“It’s an instant yes, if Sofia Coppola’s name is on it,” said actress Cailee Spaeny of accepting the lead role in “Priscilla,” regardless of the challenges it may bring, and the films it could be compared to. “You just don’t ask any questions, even if it’s something like this, which is so intimidating to take on. Within her hands, it’s a no-brainer.”
Long before she was tapped to star in the Oscar winner’s film adaptation of Priscilla Presley’s 1985 memoir “Elvis and Me,” Spaeny considered Coppola a personal hero who helped shape her cultural tastes. “I found Sofia’s work when I was around 15 years old, through ‘The Virgin Suicides,’” she said to IndieWire over Zoom. “I never thought about who was behind the camera until I watched her movies.” Within a year the young Missouri native got her first callback from the director...
Long before she was tapped to star in the Oscar winner’s film adaptation of Priscilla Presley’s 1985 memoir “Elvis and Me,” Spaeny considered Coppola a personal hero who helped shape her cultural tastes. “I found Sofia’s work when I was around 15 years old, through ‘The Virgin Suicides,’” she said to IndieWire over Zoom. “I never thought about who was behind the camera until I watched her movies.” Within a year the young Missouri native got her first callback from the director...
- 11/1/2023
- by Marcus Jones
- Indiewire
Exclusive: A24’s Sofia Coppola directed movie, Priscilla, will now go wide on Nov. 3 instead of Oct. 27.
The news comes on the heels of a glowing world premiere out of the Venice Film Festival where the movie based on the Priscilla Presley’s memoir Elvis and Me grabbed a 94% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes.
With Dune: Part Two moving off of Nov. 3, it creates more breathing room for others movies and availability of theaters. And, true, it’s also the last weekend ‘official’ weekend of the Taylor Swift: Eras Concert movie.
Talent and creators of the film including Coppola, Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi are now cleared to promote the film since it was granted a SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreement ahead of its world premiere.
The movie stars Cailee Spaeny as Priscilla and Jacob Elordi as Elvis. Coppola adapted the memoir. Producers are Coppola, Lorenzo Mieli and Youree Henley. EPs are Roman Coppola,...
The news comes on the heels of a glowing world premiere out of the Venice Film Festival where the movie based on the Priscilla Presley’s memoir Elvis and Me grabbed a 94% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes.
With Dune: Part Two moving off of Nov. 3, it creates more breathing room for others movies and availability of theaters. And, true, it’s also the last weekend ‘official’ weekend of the Taylor Swift: Eras Concert movie.
Talent and creators of the film including Coppola, Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi are now cleared to promote the film since it was granted a SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreement ahead of its world premiere.
The movie stars Cailee Spaeny as Priscilla and Jacob Elordi as Elvis. Coppola adapted the memoir. Producers are Coppola, Lorenzo Mieli and Youree Henley. EPs are Roman Coppola,...
- 9/8/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
‘Priscilla’ Venice Red Carpet Photos: Sofia Coppola, Priscilla Presley, Cailee Spaeny & Jacob Elordi
The world premiere of Priscilla, the latest film written and directed by Sofia Coppola, took place this evening at the Venice Film Festival. The movie stars Cailee Spaeny in the titular role as Priscilla Presley, with Jacob Elordi portraying Elvis Presley and Dagmara Dominczyk also featuring in the cast.
Coppola secured a SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreement for publicity, granting the cast permission to participate in the premiere and promote the feature. Attending the premiere included Elordi and Spaeny and much of the main cast.
Related: ‘Priscilla’ Review: Sofia Coppola Finds Meaning In The Small Things, Giving Fresh Point Of View To Familiar Elvis Story
Coppola adapted the book based on the 1985 memoir Elvis and Me co-authored by Priscilla Presley and Sandra Harmon. Producers on the pic are Lorenzo Mieli, Coppola, and Youree Henley. EPs are Roman Coppola, Chris Hatcher, Fred Roos, and Presley. A24 is releasing domestically while Mubi has snapped up rights across multiple territories,...
Coppola secured a SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreement for publicity, granting the cast permission to participate in the premiere and promote the feature. Attending the premiere included Elordi and Spaeny and much of the main cast.
Related: ‘Priscilla’ Review: Sofia Coppola Finds Meaning In The Small Things, Giving Fresh Point Of View To Familiar Elvis Story
Coppola adapted the book based on the 1985 memoir Elvis and Me co-authored by Priscilla Presley and Sandra Harmon. Producers on the pic are Lorenzo Mieli, Coppola, and Youree Henley. EPs are Roman Coppola, Chris Hatcher, Fred Roos, and Presley. A24 is releasing domestically while Mubi has snapped up rights across multiple territories,...
- 9/4/2023
- by Robert Lang
- Deadline Film + TV
Ahead of its world premiere in competition at the 80th Venice Film Festival, Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla, which follows the Presleys from the perspective of the King’s young bride, has secured a SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreement.
While this is another A24 feature production to nab an interim agreement, the film gets a clearance by SAG-AFTRA due to the fact that the movie was shot in Canada under the production company Tcb Productions Canada.
Related: 15 Movies About Labor Unions And Strikes – Photo Gallery
Lost in Translation Original Screenplay Oscar winner Coppola is a member of WGA, Deadline understands. You’ll remember that SAG-AFTRA, in solidarity with the Writers Guild, has modified its interim agreement policy to exclude any projects shot in the U.S. that are covered by the WGA. Specific wording is “shot in U.S.” SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland explained to Deadline at Comic-Con...
While this is another A24 feature production to nab an interim agreement, the film gets a clearance by SAG-AFTRA due to the fact that the movie was shot in Canada under the production company Tcb Productions Canada.
Related: 15 Movies About Labor Unions And Strikes – Photo Gallery
Lost in Translation Original Screenplay Oscar winner Coppola is a member of WGA, Deadline understands. You’ll remember that SAG-AFTRA, in solidarity with the Writers Guild, has modified its interim agreement policy to exclude any projects shot in the U.S. that are covered by the WGA. Specific wording is “shot in U.S.” SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland explained to Deadline at Comic-Con...
- 8/22/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Rita Ora is opening up about working with Carrie Fisher on her final movie before she died in 2016 after suffering from a heart attack.
Fisher’s final project, Wonderwell, was released in June. The magical coming-of-age story set in Italy follows a young girl named Violet (newcomer Kiera Milward) after she becomes the face of a world-renowned designer’s (Ora) fashion label. When Violet wanders into a forest near the village she and her family are staying in, she meets the “fabled” witch of the forest, Hazel, portrayed by the Star Wars actress.
Ora recalled working with Fisher as “an amazing experience,” adding, “I’m really actually surprised and happy that this film’s finally getting the light that it deserves,” the singer told People. “To say I’ve been in scenes with Carrie Fisher, it’s insane. She’s an icon — a legend.”
Wonderwell wrapped production shortly before Fisher...
Fisher’s final project, Wonderwell, was released in June. The magical coming-of-age story set in Italy follows a young girl named Violet (newcomer Kiera Milward) after she becomes the face of a world-renowned designer’s (Ora) fashion label. When Violet wanders into a forest near the village she and her family are staying in, she meets the “fabled” witch of the forest, Hazel, portrayed by the Star Wars actress.
Ora recalled working with Fisher as “an amazing experience,” adding, “I’m really actually surprised and happy that this film’s finally getting the light that it deserves,” the singer told People. “To say I’ve been in scenes with Carrie Fisher, it’s insane. She’s an icon — a legend.”
Wonderwell wrapped production shortly before Fisher...
- 7/22/2023
- by Christy Piña
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Carrie Fisher’s last movie — a magical coming-of-age tale set in Italy — has released its first trailer.
Wonderwell sees a young girl named Violet (portrayed by newcomer Kiera Milward) and her American family — including sister Savannah (Tiger Free) — move to Italy after she becomes the face of a world-renowned designer’s (Rita Ora) fashion label. When Violet wanders into a forest near the enchanting medieval village her family has come to stay in, she meets a “fabled” witch of the forest, Fisher’s Hazel.
Guided by the witch into a mysterious portal, Violet glimpses what her future holds, while discovering she may be facing a journey from which there is no return. The film’s logline describes it as “a thrilling, humorous and often terrifying voyage.” Within an imaginary and enchanting realm, the inquisitive tween will have an experience that transforms her — and her world — forever.
The minute-and-a-half trailer teases...
Wonderwell sees a young girl named Violet (portrayed by newcomer Kiera Milward) and her American family — including sister Savannah (Tiger Free) — move to Italy after she becomes the face of a world-renowned designer’s (Rita Ora) fashion label. When Violet wanders into a forest near the enchanting medieval village her family has come to stay in, she meets a “fabled” witch of the forest, Fisher’s Hazel.
Guided by the witch into a mysterious portal, Violet glimpses what her future holds, while discovering she may be facing a journey from which there is no return. The film’s logline describes it as “a thrilling, humorous and often terrifying voyage.” Within an imaginary and enchanting realm, the inquisitive tween will have an experience that transforms her — and her world — forever.
The minute-and-a-half trailer teases...
- 6/16/2023
- by Abbey White
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Carrie Fisher’s last movie Wonderwell is finally getting released after a “perilous” seven-year journey to screen.
The Star Wars icon, who passed away in late 2016 just six weeks after wrapping on the fantasy movie, leads cast alongside singer and actress Rita Ora (Fifty Shades of Grey), Nell Tiger Free (Servant), Sebastian Croft (Heartstopper) and newcomer Kiera Milward.
Vertical has acquired North America and UK/Ire rights to Vlad Marsavin’s under-the-radar directorial debut and is lining up a limited theatrical run via AMC in the U.S. from June 23, 2023, followed by a digital release.
“The journey we have taken as filmmakers with this movie, has been as perilous as that of the movie itself,” explained director Marsavin about the delayed release. “From filming to screen it has taken us seven years. The visual effects on a movie of this magnitude takes time, but we were challenged with Covid...
The Star Wars icon, who passed away in late 2016 just six weeks after wrapping on the fantasy movie, leads cast alongside singer and actress Rita Ora (Fifty Shades of Grey), Nell Tiger Free (Servant), Sebastian Croft (Heartstopper) and newcomer Kiera Milward.
Vertical has acquired North America and UK/Ire rights to Vlad Marsavin’s under-the-radar directorial debut and is lining up a limited theatrical run via AMC in the U.S. from June 23, 2023, followed by a digital release.
“The journey we have taken as filmmakers with this movie, has been as perilous as that of the movie itself,” explained director Marsavin about the delayed release. “From filming to screen it has taken us seven years. The visual effects on a movie of this magnitude takes time, but we were challenged with Covid...
- 6/14/2023
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Cindy Williams, the energetic actress who appeared in a pair of Oscar best picture nominees before starring as the idealistic Shirley Feeney on the beloved ABC sitcom Laverne & Shirley, has died. She was 75.
