Exclusive: Brooklyn-based filmmaker Ged Dickersin (Coda) is launching True Indy, a production company intent on making films that can and should be made independently, with filmmakers telling acutely relevant stories for the world market.
True Indy sees the opportunity to attract financing for films that can be made in the $1 million-$5 million range, reducing the financial risk to investors and increasing the chances for a return on the investment. The company is introducing its slate of original U.S.-born indies at the upcoming European Film Market in Berlin, as well as looking to partner with filmmakers from around the world in international co-productions.
“Independent filmmaking has developed so much, with budgets that exceed what the new world market can return, making it difficult for private equity to support the independents,” Dickersin said. “Coming out of the pandemic and the strikes, the cost of making a film has inflated drastically,...
True Indy sees the opportunity to attract financing for films that can be made in the $1 million-$5 million range, reducing the financial risk to investors and increasing the chances for a return on the investment. The company is introducing its slate of original U.S.-born indies at the upcoming European Film Market in Berlin, as well as looking to partner with filmmakers from around the world in international co-productions.
“Independent filmmaking has developed so much, with budgets that exceed what the new world market can return, making it difficult for private equity to support the independents,” Dickersin said. “Coming out of the pandemic and the strikes, the cost of making a film has inflated drastically,...
- 2/13/2024
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
In her new exclusive uInterview, Amy Redford explained her role as director in her new film What Comes Around and how she approached delicate subjects of consent and online relationships.
The movie follows the life of Anna (Grace Van Dien) starting on the night of her 17th birthday. Redford shared with uInterview founder Erik Meers how the plot is centered on how Anna “is talking to somebody online about poetry and it is pretty clear that that person is not 17. And we find her connecting with her mom, and they have a very close relationship, and yet the way that this relationship unfolds with this gentleman is more complicated than it seems.”
It focuses on lessons about the “connective issue between mother and daughter, between ourselves online, between our own behavior and the fallout from our own behavior.”
The film contains different layers but a key part of Redford’s...
The movie follows the life of Anna (Grace Van Dien) starting on the night of her 17th birthday. Redford shared with uInterview founder Erik Meers how the plot is centered on how Anna “is talking to somebody online about poetry and it is pretty clear that that person is not 17. And we find her connecting with her mom, and they have a very close relationship, and yet the way that this relationship unfolds with this gentleman is more complicated than it seems.”
It focuses on lessons about the “connective issue between mother and daughter, between ourselves online, between our own behavior and the fallout from our own behavior.”
The film contains different layers but a key part of Redford’s...
- 8/4/2023
- by Nina Hauswirth
- Uinterview
The first season of Gunsmoke brought the popular radio show to television screens across the country on CBS. It initially remained fairly close to its original iteration before it started to move in its own direction. Nevertheless, Gunsmoke became the most popular show on television, initially starting with episodes from season 1 in 1955. Here are the top 5 best-rated episodes, according to users on IMDb.
Episode 1: ‘Matt Gets It’ James Arness as Matt Dillon | CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
The first Gunsmoke episodes performed rather well with audiences who became longtime fans. “Matt Gets It” was the first to ever air on Sept. 10, 1955, earning an impressive 8.2 score.
“Matt Gets It” follows U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon (James Arness) after taking what appears to be a potentially fatal wound while attempting to arrest a talented gunfighter named Dan Grat (Paul Richards). The antagonist continues to cause havoc around Dodge City, but Doc Adams...
Episode 1: ‘Matt Gets It’ James Arness as Matt Dillon | CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
The first Gunsmoke episodes performed rather well with audiences who became longtime fans. “Matt Gets It” was the first to ever air on Sept. 10, 1955, earning an impressive 8.2 score.
“Matt Gets It” follows U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon (James Arness) after taking what appears to be a potentially fatal wound while attempting to arrest a talented gunfighter named Dan Grat (Paul Richards). The antagonist continues to cause havoc around Dodge City, but Doc Adams...
- 3/12/2023
- by Jeff Nelson
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Thriller to premiere on September 15.
Andrew Herwitz’s The Film Sales Company (Fsc) has acquired worldwide sales rights to Amy Redford TIFF thriller Roost.
