As with most festivals in a pandemic world, Slamdance Film Festival is changing things up with their 2021 edition. Moving a few weeks back to February 12-25, no longer directly competing with Sundance Film Festival, the festival will be taking place primarily virtually. In quite a feat of accessibility, a full festival pass is also now available for free––if you secure yours by December 31st. After that, they are going up to $10, which is still a steal.
The festival has also announced its full lineup, with 25 features along with 107 shorts and episodic. Films, Q&As, and panels will be available on Slamdance.com, AppleTV, Roku, Firestick, and YouTube, while in-person events will take place in Joshua Tree with drive-ins open to the public on February 13th and 14th as well as the closing night screening at a Los Angeles drive-in on February 25.
Check out the lineup below and reserve your festival pass here.
The festival has also announced its full lineup, with 25 features along with 107 shorts and episodic. Films, Q&As, and panels will be available on Slamdance.com, AppleTV, Roku, Firestick, and YouTube, while in-person events will take place in Joshua Tree with drive-ins open to the public on February 13th and 14th as well as the closing night screening at a Los Angeles drive-in on February 25.
Check out the lineup below and reserve your festival pass here.
- 12/1/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
In a deal that closed before Toronto, the distributor said on Thursday it had acquired North American rights to Sean Penn’s Cannes competition selection.
The Last Face is set against the backdrop of war-torn Liberia and stars Charlize Theron and Javier Bardem as an aid agency chief who falls in love with a doctor amid a humanitarian crisis.
Adèle Exarchopoulos, Jean Reno and Jared Harris round out the cast and Erin Dignam wrote the screenplay.
River Road Entertainment’s Bill Pohlad produced with FilmHaven Entertainments’ Matt Palmieri and Bill Gerber. Jon Kuyper served as executive producer.
Saban Films’ Bill Bromiley and Ness Saban negotiated the deal with CAA. Lionsgate handles international sales.
The Last Face is set against the backdrop of war-torn Liberia and stars Charlize Theron and Javier Bardem as an aid agency chief who falls in love with a doctor amid a humanitarian crisis.
Adèle Exarchopoulos, Jean Reno and Jared Harris round out the cast and Erin Dignam wrote the screenplay.
River Road Entertainment’s Bill Pohlad produced with FilmHaven Entertainments’ Matt Palmieri and Bill Gerber. Jon Kuyper served as executive producer.
Saban Films’ Bill Bromiley and Ness Saban negotiated the deal with CAA. Lionsgate handles international sales.
- 9/8/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Sean Penn: Honorary César goes Hollywood – again (photo: Sean Penn in '21 Grams') Sean Penn, 54, will receive the 2015 Honorary César (César d'Honneur), the French Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Crafts has announced. That means the French Academy's powers-that-be are once again trying to make the Prix César ceremony relevant to the American media. Their tactic is to hand out the career award to a widely known and relatively young – i.e., media friendly – Hollywood celebrity. (Scroll down for more such examples.) In the words of the French Academy, Honorary César 2015 recipient Sean Penn is a "living legend" and "a stand-alone icon in American cinema." It has also hailed the two-time Best Actor Oscar winner as a "mythical actor, a politically active personality and an exceptional director." Penn will be honored at the César Awards ceremony on Feb. 20, 2015. Sean Penn movies Sean Penn movies range from the teen comedy...
- 1/28/2015
- by Steve Montgomery
- Alt Film Guide
Another Cannes title has come together as Lionsgate International confirmed (6) that it will commence sales in Cannes on River Road’s romance The Last Face.
Sean Penn will direct Charlize Theron and Javier Bardem in the tale of humanitarian doctors who meet in war-torn Africa.
The story is based on a screenplay by Erin Dignam and is expected to shoot in August.
River Road founder Bill Pohald will produce with Bill Gerber and Matt Palmieri.
Screendaily predicted that Lionsgate International would be the most likely to board the title for sales when the project was announced in April.
Sean Penn will direct Charlize Theron and Javier Bardem in the tale of humanitarian doctors who meet in war-torn Africa.
