Sundance winner The Forty-Year-Old Version is a familiar story to anyone who hits the age of 40, as it makes one re-evaluate life and decide the next steps in one’s career and beyond. For the film’s writer, director and star Radha Blank, it was a personal story — and driven by adversity.
“It wasn’t something I thought hard about,” she says during the Netflix film’s panel at Deadline’s Contenders Film in regards to using her life as inspiration for the film. “It was more about the adversity in my life pushing me in this direction. I got fired from my first film-writing job and pretty much like my character, I wanted to take my voice back.”
She adds, “Making the film gave me an opportunity to tell a story about someone like me from my point of view while also celebrating my city and paying homage to...
“It wasn’t something I thought hard about,” she says during the Netflix film’s panel at Deadline’s Contenders Film in regards to using her life as inspiration for the film. “It was more about the adversity in my life pushing me in this direction. I got fired from my first film-writing job and pretty much like my character, I wanted to take my voice back.”
She adds, “Making the film gave me an opportunity to tell a story about someone like me from my point of view while also celebrating my city and paying homage to...
- 1/24/2021
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
The second day of Deadline’s Contenders Film kicks off Sunday at 8 a.m. Pt, returning after a big Day 1 on Saturday to complete a slate of 49 films from 16 studios and distributors, one that features a hugely impressive lineup of talent numbering 150 speakers over the course of the weekend for our annual awards-season event.
Click here to register and join the livestream, and follow along all day with coverage on Deadline as well as on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram via @Deadline and #DeadlineContenders. See the full schedule of panels below.
Due to obvious health and safety reasons, and following guidelines about gatherings set by the CDC, Contenders is going virtual, after success doing so starting with Contenders TV in the spring and then again with Contenders International and Contenders Documentary. It has boosted the global reach of the event, and although we miss seeing everyone in person, it has been...
Click here to register and join the livestream, and follow along all day with coverage on Deadline as well as on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram via @Deadline and #DeadlineContenders. See the full schedule of panels below.
Due to obvious health and safety reasons, and following guidelines about gatherings set by the CDC, Contenders is going virtual, after success doing so starting with Contenders TV in the spring and then again with Contenders International and Contenders Documentary. It has boosted the global reach of the event, and although we miss seeing everyone in person, it has been...
- 1/24/2021
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
The Sundance Institute is honoring “The Forty-Year-Old Version” filmmaker Radha Blank with the 2020 vanguard award.
The award honors the artistic achievement of her feature film directorial debut, “The Forty-Year-Old Version,” which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival — where it earned her a directing award — and was developed at the Institute’s Labs.
The Institute will hold a free special event to celebrate the award on Dec. 2, hosted on Sundance Collab. Octavia Spencer, who was an advisor to Blank at the Labs, will attend the event, which will include a conversation between Blank and 2019 vanguard award recipient Lulu Wang.
Sundance support for “The Forty-Year-Old Version” included development at the Screenwriters Lab, Directors Lab, Creative Producing Summit and Catalyst Forum. Blank recently received two Gotham Award nominations — for the Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award and best screenplay — and was named as one of Variety‘s 10 Directors to Watch in 2020.
Blank directed, wrote,...
The award honors the artistic achievement of her feature film directorial debut, “The Forty-Year-Old Version,” which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival — where it earned her a directing award — and was developed at the Institute’s Labs.
The Institute will hold a free special event to celebrate the award on Dec. 2, hosted on Sundance Collab. Octavia Spencer, who was an advisor to Blank at the Labs, will attend the event, which will include a conversation between Blank and 2019 vanguard award recipient Lulu Wang.
Sundance support for “The Forty-Year-Old Version” included development at the Screenwriters Lab, Directors Lab, Creative Producing Summit and Catalyst Forum. Blank recently received two Gotham Award nominations — for the Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award and best screenplay — and was named as one of Variety‘s 10 Directors to Watch in 2020.
Blank directed, wrote,...
- 11/19/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
The Sundance Institute is set to honor critically acclaimed multi-hyphenate Radha Blank with the 2020 Vanguard Award, which is given annually to an artist whose work highlights the art of storytelling and creative independence.
The award honors the artistic achievement of her feature film directorial debut The Forty-Year-Old Version, which bowed earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival and was developed by Blank at the Institute’s Labs.
To celebrate Blank’s achievement, Sundance Collab, a community platform for creators from around the world, will host a special event on December 2. The free event will feature Octavia Spencer, who was an advisor to Blank at the Labs, and a conversation between Blank and fellow Vanguard winner Lulu Wang (The Farewell), who received the honor in 2019.
“Radha’s singular vision, unique voice and comedic tone were immediately captivating,” said Sundance Feature Film Program Founding Director Michelle Satter. “We were proud to...
The award honors the artistic achievement of her feature film directorial debut The Forty-Year-Old Version, which bowed earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival and was developed by Blank at the Institute’s Labs.
