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Filmmakers around the world harbor the same fantasy: I’m going to make a film so good that it will play the Sundance Film Festival, score rave reviews, sell in an overnight bidding war for a multi-million-dollar minimum guarantee to a major theatrical buyer, open in packed theaters around the country, and launch my career.

Right.

Truth is, this hardly ever happens. We checked in with a group of lauded Sundance filmmakers, all who are returning to the festival this year with new films, to glean what they learned the hard way from their Sundance experiences.

1. Manage expectations.

Alex Ross Perry (“Golden Exits”): My first time was with “Listen Up Philip” [2014], which was a huge step forward from my last movie, “The Color Wheel,” which I made for $25,000 with all my friends. This was a sizable, produced movie with a cast of well-known people [Jason Schwartzman, Elizabeth Moss, Jonathan Pryce]. The first days was all...

Filmmakers around the world harbor the same fantasy: I’m going to make a film so good that it will play the Sundance Film Festival, score rave reviews, sell in an overnight bidding war for a multi-million-dollar minimum guarantee to a major theatrical buyer, open in packed theaters around the country, and launch my career.

Right.

Truth is, this hardly ever happens. We checked in with a group of lauded Sundance filmmakers, all who are returning to the festival this year with new films, to glean what they learned the hard way from their Sundance experiences.

1. Manage expectations.

Alex Ross Perry (“Golden Exits”): My first time was with “Listen Up Philip” [2014], which was a huge step forward from my last movie, “The Color Wheel,” which I made for $25,000 with all my friends. This was a sizable, produced movie with a cast of well-known people [Jason Schwartzman, Elizabeth Moss, Jonathan Pryce]. The first days was all...

Credit wars are a fact of Hollywood life that’s rarely laid bare. Those involved are often intimidated by the possible consequences, and the backstories aren’t simple; there’s the question of whether they’ll be believed, or if anyone really has the patience to hear them out.

The battle over costume design credits on “Equals” is different.

Read More: ‘Equals’ Review – Kristen Stewart Is The Only Bright Spot In This Dull Dystopian Romance

Directed by the Sundance-winning Drake Doremus, “Equals” stars Kristen Stewart and Nicolas Hoult. Two costume designers are officially credited to the production: In first position is Abby O’Sullivan, a veteran whose credits included “Frozen River,” “Sinister,” and “Mississippi Grind.” In second position, Alana Morshead, who was an actress and stylist when she started collaborating with Doremus on the film.

However, according to O’Sullivan and others who worked on the film’s costumes, Morshead...

One of the earliest “mumblecore” directors to leave that tag behind and never look back, Drake Doremus' post-“Spooner” and “Douchebag” career has been spent exploring heartache in many different flavors. “Like Crazy” looked at the difficulties of long-distance relationships in young love, and “Breathe In” explored a May/December relationship between a married man and his young musical pupil. Doremus is not done with love and emotion, but for his next film he’s examining the heart through the lens of science-fiction. Read More: Venice Review: Drake Doremus' 'Equals' With Kristen Stewart, Nicholas Hoult, Guy Pearce & Jacki Weaver His latest is the sci-fi romance “Equals,” and it's set in a futuristic, utopian society where where inhabitants have been bred to be peaceful and emotionless. Complications arise when a man and woman fall in love in a civilization that has eradicated such notions. "Equals" stars Nicholas Hoult,...

It’s always fascinating to see a filmmaker progress and grow. Drake Doremus’ early indie films like “Spooner” and “Douchebag” were lumped in with the lo-fi mumblecore movement, but he quickly expanded beyond that realm with the touching long-distance romance “Like Crazy,” a film that introduced many to Felicity Jones and even featured an early role by Jennifer Lawrence. While maintaining his free-form style—a lot of improvisation built around loosely visualized scenes—his approach is a method, not a madness, and each film grows with confidence. His last picture, “Breathe In,” illustrated how heavyweights like Guy Pearce and Amy Ryan effortlessly fit into this exploratory form. He even discovered another new stand-out in Mackenzie Davis. For his next trick, Doremus is attempting something very different, a traditionally scripted sci-fi film, and one with a terrific cast. Starring Kristen Stewart and Nicholas Hoult, plus Guy Pearce, Jacki Weaver Kate Lyn Sheil and Toby.

It's difficult to ascertain the intent of an artist from a single work, but Drake Doremus' gradually expanding filmography gives the impression of a skillful filmmaker more interested in gaming the system than doing anything fresh with it. To date, each of Doremus' movies have shown the hallmarks of certain tendencies in American cinema: 2009's "Spooner" was the kind of meandering, forgettable slacker comedy one can find padding the lineups of most U.S. festival programs; the shakycam comedy "Douchebag" inserted the tropes of the emerging "bromance" genre into an aimless road trip misadventure seemingly modeled on someone's idea of a commercial "mumblecore" story; "Like Crazy," which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2011, was a by-the-numbers romance about the perils of long distance relationships. Just because it all sounds familiar doesn't mean you've seen it before. None of these movies were entirely irksome — if nothing else,...

