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"There's some really cool pictures of dead people!" The Orchard has debuted a trailer for the offbeat indie comedy Manson Family Vacation, about two estranged brothers who go on a weird trip together to visit the infamous Manson Family murder sites. Jay Duplass stars as one of the brothers, with Linas Phillips (Bass Ackwards) as the other. The synopsis describes it as a story about two brothers: "one who's devoted to his family; the other who's obsessed with The Manson Family." The film's cast also features Tobin Bell, Leonora Pitts and Davie-Blue. This is such an awkward comedy, I can see why they're sending it straight to VOD, definitely not for everyone. Not sure who it's for, but some may find some fun in this. Have at it. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for J. Davis' Manson Family Vacation, on YouTube (via SlashFilm): Nick Morgan (Jay Duplass) has it all: a loving family,...

With only hope, a dream and one writing credit to his name (SXSW short film Kevin), J. Davis lassoed fellow low-budget filmmakers Linas Phillips (Bass Ackwards) and Jay Duplass (Baghead) and placed them in brotherly love roles. A family reunion type pic with a set of backdrops like no other, having raised a successful round of startup funds in late 2013 via Kickstarter, Manson Family Vacation didn’t drop in ’14, so we’re expecting this low-budget laugher to easily squeeze into the early ’15 fest circuit . It’ll need major funny bone to go with the freaky title to convince Sundance programmers.

Gist: Nick Morgan is a successful lawyer who’s devoted to his wife and young son. His adopted brother Conrad is a wayward soul who shows up in Los Angeles unannounced. Although the brothers have never gotten along too well, Nick decides to show his brother around town. But as it turns out,...

Manson Family Vacation

Director: J. Davis

Writer(s): J. Davis

Producer(s): Steve Bannatyne, Eric Blyler, J. Davis, J.M. Logan, Josh Polon, Alexandra Sandler

U.S. Distributor: Rights Available

Cast: Jay Duplass, Linas Phillips, Leonora Pitts

Among the newbie additions to the extended family of collaborators and conspirators related to the Duplass Bros., J. Davis’ previous cred was as the Kevin – the Jay Duplass directed short docu project. Davis and Duplass re-team on a funny bone project that could easily target next year’s Sundance-sxsw festivals as it has the girth of a film that was helped out with kickstarter coin and without much else (see co-star Bass Ackwards‘ creator Linas Phillips speak from the heart). on paper, the sharply titled Manson Family Vacation is the sort of perfect trifecta indie comedy as it includes: a. modes of transportation, b. confused souls in unique backdrops and c. family bonding.

Cinematographer Sean Porter, whose recent credits include films "It Felt Like Love," "Eden" and "Bass Ackwards" spoke to Indiewire about shooting "Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter," which is screening at Sundance 2014. "Kumiko" follows a Japanese woman who obsesses over an American film and comes to America to try to find the buried briefcase from the movie.  What camera and lens did you use? I used the Arri Alexa 4:3 plus, Cooke Speed Panchros, Jdc Cooke Xtal Anamorphics and Cooke Cine Varotal 25-250mm Zoom. What was the most difficult shot in your movie, and how did you pull it off? There were lots of difficult shooting situations - from crowded Japanese subway stations to sub-zero temps on frozen lakes to rigging off ski lifts. Many were hard to pull off, but one that sticks out was a fun shot in Japan where a frustrated Kumiko leaves the dry cleaners and eventually...

Live. From New York. It’s…Craig Johnson. Another product from the Duplass factory, after breaking out with the micro-budgeted SXSW preemed True Adolescents, Johnson remains in similar dramedy curriculum (read the descriptive journey here) with the help of lead off hitters in SNL’s Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader (they were a delicious combo in Adventureland) alongside thesps Ty Burrell, Luke Wilson and Boyd Holbrook. Round two behind the director’s chair began in November of 2012 with cinematographer Reed Morano (Kill Your Darlings) and Prod. Designer Ola Maslik (May in the Summer) in the Sundance alumni tech crew deck.

Gist: Written by Mark Heyman and Johnson, Wiig and Hader play estranged twins Maggie and Milo, who coincidentally cheat death on the same day, prompting them to reunite and confront how their lives went so wrong. For Maggie, that means re-examining her marriage to sweet “nature frat boy” Lance (Wilson...

