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Exclusive: The Goodbye Girl Oscar winner Richard Dreyfuss and 3x SAG ensemble winner Taryn Manning are joining the Mike Hatton action thriller production Every Last One of Them, which Green Book actor Hatton will also star in with Paul Sloan. Cameras are set to roll before the end of this year in Southern California adhering to Covid-19 safety protocols.

Christian Sesma is directing from a screenplay co-written with Chee Keong Cheung, Alistair Cave, Edward Thomas.

Hatton will produce under his Ton of Hats banner along with Michael Walker of 101 Films International, as well as Christian Sesma. EPs are Andy Lyon, Phil Hunt, Compton Ross, Tom Conigliaro, Kimberly Hines, Rick Morse, and Sheila Legette. 101 Films International, an Amcomri Media Group company will handle international sales.

Brian Hayes Currie and Nick Vallelonga of Green Book will also appear in the cast as well as Mary Christina Brown and Claire Kniaz.

Ton...

Editor’s Note: For his directorial debut, James Schamus chose to adapt Philip Roth’s “Indignation,” which tells the story of a Jewish boy who leaves home to go to college in Ohio during the Korean War. To help create the early 1950s period feel of the film, Schamus turned to cinematographer Christopher Blauvelt (“Night Moves” and “Low Down”). IndieWire recently asked Blauvelt to breakdown the process of how he created the film’s understated and elegant look. What he supplied was a detailed description of how he used today’s cutting edge digital technology to simulate the Kodachrome film stock that defined the era’s color photography.

Read More: ‘Indignation’ Review: James Schamus’ Philip Roth Adaptation, Starring Logan Lerman and Sarah Gadon, Resurrects the Focus Features Legacy

Reversal Film Stock

The starting point in conversations with James about the look of “Indignation” was Gordon Parks’ color photography from the ’40s and ’50s.

“Freaks and Geeks” alum Samm Levine is seguing behind the camera as an executive and joining Heretic Films as creative producer, TheWrap has learned. Headed by film finance veterans Burton Richie and Gregory Segal, as well as multihyphenates Kevin Pollak and Jason Alexander, Heretic has been instrumental in the funding and artistic development process for many projects, including the upcoming documentary “The Staremaster” and an untitled Lewis Black feature. Heretic Films has been producing critically acclaimed and award-winning features since 2013, including the Kristen Wiig dramedy “Welcome to Me,” the John Hawkes-Elle Fanning drama “Low Down” and Pollak’s documentary “Misery Loves.

[Editor's Note: This post is presented in partnership with Time Warner Cable Movies On Demand in support of Indie Film Month. Today's pick, "Low Down," is available now On Demand. This interview originally ran in October.] Tell me about how the project came to you. I'm trying to think if I've ever been called by producers to meet and talk about life, and what projects might happen. I don't think before or since. Certainly I've spoken to the people about specific projects but [Ron Yerxa and Albert Berger are] the only people that sought me out, which meant a lot to me, because I love their work. As we sat and chatted that first day, they talked about several projects one, of which I hope will happen some day, but they also handed me this book, "Low Down," Amy Albany's memoir of life on the Hollywood streets in the '70s growing up with her drug addicted jazz father. As I read the book, it was a harrowing, difficult read but fascinating nonetheless. I stayed in...

Our resident VOD expert tells you what's new to rent and own this week on the various streaming services such as cable Movies On Demand, Amazon, iTunes, Vudu and, of course, Netflix. Cable Movies On Demand: Same-day-as-disc releases, older titles and pretheatrical exclusives for rent, priced from $3-$10, in 24- or 48-hour periods Fury (WWII-set action-drama; Brad Pitt, Shia Labeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Pena; rated R) Gone Girl (twisty thriller directed by David Fincher; Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Tyler Perry, Neil Patrick Harris; rated R) The Judge (drama; Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall, Vera Farmiga, Billy Bob Thornton; rated R) Low Down (drama; John Hawkes, Elle Fanning, Lena Headey, Peter Dinklage, Glenn Close; rated R) My Old Lady (drama; Kevin Kline...

Read More...

A lot of people (read: most people) were left cold by "Drive" director Nicholas Winding Refn's 2013 head-scratcher "Only God Forgives," which is understandable: his second Ryan Gosling collaboration was baffling, queasy, bizarre and occasionally infuriating. But it was also bold and compelling in spots, and so aggressively weird that it felt like a daring next step for a rising director who likely had his pick of mainstream studio projects after the success of "Drive." For his next film - the arrestingly-titled horror movie "The Neon Demon" - Refn will continue marching to the beat of his own drummer alongside new leading lady Elle Fanning, who herself has made some fairly interesting choices recently with films like Sofia Coppola's "Somewhere," Sally Potter's "Ginger & Rosa" and the Joe Albany biopic "Low Down" opposite John Hawkes. Here are five reasons I'm intrigued by the Danish auteur's latest project. 1. Refn is made for the horror genre.

