HBO and sales agent Independent have boarded George Clooney-produced political documentary The Art of Political Murder.
The premium broadcaster has taken the North American rights to the project via its HBO Documentary Films, while Independent will take it to Cannes. The feature doc, which was previously in development as a series with Amazon, is produced by Clooney and Grant Heslov’s Smokehouse Pictures and Rise Film.
The doc will explore the murky world of post-war Guatemala and its struggle for justice. Based on Francisco Goldman’s book of the same name, The Art of Political Murder uncovers the truth behind the brutal murder of Guatemalan Bishop, Juan Gerardi, that stunned a country ravaged by decades of political violence. Just two days after presenting a damning report blaming the atrocities of the civil war on the Guatemalan military, Bishop Gerardi is found dead in his home. Fearing a cover-up, the...
The premium broadcaster has taken the North American rights to the project via its HBO Documentary Films, while Independent will take it to Cannes. The feature doc, which was previously in development as a series with Amazon, is produced by Clooney and Grant Heslov’s Smokehouse Pictures and Rise Film.
The doc will explore the murky world of post-war Guatemala and its struggle for justice. Based on Francisco Goldman’s book of the same name, The Art of Political Murder uncovers the truth behind the brutal murder of Guatemalan Bishop, Juan Gerardi, that stunned a country ravaged by decades of political violence. Just two days after presenting a damning report blaming the atrocities of the civil war on the Guatemalan military, Bishop Gerardi is found dead in his home. Fearing a cover-up, the...
- 5/8/2019
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Project was previously set up as a series at Amazon.
London-based sales agent Independent has picked up international rights to The Art Of Political Murder, the upcoming feature documentary from Icarus producer Rise Films, HBO, and George Clooney and Grant Heslov’s Smokehouse Pictures.
The project is based on Francisco Goldman’s book of the same name, which uncovers the truth behind the brutal murder of Guatemalan Bishop, Juan Gerardi.
Paul Taylor is directing the project with Rise Film’s Teddy Leifer and Artemis Rising Foundation’s Regina K. Scully producing. Megan Davis is co-producing and Masahiro Hirakubo is editing.
London-based sales agent Independent has picked up international rights to The Art Of Political Murder, the upcoming feature documentary from Icarus producer Rise Films, HBO, and George Clooney and Grant Heslov’s Smokehouse Pictures.
The project is based on Francisco Goldman’s book of the same name, which uncovers the truth behind the brutal murder of Guatemalan Bishop, Juan Gerardi.
Paul Taylor is directing the project with Rise Film’s Teddy Leifer and Artemis Rising Foundation’s Regina K. Scully producing. Megan Davis is co-producing and Masahiro Hirakubo is editing.
- 5/8/2019
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
Aaron Brookner with Paterson and Gimme Danger director Jim Jarmusch - Sara Driver on Uncle Howard: "I knew Howard’s nephew Aaron was interested in filmmaking ..."
In Aaron Brookner's search in the making of Uncle Howard, with timely editing by Masahiro Hirakubo (Orlando von Einsiedel's Virunga), we see glimpses of John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Philip Glass, John Giorno, Laurie Anderson, Anne Waldman, Jim Carroll, Frank Zappa, and Patti Smith at the Entermedia Nova Convention - Andy Warhol having Cities Of The Red Night inscribed by William Burroughs - clips from Robert Wilson and the Civil Wars - and a telling interview with Lindsay Law on Howard Brookner's film Bloodhounds Of Broadway, based on Damon Runyon stories, with Matt Dillon, Rutger Hauer, Randy Quaid, Jennifer Grey, Madonna, Anita Morris, Fisher Stevens, Richard Edson, and Steve Buscemi.
Sara Driver with Paul Bowles scholar Francis Poole and Richard Peña...
In Aaron Brookner's search in the making of Uncle Howard, with timely editing by Masahiro Hirakubo (Orlando von Einsiedel's Virunga), we see glimpses of John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Philip Glass, John Giorno, Laurie Anderson, Anne Waldman, Jim Carroll, Frank Zappa, and Patti Smith at the Entermedia Nova Convention - Andy Warhol having Cities Of The Red Night inscribed by William Burroughs - clips from Robert Wilson and the Civil Wars - and a telling interview with Lindsay Law on Howard Brookner's film Bloodhounds Of Broadway, based on Damon Runyon stories, with Matt Dillon, Rutger Hauer, Randy Quaid, Jennifer Grey, Madonna, Anita Morris, Fisher Stevens, Richard Edson, and Steve Buscemi.
