Ava DuVernay’s arts and social impact collective Array has taken the wraps off plans for its first masterclass, headlined by Ethiopian filmmaker Haile Gerima. Liberated Territory: A Masterclass by Haile Gerima will be a five-day workshop in Los Angeles that explores the catalyst of storytelling and a story’s structure crafted from personal narrative accents. That is a hallmark of Gerima’s work as a leading member of the film movement known as L.A. Rebellion birthed in the late 1960s and early1970s, with titles including Bush Mama, Harvest: 3000 Years, Ashes & Embers and the 1993 epic Sankofa the latter of which he self-distributed after studios passed.
Array, which earlier this year won the Peabody Awards’ institutional prize, recently rereleased 1982’s Ashes and Embers, which won the Fipresci Prize at the 1983 Berlin Film Festival.
“Ava has always been a supporter of me and my work,” said Gerima. “I come from...
Array, which earlier this year won the Peabody Awards’ institutional prize, recently rereleased 1982’s Ashes and Embers, which won the Fipresci Prize at the 1983 Berlin Film Festival.
“Ava has always been a supporter of me and my work,” said Gerima. “I come from...
- 7/26/2021
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Ashley Judd is set to star in the upcoming YA drama “#Fbf,” a movie that takes place almost entirely on smartphones and computer screens.
The format, initially seen in films like “Searching” with John Cho, allowed the actors to be filmed in their homes in Los Angeles, Nashville, Anaheim, New York and other remote locations amid the pandemic.
“#Fbf” follows teenager Annie (Cree Cicchino), who accidentally takes her mom’s (Judd) laptop instead of her own to visit her father in New Jersey. Annie soon realizes the laptop is everything she needs to pose as her mom for the day, repair her parents’ marriage and encourage them to move back from Florida.
Ilyssa Goodman (“A Cinderella Story”) is directing the film from a screenplay that she wrote with Ashley Peter (“The Morning Show”).
The cast also includes Kylee Russell (“Z-o-m-b-i-e-s”), Emily Skinner (“Andi Mack”), Ciara Riley Wilson (“Kim Possible”), David Barerra...
The format, initially seen in films like “Searching” with John Cho, allowed the actors to be filmed in their homes in Los Angeles, Nashville, Anaheim, New York and other remote locations amid the pandemic.
“#Fbf” follows teenager Annie (Cree Cicchino), who accidentally takes her mom’s (Judd) laptop instead of her own to visit her father in New Jersey. Annie soon realizes the laptop is everything she needs to pose as her mom for the day, repair her parents’ marriage and encourage them to move back from Florida.
Ilyssa Goodman (“A Cinderella Story”) is directing the film from a screenplay that she wrote with Ashley Peter (“The Morning Show”).
The cast also includes Kylee Russell (“Z-o-m-b-i-e-s”), Emily Skinner (“Andi Mack”), Ciara Riley Wilson (“Kim Possible”), David Barerra...
- 4/2/2021
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety Film + TV
The opening credits of Ilyssa Goodman’s “Next Level” are, perhaps, the most interesting thing about it. They begin with the credit for the producer — and when was the last time you saw that in a theater? — and then work their way backwards to the cast, crew and director, as if to say that the fact that this movie got made is, itself, the most noteworthy accomplishment of all.
“Next Level” is a song-and-dance drama about a summer camp for teen enthusiasts of this business we call show. The audience is informed, in no uncertain terms, in the movie’s second scene, that this is one of the most prestigious organizations of its kind in the country. But we are informed in literally every other scene that the organization employs only two people and is taking up space in a disused corner of a community-college campus.
The film features an ensemble of young actors,...
“Next Level” is a song-and-dance drama about a summer camp for teen enthusiasts of this business we call show. The audience is informed, in no uncertain terms, in the movie’s second scene, that this is one of the most prestigious organizations of its kind in the country. But we are informed in literally every other scene that the organization employs only two people and is taking up space in a disused corner of a community-college campus.
The film features an ensemble of young actors,...
- 9/5/2019
- by William Bibbiani
- The Wrap
High School Musical soundtrack producer Andrew Lane oversees nine original songs.
