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Some clever ideas are wasted in this wobbly drama as a group of friends discover a dead body in nearby woodland

A gender-switched riff on Stand By Me sounds like an intriguing idea – a dead body is discovered by four pre-teen girls – and interesting things do happen in this film at first, in that it declines to conform tonally to what you expect; and yet the quirky-dreamy YA style persists. However, there is something uncertain and soft-centre about what follows, and the plot unrealities make it very silly.

Lola (Sanai Victoria), Mari (Eden Grace Redfield), Daisy (Madalen Mills) and Daisy (Lia Barnett) are four best friends in an American suburb, whiling away the long hot summer before they start middle school. Rambling aimlessly through some woodland outside town, they are stunned to discover the corpse of a man, and find themselves mostly reluctant to tell the police or their parents:...

Sony Pictures has debuted a new trailer for the coming-of-age offering ‘Summering.’

During their last days of summer and childhood – the weekend before middle school begins – four girls struggle with the harsh truths of growing up and embark on a mysterious adventure.

Directed by James Ponsoldt, the film stars Megan Mullally, Lake Bell, Sarah Cooper, Ashley Madekwe, Lia Barnett, Madalen Mills, Eden Grace Redfield, and Sanai Victoria.

Also in trailers – Michelle Yeoh stars in teaser trailer for series ‘The Witcher: Blood Origin’

The film hits cinemas on December 2nd.

The post “The older I am, the more complicated my life gets…” Trailer lands for ‘Summering’ appeared first on HeyUGuys.

Summering Review — Summering (2022) Film Review, a movie directed by James Ponsoldt, written by Benjamin Percy and James Ponsoldt and starring Lia Barnett, Sanai Victoria, Madalen Mills, Eden Grace Redfield, Lake Bell, Sarah Cooper, Ashley Madekwe, Megan Mullally, Dale McKeel, Yolanda Stange, Colleen Baum, Nick Mathews, Lu Prickett and Camrey Bagley Fox. Summer’s not [...]

Continue reading: Film Review: Summering (2022): Director James Ponsoldt Returns with a Watchable Story of Four Young Friends...

A handful of smaller films will start to test audience enthusiasm for movie theaters without big tentpoles. It’s been a rocky summer for specialty releases, and an uphill climb as arthouses emerge from Covid jitters with franchise films sucking up oxygen and screens. But superheroes are on hiatus.

“There isn’t giant competition from tentpoles,” said Howard Cohen, co-president of Roadside Attractions. “On balance, it’s good. Obviously, if you have Top Gun, it sucks the air out of the marketplace. It’s still better — for the specialty market — to have three or four indies than one giant release. Exhibitors are antsy about the sudden dearth of new wide releases this month and next, but they’ve also been asking for more box office breadth.

“We have seen signs of life in our sector,...

Click here to read the full article.

Here’s a look at this week’s biggest premieres, parties and openings in Los Angeles and New York, including red carpets for Never Have I Ever, Beast, Day Shift and Secret Headquarters.

Beast premiere

Idris Elba premiered his new film alongside producer Will Packer and costars Sharlto Copley, Iyana Halley and Leah Sava Jeffries at MoMA on Monday.

Idris Elba, Sabrina Dhowre, Heather Hayslett and Will Packer Sharlto Copley, Iyana Halley, Leah Jeffries and Idris Elba

Secret Headquarters premiere

Owen Wilson, Jesse Williams, Michael Peña and Jessie Mueller walked the red carpet on Monday in NYC for the premiere of their Paramount+ superhero family film.

Jesse Williams, Owen Wilson, Michael Peña, Ariel Schulman, Henry Joost and Jessie Mueller Paramount CEO Bob Bakish and Owen Wilson

Five Days at Memorial premiere

On Monday, Apple TV+ celebrated the premiere of Five Days at Memorial...