Sara Driver with Paul Bowles scholar Francis Poole and Richard Peña...
- 10/2/2016
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Academy invitee Eddie Redmayne in 'The Theory of Everything.' Academy invites 322 new members: 'More diverse and inclusive list of filmmakers and artists than ever before' The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has offered membership to 322 individuals "who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures." According to the Academy's press release, "those who accept the invitations will be the only additions to the Academy's membership in 2015." In case all 322 potential new members say an enthusiastic Yes, that means an injection of new blood representing about 5 percent of the Academy's current membership. In the words of Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs (as quoted in the press release), in 2015 "our branches have recognized a more diverse and inclusive list of filmmakers and artists than ever before, and we look forward to adding their creativity, ideas and experience to our organization." In recent years, the Academy membership has...
- 7/1/2015
- by Anna Robinson
- Alt Film Guide
©Renzo Piano Building Workshop/©Studio Pali Fekete architects/©A.M.P.A.S.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced this week that the Los Angeles City Council, in a unanimous vote, approved plans for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Construction will begin this summer, and ceremonial groundbreaking festivities will occur this fall.
“I am thrilled that Los Angeles is gaining another architectural and cultural icon,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti. “My office of economic development has worked directly with the museum’s development team to ensure that the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will create jobs, support tourism, and pay homage to the industry that helped define our identity as the creative capital of the world.”
“We are grateful to our incredible community of supporters who have helped make this museum a reality,” said Dawn Hudson, the Academy’s CEO. “Building this museum has been an Academy...
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced this week that the Los Angeles City Council, in a unanimous vote, approved plans for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Construction will begin this summer, and ceremonial groundbreaking festivities will occur this fall.
“I am thrilled that Los Angeles is gaining another architectural and cultural icon,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti. “My office of economic development has worked directly with the museum’s development team to ensure that the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will create jobs, support tourism, and pay homage to the industry that helped define our identity as the creative capital of the world.”
“We are grateful to our incredible community of supporters who have helped make this museum a reality,” said Dawn Hudson, the Academy’s CEO. “Building this museum has been an Academy...
- 6/27/2015
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Strangely dropping a press release on a historic day where the nation's attention is elsewhere, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revealed their annual list of new member invitees this morning. For those who criticize the makeup of the Academy there was some good news and the stark realization the organization still has a long way to go. The Academy has spent the last eight to 10 years attempting to diversify its membership and this year's class mostly reflects that. There are significantly more invitees of Asian and African-American descent, but the male to female disparity is still depressing. Out of the 25 potential new members of the Actor's Branch only seven are women. And, no, there isn't really an acceptable way for the Academy to spin that sad fact. Additionally, It's important to realize the 322 people noted in the release have only been invited to join Hollywood's most exclusive club.
- 6/26/2015
- by Gregory Ellwood
- Hitfix
Venue: Venice Film Festival
Venice -- In 2004 of a 23-member Sri Lankan handball team suddenly showed up in Bavaria. The team had fooled the German Embassy in Colombo, got itself an invite for a tournament, then boarded the plane with the sole idea of never returning home. When the bluff became apparent, with even the audiences wondering why a national team did not have a clue of the game's rules, the entire team vanished, probably into Italy. Not one of them has been traced.
Director Uberto Pasolini, a producer on "The Full Monty," uses this incident to dramatize what he feels is a flawed immigration policy in the West. He -- and his film -- argues there must be a free movement of human capital as there is of financial capital. He collaboarted with renowned Sri Lankan playwright Ruwanthie de Chickera to script the story of the 23 men, who had...
Venice -- In 2004 of a 23-member Sri Lankan handball team suddenly showed up in Bavaria. The team had fooled the German Embassy in Colombo, got itself an invite for a tournament, then boarded the plane with the sole idea of never returning home. When the bluff became apparent, with even the audiences wondering why a national team did not have a clue of the game's rules, the entire team vanished, probably into Italy. Not one of them has been traced.
Director Uberto Pasolini, a producer on "The Full Monty," uses this incident to dramatize what he feels is a flawed immigration policy in the West. He -- and his film -- argues there must be a free movement of human capital as there is of financial capital. He collaboarted with renowned Sri Lankan playwright Ruwanthie de Chickera to script the story of the 23 men, who had...
- 9/4/2008
- by By Gautaman Bhaskaran
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A pleasant surprise, English director Stephen Frears' latest dip into mainstream Hollywood filmmaking (after the twin disasters "Hero" and "Mary Reilly") is an engaging post-World War II western with a volatile mixture of American idealism and winner-take-all competition.
