News

Tubi continues to expand its adult animated programming, giving a green light to Breaking Bear, an adult animated comedy series from The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia director Julien Nitzberg, Creepshow producer Cartel Entertainment, and Blink-182 frontman Tom DeLonge’s To The Stars Media (Monsters of California).

Created by Nitzberg, Breaking Bear parodies the tropes of mobster dramas, comically combining elements of Yogi Bear with The Sopranos. It follows the escapades of three bear siblings who decide they have to start selling drugs in order to raise money and save their home after gas companies start fracking next to their cave. The bears soon enlist other forest animals in a scheme that will pit them against oil companies, The Russian Mafia, local Hell’s Angels and polar bears who hate anything that isn’t white.

“When The Cartel pitched a series with cartoon animals as mobsters, I knew...

Tubi has greenlit “Breaking Bear,” an adult animated series created by Julien Nitzberg and produced by Cartel Entertainment and Tom DeLonge’s To the Stars Media.

Described as a parody of mobster dramas, combining elements of Yogi Bear with “The Sopranos,” “Breaking Bear” Breaking Bear follows the escapades of three bear siblings who decide they have to start selling drugs in order to raise money and save their home after gas companies start fracking next to their cave. The bears soon enlist other forest animals in a scheme that will pit them against oil companies, the Russian mafia, local Hell’s Angels and polar bears who hate anything that isn’t white.

“When The Cartel pitched a series with cartoon animals as mobsters, I knew it was an offer I couldn’t refuse,” said Adam Lewinson, chief content officer at Tubi. “This is the perfect project to expand our adult animation...

We told you. Remember the rules. You didn’t listen. Now we’re Back with an all new batch of guest recommendations featuring Blake Masters, Julien Nitzberg, Floyd Norman, Tuppence Middleton and Blaire Bercy.

Please support the Hollywood Food Coalition. Text “Give” to 323.402.5704 or visit https://hofoco.org/donate!

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

The Wild Angels (1966)

Spirits of the Dead (1966)

The Trip (1967)

Mooch Goes To Hollywood (1971)

Stalker (1979)

The Candidate (1972)

The Parallax View (1974)

Network (1976)

Sweet Smell of Success (1957)

Ace In The Hole (1951)

Margin Call (2011)

Death Wish (1974)

Death Wish (2018)

Seconds (1966)

Soylent Green (1973)

Rage (1972)

Assault on Wall Street (2013)

Repo Man (1984)

Elmer Gantry (1960)

The Train (1965)

Clouds of Sils Maria (2014)

Strange Brew (1983)

To Have And Have Not (1944)

Singin’ In The Rain (1952)

Easter Parade (1948)

The Band Wagon (1953)

Guys And Dolls (1955)

On The Town (1949)

Casablanca (1942)

The Dirt Gang (1972)

Back To The Future (1985)

The Maltese Falcon (1941)

The Big Sleep (1946)

Bomba, the Jungle Boy (1949)

My Man Godfrey...

When Julien Nitzberg was hired to write a TV movie about the life of late pop star Michael Jackson, he found it impossible to detail his stained legacy and make something that would be acceptable to a network. So, he didn’t — and took the story to the stage instead.

“When I said ‘no’ to the Michael Jackson biopic, I’m sure they offered the job to another writer,” said Nitzberg, whose credits include the documentary “The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia.” “I have no idea what happened to the project. In Hollywood, they develop so many things that never get made. My guess is that they never cracked how to tell the story. Because no one can really know what went on in Michael’s head or house, it’s an impossible story to tell and not have it be fully, non-logically absurd.”

Rather than dodge the absurdity,...

Warner Music gave thanks this week for a strong financial report, but the rest of the music world’s attention turned to grievances. One artist claimed he was the victim of unfair accusations of sexual harassment, while a band claimed to be concerned about the carbon footprint caused by touring.

On another front, a consortium of independent music companies worried that China’s Ten Cent buying into Universal Music would spell trouble for the overall health of the industry.

