When Greta Gerwig’s already-lauded “Lady Bird” hits limited release later this week, the actress-writer-director will join a long line of other female filmmakers who used their directorial debut (this one is Gerwig’s solo directorial debut, just for clarity’s sake) to not only launch their careers, but make a huge mark while doing it. Gerwig’s Saoirse Ronan-starring coming-of-age tale is an instant classic, and one that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone who has enjoyed Gerwig’s charming work as a screenwriter in recent years, bolstered by her ear for dialogue and her love of complicated and complex leading ladies.
While Hollywood still lags when it comes to offering up opportunities to its most talented female filmmakers, many of them have overcome the dismal stats to deliver compelling, interesting, and unique first features. In short, they’re good filmmakers who made good movies,...
While Hollywood still lags when it comes to offering up opportunities to its most talented female filmmakers, many of them have overcome the dismal stats to deliver compelling, interesting, and unique first features. In short, they’re good filmmakers who made good movies,...
- 11/1/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit platforms. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.
Before I Fall (Ry Russo-Young)
Harold Ramis certainly didn’t invent it, but his Groundhog Day made the narrative loop device a mainstream mainstay, lovingly aped in everything from Source Code to Edge of Tomorrow to 50 First Dates. In Before I Fall, the loop treatment is utilized rather intelligently by director Ry Russo-Young, from Maria Maggenti screenplay adapted from Lauren Oliver‘s novel. – Dan M. (full review)
Where to Stream: Amazon,...
Before I Fall (Ry Russo-Young)
Harold Ramis certainly didn’t invent it, but his Groundhog Day made the narrative loop device a mainstream mainstay, lovingly aped in everything from Source Code to Edge of Tomorrow to 50 First Dates. In Before I Fall, the loop treatment is utilized rather intelligently by director Ry Russo-Young, from Maria Maggenti screenplay adapted from Lauren Oliver‘s novel. – Dan M. (full review)
Where to Stream: Amazon,...
- 5/19/2017
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
There’s a rodeo that takes place early in “Lovesong,” the latest feature from director So Yong Kim (“In Between Days”). There’s also a years-long dance of unrealized love between two young women. But this is no lesbian “Brokeback Mountain.” The former detail is mostly incidental, and the love story — more pronounced longing than announced intent — is the quietly heartbreaking sort, depicted as more of a wishful dream than anything else. Of course, all of this suits Kim’s delicate objectives perfectly, and if there’s a cinematic cousin to this sensitive, sorrowful film, it’s “Moonlight.” Sarah (Riley Keough) is a young.
- 2/18/2017
- by Dave White
- The Wrap
A 25 New Face from 2006, So Yong Kim’s Lovesong premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2016 and opens today in New York from Strand Releasing. The below interview was originally published during the film’s Sundance premiere. While continuing to make subtle, emotional, character-based stories, So Yong Kim’s cinema has been one of change and evolution. Her debut feature, 2006’s In Between Days, spent several days surveying the burgeoning first love of two Korean teenagers living in Toronto. Largely filmed in Korean, and shot on a micro budget with non actors, the film landed Kim on our 25 New […]...
- 2/17/2017
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
While Sundance Film Festival 2017 is right around the corner, there’s still a handful of favorites from last year’s festival awaiting a release. One of the most acclaimed is So Yong Kim’s tender drama Lovesong, recently named one of the 50 best films from 2017 we’ve already seen. Starring Jena Malone (The Neon Demon) and Riley Keough (American Honey) as friends who reunite years later, Strand Releasing has now debuted the first trailer, which features a quote from our Sundance review.
We said in our review, “Tender and haunting, So Yong Kim’s Lovesong is a carefully observed, nuanced character study beautifully written, directed and edited. Much of the action, like in her pervious features In Between Days, Treeless Mountain and For Ellen occurs at the edge of the frame. Exploring the bounds of motherhood, childhood and maturity, Lovesong is an impressive and observant feature in which Kim allows...
We said in our review, “Tender and haunting, So Yong Kim’s Lovesong is a carefully observed, nuanced character study beautifully written, directed and edited. Much of the action, like in her pervious features In Between Days, Treeless Mountain and For Ellen occurs at the edge of the frame. Exploring the bounds of motherhood, childhood and maturity, Lovesong is an impressive and observant feature in which Kim allows...
- 1/4/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
All caught up with our top 50 films of 2016? It’s now time to look to the new year, and, ahead of our 100 most-anticipated films, we’re highlighting 50 titles we’ve enjoyed on the festival circuit this last year (and beyond) that will likely see a release in 2016. While the first batch have confirmed dates all the way through the summer, we’ve also included a handful that are awaiting a date and some we’re hopeful will get a release by year’s end pending acquisition. U.S. distributors: take note!
Staying Vertical (Alain Guiraudie; Jan. 20)
Those only familiar with Alain Guiraudie’s sublime Stranger By the Lake, which finally brought the gifted French director to a (relatively) wider audience following a laureled Un Certain Regard premiere in 2013, will likely find themselves confounded by its follow-up, Staying Vertical. With his first entry in Cannes’ main competition, Guiraudie returns to the...
Staying Vertical (Alain Guiraudie; Jan. 20)
Those only familiar with Alain Guiraudie’s sublime Stranger By the Lake, which finally brought the gifted French director to a (relatively) wider audience following a laureled Un Certain Regard premiere in 2013, will likely find themselves confounded by its follow-up, Staying Vertical. With his first entry in Cannes’ main competition, Guiraudie returns to the...
- 1/4/2017
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Tender and haunting, So Yong Kim’s Lovesong is a carefully observed, nuanced character study beautifully written, directed and edited. Much of the action, like in her pervious features In Between Days, Treeless Mountain and For Ellen occurs at the edge of the frame. Exploring the bounds of motherhood, childhood and maturity, Lovesong is an impressive and observant feature in which Kim allows the relationships the breathing room they require for authenticity.
Riley Keough stars as Sarah, a young mother who married too young. The director’s own daughters Jessie Ok Gray and Sky Ok Gray, play daughter Jessie at ages 3 and 6, respectively. Lonely and transplanted to the suburbs from the city by her absent husband Dean (played by filmmaker Cary Joji Fukunaga in a Skype cameo), she finds herself on the edge of depression. An old college friend Mindy (Jena Malone) re-enters her life and the three go on...
Riley Keough stars as Sarah, a young mother who married too young. The director’s own daughters Jessie Ok Gray and Sky Ok Gray, play daughter Jessie at ages 3 and 6, respectively. Lonely and transplanted to the suburbs from the city by her absent husband Dean (played by filmmaker Cary Joji Fukunaga in a Skype cameo), she finds herself on the edge of depression. An old college friend Mindy (Jena Malone) re-enters her life and the three go on...
- 1/30/2016
- by John Fink
- The Film Stage
While continuing to make subtle, emotional, character-based stories, So Yong Kim’s cinema has been one of change and evolution. Her debut feature, 2006’s In Between Days, spent several days surveying the burgeoning first love of two Korean teenagers living in Toronto. Largely filmed in Korean, and shot on a micro budget with non actors, the film landed Kim on our 25 New Faces list. Speaking to S.T. Van Airsdale for Filmmaker, Kim said of her future career, ““I don’t see myself making big-statement films, because I don’t think that’s something I can do. I just try to find some sort […]...
- 1/29/2016
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Continuing their support for women directors, Horizon Award co-founding producers Cassian Elwes, Lynette Howell Taylor, and Christine Vachon, announced the winners of the second annual Horizon Award. Academy Award nominee Chloë Sevigny will bestow up-and-coming filmmakers Macarena Gaona, Juliette Gosselin, Shanice Malakai Johnson, and Florence Pelletier with the Horizon Award at a reception in Park City, Utah, with creative talent, producers, entertainment executives and media in attendance to celebrate these rising women directors and their achievements in independent filmmaking.
