Screenhead

Sony Classics sent me a bundle of production stills of the highly anticipated independent film, An Education, that Sundance audience applauded and awarded the most favorite movie.  I didn’t post all the stills just two of my favorite. The stills tell a lot about the movie. If you like to see more, I recommend heading over to the official website.

It’s 1961 and attractive, bright 16-year-old schoolgirl, Jenny (Carey Mulligan) is poised on the brink of womanhood, dreaming of a rarefied, Gauloise-scented existence as she sings along to Juliette Greco in her Twickenham bedroom.  Stifled by the tedium of adolescent routine, Jenny can’t wait for adult life to begin. Meanwhile, she’s a diligent student, excelling in every subject except the Latin that her father is convinced will land her the place she dreams of at Oxford University.

One rainy day, her suburban life is upended by the arrival of an unsuitable suitor, 30- ish David (Peter Sarsgaard).  Urbane and witty, David instantly unseats Jenny’s stammering schoolboy admirer, Graham (Matthew Beard).  To her frank amazement,he even manages to charm her conservative parents Jack (Alfred Molina) and Marjorie (Cara Seymour), and effortlessly overcomes any instinctive objections to their daughter’s older, Jewish suitor.

Very quickly, David introduces Jenny to a glittering new world of classical concerts and late-night suppers with his attractive friend and business partner, Danny (Dominic Cooper) and Danny’s girlfriend, the beautiful but vacuous Helen (Rosamund Pike).  David replaces Jenny’s traditional education with his own version, picking her up from school in his Bristol roadster and whisking her off to art auctions and smoky clubs.

Under the pretext of an introduction to C.S. Lewis, David arranges to take Jenny on a weekend jaunt to Oxford with Danny and Helen.  Later, using an ingenious mixture of flattery and fibbery, he persuades her parents to allow him to take their only daughter to Paris for her 17th birthday.  David suggests that his “Aunt Helen” will once again act as a chaperon.  Jack and Marjorie do not know that Jenny has chosen the date and place to lose her virginity.

Paris is all that Jenny imagined it would be, sex with David somewhat less so. On her return to Twickenham, Jenny’s school friends are thrilled with her newfoundsophistication but her headmistress (Emma Thompson) is scandalised and her English teacher Miss Stubbs (Olivia Williams) is deeply disappointed that her prize pupil seems determined to throw away her evident gifts and certain chance of higher education.

Just as the family’s long-held dream of getting their brilliant daughter into Oxford seems within reach, Jenny is tempted by another kind of life. Will David be the making of Jenny or her undoing?

The official one sheet for Focus Features’ upcoming dramatic thriller Sin Nombre has just been released.  Sin Nombre won the Directing Award as well as the Excellence in Cinematography Award at Sundance this year.  You can view the movie trailer here.

The long awaited Sugar, premiered at 2008 Sundance, finally comes to the U.S. The Dominican baseball drama from writer-directors Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden (Half Nelson) follows the story of Miguel Santos, a.k.a. Azucar, a Dominican pitcher from San Pedro de Macoris, under pressure to make it to the big leagues and pull himself and his family out of poverty. Playing professionally at the Kansas City Knights baseball academy, Miguel finally gets his break at age 19 when he advances to the United States’ minor league system. As Miguel grapples with the new language and culture, despite the welcoming efforts of his host family, he is faced with an isolation he never before experienced. When his play on the mound falters, he begins questioning more closely the world around him and his place within it, and ultimately examine the single-mindedness of his life’s ambition.

I am not surprise that Black Dynamite was scooped up by Sony Pictures after a heated overnight negotiation at Sundance.

Again no surprises here, the studio is said to see the movie as a potential franchise along the lines of Austin Powers or Friday, with a big marketing spend planned when the movie releases in the second half of the year, according to Hollywood Reporter.

A dream come true for director Scott Sanders and producer John Steingart had agents talking in multiple rooms to Sony execs in the agency’s condo after the film’s raucous 11:30 p.m. premiere Sunday. The deal closed at 6 a.m., making it the first overnight sale of this year’s fest.

The blaxploitation movie was bought for an estimated $2 million.

The 1970s-set picture centers on a campy story of drugs, violence and a powerful, mysterious figure who goes by the name Black Dynamite. I have seen trailers of the picture – it’s actually quite a tongue and cheek film despite its raunchy scenes.

Taking Chances stars Kevin Bacon and premieres at Sundance on January 16, 2009.  It was written and directed by Ross Katz. Katz has produced a couple of Oscar nominated films, including In the Bedroom and Lost in Translation. Taking Chances is Katz’s feature debut as a writer and director. The screenplay was co-scripted by Katz and Michael Strobl.

Rumors are that it’s a war film worth watching. From what I can tell, the trailer tugs at your heart strings.

Tuesday, May 27^th

9:00pm e/p

“Big Ideas for a Small Planet: Transport”

The automobile is still king in America, and it’s the single greatest polluter in most cities.  This episode will show us how city governments, private organizations and university scientists are working to get commuters to leave their cars behind for cleaner, more efficient modes of transportation. 