Williams died in Los Angeles on Wednesday after a brief illness, her children, Zak and Emily Hudson, said in a statement released Monday.
“The passing of our kind, hilarious mother, Cindy Williams, has brought us insurmountable sadness that could never truly be expressed,” the statement said. “Knowing and loving her has been our joy and privilege. She was one of a kind, beautiful, generous and possessed a brilliant sense of humor and a glittering spirit that everyone loved.”
After popping up as a pot-smoking hippie in the Maggie Smith-starring Travels With My Aunt (1972), one of the last films directed by George Cukor, Williams took her first big turn in the spotlight when she portrayed Laurie,...
Williams died in Los Angeles on Wednesday after a brief illness, her children, Zak and Emily Hudson, said in a statement released Monday.
“The passing of our kind, hilarious mother, Cindy Williams, has brought us insurmountable sadness that could never truly be expressed,” the statement said. “Knowing and loving her has been our joy and privilege. She was one of a kind, beautiful, generous and possessed a brilliant sense of humor and a glittering spirit that everyone loved.”
After popping up as a pot-smoking hippie in the Maggie Smith-starring Travels With My Aunt (1972), one of the last films directed by George Cukor, Williams took her first big turn in the spotlight when she portrayed Laurie,...
- 1/31/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Before traversing the galaxy in the Millennium Falcon, Harrison Ford cruised the strip around Modesto, California, in his '55 Chevy in George Lucas's coming-of-age dramedy "American Graffiti." It was something of a breakout role for Ford, who managed to make the drag racing cowboy Bob Falfa stand out in a relatively short amount of screen time. Ford turned 30 during filming, and had already been put through the cookie cutter machine of the Hollywood system. Appearing in bit parts on shows like "The F.B.I." to little fanfare, Ford became a carpenter to the stars, even building a recording studio for bossa nova legend Sergio Mendes. Embittered by his experiences as a performer, Ford still had the acting bug in his blood, though. His father was a radio actor and ad man from Chicago -- and his grandfather was a vaudevillian.
But no matter what Ford tried, he just wasn't getting noticed.
But no matter what Ford tried, he just wasn't getting noticed.
- 1/19/2023
- by Drew Tinnin
- Slash Film
Harrison Ford's pre-"Star Wars" years were rough for the not-yet movie star. He'd failed to pop as a member of Columbia Pictures' archaic New Talent Program, and, when the work proved less than plentiful in the late 1960s and early 1970s, took up carpentry to take care of his young family. Ford looked like the real deal in a headshot, but, when he stepped in front of a camera, he seemed disinterested in dialing up that movie star wattage he so clearly possessed.
Check out his screen debut in 1966's "Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round." All he has to do in the film is hand off a message to James Coburn. He briefly flashes that sly, million-dollar grin, but it vanishes the moment Coburn gives him the wrong name. He seems puzzled, wounded even, that Coburn's first name doesn't match up with that of the recipient's. In short,...
Check out his screen debut in 1966's "Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round." All he has to do in the film is hand off a message to James Coburn. He briefly flashes that sly, million-dollar grin, but it vanishes the moment Coburn gives him the wrong name. He seems puzzled, wounded even, that Coburn's first name doesn't match up with that of the recipient's. In short,...
- 12/16/2022
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Had all gone according to a very vague plan, Jacques Demy's "Model Shop" would've turned Harrison Ford into a movie star — or, at the very least, it would've given him his first lead role. Columbia Pictures had zero faith in the unknown Ford, so they insisted on Gary Lockwood, who'd just played Frank Poole in Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Opera." Needing to make a living to support his young family, Ford became a carpenter.
Being a carpenter in Hollywood brought Ford into the homes of several prominent artists (e.g. Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne). Producer Fred Roos, a Francis Ford Coppola associate, was especially taken with Ford, and introduced him to Coppola's friend and filmmaking protege George Lucas. Maybe this charming, ruggedly handsome handyman could bring Bob Falfa, the street-racing rival to Paul Le Mat's John Milner, to rakish life in "American Graffiti."
Ford delivered,...
Being a carpenter in Hollywood brought Ford into the homes of several prominent artists (e.g. Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne). Producer Fred Roos, a Francis Ford Coppola associate, was especially taken with Ford, and introduced him to Coppola's friend and filmmaking protege George Lucas. Maybe this charming, ruggedly handsome handyman could bring Bob Falfa, the street-racing rival to Paul Le Mat's John Milner, to rakish life in "American Graffiti."
Ford delivered,...
- 12/8/2022
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Click here to read the full article.
Gray Frederickson, the Oscar-winning producer who worked alongside Francis Ford Coppola on the Godfather trilogy, Apocalypse Now and One From the Heart in a collaboration that spanned more than four decades, has died. He was 85.
Frederickson died Sunday at his home in Oklahoma City after a battle with prostate cancer, his wife, Karen, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Frederickson shared the best picture Oscar in 1975 with writer-director-producer Coppola and producer Fred Roos for The Godfather Part II — the first of just two sequels to take the big prize — and the trio (and Tom Sternberg) were nominated again for Apocalypse Now (1979).
“I got on a winning horse. I was with Francis Coppola, who’s no slouch. I was lucky enough to be carried along with him,” Frederickson told The Oklahoman in a 2021 interview. “I got lucky with him, but he says he got lucky with me.
Gray Frederickson, the Oscar-winning producer who worked alongside Francis Ford Coppola on the Godfather trilogy, Apocalypse Now and One From the Heart in a collaboration that spanned more than four decades, has died. He was 85.
Frederickson died Sunday at his home in Oklahoma City after a battle with prostate cancer, his wife, Karen, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Frederickson shared the best picture Oscar in 1975 with writer-director-producer Coppola and producer Fred Roos for The Godfather Part II — the first of just two sequels to take the big prize — and the trio (and Tom Sternberg) were nominated again for Apocalypse Now (1979).
“I got on a winning horse. I was with Francis Coppola, who’s no slouch. I was lucky enough to be carried along with him,” Frederickson told The Oklahoman in a 2021 interview. “I got lucky with him, but he says he got lucky with me.
- 11/21/2022
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Fourteen months ago, it was announced that the great Nicolas Cage would be making his Western debut with an action-packed film called The Old Way. A trailer for The Old Way has now arrived online, along with the information that the film will be receiving a theatrical release on January 6th, with a premium VOD and premium digital release to follow on January 13th. To help you decide whether or not The Old Way is going to be one of the first movies you watch in 2023, we have the trailer embedded above.
Directed by Brett Donowho (Acts of Violence) from a screenplay by Carl W. Lucas (The Wave), The Old Way has the following synopsis:
Academy Award winner Nicolas Cage stars in his first-ever Western as Colton Briggs, a cold-blooded gunslinger turned respectable family man. When an outlaw and his gang put Colton and his family in peril, Colton is...
Directed by Brett Donowho (Acts of Violence) from a screenplay by Carl W. Lucas (The Wave), The Old Way has the following synopsis:
Academy Award winner Nicolas Cage stars in his first-ever Western as Colton Briggs, a cold-blooded gunslinger turned respectable family man. When an outlaw and his gang put Colton and his family in peril, Colton is...
- 11/18/2022
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
IFC Films has acquired North American rights to Cecilia Miniucchi’s “Life Upside Down” which stars Emmy-award winning actor Bob Odenkirk (“Better Call Saul”), Radha Mitchell (“Pitch Black) and Danny Huston (“21 Grams”). The movie world premiered at Venice in the Giornate degli Autori sidebar.
IFC Films will release the film in select theaters and VOD on Jan. 27 and will stream exclusively on AMC+ in April 2023.
“‘Life Upside Down’ is a romantic comedy following three couples, connected by friendship, love and work, who are each stuck in their respective homes in Los Angeles during the beginning of lockdown. Finally forced to face their spouses, friends, lovers, and eventually themselves head on, their lives turn slowly but surely upside-down.
“Cecilia has brought warmth and empathy to this universal story of love and growth in isolation that we can all relate to,” said Arianna Bocco, President of IFC Films . “We are so...
IFC Films will release the film in select theaters and VOD on Jan. 27 and will stream exclusively on AMC+ in April 2023.
“‘Life Upside Down’ is a romantic comedy following three couples, connected by friendship, love and work, who are each stuck in their respective homes in Los Angeles during the beginning of lockdown. Finally forced to face their spouses, friends, lovers, and eventually themselves head on, their lives turn slowly but surely upside-down.
“Cecilia has brought warmth and empathy to this universal story of love and growth in isolation that we can all relate to,” said Arianna Bocco, President of IFC Films . “We are so...
- 10/12/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Producer Daniela Taplin Lundberg’s Stay Gold Features has announced the launch of Hollywood Gold, a new talk show podcast that will pull back the curtain on the making of some of the industry’s most iconic movies, through interviews with notable producers and filmmakers.
The series will profile a wide range of films and feature conversations with such producers as Fred Roos (The Outsiders), Callie Khouri (Thelma & Louise), Ron Shelton (Bull Durham), Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa (Election), and Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks (American Beauty). From stories of how the Weinsteins refused to approve the infamous Scream mask, to how The Princess Diaries inspired Julie Andrews’ return to film after a 10 year hiatus and launched Anne Hathaway’s career, to unknown filmmaker Martin Scorcese discovering Robert De Niro in the casting process for Mean Streets, the podcast will shine a light on the often unseen and...
The series will profile a wide range of films and feature conversations with such producers as Fred Roos (The Outsiders), Callie Khouri (Thelma & Louise), Ron Shelton (Bull Durham), Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa (Election), and Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks (American Beauty). From stories of how the Weinsteins refused to approve the infamous Scream mask, to how The Princess Diaries inspired Julie Andrews’ return to film after a 10 year hiatus and launched Anne Hathaway’s career, to unknown filmmaker Martin Scorcese discovering Robert De Niro in the casting process for Mean Streets, the podcast will shine a light on the often unseen and...
- 9/20/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Mvd Entertainment Group has acquired worldwide rights to the autobiographical coming-of-age comedy 5-25-77, from writer-director Patrick Read Johnson (Spaced Invaders), slating it for release in North American theaters this fall, with an unveiling on digital and VOD to follow.
The film’s title stems from the 1977 release date of George Lucas’ original Star Wars film—which today celebrates its 45th anniversary. It’s inspired by the true story of a nerdy, alienated, hopeful filmmaker named Pat Johnson (John Francis Daley) about growing up, falling in love, and becoming the very first fan of the movie that changed everything. Austin Pendleton (My Cousin Vinny), Colleen Camp (Die Hard with a Vengeance), Neil Flynn (Scrubs) and Justin Mentell (G-Force) also star.
Gary Kurtz, Fred Roos, and Leigh Jones produced, in collaboration with Film.io Originals, with 5-25-77 marking Kurtz’s final film before his passing in 2018. Mvd...
