Exclusive: Paramount’s Republic Pictures has acquired worldwide rights to the inspirational documentary Lift, from Academy Award-nominated filmmaker David Petersen, slating it for release via Paramount Global Content Distribution. In the U.S., the film will hit select theaters on September 15th and bow on digital on the 22nd. Pic will also soon hit the UK, debuting on digital on the 25th.
Exec produced by world-renowned ballerina Misty Copeland, who also served as Principal Advisor, Lift shines a spotlight on the transformative power of dance and the invisible story of homelessness in America through young home-insecure ballet dancers and their mentor who inspires them at New York Theatre Ballet. Guided by Steven Melendez, whose journey leads back to his childhood shelter, their path within the Lift scholarship program becomes a celebration of joy and triumph in the face of adversity.
Presented by Vulcan Productions and Beaufort 9 Films, in association...
Exec produced by world-renowned ballerina Misty Copeland, who also served as Principal Advisor, Lift shines a spotlight on the transformative power of dance and the invisible story of homelessness in America through young home-insecure ballet dancers and their mentor who inspires them at New York Theatre Ballet. Guided by Steven Melendez, whose journey leads back to his childhood shelter, their path within the Lift scholarship program becomes a celebration of joy and triumph in the face of adversity.
Presented by Vulcan Productions and Beaufort 9 Films, in association...
- 8/7/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Seattle International Film Festival (Siff) executive director Tom Mara has announced the company’s acquisition of the Seattle Cinerama Theater from the estate of late Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen.
Mara revealed the news at the opening night celebration of the 49th annual Siff on May 11. The festival runs through May 21.
“We are honored to take on stewardship of this historic theater. It’s a film venue adored by the community and speaks to the critical role Siff plays in bringing the power and art of film to diverse audiences across our region,” Mara said. “So many of us have experienced the magic of this theater, and we are excited to carry on the vision and impact that Paul Allen started so many years ago.”
The theater opened in 1963 before Allen purchased and refurbished the venue in the late 1990s. Since its revamp, the theater has become “an unmatched destination for blockbuster movies,...
Mara revealed the news at the opening night celebration of the 49th annual Siff on May 11. The festival runs through May 21.
“We are honored to take on stewardship of this historic theater. It’s a film venue adored by the community and speaks to the critical role Siff plays in bringing the power and art of film to diverse audiences across our region,” Mara said. “So many of us have experienced the magic of this theater, and we are excited to carry on the vision and impact that Paul Allen started so many years ago.”
The theater opened in 1963 before Allen purchased and refurbished the venue in the late 1990s. Since its revamp, the theater has become “an unmatched destination for blockbuster movies,...
- 5/12/2023
- by McKinley Franklin
- Variety Film + TV
Paul Allen’s extraordinary art collection is set to be sold off at what will be the largest auction of its kind in history.
The late Microsoft co-founder died in 2018, leaving a collection worth an estimated 1billion, comprising 150 works including masterpieces by Monet, Renoir, David Hockney and Botticelli.
Christie’s auction house will be managing the auction, scheduled for November, and all proceeds will go to charity in accordance with Allen’s wishes.
Allen created Microsoft in 1975 with his childhood friend Bill Gates, but left the company in 1983 after being diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma. He stayed on the company’s board until 2000, and founded his own company with his sister Jody to manage his huge investment portfolio and to expedite his philanthropy. In 2010, he pledged to leave the bulk of his fortune to charity, a move that Gates has also made.
Christie’s CEO Guillaume Cerutti said the auction would...
The late Microsoft co-founder died in 2018, leaving a collection worth an estimated 1billion, comprising 150 works including masterpieces by Monet, Renoir, David Hockney and Botticelli.
Christie’s auction house will be managing the auction, scheduled for November, and all proceeds will go to charity in accordance with Allen’s wishes.
Allen created Microsoft in 1975 with his childhood friend Bill Gates, but left the company in 1983 after being diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma. He stayed on the company’s board until 2000, and founded his own company with his sister Jody to manage his huge investment portfolio and to expedite his philanthropy. In 2010, he pledged to leave the bulk of his fortune to charity, a move that Gates has also made.
Christie’s CEO Guillaume Cerutti said the auction would...
- 8/27/2022
- by Caroline Frost
- Deadline Film + TV
Showtime Sports Documentary Films is set to release a documentary feature based on the life of basketball star Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, entitled “Stand.” The documentary will premiere in early 2023.
Directed by Joslyn Rose Lyons, “Stand” explores the personal and professional struggles of Abdul-Rauf, from being bullied as a child due to his Tourette’s syndrome to becoming a target of hate speech and Islamophobia during his basketball career. The documentary film features exclusive interviews with several basketball and entertainment stars including Stephen Curry, Steve Kerr, Shaquille O’Neal, Jalen Rose, Mahershala Ali and Ice Cube.
“It is an honor to be collaborating with Showtime and the production team and working with our director, Joslyn Rose Lyons,” Abdul-Rauf said in a statement. “Joslyn has brought a stellar, brilliant vision to this film. My hope is that my story will help heal and bring new perspective to the world.”
The film marks Lyons’ feature-length directorial debut.
Directed by Joslyn Rose Lyons, “Stand” explores the personal and professional struggles of Abdul-Rauf, from being bullied as a child due to his Tourette’s syndrome to becoming a target of hate speech and Islamophobia during his basketball career. The documentary film features exclusive interviews with several basketball and entertainment stars including Stephen Curry, Steve Kerr, Shaquille O’Neal, Jalen Rose, Mahershala Ali and Ice Cube.
“It is an honor to be collaborating with Showtime and the production team and working with our director, Joslyn Rose Lyons,” Abdul-Rauf said in a statement. “Joslyn has brought a stellar, brilliant vision to this film. My hope is that my story will help heal and bring new perspective to the world.”
The film marks Lyons’ feature-length directorial debut.
- 8/25/2022
- by Michaela Zee
- Variety Film + TV
HBO Documentary Films has acquired worldwide television and streaming rights to Master of Light, the SXSW award-winning film about artist George Anthony Morton, who honed his exceptional talent while serving a prison sentence.
Dutch filmmaker Rosa Ruth Boesten directed the documentary, which is produced by Oscar winner Roger Ross Williams, Ilia Roomans, and Anousha Nzume.
“I learned about George through a mutual friend who met George in New York and told me about his story,” Boesten told Deadline at SXSW, where her film premiered, winning the Grand Jury Prize for documentary. “He just had a New York Times article that came out and I read about the story and was just blown away by his artwork. And that’s when I reached out, and that’s where it started for me.”
Morton “is a classical painter who spent ten years in federal prison for dealing drugs. While incarcerated, he nurtured...
Dutch filmmaker Rosa Ruth Boesten directed the documentary, which is produced by Oscar winner Roger Ross Williams, Ilia Roomans, and Anousha Nzume.
“I learned about George through a mutual friend who met George in New York and told me about his story,” Boesten told Deadline at SXSW, where her film premiered, winning the Grand Jury Prize for documentary. “He just had a New York Times article that came out and I read about the story and was just blown away by his artwork. And that’s when I reached out, and that’s where it started for me.”
Morton “is a classical painter who spent ten years in federal prison for dealing drugs. While incarcerated, he nurtured...
- 8/25/2022
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
HBO Documentary Films announced on Thursday that it has acquired “Master of Light,” the debut documentary from filmmaker Rosa Ruth Boesten which won the Grand Jury Award at this year’s South By Southwest Festival.
