The Inbox (Jul. 19-25, 2014)

Every week, I get several press releases, screening invitations and other notifications from a handful of studio contacts. While I won’t be sharing any information regarding my screening invites, some of the press releases might be of interest to my readers, so I thought I’d start sharing them in toto with all of you. These could include new image galleries for various films or important updates to upcoming releases from various smaller studios and art house production companies.

Image Gallery: Into the Storm

Visit the Gallery Here

Press Release: “Patema Inverted” Opens August 8

PATEMA INVERTED OPENS August 8

AT THE FOLLOWING THEATER IN NEW YORK CITY:
IFC CENTER
323 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10014

Time of Eve director Yasuhiro Yoshiura is a perspective-twisting sci-fi adventure about two kids separated by opposite gravities. Patema lives in an underground world of tunnels, the long-abandoned ruins of a giant industrial complex. Though she is a princess, she is held back by the rules imposed by the elders of her clan. One day when she is exploring in a forbidden zone, she is startled by a strange bat-like creature and tumbles headlong into a void – and out into the wide open world above the surface, a place with reversed physics, where if she let go she would “fall up” into the sky and be lost forever.

Age is a student on this surface world, a totalitarian society whose compliant population has been brainwashed against the “sinners who fell into the sky.” When he spies Patema hanging upside-down from a tree, he pulls her down to safety, struggling with all his might to keep her earthbound as she grips on to him for dear life. Together their weights cancel each other out, and once they master the art of navigating competing gravitational forces, they set out to evade the leaders of Age’s world and discover the secret that keeps their worlds apart.

Press Release: Rooftop Films at Storm King

Supermoon Screenings: Rooftop Films at Storm King

Rooftop Films Presents a Night of Short Films Screened Throughout the South Fields of Storm King Art Center

(New York, NY | July 25, 2014) On Saturday, August 9th, Rooftop Films and Storm King Art Center will co-present a special night of short films sited among the sculptures and meadows of the Art Center. This first-ever film ramble features films screened on five separate screens. Walking from one screen to the next under an August super moon, audience members are invited to discover beautifully curated collections of new short films.

In 2013, Rooftop Films worked with Storm King to present a screening of Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy Working with Time (2001) outdoors at the Art Center. Expanding on the concept of site-specific film screenings amidst the sculptures, Rooftop this year will present some of the most visually exciting short films of 2014 in an unforgettable location.

“For 18 years, Rooftop Films has been presenting new, independent films in uniquely scenic locations all across New York City and beyond,” said Dan Nuxoll, Program Director of Rooftop Films. “Whenever possible we strive to match our films to the venue in some special way, to create a conversation between art and the environment. As one of the most thoughtfully curated sculpture parks in the world, Storm King seemed to us a great location for a program of beautiful, non-narrative short films, and we are excited to have our films curated amongst the hills and grass of the park next to some of the most amazing sculptures on earth.”

Films will include works by internationally acclaimed filmmakers and artists, including Allison Schulnik, Gomez Salamanca, Wendy Morris, Rino Stefano Tagliafierro, Donato Sansone, and Lois Patino. There will also be live musical performances throughout the evening at various locations.

Details:
Short Films at Storm King

Saturday, August 9th

Venue: Storm King Art Center

Tickets: Free with regular admission. Visit http://conta.cc/1re4W0d to purchase and register.

7:30PM: Live Music
8:30PM: Films begin
10:00PM: Closing Short Film and Live Musical Performance

Transportation:
Bus: Coach USA has special packages from NYC, including admission: http://bit.ly/1mJZDBJ
Train: New Jersey Transit/MetroNorth provides service from Penn Station to the Salisbury Mills train station, three miles from Storm King by taxi.
Car: For navigation systems, Mapquest, or Google maps, use the following address: 1 Museum Road, New Windsor, NY 12553

THE FILMS

Flesh (CARNE) (Gomez Salamanca)
Flesh reveals the sacrifice of an animal during a countryside celebration in Colombia. This animated short film proposes various readings around the body and the memory thru moving paintings.

Salvation Project:Perth+6hrs (Wendy Morris)
Salvation Project:Orlando’s Book (Wendy Morris)
A visual artist and animated filmmaker, Wendy Morris taps into her fascination with marginalized histories, religious dissent, and family archives to create her work.

Beauty (Rino Stefano Tagliafierro)
A path of sighs through the emotions of life. A tribute to the art and her disarming beauty.

Portrait (Donato Sansone)
A slow and surreal video slideshow of nightmarish, grotesque and apparently static characters.

