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Even though the worlds of film and TV are converging more than ever before, it’s interesting to note just how many of the people behind the biggest films of the year have tried their hand at TV work in the past.

“Get Out” director Jordan Peele never officially directed an episode of his long-running Comedy Central sketch show “Key & Peele,” but his debut film currently sits at No. 7 on the year’s domestic box office list. Go up and down the rest of that chart and you’ll find movies from directors who’ve made valuable contributions to TV comedies and dramas alike.

Most of these episodes were pilots or season premieres, ways for directors to help establish a template or shorthand for what governs life in front of and behind the camera for the duration of these series. While some of these filmmakers took multiple opportunities in the TV director’s seat,...

Ryan Reynolds may have just had a baby (with wife Blake Lively), but the addition to his life that matters most is this: according to The Wrap, T.J. Miller is in talks to join the cast of Deadpool. You should know the actor for his role on HBO’s hilarious series Silicon Valley and, because we’ve recommended it plenty, the short film Successful Alcoholics, which he co-wrote. His voice will also be familiar to anyone who has seen the How to Train Your Dragon movies and Big Hero 6, in which he voices Marvel superhero “Fred” (aka Fredzilla). In the report on this casting at The Wrap, he’s recognized for having been part of three of the top-grossing movies of last year, and that would make you think he’s a bigger name than he is. Two of those movies were animated features and the third was the latest Transformers installment, where...

Chicago – Now in its second year, the Chicago Film Critics Festival opens tonight, May 9th, 2014, with the Chicago Premiere of “They Came Together,” starring Paul Rudd, Amy Poelher, Ellie Kemper, Bill Hader and Ed Helms, and directed by David Wain. Wain makes an appearance after the 7pm screening at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago. Click here for details and the complete schedule for the week long festival.

The Chicago Critics Film Festival is the first of its kind, with members of the Chicago Film Critics Association coordinating the events and selecting the films. The schedule features mainstream and independent film premieres – weeks before their general release – plus two short film programs, late night horror films, revivals and one-of-a-kind live appearances. The festival runs through May 15th.

Included in the week-long presentations are after-film Q&As by filmmakers, actors and even the subjects of the movies on tap. Here is...

In case you haven't heard, Arnold Schwarzenegger is smashing shit up for charity. Specifically, he’s using M47 Patton tank and destroying things to support the After-School All-Stars charity. And why not, right? You can enter for a chance to win, hang out with Arnie, get in the tank with the action superstar and crush something too. There's a high probability that this will be the best day of your life. Cigars included. In conjunction with Omaze, the After-School All-Stars and Arnold, a video has been released to promote the charity. The clip was directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts, the filmmaker behind “The Kings of Summer,” the short, “Successful Alcoholics” and the upcoming live-concert tour documentary “Nick Offerman: American Ham.” We’ve also got his exclusive director’s cut of the clip which is significantly cooler than the one released today. "I called up Chris Galletta who wrote my movie and...

Mike Judge is going back to work. The brains behind one of the best workplace comedies of all time, "Office Space," is once again returning to the well of punching the clock, this time with a modern age twist, with HBO's "Silicon Valley." And yes, as one of our 20 Most Anticipated TV Shows Of 2014, we're very excited for this one. Perhaps the most promising thing about the new series is that it's given a handful of people who aren't household names yet a big chance to shine. The ensemble cast includes Thomas Middleditch ("Fun Size," "The Kings Of Summer," "The Wolf Of Wall Street"), Playlist fave T.J. Miller ("Successful Alcoholics," "Our Idiot Brother"), Zach Woods (Gabe from "The Office"), Martin Starr ("Freaks & Geeks," "Party Down"), Kumail Nanjiani ("Franklin & Bash"), Josh Brener, Christopher Welch, and Amanda Crew. It's a pretty solid lineup. And the premise, following a bunch of tech nerds...

Chicago – With a packed house, an electric atmosphere, a new video display board and a number of cast members from TV’s “Chicago Fire” present, the Midwest Independent Film Festival ‘Best of the Midwest’ Awards took place on Tuesday, December 3rd, at The Underground night club in Chicago. The documentary ‘Sole Survivor’ – directed by Ky Dickens – won Best Feature Film.

