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Most folks seek escapism when going to the movies, while others get off on seeing other people’s anxiety, drawing either catharsis or comedy from the idea that someone else has it worse. Sporting a poisoned-fortune-cookie title like “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” there can be little question as to which category best describes Mary Bronstein’s stress-fueled second feature. With her husband away and her daughter hooked up to a constantly beeping medical device, exasperated Linda (Rose Byrne) may be going out of her mind, but Bronstein puts us squarely inside it, as the walls close in, the ceiling collapses and the floor buckles beneath her.

An A24 release forged in much the same mold as “Good Time” or “Uncut Gems” (which Bronstein’s partner Ronnie co-wrote), the Safdie-esque — but refreshingly female-centered — indie movie could be “Mommy No-Legs” to those guys’ crazy-making “Daddy Longlegs”: a...

Most people’s idea of a Hamptons homemaker is probably some version of a Nancy Meyers character — rich, accomplished and caught up in dizzying romantic confusion in her own piece of tastefully decorated, sun-kissed real estate porn. Linda, the Montauk psychologist played with edge-of-delirium tension by a phenomenal Rose Byrne, is not that woman. In writer-director Mary Bronstein’s If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, Linda is basically a knot of unrelieved stress, immune to the “It’s not your fault” platitudes of a family therapist who warns against the “thinking trap” of shame and blame.

The root cause of Linda’s whirling-dervish anxiety spiral is the mysterious, seemingly untreatable illness of her young unnamed daughter (Delaney Quinn), heard but unseen almost throughout, aside from the bag attached to her intravenous feeding tube. Or her little feet dangling from the toilet as water floods the bathroom of the family home.

Timothée Chalamet’s ping pong movie is adding a few more players.

Odessa A’zion has joined the cast of “Marty Supreme,” from A24 and director Josh Safdie. Rounding out the cast are magician Penn Jillette (of Penn & Teller), investor and “Shark Tank” personality Kevin O’Leary (aka Mr. Wonderful) and “Bad Lieutenant” filmmaker Abel Ferrara.

Specifics about their roles are kept under wraps, but this motley crew joins previously announced cast members Gwyneth Paltrow and Tyler, the Creator in the film, which is said to be about a professional table tennis player. Plot details are unknown, but A24 posted an image of a ping pong ball with the words “coming soon” after Variety broke news of the project in July.

Safdie and Ronald Bronstein wrote the original screenplay for “Marty Supreme” and produce alongside Eli Bush, Anthony Katagas, Chalamet and A24. Production kicks off in the fall.

A’zion’s...

Fans are already hyped for the sequel of Adam Sandler’s Happy Gilmore following the actor-comedian’s announcement. The production will commence in a couple of weeks, and along with that great news, he also revealed that a special name will be joining the band.

Credits: Adam Sandler in Happy Gilmore / Universal Pictures

The original 1996 sports comedy movie was helmed by Dennis Dugan, and despite the mixed reviews, it was a commercial hit. Now, with fans demanding follow-up almost thirty years later, Sandler assured them that they worked really hard to make this happen.

Adam Sandler Reveals Happy Gilmore 2 Will Have Benny Safdie

Along with Adam Sandler’s announcement of Happy Gilmore 2, he also revealed that Benny Safdie will have a special participation in the film. He didn’t specify what type of role or give any hint, but he only said “he’s going to have a juicy part” via IndieWire.

Adam Sandler has set a new comedy special at Netflix — this time directed by Josh Safdie.

The project continues Sandler’s string of collaborations with Safie, who co-directed him in 2019’s “Uncut Gems” alongside his brother Benny Safdie. Sandler also starred in the brothers’ 2020 short film “Goldman v. Silverman” and is set to lead an upcoming feature set in the world of sports memorabilia to be directed by Josh and produced by Benny, though the latter told Variety in January that the film was “on pause.”

Currently untitled, the special will be Sandler’s second at Netflix, following up on his 2018 set “100% Fresh” — which went on to receive a 90% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes. Sandler has worked on numerous projects for Netflix: In 2023, he led the voice cast of the streamer’s animated musical comedy film “Leo” and starred opposite Idina Menzel in “You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah,...

Benny Safdie got his start in Hollywood as a director alongside his brother Josh, but now they’ve gone their separate ways.

The Safdie Brothers directed five movies together: 2009′s Daddy Longlegs, 2013′s Lenny Cooke, 2014′s Heaven Knows What, 2017′s Good Time, and 2019′s Uncut Gems.

Benny recently has been having success as an actor with roles in films like Licorice Pizza, Oppenheimer, and Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, as well as the new Showtime series The Curse.

In a new interview, he explained his professional split from his brother.

Keep reading to find out more…

“It’s a natural progression of what we each want to explore,” he told Variety. “I will direct on my own, and I will explore things that I want to explore. I want that freedom right now in my life.”

Josh has been working on a new movie starring Adam Sandler and Megan Thee Stallion,...

