The Los Angeles Film Festival has announced the world premiere of Richard Linklater's Bernie as the opening night film for the 2011 festival.
The film will kick off the festival on June 16 at Regal Cinemas Stadium 14 at L.A. Live. It is written by Skip Hollandsworth and director Linklater and stars Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, and Matthew McConaughey.
The film follows a beloved mortician (Black) from a small Texas town, even winning over the town's richest, meanest widow (MacLaine). Even after Bernie commits a horrible crime, people still will not utter a bad word against him.
"We're thrilled to be opening the Festival with the world premiere of this delicious black comedy - a treat from one of the most original and exciting voices in independent film, Richard Linklater," said Festival director Rebecca Yeldham. "With its fabulous all-star cast, Bernie is a perfect stage setter for the incredible line-up of...
The film will kick off the festival on June 16 at Regal Cinemas Stadium 14 at L.A. Live. It is written by Skip Hollandsworth and director Linklater and stars Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, and Matthew McConaughey.
The film follows a beloved mortician (Black) from a small Texas town, even winning over the town's richest, meanest widow (MacLaine). Even after Bernie commits a horrible crime, people still will not utter a bad word against him.
"We're thrilled to be opening the Festival with the world premiere of this delicious black comedy - a treat from one of the most original and exciting voices in independent film, Richard Linklater," said Festival director Rebecca Yeldham. "With its fabulous all-star cast, Bernie is a perfect stage setter for the incredible line-up of...
- 5/30/2011
- by alyssa@mediavine.com (Alyssa Caverley)
- Reel Movie News
Like sitcom dads, high school teachers in big-screen comedies are more often than not the object of ridicule. What's most refreshing about the genial and well-observed Chalk is that it describes the high school experience from the of teachers' point of view. Some of them are goofy, to be sure, but rather than two-dimensional representatives of the clueless adult class, they're also earnest, devoted working people.
Writer-director Mike Akel and writer-actor Chris Mass have experience in the classroom, and that shows in the film's attention to detail and milieu: between-class decompression and drama in the teachers' lunchroom, the whir of the malfunctioning copier, the antique machinery of paper cutters and overhead projectors. More a series of loose-limbed vignettes than a sculpted narrative, Chalk lacks a compelling dramatic drive. But the cast creates a fine, improvisatory interplay, captured with verite-style camerawork, and the unforced humor and insights go a long way in this first feature, a Los Angeles Film Festival selection.
Beginning with a title card stating that 50% of teachers quit in their first three years on the job, the film focuses on a few individuals within that tender trial period. Co-writer Mass plays history teacher Mr. Stroope, who is well aware of his intellectual limitations, something of a ham and determined to claim the title of Teacher of the Year. By contrast, fumbling, serious newcomer Mr. Lowrey (Troy Schremmer) struggles to maintain order, let alone teach a lesson. Mrs. Reddell (Shannon Haragan), meanwhile, discovers that a promotion to assistant principal translates to endless days playing hallway cop and confessor to venting teachers, the thankless job putting a strain on her marriage and her friendship with gym teacher Lindsey Webb (Janelle Schremmer), a well-meaning but overbearing stickler for policy.
Unfolding over a school year, the Austin-shot film doesn't crescendo in any To Sir With Love emotional breakthroughs. But it does show the gradual building of trust and ease between teachers and students (played by students of the filmmakers), best exemplified in a delightful spin on the spelling-bee trend du jour in which teachers, competing in a student-organized event, try to spell urban slang words.
In developing the story, the actors named their characters after favorite teachers. That affection and respect for a profession that receives little societal support and far too little compensation is the substance of Chalk.
Writer-director Mike Akel and writer-actor Chris Mass have experience in the classroom, and that shows in the film's attention to detail and milieu: between-class decompression and drama in the teachers' lunchroom, the whir of the malfunctioning copier, the antique machinery of paper cutters and overhead projectors. More a series of loose-limbed vignettes than a sculpted narrative, Chalk lacks a compelling dramatic drive. But the cast creates a fine, improvisatory interplay, captured with verite-style camerawork, and the unforced humor and insights go a long way in this first feature, a Los Angeles Film Festival selection.
Beginning with a title card stating that 50% of teachers quit in their first three years on the job, the film focuses on a few individuals within that tender trial period. Co-writer Mass plays history teacher Mr. Stroope, who is well aware of his intellectual limitations, something of a ham and determined to claim the title of Teacher of the Year. By contrast, fumbling, serious newcomer Mr. Lowrey (Troy Schremmer) struggles to maintain order, let alone teach a lesson. Mrs. Reddell (Shannon Haragan), meanwhile, discovers that a promotion to assistant principal translates to endless days playing hallway cop and confessor to venting teachers, the thankless job putting a strain on her marriage and her friendship with gym teacher Lindsey Webb (Janelle Schremmer), a well-meaning but overbearing stickler for policy.
Unfolding over a school year, the Austin-shot film doesn't crescendo in any To Sir With Love emotional breakthroughs. But it does show the gradual building of trust and ease between teachers and students (played by students of the filmmakers), best exemplified in a delightful spin on the spelling-bee trend du jour in which teachers, competing in a student-organized event, try to spell urban slang words.
In developing the story, the actors named their characters after favorite teachers. That affection and respect for a profession that receives little societal support and far too little compensation is the substance of Chalk.
- 6/30/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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