As America grapples with the latest in a way-too-long series of Most Important Presidential Election Years in Our Lifetime, democracy and its fundamental building blocks – governance, consensus, civil discourse, the rule of law, the balance of power – face an equally foreboding precarity. Boomers and Gen-Xers ask themselves, How did we get here?, and turn to Millennials and Gen-Zers for hope.
The Girls and Boys State programs have, for nearly 90 years and in all 50 states, been in the business of cultivating and nurturing the next generation of leaders through intensive, week-long immersion programs in government and politics. Directors/producers/life partners Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine were drawn to this idea of twin crucibles – the program itself and adolescence – to explore their confluences of ideological inquiry amid a politically tumultuous time and the coming-of-age dynamic between private values and public personae. The Emmy-winning Boys State, released in 2020 through Apple TV+, gave...
The Girls and Boys State programs have, for nearly 90 years and in all 50 states, been in the business of cultivating and nurturing the next generation of leaders through intensive, week-long immersion programs in government and politics. Directors/producers/life partners Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine were drawn to this idea of twin crucibles – the program itself and adolescence – to explore their confluences of ideological inquiry amid a politically tumultuous time and the coming-of-age dynamic between private values and public personae. The Emmy-winning Boys State, released in 2020 through Apple TV+, gave...
- 6/7/2024
- by Tom White
- Deadline Film + TV
HamptonsFilm’s 16th annual SummerDocs series will feature three Sundance favorites: “Skywalkers: A Love Story,” “War Game,” and “Super/Man:The Christopher Reeve Story.” HamptonsFilm and Hamptons Intl. Film Festival artistic director David Nugent and chairman emeritus Alec Baldwin will lead conversations with attending filmmakers and guests.
The series will kick-off on July 5 with Jeff Zimbalist and Maria Bukhonina’s “Skywalkers: A Love Story.” Following a successful Sundance debut, Netflix acquired the worldwide rights to the docu about daredevil couple Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus from Moscow, as they take their relationship to terrifying new heights in a wild scheme to climb the world’s last great skyscraper and perform a death-defying stunt on its spire. Following the screening, Bukhonina will take part in a Q&a.
Tony Gerber and Jesse Moss’s “War Game” will screen on July 20 followed by Q&a with both filmmakers. The docu, which debuted at Sundance 2024, imagines a nation-wide insurrection,...
The series will kick-off on July 5 with Jeff Zimbalist and Maria Bukhonina’s “Skywalkers: A Love Story.” Following a successful Sundance debut, Netflix acquired the worldwide rights to the docu about daredevil couple Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus from Moscow, as they take their relationship to terrifying new heights in a wild scheme to climb the world’s last great skyscraper and perform a death-defying stunt on its spire. Following the screening, Bukhonina will take part in a Q&a.
Tony Gerber and Jesse Moss’s “War Game” will screen on July 20 followed by Q&a with both filmmakers. The docu, which debuted at Sundance 2024, imagines a nation-wide insurrection,...
- 5/21/2024
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
It’s that time of year again! The annual Rooftop Films Summer Series is back, with IndieWire exclusively debuting the 2024 lineup.
This year’s Summer Series will run from May 17 through August 23, and will include over 40 events, featuring new independent feature films, short film programs, family screenings, and live performances. Programming highlights include the 20th anniversary of “Napoleon Dynamite,” the NYC premiere of “In a Violent Nature,” and an early screening of “War Game.”
Non-profit Rooftop Films annually celebrates independent films and filmmakers with one of the world’s longest running and largest outdoor festivals for indie film. The screenings take place in outdoor venues across New York City’s five boroughs, with “In a Violent Nature” set to debut on Governors Island.
“The 2024 Summer Series isn’t just a celebration of groundbreaking new cinema,” Rooftop Films’ Executive Director Adnaan Wasey said. “It’s also a catalyst for connecting communities...
This year’s Summer Series will run from May 17 through August 23, and will include over 40 events, featuring new independent feature films, short film programs, family screenings, and live performances. Programming highlights include the 20th anniversary of “Napoleon Dynamite,” the NYC premiere of “In a Violent Nature,” and an early screening of “War Game.”
Non-profit Rooftop Films annually celebrates independent films and filmmakers with one of the world’s longest running and largest outdoor festivals for indie film. The screenings take place in outdoor venues across New York City’s five boroughs, with “In a Violent Nature” set to debut on Governors Island.
“The 2024 Summer Series isn’t just a celebration of groundbreaking new cinema,” Rooftop Films’ Executive Director Adnaan Wasey said. “It’s also a catalyst for connecting communities...
