Directors Guild Awards: Michel Hazanavicius Of ‘The Artist’, Patty Jenkins ‘The Killing’, Robert Weide ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Saturday January 28, 2012 @ 8:55pm PSTTags: 2012 DGA Awards, 64th Annual DGA Awards, Directors Guild Awards

Coverage from The Deadline Team’s Nikki Finke and Ray Richmond.

Los Angeles – The Directors Guild of America tonight announced the DGA Awards for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in film, television, and commercials for the year 2011 at the 64th Annual DGA Awards Dinner in the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland. The DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film has traditionally been one of the industry’s most accurate barometers for who will win the Best Director Academy Award. Only 6 times has the DGA Award winner not won the Oscar for Best Director (1968/Carol Reed for Oliver!; 1972/Bob Fosse for Cabaret; 1985/Sydney Pollack for Out of Africa; 1995/Mel Gibson for Braveheart); 2000/Steven Soderbergh for Traffic; 2002/Roman Polanski for The Pianist).

DGA President Taylor Hackford made welcoming remarks and led the room in a toast to the late Gil Cates, the celebrated director and guild leader.

Master of Ceremonies Kelsey Grammer got off several uneven one-liners: “Last year’s awards were so long, the directors cut is two hours shorter… They renamed it Occupy Kodak Center. Even James Cameron said it was too long… The only reason Carl Reiner isn’t hosting this year’s awards is he’s still hosting last year’s awards… Taylor’s been busy lately in Washington DC, where having a beard means an entirely different thing.”

Here are the winners:

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for 2011:
MICHEL HAZANAVICIUS – The Artist (The Weinstein Company)
Hazanavicius said in his acceptance speech: “Thank you to the DGA. This may be the highest recognition that I could ever get. I really love directors. I really have respect for directors. So this is really very moving and touching for me. I also want to say that, best director, I don’t really know what that is. Every one of us is so different. So to try to say which one is the best is very difficult. But I really appreciate this and thank you very much.”
Mr. Hazanavicius’ Directorial Team:
• Unit Production Manager: Antoine De Cazotte
• Production Manager (FR): Ségoléne Fleury
• First Assistant Director (FR): James Canal
• First Assistant Director (US): David Cluck
• Second Assistant Director (US): Dave Paige
• Second Second Assistant Directors: Karla Strum, Ricky Robinson
This is Mr. Hazanavicius’ first DGA Feature Film Award nomination.

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary:
JAMES MARSH – Project Nim
Red Box Films, Passion Pictures, HBO Documentary Films, Roadside Attractions, BBC Films, UK Film Council
This is Mr. Marsh’s second DGA Award nomination. He was previously nominated in this category for Man on Wire in 2008.
– Though Project Nim made the Academy Of Motion Picture Ats & Sciences’s shortlist for Best Feature Documentary, it failed to get nominated among the final five films in that category this year.

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Mini-Series:
JON CASSAR – The Kennedys (Reelz Channel)
This is Mr. Cassar’s third DGA Award nomination. He won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series in 2006 for 24 – “7:00 AM-8:00 AM” and was nominated in this category in 2003 for the episode of 24 also titled “7:00 AM-8:00 AM.”

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series:
PATTY JENKINS – The Killing, “Pilot” (AMC)
Ms. Jenkins is also nominated this year in the Movies for Television and Mini-Series category for her segment of Five.

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series:
ROBERT B. WEIDE – Curb Your Enthusiasm, “Palestinian Chicken” (HBO)
Mr. Weide’s Directorial Team:
• Associate Director: Dale Stern, Tim Gibbons
• Stage Managers: Jonathan Harris, Jerri Churchill, Dana Jackson
This is Mr. Weide’s second DGA Award nomination. He was previously nominated in this category for Curb Your Enthusiasm – “The Carpool Lane” in 2004.
– Weide said backstage: “Modern Family wins everything. So as much as people may have liked my show, I just didn’t think this was going to happen because Modern Family is unstoppable. They’re a favorite these days. And I really expected it would be them. So it really is a surprise.”
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Laughter, Tears, And A Group Flip Off At 2012 Sundance Awards Show

By BRIAN BROOKS | Saturday January 28, 2012 @ 8:52pm PSTTags: Anthony Mackie, Beasts Of The Southern Wild, Bingham Ray, John Cooper

