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Sundance Film Festival alums that receive a ton of acclaim usually have one of two paths. They either end up as Oscar players, taking that strong buzz and carving out a path in the awards season, or they crumble under the weight of added expectations. For every one of the former, there’s multiple each year of the latter. Charm City Kings, while not firmly stuck as a disappointment, certainly is a step down from what Sundance crowds seemed to suggest. This is not an Academy Award player in the slightest, and frankly, isn’t a particularly satisfying experience. Headed this week to HBO Max, it’s likely to wind up forgotten about before too long, despite some promising aspects to it. The movie is a drama, mixed with a bit of a coming of age tale. For as long as he can remember, Mouse (Jahi Di’Allo Winston) has wanted...

The New York Latino Film Festival (Nylff) has set their lineup for their forthcoming hybrid edition of its fest which will take place September 14-20.

In the wake of the pandemic, many festivals have either canceled or pivoted to an entirely virtual program. Nylff is one of the Latinx-based film fests that have continued with plans for their annual fest — with the appropriate changes. The 21st edition will be a combination of virtual events and in-person, drive-in screenings that celebrates Latinx creators. The fest will also host the first Latino drive-in experience to take place both in New York and in The Bronx.

This year’s festival features nearly 75 films representing more than 10 countries, spanning all genres including features, shorts, documentaries, web series and experimental films.

“Inspired by the resilience of the Latino community, Nylff is proud to return with a fresh format featuring our first-ever drive-in experiences,” said Calixto Chinchilla,...

HBO Max has acquired the worldwide rights to “Charm City Kings” from distributor Sony Pictures Entertainment and will release it on the new streaming service at some point this year, HBO Max announced Tuesday. The streaming service launches on May 27.

“Charm City Kings,” from director Angel Manuel Soto, won the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Prize for Ensemble Acting when it made its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival this year.

Sony Pictures Classics was originally set to release “Charm City Kings” for Sony Pictures Entertainment in theaters on April 10, 2020, and this actually makes the second Sony film to head over to HBO Max in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The new streamer previously picked up Seth Rogen’s “An American Pickle” from Sony’s Columbia Pictures.

Also Read: 'Charm City Kings' Crew Hope Coming of Age Story Brings 'Mentorship' to Marginalized Kids (Video)

“Charm City Kings” stars “Queen & Slim...

Sarah Paulson and Kiera Allen star in Run from director Aneesh Chaganty in the week’s newest trailer releases. The thriller is set for distribution from Lionsgate this May. Jahi Di’allo Winston, Meek Mill and Will Catlett star in Charm City Kings from director Angel Manuel Soto. Sony Pictures Classics is set to release the film this April. Barry Jenkins wrote the original story along with Kirk Sullivan and Christopher M. Boyd, while Sherman Payhne wrote the screenplay for the film. Toni Collette stars with Damian Lewis, Owen Teale, Joanna Page, Karl Johnson, Steffan Rhodri and Anthony O'Donnell in Dream ...

Sarah Paulson and Kiera Allen star in Run from director Aneesh Chaganty in the week’s newest trailer releases. The thriller is set for distribution from Lionsgate this May. Jahi Di’allo Winston, Meek Mill and Will Catlett star in Charm City Kings from director Angel Manuel Soto. Sony Pictures Classics is set to release the film this April. Barry Jenkins wrote the original story along with Kirk Sullivan and Christopher M. Boyd, while Sherman Payhne wrote the screenplay for the film. Toni Collette stars with Damian Lewis, Owen Teale, Joanna Page, Karl Johnson, Steffan Rhodri and Anthony O'Donnell in Dream ...

Angel Manuel Soto’s “Charm City Kings” is inspired by a story from Oscar winner Barry Jenkins, Kirk Sullivan, and Christopher M. Boyd — though the tale was largely reworked in the screenplay by Sherman Payne, who helped turn Lofty Nathan’s well-regarded documentary “12 O’Clock Boys” into a fresh feature film. The film made its world premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast, and was generally well-received by critics, scoring a current 86 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The Baltimore-set drama, which is produced by Will and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment, will hit theaters in April.

Starring an ensemble cast that includes Jahi Di’Allo Winston, Meek Mill, Will Catlett, and Teyonah Parris, the film’s official synopsis reads: “Growing up in West Baltimore, teenage Mouse (Winston) feels the fierce pull of different forces: Between notorious ex-con Blax (Mill) and concerned...

“Charm City Kings,” directed by Angel Manuel Soto and written by Sherman Payne, is an earnest coming-of-age story about a Baltimore 14-year-old named Mouse (Jahi Di’Allo Winston) torn between joining the Midnight Clique, an extreme dirt bike crime gang in stormtrooper-esque shiny white breastplates, or becoming a veterinarian. While that setup might make eyes roll, it’s inspired by the 2013 documentary “12 O’Clock Boys,” in which an actual kid (real name Pug) wrestled with those same options. The film’s truly ridiculous plot choices — the phony twists that make you leave the theater feeling like you’ve inhaled a tank of carbon monoxide — are its own invention, bolted onto a likable, if formulaic, charmer.

