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In the thick of awards season, “The Big Sick” star Zoe Kazan maintained the kind of multi-tasking she’s known for. In this case, that meant stumping for the Michael Showalter comedy, while also preparing for the New York city premiere of her latest play, “After the Blast.” Kazan is no stranger to juggling projects, but the timing of these two very different obligations was still ambitious, considering that both projects resulted from years of work and personal investment.

A veteran of the film industry at just 34 – her film debut was the 2003 feature “Swordswallowers and Thin Men,” which she starred in two years before graduating Yale with a degree in theatre, and that’s to say nothing of her familial pedigree, which includes a pair of directors: mother Robin Swicord and grandfather Elia Kazan – Kazan is usually looking for something new. Her current slate speaks to that variety: she’s...

Joe Swanberg has had one of the more interesting career upswings of any independent filmmaker out there. After being one of the essential founders of the mumblecore indie movement, he made a right turn of sorts a few years back. Opting for bigger stars and similarly simple premises, he’s found more acclaim than ever before. Between Drinking Buddies, Happy Christmas, and Digging for Fire, Swanberg is as exciting a writer/director as ever before. Most recently, Swanberg has teamed up again with frequent collaborator Jake Johnson for Win It All, a film that at once feels both different and similar than what he’s been up to lately. Above all else, it’s a great vehicle for Johnson, who does his best work when paired with Swanberg. The flick is a character study, centered on gambler Eddie Garrett (Johnson). He’s broke, but charming. A nice guy unable to resist a card game,...

MaryAnn’s quick take… An adventure crammed with junky slapstick and garish animation that seems to believe it is feminist, but only doubles down on Smurfily regressive notions of gender. I’m “biast” (pro): nothing

I’m “biast” (con): hate the Smurfs

what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)

The problem with the Smurfs — apart from the fiery rage they inspire to stomp them into blue goo, although perhaps that is not a problem per se — is Smurfette. (Typical: it’s always the woman who causes trouble.) Created by the evil wizard Gargamel out of clay — as opposed to whatever it is the Smurfs were created out of, and by whom — and sent into the Smurf village as a spy and to sow discord, she’s sort of the original sin of Smurfkind: it was only then, with a female suddenly among them, that the Smurfs realized they were male,...

This year's No Budget Film Festival has chosen 25 innovative short films to play for one day only at historic Barnsdall Park in Los Feliz, California. The lineup will showcase world premieres and curated selections of low-to-no budget projects from top festivals around the world. The festival has rounded up a jury of indie stalwarts — including Daniel Myrick, who pretty much defined no-budget filmmaking with "The Blair Witch Project." This year's jurors, which we reveal exclusively, are: Alicia Lutes, Associate Editor at Nerdist Lee Jameson, Film Education Manager at Film Independent Daniel Myrick, Director (The Blair Witch Project) Dave Kneebone, Producer / Exec Producer (Absolutely Productions - "Tim and Eric", "Nathan For You") Lindsay Burdge, Actress (Digging For Fire, The Midnight Swim) Polly Morgan, Cinematographer (The Pretty One, The Truth About Emmanuel) Anna Hollingsworth, Animation Director (Netflix's "BoJack Horseman")...

At a loss for what to watch this week? From new DVDs and Blu-rays, to what's streaming on Netflix, we've got you covered.

New on DVD and Blu-ray

"Chef"

Jon Favreau wrote and directed this delicious comedy about a chef named Carl Casper, who quits the biz to start a food truck with help from fellow chef Martin (John Leguizamo) and Carl's son Percy. Sofía Vergara plays Carl's ex-wife, with Dustin Hoffman as Carl's former boss, Scarlett Johansson as the hostess of the restaurant, and Oliver Platt as a food critic whose mean tweets kicked off this whole business.

"The Exorcist: The Complete Anthology"

This Blu-ray box set includes both the theatrical version and the extended director's cut of "The Exorcist," "Exorcist II: The Heretic," "The Exorcist III," and the two prequels, "Exorcist: The Beginning" and "Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist." Although this set doesn't boast a whole lot of extras,...

What’s new, what’s hot, and what you may have missed, now available to stream.

new to stream

Upstream Color: a confounding intellectual mystery, an enigmatic philosophical science fantasy that’s like a cinematic Moebius strip; it must be experienced to be appreciated, even as it defies full understanding [my review] [at Netflix] The Frozen Ground: in a rote cat-and-mouse cop-and-serial-killer story, Vanessa Hudgens’ “victim” is far more compelling than either cop Nicolas Cage or killer John Cusack [my review] [at Netflix] Vacancy: Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale are trapped in the creepiest motel ever; the first Hollywood film from Nimród Antal [at Netflix]

recent movies new to streaming

Endless Love: shockingly not terrible, and says some things that need to be said more often, like how dads do not own their teenaged daughters [my review] [at Amazon UK Instant Video] The Pretty One: far too blithe and cheery, yet nowhere near madcap and comic enough, for its potentially powerful switched-twins...

Welcome to the latest entry in our brand-new feature here on Nerdly – the Review Round-Up – where we take a look at some of the weeks new releases in smaller, more succinct capsule reviews with a rating to let you know whether to Rent, Buy, or wait for Netflix and/or other streaming services…

Last Vegas

Stars: Michael Douglas, Robert DeNiro, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline, Mary Steenburgen, Jerry Ferrara, Romany Malco | Written by Dan Fogelman | Directed by Jon Turteltaub

What starts out as a seemingly geriatric take on The Hangover, Last Vegas sees wealthy and wild bachelor Billy (Douglas), grouchy grump Paddy (De Niro), lovable family man Archie (Freeman) and ladies man Sam (Kline), who have been best friends since childhood, journey to the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas with a plan to stop acting their age and to relive their glory days when Billy, the group’s young at heart ladies’ man,...

