As per our pre-Thanksgiving tradition, we are attempting to give fans of the Sundance Film Festival a preview of what’s to come via our Park City prognostications. Admittedly, we are clueless on some (e.g. Richard Linklater’s Moon Landing Film or Robinson Devor’s You Can’t Win), but we keep meticulous tabs on future American indie, world cinema and docu film offerings and this year’s 100 suggestions indicate a fest of renewal with several first time feature filmmakers possibly breaking into the fest. And speaking of firsts, we will have seen a changing of the guard with Kim Yutani replacing Trevor Groth as Director of Programming.…...
- 11/20/2018
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Based on Laird Barron's short story "-30-", Philip Gelatt's They Remain will be released on VOD in just a few weeks. In the meantime, check out several clips and the official trailer for the hallucinatory horror film:
"Following a successful festival run and multi-city theatrical release Philip Gelatt’s They Remain will be available on VOD and on Demand on Tuesday, May 29.
Based on the 2010 short story, "-30-" by award-winning author Laird Barron, They Remain explores the evolving relationship between Keith and Jessica, two scientists who are employed by a vast, impersonal corporation to investigate an unspeakable horror that took place at the remote encampment of a mysterious cult. Working and living in a state-of-the-art, high tech environment that is completely at odds with their surroundings, they spend their days gathering physical evidence, analyzing it, and reporting on their findings.
The intensity of their work and...
"Following a successful festival run and multi-city theatrical release Philip Gelatt’s They Remain will be available on VOD and on Demand on Tuesday, May 29.
Based on the 2010 short story, "-30-" by award-winning author Laird Barron, They Remain explores the evolving relationship between Keith and Jessica, two scientists who are employed by a vast, impersonal corporation to investigate an unspeakable horror that took place at the remote encampment of a mysterious cult. Working and living in a state-of-the-art, high tech environment that is completely at odds with their surroundings, they spend their days gathering physical evidence, analyzing it, and reporting on their findings.
The intensity of their work and...
- 5/8/2018
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
Smt Heads, we know you have love in your heart. With They Remain, the upcoming thriller from Paladin, there’s even a love story. But we know the Greatest Love of All is Smt’s with all things indie!
Check out the Trailer right now:
They Remain
Directed by: Phillip Gelatt
Starring: William Jackson Harper (“Paterson,” “True Story”) and Rebecca Henderson (“Mistress America”)
They Remain will open theatrically New York (Village East Cinema) on Friday, March 2 and Los Angeles (Laemmle Music Hall) on Friday, March 9 with a national release to follow.
Based on the 2010 short story, “-30-” by award-winning author Laird Barron, They Remain explores the evolving relationship between Keith and Jessica, two scientists who are employed by a vast, impersonal corporation to investigate an unspeakable horror that took place at the remote encampment of a mysterious cult. Working and living in a state-of-the-art, high tech environment that is...
Check out the Trailer right now:
They Remain
Directed by: Phillip Gelatt
Starring: William Jackson Harper (“Paterson,” “True Story”) and Rebecca Henderson (“Mistress America”)
They Remain will open theatrically New York (Village East Cinema) on Friday, March 2 and Los Angeles (Laemmle Music Hall) on Friday, March 9 with a national release to follow.
Based on the 2010 short story, “-30-” by award-winning author Laird Barron, They Remain explores the evolving relationship between Keith and Jessica, two scientists who are employed by a vast, impersonal corporation to investigate an unspeakable horror that took place at the remote encampment of a mysterious cult. Working and living in a state-of-the-art, high tech environment that is...
- 2/9/2018
- by Jason Stewart
- Age of the Nerd
Below is a strictly personal, unapologetically idiosyncratic list of the twenty films I'm most looking forward to in 2018 and which have so far yet to be seen by any paying audiences. Among those seriously considered but ultimately excluded on the basis that they're more likely to be ready next year are Ad Astra (James Gray), Blessed Virgin (Paul Verhoeven), The Fire Next Time (Mati Diop), Late Spring (Michelangelo Frammartino), the particularly-dynamite-on-paper Martin Eden (Pietro Marcello), Mektoub, My Love: Canto Due (Abdellatif Kechiche) and Motorboats (Yuri Ancarani). I also reluctantly discarded a couple of highly tantalising projects whose status, at the time of writing, was frustratingly unclear, namely Tijuana Bible (Jean-Charles Hue) and the worryingly long-in-gestation You Can't Win (Robinson Devor). Omitted because they're made primarily for TV rather than cinemas: Martin Scorsese's The Irishman (Netflix) and Bruno Dumont's Coincoin and the Extra-Humans (Arté). Finally, Joanna Hogg's The Souvenir: Part I...
- 1/16/2018
- MUBI
Based on the 2010 short story -30- by award-winning author Laird Barron, They Remain explores the evolving relationship between Keith and Jessica, two scientists who are employed by a vast, impersonal corporation to investigate an unspeakable horror that took place at the remote encampment of a mysterious cult…
Directed by Phillip Gelatt and starring William Jackson Harper (Paterson, True Story) and Rebecca Henderson (Mistress America), They Remain will has its world premiere at the H.P. Lovecraft Festival on October 7th in Portland; with a Us theatrical release commencing in the Fall.
Working and living in a state-of-the-art, high tech environment that is completely at odds with their surroundings, they spend their days gathering physical evidence, analyzing it, and reporting on their findings. The intensity of their work, and their extreme isolation, bring the pair closer. But, when Jessica discovers a mysterious artifact of unknown origin, the dynamic between them changes: secrets are kept,...
Directed by Phillip Gelatt and starring William Jackson Harper (Paterson, True Story) and Rebecca Henderson (Mistress America), They Remain will has its world premiere at the H.P. Lovecraft Festival on October 7th in Portland; with a Us theatrical release commencing in the Fall.
Working and living in a state-of-the-art, high tech environment that is completely at odds with their surroundings, they spend their days gathering physical evidence, analyzing it, and reporting on their findings. The intensity of their work, and their extreme isolation, bring the pair closer. But, when Jessica discovers a mysterious artifact of unknown origin, the dynamic between them changes: secrets are kept,...
- 10/2/2017
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Art of the Real, a nonfiction filmmaking showcase at Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York, celebrates its fourth year with 27 films in the lineup, continuing the exploration of cinematic possibilities of the film/digital medium. This year, the series highlights established figures such as Heinz Emigholz, Robinson Devor, Jem Cohen as well as newcomers Theo Anthony (Rat Film), Salomé Jashi (Dazzling Light of Sunset) and Shengze Zhu (Another Year). It also gives well deserved recognition to the Chilean cinema with two from documentary veteran Ignacio Agüero and two from José Luis Torres Leiva whose film The Sky, the Earth and the Rain made an international splash in 2008. His new film The Wind Knows I'm Coming Back Home, starring Agüero will be shown...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 4/19/2017
- Screen Anarchy
The Film Society of Lincoln Center has today announced the fourth edition of Art of the Real, their essential showcase for boundary-pushing nonfiction film, scheduled to take place April 20 – May 2. Billed as “a survey of the most vital and innovative voices in nonfiction and hybrid filmmaking,” this year’s showcase features an eclectic, globe-spanning host of discoveries, including seven North American premieres and eight U.S. premieres.
