[Warning: The below contains Major spoilers for 9-1-1 Season 7 Episode 4 “Buck, Bothered and Bewildered.”] If you asked us before 9-1-1 Season 7 began if the ABC first responder drama would take the relationship between Buck (Oliver Stark) and Eddie (Ryan Guzman), which remains strictly platonic, and actually go where some fans have wanted to see it go for some time now, the answer would have seemed simple. But now the question has to be asked. Buck spends the 100th episode “bothered and bewildered,” to borrow its title, upon realizing Eddie’s spending all this free time with Tommy (Lou Ferrigno Jr.), the former 118er they just worked with to rescue Bobby (Peter Krause) and Athena (Angela Bassett). He seems hurt when Eddie talks about meeting someone and just clicking. He tries to get Eddie’s attention at work, then drags Chimney (Kenneth Choi) along to a weekly basketball game upon learning his best friend’s going with Tommy. And ...
- 4/5/2024
- TV Insider
Welcome to this week’s review of Aew: Dynamite, which was broadcast from the Centre Videotron in Quebec City, Quebec. We’ve got Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, and Taz on commentary this week, so let’s get into the review!
Match #1: Will Ospreay def. Katsuyori Shibata The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Will shot in for a single leg but Shibata defended and mounted Will. Shibata grounded Will on the mat and went for a cross arm breaker, but Will got to the ropes, forcing the ref to break the hold. Ospreay and Shibata chain wrestled, British style. Shibata went for the Pk, but Will dodged it. Shibata cracked Will with forearms, but Will charged at Shibata with a dropkick, taking Shibata off his feet. Will battered Shibata with forearms and then dropkicked Shibata in the corner, taking pages out of Shibata’s playbook. Ospreay jumped over the top...
Match #1: Will Ospreay def. Katsuyori Shibata The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Will shot in for a single leg but Shibata defended and mounted Will. Shibata grounded Will on the mat and went for a cross arm breaker, but Will got to the ropes, forcing the ref to break the hold. Ospreay and Shibata chain wrestled, British style. Shibata went for the Pk, but Will dodged it. Shibata cracked Will with forearms, but Will charged at Shibata with a dropkick, taking Shibata off his feet. Will battered Shibata with forearms and then dropkicked Shibata in the corner, taking pages out of Shibata’s playbook. Ospreay jumped over the top...
- 3/29/2024
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
The hummingbirds of Every Little Thing are migrating from North America to Europe. Sally Aikten’s film about the extraordinary avian aerialists and a Los Angeles woman who tends to injured hummingbirds is making its European premiere at Cph:dox in Copenhagen, after initially hovering over Sundance.
Larry Bird, Raisin, Cactus, Alexa and Mikhail are among the tiny ornithological wonders that appear in the film. Their human caretaker, Terry Masear, wrote the Fastest Thing on Wings: Rescuing Hummingbirds in Hollywood about the many years she has spent looking after hummingbirds – ones that may have collided with a window, say, or babies that have tumbled from their nests.
“We follow Terry over the course of the spring-summer season, which — if anyone is in L.A. — they’ll know as peak hummingbird time,” Aitken told us at Sundance. “And literally, if you have an injured or wounded hummingbird that somehow comes across your path,...
Larry Bird, Raisin, Cactus, Alexa and Mikhail are among the tiny ornithological wonders that appear in the film. Their human caretaker, Terry Masear, wrote the Fastest Thing on Wings: Rescuing Hummingbirds in Hollywood about the many years she has spent looking after hummingbirds – ones that may have collided with a window, say, or babies that have tumbled from their nests.
“We follow Terry over the course of the spring-summer season, which — if anyone is in L.A. — they’ll know as peak hummingbird time,” Aitken told us at Sundance. “And literally, if you have an injured or wounded hummingbird that somehow comes across your path,...
- 3/18/2024
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Attention all hunting enthusiasts! Get ready for an unforgettable episode of “Whitetail Freaks” on Outd! Season 17, Episode 2 titled “Peyton Kisky’s First Big Buck” airs at 8:00 Am on Monday, February 19th.
In this exciting installment, viewers will witness a milestone moment as Peyton Kisky takes aim and shoots his first big buck ever. Join Peyton and the Whitetail Freaks team as they venture into the wilderness in search of trophy-sized whitetails.
For Peyton, this hunt represents a culmination of hard work, dedication, and a passion for the outdoors. With nerves running high and adrenaline pumping, viewers will share in the excitement and anticipation as Peyton sets his sights on his elusive prey.
As the hunt unfolds, viewers can expect plenty of heart-pounding action, stunning scenery, and unforgettable moments in the great outdoors. Don’t miss out on this special episode as Peyton Kisky makes hunting history with his first big buck!
In this exciting installment, viewers will witness a milestone moment as Peyton Kisky takes aim and shoots his first big buck ever. Join Peyton and the Whitetail Freaks team as they venture into the wilderness in search of trophy-sized whitetails.
For Peyton, this hunt represents a culmination of hard work, dedication, and a passion for the outdoors. With nerves running high and adrenaline pumping, viewers will share in the excitement and anticipation as Peyton sets his sights on his elusive prey.
As the hunt unfolds, viewers can expect plenty of heart-pounding action, stunning scenery, and unforgettable moments in the great outdoors. Don’t miss out on this special episode as Peyton Kisky makes hunting history with his first big buck!
- 2/14/2024
- by Jules Byrd
- TV Everyday
Mike White’s acclaimed comedy drama The White Lotus will soon commence production on season three, the cast has now been confirmed.
Mike White has one of the most eclectic filmographies in Hollywood. From his days as an indie darling in the late 1990s when he penned films like the terrific Chuck and Buck, The Good Girl and Orange County, to big budget blockbusters like Richard Linklater’s School Of Rock, before returning to smaller fare like Year Of The Dog and Brad’s Staus. He then turned to television, scripting two seasons of Enlightened starring Laura Dern.
In 2021, White created what has become his most acclaimed work, The White Lotus, which has amassed a plethora of Emmys across its run so far, both for White’s writing and Jennifer Coolidge’s performance as Tanya McQuoid.
It is a dark drama which follows the employees and guests at the titular high class resort,...
Mike White has one of the most eclectic filmographies in Hollywood. From his days as an indie darling in the late 1990s when he penned films like the terrific Chuck and Buck, The Good Girl and Orange County, to big budget blockbusters like Richard Linklater’s School Of Rock, before returning to smaller fare like Year Of The Dog and Brad’s Staus. He then turned to television, scripting two seasons of Enlightened starring Laura Dern.
In 2021, White created what has become his most acclaimed work, The White Lotus, which has amassed a plethora of Emmys across its run so far, both for White’s writing and Jennifer Coolidge’s performance as Tanya McQuoid.
It is a dark drama which follows the employees and guests at the titular high class resort,...
- 1/7/2024
- by Jake Godfrey
- Film Stories
Goodfellas actress Suzanne Shepherd has died aged 89, her family has confirmed.
The veteran actress was best known for her roles in Martin Scorsese’s big screen hit about the mob, as well as The Sopranos on TV.
Fans were quick to pay tribute on social media, with one calling her “the go-to mother actress.” Sopranos star Ray Abruzzo also posted a tribute on Instagram, saying:
“Sad to hear of the passing of Suzanne Shepherd.
“A force of nature. Actress, teacher.”
Shepherd portrayed the mother of the character Karen Hill (played by Lorraine Bracco) in Goodfellas.
In The Sopranos, she played Mary DeAngelis, the mother of Carmela Soprano (played by actress Edie Falco).
Shepherd’s enjoyed a career of more than three decades, after her first role as Aunt Tweedy in 1988’s Mystic Pizza. She also featured in Requiem for a Dream, Uncle Buck and Lolita.
On TV, she appeared in...
The veteran actress was best known for her roles in Martin Scorsese’s big screen hit about the mob, as well as The Sopranos on TV.
Fans were quick to pay tribute on social media, with one calling her “the go-to mother actress.” Sopranos star Ray Abruzzo also posted a tribute on Instagram, saying:
“Sad to hear of the passing of Suzanne Shepherd.
“A force of nature. Actress, teacher.”
Shepherd portrayed the mother of the character Karen Hill (played by Lorraine Bracco) in Goodfellas.
In The Sopranos, she played Mary DeAngelis, the mother of Carmela Soprano (played by actress Edie Falco).
Shepherd’s enjoyed a career of more than three decades, after her first role as Aunt Tweedy in 1988’s Mystic Pizza. She also featured in Requiem for a Dream, Uncle Buck and Lolita.
On TV, she appeared in...
- 11/19/2023
- by Caroline Frost
- Deadline Film + TV
Shannon Wilcox, a prolific actress who appeared in Dallas, several Garry Marshall films and dozens of other movies and TV shows, has died. She was 80.
A post today on Legacy.com said she died September 2 in Los Angeles.
Wilcox racked up more than 75 credits during her 45-year screen career. Her TV guest roles range from Hawaii Five-o, Cagney & Lacey, Magnum, P.I. and L.A. Law to NCIS, The Neighborhood and Grey’s Anatomy. Her many films include Marshall’s Frankie and Johnny, Exit to Eden, Dear God, The Other Sister, Raising Helen and The Princess Diaries and its sequel. Other films include Runaway Bride, Seven, For the Boys, Legal Eagles and playing the mother of Elisabeth Shue’s character in The Karate Kid.
Related: Garry Marshall Dies: ‘Happy Days’ Creator & ‘Pretty Woman’ Helmer Was 81
She also co-starred opposite Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson in the 1984 musical pic Songwriter.
Wilcox’s...
A post today on Legacy.com said she died September 2 in Los Angeles.
Wilcox racked up more than 75 credits during her 45-year screen career. Her TV guest roles range from Hawaii Five-o, Cagney & Lacey, Magnum, P.I. and L.A. Law to NCIS, The Neighborhood and Grey’s Anatomy. Her many films include Marshall’s Frankie and Johnny, Exit to Eden, Dear God, The Other Sister, Raising Helen and The Princess Diaries and its sequel. Other films include Runaway Bride, Seven, For the Boys, Legal Eagles and playing the mother of Elisabeth Shue’s character in The Karate Kid.
Related: Garry Marshall Dies: ‘Happy Days’ Creator & ‘Pretty Woman’ Helmer Was 81
She also co-starred opposite Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson in the 1984 musical pic Songwriter.
Wilcox’s...
- 11/7/2023
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Emily Blunt and Jaume Collet-Serra will reunite for something beyond a “Jungle Cruise” sequel. Deadline reports that actress and director will work together on “Kate Warne,” an action thriller for Amazon MGM. Dawyne Johnson‘s Seven Buck banner also fronts the project, making it the third Collet-Serra film it’s backed after “Jungle Cruise” and “Black Adam.” Currently, Blunt is only on board as a producer, but she’s looking to star in the picture, too; obviously, conversations about that can’t start again until the SAG strike lifts.
Continue reading ‘Kate Warne’: Emily Blunt Eying Reunion With Jaume Collet-Serra On Action Thriller About Real-Life Female Detective at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Kate Warne’: Emily Blunt Eying Reunion With Jaume Collet-Serra On Action Thriller About Real-Life Female Detective at The Playlist.
- 10/20/2023
- by Ned Booth
- The Playlist
Nancy Frangione, the soap opera actor known for starring in “Another World” and “All My Children,” died on Aug. 18 in her home state of Massachusetts. She was 70. The cause of death is not yet known.
Frangione began her role as Tara Martin in “All My Children” in 1977, and portrayed that character until 1979. She was best known for playing Cecile DePoulignac in the soap opera “Another World,” a role she reprised many times in the years from 1986 to 1996. Cecile was known as a scheming antagonist in the show and was involved in a love triangle with the characters Blaine and Sandy. After their affair, the Sandy and Cecile characters married and had a daughter, Maggie, and the marriage later split up. As Cecile, Frangione earned Soap Opera Digest’s Outstanding Villainess award.
Additionally, Frangione filled in for Andrea Evans as the character Tina Lord on the soap opera “One Life to Live.
Frangione began her role as Tara Martin in “All My Children” in 1977, and portrayed that character until 1979. She was best known for playing Cecile DePoulignac in the soap opera “Another World,” a role she reprised many times in the years from 1986 to 1996. Cecile was known as a scheming antagonist in the show and was involved in a love triangle with the characters Blaine and Sandy. After their affair, the Sandy and Cecile characters married and had a daughter, Maggie, and the marriage later split up. As Cecile, Frangione earned Soap Opera Digest’s Outstanding Villainess award.
Additionally, Frangione filled in for Andrea Evans as the character Tina Lord on the soap opera “One Life to Live.
- 8/23/2023
- by Jaden Thompson
- Variety Film + TV
Soap vet Nicolas Coster, best known for his role as Lionel Lockridge on the late NBC soap Santa Barbara, died late Monday. He was 89.
“There is great sadness in my heart this evening, my father actor Nicolas Coster has passed on in Florida at 9:01 pm in the hospital,” Coster’s daughter, Dinneen Coster, shared on Facebook. “Please be inspired by his artistic achievements and know he was a real actor’s actor! I will remember him as always doing his best and being a great father. Rest In Peace.”
More from TVLineWWE Hall of Famer Terry Funk Dead at...
“There is great sadness in my heart this evening, my father actor Nicolas Coster has passed on in Florida at 9:01 pm in the hospital,” Coster’s daughter, Dinneen Coster, shared on Facebook. “Please be inspired by his artistic achievements and know he was a real actor’s actor! I will remember him as always doing his best and being a great father. Rest In Peace.”
More from TVLineWWE Hall of Famer Terry Funk Dead at...
- 6/27/2023
- by Michael Ausiello
- TVLine.com
Zinc Media label Supercollider has partnered with Idris Elba’s Green Door Pictures and Sabrina Elba’s Pink Towel on documentary series “Paid in Full: The Battle for Payback” (working title) for public broadcasters CBC and BBC.
The series (3 x 60′), produced in association with Catalyst, examines the exploitation of Black artists by the music industry and explores what it would look like for Black artists to receive reparations. It documents the extent of the historic injustice suffered by the music industry’s Black artists, including the disparity of profits received by them, despite having created the records that have driven the fabric and culture of popular music. The series will also look at racial inequality in the music industry both today and in the past.
The series features contributions from author and filmmaker Mk Asante Jr and Lawrence Lartey, director of innovation, industry and enterprise at Ravensbourne University London who...
The series (3 x 60′), produced in association with Catalyst, examines the exploitation of Black artists by the music industry and explores what it would look like for Black artists to receive reparations. It documents the extent of the historic injustice suffered by the music industry’s Black artists, including the disparity of profits received by them, despite having created the records that have driven the fabric and culture of popular music. The series will also look at racial inequality in the music industry both today and in the past.
The series features contributions from author and filmmaker Mk Asante Jr and Lawrence Lartey, director of innovation, industry and enterprise at Ravensbourne University London who...
- 5/22/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Mayim Bialik Mourns Call Me Kat Cancellation — and Teases Where All the Characters Would've Ended Up
Mayim Bialik is saying goodbye to Call Me Kat… and looking ahead to what might have been.
