Posted: 09/07/2011

NEWS…..DRIVE, TUCKER & DALE, JANIE JONES, TEXAS KILLING FIELDS, BOSS AND MORE…..

by Elaine Hegwood Bowen

DRIVE hits theaters Sept. 16

Breakout Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn (THE PUSHER Trilogy, BRONSON, VALHALLA RISING) throttles into the Hollywood fast lane with the precision-crafted action caper DRIVE.

Ryan Gosling stars as a Los Angeles wheelman for hire, stunt driving for movie productions by day and steering getaway vehicles for armed heists by night. Though a loner by nature, Driver can’t help falling in love with his beautiful neighbor Irene (Carey Mulligan), a vulnerable young mother dragged into a dangerous underworld by the return of her ex-convict husband Standard (Oscar Isaac).

After a heist intended to pay off Standard’s protection money spins unpredictably out of control, Driver finds himself driving defense for the girl he loves, tailgated by a syndicate of deadly serious criminals (Albert Brooks and Ron Perlman). But when he realizes that the gangsters are after more than the bag of cash in his trunk-that they’re coming straight for Irene and her son-Driver is forced to shift gears and go on offense.

DRIVE was written by Academy Award® nominee Hossein Amini (THE WINGS OF THE DOVE) and adapted from the eponymous novel by James Sallis. It was produced by Marc Platt, Gigi Pritzker, Micheal Litvak, Adam Siegel and John Palermo; executive producers are David Lancaster, Gary Michael Walters, Bill Lischak and Linda McDonough.

Cast includes Academy Award® nominees Ryan Gosling (THE NOTEBOOK, HALF NELSON, BLUE VALENTINE) and Carey Mulligan (AN EDUCATION, WALL STREET 2: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS), three-time Emmy® Award winner Bryan Cranston (“Breaking Bad”), Golden Globe® winner Ron Perlman (“Sons of Anarchy”), Emmy® nominee Christina Hendricks (“Mad Men”), Oscar Isaac (BODY OF LIES, ROBIN HOOD) and Academy Award® nominee Albert Brooks (BROADCAST NEWS, “Weeds”).

TUCKER & DALE VS. Evil Now Available on VOD!

TUCKER & DALE VS. EVIL is available on Magnolia On-Demand and will play in select theaters starting September 30.

TUCKER & DALE VS EVIL is a hilariously gory, good-spirited horror comedy, doing for killer rednecks what Shaun of the Dead did for zombies. Tucker and Dale are two best friends on vacation at their dilapidated mountain house, who are mistaken for murderous backwoods hillbillies by a group of obnoxious, preppy college kids. When one of the students gets separated from her friends, the boys try to lend a hand, but as the misunderstanding grows, so does the body count. TUCKER AND DALE VS EVIL has been a hit on the festival circuit, debuting at Sundance, and winning the Midnight Audience Award at SXSW, the Jury Prize for First Feature at Fantasia, the Best Director award at Fantaspoa, and the Best Motion Picture Award at Sitges.

Find out how to purchase TUCKER & DALE VS. EVIL

http://www.magpictures.com/ondemand/

Tribeca Film release JANIE JONES

Download and YouTube embed links are at the bottom of this listing.

Rocker Ethan Brand (Alessandro Nivola) and his band, the Ethan Brand Experience, are on the comeback trail when a former flame (Oscar® nominee Elisabeth Shue) drops a bomb in his lap—their 13-year-old daughter, Janie Jones (Abigail Breslin). Ethan refuses to believe Janie is his kid, but when her mom suddenly leaves for rehab, the child has no place to go but with the band.

With no inclination toward fatherhood, Ethan continues his hard-living ways, leaving Janie to fend for herself in the dive bars and sleazy motels along the way. As his drug- and booze-fueled antics take their toll on and off stage, the band deserts him one by one, until he and Janie are left alone.

Desperate to finish the tour and revive his career, Ethan stays on the road as a solo act with Janie in tow. As Ethan’s self-destructive spiral threatens to derail his comeback, Janie uses her own surprising musical talents to help guide him down the rocky road to redemption.

JANIE JONES will open theatrically on October 28 in select cities, as well as nationally on cable VOD, iTunes, Amazon Watch Instantly and Vudu.

Trailer embed: http://bit.ly/r3vL61

Trailer download link: http://www.epk.tv/view/#/campaign/janie-jones/

Movie Site: http://www.janiejonesmovie.com

DAVID SEIDLER OF THE KING’S SPEECH FEATURED ON NEW DVD

Academy award-winning screenwriter of The King’s Speech, David Seidler, inspires young people who stutter in this marvelous hour-long presentation at the Friends convention. In an eloquent keynote address followed by a question and answer session, Seidler discusses how his own struggle with stuttering led him to admire King George VI whose radio addresses moved him as a child and led to his desire to share the King’s story.

“Viewers of all ages will enjoy learning more about the man who wrote the screenplay that has captivated the stuttering community and the world,” said Jane Fraser, president of the nonprofit Stuttering Foundation.

