Exclusive: UTA on Monday announced its signing of writer, producer and executive John Ierardi for representation in all areas.
“I am beyond excited to be joining the UTA family,” Ierardi told Deadline. “The company has always been a pillar in the industry at giving creatives a voice and I couldn’t be happier to start this next chapter.”
Ierardi teamed with Bo Youngblood in 2019 to launch Showdown Productions, a production company whose mission is to produce material with a strong artistic vision that provides critical commentary on diverse social issues.
The company, where he serves as an executive, most recently wrapped production on the Will Wernick-directed pool hall drama Break, starring Victor Rasuk and Jeff Kober, as well as the thriller In Flight, which Ierardi co-wrote from his own story. Youngblood helmed the latter title, which stars Cristo Fernandez (Ted Lasso), Tiffany Smith (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3...
“I am beyond excited to be joining the UTA family,” Ierardi told Deadline. “The company has always been a pillar in the industry at giving creatives a voice and I couldn’t be happier to start this next chapter.”
Ierardi teamed with Bo Youngblood in 2019 to launch Showdown Productions, a production company whose mission is to produce material with a strong artistic vision that provides critical commentary on diverse social issues.
The company, where he serves as an executive, most recently wrapped production on the Will Wernick-directed pool hall drama Break, starring Victor Rasuk and Jeff Kober, as well as the thriller In Flight, which Ierardi co-wrote from his own story. Youngblood helmed the latter title, which stars Cristo Fernandez (Ted Lasso), Tiffany Smith (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3...
- 8/21/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
While Hollywood still has a long way to go in supporting queer stories and storytellers, we’re living in a relative golden age of LGBTQ cinema compared to what has come before. Netflix has not always chosen to support the LGBTQ community in their business decisions, but the streamer has played a major role in increasing the visibility of queer characters and storylines in both film and TV, and in supporting queer creators in telling stories.
As we celebrate Pride month and beyond, let’s take a look at some of the best LGBTQ movies Netflix currently has on offer. If you’re looking for a queer film to watch—satirically funny or devastatingly earnest, heart-stoppingly romantic or casually queer—try one of the many excellent and diverse options below.
Brokeback Mountain
“Brokeback Mountain,” a neo-Western film about two male cowboys who love one another in a deeply homophobic society,...
As we celebrate Pride month and beyond, let’s take a look at some of the best LGBTQ movies Netflix currently has on offer. If you’re looking for a queer film to watch—satirically funny or devastatingly earnest, heart-stoppingly romantic or casually queer—try one of the many excellent and diverse options below.
Brokeback Mountain
“Brokeback Mountain,” a neo-Western film about two male cowboys who love one another in a deeply homophobic society,...
- 6/17/2023
- by Kayti Burt
- The Wrap
In his latest podcast/interview, host and screenwriter Stuart Wright talks to Brea Grant, director of Blumhouse’s horrifying Nashville Noir Torn Hearts, a film that proves the old adage that you should never meet your heroes.
Jordan and Leigh are up-and-coming Nashville stars with their band ‘Torn Hearts’. They hear Harper Dutch, the reclusive surviving sister of the iconic country duo ‘The Dutchess Sisters’, is searching for the right comeback project. So they decide to turn up on Harper’s doorstep with a plan to record a chart-topper together. The faded megastar invites them into her private mansion, locks the doors and pours what could be the last drink of Torn Hearts’ career. For their idol puts them through a series of twisted horrors that forces them to confront the limits they’d go to for their dreams.
Starring Katey Sagal, Abby Quinn and Alexxis Lemire, Torn Hearts is...
Jordan and Leigh are up-and-coming Nashville stars with their band ‘Torn Hearts’. They hear Harper Dutch, the reclusive surviving sister of the iconic country duo ‘The Dutchess Sisters’, is searching for the right comeback project. So they decide to turn up on Harper’s doorstep with a plan to record a chart-topper together. The faded megastar invites them into her private mansion, locks the doors and pours what could be the last drink of Torn Hearts’ career. For their idol puts them through a series of twisted horrors that forces them to confront the limits they’d go to for their dreams.
Starring Katey Sagal, Abby Quinn and Alexxis Lemire, Torn Hearts is...
- 9/30/2022
- by Stuart Wright
- Nerdly
Torn Hearts is a new horror movie from Brea Grant that tells the story of a country music duo who goes to extreme lengths to meet their idol. Alexxis Lemire and Abby Quinn play the pair of aspiring singers, and their journey takes a dark turn when they find themselves in a private mansion full of terrors. With Katey Sagal also starring, as their idol. Torn Hearts is a suspenseful tale that will leave audiences guessing until the very end. Grant’s direction and the performances by the leads make for a truly unsettling experience, one that will stay with viewers
Five Movies To Watch When You’re Done With “Torn Hearts”...
Five Movies To Watch When You’re Done With “Torn Hearts”...
- 6/25/2022
- by A.E. Oats
- TVovermind.com
Stars: Abby Quinn, Alexxis Lemire, Shiloh Fernandez, Katey Sagal, Joshua Leonard, Alon McKlveen | Written by Rachel Koller Croft | Directed by Brea Grant
Torn Hearts is actress Brea Grant’s follow-up to her directorial debut, 12 Hour Shift. Here she’s turned her attention to the music industry. And while genre films about the price of fame stretch from The Phantom of the Opera to The Phantom of the Paradise and The 27 Club most of them are set in the world of rock, and frequently heavy metal. The closest I can think to a county-themed one is the Faustian Southern Rock tale Dark Roads 79.
Torn Hearts is both the title of the film and the name of the musical act led by Jordan and Leigh. They’re desperate to go from popular in Nashville to the big time and it looks like they’re about to get their chance as an...
Torn Hearts is actress Brea Grant’s follow-up to her directorial debut, 12 Hour Shift. Here she’s turned her attention to the music industry. And while genre films about the price of fame stretch from The Phantom of the Opera to The Phantom of the Paradise and The 27 Club most of them are set in the world of rock, and frequently heavy metal. The closest I can think to a county-themed one is the Faustian Southern Rock tale Dark Roads 79.