The film’s title stems from the 1977 release date of George Lucas’ original Star Wars film—which today celebrates its 45th anniversary. It’s inspired by the true story of a nerdy, alienated, hopeful filmmaker named Pat Johnson (John Francis Daley) about growing up, falling in love, and becoming the very first fan of the movie that changed everything. Austin Pendleton (My Cousin Vinny), Colleen Camp (Die Hard with a Vengeance), Neil Flynn (Scrubs) and Justin Mentell (G-Force) also star.
Gary Kurtz, Fred Roos, and Leigh Jones produced, in collaboration with Film.io Originals, with 5-25-77 marking Kurtz’s final film before his passing in 2018. Mvd...
- 5/25/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
It is a story steeped in action and intrigue, but is it true?
The Offer, a new 10-part series starting April 28 on Paramount+, delivers an “inside” account of the making of The Godfather. It is a story about stalwart filmmakers who defied bullets and death threats from Mafia soldiers to deliver their great saga.
But not really. The TV series, written by Michael Tolkin, is loosely based on incidents and anecdotes supplied by Albert S. Ruddy, who produced the movie. They are vivid anecdotes, but they are at odds with the accounts of principals who made the movie — of which I am one — and who encountered a different reality.
The Italian-American activists who took an interest in the project in fact revered Mario Puzo’s bestselling novel and were desperate to find a way of mobilizing the film to raise funds for their own causes and charities. “The principals of the movie were celebrated,...
The Offer, a new 10-part series starting April 28 on Paramount+, delivers an “inside” account of the making of The Godfather. It is a story about stalwart filmmakers who defied bullets and death threats from Mafia soldiers to deliver their great saga.
But not really. The TV series, written by Michael Tolkin, is loosely based on incidents and anecdotes supplied by Albert S. Ruddy, who produced the movie. They are vivid anecdotes, but they are at odds with the accounts of principals who made the movie — of which I am one — and who encountered a different reality.
The Italian-American activists who took an interest in the project in fact revered Mario Puzo’s bestselling novel and were desperate to find a way of mobilizing the film to raise funds for their own causes and charities. “The principals of the movie were celebrated,...
- 4/14/2022
- by Peter Bart
- Deadline Film + TV
A new trailer for the romantic drama I’ll Find You has been released. The film, directed by Martha Coolidge, stars Adelaide Clemens and Leo Suter and will be released on February 25, 2022.
Inspired by stories of Polish musicians from the 1930 and 1940s, the I’ll Find You is an uncommon love story; romantic, but with the love of music which draws the characters together. A young couple, dream of one day performing together at Carnegie Hall. When they’re torn apart by the German invasion of Poland, Robert vows to find Rachel, no matter what. His search takes him on a journey through the heart of Nazi Germany, to a realization that Rachel may be lost to him forever.
About The Film Genre: Drama, Music, Romance Cast: Adelaide Clemens, Leo Suter, Stephen Dorff, Connie Nielsen, Stellan Skarsgård Director: Martha Coolidge Screenplay: David S. Ward, Bozenna Intrator Based on a story by: Zbigniew John Raczynski Producers: Bozenna Intrator,...
Inspired by stories of Polish musicians from the 1930 and 1940s, the I’ll Find You is an uncommon love story; romantic, but with the love of music which draws the characters together. A young couple, dream of one day performing together at Carnegie Hall. When they’re torn apart by the German invasion of Poland, Robert vows to find Rachel, no matter what. His search takes him on a journey through the heart of Nazi Germany, to a realization that Rachel may be lost to him forever.
About The Film Genre: Drama, Music, Romance Cast: Adelaide Clemens, Leo Suter, Stephen Dorff, Connie Nielsen, Stellan Skarsgård Director: Martha Coolidge Screenplay: David S. Ward, Bozenna Intrator Based on a story by: Zbigniew John Raczynski Producers: Bozenna Intrator,...
- 2/1/2022
- by Editor
- CinemaNerdz
Exclusive: Saban Films has acquired North American and other overseas territory rights to The Old Way, the Western from director Brett Donowho that stars Nicolas Cage. The distributor is targeting a theatrical and VOD release for the pic sometime during the fourth quarter of 2022.
The deal marks the the second recent pickup of a Cage-toplined pic for Saban Films, which also snagged rights to the frontier epic Butcher’s Crossing written and directed by Gabe Polsky and starring Cage as an 1870s buffalo hunter.
Written by Carl W. Lucas, The Old Way centers on Colton Briggs (Cage), a former gunslinger who truly believed he had left his past behind. But when a gang of outlaws murder his wife, Briggs finds his world shattered and must once again take up arms in violence. But this time, he won’t be going alone. Briggs is now a father and must bring his young...
The deal marks the the second recent pickup of a Cage-toplined pic for Saban Films, which also snagged rights to the frontier epic Butcher’s Crossing written and directed by Gabe Polsky and starring Cage as an 1870s buffalo hunter.
Written by Carl W. Lucas, The Old Way centers on Colton Briggs (Cage), a former gunslinger who truly believed he had left his past behind. But when a gang of outlaws murder his wife, Briggs finds his world shattered and must once again take up arms in violence. But this time, he won’t be going alone. Briggs is now a father and must bring his young...
- 1/27/2022
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Gravitas Ventures has acquired North American rights to the WWII-era romantic drama I’ll Find You from director Martha Coolidge. The Anthem Sports & Entertainment company plans to release the title starring Adelaide Clemens (To the Stars), Leo Suter, Stephen Dorff, Connie Nielsen and Stellan Skarsgård in theaters and on demand on February 25.
Inspired by true stories of Polish musicians from the 1930s and 1940s, I’ll Find You centers on the tender, music-infused relationship between Robert (Suter) and Rachel (Clemens) that is forged when the pair meet as music school students—he, a promising singer and she, a violin prodigy. While Robert is torn away from Rachel following the German invasion of Poland, he vows to find her, no matter the cost.
David S. Ward and Bozenna Intrator penned the script for the film, which was shot on location in Poland and New York. Intrator also produced it alongside Lukasz Raczynski, Zbigniew John Raczynski and Fred Roos, with Alexander Roos exec producing.
“I’LL Find You is a beautiful romance film set against the harsh background of World War II,” said Gravitas Ventures’ Manager of Acquisitions, Brett Rogalsky. “What director Martha Coolidge was able to do with these elements is truly impressive, and we’re excited to be able to bring this film to the public.”
“From the beginning I loved the theme in this film that music has an almost magical power to heal,” added Coolidge, “and that it can inspire and move all people even those at opposite ends of the ideological spectrum.”
Coolidge is an Emmy nominee and DGA Award winner who has previously directed films including Material Girls, The Prince and Me, Angie, Lost in Yonkers, Rambling Rose, Plain Clothes, Real Genius and Valley Girl, along with episodes of such series as Siren, Angie Tribeca, Madam Secretary, The Night Shift, Psych and Weeds.
Gravitas Ventures was founded in 2006 and sold to multi-platform media company Anthem Sports & Entertainment in November. Recent releases from the company include Michael Lembeck’s Queen Bees; Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s Our Friend, starring Casey Affleck, Dakota Johnson, and Jason Segel; Vanguard, directed by Stanley Tong and starring Jackie Chan; and Andy Tennant’s The Secret: Dare to Dream, starring Katie Holmes. Gravitas has also recently acquired titles including Adrian Martinez’s feature directorial debut iGilbert; the Kathy Bates drama Home, from writer-director Franka Potente; family adventure film The King’s Daughter, starring Pierce Brosnan; Jason Pollock’s doc Finding Kendrick Johnson; and The Accursed, a horror film marking the feature directorial debut of writer-directors Elizabeta Vidovic and Kathryn Michell.
Inspired by true stories of Polish musicians from the 1930s and 1940s, I’ll Find You centers on the tender, music-infused relationship between Robert (Suter) and Rachel (Clemens) that is forged when the pair meet as music school students—he, a promising singer and she, a violin prodigy. While Robert is torn away from Rachel following the German invasion of Poland, he vows to find her, no matter the cost.
David S. Ward and Bozenna Intrator penned the script for the film, which was shot on location in Poland and New York. Intrator also produced it alongside Lukasz Raczynski, Zbigniew John Raczynski and Fred Roos, with Alexander Roos exec producing.
“I’LL Find You is a beautiful romance film set against the harsh background of World War II,” said Gravitas Ventures’ Manager of Acquisitions, Brett Rogalsky. “What director Martha Coolidge was able to do with these elements is truly impressive, and we’re excited to be able to bring this film to the public.”
“From the beginning I loved the theme in this film that music has an almost magical power to heal,” added Coolidge, “and that it can inspire and move all people even those at opposite ends of the ideological spectrum.”
Coolidge is an Emmy nominee and DGA Award winner who has previously directed films including Material Girls, The Prince and Me, Angie, Lost in Yonkers, Rambling Rose, Plain Clothes, Real Genius and Valley Girl, along with episodes of such series as Siren, Angie Tribeca, Madam Secretary, The Night Shift, Psych and Weeds.
Gravitas Ventures was founded in 2006 and sold to multi-platform media company Anthem Sports & Entertainment in November. Recent releases from the company include Michael Lembeck’s Queen Bees; Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s Our Friend, starring Casey Affleck, Dakota Johnson, and Jason Segel; Vanguard, directed by Stanley Tong and starring Jackie Chan; and Andy Tennant’s The Secret: Dare to Dream, starring Katie Holmes. Gravitas has also recently acquired titles including Adrian Martinez’s feature directorial debut iGilbert; the Kathy Bates drama Home, from writer-director Franka Potente; family adventure film The King’s Daughter, starring Pierce Brosnan; Jason Pollock’s doc Finding Kendrick Johnson; and The Accursed, a horror film marking the feature directorial debut of writer-directors Elizabeta Vidovic and Kathryn Michell.
- 1/11/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Firestarter reboot lead Ryan Kiera Armstrong and Evil Dead alum Shiloh Fernandez are among cast to have joined Nicolas Cage in action-western The Old Way, which we revealed last week.
In The Old Way, Cage stars as Colton Briggs, a former gunslinger who now runs a general store and lives quietly with his family. When a gang of outlaws murders his wife in cold blood, Briggs returns home to find his world burning. He unearths his sidearm and saddles up with an unlikely partner: his twelve-year-old daughter. The project marks Cage’s first ‘traditional’ western.
Armstrong, who plays Briggs’ daughter Brooke, recently starred in American Horror Story: Double Feature on FX and will soon be seen in Blumhouse’s Firestarter, where she will reprise the role of Charlie, made famous by Drew Barrymore in the original 1984 adaptation of Stephen King’s classic novel. This summer, the child star appeared...
