Press Releases Archive for March, 2017

Annapurna Adds Marketing And Distribution Hires

[PR] – As part of their growing marketing and distribution operation, Annapurna has hired a number of new executives to build out the division.  Annapurna’s inaugural release is Kathryn Bigelow’s UNTITLED DETROIT PROJECT on August 4, 2017. Reporting to President of Marketing, David Kaminow, Annapurna has expanded its marketing team with the hires of Anne Yoo, as…

Read the full article »

Ebertfest Fills Out Its Schedule

EBERTFEST ANNOUNCES FINAL SLATE OF FILMS AND SPECIAL GUESTS FOR THE 2017 FESTIVAL 19th Annual Roger Ebert’s Film Festival to take place April 19-23, 2017 in Champaign, IL CHAMPAIGN, ILL – March 30, 2017 – The 19th Annual Roger Ebert’s Film Festival co-founded and hosted by Chaz Ebert, also known as ‘Ebertfest,’ announced today the…

Read the full article »

Annapurna Pictures Partners With MGM For Some Int’l Distribution Of Theatrical Slate

ANNAPURNA PICTURES PARTNERS WITH METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER ON SELECT INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF FILM SLATE Los Angeles, CA (March 27, 2017) – Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) is partnering with Annapurna to distribute all of Annapurna Pictures’ films in select international territories, it was announced today.  The multi-year partnership is set to begin this year with Annapurna’s first distribution title, Kathryn…

Read the full article »

Ebertfest Sets First Slate Of Attractions

“HAIR” SET AS OPENING NIGHT FILM OF EBERTFEST 2017 INITIAL SLATE OF FILMS AND SPECIAL GUESTS ANNOUNCED 19th Annual Roger Ebert’s Film Festival to take place April 19-23, 2017 in Champaign, IL CHAMPAIGN, ILL – March 23, 2017 – The 19th Annual Roger Ebert’s Film Festival co-founded and hosted by Chaz Ebert, also known as…

Read the full article »

The Int’l Doc Association On Funding From CPB, NEH, NEA

The Int’l Doc Association On Funding From CPB, NEH, NEA

Read the full article »

Veteran Publicist Adriene Bowles Joins Annapurna Pictures As President Of Publicity

[PR] Adriene Bowles has joined Annapurna Pictures as President of Publicity, it was announced today. Bolstering the company’s new marketing and distribution operation, Bowles will spearhead publicity and awards campaigns on behalf of Annapurna’s future releases as well communication initiatives for the company. Bowles joins Annapurna from Focus Features where she served as President of Worldwide Publicity…

Read the full article »

Tribeca Closes Out 2017 Programming Roster

[PR] – The reunion of talent and creators from iconic films and musical acts will be showcased at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival, presented by AT&T. The 16th edition of the annual cultural festival today announced the program’s Closing Night, Galas, Special Screenings, as well as the titles premiering under the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival banner. The…

Read the full article »

Tribeca Announces Shorts

[PR] – The 16th annual Tribeca Film Festival, presented by AT&T, today announced its lineup of 57 thought-provoking and diverse short films in competition, including 36 world premieres. The selected shorts, 40% of which were directed by women, and include filmmakers from every corner of the globe, were curated from a record 4,385 submissions. They will…

Read the full article »

Cohen Media Group’s Renovated Quad Cinema Opens April 14

  Welcome back. Look forward. New York, NY (March 6, 2017) — Cohen Media Group (CMG) announced today that New York City’s  original multi-screen theatre, the Quad Cinema, will officially reopen to audiences this spring on Friday, April 14, 2017.  Helmed by its new owner, Cohen Brothers Realty Corporation president, Charles S. Cohen, the theater…

Read the full article »

Tribeca Sets Feature Film Lineup

[PR] An exciting slate of films that showcases the breadth of contemporary filmmaking across a range of styles will premiere at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival, presented by AT&T. The Festival today announced the feature films across the following programs: Competition, including U.S. Narrative, Documentary, and International Narrative categories; Spotlight, supported by The Lincoln Motor…

Read the full article »

Scorsese Announces Film Foundation Partnership With FEPACI And UNESCO To Locate, Restore And Preserve Films Made In Africa

  THE FILM FOUNDATION’S WORLD CINEMA PROJECT, THE PAN AFRICAN FEDERATION OF FILMMAKERS (FEPACI), AND UNESCO ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP TO RESTORE AFRICAN CINEMA NEW YORK, NY (March 2, 2017) – The Film Foundation founder and chair, Martin Scorsese, announced today a partnership with the Pan African Federation of Filmmakers (FEPACI) and UNESCO to launch a long-term…

Read the full article »

Int’l Documentary Association Appoints Clair Aguilar Director Of Programming And Policy

[PR] The IDA is thrilled to announce the appointment of Claire Aguilar as Director of Programming & Policy.  Aguilar will oversee IDA’s professional development, education, mentorship and training initiatives. Aguilar will work in tandem with IDA’s Filmmaker Services team and the recently announced Enterprise Documentary Fund to build a suite of support services for documentary makers….

Read the full article »

Press Releases

Quote Unquotesee all »

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