Chicago – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on Wbgr-fm on August 11th, reviewing “Summering,” the latest from co-writer and director James Ponsoldt. The film is in theaters beginning August 12th.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

The film is a quasi-reimagining of the “Stand By Me” story … but this time it’s four girl pre-teens that discover a dead body, while at the same time celebrating their long grade school bond right before transitioning to middle school. Instead of going to the authorities regarding their find, they decide to investigate on their own, leading to the last adventure of their summer. The cast includes Sarah Cooper, Megan Mullally, Ashley Madekwe and Lake Bell as their mothers.

“Summering” opens in theaters on August 12th. Featuring Lia Barnett, Sanai Victoria, Madalen Mills, Eden Grace Redfield, Sarah Cooper, Megan Mullally, Ashley Madekwe and Lake Bell. Written by James Ponsoldt and Benjamin Percy.

James Ponsoldt is expecting this question. Why did the guy who made films like “Smashed,” “The Spectacular Now,” and “The End of the Tour” — dark, knowing dramas about messed-up adults, typically with substance abuse problems and a host of neuroses — turn his attention to “Summering,” a film about four tween girls in the waning days of their favorite season?

He’s got the answer in hand: He’s a parent of three kids, his wife Megan works in the public-school system, and this is the stuff he wants to share with his family.

But the real answer? It’s still a James Ponsoldt film. It’s not as dark as its predecessors, but the filmmaker is still using his craft to ask some very deep questions. “Summering” is, after all, about a group of girls who discover a very dead body and must grapple with what to do next.

“Those...

If movies have taught us anything it’s that childhood is a magical time where, if you’re doing it right, you befriend space aliens, rescue orcas, inherit chocolate factories or play every sport imaginable with an omni-talented Olympian dog.

Or, if you’re more of the melancholic type, at least you find a dead body in the woods. That’s the bare minimum anyone can ask for.

James Ponsoldt’s “Summering” is a direct descendant of “Stand By Me,” films about youngsters peppered with wispy nostalgia, in which the innocence of their youth is challenged by a corpse tucked away where only children are likely to find it. But whereas Rob Reiner’s classic coming-of-age film romanticized a decades-bygone era, Ponsoldt finds the same magically complicated mash-up of naiveté and depth in a contemporary setting. Childhood, he seems to argue, is always magical and horrifying in equal measure, no...

(from left) Sanai Victoria, Madalen Mills, Lia Barnett, and Eden Grace Redfield in Summering. Photo: Bleecker Street Childhood is such an ephemeral, specific time in our lives, where we grow and learn and discover ourselves and our place in the world. It’s no wonder that “coming of age” is...

There’s a moment within the first few minutes of Summering — James Ponsoldt’s delicate, affectionate tribute to the wonder years (or more specifically, the seasonal wonder months) between childhood’s end and teenage riots — that captures the blurred, giddy adrenaline rush of youth in full bloom. Four girls are goofing around, hiding in bathtubs and scaring each other with masks. Someone’s mom shoos them all out of the house. And then the quartet begins to sprint across a front lawn in slow motion, screaming and giggling as they...

Chicago – Filmmaker James Ponsoldt has earned the moniker “veteran” in front of his name, after notable hits like “The Spectacular Now,” “The End of the Tour” and “The Circle” (with Tom Hanks). He’s back with a seasonal film called “Summering,” featuring four girls going through their own “Stand by Me” moment.

Ponsoldt’s latest film was co-written with Benjamin Percey, and it’s possibly his most romantic. It’s a quasi-reimagining of the “Stand By Me” story … but this time it’s a group of girl pre-teens that discover a dead body, and are celebrating their long grade school bond right before transitioning to middle school. Instead of going to the authorities regarding their find, they decide to investigate on their own, leading to the last adventure of their summer and the path to whatever is coming next. The cast includes Sarah Cooper, Megan Mullally, Ashley Madekwe and Lake Bell as their mothers.

The years of middle school — a swirl of hormones and insecurity — are remembered as primetime for agony by many. But there is also something beautifully wistful about those dog days of youth, on the cusp of becoming more of an adult in high school, or at least adult-adjacent.

“The Spectacular Now” and “The End of the Tour” director James Ponsoldt aims to capture in a bottle those feelings of The Last Summer of middle school before stepping onto the next phase with his film “Summering.” The film written by Ponsoldt with Benjamin Percy centers on four girls weathering harsh truths and coming of age at the end of middle school. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and next will release from Bleecker Street Films nationwide on August 12. Watch the trailer below.

