Sundance || ||

Studios Fork Over Big Cash For Super Bowl XLVII

The Super Bowl's notoriously pricey ad spots already cost a chunk of change well into the seven figures last year and it's set to head well northward for 30 seconds of airtime this Sunday. But that has not scared away movie studios from snapping up commercial time on Super Bowl XLVII.
more »

Sundance || ||

'jOBS' Role Sent Ashton Kutcher To Hospital

Ashton Kutcher not only took on Steve Jobs' persona as a tech magnate, he also adopted the late Apple founder's alleged fruitarian diet in preparation for the role, which sent him to the hospital, the actor revealed following the premiere of jOBS at the Sundance Film Festival over the weekend.
more »

Sundance || ||

SUNDANCE WINNERS: 'Fruitvale' & 'Blood Brother' WIN Top Prizes x 2

The Sundance Film Festival closed out 2013 awarding Fruitvale and Blood Brother its top Dramatic and Documentary award winners respectively. Fruitvale had been the favored winner among insiders neck-n-neck with Ain't Them Bodies Saints which captured a lot of attention at the fest. In a festival rarity, both Fruitvale and Blood Brother also took the prizes in the Audience categories as well.
more »

Sundance || ||

SUNDANCE: Directors Tease 'Gideon's Army,' 'Fallen City,' 'Newlyweeds,' 'Soldate Jeannette' And 'Lasting'

The Sundance Film Festival is continues through the weekend. In the lead-up to the awards Saturday, M.L. continues its series profiling this year's filmmakers. Beginning last week Movieline posted details about this year's U.S. and World Competition and NEXT films and filmmakers in their own words. In today's round Dawn Porter (Gideon's Army), Zhao Qi (Fallen City), Shaka King (Newlyweeds), Daniel Hoesl (Soldate Jeannette) and Jacek Borcuch (Lasting preview their films.
more »

Sundance || ||

SUNDANCE: Directors Tease 'The Square,' 'American Promise,' 'Pit Stop,' 'A River Changes Course,' 'This Is Martin Bonner,' 'Who Is Dayani Cristal'

The Sundance Film Festival is passing its midpoint, but there are more world premieres of some of the films that will grace the Specialty Big Screen this year. Beginning last week Movieline posted details about this year's U.S. and World Competition and NEXT films and filmmakers in their own words. In today's round Jehane Noujaim (The Square), co-directors Joe Brewster, Michèle Stephenson (American Promise), Yen Tan (Pit Stop), Kalyanee Mam (A River Changes Course), Chad Hartigan (This Is Martin Bonner) and Marc Silver (Who Is Dayani Cristal) preview their films.
more »

Sundance || ||

Shia LaBeouf Dropped Acid For Sundance Role

Shia LaBeouf appears to be going full-tilt method acting of late. First, the actor said last summer that he was going "all the way" in Danish director Lars von Trier's Nymphomaniac, and at the Sundance Film Festival, currently underway, he said he dropped acid while working on The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman.
more »

Sundance || ||

Women Struggle In Hollywood, Study Shows, As New Outfit, Tangerine, Launches To Narrow Gap

Chalk this up as being barely a surprise. A study recently found that, of the 250 top-grossing Hollywood films, only 9% of the directors were women in 2012. And that is actually an increase from 4% in 2011. The study comes out as indie producers announced the launch of a new production company at the Sundance Film Festival: Tangerine Entertainment, which will focus on female directors and "strong roles for women."
more »

Sundance || ||

SUNDANCE: Directors Tease 'C.O.G.,' 'I Used To Be Darker,' 'Shopping,' 'It Felt Like Love,' 'Austenland'

The Sundance Film Festival is passing its midpoint, but there are more world premieres of some of the films that will grace the Specialty Big Screen this year. Beginning last week Movieline posted details about this year's U.S. and World Competition films and filmmakers in their own words. In this round, Kyle Patrick Alvarez (C.O.G.), Matthew Porterfield (I Used to Be Darker), Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland (Shopping), Eliza Hittman (It Felt Like Love) and Jerusha E. Hess (Austenland) preview their films.
more »

