Emily Kassie and Julian Brave NoiseCat’s documentary “Sugarcane” garnered the top nonfiction honor at the 26th annual Sarasota Film Festival. About the abuse and death of Indigenous children at a Canadian-based Indian Residential School, the docu premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival (Sff), where it picked up the U.S. documentary directing kudo. In February, National Geographic Documentary Films acquired the film.
The doc feature jury made up of producer Wren Arthur, Indiewire’s Christian Blauvelt, NPR’s Eric Deggans, and Doc NYC artistic director Jaie Laplante said in a joint statement that they selected the film for “bravely tackling the legacy of trauma from the abuse of First Nations students at the St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School in British Columbia. The Catholic Church-run school closed decades ago, but the horrors there are still deeply felt by generations across an entire community. The filmmakers do not lose sight...
The doc feature jury made up of producer Wren Arthur, Indiewire’s Christian Blauvelt, NPR’s Eric Deggans, and Doc NYC artistic director Jaie Laplante said in a joint statement that they selected the film for “bravely tackling the legacy of trauma from the abuse of First Nations students at the St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School in British Columbia. The Catholic Church-run school closed decades ago, but the horrors there are still deeply felt by generations across an entire community. The filmmakers do not lose sight...
- 4/15/2024
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Following a gala closing night celebration featuring Steve Buscemi and his film “The Listener,” the 2024 Sarasota Film Festival has announced its awards — with several prominent indies taking the top prizes. This 26th edition of the Florida festival celebrating independent film gave the Narrative Feature Jury Prize to Josh Margolin’s Sundance breakout “Thelma,” starring June Squibb and the late Richard Roundtree. “Sugarcane” won the Documentary Feature Jury Prize.
Speaking for the narrative feature jury, filmmaker Alex Hedison, in awarding the prize to “Thelma,” said the group found the movie to celebrate “what Hollywood cinema so infrequently does: age. The extraordinary performances by June Squib and Richard Roundtree are at the center of ‘Thelma,’ surrounded by an excellent supporting cast who serve as a surrogate for the audience in reminding them of the significance of living their best lives with the kind of action and adventure life affords us if we...
Speaking for the narrative feature jury, filmmaker Alex Hedison, in awarding the prize to “Thelma,” said the group found the movie to celebrate “what Hollywood cinema so infrequently does: age. The extraordinary performances by June Squib and Richard Roundtree are at the center of ‘Thelma,’ surrounded by an excellent supporting cast who serve as a surrogate for the audience in reminding them of the significance of living their best lives with the kind of action and adventure life affords us if we...
- 4/15/2024
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
Production has officially begun on Tolga Karacelik‘s fourth feature film. Following 2018’s Sundance/Rotterdam preemed Butterflies – winner of the Grand Jury Prize (Ruben Östlund was part of the trio), the Turkish filmmaker (and Sundance habitual) is ow venturing onto the streets of New York City with Steve Buscemi as either the lead or supporting player who is possibly in the writer’s seat. Originally titled The Shallow Tale of a Writer Who Decided to Write about a Serial Killer, the dramedy received some Co-Production Development Fund coin back in 2020. The film is produced by a team that consists of Wren Arthur, Scott Aharoni, Mustafa Kaymak, Sinan Eczacibasi and Özge Bulut Marasli.…...
- 6/10/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Exclusive: UTA has signed award-winning actor, director, writer and producer Steve Buscemi and his Olive Productions banner for representation in all areas.
Buscemi currently co-stars opposite Daniel Radcliffe in the TBS anthology comedy series Miracle Workers that’s executive produced by Lorne Michaels. He starred in the HBO drama, Boardwalk Empire, which earned him a Golden Globe Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Emmy nominations.
He was also nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Emmy for his role as Tony Blundetto in season five of The Sopranos and was nominated for Guest Actor Emmy nominations for his appearances on NBC’s 30 Rock and IFC’s Portlandia.
Some of his film credits include Martin Scorsese’s New York Stories; Jim Jarmusch’s Mystery Train for which he received an IFP Spirit Award Nomination; Alexandre Rockwell’s Sundance Film Festival Jury Award-winner In the Soup; Judd Apatow’s The King of Staten Island...
Buscemi currently co-stars opposite Daniel Radcliffe in the TBS anthology comedy series Miracle Workers that’s executive produced by Lorne Michaels. He starred in the HBO drama, Boardwalk Empire, which earned him a Golden Globe Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Emmy nominations.
He was also nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Emmy for his role as Tony Blundetto in season five of The Sopranos and was nominated for Guest Actor Emmy nominations for his appearances on NBC’s 30 Rock and IFC’s Portlandia.
Some of his film credits include Martin Scorsese’s New York Stories; Jim Jarmusch’s Mystery Train for which he received an IFP Spirit Award Nomination; Alexandre Rockwell’s Sundance Film Festival Jury Award-winner In the Soup; Judd Apatow’s The King of Staten Island...
- 1/25/2023
- by Lynette Rice
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Bankside Films has boarded international sales for Steve Buscemi-directed Venice Film Festival drama The Listener, starring Tessa Thompson (Creed).
Written by Alessandro Camon, the film follows a helpline volunteer who is part of a small army that gets on the phone every night, fielding calls from all kinds of people feeling lonely, broken or hopeless. Above is a first clip for the movie, which will world premiere next week as the closing film in the Venice Days section before being screened in Toronto.
Creed and Passing star Thompson plays protagonist Beth and is the sole onscreen performer, supported by voice-only cast, comprising Logan Marshall-Green, Derek Cecil, Margaret Cho, Blu Del Barrio, Ricky Velez, Alia Shawkat, Jamie Hector, Casey Wilson, Bobby Soto and Rebecca Hall.
Bankside Films will be introducing the feature to buyers at both the Venice Film Festival and Toronto Film Festival, and will be handling foreign sales,...
Written by Alessandro Camon, the film follows a helpline volunteer who is part of a small army that gets on the phone every night, fielding calls from all kinds of people feeling lonely, broken or hopeless. Above is a first clip for the movie, which will world premiere next week as the closing film in the Venice Days section before being screened in Toronto.
Creed and Passing star Thompson plays protagonist Beth and is the sole onscreen performer, supported by voice-only cast, comprising Logan Marshall-Green, Derek Cecil, Margaret Cho, Blu Del Barrio, Ricky Velez, Alia Shawkat, Jamie Hector, Casey Wilson, Bobby Soto and Rebecca Hall.
Bankside Films will be introducing the feature to buyers at both the Venice Film Festival and Toronto Film Festival, and will be handling foreign sales,...
- 9/1/2022
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Emmy winner Steve Buscemi has wrapped production on his newest feature The Listener, starring Emmy nominee Tessa Thompson, Deadline has learned.
The contained film written by Oscar nominee Alessandro Camon (The Messenger) features only one on-screen role. It tells the story of Beth (Thompson), a helpline volunteer who is part of the small army that gets on the phone every night across America, fielding calls from all kinds of people feeling lonely, broken, hopeless, worried.
Over the last year, the tide has become a tsunami, and as Beth goes through her shift, the stakes rise: is this the night she will lose someone? Save someone? Put a mind at ease? Make someone smile?
Eventually, Beth’s own story comes to light, revealing why she does it. All along we remain with her: listening, comforting, connecting – patching the world back together, one stitch at a time…...
The contained film written by Oscar nominee Alessandro Camon (The Messenger) features only one on-screen role. It tells the story of Beth (Thompson), a helpline volunteer who is part of the small army that gets on the phone every night across America, fielding calls from all kinds of people feeling lonely, broken, hopeless, worried.
Over the last year, the tide has become a tsunami, and as Beth goes through her shift, the stakes rise: is this the night she will lose someone? Save someone? Put a mind at ease? Make someone smile?
