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Post by formermi6agent on Aug 29, 2010 11:48:19 GMT -5
I hope this movie is big enough to get Oscar nominations.
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Post by Ace on Aug 29, 2010 18:29:52 GMT -5
For awards, aside from good reviews - It's more important to have the right distributor and release date. It's from the same producer as Crash and that budget was even smaller. Hurt Locker won last year at that was also small budget. It's rarer for a big budget film to be nominated since they tend to be considered more popcorn films.
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Post by formermi6agent on Aug 29, 2010 22:42:37 GMT -5
Since his departure from Bond, I have longed to see Pierce do movies that have potential to win the Oscars. He totally deserved it.
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Post by Ace on Nov 20, 2010 14:36:34 GMT -5
www.ioncinema.com/news/id/5900/2011-sundance-bonus-predictions-george-ratliffs-salvation-boulevard2011 Sundance Bonus Predictions: George Ratliff's Salvation BoulevardPosted by Eric Lavallee on Nov 18, 2010 Source: IONCINEMA.com #58. Salvation Boulevard - George Ratliff I distinctly remember George Ratliff's Joshua being a well-received buyer title in Park City. Currently in post-production, Ratliff might make it two for two with what appears to be a high value title for pick-up. Salvation Boulevard which packs several Sundance alumni in Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Pierce Brosnan, Marisa Tomei, Isabelle Fuhrman, Greg Kinnear and Jim Gaffigan, should be in the cards for the fest, that's if Sundance don't have a problem with the anti-church wave of films where, this, Farmiga's Higher Ground and Kevin Smith's film might form an unlikely thematic trio. Working as both a comedy and thriller, written by Ratliff and Douglas Stone and based on the novel by Larry Beinhart, this starts with a dead professor. A suspect—who has confessed—is in custody. But nothing is what it seems. The dead man is an atheist, the accused an Islamic foreign student, the defense attorney a Jew, and the detective a Born Again Christian. As the detective gets deeper and deeper into the investigation of the death of the professor, his most basic beliefs and relationships are tried, his world is turned upside down. And yet he can’t stop searching for the real killer and the truth—no matter what the personal cost. * Producers: Peter Fruchtman, Celine Rattray (The Kids Are All Right) and Cathy Schulman
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Post by Ace on Nov 23, 2010 14:45:52 GMT -5
www.indiewire.com/article/sundance_2011_wishlist_30_films_to_hope_for/Sundance 2011 Wishlist: 30 Films That May Head to Park Cityby Brian Brooks, Peter Knegt, Daniel Loria, Bryce Renninger and Nigel M. Smith The announcement of the lineup for the 2011 Sundance Film Festival is only one week away. Over 100 features in a variety of programs are expected to screen at the festival, and collectively that will significantly aid in setting the tone for another year of indie film - from narratives to documentaries both American and international. This year alone, the likes of “The Kids Are All Right,” “Winter’s Bone,” “Cyrus,” “Blue Valentine,” “Exit Through The Gift Shop,” “Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work,” “Restrepo,” “Animal Kingdom” and “Four Lions” marked only a few of the films that premiered in Park City and went on to become some of the most talked about films on the specialty market. Much more so than fellow festival powerhouses Cannes or Toronto, Sundance isn’t an easy lineup to predict. Much smaller films from up-and-coming directors often end up being the most talked about films at the festival, and it’s essentially impossible to gauge what those films might be. Last year, very few would have looked at the synopses offered by Sundance’s 2010 lineup announcement and made bets that “Winter’s Bone” would go on to be an Oscar contender and that its star Jennifer Lawrence would be one of the year’s big breakouts, which really is part of the fun of a festival of discovery. But that said, it is also fun to attempt to forecast a film festival that is so difficult to see coming. So in anticipation of the 2011 lineup, indieWIRE is offering a “wish-list” of 30 films that could very well end up factoring in, as well as a bonus five that are currently screening at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), currently underway. Expectedly, the vast majority of the films are some of the more high-profile possibilities, and it is still all-but-certain that some of the festival’s eventual big breakouts are not going to be on the list. With that in mind, check out indieWIRE‘s suggestions of 30 films that might make the cut, and do offer any of your own predictions in the seven-days-and-counting before Sundance makes its big announcements. Salvation Boulevard, directed by George RatliffRatliff’s “Joshua” screened in competition at Sundance in 2007 and the director has shown a diversity of work despite less than a half dozen titles under his belt. In 2001 he directed the doc “Hell House,” which created a stir on the festival circuit, though it actually had its debut in Toronto and later went on to win a prize at the San Francisco International Film Festival. He is now turning his focus onto a comedy/thriller starring Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Pierce Brosnan and Marisa Tomei. “Salvation Boulevard is set amidst the world of mega-churches. A former Deadhead and now born again Christian flees fundamentalist fellow church goers who will do anything to protect their larger-than-life pastor. [Brian Brooks]
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Post by Ace on Dec 2, 2010 16:26:50 GMT -5
www.ifc.com/news/2010/12/sundance-completes-2011-lineup.phpSundance Completes 2011 Lineup With a Mix of Vets and Newcomers
New films with Pierce Brosnan, Al Pacino and Tobey Maguire collide with Sundance staples like Paul Rudd and Morgan Spurlock as this year's lineup is finalized.Posted 12/02/2010 316 PM by Stephen Saito Pierce Brosnan in "Salvation Boulevard," Mandalay Pictures, 2011 Following yesterday's announcement of the U.S. and World Cinema Dramatic and Documentary Competitions, the Sundance Film Festival has unveiled the second part of their lineup, which includes the more starry-eyed Premieres section, the best-of-fests Spotlight section, the sure-to-be-culty Park City at Midnight section, the low-budget NEXT section, and the more experimental New Frontier section (an extension of New Frontier Program, the collection of video art installations which has already been noted here for playing James Franco's dramatic multimedia examination of "Three's Company.") In addition to the return of filmmakers like "Chuck & Buck"'s Miguel Arteta, "Clockwatchers" director Jill Sprecher, Kevin Smith and "The Station Agent"'s Thomas McCarthy to Park City, the festival will also welcome less frequent or first-time Sundance attendees such as Hollywood types Al Pacino ("Son of No One") and Tobey Maguire ("The Details") and mumblecore alums Joe Swanberg ("Uncle Kent") and Todd Rohal ("The Catechism Cataclysm"). The full lineup is below. Descriptions courtesy of the festival: PREMIERES Cedar Rapids / U.S.A. (Director: Miguel Arteta; Screenwriter: Phil Johnston) -- A wholesome and naive small-town Wisconsin man travels to big city Cedar Rapids, Iowa to represent his company at a regional insurance conference. Cast: Ed Helms, Sigourney Weaver, Alia Shawkat, John C. Reilly, Rob Corddry, Anne Heche. The Convincer / U.S.A. (Director: Jill Sprecher; Screenwriters: Jill Sprecher & Karen Sprecher) -- An insurance salesman, caught in a caper involving a rare musical instrument, sets off a series of dramatic consequences. Cast: Greg Kinnear, Alan Arkin, Billy Crudup, David Harbour. The Details / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jacob Aaron Estes) -- When hungry raccoons discover worms living under the sod in a young couple's backyard, the pest problem sets off a wild and absurd chain reaction of domestic tension, infidelity, organ donation and murder by way of bow and arrow. Cast: Elizabeth Banks, Laura Linney, Tobey Maguire. The Devil's Double / Belgium (Director: Lee Tamahori; Screenwriter: Michael Thomas) -- An extraordinary chapter in recent history providing a chilling vision of the House of Saddam comes to life through the eyes of the man who knew too much. Cast: Dominic Cooper, Ludivine Sagnier, Mimoun Oaissa, Raad Rawi, Philip Quast. I Melt with You / Canada, U.S.A. (Director: Mark Pellington; Screenwriter: Glenn Porter, based on the story by Glenn Porter and Mark Pellington) -- Four friends gather every year to celebrate their friendship. This year they are unexpectedly forced to confront a forgotten promise they made 25 years earlier. As they examine choices they've made, they realize that what they said they would do with their lives and what they have done are entirely different. Cast: Thomas Jane, Jeremy Piven, Rob Lowe, Christian McKay, Carla Gugino. Life in a Day / U.S.A. (Director: Kevin Macdonald) -- Life in a Day is a historic global experiment to create the world's largest user-generated feature film. On July 24, 2010, professional and amateur filmmakers captured a glimpse of their lives on camera and uploaded the footage to YouTube, serving as a time capsule for future generations. Margin Call / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: JC Chandor) -- Over a 24-hour period during the early stages of the 2008 financial crisis, the key people at a investment bank struggle to decide how to handle an emergency business situation while examining the personal and moral implications of every action they take. Cast: Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Stanley Tucci. The Music Never Stopped (Director: Jim Kohlberg; Screenwriters: Gwyn Lurie and Gary Marks, based on the story "The Last Hippie" by Oliver Sacks) -- A father struggles to bond with his estranged son who suffers a brain tumor that prevents him from forming new memories. He learns to embrace his son's choices and to try to connect with him through the power of music. Cast: J.K. Simmons, Julia Ormond, Cara Seymour, Lou Taylor Pucci, Mia Maestro. Salt Lake City Gale Film. My Idiot Brother / U.S.A. (Director: Jesse Peretz; Screenwriters: Evgenia Peretz and David Schisgall) -- After serving time for selling pot, Ned successively moves in with each of his three sisters as he tries to get back on his feet. His best intentions quickly bring the family to the cusp of chaos and ultimately the brink of clarity. Cast: Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Emily Mortimer. Perfect Sense / United Kingdom (Director: David Mackenzie; Screenwriter: Kim Fupz Aakeson) -- A poetic and magnetic love story about two people who start to fall in love just as the world