[Editor's Note: This post is presented in partnership with Time Warner Cable Movies On Demand in support of Indie Film Month. Today's pick, "Low Down," is available now On Demand. This interview originally ran in October.] Tell me about how the project came to you. I'm trying to think if I've ever been called by producers to meet and talk about life, and what projects might happen. I don't think before or since. Certainly I've spoken to the people about specific projects but [Ron Yerxa and Albert Berger are] the only people that sought me out, which meant a lot to me, because I love their work. As we sat and chatted that first day, they talked about several projects one, of which I hope will happen some day, but they also handed me this book, "Low Down," Amy Albany's memoir of life on the Hollywood streets in the '70s growing up with her drug addicted jazz father. As I read the book, it was a harrowing, difficult read but fascinating nonetheless. I stayed in...
- 1/28/2015
- by Casey Cipriani
- Indiewire
Top brass at the 26th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (Psiff) will host one-day event The Power Of Words: Book To Screen on January 8.
Barbara Keller and Susan Rosser curate the event, which will kick off with a morning keynote by Chaz Ebert and end with a conversation with Still Alice author Lisa Genova and producer Elizabeth Gelfand Stearns.
The day will comprise four sessions with expected participants such as Low Down author Amy Albany, Low Down and Brokeback Mountain producer Albert Berger, Black Hawk Down: A Story Of Modern War author Mark Bowden, Black Hawk Down screenwriter Ken Nolan and The Descendants (pictured) author Kaui Hart Hemmings.
Event sponsors include Spencer’s, Lulu California Bistro, Hilton Palm Springs and Barnes & Noble. For additional information click here.
The Psiff will take place from January 2-12.
Barbara Keller and Susan Rosser curate the event, which will kick off with a morning keynote by Chaz Ebert and end with a conversation with Still Alice author Lisa Genova and producer Elizabeth Gelfand Stearns.
The day will comprise four sessions with expected participants such as Low Down author Amy Albany, Low Down and Brokeback Mountain producer Albert Berger, Black Hawk Down: A Story Of Modern War author Mark Bowden, Black Hawk Down screenwriter Ken Nolan and The Descendants (pictured) author Kaui Hart Hemmings.
Event sponsors include Spencer’s, Lulu California Bistro, Hilton Palm Springs and Barnes & Noble. For additional information click here.
The Psiff will take place from January 2-12.
- 11/12/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Low Down
Written by Topper Lilien and Amy Albany
Directed by Jeff Preiss
USA
Jazz can be vivacious and alive, but it can also get down real low. It becomes reserved, intimate, raw and wholly adult. Bebop demands a refined ear and a patient listener, and good music challenges you to listen closely and find the blues and pain within.
Low Down is a sharply jazzy, bleak and vital character drama based on the memoir of Amy-Jo Albany and her famous, piano-playing father and jazz musician Joe Albany. It’s less a music biopic and more a coming-of-age story about growing up real fast and learning to face the music all too soon.
Director Jeff Preiss sets Amy-Jo (Elle Fanning) up for disappointment right out the gate, with her father (John Hawkes) being arrested for failing to stay clean from his heroin addiction and breaking his parole. She speaks in...
Written by Topper Lilien and Amy Albany
Directed by Jeff Preiss
USA
Jazz can be vivacious and alive, but it can also get down real low. It becomes reserved, intimate, raw and wholly adult. Bebop demands a refined ear and a patient listener, and good music challenges you to listen closely and find the blues and pain within.
Low Down is a sharply jazzy, bleak and vital character drama based on the memoir of Amy-Jo Albany and her famous, piano-playing father and jazz musician Joe Albany. It’s less a music biopic and more a coming-of-age story about growing up real fast and learning to face the music all too soon.
Director Jeff Preiss sets Amy-Jo (Elle Fanning) up for disappointment right out the gate, with her father (John Hawkes) being arrested for failing to stay clean from his heroin addiction and breaking his parole. She speaks in...
