlessly heralding it, a masterpiece, but it is a fascinating experiment in essentially nonlinear filmmaking and a bracing alternative to the increasingly compromised American independent cinema. Fine Line Features, which gave only a perfunctory release to "Gummo", is releasing the film as part of its deal with Cary Woods' Independent Pictures.
Let the buyer and viewer be aware: "Julien" goes even further than the Korine-scripted "Kids" or "Gummo" in conjuring up images of the bleak and dispossessed, but there is a tenderness for most of its characters.
The film works much better as a succession of free-form, associative images than any kind of sustained story. Its theme is schizophrenia, and the bleary, grainy images are the logical visual corollary of that unexplained condition. Korine and his technical collaborators, including cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle (who photographed Thomas Vinterberg's Dogme film "Celebration"), shot the film on digital video, transferred the image to 8mm, printed it on highly unstable reversible stock and then blew up the image to 35mm. The effect is impressive -- the detailing and contour of the image is lost, but there is an immediacy and frenzy that has a dreamlike texture.
It opens with a scene of shocking, unmotivated violence, as the title character, Julien (Ewen Bremner), who works as an attendant at a school for the blind, commits a random, horrifying act against a young boy. The story shifts to his bizarre, utterly nonconventional family: a loopy, abusive father (New German Cinema icon Werner Herzog), Julien's pregnant sister Pearl (Chloe Sevigny) and his sports-obsessed brother Chris (Evan Neumann).
Like "Gummo", "Julien" is an ambitious, innovative melange of forms: collage, reportage and stills mixed with open, unscripted sequences. The best parts of the film are the free-form, documentary-like examination of marginalized, dispossessed people.
Korine is less condescending than he was in "Gummo", finding a beautiful empathy with a man born without arms who is seen performing card tricks and playing the drums. Rather than employ these characters for their shock value, Korine finds their common humanity.
Another high point to the film is a joyous black Baptist church performance in Harlem that is electric. All of this corresponds to Julien's need to absolve himself of the horrifying act from the opening. The film ends with the most emotionally honest representation in Korine's small body of work -- an act of decency, honesty and hope.
JULIEN DONKEY-BOY
Independent Pictures
in conjunction with Forensic Films
A Harmony Korine film
Credits: Producers:Cary Woods, Scott Macaulay, Robin O'Hara; Director-screenwriter:Harmony Korine; Director of photography:Anthony Dod Mantle; Editor:Valdis Oskarsdottir; Sound recordist:Brian Miksis. Cast: Julien:Ewen Bremner; Father:Werner Herzog; Pearl:Chloe Sevigny; Chris:Evan Neumann. No MPAA rating. Color/stereo. Running time -- 94 minutes.
- 10/5/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A solidly entertaining drama that stays true to the independent spirit of its filmmakers, including the casting of heavyweights Sylvester Stallone and Robert De Niro in less-than-glamorous roles, Miramax's "Cop Land" has a good shot at leggy boxoffice success based on upbeat word-of-mouth and critical support.
Writer-director James Mangold ("Heavy") wrangles an impressive cast working for scale -- including Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Janeane Garofalo, Peter Berg, Robert Patrick, Michael Rapaport and Annabella Sciorra -- and spins a compelling tale of cancerous corruption among a secretive group of New York's finest who have settled in the fictional New Jersey burg of Garrison.
Having gained some 40 pounds for the role, Stallone indeed looks chunky and plays the sleepy, docile Sheriff Freddy Heflin with sluggishness to spare in a largely commendable performance as a half-deaf small-town dreamer. With his sad, deputy-dog visage and muted delivery, Stallone is not given much in the way of memorable dialogue, but he makes the character work, and the climactic action sequence is one of his best in a long career of blowing away bad guys.
The kind of palooka who has yet to replace his LP of "The River" with a CD and carries a torch for the local Jersey girl (Sciorra) he saved from drowning -- the reason for his loss of hearing in one ear -- Freddy once longed to be a big-city cop but had to settle for policing them. As such, he has a mickey-mouse job in the safest place in America, as long as he keeps his mouth shut and doesn't pay too close attention.
In the fashion of a John Sayles film, Mangold peels back the veils of romance and myth and reveals the emotional extremes and cynical personal agendas of the group associated with town kingpin Ray (Keitel), the respected officer who first led the move of cops out of the city to Garrison and used his mob ties to make it happen. In the process, tough-guy Ray has had to cover up mistakes and eliminate problems.
A hard-charging internal affairs investigator (De Niro) has long suspected Ray of vigilante activities and worse, but his jurisdiction stops at the George Washington Bridge -- the site of a highway shooting involving a young NYPD hothead (Rapaport), who fakes his death rather than face criminal charges. When all signs point to Garrison as the safe haven for Rapaport's character, De Niro tries but initially fails to involve Freddy.
Loyal to Ray, but starting to listen to scheming loner cop Figgis (Liotta), Freddy gradually realizes that he doesn't like how the town has turned out. The suspicious death of Joey (Berg), the unfaithful husband of Sciorra's unhappy character, ups the stakes, but the investigation by De Niro has been abruptly terminated and Freddy's sharp new deputy (Garofalo) high-tails it out of town.
