News

Los Angeles nonprofit Jewish Story Partners announced $450,000 in new grants to fund 18 different documentary projects this week.

Founded in 2021 with support from Kate Capshaw and Steven Spielberg, the group seeks “to stimulate and support the highest caliber independent films that expand the Jewish story.” Since its inception, Jsp has awarded approximately $2.5 million in grants.

The new slate of recipients includes filmmakers like Anne Aghion, Dan Habib (“Intelligent Lives”), Mark Jonathan Harris, Rachel Leah Jones (“Advocate”), Jacob Kornbluth and Marlene McCurtis (“Women on Death Row”).

“At a time when nuance is sorely needed in public discourse, we’re proud to support films that elucidate complex realities and reflect a range of Jewish stories, perspectives and experiences,” said Jsp co-executive directors Caroline Libresco and Roberta Grossman.

Upon the grant awarding, Jsp leadership said that in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel, “[We] renew our faith in film as an indispensable...

Click here to read the full article.

I take great pride when I read news stories in my Hollywood Reporter about young people from a wide array of ethnic groups making their entry into the wonderful world of motion pictures. Last month, almost 400 people, many from the Asian, African-American and Latino communities, were invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. More than a few of them have experienced hardship, discrimination and intolerance, but they persevered and can now take great pride in being members of the film industry’s most prestigious organization.

I know the feeling well.

I was born on the Lower East Side in 1939. My parents were born in Europe and were lucky to arrive in this country before the Holocaust, unlike other members of our family who were murdered by the Nazis. We lived in the projects just off the East River Drive.

Morgan Freeman – Academy Award winning actor, producer, voice actor and activist – has been named the 54th recipient of SAG-aftra's highest tribute: the SAG Life Achievement Award for career achievement and humanitarian accomplishment.

Freeman will be presented the performers union’s top accolade at the 24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards,which will be simulcast live on TNT and TBS on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2018 at 8 p.m. (Et), 7 p.m. (Ct), 6 p.m. (Mt) and 5 p.m. (Pt). Given annually to an actor who fosters the “finest ideals of the acting profession,” the SAG Life Achievement Award will join Freeman’s exceptional catalog of preeminent industry and public honors, which includes a Screen Actors Guild Award, an Academy Award, HFPA’s Cecil B. DeMille Award, an AFI Lifetime Achievement Award, seven Image Awards, a Silver Berlin Bear, several Obies, a Kennedy Center Honor, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Now in its fourth year, Oregon Doc Camp invites experienced documentary filmmakers to a four-day documentary retreat May 18-21, 2017 at Silver Falls State Park in central Oregon. Developed by Women in Film Portland, Oregon Doc Camp gives working documentary filmmakers an opportunity to gather in an informal setting, learn from each other and build community in an ever-changing industry. This year, Kate Amend, editor of the Academy Award-winning documentaries Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport and The Long Way Home, as well as The Case Against 8, and many other films, will present the keynote speech. Currently on the faculty […]...

On the heels of Telefilm Canada’s pledge on November 11 that half of its projects will be directed or written by women in a move to close the industry gender gap by 2020, the Whistler Film Festival (Nov 30 — Dec 4) was proud to present an unprecedented number of female focused films, talent, events and awards throughout its 2016 programs.

The festival featured a record 31 (36%) films all directed by women (including 15 feature films out of 50 and 16 short films out of 36). Wff also has 38 (58%) female filmmakers out of the 66 Canadian artists confirmed to date participating in 11 talent programs — including 22 directors, 6 producers, 3 screenwriters, 2 actors, and 5 musicians/bands in the Music Showcase. Add this to the talent confirmed to attend the festival in support of their films and projects, including award winning director and screenwriter Deepa Mehta (An Anatomy Of Violence), director Ingrid Veninger (Hockey Night), director Kirsten Carthew (The Sun At Midnight) and director Martine Blue...

When making Oscar predictions, I’ve learned to never underestimate the Holocaust movie. When in doubt with those pesky documentary short subjects, pick the one about the Holocaust. It sounds crass, and it’s an eye-rolling industry truism, but if you chose “The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life” in 2014, you were right. Out of seven nominated Holocaust feature documentaries, six won the Oscar.

The Holocaust is a heart-rending and complicated subject. There have been many other genocides in history, of course; Oscar-winner “The Killing Fields” addressed Cambodia, and other films have examined Armenia, Rwanda, Indonesia, and Bosnia. Still, that’s nothing compared to the hundreds of movies that have addressed how Adolf Hitler and his Nazis exterminated 6 million Jews during World War II.

This year is no exception. Well-intentioned court procedural “Denial” (Bleecker Street), starring Rachel Weisz as an American academic on trial in Britain for defaming...

When making Oscar predictions, I’ve learned to never underestimate the Holocaust movie. When in doubt with those pesky documentary short subjects, pick the one about the Holocaust. It sounds crass, and it’s an eye-rolling industry truism, but if you chose “The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life” in 2014, you were right. Out of seven nominated Holocaust feature documentaries, six won the Oscar.

