My interview with the gang behind the Super Troopers Franchise! ‘Super Troopers 2’ comes out tomorrow!!

Having just watched the screening of Super Troopers 2 the night before, I had a really fun time when a very small group of us press members sat down with most of Broken Lizard, the men behind the hilarious film franchise, the next afternoon for a bull session.

I could have talked to them all day but was, unfortunately, given a time limit. I spoke to Jay Chandrasekhar, the member of the five-man comedy troupe who directs the films, the night before, but only slightly as I hadn’t realized in time that he wasn’t going to be joining in on the interview or I would have brought my recorder to get a quote or two for this piece. Luckily for us, the four who were there, Erik Stolhanske, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter and Kevin Heffernan were chatty enough and quite entertaining, as was their film.

In fact, I was nervous for them as I went into the screening because often times films suffer from the sophomore jinx, but ā€˜Super Troopers 2’ is not one of them. They were happy to hear that I felt that way about their efforts as they were worried, themselves.

Read on because they also hint of a ā€˜part three’ which sounds intriguing. I say, ā€˜Go for it!’ Why stop now? But they made us wait long enough for this film… they need to get moving already, right?!Ā  I digress.

Interestingly enough, the most serious of the bunch was Kevin, known to most as the frustrating but cuddly ā€˜Farva.’ He had a more contemplative tone and seemed to analyze the questions more before forming his responses, which, here and the night before at the screening, seemed to be direct and to the point rather than trying to fit some mold a person may have expected from him.

Steve (Mac) is the more playful in the group. The class clown, so to speak. They all fit that description, in a way, but he seems to always be on. When not speaking, he’s waiting to speak, however, does give the speaker his ear. He’s genuine and warm and a pleasure to get to know.

Erik (Rabbit) is the quiet one but he’s not shy. He’s very sweet. Respectful. You can tell when talking to him that he was reserved as a youngster. He’s the one who politely waits his turn to speak and sometimes gets skipped. No member is rude toward the other, don’t mistake what I’m about to say, but like brothers often do, they jump on top of one another, metaphorically speaking, in certain situations which can turn into a free-for-all. If it does, someone gets left at the bottom. Erik may sometimes take a place at or near the bottom but seems comfortable there. What I mean is, if you watch him, his wheels are always turning. When it’s his turn to work or speak, he’ll burst from the pile and you better watch out. Don’t get in his way. This is all conjecture, by the way… just an observance.

Paul (Foster) is a little of all these characteristics rolled into one. He’s studious and insightful and he respects the audience, as they all do. They share a mutual appreciation for their fans and are aware they’d be nowhere without them. Knowing this, they’re very approachable and grateful.

Broken Lizard. A brotherhood has been created here and it was fun to witness it come to life. They finish each other’s thoughts and are hip to where the other is going with a point, cognizant of where each one stands on a subject. There’s a comradery, a reverence and admiration between them, that I’d say will never break.

Kevin starts by talking about the film.

Kevin:Ā There was a lot of pressure about whether people were going to like this movie or not. Because there’s so many fans of the first one that they don’t want you to screw it up. Inevitably the concern that they raise to you, even in those groups, you know, it’s like, ā€˜I was so afraid it was going to suck!’ My wife said the same thing.

Paul: Our fans have never been shy about saying what they feel because you get people every day, like, ā€˜Yeah! Loved ā€˜Super Troopers!’ ā€˜Club Dread’ sucked.’ Or ā€˜I loved ā€˜Beerfest’ but ā€˜The Slammin’ Salmon’ sucked.’ So, we know people. That’s actually good. That’s helpful to see. What’s working and what people like. I think it’s nice; the response. We’ve shown the movie a few of times, especially to the Indigogo backers, people are so positive. I really believe they’re satisfied.

Question: Do you think that’s because they have a stake in your game?

Kevin:Ā Maybe. I think it’s more of a wedding toast kind of situation, like, they want you to succeed. They’re on your side. You’re like family, right? So, you can go up there and, hopefully, not screw it up.

Steve:Ā Kevin’s right. You feel a sense of release. I mean, from us, too. We just didn’t want to suck and thankfully it doesn’t. A lot of people are saying it’s as good as the first one, maybe better, so…

Paul:Ā Yeah and certainly, we spent a lot of time on both scripts, but I think that what I like here is we spent more time thinking about what makes a good story or what makes a good movie so, you look at the first one and we’ll admit that it’s really, sort of, an excuse for set pieces after set pieces but we really wanted this to be something with an interesting story and you wanted to know how it ends and a cool hook about this chunk of Canada and, you know, I think we’ve ā€˜plus upped’ just the story telling of it.

