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Synergetic Distribution Acquires North American Rights to ‘Sami Blood’ (Exclusive)
39 minutes ago
Los Angeles-based outfit Synergetic Distribution has picked up North American rights to critically-acclaimed Swedish-Sami drama “Sami Blood” in the up to Sundance Film Festival, where the movie will play in the Spotlight section.
“Sami Blood” was acquired from Scandinavian outfit LevelK which represents the film in international markets.
Written and directed by first-time helmer Amanda Kernell, the film sheds light on Sweden’s colonial oppression of the indigenous Sami folk in the 1930’s through the coming-of-age tale of a young reindeer-herding Sami girl who breaks free from her family and culture.
“It’s rare to come across a movie that is as honest and as universally loved as ‘Sami Blood,’ and I think this movie, though set in a specific time and place, speaks to anyone that has questioned their history or identity, or has felt out of place,” says Anatol Chavez, Synergetic Distribution’s head of acquisitions. “We’re »
- Elsa Keslassy
Palm Springs Film Review: ‘Sealed Cargo’
1 hour ago
Billed as fact-based fiction, “Sealed Cargo” manages to eke an awful lot of fun and heart out of the unappetizing notion of police trying to sneak imported toxic sludge into a rural dump site. This buoyant seriocomedy from director/co-scenarist Julia Vargas-Weise juggles a lot of balls with seeming ease, from farcical elements and romance to political commentary. While the film has kept an oddly low profile in playing a long line of second-tier festivals over the past year, it’s selection as Bolivia’s Oscar submission might bring this international co-production some well-deserved interest from offshore distributors.
Whatever the bright green gunk leaking out of heavy-duty barrels is, and wherever it originally came from, it requires handling from workers in full hazmat suits. The film shows the carelessness with which this presumably First World poison is being unloaded on unsuspecting Third World nations when one worker simply pastes »
- Dennis Harvey
Sundance: Documentary ‘City of Ghosts’ Wins Candescent Award (Exclusive)
3 hours ago
Matthew Heineman’s documentary “City of Ghosts” has won this year’s Candescent Award at the Sundance Film Festival.
The Candescent Award was created by actress-producer Lilly Hartley in partnership with the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program. The award goes to a powerful social-issue film that has been supported during production by the Dfp and premieres at the Sundance Film Festival.
Heineman, whose credits include the Academy Award–nominated “Cartel Land,” followed the journey of a handful of anonymous activists who banded together after their homeland was taken over by Isis in 2014. “City of Ghosts” centers on a group of citizen journalists — dubbed “Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently” — as they face the realities of life undercover, on the run, and in exile, risking their lives to stand up against Isis. Raqaa is an Isis stronghold in Syria.
“City of Ghosts” premieres in the U.S. Documentary competition on Saturday at the Sundance Film Festival. »
- Dave McNary
Ufc Star Anderson Silva Heads Cast of Fruit Chan’s ‘Made in Kowloon’
3 hours ago
Mixed martial arts star, Anderson Silva (aka The Spider) will face off against Chinese action star Max Zhang and Chinese-American actress JuJu Chan in “Made In Kowloon.”
The $20 million action film is now in production with Fruit Chan directing. The picture is backed by Pegasus Motion Pictures, the Wong Pak-ming-headed company that recent sold a 29.9% stake to Chinese metals and media investment company Anhui Xinke.
The film sees a detective on the trail of a serial killer, who may have abducted the cop’s niece. The film also stars Stephy Tang, Kevin Cheng and Sumyau Liu. Stephen Tung (“Downtown Torpedoes,” “Accidental Spy”) heads the action choreography unit.
Da Silva is a Brazilian fighter and former Ufc middleweight champion, who holds the longest title streak in Ufc history. His streak ended in 2013 after 2,457 days, with 16 consecutive wins and 10 title defenses. Zhang (aka Zhang Jin) has risen from being a stunt double »
- Patrick Frater
Film Review: ‘Detour’
5 hours ago
It may be tempting, and not entirely inaccurate, to describe Christopher Smith’s “Detour” as “Sliding Doors” reimagined by Quentin Tarantino, but this cleverly twisty neo-noir thriller turns out to be more substantial and surprising than such logline shorthand might suggest. Indeed, some VOD viewers likely will desire an instant replay of the film, to more fully appreciate (or at least better understand) how its parallel plotlines contrast and converge to intriguing effect. The only real downside to a rerun: A few minor gaps in logic could be more annoying the second time around.