The Holocaust is a heart-rending and complicated subject. There have been many other genocides in history, of course; Oscar-winner “The Killing Fields” addressed Cambodia, and other films have examined Armenia, Rwanda, Indonesia, and Bosnia. Still, that’s nothing compared to the hundreds of movies that have addressed how Adolf Hitler and his Nazis exterminated 6 million Jews during World War II.

This year is no exception. Well-intentioned court procedural “Denial” (Bleecker Street), starring Rachel Weisz as an American academic on trial in Britain for defaming...

Easily one of the best films from last year, The Martian, is getting an extended version for fans to enjoy, that not only adds new footage, but brings some new special features to watch as well. Come inside to check out all the information!

When I reviewed The Martian last year when it hit theaters, I gave it a perfect score. My opinion on it didn't change with the blu-ray release and still remains one of my favorites. As such, I'm incredibly excited to report on the Extended Edition! Sure, it's only bringing in an extra 10 minutes to the film, but I bet they're gonna be awesome. Not to mention some new bonus features that actually take you behind the scenes and making of the film (which the initial blu-ray was lacking). The Martian Extended Edition will hit on June 7th:

The film that blew audiences away is back and...

Sausage Party

Sony Pictures is set to show a work-in-progress cut of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's adult animated feature "Sausage Party" at this month's South by Southwest Film Festival - several months in advance of the film's August 12th release.

Rogen, Jonah Hill, Kristen Wiig, Paul Rudd and Nick Kroll lead the voice cast for the film about talking supermarket foods in a film that is said to look like a Pixar film, but be Nc-17 in terms of raunchy content. [Source: Deadline]

The Founder

The Weinstein Company has moved up "The Founder," the Michael Keaton-led biopic about McDonalds franchise creator Ray Kroc. Originally slated for a limited release on November 25th, it will now open wide on August 5th. "Lion," Garth Davis' film adaptation of Saroo Brierley's novel "The Long Way Home", will take over the November 25th slot. [Source: Variety

Hidden Figures

Kevin Costner will join Taraji P. Henson...

“From documentaries, we learn about our world and humanity,” was the greeting by Documentary Branch governor Kate Amend to the audience in the Samuel Goldwyn Theater on Wednesday evening at the opening of Documentary program. Amend said while this year’s nominated shorts were tragic, they were also about “courage and compassion.”

Referring to the Documentary Shorts as “The Big Shorts,” Amend (editor of The Long Way Home, Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport and The Case against 8) mentioned that 124 films qualified in both the Documentary Feature and Documentary Short Subject categories.

The evening included a screening of clips from the nominated films. Nominees from all 10 films also took part in panel discussions talked about their own films and shared insights on the craft of documentary filmmaking. All the directors gratefully acknowledged the collaboration of the cinematographers and editors in the success of their movies.

Best...

If you’re in the Southern California area during the days leading up the 88th Oscars on February 28th, there are great events at the Academy that no movie fan will wants to miss.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present a series of public programs celebrating this year’s nominees in the Animated Feature Film, Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Subject, Foreign Language Film, Makeup and Hairstyling, and Animated and Live Action Short Film categories. All events will be held at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

The Oscar Week schedule is as follows:

Oscar Week: Shorts

Tuesday, February 23, 7 p.m.

Hosted by director Jennifer Yuh Nelson

Yuh Nelson received an Oscar nomination in the Animated Feature Film category for “Kung Fu Panda 2” and is the director of the sequel “Kung Fu Panda 3,” currently in theaters. The program will delve into the...

We present the monthly industry report on South Korean Cinema.

Overview

During September more than 18 million went to the cinemas in South Korea, sales reach $127 million dollars. Korean Films were able to get 60% of the market (11 million spectators) and sales over pass $76 million dollars. As far as Foreign Films they were seen by 7.2 million persons and sales reach $50 million.

Compared to last year there was an increase (8.8%) of the total admissions. Korean Films show an increase of almost 42% as they reach 11 million admissions. Foreign Films shown a decrease of 20%. Sales were almost the same as September 2014 with only an increase of $3 million dollars.

Movie Release

The Throne – The Accidental Detective – The Long Way Home

This month the most watched Korean Films were: “The Throne” (Showbox) directed by Lee Joon-ik with 4.9 million spectators, “The Accidental Detective” (Cj) by Kim Joung-hoon with 1.4 million, and “The Long Way Home” (Lotte) by Cheon Sung-il with 522.993 viewers.

Like politicians who carp about “tax-and-spend” liberals (never mind that Obama has reduced the deficit, and taxes) commentators on the Oscar doc race seem to think it’s still 1997— when Spike Lee was complaining, with some justification, that the odds of beating a Holocaust film for Best Doc were worse than being the Knicks, down 10 points in the fourth quarter. Lee’s “Four Little Girls” lost to “The Long Way Home” (arguably, an act of larceny). But a Holocaust-related movie hasn’t won since 2000 (“Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport”) and in more recent years, the doc branch—and those who ultimately vote in the finals— have generally been making selections off Doc Lite menu. Over the last 10 years, the winners have included two music docs, one about penguins, one about dolphins, one about football and one about a man on a wire. It’s hard to...

