Michael Haneke’s Amour and Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master lead London critics’ nominations. Also in Tuesday’s news round-up, Toronto critics name their picks for 2012; Richard Gere is among more honorees at the upcoming Palm Springs International Film Festival; Bully is set for Producers Guild honors; and Ricky Gervais is eyeing the Muppets sequel. Amour , The Master Lead London Critics’ Circle Noms Michael Haneke’s Amour and Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master each received seven nominations from the London Film Critics’ Circle. Both were nominated for best film, director and screenwriter. The U.K.’s own Skyfall received five nominations including two for Judi Dench, Deadline reports . Toronto Film Critics Name The Master Best Picture Paul Thomas Anderson’s cult-drama was honored Best Film by the Toronto Film Critics Association, while runners-up included Michael Haneke’s Amour and Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty . Anderson also received Best Director and Best Screenplay, while Philip Seymour Hoffman was named Best Supporting Actor by the group, THR reports . Richard Gere, Tom Hooper and Mychael Danna to Receive Palm Springs Honors Gere will receive the festivals Chairman’s Award for his role in Arbitrage , while Les Misérables director Tom Hooper will be feted with the PSIFF’s “Sony Bono Visionary” award and Life of Pi composer Mychael Danna will receive the Frederick Loewe award for film composing, Variety reports . Bully Wins Stanley Kramer Award The Producers Guild of America gave the doc directed by Lee Hirsch its 2013 Stanley Kramer Award, which honors a a production or producer “whose achievement or contribution illuminates and raises public awareness of important issues.” The film which vividly captures the crisis of school bullying is short-listed for Oscar consideration, Deadline reports . Ricky Gervais Eyes Muppets Sequel The comedian is in talks to star in The Muppets sequel as the Disney movie’s human lead character. The follow-up to the 2011 pic is described as a “European-centric adventure,” THR reports .
Matt Damon and Frances McDormand starrer Promised Land by Gus Van Sant is one of six films that will screen in competition at the Berlin International Film Festival . Also starring John Krasinski and Rosemarie DeWitt, the film is one of two American titles the festival announced Thursday. Also joining the group is animated feature The Croods , playing out of competition. The title includes voices from Nicolas Cage , Emma Stone and Ryan Reynolds . Promised Land centers on Steve Butler (Damon) a former farm boy turned big city business guy who teams up with Sue (Frances McDormand) to sell financial prosperity to a struggling Pennsylvania town that has rich deposits of natural gas deep underground. The sales execs offer up easy cash in return for drilling rights on their property, but the process of extraction – known as fracking – divides the town. [ Related: Gus Van Sant On ‘Promised Land’ & His Desire ‘To Always Work’ With Matt Damon ] Other titles included in the initial lineup of six films hail from Austria, Chile, France, Germany, the Republic of Korea, Romania and Spain. The 63rd Berlinale takes place February 7 – 17. The first six Berlinale ’13 titles follow with information provided by the festival . Competition : Gloria , Chile/Spain By Sebastián Lelio (La Sagrada Familia, Navidad, El año del tigre) With Paulina García, Sergio Hernández World premiere Nugu-ui Ttal-do Anin (Nobody’s Daughter Haewon), Republic of Korea By Hong Sangsoo (Night and Day, Hahaha, In Another Country) With Eunchae Jung, Sunkyun Lee World premiere Paradies: Hoffnung (Paradise: Hope), Austria/France/Germany By Ulrich Seidl (Dog Days, Import Export, Paradise: Love) With Melanie Lenz, Vivian Bartsch, Joseph Lorenz, Michael Thomas World premiere Poziţia Copilului (Child’s Pose), Romania By Călin Peter Netzer (Maria, Medal of Honor, Zapada mieilor) With Luminiţa Gheorghiu, Bogdan Dumitrache, Florin Zamfirescu World premiere Promised Land , USA By Gus Van Sant (My Own Private Idaho, Good Will Hunting, Milk) With Matt Damon, Frances McDormand, John Krasinski, Rosemarie DeWitt, Hal Holbrook International premiere The Croods – animated film in 3D, USA By Kirk De Micco (Space Chimps) Chris Sanders (How to Train Your Dragon) With the voices of Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds World premiere / out of competition Berlinale Special Unter Menschen (Redemption Impossible) – Documentary, Germany By Christian Rost, Claus Strigel World premiere
Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke has a distinctively aggressive relationship with his audience that ranges from the provocation of Caché and The Piano Teacher to the outright antagonism of Funny Games and Benny’s Video . Amour , his latest work and the winner of the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival , might be considered Haneke’s version of a love story, and its grimness is of a much quieter but no less impactful sort. It is, more than any of Haneke’s previous work, infused with compassion, but of a sort that cuts like a knife. For all that it is, as promised, about love, it’s also a subtly punishing affair that grinds you into the ground as you watch an elderly couple deal with one member’s slow deterioration of health and sanity. Amour starts with firemen breaking into a beautiful Parisian apartment. The bedroom door has been taped up, and inside is the corpse of Anne (Emmanuelle Riva), lying on the bed, scattered with flowers — and it’s here that Haneke inserts the title card, to ensure you know that this will not be a syrupy tale. We cut back to when Anne was alive and living with her husband Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant), both in their eighties. They attend a concert being given by one of Anne’s former students — a trip that, with the accompanying streetcar ride home, marks the film’s only venture out of the apartment, a location that becomes confining until it shifts into a sort of hiding place to dwell on the misery that life must end, and sometimes does so in messy, undignified failings of the flesh. Riva and Trintignant are the latest in a long line of Annes and Georges that Haneke’s presented over the years (the names have recurred in his films from 1989’s The Seventh Continent through 2009’s The White Ribbon ) and perhaps the most fully realized — they are a couple with a deep connection and a long history together, one that includes moments of chilliness as much as devotion. They’ve been spending a comfortably bourgeois late life together, their middle-aged daughter Eva (Isabelle Huppert), a mother herself, periodically visiting from London where she lives with her British husband Geoff (William Shimell). Anne and Georges surely have some awareness that death is closer than it was when they were young, but when a first brush with mortality arrives, it does so in a frightening way that catches them unaware. Anne has a stroke or a fit, one that leaves her temporarily frozen — it passes before Georges can get help, but it’s a sign of what’s to come. Haneke approaches the story with characteristic unflinching austerity that makes all the more difficult the unadorned scenes of Georges, frail himself, struggling to help Anne off the toilet after a surgery meant to help her instead leaves her unable to walk. Anne, afraid of doctors, extracts a promise from him that he will not bring her back to the hospital, and not long after asks for death. “There’s no reason to keep on living,” she tells him. “Why should I inflict that on you or me?” In the moment, it feels harsh and defeatist — at that point Anne is suffering only from manageable mobility problems, and while life will be different, it’s still open to many of the same experiences. But Anne is not naturally suited to optimistically soldiering on, and prefers not to talk about what’s happening to her to a visiting student or to welcome her son-in-law on a visit. And as things get worse from there, every intrusion into their increasingly difficult existence seems like an invasion, from the nurses who arrive to help care for Anne after another stroke leaves her paralyzed and unable to speak beyond nonsensical phrases. In one of the film’s most wrenching scenes, Georges tries to lock Anne away when Eva comes to visit, not to protect his daughter but to protect Anne from her well-meaning but terrible child who sweeps in and demands to know what else can be done, having no real grasp of her parents’ day-to-day of diaper changes, peach porridge and compulsive crying out (“Hurts! Hurts!” Anne yells), or that some things cannot be fixed, only endured. “Life… so long,” Anne mutters at one point in what may or may not be a moment of clarity. And the prospect of the days stretching out and only getting worse is heavy on this film, as the flesh fails and all that’s left is the promise of waiting out the undignified end of existence. Haneke’s dry-eyed, unsentimental approach makes what would have been, in someone else’s hands, an agonizing ordeal a little more bearable, allowing for moments of relief when a semi-symbolic pigeon finds its way into the house, or a jolt of horror in a nightmare sequence. But the clinical distance Haneke manages so well also makes the film feel like a beautifully crafted but calculated exercise, one gentler and touched with more warmth than his earlier films, but still meant to be a shrewdly knowing knife to the viscera. Follow Alison Willmore on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl is heading to the Sundance Film Festival next month with his directorial debut Sound City and he’s wasting no time getting the pic out there. The film’s website is now taking pre-orders for the documentary that will be