"In this psychological horror fable of displacement, Aisha (Anna Diop), a woman who recently emigrated from Senegal, is hired to care for the daughter of an affluent couple (Michelle Monaghan and Morgan Spector) living in New York City. Haunted by the absence of the young son she left behind, Aisha hopes her new job will afford her the chance to bring him to the U.S., but becomes increasingly unsettled by the family’s volatile home life. As his arrival approaches, a violent presence begins to invade both her dreams and her reality, threatening the American dream she is painstakingly piecing together."
Written & Directed By Nikyatu Jusu Produced By Nikkia Moulterie and Daniela Taplin Lundberg Executive Produced By Maria Zuckerman, Ryan Heller, Michael Bloom, Jason Blum, Rebecca Cammarata, Bill Benenson, Nnamdi Asomugha, Laurie Benenson, Grace Lay, Sumalee Montano, Nikyatu Jusu, Chris McCumber, Jeremy Gold Starring Anna Diop, Michelle Monaghan, Sinqua Walls,...
Written & Directed By Nikyatu Jusu Produced By Nikkia Moulterie and Daniela Taplin Lundberg Executive Produced By Maria Zuckerman, Ryan Heller, Michael Bloom, Jason Blum, Rebecca Cammarata, Bill Benenson, Nnamdi Asomugha, Laurie Benenson, Grace Lay, Sumalee Montano, Nikyatu Jusu, Chris McCumber, Jeremy Gold Starring Anna Diop, Michelle Monaghan, Sinqua Walls,...
- 8/30/2022
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Exclusive: Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions has bought all international rights to writer-director Nikole Beckwith’s second feature, Together Together, which debuted at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Starring in the comedy are The Hangover star Ed Helms, A Simple Favor actress and Big Mouth writer Patti Harrison, One Mississippi star Tig Notaro and SNL scribe Julio Torres along with Anna Konkle, Sufe Bradshaw, Rosalind Chao, Nora Dunn and Fred Melamed.
Bleecker Street acquired North American rights ahead of its virtual Sundance world premiere in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section.
The film charts how when a young loner named Anna is hired as the surrogate for Matt, a single man in his 40s, the two strangers come to realize the unexpected relationship will quickly challenge their perceptions of connection, boundaries and the particulars of love.
The deal was brokered between Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions with UTA Independent Film Group and Eugene Pikulin of Bruns,...
Starring in the comedy are The Hangover star Ed Helms, A Simple Favor actress and Big Mouth writer Patti Harrison, One Mississippi star Tig Notaro and SNL scribe Julio Torres along with Anna Konkle, Sufe Bradshaw, Rosalind Chao, Nora Dunn and Fred Melamed.
Bleecker Street acquired North American rights ahead of its virtual Sundance world premiere in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section.
The film charts how when a young loner named Anna is hired as the surrogate for Matt, a single man in his 40s, the two strangers come to realize the unexpected relationship will quickly challenge their perceptions of connection, boundaries and the particulars of love.
The deal was brokered between Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions with UTA Independent Film Group and Eugene Pikulin of Bruns,...
- 3/3/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Bleecker Street has acquired the North American rights to “Together Together,” the film from Nikole Beckwith that stars Ed Helms and Patti Harrison and is set to premiere in competition at Sundance next month.
“Together Together” is Beckwith’s second feature after “Stockholm, Pennsylvania” and stars “The Office” star Ed Helms alongside Patti Harrison, Tig Notaro, Julio Torres, Anna Konkle, Sufe Bradshaw, Rosalind Chao, Nora Dunn and Fred Melamed.
The film will play in the U.S. Dramatic section of the festival, which just announced its lineup on Tuesday. Bleecker Street has yet to set a release date.
“Together Together” is the story of a young loner named Anna who is hired as a surrogate for Matt, a single man in his 40s. The two strangers come to realize this unexpected relationship will quickly challenge their perceptions of connection, boundaries and the particulars of love.
The film was produced by Tango Entertainment,...
“Together Together” is Beckwith’s second feature after “Stockholm, Pennsylvania” and stars “The Office” star Ed Helms alongside Patti Harrison, Tig Notaro, Julio Torres, Anna Konkle, Sufe Bradshaw, Rosalind Chao, Nora Dunn and Fred Melamed.
The film will play in the U.S. Dramatic section of the festival, which just announced its lineup on Tuesday. Bleecker Street has yet to set a release date.
“Together Together” is the story of a young loner named Anna who is hired as a surrogate for Matt, a single man in his 40s. The two strangers come to realize this unexpected relationship will quickly challenge their perceptions of connection, boundaries and the particulars of love.
The film was produced by Tango Entertainment,...
- 12/16/2020
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
“Together Together,” a comedy staring Ed Helms and Patti Harrison that’s set to premiere at Sundance Film Festival, has been acquired by Bleecker Street.
Written and directed by Nikole Beckwith, “Together Together” follows the unexpected relationship that unfolds between a young loner named Anna, who is hired as the surrogate for Matt, a single man in his 40s. The cast also includes comedian and actor Tig Notaro and “Saturday Night Live” alum Julio Torres. It will compete in the U.S. dramatic competition section at the 2021 edition of Sundance.
“I couldn’t be happier to partner with Bleecker Street on the life of this movie,” Beckwith said. “‘Together Together’ has been my heart for a while now and as a long-time admirer of Bleecker’s work and philosophy, it’s exciting to know I get to pin it to the right sleeve.”
Tango Entertainment, Stay Gold Features, Wild Idea...
Written and directed by Nikole Beckwith, “Together Together” follows the unexpected relationship that unfolds between a young loner named Anna, who is hired as the surrogate for Matt, a single man in his 40s. The cast also includes comedian and actor Tig Notaro and “Saturday Night Live” alum Julio Torres. It will compete in the U.S. dramatic competition section at the 2021 edition of Sundance.
