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Read More: Emily Abt, "Toe to Toe": Privelege, Responsibility, and Public Service The latest from Emily Abt, "Daddy Don't Go" will have its world premiere this week at Doc NYC. It's garnering attention not only because of its subject matter, but also because of the way it was filmed; Abt followed fathers for over two years in order to delve into the issues that low-income fathers face. A story of perseverence, "Daddy Don't Go" is a doc that shows viewers how men can still be present fathers despite having limited means and facing certain obstacles.  Abt has been included on Variety Magazine's "Top 10 Directors to Watch," and she has produced and directed documentaries for PBS, Own, MTV, Showtime and the Sundance Channel. Abt's first narrative feature was called "Toe to Toe," which premiered at Sundance 2009 and was released in 2010 by Strand Releasing.   Watch the exclusive clip from "Daddy Don't Go...

Travis Tanner returned on Suits Season 5 Episode 5, "Toe to Toe," claiming to be a changed man. Had he really changed or was he out to get Harvey once again? As far as Harvey was concerned, Tanner was, is and always would be a rival to be crushed.

In the end, the confrontation brought to light Harvey's troubles and resolved Tanner's changed-man status. Meanwhile, Louis attempted to get the salary revisions undone.

Check out the best lines and exchanges from "Toe to Toe."...

On this episode of Suits, "Toe to Toe," Harvey and Mike go up against Travis Tanner, Louis struggles to make good on a promise he made to Harvey and Harvey's personal issues continue to affect his work.

Harvey has a naughty sex dream about Donna that takes a dark turn when Travis Tanner makes an unwanted appearance, Harvey, now going to therapy, discusses the dream with his doctor but denies that Donna was the woman. Since Harvey refuses to explore that side of his subconscious, his shrink wants to discuss Harvey's issues with Travis.

Recently, USA Network released the new, official synopsis/spoilers for their upcoming "Suits" episode 5 of season 5. The episode is entitled, "Toe To Toe," and it turns out that we're going to see some pretty interesting stuff go down as Harvey's old nemesis shows up on the scene. Jessica tries to get Louis and Harvey to work things out, and more. In the new, 5th episode press release: Harvey will face old rival ,Travis Tanner, who claims to be a changed man in a case. And Harvey's sessions with Agard will reveal the influence his past has on his present. In other events, Jessica will task Louis to fix things with Harvey, but the plan may make an enemy of Jack. Episode 5 is set to air on Wednesday night, July 22nd at 9pm central time on The USA Network.

As Hulk Waits For The Doctor Who Panel In Hall H To Start, There Is One Nagging Thought Buzzing Around Hulk’S Brain: We Live In The Age Of Superheroes.

With Movies Like The Avengers And The Dark Knight Rises Dominating The Movie Landscape, We Are Beginning To Accept The Reality That Superheroes Are No Longer Just A Mere Part Of Our Formal Childhood Development. Nor Are They Just A Mere Part Of Our Adult Movie-going Disposition. Instead, Superheroes Have Become Outright Fixtures Of Our Cultural Mythos; Part Of The Fabric Of Our Values And Intrinsic To Our Collective Identity (What’S Next?...

As Hulk Waits For The Doctor Who Panel In Hall H To Start, There Is One Nagging Thought Buzzing Around Hulk’S Brain: We Live In The Age Of Superheroes.

With Movies Like The Avengers And The Dark Knight Rises Dominating The Movie Landscape, We Are Beginning To Accept The Reality That Superheroes Are No Longer Just A Mere Part Of Our Formal Childhood Development. Nor Are They Just A Mere Part Of Our Adult Movie-going Disposition. Instead, Superheroes Have Become Outright Fixtures Of Our Cultural Mythos; Part Of The Fabric Of Our Values And Intrinsic To Our Collective Identity (What’S Next?...

Friday Night Lights Mvp Gaius Charles wants to make one thing very clear: He has not given up acting for God. Although that’s the rumor that’s been making the rounds since the 28-year-old New York native hung up his helmet as Dillon Panthers’ star running back Smash Williams in 2008, he tells TVLine definitely, “That’s not the case.”

