Netflix has dominated the Oscar documentary race the last few years, winning Documentary Feature in 2020 and 2018, but the release of the Academy shortlists Tuesday confirms it faces a battle this time around, from a rival streamer.
Amazon Studios landed two films on the feature shortlist—Time, directed by Garrett Bradley, and All In: The Fight for Democracy, directed by Liz Garbus and Lisa Cortés. Time, which touches on mass incarceration through the experience of one Black family in Louisiana, must be considered a solid favorite in the Oscar race, having tied for the Gotham Award and amassing multiple critics’ prizes.
Netflix made the Oscar shortlist, as expected, with its top two contenders—Crip Camp, directed by Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht, and Dick Johnson Is Dead, from director Kirsten Johnson. It also muscled in with mollusk-themed My Octopus Teacher, ensnaring in its tentacles a fifth of the 15 shortlist slots. But...
Amazon Studios landed two films on the feature shortlist—Time, directed by Garrett Bradley, and All In: The Fight for Democracy, directed by Liz Garbus and Lisa Cortés. Time, which touches on mass incarceration through the experience of one Black family in Louisiana, must be considered a solid favorite in the Oscar race, having tied for the Gotham Award and amassing multiple critics’ prizes.
Netflix made the Oscar shortlist, as expected, with its top two contenders—Crip Camp, directed by Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht, and Dick Johnson Is Dead, from director Kirsten Johnson. It also muscled in with mollusk-themed My Octopus Teacher, ensnaring in its tentacles a fifth of the 15 shortlist slots. But...
- 2/10/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
The number of films available to Oscar voters in a screening room devoted to the Best Picture category hit the 200 mark on Wednesday, which means that $2.5 million has entered the Academy coffers from films paying $12,500 each to be represented in the screening room.
The members-only Academy Screening Room hit the milestone with the addition of more than a dozen movies this week, including Fisher Stevens’ “Palmer,” Lee Daniels’ “The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” John Lee Hancock’s “The Little Things,” the Russo brothers’ “Cherry,” Josh Trank’s “Capone,” the documentary “Coup 53,” the Studio Ghibli animated film “Earwig and the Witch,” the international films “Funny Boy” and “Bacarau” (neither eligible in the Oscars’ Best International Feature Film category) and some off-the-wall selections, including “Snake White – Love Endures” and “Soorarai Pottru.”
Other late additions to the screening room have included “Minari,” “Promising Young Woman,” “The White Tiger” and “Cherry,” which were not added until January.
The members-only Academy Screening Room hit the milestone with the addition of more than a dozen movies this week, including Fisher Stevens’ “Palmer,” Lee Daniels’ “The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” John Lee Hancock’s “The Little Things,” the Russo brothers’ “Cherry,” Josh Trank’s “Capone,” the documentary “Coup 53,” the Studio Ghibli animated film “Earwig and the Witch,” the international films “Funny Boy” and “Bacarau” (neither eligible in the Oscars’ Best International Feature Film category) and some off-the-wall selections, including “Snake White – Love Endures” and “Soorarai Pottru.”
Other late additions to the screening room have included “Minari,” “Promising Young Woman,” “The White Tiger” and “Cherry,” which were not added until January.
- 1/28/2021
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Joanna Harcourt-Smith, the alluring subject of Errol Morris’ Showtime documentary My Psychedelic Love Story, became enthralled in the 1970s with the LSD guru Timothy Leary. It’s a sentiment the Oscar-winning filmmaker could understand.
“I had met Timothy Leary just before he died. I was amazed,” Morris says, with perhaps a touch of his dry humor, during a panel for his film at Deadline’s Contenders Documentary awards-season event. “Of all the people I have met over the years I’ve never known anyone who actually radiated light. He was luminescent.”
Harcourt-Smith and Leary became romantically attached in Europe where Leary fled to escape U.S. authorities. After Leary was nabbed and returned to America, she told Morris “she would have done anything—anything and everything—to get him out of prison.” Even flying naked in a helicopter over Leary’s prison to spirit him away to freedom, as Harcourt-Smith recounts in the film.
“I had met Timothy Leary just before he died. I was amazed,” Morris says, with perhaps a touch of his dry humor, during a panel for his film at Deadline’s Contenders Documentary awards-season event. “Of all the people I have met over the years I’ve never known anyone who actually radiated light. He was luminescent.”
Harcourt-Smith and Leary became romantically attached in Europe where Leary fled to escape U.S. authorities. After Leary was nabbed and returned to America, she told Morris “she would have done anything—anything and everything—to get him out of prison.” Even flying naked in a helicopter over Leary’s prison to spirit him away to freedom, as Harcourt-Smith recounts in the film.
- 1/10/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
The coronavirus pandemic pushed the release of a slew of narrative films into 2021, reducing the number of Best Picture contenders this Oscar season. But it’s a completely different story with documentary. Streaming platforms and other players didn’t hold back their nonfiction slate, and with the Academy relaxing qualification rules, the record for films in contention for Best Documentary is about to be shattered this year.
That makes this the perfect time to launch Deadline’s first Contenders Documentary, a virtual showcase of top nonfiction films this awards season. The event kicks off today at 8 a.m. Pt. Click here to register and join the livestream, and follow along for the day on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram via @Deadline and #DeadlineContenders. See the full schedule of panels below.
The Contenders Documentary program, featuring conversations with a raft of Oscar-winning and Oscar-nominated filmmakers including Alex Gibney, Liz Garbus, Ron Howard,...
That makes this the perfect time to launch Deadline’s first Contenders Documentary, a virtual showcase of top nonfiction films this awards season. The event kicks off today at 8 a.m. Pt. Click here to register and join the livestream, and follow along for the day on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram via @Deadline and #DeadlineContenders. See the full schedule of panels below.
The Contenders Documentary program, featuring conversations with a raft of Oscar-winning and Oscar-nominated filmmakers including Alex Gibney, Liz Garbus, Ron Howard,...