This week in music:

Placido Not Being Placid About Accusations: In his first interview since accusations of sexual harassment emerged, opera star Plácido Domingo said the situation has been “a nightmare” and denied any wrongdoing. Domingo, the founder and former head of the Los Angeles Opera, said Spaniards are naturally “warm, affectionate and loving,” adding that he has always been “gallant,” but saying “gallant gestures are viewed differently nowadays.” In August,...

It’s been just over ten years since we lost Michael Jackson. His untimely death shocked the world, leaving millions of his adoring fans to mourn the loss of the King of Pop. At the time, he’d been working on his behind-the-scenes documentary This Is It, which chronicled his life on the road during touring, which was eventually released to fairly positive reviews.

Now, it appears he’s being immortalized on the big screen once more. According to a report from Screen Rant, a new musical is in the works which will tell the story of Jackson but from the perspective of his famous white glove. That’s a bit of an oddity, wouldn’t you say? Oh, and it’s being produced by none other than Johnny Depp.

The musical will apparently be titled For The Love Of Glove: An Unauthorized Musical Fable About The Life Of Michael Jackson,...

An upcoming, “unauthorized” musical will focus on Michael Jackson’s life story from the perspective of the King of Pop’s iconic sequined glove. To make the project even weirder, Johnny Depp is onboard to produce the stage show, which will debut on January 25th in Los Angeles.

Penned by Julien Nitzberg, For the Love of a Glove: An Unauthorized Musical Fable About the Life of Michael Jackson, as told by his Glove began as a more conventional biopic before the sexual abuse allegations against Jackson changed the focus of the project.

Film fans may know Patton Oswalt as the voice of Remy the rat in Ratatouille, the lead in the indie Big Fan or the loveable townie in Young Adult, but the comedian has an amazing career as a stand-up comic, not to mention countless guest star appearances on TV. Now a cool 10-minute documentary from The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia director Julien Nitzberg turns the lens on Oswalt. Using a contrast between excited fans and the dull routine Oswalt has before his shows, the short gives a glimpse into how Oswalt crafts his stand-up material, which is some of the most brilliant comedy today. Watch it! Here's the 10-minute documentary short To Be Loved & Understood, found via The Playlist: Honestly, despite the fans love for Oswalt, it's not just "nerdy" material that makes him appealing. Oswalt has an ability to craft poignant, thought-provoking observations about nerdy topics from time-to-time,...

If you enjoy getting insight into the life of a comic, or if you simply love Patton Oswalt, then you should check out "To Be Loved & Understood," a 10-minute documentary by filmmaker Julien Nitzberg. This mini-doc is part of a web series called “Rituals” that’s hosted by The Thrash Lab and, for a brief period of time, it gives you a little taste of the preparations that go on before a comic takes the stage and performs his or her material. Patton Oswalt shows that the life of a comic tends to be unglamorous. The doc showcases the dichotomy between the enthusiasm of the fans and the mundane routine of the comic. As Patton Oswalt puts it, his life as a touring comic mainly consists of driving, checking into hotels, and sitting alone trying to prepare his material mentally. The end result is, hopefully, a successful show that pleases the proud,...

Tribeca is working with American Express this holiday season to help small businesses throughout the country. You've probably heard of Black Friday and, more recently, Cyber Monday. Small Business Saturday is a promotion designed to support the small businesses that fuel our economy and invigorate communities. So, leading up to November 26, we will be shining a little extra light on the moms-and-pops whose local, independently-owned businesses deserve the attention of holiday shoppers on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and beyond. In a way, small business is akin to independent filmmaking. With that in mind, we've asked some of our Tribeca Film independent directors, producers and actors to share with us their favorite ways to 'shop small.' Over the next week or two, we'll share their recommendations and inside scoop. Happy holidays! First up: Julien Nitzberg, director of the decidedly independent documentary The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia. Could...

Easily the most character-centric network on TV, last night's USA upfront launched a massive new slate of projects to be developed through 2013 for the network that already includes major properties Burn Notice, Psych, and White Collar.

