Also in Monday afternoon’s round-up of news briefs, IFC Films picks up a Tribeca 2012 romantic comedy for U.S. theaters. The Writers Guild of America is accepting applications for its 2013 awards. Gary Ross finds a new project and a look at comics who are heading behind the camera. Vet Indie Execs Launch A24 Distribution Outfit A24 is a new film company that will focus on distribution, financing and production. The New York-based company will acquire finished films and finance and produce original content. A24 aims to distribute 8 – 10 titles per year, several of which will have wide theatrical releases. The new company is being spearheaded by former Oscilloscope Laboratories exec David Fenkel, Daniel Katz from finance group Guggenheim Partners ( The Social Network ) and John Hodges of Big Beach Films ( Little Miss Sunshine ). The three said in a statement: “We see an exciting opportunity right now for movies in the domestic space especially given all the new ways to target moviegoers and the changes that are happening in the marketplace. We are looking forward to working with great storytellers to bring their films to audiences.” Rom-Com Cheerful Weather for the Wedding Headed to Theaters Donald Rice’s romantic comedy Cheerful Weather for the Wedding , based on Julia Strachey’s 1932 novel of the same name, has been picked up by IFC Films. The film stars Elizabeth McGovern, Felicity Jones, Luke Treadaway, Mackenzie Crook, Zoe Tapper, and Ellie Kendrick and centers on a woman who realizes on her wedding day she’s about to make a serious mistake. The film had its world premiere last spring at the Tribeca Film Festival. Writers Guild Accepting 2013 Doc Screenplay Awards Contenders The Writers Guild of America, West and the WGA, East are accepting submissions for their 2013 WGA Documentary Screenplay Award. Submissions are being accepted through November 16th. Nominations will be announced January 3rd and the 2013 Writers Guild Awards will take place at simultaneous ceremonies in New York and Los Angeles on February 17th. For more information, visit their website . Around the ‘net… Tony Scott Spent Final Days Working on Top Gun 2 Scott spent time last week in Nevada with Tom Cruise touring a naval air station as part of their research for the project. Scott, who directed Cruise in the original Top Gun , was set to direct the movie’s sequel in addition to two other projects that were in advanced development when he died of an apparent suicide this past weekend, THR reports . Gary Ross Eyes Peter Pan The Hunger Games director opted against the franchise’s follow-up due in theaters this November, but is now likely set to direct the Disney project Peter and the Starcatchers . The story is based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. Jesse Wigutow is working on a script that is scheduled for October delivery, Deadline reports . Growing Number of Comics Move Behind the Camera Dax Shepard’s car-chase comedy Hit & Run and Mike Birbiglia’s one-man-show adaptation Sleepwalk With Me are part of an influx of low-budget pics that has afforded such talent creative control, Variety reports .
Also in Wednesday morning’s round-up of news briefs, Snow White and the Huntsman director Rupert Sanders will direct 90 Church for Universal. Tobey Maguire joins an indie project by Craig Zobel and the New York Times names a new chief. Bachelorette is an iTunes Hit Leslye Headland’s Sundance premiere Bachelorette is at number one on the iTuens top movies chart, the first pre-theatrical release to mount the spot, Deadline reports . Snow White and the Huntsman Director Rupert Sanders to Direct 90 Church Universal acquired 90 Church: The True Story of the Narcotics Squad from Hell , a book written by Dean Unkefer that Random House will publish Stateside. “The upcoming novel 90 Church refers to the address of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics when it was formed in New York City to combat organized crime and drug traffic in the mid-1960s through early ’70s,” Deadline reports . Kristen Stewart Won’t Be in a Snow White Sequel In related news to above, Universal has decided to shelf its Snow White and the Huntsman sequel and will focus on a solo Huntsman movie starring Chris Hemsworth. A sequel is being re-conceived as a spin-off story and it’s not clear if Rupert Sanders will return, but Stewart will not be returning, THR reports . Tobey Maguire Joins Z for Zachariah Maguire will star in the project which Compliance director Craig Zobel will direct. Based on the novel by Robert C. O’Brien, and adapted by Nissar Modi, the story is a post-apocalyptic drama centers on a teen who survives both a nuclear war and nerve gas because of a self-contained weather system. Carey Mulligan will also star, Variety reports . New York Times Names BBC’s Mark Thompson its New Head “The New York Times Company has announced that BBC director general Mark Thompson is to become its chief executive and president in November. The NYT runs national and regional newspapers and websites and said his experience in digital media on a global scale made him the ‘ideal candidate,'” BBC reports .
