Cinematical

Cinematical Seven: Things The Rest of Us Can Do While Everyone Else Is At Sundance

William Goss — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 22:02:00 EST

Filed under: Documentary, Drama, Independent, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Awards, SXSW, Sundance, Slamdance, Sony Classics, Focus Features, Fox Searchlight, Cinematical Seven, Oscar Watch, Paramount Vantage

1. Twiddle thumbs while waiting for bidding wars to break out -- So Senator Entertainment has already landed domestic distribution for Antoine Fuqua's cop drama, Brooklyn's Finest (they'll probably do right by it and sit it on a shelf right next to All the Boys Love Mandy Lane); now, it's just a matter of waiting for Fox Searchlight to snatch up their next sleeper in waiting, and for either Focus or Paramount Vantage to pick up the rights to something they can't quite turn a profit on *cough1* *cough2*. Modest comfort comes in the form of Searchlight already planning a late-summer release for 500 Days of Summer, and of Sony Pictures Classics reportedly calling dibs on Sam Rockwell's sci-fi drama, Moon. Keep those ears and eyes open, folks.

2. Monitor some seriously similar, sometimes simultaneous Twitter action -- For starters, there's our crew: Snider, then Davis, then Rocchi, and (lastly but not least-ly) new convert Weinberg. Then you have the Onion folks, your CHUD, the IFC one-two, the Spout reps, our HitFix homies, not to mention your /Film and your Film School Rejects and your First Showing (these fellas happen to be sharing accommodations, so expect much echo). Daily posts? Facebook status updates? Please. With a minute-by-minute play-by-play, who needs to go outdoors?

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Watch This: 'The Shirt'

Erik Davis — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 19:02:00 EST

Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Slamdance, Shorts, Fandom, Home Entertainment, Trailers and Clips

Not long ago I wrote about a movie premiering at the Slamdance Film Festival called Spooner, starring Matthew Lillard, and during said post I mentioned that Spooner director (and Cinematical friend) Drake Doremus had previously written and directed an awesome short film called The Shirt back in 2006. Unfortunately at the time The Shirt was not available to watch online, but earlier today Drake read the post and was cool enough to throw the short up on YouTube so that you fine Cinematical readers can enjoy its beautiful absurdity. What's it about? It's about this dude who's trying to find the kind of shirt that will change his life. We'll let you know how Spooner turned out a bit later in the week, so for now check out The Shirt below and the trailer for Spooner (find info on how to purchase Slamdance tix over here) after the jump.

WARNING: This short contains foul language and two brief sexual acts, but no nudity.

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Slamdance Trailers: 'Zombie Girl: The Movie' and 'Spooner'

Erik Davis — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 12:45:00 EST

Filed under: Slamdance, Fandom, Movie Marketing, Trailers and Clips

Talk all you want about Sundance, but some of my favorite films often come out of the Slamdance Film Festival, Sundance's illegitimate dorky little half-cousin. While Sundance features clean, glamorous "message movies" starring people you're very familiar with, Slamdance films are a little rough around the edges; cultish with a touch of fanboyish flavor. Oh, and their docs are always very good. Last year saw Dear Zachary come out of Slamdance, and the year before was The King of Kong. One of the docs entering the 2009 Slamdance Film Fest with a little buzz behind it is Zombie Girl: The Movie, a doc about a 12-year-old girl who attempts to make her own feature-length zombie flick. Not only is it ridiculously hard to make your own feature-length film on a shoestring budget (I know from experience), but imagine if it was a horror movie ... and you were 12. Check out the trailer below, and learn more about Zombie Girl: The Movie over on its official website.

Check out the Spooner trailer after the jump ...

