The biggest deal that occurred during the Sundance Film Festival wasn’t one that went down at the event itself. New Line Cinema emerged triumphant amid an intense bidding war to grab “Weapons” which will be the next film from “Barbarian” director Zach Cregger. Days later, New Line signed a first-look deal with the whole BoulderLight studio itself.
It was a strong statement, following some high-profile departures, that Warner Bros. Discovery is still in the scary movie business and that New Line remains “the house that Freddy built.”
Whether or not BoulderLight Pictures, run by J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules, becomes the next Blumhouse or Atomic Monster, two entities that may just merge into a single 1600-lb gorilla of horror movie might, the deal is a sign that losing Walter Hamada – who, to be fair, had been running DC Films since 2018 – to Paramount and watching James Wan potentially make his...
It was a strong statement, following some high-profile departures, that Warner Bros. Discovery is still in the scary movie business and that New Line remains “the house that Freddy built.”
Whether or not BoulderLight Pictures, run by J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules, becomes the next Blumhouse or Atomic Monster, two entities that may just merge into a single 1600-lb gorilla of horror movie might, the deal is a sign that losing Walter Hamada – who, to be fair, had been running DC Films since 2018 – to Paramount and watching James Wan potentially make his...
- 2/4/2023
- by Scott Mendelson
- The Wrap
Over the last week, New Line Cinema has been making headlines for going all-in on a partnership with Barbarian (watch it Here) writer/director Zach Cregger and the film’s producers at BoulderLight Pictures. New Line came out the winner in a bidding war over Cregger’s next film, a mysterious horror project called Weapons. They signed a first look deal with BoulderLight Pictures, tasking the company with developing high concept genre projects for them. And they gave a greenlight to the thriller Companion, produced by BoulderLight and Cregger. Now Deadline has revealed who the runner-up was in the Weapons bidding war: Get Out, Us, and Nope filmmaker Jordan Peele, who wanted to produce the film through his company Monkeypaw, for release through Universal Pictures.
According to Deadline, New Line Cinema spent 38 million to secure Weapons as their own. That includes the film’s budget, as well as the 5 million...
According to Deadline, New Line Cinema spent 38 million to secure Weapons as their own. That includes the film’s budget, as well as the 5 million...
- 2/3/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
The executives at New Line Cinema were clearly blown away by last year’s horror release Barbarian (watch it Here) – which was distributed by 20th Century Studios – as they have made it very clear over the last week that they are eager to be in business with the creative team behind that film. They made an eight figure deal with writer/director Zach Cregger to ensure that his next movie – something called Weapons – will be a New Line Cinema project. They signed a first look deal with Barbarian producers BoulderLight Pictures so they will develop high concept genre properties for the company. And now The Hollywood Reporter has broken the news that New Line Cinema has put a thriller called Companion on the fast track to production, with Cregger producing alongside BoulderLight and Vertigo’s Roy Lee.
Drew Hancock wrote the screenplay for Companion, and Cregger was so impressed by...
Drew Hancock wrote the screenplay for Companion, and Cregger was so impressed by...
- 2/1/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
New Line Cinema is in the Zach Cregger Business in the wake of last year’s box office hit Barbarian, recently acquiring his next movie titled Weapons. Additionally, Deadline reports today that Cregger will be producing a horror movie titled Companion for New Line.
Deadline details, “Cregger’s latest project is Companion, a horror-thriller marking the directorial debut of Drew Hancock, who also penned the script. Plot details are under wraps. But like Weapons, Companion is being fast-tracked for production this year.”
BoulderLight’s Raphael Margules and J.D. Lifshitz will also produce along with Vertigo’s Roy Lee. BoulderLight’s Tracy Rosenblum and Vertigo’s Andrew Childs will exec produce.
On a related note, New Line just linked up with BoulderLight Pictures to have the Barbarian producers develop “high concept” genre movies for the studio, signing a first-look deal with the company. Their hope is that the Barbarian team will...
Deadline details, “Cregger’s latest project is Companion, a horror-thriller marking the directorial debut of Drew Hancock, who also penned the script. Plot details are under wraps. But like Weapons, Companion is being fast-tracked for production this year.”
