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Michael Pruss has been promoted to co-president of the film division at Scott Free Productions. Pruss will continue to report to Scott Free president Kevin Walsh as he helps expand the company’s slate of feature films with a focus on developing new filmmakers and talent from across the globe and bringing them into the Scott Free fold. Pruss, known for his acumen in world cinema, has been prolific in his seven years at Scott Free, primarily focused on backing independent and international filmmakers.

“I’m hugely grateful to Ridley, Kevin, Justin – and all my Scott Free colleagues and friends – for their support, guidance and advice over these past few years,” Pruss said. “It’s a privilege to work with such excellent people everyday and I’m looking forward to continuing to make Scott Free a home for quality films and filmmakers from around the world.”

Walsh continues to oversee...

Casey Affleck is grieving on the big screen again, with supporting roles in two new dramas: “Our Friend” and “The World to Come.” The former features the actor as real-life journalist Matthew Teague, whose article about his wife’s unsuccessful struggle with cancer serves as the film’s source material. Affleck explains about Teague in his exclusive interview with Gold Derby (watch the video above), “He cares a lot about sharing — about being seen. He wrote the article because he wanted that experience to be seen. He wanted the movie to find a wider audience than the article and be seen.”

In the 1856-set “The World to Come,” Affleck plays a farmer named Dyer, who is in mourning over his daughter. That period piece hails from Affleck’s production company. He explains, “We were thinking, that instead of trying to think about what are people seeing/what typically do people like to see,...

Dakota Johnson portrays the late Nicole Teague in the new film “Our Friend,” which is adapted from the Esquire article by her husband Matthew Teague about her fight with cancer in the last years of her life. In her exclusive interview with Gold Derby (watch the video above), Johnson explains about what message they wanted to send with the film, “It became important that the gruesome side of life is there always, but that is not the thing that drives you forward or helps you move through. It’s love and compassion and it helps you to look at the gruesome things and acknowledge that they’re there and deal with them and then also see the beauty and the laughter and the levity.”

It has been two years since the film shot in Alabama; Johnson started doing press for the film a year and a half ago when it...

Actor Jason Segel says he bonded really well with actor Casey Affleck while working on the film Our Friend.

"I just did a movie over quarantine where up until the moment, I did not know how to do the part that I have been hired to do. I took it thinking I will figure this out by the time I get there, and I did not figure it out till I arrived," Segel said.

"So I called Casey Affleck and told him what I was struggling with, and he gave me just the best advice. So yeah, I made a really good friend in Casey from this movie," he added.

The film follows the real life story of journalist Matthew Teague, his wife Nicole and their best friend Dane, as the trio gear up to face Nicole's battle with terminal cancer.

"This movie is about a million different things," said Segel,...

Matthew Teague’s article “The Friend,” which ran in Esquire about six years ago, is not the work of someone who doesn’t know exactly what they’re doing in coming up with a title. It can be a torturous read, especially if you are no stranger to prolonged death, but while it has to do with death, […]

The post Our Friend Review – Curiosities of Loss and Friendship appeared first on Are You Screening?.

Photo: 'Our Friend'/Gravitas Ventures Introduction “His wife was just thirty-four. They had two little girls. The cancer was everywhere, and the parts of dying that nobody talks about were about to start. His best friend came to help out for a couple of weeks. And he never left”. That’s the introduction to Matthew Teague’s 2015 Esquire article ‘The Friend’ (which you can read in its entirety here and I highly recommend), about his wife’s cancer diagnosis and deteriorating health, and the best friend who dropped everything in his life and moved in to help the family navigate the illness and imminent death. It’s also now the basis of the new movie ‘Our Friend’ from ‘Blackfish’ director Gabriela Cowperthwaite and executive producer Ridley Scott. The resulting film is an emotionally honest and very poignant story of unbearable loss and true friendship, bolstered by some very strong performances.

