The son of Dallas Cowboys football legend Don Meredith is getting behind the lens to direct a movie about the Army-Navy football game just days after the assassination of JFK. Michael Meredith tells us the project -- "The President's Team" -- will center around the 1963 Naval team and the brotherhood formed between the men on the squad. Roger Staubach, who went on to Qb the Cowboys after Don, is a centerpiece of the film. A...
- 10/25/2018
- by TMZ Staff
- TMZ
In today’s film news roundup, a documentary about the 1963 Navy football team takes shape, “Never Heard” gets a release, Tim Tebow is backing “Run the Race,” “Death on the Nile” gets a 2020 release and Martin Scorsese is honored.
Documentary Set
Michael Meredith, son of the late Dallas Cowboy quarterback Don Meredith, has signed on to direct “The President’s Team,” a documentary about the 1963 U.S. Naval Academy football team, Variety has learned exclusively.
The film, based on the 2009 book of the same title by Michael Connelly, follows the story of commitment and camaraderie among a team of young athletes attempting to revive a nation wrought with grief — 10 days after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
Kennedy, a Navy veteran, was scheduled to initiate the 1963 Army-Navy game with a coin toss. In the days following his assassination, with the status of the major event up in the air,...
Documentary Set
Michael Meredith, son of the late Dallas Cowboy quarterback Don Meredith, has signed on to direct “The President’s Team,” a documentary about the 1963 U.S. Naval Academy football team, Variety has learned exclusively.
The film, based on the 2009 book of the same title by Michael Connelly, follows the story of commitment and camaraderie among a team of young athletes attempting to revive a nation wrought with grief — 10 days after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
Kennedy, a Navy veteran, was scheduled to initiate the 1963 Army-Navy game with a coin toss. In the days following his assassination, with the status of the major event up in the air,...
- 10/17/2018
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Well folks, after a rather long and brutal winter (at least for me here in Buffalo), we are finally heading into the wonderful warmth of summer, but with that blast of sunshine and steamy humidity comes the mid-year drought of major film fests. After the Sheffield Doc/Fest concludes on June 10th and AFI Docs wraps on June 21st, we likely won’t see any major influx in our charts until Locarno, Venice, Telluride and Tiff announce their line-ups in rapid succession. In the meantime, we can look forward to the intriguing onslaught of films making their debut in Sheffield, including Brian Hill’s intriguing examination of Sweden’s most notorious serial killer, The Confessions of Thomas Quick, and Sean McAllister’s film for which he himself was jailed in the process of making, A Syrian Love Story, the only two films world premiering in the festival’s main competition.
- 6/1/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
It should come as no surprise that Cannes Film Festival will play host to Kent Jones’s doc on the touchstone of filmmaking interview tomes, Hitchcock/Truffaut (see photo above). The film has been floating near the top of this list since it was announced last year as in development, while Jones himself has a history with the festival, having co-written both Arnaud Desplechin’s Jimmy P. and Martin Scorsese’s My Voyage To Italy, both of which premiered in Cannes. The film is scheduled to screen as part of the Cannes Classics sidebar alongside the likes of Stig Björkman’s Ingrid Bergman, in Her Own Words, which will play as part of the festival’s tribute to the late starlet, and Gabriel Clarke and John McKenna’s Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans (see trailer below). As someone who grew up watching road races with my dad in Watkins Glen,...
- 5/1/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Now that the busy winter fest schedule of Sundance, Rotterdam and the Berlinale has concluded, we’ve now got our eyes on the likes of True/False and SXSW. While, True/False does not specialize in attention grabbing world premieres, it does provide a late winter haven for cream of the crop non-fiction fare from all the previously mentioned fests and a selection of overlooked genre blending films presented in a down home setting. This year will mark my first trip to the Columbia, Missouri based fest, where I hope to catch a little of everything, from their hush-hush secret screenings, to selections from their Neither/Nor series, this year featuring chimeric Polish cinema of decades past, to a spotlight of Adam Curtis’s incisive oeuvre. But truth be told, it is SXSW, with its slew of high profile world premieres being announced, such as Alex Gibney’s Steve Jobs...
- 2/27/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
They often get quite a bit less attention than their fictional brethren, and it doesn’t help that many films fly under the radar while development and filming is underway. To chart this course with a little more precision, I’m launching Ioncinema.com’s latest feature, What’s Up Doc?, our monthly Top 50 Most Anticipated films, a sort of hitlist and/or snapshot of the most alluring, the most promising documentary film projects from the established documentarian guard, the new crop of future voices or the fiction filmmakers who on occasion dip their toes in the form. Curated by me, Jordan M. Smith, you’ll find docu items that are in their beginning stages to being moments away from their film festival berth. Like any such list, we can expect film items to fluctuate in ranking, with the cut-off being publicly items — such recent examples include Laura Poitras’s white hot Edward Snowden project,...
- 10/23/2014
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
On the heels of the 39th edition of the Toronto Int. Film Festival (Sept 4-14), Ifp’s Independent Film Week is where a plethora of fiction, non-fiction and new this year, web-based series from the likes of Desiree Akhavan and Calvin Reeder find future coin. Sectioned off as projects at the very beginning of financing to those that are nearing completion, there happens to be tons of Sundance alumni in the names below. Among those that caught our attention we have Medicine for Melancholy‘s Barry Jenkins’ sophomore feature, produced by Bad Milo!‘s Adele Romanski, Moonlight is about “two Miami boys navigate the temptations of the drug trade and their burgeoning sexuality in this triptych drama about black queer youth”. Concussion‘s Stacie Passon digs into the thriller genre with Strange Things Started Happening. Produced by vet Mary Jane Skalski (Mysterious Skin), this is about “a woman who has...
- 7/24/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Congratulations to "Return to Timbuktu" director Michael Meredith. The project received the most votes to win March's Project of the Month. The prize is a consultation from our Project of the Month partner, Tribeca Film Institute. Here's a look at the film's pitch: “The armed militants sent death threats to local musicians; many were forced into exile. Live music venues were shut down, and militants set fire to guitars and drumkits.” New York Times And just like that, the very birth place of modern rhythm and blues suddenly became silent. Manny Ansar, director of the world-famous Music Festival in the Desert, narrowly escaped Timbuktu. Nearly one million Malians remain displaced. So Manny decided to lead a procession of traveling musicians from refugee camps back to their homes in Timbuktu, for a concert that will mark the beginning of a new era in Mali. If you’re a filmmaker (or know...
- 4/8/2014
- by Indiewire
- Indiewire
Here's your daily dose of an indie film in progress; at the end of the week, you'll have the chance to vote for your favorite. In the meantime: Is this a movie you’d want to see? Tell us in the comments. "Return to Timbuktu" Tweetable Logline: One man's mission to reunite Mali through the power of music. Elevator Pitch: “The armed militants sent death threats to local musicians; many were forced into exile. Live music venues were shut down, and militants set fire to guitars and drumkits.” New York Times And just like that, the very birth place of modern rhythm and blues suddenly became silent. Manny Ansar, director of the world-famous Music Festival in the Desert, narrowly escaped Timbuktu. Nearly one million Malians remain displaced. So Manny decided to lead a procession of traveling musicians from refugee camps back to their homes in Timbuktu, for a concert that...
- 4/3/2014
- by Indiewire
- Indiewire
Indie Film Distribution/Production Company Rogue Arts has just signed a partnership agreement with Fairway Film Alliance to distribute films globally. The partnership began at Afm where three of Rogue Arts new titles were launched successfully. "We are creating these kind of relationships in order to be completely transparent with both our investors and our filmmakers. It is a great time of growth in our company", stated company founder, Kirk Harris. "Our goal is a new type of company where partnership with the filmmaker really means both the filmmaker and the distributor benefit from the proceeds and know step by step what is occurring with the films," stated Don Franken, also a Principal at Rogue Arts.
Rogue Arts has produced 8 films and Rogue Arts and Fairway Films Alliance has handled the distribution of more than 50 titles. Founded as a production company in 2004 by Actor/Filmmaker Kirk Harris, company executives now include Celebrity sports talent and marketing agent Don Franken, Retired Navy Special Forces Swcc Vernon Mortensen and Fairway Films Alliance's Marty Poole. "With over 20 years working film in film sales, and also as a filmmaker, I felt it was time to create a company by, with, and for the filmmaker" stated Fairway Films Alliance founder, Marty Poole. Another feature of the Rogue Arts and Fairway Film Alliance partnership is the unique blend of world sales, theatrical booking, digital content knowledge and PR and Marketing experience the principles have.
Recent produced titles include: The Kid: Chamaco, directed by celebrated Mexican producer Miguel Necoechea starring Martin Sheen, Kirk Harris and Gustavo Sanchez Parra. They also include the freshly completed Western Thriller The Sorrow, directed by Rogue Arts' Vernon Mortensen and starring Harris, John Savage and Michael Madsen.
