The Match Factory has unveiled multiple distribution deals for its Berlinale competition titles Dying by Matthias Glasner and Architecton by Victor Kossakovsky.
Dying has secured distribution in key territories including France (Bodega Film), Italy (Satine Film), Benelux (September Film Distribution), Norway (Selmer Media As), Poland (Aurora), Cis (Provzglyad), Ex-Yugoslavia (McF MegaCom Film), Hungary (Cirko Films), Greece (Cinobo), Romania (Freealize), Taiwan (Andrews Film), and South Korea (Pancinema). Negotiations for additional territories are underway, with a UK deal already confirmed.
Dying, which stars Lars Eidinger, Lilith Stangenberg and Corinna Harfouch, won the Berlinale’s Silver Bear for best screenplay, along with the...
Dying has secured distribution in key territories including France (Bodega Film), Italy (Satine Film), Benelux (September Film Distribution), Norway (Selmer Media As), Poland (Aurora), Cis (Provzglyad), Ex-Yugoslavia (McF MegaCom Film), Hungary (Cirko Films), Greece (Cinobo), Romania (Freealize), Taiwan (Andrews Film), and South Korea (Pancinema). Negotiations for additional territories are underway, with a UK deal already confirmed.
Dying, which stars Lars Eidinger, Lilith Stangenberg and Corinna Harfouch, won the Berlinale’s Silver Bear for best screenplay, along with the...
- 2/26/2024
- ScreenDaily
The Match Factory has unveiled multiple distribution deals for its Berlinale competition titles Dying by Matthias Glasner and Architecton by Victor Kossakovsky.
Dying has secured distribution in key territories including France (Bodega Film), Italy (Satine Film), Benelux (September Film Distribution), Norway (Selmer Media As), Poland (Aurora), Cis (Provzglyad), Ex-Yugoslavia (McF MegaCom Film), Hungary (Cirko Films), Greece (Cinobo), Romania (Freealize), Taiwan (Andrews Film), and South Korea (Pancinema). Negotiations for additional territories are underway, with a UK deal already confirmed.
Dying, which stars Lars Eidinger, Lilith Stangenberg and Corinna Harfouch, won the Berlinale’s Silver Bear for best screenplay, along with the...
Dying has secured distribution in key territories including France (Bodega Film), Italy (Satine Film), Benelux (September Film Distribution), Norway (Selmer Media As), Poland (Aurora), Cis (Provzglyad), Ex-Yugoslavia (McF MegaCom Film), Hungary (Cirko Films), Greece (Cinobo), Romania (Freealize), Taiwan (Andrews Film), and South Korea (Pancinema). Negotiations for additional territories are underway, with a UK deal already confirmed.
Dying, which stars Lars Eidinger, Lilith Stangenberg and Corinna Harfouch, won the Berlinale’s Silver Bear for best screenplay, along with the...
- 2/26/2024
- ScreenDaily
The Match Factory has revealed multiple distribution deals for two Berlinale competition titles: German director Matthias Glasner’s “Dying,” which won the festival’s Silver Bear for best screenplay, and Russian director Victor Kossakovsky’s documentary “Architecton.”
“Dying,” which stars Lars Eidinger, Lilith Stangenberg and Corinna Harfouch, also picked up the Guild of German Arthouse Cinemas and the Berliner Morgenpost Readers’ Jury Award. Variety‘s review describes the film as “a profoundly affecting exploration of life and loss.”
The Match Factory closed deals for the film in France (Bodega Film), Italy (Satine Film), Benelux (September Film Distribution), Norway (Selmer Media), Poland (Aurora), Cis (Provzglyad), Ex-Yugoslavia (McF MegaCom Film), Hungary (Cirko Films), Greece (Cinobo), Romania (Freealize), Taiwan (Andrews Film) and South Korea (Pancinema). A U.K. deal has also been signed with the buyer yet to be announced. Wild Bunch will be distributing the film in Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland.
“Dying,” which stars Lars Eidinger, Lilith Stangenberg and Corinna Harfouch, also picked up the Guild of German Arthouse Cinemas and the Berliner Morgenpost Readers’ Jury Award. Variety‘s review describes the film as “a profoundly affecting exploration of life and loss.”
The Match Factory closed deals for the film in France (Bodega Film), Italy (Satine Film), Benelux (September Film Distribution), Norway (Selmer Media), Poland (Aurora), Cis (Provzglyad), Ex-Yugoslavia (McF MegaCom Film), Hungary (Cirko Films), Greece (Cinobo), Romania (Freealize), Taiwan (Andrews Film) and South Korea (Pancinema). A U.K. deal has also been signed with the buyer yet to be announced. Wild Bunch will be distributing the film in Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland.
- 2/26/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Logistically, the task seemed impossible: Gather 46 of the world’s most massive musical stars in a Los Angeles studio and record a hit song, all in a single night. Oh, and the reason for this ambitious endeavor? To raise a record-breaking amount of money to benefit African famine relief and forever alter global pop culture.
No pressure or anything.
On Jan. 28, 1985, that’s exactly what happened during the recording session for “We Are the World.” The story of The Greatest Night in Pop is told in a new documentary film from director Bao Nguyen (Be Water): the idea, the song, and the long, wild night in the studio with some of the most significant musicians of the 20th century.
“This story starts with a call from Harry Belafonte,” Nguyen tells Tudum, referring to the late singer and activist’s idea...
No pressure or anything.
On Jan. 28, 1985, that’s exactly what happened during the recording session for “We Are the World.” The story of The Greatest Night in Pop is told in a new documentary film from director Bao Nguyen (Be Water): the idea, the song, and the long, wild night in the studio with some of the most significant musicians of the 20th century.
“This story starts with a call from Harry Belafonte,” Nguyen tells Tudum, referring to the late singer and activist’s idea...
- 1/29/2024
- by Amanda Richards
- Tudum - Netflix
“The Greatest Night In Pop” is so entertaining and eminently watchable, and it’s as simple as that. Directed by Bao Nguyen, the acclaimed filmmaker of the Bruce Lee doc “Be Water,” the already-engaging subject matter doesn’t hurt: nearly 50 of the top American music artists in the world all in one room, recording a soon-to-be global hit single. Presumably, everyone knows “We Are The World,” still one of the best-selling pop singles of all time, recorded by the supergroup U.S.A.
Continue reading ‘The Greatest Night In Pop’ Review: A Deeply Entertaining Music Doc About Pop Hit “We Are The World” [Sundance] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘The Greatest Night In Pop’ Review: A Deeply Entertaining Music Doc About Pop Hit “We Are The World” [Sundance] at The Playlist.
- 1/20/2024
- by Rodrigo Perez
- The Playlist
At one point as the supergroup dubbed “USA for Africa” was assembling on January 28, 1985, at A&M Recording Studios in Hollywood, Paul Simon reportedly joked, “If a bomb lands on this place, John Denver’s back on top.” Such was the magnitude of mid-‘80s music luminaries on hand, everyone from Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick and Tina Turner through Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Billy Joel and beyond. Unless you’ve spent your whole life under a rock, sometime or other, the resulting charity single, “We Are the World,” has likely gotten stuck in your head. The song achieved instant global saturation, selling out the initial run of a million copies in the first weekend of its release.
Of course, this is pre-downloads, so we’re talking actual vinyl sales, and it’s audiences with fond recollections of those analog days and the music stars who dominated the charts during the...
Of course, this is pre-downloads, so we’re talking actual vinyl sales, and it’s audiences with fond recollections of those analog days and the music stars who dominated the charts during the...
