Twelve screenwriters have been chosen to participate in Film Independent's annual Screenwriters Lab, set to take place July 30-Sept. 12 in Los Angeles.
The seven-week program, designed to help writers working in independent film to improve their craft and sponsored by WGA West, will be taught by Jeff Kleeman.
The participating writers and their projects are Nicole Jefferson, Becoming Betty Davis; Mike Miller, Cleave; Suzi Yoonessi, Dear Lemon Lima; Tony Mosher and Mitch Larson, Down the Dirt Road; Drew Pillsbury, Kiss Don't Tell; Gretchen Somerfeld, Miami Purity; Garret Williams, Mudpuppy; Jessica Sanders, My Daily Routine; Cheryl Guerriero, Palmer; and Abigail Severance and Mo Perkins, The Summer We Drowned.
The session's guest speakers will include writer-directors Scott Frank, Doug Atchison, Scott Prendergast and Karen Moncrieff as well as writers Jeff Stockwell and Eric Roth.
The seven-week program, designed to help writers working in independent film to improve their craft and sponsored by WGA West, will be taught by Jeff Kleeman.
The participating writers and their projects are Nicole Jefferson, Becoming Betty Davis; Mike Miller, Cleave; Suzi Yoonessi, Dear Lemon Lima; Tony Mosher and Mitch Larson, Down the Dirt Road; Drew Pillsbury, Kiss Don't Tell; Gretchen Somerfeld, Miami Purity; Garret Williams, Mudpuppy; Jessica Sanders, My Daily Routine; Cheryl Guerriero, Palmer; and Abigail Severance and Mo Perkins, The Summer We Drowned.
The session's guest speakers will include writer-directors Scott Frank, Doug Atchison, Scott Prendergast and Karen Moncrieff as well as writers Jeff Stockwell and Eric Roth.
- 7/24/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Hollywood Film Festival
Road Rules Prods., Honeydo Prod.
Despite some confounding mood swings -- is this a black comedy, a light comedy or a cautionary tale about men cheating on their wives? -- "100 Mile Rule" comes off with enough verve to see it through. Owing to a few inspired comedy sequences and strong performances by leads Michael McKean, Jake Weber, Maria Bello and David Thornton, "Rule" is a small but winning tale about three Detroit salesmen who come to Los Angeles for a business convention and get into plenty of hot water.
During the day, the men attend conferences. At night, they pursue their main interest: finding women and getting laid. As one of them says, "You can do anything you want as long as you're 100 miles from home." When one (Weber) meets a cocktail waitress (Bello), he begrudgingly beds her, only to find she's made a video of the affair and wants money or else.
Weber's troubles escalate, and the film's energy suddenly changes from ho-hum to wacky. With all three men involved, extortion turns to chaos when Bello's boyfriend turns up dead in a hotel bathtub. This generates inspired physical comedy that has the men -- and the camera -- jumping around desperately while trying to lose the body. Then the tone changes again, falling face first into a pile of easy sentiment.
Director Brent Huff has a knack for comedy, but Drew Pillsbury's script -- the real culprit here -- drags the film from one mood to another. Although "100 Mile Rule" is a small tale with a few good moments, it's pleasing enough when it gets funny on us.
Road Rules Prods., Honeydo Prod.
Despite some confounding mood swings -- is this a black comedy, a light comedy or a cautionary tale about men cheating on their wives? -- "100 Mile Rule" comes off with enough verve to see it through. Owing to a few inspired comedy sequences and strong performances by leads Michael McKean, Jake Weber, Maria Bello and David Thornton, "Rule" is a small but winning tale about three Detroit salesmen who come to Los Angeles for a business convention and get into plenty of hot water.
During the day, the men attend conferences. At night, they pursue their main interest: finding women and getting laid. As one of them says, "You can do anything you want as long as you're 100 miles from home." When one (Weber) meets a cocktail waitress (Bello), he begrudgingly beds her, only to find she's made a video of the affair and wants money or else.
Weber's troubles escalate, and the film's energy suddenly changes from ho-hum to wacky. With all three men involved, extortion turns to chaos when Bello's boyfriend turns up dead in a hotel bathtub. This generates inspired physical comedy that has the men -- and the camera -- jumping around desperately while trying to lose the body. Then the tone changes again, falling face first into a pile of easy sentiment.
Director Brent Huff has a knack for comedy, but Drew Pillsbury's script -- the real culprit here -- drags the film from one mood to another. Although "100 Mile Rule" is a small tale with a few good moments, it's pleasing enough when it gets funny on us.
- 10/8/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.