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In preparation for a film shoot, the director’s tasks are myriad; everything from laboring to draw storyboards to bulk-buying Poland Spring bottles and Nature Valley bars at Costco. It’s strange then that so many filmmakers—veterans and newbies alike—take such a laissez faire attitude toward performance. It’s not enough to simply hire talent. A director’s job is to negotiate their performers’ disparate processes into a total cohesive organism. And like...
In preparation for a film shoot, the director’s tasks are myriad; everything from laboring to draw storyboards to bulk-buying Poland Spring bottles and Nature Valley bars at Costco. It’s strange then that so many filmmakers—veterans and newbies alike—take such a laissez faire attitude toward performance. It’s not enough to simply hire talent. A director’s job is to negotiate their performers’ disparate processes into a total cohesive organism. And like...
- 12/28/2023
- by Matt Warren
- Film Independent News & More
Despite being a first time feature filmmaker, if Sophie Goodhart were to get into Sundance…it wouldn’t be her first visit. She started off in the biz when her 2003 short was accepted into Cannes Palme d’Or short comp, but Goodhart was 1/3rd of the scribes involved in the Sundance Film Fest’s Next section selected Homewrecker from directors Todd and Brad Barnes. Shot in Cleveland this past May, she took the basis and the title of her short film and lined up a feature version of it with an attention grabbing cast: Adam Scott, Jenny Slate and Nick Kroll. My Blind Brother is the sort of material that might actually fall into the U.S. Dramatic Comp which recently proved that you don’t need to be a strict drama to be included in that category, but a Premieres directorial debut could also be in the cards.
Gist:...
Gist:...
- 11/25/2015
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
For those in the know, being in the running for a Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival is statistically…near impossible, especially for the dozen or less films selected in the short film competition. Now comes word that, an American selected 2013 short will have a growth spurt of sorts, with Deadline reporting that Sophie Goodhart‘s comedy, the feature version of My Blind Brother has nabbed the cast of Adam Scott, Jenny Slate, Nick Kroll and Charlie Hewson. Low Spark Films’ Tyler Davidson will produce with Tory Tunnell (Holy Rollers). Low Sparks’ Kevin Flanigan and Safehouse Pictures’ Joby Harold are exec producers with Joseph E. LoConti. Production will begin this May in Ohio.
Gist: Scott will play a handsome man who gets all the women and is the perfect athlete–even though he’s blind. Kroll plays his less handsome brother, whose role in life is to serve as his brother’s eyes.
Gist: Scott will play a handsome man who gets all the women and is the perfect athlete–even though he’s blind. Kroll plays his less handsome brother, whose role in life is to serve as his brother’s eyes.
- 3/9/2015
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Sometimes best laid plans don't quite work, while at other moments, happy accidents can produce pleasingly unexpected results. Seemingly, for filmmakers Todd and Brad Barnes, it's the latter that has touched their forthcoming "East Nashville Tonight," which finds the worlds of music, comedy and documentary blissfully overlapping. Earlier this year, the brotherly directorial duo attempted to shoot a documentary about longtime Nashville based musicians such as Todd Snider, Elizabeth Cook and more, but thanks to the influence of drugs and booze, they wound up making "East Nashville Tonight" instead. Described as "a hypothetical documentary stoner musical," the people are real, the story is fictional and the whole package looks like ones that fans of these artists or uniquely oddball music stories will want to check out. Already playing to a packed house at the Nashville Film Festival, the movie will go online starting November 19th at the official website where fans will.
- 10/30/2013
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
The Playlist have posted the official trailer for indie dramedy, The Locksmith.
This film, written and directed by Todd and Brad Barnes premiered to decent reviews at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, where it even picked up the Best of Next Award.
The Locksmith stars Anslem Richardson, Ana Reeder, Stephen Rannazzisi, Cesar De Leon, Mary Beth Peil and Michelle Krusiec.
Synopsis: Mike (Richardson) is a locksmith. He’s also a prisoner on work release, but you wouldn’t know it. He’s just trying to focus on his house calls and reconcile with his ex-girlfriend—until Margo (Reeder) hijacks his day. A live-wire kook who’s certain her boyfriend is cheating on her, Margo bulldozes Mike into spying on the alleged cad. The result: an all-day adventure with a stolen vehicle, a visit to an unlikely drug dealer, and a low blood-sugar attack.