This past Thursday was Werner Herzog‘s birthday. We wanted to get him something special, so I’ve made Manson Family Vacation the subject of this week’s Fund This column, because he really wants it made. “I want you to give them money for this film about murder and love,” he can be heard saying in the project’s Kickstarter campaign video. Oh wait, no, that’s just Linas Phillips doing his impersonation of the German director. Phillips, who you may know from his commentaries as Herzog for Tango and Cash and Every Which Way But Loose or his documentary Walking to Werner, in which he personally walks from Seattle to Los Angeles to meet the cinema icon, is one of the two stars of Manson Family Vacation. Here’s hoping he finds a way to slip the voice in this movie, too. Phillips also made the indie road movie Bass Ackwards (which our own Rob Hunter...

Here's your daily dose of an indie film in progress; at the end of the week, you'll have the chance to vote for your favorite. In the meantime: Is this a movie you’d want to see? Tell us in the comments. "Manson Family Vacation" Tweetable Logline: Jay Duplass & Linas Phillips in a film about two brothers: one who's devoted to his family, the other who's obsessed with The Manson Family. Elevator Pitch: We invite you to help us make Manson Family Vacation, a story about two brothers who embark on a strange sightseeing tour of crime scenes, hideouts & jailhouses -- all related to the notorious Manson Family. The film will explore the hero worship of Charles Manson, the roots of fanatacism, and the importance of family. The project is a collaboration between Jay Duplass (Cyrus; Jeff, Who Lives At Home), Linas Phillips (Bass Ackwards) & J. Davis (Kevin; Soundtracker):...

With thanks to the good folks at Kickstarter, today we debut our curated page on the crowdfunding platform. At Filmmaker Magazine on Kickstarter you’ll always find a half dozen or so projects that we believe deserve your support. These will be projects by filmmakers we support through the magazine or site (like, for example, those from our annual “25 New Faces” list), those whose work has impressed us in the past, or perhaps just those whose project descriptions are particularly compelling. And while film and video projects will, naturally, comprise the bulk of our recommendations, I hope to sprinkle in projects in other areas like technology, music and publishing. There will always be a short blurb explaining why we’ve made the pick.

We’ve launched the page with the following projects:

* Fourplay. Kyle Henry made our 25 New Faces list following his eerie, assured independent feature, Room. For the last...

#66. Tan Lines - Tim Kirkman It's been a long dry spell of sorts for helmer Tim Kirkman, who presented anything since Loggerheads - a drama that was included at the Sundance film festival back in 2005. His next feature is a long shot of sorts to break the line-up - a low budget tennis comedy titled Tan Lines. Pic stars Dash Mihok, Cameron Monaghan, Kevin Sussman, Alexie Gilmore and Josh Hopkins. Gist: Owen "Game Set" Match is one of the top tennis pros in town, employed by the prestigious Fountain Club, with sun-bleached hair, gimp knees, and tan lines that make the women swoon. But when a history of bad decisions finally catches up to him, he's forced to pick up the pieces of his faltering career at the local Ymca club, where dysfunction is the norm. At the Y, a gang of culturally diverse, potentially psychotic, Adhd, Ocd, and potentially...

Kicking off with an "it can only get better" rallying speech from indie film guru Ted Hope and concluding with cautionary "budget for P&A" advice from "Bass Ackwards" producer Thomas Woodrow, the Los Angeles Film Festival presented an extremely insightful marketing and distribution symposium over the weekend. Those independent filmmakers lucky enough to be one of the 200 people seated in the Grammy Museum auditorium heard innumerable words of wisdom from ...

By: Kevin Kelly, reposted from the Sundance Film Festival, 1/29/10

Brothers Mark Duplass and Jay Duplass are responsible for movies like The Puffy Chair, and Baghead, and they're back at Sundance with their new film Cyrus. However, they're also here as producers on The Freebie (directed by Mark's wife Katie Aselton), on Bass Ackwards, and on Lovers of Hate, directed by their friend Brian Poyser. So they've virtually transformed themselves into a mini-major on their own, directing their own films and helping others get theirs made.