“I couldn’t be happier to partner with Bleecker Street on the life of this movie,” Beckwith said. “‘Together Together’ has been my heart for a while now and as a long-time admirer of Bleecker’s work and philosophy, it’s exciting to know I get to pin it to the right sleeve.”
Tango Entertainment, Stay Gold Features, Wild Idea...
- 12/16/2020
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety Film + TV
Ahead of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Together Together in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section, Bleecker Street has acquired North American rights to Nikole Beckwith’s second feature which stars Ed Helms, Patti Harrison, Tig Notaro and Julio Torres.
Pic follows young loner Anna (Harrison) who is hired as the surrogate for Matt (Helms), a single man in his 40s. The two strangers come to realize this unexpected relationship will quickly challenge their perceptions of connection, boundaries and the particulars of love. Anna Konkle, Sufe Bradshaw, Rosalind Chao, Nora Dunn and Fred Melamed also star in the movie, which Beckwith also wrote.
The film was produced by Tango Entertainment, Stay Gold Features, Wild Idea and Kindred Spirit. Anthony Brandonisio, Daniela Taplin Lundberg and Tim Headington produced, with Lia Buman, Anita Gou, Rebecca Cammarata, Bill Benenson, Beckwith, evin Mann, Chris Boyd, Toby Louie for Haven Entertainment and Daniel Crown...
Pic follows young loner Anna (Harrison) who is hired as the surrogate for Matt (Helms), a single man in his 40s. The two strangers come to realize this unexpected relationship will quickly challenge their perceptions of connection, boundaries and the particulars of love. Anna Konkle, Sufe Bradshaw, Rosalind Chao, Nora Dunn and Fred Melamed also star in the movie, which Beckwith also wrote.
The film was produced by Tango Entertainment, Stay Gold Features, Wild Idea and Kindred Spirit. Anthony Brandonisio, Daniela Taplin Lundberg and Tim Headington produced, with Lia Buman, Anita Gou, Rebecca Cammarata, Bill Benenson, Beckwith, evin Mann, Chris Boyd, Toby Louie for Haven Entertainment and Daniel Crown...
- 12/16/2020
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Amazon Studios will release Alma Har’el’s critically acclaimed “Honey Boy” in select theaters on November 8, 2019, and will expand in the following weeks. Shia Labeouf wrote and stars alongside A Quiet Place’s Noah Jupe and Academy Award and Golden Globe nominee Lucas Hedges. Har’el received the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Vision and Craft at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.
From a screenplay by Labeouf, based on his own experiences, award-winning filmmaker Alma Har’el brings to life a young actor’s stormy childhood and early adult years as he struggles to reconcile with his father through cinema and dreams. Fictionalizing his childhood’s ascent to stardom, and subsequent adult crash-landing into rehab and recovery, Har’el casts Noah Jupe and Lucas Hedges as Otis Lort, navigating different stages in a frenetic career. Labeouf takes on the daring and therapeutic challenge of playing...
From a screenplay by Labeouf, based on his own experiences, award-winning filmmaker Alma Har’el brings to life a young actor’s stormy childhood and early adult years as he struggles to reconcile with his father through cinema and dreams. Fictionalizing his childhood’s ascent to stardom, and subsequent adult crash-landing into rehab and recovery, Har’el casts Noah Jupe and Lucas Hedges as Otis Lort, navigating different stages in a frenetic career. Labeouf takes on the daring and therapeutic challenge of playing...
- 5/9/2019
- by Kristyn Clarke
- Age of the Nerd
Exclusive: Amazon Studios will launch Alma Har’el’s Honey Boy in limited theaters on Nov. 8 and expand thereafter.
The film which stars and was written by Shia Labeouf based on his own experiences won the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Prize for Vision and Craft at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. Amazon snapped up worldwide rights to Honey Boy for a reported $5M
Filmmaker Alma Har’el, whose feature doc work Labeouf has produced, brings to life a young actor’s stormy childhood and early adult years as he struggles to reconcile with his father through cinema and dreams. Fictionalizing his childhood’s ascent to stardom, and subsequent adult crash-landing into rehab and recovery, Har’el casts Noah Jupe and Lucas Hedges as Otis Lort, navigating different stages in a frenetic career. Labeouf takes on the daring and therapeutic challenge of playing a version of his own father,...
The film which stars and was written by Shia Labeouf based on his own experiences won the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Prize for Vision and Craft at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. Amazon snapped up worldwide rights to Honey Boy for a reported $5M
Filmmaker Alma Har’el, whose feature doc work Labeouf has produced, brings to life a young actor’s stormy childhood and early adult years as he struggles to reconcile with his father through cinema and dreams. Fictionalizing his childhood’s ascent to stardom, and subsequent adult crash-landing into rehab and recovery, Har’el casts Noah Jupe and Lucas Hedges as Otis Lort, navigating different stages in a frenetic career. Labeouf takes on the daring and therapeutic challenge of playing a version of his own father,...
- 5/9/2019
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Hollywood has begun lining up to help get the word out on Robert Greenwald’s documentary feature Oscar contender Making A Killing: Guns, Greed And The NRA. Michael Douglas, Alec Baldwin and Tony Goldwyn are lending their names and voices and have done videos to help promote the film, which was executive produced by Beasts Of No Nation exec prod Bill Benenson and his wife Laurie. But so has California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom. And, Hillary Clinton’s running mate…...
- 10/18/2016
- Deadline
Robert Greenwald's powerful documentary Making a Killing: Guns, Greed, and the NRA is getting a theatrical run to qualify it for eligibility for Best Feature Documentary. Laurie and Bill Benenson, whose critically-acclaimed Beasts of No Nation bowed last year, are also the executive producers of Making a Killing. In addition, global indie film distributor Gravitas Ventures will distribute the Brave New Films’ docu on other formats. The film focuses on the money the NRA…...