- 5/7/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Chicago – Doc10, the annual Chicago documentary film festival, highlights a cautionary note for its 2024 Closing Night film on Sunday May 5th, at Chicago’s Davis Theater. ‘War Game’ is a look into a consequence exercise with expert participants playing roles, regarding a “what-if” the insurrection that occurred on January 6th, 2021 would escalate into a more coordinated attack … including the use of extremists within the military for the potential coup. Click War Game for information and tickets.
The participants who took roles in the exercise … and all will appear at a Q&a on Doc10’s Closing Night … include former Montana Governor Steve Bullock, former North Dakota Senator Heidi Heitkamp, retired Major General Linda Singh and National Security Expert Elizabeth Neumann. Also appearing will be CEO Janessa Goldbeck of the VetVoice Foundation, the organization that expedited the war game, and the filmmakers of the “War Game” documentary, Jesse Moss and Tony Gerber.
The participants who took roles in the exercise … and all will appear at a Q&a on Doc10’s Closing Night … include former Montana Governor Steve Bullock, former North Dakota Senator Heidi Heitkamp, retired Major General Linda Singh and National Security Expert Elizabeth Neumann. Also appearing will be CEO Janessa Goldbeck of the VetVoice Foundation, the organization that expedited the war game, and the filmmakers of the “War Game” documentary, Jesse Moss and Tony Gerber.
- 5/4/2024
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Henry Cavill is unarguably one of the hottest, most jaw-dropping physique-possessing celebrities in the entirety of Hollywood’s entertainment industry. Yet, as much of a quarterback-like personality as he looks on the outside, his true choice of interest lies in something completely different; one that even has many labeling him as a “nerd”: His passionate love for gaming.
Henry Cavill in Enola Holmes.
While he is majorly a gaming freak, one specific gaming universe that enchants him to unparalleled levels of excitement, thrill, and exhilaration is none other than the Warhammer one. And although he doesn’t mind being called a nerd, this very passion of his has even led to Cavill getting trolled by other people, like Jimmy Kimmel, for instance!
Jimmy Kimmel Roasted Henry Cavill Over His Nerdiness for Warhammer
Talk about masculinity, mannerisms, and handsomeness, and the first person to pop into your mind as the...
Henry Cavill in Enola Holmes.
While he is majorly a gaming freak, one specific gaming universe that enchants him to unparalleled levels of excitement, thrill, and exhilaration is none other than the Warhammer one. And although he doesn’t mind being called a nerd, this very passion of his has even led to Cavill getting trolled by other people, like Jimmy Kimmel, for instance!
Jimmy Kimmel Roasted Henry Cavill Over His Nerdiness for Warhammer
Talk about masculinity, mannerisms, and handsomeness, and the first person to pop into your mind as the...
- 4/13/2024
- by Mahin Sultan
- FandomWire
Chris Smith’s “Devo” will open the ninth edition of Chicago’s Doc10 documentary film festival on May 2.
The film, which premiered at Sundance 2024, charts the life of the art-movement-turned-band Devo from Akron, Ohio, through archival footage of the band and candid sit-down interviews with band members. Smith follows the band on their journey from Dadaist, Kent State radicals to unlikely icons of 1980s MTV. Currently celebrating their 50 years of De-Evolution Tour, Devo band members will join Doc10 in a live, virtual Q&a moderated by Wxrt’s Marty Lennartz.
Doc10, a four-day fest running May 2-5, features a selection of 10 documentaries making their Chicago premieres along with a package of 10 prestigious documentary shorts. The fest is hosted by Chicago Media Project, a company that has generated more than $8.5 million in funding for documentary projects. Cmp has directly supported over 150 films including “Icarus,” “Crip Camp” and most recently “Gaucho, Gaucho,...
The film, which premiered at Sundance 2024, charts the life of the art-movement-turned-band Devo from Akron, Ohio, through archival footage of the band and candid sit-down interviews with band members. Smith follows the band on their journey from Dadaist, Kent State radicals to unlikely icons of 1980s MTV. Currently celebrating their 50 years of De-Evolution Tour, Devo band members will join Doc10 in a live, virtual Q&a moderated by Wxrt’s Marty Lennartz.
Doc10, a four-day fest running May 2-5, features a selection of 10 documentaries making their Chicago premieres along with a package of 10 prestigious documentary shorts. The fest is hosted by Chicago Media Project, a company that has generated more than $8.5 million in funding for documentary projects. Cmp has directly supported over 150 films including “Icarus,” “Crip Camp” and most recently “Gaucho, Gaucho,...
