News

Yes, that’s Billy Zane beneath those prosthetics.

The “Titanic” alum is unrecognizable as late star Marlon Brando in the first trailer for biopic “Waltzing for Brando.” The feature, written and directed by Bill Fishman, is based on a memoir by Bernard Judge.

The film takes place between 1969 and 1974, with Brando readying to shoot “The Godfather” and “Last Tango in Paris.” During that time, the actor purchased an uninhabitable island in Tahiti and recruited Los Angeles architect Judge, portrayed by Jon Heder, to build the world’s first ecologically friendly retreat.

Richard Dreyfuss, “Emily in Paris” star Camille Razat, Alaina Huffman, Tia Carrere, and James Jagger co-star in the film, which is now seeking a buyer.

The film will close the Torino Film Festival and play the Tahoe Film Festival. Prior to its world premiere, “Waltzing for Brando” was picked up by Vmi Worldwide for foreign sales.

Billed as a comedy,...

The first trailer has been revealed showing Billy Zane as Marlon Brando at the peak of his powers in upcoming biopic “Waltzing With Brando.”

The feature, which also stars Jon Heder, has been picked up by Vmi Worldwide for foreign sales.

Written and directed by Bill Fishman, the film is based on a memoir by Bernard Judge which takes place between 1969 and 1974 while Brando was preparing to film “The Godfather” and “Last Tango in Paris.” Alongside Zane and Heder, additional castmembers include the Oscar winner Richard Dreyfuss, as well as Camille Razat (“Emily in Paris”), Alaina Huffman, Tia Carrera (“Waynes World”) and Mick Jagger’s son James Jagger.

“Waltzing With Brando” follows Brando (Zane) — then the most famous actor in the world — as he filmed “Mutiny on the Bounty” and bought a tiny and uninhabitable island in Tahiti. His intent was to escape his hectic Hollywood lifestyle and show the world the path to sustainability.

Anna Schafer (Elizabeth Blue) has been tapped to star in Whose Child, a socially conscious film about undetected domestic child abuse from director Roxy Shih and producer Autumn Federici. The pic, which is slated to shoot in Los Angeles this fall with plans for a theatrical release, follows a woman (Schafer) working in public relations at a children’s hospital who gets her life turned around when she is assigned to be an “Auntie” for a young boy named Billy. Billy’s case is severe; he’s suffering from heavy head trauma, is in a coma, and is barely hanging on to life. When she realizes that the incident was a domestic abuse case, she takes matters into her own hands to overturn a system that would have otherwise failed him. Federici is producing under The Ninth House banner with partner Jake Helgren. Shih and Federici first worked together on...

In today’s film news roundup, the Santa Barbara Film Festival moves back, Legion M is backing “Save Yourselves!,” Gravitas buys “Odd Man Rush,” a Tiny Tim documentary finds a home and The Creative Coalition is backing films about obesity.

Film Festival

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival has shifted its dates backwards for its 36th annual event, which will now take place from March 31 to April 10, 2021.

The festival, which typically occurs in January and is a key stop for awards campaigns, made the announcement Wednesday, two days after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences postponed the 93rd Academy Awards telecast by two months to April 25, 2021. The Sbiff had previously been set for Jan. 27 – Feb. 6, 2021.

“Like so many other prestigious ceremonies and events, we’ve had to adjust our plans in this extremely unprecedented era,” said Sbiff Executive Director Roger Durling. “There has never been a more critical...

Pacific Northwest Pictures to release in Canada on same day.

Gravitas Ventures has acquired worldwide rights to the coming-of-age sports film Odd Man Rush featuring the children of ice hockey legends Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.

The company has scheduled a September 1 release coinciding with the Canadian release through Pacific Northwest Pictures on the same day.

Based on Bill Keenan’s bestselling memoir of the same name, Odd Man Rush stars Jack Mulhern as an ice hockey player who lands in Sweden’s minor professional leagues.

A relationship with the girl at the local market (Elektra Jannson Kilbey) forces him...

Pacific Northwest Pictures to release in Canada on same day.

Gravitas Ventures has acquired worldwide rights to the coming-of-age sports film Odd Man Rush featuring the children of ice hockey legends Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.