- 8/12/2016
- Deadline
Journeyman Pictures has begun its release of The Hadza: Last Of The First by Beasts Of No Nation executive producer Bill Benenson.
The film tells the story of a Tanzanian tribe that is one of the last true hunter-gatherer groups on Earth. It originally screened at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and was produced in part by non-profit The Nature Conservancy.
Benenson is no stranger to African film. He has produced or served as executive producer on three films set in Africa including Cary Fukunaga’s Beasts Of No Nation.
The film examines the origin of the human species at the African Rift Valley where the Hadza have lived for 50,000 years.
Alfre Woodard narrated the film and Lupita Nyong’o served as Swahili consultant and translator.
The film tells the story of a Tanzanian tribe that is one of the last true hunter-gatherer groups on Earth. It originally screened at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and was produced in part by non-profit The Nature Conservancy.
Benenson is no stranger to African film. He has produced or served as executive producer on three films set in Africa including Cary Fukunaga’s Beasts Of No Nation.
The film examines the origin of the human species at the African Rift Valley where the Hadza have lived for 50,000 years.
Alfre Woodard narrated the film and Lupita Nyong’o served as Swahili consultant and translator.
- 11/4/2015
- ScreenDaily
Netflix, Bleecker Street and Landmark announced a partnership on Thursday that will put Netflix’s first original film in 19 of the Us exhibitor’s markets.
Beasts Of No Nation, which will screen in competition in Venice and go on to play in Toronto after a possible Telluride world premiere, will debut on October 16 in Landmark theatres day-and-date with global streaming in all active Netflix territories.
Landmark theatre markets include New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC, Atlanta, Indianapolis, Detroit, Chicago, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, St Louis, Houston, Dallas, Denver, Seattle, San Francisco and San Diego.
Cary Fukunaga directs Idris Elba as Commandant, an African warlord who trains a child to become a soldier in his country’s civil war. The film is based on the novel by Nigerian author Uzodinma Iweala.
Amy Kaufman and Fukunaga, collaborators on Sin Nombre, will produce with Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Riva Marker and Dan Crown for Red Crown Productions, along with Elba...
Beasts Of No Nation, which will screen in competition in Venice and go on to play in Toronto after a possible Telluride world premiere, will debut on October 16 in Landmark theatres day-and-date with global streaming in all active Netflix territories.
Landmark theatre markets include New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC, Atlanta, Indianapolis, Detroit, Chicago, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, St Louis, Houston, Dallas, Denver, Seattle, San Francisco and San Diego.
Cary Fukunaga directs Idris Elba as Commandant, an African warlord who trains a child to become a soldier in his country’s civil war. The film is based on the novel by Nigerian author Uzodinma Iweala.
Amy Kaufman and Fukunaga, collaborators on Sin Nombre, will produce with Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Riva Marker and Dan Crown for Red Crown Productions, along with Elba...
- 7/30/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
A documentary about the recent discovery of an ancient civilization in the jungles of Central America is in the works. Filmmakers, producers and co-directors Bill Benenson and Steve Elkins descended into the rainforest after using LiDAR technology to map out coordinates which indicated the remnants of a long-rumored Lost City. On the ground, the filmmakers and their expedition group discovered not only structures but artifacts, including the head of a statue that resembled a were-jaguar “possibly depicting a shaman in a transformed, spirit state” (pictured below, as first reported by National Geographic). Also Read: 15 Apocalyptic Movies and TV Shows That Chill,...
- 3/7/2015
- by Linda Ge
- The Wrap
In Bill Benenson's brisk and didactic documentary The Hadza: Last of the First, one of the world's most ancient and traditionally self-sustaining peoples, the Hadza of Tanzania, are shown in the grip of shifting global forces. One child wears a Chieftains T-shirt; a Hadza woman named Wande explains that they've begun trading honey for cornmeal, supplanting a diet of game and foraged produce. "They get the better deal," she says bluntly. Benenson focuses on the pressures applied to the Hadza by government organizations, NGOs, and neighboring tribes (only about one-third of the 1,000 remaining Hadza practice their traditionally isolated hunter-gatherer lifestyle). This connectedness provides the backbone for Benenson's narrative, which depends largely on the intervention of...
- 10/29/2014
- Village Voice
Kids. Such as Sex, Lies, and Videotape or Reservoir Dogs before it, and such as Winter’s Bone, Blue Valentine and Fruitvale Station after it, Larry Clark & Harmony Korine’s seminal film is forever connected in “spirit” to the lieu where it received its secret midnight premiere screening in 1995. The Sundance Film Festival might be known as the birthplace of U.S indie filmmaking innovation, avant-gardism, a larger definition of the low budgeted film response to Hollywood in not only narrative but in the non-fiction form, but it is a festival made strong by its renewal and familiarity. That close acquaintanceness exists in Kids‘ starlets Rosario Dawson and Chloë Sevigny filmography/career path trajectory and connection to Park City (both have several indie films slated for ’14 – of which I’ve included in our predictions list) and it is that “familiarity” that is visibly noticeable in how I map out my annual predictions list.
- 11/18/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
When not busy making high end commercials for luxury brands (I caught the underwhelming video installation of Sleepwalking in the Rift in Karlovy Vary (see fest pic of the filmmaker above) or tinkering around with television ( True Detective – see below) Cary Fukunaga has been attached to a fair share of projects, but none appear to have been close to his filmmaking sensibilities (his Malick-like approach in African settings) until now. Deadline reports that Red Crown Productions is pairing actor Idris Elba (who happens to be a producer on the venture and the young filmmaker of Sin Nombre on Beasts of No Nation – a project that has been in the works for the better part of the last decade. Red Crown Productions’ Daniela Taplin Lundberg and Riva Marker, Fukunaga’s Parliament Of Owls’ and Amy Kaufman’s Primary Productions are producing while Daniel Crown and Bill Benenson will serve as executive producers.
