movies
Indie Films Opening: ‘Tony’, ‘Teenage Sex And Death At Camp Miasma’, ‘Late Fame’
A dynamic selection of indies starts rolling out today with Dominic Sessa as a young Anthony Bourdain in Matt Johnson’s Tony, indie director Jane Schoenbrun’s latest, Teenage Sex And Death At Camp Miasma with Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson, documentaries on cheesemongers, Girl Scout cookie season, and small town movie theaters, and the annual CatVideoFest among others.
A24 debuts origin story Tony by filmmaker Matt Johnson (Blackberry, Nirvana the Band) in limited release in six theaters across NY (Regal Union Square, AMC Lincoln Square, Alamo Drafthouse Brooklyn) and LA (AMC Century City, AMC Grove, AMC Burbank). Expands to about 25 locations next week. Opening weekend audience are looking like a mix of under 35, A24 loyalists, followers of Matt Johnson and fans of Bourdain.
Dominic Sessa (The Holdovers) stars as a teenage Anthony Bourdain and the film captures a moment in time in Provincetown, Mass. where he spent a transformative summer before college working at a seafood restaurant year before becoming a beloved chef, author and television host. It held an early local premiere there with screenings for restaurant workers in partnership with OpenTable.
With Antonio Banderas, Emilia Jones and Leo Woodall, Tony is Rotten Tomatoes Certified Fresh at 94%, see Deadline review here, with strong restaurant and food industry endorsement. It’s backed by the Bourdain estate. The best-selling author of Kitchen Confidential and host of popular TV series including Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown and Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, committed suicide in 2018 at 61.
For years before, he traveled the globe sampling and describing local fare. His laid-back style evolved into broader cultural storytelling after he was trapped with his crew filming a 2006 episode in Lebanon as war with Israel erupted.
Morgan Neville’s Road Runner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain, which Focus Features released in July of 2021, was the top grossing documentary out of Covid and helped jump start the box office.
Mubi is out with Jane Schoenbrun’s (We’re All Going To The World’s Fair, I Saw the TV Glow) Teenage Sex And Death At Camp Miasma at five theaters in New York (Angelika Film Center, AMC Lincoln Square) and LA (AMC Burbank, AMC Century City, AMC Grove).
The Cannes-premiering horror expands to 50+ screens next week and nationally August 21. It’s 99% RT Certified Fresh.
After years of slapdash sequels and waning fandom, the Camp Miasma slasher franchise is handed over to an enthusiastic young director (Hannah Einbinder) for resurrection. But when she visits the original’s star (Gillian Anderson), a now-reclusive actress shrouded in mystery, the two women fall into a blood-soaked world of desire, fear, and delirium.
Late Fame from Magnolia Pictures opens at Film Lincoln Center and Film Forum in New York. Kent Jones’ second feature (after Diane) stars Willem Dafoe as an erstwhile New York poet who gets an ego boost when he is welcomed into the world of an emerging literary salon, but must reckon with the authenticity of his newfound circle of twentysomething admirers. Written by Samy Burch (May December) based on Arthur Schnitzler’s 1890s novella. Greta Lee and Edmund Donovan also star. Premiered at Venice. See Deadline review.
Roadside Attractions opens Sundance-premiering documentary Cookie Queens by Alysa Nahmias, executive produced by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, in moderate release on 446 screens., CMarkle is a former Girl Scout and her mom was a troop leader. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Archwell Productions partnered with Beautiful Stories and AJNA Films on the doc about one of America’s most cherished rituals, Girl Scout Cookie season.
Obscured Releasing documentary The Big Cheese by Sara Joe Wolansky debuts in limited release at IFC Center, adding Laemmle Glendale and Laemmle Monica in LA next week. Adam “Mr. Moo” Moskowitz led a scrappy team of eccentric American cheesemongers to dethrone the French at their Mondial du Fromage, the Olympics of Cheese, in Tours. The group battled cultural bias, personal struggles, and melting cheese in pursuit of respect, redemption and a historic victory.
Q&As with Moskowitz, filmmaker, David Zabar (of Zabar’s) and Josh Windsor of Murray’s Cheese at IFC this weekend.