But it hasn't gone to their heads. Which is very lucky, because it means they're still fans of Cinematical. Once you get to superstar Scorsese-level, who has time for film blogs? We talked to Mark & Jay at Sundance, and you can watch the video interview after the jump. They talk about Jonah Hill (who is impressive in this movie, which has as much drama as...

Bass Ackwards has been, thus far, the unexpected gem of the 2010 Independent Film Festival Boston. Writer/director/star Linus Phillips' winsome road trip movie has all the earmarks of a Rowlesian work of whimsy, a genre that I find particularly grating. Yet it's done with such honest affection and bright-eyed optimism that instead, I found myself completely captivated by it.

In the film, Phillips plays a version of himself, named Linus. He's an affable loser, living on an air mattress in his friends' study, finding pick-up work as a wedding videographer, and having an affair with Georgia (Davie-Blue), a married woman who can't quite requite the emotion he's invested in her. Unsurprisingly, this unsteady existence eventually comes tumbling down around him -- his friends ask him to move out, Georgia passively ends their relationship, and Linus takes refuge working for a free room at a local llama farm. He idles...

Rating: 7.5/10

Writers: Linas Phillips, Davie-Blue, Jim Fletcher

Director: Linas Phillips

Cast: Linas Phillips, Alex Karpovsky, Davie-Blue, Jim Fletcher

Studio: Furnace Films

Linas (Phillips) is kind of an odd duck. Well, more like…he’s the type of guy everyone kind of hates, but you can’t really put your finger on just why the ill-feelings towards him are so across the board. I know people like that in real life and you probably do too. If you don’t, chances are you are that person…but I digress.

Read more on Sundance 2010 Review: Bass Ackwards…...

At Sundance this year, more than usual activity immediately kicked in among the international buyers and the international sales agents bulking up in preparation for the Berlinale's Efm even as the Us distributors were slow to show much energy in acquisitions. First out of the gate for the Americans was Lionsgate's acquisition of Buried . Next came extended discussions with CAA and Apparition and its ancillary distributor partner Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquistions for Splice for what is rumored $2.5 million while an independent source supplies $20 million P & A. Next came Newmarket's $1 million acquisition of Hesher. The Oprah Winfrey Network acquired Family Affair. Own's documentary film club is being done in partnership with doc film distributor Ro*co Films International. Own, a co-venture between Winfrey's Harpo Prods. and Discovery Communications slated for a January 2011 launch, is planning to create communities nationwide that can screen the films together and participate in a live, moderated panel discussion.

It's a strange little road trip: A man tries to persuade the married woman he involved with to go on a cross-country drive, but when she turns him down, the realy journey begins. The film is called Bass Ackwards and it just played at Sundance last month.

Among the reviews, The Hollywood Reporter said this is "the kind of introspective road film plenty of aspiring auteurs would probably like to make but few can pull off," and that's not cheap praise. In fact, it seems to be the consensus for writer-director-star Linas Phillips' feature debut. It is also, apparently, a bit meandering, not really keeping the pedal to the metal in terms of story advancement. And that's fine if you know it going in.

It might also help to know going in that Phillips' previous film was the documentary Walking to Werner, in which he did just that, walking...

Here's the latest in the continuing series of videos by Sabi Pictures executive produced by Filmmaker and the Workbook Project. The official word: Sabi filmmakers Zak Forsman and Kevin K. Shah speak with Ted Hope, Jon Reiss, Mynette Louie (Children of Invention) and Linas Phillips (Bass Ackwards) to explore the solutions that are emerging for independent filmmakers – featuring some of the insights and actions that came from the 2010 Filmmaker Summit. New Breed Park City – Exploring the Solutions, Part 1 from Sabi Pictures on Vimeo. Watch all New Breed videos.

In the new issue of Filmmaker, Esther Robinson penned "The Big Art/Little Debt Plan," which discusses the relation of filmmakers to risk, their films, and their money. She reached out to several filmmakers by email, and their responses helped shape her article. We are running several of the responses Esther received here on the blog. Below is the one from Thomas Woodrow, producer, Bass Ackwards. With the current environment/budgets you are seeing, do think there will be more financing gaps than usual? If yes, do you think this might create an uptick in personal debt (both for you and the filmmaker) to fill the gap? If no, how are gaps traditionally-weathered/weathered-in-this-moment? The most straightforward solution is simply to make...