In addition to the renewal of lawyer drama Fairly Legal for a second season, and previews for Callie Thorne's sports therapist Necessary Roughness among others, USA revealed plans to roll out no less than seven original dramas and five comedies over the next few years.

Having already successfully launched Wrestling reality series Tough Enough, the network is also eyeing the possibility of venturing into a daily talk show, beginning with an hour-long pilot of celebrity interviews with Vanity Fair editor Krista Smith.

Take a look at the huge development slate, and stay tuned tomorrow for an in-depth look at the new dramas Eden and Suits, and footage from returning favorites Burn Notice, Psych,...

Netflix Nuggets is my way of spreading the word about what I consider to be the greatest thing since sliced bread… Netflix streaming movies instantly to your computer and/or compatible home theater. As Netflix makes movies titles available in their already vast and eclectic catalog of rentals via online streaming technology, I’ll spotlight the one’s I feel are worth taking note of as they become available.

In this, the first edition of Netflix Nuggets, we’ll feature five films; two brand new and wildly unique foreign films, one new documentary, and two classics from master filmmakers.

The Ballad Of Cable Hogue (1970)

[streaming of Ballad Of Cable Hogue available only until 1/31/2011]

Director: Sam Peckinpah

Synopsis: Abandoned in the desert, prospector Cable Hogue survives his ordeal when he discovers a freshwater spring. Transforming the oasis into a much needed pit stop on the local stagecoach route, the resourceful Hogue sits back to wait for his double-crossing former partners.

The 11th annual Melbourne Underground Film Festival wrapped on Aug. 29 with a secret, illegal screening of Bruce Labruce‘s gay porn zombie epic L.A. Zombie, which would win Labruce the Best Foreign Director Award.

The big winner this year, though was the debut feature film — and the official closing night film of Muff — by Joseph Sims, Bad Behavior. Although Stuart Simpson‘s El Monstro Del Mar! won the Best Film award, Bad Behavior took home six awards total, including Best Director, Best Male Actor, Best Screenplay and more. The film is a splatter movie about a group of teenagers running afoul of psychopaths. Australia’s The Age newspaper also recently profiled Sims.

Other Australian films taking home awards were Dominic Deacon‘s Burlesque winning Best Guerrilla Film, Road Train by Dean Francis taking the Special Jury Prize and Lanfranchi’s Memorial Discotheque by Richard Baron winning Best Documentary.

American films in addition to L.

The Melbourne Underground Film Festival returns to terrorize Australia with a selection of outrageous genre films for its 11th annual edition that will be held on Aug. 20-28.

For years now, Muff Festival director Richard Wolstencroft has been bemoaning the state of Australian cinema — and rightfully so — for abandoning its history of popular genre entertainment and settling for a state-sponsored industry of wussy indie fare. Well, looking over this year’s Muff schedule from a distance, it appears that the fest has gathered its most impressive lineup of bold and risky genre fare yet.

There’s the deep sea terror of Stuart Simpson’s El monstro del mar!, the outback nightmare of Road Train by Dean Francis, the Bdsm fantasy world of David King’s Purge, the chaotically violent world of Bad Behavior by Joseph Sims, the sexy and disturbing Burlesque by Dominic Deacon; plus Richard Wolstencroft’s own documentary...

Calling all Los Angeles residents! Director Julien Nitzberg has a list of irrefutable reasons why it's your patriotic duty to see his film over the long holiday weekend... The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia just finished its super successful run at the Laemmle Sunset 5 and is now moving downtown to the beautiful Downtown Independent at the corner of Main and Second Street (right near the Edison, the Smell, Little Tokyo and St. Vibania) so that you can witness America in all its glory this July 4th weekend! And yes, boozehounds, the do serve wine and beer so you can watch it "plum tore out of the frame!" It will only be playing there for one week, so act fast! I'm doing Q+A this Friday and Saturday nights. And if you are wondering about whether our distributor Robert De Niro or ...