The Sundance winner is a veteran director at 30, with five movies to his credit. His latest, once again starring Felicity Jones, brings a mature eye to young love

Judging by his latest movie, Drake Doremus, 30, is in the throes of a mid-life crisis. It's customary for young American directors to make their name with dazzlingly clever thrillers or droll observations on young adulthood, but Doremus's latest movie, Breathe In, is understated, reflective and nuanced – mature, you could say. It is tightly focused on the attraction between an English exchange student (Felicity Jones) and the father of the upstate New York family she is staying with, played by Guy Pearce – a music teacher nursing unfulfilled ambitions of being a concert cellist, or a rock star. If you didn't know better, you would guess it was semi-autobiographical. Doremus looks sort of boyishly mature in person. He has wild curly hair and a beard,...

Drake Doremus was at Slamdance and Sundance in 2009 and 2010 with "Spooner" and "Douchebag" respectively, but the indie filmmaker started to really connect on a grander scale when he started tackling relationships, crystallized with 2011's moving and award-winning "Like Crazy." A big smash at Sundance that year, it won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Dramatic Film and introduced the world at large to brilliant English actress Felicity Jones (she won a Special Jury Prize for her moving performance in the lead role). The filmmaker was clearly cooking with grease on that picture and so in his latest effort, "Breathe In," he's tried to stay within the same type of emotional and thematic frame, and yet expanding that territory to explore some darker tenors. He's even once again chosen to work with Felicity Jones, but adding Guy Pearce, Amy Ryan and newcomer Mackenzie Davis to his troupe of...

I’m betting that Drake Doremus’s currently untitled drama will make it three for three at Sundance with Douchebag (Sundance ’10), Grand Jury Prize winning Like Crazy (Sundance ’11) or four for four in Park City when you include his debut film, the Slamdance selected Spooner. Once again teaming with Felicity Jones, this also stars Guy Pearce, Kyle MacLachlan, Amy Ryan and Alexandra Wentworth, filming on his latest began in August of 2011 – so with the exception of no title, there won’t be last minute preparations on this one and surely bidding war preparations might already be in the works.

Gist: This is quoted as being a “tense story about an inappropriate relationship between a young student, an exchange student and a school teacher.”

Production Co./Producers: Indian Paintbrush’s Steven M. Rales and Mark Roybal, Crispy Films’ Jonathan Schwartz and Andrea Sperling (Smashed, Nobody Walks)

Prediction: Premieres Program

U.S.

"Could you be the next Alex?" There's a fun little trailer going around, found by The Film Stage, for a new web series of short films being created by one of our favorite directors, Drake Doremus, of Like Crazy and Spooner. The project is called The Beauty Inside and mainly stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead as a love interest. The concept is that Topher Grace wakes up as a different person every day, and I think anyone can audition and submit a video of themselves to be a part of it, to take control for a day and see where it leads. How fun. There's an appearance by Matthew Gray Gubler, too. It looks kinda cool, I'm intrigued. Here's the official trailer for Drake Doremus' Intel/Toshiba series The Beauty Inside, from YouTube: The Beauty Inside is an interactive social film, presented by Intel and Toshiba, directed by Drake Doremus,...

Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: March 13, 2012

Price: DVD $29.98, Blu-ray/DVD Combo $39.99

Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Loved by critics and audience members, The Descendants scored a worthy Academy Award and two Golden Globes, including Best Picture.

From writer/director Alexander Payne (Sideways), the movie stars George Clooney (The Ides of March) as businessman Matt King, who has a lot on his plate: he’s on deadline to bring his extended family (including Beau Bridges, Columbus Circle) together to sell their land in Hawaii, his wife (Patricia Hastie, Princess Kaiulani) is in a coma after a boating accident and his daughter’s (Shailene Woodley, TV’s The Secret Life of the American Teenager) angry because she knows her mom was cheating on her dad.

The cast also includes Judy Greer (Barry Munday), Matthew Lillard (Spooner), Nick Krause (How to Eat Fried Worms) and newcomer Amara Miller.

Rated R, The Descendants is...

Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: March 6, 2012

Price: DVD $19.99, Blu-ray $29.99

Studio: Paramount Home Entertainment

Long-distance love is the subject of the 2011 romance film Like Crazy.

The movie stars Felicity Jones (The Tempest) and Anton Yelchin (Fright Night) as, respectively, Anna and Jacob, who meet at university in Los Angeles and fall in love. The problem is, Anna is British and in the U.S. on a school visa. When her time is up, she stays in America illegally. But when she goes back to England for a family visit, she isn’t allowed to come back, and Anna and Jacob must decide what their love is worth.