Starring Woody Harrelson and Billy Crudup as returning vets and friends who both pursue married woman Patricia Arquette, "The Hi-Lo Country" is a little out of step with the times (no vampires, no city slickers) and probably won't kick up much of a fuss at the boxoffice.
It's a shame -- what with Oliver Stapleton's excellent widescreen cinematography and Carter Burwell's Oscar-worthy original music evoking classic oaters of the past -- that the holiday glut will claim such an unworthy victim. The literate story, based on Max Evans' novel, is a project Sam Peckinpah struggled for decades to get made.
Small-town ranchers in New Mexico's Hi-Lo Country (near the top of the Texas Panhandle), Pete (Crudup) and Big Boy (Harrelson) return from the war to little fanfare and are all set to continue their rough-living ways -- driving cattle, womanizing, drinking and brawling.
In Walon Green's leisurely paced screenplay, and with Frears displaying a strong grasp of the material, the fates of these two macho guys becomes intertwined when they realize their rough-and-tumble view of life is the one thing they will gladly fight for.
They are largely successful at first, with Pete taking up again with a prewar sweetheart (Penelope Cruz), who rightly fears that he doesn't really love her and won't stay around long. Indeed, when he learns that beguiling Mona (Arquette), a longtime obsession, has married, he again becomes hotly interested in her.
Seemingly unhappy, with her husband (John Diehl) employed by the land-grabbing local kingpin (Sam Elliott), Mona flirts with Pete enough to whet his appetite, but he's crushed when he learns that his pal Big Boy has already made a move on her.
While the two guys struggle to stay in business with the help of another local maverick (James Gammon), loyal-but-frustrated Pete is drawn into the dangerous game played by Big Boy and Mona.
In various tense and violent encounters with Elliott's men, the leads' backs are watched by cool-headed Levi Gomez (Enrique Castillo). But Big Boy's brother Little Boy (Cole Hauser) is firmly in the enemy camp. Ultimately, the violence escalates and wild passions are unleashed with tragic consequences, with Big Boy (who fought as Marine in the bloody invasion of Tarawa in the Pacific) seemingly at peace with himself even as he sets a fateful course.
Both an homage to the fading cowboy lifestyle and a believable rendering of the times, "Hi-Lo" boasts another strong, commanding performance from Harrelson. Big Boy is equal parts boastful charmer and punchy cowpoke -- a might-have-been equal to Elliott's wily old boy -- and Harrelson, in one of his best outings, rises to the occasion.
With his starring role in Robert Towne's "Without Limits", Crudup has had a terrific year. Although his character gets somewhat overshadowed by Big Boy and Mona, this rising talent should ride off with a lot more fans. Arquette, on the other hand, is not particularly special or memorable in her role, though her slinky, laconic approach is appropriate to the character.
THE HI-LO COUNTRY
Gramercy Pictures
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment presents
in association with Martin Scorsese
A Working Title production
with Cappa/De Fina Prods.
Director: Stephen Frears
Screenwriter: Walon Green
Producers: Barbara De Fina,
Martin Scorsese, Eric Fellner, Tim Bevan
Executive producer: Rudd Simmons
Director of photography: Oliver Stapleton
Production/costume designer: Patricia Norris
Editor: Masahiro Hirakubo
Music: Carter Burwell
Casting: Victoria Thomas
Color/stereo
Cast:
Pete: Billy Crudup
Big Boy: Woody Harrelson
Little Boy: Cole Hauser
Mona: Patricia Arquette
Jim Ed Love: Sam Elliott
Hoover: James Gammon
Josepha: Penelope Cruz
Levi Gomez : Enrique Castillo
Les Birk: John Diehl
Running time - 115 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Starring Woody Harrelson and Billy Crudup as returning vets and friends who both pursue married woman Patricia Arquette, "The Hi-Lo Country" is a little out of step with the times (no vampires, no city slickers) and probably won't kick up much of a fuss at the boxoffice.
It's a shame -- what with Oliver Stapleton's excellent widescreen cinematography and Carter Burwell's Oscar-worthy original music evoking classic oaters of the past -- that the holiday glut will claim such an unworthy victim. The literate story, based on Max Evans' novel, is a project Sam Peckinpah struggled for decades to get made.
Small-town ranchers in New Mexico's Hi-Lo Country (near the top of the Texas Panhandle), Pete (Crudup) and Big Boy (Harrelson) return from the war to little fanfare and are all set to continue their rough-living ways -- driving cattle, womanizing, drinking and brawling.