“Master of Light” follows the story of George Anthony Morton, a Black painter who was sentenced to ten years in prison for dealing drugs and spent his time behind bars honing his craft as a classical artist. After returning to the outside world, he heads home to Kansas City to use his art to mend his broken relationship with his mother while trying to break into an artistic world dominated by white painters.
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“As a first-time director, I am overwhelmed with excitement to work with such an acclaimed company as HBO Documentary Films,” Boesten said in a statement. “We...
“Master of Light” follows the story of George Anthony Morton, a Black painter who was sentenced to ten years in prison for dealing drugs and spent his time behind bars honing his craft as a classical artist. After returning to the outside world, he heads home to Kansas City to use his art to mend his broken relationship with his mother while trying to break into an artistic world dominated by white painters.
Also Read:
‘Mike’ Review: Hulu’s Mike Tyson Series Offers Complicated Look at Boxer’s Demise
“As a first-time director, I am overwhelmed with excitement to work with such an acclaimed company as HBO Documentary Films,” Boesten said in a statement. “We...
- 8/25/2022
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
Nike co-founder Phil Knight and Dodgers co-owner Alan Smolinisky have offered, in writing, more than 2 billion for the Portland Trail Blazers NBA franchise according to multiple reports.
The Trail Blazers were long owned by Paul Allen, who Allen bought them in 1988 for 70 million. Since his passing four years ago, the team has been a part of the late billionaire’s estate, of which his sister Jody is trustee. While she has controlled the team for the past four years, it was reportedly always her brother’s wish that the Trail Blazers be sold off to another passionate owner or owners. They may have just arrived.
Knight, who like Allen is a billionaire, was born in Portland, went to college at the University of Oregon and planted Nike’s headquarters in Beaverton, just outside Portland. His presence in the deal, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski who broke the news, “speaks...
The Trail Blazers were long owned by Paul Allen, who Allen bought them in 1988 for 70 million. Since his passing four years ago, the team has been a part of the late billionaire’s estate, of which his sister Jody is trustee. While she has controlled the team for the past four years, it was reportedly always her brother’s wish that the Trail Blazers be sold off to another passionate owner or owners. They may have just arrived.
Knight, who like Allen is a billionaire, was born in Portland, went to college at the University of Oregon and planted Nike’s headquarters in Beaverton, just outside Portland. His presence in the deal, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski who broke the news, “speaks...
- 6/2/2022
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
Ahead of its world premiere at Hot Docs, London-based MetFilm Sales has acquired worldwide rights (excluding the U.S.) for feature documentary “Delikado,” directed by Karl Malakunas.
The film is an environmental thriller set in Palawan, one of Asia’s hottest new tourist destinations. Within this idyllic setting, forests and wildlife are being pillaged by criminal gangs, often supported by politicians and their cronies.
Human life is cheap and mortal danger constant and pulpable. In such an environment, a tiny network of environmental crusaders, led by the charismatic Bobby, Tata and Mayor Nieves, risk their lives and the safety of their families to prevent the thieving and destruction of their homeland.
The film is the first feature film for filmmaker and journalist Karl Malakunas, who has been covering environmental issues, conflict, natural disasters and political upheavals for two decades. After living in the Philippines for eight years while working as Afp’s Manila bureau chief,...
The film is an environmental thriller set in Palawan, one of Asia’s hottest new tourist destinations. Within this idyllic setting, forests and wildlife are being pillaged by criminal gangs, often supported by politicians and their cronies.
Human life is cheap and mortal danger constant and pulpable. In such an environment, a tiny network of environmental crusaders, led by the charismatic Bobby, Tata and Mayor Nieves, risk their lives and the safety of their families to prevent the thieving and destruction of their homeland.
The film is the first feature film for filmmaker and journalist Karl Malakunas, who has been covering environmental issues, conflict, natural disasters and political upheavals for two decades. After living in the Philippines for eight years while working as Afp’s Manila bureau chief,...
- 4/28/2022
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
“I believe that a big reason why this ambitious idea of throwing a music festival in Harlem in which somewhere between 70,000 to 90,000 people every weekend would see performances was so that there was something joyous and hopeful for people at that point were kind of at the end of their rope,” Summer of Soul (Or When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) director Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson says about the importance the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival had to a Black America ravaged by violence and assassination.
“It was a healing moment, if you will,” Thompson added during the film’s panel at Deadline’s Contenders Film: The Nominees event. The Roots drummer, bestselling author, musicologist and now Oscar nominee made his feature directorial debut with the feature documentary.
Having premiered at the virtual Sundance Film Festival in 2021, Summer of Soul took home the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award in the documentary categories in Park City.
“It was a healing moment, if you will,” Thompson added during the film’s panel at Deadline’s Contenders Film: The Nominees event. The Roots drummer, bestselling author, musicologist and now Oscar nominee made his feature directorial debut with the feature documentary.
Having premiered at the virtual Sundance Film Festival in 2021, Summer of Soul took home the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award in the documentary categories in Park City.
- 3/5/2022
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: A wider audience is about to get the chance to see director Skye Fitzgerald’s Hunger Ward, the Oscar-nominated short film from MTV Documentary Films.
The film, an unsparing look at the suffering of children in Yemen who have been reduced to starvation during the country’s civil war, will premiere on the Paramount+ streaming platform on Friday. Hunger Ward will be released the same day in more than 120 theaters, coupled with virtual cinema engagements, as part of the Academy’s 2021 Oscar Nominated Short Films program.
“It is an honor to have MTV Documentary Films and Paramount+ bring Hunger Ward’s urgent message of the humanitarian crisis affecting children of Yemen to a broad and engaged audience,” Fitzgerald said. Added Sheila Nevins, head of MTV Documentary Films, “The greatest humanitarian crisis exists in Yemen. Children are starving to death in front of America’s eyes. Filmmaker Skye Fitzgerald...
The film, an unsparing look at the suffering of children in Yemen who have been reduced to starvation during the country’s civil war, will premiere on the Paramount+ streaming platform on Friday. Hunger Ward will be released the same day in more than 120 theaters, coupled with virtual cinema engagements, as part of the Academy’s 2021 Oscar Nominated Short Films program.
“It is an honor to have MTV Documentary Films and Paramount+ bring Hunger Ward’s urgent message of the humanitarian crisis affecting children of Yemen to a broad and engaged audience,” Fitzgerald said. Added Sheila Nevins, head of MTV Documentary Films, “The greatest humanitarian crisis exists in Yemen. Children are starving to death in front of America’s eyes. Filmmaker Skye Fitzgerald...
- 4/1/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: MTV Documentary Films is adding Skye Fitzgerald’s Hunger Ward to its portfolio of Oscar-contending films.
The MTV division led by Sheila Nevins announced Tuesday it has acquired the short film, a devastating look at children suffering starvation in Yemen as a direct result of war in the Middle Eastern country. Hunger Ward, which made the Oscar documentary short subject shortlist earlier this month, will premiere on Pluto TV March 1.
“The greatest humanitarian crisis exists in Yemen. Children are starving to death in front of America’s eyes,” Nevins noted. “Filmmaker Skye Fitzgerald has made a documentary that says ‘no more.’ It is a must see for anyone with heart.”
