list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around The Deal on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/The_Deal/322826/default.aspx Title: The Deal
Year: 2008
Director: Steven Schachter
Plot: His career in an uncontrollable downward spiral, a hapless Hollywood producer cons a major studio into financing a $100 million action film following the adventures of 19th century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, only to find his swindle taking a sudden turn for the worse when his star is kidnapped and the production is shut down. Now left with few other options for resuscitating his flat-lining career, the producer aligns himself with a well-connected Hollywood studio executive in a clandestine attempt to finance another, wholly different film by utilizing the blocked studio funds. William H. Macy and Meg Ryan star in The Wool Cap director Steven Schachter's comic look at the twisted side of Hollywood politics. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 8
Number of Lists: 2
Number of blog posts: 5
Number of discussion threads: 1
SpoutRating: 4
]]>Fri, 06 Feb 2009 19:44:48 GMTThe Deal2008Steven SchachterHis career in an uncontrollable downward spiral, a hapless Hollywood producer cons a major studio into financing a $100 million action film following the adventures of 19th century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, only to find his swindle taking a sudden turn for the worse when his star is kidnapped and the production is shut down. Now left with few other options for resuscitating his flat-lining career, the producer aligns himself with a well-connected Hollywood studio executive in a clandestine attempt to finance another, wholly different film by utilizing the blocked studio funds. William H. Macy and <a href="http://www.spout.com/players/P____62388/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Meg Ryan</a> star in <a href="http://www.spout.com/films/255829/detail.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>The Wool Cap</a> director Steven Schachter's comic look at the twisted side of Hollywood politics. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide8Taggedy Taggged (6-10)2514http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/s322826.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/The_Deal/322826/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/blogs/ilovemovies1980/archive/2009/2/6/40315.aspx Post By: ilovemovies1980
Post To: ilovemovies1980 Blog
Post Date: 2/6/2009 2:44:48 PM
Body: I recently bought the DVD of the Deal because I'm a fan of William H Macy's. I was not disapointed in this Hollywood spoof featuring a strong cast of Macy, Meg Ryan, Elliot Gould, and a hilarious apperance from LL Cool J. The film was not released in theaters, so luckily it is now available in DVD and blu ray. Check it out.
]]>Fri, 06 Feb 2009 19:44:48 GMTilovemovies1980ilovemovies1980 Blog2/6/2009 2:44:48 PMI recently bought the DVD of the Deal because I'm a fan of William H Macy's. I was not disapointed in this Hollywood spoof featuring a strong cast of Macy, Meg Ryan, Elliot Gould, and a hilarious apperance from LL Cool J. The film was not released in theaters, so luckily it is now available in DVD and blu ray. Check it out. http://www.spout.com/blogs/pippin06/archive/2009/2/1/40129.aspx Post By: pippin06
Post To: Reel Thoughts
Post Date: 2/1/2009 8:09:58 PM
Body: Spout received some copies of this film, and I was asked if I would like one to review. Because I have a high respect for William H. Macy, I said ok and, thus, will forego the test for this entry. I think Mr. Macy is an amazing character actor who is very good at being a chameleon, and without reading too deeply into the premise of this film, I was sold by his presence in it and by the fact that he also co-wrote the screenplay. I thought it had potential to be pretty funny, because I think Mr. Macy has a great gift for humor, particularly irony and sarcasm, based on characters he has previously played (Fargo, anyone?). Also, while Meg Ryan is not my favorite actress, I don't dislike her either. Her films have been, on average, pleasant, and no one can argue that she is not well suited to romantic comedy. Therefore, The Deal could have been quite the steal--except that it turned out to be boring and predictable and true to its formulaic genre. What's worse, I never laughed once. Mr. Macy plays Charlie Berns, a down-on-his-luck Hollywood producer who's made one good film and has been on a downward spiral ever since. He's prepared to end it all, his life included, until his nephew Lionel (Jason Ritter) appears at his window with a script in hand depicting the life and times of 19th century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. While the script has real potential as an art house picture, Charlie decides to go for one last hurrah and con a major studio into financing (for $100 million) an action film loosely based on about five rewrites of the script, which would feature renowned action star and recent convert to Judaism, Bobby Mason (LL Cool J). Mason will only work for the picture if it contains spiritually Jewish themes. Also, to get the funding, Charlie must go through an ambitious studio executive named