Today on indieWIRE, we sat down with the breakout star of “Gun Hill Road,” NYFF made a big announcement and much more.
Transgender Actress Harmony Santana Stuns in “Gun Hill Road”
Harmony Santana, a transgender actress, gives a breakout lead performance in Rashaad Ernesto Green’s coming-of-age scorcher “Gun Hill Road.” Santana plays Michael, a male teenager on track to transition into a woman. When his father returns from a long stint in prison, Michael finds himself facing off against a man unable to understand his son’s dilemma. The Bronx-set drama premiered at Sundance to positive notices, snagged a distribution deal with Motion Film Group and went on to open Outfest and close NewFest. Go here for our interview with her.
World Premiere of Simon Curtis’ “Marilyn” Set for 49th NY Film Festival Centerpiece Gala
The World Premiere of Simon Curtis’ “My Week with Marilyn” will screen as the Centerpiece Gala at the upcoming New York Film Festival on October 9th, the Film Society of Lincoln Center said Thursday. Last Friday FSLC announced that Roman Polanski’s “Carnage” will open the 49th NYFF September 30th. For more go here.
The Four Coolest Things About the 2011 Fantasia Film Festival
Stretching from July 14-August 7, Montreal’s marathon genre-film lovefest the Fantasia International Film Festival kicked off with the Canadian premiere of “Red State” (without Kevin Smith) and featured other festival favorites like “Another Earth.” The closing film screens tomorrow night with the Guillermo del Toro-produced “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” and the world premiere midnight screening of the fifth installment in the “Final Destination” series. However, in a festival with a lot to love, they weren’t the best things about Fantasia. These were.
Epic “Mysteries of Lisbon” Is The Pick of The Week
Legendary director Raoul Ruiz gives audiences the first film of his sixth decade of filmmaking with “Mysteries of Lisbon,” which topped four other specialty openers this weekend to be the criticWIRE pick of the week. An adaptation of a famous 19th-century novel by Portuguese author Camilo Castelo Branco, the film focuses on the child of an ill-fated romance between two aristocrats who are forbidden to marry. Many thought “Lisbon” would be Ruiz’s final film, but thankfully surgery for liver cancer saved his life. Go here for more.
Tribeca Film Gets Hitched to Ed Burns’ “Newlyweds”
U.S. and Canadian rights to actor/writer/director Edward Burns’ “comedic relationship drama” “Newlyweds” have been picked up by Tribeca Film. The feature, which closed out the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival where it had its world premiere, will be released via multiple platforms in late 2011. Go here for more details.
Longer and Meaner Trailer for “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”
Just over a month ago the promising teaser for the anticipated spy flick “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy,” dropped and boded out of extremely good things to come. No big surprise really, given that it marks the first English language film from “Let the Right One In” director Tomas Alfredson and boats an amazing cast that includes the likes of Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Mark Strong and Ciaran Hinds. If the first preview didn’t already have you all riled up, the film’s fleshed out trailer that hit the web today will be sure to do the trick.
IFC Center Announces August-September Line-Up
The IFC Center, one of New York’s finest independent film theaters, has announced its August-September lineup, which launches this weekend with the opening of Raul Ruiz’s much-discussed “Mysteries of Lisbon” and includes ten US theatrical premieres as well as IFC’s regular slate of midnight repertory films and weekend classics. Go here for lineup.
French Comedy “Intouchables” to Close San Sebastian International Film Festival
The world premiere of the French comedy “Intouchables,” from directors Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache, will close the 59th edition of San Sebastian International Film Festival, it was announced today. Go here for more.
Rhode Island International Film Festival 2011 Includes Terry Gilliam, Colin Firth, Anna Paquin
FLICKERS: Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF), August 9-14, announced the lineup for its 15th annual fest. This is the only Academy Awards-qualifying festival in New England. Go here for lineup.
Alfonso Cuarón’s 3D Sci-Fi Epic “Gravity” Dated For November 21, 2012
Warner Bros. continues to get bold as it gets its Oscar dance cards in place. 2011 is filled with Stephen Daldry‘s “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” and Clint Eastwood‘s “J. Edgar” starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Now the studio is eyeing 2012, and surprisingly, has thrown a sci-fi genre picture into Academy contention. Go here for details.
Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