BoulderLight’s Raphael Margules and J.D. Lifshitz will also produce along with Vertigo’s Roy Lee. BoulderLight’s Tracy Rosenblum and Vertigo’s Andrew Childs will exec produce.
On a related note, New Line just linked up with BoulderLight Pictures to have the Barbarian producers develop “high concept” genre movies for the studio, signing a first-look deal with the company. Their hope is that the Barbarian team will...
- 2/1/2023
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
New Line has acquired “Companion” from writer and director Drew Hancock and the filmmaking team behind the breakout horror hit “Barbarian” in a competitive situation.
“Companion” will be Hancock’s directorial debut from his original screenplay. Plot details are being kept under wraps.
The film being is fast tracked for a 2023 production start.
Also Read:
New Line Nabs ‘Barbarian’ Filmmaker Zach Cregger’s ‘Weapons’ After Intense Multi-Studio Bidding War
Fresh on the heels of winning a multi-studio bidding war for Zach Cregger’s next film “Weapons,” New Line is joining forces again with the filmmaking team behind the critically acclaimed hit horror film “Barbarian.”
Producers on “Companion” are BoulderLight’s Raphael Margules and J.D. Lifshitz and Vertigo’s Roy Lee. Zach Cregger is also producing.
BoulderLight’s Tracy Rosenblum and Vertigo’s Andrew Childs will executive produce.
Also Read:
‘Barbarian’ Producer Boulderlight Signs First-Look Deal With New Line
Earlier this week,...
“Companion” will be Hancock’s directorial debut from his original screenplay. Plot details are being kept under wraps.
The film being is fast tracked for a 2023 production start.
Also Read:
New Line Nabs ‘Barbarian’ Filmmaker Zach Cregger’s ‘Weapons’ After Intense Multi-Studio Bidding War
Fresh on the heels of winning a multi-studio bidding war for Zach Cregger’s next film “Weapons,” New Line is joining forces again with the filmmaking team behind the critically acclaimed hit horror film “Barbarian.”
Producers on “Companion” are BoulderLight’s Raphael Margules and J.D. Lifshitz and Vertigo’s Roy Lee. Zach Cregger is also producing.
BoulderLight’s Tracy Rosenblum and Vertigo’s Andrew Childs will executive produce.
Also Read:
‘Barbarian’ Producer Boulderlight Signs First-Look Deal With New Line
Earlier this week,...
- 2/1/2023
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
In the wake of last week’s news that New Line Cinema has picked up Barbarian director Zach Cregger’s next movie Weapons, THR reports today that New Line is also getting cozy with BoulderLight Pictures, the production company behind horror hit Barbarian.
BoulderLight Pictures has signed a first-look deal with New Line Cinema, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. The site’s report continues, “Under the first-look, the plan is for BoulderLight to work on high-concept, filmmaker-driven genre stories for New Line.”
J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules are behind BoulderLight Pictures, the company responsible for genre films including Contracted, Dementia, Rent-a-Pal, and last year’s Barbarian.
“J.D. and Rafi share a passion for cinema that puts the audience first,” New Line president and chief creative officer Richard Brener said in a statement this week. “They have a proven ability to identify and champion stories and filmmakers that transcend genre,...
BoulderLight Pictures has signed a first-look deal with New Line Cinema, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. The site’s report continues, “Under the first-look, the plan is for BoulderLight to work on high-concept, filmmaker-driven genre stories for New Line.”
J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules are behind BoulderLight Pictures, the company responsible for genre films including Contracted, Dementia, Rent-a-Pal, and last year’s Barbarian.
“J.D. and Rafi share a passion for cinema that puts the audience first,” New Line president and chief creative officer Richard Brener said in a statement this week. “They have a proven ability to identify and champion stories and filmmakers that transcend genre,...
- 1/30/2023
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
BoulderLight Pictures, the prolific but under-the-radar genre production banner behind last year’s surprise hit Barbarian, has signed a first-look deal with New Line Cinema.
The pact occurs on the heels of a milestone deal with New Line and Barbarian filmmaker Zach Cregger for a new feature project — titled Weapons, and fast-tracked to begin shooting in July — that reunites that movie’s team, including BoulderLight.