The Midwest Independent Film Festival convenes every first Tuesday of the month throughout the year, and showcases films directly associated with the Midwest area. The “Best of the Midwest” Awards honors the films, performances and technical achievements of the 2013 Festival. Festival Director Mike McNamara hosted the ceremony, and special guest presenters included Betsy Steinberg, Director of the Illinois Film Office, and David Eigenberg of the NBC-tv series “Chicago Fire.”

Director Ky Dickens (center) Accepts Best Feature for ‘Sole Survivor’

Photo credit: Patrick McDonald for HollywoodChicago.com

For best screenplay, female actor,...

One of the best movies in theaters right now, and one of our favorites of 2013 so far, is "The Kings Of Summer." Premiering at Sundance under its original title of "Toy's House," the comedy became one of the popular hits of the festival, and rightly so; it's a hilarious, smart and touching film helmed with considerable flair by debut feature director Jordan Vogt-Roberts, someone who's been on Playlist radars for a while thanks to his Sundance short "Successful Alcoholics," and his Comedy Central series "Mash Up."  With the film doing good business in limited release and making its way across the country, we got on the phone with Vogt-Roberts as his "whirlwind" press tour eased up, with the idea of running down a few of his favorite coming-of-age movies, which provided some of the inspiration behind "The Kings Of Summer." We did that, but our conversation took in much, much more beyond that.

If you don't yet know about "The Kings of Summer," it's time to get schooled. It's the feature debut of Jordan Vogt-Roberts, the man behind the festival hit short "Successful Alcoholics," it was one of the highlights of the Sundance Film Festival this year and oh yeah, we picked it as one of The Best Films Of The Year...So Far. Already open in limited release, this weekend it expands to over 20 more cities so there's no excuse for you not to track it down. And we have a great prize pack to give away for those who dig the picture. To recap: "The Kings of Summer" brings together a strong supporting cast (Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally) to support the three leads (Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso, Moises Arias) in the comic and heartfelt tale of a trio of teens who decide to ditch their problems at home and live off the land,...

Last weekend I posted a Short Starts column in celebration of the early work of Jordan Vogt-Roberts, a filmmaker who has done a lot of comedy sketches and short films in the past (including the popular award-winning Successful Alcoholics) and now has his debut feature, The Kings of Summer, opening in theaters. One of the pieces that I shared is a video consisting of well-known coming-of-age movie clips with the title “Toy’s House Rip-o-Matic Tone Reel” (The Kings of Summer was formerly titled Toy’s House), and I explained that I was pretty curious about its purpose in the development of the new film. Vogt-Roberts emailed me in response, and later we had a chat on the phone about that, his other works and a lot more. It was a long phone call. We discussed improv, which is something he’s clearly passionate about (see the youth organization Detroit Creativity Project, which...

Today’s film is the 2010 short Successful Alcoholics. The film stars Lizzy Caplan and Tj Miller, who also wrote the screenplay based on a story by Jordan Vogt-Roberts, who also directed the short. Following a career comprised mostly of short films and television work, Vogt-Roberts surprised many at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival with his debut feature Toy’s House. Eventually renamed to The Kings of Summer, the movie, which stars Nick Offerman, Megan Mullaly, and Alison Brie, opens in wide release in American theatres this weekend.

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The post Saturday Shorts: ‘Successful Alcoholics’, directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts appeared first on Sound On Sight.

After the premiere screening at Sundance of his wonderful debut feature “Kings Of Summer,” director Jordan Vogt-Roberts – responsible for the short “Successful Alcoholics” and a veteran of “Funny Or Die Presents…” – told the audience his influences for his first feature included early Amblin films like “The Goonies” with “elements of [Terrence] Malick,” and most surprisingly, “Bad Boys II.” The filmmaker had to clarify that he was not, in fact, joking about Michael Bay’s destruction opus, and his Twitter bio proves it (“Really into Michael Bay”). And so, from these wonderfully disparate influences we have “Kings Of Summer,” a crockpot of comedy and coming-of-age film without a trace of irony. The film opens with three boys in the woods, two of them rhythmically drumming on a giant pipe while the third dances like a maniac on top of it. Cut to: one month earlier and we’re introduced to two of these boys,...