Torn Hearts is both the title of the film and the name of the musical act led by Jordan and Leigh. They’re desperate to go from popular in Nashville to the big time and it looks like they’re about to get their chance as an...
- 5/25/2022
- by Jim Morazzini
- Nerdly
Never meet your heroes, they say ... "Torn Hearts" is about two rising artists in the country music world, Jordan Wilder (Abby Quinn) and Leigh Blackhouse (Alexxis Lemire), meeting the woman who inspired them, the legendary Harper Dutch (Katey Sagal). They drink, they sing, and they even live together. The dream does not match the reality, though, which is one of the themes director Brea Grant explores in her aesthetically poppy but thematically dark horror film.
"Torn Hearts" is the director's third feature to date following "12-Hour Shift" and "Best Friends Forever." With her well-received Blumhouse picture, which Rachel Koller Croft wrote, Grant puts together...
The post Torn Hearts Director Brea Grant on Making a Colorful Country Music Horror Movie [Interview] appeared first on /Film.
"Torn Hearts" is the director's third feature to date following "12-Hour Shift" and "Best Friends Forever." With her well-received Blumhouse picture, which Rachel Koller Croft wrote, Grant puts together...
The post Torn Hearts Director Brea Grant on Making a Colorful Country Music Horror Movie [Interview] appeared first on /Film.
- 5/23/2022
- by Jack Giroux
- Slash Film
The multi-talented Brea Grant is an actor, writer, and director, who has starred in several television shows and films like Dexter (2011), Halloween II (2009), and After Midnight (2019). In 2020, she wrote and directed the hilariously macabre 12 Hour Shift, which starred Angela Bettis. Grant’s latest project is the Blumhouse Television and Epix film Torn Hearts, which follows two singers trying to break into the country music scene in Nashville, but to do that they have to become friends with a reclusive country music star.
Written by Rachel Koller Croft and directed by Grant, Torn Hearts stars Abby Quinn and Alexxis Lemire as two friends who have a band called Torn Hearts. They jump at the opportunity to meet country music legend Harper Dutch, played by the iconic Katey Sagal. Harper has been living in seclusion since her sister died under mysterious circumstances, but she reluctantly agrees to help the two talented...
Written by Rachel Koller Croft and directed by Grant, Torn Hearts stars Abby Quinn and Alexxis Lemire as two friends who have a band called Torn Hearts. They jump at the opportunity to meet country music legend Harper Dutch, played by the iconic Katey Sagal. Harper has been living in seclusion since her sister died under mysterious circumstances, but she reluctantly agrees to help the two talented...
- 5/19/2022
- by Michelle Swope
- DailyDead
Keeping things in the family isn’t always easy—just ask the Gallagher Brothers. Blood doesn’t mean anything once fame and fortune enter the fray because outside interests will begin to whisper and divide until the world discovers two halves aren’t quite as good as the whole. That’s not saying Noel’s High Flying Birds or Liam’s Beady Eye are bad. They’ve both created some good music post-break-up, but neither reached the heights Oasis had. The former’s music and latter’s voice built something that could only exist with the two brothers working together. One could presume that some level of jealousy even helped fuel that success as both sought to prove their worth so vehemently that they ultimately exposed their respective animosity instead. At least we still have the music.
It’s a dynamic that occurs with a lot of musical acts wherein...
It’s a dynamic that occurs with a lot of musical acts wherein...
- 5/19/2022
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
Torn Hearts Trailer — Brea Grant‘s Torn Hearts (2022) movie trailer has been released by Blumhouse. The Torn Hearts trailer stars Katey Sagal, Abby Quinn, Alexxis Lemire, Joshua Leonard, and Shiloh Fernandez. Crew Rachel Koller Croft wrote the screenplay for Torn Hearts. Brittany Allen created the music for the film. Yaron Levy crafted the cinematography for [...]
Continue reading: Torn Hearts (2022) Movie Trailer: Katey Sagal, Abby Quinn, & Alexxis Lemire star in Brea Grant’s Country Music Horror Film...
Continue reading: Torn Hearts (2022) Movie Trailer: Katey Sagal, Abby Quinn, & Alexxis Lemire star in Brea Grant’s Country Music Horror Film...
- 4/22/2022
- by Rollo Tomasi
- Film-Book
"Which one of you is better?" Blumhouse has revealed an official trailer for a new film titled Torn Hearts, directed by the very talented actress & filmmaker Brea Grant. This is her third feature film so far and she's getting even better with each and every one. "Things are headed south in Torn Hearts as a country music duo in Nashville meet their idol only to find out it isn't quite the dream they imagined....How far would you go for your dreams?" That's the intro. The film follows a country music duo from Nashville who seek out the private mansion of their idol and end up in a twisted series of horrors that force them to confront the limits they'd go for their dreams. The film stars Katey Sagal and Abby Quinn, with Alexxis Lemire, Joshua Leonard, and Shiloh Fernandez. This doesn't sound like horror, but oh it definitely is.
- 4/20/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Directed by Brea Grant, starring Katey Sagal, and available for digital purchase on May 20 from Paramount Home Entertainment, here's the look at the official trailer for Torn Hearts:
"Blumhouse Television and Epix present the cautionary tale of a rise to stardom set in the iconic Nashville Country Music scene. Two friends, rising artists on the brink of a big break, will do just about anything to realize their dream – including a pilgrimage to the legendary and reclusive Harper Dutch's (Golden Globe winner Katey Sagal) mansion in the hopes she’ll record a song with them. While their life-long idol seems intent to help, the visit devolves into a twisted series of mental and physical torment as the pair discover Harper - and each other - may have other motives. With no other choice and desperate to record a song, the duo must go to dangerous lengths to prove their...
