Nerdly

10th May2013

2013 Soho Film Festival – The Awards

by Catherina Gioino

The last installment of the Soho Film Festival follows the winners of the special awards given out for their excellence in storytelling. The fourth year of the festival ran smoothly with a unique array of visual quality that was mastered in the art of storytelling, with films coming from all over the world. Of the 70 plus works featured at the festival, the following have won prizes for their works.

En Hemlighet (A Secret): A 9 minute short directed by Dennis Petersen, this Swedish short about love won the Best World Sort award.

El Presidente: Mark Meilly directed this Philippians 160 minute movie, about a general rising to power as American gained territory and power during the last days of the Spanish empire. This won the Best World Showcase award.

Running for Jim: Dan Noyes and Robin Hauser Reynolds directed this 78 minute film about a coach struggling to win. This film won the Best Documentary award.

Concrete Jungle: Steven Cartoccio directed this 6 minute short, which is a stop motion film about humans and animals living in New York City. The Best Animated Film award was given to the short.

The Lepidoctor: The Best Showcase Short Film award was given to Jonathan Barenboim, director of The Lepidoctor, a short about a boy who starts wandering after him mother dies.

The Silent Thief: Directed by Jennifer Clary, the Best Showcase Feature Film award goes to this film, which details a man’s struggle to define the line between sanity and insanity.

Wet Behind the Ears: Sloan Copeland directed this comedy about a college graduate surviving the outside world. This won the NYC Audience Award.

Junction: Tony Glazer directed this marvel piece of a story which follows meth addicts as they deal with an even bigger crime against humanity. The Special Jury Award was given to the film.

West End: Like Hamlet on the Jersey Shore, Joe Basile directed and starred in this film which follows an undercover FBI agent revisiting his home after his father died. This won the Soho’s Pick award.

The Soho Film Festival ended on April 12, after featuring over 70 films and works of art. The festival will return again next with even more films to feature and more events. Check out the festival’s site and Facebook page for more information and pictures of the festival.

Category : Contributors, Fun Stuff

Tags : 2013 Soho Film Festival, A Secret, Concrete Jungle, Dan Noyes, Dennis Petersen, El Presidente, En Hemlighet, Hamlet on Jersey Shore, Jennifer Clary, Jonathan Barenboim, Junction, Mark Meilly, Robin Hauser Reynolds, Running For Jim, Sloan Copeland, SoHo Film Fest, Steve Cartoccio, The Lepidoctor, The Silent Thief, Tony Glazer, West End, Wet Behind the Ears

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10th May2013

Soho Film Fest Review: ‘West End’

by Catherina Gioino

The Soho Film Festival ran its course for the fourth time on April 5-12 in the Landmark Sunshine Cinema Theater, in Soho, New York. The festival featured over 70 films and shorts and brought together not only new and aspiring filmmakers, actors, writer and all, but also brought already established filmmakers and cinema enthusiasts to share ideas.

One of the films at the festival was West End, a film that is described as “Hamlet on the Jersey Shore.” Directed and written by Joe Basile, who also stars in the film as a priest, the film counts Eric Roberts, Peter Onorati, Neal Bledsoe, Isabella Hofmann, Joe Nieves and Lou Martini Jr. amongst its cast.

After Vic Trevi’s (Bledsoe) dad (Roberts) mysteriously gets shot. Vic returns home to find his mother (Hofmann) grieving while his uncle (Onorati) becomes close to both Vic’s friend Buddy (Nieves) and mother. Well wasn’t that a mouthful? Basically, Vic Trevi is a undercover cop who returns home to find the person who killed his father, and throughout his ordeal, he discovers secrets he never thought possible. Through the twists and turns of the film, I found it quite compelling and extremely well-thought out. It was one of those “edge of your seat” kind of movies, with everything you’d expect- action, comedy, romance, drama, and everything in between.

If there ever were a reason to love Shakespeare any more than you already do (or at least should), this is the reason. Shakespeare’s versatile story comes along quite greatly in this new version never thought imaginable – Jersey Shore mobsters. (Trust me, even if you never read Hamlet, you know the story. I bet you saw The Lion King right? Well there you go).

West End marvelously enwraps the viewer into a never ending state of paranoia. All the problems ever imagined are in this film- betrayal, love, revenge, death, anything. I guess one of my favorite parts would have to be the strained relationship conversations between Vic and his uncle. Both Onorati and Bledsoe wonderfully master the intense “awkwardness in the air” feeling that you can even sense while sitting in the audience.

After the film, Joe Basile and most of the cast stuck around and gave their opinions on the film and how it was made. Since the film was shot in the Jersey Shore, many of the comments were about the affects of Hurricane Sandy. Since the super storm did hit the New York-New Jersey area, mostly every person there understood the troubles the cast spoke about. They apparently ended filming right before the storm hit and recently had a screening where all the proceeds ended going to the victims.

Really captivating and perfectly executed, if you can just take away a few clichéd things, West End would be perfect.

**** 4/5

Check out the trailer below:

Category : Contributors, Movies, Reviews

Tags : Eric Roberts, Hamlet, Isabella Hofmann, Joe Basile, Joe Nieves, Landmark Sunshine Cinema Theater, Lou Martini Jr, Neal Bledsoe, Peter Onorati, Shakespeare, SoHo Film Fest, The Lion King, Vic Trevi, West End, William Shakespeare

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30th Apr2013

Soho International Film Festival – Shorts Round Up

by Catherina Gioino

Year after year, festivals have come to show the love of film making people have, bringing together not only filmmakers to showcase their talent, but also moviegoers to enjoy these works of art. The Soho International Film Festival does just that.

The Soho International Film Festival took place from April 5^th to April 12^th, featuring the works of numerous filmmakers- all ranging from high school students to people with iPhones to filmmakers with actual professional grade camera equipment. No film is discriminated against and nothing is turned away. This is the fourth year of the festival, which films have been shown at the Landmark Sunshine Cinema in Soho, New York. With its unique feel, the theater brings forth the audience and filmmakers to have a spectacular festival showing what someone’s passion can lead them to make.

Olivia Delaurentis, a high school junior, wrote and directed the 30 minute film, My Better Half. Her work follows the life of an overachiever who is trying to get into college and finally collapses when all her work catches up to her. I got a chance to speak with Delaurentis and this is what she had to say about her film:

What made you come up with the idea?

Delaurentis: It was partially through improv because I do lots of improv and I’m on a comedy sports team at my school, so if I can come up with a joke I can kind of come up with a scene around that and make a movie. The actual plot of the movie came from the fact that everyone in high school was so over-obsessed about being perfectly successful. The stereotypical sense of the word, more so than caring about what they actually want to do. I think it’s really important to even give up everything else just to be happy and so I wanted to express that.

What motivated you to actually film it instead of making a joke about it?

Delaurentis: I’ve always loved making movies; I’ve been making stupid little shorts since I was like five, so it’s like really fun for me just in general, so it was sort of a ‘let’s make this my next project’ kind of thing. I made one last summer with the same guy in it, Drew, and I thought- oh, we usually make them in the summer too- Drew will do anything so I thought I’ll make him a crazy guy and we just went out and filmed.

Other shorts that I got the chance to see included Morning Calm, Beside Her, The Test, Foxed, Future Memory, A Second Thought, Unexpected Guest, Here You Go, I Can Smoke?, and Uncomfortable Silence.

Morning Calm: Morning Calm is a film about a man who loses his love and tries desperately to cope with that fact, all while trying to grasp onto his last memories of her. I liked this short since it was a “coping with reality” sort of story, but it really didn’t work since there was too much going on for it to remain constant. For instance, in the 19 minutes, the short features flashbacks, a psychiatrist’s office, a party, several scenes on the beach and several more in a bathtub. This would have worked with less scenes (like cutting out the party and psychiatrist office, since people would understand he lost his love without those scenes trying to explain it), but there really wasn’t a story there for a full feature film.

Beside Her: A film by Carrie Carnevale, the short features two female lovers who balance work and life, all until something goes terribly wrong to overthrow that balance. I actually liked the use of suspense in the short as it was totally misleading and really shocked you at the end. I do see twist endings coming from a mile away, but this short did a really good job to keep me on the edge of my seat.

The Test: Let’s say I love it. This comedic 13 minute short kept the entire theater filled with laughter, and better yet, the two stars were husband and wife duo Patrick Fischler (Speed) and Lauren Bowles (Hall Pass). I loved the concept of the film- a couple going through divorce trying to find out if the almost ex-wife is pregnant only to have their pregnancy test ruined in the most comedic ways.

Foxed: If you can watch this and not be moved by this stop-motion short, you have no heart. James Stewart worked sweat and tears to tediously create this four minute stop-motion (when you take a picture of every frame of the image you want to create) short about a child who works at a child labor camp in another world away from her family.

Future Memory: Another one of those cases where a plot twist can be detected by yours truly, this short follows the story of a woman who visits a Shaman (some pajama wearing man who can see into the future) and believes the future can be changed. In hopes of changing the future, she manages to follow this course directly and ultimately, leave the future unchanged.

A Second Thought: Props should be given to Choice Skinner alone for even managing to create a story in under two minutes- on his iPhone nonetheless. I can’t even sum it up for you without giving away the entire story, but it’s basically a bus ride home after receiving some news.

Unexpected Guest: Since I got to meet Bradley Stryker, I wouldn’t be surprised that he actually does the things he does in the short in actual life. The short is about a hunter who lives in a log cabin in a woods finds a woman with amnesia, and things go down from there.

Here You Go: If you think The Artist was a good modern silent film, you haven’t seen nothing yet! Here You Go follows two subway clowns in their quest to find each other, and this modern silent film (basically everything except the main characters are heard) brings you to finding love in the city.

