In 1982, Jonathan Demme directed a lovely TV movie called “Who Am I This Time?” about a shy actor (Christopher Walken) who can only reveal himself on stage in a variety of disparate roles. It’s an emblematic title and idea for Demme himself, a director whose fascination for the viewer lies in the fact that he’s paradoxically both an auteur with a clear signature and a director who tried on different artistic personalities throughout his career. There’s the exploitation guerrilla of the early ’70s; the humanist drama specialist who made “Melvin and Howard,” “Philadelphia,” and “Rachel Getting Married”; the off-beat hipster comedian; the sensitive documentarian; the live performance specialist; and the steward of well resourced, star-driven literary adaptations and remakes that became Demme’s specialty after his blockbuster success with “The Silence of the Lambs” in 1991.
While the subject matter and scale may vary, the point of view...
While the subject matter and scale may vary, the point of view...
- 3/20/2024
- by Jim Hemphill
- Indiewire
Angela Bassett may have gone home empty handed at the Oscars in March, but the two-time nominee will be getting a golden statuette this year after all – and in very good company too.
In November, Bassett, Mel Brooks and film editor Carol Littleton will receive honorary Oscars at the Governors Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Monday.
Michelle Satter, the founding senior director of the Sundance Institute’s Artist Programs, will also be given the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the untelevised event.
Read More: Angela Bassett Says Whoopi Goldberg ‘Stepped Up’ For Crew On ‘How Stella Got Her Groove Back’
“The Academy’s Board of Governors is thrilled to honor four trailblazers who have transformed the film industry and inspired generations of filmmakers and movie fans,” Janet Yang, the academy’s president, said in a statement.
Most recipients of the academy’s honorary awards have not won competitive Oscars.
In November, Bassett, Mel Brooks and film editor Carol Littleton will receive honorary Oscars at the Governors Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Monday.
Michelle Satter, the founding senior director of the Sundance Institute’s Artist Programs, will also be given the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the untelevised event.
Read More: Angela Bassett Says Whoopi Goldberg ‘Stepped Up’ For Crew On ‘How Stella Got Her Groove Back’
“The Academy’s Board of Governors is thrilled to honor four trailblazers who have transformed the film industry and inspired generations of filmmakers and movie fans,” Janet Yang, the academy’s president, said in a statement.
Most recipients of the academy’s honorary awards have not won competitive Oscars.
- 6/27/2023
- by Emerson Pearson
- ET Canada
In today’s film news roundup, up-and-comer Anna Pniowsky books another role, Jonathan Demme’s archive is donated and “Rachel Hollis Presents: Made For More” generates strong grosses.
Casting
Anna Pniowsky has been cast in a lead role in the independent comedy “Judy Small” opposite Rob Corddry, Alicia Silverstone, Haley Joel Osment, and Michaela Watkins.
She will play the daughter of Silverstone’s character, who persuades her husband to see a marriage counselor, the titular Judy Small, played by Watkins. The daughter is the first to distrust the manipulative Small.
William Teitler is producing and directing from a script based on the novel by Nancy Doyle. Gina Resnick is also producing.
Pniowsky will be seen next as the lead opposite Casey Affleck in “Light of My Life,” in which their characters are trapped in the woods after a deadly pandemic. Teddy Schwarzman is producing and financing through his Black Bear Pictures banner.
Casting
Anna Pniowsky has been cast in a lead role in the independent comedy “Judy Small” opposite Rob Corddry, Alicia Silverstone, Haley Joel Osment, and Michaela Watkins.
She will play the daughter of Silverstone’s character, who persuades her husband to see a marriage counselor, the titular Judy Small, played by Watkins. The daughter is the first to distrust the manipulative Small.
William Teitler is producing and directing from a script based on the novel by Nancy Doyle. Gina Resnick is also producing.
Pniowsky will be seen next as the lead opposite Casey Affleck in “Light of My Life,” in which their characters are trapped in the woods after a deadly pandemic. Teddy Schwarzman is producing and financing through his Black Bear Pictures banner.
- 8/4/2018
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Above: Us festival one sheet for Hal (Amy Scott, USA, 2018). Designed by Midnight Marauder.One of the best and most inventive movie poster designers currently at work, the L.A.-based artist known as Midnight Marauder should be no stranger to followers of my Movie Poster of the Day Tumblr and annual top 10 lists. A graphic designer for some 20 years, Mm a.k.a. Emmanuel, has been designing movie posters for the past five years. He has had two very fruitful collaborations in that time, first with Terrence Malick for whom he has designed a number of posters, most notably the teaser for Knight of Cups, and more recently with the great Berlin-based Italian illustrator Tony Stella with whom he has been producing beautiful alternative posters for films like The Phantom Thread. Together they also designed the poster for the 50th anniversary release of The Great Silence, which opens in theaters today.
- 3/30/2018
- MUBI
The 17th Doc Fortnight, the Museum of Modern Art’s annual showcase of recent documentary film, will open with Julien Temple’s Habaneros and close with the experimental Hibridos, The Spirits of Brazil. The festival, slated for Feb. 15-26, will also honor the late Jonathan Demme with a retrospective of his non-fiction features. The tribute to Demme will include screenings of Stop Making Sense, Swimming to Cambodia, Haiti: Dreams of Democracy, Neil Young Journeys and I'm Caro…...
- 12/18/2017
- Deadline
Chicago – The impact that director Jonathan Demme had on the last couple generations of cinema will live beyond his passing last week, at the age of 73. The Oscar-winning filmmaker also made an impact with the film writers of HollywoodChicago.com – Jon Espino, Patrick McDonald and Spike Walters.
Director Jonathan Demme on the Set of ‘The Silence of the Lambs’
Photo credit: 20 Century Fox Home Entertainment
The director was described as “the last of the great humanists” in the HollywoodChicago.com obituary, and followed through on that description with an incredible run of films in the 1980s and ‘90s, which included “Melvin and Howard” (1980), “Something Wild” (1986), “Swimming to Cambodia” (1987), “Married to the Mob” (1988), “The Silence of the Lambs” (1991) and “Philadelphia” (1993). He also created one of the greatest rock documentaries ever, “Stop Making Sense” (1984, featuring the Talking Heads) and worked extensively with Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young on other rock docs. He...
Director Jonathan Demme on the Set of ‘The Silence of the Lambs’
Photo credit: 20 Century Fox Home Entertainment
The director was described as “the last of the great humanists” in the HollywoodChicago.com obituary, and followed through on that description with an incredible run of films in the 1980s and ‘90s, which included “Melvin and Howard” (1980), “Something Wild” (1986), “Swimming to Cambodia” (1987), “Married to the Mob” (1988), “The Silence of the Lambs” (1991) and “Philadelphia” (1993). He also created one of the greatest rock documentaries ever, “Stop Making Sense” (1984, featuring the Talking Heads) and worked extensively with Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young on other rock docs. He...
- 5/2/2017
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
We’re all still reeling from the death of Jonathan Demme, one of the most unpredictable, open-hearted and by all accounts best loved of American filmmakers. I was surprised to learn that he was 73 when he died because he, and his films, always seemed so youthful. The fact that his swansong was the beautifully exuberant Justin Timberlake + the Tennessee Kids only added to that impression of vitality.Many of the posters for Demme’s films are as well known as the films themselves: the Dali-esque death’s head moth for Silence of the Lambs; the cutout of Spalding Gray’s head bobbing in a flat plane of blue for Swimming to Cambodia; an upside-down Jeff Daniels on Something Wild; Pablo Ferro’s Strangelove-esque titles over the Big Suit for Stop Making Sense. And of his later films I particularly like the screen-print look of Man From Plains. But the posters for Demme’s early films,...
