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Pawlikowski Returning Home for 'Sister of Mercy'
6 November 2009
- Just a couple of weeks ago I was talking about how Danes go back home when things aren't working out on the U.S./U.K. side of the business - I guess that's sort of the predicament that Pawel Pawlikowski has found himself in. Pawlikowski has been involved with a couple of false starts and is probably struggling to get more money out of a Miramax deal for his pic called Young Stalin. He hasn't directed a picture since My Summer of Love, but it appears as if his next pic will be a Polish-British co-production which would shoot this coming summer. Scripted by Cezary Harasimowicz and Pawlikowski, Sister of Mercy this is about the moral dilemma of a young nun sought after by a Secret Service agent for co-operation under the communist regime in 1968 Poland. He reveals her Jewish descent and makes her question her own identity, »
New Actors En 'Route' to Ken Loach's Latest Drama
6 November 2009
- We might be getting a double dose of the "Green Zone" in 2010. We have the actioner film by Paul Greengrass coming out in early 2010, and then we should see Ken Loach staking out this region in war-torn Baghdad with Dp Chris Menges by his side. The film will see the debuts of Mark Womack and Andrea Lowe and supporting help from John Bishop, Trevor Williams and Talib Hamafraj. Scripted by Paul Laverty, Route Irish is set on the most dangerous stretch of road in Baghdad where a British mercenary soldier is killed under mysterious circumstances. The story of two men who work as private security contractors in Iraq who risk their lives in a city awash with violence and greed. When Frankie is killed on "Route Irish" -- the road linking Baghdad airport with the Green Zone -- Fergus, wracked with grief and guilt, rejects the official explanation and »
Short Film Corner: Justin Ambrosino's The 8th Samurai
6 November 2009
- We caught up with Justin Ambrosino, an up-and-coming filmmaker (and at one time, a reporter on this website) to discuss his latest short-film. The 8th Samurai has been making the rounds on the film festival circuit and has managed to garner several awards along the way including the "Best of Fest" Award at the La Shorts Fest. The talented NY filmmaker, and AFI graduate, has been involved with an impressive range of productions in the past; from George Clooney's solid but little known faux-reality series "Unscripted", to Scorsese's "The Departed" (to name a few stand-out titles). Regardless of the roll he played on those sets, his ambition has always been to write and direct. Clearly, he's off to a strong start.As you may have gathered from the title, "The 8th Samurai" takes a "what if?" look at the behind-the-scene happenings of Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai". Justin's »
Sundance Selects Keeps the Devil Away from 'White Lightnin'
6 November 2009
- Ask me what the most ambitious films are of the year, and so far I might point you to Dominic Murphy’s White Lightnin’ - a crazy piece of filmmaking that merits a "genre" label of its own. The pic was a recent winner Hitchcock D’Or at the Dinard Film Festival and grabbed the headlines less than 48 hours ago for winning big at the Mumbai Film Festival. Screen Daily reports that Sundance Selects won't leave this small in stature film orphaned in the backwoods for much longer. A little known fact for those interested: Vice Magazine’s founder Shane Smith and writing partner Eddy Moretti were the writers of the film and acted as executive producers on the biopic portrait which begins deep in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia, where every man owns a gun and a moonshine still, in a battered trailer, abides living legend Jesco White, »
IFC Fills Slate Vacancy with Medem's 'Rome in Room'
6 November 2009
- Sd reports that IFC has acquired Us rights to Julio Medem’s Room In Rome ahead of its eventual world premiere that would take place at the Berlin Film Festival of 2010. Having discovered some of Medem's earlier work in film school, I can say that I'm a fan of his work and a fan of Elena Anaya, a national treasure from Spain who appeared in Lucía y el sexo (Medem's most popular title in the U.S.). Anaya toplines this pic which would most likely receive a release date next summer. This is a remake of Chilean Matias Bize’s “En la cama” and sees two strangers (Anaya and Natasha Yarovenka) who meet and spend a passionate physical encounter in a hotel room. The original film was a man with woman encounter. Here's the long synopsis: Early summer. A hotel room in the heart of Rome. Two young women »
IFC 'Horde' French Zombie Movie
6 November 2009
