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Sharon Osbourne knows of Mama June Shannon whose current season of Mama June:Family Crisis airs on Wetv. Back in the day, the pop culture personality interviewed the mom of Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson. So this week, Sharon spilled some tea: some stinking hot tea.

Sharon Osbourne Recalls Mama June Interview

Ozzy Osbourne and Kelly joined Sharon on their podcast and they discussed the possibility of leaving for the UK. As usual, a wide range of things were discussed, but for the Mama June Shannon angle, the time stamp at 42:50 matters.

Honey Boo Boo/YouTube

The subject of Mama June arose when Sharon Osbourne talked about the trashy tabloids and how she barely knows any of the people mentioned in the UK. Meanwhile, she wondered if Mama June Shannon was “still alive.” Additionally, she noted that in her mind, she associated her with Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. So,...

Real Housewives of Orange County star Shannon Beador is firing back at her ex-boyfriend John Janssen. The latest updates regarding John’s lawsuit against Shannon for fraud seem to be going up in smoke. Keep reading to see what has unfolded.

Shannon Beador Pushes Back In Facelift Lawsuit

John Janssen filed a lawsuit against Shannon Beador, accusing the Rhoc star of owing him thousands of dollars that he loaned her for a facelift. However, recent court documents show that Shannon claims that John has failed to provide any evidence to back up his fraud accusations.

Additionally, the Bravo star said that John’s request for punitive damages should be thrown out if the judge agrees to hear the fraud case. Shannon’s lawyer wrote, “[John] has not alleged sufficient facts to state a fraud cause of action, and therefore has not alleged sufficient frauds for punitive damages.”

Shannon Beador-YouTube

On top of that,...

Prepare for an emotional rollercoaster in the upcoming episode of “Intervention” titled “Shannon.” This episode delves into the life of Shannon, a dedicated animal rescuer whose life takes a devastating turn when she falls into the grips of drug addiction. Despite her unwavering commitment to saving animals, Shannon finds herself unable to rescue herself from the clutches of addiction.

Viewers will witness Shannon’s struggle as she navigates through a web of childhood trauma, sexual abuse, and toxic relationships, all of which contribute to her downward spiral. The episode promises to shed light on the complexities of addiction and the profound impact it can have on an individual’s life, relationships, and sense of self.

As Shannon’s story unfolds, audiences will be taken on a journey filled with heartache, hope, and the resilience of the human spirit. Tune in at 10:01 Pm on Monday, June 17, 2024, on A&e to witness...

It started with a single mental image: Two men in a car, driving down dark Southern backroads in the middle of the night, with no lights on. "I couldn't get it out of my head," writer-director Jeff Nichols says, squinting as the sunlight pours through the picture window in his Berlin hotel room. "It was this out-of-nowhere vision of guys going very, very fast, just booking it in a muscle car in the dead of night. It felt cool, you know, but for some reason, I thought: Well, this is a very sci-fi image.

The Sundance Film Festival brings the most original storytellers together with the most adventurous audiences for its annual program of dramatic and documentary films, shorts, New Frontier films, installations, performances, panel discussions, and dynamic music events. Since 1985, hundreds of films launched at the Festival have gained critical recognition, received commercial distribution, and reached worldwide audiences eager for fresh perspectives and new voices. Year after year, the Festival pursues new ways to introduce more people to the most original and authentic storytelling.

Love & Friendship

Directed and written by Whit Stillman

Ireland/France/Netherlands, 2016

The Last Days of Disco, Metropolitan, and Barcelona were amongst the best of 90s independent cinema, if one had the stomach for incessant dissections of ego, academia, and capitalism. With more talking than action, director/writer Whit Stillman brought us complex comedies of manners that had to be intently listened to in order to distill satisfaction. Selfish and...

"99 Homes," starring Andrew Garfield, Michael Shannon, and Laura Dern, is one thriller of a movie.

Based on true events about the home foreclosure crisis, this movie will have your blood boiling and you gripping the arm rest in anger knowing people really were losing their homes left and right -- and given only minutes to vacate them.

"99 Homes" centers on a greedy, heat-packing real estate broker (Shannon) who makes money by evicting people from their foreclosed homes. He shows up with sheriff's deputies and a lock smith, and gives people two minutes to pack up all their worldly possessions and get out. Most people are stunned and still on the phone with their lawyers or their banks, trying to modify their home loans but to no avail. One of his evicted victims, Garfield's Dennis Nash, is jobless and so desperate that he goes to work for the man who evicted...

Hello class, welcome to cinema economics 101. Before you start rolling your eyes, I should tell you that this isn’t about how producers raise the cash in order to fund your favorite flicks. No, we’re going to take a look at the latest entry in Hollywood’s flicks about finance: the very high ups and the low, low downs. This film joins the ranks of the Wall Street series, with more than a passing nod to Arbitrage, Glenngary Glen Ross, and Boiler Room (and the soon to premiere The Big Short). Don’t be too concerned with the poster’s “based on real events” boast because it’s not about one incident, but an overall economic disaster that’s still affecting a whole lotta’ people. We’re talking the very recent housing boom and inevitable bust. How recent? Let’s turn the clock back just five years as we...

99 Homes

Written by Ramin Bahrani & Amir Naderi

Directed by Ramin Bahrani

USA, 2014

Great actors are a filmmaker’s best friend. Michael Shannon transforms the otherwise heavy-handed economic morality tale, 99 Homes, into something dynamic and alive. Director Ramin Bahrani often favors preaching over telling a compelling story, but it’s a worthwhile sermon as we continue to extricate ourselves from the Great Recession. Mostly, it’s just a pleasure to watch the force of nature that is Michael Shannon deconstruct the American Dream with terrifying precision.

Back in the day, Rick Carver (Shannon) was a legitimate real estate agent. He enjoyed, “Putting people in homes” and giving families hope for a bright future. The de-regulation and reverse-mortgages of the new millennium, however, transformed him into an evictions enforcer. The propulsive opening sequence finds Carver ruthlessly scheduling his next foreclosure, even as he looks upon the lifeless body of his latest “client,...

Andrew Garfield is at the centre of the Florida housing crisis in the new drama 99 Homes, in theatres this week.

The film, which played Tiff in 2014, sees Garfield as Dennis, a young father who, alongside his mother Lynn (Laura Dern), is evicted from their family home by greedy real estate broker Rick Carver (Michael Shannon). Eager to buy back their home, Dennis faces a moral dilemma; to earn the money he needs, he must work for Rick evicting people from their homes. A complicated relationship between Dennis and Rick ensues as his newfound mentor employs more than a few underhanded tricks to fleece the vulnerable for profit.

Directed by Ramin Bahrani (At Any Price), the film opens in select theatres on Friday. Cineplex sat down the Garfield, Shannon, and Dern to talk about 99 Homes. Watch our cast interview now, plus check out an in-depth conversation with Dern about the film...

This review was originally published during our coverage of Tiff 2014.

For more than a century, great artists, novelists and filmmakers have examined the question: What is the American Dream? Their stories of men and women rising from rags to riches, in means dignified and corrupt, have electrified audiences. The latest masterwork to explore that dream state (or the lack thereof) is Ramin Bahrani’s 99 Homes, a masterfully acted and searing look at a fractious time of modern American history: the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, which left both rich and poor out of their homes. However, in a world of enormous disparity between the ultra-rich and the paycheck-to-paycheck poor, a better question would be: Where is the American Dream?

Well, it is certainly not in Florida, where 99 Homes is set, a state where the prosperity of gated communities meets the grind of small-town poverty. Bahrani’s drama opens on a...

Not so much entertaining as it is enraging, 99 Homes gets in your face with the injustices suffered by countless hardworking people in the global financial crisis.

Michael Shannon is just the man to represent the stone-cold face of capitalism as a property developer who cashes in on others' misfortunes, while Andrew Garfield is a young father who could go either way when offered the chance to sell his soul.

This would be box office poison were it not for these two fine performances, constructed in layers (before being stripped to their bare bones), so that neither man is wholly good, or evil. Shannon, however, has the tougher job to convey some sort of humanity as Rick Carver, after a brazen opening scene that finds him resolutely unmoved by the suicide of a man he was about to evict.

Carver acts on behalf of a bank that is foreclosing on mortgage...

With the limited release of Ramin Bahrani's "99 Homes" just weeks away, the acclaimed drama has picked up a big honor: the Grand Prize at the 2015 Deauville American Film Festival. The movie, starring Michael Shannon, Andrew Garfield and Laura Dern, now joins a praiseworthy group of Deauville award winners that includes "Beasts of the Southern Wild," "Little Miss Sunshine," "The Visitor," "Crash" and "Take Shelter." The Oscar-winning "Whiplash" won last year's Grand Prize. Read More: Watch: Michael Shannon and Andrew Garfield Battle for Housing in Pulse-Pounding '99 Homes' Trailer The drama stars Garfield as Dennis Nash, a construction worker who is forced to move in with his mother (Dern) after he is evicted from his home by an intimidating real-estate broker (Shannon). Unable to find work and hungry to support his family, Nash starts working for the broker, but when the job forces him to...

Writer-director Ramin Bahrani’s 99 Homes was awarded the Grand Prize today at the Deauville American Film Festival. Starring Michael Shannon, Andrew Garfield and Laura Dern, the movie opens September 25 via Broad Green Pictures. In the topical thriller, Shannon plays a shrewd and ruthless businessman who makes a fortune by foreclosing on homes. Garfield plays a single father caring for his mother (Dern) and son (Noah Lomax) who is evicted by Shannon’s character and then…...

Broad Green Pictures has released the first trailer for director Ramin Bahrani’s (Man Push Cart) intense dramatic thriller 99 Homes. Inspired by true events, the film stars Michael Shannon as a businessman who makes a comfortable living serving eviction notices and carrying out removals of people from their homes. Andrew Garfield is a single father who experiences Shannon’s work first hand, but is then given the opportunity to try and get his house back by working for Shannon’s character. I caught the movie at Tiff last fall and it’s really good. Bahrani walks a fine line between timely and preachy, but Garfield and Shannon both give amazing performances (unsurprisingly), with Garfield in particular doing some heartbreakingly earnest work. It was a thrill to see the actor in his first non-Spider-Man onscreen role since The Social Network, and the guy doesn’t disappoint. Here’s hoping he...

