With “Wish,” Disney Animation celebrates its 100th anniversary by merging the 2D legacy of watercolor background paintings (dating back to “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”) with cutting-edge CG. The result was a revitalization of the retro aesthetic in every department to better display the hand of the artist. Like a gateway drug, it has already carried over into an as-yet-unannounced feature with a very different 2D look.
The musical fantasy (directed by Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn) was the perfect storm for a convergence of the past and present, as it pays tribute to Walt’s beloved wishing star — symbolic of his ethos about the importance of hopes and dreams. Asha (Ariana DeBose), a 17-year-old very much in the mold of the modern Disney heroine, desperately wishes upon a star to save her medieval kingdom of Rosas when Sorcerer King Magnifico (Chris Pine) imprisons their wishes. Asha’s plea...
The musical fantasy (directed by Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn) was the perfect storm for a convergence of the past and present, as it pays tribute to Walt’s beloved wishing star — symbolic of his ethos about the importance of hopes and dreams. Asha (Ariana DeBose), a 17-year-old very much in the mold of the modern Disney heroine, desperately wishes upon a star to save her medieval kingdom of Rosas when Sorcerer King Magnifico (Chris Pine) imprisons their wishes. Asha’s plea...
- 11/25/2023
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
With “Wish,” Disney Animation celebrates its 100th anniversary with a film that bridges Walt’s era and the company’s modern sensibility. Directed by Chris Buck (“Frozen”) and Fawn Veerasunthorn (head of story for “Raya and the Last Dragon“), it’s an animated musical origin story about the magical wishing star with a painterly, 2D aesthetic in CG that’s every bit as impressive as “Across the Spider-Verse” in displaying the hand of the artist.
Disney Animation offered a 20-minute sneak peek at the upcoming film in mid-September at the El Capitan in Hollywood — and you can watch the latest trailer below. “Wish” is crucially about legacy and incorporating Disney’s beloved hand-drawn aesthetic with the studio’s latest digital tech. The designers and animators create a nostalgic watercolor look for the background paintings inspired by “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” “Pinocchio,” and “Sleeping Beauty.”
For Jennifer Lee, Disney...
Disney Animation offered a 20-minute sneak peek at the upcoming film in mid-September at the El Capitan in Hollywood — and you can watch the latest trailer below. “Wish” is crucially about legacy and incorporating Disney’s beloved hand-drawn aesthetic with the studio’s latest digital tech. The designers and animators create a nostalgic watercolor look for the background paintings inspired by “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” “Pinocchio,” and “Sleeping Beauty.”
For Jennifer Lee, Disney...
- 9/27/2023
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
New York, NY — March 27, 2023 — The 92nd Street Y, New York (92Ny), one of New York’s leading cultural venues, presents Drew Petersen, piano, plays Chopin, Schumann, Ravel, and more, on April 20, 2023 at 7:30pm Et. The concert will also be available for viewing online for 72 hours from time of broadcast. Tickets for both the in-person and livestream options start at $25 and are available at 92ny.org/event/drew-petersen-piano.
Pianist Drew Petersen makes his NYC recital debut in 92Ny’s newly renovated Buttenwieser Hall. At the heart of his program: piano masterworks by Ravel and Schumann in Gaspard de la nuit and Schumann’s love letter in music, the C-Major Fantasie. A selection of Chopin Études is preceded by John Corigliano’s Etude Fantasy, a set of five studies in the form and character of a fantasy, creating an arc from the program’s start to finish that reflects the thoughtfulness of Petersen’s artistic conception.
Pianist Drew Petersen makes his NYC recital debut in 92Ny’s newly renovated Buttenwieser Hall. At the heart of his program: piano masterworks by Ravel and Schumann in Gaspard de la nuit and Schumann’s love letter in music, the C-Major Fantasie. A selection of Chopin Études is preceded by John Corigliano’s Etude Fantasy, a set of five studies in the form and character of a fantasy, creating an arc from the program’s start to finish that reflects the thoughtfulness of Petersen’s artistic conception.
- 3/27/2023
- by Music Martin Cid Magazine
- Martin Cid Music
According to writer Andrew Solomon, the key to finding acceptance lies in addressing “the tyranny of everything being expected to be the same”.
Solomon was speaking at a special screening of a documentary inspired by his 2012 non-fiction book, Far from the Tree, at London’s Barbican Centre on Thursday (25 January).
Motivated by his own difficulties coming out as gay to his parents, Solomon decided to examine the experiences of other families in which there are profound differences between parents and their children. “Having always imagined myself in a fairly slim minority,” he writes, “I suddenly saw that I was in a vast company. Difference unites us.”
In the film, which is directed by Rachel Dretzin, we see a range of children who are, in their own ways, different from their parents. One, named Jason, was diagnosed with Down’s syndrome as a baby, with his parents told that he’d...
Solomon was speaking at a special screening of a documentary inspired by his 2012 non-fiction book, Far from the Tree, at London’s Barbican Centre on Thursday (25 January).
Motivated by his own difficulties coming out as gay to his parents, Solomon decided to examine the experiences of other families in which there are profound differences between parents and their children. “Having always imagined myself in a fairly slim minority,” he writes, “I suddenly saw that I was in a vast company. Difference unites us.”
In the film, which is directed by Rachel Dretzin, we see a range of children who are, in their own ways, different from their parents. One, named Jason, was diagnosed with Down’s syndrome as a baby, with his parents told that he’d...
