UTA has signed Hong Kong writer-director Tiger Ji for representation in all areas.
Ji first gained recognition at age 19 with his award-winning 2020 short, “Wuhan Driver,” executive produced by Jonathan Sanger. It follows a Chinese Uber driver in New York as he struggles to make ends meet at the onset of the pandemic. For the project, Ji was awarded the filmmaker of the future award at the Rhode Island International Film Festival.
His subsequent 2023 project, “Death & Ramen,” starred Bobby Lee and Matt Jones (“Breaking Bad”). The short premiered at the Palm Springs Shortfest, where it was nominated for best comedy. It follows a ramen chef as he goes on an unintended late night odyssey with the Grim Reaper, sharing a bowl of noodles and discovering what it means to be human.
“Death & Ramen” was picked up by Canal+ for distribution worldwide and racked up more than 1 million views on YouTube in just over a month.
Ji first gained recognition at age 19 with his award-winning 2020 short, “Wuhan Driver,” executive produced by Jonathan Sanger. It follows a Chinese Uber driver in New York as he struggles to make ends meet at the onset of the pandemic. For the project, Ji was awarded the filmmaker of the future award at the Rhode Island International Film Festival.
His subsequent 2023 project, “Death & Ramen,” starred Bobby Lee and Matt Jones (“Breaking Bad”). The short premiered at the Palm Springs Shortfest, where it was nominated for best comedy. It follows a ramen chef as he goes on an unintended late night odyssey with the Grim Reaper, sharing a bowl of noodles and discovering what it means to be human.
“Death & Ramen” was picked up by Canal+ for distribution worldwide and racked up more than 1 million views on YouTube in just over a month.
- 8/27/2024
- by Katcy Stephan
- Variety Film + TV
To celebrate the physical release of Cabrini out now on Blu-Ray, DVD & Digital Download platforms, we have 2 Blu-ray copies to give away to some lucky winners!
From the studio (Angel Studios) and director (Alejandro Monteverde) behind last summer’s box office sensation Sound of Freedom, this stunning biographical epic stars Cristiana Dell’Anna, two-time Oscar nominee John Lithgow, two-time Emmy nominee David Morse and Oscar nominee Giancarlo Giannini. Cabrini was produced by Academy Award-winning Jonathan Sanger (The Elephant Man) and features an original song performed by the world renowned tenor, Andrea Bocelli.
In 1889, Italian immigrant Francesca Cabrini arrives in New York City, greeted only by disease, crime, and impoverished children. Witnessing the vast inequality of the city, Cabrini sets off on a daring mission to help society’s most vulnerable, but must first overcome the prejudices and indifference of those in power. However, despite these momentous setbacks, her broken English, and poor health,...
From the studio (Angel Studios) and director (Alejandro Monteverde) behind last summer’s box office sensation Sound of Freedom, this stunning biographical epic stars Cristiana Dell’Anna, two-time Oscar nominee John Lithgow, two-time Emmy nominee David Morse and Oscar nominee Giancarlo Giannini. Cabrini was produced by Academy Award-winning Jonathan Sanger (The Elephant Man) and features an original song performed by the world renowned tenor, Andrea Bocelli.
In 1889, Italian immigrant Francesca Cabrini arrives in New York City, greeted only by disease, crime, and impoverished children. Witnessing the vast inequality of the city, Cabrini sets off on a daring mission to help society’s most vulnerable, but must first overcome the prejudices and indifference of those in power. However, despite these momentous setbacks, her broken English, and poor health,...
- 5/30/2024
- by Competitions
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
When Oscar-winning producer Jonathan Sanger was first pitched “Cabrini,” the story of the first American saint, he wasn’t quite sure he was right for the project.
“I said, ‘I think it’s a great idea. I think you should make the movie. I don’t really think I’m the right guy to produce this,’” Sanger recalls of his early conversation with executive producer J. Eustace Wolfington. “I tend to like to make stories about real people, that most people who watch these stories can relate to. And I don’t know how to relate to a saint.”
Wolfington wouldn’t take no for an answer, telling Sanger he was missing the point: Francesca Cabrini may have become a saint, but her powerful story of overcoming adversity as both a woman and an Italian immigrant takes place far before her posthumous canonization in 1946.
“The more I learned about her,...
“I said, ‘I think it’s a great idea. I think you should make the movie. I don’t really think I’m the right guy to produce this,’” Sanger recalls of his early conversation with executive producer J. Eustace Wolfington. “I tend to like to make stories about real people, that most people who watch these stories can relate to. And I don’t know how to relate to a saint.”
Wolfington wouldn’t take no for an answer, telling Sanger he was missing the point: Francesca Cabrini may have become a saint, but her powerful story of overcoming adversity as both a woman and an Italian immigrant takes place far before her posthumous canonization in 1946.
“The more I learned about her,...
- 3/11/2024
- by Katcy Stephan
- Variety Film + TV
In the late 1970s, David Lynch's debut film, "Eraserhead," captured the morbid imaginations of curious audiences -- including beloved comedian Mel Brooks, who was blown away by Lynch's approach to storytelling. Brooks and producer Jonathan Sanger approached Lynch with the offer to direct "The Elephant Man," a biographical prestige film about the real-life circus performer Joseph Merrick. Lynch accepted, and since Brooks had full confidence in Lynch and his vision, he deliberately removed his name from the film and branded it a Brooksfilms release to avoid any comedic association.
While we might think of Lynch as a master today, there were still plenty of growing pains he and his producers had to face as he transitioned into his first major studio film. As a perfectionist, his ego was majorly bruised working on this set. His general inexperience wasn't able to support the weight of his ambitions, as represented...
While we might think of Lynch as a master today, there were still plenty of growing pains he and his producers had to face as he transitioned into his first major studio film. As a perfectionist, his ego was majorly bruised working on this set. His general inexperience wasn't able to support the weight of his ambitions, as represented...
- 8/24/2022
- by Tyler Llewyn Taing
- Slash Film
David Lynch's sophomore film "The Elephant Man" has an origin story that's almost as crazy as the film itself. A period piece set in the Victorian era, the epic drama is about a man with significant facial deformity working as a sideshow attraction. He is brutally mistreated by the world around him until a kind surgeon takes him under his wing and their friendship blossoms. A similar dynamic emerged between director David Lynch and a huge producer that took him under his wing.
After completing his surreal and unsettling first film, "Eraserhead," Lynch set out to write a screenplay. "After 'Eraserhead' I wrote a script called 'Ronnie Rocket,'" Lynch revealed in an interview on the origins of the film (via Julius Deane). "I worked on that script in a bedroom in my parents house," the director confessed. Sadly, no one was interested in funding the film.
After completing his surreal and unsettling first film, "Eraserhead," Lynch set out to write a screenplay. "After 'Eraserhead' I wrote a script called 'Ronnie Rocket,'" Lynch revealed in an interview on the origins of the film (via Julius Deane). "I worked on that script in a bedroom in my parents house," the director confessed. Sadly, no one was interested in funding the film.
- 8/20/2022
- by Shae Sennett
- Slash Film
David Lynch's 1977 debut feature "Eraserhead" is a dank, horrifying picture, replete with surrealist imagery and themes of urban blight, suicidal ideation, and parental resentment. There are dreams within dreams, and even pleasant things are craggy and ugly. It's a smoky, messy film full of squirting bodily fluids and clumps of earth. It's one of the best films of its decade.
His 1980 follow-up film, "The Elephant Man," appears on paper to be one of the least likely sophomore efforts imaginable. Produced by Mel Brooks, "The Elephant Man" was a biographical prestige picture about the real-life Joseph Merrick (named John in the film), a man afflicted with, some have conjectured, Proteus syndrome. Merrick had an enlarged head, an outside right arm, and loose, tumor-ridden skin. He was a performer in circus sideshows and was assumed to be mentally infirm by his cruel "handlers." An English doctor named Frederick Treves discovered Merrick,...
His 1980 follow-up film, "The Elephant Man," appears on paper to be one of the least likely sophomore efforts imaginable. Produced by Mel Brooks, "The Elephant Man" was a biographical prestige picture about the real-life Joseph Merrick (named John in the film), a man afflicted with, some have conjectured, Proteus syndrome. Merrick had an enlarged head, an outside right arm, and loose, tumor-ridden skin. He was a performer in circus sideshows and was assumed to be mentally infirm by his cruel "handlers." An English doctor named Frederick Treves discovered Merrick,...
- 8/18/2022
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Exclusive: Christiana Dell’Anna (Gomorrah), John Lithgow (The Crown), David Morse (The Green Mile), Rolando Villazón (La Bohèmme) and more will star in an Untitled Cabrini Film from Alejandro Monteverde.