Our resident VOD expert tells you what's new to rent and own this week on the various streaming services such as cable Movies On Demand, Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, and, of course, Netflix. Cable Movies On Demand: Same-day-as-disc releases, older titles and pretheatrical exclusives for rent, priced from $3-$10, in 24- or 48-hour periods Lone Survivor (action; Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch; rated R) RoboCop (action remake; Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Abbie Cornish, Michael Keaton; rated PG-13) The Pretty One (comedy; Zoe Kazan, Jake Johnson; rated R) A Long Way Down (comedy; Pierce Brosnan, Toni Collette; pretheatrical release premieres 6/5, rated R) Ping Pong Summer (comedy; Susan Sarandon, Joseph McCaughtry, Lea Thompson, Amy Sedaris; premieres 6/6 on Mod and in theaters...

Read More...

What’s new, what’s hot, and what you may have missed, now available to stream.

streaming now, before it’s on dvd

The Grand Budapest Hotel: the most Wes Anderson-y film ever, a delightful concoction that’s like a pop-up storybook for grownups; Ralph Fiennes is a sublime comic marvel [at Amazon Instant Video] 300: Rise of an Empire: Eva Green stalks this movie with pride and honor, and is almost the only thing worth watching amidst frenetic CGI cartoon battle action and endless ancient carnage [my review] [at Amazon Instant Video]

new to stream

The Pretty One: far too blithe and cheery, yet nowhere near madcap and comic enough, for its potentially powerful switched-twins conceit [my review] [at Amazon Instant Video]

new to Prime

Stories We Tell: totally gripping, very personal documentary from filmmaker Sarah Polley about how various members of her family react to the revelation of a secret [at Amazon Instant Video] The X-Files: the alien-hunting adventures of FBI agents Mulder and Scully...

I liked Fol Chen's album "The False Alarms," released last year. The band has a real sense of sequence, tempo and placement. They don't beat a chorus to death. (And "A Tourist Town" freaking rules.) All things that also help to make a good score and soundtrack. Julian Wass knows this. Maybe that's why the Fol Chen band member has already helmed a number of film sounds, his hands full with three scores in just a few scant months this summer. "The Pretty One" is the latest movie of these, with the film out on VOD tomorrow (June 3); Jenée Lamarque, Wass' wife, directed. For the film, Wass put together a cover of "It Might Be You," the theme from 1982's "Tootsie," an enchanting electronic re-imagining with singer Karryn on the mic. Speaking on the music for "The Pretty One," Wass said, “Around the same time as we started envisioning the score,...

What’s new, what’s hot, and what you may have missed, now available to stream.

new to stream

What Maisie Knew: utterly heartbreaking tale of a little girl used as a pawn in her parents’ battles, told, remarkably, from the child’s perspective [at Netflix] Odd Thomas: it feels smaller and more rushed — and less plausible — than it should, but Anton Yelchin is charming, and the snappy comic tone sometimes works [my review] [at Netflix] Winter of Discontent: enlightening but underpowered drama about life in Cairo during the Arab Spring [at Netflix]

streaming now, before it’s on dvd

The Invisible Woman: the story of Charles Dickens and his secret mistress is no romance, and no modest costume drama, either, but a tale of women being practical because they had to be [my review] [at Amazon UK Instant Video] Lone Survivor: true story of a failed Navy Seal mission acknowledges the powerful fraternity of soldiers without being jingoistic, and depicts...

Written and directed by Jen&#233e Lamarque, the dark comedy The Pretty One features Zoe Kazan in a complex, balancing act of a performance as she plays identical twin sisters Laurel and Audrey. The two young women reunite for their birthday, and when tragedy strikes, Laurel, the sweet but painfully awkward sister, finds a chance to reinvent herself with all the confidence, style and independence that Audrey possesses. Check out our exclusive clip as the DVD and Digital HD debuts this week, featuring a confrontation between Jake Johnson and Ron Livingston as they come to blows on Audrey's porch over a misunderstanding.

Audrey (Zoe Kazan) has all of the qualities that her identical twin sister Laurel (Zoe Kazan) wishes she possessed: confidence, style, independence. Alternately, Laurel, sweet but painfully awkward, feels stuck in her life, still living at home, coddling their father and obsessed with the boy next door, for whom she used to babysit.

Jenée Lamarque's "The Pretty One" is a film we were charmed by all the way back in 2013 when we first saw it at the Tribeca Film Festival. And of the many elements that caught our attention was the "gauzy, dreamy" score by Julian Wass. And the good news is, in addition to the film coming to VOD soon, the soundtrack will also be available shortly to spin at home too. Starring Zoe Kazan and Jake Johnson, the film follows the shy, awkward Laurel, who gets the opportunity to step into her twin sister Audrey's much more confident personality and life when Audrey is tragically killed. It's a quirky concept on the page, but one that really works when put into action, and for Wass, it was a Disney movie that served as his entry point for working on "The Pretty One." “Around the same time as we started envisioning...

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. "The Tortoise and His Tail" Tweetable Logline: A man with a dark past breaks parole on Halloween to go on an adventure with his eight-year old daughter.Elevator Pitch: As Halloween begins in a suburban desert neighborhood, police round up sex offenders and lock them in the courthouse. One man, Daniel, evades parole and bicycles into town.There, he finds an eight-year old girl, and promises to take her on an adventure she'll never forget. Production Team: Writer/Director: Jean Lee (AFI Directing Workshop for Women 2014, Film Independent Director's Lab 2014, Sundance Screenwriter's Intensive 2013, Berlin International Film Festival Offical Selection) Producer: Carolina Groppa ("The Pretty One"), Samantha Nell (Focus...

Joss Whedon wrote and produced a sweet little supernatural romance for your geeky pleasure, and you don’t even have to pirate it: he released it instantly on Vimeo. I’m “biast” (pro): love Joss Whedon

I’m “biast” (con): nothing

(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)

Joss Whedon has a new movie. You cannot see it in theaters… but you can rent it right now, online, at Vimeo, from anywhere on the planet, for the ridiculously low price of five American bucks. Is it worth five bucks? It sure is. It would be worth twice that to see it on a big screen, but this is one of those little indie-style dramedies that hardly ever end up on big screens anymore. It has no superheroes, and it has no space cowboys.

What it does have are two gently, identifiably screwed-up 30-ish folks in Rebecca...