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Slamdance Announces Fest Lineup

Erik Davis — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 11:45:00 EST

Filed under: Slamdance, Fandom, Newsstand

Every year during the Sundance Film Festival, there's another quieter festival doing its thing in Park City called Slamdance. Both fests run at the same time, though one is this really big, stylish, celebrity-spottin' hip-to-be-seen scene, while the other is a warm, welcoming place to settle down with friends and take in some quality independent entertainment. Needless to say, though they're both located in the same neighborhood, these are two very different festivals -- different vibes, different venues, different merch. And although we here at Cinematical primarily cover Sundance, we will try to get to as many Slamdance flicks as we can come January.

Speaking of, the fest just announced their slate for 2009 and it includes some fine-looking little nuggets. Among some of the flicks enjoying their world premiere are the new one from those Broken Lizard dudes, The Slammin' Salmon, about an owner of a restaurant who, indebted to the mob, decides to hold a contest to see which waiter can earn the most money in one night. Also on the sched is Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Undead, a wacky-sounding opening night flick called I Sell the Dead, and a bunch more. Check out the list of films (along with descriptions) after the jump, then let us know which ones you want us to review for you from Park City.

For more on Slamdance '09, click here.

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Cinematical Seven: First-Person Horror Movies Worth Watching

William Goss — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 22:02:00 EST

Filed under: Horror, Independent, Thrillers, Slamdance, Mystery & Suspense, Sony, RumorMonger, The Weinstein Co., Dreamworks, Cinematical Seven, Remakes and Sequels, Toronto International Film Festival

Despite having previously established my feelings about this weekend's Quarantine, I must confess a new willingness to give it a fair shot later tonight. Regardless, this week's Cinematical Seven is all about first-person horror movies, with a couple of oh-so-subjective stipulations:

We're leaving The Blair Witch Project (1999) out of this. It might not have been the first of these movies, but it was undeniably the most successful and influential. There are only seven slots here, and I feel like everyone has already made clear whether they find this scary or just stupid (I fall in the former grouping, though I say this having not seen the flick since my teens). If you still feel the need to take BWP to task, comment away.
Also omitted will be The Last Broadcast (1998), which drew mild controversy at the time of its release for its similarity to Blair Witch. I'm only not writing about it because the copy of it sitting just over on my shelf here has remained unwatched. My bad.
The previous film by the guys behind Quarantine is The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007), which -- being in the hands of the Weinsteins -- has not yet seen the light of day beyond a couple of festivals. Having not attended any of said festivals myself, I'll just sit here and guess that it'll get dumped to DVD (probably under the Dimension Extreme label), and not any earlier than next year at that.

Now, on with the list...

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Sony Hopes to Release Greg Mottola's 'Daytrippers'

Eric Kohn — Wed, 07 May 2008 21:45:00 EST

Filed under: Comedy, Independent, Casting, Deals, New Releases, Cannes, Slamdance, Sony, Distribution, DIY/Filmmaking, Home Entertainment, Movie Marketing

With five nominations, it looks like Superbad will be the star of the 2008 MTV Movie Awards, and its three jubilant male leads -- Michael Cera, Jonah Hill, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse -- deserve the kudos. But one major talent behind the whole affair has stayed relatively anonymous while these young up-and-comers bathe in the spotlight: Director Greg Mottola. The erstwhile independent filmmaker, responsible for some of the best installments of Arrested Developed and Undeclared, launched his career a solid decade before the rise of Judd Apatow with a charming little low budget comedy called The Daytrippers. Starring Stanley Tucci, Hope Davis, Liev Schreiber, Parker Posey and a host of other fantastic character actors, the film follows a wildly dysfunctional family over the course of a single day, as Davis, playing a worrisome housewife, tries to track down her unfaithful husband (Tucci).

Mixing warm humanity with pitch-perfect screwball timing, Daytrippers marked the sort of debut that told you a filmmaker had a big career ahead of him. After a modest premiere at the Slamdance Film Festival, it landed at Cannes, barely got a theatrical release and promptly vanished thereafter. Mottola turned to TV work, and slipped out of the film scene for a good ten years. These days, it's no easy task to track down Daytrippers on DVD -- you can nab second-hand copies on Amazon for decent rates, but not a single retail outlet carries it. Aside from the occasionally airings on cable, the movie has vanished.