A few seconds before the world premiere of Sean Price Williams’ directorial debut “The Sweet East,” the names of Josh and Benny Safdie rolled on the screen as part of the Directors’ Fortnight vignette. It feels only prescient, as the Cannes sidebar is destined to do for Williams what it did for the brothers, having launched the Safdies’ career by playing their first two features, “The Pleasure of Being Robbed” and “Daddy Longlegs,” in 2007 and 2009, respectively.

Continue reading ‘The Sweet East’ Review: Sean Price Williams’ Incisive Directorial Debut Is A Caustic Portrayal of Americana at The Playlist.

Few filmmakers embody the spirit of independent filmmaking better than Josh and Benny Safdie. The two brothers spent the first decade of their career making short films in New York City with nonexistent budgets, refusing to compromise their signature style in pursuit of more commercial opportunities. They eventually found a bit of success with the 2009 feature “Daddy Longlegs,” which played Cannes and Sundance before eventually winning them an Independent Spirit Awards.

But what followed was a story that many indie filmmakers will be all too familiar with: the success didn’t translate to any other opportunities, and the Safdies were left exactly where they started. But they kept at it, making more short films and writing scripts until the opportunity to make “Good Time” with Robert Pattinson materialized in 2017. The A24 film about a man spending a chaotic night in New York after a failed robbery plays out like the...

The next Safdie Brothers movie is bringing on another big name.

According to Deadline, Megan Thee Stallion is in talks to star in the new film from the directors of “Uncut Gems”, joining Adam Sandler.

Read More: Adam Sandler Confirms He’s Reuniting With The Safdie Brothers For A New Film

Details about the new movie are few and far between, but Josh and Benny Safdie will be directing from their own screenplay, which Sandler has confirmed is set in the world of sports memorabilia.

Production is expected to begin this summer, with the title still unknown.

The Safdies are no stranger to working with music artists, having cast The Weeknd in a small but crucial role in “Uncut Gems”.

Read More: Seth Rogen Claims He Smoked Weed With Meghan Thee Stallion At The Vanity Fair Oscars After-Party

Before “Uncut Gems”, the brothers helmed “Good Time”, starring Robert Pattinson, as...

Every Tuesday, discriminating viewers are confronted with a flurry of choices: new releases on disc and on demand, vintage and original movies on any number of streaming platforms, catalogue titles making a splash on Blu-ray or 4K. This twice-monthly column sifts through all of those choices to pluck out the movies most worth your time, no matter how you’re watching.

This week’s round-up of new disc and streaming releases includes two of the year’s most striking genre movies, along with new releases from Criterion and Vinegar Syndrome, a handful of classic and international exploitation movies, and a 4K release for an antiwar classic:

Pick Of The Week:

“Paths of Glory”: Kl Studio Classics continues their welcome series of early Stanley Kubrick on 4K with this crisply rendered restoration of this 1957 masterpiece – his first war movie, boasting one of Kirk Douglas’ finest performances.

Continue reading The Best...

You can tell a lot about a person by their influences. Whether they're subtle and obvious or totally overt, the way a filmmaker imitates and sometimes steals directly from their biggest influences says a lot about the kind of movie you might end up watching. From the first few minutes of Owen Kline's "Funny Pages," I could tell producers Josh and Benny Safdie were going to be major influences on the filmmaker's style and his tone. Turns out that throughline is consistent to the very end of the picture — and while Kline's version of things is certainly a bit more grimy and gritty in a different way, it still encompasses a similar kind of spatial awareness that looms large in the Safdies' work alongside a command of setting and character. Considering the filmmakers produced this film, it shouldn't come as much surprise that their influence on Kline and his work is palpable.

For those of us who hold our breath in between announcements from the Criterion Collection regarding DVD releases, anticipating just how much more expansive and exciting their releases can get, their announcement for August’s slate will be anything but disappointing. Later this summer, the Criterion Collection invites us to explore places as disparate as the gritty underbelly of New York City, the 19 Century American West, and rural Ethiopia, amongst other nightmarish and magical locales.

Continue reading Criterion’s August Releases Include Early Safdie Brothers Outing ‘Daddy Longlegs,’ ‘Buck And The Preacher,’ And More at The Playlist.

Billie Piper, the writer, director and star of Rare Beasts, discusses her favorite films with Josh Olson.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Rare Beasts (2021)

Naked (1993)

Eternal Beauty (2019)

Punch-Drunk Love (2002)

Uncut Gems (2019) – Dennis Cozzalio’s praise for the Sandman’s performance, Dennis Cozzalio’s year-end 2019 list

Funny People (2009)

Magnolia (1999)

There Will Be Blood (2007)

Inherent Vice (2014)

Phantom Thread (2017) – Dennis Cozzalio’s review

The Wizard Of Oz (1939) – John Badham’s trailer commentary

A Woman Under The Influence (1974)

Opening Night (1977)

Daddy Longlegs (2009)

Daddy Long Legs (1955)

Betty Blue (1986)

Ivans Xtc. (2000)

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

The Mask (1994)

Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond (2017)

Heavenly Creatures (1994)

Mary Poppins (1964)

Synecdoche, New York (2008)

Adaptation (2002)

Capote (2005)

Other Notable Items

Doctor Who TV series

Penny Dreadful TV series (2014-2016)

Secret Diary of a Call Girl TV series (2007–2011)

I Hate Suzie TV series (2020– )

HBO Max

Mike Leigh

David Thewlis

Kerry Fox

Paul Thomas Anderson

Adam Sandler

John Cassavetes...