Los Angeles-based MarVista Entertainment has boarded global sales rights to The Loft Entertainment’s Mipcom-bound Ya dance musical Next Level starring Gen Z influencers Lauren Orlando and Hayden Summerall.
Styled as a cross between High School Musical and Mean Girls, the project takes place at an academy where girls compete for the coveted title of Miss Next. When the reigning champion is threatened by a talented newcomer, she tries to sabotage her ambitions.
Marvista has commenced pre-sales and will take Next Level to Mipcom in October after it releases...
Los Angeles-based MarVista Entertainment has boarded global sales rights to The Loft Entertainment’s Mipcom-bound Ya dance musical Next Level starring Gen Z influencers Lauren Orlando and Hayden Summerall.
Styled as a cross between High School Musical and Mean Girls, the project takes place at an academy where girls compete for the coveted title of Miss Next. When the reigning champion is threatened by a talented newcomer, she tries to sabotage her ambitions.
Marvista has commenced pre-sales and will take Next Level to Mipcom in October after it releases...
- 8/1/2019
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave (daughter of musician John Mellencamp) and comedic social influencer Jack Vale have been added to the cast of Next Level, a Ya dance drama directed by A Cinderella Story producer Ilyssa Goodman. Starring Chloe Lukasiak, Lauren Orlando, and Emily Skinner the film follows teens who compete for best performer of the summer while at Next Level, a specialized dance/hip-hop/songwriting performing arts program. Byron Kavanagh penned the screenplay, which is being produced by Kristi Kaylor and Lisa McGuire of The Loft Entertainment. Arroyave is repped by CAA, while Vale is with Ensemble Digital Studios and Cohen and Silver.
Adrienne Barbeau (Escape from New York), Allison McAtee (Tyler Perry’s The Haves and the Have Nots), P.J. Marshall (American Horror Story) and Rachel McKeon (Marvel’s Jessica Jones) will star in indie horror thriller Unearth, which is being directed by...
Adrienne Barbeau (Escape from New York), Allison McAtee (Tyler Perry’s The Haves and the Have Nots), P.J. Marshall (American Horror Story) and Rachel McKeon (Marvel’s Jessica Jones) will star in indie horror thriller Unearth, which is being directed by...
- 8/7/2018
- by Amanda N'Duka
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Dance Moms alum Chloe Lukasiak, Social media star Lauren Orlando, and Emily Skinner (Andi Mack) are set to star in Ya dance feature, Next Level, along with Chloe East, Brooke Butler, Hayden Summerall, Will Simmon, and Ellarose Kaylor. The film is being directed by Ilyssa Goodman, producer of A Cinderella Story film series.
Described as The “Fame meets High School Musical,” the film centers on teens who compete for best performer of the summer while at Next Level, a specialized dance/hip-hop/songwriting performing arts program.
The script was written by Byron Kavanagh (Disney’s Gamer’s Guide to Pretty Much Everything and Nickelodeon’s Kickin” It). Kristi Kaylor and Lisa McGuire of The Loft Entertainment are producing the pic with exec producers Family Theater Productions and Beverly Hills Teddy Bear.
The pic will get a theatrical release summer 2019.
Lukasiak is repped by Brillstein Entertainment and Abrams Artists Agency...
Described as The “Fame meets High School Musical,” the film centers on teens who compete for best performer of the summer while at Next Level, a specialized dance/hip-hop/songwriting performing arts program.
The script was written by Byron Kavanagh (Disney’s Gamer’s Guide to Pretty Much Everything and Nickelodeon’s Kickin” It). Kristi Kaylor and Lisa McGuire of The Loft Entertainment are producing the pic with exec producers Family Theater Productions and Beverly Hills Teddy Bear.
The pic will get a theatrical release summer 2019.
Lukasiak is repped by Brillstein Entertainment and Abrams Artists Agency...