- 1/10/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
While Joanna Harcourt-Smith, the subject of Errol Morris’s latest documentary, “My Psychedelic Love Story,” passed away in October from breast cancer, she was able to see the completed film before she passed. “I was privileged to show her the completed movie just before she died. She watched it, I’ve been told by her family, six or seven times the week of her death and she loved it,” Morris says in our recent webchat (watch the exclusive video above). But even though Harcourt-Smith is no longer with us, Morris still finds her story to be immensely captivating. “It’s a great story and the story continues and I’m still writing about it. It still has its hooks in me.”
“My Psychedelic Love Story,” which is currently available to watch through Showtime, showcases the story of Harcourt-Smith and, in particular, her relationship with Dr. Timothy Leary from 1972 to 1977. The...
“My Psychedelic Love Story,” which is currently available to watch through Showtime, showcases the story of Harcourt-Smith and, in particular, her relationship with Dr. Timothy Leary from 1972 to 1977. The...
- 1/4/2021
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
Following the continuing success of its long-running Contenders events during Oscar and Emmy seasons, Deadline is making new additions to the franchise with Contenders Documentary, focusing on the year’s most noteworthy non-fiction films, and Contenders International, with its eye on a great lineup of foreign-language entries. Both of these events, designed to put the spotlight on worthy movies that don’t always get the attention they deserve, will be presented virtually due to the pandemic — as we did for the Emmys — in their inaugural year over the course of one weekend, with International taking place on Saturday, January 9, and Documentary on Sunday, January 10. Both will be starting their livestreams at 8 a.m. Pt.
Fifteen studios, streamers and distributors will be participating in the kickoff for Contenders International, with an impressive and varied presentation involving clips and filmmaker/talent Q&As from a total of 23 films from around the world...
Fifteen studios, streamers and distributors will be participating in the kickoff for Contenders International, with an impressive and varied presentation involving clips and filmmaker/talent Q&As from a total of 23 films from around the world...
- 1/1/2021
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
The Academy has added 93 more films to the members-only screening room devoted to entries in the Best Documentary Feature category, bringing the total number of eligible contenders to a record-shattering 215.
The previous record for entries was 170 in 2017. And this year’s crop of nonfiction films is expected to pass that number by an even bigger margin — at least 50 — once a final, smaller group of films is added to the screening room in January.
New eligibility rules that were passed in the wake of the Covid-19 theater closings made it easier for documentaries to qualify this year by allowing them to do so by playing at film festivals, even virtual ones, and by easing requirements for theatrical runs. In an email to members detailing the new additions, the Academy said, “The Documentary Branch Executive Committee felt it was important to be inclusive and supportive of documentary filmmakers in this unprecedented and challenging year.
The previous record for entries was 170 in 2017. And this year’s crop of nonfiction films is expected to pass that number by an even bigger margin — at least 50 — once a final, smaller group of films is added to the screening room in January.
New eligibility rules that were passed in the wake of the Covid-19 theater closings made it easier for documentaries to qualify this year by allowing them to do so by playing at film festivals, even virtual ones, and by easing requirements for theatrical runs. In an email to members detailing the new additions, the Academy said, “The Documentary Branch Executive Committee felt it was important to be inclusive and supportive of documentary filmmakers in this unprecedented and challenging year.
- 12/22/2020
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The influential Cinema Eye Honors nominations, voted on by documentary filmmakers, help to narrow the wide field for documentary awards contenders. Amazon Studios release “Time,” Garrett Bradley’s poetic black-and-white portrait of one family’s struggle through years of incarceration, leads the field with six nominations, including Outstanding Feature, Direction, Editing, Score and Debut.
Garnering four nominations: Alexander Nanau’s Romanian health system exposé “Collective” (Magnolia), Victor Kossakovsky’s story of a mother pig, “Gunda” (Neon), and David France’s “Welcome to Chechnya” (HBO) with four.
With three nominations each: Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss’ “Boys State” (Apple), Kirsten Johnson’s “Dick Johnson is Dead” (Netflix), Liz Garbus’ series “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” (HBO), Gianfranco Rosi’s Italian Oscar submission “Notturno” (Super Ltd), and Michael Dweck & Gregory Kershaw’s “The Truffle Hunters” (Sony Pictures Classics).
Per usual, prolific Netflix leads all distributors/broadcasters with thirteen nominations, while HBO Documentary Films grabbed ten,...
Garnering four nominations: Alexander Nanau’s Romanian health system exposé “Collective” (Magnolia), Victor Kossakovsky’s story of a mother pig, “Gunda” (Neon), and David France’s “Welcome to Chechnya” (HBO) with four.
With three nominations each: Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss’ “Boys State” (Apple), Kirsten Johnson’s “Dick Johnson is Dead” (Netflix), Liz Garbus’ series “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” (HBO), Gianfranco Rosi’s Italian Oscar submission “Notturno” (Super Ltd), and Michael Dweck & Gregory Kershaw’s “The Truffle Hunters” (Sony Pictures Classics).
Per usual, prolific Netflix leads all distributors/broadcasters with thirteen nominations, while HBO Documentary Films grabbed ten,...
- 12/10/2020
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
The influential Cinema Eye Honors nominations, voted on by documentary filmmakers, help to narrow the wide field for documentary awards contenders. Amazon Studios release “Time,” Garrett Bradley’s poetic black-and-white portrait of one family’s struggle through years of incarceration, leads the field with six nominations, including Outstanding Feature, Direction, Editing, Score and Debut.
Garnering four nominations: Alexander Nanau’s Romanian health system exposé “Collective” (Magnolia), Victor Kossakovsky’s story of a mother pig, “Gunda” (Neon), and David France’s “Welcome to Chechnya” (HBO) with four.
With three nominations each: Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss’ “Boys State” (Apple), Kirsten Johnson’s “Dick Johnson is Dead” (Netflix), Liz Garbus’ series “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” (HBO), Gianfranco Rosi’s Italian Oscar submission “Notturno” (Super Ltd), and Michael Dweck & Gregory Kershaw’s “The Truffle Hunters” (Sony Pictures Classics).