Linas Phillips and Alpaca Friend in Bass Ackwards

Back home after covering the second half of Sundance 2010, there are a few films that I haven’t addressed until now because, well, they required more consideration (and, regarding Oddsac, serious decompression).

Bass Ackwards: The feature debut from Linas Phillips, who created a small indie stir several years ago with the documentary Walking to Werner, has received attention because a) it was executive produced by Mark Duplass (one of four Duplass-y projects at the festival) and b) it was one of several films made available for rent on YouTube in conjunction with Sundance 2010. In terms of indie-film distribution, bypassing the studio system is all the rage. Even Hollywood seems enamored by newer services like video-on-demand and companies such as New American Vision, which connects niche films with their audiences.

Fans of the Duplass Bros. work and other filmmakers in the so-called mumblecore genre (Andrew Bujalski,...

Thomas Mai of Festival Darlings who is hosting a conference in Berlin on crowd sourcing says that a filmmaker can expect to make between $50 - $1000 per month per platform (some more, some less). If there are also social media campaigns, this number can increase a lot. A release should go to about 25 -40 platforms, including iTunes/ Amazon/ NetFlix/ Hulu etc. Making a digital master is not expensive, but each platform uses its own format so a filmmaker might need to come up with 12-15 different format versions which can cost about $500 each. The master should cost around $1200-$1500.

To book a place at "Dawn of The Micro Major Film Producer: Everything you want to know about VOD and Crowdfunding"" on 16 February at 09:00 until 1:00 at the Ritz Carlton in Berlin, click here.

Thomas has come a long way as has film itself since he began at the onset of...

Brothers Mark Duplass and Jay Duplass are responsible for movies like The Puffy Chair, and Baghead, and they're back at Sundance with their new film Cyrus. However, they're also here as producers on The Freebie (directed by Mark's wife Katie Aselton), on Bass Ackwards, and on Lovers of Hate, directed by their friend Brian Poyser. So they've virtually transformed themselves into a mini-major on their own, directing their own films and helping others get theirs made.

But it hasn't gone to their heads. Which is very lucky, because it means they're still fans of Cinematical. Once you get to superstar Scorsese-level, who has time for film blogs? We talked to Mark & Jay at Sundance, and you can watch the video interview after the jump. They talk about Jonah Hill (who is impressive in this movie, which has as much drama as it does comedy), John C. Reilly, and Marisa Tomei,...

Everywhere I've gone at this festival, the conversation -- the obsession, really -- has been about "new distribution models." If you listen up, there's some awfully excited chatter. Independent filmmakers are going to take control of their destiny! They're going to forge new strategies! They're going to make the technology work for them! They're going to self-distribute! They're going to plan out how to market their movie before the movie has even been made! (Think I'm kidding? I've heard that one several times.) They're going to take a good hard look at the increasingly marginalized and battered -- not to...

If you've been following the videos we've posted here in the New Breed series by Sabi Pictures, you've by now recognized that a rhetorical storyline around the issue of alternative distribution is being constructed. Here's the latest, entitled "Seeking the Answers, Part 2." Scroll back through the previous posts for the others in the series. The official word: Sabi filmmakers Zak Forsman and Kevin K. Shah move away from identifying the questions toward some possible answers that may, in fact, lead to the solutions we seek. Insights from Linas Phillips (Bass Ackwards), Jon Reiss and Brian Newman are fleshed out with more thoughts from the pre-Filmmaker Summit roundtable. New Breed Park City – Seeking the Answers, Part 2 from Sabi...

Here's the third of our New Breed videos on new distribution ideas and paradigms at the Sundance Film Festival. The intro: Sabi filmmakers Zak Forsman and Kevin K. Shah move away from identifying the questions toward some possible answers that may, in fact, lead to the solutions we seek. Insights from Linas Phillips (Bass Ackwards), Habib Azar (Armless), Dan Mirvish, and Brian Newman are fleshed out with more thoughts from the pre-Filmmaker Summit roundtable. New Breed Park City – Seeking the Answers, Part 1 from Sabi Pictures on Vimeo. Watch all the New Breed videos.