- 5/1/2017
- MUBI
New York City – He was the helmsman of “The Silence of the Lambs,” which won him Best Director and took home Best Picture at the 1992 Academy Awards, and made numerous other late 20th Century movie classics. Director Jonathan Demme died in New York City on April 26, 2017, at the age of 73.
Film writer Dave Kehr called Demme “the last of the great humanists,” and the director followed through on that description with an incredible run of films in the 1980s and ‘90s, which included “Melvin and Howard” (1980), “Something Wild” (1986), “Swimming to Cambodia” (1987), “Married to the Mob” (1988), “Lambs” (1991) and “Philadelphia” (1993). He also created one of the greatest rock documentaries ever, “Stop Making Sense” (1984, featuring the Talking Heads) and worked extensively with Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young on other rock docs. He even directed an episode of the TV classic “Columbo” in 1978, among his other TV achievements.
Director Jonathan Demme on the Set...
Film writer Dave Kehr called Demme “the last of the great humanists,” and the director followed through on that description with an incredible run of films in the 1980s and ‘90s, which included “Melvin and Howard” (1980), “Something Wild” (1986), “Swimming to Cambodia” (1987), “Married to the Mob” (1988), “Lambs” (1991) and “Philadelphia” (1993). He also created one of the greatest rock documentaries ever, “Stop Making Sense” (1984, featuring the Talking Heads) and worked extensively with Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young on other rock docs. He even directed an episode of the TV classic “Columbo” in 1978, among his other TV achievements.
Director Jonathan Demme on the Set...
- 4/27/2017
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Jonathan Demme, the personable film director who graduated from making "B" movies for Roger Corman to the highest ranks of Hollywood filmmakers, has died from cancer at age 73. His remarkable career covered an impressively diverse number of films ranging from documentaries to comedies and thrillers. He won the Oscar for Best Director for his 1991 film "The Silence of the Lambs". His other credits include "Stop Making Sense", "Melvin and Howard", "Philadelphia", "Crazy Mama", "Handle with Care", "Last Embrace", "Something Wild", "Swimming to Cambodia", "Beloved" and the 2004 remake of "The Manchurian Candidate". For more click here. ...
- 4/27/2017
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Jonathan Demme's death at the age of 73 prompted an outpouring of online memorials from film lovers who remembered the Oscar-winning director for his varied career: everything from the chilling, intelligent thriller The Silence of the Lambs to the brittle 2008 indie drama Rachel Getting Married. But for music fans, those highlights don't even scratch the surface of what cemented his legacy.
It's not hyperbole to say that Demme was arguably the greatest concert filmmaker ever – look at the number of them that he made, the range of artists he chronicled...
It's not hyperbole to say that Demme was arguably the greatest concert filmmaker ever – look at the number of them that he made, the range of artists he chronicled...
- 4/26/2017
- Rollingstone.com
The Oscar-winning director Jonathan Demme died at age 73. “Melvin and Howard” (1980) Demme made his directorial debut on the 1974 Roger Corman flick “Caged Heat” but he really emerged with this road trip drama about a man claiming to be Howard Hughes’ heir. The film won two Oscars, for Bo Goldman’s script and Mary Steenburgen’s supporting performance. “Stop Making Sense” (1984) Demme made some of the finest music concert films in the modern era, including this gem of the ’80s legends the Talking Heads. “Something Wild” (1986) Melanie Griffith charms as a free spirit who “kidnaps” Jeff Daniels’ uptight yuppie. “Swimming to Cambodia” (1987) Demme continued.
- 4/26/2017
- by Thom Geier
- The Wrap
Jonathan Demme, the Oscar-winning director of Philadelphia and The Silence of the Lambs and the filmmaker who revolutionized concert movies with his 1984 Talking Heads movie Stop Making Sense, died Wednesday morning from esophegal cancer. He was 73.
"Sadly, I can confirm that Jonathan passed away early this morning in his Manhattan apartment, surrounded by his wife, Joanne Howard, and three children," Demme's rep said in a statement.
"I am heartbroken to lose a friend, a mentor, a guy so singular and dynamic you’d have to design a hurricane to contain him,...
"Sadly, I can confirm that Jonathan passed away early this morning in his Manhattan apartment, surrounded by his wife, Joanne Howard, and three children," Demme's rep said in a statement.
"I am heartbroken to lose a friend, a mentor, a guy so singular and dynamic you’d have to design a hurricane to contain him,...
- 4/26/2017
- Rollingstone.com
1. “Dear White People” Season 1 (available April 28)
Why Should I Watch It? “Dear White People” is based on Justin Simien’s 2014 Sundance sensation of the same name, pulling characters and plot lines from the satirical comedy that helped introduce us to the glory that is Tessa Thompson. While the “Creed” star won’t be returning, other breakouts from the film are, and the core story — of a predominantly white Ivy League university facing a heated racial debate after a misguided blackface Halloween party — has been refined to fit a serialized format. It is hilarious, sharp, and so timely it hurts. Don’t miss it.
Best Episode: We caught the first two at SXSW, and though both are absolutely stellar, I’ve got to give the edge to the pilot. Logan Browning, as a radio personality who hosts a show titled “Dear White People,” gives a finely layered turn and the general...
Why Should I Watch It? “Dear White People” is based on Justin Simien’s 2014 Sundance sensation of the same name, pulling characters and plot lines from the satirical comedy that helped introduce us to the glory that is Tessa Thompson. While the “Creed” star won’t be returning, other breakouts from the film are, and the core story — of a predominantly white Ivy League university facing a heated racial debate after a misguided blackface Halloween party — has been refined to fit a serialized format. It is hilarious, sharp, and so timely it hurts. Don’t miss it.
Best Episode: We caught the first two at SXSW, and though both are absolutely stellar, I’ve got to give the edge to the pilot. Logan Browning, as a radio personality who hosts a show titled “Dear White People,” gives a finely layered turn and the general...
- 4/1/2017
- by Ben Travers
- Indiewire
Independent film veteran Ira Deutchman has received the first annual Spotlight Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in the distribution and exhibition of independent films. The award was created by advertising company Spotlight Cinema Networks in partnership with the Art House Convergence.
Read More: Why Indie Producing Veteran Ira Deutchman Is Moving From Films to Broadway
Deutchman has been distributing, marketing and making independent films for more than 40 years, working on some of the most successful and acclaimed indie titles of our time. He received the award Tuesday night at a dinner following Art House Convergence’s annual conference.
“Ira Deutchman is a legendary figure in the world of independent film distribution, marketing and production,” Spotlight Cinema Networks chief executive officer Jerry Rakfeldt said in a statement. “His creativity, passion and business acumen have helped shape, nurture and expand the independent film industry.”
Deutchman has worked on more than 150 films,...
Read More: Why Indie Producing Veteran Ira Deutchman Is Moving From Films to Broadway
Deutchman has been distributing, marketing and making independent films for more than 40 years, working on some of the most successful and acclaimed indie titles of our time. He received the award Tuesday night at a dinner following Art House Convergence’s annual conference.
“Ira Deutchman is a legendary figure in the world of independent film distribution, marketing and production,” Spotlight Cinema Networks chief executive officer Jerry Rakfeldt said in a statement. “His creativity, passion and business acumen have helped shape, nurture and expand the independent film industry.”
Deutchman has worked on more than 150 films,...
- 1/18/2017
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
About four years ago, it was reported that director Sean Durkin was to helm a biopic about singer Janis Joplin with Tony-winning actress Nina Arianda in the lead role. In the interim, there was radio silence on that front, though there were other reports that Lee Daniels would make his own biopic with actress Amy Adams, and Durkin went on to direct the British miniseries “Southcliffe” and produce films like “James White” and most recently “Christine.” Now, Durkin’s Joplin biopic is back in the mix as Variety reports that Michelle Williams is in talks to play the lead role in Durkin’s film.
