"Sundance Institute at BAM" Returns for Second Year

Park City coverage sponsored by BE KIND REWIND.

Sundance Institute and the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) announced they will host the second year of their "Sundance Institute at BAM," a series of film screenings, music and theatre performances, panel discussions, and events that brings the activities of Sundance Institute and the programming of its annual film festival to New York. This year's event is slated for May 31 - June 10. The series includes features, documentaries and shorts from the upcoming Sundance Film Festival, taking place later this month, in addition to projects supported by Sundance Institute's programs in filmmaking, theatre, and film music. Films selected for 2007 Sundance Institute at BAM will be determined following the conclusion of this year's fest. [Brian Brooks] 
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Sony Classics Teams with Law's Riff Raff for "Sleuth"

Sony Pictures Classics made a pact with Jude Law's production company Riff Raff Productions, Castle Rock, and MRC (Media Rights Capital) to distribute the updated version of "Sleuth" based on the Tony Award winning play by Anthony Shaffer. The company holds all rights in North America and Latin America. The film has been adapted by Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter with Jude Law as a principle producer as well as starring alongside the Oscar winner Michael Caine. The film will begin production this month in London, and Mandate Pictures will handle foreign sales. [Brian Brooks]  
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DesertSun: "Outsourced" reels in crowds on opening night

"Outsourced," a low-budget American film shot mostly in India with no major stars, filled the 1,100-seat Palm Springs High School auditorium Thursday to launch the 18th Palm Springs International Film Festival. And festival officials say more crowds are on the way. The festival will present 523 screenings of 254 films from 73 nations before the event closes Jan. 15--all festival records. A half-dozen people interviewed after the screening all raved about the film; it was the U.S. premiere for the comedy that follows a Seattle salesman on his journey to India to train his replacement. Bruce Fessier and Maggie Downs report. 
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NY Times: And You'll Be a Moviegoer, My Son

"Mothers of America, let your kids go to the movies!" Always good advice, but the exhortation has dated a bit since 1960, when Frank O'Hara made it the first line of his poem "Ave Maria." "Going to the movies" has a quaint ring in the age of the plasma-screen home entertainment system, the iPod and video-on-demand. The movies are more than willing to come to us, which has inspired some sages, in and outside the film industry, to prophesy the obsolescence, or at least the increasing marginality, of paper tickets, bags of popcorn and big dark rooms lighted by a projector beam: the cultural ritual known dispassionately in the business as "theatrical distribution." A.O. Scott reports. 
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Reurters: Oscar watchers narrow list of top film nominees

Hollywood experts on Friday narrowed their guesses for best film Oscar candidates to a short list including widely touted musical "Dreamgirls" and crime thriller "The Departed," after seeing this week's key award nominations. Close behind on the short list are comedy "Little Miss Sunshine" and searing cultural drama "Babel." Several industry pundits caution that the final spot on the list of five vying for the movies' top honor could go to one of a range of films. Bob Tourtellotte reports. 
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mPRm Adds Staff in "Expansion and Reorganization"

mPRm Public Relations announced Thursday new hires as part of the public relation's firm's reorganization and expansion. The Los Angeles-based company has hired Anthony Sprauve as senior vice president in the digital media and technology practice. Sprauve replaces Julie Henderson, who now runs PR at Fox Digital. In addition, Shari Mesulam was promoted to the position of vice president in film and events. Also, Ema Ostarcevic, Sarah Carragher and Ariana Nash have joined mPRm as directors in digital media technology, general entertainment and film & events respectively. "We are happy to have found such talented individuals to help usher the agency through our rapid growth period," said co-president Mark Pogachefsky in a statement. "We are confident that our agency will continue to flourish with the support of such a strong team in place on every level of the organization," added co-president Rachel McCallister. [Brian Brooks] 
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Selection of Competition Titles Unveiled for '07 Berlinale

