“If you go to a single production this season, make it this one.” That’s Anthony Tommasini, chief music critic for the New York Times, enthusiastically recommending Thomas Adès’s The Exterminating Angel, an opera inspired by Luis Buñuel’s 1962 . . .
Olive Higgins Prouty’s 1922 novel Stella Dallasbecame one of the first radio soap operas, creating the melodramatic form that would continue on through TV and film. Most directly, it inspired three adaptations: a silent film in 1925, a Barbara Stanwyck film in 1937, and a 1990 version starring Bette Midler.
Pertaining to maternal sacrifice and overwhelming emotion, this source material was primed for its classification by the patriarchal cultural hegemony as a “weepy.” However, when viewed together, these three adaptations show consistency in formal techniques that merit intense genre-based scrutiny.
Catherine Grant created a video comparison of the films’ final scenes that embody her “sensuous-methological” research into the material. Understanding these adaptations as more cohesive than most can give clues as to why some remakes simply fail to connect to audiences, while others maintain the ethereal “spirit” of the source.
"Where is that money, Piotrek?" We're proud to exclusively debut an award-winning short film online, titled Everything Will Be Nice, or Wszystko Bedzie Fajnie in Polish. This short, directed by and starring Polish actor/filmmaker Jan Kutrzeba, touches on immigration, love, trust, poverty, and loneliness. It was made out of love by a handful of immigrant filmmakers and two talented Polish actors living in New York. Kutrzeba "wanted to share the story of what it's truly like for immigrants trying to make it to the next day in the city, surviving solely on the love the characters share with each other." It was shot and it's presented as one long, single-take involving a Polish couple arguing at the morning in their apartment in the city. This is an impressive short, that played at a number of film festivals last year. It's worth taking a moment to watch.
Official description for the film: "Ania and Piotrek live in a tiny studio apartment in Queens NY. It's yet another dull morning: Ania getting up early to got to work, and Piotrek trying to sleep through his hangover. The morning escalates into a violent fight, which stops them both into realizing what they've become in a foreign country." Everything Will Be Nice, also titled Wszystko Bedzie Fajnie in Polish, is both written and directed by up-and-coming Polish filmmaker Jan Kutrzeba (visit his official website) - an actor making his directorial debut. Starring Luiza Christofi and Jan Kutrzeba. With cinematography by Stefano Ferrari. This first premiered at a few festivals in 2016, and won the Audience Award at the Zero Film Festival. It is a labor of love made by immigrant filmmakers, led by Finnish producer Ella Nuortila. For more shorts, click here.
The International Documentary Association has announced the nominees for the thirty-third IDA Documentary Awards as well as the winners of its creative recognition awards. The winners will be honored on December 9. Best Feature Matthew Heineman . . .
Ken Kwapis’ ‘Special’ will shine a light on the underdog who helped create the Games.
The Special Olympics have been empowering and championing intellectually disabled athletes for nearly half a century, thanks to PE instructor Anne Burke, who helped co-create the Games in the ‘60s. Now, as Deadline is reporting, the inspirational story behind Burke’s part in the establishment of the Special Olympic Games (not to be confused with the Paralympic Games) will take center stage in Special, a feature film from ShivHans Pictures (Captain Fantastic, Trumbo) and In Cahoots (Happyish). In Cahoots is co-owned by director Ken Kwapis, who is also attached to helm the project. Matthew Scott Weiner, a first-time screenwriter, is set to pen the script for the as-yet-uncast movie.
The film will tell the story of how Burke’s early efforts to make sport accessible to intellectually disabled people in Chicago led to the creation of a worldwide competition that would go on to train and champion millions of athletes who might otherwise have been overlooked.
In 1965, at the young age of 21, college dropout Burke was teaching PE in the Chicago area when she attended a seminar given by Dr William Freeberg, a PE professor who believed sport was integral to improving the lives and prospects of intellectually disabled people. Inspired by Dr Freeberg’s teachings, Burke began to offer PE classes for intellectually disabled people at Chicago’s West Pullman Park in her spare time.