“In our fourth year we’ve put an emphasis on placing works by first-time and emerging filmmakers alongside established names, with the aim to highlight the experimentation happening across generations, and to trace a new trajectory of documentary art that points to its promising future,” said Film Society of Lincoln Center Programmer at Large Rachael Rakes, who organized the festival with Director of Programming Dennis Lim.
The Opening Night selection is the New York premiere of Theo Anthony’s “Rat Film,” which has...
“In our fourth year we’ve put an emphasis on placing works by first-time and emerging filmmakers alongside established names, with the aim to highlight the experimentation happening across generations, and to trace a new trajectory of documentary art that points to its promising future,” said Film Society of Lincoln Center Programmer at Large Rachael Rakes, who organized the festival with Director of Programming Dennis Lim.
The Opening Night selection is the New York premiere of Theo Anthony’s “Rat Film,” which has...
- 3/20/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Whether you are a filmmaker, or one of the Sundance programmers whose task it is to identify the films that make up a line-up, it is indeed the most wonderful time of the year. The 32nd edition of the Sundance Film Festival kicks off on January 21st with Park City and Salt Lake City. Two decades back, Steven Ascher and Jeanne Jordan’s Troublesome Creek: A Midwestern was the Grand Jury Prize winner in the Documentary section while Todd Solondz’s Welcome to the Dollhouse beat out the likes of Nicole Holofcener’s Walking and Talking, Stanley Tucci and Campbell Scott’s Big Night, Mary Harron’s I Shot Andy Warhol and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth for the Grand Jury Prize dramatic.
As per our tradition here on the site and as we all get ready for the festival, we like to propose an overview of the films we...
As per our tradition here on the site and as we all get ready for the festival, we like to propose an overview of the films we...
- 11/23/2015
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Despite the lottery-esque sounding odds, the U.S Dramatic Competition section which produces the finest American indie specimens such as Frozen River, Winter’s Bone, Blue Valentine, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Fruitvale Station and Whiplash is fairly consistent in terms of quality. Last year’s crop of sixteen have almost all had their theatrical releases with Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter being the last one out of the gates (pegged with an early 2015 release). Last week we individually looked at our top 80 Sundance Film Fest Predictions (you’ll find 30 other titles worth considering in our intro) and below, we’ve split the list into narrative and non-fiction film items and have both identified and color-coded our picks in an AtoZ cheat sheet. You’ll find 2015′s answer to Whiplash located somewhere in the stack below. Click on the individual titles below, for the film’s profile.
- 11/19/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
We can still feel the heat generated from Craig Zobel’s Compliance. His sophomore film, which was made on a dime (his directorial debut Great World of Sound was made for a nickel and was also showcased at Sundance), got under the skin of select imbecile auds at its Park City premiere, but in the same token it intellectually tickled the critical masses. Adept in human discord in its purest form, this quality surely got infused on his third directing outing, Z for Zachariah, which is large scale humanity in crisis. You don’t often see Blacklist scripts (ranked #26th in 2009) break into Sundance, but in a Take Shelter scheme of things, this shot in New Zealand production benefitting from a plethora of producers on board could fit a sci-fi mold of Duncan Jones’ Moon. Despite the presence of A listers such as Chris Pine and Chiwetel Ejiofor, conceivably, big...
- 11/14/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Films gods be damned. After guesstimating its eventual arrival on the film fest circuit and tracking it since it first went into production back in 2012, I’m inclined to think that the shot in state of Washington production either hit a rough patch, needed a longer production schedule due to seasonal shifts in backdrops or, my latest theory: Robinson Devor concurrently worked on not one, but two projects: the other being Pow Wow, his latest documentary project. Devor began editing the film at the start of the year and as part of Park City fabric in the naughts with successive releases of The Woman Chaser (2000), Police Beat (2005) and Zoo (2007) – we may see the filmmaker double up his presence with You Can’t Win finally cutting the finish line ribbon. Cast includes Jeremy Allen White, Charles Baker, Julia Garner, Will Patton, Hannah Marks and Louisa Krause (look out for her perf...
- 11/14/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Robert Eggers appears to be soaked in horror, noir fairy-tale lore. His Filmmaker Magazine 25 New Faces profile over at Filmmaker Mag informs us that the final October weekend that just passed would have been an event for the Brooklyn based prod designer. For his previous outings as a director, he turned to Hansel and Gretel and Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart for his short form debuts and created an original stage adaptation of F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu. A Sundance Institute Cinereach Feature Film Fellow, The Witch (formerly titled “The Witch of New Canaan Woode”) was shot this past April/May in slightly north of the border – Ontario seconds for a circa 1630-looking New England in this pic.
Gist: 1630s. Sam, a newborn baby, has disappeared without a trace. William’s eldest daughter, Thomasin, 14, has become idle and temperamental. Caleb, 12, often wantonly glances at Thomasin and believes he hears the voice of God.
Gist: 1630s. Sam, a newborn baby, has disappeared without a trace. William’s eldest daughter, Thomasin, 14, has become idle and temperamental. Caleb, 12, often wantonly glances at Thomasin and believes he hears the voice of God.
- 11/14/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
It has been a remarkable, four-star review type of year for Alex Ross Perry, and 2014 ain’t over yet with the the Indie Spirits Awards nominations just around the corner. In the same boat/time-frame as Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash, Listen Up Philip was delivered in a thirty minutes or your pizza is free mad dash. The filmmaker didn’t waste much time between projects sending Queen of Earth into orbit mid summer, and nor did he spend much time making new friends as his regular contributors on the tech side in Composer Keegan DeWitt, Cinematographer Sean Price Williams, Editor Robert Greene and Perry muses Elisabeth Moss, Keith Poulson and Kate Lyn Sheil were joined by Ross film newbies Patrick Fugit, Katherine Waterston and stop making indie films hero Kentucker Audley. Good news: this is inspired by classic Roman Polanski films.
Gist: This is a psychological thriller about two women...
Gist: This is a psychological thriller about two women...
- 11/13/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
With 2007′s off-kilter Zoo, Sundance Film Fest habitual Robinson Devor showed his true colors. His unrestricted creativity in storytelling means that his future slate includes mutations in both the fiction and the non-fiction field. With a recent installation showing at MoMA, a docu-portrait on Sarah Jane (the woman who came within inches of assassinating President Gerald R. Ford) in the works, and a feature film that saw the passing of the seasons (a book to film adaptation of 1920′s Americana in You Can’t Win) Robinson with help from oft creative collaborator Charles Mudede have been working on a new docu-project that stitches dual narratives that are a century apart in Pow Wow. The docu, which received successful rounds of crowdfunding earlier in the year, appears to eerily underline a strong set of similarities despite an obvious gap in time.
Gist: This uses modern day desert characters to echo and...
Gist: This uses modern day desert characters to echo and...