Six films have been announced for the competition section at the 2007 Berlinale, running February 8 - 18 in the German capital. Included on the list are world premieres, including Christian Petzold's German title "Yella," Sam Garbarski's "Irina Palm" from Belgium, and Bille August's international co-production "Goodbye Bafana," along with a host of international premieres, including Park Chan-wook's "I Am A Cyborg But That's OK" from South Korea, along with Robert De Niro's "The Good Shepherd" and Steven Soderbergh's "The Good German" from the U.S. In a statement, Festival director Dieter Kosslick said, "We are delighted to be able to present a number of new works by renowned directors and interesting young filmmakers again. Many of the productions selected for this year's Competition link modern historical processes to personal, intimate and extremely emotional stories." The complete lineup will be announced later this month. [Eugene Hernandez] 
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H'Wood Reporter: Palm Springs film fest a relaxing desert retreat

Every major film festival has certain attributes the industry loves to hate, whether it's the overcrowding at Sundance or the attitude at Cannes. But it's difficult to find something to gripe about when it comes to the Palm Springs International Film Festival, which begins its 18th annual installment Thursday. The weather is warm. The access to screenings--where one's seatmate is more likely to be a civilian fan than an industry fanatic--is easy. And the program includes scores of foreign-language Oscar contenders, documentaries and glittery premieres that attract A-list talent. Rebecca Ascher-Walsh reports. 
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SAG Announces Nominees

The Screen Actors Guild has announced the nominees for the 13th Annual SAG Awards. The prizes will be presented on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2007 in Los Angeles. The nominees are:
CAST: "Babel," "Bobby," "The Departed," "Dreamgirls," "Little Miss Sunshine"
BEST ACTOR: Leonardo DiCaprio ("Blood Diamond"), Ryan Gosling ("Half Nelson"), Peter O'Toole ("Venus"), Will Smith ("The Pursuit of Happyness"), Forest Whitaker ("The Last King of Scotland"
BEST ACTRESS: Penelope Cruz ("Volver"), Judi Dench ("Notes on a Scandal"), Helen Mirren ("The Queen"), Meryl Streep ("The Devil Wears Prada"), Kate Winslet ("Little Children")
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Alan Arkin ("Little Miss Sunshine"), Leonardo DiCaprio ("The Departed"), Jackie Earle Haley ("Little Children"), Djimon Honsou ("Blood Diamond"), Eddie Murphy ("Dreamgirls")
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Adriana Barraza ("Babel"), Cate Blanchett ("Notes on a Scandal"), Abigail Breslin ("Little Miss Sunshine"), Jennifer Hudson ("Dreamgirls"), Rinko Kikuchi ("Babel") 
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indieWIRE ANNOUNCEMENT: Brian Brooks and James Israel Promoted at iW

We are pleased to announce the promotions of two members of the indieWIRE team in New York City. Brian Brooks has been named Managing Editor at the company, while James Israel has been named Marketing and Operations Manager. Both are based in NYC. Brooks joined the indieWIRE staff seven years and has written for the publication since its inception ten years ago. He is part of the editorial management team planning and writing daily news and feature content. James Israel began working with indieWIRE at Sundance in 2001, joining the staff two years later. He handles advertising sales and operations in New York, while also producing the popular indieWIRE Presents series at Apple Store Soho. Meanwhile, at GMD Studios in Orlando, two new members of the indieWIRE team started working with the publication late last year: Chris Campbell, a Production Supervisor for GMD, is a Web Developer for iW, while Lisa Hope is an Assistant Producer at GMD Studios. For more information about the entire indieWIRE team, please visit the iW.com about section.  
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INDUSTRY MOVES: Newman Leaves ICM for Endeavor

Veteran ICM agent Robert Newman is leaving the agency for Endeavor, where he will become a partner, according to a report from The Hollywood Reporter's Tatiana Siegel and Borys Kit. TV agent Matt Solo will also join Endeavor after leaving ICM, according to the report. 
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PGA Picks "Babel," "Departed," "Dreamgirls," "Sunshine," and "The Queen"