The Sundance Film Festival has always been one of the premiere places for discovery, providing a launching pad for breakout films en route to mainstream acclaim and awards. But oftentimes, the best of Sundance — films that are truly original, fresh, and worthy — go on to smaller victory laps. These are the festival’s hidden gems, and though they might not be getting Oscar nods, they’re just as deserving of our attention. In advance of this year’s virtual fest, we’ve partnered with AMC+ to assemble a varied list of past Sundance stunners. Featuring early films from the likes of Miranda July and the Safdie’s to Spike Lee’s adaptation of a hit Broadway musical, all of these gems are available via AMC+ streaming platform.

“Daddy Longlegs”

The brothers Safdie are, by now, an indie household name — but a decade ago, they burst onto the map with this captivating dramedy.

Showtime has ordered the comedy series “The Curse,” which hails from Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie. Both will also star in the series alongside Emma Stone.

The half-hour series is said to explore how an alleged curse disturbs the relationship of a newly married couple as they try to conceive a child while co-starring on their problematic new HGTV show.

Fielder will direct and executive produce in addition to starring and co-creating the series. Co-creator Benny Safdie will also executive produce with his brother Josh Safdie under their Elara Pictures banner. Stone will executive produce via Fruit Tree. Ravi Nandan will executive produce for A24, which will produce the series. A24 also produced the current Showtime series “Moonbase 8.”

“The fierce intelligence and wit of the incomparable Emma Stone make her the perfect partner with the ingenious minds of the Safdie brothers and the subversive comedy of Nathan Fielder,” said Amy Israel,...

With readers turning to their home viewing options more than ever, this daily feature provides one new movie each day worth checking out on a major streaming platform. Parts of this article were published when “Good Time” premiered at Cannes.

Filmmaking duo Josh and Benny Safdie are quickly becoming some of the most celebrated American directors out there: “Uncut Gems” was the surprise hit of 2019, a dark and gritty Adam Sandler vehicle that transformed his oddball humor into a cinematic odyssey through the streets of New York’s diamond district. Now, with the movie continuing to raise its profile as one of Netflix’s most popular new releases, the Safdie brand has never been stronger: As with Robert Pattinson in “Good Time,” the Safdies have once again proven they can transform stars into naturalistic puddles of exasperation, real human faces for these anxiety-riddled times.

However, Safdie completists know that the...

Josh and Benny Safdie and Elara Pictures have signed a two year first look deal with HBO, Variety has learned.

The Safdies formed Elara with their long time collaborators Sebastian Bear-McClard and Ronald Bronstein in 2014. Dani Bernfeld is joining the company as partner to produce across film and TV.

A24 will executive produce all projects under the deal and partner with Elara on select projects outside the deal. A24 previously partnered with the Safdies on their critically-acclaimed films “Uncut Gems” and “Good Time.” The company also currently produces the HBO series “Euphoria,” which has been renewed for a second season.

Should anything be produced under the deal, it would mark the Safdies’ first TV project, though they both appeared onscreen in the same episode of the HBO series “Togetherness” in 2016. The brothers are known for their film work, most recently “Uncut Gems.” The film, which starred Adam Sandler as a...

The Cannes Film Festival is living on this month thanks in part to The New York Times, which gathered 23 of the world’s most prominent filmmakers to share with critics Manohla Dargis and A.O. Scott their best memories from attending the world’s most prestigious festival. Two of the wildest Cannes stories belong to Josh Safdie and Benny Safdie, the brothers behind indie favorites “Heaven Knows What,” “Good Time,” and “Uncut Gems.” Only the Safdie brothers would have Cannes stories that would make for pretty amazing Safdie brothers movies.

Benny Safdie first attended Cannes in 2008 to world premiere his short film “The Acquaintances of a Lonely John” at Directors’ Fortnight. Benny got fined by a police officer for riding a motor scooter without a helmet and had to go to the police station to pay it off. A man named Jean-Marie Beulaygue was the chief of police at the time...

Exclusive: Showtime has given a pilot green light to The Curse, a half-hour comedy from Uncut Gems directors/co-writers Benny & Josh Safdie and Nathan for You creator and star Nathan Fielder, I have learned.

Written by Fielder and Benny Safdie, The Curse stars Fielder and co-stars Benny Safdie. It explores how an alleged curse disturbs the relationship of a newly married couple who star in Flipanthropy, their troubled Hgtv show, I hear.

