A masterfully crafted work with nearly no false notes, Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson’s Ghostlight is a tender drama bearing profound moments of humor and small triumphs. The smartly constructed script by O’Sullivan buries the lede, revealing new narrative information with each layer as we watch a nuclear family slowly come apart and, later, find solace in the wake of their son’s suicide. Anchored by a real-life family, the film feels as if it’s been meticulously workshopped with the same intimate collaboration that gave O’Sullivan and Thompson’s last feature, Saint Frances, its authentic nuances.
Dan Muller (Keith Kupferer) is first presented to us as a small-town construction worker with a short temper and family drama. He has a rebellious 15-year-old daughter Daisy (Katherine Mallen Kupferer) and his marriage to Sharon (Tara Mallen) is on the rocks. Love holds the family together, and following an...
Dan Muller (Keith Kupferer) is first presented to us as a small-town construction worker with a short temper and family drama. He has a rebellious 15-year-old daughter Daisy (Katherine Mallen Kupferer) and his marriage to Sharon (Tara Mallen) is on the rocks. Love holds the family together, and following an...
- 3/13/2024
- by John Fink
- The Film Stage
Talk about ending with a flourish.
Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro,” a critically acclaimed look at the dramatic life and career of composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein, will close the 2023 edition of the Hamptons International Festival. “Maestro,” which co-stars Carey Mulligan, will screen on Oct. 12. It is set to be released by Netflix on Dec. 20.
“’Maestro’ is a beautifully crafted, raw and heartfelt film. We look forward to sharing this glimpse into the love story between Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein,” said HamptonsFilm Executive Director Anne Chaisson.
The annual celebration of movies also announced its full lineup of programming, which includes additional signature programming including “A Conversation with…” Series with Paul Simon, who will be on hand to talk up a new, sprawling look at his six decades of making cultural-defining hits. Simon, a rock icon who has written everything from “The Sound of Silence” to “Graceland,” is attending...
Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro,” a critically acclaimed look at the dramatic life and career of composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein, will close the 2023 edition of the Hamptons International Festival. “Maestro,” which co-stars Carey Mulligan, will screen on Oct. 12. It is set to be released by Netflix on Dec. 20.
“’Maestro’ is a beautifully crafted, raw and heartfelt film. We look forward to sharing this glimpse into the love story between Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein,” said HamptonsFilm Executive Director Anne Chaisson.
The annual celebration of movies also announced its full lineup of programming, which includes additional signature programming including “A Conversation with…” Series with Paul Simon, who will be on hand to talk up a new, sprawling look at his six decades of making cultural-defining hits. Simon, a rock icon who has written everything from “The Sound of Silence” to “Graceland,” is attending...
- 9/14/2023
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Anna Camp (Pitch Perfect triology) has joined the cast of Peacock’s coming-of-age thriller Hysteria ! as a series regular.
As Deadline previously confirmed exclusively, the series will additionally be led by Julie Bowen, Emjay Anthony, Chiara Aurelia, Kezii Curtis and Nikki Hahn.
Written and executive produced by Matthew Scott Kane, Hysteria! explores America’s dark history of mass hysteria through the shocking story of the teenage Satanic Panic. The series follows a group of 1980s high school misfits as they exploit the growing hysteria around teen occult activity.
Per the logline, When a beloved varsity quarterback disappears during the “Satanic Panic” of the late 1980s, a struggling high school heavy metal band of outcasts realize they can capitalize on the town’s sudden interest in the occult by building a reputation as a Satanic metal band, until a bizarre series of murders, kidnappings, and reported “supernatural activity” triggers...
As Deadline previously confirmed exclusively, the series will additionally be led by Julie Bowen, Emjay Anthony, Chiara Aurelia, Kezii Curtis and Nikki Hahn.
Written and executive produced by Matthew Scott Kane, Hysteria! explores America’s dark history of mass hysteria through the shocking story of the teenage Satanic Panic. The series follows a group of 1980s high school misfits as they exploit the growing hysteria around teen occult activity.
Per the logline, When a beloved varsity quarterback disappears during the “Satanic Panic” of the late 1980s, a struggling high school heavy metal band of outcasts realize they can capitalize on the town’s sudden interest in the occult by building a reputation as a Satanic metal band, until a bizarre series of murders, kidnappings, and reported “supernatural activity” triggers...
- 4/18/2023
- by Rosy Cordero
- Deadline Film + TV
In the film A Little Prayer, viewers follow Bill (David Strathairn) as he balances wanting to protect his daughter-in-law (Jane Levy) from his son’s (Will Pullen) suspected unfaithfulness. As writer and director Angus Maclachlan said, “It’s a story of a family and secrets in the family and fidelity and choices.”
In an exclusive interview with uInterview at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, Maclachlan revealed what the casting process was like.
“Oh, it’s incredibly important,” he said. “I’m an actor myself so I really love actors and really respect them and really honor what they do and the people that I ended up getting were like a dream cast. I mean they were just a dream cast, both in their performances but also in their esprit de corps because it’s never easy. I mean we had, you know, David Strathairn who is a...
In an exclusive interview with uInterview at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, Maclachlan revealed what the casting process was like.
“Oh, it’s incredibly important,” he said. “I’m an actor myself so I really love actors and really respect them and really honor what they do and the people that I ended up getting were like a dream cast. I mean they were just a dream cast, both in their performances but also in their esprit de corps because it’s never easy. I mean we had, you know, David Strathairn who is a...
- 2/20/2023
- by Hailey Schipper
- Uinterview
Sony Pictures Classics has made many wise investments at the Sundance Film Festival over the years. Its 2022 acquisition, “Living,” just nabbed Oscar nominations for Best Actor, Bill Nighy, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Other recent Sundance titles propelled to the Oscars by the studio include “The Father” (2020), “Call Me By Your Name” (2017), “Whiplash” (2014) and “An Education” (2009). Amy Adams’ very first career bid came for “Junebug,” which the distributor picked up from Park City in 2005. That film’s writer, Angus MacLachlan, is the director of “A Little Prayer,” one of Sony Pictures Classics’ 2023 festival purchases (the other being Audience Award winner “The Persian Version”).
Starring David Strathairn as Bill Brass, the movie is about a soft-spoken North Carolina family man who, per official synopsis, “tests the limits of patriarchal interference” after discovering that his son, David (Will Pullen), has been having an extramarital affair. In breach of Southern hospitality, which prescribes minding one’s own affairs,...
Starring David Strathairn as Bill Brass, the movie is about a soft-spoken North Carolina family man who, per official synopsis, “tests the limits of patriarchal interference” after discovering that his son, David (Will Pullen), has been having an extramarital affair. In breach of Southern hospitality, which prescribes minding one’s own affairs,...
- 2/13/2023
- by Ronald Meyer
- Gold Derby
Exclusive: Apple has rounded out the cast for its crime drama series Sinking Spring with the addition of Golden Globe winner Ving Rhames (Mission: Impossible franchise), Dustin Nguyen (The Accidental Getaway Driver), Nesta Cooper (See), Idris Debrand (Dear Edward), Liz Caribel (Pussy Island) and Will Pullen (A Little Prayer).
The actors join an ensemble led by 2023 Academy Award nom Brian Tyree Henry (of the Apple drama Causeway) which also includes Michael Mando, Marin Ireland, Kate Mulgrew and Amir Arison, as previously announced.
Related Story ‘Presumed Innocent’: Chase Infiniti, Lily Rabe, Nana Mensah, Matthew Alan & Kingston Rumi Southwick Cast In Apple TV+ Series Related Story 'The Blacklist' Star Amir Arison Joins Ridley Scott's Apple Series 'Sinking Spring' Related Story Marin Ireland Joins Apple's 'Sinking Spring' TV Series
The eight-episode series created by Top Gun: Maverick scribe Peter Craig, entering production this week in Philadelphia,...
