At the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, we sat down with director Carter Smith to discuss his new film, Jamie Marks is Dead, which played in competition. Known for his well received 2006 short film Bugcrush and his 2008 feature debut, The Ruins, the director touches upon how he wanted to make a film that transcends simple definition by not adhering specifically to any particular rules of genre or theme. A coming of age story about loneliness and identity, it’s a story about friendships that shape convictions and values. Part ghost story, part coming out drama, part teenage angst, Smith also discusses how Jamie Marks isn’t a simple film to classify or justify as intended for one audience in particular. We also touch on casting (worth noting is the impressive group of young players in Cameron Monaghan, Noah Silver, Morgan Saylor, Madisen Beaty), inspirations, and the difficulties of getting projects made, and...
- 8/25/2014
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Sundance entry and Outfest 2014 competitor "Jamie Marks Is Dead," a teen horror thriller written and directed by famed fashion photographer and filmmaker Carter Smith ("Bugcrush," "The Ruins"), has been picked up by Gravitas Ventures for U.S. distribution. Read More: Sundance Review: 'Jamie Marks is Dead' is a Poetic but Flawed Meditation on Human Connection In the film, a tragic death forges a supernatural bond among three small town teenagers, played by TV-kid-veterans Cameron Monaghan ("Shameless"), Morgan Saylor ("Homeland"), and Noah Silver ("The Borgias"). Fifteen year old Adam McCormick's (Monaghan) life hasn't been the same since classmate Gracie Highsmith (Saylor) found Jamie Marks' (Silver) dead body at the edge of the river. The town is shocked by the news, but as speculation swirls, it becomes clear that they knew as little about Jamie as they do about the circumstances surrounding his death. Adam becomes fixated on Jamie's death and gradually a deep bond.
- 6/13/2014
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Jamie Marks Is Dead
Director: Carter Smith
Writer: Carter Smith
Producers: Alex Orlovsky, Hunter Gray, Jacob Jaffke, Omri Bezalel, Carter Smith
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Cameron Monaghan, Noah Silver, Morgan Saylor, Madisen Beaty, Judy Greer, Liv Tyler
Much like the fate of those featured in his feature debut (The Ruins) the adults fall by the wayside and the teens in this long-awaited sophomore film are left to their own devices. Tonally speaking, Jamie Marks Is Dead is compelling because it works from some oddball premise material, but atmospherically with generous amounts of creepiness and with plenty of subtext — perhaps not Bugcrush sophistication, we find a Carter Smith in master-mode.
Gist: Based on Christopher Barzak’s novel (One for Sorrow), Adam McCormick (Monaghan) had just turned fifteen when the body was found in the woods. It is the beginning of an autumn that will change his life forever. Jamie...
Director: Carter Smith
Writer: Carter Smith
Producers: Alex Orlovsky, Hunter Gray, Jacob Jaffke, Omri Bezalel, Carter Smith
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Cameron Monaghan, Noah Silver, Morgan Saylor, Madisen Beaty, Judy Greer, Liv Tyler
Much like the fate of those featured in his feature debut (The Ruins) the adults fall by the wayside and the teens in this long-awaited sophomore film are left to their own devices. Tonally speaking, Jamie Marks Is Dead is compelling because it works from some oddball premise material, but atmospherically with generous amounts of creepiness and with plenty of subtext — perhaps not Bugcrush sophistication, we find a Carter Smith in master-mode.
Gist: Based on Christopher Barzak’s novel (One for Sorrow), Adam McCormick (Monaghan) had just turned fifteen when the body was found in the woods. It is the beginning of an autumn that will change his life forever. Jamie...
- 2/24/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
With writer / director Carter Smith’s supernatural horror/love story Jamie Marks Is Dead having just played the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, we thought it time to chat with the filmmaker regarding the feature, as well as to bring you three exclusive stills and a clip.