The story is based on a screenplay by Erin Dignam and is expected to shoot in August.
River Road founder Bill Pohald will produce with Bill Gerber and Matt Palmieri.
Screendaily predicted that Lionsgate International would be the most likely to board the title for sales when the project was announced in April.
- 5/6/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
River Road chief Bill Pohlad is understood to be financing the romance for Sean Penn to direct starring Charlize Theron and Javier Bardem.
The Africa-set story would appear to be a good fit for Lionsgate International to board as sales agent in the run-up to Cannes next month. At time of writing no parties had confirmed this.
The Last Face also stars Adèle Exarchopoulos from Cannes 2013 Palme d’or winner Blue Is The Warmest Color and it is understood Bill Gerber and Matt Palmieri will produce.
The story centres on two humanitarian doctors who meet in war-torn Africa. The story is based on a screenplay by Erin Dignam and is expected to shoot in Africa.
Penn and Pohlad have collaborated on three prior occasions — Into The Wild, The Tree Of Life and Fair Game — while Penn and Bardem recently wrapped production on Silver Pictures/StudioCanal’s The Gunman for Pierre Morel.
Summit International...
The Africa-set story would appear to be a good fit for Lionsgate International to board as sales agent in the run-up to Cannes next month. At time of writing no parties had confirmed this.
The Last Face also stars Adèle Exarchopoulos from Cannes 2013 Palme d’or winner Blue Is The Warmest Color and it is understood Bill Gerber and Matt Palmieri will produce.
The story centres on two humanitarian doctors who meet in war-torn Africa. The story is based on a screenplay by Erin Dignam and is expected to shoot in Africa.
Penn and Pohlad have collaborated on three prior occasions — Into The Wild, The Tree Of Life and Fair Game — while Penn and Bardem recently wrapped production on Silver Pictures/StudioCanal’s The Gunman for Pierre Morel.
Summit International...
- 4/10/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Bill Pohlad is understood to be financing the romance for Sean Penn to direct starring Charlize Theron and Javier Bardem.
The project would appear to be a good fit for Lionsgate International to board as international sales agent and bring to Cannes next month. At time of writing no parties had confirmed this.
The Last Face also stars Adèle Exarchopoulos from Cannes 2013 Palme d’or winner Blue Is The Warmest Color and it is understood Bill Gerber and Matt Palmieri will produce.
The story centres on two humanitarian doctors who meet in war-torn Africa.
Penn and Pohlad have collaborated on four previous occasions including Into The Wild, The Tree Of Life and Fair Game.
Lionsgate International’s Summit International handled sales on all three films.
The project would appear to be a good fit for Lionsgate International to board as international sales agent and bring to Cannes next month. At time of writing no parties had confirmed this.
The Last Face also stars Adèle Exarchopoulos from Cannes 2013 Palme d’or winner Blue Is The Warmest Color and it is understood Bill Gerber and Matt Palmieri will produce.
The story centres on two humanitarian doctors who meet in war-torn Africa.
Penn and Pohlad have collaborated on four previous occasions including Into The Wild, The Tree Of Life and Fair Game.
Lionsgate International’s Summit International handled sales on all three films.
- 4/10/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Oscar winner Javier Bardem will star opposite Charlize Theron in Sean Penn's African drama “The Last Face,” an individual familiar with the project told TheWrap. Penn will direct from a script by Erin Dingam, an actress appeared in Penn's “The Crossing Guard” and recently wrote the William Hurt movie “The Yellow Handkerchief.” Also read: Charlize Theron in Talks to Star in Sean Penn's ‘The Last Face’ (Exclusive) Penn will co-star in the indie movie, which is awaiting a green light from River Road's Bill Pohlad, who is producing with Bill Gerber and Matt Palmieri. Described as a love story,...
