Films

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HBO and Martin Scorsese will partner for a documentary about William Jefferson Clinton, 42nd President of the United States. According to the press release, the film will be made with Clinton’s full cooperation, and will explore his perspectives on history, politics, culture and the world, with Scorsese producing and directing, and Steve Bing producing.

“President Clinton is one of the most compelling figures of our time, whose world view and perspective, combined with his uncommon intelligence, make him a singular voice on the world stage,” said Plepler and Lombardo. “This documentary, under Marty’s gifted direction, creates a unique opportunity for the President to reflect on myriad issues that have consumed his attention and passion throughout both his Presidency and post-Presidency.”

“A towering figure who remains a major voice in world issues, President Clinton continues to shape the political dialogue both here and around the world,” observed Scorsese. “Through intimate conversations, I hope to provide greater insight into this transcendent figure.”

“I am pleased that legendary director Martin Scorsese and HBO have agreed to do this film,” said President Clinton. “I look forward to sharing my perspective on my years as President, and my work in the years since, with HBO’s audience.”

William Jefferson Clinton, the first Democratic president in six decades to be elected twice, served as 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001, leading the U.S. to one of the longest economic expansions in American history. After leaving the White House, he established the William J. Clinton Foundation with the mission to improve global health, strengthen economies, promote healthier childhoods and protect the environment by fostering partnerships among governments, businesses, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and private citizens to turn good intentions into measurable results. To date, more than 2,100 Clinton Global Initiative commitments have improved the lives of 400 million people in 180 nations.

President Clinton was born Aug. 19, 1946, in Hope, Ark. He and his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, have a daughter, Chelsea, and live in Chappaqua, NY.

The Clinton documentary marks Martin Scorsese’s fourth collaboration with HBO, following the documentaries “Public Speaking” (2010) and the Emmy®-winning “George Harrison: Living in the Material World” (2011), and the hit series “Boardwalk Empire,” for which he serves as an executive producer, as well as winning an Emmy® for directing last year.

Image: President Clinton visits the Clinton Health Access Initiative distribution center in Uganda. While at the center, President Clinton speaks with government representatives to announce CHAI’s new program to scale-up treatment for diarrhea through oral rehydration salts and zinc.

Photo credit: Barbara Kinney / Clinton Foundation

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Multiple Grammy winner, entrepreneur and actress Beyoncé will be the focus of an intimate feature-length HBO documentary film debuting Feb. 16, 2013, directed by the superstar herself.

The film is described as a multi-faceted portrait of the 16-time Grammy Award-winning singer, businesswoman, songwriter, actress, entrepreneur, wife and mother, showing off the extraordinary gifts that have made her a global phenomenon, and stripping away the veneer of stardom. It includes extensive first-person footage, some of it shot by Beyoncé on her laptop, in which she reflects on the realities of celebrity, the refuge she finds onstage and the transcendent joy of becoming a mother last year.

The film sheds light on her childhood in Houston, with home movies revealing the close bond she built with her family and charts the challenges Beyoncé felt when she decided to manage her career and build her own company, Parkwood Entertainment. It also captures the intense physical and emotional demands she goes through in the studio, preparing for live performances, running a business and her family life, including her return to the spotlight after the birth of her daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, in January 2012.

Beyoncé also serves as the film’s executive producer.

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[caption id="attachment_2857" align="alignnone" width="550"]Curtis 50 Cent Jackson in How to Make Money Selling Drugs distributed by Tribeca Film. Photo courtesy of Tribeca Film. [/caption]

Tribeca Film will release Bert Marcus Productions’ How to Make Money Selling Drugs, which had its world premiere on Friday night at the Toronto International Film Festival. The provocative documentary offers an in-depth look at the high-stakes world of drug dealing and drug enforcement by blending authentic reportage with pop culture references. Directed by Matthew Cooke, the film reunites producers Bert Marcus of Bert Marcus Productions and Adrian Grenier (HBO’s Entourage), the team that created the breakout hit Teenage Paparazzo.

Tribeca Film plans a 2013 theatrical release day.

How To Make Money Selling Drugs offers a captivating glimpse into the lives of those on both sides of the “war on drugs,” delivering a diverse and unique perspective on the controversial subject through interviews with 50 Cent, The Wire producer David Simon, Arianna Huffington, Woody Harrelson, Eminem and Susan Sarandon, as well as infamous drug kingpin “Freeway” Rick Ross. Presenting a shockingly candid examination of how a street dealer can rise to cartel lord with relative ease, the documentary reveals how public policy and government drug enforcement have struggled to creatively adapt to and effectively disincentive Americans from dealing drugs. Bert Marcus Productions was granted unprecedented access from top‐ranking government officials, from the U.S. Drug Czar to the Drug Enforcement Agency, all providing unique and honest viewpoints on this pervasive global topic.

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YOGAWOMAN, the award winning documentary (narrated by Annette Bening, a keen yoga advocate)will open at Angelika Film Center in NYC on October 19 and at Laemmle Monica 4-Plex; NoHo 7 and Playhouse 7 on October 26, 2012.  A national release will follow.

