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The cutthroat world of agribusiness gets the spotlight in At Any Price, a Farmville soap opera with a curiously cynical look at Midwestern prairie life. This earnest generational drama from writer/director Ramin Bahrani never comes together to work as a whole, but some good performances and peculiar plot turns make it a more entertaining experience than perhaps it should be. At Any Price centers on the Whipple family of rural Iowa, specifically Henry Whipple (Dennis Quaid) and Dean Whipple (Zack Efron), father and son farmers with different outlooks on life. Henry has worked hard to maintain his inherited and lucrative seed farming empire and treats his business as an aggressive capitalist enterprise. He’s introduced at a funeral, shamelessly hitting up the family of the deceased to sell him their land. Henry is being investigated for breaking his contract with corporate giant Liberty Seed (a thinly-veiled Monsanto) by reusing...

At Any Price

Written by Ramin Bahrani and Hallie Elizabeth Newton

Directed by Ramin Bahrani

USA, 2012

Director Ramin Bahrani, whose previous films include Man Push Cart (2005), Chop Chop (2007) and Goodbye Solo (2008), tends to push his characters to their very limits. With his latest effort, At Any Price, he makes no exception. Here, the characters seem to barely be able to keep their heads above water, forcing them to reevaluate their decisions and begin building upon uncertain futures.

Set in a small farming community in the Midwest, At Any Price is the age old story of the struggle between fathers and sons. Dennis Quaid brilliantly plays the part of Henry Whipple, a fourth generation corn farmer obsessed with the idea of being the number one distributer of seed to seven counties in southern Iowa. The conflict is, he is facing more problems than fighting for the holding of this coveted title:...

1. Northwest

Directed By: Michael Noer

Denmark, 2013

Power and money are the vital forces in this high octane crime thriller. When organized crime grabs hold of the way of life for desperate Casper, he must rely on the only person he can trust: his brother. Michael Noer carefully balances the brutish depiction of street crime with the tenderness of growing up in a tight knit family. The film breaks any spell of an innocent youth being corrupt by crime, by shining the spotlight on a delinquent who turns around and becomes innocent.

2. Flex Is Kings

Directed By: Deidre Schoo and Michael Beach Nichols

USA, 2013

Originating in Brooklyn, flexing, or a style of freeform street dance, is the subject matter behind Deidre Schoo and Michael Beach Nichol’s solid documentary, Flex Is Kings. Characterized by rhythmic contortionist movements combined with waving, tutting and gliding; the film is about so much more than the subject matter at hand.

At Any Price is the story of Henry Whipple (Quaid), a family man running a large farming empire in Iowa corn country. He faces direct competition against Jim Johnson (Clancy Brown), along with opposition to continuing the family legacy from one of his sons, (played by Zac Efron). At Any Price is the story of an American salesman trying to survive brutal competition, especially when “Expand or Die” has become the mantra of all farmers.

Director Bahrani had been a top favorite director of late critic Roger Ebert, and previously has made films like Chop Shop, Goodbye Solo, and Man Push Cart. He co-wrote At Any Price with Hallie Elizabeth Newton.

I sat down with Quaid and Rahmani in a roundtable interview to discuss At Any Price, its relevancy to the nation’s economic crisis, Quaid’s goals as an actor, and more.

At Any Price opens in Chicago on May 3.

Dennis,...

Dennis Quaid and Zac Efron chew on some dramatic family dynamics in Ramin Bahrani's new film "At Any Price." Golden boy Efron plays rebellious Dean Whipple, a tough teen who would much rather race cars on the local circuit than take over the family farming business. His dad Dean (Quaid) is feeling the pinch of the economy and changing farming climate, where genetically modified seeds are a crucial part of the new economy. "At Any Price," which is part of this year's Tribeca Film Festival, is the latest drama from independent writer/director Ramin Bahrani, who shares writing credits with Hallie Elizabeth Newton. His previous movies include buzzy arthouse favorites like "Goodbye Solo," "Chop Shop," and "Man Push Cart." Although things between Efron and Quaid get hairy onscreen, they're a chummy duo when we meet to talk about the film. The cast that Efron was sporting at the MTV...