Nonetheless, save for a few indie films and some stage work, his decision to pursue a graduate degree in theology at New Jersey’s Drew University did force him to step away from the Hollywood spotlight the past three years.

[Editor's note: This interview was orginally published during the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.] Louisa Krause plays a key supporting role in Sean Durkin’s directorial debut Martha Marcy May Marlene. Mmmm happens to be blessed with an uncharacteristically star packed cast for an indie of this size, so Krause and Julia Garner (see my other interview here) are not the ones most would think to write up for this film that received major post-festival buzz. Krause has already made her mark in Sundance past for her leading lady perf in Toe to Toe and being part of the Sundance family meant working in the labs with Myna Joseph on My Favorite Nightmare which then in turn led to an early read of Mmmm. Krause somehow combines middle-American blonde hair, blue eyes girl-next-door with a partly Asian background, giving her eyes you can’t, um, take your eyes off of. Thankfully she's been keeping it real on the indie track. Krause’s next two...

Reposting this from Friday. I got lots of helpful responses, and even learned of a couple of titles that I didn’t know existed. So, here’s the post again, to continue the flow, in case you missed the original post, and have some titles to add that haven’t already.

Alright folks, I need some help from you guys here. As the title suggests, I’m working on a future post, and one part of my research requires that I compile a complete list of independent black feature films that have been released theatrically in the USA since the beginning of this century. And that’s where you come in.

First, I should define some terms here; “black feature film” means fictional narrative films that tell stories primarily about people of African descent (no documentaries). The cultural/racial heritage of the filmmaker is irrelevant. And “independent” means that the...

Here's a nice way to finish out our week and send you off into the weekend -- with a short exclusive clip from the Sundance graduate Toe to Toe, from director Emily Abt. It's a film about an unlikely pair of girls at an upscale prep school, both of whom show promise on the lacrosse field. Both of whom have problems off the field.

This weekend at the box office it's a battle between Kevin Smith's first studio comedy Cop Out and Breck Eisner's remake of George Romero's The Crazies. Will Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan make for a bankable combination? Are people getting sick of zombie movies? We'll have the answers to these questions and more come Monday. Meanwhile, in limited release, we have a handful of interesting flicks including the Oscar-nominated French film A Prophet, the Woody Harrelson superhero dramedy Defendor, The Yellow Handkerchief starring Kristen Stewart, and the indie drama Toe to Toe. What will you be watching this weekend? Cop Out [1] The Crazies [2] Defendor [3] (limited) A Prophet [4] (limited) Toe to Toe [5] (limited) The Yellow Handkerchief [6] (limited) The Art of the Steal [7] (limited) Prodigal Sons [8] (limited) [1] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1385867/ [2] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455407/ [3] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1303828/ [4] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1235166/ [5] http://www.

Emily Abt's Toe to Toe is a raw look at a complex set of problems -- race and class -- told in stirring and straight-forward fashion. At once a tale of teen girls jockeying over friendship, prestige, boys and their own identities, Toe to Toe features two exceptionally layered performances at its center, as well as ideas that don't necessarily sort themselves out in neat and easily summarized fashion. Abt's film focuses on two seniors at a Washington, D.C.-area prep school, who meet on the first day of tryouts of the school's lacrosse team. Both Tosha (Sonequa Martin) and Jessie (Louisa Krause) are new transfers -- Tosha from a Baltimore Catholic school, Jessie from a series of private schools from which she's been, well, forced to withdraw because of her wild behavior. Jessie is a child of privilege, but also the product of...

We have a brand new exclusive clip from the upcoming film Toe to Toe, which will be released on February 26 in New York City and on March 12 in Los Angeles. Click below for our brand new exclusive clip, and you can also for more information on further screenings.