Deidra Hearn (Ryan), to whom he finds himself oddly attracted. Of course, in classic screwball manner, she's engaged to be married, refined, intelligent, and more than a little skeptical of his boorish, abrasive, and morose manner but goes along for the ride despite all of her misgivings. The problem is, during shooting in Souh Africa, Bobby gets kidnapped by terrorists, and the studio forces the production to shut down, putting Charlie and Deidra out of jobs. That is, until they remember a discretionary fund tied to the Czech Republic that they can tap into without studio authorization, and they decide to film the movie originally written. And, naturally, all of this Hollywood political tension gives rise to romantic tension between the two leads. The Deal turns out to be yet another average entry in the romantic comedy genre, as I've said. Maybe it's the fact that Meg Ryan is in the picture, but The Deal took few risks and failed to tweak what is the standard screwball formula: two people, oil and water, come together under absurd circumstances. And while few romantic comedies take risks, they can still be redeeming if the romantic dynamic between the two leads is convincing, appealing, or makes the heart pitter-patter, as it were. Macy and Ryan did not really have all that much chemistry. I never believed them as a couple, and I was even less convinced when their outlandish situation allowed them to dismantle their respective emotional walls and give into one another. More than once, I thought, as contrived as it would have been, that Felicity Huffman, Macy's wife in real life, would have been a much better Deidra all told because the two have natural chemistry, and she would play a much more convincing ambitious studio executive than Ryan. Ryan infused her character with the same sort of wishy washy qualities that all of her romantic leads seem to possess. Again, maybe that would have seemed too clever, or maybe Felicity was just too busy with Desperate Housewives. The other problem with this film is that it was simultaneously a love letter to and satire of Hollywood and the way it works, which I think would be highly amusing to Hollywood insiders. As for me, I never really laughed. Sure, the idea for the film Charlie wants to make is really, well, dumb, and rife with opportunity for jokes, and many outlandish things happen, but they are all conventions used and seen before. And while I think the revisits are designed to bolster the satire, I just found myself yawning. It could have been the subject matter--I mean, I'm familiar with Hollywood politics even if I'm not an insider--but it didn't help that some of the comedic timing and pacing was just not well directed or executed. There were jokes and scenes that could have been much funnier if delivered differently or filmed differently. For example, there's a scene where a drunk Deidra apparently decides Charlie's ok enough at that point to have sex with in the shower, but then Bobby Mason's manager barges in on them. First of all, it didn't make sense that Deidra would suddenly change her mind (drunk or not) and enjoy this casual romp in the shower, since she'd spent the first half of the movie calling Charlie "disgusting," without the usual hidden smile when he wasn't looking, but then, that set-up, which has been used before in all sorts of situations, including television shows, happened in a very pedestrian way. It felt recycled and simply unfunny. Their reactions were predictably underwhelming and any potential for laughter lost steam quickly and died. The idea for the film was potentially a good one. Who wouldn't want to make fun of Hollywood? And Macy playing a crass producer with a cynical approach to his life and chosen profession was unusual enough to be a worthy viewing experiment, but in the end, the film simply didn't work for me, and Ryan's and Macy's lack of chemistry left me almost never rooting for Charlie and Deidra as a couple (and the way the story was told didn't convince me either). The best part of the film for me was Elliott Gould's appearance. His appearance in a film always makes it about ten percent better. He played a rabbi and an "expert" consultant to stars like Bono and Bill Clinton, who serves as Bobby's spiritual counselor during filming, and Bobby's urban Jew routine coupled with Charlie's penchant for ascerbic sarcasm served well as the impetus for some of Elliott's talented comedic reactions. Plus, it was a fitting casting choice. All in all, though, The Deal deserves a 5 on the ratings scale for being utterly mediocre because it was. It was a comedy, and yet, I never laughed. I think the idea was pulled off, in that the purpose of it is clear, but I didn't think the film was all that cute because the romance was so unconvincing and unappealing - and if that was the point, then this movie should not have been billed as a romantic comedy but something else entirely. I don't think it was the point, though; I think The Deal was meant to be a screwball-like satire that just fizzled and faded by its conclusion. And as much as I like William H. Macy, I don't think this particular stab at screenwriting was successful. In other words, I don't feel like I was given much of a deal in the end.
