Press release:
$5 MILLION TO CREATE HIGH QUALITY EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES FOR MORE CHILDREN
NewSchools Venture Fund Joins WaitingforSuperman.com “Pledge Progress Meter” at the 150,000 Pledge Level
HOLLYWOOD, CA (September 23, 2010) – Paramount Pictures, Participant Media and Walden Media jointly announced today NewSchools Venture Fund has joined the WaitingforSuperman.com “Pledge Progress Meter” for the award-winning documentary film WAITING FOR “SUPERMAN” at the 150,000 pledge level. The Fund has committed to investing $5 million in entrepreneurial organizations to create high quality public education opportunities for more of America’s children.
NewSchools is committed to transforming public education through powerful ideas and passionate entrepreneurs so that all children – especially those in underserved communities – have the opportunity to succeed. To achieve this goal, they support education entrepreneurs, help them grow their organizations to scale, and help connect their work to broader systems change. These entrepreneurs increase the supply of new high-quality schools, teachers, and tools that serve students. They also contribute to the momentum toward more significant improvement within the existing system.
“The most pressing domestic issue today is the achievement gap that blunts the potential of low-income children and steals from our national economy. WAITING FOR “SUPERMAN” will help our country recognize the urgency for each of us to take action, in exactly the same way that ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ did,” said Ted Mitchell, President and Chief Executive Officer of NewSchools Venture Fund and President of the California State Board of Education.
NewSchools is the sixth major organization to join the WaitingforSuperman.com “Pledge Progress Meter.” FirstBook, OfficeMax®, DonorsChoose.org, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Adopt-A-Classroom / Jones New York in the Classroom have already committed to making a difference in education.
WAITING FOR “SUPERMAN” directed by Davis Guggenheim (“An Inconvenient Truth”) will be released under the Paramount Vantage banner and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It examines the crisis of public education in the United States through multiple interlocking stories. Designed to start a national conversation, the movie and corresponding “Take the Pledge” campaign aim to inspire everyone to create innovative and long-term solutions to help change the course of our kids’ lives for the better. The “Pledge Progress Meter” launched in May as a way for non-profits, foundations and corporations to match individual pledge levels with powerful action items aimed at helping both students and public schools.
The film opens in New York and Los Angeles on September 24, nationwide in October.
The film is produced by Lesley Chilcott, with Participant Media’s Jeff Skoll and Diane Weyermann serving as executive producers. It is written by Davis Guggenheim & Billy Kimball.
For more information about the NewSchools Venture Fund, please visit http://www.newschools.org/
For more information about the movie, or to take the pledge go to http://www.waitingforsuperman.com/
To join the conversation visit us on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/WaitingForSuperman
What does your school need? Tell us by Tweeting #MySchoolNeeds at http://www.Twitter.com/WaitingSuperman
About Paramount Pictures Corporation
Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. The company's labels include Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, MTV Films and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Digital Entertainment, Paramount Famous Productions, Paramount Home Entertainment, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., Paramount Studio Group, and Worldwide Television Distribution.
About Participant Media
Participant Media is a Los Angeles-based entertainment company that focuses on socially relevant, commercially viable feature films, documentaries and television, as well as publishing and digital media. Participant Media is headed by CEO Jim Berk and was founded in 2004 by philanthropist Jeff Skoll, who serves as Chairman. Ricky Strauss is President.
Participant exists to tell compelling, entertaining stories that bring to the forefront real issues that shape our lives. For each of its projects, Participant creates extensive social action and advocacy programs, which provide ideas and tools to transform the impact of the media experience into individual and community action. Participant’s films include The Kite Runner, Charlie Wilson’s War, Darfur Now, An Inconvenient Truth, Good Night, and Good Luck, Syriana, Standard Operating Procedure, The Visitor, The Soloist, Food, Inc., The Informant!, The Cove, The Crazies, Oceans, Furry Vengeance, CASINO JACK and the United States of Money, Countdown to Zero and Waiting for “Superman.”
About Walden Media
Walden Media specializes in entertainment for the whole family. Past award-winning films include: the "Chronicles of Narnia" series, "Journey to the Center of the Earth", "Nim’s Island" and "Charlotte’s Web." Upcoming films include "Ramona & Beezus" based on the best-selling book series by Beverly Cleary and starring Selena Gomez, and the latest installment in "Narnia" franchise: "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader."
