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Jim Carrey's Gay Prison Flick is Finally Coming Out!
Filed under: Comedy, Gay & Lesbian, Independent, Romance, Sundance, RumorMonger, Distribution
For over a year now, the Jim Carrey-Ewan McGregor gay prison romance/comedy, I Love You, Phillip Morris, has been trying to secure a distribution deal despite boasting a pair of A-list stars. Why? Well, because even in 2010, it's awfully hard to market a gay prison romance/comedy such as this.After nothing happened at Sundance '09 and release dates this past February, March, April and July got bumped back, Roadside Attractions -- the force behind Winter's Bone, Good Hair and The Cove -- has taken over domestic distribution for the constantly troubled film and set their sights on December 3rd, right in the midst of awards season.
Even if Carrey and McGregor don't nab some nominations for themselves (they're both quite good in the film, but it's tough to call anything this early), it'll at least be a raunchy relief from all the super-serious Oscar fare that will be taking up screens around that time of year.
4 More Sundance Films That Deserve a 'Colin Fitz' Miracle
Filed under: Independent, Sundance, Fandom, Distribution, DIY/Filmmaking
It's an honor to have your movie play at the Sundance Film Festival. It's a thrill when it not only plays but plays to great critical and popular acclaim. It's a dream come true when you meet with studio representatives to discuss theatrical distribution. And it's a bitter, soul-crushing disappointment when the deals don't pan out and the film is never heard from again.That's what happened to Robert Bella's Colin Fitz, a 1997 Sundance hit that won praise from critics as diverse as Roger Ebert and Harry Knowles. The film, a comedy about a dead rock star's devoted fans, looked like it would be the next Sundance Cinderella story. But while distributors were interested, none could offer Bella a sale price that would actually cover what it had cost him -- and his creditors -- to make it. So the film sat in a storage unit while Bella worked to buy it back from his creditors.
This week, the film -- now fittingly retitled Colin Fitz Lives! -- is finally being released through Video On Demand by IFC Films and Sundance Selects, some 13 1/2 years after its world premiere. It had a gala screening Thursday night in Los Angeles, too, attended by Bella and one of the film's stars, William H. Macy. Bella wrote a terrific first-person account of the lengthy ordeal at IndieWIRE, a story that will either serve as an inspiration or a cautionary tale to would-be filmmakers.
An Early Clip from Sundance Pot-Com 'HIGH School'
Filed under: Comedy, Sundance, Trailers and Clips
Oh, the dizzying frontiers of youth, and the important stages of maturity. Your first steps, your first words, your first kiss ... your first marijuana cigarette. Not that I, personally, would know anything about that. But, you know, I watch a lot of movies.In the soon-to-be-released HIGH School, valedictorian Henry Burke (Matt Bush) smokes weed for the first time with his stoner buddy Travis (Sean Marquette), then panics when his school principal (Michael Chiklis) announces he'll be instituting drug testing. So the boys steal drugs from a local dealer named "Psycho Ed' -- played, believe it or not, by Adrien Brody (right) -- with the plan that if they get the whole school to test positive, they won't get nailed for smoking weed.
In the just-released clip (after the jump), Travis presents Henry with his first joint, and sways him to smoke with the promise, "Getting high, it's like freedom. Smells, tastes, feelings -- they all become, like, uh, four-dimensional." Ah, to be a teenager again! I mean, don't do drugs, kids. Ahem.
'Catfish' Gets a Trailer, But We Can't Really Tell You About It
Filed under: Documentary, Sundance, Movie Marketing, Trailers and Clips
Catfish is a hard film to write about because the entire movie hinges upon a ton of reveals that take place during the final third of the film, and talking about them publicly beforehand would simply ruin the experience of watching it for the first time with no knowledge of what will happen next. When Catfish first premiered at this past Sundance Film Festival, it took the festival by storm, as critics danced around the details in an effort to tell everyone how good the documentary was without actually telling anyone what the documentary was about. And now the film's first trailer (watch it over at Apple) attempts to do the same thing, but one question remains: Will they be able to keep up this "don't say a word" game long enough to use it to actually sell the movie?