]]>Mon, 02 Feb 2009 01:09:58 GMTpippin06Reel Thoughts2/1/2009 8:09:58 PMSpout received some copies of this film, and I was asked if I would like one to review. Because I have a high respect for William H. Macy, I said ok and, thus, will forego the test for this entry. I think Mr. Macy is an amazing character actor who is very good at being a chameleon, and without reading too deeply into the premise of this film, I was sold by his presence in it and by the fact that he also co-wrote the screenplay. I thought it had potential to be pretty funny, because I think Mr. Macy has a great gift for humor, particularly irony and sarcasm, based on characters he has previously played (Fargo, anyone?). Also, while Meg Ryan is not my favorite actress, I don't dislike her either. Her films have been, on average, pleasant, and no one can argue that she is not well suited to romantic comedy. Therefore, The Deal could have been quite the steal--except that it turned out to be boring and predictable and true to its formulaic genre. What's worse, I never laughed once. Mr. Macy plays Charlie Berns, a down-on-his-luck Hollywood producer who's made one good film and has been on a downward spiral ever since. He's prepared to end it all, his life included, until his nephew Lionel (Jason Ritter) appears at his window with a script in hand depicting the life and times of 19th century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. While the script has real potential as an art house picture, Charlie decides to go for one last hurrah and con a major studio into financing (for $100 million) an action film loosely based on about five rewrites of the script, which would feature renowned action star and recent convert to Judaism, Bobby Mason (LL Cool J). Mason will only work for the picture if it contains spiritually Jewish themes. Also, to get the funding, Charlie must go through an ambitious studio executive named Deidra Hearn (Ryan), to whom he finds himself oddly attracted. Of course, in classic screwball manner, she's engaged to be married, refined, intelligent, and more than a little skeptical of his boorish, abrasive, and morose manner but goes along for the ride despite all of her misgivings. The problem is, during shooting in Souh Africa, Bobby gets kidnapped by terrorists, and the studio forces the production to shut down, putting Charlie and Deidra out of jobs. That is, until they remember a discretionary fund tied to the Czech Republic that they can tap into without studio authorization, and they decide to film the movie originally written. And, naturally, all of this Hollywood political tension gives rise to romantic tension between the two leads. The Deal turns out to be yet another average entry in the romantic comedy genre, as I've said. Maybe it's the fact that Meg Ryan is in the picture, but The Deal took few risks and failed to tweak what is the standard screwball formula: two people, oil and water, come together under absurd circumstances. And while few romantic comedies take risks, they can still be redeeming if the romantic dynamic between the two leads is convincing, appealing, or makes the heart pitter-patter, as it were. Macy and Ryan did not really have all that much chemistry. I never believed them as a couple, and I was even less convinced when their outlandish situation allowed them to dismantle their respective emotional walls and give into one another. More than once, I thought, as contrived as it would have been, that Felicity Huffman, Macy's wife in real life, would have been a much better Deidra all told because the two have natural chemistry, and she would play a much more convincing ambitious studio executive than Ryan. Ryan infused her character with the same sort of wishy washy qualities that all of her romantic leads seem to possess. Again, maybe that would have seemed too clever, or maybe Felicity was just too busy with Desperate Housewives. The other problem with this film is that it was simultaneously a love letter to and satire of Hollywood and the way it works, which I think would be highly amusing to Hollywood insiders. As for me, I never really laughed. Sure, the idea for the film Charlie wants to make is really, well, dumb, and rife with opportunity for jokes, and many outlandish