Eventually, Beth’s own story comes to light, revealing why she does it. All along we remain with her: listening, comforting, connecting – patching the world back together, one stitch at a time…...
- 10/12/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Former Avalon manager Olivia Wingate has launched the solo production company Wingate Media, bringing all her projects and team with her, we hear.
The company will be headquartered in New York, focused on developing, incubating and producing premium and cutting-edge projects aimed toward a worldwide audience, and committed to prioritizing unique and underrepresented artists and perspectives.
A London native, Wingate has been New York based, with a presence in Los Angeles and London, for more than 25 years. Her career has spanned theater, film, comedy, documentary and scripted drama. Wingate Media combines all her experience to incubate and elevate stories that will aim to inspire and provoke debate.
Prior to starting the company, Wingate was SVP Scripted Development at Left/Right, the studio that behind Bobcat Goldthwait’s Misfits & Monsters, Joe Mande’s award-winning Standup Special (Netflix) and more. Before that, Wingate ran Avalon’s New York office and represented clients including Marc Maron,...
The company will be headquartered in New York, focused on developing, incubating and producing premium and cutting-edge projects aimed toward a worldwide audience, and committed to prioritizing unique and underrepresented artists and perspectives.
A London native, Wingate has been New York based, with a presence in Los Angeles and London, for more than 25 years. Her career has spanned theater, film, comedy, documentary and scripted drama. Wingate Media combines all her experience to incubate and elevate stories that will aim to inspire and provoke debate.
Prior to starting the company, Wingate was SVP Scripted Development at Left/Right, the studio that behind Bobcat Goldthwait’s Misfits & Monsters, Joe Mande’s award-winning Standup Special (Netflix) and more. Before that, Wingate ran Avalon’s New York office and represented clients including Marc Maron,...
- 7/20/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Celluloid Dreams to launch sales in Cannes.
Ben Foster will make his directorial debut with an adaptation of William Burroughs’ early works and letters and will star opposite Kristen Stewart and Tom Glynn-Carney. Celluloid Dreams has acquired international rights and will launch sales in Cannes.
Foster and Oren Moverman adapted the screenplay, which explores a love triangle between Burroughs (Foster), his common-law muse Joan Vollmer (Stewart), and a young American ex-pat named Allerton (Glynn-Carney) who rocks their lives.
Olive Productions’ Wren Arthur, Waypoint’s Ken Kao, and Sight Unseen’s Oren Moverman are producing, with Olive’s Steve Buscemi serving as executive producer.
Ben Foster will make his directorial debut with an adaptation of William Burroughs’ early works and letters and will star opposite Kristen Stewart and Tom Glynn-Carney. Celluloid Dreams has acquired international rights and will launch sales in Cannes.
Foster and Oren Moverman adapted the screenplay, which explores a love triangle between Burroughs (Foster), his common-law muse Joan Vollmer (Stewart), and a young American ex-pat named Allerton (Glynn-Carney) who rocks their lives.
Olive Productions’ Wren Arthur, Waypoint’s Ken Kao, and Sight Unseen’s Oren Moverman are producing, with Olive’s Steve Buscemi serving as executive producer.
- 5/9/2019
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Kristen Stewart, Ben Foster and Tom Glynn-Carney have signed on to star in an untitled drama about Beat Generation writer William S. Burroughs with Foster making his directorial debut on the project.
The film explores an unusual love triangle between Burroughs, portrayed by Foster; his charismatic, common-law muse, Joan Vollmer, played by Stewart; and a straight-laced American expatriate portrayed Glynn-Carney, who upends their lives to the extreme. Foster will direct from a script he’s co-written with Oren Moverman, based on Burroughs’ early works.
Burroughs, a heroin addict, killed Vollmer in a 1951 shooting accident in Mexico City. He achieved success two years later with his first novel, “Junkie.” He’s best known for his 1959 novel “Naked Lunch.”
Celluloid Dreams has acquired the international sales rights to the project and will be selling it at the Cannes Film Festival, which opens May 14. UTA Independent Film Group will handle sales for the United States and Canada.
The film explores an unusual love triangle between Burroughs, portrayed by Foster; his charismatic, common-law muse, Joan Vollmer, played by Stewart; and a straight-laced American expatriate portrayed Glynn-Carney, who upends their lives to the extreme. Foster will direct from a script he’s co-written with Oren Moverman, based on Burroughs’ early works.
Burroughs, a heroin addict, killed Vollmer in a 1951 shooting accident in Mexico City. He achieved success two years later with his first novel, “Junkie.” He’s best known for his 1959 novel “Naked Lunch.”
Celluloid Dreams has acquired the international sales rights to the project and will be selling it at the Cannes Film Festival, which opens May 14. UTA Independent Film Group will handle sales for the United States and Canada.
- 5/9/2019
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Kristen Stewart will star in Ben Foster’s still-untitled directorial debut, an adaptation of William Burrough’s early works and letters.
Foster and Oren Moverman wrote the screenplay for the project — Celluloid Dreams has acquired the international sales rights for the film that will also star Tom Glynn-Carney.
Olive Productions’ Wren Arthur, Waypoint’s Ken Kao, and Sight Unseen’s Moverman are producing, with Olive’s Steve Buscemi serving as executive producer.
Also Read: Elle Fanning, Ben Foster Drama 'Galveston' Acquired by Rlje Films
The film will explore an unusual love triangle between Burroughs (Foster) and his common-law muse Joan Vollmer (Stewart) and an American ex-pat named Allerton (Glynn-Carney). Burroughs is regarded as the primary literary outlaw of the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, who served as an inspiration to many other writers.
“We have found the perfect partners in Hengameh Panahi and Charlotte Mickie of Celluloid Dreams,” Foster stated.
Foster and Oren Moverman wrote the screenplay for the project — Celluloid Dreams has acquired the international sales rights for the film that will also star Tom Glynn-Carney.
Olive Productions’ Wren Arthur, Waypoint’s Ken Kao, and Sight Unseen’s Moverman are producing, with Olive’s Steve Buscemi serving as executive producer.
Also Read: Elle Fanning, Ben Foster Drama 'Galveston' Acquired by Rlje Films
The film will explore an unusual love triangle between Burroughs (Foster) and his common-law muse Joan Vollmer (Stewart) and an American ex-pat named Allerton (Glynn-Carney). Burroughs is regarded as the primary literary outlaw of the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, who served as an inspiration to many other writers.
“We have found the perfect partners in Hengameh Panahi and Charlotte Mickie of Celluloid Dreams,” Foster stated.
- 5/9/2019
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Wrap
Kristen Stewart, Hell Or High Water star Ben Foster and Dunkirk actor Tom Glynn-Carney are to lead cast in a movie inspired by the early works and letters of iconic U.S. writer William Burroughs. This will be a hot one at the Cannes Film market next week.
Foster will make his directorial debut on the film and has also penned the script with Oren Moverman (Time Out Of Mind). The project explores the unusual love triangle between Burroughs (Foster), his unsung, brilliant, charismatic, common-law muse, Joan Vollmer (Stewart), and a young, straight-laced American ex-pat named Allerton (Glynn-Carney) who upends their lives to the extreme.
Foster will make his directorial debut on the film and has also penned the script with Oren Moverman (Time Out Of Mind). The project explores the unusual love triangle between Burroughs (Foster), his unsung, brilliant, charismatic, common-law muse, Joan Vollmer (Stewart), and a young, straight-laced American ex-pat named Allerton (Glynn-Carney) who upends their lives to the extreme.
