The cast of Carey Williams’ second feature film, “Emergency,” found themselves clicking right away, using that chemistry to drive a thriller that required several long nights of shooting.
Williams and the cast joined TheWrap’s virtual Sundance Studio to discuss the film, which stars Rj Cyler, Donald Elise Watkins and Sebastian Chacon as a trio of college students of color who find a drunk white girl had broken into their apartment and passed out. Realizing the police will wrongly suspect them of rape if they call 911, the three decide to drive her to a hospital, all the while being tailed by the girl’s sister and some of her friends who are scared when she didn’t respond to her calls.
Cyler told TheWrap that he immediately agreed to work with Williams again after starring in his feature debut “R#J,” an adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet” that also premiered at Sundance.
Williams and the cast joined TheWrap’s virtual Sundance Studio to discuss the film, which stars Rj Cyler, Donald Elise Watkins and Sebastian Chacon as a trio of college students of color who find a drunk white girl had broken into their apartment and passed out. Realizing the police will wrongly suspect them of rape if they call 911, the three decide to drive her to a hospital, all the while being tailed by the girl’s sister and some of her friends who are scared when she didn’t respond to her calls.
Cyler told TheWrap that he immediately agreed to work with Williams again after starring in his feature debut “R#J,” an adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet” that also premiered at Sundance.
- 1/23/2022
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
Carey Williams’ 2018 Sundance award-winning short, “Emergency,” opens on a simple premise: A trio of underrepresented college roommates discover a white girl unconscious on their living room floor. Afraid to call the police for fear of potential violence, they suggest options to find help without losing their lives. Following his feature debut “R#J” at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, Williams returns with a same-titled feature adaptation of his short. In this version, Williams, with screenwriter Kristen Dávila, hones the kinship shared by Kunle, an academically-minded college senior, bound for Princeton University, and his party focused best friend, Sean.
Continue reading ‘Emergency’ Review: A Terrifying Joy Ride Through White Fragility [Sundance] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Emergency’ Review: A Terrifying Joy Ride Through White Fragility [Sundance] at The Playlist.
- 1/21/2022
- by Robert Daniels
- The Playlist
Russian-Kazakh multi-hyphenate Timur Bekmambetov has teamed up with MarVista Entertainment, Endeavor Content and Pulsar Content on a slate of feature films in his pioneering Screenlife format that will be presented to buyers at the TIFF market.
Bekmambetov told Variety during the Toronto Film Festival, that the rapid growth, critical recognition and box-office success of Screenlife films – which take place almost entirely on smartphones and computer screens – prove the format is “more than just a gimmick.”
“It is the first time the presence of Screenlife movies at a major film market is so prominent,” he said. “Just a few years ago, film festivals and industry events used to have only one or two [Screenlife] pictures in the program or in the sales slate, but now it’s already multiple studios and distributors producing and promoting dozens of movies set on a computer or a smartphone screen.”
Two of the six titles Bekmambetov...
Bekmambetov told Variety during the Toronto Film Festival, that the rapid growth, critical recognition and box-office success of Screenlife films – which take place almost entirely on smartphones and computer screens – prove the format is “more than just a gimmick.”
“It is the first time the presence of Screenlife movies at a major film market is so prominent,” he said. “Just a few years ago, film festivals and industry events used to have only one or two [Screenlife] pictures in the program or in the sales slate, but now it’s already multiple studios and distributors producing and promoting dozens of movies set on a computer or a smartphone screen.”
Two of the six titles Bekmambetov...
- 9/14/2021
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Timur Bekmambetov’s thriller “Profile,” which made waves at Berlin in 2018 for being seen entirely through a computer screen, has landed worldwide distribution from Focus Features.
Focus will release “Profile” in theaters domestically on May 14, 2021, while Universal Pictures will distribute internationally, excluding Cis/Russia.
“Profile” was shot using the Screenlife format, a platform pioneered by Bekmambetov that allows for the action to play out through webcams, computer screens, smartphones and social media windows. The technology has recently become more common in films like the horror movie “Unfriended” and the thriller “Searching” starring John Cho. Most recently, Bekmambetov was a producer on “R#J,” a new take on “Romeo & Juliet” for the TikTok era that also used Screenlife and premiered at Sundance.
The story of “Profile” follows an undercover British journalist in her quest to bait and expose a terrorist recruiter through social media, while trying not to be sucked in...
Focus will release “Profile” in theaters domestically on May 14, 2021, while Universal Pictures will distribute internationally, excluding Cis/Russia.
“Profile” was shot using the Screenlife format, a platform pioneered by Bekmambetov that allows for the action to play out through webcams, computer screens, smartphones and social media windows. The technology has recently become more common in films like the horror movie “Unfriended” and the thriller “Searching” starring John Cho. Most recently, Bekmambetov was a producer on “R#J,” a new take on “Romeo & Juliet” for the TikTok era that also used Screenlife and premiered at Sundance.
The story of “Profile” follows an undercover British journalist in her quest to bait and expose a terrorist recruiter through social media, while trying not to be sucked in...
- 3/23/2021
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Exclusive: Timur Bekmambetov, best known for the hyperviolent Angelina Jolie-led thriller Wanted and the bonkers first-person live-action shooter Hardcore Henry, is set to transform the scares of Julian Terry’s horror short Don’t Peek into a full-length feature.
Don’t Peek made its world premiere March 15 on the first day of SXSW Online. The short follows a young woman discovering a frightening video game character intent on crossing into the real world. Produced last year during quarantine, Terry uploaded the short to YouTube before it was accepted into SXSW.
