Pierpoline takes over from Kathryn Busby.
US producer Joyce Pierpoline is taking over as the second chair of Bafta North America’s board of directors, succeeding inaugural lead, Kathryn Busby.
Pierpoline is founder of New York and Paris-based Pierpoline Films, serves as chair of Bafta North America’s Film Committee and is co-founder of the Producers Guild of America’s Women’s Impact Network, which promotes gender equality in the industry.
Her production credits include Mediha, winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Doc NYC 2023 and Sundance 2007 premiere, Teeth.
The Bafta North America Board will also have a new member – David Linde — CEO of Participant,...
US producer Joyce Pierpoline is taking over as the second chair of Bafta North America’s board of directors, succeeding inaugural lead, Kathryn Busby.
Pierpoline is founder of New York and Paris-based Pierpoline Films, serves as chair of Bafta North America’s Film Committee and is co-founder of the Producers Guild of America’s Women’s Impact Network, which promotes gender equality in the industry.
Her production credits include Mediha, winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Doc NYC 2023 and Sundance 2007 premiere, Teeth.
The Bafta North America Board will also have a new member – David Linde — CEO of Participant,...
- 1/9/2024
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
The British Academy has appointed award-winning producer Joyce Pierpoline as the chair of BAFTA North America’s board of directors.
Pierpoline — whose credits include Doc NYC winner “Mediha,” “Angelica” and Sundance-winning cult classic “Teeth” — succeeds Kathryn Busby, who was given the newly-created role in January 2022 after BAFTA united its New York and Los Angeles entities.
“I am delighted to take over the role of chair of BAFTA North America from Kathryn Busby, who carried out such brilliant work during her tenure,” said Pierpoline, who is also the founder of Pierpoline Films, serves as chair of BAFTA North America’s Film Committee and is co-founder of the Producers Guild of America’s Women’s Impact Network, promoting gender equality in the industry. “I’m looking forward to the future of BAFTA North America and will continue working with my colleagues on the board to ensure that BAFTA’s charitable work reflects...
Pierpoline — whose credits include Doc NYC winner “Mediha,” “Angelica” and Sundance-winning cult classic “Teeth” — succeeds Kathryn Busby, who was given the newly-created role in January 2022 after BAFTA united its New York and Los Angeles entities.
“I am delighted to take over the role of chair of BAFTA North America from Kathryn Busby, who carried out such brilliant work during her tenure,” said Pierpoline, who is also the founder of Pierpoline Films, serves as chair of BAFTA North America’s Film Committee and is co-founder of the Producers Guild of America’s Women’s Impact Network, promoting gender equality in the industry. “I’m looking forward to the future of BAFTA North America and will continue working with my colleagues on the board to ensure that BAFTA’s charitable work reflects...
- 1/8/2024
- by Alex Ritman
- Variety Film + TV
Producer Joyce Pierpoline has been appointed chair of BAFTA North America’s Board of Directors. She succeeds Kathryn Busby.
Pierpoline’s credits include Mediha, winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Doc NYC 2023, Angelica (2016), and Sundance-winning Teeth (2007). She founded Pierpoline Films based in New York and Paris, serves as chair of BAFTA North America’s Film Committee, and is co-founder of the Producers Guild of America’s Women’s Impact Network.
Also joining the BAFTA North America board today is David Linde, CEO of Participant. Linde has previously served as the CEO and owner of Lava Bear Films, chairman of Universal Pictures, and co-founded Focus Features. Continuing their BAFTA North America executive board terms are actor Elliot Knight as Deputy Chair, Betsy Rodgers as Secretary, and Josephine Coyle as Treasurer.
The extended BAFTA North America board includes Alexis Alexanian...
Pierpoline’s credits include Mediha, winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Doc NYC 2023, Angelica (2016), and Sundance-winning Teeth (2007). She founded Pierpoline Films based in New York and Paris, serves as chair of BAFTA North America’s Film Committee, and is co-founder of the Producers Guild of America’s Women’s Impact Network.
Also joining the BAFTA North America board today is David Linde, CEO of Participant. Linde has previously served as the CEO and owner of Lava Bear Films, chairman of Universal Pictures, and co-founded Focus Features. Continuing their BAFTA North America executive board terms are actor Elliot Knight as Deputy Chair, Betsy Rodgers as Secretary, and Josephine Coyle as Treasurer.
The extended BAFTA North America board includes Alexis Alexanian...
- 1/8/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Starz Original Programming President Kathryn Busby is to chair BAFTA’s new-look North America Board, with actor Elliot Knight and ThunderChild CEO Karl Stewart set as Deputy Chairs.
Deadline revealed in 2020 that BAFTA would be merging its LA and New York entities in the U.S., with former BAFTA LA CEO Matthew Wiseman promoted to Executive Director and Head of North America and former BAFTA New York Director, Lisa Harrison, becoming Director of Operations, North America.
The UK awards body officially confirmed the new structure and board today and said it will unify the New York and LA entities, “strengthening its global mission and delivering greater benefits to members.”