Per usual, prolific Netflix leads all distributors/broadcasters with thirteen nominations, while HBO Documentary Films grabbed ten,...
Garnering four nominations: Alexander Nanau’s Romanian health system exposé “Collective” (Magnolia), Victor Kossakovsky’s story of a mother pig, “Gunda” (Neon), and David France’s “Welcome to Chechnya” (HBO) with four.
With three nominations each: Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss’ “Boys State” (Apple), Kirsten Johnson’s “Dick Johnson is Dead” (Netflix), Liz Garbus’ series “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” (HBO), Gianfranco Rosi’s Italian Oscar submission “Notturno” (Super Ltd), and Michael Dweck & Gregory Kershaw’s “The Truffle Hunters” (Sony Pictures Classics).
Per usual, prolific Netflix leads all distributors/broadcasters with thirteen nominations, while HBO Documentary Films grabbed ten,...
- 12/10/2020
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Garrett Bradley’s “Time,” which follows a family through decades of the father’s incarceration, leads all films in nominations for the 14th annual Cinema Eye Honors, a New York-based award established to honor all facets of nonfiction filmmaking.
“Time” received six nominations, including one in the Outstanding Nonfiction Feature category. There, it will compete with “Boys State,” “Collective,” “Dick Johnson Is Dead” and “Gunda.”
“Collective,” “Gunda” and “Welcome to Chechnya” each received four nominations, while “Boys State,” “Dick Johnson Is Dead,” “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark,” “Notturno” and “The Truffle Hunters” landed three each.
“Time” is now the only film to be nominated in the top category by the Cinema Eye Honors, the IDA Documentary Awards, the Critics Choice Documentary Awards and the Gotham Awards, and also receive a spot on Doc NYC’s “Short List” of awards contenders. “Gunda” was honored by four of the five groups,...
“Time” received six nominations, including one in the Outstanding Nonfiction Feature category. There, it will compete with “Boys State,” “Collective,” “Dick Johnson Is Dead” and “Gunda.”
“Collective,” “Gunda” and “Welcome to Chechnya” each received four nominations, while “Boys State,” “Dick Johnson Is Dead,” “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark,” “Notturno” and “The Truffle Hunters” landed three each.
“Time” is now the only film to be nominated in the top category by the Cinema Eye Honors, the IDA Documentary Awards, the Critics Choice Documentary Awards and the Gotham Awards, and also receive a spot on Doc NYC’s “Short List” of awards contenders. “Gunda” was honored by four of the five groups,...
- 12/10/2020
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Need a good real-life mystery to solve? TV audiences love them.
And documentary maker Errol Morris famously investigated a murder with The Thin Blue Line, a government LSD conspiracy with Wormwood and Robert McNamara’s role in history in Fog of War.
But, with My Psychedelic Love Story, which debuted on Showtime on Nov. 29, if you’re looking for Morris to solve the mystery of whether Joanna Harcourt-Smith was a 1970s CIA sex spy in a LSD-laced romp with Timothy Leary to return him to a California prison cell, expect few clues from his first-person interview.
“If people are interested ...
And documentary maker Errol Morris famously investigated a murder with The Thin Blue Line, a government LSD conspiracy with Wormwood and Robert McNamara’s role in history in Fog of War.
But, with My Psychedelic Love Story, which debuted on Showtime on Nov. 29, if you’re looking for Morris to solve the mystery of whether Joanna Harcourt-Smith was a 1970s CIA sex spy in a LSD-laced romp with Timothy Leary to return him to a California prison cell, expect few clues from his first-person interview.
“If people are interested ...
- 12/8/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Need a good real-life mystery to solve? TV audiences love them.
And documentary maker Errol Morris famously investigated a murder with The Thin Blue Line, a government LSD conspiracy with Wormwood and Robert McNamara’s role in history in Fog of War.
But, with My Psychedelic Love Story, which debuted on Showtime on Nov. 29, if you’re looking for Morris to solve the mystery of whether Joanna Harcourt-Smith was a 1970s CIA sex spy in a LSD-laced romp with Timothy Leary to return him to a California prison cell, expect few clues from his first-person interview.
“If people are interested ...
And documentary maker Errol Morris famously investigated a murder with The Thin Blue Line, a government LSD conspiracy with Wormwood and Robert McNamara’s role in history in Fog of War.
But, with My Psychedelic Love Story, which debuted on Showtime on Nov. 29, if you’re looking for Morris to solve the mystery of whether Joanna Harcourt-Smith was a 1970s CIA sex spy in a LSD-laced romp with Timothy Leary to return him to a California prison cell, expect few clues from his first-person interview.
“If people are interested ...
- 12/8/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“My Psychedelic Love Story,” which premiered last week on Showtime, finds Oscar-winning filmmaker Errol Morris examining the wild lives of LSD advocate Timothy Leary and his lover, Joanna Harcourt-Smith. The film comprises of one long interview with Harcourt-Smith as she recalls a tumultuous period in the 1970s in which Leary had escaped prison, having been convicted for 20 years for marijuana possession. The documentary not only delves into Harcourt-Smith’s whirlwind experience of being with the man Richard Nixon once called “the most dangerous man in America” but also how her efforts to ensure Leary’s freedom involved her working with the FBI.
See‘The Way I See It’: From Critics’ Choice winner to Oscars?
Harcourt-Smith proves to be a fascinating storyteller as she discusses her reputation, her childhood and what drew her to Leary. Quipping at one point that she “always wanted to be with an outlaw,” Harcourt-Smith invites...
See‘The Way I See It’: From Critics’ Choice winner to Oscars?
Harcourt-Smith proves to be a fascinating storyteller as she discusses her reputation, her childhood and what drew her to Leary. Quipping at one point that she “always wanted to be with an outlaw,” Harcourt-Smith invites...
- 12/5/2020
- by Kevin Jacobsen
- Gold Derby
Every Tuesday, discriminating viewers are confronted with a flurry of choices: new releases on disc and on-demand, vintage and original movies on any number of streaming platforms, catalog titles making a splash on Blu-ray or 4K. This biweekly column sifts through all of those choices to pluck out the movies most worth your time, no matter how you’re watching.