The New Zealand Film Commission has named the recipients of its one-off business development scheme Boost, with total funding of more than $NZ450,000.

The scheme is designed to accelerate the slates of active producers and to enable screen businesses to move films more quickly into production.

Applicants were invited to apply for $NZ50,000 - $NZ130,000 per business. At least 50 per cent of the money must be allocated to third party development costs and the commission expects the entire amount to be spent within 12-18 months.

The recipients are Jump Film and Television, Centron Pictures, Pop Film, Four Knights Film and Firefly Films.

Making the announcement at the Big Screen Symposium conference, Nzfc CEO Dave Gibson, said that screen companies in New Zealand are growing in number and scale and he expects the five Boost companies will contribute to this growth.

Founded by Robin Scholes, Jump Pictures is completing Lee Tamahori...

Light-hearted drama won Sundance audience award.

The Oldenburg Film Festival (Sept 16-20) is to close with Umrika, an Indian drama from writer-director Prashant Nair’s that stars Life of Pi’s Suraj Sharma and The Grand Budapest Hotel’s Tony Revolori.

The film, first seen at the Sundance Film Festival where it won the audience award, is set in the mid-1980s and centres on a small village in India that is invigorated when one of their own travels to America and details his adventures through letters home.

But when the letters mysteriously stop, his younger brother Rama ( Sharma) sets out on a journey to find him. With the help of his best friend Lalu (Revolori), Rama retraces his brother’s steps and charts a path of his own.

The Hindi-language film will be jointly released in German cinemas on Nov 19 by Ascot Elite and CaminoFilmverleih.

Highlights at this year’s Oldenburg Film Festival include the world...

When Kanye West took the Brit Awards stage earlier this year for a fire-breathing performance of "All Day," he reached peak squad goals with some of the biggest names and most interesting up-and-comers in England's urban music scenes. Tucked within that raucous crew were Krept & Konan, the young rap duo whose star-studded first LP, The Long Way Home, debuted at No. 2 on the British charts last month. The high charting is all well and good, but taking their native London is not enough for Krept & Konan. They’re determined to get Americans to listen, and with the pop muscle of Ed Sheeran and One Direction's solo rebel Zayn Malik behind them, they actually stand a shot at doing just that.Their latest single “Freak of the Week" has found a recent home on the U.K. charts, but the dancehall banger featuring Jeremih and DJ Mustard stands to serve...

Exclusive: Korea’s Lotte Entertainment has picked up Meet The In-laws 2 (working title), directed by Kim Jin-young.

Kim directed the first Meet The In-laws, which in 2011 clocked up 2.5 million admissions locally.

In the sequel, Chul-soo, the only son of a notorious crime family, studies for the police force exam in order to marry Young-hee, who is a detective and the daughter of a cop.

His parents, of course, try mightily to sabotage his wedding and his future as a cop. But when Young-hee and her family are ordered to investigate a series of murders, Chul-soo helps out by borrowing from his parents’ expertise in crime.

Jin Se-yeon from TV’s Doctor Stranger and Bridal Mask stars with Hong Jong-hyun from TV’s We Got Married.

The film is set for release April 30.

Lotte’s Filmart slate also includes Min Kyu-dong’s period drama The Treacherous, Lee Hae-young’s mystery thriller The Silenced, Chun Sung-il...

Each year, the Library of Congress selects 25 films to be named to the National Film Registry, a proclamation of commitment to preserving the chosen pictures for all time. They can be big studio pictures or experimental short films, goofball comedies or poetic meditations on life. The National Film Registery "showcases the extraordinary diversity of America’s film heritage and the disparate strands making it so vibrant" and by preserving the films, the Library of Congress hopes to "a crucial element of American creativity, culture and history.” This year’s selections span the period 1913 to 2004 and include a number of films you’re familiar with. Unless you’ve never heard of "Saving Private Ryan," "The Big Lebowski," “Rosemary’s Baby” or "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." Highlights from the list include the aforementioned film, Arthur Penn’s Western "Little Big Man," John Lasseter’s 1986 animated film, “Luxo Jr.," 1953’s “House of Wax,...

Spanning the years 1913-2004, the 25 films to be added to the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry for 2014 include Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan, Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby, Arthur Penn’s Little Big Man, John Hughes’ Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and the Coen brothers’ The Big Lebowski. The annual selection helps to ensure that the movies will be preserved for all time. This year’s list brings the number of films in the registry to 650.

Also on the list are John Lasseter’s 1986 animated film, Luxo Jr; the original Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory with Gene Wilder; and Howard Hawks’ classic 1959 Western Rio Bravo. Documentaries and silent films also make up part of the selection which represents titles that are “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant; they must also each be at least 10 years old. Check out the rundown of all 25 movies below:

2014 National Film Registry...

Birdman, Fury and Leviathan among main competition titles; Roland Joffé to preside over main jury.

Alejandro G Ińárritu, Yimou Zhang, Mike Leigh and Jean-Marc Vallée are among the directors with films screening in competition at the 22nd Camerimage (Nov 15-22), the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography.

