RoadsideAttractions Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Roadside Attractions Picks Up 'The Cove'
Filed under: Documentary », Deals », Distribution »
Scott Weinberg says to tell you that The Cove is, like, totally amazing. He says so here, and also to me over instant messenger about a half hour ago. For some reason, no one seems to have seen the movie at Sundance (where it won the, uh, Audience Award) -- the IMDb lists all of four reviews -- but the people who did seem all to have reacted pretty strongly, though not all positively. It chronicles the secret and probably illegal slaughter of dolphins in a small Japanese town, and is evidently quite graphic, so I'm not surprised that it's divided audiences.Fortunately, the film's apparent unpleasantness didn't stop Roadside Attractions to pick up The Cove for distribution stateside. It will see limited release on July 31st. Roadside is a small distributor, but they've actually been pretty good about pushing their releases to at least some major cities outside of New York and LA, so your odds of seeing it are probably pretty good if you live near some skyscrapers.
What the film's hero, dolphin activist Richard O'Barry, is really concerned about, though, is that the film be seen in Japan. A couple of months ago, he speculated that The Cove would be banned in the country where it was filmed. Japan isn't known for banning films outright, so we'll see; obviously it doesn't have a Japanese distributor at the moment.
The (terrific) trailer for the film is after the jump. If you're intrigued and don't care about documentary spoilers, check out this lengthy piece in the Japan Times, which chronicles the filmmakers' remarkable (and expensive) efforts to capture some of the footage you'll see in the movie.
Review: The Road to Guantanamo
Filed under: Documentary », Drama », Foreign Language », Independent », Theatrical Reviews », Cinematical Indie »
The Road to Guantanamo is certainly remarkable for its relevancy to the ongoing controversy of the Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, but it is a notable film for other reasons besides its timeliness and availability to political exploitation. Directed by Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross, it is the former's most effective film (and the latter's first) in that it masterfully displays a grasp of cinema's capacities. While I disagree with most of what critics (including our own Karina) are saying of its cultural significance, I do agree with and insist on the recommendation that it be seen.
I think that it needs to be appreciated foremost as an astonishing tale of survival, a kind of modern Odyssey with a touch of the old mistaken-identity scenario, presented in a pointedly discriminating first-person narrative. Though based on a true story, the film maintains a one-sided fallibility that keeps it fairly subjective. Sure, it could be used in the campaign against the camps, but not as evidence. It is simply a visual testimony.
Sundance Deals: Stay sells US and Intnl rights
Filed under: Comedy », Independent », Deals », Sundance », Distribution », Cinematical Indie »
Defying all predictions, Bobcat Goldthwaite is walking away from Sundance 2006 with all rights sold on his beastiality romcom Stay. Yesterday, French firm Gaumont announced that it was moving to acquire all international rights on the film, as part of its new strategy (begun with its financing of Michel Gondry's The Science of Sleep) to generally loosen up a bit. "It's not the kind of film Gaumont is known for," CEO Franck Chorot admitted to Variety on Thursday, "but we are broadening our range with original films that have a potential for international sales." In even better news, Roadside Attractions has teamed up with Samuel Goldwyn to take domestic rights on the film. Neither Roadside or Goldwyn, nor William Morris, who brokered the deal for Goldthwait, announced financial terms, but Roadside's Eric d'Arbeloff released the following statement of motivation: "I've never encountered a film that so intelligently combines raunchy humor with warmth and emotional truth ... Bob Goldthwait's film is going to draw people for its outrageous premise, but they will leave the theatre surprised how much it touches them." I concur. Now: can we get a deal for Wristcutters?
Sundance Deals: Netflix and Roadside get Puffy
Filed under: Deals », Sundance », Distribution », Home Entertainment »
The last deal of Sundance 2005 was announced the
day we got to Park City for Sundance 2006. After a year-long tour of festivals worldwide, Mark and Jay Duplass have
scored a deal with Roadside Attractions and Netflix to release their relationship comedy,The Puffy Chair. As I understand
it, the deal is for both theatrical and DVD distribution, though not, as some are reporting simultaneously. Roadside
plans to put the film in theaters next summer with both their logo and Netflix' on the print. Netflix will promote the
release through their channels, but when the theatrical window closes and DVD distriubution begins, they'll not hold on
to exclusive rights. It's a pretty traditional deal, by the looks of it, which is sort of disappointing – the film is a cult classic waiting to be discovered, and seems like the perfect candidate for a Cuban-esque simultaneous release.
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