The actors join an ensemble led by 2023 Academy Award nom Brian Tyree Henry (of the Apple drama Causeway) which also includes Michael Mando, Marin Ireland, Kate Mulgrew and Amir Arison, as previously announced.
Related Story ‘Presumed Innocent’: Chase Infiniti, Lily Rabe, Nana Mensah, Matthew Alan & Kingston Rumi Southwick Cast In Apple TV+ Series Related Story 'The Blacklist' Star Amir Arison Joins Ridley Scott's Apple Series 'Sinking Spring' Related Story Marin Ireland Joins Apple's 'Sinking Spring' TV Series
The eight-episode series created by Top Gun: Maverick scribe Peter Craig, entering production this week in Philadelphia,...
- 2/13/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Bill (David Strathairn) must confront his son David’s (Will Pullen) faltering faithfulness to his wife Tammy (Jane Levy) in A Little Prayer, the latest from writer-director Angus MacLachlan. However, before Bill can help David, he must reflect on his own bad habits when it comes to his relationship with wife and David’s mother Venida (Celia Weston). Editor Tricia Holmes talks about navigating the film’s cut and accentuating each character’s complex relationship to each other. See all responses to our annual Sundance editor interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were […]
The post “The Complexity of Parenting Adults”: Editor Tricia Holmes on A Little Prayer first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “The Complexity of Parenting Adults”: Editor Tricia Holmes on A Little Prayer first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 2/6/2023
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Bill (David Strathairn) must confront his son David’s (Will Pullen) faltering faithfulness to his wife Tammy (Jane Levy) in A Little Prayer, the latest from writer-director Angus MacLachlan. However, before Bill can help David, he must reflect on his own bad habits when it comes to his relationship with wife and David’s mother Venida (Celia Weston). Editor Tricia Holmes talks about navigating the film’s cut and accentuating each character’s complex relationship to each other. See all responses to our annual Sundance editor interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were […]
The post “The Complexity of Parenting Adults”: Editor Tricia Holmes on A Little Prayer first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “The Complexity of Parenting Adults”: Editor Tricia Holmes on A Little Prayer first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 2/6/2023
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
In writer-director Angus MacLachlan’s A Little Prayer, a father-son relationship becomes strained when family patriarch Bill (David Strathairn) discovers that his son David (Will Pullen) is cheating on his wife Tammy (Jane Levy). While attempting to guide David back onto the path of monogamy, he realizes that his own bad habits might have unintentionally been passed down to his son. Dp Scott Miller tells Filmmaker about the shoot, including his affinity for the Alexa Mini on this project. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of […]
The post “The Alexa Has a Wonderful Creaminess to Its Capture”: Dp Scott Miller on A Little Prayer first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “The Alexa Has a Wonderful Creaminess to Its Capture”: Dp Scott Miller on A Little Prayer first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 2/6/2023
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
In writer-director Angus MacLachlan’s A Little Prayer, a father-son relationship becomes strained when family patriarch Bill (David Strathairn) discovers that his son David (Will Pullen) is cheating on his wife Tammy (Jane Levy). While attempting to guide David back onto the path of monogamy, he realizes that his own bad habits might have unintentionally been passed down to his son. Dp Scott Miller tells Filmmaker about the shoot, including his affinity for the Alexa Mini on this project. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of […]
The post “The Alexa Has a Wonderful Creaminess to Its Capture”: Dp Scott Miller on A Little Prayer first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “The Alexa Has a Wonderful Creaminess to Its Capture”: Dp Scott Miller on A Little Prayer first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 2/6/2023
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Writer/director Angus MacLachlan works through some absorbing questions surrounding the true meaning of family in A Little Prayer, which made its premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. The film is a low-profile melodrama that quietly dips into its atmosphere, showing both the strength and the downfall of family.
‘A Little Prayer’ depicts a family diving into crisis L-r: Anna Camp as Patti, David Strathairn as Bill, Billie Roy as Hadley, Celia Weston as Venida, and Jane Levy as Tammy | Courtesy of Sundance Institute
David’s (Will Pullen) parents, Bill (David Strathairn) and Venida (Celia Weston), allow him and his wife, Tammy (Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist‘s Jane Levy), to move into their quiet home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. David and Bill have always been rather close, but they become even more involved in each other’s lives after they start working together. Bill gets a sneaking suspicion that his...
‘A Little Prayer’ depicts a family diving into crisis L-r: Anna Camp as Patti, David Strathairn as Bill, Billie Roy as Hadley, Celia Weston as Venida, and Jane Levy as Tammy | Courtesy of Sundance Institute
David’s (Will Pullen) parents, Bill (David Strathairn) and Venida (Celia Weston), allow him and his wife, Tammy (Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist‘s Jane Levy), to move into their quiet home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. David and Bill have always been rather close, but they become even more involved in each other’s lives after they start working together. Bill gets a sneaking suspicion that his...
- 1/31/2023
- by Jeff Nelson
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
In the quiet, peaceful mornings that ease your way into writer-director Angus MacLachlan’s A Little Prayer, a woman belts out gospel songs that echo down the block. They’re a bleary-eyed nuisance to many waking in this small, North Carolina neighborhood, but Bill Brass (David Straitharn) and his daughter-in-law Tammy (Jane Levy) have a mutual fascination with them, rising early with curiosity and wonder. Why does she sing them? Where do they come from exactly? The pair eventually attempt to investigate their leafy streets to find the source, yet as the spirituals dissipate and leave them alone in bird-chirping silence, they seem to revel in their beautiful, unsolved mystery.
Their unusual bond carries the movie’s spirit like a warm breeze, a comforting and centering presence as Bill, a Vietnam veteran, navigates his family’s dysfunction and reckons with his parenting past. Like Junebug, MacLachlan’s feature writing debut...
Their unusual bond carries the movie’s spirit like a warm breeze, a comforting and centering presence as Bill, a Vietnam veteran, navigates his family’s dysfunction and reckons with his parenting past. Like Junebug, MacLachlan’s feature writing debut...
- 1/31/2023
- by Jake Kring-Schreifels
- The Film Stage
One year after Sundance megahit “Coda” took home the Oscar for Best Picture, the indie festival is being represented at the 95th Academy Awards again–this time, by four nominees for Best Documentary Feature and “Living,” which is contending in Best Actor (Bill Nighy) and Best Adapted Screenplay. Other recent films to have wound up at the Oscars after debuting in Park City include “Minari,” “Promising Young Woman,” “The Father,” “Get Out,” “The Big Sick,” “Manchester by the Sea,” and “Whiplash.” The event wrapped up over the weekend, with major prizes going to “The Persian Version” (the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award and U.S. Dramatic: Audience), “A Thousand And One” (U.S. Dramatic: Grand Jury), “Shayda” (World Cinema: Audience), and “Scrapper” (World Cinema: Grand Jury).
See 2023 Sundance Film Festival: Early highlights include ‘Fairyland,’ ‘Magazine Dreams,’ ‘Past Lives’ …
The 2023 slate has drawn some strong reactions, but no film has been as...
See 2023 Sundance Film Festival: Early highlights include ‘Fairyland,’ ‘Magazine Dreams,’ ‘Past Lives’ …
The 2023 slate has drawn some strong reactions, but no film has been as...
- 1/31/2023
- by Ronald Meyer
- Gold Derby
Anna Camp, David Strathairn, Billie Roy, Celia Weston and Jane Levy in ‘A Little Prayer’ (Photo Courtesy of Sundance Institute / Photo by Diana Greene)
How does it feel to be seen when you’ve spent your entire life feeling invisible? That question is posed and answered in the moving family drama A Little Prayer.