Sundance Awards 2012: ‘Beasts Of The Southern Wild’ And ‘The House I Live In’ Win Grand Jury Prizes, ‘The Surrogate’ Cast

Tonight’s Sundance Film Festival Awards ceremony was an emotional roller coaster. The event began characteristically late with a parade of Sundance staff taking to the stage with a tiara and an apology from Festival Director John Cooper who said that actress Parker Posey wouldn’t emcee as originally scheduled because she had taken ill. “She was going to be the Sundance Queen,” Cooper said while displaying her regalia for the evening. As a last minute stand in, Black Rock director Katie Aselton took over for Posey.

Then the light mood turned dark as a large picture of indie maverick Bingham Ray who died here earlier in the week flashed on the screen. The room went silent and Cooper read from a eulogy put together by Ray’s longtime poker buddies: Magnolia Pictures chief Eamonn Bowles, Sony Classics SVP Tom Prassis, Sawyer Studios head Arnie Sawyer, and producer Ben Barenholtz. Cooper choked back tears and had to stop briefly to regain his composure. Afterward, there was quiet applause. And the show went on.

Without Posey the onstage antics were minimal. Most winners skipped acceptance speeches after Cooper advised, “Just say thank you and go on,” and Aselton added, “Really, nobody really cares…”

But then director Alison Klayman (Ai Weiwie: Never Sorry) collected her Special Jury Prize claiming she was “too nervous to say much”. She gave some quick thanks — and then asked the audience to lift a hand and give the finger en masse. She took a photo and explained, “I’ll send this to Ai Weiwei” – a gesture in support of China’s most famous visual artist who has been in and out of house arrest.
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Sundance Awards 2012: ‘Beasts Of The Southern Wild’ And ‘The House I Live In’ Win Grand Jury Prizes, ‘The Surrogate’ Cast

By BRIAN BROOKS | Saturday January 28, 2012 @ 6:40pm PSTTags: 2012 Sundance Film Festival Awards, independent film awards

Laughter, Tears, And A Group Flip Off At 2012 Sundance Awards Show

Park City, UT — Sundance Institute this evening announced the Jury, Audience, NEXT and other special awards of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival at the Festival’s Awards Ceremony. It was supposed to be hosted by Parker Posey but organizes said she was ill and couldn’t attend.  “Every year the Sundance Film Festival brings to light exciting new directions and fresh voices in independent film, and this year is no different,” said John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival. “While these awards further distinguish those that have had the most impact on audiences and our jury, the level of talent showcased across the board at the Festival was really impressive, and all are to be congratulated and thanked for sharing their work with us.” Cooper led a tribute to Bingham Ray, the indie exec who passed away during the fest.

The 2012 Sundance Film Festival Awards this evening were:

Grand Jury Prize, Dramatic:
Beasts Of The Southern Wild
U.S.A. (Director: Benh Zeitlin, Screenwriters: Benh Zeitlin, Lucy Alibar)
Waters gonna rise up, wild animals gonna rerun from the grave, and everything south of the levee is goin’ under, in this tale of a six year old named Hushpuppy, who lives with her daddy at the edge of the world. Cast: Quvenzhané Wallis, Dwight Henry.
Benh Zeitlin’s acceptance speech: “We should have a thousand people up here. We had more freedom to make this film than any other first time filmmaker has had in America. I hope this movie is a flag that goes up to producers and everyone to allow directors to explore the world creatively and go to the bottom of the earth. It’s great we could be as wild as we could be…”

Grand Jury Prize, Documentary:
The House I Live In
U.S.A. (Director: Eugene Jarecki) — For over 40 years, the War on Drugs has accounted for 45 million arrests, made America the world’s largest jailer and damaged poor communities at home and abroad. Yet, drugs are cheaper, purer and more available today than ever. Where did we go wrong and what is the path toward healing?
Eugene Jarecki’s acceptance speech: “Many years ago someone in the audience here inspired this film. She inspired me to be concerned about social justice. It set myself and my team on this journey to find out about what’s happening to African American families because of the war on drugs. We have 2.3 million people in prison in this country, more than anywhere else. I hope that this film is a vessel to [show] something that is so tragically immoral. If we’re going to reform things in this country for non violent crime for sentences longer than even murder in this country must end! I thank all those men and women who shared their stories with us and thank Sundance. Perhaps this can send a message out to the country…”