Two years after she began her classes, Burke’s set her sights even higher. Bolstered by the phenomenal success of her program, both in terms of her students’ education and the social integration it encouraged, Burke wanted to open the country’s eyes to the remarkable abilities of her students, many of whom were still treated with disdain by broader society at the time. In 1967, she set about organizing an Olympics-style competition for her students. Early the next year, she traveled to Washington, DC and won the support of Eunice Shriver, bagging the competition a $25,000 grant.
But Shriver’s co-signing, and her foundation’s sizeable check did not necessarily convince everyone. Old prejudices were still at work. As Burke told the Orange County Register in a 2015 interview, her efforts met resistance from several corners. Chicago city officials ignored requests to help Burke supply competitors with everyday necessities like food, while the then-head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Chicagoan Avery Brundage, threatened legal action if Burke affiliated her competition with the Olympics. (Later that year, Nazi-sympathiser Brundage also ordered the medal-stripping of Tommie Smith and John Carlos, the US athletes who performed the famous Black Power salute at the Mexico City Olympics.)
Having friends in high places is always useful, and for Burke, the backing of then-Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley was invaluable. Shriver was busy taking part in her brother Robert’s presidential campaign, so it was down to Daley to pull some strings. Burke’s obstacles miraculously disappeared. That summer, a thousand athletes from the US and Canada competed in over 200 events – including swimming, running and jumping – in the world’s first ever Special Olympics.
"We've eaten them for years, now it's their turn!" Level 33 Entertainment has dropped a trailer for a goofy new horror comedy film titled Attack of the Killer Donuts, which is indeed about donuts that become bloody thirsty killers. They've thought of everything, haven't they? Maybe this is the perfect trailer to watch the day after Halloween, although it'll probably give you the munchies for donuts (just make sure the ones you buy aren't bloody thirsty killers). Attack of the Killer Donuts stars Justin Ray, Kayla Compton, Ben Heyman, Kassandra Voyagis, Michael Swan, and Aaron Groben. On one hand, it's kind of cool that something this wacky still exists (with its own theme song?!). On the other, this looks as awful as it sounds.
Here's the first official trailer (+ poster) for Scott Wheeler's Attack of the Killer Donuts, from YouTube:
A chemical accident turns ordinary donuts into blood thirsty killers. Now it's up to Johnny (Justin Ray), Michelle (Kayla Compton) and Howard (Ben Heyman) to save their sleepy town from… Killer Donuts.Attack of the Killer Donuts is directed by an American filmmaker named Scott Wheeler, who is also an experienced special/digital effects supervisor, camera operator, producer, and second unit director, plus director of a few other bad horror films previously including Martian Land, Transmorphers: Fall of Man, Sink Hole, and Avalanche Sharks. The screenplay is written by Nathan Dalton, Chris De Christopher, and Rafael Diaz Wagner. This first premiered at a Fantastic Cinema event in Japan in 2016. Level 33 Ent. will release Attack of the Killer Donuts in select theaters + on VOD starting November 17th this fall. Who's in?
Squirrel Girl and friends are on the move and are no longer a Freeform exclusive.
Usually, when you hear about a television show looking for a new home it is on the verge of cancellation. With Marvel’s New Warriors the complete opposite is true. According to THR, New Warriors has been testing so well that Disney is looking for a new home for its superhero team-up show. The half-hour scripted comedy was supposed to be picked up straight to series for the platform Freeform, but the show has outperformed that modest placement. Now the question is where exactly the show will air.
There have been some rumors that perhaps the show could launch on Disney’s upcoming streaming service and be an exclusive launch title a la Star Trek: Discovery and CBS All-Access. Industry insiders were quick to nip that notion in the bud.