- 4/10/2014
- by Jeff Sneider
- The Wrap
It looks like Sean Penn is set for the director's chair for the fifth time in his career with "The Last Face," a drama starring Charlize Theron, Javier Bardem and "Blue is the Warmest Color" starlet Adèle Exarchopoulos. Theron will star as a doctor doing humanitarian relief work in Africa with the continent's violent political conflicts as a backdrop. Bardem will play another doctor and the story revolves around "tough moral decisions that must be made during time of civil unrest," according to Deadline. Exarcopoulos, the outlet reports, will play a journalist. The film is being produced by River Road and Bill Pohlad, who produced Penn's last film, "Into the Wild," and Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life," which starred the actor/director. Bill Gerber and Matt Palmieri are also on board as producers. "The Yellow Handkerchief" scribe Erin Dingam (who had a role in Penn's "The Crossing Guard") is writing.
- 4/10/2014
- by Kristopher Tapley
- Hitfix
Aside from quality projections, there is nothing that arouses me more during a festival than to get the feeling of communal caring for the 7th art. Day 2, 9:00 a.m’s screening of Jerry Schatzberg’s Scarecrow (see fest pic below) was packed with Karlovy Vary patrons (the demo are an enthusiastic mid 20′s to early 30′s type crowd) and this trickled onto my screenings of “films from the past” in Afterschool and Reprise. As part of Schatzberg’s homage, both Puzzle of Downfall Child (1970) and The Panic in Needle Park (1971) will be shown. Starring the oddball pairing of a fun to watch, improvisational not-yet-bark full of bite Al Pacino and layered Gene Hackman, this digitally projected copy of the film happened to be was my first ever viewing of the road movie that won big in 73′ edition of Cannes (The Conversation, also starring Hackman would win the same prize...
- 6/30/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
IFC Films is bringing Simon Killer to theaters on April 5th and VOD on April 12th. The film comes from Antonio Campos and is a follow up to his first feature, Afterschool. The film stars Brady Corbet (Melancholia and Martha Marcy May Marlene), as well as Mati Diop. A trailer follows the synopsis below.
The follow-up to Antonio Campos’ critically acclaimed Afterschool, Simon Killer is an erotic and and psychological portrait of Simon (Brady Corbet, Melancholia, Martha Marcy May Marlene), a well-educated, handsome and seemingly sympathetic college graduate with just a hint of something off putting enough to ignite a sense of concern.
Recently heartbroken, Simon travels to Paris to clear his head. After several days of wandering aimlessly, Simon finds himself drawn into a sex parlor and has a sexual encounter with an exotic prostitute, Victoria (Mati Diop, 35 Shots Of Rum). The chemistry builds between the two until they...
The follow-up to Antonio Campos’ critically acclaimed Afterschool, Simon Killer is an erotic and and psychological portrait of Simon (Brady Corbet, Melancholia, Martha Marcy May Marlene), a well-educated, handsome and seemingly sympathetic college graduate with just a hint of something off putting enough to ignite a sense of concern.
Recently heartbroken, Simon travels to Paris to clear his head. After several days of wandering aimlessly, Simon finds himself drawn into a sex parlor and has a sexual encounter with an exotic prostitute, Victoria (Mati Diop, 35 Shots Of Rum). The chemistry builds between the two until they...
- 3/19/2013
- by Andy Greene
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
IFC Films has closed a deal to take North American rights to director Antonio Campos' dark drama Simon Killer. Killer, which bowed Jan. 20 at the Eccles Theatre in the fest's U.S. dramatic competition, centers on a young American man who visits Paris after breaking up with his girlfriend and falls for a mysterious prostitute. The film stars Brady Corbet, Mati Diop, Michael Abiteboul, Constance Rousseau and Lila Salet. Campos also wrote the script for the project, which was produced by Josh Mond, Sean Durkin and Matt Palmieri. UTA and CAA handled the sale for the filmmakers. THR film critic Todd McCarthy
read more...
read more...
