Former HBO Sports, NFL and GoPro Entertaiment exec Bill McCullough is set to share director duties on Thrive, a documentary on sport athletes’ traumatic brain injuries from The Workshop Content Studios.
The 90-minute film will feature athletes Koby Stevens, Sidney Crosby, Owen Wright and Kevin Pearce as they recount their rollercoaster experience after sustaining a traumatic brain injury (Tbi) and the groundbreaking treatments that helped their brains heal. Stevens, a former professional Australian rules footballer, McCullough and Tom Farrell, CEO of The WorkShop Content Studios, will co-direct Thrive.
Three-time Super Bowl champion Lonie Paxton will executive produce the doc, which will ...
The 90-minute film will feature athletes Koby Stevens, Sidney Crosby, Owen Wright and Kevin Pearce as they recount their rollercoaster experience after sustaining a traumatic brain injury (Tbi) and the groundbreaking treatments that helped their brains heal. Stevens, a former professional Australian rules footballer, McCullough and Tom Farrell, CEO of The WorkShop Content Studios, will co-direct Thrive.
Three-time Super Bowl champion Lonie Paxton will executive produce the doc, which will ...
- 12/23/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Former HBO Sports, NFL and GoPro Entertaiment exec Bill McCullough is set to share director duties on Thrive, a documentary on sport athletes’ traumatic brain injuries from The Workshop Content Studios.
The 90-minute film will feature athletes Koby Stevens, Sidney Crosby, Owen Wright and Kevin Pearce as they recount their rollercoaster experience after sustaining a traumatic brain injury (Tbi) and the groundbreaking treatments that helped their brains heal. Stevens, a former professional Australian rules footballer, McCullough and Tom Farrell, CEO of The WorkShop Content Studios, will co-direct Thrive.
Three-time Super Bowl champion Lonie Paxton will executive produce the doc, which will ...
The 90-minute film will feature athletes Koby Stevens, Sidney Crosby, Owen Wright and Kevin Pearce as they recount their rollercoaster experience after sustaining a traumatic brain injury (Tbi) and the groundbreaking treatments that helped their brains heal. Stevens, a former professional Australian rules footballer, McCullough and Tom Farrell, CEO of The WorkShop Content Studios, will co-direct Thrive.
Three-time Super Bowl champion Lonie Paxton will executive produce the doc, which will ...
- 12/23/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Lucy Walker reintroduced audiences to the perils of board sports last year in The Crash Reel, documenting the successes and traumas of snowboarder Kevin Pearce. While Walker’s film showed literal recovery from Pearce’s disastrous injury, Eddie Martin’s new film All This Mayhem tells of a completely different type of healing. In the late 80s/early 90s, Martin used to skate with Tas and Ben Pappas – at the time complete newbies on the vert skating scene in Melbourne – but who would go on to compete against Tony Hawk in the Us and ultimately strip him of his World No.1 titles. However, to call this a documentary about skateboarding is a misstep: instead this is an explosively compelling story of two lives at full-tilt.
From the splintered skate-parks of Australia to the Espn-branded ramps of California, Martin travels equally so from the heartlands of Tas and Ben’s upbringing,...
From the splintered skate-parks of Australia to the Espn-branded ramps of California, Martin travels equally so from the heartlands of Tas and Ben’s upbringing,...
- 6/17/2014
- by Andrew Latimer
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
1. "The Crash Reel:" "The Crash Reel" BitTorrent Bundle has been downloaded 3.4 million times, BitTorrent announced today. The Bundle supports "The Crash Reel," Lucy Walker's documentary about champion snowboarder Kevin Pearce and his incredible recovery from a severe brain injury. Read more about BitTorrent's Bundles here. 2. Low-Budget Effects: Sure, the special effects in "Gravity" are incredible, but not exactly feasible for an indie filmmaker to adopt. That's where Joey Shanks comes in. The self-taught filmmaker, who produces a weekly series for PBS Digital Series about Diy special effects for low-budget productions, highlights the illusion of space flight in his latest video. Check it out here. 3. "Karama Has No Walls:" Yemen's first Oscar-nominated film, "Karama Has No Walls," a gripping-eyewitness account to a tragic day that changed the course of the revolution in Yemen, will be released on iTunes on February 18, 2014. Released by Cinema Guild, the film has been...
- 2/11/2014
- by Paula Bernstein
- Indiewire
1. GIFs and More GIFs: Seems everyone is getting into the Gif action. If you look at the Vimeo Staff Picks Channel, you might wonder if something is wrong with your eyes. The image appears to be moving... and it is! Vimeo explained on their staff blog that "As an experiment, we’re adding animated thumbnails to select Staff Pick videos going forward. Mostly, we want to know if people find animated thumbnails compelling — on a basic visceral level, is this something your eyeballs enjoy?" Meanwhile, Pinterest said they will support animated GIFs as well. 2. "Crash Reel" BitTorrent Bundle: In partnership with Phase4 Films and PictureMotion, BitTorrent will release never-before-seen footage from Lucy Walker's documentary "The Crash Reel" in the new BitTorrent Bundle, including features videos of injured snowboarder (and "The Crash Reel" subject) Kevin Pearce, deleted scenes, alternate endings, trailers, and four movie posters. Fans can also unlock an exclusive Burton film.
- 1/23/2014
- by Paula Bernstein
- Indiewire
Less than a month after BitTorrent released a BitTorrent Bundle for the Academy Award-nominated documentary "The Act of Killing" comes news of a new BitTorrent Bundle in support of "The Crash Reel," the documentary by Oscar-nominated director Lucy Walker. "The Crash Reel" tells the story of champion snowboarder Kevin Pearce and his incredible recovery from a severe brain injury. In partnership with Phase4 Films and PictureMotion, BitTorrent will release never before seen footage from "The Crash Reel" in the new BitTorrent Bundle, including features videos of Kevin Pearce, deleted scenes, alternate endings, trailers, and four movie posters. Fans can also unlock an exclusive Burton film from 1987, as well as the Sundance filmmaker Q&A. "This is a comeback story with a difference. Our goal is to make one. Each Bundle includes social media stickers you can download and post to raise awareness of Traumatic Brain Injury. And each Bundle includes a link to the.
- 1/23/2014
- by Paula Bernstein
- Indiewire
I’ve been to many documentary screenings, and even to some attended by the films’ subjects. But seeing The Crash Reel with its subject, Kevin Pearce, present was one of the most riveting movie screening experiences I’ve ever had. If you haven’t read about or seen the movie, The Crash Reel follows champion snowboarder Kevin Pearce through a debilitating accident, his recovery and then his slow coming to grips with the fact that he can’t go back to competitive snowboarding. On the face of it, this may sound unappealing, but The Crash Reel is no 60 Minutes bedside weepy. Instead, it […]...
- 1/8/2014
- by Michael Murie
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
I’ve been to many documentary screenings, and even to some attended by the films’ subjects. But seeing The Crash Reel with its subject, Kevin Pearce, present was one of the most riveting movie screening experiences I’ve ever had. If you haven’t read about or seen the movie, The Crash Reel follows champion snowboarder Kevin Pearce through a debilitating accident, his recovery and then his slow coming to grips with the fact that he can’t go back to competitive snowboarding. On the face of it, this may sound unappealing, but The Crash Reel is no 60 Minutes bedside weepy. Instead, it […]...
- 1/8/2014
- by Michael Murie
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Director Lucy Walker was commissioned to make a short film about competitive snowmobiler Caleb Moore, as part of The New York Times Op Doc series in conjunction with the Times Magazine's The Lives They Lived issue, which commemorates people who died this year. Moore passed away on January 31 as a result of injuries sustained while performing a back flip during the snowmobile Best Trick competition at the X-Games. Academy Award nominated Walker, who directed the acclaimed documentary feature "The Crash Reel" which tracked the progress of Kevin Pearce, a snowboard champion who suffered a traumatic brain injury while training for the 2010 Olympics, was the natural choice to direct this tribute film. "In creating this Op-Doc video, we've striven to celebrate the remarkable achievements of Caleb Moore, while urging athletes and fans alike to consider the consequences of reaching ever higher. Beyond all questions of risk versus reward -- of a...
- 12/26/2013
- by Paula Bernstein
- Indiewire
Title: The Crash Reel Director: Lucy Walker An extraordinarily moving look at what happens when a promising young athlete and would-be Olympian’s life is in an instant snatched away from him, “The Crash Reel” is a movie that taps into the propulsive, cocksure and, yes, dangerous energy and excitement of youth without mocking or selling it short. Oscar-nominated director Lucy Walker, who previously cut through the noise and clutter of a hot-button social issue with the superb nuclear nonproliferation documentary “Countdown to Zero,” here reveals herself to be a humanist of the highest order, telling the true-life story of charismatic snowboarder Kevin Pearce, felled by a traumatic brain injury, and [ Read More ]
The post The Crash Reel Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post The Crash Reel Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 12/20/2013
- by bsimon
- ShockYa
Depicting professional snowboarder Kevin Pearce’s rise to the top of his sport and then his struggle to recover from a monster wipe-out and traumatic brain injury, Lucy Walker’s The Crash Reel is riveting, emotional, sobering and enraging. It tells a very human story as the endearing Pearce struggles to not only physically recover from his injuries but, at such a young age, to invent a new identity for himself and his future. At the same time, the film is a provocative, well-researched takedown of the extreme sports industry, which markets vicarious danger for energy-drink consumers and sneaker-wearers at the expense […]...
- 12/14/2013
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Depicting professional snowboarder Kevin Pearce’s rise to the top of his sport and then his struggle to recover from a monster wipe-out and traumatic brain injury, Lucy Walker’s The Crash Reel is riveting, emotional, sobering and enraging. It tells a very human story as the endearing Pearce struggles to not only physically recover from his injuries but, at such a young age, to invent a new identity for himself and his future. At the same time, the film is a provocative, well-researched takedown of the extreme sports industry, which markets vicarious danger for energy-drink consumers and sneaker-wearers at the expense […]...
- 12/14/2013
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
In her Oscar-shortlisted documentary The Crash Reel (2013), director Lucy Walker follows American snowboarder Kevin Pearce as he fights back from both a career and life-threatening injury after an accident on the treacherous half-pipe. To celebrate the DVD release of Walker's deeply moving and inspirational work this coming Monday (9 December), we've kindly been provided with Three copies of The Crash Reel to give away to our fans, courtesy of the dedicated team at the film's UK distributor Soda Pictures. This is an exclusive competition for our Facebook and Twitter fans, so if you haven't already, 'Like' us at facebook.com/CineVueUK or follow us @CineVue before answering the question below.
- 12/12/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
This weekend, Peter Jackson brings us back to Middle-earth in "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug," Tyler Perry revisits his classic character for the holidays in "Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas," and Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson star in the biographical "Saving Mr. Banks."
Picking up where "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" left off, "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" finds Thorin Oakenshield, his mighty band of dwarves, Bilbo Baggins, and the great Gandalf on their quest to reclaim Erebor -- Oakenshield's former home -- from the dragon Smaug. Directed by Peter Jackson, the film features Martin Freeman as Bilbo, Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Richard Armitage as Oakenshield, and Benedict Cumberbatch voicing the vicious Smaug. Get ready for a wild (barrel) ride!
In "Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas," the titular character unexpectedly finds herself in the country for Christmas after getting coaxed into helping a friend pay her daughter a surprise visit.
Picking up where "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" left off, "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" finds Thorin Oakenshield, his mighty band of dwarves, Bilbo Baggins, and the great Gandalf on their quest to reclaim Erebor -- Oakenshield's former home -- from the dragon Smaug. Directed by Peter Jackson, the film features Martin Freeman as Bilbo, Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Richard Armitage as Oakenshield, and Benedict Cumberbatch voicing the vicious Smaug. Get ready for a wild (barrel) ride!
In "Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas," the titular character unexpectedly finds herself in the country for Christmas after getting coaxed into helping a friend pay her daughter a surprise visit.
- 12/12/2013
- by Jonny Black
- Moviefone
On the road to the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010, two American snowboarders captured the national spotlight as they awaited the call telling them that they had made it onto their country’s snowboarding team. The first was Shaun White, a much-endorsed, carrot-topped celebrity who had already taken home gold in 2006, and whose name you have undoubtedly heard. The second was Kevin Pearce, who shared a friendly rivalry with White and managed to overtake the famed snowboarder in some of the world’s biggest competitions. Pearce had wavy hair more accustomed to a surfer than a boarder, a radiant smile and just the right amount of confidence as to appear courageous but not cocky. It was natural wisdom that one of these two young Americans would bring home gold in Vancouver.
However, five weeks before Vancouver, during the first practice run on a Park City, Utah half-pipe, Pearce attempted to land...
However, five weeks before Vancouver, during the first practice run on a Park City, Utah half-pipe, Pearce attempted to land...
- 12/12/2013
- by Jordan Adler
- We Got This Covered
Lucy Walker’s “The Crash Reel” would have been compelling if it were just about snowboarder Kevin Pearce’s career and impressive skills in the half pipe. Instead, we get a number of movies in one: a chronicle of Pearce’s attempts to return to normalcy after a brain injury, a showdown between Pearce and more famous rival Shaun White, and an examination of both the appeal and the danger of extreme sports. Combining this many elements should make the film feel unfocused and unnecessarily sprawling; instead it feels intimate and clear. Tying the various pieces of Pearce’s story and the surrounding information creates a holistic picture of Pearce’s experience, while establishing that his isn’t a unique one. With just a few months to go before the the 2010 Winter Olympics, gold medal frontrunner Pearce attempted an epic trick called the “cab double cork.” Instead of completing the (frankly insane) trick,...
- 12/10/2013
- by Kimber Myers
- The Playlist
Arriving amid debates about brain injuries in organized sports, Oscar-nominated documentarian Lucy Walker's The Crash Reel is a timely profile of professional snowboarder Kevin Pearce, whose career was cut short by a calamitous fall on the same half-pipe that killed fellow Olympic hopeful Sarah Burke.
The Crash Reel movingly captures the athlete's difficult acceptance of the fact that he can no longer practice the sport that made him a world champion. Pearce was a contender for a gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics when he was knocked unconscious by a fall.
"You need to be prepared for the Kevin who comes back not to be the same Kevin," his father recalls being told. A shot of a 22-year-old Pearce recovering in the hospital shows him in a neck brace, h...
The Crash Reel movingly captures the athlete's difficult acceptance of the fact that he can no longer practice the sport that made him a world champion. Pearce was a contender for a gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics when he was knocked unconscious by a fall.
"You need to be prepared for the Kevin who comes back not to be the same Kevin," his father recalls being told. A shot of a 22-year-old Pearce recovering in the hospital shows him in a neck brace, h...
- 12/10/2013
- Village Voice
One of the most upsetting moments in Lucy Walker's new documentary "The Crash Reel" features Kevin Pearce, a world-class snowboarder who was waylaid on his way to the Olympics by a traumatic brain injury, talking to his parents about how he plans to return to snowboarding. This is on the heels of two full years of therapy that have obviously not restored him to anything like peak condition. Pearce seems completely set on going back to competition, and nothing his parents say seems to be eating to him. He's simply incapable of accepting the idea that his brain damage is permanent....
- 12/10/2013
- by Drew McWeeny
- Hitfix
★★★★☆From award-winning British director Lucy Walker comes her fifth full feature, the Sundance hit The Crash Reel (2013). A no-holds-barred look at the world of snowboarding and the tragic accidents that go hand-in-hand with such a dangerous profession, Walker's latest captivates from the off, focusing on the traumatic brain injury suffered by 17-year-old pro Kevin Pearce in the build-up to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. Both uplifting and upsetting in equal measure, it's also one of the year's best documentary offerings.
- 12/9/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Los Angeles-based peripatetic filmmaker Lucy Walker plants seeds of ideas to see if they grow into movies she might want to make. She's picky about what material is strong enough to support the time and energy it takes to make a film. If a story does not warrant a feature, she may turn it into a short instead. Her sky-high standards have yielded back-to-back Oscar nominations, for feature "Waste Land" (2010) and short "The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom" (2011). In a world packed with excellent documentaries, Walker's tend to rise to the top. Her latest, the moving and shocking verite doc "The Crash Reel," which will play Doc NYC and follows snowboarder Kevin Pearce after he suffers a debilitating brain injury while training for the Olympics, screened well at Sundance, Berlin, SXSW, Laff and at the Academy. It opened July 5th for a one-week Oscar qualifying run at Laemmle's Monica Theatre...