The Horizon Award ceremony and reception will take place on Sunday, January 24th, 2016 at 6:30 pm at the WireImage Portrait Studio at Village at the Lift (825 Main Street, Park City), co-hosted by Jeff Vespa.
The Horizon Award is an annual award that seeks to identify and mentor talented, up-and-coming female directors – the primary goal being to support women directors early enough in their development to help them overcome the hurdles in advancing their learning curve and careers.
In addition to the Horizon Award, the four winners will receive grants from the Adrienne Shelly Foundation. The Foundation supports the artistic achievements of female filmmakers through a series of grants that reflect Adrienne Shelly’s dedication to the art of filmmaking and her own successful transition from actress to filmmaker.
This year’s winners are:
Horizon Award First Place
Juliette Gosselin (University of Quebec in Montreal) & Florence Pelletier (Concordia University, Montreal)
Co-directors of "Mes Anges à Tête Noire"
Horizon Award Runners-Up
Macarena (Macqui) Gaona (New York University) Director of "Channel 999 and Channel 1000"
Shanice Malakai Johnson (Scottsdale Community College) Director of "End to the Suffering"
On making the announcement, Cassian Elwes said: “I’m so excited to announce the winners of the second annual Horizon Award. This year’s overwhelming number of submissions and caliber of work made it very hard indeed to pick just one winner – the jury identified one grand prize winner, and two runners-up. Additionally, we have added new partners to our already formidable team – proving that not only is the move towards gender equality in the zeitgeist, but that there are very real advocates amongst our peers. After the recent summit for systemic change (hosted by Sundance and Women in Film), I am more convinced than ever that we can make a difference and that history is on our side. I remain steadfastly committed to the idea that, one day soon, women will have exactly the same opportunities as men to direct movies.”
Franklin Leonard, Founder and CEO of The Black List and one of the award’s original advocates added: “We are passionate supporters of this award that recognizes fresh voices and perspectives in storytelling. This effort mirrors our own effort – the Black List's 500 Feminist Films project, created by our Director of Community, Kate Hagen. We look forward to mentoring the winners in the year to come.”
The jury was comprised of 38 influential directors, producers, and executives from the filmmaking community who viewed 483 short film submissions from over 200 colleges and universities world-wide, including the U.S., Canada, England, Australia, India, China, South Africa, Scotland, France, Mexico, Portugal, Columbia, Brazil, Russia, Serbia, the Ukraine, and more. This year, submissions increased by over one hundred from last year, with additional countries and universities participating. Submissions were received from Nyu, USC, UCLA, Chapman, Emerson, Penn State, Loyola Marymount, University of Wisconsin, University of Washington, Syracuse, Tcu, Ryerson (Toronto), Oxford, University of Sydney, University of Melbourne, University of Delhi, and more.
Now in its second year, the Horizon Award provides an all-expense-paid trip for the winning female college students to the Sundance Film Festival, where they will have the opportunity to present their films to some of the industry’s most influential names. The winners receive mentorship, festival access, and important introductions by Elwes, Howell, and Vachon to agents, producers, executives, festival staff, and other influencers throughout the Sundance Film Festival.
The Horizon Award was founded by producer, Cassian Elwes ("Margin Call," "All is Lost," "Dallas Buyers Club"), and Michelle Satter, Founding Director, Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program, in response to a Sundance Institute and Women In Film Los Angeles study that revealed that only 4.2% of the top 100 films each year from 2002-2013 were directed by women. Elwes partnered with Howell ("Captain Fantastic," "Mississippi Grind," "Big Eyes," "The Place Beyond the Pines:), and Vachon ( "Goat," "Carol," "Boys Don’t Cry," "One Hour Photo," "Far From Heaven"), to create the award as an opportunity for young female directors to have mentorship and networking opportunities in conjunction with Sundance, the home of American Independent film.
You can see links for more info on the study:
Phase I and II
Phase III
Sponsors and Partners for the 2016 Horizon Award are: The Black List, CreativeFuture, The Creative Mind Group, Done To Your Taste Catering, FilmLA, Indiegogo, Mprm Communications, the Adrienne Shelly Foundation, Sundance Institute, Twitter, Verge, Vimeo, WireImage, Adina Design, and Women in Film. This impressive group has come together to support an award that they hope will continue to identify, nurture, and launch the careers of future female directors for years to come.
Full List of Jurors:
Stephanie Allain Producer ("Dear White People," "Hustle & Flow")
Dori Begley Magnolia Pictures (Svp, Acquisitions)
Amy Berg Director ("Janis: Little Girl Blue," "Deliver Us From Evil," "Prophet’s Prey")
Arianna Bocco IFC Films (Svp, Acquisitions & Co-Productions)
Robbie Brenner The Firm (Partner, President of Film)
Susan Carter Hall Painter
Amal ElWardi Zeal Media Company (Producer)
Cassian Elwes Producer ("Margin Call," "All is Lost," "Dallas Buyers Club")
Janet Grillo Director ("Jack of the Red Hearts," "Fly Away")
Poppy Hanks Macro Venture (Svp, Development & Production)
Catherine Hardwicke Director ("Miss You Already," "Red Riding Hood," "Twilight")
Lynette Howell Taylor Producer ("Captain Fantastic," "Mississippi Grind," "Big Eyes")
Liza Johnson Director ("Elvis & Nixon," "Return," "Hateship Loveship," "In the Air")
Eda Kowan Lionsgate (Svp, Acquisitions & Co-Productions)
Gina Kwon Amazon Studios (Executive, Comedy)
Helen Lee-Kim Good Universe (Partner, Head of International)
Laura Lewis CAA (Agent, Film Finance)
Alix Madigan Broad Green Pictures (Head, Creative)
Marianna Palka Actress/Director ("I’m the Same,""Always Worthy," "Good Dick")
Bruna Papandrea Pacific Standard (Producer/Partner)
Keri Putnam Sundance Institute (Executive Director)
Dee Rees Director ("Bessie," “Empire”)
Laura Rister Untitled Entertainment (Head of Production)
Rena Ronson UTA (Partner)
Michelle Satter Sundance Institute (Director, Feature Film Program)
Cathy Schulman Stx Entertainment (President & Chief Content Officer)
Lauren Selig Shake and Bake Productions (Executive Producer)
Mary Jane Skalski Producer ("The Visitor," "Mysterious Skin," "The Station Agent")
Lara Thompson E1 Entertainment (Svp, Worldwide Acquisitions)
Christine Vachon Producer ("Goat," "Carol," "Boys Don’t Cry")
Ruth Vitale CreativeFuture (CEO)
Angie Wang Director ("Cardinal X")
Hanna Weg Producer ("Septembers of Shiraz")
Tanya Wexler Director ("Hysteria," "Finding North," "Ball in the House")
Joanne Wiles ICM (Partner/Agent, Motion Picture Talent)
Pam Williams Pam Williams Productions ("Lee Daniels’ The Butler," "Fail Safe")
Lisa Wilson The Solution Entertainment (Co-Founder/Partner)
So Yong Kim Director ("Love Song," "For Ellen," "In Between Days")...
The Horizon Award ceremony and reception will take place on Sunday, January 24th, 2016 at 6:30 pm at the WireImage Portrait Studio at Village at the Lift (825 Main Street, Park City), co-hosted by Jeff Vespa.
The Horizon Award is an annual award that seeks to identify and mentor talented, up-and-coming female directors – the primary goal being to support women directors early enough in their development to help them overcome the hurdles in advancing their learning curve and careers.
In addition to the Horizon Award, the four winners will receive grants from the Adrienne Shelly Foundation. The Foundation supports the artistic achievements of female filmmakers through a series of grants that reflect Adrienne Shelly’s dedication to the art of filmmaking and her own successful transition from actress to filmmaker.