- 1/25/2012
- by Daniel Miller, Jay A. Fernandez
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
As technology moves relentlessly forward, the smart phone has become an everyday item for the general populous, and with it social networks have continued to grow with explosive propensity. For massive events like film festivals, Twitter has become the go-to info stream for up to the second updates on who, what, and where things are happening around town, and of course has become an instant method in which to gauge a film's popularity/critical reception. We've collected a list of Twitter accounts from the filmmakers, actors and folks behind the scenes in the U.S. Drama/Doc Comps, Premiere categories and Next section. Click on the twitter accounts (below) to follow folks such as Christine Vachon, Mike Birbiglia, the Tim and Eric guys for some lively feeds where the secrets of Park City will be revealed. And don't forget to follow the Ioncinema.com team @ioncinema -- Nicholas Bell (Nb), Eric Lavallee (El) and myself,...
- 1/18/2012
- IONCINEMA.com
#08. Simon Killer Director/Writer: Antonio CamposProducers: Borderline Films' Sean Durkin and Josh Mond, FilmHaven's Matt Palmieri Distributor: Rights Available (CAA & UTA) The Gist: Shot in some of the more touristy spots including the Louvre, the Musee d'Orsay, Charles de Gaulle International Airport and the Gare du Nord train station, this centers on a young New Yorker (Corbet) who seeks refuge from the pain of a difficult breakup, travels to France in search of distraction, quickly falls for an exotic woman (Diop) and finds himself drawn into the dark underbelly of Paris...(more) Cast: Brady Corbet and Mati Diop List Worthy Reasons...: Now that devoted year of Martha Marcy May Marlene is complete, 2012 will see Borderline focus on what we expect will be an equally and exquisitely jarring sophomore follow up to Campos distinguished debut, Afterschool. The versatile Brady Corbet takes on the ballsy lead part, the excellent Daniel Bensi...
- 1/10/2012
- IONCINEMA.com
#56. Simon Killer - Antonio Campos Could Afterschool filmmaker Antonio Campos decide to plant one of my most anticipated films for 2012 in the same lieu where his produced Martha Marcy May Marlene broke out? I certainly hope so especially with Brady Corbet in the driver's seat. Simon Killer would make for a rather strong bid for a U.S Dramatic Comp birth. Gist: Shot in some of the more touristy spots including the Louvre, the Musee d'Orsay, Charles de Gaulle International Airport and the Gare du Nord train station, this centers on a young New Yorker (Corbet) who seeks refuge from the pain of a difficult breakup, travels to France in search of distraction, quickly falls for an exotic woman (Diop) and finds himself drawn into the dark underbelly of Paris. Producers: Borderline Film's Sean Durkin and Josh Mond with Matt Palmieri(Ioncinema.com Preview Page // IMDb Link) ...
- 11/12/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
Park City, Ut January 24, 2011 – Fox Searchlight Pictures Presidents Nancy Utley and Stephen Gilula announced today that the company has acquired worldwide rights to the suspenseful drama Martha Marcy May Marlene. Written and directed by Sean Durkin, Martha Marcy May Marlene stars Elizabeth Olsen, Sarah Paulson, John Hawkes and Hugh Dancy. Maybach Cunningham and FilmHaven entertainment present a Borderline Films Production in association with This Is that. The film was produced by Josh Mond, Antonio Campos, Chris Maybach and Patrick Cunningham. Ted Hope, Matt Palmieri, Saerom Kim, Saemi Kim and Alexander Schepsman are executive producers with Andrew Corkin as co-producer. The film is scheduled to be released in 2011. “We were all captivated by the compelling performances and the expert craftsmanship of Sean Durkin,” said Gilula and Utley. “We are excited to bring this gripping drama to audiences everywhere.” “Sean Durkin has crafted a riveting first feature,” said Claudia Lewis, President of Production.
- 1/24/2011
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
HollywoodNews.com: Fox Searchlight Pictures Presidents Nancy Utley and Stephen Gilula announced today that the company has acquired worldwide rights to the suspenseful drama Martha Marcy May Marlene. Written and directed by Sean Durkin, Martha Marcy May Marlene stars Elizabeth Olsen, Sarah Paulson, John Hawkes and Hugh Dancy. Maybach Cunningham and FilmHaven entertainment present a Borderline Films Production in association with This Is that. The film was produced by Josh Mond, Antonio Campos, Chris Maybach and Patrick Cunningham. Ted Hope, Matt Palmieri, Saerom Kim, Saemi Kim and Alexander Schepsman are executive producers with Andrew Corkin as co-producer. The film is scheduled to be released in 2011.