The film gets its public world premiere on September 15 after press & industry screenings on September 9 and 11 and centres on a teenager who meets a man online masquerading as someone younger than his years. Scott Organ wrote the screenplay.
Grace Van Dien, who plays Chrissy in Season 4 of Stranger Things and is the great-granddaughter of Robert Mitchum, stars alongside Summer Phoenix, another actor from a distinguished cinema family.
Redford, the daughter of Robert Redford who made her...
Andrew Herwitz’s The Film Sales Company (Fsc) has acquired worldwide sales rights to Amy Redford TIFF thriller Roost.
The film gets its public world premiere on September 15 after press & industry screenings on September 9 and 11 and centres on a teenager who meets a man online masquerading as someone younger than his years. Scott Organ wrote the screenplay.
Grace Van Dien, who plays Chrissy in Season 4 of Stranger Things and is the great-granddaughter of Robert Mitchum, stars alongside Summer Phoenix, another actor from a distinguished cinema family.
Redford, the daughter of Robert Redford who made her...
- 8/31/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Creating a love letter to true Americana roots and the uplifting power of music is a powerful way to respect both patriotism and free artistic expression. That celebration is highlighted in the new documentary, ‘Fiddlin,’ which brings viewers inside the Old Fiddlers’ Convention, which is held in Galax, Virginia. In honor of the movie’s release […]
The post Witness a Talented Kid Play the Guitar in Fiddlin’ Exclusive Clip appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Witness a Talented Kid Play the Guitar in Fiddlin’ Exclusive Clip appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 11/26/2019
- by Karen Benardello
- ShockYa
Exclusive: Directed by Amy Redford [pictured], the modern romance stars Justin Bartha, Olivia Thirlby and Constance Zimmer.
Justin Bartha, Olivia Thirlby and Constance Zimmer have joined the cast of Amy Redford’s next project Phoenix, which she will begin shooting for Micro Films Group in September.
Manifest Film Sales, a division of Intandem Media Group, commences talks with buyers this week on the Croisette.
Playwright Scott Organ wrote the screenplay about a one-night stand between love-averse strangers that sends them on a 4,000-mile trip from Brooklyn to the Grand Canyon and back.
Producers are Buzz Koenig and Paul Urcioli, while Micro Films Group CEO Henri M Kessler serves as executive producer alongside Dawn Krantz and Federico Bauder.
“Phoenix is a modern romance that reflects all of the complexities of actually falling in love – navigating hard choices, the absurdity and exhilaration of life,” said Redford, the daughter of Robert Redford who made her directorial debut on Sundance 2008 premiere [link=tt...
Justin Bartha, Olivia Thirlby and Constance Zimmer have joined the cast of Amy Redford’s next project Phoenix, which she will begin shooting for Micro Films Group in September.
Manifest Film Sales, a division of Intandem Media Group, commences talks with buyers this week on the Croisette.
Playwright Scott Organ wrote the screenplay about a one-night stand between love-averse strangers that sends them on a 4,000-mile trip from Brooklyn to the Grand Canyon and back.
Producers are Buzz Koenig and Paul Urcioli, while Micro Films Group CEO Henri M Kessler serves as executive producer alongside Dawn Krantz and Federico Bauder.
“Phoenix is a modern romance that reflects all of the complexities of actually falling in love – navigating hard choices, the absurdity and exhilaration of life,” said Redford, the daughter of Robert Redford who made her directorial debut on Sundance 2008 premiere [link=tt...
- 5/15/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Henri M Kessler’s fledgling Micro Films Group has secured co-financing and a production start for Phoenix, the second feature from Amy Redford.
Intandem division Manifest Film Sales handles international sales and has been in talks with buyers at the Efm.
The New York-set film follows two love-averse strangers on a trek to Phoenix and back as they navigate the emotional possibilities and repercussions of a one-night stand.
Scott Organ adapted Phoenix from his play of the same name, which had its world premiere at the 2010 Humana Festival of New American Plays in Louisville and in New York at The Barrow Group.
Pre-production is set to begin in March and principal photography for April-May in New York. Buzz Koenig and Paul Urcioli will produce and Kessler is on board as executive producer.
Redford made her feature directorial debut in 2008 with The Guitar starring Saffron Burrows and Paz de la Huerta.
