Cal (Tim Roth) and Gillian (Kelli Williams) are called in after the disappearance of a couple's adopted daughter, Samantha (Madeline Carroll). Peter (Bradford Tatum) and Lorraine (Megan Follows) have offered a reward for info and as usual this brings out all the gold diggers and low lives looking to score a quick buck. There have been plenty of tips on the tipline. Lorraine asks Cal if he has children - as does everyone - wondered how long that question would take to be posed. Cal comes straight out with it and asks if they've killed Samantha, over and over. The parents are genuinely shocked and distressed by this, leading Cal to conclude they didn't. Outside, Cal sends the reporters away by giving them a false lead to the Happy Dragon restaurant. The restaurant could do with the business and the couple needed their privacy. Det John Hughes (Mahershalalhashbaz Ali) wonders...
- 11/15/2011
- by mhasan@corp.popstar.com (Mila Hasan)
- PopStar
NEW YORK -- Directors Ira Sachs, Maria Maggenti and Whit Stillman will mentor young scribes at the Hamptons International Film Festival's eighth annual Screenwriters' Lab this weekend.
New scripts from Off the Black director James Ponsoldt (Refresh, Refresh), Alex R. Johnson (La Sobrina) Bradford Tatum (Book of Water) and Avi Weider (Zeroes and Ones) will be workshopped in East Hampton from May 9-11.
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is co-sponsoring the event with HIFF, which is slated for Oct. 15-19 in New York.
New scripts from Off the Black director James Ponsoldt (Refresh, Refresh), Alex R. Johnson (La Sobrina) Bradford Tatum (Book of Water) and Avi Weider (Zeroes and Ones) will be workshopped in East Hampton from May 9-11.
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is co-sponsoring the event with HIFF, which is slated for Oct. 15-19 in New York.
There are a number of things to admire in "Standing on Fishes", an alert and poignant comedy-drama that screened last weekend at the Hollywood Film Festival. For one thing, the indie film bristles with humorous insights into life on the fringes of show business. It also contains an emotionally unsparing portrait of a crumbling romantic relationship.
But, crucially, the film accomplishes something that's always difficult in movies -- it credibly shows an artist at work and the daily struggles to maintain the integrity of his art.
"Fishes", which debuted at the 1999 South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas, is a natural for the festival circuit. And it should win appreciative audiences in sophisticated specialty venues should it get to theatrical distribution.
Even by the standards of the film medium, "Fishes" is an unusually collaborative effort. Its two stars, Bradford Tatum and Meredith Scott Lynn, co-directed from a script by Tatum. Lynn was one of the producers, and all the sculptures featured in the film belong to Tatum, an accomplished sculptor. No wonder the film has a lived-in look.
The mostly comic framework for the story concerns the frantic struggles of an artist to gain a measure of financial security by selling out to Hollywood. A fine sculptor, Caleb (Tatum) has been hired to create a prosthetic vagina by a deeply demented film director (an inspired performance by Kelsey Grammer).
While both Caleb's assistant (Jason Priestly) and lover of two years Erica (Lynn) question this enterprise, Caleb in turn starts to question other aspects of his life including his relationship with Erica, a frequently unemployed actress whose aggressive need for attention has lost much of its charm.
The story is peopled with outrageous personalities, none of whom seems the least bit exaggerated to anyone who has spent any time in L.A. -- the stressed-out producer (Pamela Reed), the out-of-control bitch actress (Stacy Haiduk) and a dreamy waif (Lauren Fox), whose allure brings the troubled relationship between Caleb and Erica to a head.
"Fishes" often feels like a play because of the paucity of locales and frequent conversations about off-camera developments. Undoubtedly, budgetary constraints helped create this claustrophobic sensation, but in this case it actually aids the drama.
For life is closing in on Caleb, as he finds himself caught between the demands of his neglected art and girlfriend and his chronic need to make a buck to pay the mortgage.
It's also refreshing to see a movie about an artist in which the actor can create the art in question. Watching Tatum sculpt -- not to mention his construction of the female genitalia from high-density silicone -- is genuinely fascinating.
While Tatum's sculptor is the focus of the story, Lynn's neurotic control freak nearly steals the show. Several of her confrontations with her boyfriend, especially when she catches him in a romantic embrace with another woman, make for delicious comedy.