- 4/3/2024
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
The nerve-wracking documentary “War Game” follows a 6-hour Situation Room re-creation of events of Jan. 6, 2021, albeit on a larger, more distressing scale. In the process, the film lays bare numerous weaknesses in America’s political infrastructure, but its most revealing subjects might not be who you think.
Directors Tony Gerber and Jesse Moss strip their opening scenes of context, as they follow two former U.S. soldiers in Washington, D.C. Dressed in tactical gear, they survey the U.S. Capitol and avoid the watchful eyes of police while discussing where they might attack. The conversation is concerning, but it’s soon revealed that these men — Chris Jones of the Marine Corps and Kris Goldsmith of the U.S. Army — are merely tacticians in a roleplaying game. However, once the full scope of their experiment fades into view, “War Game” becomes perturbing all over again.
The seeds for this game — designed...
Directors Tony Gerber and Jesse Moss strip their opening scenes of context, as they follow two former U.S. soldiers in Washington, D.C. Dressed in tactical gear, they survey the U.S. Capitol and avoid the watchful eyes of police while discussing where they might attack. The conversation is concerning, but it’s soon revealed that these men — Chris Jones of the Marine Corps and Kris Goldsmith of the U.S. Army — are merely tacticians in a roleplaying game. However, once the full scope of their experiment fades into view, “War Game” becomes perturbing all over again.
The seeds for this game — designed...
- 3/20/2024
- by Siddhant Adlakha
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: The Christmas tree trade in New York City is big business. Every holiday season, hundreds of thousands of trees are sold on the sidewalks of New York, and competition is fierce.
This is the foundation for a new feature documentary from Call Me Miss Cleo director Celia Aniskovich.
Aniskovich is directing and producing The Merchants of Joy (w/t), which comes from Boat Rocker, the company behind War Game, which just premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and Hulu’s Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields, Aniskovich’s company Dial Tone Films and Epic Magazine.
The doc will follow five families, who are equal parts street corner capitalists and Christmas die-hards, as they source, bargain, and hustle to sell as many trees as they can in the city that never sleeps.
It started as an article in Epic magazine, which was published in December 2022.
Todd Lubin and Jack Turner will executive...
This is the foundation for a new feature documentary from Call Me Miss Cleo director Celia Aniskovich.
Aniskovich is directing and producing The Merchants of Joy (w/t), which comes from Boat Rocker, the company behind War Game, which just premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and Hulu’s Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields, Aniskovich’s company Dial Tone Films and Epic Magazine.
The doc will follow five families, who are equal parts street corner capitalists and Christmas die-hards, as they source, bargain, and hustle to sell as many trees as they can in the city that never sleeps.
It started as an article in Epic magazine, which was published in December 2022.
Todd Lubin and Jack Turner will executive...
- 2/12/2024
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Jesse Moss and Tony Gerber’s War Game documents a nifty six-hour exercise in roleplay, commencing on the anniversary of the January 6 United States Capitol attack. Put on by the Vet Voice Foundation in 2023, this bit of roleplay included U.S. officials in both defense and intelligence acting out their response to a fabricated but feasible coup attempt supported by the active military. It’s a stark, scary scenario succinctly laid out by Moss and Gerber, with aide from Janessa Goldbeck, CEO of Vet Voice. The results of the planned practice aren’t very reassuring.
Steve Bullock (former governor of Montana) plays “the President” here, informed by his team of a developing situation wherein a potential organized revolt is activating all across the nation. Each side is represented in the action, with veterans Kristofer Goldsmith and Chris Jones playing leaders of the fictional “Order of Columbus,” an extremist group leading the treasonous mission.
Steve Bullock (former governor of Montana) plays “the President” here, informed by his team of a developing situation wherein a potential organized revolt is activating all across the nation. Each side is represented in the action, with veterans Kristofer Goldsmith and Chris Jones playing leaders of the fictional “Order of Columbus,” an extremist group leading the treasonous mission.
- 1/31/2024
- by Dan Mecca
- The Film Stage
"War Game" isn't what one might consider a typical horror movie, but thanks to its subject matter, it's one of the scariest films you're likely to see in 2024.
