LAFF '08 | Universal Pics "Wanted and "Hellboy II" Bookend Los Angeles Fest in June

Universal Pictures' "Wanted" by Timur Bekmambetov will open the 2008 Los Angeles Film Festival June 19 in Westwood, organizers announced Tuesday. Based upon Mark Millar's graphic novel series the film tells the story of one apathetic nobody's transformation into an unparalleled enforcer of justice. Closing the festival, which is organized by Film Independent, is writer/director Guillermo del Toro's "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" also from Universal on June 29. Sundance 2008 doc "Anvil! The Story of Anvil" will screen as the Centerpiece June 26 at the Ford Amphitheater in a program that will include live musical performances and "special guests." "I am proud of the festival's on-going growth within the community, and pleased that we continue to attract world-class filmmakers like Guillermo Del Toro and Timur Bekmambetov," said festival director Rich Raddon in a statement. "The Los Angeles Film Festival celebrates the best in filmmaking as well as discovering new voices from around the world."
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LAFF '07 | International Stories, Some Set in the U.S., Find Audiences at L.A. Film Fest

"People in this town are coming to realize that Los Angeles needs a world class film festival," proclaimed Rich Raddon, a former film producer who has lead Film Independent's Los Angeles Film Festival since 1999 when it was still known as the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival. "We need it in our backyards," he added, thanking attendees and touting the event during Thursday's Spirit of Independence event in Westwood. Of course, the 10-day festival isn't the only international festival in Los Angeles, LAFF shares that stature with AFI FEST, the AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival in autumn as well as Outfest, opening later this month.
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LA FILM FEST '07 | "Talk To Me" and "Sunshine" Bookend LA Fest; 19 Films Set for Competition

Kasi Lemmons' "Talk To Me" will open Film Independent's 2007 Los Angeles Film Festival on June 21st. The film, from Focus Features, stars Don Cheadle, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Cedric the Entertainer, Taraji P. Henson, Mike Epps, Martin Sheen and Film Independent's Board of Directors president Vondie Curtis Hall. It is described as "the funny, dramatic, and inspiring real-life story of Ralph Waldo 'Petey' Greene (Cheadle), an outspoken ex-con who talked his way into becoming an iconic radio personality in the 1960s in Washington, D.C. Lemmons, the secretary of FIND's board, is also married to actor Vondie Curtis Hall. The festival will close on July 1 with Danny Boyle's "Sunshine" starring Rose Byrne, Cliff Curtis, Chris Evans, Troy Garity, Cillian Murphy, Hiroyuki Sanada, Mark Strong, Benedict Wong, and Michelle Yeoh. It is set fifty years in the future, when a crew of eight men and women are traveling into space to try and prevent the death of the sun.
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LA FILM FEST '06: "Ira," "Abby," and "Mario" Win in Audience Prizes; Fest Salutes "Sunshine" and "Quinceanera" On Closing Weekend

Boasting an attendance of more than 80,000 this year, Film Independent's Los Angeles Film Festival came to a close Sunday night at the Wadsworth Theater in West Los Angeles. On its final night, celeb presenter Christina Applegate announced two feature audience awards -- the fest-goers chose "Ira & Abby," written by (and co-starring) Jennifer Westfeldt and directed by Robert Cary, as the winner of the narrative audience award. The film, a true crowd-pleaser here in L.A. this year, marks Westfeldt's return to the festival following the successful launch of her first feature "Kissing Jessica Stein" here five years ago. The feature about modern relationships is still without distribution. "Mario's Story," by Jeff Werner and Susan Koch, won the audience award for best documentary at the festival and another documentary, "Paper Dolls" by Tomer Heymann from Israel, won the best international audience prize.
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LA FILM FEST '06: Can Films Save The World? Talking "Chalk" and "Getting Down" In L.A.

