AP: South by Southwest bets on "21"

Robert Luketic sheepishly says he thinks the South by Southwest Film Festival is taking a gamble on him by showing his Las Vegas thriller, "21," on opening night. Christy Lemire reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals, SXSW ]

INSIDE WORD | Secret Screenings Set for SXSW

Sundance Hits in Austin... The cool, windy weather in Austin has swept in a pair of Sundance Film Festival hits for surprise midnight screenings this weekend (via Sony Pictures Classics). Friday night at Midnight a bonus screening of The Duplass Brothers' "Baghead" is on tap for the Alamo South Lamar. According to ads in the local Austin American Statesman, tickets are available to anyone who drops by The Jackalope bar (404 E. 6th Street) between 5 p.m. - 8 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. See the man with a bag on his head. The following night a surprise showing of an unnamed Park City favorite will screen at the Alamo South Lamar. The promo copy (and innuendos) should leave little doubt as to which SPC film will be shown: "Before it rolls into theaters this summer, be one of the first to see this huge (bong) hit from this year's Sundance Film Festival. Where were you in '94? Find out what you missed at this secret (stash) midnight screening Saturday night at the Lamar! Snacks not provided, but strongly encouraged." 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals, SXSW ]

iW NEWS | ShoWest To Honor Mamet

Screenwriter and director David Mamet will receive the ShoWest Award of Excellence in Filmmaking during the March 10-13, 2008 event in Las Vegas. Mamet will be presented the award at the Opening Day Luncheon, which will focus on the importance of specialty and independent films and distribution companies in today's marketplace. [Peter Knegt] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Honors ]

iW NEWS | Vertigo Films Makes Deal With Contender

Vertigo Films announced that it has signed a deal with Contender Home Entertainment to handle DVD distribution of its forthcoming theatrical releases. The deal covers Vertigo's upcoming slate of 9 films with includes Rupert Wyatt's "The Escapist and Jeff Nichols' "Shotgun Stories." [Peter Knegt] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]

iW NEWS | Ann Arbor Set for 46th Fest

The 46th Ann Arbor Film Festival is set to kick-off on March 25th in Michigan, opening with a selection of short films from this year's festival. On tap are Michael Langan's "Doxology," Daniel Robin's "My Olympic Summer," Osbert Parker's "Yours Truly," Luke Sieczek's "Phantom," Georg Koszulinski's "America in Pictures," Ben Peters's "Frog Jesus," Catherine Chalmers's "Safari," Vanessa Renwick's "Portrait #2: Trojan," May Lin Au Yong's "Bullet Proof Vest," Josh Raskin's "I Met the Walrus," and Jem Coen's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." For more information, please visit the festival website. [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals, Shorts ]

iW NEWS | "Baby Mama" to Open Tribeca Fest

Michael McCullers's "Baby Mama" (from Universal Pictures) will open the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival on April 23rd. A New York production from Lorne Michaels and John Goldwyn, the film stars Tina Fey and Amy Poehler and is the directorial debut of Saturday Night Live writer McCullers. Rounding out the cast are Greg Kinnear, Dax Shepard, Romany Malco, Maura Tierney, Holland Taylor and Sigourney Weaver. The Tribeca fest will run through May 4. [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals, New York ]

Reuters: Hollywood North says Canada's tax plan is censorship

Canada's film and television industry is screaming censorship over a government plan to cut tax credits for productions with graphic scenes of sex and violence, warning the plan could water down edgy Canadian films. Natalie Armstrong reports. 
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iW NEWS | Helen Hunt and Stuart Townsend to Bookend Dallas Fest

Helen Hunt's "Then She Found Me" will open the AFI Dallas International Film Festival on March 27th in Texas, the fest will close on April 6th with Stuart Townsend's "Battle In Seattle." A total of 210 features and shorts are on tap for the second annual festival, including the world premieres of King Hollis' "Bowling For Soup: Live and Very Attractive," PJ Bagley's "Fat Man Walking," Russ Pond's "Fissure," Mike Pasley's "Frag," Jeffrey Goodman's "The Last Lullaby," Kelly Nykes's "Split: A Divided America," Manny Mendoza & Mark Birnbaum's "Stop The Presses: The American Newspaper in Peril," and Jason Wulfsohn's "Tracing Cowboys," while U.S. premieres will include Nick Broomfield's "Battle for Haditha," Scott Hicks's "Glass: A Portrait in Twelve Parts," Daniel Junge's "Iron Ladies of Liberia," and Michael Albright's "Sonic Youth: Sleeping Nights Awake." Festival centerpiece screenings will include David Gordon Green's "Snow Angels" and Barry Levinson's "What Just Happened?" Special events will include a salute to Mickey Rooney at a screening celebrating the 70th anniversary of "Boys Town," and AFI Dallas Star awards to opening night director Helen Hunt, Jack Lemmon (presented to his widow Felicia Farr), Charlize Theron, and Todd Wagner. The Tex Avery Animation Award will be presented to Chris Wedge. [Eugene Hernandez]  
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INSIDE WORD | "Blueberry" Booked for U.S. Release Next Month

New cut coming soon... The Weinstein Company has announced the release of Wong Kar Wai's "My Blueberry Nights," coming to U.S. theaters on next month. The company confirmed that a new version of the film will be released on April 4th. In a statement, TWC said, "This is a new cut of the film, different than the version shown at Cannes." "My Blueberry Nights" opened the Cannes fest last year where indieWIRE reported on the film. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Movies ]

