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Mutual Friends follows a group of ten New Yorkers whose very different lives all come together at a surprise party that goes spectacularly wrong. With each story composed from a different viewpoint, the film takes place over the course of one day wrapped around a sticky love triangle that examines the reality of following your head versus following your heart. Mutual Friends is available now on VOD, and to celebrate, we have an exclusive clip that delves a little deeper into the sordid history behind Liv (Caitlin Fitzgerald) and her best friend Nate (Peter Scanavino). The two slept together on the night of Liv's engagement...To another man...And now they're all at the same party together!

Mutual Friends showcases the interlocking tales of ten New Yorkers who collide at a surprise party that goes spectacularly wrong. Liv (Fitzgerald) must host the perfect evening to assure the guests and herself...

While people often strive to find the one person who will truly make them happy romantically, the person they least expect to find contentment with make just be the one who positively influences their lives. That’s certainly the case with the main characters, Liv and Nate, as well as the director and co-scribe, Matthew Watts, and his wife, Amy Higgins, who’s one of the other co-writers of the new independent comedy, ‘Mutual Friends.’ Much like the helmer and his co-writer, who also produced the movie, Liv and Nate began to realize that their relationship was deeper than they initially thought, which helped infuse the comedy with an emotional genuineness. ‘Mutual [ Read More ]

The post Interview: Matthew Watts and Amy Higgins Talk Mutual Friends appeared first on Shockya.com.

It’s all well and good for a film to flat out tell you it has a heart, but that still doesn’t mean it actually has one. There are the occasional movies that just seem imbued with a natural, raw humanity and love, elevating them far beyond what most would expect of them. The Lego Movie did it earlier this year, taking a project that seemed all but doomed to become two hours of product placement and turning it into an insanely fun ride that endorsed creativity above all else. David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook did it a couple of years ago as well, taking a mish-mash of indie drama and romcom tropes and imbuing it with a true and beautiful belief in its characters and the love that drew them together. Mutual Friends is, it’s fair to say, not Silver Linings Playbook, no matter how much it tries to be.

"Mutual Friends," the debut comedy from Matthew Watts, has been picked up by FilmBuff to be released across all leading digital and video on demand services in the U.S. and Canada. It's available to view starting July 1st. Read More: Will You See This Movie? "Mutual Friends," an Ensemble NYC Comedy With a TwistThe film follows a group of ten New Yorkers whose very different lives all come together at a surprise party. "Mutual Friends" stars Caitlin FitzGerald, Peter Scanavino and Cheyenne Jackson.  "Matthew's film represents a fresh voice in contemporary independent filmmaking. One that we immediately recognized after first seeing the film," FilmBuff's Head of Content Steven Beckman said. "The sharp writing and stellar ensemble cast inject a unique warmth to this universal story and we are thrilled to be able to share it with digital audiences everywhere." Below, check out the exclusive poster:...

Prolific indie producer Jennifer Westin has three low-budget features being released in 2014, including "The Big Ask," "Mutual Friends" and "Dead Within." Below, in a guest post for Indiewire, Westin provides advice for aspiring and first-time producers working on a micro-budget feature. 10 Tips for Successfully Producing a Micro-Budget Feature 1. Make sure the script is written as a micro-budget feature. That the script must be excellent is a given. You can't make a good movie from a mediocre script. But if you're intending to shoot a micro-budget movie, you also need a script that works with -- rather than fights -- your budgetary constraints. Of course that means avoid car chases, tons of VFX and period pieces. Moreover, think about where your film fits in the marketplace. Don't make a $200K version of a studio romantic comedy – you won't have the star power or marketing budget to compete with "Valentine's Day." "Mutual Friends,...

We return with another edition of the Indie Spotlight, highlighting recent independent horror news sent our way. Today’s feature includes photos from Utero, The Last Halloween, and Phantasmagoria, release details on The Horror at 37,000 Feet starring William Shatner, casting news for The Divine Tragedies, and much more:

First Details on Utero: “Writer/Director Bryan Coyne’s (Harvard Park and Incarnate) new film Utero started production this week in Los Angeles.

Independently financed by Coinopflix, the movie stars Jessica Cameron who is also producing along with her Truth or Dare partner, Jonathan Higgins. Former Platinum Studios Exec (Cowboys and Aliens, Dylan Dog: Dead Of Night) Richard Marincic also serves as a producer on the film.

Utero is about “an agoraphobic unwed mother who finds her psyche unraveling as she becomes convinced that her unborn child is more monster than human.”

Cameron’s latest film Truth or Dare, is playing...

For her research on "Blue Bloods," Vanessa Ray didn't have to go much farther than her own mother.

The actress who plays Eddie Janko, the new partner of NYPD officer Jamie Reagan (Will Estes), on the Friday CBS police drama didn't realize how helpful her mom's devotion to the show would be until she landed the role.

"When I got the job, she sat me down and gave me the lowdown," Ray muses to Zap2it. "She told me who all the characters were and that Jamie had a girlfriend in the beginning, but that didn't work out. 'And he had a partner, but oh, the partner died. And Danny (Donnie Wahlberg) and his wife (Amy Carlson) just love each other, and it's so beautiful ... .' She was just going on and on and on."

