Zachary Levi from Shazam! , Josh Duhamel star in real-life story.
Highland Film Group has announced at TIFF a raft of territory sales on Joe Carnahan’s real-life survival thriller Not Without Hope starring Zachary Levi from Shazam! and Josh Duhamel.
Levi plays Nick Schuyler, who goes on a fishing trip with friends Will Bleakley and NFL American Football players Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith only to become stranded when their boat capsizes in a storm 70 miles off the coast of Florida, triggering a US Coast Guard rescue operation.
Deals have locked in Germany (SquareOne), Australia and New Zealand (Rialto Distribution...
Highland Film Group has announced at TIFF a raft of territory sales on Joe Carnahan’s real-life survival thriller Not Without Hope starring Zachary Levi from Shazam! and Josh Duhamel.
Levi plays Nick Schuyler, who goes on a fishing trip with friends Will Bleakley and NFL American Football players Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith only to become stranded when their boat capsizes in a storm 70 miles off the coast of Florida, triggering a US Coast Guard rescue operation.
Deals have locked in Germany (SquareOne), Australia and New Zealand (Rialto Distribution...
- 9/9/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Zacahry Levi is fighting the elements in the first look at real-life survivor thriller Not Without Hope.
In the Joe Carnahan-directed feature, the Shazam! star plays Nick Schuyler, who with his friends Will Bleakley, and NFL players Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith, are stranded at seas after their fishing boat capsizes 70 miles out in the Gulf of Mexico. A severe storm heads their way throws the four friends violently into the freezing water. With the U.S. Coast Guard’s air and sea rescue mission thwarted by the ferocity of the massive storm, the group must fight to survive in the ultimate test of teamwork and endurance.
The movie, based on the New York Times best-seller from Schuyler and Jeré Longman, also stars Josh Duhamel, Quentin Plair, and Marshall Cook. Production wrapped in June in Malta, prior to the SAG strike.
Highland Film Group is handling international rights to the film,...
In the Joe Carnahan-directed feature, the Shazam! star plays Nick Schuyler, who with his friends Will Bleakley, and NFL players Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith, are stranded at seas after their fishing boat capsizes 70 miles out in the Gulf of Mexico. A severe storm heads their way throws the four friends violently into the freezing water. With the U.S. Coast Guard’s air and sea rescue mission thwarted by the ferocity of the massive storm, the group must fight to survive in the ultimate test of teamwork and endurance.
The movie, based on the New York Times best-seller from Schuyler and Jeré Longman, also stars Josh Duhamel, Quentin Plair, and Marshall Cook. Production wrapped in June in Malta, prior to the SAG strike.
Highland Film Group is handling international rights to the film,...
- 9/9/2023
- by Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Josh Duhamel (Transformers franchise) is set to join Zachary Levi (Shazam! Fury of the Gods) in the survival thriller ‘Not Without Hope.’
Based on the New York Times non-fiction best-seller, the story follows best friends Nick Schuyler (Zachary Levi) and Will Bleakley (Marshall Cook), and NFL players Marquis Cooper (Quentin Plair) and Corey Smith (Terrence Terrell), as they depart Clearwater, Florida for a day trip at their favourite fishing spot 70 miles out in the Gulf of Mexico. As a severe storm heads their way, a trapped anchor causes their boat to capsize, throwing the four friends violently into the freezing water. US Coast Guard Captain Timothy Close (Josh Duhamel) and his crew summon their largest ship to cut through the raging ocean as the group battles massive waves, dehydration, severe hypothermia, and marine predators, in their epic struggle to survive and return home to their distraught loved ones.
Also in news – Idris Elba,...
Based on the New York Times non-fiction best-seller, the story follows best friends Nick Schuyler (Zachary Levi) and Will Bleakley (Marshall Cook), and NFL players Marquis Cooper (Quentin Plair) and Corey Smith (Terrence Terrell), as they depart Clearwater, Florida for a day trip at their favourite fishing spot 70 miles out in the Gulf of Mexico. As a severe storm heads their way, a trapped anchor causes their boat to capsize, throwing the four friends violently into the freezing water. US Coast Guard Captain Timothy Close (Josh Duhamel) and his crew summon their largest ship to cut through the raging ocean as the group battles massive waves, dehydration, severe hypothermia, and marine predators, in their epic struggle to survive and return home to their distraught loved ones.