released via HD digital download and stream February 1st. It will also be released theatrically February 1. Sound City is the brainchild of Grohl who conceived the story after purchasing a custom-built 8028 recording console from Sound City Studios last year. The board was built in 1972 and considered to be a “crown jewel of analog recording equipment,” having recorded such artists as Neil Young, Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, Cheap Trick, Guns and Roses, Fear, Grohl’s former band, Nirvana as well as Rage Against the Machine, Slipknot, Nine Inch Nails, Metallica and others. Grohl’s personal connection to Sound City began with the 1991 recording of Nirvana’s breakthrough album, “Nevermind”. Selling over 30 million copies worldwide. Grohl is getting personal with the feature, sending customers who pre-buy Sound City for $10 a letter, which follows: Hey there…. Thanks for scraping up your hard earned dough and buying the movie direct from our site! We’re stoked! Hope you love it as much as we do…. Ummm………Holy shit! I made a movie! I started this project a little over a year ago with ONE of my good old friends (Jim Rota from the band Fireball Ministry). That’s right….just me, my drinking buddy, and a crazy idea that we should tell the story of a studio we had loved hanging around for years, and our heartbreak to see it close. It soon blossomed into something truly epic! I don’t think either of us ever imagined our little project would become what it is now. Like all the best things in life, it just…….happened. From day one, it was the most incredible experience of my life. I swear. Sitting down with Neil Young talking about recording guitars, John Fogerty telling me about the day he decided to become a musician, Stevie Nicks telling me the story of how she joined Fleetwood Mac, Trent Reznor schooling me on the world of computers and digital technology, etc etc etc…..can you imagine? All I had to do was listen…I am the luckiest man on earth. And, being a completely independent film, no one told us how or what to do! Me and my crew of under 20 people did it OUR way. It was like a keg party with a camera. WE got to tell the story of a place we all held so dear. WE wanted to do it justice. And I think we did. But, SOUND CITY is only part of the story….. What is it that happens when 4 people turn on, plug in, and really play that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up? What is it about those moments when you hear something and it immediately puts its hooks in you, and you feel…..understood? What is it that will inspire the next generation of kids wanna do what I did when I was a little punk growing up in Springfield, Virginia? That feeling like, “Wait……I can do this too….. That’s what I’m talking about. That human connection. That human feel. That human sound…that isn’t perfect…but it’s sooooo good. I really feel like SOUND CITY is my life’s most important work. I hope you do too. Psyched that you get to see it! Show it to your friends! Get together, start a band, sound like shit, and change the world. GO! Thank you, thank you, thank you………Dave [ Sources: Sound City , THR ]
Can’t make it out to Park City, UT for the Sundance Film Festival this year? Let Sundance come to you. The Sundance Institute announced today 10 independent cities that will screen selections from the 2013 Sundance Film Festival this year with the filmmaker present. Ten filmmakers will travel to one of the following cities: Ann Arbor, MI; Boston, MA; Brooklyn, NY; Chicago, IL; Houston, TX; Los Angeles, CA; Nashville, TN; Orlando, FL; San Francisco, CA; and Tucson, AZ. “Sundance Film Festival USA celebrates the theaters and audiences that are an integral part of supporting and encouraging the work of independent filmmakers,” said Sundance President and Founder Robert Redford. “By extending the Festival to these 10 cities, we will create a larger shared experience and dialogue around the issues of our time, as explored in these films.” [ Related: Sundance Film Festival Reveals 2013 U.S. & World Competition Slate ] Titles and locations follow with descriptions and information provided by Sundance Institute: The East / U.S.A. (Director: Zal Batmanglij, Screenwriters: Zal Batmanglij, Brit Marling) — An operative for an elite private intelligence firm goes into deep cover to infiltrate a mysterious anarchist collective attacking major corporations. Bent on apprehending these fugitives, she finds her loyalty tested as her feelings grow for the group’s charismatic leader. Cast: Brit Marling, Alexander Skarsgård, Ellen Page, Toby Kebbell, Shiloh Fernandez, Patricia Clarkson. Ann Arbor, MI – The Michigan Theatre . The Lifeguard / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Liz W. Garcia) — A former valedictorian quits her reporter job in New York and returns to the place she last felt happy: her childhood home in Connecticut. She gets work as a lifeguard and starts a dangerous relationship with a troubled teenager. Cast: Kristen Bell, Mamie Gummer, Martin Starr, Alex Shaffer, Amy Madigan, David Lambert. Boston, MA – Coolidge Corner Theatre www.coolidge.org Kill Your Darlings / U.S.A. (Director: John Krokidas, Screenwriters: Austin Bunn, John Krokidas) — An untold story of murder that brought together a young Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs at Columbia University in 1944, providing the spark that led to the birth of an entire generation – their Beat revolution. Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Dane DeHann, Ben Foster, Michael C. Hall, Jack Huston, Elizabeth Olsen. Brooklyn, NY – BAM Touchy Feely / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Lynn Shelton) — A massage therapist is unable to do her job when stricken with a mysterious and sudden aversion to bodily contact. Meanwhile, her uptight brother’s foundering dental practice receives new life when clients seek out his “healing touch.” Cast: Rosemarie DeWitt, Allison Janney, Ron Livingston, Scoot McNairy, Ellen Page, Josh Pais. Chicago, IL – Music Box Theatre [ Related: Sundance Film Festival Unveils Star-Studded Premieres & Documentary Premieres Lineup ] Ain’t Them Bodies Saints / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Lowery) — The tale of an outlaw who escapes from prison and sets out across the Texas hills to reunite with his wife and the daughter he has never met. Cast: Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Nate Parker, Keith Carradine. Houston, TX – Sundance Cinemas Houston . Afternoon Delight / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jill Soloway) — In this sexy, dark comedy, a lost L.A. housewife puts her idyllic hipster life in jeopardy when she tries to rescue a stripper by taking her in as a live-in nanny. Cast: Kathryn Hahn, Juno Temple, Josh Radnor, Jane Lynch. Los Angeles, CA – Sundance Sunset Cinemas . Mother of George / U.S.A. (Director: Andrew Dosunmu, Screenwriter: Darci Picoult) — A story about a woman willing to do anything and risk everything for her marriage. Cast: Isaach De Bankolé, Danai Gurira, Tony Okungbowa, Yaya Alafia, Bukky Ajayi. Nashville, TN – Belcourt Theatre . A.C.O.D. / U.S.A. (Director: Stuart Zicherman, Screenwriters: Ben Karlin, Stuart Zicherman) — Carter is a well-adjusted Adult Child of Divorce. So he thinks. When he discovers he was part of a divorce study as a child, it wreaks havoc on his family and forces him to face his chaotic past. Cast: Adam Scott, Richard Jenkins, Catherine O’Hara, Amy Poehler, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clark Duke. Orlando, FL – Enzian Theater . In a World… / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Lake Bell) — An underachieving vocal coach is motivated by her father, the king of movie-trailer voice-overs, to pursue her aspirations of becoming a voiceover star. Amidst pride, sexism and family dysfunction, she sets out to change the voice of a generation. Cast: Lake Bell, Demetri Martin, Rob Corddry, Michaela Watkins, Ken Marino, Fred Melamed. San Francisco, CA – Sundance Kabuki Cinemas . The Spectacular Now / U.S.A. (Director: James Ponsoldt, Screenwriters: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber) — Sutter is a high school senior who lives for the moment; Aimee is the introvert he attempts to “save.” As their relationship deepens, the lines between right and wrong, friendship and love, and “saving” and corrupting become inextricably blurred. Cast: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kyle Chandler. Tucson, AZ – The Loft .
Most first-time filmmakers don’t have a posse of A-listers filling roles in their films. But then again, most first-time directors aren’t Joseph Gordon-Levitt . The charming actor is taking his turn behind the camera (though he’s also in front) with Don Jon’s Addiction , which will have its debut at the Sundance Film Festival in the event’s Premieres section in January. Sundance didn’t readily have an image from Don Jon’s Addiction available when they rolled out their 2013 lineup late last week and earlier this week, but this one turned up with a demure looking Scarlett Johansson appearing to size-up Josheph Gordon-Levitt (or maybe the other way around) in what appears to be a club? video bar? new age art installation? Also starring Julianne Moore , Sundance did not give too much detail about the film but it will likely be a hot title to watch… One thing is for sure, Gordon-Levitt is having a good run after a year of The Dark Knight Rises (and all the ensuing Batman/Robin Hood rumors), Looper and Lincoln . The minimal Sundance Film Festival description follows: In Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s charming directorial debut, a selfish modern-day Don Juan attempts to change his ways. Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Tony Danza, Glenne Headly, Rob Brown.
