Exclusive: Chernin Entertainment has launched development on Tomato Can, a new boxing film scripted by Michael Brandt (3:10 to Yuma), from his and Jamie Foxx’s original idea.
Details as to the plot of the film are under wraps. Chernin Entertainment will produce alongside Foxxhole Productions’ Foxx and Datari Turner.
A veteran screenwriter, director, and producer, Brandt is well known for scripting 3:10 to Yuma, the Academy Award-nominated Western actioner from director James Mangold, which starred Russell Crowe, Christian Bale and Ben Foster. The co-writer and executive producer of Lionsgate’s recent Mark Wahlberg pic Arthur the King, Brandt also previously co-wrote the tentpoles Wanted and 2 Fast 2 Furious. In television, he’s best known for creating NBC’s Chicago Fire, as well as writing and exec producing each of the Chicago franchise’s other three hit series, with credits on over 650 episodes.
Most recently, Foxxhole Productions has worked...
Details as to the plot of the film are under wraps. Chernin Entertainment will produce alongside Foxxhole Productions’ Foxx and Datari Turner.
A veteran screenwriter, director, and producer, Brandt is well known for scripting 3:10 to Yuma, the Academy Award-nominated Western actioner from director James Mangold, which starred Russell Crowe, Christian Bale and Ben Foster. The co-writer and executive producer of Lionsgate’s recent Mark Wahlberg pic Arthur the King, Brandt also previously co-wrote the tentpoles Wanted and 2 Fast 2 Furious. In television, he’s best known for creating NBC’s Chicago Fire, as well as writing and exec producing each of the Chicago franchise’s other three hit series, with credits on over 650 episodes.
Most recently, Foxxhole Productions has worked...
- 5/20/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
The 50th Annual Seattle International Film Festival (Siff) wrapped up on Sunday and announced the winners of the 2024 Golden Space Needle Audience and Juried Competition Awards.
The festival began on May 9 and screened 261 films representing 84 countries with “62% of the feature films were created by first or second-time filmmakers; 43% were created by women or nonbinary filmmakers; 35% of filmmakers identify as a Bipoc director; and nearly 60% are currently without U.S. distribution and may not screen commercially in the United States,” according to Siff.
Siff holds two categories of competition: juried and audience based. Juried competitions include five feature subcategories including the Official Competition, New American Cinema Competition, New Directors Competition, Ibero-American Competition and Documentary Competition. Short film categories include live action, animation and documentary.
In addition, over 32,000 ballots were submitted for the Golden Space Needle Awards (Gsna). Films judged through the GSNAs are selected by audience members through post-screening ballots. The categories include best film,...
The festival began on May 9 and screened 261 films representing 84 countries with “62% of the feature films were created by first or second-time filmmakers; 43% were created by women or nonbinary filmmakers; 35% of filmmakers identify as a Bipoc director; and nearly 60% are currently without U.S. distribution and may not screen commercially in the United States,” according to Siff.
Siff holds two categories of competition: juried and audience based. Juried competitions include five feature subcategories including the Official Competition, New American Cinema Competition, New Directors Competition, Ibero-American Competition and Documentary Competition. Short film categories include live action, animation and documentary.
In addition, over 32,000 ballots were submitted for the Golden Space Needle Awards (Gsna). Films judged through the GSNAs are selected by audience members through post-screening ballots. The categories include best film,...
- 5/19/2024
- by Lexi Carson
- Variety Film + TV
CNN’s Mark Thompson told advertisers additional details about the network’s strategy, with plans to expand franchises to digital platforms and to build new branded verticals around topics beyond politics.
“We don’t believe news is just politics,” Thompson said at the Warner Bros. Discovery upfront. “Business and tech are news. Climate and weather are news. Health, wellness and living longer are news. So expect to see us build new branded verticals in all these areas on TV, on our apps and across our other platforms.”
Thompson has previously made the case that viewers are interested in a wider scope of coverage areas, while he has outlined plans to integrate linear TV and digital news units, and to boost CNN’s presence and innovation on smart phones and other mobile devices.
He pointed to the CNN franchise Five Things as the type of project that crosses platforms, with a newsletter,...
“We don’t believe news is just politics,” Thompson said at the Warner Bros. Discovery upfront. “Business and tech are news. Climate and weather are news. Health, wellness and living longer are news. So expect to see us build new branded verticals in all these areas on TV, on our apps and across our other platforms.”
Thompson has previously made the case that viewers are interested in a wider scope of coverage areas, while he has outlined plans to integrate linear TV and digital news units, and to boost CNN’s presence and innovation on smart phones and other mobile devices.
He pointed to the CNN franchise Five Things as the type of project that crosses platforms, with a newsletter,...
- 5/15/2024
- by Ted Johnson
- Deadline Film + TV
“Love is a gamble and I’m so glad that I’m winnin,” sings Luther Vandross in his 1981 classic “Never Too Much” song with a sentiment that has some extra significance today.
CNN Films and OWN have picked up Dawn Porter’s Sundance Film Festival-debuting Luther: Never Too Much documentary, it was announced today at the Warner Bros Discovery upfront in NYC. The 101-minute film, which counts Colin Firth among its EPs and had Sony Music Entertainment as its sales agent, is set to debut on CNN, OWN and streamer Max next year.
