News

Exclusive: Police Academy veteran Steve Guttenberg and Vacation‘s Christie Brinkley have boarded Michael W. Gray’s coming-of-age family comedy American Summer.

Shooting has begun in Northern New Jersey and will extend into mid-October. Gray is directing from a script he wrote with Jennifer B. White.

Pic follows Mikey (Guttenberg), now in his 60s, who vividly journeys back to his childhood during one of the best summers of his life when he met the girl of his dreams, Kelly, scored a spot on the travel

baseball team, worked his first job and began his growth out of boyhood — all in the sudden wake of his dad missing overseas on a military mission.

Logan Gray stars as Young Mikey and Mia Talerico (Disney’s Good Luck Charlie) stars as Young Kelly. Also starring are Dan Lauria, Cullen Moss, Erinn Ruth, Michael Cuomo (Nanny), Ellen Toland (Inside the Rain), Stephen Krahel, former baseball stars Lee Mazzilli and Luis Sojo, plus newcomers Callie Reese (What Breaks the Ice), Cash Chisum, Jaba Keh, Carter J Thomas, Max Malas, Maximus Virgili, Chance Stout, and Noodle (the family puppy who saves the day).

“American Summer is a tale for a multi-generational audience to enjoy together. I look forward to sharing the film with the world as I want to bring people together to laugh and feel in their own way,” said Gray.

“I’m excited to be working on such a feel-good movie,” Guttenberg said. “The story requires the creative team to put together a narrative that is not only universal, but unique in its own style. American Summer has the potential to bring generations together, and that’s what audiences ask for in a great family film.”

Gray (A Birder’s Guide to Everything Jamie Marks Is Dead) and Michael Cuomo are producing. Guttenberg, Brinkley, Brian Dubin and Stephen Krahel are EPs. Josh Folan and Danny Ward are co-producers.

American Summer is a co-production of Relentless Filmz (Gray) and Brooklyn Owl Pictures (Cuomo). Gray is repped by Ramo Law. Guttenberg is repped by Vault Entertainment and CAA. Brinkley is repped by Artist Brand Alliance and Untitled Entertainment.

Exclusive: U.S. financier Mizzel Media has backed its second movie: indie feature Rebel Girl, starring Oscar nominee Amy Madigan (Twice in a Lifetime), newcomer Sadie Jensen-Blank (#Horror) and Erik Jensen (The Walking Dead).

New York-based Mizzel, which earlier this year invested in The Girl From Köln, the next film from Holy Spider and The Tale outfit One Two Films, is overseen by producer and veteran manager Lillian Lasalle.

Rebel Girl, currently filming in Minnesota under a SAG Ia, is being helmed by co-writing-directing team Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen with a script co-written by Han Shan.

The film will chart the story of headstrong 14-year-old Maisie (Jensen Blank) and her artist dad Kurt (Jensen) who must leave the confines of their Brooklyn bubble to return to Kurt’s Minnesotan childhood home where Maisie upends old family patterns, falls in love, and forces her family to confront each other and themselves.

Exclusive: Cinedigm has acquired North American rights to the coming-of-age thriller What Breaks the Ice, with plans to release the film in select theaters, on demand & digital this fall.

The first feature from writer/director Rebecca Eskreis is set during the tumultuous summer of 1998. As the sociopolitical landscape is turned on its head, two girls from different worlds form an unlikely friendship in the sweltering summer heat. Their fun and carefree days quickly turn cold as they find themselves at the center of a murder that rocks a nostalgic East Coast summer getaway.

Madelyn Cline and Sofia Hublitz (Ozark) star, alongside Lukas Gage, Catherine Curtin (Homeland), Aimee Mullins (Stranger Things), Shakira Barrera (Glow) and Joel Allen (The Purge).

Eskreis produced the project with Michael Cuomo, Dustin Duke Dlouhy, Michael W. Gray, Courtney Jones and Katie Leary. She developed it under...