- 8/21/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Exclusive: Red Crown Productions has set Idris Elba to star and Cary Fukunaga to direct Beasts of No Nation, an adaptation of Uzodinma Iweala’s bestselling novel. The story follows the journey of a young boy, Agu, who, when civil war engulfs his West African country is forced to join a unit of mercenary fighters. Not only must Agu face the death of his father and disappearance of his mother and sister, but must also join a life of violence and brutality. Agu befriends a mute boy named Strika and together they face the crimes and hardships of war. Elba will play the lead role of Commander and he will serve in a producing capacity as well. Elba joins Red Crown Productions’ Daniela Taplin Lundberg and Riva Marker, Parliament Of Owls’ Cary Fukunaga and Primary Productions principal Amy Kaufman as producers on the film. Daniel Crown and Bill Benenson will serve as executive producers.
- 8/21/2013
- by MIKE FLEMING JR
- Deadline
Hop & Alvin and the Chipmunks mastermind Tim Hill is at it again, with Deadline reporting that, through Fox, he and Dave Johnson have been hired to write Playdate, a family comedy that he’ll be directing. You may be curious as to what the plot will entail; if you ask Deadline, the title itself makes the under-wraps story “somewhat self explanatory.” So, what, kids go on a playdate and something crazy happens? I guess? If we’re in the dark to such a strong degree, Nicky Weinstock and Invertigo Films are taking a huge risk here.
Of course, there is the question of where this might leave his Short Circuit reboot — which, in all actuality, would only be a pressing matter if anybody a) cared about or b) wanted to see his Short Circuit reboot. Maybe Playdate can… not exactly redeem his career or turn it all around, but possibly serve as some basic entertainment.
Of course, there is the question of where this might leave his Short Circuit reboot — which, in all actuality, would only be a pressing matter if anybody a) cared about or b) wanted to see his Short Circuit reboot. Maybe Playdate can… not exactly redeem his career or turn it all around, but possibly serve as some basic entertainment.
- 5/18/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
‘Dirt! The Movie’ In China Bill Benenson and Gene Rosow’s Dirt! The Movie — the story of Earth’s most valuable and underappreciated source of fertility — is one of only a pair American documentary films chosen for the Beijing International Film Festival. Benenson is attending with his wife and executive producer Laurie Benenson. The second edition of the festival opened Monday amid a movie industry boom in China with box office revenue totaling in excess of $2 billion for the first time in 2011, and China just overtook Japan to become the largest foreign market for American films, according to the MPAA. Cinemark Promotes Steve Bunnell To Svp Global Content Movie exhibitor Cinemark has promoted Steve Bunnell to Svp Global Content Programming. Bunnell, who joined the company in 2009 to oversee film buying in the U.S., will manage film buying and programming efforts for Cinemark’s U.S. and Latin American markets.
- 4/26/2012
- by THE DEADLINE TEAM
- Deadline TV
For DocuWeek I had the chance to screen the enlightening film Dirt: The Movie! Here's a little interview with directors Bill Benenson and Gene Rosow for your reading pleasure.
Heidi: Before we start, let me say that I am really glad I got to see your film. I keep up on eco-issues, I own two hybrids, feed my kid organically as often as possible, am a vegetarian, all that, but your film was an incredibly fresh and eye-opening take on so many issues.
Sure, I knew about the disappearance of the bees, about water issues, and deforestation, but I'd never even thought about the dirt. So thank you for the education.
First Question: What initially inspired you to make this film?
Bill: Thanks for the questions and your interest and appreciation of our film. The start of my answer would have to be in two parts: 1. My mother, Dorothy Cullman,...
Heidi: Before we start, let me say that I am really glad I got to see your film. I keep up on eco-issues, I own two hybrids, feed my kid organically as often as possible, am a vegetarian, all that, but your film was an incredibly fresh and eye-opening take on so many issues.
Sure, I knew about the disappearance of the bees, about water issues, and deforestation, but I'd never even thought about the dirt. So thank you for the education.
First Question: What initially inspired you to make this film?
Bill: Thanks for the questions and your interest and appreciation of our film. The start of my answer would have to be in two parts: 1. My mother, Dorothy Cullman,...
- 9/16/2009
- by ccohagan
- Film Independent
- [This was originally conducted for the 25th edition of the Sundance Film Festival. The doc is currently being shown as part of Ida’s Annual DocuWeeks™ - for this annual showcase of documentary films qualifying for Oscar® consideration.] Eric Lavallee: Judging from your background, would you say the genesis for the project is something you were toying with as an initial idea and then William's book was brought into the project to support the documentary? Or was it the other way around? Bill Benenson: About ten years ago my mother Dorothy Cullman told me that she had just learned that all of physical matter on Earth was made up of Stardust, this amazed me and we talked about making a film on that incredible revelation. But upon reflection, I thought that idea was insufficient to make a film about, alone. Then a friend gave me “Dirt, the Ecstatic Skin of the Earth” and we found out that not only was Dirt made up of Stardust but that Dirt was / is also alive. And we were off and running toward making the film when I discussed this with Gene.
- 7/31/2009
- IONCINEMA.com
Breathless reports have swooped around the web about John Anderson, film critic for Variety, pounding the legendary publicist Jeff Dowd (aka The Dude) at Sundance. There was a jab to the chest! One to the shoulder! Dowd kept his guard down! A punch to the head! Anderson turned and walked away, then came back and threw his best right to the jaw!
