Magnolia Pictures has released the official trailer for Skate Kitchen starring Jaden Smith as a mysterious skateboarder. The film that premiered earlier this year at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival is the first narrative feature from The Wolfpack director Crystal Moselle, and will be released in select theaters on August 10.
Camille, an introverted teenage skateboarder (newcomer Rachelle Vinberg) from Long Island, meets and befriends an all-girl, New York City-based skateboarding crew called Skate Kitchen. She falls in with the in-crowd, has a falling-out with her mother, and falls for a mysterious skateboarder guy (Jaden Smith), but a relationship with him proves to be trickier to navigate than a kickflip.
Writer/director Crystal Moselle immersed herself in the lives of the skater girls and worked closely with them, resulting in the film’s authenticity, which combines poetic, atmospheric filmmaking and hypnotic skating sequences. SKATE KITCHEN precisely captures the experience of women in male-dominated spaces and tells a story of a girl who learns the importance of camaraderie and self-discovery.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iT1izrIxoosFilms
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Watch Jaden Smith as a Mysterious Skateboarder in SKATE KITCHEN Trailer
Magnolia Pictures has released the official trailer for Skate Kitchen starring Jaden Smith as a mysterious skateboarder. The film that premiered earlier this year at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival is the first narrative feature from The Wolfpack director Crystal Moselle, and will be released in select theaters on August 10.
Camille, an introverted teenage skateboarder (newcomer Rachelle Vinberg) from Long Island, meets and befriends an all-girl, New York City-based skateboarding crew called Skate Kitchen. She falls in with the in-crowd, has a falling-out with her mother, and falls for a mysterious skateboarder guy (Jaden Smith), but a relationship with him proves to be trickier to navigate than a kickflip.
Writer/director Crystal Moselle immersed herself in the lives of the skater girls and worked closely with them, resulting in the film’s authenticity, which combines poetic, atmospheric filmmaking and hypnotic skating sequences. SKATE KITCHEN precisely captures the experience of women in male-dominated spaces and tells a story of a girl who learns the importance of camaraderie and self-discovery.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iT1izrIxoos
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Sam Voutas’ KING OF PEKING to Premiere on Netflix on July 2 [Trailer]
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KING OF PEKING[/caption]
Sam Voutas’ King of Peking, an Official Selection of the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival, will premiere worldwide exclusively on Netflix on July 2, 2018.
SYNOPSIS: Big Wong and his young son Little Wong are part of a fading tradition: traveling film projectionists screening Hollywood movies for villagers who otherwise don’t have access to films. But when Big Wong’s ex-wife raises the spousal support payments, Big Wong faces the possibility of losing custody.
In order to stay together, the two Wongs move to the basement of an old Beijing cinema, where Big Wong works as a janitor. When Big Wong discovers a prototype DVD recorder for sale in a junk store, he convinces Little Wong to join a new venture: a father-son bootlegging company. He names it King of Peking in honor of their surname’s meaning: king. Business soon booms, but in the maelstrom of making money, Big Wong realizes that he might lose something more precious than custody: his son’s trust. And Little Wong learns that sometimes parents make bad choices for very good reasons.
In King of Peking, writer-director Sam Voutas (RED LIGHT REVOLUTION, SHANGHAI BRIDE) put his reverence for movies on full display. He crafts a beautiful story that is at once an endearing father-son story and a love letter to cinema. Starring Zhao Jun, Wang Naixun, Han Qing, Si Chao. Produced by Jane Zheng (Sundance 2018 hit DEAD PIGS) and Melanie Ansley.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcaYbx7U8Pw
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Holt McCallany and Vincent Pastore Set to Star in IRON TERRY MALONE
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Vincent Pastore. © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons[/caption]
Actors Holt McCallany (“MindHunter”) and Vincent Pastore (“The Sopranos”) will headline the upcoming dark comedy “Iron Terry Malone” directed by award-winning filmmaker Johnny Greenlaw (Mommy’s Box). The screenplay, based on true events, hails from award-winning actors/writers Christian Keiber and Robert John Keiber.
