Richard Linklater’s “Last Flag Flying,” starring Bryan Cranston, Steve Carell and Laurence Fishburne as a trio of Marine vets, met a mixed reception opening night at the 55th New York Film Festival, as attendees of the glittery opening-night gala at Alice Tully Hall read the trade reviews at the Tavern on the Green afterparty.
As a platform, the Nyff is alluring. Not only does it provide Oscar-level prominence, but there’s an element of auteurist approval: It’s the sophisticated American festival that truly loves film for film. However, that’s also one of the reasons that it can be a bigger risk: Like Cannes, highbrow festivals often mean critics with highbrow expectations. And when they aren’t met, the fall can seem extra-steep.
Nyff Director Kent Jones, who calls awards season a “cottage industry,” doesn’t even track the festival’s Oscar record; getting picked for the Nyff is its own reward.
As a platform, the Nyff is alluring. Not only does it provide Oscar-level prominence, but there’s an element of auteurist approval: It’s the sophisticated American festival that truly loves film for film. However, that’s also one of the reasons that it can be a bigger risk: Like Cannes, highbrow festivals often mean critics with highbrow expectations. And when they aren’t met, the fall can seem extra-steep.
Nyff Director Kent Jones, who calls awards season a “cottage industry,” doesn’t even track the festival’s Oscar record; getting picked for the Nyff is its own reward.
- 9/29/2017
- by Jenna Marotta
- Indiewire
Some movies are ahead of their times, but Laura Poitras’ “Risk” has grown into its moment. When the Julian Assange documentary premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival in the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar, it was a sturdy, one-sided salute to the Wikileaks founder, positioning him as a valiant defender of civil liberties and the freedom of information.
Unleashing government documents from a variety of anonymous sources, Assange is seen as a new-age journalist leaking news with purpose. The movie ended with the pale-skinned Australian trapped in the confines of London’s Ecuadorian embassy, escaping what he claims to be trumped-up sexual harassment charges designed to take him down. Poitras’ close-up access leaves us with the impression of Assange trapped in his sanctuary, hard at work, a martyr for his cause still intent on fighting on.
But a funny thing happened on the way to that revolution: Assange’s image changed dramatically...
Unleashing government documents from a variety of anonymous sources, Assange is seen as a new-age journalist leaking news with purpose. The movie ended with the pale-skinned Australian trapped in the confines of London’s Ecuadorian embassy, escaping what he claims to be trumped-up sexual harassment charges designed to take him down. Poitras’ close-up access leaves us with the impression of Assange trapped in his sanctuary, hard at work, a martyr for his cause still intent on fighting on.
But a funny thing happened on the way to that revolution: Assange’s image changed dramatically...
- 4/28/2017
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
A Ghost StoryDear Lawrence,Almost every major festival has a hidden holy grail, the one film that will justify trudging through thick snow, the one film that will sustain us through less than ideal conditions, and the one film that will remain in our memory long after the festival is over. But because of how Sundance is programmed, marketed and covered, finding that film is impossible without trial and error, as you probably know all too well by now. Almost everything is positioned as the next something-or-other: the next all-timer, the next Best Picture winner, or the next Juno, Little Miss Sunshine or what have you. Have you been checking Twitter, reading the press releases, keeping up with all the “takes”? When I was here last year, there was the big hoopla over Birth of a Nation, which garnered universal acclaim and was the most expensive acquisition of the festival’s history.
- 1/25/2017
- MUBI
Members of the film community are coming out of the woodwork to band together and push back on the repression that is anticipated to come out of the incoming Trump administration. From documentarians reaffirming their commitment to exposing hidden truths to narrative filmmakers pledging to combat racism with their work, many are planning a strong response to the 2016 presidential election.
Read More: President Donald Trump: How the Indie Film World Will Respond
The Film Society of Lincoln Center assembled some of those voices Wednesday by convening an “urgent conversation” with Film Quarterly entitled “Film & Media in a Time of Repression.” Moderated by Film Quarterly editor and Uc Santa Cruz professor Ruby Rich, the event featured speakers including “House of Cards” creator Beau Willimon, blacklisted screenwriter Walter Bernstein and Portugese documentary filmmaker Susana de Sousa Dias. Here are some of the highlights from the discussion, which outlined some key points...
