News

Paramount’s Republic Pictures has acquired global rights to Jason Biggs’ directorial debut feature, the tentatively titled action-comedy “Getaway.”

“Getaway,” in which the “American Pie” actor also stars, centers on a hapless husband who stages a home invasion during a romantic getaway weekend in a desperate attempt to save his marriage, only for plan to go very wrong.

The cast includes Meaghan Rath (“Hawaii Five-0”), Arturo Castro (“Broad City”), Justin H. Min (“The Umbrella Academy”) and Anna Konkle (“Pen15”).

Currently in post production, “Getaway” was written by Jamie Napoli and Joshua Paul Johnson and produced by Motion Picture Corporation of America CEO Brad Krevoy, Charles Cohen, Jimmy Philémond-Montout, David Anselmo and executive produced by Mpca’s Amy Krell.

The latest acquisition is among a slew of new titles the label has acquired in recent months.

‘September 5’

Republic Pictures’ “September 5,” Tim Fehlbaum’s news crew thriller revolving around the 1972 Olympics hostage crisis,...

Exclusive: Tasha Smith (Bad Boys: Ride or Die), Chris Perfetti (Abbott Elementary), Francois Arnaud (Yellowjackets), Susan Park (Shining Vale) and Cree (Turtles All the Way Down) are the newest additions to the cast of Twinless, the dark comedy that James Sweeney wrote and is directing for Republic Pictures.

Details as to the newcomers’ roles are under wraps. As previously announced, Dylan O’Brien, Aisling Franciosi, Lauren Graham and Sweeney will also star in the film, which follows two young men who strike up an unlikely bromance after meeting in a twin bereavement support group.

David Permut and Sweeney are producing, with O’Brien and Miky Lee serving exec producing. Three Point Capital is financing the pic with Ali Jazayeri, David Gendron and Liz Destro also serving as executive producers. Alex Astrachan, Director of Development at Permut Presentations, is co-producer. Casting Director is Jessica Munks. Republic Pictures has worldwide rights to the film.

Exclusive: Gilmore Girls star Lauren Graham and The Nightingale‘s Aisling Franciosi have joined the cast of Three Point Capital and David Permut Production’s movie Twinless. They will star opposite previously announced Dylan O’Brien and James Sweeney.

Sweeney is also writing and directing the pic which follows two young men who meet in a twin bereavement support group, and form an unlikely bromance.

O’Brien and Miky Lee are EPs. Alex Astrachan, Director of Development at Permut Presentations is co-producer. Republic Pictures has worldwide rights to the film.

Three Point Capital is financing the feature with Ali Jazayeri, David Gendron and Liz Destro also serving as executive producers.

Graham is known for playing Lorelai Gilmore on the hit CW series, Gilmore Girls. She’s also starred in such movies as Flash of Genius, The Answer Man with Jeff Daniels, Evan Almighty with Steve Carell, Because I Said So opposite Diane Keaton and Mandy Moore,...

Exclusive: Emmy and Academy Award nominated producer David Permut and filmmaker Oscar Boyson are teaming up with author/filmmaker Mathew Klickstein to bring the San Diego Comic-Con origin story to life for the first time on screen in a new documentary based on the latter’s book See You at San Diego: An Oral History of Comic-Con, Fandom, and the Triumph of Geek Culture.

The See You at San Diego documentary will follow how a scrappy group of teenage fans, zinesters, illustrators, stoners, hippies, weirdoes, bookworms, and science buffs in the late 1960s joined forces with an unemployed thirtysomething comic fan to create what has now become one of the most influential pop culture events ever. San Diego Comic-Con has twice been recognized as the largest pop culture gathering worldwide by the Guinness Book of World Records in recent years.

Boyson and Oh Boy Productions will produce alongside Permut who...

Exclusive: Dylan O’Brien is set to headline in James Sweeney’s dark comedy Twinless, which the latter wrote and will also star in. Republic Pictures has taken global rights to the movie. Cameras are currently rolling on the movie in Portland, Or. O’Brien will executive produce.