We’ve got a lot of new disc and streaming releases to sort through, thanks in no small part to the inevitable holiday season gift possibilities, which include genuine classics, ‘80s favorites, and prestige box sets (more of those here); streaming audiences can also check out a new (and controversial!) romantic comedy and a beautifully bizarre new film from one of the best documentarians in the business.
Continue reading The 14 Best Movies To Buy Or Stream This Week: ‘Happiest Season,’ ‘My Psychedelic Love Story,’ ‘The Irishman,’ & More at The Playlist.
We’ve got a lot of new disc and streaming releases to sort through, thanks in no small part to the inevitable holiday season gift possibilities, which include genuine classics, ‘80s favorites, and prestige box sets (more of those here); streaming audiences can also check out a new (and controversial!) romantic comedy and a beautifully bizarre new film from one of the best documentarians in the business.
Continue reading The 14 Best Movies To Buy Or Stream This Week: ‘Happiest Season,’ ‘My Psychedelic Love Story,’ ‘The Irishman,’ & More at The Playlist.
- 12/1/2020
- by Jason Bailey
- The Playlist
Timothy Leary, the rock-star professor of 1960s acid-head mysticism, had a grin that said a lot about him. He was quite handsome, with that mane of silver-dark hair, the jutting chin and Irish eyes, that gleaming wall-of-teeth smile. He looked like a Kennedy brother who never was — a counterculture guru who could have doubled as a politician. The smile is part of what made Leary such an effective Pied Piper. He always seemed to be saying, “I’m tripping my brains out and having the time of my life!” Yet you didn’t have to look long to register that the Leary grin seemed inordinately pleased with itself. It flashed on and off (it was always on for the cameras), and he had a way of beaming that was more than a little unctuous, à la Liberace. Leary never stopped talking about how LSD was going to free everyone, but...
- 11/30/2020
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
There’s a certain aura that some people who’ve lived a lively, eventful life possess––a rare shimmer of self-belief and authority. Errol Morris’ new documentary feature My Psychedelic Love Story allows us to gaze on one of these unique individuals: the celebrity socialite Joanna Harcourt-Smith, who rubbed shoulders with the counter-culture glitterati of the late 1960s, and seemed to know everyone worth knowing. Harcourt-Smith’s brief, passionate liaison with psychedelics advocate Timothy Leary forms the basis of this pacy, engaging narrative, where the subject’s unique point-of-view finds another angle on this much-recounted era. It even throws in Pynchonesque notions of grand conspiracy, but Morris helps us remain objective amidst the cross-arguments and suggestions being proffered.
Morris, entering his sixth decade of regular documentary filmmaking, remains potent in his craft––a more spontaneous and flexible style, to be sure, but far harder than it looks. He allows a...
Morris, entering his sixth decade of regular documentary filmmaking, remains potent in his craft––a more spontaneous and flexible style, to be sure, but far harder than it looks. He allows a...
- 11/28/2020
- by David Katz
- The Film Stage
Thanks to the Oscar-winning film, “Walk the Line,” film fans are probably very familiar with the love affair and decades-long marriage between music legend Johnny Cash and fellow performer June Carter. But the upcoming documentary, “My Darling Vivian,” aims to tell the tale of Cash’s first wife and the mother of his four daughters, Vivian Liberto.
Read More: ‘My Psychedelic Love Story’ Trailer: Errol Morris Examines The Crazy Story of Timothy Leary Flipping As A Narc
With “My Darling Vivian” arriving in December, we’re happy to give our readers an exclusive first look at the new trailer for the doc.
Continue reading ‘My Darling Vivian’ Exclusive Trailer: SXSW Doc Tells The Story Of Johnny Cash’s First Marriage With Vivian Liberto at The Playlist.
Read More: ‘My Psychedelic Love Story’ Trailer: Errol Morris Examines The Crazy Story of Timothy Leary Flipping As A Narc
With “My Darling Vivian” arriving in December, we’re happy to give our readers an exclusive first look at the new trailer for the doc.
Continue reading ‘My Darling Vivian’ Exclusive Trailer: SXSW Doc Tells The Story Of Johnny Cash’s First Marriage With Vivian Liberto at The Playlist.
- 11/4/2020
- by Charles Barfield
- The Playlist
"So you're a C.I.A. plant?" Cutting to the chase! Showtime has unveiled a new official full trailer for Errol Morris' latest documentary titled My Psychedelic Love Story, which is premiering at AFI Fest coming up this fall. We posted a teaser trailer for this doc earlier in the summer, before it had an official title, now it's set to debut on Showtime in November. This documentary focuses, once again, on LSD and the "High Priest of LSD" Timothy Leary. And this isn't the first time Morris has dabbled in LSD, as his Netflix series "Wormwood" is also about the CIA and psychedelics. The film is inspired by Harcourt-Smith's memoir, "Tripping the Bardo with Timothy Leary: My Psychedelic Love Story", and Morris interviews her to discuss her history with Leary before he became an informant for the FBI. "Devotion or selfishness? Perfect love or outright betrayal? Destiny or manipulation?...
- 10/30/2020
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Updated, 2:15 Pm: We now have the first trailer for Showtime Documentary Films’ feature-length docu about LSD pioneer Timothy Leary from Oscar-winning director Errol Morris. The pic has been titled My Psychedelic Love Story and is set to premiere at 9 p.m. Sunday, November 29, on premium cable net. Check out the trailer above and read details about the movie below. There’s also a clip from the documentary at the bottom of the post.
Previously, May 26: Showtime Documentary Films unveiled a new docu feature from Oscar-winning director Errol Morris that will spotlight the polarizing psychedelic drug advocate Timothy Leary. The docu, which currently has the working title of A Film By Errol Morris will debut later this year on Showtime.
Known as the High Priest of LSD, the docu will dive deep into why he became a narc in 1974 and turned his back on...