begins to fall apart. Cast: Ewan McGregor, Eva Green, Ewen Bremner, Stephen Dillane, Connie Nielsen. Red State / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Kevin Smith) -- A group of misfits encounter extreme fundamentalism in Middle America. Cast: Michael Parks, Michael Angarano, Kyle Gallner, John Goodman, Melissa Leo. Salvation Boulevard / U.S.A. (Director: George Ratliff; Screenwriters: Doug Max Stone and George Ratliff, based on the novel by Larry Beinhart) -- An evangelical preacher who has captivated a city with his charm frames an ex-hippie for a crime he did not commit. Cast: Pierce Brosnan, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Greg Kinnear, Marisa Tomei.The Son of No One / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Dito Montiel) -- Two men in post-9/11 New York are forced to relive two murders they committed as young boys. Their lives start to unravel by the threat of the revelation of these shocking and personal secrets. Cast: Channing Tatum, Al Pacino, Juliette Binoche. CLOSING NIGHT FILM Win Win / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Tom McCarthy, based on the story by Tom McCarthy and Joe Tiboni) -- When a disheartened attorney moonlighting as a high school wrestling coach stumbles across a star athlete, things seem to be looking up. That is, until the boy's mother shows up fresh from rehab and flat broke, threatening to derail everything. Cast: Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan, Bobby Cannavale, Jeffrey Tambor. ADVERTISEMENT DOCUMENTARY PREMIERES Becoming Chaz / U.S.A. (Directors: Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato) -- Born biologically female, Chastity Bono invites the viewer into a deeply personal journey as he transitions from female to male, embracing his true self, which is Chaz. Bobby Fischer Against the World / U.S.A. (Director: Liz Garbus) -- The drama of late chess-master Bobby Fischer's career was undeniable,as he careened from troubled childhood, to World Champion and Cold War icon, to a fugitive on the run. Granito / U.S.A. (Director: Pamela Yates) -- A documentary film intertwines with Guatemala's turbulent history and emerges as an active player in a nation's struggle to heal itself and serve up justice. The Greatest Movie Ever Sold / U.S.A. (Director: Morgan Spurlock) -- A documentary about branding, advertising and product placement is financed and made possible by branding, advertising and product placement. The Interrupters / U.S.A. (Director: Steve James) -- From the Academy Award-winning director of Hoop Dreams comes a story of ex-gang members who are now protecting their communities from the violence they themselves once employed. Reagan / U.S.A., United Kingdom (Director: Eugene Jarecki) -- Reagan examines the enigmatic career of one of the revered architects of the modern world - icon, screen star, and two-term president Ronald Reagan. Rebirth / U.S.A. (Director: Jim Whitaker) -- Weaving together five stories of individuals whose lives were profoundly altered by the 9/11 attack with unprecedented time-lapse footage of Ground Zero composed over ten years, what emerges is a chronicle of grief's evolution and a nation healing. These Amazing Shadows / U.S.A. (Directors: Paul Mariano and Kurt Norton) -- The history and importance of the National Film Registry unfolds in a roll call of American cinema treasures that reflects the diversity of film, and indeed the American experience itself. SPOTLIGHT Attenberg / Greece (Director and screenwriter: Athina Rachel Tsangari) -- Marina, a young woman living with her father in a decaying, seaside factory town, acquires a new perspective on the mysteries of human nature after she meets a stranger. Cast: Ariane Labed, Yorgos Lanthimos, Vangelis Mourikis, Evangelia Randou. U.S. Premiere Elite Squad 2 (Tropa de Elite 2) / Brazil (Director: José Padilha; Screenwrtiers: Bráulio Mantovani, José Padilha and Rodrigo Pimentel) -- Captain Nascimento of Rio de Janeiro's special operations police unit has a new enemy: widespread corruption within the city. Cast: Wagner Moura, Seu Jorge, Tainá Müller, André Ramiro, Milhem Cortaz. International Premiere I Saw the Devil (Akmareul boattda) / South Korea (Director and screenwriter: Kim Jee-woon) -- A young secret agent tracks a brutal serial killer who murdered his fiancée. Cast: Byung-hun Lee, Min-sik Choi. U.S. Premiere In a Better World (Hævnen) / Denmark (Director: Susanne Bier; Story: Susanne Bier and Anders Thomas Jensen, Screenplay: Anders Thomas Jensen) -- The lives of two Danish families become intertwined as an extraordinary but risky friendship develops. Cast: Mikael Persbrandt, Trine Dyrholm, Ulrich Thomsen, Markus Rygaard and William Jøhnk Nielsen. U.S. Premiere Incendies / Canada (Director: Denis Villeneuve; Screenwriters: Denis Villeneuve, Valérie Beaugrand-Champagn and Wajdi Mouawad) -- A mother's last wish sends Jeanne and Simon, twins living in Canada, on a journey to the Middle East in search of their tangled roots. Cast: Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette. Kaboom / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Gregg Araki) -- A science fiction story centered on the sexual awakening of a group of college students. Cast: Thomas Dekker, Haley Bennett, Chris Zylka, Roxane Mesquida, Juno Temple. U.S. Premiere Letters From the Big Man / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Christopher Munch) -- An artist and government hydrologist surveying a remote part of southwestern Oregon befriends a sasquatch man and must take bold steps to protect his privacy, as well as her own. Cast: Lily Rabe, Jason Butler Harner, Isaac C. Singleton Jr., Jim Cody Williams, Fiona Dourif. World Premiere Meek's Cutoff / U.S.A. (Director: Kelly Reichardt; Screenwriter: Jon Raymond) -- In 1845, three families who have hired mountaineer Stephen Meek to guide their wagons over the Cascade Mountains get lost and face hunger, thirst and a lack of faith in their instincts for survival. Cast: Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, Bruce Greenwood, Shirley Henderson. Old Cats (Gatos Viejos) / Chile (Directors and screenwriters: Pedro Peirano and Sebastián Silva) -- An old woman who realizes that her mind is quickly deteriorating desperately tries to hide this condition from her daughter, who waits keenly for any sign of senility in order to take her apartment. Cast: Bélgica Castro, Claudia Celedón, Catalina Saavedra, Alejandro Sieveking. Submarine / United Kingdom, U.S.A. (Director: Richard Ayoade; Screenwriter: Richard Ayoade from the novel by Joe Dunthorne) -- Fifteen-year-old Oliver Tate has two big ambitions: to save his parents' marriage and to lose his virginity before his next birthday. Cast: Craig Roberts, Paddy Considine, Sally Hawkins, Yasmin Paige. U.S. Premiere Uncle Kent / U.S.A. (Director: Joe Swanberg; Screenwriters: Joe Swanberg and Kent Osborne) -- A pothead cartoonist in Los Angeles spends a weekend trying to sleep with his visiting house guest - a woman from New York he met on Chatroulette. Cast: Kent Osborne. World Premiere PARK CITY AT MIDNIGHT The Catechism Cataclysm / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Todd Rohal) -- After becoming disinterested with the church, a priest tracks down his old classmate, a former metalhead whom he idolized in high school. When the two embark on a canoeing trip together, all hell breaks loose. Cast: Steve Little, Robert Longstreet, Walter Dalton, Miki Ann Maddox, Koko Lanham. World Premiere Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Madeleine Olnek) -- A shy greeting card store employee unknowingly falls for a lesbian space alien while two government agents closely track their romance. Cast: Lisa Haas, Susan Ziegler, Jackie Monahan, Cynthia Kaplan, Dennis Davis, Alex Karpovsky, Rae C Wright. World Premiere Corman's World: Exploits Of A Hollywood Rebel / U.S.A. (Director: Alex Stapleton) -- Tracks the triumphant rise of Hollywood's most prolific writer-director-producer, the true godfather of independent filmmaking. Cast: Jack Nicholson, Ron Howard, Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, James Cameron, Roger Corman. World Premiere Hobo with A Shotgun / Canada (Director: Jason Eisener; Screenwriter: Johnathan Davies) -- A hobo hops from a train with dreams of a fresh life in a new city, but instead finds himself trapped in an urban hell. When he witnesses a brutal robbery, he realizes the only way to deliver justice is with a shotgun in his hands and two shells in the chamber. Cast: Rutger Hauer, Molly Dunsworth, Gregory Smith, Brian Downey. World Premiere The Oregonian / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Calvin Lee Reeder) -- After surviving a brutal car accident, a simple farm woman limps down the road into the nightmarish unknown. Cast: Lindsay Pulsipher, Robert Longstreet, Matt Olsen, Lynne Compton, Barlow Jacobs, Chadwick Brown, Jed Maheu, Roger M. Mayer. World Premiere Septien / U.S.A. (Director: Michael Tully) -- A reclusive sports hustler returns home to his family farm after years of absence to reunite with his two eccentric, unhinged and emotionally damaged brothers. Cast: Robert Longstreet, Onur Tukel, Michael Tully, Rachel Korine, Mark Robinson, John Maringouin. World Premiere Troll Hunter (Trolljegeren) / Norway (Director: Andre Ovredal) -- A group of student filmmakers get more than they bargained for when tangling with a man tasked with protecting Norway from giant trolls. Cast: Otto Jespersen, Glenn Erland Tosterud, Hans Morten Hansen, Johanna Mørch, Tomas Alf Larsen. International Premiere The Woman / U.S.A. (Director: Lucky McKee; Screenwriters: Jack Ketchum and Lucky McKee) -- When a successful country lawyer captures and attempts to "civilize" the last remaining member of a violent clan that has roamed the Northeast coast for decades, he puts the lives of his family in jeopardy. Cast: Pollyanna McIntosh, Sean Bridgers, Angela Bettis, Lauren Ashley Carter, Zach Rand. World Premiere NEXT Bellflower / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Evan Glodell) -- A ballad for every person who has ever loved and lost - with enough violence, weapons, action and sex to tell a love story with apocalyptic stakes. Cast: Evan Glodell, Jessie Wiseman, Tyler Dawson, Rebekah Brandes. The Lie / U.S.A. (Director: Joshua Leonard; Screenwriters: Jeff Feuerzeig, Joshua Leonard, Mark Webber and Jess Weixler, based on the short story by T. Coraghessan Boyle) -- A man overwhelmed and disappointed with life tells a lie to avoid going to work... what could possibly go wrong? Cast: Joshua Leonard, Jess Weixler, Mark Webber, Alia Shawkat, Jane Adams and Kelli Garner. Lord Byron / U.S.A. (Director: Zack Godshall; Screenwriters: Zack Godshall and Ross Brupbacher) -- When he's not pursuing women, Byron is smoking weed and loafing around. But he's grown restless in his middle-age and feels the need to escape - he just doesn't know where to go. Cast: Paul Batiste, Gwendolyn Spradling, Kayla Lemaire. The Off Hours / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Megan Griffiths) -- A passing truck driver brings an unfamiliar sense of optimism to a woman working the night shift at a quiet diner, reminding her it's never too late to become the person you always wanted to be. Cast: Amy Seimetz, Ross Partridge, Scoot McNairy, Lynn Shelton, Bret Roberts, Tony Doupe. Prairie Love / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Dusty Bias) -- When a mysterious vagrant living out of his car among the snowy plains discovers a nearly-frozen local with a pen-pal girlfriend, he sees an opportunity to change his lonely existence. Cast: Jeremy Clark, Holly Lynn Ellis, Garth Blomberg. Restless City / U.S.A. (Director: Andrew Dosunmu; Screenwriter: Eugene M. Gussenhoven) -- An African immigrant survives on the fringes of New York City. Music is his passion, life is a hustle and falling in love is his greatest risk. Cast: Danai Gurira, Anthony Okungbowa, Babs Olusanmokun. sound of my voice / U.S.A. (Director: Zal Batmanglij; Screenwriters: Zal Batmanglij and Brit Marling) -- A young couple infiltrates a cult that meets in a basement in the San Fernando Valley. Cast: Christopher Denham, Nicole Vicius, Brit Marling. to.get.her / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Erica Dunton) -- Five girls come together for one fateful night where anything goes. They all had secrets, but their friendship was the only thing they knew to be true. Cast: Jazzy De Lisser, Chelsea Logan, Adwoa Aboah, Jami Eaton, Audrey Speicher. NEW FRONTIER Jess + Moss / U.S.A. (Director: Clay Jeter; Screenwriters: Clay Jeter and Debra Jeter) -- Jess (18) and Moss (12) are second cousins who have spent their summers together since either of them can remember. Without immediate families that they can relate to, and lacking friends their own age, all they have is each other. Through a series of memories and vignettes, 'Jess + Moss' recounts the events of the last summer they shared together. Shot entirely on location with a variety of expired and often degraded film stocks, 'Jess + Moss' captures the evocative and haunting character of the dark fire tobacco fields of rural Western Kentucky. Cast: Sarah Hagan, Austin Vickers. World Premiere. The Mill & the Cross / Poland, Sweden (Director: Lech Majewski; Screenwriters: Michael Francis Gibson and Lech Majewski) -- A visually vibrant and masterful work that seamlessly fortifies rich painterly compositions with digital effects, bringing Peter Brugel's 1564 painting, The Way to Calvary, to real life. Cast: Rutger Hauer, Michael York, Charlotte Rampling, Joanna Litwin. World Premiere The Nine Muses / U.S.A., United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: John Akomfrah) -- An allegorical fable divided into overlapping musical chapters, this film retells the history of mass migration to post-war Britain through the suggestive lens of Homer's epic poem, The Odyssey. North American Premiere !Women Art Revolution / U.S.A. (Director: Lynn Hershman Leeson) -- One part of a transmedia project that includes the interactive video installation RAW WAR presented at New Frontier, this seminal documentary depicts the history of women artists who have used art as an activist practice to fight oppression and protest gender and racial exclusion - creating what many historians feel is the most significant art movement of the late-20th century. U.S. Premiere The Woods / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Matthew Lessner) -- When promised change that did not come, eight young Americans move deep into to the woods to start their own society. Cast: Justin Phillips, Toby David, Adam Mortemore, Nicola Persky, Chris Edley. World Premiere
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Post by Ace on Dec 6, 2010 12:38:22 GMT -5
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Post by Ace on Dec 17, 2010 23:49:02 GMT -5
www.hollywood.com/news/The_Films_Were_Looking_Forward_To_At_Sundance_2011/7737446The Films We’re Looking Forward To At Sundance 2011 By Sam Morgan , Hollywood.com Staff | Thursday, December 02, 2010 SundanceThere are 115 films selected for this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Even the most die-hard film buff couldn’t see each one that Park City, Utah has to offer but luckily we have selected the few that look most promising based solely on their loglines, cast, etc. (for a full list of competing films go here, for a full list of non-competing films here). Check out our top picks below! Cedar Rapids (Director: Miguel Arteta; Screenwriter: Phil Johnston) —A wholesome and naive small-town Wisconsin man travels to big city Cedar Rapids, Iowa to represent his company at a regional insurance conference. Cast: Ed Helms, John C Reilly, Anne Heche, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Alia Shawkat, Sigourney Weaver. Ed Helms helped write the movie. That alone should sell the film to you. The Details (Director and screenwriter: Jacob Aaron Estes) —When hungry raccoons discover worms living under the sod in a young couple’s backyard, the pest problem sets off a wild and absurd chain reaction of domestic tension, infidelity, organ donation and murder by way of bow and arrow.Cast: Tobey Maguire, Elizabeth Banks, Laura Linney, Ray Liotta, Dennis Haysbert. A movie with raccoons, infidelity, Elizabeth Banks, and a death by bow and arrow? Sold. Life in a Day (Director: Kevin Macdonald) —Life in a Day is a historic global experiment to create the world’s largest user-generated feature film. On July 24, 2010, professional and amateur filmmakers captured a glimpse of their lives on camera and uploaded the footage to YouTube, serving as a time capsule for future generations. While the film may be boring, the fact that they did this makes the film worth watching. The Music Never Stopped (Director: Jim Kohlberg; Screenwriters: Gwyn Lurie and Gary Marks, based on the story “The Last Hippie” by Oliver Sacks) — A father struggles to bond with his estranged son who suffers a brain tumor that prevents him from forming new memories. He learns to embrace his son’s choices and to try to connect with him through the power of music. Cast: J.K. Simmons, Julia Ormond, Cara Seymour, Lou Taylor Pucci, Mia Maestro. While this sounds a little too sad for my tastes, J.K. Simmons is the man. He alone could get me into any movie so I guess I’ll stick it out for this one. My Idiot Brother (Director: Jesse Peretz; Screenwriters: Evgenia Peretz and David Schisgall) — After serving time for selling pot, Ned successively moves in with each of his three sisters as he tries to get back on his feet. His best intentions quickly bring the family to the cusp of chaos and ultimately the brink of clarity. Cast: Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Emily Mortimer. If the cast alone isn’t working for you, Zooey Deschanel plays a lesbian with Rashida Jones. Don’t forget to breathe. Perfect Sense (Director: David Mackenzie; Screenwriter: Kim Fupz Aakeson) —A poetic and magnetic love story about two people who start to fall in love just as the world begins to fall apart. Cast: Ewan McGregor, Eva Green, Ewen Bremner, Stephen Dillane, Denis Lawson and Connie Nielsen. I only included this one for its ridiculous logline. Red State (Director and screenwriter: Kevin Smith) — A group of misfits encounter extreme fundamentalism in Middle America. Cast: Michael Parks, Michael Angarano, Kyle Gallner, John Goodman, Melissa Leo. Let’s see how well Kevin Smith handles the horror genre. He’s been talking about this one for years, time for him to put up or shut up. Though something tells me that won’t happen any time soon. Salvation Boulevard (Director: George Ratliff; Screenwriters: Doug Max Stone and George Ratliff, based on the novel by Larry Beinhart) —An evangelical preacher who has captivated a city with his charm frames an ex-hippie for a crime he did not commit. Cast: Pierce Brosnan, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Greg Kinnear, Marisa Tomei. There is something alluring about the prospect of a preacher framing someone for something they didn’t do. Add this cast in and we’re definitely excited. The Son of No One (Director and screenwriter: Dito Montiel) —Two men in post-9/11 New York are forced to relive two murders they committed as young boys. Their lives start to unravel by the threat of the revelation of these shocking and personal secrets. Cast: Channing Tatum, Al Pacino, Katie Holmes, Tracy Morgan, Ray Liotta, Juliette Binoche. The closing night film doesn’t sound too interesting except that it has Tracy Morgan. Color me intrigued and let me stroke my long and gorgeous goatee. Bobby Fischer Against the World (Director: Liz Garbus) — The drama of late chess-master Bobby Fischer's career was undeniable,as he careened from troubled childhood, to World Champion and Cold War icon, to a fugitive on the run. Bobby Fishcer is one of the most fascinating people to ever become a grand champion of chess. His story has been told before but personally I don’t think one more will hurt. The Greatest Movie Ever Sold (Director: Morgan Spurlock) — A documentary about branding, advertising and product placement is financed and made possible by branding, advertising and product placement. A film buff endorsing a movie from one of the best documentarians working in his new film about the film business? You must be crazy. Bellflower (Director and screenwriter: Evan Glodell) — A ballad for every person who has ever loved and lost – with enough violence, weapons, action and sex to tell a love story with apocalyptic stakes. Cast: Evan Glodell, Jessie Wiseman, Tyler Dawson, Rebekah Brandes. Case in point of a second half of a sentence completely saving the sentence from the first half. Lord Byron (Director: Zack Godshall; Screenwriters: Zack Godshall and Ross Brupbacher) — When he's not pursuing women, Byron is smoking weed and loafing around. But he's grown restless in his middle-age and feels the need to escape – he just doesn't know where to go. Cast: Paul Batiste, Gwendolyn Spradling, Kayla Lemaire. We’re definitely not wanting to see this looking for advice. Definitely not. The Off Hours (Director and screenwriter: Megan Griffiths) — A passing truck driver brings an unfamiliar sense of optimism to a woman working the night shift at a quiet diner, reminding her it's never too late to become the person you always wanted to be. Cast: Amy Seimetz, Ross Partridge, Scoot McNairy, Lynn Shelton, Bret Roberts, Tony Doupe. I love truck drivers. I’m pretty sure I still want to be one. If this doesn’t have a killer country soundtrack I want my money back (which is whopping zero dollars, but whatever). to.get.her (Director and screenwriter: Erica Dunton) — Five girls come together for one fateful night where anything goes. They all had secrets, but their friendship was the only thing they knew to be true. Cast: Jazzy De Lisser, Chelsea Logan, Adwoa Aboah, Jami Eaton, Audrey Speicher. BLUGH. Kaboom (Director and screenwriter: Gregg Araki)— A science fiction story centered on the sexual awakening of a group of college students. Cast: Thomas Dekker, Haley Bennett, Chris Zylka, Roxane Mesquida, Juno Temple. A science fiction film about sexual awakening? I’m there. Meek’s Cutoff (Director: Kelly Reichardt; Screenwriter: Jon Raymond) — In 1845, three families who have hired mountaineer Stephen Meek to guide their wagons over the Cascade Mountains get lost and face hunger, thirst and a lack of faith in their instincts for survival. Cast: Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Zoe Kaza, Bruce Greenwood, Shirley Henderson. So this is basically a period piece of Alive with two of the best actors around. Done. Submarine (Director: Richard Ayoade; Screenwriter: Richard Ayoade from the novel by Joe Dunthorne) — Fifteen-year-old Oliver Tate has two big ambitions: to save his parents' marriage and to lose his virginity before his next birthday. Cast: Craig Roberts, Paddy Considine, Sally Hawkins, Yasmin Paige. This film had a big showing at this years Toronto Film Festival. I just want to see it already! Uncle Kent (Director: Joe Swanberg; Screenwriters: Joe Swanberg and Kent Osborne) — A pothead cartoonist in Los Angeles spends a weekend trying to sleep with his visiting house guest – a woman from New York he met on Chatroulette. Cast: Kent Osborne. While the premise sounds awesome, basing around the already past its prime fad Chatroulette seems like a wrong move. Hobo with A Shotgun (Director: Jason Eisener; Screenwriter: Johnathan Davies) — A hobo hops from a train with dreams of a fresh life in a new city, but instead finds himself trapped in an urban hell. When he witnesses a brutal robbery, he realizes the only way to deliver justice is with a shotgun in his hands and two shells in the chamber. Cast: Rutger Hauer, Molly Dunsworth, Gregory Smith, Brian Downey. Looks like we found the winner for Best Title. Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same (Director and screenwriter: Madeleine Olnek) — A shy greeting card store employee unknowingly falls for a lesbian space alien while two government agents closely track their romance. Cast: Lisa Haas, Susan Ziegler, Jackie Monahan, Cynthia Kaplan, Dennis Davis, Alex Karpovsky, Rae C Wright. Just kidding about the best title thing from above. This is the clear winner. Troll Hunter (Trolljegeren) (Director: Andre Ovredal) — A group of student filmmakers get more than they bargained for when tangling with a man tasked with protecting Norway from giant trolls. Cast: Otto Jespersen, Glenn Erland Tosterud, Hans Morten Hansen, Johanna Mørch, Tomas Alf Larsen. Norwegian giant trolls, what more could you ask for? Corman’s World: Exploits Of A Hollywood Rebel (Director: Alex Stapleton) — Tracks the triumphant rise of Hollywood’s most prolific writer-director-producer, the true godfather of independent filmmaking. Cast: Jack Nicholson, Ron Howard, Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, James Cameron, Roger Corman. Just look at who all is involved and tell why you wouldn’t watch this? Now shut up and learn something. Jess + Moss (Director: Clay Jeter; Screenwriters: Clay Jeter and Debra Jeter) — Without immediate families that they can relate to, and lacking friends their own age, second cousins Jess and Moss only have each other. A series of visceral vignettes conjure memories of companionship and sexual awakening during a summer shared together on their Kentucky farm. Cast: Sarah Hagan, Austin Vickers. So it’s like George Michael and Maebe make a movie? Whatever, I’ll watch. The Nine Muses (Director and screenwriter: John Akomfrah) — An allegorical fable divided into overlapping musical chapters, this film retells the history of mass migration to post-war Britain through the suggestive lens of Homer's epic poem, The Odyssey. And the Most Pretentious Sounding Film award goes to The Nine Muses. Thanks for playing. Benavides Born (Director: Amy Wendel; Screenwriters: Daniel Meisel and Amy Wendel) — A high school senior in a forgotten town has earned admission to the University of Texas at Austin but can't afford to go. Her one shot is a scholarship for winning the State Powerlifting Championship. Cast: Corina Calderon, Jeremy Ray Valdez, Joseph Julian Soria, Julia Vera, Julio César Cedillo. Female Powerlifting hasn’t exactly gotten the best films attached to it. I hope this film changes that. Homework (Director and screenwriter: Gavin Wiesen) — Quirky, rebellious George has no ambitions other than to cut his next class. But one day, one girl gives him the perfect reason to figure out who he really is. Cast: Freddie Highmore, Emma Roberts, Michael Angarano, Elizabeth Reaser with Rita Wilson and Blair Underwood. This sounds stupid but Emma Roberts is kind of cute, so who knows. The Ledge (Director and screenwriter: Matthew Chapman) — Perched on a ledge, a man says he must jump by noon, while a cop races against time to get to the bottom of it. Cast: Charlie Hunnam, Liv Tyler, Patrick Wilson and Terrence Howard with Christopher Gorham. Early reviews of this film say its really good. So I’ll go along for now. Like Crazy (Director: Drake Doremus; Screenwriters: Drake Doremus and Ben York Jones) — A young American guy and a young British girl meet in college and fall in love. Their love is tested when she is required to leave the country and they must face the challenges of a long-distance relationship. Cast: Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones, Jennifer Lawrence, Charlie Bewley, Alex Kingston. UGH... wait, it’s Anton Yelchin and Jennifer Lawrence? Never mind, this is going to be awesome. Take Shelter (Director and screenwriter: Jeff Nichols) — A working-class husband and father questions whether his terrifying dreams of an apocalyptic storm signal something real to come or the onset of an inherited mental illness he's feared his whole life. Cast: Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain, Shea Whigham, Katy Mixon, Kathy Baker. This looks super serious, and that’s great, but I really just want to see Katy Mixon. Terri (Director: Azazel Jacobs; Screenwriters: Patrick Dewitt and Azazel Jacobs) — Orphaned to an uncle who is fading away, mercilessly teased by his peers and roundly ignored by his teachers, Terri is alienated and alone. When the dreaded vice-principal sees something of himself in Terri, they establish a friendship which opens Terri up to the possibility that life is not something to be endured, but something to be shared, and even enjoyed. Cast: Jacob Wysocki, John C. Reilly, Creed Bratton, Olivia Crocicchia, Bridger Zadina. Ok, I know this film sounds ridiculous, but it has Creed Bratton in it. That’s gotta count for something, right? The Untitled Sam Levinson Project (Director and screenwriter: Sam Levinson) — A pair of reckless siblings are dragged into a chaotic family wedding by their overwrought mother. Cast: Demi Moore, Kate Bosworth, Jeffrey DeMunn, Ellen Barkin, Ellen Burstyn, Thomas Haden Church. Wedding movies involving dis-functional families are always the best. BEING ELMO: A Puppeteer’s Journey (Director: Constance Marks) — The Muppet Elmo is one of the most beloved characters among children across the globe. Meet the unlikely man behind the puppet – the heart and soul of Elmo – Kevin Clash. A movie about the guy who has his hand up Elmo’s butt all day? Actually, that sounds kind of sweet. Page One: A year inside the New York Times (Director: Andrew Rossi; Screenwriters: Kate Novack and Andrew Rossi) — Unprecedented access to theNew York Times newsroom yields a complex view of the transformation of a media landscape fraught with both peril and opportunity. Something tells me it will be more than bored journalists checking Twitter all day. The Redemption of General Butt Naked (Directors: Eric Strauss and Daniele Anastasion) — A brutal warlord who murdered thousands during Liberia's horrific 14-year civil war renounces his violent past and reinvents himself as an Evangelist, facing those he once terrorized. And the award for logline least like the film the title suggests goes to this film. Abraxas (Director: Dai Sako; Screenwriters: Dai Sako and Naoki Kato) — After botching a speech on career guidance at a local high school, a depressed Zen monk with a heavy metal past realizes that only music can revive his spirit.Cast: Suneohair, Rie Tomosaka, Manami Honjou, Ryouta Murai, Kaoru Kobayashi. Zen monks and heavy metal? This nirvana goes to 11. All Your Dead Ones (Todos Tus Muertos) (Director Carlos Moreno; Screenwriters: Alonso Torres and Carlos Moreno) — One morning, a peasant wakes to find a pile of bodies in the middle of his crops. When he goes to the authorities, he quickly realizes that the dead ones are a problem nobody wants to deal with. Cast: Alvaro Rodríguez, Jorge Herrera, Martha Marquez, Harold Devasten, John Alex Castillo. Sounds gross to find a bunch of dead bodies amongst your crops, but it does sound like a great film. Happy, Happy (Sykt Lykkelig) (Director: Anne Sewitsky; Screenwriter: Ragnhild Tronvoll) — A perfect housewife, who just happens to be sex-starved, struggles to keep her emotions in check when an attractive family moves in next door. Cast: Agnes Kittelsen, Henrik Rafaelsen, Maibritt Saerens, Joachim Rafaelsen. You had me at sex-starved Norwegian housewife. Vampire (Director and screenwriter: Iwai Shunji) — On the surface, Simon seems like a fairly normal, average young man, devoted to his teaching job and ailing mother. Secretly, he is compelled to hunt through online chat rooms and message boards, searching for the perfect girl who will ensure his own survival. Cast: Kevin Zegers, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Rachel Leigh Cook, Kristin Kreuk, Aoi Yu and Adelaide Clemens. A Japanese film about creepy guys hunting girls? Surely you jest. KNUCKLE (Director: Ian Palmer) — An epic 12-year journey into the brutal and secretive world of Irish Traveler bare-knuckle fighting, this film follows a history of violent feuding between rival clans. I hope this film will make me want to break a bottle over my head and throw someone out a pub window. Project Nim (Director: James Marsh) — From the Oscar-winning team behind Man on Wire comes the story of Nim, the chimpanzee who was taught to communicate with language as he was raised and nurtured like a human child. I’ve often dreamed of a world where men and monkeys live as one. Also I’ve always wanted to ask a Gorilla if he wanted to play video games with me. Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure (Director:Matthew Bate) — When two friends tape-recorded the fights of their violently noisy neighbors, they accidentally created one of the world's first 'viral' pop-culture sensations. And with a great title and an intriguing logline, this film has me wanting more. Sounds delightful.
