Ifp recently congratulated the following eleven of its alumni projects screening at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival:
Alias Ruby BladeDocumentary, HD Cam, 2012, 78 minutesDirector: Alex MeillierProducer: Tanya Ager MeillierIsa: Mercury Media
Kirsty Sword Gusmao aspired to be a filmmaker and instead became a revolutionary. Whilst working for the Timorese resistance she fell in love with the imprisoned guerilla leader, and risked everything. Together they fostered the birth of a new nation.
Cutie And The BoxerDocumentary, Dcp, 2013, 82 minutesDirector: Zachary HeinzerlingProducer: Sierra Pettengill, Patrick Burns, Zachary HeinzerlingExecutive Producers: Kiki Miyake, Lydia Dean PilcherIsa: K5 International
This candid New York love story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of famed boxing painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko. Anxious to shed her role of assistant to her overbearing husband, Noriko seeks an identity of her own.
Hide Your Smiling Faces Drama/Coming of Age, HDCam, 2012, 80 minDirector: Daniel Patrick CarboneProducers: Daniel Patrick Carbone, Matthew Petock, Zachary Shedd, Jordan Bailey-HooverCast: Ryan Jones, Nathan Varnson, Colm O’Leary, Thomas Cruz, Christina Starbuck, Chris Kies, Andrew Chamberlain, Ivan Tomic
An atmospheric exploration of life and death in rural America, Hide Your Smiling Faces vividly depicts the young lives of two brothers who abruptly come of age through the experience of a friend’s mysterious death.
Big Joy 82 min. – Documentary
What or who is Big Joy? Big Joy is James Broughton, pioneer of experimental cinema in the 1930s, and trickster poet who was a precursor to the beat movement in San Francisco. Big Joy is a documentary that explores the twists and turns in the life of a very colorful character, plus how art has the power to save lives and make the world a better place. Broughton is a role model of living one's life to the fullest, or "follow your own weird" as he called it. Big Joy features interviews with experts, colleagues, friends and lovers, plus images from his films, and the words of many of his kooky poems.
Let The Fire Burn 88 min. – Documentary | Drama | History
On May 13, 1985, Philadelphia police dropped two pounds of military explosives onto a city row house occupied by the radical group Move. The resulting fire was not fought for over an hour although firefighters were on the scene with water cannons in place. Five children and six adults were killed and sixty-one homes were destroyed by the six-alarm blaze, one of the largest in the city's history. This dramatic tragedy unfolds through an extraordinary visual record previously withheld from the public. It is a graphic illustration of how prejudice, intolerance and fear can lead to unthinkable acts of violence.
Big Men 99 min.- Documentary Director: Rachel BoyntonProduction Co: Boynton Films Production [Us]Country: United States
Dancing In Jaffa DocumentaryDirector: Hilla MedaliaProduction Co: kNow Productions [Us]Country: United States
Renowned ballroom dancer, Pierre Dulaine takes his belief that dance can overcome political and cultural differences and applies it to 11 year old Jewish and Palestinian Israelis. What occurs is magical and transformative.
Stand Clear Of The Closing Doors DramaDirector: Sam FleischnerProduction Co: M ss ng p eces [Us]
The story of an autistic youth named Ricky who, after a particularly difficult day at school, escapes into the subways. It's here that he starts his real journey, on a days-long voyage of discovery while, above ground, his mom frantically searches for him.
Bluebird
90 min. – Drama
Director: Lance Edmands
Production Co: Act Zero Films [Us]
In the frozen woods of an isolated Maine logging town, one woman's tragic mistake shatters the balance of the community, resulting in profound and unexpected consequences. Weaving together several connected story lines, Bluebird explores the profound and transcendent effects of a tragedy on an isolated American town.