This year’s winners are:
Horizon Award First Place
Juliette Gosselin (University of Quebec in Montreal) & Florence Pelletier (Concordia University, Montreal)
Co-directors of "Mes Anges à Tête Noire"
Horizon Award Runners-Up
Macarena (Macqui) Gaona (New York University) Director of "Channel 999 and Channel 1000"
Shanice Malakai Johnson (Scottsdale Community College) Director of "End to the Suffering"
On making the announcement, Cassian Elwes said: “I’m so excited to announce the winners of the second annual Horizon Award. This year’s overwhelming number of submissions and caliber of work made it very hard indeed to pick just one winner – the jury identified one grand prize winner, and two runners-up. Additionally, we have added new partners to our already formidable team – proving that not only is the move towards gender equality in the zeitgeist, but that there are very real advocates amongst our peers. After the recent summit for systemic change (hosted by Sundance and Women in Film), I am more convinced than ever that we can make a difference and that history is on our side. I remain steadfastly committed to the idea that, one day soon, women will have exactly the same opportunities as men to direct movies.”
Franklin Leonard, Founder and CEO of The Black List and one of the award’s original advocates added: “We are passionate supporters of this award that recognizes fresh voices and perspectives in storytelling. This effort mirrors our own effort – the Black List's 500 Feminist Films project, created by our Director of Community, Kate Hagen. We look forward to mentoring the winners in the year to come.”
The jury was comprised of 38 influential directors, producers, and executives from the filmmaking community who viewed 483 short film submissions from over 200 colleges and universities world-wide, including the U.S., Canada, England, Australia, India, China, South Africa, Scotland, France, Mexico, Portugal, Columbia, Brazil, Russia, Serbia, the Ukraine, and more. This year, submissions increased by over one hundred from last year, with additional countries and universities participating. Submissions were received from Nyu, USC, UCLA, Chapman, Emerson, Penn State, Loyola Marymount, University of Wisconsin, University of Washington, Syracuse, Tcu, Ryerson (Toronto), Oxford, University of Sydney, University of Melbourne, University of Delhi, and more.
Now in its second year, the Horizon Award provides an all-expense-paid trip for the winning female college students to the Sundance Film Festival, where they will have the opportunity to present their films to some of the industry’s most influential names. The winners receive mentorship, festival access, and important introductions by Elwes, Howell, and Vachon to agents, producers, executives, festival staff, and other influencers throughout the Sundance Film Festival.
The Horizon Award was founded by producer, Cassian Elwes ("Margin Call," "All is Lost," "Dallas Buyers Club"), and Michelle Satter, Founding Director, Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program, in response to a Sundance Institute and Women In Film Los Angeles study that revealed that only 4.2% of the top 100 films each year from 2002-2013 were directed by women. Elwes partnered with Howell ("Captain Fantastic," "Mississippi Grind," "Big Eyes," "The Place Beyond the Pines:), and Vachon ( "Goat," "Carol," "Boys Don’t Cry," "One Hour Photo," "Far From Heaven"), to create the award as an opportunity for young female directors to have mentorship and networking opportunities in conjunction with Sundance, the home of American Independent film.
You can see links for more info on the study:
Phase I and II
Phase III
Sponsors and Partners for the 2016 Horizon Award are: The Black List, CreativeFuture, The Creative Mind Group, Done To Your Taste Catering, FilmLA, Indiegogo, Mprm Communications, the Adrienne Shelly Foundation, Sundance Institute, Twitter, Verge, Vimeo, WireImage, Adina Design, and Women in Film. This impressive group has come together to support an award that they hope will continue to identify, nurture, and launch the careers of future female directors for years to come.
Full List of Jurors:
Stephanie Allain Producer ("Dear White People," "Hustle & Flow")
Dori Begley Magnolia Pictures (Svp, Acquisitions)
Amy Berg Director ("Janis: Little Girl Blue," "Deliver Us From Evil," "Prophet’s Prey")
Arianna Bocco IFC Films (Svp, Acquisitions & Co-Productions)
Robbie Brenner The Firm (Partner, President of Film)
Susan Carter Hall Painter
Amal ElWardi Zeal Media Company (Producer)
Cassian Elwes Producer ("Margin Call," "All is Lost," "Dallas Buyers Club")
Janet Grillo Director ("Jack of the Red Hearts," "Fly Away")
Poppy Hanks Macro Venture (Svp, Development & Production)
Catherine Hardwicke Director ("Miss You Already," "Red Riding Hood," "Twilight")
Lynette Howell Taylor Producer ("Captain Fantastic," "Mississippi Grind," "Big Eyes")
Liza Johnson Director ("Elvis & Nixon," "Return," "Hateship Loveship," "In the Air")
Eda Kowan Lionsgate (Svp, Acquisitions & Co-Productions)
Gina Kwon Amazon Studios (Executive, Comedy)
Helen Lee-Kim Good Universe (Partner, Head of International)
Laura Lewis CAA (Agent, Film Finance)
Alix Madigan Broad Green Pictures (Head, Creative)
Marianna Palka Actress/Director ("I’m the Same,""Always Worthy," "Good Dick")
Bruna Papandrea Pacific Standard (Producer/Partner)
Keri Putnam Sundance Institute (Executive Director)
Dee Rees Director ("Bessie," “Empire”)
Laura Rister Untitled Entertainment (Head of Production)
Rena Ronson UTA (Partner)
Michelle Satter Sundance Institute (Director, Feature Film Program)
Cathy Schulman Stx Entertainment (President & Chief Content Officer)
Lauren Selig Shake and Bake Productions (Executive Producer)
Mary Jane Skalski Producer ("The Visitor," "Mysterious Skin," "The Station Agent")
Lara Thompson E1 Entertainment (Svp, Worldwide Acquisitions)
Christine Vachon Producer ("Goat," "Carol," "Boys Don’t Cry")
Ruth Vitale CreativeFuture (CEO)
Angie Wang Director ("Cardinal X")
Hanna Weg Producer ("Septembers of Shiraz")
Tanya Wexler Director ("Hysteria," "Finding North," "Ball in the House")
Joanne Wiles ICM (Partner/Agent, Motion Picture Talent)
Pam Williams Pam Williams Productions ("Lee Daniels’ The Butler," "Fail Safe")
Lisa Wilson The Solution Entertainment (Co-Founder/Partner)
So Yong Kim Director ("Love Song," "For Ellen," "In Between Days")...
- 1/22/2016
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Exclusive: Charlotte Mickie and her team have come on board to represent international sales on Sundance regular So Yong Kim’s Us Dramatic Competition entry ahead of its world premiere in Park City.
Lovesong will debut on Monday and stars Jena Malone, Riley Keough and Rosanna Arquette. Autumn Productions and Gamechanger Films produced in association with Monofonus Press
The film follows Sarah, a neglected wife, who embarks on a road trip with her daughter and her best friend Mindy, only to have a dramatic falling out with her friend.
Three years later Sarah is forced to come to terms with her feelings for Mindy in the run-up to her friend’s wedding.
The cast includes Brooklyn Decker, Amy Seimetz, Marshall Chapman and Ryan Eggold.
Cassian Elwes of Elevated Film Sales and Kevin Iwashina of Preferred Content jointly represent North America.
Kim wrote Lovesong with her partner Bradley Rust Gray and has produced Gray’s features Jack And Diane and The Exploding Girl...
Lovesong will debut on Monday and stars Jena Malone, Riley Keough and Rosanna Arquette. Autumn Productions and Gamechanger Films produced in association with Monofonus Press
The film follows Sarah, a neglected wife, who embarks on a road trip with her daughter and her best friend Mindy, only to have a dramatic falling out with her friend.
Three years later Sarah is forced to come to terms with her feelings for Mindy in the run-up to her friend’s wedding.