?We were all captivated by the compelling performances and the expert craftsmanship of Sean Durkin,? said Gilula and Utley. ?We are excited to bring this gripping drama to audiences everywhere.?
?Sean Durkin has crafted a riveting first feature,? said Claudia Lewis, President of Production. ?We...
?We were all captivated by the compelling performances and the expert craftsmanship of Sean Durkin,? said Gilula and Utley. ?We are excited to bring this gripping drama to audiences everywhere.?
?Sean Durkin has crafted a riveting first feature,? said Claudia Lewis, President of Production. ?We...
- 1/24/2011
- by HollywoodNews.com
- Hollywoodnews.com
Fox Searchlight Pictures announced today the studio has picked up Martha Marcy May Marlene . Here is the press release: Fox Searchlight Pictures Presidents Nancy Utley and Stephen Gilula announced today that the company has acquired worldwide rights to the suspenseful drama Martha Marcy May Marlene. Written and directed by Sean Durkin, Martha Marcy May Marlene stars Elizabeth Olsen, Sarah Paulson, John Hawkes and Hugh Dancy. Maybach Cunningham and FilmHaven entertainment present a Borderline Films Production in association with This Is that. The film was produced by Josh Mond, Antonio Campos, Chris Maybach and Patrick Cunningham. Ted Hope, Matt Palmieri, Saerom Kim, Saemi Kim and Alexander Schepsman are executive producers with Andrew Corkin as co-producer. The film is...
- 1/24/2011
- Comingsoon.net
#15. Simon Killer Director/Writer: Antonio CamposProducers: FilmHaven's Matt Palmieri and Borderline Films' Josh Mond and Sean DurkinDistributor: Rights Available. The Gist: Shot in some of the more touristy spots including the Louvre, the Musee d'Orsay, Charles de Gaulle International Airport and the Gare du Nord train station, this centers on a young New Yorker (Corbet) who seeks refuge from the pain of a difficult breakup, travels to France in search of distraction, quickly falls for an exotic woman (Diop) and finds himself drawn into the dark underbelly of Paris.....(more) Cast: Brady Corbet and Mati Diop List Worthy Reasons...: Campos' debut film left us shellshocked, disarmed and craving for more. With the synopsis below we imagine this to be a trippy, nightmare version of Before Sunrise and I'm guessing that'll have the same gravitational pull as Afterschool which propelled Ezra Miller's career. This Paris-based project comes equipped...
- 1/17/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
One of the best discoveries of 2008/09, Afterschool helmer Antonio Campos has been busy at work this past fall filming his sophomore film and will be just as busy same time next year on his third pic. Campos took five weeks to shoot his second film Simon Killer in Paris with prod co. Borderline Films' fetish actor Brady Corbet and the strikingly exotic looking Mati Diop, who recently made her debut in Claire Denis' 35 Shots of Rum. Shot in some of the more touristy spots including the Louvre, the Musee d'Orsay, Charles de Gaulle International Airport and the Gare du Nord train station, this centers on a young New Yorker who seeks refuge from the pain of a difficult breakup, travels to France in search of distraction, quickly falls for an exotic woman and finds himself drawn into the dark underbelly of Paris. That project was fully financed by...
- 12/20/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
Tough guy Jason Statham has moved to the beach after buying up beloved U.S. TV host Johnny Carson's former retreat at the exclusive Malibu Colony in California.
The Brit snatched up the five-bedroom spread from film producer Matt Palmieri for an estimated $11 million (£7.3 million).
The Colony has become one of the Los Angeles area's most exclusive addresses in recent years - thanks mainly to the security the
neighbourhood offers stars like Tom Hanks, Jim Carey, Sting and Pamela Anderson, who all own retreats there.
Statham's new place is an architectural wonder with impressive views and a large garage to house his car collection.