Also in news – Idris Elba,...
- 6/15/2023
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Josh Duhamel will join the ensemble of the survival thriller “Not Without Hope,” an adaptation of Nick Schuyler and Jere Longman’s best-selling book that will be written and directed by Joe Carnahan. Also joining the cast are JoBeth Williams, Quentin Plair, Terrence Terrell and Marshall Cook.
As previously announced, Zachary Levi (“Shazam!”) is starring in the film, which tells the real-life story of a tragic 2009 boating accident involving Schuyler, his friends Will Bleakley (Cook) and NFL players Marquis Cooper (Plair) and Corey Smith (Terrell). Levi will play Schuyler.
The search-and rescue-operation captivated national attention. Duhamel will portray U.S. Coast Guard Captain Timothy Close, who oversaw a crew that cut through the ocean to try to find the friends who went missing. Carnahan has some experience orchestrating survival tales, having previously directed “The Grey,” which found Liam Neeson battling very hungry wolves after a plane crash stranded his character in a snowy mountain range.
As previously announced, Zachary Levi (“Shazam!”) is starring in the film, which tells the real-life story of a tragic 2009 boating accident involving Schuyler, his friends Will Bleakley (Cook) and NFL players Marquis Cooper (Plair) and Corey Smith (Terrell). Levi will play Schuyler.
The search-and rescue-operation captivated national attention. Duhamel will portray U.S. Coast Guard Captain Timothy Close, who oversaw a crew that cut through the ocean to try to find the friends who went missing. Carnahan has some experience orchestrating survival tales, having previously directed “The Grey,” which found Liam Neeson battling very hungry wolves after a plane crash stranded his character in a snowy mountain range.
- 6/15/2023
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Highland Film Group represents for international sales.
Josh Duhamel (Transformers franchise) is joining Zachary Levi (Shazam! Fury Of The Gods) in Joe Carnahan’s survival thriller Not Without Hope, which has begun production in Malta.
The feature is based on the true story of a US Coast Guard Captain (Duhamel) and his crew who set out to rescue two best friends and two American Football players whose boat capsizes on a fishing trip in the Gulf of Mexico.
Also joining the cast are JoBeth Williams (The Big Chill), Quentin Plair (Hulu’s Tiny Beautiful Things), Terrence Terrell (Netflix’s Obliterated...
Josh Duhamel (Transformers franchise) is joining Zachary Levi (Shazam! Fury Of The Gods) in Joe Carnahan’s survival thriller Not Without Hope, which has begun production in Malta.
The feature is based on the true story of a US Coast Guard Captain (Duhamel) and his crew who set out to rescue two best friends and two American Football players whose boat capsizes on a fishing trip in the Gulf of Mexico.
Also joining the cast are JoBeth Williams (The Big Chill), Quentin Plair (Hulu’s Tiny Beautiful Things), Terrence Terrell (Netflix’s Obliterated...
- 6/15/2023
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Tony Todd (Candyman) and Natasha Henstridge (Species) have been tapped star alongside Isabella Blake-Thomas (Secret Society of Second Born Royals) in the YA supernatural thriller Karma’s a Bitch, which has just wrapped production. Others in the ensemble include Pearce Joza, Terry Hu, Matt Cornett, David Lipper, Rich Ting, Elise Luthman, Notlim Taylor, Abbie Georganna, Pedro Henrique, Eddie McClintock and Fernanda Romero.
The film penned by Blake-Thomas follows queer teen Charley Stevens (Blake-Thomas) as she moves to the remote town of Latigo Springs, where her recently deceased mother, Maya, grew up. Soon after arriving, Charley is plagued with strange nightmares that tease a horrific event from the past, hinting at why Maya left town when she was younger. The spitting image of her mother, Charley has an uncontrollable curse; the ability to instantly inflict bad karma. Feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders, Charley finds comfort in...