- 1/27/2023
- by Dan Byam Shaw
- The Independent - Film
Click here to read the full article.
Don’t Look Up, Black-ish and Pachinko were among the winners of the 46th annual Humanitas Prizes announced Friday from a luncheon at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.
The awards, honoring the craft of screenwriting, featured winners in nine juried categories spanning film and television. These included Don’t Look Up from writer Adam McKay for comedy feature film, The Starling from Matt Harris for drama feature film and Encanto from Charise Castro Smith and Jared Bush for family feature film.
On the TV side, Black-ish writer Robb Chavis prevailed for comedy teleplay, Pachinko creator Soo Hugh won for drama teleplay and Women of the Movement creator Marissa Jo Cerar was tops for limited series, TV movie or special.
Larry Wilmore hosted the event, and presenters included Nkechi Okoro Carroll, Jasmine Cephas Jones and Humanitas board president Jenny Bicks. Also honored were...
Don’t Look Up, Black-ish and Pachinko were among the winners of the 46th annual Humanitas Prizes announced Friday from a luncheon at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.
The awards, honoring the craft of screenwriting, featured winners in nine juried categories spanning film and television. These included Don’t Look Up from writer Adam McKay for comedy feature film, The Starling from Matt Harris for drama feature film and Encanto from Charise Castro Smith and Jared Bush for family feature film.
On the TV side, Black-ish writer Robb Chavis prevailed for comedy teleplay, Pachinko creator Soo Hugh won for drama teleplay and Women of the Movement creator Marissa Jo Cerar was tops for limited series, TV movie or special.
Larry Wilmore hosted the event, and presenters included Nkechi Okoro Carroll, Jasmine Cephas Jones and Humanitas board president Jenny Bicks. Also honored were...
- 9/10/2022
- by Ryan Gajewski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Retiring ABC series “Black-ish” picked up one more honor on Friday, a Humanitas Prize for comedy teleplay, while Apple TV+’s “Pachinko” and ABC’s “Women of the Movement” also were recognized at the event.
Held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel and hosted by comedian Larry Wilmore, the 46th annual Humanitas Prize event centered on awards and 10,000 cash prizes to screenwriters across ten categories. In addition, Humanitas board president Jenny Bicks presented Filmmakers for Ukraine with the Kieser Award “in recognition of their work to connect the Ukrainian film and TV community impacted by the Russo-Ukrainian War with resources, jobs, and funding to meet basic needs.”
And Jasmine Cephas Jones presented Starz with Voice for Change Award for its #TakeTheLead initiative. Starz president/CEO Jeffrey Hirsch accepted the prize on the network’s behalf. Nkechi Okoro Carroll oversaw the New Voices Fellowship and College Screenwriting Award presentations.
Here are this...
Held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel and hosted by comedian Larry Wilmore, the 46th annual Humanitas Prize event centered on awards and 10,000 cash prizes to screenwriters across ten categories. In addition, Humanitas board president Jenny Bicks presented Filmmakers for Ukraine with the Kieser Award “in recognition of their work to connect the Ukrainian film and TV community impacted by the Russo-Ukrainian War with resources, jobs, and funding to meet basic needs.”
And Jasmine Cephas Jones presented Starz with Voice for Change Award for its #TakeTheLead initiative. Starz president/CEO Jeffrey Hirsch accepted the prize on the network’s behalf. Nkechi Okoro Carroll oversaw the New Voices Fellowship and College Screenwriting Award presentations.
Here are this...
- 9/10/2022
- by Michael Schneider
- Variety Film + TV
“Star Trek” has always been known for its progressive casting on screen. But over seven live-action series and 13 movies dating back more than half a century, the science-fiction franchise has never had a woman composer – until now.
Nami Melumad, who has been scoring the animated “Star Trek: Prodigy,” has stepped up a notch and is scoring weekly episodes of “Strange New Worlds,” the new Paramount Plus series that chronicles the voyages of the pre-Captain Kirk Enterprise.
“It’s been a very busy few months,” says the Israeli-born composer, who has been writing an average of 45 minutes of music per episode of “Strange New Worlds” and is now on her 14th episode of “Prodigy” for Nickelodeon.
Melumad’s “Star Trek” adventures actually began on “Short Treks,” the 10-part series of shorts exploring various aspects of the “Trek” universe. She scored “Q&a,” the 2019 episode that featured Anson Mount as Christopher Pike,...
Nami Melumad, who has been scoring the animated “Star Trek: Prodigy,” has stepped up a notch and is scoring weekly episodes of “Strange New Worlds,” the new Paramount Plus series that chronicles the voyages of the pre-Captain Kirk Enterprise.
“It’s been a very busy few months,” says the Israeli-born composer, who has been writing an average of 45 minutes of music per episode of “Strange New Worlds” and is now on her 14th episode of “Prodigy” for Nickelodeon.
Melumad’s “Star Trek” adventures actually began on “Short Treks,” the 10-part series of shorts exploring various aspects of the “Trek” universe. She scored “Q&a,” the 2019 episode that featured Anson Mount as Christopher Pike,...