According to the listing, the main house features three bedrooms, an ocean-front sitting area, and a gourmet kitchen, and a guest apartment on the grounds offers another two bedrooms.
Reports suggest Statham, who shot to fame in Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, is still trying to sell a two-bedroom
apartment at the Broadway Hollywood building in the heart of Hollywood.
The actor has put that on the market at a loss - $150,000 (£100,000) below what he paid for it last summer, according to
RealEstalker.com.
Statham also owns a three bedroom pad in Beverly Hills, which he bought for a reported $2.4 million (£1.6 million) in 2005.
The Brit snatched up the five-bedroom spread from film producer Matt Palmieri for an estimated $11 million (£7.3 million).
The Colony has become one of the Los Angeles area's most exclusive addresses in recent years - thanks mainly to the security the
neighbourhood offers stars like Tom Hanks, Jim Carey, Sting and Pamela Anderson, who all own retreats there.
Statham's new place is an architectural wonder with impressive views and a large garage to house his car collection.
According to the listing, the main house features three bedrooms, an ocean-front sitting area, and a gourmet kitchen, and a guest apartment on the grounds offers another two bedrooms.
Reports suggest Statham, who shot to fame in Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, is still trying to sell a two-bedroom
apartment at the Broadway Hollywood building in the heart of Hollywood.
The actor has put that on the market at a loss - $150,000 (£100,000) below what he paid for it last summer, according to
RealEstalker.com.
Statham also owns a three bedroom pad in Beverly Hills, which he bought for a reported $2.4 million (£1.6 million) in 2005.
- 9/1/2009
- WENN
NEW YORK -- This documentary might co-star Don Cheadle and George Clooney and feature a cameo by Arnold Schwarzenegger, but it's not another installment of the popular "Ocean's" franchise. Rather, Darfur Now is a sober and passionate accounting of the efforts of six people working hard to help bring the world's attention to the ongoing tragedy in the Sudan region.
Unfortunately, for all its good intentions, Theodore Braun's docu feels at times misplaced in its emphasis and more than a little self-congratulatory in its tone. This is particularly true in the case of its profile of Cheadle (who also produced), which takes on the air of a high-minded Entertainment Tonight segment.
The people profiled in the film include the aforementioned actor, who describes his awakening to the African situation during the filming of Hotel Rwanda; Adam Sterling, a young UCLA student whose political activism helped lead to the passing of a California bill keeping state funds out of the region; Ahmed Mohammed Abakar, the leader of a massive camp inhabited by about 47,000 refugees; Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in the Hague, who sets out to pursue Darfurian war criminals; Pablo Recalde, an Ecuadorian who has led efforts to bring food to the starving people of the area; and Hejewa Adam, a young mother who became an armed rebel after her 3-month-old son was killed by government forces.
The filmmakers gained unprecedented access to the region, garnering much footage that provides a vivid picture of the ongoing horrors. But it fails to deliver much in the way of background information and context, with the result that those not already familiar with the details of the situation might find themselves a bit lost.
While its activist subjects are indeed laudable, the film squanders much of its running time on ephemera. This is somewhat true with Sterling, who we see working his day job waiting tables in a Santa Monica restaurant, and very true of Cheadle, who admittedly gave needed star power to the project.
Interviewed at length to mournful piano under-scoring, the actor is seen hanging out with his kids, driving in his car, autographing his book and traveling across the world with his friend Clooney attempting to sway whatever politicians and government officials will meet them. It's a depressing reminder that in today's world, not even the effort to prevent an ongoing genocide is immune from the need for celebrity endorsement.
DARFUR NOW
Warner Independent Pictures
A Participant Prods. presentation of a
Crescendo/Mandalay Independent Pictures production
Credits:
Director-writer: Theodore Braun
Producers: Cathy Schulman, Don Cheadle, Mark Jonathan Harris
Executive producers: Jeff Skoll, Diane Weyermann, Omar Amanat, Matt Palmieri, Gary Greenebaum, Dean Schramm
Director of photography: Kirsten Johnson
Music: Graeme Revell
Co-producer: Lenore Zerman
Editor: Leonard Feinstein
Running time -- 99 minutes...
