News

Exclusive: Bernard Kira, the manager and producer behind the nine-year-old shingle Bmk-ent, has rebranded the company as Apparent Motion Media, also announcing his signing of International Emmy winner Fernando Rovzar (Hotel Cocaine).

Kira’s move to rebrand comes as he preps Higher Ground, his third film as a producer, and second for an in-house client. Heading into production in March, the film is based on a script discovered by Apparent Motion client Charlie Weber (How to Get Away with Murder), which was developed internally, before being packaged and sold with Weber headlining. Previously, Kira set up client Erlingur Thoroddsen’s film The Piper, a horror pic poised to hit theaters on March 8.

In a statement on the re-launch of his company, Kira made the observation that “artists are becoming more proactive in generating their own opportunities and controlling the trajectory of their careers.” He added that he “started Bmk-ent with...

In all the hubbub around Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming updates this week, nobody bothered to note that we’ve been here before. This isn’t first time a version of the company — or at least a version of it — killed off a finished project for the sake of a write-off with no regard for its creators.

Of course, it’s hard to look at the past when much there is to ponder in the present: “Batgirl” won’t come out but the scandal-ridden “Flash” somehow will; older HBO Max titles have been quietly booted from the service; executives on the earnings call proclaimed confidence in plans to jam together two vastly different streaming services into an amorphous new entity that still has no name.

But let’s step back for a moment and recall some recent history: Remember HBO Go?

Launched in the primordial streaming-war era of 2010, HBO Go...

Resident Evil Trailer — Netflix‘s Resident Evil (2022) teaser trailer has been released. The Resident Evil trailer stars Ella Balinska, Lance Reddick, Siena Agudong, Adeline Rudolph, Tamara Smart, Paola Nunez, Ahad Raza, Connor Gossatti, and Turlough Convery. Crew Bronwen Hughes, Rob Seidenglanz, Rachel Goldberg, and Batan Silva directed various episodes. “Executive produced and written [...]

Continue reading: Resident Evil (2022) Teaser Trailer: A Deadly Virus causes a Global Zombie Pandemic in Netflix’s TV Adaptation...

Exclusive: Producer Bernard Kira and director-producer Batan Silva have acquired the film and television rights to Alfredo Corchado’s best-selling true crime book, Midnight in Mexico: A Reporter’s Journey Through a Country’s Descent Into Darkness. Published by Penguin, it was selected by Time Magazine in 2018 as one of the best true crime books of all time. A search is underway for a writer to pen the adaptation.

Midnight in Mexico is a non-fiction account of Mexican-American journalist Alfredo Corchado’s refusal to shrink from reporting on government corruption, murders in Juarez, and the ruthless drug cartels of Mexico after receiving a mysterious phone call from one of his informants one rainy night in Mexico City, revealing that a hit has been placed on his life, and that he only has twenty-four hours to identify the threat.

“Alfredo’s incredible bravery putting his life on the line to report...

Ryan Lambie Jul 7, 2016

Marred by a troubled production, Event Horizon was a box office flop in 1997. But time has been kind to the sci-fi horror, Ryan writes...

In the spring of 1997, movie journalism was dominated by discussions of doomed ships. James Cameron’s Titanic, originally scheduled for the lucrative 4th July slot that summer, had suffered yet another delay. It added fuel to the growing speculation that Cameron was at the helm of a potential disaster akin to Heaven's Gate. The cost of making the movie had swollen to such huge levels - $200m according to some accounts, and possibly higher according to others - that the financial burden was shouldered by two of Hollywood’s biggest studios, Fox and Paramount.

Speaking to the La Times in April that year, Titanic’s first assistant director Sebastian Silva admitted that “The horror stories are true” - referring to the news of an unhappy cast and crew,...