About NewSchools Venture Fund
NewSchools Venture Fund seeks to transform public education through powerful ideas and passionate entrepreneurs so that all children – especially those in underserved communities – have the opportunity to succeed. As a national nonprofit venture philanthropy firm, NewSchools supports education entrepreneurs, a special breed of innovators who create new nonprofit and for-profit organizations that redefine our sense of what is possible in public education. Founded in 1998, NewSchools has invested in more than 35 nonprofit and for-profit organizations and raised nearly $150 million. NewSchools takes an active role with each venture in our portfolio to help them create sustainable organizations that generate breakthrough results at scale for the students they serve. In addition to this direct support to entrepreneurs, NewSchools also connects their work to the broader public education reform movement to catalyze systems change.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Review: Walt Disney's "The Black Cauldron" Has a Good Side
The Black Cauldron (1985)
Running time: 80 minutes (1 hour, 20 minutes)
MPAA – PG for some scary images
DIRECTORS: Ted Berman and Richard Rich
WRITERS: David Jonas, Vance Gerry, Ted Berman, Richard Rich, Al Wilson, Roy Morita, Peter Young, Art Stevens, and Joe Hale (based upon the novel series The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander)
PRODUCER: Joe Hale
EDITOR: Armetta Jackson, Jim Koford, and James Melton
COMPOSER: Elmer Bernstein
ANIMATION/FANTASY
Starring: (voices) Grant Bardsley, Susan Sheridan, Freddie Jones, Nigel Hawthorne, Arthur Malet, John Byner, John Hurt, and John Huston
Considered a box office failure and a critical disappointment, The Black Cauldron, released in 1985, was Walt Disney’s 25th full-length animated feature film. The film is a loose adaptation of The Chronicles of Prydain, a five-book children’s fantasy series from author Lloyd Alexander, specifically the first two books, The Book of Three and The Black Cauldron.
The film takes place in the land of Prydain and focuses on a young man named Taran (Grant Bardsley), the Assistant Pigkeeper to the enchanter, Dallben (Freddie Jones). Dallben has charged Taran with the task caring for and protecting Hen Wen, a magical oracular pig (meaning she can see into the future). Hen Wen’s powers will allow her to see the location of the mystical Black Cauldron, which has the power to raise the dead.
The evil lord known as the Horned King (John Hurt) desires to use the cauldron to create an invincible legion of undead warriors that will help him conquer the world. When he loses Hen Wen, Taran must battle the Horned King, who will stop at nothing to attain Hen Wen, his key to the cauldron’s whereabouts. Luckily, Taran gathers new friends who come to his aid, including the imprisoned Princess Eilonwy (Susan Sheridan); the elderly bard, Fflewddur Fflam (Nigel Hawthorne); and a loyal, but greedy creature named Gurgi (John Byner).
In terms of quality, The Black Cauldron would certainly rank at or near the bottom of the list of Disney’s animated theatrical films, but even something considered a Disney failure is better than animated films from other studios. The characters and the story are the problems with this film. The characters are not fully developed, and the script doesn’t reveal much about them except for the barest minimum needed to make the story move forward. The story does not have much drama, and the conflict seems feigned. There is not much suspense and tension before the end of the film and the final conflict.
Where the film really works is in the visuals. The Black Cauldron was the first Disney animated feature to use computer-generated imagery (CGI), but the star is the beautifully drawn, colored, painted, and illustrated world Disney’s artists created for this film. The backgrounds, sets, and environments are some of the most beautiful fantasy art created for film. A lovely pastoral cottage farm, verdant forests, a barren wasteland, an ominous castle, cavernous dungeons, the magical underworld of the Fair Folk, and the gloomy dwelling of three witches: all are presented in vivid, rich color and drawn in a sturdy manner that brings Prydain to life.
These splendid visuals make a weak fantasy story a bit stronger. The Black Cauldron may not be perfect, but its trip to Prydain is a true journey into fantasy.