Elle Fanning is in negotiations to star in “Drive” director Nicolas Winding Refn’s next film “The Neon Demon,” TheWrap has learned.

Written by Refn and newcomer Mary Laws, “Neon Demon” is a female-driven horror film that the director’s longtime producing partner Lene Borglum will produce via their Space Rocket banner.

Fanning will play an aspiring model who is caught in a world of beauty and demise.

Also Read: ‘Drive’ Filmmaker Gets Auto-Erotic at Wrap Screening

“Elle Fanning is a super cool wonder woman and I look forward to going on a terrifying trip with her into ‘The Neon Demon,...

Top brass at the 26th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (Psiff) will host one-day event The Power Of Words: Book To Screen on January 8.

Barbara Keller and Susan Rosser curate the event, which will kick off with a morning keynote by Chaz Ebert and end with a conversation with Still Alice author Lisa Genova and producer Elizabeth Gelfand Stearns.

The day will comprise four sessions with expected participants such as Low Down author Amy Albany, Low Down and Brokeback Mountain producer Albert Berger, Black Hawk Down: A Story Of Modern War author Mark Bowden, Black Hawk Down screenwriter Ken Nolan and The Descendants (pictured) author Kaui Hart Hemmings.

Event sponsors include Spencer’s, Lulu California Bistro, Hilton Palm Springs and Barnes & Noble. For additional information click here.

The Psiff will take place from January 2-12.

2014 has been a busy and eclectic year for the preternaturally gifted Elle Fanning. The 16-year-old actress has starred in the second highest grossing blockbuster of the year (“Maleficent”) and one of the most successful stop-motion animation releases of all time (“The Boxtrolls”), but she’s kept diversity alive by staring in humanistic Sundance dramas like “Young Ones” and Oscillioscope’s latest, “Low Down.” She’s already been on the radar for top-shelf directors like J.J. Abrams (“Super 8”), David Fincher (“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”), and Cameron Crowe (“We Bought A Zoo”), and respected auteurs like Sofia Coppola (“Somewhere”), Francis Ford Coppola (“Twixt”), and Sally Potter (the deeply underrated “Ginger & Rosa”). While the general public might not be hip to her yet, the secret is out on Fanning, perhaps the most talented actress of her generation; a young Meryl Streep who just keeps steadily adding to her impressive CV.

Low Down

Written by Topper Lilien and Amy Albany

Directed by Jeff Preiss

USA

Jazz can be vivacious and alive, but it can also get down real low. It becomes reserved, intimate, raw and wholly adult. Bebop demands a refined ear and a patient listener, and good music challenges you to listen closely and find the blues and pain within.

Low Down is a sharply jazzy, bleak and vital character drama based on the memoir of Amy-Jo Albany and her famous, piano-playing father and jazz musician Joe Albany. It’s less a music biopic and more a coming-of-age story about growing up real fast and learning to face the music all too soon.

Director Jeff Preiss sets Amy-Jo (Elle Fanning) up for disappointment right out the gate, with her father (John Hawkes) being arrested for failing to stay clean from his heroin addiction and breaking his parole. She speaks in...

A.J. (Amy-Jo) Albany’s memoir Low Down: Junk, Jazz, and Other Fairy Tales From Childhood is a tender, spiky, beautifully evocative series of linked vignettes about her cruelly impoverished childhood as the daughter of a brilliant jazz pianist and junkie, Joe Albany, and a mean, self-centered mother (once the lover of Allen Ginsberg before he turned conclusively gay) who left them early and slid into terminal alcoholism. Amy and Topper Lilien have turned the book into a movie directed by Jeff Preiss, best known as the cinematographer of Bruce Weber’s extraordinary documentaries Broken Noses and Let’s Get Lost. Preiss brings a moody, lingering, be-bop touch to material that would be better in places with more zip, but if the film’s not as entertaining as the book, it’s pretty damn good, anyway. It has an immersive mood — a dim, junk-infused gloom from which there’s almost no escape.