- 11/13/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
There’s an alive indie American-Iranian cinema movement in the Us, and if the Keshavarz name rings a bell it’s because the indie film fest circuit is home to siblings Maryam and Hossein. Maryam, now going by what we imagine is her married name Azadi, broke out in Park City with 2011 Sundance Audience Award Winner Circumstance, and before she made her mark it was her brother who received the limelight with 2011′s Dog Sweat, the “Someone to Watch” Film Independent Spirit Award nominated film that received its premiere at 2010′s Laff. Shot in New York City, his sophomore film, Pebble of Love in the Shoe of My Life was actually shot in the summer of 2013, and has been on a slow, but steady pace towards a ’15 premiere. Benefitting from some Kickstarter coin, Tribeca All Access awards funds, this was recently invited to the Us in Progress Champs-Élysées Film Festival...
- 11/13/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Hovering around the twenty-one to twenty-four feature film mark with at least a quarter of those films belonging to first time filmmakers, the Quinzaine des Realisateurs (a.k.a Directors’ Fortnight) has in the past couple of years, counted on a healthy supply of French, Spanish and Belgium produced film items, and has been geared towards the offbeat genre items as with last year’s edition curated by Edouard Waintrop and co. To be unveiled on the 22nd, as we attempted with our Critics’ Week predix, Blake Williams, Nicholas Bell and I (Eric Lavallee) are thinking out loud and hedging our bets on what the section might look like or what the programmers might be looking at for 2014. Here is our predictions overview:
Alleluia
Six years after presenting Vinyan at the Venice Film Festival, Fabrice Du Welz finally returns with potentially not one, but a pair of works for the ’14 campaign.
Alleluia
Six years after presenting Vinyan at the Venice Film Festival, Fabrice Du Welz finally returns with potentially not one, but a pair of works for the ’14 campaign.
- 4/16/2014
- by IONCINEMA.com Contributing Writers
- IONCINEMA.com
Casting the Runes
Director: Joe Dante
Writer: David Tully
Producers: Daniel Tully, Rob Heydon
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Simon Pegg
So Joe Dante’s last film was the underrated 2009 3D film, The Hole, which sadly went direct to DVD even after being well received in Venice and Toronto that year. Now, he’s got a few projects brewing and 2014 will see the release of his film, Burying the Ex starring Anton Yelchin. But the project we are really interested in this project, which looks to be based on the same short story that inspired Jacques Tourneur’s classic 1957 film Night of the Demon, which starred Dana Andrews. While Sam Raimi did a sort of homage to the material already with his 2009 film Drag Me To Hell, Dante’s film seems more of a direct connection. And set to star Simon Pegg!
Gist: When up-and-coming actor Jake Harrington inexplicably...
Director: Joe Dante
Writer: David Tully
Producers: Daniel Tully, Rob Heydon
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Simon Pegg
So Joe Dante’s last film was the underrated 2009 3D film, The Hole, which sadly went direct to DVD even after being well received in Venice and Toronto that year. Now, he’s got a few projects brewing and 2014 will see the release of his film, Burying the Ex starring Anton Yelchin. But the project we are really interested in this project, which looks to be based on the same short story that inspired Jacques Tourneur’s classic 1957 film Night of the Demon, which starred Dana Andrews. While Sam Raimi did a sort of homage to the material already with his 2009 film Drag Me To Hell, Dante’s film seems more of a direct connection. And set to star Simon Pegg!
Gist: When up-and-coming actor Jake Harrington inexplicably...
- 2/26/2014
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
You Can’t Win
Director: Robinson Devor
Writers: Robinson Devor, Michael Pitt, Barry Gifford and Charles Mudede
Producers: Robert Scarff, Zach Sebastian, Michael Pitt
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Jeremy Allen White, Michael Pitt, Charles Baker, Julia Garner, Will Patton, Hannah Marks, Louisa Krause
If the movie gods were fair to us, they’d unveil Robinson Devor (The Woman Chaser (2000), Police Beat (2005) and Zoo (2007)) in the year that ends in ’14.
Gist: Scripted by Devor, Pitt, , this is an adaptation of adventurer Jack Black’s 1926 autobiographical novel of the same name which tells of his experiences in the hobo underworld, freight-hopping around the still Wild West of the United States and Canada while he explores the topics of crime, addiction, criminal justice and human folly from various viewpoints. The drama is centered on the unusual friendship between Black (Pitt) and a young prostitute (Marks).
Release Date: Cannes if hopefully it’s first “pitt” stop.
Director: Robinson Devor
Writers: Robinson Devor, Michael Pitt, Barry Gifford and Charles Mudede
Producers: Robert Scarff, Zach Sebastian, Michael Pitt
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Jeremy Allen White, Michael Pitt, Charles Baker, Julia Garner, Will Patton, Hannah Marks, Louisa Krause
If the movie gods were fair to us, they’d unveil Robinson Devor (The Woman Chaser (2000), Police Beat (2005) and Zoo (2007)) in the year that ends in ’14.
Gist: Scripted by Devor, Pitt, , this is an adaptation of adventurer Jack Black’s 1926 autobiographical novel of the same name which tells of his experiences in the hobo underworld, freight-hopping around the still Wild West of the United States and Canada while he explores the topics of crime, addiction, criminal justice and human folly from various viewpoints. The drama is centered on the unusual friendship between Black (Pitt) and a young prostitute (Marks).
Release Date: Cannes if hopefully it’s first “pitt” stop.
- 2/26/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Knight of Cups
Director: Terrence Malick
Writer: Terrence Malick
Producers: Nicolas Gonda, Sarah Green, Ken Kao
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Joel Kinnaman, Christian Bale, Natalie Portman, Imogen Poots, Cate Blanchett, Teresa Palmer, Joe Manganiello, Nick Offerman, Wes Bentley, Nicky Whelan, Antonio Banderas, Isabel Lucas, Freida Pinto, Jason Clarke, Shea Whigham, Katia Winter, Thomas Lennon, Ryan O’Neal, Kevin Corrigan
There aren’t too many filmmakers turning up twice on our list, but Knight of Cups and the formerly titled Lawless (#81) are in a traffic jam of their own, hopefully getting a green light at some major film festival where the final guest list shall let us know who made the final cut.
Gist: This is about celebrities and excess.
Release Date: Cannes or Venice.
More Top 200 Most Anticipated Films of 2014 Top 200 Most Anticipated Films for 2014: #61. Andy & Lana Wachowski’s Jupiter AscendingTop 200 Most Anticipated Films for 2014: #59. Robinson Devor...
Director: Terrence Malick
Writer: Terrence Malick
Producers: Nicolas Gonda, Sarah Green, Ken Kao
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Joel Kinnaman, Christian Bale, Natalie Portman, Imogen Poots, Cate Blanchett, Teresa Palmer, Joe Manganiello, Nick Offerman, Wes Bentley, Nicky Whelan, Antonio Banderas, Isabel Lucas, Freida Pinto, Jason Clarke, Shea Whigham, Katia Winter, Thomas Lennon, Ryan O’Neal, Kevin Corrigan
There aren’t too many filmmakers turning up twice on our list, but Knight of Cups and the formerly titled Lawless (#81) are in a traffic jam of their own, hopefully getting a green light at some major film festival where the final guest list shall let us know who made the final cut.
Gist: This is about celebrities and excess.
Release Date: Cannes or Venice.
More Top 200 Most Anticipated Films of 2014 Top 200 Most Anticipated Films for 2014: #61. Andy & Lana Wachowski’s Jupiter AscendingTop 200 Most Anticipated Films for 2014: #59. Robinson Devor...