- 1/20/2024
- by David Rooney
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“I didn’t really know much about the making of the song,” admits The Greatest Night in Pop director Bao Nguyen of 1985’s star-studded Ethiopian famine relief hit “We Are the World.” “You just make these assumptions about how things are made because it just happens. But when you think now of 46 great artists getting together to make that, it would be really impossible for that to happen now.”
Whether or not the superstars of 2024 could or would come together like the hit makers of the Reagan Era did in America and the UK almost 40 years ago is debatable. What is a fact is that Nguyen’s latest documentary is debuting today at the Sundance Film Festival just a few days short of when U.S.A. for Africa recorded the Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson penned tune in a studio in Los Angeles. It is also a fact that, after a total of four Sundance screenings,...
Whether or not the superstars of 2024 could or would come together like the hit makers of the Reagan Era did in America and the UK almost 40 years ago is debatable. What is a fact is that Nguyen’s latest documentary is debuting today at the Sundance Film Festival just a few days short of when U.S.A. for Africa recorded the Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson penned tune in a studio in Los Angeles. It is also a fact that, after a total of four Sundance screenings,...
- 1/19/2024
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
As a global pop culture event, it’s hard to match the release of “We Are the World,” the charity single that sold more than 20 million copies in 1985 and united 46 musical stars as enormous and disparate as Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and Diana Ross at an all-night secret recording session. The story of that night — the scrambling, the egos, the moments of creative kismet — is now told in Bao Nguyen’s documentary The Greatest Night in Pop, which will premiere Jan. 19 at Sundance before streaming on Netflix beginning Jan. 29.
“When I heard how they assembled the team, to me it was almost like a heist film,” says Nguyen, who directed the 2020 Bruce Lee documentary Be Water. “You have Quincy Jones as the Danny Ocean of the whole effort. And they’re assembling [the team] — who’s the best rock star, who’s the best legend? There’s a bit of...
“When I heard how they assembled the team, to me it was almost like a heist film,” says Nguyen, who directed the 2020 Bruce Lee documentary Be Water. “You have Quincy Jones as the Danny Ocean of the whole effort. And they’re assembling [the team] — who’s the best rock star, who’s the best legend? There’s a bit of...
- 1/18/2024
- by Rebecca Keegan
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
One of the biggest pop culture moments of the 80s was when a large group of pop artists came together for a special one-time song dedicated to raising awareness and helping to end famine in Africa. That song, “We Are the World,” was amazingly stacked with talent, including Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Tina Turner, Bob Dylan, Cyndi Lauper, Bruce Springsteen, Harry Belafonte, Kenny Loggins, Dionne Warwick, and Huey Lewis. A documentary from Netflix recounts the story of how the song came together with The Greatest Night in Pop. The film is also scheduled to screen at the Sundance Film Festival this year, with Lionel Richie in tow.
Netflix’s description of the documentary reads,
“On January 25, 1985, dozens of the biggest names in music convened at a studio in Los Angeles, checked their egos at the door and recorded a song to benefit African famine relief that would alter global pop culture history.
Netflix’s description of the documentary reads,
“On January 25, 1985, dozens of the biggest names in music convened at a studio in Los Angeles, checked their egos at the door and recorded a song to benefit African famine relief that would alter global pop culture history.
- 1/9/2024
- by EJ Tangonan
- JoBlo.com
Awards season never really ends, which means this year’s Oscar-nominated movies are hitting streaming services now to build anticipation before the big night. Todd Field’s Best Picture nominee “TÁR” arrived on Peacock last week, and you should definitely check it out there if you missed it in theaters. (Here is how to watch “Tar” online.)
But unfortunately, there are no currently nominated films or likely future contenders new to streaming this week. But we’ve rounded up some movies that began streaming in the past week or this weekend that have something of interest to awards-watchers.
The contender to watch this weekend: “Spoiler Alert,” Peacock
This sad but uplifting romantic drama comes to streaming after a low-key theatrical run. It’s based on the memoir “Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies” by entertainment journalist and TVLine founder Michael Ausiello. (TVLine and Gold Derby are both owned by Penske Media Corporation.
But unfortunately, there are no currently nominated films or likely future contenders new to streaming this week. But we’ve rounded up some movies that began streaming in the past week or this weekend that have something of interest to awards-watchers.
The contender to watch this weekend: “Spoiler Alert,” Peacock
This sad but uplifting romantic drama comes to streaming after a low-key theatrical run. It’s based on the memoir “Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies” by entertainment journalist and TVLine founder Michael Ausiello. (TVLine and Gold Derby are both owned by Penske Media Corporation.
- 2/4/2023
- by Liam Mathews
- Gold Derby
Transatlantic production powerhouse Sister has taken a minority stake in independent outfit Dorothy Street Pictures.
Dorothy Street Pictures, which is behind Sundance and Cannes title, Bruce Lee documentary “Be Water” and has a Pamela Anderson documentary in the works for Netflix, will remain fully independent. The company’s Julia Nottingham (“Skate Kitchen”) and her team of documentary filmmakers including Emmy nominated Becky Read (“Three Identical Strangers”) will continue to develop and produce television and feature content in the non-fiction space, grow its scripted slate led by Ariadne Kotsaki and leverage the collective expertise in the broader Sister group.
Nottingham said: “At Dorothy Street Pictures we believe in story first and are overjoyed to be supported by a company quite literally built around storytellers and the desire to empower the independent creative talent we all work with. We’re incredibly excited to collaborate with the teams both in-house at Sister and...
Dorothy Street Pictures, which is behind Sundance and Cannes title, Bruce Lee documentary “Be Water” and has a Pamela Anderson documentary in the works for Netflix, will remain fully independent. The company’s Julia Nottingham (“Skate Kitchen”) and her team of documentary filmmakers including Emmy nominated Becky Read (“Three Identical Strangers”) will continue to develop and produce television and feature content in the non-fiction space, grow its scripted slate led by Ariadne Kotsaki and leverage the collective expertise in the broader Sister group.
Nottingham said: “At Dorothy Street Pictures we believe in story first and are overjoyed to be supported by a company quite literally built around storytellers and the desire to empower the independent creative talent we all work with. We’re incredibly excited to collaborate with the teams both in-house at Sister and...
- 3/16/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The partnership will see co-production on a slate of high-end series and feature documentaries.
Sky Studios has agreed a development deal with Dorothy St Pictures, the UK production company behind Bruce Lee documentary Be Water.
The partnership will see the Dorothy St Pictures team co-produce an exclusive slate of high-end series and feature documentaries.
The team includes Julia Nottingham – a Screen Future Leader 2018 who also founded Dorothy St Pictures in 2018 – and director and producer Becky Read, whose credits include producing Three Identical Strangers.
The projects are expected to target Sky’s factual channels across Europe with Sky’s sister company,...
Sky Studios has agreed a development deal with Dorothy St Pictures, the UK production company behind Bruce Lee documentary Be Water.
The partnership will see the Dorothy St Pictures team co-produce an exclusive slate of high-end series and feature documentaries.
The team includes Julia Nottingham – a Screen Future Leader 2018 who also founded Dorothy St Pictures in 2018 – and director and producer Becky Read, whose credits include producing Three Identical Strangers.
The projects are expected to target Sky’s factual channels across Europe with Sky’s sister company,...
- 12/23/2021
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Sky Studios has signed a development deal with Be Water producer Dorothy Street Pictures to co-produce a slate of high-end series and feature docs mainly told from the female gaze.
The projects that arise from the partnership will target Sky’s factual channels across Europe and Sky’s owner Comcast’s distributor NBCUniversal will take a first-look option for global distribution.
Sky said the pair already have a number of titles in development, with commissioned titles expected to be announced over the coming months.
The deal is similar in scope to Sky Studios’ tie-up with Finding Jack Charlton producer Noah Media, which recently unveiled its debut project about the rivalry between F1 drivers Gilles Villeneuve and Didier Pironi.