Soto opens on home movie-style footage of Mouse’s older brother Stro (Tyquan Ford) pushing himself to “hit 12,” rearing up on his bike’s back wheel until he’s as straight as a clock hand. Stro,...

Though the Sundance Film Festival’s 2019 edition, which runs January 23 through February 2 in Park City, Utah, is still a week away from unfolding, some are the hottest films will arrive at the festival with distribution already in hand. IndieWire has compiled all of the acquisitions so far and will continue to update the list as the festival unfolds and more buys come in.

Netflix, which dominated this years Oscar nominations, is the distributor coming to the festival with the most titles (eight as of this writing) including the high-profile Taylor Swift documentary “Miss Americana” from director Lana Wilson and Sundance regular Dee Rees’ latest effort, the Anne Hathaway-starring “The Last Thing He Wanted.”

Still, there are plenty of other buzzy titles up for grabs to the highest bidder from across Sundance’s sections, like “Shirley,” a psychodrama from “Madeline’s Madeline” director Josephine Decker starring Elisabeth Moss and Michael Stuhlbarg...

Sony Pictures Classics announced Tuesday that it will release “Charm City Kings,” one of the films playing this year in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at Sundance, on April 10, 2020.

The film by Angel Manuel Soto stars the rapper Meek Mill in his film debut, and it will open in North America on April 10 followed by a wide release on April 17 after its world premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.

Sherman Payne wrote the screenplay that comes from a story by Chris Boyd, Kirk Sullivan and “Moonlight” director Barry Jenkins, and it’s inspired by a 2013 documentary of the same name by Lofty Nathan.

Also Read: Taylor Swift, Viggo Mortensen and Tessa Thompson Lead Diverse 2020 Sundance Lineup

“Charm City Kings” is the story of Mouse (Jahi Di’Allo Winston) desperately wants to join Baltimore’s infamous Midnight Clique, a fearless group of dirt bike riders who rule the summertime streets. When Midnight’s leader,...

Will Smith among producers on dirt bike drama.

Sony Pictures Classics will distribute Angel Manuel Soto’s Sundance selection Charm City Kings in North America on April 10, 2020.

The drama, which Sony produced with James Lassiter, Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment, will expand wide a week later.

Soto directed from a screenplay by Sherman Payne from a story by Chris Boyd and Kirk Sullivan and Moonlight director Barry Jenkins, inspired by Lotfy Nathan’s 2013 documentary 12 O’Clock Boys.

Jahi Di’Allo Winston, newcomer Meek Mill, Will Catlett, Teyonah Parris, Donielle Tremaine Hansley, and Kezii Curtis star in the...

The feature film lineup at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival has been unveiled, featuring 118 films. Among the highly-anticipated premieres we have Josephine Decker’s Shirley, Miranda July’s Kajillionaire, Eliza Hittman’s Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Janicza Bravo’s Zola, Kirsten Johnson’s Dick Johnson Is Dead, Brandon Cronenberg’s Possessor, Julie Taymor’s The Glorias, Dee Rees’ The Last Thing He Wanted, Sean Durkin’s The Nest, Michael Almereyda’s Tesla, Benh Zeitlin’s Wendy, and more.

Check out the list below and return for our coverage from January 23-February 2, 2020.

U.S. Dramatic Competition

Presenting the world premieres of 16 narrative feature films, the Dramatic Competition offers Festivalgoers a first look at groundbreaking new voices in American independent film. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include The Farewell, Honey Boy, Clemency, Eighth Grade, Sorry to Bother You and The Miseducation of Cameron Post. 47% of the directors in this year’s U.

The new thriller “City of Dead Men” follows Michael (Diego Boneta), a young American tourist running away from his own demons in South America. When he arrives in Medellín, Colombia, he meets native Melody (Maria Mesa) who introduces him to a group of mysterious misfits led by Jacob (Jackson Rathbone). They live together in an abandoned psychiatric hospital on the edge of the city, but soon, Michael uncovers the hidden horrors of the hospital and is forced to fight his way out before it’s too late. Watch an exclusive clip from the film below.

Read More: Why Hollywood is Discovering Colombia: from Medellín and Bogotá to Cartagena

“I grew up with death and violence all around me,” says producer Alejo Arango on the personal nature of the film’s story. “Medellín was tough back then. This is where the dead men come from; growing up thinking that you are already dead,...

Exclusive: Gravitas Ventures has landed all North American rights to the psychological horror film City of Dead Men, with a release in select theaters and on-demand set for December 16. Directed by Kirk Sullivan and written by Andrew Poston, the film already is available for presale on iTunes. Starring Diego Boneta (Scream Queens), Jackson Rathbone (Twilight) and newcomer Maria Mesa, City of Dead Men follows Michael (Boneta), an American tourist named recently arrived in…...

• Amanda Seyfried may have started out playing teenage bombshells, but she’s defied the trap of typecasting and translated those beginnings into an interesting and diverse career including the high-profile Les Miserables and the upcoming porn-star biopic Lovelace. Now, she’s in talk to join director Noah Baumbach’s (Frances Ha) next project While We’re Young, alongside Ben Stiller, Naomi Watts (The Impossible), and Adam Driver (Girls). Seyfried would play Driver’s partner in the film, about an older couple who befriends a younger, more free-spirited duo. [The Wrap]

• Jon Stewart has cast Gael Garcia Bernal (No) as the lead in Rosewater,...