“I’m thrilled to partner again with CNN Films and OWN to bring this film to audiences,” said director Porter on Wednesday. “Luther’s music is timeless, his legacy is unsurpassed, and we can’t wait for all of his fans new and old to experience his brilliance.”
“CNN Films has a long history of bringing audiences...
CNN Films and OWN have picked up Dawn Porter’s Sundance Film Festival-debuting Luther: Never Too Much documentary, it was announced today at the Warner Bros Discovery upfront in NYC. The 101-minute film, which counts Colin Firth among its EPs and had Sony Music Entertainment as its sales agent, is set to debut on CNN, OWN and streamer Max next year.
“I’m thrilled to partner again with CNN Films and OWN to bring this film to audiences,” said director Porter on Wednesday. “Luther’s music is timeless, his legacy is unsurpassed, and we can’t wait for all of his fans new and old to experience his brilliance.”
“CNN Films has a long history of bringing audiences...
- 5/15/2024
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
CNN aims to return to the recipe that gave its viewers explorers of international cuisine such as Anthony Bourdain and Stanley Tucci.
After announcing in October of 2022 that the Warner Bros. Discovery-backed outlet would pull back on the efforts that made it a name in original documentary series and films — ostensibly to cut costs at a time when its corporate parent was grappling with significant debt — CNN wants to get back into the business of developing original non-fiction series and movies.
“I think we are very much in the rebuild phase,” Amy Entelis, executive vice president for talent and content, tells Variety during a recent interview.
Mark Thompson, named in August to oversee CNN following a tumultuous run under predecessor Chris Licht, has articulated a strategy of building out new areas and verticals that can help the company win more customers and viewers. Original series would seem to be one of them.
After announcing in October of 2022 that the Warner Bros. Discovery-backed outlet would pull back on the efforts that made it a name in original documentary series and films — ostensibly to cut costs at a time when its corporate parent was grappling with significant debt — CNN wants to get back into the business of developing original non-fiction series and movies.
“I think we are very much in the rebuild phase,” Amy Entelis, executive vice president for talent and content, tells Variety during a recent interview.
Mark Thompson, named in August to oversee CNN following a tumultuous run under predecessor Chris Licht, has articulated a strategy of building out new areas and verticals that can help the company win more customers and viewers. Original series would seem to be one of them.
- 5/15/2024
- by Brian Steinberg
- Variety Film + TV
Dawn Porter’s documentary about R&b icon Luther Vandross, “Luther: Never Too Much,” has been acquired by CNN Films in partnership with the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), IndieWire can reveal exclusively.
The documentary film, which first premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, will debut in 2025 first on television on CNN and OWN before it lands on Max.
The acquisition is encouraging news for CNN Films, which back in 2022 under former boss Chris Licht scaled back on its original documentary films. The brand moved away from acquisitions or commissioning projects and opted instead for newsy, quick turnaround docs produced in-house.
But CNN Films also partnered with Warner Bros. Discovery and DC Studios on this fall’s release of “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story,” so the two acquisitions, both from this year’s Sundance, is a positive step forward for the documentary brand.
“Luther: Never Too Much” chronicles the story of a vocal virtuoso,...
The documentary film, which first premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, will debut in 2025 first on television on CNN and OWN before it lands on Max.
The acquisition is encouraging news for CNN Films, which back in 2022 under former boss Chris Licht scaled back on its original documentary films. The brand moved away from acquisitions or commissioning projects and opted instead for newsy, quick turnaround docs produced in-house.
But CNN Films also partnered with Warner Bros. Discovery and DC Studios on this fall’s release of “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story,” so the two acquisitions, both from this year’s Sundance, is a positive step forward for the documentary brand.
“Luther: Never Too Much” chronicles the story of a vocal virtuoso,...
- 5/15/2024
- by Brian Welk
- Indiewire
DC/Dox has unveiled the lineup for its second annual edition, which takes place in Washington, D.C., from June 13-16. The documentary festival will kick things off with “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story,” the Warner Bros. Discovery film that premiered at Sundance earlier this year.
The second edition of the fest includes 51 features and 47 shorts from 17 countries. That’s up from last year’s state of 31 features and 21 shorts from eight countries. This year’s lineup is made of 60% of filmmakers identifying as women or non-binary. Films will screen at venues including Smithsonian’s Museum of American History, the Burke Theatre at the U.S. Navy Memorial, and the National Archives.
“The films on the 2024 slate highlight the remarkable breadth and depth of documentary storytelling today,” says DC/Dox co-founder and festival director Sky Sitney. “From filmmakers around the world, these works recalibrate the past through archival footage, immerse themselves...
The second edition of the fest includes 51 features and 47 shorts from 17 countries. That’s up from last year’s state of 31 features and 21 shorts from eight countries. This year’s lineup is made of 60% of filmmakers identifying as women or non-binary. Films will screen at venues including Smithsonian’s Museum of American History, the Burke Theatre at the U.S. Navy Memorial, and the National Archives.
“The films on the 2024 slate highlight the remarkable breadth and depth of documentary storytelling today,” says DC/Dox co-founder and festival director Sky Sitney. “From filmmakers around the world, these works recalibrate the past through archival footage, immerse themselves...
