Vice Studios docs boss Alex Moore is exiting to join Banijay label Dragonfly.
The two-time Oscar winner will take up a newly-created role as Executive Vice President Documentaries and Unscripted as the Ambulance and Then Barbara Met Alan label, which is being given more funding of late, pushes into the premium space.
Reporting into MD Richard Bond when he starts next month, Moore will develop the slate with an emphasis on U.S. and international streamer commissions.
A Vice spokeswoman said the company will not replace Moore and senior non-fiction execs based in the UK will now report directly to LA-based Chief Content Officer Danny Gabai.
Moore joined Vice Studios in 2020 and his division was responsible for a string of global shows including Lewis Capaldi: How I’m Feeling Right Now (Netflix), Encounters (Netflix) and Max Verstappen: Anatomy of a Champion (Viaplay). Most recently he co-created and executive produced (with...
The two-time Oscar winner will take up a newly-created role as Executive Vice President Documentaries and Unscripted as the Ambulance and Then Barbara Met Alan label, which is being given more funding of late, pushes into the premium space.
Reporting into MD Richard Bond when he starts next month, Moore will develop the slate with an emphasis on U.S. and international streamer commissions.
A Vice spokeswoman said the company will not replace Moore and senior non-fiction execs based in the UK will now report directly to LA-based Chief Content Officer Danny Gabai.
Moore joined Vice Studios in 2020 and his division was responsible for a string of global shows including Lewis Capaldi: How I’m Feeling Right Now (Netflix), Encounters (Netflix) and Max Verstappen: Anatomy of a Champion (Viaplay). Most recently he co-created and executive produced (with...
- 2/22/2024
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Vice Studios had a new hit on its hands with the late May launch of “Bama Rush,” which the studio’s co-founder and chief content officer Danny Gabai says was Max’s most-streamed doc feature debut.
But with that large viewership also came a significant discourse surrounding the extent to which “Bama Rush” director Rachel Fleit is present in her own doc about college students “rushing” to get into the sororities at the University of Alabama. That choice didn’t sit well with people who avidly followed the #BamaRush phenomenon that first swept TikTok in the summer of 2021 and again last “season” and would have preferred more behind-the-scenes content about the rush process, rather than portions devoted to Fleit’s reaction to the situation.
“In making any content, you have to make directorial and authorial choices,” Gabai told Variety. “And very early on, we saw young women were revealing that...
But with that large viewership also came a significant discourse surrounding the extent to which “Bama Rush” director Rachel Fleit is present in her own doc about college students “rushing” to get into the sororities at the University of Alabama. That choice didn’t sit well with people who avidly followed the #BamaRush phenomenon that first swept TikTok in the summer of 2021 and again last “season” and would have preferred more behind-the-scenes content about the rush process, rather than portions devoted to Fleit’s reaction to the situation.
“In making any content, you have to make directorial and authorial choices,” Gabai told Variety. “And very early on, we saw young women were revealing that...
- 6/23/2023
- by Jennifer Maas
- Variety Film + TV
The absence of live sports during the novel coronavirus pandemic doesn’t mean a dearth of interesting sports narratives. There’s a whole ecosystem of documentaries telling tales from in and around the world of athletics that many sports fans have yet to discover.
The Last Dance, ESPN’s 10-part saga chronicling the final season of Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls championship dynasty, already has its hooks into hungry hoop heads. Den of Geek also recently offered choice selections from the meaty back catalog of docs available on ESPN+.
The 30 for 30 collection from ESPN is great and all, but the Worldwide Leader hasn’t cornered the market on brilliant non-fiction sports storytelling. Consider these 10 must-watch sports documentaries, all of which can be found either for free or included in streaming subscriptions, if you’re looking for more fascinating sports stories until the live action resumes.
Hoop Dreams
Streaming on HBO Now...
The Last Dance, ESPN’s 10-part saga chronicling the final season of Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls championship dynasty, already has its hooks into hungry hoop heads. Den of Geek also recently offered choice selections from the meaty back catalog of docs available on ESPN+.
The 30 for 30 collection from ESPN is great and all, but the Worldwide Leader hasn’t cornered the market on brilliant non-fiction sports storytelling. Consider these 10 must-watch sports documentaries, all of which can be found either for free or included in streaming subscriptions, if you’re looking for more fascinating sports stories until the live action resumes.
Hoop Dreams
Streaming on HBO Now...
- 4/30/2020
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Daughters of the Sexual Revolution director Dana Adam Shapiro considers himself a proponent of female empowerment. But, until he dove into his documentary about the origins of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, he didn't see what professional cheerleading had to do with it.
He remembers watching the Super Bowl with his son and thinking: "They still have cheerleaders?"
He's not the only one to initially scoff. When he took the documentary onto the festival circuit, he'd ask other festgoers what movies they were most excited to see. Were they interested in that one about the Dallas Cowboys ...
He remembers watching the Super Bowl with his son and thinking: "They still have cheerleaders?"
He's not the only one to initially scoff. When he took the documentary onto the festival circuit, he'd ask other festgoers what movies they were most excited to see. Were they interested in that one about the Dallas Cowboys ...
- 5/30/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Daughters of the Sexual Revolution director Dana Adam Shapiro considers himself a proponent of female empowerment. But, until he dove into his documentary about the origins of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, he didn't see what professional cheerleading had to do with it.
He remembers watching the Super Bowl with his son and thinking: "They still have cheerleaders?"
He's not the only one to initially scoff. When he took the documentary onto the festival circuit, he'd ask other festgoers what movies they were most excited to see. Were they interested in that one about the Dallas Cowboys ...
He remembers watching the Super Bowl with his son and thinking: "They still have cheerleaders?"
He's not the only one to initially scoff. When he took the documentary onto the festival circuit, he'd ask other festgoers what movies they were most excited to see. Were they interested in that one about the Dallas Cowboys ...
- 5/30/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Apple snagged a big fish to run their documentary content division. New York-based A&E Networks documentary veteran Molly Thompson will bring her expertise in supervising documentary films and TV series to Apple, which has recently ramped up its content production, mostly on the television side. As demand for documentaries grows, A&E is losing a valuable player.
Of course, Apple has not yet announced exactly how it plans to release its content, documentary and otherwise. At Apple’s recent presentation, Oprah Winfrey revealed that she’s prepping documentary projects for Apple TV+, including investigations of poisonous work environments and the mental health industry. Apple also acquired the documentary “Elephant Queen” at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival. At Sundance, the filmmakers told me that the film has an ambitious and proactive social-action global release plan that could include theaters. One strategic Apple partnership with indie distributor A24, which will produce films for Apple,...
Of course, Apple has not yet announced exactly how it plans to release its content, documentary and otherwise. At Apple’s recent presentation, Oprah Winfrey revealed that she’s prepping documentary projects for Apple TV+, including investigations of poisonous work environments and the mental health industry. Apple also acquired the documentary “Elephant Queen” at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival. At Sundance, the filmmakers told me that the film has an ambitious and proactive social-action global release plan that could include theaters. One strategic Apple partnership with indie distributor A24, which will produce films for Apple,...
- 4/15/2019
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Apple snagged a big fish to run their documentary content division. New York-based A&E Networks documentary veteran Molly Thompson will bring her expertise in supervising documentary films and TV series to Apple, which has recently ramped up its content production, mostly on the television side. As demand for documentaries grows, A&E is losing a valuable player.
