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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...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
Deadline broke the intial news in January about a new boutique, one-stop shop from The Film Arcade for lower budget independent films; now the news is official about The Film Arcade Carousel. Its mission is to serve small indies under $2 M USD with a suite of services to give your project traction out in the world. Read on...
Los Angeles, CA: Independent film distribution company, The Film Arcade, announced earlier this year that ...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
They've got Sting and Robert Redford on board, and through Sept. 18 you can livestream GREENTECH 2020. It's an amazing-looking convergence of technology, informative streaming, and enviro-chic hope for a better planet. If that sounds too much like a slick marketing pitch, the reality is even more glitzy in Berlin. Read on...
From Screenmancer
After last year‘s successful premiere, the second GREENTECH FESTIVAL (GTF) takes pl...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
Telluride Film Festival recently showed a drive-in screening as part of its 2020 ingenuity, and this workaround has now come to Film Fest 919 in Chapel Hill, NC. “In the spirit of the ‘The Show Must Go On,’ we are excited to present a reimagined 2020 version of Film Fest 919 with a LIVE event, offering the best in pandemic viewing, using two outdoor venues: the newly-created Drive-in at Carraway Village and The Green at...
By Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
It's been a while since the obelisk fell among the primates in Stanley Kubrick's seminal film, 2001: A Space Odyssey. And whist there are many Hollywood insiders who whisper his involvement in a "staged moon landing" let's face it, George Méliès faked a moon landing in 1902 with Le Voyage dans la Lune. Imagine where humankind would be without having taken this pioneering adventure into the mind of th...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
Update: NOMADLAND just won the People's Choice Award at TIFF 2020.
On an insider Hollywood level, Nancy Utley from Searchlight has one of the best creative executive reputations in the business, not only for producing thought-provoking and risky content, but for encouraging filmmakers to explore complicated themes to best outcomes.
Now Utley has brought NOMADLAND to the screen, starring Frances McDormand, and this film has been given a f...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
ALL THE PRETTY LITTLE HORSES premiered at the Shanghai International Film Festival this summer. It’s a Greek, Belgian, and German production, dubbed a “psychological thriller” but it is much more than that simple label. As this film opens in North America on Sept. 24 for the Calgary International Film Festival, that runs from Sept. 23 to Oct 4 in Canada, maybe this feature will have a chance to breakthrough to US audiences...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
How about good news for a change, or at least a day to celebrate independent movie houses? Here you go... :)
The first annual International Cinema Day will take place this Saturday, Sept. 12, in an effort to give back to the cinemas that have transformed the lives of movie-goers. International Cinema Day (ICD) is a global event designed to celebrate the universal love for film and memorable cinematic experiences at historic theatres. ICD w...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
When now-Oscar-winner Bong Joon Ho made his 2003 film MEMORIES OF MURDER, about the fact based premise, he said “[This] case is an intertwined web of tragedy and black comedy—the eerie comedy that blooms within the air during the most absurd of times." On Oct. 19 and 20, NEON will release a remastered MEMORIES OF MURDER with Fathom Events.
"The film is an uncanny, yet natural, mixture of horror and comedy b...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
Once in a generation an artist comes along who can speak to the human condition in an unexpected way, specifically with large-scale wooden sculpture for Ursula von Rydingsvard. Her extraordinary journey is chronicled in documentary film URSULA VON RYDINGSVARD: INTO HER OWN from director Daniel Traub, available on Sept. 29 on VOD.
An Icarus Films release, presented by Itinerant Pictures, Von Rydingsvard’s struggle as a single mother and&n...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
France is the undisputed home to, and originator of the term, haute cuisine and yet? 3 Star Michelin Chef David Kinch is brazen enough to take a pop-up kitchen to the heart of French cooking to collaborate with other legendary Michelin starred madmen in A CHEF’S VOYAGE from First Run Features. ”I believe that gastronomy, like any art, captures the real data on what it’s like to exist," says Director Ré...
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Johnson Quendrith 
