As generative artificial intelligence marches on the entertainment industry, Hollywood is taking stock of the tech and its potential to be incorporated into the filmmaking process. No tool has piqued the town’s interest more than OpenAI’s Sora, which was unveiled in February as capable of creating hyperrealistic clips in response to a text prompt of just a couple of sentences. In recent days, the Sam Altman-led firm released a series of videos from beta testers who are providing feedback to improve the tech. The Hollywood Reporter spoke with some of those Sora testers about what it can, and can’t, really do.
Sora was made available to the team at Shy Kids, a Toronto-based production company composed of Walter Woodman, Sidney Leeder and Patrick Cederberg, who’ve collaborated on projects with HBO, Disney and Netflix in feature films such as Blackberry, Therapy Dogs and Nerve. With the tool,...
Sora was made available to the team at Shy Kids, a Toronto-based production company composed of Walter Woodman, Sidney Leeder and Patrick Cederberg, who’ve collaborated on projects with HBO, Disney and Netflix in feature films such as Blackberry, Therapy Dogs and Nerve. With the tool,...
- 4/4/2024
- by Winston Cho
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
I tried making a conscious effort to find posters in areas I might not have normally visited this year. That’s the effect of having been able to follow so many design firms and artists on Twitter before a majority (justifiably) bailed upon its sale. With such broad and instant access, the ease at which I discovered new releases made it so I often forget to look elsewhere.
Imp Awards is still a great resource, if only to sift through everything they’ve tagged as a given year to see if something got missed. Then there’s Brandon Schaefer‘s year-end collections and Adrian Curry’s extensive Mubi posts and Instagram to get an inside look from two poster artists and connoisseurs. And there’s a slew of other accounts who keep on the pulse of the art form when so many (e.g. studios who commission the work) can...
Imp Awards is still a great resource, if only to sift through everything they’ve tagged as a given year to see if something got missed. Then there’s Brandon Schaefer‘s year-end collections and Adrian Curry’s extensive Mubi posts and Instagram to get an inside look from two poster artists and connoisseurs. And there’s a slew of other accounts who keep on the pulse of the art form when so many (e.g. studios who commission the work) can...
- 1/3/2024
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
Body Double (Brian De Palma)
When rewatching Body Double for the third time, its most striking element was, as on my first viewing, Craig Wasson’s performance. As central character Jake Scully, Wasson turns his conventionally attractive looks into an endlessly fascinating nebbishness and awkwardness. In an early scene, Jake simply walks to his car and jumps in the driver’s seat, yet Wasson manages to turn this casual action into one of the most amusing instances of purposefully bad acting. This unquestionably intended ridiculousness in fact informs an audience of the approach required by the entire film: just as it is difficult to take this ludicrous failed actor and naïve man seriously, Body Double itself is better enjoyed with a grain of salt.
Body Double (Brian De Palma)
When rewatching Body Double for the third time, its most striking element was, as on my first viewing, Craig Wasson’s performance. As central character Jake Scully, Wasson turns his conventionally attractive looks into an endlessly fascinating nebbishness and awkwardness. In an early scene, Jake simply walks to his car and jumps in the driver’s seat, yet Wasson manages to turn this casual action into one of the most amusing instances of purposefully bad acting. This unquestionably intended ridiculousness in fact informs an audience of the approach required by the entire film: just as it is difficult to take this ludicrous failed actor and naïve man seriously, Body Double itself is better enjoyed with a grain of salt.
- 3/17/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Shout! Studios presents The Magic Flute by Florian Zigl, executive produced by Roland Emmerich, at 325 theaters with expansion likely. A reimagining of the Mozart opera, it follows a present-day teen sent from London to the Austrian Alps on singing scholarship at the legendary Mozart boarding school. There, he discovers a century old forgotten passageway into the magical world of Mozart’s famed opera.
This Harry Potter-ish adventure fantasy stars Jack Wolfe as Tim Walker, who passes from school into the world of the opera and its many adventures as hero Prince Tamino. Wide releases may be picking up steam and Scream, but in terms of new specialty, and family fare, these isn’t much new competition this weekend.
Melissa Boag, EVP of Family Entertainment at Shout! Studios, hopes it will play with fans of magical adventure, Harry Potter, and classical music. Wolfe is a star of Netflix YA series Shadow & Bone.
This Harry Potter-ish adventure fantasy stars Jack Wolfe as Tim Walker, who passes from school into the world of the opera and its many adventures as hero Prince Tamino. Wide releases may be picking up steam and Scream, but in terms of new specialty, and family fare, these isn’t much new competition this weekend.
Melissa Boag, EVP of Family Entertainment at Shout! Studios, hopes it will play with fans of magical adventure, Harry Potter, and classical music. Wolfe is a star of Netflix YA series Shadow & Bone.