Read More: Toronto Review: Despite Limited High Notes, ‘Janis: Little Girl Blue’ Can’t Best the Power of ‘Amy’
The film will tell the story of the last six months of Joplin’s life before she tragically died of a drug overdose in 1970. It will be produced by Peter Newman,...
Read More: Toronto Review: Despite Limited High Notes, ‘Janis: Little Girl Blue’ Can’t Best the Power of ‘Amy’
The film will tell the story of the last six months of Joplin’s life before she tragically died of a drug overdose in 1970. It will be produced by Peter Newman,...
- 10/11/2016
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
Four episodes were provided prior to broadcast.
Returning to IFC this fall is one of the most peculiar, inventive comedies on TV, the veritable documentary spoof factory Documentary Now! Created by SNL MVPs Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Seth Meyers, and their ever-loving godfather Lorne Michaels, the show found its niche on the “always on, slightly off” cable network by spoofing some of the most popular documentaries of all time, appealing to the indie-minded set while providing enough surface-level humor to appease fans of their famous late-night shenanigans. The show’s first season goofed on classics like The Thin Blue Line, Grey Gardens and Nanook of the North, and now the comedy triumvirate is back with a new lineup of 20-minute spoofs.
The new one-off episodes each have unique charms, from “Globesman,” a take on Albert and David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin’s Salesman, to “Bunker,” a timely homage (considering the...
Returning to IFC this fall is one of the most peculiar, inventive comedies on TV, the veritable documentary spoof factory Documentary Now! Created by SNL MVPs Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Seth Meyers, and their ever-loving godfather Lorne Michaels, the show found its niche on the “always on, slightly off” cable network by spoofing some of the most popular documentaries of all time, appealing to the indie-minded set while providing enough surface-level humor to appease fans of their famous late-night shenanigans. The show’s first season goofed on classics like The Thin Blue Line, Grey Gardens and Nanook of the North, and now the comedy triumvirate is back with a new lineup of 20-minute spoofs.
The new one-off episodes each have unique charms, from “Globesman,” a take on Albert and David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin’s Salesman, to “Bunker,” a timely homage (considering the...
- 9/14/2016
- by Bernard Boo
- We Got This Covered
IFC’s “Documentary Now!” returns for Season 2 on September 14, but you don’t have to wait until then for your first look.
IndieWire has an exclusive sneak peek at posters for two of the spoof docs this season. The first is “Globesman,” which is inspired by the 1969 documentary “Salesman” about door-to-door bible salesmen. Fred Armisen and Bill Hader’s version follows businessmen who are trying to sell globes to people who prefer atlases.
Take a look:
Read More: ‘Documentary Now!’: Fred Armisen and Bill Hader Break Down Season 2 Docs Spoofed
The next sneak peek is “Parker Gail’s Location Is Everything,” which is inspired by Jonathan Demme’s film “Spalding Gray’s Swimming to Cambodia.” This time, Hader stars as Parker Gail, who laments the loss of his New York City apartment.
Check out the key art:
“Documentary Now!” returns for Season 2 on Wednesday, September 14 at 10pm on IFC.
IndieWire has an exclusive sneak peek at posters for two of the spoof docs this season. The first is “Globesman,” which is inspired by the 1969 documentary “Salesman” about door-to-door bible salesmen. Fred Armisen and Bill Hader’s version follows businessmen who are trying to sell globes to people who prefer atlases.
Take a look:
Read More: ‘Documentary Now!’: Fred Armisen and Bill Hader Break Down Season 2 Docs Spoofed
The next sneak peek is “Parker Gail’s Location Is Everything,” which is inspired by Jonathan Demme’s film “Spalding Gray’s Swimming to Cambodia.” This time, Hader stars as Parker Gail, who laments the loss of his New York City apartment.
Check out the key art:
“Documentary Now!” returns for Season 2 on Wednesday, September 14 at 10pm on IFC.
- 9/7/2016
- by Hanh Nguyen
- Indiewire
Fred Armisen and Bill Hader spoof the Talking Heads, D.A. Pennebaker, the Maysles Brothers and more in the new trailer for Season Two (or "Season 51") of Documentary Now!
The clip opens with host Helen Mirren reintroducing the "long-running" documentary showcase and offers a peak at Hader and Armisen's absurd parodies. Among the highlights are the duo's expertly retro takes on the Maysles' Salesman, in which Hader and Armisen play inept globe salesmen ("It says 'Bermuba' instead of 'Bermuda,'" a young boy points out).
The trailer finds Armisen and Hader...
The clip opens with host Helen Mirren reintroducing the "long-running" documentary showcase and offers a peak at Hader and Armisen's absurd parodies. Among the highlights are the duo's expertly retro takes on the Maysles' Salesman, in which Hader and Armisen play inept globe salesmen ("It says 'Bermuba' instead of 'Bermuda,'" a young boy points out).
The trailer finds Armisen and Hader...
- 8/25/2016
- Rollingstone.com
IFC announced at its press day for the Television Critics Association on Sunday that its spoof series “Documentary Now!” will return for its second season September 14 at 10pm.
The second season continues the series’ winning formula of paying homage to well-known documentary films, but with a Fred Armisen and Bill Hader twist. Each episode, Dame Helen Mirren acts as host to introduce the faux docs.
The six lucky films that get the “Documentary Now!” treatment this season are as follows:
Inspiration: “The War Room”
Spoof: “The Bunker” — A 1990s gubernatorial race shot by camcorder is as gloriously low-rent and ethically dubious as can be expected.
Hader plays a campaign manager named Teddy Redbones, who has echoes of Hader’s impersonation of James Carville. “Teddy Redbones is different. He just wants to win,” the actor told the TCA. “He’s this super insane campaign guy. He keeps forgetting [his client’s] name. It doesn...
The second season continues the series’ winning formula of paying homage to well-known documentary films, but with a Fred Armisen and Bill Hader twist. Each episode, Dame Helen Mirren acts as host to introduce the faux docs.
The six lucky films that get the “Documentary Now!” treatment this season are as follows:
Inspiration: “The War Room”
Spoof: “The Bunker” — A 1990s gubernatorial race shot by camcorder is as gloriously low-rent and ethically dubious as can be expected.
Hader plays a campaign manager named Teddy Redbones, who has echoes of Hader’s impersonation of James Carville. “Teddy Redbones is different. He just wants to win,” the actor told the TCA. “He’s this super insane campaign guy. He keeps forgetting [his client’s] name. It doesn...
- 7/31/2016
- by Hanh Nguyen
- Indiewire
Orion, the precursor to Sony Pictures Classics, has taken on new life. When MGM bought the label in 1996 after its declared bankruptcy in 1991 was over, it waited until 2013 when it once again used the name Orion as a tv brand for “Paternity Court”, the syndicated court show. Now, as reported by Variety, September 11, 2014, “MGM intends to use the venerable indie name Orion as a brand for smaller releases, both domestically and internationally, on VOD and limited theatrical.”
See Orion Pictures Label Returns for First Time in 15 Years
Variety recalls Orion as the distributor of ‘80s and ‘90s independent hits such as “RoboCop,” “The Terminator” and “The Silence of the Lambs.”
