Adult Animated Comedy, "Nerdland," Gets One-Night Special Storing

Paul Rudd and Patton Oswalt Star in Adult Animated Comedy ‘Nerdland,’ in Movie Theaters Nationwide for a One-Night Event on December 6, 2016

Samuel Goldwyn Films and Fathom Events Present This Action-Packed, Over-the-Top Adventure Including Special Cast Panel on the Big Screen

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Moviegoers are in for a hilariously debauched and satirical affair at the cinemas like they’ve never seen before. “Nerdland,” debuting in movie theaters nationwide on Tuesday, December 6, 2016 at 8:00 p.m. local time, follows two unknown showbiz buddies John (Paul Rudd) and Elliot (Patton Oswalt) who are determined to go from Hollywood nobodies to viral somebodies.

    .@FathomEvents News: #Nerdland starring Paul Rudd & Patton Oswalt comes to theaters 12/6 only

In addition to the big-screen premiere of “Nerdland,” the one-night cinema event also includes a cast discussion, recorded live at Beyond Fest in Hollywood featuring stand-up comedian and moderator Blaine Capatch, the movie's stars Patton Oswalt, Kate Micucci, John Ennis and Brendon Small, as well as director Chris Prynoski and Writer/Producer Andrew Kevin Walker. Attendees will also get to view an exclusive short film from Titmouse Animation Studios.

Tickets for “Nerdland” can be purchased online by visiting www.FathomEvents.com or at participating theater box offices. Fans throughout the U.S. will be able to enjoy the event in more than 530 movie theaters through Fathom’s Digital Broadcast Network. For a complete list of theater locations visit the Fathom Events website (theaters and participants are subject to change).

“I’m stoked that we are doing a Fathom event for the theatrical release of Nerdland! Their audiences come for something you can’t get just any night at any cinema. They come for that extra special experience of like-minded people all together in one spot for an exclusive night of film, special features and fun that doesn’t exist at home on your couch or anywhere else!” Chris Prynoski, director and founder of Titmouse Animation Studios said.

From Writer Andrew Kevin Walker (“Seven,” “8mm” and Tim Burton’s “Sleepy Hollow”), Samuel Goldwyn Films and Fathom Events present director Chris Prynoski (“Metalocalypse,” “Superjail!,” “Venture Bros.” and “Son of Zorn”) and Titmouse Animation Studios “Nerdland” - an adult-themed cartoon comedy about celebrity and excess that “revels in the foulness of 21st-century pop culture” (Variety). John and Elliot, over the course of one night, make a last-ditch effort to become famous, stumbling into a series of misadventures that threatens their dignity and lives. The film also features an army of cameos including Hannibal Buress, Laraine Newman, Reid Scott, Mike Judge, Kate Micucci, Riki Lindhome, Paul Scheer and Molly Shannon.

“We’re excited to partner with Samuel Goldwyn Films for the first time to bring ‘Nerdland’ to big screens for its nationwide debut,” Fathom Events CEO John Rubey said. “This wild animated adventure is a must-see event for mature audiences looking for some not-so-mature fun.”

Peter Goldwyn, President of Samuel Goldwyn Films said, “There has never been a film like ‘Nerdland.’ We can’t wait for everyone to join us for the fun in December. We are so excited that the team at Fathom Events has a great sense of humor, and think that their audience will love this film.”


About Fathom Events
Fathom Events is recognized as the leading domestic distributor of event cinema, and ranks as one of the largest overall distributors of content to movie theaters. Owned by AMC Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: AMC), Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK) and Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC) (known collectively as AC JV, LLC), Fathom Events offers a variety of one-of-a-kind entertainment events that include live, high-definition performances of the Metropolitan Opera, dance and theatre productions such as the Bolshoi Ballet and National Theatre Live’s Hamlet, sporting events like FS1 Presents USA v Mexico, concerts with Roger Waters and One Direction, the TCM Presents classic film series and faith-based events such as The Drop Box and Four Blood Moons. Fathom Events takes audiences behind the scenes and offers unique extras including audience Q&As, backstage footage and interviews with cast and crew, creating the ultimate VIP experience. Fathom Events’ live digital broadcast network (“DBN”) is the largest cinema broadcast network in North America, bringing live and pre-recorded events to 885 locations and 1,348 screens in 181 Designated Market Areas® (including all of the top 50). For more information, visit www.fathomevents.com.