- 2/26/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
The elusive “Golden Ticket”. Beginning next Wednesday (December 4th) in a wave of four announcements, is when the official word comes out. Plenty of filmmakers are already in the know, but some will find out over the course of this Thanksgiving weekend. Having covered the festival and fest circuit for some time now, we’re already aware that worthy films that were indeed submitted will be excluded from the ’14 edition. Thousands of filmmakers won’t get the phone call, and while it can bruise dreams, this is not a rejection of quality…but rather, a preference from a programmer/programming team which reflects a larger mandate. John Cooper, Trevor Groth et al. have a difficult job and the way I see it, it’s the equivalent to draft day for a major professional sport – where a team in a given turn doesn’t go for the consensus pick, but instead...
- 11/29/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
And for the final Sundance Film Festival prediction on the 80-list, I’m selecting a film that might have premiered at both Venice and Toronto, but from my notes, has yet to make an appearance on U.S. soil. Apart from 2008′s Wendy and Lucy, Kelly Reichardt debuted River of Grass (1994), Old Joy (2006) and grabbed a Spotlight showing for Meek’s Cutoff in 2011. The Cinedigm folks grabbed Night Moves and planned a Spring ’14 release – perhaps they’ll want to roll it out at Sundance beforehand.
Gist: Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Dakota Fanning and Peter Sarsgaard, this tells the story of three radical environmentalists plotting the explosion of a hydroelectric dam—the symbol of the energy-sucking, resource-devouring industrial culture they despise.
Production Co./Producers: Neil Kopp, Anish Savjani, Chris Maybach, Saemi Kim and Rodrigo Teixeira
Prediction: Spotlight section
U.S. Distributor: Cinedigm
More 2014 Sundance Film Festival Predictions 2014 Sundance Film Festival Predictions: Robinson Devor...
Gist: Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Dakota Fanning and Peter Sarsgaard, this tells the story of three radical environmentalists plotting the explosion of a hydroelectric dam—the symbol of the energy-sucking, resource-devouring industrial culture they despise.
Production Co./Producers: Neil Kopp, Anish Savjani, Chris Maybach, Saemi Kim and Rodrigo Teixeira
Prediction: Spotlight section
U.S. Distributor: Cinedigm
More 2014 Sundance Film Festival Predictions 2014 Sundance Film Festival Predictions: Robinson Devor...
- 11/22/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
A return visitor at the festival for all three of his feature films The Woman Chaser (2000), Police Beat (2005) and Zoo (2007), I’m feeling good about the chances of seeing Robinson Devor make it a four-peat. A period film that was shot over a pair of seasons, we’ve been anticipating this passion project for a while now. You Can’t Win stars Michael Pitt, Jeremy Allen White, Will Patton, Hannah Marks, Louisa Krause and Julia Garner.
Gist: Scripted by Devor, Pitt, Barry Gifford and Charles Mudede, this is an adaptation of adventurer Jack Black’s 1926 autobiographical novel of the same name which tells of his experiences in the hobo underworld, freight-hopping around the still Wild West of the United States and Canada while he explores the topics of crime, addiction, criminal justice and human folly from various viewpoints. The drama is centered on the unusual friendship between Black (Pitt) and...
Gist: Scripted by Devor, Pitt, Barry Gifford and Charles Mudede, this is an adaptation of adventurer Jack Black’s 1926 autobiographical novel of the same name which tells of his experiences in the hobo underworld, freight-hopping around the still Wild West of the United States and Canada while he explores the topics of crime, addiction, criminal justice and human folly from various viewpoints. The drama is centered on the unusual friendship between Black (Pitt) and...
- 11/22/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
He broke into the Sundance Film Fest U.S. Dramatic Comp back in 2010 with The Dry Land, and not surprisingly, shooting on his sophomore safely began in March of this year. For this time out, writer/director Ryan Piers Williams once again works with actress/wife America Fererra, and manages once again to pull in some of the better indie players on the circuit in Melonie Diaz, Dree Hemingway, Ann Dowd alongside Jon Paul Phillips, Adam Rapp, Maria Dizzia, David Harbour and the hiphop artist and not too shabby in his own right thesp, Common. Nowhere close to Texas, the NYC backdrop and a score via Fall On Your Sword, X/Y is the type of certified indie film that stands a good chance at breaking into the fest – especially when you have a team of four editors mashing up the interconnectedness of the plot.
Gist: The character-driven drama explores...
Gist: The character-driven drama explores...
- 11/22/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
“Tracking Shot” is a monthly featurette here on Ioncinema.com that looks at a dozen or so projects that are moments away from lensing and this October we see a couple of items that we could certainly circle as potential Cannes 2014 bait. Thanks to our friends at Production Weekly for the helping hand in curating our list of future must see items.
Among the top foreign film productions, The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover‘s Peter Greenaway is looking at a late October, possible November start to begin filming a fragment of the great Soviet master filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein’s bio timeline. Eisenstein In Guanajuato will cover the portion of the filmmaker’s post Battleship Potemkin career, with Eisenstein landing in Mexico after Hollywood studios balked at the idea of working with him and in its place finds romance. The Girl Who Played with Fire‘s Daniel Alfredson...
Among the top foreign film productions, The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover‘s Peter Greenaway is looking at a late October, possible November start to begin filming a fragment of the great Soviet master filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein’s bio timeline. Eisenstein In Guanajuato will cover the portion of the filmmaker’s post Battleship Potemkin career, with Eisenstein landing in Mexico after Hollywood studios balked at the idea of working with him and in its place finds romance. The Girl Who Played with Fire‘s Daniel Alfredson...
- 10/1/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
You Can’t Win
Director: Robinson Devor
Writer(s): Devor, Barry Gifford and Michael Pitt
Producer(s): Parts & Labor’s Lars Knudsen and Jay Van Hoy, Robert Scarff, Zach Sebastian, Michael Pitt.
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Michael Pitt, Jeremy Allen White, Will Patton, Hannah Marks, Louisa Krause, Julia Garner
With such a strong filmography to date in The Woman Chaser, Police Beat, and Zoo, Robinson Devor’s fourth feature is certainly his most challenging endeavor yet. You Can’t Win includes the heavy participation from its lead actor in Michael Pitt and it takes on what is referenced as “one of the most influential books in the American literary underground.” Could be a great indie surprise that didn’t debut in Park City.
Gist: Scripted by Devor, Pitt, Barry Gifford and Charles Mudede, this is an adaptation of adventurer (Pitt) Jack Black’s 1926 autobiographical novel of...
Director: Robinson Devor
Writer(s): Devor, Barry Gifford and Michael Pitt
Producer(s): Parts & Labor’s Lars Knudsen and Jay Van Hoy, Robert Scarff, Zach Sebastian, Michael Pitt.
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Michael Pitt, Jeremy Allen White, Will Patton, Hannah Marks, Louisa Krause, Julia Garner
With such a strong filmography to date in The Woman Chaser, Police Beat, and Zoo, Robinson Devor’s fourth feature is certainly his most challenging endeavor yet. You Can’t Win includes the heavy participation from its lead actor in Michael Pitt and it takes on what is referenced as “one of the most influential books in the American literary underground.” Could be a great indie surprise that didn’t debut in Park City.