The actress posted a tribute to her cancelled Fox sitcom on Monday, saying: “It’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday….We made a lot of people laugh during Covid in ways that at first seemed impossible. But with this incredible cast — Cheyenne [Jackson], Swoosie [Kurtz], Julian [Gant] and Kyla [Pratt] — and, of course, with the late Leslie Jordan, all things that seemed impossible became possible.”
More from TVLine9-1-1 Recap: It Finally Happened! Plus, [Spoiler]'s Return Rocks Buck's WorldFamily Guy Marries...
The actress posted a tribute to her cancelled Fox sitcom on Monday, saying: “It’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday….We made a lot of people laugh during Covid in ways that at first seemed impossible. But with this incredible cast — Cheyenne [Jackson], Swoosie [Kurtz], Julian [Gant] and Kyla [Pratt] — and, of course, with the late Leslie Jordan, all things that seemed impossible became possible.”
More from TVLine9-1-1 Recap: It Finally Happened! Plus, [Spoiler]'s Return Rocks Buck's WorldFamily Guy Marries...
- 5/9/2023
- by Dave Nemetz
- TVLine.com
“It feels like the 9-1-1 of old,” Oliver Stark (firefighter Evan “Buck” Buckley) says of the “big” Season 6. The Fox first responder drama returns on September 19 with a major disaster (involving a blimp!) but that’s not all that’s coming up in the premiere. Expect a few more calls as well. And Buck 1.5 co-showrunner Kristen Reidel teased at the end of Season 5? He’s not going anywhere. Stark tells us more about where Season 6, including where it finds his character. Last we saw Buck, he made the mature decision about his relationship with Taylor (Megan West). Is he sticking to that — not doing what he’s done in the past when it comes to relationships — when the season begins? Oliver Stark: He is. I think we find Buck at the beginning of Season 6 in quite a reflective place where he is almost realizing or trying to realize and...
- 9/16/2022
- TV Insider
Who’s in the mood for some giant panckes? 1989’s Uncle Buck is arguably John Candy’s second-best movie ever. John Hughes’ Planes, Trains, and Automobiles is probably the film he’s most remembered for, and the director/star combo worked so well they re-teamed for Uncle Buck two years later. This family comedy was the biggest hit of Candy’s career. Notably, it introduced the world to Macaulay Culkin, whose precocious performance led to Home Alone a year later. Looking back at the movie now, it’s a too-often ignored classic, with a Candy performance that mixes humor, pathos, and even a touch of menace in a way only the late, great actor could.
This month’s John Hughes Revisited is written, edited, and narrated by Matthew Hacienda.
Do you agree that Uncle Buck is Candy’s second-best movie? Let us know in the comments!
The post Uncle Buck...
This month’s John Hughes Revisited is written, edited, and narrated by Matthew Hacienda.
Do you agree that Uncle Buck is Candy’s second-best movie? Let us know in the comments!
The post Uncle Buck...
- 9/15/2022
- by Steve Seigh
- JoBlo.com
Updated, 10:15 Am: Rosario Dawson, Joel McHale, Joe Manganiello, Christian Serratos, Elodie Young and more are among the stellar voice cast for Season 3 of Love, Death & Robots, announced today by Netflix. The streamer also released the final trailer for the third season ahead of its premiere tomorrow, which you can watch above. See a complete episode list, including voice cast, below.
“Three Robots: Exit Strategies”
The first direct sequel in Love, Death + Robots history – from the mind of acclaimed sci-fi novelist John Scalzi. The titular trio of droll droids return to take a whirlwind tour studying post-apocalyptic human survival strategies before mankind was finally snuffed out.
Director: Patrick Osborne
Writer: John Scalzi
Studio: Blow Studio
Voice Cast: Josh Brener, Gary Anthony Williams, Katie Lowes, Chris Parnell
“Bad Travelling”
A jable shark-hunting sailing vessel is attacked by a giant crustacean whose size and intelligence is matched only by its appetite.
“Three Robots: Exit Strategies”
The first direct sequel in Love, Death + Robots history – from the mind of acclaimed sci-fi novelist John Scalzi. The titular trio of droll droids return to take a whirlwind tour studying post-apocalyptic human survival strategies before mankind was finally snuffed out.
Director: Patrick Osborne
Writer: John Scalzi
Studio: Blow Studio
Voice Cast: Josh Brener, Gary Anthony Williams, Katie Lowes, Chris Parnell
“Bad Travelling”
A jable shark-hunting sailing vessel is attacked by a giant crustacean whose size and intelligence is matched only by its appetite.
- 5/19/2022
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
The Cannes Film Festival has added two more films to the Official Selection of the 75th edition, which will kick off on May 17.
Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “As Bestas,” a French-Spanish movie, has been added to Cannes Première, the new section dedicated to world premieres for movies that are slightly more mainstream, similarly to the out-of-competition strand. Sorogoyen previously earned an Oscar nomination with his 2017 short film “Madre.”
Denis Ménochet and Marina Foïs star as a middle-aged French couple moves to a local village, seeking closeness with nature and end up sparking outright hostility and shocking violence with the small community.
“Salam,” a documentary directed by Mélanie Georgiades aka Diam’s, Houda Benyamina (“The Eddy”) and Anne Cissé (“Buck”), is set to play in the Special Screenings section.
Following its April 14 presser, the festival also added three movies competition: Léonor Serraille’s “Un Petit Frere,” Albert Serra’s “Tourment sur les iles...
Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “As Bestas,” a French-Spanish movie, has been added to Cannes Première, the new section dedicated to world premieres for movies that are slightly more mainstream, similarly to the out-of-competition strand. Sorogoyen previously earned an Oscar nomination with his 2017 short film “Madre.”
Denis Ménochet and Marina Foïs star as a middle-aged French couple moves to a local village, seeking closeness with nature and end up sparking outright hostility and shocking violence with the small community.
“Salam,” a documentary directed by Mélanie Georgiades aka Diam’s, Houda Benyamina (“The Eddy”) and Anne Cissé (“Buck”), is set to play in the Special Screenings section.
Following its April 14 presser, the festival also added three movies competition: Léonor Serraille’s “Un Petit Frere,” Albert Serra’s “Tourment sur les iles...
- 4/29/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Governor Ron DeSantis is now fundraising off a video showing him barking at Florida students for having the gall to wear a mask near him during a pandemic.
“Masks are political theater,” DeSantis wrote in an email before complaining that “leftist propagandists in our media … called me a ‘bully’ for allowing children to breathe fresh air.”
Inbox: DeSantis now fundraising off his interaction with college students yesterday telling them to take off their masks pic.twitter.com/F5lyo5BQrZ
— Nick Corasaniti (@NYTnickc) March 3, 2022
The fundraising push comes a day...
“Masks are political theater,” DeSantis wrote in an email before complaining that “leftist propagandists in our media … called me a ‘bully’ for allowing children to breathe fresh air.”
Inbox: DeSantis now fundraising off his interaction with college students yesterday telling them to take off their masks pic.twitter.com/F5lyo5BQrZ
— Nick Corasaniti (@NYTnickc) March 3, 2022
The fundraising push comes a day...
- 3/3/2022
- by Peter Wade
- Rollingstone.com
The drama on 9-1-1 is heating up.
Fox on Monday dropped our first look at the back half of 9-1-1 Season 5, and it looks like we're in for a treat.
The series left fans with a lot of cliffhangers with its fall finale, and there will be a lot to unpack on the spring premiere.
The good news is that Chimney and Maddie are very much back in the mix.
Their returns were heavily expected, but there have been many questions about what will become of them.
If you watch 9-1-1 online, you know that Maddie skipped town after leaving her baby at the fire station.
Chimney has been trying to find her ever since, leading to questions about their future.
“I’m sure that you are confused, hurt, and probably really scared. I don’t know what to say. You don’t need to go to the police or come looking for me.
Fox on Monday dropped our first look at the back half of 9-1-1 Season 5, and it looks like we're in for a treat.
The series left fans with a lot of cliffhangers with its fall finale, and there will be a lot to unpack on the spring premiere.
The good news is that Chimney and Maddie are very much back in the mix.
Their returns were heavily expected, but there have been many questions about what will become of them.
If you watch 9-1-1 online, you know that Maddie skipped town after leaving her baby at the fire station.
Chimney has been trying to find her ever since, leading to questions about their future.
“I’m sure that you are confused, hurt, and probably really scared. I don’t know what to say. You don’t need to go to the police or come looking for me.
- 2/21/2022
- by Paul Dailly
- TVfanatic
Former Midnight, Texas resident Arielle Kebbel has been dialed up by Fox’s 9-1-1.
According to our sister site Deadline, Kebbel will fill the major recurring role of Lucy Donato, an Lafd Firefighter who works at rival Firehouse 147. Described as “super confident, fearless and is as quick at making life or death decisions as she is at speaking her mind,” Lucy is likened to being the 147’s daredevil version of Oliver Stark’s Buck.
More from TVLineRatings: The Resident Returns Steady, Fox's Real Dirty Dancing StumblesThe Real Dirty Dancing Premiere: Did You Have the Time of Your Life?The Resident EP Explains 'Complicated,...
According to our sister site Deadline, Kebbel will fill the major recurring role of Lucy Donato, an Lafd Firefighter who works at rival Firehouse 147. Described as “super confident, fearless and is as quick at making life or death decisions as she is at speaking her mind,” Lucy is likened to being the 147’s daredevil version of Oliver Stark’s Buck.
More from TVLineRatings: The Resident Returns Steady, Fox's Real Dirty Dancing StumblesThe Real Dirty Dancing Premiere: Did You Have the Time of Your Life?The Resident EP Explains 'Complicated,...
- 2/3/2022
- by Matt Webb Mitovich
- TVLine.com
This year at the Sundance Film Festival, three feature documentaries — Paula Eiselt and Tonya Lewis Lee’s “Aftershock,” Reid Davenport’s “I Didn’t See You There” and Isabel Castro’s “Mija” — share in common a $10,000 grant provided by the Points North Institute and CNN Films’ American Stories Documentary Fund.
Launched in 2020, the fund underwritten by CNN has dispensed a total of $100,000 in grants to emerging U.S. filmmakers working on 10 documentary projects that highlight pivotal moments in America. Eiselt and Lewis Lee’s “Aftershock,” and Davenport’s “I Didn’t See You There” are two of nine films in the Sundance U.S. Documentary Competition program, while Castro’s “Mija” is featured in the festival’s Next program. “Aftershock” addresses the U.S. maternal health crisis, “I Didn’t See You There” examines the discrimination people with disabilities face throughout the country, and “Mija” explores America’s immigration issues via music manager Doris Muñoz.
Launched in 2020, the fund underwritten by CNN has dispensed a total of $100,000 in grants to emerging U.S. filmmakers working on 10 documentary projects that highlight pivotal moments in America. Eiselt and Lewis Lee’s “Aftershock,” and Davenport’s “I Didn’t See You There” are two of nine films in the Sundance U.S. Documentary Competition program, while Castro’s “Mija” is featured in the festival’s Next program. “Aftershock” addresses the U.S. maternal health crisis, “I Didn’t See You There” examines the discrimination people with disabilities face throughout the country, and “Mija” explores America’s immigration issues via music manager Doris Muñoz.
- 1/25/2022
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
We're about to enter the prime Oscar-hopeful months of the year. Excited? But before we do, here's a quick look back at August at Tfe. In case you missed any of this baker's dozen...
Some Highlights
• Interview Nine Perfect Strangers Abe interviews Michael Shannon
• Emmy Categories -we've analyzed many of the top races
• Spencer tease - will Kristen Stewart be up for gold?
• Jennifer Hudson in Respect a big new role for a fine singer
• The Green Knight -Matt has a big crush on Dev Patel
• Phil Tippet -Elisa meets the "mad god" of vfx
• Jeanette Goldstein in Aliens Nick gives a strong genre turn its due
• Gay Best Friend: Chuck and Buck - with White Lotus all the rage, Christopher looks back at Mike White's breakout
• A Room With a View a long-read team retrospective
• How had I never seen...Blue Velvet Ben has never been a...
Some Highlights
• Interview Nine Perfect Strangers Abe interviews Michael Shannon
• Emmy Categories -we've analyzed many of the top races
• Spencer tease - will Kristen Stewart be up for gold?
• Jennifer Hudson in Respect a big new role for a fine singer
• The Green Knight -Matt has a big crush on Dev Patel
• Phil Tippet -Elisa meets the "mad god" of vfx
• Jeanette Goldstein in Aliens Nick gives a strong genre turn its due
• Gay Best Friend: Chuck and Buck - with White Lotus all the rage, Christopher looks back at Mike White's breakout
• A Room With a View a long-read team retrospective
• How had I never seen...Blue Velvet Ben has never been a...
- 8/31/2021
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Tony Sokol Jul 16, 2019
Mountain Monsters season 4 brings hillbilly hauntings and Appalachian folklore to Travel Channel.
Mountain Monsters ended season 3 with a cliffhanger, and the Appalachian Investigators of Mysterious Sightings (Aims) team is taking a leap. The cult-classic series is jumping to its new home on Travel Channel for season 4, which will premiere with a two-hour special on Aug. 21 at 9 pm.
“After leaving season three with such an intense cliffhanger, we knew we had to broadcast this season on a larger platform, bringing this incredibly popular show from Destination America to a new home at Travel Channel for our Aims-obsessed fans,” Matthew Butler, general manager of Travel Channel and Destination America, said in a statement.
The Travel Channel series will pick up right where it left off, with the self-proclaimed “hillbilly hunters" entangled in the backwoods of the Dark Forest. Trapper, Buck, Huckleberry, Jeff, Willy, and Wild Bill, the original team...
Mountain Monsters season 4 brings hillbilly hauntings and Appalachian folklore to Travel Channel.
Mountain Monsters ended season 3 with a cliffhanger, and the Appalachian Investigators of Mysterious Sightings (Aims) team is taking a leap. The cult-classic series is jumping to its new home on Travel Channel for season 4, which will premiere with a two-hour special on Aug. 21 at 9 pm.
“After leaving season three with such an intense cliffhanger, we knew we had to broadcast this season on a larger platform, bringing this incredibly popular show from Destination America to a new home at Travel Channel for our Aims-obsessed fans,” Matthew Butler, general manager of Travel Channel and Destination America, said in a statement.
The Travel Channel series will pick up right where it left off, with the self-proclaimed “hillbilly hunters" entangled in the backwoods of the Dark Forest. Trapper, Buck, Huckleberry, Jeff, Willy, and Wild Bill, the original team...
- 7/16/2019
- Den of Geek
Later this week, Lrm will be attending this year’s Sundance Film Festival. While the festival tends to be a mixed bag of indie films, some will be picked up for distribution by studios and turned into mainstream hits, others will flounder and be lucky to get a VOD release. Even so, there’s no denying that Sundance is the real beginning of the year for most movie lovers as we’ll be talking about the movies below for the next 12 months.
Last year alone, Sundance held the premieres for The Birth of a Nation, Manchester by the Sea, Captain Fantastic, Love and Friendship, The Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Sing Street and many more films, some that appeared on The Weekend Warrior’s year-end Top 25. One or two of those might even receive Oscar nominations when they’re announced next week on January 24.
Most of the films I’ve selected...