Based on the Christopher Barzak novel One for Sorrow, Jamie Marks Is Dead documents the discovery of the body of the titular character (portrayed by Noah Silver) in a small wintry town. Adam (Cameron Monaghan), the star of his cross-country team, becomes fascinated with Jamie, a boy nobody really knew or interacted with, except occasionally to bully him. When Jamie’s ghost begins to appear both to Adam and Gracie (Morgan Saylor), the classmate who discovered the body, Adam is caught between two worlds. He has a budding romance with Gracie, but he also feels a deep connection to Jamie, who...
Based on the Christopher Barzak novel One for Sorrow, Jamie Marks Is Dead documents the discovery of the body of the titular character (portrayed by Noah Silver) in a small wintry town. Adam (Cameron Monaghan), the star of his cross-country team, becomes fascinated with Jamie, a boy nobody really knew or interacted with, except occasionally to bully him. When Jamie’s ghost begins to appear both to Adam and Gracie (Morgan Saylor), the classmate who discovered the body, Adam is caught between two worlds. He has a budding romance with Gracie, but he also feels a deep connection to Jamie, who...
- 1/27/2014
- by Sean Decker
- FEARnet
Carter Smith has managed to bring to light the deep regrets of an unfulfilled life in his dark feature film drama "Jamie Marks Is Dead." Based on Christopher Barzak's novel "One For Sorrow," the film revolves around a deceased bullied teen who gets a second chance at experiencing the things he never did when he was alive, blurring the line between life and death and showing how far more connected the two are than anyone could've realized. What It's About: A murdered high school boy who comes back as a ghost, looking for the love and friendship that he never had before his death. And So It's Really About: Loneliness. Belonging. Love. How complicated and difficult those things can be for a small town teen (living or dead) who hasn't yet figured out where they fit in the world. Tell us briefly about yourself. What's your background? By day...
- 1/13/2014
- by Indiewire
- Indiewire
While The Ruins, his feature debut, didn’t open up the opportunities for this all-in-one talent pool, the best item to come out of Sundance 2006 was Carter Smith’s short Bugcrush, and the equally engaging Yearbook (we were there for the preem) was a 2011 reminder that Smith has got the goods. Reteaming with cinematographer Darren Lew, his sophomore film commenced production in March of this year (here is a rather nice set-visit journal from the book novelist) with a smart casting set comprised of Liv Tyler, Judy Greer and Cameron Monaghan, the indie-budgeted Jamie Marks Is Dead might be the fun in the woods anti-thesis of last year’s The Kings of Summer (Toy’s House) that puts a well deserved talent in the spotlight.
Gist: Based on Christopher Barzak’s novel (One for Sorrow), Adam McCormick (Monaghan) had just turned fifteen when the body was found in the woods.
Gist: Based on Christopher Barzak’s novel (One for Sorrow), Adam McCormick (Monaghan) had just turned fifteen when the body was found in the woods.
- 11/19/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
What Are Friends For?: Fores’ Debut Slow Burn Bizarre Falters at the Finish
While it’s most memorable element will undoubtedly remind audiences of Donnie Darko or a more sinister version of Seth McFarlane’s Ted, Spanish filmmaker Marcal Flores’ debut, Animals, resides entirely in its own weird little universe. A nightmarish coming-out tale, the strange and surreal take a subdued backseat to dry humor, though a prescient uneasiness always seems to gnaw at the outskirts of the action. But Fores’ doesn’t manage to land the ship smoothly, and an overtly dramatic final few frames considerably diminishes the methodical menace established by the protagonist’s anticipated instability.
Pol (Orial Pla) is an introverted teenager that lives alone with his older brother, Llorenc (Javier Beltran), a cop that gruffly tries to keep an eye on him. Pol spends a majority of his time alone, playing or listening to alternative...
While it’s most memorable element will undoubtedly remind audiences of Donnie Darko or a more sinister version of Seth McFarlane’s Ted, Spanish filmmaker Marcal Flores’ debut, Animals, resides entirely in its own weird little universe. A nightmarish coming-out tale, the strange and surreal take a subdued backseat to dry humor, though a prescient uneasiness always seems to gnaw at the outskirts of the action. But Fores’ doesn’t manage to land the ship smoothly, and an overtly dramatic final few frames considerably diminishes the methodical menace established by the protagonist’s anticipated instability.