6 of 10
B
Thursday, September 23, 2010
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Thursday, September 23, 2010
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Bryan Singer and McG to Produce Content for Warner Premiere
Warner Premiere Announces Two New Multi-Platform Series to Be Produced by Bryan Singer and McG; Dolphin Entertainment to Co-Finance and Co-Distribute
Bryan Singer and Bad Hat Harry to Produce Sci-Fi Thriller “H+,” Directed by Stewart Hendler (“Sorority Row”)
McG and Wonderland Sound and Vision to Produce Teen Action Series “Aim High,” Directed by Thor Freudenthal (“Diary of a Wimpy Kid” / “Hotel for Dogs”)
BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Building on the success of their digital productions that include the best-selling Watchmen Motion Comics and Terminator The Machinima Series, Warner Premiere today announced it is creating two live-action, multi-platform digital series with top Hollywood talent. Warner Premiere continues to be committed to developing cutting-edge content for a new generation of consumers who fluidly watch content on multiple screens. Both these series capitalize on the flexibility of digital platforms to both present unique stories in short bites, and to also offer viewers additional complementary content that further flushes out the stories’ mythologies and characters’ backgrounds.
The series are being co-financed through an agreement with entertainment industry veteran Dolphin Entertainment who has executive produced hit shows Zoey 101 and Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide. Warner Bros. Digital Distribution and Dolphin Entertainment will work with cable, satellite, broadband and mobile clients for placement and promotional support.
The first titles produced under this agreement will be the futuristic survival tale H + from blockbuster Director / Producer Bryan Singer, and Aim High, the High School action thriller from multitalented Producer and Director McG.
H +
H+ takes viewers on an episodic two-and-a-half hour, apocalyptic journey into the future where technology has gone horrifically wrong. In 2019, 33% of the world’s population uses a radical new piece of technology – an implanted computer system called H +. This allows a person’s mind and nervous system to be connected to the Internet 24 hours a day.
But that same year, a mysterious and vicious computer virus is released, and within seconds millions of people died -- leading to radical changes to the political and social landscape of the planet.
H+ is produced by Director / Producer Bryan Singer (X-Men / Battlestar Galactica) in association with Bad Hat Harry Productions (House). The series comes from the imaginative minds of writers John Cabrera (Gilmore Girls) and Cosimo de Tommaso who also serve as Executive Producers, directed by Stewart Hendler (“Sorority Row”) and produced by Lance Sloane (Yucatan). H + is currently in pre-production and shooting expected to commence by the end of the year.
"I've had a great relationship with Warners and I’m looking forward to working with them and Dolphin Entertainment on this project,” said Bryan Singer. “The epic nature of the story combined with its interactive components makes it an ideal web series. In addition, the high cinematic quality of H + will make it viable for other forms of distribution."
Aim High
“Killing people is easy. High School is hard,” according to lead character Nick Green. Aim High is the story of a young man leading a double life - juggling his studies by day and serving as a government agent by night. This series chronicles the life of Nick Green, a sophomore who’s just starting a new school year as one of the country’s 64 highly trained teenage operatives.
When he’s not handling international spies, Nick is dreaming of Amanda Meyers, the most popular girl in school who’s cool, intelligent and very alluring. Amanda mercilessly flirts with Nick, but before he can enjoy her advances he has to avoid Derek - her overly protective boyfriend who threatens him for even looking at her.
To make things more complicated, Nick just blew a hit on a Russian mercenary and now he’s out to take revenge on Nick. On top of that Nick also discovers he has an “in” with Amanda but his best friend is planning to post a salacious rumor about her on his blog. All in all, it’s going to be a rough semester.
Aim High comes from Director/ Producer McG (Chuck / Charlie’s Angels), Wonderland Sound and Vision, and production services are being provided by Bandito Brothers. Peter Murrieta, who served as Executive Producer for the mega-hit Wizards of Waverly Place is the Executive Producer. The series is written by Heath Corson (Living with Abandon / Scary Godmother) and Richie Keen (Living with Abandon) who also serve as Executive Producers, directed by Thor Freudenthal (Hotel for Dogs/ Diary of a Wimpy Kid) and produced by Lance Sloane (Yucatan). Pre-production is underway and shooting will take place in Los Angeles this October.
"I’m thrilled to take this next step into the digital frontier with Warner Bros. on Aim High; a project that combines the best of comedy, teen angst, and elevated action,” said McG. “While I've produced material in this space before, this particular series will consist of longer episodes with multiple derivative stories. The goal here will be for the content to be viewed on a TV screen through an on-demand network as opposed to the free web. This approach is very innovative and exciting."