”Phoenix is a modern...
Intandem division Manifest Film Sales handles international sales and has been in talks with buyers at the Efm.
The New York-set film follows two love-averse strangers on a trek to Phoenix and back as they navigate the emotional possibilities and repercussions of a one-night stand.
Scott Organ adapted Phoenix from his play of the same name, which had its world premiere at the 2010 Humana Festival of New American Plays in Louisville and in New York at The Barrow Group.
Pre-production is set to begin in March and principal photography for April-May in New York. Buzz Koenig and Paul Urcioli will produce and Kessler is on board as executive producer.
Redford made her feature directorial debut in 2008 with The Guitar starring Saffron Burrows and Paz de la Huerta.
”Phoenix is a modern...
- 2/12/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
By Sean O’Connell
Hollywoodnews.com: Whether you are heading to this year’s Sundance Film Festival – which begins on Thursday in Park City, Utah – or following every happening from the comfort of your own home, it sounds like the Sundance Channel is ramping up its coverage to bring most of the fest to you.
For the first time in the channel’s history, Sundance Channel is officially setting up an on-site headquarters – located at 692 Main Street – which will play host to an all-access, multimedia experience for Sundance Film Festival patrons.
“All eyes are on the Sundance Film Festival every year, and no wonder: it’s a one-of-kind event on the film calendar, a place to get early indications of what’s next in our culture. We’re proud to share the Sundance name and it’s only fitting that we create an exciting media event on all of our...
Hollywoodnews.com: Whether you are heading to this year’s Sundance Film Festival – which begins on Thursday in Park City, Utah – or following every happening from the comfort of your own home, it sounds like the Sundance Channel is ramping up its coverage to bring most of the fest to you.
For the first time in the channel’s history, Sundance Channel is officially setting up an on-site headquarters – located at 692 Main Street – which will play host to an all-access, multimedia experience for Sundance Film Festival patrons.
“All eyes are on the Sundance Film Festival every year, and no wonder: it’s a one-of-kind event on the film calendar, a place to get early indications of what’s next in our culture. We’re proud to share the Sundance name and it’s only fitting that we create an exciting media event on all of our...
- 1/19/2011
- by Sean O'Connell
- Hollywoodnews.com
Enter the Void is Nathaniel Brown's acting debut. Brown is an aspiring filmmaker and Gaspar Noe actually chose to cast him for this reason, as the young actor is behind the camera for a great deal of the film, considered the subjective camera. This must have been a fantastic film school for him, as he describes in the interview being “bear hugged” by Noe as they work the camera together. Paz de la Huerta is the reverse end of that spectrum, being a seasoned pro even at such a young age. De la Huerta has recently been seen in films like The Guitar, The Limits of Control and Choke. She’s made herself a well-known rising star on the festival circuit. In the interview, she discusses her frustrations with working with amateur actors, and perhaps being given too much freedom by Noe. Look for De la Huerta on the just premiered,...
- 9/21/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
Here's some news from Cannes. Rachel Weisz is "loosely attached" (courtesy of THR) to play the iconic actress Hedy Lamarr in a biopic on her eccentric life, particularly her less-publicized second career as a scientist. The indie project is called Face Value and is being directed by Amy Redford, Robert Redford's daughter who made her directing debut last year with The Guitar. Previously, Charlize Theron had been in the running for the role, but now it looks like Weisz will most likely get the gig in the end. The screenplay was written by Jose Rivera (The Motorcycle Diaries, Trade) and Gretchen Somerfeld (Interruptions). Austrian-American actress Hedy Lamarr garnered fame in the 1940s for her luminous screen presence, most famously for playing Delilah in Cecil B. DeMille's Samson and Delilah as well as numerous MGM films. But she also was an accomplished scientist, helping to create a method of changing...