things happen, but they are all conventions used and seen before. And while I think the revisits are designed to bolster the satire, I just found myself yawning. It could have been the subject matter--I mean, I'm familiar with Hollywood politics even if I'm not an insider--but it didn't help that some of the comedic timing and pacing was just not well directed or executed. There were jokes and scenes that could have been much funnier if delivered differently or filmed differently. For example, there's a scene where a drunk Deidra apparently decides Charlie's ok enough at that point to have sex with in the shower, but then Bobby Mason's manager barges in on them. First of all, it didn't make sense that Deidra would suddenly change her mind (drunk or not) and enjoy this casual romp in the shower, since she'd spent the first half of the movie calling Charlie "disgusting," without the usual hidden smile when he wasn't looking, but then, that set-up, which has been used before in all sorts of situations, including television shows, happened in a very pedestrian way. It felt recycled and simply unfunny. Their reactions were predictably underwhelming and any potential for laughter lost steam quickly and died. The idea for the film was potentially a good one. Who wouldn't want to make fun of Hollywood? And Macy playing a crass producer with a cynical approach to his life and chosen profession was unusual enough to be a worthy viewing experiment, but in the end, the film simply didn't work for me, and Ryan's and Macy's lack of chemistry left me almost never rooting for Charlie and Deidra as a couple (and the way the story was told didn't convince me either). The best part of the film for me was Elliott Gould's appearance. His appearance in a film always makes it about ten percent better. He played a rabbi and an "expert" consultant to stars like Bono and Bill Clinton, who serves as Bobby's spiritual counselor during filming, and Bobby's urban Jew routine coupled with Charlie's penchant for ascerbic sarcasm served well as the impetus for some of Elliott's talented comedic reactions. Plus, it was a fitting casting choice. All in all, though, The Deal deserves a 5 on the ratings scale for being utterly mediocre because it was. It was a comedy, and yet, I never laughed. I think the idea was pulled off, in that the purpose of it is clear, but I didn't think the film was all that cute because the romance was so unconvincing and unappealing - and if that was the point, then this movie should not have been billed as a romantic comedy but something else entirely. I don't think it was the point, though; I think The Deal was meant to be a screwball-like satire that just fizzled and faded by its conclusion. And as much as I like William H. Macy, I don't think this particular stab at screenwriting was successful. In other words, I don't feel like I was given much of a deal in the end. http://www.spout.com/groups/Coming_Soon/New_to_DVD_1_20_Bill_Murray_s_evil_Adam_Sandle/216/39758/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: spout
Post To: Coming Soon
Post Date: 1/21/2009 3:23:38 PM
Body: NEW TO DVD 1/20 1. City of Ember -- Watch the trailer. Listen to the review on FilmCouch. Bill Murray as a villain is almost enough to get me to watch. 2. You Don't Mess With the Zohan -- Watch the trailer. I was surprised by how much I liked this. Two of the writers are Robert Smigel and Judd Apatow, which couldn't hurt any comedy. 3. The Deal -- Watch the trailer. Meg Ryan and William H. Macy star in what sounds like Get Shorty meets The Producers. 4. Criteron Collection's El Norte (1983) is now on Blu-ray. When the Guatemalan government destroys a village of Quiche Indians, two teenagers trek north across Mexico and into the US. Watch th trailer. 5. Saw V -- Watch the trailer. Anyone care to bet how many more sequels will be made? 6. The Express -- Watch the trailer. The story of the Heisman-trophy winning footbal star, Ernie Davis, who was diagnosed with leukemia shortly after being drafted into the NFL. 7. Max Payne -- Watch the trailer. Mark Wahlberg is better than this movie. Hmm, what's the best video game movie ever? Is anyone looking forward to Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li? (Watch the trailer.)