The very definition of a slow burn, writer/director Angus MacLachlan takes his time and slowly introduces the dysfunctional family at the center of the story. David Strathairn and Celia Weston play the family patriarch and matriarch, a couple who’ve been married for decades and who’ve come to accept what can’t be changed in their relationship. Bill and Venida should be at the empty-nester stage heading into pre-retirement, yet their brood has failed to fly.
David (Will Pullen) works for his dad’s company and lives behind his childhood home with his wife,...
How does it feel to be seen when you’ve spent your entire life feeling invisible? That question is posed and answered in the moving family drama A Little Prayer.
The very definition of a slow burn, writer/director Angus MacLachlan takes his time and slowly introduces the dysfunctional family at the center of the story. David Strathairn and Celia Weston play the family patriarch and matriarch, a couple who’ve been married for decades and who’ve come to accept what can’t be changed in their relationship. Bill and Venida should be at the empty-nester stage heading into pre-retirement, yet their brood has failed to fly.
David (Will Pullen) works for his dad’s company and lives behind his childhood home with his wife,...
- 1/30/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Most Oscar documentary nominees launch at Sundance. There are exceptions, like winners “Citizenfour,” “Free Solo,” and “My Octopus Teacher,” but it remains the festival of choice for non-fiction films.
A Sundance award doesn’t hurt, either: The 2022 documentary Oscar winner, Questlove’s “Summer of Soul,” began its journey as a 2021 Sundance double winner with an Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize. This year, the Oscar nominees include “Navalny” (U.S. Documentary audience and Festival Favorite award), “Fire of Love” (editing award), “All that Breathes,” (Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema Documentary), and “House Made of Splinters” (World Cinema Documentary Directing Award).
This year’s Sundance crop, sampled by those in Park City theaters as well as online, is just as impressive. Jury prizes didn’t always go to the buzziest titles, but Sundance award-winners get a lift toward getting seen and often acquired.
Sheila Nevins’ MTV Documentary Films grabbed Chilean...
A Sundance award doesn’t hurt, either: The 2022 documentary Oscar winner, Questlove’s “Summer of Soul,” began its journey as a 2021 Sundance double winner with an Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize. This year, the Oscar nominees include “Navalny” (U.S. Documentary audience and Festival Favorite award), “Fire of Love” (editing award), “All that Breathes,” (Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema Documentary), and “House Made of Splinters” (World Cinema Documentary Directing Award).
This year’s Sundance crop, sampled by those in Park City theaters as well as online, is just as impressive. Jury prizes didn’t always go to the buzziest titles, but Sundance award-winners get a lift toward getting seen and often acquired.
Sheila Nevins’ MTV Documentary Films grabbed Chilean...
- 1/29/2023
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
The Sundance Film Festival roared back to life this year with the first in-person version of the event since 2020, and TheWrap was there with bells on to talk to some of the performers and filmmakers involved in this year’s pre-eminent films. With any luck, these films will go on to join the ranks of previous Sundance debut features like “Coda” or “Whiplash” or “Boyhood” once they hit audiences at large (and possibly even the Oscar stage).
Below, we’ve rounded up some of our interviews for you to watch along with links to every interview conducted at TheWrap’s Portrait and Video Studio at The Music Lodge during the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, sponsored by Nfp along with support from Sylvania and HigherDOSE.
Actor Jonathan Majors and the team behind the challenging drama “Magazine Dreams” spoke about how the story of an obsessed bodybuilder is a “time capsule” for modern day America.
Below, we’ve rounded up some of our interviews for you to watch along with links to every interview conducted at TheWrap’s Portrait and Video Studio at The Music Lodge during the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, sponsored by Nfp along with support from Sylvania and HigherDOSE.
Actor Jonathan Majors and the team behind the challenging drama “Magazine Dreams” spoke about how the story of an obsessed bodybuilder is a “time capsule” for modern day America.
- 1/28/2023
- by Adam Chitwood
- The Wrap
All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt
Poet-turned-filmmaker Raven Jackson uses elegantly composed vignettes, minimal dialogue and an immersive style to explore the life of a Black woman in the rural South in her eloquent feature, produced by Barry Jenkins. The story follows Mack (Charleen McClure) across several decades, the fragments of her life coming together in a risky, beautifully realized film. — Caryn James
Cassandro
Gael García Bernal nails his best role in years as groundbreaking lucha libre wrestler Saúl Armendáriz, his performance steeped in cheeky humor, resilience and radical self-belief — not to mention some amazingly nimble moves. Roger Ross Williams’ assured narrative is an exhilarating exploration of fearless queer identity in a macho environment. — David Rooney
The Deepest Breath
Filled with eye-popping visuals, thrilling competitions and a deftly presented love story, Laura McGann’s documentary feature tells of a record-breaking free diver and a heroic safety diver whose lives intersect.
Poet-turned-filmmaker Raven Jackson uses elegantly composed vignettes, minimal dialogue and an immersive style to explore the life of a Black woman in the rural South in her eloquent feature, produced by Barry Jenkins. The story follows Mack (Charleen McClure) across several decades, the fragments of her life coming together in a risky, beautifully realized film. — Caryn James
Cassandro
Gael García Bernal nails his best role in years as groundbreaking lucha libre wrestler Saúl Armendáriz, his performance steeped in cheeky humor, resilience and radical self-belief — not to mention some amazingly nimble moves. Roger Ross Williams’ assured narrative is an exhilarating exploration of fearless queer identity in a macho environment. — David Rooney
The Deepest Breath
Filled with eye-popping visuals, thrilling competitions and a deftly presented love story, Laura McGann’s documentary feature tells of a record-breaking free diver and a heroic safety diver whose lives intersect.
- 1/28/2023
- by David Rooney, Sheri Linden, Lovia Gyarkye, Jon Frosch, Daniel Fienberg, Robyn Bahr and Justin Lowe
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Concerns over theatrical viability and a public promise from streamers to avoid spending sprees left this year’s Sundance Film Festival light on big purchases and — for now — high on orphans.
While there were a few major acquisitions such as “Fair Play” and “Theater Camp,” there was a notable absence of lower-profile sales or smaller pickups, while several seemingly surefire titles were left waiting for a buyer. Titles like the Anne Hathaway/Thomasin McKenzie 1960s women’s prison melodrama “Eileen” and the Chiwetel Ejiofor/Emilia Clarke sci-fi drama “The Pod Generation” left the festival empty-handed.
Sources say that even Randall Parks’ well-reviewed directorial debut “Shortcomings” had trouble drumming up interest, partially because the film’s major screening reportedly conflicted with other big premieres. Jonathan Majors’ grim bodybuilder drama “Magazine Dreams” had its premiere undercut by controversy when jurors walked out over Marlee Matlin’s failed captioning device.
“One big question,...
While there were a few major acquisitions such as “Fair Play” and “Theater Camp,” there was a notable absence of lower-profile sales or smaller pickups, while several seemingly surefire titles were left waiting for a buyer. Titles like the Anne Hathaway/Thomasin McKenzie 1960s women’s prison melodrama “Eileen” and the Chiwetel Ejiofor/Emilia Clarke sci-fi drama “The Pod Generation” left the festival empty-handed.
Sources say that even Randall Parks’ well-reviewed directorial debut “Shortcomings” had trouble drumming up interest, partially because the film’s major screening reportedly conflicted with other big premieres. Jonathan Majors’ grim bodybuilder drama “Magazine Dreams” had its premiere undercut by controversy when jurors walked out over Marlee Matlin’s failed captioning device.
“One big question,...
- 1/27/2023
- by Scott Mendelson
- The Wrap
Drama reunites distributor with Junebug screenwriter.
Sony Pictures Classics has acquired worldwide rights in Sundance to Angus MacLachlan’s Premieres selection A Little Prayer.