At Any Price

USA, 2012

Directed by Ramin Bahrani

Written by Hallie Elizabeth Newton, Ramin Bahrani

Established indie director Ramin Bahrani (Man Push Cart, Chop Shop and Goodbye Solo) sharply evokes layered complexity among character performances and ideologies in his new farming family drama, At Any Price. Co-written by Hallie Elizabeth Newton, the film tells the story of empire hungry Henry Whipple (Dennis Quad) as he competes with bigger business, in a modern post-Monsanto farming community. Riddled by the failing interests of his rebellious race car driver son Dean (Zac Efron), Henry is pushed beyond ethical bounds as an unexpected crisis threatens the integrity of his family’s existence.

Brilliantly portrayed and largely misunderstood, Quad plays Whipple with such self-awareness to camp and corniness, that his performance is largely seen as unnecessarily over-the-top and bombastic. Yet, it is in fact necessary. If Whipple is seen as an act, it’s because...

At Any Price is truly a baffling film. At many times I found myself laughing, I found my mouth agape, I buried my head in my hands… And I hardly think that was the filmmaker’s intended audience reaction. It’s almost hard to believe that someone actually wrote this thing, that the film is even for real. This is especially surprising since the film’s writer/director, Ramin Bahrani (who co-scripted with Hallie Elizabeth Newton), has several good indie films under his belt, including Goodbye Solo and Man Push Cart. The film throws logic and caution to the wind, features an insanely campy performance from Dennis Quaid, flip-flops each character’s motivation with abandon, has zero regard for morality and never ceases to have a cheese factor that explodes through the roof. On the positive end (which is understandably quite narrow), the two race car scenes were shot well, as...

Sony Pictures Classics' From Any Price adventure drama has several new clips, and new photos. The Ramin Bahrani film opens April 24, 2013 and stars Zac Efron, Heather Graham and Dennis Quaid. In the competitive world of modern agriculture, ambitious Henry Whipple (Quaid) wants his rebellious son Dean (Efron) to help expand his family’s farming empire. However, Dean has his sights set on becoming a professional race car driver. When a high-stakes investigation into their business is exposed, father and son are pushed into an unexpected crisis that threatens the family’s entire livelihood. Also with Clancy Brown, Kim Dickens, Malika Monroe, Chelcie Ross, Red West, Sophie Curtis, At Any Price is screenwritten by Hallie Elizabeth Newton and Bahrani, and produced by Teddy Scharzman, Kevin Turen, Pamela Koffler, Christin Vachon, Justin Nappi and Bahrani.

Sony Pictures Classics' From Any Price adventure drama has several new clips, and new photos. The Ramin Bahrani film opens April 24, 2013 and stars Zac Efron, Heather Graham and Dennis Quaid. In the competitive world of modern agriculture, ambitious Henry Whipple (Quaid) wants his rebellious son Dean (Efron) to help expand his family’s farming empire. However, Dean has his sights set on becoming a professional race car driver. When a high-stakes investigation into their business is exposed, father and son are pushed into an unexpected crisis that threatens the family’s entire livelihood. Also with Clancy Brown, Kim Dickens, Malika Monroe, Chelcie Ross, Red West, Sophie Curtis, At Any Price is screenwritten by Hallie Elizabeth Newton and Bahrani, and produced by Teddy Scharzman, Kevin Turen, Pamela Koffler, Christin Vachon, Justin Nappi and Bahrani.

Tribeca’s 12th annual festival, running from April 17-28, recently announced its feature film selections in the Spotlight and Midnight sections. According to Tribeca’s website, “The Spotlight section features 33 films — 21 narratives and 12 documentaries — that blur the lines of independent and mainstream filmmaking. Twenty-three films in the selection will have their world premieres at the Festival, a record number for the section.” See below for the official press release of this year’s lineup in all four categories.