Previously, May 26: Showtime Documentary Films unveiled a new docu feature from Oscar-winning director Errol Morris that will spotlight the polarizing psychedelic drug advocate Timothy Leary. The docu, which currently has the working title of A Film By Errol Morris will debut later this year on Showtime.
Known as the High Priest of LSD, the docu will dive deep into why he became a narc in 1974 and turned his back on...
- 10/29/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Academy Award-winning filmmaker Errol Morris has covered a lot of crazy stories in his day and he’s arguably the godfather of the true-crime documentary that we all love and spend watching as docu-series on places like Netflix (see the monumental true-crime doc “The Thin Blue Line“). Whether crafting incisive political docs like “The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara,” or making portraits of eccentric Americans, Morris is one-of-a-kind original and innovator.
Continue reading ‘My Psychedelic Love Story’ Trailer: Errol Morris Examines The Crazy Story of Timothy Leary Flipping As A Narc at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘My Psychedelic Love Story’ Trailer: Errol Morris Examines The Crazy Story of Timothy Leary Flipping As A Narc at The Playlist.
- 10/29/2020
- by Edward Davis
- The Playlist
AFI Fest on Friday announced the winners of its jury and audience awards, with marquee honors going to Secret of Kells duo Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart’s animated Wolfwalkers, which won the audience award for narrative feature, and 76 Days, the documentary about the first days of the Covid-19 virus in China, taking the doc audience award honor.
Wolfwalkers follows Robyn, who befriends wild girl Mebh while exploring the magical forest outside an Irish town’s walls and undergoes a transformation. For 76 Days, directors Wu Hao and Chen Weixi filmed inside Wuhan’s hospitals as the city of 11 million go on lockdown in on January 23, 2020.
Johnson Cheng’s Lonely Blue Night won the short film audience award.
The mostly virtual festival, which ran October 15-22, featured 125 titles and more than 120 filmmakers participating in panel discussions. The annual fest opened with the Rachel Brosnahan-starring 1970s crime drama I’m Your Woman...
Wolfwalkers follows Robyn, who befriends wild girl Mebh while exploring the magical forest outside an Irish town’s walls and undergoes a transformation. For 76 Days, directors Wu Hao and Chen Weixi filmed inside Wuhan’s hospitals as the city of 11 million go on lockdown in on January 23, 2020.
Johnson Cheng’s Lonely Blue Night won the short film audience award.
The mostly virtual festival, which ran October 15-22, featured 125 titles and more than 120 filmmakers participating in panel discussions. The annual fest opened with the Rachel Brosnahan-starring 1970s crime drama I’m Your Woman...
- 10/24/2020
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
It makes sense that this year’s AFI Fest closed on Thursday night with the premiere of director Errol Morris’ wild and entertaining documentary “My Psychedelic Love Story.” In a year in which reality has smacked all of us in the face, nonfiction filmmaking is in the spotlight more than ever, from a string of docs that deal with issues at stake in the upcoming election to more freewheeling works like Morris’ film, a Wtf concoction from a director who only gets this playful once in a while.
It’s undeniable that the Oscars race for Best Picture is off to a slow start, with fewer films than usual playing the scaled-down fall film festivals and studios reluctant to commit to theatrical openings as the pandemic stretches on. But the race for Best Documentary Feature promises to be a robust one. More than 50 films are now available in the Academy...
It’s undeniable that the Oscars race for Best Picture is off to a slow start, with fewer films than usual playing the scaled-down fall film festivals and studios reluctant to commit to theatrical openings as the pandemic stretches on. But the race for Best Documentary Feature promises to be a robust one. More than 50 films are now available in the Academy...
- 10/23/2020
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
From “The Fog of War” to “Tabloid“, to “Mr. Death,” and “American Dharma,” there are a few good reasons why many hail Errol Morris as the master of the one-on-one interview doc. Morris knows that the deepest stories can be found in human transgressions, these transgressions often being the outward manifestation of people’s darkest secrets and desires.
Continue reading ‘My Psychedelic Love Story’: Errol Morris’ Latest Doc Is A Trippy Romance With A Dash Of Conspiracy [AFI Review] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘My Psychedelic Love Story’: Errol Morris’ Latest Doc Is A Trippy Romance With A Dash Of Conspiracy [AFI Review] at The Playlist.
- 10/22/2020
- by Andrew Bundy
- The Playlist
Errol Morris’ surreal investigations into humanity have been influencing documentary filmmakers for generations, so it was only a matter of time before he began influencing himself. Morris’ last effort, the 2018 Steve Bannon one-on-one “American Dharma,” was inspired by Bannon’s own creepy affinity for Morris’ work. Now comes “My Psychedelic Love Story,” which owes its existence in part to “Wormwood,” the category-busting Netflix miniseries in which Morris investigated whether the FBI used LSD to take down government scientist Frank Olson.
That bizarre chapter of ‘60s conspiracy and psychedelia has now birthed another one, as Morris’ feature-length interview with former Timothy Leary lover and FBI informant Joanna Harcourt-Smith came to him because of “Wormwood.” Morris’ movies have always been rabbit-hole journeys that work best when staying true to his playful instincts: “Wormwood” was an intriguing experiment in breaking the familiar Morris mold, but “My Psychedelic Love Story” brings him back to where he belongs.
That bizarre chapter of ‘60s conspiracy and psychedelia has now birthed another one, as Morris’ feature-length interview with former Timothy Leary lover and FBI informant Joanna Harcourt-Smith came to him because of “Wormwood.” Morris’ movies have always been rabbit-hole journeys that work best when staying true to his playful instincts: “Wormwood” was an intriguing experiment in breaking the familiar Morris mold, but “My Psychedelic Love Story” brings him back to where he belongs.
- 10/22/2020
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
For at least some of us who lived through the counter-culture/psychedelic era of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, Timothy Leary was one of the most annoying or, at least, equivocal figures of a time that hardly lacked for colorful characters. The most famous utterance of this often articulate, madly attention-seeking figure — “Turn on, tune in, drop out” — always seemed utterly idiotic to me and, of the period’s vast drug-addled cast of characters, he always proved the most ubiquitous, reliably on hand for the opening of a bag or the drop of a lude.