Exclusive: Investor and Tony Award-winning producer Kevin J. Kinsella (Jersey Boys) and actress Paten Hughes (Heirloom) have launched film and TV banner Cowboy + Cougar Entertainment.

Kinsella and Hughes will look to write and produce around 4-6 projects per year in the prestige and commercial spaces and will have the capacity to develop, package and finance. Already on the slate are books Confessions Of An Alien Hunter by astronomer Seth Shostak, which Cowboy + Cougar will adapt as a sci-fi TV series called Fermi’s Paradox, and Julia Oliver’s Goodbye To The Buttermilk Sky, which the company will adapt as a feature film.

The latter is a coming-of-age romantic drama in the vein of Bridges Over Madison County about a young woman, Callie, in Depression-era 1938 rural Alabama whose torrid affair with a handsome stranger jostles her life trajectory. Lily Houghton (Day By Day) is writing the adapted feature film script.

Coming-of-age thriller stars Sofia Hublitz from Ozark, Madelyn Cline of Stranger Things, Boy Erased.

Saboteur Media will handle worldwide sales rights to Afm-bound What Breaks The Ice, a thriller mentored by Richard Linklater that features rising stars from hit shows like Ozark, Glow, and Stranger Things.

The coming-of-age thriller centres on two 15-year-old girls whose summer takes an unexpected turn when they become accidental accomplices in a fatal crime.

Sofia Hublitz (Ozark), Madelyn Cline, Joel Allen (Never Goin’ Back), Shakira Barrera (Glow), Erik Jensen (Messengers), Catherine Curtin and Aimee Mullins (Stranger Things) star.

Rebecca Eskreis makes her feature directorial debut,...

After drawing attention to the festival’s annual Gaming Awards, organizers behind the South by Southwest Film Festival have posted the full, comprehensive lineup, revealing that the likes of Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver and Free Fire, the riotous ensemble thriller from Ben Wheatley, are among those films that will screen for critics and attendees.

Per SXSW 2017‘s website, this year’s showcase will host “84 World Premieres, 11 North American Premieres, and 6 Us Premieres. First-time filmmakers account for 51 films, continuing our tradition of unearthing the emergent talent of tomorrow.” British auteur Ben Wheatley (Kill List, Sightseers, A Field in England) is a regular of the Texas festival, and will be rubbing shoulders with other favorites including Michael Winterbottom, Nacho Vigalondo, Michael Showalter.

SXSW 2017 begins on March 10th in Austin, Texas and you can get up to speed on everything the festival has to offer down below.

Narrative Feature Competition

A Bad Idea Gone Wrong...

In the closing moments of "Happy New Year," writer-director K. Lorrel Manning's somber portrait of a despondent Iraq war veteran stuck in a ward for victims of post-traumatic stress disorder, fiction gives way to an unsettling truth: After nearly two hours of a close-up look at the burgeoning death wish afflicting Staff Sgt. Cole Lewis (Michael Cuomo), an end credit notes that approximately 18 U.S. veterans commit suicide each day -- and that, between 2010 and 2011, suicide was the leading cause of death among U.S. troops. Almost exclusively unfolding in hospital rooms, with nary a battle in sight, "Happy New Year" provides a rare glimpse into the darker ramifications of war that rarely take center stage in the national dialogue. This struggle has nothing to do with political motives or tactical movements, but rather the battle to retain sanity against impossible odds. While Manning adapted the material from his play,...

It’s just about that time of year to pay tribute to our veterans and Shockya.com is honored to do so by debuting the poster for K. Lorrel Manning’s one-act play turned short film turned full feature, “Happy New Year.” The film stars Michael Cuomo as Sgt. Cole Lewis, a solider who returns home from Iraq and Afghanistan wounded, both physically and mentally. Lewis is forced to bunk down in the psych ward of a Veterans Hospital where his struggle to recover turns into a redefinition of self, a self that winds up providing an immense amount of hope to those around him – that is until Lewis comes face to [ Read More ]

The post Exclusive: Brand New Poster For K. Lorrel Manning’s Happy New Year appeared first on Shockya.com.