"Don't get emotional about real estate," Michael Shannon advises in the first trailer for "99 Homes." It's certainly good advice, but during the housing crisis and economic downturn, it was hard for many not to feel the pain of seeing their savings, memories, and more taken away by the very banks who approved high risk loans in the first place. And it's against that backdrop that the latest from director Ramin Bahrani plays out. Andrew Garfield co-stars in the film that follows construction worker, Dennis Nash (Garfield), who is evicted from his home by a charismatic real-estate broker, Mike Carver (Shannon), and is forced to move his mom (Laura Dern) and young son into a shabby motel. In an ironic turn of events, Dennis winds up working for Mike to raise the money to buy his house back, but he'll have to do the same to others that was done to him.

[Editor's Note: Broad Green Pictures is launching the official trailer on June 3, 2015. What was previously published was illegally posted to YouTube.] Read More: 'The Dark Horse' Joins '99 Homes,' 'Eden' and More in Broad Green Pictures' Impressive Inaugural Slate Ramin Bahrani has become one of the most astute observers of American identity thanks to dramas such as "Man Push Cart," "Chop Shop" and "At Any Price," and his latest film, "99 Homes," should be his most timely effort yet as it tackles the individual and economic effects of the recent housing crisis. The drama premiered to critical acclaim at the Venice International Film Festival last August and stars Andrew Garfield, Michael Shannon and Laura Dern. Garfield stars as Dennis Nash, a father and construction worker who is forced to move in with his mother (Dern) after he is evicted from his home by an intimidating real-estate broker (Shannon). Unable to find work and hungry to...

Michael Shannon and Andrew Garfield in “99 Homes”

99 Homes

Written by Ramin Bahrani and Amir Naderi

Directed by Ramin Bahrani

USA, 2014

Director Ramin Bahrani (Man Push Cart, Goodbye Solo) constructs 99 Homes as a dismal assessment of desperation in hard economic times. Michael Shannon stars as ruthless, e-cigarette sucking realtor Rick Carver, who has used the carnage of the 2008 housing crisis to his advantage, helping the banks toss out homeowners who have defaulted on their bad mortgages. He carries a gun because of how personal and dangerous it can become. He is unabashedly invested in personal gain and his interests are always of the utmost importance. When he evicts Dennis Nash (Andrew Garfield) and his family, Nash comes after him, only to find that Carver sees potential in him to be as hard-working and ferocious as himself. With a pulsating score by Antony Partos and Matteo Zingales, 99 Homes frames an outstanding and...

99 Homes

Written by Ramin Bahrani and Amir Naderi. Story by Ramin Bahrani and Bahareh Azimi

Directed by Ramin Bahrani

USA, 2015

“America doesn’t bail out losers, America bails out winners!” preaches Richard Carver (Michael Shannon), like a modern day Gordon Gekko of real estate to the young, innocent but determined Dennis Nash (Andrew Garfield). This is what the American dream is now. It’s not enough to work hard anymore, achieving the American dream is to win at all costs. Ramin Bahrani’s examination of the American dream and the corrupt nature of it follows Dennis Nash, a young father who with his son and mother (Laura Dern) are evicted from their family home. To get it all back, Dennis begins working for the man responsible for his troubles, greedy real estate broker Richard Carver. This is the American dream.

Bahrani paces the film with the mechanics of a well-oiled and precisely constructed thriller,...

The VOD business model disincentivizes theaters and hurts filmmakers, the ’99 Homes’ star tells TheWrap Editor-in-Chief Sharon Waxman

Same-day video-on-demand releases undermine theatrical sales, actor Michael Shannon told TheWrap Editor-in-Chief Sharon Waxman on Saturday during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

“Then none of the theaters want to pick the movie up, because they’re like, ‘Why are we going to show your movie if you’re just going to let everybody watch it at home?'” Shannon said, citing a film he presented at the festival in 2014 as an example.

“I had a movie here last year that...

The film industry could also take a lesson from Silicon Valley, writer-director Ramin Bahrani tells TheWrap

Hollywood’s lack of diversity is an open secret, “99 Homes” writer-director Ramin Bahrani said on Saturday during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

“Listen, everyone knows: There’s a horrific lack of diversity in Hollywood,” Bahrani told TheWrap Editor-in-Chief Sharon Waxman while discussing the Oscar nominations–revitalized hot-button issue. “There should be a lot more female writers, female directors.”

Bahrani and the film’s star Michael Shannon (“Man of Steel”) stopped by TheWrap‘s Sundance studio on Saturday to discuss the film,...

John Nein was not always a Senior Programmer at the Sundance Film Festival — it’s only been eight years. When he began at Sundance in 2002 he was always watching movies of course. More than that, like John Cooper said, he just didn’t shut up when he was in the room; he was opinionated and spoke his opinions. He also always liked international cinema as he was born in Ireland and grew up in The Netherlands, Belgium and London where his father worked for international companies. When he was 12 he came to the U.S.

The programmers at Sundance do not have a strict formal assignment of areas they program; they see all the films of all the sections, but like his father, international was always of great interest. The same is true for myself, although out of the 118 feature films selected out of 4,105 feature length submissions, many of the U.S. films look great to me as well. For instance, I am so happy that Matt Sobel’s “ Take Me To The River ” which won the prize at Us in Progress this past November in Wroclaw, Poland at The American Film Festival is in the Next section.

John: This year on Day One, January 22, 2015, the Festival will feature one of each type of film shown at the Festival: one shorts program, a U.S. documentary, a U.S. dramatic, an international documentary and an international dramatic which will be the first ever Lithuanian film in Competition, a lesbian love story that is stylish and smartly directed by Alanté Kavaïté with two fantastic actors, Julija Steponaitytė and Aistė Diržiūtė. Actually " The Summer of Sangaile” is a coproduction of Lithuania, France, and Holland . I think Alanté lives in France.

There ares 29 countries represented and 45 first-time filmmakers.

Sydney: I know the Chileans love Sundance. Last year Alejandro Fernández Almendras said in our interview about “To Kill a Man” that Sundance is very important for Chile. I am also a longtime fan of Sebastian Silva since “The Maid”. Two years ago he had two films, “Crystal Fairy” and “Magic, Magic” in Sundance, so why is this Chilean film not in World Competition but in Next?

John: I’m glad Alejandro said that. Yes we like Chile too. They make many good films. But “Nasty Baby” by Sebastian Silva is a U.S. film, about people living in Brooklyn.

He lives in U.S. and has spent a lot of time here. He knows Brooklyn and yet his curiosity and his view of it is that of an outsider. He knows these people because he watches and listens so well. “

Sydney: “Bridesmaids” star and co-writer Kristen Wiig stars. A short promo of “Nasty Baby” was shown to buyers while it was in post-production in Cannes and Toronto. The Chilean production company of Juan de Dios Larrain and Pablo Larrain, Fabula, produced “No” as well as Sebastian’s later films. Papi Boye and Violaine Pichon’s production and international sales agent Versatile out of France along with the film’s international sales agent Funny Balloons — also based in France – helped finance this U.S. Production.

John: World Cinema is now 10 years old. Overall, the Competition sections have evolved over the years. We have a sense of emerging directors here. We have come of age.

All our films are of emerging filmmakers. Either first time directors or highly anticipated second or third features. Of all the festivals worldwide, Sundance has the strongest program of emerging talent. Watch these filmmakers over the next years. Like “Homesick” by Anna Sewitsky. Her previous film “Happy, Happy” showed at Sundance in 2011 and took the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema. “Happy, Happy” also became the Norwegian Official entry for the Academy Awards® .

Sydney: TrustNordisk sold “Happy, Happy” to more than 50 countries, so they must be poised to sell this one as well.

John: But not all the second and third films are from filmmakers whose first films were at Sundance, although Canada’s “ Chorus” director Francois Delisle showed “The Meteor” at Sundance two years ago.

And “Glassland”, was a very anticipated second film. The first film by director and screenwriter, Gerard Barrett, "Pilgrim Hill” won the Galway Film Festival and was very sought after and was signed with a U.S. agent then. “Sangaile" is also a second feature.

Look at the international films in the Premieres section and you will see some international filmmakers there, like “ Brooklyn” which is an immigrant story directed by John Crowley and written by Nick Hornby whose film “Wild” is now playing .

Sydney: I see from IMDbPro that Hanway has already sold Middle Eastern rights to Front Row Entertainment who must have pre-bought “Brooklyn” in Cannes or Toronto.

John: Of the 12 films in World Cinema the less expected films come from Turkey, “Ivy” by the talented director Tolga Karacelik. This is his second film. His first was “Toll Booth” which Global Initiative distributed in the U.S. The Dp on this was Nuri Bilge Ceylan (“Winter’s Sleep”)’s Dp on “Winter’s Sleep”, Gökhan Tiryaki. It is about guys stuck on a freighter whose company goes bankrupt. Power dynamics play out.

Sydney: Have there been Oscar nominated films in Sundance (Aside from “Whiplash” and “Boyhood”)?

John: Yes, “Man on Wire” was not last year but it was foreign. “Ida” was in Spotlight last year and maybe Sundance increased its visibility. Three others were in Sundance last year:

“To Kill a Man” is Chile’s submission, “Difret” which won the Audience Award is Ethiopia’s submission this year and “Liar’s Dice” from India was in World Competition last year. It is a very artful film. We knew it would do well with the critics, but it did extremely well with the audience too. A couple of films in Spotlight will probably be nominated next year. Watch for them.

Sydney : We haven’t even discussed the World documentaries.

John : Are there any that stand out for you?

Sydney: Yes, “Chuck Norris vs. Communism”, from U.K., Romania and Germany. Chuck Norris?