Fielder will play the husband; Benny Safdie will play the producer of the Hgtv show.

The Curse does not cite any real-life inspirations, though its description does bring to mind Tarek El Moussa and Christina Anstead, stars of Hgtv’s popular series Flip or Flop, whose marriage fell apart after the success of their show made them household names.

Fielder, Benny Safdie and Josh Safdie executive produce the pilot, which is produced by Showtime. I hear the project...

Best Director at the Independent Spirit Awards will be an A24 smackdown according to our predictions: sibling filmmakers Benny Safdie and Josh Safdie (“Uncut Gems”) vs. Robert Eggers (“The Lighthouse”). So who’s got the advantage?

As of this writing the Safdies are the front-runners with leading odds of 16/5. They’re supported by the majority of the Expert journalists we’ve polled from top media outlets as of this writing, almost all of the Editors who cover awards year-round for Gold Derby, 22 of the Top 24 Users who got the highest scores predicting last year’s Spirit Awards, and 21 of the All-Star Top 24 who got the highest scores when you combine prediction results from the last couple of years.

SEEWill Robert Pattinson (‘The Lighthouse’) pull off an upset at the Independent Spirit Awards? These top users say yes

“Uncut Gems” has a leading five nominations at the Spirit Awards. Besides that,...

The John Lennon sage axiom “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans” aptly applies to Josh and Benjamin Safdie in their ten-year long march developing jewelry crime thriller Uncut Gems.

But as they started and stopped, other projects kept sprouting up and progressing, such as their previous Robert Pattinson noir thriller which debuted at Cannes two years ago, Good Time. They even attempted to get to their current Uncut Gems star Adam Sandler a few years ago, and fell short. But they definitely got his attention the second-time around. Now he’s reaping rave reviews for his turn as lovable, but ballsy, 47th Street NYC jeweler Howard Ratner who in the wake of receiving a large rock of uncut African gems, walks a tightrope in his trade, love life and sports gambling. At one point Sacha Baron Cohen circled the project. Along the way,...

This story about the Safdie brothers and “Uncut Gems” first appeared in the Actors/Directors/Screenwriters issue of TheWrap’s Oscar magazine.

Josh and Benny Safdie’s sixth film, “Uncut Gems,” has a bigger budget and a higher profile than the New York-based siblings’ earlier work. But in its unruly, messy energy, this adrenalized trip through the life of manic, gambling-addict jewelry salesman Howard Ratner (played by Adam Sandler) is simply a virtuoso expansion of the talent that has placed the brothers among the most exciting filmmakers of the day.

Has the way you worked or what you’re looking for changed as you’ve gotten bigger budgets?

Benny Safdie We were just thinking about that. In the first movie we made, “Daddy Longlegs,” there’s a scene where these kids make all these photocopies, the bags break and there’s a wind tunnel that creates this vortex of paper.

David Crow Dec 12, 2019

The Safdie Brothers talk about some loose inspiration, and eerie real world parallels, for their Diamond District mythology in Uncut Gems.

When I sit down with brothers Benny and Josh Safdie on a chilly Manhattan morning, Josh is noticeably animated. One suspects this is usually the case for both Safdie Brothers, who in the last 10 years have gone from directing tiny Sundance dramas such as Daddy Longlegs to Uncut Gems, a taut crime thriller starring Adam Sandler and Kevin Garnett. It’s even the latter film we’re there to discuss. But in this specific moment, Josh needs to share what custom jewelry dealer Izzy Aranbayev has just sent him.

On Josh’s phone, there is a video of Aranbayev showing off his latest masterpiece: a series of wall-mounted and jewel-encrusted decorations that spell out, again and in shimmering letters, “Uncut Gems.” It’s dazzling. It’s...

It’s only a matter of time before native New Yorker Timothée Chalamet joins forces with Gotham’s most exciting filmmaking duo, but until the actor stars in a film from Josh and Benny Safdie, it seems Chalamet is content to commit his admiration for the pair to paper. In the newest issue of Variety, dedicated to its “New Power of New York list,” the “Lady Bird” and “Beautiful Boy” star pens a loving essay about the brothers and their work. Could an on-screen collaboration be far behind?

“The pair have continuously put out contemporary, raw and untethered work over the last decade, each film building on the traits of the prior, but never once sacrificing their innate grittiness,” Chalamet writes, before expounding on the charms of their earlier films like “Daddy Longlegs” and “Good Time.”

Chalamet continues, “But 2019 has given us the brothers’ most full-throated, most wholehearted, most complete...

For Variety’s latest issue, we asked Timothée Chalamet to write a tribute to Josh and Benny Safdie, two of 50 people to make our New Power of New York list. For the full list, click here.

Have you ever been to a fancy party with Josh and Benny Safdie? They stick out like sore thumbs. If they had it their way, they would arrive to the Oscars via subway and climb up to the Dolby from belowground. The New York directing duo have taken it upon themselves to keep alive the mantle of gritty and raucously interior inner-city films built by spiritual kin like Martin Scorsese and Spike Lee. The pair have continuously put out contemporary, raw and untethered work over the last decade, each film building on the traits of the prior, but never once sacrificing their innate grittiness.

