Jeremy Wechter’s e-Demon tells of an escaped demon on a dark and twisted mission that manipulates a group of friends hanging out on a video-chat. The film is craftily structured – it takes place completely on a computer screen via the webcams being shown. Dark Cuts Pictures has acquired North American rights to e-Demon, planning a fall theatrical and VOD release.
Kendra, AJ, Mar and Dwayne are old college friends who find themselves growing apart. Attempting to hang on to their good old Ohio State days, the gang gets together online for a night of stories, pranks and drinking via web-cam. As the evening progresses, they unknowingly release a deviously clever demon that had been trapped for centuries in Salem, Massachusetts. Since the demon can possess multiple people at once, the group of friends must determine who they can still trust in order to survive the demon’s dark and twisted mission.
Dark Cuts is planning a September theatrical roll-out with a day-and-date VOD release.
e-Demon writer and helmer Wechter scored best director at the New York Horror Film Festival.
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Dark Cuts Pictures to Release Jeremy Wechter’s E-DEMON in the Fall [Trailer]
Jeremy Wechter’s e-Demon tells of an escaped demon on a dark and twisted mission that manipulates a group of friends hanging out on a video-chat. The film is craftily structured – it takes place completely on a computer screen via the webcams being shown. Dark Cuts Pictures has acquired North American rights to e-Demon, planning a fall theatrical and VOD release.
Kendra, AJ, Mar and Dwayne are old college friends who find themselves growing apart. Attempting to hang on to their good old Ohio State days, the gang gets together online for a night of stories, pranks and drinking via web-cam. As the evening progresses, they unknowingly release a deviously clever demon that had been trapped for centuries in Salem, Massachusetts. Since the demon can possess multiple people at once, the group of friends must determine who they can still trust in order to survive the demon’s dark and twisted mission.
Dark Cuts is planning a September theatrical roll-out with a day-and-date VOD release.
e-Demon writer and helmer Wechter scored best director at the New York Horror Film Festival.
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RLJE Films to Release GALVESTON Starring Elle Fanning and Ben Foster [Trailer]
The drama Galveston, which premiered at this year’s SXSW Film Festival and will screen at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival in September will be released in theaters this Fall after been acquired by RLJE Films. Based on the novel “Galveston” by “True Detective” creator Nic Pizzolatto, the film was directed by Mélanie Laurent (Breathe), written by Jim Hammett and stars Ben Foster (Hell or High Water), Elle Fanning (The Beguiled), Lili Reinhart (“Riverdale”), and Beau Bridges (“Homeland”).
In Galveston, Roy is a heavy-drinking criminal enforcer and mob hit man whose boss set him up in a double-cross scheme. After killing his would-be assassins before they could kill him, Roy discovers Rocky, a young woman being held captive, and reluctantly takes her with him on his escape. Determined to find safety and sanctuary in Galveston, Roy must find a way to stop his boss from pursuing them while trying to out-run the demons from his and Rocky’s pasts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XFKu8UNi7I
“Elle Fanning and Ben Foster deliver powerful performances in this provoking drama,” said Mark Ward Chief Acquisitions Officer for RLJE Films. “Their chemistry captures audiences on a gripping, emotional ride. We are so proud to bring this film to the big screen.”
Galveston was executive produced by Jean Doumanian (Everyone Says I Love You), Patrick Daly (August: Osage County), Kevin Flanigan (Take Shelter), Dexter Braff (The Kings of Summer), and Sean Thomas O’Brien (My Blind Brother).
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KUSAMA – INFINITY, Portrait of Legendary Female Artist Yayoi Kusama Sets Release Date
Kusama – Infinity is a revelatory portrait of artist Yayoi Kusama, who overcame impossible odds to become the top-selling female artist in the world. Directed by Heather Lenz, the film will open on Friday, September 7 at New York’s Film Forum and in Los Angeles at the Landmark Nuart with a national rollout to follow.
Yayoi Kusama is best known for her colorful polka dot- and pumpkin-themed designs and her massively popular mirrored Infinity Rooms. For decades, her work pushed boundaries that often alienated her from her peers and those in power in the art world. She was an underdog with everything stacked against her: growing up in Japan during World War II, life in a dysfunctional family that discouraged her creative ambitions, sexism and racism in the art establishment, and mental illness in a culture where that was a particular stigma. In spite of it all, Kusama has endured and has created a legacy of artwork that spans the disciplines of painting, sculpture, installation art, performance art, poetry and novels. After six decades of work—including many years in New York in the pulsing art scene of the ‘60s—people around the globe are now experiencing her Infinity Rooms in record numbers, and Kusama continues to create new work every day.
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South African Western FIVE FINGERS FOR MARSEILLES Guns for Theaters September 7th [Trailer]
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Five Fingers for Marseilles[/caption]
Imagine Clint Eastwood in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; Yul Brynner in The Magnificent Seven; or John Wayne in The Searchers. Now journey from the sweeping plains of America’s Old West to the unforgiving hinterlands of South Africa. Then update the archetypal gunfighter to steely black cowboys who are deft horsemen and lethal marksmen. The result is the boldly original and modern take on the Western genre, Five Fingers for Marseilles, filmed on location in the North-Eastern Cape village of Lady Grey, South Africa. The movie marks the feature directorial debut of Michael Matthews and the feature screenwriting debut of Sean Drummond.