Tye Sheridan offers an engaging variation of the prototypical noir protagonist as Harper, a Los Angeles law student who blames Vincent (Stephen Moyer), his despised stepfather, for the auto crash that left his mother comatose. While drowning his sorrows in a seedy bar, Harper makes the mistake of chatting up Johnny Ray (Emory Cohen of “Brooklyn »
- Joe Leydon
Palm Springs Film Review: ‘Dark Skull’
5 hours ago
In “Dark Skull,” there’s no hint of any redeeming gray matter existing between the ears of the protagonist, who runs a short gamut between stupid, angry, violent, drunken, and unconscious. While hardly an appealing subject, he seems almost incidental to a movie that manages to be rather fascinating — even almost hypnotic — in spite of him. Director/co-scenarist Kiro Russo’s first feature is a sometimes cryptic, strikingly atmospheric drama set among the often literally subterranean lives of workers in the tin mines of Huanuni in Bolivia’s Oruro region. What might have easily become a familiar if worthy exercise in peasant miserabilism acquires an otherworldly quality via arresting imagery and enigmatic, fragmented storytelling.
What narrative specifics we can glean are that after the death of his parents, Elder Mamani (Julio Cesar Ticona) falls into the care of his remaining relatives, a duty they hardly relish. After all, this unseemly »
- Dennis Harvey
Film Review: ‘Plastic China’
7 hours ago
There’s novelty but not a lot of substance to Jiu-liang Wang’s documentary “Plastic China,” which serves as a thematic sequel of sorts to his 2011 “Beijing Besieged by Waste.” The description of the new film is intriguing: It portrays the lives of workers in an unnamed Chinese town entirely dedicated to the recycling of plastic. But the purist vérité approach allows almost no probing of the environmental, health, political, and other big-picture issues obviously relevant here, and the close-up focus on a few individuals provides frustratingly limited insight as well. With any random few minutes affording as much understanding as the near-structureless whole, this might have worked better as a video installation piece.
An opening title informs viewers that China is the leading importer of plastic waste from Japan, Korea, Europe, and the U.S., and later, we learn that the burg visited here boasts thousands of individual recycling operations. »
- Dennis Harvey
PETA Calls for Boycott of ‘A Dog’s Purpose’ After Disturbing Video Surfaces
9 hours ago
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have called for a boycott of Universal’s upcoming movie “A Dog’s Purpose” in the wake of the release of video showing a dog being forced into churning water on the set.
“PETA is calling on dog lovers to boycott the film in order to send the message that dogs and other animals should be treated humanely, not as movie props,” the group said.
The call for the boycott came on Wednesday, when TMZ released a leaked video from November, 2015, footage of a German Shepherd being forced into turbulent water during the making of the film.
Amblin Partners and Universal Pictures issued a statement saying that the dog in the video, named Hercules, had been rehearsed for the water scenes but balked on the day of the shooting so the production team did not proceed. The companies said they were reviewing the footage. »
- Dave McNary
‘Deepwater Horizon,’ ‘The Accountant’ Take Top Two Spots on Disc Sales Charts
9 hours ago
The drought of new releases is over, with no fewer than six new DVD and Blu-ray Disc releases debuting among the top 20 on the national home video sales charts for the week that ended Jan. 15.
Lionsgate’s “Deepwater Horizon” and Warner’s “The Accountant” bowed at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, on both the Npd VideoScan overall disc sales chart, which tracks combined DVD and Blu-ray Disc sales, and the dedicated Blu-ray Disc sales chart.
“Deepwater Horizon” is the dramatization of the April 2010 explosion of the offshore drilling rig of the same name, which created the worst oil spill in U.S. history. The film grossed $61.4 million in U.S. theaters and also debuted at No. 1 on Home Media Magazine’s top disc rentals chart.
“The Accountant,” with a domestic box office gross of $86.3 million, is a crime thriller starring Ben Affleck as a forensic accountant who tracks down inside embezzlers for various criminal enterprises. »
- Thomas K. Arnold
Nick Cassavetes Going on ‘Honeymoon With Harry’
10 hours ago
Nick Cassavetes has come on board New Line Cinema’s drama-comedy “Honeymoon with Harry,” based on the Bart Baker novel.
Mike Karz of Karz Entertainment and Josie Rosen of Gulfstream Pictures are producing the project, which has been in development for more than a decade. Russell Hollander of Hollander Entertainment is the executive producer.
Dan Fogelman, whose screenplay credits include “Crazy, Stupid, Love” and “Last Vegas,” is the screenwriter. Baker’s novel focuses on a hard-living man who falls in love with a woman who literally saves him from himself — despite the best efforts of her protective father to crush the relationship. When she dies tragically just before the wedding, the men wind up going on the honeymoon together to reconcile their differences.
Robert de Niro, Bradley Cooper and Rachel McAdams have been attached to star in “Honeymoon with Harry” at various points and Cooper expressed interest in directing the project. »
- Dave McNary
Senator Seeks FBI Information on Steven Mnuchin’s Ties to Relativity Media
10 hours ago
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), the ranking member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, is asking FBI director James Comey for information on Relativity Media and its ties to Steven Mnuchin, the movie financier and banking executive who is President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of the treasury.