From my Sundance review: "... here's what I can tell you: Yaniv "Nev" Schulman is a young up-and-coming New York photographer who, at one point, had one of his photos published in The New York Sun. Not long after that, Nev received a painting of his photograph in the mail; one that was so expertly and beautifully crafted by an 8-year-old girl named Abby. Nev soon struck up a Facebook friendship with Abby, sending her his photographs in order to help feed this little girl with an amazing talent -- eventually becoming online and phone friends with Abby's family, including her mother Angela and older sister Megan, as well as several of Megan's friends from home in Michigan. Fascinated by this relationship and the art it was producing, Nev's filmmaker brother Ariel and friend Henry Joost decided to document the goings-on of this somewhat peculiar-yet-endearing friendship, but little did they know at the time it would turn into one of the most fascinating stories you'll watch all year."
Joseph Gordon Levitt and His Hair Rule the New 'Hesher' Clip
Filed under: Drama, New Releases, Sundance, Movie Marketing, ComicCon, Trailers and Clips
If not for Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt would have been the best part of Inception. JGL's portrayal of the clean-cut and no-nonsense Arthur has finally shown mainstream audiences what film geeks have known for some time -- this guy's a damn good actor. I still have a hard time seeing him and not thinking of little Tommy Solomon on Third Rock from the Sun, but that's starting to change with each new role.
I think I might be able to shake the image of the adorably cute pre-teen Joseph Gordon-Levitt once and for all after seeing this new clip for Spencer Susser's film Hesher. The footage played at Comic-Con over the weekend, which definitely seems strange for a Sundance film, but as Twitch points out it was almost assuredly to capitalize on Natalie Portman being in attendance (she also appears in the film) and JGL's Inception buzz.
You can check out our own Erik Childress' review to get the full breakdown of what Hesher's all about, but the basically the film follows a 13-year-old boy whose mother has died in a car accident. He meets Hesher (Gordon-Levitt), an angry, tattooed loner who shows him a lot about life -- most of it not necessarily good.
The film played Sundance earlier this year, earning mostly mixed reviews. Newmarket Films has picked Hesher up for distribution, but no official release date has been announced.
Hit the jump to watch the new clip, then head to the comments section to tell us what you think of this new turn for Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
Help Contribute to Ridley Scott and Kevin Macdonald's 'Life in a Day'
Filed under: Documentary, Sundance, DIY/Filmmaking, Cinematical Indie
Want to take part in a film directed by Oscar-winner Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland) and produced by Ridley Scott? Just make sure you document what you and/or others are doing on July 24, 2010, something that especially represents life in your area on that day in this year. Also, apparently you should show what you fear, what you love and what's in your pockets. Then upload the footage to YouTube (details are here). If it is deemed worthy and fits the project's rules (you must be at least 13; you must live in any but the six usually prohibited nations; you must follow YouTube's usual guidelines), Macdonald may select it to be included in the user-generated documentary Life in a Day, which will simultaneously premiere at Sundance and on YouTube in January. One important thing, though: if you do want to contribute don't do so just to be a part of a "historic cinematic experiment." While this is being sold as "the first user-generated feature-length documentary shot in one day," that title has already been achieved by at least one film, Jeff Deutchman's 11/4/08, which compiles footage shot by filmmakers from around the world on that titular day in which Barack Obama was elected President of the United States. I'm not sure why Scott and Macdonald selected 7/24/10 as their special day, but it certainly won't be as significant. Sure, it will be a time capsule, though so many other films are as well. I also don't imagine it will be a continuing interactive collaboration like Deutchman's project is.