David Strathairn, Jane Levy, Dascha Polanco, Will Pullen, Anna Camp, and Celia Weston star in the drama about a man who tries to protect his daughter-in-law when he discovers his son is having an affair.
The film touches on themes such as the changing South, a woman’s agency over her own body, Ptsd, and the limits of patriarchal control. MacLachlan produced with Lauren Vilchik and Max A. Butler.
A Little Prayer reunites Sony Classics with MacLachlan,...
Sony Pictures Classics has acquired worldwide rights in Sundance to Angus MacLachlan’s Premieres selection A Little Prayer.
David Strathairn, Jane Levy, Dascha Polanco, Will Pullen, Anna Camp, and Celia Weston star in the drama about a man who tries to protect his daughter-in-law when he discovers his son is having an affair.
The film touches on themes such as the changing South, a woman’s agency over her own body, Ptsd, and the limits of patriarchal control. MacLachlan produced with Lauren Vilchik and Max A. Butler.
A Little Prayer reunites Sony Classics with MacLachlan,...
- 1/27/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Pitch Perfect’s Anna Camp took on a serious role in the new family drama A Little Prayer, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
Writer-director Angus MacLachlan’s latest film has already been bought by Sony Pictures Classics after the performances were highly acclaimed.
The story follows a family in Winston Salem, North Carolina who deal with the mundane crises of normal life. The patriarch of the family, Bill (David Strathairn) grows concerned about his two grown children – David (Will Pullen), who Bill worries is unfaithful to his wife, and Patti (Camp), who arrives unannounced after leaving her addict husband. Viewers see interesting relationships unfold between Bill and his children, as well as his wife Venida (Celia Weston) and their daughter-in-law Tammy (Jane Levy).
Camp talked to uInterview founder Erik Meers about her role as Patti at the Sundance premiere.
“It’s a story about...
Writer-director Angus MacLachlan’s latest film has already been bought by Sony Pictures Classics after the performances were highly acclaimed.
The story follows a family in Winston Salem, North Carolina who deal with the mundane crises of normal life. The patriarch of the family, Bill (David Strathairn) grows concerned about his two grown children – David (Will Pullen), who Bill worries is unfaithful to his wife, and Patti (Camp), who arrives unannounced after leaving her addict husband. Viewers see interesting relationships unfold between Bill and his children, as well as his wife Venida (Celia Weston) and their daughter-in-law Tammy (Jane Levy).
Camp talked to uInterview founder Erik Meers about her role as Patti at the Sundance premiere.
“It’s a story about...
- 1/26/2023
- by Miranda Dipaolo
- Uinterview
If you love “Junebug,” the 2005 indie that launched Amy Adams’ career, then you probably felt at the time as film critic Jan Stuart did. He’s quoted on the poster as saying, “It is only a matter of time before [director] Phil Morrison achieves the status of Jim Jarmusch, Gus Van Sant, and Woody Allen.” Well, that prediction never really came to pass. Morrison made one more feature, then turned his attention to commercials. Meanwhile, the film’s screenwriter, Angus MacLachlan, has slowly but surely emerged as an auteur of authentic stories representing the American South.
MacLachlan’s third film as director (and the first to be selected for Sundance featuring him in that role), “A Little Prayer” shares much of the sensibility — and sensitivity — that made “Junebug” so special. Once again, he’s written a modestly scaled but deep-reaching relationship drama about a white middle-class North Carolina family that believes in God,...
MacLachlan’s third film as director (and the first to be selected for Sundance featuring him in that role), “A Little Prayer” shares much of the sensibility — and sensitivity — that made “Junebug” so special. Once again, he’s written a modestly scaled but deep-reaching relationship drama about a white middle-class North Carolina family that believes in God,...
- 1/26/2023
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Following a glowing reception in its premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, Sony has acquired worldwide rights to the drama “A Little Prayer,” an individual with knowledge of the matter told TheWrap. While specifics of the deal haven’t been disclosed, it’s said to be in the 7 figure range.
Playwright and screenwriter Angus MacLachlan directed and scripted the film. MacLachlan is most known for writing the screenplays for the 2005 film “Junebug,” and the cult short film “Tater Tomater.”
Also Read:
‘A Little Prayer’ Review: David Strathairn Shines as Conflicted Patriarch in Thoughtful Family Drama
“A Little Prayer,” stars David Straithairn (Bill) Celia Weston, (Venida), and Will Pullen, (David “Dickson). The film centers on three generations of a North Carolina family, their sheet metal business, a father and son who are both military veterans, and the women in their lives.
Lauren Vilchik, Max Butler, and Angus produced. Ramin Bahrani is an executive producer,...
Playwright and screenwriter Angus MacLachlan directed and scripted the film. MacLachlan is most known for writing the screenplays for the 2005 film “Junebug,” and the cult short film “Tater Tomater.”
Also Read:
‘A Little Prayer’ Review: David Strathairn Shines as Conflicted Patriarch in Thoughtful Family Drama
“A Little Prayer,” stars David Straithairn (Bill) Celia Weston, (Venida), and Will Pullen, (David “Dickson). The film centers on three generations of a North Carolina family, their sheet metal business, a father and son who are both military veterans, and the women in their lives.
Lauren Vilchik, Max Butler, and Angus produced. Ramin Bahrani is an executive producer,...
- 1/25/2023
- by Joshua Vinson
- The Wrap
Sony Pictures Classics has nabbed worldwide rights to “A Little Prayer” following its premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The exact sales price isn’t clear, but sources state the film fetched a figure in the low seven-figure range.
The deal reunites Sony Pictures Classics with Angus MacLachlan, who wrote the screenplay for “Junebug,” which the indie label released. MacLachlan directs this film, in addition to writing the script. WME Independent brokered the sale.
“A Little Prayer” follows Tammy (Jane Levy) and David (Will Pullen), a married couple in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, who share home with David’s parents, Bill (David Strathairn) and Venida (Celia Weston). Things grow complicated after Bill starts to think that David is cheating on Tammy.
Critics seemed to like the film, giving particular praise to the performances. The Hollywood Reporter’s Sheri Linden wrote, “Most of the characters in this open-ended and cautiously...
The deal reunites Sony Pictures Classics with Angus MacLachlan, who wrote the screenplay for “Junebug,” which the indie label released. MacLachlan directs this film, in addition to writing the script. WME Independent brokered the sale.
“A Little Prayer” follows Tammy (Jane Levy) and David (Will Pullen), a married couple in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, who share home with David’s parents, Bill (David Strathairn) and Venida (Celia Weston). Things grow complicated after Bill starts to think that David is cheating on Tammy.
Critics seemed to like the film, giving particular praise to the performances. The Hollywood Reporter’s Sheri Linden wrote, “Most of the characters in this open-ended and cautiously...
- 1/25/2023
- by Brent Lang and Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: The Sundance Film Festival deals keep dropping. Sony Pictures Classics has landed worldwide rights to A Little Prayer, which premiered at the Ray yesterday in the US Dramatic Competition category. The film is directed and scripted by Angus MacLachlan, who scripted Junebug.
Tammy (Jane Levy) and husband David (Will Pullen) lead a quiet life in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, sharing a home with David’s parents, Bill (David Strathairn) and Venida (Celia Weston). David and Bill work together and have always been closely involved in each other’s lives. When Bill begins to suspect that David is straying in his marriage, he is drawn into a relationship minefield, caught between wanting to protect his amicable daughter-in-law and trying to understand his impulsive son. As Bill confronts the limits of patriarchal influence, he is also forced to reckon with disheartening behavioral patterns that may be transcending generations.
The film is produced...