In a press release, Brown referred to an FBI investigation into Relativity, noting that when nonprofit watchdog group MuckRock first sought answers to questions about Mnuchin and the film company, the Freedom of Information Act request was denied. According to Brown, the FBI cited concerns that the disclosure of such information would “interfere with enforcement proceedings.”
Mnuchin was a member of Relativity’s board and once served as its co-chairman. He stayed in that post for seven months, departing two months before Relativity declared bankruptcy in July, 2015. Variety‘s James Rainey reported that just weeks before the bankruptcy filing, »
- Ted Johnson
Final Oscar Predictions: 5 Lingering Questions With Nominations on the Way
10 hours ago
Ballots were due on Friday and the nail-biting will finally cease at 5am on Tuesday, Jan. 24. It’s been another jam-packed phase one for Oscar season, though one that didn’t have quite as many twists and turns as you’d expect. After all, a certain musical started the season as the presumed frontrunner, and it hasn’t budged since.
Of course, as soon as you think you’ve got it all figured out, the Academy keeps you on your toes. So how will the nominations for the 89th annual Oscars play out next week? There will be surprises, surely. There always are. Figuring out what they might be is the fun. Check out my final picks if you’re curious to know one guy’s opinion, but as we head into this final lap, a few lingering questions remain.
How many best picture nominees will there be?
In the »
- Kristopher Tapley
Sundance: 13 Must-See Films That Have the Indie World Talking
10 hours ago
The Sundance Film Festival has been the launching pad for some of the greatest indie films ever made. The likes of “Reservoir Dogs,” “Little Miss Sunshine,” and last year’s “Manchester by the Sea” all got their starts at the mountainside festival. That track record of finding new talent and fresh stories is what keeps studio executives and fan lovers flocking to Park City. So as Sundance gets ready to kick off on Thursday, hope springs anew.
There are a number of films that are already generating massive buzz, sight unseen. They range from Oscar contenders to crowd pleasing comedies to ripped-from-the-headlines documentaries. If they live up to the hype, all of them should score big paydays. Here’s a look at the films that are most likely to spark all-night bidding frenzies.
Cast: Garrett Hedlund, Carey Mulligan, Jason Mitchell, Mary J. Blige
Director: Dee Rees
Sales agent: Wme »
- Brent Lang
Fox Amps Up Immersive Business With FoxNext, Taps Salil Mehta
12 hours ago
Veteran Fox executive Salil Mehta has been named president of the studio’s newly created FoxNext division that will work on its immersive businesses across Twentieth Century Fox Film and Fox Networks Group.
He will oversee video gaming, location-based entertainment, virtual and augmented reality productions. The studio is aiming to drive the company’s next-generation storytelling experiences.
Mehta joined Fox in 2013 and most recently served as president of content management for Twentieth Century Fox Film. He will begin his new role immediately, and report jointly to Peter Rice, Chairman and CEO of Fox Networks Group, and Stacey Snider, Chairman and CEO of Twentieth Century Fox Film.
FoxNext will oversee the production of studio franchise virtual reality experiences, such as the already announced “Alien” and “Planet of the Apes.” FoxNext will also combine the efforts of the video gaming groups responsible for “The Simpsons: Tapped Out” mobile game and the “Alien: »
- Dave McNary
Dave Franco Moves From CAA to Wme
12 hours ago
“Neighbors” star Dave Franco has moved from CAA to Wme for representation.
Franco is known for his work in the “21 Jump Street,” “Now You See Me,” and “Neighbors” franchises. He also starred in Jonathan Levine’s “Warm Bodies,” and “Nerve” opposite Emma Roberts.
He’ll next be seen in Jeff Baena’s “The Little Hours,” premiering at the Sundance Film Festival this week. In addition, Franco recently wrapped the Netflix drama “6 Balloons” and also has the animated film “The Lego Ninjago Movie” bowing later this year.
Franco had been with CAA for several years, but began looking for a new agency after his longtime agent, Kami Putnam-Heist, left to become a manager at Anonymous Content. His brother, James Franco, who was also repped by Putnam-Heist while she was at CAA, recently left for UTA after her departure.
The Franco brothers appear together in the upcoming New Line Cinema and »
- Justin Kroll
Sundance Chief John Cooper on Diversity, Trump Protests and Why Indie Film Is Going Strong
13 hours ago
John Cooper just finished getting a chest X-ray. It’s the week before Sundance, and the film festival chief wants to know if he has pneumonia before the annual gathering of film lovers, directors, and studio executives on the prowl for the next “Little Miss Sunshine,” turns the sleepy ski town into a hotbed of activity.