The Wolf Of Wall Street | Crystal Fairy & The Magical Cactus | Devil's Due | Tim's Vermeer | Oh Boy | The Night Of The Hunter

The Wolf Of Wall Street (18)

(Martin Scorsese, 2013, Us) Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Kyle Chandler, John Bernthal, Matthew McConaughey. 180 mins

Perhaps Scorsese has more of a right than anyone to make a banking epic in the mould of a crime epic – and sure enough, this is Gordon Gekko, GoodFellas-style: a sprawling, seriocomic, voiceover-tracked rise-and-fall with a morally dubious hero. Excess is the name of the game here, to the point there's actually an excess of excess; endless choreographed tableaux of cash, drugs, cars, naked women, shouting men and celebrity cameos. These regular shots of energy keep the story buzzing, even as they bloat the running time, but Scorsese is aiming for greatness here, and there's no reining him in.

Crystal Fairy & The Magical Cactus (18)

(Sebastián Silva, 2013, Chi) Michael Cera,...

Organisers have announced the 16 projects selected for the inaugural edition of its international co-production market: Fantastic Market | Mercado Fantastico.

The market runs from Sept 19-21 in Austin, Texas. The festival proper runs from Sept 19-26.

The projects are: Belzebuth (Mexico) by Emilio Portes; Club Panico (Mexico) by Adrian Garcia Bogliano; Compulsion (Us) by Batan Silva; Cross Of Souls (Brazil) by Dennison Ramalho; El Duende (Colombia) by Jorge Navas; El Plata (Argentina) by Tamae Garateguy; El Arbol Del Olvido (The Tree Of Oblivion) (Canada) by Rodrigo Gudiño; and Greedy Beasts (Spain) by Juan Martínez Moreno.

The list includes The Incident (Mexico) by Isaac Ezban (first feature); Small Town (Uruguay) by Gustavo Hernández Ibáñez; The Summer Hit (Uruguay-Chile-Brazil) by Pablo Stoll; and Tatewari (Mexico) by Edgar Nito; Us Visitor (Argentina) by Nicolas Goldbart; The Wrong Place (Cuba-us) by Alejandro Brugués; Violent Rider (Chile) by Ernesto Diaz Espinosa; and Yamaha 300 (Mexico) by Jorge Michel Grau (Somos Lo Que Hay).

50 Shades of Grey

Newcomer Erik Odom is the latest name to be thrown into the highly speculative casting rumor ring for the role of Christian Grey in the "50 Shades of Grey" film adaptation. Author E.L. James has final say on who will score the role, which won't be locked until well after the script is done.

Odom is best known for a small role in "Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2," and recently scored acclaimed for his turn in an L.A. stage production of "A Bright New Boise". The likes of Ian Somerhalder, Matt Bomer, and Henry Cavill have also been linked to the role. [Source: Examiner.com]

Rays of Light

"The Closer" star Kyra Sedgwick has joined Batan Silva's directorial debut "Rays Of Light". Silva has served as first assistant director on projects for Terrence Malick and Julian Schnabel.

The story tells of a broken family coming together as the sun dies,...

Sagittarius A From Deadline: "Universal Pictures has acquired Sagittarius A, an original sci-fi thriller pitch that Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci developed with Steven Karczynski... Kurtzman and Orci will produce for their Universal-based K/O Paper Products, with K/O president Bobby Cohen also producing." Rays Of Light From Variety: "Kyra Sedgwick has signed on to star in Rays of Light, a sci-fi film from Batan Silva.... Rays of Light will have Sedgwick playing the matriarch of a dysfunctional family that attempts to carry on, living in their posh estate house after the sun dies." Brilliance From Digital Spy: "Oz the Great and Powerful producer Joe Roth has become attached to an adaptation of Brilliance. He will team with Legendary Pictures on the film based on the forthcoming sci-fi novel by Marcus Sakey...The tale is set in an alternate present day in which X-Men-like superpowers manifest in the 1% of the population called 'brilliants'.

What is Casting Couch? Today, it’s welcoming TV’s Kyra Sedgwick back to the big screen. In recent years, Kyra Sedgwick has had a cushy gig going as the lead of TNT’s The Closer, but now that the series is coming to an end, it’s time for her to get back out there and score some gigs in the film world; and a report from Variety suggests that this is just what she’s doing. The latest feature that she’s signed up for comes from first-time feature director but long-time Terrence Malick collaborator Batan Silva, and it’s an indie sci-fi flick called Rays of Light. Word has it that Sedgwick will be playing the matriarch of a family who’s trying to survive in their estate house after the dying of the sun. Good lord, that’s got to be a metaphor for something. Now that Lenny Kravitz is out and Jesse L. Martin...