- 5/17/2022
- by Jon Burlingame
- Variety Film + TV
Disney Animation has unveiled a trailer for the short film Far From the Tree, which will be available for streaming on Disney+ later this week. You might've already seen this short if you went to see Encanto in the cinema, as it played in front of showings of that Disney Animation movie when it opened last month. In Far From the Tree, curiosity gets the better of a young raccoon whose frustrated parent attempts to keep them both safe. They will learn that while there is reason to be fearful, as danger lurks around every corner, it is still possible to live with an open heart. There's no voice cast, as this one doesn't have any voices anyway, just a couple of cute raccoons that go on an adventure around the Pacific Northwest. It's made by Natalie Nourigat, who also made Exchange Student in Disney's "Short Circuit" series. Meet the two raccoons below.
- 12/22/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
“Encanto Dazzles Both Visually & Narratively, With Vibrant Songs And Stellar Animation” – Andrea Towers, IGN
Bring Home the Magic When Encanto Arrives on Digital December 24 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD February 8. Includes All-New Animated Short, Far From The Tree, Plus Sing-Along Version With On-Screen Lyrics and Never-Before-Seen Bonus Features
Encanto marks the 60th animated feature from Walt Disney Animation Studios and will soon be available to audiences to enjoy at home. Fans can enjoy a sing-along movie version, never-before-seen bonus features and deleted scenes when Encanto arrives on all major digital platforms this holiday season on December 24 and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD February 8.
Encanto will also be available on Disney+ starting December 24.
In Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Encanto,” Antonio may be shy, but his huge heart is his biggest asset—rivaled only by his newly received magical ability to communicate with animals. Directed by Byron Howard...
Bring Home the Magic When Encanto Arrives on Digital December 24 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD February 8. Includes All-New Animated Short, Far From The Tree, Plus Sing-Along Version With On-Screen Lyrics and Never-Before-Seen Bonus Features
Encanto marks the 60th animated feature from Walt Disney Animation Studios and will soon be available to audiences to enjoy at home. Fans can enjoy a sing-along movie version, never-before-seen bonus features and deleted scenes when Encanto arrives on all major digital platforms this holiday season on December 24 and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD February 8.
Encanto will also be available on Disney+ starting December 24.
In Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Encanto,” Antonio may be shy, but his huge heart is his biggest asset—rivaled only by his newly received magical ability to communicate with animals. Directed by Byron Howard...
- 12/13/2021
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
In most languages the word for raccoon is derived from its behaviour. In English we have, through various spellings (raugroughcum and arathkone being personal favourites) adopted it from the Powhatan. 'animal that scratches with its hands', in Latin 'before-dog washer', in French 'little wash-rat'. It's an iconic behaviour, and in this touching tale of the creature sometimes known as the trash-panda one we see a few times.
Screening with Encanto, as is now a Disney tradition, there's a good chance that Far From The Tree will be the first short film someone will see. Possibly the first film someone will see in the cinema. Which is no bad thing, because it's an absolute delight.
Natalie Nourigat writes, directs. She is on that arc for young animators, animation department work here, short there, autobiographical comic, small changes creating motion. Those motions creating emotion, and beautifully so. From the Disney logo drawn in.
Screening with Encanto, as is now a Disney tradition, there's a good chance that Far From The Tree will be the first short film someone will see. Possibly the first film someone will see in the cinema. Which is no bad thing, because it's an absolute delight.
Natalie Nourigat writes, directs. She is on that arc for young animators, animation department work here, short there, autobiographical comic, small changes creating motion. Those motions creating emotion, and beautifully so. From the Disney logo drawn in.
- 11/27/2021
- by Andrew Robertson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Memorial services will be announced at later date.
Updated With Academy Statement: Diane Weyermann, Participant chief content officer and a longtime champion of documentaries who was a driving force behind An Inconvenient Truth and American Factory, has died. She was 66.
Weyermann passed away from cancer on Thursday (October 14) in New York. Participant said she had “long been the engine behind the company’s documentary film and television slate”, adding that her work “defined the company” since it was founded in 2004 by Jeff Skoll.
“In the very earliest days of Participant, I was incredibly lucky to have Diane agree to run our newfound documentary department,...
Updated With Academy Statement: Diane Weyermann, Participant chief content officer and a longtime champion of documentaries who was a driving force behind An Inconvenient Truth and American Factory, has died. She was 66.
Weyermann passed away from cancer on Thursday (October 14) in New York. Participant said she had “long been the engine behind the company’s documentary film and television slate”, adding that her work “defined the company” since it was founded in 2004 by Jeff Skoll.
“In the very earliest days of Participant, I was incredibly lucky to have Diane agree to run our newfound documentary department,...
- 10/15/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Diane Weyermann, the longtime Chief Content Officer at Participant who also produced or exec produced dozens of films including Oscar winners An Inconvenient Truth and Citizenfour, died today of cancer in New York, the company said. She was 66.
Showbiz & Media Figures We’ve Lost In 2021 – Photo Gallery
A two-time Emmy nominee, including one this year for David Byrne’s American Utopia, Weyermann long had been the engine behind Participant’s documentary film and television slate.
“In the very earliest days of Participant, I was incredibly lucky to have Diane agree to run our newfound documentary department, including our first documentary, ‘An Inconvenient Truth,’” said Jeff Skoll, who founded Participant in 2004. “From day 1, Diane brought a passion to her work and cared deeply about the battles we helped fight over the issues portrayed in each film. Over 17 years together, she was a champion in every way, through strategic, industry, and emerging global challenges.
Showbiz & Media Figures We’ve Lost In 2021 – Photo Gallery
A two-time Emmy nominee, including one this year for David Byrne’s American Utopia, Weyermann long had been the engine behind Participant’s documentary film and television slate.