Reviewer’s note: I saw “Low Down” at Sundance earlier this year in January. Since then, the movie has apparently gone through some kind of rigorous edit to improve the picture and give it shape. Having recently rewatched the new edit—now 114 minutes down from 119 originally—I can safely say that most of the original issues still stand, unfortunately. John Hawks and Elle Fanning are great, but “Low Down” is still far too monotonous, lethargic, and sluggish a picture to really endorse in any meaningful way. What follows is a slightly edited version of my original Sundance review. Evincing a similar mustard brown aesthetic and destitute mood—spiritually, emotionally, and psychologically—“Low Down” is to 1970s jazz what John Huston’s “Fat City” is to that era of boxing: a down and out look at talented three-time losers that can’t get past their addictions, demons, and terribly self-destructive qualities.

Groovin’ High: Hawkes Nuanced Performance Elevates Albany Memoir

Despite taking home the best cinematography prize for Christopher Blauvet (who also provided superb camerawork on Kelly Reichardt’s 2013 title Night Moves) after its premiere at Sundance and snagging Elle Fanning a Best Actress award at the Karlovy Film Festival, Low Down is otherwise a rather unremarkable treatment of a slipping down life, bright lights dimmed by the self-induced depravity of drugs and alcohol. Told from the perspective of the teenage daughter of jazz pianist Joe Albany, the film is the first time feature from Jeff Preiss, heretofore a music video director (Mariah Carey’s “Emotions”) and a documentary cinematographer. Perhaps this explains why much of the film feels concerned with superficial detailing of a vintage time and era rather than it does as a chapter in a young woman’s life growing up with troubled yet notable parental figures.

In 1974 Hollywood,...

Elle Fanning is super-excited about her next project: Halloween. She might be one of the hardest-working actresses in Hollywood—with four films in theaters in 2014, including the blockbuster Maleficent—but she's still only 16 and her Halloween costume is an elaborate production. "It's a secret," she says, when asked about her trick-or-treat dress-up plans. "But I'll give you some of my greatest hits: I was the Morton Salt Girl. I was Strawberry Shortcake. I've been a Barbie Statue of Liberty. I've been Mary Poppins. I was a Madame Alexander doll. I was a vampire, but that was like a very glamorous done-up vampire.

Adapted from Amy-Jo Albany's memoir about growing up with her father, Joe, the jazz pianist best known for playing with Charlie Parker, Low Down stars John Hawkes and Elle Fanning as a father-daughter duo with a lot of love and even more problems. A charming, gifted musician with a heroin problem, Joe does his utmost to shield Aj from the darker shades of their life — random visits from his parole officer, junkie friends whose addictions are even worse than his — but he's too much of a mess to maintain the illusion, and she's too smart to believe it anyway. Jeff Preiss evokes early-1970s Los Angeles with an initial nostalgia that slowly turns grim. The back-and-forth tonal shifts could certainly be described as jazzy, and every individual player has ...

On this, my last day of the festival, I saw two films that didn’t make me smile but made me glad I was there. Both The Look of Silence and Low Down proved to be among my favorites, this despite the fact that they are bleak, hard to watch, and provocative pieces of filmmaking.

The Look of Silence was first in a somewhat emptier theater than I had expected (I mean, who doesn’t love watching documentaries about genocide at 3:45 on a Saturday?), but the entire crowd in attendance raised their hand when asked and affirmed they had seen Joshua Oppenheimer’s previous film The Act of Killing. This film truly is a sequel to that groundbreaking first feature. It requires an understanding of why these men, why these killers, are so open and candid about their brutal acts of violence such that now we can appropriately hold their feet to the fire.

Adding some serious star power to the mix, Elle Fanning and Hilary Swank both showed up at the 37th Annual Mill Valley Film Festival to take care of some promotional duties.

On Saturday (October 4) the youthful “We Bought a Zoo” babe showed off her beautiful brunette cropped coif as she milled around the screening of “Low Down” at the Christopher B Smith Rafael Film Center.

Elle smiled confidently for the shutterbugs, thoroughly enjoying the attention garnered by her latest look.

Meanwhile, Ms. Swank turned up at the festival’s opening night press conference on Thursday (October 2) where the Sharp electronics company hosted the first ever 4K film showcase “Art Amazing” at the Sequoia Theater.

Turning an ageless 37, the Mill Valley Film Festival, which open tomorrow (runs until October. 14th), continues to beat to a tune of its own. With the four members of Metallica serving as the Artists in Residence, thematically this year is “heavy” on award season content. While Telluride, Tiff, Nyff serve as major fall season tastemakers, Mvff is the most important one in the Bay Area in terms of visibility and campaigning due to the number of Academy members living in Northern California. And while Tommy Lee Jones’ The Homesman starring Hillary Swank paired with Jones and Jason Reitman’s Men, Women & Children are receiving spotlight showings, it’s titles such as Morten Tyldum’s The Imitation Game, Jean Marc Vallee’s Wild, Bennett Miller’s Foxcatcher, James Marsh’s The Theory of Everything, Theodore Melfi’s St.Vincent, Dan Gilroy’s Nightcrawler and Damian Chazelle’s Whiplash that are receiving further traction.