The Genius Of Marian85 min. – Documentary | Drama | FamilyDirectors: Banker White | Anna FitchCountry: United States
The Genius of Marian follows Pam White in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. Her son, the film maker, works with her as she attempts to write a book that tributes her mother, the artist Marian Steele. As Pam's family comes together to support her, they must also prepare for the new reality that Alzheimer's brings. The film is a powerful work of art with many visual textures, interweaving observational film making with super 8 family movies, Marian's paintings and old photographs. The Genius of Marian is both an intimate look at a much feared illness and a loving portrait of the meaning of family.
TeenageDocumentaryDirector: Matt Wolf (IV) Production Co: Cinereach [Us]Country: United States | Germany...
Alias Ruby BladeDocumentary, HD Cam, 2012, 78 minutesDirector: Alex MeillierProducer: Tanya Ager MeillierIsa: Mercury Media
Kirsty Sword Gusmao aspired to be a filmmaker and instead became a revolutionary. Whilst working for the Timorese resistance she fell in love with the imprisoned guerilla leader, and risked everything. Together they fostered the birth of a new nation.
Cutie And The BoxerDocumentary, Dcp, 2013, 82 minutesDirector: Zachary HeinzerlingProducer: Sierra Pettengill, Patrick Burns, Zachary HeinzerlingExecutive Producers: Kiki Miyake, Lydia Dean PilcherIsa: K5 International
This candid New York love story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of famed boxing painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko. Anxious to shed her role of assistant to her overbearing husband, Noriko seeks an identity of her own.
Hide Your Smiling Faces Drama/Coming of Age, HDCam, 2012, 80 minDirector: Daniel Patrick CarboneProducers: Daniel Patrick Carbone, Matthew Petock, Zachary Shedd, Jordan Bailey-HooverCast: Ryan Jones, Nathan Varnson, Colm O’Leary, Thomas Cruz, Christina Starbuck, Chris Kies, Andrew Chamberlain, Ivan Tomic
An atmospheric exploration of life and death in rural America, Hide Your Smiling Faces vividly depicts the young lives of two brothers who abruptly come of age through the experience of a friend’s mysterious death.
Big Joy 82 min. – Documentary
What or who is Big Joy? Big Joy is James Broughton, pioneer of experimental cinema in the 1930s, and trickster poet who was a precursor to the beat movement in San Francisco. Big Joy is a documentary that explores the twists and turns in the life of a very colorful character, plus how art has the power to save lives and make the world a better place. Broughton is a role model of living one's life to the fullest, or "follow your own weird" as he called it. Big Joy features interviews with experts, colleagues, friends and lovers, plus images from his films, and the words of many of his kooky poems.
Let The Fire Burn 88 min. – Documentary | Drama | History
On May 13, 1985, Philadelphia police dropped two pounds of military explosives onto a city row house occupied by the radical group Move. The resulting fire was not fought for over an hour although firefighters were on the scene with water cannons in place. Five children and six adults were killed and sixty-one homes were destroyed by the six-alarm blaze, one of the largest in the city's history. This dramatic tragedy unfolds through an extraordinary visual record previously withheld from the public. It is a graphic illustration of how prejudice, intolerance and fear can lead to unthinkable acts of violence.
Big Men 99 min.- Documentary Director: Rachel BoyntonProduction Co: Boynton Films Production [Us]Country: United States
Dancing In Jaffa DocumentaryDirector: Hilla MedaliaProduction Co: kNow Productions [Us]Country: United States
Renowned ballroom dancer, Pierre Dulaine takes his belief that dance can overcome political and cultural differences and applies it to 11 year old Jewish and Palestinian Israelis. What occurs is magical and transformative.
Stand Clear Of The Closing Doors DramaDirector: Sam FleischnerProduction Co: M ss ng p eces [Us]
The story of an autistic youth named Ricky who, after a particularly difficult day at school, escapes into the subways. It's here that he starts his real journey, on a days-long voyage of discovery while, above ground, his mom frantically searches for him.
Bluebird
90 min. – Drama
Director: Lance Edmands
Production Co: Act Zero Films [Us]
In the frozen woods of an isolated Maine logging town, one woman's tragic mistake shatters the balance of the community, resulting in profound and unexpected consequences. Weaving together several connected story lines, Bluebird explores the profound and transcendent effects of a tragedy on an isolated American town.