Pol (Orial Pla) is an introverted teenager that lives alone with his older brother, Llorenc (Javier Beltran), a cop that gruffly tries to keep an eye on him. Pol spends a majority of his time alone, playing or listening to alternative...
- 7/22/2013
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Odds that a Sundance short films program will be a good harvest are in the high percentile -- with over 6000 short film submissions sent in and about less than 100 selected certainly increases those odds. In any given year at the festival, you could easily trace back a filmmaker's presenting his/her feature film to the roots of shorts included in the fest from previous years. Because we're big on auteur theory, this year's coverage will include several short film items. Program IV was the tops of my list because it includes the latest works from two filmmakers I discovered in 2006 with their ward-winning shorts: Carter Smith (Bugcrush) and Daniel Mulloy (Antonio's Breakfast). Carter Smith's Yearbook (see pic above) was a Diy (set in his kitchen actually) is a slideshow talking-heads-esque with distinct flavors a la Smith -- warped comedy elements (perhaps a companion piece to Bugcrush) with sci-fi elements.
- 1/23/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
Ask me what my top 5 films of 2006 were, and it would probably be one of the rare times I'd list a short film among my top picks. Up there with Children of Mens and Little Childrens, I'd say a highlight of the year and certainly the best film of the 06' edition of the Sundance Film Festival was Bugcrush from fashion photographer/commercials director Carter Smith. A creepy, horror film about a loner who is enamored by a school bully travelled to Cannes and I imagine it meant that every horror script was sent to the filmmaker's agent's way. He would be attached to direct Come Closer - the Sara Gran novel for Miramax films, and he was invited to Sundance's 2007 Screenwriter's Lab (with projects such as Cary Fukunaga's Sin Nombre, Fernando Eimbcke's Lake Tahoe, So Yong Kim's Treeless Mountain and Victoria Mahoney's Yelling To The Sky...
- 11/30/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
Have a question about gay male entertainment? Ask the Monkey! (Please include your city and state and/or country.)
Q: A year ago I saw a very good gay short film called Bugcrush and I fell in love with Donald Cumming, the bad boy bug enthusiast from the film. Cumming is the lead singer is a great band called the Virgins. You gotta let me know if he is queer or not. – Darius, Birmingham, UK
A: I love the Virgins! If you’re not familiar with them, take a listen:
Cumming is definitely adorable. Alas, he is also straight, most recently linked with Peaches Geldof, the daughter of Bob Geldof and a U.K. socialite and reality TV star.
Donald Cumming with Peaches Geldof
Q: Oh, Wise Monkey, now that Dustin Lance Black has gotten his well-deserved Oscar, are any distributors thinking about re-issuing his 2001 docu-soap On the Bus? It was released some years ago,...
Q: A year ago I saw a very good gay short film called Bugcrush and I fell in love with Donald Cumming, the bad boy bug enthusiast from the film. Cumming is the lead singer is a great band called the Virgins. You gotta let me know if he is queer or not. – Darius, Birmingham, UK
A: I love the Virgins! If you’re not familiar with them, take a listen:
Cumming is definitely adorable. Alas, he is also straight, most recently linked with Peaches Geldof, the daughter of Bob Geldof and a U.K. socialite and reality TV star.
Donald Cumming with Peaches Geldof
Q: Oh, Wise Monkey, now that Dustin Lance Black has gotten his well-deserved Oscar, are any distributors thinking about re-issuing his 2001 docu-soap On the Bus? It was released some years ago,...