Last year alone, Sundance held the premieres for The Birth of a Nation, Manchester by the Sea, Captain Fantastic, Love and Friendship, The Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Sing Street and many more films, some that appeared on The Weekend Warrior’s year-end Top 25. One or two of those might even receive Oscar nominations when they’re announced next week on January 24.
Most of the films I’ve selected...
- 1/17/2017
- by Edward Douglas
- LRMonline.com
This year’s Sundance Film Festival is mere days from unspooling in snowy Park City, Utah and, with it comes a brand new year of indie filmmaking to get excited about. As ever, the annual festival is playing home to dozens of feature films, short offerings and technologically-influenced experiences, and while there’s plenty to anticipate seeing, we’ve waded through the lineup to pick out the ones we’re most looking forward to checking out.
From returning filmmakers like Alex Ross Perry and Gillian Robesepierre to a handful of long-gestating passion projects and at least one film about a ghost, we’ve got a little something for every stripe of film fan.
Read More: Sundance 2017: Check Out the Full Lineup, Including Competition Titles, Premieres and Shorts
Ahead, check out 20 titles we’re excited to finally check out at this year’s festival.
“Landline”
The trifecta behind previous Sundance...
From returning filmmakers like Alex Ross Perry and Gillian Robesepierre to a handful of long-gestating passion projects and at least one film about a ghost, we’ve got a little something for every stripe of film fan.
Read More: Sundance 2017: Check Out the Full Lineup, Including Competition Titles, Premieres and Shorts
Ahead, check out 20 titles we’re excited to finally check out at this year’s festival.
“Landline”
The trifecta behind previous Sundance...
- 1/11/2017
- by Chris O'Falt, Eric Kohn, Graham Winfrey, Jude Dry, Kate Erbland, Steve Greene and Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
May shoot for Who Will Write Our History about the Oyneg Shabes archive; Nancy Spielberg produces with support from Steven Spielberg-chaired fund.
Shoot will begin on May 5, 2016, on Roberta Grossman’s Who Will Write Our History, the feature documentary telling the story of the hidden ‘Oyneg Shabes’ archive of 30,000 documents buried in 1943 on the eve of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.
The film is executive-produced by Nancy Spielberg and has received support from the Righteous Persons Foundation which her brother Steven Spielberg set up with proceeds from his 1994 film, Schindler’s List.
Oscar nominee Joan Allen is to provide narration for the film which is based on Samuel Kassow’s well-received 2007 book of the same name.
The Oyneg Shabes archive is the extraordinarily revealing hoard of letters, confessionals, last testaments, poems and questionnaires compiled under the guidance of Jewish historian Emanuel Ringelblum in the Warsaw Ghetto during the Nazi occupation.
The documents...
Shoot will begin on May 5, 2016, on Roberta Grossman’s Who Will Write Our History, the feature documentary telling the story of the hidden ‘Oyneg Shabes’ archive of 30,000 documents buried in 1943 on the eve of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.
The film is executive-produced by Nancy Spielberg and has received support from the Righteous Persons Foundation which her brother Steven Spielberg set up with proceeds from his 1994 film, Schindler’s List.
Oscar nominee Joan Allen is to provide narration for the film which is based on Samuel Kassow’s well-received 2007 book of the same name.
The Oyneg Shabes archive is the extraordinarily revealing hoard of letters, confessionals, last testaments, poems and questionnaires compiled under the guidance of Jewish historian Emanuel Ringelblum in the Warsaw Ghetto during the Nazi occupation.
The documents...
- 4/25/2016
- by geoffrey@macnab.demon.co.uk (Geoffrey Macnab)
- ScreenDaily
Discover the stuff that dreams are made of. Hold your breath, make a wish, count to three. Take a day off with Ferris Bueller. Survive a winter in the Overlook Hotel. Movie lovers will be able to do all of this and more in 2016 as Fathom Events partners with Turner Classic Movies (TCM) for the biggest-ever “TCM Big Screen Classics” series.
The not-to-miss lineup begins in January and continues monthly throughout the year as Fathom Events and TCM bring some of the greatest titles ever back into movie theaters, each for just four showings. These classics will each be accompanied by specially produced commentary from TCM hosts Robert Osborne or Ben Mankiewicz.
The series will include “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” “Planet of the Apes” and “The King and I” from Twentieth Century Fox; “The Maltese Falcon,” “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” and “The Shining” from Warner Bros.; “The Ten Commandments,...
The not-to-miss lineup begins in January and continues monthly throughout the year as Fathom Events and TCM bring some of the greatest titles ever back into movie theaters, each for just four showings. These classics will each be accompanied by specially produced commentary from TCM hosts Robert Osborne or Ben Mankiewicz.
The series will include “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” “Planet of the Apes” and “The King and I” from Twentieth Century Fox; “The Maltese Falcon,” “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” and “The Shining” from Warner Bros.; “The Ten Commandments,...
- 12/8/2015
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Read More: Why We Bought Your Film: Top Distributors Answer the Tough Questions At one of this week's Ifp Film Week panels, two documentary producers at the top of their game weighed in on what it's like to work in the increasingly fast-paced industry, and shared some tips on how to handle the role of creative producer. Nancy Goldman, Svp of HBO Documentary Films and Julie Goldman, founder of Motto Pictures, whose credits include "Best of Enemies," "The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble," "Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present," "Buck" and "Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry," sat down to talk. What do you need to be a good creative producer? "I think creative producing and executive producing are in a similar place, but the intensive, hands-on version is the creative producer," explained Goldman. In short, the creative producer does everything. "Ideally, you should be across...
- 9/25/2015
- by Aubrey Page
- Indiewire
One of the most prolific documentary producers around, Julie Goldman, takes the main stage this afternoon at Ifp’s Screen Forward conference to talk about the evolving practice of non-fiction production. With producing credits going back to 1997, Goldman has produced or executive produced such notable films as Buck, Beware of Mr. Baker, 1971 , Best of Enemies and Manhunt: The Search for Bin Laden. She’s currently producing through her production company, Motto, which has allowed her to increase the quantity of her production, just one of several topics she discusses below. Filmmaker: Your producing credits go back to 1997, yet […]...
- 9/22/2015
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
One of the most prolific documentary producers around, Julie Goldman, takes the main stage this afternoon at Ifp’s Screen Forward conference to talk about the evolving practice of non-fiction production. With producing credits going back to 1997, Goldman has produced or executive produced such notable films as Buck, Beware of Mr. Baker, 1971 , Best of Enemies and Manhunt: The Search for Bin Laden. She’s currently producing through her production company, Motto, which has allowed her to increase the quantity of her production, just one of several topics she discusses below. Filmmaker: Your producing credits go back to 1997, yet […]...
- 9/22/2015
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
By Anjelica Oswald
Managing Editor
After narrowing the Oscar documentary feature shortlist to five at the 87th Academy Award nominations Jan. 15, a number of notable exclusions were featured, particularly Al Hicks‘ Keep on Keepin’ On, which documents the mentorship and friendship of a jazz legend and a blind piano prodigy, and Steve James‘ Life Itself, about the life and career of famed film critic Roger Ebert. (James is no stranger to snubs and the exclusion of his 1994 film Hoop Dreams led to rule reform within the documentary category.) Both films hold 97 percent positive ratings on Rotten Tomatoes.
Some films surprised when they didn’t even land a spot on the shortlist, such as Red Army, which examines the rise and fall of the Soviet Union’s hockey team from the perspective of its coach. That film holds a 100 percent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In light of these best documentary feature snubs,...
Managing Editor
After narrowing the Oscar documentary feature shortlist to five at the 87th Academy Award nominations Jan. 15, a number of notable exclusions were featured, particularly Al Hicks‘ Keep on Keepin’ On, which documents the mentorship and friendship of a jazz legend and a blind piano prodigy, and Steve James‘ Life Itself, about the life and career of famed film critic Roger Ebert. (James is no stranger to snubs and the exclusion of his 1994 film Hoop Dreams led to rule reform within the documentary category.) Both films hold 97 percent positive ratings on Rotten Tomatoes.
Some films surprised when they didn’t even land a spot on the shortlist, such as Red Army, which examines the rise and fall of the Soviet Union’s hockey team from the perspective of its coach. That film holds a 100 percent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In light of these best documentary feature snubs,...
- 1/23/2015
- by Anjelica Oswald
- Scott Feinberg
Two years ago, on the eve of his eagerly awaited Broadway revival of Death of a Salesman, I sat down with Mike Nichols to look back on his remarkable career. During those two-plus hours together at the Mark Hotel in Manhattan, the legendary director, then 80, reminisced about a life of highs and lows that began as a bright-eyed young boy who fled Nazi Germany for America. "I remember everything about getting on the boat in Germany in 1939," Nichols said. "I was 7, my brother was 3, and my father was already in New York setting up his practice as a doctor. German Jews couldn't leave the country,...
- 11/20/2014
- by Chris Nashawaty
- EW - Inside Movies
The Tribeca Film Festival announced its jurors for this year’s event, which runs from April 16-27. The list includes Toni Collette, Lake Bell, Whoopi Goldberg, Catherine Hardwicke, Heather Graham, Anton Yelchin, Paul Wesley and 26 other leaders of the filmmaking community.
In addition to the Festival’s main competition juries in seven categories, Tribeca named Delia Ephron, Natasha Lyonne, and Gary Ross to select the second annual Nora Ephron Prize, which awards $25,000 to a female writer or director.
Click below for the entire list of jurors, with biographical information courtesy of the Tribeca festival:
World Competition Categories
The jurors for...
In addition to the Festival’s main competition juries in seven categories, Tribeca named Delia Ephron, Natasha Lyonne, and Gary Ross to select the second annual Nora Ephron Prize, which awards $25,000 to a female writer or director.
Click below for the entire list of jurors, with biographical information courtesy of the Tribeca festival:
World Competition Categories
The jurors for...
- 4/8/2014
- by Jeff Labrecque
- EW - Inside Movies
★★★★☆ Cindy Meehl's poignant portrait of horse whisperer Buck Brannaman, the subject of author Nicholas Evans' best-selling novel and the 1998 Robert Redford Hollywood movie, wowed audiences at the Sundance Film Festival back in 2011 and is rereleased on DVD this week by Dogwoof after the collapse of Revolver. At the start of Buck (2011), Brannaman comments, "Often instead of helping people with horse problems, I'm helping horses with people problems." It's a philosophy that has held him in good stead on his travels across America and beyond and defines his particular style of natural-horsemanship.
- 11/11/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
One of the most interesting filmmaking panels at the Sheffield Doc/Fest this past weekend asked a very popular question amongst filmmakers, aspiring and new: "How Do Filmmakers Get Paid?" The question, of course, changes from context to context, from film to film, from deal to deal. But the panelists were able to make some worthy comments about their own experiences and the experiences in their home countries that were helpful for all. Joining the session's chair, the Canadian producer Mark Johnston, were Roy Ackerman, who works on series for Jamie Oliver's Fresh One company; Motto Pictures' Julie Goldman ("Buck," "God Loves Uganda"), an American; and Dutch producer Femke Wolting, who works on films and interactive projects. The answer to the question at hand was, of course, that filmmakers get paid when there is money to pay them. While much film funding comes from grants and donations, much...
- 6/20/2013
- by Bryce J. Renninger
- Indiewire
Filling The Void: Jacobson and Silverbush Eye Hunger
While the United States continuously extends its charitable hands to famished communities the world over, we often turn a blind eye to those in our own communities unfortunate enough to lack the means to keep a stocked pantry with affordable, healthy foods. Collaborating for the first time, directors Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush broach our little talked about hunger issue with the feeling of infomercial conviction in lieu of invasive action. Their formulaic wake up call boasts celebrities like Top Chef star Tom Colicchio and Jeff Bridges with their mutual campaigns against domestic hunger, underscoring their pleas with heart-string strumming tales of famished families tethered to a broken system in which a lack of employment and perpetual poverty are the true underlying issues. Though compositionally bland and far from impartial, A Place at the Table surely directs some much needed attention to...
While the United States continuously extends its charitable hands to famished communities the world over, we often turn a blind eye to those in our own communities unfortunate enough to lack the means to keep a stocked pantry with affordable, healthy foods. Collaborating for the first time, directors Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush broach our little talked about hunger issue with the feeling of infomercial conviction in lieu of invasive action. Their formulaic wake up call boasts celebrities like Top Chef star Tom Colicchio and Jeff Bridges with their mutual campaigns against domestic hunger, underscoring their pleas with heart-string strumming tales of famished families tethered to a broken system in which a lack of employment and perpetual poverty are the true underlying issues. Though compositionally bland and far from impartial, A Place at the Table surely directs some much needed attention to...
- 3/4/2013
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Thom Powers is a friend of ours in the business and amazes us by his acumen, generosity, range of activities and devotion to what many of us consider the most frequently relevant, creative and earth changing form of feature length cinema - the documentary. I came upon this fascinating dialogue on his website (link below) where he ruminated most eloquently about what actually went on at Sundance business wise with documentaries. Fascinating. Please check out his 'Stranger Than Fiction' website which is of great value to any filmmaker wanting clarity on the business of documentary film. Two fascinating reports (for example) listed on the site among others were these two - Guide to Documentary Buyers at Tiff and Guide to Documentary Sales Agents at Tiff. Every docu filmmaker should start here. Thom Powers has been an International Documentary Programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival® since 2006. He is also responsible for Mavericks, the Festival’s discussion series with cinema innovators. Powers is the Artistic Director for the weekly documentary series, “Stranger than Fiction” at Manhattan’s IFC Center and for the Doc NYC festival in November. He also consults on programming for the Miami International Film Festival. He has directed documentaries for HBO and PBS; and is a founding member of the documentary production company Sugar Pictures. He teaches documentary courses at New York University’s School of Continuing Professional Studies and the School of Visual Arts. He is a co-founder of the Cinema Eye Honors, an annual award for documentary excellence; and the Garrrett Scott Development Grant. He has served as a juror for Sundance, SXSW, Cph: Dox and DocAviv festivals; as well as the Emmy, Ida and Independent Spirit Awards. He has written extensively on documentary filmmaking for The Boston Globe, Real Screen, and Filmmaker Magazine. Stranger than Fiction Exclusive documentary film screenings, hosted by Raphaela Neihausen and Thom Powers. Winter Season: Jan 8 - Feb 26, 2013 IFC Center 323 Sixth Ave. @ West Third St.
A Conversation With Thom Powers on the Sundance Film Festival
by Rahul Chadha | Sunday, February 3rd, 2013
For most people on the indie film circuit, the Sundance Film Festival marks the start of the new year. Park City is where filmmakers go to earn buzz for their projects, get some press and maybe even ink a distribution deal. On Jan. 30 I spoke with Thom Powers about the documentary films at Sundance that garnered the most chatter and the biggest checks, among other subjects.
[Q&A has been edited for content and clarity]
Rahul Chadha: It seemed like so much of the press attention around Sundance was focused on sales. The Hollywood Reporter said that four docs sold for at least seven figures and I read a report that Blackfish elicited a bidding war from four or five distributors. Did you get the sense that sales were better this year, and if so, why do you think that was?