I first met writer/director K. Lorrel Manning and actor/producer Michael Cuomo at the Santa Fe Independent Film Festival, where we found ourselves the fish-out-of-water New Yorkers in a sea full of Southwest cinephiles. Their SXSW 2011 (sold out) hit Happy New Year is grounded in star Cuomo’s nuanced portrayal of a fictional outsider named Cole Lewis, a sergeant who served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and now finds himself battling demons both mental and physical in the psych ward of a veterans hospital. I spoke with the two about their veterans outreach effort, Indiegogo versus Kickstarter, and the best places to start a revolution over breakfast.

Filmmaker: Over the past couple years, there’ve been a slew of nonfiction flicks – such as Danfung Dennis’s Hell and Back Again and Heather Courtney’s Where Soldiers Come From – that address the difficulties encountered by Iraq and Afghanistan war vets returning home.

I think I can safely say IFC covered the crap out of South by Southwest 2011. Stephen Saito and I reviewed over fifteen films and interviewed over forty filmmakers during our ten days in Austin. That's way more films covered than hours either of us slept. Here now is a complete archive of everything we did: reviews, video interviews, and print interviews. At the bottom, you'll also find mine and Stephen's picks for the five best films at this year's SXSW. Enjoy. I know we did.

Reviews

"Attack the Block," directed by Joe Cornish

"The Beaver," directed by Jodie Foster

"Bellflower," directed by Evan Glodell

"Bridesmaids," directed by Paul Feig

"Convento," directed by Jarred Alterman

"The Fp," directed by The Brothers Trost

"The Greatest Movie Ever Sold," directed by Morgan Spurlock

"Insidious," directed by James Wan

"Last Days Here," directed by Don Argott and Demian Fenton

"The Other F Word," directed by Andrea Blaugrund Nevins

"Paul,...

Every film at South by Southwest gets three official screenings, but the audience demand for "Happy New Year" was so high, that by the time I spoke with writer/director K. Lorrel Manning and star Michael Cuomo, they'd already had three Austin screenings in just two days. The film, about a wounded Iraq War veteran coming to grips with what he's done and become, has drawn a lot of interest from local veterans; so much, in fact, that Manning and Cuomo had to arrange for an extra screening to accomodate over 100 extra guests who wanted to come and experience the film for themselves. I spoke with Manning and Cuomo about how veterans have been reacting to "Happy New Year" and why they were so driven to tell these men and women's stories. Along the way, I got plenty of stories from life in the trenches of modern indie film.

Part...

Would have missed this, if Aaron Wolfolk (The Harimaya Bridge) hadn’t alerted me to it. It’s titled Happy new Year, and the writer/director, K. Lorrel Manning (pictured left) is a 2008 Sundance Lab Finalist. He’s also a playwright, and his works have been developed at theatres throughout New York City, one of which was awarded the New York Foundation for the Arts (Nyfa) fellowship. He holds an Mfa in Film from Columbia University, and is the lead singer of the rock band La Res (www.vivelares.com).

Happy New Year’s synopsis reads: “... the gripping story of Sgt. Cole Lewis who, mentally and physically scarred by his time served in Iraq and Afghanistan, finds humanity, compassion and friendship in a group of similarly injured veterans in the psychiatric ward at a remote Veterans Hospital… with them, he will attempt to redefine his sense of self, and find...

The South by Southwest Film Festival announced its feature film line-up Wednesday, piling heaps of cinematic goodness on an already stellar program that includes Jodie Foster’s The Beaver, Duncan Jones’ Source Code, Ti West’s The Innkeepers, Conan O’Brien’s tour documentary, and the latest Simon Pegg-Nick Frost comedy, Paul, with Seth Rogen.

Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight) returns to the festival with her latest film, Red Riding Hood starring Amanda Seyfried, after the writer-director spoke on a screenwriting panel in 2009.

Plus a few favorites from the Sundance Film Festival last month, like Tom McCarthy’s Win Win, Morgan Spurlock’s The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, and Max Winkler’s Ceremony.