- 11/11/2013
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
The Crash Reel: 9pm, Sky Atlantic
Lucy Walker's documentary is a case study of snowboarder Kevin Pearce. Pearce is a 23-year-old snowboarder who was training to represent the Us at the Vancouver Winter Olympics when a crash on a practice run left him in a coma with serious brain injuries.
Walker's moving documentary, which won countless awards at various film festivals this year, tells the story of Pearce's amazing recovery and determination to get back on the snowboard.
American Horror Story: Coven, 10pm, Fox
Ryan Murphy's witchy spectacular continues tonight. The creepiness escalates tonight as Fiona (Jessica Lange) helps protégé witches Zoe and Madison come to terms with their recent tragedy.
Meanwhile, immortal Madame Lalaurie (played brilliantly by Kathy Bates) struggles to come to terms with modern life. Events reach a disturbing conclusion as Zoe and Madison hatch a plan to create the perfect boyfriend - with...
Lucy Walker's documentary is a case study of snowboarder Kevin Pearce. Pearce is a 23-year-old snowboarder who was training to represent the Us at the Vancouver Winter Olympics when a crash on a practice run left him in a coma with serious brain injuries.
Walker's moving documentary, which won countless awards at various film festivals this year, tells the story of Pearce's amazing recovery and determination to get back on the snowboard.
American Horror Story: Coven, 10pm, Fox
Ryan Murphy's witchy spectacular continues tonight. The creepiness escalates tonight as Fiona (Jessica Lange) helps protégé witches Zoe and Madison come to terms with their recent tragedy.
Meanwhile, immortal Madame Lalaurie (played brilliantly by Kathy Bates) struggles to come to terms with modern life. Events reach a disturbing conclusion as Zoe and Madison hatch a plan to create the perfect boyfriend - with...
- 11/5/2013
- Digital Spy
“The Crash Reel,” Lucy Walker’s documentary about snowboarder Kevin Pearce, will open in theaters Dec. 13, Phase 4 Films said on Wednesday. It will start in 10 different markets, including New York and Los Angeles, before expanding. A two-time Oscar nominee, Walker steps into the world of extreme sports with this film, documenting Pearce’s rivalry with Shaun White, the severe injury that ended his career and his recovery. The documentary premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was acquired by HBO. HBO gave the film a one-week run over the summer so it would qualify for the Oscars, and then aired.
- 10/30/2013
- by Lucas Shaw
- The Wrap
Phase 4 Films has set a theatrical release for Lucy Walker’s snowboarder documentary.
The Crash Reel, which will be released on December 13, tells of Us champion snowboarder Kevin Pearce’s near-death accident, recovery and subsequent reappraisal of life.
Pedro Kos and Walker wrote the project and Walker produced along with Julian Cautherley.
Sheila Nevins of HBO Documentary Films, Dan Cogan and Geralyn Dreyfous served as executive producers.
The Crash Reel was recently nominated for a Gotham Award and premiered at the start of the year in Sundance.
The Crash Reel, which will be released on December 13, tells of Us champion snowboarder Kevin Pearce’s near-death accident, recovery and subsequent reappraisal of life.
Pedro Kos and Walker wrote the project and Walker produced along with Julian Cautherley.
Sheila Nevins of HBO Documentary Films, Dan Cogan and Geralyn Dreyfous served as executive producers.
The Crash Reel was recently nominated for a Gotham Award and premiered at the start of the year in Sundance.
- 10/30/2013
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Phase 4 Films has set a December 13 theatrical release for Lucy Walker’s snowboarder documentary.
The Crash Reel tells of Us champion snowboarder Kevin Pearce’s near-death accident, recovery and subsequent reappraisal of life.
Pedro Kos and Walker wrote the project and Walker produced along with Julian Cautherley.
Sheila Nevins of HBO Documentary Films, Dan Cogan and Geralyn Dreyfous served as executive producers.
The Crash Reel was recently nominated for a Gotham Award and premiered at the start of the year in Sundance.
The Crash Reel tells of Us champion snowboarder Kevin Pearce’s near-death accident, recovery and subsequent reappraisal of life.
Pedro Kos and Walker wrote the project and Walker produced along with Julian Cautherley.
Sheila Nevins of HBO Documentary Films, Dan Cogan and Geralyn Dreyfous served as executive producers.
The Crash Reel was recently nominated for a Gotham Award and premiered at the start of the year in Sundance.
- 10/30/2013
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Kevin Pearce was a strong hopeful for the 2010 Olympic Us Snowboarding Team when a slight miscalculation in his cab double cork trick left him facedown on a halfpipe in Park City, Utah. The massive blow to the area above his left eye rendered him unconscious, causing the onsite medics to order an airlift to the nearby University of Utah Medical Center. After weeks in critical care and the revelation that he had sustained a traumatic brain injury, Kevin began the lifelong process of rehabilitation and recovery with his loving, supportive family by his side. In the latest project from two-time Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Lucy Walker, "The Crash Reel" excavates and chronicles the buildup to this injury, the incident itself, and Kevin’s continued efforts toward recovery. "The Crash Reel" screened on Monday, September 30 in Los Angeles as a part of the Ida Documentary Screening Series. Kcrw’s Matt Holzman sat down with Lucy Walker,...
- 10/21/2013
- by Katharine Relth
- Indiewire
Sky Atlantic is holding a film festival event to coincide with the launch of its new season of documentaries.
The Sky Atlantic Documentary Film Festival - which will take place on Thursday, October 24 - is open to the public and will air all six films from the first season throughout the day, accompanied by masterclasses and panel discussions with the film-makers behind the documentaries.
Documentaries featured include The Crash Reel, a Lucy Walker film focused on champion snowboarder Kevin Pearce, Ai WeiWei: Never Sorry, the story of China's most famous artist, and The Act of Killing, which explores the imaginations of death squad leaders.
Former war correspondent Greg Barker's Man Hunt: The Search for Bin Laden, Beeban Kidron's InRealLife, and James Toback's Seduced and Abandoned starring Alec Baldwin, completes the line-up.
Director of Sky Atlantic Elaine Pyke said: "Sky Atlantic is the home of great storytelling...
The Sky Atlantic Documentary Film Festival - which will take place on Thursday, October 24 - is open to the public and will air all six films from the first season throughout the day, accompanied by masterclasses and panel discussions with the film-makers behind the documentaries.
Documentaries featured include The Crash Reel, a Lucy Walker film focused on champion snowboarder Kevin Pearce, Ai WeiWei: Never Sorry, the story of China's most famous artist, and The Act of Killing, which explores the imaginations of death squad leaders.
Former war correspondent Greg Barker's Man Hunt: The Search for Bin Laden, Beeban Kidron's InRealLife, and James Toback's Seduced and Abandoned starring Alec Baldwin, completes the line-up.
Director of Sky Atlantic Elaine Pyke said: "Sky Atlantic is the home of great storytelling...
- 10/4/2013
- Digital Spy
Sky Atlantic is holding a film festival event to coincide with the launch of its new season of documentaries.
The Sky Atlantic Documentary Film Festival - which will take place on Thursday, October 24 - is open to the public and will air all six films from the first season throughout the day, accompanied by masterclasses and panel discussions with the film-makers behind the documentaries.
Documentaries featured include The Crash Reel, a Lucy Walker film focused on champion snowboarder Kevin Pearce, Ai WeiWei: Never Sorry, the story of China's most famous artist, and The Act of Killing, which explores the imaginations of death squad leaders.
Former war correspondent Greg Barker's Man Hunt: The Search for Bin Laden, Beeban Kidron's InRealLife, and James Toback's Seduced and Abandoned starring Alec Baldwin, completes the line-up.
Director of Sky Atlantic Elaine Pyke said: "Sky Atlantic is the home of great storytelling...
The Sky Atlantic Documentary Film Festival - which will take place on Thursday, October 24 - is open to the public and will air all six films from the first season throughout the day, accompanied by masterclasses and panel discussions with the film-makers behind the documentaries.
Documentaries featured include The Crash Reel, a Lucy Walker film focused on champion snowboarder Kevin Pearce, Ai WeiWei: Never Sorry, the story of China's most famous artist, and The Act of Killing, which explores the imaginations of death squad leaders.
Former war correspondent Greg Barker's Man Hunt: The Search for Bin Laden, Beeban Kidron's InRealLife, and James Toback's Seduced and Abandoned starring Alec Baldwin, completes the line-up.
Director of Sky Atlantic Elaine Pyke said: "Sky Atlantic is the home of great storytelling...
- 10/4/2013
- Digital Spy
Lucy Walker's inspiring documentary tracks snowboarder Kevin Pearce's recovery from a traumatic brain injury
Kevin Pearce went into a double-cork 1080 one of the world's greatest snowboarders. He came out of a coma six days later, having suffered a traumatic brain injury. Lucy Walker's inspiring documentary tracks his recovery from his devastating accident, following him as he learns to sit up, walk and – eventually – express a wish to get back on his board again. A crash reel – a montage of a boarder's hardest bails – is supposed to be funny, but Walker flips the format painfully on its head. Kevin will never be the athlete he was before his accident. His family sees that, Walker sees that. The Crash Reel is about watching Kevin come round to that realisation. This is an atypical sports movie. It's about placing your ambition on the back burner, about winning by giving up.
Kevin Pearce went into a double-cork 1080 one of the world's greatest snowboarders. He came out of a coma six days later, having suffered a traumatic brain injury. Lucy Walker's inspiring documentary tracks his recovery from his devastating accident, following him as he learns to sit up, walk and – eventually – express a wish to get back on his board again. A crash reel – a montage of a boarder's hardest bails – is supposed to be funny, but Walker flips the format painfully on its head. Kevin will never be the athlete he was before his accident. His family sees that, Walker sees that. The Crash Reel is about watching Kevin come round to that realisation. This is an atypical sports movie. It's about placing your ambition on the back burner, about winning by giving up.
- 10/4/2013
- by Henry Barnes
- The Guardian - Film News
You daily film news bulletin, fresh from the grinder
Tgif!
All over the planet, filmgoers are getting ready to fork out for the latest films - here's where you can find out whether they're any good.
• We've got a bunch of British films to look over this week, kicking off with Sunshine on Leith, the Proclaimers-soundtracked musical directed by Dexter "Get Babyface!" Fletcher. With three big stars from Peter Bradshaw, it's clear Fletcher is becoming a proper film director. Another Scottish-set film, For Those in Peril, gets a decent three stars, hot from its Cannes premiere, while How We Live Now, starring Saoirse Ronan and directed by Kevin Macdonald, is similarly awarded. Incredible as it may seem, All Three films feature a young man called George MacKay, who is accorded an interview in Film & Music to mark the achievement.
• Not so well liked (and, strangely, not featuring George) is Filth,...
Tgif!
All over the planet, filmgoers are getting ready to fork out for the latest films - here's where you can find out whether they're any good.
• We've got a bunch of British films to look over this week, kicking off with Sunshine on Leith, the Proclaimers-soundtracked musical directed by Dexter "Get Babyface!" Fletcher. With three big stars from Peter Bradshaw, it's clear Fletcher is becoming a proper film director. Another Scottish-set film, For Those in Peril, gets a decent three stars, hot from its Cannes premiere, while How We Live Now, starring Saoirse Ronan and directed by Kevin Macdonald, is similarly awarded. Incredible as it may seem, All Three films feature a young man called George MacKay, who is accorded an interview in Film & Music to mark the achievement.
• Not so well liked (and, strangely, not featuring George) is Filth,...
- 10/4/2013
- The Guardian - Film News
South by Southwest audience favourite and HBO exclusive The Crash Reel is the latest documentary by veteran director Lucy Walker, who is well known for her ability to provide insight into triumph after tragedy, regardless of the difficulty to do so. This film is no different, giving us a chance to peek into to the life of Kevin Pearce, snowboarding champion and 2010 Olympic hopeful, before and after the traumatic brain injury sustained while training, that left him disabled and desperately seeking a way to regain the life that he knew before.
Using actual footage from over 232 different sources as well as interviews with friends, family and fellow athletes, The Crash Reel reveals Pearce’s progression to success, the accident that changed his life, and the process of recovery in this touching and sometimes heartbreaking story of the fall and rise of a professional snowboarder whose career was abruptly cut short.
Using actual footage from over 232 different sources as well as interviews with friends, family and fellow athletes, The Crash Reel reveals Pearce’s progression to success, the accident that changed his life, and the process of recovery in this touching and sometimes heartbreaking story of the fall and rise of a professional snowboarder whose career was abruptly cut short.
- 9/30/2013
- by Micah Phillips
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Oscar-nominated documentary-maker Lucy Walker has made films about nuclear weapons, the Japanese tsunami – and now, a snowboarder horrifically injured in a half-pipe. She tells Emine Saner why non-fiction is winning the day
• The Crash Reel: first-look review
• Lucy Walker - Sheffield Doc/fest interview
There comes a dawning dread, part way through The Crash Reel, where you wonder if you are watching one long suicide. Lucy Walker, who filmed the pro-snowboarder Kevin Pearce's recovery from a head injury as he became determined to get back on a snowboard – something his doctors tell him would kill him were he to fall again – says she felt the same way as she was making it. "It was horrifying because he was so determined," she says.
After practising a cab double cork – a double backflip with a twist – at a 22ft halfpipe in Utah in December 2009, the American landed on his head...
• The Crash Reel: first-look review
• Lucy Walker - Sheffield Doc/fest interview
There comes a dawning dread, part way through The Crash Reel, where you wonder if you are watching one long suicide. Lucy Walker, who filmed the pro-snowboarder Kevin Pearce's recovery from a head injury as he became determined to get back on a snowboard – something his doctors tell him would kill him were he to fall again – says she felt the same way as she was making it. "It was horrifying because he was so determined," she says.
After practising a cab double cork – a double backflip with a twist – at a 22ft halfpipe in Utah in December 2009, the American landed on his head...
- 9/25/2013
- by Emine Saner
- The Guardian - Film News
American snowboarder Kevin Pearce was a favourite to compete in the 2010 Winter Olympics. That is, until December 31, 2009, when a failed attempt at a cab double cork left Pearce with a critical brain injury.
Now the athlete appears in The Crash Reel, a documentary feature about his hopes, the accident and how the support of family and friends has helped him to recover..
Premiering as the Opening Night Gala film on 19 January 2013 at the Sundance Film Festival, The Crash Reel enjoyed its Australian premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival last month..
It isn.t Pearce.s first time Down Under, with the 25-year-old recalling he has visited before for a snowboarding event. Perisher Blue, he notes, was .awesome. even though .it didn.t really have much snow...
That Pearce is back in Oz now is reflective of how much his life has changed from a few years ago. Ever-optimistic Pearce,...
Now the athlete appears in The Crash Reel, a documentary feature about his hopes, the accident and how the support of family and friends has helped him to recover..
Premiering as the Opening Night Gala film on 19 January 2013 at the Sundance Film Festival, The Crash Reel enjoyed its Australian premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival last month..
It isn.t Pearce.s first time Down Under, with the 25-year-old recalling he has visited before for a snowboarding event. Perisher Blue, he notes, was .awesome. even though .it didn.t really have much snow...
That Pearce is back in Oz now is reflective of how much his life has changed from a few years ago. Ever-optimistic Pearce,...
- 8/12/2013
- by Emily Blatchford
- IF.com.au
Lucy Walker would like to make one thing clear: "The Crash Reel" is not a snowboarding movie. Yes, the documentary that premieres on HBO on Monday night focuses on top showboarder Kevin Pearce, and it contains some spectacular action footage. But Pearce's career as a snowboarder came to an abrupt halt at the end of 2009 when he suffered traumatic brain injury in a horrific training accident, and the reverberations from that injury are the real subjects of Walker's film: His slow recovery, his dawning realization that the thing he loves...