To celebrate Blank’s achievement, Sundance Collab, a community platform for creators from around the world, will host a special event on December 2. The free event will feature Octavia Spencer, who was an advisor to Blank at the Labs, and a conversation between Blank and fellow Vanguard winner Lulu Wang (The Farewell), who received the honor in 2019.
“Radha’s singular vision, unique voice and comedic tone were immediately captivating,” said Sundance Feature Film Program Founding Director Michelle Satter. “We were proud to...
- 11/19/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Film financer-producer New Slate Ventures, which backed “The 40-Year-Old Version,” has raised $100 million for films, documentaries, and television programs.
The fund raise was announced Wednesday by Los Angeles-based private equity company Sinai Capital Partners, which also said its tech-focused venture capital firm Sinai Ventures has closed a $500 million fund.
Led by partners Jordan Fudge, Jeremy Allen and Zach White, the New Slate Ventures 2020 slate includes “The United States Vs. Billie Holiday,” directed and co-written by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Lee Daniels and starring singer Andra Day, Trevante Rhodes, and Garrett Hedlund; “Untitled Magic Johnson,” a documentary focused on the life and careers of NBA legend and entrepreneur Earvin Magic Johnson; and “The 24th,” directed and written by Kevin Willmott and starring Trai Byers which was an official selection at SXSW.
New Slate Ventures also is developing an untitled Michael Milken Limited Series, to be written by Terrence Winter. The fund said it...
The fund raise was announced Wednesday by Los Angeles-based private equity company Sinai Capital Partners, which also said its tech-focused venture capital firm Sinai Ventures has closed a $500 million fund.
Led by partners Jordan Fudge, Jeremy Allen and Zach White, the New Slate Ventures 2020 slate includes “The United States Vs. Billie Holiday,” directed and co-written by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Lee Daniels and starring singer Andra Day, Trevante Rhodes, and Garrett Hedlund; “Untitled Magic Johnson,” a documentary focused on the life and careers of NBA legend and entrepreneur Earvin Magic Johnson; and “The 24th,” directed and written by Kevin Willmott and starring Trai Byers which was an official selection at SXSW.
New Slate Ventures also is developing an untitled Michael Milken Limited Series, to be written by Terrence Winter. The fund said it...
- 11/18/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Tessa Thompson, Yara Shahidi, Storm Reid, Kelly McCreary, Oswin Benjamin and Lil’ Yachty will appear in the series finale Tuesday of Zoom Where It Happens, directed by Emmy, Tony and Golden Globe-winner Debbie Allen.
The live table read series, presented by Black women artists to raise awareness and activation around voting rights, will conclude with the sixth and final installment on October 27 at 6:00 Pm Pst/9:00 Pm Est in partnership with Zoom.
The episode will reimagine A Different World, with Allen costarring, Emmy nominee Stephanie Allain producing, and Shahidi serving as host.
In Tuesday’s episode, Thompson will play Kinu, McCreary will portray Whitley, Reid will play Freddie and Jaleesa, Allen will depict Adele, Benjamin will assume the role of Dwayne Wayne, and Lil Yachty will appear as Ron.
The production team of this series includes Thompson, Ryan Bathe, Aisha Hinds, Cynthia Erivo, Kerry Washington, Rashida Jones, Stefanie and Quentin James,...
The live table read series, presented by Black women artists to raise awareness and activation around voting rights, will conclude with the sixth and final installment on October 27 at 6:00 Pm Pst/9:00 Pm Est in partnership with Zoom.
The episode will reimagine A Different World, with Allen costarring, Emmy nominee Stephanie Allain producing, and Shahidi serving as host.
In Tuesday’s episode, Thompson will play Kinu, McCreary will portray Whitley, Reid will play Freddie and Jaleesa, Allen will depict Adele, Benjamin will assume the role of Dwayne Wayne, and Lil Yachty will appear as Ron.
The production team of this series includes Thompson, Ryan Bathe, Aisha Hinds, Cynthia Erivo, Kerry Washington, Rashida Jones, Stefanie and Quentin James,...
- 10/25/2020
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Filmmaker Garrett Bradley is known for tackling pressing issues facing the Black community with her work. Her documentary short America painted a portrait of how Black people are represented in American culture while Alone, investigated the impact of mass incarceration on the modern Black family through the eyes of a single mother in New Orleans. The latter won Bradley the Short Film Jury Award in non-fiction at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. She also served as the second unit director on Ava DuVernay’s When They See Us and directed of Queen Sugar. This weekend, the prolific filmmaker makes her way into theaters with her feature documentary debut Time.
The docu continues Bradley’s investigation of incarceration and its impact on the Black community as she follows Fox Rich, an entrepreneur, author, and mother of six who has spent the last 21 years fighting for the release of her husband, Rob, who...