The film penned by Blake-Thomas follows queer teen Charley Stevens (Blake-Thomas) as she moves to the remote town of Latigo Springs, where her recently deceased mother, Maya, grew up. Soon after arriving, Charley is plagued with strange nightmares that tease a horrific event from the past, hinting at why Maya left town when she was younger. The spitting image of her mother, Charley has an uncontrollable curse; the ability to instantly inflict bad karma. Feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders, Charley finds comfort in...
- 9/16/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Justina Machado (One Day at a Time) and Will Sasso (Loudermilk) have signed on to star in The Throwback, an indie comedy marking the feature directorial debut of Mario Garcia, which is heading into production in Tampa next month.
The film follows a married couple (Machado and Sasso) in full-blown midlife crisis who are thrown into further turmoil when the wife (Machado), an underappreciated and stressed ‘supermom,’ suffers a post-traumatic breakdown during the holiday season, causing her to regress to her 19-year-old college party-girl self.
Garcia wrote the script and will produce via his company Garcia Interactive, alongside Michael A. Alfieri of Miantri Films and Doug Fox. Machado and Sasso’s longtime manager, Danielle Del, will exec produce alongside Machado and Sterling Macer Jr.
Machado recently starred as Penelope on Sony Picture Television’s revival of One Day at a Time, and will next be seen in the Blumhouse-produced Amazon series,...
The film follows a married couple (Machado and Sasso) in full-blown midlife crisis who are thrown into further turmoil when the wife (Machado), an underappreciated and stressed ‘supermom,’ suffers a post-traumatic breakdown during the holiday season, causing her to regress to her 19-year-old college party-girl self.
Garcia wrote the script and will produce via his company Garcia Interactive, alongside Michael A. Alfieri of Miantri Films and Doug Fox. Machado and Sasso’s longtime manager, Danielle Del, will exec produce alongside Machado and Sterling Macer Jr.
Machado recently starred as Penelope on Sony Picture Television’s revival of One Day at a Time, and will next be seen in the Blumhouse-produced Amazon series,...
- 4/25/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Copshop Trailer — Joe Carnahan‘s Copshop (2021) movie trailer has been released by Open Road Films. The Copshop trailer stars Gerard Butler, Frank Grillo, Toby Huss, Alexis Louder, Ryan O’Nan, Keith Jardine, Kaiwi Lyman, Robert Walker Branchaud, Armida Lopez, Vanita Kalra, Marshall Cook, David Vaughn, and Yvette Fazio-Delaney. Crew Kurt McLeod and [...]
Continue reading: Copshop (2021) Movie Trailer: Hit-men Gerard Butler & Toby Huss Descend on Frank Grillo Who Hides with the Police...
Continue reading: Copshop (2021) Movie Trailer: Hit-men Gerard Butler & Toby Huss Descend on Frank Grillo Who Hides with the Police...
- 8/7/2021
- by Rollo Tomasi
- Film-Book
Exclusive: Marshall Cook (Film Fest) will direct Champions of the Universe, a new film starring Will Sasso (Loudermilk), which he and the actor wrote together.
Pic tells the story of a former college football star (Sasso) who misguides his elite athlete son while diluting himself in a small town flag football rivalry with his son’s stepfather.
Financing for the project is being put up by Anamorphic Media Inc. The company’s Founder & CEO Sara Shaak will produce, alongside Cook and Sasso.
Two-time Academy Award winner Peter Farrelly is also on board as an executive producer. Cast announcements and additional details on the project will follow.
“Will and I put a lot of love into this script and there’s no one better for the lead role than him,” said Cook. “Sara is incredibly savvy and I’m beyond...
Pic tells the story of a former college football star (Sasso) who misguides his elite athlete son while diluting himself in a small town flag football rivalry with his son’s stepfather.
Financing for the project is being put up by Anamorphic Media Inc. The company’s Founder & CEO Sara Shaak will produce, alongside Cook and Sasso.