The all new comedy/drama The Pretty One is in theaters now, and in support of the movie I sat down with director Jenée Lamarque and star Zoe Kazan in a small round table discussion to talk about twins, the origin of the story, and the challenge of playing two different people who have similarities. Since I am an identical twin, I was curious about the research it took for Zoe to play both twins in a rather convincing way. Check it out below.

Written and directed by Jenée Lamarque, The Pretty One is a coming of age comedy about identity and loss and a wallflower who finally learns how to break out of her shell. In a balancing act of a performance, Zoe Kazan portrays twins Laurel and Audrey, most poignantly as a relationship blooms with her new neighbor (Jake Johnson). As Laurel begins to slip into the life...

After winning the Best Actress Award at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival for Bradley Rust Gray’s “The Exploding Girl,” Zoe Kazan added a big-budget rom-com (“It’s Complicated”) and more indie dramas (“Meek’s Cutoff”) to her resume, starred on Broadway (“A Behanding in Spokane”) with Christopher Walken, and wrote the charming (and underrated) screenplay for “Ruby Sparks,” in which she starred with her longtime partner Paul Dano. As if that’s not enough, the 29-year-old is back, this time playing identical twin sisters in “The Pretty One.” First-time writer/director Jenée Lamarque’s quirky film also stars Jake Johnson (“New Girl,” “Safety Not Guaranteed,” “Drinking Buddies”), Ron Livingston (“Office Space,” “Swingers”), and John Carroll Lynch (“Fargo”), but the film centers around Kazan’s layered performance as Laurel and Audrey, sisters whose similarity stops at genetics. Laurel is an eccentric wallflower who has never blossomed; she lives at home, cares...

In her new film The Pretty One, the talented Zoe Kazan plays not one but two characters. As identical twin sisters, Zoe had her work cut out for her on set. In her dual roles, Zoe also juggles a love interest played by New Girl star Jake Johnson. And single girls, listen up! Zoe's dishing out some real-life love advice as well. Click play to watch now!

Far too blithe and cheery, yet nowhere near madcap and comic enough, for its potentially powerful switched-twins conceit… I’m “biast” (pro): nothing

I’m “biast” (con): nothing

(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)

After a terrible accident, a shy homebody of a young woman, Laurel (Zoe Kazan: Ruby Sparks), is mistaken for her identical twin sister, Audrey (also Kazan), and while the mistake is honest at first, Laurel decides to jump on this opportunity to escape the smallness of her life — which mostly involves caring for her father (John Carroll Lynch: Paul) and a wrong-in-so-many-ways “romance” with a teen boy she used to babysit (Sterling Beaumon: Astro Boy) — and take over Audrey’s supposedly glamorous and exciting life in Los Angeles. Kazan is charming in a grounded, authentic way, and her sudden new relationship with Audrey’s tenant and neighbor, Basel (Jake Johnson: 21 Jump...

Written and directed by first-time filmmaker Jenée Lamarque, The Pretty One tells the story of what happens when Laurel (Zoe Kazan) loses her identical twin sister Audrey (also played by Zoe Kazan) in a fatal car accident and must learn how to break out of her shell and discover who she is, as an individual. The film also stars Jake Johnson, Ron Livingston and John Carroll Lynch. During this recent exclusive phone interview with Collider, actress Zoe Kazan talked about what made her want to play these dual roles, why she wanted to work with writer/director Jenée Lamarque, how it felt like she was, at time, playing four different characters with the various gradations, which twin she was more drawn to playing, and how technically difficult it all was. She also talked about getting to work with the writing of Joss Whedon on the film In Your Eyes, and...

The feature directorial debut of writer-director Jenee Marque, The Pretty One is a romantic comedy unlike any you've seen before. It centers on Laurel, a self-defeating introvert who is given a second shot at an exciting life when she accidentally assumes the identity of her recently deceased twin. With a plotline that dark, The Pretty One seems a hard sell. But this story of self-discovery is surprisingly endearing and delightful. Or, as I'm quoted in the above trailer, it's "daring, original, and thoroughly funny." Zoe Kazan fronts The Pretty One as identical twins Laurel and Audrey. While Laurel is a wallflower who has never moved away from home, Audrey is a thrill-seeker living a flashy and fashionable life in the big city. But when the car accident tipped up top brings Audrey's life to an abrupt end, there's a mistaken identity issue that assumes Laurel was the one who died.

In The Pretty One, Zoe Kazan stars as identical twins Audrey and Laurel. Audrey is the more glamorous of the two while Laurel’s outward appearance speaks to her discomfort with her own identity. Regardless of their difference, Audrey and Laurel care for each other very much, to the point where Audrey is even willing to take Laurel away from her home and give her a complete makeover. But while traveling back to Audrey’s house, the twins end up getting in a serious car accident which injures Laurel and kills Audrey. The problem is, however, that everybody thinks that Laurel was the one that died, so despite some hesitation, Laurel decides to take on her twin sister’s persona to see what life is like in her shoes, and in the process she comes to understand herself better as an individual.

The Pretty One marks the directorial debut of Jenée Lamarque,...

There are no evil twins in Jenée Lamarque’s clever and creative The Pretty One. There are no good twins in the film, either, no such black and white distinctions between siblings split from the same egg. There’s not even really a pretty one (because there’s certainly no ugly one), there are just two very different girls from the same place. (And a haircut and a car accident and a mix-up and a plan, but we’ll get to that in a bit.) Laurel (Zoe Kazan) hasn’t progressed much beyond her younger years – after the death of her mother, she’s stayed nearly housebound, painting high class copies (read: forgeries you can hang in your own home) alongside her beloved father (John Carroll Lynch), sporting her mom’s duds, and bedding a high school student she used to help babysit (Laurel’s childish spirit helps this thorny subplot seem at least a hair less...