- 5/1/2024
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
In 2011, Dawn Porter arrived at Hot Docs Pitch Forum in the hopes of securing funding for her first documentary feature, “Gideon’s Army.” Thirteen years later, Porter is back in Toronto with her 10th feature doc “Luther: Never Too Much,” which opened the 31st edition of Hot Docs.
The 101-minute film about the life and career of the late R&b singer Luther Vandross made its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January and has since become an audience favorite on the festival circuit. In addition to serving as Hot Docs’ opening night film, the movie will also launch the Hot Doc’s Pop/ Life sidebar of films about music and musicians.
In the film, Porter chronicles Vandross’ rise from background singer to singing sensation via archival interviews with Vandross and new ones with his collaborators, including legendary recording artists Mariah Carey and Dionne Warwick. Rarely seen archives,...
The 101-minute film about the life and career of the late R&b singer Luther Vandross made its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January and has since become an audience favorite on the festival circuit. In addition to serving as Hot Docs’ opening night film, the movie will also launch the Hot Doc’s Pop/ Life sidebar of films about music and musicians.
In the film, Porter chronicles Vandross’ rise from background singer to singing sensation via archival interviews with Vandross and new ones with his collaborators, including legendary recording artists Mariah Carey and Dionne Warwick. Rarely seen archives,...
- 4/25/2024
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
The American Black Film Festival (ABFF) has set its lineup of narrative and documentary features for its 28th edition, including Jussie Smollett’s return to acting in “The Lost Holliday,” filmmaker Christine Swanson’s latest drama “Albany Road” and the acclaimed Luther Vandross doc “Never Too Much.”
This year’s festival takes place June 12-16 in Miami Beach, Fla., followed by a virtual segment June 17-24 on ABFF Play. Winners of film festival competition will be announced on June 15, during the “Best of ABFF Awards” hosted by Emmy-nominee Dondré Whitfield.
The 2024 narrative lineup includes “Albany Road,” directed and written by Swanson, starring Renée Elise Goldsberry, Lynn Whitfield and J. Alphonse Nicholson; “The Lost Holliday” directed by, co-written and starring Smollett alongside Vivica A. Fox, produced by Mona Scott-Young; “The Waterboyz,” directed by Coke Daniels and produced by Ben Crump, starring Akil McDowell, Alani “La La” Anthony and Quavo; and “Black Heat,...
This year’s festival takes place June 12-16 in Miami Beach, Fla., followed by a virtual segment June 17-24 on ABFF Play. Winners of film festival competition will be announced on June 15, during the “Best of ABFF Awards” hosted by Emmy-nominee Dondré Whitfield.
The 2024 narrative lineup includes “Albany Road,” directed and written by Swanson, starring Renée Elise Goldsberry, Lynn Whitfield and J. Alphonse Nicholson; “The Lost Holliday” directed by, co-written and starring Smollett alongside Vivica A. Fox, produced by Mona Scott-Young; “The Waterboyz,” directed by Coke Daniels and produced by Ben Crump, starring Akil McDowell, Alani “La La” Anthony and Quavo; and “Black Heat,...
- 4/24/2024
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
Emily Kassie and Julian Brave NoiseCat’s documentary “Sugarcane” garnered the top nonfiction honor at the 26th annual Sarasota Film Festival. About the abuse and death of Indigenous children at a Canadian-based Indian Residential School, the docu premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival (Sff), where it picked up the U.S. documentary directing kudo. In February, National Geographic Documentary Films acquired the film.
The doc feature jury made up of producer Wren Arthur, Indiewire’s Christian Blauvelt, NPR’s Eric Deggans, and Doc NYC artistic director Jaie Laplante said in a joint statement that they selected the film for “bravely tackling the legacy of trauma from the abuse of First Nations students at the St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School in British Columbia. The Catholic Church-run school closed decades ago, but the horrors there are still deeply felt by generations across an entire community. The filmmakers do not lose sight...
The doc feature jury made up of producer Wren Arthur, Indiewire’s Christian Blauvelt, NPR’s Eric Deggans, and Doc NYC artistic director Jaie Laplante said in a joint statement that they selected the film for “bravely tackling the legacy of trauma from the abuse of First Nations students at the St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School in British Columbia. The Catholic Church-run school closed decades ago, but the horrors there are still deeply felt by generations across an entire community. The filmmakers do not lose sight...
- 4/15/2024
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Following a gala closing night celebration featuring Steve Buscemi and his film “The Listener,” the 2024 Sarasota Film Festival has announced its awards — with several prominent indies taking the top prizes. This 26th edition of the Florida festival celebrating independent film gave the Narrative Feature Jury Prize to Josh Margolin’s Sundance breakout “Thelma,” starring June Squibb and the late Richard Roundtree. “Sugarcane” won the Documentary Feature Jury Prize.
Speaking for the narrative feature jury, filmmaker Alex Hedison, in awarding the prize to “Thelma,” said the group found the movie to celebrate “what Hollywood cinema so infrequently does: age. The extraordinary performances by June Squib and Richard Roundtree are at the center of ‘Thelma,’ surrounded by an excellent supporting cast who serve as a surrogate for the audience in reminding them of the significance of living their best lives with the kind of action and adventure life affords us if we...
