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The Los Angeles Film Festival starts June 14 with Colin Trevorrow’s “The Book of Henry” as its opening-night film, but in its 23rd year the festival still hasn’t found its proper place on the film calendar.

Produced by Film Independent, Laff has always been something of a feathered fish. Some of this stems from its summer timeframe: It arrives at mid-year, more than two months before new awards contenders reveal themselves at Telluride and long after acquisitions festivals like Toronto and Sundance have done their work (with support from SXSW and Tribeca that follow) .

Laff has tried to make lemons into organic lemonade: Under the direction of recently departed Stephanie Allain, the Laff moved away from the quality international fare favored by former programmer David Ansen to embrace its indie roots and chase world premieres from under-represented demographics.

It’s a worthy-minded strategy, but the result was a lineup...

The Los Angeles Film Festival starts June 14 with Colin Trevorrow’s “The Book of Henry” as its opening-night film, but in its 23rd year the festival still hasn’t found its proper place on the film calendar.

Produced by Film Independent, Laff has always been something of a feathered fish. Some of this stems from its summer timeframe: It arrives at mid-year, more than two months before new awards contenders reveal themselves at Telluride and long after acquisitions festivals like Toronto and Sundance have done their work (with support from SXSW and Tribeca that follow) .

Laff has tried to make lemons into organic lemonade: Under the direction of recently departed Stephanie Allain, the Laff moved away from the quality international fare favored by former programmer David Ansen to embrace its indie roots and chase world premieres from under-represented demographics.

It’s a worthy-minded strategy, but the result was a lineup...

Author: Ty Cooper

In the age of social media apps such as Tinder, the way we view and define relationships is ever changing. As a society we are moving towards a dangerous code of ethics that holds instant gratification above all else. When love and sex can be found at the speed of your finger swiping across a screen, what are the consequences? How does this constant bombardment of eligible suitors affect us in this day and age? How are the concepts of truth and privacy going to be defined going forward? With Newness, Director Drake Doremus tackles these questions and more.

Director Drake Doremus and Screenwriter Ben York Jones have a working friendship that dates back to their 2010 Sundance collaborative debut Douchebag. Since then, they have collaborated on a string of runaway Sundance successes that has helped pull them out from shadows, and propelled them into powerhouse status. With Newness,...

Filmmakers around the world harbor the same fantasy: I’m going to make a film so good that it will play the Sundance Film Festival, score rave reviews, sell in an overnight bidding war for a multi-million-dollar minimum guarantee to a major theatrical buyer, open in packed theaters around the country, and launch my career.

Right.

Truth is, this hardly ever happens. We checked in with a group of lauded Sundance filmmakers, all who are returning to the festival this year with new films, to glean what they learned the hard way from their Sundance experiences.

1. Manage expectations.

Alex Ross Perry (“Golden Exits”): My first time was with “Listen Up Philip” [2014], which was a huge step forward from my last movie, “The Color Wheel,” which I made for $25,000 with all my friends. This was a sizable, produced movie with a cast of well-known people [Jason Schwartzman, Elizabeth Moss, Jonathan Pryce]. The first days was all...

Filmmakers around the world harbor the same fantasy: I’m going to make a film so good that it will play the Sundance Film Festival, score rave reviews, sell in an overnight bidding war for a multi-million-dollar minimum guarantee to a major theatrical buyer, open in packed theaters around the country, and launch my career.

Right.

Truth is, this hardly ever happens. We checked in with a group of lauded Sundance filmmakers, all who are returning to the festival this year with new films, to glean what they learned the hard way from their Sundance experiences.

1. Manage expectations.

Alex Ross Perry (“Golden Exits”): My first time was with “Listen Up Philip” [2014], which was a huge step forward from my last movie, “The Color Wheel,” which I made for $25,000 with all my friends. This was a sizable, produced movie with a cast of well-known people [Jason Schwartzman, Elizabeth Moss, Jonathan Pryce]. The first days was all...

Bidding wars have already begun for the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Buyers snapped up six titles in the days leading up to the fest, including one that A24 purchased sight unseen: David Lowery’s “A Ghost Story,” starring Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara. Other movies acquired in the past two weeks are “Berlin Syndrome” (Netflix), “Call Me By Your Name” (Sony Pictures Classics), “Casting JonBenet” (Netflix), “Cries From Syria” (HBO for television rights) and “Long Strange Trip” (Amazon).