Gist: Scripted by Devor, Pitt, Barry Gifford and Charles Mudede, this is an adaptation of adventurer (Pitt) Jack Black’s 1926 autobiographical novel of...
- 1/14/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Over the long weekend, plenty of folks got the news that they’ve had their feature, doc or short films accepted into the Sundance Film Festival. This Wednesday, the festival begins making their line-up official while keeping the short film announcements for the following week. The previous week we’ve made some prognostications as to what should be included in the 2013 edition. Here’s an easy to click recap of some of those predictions. We’ve added those who’ve been mentioned in Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film, the fortunate ones who’ve had their work run inside the Sundance Labs, those who are working from a Blacklist named screenplay, those who are basing their feature on a short film that was accepted into the festival in a previous edition and finally those who’ve had funding via Kickstarter. * denotes feature directorial debut while ++ denotes that person...
- 11/26/2012
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Naturally, helmer Robinson Devor is a great fit for Park City – a former lab participant, his entire filmography in The Woman Chaser (Sundance ’00), Police Beat (Sundance ’05) and Zoo (Sundance ’07) have been presented at the fest: For his fourth feature, Devor took on the weighty task of adapting what is referenced as “one of the most influential books in the American literary underground.” Unless there are seasonal inserts to be added, we consider You Can’t Win to be full prepped as filming began in Devor’s backyard (state of Washington) in April/May of this year (set pics here). Worth noting is that Michael Pitt makes a return of sorts to the big screen — not since 2007′s Funny Games U.S. had he been on film and its appears to be a passion project for the thesp who is credited as a contributing writer and producer. Cast along his side is...
- 11/22/2012
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
The 11th annual Lausanne Underground Film Festival is packed to the gills with outrageous cinema from all over the world, featuring several filmmaker retrospectives and movies screening in competition at several locations on Oct. 17-21.
The big guest of honor this year is the legendary John Waters, who will be attending the fest with several of his own classics, such as Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble and Desperate Living, as well as showing some of his favorite B-movie inspirations, such as William Girdler’s blaxploitation demonic possession flick Abby, Armando Bo’s Argentinian sexploitation Fuego, Robinson Devor’s controversial bestiality doc Zoo and more. Plus, Waters will perform his acclaimed “This Filthy World” one-man show.
Other Luff special guests include Christoph Schlingensief, the confrontational German filmmaker of 100 Years of Adolf Hitler, The German Chainsaw Massacre, The 120 Days of Bottrop and more; Richard Stanley, the South African genre filmmaker of the cult...
The big guest of honor this year is the legendary John Waters, who will be attending the fest with several of his own classics, such as Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble and Desperate Living, as well as showing some of his favorite B-movie inspirations, such as William Girdler’s blaxploitation demonic possession flick Abby, Armando Bo’s Argentinian sexploitation Fuego, Robinson Devor’s controversial bestiality doc Zoo and more. Plus, Waters will perform his acclaimed “This Filthy World” one-man show.
Other Luff special guests include Christoph Schlingensief, the confrontational German filmmaker of 100 Years of Adolf Hitler, The German Chainsaw Massacre, The 120 Days of Bottrop and more; Richard Stanley, the South African genre filmmaker of the cult...
- 10/18/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
I love documentaries. Next to martial arts flicks and monster movies, they’re my favorite form of cinematic entertainment. Not surprisingly, the more disturbing the subject matter, the better. Much to the horror of my co-workers at the time, I watched director Robinson Devor’s 2007 documentary “Zoo”, a film that explores the sexual relationship that sometimes exists between a man and his horse. I find films that deal with the dark side of the human condition, particularly when they’re true. It’s pretty safe to say that I’m kind of a sick individual. Enter producer Tyler Chandler and director Daryl Stoneage’s “Donkey Love”, a motion picture that explores the little-known Colombian tradition which encourages young men to have sex with donkeys. You know, to get them ready for the “real thing”. Here the problem: Sometimes the guys prefer to the companionship of donkeys over their wives. Yikes.
- 6/15/2012
- by Todd Rigney
- Beyond Hollywood
A five year absence from the silver screen can generally kill one's career but we guess it's testament to HBO and cable television nowadays that former "Boardwalk Empire" star Michael Pitt can walk right back into the game to produce and star in his own indie project, an adaptation of Jack Black (the adventurer, not the actor) autobiography "You Can't Win."
Pitt has now found a leading lady with up and comer Hannah Marks ("The Runaways," "The Amazing Spider-Man") joining the project, which follows Black's experiences in the hobo underworld and the shenanigins he gets up to around the Western U.S. and Canada in the 1800's including becoming a highwayman and member of the yegg (criminal) brotherhood, getting hooked on opium, doing stints in jail or escaping, often with the assistance of crooked cops or judges.
Marks plays tomboy-turned-prostitute who forms an unusual friendship with Black who, in turn,...
Pitt has now found a leading lady with up and comer Hannah Marks ("The Runaways," "The Amazing Spider-Man") joining the project, which follows Black's experiences in the hobo underworld and the shenanigins he gets up to around the Western U.S. and Canada in the 1800's including becoming a highwayman and member of the yegg (criminal) brotherhood, getting hooked on opium, doing stints in jail or escaping, often with the assistance of crooked cops or judges.
Marks plays tomboy-turned-prostitute who forms an unusual friendship with Black who, in turn,...
- 4/27/2012
- by Simon Dang
- The Playlist
Three weeks after landing their first lead, THR informs us that Warners’ Hidden have nabbed Andrea Riseborough (Oblivion, Never Let Me Go) to take a leading role next to Alexander Skarsgård. In Ross and Matt Duffer‘s “elevated horror-thriller,” the both of them will play the heads of a family forced to go underground after some mysterious disease breaks out. (We can presume conflict will ensue.)
That’s all we’ve really got — and what we’ve got isn’t a lot, if you’ll allow me to briefly rhyme — but we’ve already been given a good duo for what, otherwise, could have been a disposable studio thriller. Consider me more and more interested with each passing development.
Meanwhile, Variety reports that Hannah Marks (The Amazing Spider-Man, The Runaways) will be starring alongside Michael Pitt on his next project, You Can’t Win. Starring, co-written, and produced by the young actor,...
That’s all we’ve really got — and what we’ve got isn’t a lot, if you’ll allow me to briefly rhyme — but we’ve already been given a good duo for what, otherwise, could have been a disposable studio thriller. Consider me more and more interested with each passing development.
Meanwhile, Variety reports that Hannah Marks (The Amazing Spider-Man, The Runaways) will be starring alongside Michael Pitt on his next project, You Can’t Win. Starring, co-written, and produced by the young actor,...
- 4/25/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
Remember Michael Pitt's big screen career? No? Well, okay, we forgive you. It seems like a distant memory since we last saw him in "Silk" and "Funny Games U.S.," and that's kinda because it really was a long time ago. A whole five years in fact. Since then Pitt has only appeared in a couple of shorts, and some TV show that you may or may not have heard of -- it goes by the name of "Boardwalk Empire."