About Samuel Goldwyn Films
Samuel Goldwyn Films is a major, independently owned and operated motion-picture company that develops, produces and distributes innovative feature films and documentaries. The company is dedicated to working with both world-renowned and emerging writers/filmmakers and committed to filmed entertainment that offers original voices in uniquely told stories. This is best exemplified by the Academy Award® nominated THE SQUID AND THE WHALE and SUPER SIZE ME, AMAZING GRACE and Julie Delpy’s hit comedy 2 DAYS IN PARIS. Past Goldwyn titles include: HARRY BROWN starring Michael Caine, the box office smash FIREPROOF and the 2010 independent hit MAO’S LAST DANCER. Samuel Goldwyn Films also released THE WHISTLEBLOWER, a powerful, ripped-from-the-headlines thriller starring Academy Award® winner Rachel Weisz, and the 2012 critics’ darling ROBOT & FRANK, starring Academy Award® nominee Frank Langella and Academy Award® winner Susan Sarandon. Current Samuel Goldwyn Films releases include: Chris Bell’s expose PRESCRIPTION THUGS; Andrew Renzi’s Tribeca Film Festival favorite THE BENEFACTOR starring Richard Gere; the widely anticipated Jason Wise follow-up SOMM: INTO THE BOTTLE; Toronto Film Festival’s Gala Presentation HYENA ROAD directed by Paul Gross; Ted Balaker’s docu CAN WE TAKE A JOKE? in which comedy and outrage collide and TRANSPECOS, the directorial debut and 2016 SXSW Audience Award Winner by Greg Kwedar. Upcoming films include Sasha Gordon’s subversive romantic comedy and festival favorite IT HAD TO BE YOU, Ian Old’s award-winning BURN COUNTRY with Oscar winner Melissa Leo, James Franco and breakout lead Dominic Rains and Carles Torrens’ physiological thriller PET starring Dominic Monaghan, Ksenia Solo & Jennette McCurdy.

About Titmouse
Titmouse is a full-service, award-winning animation production company. Our artist-run studios in Los Angeles, New York City, and Vancouver keep 400 of the most talented people in the industry (that are guaranteed 100% human) employed and pushing creative boundaries. Writers, producers, directors, storyboard artists, animators, compositors, editors and Virtual Reality artists are all right here, in house. Its state-of-the-art sound studio is where many of our TV shows, films, commercial work, branded and original digital content projects are recorded. Titmouse founders Chris and Shannon Prynoski launched Titmouse in Los Angeles, the birthplace of the American entertainment industry. Known for series such as Venture Bros., Metalocalypse, Superjail!, and its first feature film, Nerdland, Titmouse creates high-quality cartoons for all ages and interests.

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Review: "Sleepy Hollow" Remains a Tim Burton-Johnny Depp Masterpiece

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 111 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Running time: 105 minutes (1 hour, 45 minutes)
MPAA – R for graphic horror violence and gore, and for a scene of sexuality
DIRECTOR: Tim Burton
WRITERS: Andrew Kevin Walker, from a screen story by Andrew Kevin Walker and Kevin Yagher (based upon the “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving)
PRODUCERS: Scott Rudin and Adam Schroeder
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Emmanuel Lubezki
EDITORS: Chris Lebenzon and Joel Negron
Academy Award winner

HORROR/MYSTERY

Starring: Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon, Casper Van Dien, Jeffrey Jones, Christopher Lee, Richard Griffiths, Ian McDiarmid, Michael Gough, Marc Pickering, Lisa Marie, Steven Waddington, and Christopher Walken

An Academy Award winner (Best Art Direction-Set Decoration) and recipient of two additional nominations (Best Costume Design and Cinematography), Tim Burton’s film Sleepy Hollow is perhaps the quintessential Tim Burton movie, the film that is the visually summation of the promise he showed in such films as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, and Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas. Dark, gothic, and moody, it is a bold fairytale told with modern materials but steeped in early Americana.

The tale is a quirky, modern retelling, or (to use a new term) “reimagination” of Washington Irving’s classic tale “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” In this version, Irving’s famous cowardly hero Ichabod Crane is Constable Ichabod Crane (Johnny Deep) whose superiors send him from New York City to Sleepy Hollow, an isolated village in the upper Hudson valley, to investigate a series of murders in which the victims were beheaded. Crane arrives in the village to find the residents mostly hiding behind locked doors and closed shutters. Everyone knows that the Hessian Horseman (this story’s version of the Headless Horseman and played by Christopher Walken), the spirit of dead mercenary, has returned to earth to kill the hapless citizens of the Hollow.

Of course, Crane is a man of reason and refuses to believe in the horseman. During the course of his investigation, he takes on a ward, Young Masbath (Marc Pickering), the son of the one Horseman’s victims, and falls for Katrina Anne Van Tassel (Christina Ricci), the daughter of a village elder. But soon, Crane witnesses the evil power of the horseman, and his mind spirals into paranoia. He begins to suspect many former allies of conspiring with the Horseman, but will Crane be able to tell friend from foe in time to stop the Horseman and his co-conspirator in time to save his friends?

The film is fun to watch, and the actors are great. They mix serious thespian chops with just the perfect amount of tongue-in-cheek. I loved the cast, and Johnny Depp, a frequent collaborator of Burton, straddles the comic with the mad. Christina Ricci looks as if she were born with her face to be a Burton film icon, but her performance here is a bit uneven. Miranda Richardson also makes the most of her small part; she is wicked with an air of menace about her that helps her steal every scene in which she appears.