The film tells the story of Francesca Cabrini, one of the greatest entrepreneurs of the 19th Century, who began with nothing and created the largest multinational charitable empire the world had ever known, her accomplishments equaling those of Vanderbilt and Rockefeller. While Cabrini was faced in her time with the sexism and virulent anti-Italian bigotry of 19th century America, she overcame every obstacle through relentless perseverance and business skill, eventually building schools, orphanages and hospitals that transformed the lives of immigrants worldwide.
The Untitled Cabrini Film also stars Montserrat Espadalé, Romana Maggiora Vergano, Patch Darragh, Jeremy Bobb, Virginia Bocelli, Andrew Polk, and Giampiero Judica.
The Francesca Films pic’s producers include Academy Award and BAFTA Award winner Jonathan Sanger and Leo Severino. Rod Barr wrote the script; he collaborated on the story with TIFF’s People’s Choice Award winner Monteverde.
The film is currently in production in New York; the shoot will wrap up in Rome this fall. The project was the brainchild of financier Eustace Wolfington, whose passion for the story of Francesca Cabrini began over 60 years ago.
“The minute I learned of Cabrini’s life story, I realized this was a story that deserved to be brought to the big screen,” said Wolfington. “As a pioneer of human rights long before today, her story will be an inspiration to today’s pioneers of human rights which makes her story and unprecedented accomplishments as relevant today as ever.”
“As an immigrant myself, I am honored to be able to shine a light on the astonishing story of a true warrior of social justice who transformed the lives of immigrants worldwide,” said Monteverde. “Cabrini was a pioneer of women’s empowerment, making her story as relevant today as in the 1890’s. This picture – like Cabrini herself – is surprising, courageous, gritty… and deeply inspirational.”
“In a time when the achievements of women in every sphere of life have inspired a new generation, it is fascinating to contemplate the work of Francesca Cabrini, an Italian immigrant who came to New York in 1889. She would fit perfectly as a leader in today’s world,” added Sanger.
Christiana Dell’Anna’s film credits include Tensione superficiali, Mr. Happiness and more. She has appeared on the small screen in such series as Gomorrah (HBO Max) and Trust (FX). She’s represented in the U.S. by Cavalry Media, and by Volver Consulenze Artistiche in Italy.
A two-time Oscar nominee, John Lithgow recently earned his 13th Emmy nomination for his supporting turn in HBO’s reimagining of Perry Mason. He’ll next appear in Showtime’s Dexter revival, reprising his role as Arthur Mitchell (aka The Trinity Killer), and in FX’s The Old Man. His recent film credits include Bombshell, Late Night and Pitch Perfect 3. Additional TV credits include The Crown, Trial & Error and 3rd Rock from the Sun. Lithgow is repped by UTA, Anonymous Content and attorney Don Steele at Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller & Gellman.
Two-time Emmy nominee David Morse will soon appear in Netflix drama The Chair, opposite Sandra Oh. His recent TV credits include The Good Lord Bird, Blindspot, The Morning Show, The Deuce and Escape at Dannemora. Recent film credits include Thank You for Your Service and Concussion. Morse is repped by UTA, Kipperman Management, Arcieri & Associates, and attorney Diane Golden at Katz Golden Lerner.
Rolando Villazón is an opera singer and director whose credits include Mozart in Prague: Rolando Villazón on Don Giovanni, La Bohèmme and La Traviata. He is repped by Columbia Artists Management.
Monteverde is represented by Sentient Entertainment and attorney Sean A. Marks of Marks Law Group.
The film tells the story of Francesca Cabrini, one of the greatest entrepreneurs of the 19th Century, who began with nothing and created the largest multinational charitable empire the world had ever known, her accomplishments equaling those of Vanderbilt and Rockefeller. While Cabrini was faced in her time with the sexism and virulent anti-Italian bigotry of 19th century America, she overcame every obstacle through relentless perseverance and business skill, eventually building schools, orphanages and hospitals that transformed the lives of immigrants worldwide.
The Untitled Cabrini Film also stars Montserrat Espadalé, Romana Maggiora Vergano, Patch Darragh, Jeremy Bobb, Virginia Bocelli, Andrew Polk, and Giampiero Judica.
The Francesca Films pic’s producers include Academy Award and BAFTA Award winner Jonathan Sanger and Leo Severino. Rod Barr wrote the script; he collaborated on the story with TIFF’s People’s Choice Award winner Monteverde.
The film is currently in production in New York; the shoot will wrap up in Rome this fall. The project was the brainchild of financier Eustace Wolfington, whose passion for the story of Francesca Cabrini began over 60 years ago.
“The minute I learned of Cabrini’s life story, I realized this was a story that deserved to be brought to the big screen,” said Wolfington. “As a pioneer of human rights long before today, her story will be an inspiration to today’s pioneers of human rights which makes her story and unprecedented accomplishments as relevant today as ever.”
“As an immigrant myself, I am honored to be able to shine a light on the astonishing story of a true warrior of social justice who transformed the lives of immigrants worldwide,” said Monteverde. “Cabrini was a pioneer of women’s empowerment, making her story as relevant today as in the 1890’s. This picture – like Cabrini herself – is surprising, courageous, gritty… and deeply inspirational.”
“In a time when the achievements of women in every sphere of life have inspired a new generation, it is fascinating to contemplate the work of Francesca Cabrini, an Italian immigrant who came to New York in 1889. She would fit perfectly as a leader in today’s world,” added Sanger.
Christiana Dell’Anna’s film credits include Tensione superficiali, Mr. Happiness and more. She has appeared on the small screen in such series as Gomorrah (HBO Max) and Trust (FX). She’s represented in the U.S. by Cavalry Media, and by Volver Consulenze Artistiche in Italy.
A two-time Oscar nominee, John Lithgow recently earned his 13th Emmy nomination for his supporting turn in HBO’s reimagining of Perry Mason. He’ll next appear in Showtime’s Dexter revival, reprising his role as Arthur Mitchell (aka The Trinity Killer), and in FX’s The Old Man. His recent film credits include Bombshell, Late Night and Pitch Perfect 3. Additional TV credits include The Crown, Trial & Error and 3rd Rock from the Sun. Lithgow is repped by UTA, Anonymous Content and attorney Don Steele at Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller & Gellman.
Two-time Emmy nominee David Morse will soon appear in Netflix drama The Chair, opposite Sandra Oh. His recent TV credits include The Good Lord Bird, Blindspot, The Morning Show, The Deuce and Escape at Dannemora. Recent film credits include Thank You for Your Service and Concussion. Morse is repped by UTA, Kipperman Management, Arcieri & Associates, and attorney Diane Golden at Katz Golden Lerner.
Rolando Villazón is an opera singer and director whose credits include Mozart in Prague: Rolando Villazón on Don Giovanni, La Bohèmme and La Traviata. He is repped by Columbia Artists Management.
Monteverde is represented by Sentient Entertainment and attorney Sean A. Marks of Marks Law Group.
- 7/15/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Why is it that, when a horror film achieves something special, both the critics and the public tend to elevate it above and beyond the ‘lowly’ horror genre? David Lynch’s most humane and sympathetic film still makes our heads spin, and this new 4K remaster renders Freddie Francis’s great cinematography at its best. Lynch extends and develops the visual nightmares of his experimental Eraserhead for this true-life classic. Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller and Freddie Jones all give indelible, emotionally-moving performances. How many horror pictures hold up hope for social decency and personal dignity?
The Elephant Man
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 1051
1980 / B&w / 2:35 widescreen / 123 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date September 29, 2020 / 39.95
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller, Freddie Jones, Michael Elphick, Hannah Gordon, Helen Ryan, John Standing, Dexter Fletcher, Lesley Dunlop, Phoebe Nicholls, Lydia Lisle,...
The Elephant Man
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 1051
1980 / B&w / 2:35 widescreen / 123 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date September 29, 2020 / 39.95
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller, Freddie Jones, Michael Elphick, Hannah Gordon, Helen Ryan, John Standing, Dexter Fletcher, Lesley Dunlop, Phoebe Nicholls, Lydia Lisle,...
- 9/26/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
“Peachy Keen”
By Raymond Benson
David Lynch is one America’s national treasures as an artist. He is mostly known as a filmmaker, of course, but he is also a painter and sculptor, a musician, and an author. At the time of writing, Lynch is 74 years old. His filmmaking output has slowed down considerably and these days he concentrates mostly on the fine arts. Nevertheless, he is arguably the heir apparent to Luis Buñuel as the foremost surrealist of our time.
And to think… Lynch owes it all to Mel Brooks.
Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration. Lynch’s talent likely would have broken through the barriers of Hollywood for him to become David Lynch in perhaps other ways, but there is no question that Mel Brooks gave Lynch his first big break in cinema.