Of course, Apple has not yet announced exactly how it plans to release its content, documentary and otherwise. At Apple’s recent presentation, Oprah Winfrey revealed that she’s prepping documentary projects for Apple TV+, including investigations of poisonous work environments and the mental health industry. Apple also acquired the documentary “Elephant Queen” at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival. At Sundance, the filmmakers told me that the film has an ambitious and proactive social-action global release plan that could include theaters. One strategic Apple partnership with indie distributor A24, which will produce films for Apple,...
Of course, Apple has not yet announced exactly how it plans to release its content, documentary and otherwise. At Apple’s recent presentation, Oprah Winfrey revealed that she’s prepping documentary projects for Apple TV+, including investigations of poisonous work environments and the mental health industry. Apple also acquired the documentary “Elephant Queen” at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival. At Sundance, the filmmakers told me that the film has an ambitious and proactive social-action global release plan that could include theaters. One strategic Apple partnership with indie distributor A24, which will produce films for Apple,...
- 4/15/2019
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Starz announced on Thursday that it has acquired four new documentaries, including “Daughters of the Sexual Revolution,” about a controversy surrounding the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, and the Oscar-shortlisted documentary feature “Of Fathers and Sons.”
“Daughters of the Sexual Revolution: The Untold Story of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders,” is a behind-the-scenes story of how the original Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders became a controversial pop culture phenomenon at the height of the sexual revolution. The documentary originally premiered at the SXSW film festival in 2018, and it will be available for download or streaming via the Starz app on Jan. 14. at 9 p.m. Et/Pt.
“Of Fathers and Sons” won the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema Documentary at Sundance in 2018, and it is now on the Oscar shortlist for Best Documentary Feature. It’s about a man who gains the trust of a radical Islamist family and follows them over the course of two years.
“Daughters of the Sexual Revolution: The Untold Story of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders,” is a behind-the-scenes story of how the original Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders became a controversial pop culture phenomenon at the height of the sexual revolution. The documentary originally premiered at the SXSW film festival in 2018, and it will be available for download or streaming via the Starz app on Jan. 14. at 9 p.m. Et/Pt.
“Of Fathers and Sons” won the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema Documentary at Sundance in 2018, and it is now on the Oscar shortlist for Best Documentary Feature. It’s about a man who gains the trust of a radical Islamist family and follows them over the course of two years.
- 1/10/2019
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Starz has acquired four new documentaries, Daughters of the Sexual Revolution: The Untold Story of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, the behind-the-scenes story of how the original Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders became a controversial pop culture phenomenon at the height of the sexual revolution, Of Fathers and Sons, currently on the Oscars short-list for 2019 Documentary Feature, along with Inside My Heart and Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco, for premiere this spring on the premium cabler. They join previously announced Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood and White Boy.
“Starz has acquired an exceptional slate of documentary films spanning a wide range of topics – from empowered feminists in the ‘70s, to life inside a jihadist military household and a groundbreaking artist who would change the future of fashion,” said C. Brett Marottoli, Head of Program Acquisitions for Starz. “These films will no doubt engage our audience as we continue our commitment...
“Starz has acquired an exceptional slate of documentary films spanning a wide range of topics – from empowered feminists in the ‘70s, to life inside a jihadist military household and a groundbreaking artist who would change the future of fashion,” said C. Brett Marottoli, Head of Program Acquisitions for Starz. “These films will no doubt engage our audience as we continue our commitment...
- 1/10/2019
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
"A lot of women didn't like us back then." Gravitas has unveiled the trailer for a documentary titled, in full, Daughters of the Sexual Revolution: The Untold Story of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. That title pretty clearly explains what the film is about, but it's actually focused on the origins of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, beginning in the 1960s and continuing into the 1970s. This doc film premiered at the SXSW Film Festival earlier this year, and played at a few other festivals. It's the never-before-told story of Suzanne Mitchell, the fiercely-loyal den mother of the original Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. Seen by many as regressive and exploitative, this diverse sisterhood of small-town "girls next door" became a controversial pop culture phenomenon at the height of the Sexual Revolution. This looks like a wild and fascinating story. Here's the trailer for Dana Adam Shapiro's doc Daughters of the Sexual Revolution,...
- 10/24/2018
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Gravitas Ventures has acquired North American rights to Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders doc Daughters of the Sexual Revolution, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
The film, directed by Oscar nominee Dana Adam Shapiro, had its world premiere at the 2018 SXSW Film Festival, where it won the Louis Black "Lone Star" special jury award. The film will get an Oscar-qualifying theatrical release on Nov. 2 and be available on VOD the same day.
Daughters explores the development, during the sexual revolution, of the controversial pop culture phenomenon of the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, and features unprecedented access to the late "Godmother of modern ...
The film, directed by Oscar nominee Dana Adam Shapiro, had its world premiere at the 2018 SXSW Film Festival, where it won the Louis Black "Lone Star" special jury award. The film will get an Oscar-qualifying theatrical release on Nov. 2 and be available on VOD the same day.
Daughters explores the development, during the sexual revolution, of the controversial pop culture phenomenon of the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, and features unprecedented access to the late "Godmother of modern ...
- 9/28/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Gravitas Ventures has acquired North American rights to Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders doc Daughters of the Sexual Revolution, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
The film, directed by Oscar nominee Dana Adam Shapiro, had its world premiere at the 2018 SXSW Film Festival, where it won the Louis Black "Lone Star" special jury award. The film will get an Oscar-qualifying theatrical release on Nov. 2 and be available on VOD the same day.
Daughters explores the development, during the sexual revolution, of the controversial pop culture phenomenon of the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, and features unprecedented access to the late "Godmother of modern ...
The film, directed by Oscar nominee Dana Adam Shapiro, had its world premiere at the 2018 SXSW Film Festival, where it won the Louis Black "Lone Star" special jury award. The film will get an Oscar-qualifying theatrical release on Nov. 2 and be available on VOD the same day.
Daughters explores the development, during the sexual revolution, of the controversial pop culture phenomenon of the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, and features unprecedented access to the late "Godmother of modern ...
- 9/28/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
The Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival has set “Hillbilly” as its opening film on Oct. 16 and “Daughters of the Sexual Revolution: The Untold Stories of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders” to close the festival, Variety has learned exclusively.
“Hillbilly,” directed by Ashley York and Sally Rubin, will open the 27th annual festival on Oct. 16 in Hot Springs, Ar. The festival touts itself as the longest-running all-documentary film festival in North America.
“In the aftermath of the 2016 election, there has been a palpable divide between urban and rural regions of the United States. As an established festival in the South, it is our aim to close this gap by exploring our southern identity as it relates to the current political climate,” said Jennifer Gerber, executive director.
“Hillbilly” examines the iconic hillbilly image in media and culture and explores more than 100 years of media representation of mountain and rural people. York, a liberal feminist living in Los Angeles,...
“Hillbilly,” directed by Ashley York and Sally Rubin, will open the 27th annual festival on Oct. 16 in Hot Springs, Ar. The festival touts itself as the longest-running all-documentary film festival in North America.
“In the aftermath of the 2016 election, there has been a palpable divide between urban and rural regions of the United States. As an established festival in the South, it is our aim to close this gap by exploring our southern identity as it relates to the current political climate,” said Jennifer Gerber, executive director.
“Hillbilly” examines the iconic hillbilly image in media and culture and explores more than 100 years of media representation of mountain and rural people. York, a liberal feminist living in Los Angeles,...