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Post by Ace on Dec 17, 2010 23:53:01 GMT -5
blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/12/03/seven-sundance-2011-performers-to-watch/Wall Street Journal: Seven Sundance 2011 Performers to Watch (12-03-10) “The Matador” (2005) co-stars Pierce Brosnan and Greg Kinnear will reunite at the 2011 Sundance Film FestivalBy Anthony Kaufman The 2011 Sundance Film Festival brought out the big guns on Thursday, announcing the films selected for its non-competitive star-filled Premiere sections. If the festival’s competition films cater to smaller budget movies by first or second-time directors, with fewer recognizable actors attached, the Premieres are often anchored by A-list talent showing off their craft. In recent years, Sundance’s Premieres featured actors such as Jim Carrey (”I Love You Phillip Morris”), Ben Affleck (”The Company Men”), Robert Duvall (”Get Low”) and Philip Seymour Hoffman (”Jack Goes Boating”) at the top of their game. In what looks like another male-dominated year, here are seven performers sure to make a splash at next January’s festival. Paul Rudd –- After playing the straight man in a number of Hollywood comedies, Rudd stars as a loser sibling who successively moves in with each of his three sisters (Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Emily Mortimer) in director Jesse Peretz’s “My Idiot Brother.” Pierce Brosnan – Recently, the former James Bond has had a string of surprising, welcome turns in independent films (”Married Life,” “The Matador”). In his latest “Salvation Boulevard,” he plays Dan Day, a charismatic celebrity preacher who frames an ex-hippie for a crime he did not commit. Paul Giamatti –- The “Sideways” and “Cinderalla Man” star is a repeat Sundance attendee, having effectively launched his leading man status in Park City with “American Splendor” in 2003. In the new film “Win Win,” he plays a disheartened attorney moonlighting as a high school wrestling coach who stumbles across a star athlete with a troubled mother. Directed Tom McCarthy (”The Visitor”) is known for bringing out great performances. Also look out for “Gone Baby Gone” Oscar nominee Amy Ryan. Ed Helms – Known for his loony antics in “The Office” and “The Hangover,” Helms gets a chance to take on a more meaty role as the star of “Cedar Rapids,” which follows a naive small-town Wisconsin man who travels to big city Cedar Rapids, Iowa to represent his company at a regional insurance conference. Director Miguel Arteta has shown a knack for offbeat comedy and standout performances; he took “Friends” star Jennifer Aniston and made her compelling in 2002’s “The Good Girl.” Greg Kinnear -– The Hollywood actor can be seen in not one, but two Sundance premieres, opposite Brosnan in “Salvation Boulevard” and as the star of “The Convincer,” which follows an insurance salesman caught in a caper involving a rare musical instrument. Ronald Reagan -– The late actor-turned-U.S. president won’t be turning up in a new fiction film, of course, but he will dominate the screen in “Reagan,” the latest project from acclaimed documentary filmmaker Eugene Jareki (”Why We Fight”), who examines the enigmatic career of one of the revered architects of the modern world. Bobby Fischer –- Also appearing in the festival’s new Documentary Premieres section for high-profile nonfiction films, the chess-master is the central figure in Oscar-nominated documentary director Liz Garbus’ latest film “Bobby Fischer Against the World.” The film charts his unlikely career from Chess Champion and Cold War icon to a fugitive on the run.
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Post by Ace on Dec 18, 2010 2:27:44 GMT -5
sundance.slated.com/2011/films/salvationboulevard_sundance2011Reverend Dan is a charismatic preacher who has captivated a city with his charm. Ex-deadhead and recovering hippie Carl is one of the loyal sheep in his flock. When an antique firearms accident does in an atheistic novelist and Dan’s controversial antagonist, Carl is called into service in the most unconventional way. The megachurch is cast into shadow, and a hellish storm begins brewing that could jeopardize its entire existence. The road to hell—in this case, Salvation Boulevard—is paved with good intentions—gone hysterically wrong. This material is perfectly suited for George Ratliff, who directed the award-winning documentary Hell House and the 2007 Sundance Film Festival hit Joshua. Down to every detail, you feel you are in capable hands. In a situation ripe with possibilities, the gloriously talented cast push their performances to the limit, spiraling this film toward instant cult-comedy status. In Salvation Boulevard, Ratliff peels back the onion to take a satirical look at Christian fanaticism—one guilty pleasure at a time. Run time: 95 min. | U.S.A. | color Screenings 2:30 PM Mon, Jan 24 Park City Library Center Theatre 6:15 PM Wed, Jan 26 Park City Eccles Theatre 12:30 PM Sat, Jan 29 Salt Lake City Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center
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Post by Ace on Jan 19, 2011 5:54:43 GMT -5
www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-sundance-sales-20110119,0,7952951.story Film buyers get out their wallets and darts at Sundance Film Festival It's never easy picking the next breakout hit. This year's crop is especially tricky because it features more lesser-known filmmakers.
By Steven Zeitchik and John Horn, Los Angeles Times January 19, 2011 Buyers at last year's Sundance Film Festival made big-money bets on two very different films: a thriller starring Ryan Reynolds and a dramedy about a lesbian couple and their sperm donor. If you were a Las Vegas bookie looking at box office odds, you'd have put your chips on Reynolds and his stuck-in-a-coffin story. But "Buried" was a conspicuous flop for distributor Lionsgate, taking in less than half the $3 million the company spent to acquire it. Meanwhile, Lisa Cholodenko's dysfunctional-family tale "The Kids Are All Right" turned into a national conversation piece, grossing $21 million in domestic release for buyer Focus Features, winning two Golden Globes, and looking likely to land several Oscar nominations next week. When it comes to predicting the commercial success of independent movies, festival heat is rarely a reliable prophet. When the world's largest independent film gathering begins Thursday in Park City, Utah, film buyers will comb the snowy streets for this year's "Kids," even as they acknowledge that trying to gauge how a Sundance movie will play with ordinary audiences is about as exact as throwing darts blindfolded. "You have to go to a lot of movies with an open mind and a semi-open wallet," said James Schamus, chief executive of Focus. "But you still have no idea what will work." Ever since a tiny movie called the "The Blair Witch Project" came out of nowhere in Park City in 1999 and turned into one of the most profitable films of all-time, buyers have come hoping to land a title that turns into a financial windfall. Last year, many movies with presumed commercial potential fizzled — consider the Kristen Stewart-starring "Welcome to the Rileys," or the Katie Holmes picture "The Romantics." Meanwhile, difficult dramas such as "Winter's Bone" and "Blue Valentine" — and documentaries such as "Waiting for 'Superman' " and "Exit Through the Gift Shop" — turned into specialty hits. This year's crop of movies has proved particularly tricky to assess ahead of time, given the abundance of titles from emerging and lesser-known filmmakers. (Second-year festival director John Cooper has sought to include edgier, less commercial offerings.) "Last year was upside-down, but this year feels even more wide open," said Jonathan Dana, a producer and long-time sales agent of independently financed films. Among the acquisition targets mentioned in an informal survey of buyers are "Little Birds," a coming-of-age drama starring Kate Bosworth from the producer of "Blue Valentine"; the Kevin Spacey-starring "Margin Call," a ripped-from-the-headlines story about the financial crisis; "The Ledge," a thriller about faith and a potential suicide; the Paul Rudd comedy "My Idiot Brother"; "Salvation Boulevard," a dark comedy with Pierce Brosnan playing a wayward evangelist; and "Higher Ground," a spiritual drama that marks the directorial debut of actress Vera Farmiga.