- 3/24/2009
- by dennis
- The Backlot
I should open this review by noting that I haven’t read the best-selling Scott Smith novel upon which The Ruins is based, so I’m not in a position to judge the faithfulness of its screen adaptation (which Smith himself scripted). Nor can I judge if any complexities were lost in the author’s paring down of his 300-plus-page (or 500-plus, if you’re looking at the paperback) narrative for this 90-minute movie. What I can say is that, assessed on its own merits, the film is a taut and solid hour and a half of good old-fashioned chills and thrills. Why DreamWorks and Paramount decided to tar it with the no-critics’-screenings brush is a mystery; did they perhaps believe that “respectable” critics would be prejudiced walking into a movie about man-eating plants?
It’s actually one of the movie’s qualities that its deadly vines, while an integral part of the storyline,...
It’s actually one of the movie’s qualities that its deadly vines, while an integral part of the storyline,...
- 3/24/2009
- Fangoria
- Big ideas sometimes come in small packages. A couple of years back, my top film from the Sundance film fest was exactly just that -- a short film by a commercials director named Carter Smith. Bugcrush would go on to claim many international film awards and has set the one time photographer on a career path in feature filmmaking. They used to call the form the best calling card for an eventual feature length career --- now with the whole viral thing the short form complements an auteur’s body of work. 5,632 submissions were submitted this year with 96 short films making the cut including the impressive Next Floor from Denis Villeneuve (see pic). When I cover Sundance I usually don’t attend the short programs, I’ll occasionally catch When I’m not seeing the shorts that come right before select feature length films, I’ll attempt to grab as many screeners,
- 12/9/2008
- IONCINEMA.com
Filed under: New Releases, DVD Reviews, New on DVD, Home Entertainment
Kit Kittredge -- An American Girl
It's the feature film for all the little girls out there who have American Girl dolls, and those who have long since grown up. Abigail Breslin stars as a young, budding reporter who tries to help her family during the Great Depression. She's surrounded by the financial woes of the time, plus prejudice and a situation that asks for a little Nancy Drewing. It's a must-see for the kids, and anyone who can enjoy a youthful dip into the past. Buy It.
Billy the Kid
Jennifer Venditti had come to the small Maine town to do some casting for Bugcrush, but she found something better -- Billy. Spending a week with the 15-year-old, Venditti captured a young man's highs and lows, his triumphs and vulnerabilities. The film is wildly funny, but also a...
Kit Kittredge -- An American Girl
It's the feature film for all the little girls out there who have American Girl dolls, and those who have long since grown up. Abigail Breslin stars as a young, budding reporter who tries to help her family during the Great Depression. She's surrounded by the financial woes of the time, plus prejudice and a situation that asks for a little Nancy Drewing. It's a must-see for the kids, and anyone who can enjoy a youthful dip into the past. Buy It.
Billy the Kid
Jennifer Venditti had come to the small Maine town to do some casting for Bugcrush, but she found something better -- Billy. Spending a week with the 15-year-old, Venditti captured a young man's highs and lows, his triumphs and vulnerabilities. The film is wildly funny, but also a...