- 3/10/2023
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
My high school days ended before social media and school-shooting drills. We just had the odd bomb threat, apple exploding against an unsuspecting student’s skull, and mesh gym bags that solved zero problems whatsoever. So watching Ethan Eng’s Therapy Dogs and its meme-able events can be jarring. Especially uncomfortable moments, such as the non-joke “joke” of putting a fake gun to a classmate’s temple and capturing the reaction with the potential of showing millions. I can’t imagine the psychological ramifications of knowing at that age that everything you do, is done to you, can go viral instantly. How do you cope with that involuntary transparency? How do you process the uncertainty we all felt in our own eras with nothing to separate your private and public spheres of existence?
I think Eng and best friend Justin Morrice’s answer would be to lean into it full-throttle.
I think Eng and best friend Justin Morrice’s answer would be to lean into it full-throttle.
- 3/8/2023
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
Have you ever watched a high school movie and been impressed by the fact that, whilst it perfectly captures the image of high school established in movies, it’s nothing whatsoever like the real thing? The gap between who we are and how we imagine ourselves through cinema is rarely greater, and when most audience members are at a stage in life where their identities are in flux and they’re not sure they’re living up to what they’re supposed to be, that can be difficult to deal with. Ironically, despite being created for the sake of drama, that super glossy big screen high school image also overlooks a lot of what’s funny about the real thing. Therapy Dogs sets the record straight.
Is it documentary? Is it fiction? Actually, both elements are present here, and it’s not always clear which is which, allowing for a...
Is it documentary? Is it fiction? Actually, both elements are present here, and it’s not always clear which is which, allowing for a...
- 3/4/2023
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Utopia opened Clay Tatum and Whitmer Thomas’ slacker comedy The Civil Dead, the feature debut from the lifelong friends from Gulf Shores, Alabama who have been making projects together — from skateboarding videos to an HBO special — since grade school. It’s grossed 17k so far on 27 screens including a sneak-preview Q&a tour at Alamo Drafthouse locations in NY, LA, San Francisco, Denver and Austin that started last week. The five Alamos sold out a dozen screenings and have grossed 10K of the 17k for the 2022 Slamdance Audience Award winner, which that was made for 30k.
The story of misanthropic, struggling photographer (Thomas), who wants to watch TV and eat candy while his wife is out of town, but finds his plans thwarted when an old pal (Tatum) resurfaces with spooky consequences.
Utopia said that given demand and sold-out shows into early this week, the supernatural buddy comedy will continue...
The story of misanthropic, struggling photographer (Thomas), who wants to watch TV and eat candy while his wife is out of town, but finds his plans thwarted when an old pal (Tatum) resurfaces with spooky consequences.
Utopia said that given demand and sold-out shows into early this week, the supernatural buddy comedy will continue...
- 2/12/2023
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Both titles to release in Q1 2023.
Utopia has acquired two Slamdance 2022 selections, taking worldwide rights to audience award winner The Civil Dead and the world excluding Canada to Therapy Dogs.
Comedy The Civil Dead (pictured) stars Clay Tatum, Whitmer Thomas and DeMorge Brown and is styled as a buddy move with a supernatural twist. A photographer encounters a long-lost friend from the past which strains his marriage and leads to him to question his sanity.
Tatum developed the film and shot it during the pandemic from a screenplay he co-wrote with Thomas. Civil Dead won the audience award for narrative...
Utopia has acquired two Slamdance 2022 selections, taking worldwide rights to audience award winner The Civil Dead and the world excluding Canada to Therapy Dogs.
Comedy The Civil Dead (pictured) stars Clay Tatum, Whitmer Thomas and DeMorge Brown and is styled as a buddy move with a supernatural twist. A photographer encounters a long-lost friend from the past which strains his marriage and leads to him to question his sanity.
Tatum developed the film and shot it during the pandemic from a screenplay he co-wrote with Thomas. Civil Dead won the audience award for narrative...
- 7/18/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
The 2022 Slamdance Film Festival has announced the winners of their annual Sparky Awards.
The film festival focused on the works of emerging artists began its 28th edition on Jan. 27, hosting 23 premieres of films chosen from over 8,000 submissions. The awards were announced at a virtual awards ceremony on Friday, with the winning films available for viewing on the official virtual Slamdance channel until midnight on Feb. 6.
The Slamdance Jury awarded the best narrative feature prize to “Hannah Ha Ha,” from directors Jordan Tetewsky and Joshua Pikovsky, and the best documentary feature prize to “Forget Me Not” from director Olivier Bernier. In addition to winning one of the top overall prizes, “Hannah Ha Ha” star Hannah Lee Thompson also nabbed the festival’s acting award. The other two grand jury prizes for features were presented to “Straighten Up and Fly Right” (in the unstoppables category) and “Killing the Eunuch Khan” (in the...
The film festival focused on the works of emerging artists began its 28th edition on Jan. 27, hosting 23 premieres of films chosen from over 8,000 submissions. The awards were announced at a virtual awards ceremony on Friday, with the winning films available for viewing on the official virtual Slamdance channel until midnight on Feb. 6.