Busby, who succeeded Christina Davis at Starz this week, and Knight will also join BAFTA’s Board of Trustees, which is chaired by London-based BAFTA chair Krishnendu Majumdar.
“With the election of Kathryn Busby as chair of our new North America board,...
Deadline revealed in 2020 that BAFTA would be merging its LA and New York entities in the U.S., with former BAFTA LA CEO Matthew Wiseman promoted to Executive Director and Head of North America and former BAFTA New York Director, Lisa Harrison, becoming Director of Operations, North America.
The UK awards body officially confirmed the new structure and board today and said it will unify the New York and LA entities, “strengthening its global mission and delivering greater benefits to members.”
Busby, who succeeded Christina Davis at Starz this week, and Knight will also join BAFTA’s Board of Trustees, which is chaired by London-based BAFTA chair Krishnendu Majumdar.
“With the election of Kathryn Busby as chair of our new North America board,...
- 1/5/2022
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
BAFTA is expanding its North American operations with the launch of a single North America board, which unites the organization’s New York and Los Angeles entities.
Kathryn Busby, president of original programming at Starz, has been appointed the inaugural chair of the board. She will be joined by actor Elliot Knight and Karl Stewart, CEO of Thunder Child and president of 1TwentyFour as deputy chairs.
The single united board aims to strengthen BAFTA’s “global mission to inspire, support and celebrate across film, games and television, delivering greater benefits to its membership, programme participants and audiences wherever they are,” according to the organization.
Matthew Wiseman, BAFTA Los Angeles’s CEO has been promoted to executive director and head of North America while Lisa Harrison, BAFTA New York’s director, becomes director of operations for North America.
Betsy Rodgers, SVP of business & legal affairs at IFC Entertainment and Rlje Films,...
Kathryn Busby, president of original programming at Starz, has been appointed the inaugural chair of the board. She will be joined by actor Elliot Knight and Karl Stewart, CEO of Thunder Child and president of 1TwentyFour as deputy chairs.
The single united board aims to strengthen BAFTA’s “global mission to inspire, support and celebrate across film, games and television, delivering greater benefits to its membership, programme participants and audiences wherever they are,” according to the organization.
Matthew Wiseman, BAFTA Los Angeles’s CEO has been promoted to executive director and head of North America while Lisa Harrison, BAFTA New York’s director, becomes director of operations for North America.
Betsy Rodgers, SVP of business & legal affairs at IFC Entertainment and Rlje Films,...
- 1/5/2022
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
Read More: 7 Best Screenwriting Apps to Make Life Easier
New York Women in Film & Television (Nywift) and Iris , a collective of women filmmakers, have officially announced the 10 selected screenwriters who will participate in this year’s The Writers Lab. Now in its second year, The Writers Lab is a program where emerging female screenwriters team up with industry mentors to help develop their screenplays. The lab is open to women over the age of 40 and is funded by Meryl Streep. This year’s participants include:
Carol Carpenter, “The Guadalupe”
Melody Cooper, “The Sound of Darkness”
Meredith DePaolo, “Devil’s Eye””
Nancy Duff, “Dead Drop”
Kate Erickson, “Roll With It”
Tina Field Howe, “Drone War”
Christina Hulen, “A Gentleman of Good Hope”
Christine Toy Johnson, “Jumping the Third Rail”
Nanci Katz-Ellis, “Blink”
Leslie Longworth, “One Bad Astronaut”
Barbara Nunberg, “Willful Blindness”
Stephanie Stanley, “The Radical”
The mentors who will be included...
New York Women in Film & Television (Nywift) and Iris , a collective of women filmmakers, have officially announced the 10 selected screenwriters who will participate in this year’s The Writers Lab. Now in its second year, The Writers Lab is a program where emerging female screenwriters team up with industry mentors to help develop their screenplays. The lab is open to women over the age of 40 and is funded by Meryl Streep. This year’s participants include:
Carol Carpenter, “The Guadalupe”
Melody Cooper, “The Sound of Darkness”
Meredith DePaolo, “Devil’s Eye””
Nancy Duff, “Dead Drop”
Kate Erickson, “Roll With It”
Tina Field Howe, “Drone War”
Christina Hulen, “A Gentleman of Good Hope”
Christine Toy Johnson, “Jumping the Third Rail”
Nanci Katz-Ellis, “Blink”
Leslie Longworth, “One Bad Astronaut”
Barbara Nunberg, “Willful Blindness”
Stephanie Stanley, “The Radical”
The mentors who will be included...
- 8/4/2016
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
The first ever Writers Lab, a program targeting female screenwriters over 40, took place at Wiawaka on Lake George, New York from September 18-20, 2015.
The group of mentors included Caroline Kaplan ("Boyhood," "Time Out of Mind," "Personal Velocity"), Kirsten Smith ("Legally Blonde," "Ten Things I Hate About You"), Jessica Bendinger ("Bring It On," "Aquamarine"), Mary Jane Skalski ("Win Win," "The Station Agent"),Gina Prince-Bythewood ("Secret Life of Bees," "Beyond the Lights"),Lydia Dean-Pilcher ("The Lunchbox," The Reluctant Fundamentalist"), Meg LeFauve ("Inside Out," "The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys"), and Darnell Martin (“Cadillac Records” and “I Like It Like That”).
