Is a 70mm film rebirth ahead? The wide, high-resolution format — used to display classics like The Sound of Music, Ben-Hur and Lawrence of Arabia — is a movie-buff favorite, but its use has been limited since the start of the digital cinema era. That may be changing.
A 70mm presentation of Fox’s Murder on the Orient Express opened the Camerimage international cinematography festival on Saturday, and the film also unspooled in the format last weekend on four screens in New York and Los Angeles. The grosses for the film were solid but not spectacular, according to exhibition insiders (the sampling was too small...
A 70mm presentation of Fox’s Murder on the Orient Express opened the Camerimage international cinematography festival on Saturday, and the film also unspooled in the format last weekend on four screens in New York and Los Angeles. The grosses for the film were solid but not spectacular, according to exhibition insiders (the sampling was too small...
- 11/15/2017
- by Carolyn Giardina
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Eyes of Laura Mars (1978) was an unpopular thriller with a clever premise. Laura would have visions whenever a killer attacked someone, and she witnessed the murders through his eyes. Naturally, TV had to take a crack at the premise, which brought us Mind Over Murder (1979), a thriller that adds a few wrinkles to the basic premise and ends up being the more enjoyable of the two.
Originally airing on October 23rd as part of The CBS Tuesday Night Movies, Mind Over Murder bore down against NBC Tuesday Night at the Movies and ABC’s Three’s Company/Taxi/Hart to Hart lineup. Not hard to tell where the majority of viewers planted their eyeballs this night, but those who stayed with “the eye” were treated to a mostly effective thriller with some genuinely unsettling moments. You shouldn’t have too much Tripper in your diet, after all.
Let’s...
Originally airing on October 23rd as part of The CBS Tuesday Night Movies, Mind Over Murder bore down against NBC Tuesday Night at the Movies and ABC’s Three’s Company/Taxi/Hart to Hart lineup. Not hard to tell where the majority of viewers planted their eyeballs this night, but those who stayed with “the eye” were treated to a mostly effective thriller with some genuinely unsettling moments. You shouldn’t have too much Tripper in your diet, after all.
Let’s...
- 11/12/2017
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
The day The New York Times broke the Harvey Weinstein story, I found myself choking back bile all day.
In the weeks since, it has become resoundingly clear that Weinstein is a virulent serial predator, and has earned whatever hell rains down on him. But Harvey Weinstein isn’t the problem, and bringing him down — while satisfying, necessary, and just — will be far from sufficient if we don’t simultaneously tear down our rotten corporate culture and reckon with our own complicity in propping it up.
As democracy derives its consent from the governed, tyranny derives its consent from the tyrannized. And while it’s long overdue, I no longer consent to being tyrannized.
I wasn’t sexually harassed by Harvey Weinstein. I worked with him briefly, consulting on “sex, lies, and videotape,” the film that changed the independent film business, Sundance, and Harvey forever; the film whose prescient title...
In the weeks since, it has become resoundingly clear that Weinstein is a virulent serial predator, and has earned whatever hell rains down on him. But Harvey Weinstein isn’t the problem, and bringing him down — while satisfying, necessary, and just — will be far from sufficient if we don’t simultaneously tear down our rotten corporate culture and reckon with our own complicity in propping it up.
As democracy derives its consent from the governed, tyranny derives its consent from the tyrannized. And while it’s long overdue, I no longer consent to being tyrannized.
I wasn’t sexually harassed by Harvey Weinstein. I worked with him briefly, consulting on “sex, lies, and videotape,” the film that changed the independent film business, Sundance, and Harvey forever; the film whose prescient title...
- 10/27/2017
- by Liz Manne
- Indiewire
National Theatre Live’s Follies is not to be missedNational Theatre Live’s Follies is not to be missedMichael Yerxa10/26/2017 1:38:00 Pm
There is simply no one like Stephen Sondheim. The living legend has arguably had the greatest singular impact on the genre of musical theatre. He’s responsible for some of the most beautiful and complex musicals in existence including Company, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, and Into the Woods. (He also wrote lyrics to Gypsy and West Side Story).
One of his most brilliant and rich works is Follies, originally produced on Broadway in 1971. Follies tells the story of a theatre that once housed a world famous Vaudeville musical revue, now slated for demolition. In an attempt to revisit the past and honour the incredible alumni of the Follies, the owner, Mr. Weismann, holds a reunion prior to the theatre being torn to the ground. Two former Folly couples,...
There is simply no one like Stephen Sondheim. The living legend has arguably had the greatest singular impact on the genre of musical theatre. He’s responsible for some of the most beautiful and complex musicals in existence including Company, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, and Into the Woods. (He also wrote lyrics to Gypsy and West Side Story).
One of his most brilliant and rich works is Follies, originally produced on Broadway in 1971. Follies tells the story of a theatre that once housed a world famous Vaudeville musical revue, now slated for demolition. In an attempt to revisit the past and honour the incredible alumni of the Follies, the owner, Mr. Weismann, holds a reunion prior to the theatre being torn to the ground. Two former Folly couples,...
- 10/26/2017
- by Michael Yerxa
- Cineplex
Thanks to Stephen Colbert, the #PuberMe hashtag kicked off last week, and celebs have started to deliver the best photos of their awkward teen years for a good cause.
Colbert vowed that for every awkward photo from puberty that a celebrity shares on social media, he will take $1,000 from his Ben & Jerry's AmeriCone Dream earnings and donate that to helping rebuild Puerto Rico.
And now even more big names are getting in on the hilarious and helpful hashtag.
Reese Witherspoon shared this cute picture of herself at 14, sporting big glasses and an even bigger smile. She wrote in the caption, "Giant glasses, awkward hands, feeling 14! All for a good cause. God Bless Puerto Rico. #PuberMe #PuertoRicoRelief"
Stars Share Puberty Pics to Help Raise Money for Puerto Rico: See the Hilarious Photos!
Jimmy Fallon tweeted a pic of himself rocking a pink and orange sweatshirt alongside some friends, with the additional hashtag, "#SquadGoals."
[link...
Colbert vowed that for every awkward photo from puberty that a celebrity shares on social media, he will take $1,000 from his Ben & Jerry's AmeriCone Dream earnings and donate that to helping rebuild Puerto Rico.
And now even more big names are getting in on the hilarious and helpful hashtag.
Reese Witherspoon shared this cute picture of herself at 14, sporting big glasses and an even bigger smile. She wrote in the caption, "Giant glasses, awkward hands, feeling 14! All for a good cause. God Bless Puerto Rico. #PuberMe #PuertoRicoRelief"
Stars Share Puberty Pics to Help Raise Money for Puerto Rico: See the Hilarious Photos!
Jimmy Fallon tweeted a pic of himself rocking a pink and orange sweatshirt alongside some friends, with the additional hashtag, "#SquadGoals."
[link...
- 10/2/2017
- Entertainment Tonight
Producer Ben Toth has announced casting for an upcoming invitation-only reading of Emma, a new musical inspired by Jane Austen's classic novel, on Monday, September 25 and Tuesday, September 26 at the Dodger Atelier.
- 9/14/2017
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Blake Shelton joined forces with his one-time fellow coach on “The Voice” for Tuesday’s “Hand in Hand: A Benefit For Hurricane Relief” broadcast in an emotional performance for the star-studded benefit special, simulcast on all the U.S. TV networks. Appearing together in Nashville, the seemingly unlikely duo delivered an undeniably moving performance of the Ben E. […]...
- 9/13/2017
- by Brent Furdyk
- ET Canada
Chicago – Writer/Director Taylor Sheridan is a deep thinker regarding humanity in these United States. In the third film of his “American Frontier Trilogy” – after “Sicario” and “Hell or High Water” – he goes to the Wyoming Native American reservation, for a unwieldy story titled “Wind River.”
Rating: 2.5/5.0
“Wind River” is definitely the weakest of the trilogy, suffering from a meandering uncertainty as to what it wanted to be. Did it want to be a cop procedural? It got off track from the main case several times, confusing the issue. Did it want to be a morality tale? Jeremy Renner, as the local authority, kept making emotional and poignant speeches that went nowhere. Finally, did it want to be an American frontier story, as the trilogy is so named? It certainly went to one of the last frontiers in the rough reservation lands of Wyoming, and the cinematography was properly breathtaking,...
Rating: 2.5/5.0
“Wind River” is definitely the weakest of the trilogy, suffering from a meandering uncertainty as to what it wanted to be. Did it want to be a cop procedural? It got off track from the main case several times, confusing the issue. Did it want to be a morality tale? Jeremy Renner, as the local authority, kept making emotional and poignant speeches that went nowhere. Finally, did it want to be an American frontier story, as the trilogy is so named? It certainly went to one of the last frontiers in the rough reservation lands of Wyoming, and the cinematography was properly breathtaking,...
- 8/12/2017
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Twin Peaks Recap is a weekly column by Keith Uhlich covering David Lynch and Mark Frost's limited, 18-episode continuation of the Twin Peaks television series.Much of David Lynch's work is about regression, or regressiveness, about people who are most comfortable when indulging (really, hiding behind) their baser instincts. An acid-jazz saxophonist with murder on his mind might take refuge in the body and soul of a teenage delinquent (Lost Highway), or a midwestern girl who has played and lost the Hollywood game might concoct a candy-colored dream-life in which she finally attains Tinseltown stardom (Mulholland Dr.). But these escapes always prove to be traps, and cyclical ones at that. What goes around comes around. What has happened before will happen again. Even Blue Velvet's Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini), finally liberated from her abusive sexual relationship with Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper), "still can see blue velvet through my tears.
- 8/10/2017
- MUBI
Exclusive: Company reveals debut slate of comedy, horror projects.
Fledgling UK production outfit Bad Owl Films has launched its debut slate, including two features made with India’s Cinestaan.
Ben Bond [pictured], whose credits include Killing Bono as a writer and the upcoming The Hungry as executive producer, will head up the company as creative director, alongside producer Iona Sweeney.
Former Screen Star of Tomorrow Andy Brunskill will provide consulting services.
Bond is the co-founder of commercials and TV production outfit Hoot Comedy, where Sweeney is head of broadcast. Going forward, they will continue in their positions at both companies.
Their new outfit Bad Owl Films will aim to produce between one and two feature films a year, focused on comedy and horror, with budgets in the £1-15m range.
Films on the company’s initial slate include: The Hungry, made in collaboration with Film London and Cinestaan, which is a retelling of Shakespeare’s tragedy Titus Andronicus and stars...
Fledgling UK production outfit Bad Owl Films has launched its debut slate, including two features made with India’s Cinestaan.
Ben Bond [pictured], whose credits include Killing Bono as a writer and the upcoming The Hungry as executive producer, will head up the company as creative director, alongside producer Iona Sweeney.
Former Screen Star of Tomorrow Andy Brunskill will provide consulting services.
Bond is the co-founder of commercials and TV production outfit Hoot Comedy, where Sweeney is head of broadcast. Going forward, they will continue in their positions at both companies.
Their new outfit Bad Owl Films will aim to produce between one and two feature films a year, focused on comedy and horror, with budgets in the £1-15m range.
Films on the company’s initial slate include: The Hungry, made in collaboration with Film London and Cinestaan, which is a retelling of Shakespeare’s tragedy Titus Andronicus and stars...
- 6/29/2017
- by tom.grater@screendaily.com (Tom Grater)
- ScreenDaily
[Editor’s Note: The following review contains spoilers for “Veep” Season 6, Episode 4, “Justice.”]
First Reaction
Listen, there’s no way I was going to put this in the headline because the implication would raise people’s hopes too high, but I’ve got to say it, just once, for my own sanity: Selina and Gary slept together! They did! They really did!
Ok, no, not that way. The most intimate sexless couple on TV still haven’t done “it,” but they did fall asleep next to each other because of another special shared milestone: Selina had a heart attack, and Gary had his third!
Yeah, that’s less exciting. But it’s damn funny TV. Considering last week Selina made Gary check her food for poison by eating it himself, I didn’t expect their relationship to delve even deeper so soon. Episode 4 saw Selina discover that she’d had a heart attack, which caused Gary to have one, which led to Gary sleeping at the Meyer brownstone,...
First Reaction
Listen, there’s no way I was going to put this in the headline because the implication would raise people’s hopes too high, but I’ve got to say it, just once, for my own sanity: Selina and Gary slept together! They did! They really did!
Ok, no, not that way. The most intimate sexless couple on TV still haven’t done “it,” but they did fall asleep next to each other because of another special shared milestone: Selina had a heart attack, and Gary had his third!