Also in Wednesday morning’s round-up of news briefs, Snow White and the Huntsman director Rupert Sanders will direct 90 Church for Universal. Tobey Maguire joins an indie project by Craig Zobel and the New York Times names a new chief. Bachelorette is an iTunes Hit Leslye Headland’s Sundance premiere Bachelorette is at number one on the iTuens top movies chart, the first pre-theatrical release to mount the spot, Deadline reports . Snow White and the Huntsman Director Rupert Sanders to Direct 90 Church Universal acquired 90 Church: The True Story of the Narcotics Squad from Hell , a book written by Dean Unkefer that Random House will publish Stateside. “The upcoming novel 90 Church refers to the address of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics when it was formed in New York City to combat organized crime and drug traffic in the mid-1960s through early ’70s,” Deadline reports . Kristen Stewart Won’t Be in a Snow White Sequel In related news to above, Universal has decided to shelf its Snow White and the Huntsman sequel and will focus on a solo Huntsman movie starring Chris Hemsworth. A sequel is being re-conceived as a spin-off story and it’s not clear if Rupert Sanders will return, but Stewart will not be returning, THR reports . Tobey Maguire Joins Z for Zachariah Maguire will star in the project which Compliance director Craig Zobel will direct. Based on the novel by Robert C. O’Brien, and adapted by Nissar Modi, the story is a post-apocalyptic drama centers on a teen who survives both a nuclear war and nerve gas because of a self-contained weather system. Carey Mulligan will also star, Variety reports . New York Times Names BBC’s Mark Thompson its New Head “The New York Times Company has announced that BBC director general Mark Thompson is to become its chief executive and president in November. The NYT runs national and regional newspapers and websites and said his experience in digital media on a global scale made him the ‘ideal candidate,'” BBC reports .
Leave it to Lars von Trier to find a connection between Nazi architect Albert Speer and Rat Pack singer Sammy Davis Jr. The controversy-courting Danish filmmaker has invited the public to reintrepret one or more of six great works of art for a community film project that will be unveiled at the Copenhagen Art Festival. The project is being called Gesamt , which translates to “coming together” or “a joint piece of work,” said director Jenle Hallund, who has the nerve-wracking challenge of creating a cohesive film from fragments of the submissions under some very tight time constraints. The deadline for submissions is Sept. 6, and the finished film is slated to debuty Oct.12, 2012 at Kunsthal Charlottenborg in Copenhagen. Hallund, who was a script supervisor on Von Trier’s Melancholia as well as the co-director Limboland (2010) told us Gesamt has the potential to “be a testimony to the health and the soul of civilization. It should show how ordinary people appreciate and interpret big art,” she says. Make that big art that stirs the soul of Von Trier. Participants must base their submissions one or more of six different works of art, and Hallund said that the chosen few “are all pieces of art that [Von Trier] likes.” According to the announcement of the project — which was modestly titled “Lars Von Trier Challenges The People” — by the Danish Agency for Culture, prospective entrants must use as their muse(s): James Joyce’s Ulysses , “which once was banned in the United States because it was seen as obscene and lewd”; August Strindberg’s play The Father , “which still stands as a striking example of a dysfunctional family”; Paul Gaugin’s painting Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? French composer César Franck’s improvisations; or the music of the late Sammy Davis Jr., “who stepped himself into the hearts of people through song.” Also included among is the Zeppelin Field grandstand in Nuremberg, Germany that Hitler’s main architect Albert Speer created. The choice is sure to generate debate given comments Von Trier made during a press conference at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, when he said: “I understand Hitler, but I think he did some wrong things, yes, absolutely. … He’s not what you would call a good guy, but I understand much about him, and I sympathize with him a little bit. But come on, I’m not for the Second World War, and I’m not against Jews.” When I asked Hallund if Von Trier, who likes to stir the pot, was referencing the Cannes controversy by including Speer, she replied: “I can’t speak on his behalf, but if you look at some of Speers’ art, it is phenomenal, and I would say that it is possible to appreciate his art independent of the ideology” to which it was attached during the reign of Hitler. “All art can be used toward elitism and propaganda,” Hallund continued, adding, “a lot of religious art has been used for that. Some people will say that the Bible and the Koran are works of art, but they have also been used toward mass murder and genocide and repression on the planet.” “We can’t just close our eyes and say we can never talk about Albert Speers or Nazism,” Hallund concluded. “We make ourselves more prone to repeat the past by ignoring it. Gesamt producer Nadia Claudi told me that six submissions have already been received. One arrived from Germany, she said, and the rest are from Denmark. All but one of the submissions are filmed, and Speers right now is leading the subject matter by a thin margin: Two submissions are based on his work at Zeppelin Field; one deals with Joyce, and another, with Gaugin. She said that one entry takes on all six subjects, while the content of another submission is a bit inconclusive. The deadline for entries is Sept. 6. Everything you need to know about submitting your work can be found at this link. “I just hope that people will be very free in their interpretations of this and show us what they have in their hearts,” Hallund said. “And I would love to hear from Americans.” You heard the lady. Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
Filmmaker and actress Julie Delpy won accolades at the Berlin International Film Festival back in 2007 with her hilarious 2 Days In Paris , in which she starred opposite Adam Goldberg as a couple who stop off in Paris for a short visit, staying with her parents en route back to the U.S. Delpy, who wrote and directed the feature that did solid numbers in release jiggered the formula for a sequel, 2 Days In New York , which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January. This time, she stars opposite Chris Rock , and similarly to Paris her family factors into the dialog-heavy plot that’s riddled with eccentricity, social commentary and crazy mishaps. In the film, Delpy’s character Marion is now living with her boyfriend Mingus (Chris Rock) in a New York apartment with their cat and two children from their previous relationships. Marion’s father (played by her real-life dad, Albert Delpy), her sister and her over the top boyfriend suddenly decide to pay a visit from France, unleashing another 48 hours of family drama. Similarly to 2 Days In Paris , Marion’s family is sometimes unnervingly open in their discussions about sexuality and other topics most would consider crosses social boundaries. The French-American cultural disconnect only amplifies the gulf and the result is laugh out loud funny. Julie Delpy and Chris Rock chatted with ML about the film at Sundance. Initially Rock was about to leave, but sat down for a few minutes before heading out of Park City. Delpy, who first acted in none other than French-Swiss maestro Jean-Luc Godard’s Détective in 1985 and has since gone on to do many roles including Before Sunset , has since taken on the director’s hat herself and is a steadfast filmmaking convert. She talks about making films outside the studio system, though she said she’d like to try it sometime and would consider it another welcome challenge. In fact, she would like to try almost everything – almost… Similarly to 2 Days In Paris , you pulled together financing through Europe, can a dialog-driven film exist within Hollywood or is this the only way to put together a film like your latest, 2 Days In New York ? Julie Delpy: I never even thought of going to a studio. It’s just the way I do things. I put the financing together through a European financing system and it’s not easy – it’s a struggle. It might be easier in a way to go to a studio Chris Rock: I think it depends on who you are as a filmmaker. JD: I’m sure if it was through a studio, I wouldn’t be able to do this film exactly the way it is. Though I’m not really sure because I’ve never really been approached by a studio. I’m not sure if they know who I am or know I’m a filmmaker. They don’t even know I’m an actress – trust me [laughs]. CR: I think it depends on who you are as a filmmaker determines how much control you will have and, you know, if you want more control, you’re better off not going through a studio, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. JD: Some things in this movie may not have been their whole thing. They may have wanted a different ending, though honestly, I don’t know what they would want because I haven’t worked with them. For me, I just do it in the way I know how. How did you both come together for this project? CR: I saw 2 Days in Paris and I Loo-oooved 2 Days in Paris . JD: I’d seen his work and have always loved his work. I met him briefly once and he stuck in my mind. The minute I thought of doing a sequel to 2 Days in Paris , I knew I was going to be in a relationship with Mingus who is going to be Chris Rock, so he just came to my mind How has this contrasted with your most recent work Chris? CR: It’s fun, but the French thing – you have to get used to the fact you don’t understand what people around you are saying, but other than that it wasn’t much different than any other movie. I found working with the star and director was easy because you’re always talking to the boss. It’s harder when you’re talking to different people about different things. Because normally when you’re doing a movie, the star is kind-of half-way the director anyway… If the star doesn’t like what’s happening, you’re going to do what the star wants 90% of the time anyway. I hope I get to work with more star-directors… I read that when you were writing this story, you said you wanted to build on “real ground,” what did you mean by that? JD: I spent a lot of time with [Krzysztof] Kieslowski after we did White (1994) talking about movies and writing and everything. He’d tell me that I’m such a movie buff and I was obsessed. He’d tell me, ‘I haven’t seen this, or I haven’t seen that,’ and I’d say, ‘what have you seen?’ and he’d tell me, ‘real life.’ And that stuck with me. What can be more true than take some truth and build something from that. Obsession with death for instance – so something like that – and build from there into a story. 2 Days in New York is grounded in reality. There’s a couple with kids re-constructed and brought together… [ Chris Rock is pulled out of the room at this point and they say their good byes ] [ Continuing ]: I like to base my stories on simple things. It could have been a drama, but I love comedy so that’s what I did. But for this, I like to incorporate things that I know. So in it, I talk about my mother’s death. She actually passed away three years ago. She was in 2 Days in Paris and she was a wonderful actress. So she couldn’t be in this film obviously, so I had to find a way to talk about it… Your father is in this film as he was, of course, in 2 Days in Paris. Are his antics in the film similar to how he is in real-life? Yeah he’s very crazy. He’s very funny and very light, but also a very profound person. He’s not a superficial person at all. He’s fun and he likes to laugh and loves life, but he also has profound problems. He’s not happy all the time, but if we’re at a festival and the film’s playing well then we’re all happy. For me it was great to write parts for my parents in the first film and in this film for my father. It’s wonderful to be able to do that. They gave me so much by exposing me to film. My father gave me directing education through his past direction of plays. They gave me so much, so I’m glad I could give back a little bit. He keys a Hummer in this film in one memorable NYC street scene, and I was thinking it’s his almost child-like rebellious way of perhaps lashing out about global warming… Yeah exactly, that is a stand on global warming. Is he like that in real life? No, but my dad hates cars. They’re all over the place in Paris and they park on sidewalks and have no respect. As he ever keyed a car? No, but he’s joked about it for years so I let him have his fantasy in the film. I mean, I hate cars too. I live in L.A. so of course I have a car, but it’s the only real way we have for transport. But we’re polluting every moment of the day and we’ll pay for it. We’ll be gone [some day]… But Earth will be ok, but it’ll shake us out. So what do you think about Sequels? What about a 2 Days in L.A. or 2 Days in Tokyo ? I think the franchise is going to stop there. I’m not a James Bond kind of girl. I think it stops here at 2 Days in New York . But I’d certainly like to direct more films and will if given the opportunity to do it…I have a lot of friends who are directors and they call me to ask if I’d like to be in them – people like Richard Linklater etc. or maybe not someone who’s my friend but just someone I really like, but I think my first desire is filmmaking. What other kinds of stories do you want to do? Everything. Just everything from sci-fi to dramas – but maybe not sports movies. It’s not that I don’t like sports movies, but it’s just that I don’t get it. I don’t really understand sports, but everything else I’d like to do. I’d like to do a thriller, though I don’t know if I’d be good at it, but I’d like to try it. Maybe it’s pretentious and I’m crazy and all that, but I think I will do a thriller one day. It’s such a struggle to make movies. With this movie, we stopped two weeks before we started shooting and the film fell apart and then we put it all back together and then four weeks into the shoot we stopped. It was really, really hard. Was it harder than 2 Days in Paris ? In a way it was. There was more money involved with shooting in New York. I thought Paris would be more expensive. No, Paris is much less expensive. New York is… I think $3 million went into trucks, so I mean it’s really expensive. I mean like basically it’s very very expensive. And it’s fine if you have the money, and we had the money, but when the money fell apart at the last minute, it was just drama. It was the most painful experience to think you’re about to shoot and then everything just stops. Would you consider going a different route when tackling some of the other stories and genres you’re interested in doing down the line – maybe even the studios? I think I would do it if given the opportunity. But I’m also interested in working within limitations. I have limitations with my films which is typically major financial limitations, but having a studio tell you what to do would be a limitation too, but it would be manageable. I think the only thing that’s not manageable is death. People dying or people who are sick is not manageable. Everything else is nothing. You know I consider in life, people in movies lose perspective because it becomes so important… I’m not like that. It’s life, there are people dying around you, there’s craziness – that’s serious. A studio telling me what to do, that’s manageable. That’s just a boss telling you what to do and that’s fine, I’ll do my best within my limitation… So if that opportunity came along, then you’d do it? Yes, it’s almost fun to me, it would be a fun thing to do.