Continuing out 2010 Sundance Film Festival coverage, we are pleased to present you with the poster, images and trailer for "Bass Ackwards." The comedy will have a nationwide digital release on February 1st. Linas Phillips directs and stars alongside fellow writers David-Blue and Jim Fletcher. Also starring are Alex Karpovsky, Andrew Liam Pringle and Christian Palmer. Bass Ackwards is a captivating and consummately human film that reminds us that whatever we think the road is about; the trip is probably about something else. Alternating between scripted action, improvisation, and the unpredictable spontaneity of vérité encounters, the film is the semi-autobiographical story of Linas Phillips, who stars as well as directs. Born of the imagination of Linas and his easy collaboration with old friends, costars, and co-conspirators Davie-Blue, Jim Fletcher, Paul Lazar, and Sean Porter, the film effortlessly and organically crosses the line between reality and fiction, incorporating the people and characters...

What are film festivals doing in increase distribution possibilities for their filmmakers and how are they using digital technology to do this and enhance their own position at the same time?

1) Sundance Film Festival is debuting films through VOD under a label called "Sundance Selects". Three films that premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival will debut simultaneously into 40 million Us households, via cable systems and satellite TV. The films will then be available for viewing for 30 days. The films include Michael Winterbottom's and Mat Whitecross's sociopolitical documentary The Shock Doctrine, Benny and Josh Safdie's comedy Daddy Longlegs, and Daniel Grou's drama 7 Days (Les 7 Jours du Talion).

"Moving the storytelling of the Sundance Film Festival beyond 10 days in Utah remains a top priority for us," said actor Robert Redford, founder of the Sundance Institute, about bringing the event to a wider audience, including selected screenings of Sundance films in other Us cities.

Our man Chris Bumbray is at Sundance checking out all sorts of flicks and one that is on his to-do list is the comedy Bass Ackwards. The film, executive produced by Mark Duplass (who's at Sundance with his own movie, Cyrus), follows a guy who travels cross-country in a beat up Volkswagen van. What's interesting about the movies is that it will be released nationally on Monday, Feb. 1 one day after the Sundance Ff wraps via VOD and digital retailers. It's an interesting experiment to see if...

In “Bass Ackwards”, one of the entries in Sundance Film Festival’s recently launched low budget Next section, an unkempt loner (Linas Phillips, also the writer-director)—having lost both his job and his girlfriend—drives through a series of lush American landscapes in a cramped Volkswagen bus, hoping to find a better life. Considering that vehicle’s now-famous association with “Little Miss Sunshine,” a major Sundance breakout in 2006, the metaphor here writes itself: “Bass …...

Announced today, YouTube, which is sponsoring the Sundance Film Festival's Next section, is partnering with the fest to make five festival films (three from this year, two from '09) available for rental on YouTube starting this Friday. The five films will be: Louis Psihoyos's The Cove Tze Chun's Children of Invention Michael Mohan's One Too Many Mornings Brad & Todd Barnes's Homewrecker Linas Phillips's Bass Ackwards The films are only available during the festival for a three-day rental price of $3.99. The deal is a non-exclusive revenue share deal between YouTube and the filmmakers. YouTube has also announced the start of "Filmmakers Wanted." A campaign the site is doing at Sundance to entice more filmmakers to join their rental...

One of the first films I watched for this year's festival was last night, a very small film called "Bass Ackwards."  Directed by Linas Phillips and also starring him, "Bass Ackwards" is the story of a guy named Linas who finds himself at a crossroads, disappointed by where his life has led him, and he makes a strategic decision to retreat.  Taking a cross-country trip, he heads back to where his mom and dad live, with the intention of moving in with them so he can figure out what to do next. There's a girl, but "Bass Ackwards" isn't a love story. There's a...

Mark Duplass falls Bass Ackwards into Sundance Linas Phillips is taking an interesting approach to the release of his upcoming improvisational road trip comedy Bass Ackwards. For the first time in history, a film will bypass its theatrical window and become available nationwide the day after its World Premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Keeping in step with its title, Bass Ackwards will be on the market for purchase and downloading on February 1st, with a more in-depth DVD release to follow in the spring. This is a groundbreaking release strategy, and it could measure how smaller, Independent films find their way into the marketplace in the very near future.Bass Ackwards is a captivating and consummately human tale. It reminds us that whatever we think the road is about; the trip is probably about something else. Alternating between scripted action, improvisation, and the unpredictable spontaneity of v&#233rit&#233 encounters,...