Special Jury Prize Dramatic for Ensemble Acting:
The cast of The Surrogate including John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, William H. Macy
U.S.A. — Mark O’Brien, a 36-year-old poet and journalist in an iron lung, decides he no longer wishes to be a virgin. With the help of his therapist and the guidance of his priest, he contacts a professional sex surrogate to take him on a journey to manhood.
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Indomina Buys Ice-T’s ‘The Art of Rap’: Sundance

By MIKE FLEMING | Saturday January 28, 2012 @ 5:30pm PSTTags: Ice-T, Indomina, Something From Nothing: The Art Of Rap, Sundance
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Indomina is closing a world rights deal for Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap, the Ice-T and Andy Baybutt-directed documentary about the art of hip-hop. I’m told Indomina is planning a meaningful theatrical release in the early summer. UTA and Myman Greenspan are brokering the deal. In the film, Ice-T travels coast to coast, visiting with the likes of Afrika Bambaata, Grandmaster Flash, Nas, Mos Def, Eminem, Chuck D, Run-DMC, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg to trace the inspiration for an American art form.

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AFTRA National Board Oks SAG Merger

By NIKKI FINKE | Saturday January 28, 2012 @ 4:49pm PSTTags: AFTRA, SAG AFTRA Merger

SAG Will Include Anti-Merger Statement With Referendum For Members
SAG National Board Okays AFTRA Merger

No surprise on the timing of these SAG and AFTRA National Board Of Directors votes because an announcement will be made at the SAG Awards televised Sunday night on TNT/TBS. Here’s AFTRA’s and SAG’s statement:

LOS ANGELES and NEW YORK (Jan. 28, 2012) – The National Board of Directors of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, AFL-CIO – a national union of more than 70,000 actors, broadcasters, singers, dancers, recording artist and other performers who work across the spectrum of media industries including television, radio, cable, sound recordings and digital media – today voted overwhelmingly to approve and recommend to the AFTRA member ship a plan to merge with Screen Actors Guild.

The National Board met in a regularly scheduled meeting via videoconference in New York and Los Angeles to vote on the merger package put forward by the AFTRA and SAG Group for One Union (G1), which includes a Merger Agreement, Constitution and Dues Structure.

The vote was 94%-6% in favor.

The AFTRA National Board’s resolution will provide for the referendum material to be mailed to AFTRA members on or about Feb. 27, 2012, with a ballot return and tabulation deadline of March 30, 2012.

This time frame was created  to

… Read More »

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Spike Lee’s ‘Red Hook Summer’ Co-Producer On Racial Stereotypes In Movies: Sundance

By MIKE FLEMING | Saturday January 28, 2012 @ 4:41pm PSTTags: James McBride, Red Hook Summer, Spike Lee
Mike Fleming

When Spike Lee premiered Red Hook Summer at Sundance, media seemed to disregard everything he had to say, save for a short diatribe about how Hollywood doesn’t understand how to depict African Americans in film. His co-producer and co-writer James McBride wrote a thoughtful essay on the subject that appeared on Lee’s 40 Acres.com website, which is part of Lee’s 40 Acres and a Mule film company. I just caught up with it, and though it worth repeating. Lee’s 1986 film She’s Gotta Have It was, along with Steven Soderbergh’s sex lies & videotape and a few others, a seminal film that helped author the independent film revolution that is personified by Sundance.
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Magnolia Acquires Polarizing ‘Compliance’

By MIKE FLEMING | Saturday January 28, 2012 @ 3:54pm PSTTags: Compliance, Sundance
Mike Fleming

Park City, UT – January 28, 2012– The Wagner/Cuban Company’s Magnolia Pictures announced today they have acquired US rights to COMPLIANCE, a harrowing thriller from writer/director Craig Zobel, that bowed last week at the Sundance Film Festival to controversy and critical acclaim. Magnolia previously collaborated with Zobel on Great World of Sound, which premiered at Sundance in 2007. COMPLIANCE was produced by Sophia Lin, Lisa Muskat, Tyler Davidson, Theo Sena and Zobel. The deal was negotiated for Magnolia by SVP of Acquisitions Dori Begley with John Sloss and Dana O’Keefe of Cinetic Media. Magnolia is planning a theatrical release later this year.