There are movies about twins and there are movies about switching identities and there is “The Pretty One,” which uses both conceits for its tale of self and lack thereof. And to be fair, the premise of this comedic drama—which is ultimately much more affecting and genuinely melancholy than you’d expect—is a little cutesy and cloying on the surface. And admittedly, the picture takes some time to find its bearings. Written and directed by first-time feature-length filmmaker Jenée Lamarque, actress Zoe Kazan (“Ruby Sparks,” "Meek's Cutoff") performs double duty in “The Pretty One” as two twins, Laurel and Audrey. Laurel, the sweet one, is painfully shy and awkward. Neglectful of her appearance, the 20-something has no sense of style and her hair borders on unkempt. On the flip side of the coin there’s Audrey, the fabulous, sexy and outgoing twin, who’s successful, confident and doesn...

This weekend, an ordinary Lego is on a mission to stop a monstrous tyrant in "The Lego Movie," George Clooney and Matt Damon are on a mission to rescue priceless art from Nazi thieves, and high school gets a ghoulish makeover in the action-comedy "Vampire Academy."

In "The Lego Movie," a perfectly average Lego mini-figure named Emmett is mistakenly identified as the extraordinary Master Builder, leading him on a journey with a fellowship of strangers to stop an evil Lego tyrant from gluing the universe together. Written and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller ("21 Jump Street"), the film features an all-star cast, with Will Arnett, Elizabeth Banks, Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Morgan Freeman, and many more.

Based on a true story, "The Monuments Men" follows an unlikely World War II platoon tasked to rescue artistic masterpieces from Nazi thieves. The film is directed by George Clooney, who also produced...

After the success of New Girl’s post-Super Bowl episode, Jake Johnson is hoping lightning strikes again this week as his indie film The Pretty One opens.

In the film, which premiered at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival, Zoe Kazan (Ruby Sparks) does double duty as twin sisters. When one passes away, the other assumes her twin’s identity and falls in love with her sister’s boyfriend (Johnson). “Zoe Kazan does an amazing job in that movie,” says Johnson. “I think she’s such a phenomenal actress and just kills it.”

For anyone put off by the stranger-than-fiction plotline, Johnson qualifies,...

The Pretty One is a tragic tale of death, self acceptance, and teaching young girls that identity fraud will find you the love of your life – a tonally confusing story from first time feature creator Jenée Lamarque. Enlisting such phenomenal acting talents as Zoe Kazan, Jake Johnson, and John Carroll Lynch, Lamarque shows extreme promise as a future director, squeezing memorable performances from her cast, but with a story attempting to delicately balance both light and dark material – something seems amiss. Tragic, yes, but tragically depressing, tragically constricting, and tragically, well, awkward – a total shame considering Zoe Kazan’s enlightening characterization.

Laurel and Audrey (Zoe Kazan) are identical twins living polar opposite lifestyles. Laurel stays home and cares for her father (John Carroll Lynch) in the wake of her mother’s death, still sleeping in the same twin bed from her early childhood, while Audrey’s ambitions turned her into...

A Stolen Life: Lamarque’s Debut an Entertaining, Borrowed Premise

Identical twins and their cannibalistic tendencies have long been a fine cinematic tradition of the dramatic or thriller genres. Classic titles from Brian De Palma, a pair of Bette Davis headliners, Olivia De Havilland, Viggo Mortensen, those Parent Trap films, are all examples of the same actor playing identical twins, many of them featuring narratives where a less successful twin wishes to usurp the identity of the most prized of the pair. Of course, this generally leads to a morbid atmosphere. If writer/director Jenee Lamarque brings anything new to this idea it’s that she turns this scenario into a romantic comedy, and with sometimes winning results. Of course, this tactic of re-tooling elements of film noir for modern romance isn’t quite revolutionary either (see 90’s films like While You Were Sleeping or Mrs. Winterbourne), and there...

Title: The Pretty One Director: Jenée Lamarque Starring: Zoe Kazan, Jake Johnson, John Carroll Lynch, Sterling Beaumon, Ron Livingston. In an elaborate performance act, Tribeca Film Festival award winner Zoe Kazan, granddaughter of the great Elia Kazan, portrays a duelling mixture of loss and awakening, interpreting sister twins Laurel and Audrey, who are physically impossible to tell apart, but have very distinguished personalities. Audrey has all of the qualities that her identical twin sister Laurel wishes she possessed: confidence, style, independence. Alternately, Laurel, sweet but painfully awkward, feels stuck in her life, still living at home, coddling their father and obsessed with the boy next door, for whom she used  [ Read More ]

The post The Pretty One Movie Review 2 appeared first on Shockya.com.

Last Spring I had the pleasure of seeing The Pretty One starring Zoe Kazan, Jake Johnson & Ron Livingston. It is a very funny quirky little comedy that ended up being one of my favorite films at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival. It is finally coming out on February 7th and the first trailer has just been released. While the trailer give a little too much away, it does feature my favorite moment of any trailer this year.

Yep, that is my quote that pops up singing the praises of the always charming Jake Johnson. I stand by it and I will go one further by saying the film is also charming as hell. Check out the trailer below & look for it when it hits a theater near you.

Jerry Cavallaro – @GetStuck – www.JerryCavallaro.com

The post The Pretty One Trailer Is Charming As Hell appeared first on We Are Movie Geeks.

With the already-announced The Double, starring Jesse Eisenberg, and a chance for everyone to get what they’ve always dreamed of (two Jake Gyllenhaals) with Enemy, 2014 is already shaping up to be the year of the doppelganger. Two more films are turning doubles into a trend by giving us Zoe Kazan and Ed Harris duplicates. You know, if you’re into that sort of thing. The first up is Jenée Lamarque‘s The Pretty One, a mildly depressing concept of a film in which Kazan stars as identical twins who get in a tragic car accident. When her “prettier,” more likeable sister Audrey dies in the crash and everyone assumes it was the twin they didn’t like (rude), Laurel assumes her identity and begins living out a better life. It’s a life of red lipstick, cuter clothes, a good job, a big city apartment and a Jake Johnson love interest, so...