Heretic Films has appointed the producer and entertainment attorney as president. Separately, Mika Pryce has joined Red Granite as creative executive.

Segal (pictured) represented the company as its attorney on the Sundance entry Low Down starring Elle Fanning and John Hawkes, as well as Kevin Pollak’s upcoming Misery Loves Comedy and Slamdance best narrative feature audience award winner Copenhagen.

“Greg brings Heretic extensive experience in all phases of independent film production, as well as a keen knowledge of film finance and domestic and international film distribution,” said CEO Burton Ritchie.

Red Granite hire Mika Pryce will report directly to production president David Koplan and most recently served two years as story editor at Kevin McCormick’s Langley Park Pictures. Her experience includes time at Evolution Media Capital and Lionsgate International.

Today we have the trailer for "Low Down," which is based on the memoir of Amy-Jo Albany and stars John Hawkes, Elle Fanning, Glenn Close, Taryn Manning, Flea, Lena Headey, and Peter Dinklage. Check it out below. Plot: A compassionate, tender look at the complex relationship between Amy-Jo (Fanning) and her father Joe (Hawkes), a man torn between his musical ambition, his devotion to his teenage daughter, and his suffocating heroin addiction. The new movie is directed by Jeff Preiss and is set to hit theaters in New York on October 24th, in Los Angeles on October 31st, and will then expand wider in November. Trailer:...

Based on the memoir by Amy-Jo Albany, Low Down is a compassionate, tender look at the complex relationship between Amy-Jo (Elle Fanning) and her father Joe (John Hawkes), a man torn between his musical ambition,...

A few more films that premiered at Sundance at the beginning of the year are still trickling into theaters, and while some are absolutely incredible with lots of buzz like Whiplash (arriving next month), others don't seem to have the same hype. Low Down is one of those films, and the trailer seems to indicate why. There's praise in the trailer for the performances, but if the trailer is any indicator, this indie seems to meander around the story of jazz pianist Joe Albany (John Hawkes) from the perspective of his young daughter (Elle Fanning) as she watches him contend with his drug addiction in the 60s and 70s. Glenn Close, Lena Headey ("Game of Thrones") and Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers also star in the film. Watch? Here's the first trailer for Jeff Priess' Low Down from Oscilloscope Laboratories: Based on the memoir by Amy-Jo Albany, Low Down is a compassionate,...

During the jazz scene of the 1960’s and 1970’s, pianist Joe Albany struggled with drug addiction. His struggle was then captured by the memoir of his daughter, Amy-Jo Albany.

Now, Jeff Preiss is capturing it all on film. Starring John Hawkes as Joe and Elle Fanning as Amy-Jo, Low Down tells the pianist’s story through the eyes of his daughter. The film also stars Glenn Close, Lena Headey, Peter Dinklage, and more.

Low Down hits theaters Oct. 24.

Oscilloscope Laboratories has released the trailer for Jeff Preiss’ drama “Low Down,” which stars John Hawkes as legendary pianist Joe Albany and Elle Fanning as his daughter. “Low Down” premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won the award for Best Cinematography. While “Low Down” earned strong reviews at the festival, Preiss decided to tweak the film slightly, so it has been re-edited for theatrical release. Also read: Elle Fanning's Winnie Hatches Plan to Save Eggs From Ben Kingley's Evil Snatcher in ‘Boxtrolls’ Trailer (Video) Glenn Close and Flea co-star alongside “Game of Thrones” actors Lena Headey and Peter Dinklage.

Elle Fanning plays a girl who remains supportive of her father in spite of a chaotic upbringing, as seen in the first trailer for Jeff Preiss‘ 1970s-set “Low Down.” Based on the 2003 memoir by Amy-Jo Albany (who also co-wrote the script alongside Topper Lilien), “Low Down” depicts the story of legendary jazz pianist Joe Albany (Hawkes) from the perspective of the troubled adolescent life of his aforementioned teenage daughter (Fanning), who had to grow up in a household with a heroin-addicted father and alcoholic mother (Lena Headey). The film originally debuted at the Sundance Film Festival back in January. [...]

The post Watch: Elle Fanning Explores 1970s Jazz Scene With Joe Albany in ‘Low Down’ Trailer appeared first on Up and Comers.