However, in his new film My Psychedelic Love Story, the ever-inquisitive and creative Errol Morris has found a way into this eager attention craver that, even if it doesn’t present the man in a new light, does make Leary’s story come alive again in a very particular way. And the portal comes...
However, in his new film My Psychedelic Love Story, the ever-inquisitive and creative Errol Morris has found a way into this eager attention craver that, even if it doesn’t present the man in a new light, does make Leary’s story come alive again in a very particular way. And the portal comes...
- 10/22/2020
- by Todd McCarthy
- Deadline Film + TV
Perhaps more interesting as an example of the power of storytelling than as an in-depth historical examination, Errol Morris’ “My Psychedelic Love Story” — which closes out the AFI 2020 festival on its way to Showtime — marks another case of the documentarian finding a fascinating figure and then allowing that person to tell their own side of the story, leaving it to audiences to decide how much is truth and how much is self-aggrandizing rationalization.
That’s not to say that Morris’ subject, Timothy Leary’s longtime companion Joanna Harcourt-Smith, is any more duplicitous or cagey than any of us; most people, asked to recount their life in front of a camera, will of course tell the most glowing and self-serving version of events — particularly after being publicly accused of skullduggery and bad faith. The tale that Harcourt-Smith has to tell is so figuratively mind-blowing, that it makes for a heck of a legend,...
That’s not to say that Morris’ subject, Timothy Leary’s longtime companion Joanna Harcourt-Smith, is any more duplicitous or cagey than any of us; most people, asked to recount their life in front of a camera, will of course tell the most glowing and self-serving version of events — particularly after being publicly accused of skullduggery and bad faith. The tale that Harcourt-Smith has to tell is so figuratively mind-blowing, that it makes for a heck of a legend,...
- 10/22/2020
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
The term “unreliable narrator” might have been invented to describe Joanna Harcourt-Smith, the subject of Errol Morris’ latest documentary revolving around a single figure. She’s a former paramour of psychologist and LSD-guru Timothy Leary who was involved with him during some of his most tumultuous years, including when he turned informant to secure an early release from prison. Based on her memoir, the documentary features the undeniably colorful bohemian spinning a series of wild tales featuring generous doses of those counterculture mainstays: sex, drugs and rock and roll. My Psychedelic Love Story is receiving its world premiere at the AFI ...
- 10/22/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The term “unreliable narrator” might have been invented to describe Joanna Harcourt-Smith, the subject of Errol Morris’ latest documentary revolving around a single figure. She’s a former paramour of psychologist and LSD-guru Timothy Leary who was involved with him during some of his most tumultuous years, including when he turned informant to secure an early release from prison. Based on her memoir, the documentary features the undeniably colorful bohemian spinning a series of wild tales featuring generous doses of those counterculture mainstays: sex, drugs and rock and roll. My Psychedelic Love Story is receiving its world premiere at the AFI ...
- 10/22/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Rachel Brosnahan fans can rejoice because “I’m Your Woman” is getting a repeat screening as part of the 2020 AFI Fest.
The ’70s crime drama, from writer-director Julia Hart, will screen again on Oct. 22 after much demand. “I’m Your Woman” served as the film festival’s opening night selection on Oct. 15. The 2020 edition of the festival, sponsored by Audi, is being held virtually due to Covid-19 pandemic.
In a conversation about the film with stars Brosnahan, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Arinzé Kene and co-writer and producer Jordan Horowitz, Hart gushed about having her film debut during the fest.
“I’ve been an L.A. resident for 13 years now, and it is my adopted home,” Hart began. “I love it here so much — both of my babies were born here, I became a writer and a director here, it’s a very special place to me.”
“AFI Fest is such an important staple...
The ’70s crime drama, from writer-director Julia Hart, will screen again on Oct. 22 after much demand. “I’m Your Woman” served as the film festival’s opening night selection on Oct. 15. The 2020 edition of the festival, sponsored by Audi, is being held virtually due to Covid-19 pandemic.
In a conversation about the film with stars Brosnahan, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Arinzé Kene and co-writer and producer Jordan Horowitz, Hart gushed about having her film debut during the fest.
“I’ve been an L.A. resident for 13 years now, and it is my adopted home,” Hart began. “I love it here so much — both of my babies were born here, I became a writer and a director here, it’s a very special place to me.”
“AFI Fest is such an important staple...
- 10/19/2020
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix, HBO Max join line-up heading into awards season.
As AFI Fest kicks off tonight the festival announced it will screen extended clips and host conversations with filmmakers from three upcoming Netflix and HBO Max releases.
Ron Howard will join Amy Adams and Glenn Close to discuss Hillbilly Elegy, Netflix’s saga of three generations of an Appalachian family that is expected to be a key awards contender.
The story is based on the memoir by J.D. Vance and is told through the eyes of a Yale law student forced to return to his hometown.
Werner Herzog will moderate a...
As AFI Fest kicks off tonight the festival announced it will screen extended clips and host conversations with filmmakers from three upcoming Netflix and HBO Max releases.
Ron Howard will join Amy Adams and Glenn Close to discuss Hillbilly Elegy, Netflix’s saga of three generations of an Appalachian family that is expected to be a key awards contender.
The story is based on the memoir by J.D. Vance and is told through the eyes of a Yale law student forced to return to his hometown.
Werner Herzog will moderate a...
- 10/15/2020
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
The first all-virtual edition of the Doc NYC festival of nonfiction films announced its 2020 lineup on Thursday, with 107 feature documentaries about everyone from John Belushi to Jamal Khashoggi and Pope Francis to Frank Zappa,
The lineup for the festival, which runs from Nov. 11 through Nov. 19 and will take place completely online, includes 23 world premieres, among them Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s “The Meaning of Hitler,” Nancy Burski’s “A Crime on the Bayou,” Gong Cheng and Yung Chang’s “Wuhan Wuhan” and Jeff Daniels’ “Television Event.”
Doc NYC, which launched in 2010, is the largest festival of nonfiction films in the United States. This year the festival transitioned to a completely online event separated into 14 themed sections, two of which are competitive sections that will award prizes.