“In the very earliest days of Participant, I was incredibly lucky to have Diane agree to run our newfound documentary department, including our first documentary, ‘An Inconvenient Truth,’” said Jeff Skoll, who founded Participant in 2004. “From day 1, Diane brought a passion to her work and cared deeply about the battles we helped fight over the issues portrayed in each film. Over 17 years together, she was a champion in every way, through strategic, industry, and emerging global challenges.
- 10/15/2021
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
The new Netflix documentary Audible invites viewers to enter a world rarely explored in film: the community of the Deaf and hearing impaired.
The film directed by Matt Ogens focuses on 17-year-old Amaree McKenstry, Homecoming King at the Maryland School for the Deaf, and a star of the high school’s outstanding football team. The Orioles went through a 16 season stretch without losing to another deaf school, and generally prevailed in games against hearing teams.
“There’s a lot of history for me there,” Ogens explains of his connection to Msd and his route to making the film. “I grew up in Maryland, my best friend is Deaf, my aunt even taught sign language at the school, one of our executive producers Nyle Dimarco went to the school, his brother Neal is one of the coaches in the film… Being so closely adjacent to the Deaf community through my best friend,...
The film directed by Matt Ogens focuses on 17-year-old Amaree McKenstry, Homecoming King at the Maryland School for the Deaf, and a star of the high school’s outstanding football team. The Orioles went through a 16 season stretch without losing to another deaf school, and generally prevailed in games against hearing teams.
“There’s a lot of history for me there,” Ogens explains of his connection to Msd and his route to making the film. “I grew up in Maryland, my best friend is Deaf, my aunt even taught sign language at the school, one of our executive producers Nyle Dimarco went to the school, his brother Neal is one of the coaches in the film… Being so closely adjacent to the Deaf community through my best friend,...
- 7/9/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Raccoon survival and youthful curiosity clash in Disney’s latest 2D/CG hybrid short, “Far From the Tree,” premiering Tuesday at the hybrid 2021 Annecy Animation festival, and screening theatrically in front of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s animated musical, “Encanto,” on November 24. But, for director Natalie Nourigat (the Short Circuit “Exchange Student” on Disney+), her short obviously went much deeper than celebrating childhood memories growing up in Oregon, and family visits to the cold and misty Canon Beach.
In “Far From the Tree,” curiosity gets the better of a young raccoon, whose frustrated parent attempts to keep them both safe from roaming coyotes on their idyllic beach in the Pacific Northwest. “I needed a conflict, the realization that you’re being an over-protective parent,” said Nourigat. “Where’s that line between I need to keep you safe and prepare you for what’s out there and letting you enjoy being a kid...
In “Far From the Tree,” curiosity gets the better of a young raccoon, whose frustrated parent attempts to keep them both safe from roaming coyotes on their idyllic beach in the Pacific Northwest. “I needed a conflict, the realization that you’re being an over-protective parent,” said Nourigat. “Where’s that line between I need to keep you safe and prepare you for what’s out there and letting you enjoy being a kid...
- 6/14/2021
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Exclusive: On a day when Boeing announced disastrous financial results and the need to cut 16,000 jobs or 10% of its work force because of billions in losses from the pandemic and the Boeing 737 Max crashes that killed 346 passengers, Participant has set a feature documentary that will re-team the filmmaking duo of Emmy Award-winner Rachel Dretzin and Oscar nominee and Emmy-winner Barak Goodman. Producing the film is Don Edkins, whose son, World Bank employee Max Thabiso Edkins, was tragically killed in the March 20, 2019 crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, one of the Boeing 737 Max aircrafts.
The untitled film focuses on the twin tragedies of the Boeing 737 Max air disasters in 2018 and 2019 that prompted criminal and civil scrutiny and laid bare an appalling lack of oversight and quality controls by the manufacturer. Participant will finance the project, which Dretzin and Goodman will direct and produce through their company Ark Media. Participant’s Jeff Skoll...
The untitled film focuses on the twin tragedies of the Boeing 737 Max air disasters in 2018 and 2019 that prompted criminal and civil scrutiny and laid bare an appalling lack of oversight and quality controls by the manufacturer. Participant will finance the project, which Dretzin and Goodman will direct and produce through their company Ark Media. Participant’s Jeff Skoll...
- 4/29/2020
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Diane Weyermann, a 14-year veteran at Participant Media, has been promoted to the role of chief content officer, the company’s CEO David Linde announced Thursday at the kickoff of the Toronto International Film Festival.
Weyermann, who previously oversaw Participant’s documentary film and television slate, including executive producing films such as “An Inconvenient Truth” and “Citizenfour,” will work closely with Linde in shaping Participant’s film and TV content in the newly created position.
Weyermann will continue to focus on documentary film and television, alongside department senior vice presidents, Elise Pearlstein (film) and Miura Kite (TV), while collaborating with Linde and the company’s newly announced heads of narrative film, Robert Kessel and Anikah McLaren, on future narrative content.
Also Read: Participant Media's Jonathan King Will Step Down to Segue Into Independent Production
The news comes as part of a restructuring after the departure of Jonathan King, the company...
Weyermann, who previously oversaw Participant’s documentary film and television slate, including executive producing films such as “An Inconvenient Truth” and “Citizenfour,” will work closely with Linde in shaping Participant’s film and TV content in the newly created position.
Weyermann will continue to focus on documentary film and television, alongside department senior vice presidents, Elise Pearlstein (film) and Miura Kite (TV), while collaborating with Linde and the company’s newly announced heads of narrative film, Robert Kessel and Anikah McLaren, on future narrative content.