The pistol-packing South African western Five Fingers for Marseilles stares down the barrel of a national theatrical release Friday, September 7, 2018 via Uncork’d Entertainment.
Matthews and Drummond honor the traditional Western genre — and its Spaghetti and revisionist variations — while exporting the trappings into a fresh contemporary story set against the backdrop of post-Apartheid South Africa. Five Fingers for Marseilles takes place in a small town “governed” by dubious local officials, living in fear of a lawless mob; when an exiled outlaw returns home in search of solace and redemption, brotherhood and loyalty are fused with vengeance.
Combining the socio-political threads found in many a great Western; stunning visuals captured in panoramic widescreen lensing; and a cast of talented South African actors giving powerful, nuanced performances, Matthews and Drummond deliver
Synopsis: The residents of the colonial town of Marseilles are under the thumb of police oppression and only the young rebels known as the Five Fingers are willing to stand up to them. Their battle is just, until Tau kills two policemen and flees the scene. The remaining rebels disband while the banished Tau resorts to a life of crime. Twenty years later, now known as feared outlaw The Lion of Marseilles, he is released from prison. He returns home, desiring only peace and to reconnect with those he left behind. The battle for South Africa’s freedom has been won, and former comrades-in-arms are in prominent positions as mayor, police chief, and pastor. But it quickly becomes clear to Tau that Marseilles is caught in the grip of a vicious new threat — and he must reconstitute the Five Fingers to fight frontier justice. Standing against former allies and new enemies, the re-formed Five Fingers saddle up and ride out, and put their lives at risk to save their beloved Marseilles.
Starring Vuyo Dabula, Hamilton Dhlamini, Zethu Dlomo, Kenneth Nkosi, Mduduzi Mabaso, Aubrey Poolo, Lizwi Vilakazi, Warren Masemola, Dean Fourie, Anthony Oseyemi, Brendon Daniels, and Jerry Mofokeng, Five Fingers for Marseilles is written by Sean Drummond and directed by Michael Matthews. The film is produced by Asger Hussain (The Paperboy, Precious) and Yaron Schwartzman (Double Play, 37) from Game 7 Films, as well as Drummond and Matthews (collectively known as Be Phat Motel); and co-produced by Dylan Voogt. Be Phat Motel is next slated to produce the feature adaptation of Apocalypse Now Now penned by Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Terri Tatchell (District 9). The film is executive-produced by Jeff Hoffman of Above the Clouds Media Group, Paulo Areal, Dumi Gumbi and Josh Green.
A South African box office hit, Five Fingers for Marseilles made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and went on to successfully screen at Fantastic Fest, BFI London Film Festival, Busan International Film Festival, Fantasia International Film Festival and the Palm Springs International Film Festival.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWT0hJhMZwk
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Barbara Kopple’s A MURDER IN MANSFIELD to have its TV Debut on Investigation Discovery [Trailer]
Two-time Oscar(R)-winning director Barbara Kopple explores the legacy of the notorious 1989 murder of Noreen Boyle in Mansfield, Ohio in the new documentary, A Murder In Mansfield. The film chronicles Noreen’s son Collier’s journey for answers and peace in the aftermath of his mother’s death nearly three decades ago. A Murder In Mansfield will have its national television debut exclusively on Investigation Discovery on November 17, 2018 at 9 pm.
Eleven-year-old Collier Boyle and his family lived comfortably in Mansfield, until New Year’s Eve in 1989, when Collier’s father, Dr. Jack Boyle, murdered Noreen, his wife of 20 years. With only circumstantial evidence connecting Dr. Boyle to the crime, Collier’s devastating testimony was the key to convicting him. Now, more than two decades later, Collier returns to Ohio seeking to retrace his past and confront his imprisoned father, who remains in denial of his guilt. The film had its world premiere at DOC NYC and played leading film festivals including Full Frame, AFI Docs and IDFA.
“Collier’s depth of character is a wonder to behold from childhood to adulthood, and out of his tragic story, we witness the power of human resilience,” said Kopple. “I am grateful that Collier has trusted me with his story, and believe this film shows the power of the human spirit, and our ability to rise above tragedy.”
“Families and friends of the victims of violence become secondary victims, often suffering a lifetime of post-traumatic stress,” said Henry Schleiff, Group President, Investigation Discovery, Travel Channel, Destination America and American Heroes Channel. “As a storyteller, there is no one better than Barbara Kopple to capture Collier’s life journey, and we are honored to partner with her and her team at Cabin Creek Films to bring ID viewers on his awe-inspiring journey of resilience and reconciliation.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0DHwdY7xBs
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HBO Announces Documentaries on Sandra Bland, Jane Fonda, and More for Second Half of 2018
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Sandra Bland in SAY HER NAME: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF SANDRA BLAND.[/caption]
HBO has confirmed a fresh array of thought-provoking documentaries for the second half of 2018, including: Susan Lacy’s JANE FONDA IN FIVE ACTS, the intimate story of an icon; Nathaniel Kahn’s THE PRICE OF EVERYTHING, an insider’s look at today’s money-driven art world; Kate Davis and David Heilbroner’s SAY HER NAME: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF SANDRA BLAND about the tragic death of a young woman who was stopped for a routine traffic violation; and Rudy Valdez’s Sundance award winner THE SENTENCE, a portrait of a family in crisis.