SMH… Didn’t her brother just come out and say “They are not in support of any Aaliyah project?” DAMN! Drake Says Aaliyah’s Family Supports His Project With The Late Singer youtube
SMH… Didn’t her brother just come out and say “They are not in support of any Aaliyah project?” DAMN! Drake Says Aaliyah’s Family Supports His Project With The Late Singer youtube
Juicy J’s strip club anthem is about to get an official video treatment in the near future. Off of Mike Will’s EST in 1988 project, the trippy one links up with Lil Wayne and Project Pat on the set for the video to “Bandz A Make Her Dance.”… Continue
Also in Monday afternoon’s round-up of news briefs, Toronto ’12 doc heads for U.S. distribution, while an Occupy Wall Street doc is also set for theaters. Julia Louis-Dreyfun, James Gandolfini, Catherine Keener and more begin work on a new comedy, while Bruce Dern and Will Forte are set for Alexander Payne project. And Joe Manganiello has boarded an action-thriller. Jennifer Lawrence Eyes The Ends of the Earth The Weinstein Company will produce and distribute the project. It picked up worldwide rights from Escape Artists, which will produce the film. Lawrence is in talks to star in the epic love story, based on true events as Lydie Marland. In the film Ernest Marland, an oil tycoon, risks losing everything after an affair with his adopted daughter, Lydie. The screenplay was written by Chris Terrio (ARGO). The director has yet to be chosen. Commented Harvey Weinstein: “I’m not sure that anything resonates more with an audience than a true story. Jennifer Lawrence shows the skill of a seasoned veteran in everything she does, and we’re thrilled to work with her again.” Stanley Kubrick’s First Feature Fear and Desire Set for Blu-Ray and DVD Release The 1953 release is an existential war film that is often compared with Kubrick’s Paths of Glory (1957) follows a squad of soldiers who have crash-landed behind enemy lines and must work their way down river to rejoin their unit. In the process, they encounter a peasant girl (Virginia Leith) and tie her to a tree, where she is tormented by a mentally unbalanced soldier (future director Paul Mazursky). Before making their escape, the soldiers determine the location of an enemy base and formulate a plot to assassinate its commanding officer. Kino Lorber will release the film on Blu-Ray and DVD October 23rd following a restoration by the Library of Congress. The Central Park Five Headed to Theaters The documentary is about five black and Latino teenagers from Harlem were arrested and later convicted of brutally beating and raping a white woman in New York City’s Central Park, but acquitted later after a confession by a serial rapist and DNA evidence. The Central Park Five will screen at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival and will close Doc NYC in November. Jeff Deutchman, Director of Acquisitions & Productions for Sundance Selects/IFC Films, with co-director, writer and producer McMahon on behalf of the filmmakers. Occupy Wall Street Doc Set for September Magnolia Pictures label Magnet Releasing will bring Occupy Unmasked by Stephen K. Bannon to a limited theatrical release day and date with VOD in late September. The film takes viewers into the Occupy Wall Street camps around the country in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Portland, Denver and Oakland for an up-close look at what’s happened there and who’s at the heart of the movement, documenting criminal activity and raw brutality in the camps – much of which has not been reported by the mainstream media. The film also features the late conservative commentator Andrew Breitbart. Julia Louis-Dreyfus, James Gandolfini, Catherine Keener, Toni Collette Start New Comedy Indie filmmaker Nicole Holofcener directing her fifth feature from a script she wrote. The Fox Searchlight project revolves around soon-to-be divorced empty nester Eva (Louis-Dreyfus) who meets Marianne (Keener) whom she considers the embodiment of her “perfect self.” Eva decides to take a chance on a new love interest, Albert (Gandolfini), but things get complicated when she discovers he’s in fact Marianne’s ex-husband. The film will shoot in and around Los Angeles throughout August and September. Around the ‘net… Bruce Dern and Will Forte Set for Alexander Payne’s Nebraska Paramount has green-lit the black and white production, which is set to begin production in mid-October. Bob Nelson and Dern wrote the $13 million project about a cranky alcoholic dad who believes he’s struck it rich in a sweepstakes and undertakes a road trip with his underachieving son (Forte) to claim the winnings. The film is apparently going to be ready for the 2013 Oscar season, Deadline reports . Joe Manganiello Eyes Arnold Schwarzenegger Action Thriller Manganiello is in negotiations to join Schwarzenegger’s Breacher , which David Ayer is directing. Written by Skip Woods ( Swordfish ), the film follows 10 DEA agents who pull off a heist during an operation, but afterward start dying one by one, THR reports .