Kevin Smith ("Clerks," "Dogma") has shifted gears from his typical comedies with a coming-of-age horror movie titled "Red State," another hot sales target. He made headlines by saying he's considering staging an in-theater auction for rights to the independent feature after it premieres Sunday night. On the documentary side, buyers are keen on a look at a Liberian warlord ("The Redemption of General Butt Naked") and "Magic Bus," an exploration of Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters directed by Alex Gibney, who won an Oscar for "Taxi to the Dark Side." Some distributors, meanwhile, have put their markers on films before the festival even starts. Sony Pictures Classics announced Tuesday that it has bought rights to the Michael Shannon-starring horror-drama "Take Shelter." HBO snapped up "Project Nim," the story of a chimpanzee trained to think like a human and directed by Oscar winner James Marsh ("Man on Wire"). Oprah Winfrey's newly launched OWN Network has acquired television rights to several documentaries, including "Becoming Chaz," a look at the sex-change operation of Sonny and Cher's daughter, Chastity Bono. Most of these deals occurred in quiet negotiating sessions for prices well below $1 million, a sharp contrast from the all-night, seven-figure bidding wars that gripped the festival just a few years ago. Although one or two films will likely be sold that way in Park City, many more deals will be concluded in low-key sessions days or even weeks after the festival ends Jan. 30. Hal Sadoff, a sales agent for International Creative Management, said he was encouraged by the volume of deals at September's Toronto International Film Festival. But he was concerned that many of those pacts were for relatively modest prices, and that some of the films will be seen not in theaters but only through video-on-demand networks, which don't always generate additional income for filmmakers. "Video on demand is the future of the independent film business," Sadoff said. "But it's going to take a while to get there." The Hollywood agencies and New York sales agents that come to Park City acknowledge that big-ticket deals are largely a thing of the past, particularly because the number of distributors has thinned out, creating a buyers' market. But they hope they're sitting on a movie that can turn into this year's "Kids," for which Focus paid about $5 million for world rights. "It's true that there are fewer buyers and some lessening of purchase prices," said Richard Klubeck, a principal at United Talent Agency, which counts the Anton Yelchin romantic drama "Like Crazy" as well as "The Future" (the new film from quirk queen Miranda July) among the titles it will be peddling. "But there are still major players coming in to make major additions to their slate." Mark Urman, the former head of now-defunct distributor ThinkFilm who bought the Oscar nominee "Half Nelson" at Sundance five years ago, added: "There are new revenue streams but not really a lot of new companies." Still, most distributors will be looking for films that could work on all platforms, trying to find them in unexpected places. "We may not be living in salad days," Urman said. "But there are big leafy greens in there." Copyright © 2011, Los Angeles Times
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Post by Ace on Jan 20, 2011 9:30:55 GMT -5
Variety: In this climate, sellers operate at own riskNew distribs fueled by lower upfront minimum guarantees By Gregg Goldstein 1/20/11 Despite the economy crashing, ancillary revenue cratering and several acquisition deals falling apart, there seem to be more new indie distributors heading to Sundance -- and more success stories -- than ever. Aside from surprisingly robust box office returns, the flood of new distribs coming out of the woodwork is being fueled by lower upfront MGs (minimum guarantees) paid to filmmakers -- or, in some cases, no upfront cash at all -- allowing a wider range of small players to compete on a more equal playing field. And then there are the aspiring mini-majors, including FilmDistrict and vet producer Relativity (retrofitted with the late Overture Films' marketing and distribution arms), willing to make bigger bets on wide releases, despite a much smaller ancillary bounty than was available and expected in years past. "The MGs have gone down because, besides Fox Searchlight, Sony Classics and Focus, all those studio divisions shuttered," says Roadside Attractions VP of acquisitions and business affairs Dustin Smith, who negotiated for last year's grand jury prize winner "Winter's Bone," then helped strategize the quick Midwestern-area rollout that turned a $500,000 investment into a $6.25 million hit. "Four years ago, everyone was paying $3 million for every movie, buying up anything with the least bit of commercial appeal," Smith says. "Now there's a tier of experienced companies -- IFC, Magnolia, Roadside and Samuel Goldwyn -- that can get decent movies again at prices we can afford and do justice to them. And our infrastructure, overhead and P&A costs aren't as ridiculous, so you actually get money on the backend." Each of the above-mentioned companies saw a multi-million dollar summer boxoffice return on a pickup with a low- to mid-six figure price tag. And with mainly lower MGs, the surviving specialty divisions and other distributors saw profits on their acquisitions as well. Their success has served as a Pied Piper for a slew of new labels (see sidebar) of all sizes. For every shuttered specialty division like Miramax, there's a new outfit cropping up in its place -- in that case, Miramax, rebooted by Filmyard Holdings as a standalone indie. New CEO Mike Lang and his team will visit Park City with future acquisition plans in mind, but no mandate to buy. Some filmmakers essentially choose to bet on themselves through service deals, shouldering the cost of distribution with their own cash or third-party P&A investments from companies like Liddell Entertainment. Paladin, Freestyle, Emerging Pictures and numerous small startups are in this business, and conventional distributors like Lionsgate, Goldwyn, Roadside and the new Wrekin Hill make some of their release slots available for these arrangements. "If you have P&A available, you can certainly structure a deal where you keep your rights and all the upside, but you double your risk," notes Roadside co-prexy Howard Cohen. Sundance holds the biggest question mark for the mini-majors (Lionsgate, Summit, the Weinstein Co.), aspiring ones (Relativity, FilmDistrict) and the majors' worldwide acquisitions speculators (Paramount, Sony). The biggest grosser by far from last year's crop was "The Kids Are All Right," which Focus turned into last year's biggest buy (under $5 million), biggest hit ($20 million) and arguably the biggest awards contender. But its widest release was in just under 1,000 theaters, a far cry from the 1,500-2,000 screens Relativity and others hope to corral for their open release slots. The next most successful 2010 pickup released so far, Roadside's "Winter's Bone," earned $6.25 million but only reached 141 theaters in its widest release. The big boys will all have to fight over the few titles with wide-release potential, but Sundance director John Cooper is enthusiastic about the returning champions and their prospects. "A lot of people are coming back this year -- the Harvey Weinstein situation, Bob Berney, Relativity," Cooper says. "They're not new people necessarially, but they have new or sort-of-new companies. That's kind of exciting, because there might be a little more (sales activity) on the bigger side. There are definitely some films in the festival that are possible big buys, like 'Salvation Boulevard,' 'The Details' and 'My Idiot Brother.'?"
Talk among the bigger players mirrors his enthusiasm, tempered a bit by some new realities. "Theatrical releases of independent films are as robust as they've ever been," notes Sony Pictures Classics co-head Michael Barker, who has mostly avoided the higher-end bidding wars. "But the whole issue is: how do you make up for the revenues we're losing because the DVD sell-through business has disappeared? You make up that money with revenues with other technologies, and its just a bit slow in coming and meeting that goal." And with the new distributor gold rush, cautionary tales abound. "There are a couple movies that sold out of Sundance last year to distribution companies that I'm not even sure are in business anymore," notes Sundance Selects and IFC Entertainment president Jonathan Sehring. First Independent Pictures founder and president Gary Rubin, who picked up last year's Jesse Eisenberg starrer "Holy Rollers," will be scouting for films at Sundance again -- as senior VP for new arthouse distrib Cohen Media Group. His former outfit will remain as a film library. All of Sundance 2010's other buyers still appear to be in business, but with several deals falling apart and distributors like Apparition now mere ghosts, one could be forgiven for thinking otherwise. For example, although Hannover House announced a deal for the 2010 Sundance audience award winner "Happythankyoumoreplease" last March, by August the film had landed at Anchor Bay. Along the same lines, neophyte distributor Metropolitan claimed it would launch its 20-release-a-year distribution outfit with the biopic pickup "Casino Jack," but by mid-summer the $10 million deal (made, appropriately enough, with producer Rollercoaster Entertainment) fizzled, and by December, "Jack" became the sophomore release of neophyte distrib ATO Pictures. There may be no stronger indication of indie distribution's state of flux and quandary of choices than the latest moves and musings of two very different studios: IFC, which releases virtually all its theatrical films day-and-date via VOD, and Sony Pictures Classics, which has strictly adhered to a theatrical platform release model with months-long windows until DVD and VOD. IFC had its biggest theatrical hit of the year with the $2.9 million-grossing docu pickup "Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work," a deal sealed just after last year's Sundance on the condition it get a traditional theatrical release with several months before hitting ancillary outlets. Meanwhile, on VOD, IFC's "The Killer Inside Me" (nabbed for around $1.5 million and launched on its new Sundance Selects label) earned just $217,000 in theaters, but went on to become the company's top-performing download. Though all VOD revenue is proprietary, an insider pegs "Killer" as earning lower-mid-seven figures. On the flip side, SPC has always held firm to an old-school theatrical release strategy, but Barker says he's considering the possibility (however remote) of a day-and-date VOD release in the company's future. "Right now, the model that we have is the one that works best for the films we're releasing and acquire, but you'll really have to see how things unfold," he says. "We'll see."
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Post by formermi6agent on Jan 20, 2011 11:27:24 GMT -5
It would be an insult and a crime if this movie or any of Pierce's upcoming films doesn't get nominated by the Oscars.