- 5/9/2019
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Kelly Macdonald with producer Wren Arthur and director Marc Turtletaub on her Puzzle costumes: "Mirren Gordon-Crozier did a great job." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
The day after Marc Turtletaub introduced me to Kelly Macdonald at Sony Pictures Classics, the star of Puzzle met with me for a conversation that started out with the meal that Kelly as Agnes prepares for her husband Louie (David Denman), their two sons Ziggy (Bubba Weiler) and Gabe (Austin Abrams), and his girlfriend Nicki (Liv Hewson). Kelly and I leap from Isabelle Huppert's shoes to the stoop that Jack Lemmon sits on in Billy Wilder's The Apartment, from a Fred MacMurray resemblance to her The Child In Time co-star Benedict Cumberbatch to Cameron Crowe's persistence, and her character in Marc Turtletaub's Puzzle.
Kelly Macdonald on appearing saintly as Agnes in Puzzle: "I knew that Chris Norr, the cinematographer, was filming it in...
The day after Marc Turtletaub introduced me to Kelly Macdonald at Sony Pictures Classics, the star of Puzzle met with me for a conversation that started out with the meal that Kelly as Agnes prepares for her husband Louie (David Denman), their two sons Ziggy (Bubba Weiler) and Gabe (Austin Abrams), and his girlfriend Nicki (Liv Hewson). Kelly and I leap from Isabelle Huppert's shoes to the stoop that Jack Lemmon sits on in Billy Wilder's The Apartment, from a Fred MacMurray resemblance to her The Child In Time co-star Benedict Cumberbatch to Cameron Crowe's persistence, and her character in Marc Turtletaub's Puzzle.
Kelly Macdonald on appearing saintly as Agnes in Puzzle: "I knew that Chris Norr, the cinematographer, was filming it in...
- 7/25/2018
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Marc Turtletaub (with producer Wren Arthur) on Catholicism in Puzzle and an Alfonso Cuarón film: "I want it to be in the background, much like when you watch Y Tu Mamá También." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Puzzle, co-written by Oren Moverman and Polly Mann, stars Kelly Macdonald (Joe Wright's Anna Karenina), Irrfan Khan (Ang Lee's Life Of Pi), and David Denman with Bubba Weiler, Austin Abrams, and Liv Hewson. Based on an Argentinian film, Natalia Smirnoff's Rompecabezas, starring María Onetto (Damián Szifron's Wild Tales), first-time director and long-time producer Marc Turtletaub, sets up his protagonist's life with an elegant and surprising opening sequence that makes us understand in a flash the dynamics between Agnes (Kelly Macdonald) and her nearest and dearest and propels us into the personal riddles to be explored.
Puzzle co-screenwriter Oren Moverman with his The Dinner and Time Out of Mind star Richard Gere Photo:...
Puzzle, co-written by Oren Moverman and Polly Mann, stars Kelly Macdonald (Joe Wright's Anna Karenina), Irrfan Khan (Ang Lee's Life Of Pi), and David Denman with Bubba Weiler, Austin Abrams, and Liv Hewson. Based on an Argentinian film, Natalia Smirnoff's Rompecabezas, starring María Onetto (Damián Szifron's Wild Tales), first-time director and long-time producer Marc Turtletaub, sets up his protagonist's life with an elegant and surprising opening sequence that makes us understand in a flash the dynamics between Agnes (Kelly Macdonald) and her nearest and dearest and propels us into the personal riddles to be explored.
Puzzle co-screenwriter Oren Moverman with his The Dinner and Time Out of Mind star Richard Gere Photo:...
- 7/24/2018
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Annapurna understood to be closing on Sorry To Bother You.
Sundance deal flow quickened up on Thursday (January 25) as Saban Films acquired North American rights to Lizzie, Magnolia Pictures took Kusama – Infinity, and Spc acquired Puzzle.
Meanwhile Annapurna was understood to be closing worldwide rights on Boots Riley’s sci-fi satire Sorry To Bother You following that film’s premiere in U.S. Dramatic Competition over the weekend.
Saban will partner with Roadside Attractions on a summer theatrical release for Craig William Macneill’s period drama Lizzie, which stars Chloe Sevigny and Kristen Stewart and is based on Bryce Kass’s screenplay about the unsolved 19th century Borden murders.
Sevigny plays Borden, who lives under her father’s domineering control until she meets and falls for the family maid Bridget Sullivan (Stewart) and was subsequently put on trial for the murder of her father and step-mother. Lizzie premiered last Friday in U.S. Dramatic Competition...
Sundance deal flow quickened up on Thursday (January 25) as Saban Films acquired North American rights to Lizzie, Magnolia Pictures took Kusama – Infinity, and Spc acquired Puzzle.
Meanwhile Annapurna was understood to be closing worldwide rights on Boots Riley’s sci-fi satire Sorry To Bother You following that film’s premiere in U.S. Dramatic Competition over the weekend.
Saban will partner with Roadside Attractions on a summer theatrical release for Craig William Macneill’s period drama Lizzie, which stars Chloe Sevigny and Kristen Stewart and is based on Bryce Kass’s screenplay about the unsolved 19th century Borden murders.
Sevigny plays Borden, who lives under her father’s domineering control until she meets and falls for the family maid Bridget Sullivan (Stewart) and was subsequently put on trial for the murder of her father and step-mother. Lizzie premiered last Friday in U.S. Dramatic Competition...
- 1/25/2018
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Steve Buscemi, Stanley Tucci and Wren Arthur's New York-based Olive Productions has signed a multi-year overall television first-look deal with global indie Entertainment One. Under the deal, eOne will serve as the studio and control worldwide rights to television projects produced out of the new pact. "As producers, Steve and Stanley have an unparalleled sense for finding standout characters and bringing them to the screen," said eOne TV's President of Global Scripted…...
- 2/23/2017
- Deadline TV
Steve Buscemi, Stanley Tucci and Wren Arthur’s company credits include recent Berlinale premiere Final Portrait.
The entertainment titan will serve as the studio and will control worldwide rights to television projects produced from the new partnership, which expands eOne Television’s roster of creative partnerships with renowned talent.
New York-based Olive produces an eclectic array of TV projects, fiction and documentary features.
Recent Olive Productions projects include Final Portrait (pictured), which Tucci wrote and directed and stars Geoffrey Rush and Armie Hammer.
The slate includes Amber Tamblyn’s directorial debut Paint It Black starring Janet McTeer and Alia Shawkat, which Imagination is set to release in May; Check It, a documentary about an African-American gay street gang directed by Toby Oppenheimer and Dana Flor; Submission, based on the Francine Prose novel; and Blue Angel, written and directed by Richard Levine and starring Tucci, Addison Timlin and Kyra Sedgwick.
Olive is lining up a New York-based feature...
The entertainment titan will serve as the studio and will control worldwide rights to television projects produced from the new partnership, which expands eOne Television’s roster of creative partnerships with renowned talent.
New York-based Olive produces an eclectic array of TV projects, fiction and documentary features.
Recent Olive Productions projects include Final Portrait (pictured), which Tucci wrote and directed and stars Geoffrey Rush and Armie Hammer.
The slate includes Amber Tamblyn’s directorial debut Paint It Black starring Janet McTeer and Alia Shawkat, which Imagination is set to release in May; Check It, a documentary about an African-American gay street gang directed by Toby Oppenheimer and Dana Flor; Submission, based on the Francine Prose novel; and Blue Angel, written and directed by Richard Levine and starring Tucci, Addison Timlin and Kyra Sedgwick.
Olive is lining up a New York-based feature...
- 2/23/2017
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Keep up with the wild and wooly world of indie film acquisitions with our weekly Rundown of everything that’s been picked up around the globe. Check out last week’s Rundown here.
– Bleecker Street has secured U.S. distribution rights to Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s true-life story, “Megan Leavey.” The film is based on the life of Leavey (Kate Mara), a young marine corporal in the K9 unit whose unique discipline and bond with her military combat dog saved many lives during their deployment in Iraq.
Bleecker Street will release the movie on June 9, 2017.