The main competition at the festival, held in the Polish city of Bydgoszcz, comprises:

Alejandro G Ińárritu’s Birdman (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance); USA, 2014; Cinematographer: Emmanuel Lubezki

Yimou Zhang’s Coming Home (Gui lai); China, 2014; Cinematographer: Zhao Xiaoding

Richard Raymond’s Desert Dancer; UK, 2014; Cinematographer: Carlos Catalán Alucha

Lech J. Majewski’s Field of Dogs - Onirica (Onirica - Psie pole); Poland, 2014; Cinematographers: Paweł Tybora and Lech J. Majewski

Krzysztof Zanussi’s Foreign Body (Obce cialo); Poland, Italy, Russia, 2014; Cinematographer: Piotr Niemyjski

David Ayer’s Fury; USA, 2014; Cinematographer: Roman Vasyanov

Tate Taylor’s Get on Up; USA, 2014; Cinematographer: Stephen Goldblatt

Łukasz Palkowski’s Gods (Bogowie); Poland, 2014; Cinematographer:...

Polish film festival sets competition juries; Roland Joffe to preside over main competition.

Camerimage (Nov 15-22), the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography, has set an impressive roster of jurors for its various competition categories.

The Killing Fields director Roland Joffe will preside over the main competition jury, which incldues cinematographers Christian Berger and Manuel Alberto Claro.

Caleb Deschanel has been appointed president of the Polish Films Competition.

The full list of jurors is below.

Main Competition

Roland Joffé – Jury President (director, producer; The Killing Fields, The Mission, Vatel)

Christian Berger (cinematographer; The Piano Teacher, Hidden, The White Ribbon)

Ryszard Bugajski (director, screenwriter; Interrogation, General Nil, The Closed Circuit)

Ryszard Horowitz (photographer)

David Gropman (cinematographer; The Cider House Rules, Chocolat, Life of Pi)

Arthur Reinhart (cinematographer, producer; Crows, Tristan + Isolde, Venice)

Oliver Stapleton (cinematographer; The Cider House Rules, Pay It Forward, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark)

Manuel Alberto Claro (cinematographer; Reconstruction, Melancholia, Nymphomaniac...

Brooklyn-based distributor Factory 25 has acquired North American rights to Hellaware, writer-director Michael M. Bilandic’s indie satire about a wannabe photographer caught in the lowbrow-highbrow collision between the NYC art gallery scene and the grimy rapcore world of Juggalo culture. Keith Poulson stars as Nate, whose coked-up YouTube search leads him to a music video by Insane Clown Posse knockoff the Young Torture Killers. The fictional band drew free publicity for the film when online viewers took a controversial music video from the movie for the real thing. Factory 25 will open the film in NYC on September 26 and digitally on September 23.

DigiNext has pacted directly with indie shingle Vision Vehicle Productions for worldwide rights to two features from the label co-founded by actor Malcolm Goodwin (American Gangster, Leatherheads, Breakout Kings, iZombie). Faith-inspired flick Pass The Light stars Cameron Palatas as a 17-year-old high school student who runs for Congress to...

Cinedigm Corp has struck a multi-year deal with Edward Noeltner’s Cinema Management Group to handle home entertainment distribution on the Moriah Films’ documentary film collection of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

The deal covers home video, digital, television and non-theatrical rights in the Us and all digital rights in Canada. The titles will also be available on Cinedigm’s direct-to-consumer digital channel, Docurama.

Los Angeles-based Moriah Films has won two best documentary Academy Awards for Genocide in 1981 and The Long Way Home in 1997.

The Moriah catalogue includes The Prime Ministers: Tnhe Pioneers; Winston Churchill: Walking With Destiny:

I Have Never Forgotten You: The Life & Legacy Of Simon Wiesenthal; Ever Again; and Echoes That Remain.

“Cinedigm is proud to represent this historically rich and profoundly important catalogue of films and, through Docurama, provide another outlet to those searching for beautifully produced films that tell a moving story of a people’s courage, faith and unbelievable...

Candy director Neil Armfield will adapt gay memoir Holding The Man, one of five projects backed in Screen Australia’s latest funding round.

Screen Australia will invest in Holding The Man, an adaptation of a popular gay memoir from director Neil Armfield (Candy), and A Long Way Home, from Garth Davis, Jane Campion’s co-director on the series Top Of The Lake.

The government agency also decided this week to put finishing funds into Infini, a follow-up to debut film Gabriel for writer/director/producer Shane Abbess, and into two feature-length documentaries.

“It is ultimately a love story about gay soulmates and we haven’t seen much of that in cinema,” Holding The Man producer Kylie du Fresne (The Sapphires) told ScreenDaily. “We think it’s good timing because of the worldwide debate on gay marriage. It’s not what the film is about but it is part of why Tim (Conigrave) wrote his memoir.”

That memoir...

Candy director Neil Armfield will adapt gay memoir Holding The Man, one of five projects backed in Screen Australia’s latest funding round.