The pic follows two young men who meet in a twin bereavement support group. An unlikely bromance develops between them. Twinless follow Sweeney’s directorial debut, Straight Up, which notched the filmmaker a Best First Screenplay nom at the 2021 Independent Spirit Awards.

Three Point Capital is financing the film with Ali Jazayeri, David Gendron and Liz Destro also serving as EPs.

Twinless is produced by Academy Award nominated producer David Permut and Permut Presentations whose most recent Netflix movie, Rustin, garnered Colman Domingo a Best Actor Oscar nomination.

Miky Lee (Parasite) Vice Chairwoman of Cj and who most recently executive...

Exclusive: Katie Findlay is set as a series regular opposite Matt Barr and Katherine McNamara in the CW’s Walker: Independence pilot, executive produced by Walker‘s Jared Padalecki.

The Walker prequel pilot, written by Seamus Fahey based on a story by him and Anna Fricke, and directed by Larry Teng, is set in the late 1800s. It follows an affluent Bostonian named Abby Walker (McNamara), whose husband is murdered in front of her while on their trek out West. Consumed by a need for vengeance, Abby crosses paths with Hoyt Rawlins (Barr), described as a “lovable rogue in search of a purpose” in the logline. The pair soon find themselves in Independence, Texas, where they encounter a diverse and eclectic cohort of citizens hiding from their demons and chasing their dreams, all while becoming agents of change themselves in the small town.

Findlay will play Kate, a burlesque dancer,...

Minari, Sound Of Metal deliver best supporting actor prizes.

Nomadland was named best feature and Chloe Zhao best director while Carey Mulligan and Riz Ahmed took lead acting honours at the virtual 2021 Film Independent Spirit Awards on Thursday night (April 22).

Searchlight Pictures’ Nomadland won four prizes on the night including Joshua James Richards for cinematography, and editing for Zhao, who was one of four women nominated in the directing category and has enjoyed a magnificent awards season.

Amazon Studios’ Sound Of Metal earned three awards for Ahmed, supporting actor Paul Raci, and first feature for Darius Marder.

Focus Features’ Promising...

“Mank” is the big leader at the 2021 Oscars with 10 nominations, but that wasn’t the case at the 36th Film Independent Spirit Awards. The nomination leader at this ceremony was Eliza Hittman’s acclaimed “Never Rarely Sometimes Always,” which the Academy shut out from the Oscars. The same goes for other beloved Spirit Award nominees like “First Cow,” “Miss Juneteenth,” and “The Assistant.” In other words, the Indie Spirit Awards were a breath of fresh air in this elongated awards season where underdog indie contenders finally get their due in the spotlight.

“Minari” also preformed strong at the Indie Spirits, earning six nominations to match its six Oscar nominations. Fellow Oscar nominees “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “Nomadland” each picked up five Spirit Award nominations. Netflix was the most nominated studio with 16 nominations, followed by Focus Features with 10 and A24 with 9.

“Nomadland” was the big winner, taking home the prizes...

“Nomadland” wins four awards, including Best Feature; “Sound of Metal” wins three and “Promising Young Woman” takes two

“Nomadland” won Best Feature at the 2021 Film Independent Spirit Awards, which were announced live Thursday, and for the first time in primetime.

“Nomadland” took home four prizes, including Best Feature, Best Director for Chloé Zhao, as well as Best Editing and Best Cinematography. “Sound of Metal” also had a big night, winning Best First Feature, Best Supporting Male Paul Raci and an upset win for Best Male Lead Riz Ahmed. Carey Mulligan also won Best Female Lead for “Promising Young Woman,” and Yuh-Jung Youn won Best Supporting Female for “Minari.”

The coronavirus resulted in moving the Indie Spirits ceremony, now in its 36th year, away from its usual slot as an afternoon hangout in a tent near the Santa Monica pier on the Saturday before the Oscars to now taking place Thursday,...

If you’re nowhere near a television and want to know the winners of the 36th Independent Spirit Awards as they happen, you’ve come to the right place. Follow along with Gold Derby’s Indie Spirits live blog 2021 to see who won all of the night’s film and TV prizes, who presented what categories, and how Melissa Villaseñor (“Saturday Night Live”) did as host. The virtual ceremony aired Thursday, April 22 on IFC at 7 p.m. Pt/10 p.m. Et.