Exclusive: Calculus

At a politically correct prep school in Washington DC two girls -one black, one white- go toe to toe. Jesse (Louisa Krause) is a privileged but troubled white girl whose slutty tendencies pull her towards self-destructive behavior. Tosha (Sonequa Martin) is a fiercely determined African-American from Anacostia, one of DC's most impoverished areas. Both new seniors and star players on their school's lacrosse team, the two girls click despite their differences. Their fledgling friendship begins to falter when they discover their shared interest in Rashid, a dashing Lebanese deejay.

Things unravel further when Tosha and Jesse have a shoving match...

Strand Releasing has sent us an exclusive clip for Emily Abt’s film, Toe To Toe. An Official Selection of The Sundance Film Festival 2009, the film follows two girls’ friendship “at a politically correct prep school in Washington DC.” One is very disciplined and the other has been around the block more than once…if you get my drift. Their friendship takes a dive when they both go for the same boy, hottie deejay Rashid.

Read more on Exclusive: Toe To Toe clip – “Lacrosse Tryouts”…...

Strand Releasing and Pureland Pictures sent us this official movie poster and synopsis from the upcoming film “Toe To Toe” by director Emily Abt and starring Louisa Krause and Sonequa Martin. “Toe To Toe” opens in New York next Friday, February 26th and will expand to additional theaters March 12, 2010. Synopsis: At a politically correct prep school in Washington, DC two girls - one black, one white - go toe to toe. Jesse (Louisa Krause) is a privileged but troubled white girl whose slutty tendencies pull her towards self-destructive behavior. Tosha (Sonequa Martin) is a fiercely determined African-American from Anacostia, one of DC’s most impoverished areas. Both [...]...

Just got a press release about this indie movie called Toe to Toe and its official poster. Looks interesting enough. Here’s the synposis:

At a politically correct prep school in Washington, DC two girls – one black, one white – go toe to toe. Jesse (Louisa Krause) is a privileged but troubled white girl whose slutty tendencies pull her towards self-destructive behavior. Tosha (Sonequa Martin) is a fiercely determined African-American from Anacostia, one of DC’s most impoverished areas. Both new seniors and star players on their school’s lacrosse team, the two girls click despite their differences. Their fledgling friendship begins to falter when they discover their shared interest in Rashid, a dashing Lebanese deejay.

I’m not sure if Tambay covered this one already but it’s something to put on the radar. It hits select theaters on February 26th then expands to more screens on March 12th.

Thoughts?...

One month, 280 films and 70,000 words later, my guide to the films of 2010 is now complete. I hope you've enjoyed reading it all - it's been utterly exhausting but an ultimately rewarding venture I've been single-handedly pulling together since early December. If you have liked it, my only request is that you help spread the word about it now that it's all done.

If you're a fellow blogger or site owner, please give it a plug on your site. If you're a reader, give it a mention on Facebook, Twitter or other online places you might venture. A lot of effort went into this, the greatest reward so far has been seeing it talked about and hearing your reactions. I'm glad many of you have gotten a lot of use out of the previous pages, so I hope you enjoy this final part:

Vincere

Opens: 2010

Cast: Filippo Timi, Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Corrado Invernizzi,...

St. Trinian's II: The Legend of Fritton's Gold

Opens: 2010

Cast: Colin Firth, Rupert Everett, David Tennant, Gemma Arterton, Talulah Riley

Director: Oliver Parker, Barnaby Thompson

Summary: A rollercoaster-style treasure hunt for the legendary Fritton’s Gold ensues as the feisty and ever-resourceful schoolgirls of St Trinian’s face their most fearsome establishment rivals yet - the villainous Pomfrey and his sidekicks from the women-hating secret society known as AD1.

Analysis: While it didn't travel much beyond the UK, 2007's reboot of the "St Trinian's" franchise nearly doubled its £7 million production budget in sales in the UK alone - making it one of the top grossing independent British films of the past decade. Reviews were decidedly mixed but generally pretty weak at the time, so the greenlighting of a sequel surprised quite a few.

Despite a critical drubbing, the core audience of young British teenage girls seemed to be satisfied by...