The cast includes Brooklyn Decker, Amy Seimetz, Marshall Chapman and Ryan Eggold.
Cassian Elwes of Elevated Film Sales and Kevin Iwashina of Preferred Content jointly represent North America.
Kim wrote Lovesong with her partner Bradley Rust Gray and has produced Gray’s features Jack And Diane and The Exploding Girl...
- 1/18/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Sundance, Berlin, Venice and Toronto film fest programmers would all agree — there is a refined and fertile cinema chez So Yong Kim. In Between Days, Treeless Mountain and For Ellen yield high-end return on subtle emotional footprints. Joining forces with regular collaborators Jena Malone and Riley Keough, production on her fourth feature film began in December of 2014. So one full year to work on Lovesong conceivablely means that a return to Park City – same lieu where she won the Special Jury Prize at Sundance for In Between Days, and premiered For Ellen. is a strong possibility. Set in Tennessee, this is film that looks to be split into two chapters, this stars Jena Malone and Riley Keough in the leads with a supporting cast consisting of Brooklyn Decker, Ryan Eggold, Rosanna Arquette and Amy Seimetz.
Gist: This tells the story of Sarah (Keough) who, with her young daughter in tow,...
Gist: This tells the story of Sarah (Keough) who, with her young daughter in tow,...
- 11/25/2015
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Actresses Riley Keough, Jena Malone and a supporting cast comprised of Brooklyn Decker, Amy Seimetz, Marshall Chapman, Ryan Eggold and Rosanna Arquette have all boarded Lovesong, So Yong Kim’s fourth feature film. Deadline reports the road trip romance will film in Tennessee, and will be produced by Alex Lipschultz, Bradley Rust Gray, David Hansen, and Johnny Mac. Mynette Louie, Laura Rister, and Gamechanger Films’ Julie Parker Benello, Dan Cogan, Geralyn Dreyfous, and Wendy Ettinger will executive produce.
Gist: Co-written by Kim and hubby Bradley Rust Gray, this is the tale of best friends Sarah (Keough) and Mindy (Malone) who take off on an impromptu road trip with Sarah’s young daughter in tow and see their deep BFFship develop into a surprising romance – despite the fact that Mindy is about to get married.
Worth Noting: Keough and Malone have previously worked with the Bradley Rust Gray and So Yong Kim team.
Gist: Co-written by Kim and hubby Bradley Rust Gray, this is the tale of best friends Sarah (Keough) and Mindy (Malone) who take off on an impromptu road trip with Sarah’s young daughter in tow and see their deep BFFship develop into a surprising romance – despite the fact that Mindy is about to get married.
Worth Noting: Keough and Malone have previously worked with the Bradley Rust Gray and So Yong Kim team.
- 12/22/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Exclusive: For Ellen helmer So Yong Kim has set Jena Malone and Riley Keough to lead Lovesong, the tale of best friends Sarah (Keough) and Mindy (Malone) who take off on an impromptu road trip with Sarah’s young daughter in tow and see their deep BFFship develop into a surprising romance – despite the fact that Mindy is about to get married.
Kim wrote Lovesong with frequent collaborator Bradley Rust Gray, whose own features Jack and Diane and The Exploding Girl were produced by Kim. Lovesong reunites the duo with Keough, who starred in Gray’s Jack and Diane and also starred in a short film Kim directed for designer Miu Miu earlier this year, Spark and Light. Malone appeared in both Jack and Diane and For Ellen.
Also cast in the indie, which is backed by Autumn Productions and Gamechanger Films in association with The Monofonus Press, are Brooklyn Decker (Just Go With It,...
Kim wrote Lovesong with frequent collaborator Bradley Rust Gray, whose own features Jack and Diane and The Exploding Girl were produced by Kim. Lovesong reunites the duo with Keough, who starred in Gray’s Jack and Diane and also starred in a short film Kim directed for designer Miu Miu earlier this year, Spark and Light. Malone appeared in both Jack and Diane and For Ellen.
Also cast in the indie, which is backed by Autumn Productions and Gamechanger Films in association with The Monofonus Press, are Brooklyn Decker (Just Go With It,...
- 12/22/2014
- by Jen Yamato
- Deadline
Korean-born American filmmaker So Yong Kim (whose 2006 feature "In Between Days" won a Jury Prize at Sundance) directs "Spark and Light," the seventh addition to join Miu Miu's acclaimed short film series "Women's Tales." The film follows Elizabeth, played by Riley Keough (who starred in "Jack and Diane," which Kim produced and edited) whose car breaks down in the middle of an Icelandic landscape. Eager to get to her mother, who lies unconscious in a hospital, Elizabeth falls asleep waiting for a tow truck and finds herself in a surreal and bizarre dream, where figures from her memories appear and disappear. Check out "Spark and Light" below. Other filmmakers who've participated in the "Women's Tales" series include Ava DuVernay and Hiam Abbass. ...
- 2/12/2014
- by Eric Eidelstein
- Indiewire
With the 2014 edition of the Sundance Film Festival launching on Thursday, it's the perfect time to highlight some past Sundance hits which are available to stream for free right now at SnagFilms (Indiewire's parent company). Sad you can't be there to brave the cold? Despair no longer. Click the film's title to watch the movie at SnagFilms and browse SnagFilms' Sundance Film Festival Channel for more Sundance classics. 10 Past Sundance Hits (in order of the year they premiered): Advise and Dissent (2012) Prom Night in Mississippi (2009) Nanking (2007) In Between Days (2006) The Puffy Chair (2005) Brother to Brother (2004) Primer (2004) Super Size Me (2004) L.I.E. (2001) Blessing (1994)Watch A Selection of Sundance Shorts at SnagFilms...
- 1/14/2014
- by Indiewire
- Indiewire
Ioncinema.com’s Ioncinephile of the Month feature focuses on an emerging filmmaker from the world of cinema. This April, we’ve got a first: two for the price of one. Husband and wife filmmaking team of Ron Eyal and Eleanor Burke premiered Stranger Things at such fests as Slamdance (Winner Grand Jury Prize Best Narrative Feature), Raindance (Winner Grand Jury Prize Best U.K. Feature), Woodstock, Karlovy Vary, and is now they’ve got a one week theatrical run (April 5 – 11) at the reRun Theater in Brooklyn. Here is our profile on the filmmaker team and worth checking out is our accompanying original/combined personal Top Ten films list.
Eric Lavallee: During your childhood…what films were important to you?
Eleanor Burke: I remember going to the cinema as a very young child. The ceremony of it all was impressive: the velvet curtains, the hush as the lights went down.
Eric Lavallee: During your childhood…what films were important to you?
Eleanor Burke: I remember going to the cinema as a very young child. The ceremony of it all was impressive: the velvet curtains, the hush as the lights went down.
- 4/8/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
When we first meet Joby (Paul Dano), he is driving on snow-covered rural roads. His long black hair, make-up and clothing all suggest that Joby might be in some sort of heavy metal band. When Joby stops at a gas station to touch up his make-up, we can only assume that he is on his way to a concert. Instead he drives up to a modest business office where his wife (Margarita Levieva) is waiting with her lawyer to finalize their divorce paperwork. From that opening sequence, we know full well that writer-director So Yong Kim's (In Between Days, Treeless Mountain) portrayal of Joby is not going to be the standard cinematic stereotype of a heavy metal musician. Joby is an intriguing character study of a walking and talking contradiction: equally conceited-yet-vulnerable, awkward-yet-charismatic, thoughtful-yet-dumb. Joby may have chosen the life of an absentee husband and father for several years...
