The sun and surf of California has long provided a cinematic backdrop to drugs, sex and hedonistic excess; behind the beautiful coastline of the Golden State often lies darker secrets. It's in that spirit that "California Scheming" unfolds, and today we have the exclusive red band trailer for the upcoming film. The directorial debut of writer/director Marco Weber (producer behind "Igby Goes Down," "Brooklyn's Finest" and "The Informers" among others), the film is led by 2011 Miss Golden Globe Gia Mantegna who plays Chloe, a beautiful new girl who has just arrived in Malibu. Soon, best friends Nick and Jason are drawn into her orbit, as well as Hillary, another arrival from Boston looking for friends and a place to fit in. But Chloe is more than just a beautiful face, and introducing everyone to drugs, crime and more, they all go down a dangerous path. Co-starring Chad Lowe, Devon Werkheiser,...
- 11/5/2013
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Gravitas Ventures and Rapid Eye Film announced that teen thriller California Scheming will open day-and-date in theatres and on VOD on January 31 2014.
Marco Weber wrote, directed and produced the story about teenagers in Malibu who encounter a dangerous newcomer.
Gia Mantegna, Devon Werkheiser, Spencer Daniels, Rachel Seiferth, Claudia Christian and Chad Lowe star.
monterey media has acquired Us and Canadian rights to WWII story A Farewell To Fools starring Gérard Depardieu and Harvey Keitel, thriller No God, No Master starring David Strathairn, family title Redwood Highway with Shirley Knight and Tom Skerritt. The distributor plans spring 2014 theatrical releases on all three.
Marco Weber wrote, directed and produced the story about teenagers in Malibu who encounter a dangerous newcomer.
Gia Mantegna, Devon Werkheiser, Spencer Daniels, Rachel Seiferth, Claudia Christian and Chad Lowe star.
monterey media has acquired Us and Canadian rights to WWII story A Farewell To Fools starring Gérard Depardieu and Harvey Keitel, thriller No God, No Master starring David Strathairn, family title Redwood Highway with Shirley Knight and Tom Skerritt. The distributor plans spring 2014 theatrical releases on all three.
- 10/17/2013
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Gravitas Ventures has a sexy new poster up for their teen thriller California Scheming which hits theaters January 31st, 2014. Gia Mantegna's featured, with a tagline of "She Drives You Crazy." Agreed on that one. There's also a new image from the film included below. Marco Weber (The Informers, Igby Goes Down, Unthinkable) directs the film starring Mangegna of The Frozen Ground, as well as Devon Werkheiser (We Were Soldiers), Spencer Daniels (Star Trek), Rachel Seiferth (Shooting April), Claudia Christian of TV's Babylon 5 series and Chad Lowe of ABC's Pretty Little Liars. The story tells of three teens in Malibu who meet Chloe, the beautiful new girl in town. Nick and Jason, two best friends and surf buddies from Malibu are drawn to Chloe's good looks and mystique, while Hillary, in town from Boston and staying with family in the wake of her mother's untimely death, is looking for...
- 10/17/2013
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Gravitas Ventures and Rapid Eye Film announced today that the teen suspense thriller California Scheming will get a national day-and-date release on January 31st, 2013. The film was written, directed, and produced by Marco Weber ( Unthinkable , The Informers , Igby Goes Down ) and stars Gia Mantegna ( The Frozen Ground , "Gigantic"), Devon Werkheiser, Spencer Daniels, Rachel Seiferth, Claudia Christian and Chad Lowe ("Pretty Little Liars"). The film will open theatrically in 15 markets including New York and Los Angeles while simultaneously reaching 100 million+ homes via cable On Demand platforms and major Online VOD providers. Gravitas has DVD rights as well. California Scheming tells the story of three teens in Malibu who meet Chloe, the beautiful...
- 10/17/2013
- Comingsoon.net
Sundance Film Festival
PARK CITY -- Hollywood's flirtation with Christian filmgoers blossoms to a full-blown romance in Mark Pellington's Henry Poole Is Here, a religious fable about man, lost in despair and anger, discovering the healing power of hope. Pellington and writer Albert Torres wisely leaven the earnestness of their story with wry humor, and the acting with one key exception is outstanding. The film will probably divide viewers along party lines: Either you believe in miracles -- in the Catholic sense -- or you do not.
