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Quendrith Johnson is filmfestivals.com Los Angeles Correspondent covering everything happening in film in Hollywood... Well, the most interesting things, anyway.
@Quendrith I Facebook I screenmancer.tv
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
Hey, the Rudy Giuliani thing was just the beginning, everyone gets a shellacking in BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM, which is now available on Amazon Prime. But for everyone who got an afterparty invite like the one pictured below?
It was black mirror time for most as the link would not load.
So, Screenmancer got the Link’n’Load embed code for us, and anyone who tried to join the festivities last week, since “allegedly&rdquo...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
Who isn't tired of "hurry up and wait" with this Superbug? American Film Market has some good news for this year's event. They have figured out how to socially distance this massive film gathering into what looks like a fun time to be had by all, despite the masks and COVID-19 related tasks associated with the Pandemic.
You could say AFM has set the stage for innovation in medically correct shindigs.
All the details are here ...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
Did you know that "until 1952, federal law prohibited immigrants of Asian descent from becoming U.S. citizens and voting? Today, Asian Americans are the fastest growing population in the United States." FIRST VOTE, from director Yi Chen, is about "what it means to be American through personal stories of America’s fastest growing political constituency’s diverse experience at the pol...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
UNCLE FRANK from Prime Video has a trio of your favorite character actors, the remarkable Lois Smith from MINORITY REPORT, Stephen Root who was also scared in NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, and the always amazing Margo Martindale. Add in Judy Greer, plus Steve Zahn; but it’s Paul Bettany from the Avengers franchise that shows up this Thanksgiving as the titular Uncle Frank. In this Alan Ball movie, there are a lot of autobiographic hints as he is...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
This news is literally a dream come true for short filmmakers, as 20th Digital Studio is showing shorts as part of "Huluween" - but also airing on FX and Freeform. Might want to make a note of who these fans of bite-sized films are, so read on... ;)
From Screenmancer Ghostwriter
HOLLYWEEN: 20th Digital Studio will premiere a series of 30 diverse, genre-bending short films for Halloween 2020. Bite Size Halloween ra...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
It’s a running joke right now in Los Angeles that Halloween will be shortened to Half-o-ween this year due to Social Distancing, No Hands Candy, and Trick or Trick no Treats. But not for MGM, which has something really fun planned for the homebound and the Hollywood-bound with a chance to be in their new movie, along with the talent-heavy cast already signed, read on…
Curated by Screenmancer Ghostwriter - The sequel ...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
"You have cameras in your jewelry," is one line you won't hear from Q in 007, but Mr. Bond has nothing on these five eyes in THE 355, starring Jessica Chastain, Penélope Cruz, Fan Bingbing ,Diane Kruger, Lupita Nyong’o, from Universal to drop in Jan. 2021.
Chastain is the driving force behind this one as producer/star. And there’s a spy-twist-worthy plot here in the mix as Chinese beauty Fan BingBing, who rank...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
There is a serendipity to life, even in the Pandemic lockdown, as yesterday it turns out Masterclass has an Annie Leibovitz photography tutorial, and today is another discovery, Burk Uzzle, a trenchant photojournalist who has been showing his work since 1969. F11 AND BE THERE is his filmic journey, or “A Look at the Life and Work of Iconic American photographer Burk Uzzle" directed by Jethro Waters. First Run Features will o...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
This might seem like a double-edged ‘Get Well Soon’ message to the 45th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, but renowned filmmaker Alex Gibney “secretly spent the last five months” making a power-packed documentary entitled TOTALLY UNDER CONTROL about the lifespan of this virus. Oscar-winner Gibney actually co-directed with Ophelia Harutyunyan and Suzanne Hillinger. Needless to say, Gibney and company w...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
It seems not too long ago, but it was a decade ago back in April 2010, that TCM held its first classic movie film festival in Hollywood, with great parties at the Roosevelt Hotel. That's where the first Oscar presentation took place. Thurs. May 16, 1929 in the Blossom Room of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. The show honored movies released from Aug. 1927 to Aug. 1928. These are the details TCM fans love. So, with that nostaglic spirit revived...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
It has been Weed O'clock on freeways and almost everywhere for a while here in Los Angeles, apart from at my house, where people are afraid of wildfires and evacuation. Thank the Pandemic for that. But you don't have to be "420 Friendly" to enjoy SAVE YOURSELVES! from Bleeker Street. Even with an exclamation point in the title, which is hell on earth for copy editors.
From Screenmancer Staff
SAVE YOURSELVES!, written an...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
We would like to say this footage was stolen off the back of a turnip truck in middle of Kansas, after being pummeled by circus giraffes, however? BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM, with perhaps a missing colon for punctuation because we have only seen the hard art logo, is on the tarmac for Oct. 23 from the Republic of Amazon Prime, Land of Bezos.
And yes, Sacha Baron Cohen makes a another run through America as the curious Andy Kaufman-like ...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
Known for The Blues Brothers band from ANIMAL HOUSE after honing his craft on the original SNL, here was a comedian who was neither mean-spirited nor profanity-laced, but literal comedy magic on screen and in person as the one and only, John Belushi. Now an R.J. Cutler documentary, BELUSHI will car-crash the regular fare on Showtime, Nov. 22., just in time for a Thanksgiving gift in these tough times.