Upcoming HBO documentaries include (in chronological order):
SWIPED: HOOKING UP IN THE DIGITAL AGE (debuts Sept. 10). With more than 40 million Americans currently engaging in online and app dating, this $2.5-billion industry is rapidly changing the rules of dating, while expanding access to potential mates for everything from “hookups” to long-term relationships. This eye-opening look at the evolving nature of sex and dating in the digital age offers candid insights from twentysomethings and experts in the field. Directed by Nancy Jo Sales.
THE OSLO DIARIES (Sept. 13). In 1992, with Israeli-Palestinian relations at an all-time low and any communication between the two sides punishable by jail time, a small group of Israelis and Palestinians gathered secretly in Oslo for a series of meetings that came to be known as The Oslo Accords and dramatically changed the political landscape of the Middle East. Articulated through readings of the participants’ diaries from the time and airing on the 25th anniversary of the Accords, this geopolitical story features never-before-seen archival footage and exclusive interviews with key players, including the last on-camera conversation with former Israeli president Shimon Peres. A riveting account of talks that spanned a period of 1,100 days, the film offers a resonant portrait of diplomacy and the delicate nature of peace. Directed by Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan.
JANE FONDA IN FIVE ACTS (Sept. 24). Girl next door, sex icon, activist, fitness tycoon, Oscar(R)-winning actress Jane Fonda has lived a life marked by controversy, tragedy and transformation – and she’s done it all in the public eye. From award-winning documentarian Susan Lacy, this is an intimate look at one woman’s singular journey.
RX EARLY DETECTION: A CANCER JOURNEY WITH SANDRA LEE (Oct. 8). This deeply personal short documentary follows Sandra Lee, along with those closest to her – including her sister, Kimber, and her longtime partner, NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo – as she faces a cancer diagnosis following a routine annual exam. Directed by Cathy Chermol Schrijver.
THE SENTENCE (Oct. 15). Drawing on hundreds of hours of footage, Rudy Valdez shows the aftermath of his sister Cindy’s 15-year incarceration for conspiracy charges related to crimes committed by her now-deceased ex-boyfriend, known in legal terms as “the girlfriend problem.” Valdez’s method of coping with this tragedy was to film his sister’s family for her, both the everyday details and the milestones, which Cindy can no longer share in. But in the midst of this nightmare, Valdez and his family begin to fight for Cindy’s release during the last months of the Obama administration’s clemency initiative. A 2018 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award winner. Directed by Rudy Valdez.
STOLEN DAUGHTERS: KIDNAPPED BY BOKO HARAM (Oct. 22). In 2014, 276 Nigerian school girls were kidnapped from a school in Chibok, Northern Nigeria, and hidden in the vast Sambisa forest for three years by Boko Haram, a violent Islamic insurgent movement. Granted exclusive access to the 82 girls who were freed last year and taken to a secret government safe house in the capitol of Abuja, the film reveals how the young women are adapting to life after their traumatic imprisonment and how the Nigerian government is handling their reentry into society. Directed by Karen Edwards and Gemma Atwal.
WE ARE NOT DONE YET (Nov.). This documentary follows veterans and active-duty service members from varied backgrounds who come together to combat their traumas through the written word in a USO-sponsored arts workshop at Walter Reed National Military Hospital. Sharing fears, vulnerabilities and victories via poetry becomes a process for bonding, empowerment and healing that culminates in a live performance of a collaborative poem at Washington, D.C.’s Lansburgh Theater. Under the direction of poet Seema Reza and actor Jeffrey Wright, the warrior-poets take to the stage to tell often hidden truths about the consequences of intimacy with war and death. Directed by Sareen Hairabedian.
THE PRICE OF EVERYTHING (Nov.). Exploring the labyrinth of the contemporary art world, this film spotlights the role of art and artistic passion in today’s money-driven, consumer-based society. Featuring collectors, dealers, auctioneers and a rich range of artists, from current market darlings George Condo, Jeff Koons, Gerhard Richter and Njideka Akunyili Crosby, to one-time art star Larry Poons, it exposes deep contradictions as it holds a mirror up to contemporary values and times, coaxing out the dynamics at play in pricing the priceless and ultimately asks, “Who does art belong to?” Directed by Nathaniel Kahn.
THE TRUTH ABOUT KILLER ROBOTS (Nov.). An eerie, eye-opening work of science nonfiction, this film charts incidents in which robots have caused the deaths of humans in an automated Volkswagen factory, in a self-driving Tesla vehicle and from a bomb-carrying droid used by Dallas police. Though they are typically treated as freak anomalies, each case raises questions of accountability, legality and morality. Exploring the provocative views of engineers, journalists and philosophers, and drawing on archival footage, the film goes beyond sensational deaths to examine more subtle ways that robots pose a threat to society. Directed by Maxim Pozdorovkin.
SAY HER NAME: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF SANDRA BLAND (Dec.). In 2015, Sandra Bland, a 28-year-old black woman from Chicago, was arrested for a traffic violation in a small Texas town. Three days later, she was found hanging from a noose in her jail cell. Though ruled a suicide, her death sparked allegations of racially-motivated police murder and made Bland’s case a rallying point for activists across the country. Featuring Bland’s passionate video blogs, the timely documentary follows her family and their legal team as they try to make sense of what happened, presenting a compelling look at her life as well as her death. Directed and produced by Kate Davis; produced by David Heilbroner.
BRESLIN AND HAMILL: DEADLINE ARTISTS (Dec.). Brilliant writers, tribunes of the working class and icons of the lost world of newspapering, Jimmy Breslin and his friend, Pete Hamill, personified New York City. This documentary spotlights their unique take on many of the historic events of the second half of the 20th century. Directed by John Block, Jonathan Alter and Stephen McCarthy.