- 9/4/2018
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Tonight, A&E IndieFilms’ latest documentary, Matt Tyrnauer’s “Studio 54,” opens Outfest in Los Angeles before hitting theaters via Zeitgeist Films and Kino Lorber in October. Unusually, A&E IndieFilms senior VP Molly Thompson believes in theatrical play for her documentaries as a way to build awareness before they hit the air.
With streaming, she said, “it’s harder for the films to stand out. Theatrical is good for films. You have a whole year to go out to festivals and theaters before they come to A&E. We’re the opposite of HBO and Netflix.”
All these funding and distribution options make it “a great time for documentary filmmakers,” she said. “Even seven years ago people were starving. It was a difficult time. We were a big whale for filmmakers. Now they have so many options, and people are able to pay their bills.”
Thompson’s first job was...
With streaming, she said, “it’s harder for the films to stand out. Theatrical is good for films. You have a whole year to go out to festivals and theaters before they come to A&E. We’re the opposite of HBO and Netflix.”
All these funding and distribution options make it “a great time for documentary filmmakers,” she said. “Even seven years ago people were starving. It was a difficult time. We were a big whale for filmmakers. Now they have so many options, and people are able to pay their bills.”
Thompson’s first job was...
- 7/12/2018
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Tonight, A&E IndieFilms’ latest documentary, Matt Tyrnauer’s “Studio 54,” opens Outfest in Los Angeles before hitting theaters via Zeitgeist Films and Kino Lorber in October. Unusually, A&E IndieFilms senior VP Molly Thompson believes in theatrical play for her documentaries as a way to build awareness before they hit the air.
With streaming, she said, “it’s harder for the films to stand out. Theatrical is good for films. You have a whole year to go out to festivals and theaters before they come to A&E. We’re the opposite of HBO and Netflix.”
All these funding and distribution options make it “a great time for documentary filmmakers,” she said. “Even seven years ago people were starving. It was a difficult time. We were a big whale for filmmakers. Now they have so many options, and people are able to pay their bills.”
Thompson’s first job was...
With streaming, she said, “it’s harder for the films to stand out. Theatrical is good for films. You have a whole year to go out to festivals and theaters before they come to A&E. We’re the opposite of HBO and Netflix.”
All these funding and distribution options make it “a great time for documentary filmmakers,” she said. “Even seven years ago people were starving. It was a difficult time. We were a big whale for filmmakers. Now they have so many options, and people are able to pay their bills.”
Thompson’s first job was...
- 7/12/2018
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Juried prizes were presented tonight at the 25th annual Swsw Film Festival. Jim Gaffigan, in Austin to represent the Miranda Bailey-directed ensemble comedy “You Can Choose Your Family,” presided as host. The venue was the Paramount Theatre, a 103-year-old landmark just blocks from the Texas Capitol.
SXSW will continue screening films through Saturday, when most of the festival’s audience awards recipients will be announced. The exception is for the headlining films, such as “A Quiet Place,” “Blockers,” and “Ready Player One” — those verdicts follows on March 19.
This year’s line-up comprised 256 total features and shorts, culled from 8,183 submissions. Best narrative feature “Thunder Road” was adapted from the namesake, one-take short that won a Grand Jury award at Sundance in 2016.
Lena Dunham’s “Tiny Furniture” (2010) and Destin Daniel Cretton’s “Short Term 12” (2013) are among the best-known past jury victors at SXSW. IndieWire’s Dana Harris helped choose the Louis Black “Lone Star” honoree,...
SXSW will continue screening films through Saturday, when most of the festival’s audience awards recipients will be announced. The exception is for the headlining films, such as “A Quiet Place,” “Blockers,” and “Ready Player One” — those verdicts follows on March 19.
This year’s line-up comprised 256 total features and shorts, culled from 8,183 submissions. Best narrative feature “Thunder Road” was adapted from the namesake, one-take short that won a Grand Jury award at Sundance in 2016.
Lena Dunham’s “Tiny Furniture” (2010) and Destin Daniel Cretton’s “Short Term 12” (2013) are among the best-known past jury victors at SXSW. IndieWire’s Dana Harris helped choose the Louis Black “Lone Star” honoree,...
- 3/14/2018
- by Jenna Marotta
- Indiewire
“This began in 2015. I was watching the Super Bowl with my son and they panned over to the cheerleaders, and it occurred to me that I wanted to know how this started. How did dancing showgirls wind up on the sidelines of sporting events? wondered, was there a story there?” director Dana Adam Shapiro remembers, speaking to the genesis of his SXSW doc, Daughters of the Sexual Revolution: The Untold Story of the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. Thinking back on his childhood…...
- 3/12/2018
- Deadline
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50 fabulous documentary films, covering hard politics through to music, money and films that never were...
Thanks to streaming services such as Netflix, we’ve never had better access to documentaries. A whole new audience can discover that these real life stories are just as thrilling, entertaining, and incredible as the latest big-budget blockbuster. What’s more, they’re all true too. But with a new found glut of them comes the ever more impossible choice, what’s worth your time? Below is my pick of the 50 best modern feature length documentaries.
I’ve defined modern as being from 2000 onwards, which means some of the greatest documentaries ever made will not feature here. I’m looking at you Hoop Dreams.
50. McConkey (2013)
d. Rob Bruce, Scott Gaffney, Murray Wais, Steve Winter, David Zieff
Shane McConkey was an extreme skier and Base jumper who lived life on the edge, and very much to the full.
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50 fabulous documentary films, covering hard politics through to music, money and films that never were...
Thanks to streaming services such as Netflix, we’ve never had better access to documentaries. A whole new audience can discover that these real life stories are just as thrilling, entertaining, and incredible as the latest big-budget blockbuster. What’s more, they’re all true too. But with a new found glut of them comes the ever more impossible choice, what’s worth your time? Below is my pick of the 50 best modern feature length documentaries.
I’ve defined modern as being from 2000 onwards, which means some of the greatest documentaries ever made will not feature here. I’m looking at you Hoop Dreams.
50. McConkey (2013)
d. Rob Bruce, Scott Gaffney, Murray Wais, Steve Winter, David Zieff
Shane McConkey was an extreme skier and Base jumper who lived life on the edge, and very much to the full.
- 11/12/2015
- by simonbrew
- Den of Geek
Melbourne, Sep 25: A newly-released book, titled 'You Can Be Right (or You Can Be Married)', has revealed what divorced people think about marriage and what suggestions they have for married couples.
The book, authored by Dana Adam Shapiro, claimed, among other things, that couples should not sit together when they go out to dinner with other people, as they have nothing to talk about when you get home since they have been with each other the whole time, News.com.au reported.
According to one of the many divorced people interviewed for the book, one cannot win love from people, either it's there in a relationship or its not.
Another said that someone getting married should not learn how to get along, but learn how.
The book, authored by Dana Adam Shapiro, claimed, among other things, that couples should not sit together when they go out to dinner with other people, as they have nothing to talk about when you get home since they have been with each other the whole time, News.com.au reported.
According to one of the many divorced people interviewed for the book, one cannot win love from people, either it's there in a relationship or its not.
Another said that someone getting married should not learn how to get along, but learn how.
- 9/25/2013
- by Diksha Singh
- RealBollywood.com
Chicago – It’s taken quite a few movies for me to warm up to Chris Messina. Perhaps it wasn’t his fault that he kept getting typecast as oafish, self-absorbed jerks. In my review of Dana Adam Shapiro’s flawed Oscilloscope release, “Monogamy,” I confessed that every time Messina’s face showed up onscreen, I was “suddenly filled with the intense desire to punch it.”