Dorothy Street is run by CEO Julia Nottingham and was behind last year’s ESPN 30 for 30 doc Be Water about Bruce Lee, along with Apple TV+’s ‘Twas The Fight Before Christmas...
The projects that arise from the partnership will target Sky’s factual channels across Europe and Sky’s owner Comcast’s distributor NBCUniversal will take a first-look option for global distribution.
Sky said the pair already have a number of titles in development, with commissioned titles expected to be announced over the coming months.
The deal is similar in scope to Sky Studios’ tie-up with Finding Jack Charlton producer Noah Media, which recently unveiled its debut project about the rivalry between F1 drivers Gilles Villeneuve and Didier Pironi.
Dorothy Street is run by CEO Julia Nottingham and was behind last year’s ESPN 30 for 30 doc Be Water about Bruce Lee, along with Apple TV+’s ‘Twas The Fight Before Christmas...
- 12/23/2021
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Comcast-owned Sky Studios has struck a development deal with Dorothy St Pictures, the production company behind titles including Bruce Lee documentary “Be Water” and Audible Original “Killer Book Club.”
Founded by Julia Nottingham, Dorothy St Pictures describes itself as the “female-led home for filmmakers, both new and established” with an aim to approach topics from the “female gaze.”
The deal will see Nottingham and director and producer Becky Read (“Twas the Fight Before Christmas”), who is also part of the Dorothy St Pictures team, co-produce a slate of feature documentaries high-end series on a variety of subjects.
Sky’s European factual channels and sister company NBCUniversal will get a first-look option for global distribution.
The deal has already seen some projects go into development with commissions due to be announced in early 2022.
Sky Studios is Sky’s European original programming arm. It is part of Sky Group, which is owned by Comcast.
Founded by Julia Nottingham, Dorothy St Pictures describes itself as the “female-led home for filmmakers, both new and established” with an aim to approach topics from the “female gaze.”
The deal will see Nottingham and director and producer Becky Read (“Twas the Fight Before Christmas”), who is also part of the Dorothy St Pictures team, co-produce a slate of feature documentaries high-end series on a variety of subjects.
Sky’s European factual channels and sister company NBCUniversal will get a first-look option for global distribution.
The deal has already seen some projects go into development with commissions due to be announced in early 2022.
Sky Studios is Sky’s European original programming arm. It is part of Sky Group, which is owned by Comcast.
- 12/23/2021
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
BAFTA has unveiled its 2021 BAFTA Breakthrough cohort, including “It’s a Sin” star Lydia West and “Censor” director Prano Bailey-Bond.
Supported by Netflix, the annual talent initiative, which originally launched in 2013 as “Breakthrough Brits,” was renamed BAFTA Breakthrough in May 2020 and expanded to include the U.S. and India. Previous participants have included Paapa Essiedu, Letitia Wright, Florence Pugh and Josh O’Connor, among others.
This year’s cohort, drawn from the worlds of film, television and games, were hand-picked by a global jury made up of industry leaders including Niamh Algar (“Raise by Wolves”), Tim Renkow (“Jerk”) and ITV’s director of diversity and inclusion, Ade Rawcliffe, who chaired the jury.
24 participants hail from the U.K. and 12 from the U.S. As part of the BAFTA Breakthrough program they will receive access to one-to-one industry meetings, group roundtable sessions, networking opportunities within BAFTA’s membership, peer-to-peer support, global coaching, PR...
Supported by Netflix, the annual talent initiative, which originally launched in 2013 as “Breakthrough Brits,” was renamed BAFTA Breakthrough in May 2020 and expanded to include the U.S. and India. Previous participants have included Paapa Essiedu, Letitia Wright, Florence Pugh and Josh O’Connor, among others.
This year’s cohort, drawn from the worlds of film, television and games, were hand-picked by a global jury made up of industry leaders including Niamh Algar (“Raise by Wolves”), Tim Renkow (“Jerk”) and ITV’s director of diversity and inclusion, Ade Rawcliffe, who chaired the jury.
24 participants hail from the U.K. and 12 from the U.S. As part of the BAFTA Breakthrough program they will receive access to one-to-one industry meetings, group roundtable sessions, networking opportunities within BAFTA’s membership, peer-to-peer support, global coaching, PR...
- 12/8/2021
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
Viet Film Fest 2021, presented by the Vietnamese American Arts & Letters Association (Vaala), has announced the winners of their Trống Đồng Award for Best Short, Best Actress, Best Actor and Trống Đồng Award for Best Feature. The festival also announced the recipient of the Spotlight Award, reserved for films that highlight an important issue or an emerging filmmaker. All winners were announced at the festival’s first virtual Award Ceremony on Thursday evening, October 28th at 6pm Pst.
“We congratulate this year’s winning films and celebrate the collective talent of Viet Film Fest 2021” said Viet Film Fest 2021 Digital Director, Tony Nguyen. “With our awards, we honor several filmmakers yet we know and must acknowledge that Viet Film Fest has just been made stronger by everyone who has taken part in this year’s virtual celebration of Vietnamese voices and stories in cinema.”
This year’s award winners were selected by the Grand Jury,...
“We congratulate this year’s winning films and celebrate the collective talent of Viet Film Fest 2021” said Viet Film Fest 2021 Digital Director, Tony Nguyen. “With our awards, we honor several filmmakers yet we know and must acknowledge that Viet Film Fest has just been made stronger by everyone who has taken part in this year’s virtual celebration of Vietnamese voices and stories in cinema.”
This year’s award winners were selected by the Grand Jury,...
- 10/30/2021
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
Woodstock ’99 Documentary ‘Burn It Down!’ From MRC Non-Fiction Bound for London Festival (Exclusive)
MRC Non-Fiction’s feature documentary “Burn It Down!,” which reexamines the infamous Woodstock ’99 music festival, will have its world premiere at the 65th British Film Institute (BFI) London Film Festival.
The festival took place during the last summer of the 20th century on July 23-25, 1999 and featured performances by Kid Rock, Limp Bizkit, Korn, Insane Clown Posse, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Wyclef Jean and Sheryl Crow among others. It was meant to invoke the spirit of the iconic 1969 Woodstock music festival on its 30th anniversary, but failed to do so.
“Festival organisers cobbled together a poorly conceived rehash of an iconic cultural moment. From security, to basic needs, nothing had been properly planned,” reads the film’s description in the BFI London Film Festival program. “The line-up was a cocktail of 1990s pop rock and peak nu metal angry-white-man bands, including Limp Bizkit and Korn. What began as carefree revelry...
The festival took place during the last summer of the 20th century on July 23-25, 1999 and featured performances by Kid Rock, Limp Bizkit, Korn, Insane Clown Posse, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Wyclef Jean and Sheryl Crow among others. It was meant to invoke the spirit of the iconic 1969 Woodstock music festival on its 30th anniversary, but failed to do so.
“Festival organisers cobbled together a poorly conceived rehash of an iconic cultural moment. From security, to basic needs, nothing had been properly planned,” reads the film’s description in the BFI London Film Festival program. “The line-up was a cocktail of 1990s pop rock and peak nu metal angry-white-man bands, including Limp Bizkit and Korn. What began as carefree revelry...
- 9/14/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
BBC Reel’s online film festival LongShots returns this summer with a new format. The online streaming event, which makes 13 documentary shorts available to watch for free through September 22, convenes 13 international film festivals to showcase the best undistributed works in nonfiction filmmaking. You can watch them all through the BBC Reel website here.
Last year’s LongShots garnered more than 400,000 video views. This year’s showcase features a jury of four who will decide on the festival’s grand prize next month: Director Nandita Das from India, Oscar-nominated Polish director Anna Zamecka, Mexican-Ethiopian filmmaker Jessica Beshir, and award-winning Vietnamese American filmmaker Bao Nguyen (director of last year’s Bruce Lee documentary “Be Water”).