The specialty box office found some shine this weekend with four new titles starting with the Gravitas Ventures pic Our Friend starring Jason Segel, Casey Affleck and Dakota Johnson.

The Gabriela Cowperthwaite-directed drama based on Matthew Teague’s book The Friend: Love Is Not a Big Enough Word debuted at 543 locations and grossed an estimated $250K on its first weekend out with a per-screen average $460. This bodes well for the drama which currently sits at an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes and has thrown its hat in the ring for awards season.

The film separated itself from a typical day and date release as Gravitas used a focused and targeted exhibitor marketing approach. Outside of Wonder Woman 1984, which was an SVOD release, Our Friend debuted as the largest opening for a day and date film since October 16. It looks to expand next weekend to approximately 750 locations.

Another day and date title,...

After a week that brought another slew of release-delay announcements, current results suggest the studios were right to do so. There’s a few more open theaters, but with no new wide films and most also playing at home, grosses remain depressed. The top 10 totaled $8.3 million, with all films taking in around $9.5 million. That’s down about 25 percent from last weekend, and $110 million less than the same one last year.

Warner Bros. reports that 43 percent of domestic screens are open, but represent areas that constitute about two thirds of the population. The absence of major films, the home availability of those in release (including seven of the top 10), and the audience’s reluctance to visit theaters are a deadly combination.

Multiple top titles remain in the prime May-July period for now, but it appears that theaters may face reduced product and operations until fall — all told, 18 months. Even after the crisis ends,...

Our Friend is a triangular narrative based on an Esquire article by journalist Matthew Teague about the death of his wife, Nicole. Before Nicole succumbed to cancer at age 36, an unusually intimate bond formed among the couple and mutual friend, Dane. Despite the ravages of fate, Dane offered a preternatural degree of support, caring for the Teagues’ daughters and effectively becoming a fifth family member.

During the Gravitas Ventures movie’s panel at Deadline’s Contenders Film awards-season event, the three lead actors — Casey Affleck, Dakota Johnson and Jason Segel — credited director Gabriela Cowperthwaite with creating an on-set atmosphere that allowed them to explore the material’s intimate shadings. As a filmmaker best known for documentaries like Blackfish, she “has the ability to see reality as very raw,” Johnson says. “It felt very clear and pure.”

Cowperthwaite “didn’t want the scenes presented as melodramas or paintings,” Segel says. “So,...

In 2012, Matthew Teague found out that his wife, Nicole, was going to die. She’d been diagnosed with ovarian cancer; when the surgeon went in to remove tumors, however, he’d discovered that the disease had spread everywhere. Matthew was a journalist for The Atlantic. Nicole had been an actor when they were living in New Orleans, which is where she had met Dane, a theater-tech guy; after an early, awkward moment in which he’d asked her out, unaware that she was married, the three of them became close friends.

If you are looking to stir emotions and grab some tissues this weekend Our Friend has got you covered.

Based on Matthew Teague’s book The Friend: Love Is Not a Big Enough Word, Gabriela Cowperthwaite directs this heartfelt drama adapted by Brad Ingelsby that follows journalist Matt (Casey Affleck), his wife Nicole (Dakota Johnson) and their two young daughters as their lives are turned upside down when Nicole is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Matt becomes overwhelmed with being a caretaker and a parent so he calls on the couple’s best friend Dane Faucheux (Jason Segel) to help out. As Dane puts his life on hold to stay with his friends, the impact of this life decision changes all of their lives in the most profound way.

Our Friend is based on the true story of the Teague family and went by the title The Friend when it made...

There was a brief period of time during the first Obama administration when Hollywood tried to make Jason Segel a leading man. Freshly minted by the ever-expanding Apatow Cinematic Universe, he was being pitched as the next romantic comedy star. Things didn’t really pan out, and whatever charming qualities can be found in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Jeff, Who Lives at Home, and The Five-Year Engagement, those films revealed the limits of Segel’s on-screen charisma. This was a supporting actor through and through, always at ease performing in the friend zone.