- After distributing a film about Nazi zombies running amuck in the Fjords, it appears IFC Films are probably thinking of more content for their Saturday night programming with this Afm purchase. Sd reports that they've picked up French zombie film La Horde. The pic which received a slot at the Venice Film Festival's Venice Days sidebar is directed by the duo of new filmmakers in Yannick Dahan and Benjamin Rocher. On the outskirts of Paris, four corrupt cops go on a rampage to avenge the murder of one of their own by a group of ruthless gangsters, holed up in a condemned building. Once there, the officers' personal vendetta turns into a nightmare. Trapped, they are about to be executed when the unimaginable occurs: hordes of bloodthirsty, cannibalistic creatures invade the building, savagely attacking everyone. Running to the roof, the survivors discover that their entire world is in chaos. »
Myriad Sheds no Tears for 'Cry of the Owl'
6 November 2009
- If you can't sell it. Distribute it! Rather than letting a title collect dust or selling at a big loss, an uncomfortable scenario that happens to the best of film studios (see Magnolia's The Burning Plain as a recent example) and this is exactly the dilemma that Myriad Pictures has found itself in with Cry of the Owl. THR reports that the company has plans to release the thriller in theaters before the chilly weather really sets in. They have a deal with Paramount for VOD, DVD. Written and directed by video helmer Jamie Thraves, the adaptation of the 1962 novel by Patricia Highsmith sees Julia Stiles playing a woman who falls in love with her stalker. Patty Considine will play the man who moves to Stiles' suburban town and begins spying on her. Her jilted ex, complicates matters further when he plots revenge against her. I've been curious about »
Magnolia Binge on 'The Good Heart'
6 November 2009
- Add one more post-tiff sale to the chalk board. Magnolia Pictures are prepping their 2010 calender with the pick-up of an English language Icelandic film featuring Brian Cox and Paul Dano. Not your typical Icelandic production, Indiewire reports that Dagur Kári's The Good Heart will go the VOD platform release route before the theatrical rollout. I'm not sure if it's a Scandinavian thing (Norway's Bent Hamer featured an often drunken American author in Factotum), but this most takes place in a dive bar. Dano plays a young homeless man named Lucas who is taken under the wing of Jacques (Cox), a bar owner from his fifth heart attack. Knowing his days are numbered, Jacques decides to train Lucas to take over his bar. Kari's most internationally know hit to date is Noi the Albino - which was followed up with the little know Dark Horse. ... »
Cinema Eye Honors 2010: The Cove Flooded with 7 Noms
5 November 2009
- The Cinema Eye Honors, my favorite awards ceremony after the Indie Spirits, has released the nominations in eleven categories with Louie Psihoyos’ The Cove racking up a total of seven nominations while 2nd place with four nominations each, we find Robert Kenner’s overrated Food, Inc., Anders Ostergaard’s miraculous Burma VJ and a pair of films that I'm sure many in the general public know nothing about in Darius Marder’s Loot and Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher’s October Country. Winners will be announced on the 15th of January. Loot (which got a "money back guarantee" from Hammer to Nail's Michael Tully) follows two WWII veterans and their guide across the globe in search of their buried wartime treasures, while October Country is pegged as a haunting multi-generational story of a working-class family coping with poverty, teen pregnancy, foster care and the ineffable horrors of child molestation and war. »
Sapochnik Reinvents Himself with 'Contortionist's Handbook'
5 November 2009
- With Repo Men (formerly Repossession Mambo) long overdue, it looks like Miguel Sapochnik has set his sights on a project put together by Das Films and GreeneStreet Films' John Penotti and Tim Williams. The helmer hasn't yet seen the release of his debut film, but he'll go into production with The Contortionist’s Handbook in May this year.Penned by Robin Shushan (unproduced Tenn), based on Craig Clevenger’s novel, this see John Dolan Vincent, a talented young forger with a proclivity for mathematics and drug addiction. In the face of his impending institutionalization, he continually reinvents himself to escape the legal and mental health authorities and to save himself from a life of incarceration. But running turns out to be costly. Vincent's clients in the L.A. underworld lose patience, the hospital evaluator may not be fooled by his story, and the only person in as much »
Hawkins and H.Macy Raise Juno Temple to be a 'Dirty Girl'
5 November 2009
