Sundance 2008 Photo Preview: Part 3 - Spectrum
The line-up for the 2008 Sundance Film Festival was announced earlier this week. I just got my hands on a boat load of photos from the films in this year’s festival. We actually have too many photos to feature in just one posting, so we have divided this feature into a few parts.
Our third segment in the series takes a look at the films in the Spectrum category. The list of films includes: Anvil! The True Story Of Anvil, The Black List, Kicking It, The Linguists, Made In America, Where In The World Is Osama Bin Laden?, Young@Heart, August, Baghead, Birds of America, Blind Date, Bottle Shock, Chronic Town, Goliath, A Good Day To Be Black & Sexy, Love Comes Lately, Momma’s Man, Quid Pro Quo, and Red.
Also be sure to check out our Sundance 2008 Photo Previews for the Premieres and U.S. Dramatic Competition.
Check out the photos. Click on the images to enlarge.
Dramatic films screening in Spectrum are:AUGUST / U.S.A.
Director: Austin Chick
Screenwriter: Howard A. Rodman
Cast: Josh Hartnett, Adam Scott, Naomie Harris.
An aggressive young dot-com entrepreneur struggles to keep his head above water as the bottom falls out of the market in August of 2001.
World Premiere
BAGHEAD / U.S.A.
Directors and Screenwriters: Mark Duplass and Jay Duplass
Cast: Steve Zissis, Ross Partridge, Greta Gerwig.
As previously done in their last film THE PUFFY CHAIR, the Duplass Brothers explore the minutiae of relationship dynamics in this in-depth study of a group of desperate actor friends. And a bag. And a head.
World Premiere
BIRDS OF AMERICA/ U.S.A.
Director: Craig Lucas
Screenwriter: Elyse Friedman
Cast: Matthew Perry, Ginnifer Goodwin, Ben Foster.
Three siblings couldn’t be more different, or more neurotic. But when they find themselves converging at the family manse, they become surprisingly indispensable to one another.
World Premiere
BLIND DATE/ U.S.A.
Director: Stanley Tucci
Screenwriters: Stanley Tucci, David Schechter
Cast: Stanley Tucci, Patricia Clarkson, Thijs Romer.
A married couple has suffered a tragedy, and now the only way they can relate to one another is by meeting as different characters through a series of personal ads. A remake of the original work by the late Dutch director Theo van Gogh.
World Premiere
BOTTLE SHOCK/ U.S.A.
Director: Randall Miller
Screenwriters: Jody Savin, Randall Miller
Cast: Alan Rickman, Bill Pullman, Chris Pine, Rachael Taylor, Freddy Rodríguez, Eliza Dushku.
The story of the early days of California wine making featuring the now infamous, blind Paris wine tasting of 1976 that has come to be known as “Judgment of Paris.”
World Premiere
CHRONIC TOWN/ U.S.A.
Director: Tom Hines
Screenwriter: Michael Kamsky
Cast: JR Bourne, Emily Wagner, Dan Butler.
A bittersweet slice-of-life comedy about a cab driver with substance abuse problems who weathers a cold Alaskan winter with his cadre of friends and lovers.
World Premiere
GOLIATH/ U.S.A.
Director and Screenwriter: David Zellner
Cast: David Zellner, Caroline O’Connor, Nathan Zellner.
Faced with a demotion, a pending divorce, and less-than-friendly neighbors, a man pins his hopes for salvation on finding his missing cat, Goliath.
World Premiere
A GOOD DAY TO BE BLACK & SEXY/ U.S.A.
Director and Screenwriter: Dennis Dortch
Cast: Kathryn Taylor, Valley Jones, Chonte’ Harris.
Six progressive vignettes explore sexuality and relationships in the black community of Los Angeles.
World Premiere
LOVE COMES LATELY/ Germany/ Austria
Director and Screenwriter: Jan Schütte
Cast: Otto Tausig, Rhea Perlman, Tovah Feldshuh.
An 80-year-old man continues to pursue his love life with youthful vigor, risking his relationship with the woman he loves. Based on the short stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer.
U.S. Premiere
MOMMA’S MAN/ U.S.A.
Director and Screenwriter: Azazel Jacobs
Cast: Flo Jacobs, Ken Jacobs, Dana Varon.
A man who has avoided his wife and child at home has a change of heart after an imposed stay in his own parents’ loft.
World Premiere
QUID PRO QUO/ U.S.A.
Director and Screenwriter: Carlos Brooks
Cast: Nick Stahl, Vera Farmiga, Kate Burton.
A paraplegic New York public radio reporter becomes involved with a mysterious woman while researching a story about able-bodied people who secretly yearn to be paralyzed.
World Premiere
RED/ U.S.A.
Director: Trygve Diesen
Co-Director: Lucky McKee
Screenwriter: Stephen Susco
Cast: Brian Cox, Tom Sizemore, Kim Dickens.
