A24 has officially signed on to John Patton Ford’s “Huntington” (working title) for U.S. distribution. Also joining are new cast members Ed Harris and Margaret Qualley, who will star alongside the previously announced Glen Powell.
“Huntington” is a revenge thriller that follows Becket Redfellow (Powell), the “heir to a multi-billion-dollar fortune who will stop at nothing to get what he deserves… Or what he thinks he deserves.”
Ford will direct “Huntington” (or whatever it is titled by then). He already wrote the original screenplay, which was inspired by the film’s financier Studiocanal’s “Kind Hearts and Coronets,” the classic 1949 crime film starring Alec Guinness, who famously played eight different roles in the film.
Enjoy the new casting choices? Credit casting director Lucy Bevan of “Barbie. EVP of Global Production Ron Halpern and SVP of Global Production Joe Naftalin will oversee “Huntington” for Studiocanal, with Pete Czernin and...
“Huntington” is a revenge thriller that follows Becket Redfellow (Powell), the “heir to a multi-billion-dollar fortune who will stop at nothing to get what he deserves… Or what he thinks he deserves.”
Ford will direct “Huntington” (or whatever it is titled by then). He already wrote the original screenplay, which was inspired by the film’s financier Studiocanal’s “Kind Hearts and Coronets,” the classic 1949 crime film starring Alec Guinness, who famously played eight different roles in the film.
Enjoy the new casting choices? Credit casting director Lucy Bevan of “Barbie. EVP of Global Production Ron Halpern and SVP of Global Production Joe Naftalin will oversee “Huntington” for Studiocanal, with Pete Czernin and...
- 5/1/2024
- by Tony Maglio
- Indiewire
UK production, sales and distribution outfit Signature Entertainment has acquired Latin American production and distribution company Particular Crowd.
Particular Crowd’s slate includes Martino Zaidelis’s Argentinian thriller La Extorsión and Argentinian-Uruguayan comedy Casi Muerta.
Both titles secured strong box office runs locally, ahead of streaming on Max, as part of Particular Crowd’s first-look and production deal with Max owner Warner Bros Discovery. The deal with Warner Bros Discovery will continue following the Signature acquisition.
Upcoming projects include Brazil’s Evidências Do Amor, which will be released theatrically this month by Warner Bros and Aztec Batman: Clash Of Empires,...
Particular Crowd’s slate includes Martino Zaidelis’s Argentinian thriller La Extorsión and Argentinian-Uruguayan comedy Casi Muerta.
Both titles secured strong box office runs locally, ahead of streaming on Max, as part of Particular Crowd’s first-look and production deal with Max owner Warner Bros Discovery. The deal with Warner Bros Discovery will continue following the Signature acquisition.
Upcoming projects include Brazil’s Evidências Do Amor, which will be released theatrically this month by Warner Bros and Aztec Batman: Clash Of Empires,...
- 3/12/2024
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: The people behind the trailers, promos, and marketing of some of the biggest movies, series and games of the past year were feted in Portugal over the weekend at the Global Entertainment Awards.
Split across TV, games, cinema and streaming, the Awards feature categories for best key art, trailers, behind the scenes, and audio and social media spots. The accolades were handed out in an outdoor ceremony in the Algarve, Portugal, and hosted by actress-writer-director Sónia Balacó and Global Entertainment Awards Director Alejandro Barrios.
Season six of Netflix’s The Crown featured several times. Once Upon A Time scooped Best Key Art for its image of the actors playing Queen Elizabeth at different stages of the monarch’s life. The agency also won Best Shortform Behind the Scenes for its work on the show. Make it Social landed Best Av Spot for the closing season of the Left Bank-produced series.
Split across TV, games, cinema and streaming, the Awards feature categories for best key art, trailers, behind the scenes, and audio and social media spots. The accolades were handed out in an outdoor ceremony in the Algarve, Portugal, and hosted by actress-writer-director Sónia Balacó and Global Entertainment Awards Director Alejandro Barrios.
Season six of Netflix’s The Crown featured several times. Once Upon A Time scooped Best Key Art for its image of the actors playing Queen Elizabeth at different stages of the monarch’s life. The agency also won Best Shortform Behind the Scenes for its work on the show. Make it Social landed Best Av Spot for the closing season of the Left Bank-produced series.
- 3/4/2024
- by Stewart Clarke
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Four-time Oscar nominee Ed Harris (Westworld), Lewis Pullman (Top Gun: Maverick), Miles J. Harvey (American Vandal) and Pete Davidson (The King of Staten Island) have joined Emmy winner Jennifer Coolidge, Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman, and Gabrielle Union (The Inspection) in director Dito Montiel’s crime comedy movie Riff Raff, which has begun filming in New Jersey.
The film centers on a former criminal whose ordinary life is thrown upside down when his family shows up for a long-awaited reckoning.
Signature Films and Canopy Media Partners are behind the production, based on a script by John Pollono.
Canopy Media Partners’ Noah Rothman (Small Engine Repair), Signature Films’ Marc Goldberg and Sarah Gabriel (The Estate), and Adam Paulsen are producing.
Executive producers include David Sullivan, John Pollono, Chris Dennis for Canopy Media Partners, Capstone’s Christian Mercuri, and Patrick Hibler and Patrick Muldoon from Storyboard Media.
The film centers on a former criminal whose ordinary life is thrown upside down when his family shows up for a long-awaited reckoning.
Signature Films and Canopy Media Partners are behind the production, based on a script by John Pollono.
Canopy Media Partners’ Noah Rothman (Small Engine Repair), Signature Films’ Marc Goldberg and Sarah Gabriel (The Estate), and Adam Paulsen are producing.
Executive producers include David Sullivan, John Pollono, Chris Dennis for Canopy Media Partners, Capstone’s Christian Mercuri, and Patrick Hibler and Patrick Muldoon from Storyboard Media.
- 11/21/2023
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Two of the hottest tickets in Hollywood, Jennifer Coolidge and Brian Cox (Succession), are about to be joined by Dustin Hoffman and Gabrielle Union for the crime comedy Riff Raff. Dito Montiel directs from a script by John Pollono (Stronger).
The star-studded project revolves around the ordinary life of a former criminal whose world turns upside down when his old family shows up for a long-awaited reckoning. With cameras ready to roll in September, Riff Raff heads to the Cannes market this week for international sales, with Capstone organizing domestic rights with CAA Media Finance and WME Independent. Noah Rothman produces through Canopy Partners, with Marc Goldberg and Sarah Gabriel producing via Signature Films.
“We are thrilled to partner with the producers and Dito on this project; we’ve loved it ever since we’ve read it. It embodies the type of crime comedies we grew up with – witty and entertaining.
The star-studded project revolves around the ordinary life of a former criminal whose world turns upside down when his old family shows up for a long-awaited reckoning. With cameras ready to roll in September, Riff Raff heads to the Cannes market this week for international sales, with Capstone organizing domestic rights with CAA Media Finance and WME Independent. Noah Rothman produces through Canopy Partners, with Marc Goldberg and Sarah Gabriel producing via Signature Films.
“We are thrilled to partner with the producers and Dito on this project; we’ve loved it ever since we’ve read it. It embodies the type of crime comedies we grew up with – witty and entertaining.