- I may one day eat my words on this one, but I think Juno Temple will pan out to be a better Brit find than Carey Mulligan - she was a bright spot in the ordinary Mr. Nobody and I'm looking forward in American lingo garb in Gregg Araki's Kaboom and Noah Baumbach's Greenbern). According to the trades, Temple, Sally Hawkins and William H. Macy will join Abe Sylvia on his feature length directorial debut titled Dirty Girl. According to Screen Daily, the supporting cast is comprised of newcomer Jeremy Dozier and the already cast Lisa Kudrow. The film is being produced by Paris Film's Rob Paris, Charles Pugliese, Jana Edelbaum and Rachel Cohen while Killer Films' Vachon, Pam Koffler and Michael Lesser are exec producing. A commercials director, Sylvia penned the screenplay about the search for identity and the redemptive power of unexpected friendship. Danielle »
Searchlight and Boyle Have '127' Hours To Go
5 November 2009
- Not sure about you cinephiles out there, but I feel as if Kevin MacDonald's Touching the Void said everything that had to be said on why ice/rock climbing isn't all it's cracked up to be. But if you're into dull knifes and further endurance tests, then you might want to seek out Danny Boyle's next project which comes with the title/amount of time mountaineer Aron Ralston's right forearm was pinned under a boulder. 127 Hours will begin production shortly for a late 2010 release by Fox Searchlight who is financing the project with Pathe. Simon Beaufoy should take over from the treatment written by Boyle. Those following the project's development at ThePlaylist know that Ryan Gosling has been mentioned as the possible candidate to play Ralston. We want to see cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle join the pic as well. ... »
Hopkins is Ernest about Playing 'Hemingway'
5 November 2009
- Anthony Hopkins has been flirting with the idea of portraying Ernest Hemingway for some time now. He was originally attached to play him in Papa Hemingway which would look at his relationship with A.E. Hotchner, instead Hopkins looks set to play the Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winner during his friendship years with Gregorio Fuentes (who served as the protagonist model for the lead character in Hemingway's famous The Old Man and the Sea). From the Afm, Screen Daily reports that Andy Garcia will direct from a script he wrote with Hilary Hemingway a film titled Hemingway & Fuentes, an account of Hemingway’s years in Cuba with Garcia playing Fuentes and Annette Bening playing the role of Hemingway’s third wife Mary Welsh Hemingway. Production is set to start in summer 2010 - and though tensions between Cuba and the U.S. aren't what they used to be, this should film somewhere identical to the island. »
Cuaron and Depp Find Its a High Season for 'The Tourist'
5 November 2009
- The French film from which The Tourist is based from (Anthony Zimmer) contains a narrative DNA that is very kaiser soze, but to be frank about it, I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. Spyglass Entertainment is seeing a lot of action for a tale about a wanted man...its mostly due to scheduling conflicts. Male lead Sam Worthington has jumped ship and an even better replacement in Johnny Depp might take the part. Meanwhile, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck who just recently considered taking helming duties has dropped the pic, and Alfonso Cuaron, who showed off some skill with the thriller format in Children of Men (that infamous scene with Julianne Moore at the wheel is stellar) is looking to replace him. Scripted by Julian Fellowes, Bill Wheeler and Chris McQuarrie, this concerns an American tourist (formerly Tom Cruise, then Sam Worthington and perhaps Depp) who finds »
Roadside Sees Nothing Fake with 'The Joneses'
5 November 2009
- Roadside Attractions are grabbing some Afm headlines with a post-tiff sale pick-up (which are trickling in about a one sale per week rate). Never going overboard with the film inventory (they have Happy Tears and The Good Guy prepped for next year), the distributor are getting ready for Spring with Derrick Borte's The Joneses. The pic which received its world premiere at Tiff and I was too tired to see at the scheduled crack of dawn screening I had pegged it for, should logically should receive an April or May play date. Borte pulled from his own experiences working in the advertising industry to come up with the original idea. The Tiff description below gives us an idea of what to expect. Borte begins the film by showing us ourselves – or at least who we often aspire to be. We meet Steve Jones (David Duchovny), his wife, Kate »
A Single Shot to the Arm for David Jacobson with Fassbender Onboard
