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Ex-nfl player Will Allen just got Hammered by the judge in his Ponzi scheme case -- he'll do 6 Years in federal prison ... officials say. Prosecutors were gunning for a 78 month sentence ... and they just about got what they asked for. Allen will do 72 months instead. Damn. Prosecutors say the 38-year-old cornerback -- a 1st round draft pick in 2001 -- was a key part of a $37 Million scheme that screwed investors out of a ton of money.

Ex-nfl cornerback Will Allen just kissed his Florida home goodbye ... after he was convicted of screwing people out of Millions in an illegal Ponzi scheme. Allen -- who played for the Giants, Dolphins and Patriots -- pled guilty to running a $35 million Ponzi scheme back in November and just filed new legal docs detailing his personal financial collapse. The most interesting part ... Allen says his 4,474 square foot lakefront property in Davie, Florida has been foreclosed...

Los Angeles, CA (October 10, 2016) . The Broadcast Film Critics Association (Bfca) and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association (Btja) have announced the nominees for the inaugural Critics. Choice Documentary Awards. The winners will be presented their awards at a gala event on Thursday, November 3, 2016 at Bric, in Brooklyn, New York.

.It is an amazing time for documentaries, with the ever-increasing number of platforms enabling producers to reach enthusiastic and growing audiences for non-fiction storytelling,. said Bfca and Btja President Joey Berlin.

.This is clearly demonstrated in the depth and quality of our inaugural nominees. We have a wealth of brilliant creators who are bringing to light some of the most entertaining and illuminating stories being told today. Indeed, documentary filmmaking is modern investigative journalism. We look forward to celebrating all these fine and important achievements at the first Critics. Choice Documentary Awards gala on November 3rd..

13th, 30 For 30: O.J.: Made in America...

The Broadcast Film Critics Association (Bfca) and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association (Btja) have announced the nominees for their inaugural Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards, taking place next month at a first-time gala event in Brooklyn, New York. Ava DuVernay’s “13th,” Ezra Edelman’s “O.J.: Made in America” and Clay Tweel’s “Gleason” lead the pack of nominees, with five nominations each. Other nominees include Kirsten Johnson’s “Cameraperson,” the gob-smacking “Weiner” and recent Netflix features “Amanda Knox” and “Audrie & Daisy.”

“It is an amazing time for documentaries, with the ever-increasing number of platforms enabling producers to reach enthusiastic and growing audiences for non-fiction storytelling,” said Bfca and Btja President Joey Berlin. “This is clearly demonstrated in the depth and quality of our inaugural nominees. We have a wealth of brilliant creators who are bringing to light some of the most entertaining and illuminating stories being told today. Indeed, documentary filmmaking is modern investigative journalism.

Take a charismatic predatory gay man with a body perfect obsession, adept at reading people and with a knack for hypnotherapy and spotting the weak-minded. What results is a perfect 1980s-spawned California cult chronicled on film in a 22-year trainwreck of laughable devotion, hubris and narcissism. Tonight CNN presents its new documentary Holy Hell, the culmination of over two decades of insider footage from filmmaker and former member of the Buddhafield cult, Will Allen. In it he shines the spotlight on the cult’s creepy leader, Venezuelan immigrant Jaime Gomez, who also used the names Michel, Andreas and The Teacher. Watching people...read more...

The first time Will Allen picked up his camera to film the Southern California meditation guru whose charisma attracted Allen to join his group in the mid-1980's, the guru shot Allen a hard, disapproving look. "He never wanted me to make movies," says Allen, who was then 22 and a recent film school graduate. "He didn't want any record of anything. He was like, 'What are you doing?' He just looked at me, like, really evil." Allen persevered. He told Michel Rostand, who had anointed himself leader of Buddhafield, a tight-knit Los Angeles spiritual sect many would criticize as a cult,...

CNN has set a September 1 premiere date for Holy Hell, an inside look at Buddhafield, a secretive, spiritual cult formed in 1980s West Hollywood. The pic will air at 9 Pm Et and repeat at 11. Director Will Allen joined the group just after graduating from film school and eventually became its unofficial documentarian. As he got more deeply involved, he began filming his experiences as the group's unofficial videographer. It wasn't until after Allen left the cult that he…...