Lynch had made one feature film, Eraserhead (1977), a low-budget,...
“Peachy Keen”
By Raymond Benson
David Lynch is one America’s national treasures as an artist. He is mostly known as a filmmaker, of course, but he is also a painter and sculptor, a musician, and an author. At the time of writing, Lynch is 74 years old. His filmmaking output has slowed down considerably and these days he concentrates mostly on the fine arts. Nevertheless, he is arguably the heir apparent to Luis Buñuel as the foremost surrealist of our time.
And to think… Lynch owes it all to Mel Brooks.
Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration. Lynch’s talent likely would have broken through the barriers of Hollywood for him to become David Lynch in perhaps other ways, but there is no question that Mel Brooks gave Lynch his first big break in cinema.
Lynch had made one feature film, Eraserhead (1977), a low-budget,...
- 9/15/2020
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
The September 2020 lineup of The Criterion Collection has been unveiled, and it’s a packed one. Leading the list is Claire Denis’s masterpiece Beau travail, which has finally received a new 4K digital restoration and features a conversation between the director and Barry Jenkins, and much more.
The third edition of Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project is also getting a release, featuring films from Brazil (Pixote), Cuba (Lucía), Indonesia (After the Curfew), Iran (Downpour), Mauritania (Soleil Ô), and Mexico (Dos monjes). David Lynch’s second feature The Elephant Man will get the Criterion treatment as well with a new 4K restoration, plus a special feature lineup featuring Lynch and critic Kristine McKenna reading from their book Room to Dream.
The full-length, four-hour restored cut of Francesco Rosi’s Christ Stopped at Eboli will also be arriving in September. Lastly, a pair of crime drama classics from Jules Dassin...
The third edition of Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project is also getting a release, featuring films from Brazil (Pixote), Cuba (Lucía), Indonesia (After the Curfew), Iran (Downpour), Mauritania (Soleil Ô), and Mexico (Dos monjes). David Lynch’s second feature The Elephant Man will get the Criterion treatment as well with a new 4K restoration, plus a special feature lineup featuring Lynch and critic Kristine McKenna reading from their book Room to Dream.
The full-length, four-hour restored cut of Francesco Rosi’s Christ Stopped at Eboli will also be arriving in September. Lastly, a pair of crime drama classics from Jules Dassin...
- 6/15/2020
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Exclusive: Christian Rivers has signed on to direct Into Thin Air, a feature drama that explores the unsolved mystery behind the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. The film is a co-production of Illusion Media Entertainment, K. Jam Media, and Altit Media Group and it is being financed by Avi Nakash. He’s the owner of Arkia Airline, the second largest in Israel.
Rivers is the Oscar-winning visual effects wiz behind such Peter Jackson-directed films as King Kong, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, who made his feature directorial debut last year on Mortal Engines. The film is scripted by Jonas McCord, an Oscar-winning documentarian and investigative journalist with credits that include Malice and Ask The Dust, and produced by Oscar winner Barrie Osborne, McCord, Kia Jam, and Dean Altit. Exec producers are Avi Nakash, Dan Gordon and Jonathan Sanger.
The film weaves a narrative around the tragedy,...
Rivers is the Oscar-winning visual effects wiz behind such Peter Jackson-directed films as King Kong, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, who made his feature directorial debut last year on Mortal Engines. The film is scripted by Jonas McCord, an Oscar-winning documentarian and investigative journalist with credits that include Malice and Ask The Dust, and produced by Oscar winner Barrie Osborne, McCord, Kia Jam, and Dean Altit. Exec producers are Avi Nakash, Dan Gordon and Jonathan Sanger.
The film weaves a narrative around the tragedy,...
- 1/27/2020
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Stars: Joey Cramer, Paul Reubens, Cliff De Young, Veronica Cartwright, Sarah Jessica Parker, Matt Adler, Howard Hesseman | Written by Michael Burton, Matt MacManus | Directed by Randal Kleiser
I grew up with Flight of the Navigator. It’s always been one of my favourite movies. A family sci-fi adventure film that kinda fell under the radar to some degree and has since become a cult classic. It’s charming, it’s funny, it’s nostalgic as hell and it’s incredibly entertaining, so I was completely and utterly on board when Second Sight announced their upcoming Blu-ray release. A limited edition release with special features, extra goodies and a new transfer? Fans are very happy. I had a chance to take a look at the blu-ray release and here are my thoughts on it, as well as my opinions, all these years later, on the film itself.
The film was directed by Randal Kleiser,...
I grew up with Flight of the Navigator. It’s always been one of my favourite movies. A family sci-fi adventure film that kinda fell under the radar to some degree and has since become a cult classic. It’s charming, it’s funny, it’s nostalgic as hell and it’s incredibly entertaining, so I was completely and utterly on board when Second Sight announced their upcoming Blu-ray release. A limited edition release with special features, extra goodies and a new transfer? Fans are very happy. I had a chance to take a look at the blu-ray release and here are my thoughts on it, as well as my opinions, all these years later, on the film itself.
The film was directed by Randal Kleiser,...
- 8/22/2019
- by Chris Cummings
- Nerdly
Among new members are Maren Ade, Hugh Grant and Hayley Squires.
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta) has revealed its 2018 intake of new members drawn from the film, TV and games industry.
Among the 386 new members are actors Hugh Grant, Willem Dafoe and Hayley Squires, directors Maren Ade (Toni Erdmann), Daniel Kokotajlo (Apostasy) and Michael Pearce (Beast), film execs Shana Eddy-Grouf (Studiocanal) and Katie Goodson-Thomas (Fox Searchlight), and La La Land producers Jordan Horowitz and Fred Berger.
Former UK and Ireland Screen Stars of Tomorrow in the new intake include producer Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly and actor Jessie Barden.
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta) has revealed its 2018 intake of new members drawn from the film, TV and games industry.
Among the 386 new members are actors Hugh Grant, Willem Dafoe and Hayley Squires, directors Maren Ade (Toni Erdmann), Daniel Kokotajlo (Apostasy) and Michael Pearce (Beast), film execs Shana Eddy-Grouf (Studiocanal) and Katie Goodson-Thomas (Fox Searchlight), and La La Land producers Jordan Horowitz and Fred Berger.
Former UK and Ireland Screen Stars of Tomorrow in the new intake include producer Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly and actor Jessie Barden.
- 12/12/2018
- by Orlando Parfitt
- ScreenDaily
Witness the rise of the man who changed America. Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther) is Thurgood Marshall.
Also starring Josh Gad, Kate Hudson, Dan Stevens, Sterling K. Brown and James Cromwell, watch the exciting trailer now.
Such an dynamic trailer – with a fall season release date, expect to see awards buzz for such a powerful film. Acting, directing, writing, producing categories, including the technical categories for cinematography, costumes, hair and makeup, and production design, with score and song to round out the possible nominations.
Long before he sat on the United States Supreme Court or claimed victory in Brown v. Board of Education, Thurgood Marshall (Chadwick Boseman) was a young rabble-rousing attorney for the NAACP. The new motion picture, Marshall, is the true story of his greatest challenge in those early days – a fight he fought alongside attorney Sam Friedman (Josh Gad), a young lawyer with no experience in criminal law: the case of black chauffeur Joseph Spell (Sterling K. Brown), accused by his white employer, Eleanor Strubing (Kate Hudson), of sexual assault and attempted murder.
The film has a top notch production team.
Directed by Reginald Hudlin, Marshall is produced by Paula Wagner, Jonathan Sanger ( The Elephant Man, Vanilla Sky, Flight Of The Navigator), and Reginald Hudlin. It is written by Jake Koskoff and Michael Koskoff.
Hudlin co-produced the 88th Academy Awards ceremony in 2016 and was one of the producers of Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Picture for the film.
Paula Wagner launched Cruise/Wagner Productions (C/W) with her former CAA client Tom Cruise. C/W went on to produce such critically acclaimed films as The Others, The Last Samurai, Vanilla Sky, Without Limits, Shattered Glass, Narc, Elizabethtown, and Ask the Dust, as well as Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds (which Wagner executive produced). C/W was responsible for the original Mission: Impossible film trilogy (Mission: Impossible 2 and Mission: Impossible III).
Open Road Films will release Marshall on October 13, 2017. Mark it on your calendar now.
Check out the film at it’s official site: http://www.marshallmovie.com/
The post Watch The Thrilling Trailer For Marshall Starring Chadwick Boseman, Josh Gad And Kate Hudson appeared first on We Are Movie Geeks.
Also starring Josh Gad, Kate Hudson, Dan Stevens, Sterling K. Brown and James Cromwell, watch the exciting trailer now.