There are some Sundance movies which sustain buzz throughout the year ("Whiplash"), and then there are others that have to work a bit harder to get back on the radar, especially if those film's chances were compromised some initially halfhearted reviews. After premiering in Park City in January, not much was heard about the grimy indie "Low Down," (negative reviews didn’t help). But the film, starring Elle Fanning, John Hawkes and Glenn Close, might have a new lease on life. About the life of jazz pianist Joe Albany (Hawkes) and told from the perspective of his young daughter (Fanning) as she watches him contend with his drug addiction in the 1960s and '70s jazz scene, “Low Down” was extensively recut and reshaped after Sundance (and some pretty sharp reviews),. In fact, first time feature length director Jeff Priess told THR earlier this year that the movie’s editing...

The Mill Valley Film Festival celebrates its 37th birthday this year in Marin County with 11 days of Bay Area premieres and festival faves from 2014. The festivals runs October 2 to 12. Opening Night gala films are Tommy Lee Jones' feminist Western "The Homesman," and Jason Reitman's zeitgeisty satire "Men, Women & Children." Mill Valley also spotlights "Low Down"'s award-winning star Elle Fanning, who costars opposite John Hawkes' troubled jazz piano man Joe Albany. "The Theory of Everything" and Oscar-hopeful breakout Eddie Redmayne (as Stephen Hawking) will also be spotlighted at the venerable Smith Rafael Film Center. Mill Valley will close with "Wild" and a tribute to Laura Dern, who is a Best Supporting Actress contender as a sympathetic mother in this wanderlust-of-the-soul film from Jean-Marc Vallée, starring Reese Withersoon. Other notables include a restored big-screen presentation of "The Good,...

Pocket your smartphones and close your laptops, New York. You live in the greatest filmgoing city in the world. (Settle down, Paris!) So there's no reason not to give yourself over this fall to immersive pleasures on giant screens. If you missed the summer's curated indies of BAMcinemaFest, you'll have more chances to fill your eyes — and especially your ears — with theatrical runs for the mystically bluesy Willis Earl Beal-led folktale Memphis (September 5, IFC Center); the restored 1981 graffiti-and-Mingus tone poem Stations of the Elevated (October 17–23, Bam); and the stunning jazz-pianist biopic Low Down (October 24, limited release), co-starring John Hawkes, Elle Fanning, Peter Dinklage, and Flea.

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Corn Island wins Crystal Globe at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival; Elle Fanning wins best actress prize.

George Ovashvili’s Corn Island, a mostly silent portrait of an old man and his granddaughter attempting to grow crops on a small patch of land in the middle of a river, has picked up the Crystal Globe at the 49th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (July 4-12).

The prize, awarded on the closing night of the festival in the Czech spa town, included $25,000 to be shared between director Ovashvili and the film’s producer.

Earlier in the day, it was announced that Corn Island had won the Ecumenical Jury Award.

Gyorgy Palfi’s Free Fall, which tells the stories of characters over several floors of an apartment building, picked up several awards including the Special Jury Prize worth $15,000.

The Hungary-France-South Korea co-production also won Palfi the Best Director Award and the Europa Cinemas Label Award for the best...

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Kviff), taking place from July 4-12 in the Czech city, has revealed its lineup, which includes seven world premieres and five international premieres, according to Variety.  Some of the international highlights include Georgian director George Ovashvili's latest picture "Corn Island," the Russian comedy "Welkome Home" by Angelina Nikonova and Jeff Preiss' "Low Down," an American biopic about pianist Joe Albany that premiered at Sundance and stars John Hawkes and Elle Fanning. Read More: How I Shot That: Going Hand-Held in Sundance Drama 'Low Down'"This year's selection of competing films offers an exciting mixture of outstanding films whose completion has been eagerly anticipated. Many of the filmmakers, who explore less frequently trodden paths of cinematic expression, come from the countries of the former Eastern Bloc, which the Kviff has long focused on," Karel Och, the festival's artistic director, said. Check.

Seven world premieres and five international premieres include an animated movie for the first time in competition; Us drama Low Down starring John Hawkes and Elle Fanning; and Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson’s follow-up to Either Way.

The 49th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (July 4-12) has revealed the line-ups for its Official Selection Competition, East of the West Competition, Documentary Films Competition and Forum of Independents Competition.

Kv artistic director Karel Och said: “This year’s selection of competing films offers an exciting mixture of outstanding films whose completion has been eagerly anticipated.

“Many of the filmmakers, who explore less frequently trodden paths of cinematic expression, come from the countries of the former Eastern Bloc, which the Kviff has long focused on.”

In the main festival section, renowned Georgian filmmaker George Ovashvili (The Other Bank) will introduce his long-anticipated film Corn Island, a psychological drama that uses captivating imagery and visuals to present a highly topical subject...