Of course we joke, that show's a pretty big deal, but that's still only accounted for two seasons of television (24 episodes) since 2010, and doesn't really explain his complete absence from cinema over the last five years. Who knows what he's been doing to keep himself so busy off-screen (and if you do know, please let us know), but all that's about to change as Pitt has managed to put some...
Of course we joke, that show's a pretty big deal, but that's still only accounted for two seasons of television (24 episodes) since 2010, and doesn't really explain his complete absence from cinema over the last five years. Who knows what he's been doing to keep himself so busy off-screen (and if you do know, please let us know), but all that's about to change as Pitt has managed to put some...
- 4/20/2012
- by Joe Cunningham
- The Playlist
Yesterday was all about the Cannes lineup, so we've got quite a bit of news to catch up with today. First and foremost, Cinema Scope has relaunched its site with a healthy selection of pieces from Issue 50, which cinephiles lucky enough to be holding a print copy have been talking about for weeks now. Editor Mark Peranson: "So to commemorate 50 issues, I came up with the silly (not stupid) idea of deciding on the best 50 filmmakers currently working under the age of 50 (or the top, or the greatest — I've spent far too much time pondering this silly adjective). I'm anticipating heaps of criticism for this in the blogosphere, but I hope this leads to a little discussion outside of the pages of this magazine, and provides a snapshot of where cinema finds itself today."
20 of those 50 pieces are online. You'll find, for example, Raya Martin on Carlos Reygadas (and...
20 of those 50 pieces are online. You'll find, for example, Raya Martin on Carlos Reygadas (and...
- 4/20/2012
- MUBI
Exclusive: Megan Griffiths, whose abduction thriller Eden won the audience award last month at SXSW, has signed with Wme and Caliber Media. Griffiths also directed The Off Hours, which played Sundance last year, was acquired by Film Movement, and landed an Indie Spirit Award nomination for cinematography. She also is co-producing the upcoming Lynn Shelton film Your Sister’s Sister starring Emily Blunt and Rosemarie DeWitt and produced the Robinson Devor documentary Zoo.
- 4/19/2012
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
Michael Pitt generated plenty of acclaim as Atlantic City criminal Jimmy Darmody on the HBO series Boardwalk Empire but he’s been off the big screen since his lead performance in Michael Haneke’s Funny Games, an English-language remake of his 1997 Austrian film of the same name. Variety reported that Pitt signed on to star and produce You Can’T Win, based on the 1926 autobiographical novel by world traveler and thief Jack Black. Robinson Devor joined the film as director and co-wrote the script with Barry Gifford and Charles Mudede and Pitt.
- 4/19/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Michael Pitt generated plenty of acclaim as Atlantic City criminal Jimmy Darmody on the HBO series Boardwalk Empire but he’s been off the big screen since his lead performance in Michael Haneke’s Funny Games, an English-language remake of his 1997 Austrian film of the same name. Variety reported that Pitt signed on to star and produce You Can’T Win, based on the 1926 autobiographical novel by world traveler and thief Jack Black. Robinson Devor joined the film as director and co-wrote the script with Barry Gifford and Charles Mudede and Pitt.
- 4/19/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Michael Pitt ("Boardwalk Empire," "Murder by Numbers") will produce and star in a film adaptation of Jack Black's 1926 autobiographical novel "You Can't Win" for Parts & Labor says Risky Biz Blog.
Black spent his life on the road freight-hopping across the western United States and Canada at the turn-of-the-century, along the way encountering bums, tramps and criminals who rode the rails.
Robinson Devor helms the project which begins shooting in Seattle at the end of the month. Devor, Pitt, Barry Gifford and Charles Mudede adapted the screenplay while Lars Knudsen, Jay Van Hoy, Robert Scarff and Zach Sebastian will produce.
Black spent his life on the road freight-hopping across the western United States and Canada at the turn-of-the-century, along the way encountering bums, tramps and criminals who rode the rails.
Robinson Devor helms the project which begins shooting in Seattle at the end of the month. Devor, Pitt, Barry Gifford and Charles Mudede adapted the screenplay while Lars Knudsen, Jay Van Hoy, Robert Scarff and Zach Sebastian will produce.
- 4/19/2012
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Now that a more open schedule is at his advantage, Michael Pitt has decided to aim a little higher than we may have anticipated. As Variety reports, the actor is becoming a multi-hyphenate for You Can’t Win, which he will lead, produce, and co-write with director Robinson Devor (Zoo), Barry Gifford (Lost Highway), and Charles Mudede.
That trio is working with a 1926 autobiography of Jack Black (different guy, natch), a “burgler, safe-cracker, highwayman and petty thief” who traveled across the United States and Canada’s hobo underworld in the early part of the 20th century. That’s not all since, in the course of this memoir, Black also takes multiple perspectives to investigate aspects such as “crime, addiction, criminal justice and human folly.” (Whether these other vantage points will be utilized hasn’t been made clear.)
That could make for something at least vaguely unique and interesting — especially if...
That trio is working with a 1926 autobiography of Jack Black (different guy, natch), a “burgler, safe-cracker, highwayman and petty thief” who traveled across the United States and Canada’s hobo underworld in the early part of the 20th century. That’s not all since, in the course of this memoir, Black also takes multiple perspectives to investigate aspects such as “crime, addiction, criminal justice and human folly.” (Whether these other vantage points will be utilized hasn’t been made clear.)
That could make for something at least vaguely unique and interesting — especially if...
- 4/18/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
Important news! Jack Black has discovered time travel, warped back to 1926 and written a book all about his adventures journeying around America. Or not. But there was a Jack Black at the time, he did write an autobiographical novel called You Can’t Win about his travels, and now Boardwalk Empire’s Michael Pitt has made a deal to star in and produce a film based on the tome.Black’s bestseller chronicles his experiences in the tramp underworld of the time, hopping freight trains to journey around the Us and Canada way back when. Among his themes are crime, justice, addiction and human foibles.Pitt has teamed up with Zoo director Robinson Devor for the movie, and the pair worked on the script along with Barry Gifford and Charles Mudede. They’ve drummed up a thrifty budget to get the film made and will start shooting later this month in Seattle.
- 4/18/2012
- EmpireOnline
The Ifp's Independent Film Week (September 19-23rd) perfectly fits into the fall schedule of busy film activity sliding in after the Toronto Int. Film Festival and a focal point of the week is of course, the Project Forum. This year, Ifp has named a whopping 150 feature film and documentary film projects in all stages of development. I'd pay close attention to the crazy list below - I see a lot of future Sundancers and SXSWers. Here are a few that grabbed my attention: Among the feature scripts in development, we have Joan Stein's Beauty on the Vine - the project to be produced by Anne Chaisson has Olivia Wilde and David Straithairn attached. Lance Edmands' Bluebird and his producer Kyle Martin were both feature in our American New Wave 25 profiles - as is the case for Dash Shaw who is working on The Ruined Cast. Actor Ryan...
- 8/13/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
In a press release sent out this week, director Robinson Devor (Police Beat, Zoo, which scored on Filmmaker's Top 25 of the Decade list) is currently underway in San Francisco on a documentary on Sara Jane Moore, who attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford in September 1975 outside the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. Written by Devor, Charles Mudede and shot by d.p. Sean Kirby, Moore (pictured), now 80 and currently on parole after thirty years in prison, returns to San Francisco for the first time since the assassination attempt to be interviewed. The film also chronicles the lead up to the attempt, following Moore as a suburban wife to being involved with Marxist radicals to even being a narc for the FBI. "Like Man on a...