"Blumhouse Television and Epix present the cautionary tale of a rise to stardom set in the iconic Nashville Country Music scene. Two friends, rising artists on the brink of a big break, will do just about anything to realize their dream – including a pilgrimage to the legendary and reclusive Harper Dutch's (Golden Globe winner Katey Sagal) mansion in the hopes she’ll record a song with them. While their life-long idol seems intent to help, the visit devolves into a twisted series of mental and physical torment as the pair discover Harper - and each other - may have other motives. With no other choice and desperate to record a song, the duo must go to dangerous lengths to prove their...
- 4/20/2022
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Abby Quinn will star in an upcoming Blumhouse and Epix movie set in Nashville opposite Shiloh Fernandez and Joshua Leonard. They join the previously announced Alexxis Lemire and Katey Sagal in the film, which has the working title of “Tattered Hearts.”
The movie centers on a promising up-and-coming country duo who seek out the secluded mansion of their idol (Sagal), a former country music star and “Music City” royalty turned recluse. What starts out as a friendly visit devolves into a twisted series of horrors forcing the friends to confront the lengths they will go to realize
their dreams. Brea Grant (“12 Hour Shift”) is directing from a script by Rachel Koller Croft.
Quinn will star as “Jordan,” singer and guitarist, and one half of the music duo. The actress had a notable role in the Sundance hit “Landline” opposite Edie Falco and Jenny Slate. She most recently starred in...
The movie centers on a promising up-and-coming country duo who seek out the secluded mansion of their idol (Sagal), a former country music star and “Music City” royalty turned recluse. What starts out as a friendly visit devolves into a twisted series of horrors forcing the friends to confront the lengths they will go to realize
their dreams. Brea Grant (“12 Hour Shift”) is directing from a script by Rachel Koller Croft.
Quinn will star as “Jordan,” singer and guitarist, and one half of the music duo. The actress had a notable role in the Sundance hit “Landline” opposite Edie Falco and Jenny Slate. She most recently starred in...
- 7/21/2021
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Blumhouse has tapped Alexxis Lemire to lead its original movie at Epix, Tattered Hearts (w/t), alongside Katey Sagal.
Tattered Hearts comes from Epix’s and Blumhouse’s TV movie partnership, under which the latter is to develop and produce a slate of eight standalone horror and genre films. The Sagal-Lemire title joins previously announced A House on the Bayou, Unhuman and American Refugee.
Set in Nashville, Tattered Hearts follows a promising up-and-coming country duo who seek out the secluded mansion of their idol Harper Dutch (Sagal), a former country music star and Nashville royalty turned recluse. What starts out as a friendly visit devolves into a twisted series of horrors forcing the friends to confront the lengths they will go to realize their dreams.
Lemire will star as Leigh, the lead vocalist in the aforementioned promising country music duo.
Brea Grant helms the film, written by Rachel Koller Croft.
Tattered Hearts comes from Epix’s and Blumhouse’s TV movie partnership, under which the latter is to develop and produce a slate of eight standalone horror and genre films. The Sagal-Lemire title joins previously announced A House on the Bayou, Unhuman and American Refugee.
Set in Nashville, Tattered Hearts follows a promising up-and-coming country duo who seek out the secluded mansion of their idol Harper Dutch (Sagal), a former country music star and Nashville royalty turned recluse. What starts out as a friendly visit devolves into a twisted series of horrors forcing the friends to confront the lengths they will go to realize their dreams.
Lemire will star as Leigh, the lead vocalist in the aforementioned promising country music duo.
Brea Grant helms the film, written by Rachel Koller Croft.
- 7/16/2021
- by Alexandra Del Rosario
- Deadline Film + TV
Stars: James Russo, Alexxis Lemire, Christian James, Anirudh Pisharody, Aly Trasher, Jesse Willhite, John Ruby, Hanif Karim, Christopher Carrington | Written by Arvi, Gary D. Houk | Directed by Arvi
Cerebrum, the debut feature from director Arvi and co-writer Gary D. Houk made its premiere April 25th at the Worldfest Film Festival. The tale of experiments with human memory and father-son estrangement attracted a bit of attention ahead of its screening. Does it live up to the hype?
Tom Davis is forced to move back home with his estranged father Kirk. Tim is not happy about this although Chloe is glad to see him back in town.
Kirk is a scientist, a “cowboy Einstein” as his assistant Bhuvanesh (Anirudh Pisharody; Killer Competition) calls him. And he’s offered Tim a nice chunk of money to be the test subject for something he’s working on. A way to digitize and store the contents of your brain,...
Cerebrum, the debut feature from director Arvi and co-writer Gary D. Houk made its premiere April 25th at the Worldfest Film Festival. The tale of experiments with human memory and father-son estrangement attracted a bit of attention ahead of its screening. Does it live up to the hype?
Tom Davis is forced to move back home with his estranged father Kirk. Tim is not happy about this although Chloe is glad to see him back in town.
Kirk is a scientist, a “cowboy Einstein” as his assistant Bhuvanesh (Anirudh Pisharody; Killer Competition) calls him. And he’s offered Tim a nice chunk of money to be the test subject for something he’s working on. A way to digitize and store the contents of your brain,...
- 5/20/2021
- by Jim Morazzini
- Nerdly
"I don't trust myself anymore..." Glasshouse Distribution has released a new official trailer for an indie sci-fi film titled Cerebrum, marking the feature directorial debut of "visionary new filmmaker" Arvi Ragu. It's premiering at WorldFest in Houston this month, then arrives on VOD right after that. Yet another low budget sci-fi trying to play with big concepts like digitizing humanity and artificial intelligence, with some nods to Minority Report. A test subject at a memory transfer lab commits a crime he cannot remember. The premise explores "what will happen if our memories can be digitized as backups and used to restore it if it ever failed." This stars Christian James as Tom, Alexxis Lemire, John Ruby, James Russo, Andy Pisharody, and Aly Trasher. This has a bit of a Primer look and feel to it, I just hope it's smart and not too cheesy. They often start with a pretty cool idea,...