Two years after the January 6, 2021 insurrection, a collection of current and former U.S. intelligence agents, Army veterans, defense specialists, senators, and high-ranking advisors meet near the U.S. Capitol to participate in a secret national security exercise overseen by a non-partisan veterans organization called Vet Voice. With concerns running high that the next real-life insurrection could involve members of the active duty military, this unscripted exercise was concocted to see how the federal government might respond to a contested presidential election in 2024, and another attempt to stop the peaceful transfer of power on January 6, 2025. This time, the loser of the presidential race openly calls for rebellion by encouraging military members to ignore orders from the President and take up arms against their countrymen.
Two years after the January 6, 2021 insurrection, a collection of current and former U.S. intelligence agents, Army veterans, defense specialists, senators, and high-ranking advisors meet near the U.S. Capitol to participate in a secret national security exercise overseen by a non-partisan veterans organization called Vet Voice. With concerns running high that the next real-life insurrection could involve members of the active duty military, this unscripted exercise was concocted to see how the federal government might respond to a contested presidential election in 2024, and another attempt to stop the peaceful transfer of power on January 6, 2025. This time, the loser of the presidential race openly calls for rebellion by encouraging military members to ignore orders from the President and take up arms against their countrymen.
- 1/29/2024
- by Ben Pearson
- Slash Film
First you get radicalized, then you get professionalized—a familiar trajectory Chris Smith’s Devo retells in a familiar idiom. After sitting down with dour conspiracy theorist Michael Ruppert for 2009’s Collapse, the American Movie director didn’t make a feature for eight years. He returned to begin his populist doc era with 2017’s Jim & Andy, which made generous use of previously unseen videos of Jim Carrey acting like a maniac “in character” as Andy Kaufman on the set of 1999’s Man on the Moon. In present-day interviews, Carrey described his dilemma: having given a performance at a relatively young age that confirmed […]
The post Sundance 2024: Devo, War Game, Girls State first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Sundance 2024: Devo, War Game, Girls State first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 1/25/2024
- by Vadim Rizov
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
First you get radicalized, then you get professionalized—a familiar trajectory Chris Smith’s Devo retells in a familiar idiom. After sitting down with dour conspiracy theorist Michael Ruppert for 2009’s Collapse, the American Movie director didn’t make a feature for eight years. He returned to begin his populist doc era with 2017’s Jim & Andy, which made generous use of previously unseen videos of Jim Carrey acting like a maniac “in character” as Andy Kaufman on the set of 1999’s Man on the Moon. In present-day interviews, Carrey described his dilemma: having given a performance at a relatively young age that confirmed […]
The post Sundance 2024: Devo, War Game, Girls State first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Sundance 2024: Devo, War Game, Girls State first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 1/25/2024
- by Vadim Rizov
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Jesse Moss and Tony Gerber’s chilling and engrossing documentary “War Game” begins ominously, moves with urgency, and never lets up. The film begins with two suspicious men surveilling the capitol building in Washington D.C. and the surrounding era, taking photos, recording videos, and gaming out a plan for what sounds like another threatening insurrection plot. An authoritarian figure we vaguely recognize, but not as a politician, delivers a portentous speech about election results, but as the tension coils, we soon realize he’s an actor.
Continue reading ‘War Game’ Review: Role-Playing Insurrection Exercise Plays Like A Riveting Political Thriller [Sundance] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘War Game’ Review: Role-Playing Insurrection Exercise Plays Like A Riveting Political Thriller [Sundance] at The Playlist.
- 1/23/2024
- by Rodrigo Perez
- The Playlist
“Look at where we are right now,” states former Montana Gov. Steve Bullock of the divisions in America and the disinformation war that has reached an even higher pitch three years after the violent assault on the Capital. “About three weeks ago, polling said a fourth of Americans think that the FBI actually incited January 6.” the one-time presidential candidate says incredulously. “We have 171 election deniers in the House, a third of the overall members of Congress.”
To Bullock’s point on this day of the New Hampshire primary, polls also show that a significant swath of Americans are weary of a re-match between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Starring Bullock as a semi-fictional Potus, War Game, a film debuting right now at the Sundance Film Festival, worries about a possible and bloody consequence of a disputed 2024 election that could make January 6, 2021 look like a tame rehearsal.
“This isn’t some like idle.
To Bullock’s point on this day of the New Hampshire primary, polls also show that a significant swath of Americans are weary of a re-match between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Starring Bullock as a semi-fictional Potus, War Game, a film debuting right now at the Sundance Film Festival, worries about a possible and bloody consequence of a disputed 2024 election that could make January 6, 2021 look like a tame rehearsal.
“This isn’t some like idle.