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Post by Ace on Jan 20, 2011 19:14:21 GMT -5
www.deadline.com/2011/01/sundance-overview-from-mike-fleming-is-dealmaking-avalanche-in-the-forecast/SUNDANCE OVERVIEW From Mike Fleming: Is Dealmaking Avalanche In The Forecast? Handicapping The High Priority AcquisitionsBy MIKE FLEMING | Thursday January 20, 2011 PARK CITY, UTAH: The acquisitions crowd rolls into the 2011 Sundance Film Festival today with a sense of optimism that dealmaking could pick up where it left off at the Toronto Film Festival last fall. On paper, the signs are encouraging: new buyers and hungry established distributors; plenty of titles with name casts and intriguing plot lines; and a sense of urgency created by sellers bold enough not to prescreen titles for buyers. Several that did screen early wound up with pre-festival deals. Roadside Attractions bought the Grateful Dead-themed drama The Music Never Stopped; Sony Pictures Classics’ bought Take Shelter; OWN acquired the documentary Becoming Chaz; HBO bought the documentary Project Nim and will sell feature rights; and A&E IndieFilms bought TV rights to Corman’s World. Not to mention that Knuckle, a documentary about two families in Ireland that periodically engages in bare knuckle brawls because of a long simmering dispute, has more than one suitor circling remake rights after CAA sent DVDs because bootlegs already were making the rounds. There is optimism about the indie business in general right now. Indie films have made a strong awards season showing, with 2010 Sundance films The Kids Are All Right, Winter’s Bone and Blue Valentine in the mix for acting categories at least. Buyers and sellers said the indie business is past its painful bottoming-out phase of the last few years. A leaner, smarter model has emerged and while minimum guarantees and P&A commitments are smaller than years past, filmmakers are keeping their budgets at sensible levels. They're still drawing stars attracted to provocative material. There were also enough success stories from last year to stoke the fire. “You had this period of too much financing, and over production that left too many movies looking for distribution,” said WME Global’s Graham Taylor. “We saw things stabilize in 2010 and we will see growth in 2011. Demand has definitely picked up, and there are new distributors and players coming in.” Added UTA’s Rena Ronson: “We’ve gone through the slates of the major buyers, and there are major holes. Every major buyer has told us they need films.” There could well be bidding battles on several fronts this year. There is a bumper crop of buyers looking for product that can open on between 1500 to 2000 screens. After absorbing Overture Films, Ryan Kavanaugh’s Relativity Media, and Peter Schlessel and Bob Berney’s FilmDistrict fall in step with a reinvigorated Weinstein Company, Fox Searchlight, Summit, Lionsgate, Focus and CBS Films. The question: will any of the Sundance films justify spending the $20 million or more in P&A required to support that kind of release? Dark Castle thought it had such a candidate last year when it committed $25 million in P&A to the horror film Splice, only to see it gross about that much, worldwide. Despite this, several horror titles are high priorities for distributors because they can be opened wide. All of those players but FilmDistrict will be on the prowl for the specialty films that most of the festival films fall into. Sony Pictures Classics, IFC, Anchor Bay, Roadside Attractions and others that stepped up at Toronto last fall are also expected to be aggressive on films that can be platformed, and widened if audiences respond. "There is clearly a strong market for platform films," said CAA agent Micah Green. "Those titles can bring their distributors both prestige and profit. Also, the lower cost of entry into platform distribution makes it attractive for independent companies who lack the capital to open films wide. We have seen a surge in ancillary value for star-driven specialty films. That was the primary driver for the quick pace of business in Toronto -- star talent is very attractive for buyers focused on VOD, DVD, digital distribution and cable outlets. There's a bullishness on the distribution side of the market. You can feel it." After checking with several major buyers, here are the films most often identified as priority targets: MY IDIOT BROTHER - The Jesse Peretz-directed comedy stars Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Emily Mortimer. Rudd plays a guy who, after serving time for pot dealing, moves in with each of his three sisters as he tries to get back on his feet. His best intentions quickly bring the family to the cusp of chaos and ultimately the brink of clarity. THE SON OF NO ONE - The Dito Montiel-directed drama stars Channing Tatum, Al Pacino, Katie Holmes, Tracy Morgan, Ray Liotta and Juliette Binoche. Two men in post-9/11 New York are forced to relive two murders they committed as young boys. Their lives start to unravel by the threat of the revelation. THE DETAILS - The Jacob Aaron Estes-directed film stars Tobey Maguire, Elizabeth Banks, Laura Linney, Ray Liotta and Dennis Haysbert. When hungry raccoons discover worms living under the sod in a young couple’s backyard, the result is a chain reaction of domestic tension, infidelity, organ donation and murder by bow and arrow. THE DEVIL’S DOUBLE - The Lee Tamahori-directed film stars Dominic Cooper as the centerpiece of a film that explores a chilling vision of the House of Saddam, through the eyes of the man forced to serve as his double. MARGIN CALL - The JC Chandor-directed drama stars Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Demi Moore, and Stanley Tucci. Over a 24-hour period during the early stages of the 2008 financial crisis, the key people at an investment bank struggle to decide how to handle the emergency, confronted by the personal and moral implications of every action they take. THE SILENT HOUSE - The Chris Kentis-directed film is a remake of the Uruguayan horror film. Sarah returns with her father and uncle to fix up the family’s longtime summerhouse after it was violated by squatters in the off-season. As they work in the dark, Sarah begins to hear sounds from within the walls of the boarded-up building. Although she barely remembers the place, Sarah senses the past may still haunt the home. RED STATE - The Kevin Smith-directed film stars Michael Parks, Michael Angarano, Kyle Gallner, John Goodman and Melissa Leo. A group of misfits encounter extreme fundamentalism in Middle America. It’s being called a horror film. High on the priority list for potential platform releases:
SALVATION BOULEVARD - The George Ratliff-directed adaptation of the Larry Beinhart novel stars Pierce Brosnan, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Greg Kinnear and Marisa Tomei. An evangelical preacher who has captivated a city with his charm frames an ex-hippie for a crime he did not commit.ANOTHER HAPPY DAY - The Sam Levinson-directed film stars Demi Moore, Kate Bosworth, Jeffrey DeMunn, Ellen Barkin, Ellen Burstyn and Thomas Haden Church. A pair of reckless siblings are dragged into a chaotic family wedding by their overwrought mother. CORMAN’S WORLD: EXPLOITS OF A HOLLYWOOD REBEL - The Alex Stapleton-directed documentary about 50s indie film king Roger Corman has a cast that includes Jack Nicholson, Ron Howard, Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro and James Cameron. HIGHER GROUND - The directorial debut of actress Vera Farmiga stars Farmiga, Joshua Leonard, John Hawkes, Dagmara Dominczyk, Norbert Leo Butz and Donna Murphy. A frustrated young mother turns to a fundamentalist community for answers, but after years of dogma and loss, she must find the courage to ask the questions that will help her reclaim her life. I MELT WITH YOU - The Mark Pellington-directed drama stars Thomas Jane, Jeremy Piven, Rob Lowe, Christian McKay and Carla Gugino. Four friends, who gather every year, are unexpectedly forced to confront a forgotten promise they made 25 years earlier. As they examine choices they've made, they realize that what they said they would do with their lives and what they have done are entirely different. THE LEDGE - The Matthew Chapman-directed drama stars Charlie Hunnam, Liv Tyler, Patrick Wilson and Terrence Howard. Perched on a ledge, a man says he must jump by noon, while a cop races against time to get to the bottom of it TYRANNOSAUR - The Paddy Considine-directed drama focuses on a man plagued by self-destructive violence and rage. He gets the chance for redemption in the form of Hannah, a Christian charity shop worker with a devastating secret of her own. PAGE ONE: A YEAR INSIDE THE NEW YORK TIMES - The Andrew Rossi-directed documentary tracks the media desk of the venerable daily at a time when technological changes plunged it into crisis. THE CONVINCER - The Jill Sprecher-directed film stars Greg Kinnear, Alan Arkin, Billy Crudup and David Harbour. An insurance salesman, caught in a caper involving a rare musical instrument, sets off a series of dramatic consequences. Buyers said there is always room for surprises: "You'd hardly have been able to predict Precious based on a verbal description," said one buyer. While deal volume might be as strong as Toronto, few expected for huge sums to be paid. Last year, many dealmakers placed P&A commitments as a priority over minimum guarantees, but one seller at a major agency said that strategy was found to have drawbacks: “A distributor can always say, ‘I know we committed, but…’ If they’ve paid that upfront minimum guarantee, they’ve got skin in the game and are incentivized to make the film work.” The new economic model of indie filmmaking has become a mantra to filmmakers and stars of some of the higher profile Sundance films. Son of No One writer/director Dito Montiel said his film cost several million, but for that, he was able to assemble a cast that includes Channing Tatum and Al Pacino. “You really are asking people to put millions of dollars into this insane idea you’ve dreamed up for a movie and that is always daunting,” he said. “I’ve been pretty lucky, drawing actors who want to be artists, because I don’t think anybody would show up on my sets just for the money. And this cast really showed up.” JC Chandor worked on videos and commercials and directed short films before finally, at age 37, getting the chance to make his feature debut on his script Margin Call. Even though he drew a high profile cast that includes Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons and Demi Moore, he operated under a full understanding that the lower the cost and risk, the more likely he was to get another shot behind the camera. “I want to do this again and the easiest way to do that is to keep the budget in check so your investors get paid back," Chandor said. "That became a primary goal, and I’m not sure I’d have felt that way if I’d done this in a different indie era, when I was 25.” Spacey, the first actor to sign on for Chandor's film, said the charm of making that and other indies he frequents is watching a good script build momentum and a cast willing to make sacrifices, like 17 days of summer night shooting atop 1 Penn Plaza, in offices vacated by a hedge fund. Festival buzz will be crucial in making sure the film gets a shot at an audience. “The movie struck a chord with AFM buyers, where 20 territories were sold based on a minute and a half clip," Spacey said. "That told us audiences around the world can relate to this economic calamity, which they too are experiencing. It’s not a U.S.-centric film, but we’re going into Sundance hoping to make a good solid domestic deal on the back of that international interest. We’ve all got our fingers crossed that we’ll be able to find a way for this film to be seen.”