An early NPR review of their film “Daddy Longlegs” stated:...

A24 teaming with Adam Sandler is something no one thought they'd see, especially at this point in the comedian's career, as he mostly makes Netflix original movies now. But here we are, with the first official trailer for Uncut Gems. And the thriller is already winning Sandler plenty of Oscars buzz. This is the Safdie brothers follow-up to their critically acclaimed hit Good Time, and from the look of this sneak peek, they could very well be sweeping awards season early next year.

The first trailer for the Safdie brothers' Uncut Gems arrived this morning starring Adam Sandler in what some people are describing as the role of his career. In theaters this December, the movie also features Kevin Garnett, Idina Menzel, Lakeith Stanfield, Julia Fox, and Eric Bogosian.

From acclaimed filmmakers Josh and Benny Safdie comes an electrifying crime thriller about Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler), a charismatic New York...

There are two consistently pervasive ideas in the films of New York filmmaking duo Josh and Benny Safdie. The first is their clear affection for the art and craft of hustling. From their autobiographical drama Daddy Longlegs to their verité junkie film Heaven Knows What there’s a reliable focus on the often thrilling process of social manipulation and coercion to point where stretches could briefly be mistaken for a con man film if it weren’t for how they never lose sight of how these actions intersect with economic class. For people on the margins of society it is not just a skill but a tool of survival, which is especially true in their moody and expressive 2017 feature Good Time which saw Robert Pattinson’s Connie spend an entire evening engaging in increasingly desperate transactional interactions all across New York in attempt to bail his brother out of prison.

Adam Sandler has embodied many obnoxious, self-absorbed figures over the years, but with “Uncut Gems,” he plays the most contemptible character in a 30-year career. Directors Joshua and Benny Safdie’s followup to “Good Time” is on that same wavelength — abrasive, deranged, driven by an insuppressible blur of movement and noise. It’s also a riveting high-wire act, pairing cosmic visuals with the gritty energy of a dark psychological thriller and sudden bursts of frantic comedy, and it’s the first movie to truly commune with Sandler’s performative strengths since “Punch-Drunk Love.”

After all, it’s a Safdie brothers movie. Ever since 2008’s “The Pleasure of Being Robbed,” these sibling filmmakers have excelled at burrowing inside the mindset of combustible characters driven to destructive tendencies just to survive another day. The dysfunctional father of “Daddy Longlegs” may as well exist in the same restless universe as the furious junkies...

Shot on a $1.5 million budget and ranking as the lowest-budgeted film in Academy Awards’ history, 2017 best picture winner “Moonlight”, highlighted the talent associated to Miami’s burgeoning film community.

To capitalize on the surge in local filmmaking talent, ArtCenter/South Florida has launched a micro-budget Cinematic Arts residency, accepting entries until Sept. 18, that will provide up to $50,000 funding per project for two feature films by Miami-based filmmakers.

The residency will roll-off on Miami’s unique mix of talent and ethnic communities, including a large number of filmmakers with Latin American roots. It will be run by local helmer Jason Fitzroy Jeffers, co-founder of the Third Horizon Film Festival, whose Haiti-set documentary “Papa Machete,” premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and has generated over one million views on NationalGeographic.com.

Projects will be selected by a jury headed by Andrew Hevia, “Moonlight” co-producer and co-founder of the Borscht Film Festival.

Jeffers...

Long before Robert Pattinson took a risk on them by starring in the gritty heist movie “Good Time,” sibling directors Josh and Benny Safdie spent a decade making scrappy, low-budget movies on the streets of New York. Now, they’ve been to Cannes three times, won fans from Hollywood executives and Martin Scorsese alike, and set up their own production company.

Just a few weeks after “Good Time” landed acclaim in competition at Cannes, a big studio project offered them a project. And they said no.

“It’s been a strange confluence of events,” said Benny in an interview a few days before the movie’s release in New York. “It’s just weird, because now there are a lot more people asking us questions—“

Josh, who’s a year and half older at 33, cut in. He does that a lot. “All of a sudden, everyone’s like, ‘Oh, you speak our language.

Josh and Ben Safdie’s Cannes entry “Good Time” doesn’t hit theaters until August 11, but Robert Pattinson fans can get a taste of the crime-drama by listening to a song on the film’s soundtrack from Daniel Lopatin, aka Oneohtrix Point Never. “The Pure and the Damned” is a collaboration with Iggy Pop and closes out the 13-song soundtrack, also out August 11.

Read More: Cannes 2017: The 10 Best Movies of This Year’s Festival

“Good Time,” which won the Soundtrack Award at Cannes last month, follows a bank robber (Pattinson) who finds himself unable to evade those who are looking for him.