Hunger Ward marks the third installment in a trilogy of short films by Fitzgerald exploring the plight of refugees and other people displaced by conflict. His 2015 film 50 Feet from Syria made the Oscar documentary shortlist and his 2018 Lifeboat earned an Oscar nomination.
The MTV division led by Sheila Nevins announced Tuesday it has acquired the short film, a devastating look at children suffering starvation in Yemen as a direct result of war in the Middle Eastern country. Hunger Ward, which made the Oscar documentary short subject shortlist earlier this month, will premiere on Pluto TV March 1.
“The greatest humanitarian crisis exists in Yemen. Children are starving to death in front of America’s eyes,” Nevins noted. “Filmmaker Skye Fitzgerald has made a documentary that says ‘no more.’ It is a must see for anyone with heart.”
Hunger Ward marks the third installment in a trilogy of short films by Fitzgerald exploring the plight of refugees and other people displaced by conflict. His 2015 film 50 Feet from Syria made the Oscar documentary shortlist and his 2018 Lifeboat earned an Oscar nomination.
- 2/23/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
“Summer of Soul,” Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s acclaimed documentary about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, has been acquired by the Disney-owned Searchlight Pictures in a deal that also will bring the film to Hulu.
The documentary, which won both the Grand Jury prize and Audience award at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, served as the directorial debut for Thompson, who has been the drummer of hip-hop band The Roots for over three decades. “Summer of Soul” will have a theatrical release, will stream in the United States on Hulu, and will stream internationally on Star and Star+. Premiere dates have not been announced.
“I’m so honored to be allowed to manifest my dreams after all this time,” Thompson said in a statement. “This is truly an honor. ‘Summer Of Soul’ is a passion project and to have it resonate with so many people on so many levels has been incredibly rewarding.
The documentary, which won both the Grand Jury prize and Audience award at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, served as the directorial debut for Thompson, who has been the drummer of hip-hop band The Roots for over three decades. “Summer of Soul” will have a theatrical release, will stream in the United States on Hulu, and will stream internationally on Star and Star+. Premiere dates have not been announced.
“I’m so honored to be allowed to manifest my dreams after all this time,” Thompson said in a statement. “This is truly an honor. ‘Summer Of Soul’ is a passion project and to have it resonate with so many people on so many levels has been incredibly rewarding.
- 2/5/2021
- by Tyler Hersko
- Indiewire
Two days after picking up Sundance’s Documentary Grand Jury Prize, Summer of Soul has been picked up by Searchlight and Hulu.
The acquisition of Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s directorial debut is for worldwide rights, parent company Disney says, in a deal put together by Disney General Entertainment’s Bipoc Creator initiative, led by Tara Duncan and brokered by Cinetic Media.
With appearances by Sly and the Family Stone, Nina Simone, Mahalia Jackson, the Staples Sisters, Stevie Wonder, Glady Knight and the Pips, Max Roach, Abby Lincoln and many more, the music-themed documentary is set for a theatrical release as well as streaming on Hulu in America and internationally on Star and Star+.
A true time capsule of then and now, Summer of Soul is packed with newly unearthed footage of the nearly forgotten but star-studded Harlem Cultural Festival of 1969. In that vein,...
The acquisition of Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s directorial debut is for worldwide rights, parent company Disney says, in a deal put together by Disney General Entertainment’s Bipoc Creator initiative, led by Tara Duncan and brokered by Cinetic Media.
With appearances by Sly and the Family Stone, Nina Simone, Mahalia Jackson, the Staples Sisters, Stevie Wonder, Glady Knight and the Pips, Max Roach, Abby Lincoln and many more, the music-themed documentary is set for a theatrical release as well as streaming on Hulu in America and internationally on Star and Star+.
A true time capsule of then and now, Summer of Soul is packed with newly unearthed footage of the nearly forgotten but star-studded Harlem Cultural Festival of 1969. In that vein,...
- 2/5/2021
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
“Summer of Soul (…Or When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)” has become Sundance’s next major acquisition title, selling to Searchlight Pictures and Hulu.
An individual with knowledge of the deal told TheWrap it’s the biggest documentary sale in history, although no specifics were given. Another individual close to the transaction pegged the sale at $15 million. Buzz has been building around the film since its premiere last Thursday, sparking a bidding war for the documentary from The Roots bandleader Questlove. It was also the winner of the Sundance Documentary Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award.
Searchlight Pictures and Disney General Entertainment’s Bipoc Creator initiative, led by Tara Duncan, acquired the worldwide rights to “Summer of Soul,” while Hulu will exclusively stream the doc domestically and Star and Star+ will stream it internationally.
“I’m so honored to be allowed to manifest my dreams after all this time,...
An individual with knowledge of the deal told TheWrap it’s the biggest documentary sale in history, although no specifics were given. Another individual close to the transaction pegged the sale at $15 million. Buzz has been building around the film since its premiere last Thursday, sparking a bidding war for the documentary from The Roots bandleader Questlove. It was also the winner of the Sundance Documentary Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award.
Searchlight Pictures and Disney General Entertainment’s Bipoc Creator initiative, led by Tara Duncan, acquired the worldwide rights to “Summer of Soul,” while Hulu will exclusively stream the doc domestically and Star and Star+ will stream it internationally.
“I’m so honored to be allowed to manifest my dreams after all this time,...
- 2/5/2021
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Wrap
Spin Film and Vulcan Productions announced on Wednesday that Oscar-nominated director Skye Fitzgerald is in the last stages of post-production on “Hunger Ward,” a short documentary about the war in Yemen.
“Hunger Ward,” filmed in Yemen in early 2020, follows two female health care workers, Dr. Aida Alsadeeq and Nurse Mekkia Mahdi, who are fighting in opposition of widespread starvation in the country. The crisis has affected children due to the ongoing civil war in Yemen, which the documentary follows closely.
“Though the war in Yemen has recently fallen off the front page, violence, hunger and heartbreak continue to be the norm throughout the country. The fact that children are dying from malnutrition and outright starvation in 2020 is an outrage and an indictment of the entire global community,” said Fitzgerald in a statement. “The Covid crisis is only exacerbating the situation and making it even more dangerous for local doctors and aid workers to function effectively.
“Hunger Ward,” filmed in Yemen in early 2020, follows two female health care workers, Dr. Aida Alsadeeq and Nurse Mekkia Mahdi, who are fighting in opposition of widespread starvation in the country. The crisis has affected children due to the ongoing civil war in Yemen, which the documentary follows closely.
“Though the war in Yemen has recently fallen off the front page, violence, hunger and heartbreak continue to be the norm throughout the country. The fact that children are dying from malnutrition and outright starvation in 2020 is an outrage and an indictment of the entire global community,” said Fitzgerald in a statement. “The Covid crisis is only exacerbating the situation and making it even more dangerous for local doctors and aid workers to function effectively.
- 8/26/2020
- by Mackenzie Nichols
- Variety Film + TV
In today’s film news roundup, Paul Allen’s Vulcan Productions will close, “Kajillionaire” gets delayed, Ifp Week goes digital, BAFTA Breakthrough is unveiled and the documentary “InstaBand” finds a home.
Closure Announced
Paul G. Allen’s Vulcan Productions has announced that it will be closing at the start of 2021, 23 years after Allen launched the company with his sister Jody Allen.
“This difficult decision was made as part of the ongoing transition after Paul G. Allen’s passing in 2018, and in light of the unprecedented crisis brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Ruth Johnston, general manager, on Wednesday.