Such an dynamic trailer – with a fall season release date, expect to see awards buzz for such a powerful film. Acting, directing, writing, producing categories, including the technical categories for cinematography, costumes, hair and makeup, and production design, with score and song to round out the possible nominations.
Long before he sat on the United States Supreme Court or claimed victory in Brown v. Board of Education, Thurgood Marshall (Chadwick Boseman) was a young rabble-rousing attorney for the NAACP. The new motion picture, Marshall, is the true story of his greatest challenge in those early days – a fight he fought alongside attorney Sam Friedman (Josh Gad), a young lawyer with no experience in criminal law: the case of black chauffeur Joseph Spell (Sterling K. Brown), accused by his white employer, Eleanor Strubing (Kate Hudson), of sexual assault and attempted murder.
The film has a top notch production team.
Directed by Reginald Hudlin, Marshall is produced by Paula Wagner, Jonathan Sanger ( The Elephant Man, Vanilla Sky, Flight Of The Navigator), and Reginald Hudlin. It is written by Jake Koskoff and Michael Koskoff.
Hudlin co-produced the 88th Academy Awards ceremony in 2016 and was one of the producers of Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Picture for the film.
Paula Wagner launched Cruise/Wagner Productions (C/W) with her former CAA client Tom Cruise. C/W went on to produce such critically acclaimed films as The Others, The Last Samurai, Vanilla Sky, Without Limits, Shattered Glass, Narc, Elizabethtown, and Ask the Dust, as well as Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds (which Wagner executive produced). C/W was responsible for the original Mission: Impossible film trilogy (Mission: Impossible 2 and Mission: Impossible III).
Open Road Films will release Marshall on October 13, 2017. Mark it on your calendar now.
Check out the film at it’s official site: http://www.marshallmovie.com/
The post Watch The Thrilling Trailer For Marshall Starring Chadwick Boseman, Josh Gad And Kate Hudson appeared first on We Are Movie Geeks.
- 6/22/2017
- by Michelle Hannett
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Open Road’s Thurgood Marshall biopic, “Marshall,” will hit theaters on Oct. 13 in a wide release. Chadwick Boseman stars as the first African-American Supreme Court Justice. The film also features Josh Gad as lawyer Sam Friedman, Kate Hudson, Dan Stevens, James Cromwell, Keesha Sharp and “This Is Us” star Sterling K. Brown. Reginald Hudlin is directing the film, with Paula Wagner producing through her Chestnut Ridge Productions banner along with Jonathan Sanger and Hudlin. The film covers Thurgood Marshall’s early years as a young lawyer tasked with defending a black chauffeur in a highly publicized sexual assault case. He...
- 1/31/2017
- by Matt Pressberg
- The Wrap
Chadwick Boseman stars as the legendary attorney and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.
Open Road will distribute Marshall nationwide on October 13. Reginald Hudlin directs and Paula Wagner is producing through her Chestnut Ridge Productions along with Jonathan Sanger and Hudlin.
Star Light Media, Hero Film and Sky Legend are financing and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions handles international distribution.
Shout! Factory has snapped up North American rights to London-based Animatsu Entertainment’s feature’s In This Corner Of The World, a manga book adaptation about a young woman in Hiroshima coping with the aftermath of the atomic bomb.PBS has acquired Us broadcast rights to Jennifer Brea’s recent Sundance world premiere Unrest. The series will premiere on series Independent Lens in the first quarter of 2018 following a nationwide theatrical run. Submarine and Preferred Content represented the filmmakers.FilmRise has acquired worldwide rights to Swedish director Kasper Collin’s I Called Him Morgan, about jazz musician...
Open Road will distribute Marshall nationwide on October 13. Reginald Hudlin directs and Paula Wagner is producing through her Chestnut Ridge Productions along with Jonathan Sanger and Hudlin.
Star Light Media, Hero Film and Sky Legend are financing and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions handles international distribution.
Shout! Factory has snapped up North American rights to London-based Animatsu Entertainment’s feature’s In This Corner Of The World, a manga book adaptation about a young woman in Hiroshima coping with the aftermath of the atomic bomb.PBS has acquired Us broadcast rights to Jennifer Brea’s recent Sundance world premiere Unrest. The series will premiere on series Independent Lens in the first quarter of 2018 following a nationwide theatrical run. Submarine and Preferred Content represented the filmmakers.FilmRise has acquired worldwide rights to Swedish director Kasper Collin’s I Called Him Morgan, about jazz musician...
- 1/31/2017
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Windom Earle makes a giant move in his chess match with Coop…
(If you need to catch up, you can check out all my posts til now right here.)
Episode 26: “Variations On Relations”
Written by Mark Frost & Harley Peyton, Directed by Jonathan Sanger
Airdate April 11th, 1991
The episode opens with Coop, Truman, Andy and Hawk returning to Owl Cave for further exploration of the petroglyph they discovered last episode, but when they get there they find someone’s already done the work for them. Part of the wall has crumbled away, revealing an even larger, more detailed petroglyph than they originally found. Hawk notices a boot print in the dirt and says it matches the one he found outside the power station the night it exploded, which means the person who was here and who unearthed this larger petroglyph was Earle. The image itself looks like a map with mountains that have swirling vortices inside them...
(If you need to catch up, you can check out all my posts til now right here.)
Episode 26: “Variations On Relations”
Written by Mark Frost & Harley Peyton, Directed by Jonathan Sanger
Airdate April 11th, 1991
The episode opens with Coop, Truman, Andy and Hawk returning to Owl Cave for further exploration of the petroglyph they discovered last episode, but when they get there they find someone’s already done the work for them. Part of the wall has crumbled away, revealing an even larger, more detailed petroglyph than they originally found. Hawk notices a boot print in the dirt and says it matches the one he found outside the power station the night it exploded, which means the person who was here and who unearthed this larger petroglyph was Earle. The image itself looks like a map with mountains that have swirling vortices inside them...
- 1/17/2017
- by H. Perry Horton
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
David Lynch and Mark Frost's 1990 TV series looks better than ever, while the 1992 feature prequel digs deeper in Laura Palmer's unpleasant final days without as many rewards. CBS's 9-disc retrospective is a setup for the highly awaited series continuation -- delayed by 25 years. Twin Peaks: The Original Series, Fire Walk with Me & The Missing Pieces Blu-ray CBS / Paramount 1990 & 1992 / Color / 1:37 flat full frame & 1:78 widescreen / 25 hours + 134 min. / Street Date September 20, 2016 / 72,99 Starring (series) Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean, Lara Flynn Boyle, Sherilyn Fenn, Ray Wise, Sheryl Lee, Mädchen Amick, Dana Ashbrook, Richard Beymer, Warren Frost, Peggy Lipton, James Marshall, Everett McGill, Jack Nance, Joan Chen, Piper Laurie, Kimmy Robertson, Eric Da Re, Harry Goaz, Michael Horse,Russ Tamblyn, Kenneth Welsh, Wendy Robie, Miguel Ferrer, David Lynch, Heather Graham, Dan O'Herlihy, Billy Zane, James Booth, Michael Parks, Lenny von Dohlen, Hank Worden, David Duchovny, Walter Olkewicz, Jane Greer, David L. Lander,...
- 9/25/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Kate Hudson, Dan Stevens, James Cromwell, Sterling K. Brown and Keesha Sharp have joined the cast led by one of Hollywood’s hottest rising stars as legendary attorney and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.
Open Road has acquired all Us rights, while Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions holds all international rights.
Boseman, whose credits include Captain America: Civil War, 42, and Get On Up, will play the icon as a young lawyer assigned to defend a black chauffeur in a high-profile pre-wwii sexual assault and murder case that would inform the Civil Rights movement.
Josh Gad also stars as lawyer Sam Friedman, who must collaborate with Marshall on the case. Production is under way in Buffalo, New York, and benefits from New York State’s Film Production Program.
Reginald Hudlin directs and Paula Wagner produces through her Chestnut Ridge Productions alongside Jonathan Sanger and Hudlin.
Renowned trial lawyer Michael Koskoff and his son, screenwriter [link=nm...
Open Road has acquired all Us rights, while Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions holds all international rights.
Boseman, whose credits include Captain America: Civil War, 42, and Get On Up, will play the icon as a young lawyer assigned to defend a black chauffeur in a high-profile pre-wwii sexual assault and murder case that would inform the Civil Rights movement.
Josh Gad also stars as lawyer Sam Friedman, who must collaborate with Marshall on the case. Production is under way in Buffalo, New York, and benefits from New York State’s Film Production Program.
Reginald Hudlin directs and Paula Wagner produces through her Chestnut Ridge Productions alongside Jonathan Sanger and Hudlin.
Renowned trial lawyer Michael Koskoff and his son, screenwriter [link=nm...