Stevie’s not afraid to tell it like it is ; even if it means getting some criticism for standing up for what he believes in . While he’s pulled out of the concert (which raises money for the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces), some are questioning why he agreed to do it in the first place. According to BBC News , Stevie released a statement explaining exactly why he was backing out: …”I am and have always been against war, any war, anywhere.” A ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas is currently in place, after a week of violence in Gaza last month. But tensions still run high. On Friday, Israel announced it would authorize the construction of 3,000 more housing units in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank. The decision followed a UN General Assembly vote to upgrade the Palestinians’ status to non-member observer state. Next week’s gala concert supports an organization which raises money for Israeli soldiers and their families. Wonder said the United Nations (and other organizations) had recommended cancelling his performance because he is an official UN “Messenger of Peace”. In his statement, the 62-year-old said he had made the decision with a heavy heart. “Given the current and very delicate situation in the Middle East, and with a heart that has always cried out for world unity, I will not be performing,” he added. The musician said he would make contributions to charities that support Israeli and Palestinian children with disabilities. While the FIDF organization is seemingly for a good cause, you’ve got to admit that seeing Stevie sing at a charity event raising money for Israeli anything would have left a bad taste in some of our mouths; even Former President Jimmy Carter has compared Israel’s actions to apartheid. We’re glad he did what he thought was right and his new donation towards children with disabilities is for the better cause. Images via tumblr
Warner Bros. 2015 Justice League movie may not have a director yet, but it looks like it has a villain. Latino Review is reporting that Batman , Superman , Wonder Woman and their super colleagues will be throwing down against a major baddie, Darkseid from the subtly named planet, Apokolips, when the summer of 2015 rolls around. If Darkseid, who was created by the legendary comic artist Jack Kirby , is indeed the villain who will be wreaking havoc in the DC movie universe, it’s an interesting choice, given that Marvel plans to feature the villain Thanos in Avengers 2 , which it plans to release that same summer. Justice League ‘s Darkseid vs. Avengers 2 ‘s Thanos As Comic Book Legends Revealed points out, Thanos was “roughly based on Darkseid” (although the character’s creator Jim Starlin didn’t originally envision him as such.) The connection between the two characters could help ratchet up the competitive tension between the rival movies as release time grows closer. (It’s only, like, years away.) DC could also do some “our super-villain can kick your super-villain’s ass” sassing based on IGN’s Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time , in which Darkseid ranks sixth and Thanos is 47th. If you ask me, these two dudes do look alike. That’s Darkseid on the left. Thanos is on the right. What do you think? Sound off in the comments section. By the way, the unforgiving mug of the late actor Jack Palance inspired Darkseid’s face. Kirby based the villain’s evil nature on Adolf Hitler. [ Latino Review , Comic Book Legends Revealed , IGN] Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
Films starring Guy Pearce, Nicole Kidman , Alexander Skarsgard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt , Ashton Kutcher , Demi Moore and Naomi Watts are some of the highlights from world premieres that make up the 2013 Sundance Film Festival ‘s Premieres section. Organizers revealed its selections Monday, which includes Gordon-Levitt’s feature directorial debut, Don Jon’s Addiction . The eighteen titles include the latest from veteran filmmakers Richard Linklater , Michael Polish, Zal Batmanglij, Michael Winterbottom, Jane Campion, Park Chan-wook and David Gordon Green. [ Related: Check out Sundance’s Midnight and Spotlight Premieres , Also U.S. and World Competition as well as Next lineups ] The event also announced 11 non-fiction features that will screen in its Documentary Premieres section, including new work from Oscar winners Alex Gibney and Barbara Kopple in addition to the directorial debut from Foo Fighters frontman, David Grohl ( Sound City ). In all, Sundance will include 115 feature-length films, with 101 screening as World Premieres. “We are pleased to see a