Screen Australia will invest in Holding The Man, an adaptation of a popular gay memoir from director Neil Armfield (Candy), and A Long Way Home, from Garth Davis, Jane Campion’s co-director on the series Top Of The Lake.

The government agency also decided this week to put finishing funds into Infini, a follow-up to debut film Gabriel for writer/director/producer Shane Abbess, and into two feature-length documentaries.

“It is ultimately a love story about gay soulmates and we haven’t seen much of that in cinema,” Holding The Man producer Kylie du Fresne (The Sapphires) told ScreenDaily. “We think it’s good timing because of the worldwide debate on gay marriage. It’s not what the film is about but it is part of why Tim (Conigrave) wrote his memoir.”

That memoir...

Mahmut Fazil Koscum’s comedy drama wins top prize at Turkey’s Gloden Boll Film Festival.

Yozgat Blues, a comedy drama from director Mahmut Fazil Koscum, took the top prize at the 20th Golden Boll Film Festival in Adana, Turkey.

The film, about a music teacher and occassional performer in Istanbul who heads to the provinces for a gig, also won best actor for Ercan Kesal and best supporting actor for Tansu Bicer.

The jury, headed by Berlin’s Efm director Beki Probst, handed four awards to Deniz Aksay Katiksiz’ family drama Nobody’s Home, including a special jury prize; best actress award, shared by Ahu Tukpence and Lale Bser; best supporting actress (Melis Ebeler); and most promising young actor Savas Alp Basar.

Reha Erdem was crowned best director for Jin, which won an additional distinction for Most Promising Young Actress, Deniz Hasguler.

Historical drama The Long Way Home (Eve Donus) went home with Best Music (Mihaly...

This morning at London's Odeon Leicester Square, the British Film Institute announced the full programme for the 57th BFI London Film Festival, a twelve-day extravaganza showcasing the very best in upcoming mainstream, world and experimental cinema. With British director Paul Greengrass' hijack thriller Captain Phillips and Disney's Saving Mr. Banks (both starring Tom Hanks) already announced as the opening and closing films, the stage was set for a whole raft of high profile Gala screenings and premieres, including the cream of 2013's international festival crop. Amongst these will be Alfonso Cuarón's Gravity, Steve McQueen's Twelve Years a Slave and the Coens' Inside Llewyn Davis.

This year's Lff will screen a total of 234 narrative and documentary features, including 22 World Premieres, 16 International Premieres, 29 European Premieres and 20 Archive films. A stellar line-up of directors, cast and crew are also expected to take part in career interviews, master classes and other special events.

The 57th BFI London Film Festival line-up has officially been revealed, and it is led by a slew of incredibly promising films, many of which have already been buzzing on the festival circuit, and a number of which will be making their debuts here in London.

As previously announced, Paul Greengrass’ Captain Phillips will open the festival next month, and John Lee Hancock’s Saving Mr. Banks will close it, book-ending the festival with Tom Hanks leading two highly prominent, Oscar-primed movies.

Stephen Frears’ Philomena was also previously announced as the Lff American Express Gala, with The Epic of Everest announced as the Lff Archive Gala.

And leading the line-up alongside them this year will be some of the most Oscar-buzzed movies of 2013, including Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave, Jason Reitman’s Labor Day, Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity (in 3D), Joel and Ethan Coen’s Inside Llewyn Davis, Terry Gilliam’s The Zero Theorem,...

As far as we're concerned, it's always cause for celebration when Canadian power-pop team The Birthday Massacre share their latest creations, and this Halloween season is no exception. While their trademark blend of '80s synth melodies, stacked industrial guitars and singer Chibi's sweet but slightly sinister vocals built them a massive international following, they've never been afraid to experiment with the formula, adding or even replacing a few key ingredients to summon a different vibe when needed. Their acclaimed 2010 release Pins and Needles added rougher, dirtier punk elements to excellent effect, while last year's follow-up Ep Imaginary Monsters cranked the aggression factor even higher through collaborations with industrial giants Combichrist and Assemblage 23. With their fifth full-length studio release Hide and Seek, the band has cast aside some of the playful melodic and lyrical elements that often define their core sound, in favor of a darker, less whimsical approach.

"There...

The following is a list of all comic books, graphic novels and special items that will be available this week and shipped to comic book stores who have placed orders for them.

AC Comics

Femforce #159, $9.95

Action Figure News And Toy Review

Lee’s Toy Review #220 (Spring 2012), $6.95

Amryl Entertainment

Cavewoman Mutation #2, $3.75

Cavewoman Mutation #2 (Budd Root Special Edition), $6.85

Andrews McMeel

Dilbert Teamwork Means You Can’t Pick The Side That’s Right Tp, $12.99

Lio And Still Another Lio Collection Zombies Need Love Too Tp, $12.99

Ape Entertainment

Dino Duck Prehysterical Gn, $6.99

Strawberry Shortcake Volume 1 Berry Fun Tp, $14.99

Archie Comics

Archie #633, $2.99

Best Of Sonic The Hedgehog Hc, $24.99

Jugheads Double Digest #181, $3.99

Stan Lee’s Mighty 7 #2 (Alex Saviuk Regular Cover), $2.99

Stan Lee’s Mighty 7 #2 (Alex Saviuk Variant Cover), $2.99

Ardden Entertainment

Flash Gordon Invasion Of The Red Sword Tp (resolicited), $19.99

Flash Gordon The Vengence Of Ming Gn, $12.99

Aspen Mlt

Fathom Kiani Volume 2 #2 (Cover A Oliver Nome), $3.50

Fathom...