Continue reading Sony Hopes to Release Greg Mottola's 'Daytrippers'

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From the Editor's Desk: Films We Champion

Erik Davis — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 16:32:00 EST

Filed under: Comedy, Documentary, Drama, SXSW, Sundance, Slamdance, Fandom, The Weinstein Co.

My favorite part of attending a film festival comes when you discover a smaller film that hits you in a way that almost forces you to throw up everything you know about the flick whenever someone asks. They could be, like, "So, how ya feeling today?" And then you can't help but answer, "I'm good ... but you HAVE to see this friggin' film. It's called (insert the title) and it's unbelievable -- easiest the best thing I've seen in the history of best things I've seen ... times a gabillion!"

Okay, maybe you don't flip out like that -- but you get the idea. So far this year I've hit up Sundance, Slamdance and SXSW, with plans to soon visit the Gen Art Film Festival here in New York, as well as Tribeca soon after. Thankfully, I've seen two films that absolutely rocked my world, and if I could use every other post just to write about them -- in the hopes all of you will go see these films, and champion them -- I would. But I can't. So from time to time, I will pop in, mention the titles and hope something sticks. As of right now, these are the two films I am championing this year: The Hottie and the Nottie and ... just kidding. Kidding, people. I'm KIDDING! God! Chill out.

AnyWAY, here are the two films: Dear Zachary: a letter to a son about his father (Slamdance) and The Promotion (SXSW). The first is a gripping, tear-jerker of a documentary from a very cool dude named Kurt Kuenne. Alex from First Showing went to see Zachary at SXSW on my recommendation and it blew him away. It will blow you away. Fingers crossed a deal comes soon ... and you bet I'll be back telling you all about it.

The Promotion, on the other hand, is all the way on the other end of the spectrum. It's a comedy. A dry comedy ... where Seann William Scott plays the straight man -- go figure. Not sure if the Weinstein Co. know they have a little gem in their basket; hopefully Kirk Honeycutt didn't scare them stupid. This one is set to come out on June 6, so make sure you're there.

Which films are you absolutely nutty about this year -- to the point where you stop random strangers in the street to tell them all about it?

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DreamWorks Digs That Creepy 'Paranormal Activity'

Scott Weinberg — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 17:32:00 EST

Filed under: Horror, Independent, Deals, Slamdance, Distribution, Dreamworks

I have a big "Park City genre report" on the way, but here's some good news that has forced me to jump the gun just a little bit. One of the coolest surprises I saw last week was a Slamdance entry called Paranormal Activity. Now, being that I'm a ravenous horror nerd, I'd already heard (and read) a little bit about the flick -- and I was aware that there was strongly positive buzz from the hardcore horror hounds -- but I wasn't really prepared for how quietly, confidently creepy the flick would be.

I won't spoil anything, but I will say that Paranormal Activity is a great little horror flick, and it sure looks like the people at DreamWorks agree with the horror press. According to Variety, DW has acquired all domestic and remake rights to Paranormal Activity, which basically means we'll see a solid DVD release for the original, and a glossier remake that's not bad, but not as good as the original. The horror fans get two movies, everyone involved gets paid, and it's a nice story all around. Score one for the little guy who made a good movie. (Feel free to check out Kim's review here, and my full review right here.)

Congrats, Oren!

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Slamdance Review: Paranormal Activity

Kim Voynar — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 17:02:00 EST

Filed under: Horror, Independent, Sundance, Slamdance, Theatrical Reviews, Cinematical Indie

When it comes to mockumentary type films, there are basically two kinds: good and bad; there's just not a lot of middle-ground with this particular type of filmmaking. Paranormal Activity, which showed at Slamdance, the wild and crazy drunk cousin to the Sundance Film Festival, falls squarely into the "good" camp -- particularly if your definition of "good" includes "will scare the pants off you" and "I had to sleep with the lights on after watching it."