"I just don't really feel like myself..." Put two up-and-coming young actors together, toss Ron Livingston into the mix, with a comedic plot about loss and mistaken identity, and this is what you get. The trailer for The Pretty One (not to be confused with indie horror The Quiet Ones) has debuted online, featuring Zoe Kazan (seen in Ruby Sparks, The F Word) and Jake Johnson (seen in Safety Not Guaranteed, Drinking Buddies, "New Girl") as the two leads. I'm surprised that they turned a rather morbid plot into something so quirky, but it looks like it might be okay, at the least to see these two talented actors playing off each other. Here's the first official trailer for Jenée Lamarque's The Pretty One, found via SlashFilm: The Pretty One is a coming of age comedy about identity and loss and a wallflower who finally learns how to break out of her shell.

2014 is going to be the year of the doubles, it seems. Jake Gyllenhaal will met himself in "Enemy," and so too will Jesse Eisenberg in "The Double," but first up will be "The Pretty One" in which Zoe Kazan's duplicate isn't a doppelganger, but her sister. Co-starring Jake Johnson, and written and directed by Jenée Lamarque, the story follows Laurel, who assumes the identity of her “prettier” twin Audrey after she dies in an accident, and moves into her apartment in the big city. Her neighbour happens to Jake Johnson, and of course she winds up falling for him, but it will force her to want to reveal the truth about who she really is. And while that might sound a bit hokey and contrived on paper, in execution it's something we called "engaging and sweet" with "some amazing performances" and "a real sense for mood, tone and style,...

Following its debut at the Tribeca Film Festival last year, the long wait is almost over for Jenée Lamarque’s romantic comedy-drama The Pretty One, with the film heading into Us cinemas early next month.

The first trailer has debuted over on Apple, giving a very promising first look at the film, led by Zoe Kazan in a dual role as twin sisters Laurel and Audrey.

The Pretty One is a coming of age comedy about identity and loss and a wallflower who finally learns how to break out of her shell. In a balancing act of a performance, Zoe Kazan portrays a dueling mixture of loss and awakening as twins Laurel and Audrey, most poignantly as a relationship blooms with her new neighbor (Jake Johnson). As Laurel begins to slip into the life she has always wanted but never thought was possible, she must decide between continuing her life...

“The Pretty One,” starring Zoe Kazan (“Ruby Sparks”), Jake Johnson (“New Girl”), Ron Livingston (“Drinking Buddies”), John Carroll Lynch (Crazy, Stupid, Love.), Frankie Shaw, Sterling Beaumon, Shae D’lyn and Dale Raoul, is an intriguing character study about a woman who chooses to live her sister’s life. This film, directed by Jeneé Lamarque, will premiere in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington DC Feb. 7. As stated above, the film is a character study of a woman who decides to ditch her boring life and become the vivacious, alluring person her sister was before her untimely death. Here’s more about “The Pretty One”: “Some identical twins are impossible [ Read More ]

The post The Pretty One Opens in Limited Release February 7 appeared first on Shockya.com.

It wasn’t the best of years for the ’13 edition of the Tribeca Film Fest, but there were a couple of mention-worthy items on display and one of those was Jenee Lamarque’s comedy-sketcher. Featuring Zoe Kazan (she’ll next be seen in Brin Hill’s In Your Eyes) doing double duty a la split screen with stand-end, Indiewire reports that Dada films have plucked The Pretty One and are setting it up with a February 7th release in New York and Los Angeles.

Gist: This is described as a heartfelt comedy that explores loss and awakening through Kazan’s duel role as identical twins Laurel and Audrey. After the loss of her sister Audrey, Laurel must decide between continuing her life pretending to be Audrey or revealing herself as a fraud to her neighbor and love interest (Jake Johnson).

Worth Noting: Lamarque’s short film, Spoonful (link) was part of the 2012 Film Festival.

Latido Films has acquired international rights at Ventana Sur to Colombian director Felipe Cano Ibañez’s upcoming debut La Semila Del Silencio (The Seed Of Silence).

The $750,000 Chapinero Films project is scheduled to shoot in January in Bogota.

Camilo de la Cruz wrote the screenplay about a detective who attempts to unravel a mystery surrounding the death of a human rights attorney.

Netflix will premiere Greg Whiteley’s Mitt Romney documentary Mitt exclusively on January 24 2014 following its world premiere in Sundance in the Documentary Premieres section. The Netflix original documentary offers a behind-the-scenes look at the former presidential candidate and will be available to stream in all territories where Netflix is available: the Us, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Latin America, Scandinavia and the Netherlands.Dada Films/required viewing will release The Pretty One theatrically in the Us on February 7 2014 in New York and Los Angeles followed by expansion. Zoe Kazan, Jake Johnson, [link...

After premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival, "The Pretty One" has been acquired by Dada films. Zoe Kazan ("Ruby Sparks," "The F Word") stars alongside Jake Johnson ("New Girl," "Drinking Buddies") in this heartfelt comedy that explores loss and awakening through Kazan's duel role as identical twins Laurel and Audrey. After the loss of her sister Audrey, Laurel must decide between continuing her life pretending to be Audrey or revealing herself as a fraud to her neighbor and love interest (Jake Johnson).  "We are excited to be working with filmmakers Jenee Lamarque and Steven Berger and veteran producer Robin Schorr on the charming and heartfelt comedy "'The Pretty One,'" said Dada Films heads Mj Peckos and Steven Raphael. "We are confident that audiences will be as enamored by the film as we were when we saw it at the Tribeca Film Festival." The film will open on February...

Don't expect Jake Johnson to use his next hiatus from "New Girl" to star in some run-of-the-mill Hollywood sequel. Johnson told HuffPost Entertainment that he prefers making movies like "Drinking Buddies," because those films remind the 35-year-old of why he became an actor in the first place.

Out Aug. 23 after a successful on-demand bow last month, "Drinking Buddies" focuses on a pair of co-workers at a brewery (Johnson and Olivia Wilde) whose co-dependent friendship threatens their romantic relationships (with, respectively, characters played by Anna Kendrick and Ron Livingston). The film, directed by indie auteur Joe Swanberg, eschewed a traditional script in lieu of a more freestyle approach.

