• Baltimore’s 12 O’Clock Boys Biker Film to be Released in the US

    Fresh off its world premiere at SXSW, Oscilloscope Laboratories announced that it will release Lotfy Nathan’s debut feature, 12 O’Clock Boys, in the US. The film is is next scheduled to screen at the Hot Docs and Full Frame Documentary Festivals, among others. O-Scope will continue to roll the film out to more festivals prior to its theatrical, DVD, and digital releases.

    The 12 O’Clock Boys are a notorious urban dirt bike pack in Baltimore. Converging in groups and invading the streets, they dangerously–yet magnificently–make their presence known as they pop wheelies and weave in and out of traffic at excessive speeds, all the while taunting the police who must obey a self-imposed “no chase” rule for fear of endangering the public. Nathan frames the three-years-in-the-making narrative through the eyes of the adolescent Pug – a kid from the Westside eager to join the 12 O’Clock Boys’ ranks. Pug reveres the Boys’ every move, and Nathan follows this young man through some of the most pivotal years of his life, providing a compelling and intimate personal story within the broader depiction of the wild, dynamic world of the 12 O’Clock Boys.

    Filmmaker Lotfy Nathan said, “Oscilloscope’s great. I really hope they don’t f*&k this up.”

    http://youtu.be/5oU0fiFn_IM

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  • Interior. Leather Bar.

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  • Big Words

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  • Beasts of the Southern Wild

     

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  • Red Flag

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  • The Jeffrey Dahmer Files

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  • 30th Anniversary Restoration of Martin Scorsese’s The King of Comedy to Close 2013 Tribeca Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_3400" align="alignnone" width="550"]Jerry Lewis and Robert De Niro in The King of Comedy directed by Martin Scorsese.[/caption]

    The Tribeca Film Festival (TFF), has chosen the 30th Anniversary of Martin Scorsese’s The King of Comedy, restored in association with The Film Foundation, Regency Enterprises and Twentieth Century Fox, to close its 12th edition on Saturday, April 27. 

    The King of Comedy – directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Paul D. Zimmerman, produced by Arnon Milchan, and starring Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis, Diahnne Abbott and Sandra Bernhard –was originally released in 1983. Lauded as “shockingly prescient” by Moviefone, the film is recognized for its groundbreaking foresight into reality-TV culture and lack of distinction between renown and notoriety. It also holds up as the finest dramatic work of Lewis’ career, one of Martin Scorsese’s most underrated movies and a darkly funny film that features Robert De Niro playing the scary and fascinating character, Rupert Pupkin.

    The King of Comedy is being restored digitally in 4K from the original camera negatives at Sony Colorworks; John Polito at Audio Mechanics is digitally restoring the soundtrack.

    “Twelve years ago when we announced the first Festival, it was Marty’s idea for us to feature Restored and Rediscovered films. This year we are proud to close our 12th Festival with a restoration of his The King of Comedy,” said Jane Rosenthal, co-founder, Tribeca Film Festival. “The King of Comedy was so ahead of its time; it seems more relevant today than it was 30 years ago. We are so grateful to Jim Gianopulos and Regency for helping to restore such an iconic film and ensuring it remains a part of our cultural heritage.”

    In this unforgettable film, a funny thing happens to talk show host Jerry Langford (Lewis) on his way to the studio. Kidnapped by stand-up comedian Rupert Pupkin (De Niro) and his wacky sidekick (Bernhard), Langford is forced to give Pupkin a shot at the big time by allowing the struggling comic to perform his routine on Langford’s show. What unfolds is an incredibly funny and poignant story about the darker side of comedy.

    “I was a big fan of the script and was very excited to do it with Marty and happy that we finally made it. The fact that it’s been restored (hard to believe so many years have passed) is even all the better, and I can’t wait to see it on our closing night,” said Robert De Niro, co-founder, Tribeca Film Festival.      

    Scorsese said, “I’ve always been partial to comedians – the irreverence, the absurdity, the hostility, all the feelings under the surface – and to the old world of late night variety shows hosted by Steve Allen and Jack Paar and, of course, Johnny Carson, to the familiarity and the camaraderie between the guests. You had the feeling that they were there with you, in your living room. Robert De Niro and I were both drawn to Paul Zimmerman’s script for The King of Comedy, which really captured the show business atmosphere and the desperate attachments that some of the people on the other side of the screen could form, the ones that in certain cases turned dangerous.