Read More: President Donald Trump: How the Indie Film World Will Respond
The Film Society of Lincoln Center assembled some of those voices Wednesday by convening an “urgent conversation” with Film Quarterly entitled “Film & Media in a Time of Repression.” Moderated by Film Quarterly editor and Uc Santa Cruz professor Ruby Rich, the event featured speakers including “House of Cards” creator Beau Willimon, blacklisted screenwriter Walter Bernstein and Portugese documentary filmmaker Susana de Sousa Dias. Here are some of the highlights from the discussion, which outlined some key points...
- 12/16/2016
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
There’s an old acting exercise wherein an actor plays the same text ten different ways — as petulant child, scolding parent, scorned lover, and evil maniac — stretching the actor and revealing undiscovered nuances in the text. Cate Blanchett’s 13 performances in “Manifesto,” an immersive video installation by the artist Julian Rosefeldt currently making its American premiere at Park Avenue Armory, is the closest a film performance may ever come to capturing the spirit of live theater.
The film will screen as a 90-minute experimental feature at the Sundance Film Festival next month, but starts its life in New York in a very different form.
Read More: ‘Manifesto’ First Look: Cate Blanchett Channels Lars Von Trier and Jim Jarmusch In Sundance Premiere
Like an actor in rehearsal, Blanchett is playful and inventive, surprising her scene partners and even herself. At their best — and Blanchett is at hers here — actors are vessels through which creativity flows uninhibited.
The film will screen as a 90-minute experimental feature at the Sundance Film Festival next month, but starts its life in New York in a very different form.
Read More: ‘Manifesto’ First Look: Cate Blanchett Channels Lars Von Trier and Jim Jarmusch In Sundance Premiere
Like an actor in rehearsal, Blanchett is playful and inventive, surprising her scene partners and even herself. At their best — and Blanchett is at hers here — actors are vessels through which creativity flows uninhibited.
- 12/15/2016
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Many are called, few are chosen: The number of high-quality, awards-worthy documentaries seems to grow every year, but there’s still only 15 slots on the Oscar documentary shortlist. That will be announced December 5; the final five will be revealed on nominations morning, January 24. This year, 145 features were submitted.
This is the white-knuckle portion of the final campaign stretch, as documentary filmmakers and distributors hope their movies make it onto documentary branch voters’ viewing piles before they file their final grades. Those with the advantage are high-profile established hits and festival award-winners with the right combination of engaging accessibility, artful filmmaking, and gravitas.
So what’s looking like a strong bet? It’s a diverse list in more ways than one. Here are my picks for the Top 15, which are not listed in order of likelihood.
See more ‘Amanda Knox’: Why It Took Five Years to Unravel the Story of...
This is the white-knuckle portion of the final campaign stretch, as documentary filmmakers and distributors hope their movies make it onto documentary branch voters’ viewing piles before they file their final grades. Those with the advantage are high-profile established hits and festival award-winners with the right combination of engaging accessibility, artful filmmaking, and gravitas.
So what’s looking like a strong bet? It’s a diverse list in more ways than one. Here are my picks for the Top 15, which are not listed in order of likelihood.
See more ‘Amanda Knox’: Why It Took Five Years to Unravel the Story of...
- 11/21/2016
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Many are called, few are chosen: The number of high-quality, awards-worthy documentaries seems to grow every year, but there’s still only 15 slots on the Oscar documentary shortlist. That will be announced December 5; the final five will be revealed on nominations morning, January 24. This year, 145 features were submitted.
This is the white-knuckle portion of the final campaign stretch, as documentary filmmakers and distributors hope their movies make it onto documentary branch voters’ viewing piles before they file their final grades. Those with the advantage are high-profile established hits and festival award-winners with the right combination of engaging accessibility, artful filmmaking, and gravitas.
So what’s looking like a strong bet? It’s a diverse list in more ways than one. Here are my picks for the Top 15, which are not listed in order of likelihood.