Sensing a growing audience for such films, Overture is closing in on a deal for Henry Poole. With the right marketing, the film could do well in many regions, in and out of the Bible Belt, and possibly cross over to nonreligious audiences who will appreciate the Capra-esque touches.
Luke Wilson plays Henry, a deeply depressed man who means to isolate himself from the world. He buys a dreary house in a Los Angeles suburb, stocks up on alcohol and stares into space. But the world, in the form of busybody neighbors, comes knocking anyway.
First, it's the devout Esperanza ("Babel's" Adriana Barraza) with a welcome wagon of tamales and more curiosity than Henry can tolerate. Later, he catches a sweet 8-year-old girl next door, Millie (Morgan Lily), tape recording his private conversations. Only she herself will not speak -- a condition Henry can appreciate.
Millie's mom, Dawn (Radha Mitchell), is a knockout and right next door too, but you sense Henry's desire to resist even the most basic social urges.
Then fate intervenes. A bad stucco job before he moved in has left a water stain on an exterior wall in his backyard. An astonished Esperanza declares she sees the face of Jesus in that stain. No matter how fiercely Henry resists Esperanza, his backyard gets turned into a "holy site" as her priest (George Lopez), fellow parishioners and the curious pay visits.
Henry vigorously whitewashes the wall with bleach, but the face grows clearer. Then a stigmata appears on the face. A nearly blind supermarket clerk (Rachel Seiferth), who in Henry's mind already has been overly solicitous about his emotional health, touches the wall and her vision is restored.
What ails Henry, which the movie hints at all along, is that he suffers from a rare and fatal disease. He has come back to his old neighborhood to die. It's a neighborhood of mostly bad memories, but the film, quite rightly, doesn't burden the story with any more of his past than this. Instead, the movie sticks with the here and now of a man who wants to be a recluse but can't keep mobs of people from bringing the message of Hope and Miracles to his door.
The movie is a little static at times. It seldom leaves the neighborhood, and the story progresses only in small degrees through these incidents. Overall, the film lacks dramatic heft.
Barraza is remarkable in that she brings pathos and kindness to a role that in lesser hands would be a nuisance. Mitchell is warm and caring as a mother in distress over the trauma her daughter has suffered since her daddy deserted the family.
Two newcomers are fabulous: Seiferth is funny, touching and sincere as the store clerk. Young Lily not only is a beautiful child but also has the poise and line deliveries of a veteran. Prediction: You will see and hear from these two in the future.
Which leaves Wilson. Granted, he is playing a sad sack. But an actor has to make that interesting. Wilson fails in this. The biggest hole in this picture is not so much whether an audience will buy its miracles but whether an audience will care about Henry Poole. Wilson hits the same notes in virtually every scene without any change to his physical rhythms or moods.
Pellington might want to consider a few trims, removing unnecessary scenes and tightening others to quicken the pace. Tech credits are mostly smooth, especially Eric Schmidt's mobile camera, working overtime to find new angles at the same location, and John Frizzell's easy-listening music that blends well with soft rock standards.
HENRY POOLE IS HERE
Camelot Pictures/Lakeshore Entertainment
Credits:
Director: Mark Pellington
Screenwriter: Albert Torres
Producers: Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, Richard Wright, Gary Gilbert, Tom Lassally
Director of photography: Eric Schmidt
Production designer: Richard Hoover
Music: John Frizzell
Costume designer: Wendy Chuck
Editor: Lisa Churgin
Cast:
Henry Poole: Luke Wilson
Dawn Stupek: Radha Mitchell
Esperanza: Adriana Barraza
Father Salazar: George Lopez
Millie: Morgan Lily
Realtor: Cheryl Hines
Patience: Rachel Seiferth
Doctor: Richard Benjamin
Running time -- 100 minutes
No MPAA rating...