I remember Orion Classic’s Donna Gigliotti, my counterpart when I was at Lorimar and her two colleagues, Michael Barker and Tom Bernard, now of Sony Pictures Classics. Together we bought Working Title and Channel Four’s “My Beautiful Laundrette” in 1985 and “End of the Line” together and briefly thought we would do Jonathan Demme’s adaptation of Spaulding Grey’s “Swimming to Cambodia” together with producer and now-professor of film at Nyu, Peter Newman. Some drama with Donna pouring her white wine over Peter as the film went to Cinecom where now-Columbia Film School’s Chairman, Ira Deutchman, exec produced it at while at Cinecom. It was Ira who gave me a pirated version of Q&A, the first database which I turned into FilmFinders, my company of 25 years until bought and buried by IMDb in 2008.
But most of all I remember Orion’s principals and founders Arthur Krim, Orion's board chairman; Eric Pleskow, president and chief executive officer; William Bernstein and Mike Medavoy who were the most wonderful men in the business. Smart and well educated men with a respect that touched me deeply and led me gently into the business.
In 1982 they acquired the almost equally well-loved Filmways after investment banking firms of Wertheim and Company and Bear, Stearns and Company chose them as the top contenders for the troubled Filmways. At that time, in 1982, Orion’s own movies were not doing so well either.
Orion had been formed in the spring of 1978 by the former top management team at United Artists, which had left in a dispute with Transamerica, the insurance company parent of United Artists. Orion had been releasing its films through Warner Brothers but was eager to acquire a distribution network of its own. Filmways had the nation's seventh-largest film distribution network, with 16 branch offices in the United States. (The other six were the major studios.) New York Times reported extensively about this in 1982 and as I was getting my sea legs on this ship of fools we call the film business, this was the most important news of the day.
And now Orion is making its first theatrical appearance in 15 years with
“The Town That Dreaded Sundown,” a horror movie from “American Horror Story” director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon. A recently released trailer of the film features the Orion label, its first appearance since 1999’s “One Man’s Hero.” “The Town That Dreaded Sundown” is the second recent production to carry the Orion label, following Brazilian film “Vestido Pra Casar” which is to go out theatrically later this year. “Town” will also be released under the Bh Tilt label, a recently-created multiplatform expansion from Jason Blum’s Blumhouse Productions. Blumhouse’s international sales are handled by Stuart Ford’s Im Global.
MGM’s Orion Releasing is also releasing Mark Platt’s production, “ We’ll Never Have Paris”, which is being represented internationally by K5 (“The Visitor”) and distributed in Benelux by Cdc United Network, in the Middle East by Falcon, and in the U.K. by Metrodome Distribution.
As a postscript, I want to say that I still love this crazy business. Plus ça change, plus c’est la mĕme chose.
.
See Orion Pictures Label Returns for First Time in 15 Years
Variety recalls Orion as the distributor of ‘80s and ‘90s independent hits such as “RoboCop,” “The Terminator” and “The Silence of the Lambs.”
I remember Orion Classic’s Donna Gigliotti, my counterpart when I was at Lorimar and her two colleagues, Michael Barker and Tom Bernard, now of Sony Pictures Classics. Together we bought Working Title and Channel Four’s “My Beautiful Laundrette” in 1985 and “End of the Line” together and briefly thought we would do Jonathan Demme’s adaptation of Spaulding Grey’s “Swimming to Cambodia” together with producer and now-professor of film at Nyu, Peter Newman. Some drama with Donna pouring her white wine over Peter as the film went to Cinecom where now-Columbia Film School’s Chairman, Ira Deutchman, exec produced it at while at Cinecom. It was Ira who gave me a pirated version of Q&A, the first database which I turned into FilmFinders, my company of 25 years until bought and buried by IMDb in 2008.
But most of all I remember Orion’s principals and founders Arthur Krim, Orion's board chairman; Eric Pleskow, president and chief executive officer; William Bernstein and Mike Medavoy who were the most wonderful men in the business. Smart and well educated men with a respect that touched me deeply and led me gently into the business.
In 1982 they acquired the almost equally well-loved Filmways after investment banking firms of Wertheim and Company and Bear, Stearns and Company chose them as the top contenders for the troubled Filmways. At that time, in 1982, Orion’s own movies were not doing so well either.
Orion had been formed in the spring of 1978 by the former top management team at United Artists, which had left in a dispute with Transamerica, the insurance company parent of United Artists. Orion had been releasing its films through Warner Brothers but was eager to acquire a distribution network of its own. Filmways had the nation's seventh-largest film distribution network, with 16 branch offices in the United States. (The other six were the major studios.) New York Times reported extensively about this in 1982 and as I was getting my sea legs on this ship of fools we call the film business, this was the most important news of the day.
And now Orion is making its first theatrical appearance in 15 years with
“The Town That Dreaded Sundown,” a horror movie from “American Horror Story” director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon. A recently released trailer of the film features the Orion label, its first appearance since 1999’s “One Man’s Hero.” “The Town That Dreaded Sundown” is the second recent production to carry the Orion label, following Brazilian film “Vestido Pra Casar” which is to go out theatrically later this year. “Town” will also be released under the Bh Tilt label, a recently-created multiplatform expansion from Jason Blum’s Blumhouse Productions. Blumhouse’s international sales are handled by Stuart Ford’s Im Global.
MGM’s Orion Releasing is also releasing Mark Platt’s production, “ We’ll Never Have Paris”, which is being represented internationally by K5 (“The Visitor”) and distributed in Benelux by Cdc United Network, in the Middle East by Falcon, and in the U.K. by Metrodome Distribution.
As a postscript, I want to say that I still love this crazy business. Plus ça change, plus c’est la mĕme chose.
.
- 10/21/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Director Jonathan Demme will receive the Cinema Audio Society Filmmaker Award at the 49th Cas Awards, which will be held Feb. 16 at the Crystal Ballroom of the Millennium-Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. Demme, who won the best director Oscar for 1991’s Silence of the Lambs, has directed or produced more than 30 movies, including Rachel Getting Married, Beloved, Swimming to Cambodia, Melvin and Howard andCrazy Mama. The Untitled Ibsen Project, based on Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn’s adaptation of the Ibsen play The Master Builder, is now in post-production. The film stars Shawn, Gregory, Julie Haggerty and
read more...
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- 11/7/2012
- by Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
After almost 40 years as a filmmaker, Jonathan Demme has made his mark not only with his feature films but also as a documentarian. Demme's Stop Making Sense (1984) featuring The Talking Heads and his movie version of Spalding Gray's Swimming to Cambodia (1987) effectively portrayed the eclectic nature of his documentary subjects. Demme thrives on providing an intimate view of iconic characters, most notably his collaboration with the rock legend Neil Young.
Neil Young Journeys is Demme's latest and third film project with Young, preceded by Neil Young: Heart of Gold in 2006 and Neil Young Trunk Show in 2009. Like Heart of Gold, Journeys was filmed over the course of two nights of musical performances. The comparison ends there as Heart of Gold dealt more with Young's personal tragedy and health issues, but Journeys is less dramatic and more a drive down memory lane with Young in a 1956 Ford Crown Victoria.
As Young...
Neil Young Journeys is Demme's latest and third film project with Young, preceded by Neil Young: Heart of Gold in 2006 and Neil Young Trunk Show in 2009. Like Heart of Gold, Journeys was filmed over the course of two nights of musical performances. The comparison ends there as Heart of Gold dealt more with Young's personal tragedy and health issues, but Journeys is less dramatic and more a drive down memory lane with Young in a 1956 Ford Crown Victoria.
As Young...