Kyra Sedgwick‘s fans are going to love this casting news! We’ve just learned that The Closer star is set to join an upcoming sci-fi movie titled Rays Of Light, which comes from director Batan Silva. Silva is making his directorial debut with this project, and the good thing is that Sedgwick comes on board to play the female lead aka the matriarch of the family! Unfortunately, not much is known about the whole thing, except that the movie will revolve around a dysfunctional family and their attempt to survive in their estate house after the sun dies. And that’s basically all we know about Rays...

From 2005 to 2012, Kyra Sedgwick's film career took a backseat to the shooting schedule of her TNT crime drama series The Closer. But after seven seasons and scads of Emmy and Golden Globes nominations.as well as a few wins.the show drew to a close last summer. But don't cry for Kyra. She bounced back with the hit horror flick The Possession. Though critically scorned, the $14 million Dibbuk Box thriller scored at the box office, earning more than $76 mil worldwide. Then her next release, Kill Your Darlings drew wild praise at its Sundance premiere. With two more movies already in post (John Herzfeld's drama Reach Me, and Jay Alaimo's dramedy Chlorine), Sedgwick is lining up her next gig with a first-time filmmaker. Variety reports Sedgwick has signed on to star in Rays of Light, a sci-fi film from Batan Silva. A well-established first assistant director, Silva has...

A flirtatious tradie, a flustered photographer, a gang of flaming skateboarders, a rock band with disabilities and a Caravaggio painting made from beer drinkers all helped decorate Australia’s most prized ad directors. Robin Hicks interviews.

Garth Davis, Exit Films

Garth Davis went all the way to Mexico to shoot Ride, a long-form commercial for Coca-Cola’s new energy drink, Burn. Los Angeles had been an option for the cityscapes he wanted, but there was no way he could have got away with setting fire to skateboarders on busy city streets there.

Davis won a film lion and also a film craft lion at Cannes for a raw, smokey four minute video in which a gang of skateboarders race on motorways, dodge cars and jump off buildings with their clothing in flames.

A team of body fire experts were brought in from La for the shoot, which took just over a week.

Actors Robert Duvall and Bill Murray were both winners at the 27th Turin Film Festival Awards as they shared the Best Actor prize for their roles in Get Low.

Jurors at the event, which ran from 13 to 21 November, decided the duo should both collect the honour after putting in two moving performances in Get Low, about a man who throws his own funeral party before his death.

The Special Jury Prize was also split between two films, Sherry White's Crackie and Damien Chazelle's Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench, while Catalina Saavedra was named Best Actress for her role as the title character in Sebastian Silva's La Nana.

Director Pietro Marcello scored a $37,000 (£23,000) prize as his picture La Bocca del Lupo was selected as the Best Film, marking the first time an Italian production has taken the top honour at the Italian festival, which recognises the work of young directors.

The 27th edition of the Turin Film Festival honored an Italian production with its top prize for the first time, when "La Boca del Lupo" (The Mouth of the Wolf) from Pietro Marcello won the festival's central honor.

 

Veteran actors Robert Duvall and Bill Murray were co-awarded the prize for best actor for their roles in "Get Low" from Aaron Schneider. The film tells the story of a 1930s Tennessee hermit who threw his own funeral party before he was dead.

Vatalina Saavedra, meanwhile, took home the award for best actress for her work as the title character in Sebastian Silva's "La Nana" (The Maid).

 

A pair of North American films split the special jury prize: "Crackie" from Canadaian director Sherry White and U.S. director Damien Chazella's "Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench."

 

The festival, which took place Nov. 13-21, was the first under the direction of Calabrian film director Gianni Amelio,...