In The Old Way, Cage stars as Colton Briggs, a former gunslinger who now runs a general store and lives quietly with his family. When a gang of outlaws murders his wife in cold blood, Briggs returns home to find his world burning. He unearths his sidearm and saddles up with an unlikely partner: his twelve-year-old daughter. The project marks Cage’s first ‘traditional’ western.
Armstrong, who plays Briggs’ daughter Brooke, recently starred in American Horror Story: Double Feature on FX and will soon be seen in Blumhouse’s Firestarter, where she will reprise the role of Charlie, made famous by Drew Barrymore in the original 1984 adaptation of Stephen King’s classic novel. This summer, the child star appeared...
- 9/15/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Fresh off his lauded performance in art house darling Pig, Oscar winner Nicolas Cage has saddled up to lead action Western The Old Way.
The film will be Cage’s first foray into the genre (in a conventional sense), a journey he’ll continue with the previously announced Butcher’s Crossing. Both films will shoot back-to-back in Montana.
In The Old Way, Cage will star as Colton Briggs, a former gunslinger who now runs a general store and lives quietly with his family. When a gang of outlaws murders his wife in cold blood, Briggs returns home to find his world burning. He unearths his sidearm and saddles up with an unlikely partner: his twelve-year-old daughter.
The film will be directed by Acts of Violence helmer Brett Donowho. Carl W. Lucas wrote the script. Capstone is launching sales on the movie at this week’s Toronto Film Festival market.
“After 43 years in cinema,...
The film will be Cage’s first foray into the genre (in a conventional sense), a journey he’ll continue with the previously announced Butcher’s Crossing. Both films will shoot back-to-back in Montana.
In The Old Way, Cage will star as Colton Briggs, a former gunslinger who now runs a general store and lives quietly with his family. When a gang of outlaws murders his wife in cold blood, Briggs returns home to find his world burning. He unearths his sidearm and saddles up with an unlikely partner: his twelve-year-old daughter.
The film will be directed by Acts of Violence helmer Brett Donowho. Carl W. Lucas wrote the script. Capstone is launching sales on the movie at this week’s Toronto Film Festival market.
“After 43 years in cinema,...
- 9/8/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
One of the most troubled productions ever, and one of the most acclaimed. Although he considered shooting in Australia, Francis Coppola decided on the Philippines because production coordinator Fred Roos had contacts there from shooting two back-to-back Monte Hellman films. Some of the eventually $30 million budget went into the pockets of Ferdinand Marcos’s local officials. Shooting began in 1976 but after nearly two years in post production it finally met the public in 1979. Reissued in 2001 as Apocalypse Now Redux with 49 minutes of extended material.
The post Apocalypse Now appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
The post Apocalypse Now appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
- 8/11/2021
- by TFH Team
- Trailers from Hell
The late American indie film auteur Monte Hellman was fond of a quote from Jean Cocteau that poetically summed up the fate of any real work of art: “A work of art should also be ‘an object difficult to pick up.’ It must protect itself from vulgar pawing, which tarnishes and disfigures it. It should be made of such a shape that people don’t know which way to hold it, which embarrasses and irritates the critics, incites them to be rude, but keeps it fresh. The less it’s understood, the slower it opens its petals, the later it will fade.”
Cocteau’s dictum certainly applies to Hellman’s 1971 film, “Two-Lane Blacktop.” It opened its petals 50 years ago today and still confounds not only the critics but its fans and friends, including the film’s unit publicist Beverly Walker, whose groundbreaking campaign for the film included getting Esquire magazine...
Cocteau’s dictum certainly applies to Hellman’s 1971 film, “Two-Lane Blacktop.” It opened its petals 50 years ago today and still confounds not only the critics but its fans and friends, including the film’s unit publicist Beverly Walker, whose groundbreaking campaign for the film included getting Esquire magazine...
- 7/7/2021
- by Steven Gaydos
- Variety Film + TV
Influential director Monte Hellman, whose 1971 film Two-Lane Blacktop starring musicians James Taylor and Dennis Wilson became a counterculture cult classic, died Tuesday. He was 91.
His death at Eisenhower Health hospital in Palm Desert followed a fall at his home, his daughter, producer Melissa Hellman, told The New York Times.
While not as well known as other directors of the New Hollywood of the late ’60s and early ’70s, Hellman was nonetheless influential. His sparse Two-Lane Blacktop , a post-Easy Rider character study about two street racers became a cornerstone among American existentialist road movies.
Hellman worked with the best actors of that New Hollywood generation, including Jack Nicolson and Warren Oates. He made his feature debut like so many other filmmakers of his generation – on a Roger Corman film, in his case called Beast From Haunted Cave.
His death at Eisenhower Health hospital in Palm Desert followed a fall at his home, his daughter, producer Melissa Hellman, told The New York Times.
While not as well known as other directors of the New Hollywood of the late ’60s and early ’70s, Hellman was nonetheless influential. His sparse Two-Lane Blacktop , a post-Easy Rider character study about two street racers became a cornerstone among American existentialist road movies.
Hellman worked with the best actors of that New Hollywood generation, including Jack Nicolson and Warren Oates. He made his feature debut like so many other filmmakers of his generation – on a Roger Corman film, in his case called Beast From Haunted Cave.
- 4/21/2021
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
Apocalypse Now in 4K? After The Wild Bunch this is one title likely to get me to invest in a new format. Francis Coppola & John Milius’ Vietnam War epic may not be perfect, but it’s one of the most exciting movie experiences ever and one of the top achievements of the first film school generation of moviemakers. The release is agreeably all-inclusive: the original Road Show cut and the two revised versions are here along with the excellent making-of feature Hearts of Darkness. Re-tooled and polished up for picture and audio, this qualifies as a prime audio show-off disc too.
Apocalypse Now Final Cut
4K Ultra-hd + Blu-ray + Digital
Lionsgate
1979, 2001, 2019 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 147, 196, 183 min. / 40th Anniversary Edition / 1979 70mm Road Show cut, 2001 Redux cut, 2019 Final Cut versions / Street Date August 27, 2019 /
Starring: Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest, Sam Bottoms, Laurence Fishburne, Albert Hall, Harrison Ford, Dennis Hopper, G.D. Spradlin,...
Apocalypse Now Final Cut
4K Ultra-hd + Blu-ray + Digital
Lionsgate
1979, 2001, 2019 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 147, 196, 183 min. / 40th Anniversary Edition / 1979 70mm Road Show cut, 2001 Redux cut, 2019 Final Cut versions / Street Date August 27, 2019 /
Starring: Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest, Sam Bottoms, Laurence Fishburne, Albert Hall, Harrison Ford, Dennis Hopper, G.D. Spradlin,...
- 3/6/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Exclusive: Nearly 17 years after Sofia Coppola’s Lost In Translation earned her the Original Screenplay Oscar, she returns to writing and directing duties with that film’s star Bill Murray for On the Rocks, a New York-set dramedy starring Murray and Rashida Jones.
The first film partnership between Apple Original Films and A24, Coppola’s script follows Laura (Jones), a New York City mother who thinks she is happily married to her husband Dean (Marlon Wayans). Everything seems to be going swimmingly until Dean starts working long hours and traveling for his job. Suspicious about her husband and worried for her marriage, Laura turns to her charming, larger-than-life playboy father Felix (Murray). He insists that they investigate Dean by following him around New York. When the two start tailing him, they discover at the heart of their journey lies their own relationship.
On the Rocks made its world premiere at...
The first film partnership between Apple Original Films and A24, Coppola’s script follows Laura (Jones), a New York City mother who thinks she is happily married to her husband Dean (Marlon Wayans). Everything seems to be going swimmingly until Dean starts working long hours and traveling for his job. Suspicious about her husband and worried for her marriage, Laura turns to her charming, larger-than-life playboy father Felix (Murray). He insists that they investigate Dean by following him around New York. When the two start tailing him, they discover at the heart of their journey lies their own relationship.
On the Rocks made its world premiere at...
- 1/14/2021
- by Alexandra Del Rosario
- Deadline Film + TV
Mike Fenton, the legendary casting director who worked on the “Back to the Future” franchise, “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and scores of other classic movies and TV shows, has died. He was 85.
Fenton co-founded what is now known as Casting Society of America in 1982. He was a prominent casting director for more than 40 years, with a mile-long resume that stretched from “The Andy Griffith Show” and “That Girl” to “Chinatown,” “American Graffiti,” “The Godfather II,” “Blade Runner,” “A Christmas Story,” “Norma Rae,” “Footloose,” “Honeymoon in Vegas” and “Chaplin.”
“Working with Mike Fenton was like working in a candy store — he made casting a blast,” Steven Spielberg said in a statement. “His fervent support of actors was the stuff of legend, and after landing a part, any actor’s smile was rarely as wide as Mike’s. He didn’t just support actors, he launched crusades.
Fenton co-founded what is now known as Casting Society of America in 1982. He was a prominent casting director for more than 40 years, with a mile-long resume that stretched from “The Andy Griffith Show” and “That Girl” to “Chinatown,” “American Graffiti,” “The Godfather II,” “Blade Runner,” “A Christmas Story,” “Norma Rae,” “Footloose,” “Honeymoon in Vegas” and “Chaplin.”
“Working with Mike Fenton was like working in a candy store — he made casting a blast,” Steven Spielberg said in a statement. “His fervent support of actors was the stuff of legend, and after landing a part, any actor’s smile was rarely as wide as Mike’s. He didn’t just support actors, he launched crusades.
- 1/1/2021
- by Cynthia Littleton
- Variety Film + TV
Mike Fenton, the casting director behind hits like “Back to the Future,” “E.T.,” “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and “The Godfather: Part II,” died this week, the Casting Society of America confirmed on Friday. He was 85.
“Casting Society of America is saddened about the death of co-founder Mike Fenton. His remarkable accomplishments and incredible work in elevating the awareness and appreciation of the craft of casting defines his legacy in the entertainment industry,” Csa co-presidents Russell Boast and Rich Mento told TheWrap in a statement on Friday. “Csa extends its love and support to his cherished family and friends.”
Steven Spielberg said that working with Fenton was “like working in a candy store” because “he made casting a blast.”
“His fervent support of actors was the stuff of legend, and after landing a part, any actor’s smile was rarely as wide as Mike’s,” the “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” director said in a statement.
“Casting Society of America is saddened about the death of co-founder Mike Fenton. His remarkable accomplishments and incredible work in elevating the awareness and appreciation of the craft of casting defines his legacy in the entertainment industry,” Csa co-presidents Russell Boast and Rich Mento told TheWrap in a statement on Friday. “Csa extends its love and support to his cherished family and friends.”
Steven Spielberg said that working with Fenton was “like working in a candy store” because “he made casting a blast.”
“His fervent support of actors was the stuff of legend, and after landing a part, any actor’s smile was rarely as wide as Mike’s,” the “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” director said in a statement.