- 5/16/2023
- by Steve Seigh
- JoBlo.com
Exclusive: Here’s a fun cast: Emmy winner Jennifer Coolidge (The White Lotus), Emmy winner Brian Cox (Succession) — both of whom are having career moments — Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman (Rain Man), and BET Awards winner Gabrielle Union (The Inspection) have been set to star in crime comedy Riff Raff.
Dito Montiel (A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints) is directing the project, based on a script by John Pollono.
Riff Raff centers on a former criminal’s ordinary life which is thrown upside down when his old family shows up for a long-awaited reckoning. Filming is being lined up for September.
Signature is launching international sales on the project in Cannes, with Capstone repping domestic rights with CAA Media Finance and WME Independent.
Producers are Canopy Media Partners’ Noah Rothman (Small Engine Repair) and Signature Films’ Marc Goldberg and Sarah Gabriel (The Estate).
Coolidge and Cox are coming off career moments...
Dito Montiel (A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints) is directing the project, based on a script by John Pollono.
Riff Raff centers on a former criminal’s ordinary life which is thrown upside down when his old family shows up for a long-awaited reckoning. Filming is being lined up for September.
Signature is launching international sales on the project in Cannes, with Capstone repping domestic rights with CAA Media Finance and WME Independent.
Producers are Canopy Media Partners’ Noah Rothman (Small Engine Repair) and Signature Films’ Marc Goldberg and Sarah Gabriel (The Estate).
Coolidge and Cox are coming off career moments...
- 5/16/2023
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Robert Downey Jr. has worked with many co-stars in the long list of successful projects he’s done. One of his movie co-stars, actor Rosario Dawson, was once made to antagonize him so much that he couldn’t maintain his character.
Robert Downey Jr. once starred in the film ‘A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints’ Rosario Dawson | Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images
A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints was a 2006 project directed by Dito Montiel. It was adapted from Montiel’s memoir of the same name about a successful writer who revisits his childhood neighborhood in Astoria, New York. The film featured an ensemble cast that included Downey, Dawson, Shia Labeouf and Channing Tatum. Downey played Montiel in the flick, and helped get the film made in the first place.
Montiel and a friend of his made a short film using material from his memoir. Then he showed the short film to the Sherlock Holmes actor,...
Robert Downey Jr. once starred in the film ‘A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints’ Rosario Dawson | Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images
A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints was a 2006 project directed by Dito Montiel. It was adapted from Montiel’s memoir of the same name about a successful writer who revisits his childhood neighborhood in Astoria, New York. The film featured an ensemble cast that included Downey, Dawson, Shia Labeouf and Channing Tatum. Downey played Montiel in the flick, and helped get the film made in the first place.
Montiel and a friend of his made a short film using material from his memoir. Then he showed the short film to the Sherlock Holmes actor,...
- 3/10/2023
- by Antonio Stallings
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
‘Megalopolis’: Shia Labeouf & Jason Schwartzman Among Six New Additions To Francis Ford Coppola Epic
Francis Ford Coppola continues to fill out the ensemble for his epic Megalopolis, with Talia Shire (The Godfather), Shia Labeouf (Honey Boy), Jason Schwartzman (The French Dispatch), Grace Vanderwaal (Stargirl), Kathryn Hunter (The Tragedy of Macbeth) and James Remar (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) its newest cast additions.
The actors are set to star alongside the previously announced Adam Driver, Forest Whitaker, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne and Aubrey Plaza. Details about the newest additions’ roles weren’t disclosed.
In Megalopolis, which is billed as a story of political ambition, genius and conflicted love, the fate of Rome haunts a modern world unable to solve its own social problems. Coppola will direct the independently produced film from his own script, at a budget just south of 100 million, with production set to kick off this fall.
Coppola’s sister Shire earned an Oscar nomination for her turn in his film The Godfather Part II,...
The actors are set to star alongside the previously announced Adam Driver, Forest Whitaker, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne and Aubrey Plaza. Details about the newest additions’ roles weren’t disclosed.
In Megalopolis, which is billed as a story of political ambition, genius and conflicted love, the fate of Rome haunts a modern world unable to solve its own social problems. Coppola will direct the independently produced film from his own script, at a budget just south of 100 million, with production set to kick off this fall.
Coppola’s sister Shire earned an Oscar nomination for her turn in his film The Godfather Part II,...
- 8/31/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Steve Chicorel’s Organic Media Group is launching a trio of English-language movies at this week’s Hong Kong FilMart.
Aaron Eckhart and Terrance Howard head the cast of “Afterward,” a drama about a man struggling with the death of his daughter, for which Omg is handling rights sales within Asia.
Directed by Dito Montiel, the fact-based film sees the father set out on a quest for truth and justice against corruption and small-town politics. Production begins next month in Louisiana. Lionsgate has the film for North America. Angel Oak Films will handle rights excluding North America and Asia.
Omg is also representing a pair of films, “Betrayed Within” and “Escape from Love,” developed for Lifetime Television in North America and available theatrically worldwide. Produced and financed by Thriller Films, Omg and Alianza Films, the pair will be shot back-to-back in Chicago, with “Betrayed Within” lensing from next month.
The...
Aaron Eckhart and Terrance Howard head the cast of “Afterward,” a drama about a man struggling with the death of his daughter, for which Omg is handling rights sales within Asia.
Directed by Dito Montiel, the fact-based film sees the father set out on a quest for truth and justice against corruption and small-town politics. Production begins next month in Louisiana. Lionsgate has the film for North America. Angel Oak Films will handle rights excluding North America and Asia.
Omg is also representing a pair of films, “Betrayed Within” and “Escape from Love,” developed for Lifetime Television in North America and available theatrically worldwide. Produced and financed by Thriller Films, Omg and Alianza Films, the pair will be shot back-to-back in Chicago, with “Betrayed Within” lensing from next month.
The...
- 3/15/2021
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
George Lopez has joined the cast of Dito Montiel’s “Afterward.”
It’s unclear what role Lopez will play in the dramatic thriller, but he joins an ensemble that includes Aaron Eckhart and Terrence Howard. Lionsgate Grindhouse is distributing the film in North America. “Afterward” will shoot this winter in California. Angel Oak Films is backing the movie and pre-sold foreign rights. Production was supposed to begin in the spring, but was delayed due to Covid-19.
The film centers on a father’s struggle to deal with the passing of his daughter, which leads him on a quest for truth and justice against corruption and small-town politics.
Montiel made his feature directorial debut with 2006’s “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints.” His other credits include “Fighting,” “The Son of No One,” “Empire State,” “Boulevard,” “Man Down” and “The Clapper.”
Lopez starred in ABC’s “George Lopez,” a situation comedy that...
It’s unclear what role Lopez will play in the dramatic thriller, but he joins an ensemble that includes Aaron Eckhart and Terrence Howard. Lionsgate Grindhouse is distributing the film in North America. “Afterward” will shoot this winter in California. Angel Oak Films is backing the movie and pre-sold foreign rights. Production was supposed to begin in the spring, but was delayed due to Covid-19.
The film centers on a father’s struggle to deal with the passing of his daughter, which leads him on a quest for truth and justice against corruption and small-town politics.