Erik:Ā Let’s face it. We made a great movie.

They all laugh and talk over each other having a great time, most likely, remembering moments of making this film as they smiled with congratulatory grins. All earned.

Then Paul jumps in with a worried face.

Paul:Ā He just jinxed the shit out of us.

Question: When writing, what type of research did you do, in terms of Canada? I know that Bruce McCulloch (Kids in the Hall) was on set but, myself, I’d watch ā€˜Strange Brew’ or ā€˜Kids in the Hall’ or something like that, but did you pull from your past or do research or–

Erik:Ā Yeah. I lived up there for about ten years.

Kevin:Ā We had a lot of interaction. There were times when we’d go up there and, you know, have fun.

Erik:Ā And for Touring and stand-up.

Kevin:Ā There were times when we’d go to Montreal for the Just for Laughs Festival and you’d be in that area and there were… funny elements of it. There’s a lot of French Canadians who don’t want to speak English to you. There were a lot who were kind of gruff when it’s normally the Canadians who you think are nice people but they– so it was kind of a cool area; thought it would be fun to have some fun with it.

Steve:Ā Plus, we’re neighbors and we know nothing about each other, truthfully, you know? We were in Calgary and we met a Canadian person who was saying some untruths about Americans and we’re like, do you know anything about the United States? How many states do we have? And he’s like, ā€˜I don’t know forty-eight?’ And we’re like, ā€˜Holy shit! That’s a ridiculous answer.’ And he’s like, ā€˜Well, how many provinces are in Canada?’ And we’re like, ā€˜I don’t know.’

Erik:Ā What’s a province? Ā 

Paul:Ā Forty-Eight? Seventy? That, to me, is why we left every joke in the movie is because, at the end, it looks like we’re all friends again and then Linda Carter basically says, ā€˜No. It’s going to be status quo again.’ And we immediately turn on each other. And that ā€˜Burn down your White House, again!’ and ā€˜What the hell are you talking about?!’ ā€˜The war of 1812. Learn your history.’ That’s my favorite joke because it is like, we didn’t even know our own history.

Kevin:Ā We were in Calgary and someone, one of the Canadians, was telling us this whole story about how they burned down the White House and we were like, ā€˜What?! We don’t remember it that way!’

Steve:Ā I had never heard that before. We were like, ā€˜The war of 1812 you burned down the White House? That doesn’t even sound familiar.’ We looked it up on Wikipedia. ā€˜No, actually, the Brits were renting YOUR land and THEY burnt down the White House in the war of 1812.’ But the Canadians were like, ā€˜No. We did it.’ We’ll let them have that one. We’ll give it to them. It’s fun.

Erik:Ā Sure.

Steve:Ā We also didn’t realize they didn’t become a real independent nation until 1983.

Paul:Ā The more you dig around, it’s just fun… just funny stuff; the real history.

Steve:Ā But we don’t just take the piss out of them, you know? If you watch the movie, we’re the ones who come over the border and we’re making fun of them. We’re the ugly Americans. And then it gets flipped immediately and we’re kind of the bad guys.

Kevin:Ā We cast Canadians in those lead roles, Will Sasso and Tyler Labine, Emmanuelle Chriqui; they’re all Canadian and we kind of brought that whole thing to the table.

Erik:Ā And they’re all from different parts. Will’s from Vancouver, Tyler’s from Ontario and Emmanuelle’s from Montreal… it’s such a wide range.

Steve:Ā And our philosophy with Broken Lizard, comedyĀ wise, is never to beĀ mean-spirited and never to pick on anybody. We’re joking about how silly Canada is but the point was that we were setting ourselves up intentionally to have these guys smear us all over the place. That’s the thing about Canadians. They don’t take themselves too seriously.

Erik:Ā I showed some clips up in Toronto a couple of weeks ago and they were very excited.

Question: Jay isn’t here right now so this is your chance to tell us about him.

Steve:Ā Our chance to bash him? Terrible director. Terrible actor.

Question: C’mon. Give me something juicy.

They laugh.

Paul:Ā He sleeps with his eyes open and snores really loudly.

Steve:Ā It’s freaky as hell.

Paul:Ā Days where we would share a hotel room and sometimes even share a bed with the guy, like, you’d wake up and he’d be staring at you and he’s snoring.

One of the four makes a snoring sound.

Erik:Ā I wonder if he’s human.

Paul:Ā And he’s deaf in one ear.

Kevin:Ā It was also fun to have him direct this movie because… since the first Super Troopers movie, he’s directed 100 episodes ofĀ TVĀ so he does have a different rhythm now than he did then and it was kinda cool to see how he did things a little bit differently. It was more about pacing and having efficient coverage. So, he definitely learned, you know?