The central idea of the film is that it purports to show actual footage of, well, paranormal activity, in the home of the two protagonists, Katie and Micah, who are living their normal lives until weird things begin happening in their home. Katie, who believes she's been haunted by an invisible, malevolent being since childhood, fears it's followed her to her new home. Micah isn't quite convinced there's anything unexplainable going on, but he purchases a video camera to record their room at night, in an attempt to capture on film any paranormal activity and try to make sense of it. When the camera actually does capture some weird happenings, Micah is at first rather excited by what they have on film; as things escalate, through, both Katie and Micah fear that the entity haunting Katie could turn violent -- or even deadly.

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From the Editor's Desk: Sundance Unrated Director's Cut Special Awesome Edition

Erik Davis — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:32:00 EST

Filed under: Sundance, Slamdance, From the Editor's Desk

You've already read the 378,000 posts we filed before, during and after this year's Sundance Film Festival, but now I'm back to let you know what we left on the cutting room floor! What was going on when the Cinematical team wasn't watching movies or writing about them? Where were we, who were we with and why did someone bring a farm animal with them? Fear not, I'm kidding -- no farm animals were brought to Sundance (and if they were, whoever brought them kept the things hidden pretty well). So here's some of what was left out of our coverage:

-- While watching a Slamdance screener at one in the morning, Erik got pissed off, woke up James and asked him why films set in New York City never feature characters who have New York accents, with the exception of racist cops, gangsters or angry taxi drivers. James agreed. Erik then went off on Boston, and how every film set in Boston needs to feature the Bahston accent -- but, for some reason, the New York accent always gets dissed. James and Erik agreed to write Spider-Man Begins, featuring Peter Parker with a thick New York accent (he grew up in Queens, after all).

-- At four in the morning at some point over the weekend, James woke up Erik to tell him he was snoring. Erik spazzed out because he thought he was being mugged by a giant. From then on out -- and because of his freakishly large shadow -- James referred to himself as the Cloverfield monster whenever he had a few drinks in him. In fact, while outside on a balcony with Michael Pitt, James actually referred to himself as the Cloverfield monster. Everyone laughed.

Continue reading From the Editor's Desk: Sundance Unrated Director's Cut Special Awesome Edition

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Live from Sundance: So, What's This Slamdance Thing?

Erik Davis — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 19:32:00 EST

Filed under: Sundance, Slamdance, Festival Reports

Prior to coming out for the Sundance Film Festival, I had always wondered about Slamdance -- held at the same time, in the same snowy town. Where was Slamdance? How did you get there? Was it as spread out as Sundance? Luckily, I was fortunate enough to take in a few Slamdance films this year, and the best way to describe the fest is that it's like the indie version of Sundance -- the fest that doesn't try to impress, doesn't have a big budget; the fest for the common man. Not that Sundance isn't a treat in and of itself, but Slamdance is a tad more personal.

Everything is held in one building (Treasure Mountain Inn), and like any smaller festival, you have fliers and posters everywhere -- on boards, on tables, on chairs. People hand out pins, hats -- anything they can do to push themselves through the crowded Sundance marketplace to say, "Hey, check out my film too! It's just as good." Honestly, my favorite film from this entire week was a Slamdance documentary called Dear Zachary. I had a chance to meet the director of that film last night, and he thanked me profusely for my review of it. He said, "It's funny, but that will probably be the best review I get for any film I ever make." He also noted that because of my review, they managed to get a bunch of buyers into a screening for the film taking place today.

While we may all be ants running around a major festival like Sundance, it's times like that -- when our words truly impact the future of a film -- that make these sorts of trips all the more worthwhile. If you can connect with one film, and subsequently have a hand in getting that film in front of millions more people -- then nothing else really matters. The snow, the cold, the lack of sleep, the a**hole who wouldn't let you into a party, the high-priced meals ... the everything. It all just goes away. And you can fly home with a smile.

Check out our Slamdance gallery below to get a sneak peak out how they roll here in Park City.