- 1/1/2021
- by J. Clara Chan
- The Wrap
If the action-fueled, hit genre films “Bonnie and Clyde” in 1967 and “Easy Rider” in 1969 were the shotgun blasts whose breakout success opened the filmmaking doors for what became known as “The New Hollywood,” 1970’s “Five Easy Pieces” actually better represented the kind of film that the era’s aspiring young directors, producers, writers and actors were dreaming of making in those heady, hopeful days.
It’s been 50 years since Bob Rafelson’s powerful, perceptive drama about a young man torn between a life of white privilege and high culture in the Northwest and a more earthy, elemental existence in the oilfields of Bakersfield, scored critical raves and four Oscar nominations; for best picture, Jack Nicholson’s lead performance as Bobby Dupea, Karen Black’s supporting turn as his lovely but not exactly Mensa-contending waitress girlfriend Rayette, and Carole Eastman’s still dazzling, still wise and worldly screenplay.
You don’t...
It’s been 50 years since Bob Rafelson’s powerful, perceptive drama about a young man torn between a life of white privilege and high culture in the Northwest and a more earthy, elemental existence in the oilfields of Bakersfield, scored critical raves and four Oscar nominations; for best picture, Jack Nicholson’s lead performance as Bobby Dupea, Karen Black’s supporting turn as his lovely but not exactly Mensa-contending waitress girlfriend Rayette, and Carole Eastman’s still dazzling, still wise and worldly screenplay.
You don’t...
- 9/12/2020
- by Steven Gaydos
- Variety Film + TV
Easy Rider terrifies twenty confused studio executives because they don’t understand it. Hoping to keep their jobs, they rush to hire more longhairs to make movies ‘the kids’ will see. Ex- UCLA film student B.L. Norton parlayed his way into writing and directing on the streets of Los Angeles, with new stars Gene Hackman and Karen Black, and singer-songwriter of the year Kris Kristofferson in his first starring role as a musician forced to deal marijuana by a corrupt cop. A time travel trip back to the City of the Angels circa 1971, it’s realistic and honest, and Kristofferson turns out to have terrific camera presence.
Cisco Pike
Region B Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1972 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 95 min. / Street Date May 25, 2020 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £ 15.99
Starring: Kris Kristofferson, Karen Black, Gene Hackman, Harry Dean Stanton, Viva, Joy Bang, Roscoe Lee Browne, Severn Darden, Antonio Fargas, Doug Sahm, Allan Arbus,...
Cisco Pike
Region B Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1972 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 95 min. / Street Date May 25, 2020 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £ 15.99
Starring: Kris Kristofferson, Karen Black, Gene Hackman, Harry Dean Stanton, Viva, Joy Bang, Roscoe Lee Browne, Severn Darden, Antonio Fargas, Doug Sahm, Allan Arbus,...
- 5/19/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Rialto Pictures is bringing Francis Ford Coppola’s Palme d’Or winning 1974 movie The Conversation back to theaters, starting March 20 at New York’s Film Forum and Landmark’s Nuart Theatre in L.A., with newly struck 35mm prints personally supervised by the five-time Oscar winning filmmaker.
The platform release will offer theaters an alternate Dcp restoration remixed in Dolby 5.1 by 3x Oscar winning sound designer Walter Murch.
Written, produced and directed by Coppola, The Conversation stars Gene Hackman as Harry Caul, a paranoid, secretive surveillance expert who has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that a couple, on whom he is spying, will be murdered. Upon re-hearing the tapes, however, Caul believes he may be putting the couple in danger if he turns the material over to his client. But what one hears can ultimately turn out to be quite different from what was actually recorded.
The platform release will offer theaters an alternate Dcp restoration remixed in Dolby 5.1 by 3x Oscar winning sound designer Walter Murch.
Written, produced and directed by Coppola, The Conversation stars Gene Hackman as Harry Caul, a paranoid, secretive surveillance expert who has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that a couple, on whom he is spying, will be murdered. Upon re-hearing the tapes, however, Caul believes he may be putting the couple in danger if he turns the material over to his client. But what one hears can ultimately turn out to be quite different from what was actually recorded.
- 2/19/2020
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
In 91 years of Academy Awards, there have only been three occasions when a producer had two best picture nominees simultaneously: Francis Coppola and Fred Roos, with 1974’s “The Godfather Part II” and “The Conversation”; Scott Rudin, with 2010’s “The Social Network” and “True Grit”; and Megan Ellison, with 2013’s “American Hustle” and “Her.”
That could happen this year with Emma Tillinger Koskoff, who produced “The Irishman” and “Joker.” As a bonus, she was also exec producer on “Uncut Gems.” In other words, she’s having a good year.
Tillinger Koskoff freely admits that many people, even within the industry, are unclear on a producer’s role: “Some producers find the material and develop it. Some raise the funds and never go to the set. That’s not what I do.” What she does do: Pay attention to the filmmaker’s vision, and do everything necessary to bring it to life.
That could happen this year with Emma Tillinger Koskoff, who produced “The Irishman” and “Joker.” As a bonus, she was also exec producer on “Uncut Gems.” In other words, she’s having a good year.
Tillinger Koskoff freely admits that many people, even within the industry, are unclear on a producer’s role: “Some producers find the material and develop it. Some raise the funds and never go to the set. That’s not what I do.” What she does do: Pay attention to the filmmaker’s vision, and do everything necessary to bring it to life.
- 12/4/2019
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
Amongst a particularly strong month for new theatrical releases, one that’s near the top of our must-see list is Francis Ford Coppola’s reworking of his war epic, Apocalypse Now: Final Cut. Following a Tribeca Film Festival world premiere, the 4K restoration of his Vietnam War film, presented in Dolby Vision Hdr with Dolby Atmos sound, will arrive in IMAX theaters on August 15 & 18, followed by a 4K Ultra HD release at the end of the month.
Ahead of the release, a new trailer has now arrived, which features an introduction by the director who says it his favorite version of the film. Nick Newman caught it at Tribeca, saying, “More a reigned-in second stab than radical reworking, it suggests where he’d turned right or wrong, shows an affable stubbornness in the retention of lesser-liked pieces, and at day’s end maybe breeds further ambiguity as to what really shapes a masterpiece.
Ahead of the release, a new trailer has now arrived, which features an introduction by the director who says it his favorite version of the film. Nick Newman caught it at Tribeca, saying, “More a reigned-in second stab than radical reworking, it suggests where he’d turned right or wrong, shows an affable stubbornness in the retention of lesser-liked pieces, and at day’s end maybe breeds further ambiguity as to what really shapes a masterpiece.
- 8/5/2019
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired North American rights to Making Babies, a romantic comedy from Josh Huber that stars Eliza Coupe, Steve Howey, Ed Begley Jr and Glenne Headly in her last screen role. The pic will get a March 29 release date via Dada Films, with Samuel Goldwyn distributing it digitally June 28.
The pic written and directed by Huber centers on John (Howey) and Katie (Coupe) as a couple who after attempts to have a baby put their bodies, wallet and marriage through the ringer of modern infertility treatments.
Fred Roos, Alexander Roos, Christopher Huber, Melony Huber, Ian Christian Blanche and William Newman are producers. The deal was negotiated by Samuel Goldwyn’s Meg Longo and Handshake Partners.
The pic written and directed by Huber centers on John (Howey) and Katie (Coupe) as a couple who after attempts to have a baby put their bodies, wallet and marriage through the ringer of modern infertility treatments.
Fred Roos, Alexander Roos, Christopher Huber, Melony Huber, Ian Christian Blanche and William Newman are producers. The deal was negotiated by Samuel Goldwyn’s Meg Longo and Handshake Partners.
- 2/27/2019
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Prolific TV director Rosemary Rodriguez has been set to helm Grandma’s Shoes From Poland, a feature film to be produced by Arthur Sarkissian and Fred Roos that she will shoot after directing the pilot for CBS’ Cagney and Lacey reboot.
The pic, penned by Fredric Lebow (co-writer, While You Were Sleeping) is set in 1970s Long Island, NY, where Eddie tries to hide his deeply dysfunctional family from a special girl he meets in college to disastrous results.
The movie reunites Rodriguez with Sarkissian and Roos; Rodriguez wrote and directed 2016’s feature film Silver Skies, which the pair produced, and she also directed an episode of the Sarkissian-produced 2012 CBS drama series Vegas that starred Dennis Quaid.
Rodriguez’s recent TV directing credits include NBC’s Rise (she directed the rookie drama’s second and third episodes), Netflix’s Jessica Jones, Amazon’s The Tick and Sneaky Pete, AMC...
The pic, penned by Fredric Lebow (co-writer, While You Were Sleeping) is set in 1970s Long Island, NY, where Eddie tries to hide his deeply dysfunctional family from a special girl he meets in college to disastrous results.
The movie reunites Rodriguez with Sarkissian and Roos; Rodriguez wrote and directed 2016’s feature film Silver Skies, which the pair produced, and she also directed an episode of the Sarkissian-produced 2012 CBS drama series Vegas that starred Dennis Quaid.
Rodriguez’s recent TV directing credits include NBC’s Rise (she directed the rookie drama’s second and third episodes), Netflix’s Jessica Jones, Amazon’s The Tick and Sneaky Pete, AMC...
- 4/6/2018
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
“It’s not Charles Manson, it’s 1969,” cautioned Quentin Tarantino at an award-season post-screening brunch at Estrella on Sunset for Sofia Coppola’s “The Beguiled” (Focus Features). The writer-director is looking for a new home for his ninth movie, now that he has withdrawn from scandal-plagued patron Harvey Weinstein, who has backed his features since picking up 1992’s “Reservoir Dogs.”
Read More:Sofia Coppola’s ‘The Beguiled’ Wows Cannes While Nicole Kidman Calls Out Lack of Female Directors
Tarantino just completed a round of pitch meetings last week set by Wme from five studios with worldwide distribution (not including family-friendly Disney) seeking to back his untitled Manson Family Project, which he finished writing about five months ago, he said. (The cast is rumored to include Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate and Tarantino vets Brad Pitt, Samuel L. Jackson, and Leonardo DiCaprio.) He wasn’t ready to take the director’s...
Read More:Sofia Coppola’s ‘The Beguiled’ Wows Cannes While Nicole Kidman Calls Out Lack of Female Directors
Tarantino just completed a round of pitch meetings last week set by Wme from five studios with worldwide distribution (not including family-friendly Disney) seeking to back his untitled Manson Family Project, which he finished writing about five months ago, he said. (The cast is rumored to include Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate and Tarantino vets Brad Pitt, Samuel L. Jackson, and Leonardo DiCaprio.) He wasn’t ready to take the director’s...