- 7/15/2013
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Sure, Sunday tends to be overcrowded with high-end TV, including "True Blood," the recently returned "The Newsroom," "Copper," "Dexter," "Ray Donovan" and more, but what to watch the rest of the time? Every Monday, we bring you five noteworthy highlights from the other six days of the week. "The Crash Reel": Broadcast Premiere Monday, July 15 at 9pm on HBO The latest documentary from two-time Oscar nominee Lucy Walker cuts together 15 years of footage of the rivalry between Shaun White and Kevin Pearce, two childhood friends who became top snowboarders, their competition leading them to push the boundaries of the sport until Pearce ended up with a traumatic head injury after a half-pipe crash. As White goes on to win a gold medal at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, Pearce struggles with the knowledge that returning to the sport he loves could result in his death. "Pov": "Only the Young" Monday,...
- 7/15/2013
- by Alison Willmore
- Indiewire
HBO's documentary is a remarkable portrait of former Vermont snowboarding champion Kevin Pearce. The film airs Monday, July 15 at 9 p.m. on HBO There are several profound threads in HBO's astoundingly good "The Crash Reel," a documentary that introduces us to a solid family from Vermont. "The Crash Reel" is not just about a famous X Games athlete overcoming a horrific injury, but the power of family acting as a collective, and the strength everyone gives each other to help a part of the whole heal. And there is healing and a happy resolve here. It's also about being dealt a hard hand to play with a disabled child who turns out to be the saving grace of...
- 7/14/2013
- by April Neale
- Monsters and Critics
Watch the trailer for HBO's The Crash Reel and check out the poster and photos from the documentary directed by two-time Oscar nominee Lucy Walker. Featuring Mason Aguirre, Jake Burton and Kevin Pearce, among others, the HBO player airs on Monday, July 15th 99:00-11:00 p.m. Et/Pt. In 2009, American snowboarding champion Kevin Pearce was enjoying the most successful competitive season of his career, winning several events and challenging the dominance of his friend-turned-rival, the legendary Shaun White. But on Dec. 31, while riding the slopes of Park City, Utah in final training for the 2010 Winter Olympics, he suffered a traumatic brain injurythat left him in a coma, followed by a long road of adjusting to what would be a lifelong disability.
- 7/10/2013
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Director Lucy Walker‘s The Crash Reel gives audiences a front row seat to some of the most death-defying snowboarding tricks from the world’s top snowboarders, but does so along with an unflinching look at what can happen when the smallest thing goes wrong. Professional snowboarder Kevin Pearce was at the top of his game back in 2009, consistently beating out fellow snowboarder Shaun White at competitions, and was poised to become the newest member of the U.S. Olympic team. After hearing that White had created a private course to train on, Pearce decides to do the same, but unlike White, he invites all his friends and join in on the fun. What starts out as a carefree trip quickly turns tragic when a trick gone wrong has Pearce landing face first off a half-pipe, and his friends scrambling to get him help. After falling into a coma, friends and family worry that the Pearce who...
- 6/19/2013
- by Allison Loring
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
The director of a documentary about the fall and rise of champion snowboarder Kevin Pearce - who suffered a traumatic brain injury after crashing on a halfpipe - tells Henry Barnes why we are compelled to watch athletes risking their lives in pursuit of bigger and better thrills
Read Henry Barnes' review of The Crash Reel here Continue reading...
Read Henry Barnes' review of The Crash Reel here Continue reading...
- 6/14/2013
- by Henry Barnes and Catherine Shoard
- The Guardian - Film News
The crash reel – a montage of falls by snowboarders – is turned painfully on its head in Lucy Walker's documentary about the long drop from athletic excellence to frail humanity
It's the training season for the 2010 winter Olympics. World-class snowboarder Kevin Pearce swings up the half pipe and launches into the air. He spins into a double cork 1080. It's one of the toughest moves in his – or any – repertoire, and he comes back down, hard and fast, towards the ramp. The tail end of his board catches the ice. He falls forward with no time to put out his arms. His full weight lands on his head and neck.
Pearce was in a coma for six days. It would take him weeks to learn how to make small movements, months to start walking again and years to accept how serious his condition was.
The Crash Reel follows the Pearce family...
It's the training season for the 2010 winter Olympics. World-class snowboarder Kevin Pearce swings up the half pipe and launches into the air. He spins into a double cork 1080. It's one of the toughest moves in his – or any – repertoire, and he comes back down, hard and fast, towards the ramp. The tail end of his board catches the ice. He falls forward with no time to put out his arms. His full weight lands on his head and neck.
Pearce was in a coma for six days. It would take him weeks to learn how to make small movements, months to start walking again and years to accept how serious his condition was.
The Crash Reel follows the Pearce family...
- 6/13/2013
- by Henry Barnes
- The Guardian - Film News
Pussy Riot, Uri Geller: Sheffield Doc/Fest 2013 line-up The United Kingdom’s Sheffield Doc/Fest 2013 kicks off on June 12, featuring 27 World Premieres. Topics range from "psychic spy" Uri Geller (Uri Geller and Vikram Jayanti’s The Secret Life of Uri Geller — Psychic Spy) to shale mining (Lech Kowalski’s Drill Baby Drill), from the science behind Planet Earth’s fast-approaching climactic armageddon (David Sington and Simon Lamb’s Thin Ice: The Inside Story of Climate Science) to the life and times of international professional thieves (Havana Marking’s Smash & Grab: The Story of the Pink Panthers). Below are a few Sheffield Doc/Fest 2013 highlights. (Photo: Pussy Riot — A Punk Prayer.) Mike Lerner and Maxim Pozdorovkin’s Pussy Riot — A Punk Prayer follows the Pussy Riot trial in which three of the band’s members stood accused of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred” following a performance staged at Moscow...
- 5/29/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
2 Autumns, 3 Winters
Film Movement has acquired U.S. distribution rights to Sebastien Betbeder's "2 Autumns, 3 Winters." The story follows two friends in their early-thirties over two falls and three winters, as one falls in love while the other has a stroke.
Blood Ties
Lionsgate has acquired U.S. distribution rights to Guillaume Canet’s English-language directorial debut "Blood Ties" in a $2 million deal. Lionsgate's Roadside Attractions will release the film, a remake of "Les Liens Du Sang," which follows two brothers, one a cop and one an ex-con. Clive Owen, Billy Crudup, Marion Cotillard, Zoé Saldana, James Caan, Matthias Schoenaerts and Mila Kunis star.
Blue Is The Warmest Color
Sundance Selects has acquired U.S. rights to Abdellatif Kechiche's French-language drama "Blue Is the Warmest Color" starring Lea Seydoux and Adele Exarchopoulos. The story deals with a young girl's first love and includes explicit lesbian sex scenes. It has also drawn rave reviews at Cannes.
Film Movement has acquired U.S. distribution rights to Sebastien Betbeder's "2 Autumns, 3 Winters." The story follows two friends in their early-thirties over two falls and three winters, as one falls in love while the other has a stroke.
Blood Ties
Lionsgate has acquired U.S. distribution rights to Guillaume Canet’s English-language directorial debut "Blood Ties" in a $2 million deal. Lionsgate's Roadside Attractions will release the film, a remake of "Les Liens Du Sang," which follows two brothers, one a cop and one an ex-con. Clive Owen, Billy Crudup, Marion Cotillard, Zoé Saldana, James Caan, Matthias Schoenaerts and Mila Kunis star.
Blue Is The Warmest Color
Sundance Selects has acquired U.S. rights to Abdellatif Kechiche's French-language drama "Blue Is the Warmest Color" starring Lea Seydoux and Adele Exarchopoulos. The story deals with a young girl's first love and includes explicit lesbian sex scenes. It has also drawn rave reviews at Cannes.
- 5/25/2013
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Sundance and Tribeca festivals showcase a stunning crop of films, focusing on Afghanistan, killer whales and more
It may count as the least likely of cinematic comebacks since Mickey Rourke bleached his hair and started self-tanning for The Wrestler. A new wave of documentaries are ensuring a return to cinema screens of something long thought lost to our era of spandex-wearing superheroes and CGI fireballs: reality.
Marvelling at "the explosion – and creative flowering – of this most commercially unsexy of genres" at the Tribeca film festival last week, New York magazine's David Edelstein wrote:
In this age of digital video – in which there are cheap cameras, editing software and funding to be had … the cool kids are making docs. The form is not just good for you these days. It's incredibly sexy.
At Sundance this year at least four titles – Pussy Riot, The Summit, Stardom and Blackfish – sold for more than $1m.
It may count as the least likely of cinematic comebacks since Mickey Rourke bleached his hair and started self-tanning for The Wrestler. A new wave of documentaries are ensuring a return to cinema screens of something long thought lost to our era of spandex-wearing superheroes and CGI fireballs: reality.
Marvelling at "the explosion – and creative flowering – of this most commercially unsexy of genres" at the Tribeca film festival last week, New York magazine's David Edelstein wrote:
In this age of digital video – in which there are cheap cameras, editing software and funding to be had … the cool kids are making docs. The form is not just good for you these days. It's incredibly sexy.
At Sundance this year at least four titles – Pussy Riot, The Summit, Stardom and Blackfish – sold for more than $1m.
- 4/23/2013
- by Tom Shone
- The Guardian - Film News
Far from stripped down, the massive 2013 edition will kick off with the world premiere of The Manor, a documentary by first-time Canadian director Shawney Cohen, about a Jewish family running a Guelph strip club. Growing in popularity and acclaim with each edition, the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival is one of North America’s most anticipated film festivals and a haven for lovers of great documentaries — its sold-out screenings and long line-ups attest to the festival’s ever-growing importance and impressive status. Yesterday, Hot Docs unveiled its full line-up (which runs April 25th to May 5th) of 205 official selections from 43 countries, chosen from over 2,300 submissions, with 44 World premieres.
If the subjects and titles are any indication, it promises to be yet another fascinating year in documentaries. 2012 was highly successful for the festival with 9 of its selections making up the 15 documentaries shortlisted for the Best Feature Documentary at the recent Academy Awards.
If the subjects and titles are any indication, it promises to be yet another fascinating year in documentaries. 2012 was highly successful for the festival with 9 of its selections making up the 15 documentaries shortlisted for the Best Feature Documentary at the recent Academy Awards.
- 3/20/2013
- by Moen Mohamed
- IONCINEMA.com
When I first heard the title of Lucy Walker's newest documentary, The Crash Reel, I immediately pictured something along the lines of Jackass. Of course, once I connected Walker's name to her impressive resume of previous documentaries (Countdown to Zero, Waste Land, Devil's Playground), I knew that The Crash Reel would not just be a compilation of snowboarding accidents -- or, if it was, then there would be an ulterior motive, the images would not just be for our amusement. Despite my awareness of the hype about The Crash Reel during Sundance, I somehow was able to avoid learning anything about the content of the documentary. This is a good thing because -- to be brutally honest -- I would have probably never seen The Crash Reel if I knew what it was actually about. Going into The Crash Reel completely cold (mind the pun) allowed me to ride...
- 3/5/2013
- by Don Simpson
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
*Note Updates in next blog: Sundance By Numbers Update
Originally this report used a horserace as its metaphor. It was designed to see who was ahead of the others and who was lagging behind. U.S. talent agencies were increasingly acting as producer reps and thus inserting themselves into the sales of U.S. rights, an activity formerly the exclusive domain of international sales agents who would map their entire international strategy for sales, using the U.S. sale as a marketing tool for other sales. Now the race between producer reps and international sales agents for representing films, primarily at Sundance and Toronto is tracked in the By Numbers Report.
The report tracks which agents and which international sales agents are selling the most films, which titles are selling best, which distributors are buying the most, and any other noteworthy “races”, e.g., how many films are by women, Asians, African-diasporites, or are about such subjects as Jewish, Glbt, politics, whatever.
This year’s Cannes saw the number of women directors fall so drastically (from a steady 10 – 13% in festivals during the last few years), that an outcry was heard from professionals in the industry. Sundance significantly ups this figure. This year out of 16 fiction features in competition, 8 are by women. Of Sundance’s 113 features, 37 are by women which means 33%. We hope this is a trend and not an anomoly. Only time will tell. According to San Diego State University’s Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, only 5% of the 250 highest-grossing films last year were directed by women.
Over time, the reports spot trends in the business of buying and selling, especially during festivals like Toronto and Sundance.
With time, we may find the number of Asian, Asian-American, African diaspora, Middle-Eastern and female directed films impact the marketplace itself. For that reason, these reports will continue to be offered to film professionals. The criterion are not set in stone but depend upon the moment.
Sundance By Numbers
If there were a Sundance Institute Performance Metric, a measure of its activities and performance, inwardly focusing on the performance of the organization, would show a high value of performance against customer requirements and value. Its performance metrics would prove it to be very healthy and consistent with the six criteria: time, cost, resources, scope, quality, and actions.
Bravo Sundance! On all fronts it is carrying through its original purpose and vision.
Out of 12,146 features and shorts (429 more than in 2012) submitted this yearincluding 4,044 feature-length films and 8,102 short films. Of the feature film submissions, 2,070 were from the U.S. and 1,974 were international. 113 features were chosen. 98 of these are world premieres. 33% of these are directed by women.
This year half of the 16 narrative fiction features in competition are directed by women. In the 2012 festival, only 3 of the 16 dramatic competition films were made by women. Overall, 33% (37 out of 113) of the Sundance titles are directed by women.
For the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, 113 feature-length films were selected, represented films were selected from 12,146 submissions (429 more than for 2012), 98 feature films at the Festival will be world premieres.
Other numbers
Films by women are markedwith the♀, African American withthe symbol α (9). Latino is marked by the symbol ɤ (7). Jewish by ✡ (13), Asian by ¥ (10), Middle Eastern ᵯ (4), Lgbt (13)
Us in Progress, the two year old, innovative look at films in post held by American Film Festival in Wroclaw, Poland and by Champs Elysees Film Festival already has a track record with 3 of its films at Sundance. A Teacher by Hannah Fidell ♀ which was picked up subsequently by Visit and is being repped for U.S. by ICM, I Used to be Darker and Milkshake.
San Francisco Film Society's claims 5 of their films funded by San Francisco Film Society grants and incubated with the support of various Filmmaker360 programs will have their world premieres: Ryan Coogler's (α) Fruitvale will screen in the U.S. Dramatic Competition, and Joe Brewster (α) and Michèle Stephenson's (♀, α) American Promise, Zachary Heinzerling's Cutie and the Boxer, Jacob Kornbluth's (✡) Inequality for All and Shaul Schwarz's (✡) Narco Cultura will screen in the U.S. Documentary Competition.
11 Ifp program-supported projects at Sundance include Audrey Ewell♀, Aaron Aites, Lucian Read and Nina Krstic's ♀ 99%: The Occupy Wall Street Collaborative Film; Martha Shane ♀ and Lana Wilson's ♀After Tiller;Zachery Heinzerling's (✡)Cutie and the Boxer, Dawn Porter's ♀ Gideon's Army; and Roger Ross Williams' (α, Lgbt) God Loves Ugandain the U.S. Documentary Competition. Narrative films include David Lowery's Ain’t Them Bodies Saints and Stacie Passon's (♀,Lgbt)Concussion in the U.S .Dramatic Competition; Alexandre Moors' Blue Caprice,Shaka King's (α) Newlyweeds,and Chad Hartigan's This is Martin Bonner in Next; and Rama Burshtein's (♀,✡) Fill the Void in Spotlight. Blue Caprice and Concussion are alums of Ifp’s 2012 Independent Filmmaker Labs; Cutie and the Boxer, God Loves Uganda, and This is Martin Bonner are fiscally sponsored by Ifp; and all of the other films (and Cutie) were selections of Independent Film Week’s Project Forum in 2011-2012.
Number Of Producer Reps Repping U.S. Rights
What shows up most on this scorecard is the prevalence of the talent agencies and other “producers’ representatives”. In those “good old days” of Sundance before “Sex, Lies and Videotape” alerted Hollywood that there was some capital to be made in Park City, Sundance gave a home to the original visions of a few independent minded filmmakers, and there were no terms to describe “producer reps”. International sales agents (when these films had any such representation, which was also rare) did their work without deferring to dealmakers in Hollywood. And, as I said, these films usually did not have international representation. That is why the newly emerging acquisitions executives went to Sundance looking for films that they would not find in the existing markets (Cannes, Mifed or Afm).