Born Jan. 24...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
Even though some productions and shoots are still happening in Hollywood, so many people are waiting and watching for things to blow over with the Coronavirus crisis. Or, hopefully, they're working on scripts or independent projects. But for most, this will not pay the bills right away. So here's an invite that could help the unemployed in the industry, fingers crossed.
From Screenmancer
LOS ANGELES, CA: In mid-September,&nb...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
Poster for PUSH the movie
Cancel rent? You’ve probably seen the hashtag floating in the zeitgeist of Social Media. In these tumultuous times globally, affordable housing is more of an issue than ever, with the pandemic’s lockdowns forcing limited work hours or terminations. Ever wonder who your landlord is, or if there’s a human behind the buildings where we live? PUSH is film available to view now in theaters and streaming, a...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
Get ready for a 20 second knowledge drop to prepare for the likes of Sam Nicholson, ASC, who asks you to rethink everything about filmmaking. “I like to think we came out of the Chemical Era, went into the Digital Era, and now we’re in the Virtual Era of filmmaking.” says Nicholson, CEO and Founder of Stargate Studios. “Convergent technologies, he continues. “They are converging, and nobody is really sure where...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
Owen Wilson was on location for NO ESCAPE in Thailand, and there are great views in this disaster movie. Additionally, Thailand Film Office has been very present in the past at many film-related gatherings, such as AFM in Santa Monica. Their events are legendary, featuring in previous years even the HRH Thai Princess.
That said, here are their current guidelines for shooting films in country during the Pandemic Era.
THAILAND: In 2019, Thailand...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, born Mar. 15, 1933, passed away on Friday, Sept. 18 at age 87, and is now the first woman to lie in state at the Capitol of the United States of America. Remarkably, when she was 84 Magnolia Pictures released RBG, about her life. The tagline is “Hero. Icon. Dissenter," and this documentary brings into sharp focus the role of a fighter on the Nation’s highest court who ma...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
There’s a certain frequency on a cellular level that Kathy Bates hits among all women, and men too, but especially for anyone under-represented, discounted, or written-off. Bates own story, which is mostly unknown to viewers, is about how a feisty manager named Susan Smith literally forced her from stage to screen. Their tandem is almost a movie in and of itself.
Smith died in 2013, aged 71, from cancer, but her legacy lives on. Client B...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
Distance learning is all the rage with the pandemic making shut-ins of most of us. That said, BondIt CEO Matthew Helderman agreed to have his brain picked for a quick trio of tips for filmmakers.
BondIt has worked on such projects as FORCE OF NATURE, starring Emile Hirsch, Mel Gibson, and David Zayas, directed by Michael Polish
. BondIt Executive Produced FORCE OF NATURE by providing pre-sales and tax credit financing to ...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
If you wonder what THE SHAPE OF WATER's Academy Award® nominee and Golden Globe® winner Sally Hawkins has been up to since she left the pool, ETERNAL BEAUTY from Samuel Goldwyn Films is the answer. Hawkins stars with THE BIG LEBOWSKI icon David Thewlis, Alice Lowe (PREVENGE), Billie Piper (Doctor Who) and Penelope Wilton (Downtow Abbey) in this release slated for Oct. 2 on VOD and digital platforms.
Basic Storyline
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by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
Thank the pandemic for opening up the Sundance Institute’s filmmaking factory mentors and masterclasses, with one available 9/23 for example. There’s a link below to register for a free virtual interactive discussion with Mike Plante, a senior programmer at the Utah-based non-profit.
Robert Redford took over the then-American Film Fest in the 1980's, and rebranded that fest as the Sundance Institute. By his side, Michelle Satt...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles
If you watched the EMMY's virtual show in Los Angeles last night, well, there's nothing like opening other people's envelopes. While the best thing about "Pand-EMMYS" 2020 might have been the Alpaca as co-presenter, we also thought we'd open up someone else's envelope in the spirit of sharing some film news. Here's a letter we came across in LA. Read on...
From Screenmancer
We received a letter from Pluto Film in Ger...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
This isn't a Cheryl Strayed journey, but David Cross as Dr. Robert Pyle, a blocked nature writer, in THE DARK DIVIDE is also straying off the grid in a wandering escape-cancer sojourn. Based on a true adventure, there are wild animals in this endearing movie.
As in? “The only dangerous animals I’ve run into are your men.” Debra Messing is the muse and the loved one in this.
Here’s a deleted scene for grin...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
Many in Southern and Northern California are under heavy smoke and even evacuation warnings. Screenwriters wouldn't even pitch a script with this much devastation in the plot. But this is not a disaster movie, this is happening right now. Near us, the #BobCatFire is only 15% contained with 60,000 plus acers on fire as of this morning in Los Angeles.
The true devastation is in the raw statistics recorded by CAL FIRE. Read on...
From Screenm...
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