Tammy (Jane Levy) and husband David (Will Pullen) lead a quiet life in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, sharing a home with David’s parents, Bill (David Strathairn) and Venida (Celia Weston). David and Bill work together and have always been closely involved in each other’s lives. When Bill begins to suspect that David is straying in his marriage, he is drawn into a relationship minefield, caught between wanting to protect his amicable daughter-in-law and trying to understand his impulsive son. As Bill confronts the limits of patriarchal influence, he is also forced to reckon with disheartening behavioral patterns that may be transcending generations.
The film is produced...
- 1/25/2023
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Roger Ebert once wrote, “just because something is not done anymore doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing,” when describing Norman Jewison’s irrepressible romantic comedy “Only You.” This same sentiment can be applied to Angus MacLachlan’s latest family dramedy, “A Little Prayer,” a welcome throwback to adult-oriented movie fare of yore like “On Golden Pond,” “Fried Green Tomatoes,” or “Passion Fish.
Continue reading ‘A Little Prayer’ Review: David Strathairn and Jane Levy Shine In Angus MacLachlan’s Throwback Family Dramedy at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘A Little Prayer’ Review: David Strathairn and Jane Levy Shine In Angus MacLachlan’s Throwback Family Dramedy at The Playlist.
- 1/24/2023
- by Marya E. Gates
- The Playlist
As A Little Prayer begins, the voice of an unseen singer floats into the still morning air of a strikingly leafy neighborhood. The spirituals she belts, heard a few times during this quiet drama, take on the role of a disembodied character, sparking responses from the other characters that help to define who they are. Some hear only noise, an intrusion, something to complain about. But for Bill and his daughter-in-law, Tammy, searching souls beautifully played by David Strathairn and Jane Levy, the songs are enchanting, a mystery to savor.
Bill and Tammy are, as she puts it, kindred spirits, but that’s not to say they’re fully in sync. Their bond is the heart of writer-director Angus MacLachlan’s understated film, yet so too is the gap between what Bill wants to believe and the way things are. At the helm of his third feature, after Goodbye to All That...
Bill and Tammy are, as she puts it, kindred spirits, but that’s not to say they’re fully in sync. Their bond is the heart of writer-director Angus MacLachlan’s understated film, yet so too is the gap between what Bill wants to believe and the way things are. At the helm of his third feature, after Goodbye to All That...
- 1/24/2023
- by Sheri Linden
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Angus MacLachlan wrote 2005’s terrific indie Junebug, which put Amy Adams on the big-time map and earned her a Supporting Actress Oscar nomination in a heartbreaking performance. It also put MacLachlan on the map with his first screenplay, and it was an auspicious start. Since then he has added directing to his credits including Goodbye to All and Abundant Acreage Available but tonight returned to the Sundance Film Festival with his latest, A Little Prayer, shot and set in his hometown of Winston-Salem, Nc.
Perhaps the kind of small indie that defines the term “Sundance movie,” A Little Prayer is largely a showcase for an exceptionally talented cast who make up the troubled family in this tale. It drifts into some soapy territory before it is over but is rescued by some fine acting, even if at times it feels more like a TV production than a gritty independent film,...
Perhaps the kind of small indie that defines the term “Sundance movie,” A Little Prayer is largely a showcase for an exceptionally talented cast who make up the troubled family in this tale. It drifts into some soapy territory before it is over but is rescued by some fine acting, even if at times it feels more like a TV production than a gritty independent film,...
- 1/24/2023
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
Angus MacLachlan burst onto the Sundance scene as the screenwriter behind the Phil Morrison-directed “Junebug” in 2005. That drama is best known for what became a star-making performance from then-unknown Amy Adams and since then MacLachlan graduated to directing self-written features like “Goodbye to All That” and “Abundant Acreage Available.”
His latest feature, “A Little Prayer,” concerns a close-knit family that threatens to collapse when a father (David Strathairn) discovers that his adult son (Will Pullen) may be having an affair.
MacLachlan was joined by Pullen and fellow cast members Jane Levy and Celia Weston, at TheWrap’s Portrait and Video Studio at The Music Lodge for a conversation with Executive Awards Editor Steve Pond.
When asked why he chose to make another family drama set in North Carolina, MacLachlan noted it was the region in which he grew up.
“I started [this film] when my daughter was 15. She’s now 21. I realized in retrospect,...
His latest feature, “A Little Prayer,” concerns a close-knit family that threatens to collapse when a father (David Strathairn) discovers that his adult son (Will Pullen) may be having an affair.
MacLachlan was joined by Pullen and fellow cast members Jane Levy and Celia Weston, at TheWrap’s Portrait and Video Studio at The Music Lodge for a conversation with Executive Awards Editor Steve Pond.
When asked why he chose to make another family drama set in North Carolina, MacLachlan noted it was the region in which he grew up.
“I started [this film] when my daughter was 15. She’s now 21. I realized in retrospect,...
- 1/24/2023
- by Scott Mendelson
- The Wrap
Sundance’s return to in person events after two years due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has been much celebrated since the annual festival kicked off on Jan. 19 in Park City, Utah.
But the 2023 iteration isn’t just an exciting return for the organizers or attendees. For A Little Prayer producer Ramin Bahrani, it’s been a “wonderful” experience following his appearance at last year’s virtual festival, which featured a premiere screening of his documentary 2nd Chance, about Richard Davis, the inventor of the modern-day bulletproof vest.
It’s a movie the Oscar-nominated Bahrani, who is also behind The White Tiger and 99 Holmes, acknowledges has a thematic overlap with director Angus MacLachlan’s film in its examination of men and larger social issues. “For A Little Prayer, I’m thrilled that Angus and his team will enjoy an in-person festival because the humor and emotional ending of his film...
But the 2023 iteration isn’t just an exciting return for the organizers or attendees. For A Little Prayer producer Ramin Bahrani, it’s been a “wonderful” experience following his appearance at last year’s virtual festival, which featured a premiere screening of his documentary 2nd Chance, about Richard Davis, the inventor of the modern-day bulletproof vest.
It’s a movie the Oscar-nominated Bahrani, who is also behind The White Tiger and 99 Holmes, acknowledges has a thematic overlap with director Angus MacLachlan’s film in its examination of men and larger social issues. “For A Little Prayer, I’m thrilled that Angus and his team will enjoy an in-person festival because the humor and emotional ending of his film...
- 1/23/2023
- by Abbey White
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Oscar nominees Maria Bakalova (Bodies Bodies Bodies) and David Strathairn (Nomadland) will topline O Horizon — the second narrative feature from Emmy winner Madeleine Sackler (O.G.), which wrapped production last fall.
The film written and directed by Sackler follows Abby (Bakalova), a brilliant, young neuroscientist who has recently lost her father, Warren (Strathairn), and drowns her grief by spending her days working with a monkey named Dorey. Abby meets a programmer, Sam, who has created a technology that reconnects Abby with her beloved father. Her relationship with her digitized dad then forces her to re-examine everything from her romantic relationships to her life’s work.
Producers on the project include Joseph Cross, Audrey Tommassini and Paul Nelson. CAA Media Finance is selling worldwide rights
Sackler is best known for directing and producing HBO’s O.G. — a groundbreaking 2018 drama, filmed entirely within a maximum-security prison, that had Jeffrey Wright...
The film written and directed by Sackler follows Abby (Bakalova), a brilliant, young neuroscientist who has recently lost her father, Warren (Strathairn), and drowns her grief by spending her days working with a monkey named Dorey. Abby meets a programmer, Sam, who has created a technology that reconnects Abby with her beloved father. Her relationship with her digitized dad then forces her to re-examine everything from her romantic relationships to her life’s work.
Producers on the project include Joseph Cross, Audrey Tommassini and Paul Nelson. CAA Media Finance is selling worldwide rights
Sackler is best known for directing and producing HBO’s O.G. — a groundbreaking 2018 drama, filmed entirely within a maximum-security prison, that had Jeffrey Wright...