- 4/23/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Have You Backed Up Your Brain? C E R E B R U M On Demand Screening At Worldfest – April 2021 Available On Demand – May 2021 From visionary new filmmaker Arvi Ragu, and starring Christian James, Alexxis Lemire (The Half of It), and acclaimed actor James Russo (Django Unchained, Beverly Hills …
The post Cerebrum – Trailer Premiere appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.
The post Cerebrum – Trailer Premiere appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.
- 4/19/2021
- by Adrian Halen
- Horror News
Welcome to the latest installment of Trailer Park, our semi-regular look at the latest trailers to hit the interwebs. This edition features a gaggle of trailers for forthcoming movies, including Death Rink, Painkiller, The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard and more!
Death Rink
From Wild Eye Releasing, and writer/director Daniel Zubiate, comes Death Rink! Roller Boogie meets Friday the 13th in a wild new skating spookfest for the spring. The night staff of roller rink are stalked and killed by a mysterious figure who they believe may be the spirit of a teenager who was accidentally killed there years ago. Amanda Courtney, Caedmon Holland, and Alan Humphrey star.
Death Rink opens to the public May 11, 2021. Available on most major VOD platforms.
Painkiller
In Painkiller, Bill Johnson (Oberst Jr.) has suffered the kind of loss that no parent should ever have to; watching his daughter fall victim to the opioid epidemic, which too long went unnoticed.
Death Rink
From Wild Eye Releasing, and writer/director Daniel Zubiate, comes Death Rink! Roller Boogie meets Friday the 13th in a wild new skating spookfest for the spring. The night staff of roller rink are stalked and killed by a mysterious figure who they believe may be the spirit of a teenager who was accidentally killed there years ago. Amanda Courtney, Caedmon Holland, and Alan Humphrey star.
Death Rink opens to the public May 11, 2021. Available on most major VOD platforms.
Painkiller
In Painkiller, Bill Johnson (Oberst Jr.) has suffered the kind of loss that no parent should ever have to; watching his daughter fall victim to the opioid epidemic, which too long went unnoticed.
- 4/14/2021
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Any movie that signals its ambitions in an intriguing, oblique manner catches my interest, and that's certainly the case with a new trailer for Cerebrum. Heading for a screening at the 54th annual WorldFest in Houston towards the end of April, ahead of its debut On Demand via Glasshouse Distribution on May 4, Cerebrum starts with a striking premise: "To make ends meet, Tom signs on as a guinea pig at a home-based lab, but when he commits a crime he cannot remember, he must risk his own sanity to reveal the truth." Arvi Ragu directed; Christian James, Alexxis Lemire (The Half of It), and the great James Russo star. Have a look at the trailer below....
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 4/13/2021
- Screen Anarchy
Tagline: "Have You Backed Up Your Brain?" Cerebrum is an upcoming sci-fi thriller. To show at this year's Worldfest later this month, Cerebrum looks at memories and whether they too could be digitized. Actor James Russo (Django Unchained) plays Kirk, with Christian James (Hell Fest), Alexxis Lemire and John Ruby also starring. A wider, Digital release is scheduled for this May. Director Ragu has also talked about the relationships in the film. Ragu says: "I wanted to explore the broken relationship between a father and son, and how they find a common cause to come together to understand and love each other." This title has a dramatic element included within the sci-fi one. Glasshouse Distribution will handle the film's release. After the film's debut at Worldfest on April 25th, Cerebrum will be available to a wider audience on May 4th. For now, fans of sci-fi can find the film's U.
- 4/13/2021
- by noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)
- 28 Days Later Analysis
“Raya and the Last Dragon” star Kelly Marie Tran says there is an “unfair” amount of pressure that comes with taking on the role of Disney’s first Southeast Asian princess, due to the expectation that she be “extra grateful” to represent a historically underrepresented community.
“It should not feel so precious that there is something like this that exists in the world,” the “Star Wars” alum said Tuesday during “The Future Is Now: Next Gen Hollywood Roundtable” at TheWrap’s Power Women Summit. “There should just be so many. Do you know what I mean? I feel like sometimes when you are in an underrepresented group of people and you get this opportunity, you sort of have to do all of these mental Olympics of being like, ‘Oh, I have to be extra grateful because it will never happen again.’ And that’s such an unfair pressure to put on yourself.
“It should not feel so precious that there is something like this that exists in the world,” the “Star Wars” alum said Tuesday during “The Future Is Now: Next Gen Hollywood Roundtable” at TheWrap’s Power Women Summit. “There should just be so many. Do you know what I mean? I feel like sometimes when you are in an underrepresented group of people and you get this opportunity, you sort of have to do all of these mental Olympics of being like, ‘Oh, I have to be extra grateful because it will never happen again.’ And that’s such an unfair pressure to put on yourself.
- 12/8/2020
- by Jennifer Maas
- The Wrap
“Black Bear” star Aubrey Plaza joins WrapWomen’s 2020 Power Women Summit, the largest annual gathering of women in media and entertainment. With the theme “Inclusion 360,” the event will take place virtually December 8-10.
Plaza is best known for playing April Ludgate on the Emmy-nominated series “Parks and Recreation.” Her comedic talents landed her starring roles in hit films like “Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates” opposite Anna Kendrick and Zac Efron and “Bad Grandpa” opposite Robert De Niro.
More recently, Plaza made the transition into drama with projects such as Noah Hawley’s FX series “Legion” and the film “Ingrid Goes West,” which she also produced. Plaza continues to shine on screen and behind the camera in her recent film “Black Bear,” which she both stars in and produced.
Plaza will be interviewed by TheWrap’s founder and editor-in-chief, Sharon Waxman.
The Power Women Summit, presented by the WrapWomen Foundation,...
Plaza is best known for playing April Ludgate on the Emmy-nominated series “Parks and Recreation.” Her comedic talents landed her starring roles in hit films like “Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates” opposite Anna Kendrick and Zac Efron and “Bad Grandpa” opposite Robert De Niro.