The competitive Viewfinders section consists of 11 films, including films set in Venezuela (“A La Calle”), Puerto Rico (“Landfall”), the Dominican Republic (“Stateless”) and...
The lineup for the festival, which runs from Nov. 11 through Nov. 19 and will take place completely online, includes 23 world premieres, among them Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s “The Meaning of Hitler,” Nancy Burski’s “A Crime on the Bayou,” Gong Cheng and Yung Chang’s “Wuhan Wuhan” and Jeff Daniels’ “Television Event.”
Doc NYC, which launched in 2010, is the largest festival of nonfiction films in the United States. This year the festival transitioned to a completely online event separated into 14 themed sections, two of which are competitive sections that will award prizes.
The competitive Viewfinders section consists of 11 films, including films set in Venezuela (“A La Calle”), Puerto Rico (“Landfall”), the Dominican Republic (“Stateless”) and...
- 10/15/2020
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
AFI Fest is the surviving Hollywood film festival, a destination for late-breaking, Oscar-seeking movies such as Ava DuVernay’s “Selma,” Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln,” and Clint Eastwood’s “American Sniper.” Last year, organizers decided to move the date from November to October. If there was ever a year to launch a film festival later than usual, 2020 was it — but AFI Fest held to its planned mid-October launch.
“I did not know what to expect,” said AFI Fest director Michael Lumpkin in a phone interview. “We made a pre-pandemic decision to do October, and then in March when everything shifted we did revisit that decision.”
After analyzing the pros and cons, he concluded that it’s easier to piggyback on the same publicity tour that brings talent to the Venice, Toronto, New York and London film festivals. “We decided keep it there,” he said.
Lumpkin and his programmers also had their hands full.
“I did not know what to expect,” said AFI Fest director Michael Lumpkin in a phone interview. “We made a pre-pandemic decision to do October, and then in March when everything shifted we did revisit that decision.”
After analyzing the pros and cons, he concluded that it’s easier to piggyback on the same publicity tour that brings talent to the Venice, Toronto, New York and London film festivals. “We decided keep it there,” he said.
Lumpkin and his programmers also had their hands full.
- 10/15/2020
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
AFI Fest is the surviving Hollywood film festival, a destination for late-breaking, Oscar-seeking movies such as Ava DuVernay’s “Selma,” Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln,” and Clint Eastwood’s “American Sniper.” Last year, organizers decided to move the date from November to October. If there was ever a year to launch a film festival later than usual, 2020 was it — but AFI Fest held to its planned mid-October launch.
“I did not know what to expect,” said AFI Fest director Michael Lumpkin in a phone interview. “We made a pre-pandemic decision to do October, and then in March when everything shifted we did revisit that decision.”
After analyzing the pros and cons, he concluded that it’s easier to piggyback on the same publicity tour that brings talent to the Venice, Toronto, New York and London film festivals. “We decided keep it there,” he said.
Lumpkin and his programmers also had their hands full.
“I did not know what to expect,” said AFI Fest director Michael Lumpkin in a phone interview. “We made a pre-pandemic decision to do October, and then in March when everything shifted we did revisit that decision.”
After analyzing the pros and cons, he concluded that it’s easier to piggyback on the same publicity tour that brings talent to the Venice, Toronto, New York and London film festivals. “We decided keep it there,” he said.
Lumpkin and his programmers also had their hands full.
- 10/15/2020
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
As with many festivals this year, the AFI Fest, presented by Audi, will unspool virtually, but in its most important aspect, the celebration of cinematic art
is unchanged.
“How we get to it is a lot different,” says Michael Lumpkin, director of AFI Fest, running Oct. 15-22. “But the end product is very much what the festival has always been. People are getting excited about the program.”
The AFI film festival can be guaranteed to bring highly anticipated fare to eager audiences. This year’s special presentations include world premieres such as opening-night film “I’m Your Woman,” a thriller starring Rachel Brosnahan directed by Julia Hart; Kelly Oxford’s “Pink Skies Ahead”; parts one and two of Matt Tyrnauer’s four-part deep dig into “The Reagans”; drama “Really Love” from helmer Angel Kristi Williams; vibrant coming-of-age story “She Paradise” from Maya Cozier; and Lisa Rovner’s doc about the women who helped shape electronic music,...
is unchanged.
“How we get to it is a lot different,” says Michael Lumpkin, director of AFI Fest, running Oct. 15-22. “But the end product is very much what the festival has always been. People are getting excited about the program.”
The AFI film festival can be guaranteed to bring highly anticipated fare to eager audiences. This year’s special presentations include world premieres such as opening-night film “I’m Your Woman,” a thriller starring Rachel Brosnahan directed by Julia Hart; Kelly Oxford’s “Pink Skies Ahead”; parts one and two of Matt Tyrnauer’s four-part deep dig into “The Reagans”; drama “Really Love” from helmer Angel Kristi Williams; vibrant coming-of-age story “She Paradise” from Maya Cozier; and Lisa Rovner’s doc about the women who helped shape electronic music,...
- 10/15/2020
- by Carole Horst
- Variety Film + TV
AFI Fest said Friday that it has added Regina King’s drama One Night in Miami to its lineup as the Centerpiece Drive-in screening, the only in-person screening at this year’s otherwise virtual edition set for October 15-22.
The move comes as the movie, which bowed at this year’s Venice Film Festival, gears up for its release in select theaters on December 25 via Amazon, which launches the pic globally January 15 on Amazon Prime Video.
King’s directorial debut, an adaptation of Kemp Powers’ stage play, takes place over one night with icons Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke and Jim Brown examining the civil rights movement. Kingsley Ben-Adir, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge and Leslie Odom Jr star.
AFI Fest opens pens Thursday with Julia Hart’s I’m Your Woman and closes with Errol Morris’ My Psychedelic Love Story. Special presentations include the world premieres of Pink Skies Ahead,...
The move comes as the movie, which bowed at this year’s Venice Film Festival, gears up for its release in select theaters on December 25 via Amazon, which launches the pic globally January 15 on Amazon Prime Video.