Also Read: Participant Media's Jonathan King Will Step Down to Segue Into Independent Production
The news comes as part of a restructuring after the departure of Jonathan King, the company...
- 9/5/2019
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Does the world really need another movie about Woodstock? There are fewer of them than you might imagine, but the two that most readily spring to mind feel like a closed parenthetical: Michael Wadleigh released his definitive 1970 concert documentary when the music was still echoing across the fields of upstate New York, and Ang Lee’s 2009 “Taking Woodstock” suggested we should have left it at that.
Barak Goodman (“Oklahoma City”) and co-director Jamila Ephron (“Far from the Tree”) must have disagreed. Made in conjunction with PBS, timed for the 50th anniversary, and set for a proper theatrical run before airing on the television channel later this year, their “Woodstock: Three Days that Defined a Generation” revisits the epochal music festival as if it had never been done before — as if the Aquarian Exposition isn’t the only rock concert in American history that gets its own page in high school textbooks.
Barak Goodman (“Oklahoma City”) and co-director Jamila Ephron (“Far from the Tree”) must have disagreed. Made in conjunction with PBS, timed for the 50th anniversary, and set for a proper theatrical run before airing on the television channel later this year, their “Woodstock: Three Days that Defined a Generation” revisits the epochal music festival as if it had never been done before — as if the Aquarian Exposition isn’t the only rock concert in American history that gets its own page in high school textbooks.
- 5/2/2019
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
A total of 166 films have been submitted for consideration in the documentary feature category for the 91st Academy Awards.
Notable titles up for the gold include “Rbg,” “Three Identical Strangers,” “Free Solo” and “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” — which have performed strongly at the box office. Fred Rogers documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” has grossed $22.6 million domestically.
Nine of the 10 titles named as finalists for the International Documentary Association’s top feature are on the list, including “Crime + Punishment,” “Dark Money,” “Free Solo,” “Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” “Minding the Gap,” “Of Fathers and Sons,” “The Silence of Others,” “United Skates” and “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences noted that several of the 166 films have not yet had their required Los Angeles and New York qualifying runs. A shortlist of 15 movies will be announced on Dec. 17.
Nominations...
Notable titles up for the gold include “Rbg,” “Three Identical Strangers,” “Free Solo” and “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” — which have performed strongly at the box office. Fred Rogers documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” has grossed $22.6 million domestically.
Nine of the 10 titles named as finalists for the International Documentary Association’s top feature are on the list, including “Crime + Punishment,” “Dark Money,” “Free Solo,” “Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” “Minding the Gap,” “Of Fathers and Sons,” “The Silence of Others,” “United Skates” and “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences noted that several of the 166 films have not yet had their required Los Angeles and New York qualifying runs. A shortlist of 15 movies will be announced on Dec. 17.
Nominations...
- 11/8/2018
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Last year, the Academy documentary branch had to grapple with a record 170 documentary feature submissions for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar. This year, it’s not so bad: only 166 were entered. The short list of 15 will be announced, along with eight others for the first time on a single date this year: December 17.
All year, branch members have been getting lists of secure online screeners available to watch on the Academy website, increasing in volume until last month, when they received a batch of 77, with more to come. It’s a burden to watch them all, so the ones with the most attention move to the top of the much-watch list. Give the advantage to early box office hits that were made available in the summer such as “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” “Rbg,” and “Three Identical Strangers,” as well as September’s list including critically hailed “Dark Money,...
All year, branch members have been getting lists of secure online screeners available to watch on the Academy website, increasing in volume until last month, when they received a batch of 77, with more to come. It’s a burden to watch them all, so the ones with the most attention move to the top of the much-watch list. Give the advantage to early box office hits that were made available in the summer such as “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” “Rbg,” and “Three Identical Strangers,” as well as September’s list including critically hailed “Dark Money,...
- 11/8/2018
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Last year, the Academy documentary branch had to grapple with a record 170 documentary feature submissions for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar. This year, it’s not so bad: only 166 were entered. The short list of 15 will be announced, along with eight others for the first time on a single date this year: December 17.
All year, branch members have been getting lists of secure online screeners available to watch on the Academy website, increasing in volume until last month, when they received a batch of 77, with more to come. It’s a burden to watch them all, so the ones with the most attention move to the top of the much-watch list. Give the advantage to early box office hits that were made available in the summer such as “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” “Rbg,” and “Three Identical Strangers,” as well as September’s list including critically hailed “Dark Money,...
All year, branch members have been getting lists of secure online screeners available to watch on the Academy website, increasing in volume until last month, when they received a batch of 77, with more to come. It’s a burden to watch them all, so the ones with the most attention move to the top of the much-watch list. Give the advantage to early box office hits that were made available in the summer such as “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” “Rbg,” and “Three Identical Strangers,” as well as September’s list including critically hailed “Dark Money,...
- 11/8/2018
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
A whopping 166 documentary features have been submitted to the academy for consideration at the 2019 Oscars. That is down by four from last year’s record 170 submissions. Among these contenders are all of the highest grossing documentaries of the year including “Free Solo,” “Rbg” and “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”
To winnow the entries down to the 15 semi-finalists that will be announced on December 17, the academy is sending monthly packages of the newly eligible documentary feature screeners to all 400 or so members of the documentary branch. While all members are encouraged to watch as many of these as they can, one-fifth of the voters are assigned each title. In late November, each branch member will submit a preferential ballot listing their top 15 choices.