Noted distribution titles include: "Flickering Lights" from Academy Award Winning Anders Thomas Jensen and starring Ulrich Thomsen and Mads Mikkelsen. Wim Wenders presents Michael Meredith's "Three Days of Rain" starring Peter Falk, Blythe Danner and Lyle Lovett and last but not least, "Spooky House" from director William Sachs starring Ben Kingsley and Mercedes Ruehl.
Rogue Arts titles have screened at the Sundance, Berlin, Toronto, Slamdance and Venice Film Festivals.
Recent titles that premiered at Afm were the FX action film "Time Warrior", Terrorist subway thriller "Red Line" and "The Sorrow". "Time Warrior" and "Red Line" were acquired through a new strategic alliance with the San Diego Film Festival to provide distribution for some of their premiere entries.
Additionally, Rogue Arts has two TV series in development as well as several feature projects of varying budgets in the pipeline. ...
Rogue Arts has produced 8 films and Rogue Arts and Fairway Films Alliance has handled the distribution of more than 50 titles. Founded as a production company in 2004 by Actor/Filmmaker Kirk Harris, company executives now include Celebrity sports talent and marketing agent Don Franken, Retired Navy Special Forces Swcc Vernon Mortensen and Fairway Films Alliance's Marty Poole. "With over 20 years working film in film sales, and also as a filmmaker, I felt it was time to create a company by, with, and for the filmmaker" stated Fairway Films Alliance founder, Marty Poole. Another feature of the Rogue Arts and Fairway Film Alliance partnership is the unique blend of world sales, theatrical booking, digital content knowledge and PR and Marketing experience the principles have.
Recent produced titles include: The Kid: Chamaco, directed by celebrated Mexican producer Miguel Necoechea starring Martin Sheen, Kirk Harris and Gustavo Sanchez Parra. They also include the freshly completed Western Thriller The Sorrow, directed by Rogue Arts' Vernon Mortensen and starring Harris, John Savage and Michael Madsen.
Noted distribution titles include: "Flickering Lights" from Academy Award Winning Anders Thomas Jensen and starring Ulrich Thomsen and Mads Mikkelsen. Wim Wenders presents Michael Meredith's "Three Days of Rain" starring Peter Falk, Blythe Danner and Lyle Lovett and last but not least, "Spooky House" from director William Sachs starring Ben Kingsley and Mercedes Ruehl.
Rogue Arts titles have screened at the Sundance, Berlin, Toronto, Slamdance and Venice Film Festivals.
Recent titles that premiered at Afm were the FX action film "Time Warrior", Terrorist subway thriller "Red Line" and "The Sorrow". "Time Warrior" and "Red Line" were acquired through a new strategic alliance with the San Diego Film Festival to provide distribution for some of their premiere entries.
Additionally, Rogue Arts has two TV series in development as well as several feature projects of varying budgets in the pipeline. ...
- 2/19/2013
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
The Open Road
Stars: Justin Timberlake, Kate Mara, Mary Steenburgen, Jeff Bridges | Written and Directed by Michael Meredith
Sometimes, the collective charisma of a film’s cast, or even just the star-power of one great actor can mean the difference between a boring cliché-fest and an enjoyable romp. The Open Road is a film lucky enough to boast an impressive enough cast to shrug off the drag factor of its not inconsiderable flaws.
Failing baseball player Carlton Garret is summoned to his mother’s bedside. She is suffering from a unspecified heart condition (one serious enough to be of major concern, yet mild enough for the doctors to wait several days before operating for the events of the movie to take place) and must soon undergo surgery. Katherine however, is refusing to sign her consent papers until she sees Carlton’s estranged father Kyle, a famous baseball ex-pro. Carlton flies...
Stars: Justin Timberlake, Kate Mara, Mary Steenburgen, Jeff Bridges | Written and Directed by Michael Meredith
Sometimes, the collective charisma of a film’s cast, or even just the star-power of one great actor can mean the difference between a boring cliché-fest and an enjoyable romp. The Open Road is a film lucky enough to boast an impressive enough cast to shrug off the drag factor of its not inconsiderable flaws.
Failing baseball player Carlton Garret is summoned to his mother’s bedside. She is suffering from a unspecified heart condition (one serious enough to be of major concern, yet mild enough for the doctors to wait several days before operating for the events of the movie to take place) and must soon undergo surgery. Katherine however, is refusing to sign her consent papers until she sees Carlton’s estranged father Kyle, a famous baseball ex-pro. Carlton flies...
- 4/26/2011
- by Jack Kirby
- Nerdly
Michael Meredith’s The Open Road follows struggling minor league ball player Carlton Garrett (Justin Timberlake) as he receives the news that his mother Katherine (Mary Steenburgen) is having heart trouble and will need surgery as soon as possible in order to live. She, however, is refusing to sign the consent form to do so unless Carlton gets his estranged father, baseball legend Kyle Garrett (Jeff Bridges), to come see her before she goes in.
Carlton enlists his ex-girlfriend/current best friend Lucy (Kate Mara), whom he Obviously still has strong feelings for, to join him in going to Ohio to find his father at an autograph signing event due to the legend being unreachable by phone. After the awkward initial encounter and a little convincing, they find themselves at the airport with Kyle conveniently missing his wallet, consequently beginning their journey to Houston, TX in a giant red Hummer instead.
Carlton enlists his ex-girlfriend/current best friend Lucy (Kate Mara), whom he Obviously still has strong feelings for, to join him in going to Ohio to find his father at an autograph signing event due to the legend being unreachable by phone. After the awkward initial encounter and a little convincing, they find themselves at the airport with Kyle conveniently missing his wallet, consequently beginning their journey to Houston, TX in a giant red Hummer instead.
- 4/19/2011
- by Micah Phillips
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
A movie that never got released in the UK but is making it’s debut on DVD 2th April is that of Jeff Bridges and Justin Timberlake’s Open Road. The movie is being released by Lions Gate Home Entertainment who have been kind enough to give us three copies to give away on DVD.
Justin Timberlake (The Social Network) and Oscar-winner Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart, True Grit) head up an all-star cast in a new, heart-warming comedy drama The Open Road, out to own on DVD from 25th April (Rrp £12.99). Directed by Michael Meredith, this heart-warming and comedic road movie about a father and son on a journey also stars Kate Mara (127 Hours, Ironclad), Harry Dean Stanton (Alien, The Green Mile) and Mary Steenburgen (The Proposal, Back to the Future Part III).
When his mother is taken seriously ill, young Carlton Garrett (Timberlake) is faced with the challenge of...
Justin Timberlake (The Social Network) and Oscar-winner Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart, True Grit) head up an all-star cast in a new, heart-warming comedy drama The Open Road, out to own on DVD from 25th April (Rrp £12.99). Directed by Michael Meredith, this heart-warming and comedic road movie about a father and son on a journey also stars Kate Mara (127 Hours, Ironclad), Harry Dean Stanton (Alien, The Green Mile) and Mary Steenburgen (The Proposal, Back to the Future Part III).
When his mother is taken seriously ill, young Carlton Garrett (Timberlake) is faced with the challenge of...
- 4/15/2011
- by Competitons
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Rating: 4/10
Writer/director: Michael Meredith
Cast: Justin Timberlake, Jeff Bridges, Kate Mara, Mary Steenburgen
Studio: Anchor Bay Films
Justin Timberlake is a superstar in the music world, but so far he has yet to really break out in his film career (something that could soon change with David Fincher’s The Social Network). The lack of cinematic stardom for Timberlake so far can likely be attributed to only one of his films being a genuine hit, Shrek The Third, and that was only voice work.
Read more on Movie Review: The Open Road…...
Writer/director: Michael Meredith
Cast: Justin Timberlake, Jeff Bridges, Kate Mara, Mary Steenburgen
Studio: Anchor Bay Films
Justin Timberlake is a superstar in the music world, but so far he has yet to really break out in his film career (something that could soon change with David Fincher’s The Social Network). The lack of cinematic stardom for Timberlake so far can likely be attributed to only one of his films being a genuine hit, Shrek The Third, and that was only voice work.
Read more on Movie Review: The Open Road…...
- 11/19/2009
- by Rusty Gordon
- GordonandtheWhale
Chicago – The DVD Round-Up is back! Did you miss us? HollywoodChicago.com’s intermittent column designed to serve as a safety net for releases that may otherwise fall without notice is back with a motley crew of titles that have nearly nothing in common. Classic TV, drama, horror, copious sex, and Justin Timberlake. You make the connections.
“The Fugitive: Season Three, Volume One” was released on October 27th, 2009
“The Dead” was released on November 3rd, 2009.
“Spread” was released on November 10th, 2009.
“The Canyon,” “Open Road” and “Train” were released on November 17th, 2009
“The Fugitive: Season Three, Volume One”
Photo credit: Paramount
Synopsis: “The hit series The Fugitive is back, featuring the first 15 Season Three episodes, on DVD for the first time ever! Golden Globe Award winner David Janssen expertly portrays Dr. Richard Kimble, the pediatrician falsely accused of killing his wife, who needs to prove his innocence by leading the obsessive Lt.