- 10/25/2014
- by Brian Welk
- SoundOnSight
Oscilloscope Laboratories has acquired North American rights to Jeff Preiss' drama "Low Down," starring John Hawkes and Elle Fanning as father-daughter. The film world premiered in the Narrative Competition at this year's Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Best Cinematography award. Glenn Close and Peter Dinklage also co-star. Read More: Elle Fanning on How She Stays Grounded and Working With Angelina Jolie on 'Maleficent' In the true story, Fanning embodies Amy Albany (whose memoir the film is based on), a girl forced to cope with her drug addicted father, pianist Joe Albany (Hawkes), while coming of age during the '60s and '70s. Close plays her stern but loving grandmother. No release date has been announced as of yet.
- 5/7/2014
- by Nigel M Smith
- Indiewire
Plot: A young girl (Elle Fanning) tries to survive a tough upbringing in seventies era-Hollywood under the care of her heroin-addicted Jazz pianist father (John Hawkes). Review: Low Down is based on the true-story of Amy Albany, who watched her father, famed jazz pianist Joe Albany, succumb to addiction throughout her early life. Certainly one of the bleaker films to play at Sundance this year, Low Down is also one of the strongest, featuring superb performances by the two leads- Hawkes...
- 1/29/2014
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
‘Camp X-Ray’: Kristen Stewart and Peyman Moaadi praised, but mixed reviews for Sundance 2014 political drama (photo: Kristen Stewart in ‘Camp X-Ray’) The Guardian‘s Xan Brooks wasn’t too crazy about first-time feature film director Peter Sattler’s Camp X-Ray, screened at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival last week, though he did appreciate the acting of stars Kristen Stewart (Twilight, On the Road) and Peyman Moaadi (the male lead in Asghar Farhadi’s 2011 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar winner A Separation). In Camp X-Ray, Stewart plays a U.S. army private sent to Guantanamo, where she befriends one of the inmates, Ali (Moaadi), who claims to be an innocent man trapped in the American gulag and who also happens to be a devout follower of both the Koran and the Harry Potter books. Xan Brooks wrote: "Nestled somewhere deep inside Camp X-Ray — possibly in handcuffs, conceivably hooded — is a decent,...
- 1/22/2014
- by C. Vernon
- Alt Film Guide
She may just be months away from turning sweet 16, but make no mistake about it, Elle Fanning is an actress to contend with. At the 2014 Sundance Film Festival with two very different works, the futuristic western "Young Ones" and Jeff Preiss' devastating character study "Low Down," Fanning proves her formidable range. "Low Down" serves as bigger showcase for the actress. In the true story, Fanning embodies Amy Albany (whose memoir the film is based on), a girl forced to cope with her drug addicted father, pianist Joe Albany (John Hawkes), while coming of age during the '60s and '70s. Glenn Close co-stars as her stern but loving grandmother. Indiewire sat down with Fanning in Park City to discuss the challenging role, her upcoming performance as Princess Aurora in Disney's "Maleficent," and how she stays grounded. Amy is portrayed as a bit of a hermit in "Low Down.
- 1/21/2014
- by Nigel M Smith
- Indiewire
Director Jeff Preiss’ Low Down is based on Amy Albany’s memoir about growing up in La with a single, troubled dad who was involved in the 1970s jazz scene. The two, along with Elle Fanning, Glenn Close, Flea, and Tim Daly, chatted with EW’s Nicole Sperling about the personal nature of the film and what working with Albany on set was like. Watch the clip below:...
- 1/21/2014
- by EW staff
- EW - Inside Movies
About the Sundance U.S. Dramatic Competition: “Presenting the world premieres of 16 narrative feature films, the Dramatic Competition offers Festivalgoers a first look at groundbreaking new voices in American independent film.”
Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig in “The Skeleton Twins”
The Skeleton Twins
Directed by Craig Johnson
Written by Craig Johnson and Mark Heyman
Saturday Night Live alumni Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig headline a drama as twins reconnecting with each other and life. The plot seems vaguely reminiscent of The Savages, which starred Laura Linney and Phillip Seymour Hoffman as siblings bonding over the slow death of their father. However, with these characters focusing solely on one another, the built-in chemistry Hader and Wiig have together will no doubt factor heavily into the audience’s enjoyment, especially if viewers are already fans. They played a couple in charge of an amusement park in the 2009 comedy Adventureland and have a...
Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig in “The Skeleton Twins”
The Skeleton Twins
Directed by Craig Johnson
Written by Craig Johnson and Mark Heyman
Saturday Night Live alumni Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig headline a drama as twins reconnecting with each other and life. The plot seems vaguely reminiscent of The Savages, which starred Laura Linney and Phillip Seymour Hoffman as siblings bonding over the slow death of their father. However, with these characters focusing solely on one another, the built-in chemistry Hader and Wiig have together will no doubt factor heavily into the audience’s enjoyment, especially if viewers are already fans. They played a couple in charge of an amusement park in the 2009 comedy Adventureland and have a...
- 1/13/2014
- by Lane Scarberry
- SoundOnSight
The 2014 Sundance Film Festival is right around the corner, and the Sundance Institute has released the full line-up for the competition films that will be premiering!
This year there were 12,218 total submissions, and 117 films were accepted from 37 countries around the world. It looks like there's a lot of good selection of films this year.
The Sundance Film Festival 2014 runs from January 16th to the 26th, and the GeekTyrant team will be there to cover as many movies as we possibly can.
U.S. Dramatic Competition
The 16 films in this section are world premieres and, unless otherwise noted, are from the U.S.
“Camp X-Ray” — Directed and written by Peter Sattler. A young female guard at Guantanamo Bay forms an unlikely friendship with one of the detainees. Cast: Kristen Stewart, Payman Maadi, Lane Garrison, J.J. Soria, John Carroll Lynch.
“Cold in July” — Directed by Jim Mickle, written by Nick Damici.
This year there were 12,218 total submissions, and 117 films were accepted from 37 countries around the world. It looks like there's a lot of good selection of films this year.
The Sundance Film Festival 2014 runs from January 16th to the 26th, and the GeekTyrant team will be there to cover as many movies as we possibly can.
U.S. Dramatic Competition
The 16 films in this section are world premieres and, unless otherwise noted, are from the U.S.
“Camp X-Ray” — Directed and written by Peter Sattler. A young female guard at Guantanamo Bay forms an unlikely friendship with one of the detainees. Cast: Kristen Stewart, Payman Maadi, Lane Garrison, J.J. Soria, John Carroll Lynch.
“Cold in July” — Directed by Jim Mickle, written by Nick Damici.
- 12/5/2013
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
Sundance Film Festival continues to be one of the most popular, and arguably one of the most important, events on the industry calendar, launching as it does some of the most prominent independent films at the start of each year.
This year will be no different, with Sundance announcing last night the initial line-up of films screening in competition, led by Song One, starring Anne Hathaway; Camp X-Ray, starring Kristen Stewart; Infinitely Polar Bear, with Mark Ruffalo and Zoe Saldana; Joe Swanberg’s Happy Christmas, starring Anna Kendrick, Melanie Lynskey, Mark Webber, Lena Dunham, and Swanberg himself; The Skeleton Twins, with Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Luke Wilson, and Ty Burrell; Life After Beth, with Aubrey Plaza, Dane DeHaan, and John C. Reilly; Listen Up Philip, with Jason Schwartzman and Elisabeth Moss; Whiplash, starring Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons; and many, many more.
U.S. Dramatic Competition
Presenting the world premieres of 16 narrative feature films,...
This year will be no different, with Sundance announcing last night the initial line-up of films screening in competition, led by Song One, starring Anne Hathaway; Camp X-Ray, starring Kristen Stewart; Infinitely Polar Bear, with Mark Ruffalo and Zoe Saldana; Joe Swanberg’s Happy Christmas, starring Anna Kendrick, Melanie Lynskey, Mark Webber, Lena Dunham, and Swanberg himself; The Skeleton Twins, with Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Luke Wilson, and Ty Burrell; Life After Beth, with Aubrey Plaza, Dane DeHaan, and John C. Reilly; Listen Up Philip, with Jason Schwartzman and Elisabeth Moss; Whiplash, starring Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons; and many, many more.
U.S. Dramatic Competition
Presenting the world premieres of 16 narrative feature films,...