Like Crazy, which is rated PG-13, also stars Jennifer Lawrence (X-Men: First Class), Alex Kingston (TV’s ER) and Chris Messina (Devil).

The film was released in a limited number of theaters in the U.S. in October 2011, grossing $3.4 million. But its biggest audience is on DVD and Blu-ray.

Chicago – Some films never get a fair shot with audiences. They open in a handful of art house theaters scattered throughout the country before inconspicuously landing on DVD. Passionate movie lovers are left with the task of championing these unjustly obscure titles and helping them to acquire the audience they deserve.

Before I reveal my picks for the top ten Best Overlooked Films of 2011, here are the ten runners-up:

“Autoerotic”

Autoerotic

While Steve McQueen’s magnificent art film, “Shame,” plunges into the dark depths of sexual addiction, Joe Swanberg and Adam Wingard’s “Autoerotic” takes a decidedly more playful approach to similar material. Though Swanberg has made a series of uncommonly intimate films about the sex lives of twentysomething Chicagoans, he’s never attempted a film as overtly comic as this one, and Wingard proves to be an ideal collaborator. “Autoerotic” is easily Swanberg’s most accessible film to date,...

Chicago – From the moment filmmaker Drake Doremus and actress Felicity Jones won big at the Sundance Film Festival, their film “Like Crazy” has been garnering a good deal of award season buzz. Jones’ star-making portrayal of Anna, a British college student attempting to sustain a long-distance relationship with her American boyfriend, Jacob (Anton Yelchin), has become the focus of media hype that threatens to drown out the film itself.

What makes the picture stand out from the crowd is its structure. As the helmer of indie gems “Spooner” and “Douchebag,” Doremus has a background in crafting richly layered character studies on a tight budget. “Like Crazy” sidesteps the moments audiences are used to seeing in a romantic narrative in favor of nuances and textures that convey much more than mere plot points. Doremus beautifully depicts the push and pull of a relationship struggling to stay alive against the odds. Each...

Nine months after winning the Grand Jury Prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival, Drake Doremus's indie romance "Like Crazy" finally hits screens on Friday. And in the accelerated world of Doremus, that's an eternity -- while waiting for the film to be released, the writer-director has already made another movie. With a career spanning only three films, "Spooner," "Douchebag" and now "Like Crazy,"  Doremus has become something of a poster boy for personal indie films. His calling cards: a common theme (his take on love and relationships) and a distinctive working...

Like Crazy starts playing in limited theaters in New York City and Los Angeles on Friday, October 28th. If there is one film that has my heart this year, it's Drake Doremus' Like Crazy, the indie romantic drama that swept Sundance and completely won me over, too. We've been recently featuring multiple trailers for the film, which stars Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones, but I had the chance to chat with director Drake Doremus last week after the first trailer hit (watch the new one here). I met Drake at Sundance earlier this year, but haven't spoken with him since, so it was great to catch up. We talked about his festival experience and I asked him a few questions about the realism and truth behind bringing this emotional drama to life. Drake Doremus has actually directed before: Spooner with Matthew Lillard and Douchebag, a black comedy starring Ben York Jones...

The first movie trailer for Sundance’s ‘Like Crazy’ has been released to the web. A winner at this year’s film festival, the indie fare took home the Grand Jury prize. The picture comes from writer-director Drake Doremus (Spooner) and follows Anton Yelchin (Fright Night) alongside actress Felicity Jones ( The Tempest) as a couple who falls madly in love. Here’s the full synopsis for the raw and honest love story: “A young American guy and a young British girl meet in college and fall in love. Their love is tested when she is required to leave the country and they must face the challenges of a long-distance relationship.” Also starring...

Writer/director Drake Doremus knows that the sound on Monday's trailer premiere [1] of his award-winning Sundance romance Like Crazy was bad and he takes full responsibility. You see, he was in New York working on his next movie starring Guy Pierce, Amy Ryan and Like Crazy co-star Felicity Jones and was forced to mix the sound over the phone and e-mail. But that's been fixed now. So take another look at Like Crazy, a realistic, heartbreaking romance about long distance love between college students played by Anton Yelchin (Star Trek) and Felicity Jones (Cemetery Junction). The film premiered at Sundance [2], won multiple awards including the prestigious Grand Jury Prize [3], was immediately purchased and is finally scheduled for release on October 28 [4]. Doremus, who previously directed Spooner and Douchebag, spoke to /Film on the phone from New York to talk about the trailer premiere, what it's like having a hit film at...

Paramount Vantage have released a brand new trailer and poster for Like Crazy.

Directed by Drake Doremus (Spooner), Like Crazy stars Felicity Jones (Albatross), Anton Yelchin (The Beaver), Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone), Charlie Bewley (The Twilight Saga: New Moon), Alex Kingston (Alpha Dog) and Oliver Muirhead (The Social Network).