TDKR will likely rule the big box office for a third weekend in a row and Total Recall is a re-make that should bring out a decent mass of humanity. But there are a number of new specialty releases also braving the theaters this weekend that are more than worth your $$. Among this weekend’s new “”indie/specialty/limited release” newcomers are 360 with Rachel Weisz, Jude Law and Anthony Hopkins. The Babymakers with Paul Schneider and Olivia Munn and Celeste and Jesse Forever , starring Rashida Jones, Andy Samberg, Elijah Wood and Ari Graynor and Soldiers of Fortune with Christian Slater, Sean Bean, Ving Rhames and Dominic Monaghan. Also on tap are Girlfriend Boyfriend by China/Taiwan/Hong Kong specialty outfit China Lion and doc Sushi: The Global Catch . 360 Directed by Fernando Meirelles Written by Peter Morgan (screenplay), Arthur Schnitzler Cast: Rachel Weisz, Jude Law, Anthony Hopkins, Ben Foster, Lucia Siposová Opens: New York and Los Angeles and will reach more cities over the next two weeks. Directed by Fernando Meirelles and written by Oscar-nominated writer Peter Morgan ( The Queen ), specialty distributor Magnolia Pictures picked up 360 out of last year’s Toronto International Film Festival in part due to its pedigree of filmmakers and actors. “It’s a sophisticated team of filmmakers and a lovely cast,” said Magnolia exec Matt Cowal. “It’s a smart and elegant movie that will appeal to the classic art-house audience. It’s an ensemble character-driven film and we’ve been pushing this online.” Synopsis: From two acclaimed artists: director Fernando Meirelles (City of God, The Constant Gardener) and writer Peter Morgan (The Queen, Frost/Nixon). With a stellar international cast that includes Rachel Weisz, Anthony Hopkins, Jude Law, Ben Foster, Jamel Debbouze and Moritz Bleibtreu, 360 is a moving and exciting dramatic thriller that dazzlingly weaves together the stories of an array of people from disparate social backgrounds through their intersecting relationships. The Babymakers Directed by Jay Chandrasekhar Written by Peter Gaulke, Gerry Swallow Cast: Paul Schneider, Olivia Munn, Kevin Heffernan, Noureen DeWulf, Aisha Tyler] Opens: Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago, Milwaukee, Denver, San Diego, Phoenix and San Francisco and will continue from there. Director Jay Chandrasekhar said that the big studios have all but abandoned comedies that fall in the $5 million to $30 million range and noted that his film’s distributor Millennium Films is filling the vacuum left. “”With Smaller films like American Beauty – who knows if that would be green-lit today,” he said, adding, “”We made it independently and cast it how we wanted it to be. We sold it to Millennium at this year’s SXSW Film Festival.” The film, which centers on a couple high-outta-luck in getting pregnant take some unconventional matters into their own hands. The guy grabs his buddies and plots to steal his own sperm – from a sperm bank. “”I think there’s a real relationship at the center of this movie,” said Chandrasekhar. “The goal is to have a baby and you can feel for them, but there is a lot of comedy centered around the sperm bank heist,” said Chandrasekhar. “He has to get his only good sperm left. It’s wild but also grounded.” Synopsis: After failing to get his wife pregnant, a guy (Schneider) recruits his pals to steal the deposit he left at a sperm bank years ago. Celeste And Jesse Forever Directed by Lee Toland Krieger Written by Rashida Jones, Will McCormack Cast: Rashida Jones, Andy Samberg, Elijah Wood, Ari Graynor, Eric Christian Olsen, Rob Huebel, Shira Lazar, Will McCormack Opens: New York and Los Angeles with more cities coming over the summer. [ Movieline’s Review of Celeste and Jesse Forever ] After a roller-coaster beginning with the project and landing at at least two companies before the filmmakers found financing through an individual, Celeste and Jesse Forever finally hit production. “We finally ended up making the movie for under $1 million and took it to Sundance,” said producer Jennifer Todd. Director Lee Toland Krieger came on board after Todd sent him the script and he “fell in love with it” after reading. Krieger said that he had initially only been meant to read it. “This is a real labor of love that took so long