Speaking for the narrative feature jury, filmmaker Alex Hedison, in awarding the prize to “Thelma,” said the group found the movie to celebrate “what Hollywood cinema so infrequently does: age. The extraordinary performances by June Squib and Richard Roundtree are at the center of ‘Thelma,’ surrounded by an excellent supporting cast who serve as a surrogate for the audience in reminding them of the significance of living their best lives with the kind of action and adventure life affords us if we...
- 4/15/2024
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
“I bring you news from America, where commissions are plentiful and they all come within two weeks,” joked Dawn Porter, playing to the industry crowd at the international television market MIPTV on Sunday.
It got a big laugh. Everyone in the audience knows the reality: That the era of peak TV is past and that broadcasters and streamers are slashing their budgets for original programming. That decline is one of the reasons this will be the last MIPTV, with plans to move Mip to London next year and dramatically downsize the storied TV market. The mood on the Croisette this year is practically funereal.
But Porter came to Mip not to bury the TV business but to praise it.
“I’m sure that we’re all quite aware of the difficulties of commissioning and the challenges in our market,” she told the industry audience, “but I want to stress that...
It got a big laugh. Everyone in the audience knows the reality: That the era of peak TV is past and that broadcasters and streamers are slashing their budgets for original programming. That decline is one of the reasons this will be the last MIPTV, with plans to move Mip to London next year and dramatically downsize the storied TV market. The mood on the Croisette this year is practically funereal.
But Porter came to Mip not to bury the TV business but to praise it.
“I’m sure that we’re all quite aware of the difficulties of commissioning and the challenges in our market,” she told the industry audience, “but I want to stress that...
- 4/7/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
MipDoc keynote speaker Dawn Porter is coming to Cannes to discuss not only the challenging doc marketplace, but also how to work and prosper within it.
In the last few years the doc industry has favored a handful of big-name filmmakers, like Porter, who are commissioned to make one-off films or docuseries. Over the last 12 months two of Porter’s docus were released: “Deadlocked: How America Shaped the Supreme Court” which was financed and distributed by Showtime and “The Lady Bird Diaries,” which was financed and distributed by Hulu/ABC News.
But budgets for commissioned projects, even those with well-known documentarians attached, have diminished significantly since the pandemic, due in part to corporate consolidation. The shrinking number of nonfiction distributors has hit directors of independently made docs especially hard. The major streaming services, who were spending millions to acquire indie fare five years ago, lost interest in garnering titles out of festivals.
In the last few years the doc industry has favored a handful of big-name filmmakers, like Porter, who are commissioned to make one-off films or docuseries. Over the last 12 months two of Porter’s docus were released: “Deadlocked: How America Shaped the Supreme Court” which was financed and distributed by Showtime and “The Lady Bird Diaries,” which was financed and distributed by Hulu/ABC News.
But budgets for commissioned projects, even those with well-known documentarians attached, have diminished significantly since the pandemic, due in part to corporate consolidation. The shrinking number of nonfiction distributors has hit directors of independently made docs especially hard. The major streaming services, who were spending millions to acquire indie fare five years ago, lost interest in garnering titles out of festivals.
- 4/6/2024
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
The Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival has been plunged into chaos a month before its 2024 edition.
The opening press conference in Toronto on Tuesday was overshadowed by news that the Hot Docs artistic director, Hussain Currimbhoy, and 10 programmers had left the festival organizing team ahead of the 2024 edition kicking off on April 25.
Hot Docs in a festival statement confirmed Currimbhoy’s departure as artistic director on March 20, “due to personal reasons.” “Regrettably, some members of the programming team have decided not to participate in this year’s festival. We thank them for their contributions,” the documentary festival added.
Their departure forced Hot Docs president Marie Nelson — the former ABC News and Disney exec who took the helm at the Canadian festival in June 2023 — onto the back foot when she stepped forward to unveil the lineup for the 2024 edition.
“We understand that our union is far from perfect, but I...
The opening press conference in Toronto on Tuesday was overshadowed by news that the Hot Docs artistic director, Hussain Currimbhoy, and 10 programmers had left the festival organizing team ahead of the 2024 edition kicking off on April 25.
Hot Docs in a festival statement confirmed Currimbhoy’s departure as artistic director on March 20, “due to personal reasons.” “Regrettably, some members of the programming team have decided not to participate in this year’s festival. We thank them for their contributions,” the documentary festival added.
Their departure forced Hot Docs president Marie Nelson — the former ABC News and Disney exec who took the helm at the Canadian festival in June 2023 — onto the back foot when she stepped forward to unveil the lineup for the 2024 edition.
“We understand that our union is far from perfect, but I...
- 3/26/2024
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival has selected 168 films for its 2024 edition, including world premieres of Red Fever, American Cats: The Good, the Bad and the Cuddly and The Ride Ahead.
The festival is pushing ahead with its 2024 event from April 25 to May 5, despite the resignation of 10 programmers this past weekend; and the departure of artistic director Hussain Currimbhoy on March 20.
The 51 world premieres in the festival include Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond’s Red Fever, in which he travels North America and Europe investigating the world’s fascination with Native Americans; Amy Hoggart’s American Cats: The Good, the Bad and the Cuddly,...
The festival is pushing ahead with its 2024 event from April 25 to May 5, despite the resignation of 10 programmers this past weekend; and the departure of artistic director Hussain Currimbhoy on March 20.