BLEED OUT (Dec.). After a routine partial hip replacement operation leaves his mother in a coma with permanent brain damage, what starts as a son’s video diary becomes a citizen’s investigation into the future of American health care. Using undercover footage, court testimony, verité scenes shot over several years and interviews with people on all sides of the story, the film goes deep inside a flawed healthcare system. Part medical mystery and legal thriller, part investigative journey and meditation on family, this personal story is a cautionary tale. Directed by Steve Burrows.
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JANE FONDA IN FIVE ACTS, The Story of the Cultural Icon, Debuts September 24 on HBO
Directed and produced by award-winning documentarian Susan Lacy, Jane Fonda in Five Acts is an intimate look at Oscar(R)-winner Jane Fonda singular journey, drawing on 21 hours of interviews with Fonda, who speaks candidly about her life and her missteps. Girl next door, sex kitten, activist, fitness tycoon: Fonda has lived a life marked by controversy, tragedy and transformation, and she’s done it all in the public eye. Jane Fonda in Five Acts debuts Monday, September 24 (8:00-10:15 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.
Jane Fonda has been vilified as Hanoi Jane, lusted after as Barbarella and heralded as a beacon of the women’s movement. This film goes to the heart of who she really is, a blend of deep vulnerability, magnetism, naiveté and bravery, revealing a life transformed over time.
The documentary draws on 21 hours of interviews with Fonda, who speaks candidly about her life and her missteps. She explores the pain of her mother’s suicide, her father’s emotional unavailability, 30 years of an eating disorder and three marriages to highly visible, yet diametrically opposed, men. Jane Fonda in Five Acts also includes interviews with family and friends, as well as rare home movies and verité footage of the 80-year-old Fonda’s busy life today at, as she puts it, “the beginning of my last act.”
Where “girls” of her generation were raised to be passive and compliant, Fonda has always seemed like very much “her own woman.” But her memories reveal the extent to which she was defined and controlled by the desires, ambitions, and fortunes of the powerful men in her life, and how much her own secret insecurities, unresolved anxieties and impulsive actions often prevented her from being the person she aspired to be.
Featuring interviews with Robert Redford, Lily Tomlin, producer Paula Weinstein and former spouses Tom Hayden and Ted Turner, among others, the first four acts of Fonda’s life are named after the four men who shared – and hugely influenced – her personal and professional ambitions. The fifth act is named after Fonda herself, as she finally confronts her demons, reconnects with her family and resumes a successful career as both an actress and an activist, entirely on her own terms.
Fonda recalls growing up “in the shadow of a national monument” in the form of her father, Henry. One of the most beloved actors of his time, the elder Fonda was a distant father in private, neglecting his family and having an affair while her mother descended into mental anguish that led to tragedy.
Fonda’s name and good looks brought her modeling gigs and a chance to study acting with Lee Strasberg, but “it never felt real,” she recalls. She impulsively went to France to experience the cinematic revolution of the French New Wave, and married director Roger Vadim, agreeing to live a “heady and hedonistic” life and reluctantly allowing herself to become a sex object with films like “Barbarella.”
Fonda’s proximity to leftist politics in Paris inspired an awakening about America’s role in Vietnam. Despite being a new mother, she threw herself into anti-war activism, eventually earning the nickname “Hanoi Jane” and a place in the crosshairs of the Nixon administration, and meeting her second husband, activist and organizer Tom Hayden.
“I’m proud of most of what I did,” Fonda recalls of the period when she became a divisive political figure, “but very sorry for some of what I did.” While her acting career soared in films like “Klute” and “Coming Home,” she lived a deliberately stripped-down life with Hayden and their son, Troy Garity (who recalls the family arriving at the Oscars in a station wagon), funneling just as much energy into Hayden’s career and ambitions as her own. She produced an exercise video to raise money for their political work, only to see “Jane Fonda’s Workout” become the best-selling home video to date.
With a newfound sense of purpose, Fonda began to confront her chronic discontent, leaving Hayden, going “cold turkey” on a lifelong eating disorder, learning more about her mother’s life and death and fostering an emotionally creative reunion with her father on the film “On Golden Pond.” Buoyed by the affection of third husband, billionaire mogul Ted Turner, she went into semi-retirement, until she recognized that she still had more to contribute and finally struck out on her own.
Today, still challenging herself creatively and still active politically, Jane Fonda continues to demonstrate that there is no limit to the possibilities in a life full of self-determination, honesty and hard work.
Susan Lacy is the creator and former executive producer of the celebrated WNET series “American Masters,” which is shown on PBS nationwide. She has won countless awards, and has produced and directed a broad library of acclaimed films exploring the lives of America’s most enduring cultural icons. Her previous HBO documentary, “Spielberg,” debuted on the network in Oct. 2017 and was recently nominated for an Emmy(R) in the category of Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special.
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Steve McQueen-Great Escape Doc “THE COOLEST GUY MOVIE EVER” Sets Digital Release Date [Trailer]
From filmmaker and film historian Chris Espenan comes The Coolest Guy Movie Ever — a fascinating forensic documentary about the making of the classic World War II adventure film The Great Escape — to DVD and digital HD from Virgil Films on August 21, 2018, after a special screening earlier this year at Marché du film in Cannes.