Read More: Film Acquisition Rundown: Samuel Goldwyn Films Picks Up ‘Youth in Oregon,’ The Orchard Buys ‘Monkey Business’ and More
The film co-stars Edie Falco, Ramon Rodriguez, Bradley Whitford, and Common. Directed by Cowperthwaite (“Blackfish”), the movie was written by Pamela Gray, Annie Mumolo and Tim Lovestedt and produced by Mickey Liddell, Pete Shilaimon and Jennifer Monroe.
– Bleecker Street has secured U.S. distribution rights to Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s true-life story, “Megan Leavey.” The film is based on the life of Leavey (Kate Mara), a young marine corporal in the K9 unit whose unique discipline and bond with her military combat dog saved many lives during their deployment in Iraq.
Bleecker Street will release the movie on June 9, 2017.
Read More: Film Acquisition Rundown: Samuel Goldwyn Films Picks Up ‘Youth in Oregon,’ The Orchard Buys ‘Monkey Business’ and More
The film co-stars Edie Falco, Ramon Rodriguez, Bradley Whitford, and Common. Directed by Cowperthwaite (“Blackfish”), the movie was written by Pamela Gray, Annie Mumolo and Tim Lovestedt and produced by Mickey Liddell, Pete Shilaimon and Jennifer Monroe.
- 1/13/2017
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
Michael Nyqvist and Famke Janssen will star in the Hitchcockian thriller set to begin production in July.
Finnish filmmaker Aj Annila, who made his debut on Jade Warrior, directs his first English-language feature about a young piano prodigy who suspects his brilliant tutor might be a serial killer targetting musicians.
13 Films’ Tannaz Anisi will commence pre-sales on Every Good Boy Does Fine and heads to the Croisette a with newly appointed director of international sales Juliana Lubin, who arrives from The Exchange, and existing director Jae-woo Kim.
Jana Edelbaum and Rachel Cohen of iDeal Partners Film Fund produce the project with Margo Klewans.
The Us producers are partnering with Frederik Zander of Swedish post production house The Chimney Group and Jesse Fryckman of Solar Films in Finland. The producers hold Us rights to the project.
Steve Buscemi and Wren Arthur of Olive Productions serve as executive producers alongside Anisi.
“We’ve been working hard on this project...
Finnish filmmaker Aj Annila, who made his debut on Jade Warrior, directs his first English-language feature about a young piano prodigy who suspects his brilliant tutor might be a serial killer targetting musicians.
13 Films’ Tannaz Anisi will commence pre-sales on Every Good Boy Does Fine and heads to the Croisette a with newly appointed director of international sales Juliana Lubin, who arrives from The Exchange, and existing director Jae-woo Kim.
Jana Edelbaum and Rachel Cohen of iDeal Partners Film Fund produce the project with Margo Klewans.
The Us producers are partnering with Frederik Zander of Swedish post production house The Chimney Group and Jesse Fryckman of Solar Films in Finland. The producers hold Us rights to the project.
Steve Buscemi and Wren Arthur of Olive Productions serve as executive producers alongside Anisi.
“We’ve been working hard on this project...
- 5/5/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Michael Nyqvist and Famke Janssen will star in the thriller Every Good Boy Does Fine, Finnish filmmaker Aj Annila's English-language feature film debut. The project, slated to shoot in July, will be produced by Jana Edelbaum and Rachel Cohen of iDeal Partners Film Fund, and Margo Klewans. Steve Buscemi and Wren Arthur of Olive Productions are executive producing. Tannaz Anisi of 13 Films, who will introduce the film to buyers in Cannes, is executive producing the thriller and repping international rights. From a script by Jonathan Dees, Every Good Boy Does Fine centers on a young boy named Brian who is
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- 5/5/2015
- by Rebecca Ford
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Michael Nyqvist (“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”) and Famke Janssen (“X-Men,” “Taken”) are set to star in the Hitchcockian thriller “Every Good Boy Does Fine,” it was announced today by producers Jana Edelbaum and Rachel Cohen of iDeal Partners Film Fund and Margo Klewans. Emerging Finnish filmmaker Aj Annila (“Sauna”) will make his English-language feature film debut on the project, which Steve Buscemi and Wren Arthur of Olive Productions are executive producing with Tannaz Anisi, whose 13 Films will sell foreign rights at the Cannes Film Market. Written by Jonathan Dees, “Every Good Boy Does Fine” is a taut thriller about.
- 5/5/2015
- by Jeff Sneider
- The Wrap
On the heels of the 39th edition of the Toronto Int. Film Festival (Sept 4-14), Ifp’s Independent Film Week is where a plethora of fiction, non-fiction and new this year, web-based series from the likes of Desiree Akhavan and Calvin Reeder find future coin. Sectioned off as projects at the very beginning of financing to those that are nearing completion, there happens to be tons of Sundance alumni in the names below. Among those that caught our attention we have Medicine for Melancholy‘s Barry Jenkins’ sophomore feature, produced by Bad Milo!‘s Adele Romanski, Moonlight is about “two Miami boys navigate the temptations of the drug trade and their burgeoning sexuality in this triptych drama about black queer youth”. Concussion‘s Stacie Passon digs into the thriller genre with Strange Things Started Happening. Produced by vet Mary Jane Skalski (Mysterious Skin), this is about “a woman who has...
- 7/24/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Steve Buscemi is teaming with AOL for unscripted original Park Bench. Set in New York City, the video series is part of the AOL Originals platform which will carry the first season online in the U.S. Production starts this month in NY where Buscemi will interact with everyday denizens of the Big Apple along with his celebrity pals, discussing everything from pop culture to current events. The show is produced by Olive Productions and RadicalMedia, and is intended to convey Buscemi’s relationship with the city of New York and its array of one-of-a-kind characters. “Having lived and worked in New York my whole life, I’m ready to take advantage of all it has to offer,” said Buscemi. “I just need to lay down for five minutes.” FremantleMedia International will shop Park Bench at next week’s Mip-tv. Wren Arthur and Buscemi are executive producing for Olive; Justin Wilkes,...
- 4/2/2014
- by NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor
- Deadline TV
She got her start as the adorable Joey on “Dawson’s Creek” and now Katie Holmes is getting back to her roots on the small screen.
The “Mad Money” actress has agreed to star in a new untitled drama by Richard Lagravenese to air on the ABC Network this fall.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, “Holmes will play Ann, a well-bred woman who is described as Audrey Hepburn-esque. She and her husband run a philanthropic foundation that helps bring clean water to African villages. Childless, she thinks she'd like to raise a family, but she can't get her philanthropic husband to settle down in one spot for very long. Margot and Philip make a bet to reveal the lie of true love by destroying Ann’s perfect marriage.”
Rufus Sewell is also on board for the show, which will be directed by Taylor Hackford and executive produced by Lagravenese,...
The “Mad Money” actress has agreed to star in a new untitled drama by Richard Lagravenese to air on the ABC Network this fall.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, “Holmes will play Ann, a well-bred woman who is described as Audrey Hepburn-esque. She and her husband run a philanthropic foundation that helps bring clean water to African villages. Childless, she thinks she'd like to raise a family, but she can't get her philanthropic husband to settle down in one spot for very long. Margot and Philip make a bet to reveal the lie of true love by destroying Ann’s perfect marriage.”
Rufus Sewell is also on board for the show, which will be directed by Taylor Hackford and executive produced by Lagravenese,...
- 3/7/2014
- GossipCenter
The Sundance Channel released its 2013/2014 development slate Wednesday, revealing a roster of projects that includes new dramas from "Boardwalk Empire" star Steve Buscemi, Sundance Institute founder Robert Redford and "This American Life" host Ira Glass. "Behind the Sun," which is being produced by Buscemi, Stanley Tucci and Wren Arthur via Olive Productions, follows the Georges, a single-child family living in mid-'80s Malibu, Calif., who discover that their teenage son has a rare allergy to the sun. The series will explore "the shifting notions of parenting, and how the delayed adolescence and...