- 7/24/2018
- by Amanda N'Duka
- Deadline Film + TV
After achieving a measure of success in Hollywood as producer of the popular Cinderella Story" franchise for Warner Bros, Ilyssa Goodman is now parlaying her award-winning track record into a successful directing career starting with her latest film “The Standoff”. Goodman is being lauded for not only getting stellar performances from her young cast, but for using a single location for nearly the entire film, while juggling multiple storylines and keeping the film fluid; not an easy task for even a veteran director. “The Standoff” revolves around a group of teens determined to win a flashy new car at Big Jim’s Auto Depot , but there is one rule: You cannot take your hand off the car. The last man or woman still standing after...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 10/20/2016
- Screen Anarchy
A Cinderella Story producer Ilyssa Goodman has lined up a slate of projects to follow up her work on the Hilary Duff-Chad Michael Murray starrer for Warner Bros. Pictures. For her first post-Cinderella project, Goodman won't go far from the fairy tale world. She next produces Princess from a script by Babar Ahmed, who will direct. The project is described as an indie action thriller about an American high school cheerleader who finds herself targeted for assassination when it is discovered that she's heir to the throne of a Middle Eastern country. Goodman said the fully financed project is gearing up for a fall start in Washington, D.C.
- 7/30/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The magic is gone in this latest screen version of "Cinderella". From its uninspiring title -- and certain turnoff for young males -- to its limp slapstick and uneven acting, "A Cinderella Story" arrives with a dull thud. It doesn't help that this contemporary take on the classic fairy tale re-explores ground already covered this year by such movies as "Mean Girls" and "Ella Enchanted".
Thanks to popular young star Hilary Duff, the film might see a brisk boxoffice opening weekend. But word-of-mouth and more attractive options in the multiplexes should lead to a sharp drop-off by the second week.
Wicked stepmothers and Prince Charmings are awkward concepts in a contemporary setting. There is little evidence that writer Leigh Dunlap or her producers thought through how to re-imagine the fairy tale for modern day. Having Cinderella leave behind a cell phone instead of a glass slipper as the clock strikes midnight is not nearly enough.
First of all, the film never makes the case that our Cinderella, Valley high school senior Sam Montgomery (Duff), is truly abused. When her dear dad dies in the Northridge earthquake -- how exactly? we wonder -- her self-indulgent, plastic surgery-obsessed stepmom, Fiona (Jennifer Coolidge in an amusing but over-the-top performance), banishes Sam to the attic and puts her to work in her dad's '50s diner. The trouble is, designer Charles Breen turns that attic into a very cool-looking loft, Sam's paycheck goes to her college education and must we really feel sorry for a girl who complains that she has to drive a "beat-up old car"? The car runs, doesn't it?
Her high school is similarly disconnected from reality but not in the fairy tale sort of way. Not to put too fine a point on it, but Duff is a beauty, and costume designer Denise Wingate does nothing to make her seem otherwise. So why is Sam so unpopular with the boys? They mock her as "Diner Girl" -- what, no one else at school has a job? -- and her only male friend, geeky Carter (Dan Byrd), seems oblivious to her charms as well. Then she puts on a gown and mask and everyone is knocked out by her presence. Go figure.
Her dreamboat is popular football star Austin Ames Chad Michael Murray). He's a good-looking lad, but the script makes him into a boob. He's afraid of his dad, in a dead-end relationship with a shallow cheerleader (Julie Gonzalo), easily cowed by his buddies and unable or unwilling to pursue his Cinderella. They don't make Prince Charmings the way they used to.
Director Mark Rosman and Dunlap search for laughs in all the wrong places. Fiona's complete body makeover with implants, Botox, plastic surgery and a tanning machine earns a few laughs but gets old fast. The slapstick bumbling of Sam's "out-of-step-sisters," Brianna (Madeline Zima) and Gabriella (Andrea Avery), is thoroughly unfunny.
Duff and Byrd anchor the film in a perky though realistic acting style. But too many other actors resort to overblown shtick in a vain attempt to bring cartoonish characters to life. The diner sequences work the best: Regina King, Paul Rodriguez and others form a neat ensemble of characters who work hard, support one another and share a mutual contempt for the owner. Conversely, the sequences in high school or at home feel tired if not belabored.
Tech credits are pro though unexciting.