More recently, Plaza made the transition into drama with projects such as Noah Hawley’s FX series “Legion” and the film “Ingrid Goes West,” which she also produced. Plaza continues to shine on screen and behind the camera in her recent film “Black Bear,” which she both stars in and produced.
Plaza will be interviewed by TheWrap’s founder and editor-in-chief, Sharon Waxman.
The Power Women Summit, presented by the WrapWomen Foundation,...
- 11/25/2020
- by Emily Vogel
- The Wrap
Activist, actor, host and founder of I Weigh Jameela Jamil will join WrapWomen’s 2020 Power Women Summit, the largest annual gathering of women in media and entertainment. With the theme “Inclusion 360,” the event will take place virtually December 8-10.
Jamil will discuss how she is using her I Weigh platform to celebrate progress, not perfection, in conversation with Dr. Deepika Chopra. Instead of giving into cancel culture, I Weigh is a radically inclusive community built to share ideas and stories that teach and mobilize activism. During this session, attendees will learn how to find value from within while making meaningful change both in their own communities and globally.
Jameela Jamil rose to fame as ‘Tahani’ in the Golden Globe-nominated series “The Good Place” and is currently the host of the TBS game show “The Misery Index.” In addition to her on-screen career, Jamil launched the movement and activism platform I Weigh.
Jamil will discuss how she is using her I Weigh platform to celebrate progress, not perfection, in conversation with Dr. Deepika Chopra. Instead of giving into cancel culture, I Weigh is a radically inclusive community built to share ideas and stories that teach and mobilize activism. During this session, attendees will learn how to find value from within while making meaningful change both in their own communities and globally.
Jameela Jamil rose to fame as ‘Tahani’ in the Golden Globe-nominated series “The Good Place” and is currently the host of the TBS game show “The Misery Index.” In addition to her on-screen career, Jamil launched the movement and activism platform I Weigh.
- 11/12/2020
- by Emily Vogel
- The Wrap
The evergreen story of Cyrano De Bergerac, which has had both traditional retelling's like Jean-Paul Rappenau's Gerard Depardieu starrer and reworkings like Fred Schepisi's Roxanne down the years, gets another trot around the blocks for the modern generation. This time around, writer/director Alice Chu switches the sex of the protagonist and swaps any physical manifestation of outsider status for more cultural and sexual underpinnings.
Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis) is living in podunk town Squahamish with her widowed dad, whose lack of English has stymied his career, when money woes lead her to start writing letters for nice-but-less-than eloquent football jock Paul Munsky (Daniel Diemer) for Aster Flores (Alexxis Lemire)... the twist being that it's not just Paul who has a crush on her. Chu shows the almost lazy but heavily ingrained racism that often lurks in small towns everywhere. Ellie isn't bullied on a one-to-one basis - after all,...
Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis) is living in podunk town Squahamish with her widowed dad, whose lack of English has stymied his career, when money woes lead her to start writing letters for nice-but-less-than eloquent football jock Paul Munsky (Daniel Diemer) for Aster Flores (Alexxis Lemire)... the twist being that it's not just Paul who has a crush on her. Chu shows the almost lazy but heavily ingrained racism that often lurks in small towns everywhere. Ellie isn't bullied on a one-to-one basis - after all,...
- 5/29/2020
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Chicago – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on Wbgr-fm on May 5th, 2020, discussing new releases “The Half of It” and “How to Build a Girl.”
The Half of Us, the recent Best U.S. Narrative at the online 2020 Tribeca Film Festival is the second feature film by Alice Wu, and creates a tasty palette combining teenage coming-of-age films, love triangles and fluid genderism without preaching or being trite.
How to Build a Girl is released through IFC Films, and available on May 8th for rental on various streaming platforms (see below).
“The Half of It” is currently streaming on Netflix. Featuring Leah Lewis, Daniel Diemer and Alexxis Lemire. Written and directed by Alice Wu. Rated “PG-13” “How to Build a Girl” is available for download May 8th on Amazon, Apple TV, YouTube, Vudu, Xfinity, Xbox and more. Featuring Beanie Feldstein, Alfie Allen, Paddy Considine,...
The Half of Us, the recent Best U.S. Narrative at the online 2020 Tribeca Film Festival is the second feature film by Alice Wu, and creates a tasty palette combining teenage coming-of-age films, love triangles and fluid genderism without preaching or being trite.
How to Build a Girl is released through IFC Films, and available on May 8th for rental on various streaming platforms (see below).
“The Half of It” is currently streaming on Netflix. Featuring Leah Lewis, Daniel Diemer and Alexxis Lemire. Written and directed by Alice Wu. Rated “PG-13” “How to Build a Girl” is available for download May 8th on Amazon, Apple TV, YouTube, Vudu, Xfinity, Xbox and more. Featuring Beanie Feldstein, Alfie Allen, Paddy Considine,...
- 5/8/2020
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Most movies that center around that awkward-yet-wonderful time of life that is our adolescence are seen as coming-of-age flicks, but according to Leah Lewis, The Half of It is something different, something more. "I would say it is a very realistic story about an immigrant who is coming of age, coming into her sexuality," she explained to Popsugar. "It deals with finding friendships and finding your way back to your family. I feel like it's a coming-of-life story."
That's a lot to put on one film, but luckily, Alice Wu's production lives up to the hype. Lewis stars as the film's protagonist, a high school senior named Ellie Chu, who is too smart for her own good and the small town of Squahamish. All she cares about is her grieving father and making sure that they keep their cozy home above the train station, which she ensures by helping...
That's a lot to put on one film, but luckily, Alice Wu's production lives up to the hype. Lewis stars as the film's protagonist, a high school senior named Ellie Chu, who is too smart for her own good and the small town of Squahamish. All she cares about is her grieving father and making sure that they keep their cozy home above the train station, which she ensures by helping...
