News

Caper opens on a routine poker evening among six old friends in Brooklyn, only to detonate into full-blown crisis when Phil mistakenly sends a risqué selfie to his boss instead of his lover. Within seconds, a silly prank morphs into a desperate scramble: hack the cloud, outwit doormen, even infiltrate a neon-soaked nightclub. Dean Imperial keeps the clock ticking close to 90 minutes, so there’s no time for lulls—each scene propels the gang deeper into New York’s offbeat corners.

New York itself feels alive: graffiti-tagged subway cars, shadowy alleyways, upscale lobbies where joy jumps straight to panic. Christopher Tramantana stands out as Chris, the weary theatre director whose quick wit and off-kilter compassion anchor the group’s frantic efforts. His rapport with Asa James’s Duke and Ron Palais’s Phil gives the film its emotional spike whenever their clumsy heroics threaten to tip into chaos.

Imperial wears...

There are certainly strategies worse than going all-in on New York City neighborhood flavor to sustain a crowd-pleaser. It isn’t just the power of location shooting, but also the access to a vast array of untapped, scruffy actors living in the area. Put a bunch of them in a van with a pizza and that could be solid enough foundation for a film. It could even be called something simple — like “Caper.” Does it really need to be more complicated than that?

Perhaps not always, but definitely here. Writer-director Dean Imperial loses on such a gamble with his tedious feature debut, which tracks an unhinged night of escapades between a bunch of poker buddies. Some of them are pushing middle age, several are even a few years past it, but they’re all about to turn juvenile. One of their compadres (Ron Palais) is spiraling toward suicide after erroneously...

"That's what friends are for," as the saying goes, but it's something that gets more difficult with each passing decade. You know what they say — one of Jesus' biggest miracles was being a 30-something man with 12 good friends. For those who are already in their 30s, 40s, or even 50s, hopefully you still have a posse that's close-knit enough to save your sorry butt if you happen to pull something idiotic at such a seasoned age. Yes, the new indie comedy Caper, premiering at this year's SXSW, suggests that you don't have to be Gen Z to pull a whoopsie and send an accidental text to the wrong person, potentially yielding horrifically dire consequences. That's because the text itself could be classified as something Merriam-Webster defines as a "sext." Ever heard of it? You can figure it out if not.

And what's even sillier about the outrageous premise of Caper...

There’s still one week left in Oscar season, but the film calendar waits for nobody. Days after Hollywood descends upon the Dolby Theater to see who emerges victorious from this year’s awards race, the independent film world will turn its attention to Austin when the 2025 SXSW Film and TV festival kicks off next week. The lineup is filled with major premieres, from headliners starring A-list talent to indies that could serve as launchpads for the next wave of exciting voices.

One of those films looking to make its mark on festivalgoers is Dean Imperial’s “Caper,” for which IndieWire can exclusively debut the trailer. A comedy about all of the opportunities that technology creates for men to misbehave, the sex comedy follows a group of friends who spend a night trying to ensure their gross private communications don’t bring down their careers by falling into the wrong hands.

In season one of The Sopranos, Tony Soprano suggests that if he were not in the mob maybe he’d be “selling patio furniture off Route 22.” Well, in the dystopian future of Lapsis, maybe Tony would be like Ray (Dean Imperial), a portly New Yorker from Queens who’s lured into working for Cblr, a tech firm whose contractors lay cables for the latest ‘Quantum’ computer technology. Now, connecting obelisks with cables laid haphazardly along the countryside floor is not at all credible, but Lapsis is a smart little sci-fi satire of the gig-economy that is bolstered by a great performance from Imperial.

Anyone who’s seen The Sopranos will clock Ray and Tony’s resemblance in an instant. Ray has the slicked back hair and masculine corpulence that Anna (Madeline Wise), another Cblr worker, describes as a ‘Seventies mobster vibe’. She’s not wrong, but the vibe is strictly...