Synopsis: When a British college student (Felicity Jones) falls for her American classmate (Anton Yelchin) they embark on a passionate and life-changing journey only to be separated when she violates the terms of her visa.

Like Crazy won both the Grand Jury Prize and the Special Jury Prize at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, and is scheduled to hit UK cinema screens on February 3, 2012.

Check out the trailer and poster embedded below:

Iframe Embed for Youtube

Source: Apple...

Moving Pictures has assembled a collection of our features and interviews with today’s hottest screenwriters as a resource to inspire anyone curious to know what it takes to write a screenplay, make a film or simply become part of the movies.

Jocks, Geeks, Stoners and “Prom” Queens

Katie Wech, the scribe of “Prom,” weighs in on whether the high school cliques in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” still hold relevance for today’s writers

Victims Face War’s Scars in “Incendies”

Denis Villeneuve discusses his Oscar-nominated film, a drama that weaves elements of civil war, family, resilience and love, and culminates in a shocking revelation

“Punch”-Drunk Love

Zack Snyder — writer, producer and director of “Sucker Punch” — goes from “300″ warriors to five with a science-fiction/action flick for both boys and girls

Bit “Parts” to the Big Screen

Annie J. Howell and Lisa Robinson, writers-directors of “Small, Beautifully Moving...

Moving Pictures has assembled a collection of our features and interviews with today’s hottest screenwriters as a resource to inspire anyone curious to know what it takes to write a screenplay, make a film or simply become part of the movies.

Jocks, Geeks, Stoners and “Prom” Queens

Katie Wech, the scribe of “Prom,” weighs in on whether the high school cliques in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” still hold relevance for today’s writers

Victims Face War’s Scars in “Incendies”

Denis Villeneuve discusses his Oscar-nominated film, a drama that weaves elements of civil war, family, resilience and love, and culminates in a shocking revelation

“Punch”-Drunk Love

Zack Snyder — writer, producer and director of “Sucker Punch” — goes from “300″ warriors to five with a science-fiction/action flick for both boys and girls

Bit “Parts” to the Big Screen

Annie J. Howell and Lisa Robinson, writers-directors of “Small, Beautifully Moving...

The Grand Jury prize for Like Crazy at the Sundance Film Festival represented a considerable upset. The director and co-writer Drake Doremus has previously enjoyed only mixed success with a slightly uneven comedy drama Douchebag, and the little watched and even less loved debut feature Spooner. His victory was also supplemented by a special prize for the performance of lead actress Felicity Jones (Cemetery Junction). Given this unprecedented critical acclaim, in addition to the press coverage that accompanied these awards, it was inevitable that Like Crazy would not need to fight for a distribution deal, and so it proved as a deal has now been struck with Paramount Vantage.

Jones stars alongside promising young counterparts Anton Yelchin (Terminator Salvation) and Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone) as an English exchange student whose romance is put under immense strain when she is denied the right to return to the United States by...

When your name is Spooner and you don’t know how to spoon, there's something to be fixed. Of course, spooning isn’t Spooner’s main problem. Underperforming as a car salesman and forced to move out by his parents on his 30th birthday—without an apartment to move into because he keeps looking for one that has a sick home theater set-up—knowing how to spoon a woman is symbolic of his stunted maturity. When he meets and falls for Rose, in the course of pursuing her, he improves both as a spooner and as a man. At least, that’s the idea.

Matthew Lillard’s perceived persona as a perpetually grungy teen did him good in the 90’s, when he was consistently starring in teen movies even when he no longer looked the part. Recently, he’s been able to continue playing a teen despite getting older, doing...

A look at what's new on DVD today:

"Fernando Di Leo Crime Collection"

Directed by Fernando Di Leo

Released by RaroVideo

Fans of badass '70s cinema and the stoic Henry Silva rejoice! Underappreciated Italian crime master director Fernando Di Leo finally comes to the U.S. via this set of four films -- "Caliber 9," "The Italian Connection," "The Boss," and "Rulers of the City" -- that shows what made him an influence of filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino and John Woo.

"The Absent" (2011)

Directed by Sage Bannick

Released by Passion River

Twin brothers are bonded by the experience of having their parents try to kill them for insurance money, only to become killers themselves in this slasher film from Sage Bannick.

"Be My Teacher" (2011)

Directed by Lakisha R. Lemons

Released by Maverick Entertainment Group

A student's (Derek Lee Nixon) flirtations with his English teacher (Lateace Towns-Cuellar) has serious...

Trailers are an under-appreciated art form insofar that many times they’re seen as vehicles for showing footage, explaining films away, or showing their hand about what moviegoers can expect. Foreign, domestic, independent, big budget: I celebrate all levels of trailers and hopefully this column will satisfactorily give you a baseline of what beta wave I’m operating on, because what better way to hone your skills as a thoughtful moviegoer than by deconstructing these little pieces of advertising? Some of the best authors will tell you that writing a short story is a lot harder than writing a long one, that you have to weigh every sentence. What better medium to see how this theory plays itself out beyond that than with movie trailers? I'm interrupting this column to announce a sweet contest open to budding filmmakers who not only love the fake trailers that played during Grindhouse but...