The docu continues Bradley’s investigation of incarceration and its impact on the Black community as she follows Fox Rich, an entrepreneur, author, and mother of six who has spent the last 21 years fighting for the release of her husband, Rob, who...
- 10/9/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
After years of struggling on Broadway, the writer, actor and director takes aim at New York’s theatre establishment in her hit film The Forty-Year-Old Version
There’s a moment in The Forty-Year-Old Version when frustrated playwright Radha becomes so enraged by an elderly white theatre producer that she has to be physically prevented from throttling him. He has just suggested that, if she’s unwilling to put a white character at the heart of her play about the gentrification of Harlem, she might like to help out with a forthcoming musical about the 19th-century abolitionist Harriet Tubman instead.
It raises the question – how close is the film to the life of its director and star, Radha Blank, who has also spent decades beating at the door of New York’s predominantly white theatre establishment? “I have not actually choked a theatre producer… yet,” she says, “just like I’ve...
There’s a moment in The Forty-Year-Old Version when frustrated playwright Radha becomes so enraged by an elderly white theatre producer that she has to be physically prevented from throttling him. He has just suggested that, if she’s unwilling to put a white character at the heart of her play about the gentrification of Harlem, she might like to help out with a forthcoming musical about the 19th-century abolitionist Harriet Tubman instead.
It raises the question – how close is the film to the life of its director and star, Radha Blank, who has also spent decades beating at the door of New York’s predominantly white theatre establishment? “I have not actually choked a theatre producer… yet,” she says, “just like I’ve...
- 10/4/2020
- by Claire Armitstead
- The Guardian - Film News
"Go Radha!" Netflix has unveiled a trailer for The 40-Year-Old-Version, an excellent indie comedy that first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. The film is the directorial debut of Radha Blank, a writer from New York, who also writes and produces and stars. Radha plays a version of herself, a down-on-her-luck NY playwright, who is desperate for a breakthrough before 40. Reinventing herself as rapper "RadhaMUSPrime", she moves between hip hop and theater in order to find her true voice. Winner of the Directing Prize at Sundance, the film is "a fresh addition to the New York City slice-of-life canon shot in lush B&w 35mm, Blank's film is an ode to the unfulfilled, and those whose adversity gives them a one-of-a-kind story to tell." Also starring Peter Kim, Oswin Benjamin, Imani Lewis, Haskiri Velazquez, Antonio Ortiz, Tj Atoms, Jacob Ming Trent, Stacey Sargeant, with Reed Birney. One...
- 8/26/2020
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Radha Blank overcomes failure as a playwright by reinventing herself as a rapper in Netflix’s first trailer for “The Forty-Year-Old Version.”
The footage starts with Blank teaching a playwriting class in New York City as one of “30 under 30 Playwrights to Watch.”
“Remember, if you put in nothing, it will be nothing,” she tells her students. In true New Yorker fashion, one of them snarkily asks, “Like your career?”
Blank, who won the U.S. dramatic competition directing award at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, helmed from her own script about a down-on-her-luck New York playwright who decides to salvage her artistic voice the only way she knows how — by becoming a rapper at age 40.
“What about me doing hip-hop?” she asks her friend, portrayed by Peter Kim. “Doing what to it?” he responds.
“The Forty-Year-Old Version” also stars rapper Oswin Benjamin, who makes his feature film acting debut, along with Imani Lewis,...
The footage starts with Blank teaching a playwriting class in New York City as one of “30 under 30 Playwrights to Watch.”
“Remember, if you put in nothing, it will be nothing,” she tells her students. In true New Yorker fashion, one of them snarkily asks, “Like your career?”
Blank, who won the U.S. dramatic competition directing award at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, helmed from her own script about a down-on-her-luck New York playwright who decides to salvage her artistic voice the only way she knows how — by becoming a rapper at age 40.
“What about me doing hip-hop?” she asks her friend, portrayed by Peter Kim. “Doing what to it?” he responds.
“The Forty-Year-Old Version” also stars rapper Oswin Benjamin, who makes his feature film acting debut, along with Imani Lewis,...
- 8/26/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Radha Blank is a failed playwright who turns to rapping in The Forty-Year-Old Version, out October 9th on Netflix.
Shot in black-and-white 35mm, the trailer opens with Radha, formerly one of Spotlight Magazine‘s “30 under 30 Playwrights to Watch,” teaching a playwrighting class in New York City. “Remember, if you put in nothing, it will be nothing,” she tells her students, to which one retorts, “Like your career?”
As she approaches 40, Radha has several hilarious encounters with white men who question her failed career and inquire what happened to her. She...
Shot in black-and-white 35mm, the trailer opens with Radha, formerly one of Spotlight Magazine‘s “30 under 30 Playwrights to Watch,” teaching a playwrighting class in New York City. “Remember, if you put in nothing, it will be nothing,” she tells her students, to which one retorts, “Like your career?”