Threatened by Ray's volatile comrade (Patrick) but befriended by the former's wife (Cathy Moriarty), Freddy decides to take action and bring in Rapaport's character, which leads to a high-noon showdown with Ray and his goons. Throughout, Mangold and director of photography Eric Edwards keep the visual style restrained but effective.
With solid production design by Lester Cohen and costumes by Ellen Lutter, the editing by Craig McKay is also on the nose. Howard Shore's fine score is assisted by songs from Bruce Springsteen, Robert Cray and Boz Scaggs.
COP LAND
Miramax Films
A Woods Entertainment production
Writer-director James Mangold
Producers Cary Woods,
Cathy Konrad, Ezra Swerdlow
Executive producers Bob Weinstein,
Harvey Weinstein, Meryl Poster
Director of photography Eric Edwards
Editor Craig McKay
Production designer Lester Cohen
Costume designer Ellen Lutter
Music Howard Shore
Color/stereo
Cast:
Freddy Heflin Sylvester Stallone
Ray Donlan Harvey Keitel
Gary Figgis Ray Liotta
Moe Tilden Robert De Niro
Joey Randone Peter Berg
Deputy Cindy Betts Janeane Garofalo
Jack Rucker Robert Patrick
Murray Babitch Michael Rapaport
Liz Randone Annabella Sciorra
Rose Donlan Cathy Moriarty
Running time -- 105 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Writer-director James Mangold ("Heavy") wrangles an impressive cast working for scale -- including Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Janeane Garofalo, Peter Berg, Robert Patrick, Michael Rapaport and Annabella Sciorra -- and spins a compelling tale of cancerous corruption among a secretive group of New York's finest who have settled in the fictional New Jersey burg of Garrison.
Having gained some 40 pounds for the role, Stallone indeed looks chunky and plays the sleepy, docile Sheriff Freddy Heflin with sluggishness to spare in a largely commendable performance as a half-deaf small-town dreamer. With his sad, deputy-dog visage and muted delivery, Stallone is not given much in the way of memorable dialogue, but he makes the character work, and the climactic action sequence is one of his best in a long career of blowing away bad guys.
The kind of palooka who has yet to replace his LP of "The River" with a CD and carries a torch for the local Jersey girl (Sciorra) he saved from drowning -- the reason for his loss of hearing in one ear -- Freddy once longed to be a big-city cop but had to settle for policing them. As such, he has a mickey-mouse job in the safest place in America, as long as he keeps his mouth shut and doesn't pay too close attention.
In the fashion of a John Sayles film, Mangold peels back the veils of romance and myth and reveals the emotional extremes and cynical personal agendas of the group associated with town kingpin Ray (Keitel), the respected officer who first led the move of cops out of the city to Garrison and used his mob ties to make it happen. In the process, tough-guy Ray has had to cover up mistakes and eliminate problems.
A hard-charging internal affairs investigator (De Niro) has long suspected Ray of vigilante activities and worse, but his jurisdiction stops at the George Washington Bridge -- the site of a highway shooting involving a young NYPD hothead (Rapaport), who fakes his death rather than face criminal charges. When all signs point to Garrison as the safe haven for Rapaport's character, De Niro tries but initially fails to involve Freddy.
Loyal to Ray, but starting to listen to scheming loner cop Figgis (Liotta), Freddy gradually realizes that he doesn't like how the town has turned out. The suspicious death of Joey (Berg), the unfaithful husband of Sciorra's unhappy character, ups the stakes, but the investigation by De Niro has been abruptly terminated and Freddy's sharp new deputy (Garofalo) high-tails it out of town.
Threatened by Ray's volatile comrade (Patrick) but befriended by the former's wife (Cathy Moriarty), Freddy decides to take action and bring in Rapaport's character, which leads to a high-noon showdown with Ray and his goons. Throughout, Mangold and director of photography Eric Edwards keep the visual style restrained but effective.
With solid production design by Lester Cohen and costumes by Ellen Lutter, the editing by Craig McKay is also on the nose. Howard Shore's fine score is assisted by songs from Bruce Springsteen, Robert Cray and Boz Scaggs.
COP LAND
Miramax Films
A Woods Entertainment production
Writer-director James Mangold
Producers Cary Woods,
Cathy Konrad, Ezra Swerdlow
Executive producers Bob Weinstein,
Harvey Weinstein, Meryl Poster
Director of photography Eric Edwards
Editor Craig McKay
Production designer Lester Cohen
Costume designer Ellen Lutter
Music Howard Shore
Color/stereo
Cast:
Freddy Heflin Sylvester Stallone
Ray Donlan Harvey Keitel
Gary Figgis Ray Liotta
Moe Tilden Robert De Niro
Joey Randone Peter Berg
Deputy Cindy Betts Janeane Garofalo
Jack Rucker Robert Patrick
Murray Babitch Michael Rapaport
Liz Randone Annabella Sciorra
Rose Donlan Cathy Moriarty
Running time -- 105 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 8/11/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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