Thom Powers: Some of those figures are slightly inflated. I know at least one of those films that is being reported as a million dollar sale is a little under a million dollars. But the fact remains that there were some very strong doc sales, and notably the emergence of a new player in The Weinstein Company’s RADiUS brand run by Tom Quinn and Jason Janego. Tom previously worked for Magnolia, where he worked on several successful docs such as Food Inc. and Man On Wire. Months ago RADiUS announced involvement in the new Errol Morris film about Donald Rumsfeld, The Unknown Known, due out later this year. Tom told me they would be very selective about docs which left me unprepared for their recent buying streak. Their first Sundance acquisition was the opening night title 20 Feet From Stardom, set in the music industry that gives it a solid commercial hook. Then RADiUS acquired Inequality For All, which struck me as less obvious. But if you imagine it following in the footsteps of An Inconvenient Truth you can see the commercial appeal. Then they announced Cutie And The Boxer, which has no celebrity connection and on the surface feels less obviously commercial, although it had strong word of mouth. So it seems RADiUS is trying out a wide range of docs and it’s good for the industry to have a new player in the mix. In addition to their strong showing, there was notable acquisitions by mainstay distributors including Sundance Selects, which bought Dirty Wars and The Summit, and Magnolia Pictures, which bought Blackfish.
Chadha: It seemed like Submarine had a strong presence this year.
Powers: For years Submarine–run by Josh Braun and his brother Dan–has been the dominant doc sales agent making the biggest doc deals at both Sundance and Toronto. There are certainly other big sales agents, including Cinetic and big agencies like Wme, CAA, UTA, or ICM taking on the occasional doc. But no one carries as big a slate of high prestige documentaries as Submarine. This year their lineup included 20 Feet From Stardom, Blackfish, The Summit, Dirty Wars and Cutie And The Boxer, all of which were high-profile deals. Their slate includes other films that have yet to announce deals, including God Loves Uganda, Muscle Shoals, Who Is Dayani Cristal? and Citizen Koch.
Chadha: Do you think this underscores that filmmakers really do need a sales agent at a festival the level of Sundance?
Powers: I think for a film that has real theatrical potential a sales agent is key. For a film that may find it tougher in the American marketplace, such as many of the docs in the world competition that may not be competing for deals – any subtitled film has a harder time in this marketplace – for those films I don’t know that a sales agent necessarily helps for the kinds of smaller deals that may or may not be offered.
Chadha: Do you think that as digital becomes an increasingly important distribution channel that festivals will take on a new importance?
Powers: I do. In an old model, the way a film would imprint itself on the public’s consciousness is to get a theatrical run. But now there are more documentaries and more films in general being released than ever before. There are weeks when the New York Times is reviewing 15 films, so it’s harder to leave an impression on the public. A lot of these films are seeing their financial future on digital platforms. Because viewers aren’t hearing as much about films in theatrical release, I think the festival circuit is going to have increasing importance for the life of a film.
Chadha: There were a few films at Sundance that dealt with the legacy of 9/11. You mentioned Dirty Wars but there was The World According To Dick Cheney and Which Way Is The Front Line From Here? The Life And Time Of Tim Hetherington and We Steal Secrets: The Story Of Wikileaks.
Powers: Yes that thematic cluster absolutely stood out. The legacy of 9/11 and the response to it through wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as other kinds of counter-terrorism actions played out in other countries, remains a key subject for documentary makers to grapple with. I think the distance of 12 years from 9/11 gives us time to reflect. In the film Manhunt about the hunt for Osama bin Laden, there’s a clear connection. The World According To Dick Cheney is about the chief architect of post-9/11 counter-terrorism actions. It came in for criticism that the filmmakers weren’t hard enough on Dick Cheney, weren’t asking tough enough questions. And while I shared some of those frustrations, I certainly learned a lot about Cheney’s career from watching it.
Chadha: Anthony Kaufman recently wrote a piece that singled out Dirty Wars and the Alex Gibney film We Steal Secrets: The Story Of Wikileaks as two films that he thought might presage a wave of films by left-leaning filmmakers that are critical of Obama and his policies? Do you agree with that assessment or see a similar trend?
Powers: It’s a smart observation. Dirty Wars – which is one of the films I was most impressed by at Sundance – takes a long view of American foreign policy after 9/11 in the hands of the journalist at the center of that film, Jeremy Scahill, who’s best known for his book on Blackwater, and who now has a new book coming out that ties into this film. Alex Gibney’s Wikileaksfilm looks at the harsh response of the Obama administration to Bradley Manning, the U.S. soldier who had leaked the headline grabbing documents to Wikileaks. Those two films make an interesting contrast to documentaries of the past decade which comfortably coincided with a liberal critique of the Bush administration. I’m thinking of docs like Farhenheit 9/11 or No End In Sight that liberals rallied behind to point a finger at their political opponents. These new films force a more uncomfortable confrontation with an administration that those same liberals helped get elected.
Chadha: You previously mentioned to me that you thought that filmmakers screening unfinished films at Sundance were taking a risk. Why is that?
Powers: For some reason at Sundance, more than other festivals that I’m aware of, you find filmmakers rushing to screen works that sometimes aren’t completed. In my seven years of programming at Toronto, I’m not aware of any documentaries that went back for serious editing after their premiere – other than those presented as works-in-progress. But at Sundance every year there seems to be a few films that push the deadline so hard that they get taken back to the edit room afterwards. A notable example a couple of years ago was The Interrupters which played at Sundance in a version close to three hours before getting re-edited and having nearly an hour of material taken out of it. The question is, how much does that hurt a film, to have its first presentation before critics and industry be a version of itself that’s not the best. You can point to The Interrupters as a positive example. A lot of people, myself included, appreciated the long version of that film, and it didn’t diminish our interest at all. A fresh example this year was The Square, Jehane Noujaim’s film about the last two years of protest in Egypt around Tahrir Square. In this case the film arrived without any credits on it and Jehane told audiences that she was going back into the edit room. Normally that would sound to me like a challenging strategy. However, The Square came away from Sundance with an audience award. There’s clearly a power to that film, and a power that touched me watching that film, that transcended any rough edges that it contained. So I’ve just given two examples of films that made it work for them. I wouldn’t want to call out films where I think that strategy has not worked. But there certainly are cases and I’d strongly caution filmmakers not to assume that they’ll be the happy exceptions if they’re rushing their films for a festival deadline.
Chadha: There was a lot of talk this year about how well-represented women were on the doc side. I was wondering why you think this difference exists between the doc side and the fictional narrative side, where women still are underrepresented?
Powers: You can start a documentary with just a camera, as opposed to a fiction film where you need actors, a crew, a script, a lot more start-up resources. It may be self-perpetuating. Because there have been more prominent female doc makers, dating back to Barbara Kopple winning an Academy Award in the mid-70s, they’ve become role models for other women.
Chadha: What lost opportunities do you think filmmakers are struggling through at Sundance in terms of self-promotion? I know you’re a big proponent of filmmakers using Twitter.
Powers: I continue to be surprised by filmmakers who spend thousands of dollars on a publicist, but don’t take more advantage of social media which isfree. The Sundance docs that I saw making strong use of Twitter were Sound City which had 20,000 followers at the end of the festival; and 99% – The Occupy Wall Street Collaborative Film which had 15,000 followers. Then there’s a sharp drop-off. Films such as After Tiller, Dirty Wars and American Promise had around 1,500 followers each – they are getting off to a good start. Whenever possible, filmmakers need to begin their Twitter strategy well before their first festival in order to accumulate followers who can spread what’s happening at the festival.
Chadha: Which film were you most surprised by, and why?
Powers: It’s a reality of film festivals that you can’t see everything. You’re dividing your time between seeing films and utilizing that unique space to have meetings with people that you can’t otherwise. There were around 40 docs at Sundance and I’ve now seen roughly half. I think the film Blood Brother that won the audience prize and the jury prize took a lot of people by surprise because there was hardly any chatter about it in the corridors where press and industry exchange tips. It shows you that in a big festival, things can always surprise you.
I think certain filmmakers going into Sundance or other big festivals should consider screening more for press and tastemakers before the festival. The traditional wisdom has always been the opposite: to not screen for anyone prior, let your film be seen by an audience, and generate the buzz from there. That works for a film like Supersize Me – where the description made people put it on their priority list. But for a film that doesn’t have an obvious hook – including a lot of the films in the world documentary competition – those filmmakers might be better served trying to strategically screen for certain press and tastemakers so they can enter the festival with people already talking about them.
Chadha: Are there any films that are now on your “can’t miss” list?
Powers: Some of my favorite Sundance titles I’ve programmed for the Miami International Film Festival, which just announced its line-up last week. They include 20 Feet From Stardom, Blackfish, Gideon’S Army, The Crash Reel, Valentine Road, Which Way To The Front Line From Here? and Who Is Dayani Cristal?. There were many other strong films at Sundance that I look forward to showing at the Montclair Film Festival and Stranger Than Fiction. The Square I admire a lot. Muscle Shoals really took me by surprise. It played late in the festival and didn’t gain as much buzz as I thought it deserved. The director, who I believe is a first time director, made all kinds of smart creative decisions. Another film that went under the radar but made a big impression on me was The Stuart Hall Project about the U.K.-based black intellectual Stuart Hall. The film is wholly constructed out of archival sources, primarily from the BBC.
Chadha: What were the lessons about funding that came out of Sundance?
Powers: Sundance is a good survey of how docs are getting funded. This year reflects the important influence of Kickstarter. Recently Kickstarter introduced a tag for its projects that have a Sundance affiliation, and skimming that list I was impressed to see that Inequality For All had raised $83,000 and American Promise had raised $50,000 on Kickstarter. Other documentaries raised more modest sums. What’ so significant about Kickstarter is that those filmmakers did not need to wait around for a grant application committee to give them a green light. They could take matters into their own hands. Other funding players who were prominent are the Sundance Institute, the Tribeca Institute and the Ford Foundation which last year announced a $50 million commitment through the Just Films program. That Ford initiative supported projects like Gideon’S Army, Valentine Road, American Promise, Who Is Dayani Cristal?, God Loves Uganda and Citizen Koch.
Another important player is the equity group Impact Partners, who for several years have had a strong showing of their catalog at Sundance. This year their involvement included American Promise, The Crash Reel, Who Is Dayani Cristal? and Pandora’S Promise. The last group that I would mention is Cinereach, who were the heroes of Sundance last year for their funding of Beasts Of The Southern Wild, and who were back this year with four docs: Cutie And The Boxer, Citizen Koch, God Loves Uganda, and Narco Cultura.
When you look at the kinds of films that are showing up at Sundance, you see the names of some key producers re-occurring. This year the producer Julie Goldman, whose recent Sundance titles include Buck was back with three projects – Gideon’S Army, Manhunt and God Loves Uganda. The producer John Battsek from the U.K. who last year came with Searching For Sugar Man, was back this year with The Summit and Manhunt. And Jess Search, also based in the U.K., who is the founder of Britdoc and the Good Pitch had her name attached to the films Dirty Wars and Who Is Dayani Cristal? Clearly those producers and others like them have a good eye for spotting what makes a strong documentary in development. Those producers perform a variety of roles for filmmakers, whether it’s connecting them to financial support or supplying editorial perspective or connecting them to the other kind of industry players who can take a project further.
Chadha: Going back to Kickstarter for a minute, do you think films that have success on Kickstarter have the added benefit of showing to grantmaking institutions that their films are viable and that there’s an audience for them?
Powers: Absolutely. One bit of industry news this past week was that the HotDocs Forum, which has been a key place for documentaries to raise money, mainly in the broadcast world, announced that they will now accept projects on the basis of a certain amount of funds raised on Kickstarter. It used to be that you had to demonstrate a portion of your budget, like a quarter, was already being supported by a broadcaster or other traditional grantmaking institution. This change in policy signals the way in which Kickstarter funding is being taken more seriously.
In the case of The Square, the producers launched a Kickstarter campaign at Sundance to help finish their film. That seems like a very smart strategy for other filmmakers to consider. When you’re at a film festival, you have a rapt and enthused audience and if you can point them to a Kickstarter campaign, that’s a great way to leverage that enthusiasm. Even if you don’t need finishing funds, it’s a way to get outreach funds. I also saw the team from The Square selling t-shirts. After one screening they came away with few hundred dollars of cash in hand, which can help defray costs of attending a festival. These are strategies that filmmakers like Gary Hustwit have long practiced, emulating the way rock musicians sell t-shirts and posters at live performances. The film community has been slow to catch on. Maybe filmmakers are so busy getting their films made that they don’t have time to think about merchandise. But every bit of revenue helps.
Chadha: Any final thoughts?
Powers: We’ve talked about theatrical and digital distribution and new trends in crowdfunding. But it has to be said that the most long-standing and reliable place for documentary makers to get money is the broadcast world. HBO, which usually has a strong presence at Sundance, had the most overwhelming presence that I can remember, coming with six feature length documentaries. Plus during Sundance HBO bought Pussy Riot-a Punk Prayer. When you consider that HBO also has the film that was the 2012 winner at Idfa, Alan Berliner’s First Cousin Once Removed, and had two films at the Toronto festival – Mea Maxima Culpa by Alex Gibney and First Comes Love by Nina Davenport – that’s an impressive slate of films. There was news generated by other broadcasters getting active in the documentary field, including Showtime, which came with The World According To Dick Cheney. Just before Sundane, The New York Times reported about Showtime’s announcement of several documentaries in progress, including a film about Richard Pryor by Marina Zenovich, who made the Roman Polanski film, that I am personally looking forward to. In addition, CNN made an announcement during Sundance about a slate of feature-length docs, including a film by Alex Gibney. Another major player in that realm is A&E IndieFilms, which didn’t have any films in Sundance this year, but they’re already attached to Errol Morris’s Donald Rumsfeld documentary coming out later this year. All in all, the year is off to a good start.
Link to the original article here...
A Conversation With Thom Powers on the Sundance Film Festival
by Rahul Chadha | Sunday, February 3rd, 2013
For most people on the indie film circuit, the Sundance Film Festival marks the start of the new year. Park City is where filmmakers go to earn buzz for their projects, get some press and maybe even ink a distribution deal. On Jan. 30 I spoke with Thom Powers about the documentary films at Sundance that garnered the most chatter and the biggest checks, among other subjects.
[Q&A has been edited for content and clarity]
Rahul Chadha: It seemed like so much of the press attention around Sundance was focused on sales. The Hollywood Reporter said that four docs sold for at least seven figures and I read a report that Blackfish elicited a bidding war from four or five distributors. Did you get the sense that sales were better this year, and if so, why do you think that was?
Thom Powers: Some of those figures are slightly inflated. I know at least one of those films that is being reported as a million dollar sale is a little under a million dollars. But the fact remains that there were some very strong doc sales, and notably the emergence of a new player in The Weinstein Company’s RADiUS brand run by Tom Quinn and Jason Janego. Tom previously worked for Magnolia, where he worked on several successful docs such as Food Inc. and Man On Wire. Months ago RADiUS announced involvement in the new Errol Morris film about Donald Rumsfeld, The Unknown Known, due out later this year. Tom told me they would be very selective about docs which left me unprepared for their recent buying streak. Their first Sundance acquisition was the opening night title 20 Feet From Stardom, set in the music industry that gives it a solid commercial hook. Then RADiUS acquired Inequality For All, which struck me as less obvious. But if you imagine it following in the footsteps of An Inconvenient Truth you can see the commercial appeal. Then they announced Cutie And The Boxer, which has no celebrity connection and on the surface feels less obviously commercial, although it had strong word of mouth. So it seems RADiUS is trying out a wide range of docs and it’s good for the industry to have a new player in the mix. In addition to their strong showing, there was notable acquisitions by mainstay distributors including Sundance Selects, which bought Dirty Wars and The Summit, and Magnolia Pictures, which bought Blackfish.