As she approaches 40, Radha has several hilarious encounters with white men who question her failed career and inquire what happened to her. She...
- 8/26/2020
- by Angie Martoccio
- Rollingstone.com
Netflix’s upcoming movie slate includes major new offerings from top directors like Charlie Kaufman (“I’m Thinking of Ending Things”), David Fincher (“Mank”), and Ron Howard (“Hillbilly Elegy”), but it also includes a Sundance gem from breakout first-time filmmaker Radha Blank. This gem is “The Forty-Year-Old Version,” which won Blank the Best Director prize at Sundance earlier this year. Blank stars in the film as a variation of herself opposite a cast of mostly new faces, including Peter Kim, Oswin Benjamin, Imani Lewis, and Haskiri Velazquez. Tony winner Reed Birney also stars, while Lena Waithe is attached to the film as one of its producers.
The official synopsis for “The Forty-Year-Old Version” from Netflix reads: “Radha, a down-on-her-luck NY playwright, is desperate for a breakthrough before 40. But when she foils what seems like her last shot at success, she’s left with no choice but to reinvent herself as rapper RadhaMUSPrime.
The official synopsis for “The Forty-Year-Old Version” from Netflix reads: “Radha, a down-on-her-luck NY playwright, is desperate for a breakthrough before 40. But when she foils what seems like her last shot at success, she’s left with no choice but to reinvent herself as rapper RadhaMUSPrime.
- 8/26/2020
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
One of the darlings out of this year’s Sundance was “The Forty-Year-Old Version,” written, directed and starring newcomer Radha Blank about a 40-year-old playwright who turns to rapping after her career has stagnated.
The movie won the dramatic directing award for Blank at Sundance, and after the film was picked up by Netflix, it served as her own discovery story. In her rapping, she finds new life and a voice that should make even the millennials sit up and take notice.
“Why my skin so dry, why am I yawning right now, why those AARP n—ers sending s— to my house, this is 40,” she raps. She’s got some flow, but the movie finds some humor in the blank stares she gets when she tells people that she needs some “beats” and “tracks” and wants to make this a thing.
Also Read: 'The 40-Year-Old Version' Film Review: Radha...
The movie won the dramatic directing award for Blank at Sundance, and after the film was picked up by Netflix, it served as her own discovery story. In her rapping, she finds new life and a voice that should make even the millennials sit up and take notice.
“Why my skin so dry, why am I yawning right now, why those AARP n—ers sending s— to my house, this is 40,” she raps. She’s got some flow, but the movie finds some humor in the blank stares she gets when she tells people that she needs some “beats” and “tracks” and wants to make this a thing.
Also Read: 'The 40-Year-Old Version' Film Review: Radha...
- 8/26/2020
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Netflix has launched a new trailer for ‘The Forty-Year-Old Version’, the winner of the 2020 Sundance Film Festival directing prize.
Radha, a down-on-her-luck NY playwright, is desperate for a breakthrough before 40. But when she foils what seems like her last shot at success, she’s left with no choice but to reinvent herself as rapper RadhaMUSPrime. The Forty-Year-Old Version follows Radha as she vacillates between the worlds of Hip Hop and theatre on a quest to find her true voice.
Written and directed by Radha Blank, the film stars Blank, Peter Kim, Oswin Benjamin, Imani Lewis, Haskiri Velazquez, Antonio Ortiz, Tj Atoms, Jacob Ming Trent, Stacey Sargeant, William Oliver Watkins, Meghan O’Neill, André Ward, Welker White, with Reed Birney.
Also in trailers – Second trailer dropped for Ridley Scott’s sci-fi series ‘Raised By Wolves’
The film hits Netflix October 9th
The post Netflix drop new trailer for ‘The Forty-Year-Old Version’ appeared first on HeyUGuys.
Radha, a down-on-her-luck NY playwright, is desperate for a breakthrough before 40. But when she foils what seems like her last shot at success, she’s left with no choice but to reinvent herself as rapper RadhaMUSPrime. The Forty-Year-Old Version follows Radha as she vacillates between the worlds of Hip Hop and theatre on a quest to find her true voice.
Written and directed by Radha Blank, the film stars Blank, Peter Kim, Oswin Benjamin, Imani Lewis, Haskiri Velazquez, Antonio Ortiz, Tj Atoms, Jacob Ming Trent, Stacey Sargeant, William Oliver Watkins, Meghan O’Neill, André Ward, Welker White, with Reed Birney.
Also in trailers – Second trailer dropped for Ridley Scott’s sci-fi series ‘Raised By Wolves’
The film hits Netflix October 9th
The post Netflix drop new trailer for ‘The Forty-Year-Old Version’ appeared first on HeyUGuys.
- 8/26/2020
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Netflix has made official what Deadline first reported last Friday: The streaming giant has acquired global rights to Radha Blank’s Sundance premiere The 40-Year-Old Version which won the festival’s Directing Award-u.S. Dramatic last weekend.
