Press Releases Archive for June, 2010

UNIVERSAL PICTURES ANNOUNCES 'HOMETOWN SCREENING WITH ZAC EFRON' COMPETITION

Fans have the opportunity to win a free private screening of Charlie St. Cloud and a visit from the film’s star, Zac Efron UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., June 22 /PRNewswire/ — Universal Pictures today announced the launch of a fan-oriented website for its upcoming romantic drama Charlie St. Cloud, starring Zac Efron. The launch of “Charlie…

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PRODUCER BRAD FISCHER OPTIONS “THE BRIGANDS OF RATTLEBORGE” WRITTEN BY S. CRAIG ZAHLER

Los Angeles (June 16, 2010) – Producer Brad Fischer just acquired rights to the highly sought after screenplay, THE BRIGANDS OF RATTLEBORGE, written by S. Craig Zahler. The script, originally optioned by Warner Bros., was at the top of the 2006 Black List, the industry’s list of the best unproduced screenplays. Within days of the…

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SUNDANCE INSTITUTE PRESENTS SHORTSLAB: L.A.

Inaugural All-Day Education Workshop for Short Filmmakers to be held Saturday, July 31 at Downtown Independent Theater LOS ANGELES, CA — Sundance Institute invites filmmakers to participate in ShortsLab: L.A., a three-part, all-day educational workshop on July 31offering filmmakers first-hand insight and access into the world of story development, production, and exhibition of short films….

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HBO RENEWS HIT SERIES TRUE BLOOD FOR FOURTH SEASON

For Immediate Release LOS ANGELES, June 21, 2010 – HBO has renewed the hit show TRUE BLOOD for a 12-episode fourth season, it was announced today by Michael Lombardo, president, HBO Programming. Created by Alan Ball, the series will begin production of new episodes early next year in Los Angeles, with debut set for summer…

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METACRITIC ANNOUNCES METASCORES® FOR MOVIES OPENING THIS WEEK

Highly Anticipated “Toy Story 3” Starring Tom Hanks and Tim Allen Receives a Metascore of 90 SAN FRANCISCO, June 18— Metacritic (www.metacritic.com), the Web’s most robust roundup of entertainment reviews and a property of CBS Interactive, today announced its Metascores® for the week’s opening movies as of Friday, June 18 at 11:00 AM PT. Metacritic…

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AMC Theatres® Offers ETX™, an Enhanced Theatre Experience for Guests in Canada

See Movies Like Never Before at AMC Forum 22 in Montreal, Quebec Kansas City (June 17, 2010) – AMC Theatres® (AMC), a leading theatrical exhibition and entertainment company, announces that guests will be able to see movies like never before when the AMC Enhanced Theatre Experience (ETX™) opens with “TOY STORY 3” on Friday, June…

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"Toy Story 3" Breaking Out with 67% of Ticket Sales on Fandango

Toy Story 3 dominates sales for the weekend, with the Michael Keaton-voiced Ken ranking as the film’s most anticipated new character (see moviegoer poll results below). Fandango is offering fans a limited edition Toy Story 3 collector gift card series, including a “Design-Your-Own” card enabling moviegoers to upload their own photos and put themselves in…

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AMERICAN CINEMATHEQUE TO PRESENT JOEL SCHUMACHER RETROSPECTIVE

THREE-DAY LONG EVENT TO CONCLUDE WITH 25TH ANNIVERSARY SCREENING OF ‘ST. ELMO’S FIRE’ Los Angeles, CA – June 3, 2010 – The American Cinematheque will present a three-day retrospective of Joel Schumacher’s films, including a special 25th anniversary presentation of 1985’s ‘ST. ELMO’S FIRE,’ and an advanced screening of the Hannover Films’ July 30th release…

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CONTROVERSIAL FILM “BANANAS!*” RETURNS TO LOS ANGELES FOR ONE TIME SCREENINGS ON JUNE 23, 2010