Noah Hutton’s techno fable lays bare the indignities of modern gig work – but dadaist touches blunt its edge

This sensitive but flawed sci-fi comic dystopia walks the strange new frontier of the modern gig economy that has also been explored by Ken Loach’s Sorry We Missed You and Nomadland. It takes place, like Boots Riley’s Sorry to Bother You, in an innocuous present tinged with an Instagram-filter of light futurism. And it is driven by a similar sly ideological fury as Sorry to Bother You – only it is even more absurdist and, crucially, not as funny.

A rare case of an actor whose real name fits the role even better, Dean Imperial plays Ray, an old-school denizen of New York – complete with wifebeater and tinted shades – forced to seek out lucrative new work in order to put his brother Jamie (Babe Howard) into a clinic to...

Stars: Dean Imperial, Babe Howard, James McDaniel, Madeline Wise, Ivory Aquino, Dora Madison, Frank Wood, Arliss Howard | Written and Directed by Noah Hutton

Welcome to the world of the gig economy gone quantum, literally. Lapsis, the first fictional feature from documentarian Noah Hutton posits a near future/alternative present where quantum computing has gone mainstream. And the new “ride share” is cabling, running fiber across the wilderness to link massive slab like junction boxes.

Ray (Dean Imperial) struggles to make ends meet as a driver for a shady airport delivery service. He doesn’t have a wife or kids but he does have a brother Jamie (Babe Howard) who suffers from Omnia, a chronic-fatigue like ailment. Getting him into a treatment program is well beyond his means. So, despite his technophobia and lack of physical conditioning, he turns to Cblr, one of the companies hiring “independent contractors”’ to lay cable for quantum personal computers.

The ever-changing world markets are influencing the existences of people of all economic classes. Actor Dean Imperial‘s protagonist of Ray in the upcoming sci-fi movie, ‘Lapsis,’ is forced to take on a new blue-collar job in an ever-changing gig economy, in an effort to take care of his ailing younger brother, but is ultimately faced […]

The post Actor Dean Imperial Enters the Gig Economy Through Quantum Cabling in Lapsis Exclusive Clip appeared first on Shockya.com.

With Sundance Film Festival now in the rearview, it’s time to look at the worthwhile new releases of February. Featuring the roll-out of Oscar hopefuls, imaginative sci-fi features, and more, it’s a compelling line-up. We’ll also note that French Exit, which was considered for the list, will only get a small NY/LA release this month before returning in April, so we’ll feature it then.

13. A Glitch in the Matrix (Rodney Ascher)

Room 237 director Rodney Ascher has returned, this time to explore the very fabric of reality, or lack thereof. John Fink said in his review of the recent Sundance premiere, “I often wonder what influential film theorist Andre Bazin would make of VR and simulations, especially when this year’s Sundance has virtualized the festival experience in a way that benefits from a longer runway than most cultural events pivoting likewise. It’s only fitting...

As we close the books on 2020 and turn towards a new year, one of the first essential sci-fi features to seek out is Lapsis, a selection at SXSW last year that will now arrive in February. Written and directed by Noah Hutton, with a cast featuring Dean Imperial, Crashing stand-out Madeline Wise, Babe Howard, and Arliss Howard, the film is set in an alternate present of NY where the quantum computing revolution has begun. The story centers on a Queens delivery man who becomes a “cabler” in this gig economy to connect miles of infrastructure needed to have the quantum trading market succeed.

Jared Mobarak said in our review, “I don’t want to say too much since Hutton crafts this look at capitalism’s stronghold over regular people with a knowledgeable eye on how the system works, how it keeps boots on necks, and how those necks struggle to free themselves.

"I'm just out here working like everybody else, man." Film Movement has released an official trailer for an intriguing indie sci-fi film titled Lapsis, made by filmmaker Noah Hutton. This originally premiered at the Bucheon Fantastic Film Festival, and it also played at the Nashville, Scottsdale, Mill Valley, Virginia, and St. Louis Film Festivals (virtually) throughout this year. Struggling to support himself and his ailing younger brother, delivery man Ray takes a strange job as a "cabler" in a strange new realm of the gig economy. This film is set in an alternate reality where the quantum computing revolution has begun, but they need to hire people to connect the cables for miles between huge magnetic cubes. Called "a smart class-conscious sci-fi parable" by THR, Lapsis is a darkly comic and very timely look at the gig economy and the failed utopian promises of big tech. Starring Dean Imperial, Madeline Wise,...