It’s only been in the last year or so that I began to appreciate Messina’s fearlessness as a performer. He isn’t afraid to explore the dark terrain avoided by fellow actors more concerned with likability than truth. The same could be said of Zoe Kazan, whose debut feature script for the marvelous romance, “Ruby Sparks,” gave Messina his best role to date as a typically suave ladykiller blindsided by the all-too-perfect woman who entered the life of his hopelessly neurotic brother.
DVD...
It’s only been in the last year or so that I began to appreciate Messina’s fearlessness as a performer. He isn’t afraid to explore the dark terrain avoided by fellow actors more concerned with likability than truth. The same could be said of Zoe Kazan, whose debut feature script for the marvelous romance, “Ruby Sparks,” gave Messina his best role to date as a typically suave ladykiller blindsided by the all-too-perfect woman who entered the life of his hopelessly neurotic brother.
DVD...
- 2/20/2013
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Congratulations to Rachel Maddow, who beat Sean Hannity last week in the ratings, largely on the strength of her reporting on Mitt Romney's 47% remarks. Maybe the American public is finally learning to be interested in facts.
Cardinal Cordileon, who will lead the Catholic Church in San Francisco, has said "Gays and lesbians who are in sexual relationships of any kind, he said, should not receive the sacrament of Holy Communion, the central ritual of Catholic life."
Not to be outdone, in Chicago, Cardinal George says “There must surely be ways in our civil society, where we can honor friendships, where we can respect other people, without destroying the nature of marriage. It is very important, for your whole lives, give witness to what marriage truly means. And while civil laws might change – if they do – then society will be the worse for it.”
Joel and Ethan Coen are teaming...
Cardinal Cordileon, who will lead the Catholic Church in San Francisco, has said "Gays and lesbians who are in sexual relationships of any kind, he said, should not receive the sacrament of Holy Communion, the central ritual of Catholic life."
Not to be outdone, in Chicago, Cardinal George says “There must surely be ways in our civil society, where we can honor friendships, where we can respect other people, without destroying the nature of marriage. It is very important, for your whole lives, give witness to what marriage truly means. And while civil laws might change – if they do – then society will be the worse for it.”
Joel and Ethan Coen are teaming...
- 9/25/2012
- by lostinmiami
- The Backlot
On Monday, we presented you with the 9 Most Devastatingly Sad Documentaries of All Time, a list that was topped by Dear Zachary. It seems like, whenever we mention Dear Zachary and how devastatingly sad it is, a few people see it as a challenge. They think, "Nooooo. How sad can it really be?"
It's not a challenge you will win, folks. Dear Zachary will pummel you every single time. But, if you're recently watched it, or for another reason feel as though the world has stacked its deck against you, we've got you covered. Choose one or more among these 9 documentaries, and the air that life knocked out of you will re-enter and flow through your lungs again. Or at least, put a smile on your face and a lump in your throat.
9. Paper Heart: Finally the hipsters have gone full circle and consumed themselves like an ouroborus recycled from an old Pac-Man t-shirt.
It's not a challenge you will win, folks. Dear Zachary will pummel you every single time. But, if you're recently watched it, or for another reason feel as though the world has stacked its deck against you, we've got you covered. Choose one or more among these 9 documentaries, and the air that life knocked out of you will re-enter and flow through your lungs again. Or at least, put a smile on your face and a lump in your throat.
9. Paper Heart: Finally the hipsters have gone full circle and consumed themselves like an ouroborus recycled from an old Pac-Man t-shirt.
- 8/17/2011
- by Dustin Rowles
Chicago – With so many unfaithful weiners crowding the daily news cycle, I suppose it’s as appropriate a time as any for a film like Dana Adam Shapiro’s “Monogamy.” As in the over-publicized Anthony Weiner case, the infidelity in Shapiro’s film never actually takes place. Instead of physical contact, the affair takes place entirely within the obsessive mind of a sexually frustrated voyeur.
Unfortunately, the voyeur is played by Chris Messina, a good actor who seems oddly incapable of garnering audience empathy. Every time his face shows up on the screen, I’m suddenly filled with the intense desire to punch it. Perhaps my reaction is simply due to the fact that Messina has delivered multiple memorable portrayals of oafish, self-absorbed masculinity. He played the allegedly lovable boyfriend in “Julie & Julia,” who devoured his wife’s carefully prepared dishes with all the etiquette of a slovenly swine.
DVD...
Unfortunately, the voyeur is played by Chris Messina, a good actor who seems oddly incapable of garnering audience empathy. Every time his face shows up on the screen, I’m suddenly filled with the intense desire to punch it. Perhaps my reaction is simply due to the fact that Messina has delivered multiple memorable portrayals of oafish, self-absorbed masculinity. He played the allegedly lovable boyfriend in “Julie & Julia,” who devoured his wife’s carefully prepared dishes with all the etiquette of a slovenly swine.
DVD...
- 6/23/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek
(June 2011, screening at the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)
Directed/Written by: Amber Sealey
Starring: Kent Osborne, Amber Sealey, Amanda Street, Dan Ewen, V. Kim Blish and Gabriel Diamond
Watching an out-of-shape middle-ager bounce around his backyard wearing nothing but his (lack of) dignity is a rare beginning to a rare movie about a married limo driver who sketches raunchy stick figures on Post-it notes and for whom sex with his wife is something slotted between appointments for the purposes of conception. While traffic congestion is forever imminent, and L.A.’s concrete streets are represented with a poetic prettiness, the idiosyncrasies inherent in this union sit uncomfortably in the foreground of all decisions and actions to unfold.
Kent Osborne’s brand of real man was used to apt effect in Joe Swanberg’s “Hannah Takes the Stairs” and “Uncle Kent,” and Osborne again brings an...
(June 2011, screening at the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)
Directed/Written by: Amber Sealey
Starring: Kent Osborne, Amber Sealey, Amanda Street, Dan Ewen, V. Kim Blish and Gabriel Diamond
Watching an out-of-shape middle-ager bounce around his backyard wearing nothing but his (lack of) dignity is a rare beginning to a rare movie about a married limo driver who sketches raunchy stick figures on Post-it notes and for whom sex with his wife is something slotted between appointments for the purposes of conception. While traffic congestion is forever imminent, and L.A.’s concrete streets are represented with a poetic prettiness, the idiosyncrasies inherent in this union sit uncomfortably in the foreground of all decisions and actions to unfold.
Kent Osborne’s brand of real man was used to apt effect in Joe Swanberg’s “Hannah Takes the Stairs” and “Uncle Kent,” and Osborne again brings an...
- 6/21/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Magazine
Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek
(June 2011, screening at the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)
Directed/Written by: Amber Sealey
Starring: Kent Osborne, Amber Sealey, Amanda Street, Dan Ewen, V. Kim Blish and Gabriel Diamond
Watching an out-of-shape middle-ager bounce around his backyard wearing nothing but his (lack of) dignity is a rare beginning to a rare movie about a married limo driver who sketches raunchy stick figures on Post-it notes and for whom sex with his wife is something slotted between appointments for the purposes of conception. While traffic congestion is forever imminent, and L.A.’s concrete streets are represented with a poetic prettiness, the idiosyncrasies inherent in this union sit uncomfortably in the foreground of all decisions and actions to unfold.
Kent Osborne’s brand of real man was used to apt effect in Joe Swanberg’s “Hannah Takes the Stairs” and “Uncle Kent,” and Osborne again brings an...
