Declare Your Independents: Volume 12
GITS development assistant Wendy Cohen here, and welcome to another edition of Declare Your Independents, our new series highlighting the latest developments in the world of independent film.
This week…
Shakeup at Focus Features: James Schamus Out; Peter Schlessel In, FilmDistrict to be Absorbed by Focus
How This Year’s NYFF Depicts a Greedy World
“Out of the Furnace,” “Walter Mitty,” and “Nebraska” Head to AFI Fest
5 Tech Stories That Filmmakers (and Film Fans) Must Read
The 25 Highest Grossing Indies of 2013 (A Running List)
A REMINDER:
- Scott and I encourage any of you who go to see an independent movie to post your reactions to the film in these posts. Good, bad, indifferent, whatever. If there’s a film you want to recommend, do it. Use your words to inspire readers to transport themselves into a local cinema.
- When you go to the theater, why not whip out your cellphone and snap a shot of something that demonstrates you were there? A photo of the movie poster in the lobby. A shot of your ticket stubs. An image of the movie theater itself. You and youriconoclastic indie film freaks.
- For any conversations on Twitter re: this initiative, let’s use these two hashtags: #independents and #declareyourindependents
- While we’re at it, why not add our photos to CydM’s fantastic Pintrest page for everyone to enjoy?
- And if we come up with a nifty Declaration of Independents, we could try to make it go viral. If you were going to write a Declaration of Independents, what would you include? What if we made it a video manifesto?
We can’t make this work without your participation. Share your experiences with the community so we can open up readers to the fantastically diverse, exciting and evolving world of independent film. We’ll all be extremely grateful that you did!
INDIE SPOTLIGHT: MOVIES TO SEE IN THEATERS THIS WEEK
OPENING FRIDAY (10/4)
Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is a medical engineer on her first shuttle mission. Her commander is veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky (George Clooney), helming his last flight before retirement. Then, on a routine space walk, disaster strikes — the shuttle is destroyed, leaving Ryan and Matt stranded in deep space with no link to Earth and no hope of rescue. As their fear turns to panic, they realize that the only way home may be to venture further into space.
Watch a 30-minute interview with director (and co-writer) Alfonso Cuaron here.
Believing that he has been swindled, Princeton grad student Richie (Justin Timberlake) goes to Costa Rica to confront online-gambling tycoon Ivan Block (Ben Affleck). Block’s promises of immense wealth and power have a seductive effect on Richie, until he learns the shocking truth about his new mentor. When Richie is coerced by the FBI to help bring Block to justice, he faces the biggest gamble of his life: outmaneuvering the two forces closing in on him.
A.C.O.D. follows Carter (Adam Scott), a seemingly well-adjusted Adult Child of Divorce. Having survived the madness of his parents’ (Richard Jenkins and Catherine O’Hara) divorce, Carter now has a successful career and supportive girlfriend (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). But when his younger brother (Clark Duke) gets engaged, Carter is forced to reunite his bitterly divorced parents and their new spouses (Amy Poehler and Ken Howard) for the wedding, causing the chaos of his childhood to return including his wacky therapist (Jane Lynch).
Listen to a Q&A with writer Ben Karlin courtesy of KCET’s Cinema Series, which was recorded exclusively for their podcast.
The series will continue its fall season next week on October 8th at 7pm with the highly anticipated thriller THE FIFTH ESTATE. Please consider buying passes for this series, hosted by nationally recognized film expert Pete Hammond. For reservations call 747.201.5800 or buy your season tickets online.
French-Canadian ex-con Dennis (Paul Giamatti) schemes to buy his estranged daughter a new piano by selling Christmas trees on the streets of New York City with handsome lothario Rene (Paul Rudd), whose latest conquest was Dennis’ wife. Sally Hawkins co-stars.
Duncan’s (Ken Marino) life is a real pain in the ass. Tormented by manipulative, crooked boss (Patrick Warburton), a nagging mother (Mary Kay Place), a deadbeat new age dad (Stephen Root), and a sweet, yet pressuring, wife (Gillian Jacobs), his mounting stress starts to trigger an insufferable gastrointestinal reaction. Out of ideas and at the end of his rope, Duncan seeks the help of a hypnotherapist (Peter Stormare), who helps him discover the root of his unusual stomach pain: a pintsized demon living in his intestine that, triggered by excessive anxiety, forces its way out and slaughters the people who have angered him. Out of fear that his intestinal gremlin may target its wrath on the wrong person, Duncan attempts to befriend it, naming it Milo and indulging it to keep its seemingly insatiable appetite at bay.