- 9/6/2012
- by Debbie Cerda
- Slackerwood
Master monologist Spalding Gray, a proven stage and part time screen actor, as well as the man behind such cinematic creations as Swimming To Cambodia, Monster In A Box, and Gray’s Anatomy, unfortunately perished in New York’s East River after a long and troubled bout with depression in 2004. Paying tribute to his friend and colleague, director Steven Soderbergh pieced together And Everything Is Going Fine, an autobiography of sorts, concocted of snippets from Gray’s many monologues, interviews, and home videos he left behind. A stirring, often funny film like this would never be possible to construct about most artists, but Gray’s unique creative expression was almost always an outpouring of personal experience, that when edited down to a single narrative, is basically his life’s story.
Like his light touch direction on Gray’s Anatomy, Soderbergh never interjects here. He allows Gray to tell his own story,...
Like his light touch direction on Gray’s Anatomy, Soderbergh never interjects here. He allows Gray to tell his own story,...
- 7/3/2012
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Gray's Anatomy Directed by Steven Soderbergh Written by Spalding Gray Starring: Spalding Gray With Stephen Soderbergh on the verge of retiring from filmmaking, one has to wonder how somebody with such an amount of creative freedom could ever feel uninspired or suffocated by the limitations of their chosen medium. He's the guy who popularized the "one for me, one for them" modus operandi and within it, has seemed to have found his rhythm. In the mid-nineties, Soderbergh faced a similar dilemma in which he overcame an artistic slump by rebuilding himself with two experiments; Schizopolis and Gray's Anatomy. While they both fall under the "one for me" category, Gray's Anatomy is fairly accessible and wholly entertaining as Soderbergh attempts to transform Spalding Gray's squeamish tale of a rare ocular affliction into something resembling Errol Morris meets Dario Argento. The story begins as Spalding, having just turned 50, discovers a problem...
- 7/1/2012
- by Jay C.
- FilmJunk
After a lifetime’s worth of straight stage work, and several decades of fine tuning his own signature craft, Spalding Gray’s final long form monologue to be converted for the big screen was the Steven Soderbergh directed Gray’s Anatomy. Two previous works (Jonathan Demme’s Swimming To Cambodia and Nick Broomfield’s Monster In A Box) were basically condensed live performances of Gray’s original monologues captured on film, but Soderbergh is not one to follow in the footsteps of previous creators. So, the live audience was scrapped, the budget was minimized, and home viewers are brought directly into the room with a neurotic man born to recount stories, his glass of water, notebook, and microphone, which is anchored iconically to his wooden desk.
In the wake of his previous successful monologues, Gray was approached to create yet another in hopes of cashing in on his then current popularity.
In the wake of his previous successful monologues, Gray was approached to create yet another in hopes of cashing in on his then current popularity.
- 6/26/2012
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
John Bailey was a graduate film student at USC studying film criticism when he discovered a passion for cinematography while working on a school production. His first feature-length credit was for a 1972 horror movie Premonition, and since then he has accumulated a long and impressive list of credits, including such classics as: Groundhog Day, The Accidental Tourist, Swimming to Cambodia, Silverado, The Big Chill, and American Gigolo. More recently, he’s worked on projects as diverse as Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Must Love Dogs, The Producers, and Country Strong.
I first heard John speak at an event organized by Kodak in Rochester in the late 80′s. He talked at length about the language of the movies, and about shooting The Accidental Tourist. It was a revelation; at the time, cinematography to me was framing the camera so the subject was in the scene; if the subject was too far away,...
I first heard John speak at an event organized by Kodak in Rochester in the late 80′s. He talked at length about the language of the movies, and about shooting The Accidental Tourist. It was a revelation; at the time, cinematography to me was framing the camera so the subject was in the scene; if the subject was too far away,...
- 2/3/2012
- by Michael Murie
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
In this week's episode, Ben and Tyler are joined by DC Pierson (from Mystery Team and Derrick Comedy) to discuss Martin Scorsese's 1980 film, Raging Bull.
Introduction
DC answers questions about his book possibly being made into a film - 1:18
Character Name Game Intro - 5:16
Media Consumed
Tyler
"2 Broke Girls" - 5:40
Grizzly Rage - 11:00
Jason Goes to Hell - 14:18
DC
Swimming to Cambodia - 15:02
Monster in the Box - 17:45
Gray's Anatomy - 19:03
Ben
Pretty Woman - 22:50
Review
Raging Bull - 28:30
Wrap-Up
Next Time: Videodrome - 1:15:15
Listener E-mail/Voicemail/Twitter - 1:15:55
Character Name Game - 1:28:30
Where You Can Find Us - 1:30:33...
- 10/18/2011
- by benp
- GeekTyrant
There are a couple of reasons for revisiting the Toronto International Film Festival's lineup for its documentary program, Real to Reel. One of them is Aj Schnack's interview with Thom Powers, Tiff's Documentary and Mavericks Programmer, posted just hours after the Mavericks lineup was announced on Tuesday. Discussing the highlights of both programs, they touch on another reason: Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory is making all sorts of headlines. Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky's third film chronicling the odyssey of Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr, aka the West Memphis Three, through the labyrinth of the Us legal system, follows Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996) and Paradise Lost 2: Revelations (2000). All three films deal with what Powers calls in his Programmer's Note "an 18-year-old murder case that has become an iconic example of a legal witch hunt." In 1993, when all three men were still teens,...
- 8/25/2011
- MUBI
News is rolling out of Toronto for this year's festival, with the Galas and the Special Presentations sections announced. As always with Tiff, the sheer number of films can seem overwhelming, but with new films by David Cronenberg (A Dangerous Method, pictured above), Terence Davies (!), Francis Ford Coppola, Wang Xiaoshuai, Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud, and William Friedkin added to big names that premiered already this year (including Almodóvar, Von Trier, Nanni Moretti, and Nicolas Winding Refn) it looks like the 2011 iteration will be as packed with must-see cinema as ever before. We'll be updating this listing as new lineups are announced. See Tiff's official website for details.
Galas
Albert Nobbs (Rodrigo Garcia, Ireland) Butter (Jim Field Smith, USA) A Dangerous Method (David Cronenberg, France/Ireland/UK/Germany/Canada) From the Sky Down (Davis Guggenheim, USA) A Happy Event (Rémi Bezançon, France) The Ides of March (George Clooney, USA) The Lady (Luc Besson,...
Galas
Albert Nobbs (Rodrigo Garcia, Ireland) Butter (Jim Field Smith, USA) A Dangerous Method (David Cronenberg, France/Ireland/UK/Germany/Canada) From the Sky Down (Davis Guggenheim, USA) A Happy Event (Rémi Bezançon, France) The Ides of March (George Clooney, USA) The Lady (Luc Besson,...
- 8/9/2011
- MUBI
The Toronto International Film Festival has released the complete line-up of their impressive documentary slate which include new works from directors such as Morgan Spurlock, Werner Herzog and Alex Gibney. Herzog explores a triple homicide case in Texas in Into the Abyss; Morgan Spurlock follows fans to San Diego’s Comic-Con in Comic-Con: Episode IV – A Fan’s Hope; Jessica Yu delivers a wake-up call about the world’s water supply in Last Call at the Oasis; and Nick Broomfield visits Wasilla, Alaska in his search for the ‘real’ Sarah Palin in Sarah Palin – You Betcha! Here is the complete line-up. Enjoy
Masters
Pina Wim Wenders, Germany/France
Canadian Premiere
German master filmmaker Wim Wenders shoots in 3D to capture the brilliantly inventive dance world of Pina Bausch and her company, Tanztheater Wuppertal. Excerpts from many of her most famous pieces are shot outside in the streets and parks of...
Masters
Pina Wim Wenders, Germany/France
Canadian Premiere
German master filmmaker Wim Wenders shoots in 3D to capture the brilliantly inventive dance world of Pina Bausch and her company, Tanztheater Wuppertal. Excerpts from many of her most famous pieces are shot outside in the streets and parks of...