The 51 world premieres in the festival include Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond’s Red Fever, in which he travels North America and Europe investigating the world’s fascination with Native Americans; Amy Hoggart’s American Cats: The Good, the Bad and the Cuddly,...
- 3/26/2024
- ScreenDaily
Dawn Porter’s “Luther: Never Too Much” will open the 31st edition of Hot Docs, which on Tuesday announced its full slate of 168 films — including 120 features — from 64 countries, screening across an array of returning and new programming configurations from April 25 to May 5.
“Luther,” which also launches Hot Docs’ Pop / Life sidebar of films about music and musicians, is a bio-doc about singer Luther Vandross. Warmly received at its Sundance premiere this year, the film “exposes some uneasy truths about the music industry and the media we may now know,” according to Variety’s review.
Excitement around Hot Docs’ official lineup announcement was dampened by the hot revelation Sunday evening on the social media feed of Myrocia Watamaniuk that she and nine other festival programmers had decided as a group “to exit the 2024 Hot Docs Festival.” No specific reasons for the exit were given in the post nor were they forthcoming.
“Luther,” which also launches Hot Docs’ Pop / Life sidebar of films about music and musicians, is a bio-doc about singer Luther Vandross. Warmly received at its Sundance premiere this year, the film “exposes some uneasy truths about the music industry and the media we may now know,” according to Variety’s review.
Excitement around Hot Docs’ official lineup announcement was dampened by the hot revelation Sunday evening on the social media feed of Myrocia Watamaniuk that she and nine other festival programmers had decided as a group “to exit the 2024 Hot Docs Festival.” No specific reasons for the exit were given in the post nor were they forthcoming.
- 3/26/2024
- by Jennie Punter
- Variety Film + TV
Steve Buscemi’s “The Listener” is heading to the Sarasota Film Festival.
The 26th edition of the Florida fest will feature live and in-person screenings and events that will take place across Sarasota beginning on April 5. The 10-day fest will feature 23 narrative features, 41 documentary features and 81 short films.
Buscemi will be in Sarasota to participate in a Q&a following the screening of “The Listener,” which will serve as the closing night film. About a crisis hotline worker enduring the pressures of her job, the film starring Tessa Thompson made its world premiere at Venice Film Festival in 2022.
Lynn Dow’s “Bull Street,” starring Loretta Devine and Amy Madigan, will open the fest on April 5. The drama centers on a South Carolina small-town lawyer (Malynda Hale) as she faces local politics and an unwavering judge (Madigan) when her estranged father’s family tries to evict her and her grandmother (Devine) from her home.
The 26th edition of the Florida fest will feature live and in-person screenings and events that will take place across Sarasota beginning on April 5. The 10-day fest will feature 23 narrative features, 41 documentary features and 81 short films.
Buscemi will be in Sarasota to participate in a Q&a following the screening of “The Listener,” which will serve as the closing night film. About a crisis hotline worker enduring the pressures of her job, the film starring Tessa Thompson made its world premiere at Venice Film Festival in 2022.
Lynn Dow’s “Bull Street,” starring Loretta Devine and Amy Madigan, will open the fest on April 5. The drama centers on a South Carolina small-town lawyer (Malynda Hale) as she faces local politics and an unwavering judge (Madigan) when her estranged father’s family tries to evict her and her grandmother (Devine) from her home.
- 3/21/2024
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
After a year-long hiatus the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival has unveiled the lineup for its 26th edition, which will take place in Durham, N.C., from April 4-7. The festival will kick things off with “Girls State,” the Apple Original docu that premiered at Sundance earlier this year.
It’s been five years since Full Frame, often referred to as “a filmmaker’s festival,” was held as an in-person event. Full Frame was held entirely online for the 2020–22 festivals due to Covid-19. Then in 2023 the festival was put on hold last year due to financial struggles and leadership turnover at Duke’s Center for Documentary Studies (Cds), a nonprofit affiliate of the university that puts on the fest. Notably, Cds executive director Opeyemi Olukemi resigned last year. As reported by The Assembly, Olukemi, who took the role in 2021, was criticized as the Cds staff shrank and a bulk of...
It’s been five years since Full Frame, often referred to as “a filmmaker’s festival,” was held as an in-person event. Full Frame was held entirely online for the 2020–22 festivals due to Covid-19. Then in 2023 the festival was put on hold last year due to financial struggles and leadership turnover at Duke’s Center for Documentary Studies (Cds), a nonprofit affiliate of the university that puts on the fest. Notably, Cds executive director Opeyemi Olukemi resigned last year. As reported by The Assembly, Olukemi, who took the role in 2021, was criticized as the Cds staff shrank and a bulk of...
- 3/14/2024
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Gotham Award winner Dawn Porter (Luther: Never Too Much) will direct and produce a documentary about one of the most iconic, politically-charged partnerships in history: the remarkable, largely untold story of Nelson and Winnie Mandela. She’ll also produce through her Trilogy Films, alongside the Schultz Family Foundation.