“The Fugitive: Season Three, Volume One” was released on October 27th, 2009
“The Dead” was released on November 3rd, 2009.
“Spread” was released on November 10th, 2009.
“The Canyon,” “Open Road” and “Train” were released on November 17th, 2009
“The Fugitive: Season Three, Volume One”
Photo credit: Paramount
Synopsis: “The hit series The Fugitive is back, featuring the first 15 Season Three episodes, on DVD for the first time ever! Golden Globe Award winner David Janssen expertly portrays Dr. Richard Kimble, the pediatrician falsely accused of killing his wife, who needs to prove his innocence by leading the obsessive Lt.
- 11/19/2009
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
This week's slate reinvents the wheel, so to speak, unveiling a vast array of twists, tweaks, role reversals and reinventions to satisfy all tastes.
Download this in audio form (MP3: 12:46 minutes, 11.7 Mb) Subscribe to the In Theaters podcast: [Xml] [iTunes]
"At The Edge of The World"
Made famous by the weekly embedded correspondence of their TV series "Whale Wars," the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society puts the active in activism, taking self-described "direct action" (sabotage, vandalism, etc.) against the predominantly Japanese whaling fleets still hunting these gentle giants of the sea. Joining the battle-ready crew on their third Antarctic campaign, documentary filmmaker Dan Stone delivers a firsthand account of the controversial and dangerous tactics employed by these aggressive eco-warriors.
Opens in New York.
"Big Fan"
Having already explored the symbiotic yet mercurial bond between a sports icon and his fans in last year's indie smash "The Wrestler," scripter Robert Siegel hops...
Download this in audio form (MP3: 12:46 minutes, 11.7 Mb) Subscribe to the In Theaters podcast: [Xml] [iTunes]
"At The Edge of The World"
Made famous by the weekly embedded correspondence of their TV series "Whale Wars," the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society puts the active in activism, taking self-described "direct action" (sabotage, vandalism, etc.) against the predominantly Japanese whaling fleets still hunting these gentle giants of the sea. Joining the battle-ready crew on their third Antarctic campaign, documentary filmmaker Dan Stone delivers a firsthand account of the controversial and dangerous tactics employed by these aggressive eco-warriors.
Opens in New York.
"Big Fan"
Having already explored the symbiotic yet mercurial bond between a sports icon and his fans in last year's indie smash "The Wrestler," scripter Robert Siegel hops...
- 8/24/2009
- by Neil Pedley
- ifc.com
See the trailer for Anchor Bay Entertainment's "The Open Road," starring Justin Timberlake, Jeff Bridges, Kate Mara, Mary Steenburgen and Lyle Lovett. The film is directed and written by Michael Meredith. Justin Moore-Lewy, Charlie Mason, Jordan Foley and Laurie Foxx produce. The Open Road is a heartwarming comedy about a young man looking to reconnect with his long-lost father and bring him back to the bedside of his ailing mother. In the film, minor leaguer Carlton Garret (Timberlake) takes an unexpected road trip to track down his estranged father, legendary baseball player Kyle Garret (Bridges) when Carlton’s mother (Steenburgen) becomes sick. Knowing his charming yet...
- 8/8/2009
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Just the other day, we debuted the sour-faced poster for The Open Road -- a road trip movie starring Justin Timberlake, Jeff Bridges, Kate Mara, and Mary Steenburgen. On the heels of that release, MSN has nabbed the official trailer, which is full of difficult dads and aggravated offspring, but not as many laughs as the poster would hint. The film follows a son who, on the request of his dying mother, reunites with his estranged father, a minor-league baseball player, to bring the family back together.
I wasn't sure what to expect from the film. It's written and directed by Michael Meredith, the man who wrote Wim Wenders' Land of Plenty -- a quite somber film starring Michelle Williams as a missionary returns to La from Palestine and gets wrapped up with a post 9/11 conspiracy nut and the murder of a homeless Muslim man. But this project isn't very political,...
I wasn't sure what to expect from the film. It's written and directed by Michael Meredith, the man who wrote Wim Wenders' Land of Plenty -- a quite somber film starring Michelle Williams as a missionary returns to La from Palestine and gets wrapped up with a post 9/11 conspiracy nut and the murder of a homeless Muslim man. But this project isn't very political,...
- 8/6/2009
- by Monika Bartyzel
- Cinematical
We just showed you the poster for the upcoming comedy/drama "The Open Road," starring Justin Timberlake and Jeff Bridges, and we now have the trailer. Check it out below. Plot: Movie centers on the adult son (Timberlake) of a baseball legend (Bridges) who, together with his girlfriend, embarks on a road trip with his estranged father. "The Open Road" is written and directed by Michael Meredith (Three Days of Rain) and is scheduled to hit theaters on August 28th, probably in limited release. Trailer: If you cannot see the player, click here. Click here to read more about "The Open Road."...
- 8/5/2009
- WorstPreviews.com
The first trailer for Anchor Bay Entertainment's "The Open Road" has been released. Debuted via MSN, the sneak peek into the upcoming drama comedy features the dynamics of the two leading men, Jeff Bridges and Justin Timberlake, who take the role of the estranged father and son respectively. It also presents glimpses of the trip they take.
The movie written and directed by Michael Meredith centers on a baseball legend Kyle Garrett and his estranged son Carlton Garrett. After years spending time apart from one another, Carlton played by Timberlake goes to see his father Kyle, portrayed by Bridges. Accompanied by his girlfriend Lucy (Kate Mara), he tries to bring Kyle back to help support his sick mother, which led the three to be stuck in a road trip.
"The Open Road" was filmed in Hammond, Louisiana and elsewhere in the southern United States. Beside Jeff Bridges, Justin Timberlake and Kate Mara,...
The movie written and directed by Michael Meredith centers on a baseball legend Kyle Garrett and his estranged son Carlton Garrett. After years spending time apart from one another, Carlton played by Timberlake goes to see his father Kyle, portrayed by Bridges. Accompanied by his girlfriend Lucy (Kate Mara), he tries to bring Kyle back to help support his sick mother, which led the three to be stuck in a road trip.
"The Open Road" was filmed in Hammond, Louisiana and elsewhere in the southern United States. Beside Jeff Bridges, Justin Timberlake and Kate Mara,...
- 8/5/2009
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
Justin Timberlake is back on the big screen in Michael Meredith's upcoming drama "The Open Road," and a trailer for the indie flick has just popped up online. Watch it after the jump.
Timberlake plays a young man looking to reconnect with his long-lost father (Jeff Bridges) -- a famous athlete -- and bring him back to the bedside of his ailing mother (Mary Steenburgen).
"The Open Road" doesn't look like anything that will explode at the box office, but as long as it's done right, it may pull some fans. The trailer's got me interested at least.
Plus, Timberlake's proven before he's fully capable of delivering a solid big-screen performance. He really did some impressive work in "Alpha Dog." Watch for "Road" in theaters Aug. 28, 2009.
Timberlake plays a young man looking to reconnect with his long-lost father (Jeff Bridges) -- a famous athlete -- and bring him back to the bedside of his ailing mother (Mary Steenburgen).
"The Open Road" doesn't look like anything that will explode at the box office, but as long as it's done right, it may pull some fans. The trailer's got me interested at least.
Plus, Timberlake's proven before he's fully capable of delivering a solid big-screen performance. He really did some impressive work in "Alpha Dog." Watch for "Road" in theaters Aug. 28, 2009.
- 8/4/2009
- by Franck Tabouring
- screeninglog.com
Thanks to Cinematical, we now have the poster for the upcoming comedy/drama "The Open Road," which stars Justin Timberlake and Jeff Bridges. Check it out below. Plot: Movie centers on the adult son (Timberlake) of a baseball legend (Bridges) who, together with his girlfriend, embarks on a road trip with his estranged father. "The Open Road" is written and directed by Michael Meredith (Three Days of Rain) and is scheduled to hit theaters on August 28th, probably in limited release. Poster: (click to enlarge)...
- 8/4/2009
- WorstPreviews.com
All sorts of news flying around the web today. Some of this would have run earlier on the blog, had it not been for a midday technical Snafu. Here's a round-up of what we missed:
-- I don't know if it's the "first" to hit the web (I'm pretty sure it's not), but IGN UK have posted their review of "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra." It's mostly high praise for Stephen Sommers' high-energy action flick, and I couldn't be more pleased. I'd been feeling uneasy about "Joe" in recent months, but all of those fears were literally Blown The Eff Up when I saw the movie myself this past weekend. (IGN UK)
-- "Monster Squad" director Fred Dekker revealed at a weekend screening of his family-friendly classic that he's currently hard at work on a script for "Cliffhanger 2." For those who don't recall, "Cliffhanger" stars Sylvester Stallone...