Asked to answer the title question during a Los Angeles Film Festival poolside chat earlier this week -- Can Films Save The World? -- "Paradise Now" director Hany Abu-Assad said flatly, "no." Leading off the discussion by dismissing its concept altogether, the filmmaker added, "I didn't make the film to change anybody, or any thoughts," Hany Abu-Assad explained during the panel discussion. The only reason I (make) films is because I am curious to know things that you can't experience in reality. I don't think I am doing things to change...if film will change, it will change for the worse."
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LA FILM FEST '06: "Gretchen" and "Deliver Us From Evil" Win Big Award$ in L.A.

Cash prizes totaling a whopping $100,000 were doled out to a pair of grateful filmmakers here at the Los Angeles Film Festival on Wednesday night. Steve Collins won the $50,000 cash Target Filmmaker Award for his first feature film, "Gretchen," while the Target Documentary Award, which also included an unrestricted $50,000 cash prize, went to Amy Berg for her new doc, "Deliver Us From Evil." While additional awards are still to be announced on the festival's closing night, Wednesday's ceremony presented perhaps the most coveted cash prizes on the American film festival circuit. At the classy outdoor event, held at the W Hotel in Westwood, Charlize Theron was also in the spotlight, receiving the festival's Spirit of Independence Award.
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LA FILM FEST '06: Words of Wisdom From Harrison Ford; "Beyond Conviction"; and Are Costumes Fashion?

Hollywood was again in the spotlight at the 2006 Los Angeles Film Festival Monday night in Southern California. Big-time director George Lucas welcomed festival filmmakers to Skywalker Ranch last week for the pre-fest retreat, and on Monday Han Solo himself joined participants for the annual Filmmaker Reception. While actor Harrison Ford, one of this year's honorary co-chairs at the LA Film Fest, didn't seem to spend too much time meeting and greeting filmmakers at Monday's L.A. Film Fest party at the W Hotel in Westwood, he did take the stage to leave attendees with a few words of wisdom (most of which are included below). The much-appreciated remarks were received a bit like a commencement address to the L.A. Film Festival's 'Class of 2006'.
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LA FILM FESTIVAL '06: Westfeldt Back at LA Film Fest, With "Ira and Abby"; And Linklater Chats

Five years after finding success at the Los Angeles Film Festival with "Kissing Jessica Stein," where the film won the audience award and was subsequently acquired by Fox Searchlight, writer and actress Jennifer Westfeldt returned to the fest with her latest film, "Ira and Abby." Westfeldt again wrote and starred in the feature (and again she partnered with producer Brad Zions). Directed by Robert Cary, the new film was met with a large crowd and a warm response at its second screening here Monday afternoon. Insiders have tipped the crowd-pleaser as the LA Film Fest movie most likely to score a distribution deal here.
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LA FILM FESTIVAL '06: "Prada" Opening, Lucas Hosts Filmmakers, Gore on "Green Day" and More

The Los Angeles Film Festival got off to a glamorous start Thursday night with the L.A. premiere of David Frankel's "The Devil Wears Prada" in the heart of the event's new neighborhood, Westwood Village. Though the Fox release is clearly Hollywood fare (with a cast that includes such boldfaced names as Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Stanley Tucci, and Adrian Grenier), an informal iW poll of some attendees after the packed screening generally gave positive kudos to the film, and to actress Streep in particular for her portrayal of the steely Miranda Priestly.
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"The Devil Wears Prada" to Kick Off 2006 Los Angeles Film Fest; Complete Competition Lineups Also Announced

The 2006 Los Angeles Film Festival, running June 22 - July 2, 2006, will open with David Frankel's "The Devil Wears Prada" and close with Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris's Little Miss Sunshine. Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland's Quinceanera will screen as a centerpiece premiere at the festival. "We are thrilled to be bringing another wonderful slate of films from around the U.S. and abroad to Los Angeles audiences," said Rachel Rosen, Director of Programming for Film Independent and the Los Angeles Film Festival, in a statement. "This year, the Festival has something for everyone from charming comedies to heartrending documentaries. Audiences will also have the chance to discuss the films they've seen with some of our visiting filmmakers and guests."
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