“About 8 years ago, we were turned onto the music of Oneohtrix Point Never,” Josh Safdie wrote on the YouTube page for the song. “I had always imagined Dan’s work, especially his earlier work, as soundtracks to movies that never existed.”

Lopatin added, “To me the Safdies...

You always remember your first time. I was there when the two pees in a pod, Ronald Bronstein and Eleonore Hendricks were included in Quinzaine for Go Get Some Rosemary (renamed Daddy Longlegs).

Continue reading...

A24 has purchased the worldwide rights to the Safdie brothers’ next film, the thriller “Uncut Gems,” Deadline reports. Scott Rudin and Eli Bush of Scott Rudin Productions are producing, with Martin Scorsese executive producing. Benny and Josh Safdie co-wrote the script with Ronald Bronstein.

Read More: Cannes: Before ‘Good Time,’ the Safdie Brothers’ ‘Daddy Longlegs’ Reinvented the New York Movie

“Uncut Gems” will star Jonah Hill as Howard Ratner, the central character in a story set in New York City’s Diamond District. Emma Tillinger Koskoff, producer of Scorsese’s “Silence,” “The Wolf of Wall Street” and the upcoming “The Irishman,” will also executive produce.

The Safdie brothers’ new film, “Good Time,” is having its world premiere in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. The movie follows a bank robber, played by Robert Pattinson, who finds himself unable to evade those who are looking for him. “Good Time, the film...

Josh and Benny Safdie have always been on the cusp, impressing many with earlier works like “Daddy Longlegs” and “Heaven Knows What.” Now, they’re getting ready for a larger spotlight with “Good Time,” helped in part by a lead turn from Robert Pattinson.

Featuring an intriguing supporting cast that includes “Captain Phillips” star Barkhad Abdi and Jennifer Jason Leigh, and a score by Oneohtrix Point Never, the story follows a young man who tries get his brother out of jail following a botched bank robbery.

Continue reading Take The Cap Off The First Poster For The Safdies’ ‘Good Time’ Starring Robert Pattinson at The Playlist.

Robert Pattinson is extending his list of films that will have their world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival with “Good Time,” which follows a bank robber who finds himself unable to evade those who are looking for him. The film will play in Competition at Cannes. Pattinson’s previous Cannes movies include David Cronenberg’s “Cosmopolis” and “Maps To The Stars” and David Michod’s “The Rover.”

Watch First Short By ‘Heaven Knows What’ Director Benny Safdie Online For Free

Directed by brothers Ben Safdie and Joshua Safdie, “Good Time” also stars Jennifer Jason Leigh and Barkhad Abdi. Josh Safdie recently commented on the film in an Instagram post, saying:

Good Time, the film we’ve been slaving over for the past 19 months, will world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in the main competition! Here’s a still of #RobertPattinson as Connie. He and everyone else in the film are incredible.

For such a highly anticipated event, the Cannes Film Festival tends to contain a fairly predictable lineup: The Official Selection focuses on established auteurs whose work lands a coveted slot at the flashy gathering on autopilot. That was certainly the case last year, when the 2016 edition opened with a Woody Allen movie and featured new work from the likes of Pedro Almodovar, Nicolas Winding Refn, the Dardennes brothers and Olivier Assayas.

But we live in unpredictable times, and judging by today’s announcement of the Official Selection for Cannes 2017, even the world’s most powerful festival isn’t impervious to change. This year’s Cannes is filled with surprises: television and virtual reality, some intriguing non-fiction selections, and a whole lot of unknown quantities that push the festival in fresh directions.

That’s not to say that there aren’t a few familiar names that stand out. Todd Haynes is...

In order to make accurate predictions about the potential Cannes Film Festival lineup, it’s first important to explore which films definitely won’t make the cut. The glamorous French gathering is notorious for waiting until the last minute before locking in every slot for its Official Selection. That includes competition titles, out of competition titles, a small midnight section and the Un Certain Regard sidebar. Cannes announces the bulk of its selections in Paris on April 13, but until then, there are plenty of ways to make educated guesses. Much of the reporting surrounding the upcoming festival selection is simply lists of films expected to come out this year. However, certain movies are definitely not going to the festival for various reasons.

That’s why our own list of potentials doesn’t include “Image Et Parole,” Jean-Luc Godard’s followup to “Goodbye to Language,” which sales agent Wild Bunch now anticipates as a 2018 title.

The Duplass brothers, Jay and Mark, put together a list of their top nine favorite films available on Sundance Now, the streaming service with award winning films, documentaries and TV series. Their curated collection features the early works of directors like Barry Jenkins, Andrea Arnold and Andrew Haigh, among others.

Since it’s a list for Sundance Now, the brothers recommended movies that in their mind are “quintessentially Sundancian” and have a “rawness of emotion.”

“In my mind, these films have a surprising number of specific elements in common: pin-pointed specific point of view from the director, a first or early film, non-professional actors, an uncontrolled documentary style, low budget, rawness of emotion, and performances that make your subconscious wonder at times if it’s a documentary,” said Jay Duplass. “More than anything, the films feel like they have been made by someone very specific, and you get the feeling...