Montiel made his feature directorial debut with 2006’s “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints.” His other credits include “Fighting,” “The Son of No One,” “Empire State,” “Boulevard,” “Man Down” and “The Clapper.”
Lopez starred in ABC’s “George Lopez,” a situation comedy that...
- 12/28/2020
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
“Critical Thinking” is one of those up-from-the-streets high-school competition movies where just mentioning the true story it’s based on kind of gives the game away. Set in 1998, it’s about the five chess wizards from Miami Jackson High who became the first inner-city chess team to win the National Championship. Boom! But, of course, it’s how they got there that matters, and even if this movie weren’t based on a true story, you’d know more or less know where it’s going. “Critical Thinking” has some appealing young actors, and it’s been directed, by John Leguizamo (who costars as the film’s tough-saint teacher), in a way that gives them the space to clown around and then get serious.
Leguizamo plays Mario Martinez, who teaches an elective class in chess at Miami Jackson, where his students call him “Mr. T.” They’re a rowdy, bellicose,...
Leguizamo plays Mario Martinez, who teaches an elective class in chess at Miami Jackson, where his students call him “Mr. T.” They’re a rowdy, bellicose,...
- 9/1/2020
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Vertical Entertainment has acquired North American rights to John Leguizamo’s feature directorial debut Critical Thinking, which he also stars in and produced.
Written by Dito Montiel, Critical Thinking tells the 1998 true story of five LatinX and Black teenagers from Miami Jackson Senior High School, located in one of the toughest neighborhoods in Miami, who fight their way into the National Chess Championship under the guidance of their unconventional but inspirational teacher. The movie will hit VOD/digital on Sept. 4.
“In today’s fractured society with so many disenfranchised young adults, in our country and around the world, this is a story which can and will inspire all of us to do better, keep focused and stay positive,” said Leguizamo. “With Critical Thinking we wanted to create a universal message of hope and spread this message to the world.”
The deal was negotiated by Peter Jarowey and Josh Spector...
Written by Dito Montiel, Critical Thinking tells the 1998 true story of five LatinX and Black teenagers from Miami Jackson Senior High School, located in one of the toughest neighborhoods in Miami, who fight their way into the National Chess Championship under the guidance of their unconventional but inspirational teacher. The movie will hit VOD/digital on Sept. 4.
“In today’s fractured society with so many disenfranchised young adults, in our country and around the world, this is a story which can and will inspire all of us to do better, keep focused and stay positive,” said Leguizamo. “With Critical Thinking we wanted to create a universal message of hope and spread this message to the world.”
The deal was negotiated by Peter Jarowey and Josh Spector...
- 7/27/2020
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Producers plan September production start in northern California.
Angel Oak Films has finalised a raft of sales including North America, Latin America and Spain on upcoming Aaron Eckhart and Terrence Howard dramatic thriller Afterward.
The new Los Angeles and Brussels-based production outfit headed by Pascal Borno and Alain Gillissen has licensed North and Latin American rights to Grindstone Entertainment Group.
Deals have closed in Spain (YouPlanet), Middle East (Eagle Films), Italy (Adler Entertainment), and Portugal (Lusomundo). Al Munteanu’s SquareOne acquired German rights in an anchor deal early in the process.
The producers have earmarked a September start of principal photography in Humboldt County,...
Angel Oak Films has finalised a raft of sales including North America, Latin America and Spain on upcoming Aaron Eckhart and Terrence Howard dramatic thriller Afterward.
The new Los Angeles and Brussels-based production outfit headed by Pascal Borno and Alain Gillissen has licensed North and Latin American rights to Grindstone Entertainment Group.
Deals have closed in Spain (YouPlanet), Middle East (Eagle Films), Italy (Adler Entertainment), and Portugal (Lusomundo). Al Munteanu’s SquareOne acquired German rights in an anchor deal early in the process.
The producers have earmarked a September start of principal photography in Humboldt County,...
- 7/6/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
Best known for the unexpectedly soul-shattering San Francisco suicide doc “The Bridge,” indie filmmaker Eric Steel came out and came of age in 1980s New York at a moment just before AIDS devastated the city’s gay community. Such timing must have been surreal, to assume something so liberating about one’s own identity, only to watch in fear and uncertainty as this fraternity of newfound freedom collapsed around him. One can feel the traces of that experience — nostalgia for old-school, in-person sexual discovery, tinged with survivor’s guilt — lurking in Steel’s narrative debut, “Minyan,” a movie about an outsider among outsiders: a closeted kid adrift in Brighton Beach’s Russian Jewish community circa 1986.
Steel took a long time to make his narrative debut, and he comes to the project in the wake of other adolescent tales depicting the same era and milieu, such as Dito Montiel’s relatively...
Steel took a long time to make his narrative debut, and he comes to the project in the wake of other adolescent tales depicting the same era and milieu, such as Dito Montiel’s relatively...
- 3/28/2020
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
The festivals’s long-running Silver Screen Awards includes a nine-strong Asian feature film competition, featuring several titles by first-time directors.
The Singapore International Film Festival (Sgiff) has revealed the line-up for its 30th edition, which runs Nov 21-Dec 1.
The festivals’s long-running Silver Screen Awards includes a nine-strong Asian feature film competition, featuring several titles by first-time directors. Most of the contenders are already award winners, including Gu Xiaogang’s Dwelling In The Fuchun Mountains which earned best film and best director at First International Film Festival in Xining, Yosep Anggi Noen’s The Science Of Fictions, which received a special mention at Locarno,...
The Singapore International Film Festival (Sgiff) has revealed the line-up for its 30th edition, which runs Nov 21-Dec 1.
The festivals’s long-running Silver Screen Awards includes a nine-strong Asian feature film competition, featuring several titles by first-time directors. Most of the contenders are already award winners, including Gu Xiaogang’s Dwelling In The Fuchun Mountains which earned best film and best director at First International Film Festival in Xining, Yosep Anggi Noen’s The Science Of Fictions, which received a special mention at Locarno,...
- 10/22/2019
- by 1100978¦Silvia Wong¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
Dito Montiel to direct.
Angel Oak Films, the new Los Angeles and Brussels-based production and sales company headed by Pascal Borno and Alain Gillissen, have announced with vice-president of development B.I. Rosen they will fully finance and produce the Aaron Eckhart thriller Afterward.
Dito Montiel will direct the story of a father who sets out on a quest for justice after his daughter dies in a small town mired in corruption and ruthless politics.
Angel Oak has started talks with buyers in Tiff and the producers have earmarked a second quarter 2020 production start.
Producing alongside Angel Oak Films are Eckhart...
Angel Oak Films, the new Los Angeles and Brussels-based production and sales company headed by Pascal Borno and Alain Gillissen, have announced with vice-president of development B.I. Rosen they will fully finance and produce the Aaron Eckhart thriller Afterward.
Dito Montiel will direct the story of a father who sets out on a quest for justice after his daughter dies in a small town mired in corruption and ruthless politics.
Angel Oak has started talks with buyers in Tiff and the producers have earmarked a second quarter 2020 production start.
Producing alongside Angel Oak Films are Eckhart...
- 9/8/2019
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
In today’s film news roundup, Steve Coogan will receive the Charlie Chaplin award, Aaron Eckhart and Marisa Coughlan get cast and Swiss thriller “The Innocent” gets a Us release.