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Sundance: 10 Producers To Keep Watching

By BRIAN BROOKS | Saturday January 28, 2012 @ 3:39pm PSTTags: 2012 Sundance Film Festival, indie film producers

Sundance has no shortage of producers and producers-to-be scurrying around Park City. So Deadline has assembled a Top 10 to keep an eye on post-fest. Some are fairly new to producing while others more established but all their careers are moving up:

Dan Janvey, Josh Penn, Michael Gottwald – Beasts Of The Southern Wild
This trio’s credits producing shorts include Benh Zeitlin’s Glory At Sea. ButZeitlin’s much lauded Beasts Of The Southern Wild went from standing ovation to Fox Searchlight acquisition this week. They are all part of a filmmaking/artist group based in Louisiana dubbed Court 13, a self-described collective of “madcap artists and animators of junk that seek to tell huge stories out of small parts.” The group professes a DIY attitude to make “films about communities as a community.”

Jason Michael Berman - LUV
After producing a series of shorts in the early 2000s, Berman co-produced his first feature The Dry Land which screened in competition at 2010 Sundance and won Best New International Feature at Edinburgh. He returned to Sundance with Jess + Moss in 2011 in addition to producing two other films. LUV about a shy 13-year-old boy who forms a bond with his troubled uncle screened in competition. Currently he is completing Brian Dannelly’s Struck By Lightning with Sarah Hyland, Christina Hendricks, Dermot Mulroney, Rebel  Wilson.

Marie-Therese Guirgis and Lucas Joaquin - Keep The Lights On
Her former producer credits include 2003′s cult hit Tarnation and doc Unknown White Male but Guirgis is known for her connections, passion and energy. She made an indelible mark on U.S. distribution as a principal at Wellspring Media releasing a treasure trove of indie and foreign-language films including Red
Lights, Nina’s Tragedies, … Read More »

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‘Marina Abramovic The Artist Is Present’ Sells Offshore: Sundance

By MIKE FLEMING | Saturday January 28, 2012 @ 1:38pm PSTTags: Marina Abramovic, Sundance
Mike Fleming

Sundance Film Festival — January 28, 2012 — Submarine Entertainment announced today that it has sold Australia, New Zealand, and South African rights to Matthew Aker’s film MARINA ABRAMOVIC THE ARTIST IS PRESENT to Madman Entertainment. The deal was negotiated by David Koh & Josh Braun & Dan Braun of Submarine Entertainment on behalf of the producers and filmmakers along with Paul Wiegard, Managing Director of Madman Entertainment. The film is a Show of Force Production in association with HBO Documentary Films. Directed by Matthew Akers. Produced by Jeff Dupre and Maro Chermayeff. Cinematography by Matthew Akers. Edited by E. Donna Shepherd. Composer Nathan Halpern. Co-Editor Jim Hession. Executive Produced by Sheila Nevins and Nancy Abraham for HBO Documentary Films; Executive Produced by Stanley Buchthal, Maja Hoffmann, and David Koh for Dakota Group, Ltd. Films We Like in Canada also previously acquired Canadian rights. Other foreign deals and a domestic deal to be announced shortly by Submarine.

Seductive, fearless, and outrageous, Marina Abramović has been redefining performance art for nearly 40 years. Using her body as a medium, and pushing herself beyond her physical and mental limits, Abramović creates emotionally provocative work that transgresses boundaries and expands consciousness. She is, quite simply, one of the most compelling artists of our time.

With total access granted by Abramović and the Museum of Modern Art, filmmaker Matthew Akers has created a visually luscious and mesmerizing cinematic journey that takes us inside the world

… Read More »

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Sundance Update: Magnolia Deal For ‘Nobody Walks; Action On ‘Lay The Favorite’ And ‘The Other Dream Team’

By MIKE FLEMING | Saturday January 28, 2012 @ 11:22am PSTTags: Sundance
Mike Fleming

Though only filmmakers contending for prizes remain in Park City for the final day of the Sundance Film Festival, the deal making continues. Magnolia has acquired Nobody Walks, the Russo-Young-directed drama about a young female artist who stays with a family in Silver Lake. Her presence makes the husband and wife question their own fears and desires. It’s a mid six figure deal with backend and Submarine is brokering it.