The Producers Guild of America has announced its nominees for producer of the year. Nominated for the Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures are: "Babel" (Paramount Vantage), producers: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Steve Golin, and Jon Kilik; "The Departed" (Warner Bros.), producer Graham King; "Dreamgirls" (Dreamworks SKG/Paramount Pictures), producer: Laurence Mark; "Little Miss Sunshine" (Fox Searchlight), producers: Marc Turtletaub, David T. Friendly, Peter Saraf, Albert Berger & Ron Yerxa; and "The Queen" (Miramax Films), producers: Andy Harries, Christine Langan and Tracey Seaward. The winner will be announced on January 20th in Los Angeles. Other honorees will include Ron Meyer (Milestone Award), Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher (David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures), Jerry Bruckheimer (Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television), Ken Ehrlich (Visionary Award), and Will Wright (Vanguard Award). "An Inconvenient Truth" will receive The Stanley Kramer Award. [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Awards Watch, Honors ]

Museum of the Moving Image to Present "Critics Choice: Great Documentaries"

New York's Museum of the Moving Image will present a series of documentaries selected and introduced by 23 notable film critics. The two-month series, "Critics Choice: Great Documentaries," which runs from January 6 - February 28, will also include discussions with veteran filmmakers as Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, Rachel Boynton, Barbara Kopple, Albert Maysles, W.T. Morgan, and D A Pennebaker. The films to be shown range in time from Dziga Vertov's 1927 silent film classic "The Man With a Movie Camera" to a preview screening of Tony Kaye's eagerly awaited movie "The Lake of Fire," about abortion in America. For more information and a full line up, visit the Museum's website. [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Events ]

SF360: Eastwood's Battles

One can be forgiven for thinking that Clint Eastwood seems late with his entwined combat films, "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters from Iwo Jima." Last year, after all, was marked as the year of the war movie, with Iraq documentaries hitting their fever pitch. Then there's the fact that "Flags"/"Letters" are World War II combat films, not exactly the sexiest genre to be resurrecting since, after all, isn't part of the problem in Iraq precisely that we're still depending on outmoded WWII archetypes of a "stand-up" fight? And yet, while Eastwood's films lack some of the in-the-guts currency of other recent war movies, they will almost certainly be more lasting than most of the pack, in no small part thanks to their informed genre play. Max Goldberg reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Movies ]

ThinkFilm Touting Two Sundance Competition Docs

Park City coverage sponsored by BE KIND REWIND.

Two Sundance Film Festival documentaries are set at ThinkFilm, the company confirmed Wednesday. Earlier this year, ThinkFilm pre-bought worldwide rights to Sean Fine & Andrea Nix Fine's "War/Dance" and Robinson Devor's "Zoo," both of which will debut in the festival's doc competition later this month. "War/Dance" is described as the story of "a group of African children who overcome the brutal realities of war by participating in a national musical competition that can change their lives immeasurably." While "Zoo" -- sure to be a hot topic at the festival -- is described as, "the story of a seemingly average businessman whose secret sexual life led to his shocking death." In short, he died after having sex with a horse. "War/Dance" will be released in the 4th quarter of 2007, according to the company and they are already eyeing it as an awards season entry. In a statement, head of theatrical distribution Mark Urman said:

"The emotional power of 'War/Dance' is more than matched by the beauty of its imagery and the eloquence of its storytelling. Though we are still in the midst of this year's awards season, I am already confident that 'War/Dance' will figure prominently in next year's race."

As for "Zoo," Urman told indieWIRE that the provocative doc as stirred a lot of interest, but its not exactly what one might expect. He added:

"It is, first and foremost, a very artistically rendered and poetic inquiry into the allure-- and dangers-- of opening those "locked doors," and responding to our innermost urges. There isn't a salacious or "tabloid" frame in the film but it is truly, legitimately shocking. It is also quite beautiful."

Urman said that he will set a release date for "Zoo" after gauging the response to the film at Sundance. [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Acquisitions, Park City ]

"The year of the angry documentary"

Looking at the Oscar documentary short list in The New York Times, Charles Lyons cites a preponderence of issue-oriented docs among the 15 films, noting "a shift toward gritty, guerrilla filmmaking, a willingness to tackle controversial subjects, no matter the obstacles":

"This is the year of the angry documentary, of the 'Take back America' documentary," Sheila Nevins, president of HBO Documentary Films, said in a telephone interview. "The theatrical documentary," she added, "has replaced the television documentary in terms of talking back to the administration. That's one of the only places where one can do it."