The DVD, which is item No. 6650, is available at www.StutteringHelp.org for a nominal fee, which covers production costs.

PHASE 4 FILMS ACQUIRES U.S. AND CANADIAN RIGHTS TO
JAMES WESTBY’S RID OF ME

SUBMARINE TO PARTNER ON A FALL THEATRICAL RELEASE

Berry Meyerowitz, President & CEO of Phase 4 Films, announced recently that the company has acquired all U.S. and Canadian rights to director James Westby’s black comedy RID OF ME. Phase 4 will partner with Submarine on an aggressive theatrical run this fall. Westby (Film Geek, The Auteur), who wrote and edited the film, also produced it along with Katie O’Grady via her Alcove Productions banner. Phase 4 will begin with a limited release this Fall and then expand around the country.

Set in Portland, Oregon, RID OF ME is a black comedy that follows Meris (O’Grady), an awkward young woman trying too hard to perfect her marriage, amongst a new group of friends. With a breakthrough lead performance by O’Grady, and an ensemble that includes Art Alexakis (of rock band Everclear) and Theresa Russell (Black Widow, Bad Timing), RID OF ME follows Meris’ rejection from the cool crowd down a path towards truth and salvation which includes a job at a local candy shop, a group of punk friends, community gardening and a newfound love for Cambodian rock music.

“After screening RID OF ME at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year, we at Phase 4 were blown away by the film’s sharp wit and offbeat originality,” said Meyerowitz. “Katie O’Grady is a true discovery that will undoubtedly have audiences and industry insiders buzzing. That, combined with James Westby’s unique, insightful direction and a terrific ensemble cast, make this a film that we are all very excited to share.”

“We are thrilled to be working with Phase 4 and Submarine” said O’Grady. “This film is so incredibly important to both James and myself, and we’re delighted to have partners in Phase 4 and Submarine that are as passionate and dedicated to the project as we are. We’ve had an amazing experience showing it to audiences across the country at festivals and can’t wait for more people to have the chance to discover it.”

The deal was negotiated by Larry Greenberg, Senior Vice President of Acquisitions for Phase 4 Films and Josh Braun at Submarine on behalf of the filmmakers.

RID OF ME has its world premiere at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival and recently was the recipient of the Founder’s Prize for Best US Fiction Film at the 2011 Traverse City Film Festival.

For more info: www.submarine.com http://www.submarine.com/
TEXAS KILLING FIELDS

The Anchor Bay thriller, TEXAS KILLING FIELDS - starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Sam Worthington, Chloë Grace Moretz and Jessica Chastain will open in select theaters on October 14.

Inspired by the string of real-life unsolved murders in a small Texan town, this tense and haunting thriller follows a local homicide detective (Sam Worthington), and his partner, a transplanted cop from New York City (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) as they track a sadistic serial killer dumping his female victims’ mutilated bodies in a nearby marsh dubbed “The Killing Fields.” The killer changes the game and begins shunting the detectives, teasing them with possible clues at the crime scenes while always remaining one step ahead. When a familiar local girl (Chloë Grace Moretz) goes missing the detectives find themselves in a race against time to find their killer before she is murdered.

Directed by Ami Canaan Mann, Texas Killing Fields also stars Jessica Chastain (Tree of Life, The Help), Jason Clarke (Public Enemies, FOX’s “Chicago Code”) and Stephen Graham (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire”)

The official trailer is also available on Youtube: http://youtu.be/7woppidfvtc

For more info: www.texaskillingfields.com

BOSS

Premiering Friday, October 21 at 10 p.m. on STARZ, BOSS is Kelsey Grammer’s first starring role in a dramatic series and also features Connie Nielsen, Troy Garity, Hannah Ware, Jeff Hephner and Kathleen Robertson. Created by Farhad Safinia, the first episode was directed by acclaimed film maker Gus Van Sant.

Mayor Tom Kane (Kelsey Grammer) sits like a spider at the center of Chicago’s web of power; a web built on a covenant with the people. They want to be led, they want disputes settled, jobs dispensed, and loyalties rewarded. If he achieves all this through deception and immorality, so be it. As long as he gets the job done, they look the other way.

Yet despite being the most effective mayor in recent history, a degenerative brain disorder is ripping everything away from him. He can’t trust his memory, his closest allies, or even himself.

Kane’s wife Meredith (Connie Nielsen) knows nothing. Theirs is a marriage of convenience. Kitty O’Neil (Kathleen Robertson), Kane’s political aide, has her suspicions but stays silent. Kane’s chief of staff, Ezra Stone (Martin Donovan), has no illusions about the stakes involved and doesn’t ask questions. And State Treasurer Ben Zajac (Jeff Hephner) is too concerned with his own political ambitions to notice anything unusual.

Only Emma (Hannah Ware), Kane’s estranged daughter, has a chance of learning his secret. This is going to be the toughest term yet for the Boss.

Elaine Hegwood Bowen is an editor, writer and film critic in Chicago.

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