Catalina Saavedra In Director Sebastian Silva'S The Maid. Courtesy Elephant Eye Films. Sebastián Silva could seemingly make a career out of a variety of creative pursuits, however at the moment it is on filmmaking that he is focusing all his attention. Silva was born in Santiago, the capital of Chile, in 1979, and grew up attending a Catholic school in the city. Though from a young age it was clear that he had a talent for art, after finishing high school he went to study film at the Escuela de Cine in Santiago. After a year, however, he quit to move to Montreal to learn animation. Since then, Silva has been constantly busy with a range of projects. He had a gallery show of his drawings while working as a shoe salesman, and later another...

On Monday, October 19, the Independent Filmmaker Project has announced the nominees for the 19th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards, unraveling the dominance of "The Hurt Locker" and "Big Fan". Both feature films received the most nominations with three gongs each, and will battle it out in two categories, Best Feature and Breakthrough Actor.

In the Best Feature category, the two are up against Cherien Dabis' "Amreeka", Sebastian Silva's "The Maid" and the Coen brothers' "A Serious Man". As for the actor title, "Hurt Locker" enlisted Jeremy Renner and "Big Fan" put Patton Oswalt in competition with Ben Foster, Catalina Saavedra and Soulemane Sy Savane.

The third nod "Hurt Locker" collected is for Best Ensemble Performance, placing it to compete against "Adventureland" and "Cold Souls" among other movies. Meanwhile, "Big Fan" lands its third nomination for its director Robert Siegel. In the particular category, Siegel is listed against Cruz Angeles,...

"The Hurt Locker's" march to the Oscars has begun! The film, directed by Kathryn Bigelow, is nominated for best feature, breakthrough actor, and best ensemble performance at the 19th annual Gotham Independent Film Awards.

Robert Siegel's "Big Fan" also topped the Gotham nominations with best features, breakthrough actor, and breakthrough director noms.

"The Hurt Locker" is one of my favorite films this year (Click Watch My Top 10 Best Movies of Summer 2009!) so I'm rooting for this brilliant flick!

Bigelow, Natalie Portman, and Stanley Tucci, and producers Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner will each be presented with a career tribute.

The ceremony will be held Nov. 30 at Cipriani Wall Street.

And the nominees for the 19th annual Gotham Independent Film Awards are:

Best Feature

"Amreeka"

Cherien Dabis, director; Christina Piovesan, Paul Barkin, producers (National Geographic Entertainment)

"Big Fan"

Robert Siegel, director; Jean Kouremetis, Elan Bogarin, producers (First Independent Pictures)

"The Hurt Locker"

Kathryn Bigelow,...

The Gotham Awards are going particularly indie for their 2009 edition, nominating three festival favorites with limited distribution exposure for their best feature prize.

Cherien Dabis' immigrant tale "Amreeka,", Robert Siegel's rabid-fan pic ""Big Fan"" and Sebastian Silva's working-class drama "The Maid" all drew noms in the Gothams' top category, joining awards season frontrunners "The Hurt Locker" and "A Serious Man."

Kathryn Bigelow's "Locker" and "Fan" received the most noms overall, drawing three (both earned best feature and best actor noms, while Siegel landed a spot for breakthrough director and "Locker" scored a nom for best ensemble performance).

Best doc noms went to Robert Kenner's expose "Food, Inc.," Jeff Stilson's tonsorial exploration "Good Hair," Anne Aghion Rwandan-war pic "My Neighbor, My Killer," Michael Almereyda's experimentally minded  "Paradise" and James Toback's boxing profile "Tyson."

Not appearing on the list in any category were Lee Daniels...

If you missed the announcement of the nominees live on Ustream, below are the list of nominees for the 19th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards. Best Feature Amreeka Cherien Dabis, director; Christina Piovesan, Paul Barkin, producers (National Geographic Entertainment) Big Fan Robert Siegel, director; Jean Kouremetis, Elan Bogarin, producers (First Independent Pictures) The Hurt Locker Kathryn Bigelow, director; Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier, Greg Shapiro, producers (Summit Entertainment) The Maid Sebastian Silva, director; Gregorio Gonzàles, producer (Elephant Eye Films) A Serious Man Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, directors/producers (Focus Features) Best Documentary Food, Inc. Robert Kenner, director; Robert...