Gallery: Slamdance Gallery

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Slamdance Review: Dear Zachary: a letter to a son about his father

Erik Davis — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 21:02:00 EST

Filed under: Documentary, Sundance, Slamdance, Theatrical Reviews, Festival Reports

(Note: Cinematical is not officially covering Slamdance this year, but when we have the chance to catch a film from that fest, we'll definitely bring you a review.)

I don't know how to review this film. It's so personal, so emotional and so powerful that if I dedicate a paragraph to a few technical issues, it would completely take away from the fact that this was one of the best documentaries I have ever watched in my entire life. Following the Slamdance premiere of Dear Zachary, I asked my friend if the director had also submitted to Sundance. Apparently, he did. How or why Sundance did not accept this doc is beyond me. And here's a note to any programmer from any fest reading this review: Play this film. And here's a note to anyone looking to purchase a doc to distribute and whatnot: Buy this film. I don't work for a studio, thus I'm not keen on all the politics involved, but I guarantee if this doc was picked up by, say, HBO, it would change lives immediately.

Matt Dentler made a good point over on his blog. While briefly talking about the film, he said, "I'm not going to link its Web site for a reason: this is a documentary you need to experience with as little advanced knowledge as possible. You just need to know it's worth seeing, and will probably grip you tight from the very beginning. But, like so many festival films, it hits you hardest when you go into it knowing very little." And I completely agree, which is why I won't go into too many details after the jump.

Continue reading Slamdance Review: Dear Zachary: a letter to a son about his father

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Live from Sundance: Be Kind New Line

Erik Davis — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 02:02:00 EST

Filed under: Sundance, Slamdance, Festival Reports, Fandom

For the first time during the fest, I spent a good part of my day on Main Street, watching teenage kids travel in packs, chanting every time a celebrity passed by. Who I saw: Jack Black being molested by a throng of teenage girls. Alan Rickman being chased by a group of teens shouting, "Alan!" and "Potter!" Rickman was heading into the party for Be Kind Rewind -- a party in which yours truly was not allowed into.

Granted, I wasn't on the list nor was I invited by our friends over at New Line (who are all great people, and it probably just slipped their mind to invite the kind folks from Cinematical), but when I calmly explained who I was and that I really wanted to write up the party, give the film a little more press -- the dude at the door was an as**ole and a half. So thank you Mr. F*ckwit for shoving me off as if I was a scrawny 15-year-old itching to have Jack Black sign my left ass cheek. Your party looked very nice, and it's unfortunate that I can't write really nice things about it. Next time I see Alan Rickman, I'll ask him how it was.

Oooh, and Kim just told me that Kirsten Dunst checked into our hotel a little while ago. Hmmm. We'll let you know if we spot her doing something Spidey-like. More photos, more reviews and more interviews heading your way soon. And I definitely have to tell you about this Slamdance doc I saw tonight called Dear Zachary. One of the most powerful and emotional docs I have ever seen. Let's just say I cried like a little girl throughout the entire film. I couldn't help myself. I was damaged tonight, folks. Hit by a force I wasn't expecting. Too bad I couldn't enjoy a few drinks with my friends (who did get into the Be Kind party) and drown my injured soul in a pint of something Utah-ish. Oh well. There's always tomorrow ....

Images from Main Street:

More after the jump ...

Continue reading Live from Sundance: Be Kind New Line

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The (Mostly) Indie Film Calendar: Jan. 18-24

Eric D. Snider — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 11:02:00 EST

Filed under: Classics, Comedy, Drama, Foreign Language, Independent, Sundance, Slamdance, Columns, The (Mostly) Indie Film Calendar

Welcome to The (Mostly) Indie Film Calendar, a weekly look at what's happening beyond the multiplexes all around North America. If you know of something indie-related happening near you -- a local festival, a series of classic restored films, lectures, workshops, etc. -- send the info to me at Eric.Snider(at)weblogsinc(dot)com and I'll add it to the list.