Per BBC, the films in the program “will explore inspiring and exhilarating stories that remind us of the pleasures and joys of human existence, honouring new beginnings and the wonders of our diverse, colorful and flamboyant world.
Last year’s LongShots garnered more than 400,000 video views. This year’s showcase features a jury of four who will decide on the festival’s grand prize next month: Director Nandita Das from India, Oscar-nominated Polish director Anna Zamecka, Mexican-Ethiopian filmmaker Jessica Beshir, and award-winning Vietnamese American filmmaker Bao Nguyen (director of last year’s Bruce Lee documentary “Be Water”).
Per BBC, the films in the program “will explore inspiring and exhilarating stories that remind us of the pleasures and joys of human existence, honouring new beginnings and the wonders of our diverse, colorful and flamboyant world.
- 8/21/2021
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
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Live sports are a major part of a well-rounded entertainment diet, and whether you return to arenas this year or play it safe at home, you can watch baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, tennis, college football, and pretty much every other nationally broadcast sport on ESPN+.
Not signed up? A subscription to ESPN+ comes with access to live sports and archival games, sure, but more importantly, the sports network’s trove of deeply fascinating “30 for 30” documentaries. Each film meticulously examines an event, a season, a star, or even a single play in an enlightening 90-minute package that’s engrossing for die-hard sports fans and disinterested novices alike.
You can access the entire archive of...
Live sports are a major part of a well-rounded entertainment diet, and whether you return to arenas this year or play it safe at home, you can watch baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, tennis, college football, and pretty much every other nationally broadcast sport on ESPN+.
Not signed up? A subscription to ESPN+ comes with access to live sports and archival games, sure, but more importantly, the sports network’s trove of deeply fascinating “30 for 30” documentaries. Each film meticulously examines an event, a season, a star, or even a single play in an enlightening 90-minute package that’s engrossing for die-hard sports fans and disinterested novices alike.
You can access the entire archive of...
- 7/16/2021
- by Jean Bentley and Latifah Muhammad
- Indiewire
This story about Cannes’ 2020 selection first appeared in TheWrap’s special digital Cannes magazine.
Last year, Cannes announced a list of 62 new feature films as its official selection for 2020, a year in which the festival itself didn’t take place. Bearing the prestigious imprimatur of the festival, the movies had a variety of releases. Here are some of the ones with the highest profiles since being singled out by Cannes.
“The French Dispatch” / Searchlight Pictures
Faithful
“DNA,” Maïwenn
Premiered at the Deauville Film Festival in September 2020, released by Netflix in the U.S. in December and in France in May.
“True Mothers,” Naomi Kawase
Screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2020; submitted as Japan’s entry in the Oscars’ Best International Feature Film category.
“Peninsula,” Yeon Sang-Ho
Released theatrically in South Korea in July 2020 and in the U.S. (as Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula) in August.
“Another Round,...
Last year, Cannes announced a list of 62 new feature films as its official selection for 2020, a year in which the festival itself didn’t take place. Bearing the prestigious imprimatur of the festival, the movies had a variety of releases. Here are some of the ones with the highest profiles since being singled out by Cannes.
“The French Dispatch” / Searchlight Pictures
Faithful
“DNA,” Maïwenn
Premiered at the Deauville Film Festival in September 2020, released by Netflix in the U.S. in December and in France in May.
“True Mothers,” Naomi Kawase
Screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2020; submitted as Japan’s entry in the Oscars’ Best International Feature Film category.
“Peninsula,” Yeon Sang-Ho
Released theatrically in South Korea in July 2020 and in the U.S. (as Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula) in August.
“Another Round,...
- 7/6/2021
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Exclusive: A documentary about American Gladiators, widely considered one of the first reality competition series, is set as ESPN’s latest 30 for 30.
Deadline understands that the untitled documentary, which explores the story of the show, which ran from 1989 to 1996 and was later rebooted by NBC in 2008, comes from Vice Studios and ESPN Films.
The project will feature many of the larger than life former Gladiators, as well as Johnny Ferraro, who has been referred to as ‘the Godfather of reality television.”
The show, which aired in syndication was created by Ferraro and Dan Carr, matched a cast of amateur athletes against each other as well as against the show’s gladiators.
Ben Berman, who directed The Amazing Johnathan Documentary, which followed the final tour of a dying magician and aired at Sundance in 2019, will helm the doc.
It is ESPN’s latest 30 for 30; the 2019/2020 season of the long-running sports doc...
Deadline understands that the untitled documentary, which explores the story of the show, which ran from 1989 to 1996 and was later rebooted by NBC in 2008, comes from Vice Studios and ESPN Films.
The project will feature many of the larger than life former Gladiators, as well as Johnny Ferraro, who has been referred to as ‘the Godfather of reality television.”
The show, which aired in syndication was created by Ferraro and Dan Carr, matched a cast of amateur athletes against each other as well as against the show’s gladiators.
Ben Berman, who directed The Amazing Johnathan Documentary, which followed the final tour of a dying magician and aired at Sundance in 2019, will helm the doc.
It is ESPN’s latest 30 for 30; the 2019/2020 season of the long-running sports doc...
- 4/12/2021
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Thursday revealed the 366 feature films that are eligible for consideration at the 93rd Oscars, which are set to air April 25 live on ABC.
The total number of films is up from last year’s 344 films in contention.
This year’s list was compiled based on tweaked eligibility rules implemented because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has pushed the ceremony to its latest date ever. For this year, feature films had to open by February 28 in a commercial motion picture theater for a seven-day qualifying run in at least one of six metro areas: Los Angeles County, New York City, the Bay Area, Chicago, Miami and Atlanta. Drive-in theaters open nightly were included as qualifying venues, as were films intended for theatrical release but because of the lockdown made available first via streaming, VOD service or other broadcast.
Today’s news comes...
The total number of films is up from last year’s 344 films in contention.
This year’s list was compiled based on tweaked eligibility rules implemented because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has pushed the ceremony to its latest date ever. For this year, feature films had to open by February 28 in a commercial motion picture theater for a seven-day qualifying run in at least one of six metro areas: Los Angeles County, New York City, the Bay Area, Chicago, Miami and Atlanta. Drive-in theaters open nightly were included as qualifying venues, as were films intended for theatrical release but because of the lockdown made available first via streaming, VOD service or other broadcast.
Today’s news comes...
- 2/25/2021
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
by Nathaniel R
Bao Nguyen's Be Water premiered on ESPN this past summer and has touched a lot of people since then. It's a lovely meditation on Bruce Lee's life, his relationships to both the East and the West, and the meaning of his legacy and activism. Be Water is one of 238 films eligible for the Oscar this year in Best Documentary Feature. We were thrilled to sit down with Bao Nguyen, over Zoom of course, to discuss his picture and the man and myth that is Bruce Lee.
Be Water was five years in the making, though things sped up considerably once ESPN signed on two years or so ago. Originally Be Water was supposed to come out around Bruce Lee's 80th birthday this past November but demand was so great for new movies during quarantine that the release was moved up to June. Nyugen, had a strange year (didn't we all!
Bao Nguyen's Be Water premiered on ESPN this past summer and has touched a lot of people since then. It's a lovely meditation on Bruce Lee's life, his relationships to both the East and the West, and the meaning of his legacy and activism. Be Water is one of 238 films eligible for the Oscar this year in Best Documentary Feature. We were thrilled to sit down with Bao Nguyen, over Zoom of course, to discuss his picture and the man and myth that is Bruce Lee.