The Genius Of Marian85 min. – Documentary | Drama | FamilyDirectors: Banker White | Anna FitchCountry: United States
The Genius of Marian follows Pam White in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. Her son, the film maker, works with her as she attempts to write a book that tributes her mother, the artist Marian Steele. As Pam's family comes together to support her, they must also prepare for the new reality that Alzheimer's brings. The film is a powerful work of art with many visual textures, interweaving observational film making with super 8 family movies, Marian's paintings and old photographs. The Genius of Marian is both an intimate look at a much feared illness and a loving portrait of the meaning of family.
TeenageDocumentaryDirector: Matt Wolf (IV) Production Co: Cinereach [Us]Country: United States | Germany...
- 4/23/2013
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
In its fifth acquisition of the Sundance Film Festival, RADiUS-twc has acquired North American and French rights to Zachary Heinzerling’s “Cutie and the Boxer.” The competition film won the U.S. documentary directing award Saturday night at the festival’s awards ceremony. “Cutie and the Boxer” looks deeply into the lives, complex relationship and work of Japanese artists Ushio and Noriko Shinohara. Lydia Dean Pilcher, Patrick Burns and Sierra Pettengill produced. Kiki Miyake is the executive producer. "The beauty and complexity of the Shinoharas’ love affair and their art is nothing short of stunning,” said RADiUS co-president Tom Quinn. “Zachary has made a mesmerizing and unforgettable portrait of artistic genius." Submarine Entertainment handled the sale for the filmmakers. Earlier in the festival, RADiUS picked up North American rights to “Twenty Feet From Stardom” and...
- 1/27/2013
- by Jay A. Fernandez and Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
RADiUS-twc, the multi-platform label from the Weinstein Company, has acquired North American and French rights to Sundance documentary, "Cutie and the Boxer." Directed by first-time feature filmmaker Zachary Heinzerling, below, the film focuses on the 40-year love story of Ushio and Noriko Shinohara, two Japanese artists who met and married in New York in the early 1970s. Heinzerling won the U.S. Documentary Directing Award on Saturday night at Sundance's awards ceremony. The film was produced by Lydia Dean Pilcher, Patrick Burns and Sierra Pettengill. Kiki Miyake is the executive producer. David Teague is the editor and...
- 1/27/2013
- by Lew Harris
- The Wrap
RADiUS-twc announced today that it has acquired North American and French rights to the U.S. Documentary Directing Award Winner Cutie and the Boxer , one of the best-reviewed films at the Sundance Film Festival that premiered in the U.S. Documentary Competition. Directed by first-time feature filmmaker Zachary Heinzerling, Cutie and the Boxer is a soulful and unsentimental exploration of life and art via the 40-year love story of Ushio and Noriko Shinohara, two Japanese artists who met and married in New York in the early 1970s. The film was produced by Lydia Dean Pilcher, Patrick Burns and Sierra Pettengill. Kiki Miyake is the executive producer. David Teague is the editor and Yasuaki Shimizu is the composer. RADiUS has slated a 2013 release. As a rowdy young...
- 1/26/2013
- Comingsoon.net
Check out the first poster from Zachary Heinzerling's Cutie and the Boxer documentary which can be seen at Sundance 2013. Shot in New York, the love story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of famed boxing painter Ushio Shinohara and Noriko his wife. Anxious to shed her role as her overbearing husband's assistant, Noriko finds an identity of her own. Lydia Dean Pilcher and Kiki Miyake serve as executive producers on Cutie and the Boxer. Heinzerling makes his feature-length directorial debut on the project after serving as associate producer on several documentaries including the TV production Breaking the Huddle: The Integration of College Football.
- 1/14/2013
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Check out the first poster from Zachary Heinzerling's Cutie and the Boxer documentary which can be seen at Sundance 2013. Shot in New York, the love story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of famed boxing painter Ushio Shinohara and Noriko his wife. Anxious to shed her role as her overbearing husband's assistant, Noriko finds an identity of her own. Lydia Dean Pilcher and Kiki Miyake serve as executive producers on Cutie and the Boxer. Heinzerling makes his feature-length directorial debut on the project after serving as associate producer on several documentaries including the TV production Breaking the Huddle: The Integration of College Football.