- 8/3/2011
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
A week after the announcement of the first, and largest, wave of films added to this year’s Toronto International Film Festival slate, the festival is now finally rounding out its list, with some of the most interesting additions yet.
Criterion Collection fans will again see a few of their more beloved filmmakers involved here, as Wim Wenders will be bowing his latest film, Pina, during the festival, as will Werner Herzog (not truly a Criterion Collection approved filmmaker, but we’ll count it). Herzog will be bringing his new documentary, Into The Abyss, which looks at those behind at triple homicide, including one man who is on death row and will be put to death just days after speaking with the filmmaker.
Other additions include Ron Fricke’s Baraka follow up, Samsara, Nick Broomfield’s surely controversial documentary Sarah Palin – You Betcha!, and documentaries from Alex Gibney and Morgan Spurlock.
Criterion Collection fans will again see a few of their more beloved filmmakers involved here, as Wim Wenders will be bowing his latest film, Pina, during the festival, as will Werner Herzog (not truly a Criterion Collection approved filmmaker, but we’ll count it). Herzog will be bringing his new documentary, Into The Abyss, which looks at those behind at triple homicide, including one man who is on death row and will be put to death just days after speaking with the filmmaker.
Other additions include Ron Fricke’s Baraka follow up, Samsara, Nick Broomfield’s surely controversial documentary Sarah Palin – You Betcha!, and documentaries from Alex Gibney and Morgan Spurlock.
- 8/3/2011
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
Shawn Ashmore, Ashley Bell, Shannyn Sossamon, Dominic Monaghan and Cory Hardrict in The Day
Photo: Content Media The 2011 Toronto International Film Festival announced 56 more movies added to its festival line-up this year with selections in the Vanguard, Midnight Madness, Documentaries, City to City and Tiff Kids programs. And to be honest, the line-up is filled with titles, most of which are absolutely new to me.
I have seen one of the films under the Vanguard banner, a selection of young and cutting edge features and I've heard of Joachim Trier's Oslo, August 31, Ben Wheatley's Kill List (watch the trailer to the right) was a hit at South by Southwest earlier this year and the documentary selections include familiar names such as Werner Herzog, Morgan Spurlock, Jonathan Demme, Alex Gibney and Wim Wenders, the latter of which is delivering a 3D documentary centered on the dance world of Pina Bausch and her company.
Photo: Content Media The 2011 Toronto International Film Festival announced 56 more movies added to its festival line-up this year with selections in the Vanguard, Midnight Madness, Documentaries, City to City and Tiff Kids programs. And to be honest, the line-up is filled with titles, most of which are absolutely new to me.
I have seen one of the films under the Vanguard banner, a selection of young and cutting edge features and I've heard of Joachim Trier's Oslo, August 31, Ben Wheatley's Kill List (watch the trailer to the right) was a hit at South by Southwest earlier this year and the documentary selections include familiar names such as Werner Herzog, Morgan Spurlock, Jonathan Demme, Alex Gibney and Wim Wenders, the latter of which is delivering a 3D documentary centered on the dance world of Pina Bausch and her company.
- 8/3/2011
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
By Sean O’Connell
Hollywoodnews.com: Major names are emerging from the press offices of the Venice Film Festival as programmers begin to announce titles. The full slate will be revealed during a press conference on Thursday, July 28, but a few juicy titles have leaked in advance to generate serious buzz.
George Clooney’s political drama “The Ides of March” already has been tapped to open the fest, which runs Aug. 31 to Sept. 10. The rest of the fest, Variety reports, will fill out with the latest films by Roman Polanski (“Carnage”), David Cronenberg (“A Dangerous Method”), Steven Soderbergh (“Contagion”), Todd Solondz (“Dark Horse”), Madonna (“W.E.”) and many more.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
As the Toronto Film Fest begins its announcements today, several Venice premieres are also likely to head to Canada, possibly with a pitstop at Telluride along the way.
The Venice fest also plans...
Hollywoodnews.com: Major names are emerging from the press offices of the Venice Film Festival as programmers begin to announce titles. The full slate will be revealed during a press conference on Thursday, July 28, but a few juicy titles have leaked in advance to generate serious buzz.
George Clooney’s political drama “The Ides of March” already has been tapped to open the fest, which runs Aug. 31 to Sept. 10. The rest of the fest, Variety reports, will fill out with the latest films by Roman Polanski (“Carnage”), David Cronenberg (“A Dangerous Method”), Steven Soderbergh (“Contagion”), Todd Solondz (“Dark Horse”), Madonna (“W.E.”) and many more.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
As the Toronto Film Fest begins its announcements today, several Venice premieres are also likely to head to Canada, possibly with a pitstop at Telluride along the way.
The Venice fest also plans...
- 7/26/2011
- by Sean O'Connell
- Hollywoodnews.com
Seventies bedroom poster idol has become a peddler of po-faced, finger-wagging history lessons
"He lacks the wound," Norman Mailer once said of his rival Gore Vidal. And while that might be debatable, the phrase certainly applies to Robert Redford, erstwhile Mr 1970s Box Office and former bedroom poster idol of a generation, now an irredeemably boring director.
His latest, The Conspirator, tells the story of the trial of Mary Surratt (Robin Wright), a Washington DC boarding house owner ultimately executed alongside several men of her acquaintance who were involved in the plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. One of those men loudly proclaimed Surratt's innocence from the very scaffold at which they were hanged, and Redford's movie ponders the highly ambiguous facts about her involvement in the same worthy, po-faced and finger-wagging manner that characterises most of his work as a director.
Like Redford's last directorial snoozer, Lions For Lambs, a broken-backed,...
"He lacks the wound," Norman Mailer once said of his rival Gore Vidal. And while that might be debatable, the phrase certainly applies to Robert Redford, erstwhile Mr 1970s Box Office and former bedroom poster idol of a generation, now an irredeemably boring director.
His latest, The Conspirator, tells the story of the trial of Mary Surratt (Robin Wright), a Washington DC boarding house owner ultimately executed alongside several men of her acquaintance who were involved in the plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. One of those men loudly proclaimed Surratt's innocence from the very scaffold at which they were hanged, and Redford's movie ponders the highly ambiguous facts about her involvement in the same worthy, po-faced and finger-wagging manner that characterises most of his work as a director.
Like Redford's last directorial snoozer, Lions For Lambs, a broken-backed,...
- 6/24/2011
- by John Patterson
- The Guardian - Film News
The recent flowering of one-actor set pieces join a tiny but diverse sub-genre exploring the sad gnaw of solitude
As the second film from the director of a low-budget sleeper hit now working with a large sum of money, Duncan Jones's Source Code has the perfect profile for a spirit-sapping let down, a CGI-laden kick in the shins. But in fact, the only small disappointment I felt about it was how its four leading actors represented a departure from the makeup of Jones's debut Moon – which apart from the occasional appearance from the likes of Matt Berry, was essentially a one-man show (that man the tireless Sam Rockwell).
Not that Jones has completely abandoned the single-character motif – amid Source Code's exploding trains and homages to The Manchurian Candidate, chunks of the story find a lone Jake Gyllenhaal hunched in a dingy airtight receptacle, that image at least providing...
As the second film from the director of a low-budget sleeper hit now working with a large sum of money, Duncan Jones's Source Code has the perfect profile for a spirit-sapping let down, a CGI-laden kick in the shins. But in fact, the only small disappointment I felt about it was how its four leading actors represented a departure from the makeup of Jones's debut Moon – which apart from the occasional appearance from the likes of Matt Berry, was essentially a one-man show (that man the tireless Sam Rockwell).