(June 2011, screening at the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)
Directed/Written by: Amber Sealey
Starring: Kent Osborne, Amber Sealey, Amanda Street, Dan Ewen, V. Kim Blish and Gabriel Diamond
Watching an out-of-shape middle-ager bounce around his backyard wearing nothing but his (lack of) dignity is a rare beginning to a rare movie about a married limo driver who sketches raunchy stick figures on Post-it notes and for whom sex with his wife is something slotted between appointments for the purposes of conception. While traffic congestion is forever imminent, and L.A.’s concrete streets are represented with a poetic prettiness, the idiosyncrasies inherent in this union sit uncomfortably in the foreground of all decisions and actions to unfold.
Kent Osborne’s brand of real man was used to apt effect in Joe Swanberg’s “Hannah Takes the Stairs” and “Uncle Kent,” and Osborne again brings an...
- 6/21/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Network
By Christopher Stipp
The Archives, Right Here
Check out my other column, This Week In Trailers, at SlashFilm.com and follow me on Twitter under the name: Stipp
Monogamy - DVD Review
Color me surprised at how much I liked this film.
At first glance you could see a movie about a photographer who takes clandestine pictures of clients who pay to be shot in the wild, an odd subset of humans who need to see what it’s like to be shown in their natural territory, as something Hitchcock would cook up when one of the clients takes it up a notch and gets a little freaky deekey, having a penchant for voyeurism.
Purposely antagonizing the guy, the sexualized client and photog share in a relationship that isn’t so much physical as it is cerebral. As, you see, the guy is getting married to Rashida Jones, a woman...
The Archives, Right Here
Check out my other column, This Week In Trailers, at SlashFilm.com and follow me on Twitter under the name: Stipp
Monogamy - DVD Review
Color me surprised at how much I liked this film.
At first glance you could see a movie about a photographer who takes clandestine pictures of clients who pay to be shot in the wild, an odd subset of humans who need to see what it’s like to be shown in their natural territory, as something Hitchcock would cook up when one of the clients takes it up a notch and gets a little freaky deekey, having a penchant for voyeurism.
Purposely antagonizing the guy, the sexualized client and photog share in a relationship that isn’t so much physical as it is cerebral. As, you see, the guy is getting married to Rashida Jones, a woman...
- 6/18/2011
- by Christopher Stipp
Rashida Jones' rise in the comedy world after debuting on "The Office" a few years ago is definitely commendable. The daughter of music legend Quincy Jones (we're sure she loves hearing that) is a regular on NBC's "Parks And Recreation," has already starred in "I Love You, Man" and will soon be seen in "My Idiot Brother," "The Big Year" and "The Muppets." She's ventured into producing as well with director Dana Adam Shapiro's Brooklyn-based relationship drama "Monogamy" and will soon make her writing debut with "Celeste And Jesse Forever" which will see her star along side Andy Samberg. The…...
- 5/21/2011
- The Playlist
You can brand them as peddlers of Brad Pitt, as U.S based Inferno Entertainment have got some highly anticipated titles in their sales line-up and one matches Pitt with Andrew Dominik in Cogan's Trade (they worked together on Jesse James) and James Gray should be rolling out the cameras one of these days for The Lost City of Z with Pitt attached in the lead. Joe Carnahan's The Grey is on the map as well. Killer Elite by Gary McKendry - Post-Production The Grey by Joe Carnahan - Post-Production Cogan's Trade by Andrew Dominik - Post-Production The Entitled by Aaron Woodley - Completed Arabian Nights by Chuck Russell - Pre-Production Cane Toads: The Conquest by Mark Lewis - Completed Five Star Day by Danny Buday - Completed Hachiko: A Dog's Story by Lasse HALLSTRÖM - Completed Happy Tears by Mitchell Lichtenstein - Completed How To Make Love Like...
- 5/13/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
[1] Henry-Alex Rubin wowed critics and audiences back in 2005 with Murderball, a documentary about wheelchair rugby which he co-directed with Dana Adam Shapiro. The film earned a Best Documentary nomination at the Oscars and won the audience award at Sundance. Since then, however, Rubin's been laying low. Aside from a T-Mobile commercial and some work on an ABC Family show called Schooled, Rubin hasn't done much in the way of directorial work in the last six years. Now, however, Rubin will be returning to the director's chair for his first narrative feature -- a drama called Disconnect. Read more after the jump. Disconnect follows "the linked stories of a group of contemporary characters searching for human connection in a wired world" -- like Crash by way of The Social Network, I guess? The script is by Andrew Stern, who has even fewer IMDb credits to his name than Rubin does...
- 4/18/2011
- by Angie Han
- Slash Film
Despite his first major directing work, Murderball, being a critical hit and earning a Best Documentary nomination at the Academy Awards, Henry-Alex Rubin hasn’t directed anything substantial since that film’s release, which was nearly six years ago. In fact, the only directing credit listed on his IMDb page after that film is an episode of something called Schooled, which he did in 2007.
But he’ll be returning to filmmaking, and also making his debut in narrative directing. Deadline tells us that he’ll be helming Disconnect, a drama written by Andrew Stern, who also seems to have a small history in the industry, as his only film credit is the story for Return to Me. It’s described as telling “the linked stories of a group of contemporary characters searching for human connection in a wired world,” which makes the title a pun. Or something of that nature.
But he’ll be returning to filmmaking, and also making his debut in narrative directing. Deadline tells us that he’ll be helming Disconnect, a drama written by Andrew Stern, who also seems to have a small history in the industry, as his only film credit is the story for Return to Me. It’s described as telling “the linked stories of a group of contemporary characters searching for human connection in a wired world,” which makes the title a pun. Or something of that nature.
- 4/15/2011
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
The 8th annual Calgary Underground Film Festival is set to run on April 11-17 at The Plaza Theater with 18 feature films and documentaries, several live performances, a classic cartoon extravaganza and Cuff’s legendary 48-hour Movie Making Challenge.
Sentient car tires. Wrongly accused hillbillies. Post-apocalyptic vampire hunters. Rage-filled neighbors. Real-life superheroes. Angry Star Wars fans. Those are just a few of the oddball characters you’ll find in the Cuff lineup below that includes festival hits such as Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil, The Woman, Superheroes, A Horrible Way to Die, Shut Up Little Man!, Rubber and more.
Some of the special events include: Not only a screening of Chris Metzler and Lev Anderson’s documentary Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone, but a live concert by the band after the screening. Plus, there will be a wild live burlesque show being held as a fundraiser for the upcoming film...
Sentient car tires. Wrongly accused hillbillies. Post-apocalyptic vampire hunters. Rage-filled neighbors. Real-life superheroes. Angry Star Wars fans. Those are just a few of the oddball characters you’ll find in the Cuff lineup below that includes festival hits such as Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil, The Woman, Superheroes, A Horrible Way to Die, Shut Up Little Man!, Rubber and more.
Some of the special events include: Not only a screening of Chris Metzler and Lev Anderson’s documentary Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone, but a live concert by the band after the screening. Plus, there will be a wild live burlesque show being held as a fundraiser for the upcoming film...
- 4/6/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Spoiler alert: This interview contains information about the film that reveals some plot details
For the past two years, Dana Adam Shapiro has been immersing himself in other people's breakups. As part of his research for what began as an oral history of divorce and what has blossomed into a book, due out from Scribner in 2012, the former journalist and Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker (Murderball) asked dozens of men and women across the country to open up to him about the most intimate details of their splits. Along the way, he co-wrote and directed a movie inspired by many of the themes that emerged from those candid discussions.