- 1/23/2024
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
The new documentary War Game follows lawmakers and military officials role-playing the response to a political coup
Is the US government prepared to withstand another January 6? That’s the question a new documentary sparking conversation at the Sundance film festival chillingly poses, arguing that US government and military officials must brace for the possibility of a potential political coup in a divided America.
War Game, directed by Jesse Moss and Tony Gerber, observes a closed-door, unscripted simulation of an armed attack on the Capitol based on the events of 6 January 2021, when a mob of Trump supporters and far-right stormed the building to disrupt lawmakers’ certification of Joe Biden’s election. The six-hour exercise asked a bipartisan group of US defense, intelligence and elected policymakers spanning five presidential administrations to role-play the administrative response to a political coup backed by rogue members of the US military in the wake of a contested election.
Is the US government prepared to withstand another January 6? That’s the question a new documentary sparking conversation at the Sundance film festival chillingly poses, arguing that US government and military officials must brace for the possibility of a potential political coup in a divided America.
War Game, directed by Jesse Moss and Tony Gerber, observes a closed-door, unscripted simulation of an armed attack on the Capitol based on the events of 6 January 2021, when a mob of Trump supporters and far-right stormed the building to disrupt lawmakers’ certification of Joe Biden’s election. The six-hour exercise asked a bipartisan group of US defense, intelligence and elected policymakers spanning five presidential administrations to role-play the administrative response to a political coup backed by rogue members of the US military in the wake of a contested election.
- 1/22/2024
- by Adrian Horton
- The Guardian - Film News
Exclusive: Seth Brodie, Chief Financial Officer at Anonymous Content, is leaving the company.
Deadline understands that Brodie’s departure is amicable. No word on his next move.
The departure comes as Anonymous Content has been searching for nearly a year for a new CEO following the surprising resignation of Dawn Olmstead and COO Heather McCauley from the company. Sources close to the company told Deadline that it is in the final stages of the search.
The duo resigned in March. Olmstead resurfaced in December, teaming up with Charlize Theron and her Denver & Delilah partners Beth Kono and Aj Dix to launch a new venture.
Brodie joined Anonymous Content in 2021. Before that, he was SVP of finance and strategy at Legendary Entertainment, having joined that company from DreamWorks Studios, where he was VP for finance and strategic planning.
Anonymous Content, which is behind films including The Revenant, Spotlight and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind...
Deadline understands that Brodie’s departure is amicable. No word on his next move.
The departure comes as Anonymous Content has been searching for nearly a year for a new CEO following the surprising resignation of Dawn Olmstead and COO Heather McCauley from the company. Sources close to the company told Deadline that it is in the final stages of the search.
The duo resigned in March. Olmstead resurfaced in December, teaming up with Charlize Theron and her Denver & Delilah partners Beth Kono and Aj Dix to launch a new venture.
Brodie joined Anonymous Content in 2021. Before that, he was SVP of finance and strategy at Legendary Entertainment, having joined that company from DreamWorks Studios, where he was VP for finance and strategic planning.
Anonymous Content, which is behind films including The Revenant, Spotlight and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind...
- 1/12/2024
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Anonymous Content and Boat Rocker have partnered to co-finance and co-sell an untitled political thriller feature documentary by Emmy Award-winning filmmakers Jesse Moss (“Boys State”) and Tony Gerber (“The Notorious Mr. Bout”).
Produced by Boat Rocker’s Matador Content, the project was shot over the course of two days last month in Washington, D.C.
While details on the project are being kept under wraps, Moss teased it as a “an utterly unique story that is equal parts political thriller, dystopian science fiction and intimate cinema vérité.”
“It expands the form of non-fiction filmmaking in exciting ways and is of enormous significance to our political future. We can’t wait to share it,” Moss continued.
Moss and Gerber previously co-directed “Full Battle Rattle,” a critically acclaimed film about life inside the U.S. Army’s Iraq simulation in the California desert. Moss’s credits also include “Boys State” which won a...
Produced by Boat Rocker’s Matador Content, the project was shot over the course of two days last month in Washington, D.C.
While details on the project are being kept under wraps, Moss teased it as a “an utterly unique story that is equal parts political thriller, dystopian science fiction and intimate cinema vérité.”
“It expands the form of non-fiction filmmaking in exciting ways and is of enormous significance to our political future. We can’t wait to share it,” Moss continued.
Moss and Gerber previously co-directed “Full Battle Rattle,” a critically acclaimed film about life inside the U.S. Army’s Iraq simulation in the California desert. Moss’s credits also include “Boys State” which won a...
- 2/9/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
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