- 6/9/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Chadwick Boseman just pulled a biopic hat trick — booking his third role as a real-life figure for “Marshall,” about the first African-American Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Reggie Hudlin, producer of this year’s Oscar telecast, will direct the film from a script by Jacob Koskoff (The Weinstein Company’s “Macbeth”) and his father, trial lawyer Michael Koskoff. The film will follow one of Marshall’s earlier landmark cases before he ascended to the bench. China’s Super Hero Films has fully financed the project, tapping prolific producer Paula Wagner (“Mission Impossible,” “The Last Samurai”) and her Chestnut Ridge Productions.
- 12/16/2015
- by Matt Donnelly
- The Wrap
Plus: Top Gun, Ghostbusters make it on to National Film Registry; The Club, Jauja among Cinema Tropical nominees; and more…The Austin Film Critics Association has nominated Carol for seven awards including best picture, best director for Todd Haynes and best actress for Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara. Winners are announced on December 29.The Club, Jauja, Los Hongos, The Princess Of France and White Out, Black In are nominated for best film in the 6th Annual Cinema Tropical Awards. Winner will be announced in New York on January 20, 2016. For the complete list of nominees click here.Top Gun and Ghostbusters are among the 25 films named to the National Film Registry of the Library Of Congress. Other new entries on the 675-strong roster of America’s cinematic heritage include The Shawshank Redemption, Being There and the 1931 Spanish-language version of Dracula. For the full list click here.Chadwick Boseman will star as attorney Thurgood Marshall in courtroom thriller Marshall...
- 12/16/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Twin Peaks, Season 2, Episode 19, “Variations And Relations”: Only pawn in game of life
Written by Mark Frost and Harley Peyton
Directed by Jonathan Sanger
Aired April 11, 1991 on ABC
“Think of all the hapless sinners, wondering where their soul’s destination lies. For what? To gain the answer to a simple question. Where will my spirit awake? What life am I given after this life? This grave question has plagued man’s sorry conscience for eons. And now you, you lucky boy, have the answer… now!” – Windom Earle
One of the secrets to the success of Twin Peaks is that it’s a show that’s equally about the heart and the mind. David Lynch and company are interested in asking many questions about the nature of good and evil, the soul, and the universe, discussions that play out in Cooper’s interest in Tibetan philosophy and the ambiguity of what Bob truly represents.
Written by Mark Frost and Harley Peyton
Directed by Jonathan Sanger
Aired April 11, 1991 on ABC
“Think of all the hapless sinners, wondering where their soul’s destination lies. For what? To gain the answer to a simple question. Where will my spirit awake? What life am I given after this life? This grave question has plagued man’s sorry conscience for eons. And now you, you lucky boy, have the answer… now!” – Windom Earle
One of the secrets to the success of Twin Peaks is that it’s a show that’s equally about the heart and the mind. David Lynch and company are interested in asking many questions about the nature of good and evil, the soul, and the universe, discussions that play out in Cooper’s interest in Tibetan philosophy and the ambiguity of what Bob truly represents.
- 7/31/2015
- by Les Chappell
- SoundOnSight
Unlike most of what Scream Factory puts out there, this would be my first exposure to The Doctors and the Devils. I had never even heard of the film, if I’m being entirely honest. One thing I like about the label is that every so often, they challenge my prejudices when it comes to the type of films I usually watch. I’ve always gone out of my way to avoid period movies, unless there is a really good reason to watch them. Depending on the subject matter, and the period that is being recreated, of course. Anything that takes place during the 1800s, that isn’t about Jack the Ripper, is going to have a hard time keeping my attention.
From Shoutfactory.com:
Synopsis
Murder was just the beginning…
“A gothic thriller!” – The Hollywood Reporter
Based on Dylan Thomas’ original screenplay, this shocking horror-thriller stars Timothy Dalton as Thomas Rock,...
From Shoutfactory.com:
Synopsis
Murder was just the beginning…
“A gothic thriller!” – The Hollywood Reporter
Based on Dylan Thomas’ original screenplay, this shocking horror-thriller stars Timothy Dalton as Thomas Rock,...
- 11/4/2014
- by Shawn Savage
- The Liberal Dead
Two grave robbers supply dead bodies to anatomists in 1820’s Edinburgh, but when the delivered bodies appear to be too fresh, one of the scientists suspects with mounting horror that their cadavers are not coming from coffins in 1985’s The Doctor and the Devils. Scream Factory is bringing this tale of morbid obsession and deadly dealings to Blu-ray, and we have a look at the cover art and list of bonus features.
Los Angeles, CA – “A man of medicine… A pair of murderers… An unholy alliance. Scream Factory has announced a November 14 Blu-ray release of the murderous thriller The Doctor and the Devils.
Directed by Freddie Francis, Executive Produced by Mel Brooks, and based on Dylan Thomas’ original screenplay, this shocking horror-thriller stars Timothy Dalton as Thomas Rock, a brilliant young anatomy professor in 1820s Edinburgh. At first accepting only the cadavers provided him for study – those of a few...
Los Angeles, CA – “A man of medicine… A pair of murderers… An unholy alliance. Scream Factory has announced a November 14 Blu-ray release of the murderous thriller The Doctor and the Devils.
Directed by Freddie Francis, Executive Produced by Mel Brooks, and based on Dylan Thomas’ original screenplay, this shocking horror-thriller stars Timothy Dalton as Thomas Rock, a brilliant young anatomy professor in 1820s Edinburgh. At first accepting only the cadavers provided him for study – those of a few...
- 9/11/2014
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Did you know that funnyman Mel Brooks produced a horror film back in 1985? It was called The Doctor and the Devils, and just about ten years after hitting DVD for the first time, Scream Factory grants the cult gem its Blu-ray debut. Read on for all the details!
From the Press Release
A man of medicine… A pair of murderers… An unholy alliance. Scream Factory has announced a November 14th Blu-ray release of the murderous thriller The Doctor and the Devils.
Directed by Freddie Francis, executive produced by Mel Brooks, and based on Dylan Thomas' original screenplay, this shocking horror-thriller stars Timothy Dalton as Thomas Rock, a brilliant young anatomy professor in 1820s Edinburgh. At first accepting only the cadavers provided him for study – those of a few hanged criminals per year – Rock eventually recruits two grave robbers (Jonathan Pryce and Stephen Rea) to secure a better supply of corpses.
From the Press Release
A man of medicine… A pair of murderers… An unholy alliance. Scream Factory has announced a November 14th Blu-ray release of the murderous thriller The Doctor and the Devils.
Directed by Freddie Francis, executive produced by Mel Brooks, and based on Dylan Thomas' original screenplay, this shocking horror-thriller stars Timothy Dalton as Thomas Rock, a brilliant young anatomy professor in 1820s Edinburgh. At first accepting only the cadavers provided him for study – those of a few hanged criminals per year – Rock eventually recruits two grave robbers (Jonathan Pryce and Stephen Rea) to secure a better supply of corpses.
- 9/10/2014
- by John Squires
- DreadCentral.com
This is one of the reasons I love Scream Factory so much. The Doctor and the Devils is a film that I have never seen. I’ve heard it mentioned a couple of times, but never did the opportunity arise for me to have seen it. It’s weird, because it sounds right up my alley. Thankfully, on November 14th, Scream Factory will be dropping the film onto Blu-ray. Check out the press release below, and be sure to pre-order your copy by either clicking here to purchase on Shout!’s website, or here for Amazon.
“The Doctor and the Devils” on Blu-ray Nov. 14 from Scream Factory
Scream Factory™ Presents
The Doctor And The Devils
On Blu-ray November 14, 2014
“A gothic thriller!” – The Hollywood Reporter
Brooksfilms presents A Jonathan Sanger Production
Timothy Dalton Jonathan Pryce Twiggy “The Doctor And The Devils”
Julian Sands Stephen Rea Phyllis Logan Lewis Fiander Beryl Reid...
“The Doctor and the Devils” on Blu-ray Nov. 14 from Scream Factory
Scream Factory™ Presents
The Doctor And The Devils
On Blu-ray November 14, 2014
“A gothic thriller!” – The Hollywood Reporter
Brooksfilms presents A Jonathan Sanger Production
Timothy Dalton Jonathan Pryce Twiggy “The Doctor And The Devils”
Julian Sands Stephen Rea Phyllis Logan Lewis Fiander Beryl Reid...
- 9/10/2014
- by Shawn Savage
- The Liberal Dead
James Moll is attached to direct the adaptation of book A Trial of Generals.
Jim Sturgess [pictured] and Koji Yakusho will star in Defending The Enemy, which FilmBridge International is shopping worldwide in Cannes.