Be Water was five years in the making, though things sped up considerably once ESPN signed on two years or so ago. Originally Be Water was supposed to come out around Bruce Lee's 80th birthday this past November but demand was so great for new movies during quarantine that the release was moved up to June. Nyugen, had a strange year (didn't we all!
- 1/30/2021
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Another important moment in the awards season has come our way today. Yes, the Academy has released their lists of what’s eligible in a few of the Oscar categories. In short, we now know what’s up for Academy Award nominations in the Best Animated Feature, Best Documentary Feature, and Best International Feature categories. Until we get to a shortlist, everything is up for grabs, but now we know what’s at least in the running, and that’s good… Here now are the lists: Animated Feature Film “Accidental Luxuriance of the Translucent Watery Rebus” “Bombay Rose” “Calamity” “The Croods: A New Age” “Demon Slayer -Kimetsu No Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train” “Dreambuilders” “Lane” “On-Gaku: Our Sound” “Onward” “Over the Moon” “Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs” “Ride Your Wave” “Scoob!” “A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon” “Soul” “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run” “Terra Willy” “Trolls World Tour...
- 1/28/2021
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Thursday released its official entries for 2021 Oscars in the categories of Documentary Feature, Animated Feature and International Films. The takeaway: As expected, the eligible Documentary Feature lineup shatters the record for the most ever.
A total of 238 features are eligible for consideration in the Doc Feature category, breaking the previous record of 170 set in 2017. Last year, by contrast, 159 feature documentaries qualified. The Academy relaxed eligibility rules in light of Covid-19, so that any film that could make a claim of an intended theatrical release was deemed eligible. Earning awards from film festivals was an alternative way to qualify.
For the International Feature race, Lesotho, Sudan and Suriname are first-time entrants among the 93 eligible titles, the same total as last year. Earlier this year, the Academy’s Board of Governors boosted the number of films eligible for the shortlist from 10 to 15. Under the new rules,...
A total of 238 features are eligible for consideration in the Doc Feature category, breaking the previous record of 170 set in 2017. Last year, by contrast, 159 feature documentaries qualified. The Academy relaxed eligibility rules in light of Covid-19, so that any film that could make a claim of an intended theatrical release was deemed eligible. Earning awards from film festivals was an alternative way to qualify.
For the International Feature race, Lesotho, Sudan and Suriname are first-time entrants among the 93 eligible titles, the same total as last year. Earlier this year, the Academy’s Board of Governors boosted the number of films eligible for the shortlist from 10 to 15. Under the new rules,...
- 1/28/2021
- by Patrick Hipes and Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
The Oscars Best Documentary Feature race, which set a new record for entries in December when it passed the previous record of 170, has now left all previous years in the dust with 240 eligible films.
An additional 25 documentary features were placed in the members-only online screening room devoted to the category on Saturday, in what the Academy told voters would be “the final batch” of this year’s entries. It was the last of seven groups of documentaries that qualified and were placed into the screening room: 25 in July, 12 in August, 16 in September, 33 in October, 36 in November, a huge group of 93 in December and now 25 in January.
Academy rules put in place because of the Covid-19 pandemic made it easier than usual for documentaries to qualify for the Oscars this year, which opened the door for a field that obliterated the previous record, which was set in 2017. Films could qualify simply...
An additional 25 documentary features were placed in the members-only online screening room devoted to the category on Saturday, in what the Academy told voters would be “the final batch” of this year’s entries. It was the last of seven groups of documentaries that qualified and were placed into the screening room: 25 in July, 12 in August, 16 in September, 33 in October, 36 in November, a huge group of 93 in December and now 25 in January.
Academy rules put in place because of the Covid-19 pandemic made it easier than usual for documentaries to qualify for the Oscars this year, which opened the door for a field that obliterated the previous record, which was set in 2017. Films could qualify simply...
- 1/17/2021
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The Academy has added 93 more films to the members-only screening room devoted to entries in the Best Documentary Feature category, bringing the total number of eligible contenders to a record-shattering 215.
The previous record for entries was 170 in 2017. And this year’s crop of nonfiction films is expected to pass that number by an even bigger margin — at least 50 — once a final, smaller group of films is added to the screening room in January.
New eligibility rules that were passed in the wake of the Covid-19 theater closings made it easier for documentaries to qualify this year by allowing them to do so by playing at film festivals, even virtual ones, and by easing requirements for theatrical runs. In an email to members detailing the new additions, the Academy said, “The Documentary Branch Executive Committee felt it was important to be inclusive and supportive of documentary filmmakers in this unprecedented and challenging year.
The previous record for entries was 170 in 2017. And this year’s crop of nonfiction films is expected to pass that number by an even bigger margin — at least 50 — once a final, smaller group of films is added to the screening room in January.
New eligibility rules that were passed in the wake of the Covid-19 theater closings made it easier for documentaries to qualify this year by allowing them to do so by playing at film festivals, even virtual ones, and by easing requirements for theatrical runs. In an email to members detailing the new additions, the Academy said, “The Documentary Branch Executive Committee felt it was important to be inclusive and supportive of documentary filmmakers in this unprecedented and challenging year.
- 12/22/2020
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
If you were to look at the members-only screening room where films in contention for the Academy Award for Best Picture stream for voters, you might think that documentaries are going to do very well in the Oscars top category this year.
As of Dec. 7, there were 104 films in the Academy Screening Room for the Best Picture category, 26 of which were documentaries. That’s a full 25% of the field, which seems to suggest that nonfiction filmmakers and the companies that release them are optimistic that Oscar voters will recognize docs when they vote this year. After all, it costs $12,500 to put a film in that screening room — and all 26 docs that paid the cost to be there are also in the separate screening room available to the Academy’s Documentary Branch. Spots in that screening room are free for any film that qualifies in the Best Documentary Feature category.
Common sense,...
As of Dec. 7, there were 104 films in the Academy Screening Room for the Best Picture category, 26 of which were documentaries. That’s a full 25% of the field, which seems to suggest that nonfiction filmmakers and the companies that release them are optimistic that Oscar voters will recognize docs when they vote this year. After all, it costs $12,500 to put a film in that screening room — and all 26 docs that paid the cost to be there are also in the separate screening room available to the Academy’s Documentary Branch. Spots in that screening room are free for any film that qualifies in the Best Documentary Feature category.
Common sense,...
- 12/8/2020
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The 1995 Ghost in the Shell anime movie is on Amazon Prime. Here’s why you should watch it today.
“If your next viewing of Ghost in the Shell is your first, it likely will not be your last. The 1995 anime movie, based on the manga series of the same name, is confusing and doesn’t offer first-time viewers the easiest of landings into a complex universe.”
Read more at Inverse.
November is Native American Heritage Month. Check out these historic facts about how the commemoration came to be.
“Thanksgiving and Veterans Day aren’t the only major holidays that happen in November. This month is also Native American Heritage Month—a time to remember that American history began long before settlers stepped foot on the continent, and to celebrate the many cultures and contributions of the country’s Indigenous peoples.”
Read more at Mental Floss.
The British Royal Family is...
“If your next viewing of Ghost in the Shell is your first, it likely will not be your last. The 1995 anime movie, based on the manga series of the same name, is confusing and doesn’t offer first-time viewers the easiest of landings into a complex universe.”
Read more at Inverse.
November is Native American Heritage Month. Check out these historic facts about how the commemoration came to be.
“Thanksgiving and Veterans Day aren’t the only major holidays that happen in November. This month is also Native American Heritage Month—a time to remember that American history began long before settlers stepped foot on the continent, and to celebrate the many cultures and contributions of the country’s Indigenous peoples.”
Read more at Mental Floss.
The British Royal Family is...