Quarry

Logan Marshall-Green ("Prometheus") is set to star in Cinemax's 1973 set drama pilot "Quarry". The series, based on Max Allan Collins' book, revolves around a Marine sniper who returns home from Vietnamto find that he's been shunned by those he loves.

The disillusioned soldier is soon recruited into a network of contract killers and corruption spanning the length of the Mississippi River. [Source: The Live Feed]

While We're Young

Amanda Seyfried is in final negotiations to join Noah Baumbach's indie drama "While We're Young." Greta Gerwig was previously slated for Seyfried's role, and shooting will begin this Fall.

The story follows a married couple (Ben Stiller, Naomi Watts) that strikes up an unlikely friendship with a free-spirited younger couple (Seyfried, Adam Driver) who make homemade ice cream. [Source: The Wrap]

The Comedians

Billy Crystal will star in the half-hour FX comedy series "The Comedians". Larry Charles will direct the pilot while Matt Nix and Ben Wexler will produce.

Both Diego Boneta and Jackson Rathbone had big years in 2012, the former breaking out in the jukebox musical Rock of Ages and the latter putting on his vampire makeup for the last time in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2, and now the two stars are joining forces for the new thriller The Dead Men. The Hollywood Reporter says that Kirk Sullivan, a longtime assistant to mega-producer Joel Silver, will be making his directorial debut with the film, which is based on a script by fellow newcomer Andrew Poston. The trade says that the story follows "an American running from his past who is brought into a group of young underground radicals called The Dead Men, only to discover a centuries-old spiritual battle." Sounds like there is definitely some kind of supernatural element in play - though it's hard to say what genre it will fall into. Unfortunately there is...

Diego Boneta, who starred opposite Tom Cruise in Rock of Ages, and Jackson Rathbone of Twilight Saga fame have signed on to star in the thriller The Dead Men. Dead Men is the debut feature of Kirk Sullivan, who recently left his job as Joel Silver’s assistant to pursue his dream of being a director. Production began this week in Medellin, Columbia. Photos: 20 Best and Worst Music to Movie Crossovers Brad Furman and Alejo Arango are producing while Laura Gomez and Aaron Ginsberg exec produce. Contento Films is producing and financing. The script, by Andrew Poston, centers on an

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How does a wannabe director get that big break behind the camera? Well, Kirk Sullivan is in Colombia prepping his feature directing debut on the tentatively titled The Dead Men, a thriller about an American traveling in Colombia who becomes involved with a group that lives in an abandoned hospital with a haunted past. Every path to the director’s chair is different, but Sullivan’s came from hustling six years, until he was lucky enough to be Joel Silver‘s assistant and plucky enough to raise money to make a short film, The Come Up, as a calling card (check it out below). After graduating from USC in 2006 (on his third attempt to get into the cinematic arts and production program), he worked as a production assistant, sound guy, camera guy, assistant to Lincoln Lawyer producer Brad Furman, and then assistant to the line producer on Silver’s film The Losers.

It's not easy breaking into the entertainment business in Hollywood. It either take a lot of hard work, or you simply just know somebody. Here's a great short film called The Come Up, that follows an ambitious production assistant who "pulls off a daring heist on a Hollywood film set in a scheme right out of the movies, all to impress the industry’s biggest producer while (of course) pitching his screenplay in the process."

The movie was directed by Kirk Sullivan and it turned out really entertaining, and I'm sure you'll enjoy it! Thanks to Film School Rejects for the find!

The Come Up from kirk sullivan on Vimeo.

If you want to make it in Hollywood, you often have to start at the bottom before you can work your way to the top. One of the lowest jobs on the totem pole is a production assistant, or "Pa," and it's his or her job to do the grunt work that nobody else wants to do: coffee runs, lunch orders, heavy lifting, etc. Film School Rejects found a great short film called The Come Up, which is a pretty accurate depiction of what being a Pa is like until, in a clever twist, it takes a hard turn into into a chase/heist film, using some of the real studio backlots as sets. This is a must-watch for anyone who has worked in the industry. Check it out below! Watch Kirk Sullivan's full short film The Come Up, found via Film School Rejects: I've worked as a production...

With the USA Network hit drama series Suits airing it's season finale Thursday night, I recently got on the phone with Patrick J. Adams (who plays Mike Ross) to talk about the second season and director Kirk Sullivan's short film The Come Up. In the short, Adams plays an ambitious production assistant who attempts to "pull off a daring heist on a Hollywood film set in a scheme right out of the movies, all to impress the industry’s biggest producer while (of course) pitching his screenplay in the process." The short also stars Adams' real life girlfriend Troian Bellisario. During the extended interview Adams talked about his early career, getting cast on Suits, his early TV work, what lawyers always want to talk to him about, the importance of a great antagonist, season 3, Tim Hortons, and more. In addition, we also talked about this year's Sundance, how he...