Anyway, here we are today and here are the numbers:
There are about 12 Producers Reps. The newest fold in the relatively new “mini industry” of representing producers to the U.S. distribution community is that now, instead of one producer rep per film, often two competitive agencies might rep the U.S. rights as you can see in top scorers CAA, Wme or UTA’s lineups.
Producer reps do their best work in Sundance and in Toronto. They usually represent the producer to help make a lucrative U.S. deal. After the heat is gone in Sundance and Toronto, the producer reps usually fade away from the deal making, leaving the unpicked-up films in a limbo until some distributor finally makes a deal with the producer or the international sales agent directly.
In terms of capitol, while there is no official count, it is said that last year $30 million in deals were done at Sundance. If this is true, is it made primarily by the producer reps? What percentage do they get from the deal? Does this mean filmmakers have to have CAA rep them to break out of the gate? (The answer is no). Agents taking on the job of being producer reps are doing so because they have helped with packaging and/ or financing the films they are repping. Sometimes talent takes lower salaries when they work in indies and the agents must get as much back as possible.
It is not necessary to have an agent, there are other types of producer reps, including attorneys who act as attorneys but sometimes seem to be producers reps like Cinetic’s John Sloss, or Linda Licther, or Donaldson Callif who has 11 films in Sundance and 2 in Slamdance this year. There are also independent producer reps who are hungrier than the major agencies who must quickly earn their 10% (or not) and move on. These producer reps tend to work year round with the films they represent. Submarine, Preferred Content and Ronna Wallace’s Eastgate are the most important ones today.
Producer Reps “By Numbers”
12 Films
Creative Artists Agency (CAA) which repped a total of 14 films in 2012 is still calling a lot of shots this Sundance.
1 jOBS / U.S.A. (Director: Joshua Michael Stern (✡), Screenwriter: Matt Whiteley) — The true story of one of the greatest entrepreneurs in American history, jOBS chronicles the defining 30 years of Steve Jobs’ life. jOBS is a candid, inspiring and personal portrait of the one who saw things differently. (Synopses are written by Sundance staff.) Cast: Ashton Kutcher, Dermot Mulroney, Josh Gad, Lukas Haas, J.K. Simmons, Matthew Modine. Closing Night Film -- Open Road Filmshas U.S. Entertainment One (in collaboration with Remstar) has Canada except theatrical, VOD and French-language TV rights in Quebec which Remstarholds exclusively. Isa: If Entertainment
2 Anita /α/ U.S.A. (Director: Freida Mock ♀¥) — Anita Hill, an African-American woman, charges Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas with sexual harassment in explosive Senate hearings in 1991 – bringing sexual politics into the national consciousness and fueling 20 years of international debate on the issues.
3 Linsanity / U.S.A. (Director: Evan Leong ¥) — Jeremy Lin came from a humble background to make an unbelievable run in the NBA. State high school champion, all-Ivy League at Harvard, undrafted by the NBA and unwanted there: his story started long before he landed on Broadway.
4 Hell Baby / U.S.A. (Directors and screenwriters: Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon) — An expectant couple moves into the most haunted fixer-upper in New Orleans – a house with a demonic curse. Things spiral out of control and soon only the Vatican’s elite exorcism team can save the pair – or can it? Cast: Rob Corddry, Leslie Bibb, Keegan Michael Key, Riki Lindhome, Paul Scheer, Rob Huebel.
5 The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete / U.S.A. (Director: George Tillman Jr. α, Screenwriter: Michael Starrbury) — Separated from their mothers and facing a summer in the Brooklyn projects alone, two boys hide from police and forage for food, with only each other to trust. A story of salvation through friendship and two boys against the world. Cast: Skylan Brooks, Ethan Dizon, Jennifer Hudson, Jordin Sparks, Anthony Mackie, Jeffrey Wright.Isa: Aldamisa
6 The Lifeguard / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Liz W. Garcia ♀ɤ) — A former valedictorian quits her reporter job in New York and returns to the place she last felt happy: her childhood home in Connecticut. She gets work as a lifeguard and starts a dangerous relationship with a troubled teenager. Cast: Kristen Bell, Mamie Gummer, Martin Starr, Alex Shaffer, Amy Madigan, David Lambert. Isa: Joker Films
7 Narco Cultura / ɤ/ U.S.A. (Director: Shaul Schwarz (✡) — An examination of Mexican drug cartels’ influence in pop culture on both sides of the border as experienced by an La narcocorrido singer dreaming of stardom and a Juarez crime scene investigator on the front line of Mexico’s Drug War.Isa: K5
8 Don Jon’s Addiction / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Joseph Gordon-Levitt) — In Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s charming directorial debut, a selfish modern-day Don Juan attempts to change his ways. Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Tony Danza, Glenne Headly, Rob Brown. Shares rights with Wme Isa: Voltage Pictures has sold to Future Films for Finland, Remstar Films for Canada, Ascot Elite Entertainment Group for Germany and Switzerland, Midget Entertainmentfor Denmark, Noori Picturesfor So. Korea.
9 The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman / U.S.A. (Director: Fredrik Bond, Screenwriter: Matt Drake) — Traveling abroad, Charlie Countryman falls for Gabi, a Romanian beauty whose unreachable heart has its origins in Nigel, her violent, charismatic ex. As the darkness of Gabi’s past increasingly envelops him, Charlie resolves to win her heart, or die trying. Cast: Shia Labeouf, Evan Rachel Wood, Mads Mikkelsen, Rupert Grint, James Buckley, Til Schweiger. Isa: Voltage Pictures sold to Ascot Elite for Switzerland and Germany, Midget for Denmark, Vvs Films for Canada.
10 The Way, Way Back / U.S.A. (Directors and screenwriters: Nat Faxon, Jim Rash) — Duncan, an introverted 14-year-old, comes into his own over the course of a comedic summer when he forms unlikely friendships with the gregarious manager of a rundown water park and the misfits who work there. Cast: Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Allison Janney, Sam Rockwell, Maya Rudolph, Liam James. Shares rights with Wme Isa: Sierra/ Affinity
11 Very Good Girls / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Naomi Foner (♀,✡)) — In the long, half-naked days of a New York summer, two girls on the brink of becoming women fall for the same guy and find that life isn’t as simple or safe as they had thought. Cast: Dakota Fanning, Elizabeth Olsen, Boyd Holbrook, Demi Moore, Richard Dreyfuss, Ellen Barkin.
12 Two Mothers / Australia, France (Director: Anne Fontaine ♀, Screenwriter: Christopher Hampton) — This gripping tale of love, lust and the power of friendship charts the unconventional and passionate affairs of two lifelong friends who fall in love with each other’s sons. Cast: Naomi Watts, Robin Wright, Xavier Samuel, James Frechevile.Isa: Gaumont sold to Remstar for Canada, Hopscotch Features for Australia/ N.Z., Gaumont for France.
United Talent Agency (UTA)
1 Austenland / U.S.A., United Kingdom (Director: Jerusha Hess ♀, Screenwriters: Jerusha Hess, Shannon Hale) — Thirtysomething, single Jane is obsessed with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in Pride and Prejudice. On a trip to an English resort, her fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman become more real than she ever imagined. Cast: Keri Russell, Jj Feild, Bret McKenzie, Jennifer Coolidge, Georgia King, James Callis.
2 In a World... / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Lake Bell (♀,✡)) — An underachieving vocal coach is motivated by her father, the king of movie-trailer voice-overs, to pursue her aspirations of becoming a voiceover star. Amidst pride, sexism and family dysfunction, she sets out to change the voice of a generation. Cast: Lake Bell, Demetri Martin, Rob Corddry, Michaela Watkins, Ken Marino, Fred Melamed.
3 Crystal Fairy / Chile (Director and screenwriter: Sebastián Silva ɤ Lgbt ) — Jamie invites a stranger to join a road trip to Chile. The woman’s free and esoteric nature clashes with Jamie’s acidic, self-absorbed personality as they head into the desert for a Mescaline-fueled psychedelic trip. Cast: Michael Cera, Gabby Hoffmann, Juan Andrés Silva, José Miguel Silva, Agustín Silva. World Premiere. Day One Film
4 Breathe In / U.S.A. (Director: Drake Doremus, Screenwriters: Drake Doremus, Ben York Jones) — When a foreign exchange student arrives in a small upstate New York town, she challenges the dynamics of her host family’s relationships and alters their lives forever. Cast: Guy Pearce, Felicity Jones, Amy Ryan, Mackenzie Davis.
5 Ass Backwards / U.S.A. (Director: Chris Nelson, Screenwriters: June Diane Raphael, Casey Wilson) — Loveable losers Kate and Chloe take a road trip back to their hometown to claim the beauty pageant crown that eluded them as children, only to discover what really counts: friendship. Cast: June Diane Raphael, Casey Wilson, Vincent D’Onofrio, Alicia Silverstone, Jon Cryer, Brian Geraghty. Isa: Premiere Entertainment Group
6 Afternoon Delight / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jill Soloway ♀) — In this sexy, dark comedy, a lost L.A. housewife puts her idyllic hipster life in jeopardy when she tries to rescue a stripper by taking her in as a live-in nanny. Cast: Kathryn Hahn, Juno Temple, Josh Radnor, Jane Lynch. Shares rights with Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Adler & Feldman
7 C.O.G. / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Kyle Patrick Alvarez (ɤ, Lgbt) — In the first ever film adaptation of David Sedaris’ work, a cocky young man travels to Oregon to work on an apple farm. Out of his element, he finds his lifestyle and notions being picked apart by everyone who crosses his path. Cast: Jonathan Groff, Denis O’Hare, Corey Stoll, Dean Stockwell, Casey Wilson, Troian Bellisario. Shares rights with Preferred Content
8 Touchy Feely / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Lynn Shelton ♀, Lgbt) — A massage therapist is unable to do her job when stricken with a mysterious and sudden aversion to bodily contact. Meanwhile, her uptight brother’s foundering dental practice receives new life when clients seek out his “healing touch.” Cast: Rosemarie DeWitt, Allison Janney, Ron Livingston, Scoot McNairy, Ellen Page, Josh Pais. Shares rights with Submarine
9 The Spectacular Now / U.S.A. (Director: James Ponsoldt, Screenwriters: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber) — Sutter is a high school senior who lives for the moment; Aimee is the introvert he attempts to “save.” As their relationship deepens, the lines between right and wrong, friendship and love, and “saving” and corrupting become inextricably blurred. Cast: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kyle Chandler. Isa: The Exchange
10 Magic Magic / ɤ/ U.S.A., Chile (Director and screenwriter: Sebastián Silva ɤ, Lgbt) — An American girl vacationing in remote Chile mentally unravels, putting herself and those around her in danger. Cast: Michael Cera, Juno Temple, Emily Browning, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Augustín Silva. World Premiere Isa: The Exchange/6 Sales
11 Kill Your Darlings / U.S.A. (Director: John Krokidas Lgbt, Screenwriters: Austin Bunn, John Krokidas) — An untold story of murder that brought together a young Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs at Columbia University in 1944, providing the spark that led to the birth of an entire generation – their Beat revolution. Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Dane DeHann, Ben Foster, Michael C. Hall, Jack Huston, Elizabeth Olsen. Shares rights with Elevated Film Sales Isa: Inferno Entertainment
12 The Look of Love / United Kingdom (Director: Michael Winterbottom Lgbt, Screenwriter: Matt Greenhalgh) — The true story of British adult magazine publisher and entrepreneur Paul Raymond. A modern day King Midas story, Raymond became one of the richest men in Britain at the cost of losing those closest to him. Cast: Steve Coogan, Anna Friel, Imogen Poots, Tamsin Egerton. - UTAis No.American consultant to StudioCanal
Submarine along with Preferred Content is one of the truly independent producers reps.
1 Blackfish / U.S.A. (Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite ♀) — Notorious killer whale Tilikum is responsible for the deaths of three individuals, including a top killer whale trainer. Blackfish shows the sometimes devastating consequences of keeping such intelligent and sentient creatures in captivity.
2 Citizen Koch / U.S.A. (Directors: Carl Deal, Tia Lessin ♀) — Wisconsin – birthplace of the Republican Party, government unions, “cheeseheads” and Paul Ryan – becomes a test market in the campaign to buy Democracy, and ground zero in the battle for the future of the Gop.
3 Cutie and the Boxer / U.S.A. (Director: Zachary Heinzerling ✡) — This candid New York love story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of famed boxing painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko. Anxious to shed her role as her overbearing husband’s assistant, Noriko finds an identity of her own.
4 Dirty Wars / U.S.A. (Director: Richard Rowley) — Investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill chases down the truth behind America’s covert wars.
5 God Loves Uganda / α / U.S.A. (Director: Roger Ross Williams (α, Lgbt)) — A powerful exploration of the evangelical campaign to infuse African culture with values imported from America’s Christian Right. The film follows American and Ugandan religious leaders fighting “sexual immorality” and missionaries trying to convince Ugandans to follow biblical law. -- Submarine handling U.S/ Canada (Excluding U.S TV Rights)
6 Twenty Feet From Stardom / α / U.S.A. (Director: Morgan Neville) — Backup singers live in a world that lies just beyond the spotlight. Their voices bring harmony to the biggest bands in popular music, but we’ve had no idea who these singers are or what lives they lead – until now. -- Submarine handling U.S/ Canada/ U.K/ Australia/ N.Zealand
7 The Summit / Ireland, United Kingdom (Director: Nick Ryan) — Twenty-four climbers converged at the last stop before summiting the most dangerous mountain on Earth. Forty-eight hours later, 11 had been killed or simply vanished. Had one, Ger McDonnell, stuck to the climbers’ code, he might still be alive. International Premiere
8 Who is Dayani Cristal? / United Kingdom (Director: Marc Silver) — An anonymous body in the Arizona desert sparks the beginning of a real-life human drama. The search for its identity leads us across a continent to seek out the people left behind and the meaning of a mysterious tattoo. World Premiere.
9 Charlie Victor Romeo / U.S.A. (Directors: Robert Berger, Karlyn Michelson ♀, Screenwriters: Robert Berger, Patrick Daniels, Irving Gregory) — An award-winning theatrical documentary derived entirely from ‘Black Box’ transcripts of six real-life major airline emergencies brought to the screen with cutting-edge stereoscopic 3D technology. Cast: Patrick Daniels, Irving Gregory, Noel Dinneen, Sam Zuckerman, Debbie Troche, Nora Woolley.
10 Running From Crazy / U.S.A. (Director: Barbara Kopple ♀, ✡) — Mariel Hemingway, granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway, strives for a greater understanding of her family history of suicide and mental illness. As tragedies are explored and deeply hidden secrets are revealed, Mariel searches for a way to overcome a similar fate.
11 Touchy Feely / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Lynn Shelton ♀ Lgbt) — A massage therapist is unable to do her job when stricken with a mysterious and sudden aversion to bodily contact. Meanwhile, her uptight brother’s foundering dental practice receives new life when clients seek out his “healing touch.” Cast: Rosemarie DeWitt, Allison Janney, Ron Livingston, Scoot McNairy, Ellen Page, Josh Pais. Shares rights with UTA
12 Muscle Shoals / α /U.S.A. (Director: Greg 'Freddy' Camalier) — Down in Alabama Rick Hall founded Fame Studios and gave birth to the Muscle Shoals sound. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Gregg Allman, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Alicia Keys, Bono and others bear witness to the greatest untold American music story. Shares rights with Wme
10 Films
William Morris Endeavor (Wme)
1 Inequality for All / U.S.A. (Director: Jacob Kornbluth (✡)) — In this timely and entertaining documentary, noted economic-policy expert Robert Reich distills the topic of widening income inequality, and addresses the question of what effects this increasing gap has on our economy and our democracy.
2 Fruitvale / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Ryan Coogler α) — The true story of Oscar, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family and strangers on the last day of 2008. Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Octavia Spencer, Melonie Diaz, Ahna O’Reilly, Kevin Durand, Chad Michael Murray.
3 A.C.O.D. / U.S.A. (Director: Stuart Zicherman ✡, Screenwriters: Ben Karlin, Stuart Zicherman) — Carter is a well-adjusted Adult Child of Divorce. So he thinks. When he discovers he was part of a divorce study as a child, it wreaks havoc on his family and forces him to face his chaotic past. Cast: Adam Scott, Richard Jenkins, Catherine O’Hara, Amy Poehler, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clark Duke.