Read Way Too Indie’s interview with writer/director Jacob Vaughan here.
CONCUSSION is a poignant sexual examination of Abby (Robin Weigert in a star making breakout turn), a forty something married wealthy, lesbian housewife who, after suffering a blow to the head from getting smacked by her son’s baseball — walks around every corner of her suburban life to confront a mounting desire for something else. She takes on a new project and purchases a pied-à-terre in Manhattan. Walking around the city streets reminds Abby what it feels like to be sexy, and her pent-up libido shakes off its inhibitions. Her newfound desire though is not a take-home item, so Abby inaugerates a double life as a high end escort. Palpably sensual and deliciously contained, CONCUSSION is a keen observation of the complicated contours of midlife crisis.
Watch a 15-minute Q&A with writer/director Stacie Passon at Sundance here.
GRACE UNPLUGGED is an inspirational movie starring Amanda “AJ” Michalka as 18-year-old Christian singer/songwriter, Grace Rose Trey. Beautiful, highly talented and restless, Grace is undiscovered outside church, where she performs each Sunday with her gifted father, Johnny. A former rock star, Johnny Trey charted a Billboard number one single 20 years ago. When the hits stopped coming, he crash-landed hard before finding Christ and starting a new life for his family, far from the Hollywood Hills. One day without warning, Grace leaves for Los Angeles. She has landed a record deal with the help of Johnny’s ruthless former manager and producer, “Mossy” Mostin. Mossy sees in Grace a potential pop superstar. Cutting off contact with her parents, Grace seems prepared to walk away from her Christian faith and music to achieve her long-suppressed fantasy of Hollywood superstardom. Will the experience cause her to reject her faith, or rediscover it?
Spencer McCall’s debut documentary The Institute offers a look at a unique art project. In San Francisco, odd signs start popping up encouraging people to visit a local business. It turns out that this was the first step in a free-form, though still organized, real-life role-playing game devised by a man named Jeff Hall. The filmmakers trace how the project developed, and talk with people who were forever changed by their experiences with the immersive project.
Jason Osder’s documentary Let the Fire Burn revisits the horrific 1985 standoff between the MOVE organization and officials in Philadelphia, which led to a fire that caused the deaths of nearly a dozen people. The filmmakers offer an even-handed account that shows how each side exacerbated the situation.
In February 2012, the New York Knicks were having a truly unremarkable season and seemed unlikely to see postseason play when a star emerged from their ranks — Jeremy Lin, a point guard who sparked a seven-game winning streak that galvanized fans and gave the Knicks an unexpected shot at a playoff spot. While the Knicks’ sudden turnaround seemed like something out of a movie, Lin was the unlikely hero — a player of Taiwanese and Chinese heritage who was one of the few Asian-Americans playing in the NBA, and an athlete whose promising career had known more than a few setbacks, causing him to wonder if he might be cut from the Knicks’ team before things finally clicked. Filmmaker Evan Jackson Leong had been following Lin’s career before he became a fan favorite in early 2012, and in the documentary Linsanity, he presents the full story of Lin’s life on and off the court, including his relationship with his family, his college career at Harvard, his stint with the Houston Rockets, how he deals with racism in a sport where few Asians excel, and his strong Christian faith. Linsanity received its world premiere at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.
On a one-day business trip to New York, a young German business executive falls in love with a singer-songwriter who exposes him to her Brooklyn world and emotions he’s never experienced before.
NOTHING LEFT TO FEAR was inspired by the legend of Stull, Kansas. Wendy (Anne Heche), her husband Dan (James Tupper of “Revenge”) and their kids have just moved to the small town of Stull, Kansas, where Dan is the new pastor. But in this sleepy community of friendly neighbors, a horrific series of occurrences awaits them: Their teenage daughter (Rebekah Brandes of Bellflower) is being tormented by grisly visions. Her younger sister (Jennifer Stone of “Wizards Of Waverly Place”) has been marked for a depraved ritual. And deep within the heartland darkness, one of The Seven Gates Of Hell demands the blood of the innocent to unleash the creatures of the damned. Ethan Peck (“10 Things I Hate About You”) and Clancy Brown (The Shawshank Redemption) co-star in this demonic shocker featuring original music by producer SLASH and inspired by the real-life paranormal legacy of Stull.