So it’s not at all surprising that Segel shows up as Dane, the saintly bestie in Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s Our Friend, one of those prototypical American indies that tries to be comedic, dramatic, and life affirming all in the same breath. Based on an autobiographical article entitled “The Friend” written by Matthew Teague, the film jumps...

Whenever a flick debuts at a film festival and then takes a year to come out, people can suspect the worst. Well, I’m here to tell you that Our Friend is an exception to that. I saw the movie back when it was going by The Friend as its title, during its festival run, and it’s a very good film. Casey Affleck, Dakota Johnson, and Jason Segel give top notch performances, to say the least. Now, as it prepares for a January release, a Trailer has debuted, featuring a quote from none other than yours truly! That was an honor, and it’s a pleasure to be quoted in such a strong work. Take a look at the Trailer below and be sure to keep an eye out for my citation! Here’s the description I wrote for the movie last year, when it was still called The Friend...

Roadside Attractions has partnered with Gravitas Ventures to acquire U.S. distribution rights to Dakota Johnson and Casey Affleck’s “The Friend,” which premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival.

The heartfelt true story is based on Matthew Teague’s award-winning autobiographical essay published in Esquire Magazine.

“The Friend” tells the story of Nicole (Johnson) and Teague (Affleck), who, after receiving life-altering news, find unexpected support from their best friend, Dane (Jason Segel), who puts his own life on hold and moves into their family home, bringing an impact much greater — and more profound — than anyone could have imagined.

Also Read: Beanie Feldstein Comedy 'How To Build A Girl' Acquired by IFC Films

“Everyone knows the value of a great friend, yet it’s rare to see friendship dramatized in film,” Roadside’s Howard Cohen and Eric d’Arbeloff said in a statement. “To see these three great actors...

Roadside Attractions and Gravitas Ventures are teaming on the U.S. distribution The Friend, the Gabriela Cowperthwaite-directed drama starring Jason Segel, Dakota Johnson and Casey Affleck that world premiered at Toronto. The pic is based on Matthew Teague’s autobiographical essay published in Esquire. The companies are now eyeing a fall 2020 theatrical release.

It marks the second tie-up of Roadside and Gravitas Ventures; the two are teaming on The Secret: Dare to Dream, starring Katie Holmes and Josh Lucas, which bows in April. Roadside of course most recently distributed with Ld Entertainment the Judy Garland biopic Judy, for which Renee Zellweger is up for an Oscar.

The Friend, adapted by Brad Ingelsby, tells the true story of Nicole (Johnson) and Matthew Teague (Affleck), whose friend Dane (Segel) puts his own life on hold and moves into the Teague family home after Nicole is diagnosed with cancer. Dade’s movie...

In real life, one of Nicole Teague’s favorite bands was Led Zeppelin. But “The Friend,” an adaptation of her last years battling terminal ovarian cancer alongside her loved ones, almost didn’t include a single song by the legendary rock band and only got final clearance to do so a week before the film’s Toronto premiere.

The Gabriela Cowperthwaite-directed tearjerker premiered Friday night at the Toronto International Film Festival with two Zeppelin songs: “Ramble On” and “Going to California.” The music plays an important role in the narrative and development of central characters Nicole (Dakota Johnson) and Dane (Jason Segel).

Cowperthwaite’s cut of the film included the songs, but producers knew it would be all but impossible to get the rights for the big-ticket tracks given the film’s $10 million budget. So Ridley Scott, whose Scott Free produced the film with Teddy Schwarzman’s Black Bear Pictures,...

Gabriela Cowperthwaite makes movies about true stories, at once unbelievable and unforgettable in the gaping depth of their emotion. After the 2013 documentary “Blackfish,” which exposed the violent injustice inflicted on a captive orca at SeaWorld, came the filmmaker’s feature debut “Megan Leavey” in 2017, retelling the relationship between Corporal Megan Leavey and military working dog Rex. For her sophomore feature “The Friend,” Cowperthwaite builds on Matthew Teague’s 2015 Esquire article of the same name, in which the author recounts the last two years of his wife Nicole’s life following her terminal cancer diagnosis.