At the same time, The Weinstein Company is close to getting on the board with an acquisition, making a VOD-centric deal for the Stephen Frears-directed Lay the Favorite. That film will get in the $2 million range (last year it would have sold for much more), and it will be a strong VOD release with a cast of Bruce Willis, Rebecca Hall and Catherine Zeta-Jones. That makes two films coming out of the festival and headed toward VOD with big stars. The other is Arbitrage, which stars Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon and was acquired by Margin Call distributors Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions.

Among the other films in play is The Other Dream Team, the Marius Markevicius-directed documentary about the the Lithuanian basketball team’s rise to medal in the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. While the star-studded U.S. Dream Team took the gold, Lithuania scrapped and won the bronze medal by beating … Read More »

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Video: Bingham Ray Remembered

By MIKE FLEMING | Saturday January 28, 2012 @ 11:00am PSTTags: Bingham Ray, RJ Cutler, Secrets And Lies
Mike Fleming

Tonight’s Sundance Film Festival awards ceremony will feature a tribute for Bingham Ray, whose abrupt passing took all the joy out of Sundance for so many in the independent sphere who treasured him, and for journalists who admired his sharp wit and his love for indie film. In the meantime, we present a lovely video tribute sent to us by documentary filmmaker R.J. Cutler, who in under four minutes captured the spirit of Ray and why he and his peers work so hard to launch artistic voices and struggle to bring worthy independent films to the limelight. Sometimes, that dogged effort and faith in an unsung filmmaker or an out of left field film pays off in the most incredible ways.

“Like so many others,” Cutler wrote me, “I was deeply affected by the loss of Bingham Ray. Bingham and his team at October Films distributed my first film (The War Room) and he was very much a mentor to me, showing me the ropes of independent film distribution, taking me under his wing on the festival circuit, and being a friend to me in many ways over the years. When the news of Bingham’s passing came this week I dug up a four-minute piece that Paco de Onis and I made about Bingham in 1996. It features footage of Bingham and the gang at October receiving the news that Secrets and Lies was nominated for an Oscar.”

rtmp://streaming.deadline.com/ondemand/video/Bingham_Ray.flv
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RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘Chuck’ Ends Run On High-Ish Note, Univision Is No.2 In 18-49

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Saturday January 28, 2012 @ 9:36am PST
Nellie Andreeva

After five seasons, 91 episodes, dozens of “save the show” petitions and as many Subway plugs on the show, NBC’s quirky dramedy Chuck bowed out last night with two back-to-back episodes. Both hit season highs though neither cracked the 1.5 demo rating or 5 million viewer mark. The regular-slot 8 PM episode (1.2/4, 4.1 million total viewers) was up 9% from last week in 18-49 to post the show’s highest numbers this season. They were quickly topped for the Chuck series finale at 9 PM, which climbed to a 1.3/4 and 4.3 million viewers. While Chuck got an appropriate ending, its finale pre-empted rookie Grimm at a very unfortunate moment, just as the dark fairytale drama was starting a ratings momentum by reversing a slide with a big 29% ratings gain last week to a 1.8/5 in 18-49. With a weaker lead-in, NBC’s newsmagazine Dateline (1.1/3) was down 21% from last week.

With CBS’ lineup in repeats for a second consecutive week, ABC (1.6/5, 5.5 million) finished again as No.1 in 18-49, while CBS (1.1/4, 7.5 million) kept the total viewer crown. Univision (1.5/4, 3.6 million) was a major demo factor, finishing a very close No.2 for the night in 18-49. ABC’s Shark Tank (1.6/5) held up well in Week 2, down a tenth from its season premiere and dominating the 8 PM hour in 18-49. It finished a close second for the night in the demo behind its lead-out, Primetime: … Read More »

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SAG Will Include Anti-Merger Statement With Voting Materials Sent To Members

By NIKKI FINKE | Saturday January 28, 2012 @ 8:56am PSTTags: SAG, SAG AFTRA Merger, Screen Actors Guild

SAG National Board Okays AFTRA Merger

The Screen Actors Guild tells me this morning that its National Board Of Directors will include a so-called ‘Opposition Statement’ when the proposed SAG-AFTRA merger’s referendum package is sent to members. The rules didn’t force the guild leaders to do so because the board’s ‘no’ votes were less than 25%. But it was the right thing to do and SAG is smart to play it safe and let merger opponents state their case to the membership at large. Because more information, not less, is definitely the way to go on an issue this momentous to actors, background actors, and stunt performers. Hopefully, for the same reason, AFTRA’s Board will allow an Opposition Statement after it votes on the merger today.