I have this blow-by-blow account from The Dude himself. Park City Police Officer Bob deBotelho responded after a call from the Yarrow restaurant, collected eyewitness testimony, and offered to arrest Anderson. But the Dude declined to press changes, magnanimously explaining his forbearance:
"I like John, I think he is a good journalist and critic and a person who is a dad and someone who cares about our planet and future. And I don't think he is a danger to society or would inflict violence on women."
Why didn't The Dude,...
I have this blow-by-blow account from The Dude himself. Park City Police Officer Bob deBotelho responded after a call from the Yarrow restaurant, collected eyewitness testimony, and offered to arrest Anderson. But the Dude declined to press changes, magnanimously explaining his forbearance:
"I like John, I think he is a good journalist and critic and a person who is a dad and someone who cares about our planet and future. And I don't think he is a danger to society or would inflict violence on women."
Why didn't The Dude,...
- 1/28/2009
- by Roger Ebert
- blogs.suntimes.com/ebert
Sundance's 25th year event is remarkably quiet, almost unreal. Allowing a look at the reality, conversations actually can take place. The late night lounge is the place to see everyone after 10 and to talk more. Filmakers Bill Benenson and Eleonore Dailly, producer Gene Rosow and marketer Jeff Dowd hosted the Obama Inauguration party which also celebrated their film Dirt The Movie. Veteran Sundance community members, Nicole Guillemet, former director of Sundance, Paula Silver, Ira Deutschman, Susan Margolin, Todd McCarthy, Sasha Alpert, Mickey Cotrell and so many others bonded with joy as we all listened to the message delivered by President Obama. John Sloss's Cinetic party and William Morris Independent's parties were not as mobbed as in years past. The two films I have heard most praised are Push and The Cove. Latino film buzz is around Sin Nombre. Written and directed by Peter Bratt and starring his brother Benjamin Bratt and Jesse Borrego, La Mission and Don't Let Me Drown starring Yareli Arizmendi, who wrote and produced A Day Without a Mexican, one of the breakout Latino hits some years ago. I would most like to see Mark Stewart's Passing Strange, a Fairfax district Los Angeleno's work about "black folks passing as black folks" and other essentialist curiosities of American life as written up in Sundance Film Festival's Daily Insider of Day 3, Sunday January 18, 2009. Peter Rainer liked Art & Copy and was surprised to learn that it was originally intended as a promotional work of ad agencies. Kirk Honeycutt remarked to Peter Rainer and me how the films are so "lab-worked over". Does the professional finish of a lab make up, improve on or only mask the faults of a filmmaker's first work? Is it like a butterfly being helped to fly (and thereby not developing its own wings) or does it make the beginning filmmaker better? Mary Jane Skalski is here with two films, Dare and Against the Current. Steven J. Wolfe, who has worked on 35 films and has produced five with Jennifer Tilley, who is now playing professional poker, had his film 500 Days of Summer already placed with Fox Searchlight for U.S. and the world, so he was able to enjoy Sundance after 10 years absence from it. Senator picked up North American rights to Brooklyn's Finest. Visit Films picked up worldwide rights to Sundance world doc competition film Kimjongilia]and Spectrum title, The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle. The Canadian distribution rights to Cold Souls have been acquired by E1 Films. Opening night film Max and Mary was a huge success and well attended by acquisition and studio executives. Twentieth Century Fox had a team of 8, Lionsgate's Tom Ortenberg, Steve Beeks and Jason Constantine were there along with every other buyer. The film that landed with Icon when Icon acquired Becker International will soon announce a North American distribution deal. CinemaVault acquired international rights for Spectrum film Lymelife which originally premiered at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival and was picked up for US shortly after by Screen Media. Stephen Raphael is working on the U.S. marketing for the film. HBO has acquired TV rights to Burma VJ the hit of November’s IDFA whose North American debut was Saturday at Sundance. The the film will open theatrically at New York’s Film Forum in May, well ahead of its early 2010 HBO television debut. [Sony Classics acquired North American rights acquisition of Rudo Y Cursi having its U.S. premiere at Sundance.
- 1/16/2009
- Sydney's Buzz
According to the typically preposterously effusive Sundance catalogue entry, Bill Benenson and Eugene Rosow's documentary Dirt! The Movie, based on William Bryant Logan's book Dirt, The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth "posses[es] both a cosmic perspective that reaches into the vastness of time and space, and the kind of warm, earnest energy that inspires small revolutions inside human hearts." We like cosmic revolutions! When Benenson and Rosow answered the 4 Questions We Ask Everybody, they namechecked Buster Keaton, quoted Margaret Atwood, and made a lot of "dirty" puns. Tell us about your movie: who did you work with, what did you shoot on, why did you make it? Give us the reductive, 25-word or less, "It's like [pop culture reference a] meets [pop culture reference b]!" pitch, then explain what the quick and dirty sell leaves out. Benenson: We worked with Dirt ...
- 1/9/2009
- by Karina Longworth
- Spout
According to the typically preposterously effusive Sundance catalogue entry, Bill Benenson and Eugene Rosow's documentary Dirt! The Movie, based on William Bryant Logan's book Dirt, The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth "posses[es] both a cosmic perspective that reaches into the vastness of time and space, and the kind of warm, earnest energy that inspires small revolutions inside human hearts." We like cosmic revolutions! When Benenson and Rosow answered the 4 Questions We Ask Everybody, they namechecked Buster Keaton, quoted Margaret Atwood, and made a lot of "dirty" puns. Tell us about your movie: who did you work with, what did you shoot on, why did you make it? Give us the reductive, 25-word or less, "It's like [pop culture reference a] meets [pop culture reference b]!" pitch, then explain what the quick and dirty sell leaves out. Benenson: We worked with Dirt ...