The film, Monogamy, which opened across the country earlier this month, stars Chris Messina and Rashida Jones as Theo and Nat, a soon-to-be-married Brooklyn couple who are forced to confront some major problems in their relationship when Theo, a photographer whom clients hire...
For the past two years, Dana Adam Shapiro has been immersing himself in other people's breakups. As part of his research for what began as an oral history of divorce and what has blossomed into a book, due out from Scribner in 2012, the former journalist and Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker (Murderball) asked dozens of men and women across the country to open up to him about the most intimate details of their splits. Along the way, he co-wrote and directed a movie inspired by many of the themes that emerged from those candid discussions.
The film, Monogamy, which opened across the country earlier this month, stars Chris Messina and Rashida Jones as Theo and Nat, a soon-to-be-married Brooklyn couple who are forced to confront some major problems in their relationship when Theo, a photographer whom clients hire...
- 3/31/2011
- by Huffington Post
- Huffington Post
Monogamy, the new drama directed by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Dana Adam Shapiro (Murderball), will be released on DVD on June 14 by Oscilloscope Laboratories. The film stars Rashida Jones (The Social Network) and Chris Messina (Greenberg).
Rashida Jones and Chris Messina attempt to follow the rules of Monogamy.
In the movie, Messina plays wedding photographer Theo, who lives a comfortable life in Brooklyn with his budding musician fiancee Nat (Jones). Thoroughly bored with his day job and increasingly anxious about his upcoming wedding, Theo embarks upon a risky and adventurous side project: He’s hired by clients to clandestinely snap voyeuristic photos as they go about their days. Things go smoothly until a sexy new customer’s (Meital Dohan, TV’s Weeds) very public exhibitionism sparks an obsession in Theo. As he captures her day and night, the woman’s mysterious trysts and illicit behavior send him reeling, forcing him to...
Rashida Jones and Chris Messina attempt to follow the rules of Monogamy.
In the movie, Messina plays wedding photographer Theo, who lives a comfortable life in Brooklyn with his budding musician fiancee Nat (Jones). Thoroughly bored with his day job and increasingly anxious about his upcoming wedding, Theo embarks upon a risky and adventurous side project: He’s hired by clients to clandestinely snap voyeuristic photos as they go about their days. Things go smoothly until a sexy new customer’s (Meital Dohan, TV’s Weeds) very public exhibitionism sparks an obsession in Theo. As he captures her day and night, the woman’s mysterious trysts and illicit behavior send him reeling, forcing him to...
- 3/24/2011
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
When it comes to filmmaking, there are big differences between documentary and narrative. Both formats have both advantages and disadvantages, from multiple takes to casting, but they do have some similarities. Just as writer/director Dana Adam Shapiro. After making his documentary debut in 2005 with Murderball, he.s now set to release his first narrative feature, the romantic drama Monogamy. This past week I had the pleasure of sitting down with Shapiro for a one-on-one interview where we discussed his newest project at length. Among our topics of conversation, we discussed what it was about Chris Messina and Rashida Jones that made them the perfect casting, creating and throwing away storyboards, and how he and his writing partner actually tried to make their protagonist as unlikeable as possible. Check out the interview below. Spoiler Warning: Some sections of this interview do contain spoilers regarding the plot and ending of Monogamy.
- 3/18/2011
- cinemablend.com
Whether it's the straightwoman to Amy Poehler's Leslie Knope on "Parks and Recreation" or the patient fiancée to Paul Rudd's Peter Klaven in "I Love You, Man," Rashida Jones has carved out a niche as one of the most confident and reliable comic foils working in the business today, which is why it is with some surprise to see her all wrapped up in self-doubt with one of her first dramatic roles to date in Dana Adam Shapiro's "Monogamy," a thriller concerning a soon-to-be-wed couple (Jones and "Away We Go"'s Chris Messina) put to the test as the would-be groom Theo begins to get cold feet about commitment after his side job as a "photostalker," where people pay him to capture them in their most intimate moments without their knowledge, leads to his questioning a life shared with just one person.
Since the significant other in question is Jones,...
Since the significant other in question is Jones,...
- 3/17/2011
- by Stephen Saito
- ifc.com
Rashida Jones. From Patrick McMullan. With Natalie Portman off the market, it feels like the Web needs another brainy Harvard beauty with whom to fall in love. To that end, Internet, may we humbly suggest Vanity Fair Hollywood Issue cover girl Rashida Jones? The actress first made us laugh as Karen, Pam’s adversary for Jim’s affection on The Office, and added fresh tension by being a rival you actually rooted for. Since then, the understated, wry, and approachably cool Jones has been making her own bid for the public’s affection with plum roles in Parks and Recreation, I Love You, Man, and The Social Network, where she had the film’s memorable last words. Now, she’s starring opposite Chris Messina in Monogamy, directed by Dana Adam Shapiro. The film follows a seemingly happily engaged couple whose relationship is tested when Messina starts obsessively photo-stalking a blonde exhibitionist.
- 3/17/2011
- Vanity Fair
Today we begin what will be a Friday tradition here on the site. Ioncinema.com's Weekend Watch is a basic rundown of cinematic opening weekend offerings with Erica Elson guiding your choices in U.S Indie, Foreign, Documentaries and Studio film releases. This weekend you'll definitely want to skip the studio picks and the duelling alien items and if you're lucky enough to be in L.A or NYC you'll want to check out Abbas Kiarostami’s gem Certified Copy. U.S Indie 3 Backyards – Eric Mendelsohn – Screen Media Edie Falco stars in this atmospheric drama that takes place over the course of an autumn afternoon. It’s been getting very positive reviews and won the Directing Award at Sundance in 2010. This is Mendelsohn's big return since 1999's Judy Berlin. Metacritic: 75% MovieReviewIntelligence: 66.5% Elektra Luxx – Sebastian Gutierrez – Samuel Goldwyn Films A pregnant ex-porn star goes on a series of adventures in an...
- 3/12/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
If you thought "Blue Valentine" was a laugh riot, get ready to piss yourself during Monogamy."
Which is to say that "Monogamy," a new indie starring Rashida Jones and Chris Messina, takes the dramatic potential of the sort of romantic love explored in "Blue Valentine" and drags it into new, insanely depressing depths. Looked at another way, though, "Monogamy" is simply an unsparing and utterly truthful look at a couple in, and sometimes out, of love, as difficult as that may be to watch.
Making it all the more difficult is the fact that, off-screen, Jones and Messina are actually friends. "I was nervous, because she went to high school with my girlfriend," Messina told MTV News of Jones. "She would come over to my apartment and play with my kids. That's how I knew Rashida. When we first decided to do this together, I was a bit scared. Not only making out,...
Which is to say that "Monogamy," a new indie starring Rashida Jones and Chris Messina, takes the dramatic potential of the sort of romantic love explored in "Blue Valentine" and drags it into new, insanely depressing depths. Looked at another way, though, "Monogamy" is simply an unsparing and utterly truthful look at a couple in, and sometimes out, of love, as difficult as that may be to watch.
Making it all the more difficult is the fact that, off-screen, Jones and Messina are actually friends. "I was nervous, because she went to high school with my girlfriend," Messina told MTV News of Jones. "She would come over to my apartment and play with my kids. That's how I knew Rashida. When we first decided to do this together, I was a bit scared. Not only making out,...
- 3/11/2011
- by Eric Ditzian
- MTV Movies Blog
From the filmmaker who crafted the gritty and inspiring documentary Murderball, comes a relationship drama that masquerades as a neo-noir. Monogamy dabbles in daring, but never quite manages the subversion of classic noir tales.