- 1/8/2010
- by Jason Guerrasio
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
- In recent years I've often criticized the Academy Awards for not having the foresight and fortitude to include docu films that have not only completely reinvigorated the genre, but have pushed the medium to new possible artistic and narrative terrains. This year's short list of 15 titles only further confirms that the Academy has tremendous difficulty in acknowledging the wider scope of films that merit year-end salutations. The formula for the docu-filmmaking and docu movie-going experience has significantly changed since Y2K, yet the most prestigious award film ceremony seems to come up short when it comes to new trends in storytelling and filmmaking. Today IndieWIRE reports Aj Schnack will collaborate with online independent film distributor IndiePix to launch a new nonfiction filmmaking awards event, set for March 18, 2008 at IFC Center in New York City. Below you find a Top 15 list of films that will be nominated for eight categories,
- 1/7/2008
- IONCINEMA.com
- White text over a black screen begins the story: a man is dropped off at an emergency room in a rural section Washington. The man is suffering from massive internal bleeding, his colon destroyed, and dies. Police use surveillance camera footage to track the car to an isolated horse farm and discover hours of video footage of men having sex with horses. And thus begins Zoo from director Robinson Devor (his third doc to screen at Sundance, his previous credits include the critically acclaimed The Woman Chaser and Police Beat), making it’s world premiere in the Documentary Competition. The film is very sympathetic to it’s subjects, many of which who agreed to appear as themselves on camera (several of which declined). Devor successfully creates a portrait of a group of men who connect with each other over the internet, and then eventually in person at an isolated
- 1/23/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
- Quick Links Complete Film Listing: Premieres Dramatic Comp World Dramatic Comp World Doc Comp Spectrum: Park City at Midnight: New Frontier Short Film Programs January 18 to 28, 2007 Counting Down: updateCountdownClock('January 18, 2007'); Another eclectic docu section this year ranging in subject matters such as U.S Foreign policies, internal American struggles, global issues and human portraits of the young, old and stupid. On the war front we have Ghosts of Abu Ghraib, where Rory Kennedy looks at the abuses at the Iraqi prison, No End in Sight by Charles Ferguson looks at the chain of decisions that led to the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq and in hindsight. White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki directed by Steven Okazaki looks at the human cost of atomic warfare.On the global scale, Judith Helfand and Daniel B. Gold’s Everything's Cool looks at alternative energy
- 1/18/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
- Here is the complete listing for this year's Sundance film festival which kicks off tomorrow!January 18 to 28, 2007 Counting Down: updateCountdownClock('January 18, 2007'); Premiere's section lineup:An American Crime - Tommy O'Haver Away From Her - Sarah Polley Black Snake Moan - Craig BrewerChapter 27 - Jarrett Schaefer Chicago 10 - Brett Morgen Clubland - Cherie Nowlan The Good Night - Jake Paltrow King of California - Mike Cahill Life Support - Nelson George Longford - Tom Hooper The Nines - John August Resurrecting the Champ - Rod Lurie The Savages - Tamara Jenkins Son of Rambow - Garth Jennings Summer Rain - Antonio Banderas Trade - Marco Kreuzpaintner Year of the Dog - Mike White Dramatic Competition:Adrift in Manhattan - Alfredo de Villa Broken English - Zoe CassavetesFour Sheets to the Wind - Sterlin HarjoThe Good Life - Steve BerraGrace Is Gone - James C. StrouseHounddog - Deborah Kampmeier Joshua
- 1/17/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
PARK CITY -- An ambitious and creative jumbling of narrative style, "Police Beat" attempts to chart the emotional state of a Seattle cop from Senegal as he responds to crimes around the city and obsesses about his girlfriend, who may or may not be sleeping with another man.
Soulful performance by non-pro Pape Sidy Niang as the bicycle-riding police officer Z, gives the film a poetic tone, but cumulative impact is diffused rather than enhanced by the fractured form. Film could have some life at art houses and healthy after-life on cable and video.
Film is constructed around a series of real-life crimes originally reported in a column called Police Beat written by Charles Mudede for The Stranger, a Seattle alt weekly. Mudede fashioned the expressionistic script with director Robinson Devor. Film represents a delicate balancing act that Devor pulls off with impressive control of the material. Since journey is internal, he had to find a way to tell a story where not much happens and all the action is subjective.
The device he came up with is a voiceover in Z's native west African tongue, Wolof, translated in subtitles. Spoken dialogue is in English, so we get the collision of the character's internal and external lives. The crime calls Z answers all become a reflection for his inner state of turmoil. His girlfriend Rachel (Anna Oxygen) has gone off on a camping trip with an old flame and Z wonders if their days together are numbered. Few films manage to capture as well a character's private despair as he struggles to interpret signs that might just be in his imagination.
Unfortunately, since we meet Rachel only in fragments, and know almost nothing about their relationship, it's hard to connect to his struggle. As an immigrant in a strange land, Z's experience is hermetically cut off from the larger flow of life, even thought he encounters some pretty strange stuff. His computer screen, with a grid of Seattle crime codes, is a reflection of his wounded psyche. Domestic violence, public urination, homicide--it's all in a day's work. Since Z's experience is colored by his emotional agitation, a recurring female character (Sarah Harlett) who keeps turning up in various guises--as a prostitute, a masseuse, a would-be suicide and an assault victim--may not be everything she seems to be.
Other crimes on his beat include a man devouring raw meat in a supermarket, a reckless bicycle rider who goes on a political tirade, and an epileptic who enters a stranger's house, has an attack and strolls out. Z responds to the calls but he's not really there, his mind is elsewhere grappling with philosophical issues such as the nature of love, families and life itself. The world is going on around him but he's not engaged. It's strange material to construct a film around since there is little narrative drive other than Z's emotional life.
Devor has created a dreamlike state which allows Z to look inward. For Niang it seems not so much a performance as a baring of his soul, something a more trained actor might not have been able to do. Editors Mark Winitsky and Joe Shapiro have also found the key to maintaining the film's singular mood. The filmmakers were apparently not going for a conventional movie experience where the audience is swept up in another person's life. What they do achieve is a certain abstract fascination, like a man caught under glass.
POLICE BEAT
Police Beat Prods., the Northwest Film Forum presentation
Credits:
Director: Robinson Devor
Writer: Devor, Charles Mudede
Producers: Jeffrey M. Brown, Alexis Ferris
Executive producer: Michael Seiwerath
Director of photography: Sean Kirby
Production designer: Etta Lilienthal
Costume designer: Doris Black
Editors: Mark Winitsky, Joe Shapiro
Cast:
Z: Pape Sidy Niang
Rachel: Anna Oxygen
Swan: Eric Breedlove
Mary: Sarah Harlett
Jeff: Elijah Geiger
Hedge Trimmer: Scottt Meola
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 80 minutes...