John: How interesting it is that something like Chuck Norris means something very different to others. It is a sign of cultural differences between us. Chuck Norris shows how independent films built a community of counter culture against an authoritarian government.

Sydney: I also notice that there are six docs from the U.K. Out of 12 films.

John: Yes we noticed and discussed that. U.K. really supports documentary filmmaking. Great work is coming out of the U.K. And many of the films are about different countries, so it doesn’t fit so simply into a U.K. pigeon hole.

Sydney : Yes I see “Chuck Norris” is about Romania, “Dreamcatcher” is about teenage prostitution, “How to Change the World” is about Greenpeace, “Listen to Me Marlon” is about a famous U.S. actor, “The Russian Woodpecker” is about a Ukrainian survivor of Chernobyl.

Thank you John for your insights. I think we have a lot to look at here. Thank you for taking this time to talk with me. See you at Sundance!

For a full list thus far of Sundance films, see below.

U.S. Dramatic Competition

Advantageous / U.S.A. (Director: Jennifer Phang, Screenwriters: Jacqueline Kim, Jennifer Phang) — In a near-future city where soaring opulence overshadows economic hardship, Gwen and her daughter, Jules, do all they can to hold on to their joy, despite the instability surfacing in their world. Cast: Jacqueline Kim, James Urbaniak, Freya Adams, Ken Jeong, Jennifer Ehle, Samantha Kim.

The Bronze / U.S.A. (Director: Bryan Buckley, Screenwriters: Melissa Rauch, Winston Rauch) — In 2004, Hope Ann Greggory became an American hero after winning the bronze medal for the women's gymnastics team. Today, she's still living in her small hometown, washed-up and embittered. Stuck in the past, Hope must reassess her life when a promising young gymnast threatens her local celebrity status.Cast: Melissa Rauch, Gary Cole, Thomas Middleditch, Sebastian Stan, Haley Lu Richardson, Cecily Strong. Day One Film

The D Train / U.S.A. (Directors and screenwriters: Jarrad Paul, Andrew Mogel) — With his 20th reunion looming, Dan can’t shake his high school insecurities. In a misguided mission to prove he's changed, Dan rekindles a friendship with the popular guy from his class and is left scrambling to protect more than just his reputation when a wild night takes an unexpected turn. Cast: Jack Black, James Marsden, Kathryn Hahn, Jeffrey Tambor, Mike White, Kyle Bornheimer.

The Diary of a Teenage Girl / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Marielle Heller) — Minnie Goetze is a 15-year-old aspiring comic-book artist, coming of age in the haze of the 1970s in San Francisco. Insatiably curious about the world around her, Minnie is a pretty typical teenage girl. Oh, except that she's sleeping with her mother's boyfriend. Cast: Bel Powley, Alexander Skarsgård, Christopher Meloni, Kristen Wiig.

Dope / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Rick Famuyiwa) — Malcolm is carefully surviving life in a tough neighborhood in Los Angeles while juggling college applications, academic interviews, and the Sat. A chance invitation to an underground party leads him into an adventure that could allow him to go from being a geek, to being dope, to ultimately being himself. Cast: Shameik Moore, Tony Revolori, Kiersey Clemons, Blake Anderson, Zoë Kravitz, A$AP Rocky.

I Smile Back / U.S.A. (Director: Adam Salky, Screenwriters: Amy Koppelman, Paige Dylan) — All is not right in suburbia. Laney Brooks, a wife and mother on the edge, has stopped taking her meds, substituting recreational drugs and the wrong men. With the destruction of her family looming, Laney makes a last, desperate attempt at redemption. Cast: Sarah Silverman, Josh Charles, Thomas Sadoski, Mia Barron, Terry Kinney, Chris Sarandon.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl / U.S.A. (Director: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, Screenwriter: Jesse Andrews) — Greg is coasting through senior year of high school as anonymously as possible, avoiding social interactions like the plague while secretly making spirited, bizarre films with Earl, his only friend. But both his anonymity and friendship threaten to unravel when his mother forces him to befriend a classmate with leukemia. Cast: Thomas Mann, Rj Cyler, Olivia Cooke, Nick Offerman, Connie Britton, Molly Shannon.

The Overnight / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Patrick Brice) — Alex, Emily, and their son, Rj, are new to Los Angeles. A chance meeting at the park introduces them to the mysterious Kurt, Charlotte, and Max. A family "playdate" becomes increasingly interesting as the night goes on. Cast: Adam Scott, Taylor Schilling, Jason Schwartzman, Judith Godrèche.

People, Places, Things / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: James C. Strouse) — Will Henry is a newly single graphic novelist balancing being a parent to his young twin daughters and teaching a classroom full of college students, all the while trying to navigate the rich complexities of new love and letting go of the woman who left him. Cast: Jemaine Clement, Regina Hall, Stephanie Allynne, Jessica Williams, Gia Gadsby, Aundrea Gadsby.

Results / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Andrew Bujalski) — Two mismatched personal trainers' lives are upended by the actions of a new, wealthy client. Cast: Guy Pearce, Cobie Smulders, Kevin Corrigan, Giovanni Ribisi, Anthony Michael Hall, Brooklyn Decker.

Songs My Brothers Taught Me / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Chloé Zhao) — This complex portrait of modern-day life on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation explores the bond between a brother and his younger sister, who find themselves on separate paths to rediscovering the meaning of home. Cast: John Reddy, Jashaun St. John, Irene Bedard, Taysha Fuller, Travis Lone Hill, Eléonore Hendricks.

The Stanford Prison Experiment / U.S.A. (Director: Kyle Patrick Alvarez, Screenwriter: Tim Talbott) — This film is based on the actual events that took place in 1971 when Stanford professor Dr. Philip Zimbardo created what became one of the most shocking and famous social experiments of all time. Cast: Billy Crudup, Ezra Miller, Michael Angarano, Tye Sheridan, Johnny Simmons, Olivia Thirlby.

Stockholm, Pennsylvania / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Nikole Beckwith) — A young woman is returned home to her biological parents after living with her abductor for 17 years. Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Cynthia Nixon, Jason Isaacs, David Warshofsky.

Unexpected / U.S.A. (Director: Kris Swanberg, Screenwriters: Kris Swanberg, Megan Mercier) — When Samantha Abbott begins her final semester teaching science at a Chicago high school, she faces some unexpected news: she's pregnant. Soon after, Samantha learns that one of her favorite students, Jasmine, has landed in a similar situation. Unexpected follows the two women as they embark on an unlikely friendship. Cast: Cobie Smulders, Anders Holm, Gail Bean, Elizabeth McGovern.

The Witch / U.S.A., Canada (Director and screenwriter: Robert Eggers) — New England in the 1630s: William and Katherine lead a devout Christian life with five children, homesteading on the edge of an impassable wilderness. When their newborn son vanishes and crops fail, the family turns on one another. Beyond their worst fears, a supernatural evil lurks in the nearby wood. Cast: Anya Taylor Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Lucas Dawson, Ellie Grainger.

Z for Zachariah / U.S.A. (Director: Craig Zobel, Screenwriter: Nissar Modi) — In a post-apocalyptic world, a young woman who believes she is the last human on Earth meets a dying scientist searching for survivors. Their relationship becomes tenuous when another survivor appears. As the two men compete for the woman's affection, their primal urges begin to reveal their true nature. Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Margot Robbie, Chris Pine.

U.S. Documentary Competition

Sixteen world-premiere American documentaries that illuminate the ideas, people, and events that shape the present day.

3½ Minutes / U.S.A. (Director: Marc Silver) — On November 23, 2012, unarmed 17-year-old Jordan Russell Davis was shot at a Jacksonville gas station by Michael David Dunn. 3½ Minutes explores the aftermath of Jordan's tragic death, the latent and often unseen effects of racism, and the contradictions of the American criminal justice system.

Being Evel / U.S.A. (Director: Daniel Junge) — An unprecedented, candid portrait of American icon Robert "Evel" Knievel and his legacy.

Best of Enemies / U.S.A. (Directors: Morgan Neville, Robert Gordon) — Best of Enemies is a behind-the-scenes account of the explosive 1968 televised debates between the liberal Gore Vidal and the conservative William F. Buckley Jr., and their rancorous disagreements about politics, God, and sex.

Call Me Lucky / U.S.A. (Director: Bobcat Goldthwait) — Barry Crimmins was a volatile but brilliant bar comic who became an honored peace activist and influential political satirist. Famous comedians and others build a picture of a man who underwent an incredible transformation.

Cartel Land / U.S.A., Mexico (Director: Matthew Heineman) — In this classic Western set in the 21st century, vigilantes on both sides of the border fight the vicious Mexican drug cartels. With unprecedented access, this character-driven film provokes deep questions about lawlessness, the breakdown of order, and whether citizens should fight violence with violence.

City of Gold / U.S.A. (Director: Laura Gabbert) — Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Jonathan Gold casts his light upon a vibrant and growing cultural movement in which he plays the dual roles of high-low priest and culinary geographer of his beloved Los Angeles.

Finders Keepers / U.S.A. (Directors: Bryan Carberry, Clay Tweel) — Recovering addict and amputee John Wood finds himself in a stranger-than-fiction battle to reclaim his mummified leg from Southern entrepreneur Shannon Whisnant, who found it in a grill he bought at an auction and believes it to therefore be his rightful property.

Hot Girls Wanted / U.S.A. (Directors: Jill Bauer, Ronna Gradus) — Hot Girls Wanted is a first-ever look at the realities inside the world of the amateur porn industry and the steady stream of 18- and 19-year-old girls entering into it.

How to Dance in Ohio / U.S.A. (Director: Alexandra Shiva) — In Columbus, Ohio, a group of teenagers and young adults on the autism spectrum prepare for an iconic American rite of passage — a spring formal. They spend 12 weeks practicing their social skills at a local nightclub in preparation for the dance.

Larry Kramer in Love and Anger / U.S.A. (Director: Jean Carlomusto) — Author, activist, and playwright Larry Kramer is one of the most important and controversial figures in contemporary gay America, a political firebrand who gave voice to the outrage and grief that inspired gay men and lesbians to fight for their lives. At 78, this complicated man still commands our attention.