It sounds like a perfectly solid indie drama.
This film, written and directed by Todd and Brad Barnes premiered to decent reviews at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, where it even picked up the Best of Next Award.
The Locksmith stars Anslem Richardson, Ana Reeder, Stephen Rannazzisi, Cesar De Leon, Mary Beth Peil and Michelle Krusiec.
Synopsis: Mike (Richardson) is a locksmith. He’s also a prisoner on work release, but you wouldn’t know it. He’s just trying to focus on his house calls and reconcile with his ex-girlfriend—until Margo (Reeder) hijacks his day. A live-wire kook who’s certain her boyfriend is cheating on her, Margo bulldozes Mike into spying on the alleged cad. The result: an all-day adventure with a stolen vehicle, a visit to an unlikely drug dealer, and a low blood-sugar attack.
It sounds like a perfectly solid indie drama.
- 8/18/2010
- by Jamie Neish
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Rating: 6.5/10
Writers: Brad Barnes, Todd Barnes
Directors: Brad Barnes, Todd Barnes
Cast: Anslem Richardson, Ana Reeder, Stephen Rannazzisi
Mike is a locksmith. He’s also in jail. As part of a work release program, he gets to spend his days cracking locks around New York City, returning at night to the work release barracks. He has temporary freedom that he’s not even remotely trying to mess with. The only time he strays is to spy on his ex-girlfriend, Courtney, but even that has more going on than just the usual stalking-an-ex bit. But Mike’s straight-arrow life is about to get turned upside down by the next person to require his services. Her name is Margo. And Margo hasn’t played things straight – well, maybe ever.
Read more on Sundance 2010 Review: Homewrecker…...
Writers: Brad Barnes, Todd Barnes
Directors: Brad Barnes, Todd Barnes
Cast: Anslem Richardson, Ana Reeder, Stephen Rannazzisi
Mike is a locksmith. He’s also in jail. As part of a work release program, he gets to spend his days cracking locks around New York City, returning at night to the work release barracks. He has temporary freedom that he’s not even remotely trying to mess with. The only time he strays is to spy on his ex-girlfriend, Courtney, but even that has more going on than just the usual stalking-an-ex bit. But Mike’s straight-arrow life is about to get turned upside down by the next person to require his services. Her name is Margo. And Margo hasn’t played things straight – well, maybe ever.
Read more on Sundance 2010 Review: Homewrecker…...
- 2/3/2010
- by Kate Erbland
- GordonandtheWhale
Winners of the 2010 Sundance Film Festival were announced recently, with Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington's Restrepo taking home the Grand Jury Prize in the documentary category, and Debra Granik's Winter's Bone winning the Grand Jury Prize in the dramatic category. You may remember Granik, the independent filmmaker who burst onto the Sundance scene in 2004, claiming the Dramatic Directing award for her first feature-length film, Down to the Bone. Despite its phenomenal reputation, Granik's big screen debut grossed a meager $30,000. Let's hope Winter's Bone turns out to be an anomaly in the director's rather minuscule line of work. A comprehensive list of all the winners this year can be seen after the jump. Grand Jury Prize, Dramatic: Winter’s Bone, directed by Debra Granik Grand Jury Prize, Documentary: Restrepo, directed by Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington World Cinema Jury Prize, Dramatic: Animal Kingdom, written and directed by David Michôd.
- 2/1/2010
- by Crews
- FilmJunk
Animal Kingdom, The Red Chapel, Restrepo, and Winter's Bone Earn Grand Jury Prizes
Audience Favorites Feature Contracorriente, happythankyoumoreplease, Waiting For Superman, and Wasteland
Park City, Ut-The Jury, Audience, Next, and other special award-winners of the 2010 Sundance Film Festival were announced tonight at the Festival's Awards Ceremony hosted by David Hyde Pierce (star of The Perfect Host which premiered in this year's Park City at Midnight section) in Park City, Utah. Highlights from the Awards Ceremony can be seen on the Festival website, www.sundance.org/festival.
