Tributes, time-travelers and titans top MTV’s list of the top films of the year. By MTV News staff Christian Bale in “Dark Knight Rises” Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures
1D open up to MTV News about nabbing the #1 spot on MTV’s Best Artists of 2012. By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Cory Midgarden One Direction Photo: MTV News
The Sundance Film Festival continued its roll out of films playing its 2013 event in January, unveiling its out-of-competition Spotlight, Park City at Midnight and New Frontier sections as well as installations and performances headed to the festival’s New Frontier venue. Jeff Nichols’ Mud , starring Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon , festival favorite No with Gael García Bernal and the U.S. premiere of Ben Wheatley’s Sightseers are among the films set for Sundance’s Spotlight section, which includes North American and U.S. debuts. [ Related: Check out Sundance’s 2013 U.S. and World Competition lineup as well as films in its NEXT program ] “I couldn’t be more pleased to announce the films selected for these sections because they illustrate the tremendous creativity and vibrancy of the independent film community,” said Sundance’s Director of Programming Trevor Groth in a statement. “Spotlight features our favorite films that have premiered at other festivals and the Park City at Midnight and New Frontier sections are comprised of films that are bound to shock, intoxicate, derange or dazzle. Expect the unexpected when you venture down the path of these cinematic sensations.” The Sundance Film Festival takes place January 17 – 27 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah. Sundance’s Spotlight, Park City at Midnight and New Frontier lineups (with descriptions provided by the festival): SPOTLIGHT Regardless of where these films have played throughout the world, the Spotlight program is a tribute to the cinema we love. Fill the Void / Israel (Director and screenwriter: Rama Burshtein) — A devout 18-year-old Israeli is pressured to marry the husband of her late sister. Declaring her independence is not an option in Tel Aviv’s ultra-Orthodox Hasidic community, where religious law, tradition and the rabbi’s word are absolute. Cast: Hadas Yaron, Yiftach Klein, Irit Sheleg, Chaim Sharir, Razia Israeli, Hila Feldman. Gangs of Wasseypur / India (Director: Anurag Kashyap, Screenwriters: Anurag Kashyap, Zeishan Quadri) — Exiled and outcast for robbing British trains, Shahid Khan spurs a battle for revenge that passes down generations. Shahid’s son vows to get his father’s honor back, becoming the most feared man in the Indian town of Wasseypur. Cast: Manoj Bajpai, Nawazuddin Siddique, Richa Chadda, Huma Qureshi, Tigmanshu Dhulia. U.S. Premiere The Gatekeepers (documentary) / Israel, Germany, Belgium, France (Director: Dror Moreh) — Since its stunning military victory in 1967, Israel has hoped to achieve a long-lasting peace. Forty-five years later, this has yet to happen. Six former heads of Israel’s Secret Service reflect on the successes and failures of the “peace process.” Mud / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jeff Nichols) — Two teenage boys encounter a fugitive and form a pact to help him evade the bounty hunters on his trail and reunite him with his true love. Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Tye Sheridan, Jacob Lofland, Reese Witherspoon. North American Premiere No / Chile, U.S.A. (Director: Pablo Larraín, Screenwriter: Pedro Peirano) — When Chilean military dictator Augusto Pinochet calls for a referendum to decide his permanence in power, the opposition persuades a young advertising executive to head its campaign. With limited resources and under scrutiny, he conceives a plan to win the election. Cast: Gael García Bernal, Alfredo Castro, Antonia Zegers, Luis Gnecco, Marcial Tagle, Néstor Cantillana. Sightseers / United Kingdom (Director: Ben Wheatley, Screenwriters: Alice Lowe, Steve Oram) — Chris wants to show girlfriend Tina his world, but when events conspire against the couple, their dream caravan holiday takes a very wrong turn. Cast: Alice Lowe, Steve Oram. U.S. Premiere Stories We Tell (documentary) / Canada (Director: Sarah Polley) — Sarah Polley is both filmmaker and detective as she investigates the secrets kept by a family of storytellers. She unravels the paradoxes to reveal the essence of family: always complicated, warmly messy and fiercely loving. PARK CITY AT MIDNIGHT From horror flicks to comedies to works that defy any genre, these unruly films will keep you edge-seated and wide awake. Each is a world premiere. Ass Backwards / U.S.A. (Director: Chris Nelson, Screenwriters: June Diane Raphael, Casey Wilson) — Loveable losers Kate and Chloe take a road trip back to their hometown to claim the beauty pageant crown that eluded them as children, only to discover what really