- 2/24/2013
- by Don Simpson
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
The latest in the Guardian's watch on demand films is a brilliantly observed story about a musician – played by Paul Dano – who tries to connect with his small daughter during a custody battle
Reading this on mobile? Click here to view video
It's time to pull on the filthy jeans, chip the black nail varnish and find a large mirror to prance in front of: For Ellen has arrived. As tattooed rocker Joby Taylor, Paul Dano is a revelation: self-absorbed, vulnerable, idiotic, charismatic. This is no ordinary rock'n'roll movie though: For Ellen is really about a young man growing up quickly into fatherhood.
Taylor turns up in a small American town to sign divorce papers with an understandably embittered wife; but he groggily realises, in the nick of time, that he would have to give up custody of his 6-year-old daughter. Watching their relationship develop is one of the pleasures...
Reading this on mobile? Click here to view video
It's time to pull on the filthy jeans, chip the black nail varnish and find a large mirror to prance in front of: For Ellen has arrived. As tattooed rocker Joby Taylor, Paul Dano is a revelation: self-absorbed, vulnerable, idiotic, charismatic. This is no ordinary rock'n'roll movie though: For Ellen is really about a young man growing up quickly into fatherhood.
Taylor turns up in a small American town to sign divorce papers with an understandably embittered wife; but he groggily realises, in the nick of time, that he would have to give up custody of his 6-year-old daughter. Watching their relationship develop is one of the pleasures...
- 2/16/2013
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
So Yong Kim's new film features a bravura turn from Paul Dano as a deadbeat dad. The Korean-American director talks to Andrew Pulver about the echoes with her own life
If you know So Yong Kim's work at all, chances are you will have her pigeonholed as an archetypal Sundance director with a penchant for investigating her own displaced and fatherless life story. Her first two films, In Between Days (2006) and Treeless Mountain (2008) were studies of, respectively, a teenage Korean girl grappling with a new life in Canada, and two young Korean girls seemingly abandoned by their parents. They won a clutch of festival awards, including a Sundance special jury prize.
But now Kim has made a third film, and it couldn't be more of a U-turn. It's called For Ellen, and is about a stumbling, slurring rock'n'roller, complete with chipped black nail varnish, on the skids and far from home,...
If you know So Yong Kim's work at all, chances are you will have her pigeonholed as an archetypal Sundance director with a penchant for investigating her own displaced and fatherless life story. Her first two films, In Between Days (2006) and Treeless Mountain (2008) were studies of, respectively, a teenage Korean girl grappling with a new life in Canada, and two young Korean girls seemingly abandoned by their parents. They won a clutch of festival awards, including a Sundance special jury prize.
But now Kim has made a third film, and it couldn't be more of a U-turn. It's called For Ellen, and is about a stumbling, slurring rock'n'roller, complete with chipped black nail varnish, on the skids and far from home,...
- 2/12/2013
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
Available on DVD and Blu-Ray January 8, 2013
Written and Directed by Bradley Rust Gray (The Exploding Girl, In Between Days) Starring Juno, Riley Keough, Cara Seymour, and Grammy Winner and Pop Icon Kylie Minogue
Synopsis
Jack and Diane, two teenage girls, meet in New York City and spend the night kissing ferociously. Diane’s charming innocence quickly begins to open Jack’s tough skinned heart. But when Jack discovers that Diane is moving … Continue reading →...
Written and Directed by Bradley Rust Gray (The Exploding Girl, In Between Days) Starring Juno, Riley Keough, Cara Seymour, and Grammy Winner and Pop Icon Kylie Minogue
Synopsis
Jack and Diane, two teenage girls, meet in New York City and spend the night kissing ferociously. Diane’s charming innocence quickly begins to open Jack’s tough skinned heart. But when Jack discovers that Diane is moving … Continue reading →...
- 12/12/2012
- by HorrorNews.net
- Horror News
With his broad, serious face and lanky body, Paul Dano has always played the kinds of finely tuned characters that pop out for their intensity, from a black-haired, mostly silent 16-year-old in 2006’s Little Miss Sunshine to a screaming evangelical preacher, and his twin brother, in 2007’s There Will Be Blood. He’s also proved himself to be neurotically funny, as he was in this year’s romantic comedy Ruby Sparks.
But 28-year-old Dano has rarely played a dad on film (he adopts a baby in 2008’s Gigantic), much less the deadbeat rocker dad starring role he takes on in...
But 28-year-old Dano has rarely played a dad on film (he adopts a baby in 2008’s Gigantic), much less the deadbeat rocker dad starring role he takes on in...
- 10/17/2012
- by Solvej Schou
- EW - Inside Movies
The lines between indie and studio films are blurring further and further each year as independent movies are brought to the Sundance Film Festival and immediately picked up by studios in hopes they can break out and become mainstream hits. One filmmaker who has remained almost fiercely independent is So Yong Kim, whose first two films In Between Days and Treeless Mountain featured unknown non-actors and dealt with small stories of people in other cultures. (Kim also produced and helped edit her husband Bradley Rust Gray's movies The Exploding Girl and the upcoming Jack and Diane .) For her third film For Ellen , she has brought established actors into her style of filmmaking, most notably actor (and the film's executive producer) Paul Dano, who plays Joby Taylor, a...
- 9/4/2012
- Comingsoon.net
In So Yong Kim's "For Ellen," Paul Dano stars as an aspiring rocker who agrees to sign divorce papers for his estranged wife in order to get money from the sale of their home, but then realizes his daughter is also part of the bargain and he will be forfeiting all parental rights to her. Kim ("Treeless Mountain," "In Between Days") debuted the film at Sundance 2012. Dano is joined by Jon Heder, Jena Malone, Margarita Levieva and Shaylena Mandigo. Read More: Paul Dano's Best Performance Yet is in So Yong Kim's 'For Ellen' Eric Kohn reviewed the film at Sundance, declaring that, "Nobody else could fit the role of a crestfallen rocker that Paul Dano embodies in director So Yong Kim's remarkable 'For Ellen.' Kim's delicate feature takes the conventional deadbeat dad formula and rejuvenates it by letting Dano's naturalistic performance lead the way.
- 8/15/2012
- by Sophia Savage
- Indiewire
From the director of "Treeless Mountain" and "In Between Days," comes "For Ellen," a bleak and moody-looking picture about a fuck-up rocker also trying to negotiate being a father. However, is it far too late? Directed by So Yong Kim and starring Paul Dano, Shaylena Mandigo with appearances by Jon Heder, Jena Malone, Dakota Johnson, and Margarita Levieva, "For Ellen" doesn't exactly look like a great time at the movies, but it does seem to feature a commanding performance by Dano. And perhaps one we've never seen from this young actor. Debuting at Sundance earlier this year, "For Ellen" was met with mixed reviews. Our own review described it as grueling at times, but almost all critics seem to agree that while stark and perhaps a tad depressing, Paul Dano shines in the picture and that alone makes this one to keep an eye on. Here's the official synopsis: Aspiring...
- 8/14/2012
- by Edward Davis
- The Playlist
Tribeca Film announced its latest acquisition today. For Ellen stars Paul Dano as an aspiring rock star trying to connect with his young daughter during a messy divorce. The film, which premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, is directed by Brooklyn filmmaker So Yong Kim, whose last two features were the independent standouts Treeless Mountain and In Between Days. A fall release is planned, including nationwide VOD and a release in select theatrical markets. For Ellen opens on September 5 at Film Forum in New York City. 'With a subtle, understated approach, esteemed director So Yong Kim has made a film that is both deeply moving and deeply resonant,' said Geoff Gilmore, Chief Creative Officer of Tribeca Enterprises. 'Fueled by a remarkable performance by Paul Dano and delicately directed by Kim, we couldn't be more excited to share this very special story about a father trying to connect with his...
- 5/1/2012
- TribecaFilm.com
The 26th-29th April sees the Sundance London Film and Music festival hit the O2 Arena, which sees the festival – renowned for its programme of independent film – take place in the UK for the first time in its 34-year history.