SEE2021 Independent Spirit Awards: Winners list in all film and TV categories

This year’s Spirit Awards celebrated the best in indie filmmaking for the 2020 calendar year, with a little bit of television thrown in for good measure. Remember, only American-made fare with budgets under $20 million were eligible for consideration. Winners were chosen by all of Film Independent’s eligible members, including industry insiders and any movie fans who signed up for membership.

The last major awards show before the Oscars has finally arrived, the 36th Independent Spirit Awards. The virtual ceremony aired Thursday, April 22 on IFC at 7 p.m. Pt/10 p.m. Et and was hosted by “Saturday Night Live” star Melissa Villaseñor. The Spirit Awards celebrated the best in indie filmmaking for the 2020 calendar year, and this year they invited TV shows to the party, too. Don’t forget, only American-made fare with budgets under $20 million were eligible for consideration. Winners were chosen by all of Film Independent’s eligible members, including industry insiders and any movie fans who signed up for membership.

Heading into the ceremony, “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” was the nominations leader with seven overall bids. “Minari” came in right behind it with six noms, followed by “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “Nomadland” (the Oscar front-runner) with five bids each. On the TV side, both “Little America” and...

The 2021 Film Independent Spirit Awards are finally upon us, after the nominations were announced three months ago, and the ceremony is taking place just a few days ahead of the Academy Awards. This year, the Spirit Awards won’t be held midday in a hangar in Santa Monica, but will instead live-stream on IFC on Thursday, April 22 at 7:00 p.m. Pt/10:00 p.m. Et. In addition to the linear broadcast, the Spirit Awards will also stream simultaneously on AMC+. Following the broadcast, the full awards ceremony will be made available on demand across AMC+ and IFC platforms starting Friday, April 23. This year’s ceremony will be hosted by “Saturday Night Love” comedian Melissa Villaseñor.

If you’re cord cutter who doesn’t have cable, you can watch IFC live with one of these streaming services, many of which offer a free trial: Philo, fuboTV, Sling TV, YouTube TV,...

The 36th Film Independent Spirit Awards are set to take place this week as a welcome reprieve to this elongated Oscar season. Unlike the Academy Awards, where David Fincher’s “Mank” reigns supreme with 10 nominations, the 2021 Indie Spirit Awards are dominated by Eliza Hittman’s “Never Rarely Sometimes Always,” which was shut out of the Oscar nominations. “Never Rarely” boasts seven Spirit Award nominations this year, including Best Feature and Best Director.

Unlike the Oscars, the Spirit Awards also boast a Best First Feature category to honor the greatest directorial debuts of the last year. The 2021 nominees in this category are “I Carry You With Me,” “The 40 Year Old Version,” “Sound of Metal,” “Miss Juneteenth,” and “Nine Days.” Only “Sound of Metal” broke into the Oscars among these nominees.

As always, the budget cutoff for films to be eligible for the Spirit Awards is $22.5 million. For this reason, several high...

Minari earns six nods including feature, director, two for supporting actress.

Focus Features’ Never Rarely Sometimes Always led the Film Independent Spirit Awards nominations with six nods on Tuesday (January 26) including best film and director, and female lead.

A24’s Minari placed second on six nods including best feature in a field that includes Nomadland, First Cow, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and Never Rarely Sometimes Always.

Women dominated the directing category as Eliza Hittman (Never Rarely Sometimes Always), Chloe Zhao (Nomadland), Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman), and Kelly Reichardt (First Cow) picked up nods alongside the sole male, Lee Isaac Ching for Minari.

Minari earns six nods including feature, director, two for supporting actress.

Focus Features’ Never Rarely Sometimes Always led the Film Independent Spirit Awards nominations with six nods on Tuesday (January 26) including best film and director, and female lead.

A24’s Minari placed second on six nods including best feature in a field that includes Nomadland, First Cow, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and Never Rarely Sometimes Always.