counts: friendship. Cast: June Diane Raphael, Casey Wilson, Vincent D’Onofrio, Alicia Silverstone, Jon Cryer, Brian Geraghty. Hell Baby / U.S.A. (Directors and screenwriters: Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon) — An expectant couple moves into the most haunted fixer-upper in New Orleans – a house with a demonic curse. Things spiral out of control and soon only the Vatican’s elite exorcism team can save the pair – or can it? Cast: Rob Corddry, Leslie Bibb, Keegan Michael Key, Riki Lindhome, Paul Scheer, Rob Huebel. In Fear / United Kingdom (Directed and story by: Jeremy Lovering) — Trapped in a maze of country roads with only their vehicle for protection, Tom and Lucy are terrorized by an unseen tormentor exploiting their worst fears. Eventually they realize they’ve let the evil in – it’s sitting in their car. Cast: Alice Englert, Iain De Caestecker, Allen Leech. kink (documentary) / U.S.A. (Director: Christina Voros) — A story of sex, submission and big business is told through the eyes of the unlikely pornographers whose 9:00-to-5:00 work days are spent within the confines of the San Francisco Armory building, home to the sprawling porn production facilities of Kink.com. The Rambler / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Calvin Lee Reeder) — After being released from prison, a man known as “The Rambler” stumbles upon a strange mystery as he attempts the treacherous journey through back roads and small towns en route to reconnecting with his long-lost brother. Cast: Dermot Mulroney, Lindsay Pulsipher, Natasha Lyonne, James Cady, Scott Sharot. S-VHS / U.S.A., Canada (Directors: Simon Barrett, Adam Wingard, Edúardo Sanchez, Gregg Hale, Timo Tjahjanto, Gareth Huw Evans, Jason Eisener, Screenwriters: Simon Barrett, Jamie Nash, Timo Tjahjanto & Gareth Huw Evans, John Davies) — Searching for a missing student, two private investigators break into his abandoned house and find another collection of mysterious VHS tapes. In viewing the horrific contents of each cassette, they realize there may be terrifying motives behind the student’s disappearance. Cast: Adam Wingard, Lawrence Levine, L.C Holt, Kelsy Abbott, Hannah Hughes. Virtually Heroes / U.S.A. (Director: GJ Echternkamp, Screenwriter: Matt Yamashita) — Two self-aware characters in a Call of Duty-style video game struggle with their screwy, frustrating existence. To find answers, one abandons his partner and mission, seeking to unravel the cheat codes of life. Cast: Robert Baker, Brent Chase, Katie Savoy, Mark Hamill, Ben Messmer. We Are What We Are / U.S.A. (Director: Jim Mickle, Screenwriters: Nick Damici, Jim Mickle) — A devastating storm washes up clues that lead authorities closer and closer to the cannibalistic Parker family. Cast: Bill Sage, Ambyr Childers, Julia Garner, Michael Parks, Wyatt Russell, Kelly McGillis. NEW FRONTIER With media installations, multimedia performances, transmedia experiences, panels, films and more, New Frontier highlights work that celebrates experimentation and the expansion of cinema culture through the convergence of film, art, and new media technology. Films Charlie Victor Romeo / U.S.A. (Directors: Robert Berger, Karlyn Michelson, Screenwriters: Robert Berger, Patrick Daniels, Irving Gregory) — An award-winning theatrical documentary derived entirely from ‘Black Box’ transcripts of six real-life major airline emergencies brought to the screen with cutting-edge stereoscopic 3D technology. Cast: Patrick Daniels, Irving Gregory, Noel Dinneen, Sam Zuckerman, Debbie Troche, Nora Woolley. Fat Shaker / Iran (Director and screenwriter: M Shirvani) — An obese father and his handsome, deaf son share extraordinary experiences in Tehran. Then a beautiful young woman upsets the balance of their relationship, forcing them to renegotiate their position with each other and the world around them. Cast: Levon Haftvan, Maryam Palizban, Hassan Rostami, Navid Mohammadzadeh. Interior. Leather Bar. / U.S.A. (Directors: Travis Mathews, James Franco, Screenwriter: Travis Mathews) — To avoid an X rating, it was rumored that 40 minutes of gay S&M footage was cut from the controversial 1980 film, Cruising. Filmmakers James Franco and Travis Mathews re-imagine what was in the lost footage. Cast: Val Lauren, James Franco, Travis Mathews, Christian Patrick, Brenden Gregory. Halley / Mexico (Director: Sebastian Hofmann, Screenwriters: Sebastian Hofmann, Julio Chavezmontes) — Alberto is dead and can no longer hide it. Before surrendering to his living death, he forms an unusual friendship with Luly, the manager of the 24-hour gym where he works as a night guard. Cast: Alberto Trujillo, Lourdes Trueba, Hugo Albores. The Meteor / Canada (Director: François Delisle, Screenwriter: François Delisle) — Forty-something Pierre, his mother and his wife are linked by crime, guilt and loneliness. Like casualties of love and desire, they are dying to