In his narrative debut, Dana Adam Shapiro serves as co-writer and director in this drama that centers on Theo (Chris Messina), a frustrated wedding photographer by day, and self-proclaimed spy by night. With his side business (cleverly titled Gumshoot), Theo stalks paying customers and snaps voyeuristic photos so they can see themselves as others do. The conflict arises when this soon-to-be wed photographer is contracted to play Peeping Tom to an exhibitionistic young woman. Sure, with his charming, guitar-playing fiancée (Rashida Jones), he laughs at the lunacy of a woman who pays to have her public indiscretions photographed, but in private he falls into a Hitchcockian obsession with this strange seductress he knows only as Subgirl.
In his narrative debut, Dana Adam Shapiro serves as co-writer and director in this drama that centers on Theo (Chris Messina), a frustrated wedding photographer by day, and self-proclaimed spy by night. With his side business (cleverly titled Gumshoot), Theo stalks paying customers and snaps voyeuristic photos so they can see themselves as others do. The conflict arises when this soon-to-be wed photographer is contracted to play Peeping Tom to an exhibitionistic young woman. Sure, with his charming, guitar-playing fiancée (Rashida Jones), he laughs at the lunacy of a woman who pays to have her public indiscretions photographed, but in private he falls into a Hitchcockian obsession with this strange seductress he knows only as Subgirl.
- 3/9/2011
- by Kristy Puchko
- The Film Stage
This is a republish of our review that ran last year during the Tribeca Film Festival. Shot beautifully, right in the middle of the Brooklyn neighborhood that houses The Playlist headquarters and even prominently featuring our local watering hole and one of its well-liked jovial bartenders, "Monogamy"nevertheless remains a fairly unconvincing portrait of a romantic implosion, and a picture that becomes unbearably precious and self-important once the amiable set up is dispensed with. The feature-length debut of documentary filmmaker Dana Adam Shapiro (the excellent 2005 picture, "Murderball"), the relationship drama does start out promisingly enough with its gorgeous, textured cinematography…...
- 3/8/2011
- The Playlist
Reviewed by Chris Allsop
(March 2011)
Directed by: Dana Adam Shapiro
Written by: Dana Adam Shapiro and Evan M. Wiener
Starring: Chris Messina, Rashida Jones, Meitel Dohan, Ivan Martin, Neal Huff and Sarah Burns
Relationships are fascinating in their eternal variety, and the mysteries of what makes one couple work and another misfire remain ever compelling. It’s why filmmakers have long plundered this fertile territory for celluloid purposes, and the latest in this thematic tradition is Dana Adam Shapiro’s “Monogamy” — a dramatic/comedic look at the cold-feet phenomenon with a modern twist.
Theo (Chris Messina) and Nat (Rashida Jones) are a hip thirtysomething couple engaged to be married. Paying the bills through wedding photography, Theo sets up a sideline to kick-start the creative juices: He is hired by clients to clandestinely snap voyeuristic photos of them. When a female exhibitionist repeatedly hires Theo to document her public trysts, his...
(March 2011)
Directed by: Dana Adam Shapiro
Written by: Dana Adam Shapiro and Evan M. Wiener
Starring: Chris Messina, Rashida Jones, Meitel Dohan, Ivan Martin, Neal Huff and Sarah Burns
Relationships are fascinating in their eternal variety, and the mysteries of what makes one couple work and another misfire remain ever compelling. It’s why filmmakers have long plundered this fertile territory for celluloid purposes, and the latest in this thematic tradition is Dana Adam Shapiro’s “Monogamy” — a dramatic/comedic look at the cold-feet phenomenon with a modern twist.
Theo (Chris Messina) and Nat (Rashida Jones) are a hip thirtysomething couple engaged to be married. Paying the bills through wedding photography, Theo sets up a sideline to kick-start the creative juices: He is hired by clients to clandestinely snap voyeuristic photos of them. When a female exhibitionist repeatedly hires Theo to document her public trysts, his...
- 3/8/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Magazine
Reviewed by Chris Allsop
(March 2011)
Directed by: Dana Adam Shapiro
Written by: Dana Adam Shapiro and Evan M. Wiener
Starring: Chris Messina, Rashida Jones, Meitel Dohan, Ivan Martin, Neal Huff and Sarah Burns
Relationships are fascinating in their eternal variety, and the mysteries of what makes one couple work and another misfire remain ever compelling. It’s why filmmakers have long plundered this fertile territory for celluloid purposes, and the latest in this thematic tradition is Dana Adam Shapiro’s “Monogamy” — a dramatic/comedic look at the cold-feet phenomenon with a modern twist.
Theo (Chris Messina) and Nat (Rashida Jones) are a hip thirtysomething couple engaged to be married. Paying the bills through wedding photography, Theo sets up a sideline to kick-start the creative juices: He is hired by clients to clandestinely snap voyeuristic photos of them. When a female exhibitionist repeatedly hires Theo to document her public trysts, his...
(March 2011)
Directed by: Dana Adam Shapiro
Written by: Dana Adam Shapiro and Evan M. Wiener
Starring: Chris Messina, Rashida Jones, Meitel Dohan, Ivan Martin, Neal Huff and Sarah Burns
Relationships are fascinating in their eternal variety, and the mysteries of what makes one couple work and another misfire remain ever compelling. It’s why filmmakers have long plundered this fertile territory for celluloid purposes, and the latest in this thematic tradition is Dana Adam Shapiro’s “Monogamy” — a dramatic/comedic look at the cold-feet phenomenon with a modern twist.
Theo (Chris Messina) and Nat (Rashida Jones) are a hip thirtysomething couple engaged to be married. Paying the bills through wedding photography, Theo sets up a sideline to kick-start the creative juices: He is hired by clients to clandestinely snap voyeuristic photos of them. When a female exhibitionist repeatedly hires Theo to document her public trysts, his...
- 3/8/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Network
Dana Adam Shapiro's Tff '10 alum pins an elusive seductress against a relationship on the brink. Catch it on VOD tomorrow and in theaters March 11! After winning the Tff 2010 award for Best NY Narrative feature, Dana Adam Shapiro's (Oscar-nommed Murderball) Brooklyn-based drama returns home for another run. Tribeca Film Festival programmer Roya Rastegar on Monogamy: Thirtysomethings Theo (Chris Messina) and Nat (Rashida Jones) are engaged to be married. They live what seems to be on all counts a comfortable life of love, music, and laughter in their cozy Brooklyn apartment. But Theo is bored with his job as a wedding photographer - the generic backgrounds, the artificial posing, the stilted newlyweds - so he develops the unconventional side business "Gumshoot," a service where clients hire him to secretly stalk them with his camera. When he is called out on a job to snap pics of an exhibitionist...
- 3/1/2011
- TribecaFilm.com
Ballet drama "Black Swan" triumphed at the 2011 Film Independent Spirit Awards and won for Best Feature, Best Director for Darren Aronofsky, Best Female Lead for Natalie Portman, and Best Cinematography for Matthew Libatique.
Oscar nominee Natalie Portman added this victory to her impressive collection of awards she took home this season, including a Golden Globe, BAFTA and SAG Award for Best Actress. Best Supporting Female went to Dale Dickey for "Winter's Bone."
15 Facts about Natalie Portman!
Oscar nominee Natalie Portman added this victory to her impressive collection of awards she took home this season, including a Golden Globe, BAFTA and SAG Award for Best Actress. Best Supporting Female went to Dale Dickey for "Winter's Bone."