Meru / U.S.A. (Directors: Jimmy Chin, E. Chai Vasarhelyi) — Three elite mountain climbers sacrifice everything but their friendship as they struggle through heartbreaking loss and nature’s harshest elements to attempt the never-before-completed Shark’s Fin on Mount Meru, the most coveted first ascent in the dangerous game of Himalayan big wall climbing.

Racing Extinction / U.S.A. (Director: Louie Psihoyos) — Academy Award-winner Louie Psihoyos (The Cove) assembles a unique team to show the world never-before-seen images that expose issues surrounding endangered species and mass extinction. Whether infiltrating notorious black markets or exploring humans' effect on the environment, Racing Extinction will change the way you see the world.

(T)Error / U.S.A. (Directors: Lyric R. Cabral, David Felix Sutcliffe) — (T)Error is the first film to document on camera a covert counterterrorism sting as it unfolds. Through the perspective of *******, a 63-year-old Black revolutionary turned FBI informant, viewers are given an unprecedented glimpse of the government’s counterterrorism tactics, and the murky justifications behind them.

Welcome to Leith / U.S.A. (Directors: Michael Beach Nichols, Christopher K. Walker) — A white supremacist attempts to take over a small town in North Dakota.

Western / U.S.A., Mexico (Directors: Bill Ross, Turner Ross) — For generations, all that distinguished Eagle Pass, Texas, from Piedras Negras, Mexico, was the Rio Grande. But when darkness descends upon these harmonious border towns, a cowboy and lawman face a new reality that threatens their way of life. Western portrays timeless American figures in the grip of unforgiving change.

The Wolfpack / U.S.A. (Director: Crystal Moselle) — Six bright teenage brothers have spent their entire lives locked away from society in a Manhattan housing project. All they know of the outside is gleaned from the movies they watch obsessively (and recreate meticulously). Yet as adolescence looms, they dream of escape, ever more urgently, into the beckoning world.

World Cinema Dramatic Competition

Twelve films from emerging filmmaking talents around the world offer fresh perspectives and inventive styles.

Chlorine / Italy (Director: Lamberto Sanfelice, Screenwriters: Lamberto Sanfelice, Elisa Amoruso) — Jenny, 17, dreams of becoming a synchronized swimmer. Family events turn her life upside down and she is forced move to a remote area to look after her ill father and younger brother. It won't be long before Jenny starts pursuing her dreams again. Cast: Sara Serraiocco, Ivan Franek, Giorgio Colangeli, Anatol Sassi, Piera Degli Esposti, Andrea Vergoni. World Premiere

Chorus / Canada (Director and screenwriter: François Delisle) — A separated couple meet again after 10 years when the body of their missing son is found. Amid the guilt of losing a loved one, they hesitantly move toward affirmation of life, acceptance of death, and even the possibility of reconciliation. Cast: Sébastien Ricard, Fanny Mallette, Pierre Curzi, Genevieve Bujold. World Premiere

Glassland / Ireland (Director and screenwriter: Gerard Barrett) — In a desperate attempt to reunite his broken family, a young taxi driver becomes entangled in the criminal underworld. Cast: Jack Reynor, Toni Collette, Will Poulter, Michael Smiley. International Premiere

Homesick / Norway (Director: Anne Sewitsky, Screenwriters: Ragnhild Tronvoll, Anne Sewitsky) — When Charlotte, 27, meets her brother Henrik, 35, for the first time, two people who don't know what a normal family is begin an encounter without boundaries. How does sibling love manifest itself if you have never experienced it before?Cast: Ine Marie Wilmann, Simon J. Berger, Anneke von der Lippe, Silje Storstein, Oddgeir Thune, Kari Onstad. World Premiere. Isa: TrustNordisk

Ivy / Turkey (Director and screenwriter: Tolga Karaçelik) — Sarmasik is sailing to Egypt when the ship's owner goes bankrupt. The crew learns there is a lien on the ship, and key crew members must stay on board. Ivy is the story of these six men trapped on the ship for days. Cast: Nadir Sarıbacak, Özgür Emre Yıldırım, Hakan Karsak, Kadir Çermik, Osman Alkaş, Seyithan Özdemiroğlu. World Premiere

Partisan / Australia (Director: Ariel Kleiman, Screenwriters: Ariel Kleiman, Sarah Cyngler) — Alexander is like any other kid: playful, curious and naive. He is also a trained assassin. Raised in a hidden paradise, Alexander has grown up seeing the world filtered through his father, Gregori. As Alexander begins to think for himself, creeping fears take shape, and Gregori's idyllic world unravels. Cast: Vincent Cassel, Jeremy Chabriel, Florence Mezzara. World Premiere

Princess / Israel (Director and screenwriter: Tali Shalom Ezer) — While her mother is away from home, 12-year-old Adar’s role-playing games with her stepfather move into dangerous territory. Seeking an escape, Adar finds Alan, an ethereal boy that accompanies her on a dark journey between reality and fantasy. Cast: Keren Mor, Shira Haas, Ori Pfeffer, Adar Zohar Hanetz. International Premiere

The Second Mother / Brazil (Director and screenwriter: Anna Muylaert) — Having left her daughter, Jessica, to be raised by relatives in the north of Brazil, Val works as a loving nanny in São Paulo. When Jessica arrives for a visit 13 years later, she confronts her mother's slave-like attitude and everyone in the house is affected by her unexpected behavior. Cast: Regina Casé, Michel Joelsas, Camila Márdila, Karine Teles, Lourenço Mutarelli. World Premiere

Slow West / New Zealand (Director: John Maclean, Screenwriters: John Maclean, Michael Lesslie) — Set at the end of the nineteenth century, 16-year-old Jay Cavendish journeys across the American frontier in search of the woman he loves. He is joined by Silas, a mysterious traveler, and hotly pursued by an outlaw along the way. Cast: Michael Fassbender, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Rory McCann, Ben Mendelsohn, Brooke Williams, Caren Pistorius. World Premiere

Strangerland / Australia, Ireland (Director: Kim Farrant, Screenwriters: Fiona Seres, Michael Kinirons) — When Catherine and Matthew Parker's two teenage kids disappear into the remote Australian desert, the couple's relationship is pushed to the brink as they confront the mystery of their children's fate. Cast: Nicole Kidman, Joseph Fiennes, Hugo Weaving, Lisa Flanagan, Meyne Wyatt, Maddison Brown. World Premiere

The Summer of Sangaile / Lithuania, France, Holland (Director and screenwriter: Alanté Kavaïté) — Seventeen-year-old Sangaile is fascinated by stunt planes. She meets a girl her age at the summer aeronautical show, nearby her parents’ lakeside villa. Sangaile allows Auste to discover her most intimate secret and in the process finds in her teenage love, the only person that truly encourages her to fly. Cast: Julija Steponaitytė, Aistė Diržiūtė. World Premiere. Isa: Films Distribution.

Umrika / India (Director and screenwriter: Prashant Nair) — When a young village boy discovers that his brother, long believed to be in America, has actually gone missing, he begins to invent letters on his behalf to save their mother from heartbreak, all the while searching for him. Cast: Suraj Sharma, Tony Revolori, Smita Tambe, Adil Hussain, Rajesh Tailang, Prateik Babbar. World Premiere

World Cinema Documentary Competition

Twelve documentaries by some of the most courageous and extraordinary international filmmakers working today.

The Amina Profile / Canada (Director: Sophie Deraspe) — During the Arab revolution, a love story between two women — a Canadian and a Syrian American — turns into an international sociopolitical thriller spotlighting media excesses and the thin line between truth and falsehood on the Internet. World Premiere

Censored Voices / Israel, Germany (Director: Mor Loushy) — One week after the 1967 Six-Day War, renowned author Amos Oz and editor Avraham Shapira recorded intimate conversations with soldiers returning from the battlefield. The Israeli army censored the recordings, allowing only a fragment of the conversations to be published. Censored Voices reveals these recordings for the first time. World Premiere

The Chinese Mayor / China (Director: Hao Zhou) — Mayor Geng Yanbo is determined to transform the coal-mining center of Datong, in China’s Shanxi province, into a tourism haven showcasing clean energy. In order to achieve that, however, he has to relocate 500,000 residences to make way for the restoration of the ancient city. World Premiere

Chuck Norris vs Communism / United Kingdom, Romania, Germany (Director: Ilinca Calugareanu) — In 1980s Romania, thousands of Western films smashed through the Iron Curtain, opening a window to the free world for those who dared to look. A black market VHS racketeer and courageous female translator brought the magic of film to the masses and sowed the seeds of a revolution. World Premiere. Producers Rep: UTA

Dark Horse / United Kingdom (Director: Louise Osmond) — Dark Horse is the inspirational true story of a group of friends from a workingman's club who decide to take on the elite "sport of kings" and breed themselves a racehorse. World Premiere

Dreamcatcher / United Kingdom (Director: Kim Longinotto) — Dreamcatcher takes us into a hidden world seen through the eyes of one of its survivors, Brenda Myers-Powell. A former teenage prostitute, Brenda defied the odds to become a powerful advocate for change in her community. With warmth and humor, Brenda gives hope to those who have none. World Premiere

How to Change the World / United Kingdom, Canada (Director: Jerry Rothwell) — In 1971, a group of friends sails into a nuclear test zone, and their protest captures the world’s imagination. Using rare, archival footage that brings their extraordinary world to life, How to Change the World is the story of the pioneers who founded Greenpeace and defined the modern green movement. World Premiere. Day One Film

Listen to Me Marlon / United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Stevan Riley, Co-writer: Peter Ettedgui) — With exclusive access to previously unheard audio archives, this is the definitive Marlon Brando cinema documentary. Charting his exceptional career and extraordinary life away from the stage and screen, the film fully explores the complexities of the man by telling the story uniquely in Marlon’s own voice. World Premiere

Pervert Park / Sweden, Denmark (Directors: Frida Barkfors, Lasse Barkfors) — Pervert Park follows the everyday lives of sex offenders in a Florida trailer park as they struggle to reintegrate into society, and try to understand who they are and how to break the cycle of sex crimes being committed. International Premiere

The Russian Woodpecker / United Kingdom (Director: Chad Gracia) — A Ukrainian victim of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster discovers a dark secret and must decide whether to risk his life by revealing it, amid growing clouds of revolution and war. World Premiere

Sembene! / U.S.A., Senegal (Directors: Samba Gadjigo, Jason Silverman) — In 1952, Ousmane Sembene, a Senegalese dockworker and fifth-grade dropout, began dreaming an impossible dream: to become the storyteller for a new Africa. This true story celebrates how the “father of African cinema,” against enormous odds, fought a monumental, 50-year-long battle to give Africans a voice. World Premiere

The Visit / Denmark, Austria, Ireland, Finland, Norway (Director: Michael Madsen) — “This film documents an event that has never taken place…” With unprecedented access to the United Nations' Office for Outer Space Affairs, leading space scientists and space agencies, The Visit explores humans' first encounter with alien intelligent life and thereby humanity itself. "Our scenario begins with the arrival. Your arrival." World Premiere

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Pure, bold works distinguished by an innovative, forward-thinking approach to storytelling populate this program. Digital technology paired with unfettered creativity promises that the films in this section will shape a “greater” next wave in American cinema. Presented by Adobe.