Utilizing many of the same locations used by Elia Kazan’s On The Waterfront (1954), the film is set largely in Hoboken, N.J., with the owner and five regulars teaming up to kill off one of their own to save their favorite bar from closing. McCallany, the acclaimed star of Netflix’s ‘’Mindhunter’’, plays a local mobster named Mean Mike, who with the bar’s owner Harry Moffet, played by John Doman (The Wire), hatch the plan to off the town beggar and drunk “Iron” Terry Malone, played by Pastore.
Befriending Malone by getting him so drunk he can’t think or remember where he is, the six would-be assassins first try poisoning him. Then, they try freezing him. Then, they run him over with a car, but Malone will just not die! And as summer turns to winter, things go from bad to worse, as this unlikely group of killers begins to turn on each other and find out just why their marked man is called “Iron” Terry Malone.
“What excites me about this film, besides the stellar cast, is the story and screenplay”, says Greenlaw. “The fact that it is based on actual events, that took place many years ago, we get to look inside the depths of humanity and what you’re willing to sacrifice just to get by in life. I look forward to bringing this dark comedy to the big screen.”
Adds writer Christian Keiber : “Iron Terry Malone”, is a true passion project of mine. To be able to bring this film to life alongside my friends and family, both in the cast and crew, is the sole reason I became a filmmaker.”
In addition to McCallany, Pastore and Doman, the film’s superlative ensemble also includes, Christian Keiber (“Gotham’’), Bill Sorvino (“Who’s Jenna..?”), Kerry McGann (“Bloodrunners’’), Johnny Greenlaw (“Mommy’s Box”), Robert John Keiber (“Trust Me, I’m a Lifeguard”), Maureen Van Zandt (“The Sopranos’’), and Gary Pastore (“The Deuce’’). Sam Calagione, owner of Dogfish Head Brewery, the official beer sponsor of the film, will also appear in the movie.
Kerry McGann, Bill Sorvino, Johnny Greenlaw, Jason L. Koerner and Bryce C. Campbell serve as producers, with Christian Keiber as executive producer.
“Iron” Terry Malone begins production in Hoboken, NJ in November.
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Watch New U.S. Trailer for Robert Schwentke’s THE CAPTAIN
Music Box Films has released the official trailer for the German film, The Captain by Robert Schwentke that will open in New York at The Quad on July 27th and in Los Angeles at Nuart on August 10th.
Based on a disturbing true story, The Captain follows Willi Herold (Max Hubacher), a German army deserter who stumbles across an abandoned Nazi captain’s uniform during the last, desperate weeks of the Third Reich. Newly emboldened by the allure of a suit that he stole only to stay warm, Willi discovers that many Germans will follow the leader, whosoever that happens to be. A parade of fresh atrocities follow in the self-declared captain’s wake, and serve as a profound reminder of the consequences of social conformity and untrammeled political power.
After an illustrious career in Hollywood, Robert Schwentke’s (Red, Flightplan) German homecoming film The Captain, is simultaneously a historical docudrama, a tar-black comedy, and a sociological treatise, presenting fascism as a pathetic pyramid scheme, a system to be gamed by the most unscrupulous and hollow-souled.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVj23p5vwe4
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Yen Tan’s Emotional Family Drama “1985” Set for October Release
Wolfe Releasing has acquired writer director Yen Tan’s 1985, starring Cory Michael Smith, Academy Award nominee Virginia Madsen, Emmy and Golden Globe winner Michael Chiklis and Jamie Chung, for a theatrical release this October.