Launched by New York Women in Film and Television (Nywift) and Iris, a collective of women filmmakers dedicated to championing the female voice in narrative film, was funded in part by Academy Award-winning actress Meryl Streep, and with the collaboration of the Writers Guild of America East.
Motivated by its screenwriting members who were frustrated with the paucity of development opportunities, Iris founders Elizabeth Kaiden, Kyle Ann Stoke, and Nitza Wilson approached Nywift to support a screenwriting Lab exclusively for this demographic and The Writers Lab came into being.
I spoke with Iris cofounder Elizabeth Kaiden to follow up about the first Writers Lab.
Kouguell: How many screenplays were submitted for consideration?
Kaiden: There were approximately 3,500 screenplays submitted. The selected participants were Sarah Bird ("Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen), Vanessa Carmichael ("The American"). Tracy Charlton ("Raised Up"), Kellen Hertz ("Ashburn"), Anna Hozian ("Anchor Baby"), Lyralen Kaye ("St John the Divine in Iowa"), Jan Kimbrough ("The Glastonbury Cow Party"), Billie Jo Mason ("The Cargo"), Peres Owino ("Basketweaver"), Gretchen Somerfeld ("Face Value"), Janet Stilson ("Jaguar Trail"), and Kim Turner ("It Goes Like This").
Kouguell: What were some highlights from the three-day Lab?
Kaiden: Highlights included the chemistry, warmth and enthusiasm of the group, the bucolic setting in which serious and thoughtful individual meetings between writers and mentors took place, the outstanding, locally sourced, group meals presented by Wiawaka chef Meg, and evening conversations around a bonfire. Oh, and the weather was fabulous.
Kouguell: What is the next step for these writers selected for the Lab?
Kaiden: Writers are all revising their work and communicating with each other. They will use the feedback, resources, references, and friendships they took away from the Lab to further develop their scripts and their opportunities.
Kouguell: In addition to the one-on-one meetings, what other events took place?
Kaiden: There were three panel discussions in which the mentors addressed specific craft issues and general industry insight, informal conversations, group meals, as well as small, directed group conversations led by Nywift Board President Alexis Alexanian to address the challenges writers face in navigating the film world.
Kouguell: What do you feel were some of the most positive outcomes from the weekend in Lake George?
Kaiden: The most exciting outcome of this venture, for me, is uncovering and bringing to public attention the field of women screenwriters, particularly its enormous breadth and depth. The most positive outcomes of the weekend Lab, for me, include the sense of empowerment I believe the Lab gave the writers to continue their work and develop their projects, and the supportive community of writers we all discovered, which can only further our goals of ensuring that more of their stories will reach audiences.
Kouguell: Will the Writers Lab take place again next year?
Kaiden: Yes.
Kouguell: Anything else you’d like to add?
Kaiden: We were excited and delighted by the energy and enthusiasm at the Lab. It felt like an important event. It Was an important event. We discussed and debated issues of theme, tone, craft, structure, character, as well as production, representation, and target markets. The mentors were unbelievably focused, supportive and encouraging. Serious work was done. The writers left feeling, I think, that their voices had been heard, and that they should all continue to tell their stories. I think you will be hearing more from these writers and about these projects. And, although that would have been enough, everyone had a blast.
Award-winning screenwriter and filmmaker, Susan Kouguell teaches screenwriting at Purchase College Suny, and presents international seminars on screenwriting and film. Author of Savvy Characters Sell Screenplays! and The Savvy Screenwriter, she is chairperson of Su-City Pictures East, LLC, a consulting company founded in 1990 where she works with writers, filmmakers, and executives worldwide. www.su-city-pictures.com, http://su-city-pictures.com/wpblog...
The group of mentors included Caroline Kaplan ("Boyhood," "Time Out of Mind," "Personal Velocity"), Kirsten Smith ("Legally Blonde," "Ten Things I Hate About You"), Jessica Bendinger ("Bring It On," "Aquamarine"), Mary Jane Skalski ("Win Win," "The Station Agent"),Gina Prince-Bythewood ("Secret Life of Bees," "Beyond the Lights"),Lydia Dean-Pilcher ("The Lunchbox," The Reluctant Fundamentalist"), Meg LeFauve ("Inside Out," "The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys"), and Darnell Martin (“Cadillac Records” and “I Like It Like That”).
Launched by New York Women in Film and Television (Nywift) and Iris, a collective of women filmmakers dedicated to championing the female voice in narrative film, was funded in part by Academy Award-winning actress Meryl Streep, and with the collaboration of the Writers Guild of America East.
Motivated by its screenwriting members who were frustrated with the paucity of development opportunities, Iris founders Elizabeth Kaiden, Kyle Ann Stoke, and Nitza Wilson approached Nywift to support a screenwriting Lab exclusively for this demographic and The Writers Lab came into being.