Based on Winnie and Nelson: Portrait of a Marriage, a book by noted South African writer and scholar Jonny Steinberg, the film will explore the Mandelas’ profound bond and how their marriage was inextricably entangled with the struggle against apartheid. The film promises an intimate portrayal of Nelson and Winnie’s marriage, delving into their vehement and volatile connection from their early years to their mutual goal of dismantling apartheid. Their journey culminates in Nelson Mandela’s historic election as South Africa’s first democratically elected President.
Nelson Mandela and wife Winnie
The project marks the Schultz Family Foundation’s first...
Based on Winnie and Nelson: Portrait of a Marriage, a book by noted South African writer and scholar Jonny Steinberg, the film will explore the Mandelas’ profound bond and how their marriage was inextricably entangled with the struggle against apartheid. The film promises an intimate portrayal of Nelson and Winnie’s marriage, delving into their vehement and volatile connection from their early years to their mutual goal of dismantling apartheid. Their journey culminates in Nelson Mandela’s historic election as South Africa’s first democratically elected President.
Nelson Mandela and wife Winnie
The project marks the Schultz Family Foundation’s first...
- 2/13/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Filled with wonderful musical performances exploring the 30-year career of Luther Vandross, Dawn Porter’s sweeping biographical documentary Luther: Never Too Much interweaves archival materials and new interviews in a manner that is effective at telling the story but somehow feels a little too distant from its subject. In particular, the selection of archival materials of Vandross, who passed away in 2005 at age 54, and the film’s later chapters divulging personal struggles with health and weight along with speculation about his sexuality, keep the viewer at arm’s length. Perhaps this is somewhat by design, a case of the film’s subject not speaking out, as some speculate for fear of alienating his female fans and perhaps his record label.
A barrier-breaking artist in many respects, Vandross grew up in the projects of the Bronx before becoming a seminal recording artist working as a background vocalist, producer, and later a...
A barrier-breaking artist in many respects, Vandross grew up in the projects of the Bronx before becoming a seminal recording artist working as a background vocalist, producer, and later a...
- 2/5/2024
- by John Fink
- The Film Stage
Sundance documentaries are alive and well. And it looks like there’s some acquisition action this year, too. Which Sundance documentaries have the best shot at landing in Oscar contention this year? It helps to get bought early or to have an international footprint.
A rickety theatrical market for non-fiction features and a dwindling number of active documentary buyers meant that many Sundance 2023 films did not get picked up for distribution, or met serious delays before companies came through. As the top American film festival for docs, Sundance usually supplies as many as four out of the final five Oscar nominees each year.
And usually, by late summer, Oscar promotion is well underway. But last year, “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project,” which was rumored to be an HBO Documentary Films pickup for months, wasn’t announced until August 29, when other Sundance grads had been campaigning all summer.
One...
A rickety theatrical market for non-fiction features and a dwindling number of active documentary buyers meant that many Sundance 2023 films did not get picked up for distribution, or met serious delays before companies came through. As the top American film festival for docs, Sundance usually supplies as many as four out of the final five Oscar nominees each year.
And usually, by late summer, Oscar promotion is well underway. But last year, “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project,” which was rumored to be an HBO Documentary Films pickup for months, wasn’t announced until August 29, when other Sundance grads had been campaigning all summer.
One...
- 1/31/2024
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Late R&b legend Luther Vandross — still known mononymously to his fans — was always a bit of an inscrutable figure. His voice, that voice, is undeniable. The way he could modulate his velvety tenor to make a single word vibrate with unfathomable longing and desire? Don’t get me started!
But during his time in the spotlight, the public turned Luther into a mirror reflecting back cultural anxieties about sexuality (was he gay or straight?) and race (was he “just” an R&b artist or could he crossover into pop success?). Then there was the constant chatter about his weight: Fans would add Big or Little to his name depending on the size of his bedazzled suits.
Now we finally have a fuller picture of the man. Dawn Porter’s documentary “Luther: Never Too Much” uses a deft mix of archival footage of and interviews with Luther and his closest...
But during his time in the spotlight, the public turned Luther into a mirror reflecting back cultural anxieties about sexuality (was he gay or straight?) and race (was he “just” an R&b artist or could he crossover into pop success?). Then there was the constant chatter about his weight: Fans would add Big or Little to his name depending on the size of his bedazzled suits.
Now we finally have a fuller picture of the man. Dawn Porter’s documentary “Luther: Never Too Much” uses a deft mix of archival footage of and interviews with Luther and his closest...
- 1/30/2024
- by Tomi Akitunde for Dropbox
- Indiewire
Luther Vandross’ voice was the soundtrack of many Black millennial childhoods. Personally, I would wake up every Sunday to church music followed by his hit single “Never Too Much,” which still stops most people in their tracks to this day. In the documentary Luther: Never Too Much, director Dawn Porter chronicles a his journey to stardom and how he manifested the career he desired.
His path begins in the culturally rich landscape of Harlem’s Apollo Theater. Vandross was influenced by the likes of Dionne Warwick and Aretha Franklin. His earliest musical forays came as part of the group Listen My Brother, which was formed by childhood friends in Harlem committed to harnessing their vocal talents. The group provided not just his first brush with critical acclaim, but an artistic environment steeped in collective ambition that drove him to sharpen his abilities.
That is until his career took a pivotal...