- 12/5/2013
- by Kenji Lloyd
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The 2014 Sundance Film Festival is coming up in January and today, the Sundance Institute has named the films that will be in the U.S. and world competitions as well as Next, which is an oddly-named showcase for “Pure, bold works distinguished by an innovative, forward-thinking approach to storytelling.”
There will be 67 films competing across five different competition categories. That may sound like a lot, but that’s only the first half of the film announcements. Later on they will be announcing the remaining lineup of films being shown outside these competitions.
Overall, it’s an impressive batch of entries, with several surprises and a handful of very promising movies. Check out the full list below and let us know what you think in the comments section.
U.S. Dramatic Competition
Camp X-Ray / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Peter Sattler) — A young woman is stationed as a guard in Guantanamo Bay,...
There will be 67 films competing across five different competition categories. That may sound like a lot, but that’s only the first half of the film announcements. Later on they will be announcing the remaining lineup of films being shown outside these competitions.
Overall, it’s an impressive batch of entries, with several surprises and a handful of very promising movies. Check out the full list below and let us know what you think in the comments section.
U.S. Dramatic Competition
Camp X-Ray / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Peter Sattler) — A young woman is stationed as a guard in Guantanamo Bay,...
- 12/5/2013
- by Jeremy Clymer
- We Got This Covered
God’S Pocket
Sundance Institute announced today the films selected for the U.S. and World Cinema Dramatic and Documentary Competitions and the out-of-competition section of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, January 16-26 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah.
Robert Redford, President & Founder of Sundance Institute said, “That the Festival has evolved and grown as it has over the past 30 years is a credit to both our audiences and our artists, who continue to find ways to take risks and open our minds to the power of story. This year’s films and artists promise to do the same.”
For the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, 118 feature-length films were selected, representing 37 countries and 54 first-time filmmakers, including 34 in competition. These films were selected from 12,218 submissions (72 more than for 2013), including 4,057 feature-length films and 8,161 short films. Of the feature film submissions, 2,014 were from the U.S. and 2,043 were international. 97 feature films at...
Sundance Institute announced today the films selected for the U.S. and World Cinema Dramatic and Documentary Competitions and the out-of-competition section of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, January 16-26 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah.
Robert Redford, President & Founder of Sundance Institute said, “That the Festival has evolved and grown as it has over the past 30 years is a credit to both our audiences and our artists, who continue to find ways to take risks and open our minds to the power of story. This year’s films and artists promise to do the same.”
For the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, 118 feature-length films were selected, representing 37 countries and 54 first-time filmmakers, including 34 in competition. These films were selected from 12,218 submissions (72 more than for 2013), including 4,057 feature-length films and 8,161 short films. Of the feature film submissions, 2,014 were from the U.S. and 2,043 were international. 97 feature films at...
- 12/5/2013
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
As I had predicted here, names such as Cutter Hodierne, Kat Candler, Maya Forbes, Mona Fastvold and Damien Chazelle would be among the invited guests at the ’14 edition of the Sundance Film Festival. It was such a strong year that even some items that I thought would be dark horse/long shots and might be looking at a fest berth from the sidelines are considered definite dramatic comp material, while some that was fully expecting to break the line-up have been passed up.
Horror “labeled” directors Carter Smith (Jamie Marks Is Dead) and Jim Mickle (Cold in July) broke into the line-up that is usually reserved for the newbie type of director and are coming in with perhaps different genre material. We’re glad to see Justin Simien’s Dear White People break into the 16 – it also acts as the long awaited return of Duly Noted producer Effie Brown. Actor...
Horror “labeled” directors Carter Smith (Jamie Marks Is Dead) and Jim Mickle (Cold in July) broke into the line-up that is usually reserved for the newbie type of director and are coming in with perhaps different genre material. We’re glad to see Justin Simien’s Dear White People break into the 16 – it also acts as the long awaited return of Duly Noted producer Effie Brown. Actor...