PARK CITY -- Hollywood's flirtation with Christian filmgoers blossoms to a full-blown romance in Mark Pellington's Henry Poole Is Here, a religious fable about man, lost in despair and anger, discovering the healing power of hope. Pellington and writer Albert Torres wisely leaven the earnestness of their story with wry humor, and the acting with one key exception is outstanding. The film will probably divide viewers along party lines: Either you believe in miracles -- in the Catholic sense -- or you do not.
Sensing a growing audience for such films, Overture is closing in on a deal for Henry Poole. With the right marketing, the film could do well in many regions, in and out of the Bible Belt, and possibly cross over to nonreligious audiences who will appreciate the Capra-esque touches.
Luke Wilson plays Henry, a deeply depressed man who means to isolate himself from the world. He buys a dreary house in a Los Angeles suburb, stocks up on alcohol and stares into space. But the world, in the form of busybody neighbors, comes knocking anyway.
First, it's the devout Esperanza ("Babel's" Adriana Barraza) with a welcome wagon of tamales and more curiosity than Henry can tolerate. Later, he catches a sweet 8-year-old girl next door, Millie (Morgan Lily), tape recording his private conversations. Only she herself will not speak -- a condition Henry can appreciate.
Millie's mom, Dawn (Radha Mitchell), is a knockout and right next door too, but you sense Henry's desire to resist even the most basic social urges.
Then fate intervenes. A bad stucco job before he moved in has left a water stain on an exterior wall in his backyard. An astonished Esperanza declares she sees the face of Jesus in that stain. No matter how fiercely Henry resists Esperanza, his backyard gets turned into a "holy site" as her priest (George Lopez), fellow parishioners and the curious pay visits.
Henry vigorously whitewashes the wall with bleach, but the face grows clearer. Then a stigmata appears on the face. A nearly blind supermarket clerk (Rachel Seiferth), who in Henry's mind already has been overly solicitous about his emotional health, touches the wall and her vision is restored.
What ails Henry, which the movie hints at all along, is that he suffers from a rare and fatal disease. He has come back to his old neighborhood to die. It's a neighborhood of mostly bad memories, but the film, quite rightly, doesn't burden the story with any more of his past than this. Instead, the movie sticks with the here and now of a man who wants to be a recluse but can't keep mobs of people from bringing the message of Hope and Miracles to his door.
The movie is a little static at times. It seldom leaves the neighborhood, and the story progresses only in small degrees through these incidents. Overall, the film lacks dramatic heft.
Barraza is remarkable in that she brings pathos and kindness to a role that in lesser hands would be a nuisance. Mitchell is warm and caring as a mother in distress over the trauma her daughter has suffered since her daddy deserted the family.
Two newcomers are fabulous: Seiferth is funny, touching and sincere as the store clerk. Young Lily not only is a beautiful child but also has the poise and line deliveries of a veteran. Prediction: You will see and hear from these two in the future.
Which leaves Wilson. Granted, he is playing a sad sack. But an actor has to make that interesting. Wilson fails in this. The biggest hole in this picture is not so much whether an audience will buy its miracles but whether an audience will care about Henry Poole. Wilson hits the same notes in virtually every scene without any change to his physical rhythms or moods.
Pellington might want to consider a few trims, removing unnecessary scenes and tightening others to quicken the pace. Tech credits are mostly smooth, especially Eric Schmidt's mobile camera, working overtime to find new angles at the same location, and John Frizzell's easy-listening music that blends well with soft rock standards.
HENRY POOLE IS HERE
Camelot Pictures/Lakeshore Entertainment
Credits:
Director: Mark Pellington
Screenwriter: Albert Torres
Producers: Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, Richard Wright, Gary Gilbert, Tom Lassally
Director of photography: Eric Schmidt
Production designer: Richard Hoover
Music: John Frizzell
Costume designer: Wendy Chuck
Editor: Lisa Churgin
Cast:
Henry Poole: Luke Wilson
Dawn Stupek: Radha Mitchell
Esperanza: Adriana Barraza
Father Salazar: George Lopez
Millie: Morgan Lily
Realtor: Cheryl Hines
Patience: Rachel Seiferth
Doctor: Richard Benjamin
Running time -- 100 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 1/23/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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