But in between trips to the doctor, a sniffly, slightly hoarse Cooper walked Variety through this year’s slate. It’s a mixture of politically charged documentaries such as “Icarus” (steroids) and “City of Ghosts” (Isis), awards-bait like the elegiac “The Hero” and the historical drama “Mudbound,” and crowd-pleasers such as “The Big Sick.” It also continues Sundance’s commitment to promoting and encouraging directors of color and female filmmakers at a time when major studio films continue to be dominated by white men. Women make up 34% of the directors at this year’s festival, »
- Brent Lang
Seth Gordon to Direct Film Based on Boston College Basketball Point Shaving Scandal
13 hours ago
New Line Cinema has landed an untitled pitch based on the true story of Boston College’s point shaving scandal. “Baywatch” director Seth Gordon will helm the upcoming film from a script by “30 Rock” co-showrunner Robert Carlock.
Brett Ratner and John Cheng of RatPac Entertainment will produce with Gordon’s Exhibit A banner. Mary Rohlich will exec produce with Steel Titan’s Cayman Grant, Terry City, and Paula Gregg.
Originally seen as a documentary on Espn’s “30 for 30” series, the story revolves around the 1978-79 Boston College basketball team, which was infiltrated by a group of Pittsburgh gangsters and forced to participate in a point shaving scheme. It was eventually uncovered by the FBI, forever changing the program and the landscape of college basketball.
Two of the mob men involved in the scandal, Henry Hill and Jimmy Burke, have already had their day in the Hollywood limelight as the two »
- Justin Kroll
Sony Takes Stake in Genius Brands International
13 hours ago
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has taken an equity stake of an undisclosed amount in Genius Brands International.
The investment was announced Wednesday along with an expansion of last year’s home entertainment distribution agreement to include the worldwide home entertainment marketing and distribution of Genius Brands’ Kid Genius and Baby Genius labels of all Genius Brands’ properties.
“The global distribution deal between Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Genius Brands provides a myriad of growth opportunities for both companies and coordinated global marketing for each of our brands as well as for our rapidly growing Kid Genius and Baby Genius channels” said Andy Heyward, Chairman and CEO of Genius Brands. “We look forward to working with Sphe to source, develop and produce valuable commercial children’s ‘content with a purpose’ for global audiences.”
Genius Brands’ properties encompassed in the agreement include the music and fashion-driven brand for tween girls, SpacePOP, which »
- Dave McNary
Sundance Film Festival 2017: The Ultimate Party Guide
13 hours ago
The annual trek to Park City, Utah has already begun for the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, which runs Jan. 19 until Jan. 29. Peter Dinklage, Larry Wilmore, and Gael Garcia Bernal are among those named to the juries in this year’s competition. The awards will be handed out on Jan. 28 in a ceremony hosted by “The Daily Show” alum Jessica Williams.
In between all of the prizes and premieres, stars and film aficionados endure the cold temperatures with help from the city’s pop-up party scene, featuring swag, drinks and exclusive dinners.
Thursday, Jan. 19
Après Ski Festival Kick-off Rooftop Party – 4 to 8 p.m.
An Artist at the Table – 8 p.m.
The annual benefit kicks off the first day of the festival with director Jeff Orlowski set as keynote speaker. The private cocktail reception and dinner follows the premiere of “An Inconvenient Sequel” at the Eccles Theatre.
Friday, Jan. 20
Village at the Lift
At&T takes over this year’s village that runs from Jan. 20-22, showcasing Directv in the Cabin, Audience in the Café and Jeff Vespa’s WireImage Studio. This year’s winter escape from the cold features beverages and light fare from notable Japanese restaurant Nobu, along with high-speed internet. »
- Mannie Holmes
Berlin: Adam Brody, Sophie Nelisse to Star in ‘The Kid Detective’
14 hours ago
Adam Brody and Sophie Nelisse are attached to star in Evan Morgan’s murder mystery “The Kid Detective.”
UTA and Myriad Pictures will handle sales and production is set to begin in early 2017. Myriad will introduce the film to international buyers at the upcoming European Film Market during the Berlin Film Festival.
Morgan will direct from his own script, which centers on a once celebrated kid detective (Brody) who’s now 29 and continues to solve the same trivial mysteries between hangovers and bouts of self-pity. That changes when a naïve client (Nelisse) seeks to discover who brutally murdered her boyfriend.
Morgan was the co-writer, producer and editor of “The Dirties,” which won the Grand Jury Prize at Slamdance, and was released internationally by Kevin Smith, Phase 4, and Pulse Films. He most recently received the Canal Plus Prizeat the Clermont-Ferrand International Film Festival for his short “A Pretty Funny Story.”
- Dave McNary
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