number of returning filmmakers in our Premieres and Documentary Premieres sections, indicating that there is sustainability, longevity and personal reward to careers in independent film,” said Sundance Film Festival Director John Cooper in a statement. “The films announced today build on each filmmaker’s personal artistic legacy and contribute to the ever-growing and inspiring achievements of the independent film community.” The 2013 Sundance Film Festival, January 17-27 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah. [ Related Interview: Sundance Director John Cooper Says ‘Fearlessness’ Distinguishes The Festival’s 2013 Slate ] Sundance Film Festival 2013 Premiere and Documentary Premiere with descriptions provided by the festival. PREMIERES A showcase of world premieres of some of the most highly anticipated dramatic films of the coming year. Presented by Entertainment Weekly. A.C.O.D. / U.S.A. (Director: Stuart Zicherman, Screenwriters: Ben Karlin, Stuart Zicherman) — Carter is a well-adjusted Adult Child of Divorce. So he thinks. When he discovers he was part of a divorce study as a child, it wreaks havoc on his family and forces him to face his chaotic past. Cast: Adam Scott, Richard Jenkins, Catherine O’Hara, Amy Poehler, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clark Duke. Before Midnight / U.S.A. (Director: Richard Linklater, Screenwriters: Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, Richard Linklater— We meet Jesse and Celine nine years on in Greece. Almost two decades have passed since their first meeting on that train bound for Vienna. Before the clock strikes midnight, we will again become part of their story. Cast: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Xenia Kalogeropoulou, Ariane Labed, Athina Rachel Tsangari, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick. Big Sur / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Michael Polish) — Unable to cope with a suddenly demanding public and battling advanced alcoholism, Jack Kerouac seeks respite in three brief sojourns to a cabin in Big Sur, which reveal his mental and physical deterioration. Cast: Jean-Marc Barr, Kate Bosworth, Josh Lucas, Radha Mitchell, Anthony Edwards, Henry Thomas. Breathe In / U.S.A. (Director: Drake Doremus, Screenwriters: Drake Doremus, Ben York Jones) — When a foreign exchange student arrives in a small upstate New York town, she challenges the dynamics of her host family’s relationships and alters their lives forever. Cast: Guy Pearce, Felicity Jones, Amy Ryan, Mackenzie Davis. Don Jon’s Addiction / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Joseph Gordon-Levitt) — In Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s charming directorial debut, a selfish modern-day Don Juan attempts to change his ways. Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Tony Danza, Glenne Headly, Rob Brown. The East / U.S.A. (Director: Zal Batmanglij, Screenwriters: Zal Batmanglij, Brit Marling) — An operative for an elite private intelligence firm goes into deep cover to infiltrate a mysterious anarchist collective attacking major corporations. Bent on apprehending these fugitives, she finds her loyalty tested as her feelings grow for the group’s charismatic leader. Cast: Brit Marling, Alexander Skarsgård, Ellen Page, Toby Kebbell, Shiloh Fernandez, Patricia Clarkson. The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete / U.S.A. (Director: George Tillman Jr., Screenwriter: Michael Starrbury) — Separated from their mothers and facing a summer in the Brooklyn projects alone, two boys hide from police and forage for food, with only each other to trust. A story of salvation through friendship and two boys against the world. Cast: Skylan Brooks, Ethan Dizon, Jennifer Hudson, Jordin Sparks, Anthony Mackie, Jeffrey Wright. jOBS / U.S.A. (Director: Joshua Michael Stern, Screenwriter: Matt Whiteley) — The true story of one of the greatest entrepreneurs in American history, jOBS chronicles the defining 30 years of Steve Jobs’ life. jOBS is a candid, inspiring and personal portrait of the one who saw things differently. Cast: Ashton Kutcher, Dermot Mulroney, Josh Gad, Lukas Haas, J.K. Simmons, Matthew Modine. CLOSING NIGHT FILM The Look of Love / United Kingdom (Director: Michael Winterbottom, Screenwriter: Matt Greenhalgh) — The true story of British adult magazine publisher and entrepreneur Paul Raymond. A modern day King Midas story, Raymond became one of the richest men in Britain at the cost of losing those closest to him. Cast: Steve Coogan, Anna Friel, Imogen Poots, Tamsin Egerton. Lovelace / U.S.A. (Directors: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman, Screenwriter: Andy Bellin) — Deep Throat, the first pornographic feature film to be a mainstream success, was an international sensation in 1972 and made its star, Linda Lovelace, a media darling. Years later the “poster girl for the sexual revolution” revealed a darker side to her story. Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Peter Sarsgaard, Hank Azaria, Adam Brody, James Franco, Sharon Stone. The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman / U.S.A. (Director: Fredrik Bond, Screenwriter: Matt Drake) — Traveling abroad, Charlie Countryman falls for Gabi, a Romanian beauty whose unreachable heart has its origins in Nigel, her violent, charismatic ex. As the darkness of Gabi’s past increasingly envelops him, Charlie resolves to win her heart, or die trying. Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Evan Rachel Wood, Mads Mikkelsen, Rupert Grint, James Buckley, Til Schweiger. Prince Avalanche / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Gordon Green) — Two highway road workers spend the summer of 1988 away from their city lives. The isolated landscape becomes a place of misadventure as the men find themselves at odds with each other and the women they left behind. Cast: Paul Rudd, Emile Hirsch. Stoker / U.S.A. (Director: Park Chan-Wook, Screenwriter: Wentworth Miller) — After India’s father dies in an auto accident, her Uncle Charlie comes to live with her and her mother, Evelyn. Soon after his arrival, India suspects that this mysterious, charming man has ulterior motives but becomes increasingly infatuated with him. Cast: Mia Wasikowska, Matthew Goode, Dermot Mulroney, Jacki Weaver, Nicole Kidman. Sweetwater / U.S.A. (Directors: Logan Miller, Noah Miller, Screenwriter: Andrew McKenzie) — In the late 1800s, a fanatical religious leader, a renegade Sheriff, and a former prostitute collide in a blood triangle on the rugged plains of the New Mexico Territory. Cast: Ed Harris, January Jones, Jason Isaacs, Eduardo Noriega, Steven Rude, Amy Madigan. Top of the Lake / Australia, New Zealand (Directors: Jane Campion, Garth Davis, Screenwriters: Jane Campion, Gerard Lee) — A 12-year-old girl stands chest deep in a frozen lake. She is five months pregnant, and won’t say who the father is. Then she disappears. So begins a haunting mystery that consumes a community. Cast: Elisabeth Moss, Holly Hunter, Peter Mullan, David Wenham. This six-hour film will screen once during the Festival. Two Mothers / Australia, France (Director: Anne Fontaine, Screenwriter: Christopher Hampton) — This gripping tale of love, lust and the power of friendship charts the unconventional and passionate affairs of two lifelong friends who fall in love with each other’s sons. Cast: Naomi Watts, Robin Wright, Xavier Samuel, James Frechevile. Very Good Girls / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Naomi Foner) — In the long, half-naked days of a New York summer, two girls on the brink of becoming women fall for the same guy and find that life isn’t as simple or safe as they had thought. Cast: Dakota Fanning, Elizabeth Olsen, Boyd Holbrook, Demi Moore, Richard Dreyfuss, Ellen Barkin. The Way, Way Back / U.S.A. (Directors and screenwriters: Nat Faxon, Jim Rash) — Duncan, an introverted 14-year-old, comes into his own over the course of a comedic summer when he forms unlikely friendships with the gregarious manager of a rundown water park and the misfits who work there. Cast: Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Allison Janney, Sam Rockwell, Maya Rudolph, Liam James. DOCUMENTARY PREMIERES Renowned filmmakers and films about huge subjects comprise this section highlighting our ongoing commitment to documentaries. Each is a world premiere. ANITA / U.S.A. (Director: Freida Mock) — Anita Hill, an African-American woman, charges Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas with sexual harassment in explosive Senate hearings in 1991 – bringing sexual politics into the national consciousness and fueling 20 years of international debate on the issues. The Crash Reel / U.S.A. (Director: Lucy Walker) — The jaw-dropping story of one unforgettable athlete, Kevin Pearce; one eye-popping sport, snow boarding; and one explosive issue, traumatic brain injury. An epic rivalry between Kevin and Shaun White culminates in a life-changing crash and a comeback story with a difference. SALT LAKE CITY GALA FILM History of the Eagles / U.S.A. (Director: Alison Ellwood) — Using never-before-seen home movies, archival footage and new interviews with all current and former members of the Eagles, this documentary provides an intimate look into the history of the band and the