Allen, who co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates, launched Vulcan under the name Clear Blue Sky Productions and produced “Titus,” “Far From Heaven” (which received four Oscar nominations), “Where God Left His Shoes” and “Hard Candy.” With its name change in 2011, Vulcan shifted to social impact entertainment and issues including wildlife and conservation,...
Closure Announced
Paul G. Allen’s Vulcan Productions has announced that it will be closing at the start of 2021, 23 years after Allen launched the company with his sister Jody Allen.
“This difficult decision was made as part of the ongoing transition after Paul G. Allen’s passing in 2018, and in light of the unprecedented crisis brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Ruth Johnston, general manager, on Wednesday.
Allen, who co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates, launched Vulcan under the name Clear Blue Sky Productions and produced “Titus,” “Far From Heaven” (which received four Oscar nominations), “Where God Left His Shoes” and “Hard Candy.” With its name change in 2011, Vulcan shifted to social impact entertainment and issues including wildlife and conservation,...
- 5/27/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Picturehouse Entertainment has picked up U.K. distribution rights for the Sundance prize-winning documentary “The Reason I Jump” from MetFilm Sales.
Picturehouse’s Clare Binns and Paul Ridd and MetFilm’s Vesna Cudic negotiated the deal following the film’s world premiere at last month’s Sundance Film Festival, where it won the World Cinema Documentary Audience Award.
Directed by Jerry Rothwell (“How to Change the World”), the poetic doc tackles the experiences of non-speaking autistic people, using various formal techniques to evoke their different perspectives. The film is freely adapted from the eponymous best-selling book by Naoki Higashida that was later translated into English by novelist David Mitchell.
While the original book took the form of a questionnaire filled out by non-verbal interviewees, this film adaption evokes the participants’ lived experience via textured sound design and cinematography along with other lyrical approaches.
“We are absolutely thrilled to be releasing this remarkable and important film,...
Picturehouse’s Clare Binns and Paul Ridd and MetFilm’s Vesna Cudic negotiated the deal following the film’s world premiere at last month’s Sundance Film Festival, where it won the World Cinema Documentary Audience Award.
Directed by Jerry Rothwell (“How to Change the World”), the poetic doc tackles the experiences of non-speaking autistic people, using various formal techniques to evoke their different perspectives. The film is freely adapted from the eponymous best-selling book by Naoki Higashida that was later translated into English by novelist David Mitchell.
While the original book took the form of a questionnaire filled out by non-verbal interviewees, this film adaption evokes the participants’ lived experience via textured sound design and cinematography along with other lyrical approaches.
“We are absolutely thrilled to be releasing this remarkable and important film,...
- 2/24/2020
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Philharmonia Fantastique: The Making of the Orchestra is a Vulcan Productions short film that accompanies a new 25-minute concerto composed by Mason Bates (The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs) and features the talents of Oscar-winning sound designer Gary Rydstrom and Oscar-nominated screenwriter Jim Capobianco.
The film combines live-action and animation to take audiences “inside” the instruments of an orchestra to see how they work and will be screened in tandem with live symphonic performances. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra will present the world premiere of Philharmonia Fantastique from March 26-28, 2020, followed by the San Francisco Symphony’s interpretation on April 16-18.
The massive undertaking was co-commissioned by five of America’s top orchestras: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Performance dates in 2020 and 2021 will be announced for the other commissioning partners in the months ahead.
Philharmonia Fantastique represents the most...
The film combines live-action and animation to take audiences “inside” the instruments of an orchestra to see how they work and will be screened in tandem with live symphonic performances. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra will present the world premiere of Philharmonia Fantastique from March 26-28, 2020, followed by the San Francisco Symphony’s interpretation on April 16-18.
The massive undertaking was co-commissioned by five of America’s top orchestras: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Performance dates in 2020 and 2021 will be announced for the other commissioning partners in the months ahead.
Philharmonia Fantastique represents the most...
- 11/20/2019
- by Geoff Boucher
- Deadline Film + TV
Ruth Johnston has been promoted to general manager of Vulcan Productions, the Seattle-based company founded by the late Paul Allen and his sister, Jody Allen.
Johnston will oversee all creative operations for the company that focuses on documentaries and productions that “entertain, inspire, change the way people understand and activate on the world’s toughest challenges.” Upcoming Vulcan Productions include “The Cold Blue,” about the famed Eighth Air Force unit that was documented by director William Wyler during World War II, to air on HBO next month, and “The Ghost Fleet,” examining human trafficking in connection with Thailand’s fishing industry. “Ghost Fleet” is set for a theatrical release by Abramorama in June.
Johnston joined Vulcan in 2016 after serving as chief operating officer of Lion TV, home of Discovery’s “Cash Cab” and other franchises. She launched her own shingle, New Prospect, in Seattle before joining Vulcan.
“Under her leadership,...
Johnston will oversee all creative operations for the company that focuses on documentaries and productions that “entertain, inspire, change the way people understand and activate on the world’s toughest challenges.” Upcoming Vulcan Productions include “The Cold Blue,” about the famed Eighth Air Force unit that was documented by director William Wyler during World War II, to air on HBO next month, and “The Ghost Fleet,” examining human trafficking in connection with Thailand’s fishing industry. “Ghost Fleet” is set for a theatrical release by Abramorama in June.
Johnston joined Vulcan in 2016 after serving as chief operating officer of Lion TV, home of Discovery’s “Cash Cab” and other franchises. She launched her own shingle, New Prospect, in Seattle before joining Vulcan.
“Under her leadership,...
- 5/10/2019
- by Cynthia Littleton
- Variety Film + TV
National Football League owners reportedly want Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to join the club by purchasing the Seattle Seahawks franchise.
The Seahawks were owned by Paul Allen, who passed away earlier this week from septic shock after battling a recurrence of cancer. Bezos, who may be the richest man in the world, is reportedly being prodded by several NFL owners, including influential Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
Bezos already has ties to the NFL, as Amazon has an NFL partnership to stream Thursday Night Football. He is also based in Seattle, providing a hometown touch that the league craves in its ownership.
A purchase by Bezos would keep the team rooted in Seattle, something that Allen assured when he bought the team in 1996.
Allen’s sister, Jody Allen, is his main heir, but has not commented. It is believed she has little interest in running the Seahawks or the NBA’s Portland Trailblazers,...
The Seahawks were owned by Paul Allen, who passed away earlier this week from septic shock after battling a recurrence of cancer. Bezos, who may be the richest man in the world, is reportedly being prodded by several NFL owners, including influential Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
Bezos already has ties to the NFL, as Amazon has an NFL partnership to stream Thursday Night Football. He is also based in Seattle, providing a hometown touch that the league craves in its ownership.
A purchase by Bezos would keep the team rooted in Seattle, something that Allen assured when he bought the team in 1996.
Allen’s sister, Jody Allen, is his main heir, but has not commented. It is believed she has little interest in running the Seahawks or the NBA’s Portland Trailblazers,...
- 10/20/2018
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Christian Van Vuuren, star of the rapidly emerging online video hit Bondi Hipsters, is among the panellists appearing on a sponsor-curated session at Mumbrella360.
Of the 60 or so sessions, six are curated by the event’s platinum sponsors.