OSCILLOSCOPE LABORATORIES PRESENTS THEATRICAL SCREENING AT THE DOWNTOWN INDEPENDENT THEATER ON EVE OF FILMMAKER TRIAL LOS ANGELES, CA The polarizing documentary BANANAS!* returns to Los Angeles for a one night theatrical screening engagement on the eve of the trial between DOLE Food Company and filmmaker Fredrik Gertten. Both filmmaker Gertten and his attorney Lincoln Bandlow…

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Oscar Winning Screenwriter Ronald Harwood To Become "Sir Ronnie"

Oscar-winning screenwriter Ronald Harwood has just been honored with a Knighthood. He comments: “I was truly surprised and greatly delighted to learn that I was to receive this honour. I arrived in England in 1951, at the age of 17, from South Africa where I was born in the hope of making my way in…

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BEDROCK STUDIOS STRIKES MULTI-YEAR DEAL WITH ANDREW ADAMSON AND ARON WARNER

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE “Shrek” Duo and “Narnia” Creator will Develop and Co-Produce Franchise Oriented Films Through New Banner – Strange Weather Films LOS ANGELES, CA, June 15, 2010 – Bedrock Studios has inked a multi-year agreement with Andrew Adamson and Aron Warner, which calls for the development and co-production of motion pictures, and franchise oriented…

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ZIPPORAH FILMS AND MTUCKMAN MEDIA TO HIT THE 'GYM'

Announcing Frederick Wiseman’s Newest Film, BOXING GYM New York, NY (June 1, 2010) – Following the success of the national release of “La Danse—The Paris Opera Ballet” (which played in nearly 150 theaters and has grossed over $600,000), Zipporah Films announced today that it will once again work with Michael Tuckman and mTuckman media to…

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Press Releases

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It shows how out of it I was in trying to be in it, acknowledging that I was out of it to myself, and then thinking, “Okay, how do I stop being out of it? Well, I get some legitimate illogical narrative ideas” — some novel, you know?

So I decided on three writers that I might be able to option their material and get some producer, or myself as producer, and then get some writer to do a screenplay on it, and maybe make a movie.

And so the three projects were “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” “Naked Lunch” and a collection of Bukowski. Which, in 1975, forget it — I mean, that was nuts. Hollywood would not touch any of that, but I was looking for something commercial, and I thought that all of these things were coming.

There would be no Blade Runner if there was no Ray Bradbury. I couldn’t find Philip K. Dick. His agent didn’t even know where he was. And so I gave up.

I was walking down the street and I ran into Bradbury — he directed a play that I was going to do as an actor, so we know each other, but he yelled “hi” — and I’d forgot who he was.

So at my girlfriend Barbara Hershey’s urging — I was with her at that moment — she said, “Talk to him! That guy really wants to talk to you,” and I said “No, fuck him,” and keep walking.

But then I did, and then I realized who it was, and I thought, “Wait, he’s in that realm, maybe he knows Philip K. Dick.” I said, “You know a guy named—” “Yeah, sure — you want his phone number?”

My friend paid my rent for a year while I wrote, because it turned out we couldn’t get a writer. My friends kept on me about, well, if you can’t get a writer, then you write.”
~ Hampton Fancher

“That was the most disappointing thing to me in how this thing was played. Is that I’m on the phone with you now, after all that’s been said, and the fundamental distinction between what James is dealing with in these other cases is not actually brought to the fore. The fundamental difference is that James Franco didn’t seek to use his position to have sex with anyone. There’s not a case of that. He wasn’t using his position or status to try to solicit a sexual favor from anyone. If he had — if that were what the accusation involved — the show would not have gone on. We would have folded up shop and we would have not completed the show. Because then it would have been the same as Harvey Weinstein, or Les Moonves, or any of these cases that are fundamental to this new paradigm. Did you not notice that? Why did you not notice that? Is that not something notable to say, journalistically? Because nobody could find the voice to say it. I’m not just being rhetorical. Why is it that you and the other critics, none of you could find the voice to say, “You know, it’s not this, it’s that”? Because — let me go on and speak further to this. If you go back to the L.A. Times piece, that’s what it lacked. That’s what they were not able to deliver. The one example in the five that involved an issue of a sexual act was between James and a woman he was dating, who he was not working with. There was no professional dynamic in any capacity.

~ David Simon