Before Evans, Hemsworth, and Downey Jr. there was McQueen, Garner, and Bronson. These men represented what it meant to be tough guys in the 1960s, and they had the acting chops to play the toughest characters around – including the real life airmen who pulled off one of the most improbable escapes in war history.
The filming locations of the enormously popular World War II adventure The Great Escape have become enshrined over the years by film buffs and historians alike, forever changing the landscape of the small German towns that once played host to these Hollywood heavyweights. Now for the first time, Filmmaker Chris Espenan set out to visit all of the locations in Germany where the 1963 film was made, while compiling facts, behind-the-scenes stories, and inside information on how the film was produced.
From visiting Geisel Gastag Studios in Munich to the Bavarian town of Füssen, Espenan assembled a unique team of cameramen, historians, film buffs, and local experts who painstakingly found the exact spots where actors Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, David McCallum, and others toiled in the summer of 1962.
Uncovering treasures such as footage from a German television news shoot — which included a rare interview on the set with Steve McQueen — to getting first person interviews from the locals who were there during filming, The Coolest Guy Movie Ever is a true labor of love, fashioned by filmmakers who exult The Great Escape as one of the most memorable World War II movies ever made, featuring one of the greatest casts ever assembled, and for many, indeed, The Coolest Guy Movie Ever.
“The Great Escape is my favorite film of all time,” said Producer Steve Rubin. “It is the first film I started researching for my book ‘Combat Films 1945-2010’, the subject of my 1993 documentary Return to The Great Escape, and the reason I was nominated for Best Classic Commentary in 2004 for The Great Escape: Special Edition. When filmmaker Chris Espenan came to me with the idea for The Coolest Guy Movie Ever, I literally dropped everything to help him.”
Executive Producer and Virgil Films CEO Joe Amodei echoed Rubin’s sentiments when he said “As a young boy exploring the big wide world of motion pictures for the first time The Great Escape excited me, thrilled me and cemented a love for movies that has stayed with me forever. This is the film that started it all.”
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Mischa Barton Stars in Horror Film THE BASEMENT in Theaters this September [Trailer]
Mischa Barton (“The OC”, The Sixth Sense) stars in The Basement, a unique new horror film from Brian M.Conley and Nathan Ives. The film cast also includes Jackson Davis, Cayleb Long, Tracie Thoms, Bailey Anne Borders and Sarah Nicklin.
Craig is abducted and wakes up in a basement. His captor, Bill, is a twisted serial killer who wishes to reenact his own capture, with Craig playing the part of Bill and Bill playing everyone else. As Bill tortures Craig, he cycles through a number of personas, all while Craig tries desperately to find a way into Bill’s pathology in order to save himself.
The Basement gets a theatrical and digital release on September 15 from Uncork’d Entertainment.
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Eugene Jarecki’s Road-Trip Documentary THE KING on Elvis Presley as Metaphor for America in Theaters Now [Trailer]
Forty years after the death of Elvis Presley, two-time Sundance Grand Jury winner Eugene Jarecki’s new film takes The King’s 1963 Rolls-Royce on a musical road trip across America in the new documentary The King. From Memphis to New York, Las Vegas, and beyond, the journey traces the rise and fall of Elvis as a metaphor for the country he left behind. In this groundbreaking film, Jarecki paints a visionary portrait of the state of the American dream and a penetrating look at how the hell we got here. A diverse cast of Americans, both famous and not, join the journey, including Alec Baldwin, Rosanne Cash, Chuck D, Emmylou Harris, Ethan Hawke, Van Jones, Mike Myers, and Dan Rather, among many others.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csXtdjsqYLM
A cross-country road trip in Elvis’ Presley’s 1963 Rolls-Royce, The King is far more than a musical biopic; it’s a penetrating portrait of America at a critical time in the nation’s history and an unflinching investigation into the state of theAmerican dream.
Emmy, Peabody, and Two-time Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner Eugene Jarecki (Why We Fight, The House I Live In) helms this odyssey, retro-fitting Elvis’ Rolls to serve as a vehicle –both literal and figurative –for the journey.
“I set out in Elvis’ car,” says Jarecki, “because he’s the poster child of what we’re taught to think of as the American dream, right? The poor country boy who rises like a rocket and ends up a king. But from there, it gets more complicated, for Elvis and America. For Elvis’ dream ended in a tragedy of lost authenticity, addiction, and self-destruction. And, at this point, I don’t think I need to tell anyone what a tangled mess America has become. But how did this happen? And is there, in the demise of Elvis, a cautionary tale for his country? For the world?”
To investigate these questions, The King traces Elvis’ rise and fall from the Deep South to New York, Las Vegas, and countless points between. Alongside this, the film examines America in parallel, from her auspicious founding to her own struggles with excess power up to the acute challenges of today. This was always Jarecki’s intent, but he could never have anticipated the election of Donald Trump, which happened in mid-production and sent a shock wave through the filmmaking process.
“From the start,” Jarecki explains, “Elvis was a metaphor for the best and worst of America. This was never going to be a puff piece but a cautionary allegory:power and money compromised Elvis’ life and authenticity and did the same to the democratic health of his country. As I went along, the American dream itself came into question. What had it ever been? For whom was it true? For whom not? Suddenly, when a billionaire oligarch was elevated to high office, the story became a warning siren of national, and even global, concern.”