Recounting the chaotic events that occurred in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963, PARKLAND weaves together the perspectives of a handful of ordinary individuals suddenly thrust into extraordinary circumstances: the young doctors and nurses at Parkland Hospital; Dallas’ chief of the Secret Service; an unwitting cameraman who captured what became the most watched and examined film in history; the FBI agents who nearly had the gunman within their grasp; the brother of Lee Harvey Oswald, left to deal with his shattered family; and JFK’s security team, witnesses to both the president’s death and Vice President Lyndon Johnson’s rise to power over a nation whose innocence was forever altered.
Read Vanity Fair’s interview with writer/director Peter Landesman here.
Rachel, a diplomatic consul, passes out on a street in Mexico City after a night of drinking. She is rescued by Alejandro, a single father whose visa she rejected the day before, and sparks fly between the two.
Running Wild: The Life of Dayton O. Hyde
Running Wild follows the remarkable life of author, photographer, activist and cowboy Dayton O. Hyde as he maintains his sanctuary for wild horses and works tirelessly to protect the vanishing landscape of the American West. Director Mitchell captures the beauty, soul and spirituality of this American Hero as he continues his endless work in conservation and saving the wild mustang. Filmed over the course of 11 years, the film examines the inspirational life of this modern day renaissance man and one of the last old-style cowboys. Through heroic determination, he is preserving part of the American West and its heritage. For the last 25 years, Dayton has managed the breathtaking 12,000 acre Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary in South Dakota, where more than 500 mustangs now run free — all rescued from the controversial wild horse roundups.
Mount Everest may be the tallest and most famous mountain on Earth, but most serious climbers agree that K2 is the most challenging peak a mountaineer can attempt, a far trickier and more demanding ascent than its more celebrated rival. A large number of experienced climbers have tried and failed to reach the top of K2, and in the summer of 2008, one expedition ended in tragedy when, after eighteen members of an international party of twenty-four reached the top of K2, eleven of them died while making their way back to the base. Filmmaker Nick Ryan offers an intimate look at this ill-fated mission in the documentary The Summit, which uses interviews, newsreel footage, and re-enactments to demonstrate what went wrong, and how one climber, Ger McDonnell, may have lost his life in a valiant effort to save the lives of his comrades. The Summit received its American premiere at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.
Read Indiewire’s interview with writer Mark Monroe here.
“Red Wing” follows the troubled journey of an orphan boy into manhood. Despite all odds, when confronted with the ill-will of others, he maintains honor and integrity. We learn that, if we let it, love takes over and finds its way. A socially thought-provoking and stirring love story based on the French novella “Francois le Champ” by George Sand. It is set in a small Texas town in present day, and reminds us of how love can be found in the most unusual and innocent places.
NOW IN THEATERS
Don Jon
Jon Martello (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a strong, handsome, good old fashioned guy. His buddies call him Don Jon due to his ability to “pull” a different woman every weekend, but even the finest fling doesn’t compare to the bliss he finds alone in front of the computer watching pornography. Barbara Sugarman (Scarlett Johansson) is a bright, beautiful, good old fashioned girl. Raised on romantic Hollywood movies, she’s determined to find her Prince Charming and ride off into the sunset. Wrestling with good old fashioned expectations of the opposite sex, Jon and Barbara struggle against a media culture full of false fantasies to try and find true intimacy in this unexpected comedy written and directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
Watch SXSW’s interview with Joseph Gordon-Levitt here.
Q&A with actor/director/writer Joseph Gordon-Levitt and crew to come.
Inequality for All
Robert Reich is an economist, author, and educator who was U.S. Secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton and who teaches a course on wealth and poverty at the University of California Berkeley. Since the mid-1980s, Reich has been outspoken on the issue of the growing divide between America’s rich and poor; in his book Aftershock, Reich presents his argument that this gulf is slowly but surely wiping out the middle class, and will lead to an economic catastrophe if left unchecked. Filmmaker Jacob Kornbluth presents a powerful look at Reich and his theories in the documentary Inequality for All; featuring footage from Reich’s lectures to students as well as interviews with the author and his conversations with Americans from many walks of life, the film provides disturbing evidence of the roles stagnating wages, growing personal debt, an economy based on consumer spending, and the decline of manufacturing are playing in the weakening of the American economy. Inequality for All received its world premiere at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.