James Moll is attached to direct from the book A Trial of Generals about a young lawyer assigned to defend the Japanese General Matsaharu Homma after the end of WWII.
The General was accused of war crimes for allegedly orchestrating the Bataan Death March.
FilmBridge is arranging financing and principal photography is set to begin in August.
Jonathan Sanger, whose credits include The Elephant Man and The Producers, will produce Defending The Enemy.
Jim Sturgess [pictured] and Koji Yakusho will star in Defending The Enemy, which FilmBridge International is shopping worldwide in Cannes.
James Moll is attached to direct from the book A Trial of Generals about a young lawyer assigned to defend the Japanese General Matsaharu Homma after the end of WWII.
The General was accused of war crimes for allegedly orchestrating the Bataan Death March.
FilmBridge is arranging financing and principal photography is set to begin in August.
Jonathan Sanger, whose credits include The Elephant Man and The Producers, will produce Defending The Enemy.
- 5/16/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Jim Sturgess will star opposite Koji Yakusho in Defending the Enemy as a neophyte attorney assigned to defend General Matsaharu Homma, charged with organizing the Bataan Death March, in a war crimes trial. James Moll is attached to direct the project, based on the book A Trial of Generals, scheduled to begin principal photography in August. Jonathan Sanger is producing, and exec producer is Ellen Wander, whose Film Bridge International is overseeing financing and worldwide distribution. Sturgess, repped by CAA and Garricks, appeared in Cloud Atlas and will next be seen in the upcoming Electric Slide and London Fields.
read more...
read more...
- 5/16/2014
- by Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Bonni Allen, longtime talent representative, casting director and producer, died February 20 after battling cancer. She was 52. Allen represented a number of film, television and Broadway actors over the years including Nancy Opel and Teresa Parente. She turned to casting directing full-time after her client Jason Alexander was cast as George Costanza in the hit TV sitcom Seinfeld. She was also one of the first executives hired by cable television network Studio M/Weberworks. As Creative Executive In charge Of Acquisition & Development of New Projects and Casting, she worked with some of Hollywood’s major producers, including Jonathan Sanger, Lawrence Gordon, Steven Soderbergh, The Farrelly Brothers and Penny Marshall. She later returned to working as a personal manager partnering with Marrissa O’Leary to form allen + o’leary management, where her clients included Lauralee Bell, Greg Roman, Jonathan Fraser, and Nick Baillie.
- 2/25/2013
- by THE DEADLINE TEAM
- Deadline TV
(The Red Robin logo, above.)
By Terry Keefe
Actors Judd Hirsch, Ryan O'Nan, C.S. Lee, Jaime Ray Newman, Caroline Lagerfelt, and Joseph Lyle Taylor have all joined the cast of The Red Robin feature film, which begins shooting outside Philadelphia on December 3rd.
The Red Robin will be directed and produced by screenwriter Michael Z. Wechsler. The psychological thriller is Executive Produced by Jonathan Sanger (The Producers, The Elephant Man), Rick Porras (The Lord of the Rings trilogy) and Shawn Singh.
O’Nan will play Tommy Shellner, the adopted adult son of Hirsch’s Nathaniel Shellner, a famed, and dying, trauma psychiatrist who was rumored to have done some confidential work for the CIA during the Cold War. A family reunion on Nathan’s death bed spirals into chaos when Tommy accuses his father of adopting his large family of children for the purposes of dark experiments in mind control.
By Terry Keefe
Actors Judd Hirsch, Ryan O'Nan, C.S. Lee, Jaime Ray Newman, Caroline Lagerfelt, and Joseph Lyle Taylor have all joined the cast of The Red Robin feature film, which begins shooting outside Philadelphia on December 3rd.
The Red Robin will be directed and produced by screenwriter Michael Z. Wechsler. The psychological thriller is Executive Produced by Jonathan Sanger (The Producers, The Elephant Man), Rick Porras (The Lord of the Rings trilogy) and Shawn Singh.
O’Nan will play Tommy Shellner, the adopted adult son of Hirsch’s Nathaniel Shellner, a famed, and dying, trauma psychiatrist who was rumored to have done some confidential work for the CIA during the Cold War. A family reunion on Nathan’s death bed spirals into chaos when Tommy accuses his father of adopting his large family of children for the purposes of dark experiments in mind control.
- 11/28/2011
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
(Above, promotional artwork for The Red Robin, a feature film currently working with Kickstarter.com)
by Terry Keefe
I was immediately dubious when I first heard about Kickstarter.com, a website where creative and entrepreneurial types can look for funding for their projects via a limited-time appeal to the masses. I've come to hate the expression "in this economy," but in this economy, I just didn't see many folks ponying up even a few bucks for the effective development of a film, music recording, or invention. And having spent a significant portion of my life looking for financing for creative endeavors... let's just say that it's a challenging process.
But this hardened cynic will eat his predictions on this one.
Although I'm sure there are plenty of examples of projects that don't get funded at all through Kickstarter, and other similar "crowd-funding" sites, a number of filmmakers have been having some real success with it,...
by Terry Keefe
I was immediately dubious when I first heard about Kickstarter.com, a website where creative and entrepreneurial types can look for funding for their projects via a limited-time appeal to the masses. I've come to hate the expression "in this economy," but in this economy, I just didn't see many folks ponying up even a few bucks for the effective development of a film, music recording, or invention. And having spent a significant portion of my life looking for financing for creative endeavors... let's just say that it's a challenging process.
But this hardened cynic will eat his predictions on this one.
Although I'm sure there are plenty of examples of projects that don't get funded at all through Kickstarter, and other similar "crowd-funding" sites, a number of filmmakers have been having some real success with it,...
- 4/25/2011
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
(Director, writer, and filmmaker Floyd Mutrux, above.)
By Terry Keefe
It was the 1960s and a foursome took over the popular music charts in America, but they didn’t wear mop-tops. Right before the British Invasion, the girl group known as the Shirelles soared with hits such as “Dedicated to the One I Love,” “Soldier Boy,” “Will You Still Me Tomorrow,” and “Baby It’s You,” amongst many others. The Shirelles were discovered by Florence Greenberg, an ambitious and very prescient New Jersey housewife who founded Scepter Records, and consequently changed the face of popular music forever. In her business life, Greenberg was a woman who dove right into the middle of a male-dominated record industry and created one of the most successful independent labels of the time, and on the personal side, she left her first marriage for a union with African-American songwriter Luther Dixon. The story of Greenberg,...
By Terry Keefe
It was the 1960s and a foursome took over the popular music charts in America, but they didn’t wear mop-tops. Right before the British Invasion, the girl group known as the Shirelles soared with hits such as “Dedicated to the One I Love,” “Soldier Boy,” “Will You Still Me Tomorrow,” and “Baby It’s You,” amongst many others. The Shirelles were discovered by Florence Greenberg, an ambitious and very prescient New Jersey housewife who founded Scepter Records, and consequently changed the face of popular music forever. In her business life, Greenberg was a woman who dove right into the middle of a male-dominated record industry and created one of the most successful independent labels of the time, and on the personal side, she left her first marriage for a union with African-American songwriter Luther Dixon. The story of Greenberg,...
- 12/3/2009
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
By Alan Kline
Modern Primitives Films has announced the second feature film by writer-director Michael Z. Wechsler, entitled The Red Robin. Pitched as a blend of The Celebration and The Manchurian Candidate, the plot focuses on a family reunion which goes very awry when the youngest son accuses his ailing father, a famed psychiatrist, of using his own adopted children as guinea pigs for psychological experiments for the CIA.
The cast includes Jeremy Sisto ("Law and Order", Waitress, "Six Feet Under"), Claire Forlani (Meet Joe Black), Hill Harper ("CSI: N.Y.", Get on the Bus ), and Roger Guenveur Smith (American Gangster). Jonathan Sanger (The Producers, The Elephant Man) is on board as executive producer.
Wechsler has directed series for the BBC and Bravo and previously helmed the feature film Slaves of Hollywood, which also starred Harper. Slaves of Hollywood was a selection at 35 international film festivals and was awarded “Best...
Modern Primitives Films has announced the second feature film by writer-director Michael Z. Wechsler, entitled The Red Robin. Pitched as a blend of The Celebration and The Manchurian Candidate, the plot focuses on a family reunion which goes very awry when the youngest son accuses his ailing father, a famed psychiatrist, of using his own adopted children as guinea pigs for psychological experiments for the CIA.
The cast includes Jeremy Sisto ("Law and Order", Waitress, "Six Feet Under"), Claire Forlani (Meet Joe Black), Hill Harper ("CSI: N.Y.", Get on the Bus ), and Roger Guenveur Smith (American Gangster). Jonathan Sanger (The Producers, The Elephant Man) is on board as executive producer.