2009 Gotham Awards 2009 Gotham Award nominations: Oct. 19, 2009 2009 Gotham Award winners: Nov. 30, 2009 in New York City ("*" denotes the winner in each category) The Hurt Locker by Kathryn Bigelow Best Feature Amreeka Cherien Dabis, director; Christina Piovesan, Paul Barkin, producers (National Geographic Entertainment) Big Fan Robert Siegel, director; Jean Kouremetis, Elan Bogarin, producers (First Independent Pictures) The Hurt Locker Kathryn Bigelow, director; Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier, Greg Shapiro, producers (Summit Entertainment) The Maid Sebastian Silva, director; Gregorio Gonzales, producer (Elephant Eye Films) A Serious Man Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, directors/producers (Focus Features) Best Documentary Food, Inc. Robert Kenner, director; Robert Kenner, Elise Pearlstein, producers (Magnolia Pictures) Good Hair Jeff Stilson, director; Chris Rock, Kevin O’Donnell, Nelson George Jenny Hunter, producers (Liddell Entertainment and Roadside Attractions in association with [...]...

“You love them, but there are so many boundaries and conditions,” Chilean director Sebastian Silva told indieWIRE last week about his experience growing up with live-in maids in his well-off family in Santiago. His experience with Racquel and Lucy as his family’s domestic servants is the backbone for his new feature, which he co-wrote with Pedro Peirano. “The Maid” (La Nana) took home two prizes in January at the Sundance Film …...

“You love them, but there are so many boundaries and conditions,” Chilean director Sebastian Silva told indieWIRE last week about his experience growing up with live-in maids in his well-off family in Santiago. His experience with Racquel and Lucy as his family’s domestic servants is the backbone for his new feature, which he co-wrote with Pedro Peirano. “The Maid” (La Nana) took home two prizes in January at the Sundance Film …...

“You love them, but there are so many boundaries and conditions,” Chilean director Sebastian Silva told indieWIRE last week about his experience growing up with live-in maids in his well-off family in Santiago. His experience with Racquel and Lucy as his family’s domestic servants is the backbone for his new feature, which he co-wrote with Pedro Peirano. “The Maid” (La Nana) took home two prizes in January at the Sundance Film …...

The Scorecard Review will be there to cover the interviews, movie reviews and red carpet moments of the Chicago International Film Festival in October. Here’s a list of 21 movies that will be a part of the event. We’ll have all the news you’ll need to be ready for the fest right here.

October 8 – 22, 2009

Chicago, September 16, 2009 – Cinema/Chicago is proud to announce another 20 films that will appear at this year’s Chicago International Film Festival. From dazzling CGI animation to tales of existential ennui and little white lies gone wrong, The 45th Chicago International Film Festival promises an impressive array of diverse films that will excite cinema fans in Chicago and beyond. Below is a newly released sampling of the 145 films that will be shown at this year’s Chicago International Film Festival, which will take place October 8th through the 22nd at the AMC River East 21 Theater (322 E.

• Former UCLA graduate Kisztina Goda's audience favorite Chameleon becomes Hungary's 2010 entry for the Academy Awards' foreign-language film category and in the same measure, becomes the first film to be added to the annual derby that usually sees sixty plus countries compete for five nomination slots. Since we're on the topic, I thought we'd look at some of the almost guaranteed and highly probable submissions from some of the others countries. North of the Oscar land, Canada should be represented by Denis Villeneuve's gripping drama Polytechnique, while Latin America has some pretty solid contenders in Chile Sebastian Silva's The Maid (a multiple film festival award). Chile's neighbour to the North (Peru) has got a Berlin Film Festival Golden Bear winner in Claudia Llosa's The Milk of Sorrow (her first film Madeinusa got a nom couple of years back) and its neighbour to the East (Argentina) has a

...

Elephant Eye Films has acquired North American rights to Sebastian Silva's "La Nana" (The Maid), which will be released theatrically in the fall.

Written by Silva and Pedro Peirano, the film stars Catalina Saaverdra as a maid trying to hold on to her position after having served a family for 23 years.

Gregorio Gonzalez served as executive producer on "La Nana," with Edgar San Juan, Issa Guerra and Sebastian Sanchez serving as association producers.