A Cinderella Story
Warner Bros. Oictures
A Clifford Werber production
Credits:
Director: Mark Rosman
Screenwriter: Leigh Dunlap
Producers: Clifford Werber, Ilyssa Goodman, Hunt Lowry, Dylan Sellers
Executive producers: Michael Rachmil, Peter Greene, Keith Giglio
Director of photography: Anthony B. Richmond
Production designer: Charles Breen
Music: Christophe Beck
Costume designer: Denise Wingate
Editor: Cara Silverman
Cast:
Sam: Hilary Duff
Fiona: Jennifer Coolidge
Austin: Chad Michael Murray
Carter: Dan Byrd
Rhonda: Regina King, Shelby: Julie Gonzalo
Mrs. Wells: Lin Shaye
Brianna: Madeline Zima
Gabriella: Andrea Avery
MPAA rating PG
Running time -- 95 minutes...
Thanks to popular young star Hilary Duff, the film might see a brisk boxoffice opening weekend. But word-of-mouth and more attractive options in the multiplexes should lead to a sharp drop-off by the second week.
Wicked stepmothers and Prince Charmings are awkward concepts in a contemporary setting. There is little evidence that writer Leigh Dunlap or her producers thought through how to re-imagine the fairy tale for modern day. Having Cinderella leave behind a cell phone instead of a glass slipper as the clock strikes midnight is not nearly enough.
First of all, the film never makes the case that our Cinderella, Valley high school senior Sam Montgomery (Duff), is truly abused. When her dear dad dies in the Northridge earthquake -- how exactly? we wonder -- her self-indulgent, plastic surgery-obsessed stepmom, Fiona (Jennifer Coolidge in an amusing but over-the-top performance), banishes Sam to the attic and puts her to work in her dad's '50s diner. The trouble is, designer Charles Breen turns that attic into a very cool-looking loft, Sam's paycheck goes to her college education and must we really feel sorry for a girl who complains that she has to drive a "beat-up old car"? The car runs, doesn't it?
Her high school is similarly disconnected from reality but not in the fairy tale sort of way. Not to put too fine a point on it, but Duff is a beauty, and costume designer Denise Wingate does nothing to make her seem otherwise. So why is Sam so unpopular with the boys? They mock her as "Diner Girl" -- what, no one else at school has a job? -- and her only male friend, geeky Carter (Dan Byrd), seems oblivious to her charms as well. Then she puts on a gown and mask and everyone is knocked out by her presence. Go figure.
Her dreamboat is popular football star Austin Ames Chad Michael Murray). He's a good-looking lad, but the script makes him into a boob. He's afraid of his dad, in a dead-end relationship with a shallow cheerleader (Julie Gonzalo), easily cowed by his buddies and unable or unwilling to pursue his Cinderella. They don't make Prince Charmings the way they used to.
Director Mark Rosman and Dunlap search for laughs in all the wrong places. Fiona's complete body makeover with implants, Botox, plastic surgery and a tanning machine earns a few laughs but gets old fast. The slapstick bumbling of Sam's "out-of-step-sisters," Brianna (Madeline Zima) and Gabriella (Andrea Avery), is thoroughly unfunny.
Duff and Byrd anchor the film in a perky though realistic acting style. But too many other actors resort to overblown shtick in a vain attempt to bring cartoonish characters to life. The diner sequences work the best: Regina King, Paul Rodriguez and others form a neat ensemble of characters who work hard, support one another and share a mutual contempt for the owner. Conversely, the sequences in high school or at home feel tired if not belabored.
Tech credits are pro though unexciting.
A Cinderella Story
Warner Bros. Oictures
A Clifford Werber production
Credits:
Director: Mark Rosman
Screenwriter: Leigh Dunlap
Producers: Clifford Werber, Ilyssa Goodman, Hunt Lowry, Dylan Sellers
Executive producers: Michael Rachmil, Peter Greene, Keith Giglio
Director of photography: Anthony B. Richmond
Production designer: Charles Breen
Music: Christophe Beck
Costume designer: Denise Wingate
Editor: Cara Silverman
Cast:
Sam: Hilary Duff
Fiona: Jennifer Coolidge
Austin: Chad Michael Murray
Carter: Dan Byrd
Rhonda: Regina King, Shelby: Julie Gonzalo
Mrs. Wells: Lin Shaye
Brianna: Madeline Zima
Gabriella: Andrea Avery
MPAA rating PG
Running time -- 95 minutes...
- 7/23/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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