The first-look deal is part of the Cinderella story involving BoulderLight’s two founders, J.D. Lifshitz, 30, and Raphael Margules, 31. The two men, who are observant Orthodox Jews who met at Hebrew school (they don’t work on The Sabbath), bonded over their love of horror (Lifshitz was an avid reader of Fangoria and saw Scream 3 in theaters at the age of 7). After taking a year to study in Israel, the pair hit the road for Hollywood. Founding BoulderLight in 2012, their first project was 2013 horror movie Contracted,...
The pact occurs on the heels of a milestone deal with New Line and Barbarian filmmaker Zach Cregger for a new feature project — titled Weapons, and fast-tracked to begin shooting in July — that reunites that movie’s team, including BoulderLight.
The first-look deal is part of the Cinderella story involving BoulderLight’s two founders, J.D. Lifshitz, 30, and Raphael Margules, 31. The two men, who are observant Orthodox Jews who met at Hebrew school (they don’t work on The Sabbath), bonded over their love of horror (Lifshitz was an avid reader of Fangoria and saw Scream 3 in theaters at the age of 7). After taking a year to study in Israel, the pair hit the road for Hollywood. Founding BoulderLight in 2012, their first project was 2013 horror movie Contracted,...
- 1/30/2023
- by Borys Kit
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
WWE Studios announced today the development of Cruisin' for a Bruisin' , an action-filled comedy from writer/director Adam Bhala Lough ( Weapons , Bomb The System , The Carter ). The film follows two reckless ex-cops who team up one last time and go undercover to take down a corrupt senator's criminal organization responsible for the murder of their former captain. Cruisin' for a Bruisin' will be produced by WWE Studios, Edward R. Pressman Film Corporation and Blum-Hanson-Allen Films. "As we continue to seek out key creative and strategic partnerships to broaden our release slate, the opportunity for WWE Studios to work with producers like Ed Pressman and Jason Blum, and their talented executive teams, was a natural fit for us," said Michael Luisi, WWE Studios...
- 2/14/2013
- Comingsoon.net
Indefatigable in their desire to find larger and larger audiences for their film, Adam Bhala Lough (Bomb the System, Weapons) and and his co-director Ethan Higbee have been self-distributing The Upsetter: The Life & Music of Lee “Scratch” Perry for what feels like an eternity. The film had its world premiere at SXSW in 2008 and bounced around the festival circuit for the next year and a half, picking up Benicio Del Toro as an executive producer and narrator along the way, while winning generally positive notices in most of its stops. When Lough (one of 2003′s “25 New Faces of Independent …...
- 12/7/2012
- by Brandon Harris
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
First I would like to begin with a brief review of Warhawk. Warhawk is one of my favourite games of this generation, Why? because it was pure and it was simple. From the characature-esqu style of the game to the variety of maps. No where else could you fly over a destroyed capital city, or jump your way around a paradise archipelego. Weapons were tactically placed as were the vehicles. Defending the flag was as much of a joy a was capturing the opposing teams. It had charm and was simple. You could pick up, play, and put down again, having had a laugh with your pals all the way through. It didn’t take itself seriously and kamikaze runs to the enemies base was a normal tactic of mine. It was almost like playing army in the playground when you were a child.
And so, when news hit me of a sequel,...
And so, when news hit me of a sequel,...
- 5/15/2012
- by Paul Collett
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
One of my favorite late-fest discoveries at Sundance 2012 was The End of Love, a film directed/written by, and starring, Mark Webber and his 2-year-old son. It's a beautiful film about a single father trying to raise a son, and the way Webber captures the connection and dialogue he has with his real boy is incredible. You may recognize Webber from any number of acting roles, as the "Talent" in Scott Pilgrim, or indies ranging from Explicit Ills to Shrink to Weapons, but he's as talented behind the screen as he is on it. Luckily, Ethan and I were able to meet up with Mark at Sundance for a fantastic interview about making The End of Love. Here's our interview with Mark Webber talking about his excellent Sundance 2012 film The End of Love: (We shot at a cafe at Sundance, our apologies for the background noise and framing -...