I knew I recognized Kings of Summer director Jordan Vogt-Roberts‘ name, and it took me a second, but then I realized that he’s the mind behind the incredibly funny short film Successful Alcoholics – a realization that instantly put this coming of age tale on my personal must-see list. Of course I’m late to the game because tons of people have been eagerly awaiting this one since it emerged from Sundance with a lot of love, showcased a fun trailer, and boasted a stellar cast that includes Nick Offerman, Alison Brie, Megan Mullally, Mary Lynn Rajskub and several newcomers. Now its red band trailer is here, and while there aren’t a ton of adult situations in it, it’s easy to see why the road to maturity detours through a phase of slicing fruit mid-air in your own personal paradise. Check it out for yourself: Everyone, let’s be environmentally aware when it comes to...

It's not yet one for the ages, but 2013 has had a fairly decent start to the year, cinematically speaking; there's been a lot of crap, but also a lot to recommend, in the shape of films like "Side Effects," "No," "Beyond The Hills," "Ginger & Rosa," "Spring Breakers," "The Place Beyond The Pines," "Upstream Color," "To The Wonder," "Sightseers," "In The House," "Mud," "What Richard Did" and "Frances Ha," among others. And next week, one of our very favorite films of the early part of 2013 arrives in theaters, in the shape of "The Kings Of Summer." We'd had our eye on director Jordan Vogt-Roberts for a while after his excellent short "Successful Alcoholics," so were almost nervous to see how his feature debut, a coming-of-age comedy about three kids who build a house in the woods to escape their overbearing parents one summer. But we shouldn't have worried; when the film premiered at Sundance,...

On paper, the most compelling aspect of CBS Films' upcoming "The Kings of Summer," directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts ("Successful Alcoholics"), is the array of beloved television stars populating its cast list. Nick Offerman ("Parks and Recreation"), Alison Brie ("Community" and "Mad Men"), Mary Lynn Rajskub ("24") and Megan Mullally ("Will & Grace") all appear in the 2013 Sundance favorite. But the movie's main focus is on three young boys who try to build a house in the woods and live there for the summer. It sounds exactly like something Offerman's Ron Swanson would do, but Ron Swanson isn't the one doing it. The film's marketing campaign has largely avoided using the more familiar faces of these supporting players, instead focusing on identifiable elements of youthful rebellion. This and the appeal of outdoor summer adventures are the focus of four new images released today, exclusive to Indiewire. Check them out below -- "The Kings of Summer...

We had our eye on director Jordan Vogt-Roberts early. Admittedly, by chance. One of us was watching some SXSW shorts randomly with little idea of what was on the docket and up came Vogt-Roberts' very excellent short, "Successful Alcoholics" starring Tj. Miller, Lizzy Caplan, and Nick Kroll and we were instantly smitten and word spread quickly through our ranks. When the short finally hit online, the rest of us were quickly on board. So when it was announced that the filmmaker was debuting his feature length debut, "The Kings Of Summer" (then known as "Toy's House") at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, we were stoked. And it turns out that short was no fluke. Premiering to strong reviews at Sundance, we called it "idiosyncratic, fresh and hilarious" in our review from the festival. A unique coming-of-age comedy," Kings Of Summer" centers on three teenage friends – Joe (Nick Robinson...

Yesterday, Jordan M. Smith, Nicholas Bell and I highlighted our Top 10 New Faces (strictly in the acting domain) of 2013′s Sundance Film Festival and while that list was pretty much a consensus, our Top 20 New Voices (fiction/non-fiction/short scribes, directors and full-out filmmakers/producers) was an amicably, yet hard fought deliberation process and then ranking of who we think the future will shine most bright…in other words, if these people were Wall Street stock options — we’d put our money behind them. Enjoy the mini profiles and adjoined praise.