- 5/4/2020
- by Mekishana Pierre
- Popsugar.com
“Cyrano de Bergerac” sure gets around. Ever since Edmond Rostand’s play about the 17th-century French dramatist became boffo box office in 1897, the story has been adapted countless times in countless ways. Ayn Rand used it as inspiration for the 1945 movie “Love Letters,” which was set in World War II; “Electric Dreams” gave it a 1984 sci-fi spin; Steve Martin’s “Roxanne” transplanted it to a Washington firehouse; “Futurama” and “Bob’s Burgers” both used it as inspiration for animated TV episodes; and Netflix borrowed from the story for “Sierra Burgess Is a Loser,” a teen comedy that aired in September 2018.
Those projects only scratch the surface of Cyrano spinoffs, and there’s still life in the old guy. In fact, Netflix is back on the Bergerac beat with Alice Wu’s “The Half of It,” which premieres on the service on Friday. That’s only two days after the film won...
Those projects only scratch the surface of Cyrano spinoffs, and there’s still life in the old guy. In fact, Netflix is back on the Bergerac beat with Alice Wu’s “The Half of It,” which premieres on the service on Friday. That’s only two days after the film won...
- 5/1/2020
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Alice Wu’s film The Half of It was set to debut at the Tribeca Film Festival. It had a prime spot on opening weekend and it was good to go for a theatrical release but then Covid-19 happened. Like all festivals, it was canceled, but Wu just rolled with the punches.
“I’m bummed that my friends and family aren’t going to see it in the theater because honestly, this film just really works in the theater… the way we shot it, the sound design — everything,” Wu told Deadline. “Maybe I’m in denial, but I actually wasn’t as bummed as one might have thought.”
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“I’m bummed that my friends and family aren’t going to see it in the theater because honestly, this film just really works in the theater… the way we shot it, the sound design — everything,” Wu told Deadline. “Maybe I’m in denial, but I actually wasn’t as bummed as one might have thought.”
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- 5/1/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Filmmaker Alice Wu admits that she is someone who needs deadlines. “I guess I respond to external pressure,” she says with a laugh when discussing how she was trying to write her second film, “The Half of It.” Prone to procrastination, she went to extreme measures. “I wrote a check for a thousand dollars to the NRA and gave it to one of my best friends,” she reveals. “I gave myself five weeks and said if I don’t have a first draft, you are sending that check in. It was the most stressful five weeks of my life.”
But it worked; within that time frame she had her first draft for “The Half of It,” which eventually morphed into one of the year’s biggest surprises; a charming and poignant coming-of-age story that hits Netflix May 1 with every chance of being a word-of-mouth sensation. The story focuses on Asian-American...
But it worked; within that time frame she had her first draft for “The Half of It,” which eventually morphed into one of the year’s biggest surprises; a charming and poignant coming-of-age story that hits Netflix May 1 with every chance of being a word-of-mouth sensation. The story focuses on Asian-American...
- 5/1/2020
- by Jenelle Riley
- Variety Film + TV
Picture a modernized, queer-teen version of Cyrano de Bergerac, in which the title character is a closeted Chinese-American girl who’s hired by a tongue-tied jock to write love letters to win the heart and mind the high-school queen they both secretly love. That’s the starting point for Alice Wu’s sweetly subversive The Half of It, a romcom (streaming on Netflix starting May 1st) that undercuts Hollywood formula at every turn.
Instead of Paris, where Cyrano is set, this revisionist take on the classic transpires in bluntly un-romantic Squahamish,...
Instead of Paris, where Cyrano is set, this revisionist take on the classic transpires in bluntly un-romantic Squahamish,...
- 4/29/2020
- by Peter Travers
- Rollingstone.com
When Alice Wu’s first film, the instant queer classic “Saving Face,” premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2004, no one was more surprised than her. The product of five years’ work, Wu loosely based the film on her own experiences coming out as a lesbian to her traditional Chinese family. Fourteen years before Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell,” Wu’s film was also populated almost exclusively by Chinese actors (many of whom spoke Mandarin in the film) and was deeply rooted in the immigrant experience.
“Who the hell thought that movie would get made?,” Wu said in a recent interview with IndieWire. “I thought, ‘I’ll just have to go back and get a job doing something else.'”
What unfolded instead was something far more unexpected. Wu didn’t have to give up her big-screen dreams — an all-too-common story for female directors and filmmakers of color — but...
“Who the hell thought that movie would get made?,” Wu said in a recent interview with IndieWire. “I thought, ‘I’ll just have to go back and get a job doing something else.'”
What unfolded instead was something far more unexpected. Wu didn’t have to give up her big-screen dreams — an all-too-common story for female directors and filmmakers of color — but...
- 4/29/2020
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Like many teen movies, “The Half of It” begins with an animated illustration of the origins of love from Plato’s Symposium, much like that other queer cinema classic, “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” What’s that? The last Ya movie you watched on Netflix didn’t devote entire scenes to explaining the major tenets of existentialism through discussions on “No Exit”? From waxing poetic on Wim Wenders to cleverly chosen “Casablanca” references, “The Half of It” is a smart riff on “Cyrano de Bergerac” that celebrates friendship and self-acceptance over romance. It’s no wonder the film so — writer/director Alice Wu knows her stuff.
Best known for her 2004 indie hit “Saving Face,” Wu makes her long-awaited return to feature filmmaking with this breezy and heartfelt teen comedy. Though both of Wu’s films follow young Chinese-American women coming into their queerness, “The Half of It” is clearly aimed...
Best known for her 2004 indie hit “Saving Face,” Wu makes her long-awaited return to feature filmmaking with this breezy and heartfelt teen comedy. Though both of Wu’s films follow young Chinese-American women coming into their queerness, “The Half of It” is clearly aimed...
- 4/28/2020
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Ellie Chu is a small-town Cyrano, with a twist, in Netflix original “The Half of It,” which could well be the most literary high school movie to come along in the short lives of its adolescent audience — and not just because writer-director Alice Wu was loosely inspired by a late-19th-century French play that most teens won’t have read. “The Half of It” qualifies as literary because it loves language; it relishes reading, respects writing and believes in the power of words to make skeptics fall in love.