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Report: Five New Arrests In UK Tabloid Police Bribery Probe

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Saturday January 28, 2012 @ 8:30am PSTTags: News International, Phone-Hacking Scandal, The Sun

Four current and former staff members of the popular British tabloid The Sun and a policeman were arrested today as part of the continuing investigation into corruption that arose out of phone hacking at News Corp’s shuttered News Of The World, Reuters reported. The five arrests involved suspected payments by journalists to police officers for information. Police also searched London offices of Sun publisher News International, the British arm of News Corp, whose Management and Standards Committee said today’s operation was the result of information it had passed to police. Said a Sun reporter, who asked not to be identified: “Everyone is a bit shocked, there is disbelief really. But there is a big difference between phone hacking and payments to the police.” Today’s operation raises to 13 the number of arrests in the police bribery probe, which is separate from the phone-hacking inquiry that has resulted in three criminal investigations.

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Sundance Lucky 13: Actors & Directors With New or Renewed Buzz

By BRIAN BROOKS | Saturday January 28, 2012 @ 7:11am PSTTags: indie film actors, indie film directors, Sundance Film Festival

The Sundance Film Festival has always helped define actors and directors or redefine those who choose to expand their resumes. As the film festival draws to a close, here are the Lucky 13 (in alphabetical order) who have caught new or renewed buzz after their films debuted in recent days:


Katie Aselton, actress/director - Black Rock
Aselton received acting buzz ahead of Sundance for her role in Black Rock and she’s getting more now as the director of this island thriller. Black Rock is Aselton’s second helmer following The Freebie which debuted at the 2010 Sundance. She broke out (along with husband Mark Duplass) at the 2005 Sundance with an acting role in The Puffy Chair.

Malik Bendjelloul, director - Searching For Sugar Man
Sony Classics picked up this first time feature filmmaker’s pic out of Sundance. The Swede previously directed a number of short documentaries about music icons including Madonna, Elton John, Bjork, Sting, Rod Stewart, and Kraftwerk. He returns to music with his latest about two South Africans who try to find their unlikely 1970s-era music hero, rock’n’ roller Rodriguez.

Antonio Campos, director – Simon Killer
Campos knows this latest film, his second feature as director, will divide audiences and that’s fine with him.  He’s part of the filmmaking team Borderline Films which brought Martha Marcy May Marlene to Sundance last year. (Campos was a … Read More »

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Sundance Screenings Finale: The Highs, The Lows, The Polarizing Films

By BRIAN BROOKS | Saturday January 28, 2012 @ 3:46am PSTTags: 2012 Sundance Film Festival, Sundance films

As the Sundance Film Festival wraps, two films are the prevailing standouts — The Surrogate and Beasts Of The Southern Wild. But Red Lights and Filly Brown have been the titles consistently coming up short along with Lay The Favorite. Sundance founder Robert Redford warned attendees on Day One to explore the fest’s various nooks and crannies before guessing which films would be hits or misses. Here’s my reporting:

FEATURES
The Surrogate, directed by Ben Lewin
This film is the obvious commercial hit and awards contender coming out of Sundance this year and it already caught a $6 million acquisition deal as Deadline reported Monday. This film proves that there are still films that arrive with little fanfare and then break out. Starring Helen Hunt (in a terrific performance) and John Hawkes and William H. Macy, pic centers on a man who is confined to an iron lung and at age 38 makes it a goal to lose his virginity. All the buzz bodes well for Lewin who proves that reinventing yourself is possible at any age. Born in 1946, Lewin has a bevy of TV writing and directing credits with a sprinkling of features like Georgiawhich received two AFI Award nominations way back in 1989.

Beasts Of The Southern Wild directed by Benh Zeitlin
This is the fest’s artistic smash to date. The filmmakers had the “dream” Sundance premiere at the Eccles Theatre complete with a standing ovation and immediate buzz at hobnobbing events. Instantly speculation began about who would snag the film populated by unknown actors. Fox Searchlight did. This is the first film by co-writer/director Benh Zeitlin and the team behind Court 13. ”Court 13 is an ethos we have on approaching a story and production,” Zeitlin told me. “The arc is made through homemade objects, actors that are non-professional, and a crew that is chosen for their courage and art rather than pure skill.”