Just in time for the holiday weekend, check out the new website for the hit documentary The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia, directed by Julien Nitzberg. The film is now available On Demand via Tribeca Film. The film follows the legacy of the White family of Boone County, West Virginia. The juicy new site has all the details about Mamie and Jesco White - reckless, larger-than-life characters notorious for criminal activity. With news about upcoming screenings, a family tree, and a daily blog, the website has everything you need to know about the film, the filmmakers, the Whites, and much, much more. Check it out! Theatrical Screenings: Opens June 25 at the Laemmle Sunset 5 in Los Angeles. Denver Film Society, June 8. At Cinemapolis in Ithaca, NY, over the weekend of June 26-27. And in Austin, TX, at the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz July 13 and 14.

Late last week I spoke to director Julien Nitzberg about his Johnny Knoxville/Jeff Tremaine-produced documentary, "The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia." The intimate and often-shocking look at an extended family from Boone County, Wv is a well-crafted piece of film and it left me wanting to see more from the director. It turns out that he's now working on a biopic for HBO Films about 1950s wrestler Sputnik Monroe, a man who took a rather interesting approach to his work.

"Just as wrestling always has this political edge where [for example] there would be a bad Russian wrestler in the '80s [during the Cold War], in the '50s, [Sputnik Monroe] got to the south and was shocked by the racism there," Nitzberg explained. "He took on the persona, strangely enough, of the pro-integration wrestler."

The '50s were a difficult time for Civil Rights in America, with many unwilling to let go...

Yes, we're excited to see "Iron Man 2," "Inception" and God help us, "Predators." But what we're really looking forward to spending a few hours in the company of an undertaking Bill Murray ("Get Low"), an Italian-speaking Tilda Swinton ("I Am Love") and a toga-wearing Rachel Weisz ("Agora") in the comfort of air-conditioned theater over the next three months. (Either that or we'll be enjoying them from the comfort of home online, on demand or on DVD.)

There are no less than 114 independently produced movies arriving in theaters this summer to compete with the big studio blockbusters and we've compiled this helpful guide that covers all of them. Yet realizing that the latest arthouse and foreign fare is subject to changing dates, particularly if you don't live in Los Angeles or New York, we've also included links to follow the films on Twitter, Facebook and release schedules where available, so...

A couple weeks ago I was offered an opportunity to interview Julien Nitzberg, the director of the Johnny Knoxville/Jeff Tremaine-produced documentary "The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia." I should come right out and say at the outset that I'm not typically a fan of docs; my tastes tend to skew more towards escapist fare like summer blockbusters. Still, "Wild and Wonderful" sounded intriguing and I figured you readers would be interested in the Knoxville/Tremaine connection, so I went for it.

I'm glad I did too. "The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia" charts a fascinating year in the life of a massive -- and in many ways, massively dysfunctional -- family based in Boone County. Nitzberg and his crew spent a significant amount of time with them, and the result is a raw, unflinching look at a side of America that is frequently (and willfully) ignored.

Happy Cinco de Mayo! I have kind of a weird present for you, but it's the thought that counts: The nutso, controversial Tribeca alumnus The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia is now in New York theaters and available everywhere on demand. Let Julien Nitzberg's unflinching documentary about the most fume-huffin', pill-snortin', mountain-dancin', face-shootin' family in Boone County augment your holiday mood like never before. Which is to say: You might never party or maybe even drink again. Read on and relive the magic from Tribeca '09, featuring director Nitzberg, producer Johnny Knoxville and those outrageous Whites themselves.

First thing I learned about Julien Nitzberg? He is a very patient guy. When a loud espresso machine foiled our plan to record this interview at the Barnes & Noble Cafe and a disgruntled employee had a serious problem with me stealing her book cart to use as a camera stand, it was off to Union Square Park. It was really no surprise that Nitzberg adapted to each roadblock with ease. After spending a year with the Whites, he must have developed a high tolerance. No, not that kind of tolerance! A tolerance for things not always going to plan. The Whites are not your average family. Some enjoy mountain dancing, others take pride in defying the law and pretty much all of them are ever eager to get high. Nope, not your average family in the least, but what is quite typical about the Whites is the love and devotion...