Bob and the Trees / U.S.A., France (Director: Diego Ongaro, Screenwriters: Diego Ongaro, Courtney Maum, Sasha Statman-Weil) — Bob, a 50-year-old logger in rural Massachusetts with a soft spot for golf and gangsta rap, is struggling to make ends meet in a changed economy. When his beloved cow is wounded and a job goes awry, Bob begins to heed the instincts of his ever-darkening self. Cast: Bob Tarasuk, Matt Gallagher, Polly MacIntyre, Winthrop Barrett, Nathaniel Gregory. World Premiere

Christmas, Again / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Charles Poekel) — A heartbroken Christmas tree salesman returns to New York, hoping to put the past year behind him. He spends the season living in a trailer and working the night shift, until a mysterious woman and some colorful customers rescue him from self-destruction. Cast: Kentucker Audley, Hannah Gross, Jason Shelton, Oona Roche. North American Premiere

Cronies / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Michael Larnell) — Twenty-two-year-old Louis doesn’t know whether his childhood friendship with Jack will last beyond today. Cast: George Sample III, Zurich Buckner, Brian Kowalski. World Premiere

Entertainment / U.S.A. (Director: Rick Alverson, Screenwriters: Rick Alverson, Gregg Turkington, Tim Heidecker) — En route to meeting with his estranged daughter, in an attempt to revive his dwindling career, a broken, aging comedian plays a string of dead-end shows in the Mojave Desert. Cast: Gregg Turkington, John C. Reilly, Tye Sheridan, Michael Cera, Amy Seimetz, Lotte Verbeek. World Premiere

H. / U.S.A., Argentina (Directors and screenwriters: Rania Attieh, Daniel Garcia) — Two women, each named Helen, find their lives spinning out of control after a meteor allegedly explodes over their city of Troy, New York. Cast: Robin Bartlett, Rebecca Dayan, Will Janowitz, Julian Gamble, Roger Robinson. World Premiere

James White / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Josh Mond) — A young New Yorker struggles to take control of his reckless, self-destructive behavior in the face of momentous family challenges. Cast: Chris Abbott, Cynthia Nixon, Scott Mescudi, Makenzie Leigh, David Call. World Premiere

Nasty Baby / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Sebastian Silva) — A gay couple try to have a baby with the help of their best friend, Polly. The trio navigates the idea of creating life while confronted by unexpected harassment from a neighborhood man called The Bishop. As their clashes grow increasingly aggressive, odds are someone is getting hurt. Cast: Sebastian Silva, Tunde Adebimpe, Kristin Wiig, Reg E. Cathey, Mark Margolis, Denis O'Hare. World Premiere

The Strongest Man / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Kenny Riches) — An anxiety-ridden Cuban man who fancies himself the strongest man in the world attempts to recover his most prized possession, a stolen bicycle. On his quest, he finds and loses much more. Cast: Robert Lorie, Paul Chamberlain, Ashly Burch, Patrick Fugit, Lisa Banes. World Premiere

" Take Me To The River " / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Matt Sobel) — A naive California teen plans to remain above the fray at his Nebraskan family reunion, but a strange encounter places him at the center of a long-buried family secret.Cast: Logan Miller, Robin Weigert, Josh Hamilton, Richard Schiff, Ursula Parker, Azura Skye. World Premiere. Producer rep: Cinetic Media

Tangerine / U.S.A. (Director: Sean Baker, Screenwriters: Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch) — A working girl tears through Tinseltown on Christmas Eve searching for the pimp who broke her heart. Cast: Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Mya Taylor, Karren Karagulian, Mickey O'Hagan, Alla Tumanyan, James Ransone. World Premiere

Spotlight

Regardless of where these films have played throughout the world, the Spotlight program is a tribute to the cinema we love.

6 Desires: Dh Lawrence and Sardinia / United Kingdom, Italy (Director: Mark Cousins) — In winter 1921, Dh Lawrence and his wife journeyed to Sardinia, and he chronicled their experiences in Sea and Sardinia. Now, Mark Cousins retraces Lawrence’s footsteps. The film is conceived partly as a letter to Lawrence — or “Bert” — a detail that’s typical of the film’s inviting sense of conversational intimacy.International Premiere

'71 / United Kingdom (Director: Yann Demange, Screenwriter: Gregory Burke) — ‘71 takes place over a single night in the life of a young British soldier accidentally abandoned by his unit following a riot on the streets of Belfast in 1971. Unable to tell friend from foe, he must survive the night alone and find his way to safety. Cast: Jack O'Connell, Paul Anderson, Richard Dormer, Sean Harris, Barry Keoghan, Martin McCann.

99 Homes / U.S.A. (Director: Ramin Bahrani, Screenwriters: Ramin Bahrani, Amir Naderi, Bahareh Azimi) — A father struggles to get back the home that his family was evicted from by working for the greedy real-estate broker who's the source of his frustration. Cast: Andrew Garfield, Michael Shannon, Laura Dern, Tim Guinee, Cullen Moss, J.D. Evermore.

Aloft / Spain, France, Canada (Director and screenwriter: Claudia Llosa) — Aloft tells the story of a struggling mother, Nana, and her evolution to becoming a renowned healer. When a young artist tracks down Nana's son 20 years after she abandoned him, she sets in motion an encounter between the two that will bring the meaning of their lives into question. Cast: Jennifer Connelly, Cillian Murphy, Mélanie Laurent, William Shimell. North American Premiere

Eden / France (Director: Mia Hansen-løve, Screenwriters: Mia Hansen-løve, Sven Hansen-løve) — Mia Hansen-løve's electronic-dance-music epic follows the rise and fall of a DJ (based on her brother, Sven, a contemporary of Daft Punk) who gets into the rave scene in 1994 and spends the next 20 years navigating the French club scene. Cast: Félix de Givry, Pauline Etienne, Greta Gerwig, Brady Corbet, Arsinee Khanjian, Vincent Macaigne.

Girlhood / France (Director and screenwriter: Céline Sciamma) — Oppressed by her family, dead-end school prospects, and the boys law in the neighborhood, Marieme starts a new life after meeting a group of free-spirited girls. She changes her name and dress, and quits school to be accepted in the gang, hoping to find a way to freedom. Cast: Karidja Touré, Assa Sylla, Lindsay Karamoh, Mariétou Touré, Idrissa Diabaté, Simina Soumaré.

The Tribe / Ukraine (Director and screenwriter: Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy) — Set at a Ukrainian boarding school for the deaf, the film’s narrative unfolds purely through sign language without the need for employing subtitles or voiceover, resulting in a unique, never-before-seen cinematic experience that engages the audience on a new level. Cast: Grigoriy Fesenko, Yana Novikova, Rosa Babiy, Alexander Dsiadevich.

White God / Hungary (Director: Kornél Mundruczó, Screenwriters: Kata Wéber, Kornél Mundruczó, Viktória Petrányi) — When young Lili is forced to give up her beloved dog, Hagen, because its mixed-breed heritage is deemed “unfit” by The State, she and the dog begin a dangerous journey back toward each other. Cast: Zsófia Psotta, Sandor Zsótér, Szabolcs Thuróczy, Lili Monori, László Gálffi, Lili Horváth. U.S. Premiere

Wild Tales / Argentina, Spain (Director and screenwriter: Damián Szifrón) — Inequality, injustice, and the demands of the world cause stress and depression for many people. Some of them, however, explode. This is a movie about those people. Vulnerable in the face of an unpredictable reality, the characters of Wild Tales cross the thin line dividing civilization and barbarism. Cast: Ricardo Darín, Julieta Zyberberg, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Darío Grandinetti, Erica Rivas, Oscar Martínez.

Park City At Midnight

From horror flicks to comedies to works that defy any genre, these unruly films will keep you edge-seated and wide awake.

Cop Car / U.S.A. (Director: Jon Watts, Screenwriters: Christopher D. Ford, Jon Watts) — Two 10-year-old boys steal an abandoned cop car. Cast: Kevin Bacon, James Freedson-Jackson, Hays Wellford, Shea Whigham, Camryn Manheim. World Premiere

The Hallow / Ireland, United Kingdom (Director: Corin Hardy, Screenwriters: Corin Hardy, Felipe Marino) — When a London-based conservationist is sent to Ireland to survey an area of ancient forest believed by the superstitious locals to be hallowed ground, he unwittingly disturbs a horde of terrifying beings and must fight to protect his family. Cast: Joseph Mawle, Bojana Novakovic, Michael McElhatton, Michael Smiley. World Premiere

Hellions / Canada (Director: Bruce McDonald, Screenwriter: Pascal Trottier) — Teenage Dora Vogel must survive a Halloween night from hell when malevolent trick-or-treaters come knocking at her door. Cast: Chloe Rose, Robert Patrick, Rossif Sutherland, Rachel Wilson, Peter DaCunha, Luke Bilyk. World Premiere

It Follows / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Robert Mitchell) — After a strange sexual encounter, a teenager finds herself haunted by nightmarish visions and the inescapable sense that something is after her. Cast: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Daniel Zovatto, Jake Weary, Olivia Luccardi, Lili Sepe.