Continue reading ‘The Friend’: An Affecting Look At Love, Cancer & Heartbreaking Limits Of Devotion [Tiff Review] at The Playlist.

Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s “The Friend,” , starts with its most cogent and powerful scene. Dane — a kind, soft, Totoro of a man played by the always sincere Jason Segel — sits on the porch of a midwestern home and plays a game with two young girls. Inside the house, their parents use the calculated moment of calm to strategize. Matthew Teague (Casey Affleck) sits alone in the frame, stares into the middle distance, and games out how to tell his daughters that their mother is dying.

There are some phrases he’s been advised not to use; things that might leave the door open for hope. Don’t say “mom’s going on a trip.” When Matthew leaves to get everyone, Cowperthwaite cuts to the cancer-stricken Nicole (Dakota Johnson). The camera lingers on her for what feels like an eternity; a tender irony for someone who’s about to tell her kids...

Love is patient; love is kind. That much you’ve heard before. But death … Death is a nasty son a gun. Death is ugly; it stinks; it takes no prisoners and permanently scars all who witness it. Matthew Teague’s “The Friend: Love Is Not a Big Enough Word” tells the story of both those abstract concepts — love and death — through wrenching anecdotal experience.

Teague’s wife Nicole died of cancer at age 34, and their best friend Dane stood by the family through the worst of it. When Nicole’s hair started falling out, he shaved his in solidarity. When Matt collapsed on the hospital floor after getting the terminal diagnosis, it was Dane who picked him up. And when the couple’s dog had to be put down on Christmas — because the poor animal had cancer too — Dane took care of it.

All these details and more make up a devastating essay,...

Exclusive: When the Gabriela Cowperthwaite-directed drama The Friend premieres tonight in Toronto, the film’s tough subject matter – Dakota Johnson plays Nicole Teague, who at 34 was diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer – was made more bearable by the presence of two classic Led Zeppelin songs. “Ramble On” and “Going to California” were cleared only days ago to be included in the drama, tunes that would have been impossible for The Friend‘s indie budget to bear were it not for the good graces of the band and in particular its legendary lead singer Robert Plant.

The Friend is an unusual and true love story which Brad Ingelsby scripted based on a 2015 Esquire article written by Nicole’s husband, Matthew Teague. It told the story of his wife’s brutal demise, and how her college friend Dane Faucheux made it somehow bearable when he insisted on leaving his job and girlfriend...

In today’s film news roundup, Gwendoline Christie is cast in “The Friend,” film preservationist Kevin Brownlow is honored, Demi Moore’s “Corporate Animals” gets sold, and BondIt Media Capital hires a CFO.

Castings

“Game of Thrones” and “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” star Gwendoline Christie has joined the cast of “The Friend” starring Jason Segel, Dakota Johnson, and Casey Affleck.

Gabriela Cowperthwaite is directing from a screenplay by Brad Ingelsby, based on Matthew Teague’s story about Nicole Teague and himself learning that Nicole had six months to live and receiving the unexpected support of their best friend, played by Segel. Johnson and Affleck are portraying the Teagues.

Scott Free and Black Bear Pictures are producing the project, which has begun shooting on location in Fairhope, Ala. — the town where the Teague family resided. Additional cast members are Jake Owen, Denee Benton, Marielle Scott, Ahna O’Reilly, Isabella Kai Rice,...

Exclusive: Gwendoline Christie (Game Of Thrones) and Cherry Jones (Boy Erased) are among cast to have joined Jason Segel, Dakota Johnson and Casey Affleck in Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s (Blackfish) feature drama The Friend, which is now underway in Fairhope, Alabama.

Country artist Jake Owen, Denee Benton (Hamilton: An American Musical), Marielle Scott (Lady Bird), Ahna O’Reilly (The Help), Isabella Kai Rice (My Dead Ex) and Violet McGraw (The Haunting Of Hill House) have also joined.