Spooner opens this Friday, March 4th in select locations in La and Oc :

La Theatre:

Laemmle’s Sunset 5

(323) 848-3500

Q&A with Cast & Filmmakers Friday 3/4 and Saturday 3/5 after the 7:20pm show!

Daily: 1:00 . 3:00 . 5:10 . 7:20 . 9:50

Oc Theatre:

Costa Mesa Regency South Coast Village

(714) 557-5701

Exclusive Engagement Starts Friday, March 4th!

Daily: 1:30 . 3:30 . 5:30 . 7:30 . 9:40

[View with PicLens]

Please read our featured article Silver ‘Spooner’ from our Winter 2011 issue, which takes an inside look behind-the-scenes of the film.

Herman Spooner (Matthew Lillard) is a used car salesman who still lives at home with his parents. Spooner is fairly set in his unfulfilling routine, but turning 30 marks a hard deadline set by his mom and dad to get a place of his own. To top it off, Spooner’s boss is putting on the pressure to bring in some numbers or face the chopping block. Headed for one of...

Spooner opens this Friday, March 4th in select locations in La and Oc :

La Theatre:

Laemmle’s Sunset 5

(323) 848-3500

Q&A with Cast & Filmmakers Friday 3/4 and Saturday 3/5 after the 7:20pm show!

Daily: 1:00 . 3:00 . 5:10 . 7:20 . 9:50

Oc Theatre:

Costa Mesa Regency South Coast Village

(714) 557-5701

Exclusive Engagement Starts Friday, March 4th!

Daily: 1:30 . 3:30 . 5:30 . 7:30 . 9:40

[View with PicLens]

Please read our featured article Silver ‘Spooner’ from our Winter 2011 issue, which takes an inside look behind-the-scenes of the film.

Herman Spooner (Matthew Lillard) is a used car salesman who still lives at home with his parents. Spooner is fairly set in his unfulfilling routine, but turning 30 marks a hard deadline set by his mom and dad to get a place of his own. To top it off, Spooner’s boss is putting on the pressure to bring in some numbers or face the chopping block. Headed for one of...

By Erin Talbert-Brust

(from Moving Pictures, winter issue, 2011)

Drake Doremus

When Drake Doremus, whose “Like Crazy” just won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, was directing his first feature film, “Spooner” (due in theaters March 4), he innately knew that he would be able to take the actors only so far with his own vision — the rest they would have to do for themselves.

In a life in which improvisation has long been a cornerstone — his mother, Cherie Kerr, was a founding member of the legendary Los Angeles comedy troupe The Groundlings — it was crucial for Doremus that the cast he chose for “Spooner” be sufficiently free-form to develop their characters. He says that’s why he sought out actors with backgrounds in improv.

“I’m just trying to find the truth in the moment, and I think you have to give the character and actors the chance to find that moment,...

By Erin Talbert-Brust

(from Moving Pictures, winter issue, 2011)

Drake Doremus

When Drake Doremus, whose “Like Crazy” just won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, was directing his first feature film, “Spooner” (due in theaters March 4), he innately knew that he would be able to take the actors only so far with his own vision — the rest they would have to do for themselves.

In a life in which improvisation has long been a cornerstone — his mother, Cherie Kerr, was a founding member of the legendary Los Angeles comedy troupe The Groundlings — it was crucial for Doremus that the cast he chose for “Spooner” be sufficiently free-form to develop their characters. He says that’s why he sought out actors with backgrounds in improv.

“I’m just trying to find the truth in the moment, and I think you have to give the character and actors the chance to find that moment,...

(Freelancer Sharon Swart is helping Deadline’s Sundance coverage) Director Drake Doremus and producer Jonathan Schwartz are in Park City with a film for the third year in a row. Their latest, Like Crazy is a trans-Atlantic love story starring Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones, and Sundance 2010 breakout Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone) and is one of the fest’s most anticipated films and screens today at noon at the large Eccles theater. Last year, the duo had Douchebag in Dramatic Competition at Sundance; the year before, Spooner at Slamdance. At their cast and crew dinner last night, the filmmakers had a quick visit from Harvey Weinstein, who is famous for showing early support and passion for a potential acquisition. The dinner was filled with CAA agents who helped cast the film, including Tracy Brennan who reps both Jones and Lawrence, as well as Charlie Bewley (Twilight) who has a small role.

In the shade of a garden, out the back of the Roosevelt Hotel, Moving Pictures and the Montana State Film Office hosted an intimate gathering. Attendees ranged from filmmakers such as Drake Doremus (“Douchebag,” “Spooner”) fresh from finishing his latest feature to Slamdance-winning helmer Heidi Van Lier (“Chi Girl”) to award-winning short filmmaker Daphne Lambrinou (“Paperboat”) to “Dante Inferno” director Sean Meredith.