- 11/20/2020
- by Ivan Huang
- Den of Geek
The Academy dropped another 33 feature films into the online screening room for members of its Documentary Branch on Oct. 30, giving the Oscars doc race its biggest influx of new films to date. The branch now has 86 films to consider, with two or three more batches of films (and potentially more than 50 additional contenders) likely to be added to the field by early January.
Coming the same week that the Critics Choice Documentary Awards announced its nominees and the International Documentary Association’s Ida Documentary Awards revealed the 30-film shortlist from which it will make its final choices, the Academy move kicked the Oscar doc race into another gear in a year that promises to be highly competitive.
Among the docs that were made available to voters this week were Bryce Dallas Howard’s film about fatherhood, “Dads,” which means she’ll be competing against her father, Ron Howard, who is...
Coming the same week that the Critics Choice Documentary Awards announced its nominees and the International Documentary Association’s Ida Documentary Awards revealed the 30-film shortlist from which it will make its final choices, the Academy move kicked the Oscar doc race into another gear in a year that promises to be highly competitive.
Among the docs that were made available to voters this week were Bryce Dallas Howard’s film about fatherhood, “Dads,” which means she’ll be competing against her father, Ron Howard, who is...
- 11/2/2020
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
It makes sense that this year’s AFI Fest closed on Thursday night with the premiere of director Errol Morris’ wild and entertaining documentary “My Psychedelic Love Story.” In a year in which reality has smacked all of us in the face, nonfiction filmmaking is in the spotlight more than ever, from a string of docs that deal with issues at stake in the upcoming election to more freewheeling works like Morris’ film, a Wtf concoction from a director who only gets this playful once in a while.
It’s undeniable that the Oscars race for Best Picture is off to a slow start, with fewer films than usual playing the scaled-down fall film festivals and studios reluctant to commit to theatrical openings as the pandemic stretches on. But the race for Best Documentary Feature promises to be a robust one. More than 50 films are now available in the Academy...
It’s undeniable that the Oscars race for Best Picture is off to a slow start, with fewer films than usual playing the scaled-down fall film festivals and studios reluctant to commit to theatrical openings as the pandemic stretches on. But the race for Best Documentary Feature promises to be a robust one. More than 50 films are now available in the Academy...
- 10/23/2020
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
While working on his seminal 1973 film “Enter the Dragon,” Bruce Lee wrote a letter to Ted Ashley, then-head of Warner Bros., explaining his passion for making the movie and what Lee regarded as his chance to make a lasting impression on Hollywood: “You see, my obsession is to make, pardon the expression, the f—ingest action motion picture that has ever been made,” Lee wrote. The film, a massive hit that grossed more than $350 million worldwide, would go on to cement him as a martial arts superstar, but Lee himself would not live to enjoy its success; he died one month before its release. It was the last movie he would complete before his death.
Lee’s struggles on the “Enter the Dragon” set and his battles with the systemic xenophobia he faced in Hollywood are interwoven with his own philosophical writings in a new book “Be Water, My Friend: The Teachings of Bruce Lee,...
Lee’s struggles on the “Enter the Dragon” set and his battles with the systemic xenophobia he faced in Hollywood are interwoven with his own philosophical writings in a new book “Be Water, My Friend: The Teachings of Bruce Lee,...
- 10/5/2020
- by Audrey Cleo Yap
- Variety Film + TV
NewFest is hosting a reading of Ang Lee’s groundbreaking Brokeback Mountain at its New York LGBTQ Film Festival on October 18, employing an all-trans cast for the event that commemorates the film’s 15th anniversary.
The cast features Leo Sheng (The L Word) as Ennis, Brian Michael Smith (911: Lone Star) as Jack, Jen Richards (Tales of the City) as Alma, Alexandra Grey (Empire) as Lurleen and Disclosure director Sam Feder as the narrator.
The original film starred Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal as Ennis and Jack, respectively, cowboys who meet in the summer of 1963 and forge an unexpected lifelong connection full of joy, complication and tragedy. It scored eight Oscar nominations and won three, including for Lee’s directing and Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana’s script.
Proceeds from the fundraiser will go to The NewFest Future Fund, to benefit the organization and its programs for LGBTQ+ youth, filmmaker resources,...
The cast features Leo Sheng (The L Word) as Ennis, Brian Michael Smith (911: Lone Star) as Jack, Jen Richards (Tales of the City) as Alma, Alexandra Grey (Empire) as Lurleen and Disclosure director Sam Feder as the narrator.
The original film starred Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal as Ennis and Jack, respectively, cowboys who meet in the summer of 1963 and forge an unexpected lifelong connection full of joy, complication and tragedy. It scored eight Oscar nominations and won three, including for Lee’s directing and Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana’s script.
Proceeds from the fundraiser will go to The NewFest Future Fund, to benefit the organization and its programs for LGBTQ+ youth, filmmaker resources,...
- 10/2/2020
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Check out the latest Academy Dialogues series, “Documentaries Through Our Own Lens,” in which four Oscar-contending documentarians pull no punches — Lisa Cortés, James LeBrecht, Bao Nguyen (ESPN’s “Be Water”), Dawn Porter (Magnolia’s “John Lewis: Good Trouble”) — along with moderator and Academy governor Roger Ross Williams (Emmy-winning “The Apollo”), as they lay out just what inclusion and diversity really means.
It might seem that during the golden age of documentaries, the nonfiction community is among the most diverse in the entertainment industry, with a seeming flood of opportunities to tell their stories. But as Williams pointed out at the start, there are plenty of challenges. “We all know that we have traditionally been defined by other people’s lens,” he said. “The documentary community is seen as progressive and ahead of the game. In the entertainment business the dirty little secret is the documentary community is not that ahead of the game.
It might seem that during the golden age of documentaries, the nonfiction community is among the most diverse in the entertainment industry, with a seeming flood of opportunities to tell their stories. But as Williams pointed out at the start, there are plenty of challenges. “We all know that we have traditionally been defined by other people’s lens,” he said. “The documentary community is seen as progressive and ahead of the game. In the entertainment business the dirty little secret is the documentary community is not that ahead of the game.
- 9/17/2020
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Check out the latest Academy Dialogues series, “Documentaries Through Our Own Lens,” in which four Oscar-contending documentarians pull no punches — Lisa Cortés, James LeBrecht, Bao Nguyen (ESPN’s “Be Water”), Dawn Porter (Magnolia’s “John Lewis: Good Trouble”) — along with moderator and Academy governor Roger Ross Williams (Emmy-winning “The Apollo”), as they lay out just what inclusion and diversity really means.
It might seem that during the golden age of documentaries, the nonfiction community is among the most diverse in the entertainment industry, with a seeming flood of opportunities to tell their stories. But as Williams pointed out at the start, there are plenty of challenges. “We all know that we have traditionally been defined by other people’s lens,” he said. “The documentary community is seen as progressive and ahead of the game. In the entertainment business the dirty little secret is the documentary community is not that ahead of the game.
It might seem that during the golden age of documentaries, the nonfiction community is among the most diverse in the entertainment industry, with a seeming flood of opportunities to tell their stories. But as Williams pointed out at the start, there are plenty of challenges. “We all know that we have traditionally been defined by other people’s lens,” he said. “The documentary community is seen as progressive and ahead of the game. In the entertainment business the dirty little secret is the documentary community is not that ahead of the game.
- 9/17/2020
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
The 19th New York Asian Film Festival (Nyaff) has announced the names of the recipients of its Rising Star Award and Action Cinema Award, as well as the international jury members who will select the winner of the Nyaff “Uncaged” Competition Award during the upcoming virtual edition, running from August 28-September 12 on the Smart Cinema USA app. Tickets for this year’s special virtual edition go on sale August 23.