The series pilot that has been used for testing stars Derek Theler as Mister Immortal and Milana Vayntrub as fan-favorite Squirrel Girl. Given the quick and loud praise for the pilot, high-level Disney executives were wondering just how this series would be positioned. That’s when trouble arose because Freeform doesn’t have the premier slot on its platform to probably highlight New Warriors. Disney has since asked for the show back and is currently looking for a new partner.
Milana Vayntrub
The immediate thought would be to send the show to familiar partners like Netflix which airs Daredevil, The Punisher, Jessica Jones and others or Hulu which will soon be airing Marvel’s Runaways. Apparently, there are new instructions from Disney to not sell properties to outside companies, so this severely limits the homes for New Warriors. Especially considering Disney wants the show to air in 2018.
New Warriors is a prime candidate for multiple spinoffs like how The Defenders has been used at Netflix. Not only are Theler and Vayntrub on board with their superheroes, but that cast also includes Jeremy Tardy as Night Thrasher, Calum Worthy as Speedball, Matthew Moy as Microbe and Kate Comer as Debrii. If done correctly each of these characters could essentially get their own show and give whatever network that airs the show ample material for other series. Wherever New Warriors finds a home there is a good chance the adventures of Mister Immortal and Squirrel Girl are just beginning.
"They can't handle it when guys upgrade to a better model… and this, my friend, is a much better model." Gravitas Ventures has unveiled the first brief teaser trailer for the horror thriller film The Doll, starring the woman actually known as "The Human Barbie." The as-expected plot involves two guys ordering a model from an escort service, only to discover that Natasha is a possessed doll created by a mad doctor that only wants to kill. How original. Ukrainian model Valeria Lukyanova stars as "The Doll", making her feature debut as an actress after getting popular as "The Human Barbie" online. The rest of the film's cast includes Christopher Lenk, Anthony Del Negro, Don Scribner, Ron Jeremy, Mindy Robinson, and Lilian Lev. I don't know if it's just this trailer, but this looks pretty terrible. Really, nothing about this looks good.
Here's the first official trailer (+ poster) for Susannah O'Brien's The Doll, direct from YouTube:
Internationally renowned model and internet sensation Valeria Lukyanova ("The Human Barbie") makes a terrifying and memorable screen debut in this impressive, suspenseful thriller. When Chris (Christopher Lenk) and Andy (Anthony Del Negro) order a model from an escort service, they find that something is unnaturally wrong with Natasha -- something deadly wrong. Little do they know that while Natasha is a breathtaking beauty, she's really a possessed doll created by a mad doctor (Don Scribner) in an unholy laboratory, built with the urge to kill and dominate the minds of others so they will kill for her.The Doll is written and directed by American filmmaker Susannah O'Brien, a former psychologist turned filmmaker and director of horror film Encounter previously, and also Hallucinogen coming up. Gravitas Ventures will release O'Brien's The Doll in select theaters + on VOD starting December 14th this fall. Who's interested?
There are two types of fans when it comes to big blockbusters like Star Wars: go in with zero concept of any trailer or TV spot, or watch all the promotional stuff and turn over every theory in your head until opening day. For those in the second category, Lucasfilm has dropped a new Japanese trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and while it’s still extremely mysterious, there are some worthy nuggets in there. Watch it below.
The new trailer for the satirical Tonya Harding biopic is as coarse as they come.
Neon has released the full-length red band trailer for the Margot Robbie-starrer, I, Tonya. Tracking the life and career — and downfall — of figure skater, Tonya Harding, Craig Gillespie‘s black comedy packs a serious punch. Banking on crude humor and aggressive tactics, the trailer is a frenetic supercut of Robbie-as-Harding’s best and worst moments. It even features a lot of an impressively indelicate Allison Janney as Harding’s mother. Watch it below.
“If you go to a single production this season, make it this one.” That’s Anthony Tommasini, chief music critic for the New York Times, enthusiastically recommending Thomas Adès’s The Exterminating Angel, an opera inspired by Luis Buñuel’s 1962 . . .
The 