stick their heads above water and breathe the air of life. Cast: Noémie Godin Vigneau, François Delisle, Laurent Lucas, Brigitte Pogonat, François Papineau, Andrée Lachapelle. INSTALLATIONS Cityscape 2095 Artists: Yannick Jacquet, Mandril, Thomas Vaquié [AntiVJ] AntiVJ artists Yannick Jacquet and Marc Ferrario blend painting with light projection to transform the walls of New Frontier into a luminous, three-dimensional cityscape that feels strangely familiar yet impossible to locate. With its disorienting sense of time and space, Cityscape 2095 places spectators on the observatory deck of a skyscraper, where they take in a sprawling, imaginary city as it glitters over the course of one day. Coral: Rekindling Venus Artist: Lynette Wallworth Inspired by the first collaboration among the international science community to witness the celestial transit of Venus in 1761, Lynette Wallworth’s visually stunning Coral: Rekindling Venus is an augmented-reality and full-dome planetarium presentation designed to nurture an emotional connection between a global audience and the planet’s endangered coral reefs. This epic project features original deep-sea photography, augmented-reality artwork and music by Antony and the Johnsons. Presented at the New Frontier venue in Park City, Salt Lake City’s Clark Planetarium and other locations nationally. Details to be announced. E.M-bed.de/d, Datamosh, Augmented Real Artist: Yung Jake Rap artist Yung Jake is Net art incarnate, flowing lyrics about tweet culture, data-moshing, hashtags, and memes as he blows up on Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr, and Instagram in his HTML5 music video, E.M-bed.de/d. This MC drops unexpectedly into your browser sessions, streams into Festival screenings, Skype-bombs live DJ performances, and pops out of floors and magazines in augmented-reality music videos. Eyjafjallalokull Artist: Joanie Lemercier [AntiVJ] Inspired by the 2010 Icelandic volcanic eruption that wreaked travel havoc across Europe, Eyjafjallalokull is a stunning, three-dimensional, audiovisual mapping installation that challenges audiences’ perception of space by creating an optical illusion that transforms the walls of New Frontier into a sweeping digital vista that artistically recreates the seismic event. North of South, West of East Artist: Meredith Danluck North of South, West of East enhances narrative storytelling by wrapping the film around the entire room. Presented to an audience in swivel chairs, Meredith Danluck’s remarkable four-channel narrative feature deftly unspools a darkly humorous tale of small-town folks as they try to make sense of a posthope America. Shot on location in Detroit, Michigan, and Marfa, Texas, this unique film features fantastic performances by Ben Foster, Stella Schnabel, and Sue Galloway, and a soundtrack by Marfa local punk band Solid Waste. Pulse Index Artist: Rafael Lozano-Hemmer Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s beautifully resonant, interactive media installation swaths the central lounge of New Frontier with images of the warm, breathing flesh of its visitors. Pulse Index records the heart rates and fingerprints of participants and exhibits them in a beautiful Fibonacci pattern. Place your finger into the custom-made sensor, and your fingerprint appears on the largest cell of the display, pulsating to your heartbeat. Your print then travels down the sequence to join those of all the others who have visited the room, immersing the community space with the radiant glow of the human touch. What’s He Building in There? Artists: Klip Collective Ricardo Rivera and the Klip Collective transform the entire front of the New Frontier venue into an interactive, 3-D projection-mapped parable, inspired by the Tom Waits song. Sip a hot beverage in the outdoor lounge and watch the walls and windowpanes dissolve into a story about a man on a mysterious mission inside the building. Use the X-ray flashlight to peek at what he is up to. RELATED: Sundance Film Festival Reveals 2013 U.S. & World Competition Slate Follow Brian Brooks on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
It’s official: This December 31st will mark yet another New Year’s Rockin’ Eve in Times Square. Literally! The annual celebration – previously hosted by Dick Clark and now by Ryan Seacrest – has announced the musical lineup that will ring in 2013. And it will be headlined by Taylor Swift. She’ll be joined in New York City by Carly Rae Jepsen and Neon Trees, among other artists to be announced at a late date. Across the country, meanwhile, Fergie will lead the West Coast celebration alongside such acts as Brandy, Flo Rida, Karmin, OneRepublic and Pitbull. It will be a fun occasion, but also a somber one: Due to Dick Clark’s death in April, the first two hours of this ABC broadcast will be a tribute to that legend’s life and impact on the world of television.