]]>Wed, 21 Jan 2009 20:23:38 GMTspoutComing Soon1/21/2009 3:23:38 PMNEW TO DVD 1/20 1. City of Ember -- Watch the trailer. Listen to the review on FilmCouch. Bill Murray as a villain is almost enough to get me to watch. 2. You Don't Mess With the Zohan -- Watch the trailer. I was surprised by how much I liked this. Two of the writers are Robert Smigel and Judd Apatow, which couldn't hurt any comedy. 3. The Deal -- Watch the trailer. Meg Ryan and William H. Macy star in what sounds like Get Shorty meets The Producers. 4. Criteron Collection's El Norte (1983) is now on Blu-ray. When the Guatemalan government destroys a village of Quiche Indians, two teenagers trek north across Mexico and into the US. Watch th trailer. 5. Saw V -- Watch the trailer. Anyone care to bet how many more sequels will be made? 6. The Express -- Watch the trailer. The story of the Heisman-trophy winning footbal star, Ernie Davis, who was diagnosed with leukemia shortly after being drafted into the NFL. 7. Max Payne -- Watch the trailer. Mark Wahlberg is better than this movie. Hmm, what's the best video game movie ever? Is anyone looking forward to Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li? (Watch the trailer.) http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2009/1/12/39422.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 1/12/2009 4:01:03 PM
Body: What better way to get in the mood for the double-barrelled shotgun blast of Sundance and Slamdance than by entering to win one of five copies of The Deal on DVD. Here’s what the movie is all about: A struggling film producer (William H. Macy) teams up with a beleaguered studio executive (Meg Ryan) who is forced to make a doomed action movie with him in which their mercurial star (LL Cool J) seems determined to finish their careers. When their action hero is kidnapped and the studio abruptly shuts down the movie, the mismatched pair conspire to keep the cameras rolling at the studio’s expense – and reluctantly fall in love in the process. Visit the movie’s official website to find out more and watch the trailer as well as clips from the film. Getting your copy is pretty easy. Since The Deal is all about the inner-machinations of Hollywood, we want to know what your favorite movie set in Hollywood is 1. Bowfinger (Trailer) 2. The Player (Trailer) 3. Sunset Boulevard 4. The Big Picture (Trailer) 5. Ed Wood 6. Something I’m forgetting Send your choice to filmcouch@spout.com with the subject line “The Deal.” The winners will be announced during Episode 104 of FilmCouch, coming to a computer near you this Friday, January 16th. –Chris Thilk, Director of Marketing Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Mon, 12 Jan 2009 21:01:03 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com1/12/2009 4:01:03 PMWhat better way to get in the mood for the double-barrelled shotgun blast of Sundance and Slamdance than by entering to win one of five copies of The Deal on DVD. Here’s what the movie is all about: A struggling film producer (William H. Macy) teams up with a beleaguered studio executive (Meg Ryan) who is forced to make a doomed action movie with him in which their mercurial star (LL Cool J) seems determined to finish their careers. When their action hero is kidnapped and the studio abruptly shuts down the movie, the mismatched pair conspire to keep the cameras rolling at the studio’s expense – and reluctantly fall in love in the process. Visit the movie’s official website to find out more and watch the trailer as well as clips from the film. Getting your copy is pretty easy. Since The Deal is all about the inner-machinations of Hollywood, we want to know what your favorite movie set in Hollywood is 1. Bowfinger (Trailer) 2. The Player (Trailer) 3. Sunset Boulevard 4. The Big Picture (Trailer) 5. Ed Wood 6. Something I’m forgetting Send your choice to filmcouch@spout.com with the subject line “The Deal.” The winners will be announced during Episode 104 of FilmCouch, coming to a computer near you this Friday, January 16th. –Chris Thilk, Director of Marketing Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/karina/archive/2008/4/4/26963.aspx Post By: Karina
Post To: Karina on SpoutBlog
Post Date: 4/4/2008 3:01:18 PM
Body: On Monday, I’m heading down to the Sarasota Film Festival, which begins this evening with opening night film, The Deal. A ton of Spout favorites from recent festivals will be screening at Sarasota over the next ten days, including Medicine For Melancholy, Natural Causes, One Minute to Nine, The Pleasure of Being Robbed, and Yeast. The Festival is also premiering a doc (which I have not yet seen, and which will unfortunately not be screening while I’m in town) called All God’s Children, directed by former Reeler TV producers Scott Solary and Luci Westphal. Here’s a look at some of the stuff I’m planning to check out whilst in Florida: Bergmanmania: The Festival is presenting a sidebar called Face To Face: The Films of Liv Ullmann and Ingmar Bergman, through which they’re screening a dozen films, ten