Yeah, that’s less exciting. But it’s damn funny TV. Considering last week Selina made Gary check her food for poison by eating it himself, I didn’t expect their relationship to delve even deeper so soon. Episode 4 saw Selina discover that she’d had a heart attack, which caused Gary to have one, which led to Gary sleeping at the Meyer brownstone,...
- 5/8/2017
- by Ben Travers
- Indiewire
Thanks to VancouverFilm.Net, here is the Vancouver Film Production Update for May 2017, including "Game Over Man", "Stingray", "Ollie (aka "The Predator") and a whole lot more:
Game Over, Man
Feature
Local Production Company: Lumberjackson Productions Inc.
Director: Kyle Newacheck
Exec. Producer(s): Ted Gidlow
Producer: Seth Rogan, Scott Rudin
Apr 12/17 - Jun 06/17
Hardpowder
Feature
Local Production Company: Hardpowder Canada Inc
Director: Hans Petter Moland
Exec. Producer(s): Ameet Shukla, Michael Dreyer
Mar 20/17 - May 24/17
Love Machine
Feature
Local Production Company: Tcf Vancouver Productions Ltd
Director: David Leitch
Exec. Producer(s): Ethan Smith, Kelly McCormick
Jun 19/17 - Oct 05/17
Ollie (aka "The Predator")
Feature
Local Production Company: Tcf Vancouver Productions Ltd.
Director: Shane Black
Exec. Producer(s): Bill Bannerman, John Davis
Sep 30/16 - May 15/17
Overboard
Feature
Local Production Company: Tgl Productions Ltd
Director: Robert Greenberg
May 23/17 - Jul 14/17
Stingray
Feature
Local Production...
Game Over, Man
Feature
Local Production Company: Lumberjackson Productions Inc.
Director: Kyle Newacheck
Exec. Producer(s): Ted Gidlow
Producer: Seth Rogan, Scott Rudin
Apr 12/17 - Jun 06/17
Hardpowder
Feature
Local Production Company: Hardpowder Canada Inc
Director: Hans Petter Moland
Exec. Producer(s): Ameet Shukla, Michael Dreyer
Mar 20/17 - May 24/17
Love Machine
Feature
Local Production Company: Tcf Vancouver Productions Ltd
Director: David Leitch
Exec. Producer(s): Ethan Smith, Kelly McCormick
Jun 19/17 - Oct 05/17
Ollie (aka "The Predator")
Feature
Local Production Company: Tcf Vancouver Productions Ltd.
Director: Shane Black
Exec. Producer(s): Bill Bannerman, John Davis
Sep 30/16 - May 15/17
Overboard
Feature
Local Production Company: Tgl Productions Ltd
Director: Robert Greenberg
May 23/17 - Jul 14/17
Stingray
Feature
Local Production...
- 4/26/2017
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
Hulu has announced the new titles that will be available to stream on the platform during the month of April. Leading the pack is the new original series “The Handmaid’s Tale,” based on Margaret Atwood’s classic novel of the same name and starring Elisabeth Moss. The series premieres April 26.
Read More: ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Trailer: New Teaser Reminds Us Elisabeth Moss’ Story Is Ours
Also available to stream next month are a handful of modern classics, such as “Robocop,” “Days of Thunder,” “Thelma & Louise,” “The Usual Suspects,” “Election,” “JFK,” and “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” as well as indie favorites like “Short Term 12,” “The Babadook,” “In a World,” and “Hello, My Name is Doris.”
Find the list of all titles coming to Hulu in April below.
April 1
1408 (2007) (*Showtime)
A Horse Tale (2015)
Agent Cody Banks (2003)
Affliction (1998)
Almost Famous (2000)
America’s Sweethearts (2001) (*Showtime)
Bad Company (1995) (*Showtime)
Bangkok Dangerous (2008) (*Showtime...
Read More: ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Trailer: New Teaser Reminds Us Elisabeth Moss’ Story Is Ours
Also available to stream next month are a handful of modern classics, such as “Robocop,” “Days of Thunder,” “Thelma & Louise,” “The Usual Suspects,” “Election,” “JFK,” and “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” as well as indie favorites like “Short Term 12,” “The Babadook,” “In a World,” and “Hello, My Name is Doris.”
Find the list of all titles coming to Hulu in April below.
April 1
1408 (2007) (*Showtime)
A Horse Tale (2015)
Agent Cody Banks (2003)
Affliction (1998)
Almost Famous (2000)
America’s Sweethearts (2001) (*Showtime)
Bad Company (1995) (*Showtime)
Bangkok Dangerous (2008) (*Showtime...
- 3/17/2017
- by Yoselin Acevedo
- Indiewire
Need to catch up? Check out the previous This Is Us recap here.
After an entire season of This Is Us, we thought we had a pretty good handle on every single member of the Pearson family.
Turns out, we didn’t know Jack.
The NBC drama caps its first season with an hour that focused on Jack and Rebecca — the Big Three only appear as adults, and only for a few brief scenes — and spends its time hopping between Mr. and Mrs. Pearson’s kismet-kissed first meeting and a giant fight that may mark the beginning of their marriage’s end.
After an entire season of This Is Us, we thought we had a pretty good handle on every single member of the Pearson family.
Turns out, we didn’t know Jack.
The NBC drama caps its first season with an hour that focused on Jack and Rebecca — the Big Three only appear as adults, and only for a few brief scenes — and spends its time hopping between Mr. and Mrs. Pearson’s kismet-kissed first meeting and a giant fight that may mark the beginning of their marriage’s end.
- 3/15/2017
- TVLine.com
After the awards show is when the night gets really turnt up!
Et's insiders hit up all the after-parties following the 74th Annual Golden Globe Awards, and got a firsthand look at how the stars cut loose.
Exclusive: Emma Stone Reacts to Andrew Garfield Kissing Ryan Reynolds During Ryan Gosling's Golden Globes Win
Here's what went down when the awards show wrapped and the real partying began!
HBO's Golden Globe Awards After Party: Friendship Goals and Tom Hiddleston Talk
Getty Images
Sarah Jessica Parker, Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon didn't stop to change but instead arrived to the party together, and posed fun photos outside the venue. Kidman and husband Keith Urban were also spotted chatting with Witherspoon and Parker before leaving Circa 55 restaurant hand-in-hand.
There was some talk at the party of Tom Hiddleston's Golden Globe win for his role in The Night Manager. One guest was overheard saying, “This is his...
Et's insiders hit up all the after-parties following the 74th Annual Golden Globe Awards, and got a firsthand look at how the stars cut loose.
Exclusive: Emma Stone Reacts to Andrew Garfield Kissing Ryan Reynolds During Ryan Gosling's Golden Globes Win
Here's what went down when the awards show wrapped and the real partying began!
HBO's Golden Globe Awards After Party: Friendship Goals and Tom Hiddleston Talk
Getty Images
Sarah Jessica Parker, Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon didn't stop to change but instead arrived to the party together, and posed fun photos outside the venue. Kidman and husband Keith Urban were also spotted chatting with Witherspoon and Parker before leaving Circa 55 restaurant hand-in-hand.
There was some talk at the party of Tom Hiddleston's Golden Globe win for his role in The Night Manager. One guest was overheard saying, “This is his...
- 1/9/2017
- Entertainment Tonight
The CW has put in development Hellmart, a high-concept hourlong dramedy from Ben and Dan Newmark via their Grandma’s House Entertainment and the Tannenbaum Company. Written by the Newmark brothers, Hellmart follows a group of characters who live and work at Hellmart, a department store in hell's waiting room (a purgatory-like realm here on Earth). Each week, our group helps a recently deceased person fix their failures from life in the hope of getting sent to heaven. Ben…...
- 12/2/2016
- Deadline TV
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit platforms. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.
Always Shine (Sophia Takal)
With the excess of low-budget, retreat-in-the-woods dramas often finding characters hashing out their insecurities through a meta-narrative, a certain initial resistance can occur when presented with such a derivative scenario at virtually every film festival. While Sophia Takal‘s psychological drama Always Shine ultimately stumbles, the chemistry of its leads and a sense of foreboding dread in its formal execution ensures its heightened view of...
Always Shine (Sophia Takal)
With the excess of low-budget, retreat-in-the-woods dramas often finding characters hashing out their insecurities through a meta-narrative, a certain initial resistance can occur when presented with such a derivative scenario at virtually every film festival. While Sophia Takal‘s psychological drama Always Shine ultimately stumbles, the chemistry of its leads and a sense of foreboding dread in its formal execution ensures its heightened view of...
- 12/2/2016
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Kirsten Howard Nov 15, 2016
There are now a staggering four sequels to 2000's feelgood cheerleading hit Bring It On, but are they any good?
This article contains spoilers for the assorted Bring It On movies.
See related The Missing series 2: the writers on episode 5’s revelation The Missing series 2 episode 5 review: Das Vergessen The Missing series 2 episode 4 review: Statice The Missing series 2 episode 3 review: A Prison Without Walls
2000’s Bring It On is a very odd duck.
It’s not that the film is particularly innovative about how it spins its narrative – there’s a pretty standard set of beats in place for a sports movie – but traditionally, sports movies don’t tend to have a predominantly female cast (and even something like A League Of Their Own was somewhat led by Tom Hanks). Not only that, it’s a movie with a predominately female cast that isn’t entirely focused on love or romance.
There are now a staggering four sequels to 2000's feelgood cheerleading hit Bring It On, but are they any good?
This article contains spoilers for the assorted Bring It On movies.
See related The Missing series 2: the writers on episode 5’s revelation The Missing series 2 episode 5 review: Das Vergessen The Missing series 2 episode 4 review: Statice The Missing series 2 episode 3 review: A Prison Without Walls
2000’s Bring It On is a very odd duck.
It’s not that the film is particularly innovative about how it spins its narrative – there’s a pretty standard set of beats in place for a sports movie – but traditionally, sports movies don’t tend to have a predominantly female cast (and even something like A League Of Their Own was somewhat led by Tom Hanks). Not only that, it’s a movie with a predominately female cast that isn’t entirely focused on love or romance.
- 11/8/2016
- Den of Geek
Here’s your daily dose of an indie film, web series, TV pilot, what-have-you in progress, as presented by the creators themselves. At the end of the week, you’ll have the chance to vote for your favorite.
In the meantime: Is this a project you’d want to see? Tell us in the comments.
Follow the Leader
Logline: Three business partners wake up in an abandoned mall having each lost one of their senses (sight, hearing, speech). Trapped inside by a terrible blizzard, they soon realize they’re being hunted.
Elevator Pitch:
“Follow the Leader” is a genre pushing horror that jumps in and out of the perspective of three characters who have lost their senses of sight, hearing and speech. After waking up in an abandoned 1990s mall, they realize they are not alone. As they’re being hunted, they must learn how to survive, how to trust...
In the meantime: Is this a project you’d want to see? Tell us in the comments.
Follow the Leader
Logline: Three business partners wake up in an abandoned mall having each lost one of their senses (sight, hearing, speech). Trapped inside by a terrible blizzard, they soon realize they’re being hunted.
Elevator Pitch:
“Follow the Leader” is a genre pushing horror that jumps in and out of the perspective of three characters who have lost their senses of sight, hearing and speech. After waking up in an abandoned 1990s mall, they realize they are not alone. As they’re being hunted, they must learn how to survive, how to trust...
- 11/1/2016
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
Though he was just 25 years old when Phantasm hit theaters, many don't know that the cult 1979 horror film was actually director Don Coscarelli's third movie. In fact, at the age of 19, he became the youngest director ever to have a film distributed by a major studio (a statistic that's often been alleged but which I cannot independently confirm) when Universal acquired his teen drama Jim, the World's Greatest for distribution. That film, which was financed by Coscarelli's father -- who put up the money for production after having "a good year in the stock market," in Coscarelli's words -- landed the teenage filmmaker and his co-director Craig Mitchell an office on the studio's lot to finish the movie. It was an unusually auspicious Big Hollywood start to a career that ended up taking a less-mainstream turn as the years went on. "I've been working my way downward ever since,...
- 10/7/2016
- by Chris Eggertsen
- Hitfix
Tonight saw the Television academy handing out the major awards for the 68th annual Primetime Emmys, and while there were several winners that were fully expected, there were also a few surprises to be had along the way.