- 5/12/2009
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Rachel Weisz is loosely attached to play MGM icon Hedy Lamarr in Amy Redford's indie film Face Value. According to the trades, Charlize Theron's name had also surfaced in connection with the part. The Austrian-American actress garnered fame in the 1940s for her luminous screen presence, most famously for playing Delilah in Cecil B. DeMille's "Samson and Delilah." But she also was an accomplished scientist, helping to create a method of changing frequencies -- known as frequency-hopping -- that became a forerunner to modern wireless communications. Value centers on Lamarr's eccentric life, particularly her less-publicized second career as a scientist. Jose Rivera and Gretchen Somerfeld penned the script and the project was the winner last fall of a Tfi Sloan Filmmaker grant at the Sundance Institute. Weisz next stars in Agora, Alejandro Amenabar's historical epic that premieres at the Cannes Film Festival next week. The actress was...
- 5/12/2009
- by James Cook
- TheMovingPicture.net
Cannes -- Rachel Weisz may be going Old Hollywood.
The British actress is loosely attached to play MGM icon Hedy Lamarr in Amy Redford's indie tale "Face Value."
"Value" centers on Lamarr's eccentric life, particularly her less-publicized second career as a scientist.
The Austrian-American actress garnered fame in the 1940s for her luminous screen presence, most famously for playing Delilah in Cecil B. DeMille's "Samson and Delilah." But she also was an accomplished scientist, helping to create a method of changing frequencies -- known as frequency-hopping -- that became a forerunner to modern wireless communications. That pursuit will be the primary subject of Redford's film.
Charlize Theron's name had surfaced in connection with the part.
Jose Rivera and Gretchen Somerfeld penned the script. The project was the winner last fall of a Tfi Sloan Filmmaker grant at the Sundance Institute.
The Endeavor-repped Weisz stars in "Agora," Alejandro...
The British actress is loosely attached to play MGM icon Hedy Lamarr in Amy Redford's indie tale "Face Value."
"Value" centers on Lamarr's eccentric life, particularly her less-publicized second career as a scientist.
The Austrian-American actress garnered fame in the 1940s for her luminous screen presence, most famously for playing Delilah in Cecil B. DeMille's "Samson and Delilah." But she also was an accomplished scientist, helping to create a method of changing frequencies -- known as frequency-hopping -- that became a forerunner to modern wireless communications. That pursuit will be the primary subject of Redford's film.
Charlize Theron's name had surfaced in connection with the part.
Jose Rivera and Gretchen Somerfeld penned the script. The project was the winner last fall of a Tfi Sloan Filmmaker grant at the Sundance Institute.
The Endeavor-repped Weisz stars in "Agora," Alejandro...
- 5/11/2009
- by By Steven Zeitchik
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The film had generated decent buzz in the Sundance Film Festival with a heartfelt performance from Saffron Burrows. It stars Isaach de Bankole and Saffron.
The trailer is not something really much to talk about. I think they got the whole idea behind the story totally wrong. The film is about a woman who finds out she is dying and then lives like there is no tomorrow cause there is none. She begins to learn how to play the guitar and sort of rocks out.
Synopsis
One morning Mel, a mousy, harried New Yorker with a thankless job and an even-less-appealing boyfriend learns that the tumor in her throat is cancerous; the diagnosis is terminal, so it seems that both her job and her relationship are kaput. Rather than lying down and dying then and there, she embarks on an endless spree, the kind of self-indulgent wish fulfillment that we have all fantasized about.
The trailer is not something really much to talk about. I think they got the whole idea behind the story totally wrong. The film is about a woman who finds out she is dying and then lives like there is no tomorrow cause there is none. She begins to learn how to play the guitar and sort of rocks out.
Synopsis
One morning Mel, a mousy, harried New Yorker with a thankless job and an even-less-appealing boyfriend learns that the tumor in her throat is cancerous; the diagnosis is terminal, so it seems that both her job and her relationship are kaput. Rather than lying down and dying then and there, she embarks on an endless spree, the kind of self-indulgent wish fulfillment that we have all fantasized about.
- 11/10/2008
- by John
- ReelSuave.com
This bizarre art-house equiva lent of "The Bucket List" suggests that receiving a diagnosis of inoperable cancer, losing your job and being dumped by your boyfriend in the same day can be a growth experience.
Given a month or two to live, the portentously named Melody (Saffron Burrows) takes a short-term lease on a huge Manhattan loft and maxes out her credit cards for retail therapy.