CNN has set a September 1 premiere date for Holy Hell, an inside look at Buddhafield, a secretive, spiritual cult formed in 1980s West Hollywood. The pic will air at 9 Pm Et and repeat at 11. Director Will Allen joined the group just after graduating from film school and eventually became its unofficial documentarian. As he got more deeply involved, he began filming his experiences as the group's unofficial videographer. It wasn't until after Allen left the cult that he…...

With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit the interwebs. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.

Born to Be Blue (Robert Budreau)

I played jazz trumpet growing up in Oklahoma, so Chet Baker’s somber swing always brought our ensemble back to earth when Dizzy Gillespie’s flying fingers sent us noodling in quick cacophony. We thought Baker was the romantic trumpeter, the kind you’d play when you wanted to impress a date — and whose pretty-boy face on the album cover...

Film’s unrivaled access takes us inside the inner workings of a cult as never before to reveal a group that’s far more complex than you might expect

Part of becoming an adult means making a poor choice here and there. For the lucky ones, a pot of black coffee and a jog can sweat these out the morning after. For others there are lingering effects. When Will Allen started hanging out with a group of friendly and fit young people in California, he found a group of likeminded, artistic and philosophical peers looking for answers to big questions. He emerged 22 years later questioning his choice to devote his time, finances and energy to the group’s leader. Allen wasn’t the first to fall under the spell of a cult, nor will he be the last, but his position as in-house videographer may make him the only one...

He was grooming me. I didn't see it then, but it's so obvious now. I wanted a mentor; a teacher. When I got around him more, that's when I was like, 'Oh my God, he's an asshole.'" For 22 years, Will Allen immersed himself 24/7 in Buddhafield, a Los Angeles cult with hundreds of members and a narcissistic, sociopathic leader named Michel Rostand. The group would live, work and meditate together, banishing all ties to their family in the hope of finding greater enlightenment. Their spiritual guru would, in turn, psychologically...

A new film follows the Buddhafield group of the 80s and director Will Allen – who was in the group – talks about how easy it is to get caught up in cults

Perhaps the most disturbing part of Holy Hell – the documentary which premiered at Sundance earlier this year and is about a West Hollywood cult – is that life in the group doesn’t look that bad at all. Beautiful young people dance around in pastoral scenes, while an aviator-wearing leader expands their minds by seemingly doing little more than having a very good time.

Holy Hell director Will Allen joined the Buddhafield in the 80s. His film – made up of videos he shot while in the group – raises accusations that over two decades he, and other members of the group, were sexually abused by the cult leader, who now goes by the name of Andreas but was also known as Michel.

From his perspective, Will Allen loved what he was seeing. A filmmaker from childhood, recent college graduate Allen was ordered to leave his family home after he came out to his mother as gay. In 1985, he fell in with a group of people who had coalesced around a spiritual leader known as Michele. Soon, Allen was happily adhering to a way of life that initially felt very fulfilling. It's at this point in Holy Hell, Allen's documentary about his experiences with the group, that Allen notes he spent 22 years following Michele. The Buddafield, as the group was known, was never terribly large; membership ranged from 120 to 200, according to the film. Growing the membership was not as important as following the multi-pronged...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

There have been many documentaries made about radical and potentially dangerous religious cults throughout the years, but "Holy Hell" — which made its debut at this year’s Sundance — has something that makes it stand out from the rest of the “cult-gone-wrong” docs: The film’s director was once a true believer. Read More: 13 Cult Films About Cults Directed by first-timer Will Allen, the film chronicles the filmmaker’s time in The Buddha Field, a Los Angeles cult led by a mysterious leader simply named The Teacher. Using actual VHS footage shot by Allen when he was in the cult, "Holy Hell" shows the rise and fall of what The Teacher referred to as an “anti-cult.” Jared Leto is executive-producing the film, and presumably he didn't get up to his "Suicide Squad" antics here. You can watch the trailer for "Holy Hell" below. It opens in limited release on May 20th.

"We wanted something different..." Are you ready for this? FilmRise Releasing has debuted the first trailer for a documentary called Holy Hell, from director Will Allen, profiling twenty years inside a religious cult called The Buddhafield. The doc premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this year to much acclaim as it truly does include over twenty years of footage, since Allen joined the cult fresh out of school and became their official videographer. I saw the doc at Sundance and it's one of the most definitive inside looks at how a cult works, featuring interviews with many ex-members and so much remarkable footage. If you're at all curious, or intrigued, or baffled by any of this, I highly recommend catching this doc when it open this May. Here's the first official trailer for Will Allen's doc Holy Hell, direct from FilmRise's YouTube: In 1985, Will Allen became a member of The Buddhafield,...