- 1/6/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options—not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves–each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit platforms. Check out this week’s selections below and an archive of past round-ups here.
The Biggest Little Farm (John Chester)
After getting evicted from their apartment in Los Angeles due to taking in a stray dog, filmmaker John Chester and food writer Molly Chester decide to try and cultivate a storybook farm in The Biggest Little Farm. The latest entry into the canon of films exploring food and ecosystems, like Aube Giroux’s Modified and Andrew Grace’s Eating Alabama, the documentary works as well as it does because of a reliance on its relatable subject and the director as its narrator. – John F. (full review)
Where to Stream: Hulu
Burning Cane (Phillip Youmans)
Helen Wayne (Karen Kaia Livers) can...
The Biggest Little Farm (John Chester)
After getting evicted from their apartment in Los Angeles due to taking in a stray dog, filmmaker John Chester and food writer Molly Chester decide to try and cultivate a storybook farm in The Biggest Little Farm. The latest entry into the canon of films exploring food and ecosystems, like Aube Giroux’s Modified and Andrew Grace’s Eating Alabama, the documentary works as well as it does because of a reliance on its relatable subject and the director as its narrator. – John F. (full review)
Where to Stream: Hulu
Burning Cane (Phillip Youmans)
Helen Wayne (Karen Kaia Livers) can...
- 11/8/2019
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’re highlighting the noteworthy titles that have recently hit platforms. Check out this week’s selections below and an archive of past round-ups here.
Diane (Kent Jones)
The narrative directorial debut of film scholar, curator, and documentary filmmaker Kent Jones elicits an awful lot of anticipation. Often, first features contain raw emotions and boundless pent-up ideas often toned down in future efforts. Diane, written and directed by Jones–known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, along with his previous theatrical feature which aimed to recapture the spirit of Hitchcock/Truffaut’s conversations by engaging with the best filmmakers working in contemporary cinema–is an observant and nuanced dramas which feels closer to the emotional truths of Kenneth Lonergan and Angus MacLachlan than the formal flair of Scorsese and Hitchcock. – John F.
Diane (Kent Jones)
The narrative directorial debut of film scholar, curator, and documentary filmmaker Kent Jones elicits an awful lot of anticipation. Often, first features contain raw emotions and boundless pent-up ideas often toned down in future efforts. Diane, written and directed by Jones–known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, along with his previous theatrical feature which aimed to recapture the spirit of Hitchcock/Truffaut’s conversations by engaging with the best filmmakers working in contemporary cinema–is an observant and nuanced dramas which feels closer to the emotional truths of Kenneth Lonergan and Angus MacLachlan than the formal flair of Scorsese and Hitchcock. – John F.
- 3/29/2019
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
After crafting a number of compelling film history-related documentaries (not to mention heading up the New York Film Festival), writer-director Kent Jones made his narrative feature with the tender character study Diane. Executive produced by Martin Scorsese and starring Mary Kay Place, the story of a woman questioning her life picked up the top prize at Tribeca Film Festival (among other places), and will now arrive in March via IFC Films.
John Fink said in his review, ‘The narrative directorial debut of film scholar, curator, and documentary filmmaker Kent Jones elicits an awful lot of anticipation. Often, first features contain raw emotions and boundless pent-up ideas often toned down in future efforts. Diane, written and directed by Jones–known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, along with his previous theatrical feature which aimed to recapture the spirit of Hitchcock/Truffaut’s conversations by engaging with the best filmmakers working in...
John Fink said in his review, ‘The narrative directorial debut of film scholar, curator, and documentary filmmaker Kent Jones elicits an awful lot of anticipation. Often, first features contain raw emotions and boundless pent-up ideas often toned down in future efforts. Diane, written and directed by Jones–known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, along with his previous theatrical feature which aimed to recapture the spirit of Hitchcock/Truffaut’s conversations by engaging with the best filmmakers working in...
- 2/15/2019
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Three-time filmmaker Alice Rohrwacher has earned plenty of fans over the course of her career: The Cannes Film Festival programmed her last two films, “The Wonders” and this year’s “Happy as Lazzaro,” and the New York Film Festival, which welcomed her as its 2016 artist-in-residence. But as she brings her dreamy, time-spanning “Lazzaro” to both NYFF and an upcoming Netflix release, she’s picked up another notable admirer: Martin Scorsese.
As the film enters the awards season fray, Scorsese has joined the project as an executive producer. It’s not the first time he’s lent his attention and name to the work of a rising filmmaker. In 2017, Scorsese launched his Emerging Filmmaker Fund — a joint venture with Brazilian producer Rodrigo Teixeira — which celebrated its first film project with another Cannes regular, Jonas Carpignano’s drama “A Ciambra.” That film premiered in Cannes Film Festival’s Director’s Fortnight section,...
As the film enters the awards season fray, Scorsese has joined the project as an executive producer. It’s not the first time he’s lent his attention and name to the work of a rising filmmaker. In 2017, Scorsese launched his Emerging Filmmaker Fund — a joint venture with Brazilian producer Rodrigo Teixeira — which celebrated its first film project with another Cannes regular, Jonas Carpignano’s drama “A Ciambra.” That film premiered in Cannes Film Festival’s Director’s Fortnight section,...
- 9/21/2018
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
The narrative directorial debut of film scholar, curator, and documentary filmmaker Kent Jones elicits an awful lot of anticipation. Often, first features contain raw emotions and boundless pent-up ideas often toned down in future efforts. Diane, written and directed by Jones–known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, along with his previous theatrical feature which aimed to recapture the spirit of Hitchcock/Truffaut’s conversations by engaging with the best filmmakers working in contemporary cinema–is an observant and nuanced dramas which feels closer to the emotional truths of Kenneth Lonergan and Angus MacLachlan than the formal flair of Scorsese and Hitchcock.
The title character is masterfully played by Mary Kay Place as a widower who spends her time looking after dying her cousin Donna (Deirdre O’Connell) and hanging out with friends at discount buffets and dinners in a weathered Massachusetts. Her son Brian (Jake Lacy), an addict who...
The title character is masterfully played by Mary Kay Place as a widower who spends her time looking after dying her cousin Donna (Deirdre O’Connell) and hanging out with friends at discount buffets and dinners in a weathered Massachusetts. Her son Brian (Jake Lacy), an addict who...
- 5/5/2018
- by John Fink
- The Film Stage
There are a multitude of reasons why any film may get unfairly overlooked. It could be a lack of marketing resources to provide a substantial push, or, due to a minuscule roll-out, not enough critics and audiences to be the champions it might require. It could simply be the timing of the picture itself; even in the world of studio filmmaking, some features take time to get their due. With an increasingly crowded marketplace, there are more reasons than ever that something might not find an audience and, as with last year, we’ve rounded up the releases that deserved more attention.
Note that all of the below films made less than $1 million at the domestic box office at the time of posting — VOD figures are not accounted for, as they normally aren’t made public — and are, for the most part, left out of most year-end conversations. Sadly, many...
Note that all of the below films made less than $1 million at the domestic box office at the time of posting — VOD figures are not accounted for, as they normally aren’t made public — and are, for the most part, left out of most year-end conversations. Sadly, many...
- 12/27/2017
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
New to Streaming: ‘Dawson City: Frozen Time,’ ‘Marjorie Prime,’ ‘Lady Macbeth,’ ‘Landline,’ and More
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit platforms. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.
Abundant Acreage Available (Angus MacLachlan)
Faith-based cinema is as diverse a genre as there is, from the extreme, often violent portraits of devotion from established directors like Martin Scorsese and Mel Gibson, to the attacks on logic in the God’s Not Dead and Left Behind pictures. Angus MacLachlan, a great storyteller of the not-too-deep south, offers a nuanced example of what this genre can bring, returning with the moving Abundant Acreage Available.