Jim Carrey's 'I Love You Philip Morris' Delayed Again
Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Gay & Lesbian, Sundance, RumorMonger, Distribution, Newsstand
Jim Carrey's had a rough go of it lately, movie-wise, and I Love You Phillip Morris is a prime example. Morris, which costars Ewan McGregor, was initially planned to hit theaters in spring 2009 -- check out a promo image of it from 2008 here -- and premiered at that year's Sundance Festival. Based on the true crime novel by Steve Mcvicker about Steven Russell (Carrey), a married man who ends up in jail and falls in love with his cellmate, Philip Morris (McGregor); in real life, Russell broke out of jail several times, but his ultimate desire was to help Morris escape as well. In the movie, Russell is released from jail but desperate to spring his lover as well, which requires him to pull off a number of capers in order to free Morris and get enough money so they can live a life of luxury on the run.Unfortunately, it's been delayed for several years for a variety of reasons, and the latest is a legal snafu between its US distributor, Consolidated, and EuropaCorp, the financial backing company started by Luc Besson. The ongoing legal shuffle about finances and they said/we said court tussles is summed up over at Reuters; basically, EuropaCorp says that Consolidated owes them $3 million, Consolidated says EuropaCorp didn't live up to its end of the bargain, and EuropaCorp struck back with a lawsuit "alleging breach of contract and copyright infringement." In April, Deadline reported that EuropaCorp was actually working out a deal with Newmarket to distribute the movie.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt Will Remain a 'Hesher'
Filed under: Drama, Independent, Sundance, Newmarket, RumorMonger, Newsstand, Movie Marketing
Hesher, directed and co-written by Spencer Susser, has a lot going for it -- an excellent cast that includes Natalie Portman and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, a fresh take on freaky teen angst, and a buzzy Sundance premiere that resulted in a purchase by Newmarket Films. Gordon-Levitt stars as the weird catalyst for a young man's coming-of-age, "the Tyler Durden dark side bringing him into the light," as Cinematical's Erik Childress put it in his review from Sundance. Late last week, The Playlist noticed that information on the Nu Image/Millenium Films website indicated that the title had been changed to Rebel, including a new poster. Susser reached out to Chase Whale over at Gordon and the Whale via email exclusively, writing, "The film is being released as Hesher, not any other title it's being sold with overseas." Kinda makes sense, I guess, since the word hesher might not translate overseas; however, as Chase pointed out, releasing it as Rebel in the States would definitely change the whole vibe of the film.
Visit our buddies at Gordon and the Whale to get the full scoop and check out a brand-new pic of Joseph Gordon-Levitt looking like hot bad news. And, of course, JGL has plenty of other stuff coming up, including the highly anticipated mind-bender Inception from Christopher Nolan, and I'm With Cancer.
Review: Holy Rollers
Filed under: Drama, Independent, Sundance, Theatrical Reviews, Religious
From the very first frames of Holy Rollers, star Jesse Eisenberg looks worried. As well he should be -- from Roger Dodger to Zombieland, anxiety has more often than not been the foundation for his performances, and it's from there that he tends to exude the naivete or courage or what-have-you that defines each role. In this case, he runs the gamut as twenty-year-old Hasidic Jew Samuel Gold.
For starters, Sam has every right to be anxious. His family wants to see him become a rabbi, maybe marry a nice local girl, even if their humble stature doesn't make him the most inviting prospect, and his father (Mark Ivanir) is too proud to let his son help out by working for someone else instead of with him in his Brooklyn textiles shop. Enter Yosef (Justin Bartha), the bad boy next door and big brother to best friend Leon (Jason Fuchs). Yosef wants Sam and Leon to travel to Europe with him -- after all, that's where the family's from -- and transport some medicine back -- you know, for rich people. Besides, it's not like anybody's about to check a Hasidic passenger's luggage...
Review: Casino Jack and the United States of Money
Filed under: Documentary, Sundance, Magnolia, Theatrical Reviews
By Scott Weinberg (reprinted from 1/25/10 -- Sundance Film Festival)
At first I thought I was the wrong person to cover this film. You can deride me for keeping my head buried in the sand on some issues, but I wouldn't know a Jack Abramoff from a Beef Stroganoff. Prior to sitting down with Alex Gibney's colorfully-titled documentary Casino Jack and the United States of Money, all I knew of Abramoff was A) he was once a powerful Republican politician who B) stole a ton of money from a wide variety of people and C) got sent off to jail for his nefarious activities.
Maybe it's because finance and politics bore me like nobody's business, or perhaps it's just that I like movies a little bit more than I do the daily newspaper -- but hey, it's a good thing there are filmmakers like Alex Gibney out there. Because after sitting through the long-but-fascinating Casino Jack, I feel like marching on something! How dare these bastards rape and exploit and ... yeah, my outrage is a few years late, I know. But at least we have a solid new flick that will stand for the record.
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