As a Sundance newbie, I am excited to attend the indie festival. I’ve always heard so many great things about it, especially as a lot of great films initially got noticed at previous Sundance fests (Napoleon Dynamite, Clerks, Reservoir Dogs).
Looking at the line-up, I expect the cream of the crop of forthcoming independent releases.
Here are the following that I’m keeping my eye on during the festival:
For Ellen
The third feature film from In Between Days and Treeless Mountain writer and director So Yong Kim, and her first film with an American cast – a great cast ensemble, I need to add. Starring Little Miss Sunshine‘s...
As a Sundance newbie, I am excited to attend the indie festival. I’ve always heard so many great things about it, especially as a lot of great films initially got noticed at previous Sundance fests (Napoleon Dynamite, Clerks, Reservoir Dogs).
Looking at the line-up, I expect the cream of the crop of forthcoming independent releases.
Here are the following that I’m keeping my eye on during the festival:
For Ellen
The third feature film from In Between Days and Treeless Mountain writer and director So Yong Kim, and her first film with an American cast – a great cast ensemble, I need to add. Starring Little Miss Sunshine‘s...
- 4/16/2012
- by Katie Wong
- SoundOnSight
Nobody else could fit the role of a crestfallen rocker that Paul Dano embodies in director So Yong Kim's remarkable "For Ellen." Kim's delicate feature takes the conventional deadbeat dad formula and rejuvenates it by letting Dano's naturalistic performance lead the way. The actor portrays a perpetually lost young man with a combination of innocence and utter confusion as he wanders through his life in a total daze. It's a role he was born to play and the movie sustains it. Sporting a clichéd getup of black-painted fingernails, scrungy hair and an unkempt goatee, Dano's Joby wanders through an icy landscape attempting to preempt the efforts of his estranged wife (Jena Malone), who wants to divorce him and take custody of their young daughter. Kim, whose patient approach to narrative has already found its groove with "Treeless Mountain" and "In Between Days," here applies the same style to Dano's sad face.
- 1/28/2012
- Indiewire
So Yong Kim Discusses Her Collaboration With Paul Dano & Battling The Freezing Winter In 'For Ellen'
Thanks to her previous films "In Between Days" and "Treeless Mountain," and a none-more-indie cast featuring Paul Dano and Jena Malone, So Yong Kim's latest "For Ellen" (our review here) had to be one of the most anticipated films of the Sundance Film Festival. Forming one half of a power couple of indie cinema (with Bradley Rust Gray, director of "The Exploding Girl" and the upcoming "Jack and Diane"), it marks her first time working with more established names and proves to be her most accessible project to date. We were lucky enough to get a few minutes of time with Yong Kim at Sundance this week to discuss the project, her collaboration with her lead actor, and whether we'll be seeing the final part of her Korean trilogy any time soon. Your previous films were mostly in Korean so can you talk about the decision to cast Paul Dano...
- 1/25/2012
- The Playlist
"For Ellen," Korean-American writer/director So Yong Kim’s third film after breakout indie dramas "In Between Days" and "Treeless" Mountain, is shot in the same style of her preceding films. The way she films long uninterrupted takes of Joby (Paul Dano), a self-absorbed young rocker, absent father and "For Ellen" lead protagonist, is fascinating, albeit more in theory than in practice. By making us experience the weight of dead air surrounding virtually every beat in Joby’s dialogue, we grow to feel trapped with him through a series of self-inflicted travails and cascading bleak moments. Joby’s character-defining dickish-ness doesn’t soften the more time we spend with him. When we meet Joby, the lead singer of a metal band, he’s mulling over the potential consequences of his impending divorce with hostile wife Susan (Jena Malone). For Ellen catches Joby during a weird period of emotional clarity. He’s.
- 1/24/2012
- The Playlist
Nearly a full year since its premiere at Sundance, "Dee Rees's funny, moving, nuanced, and impeccably acted first feature" opens in New York and Los Angeles today before rolling out to more cities next month. See the site for cities and dates. That endorsement in quotes, by the way, comes from Melissa Anderson in the Voice: "Like the best films about adolescence, from Truffaut's Antoine Doinel movies to So Yong Kim's In Between Days, Pariah — about one lower-middle-class, African-American, lesbian teen — is a profoundly specific film centering on universal themes: discovering who and what you are drawn to, fighting for autonomy against arbitrary parental rules, or, in this case, tyranny."
David Fear in Time Out New York: "Establishing character, conflict and environment with astounding economy in the film's first ten minutes, Rees demonstrates the sort of filmmaking chops and personal storytelling (the director claims she drew on her...
David Fear in Time Out New York: "Establishing character, conflict and environment with astounding economy in the film's first ten minutes, Rees demonstrates the sort of filmmaking chops and personal storytelling (the director claims she drew on her...
- 12/29/2011
- MUBI
Sex surrogates, happy drunks, not-so-happy drunks, teenagers in love, a little boy on a gangland odyssey and a trio of time-travel investigators are just a few of the movies in the competition line-up for the Sundance Film Festival this year.
There are also lots and lots of stories of people hooking up, trying to hook up, feeling bad about not hooking up, and all sorts of variations on that theme.
Click through for the newly announced slate of U.S. dramatic competition titles, with festival director John Cooper and chief programmer Trevor Groth as your guides.
If you went to the Park City festival Jan. 19-29, what would go on your must-see list?...
There are also lots and lots of stories of people hooking up, trying to hook up, feeling bad about not hooking up, and all sorts of variations on that theme.
Click through for the newly announced slate of U.S. dramatic competition titles, with festival director John Cooper and chief programmer Trevor Groth as your guides.
If you went to the Park City festival Jan. 19-29, what would go on your must-see list?...
- 11/30/2011
- by Anthony Breznican
- EW - Inside Movies
Tensions on Tamwar and Afia's wedding day helped EastEnders soar past 8 million viewers on Tuesday evening, the latest audience data has revealed. BBC One's flagship soap was seen by 8.2m (38.6%) from 7.30pm, as the Masoods and the Khans clashed at the Mehndi. The repeat screening fetched 997k (4.9%) on BBC Three from 10pm. Also on BBC One, Holby City grabbed 5.31m (24.3%) in the 8pm hour for the episode 'In Between Days', featuring Oliver's struggle to cope at work following Penny's death. Emmerdale was watched by 6.43m (32.6%) on (more)...
- 6/22/2011
- by By Andrew Laughlin
- Digital Spy
The Double Hour is a well-crafted thriller from Italy, holding our attention, while often keeping us guessing as we get plunged into the cold. The exhilarating second act of the film is the equivalent of waking up in a bathtub full of ice with your kidney missing. To say that nothing is what it seems assumes you are looking for the truth. The Double Hour is as temporarily deceptive as its title implies.
Sonia (Kseniya Rappoport) is a Slovenian immigrant who works as a chambermaid at the type of hotel Dominique Strauss-Kahn would stay at. After witnessing a suicide, she takes to the speed-dating scene (this is precisely what I mean about the rapid transitions that plunge us in cold). While at an event she meets Guido (Filippo Timi), a former police officer who is a star in the speed-dating scene. In ritual he takes women home and refuses to give them his number.
Sonia (Kseniya Rappoport) is a Slovenian immigrant who works as a chambermaid at the type of hotel Dominique Strauss-Kahn would stay at. After witnessing a suicide, she takes to the speed-dating scene (this is precisely what I mean about the rapid transitions that plunge us in cold). While at an event she meets Guido (Filippo Timi), a former police officer who is a star in the speed-dating scene. In ritual he takes women home and refuses to give them his number.