-- I don't know if it's the "first" to hit the web (I'm pretty sure it's not), but IGN UK have posted their review of "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra." It's mostly high praise for Stephen Sommers' high-energy action flick, and I couldn't be more pleased. I'd been feeling uneasy about "Joe" in recent months, but all of those fears were literally Blown The Eff Up when I saw the movie myself this past weekend. (IGN UK)
-- "Monster Squad" director Fred Dekker revealed at a weekend screening of his family-friendly classic that he's currently hard at work on a script for "Cliffhanger 2." For those who don't recall, "Cliffhanger" stars Sylvester Stallone...
- 8/3/2009
- by Adam Rosenberg
- MTV Movies Blog
Cinematical has just received this exclusive poster for the film The Open Road, starring Justin Timberlake and Jeff Bridges. The film follows a minor league baseball player (Timberlake) who, along with his girlfriend (Kate Mara), travel to reunite with his estranged father (Bridges) and bring his family back together to help support his sick mother (Mary Steenburgen). Lyle Lovett and Harry Dean Stanton also star.
Written and directed by Michael Meredith, we first reported on this dramedy wayyy back in 2007, and again in 2008 when Timberlake and Bridges signed on. It's hard to argue against this cast -- Bridges always brings his quirky A-game, and Timberlake, in my opinion, is only a year or so away from really landing some big roles. But it's these smaller flicks that will convince people of Timberlake's on-screen talent; the ones that strip away his celebrity and expose a little more substance. Definitely seems like...
Written and directed by Michael Meredith, we first reported on this dramedy wayyy back in 2007, and again in 2008 when Timberlake and Bridges signed on. It's hard to argue against this cast -- Bridges always brings his quirky A-game, and Timberlake, in my opinion, is only a year or so away from really landing some big roles. But it's these smaller flicks that will convince people of Timberlake's on-screen talent; the ones that strip away his celebrity and expose a little more substance. Definitely seems like...
- 8/3/2009
- by Erik Davis
- Cinematical
Paris -- Harrison Ford, Robin Wright Penn and Andy Garcia are among the famous faces set for career tributes during the star-spangled 35th edition of the Deauville Festival of American Cinema.
Ford will be the guest of honor at Deauville, which kicks off on Sept. 4 in the Normandy seaside town. The fest also plans homages to Garcia, whose film "City Island" from Raymond de Felitta will screen at the fest, and Wright Penn, whose "Private Lives of Pippa Lee" will unspool out of competition.
Deauville also will pay homage to the late director-producer Robert Aldrich and will honor the careers of directors-screenwriters-producers David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker.
Nine films will compete for the event's top prizes, four of which are first features, namely Oren Moverman's "The Messenger," Cary Joji Fukunaga's "Sin Nombre," Daniel Davila's "Harrison, Montgomery" and Sophie Barthes' "Cold Souls" starring Paul Giamatti and Emily Watson.
Ford will be the guest of honor at Deauville, which kicks off on Sept. 4 in the Normandy seaside town. The fest also plans homages to Garcia, whose film "City Island" from Raymond de Felitta will screen at the fest, and Wright Penn, whose "Private Lives of Pippa Lee" will unspool out of competition.
Deauville also will pay homage to the late director-producer Robert Aldrich and will honor the careers of directors-screenwriters-producers David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker.
Nine films will compete for the event's top prizes, four of which are first features, namely Oren Moverman's "The Messenger," Cary Joji Fukunaga's "Sin Nombre," Daniel Davila's "Harrison, Montgomery" and Sophie Barthes' "Cold Souls" starring Paul Giamatti and Emily Watson.
- 7/21/2009
- by By Rebecca Leffler
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- Odd Lot International is the foreign sales division of Odd Lot Entertainment and though they don't have a huge inventory, the titles they do have are worth keeping track of beginning with John Cameron Mitchell's Rabbit Hole which should be among our most anticipated films to see next year. They also have Yann Samuell's next project in pre-production and have just finished production on a Justin Timberlake and Jeff Bridges pairing in The Open Road – a road trip type tale that should work especially well with North American audiences and which was just picked up yesterday by Anchor Bay Ent. Green Street 2: Stand Your Gro by Jesse V. Johnson – Completed Rabbit Hole by John Cameron Mitchell - Pre-Production The Great Ghost Rescue by Yann Samuell – Pre-Production The Open Road by Michael Meredith - Completed...
- 5/15/2009
- IONCINEMA.com
The key players from the indie film world will be gathered together in Cannes for the next 10 days. Look for our daily roundups of news each night, titled "Cannes in 60 Seconds." But first, what's been happening during the past week?
Deals. Oliver Hirschbiegel's drama Five Minutes of Heaven, starring Liam Neeson, has been acquired by IFC Films, according to indieWIRE. IFC will release the film, which "explores aspects of Northern Ireland's 'Troubles,'" simultaneously in theaters and VOD in August. Michael Meredith's drama The Open Road has been picked up by Anchor Bay, again per indieWIRE. Justin (Motherlover) Timberlake stars as a man who tries to effect a reconciliation between his dying mother (Mary Steenburgen) and his estranged father (Jeff Bridges). Release plans have not yet been announced. I Love You Phillip Morris, a gay con man prison romance, has secured distribution via the fledgling Consolidated Pictures Group,...
Deals. Oliver Hirschbiegel's drama Five Minutes of Heaven, starring Liam Neeson, has been acquired by IFC Films, according to indieWIRE. IFC will release the film, which "explores aspects of Northern Ireland's 'Troubles,'" simultaneously in theaters and VOD in August. Michael Meredith's drama The Open Road has been picked up by Anchor Bay, again per indieWIRE. Justin (Motherlover) Timberlake stars as a man who tries to effect a reconciliation between his dying mother (Mary Steenburgen) and his estranged father (Jeff Bridges). Release plans have not yet been announced. I Love You Phillip Morris, a gay con man prison romance, has secured distribution via the fledgling Consolidated Pictures Group,...
- 5/14/2009
- by Peter Martin
- Cinematical
"The Open Road" starring Jeff Bridges, Justin Timberlake, Kate Mara, Harry Dean Stanton, Lyle Lovett, and Mary Steenburgen has been acquired by Anchor Bay.
It's an indie drama about a dying mother's wish for her son to bring his estranged father to the hospital. Of course, along the way, in the wide, open road, father and son reconnect while remembering their past.
Directed by Michael Meredith from his own script, "The Open Road" is set to be released late summer.
It's an indie drama about a dying mother's wish for her son to bring his estranged father to the hospital. Of course, along the way, in the wide, open road, father and son reconnect while remembering their past.
Directed by Michael Meredith from his own script, "The Open Road" is set to be released late summer.
- 5/12/2009
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
While none of us were paying attention - or still hung over from The Dark Knight last year - Justin Timberlake and Jeff Bridges teamed up to make a movie together called The Open Road. Very sneaky. Luckily, the huge conspiracy has been revealed, and the movie has no choice but to show itself to audiences late this summer. Thanks to Anchor Bay, who is releasing the indie project by writer/director Michael Meredith, we'll be able to see just what Timberlake and Bridges were up to. The story focuses on a son (Timberlake) who takes a road trip with his girlfriend (played by Kate Mara) in order to bring his estranged, baseball legend father (Bridges) back to his dying mother's side. This all according to Variety. So far, the film has a healthy rating on IMDb (6.6), and a little research reveals that it's at least been showcased at the European Film Market, but...
- 5/11/2009
- by Cole Abaius
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
The reason why I'm asking that question in the title is because we all probably should have heard of this. Don't be worried, until today I didn't know much about The Open Road either, but I thought I'd introduce you to it. Anchor Bay just picked up the theatrical and home video rights to the "family dramady" written and directed by Michael Meredith (of Three Days of Rain previously). Jeff Bridges stars as a former baseball player, and Justin Timberlake as his estranged son. The two go on a road trip from Ohio to Houston to see Timberlake's mother, played by Mary Steenburgen, from which Bridges is also separated, in the hospital. Although it's a very bad sign that this hasn't played at a single film festival over the last year since its been finished, it could still potentially be pretty good. At least it has a very interesting cast.
- 5/11/2009
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
According to Variety, Anchor Bay has stepped up to the plate to acquire distribution rights to road-trip/baseball drama “The Open Road” which stars Jeff Bridges, Justin Timberlake, Kate Mara, Harry Dean Stanton, Lyle Lovett and Mary Steenburgen. The film is due to be released theatrically in The United States in the late summer, most likely around the end of August or early September to conicide with the wind down of the current Mlb season.
The film is about the adult son (Timberlake) of a baseball legend (Bridges) who, together with his girlfriend (Mara), embarks on a cross-country road trip with the idea of fulfilling his mother’s dying wish to bring his estranged father to the hospital. Along the way, this reunion will oblige the father and son to re-examine their past. The film is written and directed by directed by Michael Meredith. Meredith has previously written “Land of Plenty”, which starred Michelle Williams.