Right, no need to get all purple about it. What’s this about a twist, you ask?
Well, “The Half of It” hews pretty close to a handful of teen movie genres. It belongs to the “Clueless” tradition, of course, transposing a classic romance to the hormonal petri dish of adolescence. There’s the John Hughes-ian dimension, offering yet another...
Right, no need to get all purple about it. What’s this about a twist, you ask?
Well, “The Half of It” hews pretty close to a handful of teen movie genres. It belongs to the “Clueless” tradition, of course, transposing a classic romance to the hormonal petri dish of adolescence. There’s the John Hughes-ian dimension, offering yet another...
- 4/28/2020
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Following the success of its frothy Ya romance “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,” Netflix is doubling down on young adult-focused features with girls in the lead, and this time it’s courting queer audiences. Having just released a charming first trailer, “The Half of It” is a grounded coming-of-age story about a teenage girl discovering romance isn’t all there is to life. Taking a page out of Edmond Rostand’s 1897 play “Cyrano de Bergerac,” as many storytellers have before, the epistolary plot will be recognizable to many. In “Saving Face” filmmaker Alice Wu’s capable hands, it is entirely transformed for contemporary audiences.
Here’s the official synopsis: “Bookish introvert Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis) is perfectly content with her life: watching old movies with her widowed father and ghostwriting papers for her high school classmates to help pay the bills. But her side gig turns personal when...
Here’s the official synopsis: “Bookish introvert Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis) is perfectly content with her life: watching old movies with her widowed father and ghostwriting papers for her high school classmates to help pay the bills. But her side gig turns personal when...
- 4/10/2020
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Netflix has debuted a new trailer for the coming-of-age feel-good feature ‘The Half of It’.
The story follows shy, straight-a student Ellie who is hired by sweet but inarticulate jock Paul, who needs help winning over a popular girl. But their new and unlikely friendship gets complicated when Ellie discovers she has feelings for the same girl.
Written and directed by Alice Wu, the film stars Leah Lewis, Daniel Diemer Alexxis Lemire and Collin Chou.
Also in trailers – Alexandra Daddario stars in trailer for rom-com ‘Can You Keep A Secret’
The film hits Netflix on May 1st.
The post New trailer drops for Netflix feature ‘The Half of It’ appeared first on HeyUGuys.
The story follows shy, straight-a student Ellie who is hired by sweet but inarticulate jock Paul, who needs help winning over a popular girl. But their new and unlikely friendship gets complicated when Ellie discovers she has feelings for the same girl.
Written and directed by Alice Wu, the film stars Leah Lewis, Daniel Diemer Alexxis Lemire and Collin Chou.
Also in trailers – Alexandra Daddario stars in trailer for rom-com ‘Can You Keep A Secret’
The film hits Netflix on May 1st.
The post New trailer drops for Netflix feature ‘The Half of It’ appeared first on HeyUGuys.
- 4/10/2020
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
"You know what it's like to finally meet someone your age who gets you?" Netflix has revealed the first official trailer for The Half of It, premiering direct to streaming at the start of May. Written and directed by Alice Wu, the film is "a heartfelt comedy-of-errors about searching for perfect love—and finding yourself in the process." A shy, introverted, Chinese-American, straight-a student finds herself helping the school jock woo the girl they both secretly love. In the process, each teaches the other about the nature of love as they find connection in the most unlikely of places. Leah Lewis stars as Ellie, joined by Daniel Diemer, Alexxis Lemire, Enrique Murciano, Wolfgang Novogratz, Catherine Curtin, also with Becky Ann Baker and Collin Chou. This sounds similar to Netflix's To All the Boys I've Loved Before, but the trailer plays differently, with the two main characters falling for the same person.
- 4/9/2020
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Entering its 19th edition this year, Tribeca Film Festival has announced its feature film lineup, including a number of anticipated titles as well as festival favorites. World premiering at the festival is Chad Hartigan’s sci-fi romance Little Fish, Gerardo Naranjo’s Kokoloko, Eleanor Coppola’s Love is Love is Love, Michael Winterbottom’s sequel The Trip to Greece, Rodney Ascher’s A Glitch in the Matrix, Talya Lavie’s Honeymood, BenDavid Grabinski’s Happily, Bryan Bertino’s The Dark & The Wicked, plus documentaries on Stanley Kubrick, Dmx, Harry Belafonte, John Belushi, Brian Wilson, and more.
In terms of festival favorites, there’s Josephine Decker’s Shirley (our review), Jayro Bustamante’s La Llorona Heidi Ewing’s I Carry You With Me, Gaspar Noé’s medium-length work Lux Aeterna, the St. Vincent-Carrie Brownstein collaboration The Nowhere Inn, and more. Plus, Judd Apatow’s The King of Staten Island will...
In terms of festival favorites, there’s Josephine Decker’s Shirley (our review), Jayro Bustamante’s La Llorona Heidi Ewing’s I Carry You With Me, Gaspar Noé’s medium-length work Lux Aeterna, the St. Vincent-Carrie Brownstein collaboration The Nowhere Inn, and more. Plus, Judd Apatow’s The King of Staten Island will...
- 3/4/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The 2020 Tribeca Film Festival Tuesday unveiled its feature film lineup for its 19th edition running April 15-26 in NYC.
The fest, presented by AT&T, said it is continuing its tradition of championing the discovery of emerging voices and celebrating new work from established talent. This year it’s showcasing comedic, music-centered, political and socially-conscious films from diverse storytellers who use art to inspire positive change and community restoration.
The features program will include 115 films from 124 filmmakers from across 33 different countries. The line-up includes 95 world premieres, 2 international premieres, 4 North American premieres, 4 U.S. premieres, and 9 New York premieres and one sneak preview.
This year’s program includes 19 directors returning to Tribeca with their latest projects, and 44 of the feature films have one or more women directors. The feature program was curated from 3,385 submissions, and this year’s Festival received a record 10,397 total submissions across all categories. “First comes the story, then empathy,...