#20. Sophie Goyette

Part of the pair of Canadian-based, female auteurs to make a pit stop in Park City (the other being Sarah Polley) French-Canadian filmmaker Sophie Goyette and her 2012 Tiff showcased short film Le Futur Proche demonstrates that there is plenty more raw talent and a pulse from Quebec. Here we find a pilot dealing with loss, suppressing his...

Not taking into consideration the films that were featured in Sundance’s Spotlight section/sidebar which I’ve previously seen on the festival circuit and that would easily place within this top five (Pablo Larrain’s No (Directors’ Fortnight – Cannes) and the Tiff viewed Sarah Polley’s Stories We Tell), my fivesome was further complicated by the fact that eight films received the same grade at the number three position. The tie-breaking device I used was simplified once I factored in what I’d be most pressed to see for a repeat viewing. So worthy mentions go to Alexandre Moors’ Blue Caprice for his gripping visual and narratively sturdy approach to fact-based tale that could have been detailed in a multitude of ill-conceived manners, to Andrew Dosumnu’s Mother Of George for sensually tackling rifts within a family without clutter and with rooted perfs from Danai Gurira and Isaach De Bankole,...

After the premiere screening of his wonderful debut feature “Toy’s House,” director Jordan Vogt-Roberts – responsible for the short “Successful Alcoholics” and a veteran of “Funny Or Die Presents…” – told the audience his influences for his first feature included early Amblin films like “The Goonies” with “elements of [Terrence] Malick,” and most surprisingly, “Bad Boys II.” The filmmaker had to clarify that he was not, in fact, joking about Michael Bay’s destruction opus, and his Twitter bio proves it (“Really into Michael Bay”). And so, from these wonderfully disparate influences we have “Toy’s House,” a crockpot of comedy and coming-of-age film without a trace of irony. The film opens with three boys in the woods, two of them rhythmically drumming on a giant pipe while the third dances like a maniac on top of it. Cut to: one month earlier and...

Jordan Vogt-Roberts’ almost half-hour Successful Alcoholics (watch here) was among the crowd-pleasing short film hits of the 2010 edition of Sundance. Flash-forward to this summer, Vogt-Roberts (seen above on set with Dp Ross Riege) began filming Toy’s House, his directorial debut in Ohio with a cast comprised of Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, Erin Moriarty, Mary Lynn Rajskub and Megan Mullally.

Gist: Written by Chris Galletta, the comedy follows three teen boys who set out to build their own makeshift house in the woods where, soon, everything goes haywire.

Production Co./Producers: Low Sparks Films Tyler Davidson (Compliance), John Hodges (Safety Not Guaranteed) and Big Beach Films’ Peter Saraf

Prediction: Premieres section

U.S. Distributor: Rights Available

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Successful Alcoholics from Jordan Vogt-Roberts on Vimeo. Why Watch? The second shot of this short from Jordan Vogt-Roberts snags an unexpected, great laugh and then builds the comedy moment to moment from there, led by two hilarious performances from T.J. Miller and Lizzy Caplan. It also features a few familiar faces from character actors who nail down small parts along the way. With highly quotable lines and an absurd premise made believable through sheer force of will, the heart of this short is a pair of lovable characters who are absolute assholes. Fortunately, the story knows more than one note. It’s a look at adult children who manage to rock life despite blacking out every night – a comedy done with a smiling bulldozer, drawing humor from two people scoffing at consequences no matter how serious they get. But what happens when they run out of booze? What will it cost you? Only...

After first landing on The Black List way back in 2009, Chris Galletta’s debut screenplay "Toy's House" is finally moving in front of cameras this month under the direction of Jordan Vogt-Roberts (the man behind the “Successful Alcoholics” short film) in his feature film debut. Despite shooting being set to begin next month in Cleveland, we only first heard of the project a couple of weeks ago thanks to Ron Swanson himself, Nick Offerman. And now we have a better idea of the cast that’s been rounded up for the movie.

The film follows Joe Toy and his buddies who tire of their parents’ overbearing ways and decide to build their own makeshift house in the woods and live off the land, away from the restraints of the lives they have come to know. It certainly sounds like fertile ground for exploring what it means to grow up; a...