He’s the writer-director of TV series The Kill Point, starring Steve Cirbus, Donnie Wahlberg and Michael Hyatt, about a group of Iraq veterans who pull off a major bank heist. He’s also dabbled in a spot of editing, acting and producing with comedy Big Fan.

Now Josh Trank sets his sights higher by taking on his ‘reality TV’ style sci-fi thriller, Chronicle, about three high school friends who gain superpowers after making an incredible discovery and find their bond tested as they embrace their darker sides. The new film stars Michael B. Jordan and Michael Kelly, and relative newcomers Alex Russell and Dane DeHaan.

At an exclusive ‘first-see’ screening in central London in January, Trank talked about the origins of the Chronicle, working with director John Landis’s son, Max Landis, on the ideas and the script, his documentary influence, whether he’s been asked to revamp Fantastic Four/X-Men,...

Another year is coming to an end. Where does the time go? Seems the older I get the faster the time goes and there is no surer sign than that of me getting into the E-Reader game.

I finally broke down and bought a Kindle this year and no the world didn’t end. In fact I am very happy I did. I will first and foremost always love the feel of a real book; the fragrance, the crisp clean pages being turned and the weight of it gently held in my hands.

The Kindle has allowed me to read the back catalogs of many authors I love that I wouldn’t have otherwise been able afford to do. Plus, a lot of publishers and authors are sending me Kindle books for review, which is a lot better than Pdf’s. As I had to print the Pdf books out.

Alfred Gough and Miles Millar will write and could make their directorial debut with Summit Entertainment's Homelanders , says a story at The Hollywood Reporter . A young adult book series by Andrew Klavan, the four Homelanders books are separately entitled "The Last Thing I Remember," "The Long Way Home," "The Truth of the Matter" and "The Final Hour." The first one is officially described as follows: Sometimes you have to go home to find out who you really are. Charlie West went to bed one night an ordinary high school student. He woke up a hunted man. Terrorists are trying to kill him. The police want to arrest him for the stabbing death of his best friend. He doesn't know whose side he's one or who he can trust. With his...

For a series that is titled after one main character the start of this season is not showing her best qualities. No main character should be without their flaws but it seems this season particularly wants to expose Buffy’s biggest flaws. As mentioned in the pre word before I began the recaps we are already exploring the true outcome of Buffy’s decision in the final episode on television, is sharing that power really beneficial for anyone other than Buffy?

The ending of Season Seven gave us hope for Buffy’s happy ending having shared her power and given strength to women all over the world but now we see different perspectives from Buffy’s double, Lady Genevieve, Faith and most importantly the human race. We see Buffy’s double sacrifice her life to Buffy’s cause, we see Genevieve the rogue Slayer who used her power against Buffy...

For a series that is titled after one main character the start of this season is not showing her best qualities. No main character should be without their flaws but it seems this season particularly wants to expose Buffy’s biggest flaws. As mentioned in the pre word before I began the recaps we are already exploring the true outcome of Buffy’s decision in the final episode on television, is sharing that power really beneficial for anyone other than Buffy?

The ending of Season Seven gave us hope for Buffy’s happy ending having shared her power and given strength to women all over the world but now we see different perspectives from Buffy’s double, Lady Genevieve, Faith and most importantly the human race. We see Buffy’s double sacrifice her life to Buffy’s cause, we see Genevieve the rogue Slayer who used her power against Buffy...

Andrew Chambliss, the lead writer on Buffy Season 9, has revealed a few details on the next chapter of Buffy Summers. While the scripts are still being ironed out, Whedon and Co. have worked out the structure of the next series; it will run 25 books, and be formatted in 5 issue arcs with a few one-shot stories peppered throughout.

At the end of the day, I’m just excited to write Buffy and where she is in her journey as a character coming off Season 8 where she was running this huge army and it literally was “the world’s going to end.”…She always thought she was going to die, but now she has to answer all of these questions that hit when you normally enter your 20s. Who am I? What am I going to do? Will I be a slayer all of my life? … I’m discovering Buffy as a...

Questions answered in this issue:

Who kissed Buffy?

What does the symbol represent?

(partially answered) What is Twlight?

We begin with a flashback to Warren’s apparent death in Season Six. He is tied between two trees as Willow walks towards him “Bored now” he says in present time. “Those were the final words of my human life” he tells Willow. He goes on to explain Amy had been watching Willow and after she had flayed Warren alive Amy had intervened to save Warren’s life so that she would have an ally against Willow. Warren explains that Amy’s magic works as his skin and presumably defends his body from infection. However he has a question to ask Willow, he lowers a blade towards Willow’s eye and asks her “bored now?”.