I spoke with Iris cofounder Elizabeth Kaiden to follow up about the first Writers Lab.
Kouguell: How many screenplays were submitted for consideration?
Kaiden: There were approximately 3,500 screenplays submitted. The selected participants were Sarah Bird ("Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen), Vanessa Carmichael ("The American"). Tracy Charlton ("Raised Up"), Kellen Hertz ("Ashburn"), Anna Hozian ("Anchor Baby"), Lyralen Kaye ("St John the Divine in Iowa"), Jan Kimbrough ("The Glastonbury Cow Party"), Billie Jo Mason ("The Cargo"), Peres Owino ("Basketweaver"), Gretchen Somerfeld ("Face Value"), Janet Stilson ("Jaguar Trail"), and Kim Turner ("It Goes Like This").
Kouguell: What were some highlights from the three-day Lab?
Kaiden: Highlights included the chemistry, warmth and enthusiasm of the group, the bucolic setting in which serious and thoughtful individual meetings between writers and mentors took place, the outstanding, locally sourced, group meals presented by Wiawaka chef Meg, and evening conversations around a bonfire. Oh, and the weather was fabulous.
Kouguell: What is the next step for these writers selected for the Lab?
Kaiden: Writers are all revising their work and communicating with each other. They will use the feedback, resources, references, and friendships they took away from the Lab to further develop their scripts and their opportunities.
Kouguell: In addition to the one-on-one meetings, what other events took place?
Kaiden: There were three panel discussions in which the mentors addressed specific craft issues and general industry insight, informal conversations, group meals, as well as small, directed group conversations led by Nywift Board President Alexis Alexanian to address the challenges writers face in navigating the film world.
Kouguell: What do you feel were some of the most positive outcomes from the weekend in Lake George?
Kaiden: The most exciting outcome of this venture, for me, is uncovering and bringing to public attention the field of women screenwriters, particularly its enormous breadth and depth. The most positive outcomes of the weekend Lab, for me, include the sense of empowerment I believe the Lab gave the writers to continue their work and develop their projects, and the supportive community of writers we all discovered, which can only further our goals of ensuring that more of their stories will reach audiences.
Kouguell: Will the Writers Lab take place again next year?
Kaiden: Yes.
Kouguell: Anything else you’d like to add?
Kaiden: We were excited and delighted by the energy and enthusiasm at the Lab. It felt like an important event. It Was an important event. We discussed and debated issues of theme, tone, craft, structure, character, as well as production, representation, and target markets. The mentors were unbelievably focused, supportive and encouraging. Serious work was done. The writers left feeling, I think, that their voices had been heard, and that they should all continue to tell their stories. I think you will be hearing more from these writers and about these projects. And, although that would have been enough, everyone had a blast.
Award-winning screenwriter and filmmaker, Susan Kouguell teaches screenwriting at Purchase College Suny, and presents international seminars on screenwriting and film. Author of Savvy Characters Sell Screenplays! and The Savvy Screenwriter, she is chairperson of Su-City Pictures East, LLC, a consulting company founded in 1990 where she works with writers, filmmakers, and executives worldwide. www.su-city-pictures.com, http://su-city-pictures.com/wpblog...
- 10/26/2015
- by Susan Kouguell
- Sydney's Buzz
Locomotive, the film/TV production company re-launched in 2014 by Lucy Barzun Donnelly, Alexandra Kerry and Jonathon Kemp, has hired producer Alexis Alexanian as President of Production. The move comes after she co-produced Locomotive’s Maggie’s Plan, which was picked up by Sony Pictures Classics after its Toronto Film Festival bow. The hire is also on the heels of Locomotive closing a jointly funded feature development deal with New Regency. In her new role, Alexanian…...
- 10/6/2015
- Deadline TV
Locomotive, the film/TV production company re-launched in 2014 by Lucy Barzun Donnelly, Alexandra Kerry and Jonathon Kemp, has hired producer Alexis Alexanian as President of Production. The move comes after she co-produced Locomotive’s Maggie’s Plan, which was picked up by Sony Pictures Classics after its Toronto Film Festival bow. The hire is also on the heels of Locomotive closing a jointly funded feature development deal with New Regency. In her new role, Alexanian…...
- 10/6/2015
- Deadline
In a casting coup for the indie production, Benjamin Walker has signed on to star opposite up-and-coming UK actress Shannon Tarbet in the dark comedy “Look Away,” TheWrap has learned. Matthew Broderick and Chloe Sevigny co-star in the film, which Andy Delaney and Monty Whitebloom are directing from a script by Jennifer Schuur. Lucy Barzun Donnelly and Alexandra Kerry of Locomotive Media are producing the movie, which is being executive produced by Alexis Alexanian, Peter Friedlander and Lizzie Nastro. Also Read: 'Girls' Star Zosia Mamet to Workshop Reese Witherspoon Role in 'American Psycho' Musical (Exclusive) New Regency is co-financing and executive producing along with.