- 2/1/2012
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Here are a few interesting and/or noteworthy projects that were recently added to IMDbPro's database of development titles:
Writers – Jennifer Connelly and Greg Kinnear are thisclose to toplining Informant Media's upcoming dramedy portraying a divorced couple with two older kids. Joshua Boone writes and directs the project, which begins filming this spring.
Panarea – Chloë Sevigny and Mark Webber star in this indie drama from Adam Bhala Lough (Weapons, Bomb the System) about a young married couple vacationing in Italy. Jim Jarmusch is on board as the film's executive producer.
The Counselor – Pulitzer Prize winning writer and author of No Country for Old Men, Cormac McCarthy, has completed his first spec script ever, which was quickly picked up by Nick Wechsler and Chockstone Pictures. The film centers on a lawyer who gets caught up in drug trafficking.
Stay Close – Lawrence Kasden teams up with Tell No One scribe Harlen Coben to adapt this thriller about three people's lives who are disturbed by a terrible event from the past.
Nerds – As if bringing his life story to the big screen wasn't enough to keep Elton John busy, the rocket man has optioned Michael Buckley's children's book series N.E.R.D.S., which follows a group of young outcasts form a spy network at their elementary school.
If you know of something in the works, you can submit it via our online submission form.
Writers – Jennifer Connelly and Greg Kinnear are thisclose to toplining Informant Media's upcoming dramedy portraying a divorced couple with two older kids. Joshua Boone writes and directs the project, which begins filming this spring.
Panarea – Chloë Sevigny and Mark Webber star in this indie drama from Adam Bhala Lough (Weapons, Bomb the System) about a young married couple vacationing in Italy. Jim Jarmusch is on board as the film's executive producer.
The Counselor – Pulitzer Prize winning writer and author of No Country for Old Men, Cormac McCarthy, has completed his first spec script ever, which was quickly picked up by Nick Wechsler and Chockstone Pictures. The film centers on a lawyer who gets caught up in drug trafficking.
Stay Close – Lawrence Kasden teams up with Tell No One scribe Harlen Coben to adapt this thriller about three people's lives who are disturbed by a terrible event from the past.
Nerds – As if bringing his life story to the big screen wasn't enough to keep Elton John busy, the rocket man has optioned Michael Buckley's children's book series N.E.R.D.S., which follows a group of young outcasts form a spy network at their elementary school.
If you know of something in the works, you can submit it via our online submission form.
- 1/28/2012
- by Eric Greene
- IMDbPro News
Mark Webber‘s been at Sundance this week in promotion of two films — one of which, The End of Love, he directed — and, while there, he told ThePlaylist about project that will see him reuniting with an American original. As he told them, “[M]y next project I’m doing is this film called ‘Panarea‘ that Jim Jarmusch is producing, that my friend Adam Mansbach wrote…and then my friend Adam Lough is directing.” As you may or may not remember, Webber and Jarmusch worked together on the latter’s 2005 film, Broken Flowers; the actor also starred for Lough in Bomb the System and Weapons.
The project, which co-stars Chloe Sevigny — who, curiously enough, was also in Broken Flowers — sounds like something that fits into the wheelhouse of everyone involved. In a director’s statement, Lough called Panarea “an opportunity to make a movie in the style of an old fashioned...
The project, which co-stars Chloe Sevigny — who, curiously enough, was also in Broken Flowers — sounds like something that fits into the wheelhouse of everyone involved. In a director’s statement, Lough called Panarea “an opportunity to make a movie in the style of an old fashioned...
- 1/24/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
#15. Cherry - Stephen Elliott After James Franco picked up Stephen Elliott's memoir The Adderall Diaries for a screen adaptation, somewhere along the way the author got to go behind the camera and cast Franco along with Heather Graham, Lili Taylor and Dev Patel in Cherry, an indie pic about the porn biz that was shot last May. Fest programmers are already warm to Franco's work, and if they take kindly to the film then a little sizzle might go a long way in the crisp month of January. A Premieres showing seems likely. Gist: Scripted by Elliott and adult film star Lorelei Lee, the story centers on a troubled 18-year-old who moves to San Francisco, where she enters the porn industry and becomes involved with a cocaine-addicted lawyer, to be played by Franco. Graham will play a former porn star-turned-director who becomes mildly obsessed with the young starlet, who has yet to be cast.