- 11/7/2012
- by Tim Kenneally
- The Wrap
#78. Queer Director: Steve BuscemiWriter: Oren MovermanProducers: Buscemi, Moverman and Wren Arthur (A Prairie Home Companion)Distributor: Rights Available The Gist: Written by Oren Moverman, this is a biopic of William S Burroughs based on his novels Queer and Junky and about the period spent by author William S. Burroughs in Mexico City in the late 1940s and early '50s...(more) Cast: Guy Pearce, Kelly Macdonald and Ben Foster List Worthy Reasons...: An actor who I sincerely hope would devote more time behind the camera (examples Tree Lounge, Interview and one vivid Sopranos episode I have in mind prove that Buscemi has got the goods) our first and only William S. Burroughs fix for 2012 might come via Viggo Mortensen's bit of Old Bull Lee in On the Road. With a great trio of characters and Moverman's involvement, plus the fact that the novel was written in '52 but...
- 1/5/2012
- IONCINEMA.com
Sony will distribute the comedy "Mommy & Me," with Meryl Streep and Tina Fey attached to star.According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film will be directed by Stanley Tucci. Streep and Tucci appeared together on-screen in "The Devil Wears Prada" and "Julie & Julia." It is unknown whether Tucci will act in "Mommy" or just direct. Plot details are being kept under wraps, although it is known that the film will explore the highs and lows of the relationship between the mother-daughter duo of Streep and Fey.Wren Arthur, Lucy Barzun Donnelly and Tory Tunnell are producing.Streep was last seen in 2009.s "Julie & Julia" and "It.s Complicated." Fey, who stars on NBC.s "30 Rock," was recently seen in...
- 7/30/2010
- by Adnan Tezer
- Monsters and Critics
Sony has picked up "Mommy & Me," the comedy package featuring Meryl Streep and Tina Fey as a mother-and-daughter duo to be directed by Stanley Tucci.
CAA circulated the project around town earlier in July and signs pointed to Sony, which made last year's Streep comedy "Julie & Julia," as a strong contender.
Storylines are under wraps, although it spotlights the thorny and funny sides of mother-daughter relationships.
Joby Harold wrote the treatment that went with the package and is exec producing with Tucci, Steve Buscemi and Joshua Astrachan.
Wren Arthur, Lucy Barzun Donnelly and Tory Tunnell are producing.
Streep and Tucci have worked together on-screen in "Devil Wears Prada" and "Julie & Julia." It's unclear at this time if Tucci would appear in the movie or just stick to directing.
Fey, repped by Wme and 3 Arts Entertainment, is slowly building her film resume, working on features during her time in between seasons of "30 Rock.
CAA circulated the project around town earlier in July and signs pointed to Sony, which made last year's Streep comedy "Julie & Julia," as a strong contender.
Storylines are under wraps, although it spotlights the thorny and funny sides of mother-daughter relationships.
Joby Harold wrote the treatment that went with the package and is exec producing with Tucci, Steve Buscemi and Joshua Astrachan.
Wren Arthur, Lucy Barzun Donnelly and Tory Tunnell are producing.
Streep and Tucci have worked together on-screen in "Devil Wears Prada" and "Julie & Julia." It's unclear at this time if Tucci would appear in the movie or just stick to directing.
Fey, repped by Wme and 3 Arts Entertainment, is slowly building her film resume, working on features during her time in between seasons of "30 Rock.
- 7/28/2010
- by By Borys Kit
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
HollywoodNews.com: Tina Fey is in talks to star with Meryl Streep in Stanley Tucci’s fifth feature as director, “Mommy & Me.”
Currently, per the L.A. Times, there aren’t any writers attached and CAA is currently shopping the project to studios, ideally Sony.
Tucci is also producing the feature along with his partners Steve Buscemi and Wren Arthur through their Olive Productions company.
No word if Tucci will reunite on-camera again with Streep; their previous acting credits include “The Devil Wears Prada” and “Julie & Julia.”
“Mommy & Me” is said to be a comedy-drama that centers on a mother-daughter relationship against the backdrop of Hollywood.
Tucci’s last film as director was 2007’s “Blind Date” starring Patricia Clarkson.
Photo credit: 20th Century Fox
pd
Award News, Breaking News, Entertainment News, Movie News, Music News, Hollywood News...
Currently, per the L.A. Times, there aren’t any writers attached and CAA is currently shopping the project to studios, ideally Sony.
Tucci is also producing the feature along with his partners Steve Buscemi and Wren Arthur through their Olive Productions company.
No word if Tucci will reunite on-camera again with Streep; their previous acting credits include “The Devil Wears Prada” and “Julie & Julia.”
“Mommy & Me” is said to be a comedy-drama that centers on a mother-daughter relationship against the backdrop of Hollywood.
Tucci’s last film as director was 2007’s “Blind Date” starring Patricia Clarkson.
Photo credit: 20th Century Fox
pd
Award News, Breaking News, Entertainment News, Movie News, Music News, Hollywood News...
- 7/18/2010
- by HollywoodNews.com
- Hollywoodnews.com
Stanley Tucci and Meryl Streep look set to re-team for a third time in the comedy/drama "Mommy and Me" which is being shopped around studios reports The Los Angeles Times.
Story details are being kept under wraps but will focus on a mother/daughter relationship with Meryl Streep and Tina Fey as the two main stars. Tucci will direct and produce the feature, but no word on if he'll have a starring role.
No writers have yet been hired for the project, but Steve Buscemi and Wren Arthur will produce. Tucci and Streep previously appeared on screen together in "The Devil Wears Prada" and "Julie & Julia".
Story details are being kept under wraps but will focus on a mother/daughter relationship with Meryl Streep and Tina Fey as the two main stars. Tucci will direct and produce the feature, but no word on if he'll have a starring role.
No writers have yet been hired for the project, but Steve Buscemi and Wren Arthur will produce. Tucci and Streep previously appeared on screen together in "The Devil Wears Prada" and "Julie & Julia".
- 7/17/2010
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
For the past few decades, actor Steve Buscemi has cornered the market on playing quirky characters with serious inner demons lurking beneath the surface. His latest role in the film Saint John of Las Vegas (which opens in limited release on January 29) adds another memorable loser to his list of roles—a gambling addict who hits the road with an insurance investigator in order to get a big promotion. Buscemi sat down with CinemaSpy to discuss his role in the new film, as well as his work in films like The Messenger and the upcoming HBO series, Boardwalk Empire.
CinemaSpy: You’re working with first time writer-director Hue Rhoades on this film. What was it about the script that made you want to work with him?
Steve Buscemi: It just had a lot of the elements that I look for in scripts. It was character driven. I like ensemble films.
CinemaSpy: You’re working with first time writer-director Hue Rhoades on this film. What was it about the script that made you want to work with him?
Steve Buscemi: It just had a lot of the elements that I look for in scripts. It was character driven. I like ensemble films.
- 1/26/2010
- CinemaSpy
Hue Rhodes is every professor.s dream. He may have arrived at Nyu to study film rather late compared to his peers, but his drive to succeed and passion for the art made him a model student. During a roundtable interview, the first time writer/director gushed about all he learned at school and how it made him the filmmaker he is today. His mentors should be proud because his feature debut, Saint John of Las Vegas, makes its way into theaters in New York and Los Angeles on January 29th with a wider release planned for February 12th. What.s even more impressive is the brilliant minds he attracted to join the project. Not only does the film star Steve Buscemi, Romany Malco, Sarah Silverman, Peter Dinklage, Tim Blake Nelson, John Cho and Emmanuelle Chriqui, but it.s executive produced by Buscemi, Wren Arthur, Stanley Tucci and Spike Lee.