Award
Steve Coogan has been selected as the recipient of the Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award for Excellence in Comedy from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Los Angeles.
He joins previously announced honoree Jane Fonda, who will receive the Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film, and Jackie Chan, who will receive the Albert R. Broccoli Britannia Award for Worldwide Contribution to Entertainment. The awards will be presented on Oct. 25 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
“Throughout his three-decade career, Coogan has mastered the art of making people laugh and continues to entertain audiences with his brilliant portrayal of comedic characters. His most popular creation – the politically incorrect media personality, Alan Partridge – garnered him worldwide recognition as one of the greatest TV characters,...
Award
Steve Coogan has been selected as the recipient of the Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award for Excellence in Comedy from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Los Angeles.
He joins previously announced honoree Jane Fonda, who will receive the Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film, and Jackie Chan, who will receive the Albert R. Broccoli Britannia Award for Worldwide Contribution to Entertainment. The awards will be presented on Oct. 25 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
“Throughout his three-decade career, Coogan has mastered the art of making people laugh and continues to entertain audiences with his brilliant portrayal of comedic characters. His most popular creation – the politically incorrect media personality, Alan Partridge – garnered him worldwide recognition as one of the greatest TV characters,...
- 8/7/2019
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Steven Fisher has been upped to partner at Trevor Engelson’s Beverly Hills-based management/production company Underground.
Fisher has been with Underground for five years. Prior to his post at Underground, he was an agent at both UTA and ICM. His client roster includes Alex Karpovsky, Michael Zegen (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Desi Lydic (The Daily Show), Jessie Ennis (Mythic Quest), Instagram’s Celeste Barber, Leon Neyfakh (the creator of the podcasts Slow Burn and Fiasco) and Melinda Taub (Executive Producer and Head Writer for Full Frontal With Samantha Bee). Most recently, Fisher executive produced the Comedy Central special Desi Lydic: Abroad with Engelson.
“Steven has been a critical part of Underground’s growth,” said Engelson. “His appointment reflects not just the contribution he has made, but his innovation and commitment to creating unique opportunities for our clients, and the growth we are planning for our immediate future at Underground.
Fisher has been with Underground for five years. Prior to his post at Underground, he was an agent at both UTA and ICM. His client roster includes Alex Karpovsky, Michael Zegen (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Desi Lydic (The Daily Show), Jessie Ennis (Mythic Quest), Instagram’s Celeste Barber, Leon Neyfakh (the creator of the podcasts Slow Burn and Fiasco) and Melinda Taub (Executive Producer and Head Writer for Full Frontal With Samantha Bee). Most recently, Fisher executive produced the Comedy Central special Desi Lydic: Abroad with Engelson.
“Steven has been a critical part of Underground’s growth,” said Engelson. “His appointment reflects not just the contribution he has made, but his innovation and commitment to creating unique opportunities for our clients, and the growth we are planning for our immediate future at Underground.
- 7/22/2019
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Jesse Malin immortalized London’s Columbia Hotel on his 2004 album The Heat, writing about the loneliness and liberation of the transient existence in the song “Hotel Columbia.” It’s a theme he explores further and brings to colorful life in the new video for “Room 13,” the lead single off his upcoming album Sunset Kids.
Directed by Dito Montiel, the video finds Malin checking in to the Pink Hotel in L.A.’s San Fernando Valley, where he ruminates, as the lyrics go, on the shadows on his wall and the voices in the hall.
Directed by Dito Montiel, the video finds Malin checking in to the Pink Hotel in L.A.’s San Fernando Valley, where he ruminates, as the lyrics go, on the shadows on his wall and the voices in the hall.
- 7/10/2019
- by Joseph Hudak
- Rollingstone.com
Cineville has attached writer-director Dito Montiel to the independent dramatic thriller “Afterward,” Variety has learned exclusively.
Production is planned to start in the spring of 2019. Producers are Thomas D. Adelman, production manager on “The Usual Suspects”; Elizabeth Gast Napolitano; Frederic Demey (“Female Fight Squad”) and Carl Colpaert.
The story centers on a father’s struggle to deal with the passing of his daughter, which leads him on a quest for truth and justice against corruption and small town politics.
Montiel made his feature directorial debut on 2006’s “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints,” followed by “Fighting,” “The Son of No One,” “Empire State,” “Boulevard,” “Man Down,” and “The Clapper.”
“I’m excited to have Cineville behind me as we guide ‘Afterward’ into production,” he said. “While I’m hardly said to have a particular style or type of film I gravitate towards, ‘Afterward’ represents a challenging change of direction and a personal project for me,...
Production is planned to start in the spring of 2019. Producers are Thomas D. Adelman, production manager on “The Usual Suspects”; Elizabeth Gast Napolitano; Frederic Demey (“Female Fight Squad”) and Carl Colpaert.
The story centers on a father’s struggle to deal with the passing of his daughter, which leads him on a quest for truth and justice against corruption and small town politics.
Montiel made his feature directorial debut on 2006’s “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints,” followed by “Fighting,” “The Son of No One,” “Empire State,” “Boulevard,” “Man Down,” and “The Clapper.”
“I’m excited to have Cineville behind me as we guide ‘Afterward’ into production,” he said. “While I’m hardly said to have a particular style or type of film I gravitate towards, ‘Afterward’ represents a challenging change of direction and a personal project for me,...
- 10/3/2018
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Ed Helm (center, with hat) as Eddie and Tracy Morgan (to right) as Chris, in The Clapper. Photo courtesy of Momentum Pictures ©
The Clapper is an indie film about a different side of Hollywood, a kind of romantic comedy about an anonymous worker in Los Angeles who ekes out a living as a paid face in the crowd for audiences for infomercials. It is a job kind of like a movie extra but ranked much lower, as clappers are impersonating ordinary people in audiences in advertisements impersonating television programs. Clappers are part of the background that creates the illusion that producers are selling to their real audience.
Director Dito Montiel adapted the script from his novel “Eddie Krumble is the Clapper,” his second book after “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints,” which was also made into an indie film.. The story is semi-autobiographical, based on Montiel’s experiences after moving to L.
The Clapper is an indie film about a different side of Hollywood, a kind of romantic comedy about an anonymous worker in Los Angeles who ekes out a living as a paid face in the crowd for audiences for infomercials. It is a job kind of like a movie extra but ranked much lower, as clappers are impersonating ordinary people in audiences in advertisements impersonating television programs. Clappers are part of the background that creates the illusion that producers are selling to their real audience.
Director Dito Montiel adapted the script from his novel “Eddie Krumble is the Clapper,” his second book after “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints,” which was also made into an indie film.. The story is semi-autobiographical, based on Montiel’s experiences after moving to L.
- 1/26/2018
- by Cate Marquis
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Contrary to the struggles of many mainstream movie protagonists, not everyone wants to be famous. Not everyone is yearning to realize their artistic/entrepreneurial/world-changing dreams. Some people just want to get by without hurting anyone in the process. That's the refreshing gist of Dito Montiel's The Clapper, a look at the blue-collar fringe beyond the Hollywood fringe — not the restaurant workers juggling auditions and casting calls, not the big-screen extras, but the seat-fillers who pretend to be enthusiastic audience members for infomercials and other excruciatingly bad TV fare.