Starting with what most of knew was going to happen, Game of Thrones ruled the evening, winning Outstanding Writing and Directing for a Drama Series, in addition to the biggest award of the night, Outstanding Drama Series. This marks the show’s second consecutive win in all three of these categories. These additional wins also brought the HBO’s fantasy series’ total up to 12 for the year, tying the record they set just last year.
Surprisingly though, the show didn’t win either of the Supporting Acting awards it was expected to take this evening. It was a terrible shame to see Lena Headey passed over once again for her outstanding performance as Cersei Lannister,...
Starting with what most of knew was going to happen, Game of Thrones ruled the evening, winning Outstanding Writing and Directing for a Drama Series, in addition to the biggest award of the night, Outstanding Drama Series. This marks the show’s second consecutive win in all three of these categories. These additional wins also brought the HBO’s fantasy series’ total up to 12 for the year, tying the record they set just last year.
Surprisingly though, the show didn’t win either of the Supporting Acting awards it was expected to take this evening. It was a terrible shame to see Lena Headey passed over once again for her outstanding performance as Cersei Lannister,...
- 9/18/2016
- by Jeff Beck
- We Got This Covered
Há Terra!I want to apologize for providing this Wavelengths avant-garde preview a little later than I might've liked. Hell, given that it's been over a week since movies died, I'm not exactly sure how much more kindling I can chuck onto the pyre. But I should remark that compared with previous years' iterations of the Tiff Wavelengths series, 2016 does feel a bit...off. I'm chiefly referring to the experimental short films here. (My second part, addressing the Wavelengths features, will be along in a matter of days.) Make no mistake. There's plenty of great work in this year's programs. But I do feel that the disparity this year between the truly exceptional films and the mediocre-to-not-very-good ones is markedly high.I enjoy films, and more than this, I enjoy enjoying them. I hardly get my kicks by being a nattering nabob of negativity. But programmers have to work with what is available to them,...
- 9/13/2016
- MUBI
Kriv Stenders on a recce for Wake In Fright in Broken Hill.
The Nsw Government has invested over $2 million to secure four new feature films, four television drama series and four factual TV series, as well as several one-off documentaries, a web series and a multiplatform project. The productions are predicted to create 1080 new screen jobs and generate a direct production spend of almost $35 million in Nsw. Included among them is Ten.s recently announced mini-series Wake In Fright, the first local production to be supported under the Screen Nsw.s $20 million Made in Nsw Fund. The other 15 productions are being supported through the Film Production Finance Fund. According to Deputy Premier and Minister for the Arts Troy Grant the fund can now support many more local film and television productions because funds have been freed-up by the Made in Nsw Fund. The full list of funding recipients: Project: Ali's Wedding...
The Nsw Government has invested over $2 million to secure four new feature films, four television drama series and four factual TV series, as well as several one-off documentaries, a web series and a multiplatform project. The productions are predicted to create 1080 new screen jobs and generate a direct production spend of almost $35 million in Nsw. Included among them is Ten.s recently announced mini-series Wake In Fright, the first local production to be supported under the Screen Nsw.s $20 million Made in Nsw Fund. The other 15 productions are being supported through the Film Production Finance Fund. According to Deputy Premier and Minister for the Arts Troy Grant the fund can now support many more local film and television productions because funds have been freed-up by the Made in Nsw Fund. The full list of funding recipients: Project: Ali's Wedding...
- 9/12/2016
- by Staff Writer
- IF.com.au
There’s nothing more fun than getting to watch classic movies the way they were intended–on the big screen!
Now, I understand plenty of people don’t want to go to a theater, spend a fortune on tickets, popcorn, and a drink just to see the glow of cell phones and hear people rudely talking while someone kicks your seat from behind, but that’s not the experience you’ll get at Landmark theaters newly-announced (and affordable) film series. St. Louis movie buffs are in for a treat as Landmark’s The Tivoli Theater will run it’s ‘Classics on the Loop’ every Wednesday beginning September 7th at 7pm. The Tivoli will screen, on their big screen (which seats 320 btw), the type of epic, widescreen masterpiece that needs to be seen in a theater with an audience. Admission is only $7.
One benefits of the big screen is that you...
Now, I understand plenty of people don’t want to go to a theater, spend a fortune on tickets, popcorn, and a drink just to see the glow of cell phones and hear people rudely talking while someone kicks your seat from behind, but that’s not the experience you’ll get at Landmark theaters newly-announced (and affordable) film series. St. Louis movie buffs are in for a treat as Landmark’s The Tivoli Theater will run it’s ‘Classics on the Loop’ every Wednesday beginning September 7th at 7pm. The Tivoli will screen, on their big screen (which seats 320 btw), the type of epic, widescreen masterpiece that needs to be seen in a theater with an audience. Admission is only $7.
One benefits of the big screen is that you...
- 8/23/2016
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Ten projects from South-East Europe, Middle East and North Africa comprise Sarajevo’s Work in Progress section.
Sarajevo Film Festival’s (Aug 12-20) Works in Progress strand is set to present the line-up of projects, which will compete for three awards during the festival’s Industry Days on Aug 17-18.
Ten projects in post-production - from Southeast Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and the Caucasus region - will be screened to about 40 industry decision-makers who are active on the supply end of the chain: funders, sales agents, distributors, broadcasters and festival programmers.
Prizes will include the traditional post-production in-kind awards from Slovenia’s Restart (€20,000) and Berlin-based The Post Republic (€50,000), as well as a newly established €30,000 cash prize from Turkish broadcaster Trt.
The jury is comprised of Jan Naszewski of New Europe Film Sales, Giona A. Nazzaro from the Venice Film Festival Critics’ Week, Michael Reuter of The Post Republic and a representative from the Trt.[p...
Sarajevo Film Festival’s (Aug 12-20) Works in Progress strand is set to present the line-up of projects, which will compete for three awards during the festival’s Industry Days on Aug 17-18.
Ten projects in post-production - from Southeast Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and the Caucasus region - will be screened to about 40 industry decision-makers who are active on the supply end of the chain: funders, sales agents, distributors, broadcasters and festival programmers.
Prizes will include the traditional post-production in-kind awards from Slovenia’s Restart (€20,000) and Berlin-based The Post Republic (€50,000), as well as a newly established €30,000 cash prize from Turkish broadcaster Trt.
The jury is comprised of Jan Naszewski of New Europe Film Sales, Giona A. Nazzaro from the Venice Film Festival Critics’ Week, Michael Reuter of The Post Republic and a representative from the Trt.[p...
- 8/17/2016
- by vladan.petkovic@gmail.com (Vladan Petkovic)
- ScreenDaily
When jewelry designer Stacey Papp learned that some of her closest friends from the fashion world were among those killed and injured in the horrific June 12 Orlando massacre, she immediately wanted to help their families. Her longtime friend, Javier Jorge-Reyes, was murdered that night. Another longtime friend, Leonel Melendez, is in a coma fighting for his life. Says Papp, who owns the Orlando-based Bay Hill Jewelers: "I kept calling their best friend, saying, 'What can I do?'" As a jewelry designer and a philanthropist who started the Bridges of Light Foundation in 2004 to help at-risk children and foster kids,...
- 6/27/2016
- by K.C. Baker, @kcbaker77777
- PEOPLE.com
When jewelry designer Stacey Papp learned that some of her closest friends from the fashion world were among those killed and injured in the horrific June 12 Orlando massacre, she immediately wanted to help their families. Her longtime friend, Javier Jorge-Reyes, was murdered that night. Another longtime friend, Leonel Melendez, is in a coma fighting for his life. Says Papp, who owns the Orlando-based Bay Hill Jewelers: "I kept calling their best friend, saying, 'What can I do?'" As a jewelry designer and a philanthropist who started the Bridges of Light Foundation in 2004 to help at-risk children and foster kids,...
- 6/27/2016
- by K.C. Baker, @kcbaker77777
- PEOPLE.com
It’s not often that a primetime network TV show devotes three minutes of airtime to a “Les Miserables” sendup featuring hyper-specific references to Inland Empire utility politics. But it helps when you have the right people to pull it off.
Such are the sheer, nothing-else-like-it delights of “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” the newest jewel in the CW crown. At the show’s center is Rachel Bloom, who in addition to being the show’s star and co-creator (alongside “The Devil Wears Prada” scribe Aline Brosh McKenna) is also one of “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s” biggest fans.
When we spoke to Bloom, the talk kept turning toward the cast and crew that helps color this crazy, lovable slice of the TV landscape. From the writing staff to the songwriting team headlined by executive music producer Adam Schlesinger, she spoke about how it takes a village to raise a child (that occasionally sings therapeutic boy band parodies).
It seems like a nice added bonus that the people you’ve cast in these central roles get to have their featured moments. If you want them to grow, you can give them their own songs.
A lot of other people on our show, they’re Broadway people — they’re singers by trade. With the roles of Josh and Greg, we weren’t even necessarily looking for people who could sing. We were looking for the best actors. In the breakdowns, we were putting things like, “sing, rap, play guitar — we’ll write to your strengths.” Not in our wildest dreams could we have realized the kind of Renaissance men that we cast in both Santino and Vince — I mean, God, Vince has like three black belts.
Pete is a comedy/improv/sketch guy and would not consider himself a singer, but he has a really good voice. And he’s really in touch with his body. Vella is the same way. She’s a fantastic actress. She went to Juilliard, and I think with her training and with her natural abilities, she has the command over her voice. And so that was a really pleasant surprise for us when we realized, “Oh, we don’t have to Auto-Tune these people.”
It’s great that they’re all different kinds of voice types on this show, because you have Vince with more of a pop sound, you have Santino with the classic sound, you have Donna with the big Broadway belt, you have Pete with this twang, and then you have Vella with this like rock and roll thing that we’re so excited to write more for her. She sang at our cast party, we had a karaoke machine and she sang TLC’s “Waterfalls…”
Oh my God.
And it was so good! And Adam [Schlesinger] and I were watching her, and I was like, “We gotta write a ’90s song for Vella” and he was like, “Absolutely.” It was kind of like she was auditioning for us — except she was drunk and didn’t realize she was — and we never cease to be amazed and surprised with the talents of the actors we have on the show. It’s not what you hear about working with TV actors sometimes, where they’re afraid to be brave or they’re snobby or they’ll only film from 1 to 4:30 and then they’ll be in their trailer. We have such grateful theater people.
And people like Pete still get non-singing moments like “Having a Few People Over,” which probably wouldn’t exist if you were working with a shorter runtime.
Precisely. I really like that now, in any given episode, a lot of the time the second song is another character. And it’s about the B-story. That makes me really happy. I think that some of the most impactful storylines we’ve done come from exploring things like Darryl and [White] Josh. It’s funny because now they’re everyone else’s favorite couple, and I’m kind of like “They were my favorite couple first!” I was on set for their first kiss. I got to sit on set, and I was like, “Done! They’re my favorite couple, they’re the ones I root for. Don’t give a fuck about anyone else.” Next season we’re going to deal with them more.
One of my favorite moments was when you brought back the grocery clerk at the end of the season.
This is actually pretty great. We were writing the song “I Have Friends” and I had a rough draft written and I was brainstorming with Aline, our other executive producer, Erin Ehrlich, and our co-executive producer Michael Hitchcock. “I Have Friends” is all about those fun specifics, like “a janitor that lives in an Rv behind the school.” And Hitchcock just busted out “grocery clerk with half an eyelid,” and I was like, “Done. Yes.” There was something so B-52’s about it and when I think of B-52’s I think of this kind of like nasal voice, which made me think of my friend Ben, who I did stuff at Ucb with and was also on an improv team with our writer’s assistant Elisabeth [Kiernan Averick]. Before he even auditioned or knew we were thinking of him, we just started writing the lines in his voice. We had such a great deleted scene from Episode 3 of him and Pete just going on an improv run. It was one of the funniest things to watch all season, and hopefully we’ll release it on a DVD extra.
When you’re shooting scenes, it’s easy to toss lines in. Is there a lyric or musical moment that came kind of at the last minute?
For “Sexy Getting Ready Song,” the lyric “whisper your dick hard” originally was something else. We were in the recording studio, and Jack, who produced the song, was directing me and he was just like “Okay, this next take, I want you to whisper someone’s dick hard,” and I was like, “Jack! That’s a lyric!”
CBS hasn’t gotten into the live musical game yet. But if they do, is there a particular show that you’d like for them to do?
Well, I’m pretty indie musical theatre. So if they did anything Sondheim, if they did a live version of “Assassins” or “Company”? God, if you’re gonna do a live show, doing “Rent” would be just fun.