4 S-vhs / U.S.A., Canada (Directors: Simon Barrett, Adam Wingard, Edúardo Sanchez ɤ , Gregg Hale, Timo Tjahjanto ¥, Gareth Huw Evans, Jason Eisener, Screenwriters: Simon Barrett, Jamie Nash, Timo Tjahjanto & Gareth Huw Evans, John Davies) — Searching for a missing student, two private investigators break into his abandoned house and find another collection of mysterious VHS tapes. In viewing the horrific contents of each cassette, they realize there may be terrifying motives behind the student’s disappearance. Cast: Adam Wingard, Lawrence Levine, L.C Holt, Kelsy Abbott, Hannah Hughes.
5 Ain’t Them Bodies Saints / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Lowery) — The tale of an outlaw who escapes from prison and sets out across the Texas hills to reunite with his wife and the daughter he has never met. Cast: Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Nate Parker, Keith Carradine. Shares rights with Elevated Film Sales
6 Big Sur / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Michael Polish) — Unable to cope with a suddenly demanding public and battling advanced alcoholism, Jack Kerouac seeks respite in three brief sojourns to a cabin in Big Sur, which reveal his mental and physical deterioration. Cast: Jean-Marc Barr, Kate Bosworth, Josh Lucas, Radha Mitchell, Anthony Edwards, Henry Thomas. Shares rights with Gersh
7 We Are What We Are / U.S.A. (Director: Jim Mickle, Screenwriters: Nick Damici, Jim Mickle) — A devastating storm washes up clues that lead authorities closer and closer to the cannibalistic Parker family. Cast: Bill Sage, Ambyr Childers, Julia Garner, Michael Parks, Wyatt Russell, Kelly McGillis.Isa: Memento Films
8 Blood Brother / U.S.A. (Director: Steve Hoover) — Rocky went to India as a disillusioned tourist. When he met a group of children with HIV, he decided to stay. He never could have imagined the obstacles he would face, or the love he would find. Shares rights with Preferred Content
9 Don Jon’s Addiction / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Joseph Gordon-Levitt) — In Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s charming directorial debut, a selfish modern-day Don Juan attempts to change his ways. Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Tony Danza, Glenne Headly, Rob Brown. Shares rights with CAA Isa: Voltage Pictures
10 The Way, Way Back / U.S.A. (Directors and screenwriters: Nat Faxon, Jim Rash) — Duncan, an introverted 14-year-old, comes into his own over the course of a comedic summer when he forms unlikely friendships with the gregarious manager of a rundown water park and the misfits who work there. Cast: Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Allison Janney, Sam Rockwell, Maya Rudolph, Liam James. Shares rights with CAA Isa: Sierra/Affinity
9 Films
Cinetic Led by John Sloss, premier N.Y. independent attorney who has represented films internationally, acted as an aggregator of digital rights and acts as a producers rep for North America:
1 After Tiller / U.S.A. (Directors: Martha Shane ♀, Lana Wilson ♀) — Since the assassination of Dr. George Tiller in 2009, only four doctors in the country provide late-term abortions. With unprecedented access, After Tiller goes inside the lives of these physicians working at the center of the storm. -- Isa: ro*co
2 Before Midnight/ U.S.A. (Director: Richard Linklater, Screenwriters: Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, Richard Linklater— We meet Jesse and Celine nine years on in Greece. Almost two decades have passed since their first meeting on that train bound for Vienna. Before the clock strikes midnight, we will again become part of their story. Cast: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Xenia Kalogeropoulou, Ariane Labed, Athina Rachel Tsangari, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick. -- Isa: Im Global
3 Blue Caprice / U.S.A. (Director: Alexandre Moors, Screenwriters: R.F.I Porto, Alexandre Moors) — An abandoned boy is lured to America and drawn into the shadow of a dangerous father figure in this film inspired by the real life events that led to the 2002 Beltway sniper attacks. Cast: Isaiah Washington, Tequan Richmond, Joey Lauren Adams, Tim Blake Nelson, Cassandra Freeman, Leo Fitzpatrick.
4 Escape from Tomorrow / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Randy Moore) — A postmodern, surreal voyage into the bowels of "family" entertainment; an epic battle begins when an unemployed, middle-aged father loses his sanity during a close encounter with two teenage girls on holiday. Cast: Roy Abramsohn, Elena Schuber, Katelynn Rodriguez, Annet Mahendru, Danielle Safady, Alison Lees-Taylor.
5 Milkshake / α / U.S.A. (Director: David Andalman, Screenwriters: David Andalman, Mariko Munro) — In mid-1990's America, we follow the tragic sex life of Jolie Jolson, a wannabe thug (and great-great-grandson of legendary vaudevillian Al Jolson) in suburban DC as he strives to become something he can never be – black. Cast: Tyler Ross, Shareeka Epps, Georgia Ford, Eshan Bay, Leo Fitzpatrick, Danny Burstein.
6 Prince Avalanche / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Gordon Green ✡) — Two highway road workers spend the summer of 1988 away from their city lives. The isolated landscape becomes a place of misadventure as the men find themselves at odds with each other and the women they left behind. Cast: Paul Rudd, Emile Hirsch.
7 Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer / Russian Federation, United Kingdom (Directors: Mike Lerner, Maxim Pozdorovkin) — Three young women face seven years in a Russian prison for a satirical performance in a Moscow cathedral. But who is really on trial: the three young artists or the society they live in? World Premiere -- Isa: Goldcrest Films
8 The Square (El Midan) / ᵯ/ Egypt, U.S.A. (Director: Jehane Noujaim ♀ ᵯ) — What does it mean to risk your life for your ideals? How far will five revolutionaries go in defending their beliefs in the fight for their nation? World Premiere -- Isa: Goldcrest Films
9 Toy's House / U.S.A. (Director: Jordan Vogt-Roberts, Screenwriter: Chris Galletta) — Three unhappy teenage boys flee to the wilderness where they build a makeshift house and live off the land as masters of their own destiny. Or at least that’s the plan. Cast: Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso, Moises Arias, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, Alison Brie.
6 Films
Preferred Contentis another truly independent producer’s rep started by Kevin Iwashina when he left CAA in L.A.
1 C.O.G. / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Kyle Patrick Alvarez ɤ, Lgbt) — In the first ever film adaptation of David Sedaris’ work, a cocky young man travels to Oregon to work on an apple farm. Out of his element, he finds his lifestyle and notions being picked apart by everyone who crosses his path. Cast: Jonathan Groff, Denis O’Hare, Corey Stoll, Dean Stockwell, Casey Wilson, Troian Bellisario. Shares rights with UTA
2 Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Francesca Gregorini ♀, Lgbt) — Emanuel, a troubled girl, becomes preoccupied with her mysterious, new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to her dead mother. In offering to babysit her newborn, Emanuel unwittingly enters a fragile, fictional world, of which she becomes the gatekeeper. Cast: Kaya Scodelario, Jessica Biel, Alfred Molina, Frances O’Connor, Jimmi Simpson, Aneurin Barnard.
3 Pit Stop / U.S.A. (Director: Yen Tan ¥ Lgbt, Screenwriters: Yen Tan, David Lowery) — Two working-class gay men in a small Texas town and a love that isn’t quite out of reach. Cast: Bill Heck, Marcus DeAnda, Amy Seimetz, John Merriman, Alfredo Maduro, Corby Sullivan.
4 Kink (documentary) / U.S.A. (Director: Christina Voros ♀) — A story of sex, submission and big business is told through the eyes of the unlikely pornographers whose 9:00-to-5:00 work days are spent within the confines of the San Francisco Armory building, home to the sprawling porn production facilities of Kink.com.
5 Blood Brother / U.S.A. (Director: Steve Hoover) — Rocky went to India as a disillusioned tourist. When he met a group of children with HIV, he decided to stay. He never could have imagined the obstacles he would face, or the love he would find. Shares rights with Wme
6 Sweetwater / U.S.A. (Directors: Logan Miller, Noah Miller, Screenwriter: Andrew McKenzie) — In the late 1800s, a fanatical religious leader, a renegade Sheriff, and a former prostitute collide in a blood triangle on the rugged plains of the New Mexico Territory. Cast: Ed Harris, January Jones, Jason Isaacs, Eduardo Noriega, Steven Rude, Amy Madigan.Isa: Atlas International
5 Films
The Film Sales Company- Andrew Herwitz is another independent Producer’s Rep, based in N.Y. repping worldwide rights to films.
1 The Crash Reel / U.S.A. (Director: Lucy Walker ♀) — The jaw-dropping story of one unforgettable athlete, Kevin Pearce; one eye-popping sport, snow boarding; and one explosive issue, traumatic brain injury. An epic rivalry between Kevin and Shaun White culminates in a life-changing crash and a comeback story with a difference. Salt Lake City Gala Film
2 Pandora’s Promise / U.S.A. (Director: Robert Stone) — A growing number of environmentalists are renouncing decades of antinuclear orthodoxy and have come to believe that the most feared and controversial technology known to mankind is probably our greatest hope.
3 Computer Chess / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Andrew Bujalski) — An existential comedy about the brilliant men who taught machines to play chess – back when the machines seemed clumsy and we seemed smart. Cast: Patrick Riester, Myles Paige, James Curry, Robin Schwartz, Gerald Peary, Wiley Wiggins.
4 Interior. Leather Bar. (Lgbt)/ U.S.A. (Directors: Travis Mathews Lgbt, James Franco, Screenwriter: Travis Mathews) — To avoid an X rating, it was rumored that 40 minutes of gay S&M footage was cut from the controversial 1980 film, Cruising. Filmmakers James Franco and Travis Mathews re-imagine what was in the lost footage. Cast: Val Lauren, James Franco, Travis Mathews, Christian Patrick, Brenden Gregory.
5 The Moo Man / United Kingdom (Directors: Andy Heathcote, Heike Bachelier ♀) — A year in the life of heroic farmer Steve, scene stealing Ida (queen of the herd), and a supporting cast of 55 cows. When Ida falls ill, Steve’s optimism is challenged and their whole way of life is at stake. World Premiere
Paradigm
1 Mother of George / U.S.A. (Director: Andrew Dosunmu α, Screenwriter: Darci Picoult) — A story about a woman willing to do anything and risk everything for her marriage. Cast: Isaach De Bankolé, Danai Gurira, Anthony Okungbowa, Yaya Alafia, Bukky Ajayi.Isa: K5
2 99% - The Occupy Wall Street Collaborative Film / U.S.A. (Directors: Audrey Ewell ♀, Aaron Aites, Lucian Read, Nina Kristic ♀) — The Occupy movement erupted in September 2011, propelling economic inequality into the spotlight. In an unprecedented collaboration, filmmakers across America tell its story, digging into big picture issues as organizers, analysts, participants and critics reveal how it happened and why.
3 Concussion Lgbt/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Stacie Passon ♀,Lgbt) — After a blow to the head, Abby decides she can’t do it anymore. Her life just can’t be only about the house, the kids and the wife. She needs more: she needs to be Eleanor. Cast: Robin Weigert, Maggie Siff, Johnathan Tchaikovsky, Julie Fain Lawrence, Emily Kinney, Laila Robins.
4 I Used To Be Darker / U.S.A. (Director: Matthew Porterfield, Screenwriters: Amy Belk, Matthew Porterfield) — A runaway seeks refuge with her aunt and uncle in Baltimore, only to find their marriage ending and her cousin in crisis. In the days that follow, the family struggles to let go while searching for things to sustain them. Cast: Deragh Campbell, Hannah Gross, Kim Taylor, Ned Oldham, Geoff Grace, Nick Petr.
5 Virtually Heroes / U.S.A. (Director: Gj Echternkamp, Screenwriter: Matt Yamashita) — Two self-aware characters in a Call of Duty-style video game struggle with their screwy, frustrating existence. To find answers, one abandons his partner and mission, seeking to unravel the cheat codes of life. Cast: Robert Baker, Brent Chase, Katie Savoy, Mark Hamill, Ben Messmer.
3 Films
ICM Partners
1 Metro Manila / United Kingdom, Philippines (Director: Sean Ellis, Screenwriters: Sean Ellis, Frank E. Flowers) — Seeking a better life, Oscar and his family move from the poverty-stricken rice fields to the big city of Manila, where they fall victim to various inhabitants whose manipulative ways are a daily part of city survival. Cast: Jake Macapagal, John Arcilla, Althea Vega. World PremiereIsa: Independent Film Company-- Haut et Court has France
2 This Is Martin Bonner / U.S.A.(Director and screenwriter: Chad Hartigan) — Martin Bonner has just moved to Reno for a new job in prison rehabilitation. Starting over at age 58, he struggles to adapt until an unlikely friendship with an ex-con blossoms, helping him confront the problems he left behind. Cast: Paul Eenhoorn, Richmond Arquette, Sam Buchanan, Robert Longstreet, Demetrius Grosse. Shares rights with Traction Media
3 A Teacher / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Hannah Fidell ♀) — A popular young teacher in a wealthy suburban Texas high school has an affair with one of her students. Her life begins to unravel as the relationship comes to an end. Cast: Lindsay Burdge, Will Brittain, Jennifer Prediger, Jonny Mars, Julie Phillips, Chris Dubeck.Isa: Visit Films
2 Films
Elevated Film Sales- Cassian Elwes
1 Kill Your Darlings/ U.S.A. (Director: John Krokidas Lgbt, Screenwriters: Austin Bunn, John Krokidas) — An untold story of murder that brought together a young Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs at Columbia University in 1944, providing the spark that led to the birth of an entire generation – their Beat revolution. Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Dane DeHann, Ben Foster, Michael C. Hall, Jack Huston, Elizabeth Olsen. Shares rights with UTAIsa: Inferno Entertainment
2 Ain’t Them Bodies Saints / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Lowery) — The tale of an outlaw who escapes from prison and sets out across the Texas hills to reunite with his wife and the daughter he has never met. Cast: Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Nate Parker, Keith Carradine. Shares rights with Wme
Traction Media is an attorney led producers rep based in L.A. repping worldwide rights
1 This Is Martin Bonner / U.S.A.(Director and screenwriter: Chad Hartigan) — Martin Bonner has just moved to Reno for a new job in prison rehabilitation. Starting over at age 58, he struggles to adapt until an unlikely friendship with an ex-con blossoms, helping him confront the problems he left behind. Cast: Paul Eenhoorn, Richmond Arquette, Sam Buchanan, Robert Longstreet, Demetrius Grosse. Shares rights with ICM
2 Lasting / Poland, Spain (Director and screenwriter: Jacek Borcuch) — An emotional love story about two Polish students who fall in love with each other while working summer jobs in Spain. An unexpected nightmare interrupts their carefree time in the heavenly landscape and throws their lives into chaos. Cast: Jakub Gierszal, Magdalena Berus, Angela Molina. World Premiere
1 Film
Gersh
1 Big Sur / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Michael Polish) — Unable to cope with a suddenly demanding public and battling advanced alcoholism, Jack Kerouac seeks respite in three brief sojourns to a cabin in Big Sur, which reveal his mental and physical deterioration. Cast: Jean-Marc Barr, Kate Bosworth, Josh Lucas, Radha Mitchell, Anthony Edwards, Henry Thomas. Shares rights with Wme
Circus Road Films
1 Newlyweeds / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Shaka King α) — A Brooklyn repo man and his globetrotting girlfriend forge an unlikely romance. But what should be a match made in stoner heaven turns into a love triangle gone awry in this dark coming-of-age comedy about dependency. Cast: Amari Cheatom, Trae Harris, Tone Tank, Colman Domingo, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Adrian Martinez.
Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Adler & Feldman
1 Afternoon Delight / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jill Soloway ♀) — In this sexy, dark comedy, a lost L.A. housewife puts her idyllic hipster life in jeopardy when she tries to rescue a stripper by taking her in as a live-in nanny. Cast: Kathryn Hahn, Juno Temple, Josh Radnor, Jane Lynch. Shares rights with UTA
The Film Collaborative
1 A River Changes Course / Cambodia, U.S.A. (Director: Kalyanee Mam ♀ ¥) — Three young Cambodians struggle to overcome the crushing effects of deforestation, overfishing, and overwhelming debt in this devastatingly beautiful story of a country reeling from the tragedies of war and rushing to keep pace with a rapidly expanding world. World PremiereIsa: Cat & Docs
Azoff Music
1 History of the Eagles Part One / U.S.A. (Director: Alison Ellwood ♀) — Using never-before-seen home movies, archival footage and new interviews with all current and former members of the Eagles, this documentary provides an intimate look into the history of the band and the legacy of their music. Showtime picked up for cable.