- 1/25/2010
- cinemablend.com
Steve Buscemi, Stanley Tucci and Wren Arthur, the trio behind Olive Prods., have set up their first TV projects: a drama at HBO starring Tucci and an animated comedy at TBS to be voiced by Tucci and Buscemi.
The projects stem from Olive's first-look deal with Lionsgate Television, which is on board to co-produce the shows.
The untitled HBO project, written by "Six Degrees" co-creator Stu Zicherman, is a family drama with Tucci as a brilliant, one-time powerful politician struggling to rebuild his career and relationships with his family and friends after being brought down by a scandal.
Zicherman, Tucci, Buscemi and Arthur are executive producing.
"Good and Evel" is an animated family comedy for TBS from "Daria" co-creator and "The Colbert Report" writer Glenn Eichler that revolves around twin brothers Jack Good and Bo Evel. Stolen by gypsy cab drivers at birth and taught how to behave and drive badly,...
The projects stem from Olive's first-look deal with Lionsgate Television, which is on board to co-produce the shows.
The untitled HBO project, written by "Six Degrees" co-creator Stu Zicherman, is a family drama with Tucci as a brilliant, one-time powerful politician struggling to rebuild his career and relationships with his family and friends after being brought down by a scandal.
Zicherman, Tucci, Buscemi and Arthur are executive producing.
"Good and Evel" is an animated family comedy for TBS from "Daria" co-creator and "The Colbert Report" writer Glenn Eichler that revolves around twin brothers Jack Good and Bo Evel. Stolen by gypsy cab drivers at birth and taught how to behave and drive badly,...
- 10/20/2009
- by By Nellie Andreeva
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Pierce Brosnan, Patricia Clarkson and Julianne Moore will headline the indie comedic drama "The Hunter," with Stanley Tucci directing from his screenplay.According to Variety, "The Hunter" will be produced by Olive Productions and Irish DreamTime, with pre-production scheduled to begin in September. Olive was co-founded by Tucci, Steve Buscemi and Wren Arthur, with Arthur overseeing production.Irish DreamTime partners Brosnan and Beau St. Clair will also be producing along with Stan Erdreich from River Bend Pictures.Buscemi's executive producing the project."The Hunter," set amid the aristocracy of New York's Upper Westchester County, is a coming-of-age story of a middle-aged man, played by Brosnan, who finds himself desperately clinging to the remnants of his once-charmed life and world.Tucci's scripting credits include "Big Night,"...
- 7/15/2009
- by Adnan Tezer
- Monsters and Critics
- Part of the perks of being an actor who moonlights as a director is being able to call favors upon friends like Pierce Brosnan, Patricia Clarkson and Julianne Moore. Though Stanley Tucci's last project (Blind Date) barely made a blip on the festival circuit and will, almost two years later, finally be receiving a theatrical release in September, The Hunter should fair a better because Clarkson + Moore + her Laws of Attraction co-star Brosnan will ensure this dramedy receives a little bit more stardust. Brosnan has also worked with Clarkson in Ira Sachs' Married Life. To be produced by Tucci, Steve Buscemi and Wren Arthur's Olive Prods., Irish DreamTime's Brosnan and Beau St. Clair and River Bend Pictures' Stan Erdreich. Scripted by Stanley Tucci directing from his screenplay, this is set amid the aristocracy of New York's Upper Westchester County, is a coming-of-age story of a middle-aged man,
- 7/15/2009
- IONCINEMA.com
- There's just something about Steve Buscemi that's irresistible. Sure, he looks a little creepy, and he's always picking really strange parts. From incidental pedophile (Ghost World) to killer (Reservoir Dogs), he's somehow impossible to dislike. Now, Buscemi is adding another role to his handsome resume: star of Saint John of Las Vegas.Based upon Dante's Inferno, Las Vegas tells the story of an ex-gambler (Buscemi) and an insurance fraud investigator (Romany Malco). While not much other information is currently available, the cast is enough to spark some interest: along with Buscemi and Malco, Emily Mortimer, Tim Blake Nelson, John Cho, Emmanuelle Chriqui, and Peter Dinklage star.This picture marks the first feature-length venture for writer/director Hue Rhodes and Buscemi's Olive Productions. The film will be produced by Mark Burton and Matt Wall (IndieVest), Lawrence Mattis and Kelly McCormick (Circle of Confusion). Buscemi, Stanley Tucci, Wren Arthur, and Spike Lee will executive produce.
- 8/8/2008
- IONCINEMA.com
NEW YORK -- About three months after the death of Robert Altman at age 81, several tributes have been announced for the acclaimed director.
Film Independent has created the annual Robert Altman Award, given to one film's ensemble cast and director, beginning at the 2008 Spirit Awards. In addition, memorial services for the director have been slated for Feb. 20 in New York and March 4 in Los Angeles.
At this year's Spirit Awards ceremony Feb. 24, Altman will also be bestowed with an Honorary Spirit Award "for his body of work and contribution to the ensemble genre." Helen Mirren, Robert Downey Jr., Elliott Gould, Christopher Guest, Sally Kellerman, Andie MacDowell and John C. Reilly are among the stars scheduled to pay tribute at the ceremony.
The New York memorial will feature more Altman collaborators, including Bob Balaban, Harry Belafonte, Kevin Kline, Julianne Moore, Tim Robbins, Alan Rudolph, Joan Tewkesbury, Lily Tomlin, Gary Trudeau, Picturehouse president Bob Berney and his Sandcastle 5 producers Wren Arthur and Joshua Astrachan.
Film Independent has created the annual Robert Altman Award, given to one film's ensemble cast and director, beginning at the 2008 Spirit Awards. In addition, memorial services for the director have been slated for Feb. 20 in New York and March 4 in Los Angeles.
At this year's Spirit Awards ceremony Feb. 24, Altman will also be bestowed with an Honorary Spirit Award "for his body of work and contribution to the ensemble genre." Helen Mirren, Robert Downey Jr., Elliott Gould, Christopher Guest, Sally Kellerman, Andie MacDowell and John C. Reilly are among the stars scheduled to pay tribute at the ceremony.
The New York memorial will feature more Altman collaborators, including Bob Balaban, Harry Belafonte, Kevin Kline, Julianne Moore, Tim Robbins, Alan Rudolph, Joan Tewkesbury, Lily Tomlin, Gary Trudeau, Picturehouse president Bob Berney and his Sandcastle 5 producers Wren Arthur and Joshua Astrachan.
- 2/14/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Screened at the Berlin International Film Festival
BERLIN -- Not since Woody Allen's "Radio Days" has anyone created such a cinematic Valentine to the wonderfully imaginative medium of radio as "A Prairie Home Companion". Garrison Keillor, impresario, creator and host of one of radio's longest running programs -- 31 years and counting -- and director Robert Altman are a match made in heaven. To these two Midwesterners, the region's dry, whimsical humor, unfailing politeness and straight-shooting sensibility are as natural as their own skins. There is no artifice or slickness here, just a native, keen intelligence that slyly hides behind homespun wit and verbal slapstick.
Keillor's radio show is, of course, beloved by many and Altman's movie, as Altman movies so often do, comes heavily populated with marquee actors. So the domestic theatrical audience for "Prairie" should be wide and varied. Overseas is a tough call: So much of the movie relies on deep-grained American humor along with puns and word play in English that get lost in subtitles. Nevertheless, an audience here at the Berlinale responded favorably to the music-flavored film even if some of verbal gags fell flat.
Filmed at St. Paul's Fitzgerald Theater in Keillor's home state of Minnesota, "Prairie" essentially puts a radio show much like "A Prairie Home Companion" on film. Backstage, onstage and around the aging theater, the movie (written by Keillor from a story by him and Ken LaZebnik) imagines a fateful final broadcast of a show that has been given the axe by a soulless Texas corporation. (Keillor knows how to pick his villain's state, doesn't he?)