Films receiving Jury Awards were selected from four categories: U.S. Dramatic Competition, U.S. Documentary Competition, World Cinema Dramatic Competition and World Cinema Documentary Competition. All films in competition were also eligible for Sundance Film Festival Audience Awards as selected by Festival audiences. The U.S. Audience Awards presented by Honda and World Cinema Audience Awards were announced by Louis C.K. Joseph Gordon Levitt...
Audience Favorites Feature Contracorriente, happythankyoumoreplease, Waiting For Superman, and Wasteland
Park City, Ut-The Jury, Audience, Next, and other special award-winners of the 2010 Sundance Film Festival were announced tonight at the Festival's Awards Ceremony hosted by David Hyde Pierce (star of The Perfect Host which premiered in this year's Park City at Midnight section) in Park City, Utah. Highlights from the Awards Ceremony can be seen on the Festival website, www.sundance.org/festival.
Films receiving Jury Awards were selected from four categories: U.S. Dramatic Competition, U.S. Documentary Competition, World Cinema Dramatic Competition and World Cinema Documentary Competition. All films in competition were also eligible for Sundance Film Festival Audience Awards as selected by Festival audiences. The U.S. Audience Awards presented by Honda and World Cinema Audience Awards were announced by Louis C.K. Joseph Gordon Levitt...
- 2/1/2010
- Makingof.com
The 2010 Sundance Awards were also announced last night, which will give you some keen insight to a lot of movies you've never heard of and likely never will. In fact, I've made it to Sundance twice now, and on both occasions, I watched something like 20 films -- usually the ones with the biggest buzz -- only to see the list of award winners and say, "What? I've never even heard of this movie." And, indeed, despite following Sundance fairly close this year, I'm reading many of the titles below for the first time.
In other words, the Sundance Grand Jury winners mean almost nothing, though the audience award winners often are the ones that you'll be hearing about over the next few months or so. For evidence of that, just check out the 2008 Award winners, which has only a few titles you may recognize (Frozen River, Wackness, Man on Wire...
In other words, the Sundance Grand Jury winners mean almost nothing, though the audience award winners often are the ones that you'll be hearing about over the next few months or so. For evidence of that, just check out the 2008 Award winners, which has only a few titles you may recognize (Frozen River, Wackness, Man on Wire...
- 1/31/2010
- by Dustin Rowles
Announced moments ago, the Sundance Film Festival awards were given out in Park City. The dramatic Grand Jury prize went to Debra Granik's Winter's Bone (pictured), which was picked up by Roadside Attractions earlier in the day. Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington's look at a platoon stationed in Afghanistan, Restrepo, won the Grand Jury doc prize. Josh Radnor's relationship dramedy happythankyoumoreplease took the dramatic audience award, and Davis Guggenheim's Waiting For Superman, which was the first big acquisition of the fest, won the documentary audience award. And winning the first ever best of the Next films was Todd Barnes & Brad Barnes's Homewrecker. The full list of winners are below. Read our full coverage from this...
- 1/31/2010
- by Jason Guerrasio
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Sundance put a punctuation mark on this year's festival with their awards announcement -- emcee (and "The Perfect Host" star) David Hyde Pierce rapped the name of nearly every festival film over the Black Eyed Peas' "Boom Boom Pow." (Hyde Pierce joked, "it was Redford's idea.") Here are the winners:
Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Dramatic Film: Debra Granik's "Winter's Bone" (Roadside Attractions picked up the film and will likely distribute in the summer.)
Special Jury Prize for U.S. Dramatic Film: Mark Ruffalo's "Sympathy for Delicious"
Directing Award, Dramatic Category: Eric Mendelsohn for "3 Backyards"
Directing Award, Documentary Category: Leon Gast for "Smash His Camera"
The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini for "Winter's Bone"
Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Documentary: Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington's "Restrepo"
Special Jury Prize for U.S. Documentary: Josh Fox's natural gas drilling doc...
Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Dramatic Film: Debra Granik's "Winter's Bone" (Roadside Attractions picked up the film and will likely distribute in the summer.)
Special Jury Prize for U.S. Dramatic Film: Mark Ruffalo's "Sympathy for Delicious"
Directing Award, Dramatic Category: Eric Mendelsohn for "3 Backyards"
Directing Award, Documentary Category: Leon Gast for "Smash His Camera"
The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini for "Winter's Bone"
Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Documentary: Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington's "Restrepo"
Special Jury Prize for U.S. Documentary: Josh Fox's natural gas drilling doc...