A theatrical release is being planned for later this year. Deadline first reported that the deal is in the mid-to-high seven figures.
Netflix In Talks To Acquire Radha Blank’s ‘The 40-Year-Old Version
“It took years of trying to get this film made. It’s my love letter to NY and its struggling artists as well as the NY artistic institutions that raised me – Hip Hop and Theater. I made this film in the spirit of the great NY auteurs who came before me but from an angle not often seen. I’m so very proud of the artisans, many from New York, who helped me craft this movie with such loving and capable hands.
A theatrical release is being planned for later this year. Deadline first reported that the deal is in the mid-to-high seven figures.
Netflix In Talks To Acquire Radha Blank’s ‘The 40-Year-Old Version
“It took years of trying to get this film made. It’s my love letter to NY and its struggling artists as well as the NY artistic institutions that raised me – Hip Hop and Theater. I made this film in the spirit of the great NY auteurs who came before me but from an angle not often seen. I’m so very proud of the artisans, many from New York, who helped me craft this movie with such loving and capable hands.
- 2/5/2020
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Playwright Radha Blank’s spirited directorial debut The 40-Year-Old Version in an often hilarious and heartfelt autobiographical tale of reinvention. Surrounded in a shoebox apartment of memories of her past including 30 Under 30 Awards, Blank plays herself, a playwright who is faced with two options for her new play Harlem Ave: a local family theater or a flashier off-Broadway venue with a hole in their schedule. Best friend Archie (Peter Y. Kim) convinces her to get dressed up and court Josh Whitman (a scene-stealing Reed Birney) who has just come away from producing a bi-racial reboot of Austin Wilson’s Fences. Whitman is known for producing “safe, white-friendly” black stories and after getting physically choked by Blank, he relents and agrees to put on a production of Harlem Ave.
Meanwhile, Blank struggles again for reinvention, finding herself in a 40-year-old body with the mind of her 20-year-old self. She’s hit...
Meanwhile, Blank struggles again for reinvention, finding herself in a 40-year-old body with the mind of her 20-year-old self. She’s hit...
- 2/4/2020
- by John Fink
- The Film Stage
Netflix is in negotiations to buy the worldwide rights to Radha Blank’s semi-autobiographical comedy “The 40-Year-Old Version,” sources have confirmed.
Blank directed, wrote, produced and stars in “The 40-Year-Old Version,” which premiered on Jan. 25 at the Sundance Film Festival. Peter Y. Kim, Oswin Benjamin, Reed Birney, Imani Lewis, Tj Atoms and Jacob Ming-Trent also star.
Blank portrays a down-on-her-luck New York playwright who decides to reinvent herself and salvage her artistic voice the only way she knows how — by becoming a rapper at age 40. This film follow its protagonist as she vacillates between the worlds of New York’s theater and hip-hop.
The film was shot on 35mm black and white film by cinematographer Eric Branco. “The 40-Year-Old Version” was selected for development at Sundance’s 2017 Screenwriters and Directors labs.
Besides Blank, producers include Lena Waithe, Jordan Fudge, Inuka Bacote-Capiga, Jennifer Semler and Rishi Rajani. Endeavor Content is handling sales.
Blank directed, wrote, produced and stars in “The 40-Year-Old Version,” which premiered on Jan. 25 at the Sundance Film Festival. Peter Y. Kim, Oswin Benjamin, Reed Birney, Imani Lewis, Tj Atoms and Jacob Ming-Trent also star.
Blank portrays a down-on-her-luck New York playwright who decides to reinvent herself and salvage her artistic voice the only way she knows how — by becoming a rapper at age 40. This film follow its protagonist as she vacillates between the worlds of New York’s theater and hip-hop.
The film was shot on 35mm black and white film by cinematographer Eric Branco. “The 40-Year-Old Version” was selected for development at Sundance’s 2017 Screenwriters and Directors labs.
Besides Blank, producers include Lena Waithe, Jordan Fudge, Inuka Bacote-Capiga, Jennifer Semler and Rishi Rajani. Endeavor Content is handling sales.
- 2/1/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Netflix is closing a world rights deal between mid- to high-seven figures for The 40-Year-Old-Version, the crowd-pleasing directorial debut of Radha Blank, who also stars in the film, wrote the script and produced with Lena Waithe, Jordan Fudge, Inuka Bacote-Capiga, Jennifer Semler and Rishi Rajani. The film is competing in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival, and it premiered last Saturday at the Library Theatre.
Loosely inspired by events in Blank’s life, a once-promising playwright is barreling toward the stigma of being single and a struggling artist at the age of 40. Facing nonstop rejections from the theatre community while teaching a motley group of teens, she becomes creatively re-invigorated when she returns to rapping, her long-forgotten passion. When her play finally gets going, however, she puts recording a rap demo on the back burner and must navigate the awful tension of compromising her voice for career success.