The central musical acts belong to Yolanda and Rhonda Johnson (Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin), the remaining members of what once was a four-sister country music act, and Dusty and Lefty (Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly), singing cowboys and rivals in one-upsmanship.
Yolanda's daughter Lola (Lindsay Lohan) distracts herself from her mom's oft-told tales of the theatrical life by penning poems about suicide. Guy Noir, a recurring character on Keillorr's show, is brought aboard here as the program's "security director." As the throwback detective, Kevin Kline mixes Chandler-esque dialogue with more than a touch of Peter Seller's Inspector Clouseau.
The broadcast's harried stage manager (Tim Russell, a regular on Keillor's show) and his assistant ("Saturday Night Live"'s Maya Rudolph) are given new ways to break into sweat by the unpredictable cast. And through all the delightful confusion and musical numbers drift two iconic figures: GK (Keillor himself), a benign, unruffled presence who smoothly adapts to all exigencies, and a Dangerous Woman (Virginia Madsen), an angel in a white trench coat, taking the earthly and shapely form of a woman who died listening to the show's broadcast. It was a penguin joke that done her in.
Minor attempts to introduce plot material -- such as an unlikely past affair between Yolanda and GK, the death of a performer and the arrival of the corporate axeman Tommy Lee Jones) -- never lead anywhere. Even the filmmakers seem to forget them moments after their introduction.
No, the movie steadfastly sticks to its radio roots. The comic bits from Streep & Tomlin and Harrelson & Reilly are gems of off-the-cuff humor. Keillor's droll lyrics and jingles for fictional sponsors poke good-natured fun. The toe-tapping musical performances are refreshingly captured by Edward Lachman's mobile camera, all smoothly edited by Jacob Craycroft.
As a character remarks, this radio show is the kind of program that died 50 years ago only someone forgot to tell the performers. Thank God for that.
A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION
Picturehouse
GreeneStreet Films and River Road Entertainment present a Sandcastle 5 and Prairie Home production
Credits: Director: Robert Altman; Writer: Garrison Keillor; Story by: Garrison Keilor, Ken LaZebnik; Producers: Robert Altman; Wren Arthur, Joshua Astrachan, Tony Judge, David Levy; Executive producers: William Pohlad, John Penotti, Fisher Stevens, George Sheanshang; Director of photography: Edward Lachman; Production designer: Dina Goldman; Music: Richard Dworsky; Costumes: Catherine Marie Thomas; Editor: Jacob Craycroft.
Cast: Yolanda Johnson: Meryl Streep; Rhonda Johnson: Lily Tomlin; GK: Garrison Keillor; Dusty: Woody Harrelson; Lefty: John C. Reilly; Lola: Lindsay Lohan; Guy Noir: Kevin Kline; Molly: Maya Rudolph; Axeman: Tommy Lee Jones; Dangerous woman: Virginia Madsen.
No MPAA rating, running time 105 minutes.
BERLIN -- Not since Woody Allen's "Radio Days" has anyone created such a cinematic Valentine to the wonderfully imaginative medium of radio as "A Prairie Home Companion". Garrison Keillor, impresario, creator and host of one of radio's longest running programs -- 31 years and counting -- and director Robert Altman are a match made in heaven. To these two Midwesterners, the region's dry, whimsical humor, unfailing politeness and straight-shooting sensibility are as natural as their own skins. There is no artifice or slickness here, just a native, keen intelligence that slyly hides behind homespun wit and verbal slapstick.
Keillor's radio show is, of course, beloved by many and Altman's movie, as Altman movies so often do, comes heavily populated with marquee actors. So the domestic theatrical audience for "Prairie" should be wide and varied. Overseas is a tough call: So much of the movie relies on deep-grained American humor along with puns and word play in English that get lost in subtitles. Nevertheless, an audience here at the Berlinale responded favorably to the music-flavored film even if some of verbal gags fell flat.
Filmed at St. Paul's Fitzgerald Theater in Keillor's home state of Minnesota, "Prairie" essentially puts a radio show much like "A Prairie Home Companion" on film. Backstage, onstage and around the aging theater, the movie (written by Keillor from a story by him and Ken LaZebnik) imagines a fateful final broadcast of a show that has been given the axe by a soulless Texas corporation. (Keillor knows how to pick his villain's state, doesn't he?)
The central musical acts belong to Yolanda and Rhonda Johnson (Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin), the remaining members of what once was a four-sister country music act, and Dusty and Lefty (Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly), singing cowboys and rivals in one-upsmanship.
Yolanda's daughter Lola (Lindsay Lohan) distracts herself from her mom's oft-told tales of the theatrical life by penning poems about suicide. Guy Noir, a recurring character on Keillorr's show, is brought aboard here as the program's "security director." As the throwback detective, Kevin Kline mixes Chandler-esque dialogue with more than a touch of Peter Seller's Inspector Clouseau.
The broadcast's harried stage manager (Tim Russell, a regular on Keillor's show) and his assistant ("Saturday Night Live"'s Maya Rudolph) are given new ways to break into sweat by the unpredictable cast. And through all the delightful confusion and musical numbers drift two iconic figures: GK (Keillor himself), a benign, unruffled presence who smoothly adapts to all exigencies, and a Dangerous Woman (Virginia Madsen), an angel in a white trench coat, taking the earthly and shapely form of a woman who died listening to the show's broadcast. It was a penguin joke that done her in.
Minor attempts to introduce plot material -- such as an unlikely past affair between Yolanda and GK, the death of a performer and the arrival of the corporate axeman Tommy Lee Jones) -- never lead anywhere. Even the filmmakers seem to forget them moments after their introduction.
No, the movie steadfastly sticks to its radio roots. The comic bits from Streep & Tomlin and Harrelson & Reilly are gems of off-the-cuff humor. Keillor's droll lyrics and jingles for fictional sponsors poke good-natured fun. The toe-tapping musical performances are refreshingly captured by Edward Lachman's mobile camera, all smoothly edited by Jacob Craycroft.
As a character remarks, this radio show is the kind of program that died 50 years ago only someone forgot to tell the performers. Thank God for that.
A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION
Picturehouse
GreeneStreet Films and River Road Entertainment present a Sandcastle 5 and Prairie Home production
Credits: Director: Robert Altman; Writer: Garrison Keillor; Story by: Garrison Keilor, Ken LaZebnik; Producers: Robert Altman; Wren Arthur, Joshua Astrachan, Tony Judge, David Levy; Executive producers: William Pohlad, John Penotti, Fisher Stevens, George Sheanshang; Director of photography: Edward Lachman; Production designer: Dina Goldman; Music: Richard Dworsky; Costumes: Catherine Marie Thomas; Editor: Jacob Craycroft.
Cast: Yolanda Johnson: Meryl Streep; Rhonda Johnson: Lily Tomlin; GK: Garrison Keillor; Dusty: Woody Harrelson; Lefty: John C. Reilly; Lola: Lindsay Lohan; Guy Noir: Kevin Kline; Molly: Maya Rudolph; Axeman: Tommy Lee Jones; Dangerous woman: Virginia Madsen.
No MPAA rating, running time 105 minutes.
- 2/14/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Screened at the Berlin International Film Festival
BERLIN -- Not since Woody Allen's "Radio Days" has anyone created such a cinematic Valentine to the wonderfully imaginative medium of radio as "A Prairie Home Companion". Garrison Keillor, impresario, creator and host of one of radio's longest running programs -- 31 years and counting -- and director Robert Altman are a match made in heaven. To these two Midwesterners, the region's dry, whimsical humor, unfailing politeness and straight-shooting sensibility are as natural as their own skins. There is no artifice or slickness here, just a native, keen intelligence that slyly hides behind homespun wit and verbal slapstick.
