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The Quitter's low-key approach to its well-trodden redemption arc — an ex-ballplayer (Matthew Bonifacio) turns his life around by reuniting with his ex-girlfriend (Julianna Gelinas Bonifacio) and reconnecting with the daughter (Destiny Monet Cruz) he abandoned seven years ago — might seem like a welcome strategy.

But screenwriter Bill Gullo (working in a much different register than his sci-fi indie +1) and director-producer-star Bonifacio (Lbs., Amexicano) hedge their bets so far that the resultant movie is less pleasantly relaxed than it is simply lacking in drama. Many of the narrative details — Jonathan's (Bonifacio) failed career on the diamond; the specifics of why he left Georgie (Gelinas Bonifacio) alone with their child &md...

Old Boy

Nate Parker ("Arbitrage," "Red Hook Summer") is in talks to join Spike Lee's remake of Chan-wook Park's Korean revenge thriller "Oldboy." Parker is in talks to play a doctor who works with Elizabeth Olsen's character.

Josh Brolin stars as a man who is kidnapped and imprisoned for more than a decade for unknown reasons. Sharlto Copley and Samuel L. Jackson also star. [Source: Variety]

Nymphomaniac

Udo Kier recently confirmed that he’ll be re-teaming with Lars von Trier for the director’s next project, "Nymphomaniac".

Kier's role is unknown at this point. Kier worked with von Trier on last year's "Melancholia". [Source: Dread Central]

Crossing Lines

William Fichtner, Donald Sutherland, Marc Lavoine and Genevieve O’Reilly are amongst the names to sign on for Ed Bernero's new action/crime drama series "Crossing Lines". Shooting kicks off at the end of the month in France and the Czech Republic.

The story...

With all the "Black Swan" hoopla, am I the only one who thinks that the film, while well-made, is not deserving of all these hyper-crazed adulations? Portman was good, but I prefer Annette Bening's understated performance in "The Kids Are All Right." Or heck, Jennifer Lawrence's "Winter's Bone" performance could easily outdance Portman's delusional ballerina portrayal any day.

And "Winter's Bone," celebrating its true independent spirit, was virtually snubbed at last night's Independent Spirit Awards. Sure, the excellent supporting cast was honored with Dale Dickey winning Best Supporting Female and John Hawkes for Best Supporting Male, but the engaging and deeply haunting Debra Granik movie (with the most nominations totaling to seven nods) lost out to...you guessed it, Darren Aronofsky's "Black Swan." (Check out my "Winter's Bone" movie review right here)

And yes, I do admire Aronofsky, I thought "The Wrestler" was one of his personal...

Premiering way back at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, Matthew Bonifacio's "Lbs." was finally released theatrically this year. Following a 315-pound man who decides to kick his food addiction by moving to the country, the film is finding a happy ending to its rather extraordinarily lengthy delay in release. This weekend, over seven years after "Lbs." debuted at Sundance, the film will compete at the Film Independent's Spirit Awards in ...

Premiering way back at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, Matthew Bonifacio's "Lbs." was finally released theatrically this year. Following a 315-pound man who decides to kick his food addiction by moving to the country, the film is finding a happy ending to its rather extraordinarily lengthy delay in release. This weekend, over seven years after "Lbs." debuted at Sundance, the film will compete at the Film Independent's Spirit Awards in ...

As a way of celebrating this year's nominees for the Spirit Awards in the weeks leading up to the ceremony, we reached out to as many as we could in an effort to better understand what went into their films, what they've gotten out of the experience, and where they've found their inspiration, both in regards to their work and other works of art that might've inspired them from the past year. Their answers will be published on a daily basis throughout February.

Underdog tales don't come any more tailor-made for a happy ending than Matthew Bonifacio's first feature that's nominated for the John Cassavetes Award at this year's Spirit Awards. In the case of "Lbs.," this is as true behind the scenes as it is in the story about Neil, an overweight man (Carmine Famiglietti) who aims to curb his addiction to meatball hoagies and fried chicken by...

So last week was admittedly a slog of subversive family drama. Thankfully this week offered some truly intriguing indie efforts.

First I was introduced to the marvelous and miniature world of Marwencol, next subjected to the dreary worldview of Everything Stranger and New, then exposed to the heart-filled weight loss journey of Lbs., and finally watched a truly enchanting tale of young love unfold in Kisses.

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Marwencol ~ Directed by Jeff Malmberg

This carefully crafted doc unfolds the story of Mark Hogancamp, a drunk whose life changed dramatically after he was beaten within an inch of his life outside a local bar. His attackers “kicked every memory of [his] head,” leaving Hogancamp to relearn basic motor skills and grappling to rediscover himself. His method of self-made therapy: constructing a model town named Marwencol that he peoples with miniature doppelgangers of his loved ones. With these figures he enacts winding wishful narratives,...