- 10/28/2008
- by Monika Bartyzel
- Cinematical
- I normally wouldn't care much about the latest horror flick - (I manage to only be interested in one out of every fifteen), but Carter Smith's directorial debut is an event I'm looking forward to partially due to the property on which it is based (Scott B. Smith's novel) but because I've been big on Carter's short film Bugcrush since I caught it at Sundance over two years ago. I've noticed lots of other sites get on the Smith bandwagon - and I imagine interest for his following project Come Closer will only intensive. Comingsoon's horror site got their hands on the one sheet - we can quickly grasp that the setting of the narrative plays an important part in the ultimate demise of this band of youths. The Ruins follows four American friends on vacation in Cancún, Mexico—Jeff (Tucker), Amy, Eric and Stacy—who meet a German tourist,
- 2/21/2008
- IONCINEMA.com
- With Alexandre Aja no longer in the picture - officially going the large scale horror route with Piranha 3-D, the trades report that Paramount Pictures have decided extend their partnership with David Fincher setting the snubbed in 2007 filmmaker for the graphic novel to screen, teen angst project Black Hole. What sounds like good news for Roger Avary and Neil Gaiman who are both adapting the screenplay, familiar in theme to Carter Smith's short film BugCrush, this will be based on the 12-issue comic book (painstakingly written!) and illustrated by Charles Burns over a 10-year period. This will feature a young cast (perhaps calling back Panic Room's Kristen Stewart in the fold, she still looks like a teen). Fincher is probably in the final stages of post-production with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and will be choosing between projects - curiously a pile up of graphic novels
- 2/20/2008
- IONCINEMA.com
- #25. The Ruins Director: Carter SmithWriters: Scott B. Smith adaptated his own novel Producers: Chris Bender (The Butterfly Effect 2), Stuart Cornfeld and actor Ben Stiller Distributor: DreamWorks Pictures The Gist: Based on Smith's novel, this follows four American friends on vacation in Cancún, Mexico—Jeff, Amy, Eric and Stacy—who meet a German tourist, Mathias, and persuades them to join his hunt for his younger brother, Henrich, last seen headed off with a new girlfriend toward some ruins. The four soon regret their impulsive decision after they find themselves lost in the jungle and freaked out by signs that they’re headed for danger. Fact: Carter Smith was a fashion photographer before his breakout award-winning short: View Bugcrush here. See It: This has all the makings of a typical crappy teen/young adult numbers dwindling down horror flick, but Smith is a filmmaker loaded with talent and promise. Release Date/Status?
- 1/31/2008
- IONCINEMA.com
- Many 15-year-old boys growing up in America play air guitar to screaming fans in the privacy of their own bedroom. Jennifer Venditti’s gives us a front row seat to that private rock and roll dreamland in her documentary Billy the Kid."Filmmaker Jennifer Venditti & her subject."Billy is a teen with “behavior problems” that make him seem odd to teachers and peers but a vibrant and fascinating character on the screen. As Jennifer tells it, “My urge to figure out what was wrong with him was quickly replaced by uncomplicated appreciation and empathy.” He’s weird for sure, yet you fall in love with him as hard as you did for your high school crush. Billy consistently shocks you with his wisdom and authenticity as he takes on injustice, hardship and the death-defying world of dating.Venditti found Billy while working as a casting director for another film
- 12/14/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
- THR reports that Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind/Thumbsucker and upcoming Synecdoche, New York producer Anthony Bregman (see pic above on the right) has come on board to produce Miramax Films' Come Closer. In addition, the screenplay will get a clean up by Brian Nelson (left) - the scribe who worked with David Slade on Hard Candy & 30 Days of Night.Carter Smith (who I have been screaming at the top of my lungs as the must watch director for 08' - his Sundance short BugCrush is a must see pic) is directing the project - based on the Sara Gran novel adapted by Tristine Skyler and then by Brian Nelson, this is the surreal tale that will take viewers into the mind of a young woman architect experiencing bizarre situations that might not be happening and violent impulses that might be all too real....
- 11/15/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
NEW YORK -- Likely Story founder Anthony Bregman will produce Carter Smith's psychological horror feature Come Closer for Miramax.
30 Days of Night scribe Brian Nelson signed on to pen the film before the start of the writers strike.
Adapted from Sara Gran's 2003 novel, the surreal tale will take viewers into the mind of a woman experiencing bizarre situations that might not be happening and violent impulses that might be all too real.
The project's path to the screen has been equally Byzantine. Disney-run Dimension began developing the project with The Four Feathers screenwriter Hossein Amini, but it was left behind when the Weinsteins left Disney with Dimension in 2005.
Miramax vp production and development David Greenbaum revived the project in the spring after seeing Smith's 2006 Sundance Film Festival-winning short Bugcrush. Tristine Skyler, who penned the upcoming adaptation of Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar, was brought aboard to write the script, laying the groundwork for its current incarnation with Nelson.
Greenbaum will shepherd the film for the studio under president of production Keri Putnam.