Chadha: It seemed like Submarine had a strong presence this year.
Powers: For years Submarine–run by Josh Braun and his brother Dan–has been the dominant doc sales agent making the biggest doc deals at both Sundance and Toronto. There are certainly other big sales agents, including Cinetic and big agencies like Wme, CAA, UTA, or ICM taking on the occasional doc. But no one carries as big a slate of high prestige documentaries as Submarine. This year their lineup included 20 Feet From Stardom, Blackfish, The Summit, Dirty Wars and Cutie And The Boxer, all of which were high-profile deals. Their slate includes other films that have yet to announce deals, including God Loves Uganda, Muscle Shoals, Who Is Dayani Cristal? and Citizen Koch.
Chadha: Do you think this underscores that filmmakers really do need a sales agent at a festival the level of Sundance?
Powers: I think for a film that has real theatrical potential a sales agent is key. For a film that may find it tougher in the American marketplace, such as many of the docs in the world competition that may not be competing for deals – any subtitled film has a harder time in this marketplace – for those films I don’t know that a sales agent necessarily helps for the kinds of smaller deals that may or may not be offered.
Chadha: Do you think that as digital becomes an increasingly important distribution channel that festivals will take on a new importance?
Powers: I do. In an old model, the way a film would imprint itself on the public’s consciousness is to get a theatrical run. But now there are more documentaries and more films in general being released than ever before. There are weeks when the New York Times is reviewing 15 films, so it’s harder to leave an impression on the public. A lot of these films are seeing their financial future on digital platforms. Because viewers aren’t hearing as much about films in theatrical release, I think the festival circuit is going to have increasing importance for the life of a film.
Chadha: There were a few films at Sundance that dealt with the legacy of 9/11. You mentioned Dirty Wars but there was The World According To Dick Cheney and Which Way Is The Front Line From Here? The Life And Time Of Tim Hetherington and We Steal Secrets: The Story Of Wikileaks.
Powers: Yes that thematic cluster absolutely stood out. The legacy of 9/11 and the response to it through wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as other kinds of counter-terrorism actions played out in other countries, remains a key subject for documentary makers to grapple with. I think the distance of 12 years from 9/11 gives us time to reflect. In the film Manhunt about the hunt for Osama bin Laden, there’s a clear connection. The World According To Dick Cheney is about the chief architect of post-9/11 counter-terrorism actions. It came in for criticism that the filmmakers weren’t hard enough on Dick Cheney, weren’t asking tough enough questions. And while I shared some of those frustrations, I certainly learned a lot about Cheney’s career from watching it.
Chadha: Anthony Kaufman recently wrote a piece that singled out Dirty Wars and the Alex Gibney film We Steal Secrets: The Story Of Wikileaks as two films that he thought might presage a wave of films by left-leaning filmmakers that are critical of Obama and his policies? Do you agree with that assessment or see a similar trend?
Powers: It’s a smart observation. Dirty Wars – which is one of the films I was most impressed by at Sundance – takes a long view of American foreign policy after 9/11 in the hands of the journalist at the center of that film, Jeremy Scahill, who’s best known for his book on Blackwater, and who now has a new book coming out that ties into this film. Alex Gibney’s Wikileaksfilm looks at the harsh response of the Obama administration to Bradley Manning, the U.S. soldier who had leaked the headline grabbing documents to Wikileaks. Those two films make an interesting contrast to documentaries of the past decade which comfortably coincided with a liberal critique of the Bush administration. I’m thinking of docs like Farhenheit 9/11 or No End In Sight that liberals rallied behind to point a finger at their political opponents. These new films force a more uncomfortable confrontation with an administration that those same liberals helped get elected.
Chadha: You previously mentioned to me that you thought that filmmakers screening unfinished films at Sundance were taking a risk. Why is that?
Powers: For some reason at Sundance, more than other festivals that I’m aware of, you find filmmakers rushing to screen works that sometimes aren’t completed. In my seven years of programming at Toronto, I’m not aware of any documentaries that went back for serious editing after their premiere – other than those presented as works-in-progress. But at Sundance every year there seems to be a few films that push the deadline so hard that they get taken back to the edit room afterwards. A notable example a couple of years ago was The Interrupters which played at Sundance in a version close to three hours before getting re-edited and having nearly an hour of material taken out of it. The question is, how much does that hurt a film, to have its first presentation before critics and industry be a version of itself that’s not the best. You can point to The Interrupters as a positive example. A lot of people, myself included, appreciated the long version of that film, and it didn’t diminish our interest at all. A fresh example this year was The Square, Jehane Noujaim’s film about the last two years of protest in Egypt around Tahrir Square. In this case the film arrived without any credits on it and Jehane told audiences that she was going back into the edit room. Normally that would sound to me like a challenging strategy. However, The Square came away from Sundance with an audience award. There’s clearly a power to that film, and a power that touched me watching that film, that transcended any rough edges that it contained. So I’ve just given two examples of films that made it work for them. I wouldn’t want to call out films where I think that strategy has not worked. But there certainly are cases and I’d strongly caution filmmakers not to assume that they’ll be the happy exceptions if they’re rushing their films for a festival deadline.
Chadha: There was a lot of talk this year about how well-represented women were on the doc side. I was wondering why you think this difference exists between the doc side and the fictional narrative side, where women still are underrepresented?
Powers: You can start a documentary with just a camera, as opposed to a fiction film where you need actors, a crew, a script, a lot more start-up resources. It may be self-perpetuating. Because there have been more prominent female doc makers, dating back to Barbara Kopple winning an Academy Award in the mid-70s, they’ve become role models for other women.
Chadha: What lost opportunities do you think filmmakers are struggling through at Sundance in terms of self-promotion? I know you’re a big proponent of filmmakers using Twitter.
Powers: I continue to be surprised by filmmakers who spend thousands of dollars on a publicist, but don’t take more advantage of social media which isfree. The Sundance docs that I saw making strong use of Twitter were Sound City which had 20,000 followers at the end of the festival; and 99% – The Occupy Wall Street Collaborative Film which had 15,000 followers. Then there’s a sharp drop-off. Films such as After Tiller, Dirty Wars and American Promise had around 1,500 followers each – they are getting off to a good start. Whenever possible, filmmakers need to begin their Twitter strategy well before their first festival in order to accumulate followers who can spread what’s happening at the festival.
Chadha: Which film were you most surprised by, and why?
Powers: It’s a reality of film festivals that you can’t see everything. You’re dividing your time between seeing films and utilizing that unique space to have meetings with people that you can’t otherwise. There were around 40 docs at Sundance and I’ve now seen roughly half. I think the film Blood Brother that won the audience prize and the jury prize took a lot of people by surprise because there was hardly any chatter about it in the corridors where press and industry exchange tips. It shows you that in a big festival, things can always surprise you.
I think certain filmmakers going into Sundance or other big festivals should consider screening more for press and tastemakers before the festival. The traditional wisdom has always been the opposite: to not screen for anyone prior, let your film be seen by an audience, and generate the buzz from there. That works for a film like Supersize Me – where the description made people put it on their priority list. But for a film that doesn’t have an obvious hook – including a lot of the films in the world documentary competition – those filmmakers might be better served trying to strategically screen for certain press and tastemakers so they can enter the festival with people already talking about them.
Chadha: Are there any films that are now on your “can’t miss” list?
Powers: Some of my favorite Sundance titles I’ve programmed for the Miami International Film Festival, which just announced its line-up last week. They include 20 Feet From Stardom, Blackfish, Gideon’S Army, The Crash Reel, Valentine Road, Which Way To The Front Line From Here? and Who Is Dayani Cristal?. There were many other strong films at Sundance that I look forward to showing at the Montclair Film Festival and Stranger Than Fiction. The Square I admire a lot. Muscle Shoals really took me by surprise. It played late in the festival and didn’t gain as much buzz as I thought it deserved. The director, who I believe is a first time director, made all kinds of smart creative decisions. Another film that went under the radar but made a big impression on me was The Stuart Hall Project about the U.K.-based black intellectual Stuart Hall. The film is wholly constructed out of archival sources, primarily from the BBC.
Chadha: What were the lessons about funding that came out of Sundance?
Powers: Sundance is a good survey of how docs are getting funded. This year reflects the important influence of Kickstarter. Recently Kickstarter introduced a tag for its projects that have a Sundance affiliation, and skimming that list I was impressed to see that Inequality For All had raised $83,000 and American Promise had raised $50,000 on Kickstarter. Other documentaries raised more modest sums. What’ so significant about Kickstarter is that those filmmakers did not need to wait around for a grant application committee to give them a green light. They could take matters into their own hands. Other funding players who were prominent are the Sundance Institute, the Tribeca Institute and the Ford Foundation which last year announced a $50 million commitment through the Just Films program. That Ford initiative supported projects like Gideon’S Army, Valentine Road, American Promise, Who Is Dayani Cristal?, God Loves Uganda and Citizen Koch.
Another important player is the equity group Impact Partners, who for several years have had a strong showing of their catalog at Sundance. This year their involvement included American Promise, The Crash Reel, Who Is Dayani Cristal? and Pandora’S Promise. The last group that I would mention is Cinereach, who were the heroes of Sundance last year for their funding of Beasts Of The Southern Wild, and who were back this year with four docs: Cutie And The Boxer, Citizen Koch, God Loves Uganda, and Narco Cultura.
When you look at the kinds of films that are showing up at Sundance, you see the names of some key producers re-occurring. This year the producer Julie Goldman, whose recent Sundance titles include Buck was back with three projects – Gideon’S Army, Manhunt and God Loves Uganda. The producer John Battsek from the U.K. who last year came with Searching For Sugar Man, was back this year with The Summit and Manhunt. And Jess Search, also based in the U.K., who is the founder of Britdoc and the Good Pitch had her name attached to the films Dirty Wars and Who Is Dayani Cristal? Clearly those producers and others like them have a good eye for spotting what makes a strong documentary in development. Those producers perform a variety of roles for filmmakers, whether it’s connecting them to financial support or supplying editorial perspective or connecting them to the other kind of industry players who can take a project further.
Chadha: Going back to Kickstarter for a minute, do you think films that have success on Kickstarter have the added benefit of showing to grantmaking institutions that their films are viable and that there’s an audience for them?
Powers: Absolutely. One bit of industry news this past week was that the HotDocs Forum, which has been a key place for documentaries to raise money, mainly in the broadcast world, announced that they will now accept projects on the basis of a certain amount of funds raised on Kickstarter. It used to be that you had to demonstrate a portion of your budget, like a quarter, was already being supported by a broadcaster or other traditional grantmaking institution. This change in policy signals the way in which Kickstarter funding is being taken more seriously.
In the case of The Square, the producers launched a Kickstarter campaign at Sundance to help finish their film. That seems like a very smart strategy for other filmmakers to consider. When you’re at a film festival, you have a rapt and enthused audience and if you can point them to a Kickstarter campaign, that’s a great way to leverage that enthusiasm. Even if you don’t need finishing funds, it’s a way to get outreach funds. I also saw the team from The Square selling t-shirts. After one screening they came away with few hundred dollars of cash in hand, which can help defray costs of attending a festival. These are strategies that filmmakers like Gary Hustwit have long practiced, emulating the way rock musicians sell t-shirts and posters at live performances. The film community has been slow to catch on. Maybe filmmakers are so busy getting their films made that they don’t have time to think about merchandise. But every bit of revenue helps.
Chadha: Any final thoughts?
Powers: We’ve talked about theatrical and digital distribution and new trends in crowdfunding. But it has to be said that the most long-standing and reliable place for documentary makers to get money is the broadcast world. HBO, which usually has a strong presence at Sundance, had the most overwhelming presence that I can remember, coming with six feature length documentaries. Plus during Sundance HBO bought Pussy Riot-a Punk Prayer. When you consider that HBO also has the film that was the 2012 winner at Idfa, Alan Berliner’s First Cousin Once Removed, and had two films at the Toronto festival – Mea Maxima Culpa by Alex Gibney and First Comes Love by Nina Davenport – that’s an impressive slate of films. There was news generated by other broadcasters getting active in the documentary field, including Showtime, which came with The World According To Dick Cheney. Just before Sundane, The New York Times reported about Showtime’s announcement of several documentaries in progress, including a film about Richard Pryor by Marina Zenovich, who made the Roman Polanski film, that I am personally looking forward to. In addition, CNN made an announcement during Sundance about a slate of feature-length docs, including a film by Alex Gibney. Another major player in that realm is A&E IndieFilms, which didn’t have any films in Sundance this year, but they’re already attached to Errol Morris’s Donald Rumsfeld documentary coming out later this year. All in all, the year is off to a good start.
Link to the original article here...
- 2/19/2013
- by Peter Belsito
- Sydney's Buzz
Roger Ross Williams’ “God Loves Uganda” will premiere in the U.S. documentary competition at the Sundance Film Festival Jan. 18 at the Library Center Theatre. And Indiewire has the exclusive first look at the powerful new poster art. From the producers of “Buck,” which screened at Sundance in 2011, “God Loves Uganda” tells the story of how the anti-gay rhetoric of conservative American evangelicals led to the Ugandan Parliament passing a noxious and deadly anti-homosexuality bill. Julie Goldman (“Ai Wei Wei: Never Sorry,” “Beware of Mr. Baker”) produced. Read More: Sundance 2013: U.S. Documentary Competition Program Williams, who won the best documentary short subjects Oscar in 2010 for “Music by Prudence,” will be in Park City to support the film along with several of the film’s subjects. Josh Braun’s Submarine Entertainment is repping sales on the doc at the festival. ...
- 1/8/2013
- by Jay A. Fernandez
- Indiewire
Vol. I Issue 5
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Two Short Listed Documentary Features
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, directed by Alison Klayman
Ai Weiwei is China's most famous international artist, and its most outspoken domestic critic. Against a backdrop of strict censorship and an unresponsive legal system, Ai expresses himself and organizes people through art and social media. In response, Chinese authorities have shut down his blog, beat him up, bulldozed his newly built studio, and held him in secret detention.
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry is the inside story of a dissident for the digital age who inspires global audiences and whose actions blur the boundaries of art and politics. First-time director Alison Klayman gained unprecedented access to Ai while working as a journalist in China. Her detailed portrait of Weiwei’s life and work allows us to follow Weiwei’s journey and his transformation of his life and works are perceived. Few artists have been able to use their public stature to help cause political change. Clearly this is the story of a giant killer. Regrettably the story continues and China continues to repress its people.