The cast includes Lia Barnett, Lake Bell, Sarah Cooper, Ashley Madekwe, Madalen Mills, Megan Mullally,...

"I don't want this weekend to end... I don't want 'us' to end." Bleecker Street has revealed an official trailer for an indie coming-of-age film titled Summering, which premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. This is the newest film from acclaimed director James Ponsoldt, who has been one of our Sundance favorites for more than a decade, directing Off the Black, Smashed, The Spectacular Now, and The End of the Tour previously. During their last days of summer and of childhood -- the weekend before middle school begins -- four girls struggle with the harsh truths of growing up and embark on a mysterious adventure. It's pretty much a remake of Stand By Me, but with four girls instead, and a few different twists thrown in. The cast features Lia Barnett, Lake Bell, Sarah Cooper, Ashley Madekwe, Madalen Mills, Megan Mullally, Eden Grace Redfield, and Sanai Victoria.

“Summering” is a tender coming-of-age story that follows four best friends, Daisy (played by Lia Barnett), Dina (played by Madalen Mills), Mari (played by Eden Grace Redfield) and Lola (played by Sanai Victoria) who try to solve a mystery the last weekend before they start middle school and their lives — as they know them — change forever.

The girls find a body, and while searching for clues to figure out the man’s identity, they let their anxieties, worries and deeper feelings spill out to each other.

Director and writer James Ponsoldt and actors Lia Barnett, Lake Bell, Sarah Cooper, Ashley Madekwe, Eden Grace Redfield, Megan Mullally and Sanai Victoria sat down for interviews at TheWrap’s virtual Sundance studio to discuss the film.

Ponsoldt said the “biggest thing” that drove him to make this children-centered and driven film is the fact that he himself became a parent to three young kids.

“What’s going on with our girls?” asks the emotionally drained mother of a tween girl in James Ponsoldt’s Summering. As any parent (or relative) of a pre-teen can attest, that’s a complex question with no simple answer. The manner in which Ponsoldt answers said question is ultimately what sinks Summering, a ho-hum coming-of-age dramedy. Summering does not trust that its characters will hold the attention of its audience—a crucial miscalculation that derails this Sundance entry that is certainly promising on paper.

That miscalculation is the decision to force a murder-mystery subplot into a sweet story of four friends’ final days before the start of middle school. No surprise seeing that type of useless diversion wedged into the film. What is a surprise, though, is the degree to which that mystery takes over and ultimately dominates Summering. Perhaps this film, scripted by Ponsoldt and Benjamin Percy, is...

On a balmy Labor Day weekend, four best friends find a dead body in the woods, the discovery marking an end of innocence as adolescence beckons. If you think you’ve seen this one before, “Summering” makes no apology for the resemblance. Right down to a stolen pistol shoved in a backpack, James Ponsoldt’s unhurried, sun-kissed coming-of-age drama plays as an all-female homage to Rob Reiner’s “Stand By Me” — a reference that won’t mean much to the pre-teen girls at whom it’s aimed, but may make some of their parents a little misty-eyed. Yet nostalgia may be the strongest emotion engendered by this breeze-blown dandelion seed of a film, which nods to the bittersweet complexities of growing up and confronting adulthood, but never gets as far as fully dramatizing them.

As such, “Summering” is a pleasant enough watch for patient, thoughtful children and their elders alike,...

I might be tempted to call writer-director James Ponsoldt’s new coming-of-age film about four young girls who discover the dead body of a man on the last summer days before starting middle school Stand By She. Okay I will. Its actual title is Summering and it is a sweet and sincere attempt to give young girls the kind of edge-of-turning-teen story of a last summer of no worries with your friends that has mostly been reserved for boys in classic Hollywood films in the genre. With a screenplay Ponsoldt, with co-writer Benjamin Percy, was inspired to create coming out of the pandemic, and new questions about life presented to our youngest members of the planet, they land on a somewhat dark situation. Four carefree young girls come face to face with death, and some special bonding in this unusual entry into the Kids section of the Sundance Film Festival where it is premiering today.