STXinternational introduced the project to buyers at the recent European Film Market where it sold out worldwide. Territories sold include Searchers for Benelux, Metropolitan for France, Tobis for Germany, Lucky Red for Italy, Odeon for Greece, Cinemundo for Portugal, Ab Svensk for Scandinavia, Sun for Latin America and Spain, Impuls for Switzerland, Top Film for Cis, Acme for Baltics, Vertical for Eastern Europe, E-Stars for China, PVR for India, Pt Prima for Indonesia, Tohokushinsha for Japan,...

Exclusive: Scott Free and Black Bear have set Jason Segel, Dakota Johnson and Oscar-winner Casey Affleck to star in The Friend, a fact-based touching drama that Stx International will launch for offshore sales at the European Film Market. Directing is Gabriela Cowperthwaite, whose Blackfish was a BAFTA nominee for Best Documentary and who most recently helmed the Kate Mara starrer Megan Leavey.

Script is based on the Matthew Teague National Magazine Award winning article for Esquire Magazine, which was adapted by Brad Ingelsby. The Out of the Furnace scribe has written Mare Of Easttown, the limited HBO series that Kate Winslet is starring in with Gavin O’Connor directing.

The Friend tells the extraordinary true story of Nicole (Johnson) and Matthew Teague (Affleck) who, after learning that Nicole has just six months to live, receive the unexpected support of the couple’s best friend (Segel). He moves into their family...

On Tuesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg finally appeared before Congress to discuss the social media platform’s recent scandals. But while talk on Capitol Hill largely concerned the platform’s impact on recent elections, “fake news,” and the Cambridge Analytica data leak, online chit chat focused on more prosaic issues — like Zuckerberg’s anxious appearance, and general lack of tech knowledge by presiding legislators.

Also Read: 100 Mark Zuckerberg Cardboard Cutouts Go Up on Capitol Lawn Ahead of Facebook CEO's Testimony

The memes started from the get-go as Zuckerberg made his opening remarks, in which he apologized and said “It will take some time to work through all the changes but I’m committed to getting this right.” While s a few people commented on his remarks, it seems that far more noted that the CEO, 33, appeared much paler than usual, a condition attributed to everything from nervousness, to karma, to resemblance to a nerd culture icon.

Quite a few people agreed that Zuckerberg reminded them of Lt. Commander Data, science officer of the Enterprise on “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”

#Zuckerberg reportedly Told Congress the more of your Data I collect, the more I learn to be human ???? pic.twitter.com/l2TpjIqw0s

— ❤️ Jared T Swift ❤️ (@Jared_T_Swift) April 10, 2018

All this talk of "data" can't be a coincidence… pic.twitter.com/LU9p087k3E

— Guy Cimbalo (@gvcimbalo) April 10, 2018

Mark Zuckerberg’s manner has always reminded me of someone, but I could never quite grasp hold of it.

Just now it hit me, watching him testify about data. pic.twitter.com/4Zs2eGlsHD

— Matthew Teague (@MatthewTeague) April 10, 2018

Mark #Zuckerberg == Data from #StarTrek pic.twitter.com/ONLKh5KKbH

— Chuck Reynolds (@ChuckReynolds) April 10, 2018

Though it wouldn’t be a “Star Trek” party without an appearance from fans of “Deep Space Nine,” who countered that Zuckerberg looked more like the shape-shifting changelings from the “Next Generation” spinoff series.

pic.twitter.com/vci0nskBP5

— manu saadia ???? (@trekonomics) April 10, 2018

update (by popular demand): pic.twitter.com/l7xzuWkWfg

— manu saadia ???? (@trekonomics) April 10, 2018

This Zuckerberg hearing turned into a battle of Tng vs DS9. pic.twitter.com/lyro4V1Gel