- 6/18/2015
- by Jeff Sneider
- The Wrap
Matthew Broderick and Chloë Sevigny are set to star in the upcoming dark comedy, Look Away. Starring as the lead of the film, Look Away introduces U.K.’s up-and-coming actress, Shannon Tarbet, in the role of ‘Bess Kraft.’ Broderick will play Bess’s father,Murray Kraft, and Sevigny as Bess’s mother, Carolyn Kraft. The film, directed by Andy Delaney and Monty Whitebloom of BigTV! and written by Variety’s Top Ten Writers to Watch Jennifer Schuur, is an exploration of love, relationships, family and the human condition. Alexis Alexanian, Peter Friedlander and Lizzie Nastro will executive produce the film with New Regency also on board as an executive producer and co-financier. Production will begin on June 8th in New York’s Hudson Valley. Locomotive Media, in addition to this project, is working on a development deal with New Regency to create a fund to develop and produce smart,...
- 6/11/2015
- by HollywoodNews.com
- Hollywoodnews.com
UK newcomer Shannon Tarbet will also star in Locomotive Media’s upcoming dark comedy.
Look Away follows a young woman who cannot see her mother due to a fictitious affliction called selective blindness and enlists the help of an eccentric psychiatrist and a love interest.
Andy Delaney and Monty Whitebloom of BigTV! will direct from a screenplay by Jennifer Schuur. Production will begin on June 8 in New York’s Hudson Valley.
Producers Lucy Barzun Donnelly and Alexandra Kerry of Locomotive Media announced the casting on Thursday.
Alexis Alexanian, Peter Friedlander and Lizzie Nastro will serve as executive producers.
New Regency, with whom Locomotive is setting up a development fund, are also on board as executive producer and co-financier.
Look Away follows a young woman who cannot see her mother due to a fictitious affliction called selective blindness and enlists the help of an eccentric psychiatrist and a love interest.
Andy Delaney and Monty Whitebloom of BigTV! will direct from a screenplay by Jennifer Schuur. Production will begin on June 8 in New York’s Hudson Valley.
Producers Lucy Barzun Donnelly and Alexandra Kerry of Locomotive Media announced the casting on Thursday.
Alexis Alexanian, Peter Friedlander and Lizzie Nastro will serve as executive producers.
New Regency, with whom Locomotive is setting up a development fund, are also on board as executive producer and co-financier.
- 6/11/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
New York Women in Film & Television, an organization that has supported the advancement and equality of women in the entertainment industry for 35 years, announced today the election of Alexis Alexanian as the new president of its board of directors. Five new board members were also elected.Alexanian is an independent film and television producer with more than 20 years of industry experience, and has been an active part of Nywift for eight years. She previously served on the board as the VP of Development. Alexanian was also an Award Committee juror for the 2011 Tribeca Film Institute Sloan Filmmaker Fund and a Tribeca Film Institute Mentor for Sloan Award-winning filmmakers."I am thrilled that Alexis will be leading Nywift's board," Nywift Executive Director Terry Lawler said in a statement. "The depth and breadth of her film and television experience will help guide Nywift as it enters its 35th year of...
- 7/9/2012
- by help@backstage.com (Daniel Lehman)
- backstage.com
Director Gary Winick has died. He was 49 years-old. Mr. Winick died of complications stemming from brain cancer, and his manager Rosalie Swedlin spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about his passing: "He was suffering from brain cancer for quite some time, and it ultimately metastasized throughout his body." It was first announced Sunday, February 27, by filmmaker Matt Dentler on Twitter. Gary Winick also co-founded InDigEnt, a New York-based independent production company. In 2003, Mr. Winick won the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award for his film, "Personal Velocity: Three Portraits." Mr. Winick shared that award with Rebecca Miller (director/writer), Alexis Alexanian (producer), Lemore Syvan (producer) according to IMDb.com. The smallscreen also saw Mr. Winick direct some episodes of...
- 2/28/2011
- by April MacIntyre
- Monsters and Critics
VENICE, Italy -- If actor-writer-director Ethan Hawke spent more time watching television he might discover that his tale of a 20-year-old man learning about love, "The Hottest State", has been covered with deeper understanding and far greater wit in just about everything from "Dawson's Creek" to "The O.C".
Lacking depth or anything that's actually funny or sad, and with lead performers who are given more responsibility for the success of the film than they can handle, the film will be a tough sell.
The film is based on Hawke's semi-autobiographical novel about a young man from Texas named William (Mark Webber), who moves to New York and breaks into acting with some success. Lucky and confident, he falls head over heels for a beautiful musician named Sara Catalina Sandino Moreno). She has her own ambitions, though, and doesn't fall so hard for him. Gosh.
William anguishes over this state of affairs and also gets antsy about the fact that he hasn't heard from his dad, Vince (Hawke), in quite a while. His mum Jesse Laura Linney) seems to have more patience for his adolescent whining than he deserves. He also has an indulgent ex-girlfriend named Samantha (Michelle Williams), who you'd think might take his mind off things.
Hawke begins with a scene in which William's mother meets his father and those characters appear to be interesting, but there's a quick cut to the young actor making his way in the big city.