With the exception of 2017’s The Circle (which received a Tribeca Film Festival premiere), James Ponsoldt had his four previous films Off the Black (2006), Smashed (2012), The Spectacular Now (2013) and The End of the Tour (2015) all premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. The filmmaker has stayed consistently busy with sprinkling of television projects but he got back in the saddle hitting the half dozen mark this summer on Ponsoldt’s a coming-of-age Stand By Me sounding Summering. Shot in the state of Utah, the cast is comprised of Lia Barnett, Lake Bell, Sarah Cooper, Ashley Madekwe, Madalen Mills, Megan Mullally, Eden Grace Redfield and Sanai Victoria.…...

Bleecker Street has acquired the U.S. rights to “Summering,” the next film from director James Ponsoldt that co-stars comedian Sarah Cooper as part of an ensemble cast.

“Summering,” which is currently in production, is a coming-of-age story and mystery of four girls and their moms. The film’s four young stars include Lia Barnett, Madalen Mills, Eden Grace Redfield and Sanai Victoria. The girls’ mothers will be played by Cooper, Lake Bell, Ashley Madekwe and Megan Mullally.

“Summering” follows the four girls on the brink of starting middle school on the last weekend of summer, who take a mystery into their own hands when they make a startling discovery at one of their favorite old hangout spots.

Ponsoldt also co-wrote the script with Benjamin Percy.

Producers on “Summering” are P. Jennifer Dana of 3311 Productions, Peter Block of A Bigger Boat and James Ponsoldt through his Ninety-One Braves banner.

Bleecker Street and Stage 6 Films have jointly acquired worldwide rights to Summering, a new coming-of-age film from director James Ponsoldt (The Spectacular Now).

Bleecker Street will handle the film’s U.S. release, with Stage 6 overseeing its international distribution.

Lia Barnett, Lake Bell, Sarah Cooper, Ashley Madekwe, Madalen Mills, Megan Mullally, Eden Grace Redfield, and Sanai Victoria star in the film, scripted by Ponsoldt & Benjamin Percy.

It centers on Mari, Dina, Lola and Daisy, best friends on the brink of starting middle school, who realize their lives are about to change forever. So on the last weekend of summer, they set out to make the most of it. Nothing could prepare them, though, for the startling discovery they make while revisiting one of their favorite haunts. Instead of calling the police or telling their parents, they decide to take matters into their own hands by attempting to solve a mystery,...

Bleecker Street and Stage 6 Films have picked up the worldwide rights to James Ponsoldt’s coming of age film Summering, now in production.

The film stars Lia Barnett, Lake Bell, Sarah Cooper, Ashley Madekwe, Madalen Mills, Megan Mullally, Eden Grace Redfield and Sanai Victoria. Written by Ponsoldt and Benjamin Percy, Summering portrays best friends Mari, Dina, Lola and Daisy making the most of their last summer weekend and facing a startling discovery as they revisit a favorite haunt.

Instead of calling the police or telling their parents, they take matters into their own hands to solve a mystery that takes them on a life-changing ...

Bleecker Street and Stage 6 Films have picked up the worldwide rights to James Ponsoldt’s coming of age film Summering, now in production.

The film stars Lia Barnett, Lake Bell, Sarah Cooper, Ashley Madekwe, Madalen Mills, Megan Mullally, Eden Grace Redfield and Sanai Victoria. Written by Ponsoldt and Benjamin Percy, Summering portrays best friends Mari, Dina, Lola and Daisy making the most of their last summer weekend and facing a startling discovery as they revisit a favorite haunt.

Instead of calling the police or telling their parents, they take matters into their own hands to solve a mystery that takes them on a life-changing ...

James Ponsoldt directs, produces with P. Jennifer Dana, Peter Block.

Bleecker Street and Stage 6 Films have acquired worldwide rights to James Ponsoldt’s coming-of-age film Summering featuring a cast that includes Lake Bell, Sarah Cooper and Megan Mullally.