- 5/29/2011
- by John Fink
- The Film Stage
Writer/director Suzi Yoonessi discusses her film Dear Lemon Lima, with Film Independent
The story of an awkward teenager trying to win back her true love, Dear Lemon Lima, is the heart-warming debut feature by writer/director Suzi Yoonessi. Developed in Film Independent's Screenwriters, Directors, and Producers Labs, Dear Lemon Lima, has come a long way since it's inception in the pages of Yoonessi's own childhood diary. The film made it's world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival where it took home the Audience Award for Outstanding Performance. It has since gone on to win awards at numerous other festivals both national and international.
By Josh Welsh
First off, congratulations on your theatrical release. The film comes out on March 4, both theatrically and VOD, what cities will you be in?
Thanks. It will be released in La starting March 4th and in NY one week later - March 11th.
The story of an awkward teenager trying to win back her true love, Dear Lemon Lima, is the heart-warming debut feature by writer/director Suzi Yoonessi. Developed in Film Independent's Screenwriters, Directors, and Producers Labs, Dear Lemon Lima, has come a long way since it's inception in the pages of Yoonessi's own childhood diary. The film made it's world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival where it took home the Audience Award for Outstanding Performance. It has since gone on to win awards at numerous other festivals both national and international.
By Josh Welsh
First off, congratulations on your theatrical release. The film comes out on March 4, both theatrically and VOD, what cities will you be in?
Thanks. It will be released in La starting March 4th and in NY one week later - March 11th.
- 2/24/2011
- by maint
- Film Independent
The story of an awkward teenager trying to win back her true love, Dear Lemon Lima, is the heart-warming debut feature by writer/director Suzi Yoonessi. Developed in Film Independent’s Screenwriters, Directors, and Producers Labs, Dear Lemon Lima, has come a long way since it’s inception in the pages of Yoonessi’s own childhood diary. The film made it’s world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival where it took home the Audience Award for Outstanding Performance. It has since gone on to win awards at numerous other festivals both national and international.
By Josh Welsh
First off, congratulations on your theatrical release. The film comes out on March 4, both theatrically and VOD, what cities will you be in?
Thanks. It will be released in La starting March 4th and in NY one week later – March 11th. We’re excited because we’ll be playing at the...
By Josh Welsh
First off, congratulations on your theatrical release. The film comes out on March 4, both theatrically and VOD, what cities will you be in?
Thanks. It will be released in La starting March 4th and in NY one week later – March 11th. We’re excited because we’ll be playing at the...
- 2/24/2011
- by Film Independent
- Film Independent
As a way of celebrating this year's nominees for the Spirit Awards in the weeks leading up to the ceremony, we reached out to as many as we could in an effort to better understand what went into their films, what they've gotten out of the experience, and where they've found their inspiration, both in regards to their work and other works of art that might've inspired them from the past year. Their answers will be published on a daily basis throughout February.
Being a director can be a lonely profession, which is why Bradley Rust Gray is clearly onto something. A year after his wife So Yong Kim was nominated for the John Cassavetes Award at the Spirit Awards for the drama "Treeless Mountain" (on which he was a producer), Gray returns to the same category this year as a director with "The Exploding Girl" (a film that naturally his wife produced). However,...
Being a director can be a lonely profession, which is why Bradley Rust Gray is clearly onto something. A year after his wife So Yong Kim was nominated for the John Cassavetes Award at the Spirit Awards for the drama "Treeless Mountain" (on which he was a producer), Gray returns to the same category this year as a director with "The Exploding Girl" (a film that naturally his wife produced). However,...
- 2/4/2011
- by Stephen Saito
- ifc.com
#18. For Ellen Director/Writer: So Yong KimProducers: So Yong Kim, Bradley Rust Gray and Jen Gatien Distributor: Rights Available. The Gist: When an aspiring young rock musician (Paul Dano) agrees to sign divorce papers with his estranged wife, he discovers he is not ready to forfeit all custody of his six-year-old daughter.....(more) Cast: Paul Dano, Jon Heder, Jena Malone, Margarita Levieva and Dakota Johnson. Why is it on the list?: We like her minimalist and miniscule triage dramas In Between Days and Treeless Mountain and look forward in seeing her work with name talent in Paul Dano and Jena Malone. Last year we had this at the number 53 spot. Release Date/Status?: Cannes looks probable. Tiff is a shoe-in for a North American premiere. ...
- 1/17/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
The Exploding Girl will forever hold the distinction of the first film that I am reviewing after streaming it from Netflix via my Roku box. I never received a screener of this film and I sadly missed its all too brief theatrical run in Austin, but I remembered Kimberley Jones’ fond review in the Austin Chronicle and that is what really convinced me to seek out Bradley Rust Gray’s sophomore effort as a director. Ah, the powers of film criticism...thank you Kimberley! (The reference to The Cure’s “In Between Days” B-side “Exploding Boy” also helped attract my attention.)...
- 1/9/2011
- by Don Simpson
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
I Am Number Four
Opens: February 18th 2011
Cast: Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Dianna Agron, Kevin Durand, Teresa Palmer
Director: D.J. Caruso
Summary: Nine infant aliens flee their home planet to hide out on Earth. The species that destroyed their planet however has followed them and sets out to hunt them down. As the infants grow into teenagers with special powers, three of them are killed. A fourth has fallen in love and now has something to stand up and fight for.
Analysis: In premise and look, this sounds like a big budget and more action-oriented reboot of late sci-fi teen drama "Roswell". Though based on a young adult novel series, it was another title in this category that was the impetus for this adaptation - Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series. Any novels with a focus on teen romance and an other worldly touch are presently being bought up right and...
Opens: February 18th 2011
Cast: Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Dianna Agron, Kevin Durand, Teresa Palmer
Director: D.J. Caruso
Summary: Nine infant aliens flee their home planet to hide out on Earth. The species that destroyed their planet however has followed them and sets out to hunt them down. As the infants grow into teenagers with special powers, three of them are killed. A fourth has fallen in love and now has something to stand up and fight for.
Analysis: In premise and look, this sounds like a big budget and more action-oriented reboot of late sci-fi teen drama "Roswell". Though based on a young adult novel series, it was another title in this category that was the impetus for this adaptation - Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series. Any novels with a focus on teen romance and an other worldly touch are presently being bought up right and...
- 1/8/2011
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
The much-maligned Vanessa Abrams has struggled at times to find a foothold on Gossip Girl. Will the new season change all that? What is in store for this controversial character?
We asked Jessica Szohr about that ourselves!
In an exclusive interview, TV Fanatic spoke to her briefly about the fallout from last season and we can expect come September, plus her new role in the film Piranha 3-D ...
Tvf: Last season Gossip Girl ended with Vanessa in Haiti. Without giving too much away, what can we look forward to this upcoming season?
Jessica Szohr: She comes back and right before the season ended she was left a text from Nate saying that something might be going on with Dan and Serena, so she’s coming back to sort that out. We don’t know really know if she wants to be with Dan or if she doesn’t want to sort it out,...
We asked Jessica Szohr about that ourselves!
In an exclusive interview, TV Fanatic spoke to her briefly about the fallout from last season and we can expect come September, plus her new role in the film Piranha 3-D ...
Tvf: Last season Gossip Girl ended with Vanessa in Haiti. Without giving too much away, what can we look forward to this upcoming season?
Jessica Szohr: She comes back and right before the season ended she was left a text from Nate saying that something might be going on with Dan and Serena, so she’s coming back to sort that out. We don’t know really know if she wants to be with Dan or if she doesn’t want to sort it out,...
- 8/19/2010
- by gabrielle@tvfanatic.com (Elena)
- TVfanatic
The title of Bradley Rust Gray’s film The Exploding Girl refers to “The Exploding Boy,” the B-side to The Cure’s “In Between Days” single. Gray co-wrote and co-produced 2006’s In Between Days, directed by his wife, So Yong Kim, and he’s called The Exploding Girl a sort of B-side to that movie, in that they’re both muted stories of lonely young women who contemplate embarking on a love affair with their best male friends. And like any good B-side, The Exploding Girl is engaging but rough, lacking the kind of polish that would make it ...