His path begins in the culturally rich landscape of Harlem’s Apollo Theater. Vandross was influenced by the likes of Dionne Warwick and Aretha Franklin. His earliest musical forays came as part of the group Listen My Brother, which was formed by childhood friends in Harlem committed to harnessing their vocal talents. The group provided not just his first brush with critical acclaim, but an artistic environment steeped in collective ambition that drove him to sharpen his abilities.
That is until his career took a pivotal...
- 1/28/2024
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
When American soul and R&b icon Luther Vandross sang, he didn’t just produce beautiful musical sounds. He caressed and coddled each note with his famously velvety tenor voice, considering where to linger, when to whisper, or to gradually crescendo with an impeccable and ever-influential technique. In other words, he didn’t only sing, but created something ethereal, something that both pushed the form and felt like it gently poured straight out of his soul.
Considering the stamp he put on the American music industry, it feels strange that there hasn’t yet been a definitive documentary about Vandross’ unsung legacy until Dawn Porter’s “Luther: Never Too Much,” which had its world premiere recently at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. But that delay is perhaps fortuitous — after experiencing Porter’s loving portrait of the virtuosic musician, producer, and songwriter, you can’t imagine Vandross’ story being told by anyone else.
Considering the stamp he put on the American music industry, it feels strange that there hasn’t yet been a definitive documentary about Vandross’ unsung legacy until Dawn Porter’s “Luther: Never Too Much,” which had its world premiere recently at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. But that delay is perhaps fortuitous — after experiencing Porter’s loving portrait of the virtuosic musician, producer, and songwriter, you can’t imagine Vandross’ story being told by anyone else.
- 1/26/2024
- by Tomris Laffly
- Indiewire
Plot: The life and times of Luther Vandross, the legendary Rn’B singer who always struggled to break out from the niche box the industry put him in.
Review: Of all the singers in the world, Luther Vandross might be the one responsible for the most trips to the bedroom. As Jamie Foxx tells it in his interview for Luther: Never Too Much, whenever he wanted to get with a girl, he played her his music – and it worked about 100% of the time. It’s sadly ironic then, as revealed by Dawn Porter’s excellent documentary, that the singer himself was a lonely man who never found romantic love in his own life.
You see, as the documentary sensitively reveals, Vandross was almost certainly gay, but he stayed in the closet for several reasons, such as his need to protect his image. Still, also for personal reasons, the doc has...
Review: Of all the singers in the world, Luther Vandross might be the one responsible for the most trips to the bedroom. As Jamie Foxx tells it in his interview for Luther: Never Too Much, whenever he wanted to get with a girl, he played her his music – and it worked about 100% of the time. It’s sadly ironic then, as revealed by Dawn Porter’s excellent documentary, that the singer himself was a lonely man who never found romantic love in his own life.
You see, as the documentary sensitively reveals, Vandross was almost certainly gay, but he stayed in the closet for several reasons, such as his need to protect his image. Still, also for personal reasons, the doc has...
- 1/25/2024
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
“Everything.”
That’s how veteran producer and PGA president Stephanie Allain kicked off a special panel about the ins and outs of the Sundance Film Festival and all things producing, presented by Hyundai. Taking place on Jan. 19 inside The Hollywood Reporter’s studio (sponsored by Heineken, Hyundai, Bogner and Sixt), Allain was explaining how best to describe a producer’s job and the all-encompassing duties they shoulder.
“What don’t we do? The producer is the uber champion of the film, and what that means is when I have a project, no one gets in that circle unless they love the movie, they understand the movie, they can contribute 150 percent to the movie,” said the Hollywood veteran, who returned to Sundance for the world premiere of Titus Kaphar’s Exhibiting Forgiveness, starring Andre Holland and Andra Day. “We work on the script, we work on casting. We go by the costume department,...
That’s how veteran producer and PGA president Stephanie Allain kicked off a special panel about the ins and outs of the Sundance Film Festival and all things producing, presented by Hyundai. Taking place on Jan. 19 inside The Hollywood Reporter’s studio (sponsored by Heineken, Hyundai, Bogner and Sixt), Allain was explaining how best to describe a producer’s job and the all-encompassing duties they shoulder.
“What don’t we do? The producer is the uber champion of the film, and what that means is when I have a project, no one gets in that circle unless they love the movie, they understand the movie, they can contribute 150 percent to the movie,” said the Hollywood veteran, who returned to Sundance for the world premiere of Titus Kaphar’s Exhibiting Forgiveness, starring Andre Holland and Andra Day. “We work on the script, we work on casting. We go by the costume department,...
- 1/23/2024
- by Chris Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
In her latest documentary, Luther: Never Too Much, Dawn Porter crafts a striking profile of a singular musician. That Luther Vandross, who died in 2005, hasn’t gotten the documentary treatment until now is surprising considering his imprint on the music industry. Vandross — a true multi-hyphenate — sang, arranged and produced records for himself and other iconic artists. He worked with David Bowie, Aretha Franklin and Dionne Warwick, for example. He wasn’t just popular with fans for his velvety voice and romantic numbers; he was beloved by industry stalwarts, some of whom appear in Porter’s documentary. Even for those familiar with the “Never Too Much” crooner, Porter’s project is essential viewing.
Premiering at Sundance, Luther: Never Too Much is a trove of archival material. Porter uses rehearsal footage, concert videos, old interviews with Vandross and newer ones with his friends and family to tell the musician’s story. The...