Stories about cults aren’t difficult to come by, but it’s not every day you get a cinematic account from someone who’s actually lived the experience. Film school graduate Will Allen joined The Buddhafield in 1985, and spent the next two decades serving as the propagandist and trusted confidant to the group’s charismatic leader Michel — until […]

The post ‘Holy Hell’ Trailer: Jared Leto-Produced Documentary Goes Deep Inside a Cult appeared first on /Film.

A documentary reminiscent of The Big Short on a smaller and less-successful scale, director Ted Braun’s Betting on Zero has a narrow focus and an unlikely hero: New York-based hedge fund manager Bill Ackman of Persing Square Capital. Moving beyond the CNBC hype and witty banter of Slate’s Money (a favorite podcast and my first intro to Ackman), the film evangelizes Ackman’s position and, in a certain context, can be seen as another prong in his attack on global nutritional multi-level marketing firm Herbalife. This, of course, is only a danger if you ignore the evidence presented by the film and your own gut instinct. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is — even if it’s listed on the NYSE.

It also doesn’t help that Herbalife is presented in roughly the same light as Scientology and the mysterious cult at the center...

Plus: Music Box nabs Seasons; CNN takes Holy Hell; and more…

Jerry Lewis – who turned 90 on Wednesday – will present the official premiere of his latest film, Max Rose, on April 10 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

The film will run along with the museum’s exhibition Happy Birthday, Mr. Lewis: The Kid Turns 90, which celebrates the actor’s career. Producers Lawrence Inglee of Blackbird and Garrett Kelleher of Lightstream finalised the deal to release the film theatrically in the Us through Paladin.

Daniel Noa wrote and directed the story about a retired jazz musician who sets out to learn whether his late wife had an affair.

Music Box Films has acquired Us rights to Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud’s Seasons and will release this autumn. Shot in seven countries, the film documents the rise of seasons and their effect on life after the 80,000-year long Ice Age came to an end. Music Box brokered...

FilmRise has pitchforked U.S. rights to the feature documentary Holy Hell, which premiered at Sundance in January. The film, which will hit theaters May 20, takes an inside look at a secretive, spiritual cult formed in 1980s West Hollywood. Director Will Allen joined the group just after graduating from film school, and as he became more deeply involved, he began filming his experiences as the group's unofficial videographer. It wasn't until after Allen left the cult that…...

Plus: Participant Media promotes Sam Neswick to COO; FilmRise acquires Holy Hell; and more

The San Francisco Film Society will present the Mel Novikoff Award on April 30 to international art house cinema sister companies Janus Films and the Criterion Collection at the 59th San Francisco International Film Festival, set to run from April 21–May 5.

Peter Becker and Jonathan Turell of Janus Films and the Criterion Collection will take part in an on-stage conversation followed by a screening of Criterion’s most recent restoration, Joel and Ethan Coen’s Blood Simple. The Coen brothers are expected to participate in the presentation.

Participant Media has promoted Sam Neswick to COO. Neswick joined in 2014 as svp of strategic planning and was promoted last year to chief strategy officer. He recently drove Participant’s investment in Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners. Neswick will report to CEO David Linde.FilmRise has acquired Us rights from Donaldson Califf and Andrew Herwitz to [link...

Will Allen's buzzy cult documentary "Holy Hell" may still be looking for a U.S. distributor after its buzzy premiere at Sundance last week, but it's now getting official backing from a major movie star. Oscar winner Jared Leto is coming aboard the doc as an executive producer, Variety reports, which should give the film some major selling potential.  Read More: How I Shot That: Dp Polly Morgan Explains How She Went Undercover for 'Holy Hell' The documentary chronicles Allen's 20 years of living inside a California spiritual cult named Buddha Field. The director recorded his entire experience and offers up a look into the extreme ideals and expectations that make up this community, as well as the cracks that begin to unfold as trust is turned into paranoia and truths are revealed about their enlightened leader. The movie, which includes interviews with ex-cult members, was first announced...