I Can Smoke?: Kill Bill meets Pulp Fiction, or better yet, a combination of mostly every Tarantino film with “hooker and prostitute undertones.” I need not explain anymore, but just know that Tony Ducret could almost be the next Tarantino – the short was gritty and funny, served with a side of revenge.

Uncomfortable Silence: What do you do when the whole world is being taken over by technology? You get lost by using technology that helped you get lost in the first place. Uncomfortable Silence is written by Italian director Gabriele Altobelli but takes place in New York City, the place where the world is run by madness and everyone needs to stay connected.

At the end of the day’s screenings, a question and answer session is held to discuss each short. The shorts were clumped up together in this session and anything from how the film was made to where to follow the film was discussed.

Some highlights of the session included Patrick Fischler talking about his wife. He stated that “Lauren is my wife in real life and she wrote the short herself. We do have a baby!”

For Unexpected Guest, Bradley Stryker was asked if it was intended to be more than a short. Stryker responded, “It started out as a short after I was home with my better half eating like an animal. I thought that was hilarious so a group of friends and I went out and shot it, as a short. Then it evolved into a feature, where I found a lot more fun in the humor”.

“We didn’t have permits to film in the subway station so we just shot the scenes we needed and got out of there,” stated Jill Durso after being asked how she filmed. She also added, “We wanted to portray him silently with everything else there, so it was like he was in a bubble, all singled out.”

Altobelli added that they began shooting “during Hurricane Sandy. We had five or six days of shooting and it was during the hurricane with no power. We got a generator and finished the film.” He also noted that the music was actual live music recorded and orchestrated for the film.

Category : Contributors, Movies, Reviews

Tags : A Second Thought, Beside Her, Bradley Stryker, Carrie Carnevale, Choice Skinner, Foxed, Future Memory, Gabriele Altobelli, Hall Pass, Here You Go, I Can Smoke?, James Stewart, Jill Durso, Landmark Sunshine Cinema, Lauren Bowles, Morning Calm, My Better Half, Olivia Delaurentis, Patrick Fischler, Soho Film Festival, SOHO Film Festival 2013, Soho International Film Festival, The Test, Uncomfortable Silence, Unexpected Guest

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15th Apr2013

SOHO Film Festival 2013 Report

by Catherina Gioino

The 2013 SOHO Film Fest took place between April 5^th to April 12^th at the Landmark Sunshine Cinema in Soho, New York. The fourth year in existence, the Soho Film Fest celebrates all types of filmmakers- from pros to amateurs and anything in between- to help promote the arts and the works of filmmakers everywhere. Anything from 2 minute shorts to full length feature films are shown, and it doesn’t matter who made them since all are shown to get the passion of filmmaking out throughout the world.

SOHO-2

The following shorts and films were shown:

A Second Thought: Choice Skinner directed the 2 minute silent short, about a man’s encounter with a woman.

King Tigermore in Strawberry Fields: Tunde Reid-Kapo directed the 3 minute short, which is about a eight year who fell asleep during a chest match to find himself in another world.

Dance of the Books: directed by Lorena Fernandez, the 4 minute short is about books during a storm.

Foxed: directed by James Stewart, the Canadian 4 minute stop motion short shows a child lost in another world.

Worst Best Friend: directed by Ben Wood, the four minute short follows two best friends through hardships.

A Good Friend: Kelsey O’Brian directed the 5 minute short, which is about a woman who is trying to figure out her life relationships.

Happy Birthday: Kathrin Frey directed the five minute short from Switzerland, which about a dark night stroll.

Paper Plane: directed by Dave Barnis, the 5 minute short is about the relationship between two brothers.

The Beard: Yaz Rabadi directed this Canadian 6 minute short about a Sikh man recovering from a hate crime attack.

Concrete Jungle: directed by Steven Cartoccio, the 6 minute stop motion short is about animals in New York City.

5 Am: this 7 minute short is directed by John Painz and is about robots doing all of our work.

Glue: This 7 minute Candaian short is directed by Michael Levi and is about marriage and its flaws.

Muddy Boots: American directed by Joe Cozza, the seven minute short about an adult learning the harsh truths of reality.

The Condition: the 9 minute short directed by Stephan Graziano details a man who finds out one of his many hallucinations turns out to be real.

En Hemlighet (A Secret): Sweden 9 minute short by Dennis Peterson, the film focuses on hope, love and comfort.

Day and Night: directed by Ilay Ron, the ten minute short is about a guy who tries to call the girl he met at a bar.

The Dog: directed by William Holden, the 10 minute short is about a man leaving his life behind.

Gros: directed by Adam Taylor, the ten minute short is about European circus performer Sladu Le Gros, who believes he is the fattest man in the world until he travels to American and discovers he is considered chubby.

Project Seal: 10 minute American short directed by Chris Prangley details about the uncovering of the truth behind a 1944 tsunami.

Ellie: directed by Ricky Lloyd George, the 11 minute short is about a girl in a relationship who fears the man will figure out who she really is.

Frammenti: an Italian 11 minute short directed by Emanuele Michetti following a man who recovers from an illness at a hospital only to be hit with bad news.

Future Memory: William Holden directed this 11 minute short, which details the decisions that can affect the future.

The Butcher’s Key: directed by Sung Cho, the 12 minute short is about a boy overcoming fear to get his key.

Foreign Language: a 12 minute Canadian movie directed by Adam Kelly Morton about the use of foreign language in culture.

Here You Go: Jill Durso directed the 12 minute silent short abut two clowns falling in love.

Shooter: directed by P.R. Brown, the American 12 minutes short is about Alex, an assassin on his next mission.

Best of Both Worlds: directed by Michael Dunker, this 13 minute short is about a girlfriend admitting to her boyfriend she is a guy named Michael.

The Hipster Paradox: directed by Kyra Nicole Roberts, it is an American short of 13 minutes that follows two hipsters lives while trying to be unique.

Motive: directed by Rick Carmona, the American short is 13 minutes long and is about a man who gets in too far above his head.

The Test: A comedy directed by Anthony DiBlasi, the 13 minute film deals with a divorcing couple who wonder if they have a child.

A Boy with Arms: directed by So-Jin Park, the South Korean 15 minute short is about a boy who decides to go after his mother’s lover after she abandoned him.

Tiramisu: the 15 minute short directed by Lawrence Michael Parker is a revenge film.

Beside Her: directed by Carrie Carnevale, the 16 minute short follows the story of two female lovers until something routine goes horribly wrong.

Stalled: directed by Shannon Kholi, the Canadian 16 minute short about a janitor cleaning up graffiti in bathroom stalls.

Unexpected Guest: directed by Bradley Stryker, the Canadian 16 minute short follows a man who saves a woman in the woods.

Botes Al Amanecer: An American short directed by Nikki V. Roberts, the 17 minute short about a 8 year old living in poverty and deciding how to make the best of it.

The Big Prize: directed by Leigh Ann Jernigan, the 18 minute short is about Clara trying to find out if her dream is real.

The Fix: Ante Novakovic directed the 18 minute short which details two crime underworlds colliding.

I Can Smoke?: This gritty 18 minute short directed by Tony Ducret follows a husband trying to get his prostitute to leave his apartment.

Sparrow: directed by Joel Rodriguez, Sparrow is an 18 minute American short about a young girl experiencing loss.

Uncomfortable Silence: This 19 minute Italian short directed by Gabriele Altobelli is about a family in New York City understanding how technology is the downfall of our generation.

88 Miles to Moscow: directed by Karen Glienke, this 20 minute short is about a 15 year old finding herself in trouble after hopping onto a train to smoke.

El Invento: directed by Giovanni Granada, the Colombian 20 minute film is about 12 year old photographers who discover women.

The Lepidoctor: directed by Jonathan Barenboim, the 20 minute film shows the loss of mother that impacts a young boy.

Morning Calm: directed by Rudy Dobrev, the 20 minute film shows a man dealing with the loss of his girlfriend.

Rebirth: Nicole Libassi directed this 22 minute film about a man who wakes up in a room and is accused of murder.

The Shoemaker: Michael Kaves directed this 28 minute American film, which details the life of a Italian-American shoe maker in Brooklyn.

My Better Half: directed by Olivia Delaurentis, the 30 minute film depicts the college application process.

Free China: The Courage to Believe: Michael Perlman directed this 53 minute film about the life of people living in China.

Horse & Rider: the 58 minute film directed by Ben Stamper follows the sex trade going on in the world.

What’s the T?: directed by Cecilio Asuncion, this 68 minute documentary follows a transgender woman’s life.

Less Lost: Chase Conner directed this 77 minute film about a soldier trying to come home and connect with his family.

Running for Jim: Finish Line Features and Noyes Productions made this 78 minute film about a coach and his team.

Billy Bates: directed by Jennifer DeLia, the American 80 minute film follows Billy Bates, the compare and contrast of everything- the bread to butter, the male to female, etc.

Mayan Blue: a 82 minute Mexican/Guatemalan documentary directed by Rafael Garcia follows the Mayan city of Samabj and its people.

Body Complete: Austrian directed by Lukas Sturm, the 85 minute film is about a mass genocide of civilians.

36 Saints: a 90 minute movie directed by Eddy Duran, where Se7en meets The DaVinci Code.

As High as the Sky: directed by Nikki Braendlin, the 90 minute American film about Margaret combating her OCD when her sister and niece visit.

How We Got Away With It: directed by Jon Lindstrom, the 90 minute film is about a friend’s violent reaction to tragedy.

Long Shot Louie: directed by John Bianco, this 90 minute film follows a former club dancer dealing with life’s problems like an abusive father and alcohol.

Waking: This 90 minute feature is directed by Ben Shelton and is about a man connecting a real life woman with his dreams.