Noah Hutton’s Lapsis is a low-tech science fiction movie that examines corporate monopolies and labor relations, while also exploring the role of the Everyman in the gigantic web that corporate control can create.

Ray (Dean Imperial) is struggling. He works a dead-end job and barely makes enough money to make ends meet. His younger brother is sick, and Ray needs a big payday to earn enough to cover a treatment program at a fancy clinic. He turns to a (somewhat shady) friend, who hooks him up with a job as a cabler, running cable lines through the woods to better connect the latest technology: Quantum Computers.

Ray is a tad tech challenged. He shows up and does the work, but has little understanding of exactly what he is accomplishing or how it all works under the hood. His job is to lay the cable. The more cable he lays,...

As multi-billion dollar corporations expand their reach within their respective industries (and beyond), the wage gap in our country increases. Executives are granted astronomical bonuses while the people on the ground floor are shifted from full-time employment to freelancers as a way to mitigate the possibility of unions, paying health insurance, etc. Welcome to the gig economy: a capitalist spin promising “self-employment” and freedom while actually trending towards isolation so that anyone can be cut loose before they start costing more to keep on the payroll than they’re worth in profits. Meet your quota. Follow the automated voice about break time. Compete with your fellow workers and quite literally take food out of their mouths upon winning while your bosses laugh over a scotch on the golf course.

While that description may sound like Amazon’s worldwide takeover of every business that can be privatized, cheapened, and commoditized from...

Space opera and dolled-up fantasy aside, there are two types of science fiction: the classic sort, in which a problem caused or brought about by science is solved using science, and the satirical sort, in which an extrapolated future or alternative present is imagined as a means of commenting on current concerns which are difficult to address directly. Lapsis is a film of the latter type, and its gently paced, low-fi approach should make it accessible to a wide audience.

Dean Imperial plays Ray, a middle aged guy with thinning hair who is carrying a bit more weight than he used to and has seen some of his dreams drift out of reach, but who is, broadly speaking, getting by in life. Ray's problem is that his younger brother Jamie (Babe Howard) is suffering from an emergent form of chronic fatigue syndrome called omnia, and it's getting worse. on good days.

In our final batch of Fantasia Film Festival coverage, we have an assortment of titles including a pair of fascinating sci-fi movies, a pair of documentaries and a tale of social media obsession taken too far.

Lapsis

Set in a near-future where quantum computing is an emerging technology, Ray (Dean Imperial) takes a job laying cable for one of the major companies as a way to make a quick buck to pay for his brother's treatment for an illness that some don't even believe exist.

Writer/director Noah Hutton's Lapsis is a smart indie-drama that taps into a number of ideas in a movie set in a near-future reality that only lightly skirts science fiction. Led by a fantastic lead p...

It’s taken a very long time for the term “economic inequality” to approach popular usage, but we seem to be getting there at last. Gig-worker business models, government policies and the declining power of unions have contributed to many Americans’ feeling the deck is stacked against them in ways that the old-school values of enterprise, thrift and even education can no longer override.

Still, as urgent as the issue is, it’s not easily dramatized — not without sticking to the still-sexy malfeasance of high-end wrongdoers in movies like “The Wolf of Wall Street” or “The Big Short.” Noah Hutton’s “Lapsis” manages to meet that challenge in entertainingly original terms, however. This tale of a floundering gig-economy worker straddles both the bleak present-tense reality of Ken Loach’s “Sorry We Missed You” and the subversive near-future political satire of Boots Riley’s “Sorry to Bother You” while arriving at...

Exclusive: The Noah Hutton-directed sci-fi dramedy Lapsis has been acquired by Film Movement. The pic is set to debut via virtual cinema in Q4 of this year and followed by a release on all home entertainment and digital platforms.