Premiered at DOC NYC where it was the Audience Award runner-up, going on to take the Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary at the Cleveland International Film Festival, Best Documentary Feature at the Beloit film festival, and Best Director at the Phoenix film fest.
Greenwich Entertainment debuts TIFF-premiering coming-of-age drama Olmo by Mexican filmmaker Fernando Eimbcke at 51 theaters. Aivan Uttapa stars as Olmo, a teenager tied to home by the responsibility of caring for his bedridden father. When his beautiful neighbor invites him to a party, Olmo embarks on a night of mischief, laughter, and unexpected discoveries that ultimately transform the way he sees his life and the place he has been so eager to leave behind. Eimbcke co-wrote the film with Vanessa Garnica. Also stars Melanie Frometa, Rosa Armendáriz, Gustavo Sánchez Parra, and Andrea Suárez Paz.
The Last Picture Shows by Rustin Thompson launches at Village East Cinemas in New York. Expands to LA’s Laemmle Royal Aug. 21 as part of a national roadshow. World Premiered at the Santa Barbara film festival. Gary Rubin’s GRC is handling distribution
Thompson journeys into the American West on a search for traces of what was once a center of small-town life — the movie theater, travellng through 10 states and visiting 123 cinemas. The documentary follows the people preserving the moviegoing experience in their communities against the odds. On the trip, he finds long abandoned and forgotten cinemas; movie houses that have fallen into disrepair; theaters recently closed, theaters struggling to hold on, and theaters that —thanks to thoughtful caretakers — are not only surviving but thriving. The stops are punctuated by excerpts from Peter Bogdanovich’s 1971 The Last Picture Show and as reflections on past and present hardships facing the film exhibition industry.
CatVideoFest is back via Oscilloscope Labs on 330+ screens nationwide, to start, with multiple sold out showtimes. The increasingly popular annual staple for cat lovers, created and curated by Will Braden, gathers the best cat videos from across digital media. He also takes submissions. Part of the grosses go to raising money and awareness for local cat charities and animal shelters. It caught the interest of Kelly Clarkson and Andy Cohen this year with Braden appearing on The Kelly Clarkson Show.
>
movies
Amanda Knox Responds To Petition Protesting Her Edinburgh Fringe Show
Nearly 20 years after she was falsely accused of killing her roommate, Amanda Knox is still struggling to tell her own story.
The author and comedian, who was wrongfully convicted of the 2007 murder of Meredith Kercher, has responded after a petition to cancel her Edinburgh Festival Fringe show Cartwheel surpassed 10,000 signatures.
“There is a petition to cancel my show at Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Here is my statement,” she prefaced on Instagram. “Cartwheel is a show about motherhood, raising a daughter in a world that is unfair and dangerous for women, and what it costs to be the kind of mother who tells her the truth about that.
“Neither the author of this petition nor anyone who signed it has seen Cartwheel. The petition contains many false assumptions and completely mischaracterizes the show. Cartwheel honors Meredith Kercher’s memory and calls out the violence that was done to her and to me.”
Knox continued, “A petition to cancel a show no one has seen, on the grounds of false accusations intended to shame and vilify a wronged woman into silence, is not an argument against Cartwheel. It’s a fairly precise description of what Cartwheel is about and why it deserves to exist. And the Edinburgh Fringe is the perfect place for a show like this.
“Many of the Fringe’s most celebrated comedy shows tackle difficult subjects including grief, trauma, mental health, addiction, illness, identity, and politics. Comics rarely treat these experiences lightly or make them the butt of the joke. Instead, they use comedy as a way to explore them, creating space for audiences to engage with complex ideas, connect through shared experience, and find moments of relief, perspective and hope in subjects that might otherwise feel overwhelming,” she wrote.
Started by Sally Alington, a former friend and co-worker of Kercher, the Change.org petition said the show “mocks the horrific events surrounding Meredith’s murder and aims to somehow turn this tragedy into entertainment,” calling for Fringe to “withdraw their support for this performance.”