Wechsler has directed series for the BBC and Bravo and previously helmed the feature film Slaves of Hollywood, which also starred Harper. Slaves of Hollywood was a selection at 35 international film festivals and was awarded “Best...
- 4/23/2009
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment's Brian Grazer have set "John Adams" helmer Tom Hooper to direct and Christopher Hampton to write East of Eden , an adaptation of the John Steinbeck novel. Grazer will produce with Grand Illusions Entertainment's Jonathan Sanger and Ed Albert. First published in 1952, "East of Eden" is Steinbeck's retelling of the Cain and Abel story, set in California's Salinas Valley. The multigenerational story focuses on the Trask brothers and a woman who comes between the siblings. The studio hopes to put the film in production later this year.
- 1/14/2009
- Comingsoon.net
Suspect Zero
Suspect Zero does not enter the territory of Silence of the Lambs and Seven with any timidity. It's an invasion, stemming from a determination to one-up both films in unpleasantness and claim the territory as its own. The trouble is that those films, no matter how queasy they made one's stomach, came from meticulously written, rock-solid screenplays. Suspect Zero is more intricate than meticulous. The filmmakers throw in just about every angle you can jam into a serial-killer movie, every nerve-jangling camera move and image, every double twist and implausible revelation that any such movie can withstand. The movie exhausts its audience rather than entertains it.
E. Elias Merhige, who directed the justifiably celebrated Shadow of the Vampire, is clearly a talented director. He stages scenes to maximum impact and keeps more than a few balls in the air at any given moment. But lack of credibility and unsavory subject matter defeat him in this outing. Without star power and burdened with a convoluted plot difficult to get across in advertising, Suspect Zero will test Paramount's marketing skills. The film will perform best in urban situations and mainly with males.
Aaron Eckhart plays an aspirin-gulping FBI agent sent down to "the minors" in New Mexico after screwing up a serial-killer case in Dallas. All too conveniently and rat unbelievably, his former partner and lover, Carrie-Anne Moss, quickly joins him in this career purgatory. On Day 1 on the job, Eckhart is confronted with a homicide deliberately staged at theArizona/New Mexico border to make the murder an interstate crime, which demands FBI involvement.
In a very creepy opening sequence, much of it shot in very tight or very wide shots, the film shows an enigmatic man played with hyper-intensity by Ben Kingsley commit this murder. So the film is not so much a whodunit as a whydunit.
The makers don't make it easy for audience members to sort out that why. What's with all those clues Kingsley's character leaves at each crime scene? Why is he forever faxing the FBI guy reports of missing children? What is the meaning of scenes shot in red tint that show events from the past or future? And what gives with the huge black truck that slowly cruises past playgrounds? Pretty soon some in the audience may want Eckhart to pass them the aspirin.
Writers Zak Penn and Billy Ray do tie all these seemingly random bits together. Sort of. Much of it comes down to a serial killer hunting down other serial killers and a former elite federal agent trained to view crimes telepathically, a technique referred to as "remote viewing." But these are a pretty unlikely gimmicks on which to hang a thriller. Worse, much of it feels overly familiar, derived from other movies or novels.
Kingsley is mesmerizing though hardly empathetic as the killer with a method to his madness. The rest of the cast turn in workmanlike performances as their characters are too thin and occupied with the business at hand to make much of an impression.
Merhige makes excellent use of remote, seriously underpopulated New Mexico locations, Ida Random's naturalistic sets and Michael Chapman's moody cinematography, even though an occasional camera move suffers from self-consciousness. Suspect Zero has enough going for it to eventually develop a cult following. But compared to Silence of the Lambs and Seven, it's still the minor leagues.
SUSPECT ZERO
Paramount Pictures
Paramount in association with Intermedia Films and Lakeshore EntertainmentA C/W production
Credits:
Director: E. Elias Merhige
Screenwriters: Zak Penn, Billy Ray
Story by: Zak Penn
Producers: Paula Wagner, E. Elias Merhige, Gaye Hirsch
Executive producers: Jonathan Sanger, Moritz Borman, Guy East, Nigel Sinclair, Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi
Director of photography: Michael Chapman
Production designer: Ida Random
Music: Clint Mansell
Co-producers: Lester Berman, Darren Miller
Costume designer: Mary Claire Hannan
Editors: John Gilroy, Robert K. Lambert
Cast:
Thomas Mackelway: Aaron Eckhart
Benjamin O'Ryan: Ben Kingsley
Fran Kulok: Carrie-Anne Moss
Rick Charleton: Harry Lennix
Harold Speck: Kevin Chamberlin
Highway Patrolman: Julian Reyes
Raymond: Keith Campbell
MPAA rating: R
Running time -- 100 minutes...
E. Elias Merhige, who directed the justifiably celebrated Shadow of the Vampire, is clearly a talented director. He stages scenes to maximum impact and keeps more than a few balls in the air at any given moment. But lack of credibility and unsavory subject matter defeat him in this outing. Without star power and burdened with a convoluted plot difficult to get across in advertising, Suspect Zero will test Paramount's marketing skills. The film will perform best in urban situations and mainly with males.
Aaron Eckhart plays an aspirin-gulping FBI agent sent down to "the minors" in New Mexico after screwing up a serial-killer case in Dallas. All too conveniently and rat unbelievably, his former partner and lover, Carrie-Anne Moss, quickly joins him in this career purgatory. On Day 1 on the job, Eckhart is confronted with a homicide deliberately staged at theArizona/New Mexico border to make the murder an interstate crime, which demands FBI involvement.
In a very creepy opening sequence, much of it shot in very tight or very wide shots, the film shows an enigmatic man played with hyper-intensity by Ben Kingsley commit this murder. So the film is not so much a whodunit as a whydunit.
The makers don't make it easy for audience members to sort out that why. What's with all those clues Kingsley's character leaves at each crime scene? Why is he forever faxing the FBI guy reports of missing children? What is the meaning of scenes shot in red tint that show events from the past or future? And what gives with the huge black truck that slowly cruises past playgrounds? Pretty soon some in the audience may want Eckhart to pass them the aspirin.
Writers Zak Penn and Billy Ray do tie all these seemingly random bits together. Sort of. Much of it comes down to a serial killer hunting down other serial killers and a former elite federal agent trained to view crimes telepathically, a technique referred to as "remote viewing." But these are a pretty unlikely gimmicks on which to hang a thriller. Worse, much of it feels overly familiar, derived from other movies or novels.
Kingsley is mesmerizing though hardly empathetic as the killer with a method to his madness. The rest of the cast turn in workmanlike performances as their characters are too thin and occupied with the business at hand to make much of an impression.
Merhige makes excellent use of remote, seriously underpopulated New Mexico locations, Ida Random's naturalistic sets and Michael Chapman's moody cinematography, even though an occasional camera move suffers from self-consciousness. Suspect Zero has enough going for it to eventually develop a cult following. But compared to Silence of the Lambs and Seven, it's still the minor leagues.
SUSPECT ZERO
Paramount Pictures
Paramount in association with Intermedia Films and Lakeshore EntertainmentA C/W production
Credits:
Director: E. Elias Merhige
Screenwriters: Zak Penn, Billy Ray
Story by: Zak Penn
Producers: Paula Wagner, E. Elias Merhige, Gaye Hirsch
Executive producers: Jonathan Sanger, Moritz Borman, Guy East, Nigel Sinclair, Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi
Director of photography: Michael Chapman
Production designer: Ida Random
Music: Clint Mansell
Co-producers: Lester Berman, Darren Miller
Costume designer: Mary Claire Hannan
Editors: John Gilroy, Robert K. Lambert
Cast:
Thomas Mackelway: Aaron Eckhart
Benjamin O'Ryan: Ben Kingsley
Fran Kulok: Carrie-Anne Moss
Rick Charleton: Harry Lennix
Harold Speck: Kevin Chamberlin
Highway Patrolman: Julian Reyes
Raymond: Keith Campbell
MPAA rating: R
Running time -- 100 minutes...
- 9/9/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Film review: 'Without Limits'
The late long-distance runner Steve Prefontaine liked to take the lead early, set a torrid pace and grind his competition into the ground. Fittingly, this fast-paced Warner Bros. film from Cruise/Wagner Prods. takes off fast and finishes with a high, winning kick.
It's a brainy bio about a complex sports figure whose determination and gutsiness transcended his record-setting runs on the track. With a mesmeric performance by Billy Crudup as the talented but enigmatic Prefontaine, this film will set a steady pace at the boxoffice; bolstered by healthy word-of-mouth, it should have a lengthy run.