5 November 2009
- I'll always wonder how much of an impact a negative box office result can have on a burgeoning career of an indie filmmaker. Profit margins is obviously not a tool to evaluate talent, and while we have ample proof of what a breakout hit can do, I'm guessing that bad B.O can surely put a hamper on future projects. David Jacobson will surely leave a larger imprint than he did with Down in the Valley, with the project he'll be shooting in the new year. Screen Daily reports that Jacobson will be working with the not too shabby foursome of Michael Fassbender, Forest Whitaker, William H. Macy and Thomas Haden Church this January on A Single Shot. Being packaged and sold at the Afm by HanWay Films, the thriller (which will shoot in the minus weather on tough, Canadian turf) is based on a screenplay written by Matthew »
Sundance Stretching out the 'Shock Doctrine'
4 November 2009
- Since not everyone can jet out to Park City for Sundance festivities, the festival is making plans to bring a small portion of Sundance to you. While last year they made a small batch of short films available for download, this year they're laying the groundwork for what I imagine could be a popular, yearly event - one day (January 28th) of Sundancing at select art house theaters. Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross' The Shock Doctrine (which was presented as an unfinished cut at Berlin) will be the lead off film and the keeping with the idea of films that "spur debate", I don't think that the other films to participate in Sundance Film Festival U.S.A initiative will be heavyweight fiction titles, but we can expect to see a good number of doc features that need the attention. Shock Doctrine is based on a book by »
Wiseman's La Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet
3 November 2009
- The prolific documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman's new film, will have a two-week engagement at Film Forum in NYC, and it is a stunning display of some of the best dancers and choreographers in the world training at one of the world's greatest ballet companies. Wiseman's film career has spanned more than 40 years, and here he is returning to familiar territory, having done the 1995 documentary Ballet, a profile of the American Ballet Theatre's preparation for a European tour. In this film, Wiseman takes us inside the studios where dancers painstakingly take direction in great detail from choreographers while rehearsing seven ballets to perform for a major gala coming up. It's a wonder to watch masters undulate their bodies in controlled yet freeing ways, and adding contemporary influences to traditional classical ballet. Wiseman chooses to both highlight the performers and the administration, and it colors the film, showing the business »
Tao Ruspoli's Top Ten Films of All Time
3 November 2009
- Have you ever wondered what are the films that inspire the next generation of filmmakers? As part of our monthly Ioncinephile profile (read here), we ask the filmmaker the incredibly arduous task of identifying their top ten list of all time favorite films. This month we profile Tao Ruspoli, helmer behind Fix which ropens November 20th at the Village East in NY. He gave us his top ten (as of November 2009). 8 1/2 (1963) Federico Fellini I'm sure this film has been on this list 100 times, and probably always for slightly different reasons. To me 8 1/2 is a brilliant exploration of one man's issues with time and aging (notice all the watches and clocks in the film!), with his complicated relationships to the women of his life, with imagination and the creative process, and with the complexes that come with growing up Catholic. Of course, as a film director and an Italian this »
Dr: Amy Rice and Alicia Sams' By the People: The Election of Barack Obama
3 November 2009
- It'll be a bittersweet viewing for plenty of folks who end up watching today's Daily Recommendation, but for the avid docu fan in me, Amy Rice and Alicia Sams' By the People: The Election of Barack Obama had me thinking of a pair of documentary films (Chris Hegedus and Da Pennebaker's The War Room and Robert Drew's Primary) that gave a far more gripping account of the campaign trail. For the Obama family and for everyone who campaigned or voted for him, By the People is a feel good memory to add to the scrapbook. Considering that this is literally yesterday's news and hasn't yet aged, the Rice-Sams card still managed to carve out an easy watch and make an overly processed in the media road to the presidency, feel somewhat dynamic. Those that don't receive enough screen time are the David Axelrods and David Plouffes of the operation, »
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