The film is about the adult son (Timberlake) of a baseball legend (Bridges) who, together with his girlfriend (Mara), embarks on a cross-country road trip with the idea of fulfilling his mother’s dying wish to bring his estranged father to the hospital. Along the way, this reunion will oblige the father and son to re-examine their past. The film is written and directed by directed by Michael Meredith. Meredith has previously written “Land of Plenty”, which starred Michelle Williams.
- 5/11/2009
- by Ryan Petty
- The Cinema Post
Anchor Bay is hitting the road, picking up theatrical and home video rights to Michael Meredith family dramedy "The Open Road."
Wim Wenders exec produced the film, which unfolds over the course of a road trip that a grown son takes with his estranged father, a former baseball star. The pair travel from Ohio to Houston to see the son's mother, from whom the baseball star is also estranged, in the hospital..
Justin Timberlake stars as the son and Jeff Bridges as his father, with Mary Steenburgen playing the mother/wife. Odd Lot Entertainment and Perfect Weekend produced the pic.
Writer-director Meredith found inspiration for the script in his relationship with his own father, the former football star Don Meredith.
Anchor Bay, the Liberty Media division that specializes in DVD as well as limited theatrical releases, has been busy on the acquisitions front lately, scooping up rights to fest titles...
Wim Wenders exec produced the film, which unfolds over the course of a road trip that a grown son takes with his estranged father, a former baseball star. The pair travel from Ohio to Houston to see the son's mother, from whom the baseball star is also estranged, in the hospital..
Justin Timberlake stars as the son and Jeff Bridges as his father, with Mary Steenburgen playing the mother/wife. Odd Lot Entertainment and Perfect Weekend produced the pic.
Writer-director Meredith found inspiration for the script in his relationship with his own father, the former football star Don Meredith.
Anchor Bay, the Liberty Media division that specializes in DVD as well as limited theatrical releases, has been busy on the acquisitions front lately, scooping up rights to fest titles...
- 5/11/2009
- by By Steven Zeitchik
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Versatile composer Christopher Lennertz has two new features coming up. He is doing the music for The Open Road, starring Justin Timberlake and a fine ensemble cast with Jeff Bridges, Kate Mara, Mary Steenburgen, Harry Dean Stanton and Lyle Lovett. Bridges plays Timberlake's estranged father, a baseball legend, and the film follows them on a cross country trip. Wim Wenders collaborator Michael Meredith, himself the son of a great football player (Don Meredith), directs. Christopher Lennertz also contributes the score to Max Mayer's drama Adam, starring Hugh Dancy and Rose Byrne. This film tells the story of a young man struggling with Aspergers syndrome and how finding love helps him to be free. Christopher Lennertz is best known for his entertaining comedy music heard in films such as Alvin and the Chipmunks, Disaster Movie and Meet the Spartans.
- 11/26/2008
- by noreply@blogger.com (Mikael Carlsson)
- MovieScore Magazine
NEW YORK -- Lyle Lovett and Harry Dean Stanton are traveling with Justin Timberlake and Jeff Bridges on "The Open Road".
Stanton will play the grandfather of Timberlake's character, a young man trying to reconcile with his father (Bridges) as he heads home to his ill mother's bedside. Lovett will play a Memphis bartender who lends a helpful ear to Timberlake.
Writer-director Michael Meredith ("Three Days of Rain") is shooting the project in Louisiana and other Southern locales. Kate Mara and Mary Steenburgen also star.
Perfect Weekend's Justin Moore-Lewy and Charlie Mason are producing with Meredith, Jordan Foley, Laurie Foxx and David Schiff.
Odd Lot principals Deborah Del Prete and Gigi Pritzker are executive producing with Heidi Levitt, Scott MacFarland, Jason Hewitt and director Wim Wenders.
Lovett ("Walk Hard") is repped by Paradigm and Ken Levitan of Vector Management. Stanton ("Alpha Dog") is repped by Bresler, Kelly & Associates.
Stanton will play the grandfather of Timberlake's character, a young man trying to reconcile with his father (Bridges) as he heads home to his ill mother's bedside. Lovett will play a Memphis bartender who lends a helpful ear to Timberlake.
Writer-director Michael Meredith ("Three Days of Rain") is shooting the project in Louisiana and other Southern locales. Kate Mara and Mary Steenburgen also star.
Perfect Weekend's Justin Moore-Lewy and Charlie Mason are producing with Meredith, Jordan Foley, Laurie Foxx and David Schiff.
Odd Lot principals Deborah Del Prete and Gigi Pritzker are executive producing with Heidi Levitt, Scott MacFarland, Jason Hewitt and director Wim Wenders.
Lovett ("Walk Hard") is repped by Paradigm and Ken Levitan of Vector Management. Stanton ("Alpha Dog") is repped by Bresler, Kelly & Associates.
- 3/24/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
VENICE -- In very different ways, Paul Jeffries and his niece Lana have each gone the extra mile in their love for their homeland, America. Paul was with Special Forces in Vietnam and Lana has been a missionary in Africa and the Middle East. Now they are both in Los Angeles dealing with their reaction to the events known as 9/11.
Wim Wenders has crafted a thoughtful exploration of the impact of that infamous day on two Americans who love their country but seek to defend it in conflicting ways. In a political year, Land of Plenty could connect with audiences interested in examining how fear and prejudice can affect individuals and society as a whole.
The setting is a Los Angeles rarely seen in movies, a part of the city that could be any place in the Third World, where people are so poor it is known as the hunger capital of America. Lana, played with sparkling intelligence by Michelle Williams, has returned from Tel Aviv to live and work at a mission house in downtown L.A. Her mother has died and she wants to connect with her Uncle Paul, who has been out of touch for many years.
Paul is played by character veteran John Diehl who richly justifies Wenders' decision to cast him by delivering a multi-layered portrayal of a loyal soldier blasted to bewilderment by events in Vietnam. Exposed to Agent Pink exfoliate during that conflict, Paul's increasing psychological wounds are brutally punctured by watching the fate of New York's twin towers.
Grizzled, tired and sometimes drunk, Paul has formed a one-man defense unit, driving around the city with surveillance equipment, recording images and commentary covering potential suspects who invariably look like his idea of Arabs. He has a pal, Jimmy (Richard Edson), who has a contact or two in the police department and is always willing to run suspicious items through the more extreme elements of the Internet.
Roaming the city at night, Paul spots a man in a turban carrying boxes of Borax. Jimmy cracks an evil joke that it would be pretty funny when they're looking for a "dirty bomb" if terrorists turned out to use a heavy-duty cleaner, but Paul doesn't see the humor in it.
When the homeless man with the Borax boxes is gunned down in his cardboard crib close to Lana's mission house, Paul happens to be there on surveillance. His tape of the shooting ends up on network television and soon Lana is helping find out who the man was. Uncle and niece team up to get to the bottom of the shooting but Paul's paranoia becomes ever more extreme and dangerous. It will put Lana's sincere spirituality and concern for the troubled ex-soldier to the test.
Wenders' eye for locations and richly evocative work by director of photography Franz Lustig and production designer Nathan Amondson combine to give the film a powerful sensory impact. The music score and tracks featuring Leonard Cohen add greatly to the piece. Wenders' screenplay with Michael Meredith turns the cliche of the shell-shocked veteran on its head. The sense of wonderment and desire for understanding that envelop the old soldier and the young disciple create a mood of profound optimism.
Credits:
Director: Wim Wenders
Screenplay: Michael Meredith, Wim Wenders
Story: Wim Wenders, Scott Derrickson
Producers: In-ah Lee, Samson Mucke
Gary Winick, Jake Abraham
Executive producers: Peter Schwartzkopff, Jonathan Sehring, Caroline Kaplan, John Sloss
Director of photography: Franz Lustig
Editor: Moritz Laube
Production designer: Nathan Amondson
Costume designer: Alexis Scott
Composers: Thom & Nackt (cq)
Cast:
Lana: Michelle Williams
Paul: John Diehl
Hassan: Shaun Taub
Henry: Wendell Pierce
Jimmy: Richard Edson
Sherman: Burt Young
Youssef: Bernard White.
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 118 mins...
Wim Wenders has crafted a thoughtful exploration of the impact of that infamous day on two Americans who love their country but seek to defend it in conflicting ways. In a political year, Land of Plenty could connect with audiences interested in examining how fear and prejudice can affect individuals and society as a whole.
The setting is a Los Angeles rarely seen in movies, a part of the city that could be any place in the Third World, where people are so poor it is known as the hunger capital of America. Lana, played with sparkling intelligence by Michelle Williams, has returned from Tel Aviv to live and work at a mission house in downtown L.A. Her mother has died and she wants to connect with her Uncle Paul, who has been out of touch for many years.
Paul is played by character veteran John Diehl who richly justifies Wenders' decision to cast him by delivering a multi-layered portrayal of a loyal soldier blasted to bewilderment by events in Vietnam. Exposed to Agent Pink exfoliate during that conflict, Paul's increasing psychological wounds are brutally punctured by watching the fate of New York's twin towers.