Shanghai

Opens: 2010

Cast: John Cusack, Gong Li, Ken Watanabe, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chow Yun-Fat

Director: Mikael Hafstrom

Summary: In the months leading up to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, an American man arrives in Shanghai to find his friend recently murdered. In investigating his friend's death, he stumbles upon a secret the United States government has been keeping and falls in love in the process.

Analysis: After being granted permission to shoot in the Chinese city, the $10 million production found its permit quickly being revoked by the Government who expressed concerns about the script. The result is Bangkok and the United Kingdom standing in for the real Shanghai which seems kind of against the entire point.

Cusack himself has emphatically endorsed the project in interviews, calling it a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity", but being stuck at the cash-strapped Weinstein Company means that its release plans are unsure beyond a vague promise of a limited bow around Easter.

A Prophet

Opens: February 12th 2010

Cast: Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup, Adel Bencherif, Hichem Yacoubi, Reda Kateb

Director: Jacques Audiard

Summary: Sent to prison, Malik El Djebena falls under the sway of a group of Corsicans who enforce their rule in the prison. As the 'missions' go by, he toughens himself and wins their confidence but uses his intelligence to discreetly develop his own network.

Analysis: Finally scoring a limited release in the Us in February, Jacques Audiard's violent and hard-edged prison drama won the Grand Prix at Cannes, scored Best Film at the London Film Festival, and is already the hotly tipped favourite to take the Oscar for Best Foreign Film late next month.

Reviews have been stellar around the world for the film which quickly became the most universally admired entry in the often hotly contentious first week of Cannes back in May. From a breakout performance by Tahar Rahim,...

Mother and Child

Opens: 2010

Cast: Naomi Watts, Annette Bening, Samuel L. Jackson, Kerry Washington

Director: Rodrigo Garcia

Summary: A tale of a mother and daughter, separated at birth, who struggle with the damage done by the most important person missing in their lives while a young African-Americn woman deals with an unwanted pregnancy and the adoption process.

Analysis: Scoring rave reviews in Toronto, the $7 million latest effort of Rodrigo Garcia ("Nine Lives," "Things You Can Tell Just By Looking At Her") once again shows off his skill at weaving multiple narratives together in clever and unexpected ways. At its heart it's an emotional family drama, but Garcia excels with his female characters which makes the involvement of Naomi Watts, Kerry Washington and especially Annette Benning thrilling.

The few criticisms levelled at the film were toward some pacing and credibility issues in the last act, but otherwise praised it for not...

The Last Airbender

Opens: July 2nd 2010

Cast: Noah Ringer, Nicola Peltz, Jackson Rathbone, Dev Patel

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Summary: A live-action film based on the Nickelodeon animated TV series. In a fantastic world where civilisation exists as four great empires, a reluctant young child sets out on a perilous journey to restore balance to a world torn apart by war.

Analysis: It has been quite the decade for M. Night Shyamalan, who started it as a household name with the label of a modern-day Hitchcock thanks to the likes of "The Sixth Sense" and "Signs". Today he's considered more of a one-trick pony and in some cases a punchline due to rampant stories of egomania run wild and a series of much derided onscreen flops like "Lady in the Water" and "The Happening".

Thus 'Airbender' marks a potential return to form for the helmer. An adaptation of the hit...

Hippie Hippie Shake

Opens: 2010

Cast: Cillian Murphy, Sienna Miller, Max Minghella, Emma Booth, Lee Ingleby

Director: Beeban Kidron

Summary: Follows the love story of Oz editor Richard Neville and Louise Ferrier. Neville and his cohorts launch the London edition of Oz amidst the 1960s counterculture and are subsequently put on trial for distributing a sexually explicit issue.

Analysis: One of the most troubled productions in Working Title's history, 'Hippie' began development back in 1998 but failed to get beyond script stage both in 1999 and in 2002 when "Elizabeth" helmer Shekhar Kapur was attached to direct. Filming finally got underway late 2007 with director Beeban Kidron in charge and shooting seemed to proceed without issue aside from feminist author Germaine Greer being vehemently unhappy about being depicted on film.