The fest, presented by AT&T, said it is continuing its tradition of championing the discovery of emerging voices and celebrating new work from established talent. This year it’s showcasing comedic, music-centered, political and socially-conscious films from diverse storytellers who use art to inspire positive change and community restoration.
The features program will include 115 films from 124 filmmakers from across 33 different countries. The line-up includes 95 world premieres, 2 international premieres, 4 North American premieres, 4 U.S. premieres, and 9 New York premieres and one sneak preview.
This year’s program includes 19 directors returning to Tribeca with their latest projects, and 44 of the feature films have one or more women directors. The feature program was curated from 3,385 submissions, and this year’s Festival received a record 10,397 total submissions across all categories. “First comes the story, then empathy,...
- 3/3/2020
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Tribeca Film Festival announced its 2020 lineup, a slate of 115 movies that includes offerings from Hugh Jackman, Pete Davidson and Chrissy Teigen.
The 2020 festival — which runs in Manhattan from April 15 through April 26 — has selections from 124 filmmakers representing 33 countries.
High-profile screenings include the U.S. premiere of “Bad Education” starring Jackman; the New York premiere of Judd Apatow’s comedy “The King of Staten Island” with Davidson; Elisabeth Moss in “Shirley;” and “Call Your Mother” featuring Bridget Everett, Tig Notaro and Awkwafina. “Fries,” a documentary from Teigen and Malcolm Gladwell, will have its world premiere at the festival.
Other non-fiction films debuting include “Citizen Penn,” a look at Sean Penn’s relief work in Haiti, and “Don’t Try to Understand: A Year in the Life of Earl ‘Dmx’ Simmons,” featuring inside access to the life of the famous rapper. Laverne Cox-produced film “Disclosure,” an exploration of transgender representation in the media will also premiere,...
The 2020 festival — which runs in Manhattan from April 15 through April 26 — has selections from 124 filmmakers representing 33 countries.
High-profile screenings include the U.S. premiere of “Bad Education” starring Jackman; the New York premiere of Judd Apatow’s comedy “The King of Staten Island” with Davidson; Elisabeth Moss in “Shirley;” and “Call Your Mother” featuring Bridget Everett, Tig Notaro and Awkwafina. “Fries,” a documentary from Teigen and Malcolm Gladwell, will have its world premiere at the festival.
Other non-fiction films debuting include “Citizen Penn,” a look at Sean Penn’s relief work in Haiti, and “Don’t Try to Understand: A Year in the Life of Earl ‘Dmx’ Simmons,” featuring inside access to the life of the famous rapper. Laverne Cox-produced film “Disclosure,” an exploration of transgender representation in the media will also premiere,...
- 3/3/2020
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix has started production on The Half of It, writer-director Alice Wu’s follow-up to her 2004 feature film Saving Face. The new movie joins Netflix’s expanding roster of live-action teen-focused films like Tall Girl and A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting.
As the follow-up to the Sony Pictures Classics release Saving Face, The Half of It is described by Netflix as “a modern day Cyrano-meets-Pygmalion” in which “a shy, introverted, Chinese-American, straight-a student finds herself helping the school jock woo the girl they both secretly love. In the process, each teaches the other about the nature of love as they find connection in the most unlikely of places.”
The cast includes Leah Lewis (Charmed) as Ellie Chu; Daniel Diemer (Sacred Lies) as Paul Munksy; Alexxis Lemire (The Other Mother) as Aster Flores; Becky Ann Baker (Girls) as Mrs. Geselschap; Catherine Curtin (Orange is the New Black) as Colleen Munsky,...
As the follow-up to the Sony Pictures Classics release Saving Face, The Half of It is described by Netflix as “a modern day Cyrano-meets-Pygmalion” in which “a shy, introverted, Chinese-American, straight-a student finds herself helping the school jock woo the girl they both secretly love. In the process, each teaches the other about the nature of love as they find connection in the most unlikely of places.”
The cast includes Leah Lewis (Charmed) as Ellie Chu; Daniel Diemer (Sacred Lies) as Paul Munksy; Alexxis Lemire (The Other Mother) as Aster Flores; Becky Ann Baker (Girls) as Mrs. Geselschap; Catherine Curtin (Orange is the New Black) as Colleen Munsky,...
- 4/22/2019
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Charmed actor Leah Lewis, Alexxis Lemire and Daniel Diemer are set to star in writer-director Alice Wu's teen romance The Half of It for Netflix, which has started production.
Wu's follow-up to her 2004 romantic dramedy Saving Face, which bowed at Toronto and was picked up Sony Pictures Classics, The Half of It portrays a smart, lonely Chinese American high school student who is hired by the school jock to write love letters to woo the girl they both secretly love.
In the process, each teaches the other about the nature of love as they find connection in the most ...
Wu's follow-up to her 2004 romantic dramedy Saving Face, which bowed at Toronto and was picked up Sony Pictures Classics, The Half of It portrays a smart, lonely Chinese American high school student who is hired by the school jock to write love letters to woo the girl they both secretly love.
In the process, each teaches the other about the nature of love as they find connection in the most ...
- 4/22/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Charmed actor Leah Lewis, Alexxis Lemire and Daniel Diemer are set to star in writer-director Alice Wu's teen romance The Half of It for Netflix, which has started production.
Wu's follow-up to her 2004 romantic dramedy Saving Face, which bowed at Toronto and was picked up Sony Pictures Classics, The Half of It portrays a smart, lonely Chinese American high school student who is hired by the school jock to write love letters to woo the girl they both secretly love.
In the process, each teaches the other about the nature of love as they find connection in the most ...
Wu's follow-up to her 2004 romantic dramedy Saving Face, which bowed at Toronto and was picked up Sony Pictures Classics, The Half of It portrays a smart, lonely Chinese American high school student who is hired by the school jock to write love letters to woo the girl they both secretly love.
In the process, each teaches the other about the nature of love as they find connection in the most ...
- 4/22/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
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