Adapting his 2007 novel Eddie Krumble Is the Clapper, a comic spin...
Adapting his 2007 novel Eddie Krumble Is the Clapper, a comic spin...
- 1/2/2018
- by Sheri Linden
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
"Who is The Clapper?" Momentum Pictures has debuted an official trailer for an indie comedy titled The Clapper, the latest from director Dito Montiel (A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, Fighting, The Son of No One, Man Down). The Clapper is about a man, played by Ed Helms, who enjoys his job to be paid to fill seats in infomercial audiences. But when a talk late night TV talk show host discovers and makes fun of him, his whole life gets turned upside-down. Very weird concept for a film, but this trailer actually makes it look kind of amusing, with a sweet side. The cast includes Amanda Seyfried, Tracy Morgan, P.J. Byrne, Charles Halford, and Leah Remini. This probably isn't what you're expecting, but doesn't look too bad. Here's the first official trailer (+ poster) for Dito Montiel's The Clapper, direct from YouTube: Eddie is a guy who gets paid...
- 12/13/2017
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Over a decade ago, Dito Montiel made a well received indie movie, “A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints,” but ever since has largely been failing upwards. A string of movies have followed, that find him working with decent names (Dwayne Johnson, Shia Labeouf, Kate Mara, Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Juliette Binoche) but all them have failed critically or commercially or both (“The Son Of No One,” “Empire State,” “Boulevard,” “Man Down“).
Continue reading ‘The Clapper’ Trailer: Ed Helms & Amanda Seyfried Fall In Love at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘The Clapper’ Trailer: Ed Helms & Amanda Seyfried Fall In Love at The Playlist.
- 12/13/2017
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Exclusive: The Clapper, the Dito Montiel comedy starring Ed Helms and Amanda Seyfried that bowed at the Tribeca Film Festival this spring, has been acquired by Momentum Pictures, which plans an early 2018 release. The deal was just finalized at the Toronto Film Festival but does not include streaming; Netflix has secured worldwide Svod rights. The plot in the screenplay written by Montiel and based on his book centers on Eddie Krumble (Helms) ,who moves to Los Angeles…...
- 9/14/2017
- Deadline
Previously, we sat down in an exclusive interview with The Clapper writer (of the novel and film) and director Dito Montiel and star Russell Peters. Here are other interviews we grabbed with Tracy Morgan, Brenda Vaccaro, and Russell Peters as well.
The Clapper held its world premiere at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival on April 23rd in New York where actors and even guest stars (cough, Mark Cuban, cough) lined the red carpet. The film follows Eddie Krumble, a professional audience clapper in a talk show who loses his job and reevaluates his life. Ed Helms stars as Krumble opposite Amanda Seyfried, who plays his love interest Judy, with his nemisis Jayme Stillerman played by Russell Peters and his mother played by Brenda Vaccaro. Among the rest of the cast include P.J. Byrne, Adam Levine, Leah Ramini, and even Alan Thicke’s last film.
You can check out the interviews we...
The Clapper held its world premiere at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival on April 23rd in New York where actors and even guest stars (cough, Mark Cuban, cough) lined the red carpet. The film follows Eddie Krumble, a professional audience clapper in a talk show who loses his job and reevaluates his life. Ed Helms stars as Krumble opposite Amanda Seyfried, who plays his love interest Judy, with his nemisis Jayme Stillerman played by Russell Peters and his mother played by Brenda Vaccaro. Among the rest of the cast include P.J. Byrne, Adam Levine, Leah Ramini, and even Alan Thicke’s last film.
You can check out the interviews we...
- 5/8/2017
- by Catherina Gioino
- Nerdly
The Clapper tells the story of Eddie Krumble, a professional audience clapper in a talk show who loses his job and reevaluates his life. The film stars Ed Helms, Amanda Seyfried, Russell Peters, Tracy Morgan, Alan Thicke (his last film), Brenda Vaccaro, Pj Byrne, and more. Dito Montiel directed the film as well as writing the screenplay, based off his novel, Eddie Krumble is the Clapper.
We got an exclusive sit down with both Montiel and Peters at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival, where the film had its world premiere on April 23. Read our interview below and be sure to check back for video interviews with Tracy Morgan, Brenda Vaccaro, and Russell Peters.
What was it like working with Tracy after Son of No One?
Dito: We stayed friends and the accident was of course terrifying and I was sure that he would die. Just hearing about how terrible it was.
We got an exclusive sit down with both Montiel and Peters at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival, where the film had its world premiere on April 23. Read our interview below and be sure to check back for video interviews with Tracy Morgan, Brenda Vaccaro, and Russell Peters.
What was it like working with Tracy after Son of No One?
Dito: We stayed friends and the accident was of course terrifying and I was sure that he would die. Just hearing about how terrible it was.
- 5/2/2017
- by Catherina Gioino
- Nerdly
Some men are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon ’em. Dito Montiel’s disarmingly sweet comedy The Clapper is about a man who not only has greatness thrust upon him, but is desperate to avoid greatness altogether.
Ed Helms is Eddie Krumble, a quiet little man who makes his living playing an audience member for infomercials, alongside his best friend Chris (Tracy Morgan) and a host of other oddballs. Eddie and Chris fill seats, clap, laugh, and ask those rote questions that no one ever doubted were scripted. And Eddie is pretty comfortable in that life – he has a sweet flirtation with Judy (Amanda Seyfried), a girl who works at a gas station and whom Eddie visits daily, just to see her. While this might not be the life that everyone dreams of, Eddie muddles along, if not quite happily then at least with increasing contentment.
Ed Helms is Eddie Krumble, a quiet little man who makes his living playing an audience member for infomercials, alongside his best friend Chris (Tracy Morgan) and a host of other oddballs. Eddie and Chris fill seats, clap, laugh, and ask those rote questions that no one ever doubted were scripted. And Eddie is pretty comfortable in that life – he has a sweet flirtation with Judy (Amanda Seyfried), a girl who works at a gas station and whom Eddie visits daily, just to see her. While this might not be the life that everyone dreams of, Eddie muddles along, if not quite happily then at least with increasing contentment.
- 4/27/2017
- by Lauren Humphries-Brooks
- We Got This Covered
Professional clapper is actually a job in Hollywood. Yes, we all know about studio audiences for TV shows – no L.A. tourist gets paid for that (though it could be argued that those visiting New York would pay to sit in the audience of Saturday Night Live if they could), but on informercials, you can make as much as $75 per taping. Director Dito Montiel – who in the past has directed everyone including Dwayne Johnson (Empire State), Robert Downey, Jr. (A Guide to Recognizin…...
- 4/24/2017
- Deadline
Previous | Image 1 of 7 | NextTracy Morgan on the Red Carpet at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival.
New York City – The Red Carpet is always a wild ride with the free-wheeling Tracy Morgan. He was at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival representing his role in the new film “The Clapper,” starring Ed Helms and featuring Brenda Vaccaro, who also walked the carpet. Joining them were surprise guests Mark Cuban and the musician known as Sting.