Screen Media Films has picked up the U.S. distribution rights for "Young Ones," a dystopian feature written and directed by Jake Paltrow. The film, which premiered at Sundance earlier this year, boasts an all-star cast that includes Michael Shannon, Nicholas Hoult, Elle Fanning and Kodi Smit-McPhee. Set in a future where a massive drought has transformed the United States into a giant wasteland, Shannon and Hoult play neighboring ranchers who will do anything to ensure the survival of their respective families, even if it means betraying one another. Read More: Sundance Darling Elle Fanning On Roles in "Young Ones" and "Low Down" Said Screen Media's President, Suzanne Blech, "We were blown away by Jake’s vision and execution when we saw his film at Sundance this year. We’re very excited to work with him to bring this amazing and unique accomplishment to audiences nationwide." "Young Ones" is slated...

Oscilloscope Laboratories has scooped up North American rights to director Jeff Preiss' jazz biopic-of-sorts "Low Down," starring John Hawkes, Elle Fanning, Glenn Close and Peter Dinklage.  In this winner of the Sundance Film Festival's Best Cinematography award, Hawkes plays modern American jazz pianist Joe Albany. "Low Down" unfolds through the eyes of his daughter Amy-Joe, played by Elle Fanning, as she watches her father succumb to heroin addiction amid the emerging jazz scene of the '60s and '70s.  Notably, Amy-Jo Albany (also an Ep) cowrote the screenplay with Topper Lilien. "Low Down" was produced by Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa of Bona Fide Productions, and Mindy Goldberg of Epoch Films. The film is heading to New York's BAMcinemafest in New York in June. Reviews are split, but comparisons have been drawn to "Requiem for a Dream" as a harrowing portrayal of addiction. The cast, alone, should make this a must-see.

Oscilloscope Laboratories has acquired North American rights to Jeff Preiss' drama "Low Down," starring John Hawkes and Elle Fanning as father-daughter. The film world premiered in the Narrative Competition at this year's Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Best Cinematography award. Glenn Close and Peter Dinklage also co-star. Read More: Elle Fanning on How She Stays Grounded and Working With Angelina Jolie on 'Maleficent' In the true story, Fanning embodies Amy Albany (whose memoir the film is based on), a girl forced to cope with her drug addicted father, pianist Joe Albany (Hawkes), while coming of age during the '60s and '70s. Close plays her stern but loving grandmother. No release date has been announced as of yet.

Oscilloscope Laboratories has acquired North American rights to Jeff Preiss’ drama “Low Down,” which stars John Hawkes, Elle Fanning, Glenn Close, Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey and Flea, as well as Caleb Landry Jones, Tim Daly and Taryn Manning, the company announced Wednesday. The film, an early cut of which premiered in January at the Sundance Film Festival (where it won the Best Cinematography award), examines the life of Amy-Jo Albany and her relationship with her father, legendary jazz pianist Joe Albany. Oscilloscope will continue to play the film at festivals.

Best known for his roles in X-Men: First Class and Antiviral, Caleb Landry Jones is a young star on the rise. He’s got an impressive slate of films coming up (God’s Pocket, Low Down) and today, he’s added one more in the form of Roland Emmerich’s Stonewall.

Already set to star Jeremy Irvine as Danny, a “a young man who experiences a political awakening during the Stonewall riots,” the film will see Jones co-star as Orphan Annie, “an eccentric gay street hustler who participates alongside Danny in the uprising.”

If you couldn’t already tell, Stonewall will focus on the riot that broke out on June 28, 1969 at the titular inn, where gay and lesbian patrons stood up to police who raided the bar.

Though Emmerich has given us historical dramas before (The Patriot, Anonymous), this will certainly be his smallest, and most intimate effort to date.

Attention, world! Elle Fanning is officially done being a child. Frankly, we're surprised it didn't happen sooner for the wildly mature Low Down star, but with this Wes Gordon stunner she has officially transitioned from starlet to star. She's gone avant-garde before, but this is among the first truly sexy looks on display. We give the 15-year-old major kudos for stepping into adulthood in a classy, fashion-forward way, unlike some of her contemporaries (yes, we're talking about you, Miley, always.) Not only is the youngin showing off some major skin, but from the side view it's even more scandalous! We're super impressed with those rockin' abs (what high schooler has that bod?!), but the...

