Press Releases Archive for August, 2011

MOMENTUM ENTERTAINMENT GROUP LAUNCHES SCRIPTED DIVISION LED BY DIRECTOR-PRODUCER NICK HAMM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: LOS ANGELES, CA  (August 15, 2011) – The recently announced Momentum Entertainment Group expands its television presence with the launch of a newly formed Scripted Entertainment division being led by BAFTA award-winning director and producer Nick Hamm.  In addition, veteran producer and former TV executive Alex Maggioni will serve as Senior Vice…

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OWN: OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK ANNOUNCES OPRAH.COM SWEEPSTAKES A Chance For Fifteen Individuals to Meet Oprah Winfrey in Support of “Oprah’s Lifeclass”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 15, 2011 – Los Angeles, CA – OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network announced today the launch of an online sweepstakes at Oprah.com in support of the new series “Oprah’s Lifeclass,” formerly “OWN Your Life (the oprah class),” and its online companion course. Starting today, viewers can enter the sweepstakes for a chance to…

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PALADIN ADOPTS ‘BOY’ Kiwi Smash to Open Late This Year

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE New York, NY (August 15, 2011) – BOY, Taika Waititi’s sleeper sensation that became one of New Zealand’s most acclaimed and honored films, as well as its biggest box office success to date, will be distributed theatrically in the US by Paladin and Unison Films in association with Radius Films, it was…

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THE FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER announces the addition of Two Special Gala Presentations

PRESS RELEASE THE FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER announces the addition of Two Special Gala Presentations for the 2011 NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL with David Cronenberg’s A DANGEROUS METHOD and Pedro Almodovar’s THE SKIN I LIVE IN New York, NY, August 15, 2011 — The Film Society of Lincoln Center announced the first-time addition of…

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GOVERNOR QUINN PROCLAIMS AUGUST 19 “MARTIN SHEEN AND EMILIO ESTEVEZ DAY”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CHICAGO – Martin Sheen will go home with more than just the Silver Hugo for Career Achievement when he visits Chicago this August for the Chicago International Film Festival’s Annual Summer Gala.  Governor Quinn has announced that he will honor the legendary actor and his son by proclaiming August 19th, “Martin Sheen…

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EDDIE MURPHY TO VOICE ‘HONG KONG PHOOEY’ FOR ALCON ENTERTAINMENT

LOS ANGELES, CA, AUGUST 10, 2011—Eddie Murphy will give voice to the animated lead character in Alcon Entertainment’s live action/animated big screen adaptation of the of the 1970s Hanna-Barbera animated TV series HONG KONG PHOOEY, it was announced by Alcon co-founders and co-CEO’s Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove. In addition to voicing the character of…

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ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS ACQUIRES ALL U.S. RIGHTS TO DANE COOK STARRER ANSWERS TO NOTHING FROM AMBUSH ENTERTAINMENT

** Film set for a December 2, 2011 release ** (Los Angeles, August 9, 2011) – Roadside Attractions announced today that is has acquired all U.S. rights to ANSWERS TO NOTHING, directed by Matthew Leutwyler (THE RIVER WHY) and starring Dane Cook, and will release the film nationwide on December 2, 2011.  ANSWERS TO NOTHING…

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SIFF Acquires Historic Seattle Theater to Complement Soon-to-Open Film Center

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Seattle, WA, August 7, 2011 – SIFF is excited to announce the acquisition of the historic Uptown Theater in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood. The historic neighborhood theater will re-open to the public beginning October 20, 2011 in conjunction with the Grand Opening of the new SIFF Film Center at Seattle Center, ushering…

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BRETT RATNER AND DON MISCHER TO PRODUCE 84TH ACADEMY AWARDS® TELECAST

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Mischer to also serve as telecast director Beverly Hills, CA – Brett Ratner and Don Mischer will produce the 84th Academy Awards telecast, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Tom Sherak announced today.  This will be Ratner’s first involvement with the Oscar show; Mischer will for the second year in…

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THE 5TH QUARTER Marks Notable Advance in Quality of Faith-Based Film Genre

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Aidan Quinn and Andie MacDowell Star in Emotional True Story of Christian Family’s Journey from Personal Tragedy to Life-Giving Heroism Release on DVD, August 30 by Fox Home Entertainment LOS ANGELES — August 3, 2011—Fox Home Entertainment will release THE 5TH QUARTER, by writer/director Rick Bieber (Crazy), and starring Andie MacDowell (Groundhog…