- 11/8/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
Widely revered in reggae and hip-hop circles, Lee “Scratch” Perry is one of 20th century music’s most influential and mysterious artists, a tried-and-true rasta man whose lasting contribution goes beyond spawning some of reggae’s most seminal acts. He was, in fact, the driver for the aesthetic innovations that germinated into the two genres mentioned above, and he reinvented the image of the studio engineer from mere technician to artistic focal point. Now in his mid seventies and expatriated to Switzerland, he’s the subject of the feature-length doc The Upsetter, from the directors Adam Bhala Lough (The Carter, Weapons) and Ethan Higbee (Red Apples Falling). Nyu classmates, frequent collaborators (Higbee has scored several of Lough’s previous features) and nearly lifelong reggae fans, Lough and Higbee received unprecedented access to the beguiling Perry, who speaks in gorgeous, puzzle-like sentences that require significant scrutiny to unpack.
The Upsetter screened...
The Upsetter screened...
- 3/23/2011
- by Brandon Harris
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
An amazing cast of stars -- including a Grammy®-nominated rock star, a bona fide “Housewife,” a daytime diva, an Olympic champion skier, a super-suave actor and an actress who has graced some of the most unforgettable films – will compete each week on a spectacular ice rink in the sensational two-hour series premiere of Skating With The Stars, Monday, November 22 (9:00-11:00 p.m., Et) on the ABC Television Network.
All six couples will take to the ice with their professional partners for the first time in front of a live audience on Monday, November 22, with couples performing high-paced ice dancing moves and dazzling figure skating routines. Couples will need to be perfectly in sync, since the ice is unforgiving of even the smallest mistake. The couple with the lowest ranking following the judges’ scores and the public’s votes will be sent home the following week.
The six...
All six couples will take to the ice with their professional partners for the first time in front of a live audience on Monday, November 22, with couples performing high-paced ice dancing moves and dazzling figure skating routines. Couples will need to be perfectly in sync, since the ice is unforgiving of even the smallest mistake. The couple with the lowest ranking following the judges’ scores and the public’s votes will be sent home the following week.
The six...
- 11/3/2010
- by We Love Soaps TV
- We Love Soaps
By Jeff Sneider
"Pineapple Express" director David Gordon Green and veteran producer Edward R. Pressman ("The Crow") are teaming to produce Adam Bhala Lough's retro slasher film "Splatter Sisters," which has Marilyn Manson and girlfriend Evan Rachel Wood attached to star, according to Variety.
Lough ("Weapons") is aiming to put a fresh spin on the horror classics of the '80s that initially inspired him, and if all goes acc...
"Pineapple Express" director David Gordon Green and veteran producer Edward R. Pressman ("The Crow") are teaming to produce Adam Bhala Lough's retro slasher film "Splatter Sisters," which has Marilyn Manson and girlfriend Evan Rachel Wood attached to star, according to Variety.
Lough ("Weapons") is aiming to put a fresh spin on the horror classics of the '80s that initially inspired him, and if all goes acc...
- 5/19/2010
- by Jeff Sneider
- The Wrap
We've been hearing for years now that Marilyn Manson has plans to transition from a rock star to a movie star, but up until now those plans have not yet fully materialized. He has landed bit parts in movies like Lost Highway and Rise: Blood Hunter, but his long-rumoured directorial debut Phantasmagoria: The Visions of Lewis Carroll and starring role in a Rocky Horror Picture Show remake [1] are still little more than hearsay. This week, however, his first major role has finally been announced: he will star in a movie called Splatter Sisters for none other than director David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express, George Washington). According to Variety [2], the movie is written by Adam Bhala Lough (Weapons) and is described as a "sexploitation-serial-killer-slasher-road-movie circa 1989." Sounds like a good match for Manson. The even more interesting thing is that Manson will be starring alongside his current girlfriend Evan Rachel Wood. The...
- 5/17/2010
- by Sean
- FilmJunk
Fans of old school “sexploitation-serial-killer-slasher-road-[movies]” should be pleased to find out that there’s a new guy in town, and he’s got some pretty solid friends to help him put his project together. His name is Adam Bhala Lough, a relatively green writer/director who seems to have mainly worked in graffiti and music based films, with the exception of the Nick Cannon and Paul Dano led Weapons, which, as Lough’s only movie with any recognizable stars in it, currently sits at a 3.8 on IMDb.