Dawn and Buffy are talking outside, Dawn vents her frustration and hits the castle causing her knuckles to bleed.

Questions answered in this Issue:

Who or what is Amy's boyfriend?

We return to Buffy’s dream rather than the action between Willow and Amy, we see the red shirt, the black coat and the hand extended once again. Buffy’s inner monologue shows that she is surprised he called her “my love” and we turn the page and it is revealed that she is disgusted as much as surprised that he called her “my love” because the man standing before her is Ethan Rayne, Giles’ friend from his Ripper days, the man who worships “chaos” and has caused Buffy inconvenience in the past with magic. He explains that this is not a dream but her ‘dreamspace’, every dream and prophecy she can ever have is here always in her subconscious, he explains that everywhere you look in here contains a part of Buffy. He then rips open a curtain...

For those who do not remember who Amy is, she is the witch who was introduced in Season 1 of Buffy. In a later season she turned herself into a rat, Willow then kept her as a pet until she could transform her back to her human body. Willow finally became powerful enough in Season Six and fixed Amy who then introduced Willow to magic addiction. When Willow finally decided to ‘get clean’ Amy took it as a personal insult and in Season Seven she manipulated Willow’s guilt in Tara’s death to mentally torture her until Willow instead came to terms with her death and found some peace. Amy has always held some jealousy for Willow and her magic ability.

The 'previously' part at the start of the issue also confirms that Buffy's castle is situated in Scotland. We’ve seen Buffy’s inner monologue, we’ve seen Xander’s,...

Chicago – As the weeks, months, and years make it clearer that we will never get a live-action continuation of one of the best television programs ever, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (it’s just cruel that there are two “Sex and the City” movies and we can’t even get a “Buffy” reunion special), fans of the franchise are forced to turn to alternate advancements in the universe, such as the Dark Horse Comics series. The very-popular and critically-acclaimed comics have been turned into Motion Comics and released in a 2-disc Blu-ray set with mixed results.

Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0

The first issue of the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” comics was released in March of 2007 with an arc written by show creator Joss Whedon. Naturally, that arc, “The Long Way Home,” kicks off the Blu-ray set and it does so with the melodramatic abandon allowed only by the print form. If “The Long Way Home” was on TV,...

As he most recently proved in a charming video interview with Steve, few are more deserving of a lifetime achievement award than Morgan Freeman. The American Film Institute wised up to that axiom, and will present the Oscar winner with the 39th AFI Life Achievement Award. Chair of the AFI Board of Trustees Sir Howard Stringer eloquently sums up the impact of Freeman’s career:

“Across decades, whether playing a prisoner, a president or God, he embodies a calm authority that demands respect for the character and for the art form. His gifts to the cultural record are also underscored by his unmistakable voice that echoes through the hearts and minds of movie lovers around the world.”

-

The gala tribute takes place on June 9, 2011, and will air later that month on TV Land. Hit the jump for the official announcement.

Morgan Freeman To Receive 39th AFI Life Achievement Award...

Max Landis, son of Hollywood director John Landis, is in negotiations to have Twentieth Century Fox produce his spec script Chronicle. The younger Landis has written episodes of Masters of Horror and NBC’s Fear Itself. Josh Trank who edited 2009’s critically acclaimed Big Fan is attached to direct. Trank is another son of Hollywood, his father Richard Trank having won an Academy Award for his documentary The Long Way Home in 1997.

Chronicle has a couple of potential public opinion hurdles to overcome before the ink has even had a chance to dry on the deal. First, with a near constant influx of super hero movies it is easy to dismiss this as just another in a steady stream of look-a-likes. Second, there will likely be some knee jerk…

Click to continue reading Fox to Produce Super Hero Movie ‘Chronicle’...

Looks like John Landis has landed one talented son. Because his script-writing progeny Max has sparked interest at Fox with a superpowered teen screenplay called Chronicles.

Having served time under his dad whilst working on Masters of Horror , Max also cut his teeth penning shorts and episodes of NBC horror anthology Fear Itself.

Chronicles - which is expected to be shot Blair Witch style on handicam - tells the story of three Portland teenagers who develop superpowers after a trip into the woods exposes them to a strange substance. The friends soon become nemeses as their enhancements lead to rivalry.

Relative newcomer, online helmer Josh Trank is set to direct, and his teaming with Max Landis is perfect. He also has a famous father - this time Oscar-winning The Long Way Home producer Richard Trank.

So what do you make of the Landis-Trank handicam duo? Will this be like Kick-Ass meets Cloverfield?...

20th Century Fox is in talks to pick up a sci-fi spec script from Max Landis, son of writer/director John Landis (An American Werewolf in London, the upcoming Burke and Hare). Per Heat Vision, the film “focuses on the lives of three Portland teens that become exposed to a mysterious substance in the woods, and, as a result, begin to develop incredible powers. They work together to hone their skills for fun, until personal and family problems begin to turn them against one another,” and will be told using a hand-held documentary style. Max Landis’ previous writing credits include episodes of the horror series Masters of Horror and Fear Itself.