Watch IAmRougue’s exclusive interview with economist Robert Reich and director Jacob Kornbluth here.
Morning
In his “stunning” (Stuart Fischoff, Ph. D., Psychology Today) and “powerful” (San Francisco Chronicle) feature debut as writer/director, actor Leland Orser (“ER”, Taken) and Jeanne Tripplehorn (“Big Love”, “Criminal Minds”) star as a married couple reeling from the tragic death of their only child. For each of them, grief becomes a private torment that threatens to destroy their world. Driven apart by sorrow, they try to find their way back to each other and the chance to love again. Laura Linney (“The Big C”, John Adams), Elliott Gould (Contagion, “Ray Donovan”), Kyle Chandler (“Friday Night Lights”, Argo, Zero Dark Thirty) and Jason Ritter (“Parenthood”) co-star in this devastating but ultimately hopeful look at heartbreak, healing and the strength of the human spirit to defy darkness and embrace the light of MORNING.
Read an exclusive interview with writer/director/actor Leland Orser here.
We Are What We Are
Behind closed doors, patriarch Frank (Bill Sage) rules his family with a rigorous ferver, determined to keep his ancestral customs intact at any cost. As a torrential rainstorm moves into the area, tragedy strikes and his daughters Iris (Ambyr Childers) and Rose (Julia Garner) are forced to assume responsibilities that extend beyond those of a typical family. As the unrelenting downpour continues to flood their small town, the local authorities begin to uncover clues that bring them closer to the secret that the Parkers have held closely for so many years.
Rush
The epic action-drama stars Chris Hemsworth as the charismatic Englishman James Hunt and Daniel Brühl (Inglourious Basterds) as the disciplined Austrian perfectionist Niki Lauda, whose clashes on the Grand Prix racetrack epitomized the contrast between these two extraordinary characters, a distinction reflected in their private lives. Set against the sexy and glamorous golden age of Formula 1 racing, Rush portrays the exhilarating true story of two of the greatest rivals the world has ever witnessed — handsome English playboy Hunt and his methodical, brilliant opponent, Lauda. Taking us into their personal lives on and off the track, Rush follows the two drivers as they push themselves to the breaking point of physical and psychological endurance, where there is no shortcut to victory and no margin for error. If you make one mistake, you die.
Watch an interview with director Ron Howard and screenwriter Peter Morgan here.
Prisoners
How far would you go to protect your child? Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) is facing every parent’s worst nightmare. His six-year-old daughter, Anna, is missing, together with her young friend, Joy, and as minutes turn to hours, panic sets in. The only lead is a dilapidated RV that had earlier been parked on their street. Heading the investigation, Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) arrests its driver, Alex Jones (Paul Dano), but a lack of evidence forces the only suspect’s release. Knowing his child’s life is at stake, the frantic Dover decides he has no choice but to take matters into his own hands. The desperate father will do whatever it takes to find the girls, but in doing so, he may lose himself, begging the question: When do you cross the line between seeking justice and becoming a vigilante?
Listen to KCET’s Q&A with director Dennis Villeneuve here.
Enough Said
A divorced and single parent, Eva (Julia Louis Dreyfus) spends her days enjoying work as a masseuse but dreading her daughter’s impending departure for college. She meets Albert (James Gandolfini) — a sweet, funny and like-minded man also facing an empty nest. As their romance quickly blossoms, Eva befriends Marianne (Catherine Keener), her new massage client. Marianne is a beautiful poet who seems “almost perfect” except for one prominent quality: she rags on her ex-husband way too much. Suddenly, Eva finds herself doubting her own relationship with Albert as she learns the truth about Marianne’s Ex. ENOUGH SAID is a sharp, insightful comedy that humorously explores the mess that often comes with getting involved again.
Read an interview with director Nicole Holofcener here.
Many thanks to Wendy for today’s post. Remember to Declare Your Independents by going to a theater or use V.O.D. to watch an indie feature this weekend.