Two-time Academy Award winner Peter Farrelly is also on board as an executive producer. Cast announcements and additional details on the project will follow.
“Will and I put a lot of love into this script and there’s no one better for the lead role than him,” said Cook. “Sara is incredibly savvy and I’m beyond...
- 7/21/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Rachael Leigh Cook, Diona Reasonover (CBS’ NCIS), Bryan Callen, Will Sasso, Sara Rue (American Housewife), Chris D’Elia, and Dylan Silver (Snapchat/Hgtv series You Wish You Lived Here) have joined the cast of indie drama/comedy, Film Fest.
Matt Cook is starring in the film which is being directed by Marshall Cook, who co-wrote the screenplay with Paul Alan Cope. It’s about a struggling filmmaker, Logan Clark (Matt Cook), who travels to an obscure festival to sell his film.
Here are some character breakdowns: Reasonover will play Alex Davis, a film producer who quits her assisting job and secretly plunges her entire life savings to make an indie movie that has little-to-no hope of making its money back. Callen plays Steve Muller, an agent. Sasso’s role is Montgomery Nash,...
Matt Cook is starring in the film which is being directed by Marshall Cook, who co-wrote the screenplay with Paul Alan Cope. It’s about a struggling filmmaker, Logan Clark (Matt Cook), who travels to an obscure festival to sell his film.
Here are some character breakdowns: Reasonover will play Alex Davis, a film producer who quits her assisting job and secretly plunges her entire life savings to make an indie movie that has little-to-no hope of making its money back. Callen plays Steve Muller, an agent. Sasso’s role is Montgomery Nash,...
- 5/31/2019
- by Amanda N'Duka
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Last Man Standing actor Christoph Sanders and Carly Craig (ABC’s American Housewife) have signed on for the satirical comedy film Faith Based, from director Vincent Masciale and writer Luke Barnett. Rounding out the cast are Danny Woodburn (Seinfeld), YouTuber Lisa Schwartz, Richard Riehle (Office Space), Mindy Sterling (Austin Powers), Marlon Young (Entourage), and David Ury (Lodge 49). Barnett and Tanner Thomason are starring in pic about two idiot friends who come to the realization that all “faith based” films make buckets of cash, so they set out on a mission to make one of their own. Lance Reddick (John Wick films) and Danielle Nicolet (The Flash) previously were announced as part of the cast. Producers are Lone Suspect, Giles Daoust for Title Media, Thomason and Tim Kerigan. Catherine Dumonceaux and Matthew Emerson are executive producers. Sanders, known for his role as Ned Banks in the CBS series Ghost Whisperer,...
- 5/22/2019
- by Amanda N'Duka
- Deadline Film + TV
Actor Darrell Britt-Gibson, who appeared in the Oscar-nominated film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, will co-star in the first and third installments of the Fear Street film trilogy, based on the R.L. Stine book series. Leigh Janiak is helming all three films, which will be distributed via the now Disney-owned 20th Century Fox. A release date has yet to be announced. Chernin Entertainment is producing the pics, with Jason Young overseeing the project on behalf of the studio. Britt-Gibson was one of the stars of the Robert Schwartzman-directed indie film The Unicorn, which had its premiere at 2018 SXSW. He’s also recurred on shows like HBO’s Barry and Fxx’s You’re the Worst. His next turn is Warner Bros Just Mercy biopic starring Michael B. Jordan, Brie Larson, and Jamie Foxx. Britt-Gibson is a client of Industry Entertainment and Gange Tyre Ramer Brown & Passman.
- 5/21/2019
- by Amanda N'Duka
- Deadline Film + TV
Golden Globe-winning actress Jacqueline Bisset (Dancing on the Edge) and Kelly Blatz (Fear the Walking Dead) will star as the title characters in Loren and Rose, an indie film written and directed by Russell Brown. The story centers on a promising filmmaker and an iconic actress who forms a special bond over a series of lunches at the same otherworldly restaurant — only to face an untimely illness which threatens to tear them apart. Filming currently underway in Los Angeles. Valeria Lopez is producing for Wise Lars LLC. Bisset is repped by Kimberly Hines of Framework Entertainment, while Blatz is with Luber Roklin Entertainment and Innovative Artists.