“There’s a conversation going on in the United States that’s much broader and much deeper than what you might imagine from reading news reports,” adds Executive Producer Steven Soderbergh. “A large portion of the country feels that we are at some kind of inflection point, but is unsure what it means, where it’s going, what should be done about it. I think for anybody with just a passing interest in culture, generally speaking,The King is a very detailed, high-resolution snapshot of this conversation that’s evolving in the United States right now.”
Over thousands of miles, a wide spectrum of Americans –famous and not –join the journey, including ALEC BALDWIN, EMMYLOU HARRIS, CHUCK D, MIKE MYERS, M WARD, VAN JONES, and ETHAN HAWKE, among others. “Poetically, we wanted the film’s cast of characters to reflect the rich tapestry of the American family, expressing themselves in words and, at times, in song inside Elvis’ Rolls.The King is both an Elvis film and a film about the American experience, so we chose people who could speak to either of these in a deep and authentic way.”
Weaving the sights and sounds of Elvis’ own music and films with soaring live performances from artists as varied as Nashville phenom Emi Sunshine, Mississippi bluesman Leo Bud Welch, New York City rapper Immortal Technique, and the gospel stylings of Memphis Stax Music Academy, The King opens doors toward a deeper more complex discourse on America’s identity and path forward.
“I was drawn to the project because the basic premise of the film is so clean—America has reached its ‘Fat Elvis’ years,” adds co-writer CHRISTOPHER ST. JOHN. “Yet the possibilities for making it are so endless. You can start anywhere. There’s no corner of the country that hasn’t been touched in some way by Elvis, and there’s no person who doesn’t have a strong opinion on the current state of the nation. Ultimately, it’s a metaphor that empowers people to speak eloquently about their concerns for the country.”
“It has a wonderful kaleidoscopic quality that I think is not only unique to Eugene, but also, I think unique to the country,” says STEVEN SODERBERGH. “I don’t know of any other country would allow for the level of exploration that the United States provides just strictly because of its geography. So the idea of Eugene taking Elvis’ Rolls-Royce and driving through the country to talk to people, that’s a very specifically American movie idea. And I think would only work in America.”
“From our first conversation about the film and from his previous work, I knew Eugene was never going to make a standard Elvis biopic or clumsy polemic. But this film is brilliant and essential,” says Executive Producer ROSANNE CASH. “The imagery and interviews so perfectly dovetail that it’s like an epic poem, a narrative ballad, a piece of music that makes us deeply contemplate the state of America. I am thrilled so show it to the world for the conversations it will inspire.”
From countless of his subjects, Jarecki heard the same sentiment –that the American Dream was a thing of the past, something for which people felt an overriding nostalgia.While this resonated with him, he began over time to question his premise. Strangely, his vision became more hopeful as he finished the film.
“After Trump’s inauguration, I guess for a moment I thought that the country had indeed perhaps died on the toilet, choked by our addiction to power, money, and excess. But in the months since, I’ve seen a significant resurgence in public engagement. The body politic is, to some degree, rejecting the transplant of an oligarchic, predatory capitalist into the Oval Office. This is heartening and made me think that maybe all is not lost. It also made me think that perhaps my premise was a bit naïve. The idea that we –and Elvis –were young once and beautiful but then lost our way is dangerously idealistic. It might be more accurate to say that America and Elvis were always imperfect–works-in-progress, full of greatness and shortcomings. While Elvis was ultimately by consumed his, we seem to be very much at work on ours, and there is clearly much work left to wake up tomorrow and do.”
NOW PLAYING IN DOZENS OF MOVIE THEATERS NATIONWIDE
Coming Soon 8/26/2018 Montgomery AL Capri Theater
Now Playing 7/13/2018 Scottsdale AZ Harkins Theatres
Now Playing 7/20/2018 Sedona AZ Mary D. Fisher Theater
Now Playing 7/13/2018 Santa Barbara Ca Riviera Theatre
Now Playing 7/13/2018 Claremont CA Laemmles Claremont 5
Now Playing 7/13/2018 Pasadena CA Laemmles Playhouse 7
Now Playing 7/13/2018 Irvine CA Edwards Westpark 8
Now Playing 7/13/2018 Laguna Niguel CA Rancho Niguel 7
Now Playing 7/20/2018 San Diego CA Ken Cinema
Now Playing 7/20/2018 San Francisco CA Opera Plaza Cinema
Now Playing 7/20/2018 Palm Springs CA Palm Desert 10
Now Playing 7/20/2018 Santa Rosa CA Summerfield
Coming Soon 7/27/2018 Long Beach CA Art Theater
Coming Soon 7/27/2018 Modesto CA State Theater
Coming Soon 7/27/2018 Encinitas CA La Paloma Theater