In Walon Green's leisurely paced screenplay, and with Frears displaying a strong grasp of the material, the fates of these two macho guys becomes intertwined when they realize their rough-and-tumble view of life is the one thing they will gladly fight for.
They are largely successful at first, with Pete taking up again with a prewar sweetheart (Penelope Cruz), who rightly fears that he doesn't really love her and won't stay around long. Indeed, when he learns that beguiling Mona (Arquette), a longtime obsession, has married, he again becomes hotly interested in her.
Seemingly unhappy, with her husband (John Diehl) employed by the land-grabbing local kingpin (Sam Elliott), Mona flirts with Pete enough to whet his appetite, but he's crushed when he learns that his pal Big Boy has already made a move on her.
While the two guys struggle to stay in business with the help of another local maverick (James Gammon), loyal-but-frustrated Pete is drawn into the dangerous game played by Big Boy and Mona.
In various tense and violent encounters with Elliott's men, the leads' backs are watched by cool-headed Levi Gomez (Enrique Castillo). But Big Boy's brother Little Boy (Cole Hauser) is firmly in the enemy camp. Ultimately, the violence escalates and wild passions are unleashed with tragic consequences, with Big Boy (who fought as Marine in the bloody invasion of Tarawa in the Pacific) seemingly at peace with himself even as he sets a fateful course.
Both an homage to the fading cowboy lifestyle and a believable rendering of the times, "Hi-Lo" boasts another strong, commanding performance from Harrelson. Big Boy is equal parts boastful charmer and punchy cowpoke -- a might-have-been equal to Elliott's wily old boy -- and Harrelson, in one of his best outings, rises to the occasion.
With his starring role in Robert Towne's "Without Limits", Crudup has had a terrific year. Although his character gets somewhat overshadowed by Big Boy and Mona, this rising talent should ride off with a lot more fans. Arquette, on the other hand, is not particularly special or memorable in her role, though her slinky, laconic approach is appropriate to the character.
THE HI-LO COUNTRY
Gramercy Pictures
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment presents
in association with Martin Scorsese
A Working Title production
with Cappa/De Fina Prods.
Director: Stephen Frears
Screenwriter: Walon Green
Producers: Barbara De Fina,
Martin Scorsese, Eric Fellner, Tim Bevan
Executive producer: Rudd Simmons
Director of photography: Oliver Stapleton
Production/costume designer: Patricia Norris
Editor: Masahiro Hirakubo
Music: Carter Burwell
Casting: Victoria Thomas
Color/stereo
Cast:
Pete: Billy Crudup
Big Boy: Woody Harrelson
Little Boy: Cole Hauser
Mona: Patricia Arquette
Jim Ed Love: Sam Elliott
Hoover: James Gammon
Josepha: Penelope Cruz
Levi Gomez : Enrique Castillo
Les Birk: John Diehl
Running time - 115 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 12/24/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Intending to do for matters of the heart what their "Trainspotting" did for drug addiction, "A Life Less Ordinary" from director Danny Boyle and screenwriter John Hodge employs the same audacious, jittery, in-your-face technique that brought the pair deserved attention.
But while there are no hard, fast rules for making romantic comedies, their version is so intent on breaking the mold that all the frantic business ultimately smothers the offbeat love story at its core despite the winning efforts of Ewan McGregor and Cameron Diaz as the potential couple in question.
Given the fresh, undeniable talents of all concerned, "A Life Less Ordinary", despite inspired sequences, is something of a disappointment -- an annoyingly hyper take on a Preston Sturges screwball comedy that doesn't know when to sit still.
Fidgety viewers will likely react in kind, giving the picture just moderate art house hopes.
McGregor, in a change of pace from his "Trainspotting" character, is Robert, a wimpy dreamer of a janitor who aspires to write the Great American Trash Novel.
Diaz, meanwhile, is Celine, the sassy, pampered but no-nonsense daughter of the man (Ian Holm) who runs the corporation where Robert works.
While the two wouldn't appear to be a match made in heaven, the Big Man upstairs (we're talking way upstairs) believes otherwise and dispatches a couple of wayward angels (Holly Hunter and Delroy Lindo) to Earth to earn their wings by bringing the pair together by any means necessary.
But the celestial matchmakers hadn't counted on a chain of events that has resulted in Robert kidnapping Celine, and while she doesn't exactly mind the prospect of adventure in her uneventful life, Robert isn't her idea of Mr. Right.