Dolphin Entertainment, founded in 1996 by President Bill O’Dowd, is a producer and international distributor of quality television programming, and is one of the few independent suppliers of premium tween, teen and young adult series. Recently the company executive produced the number-one rated and Emmy® Award-nominated Nickelodeon television series Zoey 101 and Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide. Both series have gone on to see incredible international success and can be viewed in over 100 countries worldwide. Dolphin Entertainment also serves as Executive Producer on the one-hour teen action series “Tower Prep,” which premieres this October on the Cartoon Network. Through this agreement, Dolphin Entertainment will further diversify the company’s portfolio of content available for traditional and digital channels.
“These two series are perfect examples of the ‘next wave’ of digital programming,” states Bill O’Dowd, President of Dolphin Entertainment. “Teens and young adults are increasingly watching high-quality programming that premieres online before moving to the traditional windows of television and home entertainment. We are extremely excited to work with Bryan, Peter and McG, and to partner with Warner Bros. on these two series and, hopefully, many more to come.”
Additional details about each series including cast, distribution channels and release dates will be announced in the coming months. To keep up to date, follow Warner Bros. Digital Distribution on Twitter @WBDigitalDist.
About Warner Premiere
Warner Premiere is a Warner Bros. Entertainment production company focused on the development, production and marketing of feature-length-DVD and short-form digital content for this growing space. Warner Premiere is committed to being at the creative forefront in the evolution of quality product in the direct-to-consumer business, creating material that exemplifies the commitment to story, production and brand equity for which Warner Bros. is known.
About Warner Bros. Digital Distribution
Warner Bros. Digital Distribution (WBDD) oversees the electronic distribution of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group’s content through Video-On-Demand, Pay-Per-View, Electronic Sell-Through and Subscription Video-On-Demand via cable, satellite, online and mobile channels. WBDD also distributes content through third party digital retailers and licenses. A world-wide industry leader since its inception, WBDD also manages the Studio’s E-commerce sites that include WBShop.com and WarnerArchive.com. Twitter: @WBDigitalDist
About Dolphin Entertainment
Dolphin Entertainment, founded in 1996 by President Bill O’Dowd, enjoys a solid reputation as an Emmy−nominated producer, international distributor, and financier of quality television programming, spanning wide genres of entertainment, from movies and mini-series to sitcoms and drama series. Based in Miami, Florida, Dolphin Entertainment has divisions dedicated to television production, feature film production, international distribution and merchandising and licensing.
Bryan Singer and Bad Hat Harry to Produce Sci-Fi Thriller “H+,” Directed by Stewart Hendler (“Sorority Row”)
McG and Wonderland Sound and Vision to Produce Teen Action Series “Aim High,” Directed by Thor Freudenthal (“Diary of a Wimpy Kid” / “Hotel for Dogs”)
BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Building on the success of their digital productions that include the best-selling Watchmen Motion Comics and Terminator The Machinima Series, Warner Premiere today announced it is creating two live-action, multi-platform digital series with top Hollywood talent. Warner Premiere continues to be committed to developing cutting-edge content for a new generation of consumers who fluidly watch content on multiple screens. Both these series capitalize on the flexibility of digital platforms to both present unique stories in short bites, and to also offer viewers additional complementary content that further flushes out the stories’ mythologies and characters’ backgrounds.
The series are being co-financed through an agreement with entertainment industry veteran Dolphin Entertainment who has executive produced hit shows Zoey 101 and Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide. Warner Bros. Digital Distribution and Dolphin Entertainment will work with cable, satellite, broadband and mobile clients for placement and promotional support.
The first titles produced under this agreement will be the futuristic survival tale H + from blockbuster Director / Producer Bryan Singer, and Aim High, the High School action thriller from multitalented Producer and Director McG.
H +
H+ takes viewers on an episodic two-and-a-half hour, apocalyptic journey into the future where technology has gone horrifically wrong. In 2019, 33% of the world’s population uses a radical new piece of technology – an implanted computer system called H +. This allows a person’s mind and nervous system to be connected to the Internet 24 hours a day.
But that same year, a mysterious and vicious computer virus is released, and within seconds millions of people died -- leading to radical changes to the political and social landscape of the planet.