Actually the film scored quite a bit of free press for a skinny dipping scene where full-frontal shots of actress Sienna Miller shooting the sequence...

We are pleased to offer you images from Emily Abt's "Toe to Toe" from this year's Sundance Film Festival. Abt directs from her own screenplay the drama which stars Louisa Krause, Sonequa Martin, Leslie Uggams, Dionne Audain, Hina Abdullah, Erica Chamblee, Maha Chehlaoui and Gaius Charles.   The Pureland Pictures, Susie Q Productions and Toe to Toe Film Productions' drama is a nominee of the Grand Jury Prize in the dramatic category.   Check out all of the images!   Lead actresses make race drama "Toe to Toe" an outstanding Sundance discovery Coming-of-age dramas are Sundance Film Festival staples but writer/director Emily Abt's "Toe to Toe," making its world premiere in Park City, Utah, stands apart with a female tale perfectly synced with political issues of the day. Tosha (newcomer Sonequa Martin) is an African American student...read the rest of the review from Sundance.  ...

"Toe to Toe Review" by Steve Ramos, Writer     Lead actresses make race drama "Toe to Toe" an outstanding Sundance discovery   Coming-of-age dramas are Sundance Film Festival staples but writer/director Emily Abt's "Toe to Toe," making its world premiere in Park City, Utah, stands apart with a female tale perfectly synced with political issues of the day.   Tosha (newcomer Sonequa Martin) is an African American student on scholarship at a Washington D.C. prep school. Shes embarrassed about her impoverished neighborhood, refusing a ride home from a classmate and committed to entry into Princeton. Her future is bright if she can stay focused and succeed at school.   Toshas new friend is Jesse (newcomer Louisa Krause), a wealthy white student with an absentee mom and clear self-esteem issues. Like Tosha, Jesse wants to be accepted by her classmates, although she goes about it in an entirely different way. They become...

We are pleased to offer you images from Emily Abt's "Toe to Toe" from this year's Sundance Film Festival. Abt directs from her own screenplay the drama which stars Louisa Krause, Sonequa Martin, Leslie Uggams, Dionne Audain, Hina Abdullah, Erica Chamblee, Maha Chehlaoui and Gaius Charles.   The Pureland Pictures, Susie Q Productions and Toe to Toe Film Productions' drama is a nominee of the Grand Jury Prize in the dramatic category.   Check out all of the images!  ...

We are pleased to offer you images from Emily Abt's "Toe to Toe" from this year's Sundance Film Festival. Abt directs from her own screenplay the drama which stars Louisa Krause, Sonequa Martin, Leslie Uggams, Dionne Audain, Hina Abdullah, Erica Chamblee, Maha Chehlaoui and Gaius Charles.   The Pureland Pictures, Susie Q Productions and Toe to Toe Film Productions' drama is a nominee of the Grand Jury Prize in the dramatic category.   Check out all of the images!  ...

U.S. Dramatic Competition

This year's 16 films were selected from 1,026 submissions. Each film is a world premiere.

Adam (Director-screenwriter: Max Mayer)

A strange and lyrical love story between a somewhat socially dysfunctional young man and the woman of his dreams. Cast: Hugh Dancy, Rose Byrne, Peter Gallagher, Amy Irving, Frankie Faison.

Amreeka (Director-screenwriter: Cherien Dabis)

When a divorced Palestinian woman and her teenage son move to rural Illinois at the outset of the Iraq war, they find their new lives replete with challenges. Cast: Nisreen Faour, Melkar Muallem, Hiam Abbass, Yussuf Abu-Warda, Alia Shawkat.

Big Fan (Director-screenwriter: Robert Siegel)

The world of a parking garage attendant who happens to be the New York Giants' biggest fan is turned upside down after an altercation with his favorite player. Cast: Patton Oswalt, Michael Rapaport, Kevin Corrigan, Marcia Jean Kurtz, Matt Servitto.

Brief Interviews With Hideous Men (Director-screenwriter: John Krasinski)

When her boyfriend leaves with little explanation,...