Not that Jones has completely abandoned the single-character motif – amid Source Code's exploding trains and homages to The Manchurian Candidate, chunks of the story find a lone Jake Gyllenhaal hunched in a dingy airtight receptacle, that image at least providing...
- 3/25/2011
- by Danny Leigh
- The Guardian - Film News
Encino, CA - While Charles Nelson Reilly is beloved for his time on Match Game, there’s more to this actor than Dumb Dora answers. He was the toast of Broadway with roles in Hello Dolly and Bye, Bye, Birdie and won the Tony for How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying. Later in life he directed several plays on the Great White Way. While many actors sum up their lives in thick tomes, Charles created a one-man show. He was a stage performer so this was the best way to distill his experiences for an audience. The Life of Reilly captures his final performance before his passing in 2007.
After playing the festival circuit and a limited theatrical release, Life of Reilly is finally out on DVD, Blu-ray and iTunes. You can take Charles every where. In edition to the feature film, there’s tons of bonus features including...
After playing the festival circuit and a limited theatrical release, Life of Reilly is finally out on DVD, Blu-ray and iTunes. You can take Charles every where. In edition to the feature film, there’s tons of bonus features including...
- 1/21/2011
- by UncaScroogeMcD
Our three Austin-exclusive screenings of the new Steven Soderbergh film from SXSW, And Everything Is Going Fine, start next week. From Monday January 3-Wednesday January 5, 7:00pm at the Ritz belongs to this new documentary about Spalding Gray, the master monologist probably best known for his masterpiece Swimming To Cambodia.
Our friend Jack Feldstein, an Australian animator and screenwriter, sent us this raving praise, and I think he conveys what this awesome film is about better than we could:
And Everything Is Going Fine is exactly what they tell you a film shouldn’t be. Pretty much 89 minutes of one talking head. But it’s a particularly unique talking head. Spalding Gray’s.
Spalding Gray (1941-2004) possessed two of my favorite qualities in a person: neurosis and gutsiness. In his case, as a monologist, these compelled him to tell his truth. The truth, mes amis, is always rare and riveting.
Our friend Jack Feldstein, an Australian animator and screenwriter, sent us this raving praise, and I think he conveys what this awesome film is about better than we could:
And Everything Is Going Fine is exactly what they tell you a film shouldn’t be. Pretty much 89 minutes of one talking head. But it’s a particularly unique talking head. Spalding Gray’s.
Spalding Gray (1941-2004) possessed two of my favorite qualities in a person: neurosis and gutsiness. In his case, as a monologist, these compelled him to tell his truth. The truth, mes amis, is always rare and riveting.
- 12/30/2010
- by Daniel Metz
- OriginalAlamo.com
by Steve Dollar
Dead men tell no tales, yet through the magic of the moving image they find a new kind of life, not in the flesh but the flickering resurrection of their own archives.
Spalding Gray left behind 120 hours of film and video when he died in January 2004, following a jump off the Staten Island Ferry, a fateful occurrence that came as a shock to the public. Family and friends of the actor and monologist had long coped with his suicidal tendencies, which had been aggravated by brain damage from a dreadful 2001 car crash in Ireland. The circumstances of the accident are touched on, and poignantly so, but the very end of Gray's life isn't part of And Everything Is Going Fine. Steven Soderbergh fashioned the new documentary out of old home movies, low-key documentary footage, TV interviews and ghosty videotapes of Gray's early performances in the late 1970s...
Dead men tell no tales, yet through the magic of the moving image they find a new kind of life, not in the flesh but the flickering resurrection of their own archives.
Spalding Gray left behind 120 hours of film and video when he died in January 2004, following a jump off the Staten Island Ferry, a fateful occurrence that came as a shock to the public. Family and friends of the actor and monologist had long coped with his suicidal tendencies, which had been aggravated by brain damage from a dreadful 2001 car crash in Ireland. The circumstances of the accident are touched on, and poignantly so, but the very end of Gray's life isn't part of And Everything Is Going Fine. Steven Soderbergh fashioned the new documentary out of old home movies, low-key documentary footage, TV interviews and ghosty videotapes of Gray's early performances in the late 1970s...
- 12/13/2010
- GreenCine Daily
Welcome to another edition of Trailer Friday. Our first trailer is the latest film from Academy Award Winning director, Steven Soderbergh. It's a tribute to Spalding Gray, who known for his one man monologues, "Swimming to Cambodia" and "Monster in a Box" "And Everything is Going Fine": Official TrailerTrailer courtesy of IFC Films"And Everything is Going Fine" is the latest film from director...
- 12/10/2010
- by Anthony T
Before reality television, there was Spalding Gray. Part performance artist, part actor and part journalist, Gray's autobiographical stage performances were mesmerizing. The man was just a natural born storyteller. Armed with only a table and a glass of water, Gray would spend hours interestingly and hysterically exposing the cracks in his mind and his life. He was notoriously depressed, possibly bipolar and after having suffered a 2001 car accident and horrific injuries from which he never truly recovered, in 2004 he followed his mother's lead by committing suicide.
The life in between was filled with success, though Gray himself never seemed to realize it. He acted in many films including The Killing Fields, after which he wrote and performed Swimming to Cambodia, a stage monologue based on his experiences while making Tkf; Swimming to Cambodia later became a Jonathan Demme film. Gray won an Obie for the play and the National Book Award for his writing.
The life in between was filled with success, though Gray himself never seemed to realize it. He acted in many films including The Killing Fields, after which he wrote and performed Swimming to Cambodia, a stage monologue based on his experiences while making Tkf; Swimming to Cambodia later became a Jonathan Demme film. Gray won an Obie for the play and the National Book Award for his writing.
- 12/8/2010
- by Cindy Davis
IFC Films has just released an official trailer over on Apple for Steven Soderbergh's new documentary about the late, great actor, playwright and performance artist Spalding Gray, who most of you might know from the play/film Swimming to Cambodia. The doc is called And Everything Is Going Fine and Soderbergh "distills 25 years of rare and revealing footage to construct a riveting final monologue." One of my greatest memories from college is having a whole discussion dedicated to Spalding and Swimming to Cambodia, so I will consider myself a fan. I'm very excited to see this, and luckily it'll be hitting theaters fairly soon. Enjoy! Watch the official trailer for Steven Soderbergh's And Everything Is Going Fine: [flv:http://media2.firstshowing.net/firstshowing/everythingisgoingfine-firsttrailer.mp4 http://media2.firstshowing.net/firstshowing/everythingisgoingfine-firsttrailer.jpg 598 338] You can also watch the And Everything Is Going Fine trailer in High Definition on Apple The film is an incisive and entertaining portrait of Spalding Gray that provides an...
- 12/3/2010
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Spalding Gray was one of the most engaging talkers/performers/monologists of our time. His work has been documented in a number of films by prominent filmmakers including “Swimming to Cambodia” (Jonathan Demme), “Terrors of Pleasure” (Thomas Schlamme), “Monster in a Box” (Nick Broomfield) and “Gray’s Anatomy” (Steven Soderbergh). While brilliant, Gray was also troubled, lapsing into deep clinical depression following a car crash which left him severely injured and later, led to him taking his own life. Leave it then to the prolific and talented Steven Soderbergh to construct a fitting tribute to Gray with his latest documentary effort, "And Everything…...
- 12/3/2010
- The Playlist
The idea of documenting one's life via confessional and storytelling monologues is hardly unusual in 2010, but Spalding Gray did it before almost anyone else. And he did it better; in films like Swimming to Cambodia, Monster in a Box and Gray's Anatomy his personal histories were a gateway to perceptive observations about life and the world around us. Gray's Anatomy was directed by Steven Soderbergh. After Spalding Gray's tragic death by apparent suicide, his widow asked the director to make a documentary about her late husband. The result is And Everything is Going Fine, which is presented not as "a documentary by Steven Soderbergh," but as "a tribute by" the director. The trailer is after the break. The film takes the best possible approach to telling Spalding Gray's story: it uses his own words. His widow gave Steven Soderberg a trove of tapes -- 90 hours or so --...