Majd Nassif will be producing under Bekmambetov’s production banner Bazelevs. Creative executive Pavel Bozhkov will oversee the project.
Don’t Peek is a follow-up short to They Hear It, which was picked up by Legendary, and Whisper, by Amblin. Bekmambetov and Nassif also produced the Screenlife pic iBible which also debuted SXSW. The smartphone iteration of Romeo and Juliet titled R#J,...
Don’t Peek made its world premiere March 15 on the first day of SXSW Online. The short follows a young woman discovering a frightening video game character intent on crossing into the real world. Produced last year during quarantine, Terry uploaded the short to YouTube before it was accepted into SXSW.
Majd Nassif will be producing under Bekmambetov’s production banner Bazelevs. Creative executive Pavel Bozhkov will oversee the project.
Don’t Peek is a follow-up short to They Hear It, which was picked up by Legendary, and Whisper, by Amblin. Bekmambetov and Nassif also produced the Screenlife pic iBible which also debuted SXSW. The smartphone iteration of Romeo and Juliet titled R#J,...
- 3/17/2021
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Editor’s Note: This article is presented by Adobe. Adobe gives everyone from emerging artists to global brands everything they need to design and deliver exceptional digital experiences. Adobe is committed to supporting, elevating and amplifying underrepresented creators, so the world can see, learn and benefit from diverse perspectives.
When preparing the footage for “R#J,” director Carey Williams and editor Lam Nguyen were determined to make the movie stand out. Though the film, which premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, is based on the familiar story of Romeo and Juliet, its tale of love and loss is bound to wow audiences anew for one major reason: It takes place entirely on iPhone screens. By adapting traditional filmmaking techniques to the new “Screenlife” format, Nguyen and Williams construct a narrative that feels fresh, innovative, and endlessly surprising.
What drew you to this project, and what were your initial impressions of it?...
When preparing the footage for “R#J,” director Carey Williams and editor Lam Nguyen were determined to make the movie stand out. Though the film, which premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, is based on the familiar story of Romeo and Juliet, its tale of love and loss is bound to wow audiences anew for one major reason: It takes place entirely on iPhone screens. By adapting traditional filmmaking techniques to the new “Screenlife” format, Nguyen and Williams construct a narrative that feels fresh, innovative, and endlessly surprising.
What drew you to this project, and what were your initial impressions of it?...
- 2/3/2021
- by IndieWire Staff
- Indiewire
Using the same Screenlife technology that powered films like 2018’s innovative Searching, director Carey Williams reimagines William Shakespeare’s classic tragedy Romeo and Juliet through phone screens and social media accounts in his debut feature R#J. That approach might sound obnoxious, but for the most part, it works surprisingly well. Just as Baz Luhrmann did in 1996 with […]
The post ‘R#J’ Review: ‘Romeo & Juliet’ Retold Across Phone Screens [Sundance 2021] appeared first on /Film.
The post ‘R#J’ Review: ‘Romeo & Juliet’ Retold Across Phone Screens [Sundance 2021] appeared first on /Film.
- 1/31/2021
- by Ben Pearson
- Slash Film
William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” has long endured as one of the written word’s greatest love stories, but what’s often forgotten among the “star-crossed lovers” and the dumb rage of familial feuds is just how nutty hormone-addled teenagers can be. It was true in the 16th century when The Bard committed its story to paper — based on a number of earlier tales — and then the stage; it was true when Franco Zeffirelli made his 1968 film, and when Baz Luhrmann updated it in 1996; and it’s certainly true in 2021.
For the latest — and, given the ways teenagers interact these days, wholly inevitable — adaptation, filmmaker Williams’ “R#J” joins a growing cadre of “screen films,” this one bolstered by the producing and technological talents of Timur Bekmambetov and Igor Tsay’s Screenlife platform, which aims to build the best screen-set films in a market beset by them.
The screen elements of “R#J,...
For the latest — and, given the ways teenagers interact these days, wholly inevitable — adaptation, filmmaker Williams’ “R#J” joins a growing cadre of “screen films,” this one bolstered by the producing and technological talents of Timur Bekmambetov and Igor Tsay’s Screenlife platform, which aims to build the best screen-set films in a market beset by them.
The screen elements of “R#J,...
- 1/31/2021
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Russian director and producer Timur Bekmambetov, whose creation of the innovative Screenlife format has spawned hit movies such as Profile and Unfriended, is setting his sights on India by striking a partnership with local players Graphic India and Reliance Entertainment.
Bekmambetov and Graphic India founder Sharad Devarajan will team to develop a slate of original local-language films leveraging the Screenlife genre in India. The deal will commence with three films from up-and-coming Indian filmmakers, the first of which is aiming to go into production early next year.
Devarajan’s Graphic India is the company behind numerous Indian superhero IPs, spawning film and TV adaptations as well as a series of short motion comics which have been hugely successful on TikTok India. Devarajan is also the creator of Baahubali: The Lost Legends, the long-running web TV animated series which is part of the hugely successful Baahubali franchise.
Reliance Entertainment is...
Bekmambetov and Graphic India founder Sharad Devarajan will team to develop a slate of original local-language films leveraging the Screenlife genre in India. The deal will commence with three films from up-and-coming Indian filmmakers, the first of which is aiming to go into production early next year.
Devarajan’s Graphic India is the company behind numerous Indian superhero IPs, spawning film and TV adaptations as well as a series of short motion comics which have been hugely successful on TikTok India. Devarajan is also the creator of Baahubali: The Lost Legends, the long-running web TV animated series which is part of the hugely successful Baahubali franchise.
Reliance Entertainment is...
- 12/21/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
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