Knock Knock / U.S.A. (Director: Eli Roth, Screenwriters: Eli Roth, Nicolas Lopez, Guillermo Amoedo) — Two beautiful young girls walk into a married man's life and turn a wild fantasy into his worst nightmare. Cast: Keanu Reeves, Lorenza Izzo, Ana De Armas, Aaron Burns, Ignacia Allamand, Colleen Camp. World Premiere

The Nightmare / U.S.A. (Director: Rodney Ascher) — A documentary-horror film exploring the phenomenon of sleep paralysis through the eyes of eight people. They (and a surprisingly large number of others) often find themselves trapped between the sleeping and awake realms, unable to move but aware of their surroundings while subject to disturbing sights and sounds. World Premiere

Reversal / U.S.A. (Director: J.M Cravioto, Screenwriters: Rock Shaink, Keith Kjornes) — A gritty psychological thriller about a young woman chained in a basement of a sexual predator and manages to escape. However, right when she has a chance for freedom, she unravels a hard truth and decides to turn the tables on her captor. Cast: Tina Ivlev, Richard Tyson, Bianca Malinowski. World Premiere

Turbo Kid / Canada, New Zealand (Directors: Anouk Whissell, Francois Simard, Yoann-Karl Whissell, Screenwriters: Anouk Whissell, Francois Simard, Yoann-Karl Whissell) — In a post-apocalyptic future, The Kid, an orphaned outcast, meets a mysterious girl. They become friends until Zeus, the sadistic leader of the Wasteland, kidnaps her. The Kid must face his fears, and journey to rid the Wasteland of evil and save the girl. Cast: Munro Chambers, Laurence Leboeuf, Michael Ironside, Aaron Jeffery, Edwin Wright. World Premiere

New Frontier Films

The Forbidden Room / Canada (Directors: Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Screenwriters: Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Robert Kotyk) — A submarine crew, a feared pack of forest bandits, a famous surgeon, and a battalion of child soldiers all get more than they bargained for as they wend their way toward progressive ideas on life and love. Cast: Geraldine Chaplin, Caroline Dhavernas, Roy Dupuis, Udo Kier, Charlotte Rampling, Karine Vanasse. World Premiere

Liveforever / Colombia, Mexico (Director: Carlos Moreno, Screenwriters: Alberto Ferreras, Alonso Torres, Carlos Moreno) — Driven by the music and dancing she finds along the way, a teenager leaves home willing to try anything her provocative and tolerant city has to offer, even if she burns out in the process. Inspired by the best-selling novel "Que viva la música" by Andres Caicedo. Cast: Paulina Davila, Alejandra Avila, Luis Arrieta, Juan Pablo Barragan, Nelson Camayo, Christian Tappan. World Premiere

The Royal Road / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jenni Olson) — This cinematic essay, a defense of remembering, offers up a primer on the Spanish colonization of California and the Mexican American War alongside intimate reflections on nostalgia, butch identity and Alfred Hitchcock'sVertigo — all against a contemplative backdrop of 16mm urban California landscapes. Cast: Jenni Olson, Tony Kushner. World Premiere

Sam Klemke's Time Machine / Australia (Director: Matthew Bate) — Sam Klemke has filmed and narrated 50 years of his life, creating a strange and intimate portrait of what it means to be human. World Premiere

Station to Station / U.S.A. (Director: Doug Aitken) — Station to Station is composed of 60 individual one-minute films featuring different artists, musicians, places, and perspectives. This revolutionary feature-length film reveals a larger narrative about modern creativity. World Premiere

Things of the Aimless Wanderer / Rwanda, United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Kivu Ruhorahoza) — A white man meets a black girl, then she disappears. The white man tries to understand what happened to her while also trying to finish a travelogue. Things of the Aimless Wanderer is a film about the sensitive topic of relations between “locals” and Westerners, about paranoia, mistrust, and misunderstandings. Cast: Justin Mullikin, Grace Nikuze, Ramadhan Bizimana, Eliane Umuhire, Wesley Ruzibiza, Matt Ray Brown. World Premiere

New Frontier Installations

1979 Revolution Game

Artists: Navid Khonsari, Vassiliki Khonsari

1979 Revolution Game presents an innovative approach to non-fiction storytelling. Designed to engage players with an immersive "on the ground" experience of the Iranian Revolution, the game integrates an emotionally impactful narrative with interactive moral choices and intuitive touchscreen gameplay while remaining true to history.

Assent

Artist: Oscar Raby

This immersive documentary uses virtual reality technology to put the user in the footsteps of Director Oscar Raby's father, who in 1973 was a 22-year-old army officer stationed in the north of Chile, on the day when the Caravan of Death came to his regiment.

Birdly

Artist: Max Rheiner

Flying is one of the oldest dreams of humankind. Birdly is an experiment to capture this dream, to simulate the experience of being a bird from a first-person perspective. This embodiment is conducted through a full-body virtual reality setup.

Dérive

Artist: François Quévillon

This interactive installation uses the audience’s body motions and positions to explore 3-D reconstructions of urban and natural spaces that are transformed according to live environmental data, including meteorological and astronomical phenomena.

Evolution of Verse

Artist: Chris Milk

Chris Milk, working with visual effects powerhouse Digital Domain and virtual reality production company Vrse.works, has created this photo-realistic CGI-rendered 3-D virtual reality film that takes the viewer on a journey from beginning to new beginning.

Kaiju Fury!

Artist: Ian Hunter

A dark energy experiment leads to a devastating attack by monstrous Kaiju, and you are standing at ground zero — all in 360-degree, stereoscopic 3-D cinematic virtual reality. You will "be there" as the beasts lay waste to a crumbling city and humanity makes its last stand. Cast: Susie Abromeit, Bill Lippincott, Daniel Martin, Brian Dodge, Vincient Chiantelli.

Paradise

Artist: Pleix

Paradise is certainly not paradisiacal if you look at it through our eyes. But neither is it totally devoid of humor, melancholy and absurdity. Perhaps it is first and foremost life as it is, and then a touch exaggerated in the digital overdrive.

Perspective; Chapter I: The Party

Artists: Rose Troche, Morris May

A young college woman attends a party with the intention of shedding her "shy girl" persona. At the same party, a young man is after a similar reinvention. They meet, drink, and misinterpreted signals turn into things that cannot be undone. Virtual reality simulators let viewers experience both characters. Cast: Tabitha Morella, Caleb Thomas, Zachary Zagoria, Anna Grace Barlow.

Possibilia

Artists: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert

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Update, 1:07 Pm: I am now being told that 99 Homes will not try for Oscars this year. Broad Green will release it next spring and try for Oscar season 2015.

Exclusive: One of the final marquee titles at the Toronto Film Festival is now spoken for, as the Ramin Bahrani-directed 99 Homes has been acquired by upstart Broad Green Pictures in a big $3 million deal for U.S. rights, with a P&A commitment. This is the latest new player in the indie distribution stratosphere that has made its statement by acquiring a high-profile Toronto film. I’m told that in the deal, international rights stay with Hyde Park, which financed the hot-button pic with ImageNation. While Andrew Garfield and Michael Shannon have by all accounts turned in Oscar-caliber performances, the film will be released in the spring. CAA brokered the deal.

The film’s set in Orlando, where construction worker...

If you’re a middle-class American with a mortgage and children, 99 Homes is a horror film, scarier than Halloween and Saw combined. The movie, which debuted in Venice and is looking for distribution at this week’s Toronto Film Festival, stars Andrew Garfield as Nash, a Florida construction worker circa 2006. Out of work and underwater on his mortgage during the housing meltdown, he’s evicted from his family home—along with his mother (Laura Dern) and young son (Noah Lomax). It’s the nightmare scenario: Police knock on the front door and give them two minutes to pack their essentials...

With director Ramin Bahrani under the weather, the majority of the talking fell to 99 Homes' cast at its press conference at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.

In Bahrani's upcoming drama, Andrew Garfield (The Amazing Spider-Man, Never Let Me Go) plays Dennis Nash, an unemployed construction worker who is evicted from his house by a realtor-cum-axeman for the banks, Rick Carver ("Boardwalk Empire"'s Michael Shannon ). It isn't long before Nash is roped into Carver's unscrupulous business of foreclosing on the disenfranchised in the bleak hope of reclaiming his home for his own family.

Here are five things we learned at the press conference for 99 Homes:

Three years makes the difference, it seems. Bahrani initially had Garfield's character written as a thirty-year -old, but Garfield disagreed with the age. The Amazing Spider-man star believed a younger age of twenty-seven would better inform the construction worker's relationship with the older Carver, as...

Last year, 12 Years a Slave clinched the Academy Award for Best Picture at the Toronto Film Festival. Well, that’s not actually true. In fact, you could argue that the Best Picture winner almost lost the statue at the festival. Steve McQueen’s harrowing instant classic was so instantly and universally anointed in Toronto that seeds were planted for an inevitable backlash to flower in the six months before the Oscar winner was finally announced. Ultimately, 12 Years’ biggest Oscar competition came from another Toronto film, Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity. Though both films premiered at Telluride and Venice, respectively, the awards...

After its smash international World Premiere in Venice, director Ramin Bahrani’s 99 Homes — an absolutely riveting drama about the 2008 home foreclosure crisis — had its North American premiere here at the Telluride Film Festival, and it has set this place ablaze. Despite lots of interest, as there should be, from domestic distributors, Bahrani told me immediately after this morning’s screening that the financiers behind the film are waiting until its Toronto debut next week to finalize anything. Starring Andrew Garfield and Michael Shannon in career-best performances, this movie is not only a no-brainer for a quick distribution deal, it could be the rare — here comes that five letter word you hate so much, studios — drama that also could be a commercial powerhouse. Few films I have seen in recent years have cut so close to the bone as this one does. Americans, in particular, will respond strongly, and if ever there was a word-of-mouth movie,...