The Texas-set family drama had its World Premiere at the 2018 SXSW Film Festival, where it was praised as “a miracle of a film” (Film School Rejects), “a poignant, even provocative meditation on a part of LGBTQ history” (The Daily Beast), “a deeply emotional tearjerker and family story… that earns its tears honestly and scrupulously” (The Wrap) and “a model of eloquent restraint” (The Hollywood Reporter).
1985 marks a continuing relationship between Tan and Wolfe, following their release of his acclaimed romantic drama Pit Stop. The film was produced by HutcH and Ash Christian, with HutcH also serving as Director of Photography (shooting the film in gorgeous black-and-white on 16mm film), co-editor, and conceiving the story with Tan.
1985 was inspired by Tan’s award-winning short film of the same name, and follows Adrian (Smith), a closeted young man returning to his Texas hometown for Christmas during the first wave of the AIDS crisis. Burdened with an unspeakable tragedy in New York, Adrian reconnects with his brother (Aidan Langford) and estranged childhood friend (Chung), as he struggles to divulge his dire circumstances to his religious parents (Madsen and Chiklis).
“I’m beyond thrilled to be partnering with Wolfe on 1985. It is a crucial part of our history that deserves to be revisited and discussed with new perspectives. The crux of the story is a message that inspires love, hope, and empathy in times of crisis. We can’t wait to bring this timely film to a wide audience,” Tan said.
“It has been four years since we worked with Yen on his award-winning film Pit Stop, and we are honored to collaborate with Yen and HutcH on their beautiful new film 1985. The film has blown audiences away with powerful performances from an incredible cast, the wonderful direction and writing from Yen, and HutcH’s masterful camera work,” said Wolfe’s Jim Stephens. “Wolfe will continue to screen the film at top festivals through the summer including Frameline and Outfest as we gear up for a theatrical release in October and getting the film out to award voters.”
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Jeremy Zagar’s Sundance Award-Winning Debut Feature WE THE ANIMALS Opens on August 17
Jeremy Zagar’s We The Animals, based on the celebrated novel by Justin Torres, and winner of the Innovator Award at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival will open on August 17 in New York and Los Angeles with a national rollout to follow.
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Short Film CANDY & RONNIE Tackling Drug Addiction to Screen at Pittsburgh Independent Film Festival [Trailer]
Tyler Tackett as Billy Isaaks & Mair Mulroney as Alice Murphy taking a pill in Candy & Ronnie The multi award-winning short film Candy & Ronnie, written and directed by Pittsburgh native filmmaker Skyko, has been selected for the 2018 Pittsburgh Independent Film Festival on Saturday June 23rd at 7PM, at Baverso Theater / Ryan Arts Center. The director and his producer-wife Lucy Macedo will be in attendance for a Q&A.
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Documentary DETROIT: COMEBACK CITY Narrated by Detroit Native JK Simmons to Premiere on History
The original documentary special, “Detroit: Comeback City,” which recounts the saga of the rise, fall and rebirth of Detroit through the iconic Michigan Central Station will premiere on HISTORY on Sunday, July 1 at 9pm ET/PT.
Narrated by Academy Award(R)-winner and Detroit native JK Simmons, the film chronicles how Detroit went from the engine of American capitalism to a city of ruins that is now on the cusp of an exciting rebirth. The story of the city is told by real Detroiters who recount the stories of their relatives who helped build the city and the country. Among the interview subjects are Alice Cooper, Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., Pulitzer Prize-winner Dr. Heather Ann Thompson, Bill Ford and NASA Astronaut Jerry Linenger.
From Henry Ford’s automated assembly lines å turned Detroit into a wheelhouse of innovation to the factories that made the city WW2’s arsenal of democracy, we will hear from those who found freedom and prosperity in the Motor City, including those who fled racism in the South to build a new life, and those who lived through the city’s 1967 riots and the city’s eventual downturn – leading to Detroit’s painful filing for bankruptcy in 2013.