Van Vuuren – who plays Dom in Bondi Hipsters and had previous success as The Fully Sick Rapper – will appear on Boom’s session on how video can generate earned media. Also on the panel are Blair Joscelyne, co-creator of Mighty Car Mods; Felicity McVay, manager of strategic partnerships at Google; Brenda Gaddi, founder of Digital Parents and Jody Allen, founder of Stay At Home Mum.
Other platinum sponsor curated sessions:
First the year and now the decade of mobile – Telstra Advertising Network: The state of mobile advertising. Moderated by Iab CEO Paul Fisher and featuring Simon Corbett, MD, Slingshot Digital Ventures; Michael Padden, head of the Telstra Advertising Network; Brad Bennett, head...
Of the 60 or so sessions, six are curated by the event’s platinum sponsors.
Van Vuuren – who plays Dom in Bondi Hipsters and had previous success as The Fully Sick Rapper – will appear on Boom’s session on how video can generate earned media. Also on the panel are Blair Joscelyne, co-creator of Mighty Car Mods; Felicity McVay, manager of strategic partnerships at Google; Brenda Gaddi, founder of Digital Parents and Jody Allen, founder of Stay At Home Mum.
Other platinum sponsor curated sessions:
First the year and now the decade of mobile – Telstra Advertising Network: The state of mobile advertising. Moderated by Iab CEO Paul Fisher and featuring Simon Corbett, MD, Slingshot Digital Ventures; Michael Padden, head of the Telstra Advertising Network; Brad Bennett, head...
- 6/5/2012
- by mumbrella
- Encore Magazine
New York -- Paul G. Allen's Vulcan Productions is partnering with Infinity Features to co-produce five young adult novels by Simon & Schuster author Deb Caletti as a series of feature films.
The films, to be produced under the "Nine Mile Falls" series banner, include adaptations of the National Book Award finalist "Honey, Baby, Sweetheart," "The Queen of Everything," "Wild Roses," "The Nature of Jade" and "The Fortunes of Indigo Sky." Each one tells the stories of 16-18 year old girls with provocative storylines.
Rob Merilees is producing for Infinity ("Capote"). Allen, Jody Patton and Richard Hutton are executive producing and Michael Caldwell is producing on behalf of Vulcan Productions ("Far From Heaven").
The films, to be produced under the "Nine Mile Falls" series banner, include adaptations of the National Book Award finalist "Honey, Baby, Sweetheart," "The Queen of Everything," "Wild Roses," "The Nature of Jade" and "The Fortunes of Indigo Sky." Each one tells the stories of 16-18 year old girls with provocative storylines.
Rob Merilees is producing for Infinity ("Capote"). Allen, Jody Patton and Richard Hutton are executive producing and Michael Caldwell is producing on behalf of Vulcan Productions ("Far From Heaven").
- 9/12/2008
- by By Gregg Goldstein
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Screened
Berlin International Film Festival
BERLIN -- Yet another film in a series about blues music, which Martin Scorsese exec produces, "Lightning in a Bottle" simply lets the sinfully gorgeous music and emotions sweep over an audience. Director Antoine Fuqua, who directed music videos before launching his feature career, brought his cameras to New York's Radio City Music Hall in February 2003 to capture a benefit concert by more than 50 artists spanning several generations from Indie.Arie and Bonnie Raitt to Natalie Cole and B.B. King. The result is pure pleasure for fans of the blues. One can only hope this series will create more fans of an American musical form whose adherents are small in number but passionate.
Interspersed with the concert footage are occasional interviews backstage with artists and archival footage of legendary performers no longer living. Mostly, though, Fuqua goes to the source --vibrant, stirring, soothing sounds that put a chill down one's back and a serious tap in one's feet.
Blues is a wonderful contradiction, a joyous music usually about incredible sorrow. Reflecting its roots in spirituals and gospel music, blues bypasses the mind for the heart. The artists Fuqua records, who are among the very best, have special abilities with voice and instruments that go beyond mere talent. They have the ability to put their lives, the sum of all their joys and sorrows, into this music.
The concert itself is designed to follow a geographical and historical line, beginning with the music's African roots, then up the Mississippi Delta to Chicago and over to Memphis, where other influences come into play.
Yet Fuqua chooses not to press these points. This is no music lecture, just a straightforward concert film, smoothly videotaped by cameramen under the direction of cinematographer Lisa Rinzler. The energy emanating from the stage is tremendous. Marcy Gray doing "Hound Dog" the way it was meant to be sung, Cole teaming up with Ruth Brown and Mavis Staples for the jocular "Men Are Like Streetcars", Buddy Guy performing Jimi Hendrix's "Red House", Indie.Arie performing Billie Holiday's signature song "Strange Fruit" -- these are all special moments.
But this is an art form that is losing its audience. The crowd shots at Radio City fail to turn up many black faces. Hip-hop and rap now consume young black -- and most white -- music listeners. This leaves blues to an older generation for the most part. But Fuqua has caught lightning in a bottle, so there may be hope yet that young people will get inspired by this movie from one of Hollywood's hottest directors.
Lightning in a Bottle
Vulcan Prods. presents in association with Cappa Prods. and Jigsaw Prods.
Credits:
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Producers: Alex Gibney, Margaret Bodde, Jack Gulick
Executive producers: Paul G. Allen, Jody Patton, Martin Scorsese
Director of photography: Lisa Rinzler
Musical director: Steve Jordan
Co-producers: Richard Hutton
Editors: Bob Eisenhardt, Keith Salmon
Running time -- 109 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Berlin International Film Festival
BERLIN -- Yet another film in a series about blues music, which Martin Scorsese exec produces, "Lightning in a Bottle" simply lets the sinfully gorgeous music and emotions sweep over an audience. Director Antoine Fuqua, who directed music videos before launching his feature career, brought his cameras to New York's Radio City Music Hall in February 2003 to capture a benefit concert by more than 50 artists spanning several generations from Indie.Arie and Bonnie Raitt to Natalie Cole and B.B. King. The result is pure pleasure for fans of the blues. One can only hope this series will create more fans of an American musical form whose adherents are small in number but passionate.
Interspersed with the concert footage are occasional interviews backstage with artists and archival footage of legendary performers no longer living. Mostly, though, Fuqua goes to the source --vibrant, stirring, soothing sounds that put a chill down one's back and a serious tap in one's feet.
Blues is a wonderful contradiction, a joyous music usually about incredible sorrow. Reflecting its roots in spirituals and gospel music, blues bypasses the mind for the heart. The artists Fuqua records, who are among the very best, have special abilities with voice and instruments that go beyond mere talent. They have the ability to put their lives, the sum of all their joys and sorrows, into this music.
The concert itself is designed to follow a geographical and historical line, beginning with the music's African roots, then up the Mississippi Delta to Chicago and over to Memphis, where other influences come into play.
Yet Fuqua chooses not to press these points. This is no music lecture, just a straightforward concert film, smoothly videotaped by cameramen under the direction of cinematographer Lisa Rinzler. The energy emanating from the stage is tremendous. Marcy Gray doing "Hound Dog" the way it was meant to be sung, Cole teaming up with Ruth Brown and Mavis Staples for the jocular "Men Are Like Streetcars", Buddy Guy performing Jimi Hendrix's "Red House", Indie.Arie performing Billie Holiday's signature song "Strange Fruit" -- these are all special moments.