“The Clapper” is directed by Dito Montiel, from his novel, and stars Helms as a down-and-out divorced man, who moves to Los Angeles and becomes a professional audience member for various shows, with Tracy Morgan portraying his best friend. When the “Clapper” finally meets the girl of his dreams (Amanda Seyfried), his life as an audience professional is about to be exposed by the producer (Adam Levine) of a notorious talk show.
Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com was at the Red Carpet opening,...
New York City – The Red Carpet is always a wild ride with the free-wheeling Tracy Morgan. He was at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival representing his role in the new film “The Clapper,” starring Ed Helms and featuring Brenda Vaccaro, who also walked the carpet. Joining them were surprise guests Mark Cuban and the musician known as Sting.
“The Clapper” is directed by Dito Montiel, from his novel, and stars Helms as a down-and-out divorced man, who moves to Los Angeles and becomes a professional audience member for various shows, with Tracy Morgan portraying his best friend. When the “Clapper” finally meets the girl of his dreams (Amanda Seyfried), his life as an audience professional is about to be exposed by the producer (Adam Levine) of a notorious talk show.
Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com was at the Red Carpet opening,...
- 4/24/2017
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Now in its sixteenth year, New York City’s own Tribeca Film Festival kicks off every spring with a wide variety of programming on offer, from an ever-expanding Vr installation to an enviable television lineup, but the bread and butter of the annual festival is still in its film slate. This year’s festival offers up plenty of returning favorites with new projects, alongside fresh faces itching to break out. From insightful documentaries to fanciful features, with a heavy dose of Gotham-centric films (hey, it is Tribeca after all), there’s plenty to dive into here, so we’ve culled the schedule for a few surefire hits.
This year’s Tribeca Film Festival takes place April 20 – 30. Check out some of our must-see picks below.
Read More: Why ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Is the Most Anticipated Screening of the Tribeca Film Festival
“A Gray State”
It might be the craziest story...
This year’s Tribeca Film Festival takes place April 20 – 30. Check out some of our must-see picks below.
Read More: Why ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Is the Most Anticipated Screening of the Tribeca Film Festival
“A Gray State”
It might be the craziest story...
- 4/17/2017
- by Indiewire Staff
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Here’s an exclusive clip from Dito Montiel’s comedy The Clapper, which is gearing up for for its Tribeca Film fest world premiere April 23. The film, adapted from Montiel’s novel of the same name, is about people living a simple and content life before unexpected circumstances thrust them into Hollywood's limelight. Led by Ed Helms and Amanda Seyfried, the pic follows a professional television clapper, who is begrudgingly thrust into the spotlight, which ends…...
- 4/11/2017
- Deadline
Shia Labeouf’s war drama “Man Down” made headlines Tuesday after selling only one ticket during its UK opening weekend, grossing a total of £7 ($8.73), per ComScore. Now, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the film has sold an extra two tickets, making its total gross $26.19.
Read More: ‘Man Down’ Review: A Great Shia Labeouf Performance Is Wasted On a Misbegotten Genre Mash-Up About the Perils of Ptsd
“Man Down” was being screened at only one theater in the UK, the Reel Cinema branch in Burnley, and only once a day. “I think we’ve sold three tickets in total,” the theater manager told THR, adding that she had not “experienced anything like it before.” She also said that the film would “highly likely” end its run.
Read More: Why Shia Labeouf Needs a Career Reboot
Directed by Dito Montiel (“A guide to Recognizing Your Saints,” “The Son of No One”), “Man Down...
Read More: ‘Man Down’ Review: A Great Shia Labeouf Performance Is Wasted On a Misbegotten Genre Mash-Up About the Perils of Ptsd
“Man Down” was being screened at only one theater in the UK, the Reel Cinema branch in Burnley, and only once a day. “I think we’ve sold three tickets in total,” the theater manager told THR, adding that she had not “experienced anything like it before.” She also said that the film would “highly likely” end its run.
Read More: Why Shia Labeouf Needs a Career Reboot
Directed by Dito Montiel (“A guide to Recognizing Your Saints,” “The Son of No One”), “Man Down...
- 4/5/2017
- by Yoselin Acevedo
- Indiewire
Labeouf is compelling as a former marine with Ptsd but the film is irredeemable
Here’s a conundrum. Shia Labeouf delivers a superb performance in a film that is otherwise misjudged on almost every level. All panic sweats and jitters, he is a grenade about to go off, a man whose mind still ricochets with the gunfire he took as a marine in Afghanistan. But is Laboeuf alone reason enough to watch Dito Montiel’s crude study of Ptsd? I rather think not – it’s a film with a laboured twist and a horribly over-designed aesthetic. A scorched, coffee-stained colour palette is meant to evoke a post-apocalyptic future, while elsewhere there is so much soft focus, you start to wonder if there’s something wrong with your eyes.
Continue reading...
Here’s a conundrum. Shia Labeouf delivers a superb performance in a film that is otherwise misjudged on almost every level. All panic sweats and jitters, he is a grenade about to go off, a man whose mind still ricochets with the gunfire he took as a marine in Afghanistan. But is Laboeuf alone reason enough to watch Dito Montiel’s crude study of Ptsd? I rather think not – it’s a film with a laboured twist and a horribly over-designed aesthetic. A scorched, coffee-stained colour palette is meant to evoke a post-apocalyptic future, while elsewhere there is so much soft focus, you start to wonder if there’s something wrong with your eyes.
Continue reading...
- 4/2/2017
- by Wendy Ide
- The Guardian - Film News
Discussing the complexities of the psychological and physical horrors of war, with both civilians and soldiers alike, can often times bring everyone on a provocative and emotional journey. People with varying degrees of experience and knowledge of national security all feel they can offer the best insight into how their country should be protected from […]
The post Interview: Dito Montiel Talks Man Down (Exclusive) appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Interview: Dito Montiel Talks Man Down (Exclusive) appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 12/28/2016
- by Karen Benardello
- ShockYa
The world is a vast and wonderful place, filled with inexplicable and peculiar things, and one of them is the career of musician-turned-model-turned-author-turned-director Dito Montiel. Perhaps with a backstory as colorful as his it’s inevitable that the first Dito Montiel film, “A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints,” which was adapted by Dito Montiel from a book by Dito Montiel based on the life of 19th century German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer — naw, just kidding, based on the life of Dito Montiel — was going to be his best.
Continue reading Self-Serious ‘Man Down’ Starring Shia Labeouf Squanders Its B-Movie Potential [Review] at The Playlist.
Continue reading Self-Serious ‘Man Down’ Starring Shia Labeouf Squanders Its B-Movie Potential [Review] at The Playlist.
- 12/2/2016
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
With just a few weeks to go in 2016, it’s time to hit the sand with another film set in the (seems like) ongoing hotspot of the world, the Middle East. And while the recent Allied was set in the days of the second world war, this one deals with the current conflict. This time of year has been the release time for several of those armed forces features. Winter of 2013 had Lone Survivor while the following year American Sniper was a surprise box office smash. Odd, that this year we’ve seen three comedies use the war as a backdrop. There was Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, War Dogs, and Billy Lynn’S Long Halftime Walk (it might be a comedy, who knows?). But things are very grim and dour as Shia La Beouf reunites with writer/director Dito Montiel nearly ten years after A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints for the drama Man Down.