Would you want to be Maureen?
Oh, yeah. Yes, I’d want to be Maureen. [laughs]
I mean, anything Kander and Ebb. “Chicago,” “Cabaret.” For any Jewish comedian who can sing, I mean “Funny Girl” is kind of the ultimate, right?
As a big musical theater fan, do you have a go-to underrated show that, if someone was really digging deeper, you would point them toward?
For comedy, “Gutenberg! the Musical.” That soundtrack is amazing. It’s just such a great example of comedy musical theater that should be mentioned more. And “Light in the Piazza” is just brilliant. I love “Whatever I Dream” from “A New Brain.” Michael John Lachiusa’s “The Wild Party,” which I actually directed in college, is one of the most underrated musical theater scores. The way the genre changes as the show gets darker, it’s absolutely brilliant.
There’s another musical he wrote called “Hello Again.” The song “Tom” from Hello Again is just one of the greatest songs ever written in musical theater. “Tom,” “Safe,” and “Mistress of the Senator,” every song on “Hello Again” is a winner and I feel like no one ever talks about it.
Obviously, you have a deep love of musical theater and now have people asking for the sheet music to use for audition songs in the future. That has to be an exciting feeling.
Oh, it’s so exciting. If you could be in on all the emails! I am bugging people constantly because I want the musical theater kids out there to have sheet music and karaoke tracks! So everything that the fans ask, chances are I’ve already asked about 6,000 times. It’s really exciting for me to interact with fans because fans of the show are people that I would want to be friends with. This is a show that I would watch.
[Editor’s Note: IndieWire’s Consider This campaign is an ongoing series meant to raise awareness for Emmy contenders our editorial staff and readership find compelling, fascinating and deserving. Running throughout awards season, Consider This contenders may be underdogs, frontrunners or somewhere in between. More importantly, they’re making damn good television we all should be watching, whether they’re nominated or not.]
Stay on top of the latest TV news! Sign up for our TV email newsletter here.
Related storiesTV Creators Agree the State of Lgbtq Characters is Slowly But Surely ImprovingDaily Reads: The Genius of 'Girls' Lies in Its Unlikeable Characters, How 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend' Brought the Asian Bro to TV, and MoreDoes the CW Have a Season Two Problem?...
Such are the sheer, nothing-else-like-it delights of “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” the newest jewel in the CW crown. At the show’s center is Rachel Bloom, who in addition to being the show’s star and co-creator (alongside “The Devil Wears Prada” scribe Aline Brosh McKenna) is also one of “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s” biggest fans.
When we spoke to Bloom, the talk kept turning toward the cast and crew that helps color this crazy, lovable slice of the TV landscape. From the writing staff to the songwriting team headlined by executive music producer Adam Schlesinger, she spoke about how it takes a village to raise a child (that occasionally sings therapeutic boy band parodies).
It seems like a nice added bonus that the people you’ve cast in these central roles get to have their featured moments. If you want them to grow, you can give them their own songs.
A lot of other people on our show, they’re Broadway people — they’re singers by trade. With the roles of Josh and Greg, we weren’t even necessarily looking for people who could sing. We were looking for the best actors. In the breakdowns, we were putting things like, “sing, rap, play guitar — we’ll write to your strengths.” Not in our wildest dreams could we have realized the kind of Renaissance men that we cast in both Santino and Vince — I mean, God, Vince has like three black belts.
Pete is a comedy/improv/sketch guy and would not consider himself a singer, but he has a really good voice. And he’s really in touch with his body. Vella is the same way. She’s a fantastic actress. She went to Juilliard, and I think with her training and with her natural abilities, she has the command over her voice. And so that was a really pleasant surprise for us when we realized, “Oh, we don’t have to Auto-Tune these people.”
It’s great that they’re all different kinds of voice types on this show, because you have Vince with more of a pop sound, you have Santino with the classic sound, you have Donna with the big Broadway belt, you have Pete with this twang, and then you have Vella with this like rock and roll thing that we’re so excited to write more for her. She sang at our cast party, we had a karaoke machine and she sang TLC’s “Waterfalls…”
Oh my God.
And it was so good! And Adam [Schlesinger] and I were watching her, and I was like, “We gotta write a ’90s song for Vella” and he was like, “Absolutely.” It was kind of like she was auditioning for us — except she was drunk and didn’t realize she was — and we never cease to be amazed and surprised with the talents of the actors we have on the show. It’s not what you hear about working with TV actors sometimes, where they’re afraid to be brave or they’re snobby or they’ll only film from 1 to 4:30 and then they’ll be in their trailer. We have such grateful theater people.
And people like Pete still get non-singing moments like “Having a Few People Over,” which probably wouldn’t exist if you were working with a shorter runtime.
Precisely. I really like that now, in any given episode, a lot of the time the second song is another character. And it’s about the B-story. That makes me really happy. I think that some of the most impactful storylines we’ve done come from exploring things like Darryl and [White] Josh. It’s funny because now they’re everyone else’s favorite couple, and I’m kind of like “They were my favorite couple first!” I was on set for their first kiss. I got to sit on set, and I was like, “Done! They’re my favorite couple, they’re the ones I root for. Don’t give a fuck about anyone else.” Next season we’re going to deal with them more.
One of my favorite moments was when you brought back the grocery clerk at the end of the season.
This is actually pretty great. We were writing the song “I Have Friends” and I had a rough draft written and I was brainstorming with Aline, our other executive producer, Erin Ehrlich, and our co-executive producer Michael Hitchcock. “I Have Friends” is all about those fun specifics, like “a janitor that lives in an Rv behind the school.” And Hitchcock just busted out “grocery clerk with half an eyelid,” and I was like, “Done. Yes.” There was something so B-52’s about it and when I think of B-52’s I think of this kind of like nasal voice, which made me think of my friend Ben, who I did stuff at Ucb with and was also on an improv team with our writer’s assistant Elisabeth [Kiernan Averick]. Before he even auditioned or knew we were thinking of him, we just started writing the lines in his voice. We had such a great deleted scene from Episode 3 of him and Pete just going on an improv run. It was one of the funniest things to watch all season, and hopefully we’ll release it on a DVD extra.
When you’re shooting scenes, it’s easy to toss lines in. Is there a lyric or musical moment that came kind of at the last minute?
For “Sexy Getting Ready Song,” the lyric “whisper your dick hard” originally was something else. We were in the recording studio, and Jack, who produced the song, was directing me and he was just like “Okay, this next take, I want you to whisper someone’s dick hard,” and I was like, “Jack! That’s a lyric!”
CBS hasn’t gotten into the live musical game yet. But if they do, is there a particular show that you’d like for them to do?
Well, I’m pretty indie musical theatre. So if they did anything Sondheim, if they did a live version of “Assassins” or “Company”? God, if you’re gonna do a live show, doing “Rent” would be just fun.
Would you want to be Maureen?
Oh, yeah. Yes, I’d want to be Maureen. [laughs]
I mean, anything Kander and Ebb. “Chicago,” “Cabaret.” For any Jewish comedian who can sing, I mean “Funny Girl” is kind of the ultimate, right?
As a big musical theater fan, do you have a go-to underrated show that, if someone was really digging deeper, you would point them toward?
For comedy, “Gutenberg! the Musical.” That soundtrack is amazing. It’s just such a great example of comedy musical theater that should be mentioned more. And “Light in the Piazza” is just brilliant. I love “Whatever I Dream” from “A New Brain.” Michael John Lachiusa’s “The Wild Party,” which I actually directed in college, is one of the most underrated musical theater scores. The way the genre changes as the show gets darker, it’s absolutely brilliant.
There’s another musical he wrote called “Hello Again.” The song “Tom” from Hello Again is just one of the greatest songs ever written in musical theater. “Tom,” “Safe,” and “Mistress of the Senator,” every song on “Hello Again” is a winner and I feel like no one ever talks about it.
Obviously, you have a deep love of musical theater and now have people asking for the sheet music to use for audition songs in the future. That has to be an exciting feeling.
Oh, it’s so exciting. If you could be in on all the emails! I am bugging people constantly because I want the musical theater kids out there to have sheet music and karaoke tracks! So everything that the fans ask, chances are I’ve already asked about 6,000 times. It’s really exciting for me to interact with fans because fans of the show are people that I would want to be friends with. This is a show that I would watch.
[Editor’s Note: IndieWire’s Consider This campaign is an ongoing series meant to raise awareness for Emmy contenders our editorial staff and readership find compelling, fascinating and deserving. Running throughout awards season, Consider This contenders may be underdogs, frontrunners or somewhere in between. More importantly, they’re making damn good television we all should be watching, whether they’re nominated or not.]
Stay on top of the latest TV news! Sign up for our TV email newsletter here.
Related storiesTV Creators Agree the State of Lgbtq Characters is Slowly But Surely ImprovingDaily Reads: The Genius of 'Girls' Lies in Its Unlikeable Characters, How 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend' Brought the Asian Bro to TV, and MoreDoes the CW Have a Season Two Problem?...
- 6/13/2016
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
Earlier this month, it was reported that Bill Skarsgard (Hemlock Grove, Allegiant) was in "final negotiations" for the role of Pennywise in director Andres Muschietti's forthcoming re-adaptation of Stephen King's It. Revealed in that same report were the young actors who had been chosen to play the film's pre-teen "Losers Club," the group that Pennywise (a.k.a. "It") terrorizes from childhood into adulthood. Now, The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Owen Teague (Bloodline) has joined the cast as Patrick Hockstetter, a key member of the teenage gang of bullies that torments the Losers' Club during the summer of 1958. Keep checking this page for more casting updates on the film, which is set to begin shooting in July. In the meantime, here's the cast as it stands now: Bill Skarsgard Photo Credit: Netflix Role: Pennywise Credits: Hemlock Grove (Roman Godfrey), The Divergent Series: Allegiant (Matthew) Owen Teague Photo Credit: Netflix...
- 6/9/2016
- by Chris Eggertsen
- Hitfix
We’ve got questions, and you’ve (maybe) got answers! With another week of TV gone by, we’re lobbing queries left and right about shows including Outlander, Mistresses, So You Think You Can Dance and Person of Interest!
1 | Does Aussie actress Jacinda Barrett’s otherwise admirable American accent on Bloodline go kablooey every time her character refers to Ben Mendelsohn’s Danny as “Dah-nny”?
PhotosFall TV’s First Scoops: Early Intel Grey’s, Arrow, Blindspot, Bones and 14 Other Returning Faves
2 | Did Outlander think we’d be too distracted by the pretty to notice that Jamie’s back scarring was clearly missing?...
1 | Does Aussie actress Jacinda Barrett’s otherwise admirable American accent on Bloodline go kablooey every time her character refers to Ben Mendelsohn’s Danny as “Dah-nny”?
PhotosFall TV’s First Scoops: Early Intel Grey’s, Arrow, Blindspot, Bones and 14 Other Returning Faves
2 | Did Outlander think we’d be too distracted by the pretty to notice that Jamie’s back scarring was clearly missing?...
- 6/3/2016
- TVLine.com
Hat Hair Casting Breakdown
Summary
Hat Hair is an exciting new global TV series about two young American sisters
who embark on a summer in the UK and the trials and tribulations of their
new adventure – including friendships, boys and horse riding!
Hat Hair is being produced by Lime Pictures for a major international
streaming service.
Actors must have strong horse riding skills, and be over the age 16 with an onscreen playing age 13/14.
We are casting all ethnicities for these roles.
Please note: Series regular roles will require future options.
Production details
Production dates (eg. shoot, rehearsals): 8th August for 3 months
Production location: UK
Pay category: Equity
Executive Producer: Rebecca Hodgson (Evermoor, Rocket’s Island, Good Cop).
Producer: Angelo Abela (House of Anubis).
Company: Lime Pictures for Major International Streaming Service
Casting details
Casting Directors: Rob Kelly and Kerrie Mailey
Casting location: UK and Us
Casting details: We...
Summary
Hat Hair is an exciting new global TV series about two young American sisters
who embark on a summer in the UK and the trials and tribulations of their
new adventure – including friendships, boys and horse riding!
Hat Hair is being produced by Lime Pictures for a major international
streaming service.
Actors must have strong horse riding skills, and be over the age 16 with an onscreen playing age 13/14.
We are casting all ethnicities for these roles.
Please note: Series regular roles will require future options.