"Fishes" is a talky film, and the filmmakers have apparently addressed the problem. While the print that screened here ran 97 minutes, the version getting shown to potential distributors runs 89 minutes.
Technical credits are fine given the production's limited resource. Some funky music could be a plus were an soundtrack album to be produced.
STANDING ON FISHES
Big Hair Prods./Red Horse Entertainment
Credits: Producers: Meredith Scott Lynn, Alan Welch; Directors: Bradford Tatum, Meredith Scott Lynn; Writer: Bradford Tatum; Executive producer: Sheilah Goldman; Director of photography: Mark Mervis; Production designer: Mark Hofeling; Music: Juliet Prater; Costume designer: Karen Swerling; Editor: Skip Spiro. Cast: Caleb: Bradford Tatum; Erica: Meredith Scott Lynn; Jason: Jason Priestly; Camille: Lauren Fox; Janice: Pamela Reed; Verk: Kelsey Grammer; Anna McAffery: Stacy Haiduk. No MPAA rating. Color/stereo. Running time -- 97 minutes.
But, crucially, the film accomplishes something that's always difficult in movies -- it credibly shows an artist at work and the daily struggles to maintain the integrity of his art.
"Fishes", which debuted at the 1999 South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas, is a natural for the festival circuit. And it should win appreciative audiences in sophisticated specialty venues should it get to theatrical distribution.
Even by the standards of the film medium, "Fishes" is an unusually collaborative effort. Its two stars, Bradford Tatum and Meredith Scott Lynn, co-directed from a script by Tatum. Lynn was one of the producers, and all the sculptures featured in the film belong to Tatum, an accomplished sculptor. No wonder the film has a lived-in look.
The mostly comic framework for the story concerns the frantic struggles of an artist to gain a measure of financial security by selling out to Hollywood. A fine sculptor, Caleb (Tatum) has been hired to create a prosthetic vagina by a deeply demented film director (an inspired performance by Kelsey Grammer).
While both Caleb's assistant (Jason Priestly) and lover of two years Erica (Lynn) question this enterprise, Caleb in turn starts to question other aspects of his life including his relationship with Erica, a frequently unemployed actress whose aggressive need for attention has lost much of its charm.
The story is peopled with outrageous personalities, none of whom seems the least bit exaggerated to anyone who has spent any time in L.A. -- the stressed-out producer (Pamela Reed), the out-of-control bitch actress (Stacy Haiduk) and a dreamy waif (Lauren Fox), whose allure brings the troubled relationship between Caleb and Erica to a head.
"Fishes" often feels like a play because of the paucity of locales and frequent conversations about off-camera developments. Undoubtedly, budgetary constraints helped create this claustrophobic sensation, but in this case it actually aids the drama.
For life is closing in on Caleb, as he finds himself caught between the demands of his neglected art and girlfriend and his chronic need to make a buck to pay the mortgage.
It's also refreshing to see a movie about an artist in which the actor can create the art in question. Watching Tatum sculpt -- not to mention his construction of the female genitalia from high-density silicone -- is genuinely fascinating.
While Tatum's sculptor is the focus of the story, Lynn's neurotic control freak nearly steals the show. Several of her confrontations with her boyfriend, especially when she catches him in a romantic embrace with another woman, make for delicious comedy.
"Fishes" is a talky film, and the filmmakers have apparently addressed the problem. While the print that screened here ran 97 minutes, the version getting shown to potential distributors runs 89 minutes.
Technical credits are fine given the production's limited resource. Some funky music could be a plus were an soundtrack album to be produced.
STANDING ON FISHES
Big Hair Prods./Red Horse Entertainment
Credits: Producers: Meredith Scott Lynn, Alan Welch; Directors: Bradford Tatum, Meredith Scott Lynn; Writer: Bradford Tatum; Executive producer: Sheilah Goldman; Director of photography: Mark Mervis; Production designer: Mark Hofeling; Music: Juliet Prater; Costume designer: Karen Swerling; Editor: Skip Spiro. Cast: Caleb: Bradford Tatum; Erica: Meredith Scott Lynn; Jason: Jason Priestly; Camille: Lauren Fox; Janice: Pamela Reed; Verk: Kelsey Grammer; Anna McAffery: Stacy Haiduk. No MPAA rating. Color/stereo. Running time -- 97 minutes.
- 8/10/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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