Jay and Mark Duplass to direct Jeff Who Lives at Home While chatting about his work as an executive producer on the upcoming Linas Phillips improvisational road trip comedy Bass Ackwards, The League's Mark Duplass, who has written and directed such recent Indie classics as Baghead and The Puffy Chair with his brother Jay, revealed that they are gearing up to make their second studio film this spring. Mark and Jay recently finished the upcoming comedy Cyrus for Fox Searchlight. The improvisational film stars John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill, Marisa Tomei, and Catherine Keener, and it centers on a love triangle between a man, his girlfriend, and her son. Now the Duplass Brothers are set to make a "quest" movie that has elements of The Sword in the Stone. Entitled Jeff Who Lives at Home, its about a stoner and his search for some wood glue. Duplass told us,...

Director Linas Phillips is back with a new feature, “Bass Ackwards,” screening in Sundance’s new Next section. He previously directed and starred in the documentary “Walking to Werner,” which screened at HotDocs and the Austin Film Festival, and he also has a few acting credits under his belt. His latest follows a man, played by Phillips, driving a ‘76 Vw van across America. The film, however, isn’t mired with the “tired …...

Director Linas Phillips is back with a new feature, “Bass Ackwards,” screening in Sundance’s new Next section. He previously directed and starred in the documentary “Walking to Werner,” which screened at HotDocs and the Austin Film Festival, and he also has a few acting credits under his belt. His latest follows a man, played by Phillips, driving a ‘76 Vw van across America. The film, however, isn’t mired with the “tired …...

In an unprecedented distribution maneuver that will bypass theatrical and other traditional windows, the highly anticipated film, Bass Ackwards, which will have its World Premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, will be available nationwide one day after the festival closes. Through this unusual distribution deal with New York based New Video and Zipline Entertainment, Bass Ackwards will be available for purchase and download in tens of millions of homes via major digital retailers, cable VOD and DVD on demand beginning Monday, February 1, 2010. A full retail DVD release in the spring will include in-depth bonus material documenting the unique distribution strategy. This groundbreaking deal is a first of its kind for a feature-length film out of a premier festival like Sundance. The film, executive produced by Sundance veteran Mark Duplass and marketing executive Marian Koltai-Levine, produced by Thomas Woodrow and directed by actor Linas Phillips, also stars Phillips as a man who embarks on a lyrical,...

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.

Continuing along in our exclusive Sundance Primer series, next we have the film Bass Ackwards, which will be premiering in the brand new Next category later this month. This year's Next category features 8 films, and all of them were made with a low-to-no budget, a requirement of the category. Curious to learn a little more about the films screening in this category, we spoke with Bass Ackwards' writer-director Linas Phillips and asked him a few questions about his movie.

Cinematical: Give us the "dude on the street" description of your film

LP: The film is about a guy, a sorta lost soul type who's a wedding videographer having an affair with a married woman. That falls apart and he gets kicked out of his friend's...

The Sundance Film Festival kicks of January 20th and with it a batch of more than 120 films will be screened throughout the 10 day festival. In that batch, the film “Bass Ackwards” will be screened in the Sundance Next category, a new category designed for films with little to no budget.

“Bass Ackwards,” written, directed and starring Linas Philips, started with an idea about a guy with a cut off 73 Vw wagon. The film is produced by Thomas Woodrow who is looking to change the classic, “sell your film at Sundance” model for a new approach of releasing the film on DVD and On Demand a day after it premiers at Sundance. The film has blessing from executive producer Mark Duplass, a Sundance favorite and star of 2005’s “Puffy Chair” and most recently FX’s “The League.”

Look forward to more “Bass Ackward” content to come and see it premiere next month in Park City,...