Loosely inspired by events in Blank’s life, a once-promising playwright is barreling toward the stigma of being single and a struggling artist at the age of 40. Facing nonstop rejections from the theatre community while teaching a motley group of teens, she becomes creatively re-invigorated when she returns to rapping, her long-forgotten passion. When her play finally gets going, however, she puts recording a rap demo on the back burner and must navigate the awful tension of compromising her voice for career success.
- 2/1/2020
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
In Radha Blank’s semi-autobiographical comedy, the quadruple-threat plays “Rahda Blank,” a Harlem-based playwright who faces many of the same struggles and setbacks as her creator.
It’s been more than a decade since Radha (as we’ll call the character) earned a promising “30 Under 30” award, and now, instead of getting her work produced, she’s teaching drama to half a dozen high school students. Tastemakers are constantly looking for the hot new thing, but all these years later, where they once spotted potential, her momentum appears to have stalled. In her frustration, Radha starts to rhyme, and the resulting raps are more honest than what she’d been writing for the stage. Her question: Is the world ready for “The 40-Year-Old Version”?
Judging by writer-director Blank’s mic-drop debut, the answer’s most assuredly affirmative. It’s affirmational, too, but not in a watered-down or obsequious kind of way.
It’s been more than a decade since Radha (as we’ll call the character) earned a promising “30 Under 30” award, and now, instead of getting her work produced, she’s teaching drama to half a dozen high school students. Tastemakers are constantly looking for the hot new thing, but all these years later, where they once spotted potential, her momentum appears to have stalled. In her frustration, Radha starts to rhyme, and the resulting raps are more honest than what she’d been writing for the stage. Her question: Is the world ready for “The 40-Year-Old Version”?
Judging by writer-director Blank’s mic-drop debut, the answer’s most assuredly affirmative. It’s affirmational, too, but not in a watered-down or obsequious kind of way.
- 1/26/2020
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
According to most platitudes, your 20s are for experimenting, you’re more grounded in your 30s, and by the time you hit 40, you’ve pretty much settled into who you are as a person. Maybe so many people scoff at these ubiquitous Instagram bromides because they often induce a sense of anxiety about where you should be in your life and when. That anxiety certainly fuels writer-director-producer-star Radha Blank’s delightfully earnest new film, “The 40-Year-Old Version.”
The filmmaker plays (presumably) a version of herself as she borrows her own name for the character, a playwright barreling toward age 40 and no closer to a successful career or a stable personal life than she was at 20. Known for once producing a play with modest acclaim back in the day, Radha now teaches a theater workshop for similarly adrift black and brown youth in Harlem. And like so many single women of...
The filmmaker plays (presumably) a version of herself as she borrows her own name for the character, a playwright barreling toward age 40 and no closer to a successful career or a stable personal life than she was at 20. Known for once producing a play with modest acclaim back in the day, Radha now teaches a theater workshop for similarly adrift black and brown youth in Harlem. And like so many single women of...
- 1/26/2020
- by Candice Frederick
- The Wrap
The essence of “The 40-Year-Old Version” comes early, when Radha Blank, playing a fictionalized version of herself, sobs in the corner of her apartment. A soggy rib dangles from one hand as her large frame melts into her chair. “I just wanna be an artist!” she cries, touching on the legitimate anxieties of the black woman at its center, and poking fun at them at the same time. Much about Blank’s smart and funny crowdpleasing directorial debut negotiates that tricky balance, with
Shot throughout New York with gorgeous black-and-white photography (by “Clemency” cinematographer Eric Branco), “The 40-Year-Old Version” always feels close to the ground, with Blank’s uneven path to writing a new play — and finding unexpected catharsis in hip hop — taking a series of entertaining twists. At 129 minutes, the lighthearted format risks growing stale, and certainly could have shaved off some perfunctory scenes. But Blank is so adroit...
Shot throughout New York with gorgeous black-and-white photography (by “Clemency” cinematographer Eric Branco), “The 40-Year-Old Version” always feels close to the ground, with Blank’s uneven path to writing a new play — and finding unexpected catharsis in hip hop — taking a series of entertaining twists. At 129 minutes, the lighthearted format risks growing stale, and certainly could have shaved off some perfunctory scenes. But Blank is so adroit...
- 1/26/2020
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
The 2020 Sundance Film Festival has broken a record weeks before it begins: Of the 16 films in Dramatic Competition, seven tell stories primarily about the lives of black characters: “The 40-Year-Old Version,” “Charm City Kings,” “Farewell Amor,” “Miss Juneteenth,” “Nine Days,” “Sylvie’s Love” and “Zola.”
Surveying the last 30 years of Sundance, there’s usually been at least one in-competition film with black leads. In 1992 and 1989, there was one black film in competition, while 1993 had two. But prior to 2020, there had never been more than five.