Bunim-Murray
1 Valentine Road / U.S.A. (Director: Marta Cunningham ♀ α) — In 2008, eighth-grader Brandon McInerney shot classmate Larry King at point blank range. Unraveling this tragedy from point of impact, the film reveals the heartbreaking circumstances that led to the shocking crime as well as its startling aftermath.
Wavelength Pictures
1 The Stuart Hall Project / United Kingdom (Director: John Akomfrah α) — Antinuclear campaigner, New Left activist and founding father of Cultural Studies, this documentary interweaves 70 years of Stuart Hall’s film, radio and television appearances, and material from his private archive to document a memorable life and construct a portrait of Britain’s foremost radical intellectual. World Premiere
Mosaic
1 Upstream Color / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Shane Carruth) — A man and woman are drawn together, entangled in the life cycle of an ageless organism. Identity becomes an illusion as they struggle to assemble the loose fragments of wrecked lives. Cast: Amy Seimetz, Shane Carruth, Andrew Sensenig, Thiago Martins. -- Shane Carruth will self-distribute via his Erbp banner.
Rada Film Group
1 American Promise / α /U.S.A. (Directors: Joe Brewster α, Michèle Stephenson ♀ α) — This intimate documentary follows the 12-year journey of two African-American families pursuing the promise of opportunity through the education of their sons.Isa: ro*co
International Sales Agents Selling U.S. (And Other Territories)
4 Films
Visit Films
1 A Teacher / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Hannah Fidell ♀) — A popular young teacher in a wealthy suburban Texas high school has an affair with one of her students. Her life begins to unravel as the relationship comes to an end. Cast: Lindsay Burdge, Will Brittain, Jennifer Prediger, Jonny Mars, Julie Phillips, Chris Dubeck. Domestic: ICM
2 Il Future (The Future) ɤ/ Chile, Germany, Italy, Spain (Director and screenwriter: Alicia Scherson ♀ ɤ) — When their parents die, Bianca starts to smoke and Tomas is still a virgin. The orphans explore the dangerous streets of adulthood until Bianca finds Maciste, a retired Mr. Universe, and enters his dark mansion in search of a future. Cast: Manuela Martelli, Rutger Hauer, Luigi Ciardo, Nicolas Vaporidis, Alessandro Giallocosta. World Premiere
3 It Felt Like Love / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Eliza Hittman ♀) — On the outskirts of Brooklyn, a 14-year-old girl’s sexual quest takes a dangerous turn when she pursues an older guy and tests the boundaries between obsession and love. Cast: Gina Piersanti, Giovanna Salimeni, Ronen Rubinstein, Jesse Cordasco, Nick Rosen, Case Prime.
4 Halley ɤ/ Mexico (Director: Sebastian Hofmann ɤ, Screenwriters: Sebastian Hofmann, Julio Chavezmontes) — Alberto is dead and can no longer hide it. Before surrendering to his living death, he forms an unusual friendship with Luly, the manager of the 24-hour gym where he works as a night guard. Cast: Alberto Trujillo, Lourdes Trueba, Hugo Albores.
3 Films
Goldcrest Films International
1 Which Way is the Front Line From Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington / U.S.A. (Director: Sebastian Junger) — Shortly after the release of his documentary Restrepo, photographer Tim Hetherington was killed in Libya. Colleague Sebastian Junger traces Hetherington’s work across the world’s battlefields to reveal how he transcended the boundaries of image-making to become a luminary in his profession.
2...
Originally this report used a horserace as its metaphor. It was designed to see who was ahead of the others and who was lagging behind. U.S. talent agencies were increasingly acting as producer reps and thus inserting themselves into the sales of U.S. rights, an activity formerly the exclusive domain of international sales agents who would map their entire international strategy for sales, using the U.S. sale as a marketing tool for other sales. Now the race between producer reps and international sales agents for representing films, primarily at Sundance and Toronto is tracked in the By Numbers Report.
The report tracks which agents and which international sales agents are selling the most films, which titles are selling best, which distributors are buying the most, and any other noteworthy “races”, e.g., how many films are by women, Asians, African-diasporites, or are about such subjects as Jewish, Glbt, politics, whatever.
This year’s Cannes saw the number of women directors fall so drastically (from a steady 10 – 13% in festivals during the last few years), that an outcry was heard from professionals in the industry. Sundance significantly ups this figure. This year out of 16 fiction features in competition, 8 are by women. Of Sundance’s 113 features, 37 are by women which means 33%. We hope this is a trend and not an anomoly. Only time will tell. According to San Diego State University’s Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, only 5% of the 250 highest-grossing films last year were directed by women.
Over time, the reports spot trends in the business of buying and selling, especially during festivals like Toronto and Sundance.
With time, we may find the number of Asian, Asian-American, African diaspora, Middle-Eastern and female directed films impact the marketplace itself. For that reason, these reports will continue to be offered to film professionals. The criterion are not set in stone but depend upon the moment.
Sundance By Numbers
If there were a Sundance Institute Performance Metric, a measure of its activities and performance, inwardly focusing on the performance of the organization, would show a high value of performance against customer requirements and value. Its performance metrics would prove it to be very healthy and consistent with the six criteria: time, cost, resources, scope, quality, and actions.
Bravo Sundance! On all fronts it is carrying through its original purpose and vision.
Out of 12,146 features and shorts (429 more than in 2012) submitted this yearincluding 4,044 feature-length films and 8,102 short films. Of the feature film submissions, 2,070 were from the U.S. and 1,974 were international. 113 features were chosen. 98 of these are world premieres. 33% of these are directed by women.
This year half of the 16 narrative fiction features in competition are directed by women. In the 2012 festival, only 3 of the 16 dramatic competition films were made by women. Overall, 33% (37 out of 113) of the Sundance titles are directed by women.
For the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, 113 feature-length films were selected, represented films were selected from 12,146 submissions (429 more than for 2012), 98 feature films at the Festival will be world premieres.
Other numbers
Films by women are markedwith the♀, African American withthe symbol α (9). Latino is marked by the symbol ɤ (7). Jewish by ✡ (13), Asian by ¥ (10), Middle Eastern ᵯ (4), Lgbt (13)
Us in Progress, the two year old, innovative look at films in post held by American Film Festival in Wroclaw, Poland and by Champs Elysees Film Festival already has a track record with 3 of its films at Sundance. A Teacher by Hannah Fidell ♀ which was picked up subsequently by Visit and is being repped for U.S. by ICM, I Used to be Darker and Milkshake.
San Francisco Film Society's claims 5 of their films funded by San Francisco Film Society grants and incubated with the support of various Filmmaker360 programs will have their world premieres: Ryan Coogler's (α) Fruitvale will screen in the U.S. Dramatic Competition, and Joe Brewster (α) and Michèle Stephenson's (♀, α) American Promise, Zachary Heinzerling's Cutie and the Boxer, Jacob Kornbluth's (✡) Inequality for All and Shaul Schwarz's (✡) Narco Cultura will screen in the U.S. Documentary Competition.
11 Ifp program-supported projects at Sundance include Audrey Ewell♀, Aaron Aites, Lucian Read and Nina Krstic's ♀ 99%: The Occupy Wall Street Collaborative Film; Martha Shane ♀ and Lana Wilson's ♀After Tiller;Zachery Heinzerling's (✡)Cutie and the Boxer, Dawn Porter's ♀ Gideon's Army; and Roger Ross Williams' (α, Lgbt) God Loves Ugandain the U.S. Documentary Competition. Narrative films include David Lowery's Ain’t Them Bodies Saints and Stacie Passon's (♀,Lgbt)Concussion in the U.S .Dramatic Competition; Alexandre Moors' Blue Caprice,Shaka King's (α) Newlyweeds,and Chad Hartigan's This is Martin Bonner in Next; and Rama Burshtein's (♀,✡) Fill the Void in Spotlight. Blue Caprice and Concussion are alums of Ifp’s 2012 Independent Filmmaker Labs; Cutie and the Boxer, God Loves Uganda, and This is Martin Bonner are fiscally sponsored by Ifp; and all of the other films (and Cutie) were selections of Independent Film Week’s Project Forum in 2011-2012.
Number Of Producer Reps Repping U.S. Rights
What shows up most on this scorecard is the prevalence of the talent agencies and other “producers’ representatives”. In those “good old days” of Sundance before “Sex, Lies and Videotape” alerted Hollywood that there was some capital to be made in Park City, Sundance gave a home to the original visions of a few independent minded filmmakers, and there were no terms to describe “producer reps”. International sales agents (when these films had any such representation, which was also rare) did their work without deferring to dealmakers in Hollywood. And, as I said, these films usually did not have international representation. That is why the newly emerging acquisitions executives went to Sundance looking for films that they would not find in the existing markets (Cannes, Mifed or Afm).
Anyway, here we are today and here are the numbers:
There are about 12 Producers Reps. The newest fold in the relatively new “mini industry” of representing producers to the U.S. distribution community is that now, instead of one producer rep per film, often two competitive agencies might rep the U.S. rights as you can see in top scorers CAA, Wme or UTA’s lineups.
Producer reps do their best work in Sundance and in Toronto. They usually represent the producer to help make a lucrative U.S. deal. After the heat is gone in Sundance and Toronto, the producer reps usually fade away from the deal making, leaving the unpicked-up films in a limbo until some distributor finally makes a deal with the producer or the international sales agent directly.
In terms of capitol, while there is no official count, it is said that last year $30 million in deals were done at Sundance. If this is true, is it made primarily by the producer reps? What percentage do they get from the deal? Does this mean filmmakers have to have CAA rep them to break out of the gate? (The answer is no). Agents taking on the job of being producer reps are doing so because they have helped with packaging and/ or financing the films they are repping. Sometimes talent takes lower salaries when they work in indies and the agents must get as much back as possible.
It is not necessary to have an agent, there are other types of producer reps, including attorneys who act as attorneys but sometimes seem to be producers reps like Cinetic’s John Sloss, or Linda Licther, or Donaldson Callif who has 11 films in Sundance and 2 in Slamdance this year. There are also independent producer reps who are hungrier than the major agencies who must quickly earn their 10% (or not) and move on. These producer reps tend to work year round with the films they represent. Submarine, Preferred Content and Ronna Wallace’s Eastgate are the most important ones today.
Producer Reps “By Numbers”
12 Films
Creative Artists Agency (CAA) which repped a total of 14 films in 2012 is still calling a lot of shots this Sundance.
1 jOBS / U.S.A. (Director: Joshua Michael Stern (✡), Screenwriter: Matt Whiteley) — The true story of one of the greatest entrepreneurs in American history, jOBS chronicles the defining 30 years of Steve Jobs’ life. jOBS is a candid, inspiring and personal portrait of the one who saw things differently. (Synopses are written by Sundance staff.) Cast: Ashton Kutcher, Dermot Mulroney, Josh Gad, Lukas Haas, J.K. Simmons, Matthew Modine. Closing Night Film -- Open Road Filmshas U.S. Entertainment One (in collaboration with Remstar) has Canada except theatrical, VOD and French-language TV rights in Quebec which Remstarholds exclusively. Isa: If Entertainment
2 Anita /α/ U.S.A. (Director: Freida Mock ♀¥) — Anita Hill, an African-American woman, charges Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas with sexual harassment in explosive Senate hearings in 1991 – bringing sexual politics into the national consciousness and fueling 20 years of international debate on the issues.
3 Linsanity / U.S.A. (Director: Evan Leong ¥) — Jeremy Lin came from a humble background to make an unbelievable run in the NBA. State high school champion, all-Ivy League at Harvard, undrafted by the NBA and unwanted there: his story started long before he landed on Broadway.
4 Hell Baby / U.S.A. (Directors and screenwriters: Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon) — An expectant couple moves into the most haunted fixer-upper in New Orleans – a house with a demonic curse. Things spiral out of control and soon only the Vatican’s elite exorcism team can save the pair – or can it? Cast: Rob Corddry, Leslie Bibb, Keegan Michael Key, Riki Lindhome, Paul Scheer, Rob Huebel.
5 The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete / U.S.A. (Director: George Tillman Jr. α, Screenwriter: Michael Starrbury) — Separated from their mothers and facing a summer in the Brooklyn projects alone, two boys hide from police and forage for food, with only each other to trust. A story of salvation through friendship and two boys against the world. Cast: Skylan Brooks, Ethan Dizon, Jennifer Hudson, Jordin Sparks, Anthony Mackie, Jeffrey Wright.Isa: Aldamisa
6 The Lifeguard / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Liz W. Garcia ♀ɤ) — A former valedictorian quits her reporter job in New York and returns to the place she last felt happy: her childhood home in Connecticut. She gets work as a lifeguard and starts a dangerous relationship with a troubled teenager. Cast: Kristen Bell, Mamie Gummer, Martin Starr, Alex Shaffer, Amy Madigan, David Lambert. Isa: Joker Films
7 Narco Cultura / ɤ/ U.S.A. (Director: Shaul Schwarz (✡) — An examination of Mexican drug cartels’ influence in pop culture on both sides of the border as experienced by an La narcocorrido singer dreaming of stardom and a Juarez crime scene investigator on the front line of Mexico’s Drug War.Isa: K5
8 Don Jon’s Addiction / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Joseph Gordon-Levitt) — In Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s charming directorial debut, a selfish modern-day Don Juan attempts to change his ways. Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Tony Danza, Glenne Headly, Rob Brown. Shares rights with Wme Isa: Voltage Pictures has sold to Future Films for Finland, Remstar Films for Canada, Ascot Elite Entertainment Group for Germany and Switzerland, Midget Entertainmentfor Denmark, Noori Picturesfor So. Korea.
9 The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman / U.S.A. (Director: Fredrik Bond, Screenwriter: Matt Drake) — Traveling abroad, Charlie Countryman falls for Gabi, a Romanian beauty whose unreachable heart has its origins in Nigel, her violent, charismatic ex. As the darkness of Gabi’s past increasingly envelops him, Charlie resolves to win her heart, or die trying. Cast: Shia Labeouf, Evan Rachel Wood, Mads Mikkelsen, Rupert Grint, James Buckley, Til Schweiger. Isa: Voltage Pictures sold to Ascot Elite for Switzerland and Germany, Midget for Denmark, Vvs Films for Canada.
10 The Way, Way Back / U.S.A. (Directors and screenwriters: Nat Faxon, Jim Rash) — Duncan, an introverted 14-year-old, comes into his own over the course of a comedic summer when he forms unlikely friendships with the gregarious manager of a rundown water park and the misfits who work there. Cast: Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Allison Janney, Sam Rockwell, Maya Rudolph, Liam James. Shares rights with Wme Isa: Sierra/ Affinity
11 Very Good Girls / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Naomi Foner (♀,✡)) — In the long, half-naked days of a New York summer, two girls on the brink of becoming women fall for the same guy and find that life isn’t as simple or safe as they had thought. Cast: Dakota Fanning, Elizabeth Olsen, Boyd Holbrook, Demi Moore, Richard Dreyfuss, Ellen Barkin.
12 Two Mothers / Australia, France (Director: Anne Fontaine ♀, Screenwriter: Christopher Hampton) — This gripping tale of love, lust and the power of friendship charts the unconventional and passionate affairs of two lifelong friends who fall in love with each other’s sons. Cast: Naomi Watts, Robin Wright, Xavier Samuel, James Frechevile.Isa: Gaumont sold to Remstar for Canada, Hopscotch Features for Australia/ N.Z., Gaumont for France.
United Talent Agency (UTA)
1 Austenland / U.S.A., United Kingdom (Director: Jerusha Hess ♀, Screenwriters: Jerusha Hess, Shannon Hale) — Thirtysomething, single Jane is obsessed with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in Pride and Prejudice. On a trip to an English resort, her fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman become more real than she ever imagined. Cast: Keri Russell, Jj Feild, Bret McKenzie, Jennifer Coolidge, Georgia King, James Callis.