Fiction will merge with real life soon, since Ray plans to bring her parents to...

WikiLeaks founder to judge films at the 21st Raindance Film Festival; 2013 line-up unveiled.Scroll down for full line-up of films

Julian Assange has joined the jury of the 21st Raindance Film Festival (Sept 25 - Oct 6), a London-based event that celebrates independent film in the UK and around the world.

The appointment is a controversial one. The Australian editor-in-chief and founder of WikiLeaks took refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy in London in June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning about sexual assault allegations.

It is understood that he fears Sweden would extradite him to the Us, where he believes he is wanted in relation to WikiLeaks’ disclosure of a significant amount of classified Us military and diplomatic documents.

Commenting on Assange’s appointment, Raindance founder Elliot Grove said: “Every year Raindance invites interesting people to join our jury. In the past we have had musicians like Mick Jones, Marky Ramone and [link...

We return with another edition of the Indie Spotlight, highlighting recent independent horror news sent our way. Today’s feature includes release details and clips from Abandoned Mine, information on Judgment and Unit 44, a video from Joe Dante discussing his film Dark, a teaser trailer from All Hallows’ Eve, and much more:

Abandoned Mine Trailer and Clips: ”In Abandoned Mine, five small-town school friends celebrate Halloween with an overnight adventure into the legendary “haunted” Jarvis Mine. Local legend tells of the angry spirits that have occupied the mine since a family was murdered for still mysterious reasons exactly 100 years ago. But that doesn’t stop these young adrenaline junkies from exploring the unknown – and bringing mini-cameras to capture their every move.

Yet once deep into the mine their best-laid Halloween plans go awry, leaving the adventurers trapped without escape. Are their misfortunes purely accidental or is the legend true and...

Bradley Cooper gets seduced, Cheyenne Jackson’s Mutual Friends, and what straight people can learn from gay marriage.

When I was trying to figure out who would play Sir Elton John in the biopic Rocketman, I kept thinking of stars of Broadway and the West End. But the latest rumor is that Tom Hardy is up for the role, which I’m having a very difficult time imagining, but am utterly fascinated by.

The bill to remove the tax-exempt status of any youth organization that discriminates has passed the California senate by more than the 2/3 margin required. Conservative groups have vowed to sue saying that the law discriminates against them based on their religion. I’m curious if promoting the law around sexual orientation (among other classes) is the right way to sell it to the court now. Since the Boy Scouts allow out youth, but not adults, can’t...

German director Stephan Rick is attached to direct "The Good Neighbor," a remake of Jacob Tierney’s 2010 Canadian indie suspense thriller "Good Neighbors".

In the original, Jay Baruchel played a young man named Victor who is new to Montreal. He attempts to make friends with the wheelchair-bound Spencer (Scott Speedman) and the cat-loving Louise (Emily Hampshire). Everybody is on edge, however, with a serial killer terrorizing the neighborhood. Xavier Dolan and Diane D'Aquila also starred.

Actor-turned-writer Ross Partridge ("Mutual Friends") is penning this new version which Sam Rockwell is said to have expressed interest in.

This take follows a journalist, David, who becomes close with his new neighbor, Robert. The night goes out of control when David accidentally kills a young woman.

Robert is already willing to protect his new friend, and helps hides the evidence. Things get strange when Robert will stop at nothing to keep his new friend from being taken away.

Today we are talking to one of Broadways most recent stars to make a big impression in Hollywood with his many recent TV and film appearances - from Glee, 30 Rock and Curb Your Enthusiasm to the forthcoming HBO Liberace biopic Behind The Candelabra as well as the new NBC series Mockingbird Lane - following his stints on the Great White Way in the lead roles of musicals such as All Shook Up, Xanadu and Finians Rainbow - the convivial, exceedingly talented Cheyenne Jackson. Giving us an all-access pass to his new role as songwriter, crafting two pop gems - Drive and Before You - and creating accompanying music videos for them as a preview of his forthcoming Ep, which will also include collaborations with Sia and more. In addition to his recording career and songwriting responsibilities, Jackson also has a number of high profile film and TV projects coming up...

Zoe Kazan and Michael Stahl-David only have eyes for each other.

The two stars are set to get their Peter Gabriel on as they've signed on to play the two leads in writer Joss Whedon's science fiction romance, "In Your Eyes," according to Deadline.

Whedon's low-budget project had been previously described simply as "a metaphysical love story about two seemingly polar opposites who are deeply connected in ways neither could have ever imagined," but with the casting news come more details on the plot, or at least the basic premise.

Michael Stahl-David will play Dylan, a young criminal who served a prison sentence for robbery when he refused to rat on his accomplices and now lives in a trailer in New Mexico. Zoe Kazan, who replaces the previously cast Abigail Spencer, will play Rebecca, an attractive and slightly awkward young woman who's married to an older doctor and lives in Connecticut.