Singer, songwriter, dancer, and entrepreneur Usher is bringing the ultimate intimate concert experience to theaters this fall. AMC Theatres, Trafalgar Releasing, and Sony Music Vision today announced that Usher: Rendezvous in Paris concert film will arrive in cinemas around the world for a limited run beginning September 12.
Usher: Rendezvous in Paris incorporates the essence of his landmark cultural phenomenon Vegas residencies into a seductive French touch confession. Captured during Paris Fashion Week at La Seine Musicale, the film features chart-topping hits, including “Yeah!,” “My Boo,” “Love In This Club,” and more from Usher’s 30-year career, performed with never-before-seen costumes and state-of-the-art lighting and special effects.
Photo courtesy of AMC Theatres, Trafalgar Releasing, and Sony Music Vision
In addition to bringing the vibrant live concert experience to the screen, Usher gives audiences a glimpse inside life beyond the stage – creating a global moment that moviegoers won’t want to miss.
Usher: Rendezvous in Paris incorporates the essence of his landmark cultural phenomenon Vegas residencies into a seductive French touch confession. Captured during Paris Fashion Week at La Seine Musicale, the film features chart-topping hits, including “Yeah!,” “My Boo,” “Love In This Club,” and more from Usher’s 30-year career, performed with never-before-seen costumes and state-of-the-art lighting and special effects.
Photo courtesy of AMC Theatres, Trafalgar Releasing, and Sony Music Vision
In addition to bringing the vibrant live concert experience to the screen, Usher gives audiences a glimpse inside life beyond the stage – creating a global moment that moviegoers won’t want to miss.
- 7/30/2024
- by Mirko Parlevliet
- Vital Thrills
AMC Boss Adam Aron promised that he’d be releasing more concert pics, and now the No. 1 theater circuit in the world is teaming with Trafalgar Releasing and Sony Music Vision to release Usher: Rendezvous in Paris on Sept. 12 for a limited 4-day weekend global run.
The movie, which captured the 8x Grammy winner during Paris Fashion week at La Seine Musicale, will be booked at 2,000 cinemas around the globe, including 1,000 theaters stateside. Directed by Anthony Mandler, the film will play at AMC and Odeon locations, and many other locations globally. Interestingly enough, Trafalgar had Sept. 12 reserved on the Comscore release calendar for an untitled event film.
Unlike AMC’s first concert movie release, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, which arrived last October as a miracle to an event pic-starved theatrical marketplace straddled by the actors strike, Usher: Rendezvous in...
The movie, which captured the 8x Grammy winner during Paris Fashion week at La Seine Musicale, will be booked at 2,000 cinemas around the globe, including 1,000 theaters stateside. Directed by Anthony Mandler, the film will play at AMC and Odeon locations, and many other locations globally. Interestingly enough, Trafalgar had Sept. 12 reserved on the Comscore release calendar for an untitled event film.
Unlike AMC’s first concert movie release, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, which arrived last October as a miracle to an event pic-starved theatrical marketplace straddled by the actors strike, Usher: Rendezvous in...
- 7/30/2024
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Sony Pictures Classics is releasing the fantastical drama Nine Days in New York and Los Angeles theaters on July 30, with plans to roll the film out nationwide August 6.
The debut feature of writer-director Edson Oda centers on Will (Winston Duke), a reclusive man who conducts a series of interviews with fledgling human souls, thereby offering them a chance to be born. The pic, which debuted at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, also stars Zazie Beetz, Benedict Wong, Tony Hale, Bill Skarsgård, David Rysdahl and Arianna Ortiz.
The film earned two Film Independent Spirit Award nominations, for Best First Feature and Best Supporting Male (for Wong).
Nine Days is a co-production between Juniper Productions, Mandalay Pictures, Nowhere, Macro Media and The Space Program, in association with Mansa Productions, Oak Street Pictures, 30West, Baked Studios and Datari Turner Productions. It was produced by Jason Michael Berman of Mandalay Pictures, Mette-Marie Kongsved and Laura Tunstall of Nowhere,...