Wet Behind the Ears: the 91 minute film directed by Sloan Copeland is about the life of two girls after college.

Junction: Tony Glazer directed this 92 minute film about meth addicts finding more than what they were bargaining for when trying to steal a television.

West End: directed by Joe Basille, this 92 minute film follows Vic Trevi trying to avenge his father’s death when he returns home.

Gazzara: Joe Rezwin directed this 94 minute film about Ben Gazzara, a actor whom the director (Rezwin) met while working with him during the 1970s.

Tim Sanders Goes to Hollywood: a 97 minute German film directed by Andreas Schaap, the film is about a German soap actor trying to make it big in Hollywood.

Boyz of Summer: Antonio DiFonzo directed this 99 minute film about three teens on the Jersey Shore.

Assault on Wall Street: the 102 minute feature directed by Uwe Boll is about a man taking revenge after he lost everything.

The Silent Theif: A 102 minute film directed by Jennifer Clary is about a man figuring out the difference between sanity and insanity.

Placebo: directed by Justin Ho, the 110 minute American film following six New Yorkers.

El Presidente: directed by Mark Meilly, the film is 160 minutes and comes from the Philippines. The film follows the last days of the Spanish empire while American spheres of influences rise in Asia. It is based on the true story of General Emilio Aguinaldo and the First Philippine Republic in Asia.

The Nimbly Experience: directed by Jacqueline Aluotto, the documentary details the certain causes celebrities give to.

Category : Contributors, Fun Stuff

Tags : Report, Short Films, Shorts, SOHO Film Festival 2013

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05th Apr2013

First Time Fest – Closing Night Ceremony Report

by Catherina Gioino

The final installment of the First Time Fest… The First Time Fest’s closing night was held on March 4^th. Hosted by Academy Award winner Ellen Burstyn (The Exorcist), the Players Club lit up with flashes of cameras and smiles of the first time filmmakers anxiously awaiting whose film will win the grand prize- the chance to have their film distributed by Cinema Libre Studios.

Johanna Bennett and Mandy founded the festival after noticing there wasn’t a venue for where new filmmakers can get their film viewed and appreciated. In attendance at the closing night ceremony were Tony Bennett and Jack Huston, as well as Martin Scorsese, who presented the First John Huston Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinema to Darren Aronofsky, who was also in attendance. Anthony Rapp presented the awards as guests ate food from Chef Diane Dimeo and drank champagne by Nicolas Feuillatte. Also in attendance were the First Time Fest judges: Fred Schneider, Gay Talese, Anne-Katrin Titze, and Christine Vachon.

Below are the films and winners of awards.

Blumenthal: Written and directed by Seth Fisher, starring Mark Blum, Laila Robins and Seth Fisher. Blumenthal follows Harold Blumenthal (played by Brian Cox), whose death causes mass drama among his family.

La Tete La Premiere (Headfirst): Written and directed by Amelie van Elmbt, Headfirst stars Alice de Lencquesaing, David Muriga, and Jacques Doillon. The film depicts the life of two hitch hiking teens in Belgium who dream of becoming an actor and writer.

Amelie van Elmbt won the First Time Fest Award for Outstanding Achievement in Directing. “For balancing a fairy tale quality with genuine believeability, as its characters enter a forest and confront a different world.”

Alice De Lencquesaing won the First Time Fest Award for Outstanding Achievement in Acting. “A star is born. A natural, seemingly effortless performance that makes everything she does believable.”

Horizon Sky: Written by Andrei Kureichyk and directed by Andrei Kureichyk and Dzmitry Marynin. This is the first independent film from Belarus in over 10 years and due to laws in the country, the film was outlawed in Belarus. The filmmakers were even banned from leaving the country to attend the First Time Fest. The film stars Leonid Pashkovsky, Anna Sirotina, Tatyana Bovkalova and Victor Rybcznski, and it is about a musician with AIDS who battles with society’s views and addiction on drugs.

Los Quiero A Todos (I Love You All): Written and directed by Luciano Quilici, it stars Ramiro Aguero, Santiago Gobernori, Diego Jalfen and Valeria Lois. The film’s synopsis follows the reunion of friends that ponder about their missed opportunites in the past, and the chances they get now.

Martin Bossa and Tomas Carnelli won the First Time Fest Award for Outstanding Achievement in Scoring. “A score marked by its precision, use of silence, trust in the place of language and by its exuberance.”

Junction: Written and directed by Tony Glazer, the film stars Neal Bledsoe, Harris Doran, Summer Crockett Moore and Bryan Deehring. This film follows meth addicts through a robbery situation when they uncover something darker lurking in the house they plan to rob.

Neal Bledsoe won the First Time Fest Award for Outstanding Achievement in Acting. “For the ferocity of the performance and playing an unsympathetic character who becomes more and more out of control in a believable way.”

Mongolian Bling: Directed by Benj Binks, Mongolian Bling is a documentary centered on the culture and history of Mongolia, like songs and beats of today compared to the musical history in the past.

Sal: Written and directed by Diego Rougier, the film stars Fele Martinez, Patricio Contreras, Sergio Hernandez and Javiera Contador. In a reference to Sergio Leone, a Spanish film director’s identity is mistaken and instead of making his beloved screenplay, he has to run to save his life.

Sal won the Grand Prize Award of cinematic distribution from Cinema Libre Studios, for “An inventive modern-day western with majestic sweep, great acting, and a lot of surprises.”

David Bravo won the First Time Fest for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography. “For beautiful cinematography with rich details, surprising touches, and a sense of humor.”

Submerge: Written by Sophie O’Connor and Kat Holmes, directed by Sophie O’Connor. Starring Lily Hall, Christina Hallett, Kevin Dee and Georgia Balton, the film is based on an Olympic swimmer who falls in love with the girlfriend of her history teacher.

Summertime: Written and Directed by Max Weissberg, starring Lethia Nall, H.R. Britton, Eric Yves Garcia and Olivia Horton. Summertime revolves around Julia, a actress who is cast in a role by a hands-on director, and follows her acquaintances as they interact with her and each other throughout the film.

Max Weissberg won the First Time Fest Award for Outstanding Achievement in Writing. “For a script showing clarity of vision great storytelling talent and sophistication, drawing inspiration from the work of Arthur Schnitzler.”

Uprising: Directed Fredrik Stanton, Uprising is another documentary based on the Egyptian revolution from the view of organizers and officials in power.

Urban Tale: Written and directed by Eliav Lilti, Urban Tale is about two siblings that search for their long lost father after their mother’s death. The film stars Barak Friedman, Noa Friedman, Esti Yerushalmi and Zohar Shtrauss.

Zipper: Zipper is a documentary directed by Amy Nicholson that is based on New York’s famous Coney Island, and one of its famous rides, the Zipper.

Jonah Marin and John Young won the First Time Fest Award for Outstanding Achievement in Editing, for a “Fast paced editing that captures, in a balanced way, a story about humanity in an age of greed. The editing works like the Zipper itself; connecting the ride with the story of Coney Island.”

Check out part of Martin Scorsese’s speech below:

Category : Contributors, Fun Stuff

Tags : Alice de Lencquesaing, Amelie van Elmbt, Amy Nicholson, Andrei Kureichyk, Anna Sirotina, Anthony Rapp, Barak Friedman, Barbara Kopple, Benj Binks, Blumenthal, Brian Cox, Bryan Deehring, Christina Hallett, Christine Vachon, Cinema Libre Studio, Darren Aronofsky, David Bravo, David Muriga, Diane Dimeo, Diego Jalfen, Diego Rougier, Django Unchained, Dzmitry Marynin, Eliav Lilti, Ellen Burstyn, Eric Yves Garvia, Esti Yerushalmi, Fele Martinez, First Time Fest, Fredrik Stanton, Georgia Balton, H.R. Britton, Harris Doran, Headfirst, Horizon Sky, I Love You All, Jack Huston, Jacques DOillon, Javiera Contador, Johanna Bennett, John Huston, John Young, Jonah Marin, Junction, Kat Holmes, Kevin Dee, La Tete La Premiere, Laila Robins, Leonid Pashkovsky, Lethia Nall, Lily Hall, Los Quiero A Todos, Luciano Quilici, Mandy Ward, Mark Blum, Martin Bossa, Max Weissberg, Mongolian Bling, Nancy Savoca, Neal Bledsoe, Nicolas Feuillatte, Noa Friedman, Olivia Horton, Patricio Contreras, Pi, Ramiro Aguero, Sal, Santiago Gobernori, Sergio Hernandez, Sergio Leone, Seth Fisher, Sophie O'Connor, Submerge, Summer Crockett Moore, Summertime, Tatyana Bovkalova, The Exorcist, Todd Solondz, Tomas Carnelli, Tony Bennett, Tony Glazer, Uprising, Urban Tale, Valeria Lois, Victor Rybczski, Zipper, Zohar Shtrauss

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05th Apr2013

‘Junction’ Review

by Catherina Gioino

Stars: David Zayas, Michael O’Keefe, Anthony Rapp, Anthony Ruivivar, Neal Bledsoe, Summer Crockett Moore, Tom Pelphrey, Harris Doran, Sharon Maguire, Danielle Kotch | Written and Directed by Tony Glazer

Junction-screen

If there ever was a better reason not to do meth other than Breaking Bad, it would be Junction. Not only are you dealing with off the wall meth addicts and their emotions, but you’re subconsciously forced to endure the pain the characters are going through and that’s when you realized just how messed up things are.

Junction is written and directed by Tony Glazer and stars Harris Doran, Summer Crockett Moore, Neal Bledsoe, Anthony Rapp, Bryan Deehring and more. As part of the competition films at the First Time Fest, the film was in the running for a number of awards, and Neal Bledsoe won the Outstanding Achievement in Acting award “for the ferocity of the performance, and playing an unsympathetic character who becomes more and more out of control in a believable way.”