Grizzled, tired and sometimes drunk, Paul has formed a one-man defense unit, driving around the city with surveillance equipment, recording images and commentary covering potential suspects who invariably look like his idea of Arabs. He has a pal, Jimmy (Richard Edson), who has a contact or two in the police department and is always willing to run suspicious items through the more extreme elements of the Internet.
Roaming the city at night, Paul spots a man in a turban carrying boxes of Borax. Jimmy cracks an evil joke that it would be pretty funny when they're looking for a "dirty bomb" if terrorists turned out to use a heavy-duty cleaner, but Paul doesn't see the humor in it.
When the homeless man with the Borax boxes is gunned down in his cardboard crib close to Lana's mission house, Paul happens to be there on surveillance. His tape of the shooting ends up on network television and soon Lana is helping find out who the man was. Uncle and niece team up to get to the bottom of the shooting but Paul's paranoia becomes ever more extreme and dangerous. It will put Lana's sincere spirituality and concern for the troubled ex-soldier to the test.
Wenders' eye for locations and richly evocative work by director of photography Franz Lustig and production designer Nathan Amondson combine to give the film a powerful sensory impact. The music score and tracks featuring Leonard Cohen add greatly to the piece. Wenders' screenplay with Michael Meredith turns the cliche of the shell-shocked veteran on its head. The sense of wonderment and desire for understanding that envelop the old soldier and the young disciple create a mood of profound optimism.
Credits:
Director: Wim Wenders
Screenplay: Michael Meredith, Wim Wenders
Story: Wim Wenders, Scott Derrickson
Producers: In-ah Lee, Samson Mucke
Gary Winick, Jake Abraham
Executive producers: Peter Schwartzkopff, Jonathan Sehring, Caroline Kaplan, John Sloss
Director of photography: Franz Lustig
Editor: Moritz Laube
Production designer: Nathan Amondson
Costume designer: Alexis Scott
Composers: Thom & Nackt (cq)
Cast:
Lana: Michelle Williams
Paul: John Diehl
Hassan: Shaun Taub
Henry: Wendell Pierce
Jimmy: Richard Edson
Sherman: Burt Young
Youssef: Bernard White.
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 118 mins...
- 9/10/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Screened at Method Fest, Burbank
"Three Days of Rain" is an auspicious feature debut for writer-director Michael Meredith and a fitting opener for the fifth Method Fest, which spotlights independent films with an accent on acting. Inspired by the short stories of Anton Chekhov, Meredith has woven together a half-dozen portraits of contemporary lives-on-the-edge in this quietly searing drama. Presented under the aegis of Wim Wenders, the film deserves further festival exposure and could see art house action in the hands of the right distributor.
Opening with jazz strains, a disc jockey's mellow voice-over relaying storm predictions and striking shots of an unfamiliar skyline, "Three Days" introduces its six central figures, residents of Cleveland, through elliptical scenes. The seventh main character is the rain-drenched cityscape itself, shot in a moody blue palette by director of photography Cynthia Pusheck, whose elegant, compelling visuals are a crucial unifying element. Deftly avoiding a frequent pitfall of multiple-character studies, Meredith does not impose a uniform performance style on his cast, instead allowing each to find the pulse of the role. And in Meredith's strong script, every role is a gem of understated complexity.
Football great Don Meredith (the filmmaker's father) is a strong presence here, setting the tone as a cabbie who moves through his days with a restless melancholy. Reeling from a recent loss, he seeks comfort from strangers, but his blank, stunned sadness is met at every turn with self-centered dramas -- most strikingly in Blythe Danner's darkly comic cameo as one of his fares.
In the most direct expression of these stories' Old World roots, a tile maker (Michael Santoro) whose work is ruined by the rain beseeches God with a why-me lament and relentlessly pursues a widow (Penny Allen) who owes him money. Peter Falk plays another character seeking cash, but Waldo's search is chronic. A retiree on an endless pub-crawl, he repeatedly phones his son to finagle loans he'll never repay. Falk captures the duplicity, contrition and maudlin charm of the alcoholic with an incisiveness so real it's hard to watch at times.
While there are no easy answers for these characters, some provide more clear-cut rooting interests than others. Erick Avari brings a simmering intensity to the role of Alex, a well-heeled professional whose encounter with a man living on the street throws his entire life into question and fuels his growing resolve to choose kindness over convention.
But not everyone has that option. Two of the most affecting story lines involve characters who must endure cruelty that is anything but casual. As a developmentally disabled janitor being set up by his boss (Chuck Cooper), Joey Bilow creates a childlike character without sentimentalizing him. Tess (Merle Kennedy), a young heroin addict tethered to brutal circumstances, is a composite of delicacy and steely despair.
Commenting on one another but never intersecting, the vignettes are juxtaposed with increasing urgency, thanks in large part to the heartbeat-precise editing of Peter Przygodda and Sabine Hoffman. The running commentary of Bob Belden's jazz score and Lyle Lovett's DJ patter underscores the sense of connectedness, which culminates in a visual symphony of Edward Hopper images: near-empty diners and lonely rooms, new lovers about to face the morning. "Three Days" eloquently taps into the aching, resilience and battered hope at the heart of Chekhov's fiction.
THREE DAYS OF RAIN
Maximon Pictures
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Michael Meredith
Producers: Bill Stockton, Robert Casserly
Executive producers: Henry Herzing, Roger St. Cyr
Director of photography: Cynthia Pusheck
Production designer: Scott Wittmer
Music: Bob Belden
Costume designer: Bobby Brewer-Wallin
Editors: Peter Przygodda, Sabine Hoffman
Cast:
Waldo: Peter Falk
John: Don Meredith
Thunder: Michael Santoro
Tess: Merle Kennedy
Alex: Erick Avari
Dennis: Joey Bilow
Jim: Chuck Cooper
Helen: Penny Allen
Woman in Cab: Blythe Danner:
Disc Jockey: Lyle Lovett
Lisa: Heather Kafka
Running time -- 96 minutes
No MPAA rating...
"Three Days of Rain" is an auspicious feature debut for writer-director Michael Meredith and a fitting opener for the fifth Method Fest, which spotlights independent films with an accent on acting. Inspired by the short stories of Anton Chekhov, Meredith has woven together a half-dozen portraits of contemporary lives-on-the-edge in this quietly searing drama. Presented under the aegis of Wim Wenders, the film deserves further festival exposure and could see art house action in the hands of the right distributor.
Opening with jazz strains, a disc jockey's mellow voice-over relaying storm predictions and striking shots of an unfamiliar skyline, "Three Days" introduces its six central figures, residents of Cleveland, through elliptical scenes. The seventh main character is the rain-drenched cityscape itself, shot in a moody blue palette by director of photography Cynthia Pusheck, whose elegant, compelling visuals are a crucial unifying element. Deftly avoiding a frequent pitfall of multiple-character studies, Meredith does not impose a uniform performance style on his cast, instead allowing each to find the pulse of the role. And in Meredith's strong script, every role is a gem of understated complexity.
Football great Don Meredith (the filmmaker's father) is a strong presence here, setting the tone as a cabbie who moves through his days with a restless melancholy. Reeling from a recent loss, he seeks comfort from strangers, but his blank, stunned sadness is met at every turn with self-centered dramas -- most strikingly in Blythe Danner's darkly comic cameo as one of his fares.
In the most direct expression of these stories' Old World roots, a tile maker (Michael Santoro) whose work is ruined by the rain beseeches God with a why-me lament and relentlessly pursues a widow (Penny Allen) who owes him money. Peter Falk plays another character seeking cash, but Waldo's search is chronic. A retiree on an endless pub-crawl, he repeatedly phones his son to finagle loans he'll never repay. Falk captures the duplicity, contrition and maudlin charm of the alcoholic with an incisiveness so real it's hard to watch at times.
While there are no easy answers for these characters, some provide more clear-cut rooting interests than others. Erick Avari brings a simmering intensity to the role of Alex, a well-heeled professional whose encounter with a man living on the street throws his entire life into question and fuels his growing resolve to choose kindness over convention.
But not everyone has that option. Two of the most affecting story lines involve characters who must endure cruelty that is anything but casual. As a developmentally disabled janitor being set up by his boss (Chuck Cooper), Joey Bilow creates a childlike character without sentimentalizing him. Tess (Merle Kennedy), a young heroin addict tethered to brutal circumstances, is a composite of delicacy and steely despair.
Commenting on one another but never intersecting, the vignettes are juxtaposed with increasing urgency, thanks in large part to the heartbeat-precise editing of Peter Przygodda and Sabine Hoffman. The running commentary of Bob Belden's jazz score and Lyle Lovett's DJ patter underscores the sense of connectedness, which culminates in a visual symphony of Edward Hopper images: near-empty diners and lonely rooms, new lovers about to face the morning. "Three Days" eloquently taps into the aching, resilience and battered hope at the heart of Chekhov's fiction.