The film is described as … “Through rich personal stories, YOGAWOMAN reveals how yoga has utterly transformed the lives of thousands of over-stimulated, over-scheduled, and multi tasking modern women. From the buzzing streets of Manhattan to the dusty slums of Kenya, from the golden beaches of Australia to the serene piazzas of Italy, the film follows the heart-rending stories of women who have found a lifeline through this magical and mystical practice.

How did the ancient practice of yoga, designed in India thousands of years ago – for men, become so relevant and increasingly popular in the lives of millions of American women? There are over 20 million people now practicing yoga in the United States, 80 percent of whom are women.

Yoga was brought to the west from India by a lineage of male teachers. Now there’s a generation of women who are leading the way. They’re strong, they’re inspiring, and they’re radically changing people’s lives.  YOGAWOMAN uncovers a global phenomenon that has changed the face of yoga forever. Led by a new generation of dynamic female teachers, this “new” yoga replaces the male-centered, more rigid style with a distinctly feminine practice that honors intuition, family, strength, flow, connection, community, activism and the cyclical nature of women’s lives.

In intimate interviews with the world’s leading experts, many who have become worldwide icons with rock-star status, YOGAWOMAN captures how these teachers have blazed a new trail for women. World-renowned teachers appearing in YOGAWOMAN include Patricia Walden, Sharon Gannon, Shiva Rea, Angela Farmer, Cyndi Lee, Seane Corn, Donna Farhi and forward-thinking medical professionals such as integrative physician Dr. Sara Gottfried and world-renowned research scientist Dr. Shirley Telles. YOGAWOMAN is the first film of its kind to bring together these luminaries, distilling their wisdom and spreading their message of peace and empowerment for the benefit of women everywhere.

A revolution brews in yoga studios, hospitals, prison cells and living rooms around the globe. In record numbers women are discovering their own strength, vitality, peace and power through yoga. Claiming this ancient spiritual path from its traditionally male form, the result is a radical transformation of yoga into an international multi billion dollar industry.”

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Zeitgeist will release in the US, Yung Chang’s latest film ‘China Heavyweight’ that premiered earlier this year at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. A Summer 2012 release date is planned.

In southwestern China, a Master coach recruits poor rural teenagers and turns them into Western-style boxing champions. Through hard work and discipline, these boys and girls come of age, trained in the art of boxing and the game of life. They are filled with Olympic dreams, hoping to become China’s next amateur heroes.  Their charismatic coach, Qi Moxiang–with his own dreams of winning back the championship–hopes to show them the way. The top student boxers face dramatic choices as they graduate–should they fight for the collective good as amateurs or for themselves and their own personal gain as professionals? It’s a metaphor for the choices that everyone faces now, in the New China.

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SHUT UP AND PLAY THE HITS, directed by Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace, which documents the final days of LCD SOUNDSYSTEM, will be released in special one-night-only engagements in theaters nationwide this summer. SHUT UP AND PLAY THE HITS had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and an encore presentation at last month’s SXSW Film and Music Festival.

Described in the press release with the line “If it’s a funeral… let’s have the best funeral ever.”

The film storyline follows, “One year ago today, LCD Soundsystem played its final show at Madison Square Garden. LCD frontman James Murphy had made the conscious decision to disband one of the most celebrated and influential bands of its generation at the peak of its popularity, ensuring that the band would go out on top with the biggest and most ambitious concert of its career. The instantly sold out, near four-hour extravaganza did just that, moving the thousands in attendance to tears of joy and grief, with New York Magazine calling the event “a marvel of pure craft” and TIME magazine lamenting “we may never dance again.” SHUT UP AND PLAY THE HITS is simultaneously a document of a once-in-a-lifetime performance and an intimate portrait of Murphy as he navigates both the personal and professional ramifications of his meteoric decision.”

Adam Yauch, Beastie Boy and Head of Oscilloscope Laboratories, the company distributing the film said, “Perhaps having grown up in a band for most of my life – a band that formed when I was 16 years old – and having released our first record when I was still in high school, this film addresses so many questions. For instance, it can be pretty clear when a band starts, but perhaps less so when it ends, or how it should end. In that sense, it’s brilliant of James to end it in such a definitive way.”

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Oscilloscope Laboratories will release the documentary SAMSARA, the third feature from filmmakers Mark Magidson and Ron Fricke, which had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival.  The film will be released in theaters nationally this summer.

Fricke and Magidson previously collaborated on the award-winning films BARAKA and CHRONOS, which brought a new visual and magical artistry to theaters.

Filmed over a period of more than four years in twenty-five countries on five continents, SAMSARA transports us via 65mm cinematography to the varied worlds of sacred grounds, disaster zones, industrial complexes, and natural wonders.  By dispensing with dialogue and descriptive text, SAMSARA subverts the expectations of a traditional documentary and encourages new interpretations, inspired by breathtaking images and transcendent music.  Taking its name from the Sanskrit word for “the ever turning wheel of life,” SAMSARA explores the wonders of our world, from the mundane to the miraculous.  The lyrical film will push modern theater-going technology to the limit with never before seen technical feats, providing a one-of-a-kind theatrical experience through both traditional film and all-new 4K digital projection.

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