Webber and Moreno are appealing young actors, but are unable to carry a picture that demands sparkling performers and chemistry to overcome lame dialogue and inert scenes.
Linney brings a touch of class to the proceedings in a few brief scenes. Hawke does a workmanlike job as the distant father.
The whole thing smacks of self-indulgence though with scene after scene of William going through the kind of witless mooning for his beloved that involves entreaties, apologies, endless messages on answering machines and the occasional smashed phone.
The saccharine song score by Jesse Harris doesn't help either, even though it features great voices including Willie Nelson and Emmylou Harris.
THE HOTTEST STATE
A Barracuda Films and Elixir Films production of an Under the Influence film presented by Entertainment Farm
Credits:
Writer, director: Ethan Hawke
Producers: Yukie Kito, Alexis Alexanian
Executive producers: Yasushi Kotani, Taiso Son
Director of cinematography: Christopher Norr
Production designer: Rick Butler
Music: Jesse Harris
Editor: Adriana Pachecho Rincon
Cast:
William Harding: Mark Webber
Sara Garcia: Catalina Sandino Moreno
Samantha: Michelle Williams
Mrs. Garcia: Sonia Braga
Jesse: Laura Linney
Vince: Ethan Hawke
Decker: Josh Zuckerman
Dave Alton: Jesse Harris
Kim: Alexandra Daddorio
Young Vince: Daniel Ross
Young Jesse: Anne Clarke
Danielle: Cherami Leigh
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 117 minutes...
Lacking depth or anything that's actually funny or sad, and with lead performers who are given more responsibility for the success of the film than they can handle, the film will be a tough sell.
The film is based on Hawke's semi-autobiographical novel about a young man from Texas named William (Mark Webber), who moves to New York and breaks into acting with some success. Lucky and confident, he falls head over heels for a beautiful musician named Sara Catalina Sandino Moreno). She has her own ambitions, though, and doesn't fall so hard for him. Gosh.
William anguishes over this state of affairs and also gets antsy about the fact that he hasn't heard from his dad, Vince (Hawke), in quite a while. His mum Jesse Laura Linney) seems to have more patience for his adolescent whining than he deserves. He also has an indulgent ex-girlfriend named Samantha (Michelle Williams), who you'd think might take his mind off things.
Hawke begins with a scene in which William's mother meets his father and those characters appear to be interesting, but there's a quick cut to the young actor making his way in the big city.
Webber and Moreno are appealing young actors, but are unable to carry a picture that demands sparkling performers and chemistry to overcome lame dialogue and inert scenes.
Linney brings a touch of class to the proceedings in a few brief scenes. Hawke does a workmanlike job as the distant father.
The whole thing smacks of self-indulgence though with scene after scene of William going through the kind of witless mooning for his beloved that involves entreaties, apologies, endless messages on answering machines and the occasional smashed phone.
The saccharine song score by Jesse Harris doesn't help either, even though it features great voices including Willie Nelson and Emmylou Harris.
THE HOTTEST STATE
A Barracuda Films and Elixir Films production of an Under the Influence film presented by Entertainment Farm
Credits:
Writer, director: Ethan Hawke
Producers: Yukie Kito, Alexis Alexanian
Executive producers: Yasushi Kotani, Taiso Son
Director of cinematography: Christopher Norr
Production designer: Rick Butler
Music: Jesse Harris
Editor: Adriana Pachecho Rincon
Cast:
William Harding: Mark Webber
Sara Garcia: Catalina Sandino Moreno
Samantha: Michelle Williams
Mrs. Garcia: Sonia Braga
Jesse: Laura Linney
Vince: Ethan Hawke
Decker: Josh Zuckerman
Dave Alton: Jesse Harris
Kim: Alexandra Daddorio
Young Vince: Daniel Ross
Young Jesse: Anne Clarke
Danielle: Cherami Leigh
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 117 minutes...
Yet another entry in this season's "Twilight Zone-d" perception-vs.-reality marathon (see also "K-PAX" and the upcoming "Vanilla Sky" and "A Beautiful Mind"), the Campbell Scott-directed "Final" has Denis Leary playing a confined hospital patient who is convinced that he recently awoke from a cryogenic deep freeze. The results are more lifeless than chilling.
With its contained, clinically sterile environment and extremely limited scene-changing, the production has the feel of an off-off-Broadway two-hander rather than a feature film, and Scott's resolutely purposeful directing style doesn't exactly help matters.
The reality of the situation is that the Lions Gate and Cowboy Pictures release will actually be spending less time in theaters than that which is perceived to have elapsed while sitting through it.
Here we have Leary cracking wise but essentially serious as the sole occupant of a cell-like observation room in a small Connecticut hospital.
He is paid frequent visits by his doctor (Hope Davis), who's having trouble freeing her patient of his persistent disorientation -- namely, that he believes he was cryogenically frozen in 1999 and has awakened several centuries later and is about to be administered a final injection in connection with something involving donor organ packets.
The truth according to Davis, meanwhile, is that Leary crashed his pickup truck and had recently emerged from a coma, but the time was still very much the present.