Matt Cook from the CBS comedy Man With A Plan is set to lead the indie comedy, Film Fest. Marshall Cook will direct the film, which he co-wrote with Paul Alan Cope. It follows struggling filmmaker, Logan Clark...
Matt Cook from the CBS comedy Man With A Plan is set to lead the indie comedy, Film Fest. Marshall Cook will direct the film, which he co-wrote with Paul Alan Cope. It follows struggling filmmaker, Logan Clark...
- 5/17/2019
- by Amanda N'Duka
- Deadline Film + TV
I was recently blown away by writer/director Zack Wilcox's impressive directorial debut Hunting Lands (review) which tells the story of a man who is trying to disconnect from society only to find himself drawn back into it, and dealing with one of society's scummiest individuals.
Wilcox's movie is bold and risky and he tells his story with minimal dialogue to maximum effectiveness with the help of actor Marshall Cook and cinematographer Edwin Stevens.
I recently had a chance to pose some questions to Wilcox about the project, and we started with some insight into the origins of the movie and if it was always intended as such a visual film.
Look for Hunting Lands pl...
Wilcox's movie is bold and risky and he tells his story with minimal dialogue to maximum effectiveness with the help of actor Marshall Cook and cinematographer Edwin Stevens.
I recently had a chance to pose some questions to Wilcox about the project, and we started with some insight into the origins of the movie and if it was always intended as such a visual film.
Look for Hunting Lands pl...
- 5/8/2018
- QuietEarth.us
"They're always going to have to live with the consequences." A trailer has debuted for an indie film titled Hunting Lands, which is currently playing on the film festival circuit. Hunting Lands is the feature debut of an experienced gaffer named Zack Wilcox, telling a story about a man who dislikes modern society and retreats to find peace and solitude in the wilderness. When he discovers a discarded, beaten woman fighting for her life in the snow, Frank must decide whether to continue to turn his back on society or confront the world he loathes. Marshall Cook stars as Frank, and the cast also includes Joe Raffa, Keyna Reynolds, Kaleb Rittenhouse, and Brooke Mulkins. No surprise the cinematography in this looks gorgeous, but it also looks like an intriguing story reminiscent of Wind River or Leave No Trace. Definitely got my attention. Here's the first official trailer (+ posters) for Zack Wilcox's Hunting Lands,...
- 4/26/2018
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Writer/director Zack Wilcox has pretty much done every job there is to do on a film set and now he's adding directing to his resume with his feature film debut Hunting Lands.
Marshall Cook stars as Frank Olsen, a veteran determined to create a life for himself outside of society but when he finds an injured woman in the snowy wilderness he must decide whether to let her die or return to civilization to save her.
Along with Cook, the movie also stars Joe Raffa and Keyna Reynolds.
Wilcox's background as cinematographer is clear in the trailer which suggests a movie which beautifully captures the starkness of life off the grid and Cook has received accolades for his leading performance as a man who dislikes modern society and retreats to find peace and sol...
Marshall Cook stars as Frank Olsen, a veteran determined to create a life for himself outside of society but when he finds an injured woman in the snowy wilderness he must decide whether to let her die or return to civilization to save her.
Along with Cook, the movie also stars Joe Raffa and Keyna Reynolds.
Wilcox's background as cinematographer is clear in the trailer which suggests a movie which beautifully captures the starkness of life off the grid and Cook has received accolades for his leading performance as a man who dislikes modern society and retreats to find peace and sol...