Best Documentary "Exit Through the Gift Shop" It's hard to know whether street artist Banksy's feature documentary is what it claims to be—a doc about an obsessive man who falls in love with the world of street art (where artists place their work in public, risking arrest for vandalism), fashioning himself as the most financially successful street artist in history—or is Banksy's best prank to date. The film follows the life of buffoonish French expatriate Thierry Guetta, a happy-go-lucky proprietor of an overpriced hipster-wear store in West Hollywood with the curious habit of videotaping everything that happens to him. Guetta persuades his cousin, a street artist known as Space Invader, to become the subject of a "documentary," which leads Guetta to other street artists like Obama icon-maker Shepard Fairey and ultimately to the white whale of street artists: the ultra-secretive Banksy (interviewed in silhouette, of course...

The nominations of 2011 Film Independent Spirit Awards have been announced on Tuesday, November 30 in Los Angeles by Jeremy Renner and Eva Mendes. And some movies which have received Oscar buzz such as "127 Hours" and "Black Swan" are touted for Best Feature at the upcoming Spirit Awards.

For this title, the two movies will fight against "Greenberg", "The Kids Are All Right" and "Winter's Bone". The latest mentioned flick, which is fresh from grabbing two kudos at Gotham Independent Film Awards, has a chance to be a big winner at Spirits Awards since it takes the most nods.

The drama leads Debra Granik to be a contender for Best Director prize. She will face a tight competition with Darren Aronofsky, Danny Boyle in addition to Lisa Cholodenko and John Cameron Mitchell for this title.

The cast including Jennifer Lawrence, Dale Dickey and John Hawkes are additionally up for Best Female Lead,...

Natalie Portman is going to get a stiff competition from Jennifer Lawrence at 2011 Independent Spirit Awards. The nominees for the annual awards dedicated to independent filmmakers have been announced on Tuesday, November 30, and both actresses were unraveled to be among those up for Best Female Lead.

29-year-old Natalie received the nomination for her portrayal of a ballet dancer in "Black Swan", while 20-year-old Jennifer got her nod for her role as a teen on a desperate search to find her missing father in "Winter's Bone". Both of them were nominated along with Annette Bening, Greta Gerwig, Nicole Kidman and Michelle Williams.

In addition to Natalie's acting nom, her psychological thriller "Black Swan" has nabbed three other nods. It is vying for Best Feature along with "Winter's Bone", "127 Hours", "Greenberg" and "The Kids Are All Right". Additionally, it also collected nomination for its director Darren Aronofsky and cinematographer Matthew Libatique.

Jennifer's "Winter's Bone", in the meantime,...

I'm so glad that "Winter's Bone" has been receiving all the accolades. I love this film when it was shown in limited release last summer. The backwoods drama won big at the Gothams Awards winning Best Feature and Best Ensemble, and now, it dominated the Independent Spirit Awards with seven nominations including Best Feature, Director for Debra Granik, Screenplay for Granik and Anne Rosellini, Female Lead for Jennifer Lawrence, Supporting Female for Dale Dickey, Supporting Male for John Hawkes, and Cinematography for Michael McDonough. ("Winter's Bone" Movie Review)

"Winter's Bone" will compete against "127 Hours," "Black Swan," "Greenberg" and "The Kids Are All Right" for best picture.

Related Links:

"127 Hours" interviews with James Franco, Danny Boyle, and Simon Beaufoy

"Greenberg" Movie Review and Interviews with Ben Stiller, Greta Gerwig, and Rhys Ifans

"The Kids Are All Right" Movie Review and Interviews with Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska, Josh Hutcherson, and...

Trailer and poster for Lbs. directed by Matthew Bonifacio from a story by Carmine Famiglietti have been released.

He is a 315-pound man obsessed with food. He lives a boring life with his parents in Brooklyn, and seems like nothing can move him.

Are you interested to hear more about the movie they already called “a very human story of self-realization” as well as “disarmingly natural, sincere and funny”? Ok, then, we’re presenting you Lbs!

Neil Perota (Carmine Famiglietti) is seriously overweight. At twenty-seven years old, he weighs over 300 pounds, and his life has no big sense but food and family. He even works for his father driving a school bus. That doesn’t sound funny at all, especially for a man of his age.

But soon, life is going to change for him. When he suffers a heart attack two days before his sister’s wedding, he is...

New York-based indie production and distribution company CAVU Pictures has acquired worldwide rights to the feature film Lbs. for an undisclosed figure. Lbs., which premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival, stars Carmine Famiglietti, who also co-wrote the film along with director Matthew Bonifacio. The dramedy centers on one man's battle to beat his addiction to overeating.