Abundant Acreage Available (Angus MacLachlan)
Faith-based cinema is as diverse a genre as there is, from the extreme, often violent portraits of devotion from established directors like Martin Scorsese and Mel Gibson, to the attacks on logic in the God’s Not Dead and Left Behind pictures. Angus MacLachlan, a great storyteller of the not-too-deep south, offers a nuanced example of what this genre can bring, returning with the moving Abundant Acreage Available.
- 10/6/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The presence of Martin Scorsese as an executive producer no doubt drew some of the crowd to Thursday night’s Tribeca Film Festival premiere of “Abundant Acreage Available,” but the ties between Angus MacLachlan’s family drama and Scorsese’s work were not in areas (violence, Italians, “Gimme Shelter”) usually associated with the legendary director. Instead, it was the little areas where you could see a connection: a serious examination of religious faith, a look at family dynamics and a vividly drawn sense of place — in this case not Little Italy, but a modest family farm somewhere in North Carolina.
- 10/5/2017
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
In “Abundant Acreage Available,” Amy Ryan plays a tough-minded woman who reunites with her brother (Terry Kinney) to bury their father on the farm where he raised them. As they argue about where to lay him to rest, another set of siblings from their father’s past show up to further complicate matters, laying claim to the land and injecting themselves into the center of this parochial setting.
Ryan’s character remains a fierce, defiant voice who pushes back against her brother’s religious convictions and the interlopers who question her solitary way of life. It’s a commanding performance that dominates this quiet, understated movie, and it makes you wonder why Ryan — an Oscar nominee for “Gone Baby Gone” — doesn’t land such impressive leading roles more often.
See More:Amy Ryan Gives Her Best Performance In a Decade With ‘Abundant Acreage Available’ — Tribeca 2017 Review
Ryan, however, doesn’t...
Ryan’s character remains a fierce, defiant voice who pushes back against her brother’s religious convictions and the interlopers who question her solitary way of life. It’s a commanding performance that dominates this quiet, understated movie, and it makes you wonder why Ryan — an Oscar nominee for “Gone Baby Gone” — doesn’t land such impressive leading roles more often.
See More:Amy Ryan Gives Her Best Performance In a Decade With ‘Abundant Acreage Available’ — Tribeca 2017 Review
Ryan, however, doesn’t...
- 9/30/2017
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
After indulging her funny bone with notable appearances on Broad City, Kevin Hart’s Central Intelligence and High Maintenance, and starring opposite Richard Armitage in the Off-Broadway production of Love, Love, Love, Amy Ryan is firmly back in the dramatic world that earned her an Oscar nomination for Gone Baby Gone with her new film, Abundant Acreage Available, in theaters on Sept. 29.
Written and directed by Angus MacLachlan (Junebug), the film tells the story of Tracy (Ryan) and Jesse (Terry Kinney), who after burying their father’s remains on their tobacco farm, are confronted by three older men (Max Gail, Francis Guinan, Steve Coulter) camping in their field. It’s a story of grief and morality and learning to let go.
It’s also one of Ryan’s best (and detailed) performances in years, earning rave reviews following the film’s premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival -- and the suggestion that she should be a contender...
Written and directed by Angus MacLachlan (Junebug), the film tells the story of Tracy (Ryan) and Jesse (Terry Kinney), who after burying their father’s remains on their tobacco farm, are confronted by three older men (Max Gail, Francis Guinan, Steve Coulter) camping in their field. It’s a story of grief and morality and learning to let go.
It’s also one of Ryan’s best (and detailed) performances in years, earning rave reviews following the film’s premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival -- and the suggestion that she should be a contender...
- 9/27/2017
- Entertainment Tonight
Having worked under the direction of Kenneth Lonergan, Steven Spielberg, Sidney Lumet, Ben Affleck, Bennett Miller, Lodge Kerrigan, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Greengrass, Joachim Trier, Tom McCarthy, and more, it’s astounding that Amy Ryan has never had a leading role — until now. Premiering at Tribeca Film Festival, where it won a Best Screenplay jury award, Angus MacLachlan’s Abundant Acreage Available will now get a release this fall and the first trailer has landed.
“MacLachlan’s latest is a departure from his previous work: a quiet, powerful portrait of two families at a crossroads, featuring the middle-aged Ledbetters — including the reformed alcoholic Jesse (Terry Kinney) and his adopted sister Tracy (Amy Ryan) — and three aging brothers (Max Gail, Francis Guinan, and Steve Coulter),” we said in our review.
Executive produced by Martin Scorsese, see the trailer below featuring our quote.
On a fifty acre tobacco farm in North Carolina,...
“MacLachlan’s latest is a departure from his previous work: a quiet, powerful portrait of two families at a crossroads, featuring the middle-aged Ledbetters — including the reformed alcoholic Jesse (Terry Kinney) and his adopted sister Tracy (Amy Ryan) — and three aging brothers (Max Gail, Francis Guinan, and Steve Coulter),” we said in our review.
Executive produced by Martin Scorsese, see the trailer below featuring our quote.
On a fifty acre tobacco farm in North Carolina,...
- 8/25/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
"This is our place - right here, right now." Gravitas Ventures has revealed an official trailer for the indie drama titled Abundant Acreage Available, which won the Best Screenplay award at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year. The film stars Amy Ryan and Terry Kinney as middle-aged brother and sister, who have just finished burying their father in a field on the fifty acre tobacco farm in North Carolina that their family owns. Trouble brews when three brothers, whose family farmed the land for generations, return after 50 years. The cast includes Max Gail, Steve Coulter, and Francis Guinan. I have been a big fan of Amy Ryan ever since Gone Baby Gone, so I'm always interested to watch anything she's in, especially if she has a lead role. This looks damn good, and it's easy to see the tough choices the script attempts to address. Here's the first official...
- 8/24/2017
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
All this week, IndieWire is rolling out our annual Fall Preview, including the very best indie cinema has to offer, all the awards contenders you need to know about, and even blockbuster fare that seems poised to please the most discerning tastes, all with an eye towards introducing you to all the new movies you need to get through a jam-packed fall movie-going season. Check back every day for a new look at the best the season has to offer, and clear your schedule, because we’re going to fill it right up. First up: indie films and festival favorites.
“mother!” (September 15)
The return of Darren Aronofsky should be enough to get any cinephile back to the theater, but the fact that “mother!” has remained so secretive with just under a month to go has only made anticipation higher. Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem play a couple whose lives are...
“mother!” (September 15)
The return of Darren Aronofsky should be enough to get any cinephile back to the theater, but the fact that “mother!” has remained so secretive with just under a month to go has only made anticipation higher. Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem play a couple whose lives are...
- 8/14/2017
- by Kate Erbland, Eric Kohn, Zack Sharf, Anne Thompson, Steve Greene, Michael Nordine, Chris O'Falt, Jude Dry and Jamie Righetti
- Indiewire
Keep up with the wild and wooly world of indie film acquisitions with our weekly Rundown of everything that’s been picked up around the globe. Check out last week’s Rundown here.
– Netflix has acquired the worldwide Svod rights to Drake Doremus’ “Newness,” Deadline reports. The film stars Nicholas Hoult and Laia Costa as a couple in contemporary Los Angeles navigating the world of online dating and social media–driven hookup culture. The film was a last-minute addition to the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, and co-stars Matthew Gray Gubler, Courtney Eaton, Danny Huston and Courtney Eaton. Netflix acquired the rights in a reported seven-figure deal.