Women dominated the directing category as Eliza Hittman (Never Rarely Sometimes Always), Chloe Zhao (Nomadland), Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman), and Kelly Reichardt (First Cow) picked up nods alongside the sole male, Lee Isaac Ching for Minari.

“First Cow,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “Minari,” “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” and “Nomadland” scored Best Feature Film nominations for the 2021 Independent Spirit Awards, with “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” leading the pack with seven nominations. “Minari” had six film nominations, and “Nomandland” wound up with five.

And for the first time Film Independent recognized the best in TV. “A Teacher,” “I May Destroy You,” “Little America,” “Small Axe” and “Unorthodox” all landed nominations for Best New Scripted Series. “Unorthodox” and “Little America” each scored three nominations.

Nominations for the 36th annual ceremony were announced Tuesday via Film Independent’s website and YouTube channel by Laverne Cox, Barry Jenkins and Olivia Wilde.

Though the awards are generally held the Saturday afternoon before the Oscars ceremony, the show has been moved up to a primetime slot on Thursday, April 22 and will air on IFC that will also be simulcast on AMC+ and...

The 2021 Independent Spirit Awards nominations were announced Tuesday, January 26. So who made the cut at these kudos, which celebrate the best in American independent films? Scroll down to see the full list of nominees for the 2021 Indie Spirits. Remember, only American-made movies with budgets under $20 million were eligible for consideration.

These Spirit contenders were decided by nominating committees that included film critics, film programmers, producers, directors, writers, cinematographers, editors, actors, past nominees and winners, and members of Film Independent’s Board of Directors.

Winners will be chosen by all of Film Independent’s eligible members, including industry insiders and any movie fans who sign up for membership starting at $95 per year.

These awards have come to be a significant preview of the Oscars as the motion picture academy embraces more independent films. Five of the last 10 Spirit champs for Best Feature went on to win the Oscar for Best Picture.

New Indie

One of the best films of 2020 — and the last one I’ll get to see in a theater for who knows how long — Kelly Reichardt’s “First Cow” (Lionsgate) sees the director once again turning to the American frontier to tell a story about America now. John Magaro and Orion Lee play two men in pioneer-era Oregon who go into business selling fried-dough “oilycakes” to homesick miners, but find themselves in the crosshairs of the plutocrat who owns the territory’s only source of fresh milk. It’s gorgeous, elegaic, witty, and powerful — and you’ll crave some funnel cakes.

Also available: Director James Sweeney, who also wrote and starred, makes an impressive feature debut with “Straight Up” (Strand Releasing), about a gay man whose lack of relationship success drives him to give women one last shot; two siblings try to fulfill their grandmother’s dying wish in...

Chicago – Both the Music Box Theatre and the Gene Siskel Film Center have continued their at-home screenings, due to the physical theaters having to close during the pandemic quarantine. Below are the updates to their current offerings.

Music Box Theatre Presents Chicagoland Shorts Vol. 6, Alice, Deerskin, Straight Up, Lucky Grandma and Magnolia Pictures Documentaries

Chicagoland Shorts Vol 6

Photo credit: MusicBoxTheatre.com

The Music Box Theatre will get a percentage of the proceeds from any screening. Click site link below for details.

Scheduled: Now until the theater re-opens.

Description: Chicagoland Shorts Vol 6 is the annual Windy City overview of local short films works, presented by Full Spectrum Productions. See the Music Box website for a list of the films.

Alice Emilie Piponnier is the perfect wife and mother, living happily with her husband Francois and their son in an apartment in Paris. When her credit cards are declined one day while shopping,...

Granted, the idea of an all-talk, no-sex relationship might not be too appealing for many young adults in the 21st century. But Straight Up is not about many young adults, it's about two insecure characters who are still struggling to figure out their place(s) in the world. To be more precise, allow me to quote directly from the official description: "Todd is a hyper-articulate, obsessive compulsive gay twentysomething whose fear of dying alone leads him to a baffling conclusion: he might not be gay after all. When he meets Rory, a whip-smart struggling actress with her own set of insecurities, the two forge a relationship that's all talk and no sex. "Writer-Director-Star James Sweeney delivers a razor sharp rom-com that's equal parts Classical Hollywood and...