H+ is produced by Director / Producer Bryan Singer (X-Men / Battlestar Galactica) in association with Bad Hat Harry Productions (House). The series comes from the imaginative minds of writers John Cabrera (Gilmore Girls) and Cosimo de Tommaso who also serve as Executive Producers, directed by Stewart Hendler (“Sorority Row”) and produced by Lance Sloane (Yucatan). H + is currently in pre-production and shooting expected to commence by the end of the year.
"I've had a great relationship with Warners and I’m looking forward to working with them and Dolphin Entertainment on this project,” said Bryan Singer. “The epic nature of the story combined with its interactive components makes it an ideal web series. In addition, the high cinematic quality of H + will make it viable for other forms of distribution."
Aim High
“Killing people is easy. High School is hard,” according to lead character Nick Green. Aim High is the story of a young man leading a double life - juggling his studies by day and serving as a government agent by night. This series chronicles the life of Nick Green, a sophomore who’s just starting a new school year as one of the country’s 64 highly trained teenage operatives.
When he’s not handling international spies, Nick is dreaming of Amanda Meyers, the most popular girl in school who’s cool, intelligent and very alluring. Amanda mercilessly flirts with Nick, but before he can enjoy her advances he has to avoid Derek - her overly protective boyfriend who threatens him for even looking at her.
To make things more complicated, Nick just blew a hit on a Russian mercenary and now he’s out to take revenge on Nick. On top of that Nick also discovers he has an “in” with Amanda but his best friend is planning to post a salacious rumor about her on his blog. All in all, it’s going to be a rough semester.
Aim High comes from Director/ Producer McG (Chuck / Charlie’s Angels), Wonderland Sound and Vision, and production services are being provided by Bandito Brothers. Peter Murrieta, who served as Executive Producer for the mega-hit Wizards of Waverly Place is the Executive Producer. The series is written by Heath Corson (Living with Abandon / Scary Godmother) and Richie Keen (Living with Abandon) who also serve as Executive Producers, directed by Thor Freudenthal (Hotel for Dogs/ Diary of a Wimpy Kid) and produced by Lance Sloane (Yucatan). Pre-production is underway and shooting will take place in Los Angeles this October.
"I’m thrilled to take this next step into the digital frontier with Warner Bros. on Aim High; a project that combines the best of comedy, teen angst, and elevated action,” said McG. “While I've produced material in this space before, this particular series will consist of longer episodes with multiple derivative stories. The goal here will be for the content to be viewed on a TV screen through an on-demand network as opposed to the free web. This approach is very innovative and exciting."
Dolphin Entertainment, founded in 1996 by President Bill O’Dowd, is a producer and international distributor of quality television programming, and is one of the few independent suppliers of premium tween, teen and young adult series. Recently the company executive produced the number-one rated and Emmy® Award-nominated Nickelodeon television series Zoey 101 and Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide. Both series have gone on to see incredible international success and can be viewed in over 100 countries worldwide. Dolphin Entertainment also serves as Executive Producer on the one-hour teen action series “Tower Prep,” which premieres this October on the Cartoon Network. Through this agreement, Dolphin Entertainment will further diversify the company’s portfolio of content available for traditional and digital channels.
“These two series are perfect examples of the ‘next wave’ of digital programming,” states Bill O’Dowd, President of Dolphin Entertainment. “Teens and young adults are increasingly watching high-quality programming that premieres online before moving to the traditional windows of television and home entertainment. We are extremely excited to work with Bryan, Peter and McG, and to partner with Warner Bros. on these two series and, hopefully, many more to come.”
Additional details about each series including cast, distribution channels and release dates will be announced in the coming months. To keep up to date, follow Warner Bros. Digital Distribution on Twitter @WBDigitalDist.
About Warner Premiere
Warner Premiere is a Warner Bros. Entertainment production company focused on the development, production and marketing of feature-length-DVD and short-form digital content for this growing space. Warner Premiere is committed to being at the creative forefront in the evolution of quality product in the direct-to-consumer business, creating material that exemplifies the commitment to story, production and brand equity for which Warner Bros. is known.