While the film certainly has a driving energy, timing hasn't been kind. Plot-wise, it shares more than just a little with the inferior but recently released "Excess Baggage", and a whimsically choreographed karaoke bar number is unfortunately a little too reminiscent of Diaz's turn in "My Best Friend's Wedding". Her management would be wise to include an anti-karaoke clause in future contracts.
That the picture works as well as it does has much to do with the presence of Diaz (a firecracker who gets better all the time) and intriguing chameleon McGregor, who brings a charismatic sincerity to every part he plays. You want so much to see them succeed that you're willing to hold out hope for the picture to come around long after all signs would indicate otherwise.
Among the other performances, Hunter and Lindo are more odd than effective as unorthodox angels, but they aren't completely to blame. The concept has already been done to death.
Doing their usual technical best are Boyle's "Shallow Grave" and "Trainspotting" collaborators -- DP Brian Tufano, editor Masahiro Hirakubo and production designer Kave Quinn.
A LIFE LESS ORDINARY
20th Century Fox
A Figment film
Director Danny Boyle
Producer Andrew MacDonald
Screenwriter John Hodge
Director of photography Brian Tufano
Production designer Kave Quinn
Editor Masahiro Hirakubo
Costume designer Rachael Fleming
Music supervisor Randall Poster
Casting Donna Isaacson
Color/stereo
Cast:
Robert Ewan McGregor
Celine Cameron Diaz
O'Reilly Holly Hunter
Jackson Delroy Lindo
Mr. Naville Ian Holm
Mayhew Ian McNeice
Elliott Stanley Tucci
Al Tony Shalhoub
Running time -- 104 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
But while there are no hard, fast rules for making romantic comedies, their version is so intent on breaking the mold that all the frantic business ultimately smothers the offbeat love story at its core despite the winning efforts of Ewan McGregor and Cameron Diaz as the potential couple in question.
Given the fresh, undeniable talents of all concerned, "A Life Less Ordinary", despite inspired sequences, is something of a disappointment -- an annoyingly hyper take on a Preston Sturges screwball comedy that doesn't know when to sit still.
Fidgety viewers will likely react in kind, giving the picture just moderate art house hopes.
McGregor, in a change of pace from his "Trainspotting" character, is Robert, a wimpy dreamer of a janitor who aspires to write the Great American Trash Novel.
Diaz, meanwhile, is Celine, the sassy, pampered but no-nonsense daughter of the man (Ian Holm) who runs the corporation where Robert works.
While the two wouldn't appear to be a match made in heaven, the Big Man upstairs (we're talking way upstairs) believes otherwise and dispatches a couple of wayward angels (Holly Hunter and Delroy Lindo) to Earth to earn their wings by bringing the pair together by any means necessary.
But the celestial matchmakers hadn't counted on a chain of events that has resulted in Robert kidnapping Celine, and while she doesn't exactly mind the prospect of adventure in her uneventful life, Robert isn't her idea of Mr. Right.
While the film certainly has a driving energy, timing hasn't been kind. Plot-wise, it shares more than just a little with the inferior but recently released "Excess Baggage", and a whimsically choreographed karaoke bar number is unfortunately a little too reminiscent of Diaz's turn in "My Best Friend's Wedding". Her management would be wise to include an anti-karaoke clause in future contracts.
That the picture works as well as it does has much to do with the presence of Diaz (a firecracker who gets better all the time) and intriguing chameleon McGregor, who brings a charismatic sincerity to every part he plays. You want so much to see them succeed that you're willing to hold out hope for the picture to come around long after all signs would indicate otherwise.
Among the other performances, Hunter and Lindo are more odd than effective as unorthodox angels, but they aren't completely to blame. The concept has already been done to death.
Doing their usual technical best are Boyle's "Shallow Grave" and "Trainspotting" collaborators -- DP Brian Tufano, editor Masahiro Hirakubo and production designer Kave Quinn.
A LIFE LESS ORDINARY
20th Century Fox
A Figment film
Director Danny Boyle
Producer Andrew MacDonald
Screenwriter John Hodge
Director of photography Brian Tufano
Production designer Kave Quinn
Editor Masahiro Hirakubo
Costume designer Rachael Fleming
Music supervisor Randall Poster
Casting Donna Isaacson
Color/stereo
Cast:
Robert Ewan McGregor
Celine Cameron Diaz
O'Reilly Holly Hunter
Jackson Delroy Lindo
Mr. Naville Ian Holm
Mayhew Ian McNeice
Elliott Stanley Tucci
Al Tony Shalhoub
Running time -- 104 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 10/13/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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