I’m extremely excited, even if I’m already having flashbacks to intense sleep deprivation. Like the last two years, I’ll be on the ground covering as much of the festival as I can within the packed 9 days of screenings,...

‘Tapping into the cultural zeitgeist,’ at SXSW 2011

Austin, Texas – The SXSW 2011 Feature Film Lineup was unveiled Wednesday afternoon. The festival lineup will consist of 130 features, in nine full days of programming, promising to deliver a film-going experience unlike previous years.

With a reputation for taking chances on relatively unknown filmmakers, the SXSW panel of judges carefully picked 130 films from 1,792 feature-length film submissions, (1,323 U.S. and 469 international). The program consists of 60 World Premieres, 12 North American Premieres and 16 U.S. Premieres.

The main competition categories return with eight Narrative Features, and eight Documentary Features, both competing for their respective Grand Jury Prize. New for films in competition this year, are awards for screenplay, editing, cinematography, music, and acting.

(The Midnighters and SXFantastic feature sections, along with the short film program, will be announced next week.)

Here are a few of the Features to be screened, among many others.

Narratives:

The Beaver (World Premiere)

Dir.

Readers of Sound On Sight can be sure that we will indeed be covering the SXSW Film Festival once again. As previously reported, Duncan Jones’ latest film Source Code is opening the festival and there will also be premieres for the documentary Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop, Greg Mottola’s Paul, and Jodie Foster’s The Beaver. Now the full line-up has been announced it is incredible.

Hit the jump to check out the line-up, and be sure to visit our site during the event.

The 2011 SXSW Film Festival runs from March 11 – 19th in Austin, Texas.

SXSW Film Announces 2011 Features Lineup

Austin, Texas – February 2, 2011 – The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival is thrilled to announce the features lineup for this year’s Festival, March 11 – 19, 2011 in Austin, Texas. The 2011 lineup continues the SXSW tradition of tapping into the cultural zeitgeist, highlighting emerging talent and breakthrough performances and supporting first-time filmmakers.

"Win Win," starring Paul Giamatti, left, and Alex Shaffer, will screen at SXSW

Aimée Lagos’ thriller “96 Minutes,” starring Brittany Snow; Chris Eyre’s “A Year in Mooring” and “American Animal” from writer-director Matt D’Elia are among the films that will screen in competition at next month’s South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas.

These films will be joined in the Headliners section by Paul Giamatti and Amy Ryan in Tom McCarthy’s “Win Win,” Takashi Miike’s “13 Assassins,” Rainn Wilson in “Super” and others previously announced including Jodie Foster’s “The Beaver,” Greg Mottola’s “Paul,” the documentary “Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop” from director Rodman Flender, and the opening-night world premiere of Duncan Jones’ “Source Code.”

The following are highlights from the lineup announced Wednesday, with descriptions provided by the festival.

Narrative Feature Competition “96 Minutes”

Director, Writer: Aimée Lagos

Four young lives. One night. One terrifying event.

"Win Win," starring Paul Giamatti, left, and Alex Shaffer, will screen at SXSW

Aimée Lagos’ thriller “96 Minutes,” starring Brittany Snow; Chris Eyre’s “A Year in Mooring” and “American Animal” from writer-director Matt D’Elia are among the films that will screen in competition at next month’s South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas.

These films will be joined in the Headliners section by Paul Giamatti and Amy Ryan in Tom McCarthy’s “Win Win,” Takashi Miike’s “13 Assassins,” Rainn Wilson in “Super” and others previously announced including Jodie Foster’s “The Beaver,” Greg Mottola’s “Paul,” the documentary “Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop” from director Rodman Flender, and the opening-night world premiere of Duncan Jones’ “Source Code.”

The following are highlights from the lineup announced Wednesday, with descriptions provided by the festival.

Narrative Feature Competition “96 Minutes”

Director, Writer: Aimée Lagos

Four young lives. One night. One terrifying event.

The South By Southwest Film Conference and Festival announced this year's features lineup. The festival takes place March 11-19 in Austin, Texas.