legacy of their music. Linsanity / U.S.A. (Director: Evan Leong) — Jeremy Lin came from a humble background to make an unbelievable run in the NBA. State high school champion, all-Ivy League at Harvard, undrafted by the NBA and unwanted there: his story started long before he landed on Broadway. Pandora’s Promise / U.S.A. (Director: Robert Stone) — A growing number of environmentalists are renouncing decades of antinuclear orthodoxy and have come to believe that the most feared and controversial technology known to mankind is probably our greatest hope. Running from Crazy / U.S.A. (Director: Barbara Kopple) — Mariel Hemingway, granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway, strives for a greater understanding of her family history of suicide and mental illness. As tragedies are explored and deeply hidden secrets are revealed, Mariel searches for a way to overcome a similar fate. Sound City / U.S.A. (Director: Dave Grohl) — Through interviews and performances with the legendary musicians and producers who worked at America’s greatest unsung recording studio, Sound City, we explore the human element of music, and the lost art of analog recording in an increasingly digital world. We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks / U.S.A. (Director: Alex Gibney) — In 2010, WikiLeaks and its sources used the power of the Internet to usher in what was for some a new era of transparency and for others the beginnings of an information war. When I Walk / U.S.A., Canada (Director: Jason DaSilva) — At 25, filmmaker and artist Jason DaSilva finds out he has a severe form of multiple sclerosis. This film shares his personal and grueling journey over the next seven years. Along the way, an unlikely miracle changes everything. Which Way is the Front Line from Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington / U.S.A. (Director: Sebastian Junger) — Shortly after the release of his documentary Restrepo, photographer Tim Hetherington was killed in Libya. Colleague Sebastian Junger traces Hetherington’s work across the world’s battlefields to reveal how he transcended the boundaries of image-making to become a luminary in his profession. The World According to Dick Cheney / U.S.A. (Directors: R.J. Cutler, Greg Finton) — How did Dick Cheney become the single-most-powerful nonpresidential figure in American history? This multi-layered examination of Cheney’s life, career, key relationships and controversial worldview features exclusive interviews with the former vice president and his closest allies.
Hugh Jackman is in talks for the role in the film that is looking like an X-Men: First Class sequel. Also in the news, Angela Bassett is joining Gregg Araki’s latest; Plans are in the works for a Humphrey Bogart Film Festival; China’s box office set to surge to number one; And the Hamptons International Film Festival gets new leadership. Hugh Jackman Eyes Reprising Wolverine in New X-Men Movie Jackman is in negotiations to reprise the role in the movie with is shaping up as a sequel to X-Men: First Class , featuring actors from the first X-Men trilogy – the first two of which were directed by Bryan Singer. Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult are also on board, THR reports . George Clooney, Paul Greengrass Plot Crime Thriller Greengrass will direct and produce the project along with Clooney and Grant Heslov, with writer Chris Terrio. Clooney will star in the project which re-teams some of the main figures behind Argo , Variety reports . Angela Bassett Joins Gregg Araki’s White Bird in a Blizzard She joins Gabourey Sidibe and will play Dr. Thaler in the indie drama about a young woman whose life spins out control when her mother disappears, Deadline reports . Humphrey Bogart Film Festival to Host Film Noir And, of course, a parade of Humphrey Bogart films are also on tap for the event taking place – naturally – in Key Largo, FL. The inaugural edition will be held on May 2-5, 2013. The festival will be hosted by Stephen Humphrey Bogart, the son of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, and will feature preeminent film historian and critic Leonard Maltin. China Box Office Expected to Surpass U.S. by 2020 China has already surpassed Japan as the number 2 movie market. It’s media and entertainment industry is expected to grow 17% annually through 2015, Deadline reports . Hamptons International Film Festival Appoints New Head Longtime advisor Anne Chaisson has been named the festival’s new Executive Director. She has been an advisory co-chair since 2003. Director of Programming David Nugent, meanwhile, has been promoted to Artistic Director at the organization.