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RED FLAG RELEASING ACQUIRES “THE GREEN WAVE”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE “THE GREEN WAVE” To Open Theatrically in North America in June of 2012 Los Angeles – August 3, 2011 – Red Flag Releasing announced today that it has acquired “THE GREEN WAVE,” written and directed by Ali Samadi Ahadi and produced by Jan Krueger and Oliver Stoltz.  The film world premiered at…

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THE MEN OF WARRIOR BOOK MAKES DEBUT

COFFEE TABLE BOOK FEATURING THE PHOTOGRAPHS OF TIM PALEN AVAILABLE AT SELECT RETAILERS ON AUGUST 9 July 19, 2011 – Lionsgate and publisher Insight Editions are thrilled to announce “The Men Of Warrior.” Featuring fine art portraits by acclaimed photographer Tim Palen, the book is a companion to the highly anticipated film WARRIOR, which will…

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SCARFACE EXPLODES BACK INTO MOVIE THEATERS LIKE NEVER BEFORE TO “SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND!”

SCARFACE EXPLODES BACK INTO MOVIE THEATERS LIKE NEVER BEFORE TO “SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND!” IN A ONE-NIGHT SPECIAL EVENT * * * * * Presented by NCM Fathom and Universal Studios Home Entertainment in More Than 475 Select Movie Theaters Nationwide on August 31 Special Event Includes the Debut of Exclusiv eFeaturette Showcasing…

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“TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON” CROSSES $1 BILLION WORLDWIDE

For Immediate Release HOLLYWOOD, CA (August 3, 2011) – Worldwide box office receipts for TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON, have hit $1 billion, Paramount Pictures announced today. To date, the third installment of the hit Transformers franchise, and the first shot in 3-D, has grossed $338 million in U.S. (through Monday) and $663 million internationally…

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Morgan Spurlock Sells 6 Hour-Long Docs To Hulu

MORGAN SPURLOCK AND HULU TEAM UP FOR “A DAY IN THE LIFE,” HULU’S FIRST EVER LONG-FORM ORIGINAL PRODUCTION Documentary Series Chronicles 24 Hours With Richard Branson, will.i.am, Girl Talk, and Other Fascinating People LOS ANGELES (August 3, 2011) — Hulu’s first long-form original show debuts this summer with “A Day in the Life,” a documentary…

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TIFF ’11: City-To-City, Buenos Aires Titles

Toronto – The Toronto International Film Festival® proudly welcomes back its City to City programme for the third consecutive year with today’s announcement of the 10 feature-length films encompassing the 2011 lineup. Earlier this year, Cameron Bailey, Co-Director of the Festival, confirmed that the 2011 spotlight would shine on Buenos Aires and introduce audiences to…

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TIFF ’11 – TIFF Kids Titles

Toronto — The Toronto International Film Festival® presents a charming lineup of films in this year’s TIFF KidsTM programme (formerly known as Sprockets Family Zone). These selections from around the globe will captivate film-lovers of all ages, showcasing the best and brightest in family-friendly cinema. From battling ballerinas to a mysterious 3D monster, this colourful…

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TIFF ’11: Vanguard Titles

Toronto – The 36th Toronto International Film Festival® announces a fresh and provocative lineup in this year’s Vanguard programme. Works presented under the Vanguard banner are young and cutting edge. From the dystopian to the sci-fi, from comedy to terror, the 2011 Vanguard programme features daring works from around the world, including Russia, France, Thailand,…

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TIFF ’11: Midnight Madness Titles

Toronto – The Midnight Madness programme walks on the cinematic wild side at the Toronto International Film Festival® with a riveting roundup of supernatural slayers, crossbow killers, corpse smugglers and a re-imagined Bonnie and Clyde for the 21st century. Programmed by Colin Geddes, the international lineup features nine world premieres and is one of the…

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TIFF ’11: Doc Titles

Toronto – The Toronto International Film Festival® proudly presents an exciting lineup of high-profile documentaries as Werner Herzog explores a triple homicide case in Texas in Into the Abyss; Morgan Spurlock follows fans to San Diego‟s Comic-Con in Comic-Con: Episode IV – A Fan’s Hope; Jessica Yu delivers a wake-up call about the world‟s water…

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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