Ponsoldt and Benjamin Percy wrote the screenplay to the story of three best friends on the cusp of middle school who embark on a mystery. The cast includes Lia Barnett, Ashley Madekwe, Madalen Mills, Eden Grace Redfield and Sanai Victoria.

Bleecker Street will release the film in the US and Sony-owned Stage 6 Films handles international rights.

Producers are P. Jennifer Dana of 3311 Productions,...

Lanksy Trailer — Eytan Rockaway‘s Lanksy / A Righteous Man (2021) movie trailer has been released by Vertical Entertainment. The Lanksy trailer stars Harvey Keitel, Sam Worthington, John Magaro, Minka Kelly, David James Elliot, David Cade, Danny A. Abeckaser, Emily Marie Palmer, Alon Aboutboul, Eden Grace Redfield, Eytan Rockaway, Ekaterina Baker, Wass Stevens, [...]

Continue reading: Lanksy (2021) Movie Trailer: Harvey Keitel is Gangster Meyer Lansky in Eytan Rockaway’s Film...

With the comic book-based movie ascendant, other genres have worn out their welcome with audiences, largely given to them being played out mines of creativity. One such casualty of staleness was the romcom; I would argue we haven’t had a good one of those in at least a decade. It makes sense, therefore, that the next generation of filmmaker tries the genre. You can’t have a better pedigree for this than Writer/Director Hallie Meyers-Shyer, who with parents Nancy Meyers (The Holiday) and Charles Shyer, were the last interesting purveyors in this field.

The trailers for Universal’s Home Again certainly looked promising with a look at 40-year old single mom Alice Kinney (Reese Witherspoon) raising her two daughters Isabel (Lola Flanery) and Rose (Eden Grace Redfield) in the house her now deceased father owned. He was a legendary director who married his last major star, Lillian (Candice Bergen...

MaryAnn’s quick take… Precious, fatuous, Nancy Meyers–lite rom-com about a privileged rich white lady with no real problems who can’t help but mom her much-younger new boyfriend. Barf. I’m “biast” (pro): love Reese Witherspoon

I’m “biast” (con): not usually a fan of romantic comedies

(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)

Alice Kinney spends the morning of her 40th birthday crying in the bathroom. Of course she does! That’s what women do… and Alice (Reese Witherspoon: Sing, Hot Pursuit) has so much to be sad about. She lives in a big beautiful house in sunny Los Angeles, which once belonged to her now-deceased film-director father, who was super-genius and enormously popular and won Oscars and everything. She doesn’t have to work — see: wealthy dead dad — but she’s embarking on the latest in her long line of rich-white-girl...

Okay, Summer’s pretty much done, one for the books (and if we’re talking the”balance book” or financial ledger, it’s one Hollywood would like to forget). Things were so dire, that the major studios pretty much gave up on the last half of August. But look out “indies”, they’re back with a one-two punch. On one hand (and in most of the theatres) is Stephen King’s killer clown, and for a little alternative marketing there’s this family themed “rom-com”. It’s set in the upper classes of La with homes outfitted and decorated with impeccable taste. Sounds like the work of writer/director Nancy Myers, you say? Well actually this is the feature film making debut of her daughter. So does the apple fall far from the tree (or the expensive ceramic coffee table fruit bowl)? Let’s find out when we go Home Again.

Deauville bound: (from left) Sadie Sink, Charlie Shotwell, Woody Harrelson, Ella Anderson, Naomi Watts and Eden Grace Redfield in The Glass Castle, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton. Photo: Jake Giles Netter/Lionsgate Both Woody Harrelson and Twilight star Robert Pattinson have been added to the pool of stellar talent who will receive a special focus at the Deauville Festival of American Cinema, it was announced today (August 22) by the organisers.

Harrelson will be present at the Normandy resort to present his new film The Glass Castle, based on Jeannette Walls' best-selling memoir about her family's tortured upbringing moving around the country and living in poverty with parents who were obsessed with being free of convention. The cast features Brie Larson as Jeannette, Naomi Watts as her mother and Harrelson as her dad, Rex, an alcoholic whose rages and redemptions loomed large over his family. Harrelson is currently shooting a...