King’s directorial debut, an adaptation of Kemp Powers’ stage play, takes place over one night with icons Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke and Jim Brown examining the civil rights movement. Kingsley Ben-Adir, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge and Leslie Odom Jr star.
AFI Fest opens pens Thursday with Julia Hart’s I’m Your Woman and closes with Errol Morris’ My Psychedelic Love Story. Special presentations include the world premieres of Pink Skies Ahead,...
- 10/9/2020
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
The American Film Institute has unveiled its lineup of 124 films, adding notable titles including the documentaries “Belushi,” “Citizen Penn” and “Hopper/Welles” and the Albert and Allen Hughes thriller “Dead Presidents.”
AFI Fest, which is going virtual this year without the usual glitzy Hollywood premieres at the Tcl Chinese Theatre, had announced previously that Rachel Brosnahan’s crime drama “I’m Your Woman” had been selected as its opening night title on Oct. 15. The festival also announced last month that it would close Oct. 22 with “My Psychedelic Love Story,” and host the world premieres of Kelly Oxford’s “Pink Skies Ahead” and Angel Kristi Williams’ “Really Love,” in addition to special presentations of Florian Zeller’s “The Father,” Werner Herzog and Clive Oppenheimer’s “Fireball” and Mira Nair’s “A Suitable Boy.”
“Belushi” is directed by R.J. Cutler and features interviews with John Belushi, Jim Belushi, Chevy Chase, Carrie Fisher, Dan Aykroyd and Penny Marshall.
AFI Fest, which is going virtual this year without the usual glitzy Hollywood premieres at the Tcl Chinese Theatre, had announced previously that Rachel Brosnahan’s crime drama “I’m Your Woman” had been selected as its opening night title on Oct. 15. The festival also announced last month that it would close Oct. 22 with “My Psychedelic Love Story,” and host the world premieres of Kelly Oxford’s “Pink Skies Ahead” and Angel Kristi Williams’ “Really Love,” in addition to special presentations of Florian Zeller’s “The Father,” Werner Herzog and Clive Oppenheimer’s “Fireball” and Mira Nair’s “A Suitable Boy.”
“Belushi” is directed by R.J. Cutler and features interviews with John Belushi, Jim Belushi, Chevy Chase, Carrie Fisher, Dan Aykroyd and Penny Marshall.
- 10/6/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Wolfwalkers, Sound Of Metal, Apples among line-up.
AFI Fest has unveiled the full line-up of 124 films including 54 features for its 2020 online edition and said 53% are directed by women, 39% by Bipoc filmmakers, and 17% by Lbgtq+ filmmakers.
Festival heads announced on Tuesday (October 6) selections in the World Cinema, New Auteurs, Documentary, Cinema’s Legacy, Short Film Competition, and Meet the Press Film Festival. The virtual festival runs from October 15-22.
World Cinema entries include Michel Franco’s New Order; the animation Wolfwalkers from Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart; Orson Welles’ Hopper/Welles; Sound Of Metal; and Stéphanie Chuat’s Swiss Oscar submission My Little Sister.
AFI Fest has unveiled the full line-up of 124 films including 54 features for its 2020 online edition and said 53% are directed by women, 39% by Bipoc filmmakers, and 17% by Lbgtq+ filmmakers.
Festival heads announced on Tuesday (October 6) selections in the World Cinema, New Auteurs, Documentary, Cinema’s Legacy, Short Film Competition, and Meet the Press Film Festival. The virtual festival runs from October 15-22.
World Cinema entries include Michel Franco’s New Order; the animation Wolfwalkers from Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart; Orson Welles’ Hopper/Welles; Sound Of Metal; and Stéphanie Chuat’s Swiss Oscar submission My Little Sister.
- 10/6/2020
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
The American Film Institute (AFI) has today announced the full lineup of this year’s AFI Fest, including the World Cinema, New Auteurs, and Documentary sections. These titles, including buzzy festival features like “I Carry You with Me,” “Shadow in the Cloud,” “Jumbo,” “Farewell Amor,” “Wander Darkly,” “Tragic Jungle,” “Sound of Metal,” “Wolfwalkers,” “New Order,” and “Hopper/Welles,” join previously announced films, including Julia Hart’s “I’m Your Woman,” which will open the festival, and Errol Morris’ “My Psychedelic Love Story,” which will close it.
This year’s complete AFI Fest program includes 124 titles of which 53 percent are directed by women, 39 percent are directed by Bipoc, and 17 percent are directed by Lbgtq+.
“AFI Fest is committed to supporting diverse perspectives and new voices in cinema and this year is no different,” said Sarah Harris, Director of Programming, AFI Festivals, in an official statement. “While we wish we were able to be together in Hollywood,...
This year’s complete AFI Fest program includes 124 titles of which 53 percent are directed by women, 39 percent are directed by Bipoc, and 17 percent are directed by Lbgtq+.
“AFI Fest is committed to supporting diverse perspectives and new voices in cinema and this year is no different,” said Sarah Harris, Director of Programming, AFI Festivals, in an official statement. “While we wish we were able to be together in Hollywood,...
- 10/6/2020
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Sienna Miller’s “Wander Darkly,” Chloe Grace Moretz’s “Shadow in the Cloud” and Winston Duke’s “Nine Days” have been added to the AFI Fest 2020 lineup, as well as a documentary about John Belushi and “On the Record,” featuring Drew Dixon, who alleges sexual abuse by hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, the American Film Institute announced on Tuesday. The complete AFI Fest program will include 124 titles, of which 53% are directed by women. 39% of the titles are directed by Bipoc and 17% are directed by LGBTQ+. “AFI Fest is committed to supporting diverse perspectives and new voices in cinema and this year is no different,” Sarah Harris, Director of Programming at AFI Festivals said in a statement. “While we wish we were able to be together in Hollywood, this year’s festival is an opportunity to celebrate the many great films yet to be discovered by audiences across the nation.” Also Read:...
- 10/6/2020
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Wrap
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