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Post by Ace on Jan 20, 2011 21:19:45 GMT -5
E! Online: 2011 Sundance: 15 Movies With Big Buzzwww.eonline.com/uberblog/b221510_15_movies_with_big_buzz_sundance.htmlGrab your parka 'cause it's time again for the Sundance Film Festival! The annual indie-flavored fest begins today, and the film world is descending upon the cozy town of Park City, Utah. So what's in store for all of us this year? Al Pacino and Channing Tatum are going head-to-head in a gritty New York drama, Tobey Maguire's fending off hungry raccoons and Paul Rudd's crashing with his three sisters as he gets his life back on track. And that's not all! What are sure to be some of the year's breakout films are also making their big-screen debuts over the next week. Lucky for you, we've compiled the 15 buzziest films hitting the festival this year, so check 'em out and impress your friends with your Sundance knowledge www.eonline.com/photos/gallery.jsp?galleryUUID=2820
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Post by Ace on Jan 23, 2011 3:36:08 GMT -5
www.dailyfreeman.com/articles/2011/01/23/life/doc4d3a17a0825a2909117991.txt?viewmode=fullstorySalvation' at SundancePublished: Sunday, January 23, 2011 By Ann Gibbons The author whose novel becomes a film is at once exhilarated and terrified: ‘What will they do with my book’ transfixes them.Woodstock author Larry Beinhart, however, whose novel-turned-film, “Salvation Boulevard,” — premiering Monday at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah — has confidence in scriptwriter and director George Ratcliff. During an interview this week at this home, Beinhart said with wry humor, “Oh, just like ‘Wag the Dog,’(based on his previous novel, “American Hero”). everything is exactly the same as the book. They only changed the plot and the characters.” That film starred Dustin Hoffman and Robert Diro. Asked if the author has any role in developing the screenplay, Beinhart shook his head, “No. “Once it leaves my hands, it belongs to the film,” he said. Beinhart said he was allowed on location for a few days. “By mid-afternoon of the third day, I was considering making a very tiny helpful suggestion to the director. I knew it was time to come home,” he said. Filmed on location in Michigan, Beinhart said he did screen a brief trailer about two weeks into production and it was very good, but did not illuminate where the director would take the action. The novel, a story-within-a-story, examines what happens when a young Muslim student is arrested for murdering his professor, who had just completed a manuscript reportedly disproving the existence of God. Only a few pages of the manuscript are found at the scene; the remaining pages are missing. Integral to the story, set in Texas, are the dynamic and compelling mega-preacher, a somewhat cynical Jewish lawyer and his born-again-Christian detective, Carl Vanderveer, who narrates the story in first person. The producer and director assembled an all-star cast with Pierce Brosnan (the preacher), Greg Kinnear (the detective, who becomes a church member in the film), Ed Harris, Marisa Tomei and Jennifer Connelly. His few days on the set were revealing, Beinhart recalled. “Off camera, Pierce was friendly, open and charming. Ed takes his intensity with him into a private space.” Beinhart said before he could take on the story, he need to develop for the plot, the tenet’s of the charismatic, mega-preacher’s religion. Thus, the story-within-the-story. It is, Beinhart said, an attempt to answer for himself The Great Question: Why do believers believe? “If you hand a non-believer a religious book, say the Bible, it would be impossible for him or her to understand,” he said. He observed the increasing secularism of the past three to four centuries, and the continuing diminished role of religion in the public sphere. Some polemicists pondered whether sacred observances, such as Mass, would become relegated to private practice, so irrelevant had religion become. “Then,” Beinhart, “comes 1978 and the ascendancy of the faith-dominated Islamic Republic of Iran, coupled with the rise of the religious right in the U.S.” Beinhart chose to examine the believer/non-believer dilemma as fiction because, he said humorously, “If it were non-fiction, it would be non-published.” The personnae, such as the mega-preacher, and some events, come from, “a stew of lots of realities, rather than one specific person or incident,” he said. Asked if parts of him could be found in the novel, Beinhart shrugged and said, “It’s the literal truth that every character comes out of yourself.” He said in the process of writing, for every character, if he wants him or her to do something, he goes into himself and asks what part of himself, in that situation, would do. “I come up with the reaction that has psychological and emotional validity,” he said. Beinhart said the director came at the story in his own way, facing his own issues, because he grew up in that environment in Texas. “He found his own way into the story,” Beinhart. “It’s more personal than mine.” The recently published “Salvation Boulevard” is the second version. Beinhart said he wrote the first one a long time ago, then wrote “The Librarian,” which is also under option for a film. Continued... “The second ‘Salvation Boulevard’ has absolutely no relation to the first,” Beinhart said. “I used about 10 lines and the murdered professor from the first “ Beinhart said he did a huge amount of research for the book, but it’s deliberately not visible. “I needed to get things down to simplicity,” he said. Asked if he were a faith-based person, Beinhart said simply, “no.” But, he said, that did not deter him from asking and trying to answer The Great Question. On one hand, Beinhard said, are religious whose foundations are somewhat spurious or perhaps, to the non-believer, ridiculous. On the other hand, he said, believers make magnificent sacrifices, including their lives, for their faith. “They accomplish great things or suffer horrendous torture. Their faith sustains them,” he said. Faith is fundamental to human nature, Beinhart said, and trying to answer The Great Question opens up everything else. “If we can explain why believers believe, and why religion is fundamental to human nature, that would set forth a whole new theory of human nature.” Beinhart said he hopes both readers and viewers walk away thoughtfully. It’s obvious on the face of it, he explained, that religion like drugs or sex, can produce some really great things and a few really bad ones. “If we really understand why we’re doing what we’re doing, it’s possible to separate the good from the truly harmful,” he said, adding that he does not know how or if the film answers The Great Question. The film, so far, has led a charmed life, Beinhart said. “Everything happened really fast.” The book was optioned before it was published, which is normal, he said. The director wrote the screenplay, the producers asked for a second, and it came back quickly. Brosnan was signed, and his agent was also agent for some of the other actors who came on board. In an interview filled with intense questions, uncompromising responses and a lot of laughter, Beinhart was most amused at his promised cameo appearance in the film. “If it’s not cut, I have a tiny, non-speaking role. When the mega preacher and the born-again character are running out of the mega church, I open the door and look back at them running,” he said, laughing, and added, “I was promised it would stay in the film. I’ll find out Monday.” Beinhart is not alone in finding out how his book-turned-film fare at the festival. There are no less than 17 Hudson Valley-affiliated films premiering, in various categories, at the festival, something that Meira Blaustein, co-founder of the Woodstock Film Festival, is especially proud of. “It’s really great that so many films connected to Woodstock and the festival are premiering,” Blaustein said in an interview this week just before she was set to fly to the festival in Utah. “The Woodstock Film Festival keeps growing and bringing more and more film people to the area,” Blaustein said. “For people making films here, the festival offers various ways to connect.” Founded only in 2000, Blaustein said the festival was a huge undertaking, demanding hard work and dedication to make it flourish as successfully as it has. “But, if you are passionate about something, you will make it happen,” she said. Blaustein said she would try to screen as many WFF-related films as she could, either during the festival or during its year-round screening, but, she warned, many of them are picked up for international distribution. “All the films are world premieres. A lot of hopes and dreams ride on them,” Blaustein said. “Sundance is a whirlwind with the energy level over the top. Films are screened from 8:30 a.m. to midnight every day, so it’s non-top.” Acknowledging that she won’t sleep much, Blaustein it’s important at Sundance to plan carefully since numerous venues are involved and taking the shuttle from one to the other has to be figured in to the day’s activities. “I start out planning my day so carefully to get in all the films I want to see. Then, I hear about something I can’t miss – and the whole day falls apart,” Blaustein said, laughing. Asked about the best part of Sundance, besides Robert Redford and all the stars, Blaustein responded promptly, “The anticipation of discovery, of finding that one extraordinary film that unexpectedly gets everyone talking. It’s those kinds of discoveries that launch careers all over the film world.” Blaustein added, “As a film person, more than anything on the face of the earth, I cherish those unexpected moments of discovery.” Asked about the fashionistas, Blaustein laughed and said, “Only the Hollywood people bring out the furs because they don’t get to wear them very often. And, the gawkers, who come just to see the stars, are dressed to the nines. They must be freezing.” Blaustein said attendees from the Hudson Valley dress more practically. “For us, it’s work, work, work, so we’re outside a lot. It’s cold in Park City, so we wear good boots and warm coats. For those who can’t make it to Sundance, but want to support the Woodstock Film Festival, they’ll have a chance at A Night at the Awards, on Sunday, Feb. 27 at 7p.m. at the Emerson Resort & Spa, 5340 Route 28, Mt. Tremper. The event will offer hors d’oeuvres, buffet and a special presentation of the Oscars. Tickets are $75, with $25 going to the festival. Further information may be obtained by calling (845) 810-0131 or email tickets@woodstockfilmfestival.com.
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Post by Ace on Jan 24, 2011 19:16:12 GMT -5
Salvation Blvd Press Kit included this amazing item - plus a crayon. I want one!
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Post by Ace on Jan 24, 2011 21:54:09 GMT -5
Pretty poor formby Weinstein who has two of the stars working on his next film. www.hollywoodreporter.com/blogs/risky-business/sundance-crowd-praises-premiere-salvation-75158SUNDANCE: Crowd Praises Premiere of ‘Salvation Boulevard’ With Big Laughs Though Harvey Weinstein clearly wasn’t in the mood to be saved. January 24 9:20 PM 1/24/2011 by Stacey Wilson Those at the Library Theater who witnessed the world premiere of director George Ratliff’s take on novelist Larry Beinhart’s religious murder-satire laughed big in all the right places—due largely to star Greg Kinnear’s pitch-perfect turn as an erstwhile Dead Head seeking redemption in a Southwestern mega church led by a wormy pastor played by Pierce Brosnan. However, about 40 minutes into the comedy, Harvey Weinstein, seated about eight rows from the front, started to nod off and then shuffled out of the theater. He didn’t return. That ominous display aside, the film offered a rare reprieve at Sundance to laugh -- an opportunity made even more enjoyable by the film’s stellar cast that includes Jennifer Connelly and Ed Harris. Prior to the film’s screening, festival director John Cooper praised Ratliff and apologized for not accepting the director's documentary film submission, Hell House. “I’m glad he’s here now, and making features, which is exactly what he should be doing,” said Cooper. When the lights went up, Kinnear spoke about what drew to him to the project and to want to work with his Matador co-star, Brosnan, again. “A thriller set in a mega church? I’d definitely never seen that before,” said Kinnear. “I also love Pierce. He’s turned his 007 life upside down and taken huge risks.” He then quipped: “If he were here, he’d say the same about me.”
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Post by formermi6agent on Jan 25, 2011 12:26:11 GMT -5
What's the release date for this Salvation Blvd? I hope it's late this year because I WANT this to have HIGH chances of getting nominated by the Oscar as Pierce and his work have underrated LONG ENOUGH already.
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Post by Ace on Jan 25, 2011 17:48:45 GMT -5
No distributor yet = no release date. And considering it's supposed light farcical comedic tone and the very early negative reviews in Variety & HR there will be no awards possibility to worry about. There's won't be any for the chick lit film he's making now either. Unless maybe it gets in for costumes - but since it's not a period piece - forget it. It's not like they're films with technical aspects or have a song that could get nods regardless of subject matter or quality like Wolfman, Tron, Alice In Wonderland and Country Song. Even if it was indeed brilliant and had critical acclaim it would mean nothing - just look at The Ghost Writer snubs. It's a crapshoot and a game and in the end it's an award Alfred Hitchcock never won but Eminem did so....
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