Soulful performance by non-pro Pape Sidy Niang as the bicycle-riding police officer Z, gives the film a poetic tone, but cumulative impact is diffused rather than enhanced by the fractured form. Film could have some life at art houses and healthy after-life on cable and video.
Film is constructed around a series of real-life crimes originally reported in a column called Police Beat written by Charles Mudede for The Stranger, a Seattle alt weekly. Mudede fashioned the expressionistic script with director Robinson Devor. Film represents a delicate balancing act that Devor pulls off with impressive control of the material. Since journey is internal, he had to find a way to tell a story where not much happens and all the action is subjective.
The device he came up with is a voiceover in Z's native west African tongue, Wolof, translated in subtitles. Spoken dialogue is in English, so we get the collision of the character's internal and external lives. The crime calls Z answers all become a reflection for his inner state of turmoil. His girlfriend Rachel (Anna Oxygen) has gone off on a camping trip with an old flame and Z wonders if their days together are numbered. Few films manage to capture as well a character's private despair as he struggles to interpret signs that might just be in his imagination.
Unfortunately, since we meet Rachel only in fragments, and know almost nothing about their relationship, it's hard to connect to his struggle. As an immigrant in a strange land, Z's experience is hermetically cut off from the larger flow of life, even thought he encounters some pretty strange stuff. His computer screen, with a grid of Seattle crime codes, is a reflection of his wounded psyche. Domestic violence, public urination, homicide--it's all in a day's work. Since Z's experience is colored by his emotional agitation, a recurring female character (Sarah Harlett) who keeps turning up in various guises--as a prostitute, a masseuse, a would-be suicide and an assault victim--may not be everything she seems to be.
Other crimes on his beat include a man devouring raw meat in a supermarket, a reckless bicycle rider who goes on a political tirade, and an epileptic who enters a stranger's house, has an attack and strolls out. Z responds to the calls but he's not really there, his mind is elsewhere grappling with philosophical issues such as the nature of love, families and life itself. The world is going on around him but he's not engaged. It's strange material to construct a film around since there is little narrative drive other than Z's emotional life.
Devor has created a dreamlike state which allows Z to look inward. For Niang it seems not so much a performance as a baring of his soul, something a more trained actor might not have been able to do. Editors Mark Winitsky and Joe Shapiro have also found the key to maintaining the film's singular mood. The filmmakers were apparently not going for a conventional movie experience where the audience is swept up in another person's life. What they do achieve is a certain abstract fascination, like a man caught under glass.
POLICE BEAT
Police Beat Prods., the Northwest Film Forum presentation
Credits:
Director: Robinson Devor
Writer: Devor, Charles Mudede
Producers: Jeffrey M. Brown, Alexis Ferris
Executive producer: Michael Seiwerath
Director of photography: Sean Kirby
Production designer: Etta Lilienthal
Costume designer: Doris Black
Editors: Mark Winitsky, Joe Shapiro
Cast:
Z: Pape Sidy Niang
Rachel: Anna Oxygen
Swan: Eric Breedlove
Mary: Sarah Harlett
Jeff: Elijah Geiger
Hedge Trimmer: Scottt Meola
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 80 minutes...
The central character of Robinson Devor's debut feature is a would-be filmmaker whose first effort is a thriller, "The Man Who Got Away", about a truck driver who runs down a child and is pursued by a gallery of policemen. This film within a film is described as running a mere 63 minutes, and in its brevity and subject matter, sounds a whole lot easier to sit through than this film noir spoof, the latest entry in an increasingly exhausted genre.
For some reason known only to the selection committee, "The Woman Chaser" was recently showcased at the New York Film Festival, where it was the only world premiere in the lineup. Commercial prospects don't look promising.
The most entertaining aspect of the film -- adapted from a novel by Charles Willeford ("Miami Blues") and set in Los Angeles during the 1950s -- is the lead performance by Patrick Warburton, best known for his hilarious comic turns on "Seinfeld" and "NewsRadio". The beefy actor plays the title character, Richard, a used car salesman and womanizer who dreams of being a moviemaker.
When his dotty mother (Lynette Bennett), with whom he shares a bizarre, almost Oedipal relationship (the pair ballet dance together), marries a washed-up former director (Paul Malevich), Richard sees an opportunity to break into the business.
Against all odds, he gets his movie made, only to find himself losing artistic control. At the same time, Richard has a series of misbegotten amorous liaisons with his sexually inexperienced new stepsister and his emotionally desperate secretary.
This wacky, offbeat tale is gussied up by many all-too-familiar stylistic devices: black and white cinematography; predictably hard-boiled dialogue and deadpan, voice-over narration; and a '50s era, jazz and lounge music soundtrack. What's lacking is any true wit or purpose to the proceedings. Its only saving graces are its handsome visual style and Warburton's delightfully sly, low-key comic performance.
THE WOMAN CHASER
Presented by Definitive Films
in association with Tarmac Films
Director-screenwriter: Robinson Devor
Producer: Soly Haim
Executive producer: Joe McSpadden
Photography: Kramer Morganthau
Editor: Mark Winitsky
Music: Daniel Luppi
Production designer: Sandrine Junod
Black and white/stereo
Cast:
Richard Hudson: Patrick Warburton
Used Car Dealer: Eugene Roche
Bill: Ron Morgan
Laura: Emily Newman
Leo: Paul Malevich
Mother: Lynette Bennett
Running time -- 96 minutes
No MPAA rating...
For some reason known only to the selection committee, "The Woman Chaser" was recently showcased at the New York Film Festival, where it was the only world premiere in the lineup. Commercial prospects don't look promising.
The most entertaining aspect of the film -- adapted from a novel by Charles Willeford ("Miami Blues") and set in Los Angeles during the 1950s -- is the lead performance by Patrick Warburton, best known for his hilarious comic turns on "Seinfeld" and "NewsRadio". The beefy actor plays the title character, Richard, a used car salesman and womanizer who dreams of being a moviemaker.
When his dotty mother (Lynette Bennett), with whom he shares a bizarre, almost Oedipal relationship (the pair ballet dance together), marries a washed-up former director (Paul Malevich), Richard sees an opportunity to break into the business.
Against all odds, he gets his movie made, only to find himself losing artistic control. At the same time, Richard has a series of misbegotten amorous liaisons with his sexually inexperienced new stepsister and his emotionally desperate secretary.
This wacky, offbeat tale is gussied up by many all-too-familiar stylistic devices: black and white cinematography; predictably hard-boiled dialogue and deadpan, voice-over narration; and a '50s era, jazz and lounge music soundtrack. What's lacking is any true wit or purpose to the proceedings. Its only saving graces are its handsome visual style and Warburton's delightfully sly, low-key comic performance.
THE WOMAN CHASER
Presented by Definitive Films
in association with Tarmac Films
Director-screenwriter: Robinson Devor
Producer: Soly Haim
Executive producer: Joe McSpadden
Photography: Kramer Morganthau
Editor: Mark Winitsky
Music: Daniel Luppi
Production designer: Sandrine Junod
Black and white/stereo
Cast:
Richard Hudson: Patrick Warburton
Used Car Dealer: Eugene Roche
Bill: Ron Morgan
Laura: Emily Newman
Leo: Paul Malevich
Mother: Lynette Bennett
Running time -- 96 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 11/8/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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