15 Facts about Natalie Portman!
- 2/27/2011
- Extra
With all the "Black Swan" hoopla, am I the only one who thinks that the film, while well-made, is not deserving of all these hyper-crazed adulations? Portman was good, but I prefer Annette Bening's understated performance in "The Kids Are All Right." Or heck, Jennifer Lawrence's "Winter's Bone" performance could easily outdance Portman's delusional ballerina portrayal any day.
And "Winter's Bone," celebrating its true independent spirit, was virtually snubbed at last night's Independent Spirit Awards. Sure, the excellent supporting cast was honored with Dale Dickey winning Best Supporting Female and John Hawkes for Best Supporting Male, but the engaging and deeply haunting Debra Granik movie (with the most nominations totaling to seven nods) lost out to...you guessed it, Darren Aronofsky's "Black Swan." (Check out my "Winter's Bone" movie review right here)
And yes, I do admire Aronofsky, I thought "The Wrestler" was one of his personal...
And "Winter's Bone," celebrating its true independent spirit, was virtually snubbed at last night's Independent Spirit Awards. Sure, the excellent supporting cast was honored with Dale Dickey winning Best Supporting Female and John Hawkes for Best Supporting Male, but the engaging and deeply haunting Debra Granik movie (with the most nominations totaling to seven nods) lost out to...you guessed it, Darren Aronofsky's "Black Swan." (Check out my "Winter's Bone" movie review right here)
And yes, I do admire Aronofsky, I thought "The Wrestler" was one of his personal...
- 2/27/2011
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
Well, every year the Independent Spirit Awards are handed out the night before the Oscars, and every year, it seems that they are honouring a completely different set of films, despite having a number of overlapping nominees. At this point, it almost seems like you don't want to win a Spirit Award because if you do, it means you won't end up winning the Oscar. Assuming history repeats itself, James Franco's chances of winning Best Actor for 127 Hours just got a little worse (not that he really had a shot in the first place), and Natalie Portman might not be the lock that everyone thinks she is. Black Swan also ended up taking home Best Feature, Best Director, and Best Cinematography, while John Hawkes and Dale Dickey took home Supporting Actor and Actress awards for Winter's Bone. The Kids Are All Right ended up getting Best Screenplay, while Exit Through the Gift Shop...
- 2/27/2011
- by Sean
- FilmJunk
The debate rages on as to whether the doomed Nina really did dance a "perfect" performance of "Swan Lake" in "Black Swan."
But the Independent Spirit Awards have certainly acknowledged that the movie itself came pretty close to perfection.
"Black Swan" swept the Spirit Awards with wins for Best Feature, Best Female Lead, Best Director and Best Cinematography. Darren Aronofsky's operatic tale of fear, loathing and madness at the New York City Ballet won in every category for which it was nominated.
While Natalie Portman may have beaten Jennifer Lawrence in the Best Female Lead category, "Winter's Bone" did take home awards for the performances of two of its supporting players, Dale Dickey and Jack Hawkes.
Meanwhile, the co-host of this year's Oscars, James Franco, won for his lead performance in "127 Hours." The newly PG-13-rated "The King's Speech" won Best Foreign Film and "Exit Through the Gift Shop" won Best Documentary,...
But the Independent Spirit Awards have certainly acknowledged that the movie itself came pretty close to perfection.
"Black Swan" swept the Spirit Awards with wins for Best Feature, Best Female Lead, Best Director and Best Cinematography. Darren Aronofsky's operatic tale of fear, loathing and madness at the New York City Ballet won in every category for which it was nominated.
While Natalie Portman may have beaten Jennifer Lawrence in the Best Female Lead category, "Winter's Bone" did take home awards for the performances of two of its supporting players, Dale Dickey and Jack Hawkes.
Meanwhile, the co-host of this year's Oscars, James Franco, won for his lead performance in "127 Hours." The newly PG-13-rated "The King's Speech" won Best Foreign Film and "Exit Through the Gift Shop" won Best Documentary,...
- 2/27/2011
- by Bryan Enk
- NextMovie
I went 10/13 with my predictions of the Indie Spirits today -- my misfires came in the Best Picture and Best Actress categories thinking that Winter's Bone had the edge over Black Swan. Not that Winter's Bone didn't have a good night (it won in the Best Supporting categories - I thought that Bill Murray had the edge over John Hawkes is where I flubbed as well) but it was indeed a Black Swan event -- with additional wins for Directing (Darren Aronofsky) and Cinematography (Matthew Libatique). You can find the winners in bold below. Best Feature 127 Hours Black Swan Greenberg The Kids Are All Right Winter's Bone Best Director Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan Danny Boyle, 127 Hours Lisa Cholodenko, The Kids Are All Right Debra Granik, Winter's Bone John Cameron Mitchell, Rabbit Hole Best Screenplay Stuart Blumberg, Lisa Cholodenko, The Kids Are All Right Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini, Winter's Bone Nicole Holofcener,...
- 2/27/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
Tune in to IFC tonight at 10:00 p.m. Et/Pt to catch all the action at the 2011 Film Independent Spirit Awards, with actor and comedian Joel McHale hosting.
Highlights include: Joel getting caught in a 127 Hours situation with only Dale Dickey, “Banksy” and John Waters to help him out; See how this year’s best feature nominees stack up against porn and the big studios; Catch the Spirit Awards’ version of a dead people montage; and more! The show was produced by Film Independent in association with Dick Clark productions, Inc.
The Spirit Awards was the first event to exclusively honor independent film, and over the past 26 years, has become the premier awards show for the independent film community, celebrating films made by filmmakers who embody independence and originality.
The following is a complete list of the winners:
Winners List
Best Feature: 'Black Swan'
Best Director: Darren Aronofsky,...
Highlights include: Joel getting caught in a 127 Hours situation with only Dale Dickey, “Banksy” and John Waters to help him out; See how this year’s best feature nominees stack up against porn and the big studios; Catch the Spirit Awards’ version of a dead people montage; and more! The show was produced by Film Independent in association with Dick Clark productions, Inc.
The Spirit Awards was the first event to exclusively honor independent film, and over the past 26 years, has become the premier awards show for the independent film community, celebrating films made by filmmakers who embody independence and originality.
The following is a complete list of the winners:
Winners List
Best Feature: 'Black Swan'
Best Director: Darren Aronofsky,...
- 2/27/2011
- by brians
- GeekTyrant
The 2011 Independent Spirit Awards were handed out a few hours ago and Black Swan won in all four categories it was nominated in including Best Picture, Best Director (Darren Aronofsky), Best Actress (Natalie Portman) and Best Cinematography (Matthew Libatique). Winter's Bone earned the most nominations at seven and dominated the supporting categories with wins for both Dale Dickey and John Hawkes, of the two only Hawkes earned an Oscar nomination, but he'll be facing off against both Christian Bale and Geoffrey Rush tomorrow night so I'm not counting on two awards in two days, though his performance in that film is one to remember.
Elsewhere, James Franco won Best Actor for 127 Hours, though he wasn't facing the stiffest of competition when it comes to most talked about performances of the year as he is the only one of the five nominees to also be nominated for an Oscar. Exit Through the Gift Shop...
Elsewhere, James Franco won Best Actor for 127 Hours, though he wasn't facing the stiffest of competition when it comes to most talked about performances of the year as he is the only one of the five nominees to also be nominated for an Oscar. Exit Through the Gift Shop...
- 2/27/2011
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
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