Ira Sachs’ feature LOVE IS STRANGE which made its world premiere at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, where it has been described as one of the most well received films by critics and audiences alike, will be released in the U.S. by Sony Pictures Classics.  Academy Award® nominee John Lithgow and Alfred Molina star as a longtime couple who lose their New York City home shortly after getting married and as a result must live apart, relying on friends and family to make ends meet. The all-star cast of LOVE IS STRANGE also includes Academy Award® winner Marisa Tomei, Darren Burrows, Charlie Tahan and Cheyenne Jackson.

In his five-star review of the film, Time Out’s Joshua Rothkopf said, “LOVE IS STRANGE emerges as a total triumph for Sachs and his co-leads, John Lithgow and Alfred Molina, who, despite lengthy filmographies, turn in career-topping work.”

In LOVE IS STRANGE, Ben (Lithgow) and George (Molina) finally wed in Manhattan after 39 years together. However, once the Catholic school where George has had a longtime job hears of the marriage, he is fired, and the couple is forced to move into two separate households as they can no longer afford their Manhattan apartment. George moves in with two gay cops who live downstairs, and Ben moves to Brooklyn with his nephew, his wife, and their teenage son. While trying to find a new place to live together, Ben and George feel the pain of living apart while testing the strength of their relationships, both with each other and with those who have taken them in.

via deadline

Read more

Jim Mickle’s COLD IN JULY which World Premiere this week in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section at the Sundance Film Festival will be released in Summer 2014 by IFC Film.  The film, with a screenplay by Jim Mickle and Nick Damici, stars Michael C. Hall, Don Johnson, Sam Shepard, Vinessa Shaw, Nick Damici, and Wyatt Russell.

IN JULY asks the question: How can a split-second decision change your life? While investigating noises in his house one balmy Texas night in 1989, Richard Dane (Michael C. Hall) puts a bullet in the brain of low-life burglar Freddy Russell. Although he’s hailed as a small-town hero, Dane soon finds himself fearing for his family’s safety when Freddy’s ex-con father, Ben (Sam Shepherd), rolls into town, hell-bent on revenge.

Director Jim Mickle added, “Our whole team is ecstatic to be partnering with IFC Films. This is the perfect fit for our film. Seven years ago we set out to bring Joe’s work to the big screen, so to be back at Sundance with this film and this incredible cast makes it all worth it. So far the response has been beyond our wildest dreams.”

Festival programmers said this of the film: “Michael C. Hall brings a shell-shocked vulnerability to his portrayal of Dane that contrasts perfectly with the grizzled badasses portrayed by Sam Shepard and Don Johnson. Directed with an excellent eye for the visual poetry of noir, this pulpy, southern-fried mystery is a throwback to an older breed of action film, one where every punch and shotgun blast opens up both physical and spiritual wounds. Twists and turns accelerate as the film reaches its inevitable destination: a gore-soaked dead end. Cold in July is as muggy, oppressive, and hard to shake as an east Texas summer.”

Read more

John Slattery’s directorial debut film, GOD’S POCKET, which made its world premiere this at the Sundance Film Festival in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section, has been acquired by IFC Films for release in the U.S.  GOD’S POCKET stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Richard Jenkins, Christina Hendricks, and John Turturro.

Based on the novel by Pete Dexter, the film is set in the gritty, blue-collar neighborhood of GOD’S POCKET.  When Mickey Scarpato’s crazy stepson, Leon, is killed in a construction “accident,” Mickey quickly tries to bury the bad news with the body. But when a local columnist comes sniffing around for the truth, things go from bad to worse. Mickey finds himself stuck in a life-and-death struggle compounded by a body he can’t bury, a wife he can’t please, and a debt he can’t pay.

Director John Slattery said, “I’m thrilled to be working creatively with IFC, and very happy to continue my ongoing and successful relationship with AMC. We’re very proud of this film and excited to partner with IFC Films to bring it to a wide audience.”

Festival programmer Trevor Groth said this of the film: “Acclaimed actor John Slattery makes an impressive jump behind the camera with an assured directorial debut that shows he has a razor-sharp eye for conveying the absurdity, cruelty, desperation, and tragic optimism of the people he portrays. Like life, his scenes seamlessly fuse humor and heartbreak, but it’s Slattery’s wit and confident style that make the portrait so authentic. Featuring a top-shelf cast and impeccable cinematography, God’s Pocket oozes with talent and marks the emergence of an inspired directorial presence.”

Read more

Craig Johnson’s drama THE SKELETON TWINS which premiered this week in the US Dramatic Competition at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival has been jointly acquired by Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions for release in the U.S.  Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions are planning a theatrical release for the feature film in late summer 2014.  Co-written by Johnson and Mark Heyman, the film stars Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Luke Wilson, and Ty Burrell. 