Steve:Ā This is my impression of Jay Chandrasekhar,Ā (deepens his voice; speaks slowly) ’Uh… speak faster.’ (They laugh)

Paul:Ā But I feel for him because he has to direct and act, which, I don’t think about how hard it is until I watch him. You can see he’s acting but his wheels are turning as a director and you have to snap him out of it. Brian Cox did that a couple of times, which is the great thing about having someone like Brian Cox on set sometimes. He wants to make sure you have your shit together as a director but as an actor too, so it makes you up your game.

Steve:Ā And Brian Cox, naturally, when the sun starts going down, he starts to get a little crusty. He certainly doesn’t have time for any tomfoolery.

(Laughing, Crosstalk)

Steve:Ā Cuz when the sun goes down, we start to become a bunch of monkey’s.

Erik:Ā In Trooper, we worked him too hard. We worked him overnight.

Paul:Ā He’s awesome. His eyeball exploded ¾’s of the way through the shoot. What happenedĀ withĀ him? A blood vessel burst—

Kevin:Ā He burst a blood vessel in his eye so, as a matter of continuity, we had to go in and digitally remove the red from his eye for certain scenes, otherwise, in hisĀ closeupĀ you would have seen that his eyesĀ wasĀ all—

Erik:Ā Terrifying.

Steve:Ā If you know which scenes the blood vessel burst for, which we do, now I can only focus on the white of his eye and it’s brighter than it normally should be.

Kevin:Ā We won’t give those secrets away. You can see it on the DVD.

Erik:Ā I mean, I’ve seen it. I’ve seen Steve reacting to it.

Eric suddenly looks horrified and alarmed. The room bursts into laughter at the memory.

Erik:Ā That bloody eyeball was right there. Makes you jump.

Steve:Ā A bloody eyeball is a terrifying thing.

Paul:Ā He has a malevolent presence at times. He’s a jovial guy and he loves doing these things with us but when he turns to you with a big bloody eye…it’s the stuff of nightmares.

Question: I enjoyed the hell out of the movie. You guys don’t take yourselves seriously and you’re very passionate about what you do and it comes through in spades but you’re never rude about it like, we know you make fun of the Canadians but you don’t blame the Canadians’ right?

All:Ā Right.

Question: Your passion shows through. So, what influences you, beyond the sequel, what influences you as actors to want to continue these characters?

Kevin and Steve argue over who’s going to answer the question first.

Kevin:Ā A lot of this is based on us being friends. And it’s on… the philosophy is, ā€˜Hey, we’re gonna create this world and you can come and hang out in our world with us and be happy and be comfortable in this world because we’re having a good time; you’re having a good time.’ And so, I think that influences us to want to do these worlds in this way, you know?

Steve:Ā That’s what I was gonna say. And we have drafts of things where the guys are bickering with each other or arguing, and we look at it, ā€˜No… no. We don’t want it to be that way.’ These guys are just joking around and having fun with each other and there’s the one asshole that everybody has in their workplace that’s gonna come in and ruin everybody’s good time and that’s this guy (gestures to Kevin) and so any obnoxious line that isn’t pc or not what we want someone to say, we just pop them into his mouth and we can get away with it.

Kevin:Ā But you still like me.

Steve:Ā But we still like you.

Erik:Ā You’re lovable.

Kevin:Ā Thank you.

Paul:Ā The guy you love to hate.

Steve:Ā And now we have a French-Canadian version of Farva, tooĀ (Paul Walter Hauser).

Question: From ā€˜I, Tonya,’ right?

Kevin:Ā From ā€˜I, Tonya.’ What’s a great story is that I had done a comedy show with him, a live show… I had met him. And so, we’re trying to cast a Canadian Farva and I was like, ā€˜This guy I met; he’s fantastic. Let’s have him come in.’ So, we sent him to the casting director to go on tape for our movie and so we did our movie and they were casting for ā€˜I, Tonya’ and it was the same casting director and she was like, ā€˜I’m gonna call that guy in again cuz he was so great.’ And she called him in for, ā€˜I Tonya,’ and he got the part because he did ā€˜Super Troopers,’ which we were so excited for him about. And now the guy’s taking off. He’s in Spike Lee’s new movie (BlacKkKlansman). He’s done a bunch of stuff since.

Paul:Ā It’s like we’re going around launching everybody’s career except our own.

Kevin:Ā It’s good. It’s exciting.

Question: So, ā€˜Rabbit’ gets a love interest!?

Erik:Ā Yeah! I’m tired of being shaving creamed!