to get to the screen,” he said about the film, which stars Rashida Jones (who co-wrote the film) about a divorcing couple who try to maintain a close friendship even as they move on romantically. Synopsis: Celeste (Rashida Jones) and Jesse (Andy Samberg) met in high school, married young and are growing apart. Now thirty, Celeste is the driven owner of her own media consulting firm, Jesse is once again unemployed and in no particular rush to do anything with his life. Celeste is convinced that divorcing Jesse is the right thing to do — she is on her way up, he is on his way nowhere, and if they do it now instead of later, they can remain supportive friends. Jesse passively accepts this transition into friendship, even though he is still in love with her. As the reality of their separation sets in, Celeste slowly and painfully realizes she has been cavalier about their relationship, and her decision, which once seemed mature and progressive, now seems impulsive and selfish. But her timing with Jesse is less than fortuitous. While navigating the turbulent changes in their lives and in their hearts, these two learn that in order to truly love someone, you may have to let them go. Girlfriend Boyfriend Directed by Ya-che Yang Written by Ya-che Yang Cast: Joseph Hsiao-Chuan Chang, Lun Mei Gwei, Rhydian Vaughan Opens: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Toronto and New York with targeted locations added later. Distributor China Lion specializes on Chinese, Taiwanese and Hong Kong films for the North American market, typically targeting audiences of Chinese descent, but for Girlfriend Boyfriend , it is also hitting gay audiences. The story focuses on three rebellious students to leave their hometown for the big city. Their relationships face pressure as the ’80s era socio-political reformation movement unfolds in Taiwan. “It’s a drama and a rom-com,” said China Lion CEO Milt Barlow. “It’s a great real life story and found that young Chinese audiences are keen to have more modern stories. Synopsis: When three rebellious students leave their hometown to pursue their lifelong dreams in the big city, their relationships start to face the pressures of real life as the 1980s Taiwanese sociopolitical reformation movement unfolds in the background. Soldiers of Fortune Directed by Maxim Korostyshevsky Written by Robert Crombie, Alexandre Coscas, Joe Kelbley Cast: Christian Slater, Sean Bean, Ving Rhames, Dominic Monaghan, Colm Meaney, James Cromwell, Freddy Rodriguez Opens: In select locations now. Synopsis: A former U.S. special forces soldier is reluctantly appointed to protect a group of millionaires who want to experience the thrills of war first-hand. But when their excision goes horribly awry, the unlikely team must band together in order to get out alive. Sushi: The Global Catch Directed by Mark Hall Opens: New York only with targeted locations throughout the country to follow. The Global Catch won a a special jury award last year at the Seattle International Film Festival, which brought the film to the attention of Kino Lorber Films. In 2011, the New York-based distributor released Gereon Wetzel’s El Bulli: Cooking In Progress, which went on to make over $237K domestically, enough incentive for the company to crave more food docs. “We found that combining the culinary aspect of the [film] with the conservancy issue was really compelling to us,” Kino Lorber VP Elizabeth Sheldon said. “It appeals to people who care about environmental issues and care about food.” Synopsis: In this meticulously researched documentary, filmmaker Mark Hall traces the origins of sushi in Japan to its status today as a cuisine that has spawned a lucrative worldwide industry. This explosion in demand for sushi over the past 30 years has brought with it problems of its own, as fish stocks have steadily depleted, threatening the balance of the ocean’s ecosystems. Through extensive interviews with prominent industry representatives and environmental activists, Hall carefully presents the various solutions being proposed to the vexing issue of overfishing. Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 2011 Seattle International Film Festival, Sushi: The Global Catch raises some pressing questions that all sushi lovers should seek to address.