    “Making the picture was quite an experience. We had Sandra Bernhard in her debut. We had New York in summer. We had the beautiful Diahnne Abbott. We had all those wonderful guest stars like Tony Randall and Victor Borge and Ed Herlihy and Dr. Joyce Brothers, and the people who were really in the business, like Freddy De Cordova and Ed Scherick. We had my mother, and my father, and my daughter Cathy. We even had The Clash in a couple of shots, in the role of ‘street trash.’ And, we had a living legend, the great Jerry Lewis.

    “I’m so happy that after all this time, The King of Comedy is finally getting a restoration, from our wonderful friends at Fox.”

    The 12th annual Tribeca Film Festival will take place from April 17-28, 2013.

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  • RIP: Oscar-Nominated Screenwriter Fay Kanin

     [caption id="attachment_3398" align="alignnone" width="550"]Fay Kanin (r) with Academy President Sid Ganis. [/caption]

    Oscar-nominated screenwriter and former president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Fay Kanin, died Wednesday. She was 95.

    Kanin wrote screenplays for 1958 Clark Gable-Doris Day comedy “Teacher’s Pet”, for which she received an Oscar nomination, and the 1954 Elizabeth Taylor romantic drama “Rhapsody”.

    Kanin served as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1979 to 1983, and was its second female president after actress Bette Davis. Kanin also was a longtime chairperson of the National Film Preservation Board of the Library of Congress and served on the board of the American Film Institute.

    The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released a statement,  “The Academy is deeply saddened by the passing of our beloved former president and Oscar-nominated screenwriter Fay Kanin.  She was committed to the Academy’s preservation work and instrumental in expanding our public programming. A tireless mentor and inspiration to countless filmmakers, Fay’s passion for film continues to inspire us daily. Our prayers and condolences go out to her loved ones.”

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  • BLANCANIEVES to Open 2013 Cine Las Americas International Film Festival and 7 BOXES to Close The Festival

    Pablo Berger’s BLANCANIEVES will open the 16th Cine Las Americas International Film Festival, on Tuesday, April 16 at the Stateside Theatre. Winner of multiple awards and chosen to represent Spain at the 2012 Academy Awards, the film stars Maribel Verdú, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Angela Molina and newcomer Macarena García.



    Closing the festival is 7 CAJAS (7 BOXES) on Sunday, April 21 also at the Stateside Theatre. A cunningly plotted action thriller, the film shows a rarely seen Paraguay on the cinematic map, bringing an inventive, lo-fi ingenuity to the traditional crime thriller. 

    A re-telling of the classic Brothers’ Grimm fairy tale “Snow White”, BLANCANIEVES is described as a breathtakingly beautiful film and a uniquely spirited homage to the black-and-white Golden Age of Europe’s silent cinema. Set in a romanticized 1920s Seville, Berger’s Snow White is Carmen, the daughter of a famous bullfighter, who lives under the tyrannical rule of her monstrous, evil stepmother, Encarna. She escapes and joins a troupe of bullfighting dwarves, where her beauty and natural talent in the ring attract notices from the press. But soon the news reaches Encarna, who at last she knows where to find Carmen, and she prepares for the final showdown.

    7 CAJAS develops on a single, sweltering hot night in Asuncion, Paraguay. Víctor, a 17-year-old wheelbarrow delivery boy, dreams of becoming famous and covets a fancy TV set in the infamous Mercado 4. He’s offered a chance to deliver seven boxes with unknown contents in exchange for a quick hundred bucks. But what sounds like an easy job soon gets complicated. When something in the boxes is highly coveted, Víctor and his pursuers quickly find themselves caught up in a crime they know nothing about.

    The 16th Cine Las Americas International Film Festival, which runs April 16-21, 2013, will take place at the Stateside Theatre in downtown Austin, the Alamo Drafthouse Village, and the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (MACC), with additional screenings at St. Edward’s University. All screenings at the MACC and at St. Edward’s University are free and open to the public. All films are subtitled in English.