- 1/9/2009
- by Karina Longworth
- Spout
The Sundance Film Festival officially announced the lineup for the films playing in competition next month. The 16 movies will compete for the Grand Jury Prize in Park City, Utah at the 25th anniversary of the largest independent film festival in the U.S. from January 15-25.
The list was announced by festival director Geoff Gilmore, who recently received the first annual Sydney Pollack Award.
At the bottom of the page is a full list with synopsis and partial cast lists, but I wanted to focus on a few of the titles that stand out. Alphabetical order with omissions of films I don’t care about yet:
Arlen Faber - A single mother and a man out of rehab intrude into the life of a reclusive author, played by Jeff Daniels. He’s my other favorite Jeff, but I also like young actresses Kat Dennings and Olivia Thirlby.
Big Fan -...
The list was announced by festival director Geoff Gilmore, who recently received the first annual Sydney Pollack Award.
At the bottom of the page is a full list with synopsis and partial cast lists, but I wanted to focus on a few of the titles that stand out. Alphabetical order with omissions of films I don’t care about yet:
Arlen Faber - A single mother and a man out of rehab intrude into the life of a reclusive author, played by Jeff Daniels. He’s my other favorite Jeff, but I also like young actresses Kat Dennings and Olivia Thirlby.
Big Fan -...
- 12/4/2008
- by Jeff
- newsinfilm.com
I am heading out the door and have no time to really dig into this, but here is the line-up for next year's 2009 Sundance Film Festival as reported by Variety. Dramatic Competition Adam, directed and written by Max Mayer ("Better Living"), about a slightly dysfunctional man's attempt at a relationship with an alluring new neighbor. Stars Hugh Dancy, Rose Byrne, Peter Gallagher, Amy Irving, Frankie Faison. Amreeka, directed and written by Cherien Dabis, a drama examining the challenges faced by a divorced Palestinian woman and her teenage son upon moving to rural Illinois. With Nisreen Faour, Melkar Muallem. Arlen Faber, directed and written by John Hindman, about the intrusion of two strangers into the life of a famous reclusive author. With Jeff Daniels, Lauren Graham, Lou Pucci, Olivia Thirlby, Kat Dennings. Big Fan, directed and written by Robert Siegel (writer of "The Wrestler"), which hinges on the reaction of a...
- 12/3/2008
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Oh I'm so excited! One of the best fests of the year! The 2009 Sundance Film Festival has unveiled the lineup for its U.S. and World competitions for dramatic and documentary features. The non-competitive sections including Premieres, Spectrum, Midnight, and New Frontiers will be announced December 4. Sundance unspools January 15-25, 2009 in Park City, Utah.
Check out the film list after the break. via Variety.
Dramatic Competition
* Adam (Max Mayer)
* Amreeka (Cherien Dabis)
* Big Fan (Robert Siegel)
* Brief Interviews With Hideous Men (John Krasinski)
* Cold Souls (Sophie Barthes)
* Dare (Adam Salky)
* Don’t Let Me Drown (Cruz Angeles)
* The Dream of the Romans (John Hindman)
* The Greatest (Shana Feste)
* Humpday (Lynn Shelton)
* Paper Heart (Nicolas Jasenovec)
* Peter and Vandy (Jay Dipietro)
* Push (Lee Daniels)
* Sin nombre (Cary Fukunaga)
* Taking Chance (Ross Katz)
* Toe to Toe (Emily Abt)
Documentary Competition
* Art and Copy (Doug Pray)
* Boy Interrupted (Dana Perry)
* Sergio (Greg Barker...
Check out the film list after the break. via Variety.
Dramatic Competition
* Adam (Max Mayer)
* Amreeka (Cherien Dabis)
* Big Fan (Robert Siegel)
* Brief Interviews With Hideous Men (John Krasinski)
* Cold Souls (Sophie Barthes)
* Dare (Adam Salky)
* Don’t Let Me Drown (Cruz Angeles)
* The Dream of the Romans (John Hindman)
* The Greatest (Shana Feste)
* Humpday (Lynn Shelton)
* Paper Heart (Nicolas Jasenovec)
* Peter and Vandy (Jay Dipietro)
* Push (Lee Daniels)
* Sin nombre (Cary Fukunaga)
* Taking Chance (Ross Katz)
* Toe to Toe (Emily Abt)
Documentary Competition
* Art and Copy (Doug Pray)
* Boy Interrupted (Dana Perry)
* Sergio (Greg Barker...
- 12/3/2008
- QuietEarth.us
U.S. Dramatic Competition
This year's 16 films were selected from 1,026 submissions. Each film is a world premiere.
Adam (Director-screenwriter: Max Mayer)
A strange and lyrical love story between a somewhat socially dysfunctional young man and the woman of his dreams. Cast: Hugh Dancy, Rose Byrne, Peter Gallagher, Amy Irving, Frankie Faison.
Amreeka (Director-screenwriter: Cherien Dabis)
When a divorced Palestinian woman and her teenage son move to rural Illinois at the outset of the Iraq war, they find their new lives replete with challenges. Cast: Nisreen Faour, Melkar Muallem, Hiam Abbass, Yussuf Abu-Warda, Alia Shawkat.
Big Fan (Director-screenwriter: Robert Siegel)
The world of a parking garage attendant who happens to be the New York Giants' biggest fan is turned upside down after an altercation with his favorite player. Cast: Patton Oswalt, Michael Rapaport, Kevin Corrigan, Marcia Jean Kurtz, Matt Servitto.
Brief Interviews With Hideous Men (Director-screenwriter: John Krasinski)
When her boyfriend leaves with little explanation,...
This year's 16 films were selected from 1,026 submissions. Each film is a world premiere.