The two proceed to engage in a laborious game of cat and mouse, and the only element of surprise here is trying to figure out exactly when the so-called surprise twist is going to be revealed.
By the time that moment arrives, Scott, who is the sole occupant of the director's chair here after having shared the credit with others on "Big Night" and "Hamlet", has sedated the viewer into heavy-lidded submission with an overdose of antiseptic atmosphere.
Even his frequent cutaways to glimpses of Leary flashbacks prove to be more annoying than revealing.
More problematic is that while Leary might have a certain light comedic appeal as an actor, he lacks the dramatic depth necessary to pull off the layers of his is-he-or-isn't-he character.
Davis' role, to a lesser extent, could have stood a little more complexity, especially when it appears she is starting to fall for her patient, but those limitations might also be attributed to Bruce McIntosh's one-note scripting.
Tech credits are effectively spare, though composer Guy Davis' highly symbolic solo blues guitar riffs cry out for a little accompaniment.
FINAL
Lions Gate Films and Cowboy Pictures
The Independent Film Channel
presents an InDigEnt production
in association with Spare Room Prods.
Director: Campbell Scott
Screenwriter: Bruce McIntosh
Producers: Gary Winick, Alexis Alexanian, Mary Frances Budig, Steve Dunn, Campbell Scott
Executive producers: Jonathan Sehring, Caroline Kaplan, John Sloss
Director of photography: Dan Gillham
Production designer: Chris Shriver
Editor: Andy Keir
Costume designer: Toni Fusco
Music: Guy Davis
Music supervisor: Linda Cohen
Color/stereo
Cast:
Bill: Denis Leary
Ann: Hope Davis
Todd: J.C. MacKenzie
Dayton: Jim Gaffigan
Sherry: Marin Hinkle
Running time -- 111 minutes
No MPAA rating...
With its contained, clinically sterile environment and extremely limited scene-changing, the production has the feel of an off-off-Broadway two-hander rather than a feature film, and Scott's resolutely purposeful directing style doesn't exactly help matters.
The reality of the situation is that the Lions Gate and Cowboy Pictures release will actually be spending less time in theaters than that which is perceived to have elapsed while sitting through it.
Here we have Leary cracking wise but essentially serious as the sole occupant of a cell-like observation room in a small Connecticut hospital.
He is paid frequent visits by his doctor (Hope Davis), who's having trouble freeing her patient of his persistent disorientation -- namely, that he believes he was cryogenically frozen in 1999 and has awakened several centuries later and is about to be administered a final injection in connection with something involving donor organ packets.
The truth according to Davis, meanwhile, is that Leary crashed his pickup truck and had recently emerged from a coma, but the time was still very much the present.
The two proceed to engage in a laborious game of cat and mouse, and the only element of surprise here is trying to figure out exactly when the so-called surprise twist is going to be revealed.
By the time that moment arrives, Scott, who is the sole occupant of the director's chair here after having shared the credit with others on "Big Night" and "Hamlet", has sedated the viewer into heavy-lidded submission with an overdose of antiseptic atmosphere.
Even his frequent cutaways to glimpses of Leary flashbacks prove to be more annoying than revealing.
More problematic is that while Leary might have a certain light comedic appeal as an actor, he lacks the dramatic depth necessary to pull off the layers of his is-he-or-isn't-he character.
Davis' role, to a lesser extent, could have stood a little more complexity, especially when it appears she is starting to fall for her patient, but those limitations might also be attributed to Bruce McIntosh's one-note scripting.
Tech credits are effectively spare, though composer Guy Davis' highly symbolic solo blues guitar riffs cry out for a little accompaniment.
FINAL
Lions Gate Films and Cowboy Pictures
The Independent Film Channel
presents an InDigEnt production
in association with Spare Room Prods.
Director: Campbell Scott
Screenwriter: Bruce McIntosh
Producers: Gary Winick, Alexis Alexanian, Mary Frances Budig, Steve Dunn, Campbell Scott
Executive producers: Jonathan Sehring, Caroline Kaplan, John Sloss
Director of photography: Dan Gillham
Production designer: Chris Shriver
Editor: Andy Keir
Costume designer: Toni Fusco
Music: Guy Davis
Music supervisor: Linda Cohen
Color/stereo
Cast:
Bill: Denis Leary
Ann: Hope Davis
Todd: J.C. MacKenzie
Dayton: Jim Gaffigan
Sherry: Marin Hinkle
Running time -- 111 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Yet another entry in this season's "Twilight Zone-d" perception-vs.-reality marathon (see also "K-PAX" and the upcoming "Vanilla Sky" and "A Beautiful Mind"), the Campbell Scott-directed "Final" has Denis Leary playing a confined hospital patient who is convinced that he recently awoke from a cryogenic deep freeze. The results are more lifeless than chilling.
With its contained, clinically sterile environment and extremely limited scene-changing, the production has the feel of an off-off-Broadway two-hander rather than a feature film, and Scott's resolutely purposeful directing style doesn't exactly help matters.