- 4/25/2018
- QuietEarth.us
In broad terms, there are two kinds of thrillers: the ones that rely more on actions beats, explosions and general mayhem, and those that prefer to exploit atmosphere and a sense of place in order to generate tension. Zack Wilcox’s “Hunting Lands” belongs to the latter. Shot in the snow-covered landscapes of Michigan and light on dialog or traditional sequences of “excitement”, the film is a commendable exercise of suspense, a minimalistic motion picture that could end up boring some members of the audience, while enthralling the rest. Marshall Cook plays Frank Olsen, a reclusive veteran who’s trying to commence a new life in the Michigan wilderness, escaping from technology and contemporary society. Unfortunately, despite the fact that he’s doing his best to remain unlinked...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 4/18/2018
- Screen Anarchy
Title: Division III: Football’s Finest Directed by: Marshall Cook Starring: Andy Dick, Marshall Cook, Mo Collins, Will Sasso, Debra Wilson and Adam Carolla Running time: 98 minutes, Rated R, Available on DVD When the Pulham Blue Cocks (tee hee) coach drops dead after getting ice water thrown on him after a game, the college brings in coach Rick Vice, a crazy redneck idiot with a passion for football. Mitch, the reluctant 2nd string quarterback doesn’t really want to take orders from a desperate d-bag coach, but is willing to play while he attempts to get the attention of the school’s new trainer. With coach Vice’s almost sadistic methods, the team...
- 2/23/2012
- by juliana
- ShockYa
When a movie is released onto DVD/Blu-Ray, a person usually hears about it from a friend or sees the marketing on television. Division III: Football’s Finest, heard of it? Well, you have now! Division III takes the viewer on a ride with the Pulham Blue Cocks, their new head coach Rick Vice (Andy Dick) and their second string quarterback Mitch (Marshall Cook). The football team has been ordered by the dean (Mo Collins) to have a winning record or else the football program will be abolished. The story is the usual underdog story. While it doesn’t quite match the storyline or intensity of other football stories such as The Replacements or Necessary Roughness, it does have the makings of an entertaining movie.
Read more...
Read more...
- 1/28/2012
- by Randall Unger
- JustPressPlay.net
Marshall Cook is not only a writer, actor, producer and editor, but he was also a football player. It is his experiences as a football player that helped inform him when he wrote the script for comedy “Division III: Football’s Finest.” Cook, who played quarterback for 10 years, said that there are few things that people don’t take into consideration when it comes to football players. “We have to deal with each other,” he said. “There’s always the guy who takes it more seriously, or the guy that is a jerk. The coaches, whether they were introverted or extroverted, were always weird father figures that you’d want to please. There’s...
- 1/21/2012
- by monique
- ShockYa
Comedy mad man Andy Dick (Old School) leads a winning ensemble cast in the outrageous comedy Division III: Football's Finest on Blu-ray and DVD January 17th from Image Entertainment. M&C is getting in on the laughs by giving away three copies of the Blu-ray edition! In the no holds barred tradition of Bad Santa and Bad Teacher, meet bad coach Rick Vice, a redneck psycho with a suspect record (the attempted murder of a Pee Wee football team). When the Pulham Blue Cocks coach drops dead on the sidelines, Vice is brought in to turn around the worst team in college football.s lowest division. Marshall Cook costars as Mitch, the slacker second-string quarterback who butts heads with Vice,...
- 1/11/2012
- by Patrick Luce
- Monsters and Critics
Marshall Cook's Division III: Football's Finest football comedy has the right Image Image Entertainment has picked up all North American distribution rights to the pic starring Andy Dick, Adam Carolla, Marshall Cook, Bryan Callen and Sally Kirkland, reports Variety. The announcement was made by Bill Bromiley of Image today with the deal being made at the Toronto International Film Festival. Plans are to release Division II: Football's Finest this fall with a late October start in Michigan. Division III tells of the Pullham University Bluecocks football team in the Ncaa's lowest division who end up with a nightmare of a redneck coach after their coach dies. Dick, Cook and Paul Henderson wrote the script...
- 9/20/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Marshall Cook's Division III: Football's Finest football comedy has the right Image Image Entertainment has picked up all North American distribution rights to the pic starring Andy Dick, Adam Carolla, Marshall Cook, Bryan Callen and Sally Kirkland, reports Variety. The announcement was made by Bill Bromiley of Image today with the deal being made at the Toronto International Film Festival. Plans are to release Division II: Football's Finest this fall with a late October start in Michigan. Division III tells of the Pullham University Bluecocks football team in the Ncaa's lowest division who end up with a nightmare of a redneck coach after their coach dies. Dick, Cook and Paul Henderson wrote the script...