30 Days of Night scribe Brian Nelson signed on to pen the film before the start of the writers strike.
Adapted from Sara Gran's 2003 novel, the surreal tale will take viewers into the mind of a woman experiencing bizarre situations that might not be happening and violent impulses that might be all too real.
The project's path to the screen has been equally Byzantine. Disney-run Dimension began developing the project with The Four Feathers screenwriter Hossein Amini, but it was left behind when the Weinsteins left Disney with Dimension in 2005.
Miramax vp production and development David Greenbaum revived the project in the spring after seeing Smith's 2006 Sundance Film Festival-winning short Bugcrush. Tristine Skyler, who penned the upcoming adaptation of Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar, was brought aboard to write the script, laying the groundwork for its current incarnation with Nelson.
Greenbaum will shepherd the film for the studio under president of production Keri Putnam.
- 11/15/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- I'm not the only one to think that Carter Smith's short film "Bugcrush" was as close an example of genius - and if their is a genre out there where producers are willing to give chances to young filmmakers it is in the horror genre. Miramax Films is doing just that, thanks in part due to David Greenbaum (Miramax exec). Based on the Sara Gran novel adapted by Tristine Skyler, Come Closer is the story of a young architect who may be the victim of demonic possession. Variety reminds us that was originally developed as more of a straight thriller at Dimension when the Weinsteins were still at Miramax, with Hossein Amini penning the screenplay. Miramax plans to go into production early next year - Smith is currently filming The Ruins - another horror pic for Dreamworks. ...
- 4/30/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
DreamWorks Pictures and Red Hour Films have tapped music video director Carter Smith to helm the horror film "The Ruins".
Red Hour, run by Ben Stiller and Stuart Cornfeld, is making a habit of nurturing new directors. Several of the production shingle's recent films, including "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story" and the upcoming "Blades of Glory", have featured novice helmers.
Steven Spielberg also became an advocate for Smith after he saw the director's "Bugcrush", which won the short filmmaking prize at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival.
"Ruins", based on the best-selling novel by Scott Smith ("A Simple Plan"), is set in the jungles of the Yucatan, where something evil lives among the ruins. Scott Smith also penned the screenplay.
Red Hour optioned the then-unpublished book in May 2004 based on a few chapters.
Shooting is scheduled to begin in late May in Australia.
Chris Bender also is producing.
DreamWorks' Adam Goodman and Jeremy Kramer are overseeing for the studio. Lara Breay is shepherding the project for Red Hour.
Red Hour, run by Ben Stiller and Stuart Cornfeld, is making a habit of nurturing new directors. Several of the production shingle's recent films, including "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story" and the upcoming "Blades of Glory", have featured novice helmers.
Steven Spielberg also became an advocate for Smith after he saw the director's "Bugcrush", which won the short filmmaking prize at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival.
"Ruins", based on the best-selling novel by Scott Smith ("A Simple Plan"), is set in the jungles of the Yucatan, where something evil lives among the ruins. Scott Smith also penned the screenplay.
Red Hour optioned the then-unpublished book in May 2004 based on a few chapters.
Shooting is scheduled to begin in late May in Australia.
Chris Bender also is producing.
DreamWorks' Adam Goodman and Jeremy Kramer are overseeing for the studio. Lara Breay is shepherding the project for Red Hour.
- 2/16/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- You might not have a damn clue as to who these folks are (I’d say I’m familiar with half the names) but this annual list compiled by Filmmaker Magazine is a precursor for many folks you’ll be foaming at the mouth for their original projects to come. Producers, writers, directors and actors are highlighted and ranked by the folks at. This year’s crop has actually got a name that I’d put at the top of my list. Number 8 – Carter Smith gave us the short film that was selected for Cannes and Sundance and it is perhaps my favorite of the year with Bugcrush. Our correspondent Barbara Celis would probably rank the Pastor brothers (#17 on the list) as a pair to watch for. Below I’ve included some links to some of these folks work, but obviously for the complete 25 you would want to head over here.
- 8/3/2006
- IONCINEMA.com
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