Red Widow alum Clifton Collins Jr is returning to ABC with a co-starring role alongside Ryan Phillippe, Juliette Lewis and KaDee Strickland in the network’s drama pilot Secrets & Lies, which has a series penalty. It centers on Ben (Phillippe), a family man who becomes the prime suspect in the murder of a young boy when he finds the body. Clifton, repped by Industry Entertainment, Resolution and attorney David Krintzman, will play Ben’s childhood friend and tenant in Ben’s pool house who is unwaveringly supportive of Ben. He most recently was seen in Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim and next appears in Transcendence alongside Johnny Depp. Private Practice alum Tim Daly will co-star opposite Tea Leoni in CBS’ drama pilot Madam Secretary. The project, written by Barbara Hall, directed by David Semel and exec produced by Morgan Freeman, explores the personal and professional life of a maverick...

Us-based finance and production company Heretic Films has hired Sarah Scougal as vp of development and production.

Scougal was most recently based in London and brings more than a decade of experience in the field from her time at Working Title, Sprout Pictures and Vertigo Films.

Burton Ritchie and Ben Galecki co-founded Heretic in 2013 and produced recent Sundance premiere Low Down (pictured), as well as Slamdance selection Copenhagen.

Heretic’s Big Significant Things will premiere at SXSW and the pipeline includes Kevin Pollak’s directorial debut Misery Loves Comedy and Kristen Wiig vehicle Welcome To Me.

Plot: A young girl (Elle Fanning) tries to survive a tough upbringing in seventies era-Hollywood under the care of her heroin-addicted Jazz pianist father (John Hawkes). Review: Low Down is based on the true-story of Amy Albany, who watched her father, famed jazz pianist Joe Albany, succumb to addiction throughout her early life. Certainly one of the bleaker films to play at Sundance this year, Low Down is also one of the strongest, featuring superb performances by the two leads- Hawkes...

Now that it’s all over, let’s take an Oscar-specific look at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, which could very well serve as a partial crystal ball into what will be happening in the awards race a year from now.

In the past few years, the best picture-nominated likes of “Precious,” “An Education,” “The Kids Are All Right,” “Winter’s Bone” and “Beasts of the Southern Wild” all debuted at the festival. Last year’s crop, however, was a major exception to the rule: No Sundance film got a best picture nomination or any acting nominations. The only narrative film to get a nod was “Before Midnight” for best adapted screenplay, though Sundance indeed proved mighty in the documentary feature category, with four of five (save “Act of Killing”) nominees screening in Park City.

So is this year’s lineup heading for a Oscar comeback? It’s obviously way...

Title: Low Down Director: Jeff Preiss Starring: John Hawkes, Elle Fanning, Glenn Close, Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Flea There are innumerable films about young girls with sweet-natured fathers whose addictions prevent them from fully being the parent their child always wanted them to be. Such stories are commonplace, and they’re distinguishable by the reason for the father’s tendencies and the daughter’s ability to survive and thrive despite everything. In Low Down, Amy (Elle Fanning) is the daughter of jazz pianist Joe Albany (John Hawkes), who certainly has talent and has played with the greats. This true story is mostly familiar, and while its performers do their best to make it [ Read More ]

The post Low Down Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Earning some prestigious honors at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, Damien Chazelle’s "Whiplash" brought home the Grand Jury and Audience Prizes, kicking off the show on opening night (January 16).

After accepting the Grand Jury prize, Chazelle joked, "It was impossible to finance because no one wants to make a movie about a jazz drummer, which is a total shock to me."

The director then continued, saying, "Without people seeing (the short) here at Sundance, we wouldn’t be here today."

See the complete winners list below!

U. S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic

"Whiplash"

U. S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary

"Rich Hill"

World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic

"To Kill a Man"

World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary

"Return to Homs"

Audience Award: U. S. Dramatic presented by Acura

"Whiplash"

Audience Award: U.S. Documentary presented by Acura

"Alive Inside: A Story of Music & Memory"

Audience Award: World Cinema Dramatic

"Difret...

Photo by Dvrosa

It was another great year at the Sundance Film Festival! There were so many fantastic movies shown, and I still have a couple more to go. I'm really happy to say that Miles Teller and J.K. Simmon's film Whiplash took home the top two prizes, winning the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award. This was my number one favorite film from the festival, and it seems like everyone else at the festival loved it too, so it doesn't surprise me that it won.

Here's the full list of winners:

Sundance Institute this evening announced the Jury, Audience and other special awards of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival at the feature film Awards Ceremony, hosted by Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally, in Park City, Utah. Video of the ceremony in its entirety is available at www.sundance.org/live.

The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary was...

Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash was Day 1 feel good buzz title of the fest that ultimately served as a measuring stick for the other competing 15 titles in the section and as predicted below had a good chance at doing what last year’s Fruitvale did: when both major awards of its category. Now that I’ve completed a 15 hour nap, I can watch the ceremony below – and you can spoil the suspense by simply going over the other award winners in the multiple categories below. Next week we’ll be publishing our interviews with several of the filmmakers mentioned below. Congrats to the winners and non-winners.