The 2020 Screen International Rising Star Award goes to South Korean actress Lee Joo-young for Baseball Girl, making its international premiere and screening throughout the festival. The award recognizes her daring choice of roles across her already diverse body of work, as well as her fierce commitment to every performance, whether in indie cinema, where she already stands as a star, or the TV drama scene. These notable traits are exemplified by her tour-de-force turn as the eponymous underdog female athlete in Baseball Girl.
The 2020 Screen International Rising Star Award goes to South Korean actress Lee Joo-young for Baseball Girl, making its international premiere and screening throughout the festival. The award recognizes her daring choice of roles across her already diverse body of work, as well as her fierce commitment to every performance, whether in indie cinema, where she already stands as a star, or the TV drama scene. These notable traits are exemplified by her tour-de-force turn as the eponymous underdog female athlete in Baseball Girl.
- 8/24/2020
- by Don Anelli
- AsianMoviePulse
The Cannes Film Festival has unveiled the lineup for the 17th edition of Cannes Classics, a popular sidebar dedicated to restored heritage movies and documentaries that forms part of the Official Selection.
This year’s roster comprises 25 feature films and seven documentaries. The highlights are Wong Kar-wai’s “In the Mood for Love,” which celebrates its 25th anniversary, as well as Jean-Luc Godard’s “Breathless” and Michelangelo Antonioni’s “L’Aventura,” which are both turning 60. Cannes Classics will also turn the spotlight on Federico Fellini, the Italian master who would have turned 100 in 2020. Two films by Fellini are part of the selection, “La strada” and “Luci del varietà,” along with the documentary “Fellini of the Spirits” directed by Anselma dell’Olio.
Cannes Classics will also spotlight rare films such as Peter Wollen’s “Friendship’s Death” in which Tilda Swinton delivered a breakthrough performance in 1987, and “The Story of a Three-Day Pass,...
This year’s roster comprises 25 feature films and seven documentaries. The highlights are Wong Kar-wai’s “In the Mood for Love,” which celebrates its 25th anniversary, as well as Jean-Luc Godard’s “Breathless” and Michelangelo Antonioni’s “L’Aventura,” which are both turning 60. Cannes Classics will also turn the spotlight on Federico Fellini, the Italian master who would have turned 100 in 2020. Two films by Fellini are part of the selection, “La strada” and “Luci del varietà,” along with the documentary “Fellini of the Spirits” directed by Anselma dell’Olio.
Cannes Classics will also spotlight rare films such as Peter Wollen’s “Friendship’s Death” in which Tilda Swinton delivered a breakthrough performance in 1987, and “The Story of a Three-Day Pass,...
- 7/15/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Rarely in recent memory has a TV show been so propitiously timed as “The Last Dance.” The 10-episode documentary series about the Michael Jordan-era Chicago Bulls premiered in May, weeks after the coronavirus pandemic caused the shutdown of all major live sports events, leaving fans bereft.
Into that void slipped “The Last Dance,” turning five straight Sunday nights into must-see events for large swathes of audiences quarantined at home. Over the course of its run, “The Last Dance” averaged 5.6 million viewers. And in seizing the moment, it’s becoming emblematic of a wave in sports documentary programming that has been building for years.
“It’s a funny time to celebrate any project and pat yourselves on the back, but I will say, I think it was the perfect project at a really specific point in time in our history,” says Libby Geist, vice president & executive producer, ESPN Films and Original Content.
Into that void slipped “The Last Dance,” turning five straight Sunday nights into must-see events for large swathes of audiences quarantined at home. Over the course of its run, “The Last Dance” averaged 5.6 million viewers. And in seizing the moment, it’s becoming emblematic of a wave in sports documentary programming that has been building for years.
“It’s a funny time to celebrate any project and pat yourselves on the back, but I will say, I think it was the perfect project at a really specific point in time in our history,” says Libby Geist, vice president & executive producer, ESPN Films and Original Content.
- 7/1/2020
- by Daniel Holloway
- Variety Film + TV
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSAbove: Carl Reiner, Annie Reiner, and Mel Brooks, photographed together at Brooks's 94th birthday celebration.We're saddened by news that actor, comedian, screenwriter and director Carl Reiner has died. Mel Brooks remembers Reiner, his best friend, in a post reflecting upon their famous collaborations together. Sundance Film Festival director Tabitha Jackson has unveiled plans for the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, which will take place "live in Utah and in at least 20 independent and community cinemas across the U.S. and beyond." Elsewhere, the Locarno International Film Festival announced its 20 selections for the Films After Tomorrow program, which aims to offer support to productions that were put on hold by the health crisis. These films include films by Lucrecia Martel, Wang Bing, Verena Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Helena Wittmann, and Lisandro Alonso. Recommended VIEWINGArthur Jafa directed...
- 7/1/2020
- MUBI
RZA pays tribute to Bruce Lee on the rapper’s new song “Be Like Water,” which features in ESPN’s upcoming “30 for 30” special about the iconic martial artist.
“Bruce Lee’s teachings extended beyond physical martial arts. He was full of philosophy and mindfulness,” RZA said in a statement.
“His quote ‘Be Water my friend’ is profound and multi-tiered in definition. It inspires the idea that in adapting to life situations, sometimes we have to flow smoothly as a stream, while other times we have to crash like a Tsunami.
“Bruce Lee’s teachings extended beyond physical martial arts. He was full of philosophy and mindfulness,” RZA said in a statement.
“His quote ‘Be Water my friend’ is profound and multi-tiered in definition. It inspires the idea that in adapting to life situations, sometimes we have to flow smoothly as a stream, while other times we have to crash like a Tsunami.
- 6/6/2020
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
It’s been 47 years since Bruce Lee’s shocking death at age 32. He would have been 80 this November. And yet, his groundbreaking legacy is as compelling and relevant as ever. Lee was the first global Asian celebrity and remains the most prominent.
Lee’s legacy can still be felt around the world. Be Water, a new documentary on Bruce Lee, premieres on ESPN on June 7. From director Bao Nguyen, the film combines rare archival photos and footage along with revealing interviews with Lee’s surviving family and friends, offering an intimate look at the world’s most famous martial arts master. It’s part of ESPN’s highly acclaimed 30 For 30 documentary series, which presents 30 documentaries on athletes and celebrities per volume and initially launched in 2009 for ESPN’s 30th anniversary.
Bruce Lee’s profound impact on fitness and bodybuilding makes him deserving of the ESPN spotlight. He was a pioneer...
Lee’s legacy can still be felt around the world. Be Water, a new documentary on Bruce Lee, premieres on ESPN on June 7. From director Bao Nguyen, the film combines rare archival photos and footage along with revealing interviews with Lee’s surviving family and friends, offering an intimate look at the world’s most famous martial arts master. It’s part of ESPN’s highly acclaimed 30 For 30 documentary series, which presents 30 documentaries on athletes and celebrities per volume and initially launched in 2009 for ESPN’s 30th anniversary.
Bruce Lee’s profound impact on fitness and bodybuilding makes him deserving of the ESPN spotlight. He was a pioneer...
- 6/5/2020
- by Chris Longo
- Den of Geek
A world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, Bao Nguyen’s Bruce Lee documentary Be Water is now arriving on ESPN this weekend. A martial artist, actor, and director, Lee quickly became one of the most iconic figures of the 20th century, breaking barriers for Asian-American representation on film and in popular culture. Films of his include Enter The Dragon, The Game of Death, and The Big Boss–some of which are getting the Criterion treatment this summer.
Lee recently re-entered public conversation with Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time… in Hollywood, in which a fictional version of the figure is seen fighting with Brad Pitt’s tough stuntman Cliff Booth. The scene drew criticism for its depiction of Lee and the racial dynamics between him and Pitt’s character, drawing concern from even Lee’s own daughter Shannon.