Strong performances by Andrew Garfield and particularly Michael Shannon make Ramin Bahrani‘s 99 Homes a real estate Wall Street. After Rick Carver (Shannon) evicts Dennis Nash (Garfield), Nash’s son and his mother (Laura Dern) out of the house that has been in their family for years Nash strikes a Faustian bargain. He becomes Carver’s right-hand man, succumbing to the chance at easy money and the possibility of buying back his repossessed home.

Bahrani depicts this world of greed, of broken promises, and loss extremely well. But, as we all know, a change of heart must occur and Nash must be thoroughly motivated to do so. Thus, when Mom and his boy evince horror at his new profession and reject the McMansion he’s bought for them, over the evictee hotel they’ve been living in, it doesn’t wash. The final act of the film layers it on...

Ramin Bahrani returns to Venice in fine form with his scathing indictment of the mistreated and dispossessed in contemporary USA. Unlike Man Push Cart, these characters are not the marginalised of the country, but the everyman and woman trying to make ends meet and pay the mortgage during a financial crisis.

The film opens in classic police noir style, with a body in the bathroom, a gun on the floor and a flickering clock giving us time of death. Instead of a detective, in walks Rick Carver (Michael Shannon), a real estate broker whose speciality is repossessions. The year is 2010 and Fanny Mae is taking away people’s property by the thousand. The body in the bathroom is one of Rick’s victims: he’s no killer, but he is complicit in stripping away people’s lives.

Next on Ric’s list is Dennis Nash (Andrew Garfield), a hardworking blue-collar worker,...

Venice — The title treatment for Ramin Bahrani's Venice Competition entry consists of blood red letters on black. Filling the entire screen with blocky all-caps letters and numbers dozens of feet high, we read: 99 Homes. It looks more like the title treatment for a horror than a drama digging into a moral morass of foreclosure, subsistence level employment, and better paid but more spiritually costly work. As it turns out, it is also a horror movie of sorts. The first shot of the film itself is even a post-mortem scene, as Michael Shannon's predatory realtor Rick Carver -- and how's that for a horror movie name? -- gazes almost impassively at blood dribbling down tacky pink bathroom tiles. The contrast couldn't be more stark: Shannon in an off-white blazer so sharp it hurts (costume design by Meghan Kasperlik is on point throughout), gold watch glinting and not a hair...

Ramin Bahrani is not a name that many people know of, but he is one of the finest filmmakers working today. Anyone who saw Life Itself, the documentary about late film critic Roger Ebert, may remember that Bahrani befriended Ebert after the reviewer praised some of his early work, and it is likely due to Ebert’s influence that Bahrani has such a renowned reputation. His latest film, 99 Homes, is slated to premiere at the Venice and Toronto film festivals next month, and today we have our first look at it.

The drama stars Andrew Garfield and Michael Shannon, two stellar actors who often work on the stage but are now best-known for their roles in superhero films (Garfield in Marc Webb’s Spider-Man movies, Shannon in Man of Steel). Based on the serious scowls on both of their faces in the first image above, courtesy of Entertainment Weekly, this...

Andrew Garfield‘s latest film venture is the farthest thing from Spider-Man – he stars in “99 Homes,” a drama featuring Michael Shannon, Laura Dern and Noah Lomax. The film follows the story of an unemployed contractor, Dennis Nash (Garfield), who lands in hot water and is forced to leave his house after the bank seizes it. As he struggles to get back his family home, Dennis winds up working for the real estate agent (Shannon) who got him in trouble in the first place. Directed by Ramin Bahrani, “99 Homes” will make its worldwide debut at the Venice International Film Festival [...]

The post First Look at Andrew Garfield and Michael Shannon in ’99 Homes’ appeared first on Up and Comers.

Some great films were released on the same day as such recent hits as The Dark Knight Rises and Frozen. Here are a few of them...

Odd List

The 3rd July 2013 saw the release of Disney's The Lone Ranger, its larger-than-life western starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer. Its theatrical debut marked the end of a lengthy and difficult production, stories from which had been hungrily served up by the media - the previous summer was dominated by news stories of its spiralling budget, which was thought to have crossed $250m. Nevertheless, the 2013 blockbuster season should, in theory, have marked a fresh start for Disney, as it spent a reported $150m on marketing The Lone Ranger. But the House of Mouse hadn't counted on the popularity of another film launched on that exact same day in July: Universal's animated sequel, Despicable Me 2.

The Lone Ranger, a film with an...

Many of the winners and nominated stars attending this weekend's Oscars chose to grace the red carpet with a proud parent or supportive sibling.

Michael Fassbender and Lupita Nyong'o were among the actors and actresses keeping it firmly within the family at the Academy Awards - and several other Hollywood parents and relatives turned out to support their nearest and dearest at this year's awards show:

Jonah Hill

The Wolf of Wall Street star Jonah Hill was accompanied by his proud mother Sharon Lyn Chalkin - a costume designer and fashion stylist - as they arrived together at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Jonah was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor trophy, which was won by Jared Leto.

Jared Leto

Not only did Jared Leto bring his beloved mother Constance to the Oscars - after inviting her to the ceremony via FaceTime and filming her thrilled reaction for fans -...

99 Homes

Director: Ramin Bahrani

Writers: Ramin Bahrani, Amir Naderi, Bahareh Azimi‐Khoie

Producer(s): Ashok Amritraj (see pic above), Ramin Bahrani, Andrew Garfield, Justin Nappi, Kevin Turen

U.S. Distributor: Rights Available

Cast: Andrew Garfield, Laura Dern, Michael Shannon, Tim Guinee

At Any Price came from the same earnest place as Chop Shop and Goodbye Solo and Ramin Bahrani had the luxury of working with a bigger budget/name cast garnishings, but the end result was a poorly conceived and executed cornhusk melodrama. My thinking is that this portrait of Americana will include a bit more bite. Employing the services of cinematographer Bobby Bukowski, with thesps Laura Dern and Michael Shannon in the mix, it’s fair to say that we might reach some authentic dramatic heights with the curiously titled, 99 Homes.

Gist: Set against the backdrop of the economic crisis, the drama revolves around an unemployed contractor who...

Just in time for our Oscar indulgence, Bruce Kimmel joined the bandwagon of Oscar tantalizers by presenting his monthy Kritzerland show, this month entitled Kritzerland Goes to the Movies, at Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal in tribute to Academy Award worthy music songs that won an Oscar, songs that were nominated and those that were not but should have been. Monday February 3 was a fun evening with fantastic Shelly Markham at the piano as musical director and six stellar performers including John Sloman, Shannon Warne, Dennis Kyle, Lisa Livesay, Emma Degerstedt and young songstress Brennley Brown. Also on hand for our pleasure were special guest star composer and three-time Academy Award winner Richard Sherman and actresssong stylist Andrea Marcovicci.

Of all the canards foisted upon and between culture fans in 2013, there was none more dubious than the notion that the supposed “battle” of television vs. film had come to an end, with the former declared the victor. Besides the fact that comparing such disparate mediums is a fool’s errand at best, both are such vast and complicated enterprises that any pitched battle likely only pits narrow conceptions of each against the other. (Strawman vs. strawman, the most popular form of discourse on the Internet.) The simplest way to invalidate the entire argument quickly: where films only have to be taken on their own terms as one complete work, TV series need to be considered in at least three contexts: by episode, by season, and by the overall run of the series.

With several shows ending their runs this year, including Breaking Bad, Dexter, Southland, Spartacus, and The Killing (up until its latest resurrection,...

99 Homes

Laura Dern will join Andrew Garfield and Michael Shannon in Ramin Bahrani's "99 Homes" which is currently shooting in New Orleans. Garfield plays Dennis, an unemployed contractor whose family is evicted during the economic crisis.

In order to get his home back he goes to work for the realtor who evicted him (Shannon) who teaches Dennis the legal and illegal ins and outs of the foreclosure game. Dern plays Dennis' widowed mother who raised him and his 9-year-old son Connor. [Source: Deadline]

The Childhood of a Leader

Tim Roth, Juliette Binoche and Robert Pattinson are attached to star in actor Brady Corbet's directorial debut "The Childhood of a Leader". Filming begins in Europe in May.

The story focuses on the childhood of a post-World War I leader. Corbet co-wrote the script with Mona Fastvold. Antoine and Martine de Clermont-Tonnere, Chris Coen and Amour Fou will produce. [Source: Variety]

Fifty Shades of Grey...

★★★☆☆ Richard Kuklinski was an infamous contract killer doing the dirty work of various New York crime organisations throughout the sixties and seventies. Estimates of how many lives he ended during his career vary from 100 to 250 according to different accounts. Based on a screenplay by Morgan Land and director Ariel Vromen, The Iceman (2012) follows Kuklinski from his unsettling appreciation for murder to his settled family life. Michael Shannon gamely inhabits the lead role, but this by-the-numbers gangster flick fails to truly get beneath the skin of its subject despite remaining dramatically engaging throughout.

Unbeknownst to his wife Deborah (Winona Ryder), with whom he is awkwardly charming and affable, Kuklinski (Shannon) has a fatally violent streak and works in knock-off pornography. One night he gains the attention of local mobster Roy Demeo (gangster movie stalwart Ray Liotta), when they have a run-in during which Richie exhibits a cool head and stone-cold demeanour.

Here's the full list of nominees and winners at the 2013 Emmy Awards, and while some of the winners were pretty obvious, there were still some big surprises. Look over the list, and let us know who you thought should have won.