- 1/31/2010
- by Stephen Saito
- ifc.com
Debra Granik's "Winter's Bone" was the big winner in Park City Saturday night, as it won both the dramatic competition grand jury prize and the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Earlier in the day, the gritty drama secured North American distribution through Roadside Attractions for release later this year.
The film, about an unflinching Ozark Mountain girl trudging through dangerous social terrain as she hunts down her missing father, was adapted from the Daniel Woodrell novel by Granik and Anne Rosellini. Granik's previous film, the 2004 Sundance entry "Down to the Bone," won her a dramatic directing award.
The rest of the awards were fairly well spread around at the Saturday night ceremony hosted by David Hyde Pierce, who starred in the Park City at Midnight entry "The Perfect Host" this year.
To kick off the evening, Pierce came on stage in knit cap rapping to...
The film, about an unflinching Ozark Mountain girl trudging through dangerous social terrain as she hunts down her missing father, was adapted from the Daniel Woodrell novel by Granik and Anne Rosellini. Granik's previous film, the 2004 Sundance entry "Down to the Bone," won her a dramatic directing award.
The rest of the awards were fairly well spread around at the Saturday night ceremony hosted by David Hyde Pierce, who starred in the Park City at Midnight entry "The Perfect Host" this year.
To kick off the evening, Pierce came on stage in knit cap rapping to...
- 1/30/2010
- by By Jay A. Fernandez and Gregg Goldstein
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Update 1/22/10: Here’s the link to the YouTube movies page where you can rent the below discussed Sundance films: http://www.youtube.com/movies.
Original post follows:
This is good news – both for the filmmakers and those of us who won’t be attending the festival.
IndieWIRE reports that 3 feature films from this year’s Sundance Film Festival will debut on YouTube Before audiences at the festival get a chance to see them.
Debuting this Friday for VOD rental via YouTube, in the United States only are, Michael Mohan’s One Too Many Mornings, Linas Philips’ Bass Ackwards, & Todd and Brad Barnes Homewrecker, a film I profiled last week on this site (you can read my initial post Here).
Also, 2 films from last year’s Sundance festival, will be featured in the deal – Tze Chun’s Children of Invention and Louie Psihoyo’s The Cove.
As IndieWIRE states… the...
Original post follows:
This is good news – both for the filmmakers and those of us who won’t be attending the festival.
IndieWIRE reports that 3 feature films from this year’s Sundance Film Festival will debut on YouTube Before audiences at the festival get a chance to see them.
Debuting this Friday for VOD rental via YouTube, in the United States only are, Michael Mohan’s One Too Many Mornings, Linas Philips’ Bass Ackwards, & Todd and Brad Barnes Homewrecker, a film I profiled last week on this site (you can read my initial post Here).
Also, 2 films from last year’s Sundance festival, will be featured in the deal – Tze Chun’s Children of Invention and Louie Psihoyo’s The Cove.
As IndieWIRE states… the...
- 1/22/2010
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
What are film festivals doing in increase distribution possibilities for their filmmakers and how are they using digital technology to do this and enhance their own position at the same time?
1) Sundance Film Festival is debuting films through VOD under a label called "Sundance Selects". Three films that premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival will debut simultaneously into 40 million Us households, via cable systems and satellite TV. The films will then be available for viewing for 30 days. The films include Michael Winterbottom's and Mat Whitecross's sociopolitical documentary The Shock Doctrine, Benny and Josh Safdie's comedy Daddy Longlegs, and Daniel Grou's drama 7 Days (Les 7 Jours du Talion).
"Moving the storytelling of the Sundance Film Festival beyond 10 days in Utah remains a top priority for us," said actor Robert Redford, founder of the Sundance Institute, about bringing the event to a wider audience, including selected screenings of Sundance films in other Us cities.