See more ‘Amanda Knox’: Why It Took Five Years to Unravel the Story of...
This is the white-knuckle portion of the final campaign stretch, as documentary filmmakers and distributors hope their movies make it onto documentary branch voters’ viewing piles before they file their final grades. Those with the advantage are high-profile established hits and festival award-winners with the right combination of engaging accessibility, artful filmmaking, and gravitas.
So what’s looking like a strong bet? It’s a diverse list in more ways than one. Here are my picks for the Top 15, which are not listed in order of likelihood.
See more ‘Amanda Knox’: Why It Took Five Years to Unravel the Story of...
- 11/21/2016
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
The Academy will announce its list of Oscar-eligible documentaries this week, a field that counted just 82 entries in 2005; last year, there were 124. And along with this growth comes a new attribute for the much-admired/often ignored genre: Power.
Under Sheila Nevins, HBO led the way in showing how documentaries could draw audiences with nonfiction programming that’s skillful, dynamic, and relevant. Under Lisa Nishimura, Netflix upped the ante with deep-pocketed algorithms that not only proved audiences craved this content (after all, documentaries are the original reality TV), but also guided exactly where those viewers could be found, and what they wanted to see. And while social justice has always been the bailiwick of documentary filmmakers, Diane Weyermann at Participant has given that niche the financing and clout it deserves.
While their business models differ, they’re all producing documentaries that might not otherwise exist, making them better and getting them seen.
Under Sheila Nevins, HBO led the way in showing how documentaries could draw audiences with nonfiction programming that’s skillful, dynamic, and relevant. Under Lisa Nishimura, Netflix upped the ante with deep-pocketed algorithms that not only proved audiences craved this content (after all, documentaries are the original reality TV), but also guided exactly where those viewers could be found, and what they wanted to see. And while social justice has always been the bailiwick of documentary filmmakers, Diane Weyermann at Participant has given that niche the financing and clout it deserves.
While their business models differ, they’re all producing documentaries that might not otherwise exist, making them better and getting them seen.
- 10/24/2016
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
The Academy will announce its list of Oscar-eligible documentaries this week, a field that counted just 82 entries in 2005; last year, there were 124. And along with this growth comes a new attribute for the much-admired/often ignored genre: Power.
Under Sheila Nevins, HBO led the way in showing how documentaries could draw audiences with nonfiction programming that’s skillful, dynamic, and relevant. Under Lisa Nishimura, Netflix upped the ante with deep-pocketed algorithms that not only proved audiences craved this content (after all, documentaries are the original reality TV), but also guided exactly where those viewers could be found, and what they wanted to see. And while social justice has always been the balliwick of documentary filmmakers, Diane Weyermann at Participant has given that niche the financing and clout it deserves.
While their business models differ, they’re all producing documentaries that might not otherwise exist, making them better and getting them seen.
Under Sheila Nevins, HBO led the way in showing how documentaries could draw audiences with nonfiction programming that’s skillful, dynamic, and relevant. Under Lisa Nishimura, Netflix upped the ante with deep-pocketed algorithms that not only proved audiences craved this content (after all, documentaries are the original reality TV), but also guided exactly where those viewers could be found, and what they wanted to see. And while social justice has always been the balliwick of documentary filmmakers, Diane Weyermann at Participant has given that niche the financing and clout it deserves.
While their business models differ, they’re all producing documentaries that might not otherwise exist, making them better and getting them seen.
- 10/24/2016
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
The life and times of whistleblower Edward Snowden are the subject of Oliver Stone’s new drama. Here’s our review of Snowden...
Is Edward Snowden a patriot or traitor? Ever since the former CIA employee managed to disclose thousands of intelligence files in 2013, he's remained a controversial figure; to some, he's endangered national security in the Us and elsewhere, while to others, he's justifiably brought the mass surveillance of billions of citizens to the world's attention.
Director Oliver Stone makes no secret of which side of the argument he comes down on, and Snowden depicts its subject as a kind of modern folk hero: a whistleblower willing to sacrifice his comfortable lifestyle and even his safety to hold the Us government to account. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is the perfect choice to play Snowden: initially a 20-something who's invalided out of the army after injuring his legs and displays an...