Junction follows a group of meth addicts who are in extremely bad shape and are in dire need of some more meth (since the withdrawal really isn’t working for them). Penniless, they go to their druggie who promises to give them their lifeline as long as they bring him a TV for his mother’s birthday.

Wait, rewind. They’re penniless and they have to get a television to get their meth? Let’s go robbing houses! The addicts (comprised of Moore, Doran, Bledsoe and Tom Pelphrey) decide to target the house of a family that has just moved in and everything goes wrong when they find something they’re not supposed.

I really enjoyed the film- I found it to be original and rather entertaining. The fact that the addicts switch on and off from being protagonists to antagonists to anything in between flowed smoothly throughout the film as the audience was introduced to the next situation the characters found themselves in.

I especially loved the use of the meth as the moving plot of the film. While Breaking Bad is huge, meth is an unexplored but highly interesting topic that deserves some spotlight- not only because it is an original and a whole new matter in itself, but it also is serving a purpose to show the side effects of meth use.

However, there were a few flaws I had to pick out. (Warning, thar might be spoilers ahead). All my years of watching The Usual Suspects and Fight Club and any movie like that have always led me to never be trustworthy of a movie’s plot or its characters. Ok, maybe it’s not technically considered a spoiler, but still, you kind of know what’s going to happen. Well, when watching the movie, there were a few parts that caught my eye. It’s not the same scenario where you watch The Usual Suspects or Fight Club and then you realize afterwards; it’s during the movie where the action happens and you wonder why.

I even got the chance to speak with Brian Deehring and I asked him what’s next. He replied, “I’m in love with Veep and I hope Armando Ianucci reads this and will write me a role.”

All joking aside, the film was truly engaging. There are many variables in the film that all came together to make it a thrilling experience. While most thrill-seekers would want some more action in there, I personally believed the film came together to show a compelling story that is worth watching.

Category : Contributors, Movies, Reviews

Tags : Anthony Rapp, Breaking Bad, Bryan Deehring, Fight Club, First Time Fest, Harris Doran, Junction, Neal Bledsoe, Review, Summer Crockett Moore, The Usual Suspects, Tom Pelphrey, Tony Glazer

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03rd Apr2013

‘Summertime’ Review

by Catherina Gioino

Stars: Lethia Nall, Eric Yves Garcia, Rob Hollander, H.R. Britton, Olivia Horton, Jenny Grace, Michele Cesari | Written and Directed by Max Weissberg

The First Time Fest is a proud sponsor of first time filmmakers, and thus the festival sponsors a friendly competition among twelve first time filmmakers which involves a screening of their films which will be reviewed by five judges, including the audience counting as a judge. The winner will receive the benefit of having their film distributed among theaters worldwide, as well as the bragging rights that come along with winning such a special honor.

One of the screenings was a witty tale of trying to be a working actor in New York City called Summertime. The story revolves around first time actress Julia, who is in the running for a part in a new movie. The plot follows not only the actress as she interacts with several others but how her friends interact with each other as well.

Summertime was written and directed by Max Weissberg, and stars Eric Garcia, Lethia Nall, H.R. Britton, Jenny Grace and Olivia Horton. Max Weissberg was the winner of the Outstanding Achievement in Writing Award at the festival, which was given “for a script showing clarity of vision, great storytelling talent and sophistication, drawing inspiration from the work of Arthur Schnitzler.”

The movie was quite entertaining and had actual smart humor that seems to be almost obsolete nowadays. Actress Lethia Nall perfectly portrays her role as a new upcoming actress as she has to deal with the rather arrogant Daniel (Eric Garcia), all while she finds out she was basically fooled into sleeping with the director, Richard (Rob Hollander). Julia must decide what she will do in order to not only redeem herself but stop the director from ever manipulating another person.

The film can be considered as almost a coming of age story, in which the film causes the viewer to ponder where limits can be drawn. There always is that recurring joke detailing how people got their start in “the business” (film; Hollywood), and this film undermines the whole system masterfully. The audience is able to decipher between the mixed feelings of the characters, which ultimately gives the film its “New York City ‘Fuck You’” attitude.

The film also has a Tarantino-esque title sequence (think of the chapters in Inglorious Basterds) in which the characters are introduced, which adds to the idea that these are not set characters, but regular human beings you encounter every day.

However, you have to be picky when it comes down to it. While I honestly consider this a very small flaw, it could bother some people, as I heard while in the theatre: although the characters are introduced to the audience by those titles, they are obviously referred by the other characters in the film by their first names, so it would take a while for you to remember who each person is and what their occupation was.

Overall, the film was very entertaining, and although I believe it’s becoming overused, the film technique of “start in the middle and then fill in details as the film goes on” worked perfectly with the film as you got to learn more about the individual characters. Nall perfectly conveys the frustration of having to choose between a career and a love, while Garcia was able to show his quick wit with his carefree lifestyle. And, well, Hollander showed just how much of a jerk he can really be.

**** 4/5

Category : Contributors, Movies, Reviews

Tags : Eric Yves Garcia, First Time Fest, H.R. Britton, Jenny Grace, Lethia Nall, Max Weissberg, Michele Cesari, Olivia Horton, Quentin Tarantino, Rob Hollander, Summertime

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25th Mar2013

First Time Fest: Producers Panel Report

by Catherina Gioino

At the First Time Fest, accomplished filmmakers came to teach and advocate new filmmakers how to get their film made and how to make their film popular. As part of the How They Did It Panel Series, the “We Need A Bigger Boat-Producing Independent Cinema” panel had producers speak about the struggles they had not only making their first films, but also the films they’re working on right now.

Guests of the Producers Panel were Josh Astrachan, who produced Gosford’s Park, as well as Rose Ganguzza, whose latest and widely distributed film was Margin Call. Jonathan Grey was in attendance as well, having produced not only Margin Call but Machete as well recently. Dolly Hall, who produced 54, was there as well, with Bob Salerno talking about Arbitrage and Tim Perell, who produced The Rebound. The six producers spoke about their work as producers and how they had their films made with major problems, usually being the budget.

Here are some of the highlights from the panel:

Dolly Hall: Jon [Grey] and I worked together on the last two movies that I was producer of. The beginning of my career was working strictly with first time filmmakers, which wasn’t a choice; it was more of how it just happened. It seemed as if first time filmmakers came to me and I wanted to be involved in their story and I kind of call those the good old fashioned days of independent film. I worked a lot less in the studio than bob but I found that working with the new filmmakers is so interesting to me, working with them does haul a bigger boat so working is probably the life boat of all. And sometimes the budgetary constraints have been too much and sometimes we have to say this is not the story we want to tell and turn them down. That said I know how to make movies under budget levels, not that I aspire to do that

Rose Ganguzza: You’re going to give up everything you have, your stability, your paycheck, to do what I do. Everybody says that you get the film made, but what a producer does is stands behind everybody. But the process of making a film is a bit contagious, if you’re in love, if you’re passionate about the project, then you throw yourself into the filmmaking and that becomes this big whole thing. The films I’ve worked with, starting with New York I Love You, where I literally had to work with 12 directors from various countries who have never been in New York and have never even spoken English. Two of my most recent films, kill your darling with Daniel Radcliffe and the way I started was that I did my grad work in international affairs

Josh Astrachan: I got lucky by becoming a producer for Robert Altman and it was the best film I’ve worked on. I learned with writer directors and anyone really: you do what it takes.

Tim Perell: I made a variety of films with first time film makers which I found increasingly difficult. And working with first time directors you get smaller budgets but it’s still possible to make a movie. Last year I made three movies, one of which with a first time filmmakers.

Ganguzza: When it comes down to it, when you get the budget, you have to get and make the most of it.

Bob Salerno: Especially at this time, it really is a difficult, the industry is shrinking, its definitely contracting, so the typical financing ways of the past are really not working. There is a learning curve happening for all of us. It’s more difficult to make a small budget film now than it was before. It’s very geared towards big blockbusters.

Jonathan Grey: I have seen the industry change over the past couple of years – it starts with distribution and I have seen it kill the budgets. I’ve seen films that had money to spare and the distribution brought it way over budget.

Ganguzza: The other thing is the amount of pay you get for the actors.

Grey: If you get a little bit more, you can go from paying $933 to the actors to paying 2 grand a week to the actors. I’m not adverse to paying people- certainly these actors are working 14 hours a day- but at the same time, you’re not getting any more value at $2000 a week than you are at $933. The actors aren’t going to give up with the $933 a week because they’re passionate for it, but while I do believe in unions, I don’t believe in the extra teamster guys or the extra angle cameras needed because that’s what really busts a budget. In terms of getting a film made, don’t cast in dollars. Can one make a film with Ryan Gosling with half a million?

Ganguzza: That’s exactly the point. I’m working on a British television series where the actors have to have British accents- it’s a British show! And the casting agency really wanted to push this kid who I knew, and I asked if she was classically trained. They said no, but she’s the daughter of blank, a rather unappealing actor. But that’s what happens in LA, the la producers kept telling the director no you have to get this actress. I don’t believe in financing by the numbers

Grey: In financing by the numbers, you reach a certain limit and you’re relying on foreign sales. Those sales are based largely on the talents- sometimes it the cast, sometimes it’s the directors.

Salerno: But that’s the other thing, when the moviegoers in France or Germany see a little independent film, they don’t want to go see that U.S. independent, they want to go see their French or German film.

Hall: That’s why you need an angel, you need an angel to show up and say we love this movie. Like when making the Daniel Radcliffe movie, the financers wondered how the movie would open without Daniel holding a wand in his hand. But fortunately there was a show he opened earlier that year and it became acclaimed, and that’s how the film got made.