Winning wasn't everything for Prefontaine; it was how you ran the race. Admittedly, finishing first was a given if he ran according to his philosophy. Resting back in the pack of distance runners and letting a front-runner absorb the wind and create an easy draft for the follower was not what Prefontaine considered an honorable way to run. For him, running was about guts: The runner who absorbs the draft and runs out front was the deserved champion, not -- as Prefontaine maintained -- some slacker who lets the front-runner do the work for him and then steals the race in the last 200 yards.
Not surprisingly, Prefontaine's track coach at the University of Oregon, Bill Bowerman (Donald Sutherland), did not share this philosophy. He considered the headstrong Prefontaine's notions not only ill-founded but a handicap that would thwart him when he moved into much tougher international competition, namely the Olympics, and against such legendary long-distance men as Finland's Lasse Viren.
While running was not about winning for Prefontaine, running is not necessarily just about sports for the filmmakers. In Robert Towne and Kenny Moore's supple script, we see that running is an existential endeavor. As Bowerman preaches to his charges at the beginning of every track season, "If you can find meaning in the absurd practice of running, you can find meaning in this other absurd pastime, life." As such, this "sports" movie's real strength and moves are as much off the track as on it. Although the sports world is the subculture setting for the film, the narrative embraces ideas and presents philosophies of life that are often more associated with art house-type, static endeavors. In short, this is a jock movie with a very high IQ.
Set in the turbulent early 1970s campus rebellion, "Without Limits" is also a canny depiction of a nation in painful, adolescent-type years of change and growth. Clearly, Prefontaine was a young man who not only epitomized the anti-establishment thinking of the times but was, in his heady way, someone who simply did not run with the pack -- an individual.
Prefontaine's both endearing and aggravating tenacity is superbly captured by Crudup. It's a sinewy, lean performance that bulges with a sharp mix of contradiction and inspiration. As Prefontaine's mentor/tormentor coach, Sutherland's wily portrayal brims with wisdom and a wonderful hardheadedness, not surprisingly, coach and runner clashed often because they both possessed the same headstrong natures; both were spirits who ran against the grain of popular thought. (A happy side story in this film is that the flinty coach was always crafting lighter track shoes for his runners in his kitchen, using the family waffle iron. These shoes became the sole pattern for what was to become the Nike line. Do you think this film might have some product tie-ins?) In essence, not only is this film about the philosophical nature of performance and honor, it's got the added gusto of visualizing the American dream: local curmudgeon invents multimillion-dollar product with his wife's waffle iron, starts international craze.
Supporting performances are also a cut above, including most prominently Monica Potter as Prefontaine's girlfriend who, as a practicing Catholic, also had the moral fortitude to go against the groupthink of the times. A team of real-life long distancers and Olympians bring veracity to the film.
Most admirably, co-writer/ director Robert Towne has invigorated "Without Limits" with a sizzling pace, especially welcome for those of us rubes who consider long-distance running the most boring of sports. Special praise to editors Claire Simpson and Robert Lambert for the fast-clip edits and to composer Randy Miller for the rousing, pulse-quickening score. A slew of '60s-ish sounds, courtesy of music supervisor Danny Bramson, add a solid kick to this smartly conceived winner.
WITHOUT LIMITS
Warner Bros.
A Cruise/Wagner production
A Robert Towne film
Producers: Tom Cruise, Paula Wagner
Director: Robert Towne
Screenwriters: Robert Towne, Kenny Moore
Executive producers: Jonathan Sanger, Kenny Moore
Director of photography: Conrad Hall
Production designer: William Creber
Editors: Claire Simpson, Robert Lambert
Music supervisor: Danny Bramson
Costume designer: Grania Preston
Casting: Rick Pagano
Music: Randy Miller
Color/stereo
Cast:
Steve Prefontaine: Billy Crudup
Bill Bowerman: Donald Sutherland
Mary Marckx: Monica Potter
Frank Shorter: Jeremy Sisto
Roscoe Devine: Matthew Lillard
Dong Kardong: Gabe Olds
Barbara Bowerman: Judith Ivey
Bill Dellinger: Dean Norris
Kenny Moore: Billy Burke
Mac Wilkins: Adam Setliff
Russ Francis: Nicholas Oleson
Iowa's Finest: Amy Jo Johnson
Lasse Viren: Pat Porter
Running time -- 120 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
It's a brainy bio about a complex sports figure whose determination and gutsiness transcended his record-setting runs on the track. With a mesmeric performance by Billy Crudup as the talented but enigmatic Prefontaine, this film will set a steady pace at the boxoffice; bolstered by healthy word-of-mouth, it should have a lengthy run.
Winning wasn't everything for Prefontaine; it was how you ran the race. Admittedly, finishing first was a given if he ran according to his philosophy. Resting back in the pack of distance runners and letting a front-runner absorb the wind and create an easy draft for the follower was not what Prefontaine considered an honorable way to run. For him, running was about guts: The runner who absorbs the draft and runs out front was the deserved champion, not -- as Prefontaine maintained -- some slacker who lets the front-runner do the work for him and then steals the race in the last 200 yards.
Not surprisingly, Prefontaine's track coach at the University of Oregon, Bill Bowerman (Donald Sutherland), did not share this philosophy. He considered the headstrong Prefontaine's notions not only ill-founded but a handicap that would thwart him when he moved into much tougher international competition, namely the Olympics, and against such legendary long-distance men as Finland's Lasse Viren.
While running was not about winning for Prefontaine, running is not necessarily just about sports for the filmmakers. In Robert Towne and Kenny Moore's supple script, we see that running is an existential endeavor. As Bowerman preaches to his charges at the beginning of every track season, "If you can find meaning in the absurd practice of running, you can find meaning in this other absurd pastime, life." As such, this "sports" movie's real strength and moves are as much off the track as on it. Although the sports world is the subculture setting for the film, the narrative embraces ideas and presents philosophies of life that are often more associated with art house-type, static endeavors. In short, this is a jock movie with a very high IQ.
Set in the turbulent early 1970s campus rebellion, "Without Limits" is also a canny depiction of a nation in painful, adolescent-type years of change and growth. Clearly, Prefontaine was a young man who not only epitomized the anti-establishment thinking of the times but was, in his heady way, someone who simply did not run with the pack -- an individual.
Prefontaine's both endearing and aggravating tenacity is superbly captured by Crudup. It's a sinewy, lean performance that bulges with a sharp mix of contradiction and inspiration. As Prefontaine's mentor/tormentor coach, Sutherland's wily portrayal brims with wisdom and a wonderful hardheadedness, not surprisingly, coach and runner clashed often because they both possessed the same headstrong natures; both were spirits who ran against the grain of popular thought. (A happy side story in this film is that the flinty coach was always crafting lighter track shoes for his runners in his kitchen, using the family waffle iron. These shoes became the sole pattern for what was to become the Nike line. Do you think this film might have some product tie-ins?) In essence, not only is this film about the philosophical nature of performance and honor, it's got the added gusto of visualizing the American dream: local curmudgeon invents multimillion-dollar product with his wife's waffle iron, starts international craze.
Supporting performances are also a cut above, including most prominently Monica Potter as Prefontaine's girlfriend who, as a practicing Catholic, also had the moral fortitude to go against the groupthink of the times. A team of real-life long distancers and Olympians bring veracity to the film.
Most admirably, co-writer/ director Robert Towne has invigorated "Without Limits" with a sizzling pace, especially welcome for those of us rubes who consider long-distance running the most boring of sports. Special praise to editors Claire Simpson and Robert Lambert for the fast-clip edits and to composer Randy Miller for the rousing, pulse-quickening score. A slew of '60s-ish sounds, courtesy of music supervisor Danny Bramson, add a solid kick to this smartly conceived winner.
WITHOUT LIMITS
Warner Bros.
A Cruise/Wagner production
A Robert Towne film
Producers: Tom Cruise, Paula Wagner
Director: Robert Towne
Screenwriters: Robert Towne, Kenny Moore
Executive producers: Jonathan Sanger, Kenny Moore
Director of photography: Conrad Hall
Production designer: William Creber
Editors: Claire Simpson, Robert Lambert
Music supervisor: Danny Bramson
Costume designer: Grania Preston
Casting: Rick Pagano
Music: Randy Miller
Color/stereo
Cast:
Steve Prefontaine: Billy Crudup
Bill Bowerman: Donald Sutherland
Mary Marckx: Monica Potter
Frank Shorter: Jeremy Sisto
Roscoe Devine: Matthew Lillard
Dong Kardong: Gabe Olds
Barbara Bowerman: Judith Ivey
Bill Dellinger: Dean Norris
Kenny Moore: Billy Burke
Mac Wilkins: Adam Setliff
Russ Francis: Nicholas Oleson
Iowa's Finest: Amy Jo Johnson
Lasse Viren: Pat Porter
Running time -- 120 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 3/16/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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