Production details
Production dates (eg. shoot, rehearsals): 8th August for 3 months
Production location: UK
Pay category: Equity
Executive Producer: Rebecca Hodgson (Evermoor, Rocket’s Island, Good Cop).
Producer: Angelo Abela (House of Anubis).
Company: Lime Pictures for Major International Streaming Service
Casting details
Casting Directors: Rob Kelly and Kerrie Mailey
Casting location: UK and Us
Casting details: We...
- 6/1/2016
- by noreply@blogger.com (ScreenTerrier)
- ScreenTerrier
Electric Daisy Carnival (Edc) Las Vegas 2015 Gallery 1 of 87
Click to skip
Insomniac doesn’t mess around when it comes to lineups. The company has consistently impressed us year after year by revealing star studded rosters for their events, all with a nice variety of genres and artists, ensuring that there’s always something for everyone.
Tonight, they continue that trend with the full lineup for Edc (Electric Daisy Carnival) Las Vegas, which was announced on the latest edition of Night Owl Radio, Insomniac’s weekly radio show. As per usual though, the names were revealed in a rather cryptic manner and while we still don’t have an official list to consult, the Edm community has taken to Reddit to start putting the pieces together.
You can see below for the full list of what’s been deciphered so far, but highlights include Sleepy Tom, Throttle, Shaun Frank, Hot Since 82, Lane 8, Dusky,...
Click to skip
Insomniac doesn’t mess around when it comes to lineups. The company has consistently impressed us year after year by revealing star studded rosters for their events, all with a nice variety of genres and artists, ensuring that there’s always something for everyone.
Tonight, they continue that trend with the full lineup for Edc (Electric Daisy Carnival) Las Vegas, which was announced on the latest edition of Night Owl Radio, Insomniac’s weekly radio show. As per usual though, the names were revealed in a rather cryptic manner and while we still don’t have an official list to consult, the Edm community has taken to Reddit to start putting the pieces together.
You can see below for the full list of what’s been deciphered so far, but highlights include Sleepy Tom, Throttle, Shaun Frank, Hot Since 82, Lane 8, Dusky,...
- 5/21/2016
- by Matt Joseph
- We Got This Covered
The Guardian film team’s round-up of Wednesday’s movie news
Your daily update of the latest news and reviews from the Guardian film team. Now showing: this summer brings two Oscar hopefuls from the Weinstein Company but can they help return the brothers to their former glory? Plus The Huntsman: Winter’s War is set to cost Universal around $70m but what went wrong?
Follow us on Twitter (GuardianFilm, Henry, Ben, Catherine, Andrew and producer Rowan) and check out our Facebook page. Comment on the show below.
Continue reading...
Your daily update of the latest news and reviews from the Guardian film team. Now showing: this summer brings two Oscar hopefuls from the Weinstein Company but can they help return the brothers to their former glory? Plus The Huntsman: Winter’s War is set to cost Universal around $70m but what went wrong?
Follow us on Twitter (GuardianFilm, Henry, Ben, Catherine, Andrew and producer Rowan) and check out our Facebook page. Comment on the show below.
Continue reading...
- 4/27/2016
- by Presented by Benjamin Lee with Andrew Pulver and produced by Rowan Slaney
- The Guardian - Film News
“The Lion” actor and writer Benjamin Scheuer and producer Eva Price are currently searching nationwide for the musical’s next star ahead of Scheuer’s final performance in 2017. “I’m looking forward to seeing someone new step into this role, and to make it his or her own,” Scheuer said in a statement. “They can be any age, any gender, any race. While the story is obviously very personal to me, it is also very universal and has resonated with audiences across the country for a variety of reasons.” Scheuer and Price are accepting video submissions for the new “Ben.” Singer-guitarists are free to upload videos of themselves playing “Cookie-tin Banjo” and email their performances to TheLionCasting@gmail.com. Talent looking to submit an audition can view Scheuer playing “Cookie-tin Banjo” without vocals here and with vocals here. The sheet music is available to download here. The Drama Desk Award...
- 4/4/2016
- backstage.com
The best picture doesn’t always win Best Picture. Sometimes the best film of the year gets robbed. Cinelinx looks at the movies which should have won Best Picture but didn’t.
Whenever the Best Picture winner is announced at the Oscars, sometimes we say, “Yeah, that deserved to win,” but then again, sometimes we say, “Huh? Are they kidding me?!” There are a lot of backstage politics and extenuating factors in Hollywood that can determine which film wins the big trophy. The worthiest film doesn’t always take the statue home. Going back over the 88-year history of the Academy Awards, we look at which films didn’t really deserve to win and the ones which rightfully should have won.
The Best Pictures and the Better Pictures:
1927-8: The Winner-Wings
What should have won: Sunrise (Sunrise was given a special award for Artistic Quality of Production, but it...
Whenever the Best Picture winner is announced at the Oscars, sometimes we say, “Yeah, that deserved to win,” but then again, sometimes we say, “Huh? Are they kidding me?!” There are a lot of backstage politics and extenuating factors in Hollywood that can determine which film wins the big trophy. The worthiest film doesn’t always take the statue home. Going back over the 88-year history of the Academy Awards, we look at which films didn’t really deserve to win and the ones which rightfully should have won.
The Best Pictures and the Better Pictures:
1927-8: The Winner-Wings
What should have won: Sunrise (Sunrise was given a special award for Artistic Quality of Production, but it...
- 2/19/2016
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (Rob Young)
- Cinelinx
It's a jungle out there, all right. Walt Disney Studios released a trailer for The Jungle Book during Super Bowl 50 Sunday ahead of the movie's Apr. 16 release. Directed by Jon Favreau, the film stars newcomer Neel Sethi as Mowgli, a man-cub who's been raised by a wolf pack. The CGI-live-action hybrid is a remake of the 1967 animated film of the same name. The voice cast includes Idris Elba as the tiger, Shere Khan; Giancarlo Esposito as the wolf pack's alpha male, Akela; Scarlett Johansson as the python, Kaa; Ben Kinsgley as the panther, Bagheera; Bill Murray as the bear Baloo, Lupita Nyong'o as the mama wolf, Raksha; and Christopher Walken as the monkey, King Louie. After Mowgli flees the only...
- 2/8/2016
- E! Online
This article accompanies the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s dual retrospective of the films of Jacques Rivette and David Lynch and is part of an ongoing review of Rivette’s films for the Notebook, in light of several major re-releases of his work.At first, David Lynch’s most rigid film, the mellifluous Blue Velvet (1986), being paired with Jacques Rivette’s buoyant, fluid 2007 adaptation of Balzac’s La Duchess de Langeais, might seem like a rather unusual way to begin a film series intending to strike up parallels between the two (at least heretofore) unconnected film directors. The swings from love to hate and back again between the lovers in The Duchess of Langeais are matched and counterpointed by the swings of Rivette’s late camera, both balanced and frantic in its restless pursuit of clarification which, of course, it never seems to find. In contrast, Lynch presents Blue Velvet...
- 12/13/2015
- by Christopher Small
- MUBI
This article accompanies the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s dual retrospective of the films of Jacques Rivette and David Lynch and is part of an ongoing review of Rivette’s films for the Notebook, in light of several major re-releases of his work.At first, David Lynch’s most rigid film, the mellifluous Blue Velvet (1986), being paired with Jacques Rivette’s buoyant, fluid 2007 adaptation of Balzac’s La Duchess de Langeais, might seem like a rather unusual way to begin a film series intending to strike up parallels between the two (at least heretofore) unconnected film directors. The swings from love to hate and back again between the lovers in The Duchess of Langeais are matched and counterpointed by the swings of Rivette’s late camera, both balanced and frantic in its restless pursuit of clarification which, of course, it never seems to find. In contrast, Lynch presents Blue Velvet...
- 12/13/2015
- by Christopher Small
- MUBI
The Guardian's daily digest of the latest film news, featuring stories about Angelina Jolie, Spike Lee and this year's awards race
Your daily update of the latest news and reviews from the Guardian film team. Now showing: By the Sea, Angelina Jolie's third film as director, hits choppy waters at the Us box office, Spike Lee calls for more black executives in Hollywood and - as The Weinstein Company's nominations of Rooney Mara and Alicia Vikander for best supporting actress in this year's awards race are rejected - when is a supporting role too big to be supporting?
Follow us Twitter (GuardianFilm, Henry, Ben, Catherine) and check out our Facebook page. Comment on the show below.
Continue reading...
Your daily update of the latest news and reviews from the Guardian film team. Now showing: By the Sea, Angelina Jolie's third film as director, hits choppy waters at the Us box office, Spike Lee calls for more black executives in Hollywood and - as The Weinstein Company's nominations of Rooney Mara and Alicia Vikander for best supporting actress in this year's awards race are rejected - when is a supporting role too big to be supporting?
Follow us Twitter (GuardianFilm, Henry, Ben, Catherine) and check out our Facebook page. Comment on the show below.
Continue reading...
- 11/16/2015
- by Presented by Henry Barnes with Benjamin Lee Produced by Rowan Slaney
- The Guardian - Film News
My experience last November at Los Cabos International Film Festival was fabulous! Set up to promote film coproduction and financing among Mexico, U.S., and Canada, the festival allowed all of us to be very close and connected to our peers in the business – international sales agents, writers of all kinds, programmers and filmmakers. There we met the bright new talent, so idealistic and yet so knowledgeable and educated about film in the world. To be able to see films, concentrate on creating business and still have time to mingle -- this is what makes a festival a happy experience.
Among the many people I met there, was Ben Odell, partner at 3Pas Studios, the newly launched production company that he and Mexico’s most beloved and renowned comic star and director, Eugenio Derbez, founded on the strength and success of the $100 million dollar grossing comedy, "Instructions Not Included".
The success of this film also allowed the film’s producer Monica Lozano to establish Alebrije Distribución a new distribution company which will acquire distribution rights for the Latin and North American markets.
Monica has had her hand in 23 productions since her first film, "Amores Perros". Her most recent success was "Instructions Not Included", the Us$ 5.5 million film that became the highest grossing Spanish language film of all time in the U.S., and the second highest grossing film in any language in Mexico.
But to return to Ben and his new company, the subject of this blog: 3Pas in Spanish means three steps, but is also a play on words, something Mexicans like a lot. Tres Pas sounds like tripas, which in English means guts, or tripe. Personally, I too love tripas. Deliciosas!
I Finally met Ben at Los Cabos Film Festival. I say I "finally" met him, because we have so many friends in common and ever since I have been following Latino films and writing my book on Latin America and the film business, I had often heard of Ben as the head of production for Pantelion, U.S.'s only sustained and successful Latino film distributor.
Last September, when Strategic Partners’ Laura Mackenzie in Halifax invited me to moderate a panel on “The Games Maker”, an Argentinean-Canadian-Italian coproduction, Ben’s name was prominent as the one who made the match between Argentina’s Juan Pablo Buscarini and Canada’s Tina Pehme and Kim Roberts.
I always had him pictured as my other friend whose last name is Odell, a slight and wiry, dark haired type. How surprised I was to see this big, handsome blond who exuded warmth and a good-willed wit and storytelling skill. Love at first sight! And I am sure I am not the only one who is smitten with him.
I wish I could convey his spirit, humor and strength as he recounted his life and career(s) to me in the hour we spent together in his new spacious, airy and bright Santa Monica office where Ben Shalom-Martinez was the third person in the new company, manning a phone system not yet working.
I told Ben I had read his mini bio in IMDb, and it made me want to know how he had gotten into the Latino side of the business. I expected him to reveal that, in fact, and in spite of his name, he was Latino.
One year out of college, Ben said, "I worked in editing with the Maysles Brothers. I was a P.A. on the first film John Turturro directed called “Mac”, and I was a reader for Art Linson. And that was my degree in Liberal Arts in Film. I wanted to be a screenwriter but I didn’t feel I had enough life experience. A family friend offered me a job in commercial production in Colombia. It was 1992 and my dad said: “if you love all things Latino, go learn Spanish and become an expert in the Latino market. It’s going to need people that understand it. No one was really talking about its importance then but that piece of advice changed my life. I moved to Colombia to learn Spanish and start what would be a life long journey in all things Latino, from U.S. Latino to Latin America. It’s not a single market but there is a connectivity between all of it.”
Ben grew up in Pennsylvania and when he was six years old, neighbors, who had old friends from Colombia, did an exchange of one of their children with a Colombian child. “My father ended up basically adopting that child for the year he lived with our neighbors and from that grew a friendship with this Colombian family.”