We’ve made it no secret that we at The Playlist are big fans of the Amy Poehler-led NBC comedy “Parks and Recreation,” but as the show has become more of an ensemble piece over its four season run, actor Nick Offerman’s character Ron Swanson has become a particular fan favorite. Offerman has proven he can make the potentially one-dimensional Swanson – a manly libertarian who just so happens to be the director of the Parks Department – a fully fleshed-out character capable of having audiences laugh at his way with a socket wrench – and occasionally he’ll warm your heart (especially if it involves Andy). We’ve been hoping he’d find more work on the back of the popularity of his 'Parks' role, and things have certainly been going that way, with parts in this year's Sundance hit "Smashed" and Diablo Cody's forthcoming directorial debut.

Now Offerman...

We weren't sure what to expect of "Frankie Go Boom," the sophomore directorial feature from director Jordan Roberts. There were the helmer's diverse previous credits, from directing ensemble dramedy "Around The Bend," which starred Christopher Walken, Michael Caine and Josh Lucas, to writing the narration for the hit documentary "March of the Penguins." Then there was the film itself: with cast members like Chris O'Dowd and Lizzy Caplan, it seemed like it could be a post-Apatow comedy, but then came that teaser poster, of Ron Perlman in a dress. What on Earth was this thing?

As it turns out, a pretty decent little comedy, about the fallout when recovering addict Bruce (O'Dowd) films the fumbling one-night-stand between his brother Frankie (Charlie Hunnam) and the heartbroken daughter (Lizzy Caplan) of a coke-addled movie star (Chris Noth). The film premiered at SXSW this week, where our man James Rocchi called it "bright and warm,...

While Sundance still gets the headlines, the last few years have seen the film strand of South By Southwest, the Austin, Texas cultural conference, become just as vital to the movie world as Robert Redford's baby. The past few festivals alone witnessed some of the best movies of their respective years debut, from low-budget indies like "The Puffy Chair," "Beeswax," "Tiny Furniture" and "Cold Weather" to more mainstream fare like "I Love You Man," "Adventureland" and "Bridesmaids," to international genre hits like "Kill List," "Attack The Block" and "Monsters."

It's certainly one of the highlights of our cinematic calendar, and there's no reason to think that the 2012 installment, which kicks off on Friday with the world premiere of Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard's eagerly anticipated horror-comedy "The Cabin In The Woods," will disappoint. From looking through the program, we could be here all day talking about the films that are piquing our interest,...

Acclaimed actor Michael Sheen and actress Lizzy Caplan have been cast as the leads in the Showtime drama pilot Masters of Sex, where they will portray 1960's human sexuality pioneers William Masters and Virginia Johnson. Directed by Academy Award nominee John Madden (Shakespeare in Love), the pilot will begin production in New York in March. Michelle Ashford (The Pacific), Judith Verno, and Sarah Timberman and Carl Beverly (Justified) are executive producers. Michael Sheen and Tammy Rosen will serve as producers. Masters of Sex is produced by Sony Pictures Television.

Masters of Sex chronicles the lives and the intriguing, unusual relationship between Masters and Johnson, the pioneers into the science of human sexuality, whose research touched off the sexual revolution. The series is an adaptation of Thomas Maier's book Masters of Sex: The Life and Times of William Masters and Virginia Johnson, The Couple Who Taught America How To Love.

Chicago – T.J. Miller is not yet a household name, but his comic stylings are memorable in such films as “Cloverfield,” “She’s Out of My League,” “Gulliver’s Travels” and the upcoming “Our Idiot Brother.” Those comedic roots are in Chicago, doing stand-up and improv here.

Todd Joseph Miller was born in Denver, and attended George Washington University in our nation’s capitol. He spent time in Chicago early in his career, honing both his improvisation and stand-up skills. He was selected as a “new face” at the 2007 HBO Aspen Comedy Arts Festival, and made his film debut as Hud in “Cloverfield” (2008). From there he has become a familiar film presence, effectively stealing the movie as Stainer in the very funny “She’s Out of My League” (2010).