The company has scheduled a September 1 release coinciding with the Canadian release through Pacific Northwest Pictures on the same day.

Based on Bill Keenan’s bestselling memoir of the same name, Odd Man Rush stars Jack Mulhern as an ice hockey player who lands in Sweden’s minor professional leagues.

A relationship with the girl at the local market (Elektra Jannson Kilbey) forces him...

In today’s film news roundup, Marcia Gay Harden joins “Pink Skies Ahead,” Jack Mulhern stars in a Europe-set hockey movie, Oceana Studio opens its financing division and Participant hires a social impact veteran.

Castings

Academy Award winner Marcia Gay Harden has been added to the cast of the drama “Pink Skies Ahead,” the first feature film from Greg Silverman’s Stampede.

The Kelly Oxford film, which will begin production later this month in Los Angeles, tells the story of a wild young woman — played by Jessica Barden — whose life unravels after dropping out of college, moving in with her parents and being diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. It’s based on the essay “No Real Danger” from Oxford’s second book, “When You Find Out the World Is Against You.”

Henry Winkler, Rosa Salazar, Devon Bostick and Lewis Pullman also star. Silverman and Lisa Zambri are producing alongside Divide...

There are a few different ways to approach the first trailer for Doug Dearth’s Underdogs – there are certainly the obvious Friday Night Lights comparisons (while the film is set in Ohio, there is little doubt the game is just as important there as it is in Texas), there’s the true-life element, there’s Joe Namath just standing around like he’s not Joe Namath, there are even plenty of Cutting Edge flashbacks to remind viewers why they love D.B. Sweeney (if you need help coming back from sports hell, he’s still your dude), but the most striking bit is a buried one. That’s Natalie Imbruglia shaking her hair and her hand in the stands (presumably at Sweeney) for just a second, smack in the middle of the trailer. Yes, Natalie Imbruglia, Aussie pop star and purveyor of nineties earworm “Torn.” If she’s making a move to be the Connie Britton to Sweeney...

Hitting movie theaters this weekend:

Drive Angry – Nicolas Cage, Amber Heard, William Fichtner

Hall Pass – Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, Christina Applegate

Shelter – Julianne Moore, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Jeffrey DeMunn (limited)

Movie of the Week

Hall Pass

The Stars: Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, Christina Applegate

The Plot: A married man (Wilson) is granted the opportunity to have an affair by his wife.

The Buzz: I’m happy to see, after a four-year hiatus, the Farrelly Brothers are back (Dumb & Dumber, There’s Something About Mary, Shallow Hal) — it’s also nice to see Owen Wilson back to his regular Hollywood hard-working self. I didn’t think the red-band trailer for Hall Pass was as funny as the green-band, but I am still holding out hope that the Farrelly’s and Mr. Wilson are as good a match-up in reality as they are on paper. The supporting cast looks solid, with Jason Sudeikis,...

[Assorted]: David O. Russell’s highly-anticipated boxing/brotherhood drama “The Fighter” was unveiled on Tuesday night at Grauman’s Chinese Theater as part of the AFI Fest, and shortly after it ended numerous west coast Oscar bloggers began posting reactions. Pete Hammond writes that all four of the film’s principal cast members — best actor hopeful Mark Wahlberg, best supporting actor hopeful Christian Bale, and best supporting actress hopefuls Amy Adams and Melissa Leo — “have real shots for this vivid and colorful crowd pleaser.” Greg Ellwood believes the film “proved it has the chance to be a big crowd pleaser and substantial box office hit… [as well as] a legitimate Oscar player,” and adds that Adams’ high-quality performance was “the biggest surprise of the film.” Anne Thompson feels that “The actors shine in this and should be rewarded,” particular Bale, who “risks going too far with his druggie extrovert, but slowly wins us over,...

It’s all about family. Sometime we forget that as we go about in our busy lives. But, at times, it all comes back to us that we have personal responsibilities to our family. That family can be our own relatives, a group of friends we love, our local community or even the entire world.That reality hit hard, when filmmaker Doug Dearth learned that his healthy brother in his 40’s had just suffered a stem bleed in his head and may not live through the startling event. Camera in hand to perhaps film the last moments of his brother’s life, Doug flew from his home in California...