Keillor's radio show is, of course, beloved by many and Altman's movie, as Altman movies so often do, comes heavily populated with marquee actors. So the domestic theatrical audience for "Prairie" should be wide and varied. Overseas is a tough call: So much of the movie relies on deep-grained American humor along with puns and word play in English that get lost in subtitles. Nevertheless, an audience here at the Berlinale responded favorably to the music-flavored film even if some of verbal gags fell flat.
Filmed at St. Paul's Fitzgerald Theater in Keillor's home state of Minnesota, "Prairie" essentially puts a radio show much like "A Prairie Home Companion" on film. Backstage, onstage and around the aging theater, the movie (written by Keillor from a story by him and Ken LaZebnik) imagines a fateful final broadcast of a show that has been given the axe by a soulless Texas corporation. (Keillor knows how to pick his villain's state, doesn't he?)
The central musical acts belong to Yolanda and Rhonda Johnson (Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin), the remaining members of what once was a four-sister country music act, and Dusty and Lefty (Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly), singing cowboys and rivals in one-upsmanship.
Yolanda's daughter Lola (Lindsay Lohan) distracts herself from her mom's oft-told tales of the theatrical life by penning poems about suicide. Guy Noir, a recurring character on Keillorr's show, is brought aboard here as the program's "security director." As the throwback detective, Kevin Kline mixes Chandler-esque dialogue with more than a touch of Peter Seller's Inspector Clouseau.
The broadcast's harried stage manager (Tim Russell, a regular on Keillor's show) and his assistant ("Saturday Night Live"'s Maya Rudolph) are given new ways to break into sweat by the unpredictable cast. And through all the delightful confusion and musical numbers drift two iconic figures: GK (Keillor himself), a benign, unruffled presence who smoothly adapts to all exigencies, and a Dangerous Woman (Virginia Madsen), an angel in a white trench coat, taking the earthly and shapely form of a woman who died listening to the show's broadcast. It was a penguin joke that done her in.
Minor attempts to introduce plot material -- such as an unlikely past affair between Yolanda and GK, the death of a performer and the arrival of the corporate axeman Tommy Lee Jones) -- never lead anywhere. Even the filmmakers seem to forget them moments after their introduction.
No, the movie steadfastly sticks to its radio roots. The comic bits from Streep & Tomlin and Harrelson & Reilly are gems of off-the-cuff humor. Keillor's droll lyrics and jingles for fictional sponsors poke good-natured fun. The toe-tapping musical performances are refreshingly captured by Edward Lachman's mobile camera, all smoothly edited by Jacob Craycroft.
As a character remarks, this radio show is the kind of program that died 50 years ago only someone forgot to tell the performers. Thank God for that.
A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION
Picturehouse
GreeneStreet Films and River Road Entertainment present a Sandcastle 5 and Prairie Home production
Credits: Director: Robert Altman; Writer: Garrison Keillor; Story by: Garrison Keilor, Ken LaZebnik; Producers: Robert Altman; Wren Arthur, Joshua Astrachan, Tony Judge, David Levy; Executive producers: William Pohlad, John Penotti, Fisher Stevens, George Sheanshang; Director of photography: Edward Lachman; Production designer: Dina Goldman; Music: Richard Dworsky; Costumes: Catherine Marie Thomas; Editor: Jacob Craycroft.
Cast: Yolanda Johnson: Meryl Streep; Rhonda Johnson: Lily Tomlin; GK: Garrison Keillor; Dusty: Woody Harrelson; Lefty: John C. Reilly; Lola: Lindsay Lohan; Guy Noir: Kevin Kline; Molly: Maya Rudolph; Axeman: Tommy Lee Jones; Dangerous woman: Virginia Madsen.
No MPAA rating, running time 105 minutes.
BERLIN -- Not since Woody Allen's "Radio Days" has anyone created such a cinematic Valentine to the wonderfully imaginative medium of radio as "A Prairie Home Companion". Garrison Keillor, impresario, creator and host of one of radio's longest running programs -- 31 years and counting -- and director Robert Altman are a match made in heaven. To these two Midwesterners, the region's dry, whimsical humor, unfailing politeness and straight-shooting sensibility are as natural as their own skins. There is no artifice or slickness here, just a native, keen intelligence that slyly hides behind homespun wit and verbal slapstick.
Keillor's radio show is, of course, beloved by many and Altman's movie, as Altman movies so often do, comes heavily populated with marquee actors. So the domestic theatrical audience for "Prairie" should be wide and varied. Overseas is a tough call: So much of the movie relies on deep-grained American humor along with puns and word play in English that get lost in subtitles. Nevertheless, an audience here at the Berlinale responded favorably to the music-flavored film even if some of verbal gags fell flat.
Filmed at St. Paul's Fitzgerald Theater in Keillor's home state of Minnesota, "Prairie" essentially puts a radio show much like "A Prairie Home Companion" on film. Backstage, onstage and around the aging theater, the movie (written by Keillor from a story by him and Ken LaZebnik) imagines a fateful final broadcast of a show that has been given the axe by a soulless Texas corporation. (Keillor knows how to pick his villain's state, doesn't he?)
The central musical acts belong to Yolanda and Rhonda Johnson (Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin), the remaining members of what once was a four-sister country music act, and Dusty and Lefty (Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly), singing cowboys and rivals in one-upsmanship.
Yolanda's daughter Lola (Lindsay Lohan) distracts herself from her mom's oft-told tales of the theatrical life by penning poems about suicide. Guy Noir, a recurring character on Keillorr's show, is brought aboard here as the program's "security director." As the throwback detective, Kevin Kline mixes Chandler-esque dialogue with more than a touch of Peter Seller's Inspector Clouseau.
The broadcast's harried stage manager (Tim Russell, a regular on Keillor's show) and his assistant ("Saturday Night Live"'s Maya Rudolph) are given new ways to break into sweat by the unpredictable cast. And through all the delightful confusion and musical numbers drift two iconic figures: GK (Keillor himself), a benign, unruffled presence who smoothly adapts to all exigencies, and a Dangerous Woman (Virginia Madsen), an angel in a white trench coat, taking the earthly and shapely form of a woman who died listening to the show's broadcast. It was a penguin joke that done her in.
Minor attempts to introduce plot material -- such as an unlikely past affair between Yolanda and GK, the death of a performer and the arrival of the corporate axeman Tommy Lee Jones) -- never lead anywhere. Even the filmmakers seem to forget them moments after their introduction.
No, the movie steadfastly sticks to its radio roots. The comic bits from Streep & Tomlin and Harrelson & Reilly are gems of off-the-cuff humor. Keillor's droll lyrics and jingles for fictional sponsors poke good-natured fun. The toe-tapping musical performances are refreshingly captured by Edward Lachman's mobile camera, all smoothly edited by Jacob Craycroft.
As a character remarks, this radio show is the kind of program that died 50 years ago only someone forgot to tell the performers. Thank God for that.
A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION
Picturehouse
GreeneStreet Films and River Road Entertainment present a Sandcastle 5 and Prairie Home production
Credits: Director: Robert Altman; Writer: Garrison Keillor; Story by: Garrison Keilor, Ken LaZebnik; Producers: Robert Altman; Wren Arthur, Joshua Astrachan, Tony Judge, David Levy; Executive producers: William Pohlad, John Penotti, Fisher Stevens, George Sheanshang; Director of photography: Edward Lachman; Production designer: Dina Goldman; Music: Richard Dworsky; Costumes: Catherine Marie Thomas; Editor: Jacob Craycroft.
Cast: Yolanda Johnson: Meryl Streep; Rhonda Johnson: Lily Tomlin; GK: Garrison Keillor; Dusty: Woody Harrelson; Lefty: John C. Reilly; Lola: Lindsay Lohan; Guy Noir: Kevin Kline; Molly: Maya Rudolph; Axeman: Tommy Lee Jones; Dangerous woman: Virginia Madsen.
No MPAA rating, running time 105 minutes.
- 2/12/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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