- 11/13/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Sofia Coppola is the promotional circuit with “The Beguiled” (June 23, Focus Features). So is her 81-year-old mother, Eleanor, who wrote and directed her first narrative feature, the romantic road movie “Paris Can Wait;” Sony Pictures Classics is releasing it around the country to strong reviews and box office. Mother and daughter will meet, with their films, at this week’s Munich International Film Festival, where they’ll be joined by the man who began the family film dynasty, Francis Ford Coppola.
Sofia and her older brother, director and screenwriter Roman Coppola, also own San Francisco production company American Zoetrope, which their father launched in 1979; Roman runs it day to day. “They seek each other’s help when it’s needed,” said long-time family producer and casting guru Fred Roos.
Roos has been Francis Ford’s producer and casting director since “The Godfather.” And from the beginning of Sofia’s career,...
Sofia and her older brother, director and screenwriter Roman Coppola, also own San Francisco production company American Zoetrope, which their father launched in 1979; Roman runs it day to day. “They seek each other’s help when it’s needed,” said long-time family producer and casting guru Fred Roos.
Roos has been Francis Ford’s producer and casting director since “The Godfather.” And from the beginning of Sofia’s career,...
- 6/24/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Sofia Coppola is the promotional circuit with “The Beguiled” (June 23, Focus Features). So is her 81-year-old mother, Eleanor, who wrote and directed her first narrative feature, the romantic road movie “Paris Can Wait;” Sony Pictures Classics is releasing it around the country to strong reviews and box office. Mother and daughter will meet, with their films, at this week’s Munich International Film Festival, where they’ll be joined by the man who began the family film dynasty, Francis Ford Coppola.
Sofia and her older brother, director and screenwriter Roman Coppola, also own San Francisco production company American Zoetrope, which their father launched in 1979; Roman runs it day to day. “They seek each other’s help when it’s needed,” said long-time family producer and casting guru Fred Roos.
Roos has been Francis Ford’s producer and casting director since “The Godfather.” And from the beginning of Sofia’s career,...
Sofia and her older brother, director and screenwriter Roman Coppola, also own San Francisco production company American Zoetrope, which their father launched in 1979; Roman runs it day to day. “They seek each other’s help when it’s needed,” said long-time family producer and casting guru Fred Roos.
Roos has been Francis Ford’s producer and casting director since “The Godfather.” And from the beginning of Sofia’s career,...
- 6/24/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Director and documentarian Mark Hartley scores both a film history and comedy success with this ‘wild, untold’ account of the 1980s film studio that was both revered and despised by everyone who had contact with it. The ‘cast list’ of interviewees is encyclopedic, everybody has a strong opinion, and some of them don’t need four-letter words to describe their experience!
Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films
On a double bill with
Machete Maidens Unleashed!
Blu-ray
Umbrella Entertainment (Au, all-region
2014 / Color / 1:77 widescreen / 106 min. / Street Date April 4, 2017 / Available from Umbrella Entertainment / 34.99
Starring: Menahem Golan, Yoram Globus, Al Ruban, Alain Jakubowicz, Albert Pyun, Alex Winter, Allen DeBevoise, Avi Lerner, Barbet Schroeder, Bo Derek, Boaz Davidson, Cassandra Peterson, Catherine Mary Stewart, Charles Matthau, Christopher C. Dewey, Christopher Pearce, Cynthia Hargrave, Dan Wolman, Daniel Loewenthal, David Del Valle, David Paulsen, David Sheehan, David Womark, Diane Franklin, Dolph Lundgren, Edward R. Pressman,...
Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films
On a double bill with
Machete Maidens Unleashed!
Blu-ray
Umbrella Entertainment (Au, all-region
2014 / Color / 1:77 widescreen / 106 min. / Street Date April 4, 2017 / Available from Umbrella Entertainment / 34.99
Starring: Menahem Golan, Yoram Globus, Al Ruban, Alain Jakubowicz, Albert Pyun, Alex Winter, Allen DeBevoise, Avi Lerner, Barbet Schroeder, Bo Derek, Boaz Davidson, Cassandra Peterson, Catherine Mary Stewart, Charles Matthau, Christopher C. Dewey, Christopher Pearce, Cynthia Hargrave, Dan Wolman, Daniel Loewenthal, David Del Valle, David Paulsen, David Sheehan, David Womark, Diane Franklin, Dolph Lundgren, Edward R. Pressman,...
- 4/8/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Eleanor Coppola’s narrative directorial and screenwriting debut has found its North American home following its recent Toronto world premiere.
Diane Lane, Alec Baldwin and Arnaud Viard star in the story of a somewhat neglected wife who embarks on a magical road trip across France with her successful producer husband’s associate.
Coppola and Fred Roos produced Paris Can Wait, while executive producers are Michael Zakin, Lisa Hamilton Daly, Tanya Lopez, Rob Sharenow and Molly Thompson.
The film is an American Zoetrope and Lifetime Films production in association with Corner Piece Capital and Tohokushinsha Film Corp.
A + E Television retains second TV window rights to the film and Protagonist Pictures handles international sales.
ICM Partners and Barry Hirsch brokered the deal on behalf of the filmmakers, with Thompson on behalf of A + E and Lifetime Films, and Spc.
Paris Can Wait premiered in Special Presentations. Coppola previously directed the 1991 documentary Hearts Of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse...
Diane Lane, Alec Baldwin and Arnaud Viard star in the story of a somewhat neglected wife who embarks on a magical road trip across France with her successful producer husband’s associate.
Coppola and Fred Roos produced Paris Can Wait, while executive producers are Michael Zakin, Lisa Hamilton Daly, Tanya Lopez, Rob Sharenow and Molly Thompson.
The film is an American Zoetrope and Lifetime Films production in association with Corner Piece Capital and Tohokushinsha Film Corp.
A + E Television retains second TV window rights to the film and Protagonist Pictures handles international sales.
ICM Partners and Barry Hirsch brokered the deal on behalf of the filmmakers, with Thompson on behalf of A + E and Lifetime Films, and Spc.
Paris Can Wait premiered in Special Presentations. Coppola previously directed the 1991 documentary Hearts Of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse...
- 9/19/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Sony Pictures Classics has come away with North American rights to Paris Can Wait, the film that marks the narrative directorial debut — at age 80 — of Eleanor Coppola, who wrote the script as well and produced. Her film stars Diane Lane, Arnaud Viard and Alec Baldwin. Lane plays an American woman in a tired marriage who finds herself on an unforeseen road trip from Cannes to Paris with a dashing Frenchman. A seven-hour drive unexpectedly takes two days with many diversions.
Coppola is the wife of Francis Ford Coppola, and she directed the famed documentary Heart o Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse. She waited a long time to make her narrative feature debut, but the film drew high marks for its potential with a female demo. It premiered September 12 at the Toronto Film Festival at the Winter Garden Theatre.
ICM Partners and Barry Hirsch brokered the U.S. deal and...
Coppola is the wife of Francis Ford Coppola, and she directed the famed documentary Heart o Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse. She waited a long time to make her narrative feature debut, but the film drew high marks for its potential with a female demo. It premiered September 12 at the Toronto Film Festival at the Winter Garden Theatre.
ICM Partners and Barry Hirsch brokered the U.S. deal and...
- 9/19/2016
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Eleanor Coppola, wife of renowned filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, arrived at the Toronto International Film Festival this week with the sexy, charming road movie Paris Can Wait, her first narrative feature after decades in the industry. Acclaimed for her work in the documentary format (Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse), Coppola is now making waves with her new film, starring Diane Lane, Alec Baldwin and Arnaud Viard. Paris Can Wait centers on a woman confronting a mid-life crisis of sorts, who takes a brief respite from her neglectful film producer husband to take a trip through the scenic French countryside with her husband’s French business associate.
As the film begins, Anne copes with an empty nest, her daughter departing for college. The film then transitions into Anne’s mental escape, the character’s experience of a new world, and a celebration of all things French—the art, the breathtaking architecture,...
As the film begins, Anne copes with an empty nest, her daughter departing for college. The film then transitions into Anne’s mental escape, the character’s experience of a new world, and a celebration of all things French—the art, the breathtaking architecture,...
- 9/17/2016
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
2015 was a successful year regarding the quantity and quality of foreign productions shot in Poland. At the beginning of the year, Anne Fontaine (“Coco Before Chanel,” “Perfect Mothers”) filmed a French-Polish co-production “Agnus Dei” in Warmia, which premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival. The film features Polish and French actresses among others Lou de Laage, Agata Kulesza, Agata Buzek and Joanna Kulig.
In the spring, the crew of a Polish-German-French-Belgian co-production about the life of Maria Sklodowska-Curie (dir. Marie Noelle) spent 20 days on the set in among others Lodz, Leba and Krakow. The cast is international, and the film is made in French. The Polish Nobelist is portrayed by Karolina Gruszka (“Oxygen”).
The summer brought about increased activity of German producers. A Zdf TV show, “Ein Sommer in…” was filmed in two resort towns in the north-eastern Poland – Mikolajki and Mragowo. Ard and Tvp collaborated on the set of "Polizeiruf 110" ("Police Call 110"), which was filmed in July and August among others in a Polish border-town – Swiecko. Also in July began the shooting of a new part of detective TV series "Der Usedom-Krimi" filmed on both the Polish and German side of the Usedom island.
However, a true influx of foreign productions took place in the autumn. American-Polish thriller “Chronology” was filmed in Poznan. The cast includes William Baldwin (TV series "Gossip Girl," "Adrift in Manhattan") and Danny Trejo (“Machete,” “From Dusk till Dawn”).
The Goetz Palace in Brzesk, in Malopolska hosted filmmakers from India who for six days were shooting “Fitoor,” an Indian adaptation of Dickens's “Great Expectations.” The crew consisted of over 40 Indians and almost 80 Poles. Another crew from India – this time from the so-called Kollywood in the south of the country – spent twenty days on the set in various Polish locations (among others Zakopane, Walbrzych, Krakow, Leba). The film titled “24” features Surya, a Tamil superstar, in the main role.
The autumn months were also very intensive in Lodz with three simultaneous big film sets. Andrzej Wajda (“The Promised Land,” “Walesa. Man of Hope”) worked on his new film “Powidoki”; Opus Film, the producer of “Ida”, organized for an Israeli partner eleven-day shoot to a film set in 1970s – “Past Life,” directed by Avi Nesher; and American director Martha Coolidge (“The Prince and Me,” TV shows “Sex and the City,” “The Twilight Zone,” “Weeds”) filmed her project “Music, War and Love,” whose producer is among others Fred Roos known from such films as “Apocalypse Now,” “The Godfather” or “Lost in Translation.” The picture features Adelaide Clemens (“The Great Gatsby”), Connie Nielsen (“Gladiator”), Toby Sebastian (“Game of Thrones”) and Stellan Skarsgård (“Nymphomaniac”).