Marking Hutton’s feature debut, Lapsis was a nominee for the 2020 SXSW Grand Jury Award. The dramedy takes place in a “parallel present” and follows a delivery man by the name of Ray Tincelli (Dean Imperial). He is struggling to support himself and his ailing younger brother. After a series of hustles and unsuccessful swindles, Ray takes a job in a strange new realm of the gig economy: trekking deep into the forest, pulling cable over miles of terrain to connect large, metal cubes that link together the new quantum trading market. As he gets pulled deeper into the zone, he encounters growing hostility and the threat of robot cablers,...

While the 2020 SXSW Film Festival has been canceled due to the coronavirus, IndieWire is covering select titles from this year’s edition.

Noah Hutton’s feature debut takes place in a “parallel present,” but nothing about clever sci-fi dramedy “Lapsis” feels that removed from the contemporary world. “Lapsis” is as much about the tightly constructed world Hutton has created as the one his audience lives within.

More from IndieWireMemo to Distributors: Seek Out These 2020 SXSW TV PilotsKris Rey on How Directing a $10,000 Movie Led to a Crowdpleaser Produced by The Lonely Island

Schlubby leading man Ray (Dean Imperial) — a supporting character accuses him of having a “70s mobster vibe,” and that’s not far off — serves as our window into the world of “Lapsis.” A regular Joe adorned in aviator glasses and polyester shirts, Ray works a blue collar job in Queens, and knows world is starting to move past him,...

Before Sundance gets underway, SXSW has unveiled the first wave of their film lineup. This year’s slate includes Judd Apatow’s Pete Davidson-led comedy The King of Staten Island, a new Spike Jonze-directed Beastie Boys documentary, an intriguing new film by Amy Seimetz, and more.

There’s also The Lovebirds, directed by Michael Showalter (The Big Sick) and starring Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani, whose comedic stylings coalesce astoundingly well in the first trailer. The duo play Leilani and Jibran, a couple who are accidentally embroiled in a murder mystery as a man claiming to be a cop commits murder with their car and leaves them with the evidence.

Ahead of a release on April 3, see the trailer below, followed by the SXSW 2020 lineup.

Narrative Feature Competition

Ten world premieres, ten unique ways to celebrate the art of storytelling. Selected from 1,305 narrative feature submissions in 2020.

Holler

Director...

The 27th edition of the SXSW Film Festival will feature a romantic caper starring Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani, a documentary about the Beastie Boys directed by Spike Jonze, a “hidden camera” comedy headlined by Tiffany Haddish and an autobiographical studio vehicle from Pete Davidson.

Thousands of moviegoers will flock to Austin, Texas, starting on March 13 for the annual gathering, which is a launching pad for major summer — or spring — studio releases, as well as smaller independent films and buzzy TV shows.

“King of Staten Island,” which stars Davidson, will open the fest. The movie is directed by Judd Apatow, who is no stranger to SXSW, having brought many of his hit projects — from “Knocked Up” to “Bridesmaids” — to screen first at SXSW.

Other high-profile titles that will premiere in Austin include “The Lovebirds,” a comedy from Michael Showalter, with Rae and Nanjiani trying to solve a murder mystery; “Bad Trip,...

The 27th edition of the SXSW Film Festival has unveiled its robust slate of feature and episodic premieres which will kick off with its opening night film, Judd Apatow’s The King of Staten Island starring Saturday Night Live cast member Pete Davidson. The fest is set to run March 13-22 in Austin.

In The King of Staten Island, Davidson is a burnout living in the titular New York City borough with his mom played by Oscar-winning actress Marisa Tomei. The movie, which will make its world premiere at SXSW, also stars Bill Burr, Bel Powley, Steve Buscemi and Maude Apatow.

“Judd Apatow has consistently provided transcendent, exhilarating experiences at SXSW, starting with Knocked Up, then Bridesmaids, Trainwreck, Girls, The Big Sick, and his documentary May it Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers,” said Janet Pierson, Director of Film. “This March it’s our particular privilege to present his...

“The King of Staten Island,” written by Judd Apatow and Pete Davidson, as well as “Bad Trip” starring Tiffany Haddish and Eric Andre, have been announced as part of the 2020 SXSW Film Festival lineup.