Grey: But I also learned that there’s a complete study to how actors work. It’s amazing to what makes them tick. Because talent is such an important element, that’s been my biggest thing in my career because you have to push them and get them to work.

Hall: Well, to say it, first time directors are good stalkers. More and more producers and actors and even directors in the film industry are moving to Broadway so if you really are passionate, go stand by the stage door and wait for them to pass by or even slip the guy guarding the stage door your script. But watch TV, because a lot of the younger actors on their hiatus want to stretch their acting careers and they’re willing to do small indie films. And some of them are much better actors than they get a chance to show.

Grey: There are a lot of people out there whose only talent is to write a check and they feel that that should allow them a producer credit. They don’t have to be on set, they don’t have to do anything, they write the check and they feel like they own your film.

Overall, all the producers stressed that if you really want to get a film made, get yourself out there and make a name for yourself. Attend workshops and visit theaters in your area. And when you finally have that finished project done, use social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to get the word out on your masterpiece. Sooner or later, your work will get appreciated…

Category : Contributors, Interviews

Tags : Arbitrage, Bob Salerno, Daniel Radcliffe, Dolly Hall, First Time Fest, Gosford's Park, Jonathan Grey, Josh Astrachan, Machete, Margin Call, New York I Love You, Rose Ganguzza, Ryan Gosling, The Rebound, Tim Perell

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19th Mar2013

First Time Fest: ‘Jack Goes Boating’ Interview with Philip Seymour Hoffman & Amy Ryan

by Catherina Gioino

At the First Time Fest, there was a “First Exposure” series in which well known and accomplished directors would get their first directed films shown and have the chance to speak about the process. Some of these well known actors include Wes Anderson, Barbara Kopple, John Huston, Darren Aronofsky, Nancy Savoca, Michael Van Peebles, Hal Hartley, Sofia Coppola, Todd Solondz, and more.

In addition, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Ryan attended, speaking about their experiences while making Hoffman’s directorial debut, Jack Goes Boating. The film is about two adults (Hoffman and Ryan) having a crush on one another without taking any action to move forward in their relationship, all while they see the relationship of their friends ( John Ortiz and Daphne Rubin-Vega) fall. Curated by David Schwartz, the director of programming for the festival, here’s what they had to say about their film.

Amy Ryan: She’s looking for love like the majority of us in this world and especially in New York City, it’s hard and it might make you turn more inward than outward as you keep searching and keep getting older. That gave a lot of freedom if not judgment because, well, it’s because she is, because she does and that’s how these two characters are able to meet each other.

Philip Seymour Hoffman: It’s hard for people to admit they like Jack and Connie; they’re just like anyone we know really. It’s when you isolate them in a story all of a sudden you see all the flaws very closely. We always think people are much weirder than they actually are in life. They’re a story and we’re accentuating them. We’re really looking at them so we see everything. We all know Jacks and Connies, you know what I mean, or we’ve been Jacks and Connies at times in our lives. So that was important for us to play those parts that way. I remember when I did the play itself I really thought I wasn’t playing a part. It was too withdrawn, too inward too. I remember the film showing him too outward- he was truly trying to make an effort to have the pleasures that life brings, which is love and friendship. He was sick and tired of being alone; he’s sick and tired of being scared of those things. But those things are legitimately scary. I think they’re good people.

David Schwartz: One of the things that always strike me about this film is the use of the intimacy of it-the close ups. It’s a lot of close ups that you do and a lot of how the film flows and how it’s put together is just you following the emotions of the characters coming out. I was just wondering how you thought it out that way since it was very striking.

PSH: Well before I pulled any shots I treated the film much like a play and I did learn that from the theater. I learned that form Sidney Lumet who Amy and I both acted in a film with him, his last fil1m [Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead] and I still think of it as I’m so lucky I got that opportunity. And I did- I had a longer process that was very thorough. It was very cinematic and it came from the theater so everyone was in on the process and it gave Amy the opportunity to rehearse the script with us since we’ve all done it as a play. It helped all of us to refine the story again and I think that helped everybody. Everyone was there so we really did think about lets shoot it with all the actors. So on the set we were ahead of the game in a way that we’re all on the same page, we all knew the problem to solve. So it all got that we got close to each other. There are a lot of close ups but there’s also a lot of looking at people from far away. There’s a lot of stuff like that too, but whatever it is, the film is definitely on how to get the viewer as close as possible. I wanted it to be as uncomfortable and as comfortable as possible since the film’s about intimacy.

Schwartz: Amy, since the festival is all about first times, was there anything you noticed about working with a director who’s directing for the first time?

AR: There is a heightened level there especially since these are first time directors, but these are also first time notable actors. You know, the world is watching, can they do it? I don’t know if Phil was thinking that, I wasn’t thinking that. What strikes me more is working with first time directors, but I’ve been lucky that they’re also actors because they have the compassion and they have the language to work with the actors. And the case with Phil was unusual since he was also acting in the film so he was jumping back and forth between playing Jack and going to look at the monitor. That was quite a feat, I don’t know why anyone would want to do that. Maybe we took a little longer since we were doing a couple of takes, but it was quite fascinating to be in this situation. That was the beauty of it: you’re in the hot seat with the director.

Schwartz: How was that experience of acting and directing yourself as a director?

PSH: Peter [Saraf, the producer] was kind enough to add another week out of the shooting schedule, and it was a 5-6 week shoot. That’s when I realized I was going to do both jobs because although I really didn’t want to act in it, finding an actor was hard. I did find someone who I thought was going to be absolutely brilliant and then I lost him. I realized that if we don’t shoot it now it’s never going to happen, and he added on another week since it is time consuming. I didn’t have to watch the monitors; I could watch 8 takes in a row without watching the monitor, and sometimes I didn’t watch it at all. I was in it; I was like ‘I know I got it.’ With me, I would be lost sometimes that I would be focused on so many other things and I would start acting a scene and I wasn’t good. That was a really hard fucking thing to do. The writers and actors would try to help and I asked them to. Sometimes it’d be so bad that everyone would be gone and I remember thinking ‘Oh fuck if no one wants to deal with me at least leave me a note.’[Laughter] I struggled with that so yeah, Amy and the other actors would have to deal with that. I guess that was the one drawback for me too, we made it work anyway, but I don’t think I’ll ever do that again.

Schwartz: But I did read that you were very open to getting notes which other directors probably wouldn’t.

PSH: I mean directing was looking over the film and editing as much as possible, but with the acting, I needed a third eye. But I didn’t want to put that on the other actors but I asked them to tell me something and they did and we made it work.

Schwartz: Was there a lot that you learned in the cutting room?

PSH: That was the thing I was the furthest removed from. Everything else, I‘ve experienced- the directing of actors, writers, even the camera work was something I had done- I may not have understood the lingo but I definitely understood how to use the cameras. But the editing was a fucking amazing experience. It was mind blowing, it was so satisfying, and probably one of the best parts of making a film is sitting in the room. But I had to learn how to put me in it, and the other thing, I was really cutting around myself and it was awful. I remember one of my business partners Sarah saying as a joke, ‘Don’t cut yourself out of the movie’ and she went ‘haha.’ And I remembered thinking, ‘Oh fuck! My God the film is called Jack Goes Boating and I’m cutting around Jack.’ I didn’t realize that and I had to go back to the tapes and put me back in.

Audience Question: How do you adapt your approach from doing a character on film than doing it on stage?

PSH: Well I think it had nothing to do with the cinema aspect of it but I think it was more of “something” I didn’t like about my performance and I had to make it better. It was trying to support him more and to make him more part of the human race and it’s to push him forward. I did that with everyone’s characters- I really wanted it to be more. There are things that are different in the film opposed to the play. I mean the fight between the couple is much more brutal in the film than in the play- I really love it in the film, I love that they don’t make it. I love the idea that Connie and Jack watched something die, and out of that they still say ‘we’re going to do it anyway.’ That really is the truth of it all, when you watch the relationships around you, whether parents or spouses, you get hurt and you still do it anyway. It’s amazing that we do it and I wanted that to happen.

Audience Question: Did the experience of acting influence your approach later in directing?

PSH: In both ways I see myself off in other actors as well as directing. It’s really a humbling thing but it also helps me challenge the other actors because I know they can. I’m going to say that there’s something off we have to get here, let’s go because I know we can. So it creates both things, which I think is the best thing since you don’t want an environment when the actors fear the director. I want to be with somebody that wants to do better.

Schwartz: What is it that you have to keep yourself from doing when you’re in the hot seat with the actor who’s also the director?

AR: Well I’m always skeptical when directors say ‘Oh that’s great, you did perfect,’ and that’s with any job in our lives. I mean I signed onto this for a reason and when making art, you have to tell the truth and have disagreements without falling out. You can still be friends at the end of it but I’d rather have somebody tell me something very harsh, not be mean about it but be brutally honest because I’d rather see it in the end result. But also for me, the body doesn’t lie. If I start sweating a bit or if my stomach aches, something’s wrong. So it’s getting to that challenge Phil’s talking about that you have to go deeper.

PSH: And that’s the bad part- I was the other actor which is tricky since you don’t want to be the other actor during that. I would have to be the other actor, step out and give the direction at times. It’s nice to know you have somebody on your side, like when I’m thinking it’s not right and they come up and tell you it’s not, it’s nice to know you have somebody that agrees with you. I need someone to tell me it’s not working.

Co-Founder Johanna Bennett: What process went into the music choices for the film?