The film won the Dramatic World Cinema Grand Jury Prize and a Special Jury Prize for Saavedra's performance at this year's Sundance Film Festival.

It is the first narrative film acquired by Elephant Eye, headed by Kim Jose and David Robinson.

The distribution deal was negotiated by Jose and Robinson and Shoreline Entertainment's Sam Eigen.

• They tried out the distribution side of the business with doc films Planet B-Boy and Billy the Kid, and now, Elephant Eye Films are set to theatrically rep their first feature film – which appears to be quite the find according to the slew of film festival awards it has picked up since its preeming at Sundance. Sebastian Silva's La Nana (The Maid) will be released in the fall. Silva also wrote “Second Child”, which is currently going into pre-production in New York with Lee Daniels as producer. Daniels was also repped by Elephant Eyes for his “Push” film. Written by Silva and Pedro Peirano, The Maid stars Catalina Saaverdra as a maid trying to hold on to her position after having served a family for 23 years. ...

...

Sebastian Silva's "The Maid" was named best narrative film at the 11th Sarasota Film Festival, which handed out awards Saturday night in Sarasota, Fla.

Ben Steinbauer's "Winnebago Man" took the prize for documentary feature.

The evening also included a filmmaker tribute to the late Hal Ashby.

The prize for best narrative feature included the offer of a U.S. distribution deal from Film Movement, while the doc prize carried with it the offer of distribution from First Run Features.

Prizes in the narrative categories also went to Tze Chun's "Children of Invention," which took the special jury prize, and to cinematographer Steve Cosens, who received the special jury prize for cinematography for "Nurse, Fighter, Boy," which also scored an audience award for best in world cinema.

Director-cinematographer Jody Lee Lipes was awarded a special jury prize for cinematography for the doc "Brock Enright: Good Times Will Never Be the Same.

• Sticking to their usual habit of importing the Sundance film festival to the east coast side, the New Directors/New Films 2009 edition will be bookmarked by opening film selection Amreeka from first time filmmaker Cherien Dabis and ending it off with the impressive sophomore feature from Lee Daniels. Along with Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire (I'd be curious to see what distribution company "label" is shown before the film), the event will showcase many New York based filmmakers and some excellent quality affair in Sophie Barthes Cold Souls, So Yong Kim's 2nd film Treeless Mountain and a doc film that has surprisingly been unbought in Ondi Timone's We Live in Public. The 39th edition which runs March 25th to April 5th grabbed films dating back to Tiff and Venice of last year. Here is the list of selected titles. $9.99, dir. Tatia Rosenthal (Israel/Australia) Amreeka, dir.

...

The official awards for the 2009 Sundance Film Festival have been announced tonight. The big winners are We Live in Public for the Documentary Grand Jury Prize and Lee Daniels' Push for the Dramatic Grand Jury Prize. Additionally, The Cove won the Documentary Audience Award and Push won the Dramatic Audience Award yet again. Definitely some solid winners this year, as always. These awards always start to put the finishing touches on yet another Sundance, which means things are certainly winding down. You can see the full list of winners below. Audience award winners can be found at the bottom. Jury Awards: Grand Jury Prize, Dramatic: Push, directed by Lee Daniels Grand Jury Prize, Documentary: We Live in Public, directed by Ondi Timoner World Cinema Jury Prize, Dramatic: The Maid, directed by Sebastian Silva World Cinema Jury Prize, Documentary: Rough Aunties, directed by Kim Longinotto World Cinema Special Jury Prize,...

A story of an abused inner-city teenager trying to set her life right moved audiences and the jury at the Sundance Film Festival, as "Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire," won both the grand jury award and the audience award in the U.S. dramatic competition in Park City.

The wins marked only the second time this decade that one film has taken both prizes -- Mexican-American coming-of-age tale "Quinceanera" did it in 2006 -- and proved another feather in the cap of the word-of-mouth sensation and its star, Gabourey Sidibe.

The movie, which Lee Daniels directed from a script by Damien Paul, picked up a third prize when Mo'Nique received a special jury award for her performance as an abusive mother. Cinetic Media is repping rights to the picture.

There were a number of multiple-award winners named when Jane Lynch hosted the...