See 2019 Oscars: Foreign-language film entries from A (Afghanistan) to Y (Yemen)
All of these ballots will be collated to determine the 15 semi-finalists. Branch members will then be...
To winnow the entries down to the 15 semi-finalists that will be announced on December 17, the academy is sending monthly packages of the newly eligible documentary feature screeners to all 400 or so members of the documentary branch. While all members are encouraged to watch as many of these as they can, one-fifth of the voters are assigned each title. In late November, each branch member will submit a preferential ballot listing their top 15 choices.
See 2019 Oscars: Foreign-language film entries from A (Afghanistan) to Y (Yemen)
All of these ballots will be collated to determine the 15 semi-finalists. Branch members will then be...
- 11/8/2018
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
In a year that has seen multiple documentaries find mainstream success, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released the list of 166 docs that have been submitted for Oscar consideration this year.
Among the films on the list are Michael Moore’s anti-Trump polemic “Fahrenheit 11/9,” as well as CNN Films’ Ruth Bader Ginsburg biography “Rbg” and Focus’ Mister Rogers retrospective “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”
Other films considered frontrunners include “Three Identical Strangers,” the wild story of triplets who were separated at birth by a bizarre experiment, “Free Solo,” which documents the first ever attempt to climb Yosemite’s El Capitan without any climbing gear, and “Dark Money,” an investigative report into the influence of billionaires on American democracy through the lens of a Montana congressional race.
Also Read: Sorry, Oscar Documentary Voters: Your Workload Just Doubled
The contender field is slightly less than last year’s record field of 170 but does include,...
Among the films on the list are Michael Moore’s anti-Trump polemic “Fahrenheit 11/9,” as well as CNN Films’ Ruth Bader Ginsburg biography “Rbg” and Focus’ Mister Rogers retrospective “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”
Other films considered frontrunners include “Three Identical Strangers,” the wild story of triplets who were separated at birth by a bizarre experiment, “Free Solo,” which documents the first ever attempt to climb Yosemite’s El Capitan without any climbing gear, and “Dark Money,” an investigative report into the influence of billionaires on American democracy through the lens of a Montana congressional race.
Also Read: Sorry, Oscar Documentary Voters: Your Workload Just Doubled
The contender field is slightly less than last year’s record field of 170 but does include,...
- 11/8/2018
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
Last week, Pen America hosted their 2018 LitFest Gala in Los Angeles, a celebration of free expression and the literary arts that honored some of the brightest names in film, television, and literature.
Ai Weiwei Honored at Pen America 2018 LitFest Gala
Globally lauded artist Ai Weiwei received the Artistic Expression Award, Academy Award Winning writer-director Barry Jenkins received the Award for Screenplay Excellence, award-winning Sharp Objects writers Marti Noxon and Gillian Flynn received the Award for Teleplay Excellence, and Pen America Trustee Marvin Putnam received the Distinguished Leadership Award. The event, hosted by My Favorite Murder creators and authors of the forthcoming book Stay Sexy & Don’T Get Murdered, Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, raised funds that will support initiatives including advocacy for writers, journalists, and artists threatened or imprisoned worldwide, as well as landmark research that addresses critical free speech issues, and the advancement of literary excellence and cross-cultural exchanges through hallmark initiatives,...
Ai Weiwei Honored at Pen America 2018 LitFest Gala
Globally lauded artist Ai Weiwei received the Artistic Expression Award, Academy Award Winning writer-director Barry Jenkins received the Award for Screenplay Excellence, award-winning Sharp Objects writers Marti Noxon and Gillian Flynn received the Award for Teleplay Excellence, and Pen America Trustee Marvin Putnam received the Distinguished Leadership Award. The event, hosted by My Favorite Murder creators and authors of the forthcoming book Stay Sexy & Don’T Get Murdered, Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, raised funds that will support initiatives including advocacy for writers, journalists, and artists threatened or imprisoned worldwide, as well as landmark research that addresses critical free speech issues, and the advancement of literary excellence and cross-cultural exchanges through hallmark initiatives,...
- 11/8/2018
- Look to the Stars
Members of the Academy’s documentary branch received a generous gift from AMPAS on Friday: 77 new films that had qualified in this year’s Best Documentary Feature category.
And it turned what had been a modest year for docs — with a total of 83 films included in June, July, August and September groups — into one in which the number of eligible films that voters would need to watch nearly doubled.
The Academy also promised voters in the branch to expect a final batch of films in early November — which, if it hits double digits, will set a new record in the category.
Also Read: 'Free Solo' Leads Critics' Choice Documentary Awards Nominations
The previous high, set last year, was 170 films. With 160 already on the Oscar eligibility list and one additional (though likely small) batch yet to come, this year’s crop will give voters a lot of work to do before...
And it turned what had been a modest year for docs — with a total of 83 films included in June, July, August and September groups — into one in which the number of eligible films that voters would need to watch nearly doubled.
The Academy also promised voters in the branch to expect a final batch of films in early November — which, if it hits double digits, will set a new record in the category.
Also Read: 'Free Solo' Leads Critics' Choice Documentary Awards Nominations
The previous high, set last year, was 170 films. With 160 already on the Oscar eligibility list and one additional (though likely small) batch yet to come, this year’s crop will give voters a lot of work to do before...