Black filmmakers saw a renaissance in the late ’80s and early ’90s, a period that introduced Spike Lee, Wendell B. Harris Jr, Robert Townsend, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Julie Dash, Matty Rich, the Hudlin Brothers, Leslie Harris, and others. Some of their films premiered and competed at Sundance, but even then they never composed a significant presence.
Between 1989 and 1993, a total of 10 films with black leads...
Surveying the last 30 years of Sundance, there’s usually been at least one in-competition film with black leads. In 1992 and 1989, there was one black film in competition, while 1993 had two. But prior to 2020, there had never been more than five.
Black filmmakers saw a renaissance in the late ’80s and early ’90s, a period that introduced Spike Lee, Wendell B. Harris Jr, Robert Townsend, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Julie Dash, Matty Rich, the Hudlin Brothers, Leslie Harris, and others. Some of their films premiered and competed at Sundance, but even then they never composed a significant presence.
Between 1989 and 1993, a total of 10 films with black leads...
- 12/5/2019
- by Tambay Obenson
- Indiewire
Never Rarely Sometimes AlwaysU.S. Dramatic COMPETITIONThe 40-Year-Old Version (Radha Blank, USA): A down-on-her-luck New York playwright decides to reinvent herself and salvage her artistic voice the only way she knows how: by becoming a rapper at age 40. Cast: Radha Blank, Peter Kim, Oswin Benjamin, Reed Birney, Imani Lewis, T.J. Atoms. World PremiereBLAST Beat (Esteban Arango, USA): After their family emigrates from Colombia during the summer of ‘99, a metalhead science prodigy and his deviant younger brother do their best to adapt to new lives in America. Cast: Moises Arias, Mateo Arias, Daniel Dae Kim, Kali Uchis, Diane Guerrero, Wilmer Valderrama. World PremiereCharm City Kings (Angel Manuel Soto, USA): Mouse desperately wants to join The Midnight Clique, the infamous Baltimore dirt bike riders who rule the summertime streets. When Midnight’s leader, Blax, takes 14-year-old Mouse under his wing, Mouse soon finds himself torn between the straight-and-narrow and...
- 12/5/2019
- MUBI
The feature film lineup at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival has been unveiled, featuring 118 films. Among the highly-anticipated premieres we have Josephine Decker’s Shirley, Miranda July’s Kajillionaire, Eliza Hittman’s Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Janicza Bravo’s Zola, Kirsten Johnson’s Dick Johnson Is Dead, Brandon Cronenberg’s Possessor, Julie Taymor’s The Glorias, Dee Rees’ The Last Thing He Wanted, Sean Durkin’s The Nest, Michael Almereyda’s Tesla, Benh Zeitlin’s Wendy, and more.
Check out the list below and return for our coverage from January 23-February 2, 2020.
U.S. Dramatic Competition
Presenting the world premieres of 16 narrative feature films, the Dramatic Competition offers Festivalgoers a first look at groundbreaking new voices in American independent film. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include The Farewell, Honey Boy, Clemency, Eighth Grade, Sorry to Bother You and The Miseducation of Cameron Post. 47% of the directors in this year’s U.
Check out the list below and return for our coverage from January 23-February 2, 2020.
U.S. Dramatic Competition
Presenting the world premieres of 16 narrative feature films, the Dramatic Competition offers Festivalgoers a first look at groundbreaking new voices in American independent film. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include The Farewell, Honey Boy, Clemency, Eighth Grade, Sorry to Bother You and The Miseducation of Cameron Post. 47% of the directors in this year’s U.
- 12/4/2019
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Robert Redford may have declared this year that he’s stepping back from the Sundance Film Festival, but it turns out the semi-retired Oscar winner will be back on screen at the Utah jamboree kicking off next month.
In a jam-packed lineup of 118 films, Redford’s Omniboat: A Fast Boat Fantasia star joins Riley Keough, multiple films from Lena Waithe, Colman Domingo, Daniel Dae Kim, Walking Dead alum Steven Yeun, Joker actor Zazie Beetz, Veep’s Tony Hale, rocker Gary Clark and rapper Meek Mill at the festival, which runs January 23–February 2 in Park City. (See the full lists below.)
Also with films in the Sundance lineup unveiled today are Angelina Jolie, David Oyelowo, the iconic Michael Caine, Sienna Miller, Diego Luna, Marvel regular Tessa Thompson, Eva Longoria, frequent Sundancer and Handmaid’s Tale lead Elisabeth Moss, Toni Collette, Billions’ Damian Lewis, Andy Samberg and Oscar winner J.K. Simmons.
Today...
In a jam-packed lineup of 118 films, Redford’s Omniboat: A Fast Boat Fantasia star joins Riley Keough, multiple films from Lena Waithe, Colman Domingo, Daniel Dae Kim, Walking Dead alum Steven Yeun, Joker actor Zazie Beetz, Veep’s Tony Hale, rocker Gary Clark and rapper Meek Mill at the festival, which runs January 23–February 2 in Park City. (See the full lists below.)