9:30pm e/p

Contested Streets: Breaking New York City Gridlock - Directed by Stefan Schaefer.  Historians, urban planners and archival footage combine to tell the story of New York City’s chronic gridlock and its concurrent quest for safer, less crowded streets.  Beginning its tale at the turn of the 20^th Century, the film traces the dangers and developments, perspectives and personalities that have shaped the flow and flaws of Manhattan street traffic to the present day.  As New York City citizens and government alike seek to reduce congestion, filmmaker Schaefer travels to Europe to survey new approaches to transportation in three dynamic world capitals: Copenhagen, Paris and London.

 Tuesday, May 20^th

9:00pm e/p

“Big Ideas for a Small Planet: Grow”

Green spaces are essential to the health and welfare of cities and suburbs alike.  As urban populations swell, creative environmentalists are scouting surprising spots for vegetation amidst the cement and concrete. Suburbanites lucky enough to have green space are introducing a new level of environmental consciousness to their lawns and gardens.

9:35pm e/p

Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa – Directed by Jeremy Stulberg and Randy Stulberg.  Some 400 people make their home on a rugged 15-square mile stretch of New Mexico desert known as the Mesa.  Devoid of basic amenities like running water, paved roads and power lines, the Mesa isn’t an easy place to live, but it does offer solitude and autonomy to those who need it, as well as an alternative to contemporary consumer society.  This candid documentary captures the tenor of a proudly self-contained and democratic society while profiling several residents, including Maine, a magnetic Gulf War veteran; Mama Phyllis, an even-tempered former psychiatric nurse; and Stan, a kindly pig farmer and father figure to the teenage runaways that have come and gone for years.

Heads up everyone! The “What’s the Big Idea?” contest will be accepting entries until May 20^th!! Please do enter as the prizing ($10,000) and the purpose (creative new ways to go green) is pretty phenomenal! In the link below you will find a Call-To-Action clip that you can feature on your site that explains more about it as well as the info and links below.

Sundance Channel invites consumers to share their inspired eco-solutions in the second annual national contest entitled “What’s The Big Idea?” presented by Lexus Hybrid Living.  The contest, in which consumers submit a short film or photo essay demonstrating how they work green, play green, eat green or live green, helps to kick off season two of Sundance Channel’s original series “Big Ideas for a Small Planet,” which launches on April 1 as part of The Green, Sundance Channel’s weekly destination focusing on environmental topics.  The winner will be awarded a cash prize of $10,000 to help make their “Big Idea” a reality as well as a private green audit by “Big Ideas for a Small Planet” subject Current Energy.  Four runners up will receive a Sundance Channel Green VIP Bag.

Current Energy provides energy-efficient solutions that are environmentally sensitive or advanced. Focusing on home and business systems as a whole, Current Energy saves customers money on products, services and utility bills.  They are featured in “Big ideas for a Small Planet: Gadgets” airing on June 17^th.

Contestants will submit their one-minute short film or photo essay featuring their “Big Idea” at the contest site between April 1 and May 20.   Sundance Channel will select the top 25 entries to be viewed and voted on by users between May 27 and June 24. The five proposals to receive the most votes will be reviewed by a panel of environmental experts who will pick the winner.  Pieces will be judged on creativity, overall theme, feasibility and presentation.   The winner will be announced the week of July 7^th.

Tuesday, May 13^th

9:00pm e/p

“Big Ideas for a Small Planet: Recycle” 

Recycling efforts have come a long way since the bottle bills of the 1970s – a good thing, since the U.S. produces 400 MILLION tons of garbage per year. Individuals and organizations are taking on the challenge of recycling everything from computers to medicine bottles to handbags.  The methods can be can be as simple as re-use, or as technologically sophisticated as chemically transforming one discarded material to create another.

9:35pm e/p

Burning the Future: Coal in America - Directed by David Novack.  This timely documentary takes us to the Appalachian Mountains of southern West Virginia to explore the political, economic and environmental issues surrounding coal, the source of more than half of U.S. electricity.  At particular issue is the controversial above-ground mining technique known as mountaintop removal, which is defended as safe by the coal industry but opposed by a growing number of residents who believe it is a threat their land, their health and their unique way of life.  Burning the Future offers a penetrating portrait of the hidden cost of coal as it follows the efforts of those trying to halt mountaintop removal, including an ecology professor and a working mother whose Appalachian roots stretch back to the 1700s.

 

Take a look at what is showing on the Sundance Channel for environmental efforts to save the planet.

Tuesday, April 22

9:00pm e/p

“Big Ideas for a Small Planet: Gen Y” 

Generation Y – the children of baby boomers, now in their late teens to early 20s – came of age to ever-louder warnings of climate change, resource depletion, and species extinction.  It’s an eco-aware group, but also one inclined toward buying, eating, traveling and consuming more than any generation before.  By blending environmentalism with consumerism, the life choices Gen Y is making right now – how they party, where they go to college, even how they get married – open a fascinating window onto how future generations will care for the earth.

9:35pm e/p

The Greening of Southie – Directed by Ian Cheney.  This documentary goes behind the scenes and onto the scaffolds to follow the construction of Boston’s first green residential building, a luxury condominium complex called the Macallan.  Located in the city’s storied working-class neighborhood, South Boston (aka “Southie”), the Macallan was conceived with the ambitious goal of securing a Gold LEED rating from the U.S. Green Building Council.  Moving between the idealistic young development team, a wide range of suppliers, and the seasoned union construction crew, The Greening of Southiemaps each step – and occasional misstep — on the Macallan’s road to LEED certification and move-in day.