- 1/14/2013
- Upcoming-Movies.com
The Daniel Stamm-directed psychological thriller is an English-language remake of the Thai pic 13: Game Of Death, about a guy who receives a mysterious phone call informing him that he’s on a hidden camera game show where he must execute 13 tasks to receive a big cash prize. He accepts the challenge as he’s in debt but soon he realizes he’s in over his head. Ron Perlman, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Tom Bower and Devon Graye have been added to the cast that already is toplined by Mark Webber and Rutina Wesley. The movie, to be distributed by Dimension Films in the U.S., begins shooting tomorrow. Im Global’s genre label Octane is producing and financing with Brian Kavanaugh-Jones of Automatik and Kiki Miyake’s Little Magic Films. Im Global’s Stuart Ford, Deepak Nayar and Michael Roban, and Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions executive produce with Somsak Techaratanaprasert.
- 10/8/2012
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
Daniel Stamm's Angry Little God English-language remake of the Thai thriller 13: Game of Death, has cast Ron Perlman, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Tom Bower and Devon Graye. They join Mark Webber and Rutina Wesley in the Octane, Automatik and Little Magic Films production, reports Variety. Dimension Films is distributing the film being produced by Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Kiki MIyake. The independent film starts principal photography o Tuesday with Stamm helming from the script he wrote alongside David Birke. The story follows a social services worker who has lost his job and is in a hefty amount of debt, but desperate to marry his girl. He has a shot at a better life when a mysterious call comes in, learning he's in a hidden game show and has to complete 13 tasks and win $6 million. He's in way over his head and trapped in a house of horrors.
- 10/8/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Daniel Stamm's Angry Little God English-language remake of the Thai thriller 13: Game of Death, has cast Ron Perlman, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Tom Bower and Devon Graye. They join Mark Webber and Rutina Wesley in the Octane, Automatik and Little Magic Films production, reports Variety. Dimension Films is distributing the film being produced by Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Kiki MIyake. The independent film starts principal photography o Tuesday with Stamm helming from the script he wrote alongside David Birke. The story follows a social services worker who has lost his job and is in a hefty amount of debt, but desperate to marry his girl. He has a shot at a better life when a mysterious call comes in, learning he's in a hidden game show and has to complete 13 tasks and win $6 million. He's in way over his head and trapped in a house of horrors.
- 10/8/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Mark Webber—whom I tend to remember from his starring role in Storytelling—is in talks to star in Im Global’s remake of the Thai thriller, 13: Game Of Death, just acquired by Dimension Films.
The remake is called Angry Little God and is about an engaged man who “receives a mysterious phone call informing him that he’s on a hidden camera gameshow where he can win over $6 million if he executes 13 tasks. He accepts the challenge, but quickly realises he’s in over his head and is trapped into horrors manipulated by unseen spectators.“
Daniel Stamm (The Last Exorcism) will direct a script he and David Birke adapted, and Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Kiki Miyake will produce.
If you didn’t already know, Mark Webber is actually a director in his own right, and I happened to see his first feature called Explicit Ills at a small film...
The remake is called Angry Little God and is about an engaged man who “receives a mysterious phone call informing him that he’s on a hidden camera gameshow where he can win over $6 million if he executes 13 tasks. He accepts the challenge, but quickly realises he’s in over his head and is trapped into horrors manipulated by unseen spectators.“
Daniel Stamm (The Last Exorcism) will direct a script he and David Birke adapted, and Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Kiki Miyake will produce.
If you didn’t already know, Mark Webber is actually a director in his own right, and I happened to see his first feature called Explicit Ills at a small film...
- 8/22/2012
- by Alvin
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
Indie actor Mark Webber (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) is in talks to star in Angry Little God, a psychological thriller from director Daniel Stamm (The Last Exorcism) that we told you about yesterday. Read on for a refresher.