– Gravitas Ventures has acquired writer-director Angus MacLachlan’s second feature film, “Abundant Acreage Available.” The film premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival, where it won the Best Screenplay Award in the U.S. Narrative Competition. The film focuses on siblings Tracy (Amy Ryan) and Jesse...
– Netflix has acquired the worldwide Svod rights to Drake Doremus’ “Newness,” Deadline reports. The film stars Nicholas Hoult and Laia Costa as a couple in contemporary Los Angeles navigating the world of online dating and social media–driven hookup culture. The film was a last-minute addition to the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, and co-stars Matthew Gray Gubler, Courtney Eaton, Danny Huston and Courtney Eaton. Netflix acquired the rights in a reported seven-figure deal.
– Gravitas Ventures has acquired writer-director Angus MacLachlan’s second feature film, “Abundant Acreage Available.” The film premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival, where it won the Best Screenplay Award in the U.S. Narrative Competition. The film focuses on siblings Tracy (Amy Ryan) and Jesse...
- 6/16/2017
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Angus MacLachlan’s Abundant Acreage Available, coming off its premiere at this year's Tribeca Film Festival where it won the Best Screenplay Award in the U.S. Narrative Competition, was just acquired by Gravitas Ventures for theatrical and on-demand release this fall. Martin Scorsese was the executive producer for the film from MacLachlin (Junebug), who wrote, produced and directed. Abundant Acreage Available is about grown siblings coming to terms with the…...
- 6/15/2017
- Deadline
It means something when one of American cinema’s greatest auteurs and commits to working on a digital platform, big-screen experience be damned. That’s exactly what Martin Scorsese did by partnering with Netflix on his next project, the $125 million mob movie “The Irishman.” While the 74-year-old New Yorker delights in celebrating film history, he’s practical enough to know his movies must remain relevant in rapidly changing times.
The fast-talking cinephile has also moved into television (“Boardwalk Empire” and “Vinyl”), fought to preserve film history through archival efforts, and produced films from younger generations. By getting a handle on multiple facets of the moving image, he’s saving filmmaking from extinction in a fragmented media age, even as he contributes to the art form with his own vibrant and ambitious directing efforts.
“I do think, with the advent of digital, there’s good hope that the storytelling impulse will always be there,...
The fast-talking cinephile has also moved into television (“Boardwalk Empire” and “Vinyl”), fought to preserve film history through archival efforts, and produced films from younger generations. By getting a handle on multiple facets of the moving image, he’s saving filmmaking from extinction in a fragmented media age, even as he contributes to the art form with his own vibrant and ambitious directing efforts.
“I do think, with the advent of digital, there’s good hope that the storytelling impulse will always be there,...
- 6/9/2017
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
For AhkeemEstablished in 2002, the Tribeca Film Festival has had a bit of trouble defining itself during the course of its 15-year run. It lacks the grit and quirk of SXSW or the finesse of Sundance, but like the latter, it serves a springboard with its own lab for first time directors. Tribeca's ambitious programming has evolved to encompass much more than movies. A Virtual Reality sidebar is innovative and conveniently forward-looking, the television slate, chock full of hotly anticipated premieres, is opportunely adaptive, and the Talks section is fascinating in its pairings, both expected (Noah Baumbach and Dustin Hoffman, whose work together will be showcased at Cannes) and funkily improbable (Barbra Streisand and Robert Rodriguez). There's even a curation of interactive media in the Games section.While the festival is often unfairly maligned, there are many decent offerings, including spillover from the international film festival circuit and a premieres of some more well-known titles,...
- 5/4/2017
- MUBI
Elvira Lind with her and Oscar Isaac's newborn child - Bobbi Jene won three Tribeca Film Festival Awards - Best Documentary Feature, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing for Adam Nielsen. Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
The Tribeca Film Festival juried award-winning films - Elvira Lind's Bobbi Jene, Rachel Israel's Keep The Change, Elina Psykou's Son Of Sofia, Petra Volpe's The Divine Order, Sarita Khurana and Smriti Mundhra's A Suitable Girl, Angus MacLachlan's Abundant Acreage Available, Liz W Garcia's One Percent More Humid, Quinn Shephard's Blame, Russell Harbaugh's Love After Love, Julia Solomonoff's Nobody's Watching, Bohdan Sláma's Ice Mother, and Rainer Sarnet's November - will have additional screenings starting on Sunday afternoon, April 30.
Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather and The Godfather: Part ll with Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, and the director participating in a...
The Tribeca Film Festival juried award-winning films - Elvira Lind's Bobbi Jene, Rachel Israel's Keep The Change, Elina Psykou's Son Of Sofia, Petra Volpe's The Divine Order, Sarita Khurana and Smriti Mundhra's A Suitable Girl, Angus MacLachlan's Abundant Acreage Available, Liz W Garcia's One Percent More Humid, Quinn Shephard's Blame, Russell Harbaugh's Love After Love, Julia Solomonoff's Nobody's Watching, Bohdan Sláma's Ice Mother, and Rainer Sarnet's November - will have additional screenings starting on Sunday afternoon, April 30.
Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather and The Godfather: Part ll with Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, and the director participating in a...
- 4/29/2017
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Chicago – The 16th Edition of the Tribeca Film Festival continues through April 30th, 2017, but the main jury awards were announced yesterday at Awards Night ceremonies. “Keep the Change,” directed by Rachel Israel, was award Best U.S. Narrative Feature. All of the 2017 winners represented a wide range of topics, from inspirational to entertaining, and featured veteran as well as up-and-coming creators and talents from around the world. Worth noting, and a first for Tribeca, all five feature categories winners are from women-directed films.
Awards were distributed in the following feature film competition categories – U.S. Narrative, International Narrative, Documentary, New Narrative Director, The Albert Maysles New Documentary Director, and the Nora Ephron Prize, honoring a woman writer or director. Awards were also given in the short film categories – Narrative, Documentary, Student Visionary and Animation. For the fifth year, Tribeca awarded innovation in storytelling through its Storyscapes Award for immersive (Vr) storytelling.
Awards were distributed in the following feature film competition categories – U.S. Narrative, International Narrative, Documentary, New Narrative Director, The Albert Maysles New Documentary Director, and the Nora Ephron Prize, honoring a woman writer or director. Awards were also given in the short film categories – Narrative, Documentary, Student Visionary and Animation. For the fifth year, Tribeca awarded innovation in storytelling through its Storyscapes Award for immersive (Vr) storytelling.
- 4/28/2017
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
The Tribeca Film Festival has announced the winners of its 16th edition, with “Keep the Change” (U.S. Narrative), “Son of Sofia” (International Narrative) and “Bobbi Jene” (Documentary) taking home the top prizes. 97 features and 57 shorts comprised the main lineup of this year’s fest, which began on April 19 and ends on April 30.
“It is more important than ever to celebrate artists both in front of and behind the camera who have the unique ability to share different viewpoints to inspire, challenge and entertain us,” said Jane Rosenthal, Tribeca’s executive chair and co-founder. “The winning creators from across the Festival program shared stories that did exactly that, and we are honored to recognize them tonight. And how wonderful is it that the top awards in all five feature film categories were directed by women.”
Full list of winners below.
The 2017 IndieWire Tribeca Bible: Every Review, Interview and News Item Posted During the Festival
U.
“It is more important than ever to celebrate artists both in front of and behind the camera who have the unique ability to share different viewpoints to inspire, challenge and entertain us,” said Jane Rosenthal, Tribeca’s executive chair and co-founder. “The winning creators from across the Festival program shared stories that did exactly that, and we are honored to recognize them tonight. And how wonderful is it that the top awards in all five feature film categories were directed by women.”
Full list of winners below.
The 2017 IndieWire Tribeca Bible: Every Review, Interview and News Item Posted During the Festival
U.
- 4/27/2017
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.