But this is an art form that is losing its audience. The crowd shots at Radio City fail to turn up many black faces. Hip-hop and rap now consume young black -- and most white -- music listeners. This leaves blues to an older generation for the most part. But Fuqua has caught lightning in a bottle, so there may be hope yet that young people will get inspired by this movie from one of Hollywood's hottest directors.
Lightning in a Bottle
Vulcan Prods. presents in association with Cappa Prods. and Jigsaw Prods.
Credits:
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Producers: Alex Gibney, Margaret Bodde, Jack Gulick
Executive producers: Paul G. Allen, Jody Patton, Martin Scorsese
Director of photography: Lisa Rinzler
Musical director: Steve Jordan
Co-producers: Richard Hutton
Editors: Bob Eisenhardt, Keith Salmon
Running time -- 109 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Screened
Berlin International Film Festival
BERLIN -- Yet another film in a series about blues music, which Martin Scorsese exec produces, "Lightning in a Bottle" simply lets the sinfully gorgeous music and emotions sweep over an audience. Director Antoine Fuqua, who directed music videos before launching his feature career, brought his cameras to New York's Radio City Music Hall in February 2003 to capture a benefit concert by more than 50 artists spanning several generations from Indie.Arie and Bonnie Raitt to Natalie Cole and B.B. King. The result is pure pleasure for fans of the blues. One can only hope this series will create more fans of an American musical form whose adherents are small in number but passionate.
Interspersed with the concert footage are occasional interviews backstage with artists and archival footage of legendary performers no longer living. Mostly, though, Fuqua goes to the source --vibrant, stirring, soothing sounds that put a chill down one's back and a serious tap in one's feet.
Blues is a wonderful contradiction, a joyous music usually about incredible sorrow. Reflecting its roots in spirituals and gospel music, blues bypasses the mind for the heart. The artists Fuqua records, who are among the very best, have special abilities with voice and instruments that go beyond mere talent. They have the ability to put their lives, the sum of all their joys and sorrows, into this music.
The concert itself is designed to follow a geographical and historical line, beginning with the music's African roots, then up the Mississippi Delta to Chicago and over to Memphis, where other influences come into play.
Yet Fuqua chooses not to press these points. This is no music lecture, just a straightforward concert film, smoothly videotaped by cameramen under the direction of cinematographer Lisa Rinzler. The energy emanating from the stage is tremendous. Marcy Gray doing "Hound Dog" the way it was meant to be sung, Cole teaming up with Ruth Brown and Mavis Staples for the jocular "Men Are Like Streetcars", Buddy Guy performing Jimi Hendrix's "Red House", Indie.Arie performing Billie Holiday's signature song "Strange Fruit" -- these are all special moments.
But this is an art form that is losing its audience. The crowd shots at Radio City fail to turn up many black faces. Hip-hop and rap now consume young black -- and most white -- music listeners. This leaves blues to an older generation for the most part. But Fuqua has caught lightning in a bottle, so there may be hope yet that young people will get inspired by this movie from one of Hollywood's hottest directors.
Lightning in a Bottle
Vulcan Prods. presents in association with Cappa Prods. and Jigsaw Prods.
Credits:
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Producers: Alex Gibney, Margaret Bodde, Jack Gulick
Executive producers: Paul G. Allen, Jody Patton, Martin Scorsese
Director of photography: Lisa Rinzler
Musical director: Steve Jordan
Co-producers: Richard Hutton
Editors: Bob Eisenhardt, Keith Salmon
Running time -- 109 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Berlin International Film Festival
BERLIN -- Yet another film in a series about blues music, which Martin Scorsese exec produces, "Lightning in a Bottle" simply lets the sinfully gorgeous music and emotions sweep over an audience. Director Antoine Fuqua, who directed music videos before launching his feature career, brought his cameras to New York's Radio City Music Hall in February 2003 to capture a benefit concert by more than 50 artists spanning several generations from Indie.Arie and Bonnie Raitt to Natalie Cole and B.B. King. The result is pure pleasure for fans of the blues. One can only hope this series will create more fans of an American musical form whose adherents are small in number but passionate.
Interspersed with the concert footage are occasional interviews backstage with artists and archival footage of legendary performers no longer living. Mostly, though, Fuqua goes to the source --vibrant, stirring, soothing sounds that put a chill down one's back and a serious tap in one's feet.
Blues is a wonderful contradiction, a joyous music usually about incredible sorrow. Reflecting its roots in spirituals and gospel music, blues bypasses the mind for the heart. The artists Fuqua records, who are among the very best, have special abilities with voice and instruments that go beyond mere talent. They have the ability to put their lives, the sum of all their joys and sorrows, into this music.
The concert itself is designed to follow a geographical and historical line, beginning with the music's African roots, then up the Mississippi Delta to Chicago and over to Memphis, where other influences come into play.
Yet Fuqua chooses not to press these points. This is no music lecture, just a straightforward concert film, smoothly videotaped by cameramen under the direction of cinematographer Lisa Rinzler. The energy emanating from the stage is tremendous. Marcy Gray doing "Hound Dog" the way it was meant to be sung, Cole teaming up with Ruth Brown and Mavis Staples for the jocular "Men Are Like Streetcars", Buddy Guy performing Jimi Hendrix's "Red House", Indie.Arie performing Billie Holiday's signature song "Strange Fruit" -- these are all special moments.
But this is an art form that is losing its audience. The crowd shots at Radio City fail to turn up many black faces. Hip-hop and rap now consume young black -- and most white -- music listeners. This leaves blues to an older generation for the most part. But Fuqua has caught lightning in a bottle, so there may be hope yet that young people will get inspired by this movie from one of Hollywood's hottest directors.
Lightning in a Bottle
Vulcan Prods. presents in association with Cappa Prods. and Jigsaw Prods.
Credits:
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Producers: Alex Gibney, Margaret Bodde, Jack Gulick
Executive producers: Paul G. Allen, Jody Patton, Martin Scorsese
Director of photography: Lisa Rinzler
Musical director: Steve Jordan
Co-producers: Richard Hutton
Editors: Bob Eisenhardt, Keith Salmon
Running time -- 109 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 2/17/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Opens Friday, March 7
Writer-director Rose Troche's third indie film ambitiously reworks several short stories by A.M. Homes into a multifaceted portrait of modern suburbia. Alas, despite an enticing cast that includes Glenn Close, Patricia Clarkson and Dermot Mulroney, "The Safety of Objects" never quite reaches the heights it shoots for. First unveiled at the 2001 Toronto International Film Festival, the limited IFC Films release has won over some critics, but it's destined to come and go in theaters with little fanfare.
In her desire to mold Homes' empathetic stories of troubled suburbanites and keep it as realistic as possible, Troche has some success initially, but there are four separate families and nearly two dozen characters to keep track of. With a long running time that no amount of nonlinear construction can successfully quicken, "Safety" does have sequences and whole story lines that are fresh and thoughtfully entertaining.
The movie also has an "American Beauty"-like mission to tear aside the veil of respectability and emotional stability that are cliches of clean white neighborhoods, but in this day and age there's nothing remotely shocking or particularly revelatory. Two characters and their crises of identity emerge as the headliners in "Safety": Esther (Close), who has a grown son in a coma, and lawyer Jim Train (Mulroney).
The conceit of the movie is that Esther and Jim have nothing to do with each other at first but end up fatefully connected. Passed over for a promotion and convinced that his wife (Moira Kelly) is cheating on him, Jim starts to unravel and eventually becomes obsessed with helping Esther win a car in a mall-sponsored giveaway. Esther is trying to win the car for her demanding daughter (Jessica Campbell), and the endurance contest becomes a sad spectacle of consumerism.