She even orders in for sex, having flings with both the furniture delivery guy (Isaak de Bankhole) and the pizza girl (Paz de la Huerta), sometimes at the same time.
Given a month or two to live, the portentously named Melody (Saffron Burrows) takes a short-term lease on a huge Manhattan loft and maxes out her credit cards for retail therapy.
She even orders in for sex, having flings with both the furniture delivery guy (Isaak de Bankhole) and the pizza girl (Paz de la Huerta), sometimes at the same time.
- 11/7/2008
- by By LOU LUMENICK
- NYPost.com
by indieWIRE (November 4, 2008) Editors Note: This interview was first published in January profiling first-time feature directors who had films screening at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Amy Redford's "The Guitar" opens in limited edition via Lightning Media November 7.
Amy Redford, who has acted in such films as "The Music Inside" as well as Sundance 2008 offering "Sunshine Cleaning," and is also he daughter of Robert Redford, will premiere her first feature film, "The Guitar," at Sundance. What the festival's Geoffrey Gilmore calls a "whimsical fairy tale," "The Guitar" follows Mel (Saffron Borrows), a unfortunate young woman who loses her job and boyfriend and finds out she has terminal cancer all on the same morning. Instead of giving in she embarks on a journey that Gilmore claims has the "kind of self-indulgent wish fulfillment that
we have all fantasized about." Based on a true story adapted by Amos Poe, "The Guitar" is...
Amy Redford, who has acted in such films as "The Music Inside" as well as Sundance 2008 offering "Sunshine Cleaning," and is also he daughter of Robert Redford, will premiere her first feature film, "The Guitar," at Sundance. What the festival's Geoffrey Gilmore calls a "whimsical fairy tale," "The Guitar" follows Mel (Saffron Borrows), a unfortunate young woman who loses her job and boyfriend and finds out she has terminal cancer all on the same morning. Instead of giving in she embarks on a journey that Gilmore claims has the "kind of self-indulgent wish fulfillment that
we have all fantasized about." Based on a true story adapted by Amos Poe, "The Guitar" is...
- 11/4/2008
- by peter
- indieWIRE - People
By Neil Pedley
Those nursing a Halloween hangover can enjoy a little hair of the dog with some amusing takes on terror, a double bill featuring the greatly missed Bernie Mac and a trio of Fantastic Fest titles coming their way.
"The Alphabet Killer"
Eliza Dushku reunites with "Wrong Turn" director Rob Schmidt for this supernatural riff on the infamous Alphabet murders that took place in Rochester, NY in the early '70s. Dushku stars as the lead investigator in a series of brutal child killings who's struck down by a severe mental breakdown. Two years later, her career as a detective is ostensibly over, yet when the killings inexplicably start up again, so do her crippling hallucinations and she must find a way to track down the serial killer with or without the help of her former colleagues at the police department. Timothy Hutton, Cary Elwes and Michael Ironside...
Those nursing a Halloween hangover can enjoy a little hair of the dog with some amusing takes on terror, a double bill featuring the greatly missed Bernie Mac and a trio of Fantastic Fest titles coming their way.
"The Alphabet Killer"
Eliza Dushku reunites with "Wrong Turn" director Rob Schmidt for this supernatural riff on the infamous Alphabet murders that took place in Rochester, NY in the early '70s. Dushku stars as the lead investigator in a series of brutal child killings who's struck down by a severe mental breakdown. Two years later, her career as a detective is ostensibly over, yet when the killings inexplicably start up again, so do her crippling hallucinations and she must find a way to track down the serial killer with or without the help of her former colleagues at the police department. Timothy Hutton, Cary Elwes and Michael Ironside...