VAR | Warner Bros. shape shifts

In the wake of a major shake-up at New Line Cinema, Variety's Anne Thompson explores the how Warner Bros. president Jeff Robinov will "put the pieces of the new studio paradigm together." Of particular note are the fates of the company's two specialty units: "...Warner Independent Pictures and Picturehouse, which is co-owned by New Line and HBO Films, are likely to merge. Based in Burbank, WIP has not scored any hits since May 2006...While New York-based Picturehouse had a rough run at the 2007 box office, and HBO Films withdrew from the partnership after "Rocket Science" flopped, Berney is an experienced indie distributor with many hits behind him...Whatever Robinov chooses to do, it will be up to [WIP's] Cohen and [Picturehouse's] Berney to decide if they can live with it." 
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]

indieWIRE Presents: David Gordon Green @ Apple Store SoHo

indieWIRE continues its ongoing series with Apple Store - SoHo that presents indie film professionals discussing various aspects of the filmmaking process.

Actress Olivia Thirlby ("Juno", "The Wackness") CONFIRMED TO ATTEND!

WHEN: Wednesday, March 5th, 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m
WHERE: Apple Store SoHo, 103 Prince Street, NYC
COST: Free, No RSVP required. Seats are first come, first serve. Seating is limited.

Filmmaker David Gordon Green ("George Washington," "All The Real Girls") will participate in a discussion and show scenes from his latest film, "Snow Angels," which stars Sam Rockwell, Katie Beckinsale, Olivia Thirlby, Amy Sedaris and Griffin Dunne. "Snow Angels" (based on Stewart O'Nan's novel) is the haunting story of two broken families and two romantic relationships, one just beginning and one nearing its end. Warner Independent Pictures will release "Snow Angels" in theaters on March 7, 2008.

 
[permalink]   [ filed under Events ]

iW NEWS | ThinkFilm Takes "Momma's Man"

Park City coverage sponsored by BE KIND REWIND.

Azazel Jacob's "Momma's Man" has been acquired by ThinkFilm in a deal for North American rights, the company confirmed today. A Sundance Film Festival debut earlier this year, the film will screen this month at the New Directors/New Films series and then have an exclusive release later this year. It tells the story of Mikey, a young man who returns to the comfort of his parents and the home where he grew up instead of rejoining his own wife and newborn baby in Los Angeles. For the deal, ThinkFilm is reteaming with some of the backers of their 2006 release, "Half Nelson." The film was produced by Alex Orlovsky, Hunter Gray, and executive producer Paul Mezey. The pact, brokered by Cinetic Media, was negotiated by the company's Mark Urman, Randy Manis and Ben Stambler. Reviewing the film for indieWIRE during Sundance, Rob Nelson called "Momma's Man" an, "exceptionally tender, funny, and poignant New York indie." [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Acquisitions, Park City ]

iW NEWS | IFC Acquires "Fear(s)"

IFC has acquired all North American rights to French animated film "Fears(s) of the Dark." "Dark" is the work of six graphic artists and cartoonists, Blutch, Marie Caillou, Pierre DiSciullo, Lorenzo Mattotti, Richard McGuire and Charles Burns who stylized nightmares based on their own phobias using only black, white and gray. The film premiered at the Rome International Film Festival and also screened at Sundance and Paris Rendezvous. [Peter Knegt] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Acquisitions ]

iW NEWS | ShoWest To Honor Parker

Sarah Jessica Parker will receive the inaugural ShoWest Vanguard Award at the event, to be held March 10-13, 2008. Parker, starring in this Spring's "Smart People" and "Sex and the City: The Movie," will be presented with the award at the closing night ceremony on Thursday, March 13th at Bally's and Paris in Las Vegas [Peter Knegt]. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Honors ]

SF360: "Girls Rock" with Arne Johnson and Shane King

Both Jack Black's fictional School of Rock and Jack Black-alike Paul Green -based documentary "Rock School" have entertained many audiences with the notion of actually training the next generation of musically inclined kids in the arts of head-banging, hair-teasing, and amp adjustment. Susan Gerhard reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Movies ]

iW NEWS | Weekend Estimates: "Counterfeiters" Leads, "City of Men" Disappoints

According to indieWIRE Box Office Tracking (iW BOT) estimates from Rentrak, Stefan Ruzowitzky's Oscar winner "The Counterfeiters" looks to lead the iW BOT, grossing $201,726 on 18 screens for a $11,207 average. The average is actually up from last weekend for the Sony Pictures Classics release, despite adding 10 screens. Behind it was Jacques Rivette's "The Duchess of Langeais," which dipped a bit from last weekend but still maintained a potent $7,160 on 3 screens for IFC. Among openers, Roadside Attractions' "Chicago 10 led among per-theatre averages, taking in a decent $44,814 from 14 screens for a $3,201 average. Miramax release "City of Men," however, did not fare as well. On 75 screens, the film grossed $122,000 for a disappointing $1,627 average. indieWIRE publishes its weekly box office column on Mondays and final weekend numbers for specialty and limited release films on Tuesdays. Get the latest in the indieWIRE Box Office section. [Peter Knegt] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]