There are a total of 130 features screening this year including 60 world premieres, 12 North American premieres and 16 U.S. premieres! This year the a total of 1,792 feature-length films were submitted, which is the most ever.

There are going to be some amazing films shown this yea. Opening night kicks off with Duncan Jones' Source Code (Moon). The fest rolls on with Jodie Foster‘s The Beaver, Greg Mottola‘s Paul, Sundance Grand Prize doc winner How to Die in Oregon, Errol Morris‘ Tabloid, Victoria Mahoney‘s Yelling to the Sky, Azazel Jacob‘s Terri. There will also be a special screening of Catherine Hardwicke‘s Red Riding Hood.

The Midnight and SXFantastic sections will be announced with the shorts program next week.

See the complete lineup below via...

The South by Southwest Film Festival (SXSW) just announced their entire 2011 feature film lineup, and there’s isn’t a lot of note, with regards to this blog’s focus.

Titles you should be aware of – all of which we’ve previously profiled on Shadow And Act – include, Victoria Mahoney’s feature film debut, Yelling To The Sky (which will actually make its world debut at the Berlin Film Festival later this month); plus Blacktino, the first feature film from writer/director Aaron Burns, a self-described “blacktino nerd from Austin, Texas,” who got his start at Robert Rodriguez’s Troublemaker Studios doing visual effects; Benda Bilili, a documentary about a band of homeless, disabled Congolese; and last, but not least, Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey, a documentary about the black man that happens to be the man behind the puppet (which also played at Sundance).

There might be...

The South by Southwest Film Festival has announced their features lineup for the 2011’s Festival, which will take place March 11th to the 19th in Austin Texas. Read the full press release after the jump. SXSW Film Announces 2011 Features Lineup Austin, Texas – February 2, 2011 – The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival is thrilled to announce the features lineup for this year’s Festival, March 11 – 19, 2011 in Austin, Texas. The 2011 lineup continues the SXSW tradition of tapping into the cultural zeitgeist, highlighting emerging talent and breakthrough performances and supporting first-time filmmakers. The Midnighters and SXFantastic feature sections, along with the short film program, will be announced next week. “This is the most exciting moment for us. After a fantastic festival of discovery in 2010, we can finally unveil the line up for this year’s event,” says Film Conference and Festival Producer Janet Pierson. “SXSW prides itself on taking chances, sifting for...

Check out the new one-sheet from Summit Entertainment's "Bandslam," starring Gaelan Connell, Alyson Michalka, Vanessa Anne Hudgens, Lisa Kudrow, Charlie Saxton, Tim Jo, Scott Porter, David Bowie, D.J. Castillo and Michael Cuomo. The music comedy is helmed by Todd Graff, a one-time director of 2003's "Camp" comedy musical. Graff directs from his own screenplay written alongside Josh A. Cagan. From Walden Media, Summit and Golsmith-Thomas Productions. What's it about? When gifted singer-songwriter Charlotte Banksasks new kid in town Will Burton to manage her fledgling rock band, she appears to have just one goal in mind: go head-to-head against her egotistical musician ex-boyfriend at the biggest event of the year, a battle of the bands. Against all odds, their band develops...

Check out the new one-sheet from Summit Entertainment's "Bandslam," starring Gaelan Connell, Alyson Michalka, Vanessa Anne Hudgens, Lisa Kudrow, Charlie Saxton, Tim Jo, Scott Porter, David Bowie, D.J. Castillo and Michael Cuomo. The music comedy is helmed by Todd Graff, a one-time director of 2003's "Camp" comedy musical. Graff directs from his own screenplay written alongside Josh A. Cagan. From Walden Media, Summit and Golsmith-Thomas Productions. What's it about? When gifted singer-songwriter Charlotte Banksasks new kid in town Will Burton to manage her fledgling rock band, she appears to have just one goal in mind: go head-to-head against her egotistical musician ex-boyfriend at the biggest event of the year, a battle of the bands. Against all odds, their band develops...