Paul:Ā That’s the last thing I want to do, is do the love stuff. Go and make-out and be mushy and have to do real acting? But, as silly as our movies get, you still have to have that scene. You still have to have that.

Question: Is there a girl out there for Farva?

Kevin:Ā I don’t know. We talked about that. Maybe in ā€˜Super Troopers 3,’ we talked about maybe Farva finally finds his love. Maybe. But for now, I locked lips with Lemme in the movie, so… yeah… I’ll stay with Mac. Farva and Mac having a moment.

Steve:Ā Pretty romantic stuff.

Kevin:Ā Why not do it with the guy you know.

Paul:Ā There’s no mushiness here.

Steve:Ā That would be a great thing. In ā€˜Super Troopers 3,’ (gestures to Kevin)Ā if Mac says, ā€˜I need to talk to you for a second. I can’t stop thinking about you.’

They laugh.

Question: Tell me about the writing process. How do you bring it all together?

Paul:Ā It’s like this. It’s us around a table and there’s sort of these stages of just general ideation. Obviously, the world had already been built so that was good but generally speaking, we ask, ā€˜Where do we want to go with this?’ You, sort of, refine with each phase of starting, ā€˜Okay. Let’s go with that… let’s beat it out, how would something like that work?’ And with every phase, you’re almost always just throwing out bits or set pieces or comedy that you keep off to the side and you kind of build the structure of the storytelling. It’s just about populating as much comedy as you can.

Steve:Ā Yeah. ā€˜Lonnie Laloush,’ the Canadian Farva, is a great example of that cuz that’s something where he just existed as dialogue. Down theĀ roadĀ we thought, ā€˜We should probably see this guy.’ So, we wrote him into one scene but then we loved his audition tape so much we were, like, ā€˜God. We gotta see this guy a bunch and American Farva and Canadian Farva should meet up with each other at some point so… you just keep rolling it out and with each new draft, you have three, five, ten more jokes. It just makes the script better.

Question: Does anyone ever get their feelings hurt?

Kevin:Ā Yeah. It definitely happens.

Erik:Ā I’d say it happens.

Paul:Ā Not over a joke but…

Kevin:Ā We’re passionate.

Paul:Ā We are passionate but it’s not necessarily a ā€˜This is funny.’ ā€˜No, it’s not.’ ā€˜Yes, it is.’ ā€˜No it’s not!’ The fights seem to be more, ā€˜Is it, at all, realistic?’ It tends to be more tonal stuff like, ā€˜That’s too broad, like a Zucker Brother’s joke. It’s funny but I don’t know if it exists in that world.’ Then the guys tend to roll up their sleeves.

Erik:Ā Sometimes it’s like ā€˜Survivor’ where you have to form an alliance. Like, if you have a joke you’re trying, you have to get three out of five people on your side to get the joke approved.Ā (Kevin laughs)Ā So, often times, you’re trying to form alliances. Sometimes you even have to act it out. If you catch my joke but someone else isn’t seeing it, you have to get on your feet and sell it.

Paul:Ā But then you can also sabotage a joke by reading it in a shitty voice.Ā (Mocks a bad reading of a joke.)Ā ā€˜Well, when you read it like that, asshole, of course it’s not funny!’

Erik:Ā Right.

Paul:Ā That’s the best way to sabotage.

Steve:Ā But that’s the problem, too. When you get inĀ these creative disputes, after the first round of, ā€˜Hey. I don’t know if this’llwork.’ It becomes, you just want to win a fight! And so now you got guys who have their heels dug in and there’re just going toe to toe. And three guys will just sit back and watch it. Like, we’ll smirk at each other while these other two guys are just butting heads.

Paul:Ā And when you’re one of those combatants and you want support from the other guys, you’ll always get shot down because there’s nothing more fun than when you’re one of those guys watching two guys fight. And you don’t want to get involved. You just wanna sit back and eat popcorn and watch it. But it’s also maddening when you’re like, ā€˜Come on! Help me out here!’ And the other guy’s like, ā€˜You guys figure it out.’

Erik:Ā You’re doing great. Hang in there.

Question: Kevin, you have a law degree.

Kevin:Ā I do.

Question: You passed the bar in two states.

Kevin:Ā I did. In two states. Yeah.

Question: If you became a lawyer and didn’t do this, looking and watching these guys, how would you feel about them?

Kevin:Ā I’d feel they need a Farva, these guys!

Erik:Ā Everybody needs a Farva.

Question: Any other careers anyone else were considering, instead of doing this? Your passion?

Steve:Ā I don’t know what else I would do.

(Laughter)

Erik:Ā I don’t think we’re qualified for anything else.