What’s special about Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry is that the filmmaker was able to follow Ai Weiwei over several years. We are able to see a Chinese dissident whose home is watched by 1984-like cameras hung from telephone and power poles. We can only assume his home is bugged, his cell phone is bugged and all of his computers are bugged. The power of this work is seeing an artist functioning in this environment. Shocking. His spirit is best shown in his defiant art, his raised middle finger in the foreground of many still images of iconic monuments to the Chinese peoples’ struggles. He dares to challenge America’s biggest trading partner, debt holder and, by the end of the film, he is shown silenced, unable to comment because he was released from detention. The irony of this powerful work is that we and the world are shown to be complicit.
While the film lacks the slickness of many of the Academy’s short listed docs, its power flows from the subject. Clearly an artist whose work reflects his life experiences and struggle is a difficult subject. Weiwei constantly tweaks the authorities who clearly fear its citizens being free to express themselves and their feelings about their government globally. Yet the world is silent about this repressive government that spies on, beats up and terrorizes its citizens. This is another film that should be nominated. Its construction, score, shooting suggests that Ms. Klayman can, with some more experience, become an extraordinary filmmaker.
The Filmmakers
Alison Klayman, Director, Producer, Cinematographer
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorryis Alison Klayman's debut feature documentary, which she directed, produced, filmed and co-edited. She is a 2011 Sundance Documentary Fellow and one of Filmmaker Magazine's "25 New Faces of Independent Film". She has been a guest on The Colbert Report, as well as CNN and NPR. Klayman lived in China from 2006 to 2010, working as a freelance journalist. She speaks Mandarin and Hebrew, and graduated from Brown University in 2006.
Adam Schlesinger, Producer
Adam Schlesinger is an award-winning independent film producer based in New York. He produced the Sundance Film Festival selections: Smash His Camera, which won for Best Director; Page One- Inside the New York Times; and God Grew Tired of Us, winner of the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award.
Credits:
Director/Producer/Writer/Camera: Alison Klayman
Producer: Adam Schlesinger
Contributing Producer: Colin
Executive Producers: Andrew Cohen, Julie Goldman, Karl
Music: Ilan Isakov
Editor: Jen Fineran
Production Companies: Expressions United Media, Muse Film and Television, Never Sorry
Distribution: Sundance Selects, Artificial Eye
Bully, directed by Lee Hirsch A Case Study: How to be Short Listed and Gross $3Million
Bully, directed by Lee Hirsch
A Case Study: How to be Short Listed and Gross $3Million
Bully is a character-driven documentary that looks at how bullying has touched five children and their families. The five stories each represent a different facet of bullying. Filmed over the course of the 2009/2010 school year, Bully opens a window onto the lives of bullied kids, revealing a problem that transcends geographic, racial, ethnic and economic borders. It documents the responses of teachers and administrators to aggressive behaviors that defy “kids will be kids” clichés, and it captures a growing movement among parents and youths to change how bullying is handled in schools, in communities and in society as a whole.
Bully is a case study of how The Weinstein Company can take what would be a traditional non-theatrical documentary feature and turn it into both a cause and a theatrical event and, because of the rule changes at the Academy, have it come to be short listed for an Oscar.
Bully is an excellent film, it is well made, directed, edited and scored. Its characters and stories are well done. It’s just not in the same league as many of the documentary films short listed for this year’s Academy Award nomination.
When the film was released with an “R” rating, appropriate and consistent with the MPAA guidelines because of language and violence, the Weinsteins used the R rating to create a controversy which enabled the film to become a box office success and was the basis of a brilliant Academy campaign for a documentary nomination. This is one of the best examples (since Michael Moore and Roger and Menot being nominated for an Oscar) of creating a box-office success with a documentary. (Roger and Mewas distributed by Warners.) As of December 30, 2012 Bully had grossed over $3.5 million. (Box Office Mojo)
The MPAA gives an automatic “R” rating to films that use the “F” word. It has done this since its inception. This makes sense. The “F” word is inappropriate for children. But wait, Bullyis for middle and high school students! These schools can’t (or should not) show “R” rated films.
The MPAA rating system has never been particularly clear to Americans. Developed by the Motion Picture Association to prevent local and/or regional ratings it has always been “advisory”; however, some media outlets will not accept advertising or promote films with some of the harder ratings. The Weinsteins knew that this film would get an “R” rating because of the “F” word. No surprise. Yet how could this “important” film for school children to see be blocked from its audience?
“Bully's R ratingsparks a nationwide protest. ...stars, theater owners, and Members of Congress have joined forces to protest the film's R rating as a result of the film having six swear words.” This is in the industry press. (Deadline)
The Weinsteins, of course with great fanfare, appealed the rating decision which got the film more press. They decided to release the film in just two markets to qualify for the documentary Academy award, without a rating, but continue the press-push to have the rating changed.
On April 5, The Weinstein Company announced that their doc, Bully, was to receive a PG-13 from the MPAA, with some minor cuts. After removing three uses of the F-word it was re-released in the new PG-13 version on April 13 and shortly after the run was expanded to 55 theatrical markets.
Deadline reported, “The big victory, even though they had to remove three F-words, was that they could keep the controversial school bus bullying scene unedited and uncut, which (the director) Hirsch continuously refused to edit, "since it is too important to the truth and integrity behind the film." Hirsch states: "I feel completely vindicated with this resolution. While I retain my belief that PG-13 has always been the appropriate rating for this film, as reinforced by Canada's rating of a PG, we have today scored a victory from the MPAA. The support and guidance we have received throughout this process has been incredible."
Let’s note that the MPAA is an industry trade association. The Weinsteins are members. It’s not exactly a group that battles. The ratings are advisory only.
The Weinstein press release continued the illusion, This decision by the MPAA is a huge victory for the parents, educators, lawmakers, and most importantly, children, everywhere who have been fighting for months for the appropriate PG-13 rating without cutting some of the most sensitive moments. Three uses of the 'F word' were removed from other scenes, which ultimately persuaded the MPAA to lower the rating. Hirsch made the documentary with the intent to give an uncensored, real-life portrayal of what 13 million children suffer through every year. The new rating, which came about with the great support from MPAA Chairman Chris Dodd, grants the schools, organizations and cities all around the country who are lined up and ready to screen Bully, including the National Education Association and the Cincinnati School District, the opportunity to share this educational tool with their children.”
It needs to be pointed out that this controversy was a set up. When The Weinstein Company released Bully "unrated" in theaters in New York and Los Angeles it barely earned $150,000. The film might be seen by a few hundred thousand people in theaters which is a theatrical success but not the millions of kids the filmmakers are on record to reach. (A $3.5 mil gross suggests at a $6 admission fee perhaps a half-million tickets were sold.) Millions of people don’t usually go to theaters to see docs. So a $3.5 mil theatrical gross makes this film a major theatrical success. It puts this film in the top 50 or so theatrical documentaries of all time.
But all along, the Weinsteins knew that the film can easily be provided in DVD and in video-on-demand to schools, teachers, students and families in an “Educational” version without the R rated language being included. The use of an educational version would totally serve the school market. This version could be provided for “free” or even for a modest fee if the Weinsteins were really interested in this aspect of marketing the film. The Bullybook is available now for sale and soon the Blu Ray and DVD. Seeing the film in a classroom and then talking about it is what educators do with films. There are over 100,000 school, church and other groups (like Girls Scouts) that can show this film to groups of kids.
Note: Full disclosure, I started a Move-on Campaign and petitioned the Weinsteins to offer
Bully for a Buck! after I saw the film. More than 480 people have signed the petition to date. No match for the hundreds of thousands who signed the rating controversy petition but I did not do any publicity. As a parent of two teens, I felt this was a far more logical thing to do to get the film out to children without the strong language. This petition continues on Change.org.
Bully Short Listed for an Academy Award
With the rule change at the Academy this year, the documentary branch is working as a committee of the whole to do both the short listing and the nomination. The committee members were sent 125 documentary features, mostly arriving at the tail end of the deadline, to review. The committee was made up of both documentary branch members and Academy members who have been nominated or won documentary Oscars. Obviously, few members saw all 125 documentaries. The short list of 15 films was made from tallying the results of each member’s list of their 15 top docs. I think the publicity for Bully insured it would make this list.
The Weinsteins also had it screened at the Academy as part of the Academy members screening program, one of the handful of documentaries that were screened as part of the weekend program. This also will likely help the film get on members’ radar. Smart. Last year, The Weinsteins’ film The Undefeatedwon the Documentary Oscar. They do a great job getting their films out.
Credits:
Directed by: Lee Hirsch
Produced by: Lee Hirsch, Cynthia Lowen
Written by: Lee Hirsch, Cynthia Lowen
Executive Producer: Cindy Waitt
Cinematography: Lee Hirsch
Edited by: Lindsay Utz, Jenny Golden
Original Score by: Ion Furjanic, Justin Rice/Christian Rudder
Consulting Editors: Enat Sidi, Cynthia Lowen
Music Supervisor: Brooke Wentz
Running Time: 94 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some language
Short Notes and Update:
WGA Announces Nominees for Documentary Screenplay Award
The WGA announced six nominees for its documentary screenplay award: War, Mea Culpa and Sugar Man also are on the Academy shortlist of feature docs hoping to score an Oscar nomination.
Winners will be honored by the Writers Guild of America, West (Wgaw) and the Writers Guild of America, East (Wgae) at the 2013 Writers Guild Awards on Feb. 17 during simultaneous ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York.
Documentary Screenplay
The Central Park Five, written by Sarah Burns and David McMahon and Ken Burns; Sundance Selects
The Invisible War, written by Kirby Dick; Cinedigm Entertainment Group
Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, written by Alex Gibney; HBO Documentary Films
Searching for Sugar Man, written by Malik Bendejelloul; Sony Pictures Classics
We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists, written by Brian Knappenberger; Cinetic Media
West of Memphis, written by Amy Berg & Billy McMillin; Sony Pictures Classics
Sundance Announces 2013 Documentary Competition:
U.S. Documentary Competition
The world premieres of 16 American documentary films.
99% - The Occupy Wall Street Collaborative Film/ U.S.A. (Directors: Audrey Ewell, Aaron Aites, Lucian Read, Nina Krstic) The Occupy movement erupted in September 2011, propelling economic inequality into the spotlight. In an unprecedented collaboration, filmmakers across America tell its story, digging into big picture issues as organizers, analysts, participants and critics reveal how it happened and why.
After Tiller/ U.S.A. (Directors: Martha Shane, Lana Wilson) — Since the assassination of Dr. George Tiller in 2009, only four doctors in the country provide late-term abortions. With unprecedented access, After Tiller goes inside the lives of these physicians working at the center of the storm.
American Promise/ U.S.A. (Directors: Joe Brewster, Michèle Stephenson) — This intimate documentary follows the 12-year journey of two African-American families pursuing the promise of opportunity through the education of their sons.
Blackfish/ U.S.A. (Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite) — Notorious killer whale Tilikum is responsible for the deaths of three individuals, including a top killer whale trainer. Blackfish shows the sometimes devastating consequences of keeping such intelligent and sentient creatures in captivity.
Blood Brother/ U.S.A. (Director: Steve Hoover) — Rocky went to India as a disillusioned tourist. When he met a group of children with HIV, he decided to stay. He never could have imagined the obstacles he would face, or the love he would find.
Citizen Koch / U.S.A. (Directors: Carl Deal, Tia Lessin) — Wisconsin – birthplace of the Republican Party, government unions, “cheeseheads” and Paul Ryan – becomes a test market in the campaign to buy Democracy, and ground zero in the battle for the future of the Gop.
Cutie and the Boxer/ U.S.A. (Director: Zachary Heinzerling) — This candid New York love story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of famed boxing painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko. Anxious to shed her role of assistant to her overbearing husband, Noriko seeks an identity of her own.
Dirty Wars/ U.S.A. (Director: Richard Rowley) — Investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill chases down the truth behind America’s covert wars.
Gideon's Army/ U.S.A. (Director: Dawn Porter) — Gideon’s Army follows three young, committed Public Defenders who are dedicated to working for the people society would rather forget. Long hours, low pay and staggering caseloads are so common that even the most committed often give up.
God Loves Uganda/ U.S.A. (Director: Roger Ross Williams) — A powerful exploration of the evangelical campaign to infuse African culture with values imported from America’s Christian Right. The film follows American and Ugandan religious leaders fighting “sexual immorality” and missionaries trying to convince Ugandans to follow biblical law.
Inequality for All/ U.S.A. (Director: Jacob Kornbluth) — In this timely and entertaining documentary, noted economic-policy expert Robert Reich distills the topic of widening income inequality, and addresses the question of what effects this increasing gap has on our economy and our democracy.
Life According to Sam/ U.S.A. (Directors: Sean Fine, Andrea Nix Fine) — Dr. Leslie Gordon and Dr. Scott Berns fight to save their only son from a rare and fatal aging disease for which there is no cure. Their work may one day unlock the key to aging in all of us.
Manhunt / U.S.A., United Kingdom (Director: Greg Barker) — This espionage tale goes inside the CIA’s long conflict against Al Qaeda, as revealed by the remarkable women and men whose secret war against Osama bin Laden started nearly a decade before most of us even knew his name.
Narco Cultura/ U.S.A. (Director: Shaul Schwarz) — An examination of Mexican drug cartels’ influence in pop culture on both sides of the border as experienced by an La narcocorrido singer dreaming of stardom and a Juarez crime scene investigator on the front line of Mexico’s Drug War.
Twenty Feet From Stardom/ U.S.A. (Director: Morgan Neville) — Backup singers live in a world that lies just beyond the spotlight. Their voices bring harmony to the biggest bands in popular music, but we've had no idea who these singers are or what lives they lead – until now. Day One Film
Valentine Road/ U.S.A. (Director: Marta Cunningham) — In 2008, eighth-grader Brandon McInerney shot classmate Larry King at point blank range. Unraveling this tragedy from point of impact, the film reveals the heartbreaking circumstances that led to the shocking crime as well as its startling aftermath.
________________________________________________________________________
Credits: Editing by Jessica Just for SydneysBuzz
________________________________________________________________________
Block Doc Workshops in Los Angeles February 2013
The International Documentary Association will be hosting Documentary Funding and Documentary Tune-Up Workshops with Block on February 9/10. http://www.eventbrite.com/org/169037034
Mitchell Block specializes in conceiving, producing, marketing & distributing independent features & consulting. He is an expert in placing both completed works into distribution & working with producers to make projects fundable. He conducts regular workshops in film producing in Los Angeles and most recently in Maine, Russia and in Myanmar (Burma).
Poster Girl, produced by Block was nominated for a Documentary Academy Award and selected by the Ida as the Best Doc Short 2011. It was also nominated for two Emmy Awards and aired on HBO. He is an executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning PBS series Carrier, a 10-hour series that he conceived & co-created. Block is a graduate of Tisch School and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business. He is a member of Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the Television Academy, a founding member of BAFTA-la and has been teaching at USC School of Cinematic Arts since 1979. Currently Block teaches a required class in the USC Peter Stark Producing Program. ______________________________________________________________________
©2013Mwb All Rights Reserved All Rights Reserved. All information and designs on the Sites are copyrighted material owned by Block. Reproduction, dissemination, or transmission of any part of the material here without the express written consent of the owner is strictly prohibited.All other product names and marks on Block Direct, whether trademarks, service marks, or other type, and whether registered or unregistered, is the property of Block.