PSH: Well the Reggae thing is the character’s thought process as he tries to deal with life. But I needed music in it that had something to do with what I was feeling. So I compiled all these songs I’ve heard and got together with Sue [Susan Jacobs, the music supervisor] and she was an incredible source of information. Once she knew what I was thinking or feeling, she went out and introduced me to new bands and we got in the editing room and started editing the songs together. And Brian [Brian A. Kates, film editor] in the editing room started editing the different songs together so I could see how these different things would work. So the music is only there because it worked- it was a very satisfying thing.

Audience Question: What about your choice to film behind the characters in the limo scene?

PSH: Well that scene was only there for the snow in the windshield part so we set it up and we said ‘Let’s just run it for the beginning part, let the snow hit and we’ll cut it.’ And what happened was the scene ran- the snow hit- and I didn’t stop and neither did John [Ortiz]. And I thought ‘Wow, that went really good,’ so we did more takes. I didn’t know if it worked, but I really fought for it because that’s the scene they say they love each other. That’s the other relationship of the film: it’s really a love affair of those two friends. That’s what separates the film from others is that the relationship between two men is so tricky. What they’re saying is so hard to say so that’s why we’re not looking.

Audience Question: What was the rehearsal process?

PSH: Well we rehearsed for two weeks. For a film was a long time- that’s 12 days, 6 days a week. That’s a lot of rehearsal for a film.

Audience Question: When did you want to direct?

PSH: I started to direct in theater when I was 30, I’m 45 now, so I’ve been directing for a while now. Film was something I knew I would eventually be doing. Directing has been something that fit in my head since my 20s so it’s definitely not a late thing. It’s something I wanted early on as a actor. I liked the story telling and solving problems, I enjoy it.

Audience Question: What went through your minds during the bedroom scene?

AR: Well what do you want to know? He’s a very good kisser [laughter]. It is a intimate love scene because everything comes from the heart, it’s not so much a physical escapade but to be that close and open to someone, and a lot of the that is Bob’s [Robert Glaudini, writer of the film and play] writing. It really takes you there and teaches you not to judge what her fantasies and her desires are and what she imagines it to be.

PSH: It’s really hard stuff to do and the thing was I had to go watch and edit, and I wasn’t a really good third eye on myself. And that was the day that I said I’m grateful because Amy was there because not only is she acting but she’s also being sensitive. I really remember being so grateful that it was Amy and not someone else and that’s not because of how wonderful of an actress she is, but she understood something about me being the person that I needed to be. As a director, I couldn’t be that person so much, especially during that scene- I had to be the actor. It was a really tricky day and she did it brilliantly. It’s the scene that means it doesn’t matter if their life is going to be perfect or they’re the perfect person, but it’s the thing in life that sometimes you meet a person or a moment arises and it’s whether or not you’re going to do something about it because now is the time. That was the scene and I’m so grateful Amy was part of it.

Schwartz: To change gears a bit, this year’s performance you made in The Master, [applause]was so amazing- something about you playing a megalomaniac was perfect, so I’d like to know anything you experienced during the role

PSH: Yeah I guess what Amy said earlier about not judging is really important, so it was again another opportunity to display notes. It was a work of fiction based on several life stories, and it was very satisfying again. It’s like looking at someone and thinking how I could get behind that person or try to understand what they meant since they had a great idea. He was onto something, and he really was: that wonderful scene in the film, that whole process was perfect since what he’s doing is actually something meaningful. It’s like therapy at work, because I think how I could make him a megalomaniac and hopefully he’s as effective as I hoped. I was talking with Paul [director Paul Thomas Anderson] and other people, and the conversation really struck me. I mean how do you start a conversation with an actor and keep it going throughout the film? If you’re constantly talking about the film and character constantly through the end, you know what’s going on.

Here’s a trailer of Jack Goes Boating, which came out in 2010:

Category : Contributors, Interviews

Tags : Amy Ryan, Barbara Kopple, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, Brian A. Kates, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Darren Aronofsky, David Schwartz, First Time Fest, Hal Hartley, Jack Goes Boating, Johanna Bennett, John Huston, John Ortiz, Michael Van Peebles, Nancy Savoca, Paul Thomas Anderson, Peter Saraf, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robert Glaudini, Sidney Lumet, Sofia Coppola, Susan Jacobs, The Master, Todd Solondz, Wes Anderson

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16th Mar2013

First Time Fest – Supporting New Filmmakers and Honouring Esteemed Directors

by Catherina Gioino

The First Time Fest was created by Johanna Bennett and Mandy Ward as a way to showcase new upcoming filmmakers and their works, and to get them a head start in their industry. The festival occurred on March 1^st to 4^th at The Players Club in New York, which was a club started by some well-known writers and actors, including Edwin Booth (John Wilkes Booth’s brother), Mark Twain, and more.

While the festival does support new filmmakers in their journey, it also awards previous filmmakers who have made names for themselves. Being that this is the first year of the festival, the first ever John Huston Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinema went to Darren Aronofsky. The award is named in honor of John Huston as he was a esteemed member of The Players Club, as well as considered to be one of the most influential writer, actor, director and producers of all times. His directorial debut was The Maltese Falcon, which made his Player’s Club colleague, Humphrey Bogart, a star. Other films of his include The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The African Queen, The Man Who Would Be King, and more. John Huston went on to win 2 Academy Awards and be nominated for 13 more, as well earn AFI’s Lifetime Achievement Award and win 3 Golden Globes.

Darren Aronofsky started out as a director by making Pi, and thus was recognized to be deserving of the award and grow to be an accomplished director. His latest films include Black Swan and Requiem for a Dream, (both IMDB top 250). Aronosky was selected as the first beneficiary of the John Huston Award due to his determined and persistent effort in filmmaking.

There were twelve competition films in the festival, which battled for bragging rights and distribution in theaters of major cities like New York and Los Angeles. The winner of the competition was Sal, an Argentinean western film made by Diego Rougier. Director Diego Rougier will receive distribution by Cinema Libre Studio and all the filmmakers in the competition will receive industry advice from filmmakers in the field. The competition films are:

Blumenthal: Written and directed by Seth Fisher, starring Mark Blum, Laila Robins and Seth Fisher. Blumenthal follows Harold Blumenthal (played by Brian Cox), who’s death causes mass drama among his family.

they uncover something darker lurking in the house they plan to rob.

Sal: Written and directed by Diego Rougier, the film stars Fele Martinez, Patricio Contreras, Sergio Hernandez and Javiera Contador. In a reference to Sergio Leone (which you can credit Django Unchained with), a Spanish film director’s identity is mistaken and instead of making his beloved screenplay, he has to run to save his life.

Uprising: Directed Fredrik Stanton, Uprising is another documentary based on the Egyptian revolution from the view of organizers and officials in power.

Zipper: Zipper is a documentary directed by Amy Nicholson that is based on New York’s famous Coney Island, and one of its famous rides, the Zipper.

Not only did the festival show the first films of these up and coming filmmakers, it showed the very first films of famous filmmakers today. Some include Wes Anderson’s (Moonrise Kingdom) Bottle Rocket, Harlan County, U.S.A. by Barbara Kopple who won an Oscar for the film, Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s (Capote) Jack Goes Boating, and legend John Huston’s The Maltese Falcon. Darren Aronofsky’s Pi was also shown, as was Poison by Todd Haynes, with producer Christine Vachon in person. Melvin Van Peebles’ The Story of a Three-Day Pass was shown as was Nancy Savoca’s True Love. Hal Hartley’s The Unbelievable Truth, Sophia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides and Welcome to the Dollhouse by Todd Solondz were also shown.

Lastly, the festival had a few panels which went along the “How They Did It” theme, in which accomplished filmmakers would tell their stories and how they made their films made. Some panels included the Producers panel which included expert producers giving advice on how they had their films made, or even the FTF Filmmakers Forum which included all the filmmakers of the competition series and how they felt to have their work honored. Stay tuned for more information the festival and more posts soon to follow.

Category : Contributors, Fun Stuff

Tags : Alice de Lencquesaing, Amelie van Elmbt, Amy Nicholson, Andrei Kureichyk, Anna Sirotina, Barak Friedman, Barbara Kopple, Benj Binks, Black Swan, Blumenthal, Bottle Rocket, Brian Cox, Bryan Deehring, Capote, Christina Hallett, Christine Vachon, Cinema Libre Studio, Darren Aronofsky, David Muriga, Diego Jalfen, Diego Rougier, Django Unchained, Dzmitry Marynin, Edwin Booth, Eliav Lilti, Eric Yves Garvia, Esti Yerushalmi, Fele Martinez, First Time Fest, Fredrik Stanton, Georgia Balton, H.R. Britton, Hal Hartley, Harlan County USA, Harris Doran, Headfirst, Horizon Sky, Humphrey Bogart, I Love You All, Jack Goes Boating, Jacques DOillon, Javiera Contador, Johanna Bennett, John Huston, John Wilkes Booth, Junction, Kat Holmes, Kevin Dee, La Tete La Premiere, Laila Robins, Leonid Pashkovsky, Lethia Nall, Lily Hall, Los Quiero A Todos, Luciano Quilici, Mandy Ward, Mark Blum, Mark Twain, Max Weissberg, Melvin Van Peebles, Mongolian Bling, moonrise kingdom, Nancy Savoca, Neal Bledsoe, Noa Friedman, Olivia Horton, Patricio Contreras, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Pi, Poison, Ramiro Aguero, Requiem for a Dream, Sal, Santiago Gobernori, Sergio Hernandez, Sergio Leone, Seth Fisher, Sophia Coppola, Sophie O'Connor, Submerge, Summer Crockett Moore, Summertime, Tatyana Bovkalova, The African Queen, The Maltese Falcon, The Man Who Would be King, The Story of a Three Day Pass, The Treasure of Sierra Madre, The Unbelievable Truth, The Virgin Suicides, Todd Haynes, Todd Solondz, Tony Glazer, True Love, Uprising, Urban Tale, Valeria Lois, Victor Rybczski, Welcome to the Dollhouse, WesAnderson, Zipper, Zohar Shtrauss

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09th Mar2013

An introduction to… First Time Fest 2012

by Catherina Gioino

March 1^st to 4^th marked the first ever First Time Fest at The Player’s Club in New York City. The festival is a celebration of the films from first time filmmakers, which also features a competition in which 12 aspiring filmmakers get to debut their first film. These 12 filmmakers have competed for their chance to receive major distribution of their film and all competitors will receive advice from those in the industry.