T.J. Miller in Chicago, May 12, 2011, Before his Sold-Out Show at the Lincoln Lounge

Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

HollywoodChicago.

After making the rounds on the film festival circuit, the short comedy "Successful Alcoholics," starring T.J. Miller ("Cloverfield," "Yogi Bear") and Lizzy Caplan ("Party Down," "True Blood") is available to watch in full on Funny or Die.

The short, which was directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts ("Funny Or Die Presents") and written by Miller, follows a couple whose "casual drinking" extends to all hours of the day. But unlike most problem drinkers, their professional and personal lives appear to not be harmed by boozing 24/7. On the contrary, drinking often makes them more successful.

Be on the lookout for cameos from ringers such as Whitney Cummings, Nick Kroll, Tony Hale, Matt Braunger, and Nick Thune in this very funny -- and surprisingly touching -- 25-minute short.

Watch:...

With an ensemble cast featuring Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Rashida Jones and Emily Mortimer, the Sundance indie hit comedy, "Your Idiot Brother" (formerly known as "My Idiot Brother"), has a wide array of talent in it. But that's only the first layer and the bench is deep. There's also Adam Scott ("Party Down," "Parks & Recreation," Will Ferrell's nasty/awesome brother in "Step Brothers"), British funnyman Steve Coogan ("24 Hour Party People," "Hamlet 2," beloved U.K. sitcom, "I'm Alan Partridge"), T.J. Miller ("She's Out of My League," the excellent short film, "Successful Alcoholics"), Kathryn Hahn (a Judd Apatow character-actor…...

Filed under: Video, Sundance Film Festival, Cinematical

If you've ever attended a big film festival, then you're familiar with bumpers. Prior to a film screening, the festival shows these tiny video introductions (called "bumpers") that help promote the festival and its sponsors while giving you a brief chuckle before diving into the movie. Some fests are more creative than others (SXSW especially, which goes to great lengths to create hilarious short films for their bumpers), while others prefer a more clean, professional look.

This year the Sundance Film Festival screened one introductory video that asked us to imagine a world without stories and then flipped through several screenshots of past Sundance films set to a nice, sweet, inspirational tune. However, the festival had commissioned a few more comical bumpers from two of last year's short filmmakers, Jeremy Konner ('Drunk History: Douglass & Lincoln') and Jordan Vogt-Roberts ('Successful Alcoholics...

Filed under: Video, Sundance Film Festival, Cinematical

If you've ever attended a big film festival, then you're familiar with bumpers. Prior to a film screening, the festival shows these tiny video introductions (called "bumpers") that help promote the festival and its sponsors while giving you a brief chuckle before diving into the movie. Some fests are more creative than others (SXSW especially, which goes to great lengths to create hilarious short films for their bumpers), while others prefer a more clean, professional look.

This year the Sundance Film Festival screened one introductory video that asked us to imagine a world without stories and then flipped through several screenshots of past Sundance films set to a nice, sweet, inspirational tune. However, the festival had commissioned a few more comical bumpers from two of last year's short filmmakers, Jeremy Konner ('Drunk History: Douglass & Lincoln') and Jordan Vogt-Roberts ('Successful Alcoholics...

Film festivals almost always have a series of bumpers produced to run before films -- 30-second to one-minute shorts that represent the theme of the festival and ease audiences into a film. Jordan Vogt-Roberts [1] was commissioned to make four bumpers for this year's Sundance Film Festival. He did, and each one shows off the slogan ('Be Here') but a couple also poked fun at some of the personalities that show up at the festival. The bumper quartet was reportedly nixed at the last minute, but you can watch them below. One is just cute ('Spike'), another ('Flight Attendant') is a good but not great jab at both over-entitled festival attendees and flight attendant Steven Slater. But then one ('Swag Hags') shows us the best vision of Tony Hale ever (the actor was also in the director's film Successful Alcoholics [2]) and the last ('Hollywood Remakes') had me rolling. Best use of...