About Warner Bros. Digital Distribution
Warner Bros. Digital Distribution (WBDD) oversees the electronic distribution of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group’s content through Video-On-Demand, Pay-Per-View, Electronic Sell-Through and Subscription Video-On-Demand via cable, satellite, online and mobile channels. WBDD also distributes content through third party digital retailers and licenses. A world-wide industry leader since its inception, WBDD also manages the Studio’s E-commerce sites that include WBShop.com and WarnerArchive.com. Twitter: @WBDigitalDist
About Dolphin Entertainment
Dolphin Entertainment, founded in 1996 by President Bill O’Dowd, enjoys a solid reputation as an Emmy−nominated producer, international distributor, and financier of quality television programming, spanning wide genres of entertainment, from movies and mini-series to sitcoms and drama series. Based in Miami, Florida, Dolphin Entertainment has divisions dedicated to television production, feature film production, international distribution and merchandising and licensing.
Strong Acting Helps "Half Nelson" Overcome Half-Ass Directing (Happy B'day, Anthony Mackie)
Half Nelson (2006)
Running time: 107 minutes (1 hour, 47 minutes)
MPAA – R for drug content throughout, language, and some sexuality
DIRECTOR: Ryan Fleck
WRITERS: Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck
PRODUCERS: Anna Boden, Lynette Howell, Rosanne Korenberg, Alex Orlovsky, and Jamie Patricof
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Andrij Parekh
EDITOR: Anna Boden
2007 Academy Award nominee
DRAMA
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Shareeka Epps, Anthony Mackie, Monique Curnen, Deborah Rush, and Jay O. Sanders
In the independent film drama, Half Nelson, an inner-city schoolteacher and one of his students form an unlikely friendship that just might help him pull it together and stop her from following her brother into prison.
Dan Dunne (Ryan Gosling) is anxious to help his students learn outside the parameters of what is accepted in public schools, but each day that he’s in front of his class, it is clear that his mind is elsewhere. Dunne is a frustrated novelist and a drug addict who knows he’s in trouble but won’t stop using illegal drugs. Drey (Shareeka Epps) lives in a small apartment with her divorced mom, and her father chooses to live outside of her life. Her brother is doing a stint in prison, apparently for his dealings with Frank (Anthony Mackie), the neighborhood drug dealer. Now, Frank is trying to recruit Drey into his service. As Dunne spirals downward, he is surprised to find Drey acting as his conscience, when he plans on being hers.
Co-writer/director Ryan Fleck and co-writer Anna Boden are so intent on not offering easy answers and pat resolutions in their film, Half Nelson, that they almost ruin it. They’ve made an underwritten, slice-of-life movie. Instead of giving Half Nelson a beginning, middle, and ending, they instead act as if they’re making a docu-drama and are presenting just the facts – thank you very much and can’t (and perhaps shouldn’t) make judgments.
Luckily, at the heart of their film sit two outstanding acting performances. First, Ryan Gosling, who seems to be on the cusp of greatness (or is at least still a simmering “next big thing”), delivers a sharp and heartrending performance as a druggie teacher that is as harrowing as it is quiet and graceful. Gosling doesn’t glamorize drug addiction, nor does he play teacher Dan Dunne as some kind of trashy lowlife always dressed in filthy rags. Dunne is woefully in denial and, therefore, helpless against his addiction. We can feel sorry for him, while simultaneously being tired of his self-destructive ways.
Meanwhile, Shareeka Epps as the inner city, almost-lost girl Drey offers a stout and stoic face to the world. It’s as if Epps realizes that the only way that Drey survives her life of sorrow and loneliness is to keep a stiff upper lip, so Drey offers a facial expression that might make Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry blink. Still, Epps allows us to see underneath to the vulnerable girl who isn’t so sure that she isn’t destined to end up an incarcerated drug dealer like her brother.
Anthony Mackie, as the neighborhood drug kingpin, also offers Half Nelson a fine performance. Mackie’s Frank is a sly salesman who wears his dishonesty and predatory ways on his sleeve as if they were banners of personal pride. Mackie makes Frank dangerous without grandstanding or scene stealing, which is what most actors do when they play drug lords and dealers.
What Gosling, Epps, and Mackie offer is substance to Fleck and Boden’s faux and cheapie realism. They make Half Nelson a standout film when it could have been just another pretentious, underwritten independent drama.