Meanwhile, Fringe Society director Tony Lankester told BBC Radio Scotland the festival is “not afraid of controversy,” but the decision ultimately lies with the venue. A rep for the Gilded Balloon Teviot, which will host Cartwheel from Aug. 7-17, said they aim to “provide a platform for a wide range of voices, in line with the Fringe’s longstanding commitment to freedom of expression,” and will allow Knox’s show to continue as scheduled.
After Knox was convicted of Kercher’s murder in 2009 and sentenced to 26 years in prison, the conviction was overturned in 2011 and she was fully acquitted in 2015. The title of her Fringe show refers to claims she did cartwheels in the police station after being questioned over the killing.
>
movies
First Look At Vincent Pastore’s Final TV Role In ‘Gravesend’ S3 Trailer
EXCLUSIVE: We’re getting the first look at the late Vincent Pastore in his final television role in the Season 3 trailer for Gravesend ahead of its fall premiere. Pastore, who portrayed Donnie Glisto in the William DeMeo written and directed series, died August 1 from what is believed to be natural causes at his home in Bronx, NY. He was 80.
We also are seeing a new face in Season 3. Shaquille O’Neal has joined as a new cast member and executive producer. He too can be seen in the trailer. O’Neal joins newcomers Tony Danza, Talia Shire, Dominic Chianese, and Vincent Curatola, joining returning stars William DeMeo, Chazz Palminteri, Armand Assante, Pastore, Mario Cantone, Tony Darrow, and Chuck Zito.
The series is created, written and directed by DeMeo. Michele Frantzeskos serves as a producer.
Gravesend is an independently produced series which streams on Prime Video.
Check out the trailer below.
>
movies
Sadie Sink Gives ‘X-Men’ Filming Update, Talks Cyclops Casting
SPOILERS: This post contains details about Sadie Sink‘s Spider-Man: Brand New Day character
While her newly revealed MCU character can read minds, Sadie Sink is being kept in the dark on the casting process of her future X-Men co-stars.
The Spider-Man: Brand New Day actress admitted that she’s being kept “a little bit separate” from the casting for Cyclops/Scott Summers in the upcoming Jake Schreier-helmed reboot, for which Deadline recently reported Kit Connor has read.
“So, I’m finding out through Jake,” Sink told Vanity Fair. “There’s also so many online rumors, but it’s coming together. I think the timing of it is so exciting, and the way they planned it out is really clever just with introducing one of the mutants, a very important mutant through Spider-Man. I think a great cast is coming together, and I think people are going to be really excited about it when it’s all announced.”
When asked about Connor auditioning to play the love interest of her character Jean Grey, Sink responded, “Did he? There’s always the rumors, and I just never know what’s official.”
As Spider-Man: Brand New Day premiered last weekend, Sink’s mysterious character was confirmed as the all-powerful mutant with telekinetic and telepathic abilities, implying her involvement in the upcoming Marvel Studios update on the super-powered team.
“We’ll shoot X-Men, and then I’m going to do a series with FX and A24 called The Marriage Plot, so that’ll be next year,” Sink noted. “With Stranger Things ending, it’ll feel weird next year not being like, Oh wait, we got to shoot another season. We have to get ready to go back to Atlanta to shoot. It’s exciting to be able to have more room in the schedule.”
With casting underway on Schreier’s X-Men, Deadline previously reported that Samara Weaving has been offered the part of Emma Frost.
>
-
movies3 months agoSearch For Canadian TV Actor Stewart McLean Now Homicide Investigation
-
Fashion9 years agoThese ’90s fashion trends are making a comeback in 2017
-
Fashion9 years agoAccording to Dior Couture, this taboo fashion accessory is back
-
Fashion9 years agoModel Jocelyn Chew’s Instagram is the best vacation you’ve ever had
-
Fashion9 years agoYour comprehensive guide to this fall’s biggest trends
-
Fashion9 years ago9 Celebrities who have spoken out about being photoshopped
-
Fashion9 years agoEmily Ratajkowski channels back-to-school style
-
Fashion9 years agoA photo diary of the nightlife scene from LA To Ibiza