Paul:Ā I had a desk job for, like, one month.

Kevin:Ā You guys could come work for me at the law firm if you want. Come make some copies for me. Do some research for me.

Paul:Ā That’s good to know.

I believe he would. I hope you liked this interview. I know you’ll like the movie.

Avengers: Infinity War -ā€œLEGACYā€ Featurette Now Available!!

Watch the new ā€œLegacyā€ featurette, as Kevin Feige joins other filmmakers and the cast of Marvel Studios’ AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR to chronicle the growth and success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe from its auspicious beginning with ā€œIron Manā€ in 2008 to the upcoming tour de force ā€œAvengers: Infinity War.ā€

An unprecedented cinematic journey ten years in the making and spanning the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel Studios’ ā€œAvengers: Infinity Warā€ brings to the screen the ultimate, deadliest showdown of all time. The Avengers and their Super Hero allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the powerful Thanos before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe.

Anthony and Joe Russo direct the film, which is produced by Kevin Feige. Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso,Ā Michael Grillo, Trinh Tran, Jon Favreau, James Gunn and Stan Lee are the executive producers. Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely wrote the screenplay. ā€œAvengers: Infinity Warā€ releases in U.S. theaters onĀ April 27, 2018.

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR

MARVEL STUDIOS

Website and Mobile site:Ā Ā http://www.marvel.com/avengers

Like us on Facebook:Ā http://www.facebook.com/marvelstudios

FollowĀ us on Twitter:Ā Ā http://www.twitter.com/marvelstudios

Instagram:Ā https://www.instagram.com/marvelstudios

‘Hereditary’ gives us a look at Charlie – Trailer

DON’T SAY YOU WEREN’T WARNED…

NEW “CHARLIE” TRAILER FORĀ HEREDITARYĀ INTRODUCES THE YOUNGEST MEMBER OF THE GRAHAM FAMILY, A GIRL WITH A PENCHANT FOR ARTS & CRAFTS THAT WILL HAUNT YOUR NIGHTMARES.

Ā 

The horror sensation that shook festival audiences to their core will hit theaters nationwide on June 8th.Ā 

 

DIRECTED BY: Ari Aster
STARRING: Toni Collette, Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff, and Milly Shapiro

 

Visit Hereditary WEBSITE: http://bit.ly/HereditaryMovie

Like Hereditary on FACEBOOK: http://bit.ly/HereditaryFB

Follow Hereditary on TWITTER: http://bit.ly/HereditaryTW

Follow Hereditary on INSTAGRAM: http://bit.ly/HereditaryIG


VISIT CHARLIE’S CREATIONS ON ETSY

The shop will be updated with new creations each week.
All proceeds go toĀ Kids With Food Allergies

In Theaters June 8th

http://www.fandango.com

Hotel Artemis Trailer

Check in to ā€˜HOTEL ARTEMIS.’ 

NO GUNS. NO COPS. NO KILLING THE OTHER PATIENTS.

Set in riot-torn, near-future Los Angeles,Ā HOTEL ARTEMISĀ is an original, high-octane action-thriller starringĀ Jodie FosterĀ as The Nurse, who runs a secret, members-only hospital for criminals. Jodie Foster is joined by an all-star cast that includesĀ Sterling K. Brown, Sofia Boutella, Jeff Goldblum, Brian Tyree Henry, Jenny Slate, Zachary Quinto, Charlie Day, and Dave Bautista.

Written and Directed by Drew Pearce, writer of IRON MAN 3, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – ROGUE NATION and SHERLOCK HOLMES 3.

#HOTELARTEMISĀ hits theaters June 8, 2018!

#HotelArtemis |Ā FacebookĀ |Ā TwitterĀ |Ā InstagramĀ |Ā Website

In Theaters June 8th

http://www.fandango.com

Focus Features will release the must-see ā€˜WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?’ in select theaters on June 8th


Focus Features will releaseĀ WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?Ā 
in select theaters on June 8th, 2018

From Academy AwardĀ®-winning filmmaker Morgan Neville (20 Feet from Stardom),Ā Won’t You Be My Neighbor?Ā takes an intimate look at America’s favorite neighbor: Mister Fred Rogers. A portrait of a man whom we all think we know, this emotional and moving film takes us beyond the zip-up cardigansĀ andĀ the land of make-believe, and into the heartĀ of a creative genius who inspired generations of children with compassion and limitless imagination.

Director:Ā Morgan Neville (ā€œ20 Feet from Stardomā€)

Additionally, Focus Features will be launching the Won’t You Be My Neighbor? pop-up at next week’s CinemaCon, beginning April 23rd,Ā  inside Caesar’s Palace by the Pisa Room in Las Vegas.