THREE DAYS OF RAIN
Maximon Pictures
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Michael Meredith
Producers: Bill Stockton, Robert Casserly
Executive producers: Henry Herzing, Roger St. Cyr
Director of photography: Cynthia Pusheck
Production designer: Scott Wittmer
Music: Bob Belden
Costume designer: Bobby Brewer-Wallin
Editors: Peter Przygodda, Sabine Hoffman
Cast:
Waldo: Peter Falk
John: Don Meredith
Thunder: Michael Santoro
Tess: Merle Kennedy
Alex: Erick Avari
Dennis: Joey Bilow
Jim: Chuck Cooper
Helen: Penny Allen
Woman in Cab: Blythe Danner:
Disc Jockey: Lyle Lovett
Lisa: Heather Kafka
Running time -- 96 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Michelle Williams, best known for her role in the hit WB series Dawson's Creek, has been cast as the female lead in indie auteur Wim Wenders' upcoming untitled project for IFC's InDigEnt banner. Production begins this week in Los Angeles with John Diehl as the male lead and Richard Edson co-starring. "I'm extremely happy with my cast. Michael Meredith and I wrote the script with Michelle Williams in mind, and I had worked with John Diehl for The End of Violence, and that had been a sheer pleasure. And Richard Edson was great in Million Dollar Hotel. This is a low-budget production and we have little time, so it is essential to know that you can rely 100 percent on your actors," Wenders said.
- 9/25/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
TORONTO -- Indie auteur Wim Wenders will helm an untitled digitally shot feature for IFC's InDigEnt film banner, headed by John Sloss and Gary Winick. Based on an original story by Wenders and a screenplay co-penned by Wenders and Michael Meredith, the film's plot is being kept under wraps. IFC will co-finance the project with Wenders and Peter Schwartzkopff's German-based Reverse Angle International unit.
Screened at Method Fest, Burbank
"Three Days of Rain" is an auspicious feature debut for writer-director Michael Meredith and a fitting opener for the fifth Method Fest, which spotlights independent films with an accent on acting. Inspired by the short stories of Anton Chekhov, Meredith has woven together a half-dozen portraits of contemporary lives-on-the-edge in this quietly searing drama. Presented under the aegis of Wim Wenders, the film deserves further festival exposure and could see art house action in the hands of the right distributor.
Opening with jazz strains, a disc jockey's mellow voice-over relaying storm predictions and striking shots of an unfamiliar skyline, "Three Days" introduces its six central figures, residents of Cleveland, through elliptical scenes. The seventh main character is the rain-drenched cityscape itself, shot in a moody blue palette by director of photography Cynthia Pusheck, whose elegant, compelling visuals are a crucial unifying element. Deftly avoiding a frequent pitfall of multiple-character studies, Meredith does not impose a uniform performance style on his cast, instead allowing each to find the pulse of the role. And in Meredith's strong script, every role is a gem of understated complexity.
Football great Don Meredith (the filmmaker's father) is a strong presence here, setting the tone as a cabbie who moves through his days with a restless melancholy. Reeling from a recent loss, he seeks comfort from strangers, but his blank, stunned sadness is met at every turn with self-centered dramas -- most strikingly in Blythe Danner's darkly comic cameo as one of his fares.
In the most direct expression of these stories' Old World roots, a tile maker (Michael Santoro) whose work is ruined by the rain beseeches God with a why-me lament and relentlessly pursues a widow (Penny Allen) who owes him money. Peter Falk plays another character seeking cash, but Waldo's search is chronic. A retiree on an endless pub-crawl, he repeatedly phones his son to finagle loans he'll never repay. Falk captures the duplicity, contrition and maudlin charm of the alcoholic with an incisiveness so real it's hard to watch at times.
While there are no easy answers for these characters, some provide more clear-cut rooting interests than others. Erick Avari brings a simmering intensity to the role of Alex, a well-heeled professional whose encounter with a man living on the street throws his entire life into question and fuels his growing resolve to choose kindness over convention.
But not everyone has that option. Two of the most affecting story lines involve characters who must endure cruelty that is anything but casual. As a developmentally disabled janitor being set up by his boss (Chuck Cooper), Joey Bilow creates a childlike character without sentimentalizing him. Tess (Merle Kennedy), a young heroin addict tethered to brutal circumstances, is a composite of delicacy and steely despair.
Commenting on one another but never intersecting, the vignettes are juxtaposed with increasing urgency, thanks in large part to the heartbeat-precise editing of Peter Przygodda and Sabine Hoffman. The running commentary of Bob Belden's jazz score and Lyle Lovett's DJ patter underscores the sense of connectedness, which culminates in a visual symphony of Edward Hopper images: near-empty diners and lonely rooms, new lovers about to face the morning. "Three Days" eloquently taps into the aching, resilience and battered hope at the heart of Chekhov's fiction.
THREE DAYS OF RAIN
Maximon Pictures
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Michael Meredith
Producers: Bill Stockton, Robert Casserly
Executive producers: Henry Herzing, Roger St. Cyr
Director of photography: Cynthia Pusheck
Production designer: Scott Wittmer
Music: Bob Belden
Costume designer: Bobby Brewer-Wallin
Editors: Peter Przygodda, Sabine Hoffman
Cast:
Waldo: Peter Falk
John: Don Meredith
Thunder: Michael Santoro
Tess: Merle Kennedy
Alex: Erick Avari
Dennis: Joey Bilow
Jim: Chuck Cooper
Helen: Penny Allen
Woman in Cab: Blythe Danner:
Disc Jockey: Lyle Lovett
Lisa: Heather Kafka
Running time -- 96 minutes
No MPAA rating...
"Three Days of Rain" is an auspicious feature debut for writer-director Michael Meredith and a fitting opener for the fifth Method Fest, which spotlights independent films with an accent on acting. Inspired by the short stories of Anton Chekhov, Meredith has woven together a half-dozen portraits of contemporary lives-on-the-edge in this quietly searing drama. Presented under the aegis of Wim Wenders, the film deserves further festival exposure and could see art house action in the hands of the right distributor.
Opening with jazz strains, a disc jockey's mellow voice-over relaying storm predictions and striking shots of an unfamiliar skyline, "Three Days" introduces its six central figures, residents of Cleveland, through elliptical scenes. The seventh main character is the rain-drenched cityscape itself, shot in a moody blue palette by director of photography Cynthia Pusheck, whose elegant, compelling visuals are a crucial unifying element. Deftly avoiding a frequent pitfall of multiple-character studies, Meredith does not impose a uniform performance style on his cast, instead allowing each to find the pulse of the role. And in Meredith's strong script, every role is a gem of understated complexity.
Football great Don Meredith (the filmmaker's father) is a strong presence here, setting the tone as a cabbie who moves through his days with a restless melancholy. Reeling from a recent loss, he seeks comfort from strangers, but his blank, stunned sadness is met at every turn with self-centered dramas -- most strikingly in Blythe Danner's darkly comic cameo as one of his fares.
In the most direct expression of these stories' Old World roots, a tile maker (Michael Santoro) whose work is ruined by the rain beseeches God with a why-me lament and relentlessly pursues a widow (Penny Allen) who owes him money. Peter Falk plays another character seeking cash, but Waldo's search is chronic. A retiree on an endless pub-crawl, he repeatedly phones his son to finagle loans he'll never repay. Falk captures the duplicity, contrition and maudlin charm of the alcoholic with an incisiveness so real it's hard to watch at times.
While there are no easy answers for these characters, some provide more clear-cut rooting interests than others. Erick Avari brings a simmering intensity to the role of Alex, a well-heeled professional whose encounter with a man living on the street throws his entire life into question and fuels his growing resolve to choose kindness over convention.
But not everyone has that option. Two of the most affecting story lines involve characters who must endure cruelty that is anything but casual. As a developmentally disabled janitor being set up by his boss (Chuck Cooper), Joey Bilow creates a childlike character without sentimentalizing him. Tess (Merle Kennedy), a young heroin addict tethered to brutal circumstances, is a composite of delicacy and steely despair.
Commenting on one another but never intersecting, the vignettes are juxtaposed with increasing urgency, thanks in large part to the heartbeat-precise editing of Peter Przygodda and Sabine Hoffman. The running commentary of Bob Belden's jazz score and Lyle Lovett's DJ patter underscores the sense of connectedness, which culminates in a visual symphony of Edward Hopper images: near-empty diners and lonely rooms, new lovers about to face the morning. "Three Days" eloquently taps into the aching, resilience and battered hope at the heart of Chekhov's fiction.