In THE SKELETON TWINS, when estranged twins Maggie and Milo feel that they’re at the end of their ropes, an unexpected reunion forces them to confront why their lives went so wrong. As the twins reconnect, they realize the key to fixing their lives may just lie in repairing their relationship.

Craig Johnson’s first feature film, TRUE ADOLESCENTS, starring Mark Duplass and Melissa Leo, premiered at the 2009 SXSW Film Festival. He has written two films for 20th Century Fox and was a member of the inaugural Fox Writers Studio. He holds an MFA from NYU’s graduate film program and a BA in theatre from the University of Washington. THE SKELETON TWINS is his second feature.

via Collider

Read more

The comedic horror film COOTIES, which premiered to a sold-out audience at midnight this past Saturday at the Sundance Film Festival, has been acquired by Lionsgate for release in U.S.  COOTIES marks the feature film directorial debut for directors Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion.  In COOTIES, a substitute teacher at a new school experiences the worst first day imaginable when he discovers that an outbreak of a mysterious virus is transforming the students into rampaging tykes. 

COOTIES is written by Leigh Whannell (co-creator of Saw and Insidious) and Ian Brennan (co-creator of “Glee”) and stars Elijah Wood (who also produced the film), Rainn Wilson, Alison Pill, Jack McBrayer, Leigh Whannell, Jorge Garcia, and Nasim Pedrad. 

Producer and star Elijah Wood said, “Even before we set forth on the production of COOTIES, we’ve always seen the ideal home for this film to be at Lionsgate. We could not be more thrilled!”

via DreadCentral

Read more

Martha Stephens & Aaron Katz’s bawdy road trip comedy LAND HO!, which premiered on Sunday at the Sundance Film Festival was snapped up by Sony Pictures Classics for release. SPC plans to release the film nationwide in 2014. Starring Paul Eenhoorn (THIS IS MARTIN BONNER) and newcomer Earl Lynn Nelson, LAND HO! follows a pair of retirees who set off to Iceland in an attempt to reclaim their youth through Reykjavik nightclubs, trendy spas, and rugged campsites.

Feeling disenchanted with life after retirement, Mitch, a brassy former surgeon, convinces mild-mannered Colin, his ex-brother-in-law, to holiday with him in Iceland. The pair set off through Reykjavik ice bars, trendy spas, and adventurous restaurants in an attempt to reclaim their youth, but they quickly discover that you can’t escape yourself, no matter how far you travel.

LAND HO! is a bawdy road-trip comedy as well as a candid exploration of aging, loneliness, and friendship. Iceland’s vast and haunting landscapes—moss-coated cliffs, fog-shrouded mountains, geothermal pools, and otherworldly Northern Lights—form a primordial Eden and the perfect backdrop for Mitch and Colin’s adventures. [ via Sundance Film Festival ]

“Three days ago we saw the movie with an audience for the first time,” said Katz. “Sharing Mitch and Colin’s story that afternoon was just the beginning of an incredible journey for all of us.”

“We are thrilled to be working with Sony Pictures Classics. Finding ourselves in the same company as Woody Allen, Michael Haneke, Jim Jarmusch, and countless other iconic directors is an incredible honor,“ Stephens said, adding, “We can’t wait to get this party started.”

Read more

OF GOD AND DOGS

The jury prizes and honorable mentions in short filmmaking at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival were presented at a ceremony in Park City, Utah on Tuesday night.  This year’s Short Film program is comprised of 66 short films selected from a record 8,161 submissions. The Short Film Grand Jury Prize was awarded to the Syrian film OF GOD AND DOGS.  The 2014 Sundance Film Festival runs through January 26 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah. 

The Short Film Grand Jury Prize was awarded to:
Of God and Dogs / Syrian Arab Republic (Director: Abounaddara Collective) — A young, free Syrian soldier confesses to killing a man he knew was innocent. He promises to take vengeance on the God who led him to commit the murder.

The Short Film Jury Award: U.S. Fiction was presented to: 
Gregory Go Boom / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Janicza Bravo) — A paraplegic man leaves home to be on his own.

The Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction was presented to:
The Cut / Canada (Director and screenwriter: Geneviève Dulude-Decelles) — The Cut tells the story of a father and a daughter, whose relationship fluctuates between proximity and detachment, at the moment of a haircut.

The Short Film Jury Award: Non-fiction was presented to:
I Think This Is the Closest to How the Footage Looked / Israel (Directors: Yuval Hameiri, Michal Vaknin) — A man with poor means recreates a lost memory of the last day with his mom. Objects come to life in a desperate struggle to produce a single moment that is gone.

The Short Film Jury Award: Animation  was presented to:
Yearbook / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Bernardo Britto) — A man is hired to compile the definitive history of human existence before the planet blows up.