"The process was so weird in such a good way. I'm not a 40-year veteran, but nothing feels like a Joe Swanberg movie," Johnson said at the South By Southwest Film Festival in March when "Drinking Buddies" debuted. "The point I want to...

When we asked the 2013 Tribeca filmmakers what schools they went to, we were not expecting such a diverse crop of responses.  While a fair number did not attend film school, Nyu was heartily represented.  Boston University, Tel Avivi University and the program at University of Florida (now at Wake Forest) all were fairly well represented.  Compare this list to the Sundance filmmakers from earlier this year. Academy of Film and Television in Warsaw Tomasz Wasilewski ("Floating Skyscrapers") AFI Kat Coiro ("A Case of You") Jenée Lamarque ("The Pretty One") Boston University Chiemi Karasawa ("Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me") Ben Safdie ("Lenny Cooke") Josh Safdie ("Lenny Cooke") California College of the Arts Banker White ("The Genius of Marian") Carnegie Mellon University Kat Coiro ("A Case of You") Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia Claudio Giovannesi ("Alì Blue Eyes") Danish Film School Michael Noer ("Northwest") Interlochen Arts Academy Kat Coiro ("A...

Actress Zoe Kazan (The Exploding Girl, Ruby Sparks) shines in a dual role as twin sisters in Jenée Lamarque's debut feature The Pretty One, receiving its world premiere at this year's Tribeca Film Festival. Unfortunately, the film Kazan is in (whose screenplay was on the 2011 Black List) is pretty much a tonal mess, veering so wildly from offbeat comedy to melodramatic intensity - sometimes even within the same scene - that the whole endeavor is ultimately a letdown.Kazan plays twin sisters Laurel and Audrey whose personalities and demeanor are polar opposites. Audrey is the titular "pretty one," an outgoing and stylish young woman with a high-powered job selling boutique real estate properties. Laurel, on the other hand is a dowdy, wallflower type who is...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

There's plenty of Zoe Kazan to go around, petite though the actress may be. There's enough of her, in fact, to play two roles — three, depending on who you ask — in "The Pretty One," which premiered at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. Kazan pulls a Lohan, playing both halves of a set of identical twins, then the role of Sister A pretending to be Sister B after Sister B dies and Sister A is mistaken for her. (It's complicated.)

While buzz for "The Pretty One" is just beginning, Kazan is no stranger to critical praise: Just last year, she turned in a phenomenal lead performance opposite real-life boyfriend Paul Dano in "Ruby Sparks," which she also happened to write.

NextMovie caught up with the 29-year-old actress in New York before the premiere of "The Pretty One" and chatted on siblings, bagels and the mystical Lindsay Lohan.

Are...

Zoe Kazan, who may be best known to audiences for her role in Ruby Sparks, is taking on another quirky character for her latest project, The Pretty One. The film, which also stars New Girl's Jake Johnson, follows a young woman, played by Zoe, who deals with her twin sister's death by assuming her identity. We caught up with Zoe at the Tribeca Film Festival in NYC last week to chat about the new movie and how she worked with Jake and first-time director Jenée Lamarque on set. Watch the clip for more from Zoe about The Pretty One!

Today started off with a press & industry screening of The Pretty One written & directed by Jenee LeMarque. If there was one thing I took away from this film, it is that Jake Johnson needs to star in more movies because he is charming as hell. I knew very little going in, which I was far better off for around the 10-minute mark. The film manages to mostly stay on the correct side of being cute and quirky without getting too weird, which is surprising given its premise. Zoe Kazan plays identical twin sisters, Audrey who dies in a horrible tragedy on her birthday, and Laurel who decides to take her place. Yes, it is a comedy and to be honest, not that dark either.

I left Clearview Cinemas and began walking toward the Borough of Manhattan Community College, just 45 minutes away, for the Tribeca Talks Director Series chat with Ben Stiller and Jay Roach.

Zoe Kazan's screenwriting film debut, "Ruby Sparks," was, at times, misinterpreted. The term "manic pixie dream girl" would often appear in discussions surrounding the film -- which is fine -- but, unfortunately, it was usually in the wrong context, considering "Sparks" was the antithesis of that phrase. On that press tour, Kazan herself would remain coy when asked about any interpretations. On this press tour -- for "The Pretty One," currently playing at the Tribeca Film Festival -- she's being a little more vocal.

All while not infecting me with bronchitis, I should add.

In "The Pretty One," Kazan plays twin sisters -- one an outgoing busybody, Audrey, and one a wallflower, Laurel. After Audrey's death, Laurel claims her identity. I met Kazan, who, yes, is recovering from bronchitis, at a busy Manhattan hotel lobby and she was nice enough to warn me about avoid possible handshakes, lest she...

There are movies about twins and there are movies about switching identities and there is “The Pretty One,” which uses both conceits for its tale of self and lack thereof. And to be fair, the premise of this quirky Tribeca comedic drama -- that’s ultimately much more affecting and genuinely melancholy than you’d expect -- is a little cutesy and cloying on the surface. And admittedly, the picture takes some time to find its bearings. Written and directed by first-time feature-length filmmaker Jenée Lamarque, actress Zoe Kazan (“Ruby Sparks,” "Meek's Cutoff") performs double duty in “The Pretty One” as two twins, Laurel and Audrey. Laurel, the sweet one, is painfully shy and awkward. Neglectful of her appearance, the 20-something has no sense of style and her hair borders on unkempt. On the flipside of the coin there’s Audrey, the fabulous, sexy and outgoing version of Audrey who’s successful,...

Inspired by the tone of "Lars and the Real Girl," first-time writer, director Jenée Lamarque examines the discovery of oneself in the wake of a tragedy in "The Pretty One." Starring Zoe Kazan in double roles as identical twin sisters, "The Pretty One" follows Laurel, jealous of her sister who embodies everything she wants to be. When the two sisters reuinite, Laurel suddenly gets the chance to reinvent herself in what Lamarque describes as an uplifting comedy-drama. What it's about: It's a universal feel-good story about a wallflower who breaks out of her shell for the first time, and begins to come into her own. About the filmmaker: "The Pretty One" is my first feature and I'm so excited that it's premiering at Tribeca. The screenplay for "The Pretty One" was on the 2011 Black List. I also wrote and directed a short film called "Spoonful" that played at last year's Sundance Film Festival.