The debut feature of writer-director Edson Oda centers on Will (Winston Duke), a reclusive man who conducts a series of interviews with fledgling human souls, thereby offering them a chance to be born. The pic, which debuted at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, also stars Zazie Beetz, Benedict Wong, Tony Hale, Bill Skarsgård, David Rysdahl and Arianna Ortiz.
The film earned two Film Independent Spirit Award nominations, for Best First Feature and Best Supporting Male (for Wong).
Nine Days is a co-production between Juniper Productions, Mandalay Pictures, Nowhere, Macro Media and The Space Program, in association with Mansa Productions, Oak Street Pictures, 30West, Baked Studios and Datari Turner Productions. It was produced by Jason Michael Berman of Mandalay Pictures, Mette-Marie Kongsved and Laura Tunstall of Nowhere,...
- 5/6/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Her Oscar winner Spike Jonze has boarded Sony Pictures Classics upcoming early 2021 release as an Executive Producer. Additionally, SPC has also acquired the rights in Asia, Israel, Turkey and the rest of Europe, making it a worldwide release for the label. The film will next be seen in the Hamptons Film Festival and AFI, among others.
Nine Days, which stars Winston Duke, Zazie Beetz, Benedict Wong, Bill Skarsgård, Tony Hale, David Rysdahl, and Arianna Ortiz follows a reclusive man, Will (Duke), who is conducting a series of interviews with human souls for a chance to be born. Five contenders emerge, and during the course of nine days, Will tests each of them, but he can choose only one. The victor will be rewarded with a coveted opportunity to become a newborn in the real world, while the others will cease to exist. The movie is directed and written by Edson Oda.
Nine Days, which stars Winston Duke, Zazie Beetz, Benedict Wong, Bill Skarsgård, Tony Hale, David Rysdahl, and Arianna Ortiz follows a reclusive man, Will (Duke), who is conducting a series of interviews with human souls for a chance to be born. Five contenders emerge, and during the course of nine days, Will tests each of them, but he can choose only one. The victor will be rewarded with a coveted opportunity to become a newborn in the real world, while the others will cease to exist. The movie is directed and written by Edson Oda.
- 10/12/2020
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Sony Pictures Classics has picked up distribution rights in North America and multiple international markets to the science-fiction drama “Nine Days,” starring Winston Duke.
The film, directed by Edson Oda from his own script, also stars Zazie Beetz, Bill Skarsgård, Benedict Wong, Tony Hale, David Rysdahl, and Arianna Ortiz. Oda received the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award for the film following its premiere at the Sundance film Festival in the U.S. Dramatic Competition.
Sony Classics also bought the rights to Latin America, Eastern Europe, Middle East, India, Australia, New Zealand, Scandinavia, South Africa, Benelux, Thailand, and on all airlines worldwide. The film is a co-production between Juniper Productions, Mandalay Pictures, Nowhere, MacRo Media, and The Space Program, in association with Mansa Productions, Oak Street Pictures, 30West, Baked Studios and Datari Turner Productions.
Duke portrays a recluse in a house distant from the reality we know. He interviews prospective candidates—personifications...
The film, directed by Edson Oda from his own script, also stars Zazie Beetz, Bill Skarsgård, Benedict Wong, Tony Hale, David Rysdahl, and Arianna Ortiz. Oda received the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award for the film following its premiere at the Sundance film Festival in the U.S. Dramatic Competition.
Sony Classics also bought the rights to Latin America, Eastern Europe, Middle East, India, Australia, New Zealand, Scandinavia, South Africa, Benelux, Thailand, and on all airlines worldwide. The film is a co-production between Juniper Productions, Mandalay Pictures, Nowhere, MacRo Media, and The Space Program, in association with Mansa Productions, Oak Street Pictures, 30West, Baked Studios and Datari Turner Productions.
Duke portrays a recluse in a house distant from the reality we know. He interviews prospective candidates—personifications...
- 2/21/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
“Nine Days,” starring Winston Duke, Zazie Beetz and Bill Skarsgard, has been acquired by Sony Pictures Classics following its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival last month, the distributor announced Friday.
