Dennis Lee Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Julia Roberts Finds Jesus H. Christ
Filed under: Comedy », Deals », Shorts », Remakes and Sequels »
Now that the fireflies have flown through the garden, Julia Roberts wants more Dennis Lee. More specifically, old Dennis Lee. The Hollywood Reporter posts that the actress is reteaming with Lee to morph his short film Jesus Henry Christ into a feature film. The short, which won Lee a Student Academy Award, focused on a scholarship student (Henry) in a Catholic school who gets sent to the headmaster's office. The feature, however, will play out a little differently. The new take will follow Henry's search for his father. See, he's "a boy conceived in a petri dish and raised by a loving, left-wing feminist. At the age of 10, he decides his mother's love is not enough and begins to follow a trail of Post-It notes stuck around town hoping it will lead him to his biological father." (Post-Its have broken through the small screen of Rube and Berger!)
Right now, Roberts is only producing the feature and is not planning to star, but I'm hoping that she'll change her mind. Many might love her romcoms and mainstream fair, but I've always thought that Roberts thrives in the less typical halls of cinema. Becoming a left-wing feminist would do her good! Although I bet if she stays behind the camera, all eyes will turn towards Toni Collette.
And if you want to check out the short, it's available over here, for a price.
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A Depressing, Star-Studded Trailer for 'Fireflies in the Garden'
Filed under: Berlin », Distribution », Trailers and Clips »
Let's see: a serious, multigenerational, semi-autobiographical family drama starring Willem Dafoe, Emily Watson and Julia Roberts -- it sure sounds like Oscar buzz for Fireflies in the Garden should have gotten turned up to 11 by now. There hasn't really been any; the bad reviews from the film's out-of-competition premiere at Berlin probably didn't help. Still, that cast is tough to beat (there's also Ryan Reynolds, Carrie Anne-Moss and Hayden Panettierre), and the movie should be able to land with at least a minor splash if its eventual US distributor puts in a bit of effort.There's now a full international trailer up at one of the film's websites. If the movie does indeed suck, the trailer doesn't telegraph the suckage -- it makes the film look solid, respectable. The reviews, on the other hand, make it sound embarrassing, with the sort of logistical difficulties (Texas failing to stand in for Chicago; implausible casting of younger and older versions of the same characters) that shouldn't really plague a production this high-profile.
Director Dennis Lee is making his feature debut after directing a well-received short film called Jesus Henry Christ. It's a heck of a pedigree for a first film, though the scenario and the reviews (and the director's last name) make me think of Jieho Lee's The Air I Breathe -- a feature debut by a director with a strong short on his resume, and a spectacular cast, that turned out to be completely unwatchable.
Dennis Lee Captures 'Birds in Fall'
Filed under: Drama », Deals », Scripts »
I think we've found the new directorial powerhouse of dramatic cinema. Soon we're getting Dennis Lee's Fireflies in the Garden -- a feature that stars the likes of Julia Roberts, Ryan Reynolds, Willem Dafoe, and Emily Watson, deals with a family torn by an unexpected tragedy, and is getting a good initial response. Now Variety reports that he's signing on for another heavy dramatic piece -- he will adapt and direct Brad Kessler's Birds in Fall -- a story that has even more tragedy.It's not an upper of a premise, but the pieces sound intriguing. An innkeeper sees a plane crash into the ocean off Nova Scotia, and then prepares as the families of the victims descend upon the area. There's an ornithologist, a Bulgarian pianist, an Iranian exile, a Taiwanese couple, and a Dutch teen who stay at the inn as they try to work through his tragedy, each dealing with the loved ones they've lost.
Poster For Julia Roberts' 'Fireflies in the Garden'
Filed under: Drama », Romance », Movie Marketing », Images »
Is it just me, or does it seem weird these days to see a movie poster that excludes images of its stars? I would especially expect a movie starring Julia Roberts to capitalize on her famous face. Yet here is the new one-sheet for Dennis Lee's Fireflies in the Garden, and it is completely void of the usual celebrity portraits. It doesn't include the young, rising-star face of Hayden Panettiere (Heroes), the handsome mugs of Ioan Gruffold or Ryan Reynolds, the distinguished features of Willem Dafoe or the stunning eyes of Emily Watson or Carrie-Anne Moss. The poster does list all of these actors, though, so for attracting an audience for the film, name recognition will have to do. Apparently the designers of the poster think we'll be more interested in a movie about a large farmhouse and a giant field (not even a garden) than in a movie starring Roberts and the rest. The design is boring, familiar and seems to do nothing in terms of appealing to anyone.
The film, which keeps making me think of my favorite animated film, Grave of the Fireflies, is a semi-autobiographical family drama involving an unexpected tragedy (sounds almost like Roberts' return to weepy Steel Magnolias territory). I haven't been interested in that genre for a long, long time, and after the badly spoofed version in Christopher Guest's latest, For Your Consideration, I can't imagine wanting to see any sappy family drama anytime soon. Unfortunately, I tend not to avoid films in which Watson appears (though I can't believe Panettiere is playing her character, younger), and I have to admit the rest of the cast is mostly worth watching, too. So, I may actually have to rent this one someday.
Julia Roberts Will Star in Fireflies in the Garden
Filed under: Drama », Casting »
There's no more retirement for Julia Roberts. In fact, after lending her voice to both The Ant Bully and Charlotte's Web, she is starting to pile up the live-action film roles. Her political drama, Charlie Wilson's War is in post-production, and she's going to be knitting up a storm in The Friday Night Knitting Club. Apparently hungry for more, she has also signed on to star with Fido's Carrie-Anne Moss, ex-Alanis beau Ryan Reynolds and British actress Emily Watson in the upcoming family drama, Fireflies in the Garden.The film will be directed by Dennis Lee. Not to be confused with the popular Canadian children's book author, Lee is a screenwriter and director who made his debut with student Academy Award-winning short film, Jesus Henry Christ, in 2003. Fireflies is Lee's partially-autobiographical story -- dealing with the struggle of commitment and love when a family is challenged by an unexpected tragedy. It sounds like the usual fare for Roberts -- love, mounting challenges and two-hankie drama, but I'm curious about Reynolds' involvement. The rest of the cast are no stranger to drama, but the Double-R is the kid from Fifteen who made it big in goofy comedies like Van Wilder. Will this be his Truman Show? It worked for one Canadian. Maybe it can work for another!
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