Park City, Ut — Sundance Institute this evening announced the Jury, Audience and other special awards of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival at the feature film Awards Ceremony, hosted by Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally, in Park City, Utah. Video of the ceremony in its entirety is available at www.

The 2014 Sundance Film Festival is coming to a close today, no doubt over far too soon for the festivalgoers out in Park City. With the festival on the cusp of completion, the Sundance Institute has announced this year’s various awards winners, and it comes as no surprise that Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash has won big in the awards.

Recently acquired by Sony Pictures Worldwide for international distribution, the Miles Teller-led drama has earned very promising buzz amongst early viewers, and as a further sign of what we’ve all got to look forward to later this year, it has won both the U.S. Grand Jury Prize in the Dramatic category and the Audience Award in the U.S. Dramatic category. Clearly, it’s impressed critics and the wider festivalgoers alike, which certainly bodes well.

Alejandro Fernández Almendras’s drama, To Kill a Man, won the Jury’s...

‘Whiplash’: Sundance Film Festival Awards’ rare double winner (photo: Miles Teller in ‘Whiplash’) Directed by Damien Chazelle — and acquired for domestic distribution by Sony Pictures Classics — Whiplash won the 2014 Sundance Film Festival U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award. The story of a young, ambitious 19-year-old drummer (played by 26-year-old Miles Teller) under the tutelage of a ruthless teacher (J.K. Simmons), Whiplash also features Melissa Benoist, Paul Reiser, Austin Stowell, Nate Lang, Chris Mulkey, and Damon Gupton. Whiplash‘s double Sundance Film Festival win is quite rare. Previous such instances in Sundance’s three-decade history include Tony Bui’s Three Seasons in 1999, Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland’s Quinceañera in 2006, Lee Daniels’ Precious in 2009, and Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station last year. Of these, Precious is — somewhat surprisingly — the only Sundance double winner to have succeeded both at the domestic box office and during awards season,...

The Sundance Film Festival 2014 came to a close with the announcement of the jury, audience and other special awards winners.Scroll down for full list of winners

Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash won the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic and Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic prizes, while Andrew Droz Palermo and Tracy Droz Tragos’ Rich Hill won the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary.

The World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary went to Return To Homs (Syria-Germany) by Talal Derki and the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was presented to To Kill A Man (Chile-France) by Alejandro Fernández Almendras.

The Audience Award: U.S. Documentary went to Michael Rossato-Bennett’s Alive Inside: A Story Of Music & Memory (Us).

The Audience Award: World Cinema Documentary went to The Green Prince (Germany-Israel-uk) by Nadav Schirman and the Audience Award: World Cinema Dramatic was presented to Zeresenay Berhane Mehari’s Difret (Ethiopia).

The Audience Award: Best Of Next...

U.S. Dramatic Competition

Grand Jury Prize – Whiplash, directed by Damien Chazelle

Directing Award – Cutter Hodierne, Fishing Without Nets

Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award – Craig Johnson & Mark Heyman, The Skeleton Twins

Excellence in Cinematography Award – Christopher Blauvelt, Low Down

Special Jury Prize for Breakthrough Talent – Justin Simien, writer-director of Dear White People

Special Jury Award for Musical Score – Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter

Audience Award – Whiplash, directed by Damien Chazelle

U.S. Documentary Competition

Grand Jury Prize – Rich Hill, directed by Andrew Droz Palermo & Tracy Droz Tragos

Directing Award – Ben Cotner & Ryan White, The Case Against 8

Editing Award – Jenny Golden & Karen Sim, Watchers in the Sky

Excellence in Cinematography Award – Rachel Beth Anderson & Ross Kauffman, E-Team

Special Jury Prize – The Overnighters, directed by Jesse Moss

Special Jury Award for Animation – Watchers in the Sky

Audience Award – Alive Inside, directed by Michael Rossato-Bennett

World Cinema Dramatic Competition

Grand Jury Prize – To Kill a Man,...

Whiplash, director Damien Chazelle’s story of a young jazz drummer, took home both the U.S. Grand Jury and Audience Dramatic awards at the Sundance Film Festival awards Saturday night. The film grew out of a short from Chazelle that won the Short Film Jury Award at Sundance in 2013.

Rich Hill, a story about a community in rural Missouri, won the U.S. Documentary Grand Jury award and Alive Inside: A Story of Music & Memory, about how music can help dementia patients, won the U.S. Audience Documentary award. Co-screenwriters Craig Johnson and Mark Heyman were honored with the...