Adam (Director-screenwriter: Max Mayer)
A strange and lyrical love story between a somewhat socially dysfunctional young man and the woman of his dreams. Cast: Hugh Dancy, Rose Byrne, Peter Gallagher, Amy Irving, Frankie Faison.
Amreeka (Director-screenwriter: Cherien Dabis)
When a divorced Palestinian woman and her teenage son move to rural Illinois at the outset of the Iraq war, they find their new lives replete with challenges. Cast: Nisreen Faour, Melkar Muallem, Hiam Abbass, Yussuf Abu-Warda, Alia Shawkat.
Big Fan (Director-screenwriter: Robert Siegel)
The world of a parking garage attendant who happens to be the New York Giants' biggest fan is turned upside down after an altercation with his favorite player. Cast: Patton Oswalt, Michael Rapaport, Kevin Corrigan, Marcia Jean Kurtz, Matt Servitto.
Brief Interviews With Hideous Men (Director-screenwriter: John Krasinski)
When her boyfriend leaves with little explanation,...
- 12/3/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It looks like the 25th annual Sundance Film Festival is borrowing the late Harvey Milk's famous line: You gotta give 'em hope.
Despite the war-weary, economically ravaged state of the nation and the industry, the Sundance Institute eagerly announced the 2009 competition lineup Wednesday. And while it certainly maintains a somber quotient, the festival roster includes enough fresh takes on old genres (think romance, sci-fi and politics) to satisfy moviegoers and industry players looking for some warmth during the snowy 11-day event.
At least that's how fest organizers Geoffrey Gilmore, Sundance's longtime director, and John Cooper, its programming director, choose to see it.
"What you might have expected is that the festival would be really reflective right now of a very dark time, and it's not really true," said Gilmore, in his 19th year overseeing the fest. "We haven't seen the numbers drop, we haven't seen productions severely impacted yet by these factors,...
Despite the war-weary, economically ravaged state of the nation and the industry, the Sundance Institute eagerly announced the 2009 competition lineup Wednesday. And while it certainly maintains a somber quotient, the festival roster includes enough fresh takes on old genres (think romance, sci-fi and politics) to satisfy moviegoers and industry players looking for some warmth during the snowy 11-day event.
At least that's how fest organizers Geoffrey Gilmore, Sundance's longtime director, and John Cooper, its programming director, choose to see it.
"What you might have expected is that the festival would be really reflective right now of a very dark time, and it's not really true," said Gilmore, in his 19th year overseeing the fest. "We haven't seen the numbers drop, we haven't seen productions severely impacted yet by these factors,...
- 12/3/2008
- by By Jay A. Fernandez
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sundance Film Festival
PARK CITY -- In Diminished Capacity, actor-turned-first-time director Terry Kinney has a solid premise and two intriguing characters but only the lamest story to tell. Consequently, the film plays like diminished comedy.
The extremely talented Matthew Broderick and Alan Alda play a respective nephew and uncle, each struggling with memory loss, thereby creating a team Broderick calls, in one of the movie's few witty lines, Slow and slower. But yielding to the story demands of a novel by Sherwood Kiraly (who co-authored the script), these two are thrust into the world of baseball cards and sports memorabilia shows, an arcane and, as it works out, mirthless arena for these potentially compelling characters.
The project from Steppenwolf Films, a division of the famed Chicago theater company, did attract a stellar cast including Virginia Madsen, Bobby Cannavale and the great Lois Smith. But from the start, the film fails to get any comic traction. Boxoffice appeal is limited to those eager to see Broderick and Alda in unusual roles -- and possibly Chicago Cubs fans whose long-suffering fate is the butt of many jokes.
A head trauma has short-circuited the brain of Chicago journalist Cooper (Broderick). He must write notes to himself to aid his memory, and his newspaper job is tenuous as best. One problem here is that the film lacks the courage to really deal with "dimcap" symptoms. The film's star still gets his share of funny lines, he remembers everything he needs to and this supposedly scrambled memory plays no real role here as it did in a film like Memento.
Cooper's mom (Smith) summons him to his small Missouri hometown to help her settle Uncle Rollie (Alda), who shows signs of senile dementia. Here, too, you get not the pain and misery of an ailing elder -- as with the mentally fogged father in The Savages -- but a comically pixilated oldster obsessed about drying socks and tying baited fishing lines to typewriter keys so the fish can write poetry.
One of Uncle Rollie's obsessions proves downright intelligent. He possesses a rare baseball card, dating back to the last Cubs' World Championship, that is worth a fortune. So Slow and Slower take off for a Chicago baseball memorabilia show to sell the card. Along for the ride are Cooper's high school sweetheart, Charlotte (Madsen), who is now divorced and available again, and her son, Dillon (Jimmy Bennett).
All the characters that converge on this convention center seemingly suffer from "dimcap." The town drunk (Jim True-Frost), who follows the card-sellers, Cooper's Chicago buddy (comic Louis C.K.), a rabid Cubs fan (Dylan Baker) and a crooked dealer (Cannavale) are nothing more than cartoons. The theft of the card, a duplicate card and a few badly staged chases and fights are slapstick at its worst.
Alda actually is kind of interesting as the mentally unstable uncle, but Broderick appears to be sleepwalking. Madsen has little to do, and everyone else plays things far too broadly.
Cubs fans deserve a better tribute than this, but then again they are long suffering.