Though disgruntled that promotional obligations during his five-day stint at the Toronto International Film Festival prevented him from catching any other films in the festival line-up, Pablo Larraín was nonetheless appreciative of the opportunity to attend with his second feature Tony Manero, despite missing his wife and newborn daughter Juana back home in Chile. Born in Santiago de Chile in 1976, Larraín studied film direction and audiovisual communication at Uniacc University, after which he founded Fabula, a company devoted to audiovisual and communications development, where he has carried out the following projects: In 2005 he produced and directed his first feature film called Fuga, which was commercially released in March 2006. During 2006 he produced a film called La Vida Me Mata (Life Kills Me), directed by Sebastián Silva. In 2007 Pablo Larraín worked on Tony Manero, which won the top prize at the 26th annual Turin Film Festival, as well as the Fipresci prize for best film,...

I am heading out the door and have no time to really dig into this, but here is the line-up for next year's 2009 Sundance Film Festival as reported by Variety. Dramatic Competition Adam, directed and written by Max Mayer ("Better Living"), about a slightly dysfunctional man's attempt at a relationship with an alluring new neighbor. Stars Hugh Dancy, Rose Byrne, Peter Gallagher, Amy Irving, Frankie Faison. Amreeka, directed and written by Cherien Dabis, a drama examining the challenges faced by a divorced Palestinian woman and her teenage son upon moving to rural Illinois. With Nisreen Faour, Melkar Muallem. Arlen Faber, directed and written by John Hindman, about the intrusion of two strangers into the life of a famous reclusive author. With Jeff Daniels, Lauren Graham, Lou Pucci, Olivia Thirlby, Kat Dennings. Big Fan, directed and written by Robert Siegel (writer of "The Wrestler"), which hinges on the reaction of a...

Oh I'm so excited! One of the best fests of the year! The 2009 Sundance Film Festival has unveiled the lineup for its U.S. and World competitions for dramatic and documentary features. The non-competitive sections including Premieres, Spectrum, Midnight, and New Frontiers will be announced December 4. Sundance unspools January 15-25, 2009 in Park City, Utah.

Check out the film list after the break. via Variety.

Dramatic Competition

* Adam (Max Mayer)

* Amreeka (Cherien Dabis)

* Big Fan (Robert Siegel)

* Brief Interviews With Hideous Men (John Krasinski)

* Cold Souls (Sophie Barthes)

* Dare (Adam Salky)

* Don’t Let Me Drown (Cruz Angeles)

* The Dream of the Romans (John Hindman)

* The Greatest (Shana Feste)

* Humpday (Lynn Shelton)

* Paper Heart (Nicolas Jasenovec)

* Peter and Vandy (Jay Dipietro)

* Push (Lee Daniels)

* Sin nombre (Cary Fukunaga)

* Taking Chance (Ross Katz)

* Toe to Toe (Emily Abt)

Documentary Competition

* Art and Copy (Doug Pray)

* Boy Interrupted (Dana Perry)

* Sergio (Greg Barker...

• Reading through Variety, a curious little fact for you Oscar poolers popped out - The DGA winner and the Oscar winner have matched in 52 of the last 58 years. Not a bad batting average. This year’s DGA nominees will most likely be a two horse race between Inarritu and Scorsese, but the Oscars are most likely going to include an Eastwood nom. And the nominees are...Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, "Babel" (Paramount Vantage) Unit Production Manager: Ann RuarkFirst Assistant Director: Sebastián Silva Bill Condon, "Dreamgirls" (Paramount)Unit Production Manager: Patricia WhitcherFirst Assistant Director: Richard GravesSecond Assistant Director: Eric ShermanSecond Second Assistant Director: Renee Hill-Sweet Martin Scorsese, "The Departed" (Warner Bros.)Unit Production Manager: Carol CuddyFirst Assistant Director: Joseph ReidySecond Assistant Director: Amy LauritsenSecond Second Assistant Director: John Silvestri Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris, "Little Miss Sunshine" (Fox Searchlight)Unit Production Manager: Michael BeuggFirst Assistant Director: Thomas Patrick SmithSecond Assistant Director: Gregory

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