“Pink Skies Ahead,” starring Mary J. Blige and Marcia Gay Hayden, “Violet,” starring Olivia Munn and Justin Theroux, Spike Jonze’s “Beastie Boys Story” documentary, and “The Love Birds,” starring Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani,” will also be debuting at the festival.

Alex Gibney will be returning with “Crazy, Not Insane,” a documentary about the minds of serial killers. “The King of Staten Island” is also the festival’s Opening Night Film.

Also Read: 'SNL': Pete Davidson's Parody of Michael Avenatti Gets a 'Total Loser' Review From the Attorney

In total, 102 features and episodics were announced on Wednesday — dozens of additional titles will be announced on Feb. 5. The 2020 program was selected from 2,316 feature-length film submissions. The...

Appreciating all people for who they are is one of the most important messages of social justice in modern society. But in a world where appearances on social media is one of the most culturally important driving forces in creating someone’s status, accepting those who are different as equals isn’t always easily done. In a […]

The post SXSW 2019 Interview: Dean Imperial, Sam Gilroy and Richard Cooper Talk Hammerhead (Exclusive) appeared first on Shockya.com.

The 2018 edition of the New York Television Festival (Nytvf) was held this past week after previously taking place in October, but despite its new dates, the festival continued to support the work of independent creators. Hammerhead, a project from creator Dean Imperial about a man who a deformed forehead who hopes to "climb the ladder of success," won several of the event's top award, including the coveted "Best of the Fest" title.

In addition to taking home Nytvf's most notable distinction, Hammerhead earned the festival's Nytvf Critics Award. Its lead actor, Sam Gilroy, snagged an award as well. Other winners included the heavenly series Avant-Guardians, which was named Best Short-Form Drama/Dramedy Project, and the comedy SusaneLand, which scooped up the Best Short-Form Comedy Project title.

Visit Tubefilter for more great stories.

The 14th New York Television Festival wrapped its first summer edition today by awarding the off-kilter independent pilot Hammerhead its two top prizes.

The story of an up-and-comer in New York determined not to let his deformed head derail his ambitions captured the Overall Best of Fest Award and Nytvf Critics Award. The Best Comedy Project award went to Smüchr; Best Animated Project was Omega House (which also scored a development deal from Comedy Central); and Best Drama or Dramedy Project was Paint.

After the fest’s shift from its traditional fall arrival, a move aimed at synchronizing with the industry’s development cycle, organizers said the summer fest hosted 620 development meetings, the most in its history. In all, 75 companies took part in the festival, a cross-section of networks, studios, agencies and digital platforms. The festival screened 59 pilots, recognizing top projects in 16 categories.

In its third year, the Nytvf Scripts competition featured 21 selections,...

“Hammerhead,” the story of a cunning young man trying to make his way in New York City, took top awards at the New York Television Festival.

The festival, which concludes today, features a competition for independently produced pilots, a script contest and a competition to land development deals with major cable networks and production banners. “Hammerhead,” created by New York-based filmmaker Dean Imperial, won the best of the fest award as well as the critics kudo. This year’s gathering featured screenings of 59 pilots.

“Independent television hasn’t only arrived – it is stronger than ever,” said Nytvf founder and executive director Terence Gray. “Each year, I am floored by how much the quality of the work submitted by the independent television community continues to improve — having received more than 3,300 submissions for the third year in a row. I’m honored that our partners have embraced the Festival as a go-to...

The first season of Bravo’s “Imposters” focused on Ezra (Rob Heaps), Jules (Marianne Rendón), and Richard (Parker Young) — aka the “Bumblers” — learning to be con artists in their own right as they went after revenge on their shared ex Maddie (Inbar Lavi), who had stolen their hearts — and their money. But the second season is now out to show the consequences of their actions.

“Season 2 [follows] what happens when the thing that makes you yourself is taken away — who do you become?” executive producer Paul Adelstein tells Variety.

The Bumblers are still on the run when the show returns — and “don’t have justification anymore,” Heaps says.

But while the show centers on characters who are con artists, the heart of the series lies in themes of trust and identity, say Adelstein and series creator Adam Brooks. The second season will be a “voyage of discovery” for all of the characters,...