The festival is to help those aspiring filmmakers in the industry obtain important information in making their films successful. There are twelve competition films that come from all over the world to compete against this wonderful grand prize of not only distribution by Sponsor Cinema Libre Studio, but knowledge–knowledge of how to make films and how people got their start.

The festival itself includes films from these 12 competition films as well as the first films of accomplished filmmakers, including John Huston, Stanley Kubrick and Darren Aronofsky. The festival also included various panels in a series called How They Did It, which looks at how accomplished filmmakers got their start and how they can help the new incoming generation of filmmakers become successful.

The 12 films in competition had to be feature length and be made from first time directors, producers, writers, cinematographers, editors or composers, and the winner will receive distribution in one or more major cities (like New York City or Los Angeles) as well as have a DVD release and international sales. The moderators of the films were 5 judges, which included Fred Schneider, Gay Talese and Christine Vachon. The fifth judge includes you–the audience of the film, making this the only festival worldwide with this concept.

The competition films included: Blumenthal (writer/director Seth Fisher), Headfirst (writer/director Amélie van Elmbt), Horizon Sky (writer/director Andrei Kureichyk, co-director Dzmitry Marynin), I Love You All (writer/director Luciano Quilici), Junction (writer/director Tony Glazer), Mongolian Bling (director Benj Binks), Sal (writer/director Diego Rougier), Submerge (writer/director Sophie O’Connor, co-writer Kat Holmes), Summertime (writer/director Max Weissberg) Uprising (director Fredrik Stanton), Urban Tale (writer/director Eliav Lilti), and lastly, Zipper(director Amy Nicholson).

These films vary from documentaries to fictional works and come from all over the world, from Australia to New York City. The festival also featured the works of various filmmakers that are synonymous with the successful filmmakers of today, and the works include the first films of Wes Anderson (Bottle Rocket), Barbara Kopple (Harlan County, U.S.A.) Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Jack Goes Boating), John Huston (The Maltese Falcon),Darren Aronofsky (Pi), Christine Vachon (Poison), Melvin Van Peebles (The Story of a Three-Day Pass), Nancy Savoca (True Love), Hal Hartley (The Unbeliveable Truth), Sophia Coppola (The Virgin Suicides), and lastly, Todd Solondz (Welcome to the Dollhouse).

The idea for the festival came from Mandy Ward and Johanna Bennett (Tony Bennett’s daughter) three years ago as they figured there was no festival honoring the first works of aspiring filmmakers. They partnered with Cinema Libre to give the winner distribution, as well as The Players Club on Gramercy Park in New York City to give the filmmakers a chance to get their film seen and appreciated, and possibly reach the success of the filmmakers above.

There will be more articles to come, so for the time being, watch this short clip of what the First Time Fest is about.

Category : Contributors, Fun Stuff

Tags : Amelie van Elmbt, Amy Nicholson, Andrei Kureichyk, Barbara Kopple, Benj Binks, Blumenthal, Bottle Rocket, Christine Vachon, Darren Aronofsky, Diego Rougier, Dzmitry Marynin, Eliav Lilti, First Time Fest, Fred Schneider, Fredrik Stanton, Gay Talese, Hal Hartley, Harlan County USA, Headfirst, Horizon Sky, I Love You All, Jack Goes Boating, Johanna Bennett, John Huston, Junction, Kat Holmes, Luciano Quilici, Mandy Ward, Max Weissberg, Melvin Van Peebles, Mongolian Bling, Nancy Savoca, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Pi, Poison, Sal, Seth Fisher, Sophia Coppola, Sophie O'Connor, Stanley Kubrick, Submerge, Summertime, The Maltese Falcon, The Story of a Three Day Pass, The Unbelievable Truth, The Virgin Suicides, Todd Solondz, Tony Bennett, Tony Glazer, True Love, Uprsing, Urban Tale, Welcome to the Dollhouse, Wes Anderson, Zipper

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07th Dec2012

Sequels – Love Them or Hate Them, Here’s What’s Coming

by Catherina Gioino

Here’s a rundown of the good, the bad, and the downright ugly of sequels to expect in the upcoming future. This list features sequels, but in some cases, we still have no idea what they’re about, or if they will be made into a film. Those marked with an asterisk (*) are merely rumored or chances are they won’t be hitting the big screen any time soon.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – December 14th, 2012
It’s not really a sequel, but rather a spin-off, which features the cast of The Lord of the Rings.

A Good Day to Die Hard – February 14th, 2013
Rumored to be the final in the Die Hard series, Bruce Willis must fight Russian terrorists in Russia with his son.

Oz: The Great and Powerful – March 8th, 2013
This will actually be a prequel to the 1939 classic, depicting the story of how Oz came to be.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation – March 29th, 2013
Starring mostly everyone in the first movie, as well as Bruce Willis and Dwayne Johnson, the movie does lose a few characters, leaving just Channing Tatum. The plot revolves around the idea that the Joes still have to fight Cobra, while the government tries to shut them down.

Scary Movie 5 – April 12th, 2013
Starring Ashley Tisdale and Lindsay Lohan as dancers trying to get a raise.. . . (with Charlie Sheen of course)

Iron Man 3 – May 3rd, 2013
Tony Stark will go to China to fight Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), and that it will most likely be Robert Downey Jr.’s last time playing Iron Man. Also, Guy Pierce will be villain Aldrich Killian.

Star Trek Into Darkness – May 17th, 2013
Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto return as Kirk and Spock in this Star Trek sequel, which has rumored it will feature Benedict Cumberbatch (a British actor known for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) as the villain Khan.

The Hangover 3 – May 24th, 2013
Must I really explain this one?

The Fast and Furious 6 – May 24th, 2013
The film has been rumored to take place after Tokyo Drift and will bring back the characters of Han and Lefty.

Monsters University – June 21st, 2013
This could be considered a prequel, since it looks at Mike and Sulley’s friendship during college.

Kick-Ass 2: Balls to the Wall – June 28th, 2013
You read that right, they’re making another Kick-Ass movie, and this time, it centers on the identities of the heroes, and the people who knew who they really are. Also, Jim Carrey will be starring as a colonel.

Despicable Me 2 – July 3rd, 2013
Starring Al Pachino as the villain, the film is to show Gru’s life with the children.

Grown Ups 2 – July 12th, 2013
The movie will follow the events of the first, and mostly every actor has already signed on.

The Smurfs 2 – July 31st, 2013
This will also follow the first, and will feature most of the actors in the first movie, as well as Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Jonathon Winters.

The Wolverine – July 26th, 2013
This is another spin-off stating the origins of Logan, where he travels to Japan to train.

300: Rise of An Empire – August 2nd, 2013
Prequel to 300, it stars new British actors Jack O’Connell and Sullivan Stapleton as Calisto and Themistocles.

Red 2 – August 2nd, 2013
This sequel will feature all the characters in the last film as well as Anthony Hopkins as the main villain. It is still rumored that Morgan Freeman will be in the film.

Robocop- August 9th, 2013
This will be a spin-off/remake of the original series starring Gary Oldman and Samuel L. Jackson.

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters – August 16th, 2013
The movie will include most of the characters from the past movie and includes Stanley Tucci as Dionysus. The movie’s premise is that Percy Jackson and his friends travel through the Sea of Monsters so they can find the Golden Fleece.

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For – October 4th, 2013
Clive Owen’s character seeks revenge from Ava Lord, the woman who betrayed him, and Nancy must learn to live alone.

Thor: The Dark World – November 8th, 2013
Again, having pretty much all of the characters as the first movie, this sequel takes place after the events of The Avengers.

The Hunger Games Catching Fire – November 22nd, 2013
I am in great confidence that most of you have read the books, and if not, have at least seen the movie. Well part 2 is basically winners vs. winners.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – December 13th, 2013
This takes place after The Hobbit, where Bilbo Baggins finds himself in trouble again.

Anchorman 2 – 2013
Will Farrell announced on Conan that they are filming the film, and it the details are pretty well kept.

Bad Santa 2 – 2013*
This will follow the events of the first movie and I doubt it will be made Billy Bob Thorton didn’t sign onto it, nor has there been any progress made available.

Mad Max: Fury Road – 2013
Taking over from Mel Gibson, Tom Hardy plans to play Mad Max in Fury Road, which will also feature Charlize Theron as Furiosa and Nicholas Hoult as Nux. There is also a rumor that director George Miller will film another Mad Max sequel after this one.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier – April 4th, 2014
This time, Captain America is in the modern world (if you don’t remember how the first one ended, he was frozen, melted, and placed in the modern Times Square by Samuel L. Jackson) and must take orders from S.H.I.E.L.D. as well as Nick Fury.

Rio 2 – April 14th, 2014
The plot will revolve around the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the three chicks Blu and Jewel have- two boys and a girl who is afraid of flying.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – May 2nd, 2014
Announced before the first movie came out, most of the cast has already signed on, but little is known about the movie.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – May 23rd, 2014
The plot is currently unknown at the time but it is certain a sequel will be made since it was a wide success.