We here at NextMovie aren't just about the big-budget blockbusters. We're shallow, but we're not that shallow. (Fine, we're pretty shallow.)

April 17 begins the Tribeca Film Festival, where "little films that could" that really aren't that little and often star big-name actors are submitted to be judged by Hollywood's finest discerning eyes and also those of Eva Longoria.

Eva has to watch many films, but we think you guys would be specifically interested in the following ten.

'Adult World'

Defying the ever-popular "girl works at a sex shop in upstate New York in order to fund her completely stagnated poetry career" stereotype in movies, "Adult World" stars Emma Roberts as protege and John Cusack as mentor as the former is forced to take a post-graduate job in an intercourse parlor (which is way more fun to say than "sex shop"). Eventually, Roberts' character bonds with her sexified (read:...

Tribeca’s 12th annual festival, running from April 17-28, recently announced its feature film selections in the Spotlight and Midnight sections. According to Tribeca’s website, “The Spotlight section features 33 films — 21 narratives and 12 documentaries — that blur the lines of independent and mainstream filmmaking. Twenty-three films in the selection will have their world premieres at the Festival, a record number for the section.” See below for the official press release of this year’s lineup in all four categories.

2013 Tribeca Film Festival Announces Selections

For Spotlight, Midnight And New Storyscapes Sections, And Special Screenings

First-ever Storyscapes Section Showcases Innovative New Media Projects with Cross-platform Approaches to Storytelling

The Tribeca Film Festival (Tff) announced its feature film selections in the Spotlight and Midnight sections, projects in the new Storyscapes section and Special Screenings. The 12th edition of the Festival will take place from April 17 to April 28 in New York City.

The Spotlight...

If you've read my last two Wtf is Latino posts on Sundance and SXSW, you know I do my best to embody a manic optimist and find a silver lining when it comes to magnifying the limited representation of Latino stories and writer/directors at mainstream film festivals. I do that by expanding and deconstructing the broad term, hoping to educate myself and the masses on what 'qualifies' as Latino. However, the relative dearth of Latinos and Latin America at this year's 2013 Tribeca Film Festival program has seriously challenged me to find a positive spin on this woeful slate of brown in the world's most celluloid famous, multi-culti metropolis. It is especially stupefying considering the number of electrifying premiere film submissions there are to choose from at this moment.

I worked as an Industry Coordinator for the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival under Director of Programming David Kwok and Festival Director Nancy Schaefer. Back then Latin America was not only well represented in the program but Tribeca was at the forefront of showing bourgeoning film renaissances taking place in countries such as Panama, Peru and Colombia. No doubt this sensibility and charge came from the legendary jet-setting of one such Peter Scarlet, the cognoscente Artistic Director beloved by many Latin American festivals. At 8 years old, the Festival was fast outgrowing its post 9/11 birthmark and has since stubbornly and desperately struggled to position itself as a blank World Cinema festival. This is a strategy I find puzzling, given it is way out of league and under the heavy shadow cast from uptown by the auteur and discovery art house Lincoln Film Society. One would think it an ideal and very NY synergy thing to do would be to carve out your own identity in specializing in the kaleidoscopic, fertile microcosm of Us immigrant odyssey found in every corner from Manhattan to the five boroughs. Not only is there a lack of Us Latino stories this year, nowhere to be found are films from Latin America. Seriously. Click on the online film guide's search by country scroll down menu and visibly absent are Chile, Mexico and Argentina - three of Latin America's most renowned and heralded world cinema incubators. The closest we get is one feature from Brazil by veteran director, Bruno Baretto, and two shorts from Spain. Its plain to see that the Festival's new Artistic Director, Fredric Boyer (who headed bougie prestige fests, Cannes' Directors Fortnight and then Locarno Film Festival) is seriously 'Euro-cizing' the Triangle Below Canal.

So, what's my silver lining? Well, its based on the Short Term 12 lesson I just experienced at SXSW. I did not target the indie film as a Latino film but being familiar and a fan of Hawaiian filmmaker, Daniel Cretton's work, I went to see it and was immediately absorbed by the effortless kid-adult social psychological narrative. A detail that resonated with me was that one of the main juvy instructors was a foster kid who was raised and adopted into a big loving home by Mexican parents. He's as white as they come, yet he cooks a mean Mexican dish and expresses his emotions outwardly, attributes of Latino culture that informed his personhood. Maybe that's how subtle, relative yet impactful Latino culture is seeping into all of our lives. Maybe my barely passing grade on the Latino at Tribeca diagnosis is premature having not seen all of the films. Maybe where we least expect it, beyond cast and loglines, there are films buried in here with deeper social undertones of brown representation. I'm willing to excavate. All that big picture stuff aside, I am quite excited about the six films (out of some 168) I highlight here which offers a diverse albeit thin slice of Latino - whether its the narrative's themes, up and coming actors, and real life Americans - who knows how many times removed from their Latin roots - and how cool that looks like.

Without further ado, here it is; Wtf is Latino at Tribeca Film Festival.