The end of the year was also very successful for Malopolska and Krakow. Two movies were filmed in the region – an American-British biography of Martin Luther commissioned by PBS with Padraic Delaney (“The Wind that Shakes the Barley,” “The Tudors”) in the main role; and a feature titled “True Crimes” starring two-time winner of a Golden Globe – Jim Carrey (“The Truman Show,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “The Mask”) as the protagonist. The crew spent 32 days on the set in Krakow. The picture was directed by Greek Alexandros Avranas (“Miss Violence”), written by Jeremy Brock (“Brideshead Revisited,” “The Last King of Scotland”), and produced by Brett Ratner (“X-Men 3: the Last Stand,” TV series “Rush Hour”). Accompanying Jim Carrey were Charlotte Gainsbourg (“Nymphomaniac,” “Antichrist”); Marton Csokas (“The Lord of the Rings: the Return of the King,” “The Amazing Spider-Man 2”) and Polish actors Agata Kulesza (“Ida”) and Robert Wieckiewicz (“Walesa. Man of Hope”).
The first information about productions planned for 2016 has already been released. In January, Krakow will host the crew of French black comedy “Grand Froid,” Gérard Pautonnier's debut featuring Jean-Pierre Bacri (“The Taste of Others,” “Let It Rain”), Olivier Gourmet (“Rosetta,” “The Son”) and Arthur Dupond (“Bus Palladium”). The project won the first edition of the Krakow International Film Fund.
In the spring, the crew of a Polish-German-French-Belgian co-production about the life of Maria Sklodowska-Curie (dir. Marie Noelle) spent 20 days on the set in among others Lodz, Leba and Krakow. The cast is international, and the film is made in French. The Polish Nobelist is portrayed by Karolina Gruszka (“Oxygen”).
The summer brought about increased activity of German producers. A Zdf TV show, “Ein Sommer in…” was filmed in two resort towns in the north-eastern Poland – Mikolajki and Mragowo. Ard and Tvp collaborated on the set of "Polizeiruf 110" ("Police Call 110"), which was filmed in July and August among others in a Polish border-town – Swiecko. Also in July began the shooting of a new part of detective TV series "Der Usedom-Krimi" filmed on both the Polish and German side of the Usedom island.
However, a true influx of foreign productions took place in the autumn. American-Polish thriller “Chronology” was filmed in Poznan. The cast includes William Baldwin (TV series "Gossip Girl," "Adrift in Manhattan") and Danny Trejo (“Machete,” “From Dusk till Dawn”).
The Goetz Palace in Brzesk, in Malopolska hosted filmmakers from India who for six days were shooting “Fitoor,” an Indian adaptation of Dickens's “Great Expectations.” The crew consisted of over 40 Indians and almost 80 Poles. Another crew from India – this time from the so-called Kollywood in the south of the country – spent twenty days on the set in various Polish locations (among others Zakopane, Walbrzych, Krakow, Leba). The film titled “24” features Surya, a Tamil superstar, in the main role.
The autumn months were also very intensive in Lodz with three simultaneous big film sets. Andrzej Wajda (“The Promised Land,” “Walesa. Man of Hope”) worked on his new film “Powidoki”; Opus Film, the producer of “Ida”, organized for an Israeli partner eleven-day shoot to a film set in 1970s – “Past Life,” directed by Avi Nesher; and American director Martha Coolidge (“The Prince and Me,” TV shows “Sex and the City,” “The Twilight Zone,” “Weeds”) filmed her project “Music, War and Love,” whose producer is among others Fred Roos known from such films as “Apocalypse Now,” “The Godfather” or “Lost in Translation.” The picture features Adelaide Clemens (“The Great Gatsby”), Connie Nielsen (“Gladiator”), Toby Sebastian (“Game of Thrones”) and Stellan Skarsgård (“Nymphomaniac”).
The end of the year was also very successful for Malopolska and Krakow. Two movies were filmed in the region – an American-British biography of Martin Luther commissioned by PBS with Padraic Delaney (“The Wind that Shakes the Barley,” “The Tudors”) in the main role; and a feature titled “True Crimes” starring two-time winner of a Golden Globe – Jim Carrey (“The Truman Show,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “The Mask”) as the protagonist. The crew spent 32 days on the set in Krakow. The picture was directed by Greek Alexandros Avranas (“Miss Violence”), written by Jeremy Brock (“Brideshead Revisited,” “The Last King of Scotland”), and produced by Brett Ratner (“X-Men 3: the Last Stand,” TV series “Rush Hour”). Accompanying Jim Carrey were Charlotte Gainsbourg (“Nymphomaniac,” “Antichrist”); Marton Csokas (“The Lord of the Rings: the Return of the King,” “The Amazing Spider-Man 2”) and Polish actors Agata Kulesza (“Ida”) and Robert Wieckiewicz (“Walesa. Man of Hope”).
The first information about productions planned for 2016 has already been released. In January, Krakow will host the crew of French black comedy “Grand Froid,” Gérard Pautonnier's debut featuring Jean-Pierre Bacri (“The Taste of Others,” “Let It Rain”), Olivier Gourmet (“Rosetta,” “The Son”) and Arthur Dupond (“Bus Palladium”). The project won the first edition of the Krakow International Film Fund.
- 2/4/2016
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Contrary to a hard-to-source quote that's long been floating around online, Harrison Ford insists he never said that he "outgrew" Han Solo. And as he sat in a Beverly Hills hotel suite in November for his Rolling Stone cover-story interview on The Force Awakens, it quickly became clear that rumors of his hostility towards the character – and the franchise that helped launch his career – have been greatly exaggerated. "Or maybe he was just in a good mood that day. Here's Ford's full interview:
Are you as surprised as anyone that...
Are you as surprised as anyone that...
- 12/15/2015
- Rollingstone.com
Silver Skies screens Sunday November 8th at 6:45pm at The Tivoli Theater as part of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival. The film’s director, Rosemary Rodriguez, will be in attendance and will receive Sliff’s ‘Women in Film’ Award.Ticket information for the event can be found Here
With humor and compassion, Silver Skies chronicles the unexpected developments that occur when a group of eccentric seniors have their lives turned upside down by the sale of their beloved apartment complex. A refreshingly original story about getting older and trying to hold tight to the American Dream, the film features a cast of much-loved screen icons: George Hamilton, Valerie Perrine, Barbara Bain, Jack McGee, Alex Rocco, Mariette Hartley, Jack Betts, and Howard Hesseman. Far from playing their usual roles, however, the actors fully inhabit characters of real complexity: Long-time pals Phil and Nick (Hamilton and McGee) tenderly...
With humor and compassion, Silver Skies chronicles the unexpected developments that occur when a group of eccentric seniors have their lives turned upside down by the sale of their beloved apartment complex. A refreshingly original story about getting older and trying to hold tight to the American Dream, the film features a cast of much-loved screen icons: George Hamilton, Valerie Perrine, Barbara Bain, Jack McGee, Alex Rocco, Mariette Hartley, Jack Betts, and Howard Hesseman. Far from playing their usual roles, however, the actors fully inhabit characters of real complexity: Long-time pals Phil and Nick (Hamilton and McGee) tenderly...
- 11/6/2015
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
By Lee Pfeiffer
It's rare that a feature included as a bonus in a Blu-ray release of a classic movie would rate having us provide a separate review. However, director Richard Shepard's acclaimed documentary "I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazle" merits exceptional treatment. The 2009 movie gained considerable praise when first released but suffered the fate of most documentaries in that it was not widely seen outside of the art house circuit and a DVD release the following year. Fortunately, Warner Home Video had the good instincts to include it in their 40th anniversary Blu-ray release of "Dog Day Afternoon" (click here for review) , a film in which Cazale stole the show despite sharing the screen with some of the most talented actors on the planet. The documentary packs a great deal into it's all-too-brief 40 minute running time and sheds much light on the career of Cazale, perhaps...
It's rare that a feature included as a bonus in a Blu-ray release of a classic movie would rate having us provide a separate review. However, director Richard Shepard's acclaimed documentary "I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazle" merits exceptional treatment. The 2009 movie gained considerable praise when first released but suffered the fate of most documentaries in that it was not widely seen outside of the art house circuit and a DVD release the following year. Fortunately, Warner Home Video had the good instincts to include it in their 40th anniversary Blu-ray release of "Dog Day Afternoon" (click here for review) , a film in which Cazale stole the show despite sharing the screen with some of the most talented actors on the planet. The documentary packs a great deal into it's all-too-brief 40 minute running time and sheds much light on the career of Cazale, perhaps...
- 10/4/2015
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
The Hollywood Film Awards® was founded in 1997 and honors excellence in filmmaking and traditionally signals the Official Launch of the Award Season®. The HFAs showcase to the public at large previews of quality films released during the calendar year. The first-ever Hollywood Film Awards® gala took place in October 1997 in the historic Blossom Room at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, in Hollywood. Kirk Douglas took home the inaugural “Hollywood Lifetime Achievement Award.” The Hollywood Film Awards launch the awards season. Over the past 18 years, prior honorees have gone on to garner many Oscar nominations and wins. With participating Hollywood insiders, our Advisory Team identifies and selects the recipients of our honors. Our winners are pre-selected to receive our awards. Our selection is based on their outstanding achievement and contribution to the art of cinema. They are not “nominees.” 2014 honorees included some of the biggest names in Hollywood such as Keira Knightley,...
- 10/2/2015
- by HollywoodNews.com
- Hollywoodnews.com
The Hollywood Film Awards honor established Hollywood artists. The criteria for these awards is based on the recipient’s body of work and/or a film that they have coming out this year. These awards are bestowed in all disciplines of filmmaking*: Career, Leadership, Producer, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Screenwriter, Cinematographer, Editor, Film Composer, Production Designer, Costume Designer, Animation, and Visual Effects. Our award/tribute recipients are selected by our Advisory Team which is comprised of a cross section of Hollywood professionals. To read more about the Hollywood Film Awards The selection process for our honorees takes multiple elements into consideration and involves attending pre-press private industry screenings, press screenings, festival screenings, and research. It also includes the support and participation of established entertainment industry executives, from agents, critics, directors, managers, producers, publicists, screenwriters and studio execs to members of the craft guilds. With participating Hollywood insiders,...
- 10/2/2015
- by HollywoodNews.com
- Hollywoodnews.com
I had the pleasure of speaking with writer and director Rosemary Rodriguez in midtown Manhattan two days before her film "Silver Skies" will have its United States premiere at the Woodstock Film Festival on Saturday October 3.
Rosemary Rodriguez wrote and directed the feature, "Acts of Worship, "which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards, including the John Cassavetes Award for Best Feature. Her episodic TV work includes "Empire," "The Good Wife," (where she is a regular director), "Manhattan," "Rake," "Elementary" and "Vegas." She is currently directing the new Marvel series on Netflix, "Jessica Jones."
"Silver Skies," Rosemary’s second feature, chronicles a group of seniors whose lives turn upside down when their Los Angeles apartment complex threatens to be sold out from under them.