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

Is It Gonna Be You and Me Forever?: Sweeney Sparks Romance in Loquacious Debut

James Sweeney makes his directorial debut with Straight Up, an odd-couple romantic comedy exploring sexual orientation and gender identity in intriguing ways. An impressively performed exercise thanks to Sweeney and his lead Katie Findlay, what serves as a conversation piece capsizes underneath the weight of its overtly twee stylization thanks to rapid fire, ceaseless staccato dialogue inspired by its textual references to “The Gilmore Girls.” A fine supporting cast, which includes Tracie Thoms as an amused therapist, assists in downplaying both the oft-inherent cynicism of films dealing with Lgbtq+ themes as well as the Los Angeles film industry and all its woeful attributes.…...

Featuring a lovable goof named Rory and characters that talk at a breakneck clip about topics ranging from commonly misused idioms to Paul Newman’s sexuality, “Straight Up” is basically a gay “Gilmore Girls” in indie film form. The debut feature from James Sweeney (who also stars), the film is Todd, who uses his weekly therapy sessions to talk himself in circles about his ambivalent feelings about sex. Like any well-heeled neurotic gay man, Todd (Sweeney) knows a lot about a lot of things — he just doesn’t know himself. As such, “Straight Up” is meticulous in building its hyper-stylized aesthetic, but doesn’t have much to say about the human condition.

As its title suggests, “Straight Up” doesn’t exactly fit into the label of “queer film.” Though Todd has been pegged as gay since he was a kid, bodily fluids unnerve him, a rather thin explanation for his...

Harkening back to Golden Age romantic comedies while placing its young characters in of-the-moment relationship scenarios, Straight Up, the feature debut of director, writer and actor James Sweeney, opens in theaters today from Strand Releasing. Sweeney plays Todd, a gay man and software developer questioning his sexuality who falls romantically (and perhaps just platonically) with an aspiring actress played by Katie Findlay. Shot in eye-popping colors within a 4:3 frame, and with sharp dialogue delivered rat-a-tat-tat, Straight Up, which premiered at last year’s Frameline Film Festival, subverts the tensions traditionally found in romantic comedies in service to a more inclusive […]...

Harkening back to Golden Age romantic comedies while placing its young characters in of-the-moment relationship scenarios, Straight Up, the feature debut of director, writer and actor James Sweeney, opens in theaters today from Strand Releasing. Sweeney plays Todd, a gay man and software developer questioning his sexuality who falls romantically (and perhaps just platonically) with an aspiring actress played by Katie Findlay. Shot in eye-popping colors within a 4:3 frame, and with sharp dialogue delivered rat-a-tat-tat, Straight Up, which premiered at last year’s Frameline Film Festival, subverts the tensions traditionally found in romantic comedies in service to a more inclusive […]...

There’s a tradition in movies, as vital as a hypnotic action scene or a swooning love scene, of dialogue so witty and nimble and rapid-fire that it comes at you like something out of a stylized dream. I first encountered that brand of high-velocity verbal jousting in “A Hard Day’s Night,” and later on in college when I saw “His Girl Friday,” a movie where the baroque banter flew with a manic spontaneity I could barely keep up with. (The dialogue was action.) More recent examples from the school of rockin’ ping-pong ferocity include the exhilarating aggro chatter of Wes Anderson’s “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and the mad analytical social satire of “Dear White People.”

In the independent romantic comedy “Straight Up,” the writer-director James Sweeney updates that grand and glorious mode of run-for-cover screwball to the age of pop-culture-saturated digital millennials who think faster than they can process.

Early on in Straight Up, an obsessive-compulsive mixed-race millennial named Todd (James Sweeney) tries to furiously explain why he must stop dating men and focus on finding heterosexual love. His unimpressed psychoanalyst Dr. Larson (Tracie Thoms) listens to this rattling machine gun dialogue (echoing directly from the screwball pantheon) of gay denial without expressing any emotion before sardonically replying, “You’re willingly barking up the wrong tree.”