Last night's jam-packed world premiere of Shrek Forever After had bigwigs, critics, and fans alike donning their 3D glasses for an adventure with lovable Shrek gang, including Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, and Antonio Banderas, as well as DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Kaztenberg. There are plenty of exciting photos from the green - yes, green - carpet on PopSugar, the UK's Daily Mail, and Just Jared. Entertainment Tonight was also on the green carpet to talk to the stars; check out the video here. New York magazine has a feature on Please Give's wonderful Catherine Keener, who chats about phrenology, among other things. But there's more! New York also chatted up director Julien Nitzberg, whose doc The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia is a Tribeca Film release. Check out TribecaFilm.com to find out where you can catch it in theaters or how to get it On Demand.

The 7th annual Calgary Underground Film Festival is ready to start off with a bang this year on April 12 and then continue through to April 18. Opening night will see the results of the festival’s wildly popular 48-hour Movie Making Challenge, where registered teams were given a genre, a prop and a line of dialogue; then sent out to craft perfect cinematic masterpieces in just two short days.

Then, the rest of the fest is dedicated to some of the wildest films made in both the fest’s home country of Canada and from around the world, including Indonesia, Serbia, the UK and the U.S.

If you’re attending the festival, there’s one incredibly fun documentary you need to see: Michael Petersen’s Eddies: The Documentary, about the craziest beer commercial-making competition in the world — that happens to take place right in Calgary every year! Petersen profiled several...

Earlier this week, members of the Tribeca team headed west to sunny California! While in Los Angeles, we scheduled meetings around town, interviewed lots of great talent, and threw a fantastic party. Most importantly, we reconnected with old friends and Festival alumni, and made plenty of new friends - namely, the new crop of Tff 2010 filmmakers! Tribeca Senior Programmer Genna Terranova explained, "The best part for me was meeting the people in person behind the films that I have been speaking and writing about and to for months. It was also great to see filmmakers from last year's Festival, like Jac Schaeffer and Julien Nitzberg. You could really feel the Tribeca family expanding." During a busy two days, the crew from the Web and Content teams interviewed 35 filmmakers from over 20 films. The first one has already been published: meet Maggie Kiley, director of Tff 2010 short film some boys don't ...

The critically and publicly acclaimed second edition of the Documentaries From The Edge series proved last year that it holds a distinguished place at Fantasia. This section returns this summer with five debut films taking on curious and disturbing social phenomena. A debate over a video game, a modern out-law family, a site dedicated to fetishism, a passion for a lemon, and a mysterious notebook are all subjects that have fascinated the directors and touched them intimately. These captivating documentaries demand that the audience take a stand on what is presented to them on screen. This year, the line-up will feature five docs that impart the unique and unequivocal points of view of filmmakers on some disturbing social phenomena that will leave no one indifferent and promises to spark a few fascinating and contradictory debates. Although the premises vary drastically on the surface, from a portrait of a modern day...

Fantasia Festival is North America [1]'s premiere (and largest) genre [2] film [3] festival [4]. It is also my favorite film festival and so I could not wait to share the highlights of this years line up. Here is a sneak peek at what we will be reviewing in the upcoming week of our podcast. Crush And Blush - Canadian Premiere South Korea Dir: Lee Kyoung-mi For her first feature, director Lee Kyoung-mi had some high-calibre assistance. Park Chan-wook produced, co-wrote and appears briefly in the film, as does Bong Joon-ho, director of The Host. This vaudevillian comedy doused in dark humour follows an unpopular woman who deviously schemes to seduce a colleague and keep him away from his mistress. Hong Hyo-jin seems born to play the fascinating and hard-to-follow Me-sook, an unforgettable, engaging and well-developed character. Love Exposure - Canadian Premiere Japan Dir: Sion Sono Prepare to witness miracles because Sion Sono (Suicide Club,...