The lucky inaugural eight include: Habib Azar's Armless, Linas Philips's Bass Ackwards, Sultan Sharrief's Bilal’s Stand, Katie Aselton's The Freebie, Barnes Bros' Homewrecker, Adam Bowers's New Low, Michael Mohan's One Too Many Mornings and Eyad Zahra's The Taqwacores - which has nothing to do with the docu film Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk Islam: (same subject, different film). - If you see or hear me calling this the Miranda July's (you'll have to have seen Me and You and Everyone We Know) section it's because of its no greater or lesser than emblem ( < = > ). John Cooper officially had a stroke of genius with the announcement of the section earlier in the year, and the batch of eight shows the festival is certainly getting back into the "indie" spirit of things again or, it will be seen as Sundance stealing some of the...

A while back, I posted a call to filmmakers to let us know about any alternative marketing or distribution efforts they are planning around their Sundance selections. With this video by Bass Ackwards producer Thomas Woodrow, the grand total of filmmakers doing this seems to be... two. Watch Woodrow's walk and talk as he explains why he has partnered with Zipline Entertainment and New Video to release his Sundance picture February 1.

American indie-comedy darlings the Duplass Brothers are about to have a very busy Sundance.  Not only is their latest directorial effort, Cyrus, slated to premiere at the big fest but Brother Mark will also be there as an executive producer on a second feature:  Linas Phillips' Bass Ackwards.  Here's all their willing to give up of the story so far:

After ending a disastrous affair with a married woman, a man embarks on a lyrical, strange and comedic cross-country journey in a modified Vw bus.

Not a lot there, I know, but we do have the first pair of images released from the film in the gallery below!

On Wednesday the Sundance Film Festival unveiled the films competing in late January 2010. Yesterday they announced the rest of the line-up of independent films vying for attention for industry types and the curious public.

The entire list of 53 films is below, but here are a few that stood out to me from the premieres alone:

Mumblecore directors the Duplass Brothers, have a new, untitled movie starring an unusually high-profile cast compared to their usual improvisational crew. John C. Reilly, Marisa Tomei, Jonah Hill, and Catherine Keener. Reilly and Keener are actually in two films at the 2010 festival.

The Company Men, starring Ben Affleck, Kevin Costner, Maria Bello, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, Rosemarie DeWitt about corporate downsizing.

Rodrigo Cortes’ Buried, starring Ryan Reynolds as a man buried alive in a coffin. I’ve read the script and its great. More on that as soon as I can.

The Runaways, the...

Sundance 2010: Next (<=>) One Too Many Mornings by Michael Mohan Film info from the Sundance press release. Armless (Director: Habib Azar; Screenwriter: Kyle Jarrow) — In this off-kilter comedy, a woman comes to terms with her husband’s strange secret. Cast: Daniel London, Janel Moloney, Matt Walton, Zoe Lister-Jones, Laurie Kennedy, Keith Powell. World Premiere Bass Ackwards (Director and screenwriter: Linas Phillips) — After ending a disastrous affair with a married woman, a man embarks on a lyrical, strange and comedic cross-country journey in a modified Vw bus. Cast: Linas Philips, Davie-Blue, Jim Fletcher, Paul Lazar. World Premiere Bilal’s Stand (Director and screenwriter: Sultan Sharrief) — Bilal, a Muslim high school senior in Detroit juggles his [...]...

We are 49 days out and counting down to Sundance 2010. Yesterday, we unveiled the list of competition films for the upcoming festival. Today, we have your list of out-of-competition films which include Premieres, Spotlight, New Frontier, and, my personal favorite, Park City at Midnight, which has featured past entries like Black Dynamite, The Descent, and Saw.

Check out next year’s lineup for the out-of-competition films:

Premieres

To showcase the diversity to contemporary independent cinema, the Sundance Film Festival Premieres section offers the latest work from American and international directors as well as world premieres of highly anticipated films. Presented by Entertainment Weekly.

Abel / Mexico, USA (Director: Diego Luna; Screenwriters: Diego Luna and Agusto Mendoza)–A peculiar young boy, blurring reality and fantasy, assumes the responsibilities of a family man in his father’s absence. Cast: Jose Maria Yazpik, Karina Gidi, Carlos Aragon, Christopher Ruiz-Esparza, Gerardo Ruiz-Esparza. World Premiere

Cane Toads:...

Yesterday we got the list for the films playing in competition at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and today we get the rest of the films that will be featured and there are quite a few that make 2010 look much stronger based on pedigree alone than I have seen in quite some time. Variety has a big write-up detailing the categories and more on the festival right here, but I am just going to offer up the titles and let you sort it all out.