- 11/3/2008
- by Neil Pedley
- ifc.com
- A little cash can go a long way when developing a screenplay, and if you happen to be working on anything related to “stories about science and technology or portray scientists, engineers and mathematicians as major characters” then a hand over from the Tribeca Film Institute’s Tfi Sloan Filmmaker Fund should be among your priorities. Today a jury comprised of Darren Aronofsky, Steven Shainberg, producer Caroline Baron, producer/writer Ann Druyan and a couple of profs and doctors selected the recipients of some financial and creative support. Among the project we find some familiar names including Amy Redford who has The Guitar coming out in November, and speaking of in November, Greg Harrison directed Courtney Cox in a film going by just that title and finally Tim Kirkman last directed Loggerheads for a very small theatrical run in 2005. The five selected projects selected received a sum of either
- 10/28/2008
- IONCINEMA.com
- Canada's New kid on the block, is the brainchild of Robert Lantos. Maximum Films has the Romanian film Boogie in the Director's Fortnight and Egoyan's latest in the comp. Here are three I'm looking forward to: the Ioncinema.com profiled Sophie Barthes and Cold Souls, the Sundance docu favorite Trouble the Water and of course the Egoyan film. Adoration by Atom Egoyan - Completed American Trap (Piege Americain) - Completed Americaneast by Hesham Issawi - Completed Before The Rains by Santosh Sivan - Completed Boogie by Radu Muntean - Completed Chicago 10 by Brett Morgan - Completed Cold Souls by Sophie Barthes - Post-Production Fugitive Pieces by Jeremy Podeswa - Completed Otto; Or, Up With People by Bruce Labruce - Completed Real Time by Randall Cole - Completed The Guitar by Amy Redford - Completed The Waiting Room by Roger Goldby - Completed Trouble The Water by Carl Deal,
- 5/15/2008
- IONCINEMA.com
Sundance Premieres section sees changes
At the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, the gala Premieres, which used to take place in the chilly nighttime, will begin as early as 3 p.m. And there will be more Premieres than ever.
As the Sundance Institute announced the lineup of films screening out of competition at its 2008 edition, organizers said that the Premieres section has significantly expanded. This year, 24 films will play as galas, occupying the 3, 6 and 9:30 p.m. slots at the Eccles Theater in Park City, the festival's largest venue. By contrast, there were 17 Premieres at this year's Sundance.
Although he admitted he was tempted, festival director Geoffrey Gilmore said the size of Sundance has not expanded. The festival will again screen 121 feature films, which includes 81 world premieres. What organizers have done, director of programming John Cooper said, is to reposition films in the Spectrum category, which previously played in the 3 p.m. slot, into the Premiere section.
"These are films that deserve that (Premiere) position inside the Eccles," Cooper said.
The announcement rounds out the rest of the 2008 program, which includes Premieres, Spectrum, New Frontier and Park City at Midnight sections. The 2008 Sundance Film Festival runs Jan. 17-27 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah.
The Premieres section showcases highly anticipated films from the American indie world and from international filmmakers. Perhaps the two most highly anticipated films are music related.
Catherine Owens and Mark Pellington's 3-D film of U2's Vertigo world tour -- snippets of which were shown in May at the Festival de Cannes -- will be presented in its entirety. The only question is: What 3-D glasses will be used?
Gilmore said the festival must decide between two different kinds of glasses or goggles. "Either way, there will be a single projector putting a split film image on the screen that are read by the (3-D) goggles," he said.
This year's closing-night film will be the world premiere of Bernard Shakey's CSNY Deja Vu, which looks at the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young reunion tour and the musicians' connection to its audience in political and musical terms. Young is credited as a co-writer on the project.
Pellington performs a twofer this year as his Henry Poole Is Here also is in the Premieres section. After discovering he has a mere six weeks to live, Henry Poole (Luke Wilson) retreats from his everyday life for the comfort of booze, junk food and solitude until a "miracle" and his oddball neighbors intervene.
Another person who will be doing Q&As more than once will be actress-director Amy Redford, daughter of Sundance Institute founder Robert Redford. As an actress, she stars in Sunshine Cleaning, an irreverent comedy that will play in Dramatic Competition. As a first-time director, she will present The Guitar, which like Henry Poole, centers on a person diagnosed with a terminal illness. Amos Poe's Guitar screenplay is about a woman (Saffron Burrows) without long to live who blows her savings to pursue her dreams.
Michel Gondry came to Sundance two years ago with his mind-blowing The Science of Sleep. He now returns with his Be Kind Rewind, in which Jack Black plays a man whose brain has become magnetized, leading to the unintentional destruction of all the movies in a friend's video store. In order to keep the store's one loyal customer, the pair re-create a long line of films including The Lion King, Rush Hour and Ghostbusters.