Unfortunately, for all its good intentions, Theodore Braun's docu feels at times misplaced in its emphasis and more than a little self-congratulatory in its tone. This is particularly true in the case of its profile of Cheadle (who also produced), which takes on the air of a high-minded Entertainment Tonight segment.
The people profiled in the film include the aforementioned actor, who describes his awakening to the African situation during the filming of Hotel Rwanda; Adam Sterling, a young UCLA student whose political activism helped lead to the passing of a California bill keeping state funds out of the region; Ahmed Mohammed Abakar, the leader of a massive camp inhabited by about 47,000 refugees; Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in the Hague, who sets out to pursue Darfurian war criminals; Pablo Recalde, an Ecuadorian who has led efforts to bring food to the starving people of the area; and Hejewa Adam, a young mother who became an armed rebel after her 3-month-old son was killed by government forces.
The filmmakers gained unprecedented access to the region, garnering much footage that provides a vivid picture of the ongoing horrors. But it fails to deliver much in the way of background information and context, with the result that those not already familiar with the details of the situation might find themselves a bit lost.
While its activist subjects are indeed laudable, the film squanders much of its running time on ephemera. This is somewhat true with Sterling, who we see working his day job waiting tables in a Santa Monica restaurant, and very true of Cheadle, who admittedly gave needed star power to the project.
Interviewed at length to mournful piano under-scoring, the actor is seen hanging out with his kids, driving in his car, autographing his book and traveling across the world with his friend Clooney attempting to sway whatever politicians and government officials will meet them. It's a depressing reminder that in today's world, not even the effort to prevent an ongoing genocide is immune from the need for celebrity endorsement.
DARFUR NOW
Warner Independent Pictures
A Participant Prods. presentation of a
Crescendo/Mandalay Independent Pictures production
Credits:
Director-writer: Theodore Braun
Producers: Cathy Schulman, Don Cheadle, Mark Jonathan Harris
Executive producers: Jeff Skoll, Diane Weyermann, Omar Amanat, Matt Palmieri, Gary Greenebaum, Dean Schramm
Director of photography: Kirsten Johnson
Music: Graeme Revell
Co-producer: Lenore Zerman
Editor: Leonard Feinstein
Running time -- 99 minutes...
- 10/5/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Chase Palmer will write and is attached to direct Evolution's Captain, an adaptation of a historical biography being produced by Cathy Schulman for Focus Features. Matt Palmieri and Meredith Bagby are also producing.
The film is based on the book "Evolution's Captain: The Dark Fate of the Man Who Sailed Charles Darwin Around the World," written by Peter Nichols. The novel revolves around Robert FitzRoy, the captain of the HMS Beagle, and the relationship the two developed. The book was published in 2003 by HarperCollins.
The movie will trace the two men's 30-year relationship and their debate over the theory of evolution.
Schulman was a producer on the Oscar-winning Crash as well as on The Illusionist.
Palmer is generating considerable heat these days for his Number 13, a fictional mystery thriller about Alfred Hitchcock. The movie is scheduled to begin shooting this winter with Dan Fogler as Hitchcock, along with Ben Kingsley and Ewan McGregor.
Palmer is repped by WMA, the Gotham Group and attorney Alan Grodin.
The film is based on the book "Evolution's Captain: The Dark Fate of the Man Who Sailed Charles Darwin Around the World," written by Peter Nichols. The novel revolves around Robert FitzRoy, the captain of the HMS Beagle, and the relationship the two developed. The book was published in 2003 by HarperCollins.
The movie will trace the two men's 30-year relationship and their debate over the theory of evolution.
Schulman was a producer on the Oscar-winning Crash as well as on The Illusionist.
Palmer is generating considerable heat these days for his Number 13, a fictional mystery thriller about Alfred Hitchcock. The movie is scheduled to begin shooting this winter with Dan Fogler as Hitchcock, along with Ben Kingsley and Ewan McGregor.
Palmer is repped by WMA, the Gotham Group and attorney Alan Grodin.
- 11/28/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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.