From the Press Release
Dimension Films has announced its acquisition of U.S. distribution rights to the psychological thriller Angry Little God from director Daniel Stamm (The Last Exorcism). Im Global will finance and produce the film, an English-language remake of the Thai thriller 13: Game Of Death, alongside Brian Kavanaugh-Jones of Automatik and Kiki Miyake. Jason Blum of Blumhouse (Sinister, Insidious, Paranormal Activity) will executive produce with Somsak Techaratanaprasert.
Stamm and his writing partner, David Birke, adapted the script from the original film, which follows a bright but meek social services coordinator who's drowning in debt and desperate as he's about to marry the love of his life. He receives...
From the Press Release
Dimension Films has announced its acquisition of U.S. distribution rights to the psychological thriller Angry Little God from director Daniel Stamm (The Last Exorcism). Im Global will finance and produce the film, an English-language remake of the Thai thriller 13: Game Of Death, alongside Brian Kavanaugh-Jones of Automatik and Kiki Miyake. Jason Blum of Blumhouse (Sinister, Insidious, Paranormal Activity) will executive produce with Somsak Techaratanaprasert.
Stamm and his writing partner, David Birke, adapted the script from the original film, which follows a bright but meek social services coordinator who's drowning in debt and desperate as he's about to marry the love of his life. He receives...
- 8/22/2012
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
Indie actor Mark Webber ("Scott Pilgrim vs. the World," "For a Good Time, Call...") is in talks to star in Im Global's psychological thriller "Angry Little God" which Dimension Films has just acquired reports Variety.
An English-language remake of the Thai thriller "13: Game of Death," Webber has an offer to play an engaged man desperate to solve his financial problems prior to his wedding.
He receives a mysterious phone call informing him that he's on a hidden camera gameshow where he can win over $6 million if he executes 13 tasks. He accepts the challenge, but quickly realises he's in over his head and is trapped into horrors manipulated by unseen spectators.
Daniel Stamm ("The Last Exorcism") helms the project which he and David Birke adapted. Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Kiki Miyake will produce.
An English-language remake of the Thai thriller "13: Game of Death," Webber has an offer to play an engaged man desperate to solve his financial problems prior to his wedding.
He receives a mysterious phone call informing him that he's on a hidden camera gameshow where he can win over $6 million if he executes 13 tasks. He accepts the challenge, but quickly realises he's in over his head and is trapped into horrors manipulated by unseen spectators.
Daniel Stamm ("The Last Exorcism") helms the project which he and David Birke adapted. Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Kiki Miyake will produce.
- 8/22/2012
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Around here we really dig on the work of Daniel Stamm, whose last two films, A Necessary Death and The Last Exorcism, we're totally appreciated by the DC staff. Word has come on his next project, and we have it right here!
From the Press Release
Dimension Films has announced its acquisition of U.S. distribution rights to the psychological thriller Angry Little God from director Daniel Stamm (The Last Exorcism). Im Global will finance and produce the film, an English-language remake of the Thai thriller 13: Game Of Death, alongside Brian Kavanaugh-Jones of Automatik and Kiki Miyake. Jason Blum of Blumhouse (Sinister, Insidious, Paranormal Activity) will executive produce with Somsak Techaratanaprasert.
Stamm and his writing partner, David Birke, adapted the script from the original film, which follows a bright but meek social services coordinator who's drowning in debt and desperate as he's about to marry the love of his life.
From the Press Release
Dimension Films has announced its acquisition of U.S. distribution rights to the psychological thriller Angry Little God from director Daniel Stamm (The Last Exorcism). Im Global will finance and produce the film, an English-language remake of the Thai thriller 13: Game Of Death, alongside Brian Kavanaugh-Jones of Automatik and Kiki Miyake. Jason Blum of Blumhouse (Sinister, Insidious, Paranormal Activity) will executive produce with Somsak Techaratanaprasert.