The reality of the situation is that the Lions Gate and Cowboy Pictures release will actually be spending less time in theaters than that which is perceived to have elapsed while sitting through it.
Here we have Leary cracking wise but essentially serious as the sole occupant of a cell-like observation room in a small Connecticut hospital.
He is paid frequent visits by his doctor (Hope Davis), who's having trouble freeing her patient of his persistent disorientation -- namely, that he believes he was cryogenically frozen in 1999 and has awakened several centuries later and is about to be administered a final injection in connection with something involving donor organ packets.
The truth according to Davis, meanwhile, is that Leary crashed his pickup truck and had recently emerged from a coma, but the time was still very much the present.
The two proceed to engage in a laborious game of cat and mouse, and the only element of surprise here is trying to figure out exactly when the so-called surprise twist is going to be revealed.
By the time that moment arrives, Scott, who is the sole occupant of the director's chair here after having shared the credit with others on "Big Night" and "Hamlet", has sedated the viewer into heavy-lidded submission with an overdose of antiseptic atmosphere.
Even his frequent cutaways to glimpses of Leary flashbacks prove to be more annoying than revealing.
More problematic is that while Leary might have a certain light comedic appeal as an actor, he lacks the dramatic depth necessary to pull off the layers of his is-he-or-isn't-he character.
Davis' role, to a lesser extent, could have stood a little more complexity, especially when it appears she is starting to fall for her patient, but those limitations might also be attributed to Bruce McIntosh's one-note scripting.
Tech credits are effectively spare, though composer Guy Davis' highly symbolic solo blues guitar riffs cry out for a little accompaniment.
FINAL
Lions Gate Films and Cowboy Pictures
The Independent Film Channel
presents an InDigEnt production
in association with Spare Room Prods.
Director: Campbell Scott
Screenwriter: Bruce McIntosh
Producers: Gary Winick, Alexis Alexanian, Mary Frances Budig, Steve Dunn, Campbell Scott
Executive producers: Jonathan Sehring, Caroline Kaplan, John Sloss
Director of photography: Dan Gillham
Production designer: Chris Shriver
Editor: Andy Keir
Costume designer: Toni Fusco
Music: Guy Davis
Music supervisor: Linda Cohen
Color/stereo
Cast:
Bill: Denis Leary
Ann: Hope Davis
Todd: J.C. MacKenzie
Dayton: Jim Gaffigan
Sherry: Marin Hinkle
Running time -- 111 minutes
No MPAA rating...
With its contained, clinically sterile environment and extremely limited scene-changing, the production has the feel of an off-off-Broadway two-hander rather than a feature film, and Scott's resolutely purposeful directing style doesn't exactly help matters.
The reality of the situation is that the Lions Gate and Cowboy Pictures release will actually be spending less time in theaters than that which is perceived to have elapsed while sitting through it.
Here we have Leary cracking wise but essentially serious as the sole occupant of a cell-like observation room in a small Connecticut hospital.
He is paid frequent visits by his doctor (Hope Davis), who's having trouble freeing her patient of his persistent disorientation -- namely, that he believes he was cryogenically frozen in 1999 and has awakened several centuries later and is about to be administered a final injection in connection with something involving donor organ packets.
The truth according to Davis, meanwhile, is that Leary crashed his pickup truck and had recently emerged from a coma, but the time was still very much the present.
The two proceed to engage in a laborious game of cat and mouse, and the only element of surprise here is trying to figure out exactly when the so-called surprise twist is going to be revealed.
By the time that moment arrives, Scott, who is the sole occupant of the director's chair here after having shared the credit with others on "Big Night" and "Hamlet", has sedated the viewer into heavy-lidded submission with an overdose of antiseptic atmosphere.
Even his frequent cutaways to glimpses of Leary flashbacks prove to be more annoying than revealing.
More problematic is that while Leary might have a certain light comedic appeal as an actor, he lacks the dramatic depth necessary to pull off the layers of his is-he-or-isn't-he character.
Davis' role, to a lesser extent, could have stood a little more complexity, especially when it appears she is starting to fall for her patient, but those limitations might also be attributed to Bruce McIntosh's one-note scripting.
Tech credits are effectively spare, though composer Guy Davis' highly symbolic solo blues guitar riffs cry out for a little accompaniment.
FINAL
Lions Gate Films and Cowboy Pictures
The Independent Film Channel
presents an InDigEnt production
in association with Spare Room Prods.
Director: Campbell Scott
Screenwriter: Bruce McIntosh
Producers: Gary Winick, Alexis Alexanian, Mary Frances Budig, Steve Dunn, Campbell Scott
Executive producers: Jonathan Sehring, Caroline Kaplan, John Sloss
Director of photography: Dan Gillham
Production designer: Chris Shriver
Editor: Andy Keir
Costume designer: Toni Fusco
Music: Guy Davis
Music supervisor: Linda Cohen
Color/stereo
Cast:
Bill: Denis Leary
Ann: Hope Davis
Todd: J.C. MacKenzie
Dayton: Jim Gaffigan
Sherry: Marin Hinkle
Running time -- 111 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 12/7/2001
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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