Coming Soon 8/3/2018 Arcara CA Miniplex Theater
Now Playing 7/20/2018 Denver CO Landmark Mayan
Coming Soon 8/1/2018 Boulder CO Dairy Center for the Arts
Coming Soon 8/3/2018 Hartford CT Real Art Ways
Coming Soon 7/27/2018 St. Augustine FL Corazon Cinema Cafe
Coming Soon 8/3/2018 Miami FL Bill Cosford Cinema
Coming Soon 8/3/2018 Boca Raton FL Living Room Theatres
Coming Soon 8/3/2018 Delray FL Movie of Delray
Coming Soon 8/3/2018 Miami FL Miami Beach Cinematheque
Coming Soon 8/3/2018 Lake Worth FL Movies of Lake Worth
Coming Soon 8/3/2018 Lake Worth FL Lake Worth Playhouse
Coming Soon 9/28/2018 Tallahassee FL Tallahassee Film Society
Now Playing 7/20/2018 Atlanta GA Landmark Midtown Art Cinema
Coming Soon 8/2/2018 Tybee Island GA Tybee Post Theater
Now Playing 7/20/2018 Chicago IL Music Box Theatre
Now Playing 7/20/2018 Normal IL Art Theater
Coming Soon 7/27/2018 Chicago IL AMC River East 21
Coming Soon 7/27/2018 Barrington IL AMC South Barrington 30
Coming Soon 7/27/2018 Wilmette IL Wilmette Theater
Coming Soon 7/27/2018 Indianapolis IN Landmark Keystone
Now Playing 7/20/2018 Olathe KS AMC Studio 30
Now Playing 7/20/2018 Louisville KY AMC Stonybrook 20
Coming Soon 8/3/2018 Baton Rouge LA Manship Theater
Now Playing 7/22/2018 Beverly MA Cabot Street Cinema
Coming Soon 7/27/2018 West Newton MA West Newton Cinema
Now Playing 7/20/2018 Baltimore MD The Charles
Coming Soon 7/27/2018 Old Greenbelt MD Old Greenbelt Theatre
Now Playing 7/20/2018 Bucksport ME Alamo Theatre
Coming Soon 7/27/2018 Portland ME The Nickelodeon
Now Playing 7/20/2018 Grand Rapids MI Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts
Now Playing 7/20/2018 Traverse City MI State Theatre
Now Playing 7/22/2018 Three Rivers MI Riveria Theater
Coming Soon 8/3/2018 Ann Arbor MI Michigan Theater
Now Playing 7/20/2018 Kansas City MO Tivoli Manor Square
Now Playing 7/20/2018 St. Louis MO Landmark Plaza Frontenac Cinema
Now Playing 7/20/2018 Winston-Salem NC Aperture
Now Playing 7/20/2018 Asheville NC Grail Moviehouse
Now Playing 7/20/2018 Charlotte NC Regal Theatre
Coming Soon 8/26/2018 Cary NC The Cary Theater
Coming Soon 8/11/2018 Portsmouth NH The Music Hall
Coming Soon 7/28/2018 Atlantic City NJ Hard Rock Casino
Now Playing 7/20/2018 Albquerque NM UA High Ridge 8
Now Playing 7/20/2018 Santa Fe NM Center for Contemporary Arts
Now Playing 7/22/2018 Taos NM Taos Center for Art
Coming Soon 7/30/2018 Albuquerque NM Guild Cinema
Now Playing 6/22/2018 New York NY IFC Center
Now Playing 7/19/2018 Hudson NY Time & Space LTD
Coming Soon 7/27/2018 Albany NY Spectrum 8
Coming Soon 7/27/2018 Pelham NY Pelham Picture House
Coming Soon 8/10/2018 Schenectady NY Proctors
Now Playing 7/20/2018 Columbus OH Gateway Film Center
Coming Soon 7/27/2018 Cleveland OH Cedar Lee Theatre
Coming Soon 8/27/2018 Dayton OH Neon Movies
Now Playing 7/20/2018 Tulsa OK Circle Cinema
Now Playing 7/13/2018 Toronto ON Bloor Hot Docs
Now Playing 7/20/2018 Portland OR Living Room Theaters – Portland
Now Playing 7/20/2018 Ashland OR Varsity Theatre 5
Coming Soon 7/27/2018 Eugene OR Broadway Metro
Coming Soon 8/3/2018 Salem OR Salem Cinema
Now Playing 7/20/2018 Pittsburgh PA Regent Square Theatre
Coming Soon 7/27/2018 Charleston SC Terrace Theater
Now Playing 7/13/2018 Memphis TN Malco Studio on the Square
Now Playing 7/20/2018 Knoxville TN Regal Downtown West Cinema 8
Now Playing 7/20/2018 Austin TX Arbor at Great Oaks
Now Playing 7/20/2018 Dallas TX Angelika Film Center- Dallas
Now Playing 7/20/2018 Plano TX Angelika Film Center Plano
Coming Soon 7/27/2018 Katy TX Alamo Drafthouse – LaCenterra
Coming Soon 7/27/2018 Lubbock TX Alamo Drafthouse – Lubbock
Coming Soon 7/27/2018 El Paso TX Alamo Drafthouse – Montecillo
Coming Soon 7/27/2018 Harrisonburg VA Court Square Theater
Coming Soon 8/1/2018 Norfolk VA Naro Expanded Cinema
Coming Soon 8/3/2018 Charlottesville VA Violet Crown Cinema
Now Playing 7/20/2018 Burlington VT Roxy
Now Playing 7/20/2018 Winthrop WA The Barnyard Cinema
Now Playing 7/20/2018 Vancouver WA Kiggins Theatre
Now Playing 7/20/2018 Bellingham WA Pickford Film Center
Now Playing 7/20/2018 Olympia WA Capitol Cinema
Now Playing 7/20/2018 Port Orchard WA Dragonfly Cinema
Coming Soon 8/17/2018 Camas WA Liberty Theatre
Coming Soon 8/21/2018 Tacoma WA Grand Theater
Coming Soon 8/24/2018 Milwaukee WI Oriental Theater
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SXSW Award-Winning Documentary PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF DESIRE Opens in Theaters on November 30 [Trailer]
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People’s Republic of Desire[/caption]
People’s Republic of Desire, the winner of the Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature at SXSW, is the untold story of China’s live-streaming economy, and the search for fame, fortune and human connection in a virtual world. The documentary directed by technology executive-turned-filmmaker Hao Wu, will be released in theaters on November 30.