- 12/4/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
The U.S. and World Cinema Dramatic and Documentary Competition lineups for the 2014 Sundance Film Festival were announced today and just below I have featured pictures from the 16 films that will be competing in the U.S. Dramatic competition and they feature a lot of names you're going to recognize. The titles begin with Camp X-Ray, which stars Kristen Stewart as a guard in Guantanamo Bay, where she forms an unlikely friendship with one of the detainees. Jim Mickle made an impact earlier this year with We Are What We Are and he returns with Michael C. Hall with Cold in July. Fishing Without Nets looks to tell a story similar to that of Captain Phillips, only this time from the Somali side of things; God's Pocket is "Mad Men" star John Slattery's writing and directorial debut and he's lined up an impressive cast including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Richard Jenkins,...
- 12/4/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
While 2013 gave us Inside Llewyn Davis, 2014 will give us Low Down. I’m thinking that photographer/ethnographic documentarian/commercials and video director Jeff Preiss’ debut film will be something of an event. Taking the shape of a biographic tale not surprisingly related to American music scene, the drama should be ready for show – as it was filmed in March of this year. Lena Headey, Taryn Manning, Peter Dinklage, Elle Fanning, Burn Gorman, Caleb Landry Jones, Glenn Close, Tim Daly and John Hawkes who’ll take center stage once again.
Gist: Written by Topper Lilien and Amy Albany (based on Amy Albany’s memoir), this is a look at the life of pianist Joe Albany from the perspective of his young daughter, as she watches him contend with his drug addiction during the 1960s and ’70s jazz scene.
Production Co./Producers: Bona Fide Productions’ Albert Berger & Ron Yerxa (Nebraska), Epoch Films’ Mindy Goldberg (Junebug)
Prediction: U.
Gist: Written by Topper Lilien and Amy Albany (based on Amy Albany’s memoir), this is a look at the life of pianist Joe Albany from the perspective of his young daughter, as she watches him contend with his drug addiction during the 1960s and ’70s jazz scene.
Production Co./Producers: Bona Fide Productions’ Albert Berger & Ron Yerxa (Nebraska), Epoch Films’ Mindy Goldberg (Junebug)
Prediction: U.
- 11/20/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Damn, as far as indie movie hand offs go, this one is pretty great. So, Mark Ruffalo can no longer do your movie? How about John Hawkes instead? That's precisely what's happening with "Low Down," the developing jazz biopic focused on Joe Albany. Based on his daughter Amy Albany's memoir "Low Down: Junk, Jazz, and Other Fairy Tales From Childhood," the film will be told from the perspective of a child as she watches her father navigate the jazz scene of the '60s and '70s while struggling with drug addiction. While Albany might not be a household name, his talent allowed him to play alongside giants like Benny Carter, Charlie Parker and Miles Davis. So in short: Hawkes playing an addicted, but deftly talented musician? Yep, we're in. Commercial director Jeff Preiss, who is also a partner at Epoch Films who are producing the pic with...
- 11/12/2012
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
The Sessions' star John Hawkes will play legendary jazz pianist Joe Albany in the indie movie Low Down, directed by Jeff Preiss. He'll replace Mark Ruffalo who dropped out after signing on March, 2011. Variety reports that this marks the feature directorial debut of Preiss of Epoch Films, a commercials director. Topper Lilien writes alongside Amy Albany, who also wrote the memoir of the same title. Pic is set in the 1960s-1970s in the Los Angeles jazz scene, and tells of the relationship between a father called Albany and his eleven-year-old daughter Amy from the daughter's point of view. The story follows her different childhood with father in the world of cocktail bars and hotels.
- 11/12/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
The Sessions' star John Hawkes will play legendary jazz pianist Joe Albany in the indie movie Low Down, directed by Jeff Preiss. He'll replace Mark Ruffalo who dropped out after signing on March, 2011. Variety reports that this marks the feature directorial debut of Preiss of Epoch Films, a commercials director. Topper Lilien writes alongside Amy Albany, who also wrote the memoir of the same title. Pic is set in the 1960s-1970s in the Los Angeles jazz scene, and tells of the relationship between a father called Albany and his eleven-year-old daughter Amy from the daughter's point of view. The story follows her different childhood with father in the world of cocktail bars and hotels.
- 11/12/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
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