Premiering at Sundance, Luther: Never Too Much is a trove of archival material. Porter uses rehearsal footage, concert videos, old interviews with Vandross and newer ones with his friends and family to tell the musician’s story. The...
- 1/22/2024
- by Lovia Gyarkye
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Although it isn’t structured any differently from dozens of other cradle-to-grave documentaries about artistic luminaries, “Luther: Never Too Much” sheds light on much more than just the life and career of R&b singer Luther Vandross. Drawn largely from interview and performance footage of Vandross over his almost 40 years in entertainment, and bolstered and contextualized by retrospective talks will collaborators and confidantes, director Dawn Porter’s film exposes some uneasy truths about the music industry and the media we may now know, but whose seeming ubiquitousness at the time he was alive may be difficult to fully comprehend.
White audience members in particular may stand to learn the most about him — a fact Porter pointedly attributes to the genre siloes of radio’s heyday and cultural prejudices against black singers who weren’t thin or light-skinned enough to receive the opportunity to cross over from R&b to pop.
White audience members in particular may stand to learn the most about him — a fact Porter pointedly attributes to the genre siloes of radio’s heyday and cultural prejudices against black singers who weren’t thin or light-skinned enough to receive the opportunity to cross over from R&b to pop.
- 1/21/2024
- by Todd Gilchrist
- Variety Film + TV
Lena Waithe, who is a juror at Sundance, believes the festival “really sets the tone for the year,” citing “Past Lives” as an example from last year.
“Obviously, ‘Past Lives’ has done really well, surprisingly so to the business. It’s a quiet movie about home, friends, what would’ve happened if you would’ve stayed in one place versus going somewhere else,” Waithe said. “Ultimately, I look at Sundance as a window into our industry, into what’s happening. And I think there’s a huge diversity in terms of filmmakers, writers, cast, and for me, it’s really about making sure this business still has a heartbeat.”
At the Variety Diversifying Storytelling in Film panel presented by Adobe, Waithe and other creatives at Sundance discussed the role art plays in reflecting society.
Dawn Porter, director of “Luther: Never Too Much,” reflected on how films from “Past Lives” to...
“Obviously, ‘Past Lives’ has done really well, surprisingly so to the business. It’s a quiet movie about home, friends, what would’ve happened if you would’ve stayed in one place versus going somewhere else,” Waithe said. “Ultimately, I look at Sundance as a window into our industry, into what’s happening. And I think there’s a huge diversity in terms of filmmakers, writers, cast, and for me, it’s really about making sure this business still has a heartbeat.”
At the Variety Diversifying Storytelling in Film panel presented by Adobe, Waithe and other creatives at Sundance discussed the role art plays in reflecting society.
Dawn Porter, director of “Luther: Never Too Much,” reflected on how films from “Past Lives” to...
- 1/21/2024
- by Caroline Brew
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: The MacRo Lodge at Sundance Film Festival (www.StayMACRO.com), hosted by MacRo Founder & CEO Charles D. King (Mudbound, Judas and the Black Messiah) and his wife Stacey Walker King, Chief Brand Officer of the company, returns to the Sundance Film Festival for its seventh annual showcase of panels and parties at the iconic film festival to champion inclusion and people of color at its prime location at 136 Heber Avenue in Park City, Ut with three days of programming.
Featured events from January 19-21, 2024 will include appearances by David Alan Grier, Demario Driver, Dominique Thorne, Jack Champion, Jay Ellis, Ji-Young Yoo, Justice Smith, Keir Gilchrist, Michelle Farrah Huang, Normani, director/writer/producers Anna Boden, Carlos Lopez Estrada, Dawn Porter, Kobi Libii and Ryan Fleck, producers Datari Turner, Debby Wolfe, Debra Martin Chase, Jelani Johnson, Leah Smith, Nkechi Okoro Carroll, Poppy Hanks, Sonja Warfield and more.
Midnight MacRo, MacRo’s...
Featured events from January 19-21, 2024 will include appearances by David Alan Grier, Demario Driver, Dominique Thorne, Jack Champion, Jay Ellis, Ji-Young Yoo, Justice Smith, Keir Gilchrist, Michelle Farrah Huang, Normani, director/writer/producers Anna Boden, Carlos Lopez Estrada, Dawn Porter, Kobi Libii and Ryan Fleck, producers Datari Turner, Debby Wolfe, Debra Martin Chase, Jelani Johnson, Leah Smith, Nkechi Okoro Carroll, Poppy Hanks, Sonja Warfield and more.
Midnight MacRo, MacRo’s...
- 1/12/2024
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Dawn Porter looks for stories of people who made history without asking. By following congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis in John Lewis: Good Trouble, or President Obama’s White House photographer Pete Souza in The Way I See It, she says she hopes to shade in between the lines of history.
In her most recent project, Hulu’s The Lady Bird Diaries, she fixates on Lady Bird Johnson’s life, relying largely on archival audio recordings that were released following the former first lady’s death in 2007. In...
In her most recent project, Hulu’s The Lady Bird Diaries, she fixates on Lady Bird Johnson’s life, relying largely on archival audio recordings that were released following the former first lady’s death in 2007. In...
- 12/16/2023
- by Kalia Richardson
- Rollingstone.com
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