Your Sister’s Sister directed by Lynn Shelton
This film about grief had its U.S. debut at Sundance after a Toronto fest premiere initiated buzz. Sundance’s comparatively smaller lineup is giving the film some breathing room and good word of mouth for performances by Emily Blunt, Rosemarie DeWitt, Mark Duplass, and Mike Birbiglia. The film follows Jack who is grieving over his bother’s loss and heads to his father’s cabin unaware that a woman is already staying there with similar circumstances.
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ATO Pictures Buys James Marsh’s ‘Shadow Dancer’: Sundance

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Friday January 27, 2012 @ 9:23pm PSTTags: ATO Pictures, James Marsh, Shadow Dancer

ATO Pictures has acquired all North American rights to director James Marsh’s Shadow Dancer. It stars Andrea Riseborough (Wallis Simpson in W.E.) and Clive Owen. Screenplay was written by Tom Bradby and is based on his novel. Riseborough plays a woman who’s forced to betray her beliefs and spy on members of her family to protect her son in 1993 Northern Ireland. Gillian Anderson, Aidan Gillen and Domhnall Gleeson co star. Shadow Dancer is Marsh’s third film to bow at Sundance. He also directed the documentaries Project Nim and Man On Wire. Produced by Chris Coen of Unanimous Entertainment, Shadow Dancer is also screening at the Berlin Film Festival. Exec producers are Joe Oppenheimer, Brahim Chioua, Norman Merry, Vincent Maraval, Tom Bradby and Rita Dagher. ATO head of acquisitions Sarah Lash negotiated the deal with CAA who represented the producers.

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Australian Academy Awards: ‘The Artist’, Streep, Dujardin, Hazanavicius All Winners

By NIKKI FINKE | Friday January 27, 2012 @ 8:56pm PSTTags: AACTA International Awards, Australian Academy of Cinema, Meryl Streep, The Artist

Los Angeles, CA – The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts announced the winners of its newly launched AACTA International Awards recognizing International Achievements in Film tonight by AACTA President, Geoffrey Rush, at an intimate awards Ceremony at Soho House. The Artist was awarded Best Film for producer Thomas Langmann, and Best Direction for French director Michel Hazanavicius. The film’s lead actor, Jean Dujardin, was awarded Best Actor. Meryl Streep was awarded the AACTA International Award for Best Actress for her role in The Iron Lady. The award for Best Screenplay had two joint winners after jury voting was tied in this category: the adapted screenplay from The Ides of March for George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon, and the original screenplay from Margin Call for first time writer and director J.C. Chandor.

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ABC Gives Drama Pilot Orders To Soaps From Mark Gordon And Callie Khouri

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday January 27, 2012 @ 8:04pm PSTTags: ABC, Callie Khouri, Mark Gordon
Nellie Andreeva

After picking up 3 comedy pilots this afternoon, ABC just gave the green light to 2 drama pilots, Americana and Nashville, both primetime soaps. The latter pickup is contingent on the project becoming a co-production between Lionsgate TV, which developed it, and ABC Studios.

Americana, from ABC Studios and studio-based Mark Gordon Co., is a soap set around a legendary fashion designer and his family and business. It was written by Michael Seitzman (North Country) who will executive produce with Mark Gordon and Mark Gordon Co.’s Nicholas Pepper. This is the third pilot order so far this season for Gordon’s company, along with the untitled Roland Emmerich drama and comedy White Van Man, both at ABC.

Nashville hails from Oscar-winning writer Callie Khouri and TV producer/documentary filmmaker RJ Cutler. Thelma & Louise scribe Khouri wrote the project, a family soap set against the backdrop of the Nashville music scene that follows one star at her peak and one on the rise. Cutler (The September Issue) is set to direct. The two will executive produce with Nashville-based Gaylord Entertainment, which is being represented by SVP of Media and Entertainment Steve Buchanan. This marks Khouri’s return to ABC where she wrote, directed and executive produced the 2006 pilot Hollis & Rae. It is the second broadcast pilot order this season for leading cable producer … Read More »

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