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From Batman to Iceman to Jim Morrison, Val Kilmer has demonstrated a consistent knack for transformation throughout his career. The mercurial and sometimes misunderstood actor is letting fans deep into his personal and professional life via the new documentary “Val,” debuting on Amazon Prime on Friday.
Kilmer, who has been recovering from throat cancer, first revealed the health diagnosis in 2017. Chemotherapy and radiation treatments have left Kilmer unable to speak clearly, but he hasn’t lost his creative voice. “Val” compiles footage dating back to his childhood, along with personal recordings from the early days in his career — including his 1983 Broadway debut. Kilmer’s son Jack, an actor himself, narrates the film.
If...
From Batman to Iceman to Jim Morrison, Val Kilmer has demonstrated a consistent knack for transformation throughout his career. The mercurial and sometimes misunderstood actor is letting fans deep into his personal and professional life via the new documentary “Val,” debuting on Amazon Prime on Friday.
Kilmer, who has been recovering from throat cancer, first revealed the health diagnosis in 2017. Chemotherapy and radiation treatments have left Kilmer unable to speak clearly, but he hasn’t lost his creative voice. “Val” compiles footage dating back to his childhood, along with personal recordings from the early days in his career — including his 1983 Broadway debut. Kilmer’s son Jack, an actor himself, narrates the film.
If...
- 8/7/2021
- by Latifah Muhammad
- Indiewire
The day before its Cannes Film Festival premiere, Amazon Studios released the trailer for “Val,” a documentary about the life and career of actor Val Kilmer.
“My name is Val Kilmer; I’m an actor,” a narrator says in the trailer. “I’ve lived a magical life and captured quite a bit of it. I was the first guy I knew to own a video camera.”
Through Kilmer’s own documentation, audiences will get a first-hand account of the actor’s journey from making 16 mm home movies with his brother to performing in iconic roles for blockbusters like “Top Gun,” “Batman Forever,” “Tombstone” and “The Doors.” Perhaps more revelatory will be a behind-the-scenes look at Kilmer’s life between films, as seen in moments in the trailer when he’s paling around with Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon. Pulling from thousands of hours of footage, the film spans four decades.
“My name is Val Kilmer; I’m an actor,” a narrator says in the trailer. “I’ve lived a magical life and captured quite a bit of it. I was the first guy I knew to own a video camera.”
Through Kilmer’s own documentation, audiences will get a first-hand account of the actor’s journey from making 16 mm home movies with his brother to performing in iconic roles for blockbusters like “Top Gun,” “Batman Forever,” “Tombstone” and “The Doors.” Perhaps more revelatory will be a behind-the-scenes look at Kilmer’s life between films, as seen in moments in the trailer when he’s paling around with Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon. Pulling from thousands of hours of footage, the film spans four decades.
- 7/6/2021
- by Haley Bosselman
- Variety Film + TV
Top Gun and Batman Forever star Val Kilmer is at the center of a new, intimate documentary. Dubbed Val, the project is produced by A24 and was recently acquired by Amazon Studios in the U.S. and Latin America. It is directed by Leo Scott and Ting Poo, though Kilmer was personally heavily involved with the documentary, which includes a mix of behind-the-scenes footage and various interviews to help tell the actor's story.
"At least once a day for years I looked around and got this bittersweet feeling that there are a thousand reasons that this project could've been shipwrecked," Val Kilmer told THR in a statement. "I mean, what could a film look like of a man filming himself, sometimes daily, years at a time? It is unimaginable that this movie actually could've ever come to light without the partnership of my dear friends, Leo and Ting, and my producing partners.
"At least once a day for years I looked around and got this bittersweet feeling that there are a thousand reasons that this project could've been shipwrecked," Val Kilmer told THR in a statement. "I mean, what could a film look like of a man filming himself, sometimes daily, years at a time? It is unimaginable that this movie actually could've ever come to light without the partnership of my dear friends, Leo and Ting, and my producing partners.
- 5/27/2021
- by Jeremy Dick
- MovieWeb
Amazon Studios has acquired from A24 the rights to “Val,” a feature documentary about “Top Gun” and “Batman Forever” star Val Kilmer.
“Val” is the first in the slate of documentary features and docuseries from A24. The doc is compiled from thousands of hours of footage of Kilmer, including a large amount of home movie footage shot on 16mm by Kilmer and his brothers.
Leo Scott and Ting Poo direct the feature that aims to explore why Kilmer is one of the most mercurial and misunderstood actors of the last few decades. The film is described as a “raw, wildly original and unflinching” documentary film about how Kilmer lived to extremes, and the sometimes hilarious and heartwarming side of his complexities as an artist and a man.
Amazon will release “Val” later this year in the U.S. and Latin America. A24 controls all remaining worldwide rights.
“At least once...
“Val” is the first in the slate of documentary features and docuseries from A24. The doc is compiled from thousands of hours of footage of Kilmer, including a large amount of home movie footage shot on 16mm by Kilmer and his brothers.
Leo Scott and Ting Poo direct the feature that aims to explore why Kilmer is one of the most mercurial and misunderstood actors of the last few decades. The film is described as a “raw, wildly original and unflinching” documentary film about how Kilmer lived to extremes, and the sometimes hilarious and heartwarming side of his complexities as an artist and a man.
Amazon will release “Val” later this year in the U.S. and Latin America. A24 controls all remaining worldwide rights.
“At least once...
- 5/27/2021
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Amazon Studios has acquired US and Latin American rights to the documentary Val from A24 about Top Gun and The Doors actor Val Kilmer. Amazon will release the doc later this year; A24 controls all remaining global rights.
From directors Leo Scott and Ting Poo, Val includes hours of footage which Kilmer has amassed throughout his career and life from 16mm home movies made with his brothers, to time spent in iconic roles from blockbuster movies like Top Gun, The Doors, Tombstone, and Batman Forever.
Kilmer said: “At least once a day for years I looked around and got this bittersweet feeling that there are a thousand reasons that this project could’ve been shipwrecked. I mean, what could a film look like of a man filming himself, sometimes daily, years at a time? It is unimaginable that this movie actually could’ve ever come to light without the partnership of my dear friends,...
From directors Leo Scott and Ting Poo, Val includes hours of footage which Kilmer has amassed throughout his career and life from 16mm home movies made with his brothers, to time spent in iconic roles from blockbuster movies like Top Gun, The Doors, Tombstone, and Batman Forever.
Kilmer said: “At least once a day for years I looked around and got this bittersweet feeling that there are a thousand reasons that this project could’ve been shipwrecked. I mean, what could a film look like of a man filming himself, sometimes daily, years at a time? It is unimaginable that this movie actually could’ve ever come to light without the partnership of my dear friends,...
- 5/27/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
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