Go back in time to the friendliest, most welcoming place from everybody’s childhood – Mister Rogers’ Living Room.

For more info, please follow the film on social:

Official SiteĀ IĀ FacebookĀ IĀ TwitterĀ IĀ Instagram

#MrRogersMovie

Great news! Gamechanger Films Sells North American Rights to Hannah Fidell’s, ‘THE LONG DUMB ROAD’

LOS ANGELES, CA | April 17, 2018 – Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Content Group has purchased North American rights to Hannah Fidell’s road trip comedy ā€œTHE LONG DUMB ROADā€, which made its world premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. Directed by Fidell and co-written by Fidell and Carson Mell, the film stars Tony Revolori, Jason Mantzoukas, Taissa Farmiga, Grace Gummer, and Ron Livingston, and is produced by Fidell, Jacqueline Ingram, Jonathan Duffy and Kelly Williams. Ā 

THE LONG DUMB ROAD follows college-bound teenager Nat (Revolori), who offers itinerant 30-something mechanic Richard (Mantzoukas) a ride during a stop-over in small-town Texas. Nat, an aspiring photographer, is heading towards a bright future in art school in Los Angeles and wants to find the real America en route to new beginnings out West; Richard, a lovably unkempt motormouth, is simply looking for connection in the moment — and maybe a beer or ten — while he grapples with indecision, past mistakes and dead-ends. As they travel through the American Southwest, taking in picturesque towns and crossing paths with an assortment of old flames, fellow travelers, kooky cons, and Good Samaritans, both passengers come alive through the myriad possibilities of the open road. Finding connection, comfort and chaos in their shared journey, this improbable and unforgettable screen duo forges an epic bond few will forget.

Critical response to the film out of Sundance has been positive, with special praise for both the comic pairing of Mantzoukas and Revolori and for Mantzoukas in a leading role. Elizabeth Weitzman of the Wrap applauded the two as ā€œunflaggingly delightful companionsā€, writing, ā€œMantzoukas and Revolori are ideally cast, bouncing off each other with a salty-sweet chemistry that’s as natural as it is entertaining.ā€ Film School Rejects hailed the film as ā€œthe next great American road trip comedyā€, declaring it ā€œdelightfully weird, relentlessly funny, occasionally vulgar, and thoughtful in all the right ways.ā€

ā€œThis is a dream come true,ā€ said director Hannah Fidell of the acquisition. ā€œI couldn’t be more thrilled to work with Universal, a company that actually understands the value of diversity both in front of and behind the camera.ā€

THE LONG DUMB ROAD was executive produced by Mynette Louie, Alicia van Couvering, Julie Parker Benello, Dan Cogan, Geralyn Dreyfous, and Wendy Ettinger, and co-executive produced by Abigail E. Disney, Regina K. Scully, and Jenny & Douglas Patinkin. The film was financed by Gamechanger Films.

UTA and Anita Surendran of Gray Krauss Sandler Des Rochers LLP negotiated the deal on behalf of the filmmakers.


ABOUT UPHE CONTENT GROUP
Headquartered in London, UPHE Content Group is a repertoire center of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, acquiring and producing multi-genre entertainment for distribution across theatrical, home entertainment, television and digital platforms on a worldwide basis. Ā UPHE Content Group is part of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, a unit of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group. Universal Filmed Entertainment Group (UFEG) produces, acquires, markets and distributes filmed entertainment worldwide in various media formats for theatrical, home entertainment, television and other distribution platforms, as well as consumer products, interactive gaming and live entertainment. Ā The global division includes Universal Pictures, Focus Features, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, Universal Brand Development, Fandango, DreamWorks Animation Film and Television and Awesomeness. UFEG is part of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production and marketing of entertainment, news and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment.

ABOUT GAMECHANGER FILMS

Gamechanger Films is the first film fund dedicated to exclusively financing narrative features directed by women. The company’s films include Jennifer Fox’s THE TALE (Sundance 2018), Christina Choe’s NANCY (Sundance 2018, Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award), Natalia Garagiola’s HUNTING SEASON (Venice Critics Week 2017, Grand Prize), So Yong Kim’s LOVESONG (Sundance 2016, Independent Spirit Award nominee), Karyn Kusama’s THE INVITATION (SXSW 2015), and Martha Stephens & Aaron Katz’s LAND HO! (Sundance 2014, Independent Spirit Cassavetes Award).

Where Is Kyra? Movie Review

This movie is remarkable. I’d like to warn that it was also one of the most depressing films I’ve ever seen… but oh so good, I promise you that. ā€˜Where Is Kyra’ was very well done and the bleak, cloudy atmosphere created was so alluring that I couldn’t look away. I’d like to say it was an exceptional film.