When he was 12 years old the whole Colombian family moved to Philadelphia. “I wanted them to adopt me. They were crazy, emotional, passionate, loving. It was a warmth and lust for life I hadn’t really experienced in suburban white America. And then I realized there was a whole country full of them.” At 15 he went with a friend to Colombia and loved it.
His father eventually married someone from that family. So Ben's connection to Colombia, if not to all of Latin America was very organic. Colombia is not part of the "U.S. Latino market" per se, but Colombia and the rest of Latin America share certain characteristics and commonalities — views on life and death, family, spirituality -- that end up working their way into storytelling that are shared throughout the U.S. Latino market and Latin America along with a larger emotional scale in the tone of their storytelling.
Odell lived in Colombia from 1992 to 2000. He also worked as a freelance journalist before becoming a Spanish language television writer and screenwriter there.
When he was in Colombia working in commercials, he met Tom Quinn, a journalist Iiving there for 25 years, working for Time Magazine and running an English language rag called The Colombian Post. In his youth ,Tom had run with the likes of Hunter S. Thompson. He had lots of adventures and lots of stories of those days.
Ben asked Tom what was the most compelling story they could make into a movie that wasn’t about narcotrafficking, and Tom said one word: “Emeralds.” Colombia supplies 60% of the world's emeralds. The mines in the Emerald Zone have strong drug laundering connections as well, as one might guess. The land is leased by the government to the three or four mining companies and they control everything with no supervision by the government.
The society is totally feudal. Workers labor for the companies for 28 days of the month and on the last two days they are allowed to keep whatever they find. Victor Carranza ran everything. He was The Don, violent and scary. A small man, about 5'2". He died in prison worth over a billion dollars.
Ben thought this was a great story to develop into a movie, and so he went back to New York to the contacts he had made including an exec at Tribeca Films. “They all said the same thing, great story but you are not a writer. Go write the script and then we’ll talk.” Ben returned to Colombia to do research.
In the meanwhile he began writing for Colombian TV. He had never written a feature film script, nor did he speak Spanish. He had, however, taken a course in feature film screenwriting with Robert McKee. And he had a girlfriend who was bilingual. He knew about Colombian TV and he saw the potential for legitimizing the story first as a TV show and then making it into a feature later.
Tom Quinn was very well known in Colombia as he was the Time News correspondent there at a moment when the magazine had a lot of power; the drug wars were one of its most consistent cover stories. They pitched it to Rti TV, and structured it like "The Fugitive".
There is a drug, called Burandanga, scientifically known as Scopolamine. It comes from a plant that grows wild in Colombia. The drugged one loses control of his or her will. He once heard a story about a man in a bar who wakes up in jail accused of a murder he can’t remember. This became the basis of the story. The lead goes into the Emerald Zone and drugged by burundanga, he kills one on the wrong side in a war going on there. He wakes up with no recollection and a full on civil war going on around him. He can't get out of the Emerald Zone until he finds the man who drugged him. The title of this series that Tom and he pitched and in 1998 created was "Fuego verde", like the 1954 Hollywood movie, “ Green Fire” starring Grace Kelly and Stewart Grainger.
As a television writer, he eventually created and wrote over 300 hours of Spanish-language narrative television including “Fuego Verde” -- the first-ever action series. It was one of the highest rated series on Colombian television. He also co-wrote the Colombian political satire feature film, “ Golpe de estadio”, which was nominated for Spain's Academy Award, the Goya in 1999, and was Colombia's nomination to the Oscar in 2000. It is still one of the highest grossing Colombian films of all time.
In the film, "Golpe de estadio", (Golpe de Estado means “Coup d'état”but it also could mean “Coup d’ Stadium”), an oil company has set up a camp for geological research in a small village in Colombia that has been named New Texas. It becomes the target of the guerrillas who are constantly clashing with police in the area. The confrontation is put on hold however during the TV transmission of the world Cup qualifiers. The two sides declare a sort of truce so that they can all watch the match between Colombia and Argentina on the only working TV in the town. Colombia wins the game, 5 to 0, (a victory, in real life, infamous in the annals of world cup) and of course the Colombian police and guerrilla find themselves cheering for the same team.
"Golpe" was released in theaters in 1999 while the drug wars and war between the guerrillas and the government were moving into peace talks. It came out during the war, and Ben naively believed it could make tangible impact on the country. Instead they received death threats. It was a very volatile time.
He left Colombia and put together a business plan to make movies for Latino audiences. He was too green and he was way ahead of his time so instead he went to film school at Columbia University.
He went to film school thinking it was only to network and realized he knew nothing about film writing or production. "Going to film school's more valuable if a student already has some experience," Ben says.
"Confess", a feature length film he produced in his second year of film school (2005) was one of his thesis projects. It was made for a couple of hundred thousand dollars. Ali Larter and Melissa Leo starred in it (way before she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Role in “The Fighter”). The movie was about a disgruntled computer hacker of mixed race, who struggles to adjust to life after a jaunt in prison. He takes his anger online forcing confessions out of those who slighted him. Eventually his focus becomes political. “It had all the trappings of a first time filmmaker. But conceptually it was scratching the surface of trends that wouldn’t appear online until years later. This was several years before YouTube took hold, which is a lifetime in human years.”
"For my second film, we had Scorsese as an executive producer. When we started preproduction we quickly discovered that one of our two investors really didn’t have the money. He signed a contract to invest while he was still trying to raise the funds“
At this point in our discussion Ben and I went off on a tangent...Money that falls out at the last minute is such a common story. Do these guys think the money will come just because they have "bet" on it, using the film as collateral?... Do they just want to go for the ride, as far as they can go?... are they sociopaths, liars, gamblers, on drugs or what? I remember when I worked at Ifa (until it became ICM); at the Motion Picture Division's meetings that Mike Medavoy held every week, agents would sometimes report on someone wanting to invest in film, and once Mike said "No. Not him. He has a very bad reputation, and his money is not good. We don't want that kind of money." But young producers know very little about vetting financial prospects.
This digression is only to illustrate the fact that that in this person-to-person business it is important to know who you are dealing with.
But Odell’s luck was going to change. Just a few weeks after the implosion of the film, he got an email from Jim McNamara. NBC had bought McNamara's Telemundo for Us$ 3 billion . McNamara had been CEO of New World, a position once held by Harry Sloan and Jon Feltheimer. Feltheimer went off to Sony TV which had a majority stake in Telemundo. McNamara, who had just been president of Universal TV worldwide, was brought in to run Telemundo
After leaving Telemundo, he went back to Feltheimer, in the early days of building Lionsgate, to discuss his new idea. At the time -- this was 2006 -- there were two Spanish language networks, 600 Spanish language radio stations, 2,000 Spanish language newspapers, and no one was making movies in Spanish. Felt liked it and they made a deal. Panamax was born.
McNamara knew of Odell when he was buying TV series for Telemundo. He bought a lot of the TV shows Odell had written.
Panamax’ made a six picture deal with Lionsgate. Odell became President of Production at Panamax Films and produced many feature films and TV movies both in Spanish and in English for the Hispanic market.
On one of their first scouting trips, Odell and McNamara went to see a play called “Latinologues” written by Rick Najera. In it, there was a Mexican actor named Eugenio Derbez. Derbez was known only for Spanish language TV at the time. He wrote, directed, produced and starred in his own shows for Televisa. These shows also played on Univision in the U.S. and were building a huge fan base in both countries as well as much of the Spanish-speaking world.
Latinologues was made up of multiple monologues from different actors playing roles as Latino archetypes. Derbez did three or four different characters. “When he came on stage,” recalls Odell, “He was electrifying, hilarious, magnetic. And then I met him afterwards. He was the humblest man, quiet, and a bit shy. I realized what an amazing talent he was, he had that ‘it factor’ – when he turned it on, it turned on the room.”
At the time Odell and McNamara were packaging a project called "Under the Same Moon" and suggested Derbez for a role. They flew the director, Patricia Riggen, to N.Y. to meet him. While Lionsgate ended up not financing the project, Derbez stayed in the picture. “Looking back, I think a significant part of why that movie did $20 million in box office between U.S. and Mexico, was Eugenio. He was already a mega star. No one really knew it in the general market because they weren’t paying attention to the success of his shows. Hollywood tends to ignore the Spanish speaking market, but the U.S. is the second biggest Spanish speaking country in the world and Eugenio has built a huge following there.”
Ben also made the art house Spanish language thriller, "Padre Nuestro" in 2007 which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. IFC changed the title to “Sangre de mi Sangre” for its U.S. release. It also played at New Directors/ New Films at Museum of Modern Art in New York in the Spring of 2007, received two Independent Spirit Awards nominations, for Best First Feature (for which Odell was nominated) and Best Screenplay. Odell also produced “Un Cuento Chino” aka “Chinese Take-Out” (a Spanish/ Argentinean co-production), starring Argentina’s most popular actor, Ricardo Darin (“El Secreto de los Ojos”), written and directed by Sebastián Borensztein. In Spanish, referring to a story as a cuento chino is equivalent to calling it a tall tale.
“Chino” was the top grossing Argentinean film of 2011 and one of the highest grossing Argentinean films of all times. In its international release it has broken box office records for Latin American films in both Latin America and Europe. It won the Argentinean Academy Award for best feature and the Goya, the Spanish Academy Award, for Best Latin American Film. It won numerous festivals including the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at the Rome Film Festival.
When Odell was developing the script with Borensztein in 2009, he sent the script to Derbez, who immediately expressed interested in remaking it. “I loved the original story and movie,” Derbez said. “There is a heartfelt relationship that develops between these two very different people set around a whimsical, comical and magical world.”
Odell was also an executive producer on the English language 3D family thriller, “ The Games Maker”, starring Joseph Fiennes and Ed Asner. Made as a coproduction with Disney Latin America, the movie was produced in Argentina by Pampa Films and directed by Juan Pablo Buscarini, one of the producers of “Un Cuento Chino”. It was released widely across Latin America in the summer of 2014 and continues its theatrical release around the world.
Several years into Panamax’s deal with Lionsgate, a joint venture was created between Panamax, Televisa and Lionsgate called Pantelion Films. McNamara became chairman of Pantelion and Ben became President of Production.
Under the new deal he produced the 2012 coming of age comedy “Girl in Progress”, directed by “Under the Same Moon” director Patricia Riggen and staring Eva Mendes, Eugenio Derbez, Mathew Modine and Patricia Arquette
His most recent film was the inspirational true story, “Spare Parts”, starring George Lopez, Jamie Lee Curtis and Marisa Tomei which was released in January 2015.
While Eugenio was making his breakout film "Instructions not Included” neither he nor Ben had any idea it would be so big. “Instructions Not Included,” was released in 2013 by Pantelion and grossed $44.5 million, making it the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S. It grossed another $55 million overseas making it the number one Spanish language movie in the world.
The two realized, this was The One Time In A Career To Capitalize, and they decided to go together, to focus on brand-building, based on Eugenio's popularity and to go beyond his own work, in English and Spanish. Together they formed 3pas Studios which signed a first-look deal with Pantelion in August 2014.
They are in development on many feature films including “Un Cuento Chino”, a remake of the French comedy, “The Valet” and an untitled original script about an aging Latin lover from writers Chris Spain and Jon Zack (“The Perfect Storm”) which Derbez will star in and produce with Ben.
“We are developing multiple projects with an eye to shooting one at the end of 2015,” Odell said.
Meantime, Eugenio Derbez just filmed roles in Warner Brothers’ “Geostorm” with Gerard Butler and Sony Pictures “ Miracles from Heaven” with Jennifer Garner, and Queen Latifah. The latter was directed by Patricia Riggen who directed Derbez in both “Under the Same Moon” and “Girl in Progress”.
Ben is sure that his producing partner will go way beyond his current core Latino market “He is so lovable to watch. He has a magic about him that is undeniable and transcends language and culture.”...
Among the many people I met there, was Ben Odell, partner at 3Pas Studios, the newly launched production company that he and Mexico’s most beloved and renowned comic star and director, Eugenio Derbez, founded on the strength and success of the $100 million dollar grossing comedy, "Instructions Not Included".
The success of this film also allowed the film’s producer Monica Lozano to establish Alebrije Distribución a new distribution company which will acquire distribution rights for the Latin and North American markets.
Monica has had her hand in 23 productions since her first film, "Amores Perros". Her most recent success was "Instructions Not Included", the Us$ 5.5 million film that became the highest grossing Spanish language film of all time in the U.S., and the second highest grossing film in any language in Mexico.