Eager (Allison Schulnik)
Created as part of Allison Schulnik’s second solo exhibition, the artist’s latest animated film is a celebration of traditional materials, used in untraditional ways. Her longest film yet, Eager follows a band of voiceless, faceless entities as they traverse unusual environments, reenacting a tribalistic ceremony along their journey.

Mountain in Shadow (Lois Patino)
A contemplative experience, the spellbinding Mountain in Shadow offers a poetic view on the relationship between the immensity of the landscape and the insignificance of the human being, through a hypnotic ballet of night-time skiers on a snowy slope.

In the event of rain, the screening will be rescheduled for Sunday, August 10th.

Press Release: Woody Allen Announces New Cast Members of Latet Film

WOODY ALLEN ANNOUNCES PARKER POSEY AND JAMIE BLACKLEY TO JOIN THE CAST OF HIS LATEST FILM

NEW YORK (July 24, 2014) – Woody Allen added to the cast of his latest film, which is currently shooting in Rhode Island. Starring alongside Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone are Parker Posey (BROKEN ENGLISH) and Jamie Blackley (SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN.)

The untitled Gravier Productions film is produced by Allen’s longtime associates, Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum.

Allen’s upcoming film, MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT, was shot in the south of France last year and will be released on July 25, 2014 by Sony Pictures Classics.

Press Release: Gravitas Ventures and Submarine Deluxe Partner on “Showrunners”

Gravitas Ventures and Submarine Deluxe partner on SHOWRUNNERS

Documentary featuring Joss Whedon, J.J. Abrams to screen at Comic-Con

SAN DIEGO, CA (July 24, 2014) – Gravitas Ventures and Submarine Deluxe are partnering to release the documentary film SHOWRUNNERS this fall, it was announced today by Nolan Gallagher of Gravitas and Dan Braun of Submarine Deluxe. Submarine will bring the film to theaters in October, while Gravitas will release the film on VOD day and date with the theatrical release. The film, which incorporates several scenes from previous Cons, will have an Exclusive Sneak Peek Screening at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con on Friday, July 25 at 3:30pm at the Horton Grand Theatre.

Featuring some of the most creative voices in television today – J.J. Abrams (Lost, Fringe), Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Terence Winter (Boardwalk Empire), Shawn Ryan (The Shield), Damon Lindelof (Lost), Janet Tamaro (Rizzoli & Isles), Jonathan Nolan (Persons of Interest), Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica), Matthew Carnahan (House of Lies), and many more – SHOWRUNNERS is an intriguing behind-the-scenes expose of the men and women responsible for TV’s recent revolution. Directed by Des Doyle, SHOWRUNNERS is the first ever feature-length documentary to explore the fascinating world of U.S. television showrunners and the creative forces aligned around them. These people are responsible for creating, writing, and overseeing every element of production on one of the United State’s biggest exports – television drama and comedy series.

SHOWRUNNERS is a Black Sheep / Romark / Junto Production with financing from the Irish Film Board and Kickstarter. It is produced by John Wallace and Rock Shaink, with co-producer Ryan Patrick McGuffey. Executive Producers are Jason Rose, Jimmy Nguyen, and Christof Bove.

Following the Comic-Con screening there will be a Q&A with director Des Doyle and co-producer Ryan Patrick McGuffey, as well as some of the showrunners featured in the film, including Mike Royce (Enlisted, Men Of A Certain Age, Everybody Loves Raymond) and Bill Prady (The Big Bang Theory). The Q&A will be moderated by Tara Bennett who is also the author of the film’s official companion book, Showrunners: The Art Of Running A TV Show, which will be published September 2 by Titan Books.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with Des Doyle and the rest of the SHOWRUNNERS team on this ground breaking documentary,” remarked Nolan Gallagher, Founder and CEO of Gravitas Ventures. “Television fans of all ages will appreciate this behind-the-scenes account of how their favorite shows get made.”

Dan Braun, Co-President of Submarine Deluxe, said, “SHOWRUNNERS is a unique film that reveals some of the never-before-seen inner workings of the television business. We are excited to be collaborating with Gravitas to bring this film to both big and small screen audiences.”

Director Des Doyle remarked, “we are very excited to be releasing Showrunners in the US and are delighted to be working with our partners Submarine and Gravitas”

The deal was negotiated on behalf of the filmmakers by Dan Braun of Submarine and by Nolan and Brendan Gallagher on behalf of Gravitas Ventures.