A Short Film Special Jury Award for Unique Vision was presented to:
Rat Pack Rat / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Todd Rohal) — A Sammy Davis Jr. impersonator, hired to visit a loyal Rat Pack fan, finds himself performing the last rites at the boy’s bedside.

A Short Film Special Jury Award for Non-fiction was presented to:
Love. Love. Love. / Russia (Director: Sandhya Daisy Sundaram) — Every year, through the endless winters, her love takes new shapes and forms.

A Short Film Special Jury Award for Direction and Ensemble Acting was presented to:
Burger / United Kingdom, Norway (Director and screenwriter: Magnus Mork) — It’s late night in a burger bar in Wales…

Read more

I ORIGINS, directed and written by Mike Cahill, has been awarded the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, and will receive a $20,000 cash award by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.   I ORIGINS which premiered on Saturday at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival has been acquired by Fox Searchlight Pictures for release in the U.S. The film is scheduled to be released in 2014. 

In I ORIGINS, a molecular biologist and his lab partner uncover startling evidence that could fundamentally change society as we know it and cause them to question their once-certain beliefs in science and spirituality. The cast includes Michael Pitt, Brit Marling, Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, Steven Yeun, Archie Panjabi. The jury presented the award to the film for its “intelligent and nuanced portrayal of molecular biologists as central characters, and for dramatizing the power of the scientific process to explore fundamental questions about the human condition.”

Previous Alfred P. Sloan Prize Winners include: Andrew Bujalski, Computer Chess (2013); Jake Schreier, Christopher Ford, Robot & Frank (2012); Musa Syeed, Valley of Saints (2012); Mike Cahill and Brit Marling, Another Earth (2011); Diane Bell, Obselidia (2010); Max Mayer, Adam (2009); Alex Rivera, Sleep Dealer (2008); Shi-Zheng Chen, Dark Matter (2007); Andrucha Waddington, The House of Sand (2006); Werner Herzog, Grizzly Man (2005), Shane Carruth,Primer (2004) and Marc Decena, Dopamine (2003). Several past winners have also been awarded Jury Awards at the Festival, including the Grand Jury Prize for Primer, the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award for Sleep Dealer and the Excellence in Cinematography Award for Obselidia.

Read more

The ‘blackly comedic’ Irish drama CALVARY which screened Sunday in the Premieres section of the Sundance Film Festival was acquired by Fox Searchlight Pictures and scheduled to be released in the U.S. in 2014 . Written and directed by John Michael McDonagh, CALVARY’s ensemble cast includes Brendan Gleeson, Chris O’Dowd, Kelly Reilly, Aidan Gillen, Dylan Moran, Isaach De Bankolé, M. Emmet Walsh, Marie-Josée Croze, Domhnall Gleeson, David Wilmot, Pat Shortt, Gary Lydon, Killian Scott, Orla O’Rourke, Owen Sharpe and David McSavage. CALVARY was recently added to the lineup for the Berlin International Film Festival and is the opening night film for the 2014 Jameson Dublin International Film Festival.

CALVARY’s Father James (Brendan Gleeson) is a good priest who is faced with sinister and troubling circumstances brought about by a mysterious member of his parish. Although he continues to comfort his own fragile daughter (Kelly Reilly) and reach out to help members of his church with their various scurrilous moral – and often comic – problems, he feels sinister and troubling forces closing in, and begins to wonder if he will have the courage to face his own personal Calvary.

“We made a great film. In Fox Searchlight, we now have a great company behind us to send that film out into the world. Thank you, Sundance. Thank you, bourbon! Onward,” said McDonagh.

Read more

Gillian Robespierre’s debut comedy OBVIOUS CHILD which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on Friday has been snapped up by A24 for a planned 2014 theatrical release. OBVIOUS CHILD is described as an honest comedy about what happens when Brooklyn comedian Donna Stern gets dumped, fired, and pregnant just in time for the best/worst Valentine’s Day of her life.

OBVIOUS CHILD opened to strong reviews with THR describing the film as “Raunchy humor laced with gradually revealed vulnerability makes for a winning combination in OBVIOUS CHILD, a raucously funny and appealing female-centric comedy that launches very promising talent on both sides of the camera.”

In the film, Donna Stern is a 27-year-old Brooklyn comedian whose unapologetically lewd, warmhearted wit is pretty irresistible with audiences. When she gets heartlessly “dumped up with” by her two-timing boyfriend, Donna plunges into some light stalking and heavy moping. Hitting a serious low point, she performs a dreary set of break-up vengeance and Holocaust jokes and drunkenly falls into bed with a nice young professional named Max—not remotely her type. A few weeks later, condoms be damned, she’s pregnant. Now Donna, incapable of telling anything but the naked truth when she’s on stage, will resort to any means to avoid telling Max the score. As her date with Planned Parenthood draws near, she must confront her doubts and fears like never before. [via Sundance Film Festival]

Read more