1) Sundance Film Festival is debuting films through VOD under a label called "Sundance Selects". Three films that premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival will debut simultaneously into 40 million Us households, via cable systems and satellite TV. The films will then be available for viewing for 30 days. The films include Michael Winterbottom's and Mat Whitecross's sociopolitical documentary The Shock Doctrine, Benny and Josh Safdie's comedy Daddy Longlegs, and Daniel Grou's drama 7 Days (Les 7 Jours du Talion).
"Moving the storytelling of the Sundance Film Festival beyond 10 days in Utah remains a top priority for us," said actor Robert Redford, founder of the Sundance Institute, about bringing the event to a wider audience, including selected screenings of Sundance films in other Us cities.
- 1/22/2010
- by Sydney
- Sydney's Buzz
By Brent Lang
In an effort to bolster YouTube's paid video platform, the website is partnering with the Sundance Film Festival to offer three independent movies screening at the festival for rental.
Among the feature films debuting on YouTube, are Michael Mohan’s “One Too Many Mornings,” Todd and Brad Barnes “Homewrecker,” and Linas Philips’ “Bass Ackwards.” YouTube users will have the opportunity to see the...
In an effort to bolster YouTube's paid video platform, the website is partnering with the Sundance Film Festival to offer three independent movies screening at the festival for rental.
Among the feature films debuting on YouTube, are Michael Mohan’s “One Too Many Mornings,” Todd and Brad Barnes “Homewrecker,” and Linas Philips’ “Bass Ackwards.” YouTube users will have the opportunity to see the...
- 1/20/2010
- by Brent Lang
- The Wrap
Three new American independent feature films from the 2010 Sundance Film Festival will debut on YouTube even before audiences get a chance to see the movies at the festival in Park City, Ut. Launching this Friday for VOD rental online in the United States - from this year’s Sundance fest - are Michael Mohan’s “One Too Many Mornings,” Todd and Brad Barnes “Homewrecker,” and Linas Philips’ “Bass Ackwards.” Meanwhile, from last …...
- 1/20/2010
- Indiewire
I missed this one when I ran my series of Sundance 2010 previews flicks last month, when the titles were unveiled.
The story goes… Mike is a locksmith. He’s also a prisoner on work release, but you wouldn’t know it. He’s just trying to focus on his house calls and reconcile with his ex-girlfriend – until Margo hijacks his day. A live-wire kook, who’s certain her boyfriend is cheating on her, Margo bulldozes Mike into spying on the alleged cad. The result: an all-day adventure with a (seemingly) stolen vehicle, a visit to an unlikely drug dealer, and a low blood sugar attack. Potential trouble follows these two around – but maybe something good will come of it?
It stars Anslem Richardson, who you might recognize from As The World Turns, The Exonerated, and director Seith Mann’s award-winning short film 5 Deep Breaths, which I posted on this blog last year,...
The story goes… Mike is a locksmith. He’s also a prisoner on work release, but you wouldn’t know it. He’s just trying to focus on his house calls and reconcile with his ex-girlfriend – until Margo hijacks his day. A live-wire kook, who’s certain her boyfriend is cheating on her, Margo bulldozes Mike into spying on the alleged cad. The result: an all-day adventure with a (seemingly) stolen vehicle, a visit to an unlikely drug dealer, and a low blood sugar attack. Potential trouble follows these two around – but maybe something good will come of it?
It stars Anslem Richardson, who you might recognize from As The World Turns, The Exonerated, and director Seith Mann’s award-winning short film 5 Deep Breaths, which I posted on this blog last year,...
- 1/14/2010
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
The lucky inaugural eight include: Habib Azar's Armless, Linas Philips's Bass Ackwards, Sultan Sharrief's Bilal’s Stand, Katie Aselton's The Freebie, Barnes Bros' Homewrecker, Adam Bowers's New Low, Michael Mohan's One Too Many Mornings and Eyad Zahra's The Taqwacores - which has nothing to do with the docu film Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk Islam: (same subject, different film). - If you see or hear me calling this the Miranda July's (you'll have to have seen Me and You and Everyone We Know) section it's because of its no greater or lesser than emblem ( < = > ). John Cooper officially had a stroke of genius with the announcement of the section earlier in the year, and the batch of eight shows the festival is certainly getting back into the "indie" spirit of things again or, it will be seen as Sundance stealing some of the...
- 12/22/2009
- IONCINEMA.com
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