2013 Tribeca Film Festival Announces Selections

For Spotlight, Midnight And New Storyscapes Sections, And Special Screenings

First-ever Storyscapes Section Showcases Innovative New Media Projects with Cross-platform Approaches to Storytelling

The Tribeca Film Festival (Tff) announced its feature film selections in the Spotlight and Midnight sections, projects in the new Storyscapes section and Special Screenings. The 12th edition of the Festival will take place from April 17 to April 28 in New York City.

The Spotlight...

Yesterday the Tribeca Film Festival announced their feature film selections for their Spotlight and Midnight sections which include 21 narrative and 12 documentary projects.

This year’s choices bring us films featuring a bevy of top Hollywood talent including Paul Rudd, Paul Giamatti, John Cusack,, Gemma Arterton and Zoe Kazan.

In a press release that accompanied the roster, Genna Terranova, Director of Programming for the festival said: “The documentary films in the Spotlight section this year highlight several famous individuals (including one very cute cat) who use their wit and bold personas to make us think and laugh. A mix of established filmmakers and rising talent top off the rest of the section with features exploring some fresh takes on unconventional relationships.”

The festival will feature the world premieres of several highly-anticipated film projects from indie mainstays like Neil Labute and Richard Linklater, as well as new projects from veteran directors like...

Tribeca Film Festival organizers announced on Wednesday 33 films ticketed for the Spotlight section of the April fest, including new movies starring John Cusack, Ethan Hawke, Zoe Kazan and Melissa Leo.

“A mix of established filmmakers and rising talent top off the rest of the section with features exploring some fresh takes on unconventional relationships,” said Tribeca director of programming Genna Terranova in a press release. The Tribeca Film Festival had previously announced "Mistaken For Strangers," a documentary about The National, as the opening night film, plus a full slate of documentary and feature films in competition.

Some highlights from the Spotlight roster include the world premieres of "Adult World" (with Emma Roberts and John Cusack), "Almost Christmas" (with Paul Rudd and Paul Giamatti), "A Case of You" (with Justin Long), "Some Velvet Morning" (with Stanley Tucci and Evan Rachel Wood), "Trust Me" (with Sam Rockwell, William H. Macy and more...

The Tribeca Film Festival announced the second half of its movie slate today with a lineup that includes Emma Roberts in Adult World, Zac Efron in racing-cum-farming drama At Any Price, and Richard Linklater’s Before Midnight. The releases are in the following categories, which make up the second half of the festival’s feature list: Spotlight, Midnight, Special Screenings, and Storyscapes, a new category this year to recognize work in transmedia — films the incorporate web-based and cross-platform elements.

The Spotlight selection — 33 films: 21 narratives and 12 documentaries — stands out for its range of titles, including premieres from indie darlings (Junebug director Phil Morrison,...

Zac Efron has been doing a brilliant job of diversifying his career in recent years, and At Any Price is the latest and perhaps greatest example so far of his dramatic talents.

Debuting at Venice last year, the film continued its tour on the festival circuit at Tiff – you can read our review here – and will be distributed in the Us this spring by Sony Pictures Classics.

With its April release date on the horizon, the first trailer has been released over at Yahoo Movies, giving us a great first look at the film.

“In the competitive world of modern agriculture, ambitious Henry Whipple wants his rebellious son Dean to help expand his family’s farming empire. However, Dean has his sights set on becoming a professional race car driver. When a high-stakes investigation into their business is exposed, father and son are pushed into an unexpected crisis that threatens the family’s entire livelihood.

Sony Pictures Classics has released a new clip and images from Ramin Bahrani's At Any Price family adventure drama, starring Zac Efron, Heather Graham, Dennis Quaid, Clancy Brown, Kim Dickens and Malika Monroe. The film which made its premiere on September 9th at the Toronto International Film Festival, is helmed by Ramin Bahrani who writes alongside Hallie Elizabeth Newton. In the competitive world of modern agriculture, ambitious Henry Whipple (Dennis Quaid) wants his rebellious son Dean (Zac Efron) to help expand his family’s farming empire. However, Dean has his sights set on becoming a professional race car driver. When a high-stakes investigation into their business is exposed, father and son are pushed into an unexpected crisis...