7 of 10
A-
NOTES:
2007 Academy Awards: 1 nomination for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Ryan Gosling)
2007 Black Reel Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Breakthrough Performance” (Shareeka Epps) and “Best Supporting Actress” (Shareeka Epps)
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Hot Anime "Redline" Coming to America
VIZ CINEMA REVS UP THE EXCITEMENT FOR THE U.S. PREMIERE OF ANIME RACING FILM REDLINE
New Film 5 Years In The Making Written By Katsuhito Ishii And Directed By Takeshi Koike And Plays For One Week Only At Bay Area Pop Culture Theatre
VIZ Cinema, the nation’s only movie theatre dedicated to Japanese film, brings on the excitement for October with a very special North American premiere of the anime feature Redline. Creative wizard Katsuhito Ishii has teamed up with spirited director Takeshi Koike for the film, which will screen at the theater – for one week only – October 8th -14th, the same week of its release in Japan. Tickets are $10.00. Screening times, trailers and tickets are available at: www.vizcinema.com.
Written by Katsuhito Ishii (Director of The Taste of Tea, Funky Forest, Shark Skin Man & Peach Hip Girl and the anime segment of Kill Bill Vol.1) and directed by the up-and-coming Takeshi Koike, who participated in the “World Record” segment of Animatrix (2003), Redline was 5 years in the making and proudly demonstrates the new possibilities of 2D animation, amidst the current prominence of 3D.
“The release of Redline has been highly anticipated by fans and we’re very proud to premiere the film at VIZ Cinema,” says Seiji Horibuchi, the founder of NEW PEOPLE and President and CEO of VIZ Pictures. “The kinetic visual action follows a fine tradition of car films like The Fast And The Furious, Death Race and Initial D. We invite import racers, car fanatics, anime and action fans to catch this exciting feature!”
Redline is a racing film created by studio Madhouse (Paprika, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars). The toughest and the most destructive underground car race in the universe, REDLINE, has just begun! JP is a reckless driver oblivious to speed limits, and Sonoshee, one of his competitors with whom JP is secretly in love with, is a hot girl determined to do whatever it takes to stand on the winner’s podium. In order to win the finals, they’re up against the craziest drivers with their heavily armed and awesome road-tearing vehicles. On top of that, during the race, they have to avoid military crackdown by the government because the race is actually prohibited in Roboworld. The only help JP wants is the engine obtained and custom tuned by his long time buddies, Frisbee the mechanic and Mogura Oyaji the junk shop. While cars crash and burn into flames, the race course becomes a merciless hell and JP whips his ride into a dead heat. Who will survive to win in this mass-destruction race?\
VIZ Cinema is the nation’s only movie theatre devoted exclusively to Japanese film and anime. The 143-seat subterranean theatre is located in the basement of the NEW PEOPLE building and features plush seating, digital as well as 35mm projection, and a THX®-certified sound system.
About NEW PEOPLE
NEW PEOPLE offers the latest films, art, fashion and retail brands from Japan and is the creative vision of the J-Pop Center Project and VIZ Pictures, a distributor and producer of Japanese live action film. Located at 1746 Post Street, the 20,000 square foot structure features a striking 3-floor transparent glass façade that frames a fun and exotic new environment to engage the imagination into the 21st Century. A dedicated web site is also now available at: http://www.newpeopleworld.com/.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Fifth "Final Destination" Movie Begins Production in Canada
New Line Begins Production on “Final Destination 5 – 3D”
The Next Installment in the Horror Series Once Again Proves That No Matter Where You Run, No Matter Where You Hide…You Can’t Cheat Death.
BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Production is underway on New Line Cinema’s fifth installment of the gripping “Final Destination” franchise, which began back in 2000, with the original film quickly becoming a cult hit. The new victims of Death’s plan are part of a cast led by Emma Bell (“Frozen,” TV’s “The Walking Dead”) and Nick D’Agosto (“Fired Up!,” TV’s “Heroes”). The film is being shot on location in Vancouver, Canada.
The second of the Final Destination films to be shot in 3-D, “Final Destination 5” is being directed by Steve Quale, marking his major feature film directorial debut. Producer Craig Perry (“American Pie”) returns for the fifth time, working with executive producers Sheila Hanahan Taylor, Erik Holmberg, Richard Brener, Walter Hamada and David Neustadter. The screenplay was written by Eric Heisserer, with revisions by Gary Dauberman; Heisserer is no stranger to the horror genre, having penned New Line’s recent hit “A Nightmare on Elm Street.”