- 9/20/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Alison Haislip is a host and correspondent for G4tv’s Attack of the Show and was kind enough to take the time out of her busy schedule to answer a handful of questions for me. Ranging from how she got started in the industry to covering the biggest geek conventions and everything in between.
Lets start with you, for any readers who may not be familiar with you or your work. You graduated from Boston College with a degree in theatre arts, and you’ve done quite a bit of acting, so has working in “the industry”, so to speak, always been your main goal?
I can’t imagine doing anything else. I grew up in a family very dedicated to the arts. Both my parents are musicians and I believed from a young age that I would become a singer. I started doing musicals in 8th grade, then...
Lets start with you, for any readers who may not be familiar with you or your work. You graduated from Boston College with a degree in theatre arts, and you’ve done quite a bit of acting, so has working in “the industry”, so to speak, always been your main goal?
I can’t imagine doing anything else. I grew up in a family very dedicated to the arts. Both my parents are musicians and I believed from a young age that I would become a singer. I started doing musicals in 8th grade, then...
- 4/26/2010
- by Scott Smith
- Nerdly
Screened at South by Southwest
AUSTIN -- Andy Dick is an actor famous for two things: portraying a hopeless klutz on television and getting into trouble with booze and drugs. In "Danny Roane: First Time Director," he plays an actor, known for boob tube bumbling and off-screen binges, who decides to make a film about his life.
So maybe it's not a stretch. Dick has been working this angle for a while, milking his reputation in interviews and on his own MTV show. But if a little of his id-indulgence can sometimes go a long way, here it is reined in; "Danny Roane" is a sometimes hilarious mock-docu that will play well with the actor's fans and could win some converts, though its appeal won't be as wide as that of Christopher Guest's work, which is less edgy and more professionally made while covering similar ground.
In the film, Dick's alter ego has stayed sober for four years and watched his career go pretty dry as well. He convinces a huckster producer to fund his autobiographical film, "a psychologically probing dark journey into addiction," though it appears that the producer thinks he's making another film entirely. That's just as well because Danny quickly scares away everyone on his crew with any actual experience in filmmaking.
Roane does manage to recruit some industry names for his cast: James Van Der Beek ("The Rules of Attraction") plays the lead and proves game for all sorts of indignity. Later, after Danny falls off the wagon and re-imagines his film (midshoot) as a musical, Van Der Beek is replaced by Anthony Rapp, fresh from "Rent".
Roane's production runs into the expected self-inflicted disasters even before the filmmaker's return to the bottle. But it really spins out of control as a musical, and we see a few of the numbers in their full postproduction glory, adorned with over-the-top costumes and psychedelically amateurish computer effects.
The film-within-a-film is a shoestring effort, and "Danny Roane" mirrors it, shooting on video with an uncertain, often handheld camera. The production values are appropriate, though songs on the soundtrack are conspicuously low-rent.
Dick wrangles appearances from a familiar array of cohorts: Bob Odenkirk, Dick's co-star on "The Ben Stiller Show", is solidly weird as the film producer, and Stiller pops his head in as well; Jack Black and "News Radio" co-star Maura Tierney have a scene each; playing a costume designer, Michael Hitchcock might have been cast thanks to his long experience in Guest's mock-docus.
The movie thins out a bit in the second half as the action gets more kooky and scatological. By the time Roane's film has its disastrous premiere at an obscure festival, the endlessly self-referential conceit feels like it's devouring itself. Only in the last shot does Dick's character acknowledge that his problems might not be quite as funny as he thinks. That's true, but it's better than a lot of what passes for comedy on the big screen.