Most of the indie world has its eyes focused on Sundance as of today (OK, and Slamdance, too), and we'll get to that later. In the meantime, for those of you not lucky enough to be joining us in the snowy, frigid tundra of Park City, there's some new indie fare coming to your local theaters:

Teeth was one of the most-talked-about films at last year's Sundance Film Festival, and it's finally opening in limited release today. It's the story of a chaste teenage girl who discovers her vagina has teeth and will attack any, um, intruders. It's a horror film, it's a satire of puritanical sexual attitudes, and it's awfully funny. So said Cinematical's Scott Weinberg when he reviewed it a year ago, and I agree. Also, check out our interview with Teeth star Jess Weixler over here.

Taxi to the Dark Side addresses a much darker issue: It's a documentary about the torture practices used by the United States in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. The director is Alex Gibney, who made Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room and produced No End in Sight. Our James Rocchi has an interview with Gibney here.

Day Zero, set in the very near future, tells a hypothetical story about three young men (Elijah Wood, Chris Klein, and Jon Bernthal) who are drafted into the military and have 30 days to report before being sent to Baghdad. It's playing at the Angelika Film Center in New York and on Bainbridge Island, Wash. (I'm guessing it was filmed near there?), before heading to DVD next month.

Still Life, from Chinese director Zhang Ke Jia (The World, Platform), is a class-conscious drama about the aftermath of a village being flooded by the construction of a new dam. It opens today exclusively at IFC Center in New York.

After the jump, special screenings and events in Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, L.A., New York, Portland, Seattle, and Park City, Utah....

Continue reading The (Mostly) Indie Film Calendar: Jan. 18-24

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Very Scary Clip for Slamdance Film, 'I Think We're Alone Now'

Ryan Stewart — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 17:32:00 EST

Filed under: Documentary, Slamdance, Fandom, Cinematical Indie, Trailers and Clips

Wow. That's all I have to say about this one. Scrolling through Spout.com today, I came across the following semi-trailer for I Think We're Alone Now, a documentary about extreme fans/stalkers of 80s teen pop sensation Tiffany that's debuting at Slamdance. It's without a doubt one of the creepiest things I've ever seen in my life. One guy in particular, who looks about 50, earnestly tells the camera that "Tiffany and I have known each other most of her life and we are in love with each other. And she's a great singer!" We later learn in the clip that Tiffany already filed a restraining order against that guy at one point, but that hasn't slowed him down a lick. We see him reading a document: "As a 16 year-old, Tiffany was forced to get a restraining order against Jeff Deane Turner -- they've got my whole name in there!"

Then there's another guy, who will remind you of the killer from The Silence of the Lambs -- seriously, he's maybe the scariest-looking guy I've ever seen. He has black and white glossy headshots of the singer all over his wall and we see him telling someone, in a very serious tone of voice, "My destiny is that I'm supposed to be with Tiffany." By far, the topper is a video clip of 30-something Tiffany at one of her sparsely-attended outdoor retro concerts, trying to get the crowd to sing along with "I Think We're Alone Now" and guess who is in the audience, singing louder than anyone else? Shudder. I think this might end up being one of the best horror films of 2008.

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Sundance '08 Horror Preview

Scott Weinberg — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 12:02:00 EST

Filed under: Horror, Thrillers, Sundance, Slamdance

Last year I was all set to go up to Sundance and review all the nasty horror movies ... and I went home talking mostly about Waitress. I'm such a wuss. Oh sure, there was fine genre fare to be found (Teeth, Fido and The Signal, most notably) but I got a little misty-eyed with Kim during Waitress ... and I believe Rocchi and I actually wept a little during Grace is Gone.

But enough nostalgia, dammit! Next month there'll be me and Kim and James and (first-timer!) Erik up in Park City, all scurrying about like frozen little blogger-ants as we try to keep you abreast of all the Sundancings -- which brings us back to square one: Me. And horror movies. Let's get to it. As part of the Park City at Midnight slate we have...