Josh Trank (who edited the excellent Big Fan starring Patton Oswalt) is attached to make his feature directorial debut on the project. Like Landis, Trank is also the son of a respected Hollywood director. Trank’s father, Richard Trank,...

The Sundance Institute have announced the Fellows for 2010 Documentary Edit and Story Lab - some of these projects will find themselves on the public television, some may tour the film festival circuit starting with a debut at Sundance, and in the rare case, might turn out to be an acclaimed such as Tia Lessin and Carl Deal's Trouble the Water. This year's batch comes from the U.S., China, Israel/Palestinian Territories and the Philippines. - The Sundance Institute have announced the Fellows for 2010 Documentary Edit and Story Lab - some of these projects will find themselves on the public television, some may tour the film festival circuit starting with a debut at Sundance, and in the rare case, might turn out to be an acclaimed such as Tia Lessin and Carl Deal's Trouble the Water. This year's batch comes from the U.S., China, Israel/Palestinian Territories and the Philippines.

The Sundance Institute have announced the Fellows for 2010 Documentary Edit and Story Lab - some of these projects will find themselves on the public television, some may tour the film festival circuit starting with a debut at Sundance, and in the rare case, might turn out to be an acclaimed such as Tia Lessin and Carl Deal's Trouble the Water. This year's batch comes from the U.S., China, Israel/Palestinian Territories and the Philippines. Here is the press release:. Lab Fellows in alphabetical order are: Ra'anan Alexandrowicz (Directing Fellow), Michael Collins (Directing Fellow), Heather Courtney (Directing Fellow - see pic above), Ramona Diaz (Directing Fellow), Ron Goldman (Editing Fellow), Kyle Henry (Editing Fellow), Stephen Maing (Directing Fellow), Leah Marino (Editing Fellow), Eric Daniel Metzgar (Editing Fellow), Jonathan Oppenheim (Editing Fellow), Trina Rodriquez (Editing Fellow), Marty Syjuco (Directing Fellow). These Fellows will be joined by six Creative Advisors, including Directors and Editors,...

<div>Bankrupt financial group Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc plans to sell about 450 works by contemporary artists including Robert Rauschenberg at an auction in September, according to court documents.</div><div></div><div>Lehman, which filed for bankruptcy in September 2008, has named Sotheby's art auction house to handle the sale, which could raise $10 million to help pay back creditors.</div><div></div><div>Lehman's collection also includes works by Andy Warhol, Cindy Sherman, Cy Twombly, Swedish sculptor Claes Oldenburg and Maya Lin, who is best known for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington.</div><div></div><div>Lehman said in court documents that none of the items had a book value higher than $300,000, but Sotheby's estimated in a statement that some of the pieces could fetch much more. For instance, it said Damien Hirst's We've Got Style (The Vessel Collection - Blue) could bring in between $800,000 and $1.2 million.</div><div></div><div>Other top sellers may include Liu Ye's The Long Way Home, Julie Mehretu's Untitled...

Attention, guys! Some interesting news is here! Summit Entertainment is in negotiations to acquire feature film rights to The Homelanders, a young-adult book series by Andrew Klavan.

Lorenzo Di Bonaventura and his Di Bonaventura Pictures are coming aboard to produce the adaptation. Check the rest of this report to see why they already describe this upcoming project as mix of Bourne Identity and Disturbia…

Let’s start with official description from the book!

“Charlie West just woke up in someone else’s nightmare. He’s strapped to a chair. He’s covered in blood and bruises. He hurts all over. And a strange voice outside the door just ordered his death. The last thing he can remember, he was a normal high-school kid doing normal things–working on his homework, practicing karate, daydreaming of becoming an air force pilot, writing a pretty girl’s number on his hand. How long ago was that?...

Summit Entertainment (Twilight) is in negotiations to acquire film rights to "Homelanders," a young-adult book series by Andrew Klavan that sounds exactly like the Jason Bourne franchise. The story centers on a high school student who wakes up to find himself tied to a chair, not knowing where he is or how a whole year has passed. After he manages to escape, he embarks on an adventure to find out why terrorists and the authorities are after him. The first book, "The Homelanders: The Last Thing I Remember," was published last year, and the second, "The Homelanders: The Long Way Home," hit stores in February. The third book is due in November. Two of Klavan's thriller have already been given the Hollywood treatment; "True Crime" was directed Clint Eastwood, and "Don't Say a Word," turned into a Michael Douglas vehicle co-starring Brittany Murphy.

I used to read a lot of books back in the day but not as much anymore because of time and other commitments. I mention this because there has been a lot of great books over the past few years that make great ideas for movies. One such book series is by Andrew Klavan and its called Homelanders.

Before I get into the details of this project its important to know that back in the 80s Hollywood was really keen on youth thrillers not just in horror but also with government cover-ups, etc. Great films like War Games and the Manhattan Project were just a few. Hollywood was really keen on sending young teens into space in movies like The Last Starfighter and Space Camp. They even liked teens taking on communism and the end of the world in films like Red Dawn.

It seems this day in age is...