- 10/27/2018
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Participant Media has sealed deals for Endeavor and Lionsgate to handle U.S. and international sales, respectively, on high-profile ecological documentary “Aquarela,” which is world-premiering at the Venice Film Festival. The company also announced that documentary “The Price of Free “ (formerly titled “Kailash”), which won a prize at Sundance, has been acquired by YouTube.
The deals reflect the meticulous “collaboration and curation” aspect of Participant Media’s selective distribution strategy, which this year has encompassed working with IFC, Focus Features, Lionsgate, Netflix, HBO, Starz, YouTube and CNN, among other outlets, in an effort to “always find the right distributor for the movie in order to reach as wide an audience as possible and contribute to the greatest acceleration of positive social change,” said CEO David Linde.
“Distribution today is very much like curating the films for the audience,” Linde said. “It’s sort of the obligation of the producer to...
The deals reflect the meticulous “collaboration and curation” aspect of Participant Media’s selective distribution strategy, which this year has encompassed working with IFC, Focus Features, Lionsgate, Netflix, HBO, Starz, YouTube and CNN, among other outlets, in an effort to “always find the right distributor for the movie in order to reach as wide an audience as possible and contribute to the greatest acceleration of positive social change,” said CEO David Linde.
“Distribution today is very much like curating the films for the audience,” Linde said. “It’s sort of the obligation of the producer to...
- 9/1/2018
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Director Rachel Dretzin's winning documentary Far From the Tree is a challenging, uplifting and absorbing observation into the indelible mindset of the family structure--mainly concentrating on the emotional and psychological dynamics of familial relationships and how the disconnection of parents and their "unique" offspring cope with existing obstacles. Wonderfully contemplative, sensitive, eye-opening and impactful Far From the Tree skillfully delves into the contrasting theory that "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree" sentiment to reflect how parents and their children are one in the same is not always necessarily the case. Dretzin's comprehensive 93-minute narrative sets out to reveal its subject matter's truths that they live under the umbrella of love, affection, frustration, disillusionment, cynicism, hope and the conquering of human heartache. Thoroughly gripping in warmth and insight, Far...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 8/16/2018
- Screen Anarchy
Greenwich Entertainment tell-all documentary Scotty And The Secret History of Hollywood lured crowds to the Arclight in Los Angeles in its opening weekend, grossing $30,941, which gives it bragging rights as the year’s second-highest opening per theater average for a documentary this year after the launch of Neon’s Three Identical Strangers ($34,301 opening weekend PTA). The title easily scored the weekend’s best PTA among all releases.
Other limited releases were more tepid. Sony Classics opened Marc Turtletaub’s Puzzle in five locations, grossing $63,364 for a decent $12,673 PTA, while Well Go USA bowed Detective Dee And The Four Heavenly Kings in 31 theaters, taking in $132,000. The Captain by writer-director Robert Schwentke from Music Box Films had an exclusive weekend run, grossing $8,279 and Abramorama opened 93Queen also in a single theater for $7,257 in the three day.
Blindspotting from Summit Entertainment/Lionsgate expanded to 532 runs in its second frame, grossing $1.325M. Bleecker...
Other limited releases were more tepid. Sony Classics opened Marc Turtletaub’s Puzzle in five locations, grossing $63,364 for a decent $12,673 PTA, while Well Go USA bowed Detective Dee And The Four Heavenly Kings in 31 theaters, taking in $132,000. The Captain by writer-director Robert Schwentke from Music Box Films had an exclusive weekend run, grossing $8,279 and Abramorama opened 93Queen also in a single theater for $7,257 in the three day.
Blindspotting from Summit Entertainment/Lionsgate expanded to 532 runs in its second frame, grossing $1.325M. Bleecker...
- 7/29/2018
- by Brian Brooks
- Deadline Film + TV
As someone who is not a parent, never wanted to be a parent, and still says a silent prayer of “thank heaven that’s not me” every time I walk by a mom or dad struggling with a stroller, Rachel Dretzin’s Far From the Tree — based on Andrew Solomon’s NY Times bestseller Far From the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity — at first glance seemed far from making my must-watch-docs list. Which is precisely how I know it’s as good as it is. When I finally got around to catching it on screener recently, Dretzin’s film — […]...
- 7/20/2018
- by Lauren Wissot
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
As someone who is not a parent, never wanted to be a parent, and still says a silent prayer of “thank heaven that’s not me” every time I walk by a mom or dad struggling with a stroller, Rachel Dretzin’s Far From the Tree — based on Andrew Solomon’s NY Times bestseller Far From the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity — at first glance seemed far from making my must-watch-docs list. Which is precisely how I know it’s as good as it is. When I finally got around to catching it on screener recently, Dretzin’s film — […]...
- 7/20/2018
- by Lauren Wissot
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Let’s say you’re pregnant. It’s quite possibly the happiest and most anxiety-inducing time of your life. And then the doctor delivers the news: Your baby will be born with Down syndrome, deafness, or dwarfism. How do you react? Or maybe you’ve been a proud parent for years, and somewhere along the way, when your child reaches age 2 or 12 or 20, you learn that he has autism, identifies as transgender, or has been arrested for murder.
For centuries of human existence, such surprises have been greeted with horror by some parents, who have been known to surrender, institutionalize, or even disown their children on account of these culturally shameful differences — often the very things that make them special. Wrestling with what he perceived as a lack of love from his mother and father in reaction to his own homosexuality, Columbia University psychology professor Andrew Solomon wrote “Far From the Tree,...