The Broken -- "On a busy London street a woman sees herself driving by in her own car. Stunned, she trails the mystery woman as events take an eerie turn into a living nightmare." -- Starring the lovely Lena Headey and the awesome Richard Jenkins. Directed by Sean Ellis, who last helmed the pretty solid Cashback.

Diary of the Dead -- "When a group of film students making an indie horror film find themselves trapped in a world being consumed by flesh-eating zombies, they cleverly switch gears and use the camera to document the world crumbling around them." Directed by the master himself, Mr. George A. Romero. First Toronto, then Fantastic Fest, and now Sundance. I swear this movie is stalking me. (Full review here.)

Donkey Punch -- "After meeting at a nightclub in a Mediterranean resort, seven young adults decide to continue partying aboard a luxury yacht in the middle of the ocean. But when one of them dies in a freak accident the others argue about what to do, leading to a ruthless fight for survival." Hey, the Brits go good genre fare. I'm down.

Funny Games -- "A family settles into its vacation home, which happens to be the next stop for a pair of young, articulate, white-gloved serial killers on an excursion through the neighborhood." For my thoughts on Michael Haneke's remake (and a link to the new trailer), click right here.

Continue reading Sundance '08 Horror Preview

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Hey, Don't Forget Slamdance! They Announced Their Lineup, Too!

Eric D. Snider — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 17:34:00 EST

Filed under: Comedy, Documentary, Gay & Lesbian, Horror, Independent, Slamdance, Cinematical Indie

The Slamdance Film Festival was created as a truly independent alternative to Sundance, which was viewed as becoming too corporate and swanky. Slamdance runs at the same time as Sundance every year, in the same small Utah town of Park City, and will probably forever live in Sundance's shadow -- which is probably just the way they like it.

The 14th edition of Slamdance will run Jan. 17-25, and the lineup of 29 features was announced this morning -- 20 of which are world premieres. The opening film (not in competition) is Real Time (pictured), a dramatic comedy by Randall Cole about a gambler given an hour to live by the hitman hired to kill him. Randy Quaid and Jay Baruchel are the stars.

If you've complained that Sundance doesn't have enough horror titles -- I'm looking at you, Scott Weinberg -- Slamdance has the remedy. Out-of-competition films include: Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer, featuring Robert "Freddy Krueger" Englund; matinee-horror documentary Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story; and Trailer Park of Terror (because the world needs another zombie comedy).

The 10 narrative films in competition (limited to first-time directors working with a budget of less than $1 million) include: Tao Ruspoli's Fix, a dark comedy about a guy's buddies trying to get him from jail to rehab before 8 p.m., lest he go to prison; Simon Welsford's Jetsam, in which an amnesia-stricken woman washes up on the beach and is promptly attacked by the man who has washed up next to her; and Portage, co-written and directed by Matthew Miller, Ezra Krybus, and Sascha Drews, about four women forced to fend for themselves on a dangerous canoe trip after their guide has an accident.

In the documentary category, we have subjects as diverse as a family of circus entertainers (Circus Rosaire), fan/stalkers of '80s pop icon Tiffany (I Think We're Alone Now), drag queens (Pageant), Neil Diamond impersonators (Song Sung Blue), and synchronized swimming (Sync or Swim).

For the whole lineup and more details, check out the press release on Slamdance's website.

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Slamdance Screenplay Competition Winners Announced

Eric D. Snider — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 13:02:00 EST

Filed under: Horror, Independent, Awards, Slamdance, Cinematical Indie

The Slamdance Film Festival may have been conceived as a response to Sundance -- it's held in the same small Utah town during the same week each January -- but it has come to be respected in its own right now that it's been around for almost 13 years.

One of Slamdance's many activities beyond the film festival itself is the screenplay competition, and the winners of the 12th annual contest were announced last week. Taking the top prize was Anthony Meindl's The Wonder Girls, about the German women's Olympic swim team in East Berlin. Meindl, who runs an actor's studio in L.A., gets a $7,000 cash prize with the award.