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Two Short Listed Documentary Features
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, directed by Alison Klayman
Ai Weiwei is China's most famous international artist, and its most outspoken domestic critic. Against a backdrop of strict censorship and an unresponsive legal system, Ai expresses himself and organizes people through art and social media. In response, Chinese authorities have shut down his blog, beat him up, bulldozed his newly built studio, and held him in secret detention.
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry is the inside story of a dissident for the digital age who inspires global audiences and whose actions blur the boundaries of art and politics. First-time director Alison Klayman gained unprecedented access to Ai while working as a journalist in China. Her detailed portrait of Weiwei’s life and work allows us to follow Weiwei’s journey and his transformation of his life and works are perceived. Few artists have been able to use their public stature to help cause political change. Clearly this is the story of a giant killer. Regrettably the story continues and China continues to repress its people.
What’s special about Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry is that the filmmaker was able to follow Ai Weiwei over several years. We are able to see a Chinese dissident whose home is watched by 1984-like cameras hung from telephone and power poles. We can only assume his home is bugged, his cell phone is bugged and all of his computers are bugged. The power of this work is seeing an artist functioning in this environment. Shocking. His spirit is best shown in his defiant art, his raised middle finger in the foreground of many still images of iconic monuments to the Chinese peoples’ struggles. He dares to challenge America’s biggest trading partner, debt holder and, by the end of the film, he is shown silenced, unable to comment because he was released from detention. The irony of this powerful work is that we and the world are shown to be complicit.
While the film lacks the slickness of many of the Academy’s short listed docs, its power flows from the subject. Clearly an artist whose work reflects his life experiences and struggle is a difficult subject. Weiwei constantly tweaks the authorities who clearly fear its citizens being free to express themselves and their feelings about their government globally. Yet the world is silent about this repressive government that spies on, beats up and terrorizes its citizens. This is another film that should be nominated. Its construction, score, shooting suggests that Ms. Klayman can, with some more experience, become an extraordinary filmmaker.
The Filmmakers
Alison Klayman, Director, Producer, Cinematographer
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorryis Alison Klayman's debut feature documentary, which she directed, produced, filmed and co-edited. She is a 2011 Sundance Documentary Fellow and one of Filmmaker Magazine's "25 New Faces of Independent Film". She has been a guest on The Colbert Report, as well as CNN and NPR. Klayman lived in China from 2006 to 2010, working as a freelance journalist. She speaks Mandarin and Hebrew, and graduated from Brown University in 2006.
Adam Schlesinger, Producer
Adam Schlesinger is an award-winning independent film producer based in New York. He produced the Sundance Film Festival selections: Smash His Camera, which won for Best Director; Page One- Inside the New York Times; and God Grew Tired of Us, winner of the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award.
Credits:
Director/Producer/Writer/Camera: Alison Klayman
Producer: Adam Schlesinger
Contributing Producer: Colin
Executive Producers: Andrew Cohen, Julie Goldman, Karl
Music: Ilan Isakov
Editor: Jen Fineran
Production Companies: Expressions United Media, Muse Film and Television, Never Sorry
Distribution: Sundance Selects, Artificial Eye
Bully, directed by Lee Hirsch A Case Study: How to be Short Listed and Gross $3Million
Bully, directed by Lee Hirsch
A Case Study: How to be Short Listed and Gross $3Million
Bully is a character-driven documentary that looks at how bullying has touched five children and their families. The five stories each represent a different facet of bullying. Filmed over the course of the 2009/2010 school year, Bully opens a window onto the lives of bullied kids, revealing a problem that transcends geographic, racial, ethnic and economic borders. It documents the responses of teachers and administrators to aggressive behaviors that defy “kids will be kids” clichés, and it captures a growing movement among parents and youths to change how bullying is handled in schools, in communities and in society as a whole.
Bully is a case study of how The Weinstein Company can take what would be a traditional non-theatrical documentary feature and turn it into both a cause and a theatrical event and, because of the rule changes at the Academy, have it come to be short listed for an Oscar.
Bully is an excellent film, it is well made, directed, edited and scored. Its characters and stories are well done. It’s just not in the same league as many of the documentary films short listed for this year’s Academy Award nomination.
When the film was released with an “R” rating, appropriate and consistent with the MPAA guidelines because of language and violence, the Weinsteins used the R rating to create a controversy which enabled the film to become a box office success and was the basis of a brilliant Academy campaign for a documentary nomination. This is one of the best examples (since Michael Moore and Roger and Menot being nominated for an Oscar) of creating a box-office success with a documentary. (Roger and Mewas distributed by Warners.) As of December 30, 2012 Bully had grossed over $3.5 million. (Box Office Mojo)
The MPAA gives an automatic “R” rating to films that use the “F” word. It has done this since its inception. This makes sense. The “F” word is inappropriate for children. But wait, Bullyis for middle and high school students! These schools can’t (or should not) show “R” rated films.
The MPAA rating system has never been particularly clear to Americans. Developed by the Motion Picture Association to prevent local and/or regional ratings it has always been “advisory”; however, some media outlets will not accept advertising or promote films with some of the harder ratings. The Weinsteins knew that this film would get an “R” rating because of the “F” word. No surprise. Yet how could this “important” film for school children to see be blocked from its audience?
“Bully's R ratingsparks a nationwide protest. ...stars, theater owners, and Members of Congress have joined forces to protest the film's R rating as a result of the film having six swear words.” This is in the industry press. (Deadline)
The Weinsteins, of course with great fanfare, appealed the rating decision which got the film more press. They decided to release the film in just two markets to qualify for the documentary Academy award, without a rating, but continue the press-push to have the rating changed.
On April 5, The Weinstein Company announced that their doc, Bully, was to receive a PG-13 from the MPAA, with some minor cuts. After removing three uses of the F-word it was re-released in the new PG-13 version on April 13 and shortly after the run was expanded to 55 theatrical markets.
Deadline reported, “The big victory, even though they had to remove three F-words, was that they could keep the controversial school bus bullying scene unedited and uncut, which (the director) Hirsch continuously refused to edit, "since it is too important to the truth and integrity behind the film." Hirsch states: "I feel completely vindicated with this resolution. While I retain my belief that PG-13 has always been the appropriate rating for this film, as reinforced by Canada's rating of a PG, we have today scored a victory from the MPAA. The support and guidance we have received throughout this process has been incredible."
Let’s note that the MPAA is an industry trade association. The Weinsteins are members. It’s not exactly a group that battles. The ratings are advisory only.
The Weinstein press release continued the illusion, This decision by the MPAA is a huge victory for the parents, educators, lawmakers, and most importantly, children, everywhere who have been fighting for months for the appropriate PG-13 rating without cutting some of the most sensitive moments. Three uses of the 'F word' were removed from other scenes, which ultimately persuaded the MPAA to lower the rating. Hirsch made the documentary with the intent to give an uncensored, real-life portrayal of what 13 million children suffer through every year. The new rating, which came about with the great support from MPAA Chairman Chris Dodd, grants the schools, organizations and cities all around the country who are lined up and ready to screen Bully, including the National Education Association and the Cincinnati School District, the opportunity to share this educational tool with their children.”
It needs to be pointed out that this controversy was a set up. When The Weinstein Company released Bully "unrated" in theaters in New York and Los Angeles it barely earned $150,000. The film might be seen by a few hundred thousand people in theaters which is a theatrical success but not the millions of kids the filmmakers are on record to reach. (A $3.5 mil gross suggests at a $6 admission fee perhaps a half-million tickets were sold.) Millions of people don’t usually go to theaters to see docs. So a $3.5 mil theatrical gross makes this film a major theatrical success. It puts this film in the top 50 or so theatrical documentaries of all time.
But all along, the Weinsteins knew that the film can easily be provided in DVD and in video-on-demand to schools, teachers, students and families in an “Educational” version without the R rated language being included. The use of an educational version would totally serve the school market. This version could be provided for “free” or even for a modest fee if the Weinsteins were really interested in this aspect of marketing the film. The Bullybook is available now for sale and soon the Blu Ray and DVD. Seeing the film in a classroom and then talking about it is what educators do with films. There are over 100,000 school, church and other groups (like Girls Scouts) that can show this film to groups of kids.
Note: Full disclosure, I started a Move-on Campaign and petitioned the Weinsteins to offer
Bully for a Buck! after I saw the film. More than 480 people have signed the petition to date. No match for the hundreds of thousands who signed the rating controversy petition but I did not do any publicity. As a parent of two teens, I felt this was a far more logical thing to do to get the film out to children without the strong language. This petition continues on Change.org.
Bully Short Listed for an Academy Award
With the rule change at the Academy this year, the documentary branch is working as a committee of the whole to do both the short listing and the nomination. The committee members were sent 125 documentary features, mostly arriving at the tail end of the deadline, to review. The committee was made up of both documentary branch members and Academy members who have been nominated or won documentary Oscars. Obviously, few members saw all 125 documentaries. The short list of 15 films was made from tallying the results of each member’s list of their 15 top docs. I think the publicity for Bully insured it would make this list.
The Weinsteins also had it screened at the Academy as part of the Academy members screening program, one of the handful of documentaries that were screened as part of the weekend program. This also will likely help the film get on members’ radar. Smart. Last year, The Weinsteins’ film The Undefeatedwon the Documentary Oscar. They do a great job getting their films out.
Credits:
Directed by: Lee Hirsch
Produced by: Lee Hirsch, Cynthia Lowen
Written by: Lee Hirsch, Cynthia Lowen
Executive Producer: Cindy Waitt
Cinematography: Lee Hirsch
Edited by: Lindsay Utz, Jenny Golden
Original Score by: Ion Furjanic, Justin Rice/Christian Rudder
Consulting Editors: Enat Sidi, Cynthia Lowen
Music Supervisor: Brooke Wentz
Running Time: 94 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some language
Short Notes and Update:
WGA Announces Nominees for Documentary Screenplay Award
The WGA announced six nominees for its documentary screenplay award: War, Mea Culpa and Sugar Man also are on the Academy shortlist of feature docs hoping to score an Oscar nomination.
Winners will be honored by the Writers Guild of America, West (Wgaw) and the Writers Guild of America, East (Wgae) at the 2013 Writers Guild Awards on Feb. 17 during simultaneous ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York.
Documentary Screenplay
The Central Park Five, written by Sarah Burns and David McMahon and Ken Burns; Sundance Selects
The Invisible War, written by Kirby Dick; Cinedigm Entertainment Group
Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, written by Alex Gibney; HBO Documentary Films
Searching for Sugar Man, written by Malik Bendejelloul; Sony Pictures Classics
We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists, written by Brian Knappenberger; Cinetic Media
West of Memphis, written by Amy Berg & Billy McMillin; Sony Pictures Classics
Sundance Announces 2013 Documentary Competition:
U.S. Documentary Competition
The world premieres of 16 American documentary films.
99% - The Occupy Wall Street Collaborative Film/ U.S.A. (Directors: Audrey Ewell, Aaron Aites, Lucian Read, Nina Krstic) The Occupy movement erupted in September 2011, propelling economic inequality into the spotlight. In an unprecedented collaboration, filmmakers across America tell its story, digging into big picture issues as organizers, analysts, participants and critics reveal how it happened and why.
After Tiller/ U.S.A. (Directors: Martha Shane, Lana Wilson) — Since the assassination of Dr. George Tiller in 2009, only four doctors in the country provide late-term abortions. With unprecedented access, After Tiller goes inside the lives of these physicians working at the center of the storm.
American Promise/ U.S.A. (Directors: Joe Brewster, Michèle Stephenson) — This intimate documentary follows the 12-year journey of two African-American families pursuing the promise of opportunity through the education of their sons.
Blackfish/ U.S.A. (Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite) — Notorious killer whale Tilikum is responsible for the deaths of three individuals, including a top killer whale trainer. Blackfish shows the sometimes devastating consequences of keeping such intelligent and sentient creatures in captivity.
Blood Brother/ U.S.A. (Director: Steve Hoover) — Rocky went to India as a disillusioned tourist. When he met a group of children with HIV, he decided to stay. He never could have imagined the obstacles he would face, or the love he would find.
Citizen Koch / U.S.A. (Directors: Carl Deal, Tia Lessin) — Wisconsin – birthplace of the Republican Party, government unions, “cheeseheads” and Paul Ryan – becomes a test market in the campaign to buy Democracy, and ground zero in the battle for the future of the Gop.
Cutie and the Boxer/ U.S.A. (Director: Zachary Heinzerling) — This candid New York love story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of famed boxing painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko. Anxious to shed her role of assistant to her overbearing husband, Noriko seeks an identity of her own.
Dirty Wars/ U.S.A. (Director: Richard Rowley) — Investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill chases down the truth behind America’s covert wars.
Gideon's Army/ U.S.A. (Director: Dawn Porter) — Gideon’s Army follows three young, committed Public Defenders who are dedicated to working for the people society would rather forget. Long hours, low pay and staggering caseloads are so common that even the most committed often give up.
God Loves Uganda/ U.S.A. (Director: Roger Ross Williams) — A powerful exploration of the evangelical campaign to infuse African culture with values imported from America’s Christian Right. The film follows American and Ugandan religious leaders fighting “sexual immorality” and missionaries trying to convince Ugandans to follow biblical law.
Inequality for All/ U.S.A. (Director: Jacob Kornbluth) — In this timely and entertaining documentary, noted economic-policy expert Robert Reich distills the topic of widening income inequality, and addresses the question of what effects this increasing gap has on our economy and our democracy.
Life According to Sam/ U.S.A. (Directors: Sean Fine, Andrea Nix Fine) — Dr. Leslie Gordon and Dr. Scott Berns fight to save their only son from a rare and fatal aging disease for which there is no cure. Their work may one day unlock the key to aging in all of us.
Manhunt / U.S.A., United Kingdom (Director: Greg Barker) — This espionage tale goes inside the CIA’s long conflict against Al Qaeda, as revealed by the remarkable women and men whose secret war against Osama bin Laden started nearly a decade before most of us even knew his name.
Narco Cultura/ U.S.A. (Director: Shaul Schwarz) — An examination of Mexican drug cartels’ influence in pop culture on both sides of the border as experienced by an La narcocorrido singer dreaming of stardom and a Juarez crime scene investigator on the front line of Mexico’s Drug War.
Twenty Feet From Stardom/ U.S.A. (Director: Morgan Neville) — Backup singers live in a world that lies just beyond the spotlight. Their voices bring harmony to the biggest bands in popular music, but we've had no idea who these singers are or what lives they lead – until now. Day One Film
Valentine Road/ U.S.A. (Director: Marta Cunningham) — In 2008, eighth-grader Brandon McInerney shot classmate Larry King at point blank range. Unraveling this tragedy from point of impact, the film reveals the heartbreaking circumstances that led to the shocking crime as well as its startling aftermath.
________________________________________________________________________
Credits: Editing by Jessica Just for SydneysBuzz
________________________________________________________________________
Block Doc Workshops in Los Angeles February 2013
The International Documentary Association will be hosting Documentary Funding and Documentary Tune-Up Workshops with Block on February 9/10. http://www.eventbrite.com/org/169037034
Mitchell Block specializes in conceiving, producing, marketing & distributing independent features & consulting. He is an expert in placing both completed works into distribution & working with producers to make projects fundable. He conducts regular workshops in film producing in Los Angeles and most recently in Maine, Russia and in Myanmar (Burma).