Saturday night brought a lot of different kinds of films to the Los Angeles Film Festival. There was everything from documentaries about elephants, circus’, zeppelins, to dark comedies from the U.K and dramas from China and Romania. After the jump you can read my thoughts on the comedy short Successful Alcoholics starring Lizzy Caplan and Tj Miller, the dark drama Judge from China, a documentary about a trip around a world in a Zeppelin and the affair that took place on it, and a documentary which tells the story of the wildly inventive and influential band Fishbone. My write-up after the jump:

Successful Alcoholics

This short film about a couple played by Tj Miller (Cloverfield) and Lizzy Caplan (Party Down) who happen to be successful alcoholics (hence the title) has been gaining a lot of buzz ever since it premiered at this years Sundance Film Festival and it’s easy to see why.

Chicago – “Successful Alcoholics,” a new short comedy film by Chicagoan Jordan Vogt-Roberts, has been making the major film festival rounds, including the Sundance Film Festival, and will be the featured film at the Midwest Independent Film Festival in Chicago on their Comedic Shorts Night, Tuesday, June 1st.

Jordan Vogt-Roberts hails from Detroit, and molded his comedy chops in Chicago. His Comedy Collective there was named “Blerds,” and through that he started doing video shorts. “Successful Alcoholics” premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, and has went on to play various fests, including Los Angeles, South X Southwest and the Rícon International Film Festival in Puerto Rico, where it won Best Comedy Short.

Vogt-Roberts, now living in Los Angeles, is returning to Chicago next Tuesday, June 1st, for the Midwest Independent Film Festival. “Successful Alcoholics” will be the featured film in the festival’s annual Comedic Shorts Night.

Wasted Days: T.J. Miller...

Conan O'Brien taping one-hour comedy special for TBS TBS and Just For Laughs have announced the lineup and airdate for a new TBS special that will be taped during the second-annual edition of TBS Presents a "Very Funny" Festival: Just For Laughs this June in Chicago.

Andy Richter, Reggie Watts and several of Conan O'Brien's writers will team up for the one-hour special Team Coco presents Conan's Writers Live (working title). This show has played to sold-out audiences in Los Angeles and is coming to Chicago for one night only. Richter was O'Brien's sidekick on Late Night with Conan O'Brien from 1993 to 2000, before venturing out to star in Andy Richter Controls the Universe and Andy Barker P.I., and then returning to join O'Brien as announcer for The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.

The evening will also feature the musical stylings of comedian Watts, who is...

Conan O’Brien is passing time until the November 8 premiere of his new TBS show with the 30-city Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour, but you won’t have to wait until then to see his influence on the cable network. Andy Richter, live show opener Reggie Watts, and a bevy of Conan writers will tape a special tentatively titled Team Coco Presents Conan’s Writers Live in Chicago on June 17th, which TBS will air a week and a half later on June 27th. I believe that Conan’s legal obligations will preclude an appearance, but a night of comedy from the men who help make him funny is a delightful consolation process. For you Chicagoans, tickets for the Bank of America Theater event go on sale Friday May 28th at 10:00 Am.

Hit the jump for all the relevant information via press release.

Here’s the...

The 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival is set to run June 17-27 in a brand new location. Oh, it’s still in L.A, but it’s moving across town, from Westwood — where it’s been held the past few years — all the way over to Downtown.

The main “hub” for the fest will be the new L.A. Live complex, but there will also be screenings at other locations, such as the Downtown Independent and Redcat theaters. The city is really trying to build downtown up into a major arts and culture hub, so the festival moving there fits in with that agenda. Film Independent, the organization that runs Laff, also runs the annual Independent Spirit Awards, an event that also moved downtown — from Santa Monica — this year.

On Bad Lit, I tend to like to put up festival lineups that include days and times of screenings. However, since I...

We don't exactly cover short films at festivals. Someday, perhaps. But not now. However, there are a few longer-form short films playing at this year's festival -- Spike Jonze's red hot Sundance short I'm Here and the very interesting short from Holden Abigail Osbore, Solitary. Joining these two films in this category -- which is called Medium Cool: 3 (not so) Shorts (awesome name) -- is Jordan Vogt-Roberts' Successful Alcoholics.