In an increasingly digital universe where live streamers earn as much as $200,000 a month, can virtual relationships replace real-life human connection? People’s Republic of Desire tells the stories of two such online stars who have risen from isolation to fame and fortune on NASDAQ-listed YY, China’s largest live streaming platform.
Live-streaming showrooms have become virtual gathering places for hundreds of millions – from the super rich who lavish these online stars with digital gifts, to poor migrant workers who exhaust meager savings idolizing them. All of these characters are brought together in a series of bizarre online talent competitions, where they discover that happiness in their virtual world may be as elusive as in the real one.
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Gold Coast International Film Festival to Honor Actor Robert Wagner
Actor Robert Wagner has been named the recipient of the Gold Coast International Film Festival’s second annual Burton Moss Hollywood Golden Era Award. Presentation of the Burton Moss Hollywood Golden Era Award will be on October 24, 2018.
Born on February 10, 1930, in Detroit, Michigan, Robert Wagner has amassed an impressive list of feature and television films, along with three hit television series over a career that has spanned nearly seven decades. He made his film debut in 1950 in The Happy Years, and soon after was put under contract with 20th Century Fox. At Fox, his first film was in 1951 in a supporting role in Halls of Montezuma, a World War II movie starring Richard Widmark. Cast by Darryl F. Zanuck as a crippled soldier in the 1952 film With a Song in My Heart, Mr. Wagner’s performance brought immediate public reaction to the studio. The rest, as it is said, is history.
Film legend Spencer Tracy saw Mr. Wagner in Beneath the Twelve Mile Reef and requested him in the role of his son in Broken Lance. Impressed with his acting skills, Tracy cast him as his brother in The Mountain. Among Robert Wagner’s numerous film credits includes Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, The Pink Panther, The Curse of the Pink Panther, Midway, The Towering Inferno, Banning, Harper, Prince Valiant, The True Story of Jesse James, and All the Fine Young Cannibals. He re-created his role of Number Two, the villainous henchman to Dr. Evil, the archenemy of Mike Myers’ title character in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.
As a television star, Mr. Wagner has starred in three long-running hit series, It Takes a Thief, with Fred Astaire, Switch, with Eddie Albert and Sharon Gless and Hart to Hart, with Stefanie Powers. He was nominated for an Emmy for his role as Alexander Mundy in It Takes a Thief. He also starred with Jaclyn Smith in the top-rated miniseries Windmills of the Gods, based on Sidney Sheldon’s best-selling novel; with Angie Dickinson in the miniseries Pearl with Audrey Hepburn in Love among Thieves; with Lesley Anne Down in Indiscreet and in North and South III with Joanne Woodward in A Kiss Before Dying; and with Elizabeth Taylor in There Must Be a Pony, which he also executive-produced. He also appeared in the memorable Seinfeld episode, “The Yada, Yada, Yada,” as Dr. Abbot.
Longtime close friend, Larry King, who also serves on the nominating committee for the Burton Moss Hollywood Golden Era Award said of the nomination, “Robert Wagner is most deserving of this award.”
Named for the man who has represented some of Hollywood’s finest stars, the Burton Moss Hollywood Golden Era Award pays tribute to film legends who may not have been appropriately honored during their lifetimes, and whose legacy is in danger of becoming forgotten by newer generations of filmgoers.
Burton Moss, for whom the award is named, represented Hollywood legends over an illustrious career that has spanned several decades. Moss’s client roster has included Bette Davis, Sidney Poitier, Robert Vaughn, Tom Cruise, Mia Farrow, Juliet Mills, Hugh O’Brian, Cliff Robertson, Tippi Hedren, William Shatner, Dyan Cannon, Carroll O’ Connor, Martin Landau, Sally Kellerman, Dina Merrill, Connie Stevens, Tom Bosley, Barbara Eden, Larry Hagman, Dorothy McGuire, Charles Bickford, Victor Jory, Sally Kellerman, Carrie Snodgress, Larry King, Elizabeth Montgomery, Constance Towers, Ruth Roman, Cyd Charisse, June Allyson, Jack Valenti, and Hollywood’s “Love Goddess,” Rita Hayworth, who posthumously received the inaugural Burton Moss Hollywood Golden Era Award in October 2017.
The Burton Moss Hollywood Golden Era Award, itself an original work of art, was created by renowned sculptor Edwina Sandys, who is a granddaughter of Sir Winston Churchill. The first award was accepted by Hayworth’s daughter, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, at the presentation made at a private reception held at the New York City home of Ms. Sandys.
“American culture owes a debt of gratitude to The Pioneers of the film and television industry for creating out of whole cloth a form of entertainment that is accessible to the ordinary individual and that has had the potential to educate and transform the thinking of millions of people,” said Ms. Gil. “The producers, directors, actors and technicians who dreamed, worked, invented, reinvented, and developed what we know today as Hollywood were the greats of this industry, upon whose shoulders today’s stars stand. Robert Wagner has the long view of this pond, having served in film and television as a leading man and talented actor. He worked alongside the greatest in his profession because he was one of them. It is our honor to recognize him with this award.”