But to return to Ben and his new company, the subject of this blog: 3Pas in Spanish means three steps, but is also a play on words, something Mexicans like a lot. Tres Pas sounds like tripas, which in English means guts, or tripe. Personally, I too love tripas. Deliciosas!
I Finally met Ben at Los Cabos Film Festival. I say I "finally" met him, because we have so many friends in common and ever since I have been following Latino films and writing my book on Latin America and the film business, I had often heard of Ben as the head of production for Pantelion, U.S.'s only sustained and successful Latino film distributor.
Last September, when Strategic Partners’ Laura Mackenzie in Halifax invited me to moderate a panel on “The Games Maker”, an Argentinean-Canadian-Italian coproduction, Ben’s name was prominent as the one who made the match between Argentina’s Juan Pablo Buscarini and Canada’s Tina Pehme and Kim Roberts.
I always had him pictured as my other friend whose last name is Odell, a slight and wiry, dark haired type. How surprised I was to see this big, handsome blond who exuded warmth and a good-willed wit and storytelling skill. Love at first sight! And I am sure I am not the only one who is smitten with him.
I wish I could convey his spirit, humor and strength as he recounted his life and career(s) to me in the hour we spent together in his new spacious, airy and bright Santa Monica office where Ben Shalom-Martinez was the third person in the new company, manning a phone system not yet working.
I told Ben I had read his mini bio in IMDb, and it made me want to know how he had gotten into the Latino side of the business. I expected him to reveal that, in fact, and in spite of his name, he was Latino.
One year out of college, Ben said, "I worked in editing with the Maysles Brothers. I was a P.A. on the first film John Turturro directed called “Mac”, and I was a reader for Art Linson. And that was my degree in Liberal Arts in Film. I wanted to be a screenwriter but I didn’t feel I had enough life experience. A family friend offered me a job in commercial production in Colombia. It was 1992 and my dad said: “if you love all things Latino, go learn Spanish and become an expert in the Latino market. It’s going to need people that understand it. No one was really talking about its importance then but that piece of advice changed my life. I moved to Colombia to learn Spanish and start what would be a life long journey in all things Latino, from U.S. Latino to Latin America. It’s not a single market but there is a connectivity between all of it.”
Ben grew up in Pennsylvania and when he was six years old, neighbors, who had old friends from Colombia, did an exchange of one of their children with a Colombian child. “My father ended up basically adopting that child for the year he lived with our neighbors and from that grew a friendship with this Colombian family.”
When he was 12 years old the whole Colombian family moved to Philadelphia. “I wanted them to adopt me. They were crazy, emotional, passionate, loving. It was a warmth and lust for life I hadn’t really experienced in suburban white America. And then I realized there was a whole country full of them.” At 15 he went with a friend to Colombia and loved it.
His father eventually married someone from that family. So Ben's connection to Colombia, if not to all of Latin America was very organic. Colombia is not part of the "U.S. Latino market" per se, but Colombia and the rest of Latin America share certain characteristics and commonalities — views on life and death, family, spirituality -- that end up working their way into storytelling that are shared throughout the U.S. Latino market and Latin America along with a larger emotional scale in the tone of their storytelling.
Odell lived in Colombia from 1992 to 2000. He also worked as a freelance journalist before becoming a Spanish language television writer and screenwriter there.
When he was in Colombia working in commercials, he met Tom Quinn, a journalist Iiving there for 25 years, working for Time Magazine and running an English language rag called The Colombian Post. In his youth ,Tom had run with the likes of Hunter S. Thompson. He had lots of adventures and lots of stories of those days.
Ben asked Tom what was the most compelling story they could make into a movie that wasn’t about narcotrafficking, and Tom said one word: “Emeralds.” Colombia supplies 60% of the world's emeralds. The mines in the Emerald Zone have strong drug laundering connections as well, as one might guess. The land is leased by the government to the three or four mining companies and they control everything with no supervision by the government.
The society is totally feudal. Workers labor for the companies for 28 days of the month and on the last two days they are allowed to keep whatever they find. Victor Carranza ran everything. He was The Don, violent and scary. A small man, about 5'2". He died in prison worth over a billion dollars.
Ben thought this was a great story to develop into a movie, and so he went back to New York to the contacts he had made including an exec at Tribeca Films. “They all said the same thing, great story but you are not a writer. Go write the script and then we’ll talk.” Ben returned to Colombia to do research.
In the meanwhile he began writing for Colombian TV. He had never written a feature film script, nor did he speak Spanish. He had, however, taken a course in feature film screenwriting with Robert McKee. And he had a girlfriend who was bilingual. He knew about Colombian TV and he saw the potential for legitimizing the story first as a TV show and then making it into a feature later.
Tom Quinn was very well known in Colombia as he was the Time News correspondent there at a moment when the magazine had a lot of power; the drug wars were one of its most consistent cover stories. They pitched it to Rti TV, and structured it like "The Fugitive".
There is a drug, called Burandanga, scientifically known as Scopolamine. It comes from a plant that grows wild in Colombia. The drugged one loses control of his or her will. He once heard a story about a man in a bar who wakes up in jail accused of a murder he can’t remember. This became the basis of the story. The lead goes into the Emerald Zone and drugged by burundanga, he kills one on the wrong side in a war going on there. He wakes up with no recollection and a full on civil war going on around him. He can't get out of the Emerald Zone until he finds the man who drugged him. The title of this series that Tom and he pitched and in 1998 created was "Fuego verde", like the 1954 Hollywood movie, “ Green Fire” starring Grace Kelly and Stewart Grainger.
As a television writer, he eventually created and wrote over 300 hours of Spanish-language narrative television including “Fuego Verde” -- the first-ever action series. It was one of the highest rated series on Colombian television. He also co-wrote the Colombian political satire feature film, “ Golpe de estadio”, which was nominated for Spain's Academy Award, the Goya in 1999, and was Colombia's nomination to the Oscar in 2000. It is still one of the highest grossing Colombian films of all time.
In the film, "Golpe de estadio", (Golpe de Estado means “Coup d'état”but it also could mean “Coup d’ Stadium”), an oil company has set up a camp for geological research in a small village in Colombia that has been named New Texas. It becomes the target of the guerrillas who are constantly clashing with police in the area. The confrontation is put on hold however during the TV transmission of the world Cup qualifiers. The two sides declare a sort of truce so that they can all watch the match between Colombia and Argentina on the only working TV in the town. Colombia wins the game, 5 to 0, (a victory, in real life, infamous in the annals of world cup) and of course the Colombian police and guerrilla find themselves cheering for the same team.
"Golpe" was released in theaters in 1999 while the drug wars and war between the guerrillas and the government were moving into peace talks. It came out during the war, and Ben naively believed it could make tangible impact on the country. Instead they received death threats. It was a very volatile time.
He left Colombia and put together a business plan to make movies for Latino audiences. He was too green and he was way ahead of his time so instead he went to film school at Columbia University.
He went to film school thinking it was only to network and realized he knew nothing about film writing or production. "Going to film school's more valuable if a student already has some experience," Ben says.
"Confess", a feature length film he produced in his second year of film school (2005) was one of his thesis projects. It was made for a couple of hundred thousand dollars. Ali Larter and Melissa Leo starred in it (way before she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Role in “The Fighter”). The movie was about a disgruntled computer hacker of mixed race, who struggles to adjust to life after a jaunt in prison. He takes his anger online forcing confessions out of those who slighted him. Eventually his focus becomes political. “It had all the trappings of a first time filmmaker. But conceptually it was scratching the surface of trends that wouldn’t appear online until years later. This was several years before YouTube took hold, which is a lifetime in human years.”
"For my second film, we had Scorsese as an executive producer. When we started preproduction we quickly discovered that one of our two investors really didn’t have the money. He signed a contract to invest while he was still trying to raise the funds“
At this point in our discussion Ben and I went off on a tangent...Money that falls out at the last minute is such a common story. Do these guys think the money will come just because they have "bet" on it, using the film as collateral?... Do they just want to go for the ride, as far as they can go?... are they sociopaths, liars, gamblers, on drugs or what? I remember when I worked at Ifa (until it became ICM); at the Motion Picture Division's meetings that Mike Medavoy held every week, agents would sometimes report on someone wanting to invest in film, and once Mike said "No. Not him. He has a very bad reputation, and his money is not good. We don't want that kind of money." But young producers know very little about vetting financial prospects.
This digression is only to illustrate the fact that that in this person-to-person business it is important to know who you are dealing with.
But Odell’s luck was going to change. Just a few weeks after the implosion of the film, he got an email from Jim McNamara. NBC had bought McNamara's Telemundo for Us$ 3 billion . McNamara had been CEO of New World, a position once held by Harry Sloan and Jon Feltheimer. Feltheimer went off to Sony TV which had a majority stake in Telemundo. McNamara, who had just been president of Universal TV worldwide, was brought in to run Telemundo
After leaving Telemundo, he went back to Feltheimer, in the early days of building Lionsgate, to discuss his new idea. At the time -- this was 2006 -- there were two Spanish language networks, 600 Spanish language radio stations, 2,000 Spanish language newspapers, and no one was making movies in Spanish. Felt liked it and they made a deal. Panamax was born.
McNamara knew of Odell when he was buying TV series for Telemundo. He bought a lot of the TV shows Odell had written.
Panamax’ made a six picture deal with Lionsgate. Odell became President of Production at Panamax Films and produced many feature films and TV movies both in Spanish and in English for the Hispanic market.
On one of their first scouting trips, Odell and McNamara went to see a play called “Latinologues” written by Rick Najera. In it, there was a Mexican actor named Eugenio Derbez. Derbez was known only for Spanish language TV at the time. He wrote, directed, produced and starred in his own shows for Televisa. These shows also played on Univision in the U.S. and were building a huge fan base in both countries as well as much of the Spanish-speaking world.
Latinologues was made up of multiple monologues from different actors playing roles as Latino archetypes. Derbez did three or four different characters. “When he came on stage,” recalls Odell, “He was electrifying, hilarious, magnetic. And then I met him afterwards. He was the humblest man, quiet, and a bit shy. I realized what an amazing talent he was, he had that ‘it factor’ – when he turned it on, it turned on the room.”
At the time Odell and McNamara were packaging a project called "Under the Same Moon" and suggested Derbez for a role. They flew the director, Patricia Riggen, to N.Y. to meet him. While Lionsgate ended up not financing the project, Derbez stayed in the picture. “Looking back, I think a significant part of why that movie did $20 million in box office between U.S. and Mexico, was Eugenio. He was already a mega star. No one really knew it in the general market because they weren’t paying attention to the success of his shows. Hollywood tends to ignore the Spanish speaking market, but the U.S. is the second biggest Spanish speaking country in the world and Eugenio has built a huge following there.”
Ben also made the art house Spanish language thriller, "Padre Nuestro" in 2007 which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. IFC changed the title to “Sangre de mi Sangre” for its U.S. release. It also played at New Directors/ New Films at Museum of Modern Art in New York in the Spring of 2007, received two Independent Spirit Awards nominations, for Best First Feature (for which Odell was nominated) and Best Screenplay. Odell also produced “Un Cuento Chino” aka “Chinese Take-Out” (a Spanish/ Argentinean co-production), starring Argentina’s most popular actor, Ricardo Darin (“El Secreto de los Ojos”), written and directed by Sebastián Borensztein. In Spanish, referring to a story as a cuento chino is equivalent to calling it a tall tale.
“Chino” was the top grossing Argentinean film of 2011 and one of the highest grossing Argentinean films of all times. In its international release it has broken box office records for Latin American films in both Latin America and Europe. It won the Argentinean Academy Award for best feature and the Goya, the Spanish Academy Award, for Best Latin American Film. It won numerous festivals including the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at the Rome Film Festival.
When Odell was developing the script with Borensztein in 2009, he sent the script to Derbez, who immediately expressed interested in remaking it. “I loved the original story and movie,” Derbez said. “There is a heartfelt relationship that develops between these two very different people set around a whimsical, comical and magical world.”
Odell was also an executive producer on the English language 3D family thriller, “ The Games Maker”, starring Joseph Fiennes and Ed Asner. Made as a coproduction with Disney Latin America, the movie was produced in Argentina by Pampa Films and directed by Juan Pablo Buscarini, one of the producers of “Un Cuento Chino”. It was released widely across Latin America in the summer of 2014 and continues its theatrical release around the world.