Built into the independent, Civil War-set feature “Men Go To Battle” was an inherent production challenge: How do you recreate the Civil War on a micro-budget? Director Zachary Treitz had always known to pull it off he’d need to lean on the historical reenactment of the Battle of Perryville.

“Because it was the 150th Anniversary of Perryville, Civil War reenactors were having a national event, which meant instead of having hundreds, they had thousands of men and women replaying the events of the key battle,” Treitz told IndieWire in a recent interview.

Treitz lobbied the reenactment leaders for months to convince them to allow filming, but there was concern the filmmakers would interfere with the allusion of re-living the events.

Read More: James Franco’s Movie Column: Civil War Meets Mumblecore in ‘Men Go To Battle’

“These are men who sleep on the ground in rainy 30 degree weather and...

Is Casey Neistat “the innovator of vlogging”? That was the gushing description heaped on the filmmaker in an introduction to his appearance at Vidcon last week. He was all for the hyperbole. “Say it louder,” he said as he sat down for a discussion about his career. As a professional vlogger, part of Neistat’s product (and his charm) is his persona: A blend of daredevil machismo and heartfelt humility. In person and online, he emanates a playful warmth and a deep love for his fans.

In addition to sharing daily videos on his YouTube channel, Neistat is a filmmaker, producer, and director. He has roots in the indie film world, with a producer credit on John and Benny Safdie’s “Daddy Longlegs,” which won an Independent Spirit Award in 2011, and executive producing “The Pleasure of Being Robbed,” which played Cannes in 2008.

But the Internet has welcomed Neistat more warmly than any film festival.

Toward the end of Daddy Longlegs, Ben and Joshua Safdie's previous narrative feature, the troubled father of the title, played by longtime Safdies collaborator Ronald Bronstein, himself a talented independent filmmaker, fights off a humongous mosquito in his home, while his two sons sleep. It's a quick flash of magical realism topping off an unsettling, darkly comical vision of bumbling parental responsibility, the roots of which are entangled both in a complex, often erratic inner life and the boundless freedom that living in New York City allows those who seemingly have no interest in day jobs, families, a savings account, or, often enough, their own health and safety. In effect, fighting off the mosquito is an eruption of love and sense of responsibility from the father for his children, whereas elsewhere in the movie his paternal instinct seems dubious at best. [caption id="attachment_465591" align="alignright" width="350"] Image via Radius-twc/caption] The idea of responsibility...

With its raw depiction of young junkies looking for their next fix on the mean streets of New York, "Heaven Knows What" wowed audiences at the Venice, Toronto and New York Film Festivals earlier this year. Brothers Josh and Benny Safdie wrote the screenplay with Ronald Bronstein, the star of their 2009 film "Go Get Some Rosemary," which was called "Daddy Longlegs" when it screened at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Read More: Review: Caleb Landry Jones Anchors The Safdie Brothers' Must-See Junkie Drama 'Heaven Knows What' It's almost hard to fathom that "Heaven Knows What" even had a script since the film, which is based on star Arielle Holmes' unpublished memoir about her life as a young addict and her obsession with boyfriend Ilya, blends documentary elements with fictional storytelling. Though the film brings to mind Jerry Schatzberg's 1971 film "Panic in Needle Park" and was shot around the same locations,...

Editor's Note: This interview originally ran November 2014 during the Tokyo Film Festival. When we met Josh and Benny Safdie in a plush bar in Tokyo’s Roppongi Hills (it’s a dirty job but someone’s gotta do it) they were fresh off the stage having just picked up not only the Grand Prix of the Tokyo International Film Festival 2014 for “Heaven Knows What,” (review here) but also the Best Director gong too. (This meant that, happily, as we discuss below, in addition to other prizes, they got two fancy watches from sponsor Seiko and didn’t have to work out how to divvy up just the one). The two have worked together on and off, but mostly on, for nearly a decade. Their first co-directed feature was 2009's “Daddy Longlegs,” and since then they’ve become well-known on the festival arthouse circuit, mostly with a series of short films.

“Heaven Knows What is a horrifying and remarkable piece of cinema that feels both alarmingly alive and alien given its subject matter,” wrote Ty Landis in his glowing review from Tiff 2014. This heroin addiction drama from Ben and Joshua Safdie, is the best of its kind since Requiem for a Dream, as it’s described in this new trailer.

Arielle Holmes and Caleb Landry Jones star in a story about an NYC couple battling addiction while taking part in a love affair. Here’s the full synopsis:

Harley loves Ilya. He gives her life purpose, sets her passion ablaze. So when he asks her to prove her love by slitting her wrists, she obliges with only mild hesitation, perhaps because of her other all-consuming love: heroin.

In Heaven Knows What, by celebrated filmmakers Josh and Benny Safdie (Lenny Cooke, Daddy Longlegs), Arielle Holmes is Harley in her searing film debut,...