Directed by Edson Oda, “Nine Days” takes place in a house, distant from the reality we know, and centers on a reclusive man named Will (Duke) who interviews prospective candidates Emma (Beetz), Kane (Skarsgård), Kyo (Benedict Wong), and Mike (David Rysdahl), who are each personifications of human souls, for the privilege that he once had: to be born in the real world. The others however, will cease to exist.
Oda also wrote the screenplay. Arianna Ortiz also co-stars.
Also Read: Director Edson Oda on How His Uncle's Death Inspired 'Nine Days' (Video)
Spc took North American rights, along with Latin America, Eastern Europe, Middle East, India, Australia, New Zealand, Scandinavia, South Africa, Benelux, and Thailand and on all airlines worldwide.
Directed by Edson Oda, “Nine Days” takes place in a house, distant from the reality we know, and centers on a reclusive man named Will (Duke) who interviews prospective candidates Emma (Beetz), Kane (Skarsgård), Kyo (Benedict Wong), and Mike (David Rysdahl), who are each personifications of human souls, for the privilege that he once had: to be born in the real world. The others however, will cease to exist.
Oda also wrote the screenplay. Arianna Ortiz also co-stars.
Also Read: Director Edson Oda on How His Uncle's Death Inspired 'Nine Days' (Video)
Spc took North American rights, along with Latin America, Eastern Europe, Middle East, India, Australia, New Zealand, Scandinavia, South Africa, Benelux, and Thailand and on all airlines worldwide.
- 2/21/2020
- by Beatrice Verhoeven and Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Amplify has picked up Us rights to the drama, which as previously announced Premiere Entertainment will sell internationally in Cannes.
Sara Colangelo wrote and directed Little Accidents, which premiered in Sundance and stars Elizabeth Banks, Josh Lucas, Boyd Holbrook and Chloe Sevigny.
The story takes place in a small American town living under the shadow of a mining accident when a teenage boy goes missing.
Anne Carey, Jason Michael Berman, Thomas B Fore and Summer Shelton produced, while Chris Columbus, Amy Nauiokas, Eleanor Columbus, Ruth Mutch, Richard Loughran, Kwesi Collisson, Mike Feuer, and Todd Feuer served as executive producers.
Kent Sanderson brokered the deal on behalf of Amplify with Wme for the filmmakers.
Sara Colangelo wrote and directed Little Accidents, which premiered in Sundance and stars Elizabeth Banks, Josh Lucas, Boyd Holbrook and Chloe Sevigny.
The story takes place in a small American town living under the shadow of a mining accident when a teenage boy goes missing.
Anne Carey, Jason Michael Berman, Thomas B Fore and Summer Shelton produced, while Chris Columbus, Amy Nauiokas, Eleanor Columbus, Ruth Mutch, Richard Loughran, Kwesi Collisson, Mike Feuer, and Todd Feuer served as executive producers.
Kent Sanderson brokered the deal on behalf of Amplify with Wme for the filmmakers.
- 5/1/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Premiere Entertainment Group has picked up international sales rights to the Sundance thriller.
Sara Colangelo wrote and directed the film starring Elizabeth Banks, Josh Lucas, Boyd Holbrook and Chloe Sevigny.
Little Accidents tells the story of a small American town living under the shadow of a mining accident where a teenage boy goes missing.
Anne Carey, Jason Michael Berman, Thomas B Fore and Summer Shelton produced, while Chris Columbus, Amy Nauiokas, Eleanor Columbus, Ruth Mutch, Richard Loughran, Kwesi Collisson, Mike Feuer, and Todd Feuer served as executive producers.
Premiere Entertainment CEO Elias Axume brokered the deal with Wme Global on behalf of the filmmakers.
Sara Colangelo wrote and directed the film starring Elizabeth Banks, Josh Lucas, Boyd Holbrook and Chloe Sevigny.
Little Accidents tells the story of a small American town living under the shadow of a mining accident where a teenage boy goes missing.
Anne Carey, Jason Michael Berman, Thomas B Fore and Summer Shelton produced, while Chris Columbus, Amy Nauiokas, Eleanor Columbus, Ruth Mutch, Richard Loughran, Kwesi Collisson, Mike Feuer, and Todd Feuer served as executive producers.