“Final Destination 5” brings together an ensemble cast that includes Bell and D’Agosto, along with Miles Fisher (TV’s “Mad Men” and “Gossip Girl”), Arlen Escarpeta (“Friday the 13th”), Jacqueline MacInnes Wood (TV’s “The Bold and the Beautiful”), P.J. Byrne (“Dinner for Schmucks”) and Ellen Wroe (TV’s “Huge”). Rounding out the rest of the cast are Courtney B. Vance (TV’s “Flash Forward,” “ER”), David Koechner (“The Office,” “Anchorman”) and “Final Destination” franchise icon Tony Todd (“Hatchet II”).
In this fifth installment, Death is just as omnipresent as ever, and is unleashed after one man’s premonition saves a group of coworkers from a terrifying suspension bridge collapse. But this group of unsuspecting souls was never supposed to survive, and, in a terrifying race against time, the ill-fated group frantically tries to discover a way to escape Death’s sinister agenda.
Collaborating with Steve Quale behind the scenes are director of photography Brian Pearson (“Drive Angry 3D,” “My Bloody Valentine 3D”); production designer David Sandefur (“Repo Men,” “Journey to the Center of the Earth”); editor Eric Sears (“Shooter”) and costume designer Jori Woodman (“Eight Below”).
The film is a production of New Line Cinema and will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
ABOUT NEW LINE CINEMA:
New Line Cinema continues to be one of the most successful independent film companies. For more than 40 years, its mission has been to produce innovative, popular, profitable entertainment in the best creative environment. A pioneer in franchise filmmaking, New Line produced the Oscar®-winning “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, which is a landmark in the history of film franchises. New Line Cinema is a division of Warner Bros.
The Next Installment in the Horror Series Once Again Proves That No Matter Where You Run, No Matter Where You Hide…You Can’t Cheat Death.
BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Production is underway on New Line Cinema’s fifth installment of the gripping “Final Destination” franchise, which began back in 2000, with the original film quickly becoming a cult hit. The new victims of Death’s plan are part of a cast led by Emma Bell (“Frozen,” TV’s “The Walking Dead”) and Nick D’Agosto (“Fired Up!,” TV’s “Heroes”). The film is being shot on location in Vancouver, Canada.
The second of the Final Destination films to be shot in 3-D, “Final Destination 5” is being directed by Steve Quale, marking his major feature film directorial debut. Producer Craig Perry (“American Pie”) returns for the fifth time, working with executive producers Sheila Hanahan Taylor, Erik Holmberg, Richard Brener, Walter Hamada and David Neustadter. The screenplay was written by Eric Heisserer, with revisions by Gary Dauberman; Heisserer is no stranger to the horror genre, having penned New Line’s recent hit “A Nightmare on Elm Street.”
“Final Destination 5” brings together an ensemble cast that includes Bell and D’Agosto, along with Miles Fisher (TV’s “Mad Men” and “Gossip Girl”), Arlen Escarpeta (“Friday the 13th”), Jacqueline MacInnes Wood (TV’s “The Bold and the Beautiful”), P.J. Byrne (“Dinner for Schmucks”) and Ellen Wroe (TV’s “Huge”). Rounding out the rest of the cast are Courtney B. Vance (TV’s “Flash Forward,” “ER”), David Koechner (“The Office,” “Anchorman”) and “Final Destination” franchise icon Tony Todd (“Hatchet II”).
In this fifth installment, Death is just as omnipresent as ever, and is unleashed after one man’s premonition saves a group of coworkers from a terrifying suspension bridge collapse. But this group of unsuspecting souls was never supposed to survive, and, in a terrifying race against time, the ill-fated group frantically tries to discover a way to escape Death’s sinister agenda.
Collaborating with Steve Quale behind the scenes are director of photography Brian Pearson (“Drive Angry 3D,” “My Bloody Valentine 3D”); production designer David Sandefur (“Repo Men,” “Journey to the Center of the Earth”); editor Eric Sears (“Shooter”) and costume designer Jori Woodman (“Eight Below”).
The film is a production of New Line Cinema and will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
ABOUT NEW LINE CINEMA:
New Line Cinema continues to be one of the most successful independent film companies. For more than 40 years, its mission has been to produce innovative, popular, profitable entertainment in the best creative environment. A pioneer in franchise filmmaking, New Line produced the Oscar®-winning “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, which is a landmark in the history of film franchises. New Line Cinema is a division of Warner Bros.
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