Roaming the private event with AFI filmmakers were cinematographer David Klein (best known for his collaborations with Kevin Smith, and all set to shoot every second episode of this season’s “True Blood”), Fandango’s John Halecky, Newport Beach Film Festival’s top brass, “Life Ascending” producer Sarah Gaboury, sketch comedy king Matt Pittenger, Israeli actor Yaniv Rokah (“The Beast”) as well as Howard Burns (Moving Pictures’ own editor-in-chief) and the Montana State Film Commissioner Sten Iversen. The evening was the perfect entrée to tonight’s gala screening...

#23. Like Crazy - Drake Doremus If you need any packing tips for a film festival in Park City, you may want to contact American Film Institute grad Drake Doremus. It could very well be a "three films in three years in Park City" banner year for Doremus -- in 2009 he showed up with Spooner at Slamdance, this past January was the unveiling of Douchebag, and in 2011 chances are highly likely that'll show up with his parka, mitts and Like Crazy. Starring Jennifer Lawrence, who the filmmaker probably ran into while at the fest promoting Winter's Bone, Like Crazy went into production midday this year...so with a lightening speed work ethic, he could already be putting the final touches on the romantic drama that sees Lawrence in the lead opposite her The Beaver co-star Anton Yelchin. Scripted by Doremus and Ben York Jones, this focuses on young college students who...

It takes some serious stones to make a movie called "Douchebag" -- the title doesn't exactly scream mass-audience appeal -- but that didn't deter director Drake Doremus from doing just that.

"Douchebag," Doremus' second foray into feature filmmaking after last year's "Spooner," is quite accomplished for a movie that was shot on a shoestring budget, is based off a 30-page outline, was mostly improvised and features two unknown leads. It was a hit with audiences at this year's Sundance Film Festival and is now looking to make a dent in theaters... despite a title that doesn't truly convey the movie's surprising poignancy.

"Originally, the movie was called 'Mary Barger,' but we didn't think that was going to get any attention," Doremus tells MTV News. "To be honest, with a small movie like this you kind of have to have something that's attention-grabbing. That was a big reason for it.

Santa Monica-based indie distributor Moving Pictures Film & TV has inked a number of deals in the run-up to next week's Mipcom TV trade show including the rom-com "Spooner," which recently sold to Digi Dreams of Germany.

The pic toplines Matthew Lillard and Nora Zehetner and was helmed and co-written by Drake Doremus.

 

"We have expanded our range and depth of films and television series so extensively over the past few months that we now have choices for virtually every type of broadcast and DVD buyer in the world," said Ted Chalmers, Moving Pictures president of worldwide sales.

In addition to "Spooner," Mpf&TV recently made five film deals with Digi Dreams, including rights to the spoof title "Alice in Murderland."

Other deals include P.T. Parkit of Indonesia, for "Dolan's Cadillac," based on a Stephen King short story and starring Christian Slater; and Falcon Films in the MidEast, which took the animated adventure "Lucky Dragon.

D–chebag, the film with the best title from this year’s Sundance Film Festival, will finally receive its theatrical release. Red Dragon Independent Film Company has partnered with industry vets Cassian Elwes and Mark Urman to debut the comedy theatrically this September. Our critic Owen Gleiberman was a fan of the movie from director Drake Doremus (Spooner), which chronicles two brothers’ reluctant reunion, which leads to a road trip. Andrew Dickler and Ben York Jones star as the brothers. (Read Owen’s review here.)

The real question: Will those distributors have to change the title and, if not, how...

Having recently just worked together on the high anticipated Jodie Foster's The Beaver, the Blacklist favorite starring Mel Gibson, baby faced thesps Anton Yelchin and Jennifer Lawrence might have instant chemistry making it a hell of a lot easier for Drake Doremus' first "big league" indie project - a significant step up from the film he presented in Park City just four months back. - Having recently just worked together on the high anticipated Jodie Foster's The Beaver, the Blacklist favorite starring Mel Gibson, baby faced thesps Anton Yelchin and Jennifer Lawrence might have instant chemistry making it a hell of a lot easier for Drake Doremus' first "big league" indie project - a significant step up from the film he presented in Park City just four months back. Production Weekly's Twitter feed mentions that Doremus will team with Sundance alumni actors on an independent project called Like Crazy.

Having recently just worked together on the high anticipated Jodie Foster's The Beaver, the Blacklist favorite starring Mel Gibson, baby faced thesps Anton Yelchin and Jennifer Lawrence might have instant chemistry making it a hell of a lot easier for Drake Doremus' first "big league" indie project - a significant step up from the film he presented in Park City just four months back. Production Weekly's Twitter feed mentions that Doremus will team with Sundance alumni actors on an independent project called Like Crazy. I expect more details to trickle in, but for the time being, we know that filming will begin next month, giving the production enough time to be completed and ready for a second-straight year Sundance stint for the filmmaker. I'm also expecting Crispy Films' Jonathan Schwartz (who teamed with Doremus on Spooner (a Slamdance entry) and Park City laugher Douchebag. If anyone has further details,...