How to Train Your Dragon 2 – June 20th, 2014
The plot is still unknown but most of the characters are back and Kit Harington will play the villain.

Transformers 4 – June 27th, 2014
While we know it will be made, Michael Bay is trying to cut costs on his budget (too little explosions we suppose) and we put the asterisk because we know for sure it will go over. He stated that the film will most likely go into space and that he wants the past three films to be part of the past, and this one to be a totally different idea.

The Hobbit: There and Back Again – July 18th, 2014
Since they already planned a third Hobbit sequel without the first one being released, and since no one has signed on to be cast in this, we will have to wait to see if it will be made.

X-Men: Days of Future Past – July 18th, 2014
Based on the well-known X-Men comic book, we can somewhat guess that the movie will follow the events of the comic. The comic takes place during the 1980s, where an important government official is assassinated, leading to mutants basically becoming slaves.

Cloudy 2: Revenge of the Leftovers – September 27th, 2014
After seeing the first movie, I’m ok for a second one, but after reading the title, I realized a terrible thing- either there wasn’t any better idea to milk the movie.. . or I’m getting old. I’ll go with the former.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 – November 21st, 2014
This will be like an ongoing series ending theme (like the Harry Potter Series or Twilight, they are ending the last book in two parts- just to milk it a bit more). It will be the first part of the (SPOILER) revolts.

Blade Runner 2 – 2014 *
Ridley Scott has Hampton Fancher, the original screenwriter of Blade Runner, writing the script for this next sequel, which will take place a few years after the first (try almost 20) and will feature a female hero.

Bond 24 – 2014
Well, since Bond movies are made 2 years apart, it seems logical that another Bond movie will be made in 2014 (despite disagreements between the last 2008 Bond movie and this year). Danial Craig has signed on to reprise his role, but it still remains untitled with no synopsis.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew – 2014
That’s right folks, the fourth Narnia movie will come out in 2014, and when it was written, it was considered the first prequel. The book is about a boy and a girl who go exploring through a magician’s attic who has rings that are magical. The rings allow the duo to go into a separate world filled with lakes ( which act as portals) that allow them to go through different worlds.

Dumb and Dumber Too – 2014 *
While some liked it and some hated it, you had to at least smile at the title. The film goes on and off, Jeff Daniels states there will be a sequel while Jim Carrey turned down the role, and the script has never been officially settled on. But both have signed on to reprise their roles, if there is a sequel.

Jurassic Park 4 – Summer 2014 *
Again, nothing is known, but Steven Spielberg has stated at the 2011 SDCC that the film will be made within the next 2-3 years.

Toy Story 4 – 2014 or After
Confirmed by Tom Hanks, the movie is actually angering fans because they believed the third was the final movie, and when asked, Pixar brings attention to Monster’s University. But most of the actors have signed on.

Zoolander 2 – 2014
Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson return to reprise their roles, with Jonah Hill as a unknown role. And for all you True Blood fans, Alexander Skarsgard will return (yes, return .. . he was one of the models killed in the gas scene), making it seem to be a prequel.

The Avengers 2 – May 1st, 2015
The movie will definitely be made (nowadays, sequels are made on success, not on creativity), and it has been rumored to take place after Captain America,. . .so doesn’t that make it a prequel?

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 – November 20th 2015
This will be the part two of the ending of The Hunger Games series.

Avatar 2 – 2015
Not much is known, although, knowing just how involved James Cameron is with his movies, he plans to film in the Challenger Deep region of the Marianna Trench, which is 7 miles under water, which is also the deepest place on earth.

Avatar 3 & 4 – After the 2015 Sequel *
James Cameron has stated on and off that he will or will not be making the next 3 sequels. Sigourney Weaver as stated that she is filming all three sequels- but what if one bombs? I personally respect Cameron’s decision- he has stated that he will only be making his movies (the ones that he writes) and it is a good marketing strategy since he is taking success of the first film to make 3 more films, instead of waiting for each individual film’s turnout.

Star Wars: Episode VII – 2015
I’m sure we all heard of the recent events with George Lucas selling Lucasfilm to Disney, so this was a no-brainer. Disney is planning to make 2-3 Lucsafilm movies a year, so let’s just see how that works out.

Finding Nemo 2 – 2016
While we’re down Pixar memory lane, we might as well address the Finding Nemo 2 sequel. Nothing is known, and we’re not even sure if they’re making the rumor, since Pixar does stay quiet about these things.

21 Jump Street 2 – No Idea
All we do know is that Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill have signed on for the sequel.

28 Months Later – No Idea*
Yes, the film will follow 28 Days later and 28 Weeks Later. While we’re pretty sure that it will be made, we also know they will make a “28 Years Later” and a “28 Decades Later,” and who knows, maybe even a “28 Centuries Later.” Anyhow, there is no one affiliated with it and the director of 28 Days Later (the producer of 28 Weeks Later) Danny Boyle has said it might happen.

Austin Powers 4 – No Idea*
Ok, I know this will be made. I mean, look at the success the past 3 movies kinda had. (Note, by success, I don’t mean if people liked it, I mean the amount of people who went to see it and say they liked/hated it). So of course this will be made, but for now, there is no one attached except Mike Myers himself.

Bad Boys 3 – No Idea
Will Smith and Martin Lawrence have signed on to presumably the last movie in the series. However, Will Smith recently stated that he would only do sequels if the fans persisted and wanted him to do sequels.

Beetlejuice 2 – No Idea *
Tim Burton has stated that he will make the movie, but only if Michael Keaton will star in it, and only if Seth Grahame-Smith’s script appeals to Burton. Since Smith wrote Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, we can pretty much rule out a second Beetlejuice movie.

The Departed 2 – No Idea*

I only included this one because I really enjoyed the first one- and hopefully one of you will stick to the very end of this post and go find out some more details. Unlike the other times when I say there is no information, I mean this literally for this case- no people are involved, there aren’t any news articles nor an appropriate title or date. (I’m not going to add it, but they’re making The Blair Witch Project 3)

Ghostbusters 3 – No Idea
Dan Aykroyd has basically stated that he’s making this movie so future, younger actors will get to be recast in this series- with a new premise of course. So while it’s being made because of commercial success, Sigourney Weaver stated that her son (in the movie) will grow up to become a Ghost Buster and take over Bill Murray’s spot (since he’s not starring in this one).

Green Lantern 2 – No Idea*
The movie did fairly ok in theaters, so a sequel is not totally out of the question. But the fact that there is no date nor anyone signed on, we doubt it will be made.

Hancock 2 – No Idea
Little is known, but it is confirmed that Will Smith and Charlize Theron will return.

I Am Legend 2 – No Idea*
What I remember from the first movie is that Will Smith dies saving that mom and son duo who had previously saved him (but also caused him to die in the first place. . so they owe him). While the film will be made and a script is in development, the asterisk is for Smith, since he has stated that he would not like to do a prequel, but if the script is great, than he would do it.

Indiana Jones 5 – No Idea *
The idea has been around for the past 3 years, Harrison Ford believes he is too old, but wouldn’t mind playing one last time, and the script “has been written and reedited” several times- all while George Lucas must ok it and be the overseer. Honestly, as much as I want another Indiana Jones, I very much doubt that it will bring unexpected hype- I just wish they would cover up the mistakes of the fourth one. Also, producer Frank Marshall stated that due to Lucasfilm being sold to Disney, movement will made on Indiana Jones 5 after Star Wars: Episode 7.

Jumper 2 – No Idea*
Just like the rest, there is no one involved and it has only been rumored to be true.

Kill Bill Volume 3 – No Idea
Quentin Tarantino returns to end (again, rumored) the Kill Bill series, and the “opening script” on IMDB states that it’s basically a looping revenge story in a looping revenge story. Nikki (the young girl raised) will seek revenge from her mom as The Bride takes revenge from . . Nikki’s mom.

Mission Impossible 5 – No Idea
Of course this movie is being made! With Ghost Protocal bringing newer audiences to the franchise, Tom Cruise will be Ethan Hawke another time. Jeremy Renner and Paula Patton are also rumored to star in the movie.

Natural Treasure 3 – No Idea *
While there is a good chance that the film will be made, there is little known about the film and the only two actors confirmed are Nicholas Cage and Jon Voight.

Prometheus 2 – No Idea *
Just like Terminator 5, there is nothing to account for it, not even a person as the director, actor or even a script.

Terminator 5 – No Idea *
The film has no official script, cast or director, and the only person who is affiliated with it is James Cameron.

Wanted 2 – No Idea*
Again, nothing is known, but there will probably be a sequel due to the last film’s success.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit 2 – No Idea*
Little is known about the project, and we can’t be sure that it will be made.

xXx: The Return of Xander Cage – No Idea
Vin Diesel returns as Xander Cage, where he is left for dead after an “accident.” He returns to get an assignment from Samuel L. Jackson- who plays Augustus Gibbons.

Zombieland 2 – No Idea*
The odds of a movie happening are very low, as both Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson have stated it will not happen. The writers however have stated that although a movie sequel probably won’t happen, it could become a TV series.

Category : Fun Stuff

Tags : prequels, remakes, Sequels

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2013 Soho Film Festival – The Awards

Soho Film Fest Review: ‘West End’

Soho International Film Festival – Shorts Round Up

SOHO Film Festival 2013 Report

First Time Fest – Closing Night Ceremony Report

‘Junction’ Review

‘Summertime’ Review

First Time Fest: Producers Panel Report

First Time Fest: ‘Jack Goes Boating’ Interview with Philip Seymour Hoffman & Amy Ryan

First Time Fest – Supporting New Filmmakers and Honouring Esteemed Directors

An introduction to… First Time Fest 2012

Sequels – Love Them or Hate Them, Here’s What’s Coming

Release Dates

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