- 12/2/2016
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
And now we’ve arrived at the end of the calendar year. As the final push for year-end viewing continues at a furious pace, some of the last unknown films of 2016 will finally make their way to audiences. To help focus your viewing choices, here is a list of films opening throughout the coming weeks, separated into categories of wide and limited runs. (Synopses are provided by festivals and distributors.)
If you’re interested in what still might be in a theater near you, check out our November Release Guide. For those curious what 2017 might bring, you can also visit our calendar page, which has releases through the beginning of the new year.
Happy watching!
Week of December 2 Wide
Incarnate
Director: Brad Peyton
Cast: Aaron Eckhart, Carice van Houten, Catalina Sandino Moreno, David Mazouz, John Pirruccello, Keir O’Donnell, Matthew Nable
Synopsis: A scientist with the ability to enter the...
If you’re interested in what still might be in a theater near you, check out our November Release Guide. For those curious what 2017 might bring, you can also visit our calendar page, which has releases through the beginning of the new year.
Happy watching!
Week of December 2 Wide
Incarnate
Director: Brad Peyton
Cast: Aaron Eckhart, Carice van Houten, Catalina Sandino Moreno, David Mazouz, John Pirruccello, Keir O’Donnell, Matthew Nable
Synopsis: A scientist with the ability to enter the...
- 12/1/2016
- by Alec McPike and Steve Greene
- Indiewire
Some people struggle to find sympathy for Shia Labeouf, a talented young actor whose career has so violently careened from studio blockbusters to outsider art projects that it often seems like he’s trolling the entire planet, but to watch him in Dito Montiel’s disastrous “Man Down” — to see how hard he throws himself even into a movie that nothing else going for it — is to recognize once and for all that Labeouf is a performer who never shows up without the full courage of his convictions.
A well-intentioned but woefully misconceived genre mishmash, “Man Down” positions itself as a quasi-allegorical plea for Americans to take better care of their veterans, but even its best ideas are half-baked, and Montiel’s direct-to-video budget has no hope of affording his ambition. And yet, Labeouf doesn’t seem to have gotten the memo; he leans into every line like he’s...
A well-intentioned but woefully misconceived genre mishmash, “Man Down” positions itself as a quasi-allegorical plea for Americans to take better care of their veterans, but even its best ideas are half-baked, and Montiel’s direct-to-video budget has no hope of affording his ambition. And yet, Labeouf doesn’t seem to have gotten the memo; he leans into every line like he’s...
- 12/1/2016
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
The low-wattage, high-concept psychological drama Man Down is too misbegotten to be rescued by Shia Labeouf’s Method lead performance; in fact, the most interesting thing about it is his masochistic commitment to the film. Directed and co-written by the once promising Dito Montiel (Fighting), the movie sloppily juggles three narrative lines: one that follows a Marine named Gabriel Drummer (Labeouf) from boot camp to Afghanistan and back; another set at an afternoon session with a military therapist (Gary Oldman); and a third that takes place in a post-apocalyptic future, where Drummer and his best friend, Devin (Jai Courtney), wander an America that has been overrun by Islamist militants following a chemical attack that killed most of the population. There are a couple of easy-to-guess twists to this, but all they do is turn a bad movie into, well, a different kind of bad movie.
Yet it deserves to be...
Yet it deserves to be...
- 12/1/2016
- by Ignatiy Vishnevetsky
- avclub.com
For Shia Labeouf's latest military drama, Man Down, in which he stars as a U.S. Marine, the actor decided to add some realism to a scene in which he gets pepper sprayed in the face by opting to use real pepper spray.
Et's Ashley Crossan caught up with Labeouf at the premiere of Man Down in Los Angeles on Wednesday where he opened up about why he chose to suffer for the scene.
"I'm scared I'm not good enough," the outspoken 30-year-old star admitted. "It's like when you go bowling, [and] you put up the bumpers. You might be able to hit a strike without the bumpers but why not put the bumpers up?"
"The guy who did it to me, this guy named Nick Jones Jr., who is my heart, he is the Marine I went through this whole thing with," Labeouf added. "He knew how to do it in a safe way, so it just...
Et's Ashley Crossan caught up with Labeouf at the premiere of Man Down in Los Angeles on Wednesday where he opened up about why he chose to suffer for the scene.
"I'm scared I'm not good enough," the outspoken 30-year-old star admitted. "It's like when you go bowling, [and] you put up the bumpers. You might be able to hit a strike without the bumpers but why not put the bumpers up?"
"The guy who did it to me, this guy named Nick Jones Jr., who is my heart, he is the Marine I went through this whole thing with," Labeouf added. "He knew how to do it in a safe way, so it just...
- 12/1/2016
- Entertainment Tonight
Welcome back to the Weekend Warrior, your weekly look at the new movies hitting theaters this weekend, as well as other cool events and things to check out.
This Past Weekend:
It wasn’t a bad Thanksgiving weekend, especially for the Weekend Warrior who pretty much nailed two of his predictions for the weekend! Disney Animation’s Moana indeed at opened at #1 with $55.5 million for the three-day weekend (exactly my prediction), although it ended up with more--$81.1 million--in its first five days. The Brad Pitt-Marion Cotillard spy thriller, Allied (Paramount), directed by Robert Zemeckis, also opened with $18 million, right on track with my prediction. I guess I could take some comfort on being spot on with two of the Thanksgiving releases—like I said last week, that holiday weekend is a bear to predict—but I way overestimated the other two movies as sequelitis indeed hit Billy Bob Thornton...
This Past Weekend:
It wasn’t a bad Thanksgiving weekend, especially for the Weekend Warrior who pretty much nailed two of his predictions for the weekend! Disney Animation’s Moana indeed at opened at #1 with $55.5 million for the three-day weekend (exactly my prediction), although it ended up with more--$81.1 million--in its first five days. The Brad Pitt-Marion Cotillard spy thriller, Allied (Paramount), directed by Robert Zemeckis, also opened with $18 million, right on track with my prediction. I guess I could take some comfort on being spot on with two of the Thanksgiving releases—like I said last week, that holiday weekend is a bear to predict—but I way overestimated the other two movies as sequelitis indeed hit Billy Bob Thornton...
- 11/30/2016
- by Edward Douglas
- LRMonline.com
Oops — Shia Labeouf’s new movie, “Man Down,” literally cannot fall any lower with critics — three days ahead of its release, the film currently has a score of 0 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. While critics are praising Labeouf’s performance, they are describing the film as a “clumsy experiment” directed by Dito Montiel. “‘Man Down ‘turns out to be – by turns – uninteresting, treacly and chock full of war-movie cliches,” wrote The Guardian’s Andrew Pulver, while New York Daily News writer Allen Salkin says that “walking out of the theater comes as an unbridled relief.” See Video: Shia Labeouf Adds Freestyle Rapping.
- 11/30/2016
- by Wrap Staff
- The Wrap
Shia Labeouf wishes he could have a do over on some of his previous comments about legendary director Steven Spielberg. Shortly after completing Spielberg’s “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” Labeouf told the Los Angeles Times that Spielberg had “done so much great work that there’s no need for him to feel vulnerable about one film, but when you drop the ball you drop the ball.”