- 3/11/2010
- avclub.com
"Revolutionary Road" actress Zoe Kazan understands why people still bring up her being the granddaughter of filmmaker Elia Kazan, but the Brooklyn-based beauty should be taken on her own terms, having quietly banked an impressive résumé of stage and screen credits (including "Me and Orson Welles," "Fracture" and "It's Complicated"). Currently, she co-stars on Broadway with Christopher Walken, Anthony Mackie and Sam Rockwell in Martin McDonagh's oddball comic thriller "A Behanding in Spokane," which isn't a shabby gig for someone who only graduated from college in 2005.
On the movie screen, Kazan headlines the introspective indie drama "The Exploding Girl," written and directed by Bradley Rust Gray (co-writer of "In Between Days"). Stricken with epilepsy, college freshman Ivy (Kazan) ventures home to Manhattan, hangs out with her gawky best friend Al (Mark Rendall) and occasionally fields uncomfortable phone calls from her long-distance boyfriend. A downbeat psychological portrait of a vulnerable girl's tricky transition into womanhood,...
On the movie screen, Kazan headlines the introspective indie drama "The Exploding Girl," written and directed by Bradley Rust Gray (co-writer of "In Between Days"). Stricken with epilepsy, college freshman Ivy (Kazan) ventures home to Manhattan, hangs out with her gawky best friend Al (Mark Rendall) and occasionally fields uncomfortable phone calls from her long-distance boyfriend. A downbeat psychological portrait of a vulnerable girl's tricky transition into womanhood,...
- 3/11/2010
- by Aaron Hillis
- ifc.com
Late adolescence has always been the stuff of which movies are made. It's not just the poreless skin and nubile limbs but the high voltage of early adulthood that naturally lend themselves to cinema -- which is why is the films that fetishize the flat affect of their young subjects (think "Juno," "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist") miss the boat. Say what you will about "Remember Me" and "The Exploding Girl," both about NYC-based college students, but they burrow past that sardonicism to nudge at the unruly emotions that it veils -- albeit with mixed results.
It's hard to discuss "Remember Me" without divulging the elephant in the room, and that's a shame. Although this ditty about two pretty, broken lovebirds would never have been a groundbreaker, it might have worked better had it not labored under the shadow of a recent event that should never be pillaged as a...
It's hard to discuss "Remember Me" without divulging the elephant in the room, and that's a shame. Although this ditty about two pretty, broken lovebirds would never have been a groundbreaker, it might have worked better had it not labored under the shadow of a recent event that should never be pillaged as a...
- 3/10/2010
- by Lisa Rosman
- ifc.com
Paul Dano (”There Will Be Blood,” “Where The Wild Things Are”) is set to star in the upcoming indie drama “For Ellen.” So Young Kim (”In Between Days”) is directing based on his screenplay, about a struggling indie rock musician who returns to the small Midwestern town he came from to deal with a divorce after a horrific car accident. Jon Heder is also onboard to play a supporting role. Jen Gatien and Bradley Rust Gray are producing the project, which will begin shooting this month in upstate New York. Dano, alongside Dave Berlin and Tricia Quick, will be executive produciong “For Ellen.” Stay tuned for more on [...]...
- 1/19/2010
- by Costa Koutsoutis
- ShockYa
After last week's flurry of great big casting stories, we're going to start small today. Paul Dano will appear in For Ellen, from director So Young Kim, who last made In Between Days. Dano will be "a struggling indie rocker who, after nearly wrecking his car during an overnight long-distance drive, arrives in a small Midwestern town to deal with his impending divorce." I'm Ok with all that, despite a logline that sounds like it covers such familiar and self-conscious indie ground, but less so with the word that Jon Heder will co-star. [Variety] After the break, new stuff for Gerard Butler and a possible replacement for Keira Knightley in My Fair Lady. Word that Gerard Butler might be in Machine Gun Preacher first broke in December, though we missed out on reporting it then. Now Deadline Hollywood is pushing the project again, saying that Marc Forster will direct Butler in...
- 1/18/2010
- by Russ Fischer
- Slash Film
Paul Dano will star in "For Ellen." an indie drama So Young Kim ("In Between Days") is directing from his own screenplay. Apparently, the story tells of a struggling indie rocker who almost wrecks his car during an overnight long-distance drive and finally arrives in a small Midwestern town in order to deal with his impending divorce. Jon Heder is in a supporting role. Jen Gatien and Bradley Rust Gray produce and the flick starts shooting in upstate New York in February. Catch him at Sundance this month as Dano ("There Will Be Blood," "Where the Wild Things Are") also stars in Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini's "The Extra Man."...
- 1/18/2010
- Upcoming-Movies.com
In only a pair of outings, Kim has confirmed her presence as an indie filmmaker worthy of future auteurist theories -- her type of cinema, minimalist and miniscule triage dramas, reach for the highest levels of intimacy and with an isolated and an emotionally distraught Paul Dano, I'm expecting her to take up more room on the scene than her previous two combined. Seek out her films: In Between Days and Treeless Mountain. - #53. For Ellen Director/Writer: So Yong KimProducers: So Yong Kim and Jen Gatien (Holy Rollers)Distributor: Rights Available. The Gist: When an aspiring young rock musician (Paul Dano) agrees to sign divorce papers with his estranged wife, he discovers he is not ready to forfeit all custody of his six-year-old daughter.....(more) Cast: Paul Dano and more cast Tba. Why is it on the list?: In only a pair of outings, Kim...
- 1/15/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
Not sure if it was his fatherly touch in Matt Aselton's Gigantic that helped nab him this role, but indie veteran thesp Paul Dano is, according to Production Weekly, top-lining So Yong Kim's third feature film titled For Ellen. Having Dano onboard will be a first for Yong Kim, as she is known for having employed non-actors in her previous two, the little seen In Between Days and Treeless Mountain (which was distributed by Oscilloscope Laboratories earlier this year). - Not sure if it was his fatherly touch in Matt Aselton's Gigantic that helped nab him this role, but indie veteran thesp Paul Dano is, according to Production Weekly, top-lining So Yong Kim's third feature film titled For Ellen. Having Dano onboard will be a first for Yong Kim, as she is known for having employed non-actors in her previous two, the little seen In Between Days...
- 12/13/2009
- IONCINEMA.com
Tff 2009 director Bradley Rust Gray (The Exploding Girl, Salt) and his wife, filmmaker So Yong Kim (Treeless Mountain, In Between Days), talk with one of their idols, Hirokazu Kore-eda (Maborosi, After Life, Nobody Knows) about the Japanese director's new film Still Walking (Tff 2009), opening this Friday at IFC Center and premiering on demand today. So Yong and I first had the honor of meeting one of our favorite directors, Hirokazu Kore-eda, in Toronto about three years ago. At the time, So was preparing to shoot her second feature, Treeless Mountain, in Korea. Since So was interested in directing children and shooting on 16mm, she was very excited to talk to Mr. Eda. Mr. Eda nodded, grabbed a translator, and So asked her question. Mr. Eda thought for a moment, his face went bright, and he went into a very long and elaborate explanation in Japanese. So was ...
- 8/26/2009
- TribecaFilm.com
So Yong Kim’s debut feature, In Between Days, depicted an adolescent romance between Korean immigrants in Canada; it was notable for the way Kim kept her frame tight on the faces of her protagonists, shutting out any people, places, or objects that were extraneous to the would-be couple’s intensely self-absorbed experience. For Treeless Mountain, Kim employs a similar strategy, keeping her camera low to the ground and trained on extreme close-ups of mundane objects, in order to replicate the point of view of a 6-year-old and a 3-year-old whose mother has left abruptly, sticking them in a home ...
- 4/23/2009
- avclub.com
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