World Narrative Competition

Stand Clear of the Closing Doors directed by Sam Fleischner and written by Rose Lichter-Marck, Micah Bloomberg

Logline: When autistic teen Ricky is scolded for skipping class, he escapes into the subway for a days-long odyssey among the subway’s disparate denizens. Meanwhile, his mother wages an escalating search effort above ground. Based on a true story and set in Far Rockaway, Queens, in the days leading up to Hurricane Sandy, these parallel stories of mother and son take the viewer on a touching journey of community and connection in and below New York City. Cast Andrea Suarez, Jesus Valez, Azul Rodriguez, Tenoch Huerta Mejía, Marsha Stephanie Blake

Sam Fleischner's first film, Wah Do Dem was about a broken hearted hipster who goes on a cruise and gets stuck in the dangerous wild of Jamaica - just as President Obama is being sworn into office for the first time. The filmmaking felt so fresh, real, tense and engrossing. Just like you were on the adventure with him. Sam and his co-director Ben Chase won the $50,000 Target Filmmaker Award for Best Narrative at the 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival. I'm so happy he is premiering this NY based film which features a Latino cast including Tenoch Huerta (Dias de Gracia), and half of the film is spoken in Spanish. No, Sam is not a Latino but a native New Yorker and I love his take and thematic weaving in this story. His statement and inspiration behind the film demonstrates his sensibility and vision, surpassing and waiving any requirement or notion that says you have to be Latino to tell authentic Latino stories. This is what Sam was able to tell me over email:

"I am not Latino but this story is inspired by true events that happened to a Mexican family. I was attracted to the parallel between people on the autism spectrum and people living as illegal immigrants in the Us. Both instances are people wading through systems that aren't designed for them, interesting to think about the term 'alien'. "

Narrative Spotlight

The Pretty One, written and directed by Jenee Lamarque

Logline: Audrey has all of the qualities that her twin sister Laurel wishes she possessed: confidence, style, independence. When tragedy strikes, Laurel has the opportunity to reinvent herself. In a complex performance, Zoe Kazan poignantly captures Laurel’s complex mix of loss and awakening, especially as she begins a new relationship with her neighbor (Jake Johnson). Jenée Lamarque’s first feature film is a quirky, lovely tale of identity and the eternal bond between two sisters. Cast Zoe Kazan, Jake Johnson, John Carroll Lynch, Shae D'lyn, Frankie Shaw, Ron Livingston

I first met Jenee with her edgy girls short film Spoonful, a ridiculous real life scenario in which friends help out their lactating friend, which played the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. She was also kind enough to email me amid the crunch of finishing her first feature for its world premiere. I'm so grateful she responded because she truly personifies what I'm trying to convey about Latino identity (its American and expansive and our creativity relates to it vastly different ways). She says, "As for my Latina origin: my dad is Mexican, born and raised in Chino, CA. His mother's family is Mexican and has been in CA for a long time. His father's family is from Mexico City...we have a French last name, presumably because of the French who came to Mexico during the 19th century but I really don't know anything about my French-Mexican origins. My grandfather came to CA during WWII with the Bracero program. My Mom is Danish, Norwegian and French. I do identify as Mexican, as Latina, but I also identify as American and as white. I really wish that I had more of a connection to my Mexican heritage but unfortunately, my dad didn't speak Spanish to us growing up (even thought he's fluent) and he really identifies as American. It's funny, because I'm mixed, I don't feel I'm fully one thing or another, I feel like my identity is sort of slippery because of it. I think that my mixed heritage plays a central role in my voice as a storyteller; one of the themes of The Pretty One is identity (a struggle with identity) and I also find myself drawn to this theme again in again in my other work. "

Documentary Spotlight

The Motivation by Adam Bhala Lough

Logline: Go inside the lives and training regimes of eight of the world’s gutsiest professional skateboarders. These fearless stars face unique obstacles on the way to the Street League Championship and the coveted title of best street skateboarder in the world. Adam Bhala Lough, creator of the independent hit Bomb the System (Tff 2003), directs this fresh, energetic documentary search for that elusive quality that separates winners from the pack.

This skateboarding shred competish doc about the sheer intensity and will to defy the terror of cracked bones features some of the youngest, most successfully branded and competitive skaters in the game like Nyjah Huston (Puerto Rican father), Paul Rodriguez known as P-Rod, and Chaz Ortiz. I can't wait to meet these guys and get to know them. Adam is good like that. His last film, The Carter, about autodidactic and auto-real voiced rapper Lil Wayne impressed me for its gloss and floss but also by its covert way of infiltrating the hyped up insular world and mind of a subculture pop king. His flashy aesthetic and sneak transparency is bound to capture the badass jaw dropping leaps and outrageous rail tricks along with distilling the high intensity pressure and rush of winning in The Motivation.

Midnight

Frankenstein's Army (Netherlands, Czech Republic) directed by Richard Raaphorst and written by Miguel Tejada Flores

Logline: In the waning days of World War II, a team of Russian soldiers finds itself on a mysterious mission to the lab of one Dr. Victor Frankenstein. They unearth a terrifying Nazi plan to resurrect fallen soldiers as an army of unstoppable freaks and are soon trapped in a veritable haunted house of cobbled-together monstrosities. Frankenstein’s Army is the wild steampunk Nazi found-footage zombie mad scientist film you’ve always wanted.

Veteran Hollywood screenwriter, Miguel Tejada Flores has written such horror reboots as Beyond Reanimator and family classics as The Lion King but notably this is the guy who gets story credit for Revenge of the Nerds back in '84. His next film is the upcoming I Brake for Gringos starring Camilla Belle directed by Mexican filmmaker Fernando Lebrija. A frequent mentor over the years at Nalip's screenwriting and producing labs, it sounds like this guy is accessible and interested in nurturing the younger generation of Latino talent. A California native, his family is from Bolivia. Read his wordpress blog here

V/H/S/2 - Eduardo Sanchez is one of the seven filmmakers of the second found footage horror anthology which has screened at Sundance, SXSW and now Tribeca (that might be a record), and most famously directed The Blair Witch Project. Cuban born filmmaker.

Short Film Competition

Close Your Eyes written and directed by Sonia Malfa

Logline: Thirteen-year-old Imani Cortes is a gifted photographer longing to experience her first kiss. She has a crush on a quiet artist, Junito, with whom she has a natural connection, but she also faces an enormous challenge: she is slowly losing her sight to retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic eye disease. Will Imani let her disease stop her or be the path to independence? Cast Kimberly Lora, Julian Fernandez-Kemp, Sara Contreras, Victor Cruz, Rhina Valentina, Mia Ysabel

I'm looking forward to seeing this short set in Spanish Harlem. I don't know much about the filmmaker except that she raised 10k off Kickstarter for this, her directorial debut. And she looks Boricua. Check out her website which shows a number of her photos and videos that show off her 'eye'.

The Tribeca Film Festival starts April 17-28. Ticket info here...