Poster Girl, produced by Block was nominated for a Documentary Academy Award and selected by the Ida as the Best Doc Short 2011. It was also nominated for two Emmy Awards and aired on HBO. He is an executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning PBS series Carrier, a 10-hour series that he conceived & co-created. Block is a graduate of Tisch School and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business. He is a member of Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the Television Academy, a founding member of BAFTA-la and has been teaching at USC School of Cinematic Arts since 1979. Currently Block teaches a required class in the USC Peter Stark Producing Program. ______________________________________________________________________
©2013Mwb All Rights Reserved All Rights Reserved. All information and designs on the Sites are copyrighted material owned by Block. Reproduction, dissemination, or transmission of any part of the material here without the express written consent of the owner is strictly prohibited.All other product names and marks on Block Direct, whether trademarks, service marks, or other type, and whether registered or unregistered, is the property of Block.
- 1/8/2013
- by Mitchell Block
- Sydney's Buzz
Title: Wild Horse, Wild Ride Directors: Alex Dawson and Greg Gricus Director Cindy Meehl’s soulful, Sundance-minted “Buck,” which told the story of quietly charismatic horse whisperer Buck Brannaman, illustrated just about as well as any film could the unique and poignant connection between man and horse, and how taming wild or otherwise unruly mustangs is a process that often reveals as much about the owner as it does the horse. Following in its nonfiction footsteps (or horseshoe tracks, I guess) is “Wild Horse, Wild Ride,” an engaging look at a bunch of folks who try to do just that. As with many other documentaries of sub-cultural curiosity, “Wild Horse, Wild [ Read More ]...
- 9/8/2012
- by bsimon
- ShockYa
Oddly enough, I can say for certain that I appreciated Robert Redford’s The Horse Whisperer more before I saw the 2011 documentary Buck which focused on Buck Brannaman, the man upon whom Redford’s character was based. Upon re-examination, Redford’s overly sappy and far too long fictionalization spends too much time on a romance that’s as obvious a half hour in as it is when the credits roll, unfortunately Redford decided it necessary to spend about three hours watching it unfold when two would have easily sufficed. At least it has some great performances by Redford, Chris Cooper, and Kristin Scott Thomas driving that ridiculously long germination period forward. The turn by the young Scarlett Johansson, on the other hand, stands as one of the most overwrought and unrealistically characterized children the screen has ever seen.
Read more...
Read more...
- 7/16/2012
- by Lex Walker
- JustPressPlay.net
You'll wonder how you swallowed Robert Redford's ersatz Americana after watching this Sundance-praised horse-whisperer doc
Saddle up for a one-way ticket to inspirationville: this Sundance-wowing documentary gives an insight into the real-life horse whisperer, child abuse backstory and all. Buck Brannaman is the sort of copper-bottomed authentic that makes you wonder how you ever swallowed Robert Redford's blow-dried impression. Half nag, all guru, he burrs wise words about wrangling men and beasts, one's primal nature and one's animal altruism. Yet he's also acid enough to balance out the slight tang of treacle in Meehl's treatment. There's a whole heap of Americana to wallow in here, but it's testimony to the director and subject that Buck still trots along at such a lick. Catherine Shoard
DocumentarySundance film festivalCatherine Shoard
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is...
Saddle up for a one-way ticket to inspirationville: this Sundance-wowing documentary gives an insight into the real-life horse whisperer, child abuse backstory and all. Buck Brannaman is the sort of copper-bottomed authentic that makes you wonder how you ever swallowed Robert Redford's blow-dried impression. Half nag, all guru, he burrs wise words about wrangling men and beasts, one's primal nature and one's animal altruism. Yet he's also acid enough to balance out the slight tang of treacle in Meehl's treatment. There's a whole heap of Americana to wallow in here, but it's testimony to the director and subject that Buck still trots along at such a lick. Catherine Shoard
DocumentarySundance film festivalCatherine Shoard
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is...
- 5/26/2012
- by Catherine Shoard
- The Guardian - Film News
War Horse; Strippers vs Werewolves; Four; Buck
Among the charges most regularly levelled at Steven Spielberg is that his movies are over-egged puddings that trade in rank melodrama and infantilising sentimentality. A whinnying chorus of such dismissive jeers greeted the arrival of War Horse (2011, DreamWorks, 12) late last year, with some predictably sniffy manure being thrown at this most populist auteur's emotional Grand National. Admittedly neither understatement nor brevity has ever been Spielberg's strong point, hence the much repeated joke: War Horse walks into a bar, barman says: "Why the long film?"
Yet to complain that this nostalgically cinematic adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's bestselling book (and feted stage adaptation) is somewhat soft around the edges is to forget that the source story was specifically aimed at younger readers. No, this is not a four-legged revisiting of the beach scenes from Saving Private Ryan, which portrayed the horrors of war in shockingly visceral form.
Among the charges most regularly levelled at Steven Spielberg is that his movies are over-egged puddings that trade in rank melodrama and infantilising sentimentality. A whinnying chorus of such dismissive jeers greeted the arrival of War Horse (2011, DreamWorks, 12) late last year, with some predictably sniffy manure being thrown at this most populist auteur's emotional Grand National. Admittedly neither understatement nor brevity has ever been Spielberg's strong point, hence the much repeated joke: War Horse walks into a bar, barman says: "Why the long film?"
Yet to complain that this nostalgically cinematic adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's bestselling book (and feted stage adaptation) is somewhat soft around the edges is to forget that the source story was specifically aimed at younger readers. No, this is not a four-legged revisiting of the beach scenes from Saving Private Ryan, which portrayed the horrors of war in shockingly visceral form.
- 5/8/2012
- by Mark Kermode
- The Guardian - Film News
Thanks to the wonderful guys at Revolver Entertainment, we have Five copies of Cindy Meehl's critically-acclaimed documentary Buck (2011) plus Five quad posters signed by Buck Brannaman himself to give away to our lucky readers, ahead of the film's UK DVD release on 7 May. This is an exclusive competition for our Facebook and Twitter fans, so if you haven't already, 'Like' us at facebook.com/CineVueUK or follow us @CineVue.
Read more »...
Read more »...
- 5/4/2012
- by CineVue
- CineVue
He can rope a cow in a snowstorm and perform a caesarean with a penknife. Buck Brannaman tells Catherine Shoard why city folk are galloping to see his new documentary
Buck Brannaman is aware he has enormous hands. But as befits the "Zen master of the horse world", he's pretty modest about them. "Perhaps it's just that people in Britain don't have very big hands," says the wrangler who has been tossed off just about every troubled steed from Montana to Idaho. "I've shook hands with a lot of guys today and I was thinking, 'Well, mine just covers yours up completely.'"
It's not just the warm swaddle of those big mitts that makes a meeting with the original horse whisperer (the man who turned fixing abused and injured animals into an art form) feel like a soothing dose of ketamine. It's also the easy formality with which he wears his Stetson,...
Buck Brannaman is aware he has enormous hands. But as befits the "Zen master of the horse world", he's pretty modest about them. "Perhaps it's just that people in Britain don't have very big hands," says the wrangler who has been tossed off just about every troubled steed from Montana to Idaho. "I've shook hands with a lot of guys today and I was thinking, 'Well, mine just covers yours up completely.'"
It's not just the warm swaddle of those big mitts that makes a meeting with the original horse whisperer (the man who turned fixing abused and injured animals into an art form) feel like a soothing dose of ketamine. It's also the easy formality with which he wears his Stetson,...
- 4/29/2012
- by Catherine Shoard
- The Guardian - Film News
As enjoyable a documentary as I've seen this past couple of years, Buck is a lively portrait of Buck Brannaman, an altogether remarkable Montana cowboy now aged around 60, who spends 40 weeks a year driving around the States from Maine to California putting on clinics to help people handle and understand their horses. His loving mother died when he was 12, leaving him and his brother in the care of a violent, overbearing alcoholic father, from whom they were taken by the law and handed over to sympathetic foster parents. From this traumatic experience he learned how to treat people and animals, and there is something beautiful about the way he deals with horses and their owners. He was an adviser on Robert Redford's The Horse Whisperer and, so one gathers, virtually took over the direction of a key sequence in which a wary horse and its troubled owner (played by Scarlett Johansson) are brought together.
- 4/28/2012
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Damsels In Distress (12A)
(Whit Stillman, 2011, Us) Greta Gerwig, Analeigh Tipton, Adam Brody, Ryan Metcalf, Megalyn Echikunwoke. 99 mins
Stillman casts a wry eye across the college campus, and settles on Gerwig's clique of preppy girls who confuse charity with condescension. The result is distinctively articulate, witty, gently surreal and hilariously sarcastic. But as well as parodying these misguided teens, Stillman clearly has great sympathy for them. It's good to have him back.
Avengers Assemble (12A)
(Joss Whedon, 2012, Us) Samuel L Jackson, Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson. 142 mins
Considering the lack of leeway Whedon had with this superhero juggernaut, he pulls off a remarkable feat, keeping all the plates spinning with as much irony as he can get away with. It descends into a numbing effects orgy, but it's fast and fun along the way.
Albert Nobbs (15)
(Rodrigo García, 2011, UK/Ire) Glenn Close, Mia Wasikowska. 113 mins
Close's committed performance anchors this...
(Whit Stillman, 2011, Us) Greta Gerwig, Analeigh Tipton, Adam Brody, Ryan Metcalf, Megalyn Echikunwoke. 99 mins
Stillman casts a wry eye across the college campus, and settles on Gerwig's clique of preppy girls who confuse charity with condescension. The result is distinctively articulate, witty, gently surreal and hilariously sarcastic. But as well as parodying these misguided teens, Stillman clearly has great sympathy for them. It's good to have him back.
Avengers Assemble (12A)
(Joss Whedon, 2012, Us) Samuel L Jackson, Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson. 142 mins
Considering the lack of leeway Whedon had with this superhero juggernaut, he pulls off a remarkable feat, keeping all the plates spinning with as much irony as he can get away with. It descends into a numbing effects orgy, but it's fast and fun along the way.
Albert Nobbs (15)
(Rodrigo García, 2011, UK/Ire) Glenn Close, Mia Wasikowska. 113 mins
Close's committed performance anchors this...
- 4/27/2012
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Cindy Meehl's study of the real-life horse whisperer will have you falling at his feet, but it's no less fine for its partiality
Saddle up for for a one-way ticket to inspirationville: this Sundance-wowing documentary gives an insight into the real-life horse whisperer, child abuse backstory and all. Buck Brannaman is the sort of copper-bottomed authentic that makes you wonder how we ever swallowed Robert Redford's blow-dried impression. Half nag, half guru, he burrs wise words about wrangling men and beasts, one's primal nature and one's animal altruism. Yet he's also acid enough to balance out the slight tang of treacle in Meehl's treatment. There's a whole heap of Americana to wallow in here, but it's testimony to the director and subject that Buck still trots along at such a lick.
Rating: 4/5
DocumentaryAnimalsRobert RedfordCatherine Shoard
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.
Saddle up for for a one-way ticket to inspirationville: this Sundance-wowing documentary gives an insight into the real-life horse whisperer, child abuse backstory and all. Buck Brannaman is the sort of copper-bottomed authentic that makes you wonder how we ever swallowed Robert Redford's blow-dried impression. Half nag, half guru, he burrs wise words about wrangling men and beasts, one's primal nature and one's animal altruism. Yet he's also acid enough to balance out the slight tang of treacle in Meehl's treatment. There's a whole heap of Americana to wallow in here, but it's testimony to the director and subject that Buck still trots along at such a lick.
Rating: 4/5
DocumentaryAnimalsRobert RedfordCatherine Shoard
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.
- 4/27/2012
- by Catherine Shoard
- The Guardian - Film News
Another busy weeks of cinema releases this week but despite the wide array of movie offerings, there’s clearly one fantastical, latex-clad, cross-over blockbuster which towers above all the others. I am of course referring, to Strippers Vs Werewolves.
Apparently there’s some small, niche movie about a bunch of crazy vigilantes who gang up to fight with one of their mentally disturbed brothers, but I doubt you’ve heard of it.
No, but seriously folks, stitch your sides back together and i’ll level with you, The Avengers Assemble is out this Friday and after the months of trailers, stills, clips and more trailers, the anticipation is as they say at fever pitch. I imagine many of us have tickets booked up for the opening weekend already and after near unanimously positive reviews in the press, expectations are sky high.
As one might expect, few studios have bothered putting...
Apparently there’s some small, niche movie about a bunch of crazy vigilantes who gang up to fight with one of their mentally disturbed brothers, but I doubt you’ve heard of it.
No, but seriously folks, stitch your sides back together and i’ll level with you, The Avengers Assemble is out this Friday and after the months of trailers, stills, clips and more trailers, the anticipation is as they say at fever pitch. I imagine many of us have tickets booked up for the opening weekend already and after near unanimously positive reviews in the press, expectations are sky high.
As one might expect, few studios have bothered putting...
- 4/27/2012
- by Rob Keeling
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
★★★★☆ Buck Brannaman appears to be your average modern-day cowboy; yet in the equestrian world and beyond, he is nothing short of a superstar. In the inspirational and emotionally-charged documentary Buck (2011), the first feature release from Cindy Meehl, we meet an enigmatic man who possesses an extraordinary gift to communicate and heal troubled or misbehaving horses across the United States.
Read more »...
Read more »...
- 4/27/2012
- by CineVue
- CineVue
The Tribeca Film Festival kicks off for the eleventh time starting Wednesday when "The Five-Year Engagement" premieres, and festival organizers have just announced the star-studded jury for this year's edition.
Thirty-nine celebrities -- of various levels of fame and awards kudos -- make up the six juries, with producer Irwin Winkler ("Goodfellas") serving a jury president.
Among those selected by Tribeca this year: Patricia Clarkson, Hugh Dancy, Rosario Dawson, Dakota Fanning, Kellan Lutz, Michael Moore and Olivia Wilde. Also on the list: Brett Ratner. The controversial big-budget director will serve on the Documentary and Student Short Film Competition jury along with Justin Bieber's manager Scooter Braun, Susan Sarandon and Shailene Woodley, among others.
“We are honored to have this accomplished group dedicate the time and care it takes to view and discuss the films in competition this year,” Tribeca Film Festival co-founder Jane Rosenthal said in a statement.
For...
Thirty-nine celebrities -- of various levels of fame and awards kudos -- make up the six juries, with producer Irwin Winkler ("Goodfellas") serving a jury president.
Among those selected by Tribeca this year: Patricia Clarkson, Hugh Dancy, Rosario Dawson, Dakota Fanning, Kellan Lutz, Michael Moore and Olivia Wilde. Also on the list: Brett Ratner. The controversial big-budget director will serve on the Documentary and Student Short Film Competition jury along with Justin Bieber's manager Scooter Braun, Susan Sarandon and Shailene Woodley, among others.
“We are honored to have this accomplished group dedicate the time and care it takes to view and discuss the films in competition this year,” Tribeca Film Festival co-founder Jane Rosenthal said in a statement.
For...
- 4/16/2012
- by The Huffington Post
- Huffington Post
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