So many romantic comedies involve misguided characters whose actions directly go against their better judgment. But the rashness associated with romantic self-destruction can sometimes be misconstrued as exciting. This doesn’t seem to be the case for Todd, whose deteriorating mental health and confused sense of identity have become so entangled that his banal headfirst dive into hetero-normalization would appear the only plausible escape from a lifetime of loneliness.

Enter Rory (Katie Findlay), aspiring actor and conversational dive-bomber whose intellectual speed instantly grabs...

At Saturday’s star-studded gala awards ceremony, San Diego Asian Film Festival (Sdaff) announced the winning filmmakers and celebrities from this year’s festival. Hosted by actors Leonardo Nam and Tamilyn Tomita, the awards celebrated the best in Asian and Asian American cinema from the past year. Winner of Best Feature Narrative Andrew Ahn received his 3rd Sdaff award in the last decade. More than 500 people attended and raised money towards Pacific Arts Movement’s youth filmmaking program, Reel Voices.

Sdaff has served as a space not only for watching movies, but as a way to connect and nurture communities through storytelling. Many filmmakers who have received awards in the past launched their careers at Sdaff. These often underrepresented voices are paving the way for the next generation of filmmakers.

Andrew Ahn’s Driveways was the winner of the best feature narrative. His short Andy won best narrative short in...

Wichita's indie-filled celebration of cinema is hosting its 17th edition of the Tallgrass Film Festival in a few weeks and their full lineup is packed with goodness. A leader in the regional festival scene for bringing independent films to the Midwest, this year's festival is another great mix of festival faves and smaller films that easily slip through the cracks. We'll have plenty more to come as the festival start date of October 16 approaches, but until then, the full press release and lineup is below. The 17th Annual Tallgrass Film Festival announces lineup of feature films including Opening Night Gala selection of James Sweeney’s Straight Up, Stubbornly Independent presentation of Haroula Rose’s Once Upon A River and Closing Night Gala choice of Kirill Mikhanovsky’s...

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

Ken Kirby is ready to jump into the soapy prime time drama of Dynasty. The Good Trouble actor is set to recur on the CW reboot of the iconic series in the role of Evan Tate, Trixie’s (Jessi Goei) older brother. And as we all know, Trixie is Fallon’s (Elizabeth Gillies) friend who died ten years ago and whose body was pulled from the lake in the season finale.

Kirby’s casting is refreshing in a time when Dynasty has seen a slew of changes in its casting during the first two seasons. The lead role of Cristal went through two changes. The first time Ana Brenda Contreras replaced original star Nathalie Kelley after the end of Season 1. And recently, Contreras was replaced by Daniella Alonso as the series headed into Season 3. In addition, Elizabeth Gillies recently took over the role of Alexis from Nicollette Sheridan. And original...

Exclusive: Strand Releasing has acquired the American Rights to James Sweeney’s feature film debut Straight Up which made its premiere earlier this year at Frameline in San Francisco and screened at Outfest in Los Angeles. Strand Releasing is slating a U.S. theatrical release in the spring.

Written, directed and starring Sweeney, the comedy follows Todd (Sweeney), a persnickety half-virgin diagnosed with Ocd who thinks maybe he was socially conditioned to be gay. Rory (How To Get Away With Murder‘s Katie Findlay) is a whip-smart aspiring actress with her own set of insecurities, sexual and otherwise. Over time, Rory’s stagnant career and Todd’s self-doubt begins to dismantle their odd couple routine, despite their unwillingness to let each other go.

“We’re thrilled to have James’ singular and humorous vision, his knack for snappy dialogue and smart visuals are inspired by period screwball comedies and create such...

In today’s film news roundup, Cim Group sells Hollywood & Highland but retains the Dolby Theatre, “The Matrix” gets re-released and the comedy “Straight Up” gets bought.

Property Sale

Cim Group has sold the Hollywood & Highland retail-entertainment center to Gaw Capital and Djm while retaining ownership of the Dolby Theatre, site of the Academy Awards.

Cim acquired the Hollywood & Highland complex in 2004, three years after it debuted. It also signed a 20-year contract in 2012 with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences to maintain the annual Academy Awards at the Dolby and recently made a programming deal with the Hollywood Pantages Theatre to bring Broadway shows to the Dolby.