‘Man Down’ Trailer: Shia Labeouf Saw Some Things in the War That You Just Wouldn’t Understand, Man
Labeouf later told Variety that Spielberg was “less a director than he is a f---ing company.” Now, Labeouf says he feels he was too harsh on Spielberg. “I f--- up sometimes, you know,” Labeouf told SiriusXM’s “Sway In The Morning” show. “I probably could’ve gone lighter on Spielberg, that was probably something I should’ve backed off of.” Labeouf...
‘Man Down’ Trailer: Shia Labeouf Saw Some Things in the War That You Just Wouldn’t Understand, Man
Labeouf later told Variety that Spielberg was “less a director than he is a f---ing company.” Now, Labeouf says he feels he was too harsh on Spielberg. “I f--- up sometimes, you know,” Labeouf told SiriusXM’s “Sway In The Morning” show. “I probably could’ve gone lighter on Spielberg, that was probably something I should’ve backed off of.” Labeouf...
- 11/14/2016
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
A decade ago writer/director Dito Montiel made a strong impression with his directorial debut, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, based on his memoir of the same name. Since 2006, he hasn’t made a movie that’s struck a similar chord with audiences and critics. He’s collaborated with some great talent over the years, including Al Pacino and the […]
The post ‘Man Down’ Trailer: Shia Labeouf and Jai Courtney Star in Dito Montiel’s Post-Apocalyptic War Drama appeared first on /Film.
The post ‘Man Down’ Trailer: Shia Labeouf and Jai Courtney Star in Dito Montiel’s Post-Apocalyptic War Drama appeared first on /Film.
- 10/26/2016
- by Jack Giroux
- Slash Film
"What happened in that room is real..." Lionsgate Premiere has released the trailer for a war drama titled Man Down, the latest from filmmaker Dito Montiel (of A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints). Set in some kind of post-apocalyptic version of America (or so the synopsis claims), Shia Labeouf plays a marine with Ptsd who goes on a search to find his son. The cast includes Kate Mara, Gary Oldman, Jai Courtney, Clifton Collins Jr., Charlie Shotwell, and Wolé Parks. An oddly impressive cast, but I don't remember hearing a single thing about this when it premiered at festivals - usually a bad sign. It doesn't look that bad. Here's the first official trailer (+ original poster) for Dito Montiel's Man Down, direct from YouTube: In a post-apocalyptic America, former U.S. Marine Gabriel Drummer (Shia Labeouf) searches desperately for the whereabouts of his son, accompanied by his best friend and a survivor.
- 10/25/2016
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Shia Labeouf struggles to cope with Ptsd in the nail-biting first teaser for Man Down, Dito Montiel’s post-apocalyptic war drama set for release in early December.
Don’t let the post-apocalyptic handle fool you, though; Montiel’s feature is a character drama first and foremost, and early signs point to Labeouf turning in a raw, heartfelt performance as U.S. Marine Gabriel Drummer.
Upon returning home from a harrowing tour in Afghanistan, our damaged lead begins a desperate search to find estranged son Jonathan (Charlie Shotwell) and wife, Natalie (Kate Mara). It’s here that Man Down places a laser focus on the ways in which the horrors of war can erode one’s psyche to the point of mental collapse. Think American Sniper mixed with elements of The Hurt Locker, only darker.
Adam G. Simon is the brains behind the script, and following screenings at both Venice and Toronto last year,...
Don’t let the post-apocalyptic handle fool you, though; Montiel’s feature is a character drama first and foremost, and early signs point to Labeouf turning in a raw, heartfelt performance as U.S. Marine Gabriel Drummer.
Upon returning home from a harrowing tour in Afghanistan, our damaged lead begins a desperate search to find estranged son Jonathan (Charlie Shotwell) and wife, Natalie (Kate Mara). It’s here that Man Down places a laser focus on the ways in which the horrors of war can erode one’s psyche to the point of mental collapse. Think American Sniper mixed with elements of The Hurt Locker, only darker.
Adam G. Simon is the brains behind the script, and following screenings at both Venice and Toronto last year,...
- 10/25/2016
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
Dito Montiel helped lead Shia Labeouf to one of his best performances exactly a decade ago with A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints. While both the director and actor’s careers have been up and down since that collaboration, we’re certainly curious about a reteam. Their latest effort, the Ptsd drama Man Down, premiered over a year ago at Venice International Film Festival, but now it’ll finally be landing in theaters this December and the first trailer has landed.
We said in our review from Venice last year, “Labeouf and Montiel, who thrive on intensity in their respective professions, sometimes to the expense of subtlety, were both crying profusely after the film’s world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. It’s not difficult to imagine their care and commitment to a harrowing and personal dive into Ptsd territory, as misguided as it turned out to be.”
Check out...
We said in our review from Venice last year, “Labeouf and Montiel, who thrive on intensity in their respective professions, sometimes to the expense of subtlety, were both crying profusely after the film’s world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. It’s not difficult to imagine their care and commitment to a harrowing and personal dive into Ptsd territory, as misguided as it turned out to be.”
Check out...
- 10/25/2016
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Shia Labeouf has leaned toward the art-house in recent years, with roles in “Nymphomaniac” and “American Honey” marking a sharp contrast to his “Transformers” days. He’ll next be seen in a more conventional film, however: “Man Down,” a new thriller from director Dito Montiel. Watch its new trailer below.
Read More: ‘Borg/McEnroe’: See First Image of Shia Labeouf as Tennis Star John McEnroe for Biopic
Labeouf plays a Marine who, after returning from a tour of duty in Afghanistan, finds himself on the search for his wife (Kate Mara) and son (Charlie Shotwell); he’s aided in that quest by a friend and fellow Marine (Jai Courtney) whose trigger-happy approach to conflict resolution is both a hindrance and a help. Labeouf’s character is haunted by one wartime experience in particular, which informs his demeanor and behavior throughout the film.
Read More: Shia Labeouf Says He ‘Doesn...
Read More: ‘Borg/McEnroe’: See First Image of Shia Labeouf as Tennis Star John McEnroe for Biopic
Labeouf plays a Marine who, after returning from a tour of duty in Afghanistan, finds himself on the search for his wife (Kate Mara) and son (Charlie Shotwell); he’s aided in that quest by a friend and fellow Marine (Jai Courtney) whose trigger-happy approach to conflict resolution is both a hindrance and a help. Labeouf’s character is haunted by one wartime experience in particular, which informs his demeanor and behavior throughout the film.
Read More: Shia Labeouf Says He ‘Doesn...
- 10/25/2016
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
Writer/director Dito Montiel broke out with “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints” a decade ago, but ever since, he’s struggled to inspire the same acclaim. This state of affairs is certainly not due to lack of talent who have signed up to work with him, including folks like Al Pacino and Juliette Binoche in “The Son Of No One,” Channing Tatum for multiple film (‘Saints,’ ‘No One,’ and “Fighting“) and even Dwayne Johnson (“Empire State“).
Continue reading Shia Labeouf Returns Home From War In New Trailer For ‘Man Down’ With Kate Mara, Jai Courtney, Gary Oldman, More at The Playlist.
Continue reading Shia Labeouf Returns Home From War In New Trailer For ‘Man Down’ With Kate Mara, Jai Courtney, Gary Oldman, More at The Playlist.
- 10/25/2016
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
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