- 12/3/2010
- by Russ Fischer
- Slash Film
Spaulding Gray was one of, if not The most important modern master of the monologue. Not readily known by the general public, Spaulding Gray rarely had roles in what most would call a mainstream film, but his legacy remains in his uncanny ability to turn his own life and experiences into compellingly honest one-man performances.
Director Steven Soderbergh has honored this great American artist in his new documentary And Everything Is Going Fine. The retrospective film collects it.s material primarily from Gray.s interviews and performances, many of which have rarely been seen. The intimacy of this film is partially what makes it so effective. Soderbergh has cut together the archival footage in a way that highlights all of what made Gray so fascinating — for better or worse — told by the man himself.
As is evident in his performances and this film, Gray’s life was not a fairy tale,...
Director Steven Soderbergh has honored this great American artist in his new documentary And Everything Is Going Fine. The retrospective film collects it.s material primarily from Gray.s interviews and performances, many of which have rarely been seen. The intimacy of this film is partially what makes it so effective. Soderbergh has cut together the archival footage in a way that highlights all of what made Gray so fascinating — for better or worse — told by the man himself.
As is evident in his performances and this film, Gray’s life was not a fairy tale,...
- 11/13/2010
- by Travis Keune
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Alberta - Spring is here and truth shall be in the air around Durham, North Carolina as the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival blossoms from April 8 - 11. This is a four day feast of prime cinema featuring real people with real lives and real issues that weren’t shaped by the beancounters in marketing. Last year’s festival featured Oscar winner The Cove and nominees Burma VJ and Food Inc. Looking through this year’s line up, there’s plenty reasons to make the trip to the Bull City if you need to escape from the unmitigated hype of Tiger Woods at the Masters.
And Everything is Going Fine is Steven Soderbergh’s biography of Spalding Gray. The monologist was the one man story machine in Swimming in Cambodia and Monster in a Box. Soderbergh directed Gray’s Gray’s Anatomy. He killed himself after seeing Tim Burton’s Big Fish.
And Everything is Going Fine is Steven Soderbergh’s biography of Spalding Gray. The monologist was the one man story machine in Swimming in Cambodia and Monster in a Box. Soderbergh directed Gray’s Gray’s Anatomy. He killed himself after seeing Tim Burton’s Big Fish.
- 4/2/2010
- by UncaScroogeMcD
Steven Soderbergh may struggle to get his artier films seen and may get kicked off a project or two, but there's one place he'll always be welcome: Park City, Utah. His sex, lies and videotape pretty much defined the Sundance Film Festival in the early years, and lately he's been lending his support to the scrappier cousin Slamdance, which occurs simultaneously with the more mainstream Sundance. This year will be no different. Variety is reporting that Soderbergh's documentary And Everything Is Going Fine, about the storyteller and performer Spalding Gray, will premiere at Slamdance in January, where Soderbergh will also participate in the Slamdance Filmmaker Summit. Gray, who committed suicide by jumping off the Staten Island Ferry in 2004, wrote and acted a series of autobiographical stories, such as the National Book Award- winning Swimming to Cambodia. No telling what Soderbergh's documentary will focus on, but the combination of a fascinating...
- 12/9/2009
- cinemablend.com
I just finished an interview with Steven Soderbergh, one of my personal favorite directors, up in Toronto today. It's a fascinating interview that covers The Informant and his directing career, but at the end I asked him for a brief update on all of his projects in the works, since he has quite a few. I asked him for an update on the Spalding Gray documentary he's been working on and the good news is that it's ready to go. "Yea, I just finished it," Soderbergh said. "Yea, we're going to go to Slamdance [with it]." Gray, for those who don't know, is a writer and actor best known for his monologues, like the one seen in Swimming to Cambodia. "Yea, I'm happy with it, it took a long time. That was another example where... It sort of, for a while, was really defined by what I didn't want it to ...
- 9/12/2009
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Last night, Stranger Than Fiction and the Woodstock Film Festival co-presented a screening of Swimming to Cambodia, Jonathan Demme's 1987 performance document of Spalding Gray's monologue ruminating on sex, drugs, genocide, "perfect moments" and "invisible clouds of evil." Inspired by Gray's real-life experience playing a small role in Roland Jaffe's The Killing Fields ("I'm not making up any of these stories I'm telling you tonight," he swears. "Except for the fact that the banana sticks to wall when it hits. Everything else is true."), Swimming, the first of three films based on Gray's monologues, easily eclipses Jaffe's film in contemporary freshness and replayability. Gray's stream-of-consciousness style of deeply personal social documentary has never been equalled on as mainstream a scale. Gray may have been great at self-documentation, but it's the subtle sinematic shaping employed by Demme, cinematographer John Bailey</ ...
- 5/13/2009
- by Karina Longworth
- Spout
The body of Spalding Gray was found this weekend in the East River, confirming suspicions that the actor, writer and monologuist had died two months ago, when he left his Manhattan apartment and never returned; he was 62. While the official cause of death had not yet been determined, it was widely reported that Gray had battled severe depression and had previously attempted suicide, including a 2002 attempt in which he tried to jump from a Long Island bridge. Last seen on January 10, Gray's family had kept up a search for him despite pressing evidence that he may have taken his own life. A superb live performer, Gray began his acting career in the 70s, but came to prominence with Swimming to Cambodia, a staged monologue that recounted his adventures while making the 1984 film The Killing Fields; Jonathan Demme filmed Cambodia in 1987. The resulting acclaim helped garner Gray roles in such films as True Stories, Beaches, King of the Hill, The Paper, and Kate & Leopold, among others, and his recounting of his travails with an eye condition was turned into Gray's Anatomy (1996), directed by Steven Soderbergh. Despite his film career, Gray continued to work onstage, playing the Stage Manager in a Tony Award-winning revival of Our Town, and turning his midlife crises into another acclaimed monologue, It's a Slippery Slope. Gray's life was marred by tragedy in recent years, as he suffered a horrible car accident in Ireland in 2001, which jeopardized his health, derailed his most recent monologue, Blind Spot, and seemed to accelerate his depression. Gray is survived by his wife, Kathleen Russo, and their two children. --Prepared by IMDb staff...
- 3/8/2004
- WENN
The anxious family of missing actor and writer Spalding Gray still hope he will return home alive. The depressed Swimming to Cambodia star, 62, vanished from his Manhattan, New York apartment on January 11, and despite 36 tips from witnesses police have found no clues to his whereabouts. His devastated wife Kathleen Russo says, "Everyone that looks like him from behind, I go up and check to make sure it's not him. If someone calls and hangs up, I always do star-69. You're always thinking, 'maybe'." Several reliable witnesses believe they saw Gray on the Staten Island ferry the night he left his home, leading Russo to fear he may have tried to jump off the boat. Russo admits it has been difficult after sightings have turned out to be cases of mistaken identities or lookalikes. She explains, "Spalding had one of those faces. People often told him, 'You look really familiar.' He looks like a professor they once had or something." Russo is increasingly frustrated at repeatedly having to tell their children, aged 11 and six, that "Dad's missing and the police are looking". Despite her hopes Gray may still return, Russo is begging to rationalize "he's had some kind of accident, either intentional or not. "If you can imagine, it's pretty awful. There's no closure, no answers no definitive outcome right now."...
- 3/4/2004
- WENN
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