As the SXSW Film, Music and Interactive festival gets closer, more and more announcements are coming out about what programming we can expect during the event. Friday, it was announced what film would cose the competition and in addition, more features and shorts were added to the program which already features over 100 films.

Here’s all the info about the new items from the official press release. As we told you previously, we’ve got a great team going to SXSW this year so be sure to check back often for more.

SXSW Film Festival Announces Closing Night Film,

Additional Features & Shorts For 2010 Event

The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival has announced Chris Morris’ pitch-black satire Four Lions as its Closing Night film, to play on Saturday, March 20 at the Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas. SXSW also released additional feature and short titles or the 2010 event, which...

SXSW Film has announced more titles for its 2010 program. Chris Morris' Four Lions will now close the festival. New features, shorts, and documentaries have also been added, including American Grindhouse, Cargo, Strummerville, This Movie is Broken, and Suck. The full list (courtesty of SXSW) is presented below. 

Headliners

 

Four Lions (United Kingdom)

Director: Chris Morris. Screenwriters: Jesse Armstrong, Sam Bain, Simon Blackwell and Chris Morris

Four Lions tells the story of a group of British jihadists who push their abstract dreams of glory to the breaking point. Cast: Riz Ahmed, Arsher Ali, Nigel Lindsay, Kayvan Novak, Adeel Akhtar

 Spotlight Premieres

 

American Grindhouse

Director: Elijah Drenner. Screenwriters: Calum Wadell and Elijah Drenner

This feature documentary chronicles the history of the American Exploitation Film. It digs deep into this often overlooked category of U.S. cinema and unearths the shameless and occasionally shocking origins of this popular entertainment. (World Premiere)

 

Cargo...

Austin, Texas – February 19, 2010 – The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival has announced Chris Morris’ pitch-black satire Four Lions as its Closing Night film, to play on Saturday, March 20 at the Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas. SXSW also released additional feature and short titles or the 2010 event, which will take place March 12 – March 20, 2010. The festival will open with the world premiere of Kick-Ass, directed by Matthew Vaughn and starring Aaron Johnson, Cholë Grace Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Nicolas Cage. SXSW will also host more than 80 Film Conference panels, which will take place Friday, March 12 – Tuesday, March 16. Previously announced participants for the 2010 SXSW Film Conference include Michel Gondry (The Thorn in the Heart, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds), David Gordon Green (Eastbound & Down, Pineapple Express), Jeffery Tambor’s Acting Workshop, and Academy Award-winning Argentine composer, solo artist and producer Gustavo Santaolalla, among many others. For full panel descriptions and participants,...

Sundance favorite and World Cinema Grand Jury nominee Four Lions will close the 2010 SXSW Film Festival on Saturday, March 20. The UK film was co-written, directed, and stars Chris Morris.

Other “festival favorites” include Waking Sleeping Beauty, a behind-the-scenes documentary about Disney animation from 1984 to 1994 directed by Beauty and the Beast producer Don Hahn, and Tony, a Slamdance selection and psychological thriller about a serial killer.

Skateland, starring Ashley Green, is also getting another look from festival goers, as well as the raved-about short film from Spike Jonze titled I’m Here. Plus a Doors documentary narrated by Johnny Depp. I’ll be reviewing and covering as many of these films as I can.

Below is a full list of the additional titles screening at the film festival, which runs from March 12th through the 20th in Austin, Texas.

Headliners

Four Lions (United Kingdom)

Director: Chris Morris. Screenwriters: Jesse Armstrong, Sam Bain,...

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.

We decided to do something a little bit differently for this post since Successful Alcoholics is a short film screening at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, and not a feature film. But with all sorts of hype being thrown at the big feature films, we thought it might be nice to turn down a side street and take a closer look at one of the festival's more talked-about shorts. Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts and written by Tj Miller, the 25-minute short features one third of Comedy Central's "hot list" (which names the best breakout comedians of 2009), along with some other familiar faces like Lizzy Caplan (Cloverfield, My Best Friend's Girl) and Tony Hale (Arrested Development).

Cinematical caught up with director Vogt-Roberts and dropped him a few questions about the film.