First Looks || ||

Linklater's 'Before Midnight' Unveils New Photos, Earns Sundance Raves

I couldn't have guessed back in 1995 that Richard Linklater's charming Before Sunrise would spark one of the most beloved trilogies of the next few decades, but anticipation has been so high for the latest chapter in Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine's (Julie Delpy) arrested romance that it was only natural we'd be longing for more after 2004's Before Sunset. Shot in secret, the third film in the series, Before Midnight, premiered last night at Sundance to rave reviews and today brings a few new photos that'll have you pining even harder for whenever it's delivered to theaters.
more »

Sundance || ||

'The East': How Marling & Batmanglij's Dumpster-Diving Freegan Summer Inspired The Eco-Anarchist Sundance Thriller

Two Sundances ago Brit Marling mesmerized as the leader of a cult being infiltrated by two would-be documentarians in Zal Batmanglij's Sound Of My Voice; this year she returns to Park City as the infiltrator, playing a corporate operative who goes undercover within a volatile anti-capitalist eco-anarchist group in Batmanglij's sophomore feature, The East. Hit the jump for a peek at the tense first trailer and let Ellen Page's steely-pixie voice put you on edge.
more »

Sundance || ||

SUNDANCE: 'Two Mothers,' Two Secret Affairs And Uncomfortable Laughter

Naomi Watts and Robin Wright star in what has likely been the most divisive film to screen at the Sundance Film Festival so far. Two Mothers is the story of two close friends (played by Watts and Wright) who have secretive affairs with each other's sons. The weekend premiere in Park City sparked a mix of laughter and polarized reaction that took the feature's stars and director, Anne Fontaine, by some surprise.
more »

Sundance || ||

SUNDANCE: Directors Tease 'Dirty Wars,' 'Fire In The Blood,' 'God Loves Uganda,' 'A Teacher,' 'Narco Cultura'

The Sundance Film Festival heads into the week with more world premieres and a peek at many of the films that will grace the Specialty Big Screen this year. Beginning last week, Movieline posted details about this year's U.S. and World Competition films and filmmakers in their own words. In this round, Richard Rowley (Dirty Wars), Dylan Mohan Gray (Fire in the Blood), Roger Ross Williams (God Loves Uganda), Hannah Fidell (A Teacher) and Shaul Schwarz (Narco Cultura) preview their films.
more »

Sundance || ||

SUNDANCE: 'Sound City' Premiere Finds Dave Grohl Rocking With Rick Springfield

No live music was played, but the Saturday afternoon premiere of Dave Grohl's Sound City documentary — about the fabled-yet-scuzzy Van Nuys, CA recording studio of the same name where Nirvana, Neil Young, Fleetwood Mac, Rick Springfield, Rage Against the Machine and Fear recorded landmark albums — felt like an all-star rock concert. more »

Sundance || ||

SUNDANCE: Mother Pus Bucket! Michael Cera's Not Sure He'd Take A 'Ghostbusters 3' Gig

Who you gonna call to cast Ghostbusters 3 — if it ever gets made, that is?  Don't count on Michael Cera. I got a brief moment to talk to the actor at the Sundance Film Festival on Thursday where his latest movie, Sebastián Silva's Crystal Fairy  helped kick off the festival, and I took the opportunity to ask him if he'd been approached at all about the much-discussed Ghostbusters 3 film that co-creators Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis want to start shooting this year . more »

Sundance || ||

SUNDANCE: Directors Tease 'Computer Chess,' 'Spectacular Now,' 'Emanuel And The Truth About Fishes,' 'Salma,' And 'Blackfish'

The Sundance Film Festival opens Thursday with a new crop of anticipated indies — some of which will define the cinematic year. Last year's narrative winner Beasts of the Southern Wild received a slew of Oscar nominations this year along with other titles. Which ones will emerge this year? Over the next week, Movieline will give a snapshot of the filmmakers themselves in their own words along with trailers. Here Andrew Bujalski (Computer Chess), James Ponsoldt (The Spectacular Now), Francesca Gregorini (Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes), Kim Longinotto (Salma), and Gabriela Cowperthwaite (Blackfish) preview their films.
more »