Several years into Panamax’s deal with Lionsgate, a joint venture was created between Panamax, Televisa and Lionsgate called Pantelion Films. McNamara became chairman of Pantelion and Ben became President of Production.
Under the new deal he produced the 2012 coming of age comedy “Girl in Progress”, directed by “Under the Same Moon” director Patricia Riggen and staring Eva Mendes, Eugenio Derbez, Mathew Modine and Patricia Arquette
His most recent film was the inspirational true story, “Spare Parts”, starring George Lopez, Jamie Lee Curtis and Marisa Tomei which was released in January 2015.
While Eugenio was making his breakout film "Instructions not Included” neither he nor Ben had any idea it would be so big. “Instructions Not Included,” was released in 2013 by Pantelion and grossed $44.5 million, making it the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S. It grossed another $55 million overseas making it the number one Spanish language movie in the world.
The two realized, this was The One Time In A Career To Capitalize, and they decided to go together, to focus on brand-building, based on Eugenio's popularity and to go beyond his own work, in English and Spanish. Together they formed 3pas Studios which signed a first-look deal with Pantelion in August 2014.
They are in development on many feature films including “Un Cuento Chino”, a remake of the French comedy, “The Valet” and an untitled original script about an aging Latin lover from writers Chris Spain and Jon Zack (“The Perfect Storm”) which Derbez will star in and produce with Ben.
“We are developing multiple projects with an eye to shooting one at the end of 2015,” Odell said.
Meantime, Eugenio Derbez just filmed roles in Warner Brothers’ “Geostorm” with Gerard Butler and Sony Pictures “ Miracles from Heaven” with Jennifer Garner, and Queen Latifah. The latter was directed by Patricia Riggen who directed Derbez in both “Under the Same Moon” and “Girl in Progress”.
Ben is sure that his producing partner will go way beyond his current core Latino market “He is so lovable to watch. He has a magic about him that is undeniable and transcends language and culture.”...
- 8/5/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Sales include German deal for Partho Sen-Gupta’s Sunrise.
Fledgling sales company Stray Dogs has sold Indian director Partho Sen-Gupta’s Sunrise, starring Adil Hussein as a detective investigating a series of child abductions over a decade, to Germany’s Rapid Eye.
The Paris-based company, which made its Cannes debut this year, has also sealed deals on Ben and Joshua Safdie’s Heaven Knows What to Japan (Transformer), Mexico (Axolote Distribucion) and ex-Yugoslavia (2i Films).
Company founder Nathan Fischer is also reporting sales on experimental Philippine filmmaker Khavn De La Cruz Ruined Heart to Taiwan (Flash Forward), Japan (Tokyo New Cinema) and the UK (Third Window) and France (Spectrum).
Israeli Noam Kaplan’s Manpower about a police officer, who reassesses his job as an immigration police officer when a controversial new policy is introduced has been picked up for the Us by Menemsha Films.
Fledgling sales company Stray Dogs has sold Indian director Partho Sen-Gupta’s Sunrise, starring Adil Hussein as a detective investigating a series of child abductions over a decade, to Germany’s Rapid Eye.
The Paris-based company, which made its Cannes debut this year, has also sealed deals on Ben and Joshua Safdie’s Heaven Knows What to Japan (Transformer), Mexico (Axolote Distribucion) and ex-Yugoslavia (2i Films).
Company founder Nathan Fischer is also reporting sales on experimental Philippine filmmaker Khavn De La Cruz Ruined Heart to Taiwan (Flash Forward), Japan (Tokyo New Cinema) and the UK (Third Window) and France (Spectrum).
Israeli Noam Kaplan’s Manpower about a police officer, who reassesses his job as an immigration police officer when a controversial new policy is introduced has been picked up for the Us by Menemsha Films.
- 5/19/2015
- ScreenDaily
The Tuesday episode was delayed a day as Laremy was caught in Dallas over the weekend, but don't fret, we're still here and we have another 67 minute of ear hole glory to deliver including our usual look at the new DVDs and Blu-rays coming out, a rube submission, a new trailer to explore, a couple of your questions, Laremy on TV and a big ol' batch of games. Hope you enjoy. For those that may be wondering, we didn't intend to skip games today, it just happened that way as we started running out of time, but we'll be getting to them all on Friday so get your submissions in! If you are on Twitter, we have a Twitter account dedicated to the podcast at @bnlpod. Give us a follow won'tchac I want to remind you that you can call in and leave us your comments, thoughts, questions, etc. directly on our Google Voice account,...
- 5/13/2015
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Release details for Double Take's Ultimate Night of the Living Dead comic book series, an update on Alex Garland's Annihilation adaptation, and information on The Night Gardener film are included in our latest round-up.
Press Release -- "On September 16, 2015, Double Take (2T) will release all 10 1st issues of its 1st 10 series of Ultimate Night of the Living Dead. 2T has assembled 10 teams of talented storytellers; each is creating an original series of stories. Each series is interesting, informative and funny in its own way. Together they weave into a common universe. “Originally, we were thinking of trickling out a couple series of every month or so, building up our roster over time,” said 2T Gm Bill Jemas. “Now we’re planning to launch our new universe in one big bang.”
In late March 2015, 2T announced the first three books of the series (Rise, Home and Z-Men) for their September launch.
Press Release -- "On September 16, 2015, Double Take (2T) will release all 10 1st issues of its 1st 10 series of Ultimate Night of the Living Dead. 2T has assembled 10 teams of talented storytellers; each is creating an original series of stories. Each series is interesting, informative and funny in its own way. Together they weave into a common universe. “Originally, we were thinking of trickling out a couple series of every month or so, building up our roster over time,” said 2T Gm Bill Jemas. “Now we’re planning to launch our new universe in one big bang.”
In late March 2015, 2T announced the first three books of the series (Rise, Home and Z-Men) for their September launch.
- 5/8/2015
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Got a scoop request? An anonymous tip you’re dying to share? Send any/all of the above to askausiello@tvline.com
Question: I am sure you are getting bombarded with Grey’s Anatomy questions, but after Thursday’s episode I’m a little confused: I could’ve sworn Patrick Dempsey signed a two-year contract with ABC last year. What gives? —Laura
Ausiello: Four things: (1) Yes, it’s true, he signed a contract last year that was supposed to carry him through a potential Season 12. (2) Contracts are made to be broken. (3) Contracts tend to give networks/studios the “option” to...
Question: I am sure you are getting bombarded with Grey’s Anatomy questions, but after Thursday’s episode I’m a little confused: I could’ve sworn Patrick Dempsey signed a two-year contract with ABC last year. What gives? —Laura
Ausiello: Four things: (1) Yes, it’s true, he signed a contract last year that was supposed to carry him through a potential Season 12. (2) Contracts are made to be broken. (3) Contracts tend to give networks/studios the “option” to...
- 4/30/2015
- TVLine.com
So, what’s the cure for overloading on the all-depressing news (now bombarding you with 24-hour cable channels along with the “interweb”)? Well, a time machine would be great. Imagine pulling the lever on Rod Taylor’s 1960 model or Doc Brown’s DeLorean-based 1985 sweet ride (thirty years, can’t be!). Too bad they don’t exist, but buying a ticket at the multiplex can whisk you away for a couple of hours or so, right? The feel-good nostalgia flick has become almost as popular a genre as the haunted house spook show or the sports “underdog” story. The 1940’s have proved a most popular destination for, well over forty years (remember Summer Of 42 back in 71’?). It’s been the setting for a very recent Oscar winner, The Imitation Game, and even a big superhero blockbuster with Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Hey, we just visited it two weeks ago in...
- 4/23/2015
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
John Shannon, Mj Lambert and Ben Geis are session musicians who have played live and on record for artists including Lauryn Hill, Slick Rick, John Mayer and Ben Harper. As rock group theShift, the trio hopes to carve out a lane that is all their own. To Shannon, it's about bringing "danger" back in to their songs and live shows. "We bring danger by not holding back, by keeping songs open to whatever happens -- not in jam way, but by bringing back the guitar solo, by not being afraid to let it go on stage," Shannon told HitFix this week about theShift "experience" of "transcendence. "We're giving it everything we have and really not giving a f*ck what anybody thinks. We want to take the audience on a trip." One unexpected audience Shannon's earned in his years of experience: Louis C.K., and fans who watch his show "Louie.
- 4/22/2015
- by Katie Hasty
- Hitfix
It influenced Stephen King's seminal horror novel, The Shining, and was the basis for a 1976 film starring Karen Black and Oliver Reed. Valancourt Books is now paying tribute to one of the most notable haunted house stories ever put to paper with their new edition of Robert Marasco's Burnt Offerings, featuring an introduction by Stephen Graham Jones. If you haven't picked up a copy yet, we have an excerpt from the 1973 horror novel in our latest round-up, along with details on how you can be a volunteer at this year's Stanley Film Festival and a look at images from the Great Lakes-set horror film, The Dark Below, which recently wrapped principal photography.
Burnt Offerings: "Ben and Marian Rolfe are desperate to escape a stifling summer in their cramped and noisy Queens apartment, so when they get the chance to rent a mansion in upstate New York for...
Burnt Offerings: "Ben and Marian Rolfe are desperate to escape a stifling summer in their cramped and noisy Queens apartment, so when they get the chance to rent a mansion in upstate New York for...
- 3/24/2015
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Joe Carroll Cinderella, Once, Eric Lajuan Summers Motown The Musical, Genson Blimline Rock Of Ages, and Larry Owens Fat Camp join Rebecca Naomi Jones Big Love, American Idiot, Alysha Umphress On the Town, American Idiot, Kacie Sheik Hair, Theo Stockman Hair, American Idiot, Matthew Hydzik Side Show, West Side Story, Ben Roseberry The Lion King, Sara Kapner Bare, and Kasie Gasparini Mamma Mia, along with show creators Zac Lasher U-Melt, Bebe Buell Band, Maggie Rose, Jay Leibowitz The Acting Company, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, and their band featuring Kevin Griffin and Rob Salzer of U-Melt, Dan McNaney and Sparkie Sandler. Anna Ty Bergman, Dani Marcus, Blake Pfeil, and Roger Weisman lend their talents on backup.
- 3/5/2015
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
It’s been a week since “Parks and Recreation” ended. In my review of the series finale, I said that I put off my usual post-season interview with Mike Schur at the time because he was otherwise occupied. (He did, though, offer an answer of sorts as to the question of who is Potus in the year 2048.) Over the last few days, though, we emailed some questions and answers back and forth on leftover bits of business from the finale and the final season, including the show finally identifying Leslie’s party affiliation, which guest stars Schur didn’t manage to squeeze into the final season, Ron and Leslie’s brief estrangement, the religious background(s) of the all-important Lerpiss family, and more. So if you haven’t tired of Schur after the two-part interview we did before the finale, here’s us talking “Parks” one last time (sigh)… Was...
- 3/4/2015
- by Alan Sepinwall
- Hitfix
Cue up the emotional GIFs, the Parks and Recreation series finale was an emotional roller coaster of big laughs, big guest stars and even bigger heart-twistingly nostalgic moments.
NBC
As the Parks crew tackled one last menial mission, fixing a broken swing, we flashed forward to their future lives. Some were pure comedy gold (Jean-Ralphio faking his own death and Craig as a still-manic old man), but mostly this nostalgic trip to the future just made us wish we had seven more seasons with our favorite Pawnee residents.
"When we worked here together, we fought, scratched and clawed to make peoples’ lives a tiny bit better," Leslie told her team in the finale. "What makes work worth doing is getting to do it with people that you love."
http://nbcparksandrec.tumblr.com/post/112015327761
News: How to Throw the Ultimate 'Parks and Recreation' Finale Party!
Here's a look at the moments from tonight’s finale that made...
NBC
As the Parks crew tackled one last menial mission, fixing a broken swing, we flashed forward to their future lives. Some were pure comedy gold (Jean-Ralphio faking his own death and Craig as a still-manic old man), but mostly this nostalgic trip to the future just made us wish we had seven more seasons with our favorite Pawnee residents.
"When we worked here together, we fought, scratched and clawed to make peoples’ lives a tiny bit better," Leslie told her team in the finale. "What makes work worth doing is getting to do it with people that you love."
http://nbcparksandrec.tumblr.com/post/112015327761
News: How to Throw the Ultimate 'Parks and Recreation' Finale Party!
Here's a look at the moments from tonight’s finale that made...
- 2/25/2015
- Entertainment Tonight
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