Read more on Marilyn Manson and Evan Rachel Wood sign on for Splatter Sisters…...
Read more on Marilyn Manson and Evan Rachel Wood sign on for Splatter Sisters…...
- 5/17/2010
- by Jon Davis
- GordonandtheWhale
I was disheartened by Paramount.s decision not to show .G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. to critics. The studio chose to screen the Hasbro-based film to fans. Upon seeing the movie, I realized why Paramount kept the film from the prying eyes of critics. .G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. is the campiest movie I.ve seen this year since the Beyonce Knowles and Ali Larter starrer .Obsessed..
See the good, the bad, the ugly, and the bottom line of "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" by clicking
The Plot
Weapons expert James McCullen (Christopher Eccleston) has created a nanotechnology-based weapon capable of destroying an entire city. His company, Mars, sells warheads to Nato, with the U.S. Army in charge of delivering them.
Duke (Channing Tatum) and Ripcord (Marlon Wayans) are en route to deliver the warheads when the Baroness (Sienna Miller) ambushed the team.
See the good, the bad, the ugly, and the bottom line of "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" by clicking
The Plot
Weapons expert James McCullen (Christopher Eccleston) has created a nanotechnology-based weapon capable of destroying an entire city. His company, Mars, sells warheads to Nato, with the U.S. Army in charge of delivering them.
Duke (Channing Tatum) and Ripcord (Marlon Wayans) are en route to deliver the warheads when the Baroness (Sienna Miller) ambushed the team.
- 8/25/2009
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
As part of a new effort to bring attention to under seen independent films and to support one of New York City's last independent video stores for specialty films, Hammer to Nail and Cinema Nolita have teamed up to host a series of weekly late night screenings in Nolita's space on Mulberry Street. Tonight at 11pm, Adam Bhala Lough, who Filmmaker selected as one of its 25 New Faces in Independent Film in 2003, will be on hand to screen his log shelved Sundance 07' favorite Weapons. Mary Glucksman profiled the production for our Spring 06' issue which, after its Sundance bow, passed through the hands of several reticent (and meddlesome) distributors before being released on DVD, in a slightly amended form, by Lionsgate last week. At least...
- 4/12/2009
- by Brandon Harris
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Film releases certainly aren't limited to theaters these days -- here's a rundown of titles making their way to you via alternative pathways.
On Demand
Our sister company IFC Films made a splash at this year's Sundance with the announcement of a partnership with the SXSW Film Festival to premiere four of the festival's picks concurrent with their debut in Austin. Joe Swanberg's latest, "Alexander the Last," headlines the group making their on demand debut on March 14, along with Australian comedy "Three Blind Mice," Bulgarian noir "Zift" and SXSW '08 alums "Medicine for Melancholy" and "Paper Covers Rock."
On DVD
It's a sign of the times that a serviceable Tommy Lee Jones thriller can sit alongside the latest from Steven Seagal at your local Blockbuster, but "In the Electric Mist" is far more interesting than the actor's paycheck output of the late '90s, even if it is missing...
On Demand
Our sister company IFC Films made a splash at this year's Sundance with the announcement of a partnership with the SXSW Film Festival to premiere four of the festival's picks concurrent with their debut in Austin. Joe Swanberg's latest, "Alexander the Last," headlines the group making their on demand debut on March 14, along with Australian comedy "Three Blind Mice," Bulgarian noir "Zift" and SXSW '08 alums "Medicine for Melancholy" and "Paper Covers Rock."
On DVD
It's a sign of the times that a serviceable Tommy Lee Jones thriller can sit alongside the latest from Steven Seagal at your local Blockbuster, but "In the Electric Mist" is far more interesting than the actor's paycheck output of the late '90s, even if it is missing...
- 2/19/2009
- by Stephen Saito
- ifc.com
PARK CITY -- Weapons brings the perennial problems of teenagers into the twenty-first century with a decidedly downbeat treatment. The film's stylish and innovative look, influenced by the slowed-down rhythms of Southern hip-hop, doesn't quite carry the elemental story of love and revenge. Its heart and soul may appeal to the new lost generation, but not the standard indie crowd.