2 In a World... / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Lake Bell (♀,✡)) — An underachieving vocal coach is motivated by her father, the king of movie-trailer voice-overs, to pursue her aspirations of becoming a voiceover star. Amidst pride, sexism and family dysfunction, she sets out to change the voice of a generation. Cast: Lake Bell, Demetri Martin, Rob Corddry, Michaela Watkins, Ken Marino, Fred Melamed.
3 Crystal Fairy / Chile (Director and screenwriter: Sebastián Silva ɤ Lgbt ) — Jamie invites a stranger to join a road trip to Chile. The woman’s free and esoteric nature clashes with Jamie’s acidic, self-absorbed personality as they head into the desert for a Mescaline-fueled psychedelic trip. Cast: Michael Cera, Gabby Hoffmann, Juan Andrés Silva, José Miguel Silva, Agustín Silva. World Premiere. Day One Film
4 Breathe In / U.S.A. (Director: Drake Doremus, Screenwriters: Drake Doremus, Ben York Jones) — When a foreign exchange student arrives in a small upstate New York town, she challenges the dynamics of her host family’s relationships and alters their lives forever. Cast: Guy Pearce, Felicity Jones, Amy Ryan, Mackenzie Davis.
5 Ass Backwards / U.S.A. (Director: Chris Nelson, Screenwriters: June Diane Raphael, Casey Wilson) — Loveable losers Kate and Chloe take a road trip back to their hometown to claim the beauty pageant crown that eluded them as children, only to discover what really counts: friendship. Cast: June Diane Raphael, Casey Wilson, Vincent D’Onofrio, Alicia Silverstone, Jon Cryer, Brian Geraghty. Isa: Premiere Entertainment Group
6 Afternoon Delight / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jill Soloway ♀) — In this sexy, dark comedy, a lost L.A. housewife puts her idyllic hipster life in jeopardy when she tries to rescue a stripper by taking her in as a live-in nanny. Cast: Kathryn Hahn, Juno Temple, Josh Radnor, Jane Lynch. Shares rights with Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Adler & Feldman
7 C.O.G. / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Kyle Patrick Alvarez (ɤ, Lgbt) — In the first ever film adaptation of David Sedaris’ work, a cocky young man travels to Oregon to work on an apple farm. Out of his element, he finds his lifestyle and notions being picked apart by everyone who crosses his path. Cast: Jonathan Groff, Denis O’Hare, Corey Stoll, Dean Stockwell, Casey Wilson, Troian Bellisario. Shares rights with Preferred Content
8 Touchy Feely / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Lynn Shelton ♀, Lgbt) — A massage therapist is unable to do her job when stricken with a mysterious and sudden aversion to bodily contact. Meanwhile, her uptight brother’s foundering dental practice receives new life when clients seek out his “healing touch.” Cast: Rosemarie DeWitt, Allison Janney, Ron Livingston, Scoot McNairy, Ellen Page, Josh Pais. Shares rights with Submarine
9 The Spectacular Now / U.S.A. (Director: James Ponsoldt, Screenwriters: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber) — Sutter is a high school senior who lives for the moment; Aimee is the introvert he attempts to “save.” As their relationship deepens, the lines between right and wrong, friendship and love, and “saving” and corrupting become inextricably blurred. Cast: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kyle Chandler. Isa: The Exchange
10 Magic Magic / ɤ/ U.S.A., Chile (Director and screenwriter: Sebastián Silva ɤ, Lgbt) — An American girl vacationing in remote Chile mentally unravels, putting herself and those around her in danger. Cast: Michael Cera, Juno Temple, Emily Browning, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Augustín Silva. World Premiere Isa: The Exchange/6 Sales
11 Kill Your Darlings / U.S.A. (Director: John Krokidas Lgbt, Screenwriters: Austin Bunn, John Krokidas) — An untold story of murder that brought together a young Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs at Columbia University in 1944, providing the spark that led to the birth of an entire generation – their Beat revolution. Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Dane DeHann, Ben Foster, Michael C. Hall, Jack Huston, Elizabeth Olsen. Shares rights with Elevated Film Sales Isa: Inferno Entertainment
12 The Look of Love / United Kingdom (Director: Michael Winterbottom Lgbt, Screenwriter: Matt Greenhalgh) — The true story of British adult magazine publisher and entrepreneur Paul Raymond. A modern day King Midas story, Raymond became one of the richest men in Britain at the cost of losing those closest to him. Cast: Steve Coogan, Anna Friel, Imogen Poots, Tamsin Egerton. - UTAis No.American consultant to StudioCanal
Submarine along with Preferred Content is one of the truly independent producers reps.
1 Blackfish / U.S.A. (Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite ♀) — Notorious killer whale Tilikum is responsible for the deaths of three individuals, including a top killer whale trainer. Blackfish shows the sometimes devastating consequences of keeping such intelligent and sentient creatures in captivity.
2 Citizen Koch / U.S.A. (Directors: Carl Deal, Tia Lessin ♀) — Wisconsin – birthplace of the Republican Party, government unions, “cheeseheads” and Paul Ryan – becomes a test market in the campaign to buy Democracy, and ground zero in the battle for the future of the Gop.
3 Cutie and the Boxer / U.S.A. (Director: Zachary Heinzerling ✡) — This candid New York love story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of famed boxing painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko. Anxious to shed her role as her overbearing husband’s assistant, Noriko finds an identity of her own.
4 Dirty Wars / U.S.A. (Director: Richard Rowley) — Investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill chases down the truth behind America’s covert wars.
5 God Loves Uganda / α / U.S.A. (Director: Roger Ross Williams (α, Lgbt)) — A powerful exploration of the evangelical campaign to infuse African culture with values imported from America’s Christian Right. The film follows American and Ugandan religious leaders fighting “sexual immorality” and missionaries trying to convince Ugandans to follow biblical law. -- Submarine handling U.S/ Canada (Excluding U.S TV Rights)
6 Twenty Feet From Stardom / α / U.S.A. (Director: Morgan Neville) — Backup singers live in a world that lies just beyond the spotlight. Their voices bring harmony to the biggest bands in popular music, but we’ve had no idea who these singers are or what lives they lead – until now. -- Submarine handling U.S/ Canada/ U.K/ Australia/ N.Zealand
7 The Summit / Ireland, United Kingdom (Director: Nick Ryan) — Twenty-four climbers converged at the last stop before summiting the most dangerous mountain on Earth. Forty-eight hours later, 11 had been killed or simply vanished. Had one, Ger McDonnell, stuck to the climbers’ code, he might still be alive. International Premiere
8 Who is Dayani Cristal? / United Kingdom (Director: Marc Silver) — An anonymous body in the Arizona desert sparks the beginning of a real-life human drama. The search for its identity leads us across a continent to seek out the people left behind and the meaning of a mysterious tattoo. World Premiere.
9 Charlie Victor Romeo / U.S.A. (Directors: Robert Berger, Karlyn Michelson ♀, Screenwriters: Robert Berger, Patrick Daniels, Irving Gregory) — An award-winning theatrical documentary derived entirely from ‘Black Box’ transcripts of six real-life major airline emergencies brought to the screen with cutting-edge stereoscopic 3D technology. Cast: Patrick Daniels, Irving Gregory, Noel Dinneen, Sam Zuckerman, Debbie Troche, Nora Woolley.
10 Running From Crazy / U.S.A. (Director: Barbara Kopple ♀, ✡) — Mariel Hemingway, granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway, strives for a greater understanding of her family history of suicide and mental illness. As tragedies are explored and deeply hidden secrets are revealed, Mariel searches for a way to overcome a similar fate.
11 Touchy Feely / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Lynn Shelton ♀ Lgbt) — A massage therapist is unable to do her job when stricken with a mysterious and sudden aversion to bodily contact. Meanwhile, her uptight brother’s foundering dental practice receives new life when clients seek out his “healing touch.” Cast: Rosemarie DeWitt, Allison Janney, Ron Livingston, Scoot McNairy, Ellen Page, Josh Pais. Shares rights with UTA
12 Muscle Shoals / α /U.S.A. (Director: Greg 'Freddy' Camalier) — Down in Alabama Rick Hall founded Fame Studios and gave birth to the Muscle Shoals sound. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Gregg Allman, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Alicia Keys, Bono and others bear witness to the greatest untold American music story. Shares rights with Wme
10 Films
William Morris Endeavor (Wme)
1 Inequality for All / U.S.A. (Director: Jacob Kornbluth (✡)) — In this timely and entertaining documentary, noted economic-policy expert Robert Reich distills the topic of widening income inequality, and addresses the question of what effects this increasing gap has on our economy and our democracy.
2 Fruitvale / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Ryan Coogler α) — The true story of Oscar, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family and strangers on the last day of 2008. Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Octavia Spencer, Melonie Diaz, Ahna O’Reilly, Kevin Durand, Chad Michael Murray.
3 A.C.O.D. / U.S.A. (Director: Stuart Zicherman ✡, Screenwriters: Ben Karlin, Stuart Zicherman) — Carter is a well-adjusted Adult Child of Divorce. So he thinks. When he discovers he was part of a divorce study as a child, it wreaks havoc on his family and forces him to face his chaotic past. Cast: Adam Scott, Richard Jenkins, Catherine O’Hara, Amy Poehler, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clark Duke.
4 S-vhs / U.S.A., Canada (Directors: Simon Barrett, Adam Wingard, Edúardo Sanchez ɤ , Gregg Hale, Timo Tjahjanto ¥, Gareth Huw Evans, Jason Eisener, Screenwriters: Simon Barrett, Jamie Nash, Timo Tjahjanto & Gareth Huw Evans, John Davies) — Searching for a missing student, two private investigators break into his abandoned house and find another collection of mysterious VHS tapes. In viewing the horrific contents of each cassette, they realize there may be terrifying motives behind the student’s disappearance. Cast: Adam Wingard, Lawrence Levine, L.C Holt, Kelsy Abbott, Hannah Hughes.
5 Ain’t Them Bodies Saints / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Lowery) — The tale of an outlaw who escapes from prison and sets out across the Texas hills to reunite with his wife and the daughter he has never met. Cast: Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Nate Parker, Keith Carradine. Shares rights with Elevated Film Sales
6 Big Sur / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Michael Polish) — Unable to cope with a suddenly demanding public and battling advanced alcoholism, Jack Kerouac seeks respite in three brief sojourns to a cabin in Big Sur, which reveal his mental and physical deterioration. Cast: Jean-Marc Barr, Kate Bosworth, Josh Lucas, Radha Mitchell, Anthony Edwards, Henry Thomas. Shares rights with Gersh
7 We Are What We Are / U.S.A. (Director: Jim Mickle, Screenwriters: Nick Damici, Jim Mickle) — A devastating storm washes up clues that lead authorities closer and closer to the cannibalistic Parker family. Cast: Bill Sage, Ambyr Childers, Julia Garner, Michael Parks, Wyatt Russell, Kelly McGillis.Isa: Memento Films
8 Blood Brother / U.S.A. (Director: Steve Hoover) — Rocky went to India as a disillusioned tourist. When he met a group of children with HIV, he decided to stay. He never could have imagined the obstacles he would face, or the love he would find. Shares rights with Preferred Content
9 Don Jon’s Addiction / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Joseph Gordon-Levitt) — In Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s charming directorial debut, a selfish modern-day Don Juan attempts to change his ways. Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Tony Danza, Glenne Headly, Rob Brown. Shares rights with CAA Isa: Voltage Pictures
10 The Way, Way Back / U.S.A. (Directors and screenwriters: Nat Faxon, Jim Rash) — Duncan, an introverted 14-year-old, comes into his own over the course of a comedic summer when he forms unlikely friendships with the gregarious manager of a rundown water park and the misfits who work there. Cast: Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Allison Janney, Sam Rockwell, Maya Rudolph, Liam James. Shares rights with CAA Isa: Sierra/Affinity
9 Films
Cinetic Led by John Sloss, premier N.Y. independent attorney who has represented films internationally, acted as an aggregator of digital rights and acts as a producers rep for North America:
1 After Tiller / U.S.A. (Directors: Martha Shane ♀, Lana Wilson ♀) — Since the assassination of Dr. George Tiller in 2009, only four doctors in the country provide late-term abortions. With unprecedented access, After Tiller goes inside the lives of these physicians working at the center of the storm. -- Isa: ro*co
2 Before Midnight/ U.S.A. (Director: Richard Linklater, Screenwriters: Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, Richard Linklater— We meet Jesse and Celine nine years on in Greece. Almost two decades have passed since their first meeting on that train bound for Vienna. Before the clock strikes midnight, we will again become part of their story. Cast: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Xenia Kalogeropoulou, Ariane Labed, Athina Rachel Tsangari, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick. -- Isa: Im Global
3 Blue Caprice / U.S.A. (Director: Alexandre Moors, Screenwriters: R.F.I Porto, Alexandre Moors) — An abandoned boy is lured to America and drawn into the shadow of a dangerous father figure in this film inspired by the real life events that led to the 2002 Beltway sniper attacks. Cast: Isaiah Washington, Tequan Richmond, Joey Lauren Adams, Tim Blake Nelson, Cassandra Freeman, Leo Fitzpatrick.
4 Escape from Tomorrow / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Randy Moore) — A postmodern, surreal voyage into the bowels of "family" entertainment; an epic battle begins when an unemployed, middle-aged father loses his sanity during a close encounter with two teenage girls on holiday. Cast: Roy Abramsohn, Elena Schuber, Katelynn Rodriguez, Annet Mahendru, Danielle Safady, Alison Lees-Taylor.
5 Milkshake / α / U.S.A. (Director: David Andalman, Screenwriters: David Andalman, Mariko Munro) — In mid-1990's America, we follow the tragic sex life of Jolie Jolson, a wannabe thug (and great-great-grandson of legendary vaudevillian Al Jolson) in suburban DC as he strives to become something he can never be – black. Cast: Tyler Ross, Shareeka Epps, Georgia Ford, Eshan Bay, Leo Fitzpatrick, Danny Burstein.
6 Prince Avalanche / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Gordon Green ✡) — Two highway road workers spend the summer of 1988 away from their city lives. The isolated landscape becomes a place of misadventure as the men find themselves at odds with each other and the women they left behind. Cast: Paul Rudd, Emile Hirsch.
7 Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer / Russian Federation, United Kingdom (Directors: Mike Lerner, Maxim Pozdorovkin) — Three young women face seven years in a Russian prison for a satirical performance in a Moscow cathedral. But who is really on trial: the three young artists or the society they live in? World Premiere -- Isa: Goldcrest Films
8 The Square (El Midan) / ᵯ/ Egypt, U.S.A. (Director: Jehane Noujaim ♀ ᵯ) — What does it mean to risk your life for your ideals? How far will five revolutionaries go in defending their beliefs in the fight for their nation? World Premiere -- Isa: Goldcrest Films
9 Toy's House / U.S.A. (Director: Jordan Vogt-Roberts, Screenwriter: Chris Galletta) — Three unhappy teenage boys flee to the wilderness where they build a makeshift house and live off the land as masters of their own destiny. Or at least that’s the plan. Cast: Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso, Moises Arias, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, Alison Brie.
6 Films
Preferred Contentis another truly independent producer’s rep started by Kevin Iwashina when he left CAA in L.A.
1 C.O.G. / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Kyle Patrick Alvarez ɤ, Lgbt) — In the first ever film adaptation of David Sedaris’ work, a cocky young man travels to Oregon to work on an apple farm. Out of his element, he finds his lifestyle and notions being picked apart by everyone who crosses his path. Cast: Jonathan Groff, Denis O’Hare, Corey Stoll, Dean Stockwell, Casey Wilson, Troian Bellisario. Shares rights with UTA
2 Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Francesca Gregorini ♀, Lgbt) — Emanuel, a troubled girl, becomes preoccupied with her mysterious, new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to her dead mother. In offering to babysit her newborn, Emanuel unwittingly enters a fragile, fictional world, of which she becomes the gatekeeper. Cast: Kaya Scodelario, Jessica Biel, Alfred Molina, Frances O’Connor, Jimmi Simpson, Aneurin Barnard.
3 Pit Stop / U.S.A. (Director: Yen Tan ¥ Lgbt, Screenwriters: Yen Tan, David Lowery) — Two working-class gay men in a small Texas town and a love that isn’t quite out of reach. Cast: Bill Heck, Marcus DeAnda, Amy Seimetz, John Merriman, Alfredo Maduro, Corby Sullivan.