Premiere Entertainment CEO Elias Axume brokered the deal with Wme Global on behalf of the filmmakers.
- 4/29/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Jonas Carpignano will direct the feature version of his Venice 2011 award-winning short A Chjana, one of several films backed by new company Maiden Voyage Pictures.
Maiden Voyage, which launches officially in Sundance with the January 22 world premiere of Little Accidents, will join Audax Films, Court 13, Dcm Productions, Good Lap Productions, Le Grisbi, TideRock Media and Treehouse Pictures in financing and producing Mediterranea.
Maiden Voyage’s Chris Columbus and Eleanor Columbus, Kwesi Collisson of Mindsmack and Mike Feuer, Todd Feuer, Ruth Mutch and Amy Nauiokas of Archer Gray serve as executive producers on the story of migrant workers in Italy, inspired by real events.
Jason Berman and Thomas Fore of TideRock Media, Anne Carey of Archer Gray and Summer Shelton are the producers.
Wme Global represents Little Accidents (pictured) and Mediterranea.
Maiden Voyage, which launches officially in Sundance with the January 22 world premiere of Little Accidents, will join Audax Films, Court 13, Dcm Productions, Good Lap Productions, Le Grisbi, TideRock Media and Treehouse Pictures in financing and producing Mediterranea.
Maiden Voyage’s Chris Columbus and Eleanor Columbus, Kwesi Collisson of Mindsmack and Mike Feuer, Todd Feuer, Ruth Mutch and Amy Nauiokas of Archer Gray serve as executive producers on the story of migrant workers in Italy, inspired by real events.
Jason Berman and Thomas Fore of TideRock Media, Anne Carey of Archer Gray and Summer Shelton are the producers.
Wme Global represents Little Accidents (pictured) and Mediterranea.
- 1/21/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Jonas Carpignano will direct the feature version of his Venice 2011 award-winning short A Chjana, one of several films backed by new company Maiden Voyage Pictures.
Maiden Voyage, which launches officially in Sundance with the January 22 world premiere of Little Accidents, will join Audax Films, Court 13, Dcm Productions, Good Lap Productions, Le Grisbi, TideRock Media and Treehouse Pictures in financing and producing Mediterranea.
Maiden Voyage’s Chris Columbus and Eleanor Columbus, Kwesi Collisson of Mindsmack and Mike Feuer, Todd Feuer, Ruth Mutch and Amy Nauiokas of Archer Gray serve as executive producers on the story of migrant workers in Italy, inspired by real events.
Jason Berman and Thomas Fore of TideRock Media, Anne Carey of Archer Gray and Summer Shelton are the producers.
Wme Global represents Little Accidents (pictured) and Mediterranea.
Maiden Voyage, which launches officially in Sundance with the January 22 world premiere of Little Accidents, will join Audax Films, Court 13, Dcm Productions, Good Lap Productions, Le Grisbi, TideRock Media and Treehouse Pictures in financing and producing Mediterranea.
Maiden Voyage’s Chris Columbus and Eleanor Columbus, Kwesi Collisson of Mindsmack and Mike Feuer, Todd Feuer, Ruth Mutch and Amy Nauiokas of Archer Gray serve as executive producers on the story of migrant workers in Italy, inspired by real events.
Jason Berman and Thomas Fore of TideRock Media, Anne Carey of Archer Gray and Summer Shelton are the producers.
Wme Global represents Little Accidents (pictured) and Mediterranea.
- 1/21/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
He broke into the Sundance Film Fest U.S. Dramatic Comp back in 2010 with The Dry Land, and not surprisingly, shooting on his sophomore safely began in March of this year. For this time out, writer/director Ryan Piers Williams once again works with actress/wife America Fererra, and manages once again to pull in some of the better indie players on the circuit in Melonie Diaz, Dree Hemingway, Ann Dowd alongside Jon Paul Phillips, Adam Rapp, Maria Dizzia, David Harbour and the hiphop artist and not too shabby in his own right thesp, Common. Nowhere close to Texas, the NYC backdrop and a score via Fall On Your Sword, X/Y is the type of certified indie film that stands a good chance at breaking into the fest – especially when you have a team of four editors mashing up the interconnectedness of the plot.