For centuries of human existence, such surprises have been greeted with horror by some parents, who have been known to surrender, institutionalize, or even disown their children on account of these culturally shameful differences — often the very things that make them special. Wrestling with what he perceived as a lack of love from his mother and father in reaction to his own homosexuality, Columbia University psychology professor Andrew Solomon wrote “Far From the Tree,...
- 7/20/2018
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Summit Entertainment/Lionsgate is opening Blindspotting with Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal in limited locations this weekend ahead of a wider roll out. Starring Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal, who co-wrote the comedy/drama, the feature came together after a decade of planning. Blindspotting is the highest-profile narrative opening in select locations this weekend. Friday will also see the arrival of several documentaries. Bleecker Street is opening McQueen by Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui; the Alexander McQueen bio is the company’s first doc release. And Sundance Selects will roll out Far From the Tree, based on the book by Andrew Solomon, while Amazon Studios is launching Generation Wealth by Lauren Greenfield.
Blindspotting
Director: Carlos López Estrada
Writers: Rafael Casal, Daveed Diggs
Cast: Daveed Diggs, Rafael Casal, Janina Gavankar, Jasmine Chephas Jones, Ethan Embry, Tisha Campbell-Martin, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Wayne Knight
Distributor: Summit Entertainment/Lionsgate
Dramedy Blindspotting has been in the works for over a decade.
Blindspotting
Director: Carlos López Estrada
Writers: Rafael Casal, Daveed Diggs
Cast: Daveed Diggs, Rafael Casal, Janina Gavankar, Jasmine Chephas Jones, Ethan Embry, Tisha Campbell-Martin, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Wayne Knight
Distributor: Summit Entertainment/Lionsgate
Dramedy Blindspotting has been in the works for over a decade.
- 7/19/2018
- by Brian Brooks
- Deadline Film + TV
In true popcorn-season form, it’ll be a battle of the sequels at the domestic box office this weekend.
Universal’s “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” is taking a chance at the top spot against fellow newcomers “The Equalizer 2” and “Unfriended: Dark Web.”
The follow-up to 2008’s jukebox musical “Mamma Mia!” is tracking for a three-day tally between $30 million and $36 million when it opens in over 3,200 locations. A $30 million-plus debut would be a jump on its predecessor’s $27 million start. Much like the hit Broadway musical it was based on, “Mamma Mia” became a box office smash, earning $615 million worldwide on a $52 million budget. Though it pocketed an impressive $144 million in North America, “Mamma Mia” found even greater success overseas, where Swedish pop group Abba has a huge following. At the time, it was the highest-grossing film directed by a woman (Phyllida Lloyd), until it was surpassed by...
Universal’s “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” is taking a chance at the top spot against fellow newcomers “The Equalizer 2” and “Unfriended: Dark Web.”
The follow-up to 2008’s jukebox musical “Mamma Mia!” is tracking for a three-day tally between $30 million and $36 million when it opens in over 3,200 locations. A $30 million-plus debut would be a jump on its predecessor’s $27 million start. Much like the hit Broadway musical it was based on, “Mamma Mia” became a box office smash, earning $615 million worldwide on a $52 million budget. Though it pocketed an impressive $144 million in North America, “Mamma Mia” found even greater success overseas, where Swedish pop group Abba has a huge following. At the time, it was the highest-grossing film directed by a woman (Phyllida Lloyd), until it was surpassed by...
- 7/18/2018
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety Film + TV
Inspired by Andrew Solomon’s best-selling novel and perhaps a quote the begins Roger Ebert’s autobiography Life Itself (“…movies are like a machine that generates empathy”), Rachel Dretzin’s Far from the Tree tells seven distinct stories of families and individuals grappling with disability, emotional trauma, and, ultimately, how to be happy. The film explores new stories inspired by those documented by Solomon, who grew up obsessed with Emily Dickens and opera. He went through attempts to cure himself of gay attractions via sexual surrogacy, eventually coming out, leading to marriage and an unconventional family situation. (His extended Lgbt family includes six parents of four children.)
Some of these passages could inspire their own engaging feature film, including the stories of Loini, Leah, and Joe, three little people who come together at an annual conference. Loini searches for love, meaning, and her place in the world while Joe and Leah find each other,...
Some of these passages could inspire their own engaging feature film, including the stories of Loini, Leah, and Joe, three little people who come together at an annual conference. Loini searches for love, meaning, and her place in the world while Joe and Leah find each other,...
- 5/3/2018
- by John Fink
- The Film Stage
Family isn’t always what you thought it might be. Sometimes, parents welcome children into the world who bring with them challenges that bring a new context to the relationship between fathers and mothers, and their sons or daughters. That idea is explored in the upcoming documentary “Far From The Tree,” which will be making its world premiere at Doc NYC.
Directed by Rachel Dretzin, and based on Andrew Solomon‘s book “Far From the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity,” the documentary explores the unique family ties that are formed when children bring a entirely new experience into the world of their parents.
Continue reading ‘Far From The Tree’ Clip: Discover The True Nature Of Family [Doc NYC Exclusive] at The Playlist.
Directed by Rachel Dretzin, and based on Andrew Solomon‘s book “Far From the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity,” the documentary explores the unique family ties that are formed when children bring a entirely new experience into the world of their parents.
Continue reading ‘Far From The Tree’ Clip: Discover The True Nature Of Family [Doc NYC Exclusive] at The Playlist.
- 11/1/2017
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
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