THREE DAYS OF RAIN
Maximon Pictures
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Michael Meredith
Producers: Bill Stockton, Robert Casserly
Executive producers: Henry Herzing, Roger St. Cyr
Director of photography: Cynthia Pusheck
Production designer: Scott Wittmer
Music: Bob Belden
Costume designer: Bobby Brewer-Wallin
Editors: Peter Przygodda, Sabine Hoffman
Cast:
Waldo: Peter Falk
John: Don Meredith
Thunder: Michael Santoro
Tess: Merle Kennedy
Alex: Erick Avari
Dennis: Joey Bilow
Jim: Chuck Cooper
Helen: Penny Allen
Woman in Cab: Blythe Danner:
Disc Jockey: Lyle Lovett
Lisa: Heather Kafka
Running time -- 96 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 4/28/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Blind Spot
Tribeca Film Festival
NEW YORK — Less an organic creation than a debut indie film compendium of cliches designed to impress, "Blind Spot", written, produced, directed and edited by Stephan Woloszczuk, is a stupefying and pretentious road movie that has the good fortune to have as one of its stars James Franco. The presence of this talented young actor, a Golden Globe winner for last year's James Dean biopic, might provide some attention to a film that would otherwise languish in film festival purgatory.
The plot, or as much of it as could be discerned through half-closed eyes, has to do with Danny (Franco), a prep school dropout whose best friend, Darcy, suddenly vanishes. Shorn of possessions and clothing, Danny attempts to search for Darcy accompanied by two strangers: Darcy's comely blond girlfriend, April (Shawn Montgomery), and ex-con Wayne Mark Patrick Gleason). The trio embark on a road trip from Los Angeles, traveling through the desert and experiencing a series of adventures as they are pursued by a group of mobsters.
The filmmaker attempts to inject weirdness into the proceedings via a variety of stylistic devices, the most annoying of which is a series of still photo montages that gives the film the air of an avant-garde video. Even worse is the portentous narration, infused with film noir-style cliches that produce unintentional laughs.
The performers have charisma and sex appeal (Montgomery scores mostly in the latter department), and the film does boast some well-composed visuals, but ultimately this road trip is as much of an ordeal for the audience as it is for the main characters.
Three Days of Rain
Tribeca Film Festival
NEW YORK — Michael Meredith's feature debut, a modern-day adaptation of six short stories by Chekhov, demonstrates the pitfalls of transplanting writing from another era into a contemporary idiom.
Chekhov's stories and plays are hard enough to bring off when done faithfully, let alone when altering their entire milieu. Still, there's a quiet emotionalism to the film that is sometimes moving, and the enterprising filmmaker has assembled a fine cast. "Three Days of Rain" is receiving its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival.
The title refers to the fact that all of the events of the film, which involves six different sets of characters, take place during a non-stop torrential downpour in Cleveland. The vignettes include the story of a tile maker desperately trying to procure the money he's owed by a recently widowed client; a couple nearly torn apart by their conflicting attitudes toward a particularly polite beggar; a heroin addict trying to prevent her child from the same fate; an alcoholic pensioner at the end of his financial rope; a cabdriver mourning the recent death of his son; and a mentally challenged laborer being manipulated out of his job.
Unfortunately, few of the stories carry any real dramatic weight, with the result that the film — relying more on mood than on narrative momentum — is far more lugubrious than involving. But there are occasionally powerful moments along the way, and Bob Belden's evocative jazz score adds greatly to the overall atmosphere. The large cast —which includes Peter Falk and, in cameos, Blythe Danner and Lyle Lovett — brings a strong sense of conviction to the material.
Public Enemy
Udine Far East Film Festival
UDINE, Italy — This quirky cop drama from Korea takes a big chance by slipping back and forth from violent drama to slapstick. But director Kang Woo-suk guides the film so effortlessly between the two genres, they seem like a natural fit. Playing at Italy's Udine Far East Film Festival, where it was a hit with audiences, "Public Enemy" proves that there is much life left in Korean cinema's commercial renaissance. Domestically, it is the highest-grossing Korean film so far this year and should have no trouble attracting moviegoers in Asian territories. Foreign distribution is a strong possibility, providing distributors want to brave the language gap.
Director Kang Woo-suk ("Two Cops") came to prominence during the days of Korean New Cinema, the art-house movement that wowed international critics during the early 1990s.
The story is typical "Dirty Harry". Grungy detective Kang knows he's on the right track when he collars a yuppie for the vicious murder of his parents. But Kang's superiors force him to lay off the suspect, who has no motive for patricide. Kang is demoted to traffic cop but turns up a crucial piece of evidence that allows him to avenge the murdered couple in the name of society-at-large.
The story line is straightforward, but the exposition is original. The scenes featuring the villain are gory and intentionally lack humor. But Kang's investigation leads him into genuinely hilarious situations. One involves a couple of camp gangsters who rap about knife-play. Another sees him single-handedly beat up an impossible number of young thugs. Actor Sol Kyung-gul ("Peppermint Candy") pitches Kang so that he can effortlessly move from Chuck Norris to Leslie Nielsen without jarring the viewer. Lee Sung-ji makes a nice counterpoint by portraying the cruel killer as ice-cold throughout.
Tribeca Film Festival
NEW YORK — Less an organic creation than a debut indie film compendium of cliches designed to impress, "Blind Spot", written, produced, directed and edited by Stephan Woloszczuk, is a stupefying and pretentious road movie that has the good fortune to have as one of its stars James Franco. The presence of this talented young actor, a Golden Globe winner for last year's James Dean biopic, might provide some attention to a film that would otherwise languish in film festival purgatory.
The plot, or as much of it as could be discerned through half-closed eyes, has to do with Danny (Franco), a prep school dropout whose best friend, Darcy, suddenly vanishes. Shorn of possessions and clothing, Danny attempts to search for Darcy accompanied by two strangers: Darcy's comely blond girlfriend, April (Shawn Montgomery), and ex-con Wayne Mark Patrick Gleason). The trio embark on a road trip from Los Angeles, traveling through the desert and experiencing a series of adventures as they are pursued by a group of mobsters.
The filmmaker attempts to inject weirdness into the proceedings via a variety of stylistic devices, the most annoying of which is a series of still photo montages that gives the film the air of an avant-garde video. Even worse is the portentous narration, infused with film noir-style cliches that produce unintentional laughs.
The performers have charisma and sex appeal (Montgomery scores mostly in the latter department), and the film does boast some well-composed visuals, but ultimately this road trip is as much of an ordeal for the audience as it is for the main characters.
Three Days of Rain
Tribeca Film Festival
NEW YORK — Michael Meredith's feature debut, a modern-day adaptation of six short stories by Chekhov, demonstrates the pitfalls of transplanting writing from another era into a contemporary idiom.
Chekhov's stories and plays are hard enough to bring off when done faithfully, let alone when altering their entire milieu. Still, there's a quiet emotionalism to the film that is sometimes moving, and the enterprising filmmaker has assembled a fine cast. "Three Days of Rain" is receiving its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival.
The title refers to the fact that all of the events of the film, which involves six different sets of characters, take place during a non-stop torrential downpour in Cleveland. The vignettes include the story of a tile maker desperately trying to procure the money he's owed by a recently widowed client; a couple nearly torn apart by their conflicting attitudes toward a particularly polite beggar; a heroin addict trying to prevent her child from the same fate; an alcoholic pensioner at the end of his financial rope; a cabdriver mourning the recent death of his son; and a mentally challenged laborer being manipulated out of his job.
Unfortunately, few of the stories carry any real dramatic weight, with the result that the film — relying more on mood than on narrative momentum — is far more lugubrious than involving. But there are occasionally powerful moments along the way, and Bob Belden's evocative jazz score adds greatly to the overall atmosphere. The large cast —which includes Peter Falk and, in cameos, Blythe Danner and Lyle Lovett — brings a strong sense of conviction to the material.
Public Enemy
Udine Far East Film Festival
UDINE, Italy — This quirky cop drama from Korea takes a big chance by slipping back and forth from violent drama to slapstick. But director Kang Woo-suk guides the film so effortlessly between the two genres, they seem like a natural fit. Playing at Italy's Udine Far East Film Festival, where it was a hit with audiences, "Public Enemy" proves that there is much life left in Korean cinema's commercial renaissance. Domestically, it is the highest-grossing Korean film so far this year and should have no trouble attracting moviegoers in Asian territories. Foreign distribution is a strong possibility, providing distributors want to brave the language gap.
Director Kang Woo-suk ("Two Cops") came to prominence during the days of Korean New Cinema, the art-house movement that wowed international critics during the early 1990s.
The story is typical "Dirty Harry". Grungy detective Kang knows he's on the right track when he collars a yuppie for the vicious murder of his parents. But Kang's superiors force him to lay off the suspect, who has no motive for patricide. Kang is demoted to traffic cop but turns up a crucial piece of evidence that allows him to avenge the murdered couple in the name of society-at-large.
The story line is straightforward, but the exposition is original. The scenes featuring the villain are gory and intentionally lack humor. But Kang's investigation leads him into genuinely hilarious situations. One involves a couple of camp gangsters who rap about knife-play. Another sees him single-handedly beat up an impossible number of young thugs. Actor Sol Kyung-gul ("Peppermint Candy") pitches Kang so that he can effortlessly move from Chuck Norris to Leslie Nielsen without jarring the viewer. Lee Sung-ji makes a nice counterpoint by portraying the cruel killer as ice-cold throughout.
- 5/16/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.