Is Edward Snowden a patriot or traitor? Ever since the former CIA employee managed to disclose thousands of intelligence files in 2013, he's remained a controversial figure; to some, he's endangered national security in the Us and elsewhere, while to others, he's justifiably brought the mass surveillance of billions of citizens to the world's attention.
Director Oliver Stone makes no secret of which side of the argument he comes down on, and Snowden depicts its subject as a kind of modern folk hero: a whistleblower willing to sacrifice his comfortable lifestyle and even his safety to hold the Us government to account. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is the perfect choice to play Snowden: initially a 20-something who's invalided out of the army after injuring his legs and displays an...
- 10/14/2016
- Den of Geek
Welcome back to the Weekend Warrior, your weekly look at the new movies hitting theaters this weekend, as well as other cool events and things to check out.
This Past Weekend:
Tom Hanks and Clint Eastwood’s real-life drama about airline pilot Sully (Warner Bros.) far surpassed all expectations, making nearly $10 million more than my prediction with an opening weekend of $35 million in 3,525 theaters, also making it one of the biggest openings for a movie opening the weekend after Labor Day. The Screen Gems thriller When the Bough Breaks disappointed compared to some of their similar releases, taking second place with around where we predicted with around $14 million. The lower profile animated film The Wild Life (Summit/Lionsgate) did end up in fifth place behind Don’t Breathe and Suicide Squad, but with a measly $3.3 million in 2,493 theaters. As expected, Relativity’s theatrical return with its own horror/thriller The Disappointments Room...
This Past Weekend:
Tom Hanks and Clint Eastwood’s real-life drama about airline pilot Sully (Warner Bros.) far surpassed all expectations, making nearly $10 million more than my prediction with an opening weekend of $35 million in 3,525 theaters, also making it one of the biggest openings for a movie opening the weekend after Labor Day. The Screen Gems thriller When the Bough Breaks disappointed compared to some of their similar releases, taking second place with around where we predicted with around $14 million. The lower profile animated film The Wild Life (Summit/Lionsgate) did end up in fifth place behind Don’t Breathe and Suicide Squad, but with a measly $3.3 million in 2,493 theaters. As expected, Relativity’s theatrical return with its own horror/thriller The Disappointments Room...
- 9/14/2016
- by Edward Douglas
- LRMonline.com
Joseph Gordon-Levitt talks taking on the role of SnowdenJoseph Gordon-Levitt talks taking on the role of SnowdenJim Slotek, Cineplex Magazine9/13/2016 9:02:00 Am
Two of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s recent projects have seen him play real-life figures who performed extreme acts of courage.
“Both of whom broke the law,” the actor adds with a laugh over the phone from Los Angeles.
One would be Philippe Petit, the Frenchman who walked a tightrope between the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers in 1974, and whom Gordon-Levitt played in last fall’s Robert Zemeckis movie The Walk.
The other is Edward Snowden, the world’s most famous whistleblower, in Oliver Stone’s Snowden, which premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival before opening across the country on September 16th. “I admire both, but Snowden admittedly is the much more controversial of the two figures, especially nowadays,” Gordon-Levitt says.
Snowden’s tightrope walk, of course,...
Two of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s recent projects have seen him play real-life figures who performed extreme acts of courage.
“Both of whom broke the law,” the actor adds with a laugh over the phone from Los Angeles.
One would be Philippe Petit, the Frenchman who walked a tightrope between the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers in 1974, and whom Gordon-Levitt played in last fall’s Robert Zemeckis movie The Walk.
The other is Edward Snowden, the world’s most famous whistleblower, in Oliver Stone’s Snowden, which premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival before opening across the country on September 16th. “I admire both, but Snowden admittedly is the much more controversial of the two figures, especially nowadays,” Gordon-Levitt says.
Snowden’s tightrope walk, of course,...
- 9/13/2016
- by Jim Slotek, Cineplex Magazine
- Cineplex
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