Meanwhile, single mom Annette Jennings (Clarkson) is toughing out a bitter divorce and thinks her daughter (Kristen Stewart) is snatched by the father. In fact, the girl is lured into a strange encounter with the neighborhood handyman (Timothy Olyphant), who is having a hard time getting past a deadly driving accident for which he was partially to blame.
Rounding out the principal players are Mary Kay Place as yet another stagnant-souled mother raising kids and trying to evolve, Robert Klein as Esther's detached husband and young Alex House as Jim's son, who has a fantasy relationship with the doll of his sister in a cute but overdone shtick involving dialogue and role playing.
Roche's direction is quietly proficient, and the production values are top-notch for a low-budget project.
Overall, one has plenty of time to ponder the often exaggerated roles in life played by things and absorb the message that we all need to have more faith in one another.
THE SAFETY OF OBJECTS
IFC Films
Clear Blue Sky Prods., Renaissance Films An InFilm/Killer Films production
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Rose Troche
Based on the book of stories by: A.M. Homes
Producers: Dorothy Berwin, Christine Vachon
Executive producers: Stephen Evans, Angus Finney, Jody Patton, Pamela Koffler
Director of photography: Enrique Chediak
Production designer: Andrea Stanley
Editor: Geraldine Peroni
Costume designer: Laura Jean Shannon
Casting: Bonnie Finnegan, Steven Jacobs
Cast:
Esther: Glenn Close
Jim Train: Dermot Mulroney
Annette Jennings: Patricia Clarkson
Randy: Timothy Olyphant
Susan Train: Moira Kelly
Helen Christianson: Mary Kay Place
Julie: Jessica Campbell
Running time -- 120 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Writer-director Rose Troche's third indie film ambitiously reworks several short stories by A.M. Homes into a multifaceted portrait of modern suburbia. Alas, despite an enticing cast that includes Glenn Close, Patricia Clarkson and Dermot Mulroney, "The Safety of Objects" never quite reaches the heights it shoots for. First unveiled at the 2001 Toronto International Film Festival, the limited IFC Films release has won over some critics, but it's destined to come and go in theaters with little fanfare.
In her desire to mold Homes' empathetic stories of troubled suburbanites and keep it as realistic as possible, Troche has some success initially, but there are four separate families and nearly two dozen characters to keep track of. With a long running time that no amount of nonlinear construction can successfully quicken, "Safety" does have sequences and whole story lines that are fresh and thoughtfully entertaining.
The movie also has an "American Beauty"-like mission to tear aside the veil of respectability and emotional stability that are cliches of clean white neighborhoods, but in this day and age there's nothing remotely shocking or particularly revelatory. Two characters and their crises of identity emerge as the headliners in "Safety": Esther (Close), who has a grown son in a coma, and lawyer Jim Train (Mulroney).
The conceit of the movie is that Esther and Jim have nothing to do with each other at first but end up fatefully connected. Passed over for a promotion and convinced that his wife (Moira Kelly) is cheating on him, Jim starts to unravel and eventually becomes obsessed with helping Esther win a car in a mall-sponsored giveaway. Esther is trying to win the car for her demanding daughter (Jessica Campbell), and the endurance contest becomes a sad spectacle of consumerism.
Meanwhile, single mom Annette Jennings (Clarkson) is toughing out a bitter divorce and thinks her daughter (Kristen Stewart) is snatched by the father. In fact, the girl is lured into a strange encounter with the neighborhood handyman (Timothy Olyphant), who is having a hard time getting past a deadly driving accident for which he was partially to blame.
Rounding out the principal players are Mary Kay Place as yet another stagnant-souled mother raising kids and trying to evolve, Robert Klein as Esther's detached husband and young Alex House as Jim's son, who has a fantasy relationship with the doll of his sister in a cute but overdone shtick involving dialogue and role playing.
Roche's direction is quietly proficient, and the production values are top-notch for a low-budget project.
Overall, one has plenty of time to ponder the often exaggerated roles in life played by things and absorb the message that we all need to have more faith in one another.
THE SAFETY OF OBJECTS
IFC Films
Clear Blue Sky Prods., Renaissance Films An InFilm/Killer Films production
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Rose Troche
Based on the book of stories by: A.M. Homes
Producers: Dorothy Berwin, Christine Vachon
Executive producers: Stephen Evans, Angus Finney, Jody Patton, Pamela Koffler
Director of photography: Enrique Chediak
Production designer: Andrea Stanley
Editor: Geraldine Peroni
Costume designer: Laura Jean Shannon
Casting: Bonnie Finnegan, Steven Jacobs
Cast:
Esther: Glenn Close
Jim Train: Dermot Mulroney
Annette Jennings: Patricia Clarkson
Randy: Timothy Olyphant
Susan Train: Moira Kelly
Helen Christianson: Mary Kay Place
Julie: Jessica Campbell
Running time -- 120 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Billionaire investor Paul Allen's film production company, Clear Blue Sky Prods., is changing its name to Vulcan Prods.
The company -- one of the production entities behind the upcoming "Far From Heaven" from Focus Features, starring Julianne Moore and Dennis Quaid -- will now share the same moniker as Allen's overall investment and project management firm, Vulcan Inc.
Founded by Allen in 1997 and under the direction of president Jody Patton, the Seattle-based production company will continue to develop and finance films, documentaries and series.
The company -- one of the production entities behind the upcoming "Far From Heaven" from Focus Features, starring Julianne Moore and Dennis Quaid -- will now share the same moniker as Allen's overall investment and project management firm, Vulcan Inc.
Founded by Allen in 1997 and under the direction of president Jody Patton, the Seattle-based production company will continue to develop and finance films, documentaries and series.
- 8/27/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
"Titus", based on William Shakespeare's blood-drenched "Titus Andronicus", has never looked better. Director Julie Taymor, making her film debut following her lionization by Broadway for her stage version of Disney's "The Lion King", plays the action not on a soundstage but amid crumbling Roman ruins. This lends a ghostly air to the story's monstrous events, making "Titus" the kind of movie that wins awards for costumes and production design even as audiences stream toward the exit.
While "Titus" is a showy calling card for the theater director who here lays legitimate claim to a Hollywood career, the film will interest few beyond the art house crowd.
During the early 1590s, before Shakespeare was in love, he was a hungry, young playwright eager for a hit. So he ground out "Titus Andronicus", a tragedy of blood geared to please the groundlings. His career-minded calculations proved correct because the play was a smash with Elizabethan audiences. However, it became one of his least-produced works in subsequent centuries.
The general assumption has been that later audiences recoiled at the onslaught of human sacrifices, rape, beheadings, mutilations and cannibalism. In truth, savagery runs rampant throughout Shakespeare's glorious tragedies. More to the point, the plot of "Titus" contains no credibility, the hero and villain are equally unsympathetic, much of the villainy lacks clear motivation and the magnificent language one associates with the Bard is seldom in evidence.
So why this film version of a Shakespeare play that cannot hold its own on a theatrical stage? Why indeed.
Taymor (who also adapted the play) outfits "Titus" with time-warping devices such as tanks, motorcycles, video games and swing music. But these gimmicks and its surreal settings and costumes appear designed to distract viewers from the basic banality of the story. If the play weren't such a mess, she might have gotten away with it.