Gist: The character-driven drama explores...
Gist: The character-driven drama explores...
- 11/22/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Production is underway in West Virginia on Sara Colangelo’s feature directorial debut starring Elizabeth Banks, Boyd Holbrook, Chloë Sevigny, Jacob Lofland and Josh Lucas.
Little Accidents was developed at both the Sundance Institute’s Screenwriters and Directors Labs and weaves together the lives of three residents from an Appalachian coal town after a teenage boy goes missing.
Colangelo previously directed the short film of the same name and debuted that at Sundance 2010.
Anne Carey of Archer Gray Productions produces with Jason Michael Berman and Thomas B Fore of TideRock Media alongside Summer Shelton.
Chris Columbus and Eleanor Columbus of Maiden Voyage serve as executive producers with Amy Nauiokas of Archer Gray, Ruth Mutch of Soaring Flight Productions and Kwesi Collisson, Mike Feuer and Todd Feuer of Mindsmack Productions.
Wme packaged the project and represents sales rights.
Little Accidents was developed at both the Sundance Institute’s Screenwriters and Directors Labs and weaves together the lives of three residents from an Appalachian coal town after a teenage boy goes missing.
Colangelo previously directed the short film of the same name and debuted that at Sundance 2010.
Anne Carey of Archer Gray Productions produces with Jason Michael Berman and Thomas B Fore of TideRock Media alongside Summer Shelton.
Chris Columbus and Eleanor Columbus of Maiden Voyage serve as executive producers with Amy Nauiokas of Archer Gray, Ruth Mutch of Soaring Flight Productions and Kwesi Collisson, Mike Feuer and Todd Feuer of Mindsmack Productions.
Wme packaged the project and represents sales rights.
- 8/15/2013
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Indie starlet Chloë Sevigny, veteran Josh Lucas and Mud discovery Jacob Lofland have joined the already mentioned Elizabeth Banks and Boyd Holbrook in Sara Colangelo’s feature directing debut. We’ve been tracking the filmmaker who made a splash at Sundance with the short of the same name in 2010, and since followed that up with workshopping screenwriting and directing labs. Production on Little Accidents has begun in West Virginia, the army of producers include Anne Carey of Archer Gray Productions, Jason Michael Berman and Thomas B. Fore of TideRock Media, and Summer Shelton with executive producers creds going to Chris Columbus and Eleanor Columbus of Maiden Voyage, Amy Nauiokas of Archer Gray Productions, Ruth Mutch of Soaring Flight Productions, and Kwesi Collisson, Mike Feuer and Todd Feuer of Mindsmack Productions.
Gist: Set in a small American coal-mining town left devastated by a mining accident that killed 12 men, story explores tragedy...
Gist: Set in a small American coal-mining town left devastated by a mining accident that killed 12 men, story explores tragedy...
- 8/15/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Exclusive: Production has gotten underway in West Virginia on Little Accidents, an indie drama written and directed by first timer Sara Colangelo. Elizabeth Banks, Boyd Holbrook, Chloë Sevigny, Jacob Lofland and Josh Lucas are starring in a film developed at both the Sundance Institute’s Screenwriters and Directors Labs. In Little Accidents, a 14-year old boy disappears in an American coal town that has already seen its share of tragedy after a mining accident. The disappearance draws together three local residents from very different walks of life to struggle to navigate the web of secrets surrounding the boy’s death, unaware of how connected they truly are. Colangelo directed an award-winning short film by the same name, which debuted at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and explored some of the same themes in this feature. The film is being produced by Anne Carey of Archer Gray Productions, Jason Michael Berman and...
- 8/15/2013
- by MIKE FLEMING JR
- Deadline
Ryan Piers Williams' X/Y drama has cast Amber Tamblyn who joins America Ferrera, Common and Melanie Diaz, as well as Jon Paul Phillips, Dree Hemingway, Ann Dowd, Adam Rapp, Maria Dizzia, and David Harbour. The 127 Hours actress who was last seen in Django Unchained, will, according to Deadline, play Stacey who's a close friend of Silvia (Ferrera) and Mark (Williams) and partner to Tessa (Sue Jean Kim), who struggles with her own demons after her mother’s death. Ferrera and Williams are producing X/Y with Kwesi Collisson, Thomas B. Fore and Jason Michael Berman while Mark G. Mathis, Margo Johnston, Dori A. Sperko, Paull Cho, Todd Feuer, Mike Feuer, Jason Silverman, Caroline Kaplan and Kim Gillingham serve as executive producers.