directed by Bergman and starring Ullmann, and two directed by Ullmann. I’m going to hit as many of these screenings as I can over my 3.5 days in town, but I’m most excited about Tuesday night’s Conversation with Ullmann, who is the recipient of the fest’s 2008 Master Of World Cinema Award. Throw Down Your Heart: One of the most talked about films at SXSW that I didn’t get a chance to see, Sascha Paladino’s film tracks legendary banjoist Bela Fleck on a trip to Africa, where he records new music and explores the history of his instrument. Spine Tingler!: The William Castle Story: I’ve had my eye on this doc about the legendary filmmaker/gimmick peddler since last fall, but haven’t been able to catch up with it at a festival. I Can No Longer Hear the Guitar (J’entends plus la guitare): Phillipe Garrel’s 1991 ode to Nico is making the rounds of festivals and small screens via Film Desk, a distribution venture spearheaded by BAM Cinematek programmer Jake Perlin. I was in Austin for SXSW and missed its brief stop at New York’s Cinema Village last month, so when I saw it on the Sarasota schedule, I yelped with joy. Read some of the rapturous reviews, and you’ll know why. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog » karina
]]>Fri, 04 Apr 2008 19:01:18 GMTKarinaKarina on SpoutBlog4/4/2008 3:01:18 PM On Monday, I’m heading down to the Sarasota Film Festival, which begins this evening with opening night film, The Deal. A ton of Spout favorites from recent festivals will be screening at Sarasota over the next ten days, including Medicine For Melancholy, Natural Causes, One Minute to Nine, The Pleasure of Being Robbed, and Yeast. The Festival is also premiering a doc (which I have not yet seen, and which will unfortunately not be screening while I’m in town) called All God’s Children, directed by former Reeler TV producers Scott Solary and Luci Westphal. Here’s a look at some of the stuff I’m planning to check out whilst in Florida: Bergmanmania: The Festival is presenting a sidebar called Face To Face: The Films of Liv Ullmann and Ingmar Bergman, through which they’re screening a dozen films, ten directed by Bergman and starring Ullmann, and two directed by Ullmann. I’m going to hit as many of these screenings as I can over my 3.5 days in town, but I’m most excited about Tuesday night’s Conversation with Ullmann, who is the recipient of the fest’s 2008 Master Of World Cinema Award. Throw Down Your Heart: One of the most talked about films at SXSW that I didn’t get a chance to see, Sascha Paladino’s film tracks legendary banjoist Bela Fleck on a trip to Africa, where he records new music and explores the history of his instrument. Spine Tingler!: The William Castle Story: I’ve had my eye on this doc about the legendary filmmaker/gimmick peddler since last fall, but haven’t been able to catch up with it at a festival. I Can No Longer Hear the Guitar (J’entends plus la guitare): Phillipe Garrel’s 1991 ode to Nico is making the rounds of festivals and small screens via Film Desk, a distribution venture spearheaded by BAM Cinematek programmer Jake Perlin. I was in Austin for SXSW and missed its brief stop at New York’s Cinema Village last month, so when I saw it on the Sarasota schedule, I yelped with joy. Read some of the rapturous reviews, and you’ll know why. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog » karina http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/4/4/26962.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 4/4/2008 3:00:24 PM
Body: On Monday, I’m heading down to the Sarasota Film Festival, which begins this evening with opening night film, The Deal. A ton of Spout favorites from recent festivals will be screening at Sarasota over the next ten days, including Medicine For Melancholy, Natural Causes, One Minute to Nine, The Pleasure of Being Robbed, and Yeast. The Festival is also premiering a doc (which I have not yet seen, and which will unfortunately not be screening while I’m in town) called All God’s Children, directed by former Reeler TV producers Scott Solary and Luci Westphal. Here’s a look at some of the stuff I’m planning to check out whilst in Florida: Bergmanmania: The Festival is presenting a sidebar called Face To Face: The Films of Liv Ullmann and Ingmar Bergman, through which they’re screening a dozen films, ten directed by Bergman and starring Ullmann, and two directed by Ullmann. I’m going to hit as many of these screenings as I can over my 3.5 days in town, but I’m most excited about Tuesday night’s Conversation with Ullmann, who is the recipient of the fest’s 2008 Master Of World Cinema Award. Throw Down Your Heart: One of the most talked about films at SXSW that I didn’t get a chance to see, Sascha Paladino’s film tracks legendary banjoist Bela Fleck on a trip to Africa, where he records new music and explores the history of his instrument. Spine Tingler!: The William Castle Story: I’ve had my eye on this doc about the legendary filmmaker/gimmick peddler since last fall, but haven’t been able to catch up with it at a festival. I Can No Longer Hear the Guitar (J’entends plus la guitare): Phillipe Garrel’s 1991 ode to Nico is making the rounds of festivals and small screens via Film Desk, a distribution venture spearheaded by BAM Cinematek programmer Jake Perlin. I was in Austin for SXSW and missed its brief stop at New York’s Cinema Village last month, so when I saw it on the Sarasota schedule, I yelped with joy. Read some of the rapturous reviews, and you’ll know why. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Fri, 04 Apr 2008 19:00:24 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com4/4/2008 3:00:24 PM On Monday, I’m heading down to the Sarasota Film Festival, which begins this evening with opening night film, The Deal. A ton of Spout favorites from recent festivals will be screening at Sarasota over the next ten days, including Medicine For Melancholy, Natural Causes, One Minute to Nine, The Pleasure of Being Robbed, and Yeast. The Festival is also premiering a doc (which I have not yet seen, and which will unfortunately not be screening while I’m in town) called All God’s Children, directed by former Reeler TV producers Scott Solary and Luci Westphal. Here’s a look at some of the stuff I’m planning to check out whilst in Florida: Bergmanmania: The Festival is presenting a sidebar called Face To Face: The Films of Liv Ullmann and Ingmar Bergman, through which they’re screening a dozen films, ten directed by Bergman and starring Ullmann, and two directed by Ullmann. I’m going to hit as many of these screenings as I can over my 3.5 days in town, but I’m most excited about Tuesday night’s Conversation with Ullmann, who is the recipient of the fest’s 2008 Master Of World Cinema Award. Throw Down Your Heart: One of the most talked about films at SXSW that I didn’t get a chance to see, Sascha Paladino’s film tracks legendary banjoist Bela Fleck on a trip to Africa, where he records new music and explores the history of his instrument. Spine Tingler!: The William Castle Story: I’ve had my eye on this doc about the legendary filmmaker/gimmick peddler since last fall, but haven’t been able to catch up with it at a festival. I Can No Longer Hear the Guitar (J’entends plus la guitare): Phillipe Garrel’s 1991 ode to Nico is making the rounds of festivals and small screens via Film Desk, a distribution venture spearheaded by BAM Cinematek programmer Jake Perlin. I was in Austin for SXSW and missed its brief stop at New York’s Cinema Village last month, so when I saw it on the Sarasota schedule, I yelped with joy. Read some of the rapturous reviews, and you’ll know why. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/romance/MemberTagFilms.aspxromance
Number of films tagged: 7160

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]]>Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:50:40 GMT71601691002Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/Boring/MemberTagFilms.aspxBoring
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]]>Tue, 29 Sep 2009 23:44:27 GMT177105207Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/satire/MemberTagFilms.aspxsatire
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]]>Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:27:25 GMT17055120Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/kidnapping/MemberTagFilms.aspxkidnapping
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]]>Sun, 16 Aug 2009 05:39:42 GMT285149172Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/hollywood/MemberTagFilms.aspxhollywood
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]]>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:03:15 GMT6234086Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/con/MemberTagFilms.aspxcon
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]]>Thu, 18 Jun 2009 21:02:24 GMT241726Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/mediocre/MemberTagFilms.aspxmediocre
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Number of people who tagged: 9

Number of times used: 41

]]>Fri, 20 Mar 2009 11:43:18 GMT39941Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/filmindustry/MemberTagFilms.aspxfilmindustry
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Number of people who tagged: 6

Number of times used: 6

]]>Fri, 23 Jan 2009 14:01:34 GMT36866Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/producer/MemberTagFilms.aspxproducer
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Number of people who tagged: 5

Number of times used: 7

]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:20:32 GMT757Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/inside-jokes/MemberTagFilms.aspxinside-jokes
Number of films tagged: 1

Number of people who tagged: 1

Number of times used: 1

]]>Thu, 29 Jan 2009 04:20:07 GMT111Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/producer-showbiz/MemberTagFilms.aspxproducer-showbiz
Number of films tagged: 311

Number of people who tagged: 0

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]]>Wed, 06 May 2009 13:04:03 GMT31100Tag