Most of the play is predicated on the monumental stupidity of the title character and his tragic misreading of the political climate in his beloved Rome. This great general (Anthony Hopkins) returns home victorious after a long campaign against the Goths. After casually sacrificing the eldest son of Tamora (Jessica Lange), Queen of the Goths, whom he has brought back as a prisoner along with her three sons, he loyally supports the new emperor, the decadent and corrupt Saturninus (Alan Cumming).
When Saturninus selects Titus' daughter Lavinia (Laura Fraser) for his bride, Bassianus (James Frain), the emperor's brother, swiftly steals Lavinia for himself. Titus unaccountably slays one of his own sons in the ensuing scramble. Saturninus, now free to choose anew, selects none other than Tamora to be his wife.
This leaves Tamora and her treacherous slave and sometimes lover Aaron Harry Lennix) to plot revenge against Titus and his family. There follows the murder of Bassianus, the arrest of two of Titus' sons and the rape of Lavinia by Tamora's remaining sons, who then cut off her hands and tongue so Lavinia will tell no tales.
Eventually, Titus cuts off a hand to ransom his sons, for which he receives in return not his sons but their severed heads. (Are we having fun yet?) Titus vows revenge, sends his remaining son to raise an army among the Goths -- though why the Goths would aid their conqueror is unfathomable -- then captures Tamora's two sons, whom he slays and turns into savory meat pies for her to feast upon at a banquet.
The actors are over the top, but how else to play this nonsense? Hopkins is at his scenery-chewing best while Lange, decked out in awesome tattoos, freezes her face in a permanent snarl. Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Matthew Rhys play her sons as goofy punks, and Cumming turns Saturninus into a glam rocker.
To the modern-day audience, Lennix's evil slave -- providing something of a blueprint for Iago's later villainy -- is the most interesting personality, a black man dedicated to Machiavellian treachery in whom a glimmer of humanity finally flickers with the birth of a son.
Technical credits -- Luciano Tovoli's darkly brooding cinematography, Milena Canonero's wild costumes and designer Dante Ferretti's forbidding and eerie landscapes -- dominate the movie. "Titus" is an epic production of a woefully malnourished tragedy.
TITUS
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Clear Blue Sky Prods.
in association with Overseas Filmgroup
an Urania Pictures
and NDF International production
Producers Jody Patton,
Conchita Airoldi, Julie Taymor
Director-screenwriter Julie Taymor
Based on the play by William Shakespeare
Executive producer Paul G. Allen
Co-executive producers Ellen Little,
Robbie Little, Stephen K. Bannon
Director of photography Luciano Tovoli
Production designer Dante Ferretti
Music Elliot Goldenthal
Costume designer Milena Canonero
Editor Francoise Bonnot
Color/stereo
Cast:
Titus Anthony Hopkins
Tamora Jessica Lange
Saturninus Alan Cumming
Marcus Colm Feore
Bassianus James Frain
Lavinia Laura Fraser
Aaron Harry Lennix
Lucius Angus Macfadyen
Demetrius Matthew Rhys
Chiron Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Running time -- 160 minutes
MPAA rating: R0...
While "Titus" is a showy calling card for the theater director who here lays legitimate claim to a Hollywood career, the film will interest few beyond the art house crowd.
During the early 1590s, before Shakespeare was in love, he was a hungry, young playwright eager for a hit. So he ground out "Titus Andronicus", a tragedy of blood geared to please the groundlings. His career-minded calculations proved correct because the play was a smash with Elizabethan audiences. However, it became one of his least-produced works in subsequent centuries.
The general assumption has been that later audiences recoiled at the onslaught of human sacrifices, rape, beheadings, mutilations and cannibalism. In truth, savagery runs rampant throughout Shakespeare's glorious tragedies. More to the point, the plot of "Titus" contains no credibility, the hero and villain are equally unsympathetic, much of the villainy lacks clear motivation and the magnificent language one associates with the Bard is seldom in evidence.
So why this film version of a Shakespeare play that cannot hold its own on a theatrical stage? Why indeed.
Taymor (who also adapted the play) outfits "Titus" with time-warping devices such as tanks, motorcycles, video games and swing music. But these gimmicks and its surreal settings and costumes appear designed to distract viewers from the basic banality of the story. If the play weren't such a mess, she might have gotten away with it.
Most of the play is predicated on the monumental stupidity of the title character and his tragic misreading of the political climate in his beloved Rome. This great general (Anthony Hopkins) returns home victorious after a long campaign against the Goths. After casually sacrificing the eldest son of Tamora (Jessica Lange), Queen of the Goths, whom he has brought back as a prisoner along with her three sons, he loyally supports the new emperor, the decadent and corrupt Saturninus (Alan Cumming).
When Saturninus selects Titus' daughter Lavinia (Laura Fraser) for his bride, Bassianus (James Frain), the emperor's brother, swiftly steals Lavinia for himself. Titus unaccountably slays one of his own sons in the ensuing scramble. Saturninus, now free to choose anew, selects none other than Tamora to be his wife.
This leaves Tamora and her treacherous slave and sometimes lover Aaron Harry Lennix) to plot revenge against Titus and his family. There follows the murder of Bassianus, the arrest of two of Titus' sons and the rape of Lavinia by Tamora's remaining sons, who then cut off her hands and tongue so Lavinia will tell no tales.
Eventually, Titus cuts off a hand to ransom his sons, for which he receives in return not his sons but their severed heads. (Are we having fun yet?) Titus vows revenge, sends his remaining son to raise an army among the Goths -- though why the Goths would aid their conqueror is unfathomable -- then captures Tamora's two sons, whom he slays and turns into savory meat pies for her to feast upon at a banquet.
The actors are over the top, but how else to play this nonsense? Hopkins is at his scenery-chewing best while Lange, decked out in awesome tattoos, freezes her face in a permanent snarl. Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Matthew Rhys play her sons as goofy punks, and Cumming turns Saturninus into a glam rocker.
To the modern-day audience, Lennix's evil slave -- providing something of a blueprint for Iago's later villainy -- is the most interesting personality, a black man dedicated to Machiavellian treachery in whom a glimmer of humanity finally flickers with the birth of a son.
Technical credits -- Luciano Tovoli's darkly brooding cinematography, Milena Canonero's wild costumes and designer Dante Ferretti's forbidding and eerie landscapes -- dominate the movie. "Titus" is an epic production of a woefully malnourished tragedy.
TITUS
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Clear Blue Sky Prods.
in association with Overseas Filmgroup
an Urania Pictures
and NDF International production
Producers Jody Patton,
Conchita Airoldi, Julie Taymor
Director-screenwriter Julie Taymor
Based on the play by William Shakespeare
Executive producer Paul G. Allen
Co-executive producers Ellen Little,
Robbie Little, Stephen K. Bannon
Director of photography Luciano Tovoli
Production designer Dante Ferretti
Music Elliot Goldenthal
Costume designer Milena Canonero
Editor Francoise Bonnot
Color/stereo
Cast:
Titus Anthony Hopkins
Tamora Jessica Lange
Saturninus Alan Cumming
Marcus Colm Feore
Bassianus James Frain
Lavinia Laura Fraser
Aaron Harry Lennix
Lucius Angus Macfadyen
Demetrius Matthew Rhys
Chiron Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Running time -- 160 minutes
MPAA rating: R0...
- 12/22/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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