Lil Wayne Says Supports Drake And Aaliyah Project It turns out that not everyone is ishtting on Drake’s super-stan collabo steez that’s been the talk of the music industry since the YMCMB rapper announced his plans to co-produce a “new” Aaliyah album. Young Money bossman Lil Wayne says he supports his artists’ Aaliyah ambitions and thinks the album will be “awesome.” via NY Daily News : Lil Wayne thinks the late Aaliyah’s music is better than a lot of music out today — and he’s confident that Drake’s plan to produce unreleased Aaliyah songs will be an “awesome collaboration.” Missy Elliott and Timbaland, who produced most of Aaliyah’s music, are not involved, and DMX, who co-starred with Aaliyah in the movie “Romeo Must Die” and recorded a song with her, has been critical of the project. Lil Wayne said he hasn’t heard any negative feedback, and added when he first heard that his Young Money protégé was a part of the project, his first thought was: “Good move.” “Everybody knows what Aaliyah did and done for music and culture, period, and it’s always good to do that, for not only for people like that, just for her fans — you know what I mean?” he said in a recent interview. “Drake’s a very thoughtful person. Everyone knows that. It’s an awesome collaboration. Her music is still awesome. It’s still better than a lot of music out right now,” he said. He also had this to say in regards to staying on top of his game in his own music: “I’ve said everything in every situation in every way, so it’s almost interesting to go into the studio and find new things to talk about and new ways to talk about them and hear it back and say, ‘Wow, you figured it out again,”’ he said. Yeah, ok. We just hope Wayne didn’t also encourage that life-sized Aaliyah tattoo that Drizzy has on his back. SMH. Do you agree with Weezy that Aaliyah’s music is better than a lot of the other female artists out right now?
Also in Thursday afternoon’s round-up of news briefs, upcoming New York Film Festival debut Frances Ha gets a buyer. The Rome Film Festival will debut a new section with a film by a quartet of auteurs. Any Day Now and Alex Gibney ‘s The Last Gladiators heads to theaters. And Focus Features welcomes a new executive vice president. Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln To Close AFI Fest The world premiere of the forthcoming film will close the AFI Fest November 8th at Grauman’s Chinese Theater. Starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones, David Strathairn and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the drama focuses on the tumultuous final months in office of the 16th President of the United States. DreamWorks Pictures/Twentieth Century Fox title (in association with Participant Media) will open in limited release November 9th and go wide November 16th. The 26th AFI Fest will take place November 1 – 8 in Los Angeles. For the fourth year, AFI Fest will off free tickets for all its screenings, though only package holders will be able to reserve seats for the Lincoln closing night gala. Robert Redford to Fete Roger Ebert The Sundance Institute founder will honor film critic Roger Ebert with the Vanguard Leadership Award in “recognition of his advocacy of independent cinema.”The award presentation will take place at the third annual ‘Celebrate Sundance Institute’ benefit, chaired by Institute Trustee Lyn Lear and her husband, Norman, on June 5, 2013 in Los Angeles. “Among the many things I admire about Roger Ebert is how he has long supported freedom of artistic expression,” said Redford in a statement. “When I started Sundance in 1980, and when few would support us, Roger was there. This was one of the ways he communicated his forward-thinking outlook. He was one of the first to support our artists. His influence and reach is as meaningful as his personal passion for cinema, and he certainly deserves this award.” Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig’s Frances Ha Heads to Theaters in the Americas Ahead of its U.S. premiere at the New York Film Festival, IFC Films picked up rights to the Telluride/Toronto debut Frances Ha , starring Greta Gerwig. The film centers on Frances, a New Yorke dance apprentice without her own apartment. She splits with her best friend Sophie, but throws herself into her dreams even as her possibilities dwindle. The film is a modern-comic fable that explores New York friendships, class, ambition, failure and redemption. Arianna Bocco negotiated the deal for Frances Ha from UTA on behalf of the filmmakers. Rome Film Festival to Debut Centro Histórico by European Auteurs The world premiere of the collaboration by Aki Kaurismäki, Pedro Costa, Victor Erice and Manoel de Oliveira will open the Cinema XXI, the new section of the festival that spotlights “new trends and new languages in international cinema.” The film explores the stories for modern-day Guimarães, the founding city of Portugal. Any Day Now Heads to North American Theaters Based on a true story and starring Alan Cumming and Garret Dillahunt, the film is set in the late 1970s about a mentally handicapped teen who is abandoned and is taken in by a gay couple. Music Box Films acquired the title and plans a release this December. Louis Phillips Joins Focus Features Phillips joins the specialty distributor as Executive Vice President, Physical Production. Based in the company’s West Coast office, he’ll oversee physical production and post-production on all in-house film productions and outside acquisitions. Alex Gibney’s The Last Gladiators Heads to U.S. & Canadian Theaters Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney’s The Last Gladiators , which explores “the goon,” Ice Hockey’s players who have only one mission: to protect the star players at any price. Phase 4 Films which picked up rights to the documentary, will roll out the film in Canada in October, followed by a U.S. release in early 2013. Phase 4’s Larry Greenberg and Sam Posner with Josh Braun from Submarine and Anne Atkinson from Pryor Cashman LLP on behalf of the filmmakers.
Chris Brown is apparently using a new collaboration with Game and other artists to slam hip-hop (and possibly romantic) rival Drake … what else is new. On Drake’s recent collaboration with 2 Chainz, “ No Lie ”, he raps, “If I take you out of the picture/I know real real gon’ miss ya/No lie, no lie, no lie-ee-i-ee-i.” Now, in what would have to be quite a coincidence, Chris borrows those lyrics to hammer Drake on a track with Game and Wiz Khalifa called “Celebration.” Game ‘Celebration’ Ft. Wiz Khalifa, Chris Brown, Tyga, Lil Wayne CB raps on the new track: “And if you wanna roll, have the best night of your life, no lie, no lie/Me and you together girl I’m celebrating you tonight.” On the recent Drake and Aaliyah release, ” Enough Said ,” he allegedly took a shot at Chris, while Breezy referenced Drizzy in ” I Don’t Like ” as well. So it goes. The stars have reportedly been at odds over Rihanna for some time, and came to blows (or bottles) during an epic NYC nightclub melee this spring. Real or imaginary, or somewhere in the middle, this is a beef that may never be quashed. We anxiously await Drake’s next alleged lyrical response. I’m a card-carrying member of …
The Wanted, LL Cool J and New Kids on the Block also make the ultimate MixTape Festival mixtape, according to the artists themselves. By Christina Garibaldi Carly Rae Jepsen Photo: Getty Images
Ultra Music Festival Miami is the world’s premiere electronic music festival. It is like the Olympics for electronic dance music (EDM) and every year with Miami Music Week all the major EDM artists and fans from around the world collide in Miami for this ultimate experience in dance music. CAN U FEEL IT is the UMF Experience on the big screen. It’s a film about a new generation seen through the eyes of the world’s greatest DJ’s. Tiesto, David Guetta, Carl Cox, Armin van Buuren, Avicii, Afrojack, Fedde le Grand and Boys Noize will be the headlining superstars that will take you on an electrifying journey through Ultra Music Festival and the world of dance music. The film makes you feel like you are on the dance floor and in the DJ booth at the same time and has the pace and feel of a music video mixed with in-depth storylines on the artists, the event and especially the rise of dance music around the world. youtube
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