DIMINISHED CAPACITY
Plum Picturse/Steppenwolf Films/Hanson Allen Films/-Hard-Lunsford/Benedek Film
Credits:
Director: Terry Kinney
Screenwriters: Sherwood Kiraly, Doug Bost
Based on the novel by: Sherwood Kiraly
Producers: Celine Rattray, Galt Niederhoffer, Tim Evans, Daniela Tapling Lundberg
Executive producers: Bill Benenson, Pamela Hirsch, Bruce Lunsford
Scott Hanson, John Allen, Ed Hart, Eric Warren Goldman
Director of photography: Vanja Cernjul
Production designer: Dan Davis
Music: Robert Burger
Costume designer: Sarah Holden
Editor: Tim Streeto
Cast:
Cooper: Matthew Broderick
Rollie: Alan Alda
Charlotte: Virginia Madsen
Mad Dog McClure: Dylan Baker
Big Stan: Louis C.K.
Lee: Bobby Cannavale
Dillon: Jimmy Bennett
Donny: Jim True-Frost
Belle: Lois Smith
Running time -- 89 minutes
No MPAA rating...
PARK CITY -- In Diminished Capacity, actor-turned-first-time director Terry Kinney has a solid premise and two intriguing characters but only the lamest story to tell. Consequently, the film plays like diminished comedy.
The extremely talented Matthew Broderick and Alan Alda play a respective nephew and uncle, each struggling with memory loss, thereby creating a team Broderick calls, in one of the movie's few witty lines, Slow and slower. But yielding to the story demands of a novel by Sherwood Kiraly (who co-authored the script), these two are thrust into the world of baseball cards and sports memorabilia shows, an arcane and, as it works out, mirthless arena for these potentially compelling characters.
The project from Steppenwolf Films, a division of the famed Chicago theater company, did attract a stellar cast including Virginia Madsen, Bobby Cannavale and the great Lois Smith. But from the start, the film fails to get any comic traction. Boxoffice appeal is limited to those eager to see Broderick and Alda in unusual roles -- and possibly Chicago Cubs fans whose long-suffering fate is the butt of many jokes.
A head trauma has short-circuited the brain of Chicago journalist Cooper (Broderick). He must write notes to himself to aid his memory, and his newspaper job is tenuous as best. One problem here is that the film lacks the courage to really deal with "dimcap" symptoms. The film's star still gets his share of funny lines, he remembers everything he needs to and this supposedly scrambled memory plays no real role here as it did in a film like Memento.
Cooper's mom (Smith) summons him to his small Missouri hometown to help her settle Uncle Rollie (Alda), who shows signs of senile dementia. Here, too, you get not the pain and misery of an ailing elder -- as with the mentally fogged father in The Savages -- but a comically pixilated oldster obsessed about drying socks and tying baited fishing lines to typewriter keys so the fish can write poetry.
One of Uncle Rollie's obsessions proves downright intelligent. He possesses a rare baseball card, dating back to the last Cubs' World Championship, that is worth a fortune. So Slow and Slower take off for a Chicago baseball memorabilia show to sell the card. Along for the ride are Cooper's high school sweetheart, Charlotte (Madsen), who is now divorced and available again, and her son, Dillon (Jimmy Bennett).
All the characters that converge on this convention center seemingly suffer from "dimcap." The town drunk (Jim True-Frost), who follows the card-sellers, Cooper's Chicago buddy (comic Louis C.K.), a rabid Cubs fan (Dylan Baker) and a crooked dealer (Cannavale) are nothing more than cartoons. The theft of the card, a duplicate card and a few badly staged chases and fights are slapstick at its worst.
Alda actually is kind of interesting as the mentally unstable uncle, but Broderick appears to be sleepwalking. Madsen has little to do, and everyone else plays things far too broadly.
Cubs fans deserve a better tribute than this, but then again they are long suffering.
DIMINISHED CAPACITY
Plum Picturse/Steppenwolf Films/Hanson Allen Films/-Hard-Lunsford/Benedek Film
Credits:
Director: Terry Kinney
Screenwriters: Sherwood Kiraly, Doug Bost
Based on the novel by: Sherwood Kiraly
Producers: Celine Rattray, Galt Niederhoffer, Tim Evans, Daniela Tapling Lundberg
Executive producers: Bill Benenson, Pamela Hirsch, Bruce Lunsford
Scott Hanson, John Allen, Ed Hart, Eric Warren Goldman
Director of photography: Vanja Cernjul
Production designer: Dan Davis
Music: Robert Burger
Costume designer: Sarah Holden
Editor: Tim Streeto
Cast:
Cooper: Matthew Broderick
Rollie: Alan Alda
Charlotte: Virginia Madsen
Mad Dog McClure: Dylan Baker
Big Stan: Louis C.K.
Lee: Bobby Cannavale
Dillon: Jimmy Bennett
Donny: Jim True-Frost
Belle: Lois Smith
Running time -- 89 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 1/23/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Producer Bill Benenson has acquired film rights to Christopher Wilson's Dancing With the Devil: The Windsors and Jimmy Donahue. First published in 2000, the book asserts that the Duchess of Windsor had a sexual affair in the '50s with Donahue, a gay society figure who traveled in the same social circles as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. In association with Norman and Ted Tulchin's Maidstone Prods., Benenson, whose credits include 1990's Mr. Johnson and 1987's A Walk on the Moon, plans to develop a screenplay based on the book while also mounting a theatrical production. In January, the Tulchin brothers acquired London's Playhouse Theatre, which they plan to reopen next month with a production of Checkhov's Three Sisters, starring Kristin Scott Thomas and Kate Burton. Benenson's announcement sets up a conflict with another project devoted to the same subject. Last month, British producer Harry Alan Towers announced a film called The Bahama Triangle, which would also examine the relationship between the Windsors and Donahue. Towers himself said he has written a script for that project. But Wilson insists that his book unearthed the sexual affair, and his attorneys have asked that Towers turn over his screenplay to them by today. "Should Mr. Towers refuse our request, as seems likely, we may be entitled to assume that he has used my book as the basis for his film, or a significant part of his film," Wilson said.
- 3/14/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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