Gaw Captial and Djm said Monday that they plan to renovate Hollywood & Highland over the next 24 to 30 months. The deal does not include the adjacent Tcl Chinese Theatre, owned by Elie Samaha and a consortium of investors.

“The retail landscape has shifted,...

Todd (James Sweeney) is trapped in a box. Literally, if you consider that Sweeney, who also wrote, directed and produced the rapid-fire queer (or am I?) dramedy Straight Up, constricts his characters to a 4:3 frame familiar from many a Golden Age Hollywood rom-com. Performance anxiety is prevalent. You get the sense that the twenty-something, Ocd-afflicted Todd speaks so rat-a-tat because to slow down would mean certain death, or at least the need to deal with a highly shambolic reality.

Todd's truth is that he doubts he's the gay man he thought he was. Years of failed dating,...

Todd (James Sweeney) is trapped in a box. Literally, if you consider that Sweeney, who also wrote, directed and produced the rapid-fire queer (or am I?) dramedy Straight Up, constricts his characters to a 4:3 frame familiar from many a Golden Age Hollywood rom-com. Performance anxiety is prevalent. You get the sense that the twenty-something, Ocd-afflicted Todd speaks so rat-a-tat because to slow down would mean certain death, or at least the need to deal with a highly shambolic reality.

Todd's truth is that he doubts he's the gay man he thought he was. Years of failed dating,...

Exclusive: Ken Kirby (Good Trouble) and Michelle Krusiec (The Invitation) are set to star in the supernatural thriller The Uncanny from Abel Vang and Burlee Vang.

The feature, which is a follow up to the Vang Brothers’ 2016 feature Bedeviled, will be produced by Carr Lee and Stephen Stanley and also feature Ellen Wroe (Final Destination 5). It is slated to shoot in Los Angeles and Orange County.

The story follows social worker Claire Yang, who has been haunted for years by visions that she is only just beginning to understand as a connection to the spirit world. When she is assigned a new domestic abuse case, she discovers that the problem is being caused by a supernatural entity and must use her clairvoyance to help save the family.

“The spiritual medium, often a female, is a horror archetype that has appeared in almost every film where a family is faced...

Definitive sexual orientation is a burdensome proposition in the indie rom-com “Straight Up,” James Sweeney’s feature debut acting as writer, director, and star, where blurred labels and binary-defying fluidity guide the central relationship.

Lighthearted in tone yet intellectually intriguing, the L.A.-set film ponders valid queries about identity, even if they’re almost entirely sustained by dialogue.

Introduced via a rant on his disgust towards corporeal orifices during a session with his pricy psychoanalyst, professional housesitter Todd (Sweeney) quickly exhibits pronounced signs of having obsessive-compulsive disorder, multiple phobias, major brainpower, and overall inadequacy when dealing with social cues and expectations. Though mined for a few successful gags, his personality often comes across as forced quirkiness for the sake of humor that brings to mind “The Big Bang Theory’s” Sheldon.

See Photos: Gay Hollywood: 41 Out and Proud Lgbt Stars

Lack of intimacy, both physical and emotional, is at...

Outfest has unveiled its programming lineup, including appearances by Kathy Griffin, Trixie Mattel, Angelica Ross and Robert Englund, for its 37th version on July 18-28.

Officially titled the 2019 Outfest Los Angeles Lgbtq Film Festival, the event opens at the Orpheum Theatre with the “Circus of Books” documentary and closes at The Theater at the Ace Hotel with family comedy “Before You Know It” from Hannah Pearl Utt (who also co-wrote and stars), featuring Judith Light alongside Alec Baldwin and Mandy Patinkin.

Films are from 33 countries and in 26 languages, and more than two-thirds of the titles are directed by women, people of color and trans filmmakers.

“As my tenure comes to an end I am most proud of Outfest’s increased visibility in Hollywood and our ever-growing stature within the industry,” said executive director Christopher Racster. “Outfest Los Angeles continues to shine a spotlight on those stories we must see and...