Shot in the suburban nowhere of Southern California, the film could really take place wherever kids are restless, bored and disaffected. That's always been a recipe for violence, and director Adam Bhala Lough does not disappoint on that count. Film opens with a particularly gruesome shooting in which a kid's head is blown off in a hamburger joint. The story bobs and weaves backwards in time to eventually reveal how this came about.
Weapons centers on two groups of friends, one white and one black, who, in a nice touch, seem to more or less peacefully coexist until the explosion. On the white side is Jason (Riley Smith), a one-time high school basketball star who has fallen into a life of drugs and easy sex. His best buddy Sean Mark Webber) has, somewhat unbelievably, just returned to the neighborhood from his first year in college. Rounding out the trio is the Loose Cannon Chris (Paul Dano), a classic misfit who goes around sticking a video camera in everyone's face.
The story ignites when Reggie (Nick Cannon) discovers his kid sister Sabrina (Regine Nehy) with a black eye. She says Jason did it and in a rage Reggie sets out for revenge accompanied by his best friend Mikey (Jade Yorker) and Mikey's younger brother James (Brandon Mychal Smith). Although he's probably no more than sixteen Reggie is intent on getting a gun from Mikey's crazy uncle (Arliss Howard), who seems to be channeling the stoned-out Dennis Hooper from Apocalypse Now. After Reggie bludgeons him with a fire extinguisher all bets are off.
In between constantly getting high and stumbling around in a daze, the aggrieved parties are gradually drawn together with tragic results. But despite the buildup, the killings don't carry much weight when they finally happen. These are not characters most people can sympathy with. One tends to watch dispassionately as the inevitable plays out.
Constructed around the music of the southern hip hopper DJ Screw, which aims to simulate the laconic sound of a codeine high, the film relies on endless handheld shots and slow motion sequence in cars and at parties. There is a lot of super-saturated color meant to suggest the drug-induced state.
For their part, the kids are so high most of the time they have become matter-of-fact about the violence around them. Performances by the ensemble cast feel authentic, especially Dano as the loser Chris and Smith as the burnt out Jason. Amy Ferguson, as one of the neighborhood girls who has been around the block at sixteen, captures the dead-end feeling of a life evaporating before it starts.
With a keener eye for detail than story, Lough has definitely tapped a vein in the underbelly of America's youth. But for all its snappy editing (by Jay Rabinowitz) and visual bravado (by cinematographer Manuel Albert Claro), Weapons is not a pretty picture.
Weapons
Fried Films/Pantry Films
Credits: Director: Adam Bhala Lough; Writer: Lough; Producers: Rob Fried, Dan Keston, Bill Straus; Executive Producers: Jason Lust, Sol Tryon; Director of Photography: Manual Albert Claro; Production Designer: Alan E. Muraoka; Music: DJ Screw; Costume Designer: Tere Duncan; Editor: Jay Rabinowitz.
Cast:
Reggie: Nick Cannon; Chris: Paul Dano; Sean: Mark Webber; Jason: Riley Smith; Sabrina: Regine Nehy; Nikki: Amy Ferguson; Mikey: Jade Yorker; Mikeyis uncle: Arliss Howard; James: Brandon Mychal Smith
No MPAA rating, running time: 85 minutes...
Shot in the suburban nowhere of Southern California, the film could really take place wherever kids are restless, bored and disaffected. That's always been a recipe for violence, and director Adam Bhala Lough does not disappoint on that count. Film opens with a particularly gruesome shooting in which a kid's head is blown off in a hamburger joint. The story bobs and weaves backwards in time to eventually reveal how this came about.
Weapons centers on two groups of friends, one white and one black, who, in a nice touch, seem to more or less peacefully coexist until the explosion. On the white side is Jason (Riley Smith), a one-time high school basketball star who has fallen into a life of drugs and easy sex. His best buddy Sean Mark Webber) has, somewhat unbelievably, just returned to the neighborhood from his first year in college. Rounding out the trio is the Loose Cannon Chris (Paul Dano), a classic misfit who goes around sticking a video camera in everyone's face.