Ok, so I'm lazy.. I copy and pasted the press release, which is after the break, and we have reviews of quite a few of the films playing, including White Lightnin', Left Bank, Blood River, Cryptic, Deadgirl, The Horsemen, I Sell the Dead.. with Kaifeck Murder coming soon (once I can figure out what to write).

Movies I'm really interested in seeing: French Pa flick Mutants, Smash Cut, Possibility of an Island, Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle, and Thirst.

But alas, I won't be there. Instead, a friend of ours will be providing some reviews for the week he is there, so everyone give a big thanks to DirtyRobot! Woop!

Check out the film greatness after the break! Oh, and there's more to come...

The past 12 months have been a treasure trove for sharp, individualistic visions of the unusual. Keep your hands on the bars as we give you a...

Year: 2009

Directors: Julien Nitzberg

IMDb: link

Trailer: link

Review by: cyberhal

Rating: 8 out of 10

The White clan are West Virginia’s most psychotic, fun living, pill popping, gun toting and just plain dangerous family ever. “Boy, this is how we do it hillbilly style” says one of the clan as he blows stuff away with a rifle in the backyard. There are loads of people in the White clan, and I could barely understand their thick Appalachian accents, but I have to tell you, I love these people. A beautiful toxic tonic to the fake drivel that make up the Kardashians. An inspiration to anarchists everywhere, and also to people who think that Ozzy Osbourne turned into a giant pansy. The doc. was the brainchild of Johnny Knoxville of Jackass fame, and MTV stumped up the finance.

You might have already heard of Jesco White, son of the mountain dancing legend D.

It might be a shame that the wild and wonderful Whites of West Virginia didn't make it to the Tribeca Film Festival for the premiere of the movie named after them. But then again, the crowd of cinemaphile New Yorkers who turned out for the film last weekend probably wouldn't have been able to handle the drinking, drugging and cursing clan that's recognized by everyone in Boone County as the biggest troublemakers in the state. So maybe it's best that the Whites stayed onscreen, and on hand to represent them were the movie's director, Julien Nitzberg, and former Jackass stars Jeff Tremaine and Johnny Knoxville, who are trying their hands here as producers. When I talked to all three of them the day after the premiere, they told me how Tremaine and Knoxville talked MTV into bankrolling a movie full of so many curse words and so much drug use,...

As the mournful tunes played over the closing credits of The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia on Saturday night, audience members didn't know exactly how they were supposed to feel. The documentary, about a renegade hillbiilly family in Boone County, West Virginia, causes a range of reactions, from laughter to horror to sympathy to what-the-hell? See, the Whites are a family that inspire conflicting emotions: shockingly unfettered by others' reactions to their antics, their judgment-be-damned attitude is at once inspiring and frustrating. (This was definitely one of the most-talked-about films among Tribeca staff pre-Festival, and we couldn't wait to see how it played.) While their constant drug use, foul language, and criminal behavior is often hilarious, the real-life implications of how their actions affect the children in their care is haunting. And sad. When asked what he 'wanted mainstream America to get from the film,' director Julien Nitzberg replied,...

And here's the rest, including the Midnight Section, all after the break.

Encounters

This collection of engaging and entertaining narrative features and documentaries, a mixture of dark comedies and lighter fare, offers work from returning filmmakers, established talent, and popular subjects, and includes 10 World Premieres. Included in Encounters are performances from Academy Award®-nominated actors Thomas Haden Church, Melissa Leo, Elisabeth Shue; directorial debuts from both Eric Bana and Cheryl Hines (from a screenplay by Adrienne Shelly); stories ranging from an ill-fated man's discovery of inspiration and happiness, dysfunctional families, and unrequited high school crushes to a doc on the emergence of New York’s independent film scene.

• Blank City, directed by Celine Danhier. (USA) - World Premiere, Documentary. Celine Danhier’s kinetic doc mirrors the urgent, anything-goes energy of her subject: the Diy independent film movement that emerged in tandem with punk rock in late ‘70s downtown New York.