After 37 years as the nation’s premier Lgbtq film festival, Outfest shows no signs of slowing down. The 2019 festival, scheduled to take place in Los Angeles from July 18-28, has just announced its full schedule. The lineup features a combination of festival favorites and rarely-seen foreign films, placing Lgbtq cinema in a truly global context.

The festival opens on July 18 with “Circus of Books,” the Tribeca hit about a daughter’s learning about her parents’ groundbreaking gay porn shop. It closes out with Sundance breakout “Before You Know It,” and will feature 28 world premieres during its run.

From features and documentaries to shorts and episodic content, this is truly an all-inclusive launching pad for Lgbtq filmmakers. The festival continues to push the boundaries of progress, with a majority of this year’s films directed by filmmakers from groups underrepresented in queer film.

“As my tenure comes to an end I...

Now in its 37th year, Outfest serves up an inclusive and intersectional slate of programming, two-thirds of which includes content directed by women, people of color and trans filmmakers. The fest, which will be held July 18-28 in Los Angeles, will open with Rachel Mason’s documentary Circus of Books which spotlights L.A.’s iconic brick-and-mortar gay erotica emporium and bookstore. Sundance favorite Before You Know It directed, co-written and starring Hannah Pearl Utt, as well as Judith Light, Alec Baldwin and Mandy Patinkin, will serve as the festival’s closing night film.

The fest will have films from 33 countries and in 26 languages and will include appearances from Kathy Griffin, RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars winner Trixie Mattel, Pose actress Angelica Ross, horror icon Robert Englund, musician and actor Sam Harris and others.

“As my tenure comes to an end I am most proud of Outfest’s increased...

Glee alum Harry Shum Jr. and former Man Seeking Woman co-star Katie Findlay are set as leads in ABC’s Heart of Life drama pilot from Ben Queen, Paul Weitz, Melvin Mar, 20th Century Fox TV and ABC Studios.

Inspired by the John Mayer song of the same name, Heart of Life is written by Queen and directed by Anne Fletcher. It follows two sets of adult siblings from wildly different worlds who discover they’re related and must reassess everything they thought they knew about their shared father. As they explore the mystery of their separate childhoods, they’ll experience the difficulty in overcoming the sins of the past, and learn the joys of reuniting with long-lost family.

Shum and Findlay will play one of the two sets of siblings at the center of the show, Brendan and Sydney Winter.

Queen, Mayer, Mar, Kasdan and Weitz executive produce.

Shum...

Exclusive: Adam Paulsen, a former VP at 30West and CAA film finance agent, has joined venture capitalist David Carrico’s indie production company Valparaiso Pictures as managing partner. The company, which launched in August to produce and invest in film and TV projects, also said today it elevated Bobby Hoppey to VP Development to help oversee the slates.

Valparaiso’s pipeline already includes After Perfect, a feature film based on Christina McDowell’s 2016 memoir that is being adapted by What They Had director Elizabeth Chomko and produced with Matt Reeves’ 6th & Idaho Productions and Joshua Thurston. It also is producing and financing Straight Up, the feature directorial debut of James Sweeney who stars in the romantic comedy alongside Katie Findlay.

The company also executive produced The Sound of Silence, which is world premiering in competition at next month’s Sundance Film Festival.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled to partner...

Exclusive: Recently launched La-based production company Valparaiso Pictures will produce and finance James Sweeney’s (Bushwick Beats) feature directorial debut Straight Up.

Sweeney penned the script and will also star in the romantic comedy alongside Man Seeking Woman and How To Get Away With Murder actress Katie Findlay. Tracie Thoms (Rent), James Scully (Heathers) and Dana Drori co-star, with principal photography currently underway in Los Angeles.

The film is based on Sweeney’s short Normal Doors, which tells the story of an Ocd gay twenty-something who finds his intellectual soul mate in a struggling actress. David Carrico is producing through his Valparaiso banner alongside Ross Putman (Plus One).

“I’m so grateful to finally will this film into existence,” said Sweeney in a statement. “To think, it only took five years, a root canal and a crowdfunding campaign.”

Valparaiso is in development on movies including drama After Perfect, written by...