Outstanding Comedy Series

30 Rock • NBC

The Big Bang Theory • CBS

Girls • HBO

Louie • FX

*Modern Family • ABC

Veep • HBO

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series

Laura Dern, Enlightened

Lena Dunham, Girls

Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie

Tina Fey, 30 Rock

Amy Poehler, Parks And Recreation

*Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep

Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series

*Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

Don Cheadle, House Of Lies

Louis C.K., Louie

Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock

Jason Bateman, Arrested Development

Matt LeBlanc, Episodes

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series

Mayim Bialik as Amy Farrah Fowler - The Big Bang Theory • CBS

Jane Lynch as Sue Sylvester - Glee • Fox

Julie Bowen as...

The best and the brightest in TV came together at the Nokia Theatre this evening (September 22) for the 65th Annual Emmy Awards in Los Angeles.

Neil Patrick Harris held down the fort as the year’s Mc, entertaining the star-studded crowd with show-stopping performances and hilarious skits with “How I Met Your Mother” cast members and former Emmy hosts.

As for the winners, Claire Danes scored a big win, taking home a trophy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, while Jeff Daniels took home the prize in the Lead Actor category.

Meanwhile, Jim Parsons won his third Emmy for Lead Actor in a comedy for his role in “Big Bang Theory,” and Julia Louis-Dreyfus scored the prize for her lead role in “Veep.”

And last but not least, the cast of "Modern Family" and "Breaking Bad" were honored with Outstanding Comedy and Drama Series, respectively.

Check out the...

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced the winners of the 65th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards this evening. The 65th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, aired live on Sunday, September 22 (8pm Et / 5pm Pt) on CBS. Take a look at The Emmy Awards winners and nominees below.

Outstanding Drama Series

Breaking Bad &#8226 AMC &#8226 Sony Pictures TelevisionDownton Abbey &#8226 PBS &#8226 A Carnival / Masterpiece Co-ProductionGame of Thrones &#8226 HBO &#8226 Bighead, Littlehead, Television 360, Startling Television and Generator Productions in association with HBO EntertainmentHomeland &#8226 Showtime &#8226 Showtime Presents, Teakwood Lane Productions, Cherry Pie Productions, Keshet, Fox 21House of Cards &#8226 Netflix &#8226 Donen/Fincher/Roth and Trigger Street Productions, Inc. in association with Media Rights Capital for NetflixMad Men &#8226 AMC &#8226 Lionsgate Television

Outstanding Comedy Series

Modern Family &#8226 ABC &#8226 Picador Productions & Steve Levitan Productions in association with 20th Century Fox TelevisionThe Big Bang Theory &#8226 CBS &#8226 Chuck Lorre Productions, Inc. in association with Warner Bros. TelevisionGirls &#8226 HBO...

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced the nominations for the 65th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards this morning. The 65th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, will air live on Sunday, September 22 (8pm Et / 5pm Pt) on CBS. Take a look at The Emmy Awards nominees below.

Outstanding Drama Series

Breaking Bad &#8226 AMC &#8226 Sony Pictures TelevisionDownton Abbey &#8226 PBS &#8226 A Carnival / Masterpiece Co-ProductionGame of Thrones &#8226 HBO &#8226 Bighead, Littlehead, Television 360, Startling Television and Generator Productions in association with HBO EntertainmentHomeland &#8226 Showtime &#8226 Showtime Presents, Teakwood Lane Productions, Cherry Pie Productions, Keshet, Fox 21House of Cards &#8226 Netflix &#8226 Donen/Fincher/Roth and Trigger Street Productions, Inc. in association with Media Rights Capital for NetflixMad Men &#8226 AMC &#8226 Lionsgate Television

Outstanding Comedy Series

The Big Bang Theory &#8226 CBS &#8226 Chuck Lorre Productions, Inc. in association with Warner Bros. TelevisionGirls &#8226 HBO &#8226 Apatow Productions and I am Jenni Konner Productions in association with HBO EntertainmentLouie &#8226 FX Networks &#8226 Pig Newton,...

Nominations were announced this morning in Los Angeles for the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards, airing Sept. 22 on CBS. And they are:

Outstanding Comedy Series

The Big Bang Theory • CBS

Girls • HBO

Louie • FX Networks

Modern Family • ABC

30 Rock • NBC

Veep • HBO

Outstanding Drama Series

Breaking Bad • AMC

Downton Abbey • PBS

Game Of Thrones • HBO

Homeland • Showtime

House Of Cards • Netflix

Mad Men • AMC •

Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama

Bryan Cranston as Walter White

Breaking Bad • AMC

Hugh Bonneville as Robert, Earl of Grantham

Downton Abbey • PBS

Damian Lewis as Nicholas Brody

Homeland • Showtime

Kevin Spacey as Francis Underwood

House Of Cards...

Review Mark Harrison 10 Jun 2013 - 05:59

Michael Shannon may be about to hit the big time as General Zod, but he proves his excellent in The Iceman too...

Michael Shannon has been knocking at the door of stardom for a while now, between a regular role on Boardwalk Empire, and acclaim for a number of memorable movie roles, including an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, after his turn in Revolutionary Road. This Friday, he'll step into Terence Stamp's pyjamas to play General Zod in Man Of Steel, but he's currently giving another villainous performance in UK cinemas, in The Iceman.

Richard 'Richie' Kuklinski was a contract killer who worked with the New Jersey mob in the 1970s and 1980s, at the behest of Roy DeMeo (here played by Ray Liotta) and killed over 100 men over the course of that career. In this film, we see how he starts...

Michael Shannon goes head-to-head with James Franco in a new preview clip from The Iceman.

The scenes, released exclusively through Esquire, shows Shannon's hired killer Kuklinski asking Franco's Marty Freeman to get God to intervene and prevent his impending death.

Kuklinski murdered more than 100 people between the years 1964 and 1986. His family were unaware of his Mafia connections, only discovering the extent of his crimes when he was arrested in the mid-'80s.

Avengers star Chris Evans features in the supporting cast for The Iceman alongside Winona Ryder, Ray Liotta, David Schwimmer, Robert Davi, Stephen Dorff and Franco.

The Iceman will open in UK cinemas on June 7.

> Michael Shannon talks about Delta Gamma sorority email - video

> 'Man of Steel' Michael Shannon: Henry Cavill was born to play Superman

> Michael Shannon's 5 best movie and TV roles

Watch Digital Spy's interview with Michael Shannon below:...

The ever-so-intense Michael Shannon plays true life hitman Richard Kuklinski in The Iceman, a bloody drama about the family man who claimed to have murdered over 100 people for the mafia. In the biopic, Shannon is joined by an ensemble cast that includes Chris Evans, Winona Ryder, Ray Liotta, James Franco, David Schwimmer, Robert Davi, and Stephen Dorff.

The film is co-written and directed by Ariel Vromen, who has his biggest project yet with Iceman. Vromen has directed two films previously, Danika with Marisa Tomei in 2006, and Rx with Colin Hanks, Lauren Grahan, and Eric Balfour in 2005, which he also co-wrote.

In a phoner interview, I talked with Vromen about his film, the rising star the drives it, the question of secrecy that it asks, the incredible moments of tension between Michael Shannon and Ray Liotta, and more.

The Iceman opens in Chicago on May 17.

Kuklinski has a very staggering line...

Opening this weekend, in limited release, is director/co-writer Ariel Vromen’s The Iceman. The drama is based on the book by Anthony Bruno that chronicles the life of Richard Kuklinski (played by Michael Shannon), a professional hitman who kept his work secret from his family. The contract killer received the nickname “The Iceman” because he froze the bodies of his victims in order to disguise their time of death and throw the authorities off track. The film also stars Chris Evans, Ray Liotta, Winona Ryder, Robert Davi, and Danny Abeckaser. For more on The Iceman, watch the trailer. At the recent Los Angeles press day, I landed an exclusive interview with Michael Shannon. We talked about the way he prepares for a role, making The Iceman, the balance between Hollywood-izing the subject matter versus also telling the real story, whether he still has to audition, and so much more.

James Franco, Winona Ryder, and Michael Shannon stepped out for a special screening of "The Iceman" in New York last night (April 29). Ryder looked cute and classic in a black Zac Posen dress, while leading man Michael Shannon and co-star James Franco suited-up for the event at the Chelsea Clearview Cinema, and for the Grey Goose after-party at NYC's Soho House. "The Iceman" tells the true story of mob hit-man Richard Kuklinski (Shannon). At the time of his arrest in 1986 Kuklinski claimed to have killed more than 100 men for multiple crime families. On the surface, the hired gun appeared as a devoted father and loving husband, but, in reality, was a ruthless murderer who hid his crimes from his family. Ray Liotta, Chris Evans, and Robert Davi also star. "The Iceman" opens in limited release May 3. Photos:...

Director/co-writer Ariel Vromen’s The Iceman chronicles the life of notorious contract killer Richard Kuklinski (Michael Shannon) who earned the nickname for freezing the bodies of his victims to throw authorities off his trail. A man of many contradictions, Kuklinski was by various accounts a loving husband, a devoted father, and a ruthless hitman who concealed his work from his family. Opening on May 3rd, the film also stars Winona Ryder, Chris Evans, David Schwimmer, Ray Liotta and Robert Davi. At the recent press day, Vromen talked about why he thought Kuklinski’s story would make a fascinating film, how he convinced Shannon to shoot a test scene that helped secure the financing, why the ying yang dynamic between Shannon and Ryder worked so well, what led to some of the surprising casting choices for the supporting roles and how he balanced those with veterans of the genre, and...

Do you know the real story of Richard Kuklinski, one of the most ruthless contract killers our country has ever seen? Being a Jersey boy living not even a thirty minute drive from New York City, I do, so to say all these events went down in my backyard is an understatement. Sure, he was behind bars before I was even born, but his legacy lived far past his free life. But if seeing these historic events recreated (albeit through Hollywood’s touch) wasn’t enough, none other than heavyweight actor Michael Shannon portrays Kuklinski – a match made in casting heaven. Thankfully, Ariel Vromen’s “based on a true story” film about Richard Kuklinski, The Iceman, was every bit as tantalizing of a crime drama I could ask for, representing one of my favorite movies of the year so far.

So for those of you in the dark on who...