We began our conversation talking about the evolution of "Silver Skies."
Rodriguez : It took about ten years. I ended up going to the MacDowell Colony with an outline for "Silver Skies" and wrote the script while I was there. Then, when I directed a "Law and Order" episode, I hit it off with (star) Dennis Farina and he loved the script. He helped to get the movie made. Fast forward almost two years later I called Dennis and told him we got the money. We picked the start date, and then he passed away two weeks later. I was devastated when he passed away. But then things fell in place. Fred Roos and Arthur Sarkissian came to the reading of the script, and they said, ‘let’s do this movie.’ The movie is dedicated to Dennis. He was my guardian angel.
Kouguell: In "Silver Skies," the theme of ageism is tackled straight on. The characters in this ensemble piece are threatened with the possible loss of their homes and livelihood. You describe "Silver Skies" as very personal and inspired by your parents’ aging. The characters of Nick and Phil are inspired by your father, who was a bookie in Boston, and the character, Eve, by your mother.
Rodriguez : Valerie Perrine’s character always has flowers; that was my mother. I watched my parents get old when I was still young. I saw how their relationships changed. You think logic would say life would get easier when you get older, but the emotional truth is that life still happens on its own terms. I think seniors don’t have a voice in this world. These are people who want to have sex. They want to work. They want to spend money. Make money. Have money.
Kouguell: You don’t shy away from thought-provoking issues, facing this generation, including the sexual assault of one female character and another main character’s choice she made of personal survival that causes the death of her spouse.
Rodriguez : My role model for directors is Robert Altman. His movies were a slice of life. The ironic thing about being a human being on this planet is that you have no idea what is going to happen next. The movie is real life. You’re going on a roller coaster ride; there are parts you’re laughing because life is like that, and then the rug gets pulled right out from under you.
The issues women go through, and with this female character with her husband abusing her, and feeling guilty over surviving, doing whatever she had to survive, whatever way she needed to behave was maybe ‘not as a good girl’ would, and coming to terms with that. Sexual abuse to elders is real. Elder abuse is real. I wanted to bring that issue in, as well as bring in that feminist message in there.
Kouguell: In "Silver Skies," the trepidation and excitement of newfound love is complicated by raw emotion as seen in one character’s personal and financial insecurities with a recent widow.
Rodriguez : Love doesn’t stop people at a certain age, it doesn’t stop their desires. It doesn’t matter what age we are. To work with these wonderful actors and Alex Rocco in particular -- he was just like a teenage boy when doing his scenes with Valerie Perrine, saying: “I’m used to playing killers, I’m not used to playing lovers.”
(Alex Rocco passed away July 18 of this year.)
Rodriguez : The recent memorial for Alex was on the racetrack: “Friends of Rocco” – it was the seventh race, it was dedicated to him. I loved him dearly. I miss him dearly. It was intended as a celebration of this wonderful man. His character reminds me of my dad. As I told my dad when it became clear he had to retire, I told him, “You always wanted to go out a winner.”
Kouguell: The film stars Barbara Bain, George Hamilton, Jack McGee, Valerie Perrine, Mariette Hartley, Howard Hesseman, Jack Betts, and Alex Rocco. Did they have any input into the script?
Rodriguez : They definitely did. They stuck to the script a lot. I’m a big collaborator; I want to hear what people have to say. In the film George Hamilton’s character is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. Jack McGee’s brother, George Hamilton’s mother, and my dad, all had Alzehimer’s and we shared our respective experiences to further develop George’s character. In a way it was a tribute for George to his mother, for Jack to his brother, and mine to my father.
Kouguell: You’ve earned great success as a director on "The Good Wife." How has directing television influenced your work as a director on "Silver Skies"?
Rodriguez : I can work efficiently and quickly, and in television that’s some of the skill set that gets developed. My instincts are very sharp. The idea out there is that we’re less creative working in television, but the real truth is we’re under such pressure that we can make decisions quickly, and also go with your heart and instincts. It’s very quick and very satisfying, and of course millions of people see your work in a shorter window of time and that is opposite of a movie.
Kouguell: Currently, you are the 4th Vice President of the Directors Guild of America. Although there is more media attention on the low percentage of women directors getting work in the industry, the numbers are still not rising fast enough.
Rodriguez : The DGA works very hard and we all work hard to address the issue of diversity. It’s been a problem for many years. My involvement in the DGA is reflective of how much the DGA cares about women directors and minority directors, and wants to get us out there. It’s a benefit to the Guild. There’s a lot of content there now and opportunity for diversity. I want to be meeting with you in a few years when this isn’t an issue any more; where there are not “female directors” – that there are just great storytellers and that we don’t have to separate each other.
Kouguell: Some final words about "Silver Skies"?
Rodriguez: The way these actors enriched my life was unexpected and so profound. These are people with 50 and 60-year careers in a tough industry. These actors showed up and put their hearts in these characters. They’re artists. They were there for the love for what they do. They just loved the characters. They had beautiful chemistry together. We are part of each other’s lives. I never could give back to them what they gave to me.
"Silver Skies" premieres at the Woodstock Film Festival on Saturday, October 3. http://www.woodstockfilmfestival.com/
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...
Rosemary Rodriguez wrote and directed the feature, "Acts of Worship, "which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards, including the John Cassavetes Award for Best Feature. Her episodic TV work includes "Empire," "The Good Wife," (where she is a regular director), "Manhattan," "Rake," "Elementary" and "Vegas." She is currently directing the new Marvel series on Netflix, "Jessica Jones."
"Silver Skies," Rosemary’s second feature, chronicles a group of seniors whose lives turn upside down when their Los Angeles apartment complex threatens to be sold out from under them.
We began our conversation talking about the evolution of "Silver Skies."
Rodriguez : It took about ten years. I ended up going to the MacDowell Colony with an outline for "Silver Skies" and wrote the script while I was there. Then, when I directed a "Law and Order" episode, I hit it off with (star) Dennis Farina and he loved the script. He helped to get the movie made. Fast forward almost two years later I called Dennis and told him we got the money. We picked the start date, and then he passed away two weeks later. I was devastated when he passed away. But then things fell in place. Fred Roos and Arthur Sarkissian came to the reading of the script, and they said, ‘let’s do this movie.’ The movie is dedicated to Dennis. He was my guardian angel.
Kouguell: In "Silver Skies," the theme of ageism is tackled straight on. The characters in this ensemble piece are threatened with the possible loss of their homes and livelihood. You describe "Silver Skies" as very personal and inspired by your parents’ aging. The characters of Nick and Phil are inspired by your father, who was a bookie in Boston, and the character, Eve, by your mother.
Rodriguez : Valerie Perrine’s character always has flowers; that was my mother. I watched my parents get old when I was still young. I saw how their relationships changed. You think logic would say life would get easier when you get older, but the emotional truth is that life still happens on its own terms. I think seniors don’t have a voice in this world. These are people who want to have sex. They want to work. They want to spend money. Make money. Have money.
Kouguell: You don’t shy away from thought-provoking issues, facing this generation, including the sexual assault of one female character and another main character’s choice she made of personal survival that causes the death of her spouse.
Rodriguez : My role model for directors is Robert Altman. His movies were a slice of life. The ironic thing about being a human being on this planet is that you have no idea what is going to happen next. The movie is real life. You’re going on a roller coaster ride; there are parts you’re laughing because life is like that, and then the rug gets pulled right out from under you.
The issues women go through, and with this female character with her husband abusing her, and feeling guilty over surviving, doing whatever she had to survive, whatever way she needed to behave was maybe ‘not as a good girl’ would, and coming to terms with that. Sexual abuse to elders is real. Elder abuse is real. I wanted to bring that issue in, as well as bring in that feminist message in there.
Kouguell: In "Silver Skies," the trepidation and excitement of newfound love is complicated by raw emotion as seen in one character’s personal and financial insecurities with a recent widow.
Rodriguez : Love doesn’t stop people at a certain age, it doesn’t stop their desires. It doesn’t matter what age we are. To work with these wonderful actors and Alex Rocco in particular -- he was just like a teenage boy when doing his scenes with Valerie Perrine, saying: “I’m used to playing killers, I’m not used to playing lovers.”
(Alex Rocco passed away July 18 of this year.)
Rodriguez : The recent memorial for Alex was on the racetrack: “Friends of Rocco” – it was the seventh race, it was dedicated to him. I loved him dearly. I miss him dearly. It was intended as a celebration of this wonderful man. His character reminds me of my dad. As I told my dad when it became clear he had to retire, I told him, “You always wanted to go out a winner.”
Kouguell: The film stars Barbara Bain, George Hamilton, Jack McGee, Valerie Perrine, Mariette Hartley, Howard Hesseman, Jack Betts, and Alex Rocco. Did they have any input into the script?
Rodriguez : They definitely did. They stuck to the script a lot. I’m a big collaborator; I want to hear what people have to say. In the film George Hamilton’s character is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. Jack McGee’s brother, George Hamilton’s mother, and my dad, all had Alzehimer’s and we shared our respective experiences to further develop George’s character. In a way it was a tribute for George to his mother, for Jack to his brother, and mine to my father.
Kouguell: You’ve earned great success as a director on "The Good Wife." How has directing television influenced your work as a director on "Silver Skies"?
Rodriguez : I can work efficiently and quickly, and in television that’s some of the skill set that gets developed. My instincts are very sharp. The idea out there is that we’re less creative working in television, but the real truth is we’re under such pressure that we can make decisions quickly, and also go with your heart and instincts. It’s very quick and very satisfying, and of course millions of people see your work in a shorter window of time and that is opposite of a movie.
Kouguell: Currently, you are the 4th Vice President of the Directors Guild of America. Although there is more media attention on the low percentage of women directors getting work in the industry, the numbers are still not rising fast enough.
Rodriguez : The DGA works very hard and we all work hard to address the issue of diversity. It’s been a problem for many years. My involvement in the DGA is reflective of how much the DGA cares about women directors and minority directors, and wants to get us out there. It’s a benefit to the Guild. There’s a lot of content there now and opportunity for diversity. I want to be meeting with you in a few years when this isn’t an issue any more; where there are not “female directors” – that there are just great storytellers and that we don’t have to separate each other.
Kouguell: Some final words about "Silver Skies"?
Rodriguez: The way these actors enriched my life was unexpected and so profound. These are people with 50 and 60-year careers in a tough industry. These actors showed up and put their hearts in these characters. They’re artists. They were there for the love for what they do. They just loved the characters. They had beautiful chemistry together. We are part of each other’s lives. I never could give back to them what they gave to me.
"Silver Skies" premieres at the Woodstock Film Festival on Saturday, October 3. http://www.woodstockfilmfestival.com/
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...
- 10/2/2015
- by Susan Kouguell
- Sydney's Buzz
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