 
[permalink]   [ filed under Awards Watch, Movies ]

Weinsteins Get Haynes' Dylan Film

The Weinstein Company has acquired North American and UK rights to Todd Haynes' "I'm Not There," according to Variety, planning a 2007 release for the unconventional bio-pic that features a variety of actors (including Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, Christian Bale and Cate Blanchett) portraying the musician. Killer Films produced the movie. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Acquisitions ]

Sidetrack on Board with Sundance '07 Film, "Low and Behold"

Park City coverage sponsored by BE KIND REWIND.

Sidetrack Films, producers of AJ Schnack's new doc, "Kurt Cobain About A Son" have signed on as co-producers of Zack Godshall's "Low and Behold," premiering in the Spectrum section at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival later this month. Described by the company as "the first narrative feature about Hurricane Katrina," the film is further described as:

"A blend of documentary and fiction...the film was written by and stars Barlow Jacobs, who evacuated New Orleans when Katrina hit before returning to work as an insurance claim adjuster. He then wrote a script based on those experiences and used the money he made to finance the film.

Sidetrack reps confirmed that they got involved at a rough cut stage, providing finishing funds and assisting with a festival and sales strategy. The film is being repped by William Morris. [Eugene Hernandez] 
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AFP: French director Luc Besson awarded top Serbian film prize

French film director Luc Besson was awarded the highest Serbian film prize, the "Golden Seal," for his "contribution to the art of cinematography." Noting that the US cinematography "has become more like an industry after a long domination," Besson said the audience "is getting bored with it." "That is why in France, but also in other European countries, the audience is turning back its attention to a national cinematography," the 47-year old director said. AFP reports. 
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307 Feature Films in Competition for 2006 Oscar

Three hundred seven feature films are eligible for the Academy Award for Best Picture of 2006, it has been announced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. To be eligible for 79th Academy Awards consideration, feature films have until midnight, December 31, to open in a commercial motion picture theater in Los Angeles County and begin a minimum run of seven consecutive days. Under Academy rules, a feature-length motion picture must have a running time of more than 40 minutes and must have been exhibited theatrically on 35mm or 70mm film, or in a qualifying digital format. Nominations for the 79th Academy Awards will be announced on Tuesday, January 23, 2007, at 5:30 a.m. PST in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater. [Brian Brooks] 
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"La Antena" to Open 36th International Film Festival Rotterdam this Month

Argentine director Esteban Sapir's world premiere, "La Antena" will open the 36th International Film Festival Rotterdam, screening in the fest's Tiger Awards competition. The film is one of nineteen new Hubert Bals Fund supported films, including eight world premieres, in Official Selection. According to the festival, the film "is set in a surrealistic, snow covered city ruled by Mr. TV who controls all spoken word, which he uses for broadcasts as well as for food production. It has left the inhabitants speechless and dependent, and only 'La Voz,' a female singer, escapes the rule of Mr. TV. The festival also released additional titles, including Malaysian director Tan Chui Mui's "Love Conquers All" (European premiere), also screening in the Tiger competition. Also making world premieres are Philippines director Lav Diaz's "Heremias (Book One: The Legend of the Lizard Princess)" in the Maestros: Kings and Aces section as well as Ukrainian Eva Neymann's "U Reki" (Cinema of the World: Time & Tide section). The festival takes place January 24-February 4 in the Dutch city. For more information, visit the festival's website. [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals ]

AP: Garcia Bernal embraces Mexican roots

"Babel" actor Gael Garcia Bernal embraces his Mexican identity, saying it has a liberating effect on his expanding caree. "I feel completely free to be whatever," he told the Los Angeles Times. "Actually, if I was an actor from the United States, it would be incredibly hard, because I would be pigeonholed immediately." Garcia Bernal, 28, said in Mexico any perceived faux pas by a celebrity can draw criticism. AP reports. 
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