What sort of background do you need to be an actor? These days, it's not exactly required that you graduate from the Actors Studio (or from anywhere else), but when I look up the credits of even the lamest supporting actors in bad Hollywood comedies, they tend to come with a long string of professional experience ("After a four-year run on the popular Nickelodeon series, Allegra made her big-screen debut in She's All That and went on to co-star in..."). As for indie-film actors, they often bounce back and forth between no-paycheck Sundance movies and big-paycheck schlock. So I was...

With the 2010 Sundance Film Festival only a few days away, folks are scurrying to figure out their schedules and book interviews and buy snow boots. It's so insane and so hectic, I heard 10 seconds with Kristen Stewart was going for five grand on eBay (but that's just a rumor). Amidst the swag booths and celebrity firepower, though, are the smaller films in competition -- most of which feature actors, actresses, writers and directors you've probably never heard of before. One of those writer-directors on the verge of breaking out is a guy named Drake Doremus, whose film Douchebag is screening in U.S. Dramatic Competition at this year's fest.

Doremus has been around the festival scene for awhile now; first with his short film The Shirt, and then with a feature called Spooner. But now he's finally upgraded to a prime spot at Sundance, and I see no reason why...

Welcome to a new series here at Cinematical where we'll shine a spotlight on different films premiering at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival in January.

A couple years ago I was fortunate to catch a short film called The Shirt by an up-and-coming director named Drake Doremus. At the time I remember my friend telling me that Doremus was destined to go on to bigger and better things, and one look at the somewhat dry, awkward-yet-endearing sense of humor in The Shirt was enough proof to suggest my friend was right. Cut to 2009 and Doremus' new feature film Douchebag was just accepted to screen in competition at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival -- this coming only one year since his last film, Spooner, premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival. Needless to say, Drake Doremus is a name you're about to become a lot more familiar with.

One thing I love about Drake...

As we wait for tomorrow's selections in the non-competitive categories, I figured I'd further explore/familiarize myself with the sixteen titles (Blue Valentine, Douchebag, The Dry Land, Happythankyoumoreplease, Hesher, Holy Rollers, Howl, The Imperialists Are Still Alive!, Lovers of Hate, Night Catches Us, Obselidia, Skateland, Sympathy for Delicious, 3 Backyards, Welcome to the Rileys and Winter's Bone) selected for the U.S Dramatic Competition. - As we wait for tomorrow's selections in the non-competitive categories, I figured I'd further explore/familiarize myself with the sixteen titles (Blue Valentine, Douchebag, The Dry Land, Happythankyoumoreplease, Hesher, Holy Rollers, Howl, The Imperialists Are Still Alive!, Lovers of Hate, Night Catches Us, Obselidia, Skateland, Sympathy for Delicious, 3 Backyards, Welcome to the Rileys and Winter's Bone) selected for the U.S Dramatic Competition. Much like what IndieWIRE did here, I'll point to my own set of factoids.  Derek Cianfrance's Blue Valentine was originally...

As we move closer to the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, the first glimpses of movies playing at the festival are arriving online. Since there are so many, we’ve decided to group them into a single article for your viewing pleasure. The films we’ve included in this group are 3 Backyards starring Edie Falco and Elias Koteas; Abel directed by Diego Luna; Blue Valentine starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams; Douchebag, which just has a catchy title; HappyThankYouMorePlease starring Kate Mara, Malin Akerman, Richard Jenkins, Tony Hale, and Josh Radnor (How I Met Your Mother) who also wrote and directed the film; and Night Catches Us starring Kerry Washington and Anthony Mackie. Hit the jump for the first images as well as brief synopses for all of these movies.

The 2010 Sundance Film Festival will run from January 21-31st.

All synopses are via the Sundance Film Festival.

3 Backyards, directed by Eric Mendelsohn...

The prospect of moving out of our parents’ houses and venturing out into life on our own is usually either an exhilarating relief or adventure we look forward to or, for some is perhaps the most frightening experience of their lives. For Herman Spooner, it ends up being both. Drake Doremus co-wrote and directed this charming indie dramedy about finding love when life feels like it can’t get any worse.

Matthew Lillard (Scream, THIR13EN Ghosts) plays the lovable loser Herman Spooner, but everyone just calls him “Spooner”. Herman, I mean… Spooner, lives at home. He’s about to turn the big 3-0 and his parents have put their collective foot(s) down and set a deadline. HermanSpooner is to move out on his own by the time he turns 30. For Spooner, who is less than stellar at his job as a used car salesman, working under the oppressive regime...