The film is absolutely gorgeous, at that time, probably the finest looking film of the fantasy/horror genre since Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Burton mixes everything together so well; he is truly a visionary and one of the consummate visualists of the last two decades. Hell, he made Sleepy Hollow a much better film than 1999’s Oscar winner for Best Picture, American Beauty.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
2000 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Art Direction-Set Decoration” (Rick Heinrichs-art director and Peter Young-set decorator), and 2 nominations: “Best Cinematography” (Emmanuel Lubezki) and “Best Costume Design” (Colleen Atwood)


2000 BAFTA Awards: 2 wins: “Best Costume Design” (Colleen Atwood), “Best Production Design” (Rick Heinrichs), and 1 nomination: “Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects” (Jim Mitchell, Kevin Yagher, Joss Williams, and Paddy Eason)

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Review: "The Wolfman" is Surprisingly Very Good

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 5 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Wolfman (2010)
Running time: 102 minutes (1 hour, 42 minutes)
MPAA – R for bloody horror violence and gore
DIRECTOR: Joe Johnston
WRITERS: Andrew Kevin Walker and David Self (based upon the 1941 screenplay by Curt Siodmak)
PRODUCERS: Sean Daniel, Benicio Del Toro, Scott Stuber, Rick Yorn
CINEMATOGRAHER: Shelly Johnson
EDITOR: Walter Murch, Dennis Virkler, and Mark Goldblatt (no screen credit)
COMPOSER: Danny Elfman
SPECIAL MAKEUP EFFECTS: Rick Baker

HORROR

Starring: Benicio Del Toro, Emily Blunt, Anthony Hopkins, Hugo Weaving, Art Malik, Nicholas Day, Michael Cronin, David Sterne, David Schofield, and Roger Frost

Universal Pictures’ new film, The Wolfman, the remake of the studio’s classic, The Wolf Man (1941), was originally supposed to debut in February 2009. The film also missed a November 2009 release date, and missed release dates sometimes means that a movie is probably mediocre, at best, or a disaster, at worst.

The Wolfman was worth the wait. This is one of those movies that puts the big bad monster back in the monster movie genre, and the audience is the better for it. Personally, I want to see The Wolfman again. It starts off slow, but when the monster shows up, The Wolfman proves to be all killer.

As in the 1941 film, The Wolfman focuses on Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro). Talbot is a haunted nobleman who mostly plies his trade as an actor in the United States. A letter from his brother’s fiancée, Gwen Conliffe (Emily Blunt), lures Lawrence back to his family estate in the sleepy hamlet of Blackmoor. Ben Talbot has vanished, but by the time Lawrence arrives at the family home, Blackmoor Estate, Ben’s corpse, ravaged and torn, has been found.

Lawrence is reunited with his estranged father, Sir John Talbert (Anthony Hopkins), an odd fellow who lives in the dark and musty family home with his assistant, Singh (Art Malik). Lawrence is determined to discover the mystery behind his brother, Ben’s gruesome death. Lawrence learns that a beast with brute strength and an insatiable bloodlust has been killing villagers, but his search for that creature will only lead to a horrifying destiny for himself.

The Wolfman is one of those movies where the argument can be made that none of the primary filmmakers and no one of among the main cast delivers their best work. However, all of them deliver the kind of high quality work and performances for which they’ve gained their good or, in some cases, superb reputations. For instance, Anthony Hopkins won an Oscar for playing legendary villain, Dr. Hannibal Lecter, in The Silence of the Lambs, and, while Sir John Talbot may not be Lecter, Hopkins plays Sir John with enough of Lecter’s menacing glee that people will want to see this new performance. Del Toro won an Oscar for the film Traffic, and he plays Lawrence Talbot with the same tremendous pathos and brooding passion that earned him his Academy Award. Even Danny Elfman presents a lovely gothic score that sets the right tone for The Wolfman.

The underrated and under-utilized Joe Johnston (Jurassic Park III) directs The Wolfman with shifting styles and tones that give the storytelling depth. Johnston weds this film to the 1941 original with class, and he adds visual touches that are similar to the movies of Italian director Mario Bava, which give the violence and gore here a touch of moody elegance. Johnston makes full use of the advances in cinematic science and technology to create a Hollywood blockbuster that offers special effects magic, but still looks, feels, and moves like an intimate horror flick. In spite of the visual splendor of CGI, Johnston makes sure that it feels real and that a viewer will believe that he is alone in a theatre with a terrifying monster.

Of course, six-time Oscar-winning special effects artist/god/maestro, Rick Baker, is also very important to this film. Are his design and makeup talents that transform Benicio Del Toro into the fearsome title character Baker’s best work? Sometimes, it seems as if each film for which Baker does makeup is his best work. The first good look you get at the monster’s face will probably tell you that The Wolfman is going to be a good film no matter what year in which you see it.

7 of 10
A-

Sunday, February 14, 2010

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