- 3/27/2013
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Ryan Piers Williams' X/Y drama has cast Amber Tamblyn who joins America Ferrera, Common and Melanie Diaz, as well as Jon Paul Phillips, Dree Hemingway, Ann Dowd, Adam Rapp, Maria Dizzia, and David Harbour. The 127 Hours actress who was last seen in Django Unchained, will, according to Deadline, play Stacey who's a close friend of Silvia (Ferrera) and Mark (Williams) and partner to Tessa (Sue Jean Kim), who struggles with her own demons after her mother’s death. Ferrera and Williams are producing X/Y with Kwesi Collisson, Thomas B. Fore and Jason Michael Berman while Mark G. Mathis, Margo Johnston, Dori A. Sperko, Paull Cho, Todd Feuer, Mike Feuer, Jason Silverman, Caroline Kaplan and Kim Gillingham serve as executive producers.
- 3/27/2013
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Conversations With Other Women
Screened at South by Southwest
As Conversations With Other Women begins, the screen is split in half. One side watches Aaron Eckhart, seemingly in Lothario mode, as he stalks a wedding party guest he intends to approach; the other watches his prey, Helena Bonham Carter.
Nice way to jump into the action, you think: The camera establishes our identification with Eckhart from within (the POV shots) and without; when the image goes full-screen, we'll know who the protagonist is in this pas de deux.
A few minutes later, though, you're still waiting -- and an overtly clever device starts to become a serious distraction from the tale it's trying to tell. Director Hans Canosa continues the split screen throughout the film, often keeping us from identifying with the drama as we otherwise would. Although the technique occasionally serves some interesting purpose, it is almost certain to be a stumbling block with audiences, limiting the commercial appeal of an already intimate film.
The two protagonists are never named, and the script (by Gabrielle Zevin, who worked with Canosa on the festival-circuit film Alma Mater) is coy about their histories. We quickly learn that this is no straightforward pickup: The two have met before, years ago, under similar circumstances. As they flirt, one side of the screen will sometimes flit back to that earlier meeting, where two younger actors play the pair. We see enough to know that they met more than once, maybe that they were lovers. Why is their conversation not acknowledging this?
One obvious reason is to make things more interesting for us. Viewers who don't find the conceit too contrived will be drawn into the reasonably witty banter, forgetting about the split-angle distraction until Canosa does something particularly distracting: settling the cameras into two nearly parallel views, say, or sending an extra to pass between us and the actors, jostling our sense of the angles involved. He does this fairly often.
At other times the filmmakers do more profitable things with the dual frames. They show us what a character is thinking, in romantic flashback or quick slices of foreshadowing; late in the game, as the pair begin to make decisions with consequences, they use the extra screen to show alternate line readings, roads considered and not taken. Those glimpses become freighted with melancholy as the tale becomes a reflection on the passing of time and the vicissitudes of love. Both performances are strong, though the film continues to favor Eckhart, who may be harboring deep emotions beneath his glib charm.
Eckhart grows alternately peevish and desperate as things don't go his way. Bonham Carter, on the other hand, seems to allow herself to be led around, more preoccupied with a sudden sense of her age than with her old flame. The characters are not completely convincing as scripted, but the actors skate past this with enough charisma that we don't pause to ask questions. (Why is Bonham Carter at the wedding, for example? The explanation offered in the opening scenes becomes less satisfactory the more we learn.)
That the movie holds viewers' attention despite its contrivances is a testament to the script and acting. Whether audiences will respect the film the morning after the seduction is an open question.
CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHER WOMEN
Fabrication Films
Gordonstreet Pictures
Credits:
Director: Hans Canosa
Screenwriter: Gabrielle Zevin
Producers: Ram Bergman, Bill McCutchen, Kerry Barden
Executive producers: Kwesi Collisson, Mark R. Harris, Kjehl Rasmussen, Glen Reynolds
Director of photography: Steve Yedlin
Production designer: Jodie Lynn Tillen
Music: Chris Violette, Starr Parodi, Jeff Eden Fair
Co-producers: Wendy Reeds, Mark Tchelistcheff
Costumes: Douglas Hall
Editor: Hans Canosa
Cast:
Woman: Helena Bonham Carter
Man: Aaron Eckhart
Young Woman: Nora Zehetner
Young Man: Erik Eidem
Videographer: Thomas Lennon
Bridesmaid: Olivia Wilde
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 84 minutes...
As Conversations With Other Women begins, the screen is split in half. One side watches Aaron Eckhart, seemingly in Lothario mode, as he stalks a wedding party guest he intends to approach; the other watches his prey, Helena Bonham Carter.
Nice way to jump into the action, you think: The camera establishes our identification with Eckhart from within (the POV shots) and without; when the image goes full-screen, we'll know who the protagonist is in this pas de deux.
A few minutes later, though, you're still waiting -- and an overtly clever device starts to become a serious distraction from the tale it's trying to tell. Director Hans Canosa continues the split screen throughout the film, often keeping us from identifying with the drama as we otherwise would. Although the technique occasionally serves some interesting purpose, it is almost certain to be a stumbling block with audiences, limiting the commercial appeal of an already intimate film.
The two protagonists are never named, and the script (by Gabrielle Zevin, who worked with Canosa on the festival-circuit film Alma Mater) is coy about their histories. We quickly learn that this is no straightforward pickup: The two have met before, years ago, under similar circumstances. As they flirt, one side of the screen will sometimes flit back to that earlier meeting, where two younger actors play the pair. We see enough to know that they met more than once, maybe that they were lovers. Why is their conversation not acknowledging this?
One obvious reason is to make things more interesting for us. Viewers who don't find the conceit too contrived will be drawn into the reasonably witty banter, forgetting about the split-angle distraction until Canosa does something particularly distracting: settling the cameras into two nearly parallel views, say, or sending an extra to pass between us and the actors, jostling our sense of the angles involved. He does this fairly often.
At other times the filmmakers do more profitable things with the dual frames. They show us what a character is thinking, in romantic flashback or quick slices of foreshadowing; late in the game, as the pair begin to make decisions with consequences, they use the extra screen to show alternate line readings, roads considered and not taken. Those glimpses become freighted with melancholy as the tale becomes a reflection on the passing of time and the vicissitudes of love. Both performances are strong, though the film continues to favor Eckhart, who may be harboring deep emotions beneath his glib charm.
Eckhart grows alternately peevish and desperate as things don't go his way. Bonham Carter, on the other hand, seems to allow herself to be led around, more preoccupied with a sudden sense of her age than with her old flame. The characters are not completely convincing as scripted, but the actors skate past this with enough charisma that we don't pause to ask questions. (Why is Bonham Carter at the wedding, for example? The explanation offered in the opening scenes becomes less satisfactory the more we learn.)
That the movie holds viewers' attention despite its contrivances is a testament to the script and acting. Whether audiences will respect the film the morning after the seduction is an open question.
CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHER WOMEN
Fabrication Films
Gordonstreet Pictures
Credits:
Director: Hans Canosa
Screenwriter: Gabrielle Zevin
Producers: Ram Bergman, Bill McCutchen, Kerry Barden
Executive producers: Kwesi Collisson, Mark R. Harris, Kjehl Rasmussen, Glen Reynolds
Director of photography: Steve Yedlin
Production designer: Jodie Lynn Tillen
Music: Chris Violette, Starr Parodi, Jeff Eden Fair
Co-producers: Wendy Reeds, Mark Tchelistcheff
Costumes: Douglas Hall
Editor: Hans Canosa
Cast:
Woman: Helena Bonham Carter
Man: Aaron Eckhart
Young Woman: Nora Zehetner
Young Man: Erik Eidem
Videographer: Thomas Lennon
Bridesmaid: Olivia Wilde
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 84 minutes...
- 3/30/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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