Not long ago I wrote about a movie premiering at the Slamdance Film Festival called Spooner, starring Matthew Lillard, and during said post I mentioned that Spooner director (and Cinematical friend) Drake Doremus had previously written and directed an awesome short film called The Shirt back in 2006. Unfortunately at the time The Shirt was not available to watch online, but earlier today Drake read the post and was cool enough to throw the short up on YouTube so that you fine Cinematical readers can enjoy its beautiful absurdity. What's it about? It's about this dude who's trying to find the kind of shirt that will change his life. We'll let you know how Spooner turned out a bit later in the week, so for now check out The Shirt below and the trailer for Spooner (find info on how to purchase Slamdance tix over here) after the jump.

Warning: This...

With the lack of news during this holiday season, there's no better time than now to debut trailers for little-known indies that will be premiering at Sundance/Slamdance in January. The latest trailer we have is for a film called Spooner, a comedy staring Matthew Lillard and the gorgeous Nora Zehetner (from Brick). I don't want to say too much about this besides that it stars one of the most underrated female actresses out there and looks like an oddly charming (kind of) coming-of-age drama. There's nothing too weird about it, but it is definitely a film festival kind of indie feature. I definitely suggest checking out this trailer. Watch the trailer for Spooner: [flv:http://media2.firstshowing.net/firstshowing/spoon-trailer-youtube.flv http://media2.firstshowing.net/firstshowing/spoon-trailer-youtube.jpg 480 320] Herman Spooner is a used car salesman who still lives at home with his parents. Spooner is fairly set in his unfulfilling routine, but turning 30 marks a hard deadline set by his mom and dad...

If you’ve been reading /Film for a while, then you know that I’m a sucker for coming of age films and quirky indie relationship dramedies (how 2004 of me, I know…), . Drake Doremus‘ Spooner, which premieres at the 2009 Slamdance Film Festival, falls into category two. Matthew Lillard plays a used car salesman named Herman Spooner, who still lives at home with his parents. The official plot synopsis follows:

“Spooner is fairly set in his unfulfilling routine, but turning 30 marks a hard deadline set by his mom (Kate Burton) and dad (Christopher McDonald) to get a place of his own. To top it off, Spooner’s boss (Shea Whigham) is putting on the pressure to bring in some numbers, or face the chopping block. Headed for one of the worst days of his life, Spooner meets the girl of his dreams, Rose (Nora Zehetner). Forgoing all other priorities,...

While Matthew Lillard may not always pick the best roles, the dude definitely has something and I think that something is going to shine through in this aberrant little romcom. For those who've been reading this site for a while, you know I'm a sucker for films like this.

Herman Spooner is a used car salesman who still lives at home with his parents. Spooner is fairly set in his unfulfilling routine, but turning 30 marks a hard deadline set by his mom and dad to get a place of his own. To top it off, Spooner's boss is putting on the pressure to bring in some numbers, or face the chopping block. Headed for one of the worst days of his life, Spooner meets the girl of his dreams, Rose. Forgoing all other priorities, Spooner is now working on winning her heart, but on their perfect date, she breaks...

The Slamdance competition is open only to under-$1 million budgeted films from first-time filmmakers and runs at the same time as Sundance (in Utah) to show a more truer "independent" film style. This year they've got some great looking films, including a sweet looking vampire flick which has the Karate Kid Ralph Macchio himself, Rosencantz and Guildenstern are Undead. I Sell the Dead which was well received at Tad will be opening the fest. Also playing will be The Broken Lizard's latest film The Slammin' Salmon, and Mum and Dad.

Checkout the full lineup after the break!

Narrative Feature Competition

The Ante

Max Perrier (Director), Danek S. Kaus, James Chancellor & Simon Perrier (Writers)

West Coast Premiere, Black Comedy/Thriller, 2006, Canada, 82 minutes

An innocent man becomes the killer everyone wants him to be when he gambles with his freedom in order to save it.

A Quiet Little Marriage

Mo Perkins (Director/Writer)

Utah Premiere,...

"I Sell the Dead," Glenn McQuaid's darkly comic horror tale about bumbling grave robbers starring Dominic Monaghan and Ron Perlman, will serve as the opening-night film of the 15th annual Slamdance Film Festival, which runs Jan. 15-23 in Park City.

The fest will screen 29 narrative and documentary features, 20 of which come from the U.S. and 31% of which were directed by women. The 100-film lineup also includes shorts and, for the first time, music videos.

"This year we look forward to increasing our audience through new online formats we believe have the ability, in the long run, to level the playing field for the independent filmmaker," Slamdance president and co-founder Peter Baxter said.

Bringing the fest to a worldwide audience for the first time, the films also will stream live at a new Web site, indieroad.net/slamdance, part of Slamdance's newly formed online venture with Indieroad.net.

The...