“Heaven Knows What” is the latest film from Josh and Ben Safdie. The brothers' first two features, "The Pleasure Of Being Robbed" and "Daddy Longlegs" put them on the radar and appeared at top-tier festivals around the world. Meanwhile, their first feature documentary “Lenny Cooke” hit both the Tribeca Film Festival and Venice Film Festival. And now, you can watch the new trailer for their latest which is also earning them a fair share of attention. The story takes place in New York City’s Upper West Side, telling the tale of two heroin-addicted lovers played by Arielle Holmes and Caleb Landry Jones. The film is based on the true stories told in the book "Mad Love In New York City" written by Holmes, and our review called the movie "a strident, difficult watch" but one that is "nonetheless a truthful, specific film." The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival and won the C.

Ioncinema.com’s Top 3 Critics’ Picks offers a curated approach to the usual quandary: what would you recommend I see in theaters this month? All appearing on the 2014 film festival circuit, the latest from the Safdie Brothers and French filmmakers Quentin Dupieux and Thomas Cailley are an alluringly fresh trio of options for May ’15.

Reality (Réalité) – Quentin Dupieux

May 1st – Limited Release

Distributor: IFC Midnight

Awards & Fests: This premiered in the Horizons section at the 2014 Venice International Film Festival and got plenty of fest play with notable stops at Sitges ’14, AFI Fest ’14 and Rotterdam ’15.

What the critic’s are saying?: Despite the mixed-bag reactions out of Venice, IFC Midnight acquired the rights last November to this micro-nutty versioner of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. IndieWIRE (A-) cautions future audiences by saying that “some viewers may find grating — is that it’s guaranteed to leave audiences scratching their heads...

#1. "Heaven Knows What" (May 29) (Film Page) Directors: Ben Safie and Joshua Safdie Cast: Ron Bruanstein, Eleonore Hendricks, Arielle Holmes, Caleb Landry Jones, Yuri Pleskun Criticwire Average: B+ Why is it a "Must See"? Indiewire's review of "Heaven Knows What" dubbed it a must-watch, with chief film critic Eric Kohn calling it, "A bold attempt to explore drug addiction through behavior." The film comes from Joshua and Benny Sadfie ("Daddy Longlegs"), whose visions of New York City are as strange as they are inspired, and it was awarded the International Confederation of Art Cinemas prize at last year's Venice Film Festival. #2. "Slow West" (May 15) (Film Page) Director: John Maclean Cast: Michael Fassbender, Ben Mendelsohn, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Rory McCann, Alex Macqueen, Brooke Williams Criticwire Average: B+ Why is it a "Must See"? John Maclean's beautifully lensed and powerfully acted modern western took...

Filmmakers Ben and Joshua Safdie have worked together on numerous short films over the years. However, the duo have only worked on one feature film to date, the 2010 film Go Get Some Rosemary. The duo, however, are once again behind a feature film, called Heaven Knows What.

The film, which focuses on a couple in the midst of drug addiction, is based on the story of Arielle Holmes, who also stars in the film, making her acting debut. Holmes used to live in New York City and was addicted to heroin, managing to disengage herself from the drug just months before the movie began filming. Holmes wrote her memoir as she battled through recovery to get clean, which in turn formed the basis for the screenplay for this film. The screenplay itself is written by Ronald Bronstein, who also worked with the Safdie brothers on Go Get Some Rosemary, and Joshua Safdie.

Filmmakers Josh and Benny Safdie are bringing their film “Heaven Knows What” to SXSW. The film, starring “X-Men: First Class” star Caleb Landry-Jones and Arielle Holmes in her acting debut, focuses on Holmes’ tough real life experiences. “Harley loves Ilya. He gives her life purpose, sets her passion ablaze. So when he asks her to prove her love by slitting her wrists, she obliges with only mild hesitation, perhaps because of her other all-consuming love: heroin. In Heaven Knows What, by celebrated filmmakers Josh and Benny Safdie (Lenny Cooke, Daddy Longlegs), Arielle Holmes is Harley in her searing film debut, based on her real-life story of l’amour fou, heroin addiction, [ Read More ]

The post Celebrated Indie Film Heaven Knows What To Screen at SXSW appeared first on Shockya.com.

Drug addiction has been explored countless times on the big screen, but we may have never seen a story so grimy, brutal and intense as what seems to be on display in the red band trailer for Heaven Knows What. Directed by Josh & Benny Safdie, this film looks like a raw glimpse into the true story of a young woman who lived an unbelievable life addicted to drugs on the streets of New York City. The trailer itself is a bit trippy, giving just a taste of what the film might be like to experience as we follow Harley (Arielle Holmes acting out her real-life story) and her harrowing addiction. This one could be really hard to actually watch. Here's the red band trailer for Josh & Benny Safdie's Heaven Knows What from Radius-twc: Heaven Knows What is directed by Josh & Benny Safdie (Lenny Cooke, Daddy Longlegs), who co-wrote the script with Ronald Bronstein.