4 Kink (documentary) / U.S.A. (Director: Christina Voros ♀) — A story of sex, submission and big business is told through the eyes of the unlikely pornographers whose 9:00-to-5:00 work days are spent within the confines of the San Francisco Armory building, home to the sprawling porn production facilities of Kink.com.
5 Blood Brother / U.S.A. (Director: Steve Hoover) — Rocky went to India as a disillusioned tourist. When he met a group of children with HIV, he decided to stay. He never could have imagined the obstacles he would face, or the love he would find. Shares rights with Wme
6 Sweetwater / U.S.A. (Directors: Logan Miller, Noah Miller, Screenwriter: Andrew McKenzie) — In the late 1800s, a fanatical religious leader, a renegade Sheriff, and a former prostitute collide in a blood triangle on the rugged plains of the New Mexico Territory. Cast: Ed Harris, January Jones, Jason Isaacs, Eduardo Noriega, Steven Rude, Amy Madigan.Isa: Atlas International
5 Films
The Film Sales Company- Andrew Herwitz is another independent Producer’s Rep, based in N.Y. repping worldwide rights to films.
1 The Crash Reel / U.S.A. (Director: Lucy Walker ♀) — The jaw-dropping story of one unforgettable athlete, Kevin Pearce; one eye-popping sport, snow boarding; and one explosive issue, traumatic brain injury. An epic rivalry between Kevin and Shaun White culminates in a life-changing crash and a comeback story with a difference. Salt Lake City Gala Film
2 Pandora’s Promise / U.S.A. (Director: Robert Stone) — A growing number of environmentalists are renouncing decades of antinuclear orthodoxy and have come to believe that the most feared and controversial technology known to mankind is probably our greatest hope.
3 Computer Chess / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Andrew Bujalski) — An existential comedy about the brilliant men who taught machines to play chess – back when the machines seemed clumsy and we seemed smart. Cast: Patrick Riester, Myles Paige, James Curry, Robin Schwartz, Gerald Peary, Wiley Wiggins.
4 Interior. Leather Bar. (Lgbt)/ U.S.A. (Directors: Travis Mathews Lgbt, James Franco, Screenwriter: Travis Mathews) — To avoid an X rating, it was rumored that 40 minutes of gay S&M footage was cut from the controversial 1980 film, Cruising. Filmmakers James Franco and Travis Mathews re-imagine what was in the lost footage. Cast: Val Lauren, James Franco, Travis Mathews, Christian Patrick, Brenden Gregory.
5 The Moo Man / United Kingdom (Directors: Andy Heathcote, Heike Bachelier ♀) — A year in the life of heroic farmer Steve, scene stealing Ida (queen of the herd), and a supporting cast of 55 cows. When Ida falls ill, Steve’s optimism is challenged and their whole way of life is at stake. World Premiere
Paradigm
1 Mother of George / U.S.A. (Director: Andrew Dosunmu α, Screenwriter: Darci Picoult) — A story about a woman willing to do anything and risk everything for her marriage. Cast: Isaach De Bankolé, Danai Gurira, Anthony Okungbowa, Yaya Alafia, Bukky Ajayi.Isa: K5
2 99% - The Occupy Wall Street Collaborative Film / U.S.A. (Directors: Audrey Ewell ♀, Aaron Aites, Lucian Read, Nina Kristic ♀) — The Occupy movement erupted in September 2011, propelling economic inequality into the spotlight. In an unprecedented collaboration, filmmakers across America tell its story, digging into big picture issues as organizers, analysts, participants and critics reveal how it happened and why.
3 Concussion Lgbt/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Stacie Passon ♀,Lgbt) — After a blow to the head, Abby decides she can’t do it anymore. Her life just can’t be only about the house, the kids and the wife. She needs more: she needs to be Eleanor. Cast: Robin Weigert, Maggie Siff, Johnathan Tchaikovsky, Julie Fain Lawrence, Emily Kinney, Laila Robins.
4 I Used To Be Darker / U.S.A. (Director: Matthew Porterfield, Screenwriters: Amy Belk, Matthew Porterfield) — A runaway seeks refuge with her aunt and uncle in Baltimore, only to find their marriage ending and her cousin in crisis. In the days that follow, the family struggles to let go while searching for things to sustain them. Cast: Deragh Campbell, Hannah Gross, Kim Taylor, Ned Oldham, Geoff Grace, Nick Petr.
5 Virtually Heroes / U.S.A. (Director: Gj Echternkamp, Screenwriter: Matt Yamashita) — Two self-aware characters in a Call of Duty-style video game struggle with their screwy, frustrating existence. To find answers, one abandons his partner and mission, seeking to unravel the cheat codes of life. Cast: Robert Baker, Brent Chase, Katie Savoy, Mark Hamill, Ben Messmer.
3 Films
ICM Partners
1 Metro Manila / United Kingdom, Philippines (Director: Sean Ellis, Screenwriters: Sean Ellis, Frank E. Flowers) — Seeking a better life, Oscar and his family move from the poverty-stricken rice fields to the big city of Manila, where they fall victim to various inhabitants whose manipulative ways are a daily part of city survival. Cast: Jake Macapagal, John Arcilla, Althea Vega. World PremiereIsa: Independent Film Company-- Haut et Court has France
2 This Is Martin Bonner / U.S.A.(Director and screenwriter: Chad Hartigan) — Martin Bonner has just moved to Reno for a new job in prison rehabilitation. Starting over at age 58, he struggles to adapt until an unlikely friendship with an ex-con blossoms, helping him confront the problems he left behind. Cast: Paul Eenhoorn, Richmond Arquette, Sam Buchanan, Robert Longstreet, Demetrius Grosse. Shares rights with Traction Media
3 A Teacher / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Hannah Fidell ♀) — A popular young teacher in a wealthy suburban Texas high school has an affair with one of her students. Her life begins to unravel as the relationship comes to an end. Cast: Lindsay Burdge, Will Brittain, Jennifer Prediger, Jonny Mars, Julie Phillips, Chris Dubeck.Isa: Visit Films
2 Films
Elevated Film Sales- Cassian Elwes
1 Kill Your Darlings/ U.S.A. (Director: John Krokidas Lgbt, Screenwriters: Austin Bunn, John Krokidas) — An untold story of murder that brought together a young Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs at Columbia University in 1944, providing the spark that led to the birth of an entire generation – their Beat revolution. Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Dane DeHann, Ben Foster, Michael C. Hall, Jack Huston, Elizabeth Olsen. Shares rights with UTAIsa: Inferno Entertainment
2 Ain’t Them Bodies Saints / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Lowery) — The tale of an outlaw who escapes from prison and sets out across the Texas hills to reunite with his wife and the daughter he has never met. Cast: Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Nate Parker, Keith Carradine. Shares rights with Wme
Traction Media is an attorney led producers rep based in L.A. repping worldwide rights
1 This Is Martin Bonner / U.S.A.(Director and screenwriter: Chad Hartigan) — Martin Bonner has just moved to Reno for a new job in prison rehabilitation. Starting over at age 58, he struggles to adapt until an unlikely friendship with an ex-con blossoms, helping him confront the problems he left behind. Cast: Paul Eenhoorn, Richmond Arquette, Sam Buchanan, Robert Longstreet, Demetrius Grosse. Shares rights with ICM
2 Lasting / Poland, Spain (Director and screenwriter: Jacek Borcuch) — An emotional love story about two Polish students who fall in love with each other while working summer jobs in Spain. An unexpected nightmare interrupts their carefree time in the heavenly landscape and throws their lives into chaos. Cast: Jakub Gierszal, Magdalena Berus, Angela Molina. World Premiere
1 Film
Gersh
1 Big Sur / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Michael Polish) — Unable to cope with a suddenly demanding public and battling advanced alcoholism, Jack Kerouac seeks respite in three brief sojourns to a cabin in Big Sur, which reveal his mental and physical deterioration. Cast: Jean-Marc Barr, Kate Bosworth, Josh Lucas, Radha Mitchell, Anthony Edwards, Henry Thomas. Shares rights with Wme
Circus Road Films
1 Newlyweeds / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Shaka King α) — A Brooklyn repo man and his globetrotting girlfriend forge an unlikely romance. But what should be a match made in stoner heaven turns into a love triangle gone awry in this dark coming-of-age comedy about dependency. Cast: Amari Cheatom, Trae Harris, Tone Tank, Colman Domingo, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Adrian Martinez.
Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Adler & Feldman
1 Afternoon Delight / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jill Soloway ♀) — In this sexy, dark comedy, a lost L.A. housewife puts her idyllic hipster life in jeopardy when she tries to rescue a stripper by taking her in as a live-in nanny. Cast: Kathryn Hahn, Juno Temple, Josh Radnor, Jane Lynch. Shares rights with UTA
The Film Collaborative
1 A River Changes Course / Cambodia, U.S.A. (Director: Kalyanee Mam ♀ ¥) — Three young Cambodians struggle to overcome the crushing effects of deforestation, overfishing, and overwhelming debt in this devastatingly beautiful story of a country reeling from the tragedies of war and rushing to keep pace with a rapidly expanding world. World PremiereIsa: Cat & Docs
Azoff Music
1 History of the Eagles Part One / U.S.A. (Director: Alison Ellwood ♀) — Using never-before-seen home movies, archival footage and new interviews with all current and former members of the Eagles, this documentary provides an intimate look into the history of the band and the legacy of their music. Showtime picked up for cable.
Bunim-Murray
1 Valentine Road / U.S.A. (Director: Marta Cunningham ♀ α) — In 2008, eighth-grader Brandon McInerney shot classmate Larry King at point blank range. Unraveling this tragedy from point of impact, the film reveals the heartbreaking circumstances that led to the shocking crime as well as its startling aftermath.
Wavelength Pictures
1 The Stuart Hall Project / United Kingdom (Director: John Akomfrah α) — Antinuclear campaigner, New Left activist and founding father of Cultural Studies, this documentary interweaves 70 years of Stuart Hall’s film, radio and television appearances, and material from his private archive to document a memorable life and construct a portrait of Britain’s foremost radical intellectual. World Premiere
Mosaic
1 Upstream Color / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Shane Carruth) — A man and woman are drawn together, entangled in the life cycle of an ageless organism. Identity becomes an illusion as they struggle to assemble the loose fragments of wrecked lives. Cast: Amy Seimetz, Shane Carruth, Andrew Sensenig, Thiago Martins. -- Shane Carruth will self-distribute via his Erbp banner.
Rada Film Group
1 American Promise / α /U.S.A. (Directors: Joe Brewster α, Michèle Stephenson ♀ α) — This intimate documentary follows the 12-year journey of two African-American families pursuing the promise of opportunity through the education of their sons.Isa: ro*co
International Sales Agents Selling U.S. (And Other Territories)
4 Films
Visit Films
1 A Teacher / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Hannah Fidell ♀) — A popular young teacher in a wealthy suburban Texas high school has an affair with one of her students. Her life begins to unravel as the relationship comes to an end. Cast: Lindsay Burdge, Will Brittain, Jennifer Prediger, Jonny Mars, Julie Phillips, Chris Dubeck. Domestic: ICM
2 Il Future (The Future) ɤ/ Chile, Germany, Italy, Spain (Director and screenwriter: Alicia Scherson ♀ ɤ) — When their parents die, Bianca starts to smoke and Tomas is still a virgin. The orphans explore the dangerous streets of adulthood until Bianca finds Maciste, a retired Mr. Universe, and enters his dark mansion in search of a future. Cast: Manuela Martelli, Rutger Hauer, Luigi Ciardo, Nicolas Vaporidis, Alessandro Giallocosta. World Premiere
3 It Felt Like Love / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Eliza Hittman ♀) — On the outskirts of Brooklyn, a 14-year-old girl’s sexual quest takes a dangerous turn when she pursues an older guy and tests the boundaries between obsession and love. Cast: Gina Piersanti, Giovanna Salimeni, Ronen Rubinstein, Jesse Cordasco, Nick Rosen, Case Prime.
4 Halley ɤ/ Mexico (Director: Sebastian Hofmann ɤ, Screenwriters: Sebastian Hofmann, Julio Chavezmontes) — Alberto is dead and can no longer hide it. Before surrendering to his living death, he forms an unusual friendship with Luly, the manager of the 24-hour gym where he works as a night guard. Cast: Alberto Trujillo, Lourdes Trueba, Hugo Albores.
3 Films
Goldcrest Films International
1 Which Way is the Front Line From Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington / U.S.A. (Director: Sebastian Junger) — Shortly after the release of his documentary Restrepo, photographer Tim Hetherington was killed in Libya. Colleague Sebastian Junger traces Hetherington’s work across the world’s battlefields to reveal how he transcended the boundaries of image-making to become a luminary in his profession.
2...
- 1/20/2013
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Here are some of the twitter feeds for those participating in the Sundance Film Festival’s 2013 Premieres and Docu Premieres section including (image featured above) docu film, The Crash Reel from helmer Lucy Walker. If you know of any other twitter feeds (producers, editors, Dps, scribes) we can add for each individual film – please let us know.
Premieres
A.C.O.D. – @ACODmovie
Director Stuart Zicherman – @stuzicherman
Actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead – @M_E_Winstead
Big Sur
Director and screenwriter Michael Polish – @michael_polish
Actors Jean-Marc Barr – JeanMarc_Barr, Kate Bosworth – @katebosworth
Breathe In
Director Drake Doremus – @drakedoremus
Screenwriter Ben York Jones – @benyorkjones
Don Jon’s Addiction – @DonJonsAddict
Director, screenwriter and actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt – @hitRECordJoe
Actors Julianne Moore – @_juliannemoore, Tony Danza – @TonyDanza
The East
Director Zal Batmanglij – @z_al
Screenwriter and actress Brit Marling – @britmarling
Actors Ellen Page – @EllenPage
The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete
Screenwriter: Michael Starrbury – @StarrburyMike
Actors Skylan Brooks – @skylan_b,...
Premieres
A.C.O.D. – @ACODmovie
Director Stuart Zicherman – @stuzicherman
Actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead – @M_E_Winstead
Big Sur
Director and screenwriter Michael Polish – @michael_polish
Actors Jean-Marc Barr – JeanMarc_Barr, Kate Bosworth – @katebosworth
Breathe In
Director Drake Doremus – @drakedoremus
Screenwriter Ben York Jones – @benyorkjones
Don Jon’s Addiction – @DonJonsAddict
Director, screenwriter and actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt – @hitRECordJoe
Actors Julianne Moore – @_juliannemoore, Tony Danza – @TonyDanza
The East
Director Zal Batmanglij – @z_al
Screenwriter and actress Brit Marling – @britmarling
Actors Ellen Page – @EllenPage
The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete
Screenwriter: Michael Starrbury – @StarrburyMike
Actors Skylan Brooks – @skylan_b,...
- 1/17/2013
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Park City, Utah — It's that time of year again when a tiny ski-resort town becomes the place to be for anyone in show business – stars and directors, distribution executives, musicians, unknown filmmakers hoping that people might want to hear the stories they tell.
Opening Thursday, the Sundance Film Festival takes over Park City for a week and a half every January. Anything resembling a theater is booked with screenings. Directors and their casts trudge snowy streets to introduce films and do interviews. Bars and restaurants are stuffed with people talking deals, or just talking about something crazy or unexpected they just saw on screen.
"It's almost like Burning Man. Once a year, this tiny little town that then transforms itself into kind of a crazy film city for 10 days out of the year," said writer-director Lynn Shelton, a Sundance regular ("Humpday," "Your Sister's Sister") who returns this year with "Touchy Feely,...
Opening Thursday, the Sundance Film Festival takes over Park City for a week and a half every January. Anything resembling a theater is booked with screenings. Directors and their casts trudge snowy streets to introduce films and do interviews. Bars and restaurants are stuffed with people talking deals, or just talking about something crazy or unexpected they just saw on screen.
"It's almost like Burning Man. Once a year, this tiny little town that then transforms itself into kind of a crazy film city for 10 days out of the year," said writer-director Lynn Shelton, a Sundance regular ("Humpday," "Your Sister's Sister") who returns this year with "Touchy Feely,...
- 1/16/2013
- by AP
- Huffington Post
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