Stamm and his writing partner, David Birke, adapted the script from the original film, which follows a bright but meek social services coordinator who's drowning in debt and desperate as he's about to marry the love of his life.
- 8/21/2012
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
New York, NY, August 21, 2012 – Dimension Films announced today that they have acquired U.S. distribution rights to the psychological thriller Angry Little God from director Daniel Stamm (The Last Exorcism). Im Global will finance and produce the film, an English-language remake of the Thai thriller 13: Game Of Death alongside Brian Kavanaugh-Jones of Automatik and Kiki Miyake. Jason Blum of Blumhouse (Sinister, Insidious, Paranormal Activity) will executive produce with Somsak Techaratanaprasert. Stamm and his writing partner David Birke adapted the script from the original film which follows a bright but meek social services coordinator who’s drowning in debt and desperate as he’s about to marry the love of his life. He receives a mysterious phone call informing him that he’s on a hidden camera game show where he must execute 13 tasks to receive a cash prize of over $6,000,000. He accepts the challenge, but even with thousands of...
- 8/21/2012
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
Dimension Films has picked up the U.S. rights to Angry Little God, a psychological thriller from Daniel Stamm, the director of The Last Exorcism. Im Global will finance and produce the pic, a remake of a Thai thriller titled 13: Game of Death. Brian Kavanaugh-Jones of Automatik and Kiki Miyake are also producing. Jason Blum of Blumhouse is executive producing with Somsak Techaratanaprasert. The original movie followed an indebted man who gets a mysterious phone call telling him he's on a hidden camera game show while also offering him a fortune if he completes thirteen tasks. The
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- 8/21/2012
- by Borys Kit
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Daniel Stamm, director of The Last Exorcism, is pairing up with the producer of Insidious, Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions, for Angry Little God, a psychological thriller.
Dimension Films has acquired the project, which will be, in fact, a remake of 13: Game of Death - a Thai film Dimension previously released on DVD under its Dimension Extreme label.
Im Global will finance and produce the film alongside Brian Kavanaugh-Jones of Automatik and Kiki Miyake.
Stamm and his writing partner David Birke adapted the script from the original film which follows a bright but meek social services coordinator who’s drowning in debt and desperate as he's about to marry the love of his life.
Read more...
Dimension Films has acquired the project, which will be, in fact, a remake of 13: Game of Death - a Thai film Dimension previously released on DVD under its Dimension Extreme label.
Im Global will finance and produce the film alongside Brian Kavanaugh-Jones of Automatik and Kiki Miyake.
Stamm and his writing partner David Birke adapted the script from the original film which follows a bright but meek social services coordinator who’s drowning in debt and desperate as he's about to marry the love of his life.
Read more...
- 8/21/2012
- shocktillyoudrop.com
The Last Exorcism director has a lot on his plate lately. With two outstanding projects already in the works - the remake of Martyrs and a directing gig on M. Night Shyamalan's Reincarnate - you can add one more to his scorching fire.
According to Deadline Stamm has been tapped to direct 13, a remake of the 2008 Thai horror-thriller 13: Game of Death, which followed a salesman who ends up on a macabre hidden-camera game show where he must perform 13 extreme tasks to win millions in cash. Stamm is currently adapting the screenplay with writing partner David Birke, production/finance company Im Global said today. Im Global CEO Stuart Ford is producing with Brian Kavanaugh-Jones of Automatik, which is Im Global’s production joint venture with Alliance Films.
Kiki Miyake of Little Magic, which brought the project to Im Global, also is producing. Jason Blum and Somsak Techaratanaprasert of the...
According to Deadline Stamm has been tapped to direct 13, a remake of the 2008 Thai horror-thriller 13: Game of Death, which followed a salesman who ends up on a macabre hidden-camera game show where he must perform 13 extreme tasks to win millions in cash. Stamm is currently adapting the screenplay with writing partner David Birke, production/finance company Im Global said today. Im Global CEO Stuart Ford is producing with Brian Kavanaugh-Jones of Automatik, which is Im Global’s production joint venture with Alliance Films.