" 'Be Kind Rewind' will tax people's patience but has a wonderful payoff," Gilmore said.
As previously announced, the festival opens Jan. 17 in Park City with the world premiere of In Bruges, written and directed by first-time filmmaker and award-winning playwright Martin McDonagh. The film, which stars Ralph Fiennes, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, revolves around two hitmen ordered to take a forced holiday in Bruges, Belgium.
Two films about filmmaking should amuse the in-crowd. In Barry Levinson's What Just Happened? Robert De Niro plays a desperate producer struggling with a desperate film shoot. In Steven Schachter's The Deal, William H. Macy co-writes and stars in a tale about another similarly desperate producer who cons a studio into financing a film that actually has no script.
The tongue-in-cheek latter film "brings back Meg Ryan to the kind of romantic roles she plays so well," Gilmore said.
Premieres also is the section containing several films seen at earlier festivals such as writer-director Tom McCarthy's The Visitor and Alan Ball's Nothing Is Private -- movies that deal with immigrants in America -- which debuted at Toronto, and Tom Kalin's Savage Grace, which rocked Cannes with its themes of dynastic decline, incest, madness and death.
Sundance 2008 will throw an even brighter spotlight on documentaries by creating a sidebar within the Spectrum category for seven docus.
"The professional career of documentarians has changed dramatically," Gilmore said. "Documentaries were once a small world. Now it's a much broader spectrum of professionals and of people who move back and forth between features and documentaries, making films on subjects they are passionate about."
The Spectrum section also is where returning Sundance alums are to be found. To wit, Made in America by Stacy Peralta, who enjoyed a hit at the 2001 festival with Dogtown and Z-Boys; Blind Date from Stanley Tucci, who has come to Sundance with such interesting films as Big Night (1996) and Joe Gould's Secret (2000); August from Austin Chick, who made 2002's "XX/XY"; Baghead by writer-directors Mark and Jay Duplass, who brought Scrapple in 2004; and Bottle Shock, a retelling of the famous 1976 blind wine tasting in Paris that rocketed California wines to fame and glory, from Randall Miller, whose Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School played in 2005.
Park City at Midnight usually is the repository of the strange and the bloody. This year, though, Gilmore insisted, "the genre films are very fresh with a strong quality of execution."
Quentin Tarantino, absent from Park City for a few years, returns to "present" Larry Bishop's modern-day take on 1960s biker flicks, Hell Ride. A German-Canadian Midnight entry, Otto (Up With Dead People), is described by Gilmore as "an incredibly odd but interesting mix of gay zombies and a European setting."
The British Donkey Punch, named after a risky sexual practice, is a thriller that takes place aboard a luxury yacht. And Michael Haneke will bring Funny Games, an almost shot-by-shot remake of his 1997 Austrian chiller, only this time in English and in a Long Island setting.
As the Sundance Institute announced the lineup of films screening out of competition at its 2008 edition, organizers said that the Premieres section has significantly expanded. This year, 24 films will play as galas, occupying the 3, 6 and 9:30 p.m. slots at the Eccles Theater in Park City, the festival's largest venue. By contrast, there were 17 Premieres at this year's Sundance.
Although he admitted he was tempted, festival director Geoffrey Gilmore said the size of Sundance has not expanded. The festival will again screen 121 feature films, which includes 81 world premieres. What organizers have done, director of programming John Cooper said, is to reposition films in the Spectrum category, which previously played in the 3 p.m. slot, into the Premiere section.
"These are films that deserve that (Premiere) position inside the Eccles," Cooper said.
The announcement rounds out the rest of the 2008 program, which includes Premieres, Spectrum, New Frontier and Park City at Midnight sections. The 2008 Sundance Film Festival runs Jan. 17-27 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah.
The Premieres section showcases highly anticipated films from the American indie world and from international filmmakers. Perhaps the two most highly anticipated films are music related.
Catherine Owens and Mark Pellington's 3-D film of U2's Vertigo world tour -- snippets of which were shown in May at the Festival de Cannes -- will be presented in its entirety. The only question is: What 3-D glasses will be used?
Gilmore said the festival must decide between two different kinds of glasses or goggles. "Either way, there will be a single projector putting a split film image on the screen that are read by the (3-D) goggles," he said.