Be Water is part of ESPN’s...
Lee recently re-entered public conversation with Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time… in Hollywood, in which a fictional version of the figure is seen fighting with Brad Pitt’s tough stuntman Cliff Booth. The scene drew criticism for its depiction of Lee and the racial dynamics between him and Pitt’s character, drawing concern from even Lee’s own daughter Shannon.
Be Water is part of ESPN’s...
- 6/5/2020
- by Stephen Hladik
- The Film Stage
The new 30 for 30 documentary Be Water opens up with a black-and-white screen test of its subject, martial arts legend Bruce Lee, from the mid-Sixties. Lee silently follows instructions to turn his head to different angles, before the off-screen director says, “Now the camera will pull back,” and invites his subject to demonstrate some kung-fu moves with a member of the crew as his theoretical target. Lee is utterly relaxed, putting his audience at ease with a joke about how accidents can happen even in an exhibition like this. He casually shifts into his stance,...
- 6/3/2020
- by Alan Sepinwall
- Rollingstone.com
Here’s how June is supposed to work, entertainment-wise: multiplexes fill up with big, loud, expensive movies, and television scales back ambition in favor of low-risk, low-impact programming. But in 2020’s upside-down world of closed theaters and social distancing, the old rules don’t apply. Sure, you can tune into the Watt brothers playing an elaborate version of tag. But you can also watch: a potentially franchise-launching adaptation of a popular Ya series on a streaming service; a documentary on Bruce Lee; new movies from Spike Lee and Judd Apatow...
- 5/29/2020
- by Keith Phipps
- Rollingstone.com
"Be formless. Shapeless." ESPN has unveiled an official trailer for the documentary Be Water, an extensive look at the life of Bruce Lee, which will air on ESPN first in early June then moves onto streaming. Made by Vietnamese-American filmmaker Bao Nguyen, the film initially premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. Rejected by Hollywood, Bruce Lee returned to Hong Kong in 1971 to make four iconic films. Charting his struggles in two worlds, Nguyen's Be Water explores questions of identity and representation through rare archive, intimate interviews, and his writings. Described as "a 30 for 30 film that intimately chronicles Bruce Lee's life and complex journey." The focus on this is more than just one segment of his life, but rather all of his life, starting out with his youth growing up in America before going back to Hong Kong. Here's the first official trailer (+ poster) for Bao Nguyen's documentary Be Water,...
- 5/29/2020
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
ESPN's 30 for 30 docuseries has made a reputation for itself for its hard-hitting honesty and surprisingly hefty emotional weight. The testament of their power is that they can make me 100% invested in the lives and careers of athletes I've never heard of. For their next subject matter, they're stepping into the world of film by focusing on Bruce Lee and we get a tease of how his legacy will be explored in the first trailer for their latest doc, Be Water. Bruce Lee was more…...
- 5/29/2020
- by Gaius Bolling
- JoBlo.com
ESPN’s next documentary will chronicle the life of Bruce Lee, the legendary martial artist and actor whose work influenced Hollywood’s martial arts films and the industry’s acceptance of Asians in cinema.
“Be Water,” which takes its name from one of Lee’s famous quotes, will document all aspect of Lee’s career, from his early rejections from Hollywood to his eventual emergence as one of history’s most iconic martial artists and actors.
Per ESPN, the film chronicles Lee’s earliest days, as the son of a Chinese opera star born while his father was on tour in San Francisco, and then raised in Hong Kong over what became an at times troubled childhood. Sent to live in America at the age of 18, he began teaching Kung Fu in Seattle, and established a following that included his future wife, Linda. His ambition ever rising, Lee eventually made his way to Los Angeles,...
“Be Water,” which takes its name from one of Lee’s famous quotes, will document all aspect of Lee’s career, from his early rejections from Hollywood to his eventual emergence as one of history’s most iconic martial artists and actors.
Per ESPN, the film chronicles Lee’s earliest days, as the son of a Chinese opera star born while his father was on tour in San Francisco, and then raised in Hong Kong over what became an at times troubled childhood. Sent to live in America at the age of 18, he began teaching Kung Fu in Seattle, and established a following that included his future wife, Linda. His ambition ever rising, Lee eventually made his way to Los Angeles,...
- 5/29/2020
- by Tyler Hersko
- Indiewire
In the wake of the fantastic Michael Jordan-centric documentary series The Last Dance, which broke viewership records for ESPN, the sports network is hoping that its slate of 30 for 30 documentaries is able to keep audiences’ attention. They’re currently airing Lance, a multi-part look at the life and controversy of cyclist Lance Armstrong, but […]
The post ‘Be Water’ Trailer: ESPN’s New ’30 for 30′ Film Chronicles the Iconic Bruce Lee appeared first on /Film.
The post ‘Be Water’ Trailer: ESPN’s New ’30 for 30′ Film Chronicles the Iconic Bruce Lee appeared first on /Film.
- 5/28/2020
- by Ben Pearson
- Slash Film
Exclusive: After a towering rating success on the Michael Jordan 10-part documentary The Last Dance, ESPN is working with Tom Brady and Religion of Sports on Man In The Arena, a nine-episode multi-platform series coming in 2021. The focus will be on another Goat for his sport: Brady himself. The series will be Brady’s first-hand account of the most iconic moments of his NFL career, including each of his nine Super Bowl appearances as quarterback of the New England Patriots. Also in there will be smaller, seemingly insignificant instances that became pivotal events and paved the path of the future Hall of Famer’s journey, which takes a new chapter after his move to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Here’s the trailer:
The series is being co-produced by ESPN along with Brady’s new company 199 Productions and Gotham Chopra for Religion of Sports. The series will be shepherded by Connor Schell,...
Here’s the trailer:
The series is being co-produced by ESPN along with Brady’s new company 199 Productions and Gotham Chopra for Religion of Sports. The series will be shepherded by Connor Schell,...
- 5/21/2020
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Oscilloscope has swooped for U.S. rights to a feature documentary on mysterious fashion designer Martin Margiela from doc specialist Dogwoof.
The elusive Belgian designer, considered the “Banksy of fashion” because he never appears in public, is known for rising in the ranks from Jean Paul Gaultier’s assistant to creative director at Hermes and ultimately to an independent designer with a fashion house of his own.
In the film, Margiela unveils drawings, notes and personal items, providing a glimpse into his vision and career.
In addition to Oscilloscope, the Reiner Holzemer-directed “Martin Margiela: In His Own Worlds” has been sold into Non Stop (Scandinavia), Dalton (Benelux) and Hajunsa (South Korea) for theatrical and home entertainment. Previously announced sales include Uplink (Japan), Pioneer (Cis) and DDDream (China).
Elsewhere, the London-based distributor has also sold “The Queen of Versailles” director Lauren Greenfield’s feature doc “Kingmaker” into German-speaking Europe with...
The elusive Belgian designer, considered the “Banksy of fashion” because he never appears in public, is known for rising in the ranks from Jean Paul Gaultier’s assistant to creative director at Hermes and ultimately to an independent designer with a fashion house of his own.
In the film, Margiela unveils drawings, notes and personal items, providing a glimpse into his vision and career.
In addition to Oscilloscope, the Reiner Holzemer-directed “Martin Margiela: In His Own Worlds” has been sold into Non Stop (Scandinavia), Dalton (Benelux) and Hajunsa (South Korea) for theatrical and home entertainment. Previously announced sales include Uplink (Japan), Pioneer (Cis) and DDDream (China).
Elsewhere, the London-based distributor has also sold “The Queen of Versailles” director Lauren Greenfield’s feature doc “Kingmaker” into German-speaking Europe with...
- 2/22/2020
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
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