The Slamdance Jury awarded the best narrative feature prize to “Hannah Ha Ha,” from directors Jordan Tetewsky and Joshua Pikovsky, and the best documentary feature prize to “Forget Me Not” from director Olivier Bernier. In addition to winning one of the top overall prizes, “Hannah Ha Ha” star Hannah Lee Thompson also nabbed the festival’s acting award. The other two grand jury prizes for features were presented to “Straighten Up and Fly Right” (in the unstoppables category) and “Killing the Eunuch Khan” (in the...
- 2/5/2022
- by Wilson Chapman
- Variety Film + TV
The 28th Slamdance Film Festival today announced its winners, with the Audience Awards going to The Civil Dead, directed by Clay Tatum, for Narrative Feature; Iron Family, directed by Patrick Longstreth winning the Audience Award for Documentary Feature and The Ember Knight Show: “Getting Mad” directed by Bobby McCoy taking home the Audience Award in the Episodes subcategory.
The Narrative Feature Grand Jury prize was awarded to Hannah Ha Ha (USA) directed by Joshua Pikovsky and Jordan Tetewsky. A statement from the jury called it “a beautiful film in the vein of the American working-class cinema from the ’70s and ’80s…chosen for its incredible lead actor and its sensitive portrayal of the quiet eradication of a community by powers beyond their control.”
The Documentary Feature Grand Jury Prize was awarded to director Olivier Bernier’s Forget Me Not which the jury said used “intimate moments in a family’s...
The Narrative Feature Grand Jury prize was awarded to Hannah Ha Ha (USA) directed by Joshua Pikovsky and Jordan Tetewsky. A statement from the jury called it “a beautiful film in the vein of the American working-class cinema from the ’70s and ’80s…chosen for its incredible lead actor and its sensitive portrayal of the quiet eradication of a community by powers beyond their control.”
The Documentary Feature Grand Jury Prize was awarded to director Olivier Bernier’s Forget Me Not which the jury said used “intimate moments in a family’s...
- 2/4/2022
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
The 28th Slamdance Film Festival announced its awards winners on Friday, with Grand Jury Awards going to “Hannah Ha Ha” for Narrative Feature, “Forget Me Not” for Documentary Feature, “Killing the Eunuch Khan” for Breakout Feature and “Straighten Up and Fly Right” for Unstoppable Feature.
The Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature went to “The Civil Dead,” while “Iron Family” scooped up the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature. “The Ember Knight Show: ‘Getting Mad'” received the Audience Award for Episodes.
“We congratulate the winners of Slamdance 2022 and every one of our filmmakers who together created a showcase that pushes the boundaries of what’s possible in storytelling,” said Slamdance President and Co-founder Peter Baxter. “The future of film depends on these unique voices who defy simple classification and transcend analytics. Key to supporting this endeavor is accessibility and the major growth of our online audience who’ve tuned into the new Slamdance Channel.
The Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature went to “The Civil Dead,” while “Iron Family” scooped up the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature. “The Ember Knight Show: ‘Getting Mad'” received the Audience Award for Episodes.
“We congratulate the winners of Slamdance 2022 and every one of our filmmakers who together created a showcase that pushes the boundaries of what’s possible in storytelling,” said Slamdance President and Co-founder Peter Baxter. “The future of film depends on these unique voices who defy simple classification and transcend analytics. Key to supporting this endeavor is accessibility and the major growth of our online audience who’ve tuned into the new Slamdance Channel.
- 2/4/2022
- by Harper Lambert
- The Wrap
All winners will continue to play on Slamdance Channel until midnight February 6.
Hannah Ha Ha directed by Joshua Pikovsky and Jordan Tetewsky earned the Narrative Feature Grand Jury prize, while the Documentary Feature Grand Jury Prize was awarded to Olivier Bernier’s Forget Me Not.
In other awards announced on Friday (4) the 2022 Slamdance Unstoppable Grand Jury Prize was awarded to Straighten Up And Fly Right by Steven Tanenbaum and Kristen Abate and the George Starks Spirit of Slamdance Award, voted on by filmmakers and given to the filmmaker who best embodies the spirit of the Festival, went to Sasha Levinson,...
Hannah Ha Ha directed by Joshua Pikovsky and Jordan Tetewsky earned the Narrative Feature Grand Jury prize, while the Documentary Feature Grand Jury Prize was awarded to Olivier Bernier’s Forget Me Not.
In other awards announced on Friday (4) the 2022 Slamdance Unstoppable Grand Jury Prize was awarded to Straighten Up And Fly Right by Steven Tanenbaum and Kristen Abate and the George Starks Spirit of Slamdance Award, voted on by filmmakers and given to the filmmaker who best embodies the spirit of the Festival, went to Sasha Levinson,...
- 2/4/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
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