It’s macabre and thought-provoking, sincere and honest in its description of what someone will do and who they’ll become when faced with severe adversity. IĀ wouldĀ use the word exceptional but for one choice director Andrew Dosunmu made that had me cringing when this action occurred in his film. Yes, cringe, and not in a good way. An absolutely terrible noise would accompany scenes where Kyra (Pfeiffer) was impersonating her dead mother.

I’m quite sure it was done to keep the audience on the edge so there was cause for it but it was so absolutely annoying and incredibly irritating that, for me, it not only dropped the grade down a touch but had to be mentioned to you. The audience is already mesmerized and get the point, Dosunmu. You don’t need to use sound to attack those who might have missed it. Trust me… no one missed it. The film is good without its use to influence us.

The lighting was dark and set the tone beautifully, but I will add this, the film is a bit too slow early on for the average moviegoer, however, I implore you to keep watching. That alone should never be a reason to avoid watching a film. It’s okay to allow a director to set the stage for you. I’ll try and do the same here.

 

The aforementioned Kyra, who Michelle Pfeiffer nailedĀ superbly, is a divorced woman well past her prime. She’s living in Brooklyn and wants independence but with limited skills for today’s needs, she is having trouble finding a job that will keep her afloat. She moves into her elderly mother, Ruth’s (Shepherd), apartment and helps take care of her. These scenes, one of them with a very brave and very nude Suzanne Shepherd, are tremendous and the connection they have is evident as Kyra helps Ruth in and out of her bath, keeps her company… expresses to her how much she’s loved. Suddenly and unexpectedly, Ruth dies. Kyra is alone and for the first time feels abandoned. She looks around her mother’s home where her mother no longer resides and breaks down. Not only has Ruth left her but the financial support she was able to get is gone, too. What to do?

She meets up with one of Ruth’s neighbors, Doug (Sutherland), who also happens to be a caretaker at a nursing home. He’s had a checkered past but has found helping people to be cathartic and rewarding. He genuinely cared for Ruth and decides to do what he can to help her daughter. They’re physically attracted to one another, as well, so they begin to have a much deeper relationship that’s mutually beneficial. She opens herself up to Doug but when she gets so desperate for money as to do the unthinkable, she’s afraid of losing him so she keeps it a secret. She’s aware of the fact that what she’s doing can get her into bigger trouble but she’s not finding a job and doesn’t want to risk the relationship. She refuses to ask too much of Doug as she’s prideful to a degree so she tries her best to make it on her own, however, bills are stacking up and it’s time to act to remedy the situation. The rest of the movie is truly captivating and, largely, grueling but you will not get up until the credits roll. Not for anything. Phenomenal.

See this movie. Amongst a world of remakes and reimagining’s it’s quite unique and you’ll do a lot of thinking long after the film is over.

Playing exclusively now atĀ Harkins Camelview at Fashion Square. Don’t miss it!

You Were Never Really Here Movie Review

Though some may view this as painfully slow in the beginning, I see it more as art being created before your very eyes. With any piece of art, it takes time to make it come to life and why should a film be any different? Slow and lacking in story and structure is different, this builds to a magnificent climax and with its gorgeous cinematography, noteworthy performances and memorable plot, you won’t leave feeling disillusioned. In fact, if you like Martin Scorsese’s ā€˜Taxi Driver’ this is definitely the film for you. Joaquin Phoenix plays, Joe, his version of Scorsese’s Travis Bickle. Phoenix plays him much in the same way that DeNiro played Travis. He’s raw and unkept but Joe isn’t disturbed. He’s haunted, yes, but he has clear goals and will do anything to meet them, especially when they get personal. Phoenix won in Cannes for the film and I believe he’ll be rewarded here, too.

Joe’s past, shown to us in snippets of macabre flashbacks, has led him to perform very dark things but for good reason. He is an advocate of sorts, hired to help people, mostly little girls who were abducted or are runaways, break free of the sex trade they’re forced into… and he’s exceptional at his job. His preferred method of taking people out is a hammer and when we first meet him, he’s cleaning up a crime scene, indicating to us he’s methodical, careful and very professional. He also takes care of his elderly mother and from the flashbacks, it seems she’s all he’s ever had. With his next assignment, helping a politician’s daughter escape the clutches of a sex maniac, he ends up putting his mother’s and his own life in jeopardy. The film was directed by a female director, Lynne Ramsay (We Need to Talk About Kevin) which could be why Joe, though a killer, conveys such loving and caring characteristics. You’ll sense great sorrow and warmth inside of him and take pity.