Kiki Miyake of Little Magic, which brought the project to Im Global, also is producing. Jason Blum and Somsak Techaratanaprasert of the...
- 9/12/2011
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
Daniel Stamm ("The Last Exorcism") has been hired to direct "13", a remake of the Thai horror-thriller "13: Game of Death" for Im Global and Automatik says Deadline
Stamm and David Birke are adapting the script from the original which followed a salesman who ends up on a macabre hidden-camera game show where he must perform 13 extreme tasks to win millions.
Stuart Ford, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Kiki Miyake are producing.
Stamm and David Birke are adapting the script from the original which followed a salesman who ends up on a macabre hidden-camera game show where he must perform 13 extreme tasks to win millions.
Stuart Ford, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Kiki Miyake are producing.
- 9/12/2011
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
LAS VEGAS -- Trying to speed alongside the classic drug movies of the past decade or so ("Drugstore Cowboy", "Trainspotting", "Requiem for a Dream"), the methamphetamine-themed "Spun" is one hellacious bomb-blast of imagery and jagged storytelling as crazed characters on a sleepless binge furiously test one's ability to sympathize with self-destructive losers. With a grunge-ho cast that includes Mickey Rourke in his best role in years, "Spun" is laced with salty language, much nudity and bawdy animation that would necessitate trims if it gets distribution -- though forgoing an MPAA rating on a project that has less-than-universal appeal would preserve the performers and filmmakers' artfully constructed trip through black-comedy hell.
Rock video director Jonas Akerlund, in a promising feature debut, is attuned to the extremely short attention spans of the characters, and genre fans will be amply reminded of "Requiem", with repetitive montages centered on the act of ingesting the poison that drugs are for these desert rats. There's a reason why another nickname for the home-cooked stimulant is "crank," and "Spun" is virtuoso cinema that mercilessly holds a light up to wasted lives but also comes down off its high to make us care about these lost souls.
Centered on dropout Ross (Jason Schwartzman), the film opens with the "spun" (awake for days while snorting the powdered drug) lead trying to score crystal meth from ultraparanoid Spider Mike John Leguizamo), whose zoned-out posse includes girlfriend Cookie (Mena Suvari), video game junkie Frisbee (Patrick Fugit) and stripper Nikki (Brittany Murphy). Ross is dating stripper April (Chloe Hunter), whom he visits after the wild opening sequences that introduce most of the characters.
The local supplier of the moment is the Cook (Rourke), a motel cowboy who makes crystal in his room. His main squeeze is Nikki, who flirts with Ross. The movie turns into a cracked odyssey as Ross (the only one with a car) becomes Cook's wheels. Among the rounds is a trip to the local convenience store, where two freaky Latino girls (Elisa Bocanegra and Julia Mendoza) help provide the running gag of their ratty nemesis (Nicholas Gonzalez) getting clocked by much more menacing customers. At one point, Ross sees his normal-world girlfriend (Charlotte Ayana), to whom he owes money, while his butch next-door neighbor (Deborah Harry) is suspicious of his activities.
In the first of the film's unexpected animated sequences, Ross goes to see April at work and fantasizes that he's sucked inside her and becomes a sperm cell. After they make love, he leaves her naked, tied up, gagged and blindfolded on his bed. Of all the ongoing gags and subplots of the screenplay by Will De Los Santos and Creighton Vero, as well as the constant motif of televisions showing pro wrestling mayhem, the cruelty of this behavior most dramatically underscores the serious message of the film: Don't do it.
The supporting players include Eric Roberts as Rourke's backer and Peter Stormare and Alexis Arquette as two meth-hooked cops who are trying to bust Spider Mike, with a TV show crew behind them. Of the principals, Schwartzman, Murphy and Rourke are completely engaging and play their characters believably. "Spun" is an impressive effort by all involved to give moviegoers more zap for their buck.