An older, reclusive man’s best friend and inspiration for living is his 14-year-old dog named “Red.” When three troublesome teens kill the dog for no good reason, the grieving man sets out for justice and redemption by whatever means available to him.
World Premiere
The films screening in Spectrum: Documentary Spotlight are:
ANVIL! THE TRUE STORY OF ANVIL/ U.S.A.
Director: Sacha Gervasi
At 14, best friends Robb Reiner and Lips made a pact to rock together forever. Their band, Anvil, hailed as the “demi-gods of Canadian metal,” influenced a musical generation that includes Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax, despite never hitting the big time. Following a calamitous European tour, Lips and Robb, now in their fifties, set off to record their 13th album in one last attempt to fulfill their boyhood dreams.
World Premiere
THE BLACK LIST/ U.S.A.
Director: Timothy Greenfield-Sanders
Screenwriter: Elvis Mitchell
Journalist Elvis Mitchell interviews twenty African American leaders, ranging from athletes and academics to politicians, social activists, and artists, providing a series of living portraits—a unique glimpse into the zeitgeist of black America—and redefining traditional notions of a “blacklist.”
World Premiere
KICKING IT/ U.S.A.
Director and Screenwriter: Susan Koch
The lives of homeless people are changed forever through an international soccer competition. This film follows six players as they set off for Cape Town, South Africa to play in the Homeless World Cup.
World Premiere
THE LINGUISTS/ U.S.A.
Directors: Seth Kramer, Daniel A. Miller, Jeremy Newberger
Screenwriter: Daniel A. Miller
David and Greg are “The Linguists,” who document languages on the verge of extinction. In the rugged landscapes of Siberia, India, and Bolivia, their resolve is tested by institutionalized racism and violent economic unrest.
World Premiere
MADE IN AMERICA/ U.S.A.
Director: Stacy Peralta
Screenwriters: Stacy Peralta, Sam George
With a first-person look at the notorious Crips and Bloods, this film examines the conditions that have led to decades of devastating gang violence among young African Americans growing up in South Los Angeles.
World Premiere
WHERE IN THE WORLD IS OSAMA BIN LADEN?/ France
Director: Morgan Spurlock
Screenwriters: Jeremy Chilnick and Morgan Spurlock
Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock explores every nook and cranny of the Middle East on a quest to find the world’s most wanted man.
World Premiere
YOUNG@HEART/ United Kingdom
Director: Stephen Walker
A choir of Massachusetts senior citizens delights audiences worldwide with their covers of songs by everyone from The Clash and Coldplay to Jimi Hendrix and Sonic Youth.
August Trailer
August focuses on two brothers, ambitious dot.com entrepreneurs attempting to keep their company afloat as the stock market begins to collapse in August 2001, one month prior to the 9/11 attacks.
The cast includes Josh Hartnett, Adam Scott, Naomie Harris, Rip Torn, Zoe Kazan, Robin Tunney and David Bowie.
Despite the fact the movie is called August, it will in fact be released in July. Obvious marketing flaw there.
Naomie Harris And Rick Yune Join Ninja Assassin
The Hollywood Reporter have announced that Naomie Harris and Rick Yune have joined Ninja Assassin. The film is apparently filming as you read this, and is being produced by Speed Racer directors, the Wachowski Brothers. V for Vendetta director James McTeigue will be sat in the directors chair, for what apparently is an original film. No comic books, no graphic novels, no novel, no anything. A writer has actually been paid to use his imagination for once!
The title of the film is a good indication of what we may get, producer Joel Silver has described it as a “full on martial arts movie.” He also says it’s has the theme of revenge running through it.
It certainly sounds interesting. Naomie Harris is best known for her role as Tia Dalma in the Pirates of the Caribean trilogy. She has also appeared in the amazing 28 Days Later and more recently, Street Kings.
Rick Yune is best known for being a Bond villain in Die Another Day, who had the unfortunate (or fortunate depending on how you look at it) accident involving diamonds blowing up in his face, and embedding themselves there.
Rick Yune spoke of his role:
“Not to give too much away, (but) my character stays within what he was brought up with, and they go up against each other,” Yune said. “I’m not a heavy. The characters are ninjas, they are assassins, and there’s this mix of morality the Wachowskis are exploring.”
Warner Brothers have yet to announce a release date, but I’m guessing we will see this sometime in 2009.
New Trailers For The Forbidden Kingdom And Street Kings
The Forbidden Kingdom sees Jet Li and Jackie Chan team up on screen. The other trailers have been so-so but this one really gets me excited.
Street Kings (formally The Night Watchman) sees Keanue Reeve as a cop who gets all confused after his wife dies. The film also stars Chris Evans, Hugh Laurie, Forest Whitaker and Naomie Harris.