The story ignites when Reggie (Nick Cannon) discovers his kid sister Sabrina (Regine Nehy) with a black eye. She says Jason did it and in a rage Reggie sets out for revenge accompanied by his best friend Mikey (Jade Yorker) and Mikey's younger brother James (Brandon Mychal Smith). Although he's probably no more than sixteen Reggie is intent on getting a gun from Mikey's crazy uncle (Arliss Howard), who seems to be channeling the stoned-out Dennis Hooper from Apocalypse Now. After Reggie bludgeons him with a fire extinguisher all bets are off.
In between constantly getting high and stumbling around in a daze, the aggrieved parties are gradually drawn together with tragic results. But despite the buildup, the killings don't carry much weight when they finally happen. These are not characters most people can sympathy with. One tends to watch dispassionately as the inevitable plays out.
Constructed around the music of the southern hip hopper DJ Screw, which aims to simulate the laconic sound of a codeine high, the film relies on endless handheld shots and slow motion sequence in cars and at parties. There is a lot of super-saturated color meant to suggest the drug-induced state.
For their part, the kids are so high most of the time they have become matter-of-fact about the violence around them. Performances by the ensemble cast feel authentic, especially Dano as the loser Chris and Smith as the burnt out Jason. Amy Ferguson, as one of the neighborhood girls who has been around the block at sixteen, captures the dead-end feeling of a life evaporating before it starts.
With a keener eye for detail than story, Lough has definitely tapped a vein in the underbelly of America's youth. But for all its snappy editing (by Jay Rabinowitz) and visual bravado (by cinematographer Manuel Albert Claro), Weapons is not a pretty picture.
Weapons
Fried Films/Pantry Films
Credits: Director: Adam Bhala Lough; Writer: Lough; Producers: Rob Fried, Dan Keston, Bill Straus; Executive Producers: Jason Lust, Sol Tryon; Director of Photography: Manual Albert Claro; Production Designer: Alan E. Muraoka; Music: DJ Screw; Costume Designer: Tere Duncan; Editor: Jay Rabinowitz.
Cast:
Reggie: Nick Cannon; Chris: Paul Dano; Sean: Mark Webber; Jason: Riley Smith; Sabrina: Regine Nehy; Nikki: Amy Ferguson; Mikey: Jade Yorker; Mikeyis uncle: Arliss Howard; James: Brandon Mychal Smith
No MPAA rating, running time: 85 minutes...
- 1/21/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- Quick Links Complete Film Listing: Premiere's section lineup: Dramatic Competition: Documentary Competition: World Dramatic Competition: World Documentary Competition: Spectrum: Park City at Midnight: Frontier (New Directions in Filmmaking): Short Film Programs January 18 to 28, 2007 Counting Down: updateCountdownClock('January 18, 2007'); At least a good half of the films represented in the U.S Dramatic comp this year are by first time filmmakers. Headed by veteran filmmaker (and yet relatively new) David Gordon Green and his Stewart O'Nan novel adaptation of Snow Angels but perhaps the most loudest (in term of controversy and spotlight shall go to) the rough Deborah Kampmeier portrait Hounddog - starring a Dakota Fanning in what shall become a transition role for her from Hollywood to Indie, but from child actor to adult-material. And an indie festival wouldnâ.t be a festival without the presence of the Posey name. Zoe Cassavetes will introduce our friend Parker in
- 1/18/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
First-time scribes Jim Agnew and Sean Keller have sold the horror spec Damned to Fried Films/the Pantry, the production company founded by producers Rob Fried and Dan Keston. The story revolves around an all-American family that survives a plane crash only to descend into a backwoods nightmare of demon-fearing religious zealots. Fried and Keston are in postproduction on Weapons, a film about violence and racial tension in a suburban town. The film stars Nick Cannon and Paul Dano and was written and directed by Independent Spirit Award nominee Adam Bhala Lough. Fried's producing credits include New Line Cinema's The Man and Universal Pictures' upcoming Man of the Year, directed by Barry Levinson. Agnew and Keller are repped by Danny Sherman at Principal Entertainment and attorney Mark Temple.
- 2/23/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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