The anchor of the story is the iconic Michigan Central Station (MCS). Designed by Warren & Wetmore and Reed and Stem, the firms that designed New York City’s Grand Central Terminal, MCS was built in the early 20th Century to announce Detroit’s dream for the future. The station was an emblem of Detroit’s innovative power, but after six decades it was shut down and abandoned, a painful symbol of the city’s demise.
Ford Motor Company has purchased Michigan Central Station, and recently announced plans to transform the building into an innovation hub.
“Part of History’s mission is to not just tell stories of the past, but capture history as it unfolds,” said Eli Lehrer, Executive Vice President of Programming, HISTORY. “Working together with organizations like Ford Motor Company, we are able to breathe new life into the past by working together to save our most precious landmarks for future generations.”
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Hulu to Release Award-Winning Whistleblower Documentary CRIME + PUNISHMENT
Hulu has acquired the whistleblower doc Crime + Punishment that premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival, and will partner with IFC Films to release the documentary simultaneously in theaters and on Hulu on August 24th.
After debuting at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, Crime + Punishment went on to win the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Social Impact Filmmaking, and has garnered numerous awards, including the Grand Jury Prize at the 2018 Independent Film Festival in Boston. Stephen Maing directed, produced and filmed, and Academy Award Winner Laura Poitras serves as an executive producer.
Crime + Punishment is a galvanizing and visually striking documentary that goes behind the scenes and undercover to expose discriminatory policing practices, intimidation and corruption within the New York Police Department. Told from multiple perspectives and precincts throughout New York City, Maing cinematically chronicles a band of minority whistleblower officers known as The NYPD 12, as well as the efforts of ex-cop turned private investigator, Manuel Gomez as they seek to expose the illegal use of arrest and summons quotas.
With unprecedented fly-on-the-wall access, the film artfully weaves an ensemble of interconnected stories and evidence from The NYPD 12, who put their careers on the line and mount a David vs. Goliath legal challenge – only to find themselves weathering harassment and retaliation from within their own departments.
“It was an act of bravery and defiance by all the cops and families who allowed their stories to be documented over the past four years so I’m heartened to know their efforts will not be in vain and this story made widely accessible,” said Maing. “It’s exciting to have Hulu’s amazing partnership and share this film theatrically, pursue an ambitious social impact campaign and present these previously unheard voices of active duty officers into the national dialogue around police reform. I am grateful for the collaborations and support I’ve received along the way, but most importantly to the brave participants of the film who have stepped forward for the sake of other citizens and officers.”
Crime + Punishment is the latest film to join Hulu’s award-winning documentary slate, which includes the recently-released TINY SHOULDERS: RETHINKING BARBIE and MARCH OF THE PENGUINS 2: THE NEXT STEP, as well as Grammy and Emmy Award winning film THE BEATLES: 8 DAYS A WEEK – THE TOURING YEARS, TOO FUNNY TO FAIL, OBEY GIANT, BECOMING BOND, DUMB and BATMAN AND BILL.
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Animation In Focus At Upcoming Edinburgh International Film Festival
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ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR[/caption]
Edinburgh International Film Festival revealed further details of the much-anticipated Animation program scheduled to take place as part of this month’s 72nd edition of the Festival. Four programs of short animation highlighting the role of the medium in foreseeing issues affecting contemporary anxieties and passions will screen alongside the annual presentation of some of the hottest British animating talent in the McLaren Award screenings as well as a special retrospective of a unique talent in animated filmmaker Elizabeth Hobbs.
Taking place on Wednesday 27 June, ELIZABETH HOBBS – A RETROSPECTIVE OF ANIMATED WORK, running as part of Anim18, a celebration of British animation taking place across the UK, will pay tribute to the award-winning animator who has been making short films for over 17 years and is both a graduate of the Edinburgh College of Art and a recipient of EIFF’s McLaren Award. Screening will be THE FILING OF THE FANGS, LITTLE SKIPPER and THE TRUE STORY OF SAWNEY BEANE amongst a number of other charming stories by this wonderful indie animator.