I don’t want to give too much away but there’s a scene when Joe’s in a lake. He’s sinking to the bottom for a reason I won’t tell you here but it’s handled so beautifully, so poetically, that it brings you to the brink of tears. As an audience member, you take on Joe’s anguish and heartache. It’s a spectacular look at this character and a shot you may never forget. His relationship with his charges may seem to get in the way of his missions but then you realize those relationships are the missions. He may be saving them but, in essence, when all is said and done, they are saving him.

Don’t miss this fascinating film for anything. I can’t stress this enough. Enjoy the fact that Ramsay takes some time to paint you the full picture… it’s worth it. You’ll like the soundtrack that accompanies the film, as well. The ending is somewhat vague but had it drifted on a definitive course, it wouldn’t have fit the style. Go see this asap!

Aardvark Movie Review

This is the story of an unstable man named Josh Norman, played by Zachary Quinto. He’s plagued with hallucinations of his brother, Craig (Hamm), who mistreated him when they were younger… or so Josh thinks. Craig, now a famous actor who Josh believes is morphing into other people, mocking and following him, actually takes care of Josh by sending him money, money that always purchases drugs for Josh that a therapist prescribes but doesn’t necessarily get Josh the true help he needs. What he needs is family and to be seen and loved; to know he’s seen and loved. I had many problems with this film, first of which is that with the amount of talent working on it, these actors should have been used better. They were great, don’t get me wrong, but the film they’re in leads you on a road to nowhere.

It opens on an owl watching an aardvark. Okay. That’s a metaphor for brothers Craig and Josh and you’re curious but, more to the point, it starts with such promise, however, by the time you’re halfway through Aardvark, you realize it isn’t going anywhere and your original thought of giving up on it fifteen minutes ago, should have been listened to. I assumed, by looking at the cast, that this was going to be quite good. I generally do approve of everything Hamm, Quinto and Jenny Slate, (who plays Emily, a therapist Josh starts going to) work on. I can’t say that’s the case with this movie. I had hoped it would be a hit, especially for Slate, as I respect her work so much that I’d like to see her continue to get larger roles but this movie might have been the one for her to skip… for them all to skip.

Enjoying the tone of the film in the beginning, you do like the characters and build a relationship with them but, unfortunately, the narrative between Emily and her patient becomes strained and consequently hard to believe. Director Brian Shoaf creates reasons for you to like Emily and then gives you all the reasons why you shouldn’t trust her and therefore, the story of Josh being unhinged falls apart to a degree.
Emily and Craig meet and she starts to speak on behalf of Craig to Josh and vice versa but she also falls for Craig. Maybe Josh just needs a new doctor? Eventually, you can’t help but wonder if the paranoid man is being gaslighted by everyone around him. Not that this would be remotely possible but is everyone around him in on it? His rich brother could be paying people to make him crazy.
The thought will cross your mind as the muddied script doesn’t get to the point until you’ve already checked out. Even when he meets Hannah (Vand) you wonder if this person really exists. That can be vaguely intriguing as he truly is under the impression his brother can transform himself to be anybody he wants but when the storyline provides you with hope, it then tears everything back down, trying to be a crafty love story but falling short of leading you to believe it’ll win you over in the end.

Perhaps this would have been better with some time to focus on which genre the script wanted to truly be. It’s frustrating as an audience member watching the filmmaker searching for the true voice of the film. The director needed to lead us. It isn’t good if he’s conflicted and this film was all over the place.

*Opens Exclusively at Harkins Shea 14

Solo: A Star Wars Story – New Trailer

SOLO: AĀ STAR WARSĀ STORY opensĀ in U.S. theaters on May 25.

Board the Millennium Falcon and journey to a galaxy far, far away in ā€œSolo: AĀ Star WarsĀ Story,ā€ an all-new adventure with the most beloved scoundrel in theĀ galaxy.Ā Through a series of daring escapades deep within a dark and dangerous criminal underworld, Han Solo befriends his mighty future copilot Chewbacca and meets the notorious gambler Lando Calrissian, in a journey that will set the course of one of theĀ Star WarsĀ saga’s most unlikely heroes.

The film stars Alden Ehrenreich, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Joonas Suotamo, and Paul Bettany.

Ron Howard directs ā€œSolo: AĀ Star WarsĀ Story,ā€ and Kathleen Kennedy, Allison Shearmur and Simon Emanuel are the producers. Lawrence Kasdan, Jason McGatlin, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller serve as executive producers. Jonathan Kasdan & Lawrence Kasdan wrote the screenplay.

 

LUCASFILM

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In Theaters May 25

http://www.fandango.com