This year's closing-night film will be the world premiere of Bernard Shakey's CSNY Deja Vu, which looks at the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young reunion tour and the musicians' connection to its audience in political and musical terms. Young is credited as a co-writer on the project.
Pellington performs a twofer this year as his Henry Poole Is Here also is in the Premieres section. After discovering he has a mere six weeks to live, Henry Poole (Luke Wilson) retreats from his everyday life for the comfort of booze, junk food and solitude until a "miracle" and his oddball neighbors intervene.
Another person who will be doing Q&As more than once will be actress-director Amy Redford, daughter of Sundance Institute founder Robert Redford. As an actress, she stars in Sunshine Cleaning, an irreverent comedy that will play in Dramatic Competition. As a first-time director, she will present The Guitar, which like Henry Poole, centers on a person diagnosed with a terminal illness. Amos Poe's Guitar screenplay is about a woman (Saffron Burrows) without long to live who blows her savings to pursue her dreams.
Michel Gondry came to Sundance two years ago with his mind-blowing The Science of Sleep. He now returns with his Be Kind Rewind, in which Jack Black plays a man whose brain has become magnetized, leading to the unintentional destruction of all the movies in a friend's video store. In order to keep the store's one loyal customer, the pair re-create a long line of films including The Lion King, Rush Hour and Ghostbusters.
" 'Be Kind Rewind' will tax people's patience but has a wonderful payoff," Gilmore said.
As previously announced, the festival opens Jan. 17 in Park City with the world premiere of In Bruges, written and directed by first-time filmmaker and award-winning playwright Martin McDonagh. The film, which stars Ralph Fiennes, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, revolves around two hitmen ordered to take a forced holiday in Bruges, Belgium.
Two films about filmmaking should amuse the in-crowd. In Barry Levinson's What Just Happened? Robert De Niro plays a desperate producer struggling with a desperate film shoot. In Steven Schachter's The Deal, William H. Macy co-writes and stars in a tale about another similarly desperate producer who cons a studio into financing a film that actually has no script.
The tongue-in-cheek latter film "brings back Meg Ryan to the kind of romantic roles she plays so well," Gilmore said.
Premieres also is the section containing several films seen at earlier festivals such as writer-director Tom McCarthy's The Visitor and Alan Ball's Nothing Is Private -- movies that deal with immigrants in America -- which debuted at Toronto, and Tom Kalin's Savage Grace, which rocked Cannes with its themes of dynastic decline, incest, madness and death.
Sundance 2008 will throw an even brighter spotlight on documentaries by creating a sidebar within the Spectrum category for seven docus.
"The professional career of documentarians has changed dramatically," Gilmore said. "Documentaries were once a small world. Now it's a much broader spectrum of professionals and of people who move back and forth between features and documentaries, making films on subjects they are passionate about."
The Spectrum section also is where returning Sundance alums are to be found. To wit, Made in America by Stacy Peralta, who enjoyed a hit at the 2001 festival with Dogtown and Z-Boys; Blind Date from Stanley Tucci, who has come to Sundance with such interesting films as Big Night (1996) and Joe Gould's Secret (2000); August from Austin Chick, who made 2002's "XX/XY"; Baghead by writer-directors Mark and Jay Duplass, who brought Scrapple in 2004; and Bottle Shock, a retelling of the famous 1976 blind wine tasting in Paris that rocketed California wines to fame and glory, from Randall Miller, whose Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School played in 2005.
Park City at Midnight usually is the repository of the strange and the bloody. This year, though, Gilmore insisted, "the genre films are very fresh with a strong quality of execution."
Quentin Tarantino, absent from Park City for a few years, returns to "present" Larry Bishop's modern-day take on 1960s biker flicks, Hell Ride. A German-Canadian Midnight entry, Otto (Up With Dead People), is described by Gilmore as "an incredibly odd but interesting mix of gay zombies and a European setting."
The British Donkey Punch, named after a risky sexual practice, is a thriller that takes place aboard a luxury yacht. And Michael Haneke will bring Funny Games, an almost shot-by-shot remake of his 1997 Austrian chiller, only this time in English and in a Long Island setting.
- 11/30/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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