SPUN
Silver Nitrate in association with Amuse Pictures/Little Magic Films and Sagittaie Fims A Muse/Blacklist production
Credits:
Director: Jonas Akerlund
Screenwriters: Will De Los Santos, Creighton Vero
Producers: Chris Hanley, Fernando Sulichin, Timothy Wayne Peternel, Danny Vinik
Executive producers: Bradford Schlei, Nicola Doring, Kiki Miyake, Mark Mower, Mark Boone, Ash Shah
Director of photography: Eric Broms
Production designer: Richard Lassalle
Editor: Jonas Akerlund
Costume designer: B
Casting: Renita Whited
Cast:
Ross: Jason Schwartzman
Nikki: Brittany Murphy
The Cook: Mickey Rourke
Spider Mike: John Leguizamo
Frisbee: Patrick Fugit
Cookie: Mena Suvari
April: Chloe Hunter
Running time -- 101 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Rock video director Jonas Akerlund, in a promising feature debut, is attuned to the extremely short attention spans of the characters, and genre fans will be amply reminded of "Requiem", with repetitive montages centered on the act of ingesting the poison that drugs are for these desert rats. There's a reason why another nickname for the home-cooked stimulant is "crank," and "Spun" is virtuoso cinema that mercilessly holds a light up to wasted lives but also comes down off its high to make us care about these lost souls.
Centered on dropout Ross (Jason Schwartzman), the film opens with the "spun" (awake for days while snorting the powdered drug) lead trying to score crystal meth from ultraparanoid Spider Mike John Leguizamo), whose zoned-out posse includes girlfriend Cookie (Mena Suvari), video game junkie Frisbee (Patrick Fugit) and stripper Nikki (Brittany Murphy). Ross is dating stripper April (Chloe Hunter), whom he visits after the wild opening sequences that introduce most of the characters.
The local supplier of the moment is the Cook (Rourke), a motel cowboy who makes crystal in his room. His main squeeze is Nikki, who flirts with Ross. The movie turns into a cracked odyssey as Ross (the only one with a car) becomes Cook's wheels. Among the rounds is a trip to the local convenience store, where two freaky Latino girls (Elisa Bocanegra and Julia Mendoza) help provide the running gag of their ratty nemesis (Nicholas Gonzalez) getting clocked by much more menacing customers. At one point, Ross sees his normal-world girlfriend (Charlotte Ayana), to whom he owes money, while his butch next-door neighbor (Deborah Harry) is suspicious of his activities.
In the first of the film's unexpected animated sequences, Ross goes to see April at work and fantasizes that he's sucked inside her and becomes a sperm cell. After they make love, he leaves her naked, tied up, gagged and blindfolded on his bed. Of all the ongoing gags and subplots of the screenplay by Will De Los Santos and Creighton Vero, as well as the constant motif of televisions showing pro wrestling mayhem, the cruelty of this behavior most dramatically underscores the serious message of the film: Don't do it.
The supporting players include Eric Roberts as Rourke's backer and Peter Stormare and Alexis Arquette as two meth-hooked cops who are trying to bust Spider Mike, with a TV show crew behind them. Of the principals, Schwartzman, Murphy and Rourke are completely engaging and play their characters believably. "Spun" is an impressive effort by all involved to give moviegoers more zap for their buck.
SPUN
Silver Nitrate in association with Amuse Pictures/Little Magic Films and Sagittaie Fims A Muse/Blacklist production
Credits:
Director: Jonas Akerlund
Screenwriters: Will De Los Santos, Creighton Vero
Producers: Chris Hanley, Fernando Sulichin, Timothy Wayne Peternel, Danny Vinik
Executive producers: Bradford Schlei, Nicola Doring, Kiki Miyake, Mark Mower, Mark Boone, Ash Shah
Director of photography: Eric Broms
Production designer: Richard Lassalle
Editor: Jonas Akerlund
Costume designer: B
Casting: Renita Whited
Cast:
Ross: Jason Schwartzman
Nikki: Brittany Murphy
The Cook: Mickey Rourke
Spider Mike: John Leguizamo
Frisbee: Patrick Fugit
Cookie: Mena Suvari
April: Chloe Hunter
Running time -- 101 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 6/19/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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