Also with films in the Sundance lineup unveiled today are Angelina Jolie, David Oyelowo, the iconic Michael Caine, Sienna Miller, Diego Luna, Marvel regular Tessa Thompson, Eva Longoria, frequent Sundancer and Handmaid’s Tale lead Elisabeth Moss, Toni Collette, Billions’ Damian Lewis, Andy Samberg and Oscar winner J.K. Simmons.
Today...
- 12/4/2019
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
Record submissions yield selections from 27 countries.
The Fox Searchlight pair of Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts Of The Southern Wild follow-up Wendy and Force Majeure remake Downhill will join Focus Features’ Carey Mulligan drama Promising Young Woman and Ai Weiwei’s latest documentary Vivos in the 118-strong selection of features announced for the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.
The line-up, unveiled on Wednesday (December 4) includes Dear White People director Justin Simien’s return to Park City with Bad Hair, Julianne Moore as feminist icon Gloria Steinem in Julie Taymor’s The Glorias, and Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman in The Father.
Documentarian Liz Garbus...
The Fox Searchlight pair of Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts Of The Southern Wild follow-up Wendy and Force Majeure remake Downhill will join Focus Features’ Carey Mulligan drama Promising Young Woman and Ai Weiwei’s latest documentary Vivos in the 118-strong selection of features announced for the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.
The line-up, unveiled on Wednesday (December 4) includes Dear White People director Justin Simien’s return to Park City with Bad Hair, Julianne Moore as feminist icon Gloria Steinem in Julie Taymor’s The Glorias, and Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman in The Father.
Documentarian Liz Garbus...
- 12/4/2019
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
The Sundance Institute announced its full lineup for the 2020 Sundance Film Festival on Wednesday, which includes films like “Nine Days,” starring Winston Duke and Zazie Beetz, and “Downhill,” starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell, as well as documentaries about Bruce Lee, Taylor Swift and Pepe the Frog.
Other films that will be heading to Park City, Utah in January include “Shirley”, “Sylvie’s Love”, “Tesla”, “Us Kids,” about the Parkland shooting, “Omniboat: A Fast Boat Fantasia”, “Spree”, “Dream Horse”, “Four Good Days”, “The Glorias”, “The Last Thing He Wanted”, and “Wendy,” directed by Benh Zeitlin. The Closing Night film will be “Falling,” directed and written by Viggo Mortensen.
The Sundance Film Festival announced a total of 188 feature films for next year’s festival, drawing from a record high of 15,100 submissions from 27 countries. Additionally, 44 first-time filmmakers will bring their work to the festival. Of the 65 directors in all four competition categories,...
Other films that will be heading to Park City, Utah in January include “Shirley”, “Sylvie’s Love”, “Tesla”, “Us Kids,” about the Parkland shooting, “Omniboat: A Fast Boat Fantasia”, “Spree”, “Dream Horse”, “Four Good Days”, “The Glorias”, “The Last Thing He Wanted”, and “Wendy,” directed by Benh Zeitlin. The Closing Night film will be “Falling,” directed and written by Viggo Mortensen.
The Sundance Film Festival announced a total of 188 feature films for next year’s festival, drawing from a record high of 15,100 submissions from 27 countries. Additionally, 44 first-time filmmakers will bring their work to the festival. Of the 65 directors in all four competition categories,...
- 12/4/2019
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Wrap
Lena Waithe is producing Radha Blank’s comedy “The 40-Year-Old Version,” Variety has learned.
Blank is directing from her own script about a down-on-her-luck New York playwright who decides to reinvent herself and salvage her artistic voice the only way she knows how — by becoming a rapper at age 40. This film follow its protagonist as she vacillates between the worlds of New York’s theater and hip hop scenes, places where a black woman’s voice is still often marginalized. Production is currently underway in New York City.
“The 40-Year-Old Version” also stars Peter Kim and hip hop performer Oswin Benjamin, who makes his feature film acting debut. The film will be shot almost entirely on 35mm black and white film by cinematographer Eric Branco, who shot “Clemency,” which won the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance film Festival this year. “The 40-Year-Old Version” was selected for...
Blank is directing from her own script about a down-on-her-luck New York playwright who decides to reinvent herself and salvage her artistic voice the only way she knows how — by becoming a rapper at age 40. This film follow its protagonist as she vacillates between the worlds of New York’s theater and hip hop scenes, places where a black woman’s voice is still often marginalized. Production is currently underway in New York City.
“The 40-Year-Old Version” also stars Peter Kim and hip hop performer Oswin Benjamin, who makes his feature film acting debut. The film will be shot almost entirely on 35mm black and white film by cinematographer Eric Branco, who shot “Clemency,” which won the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance film Festival this year. “The 40-Year-Old Version” was selected for...
- 8/5/2019
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
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