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  • Mickey Sumner, Cheryl Hines Among Stars Attending 2013 Sarasota Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_3393" align="alignnone" width="550"]Greta Gerwig and Mickey Sumner in Frances Ha[/caption]

    Sarasota, FL – Mickey Sumner will receive the Breakthrough Performer Award at the 2013 Sarasota Film Festival for her performance in the closing night film FRANCES HA.  The award will be presented at the annual Tribute Luncheon, Sarasota Yacht Club on Friday, April 12th. Ms. Sumner was seen most recently on stage in New York City opposite Carol Kane in the Atlantic Theater Company’s production of THE LYING LESSON. Ms. Sumner joins previously announced guests Suzanne Clément, Griffin Dunne, Mariel Hemingway, Barbara Kopple and Lili Taylor in receiving honors at the Tribute. Ms. Sumner will also introduce the festival’s screening of FRANCES HA on Saturday, April 13th at The Sarasota Opera House.

    Cheryl Hines, star of the festival’s Spotlight film PASADENA, will serve as host for the festival’s Filmmaker Awards, Saturday, April 13th at 6:00 PM at The Sarasota Opera House. 

    In addition, several former Sea World whale trainers have announced that they will be joining the festival’s Opening Night screening of BLACKFISH to participate in a provocative post-screening Q&A, along with the film’s director Gabriela Cowperthwaite. The group includes John Hargrove, Samantha Berg, Carol Ray, John Jett and Jeff Ventre.

    Also joining the festival is David Call (GOSSIP GIRL, TINY FURNITURE) who has three films in the festival with DEAD MAN’S BURDEN, NOR’EASTER, and the short film MOBILE HOMES while WWE superstar Brodus Clay will attend with his film NO ONE LIVES on Saturday, April 13th.

    “We are honored to welcome these wonderful guests to our festival,” says Festival Director Tom Hall.  “Sarasota is a city that celebrates the arts, and we hope our community joins us in embracing these artists and their work.”

    via: Sarasota Film Festival

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  • American Documentary Film Festival to Present World Premiere of BEAUTY FACTORY

    Palm Springs, CA – BEAUTY FACTORY, which will have its world premiere at this year’s American Documentary Film Festival, follows five Venezuelan contestants over the course of four months as they compete for the coveted Miss Venezuela Crown; offering an intimate look into the world of beauty, and the sometimes-ugly things people do to be part of it.

    Venezuela has won more international beauty pageants than any other country. With 6 Miss International Crowns, 6 Miss World Crowns, and 6 Miss Universe Crowns, what is it that makes Venezuelan beauty queens so special? This film takes viewers behind the scenes as the girls are told how much weight to lose, how big their breasts need to be, what diet they need to follow, how long their hair should be and what color it should be, what gym routine they should follow, and even what plastic surgeries they should have prior to competing. For many of the contestants, the ultimate goal isn’t the Miss Venezuela crown, or even the Miss Universe crown. These are smart, savvy women who are using their beauty as the launching pad for something greater.  BEAUTY FACTORY is a film about Female empowerment, with some positive twists.

    For Tickets and/or More Information,
    visit http://americandocumentaryfilmfestival.com/

    The American Documentary Film Festival
    April 4-8, 2013

    Camelot Theatres
    2300 E Baristo Road
    Palm Springs, CA 92262
    760-325-6565

    Cinemark Century Theatres at The River
    71800 Hwy 111Suite A-137
    Rancho Mirage, CA 92270

    760-836-1940

    via: American Documentary Film Festival

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  • College Student, Allison Koch Wins Charleston International Film Festival’s Spire Award Design Contest

    (Charleston, SC ) – A senior and Studio Art major at the College of Charleston, Allison Koch, concepted and created the winning design for Charleston International Film Festival’s Spire Award. The award will be given annually during the festival to recognize those who exhibit the very best in the art of filmmaking and writing.  

    Chosen by the festival’s directors from more than a dozen award designs by College of Charleston students, Koch’s prototype truly captured the essence of the Spire, which alludes to Charleston’s iconic steeple-dotted skyline. Furthermore, the shape of a Spire demonstrates a reach for the skies, something the festival’s winning filmmakers and screenwriters truly embody.

    Koch, who is from New Jersey, but grew up in North Myrtle Beach said she was influenced by art deco movie theatre architecture. “The geometric, streamlined look seemed to suit the award,” Koch said. Her piece evolved, however, as it developed. Koch explained, “the initial form I had in mind is not at all what I felt worked best in the end.”

    The award will be cast in glass and given out for the first time during the 6th annual Charleston International Film Festival, April 24 – 28, 2013.

    For having the winning submission, Koch will receive a cash prize of $500.

    To learn more about Charleston International Film Festival or buy tickets, visit CharlestonIFF.org.

    via: Charleston International Film Festival

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