Danny Roane: First Time Director
Pollywog Entertainment, Romano Films
Credits:
Director/screenwriter/executive producer: Andy Dick
Producers: Marshall Cook, Chris Romano
Director of photography: Ben Gamble
Production designer: Andrew Deppen
Music: Jason Miller
Costumes: Nicole Beckett
Editor: John M. Valerio
Cast:
Danny Roane: Andy Dick
Pete Kesselmen: Bob Odenkirk
Deidra Fennigan: Mo Collins
Himself: Ben Stiller
Paul Gunderson: Paul Henderson
John Imbagliado: Michael Hitchcock
K.C.: Kevin Farley
Himself: James Van Der Beek
Himself: Anthony Rapp
Herself: Maura Tierney
Himself: Jack Black
Hector: Danny Trejo
Charlotte Lewis: Sara Rue
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 83 minutes...
AUSTIN -- Andy Dick is an actor famous for two things: portraying a hopeless klutz on television and getting into trouble with booze and drugs. In "Danny Roane: First Time Director," he plays an actor, known for boob tube bumbling and off-screen binges, who decides to make a film about his life.
So maybe it's not a stretch. Dick has been working this angle for a while, milking his reputation in interviews and on his own MTV show. But if a little of his id-indulgence can sometimes go a long way, here it is reined in; "Danny Roane" is a sometimes hilarious mock-docu that will play well with the actor's fans and could win some converts, though its appeal won't be as wide as that of Christopher Guest's work, which is less edgy and more professionally made while covering similar ground.
In the film, Dick's alter ego has stayed sober for four years and watched his career go pretty dry as well. He convinces a huckster producer to fund his autobiographical film, "a psychologically probing dark journey into addiction," though it appears that the producer thinks he's making another film entirely. That's just as well because Danny quickly scares away everyone on his crew with any actual experience in filmmaking.
Roane does manage to recruit some industry names for his cast: James Van Der Beek ("The Rules of Attraction") plays the lead and proves game for all sorts of indignity. Later, after Danny falls off the wagon and re-imagines his film (midshoot) as a musical, Van Der Beek is replaced by Anthony Rapp, fresh from "Rent".
Roane's production runs into the expected self-inflicted disasters even before the filmmaker's return to the bottle. But it really spins out of control as a musical, and we see a few of the numbers in their full postproduction glory, adorned with over-the-top costumes and psychedelically amateurish computer effects.
The film-within-a-film is a shoestring effort, and "Danny Roane" mirrors it, shooting on video with an uncertain, often handheld camera. The production values are appropriate, though songs on the soundtrack are conspicuously low-rent.
Dick wrangles appearances from a familiar array of cohorts: Bob Odenkirk, Dick's co-star on "The Ben Stiller Show", is solidly weird as the film producer, and Stiller pops his head in as well; Jack Black and "News Radio" co-star Maura Tierney have a scene each; playing a costume designer, Michael Hitchcock might have been cast thanks to his long experience in Guest's mock-docus.
The movie thins out a bit in the second half as the action gets more kooky and scatological. By the time Roane's film has its disastrous premiere at an obscure festival, the endlessly self-referential conceit feels like it's devouring itself. Only in the last shot does Dick's character acknowledge that his problems might not be quite as funny as he thinks. That's true, but it's better than a lot of what passes for comedy on the big screen.
Danny Roane: First Time Director
Pollywog Entertainment, Romano Films
Credits:
Director/screenwriter/executive producer: Andy Dick
Producers: Marshall Cook, Chris Romano
Director of photography: Ben Gamble
Production designer: Andrew Deppen
Music: Jason Miller
Costumes: Nicole Beckett
Editor: John M. Valerio
Cast:
Danny Roane: Andy Dick
Pete Kesselmen: Bob Odenkirk
Deidra Fennigan: Mo Collins
Himself: Ben Stiller
Paul Gunderson: Paul Henderson
John Imbagliado: Michael Hitchcock
K.C.: Kevin Farley
Himself: James Van Der Beek
Himself: Anthony Rapp
Herself: Maura Tierney
Himself: Jack Black
Hector: Danny Trejo
Charlotte Lewis: Sara Rue
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 83 minutes...
- 3/17/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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