Rounding out the top 10 finalists -- out of more than 2,000 submissions -- were: Ezzy Fish by Tamar Halpern; An Entire Body by Bryan Wizemann; Child in the Dark by Damian Lahey and Ian Ogden; Mighty Oaks by Adam Lowery; Kidney by Stephen Lancelotti; The Falling Sky by Greg Weed; The Atomic Avenger by Ryan Landels; Porkchop & Slim by Seth Schader; and My Name is Sue by Lisa Cole and Mark Monroe.

The press release notes that past Slamdance Screenplay Competition winners include The Woodsman by Nicole Kassell and Stephen Fetcher and Maria Full of Grace by Joshua Marston -- both of which, once produced, skipped Slamdance to premiere at Sundance instead. That's gratitude for you!

Last year, Slamdance added a new screenplay competition specifically for horror films. The first winner, called Slaughter, just started production and is expected to debut at Slamdance in January. That's an awfully short turnaround, but I guess they work fast in the indie world. Anyway, the deadline for this year's Horror Screenplay Competition is Nov. 12, so check out the rules if you have something ghoulish you'd like to enter.

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Screen Media Getting Bigger

Christopher Campbell — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 19:33:00 EST

Filed under: Drama, Independent, SXSW, Sundance, Slamdance, Universal, Distribution, Family Films, Home Entertainment, Cinematical Indie

Who doesn't love Screen Media Films? Without them, we wouldn't be able to rent The Karate Dog, featuring the voice of Chevy Chase, or the spoof Disaster! The Movie, with the voices of all of Mötley Crüe. Okay, so they don't just distribute bad straight-to-video titles -- they also allow us to see the mediocre directorial offerings of Kevin Bacon and Chazz Palminteri. And they must be doing something right, because they have a great distribution deal with Universal Home Entertainment, and now they also have enough money to expand.

This week, at Sundance, Screen Media will debut its new theatrical division. The company has distributed films to theaters before, such as Bacon's Loverboy, but never on a big scale. Their first release will be Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Ideas, a comedy that Scott saw at SXSW last year (he called it "one of the more colorful surprises" of the fest). They apparently will also be distributing Weirdsville, which premieres next week at Slamdance.

Anyway, this is mostly important news for any filmmakers out there in Park City who can't seem to find a good deal. Look for the Screen Media reps. You could be in the same library as The 12 Dogs of Christmas! And if you think you're better than that, just remember the photo above, because surely Jon Voight once thought he was better too.

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It's That Slamdance Lineup Time of Year

Monika Bartyzel — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 21:32:00 EST

Filed under: Independent, Slamdance, Cinematical Indie

Every year, as Sundance fires up in Utah , Slamdance slides in to slam the independent festival by providing a more accurate selection of independent film. The films selected for competition must be made by first-time filmmakers for budgets under $1 million, and many of them are quirky beyond belief, even the opening-night galas. Last year, the opener was Larry Clark's Wassup Rockers. This year, it's Weirdsville.

While that name might not ring bells, perhaps its director, Allan Moyle, does. He's the nineties teen cult movie guru who brought us Pump up the Volume and Empire Records, as well as the quirky The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag and the more somber New Waterford Girl. I can't share its plot any better than Slamdance does, which they describe as the "story of two junkies on the run from a satanic cult, a cabal of midget knights, a vengeful drug dealer, and a mouse, in a little town called Weirdsville."

The rest of the Slamdance line-up slides into four film areas -- narrative features, documentaries, special screenings and shorts. (Their website also has short film content online, and is worth checking out.) The narrative battle includes a ton of world premieres and the topics range from American Zombie, which is about a group of zombies trying to gain acceptance in LA, to a boy willing to fight his rooster to win the heart of a young prostitute in Tijuana Makes Me Happy. For the docs, selections range from Noah Thomson's Children of God: Lost and Found, his account of growing up in a Christian cult, to Luke Wolbach's Row Hard No Excuses, a story about men attempting to row across the Atlantic . There seems to be a little something for everyone, so check out the full list of films on their website.

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