Hobbs’ I’M OK will also compete in this year’s McLaren Award for Best British Animation, supported by the British Council, alongside Emily Scaife’s ATTRACTION; Chris Shepherd’s topical BREXICUTED; INVADERS, made by Daniel Prince; Jonathan Hodgson’s ROUGHHOUSE and THAT YORKSHIRE SOUND by Marcus Armitage amongst a host of other titles with the winner crowned by the Festival audience.
International Animation returns this year with a focus on female directors each bringing a unique perspective to very relevant debates taking place in the public consciousness of our day: short films screening includes Alison Snowden’s ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR, Emily Ann Hoffman’s NEVADA and ICEBURGS from Eirini Vianelli.
Animation at EIFF is supported by creative communications consultancy, Emperor, who are celebrating their 15th anniversary in Edinburgh this year, with match funding provided by the Culture & Business Fund Scotland. Launched in April 2017, this program is run by independent charity Arts & Business Scotland to encourage closer collaboration between businesses and the cultural sector by match-funding business sponsorship of cultural projects pound for pound.
FILM FEST JUNIOR boasts two UK Premieres of animations VITELLO, in which a young boy goes in search of his father and ZOMBILLENIUM where a member of the undead must find his place at a monster theme park as well as an exclusive preview of PRINCESS EMMY, animated entertainment aimed at fans of princesses and horses. This year’s Family Gala is the long-awaited Disney-Pixar animation, INCREDIBLES 2.
Striking animated documentary WALL by director Cam Christiansen, written by and starring Sir David Hare will also screen as part of this year’s Focus on Canada country strand, supported by Telefilm Canada.
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Watch New Trailer for Jordana Spiro’s Sundance Winner NIGHT COMES ON
Check out the new trailer that dropped for NIGHT COMES ON, the powerful directorial debut from actress Jordana Spiro (Netflix’s Ozark) which had its world premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival where it won the NEXT Innovator Award. The film is co-written by Angelica Nwandu, who is the founder of The Shade Room, and features breakthrough performances by two fast rising stars, Dominique Fishback (HBO’s The Deuce) and newcomer Tatum Marilyn Hall.
NIGHT COMES ON follows Angel LaMere (Dominique Fishback) as she is released from juvenile detention on the eve of her 18th birthday. Haunted by her past, Angel embarks on a journey with her 10 year-old sister (Tatum Marilyn Hall) to avenge her mother’s death.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJrOkFVIzLE
The film will open in the theaters below as well as on digital/VOD on August 3, 2018.
New York – Cinema Village
Los Angeles – Laemmle NoHo
Baltimore – Parkway Theatre
Atlanta – Plaza Theatre
Chicago – Cinemas Entertainment
Cleveland – Tower City
Greensboro, NC – Red Cinema
Phoenix – Harkins Valley Art
**Additional cities to follow
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NEON to Release Nia DaCosta’s Feminist Western LITTLE WOODS Starring Tessa Thompson and Lily James
Nia DaCosta’s debut film Little Woods which premiered in April at Tribeca Film Festival has bee acquired by NEON for release in the US. Written and directed by DaCosta, the resulting film is a reimagining of the traditional western film as told from the female perspective.
Little Woods is a modern Western that tells the story of two sisters, Ollie (Tessa Thompson) and Deb (Lily James), who are driven to work outside the law to better their lives. For years, Ollie has illicitly helped the struggling residents of her North Dakota oil boomtown access Canadian health care and medication. When the authorities catch on, she plans to abandon her crusade, only to be dragged in even deeper after a desperate plea for help from her sister. Little Woods is an intimate look at the plight of the working class in rural America.
The film features performances by Tessa Thompson (Sorry to Bother You, Creed), Lily James (Baby Driver, Darkest Hour), Luke Kirby (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), James Badge Dale (13 Hours) and Lance Reddick (John Wick,John Wick 2).