The titles already in the RopeofSilicon database are linked.

Premieres

All films are from the United States unless otherwise noted Abel (Mexico-u.S.), the directorial debut of actor Diego Luna, written by Luna and Agusto Mendoza, about a peculiar young boy who, as he blurs reality and fantasy, takes over the responsibilities of a family man in his father's absence. With Jose Maria Yazpik, Karina Gidi,...

Yesterday we gave you a list of all the films playing in-competition at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. We now have the list of the films playing out-of-competition and they’re divided up into four categories: Premieres, Next, Spotlight, and Park City at Midnight. Since combining these lists would be a lot to read for just one article, we’ve broken it up to make it easier on your eyes. You’re welcome.

The “Next” category features filmmakers and actors you’ve probably never heard of before, but that doesn’t mean these films aren’t worth seeing. On the contrary, because there are only eight of them, folks attending the festival may want to find some time to try and check a couple out because part of what makes film festivals so great is you can discover a hidden game and bring it to the attention of others. Check out...

In addition to the competition titles which were announced yesterday, Sundance has announced the remainder of their line-up and it includes some titles we’re already familiar with along with a huge number of premieres.

Also on the docket are two new series: Next which showcases low/no budget films and Spotlight which highlights films which festival programmers deem worthy of extra love including Enter the Void (review) and Lourdes (the trailer for which I really liked).

I’m particularly excited to see some of the titles in the New Frontier program but overall, the line-up is an impressive one but the Kristen Stewart fan in me is excited to see her turn as Joan Jett in The Runaways and I think it’s fair to say we’re all dying to see Vincenzo Natali’s hotly anticipated Splice (trailer).

In the Midnight section, Adam Green's Frozen is sounding mighty find,...

Sundance released their slate for 2010. It includes:43 documentaries on the Middle East12 films about friends who 'discover' something33 movies about people you've never heard about1 comedyHopefully the lineup this year is strong but it doesn't look that way compared to last year. Last year we had Push (Precious), that Lil Wayne documentary that never went anywhere, Mystery Team which might make my top ten, Moon, Mike Tyson documentary, Cold Souls. Just so much last January that was excellent. I hope I don't go out therer and freeze my tail off just to see...I don't know, a documentary about a former Pakistani prime minister or something silly like that.Here's the lineup so far: Premieres To showcase the diversity to contemporary independent cinema, the Sundance Film Festival Premieres section offers the latest work from American and international directors as well as world premieres of highly anticipated films. Presented by Entertainment Weekly.

The Sundance Film Festival's competition lineup for 2010, announced Wednesday, might demand that audiences wear their serious caps. But the out-of-competition selections allow programmers and viewers to cut loose a little.

The 53 films that populate this year's Premieres, Next, Spotlight, Park City at Midnight and New Frontier sections run the gamut from the cosmically experimental to the star-studded and silly. There is indeed something for everyone at this year's event, which runs Jan. 21-31 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah.

As usual, Premieres collects work involving the industry's higher-profile talent, none more so than John Wells' feature directorial debut, "The Company Men," which stars Ben Affleck, Kevin Costner, Maria Bello, Tommy Lee Jones and Chris Cooper. Mexican actor Diego Luna's directorial debut, "Abel," will screen, as will Philip Seymour Hoffman's "Jack Goes Boating."

Michael Winterbottom has the rare distinction of having two films in...

Although the Sundance Film Festival might have tried to wring some extra sunshine from its selections last year, the 2010 lineup looks to be back to its typical mirthless self. One could say it has gone from "You gotta give 'em hope" to "You gotta give 'em mope."

"That's our filmmakers," festival director John Cooper said with an amused mix of pride and resignation. "There's some lightness in here somewhere."

Yes, it's wedged back behind the assassinations, political corruption, war carnage, crumbling educational system and Khmer Rouge revelations. The fest, which runs Jan. 21-31 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah, might start to feel like 11 Days of Glummer.

But perhaps that's to be expected. The implosion of the independent distribution system amid the ever-present threats of a maimed economy and two wars has provided festival organizers and filmmakers an opportunity to cut loose and follow their probing passions,...