— April Wolfe (@AWolfeful) April 10, 2018

Meanwhile, here’s what non-nerds had to say:

Find someone who looks at you the way Zuck looks at the inside of his eyelids: alarmingly often. #ZuckerbergTestimony pic.twitter.com/eGgK33adXn

— Full Frontal (@FullFrontalSamB) April 10, 2018

adore my incredible dad who loves his family so much that he got eye enlargement surgery so he can look at us more pic.twitter.com/EAnILTmib2

— Patricia Lockwood (@TriciaLockwood) April 10, 2018

Also Read: Here's How to Check If Your Facebook Data Was Leaked

That face when you just wanted a faster way to rank girls by looks and ended up installing a fascist government in the most powerful country on earth pic.twitter.com/VEaQjz9Z6s

— Zack Bornstein (@ZackBornstein) April 10, 2018

ʜᴇʟʟᴏ ᴅᴀʀᴋɴᴇss ᴍʏ ᴏʟᴅ ғʀɪᴇɴᴅ pic.twitter.com/3v5SYmehTr

— Laura Bradley (@lpbradley) April 10, 2018

"I've made a huge mistake." #Zuckerberg pic.twitter.com/UqXWAs8lnw

— Christina Warren (@film_girl) April 10, 2018

Mark Zuckerberg is a cylon. There are many copies. And they have a plan.

— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) April 10, 2018

“You’re in a desert. Walking along in the sand”

“Is this the test now”

“Yes, you’re in a desert walking along the sand when all of a sudden you see a tortoise”

“What’s a tortoise?” pic.twitter.com/WBZaKt0MV4

— TechnicallyRon (@TechnicallyRon) April 10, 2018

Of course, here’s context for Zuckerberg’s apparent nervousness.

What it’s actually like to be on Facebook: pic.twitter.com/bAPPNoHwQ1

— Kashana (@kashanacauley) April 10, 2018

Meanwhile, some users couldn’t help but think of Facebook’s vanquished competition:

“Who is your biggest competitor?”

“It’s hard to say who our-”

“Who is your biggest competitor?”

*distant look*

“The sound of birds in the Spring. Hints perfume of a loved one in a crowd, although you know she is gone. The rose that is the blossom of unexpected love. Also Twitter pic.twitter.com/A7nJXRdfVO

— Mike Drucker (@MikeDrucker) April 10, 2018

“Well you can always use myspace” is what Mark Zuckerberg should say and walk out #Zuckerberg

— doug (@Porkchopismydog) April 10, 2018

tfw you aren't being grilled by the Senate Judiciary Committee pic.twitter.com/0gbOmDtJq8

— Jeffrey Young (@JeffYoung) April 10, 2018

Not that the Senate was off the hook, nor its members’ apparent lack of tech savviness:

Mark Zuckerberg prepared for this hearing by meeting with a team of experts (including a former special assistant to a U.S. president), and it is not clear to me from this hearing that many of these lawmakers also prepared to the same extent.

— Hunter Schwarz (@hunterschwarz) April 10, 2018

“Mr. Zuckerberg, a magazine i recently opened came with a floppy disk offering me 30 free hours of something called America On-Line. Is that the same as Facebook?” pic.twitter.com/U7pqpUhEhQ

— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) April 10, 2018

There should have been a pretest for senators to get into this hearing https://t.co/Cg4JWtHkGS

— Nik DeCosta-Klipa (@NikDeCostaKlipa) April 10, 2018

Also Read: 'Senator, We Run Ads': Hatch Mocked for Basic Facebook Question to Zuckerberg

Sen. Hatch: "If [a version of Facebook will always be free], how do you sustain a business model in which users don't pay for your service?"

Mark Zuckerberg: "Senator, we run ads." https://t.co/CbFO899XlU pic.twitter.com/bGKWks7zIk

— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 10, 2018

Read original story Mark Zuckerberg’s Congressional Testimony Spawns Memes (and a Ton of ‘Star Trek’ Jokes) At TheWrap...