Read More: Sundance 2017: Netflix, Vertical Acquire ‘Berlin Syndrome’

With 120 features playing at Sundance, there are plenty of hot titles remaining for acquisition executive, though it will be tough for any film to exceed last year’s $17.5 million purchase of “The Birth of a Nation” by Fox Searchlight, the biggest deal in the festival’s history.

Which movies are likely to have buyers lining up in the cold this year? Here are 14 hot...

The new Drake Doremus movie “Newness” is the rare film that was kept a secret almost by accident. A last-minute addition to the Sundance Film Festival, the movie was financed and produced so quickly that the filmmaking team skipped the usual casting announcements and other publicity efforts that accompany most Hollywood movies. It’s not that the producers tried to fly under the radar – they were just too busy making the actual movie.

Read More: Sundance 2017: ‘Newness’ and ‘Trumped: Inside the Greatest Political Upset of All Time’ Added to Lineup

Doremus’ fourth film to premiere in Park City after “Douchebag,” “Like Crazy” and “Breathe In,” the movie stars Nicholas Hoult and Laia Costa as a couple in contemporary Los Angeles navigating the world of online dating and social media–driven hookup culture. The film co-stars Matthew Gray Gubler, Courtney Eaton, Danny Huston and Courtney Eaton.

“Newness” writer Ben York Jones (“Like Crazy,...

Two new films have just been added to this year’s Sundance Film Festival: Drake Doremus’ “Newness” and Banks Tarver, Ted Bourne and Mary Robertson’s “Trumped: Inside the Greatest Political Upset of All Time.” The former marks Doremus’ fourth film to premiere in Park City after “Douchebag,” “Like Crazy” and “Breathe In,” while the latter continues Sundance’s tradition of ultra-timely political documentaries.

Read More: ‘A Ghost Story’: David Lowery’s Sundance Drama Starring Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara Acquired by A24

Nicholas Hoult, Laia Costa, Danny Huston and Courtney Eaton star in “Newness,” which the program notes describe thusly: “In contemporary Los Angeles, two millennials navigating a social media–driven hookup culture begin a relationship that pushes both emotional and physical boundaries.” Mark Halperin, John Heilemann and Mark McKinnon feature in “Trumped,” meanwhile, which follows its subject’s unlikely election last November.

Read More: Sundance 2017: Sony Pictures Classics...

The Stephanie Allain era of Film Independent’s Los Angeles Film Festival is over.

The prolific producer (“Beyond the Lights”) is leaving her role of five years as director of the summer festival to spend more time on her first avocation. She will be replaced by another independent producer, Jennifer Cochis (“Smashed”), who for the past two years worked closely as Creative Director with Allain on all aspects of the festival.

Allain is currently in production on Justin Simien’s Netflix series “Dear White People,” in post-production on Gerard McMurray’s “Burning Sands” and prepping Clark Johnson’s “Juanita,” set to star Alfre Woodard.

Film Independent President Josh Welsh has watched Cochis move up from Senior Programmer to Creative Director, he said in a statement. Working with Allain, she was instrumental in “turning the Festival into a powerful platform for discovering new and diverse talent.”

Promoting Allain’s protege suggests...

The Stephanie Allain era of Film Independent’s Los Angeles Film Festival is over.

The prolific producer (“Beyond the Lights”) is leaving her role of five years as director of the summer festival to spend more time on her first avocation. She will be replaced by another independent producer, Jennifer Cochis (“Smashed”), who for the past two years worked closely as Creative Director with Allain on all aspects of the festival.

Allain is currently in production on Justin Simien’s Netflix series “Dear White People,” in post-production on Gerard McMurray’s “Burning Sands” and prepping Clark Johnson’s “Juanita,” set to star Alfre Woodard.

Film Independent President Josh Welsh has watched Cochis move up from Senior Programmer to Creative Director, he said in a statement. Working with Allain, she was instrumental in “turning the Festival into a powerful platform for discovering new and diverse talent.”

Promoting Allain’s protege suggests...

Credit wars are a fact of Hollywood life that’s rarely laid bare. Those involved are often intimidated by the possible consequences, and the backstories aren’t simple; there’s the question of whether they’ll be believed, or if anyone really has the patience to hear them out.

The battle over costume design credits on “Equals” is different.

Read More: ‘Equals’ Review – Kristen Stewart Is The Only Bright Spot In This Dull Dystopian Romance

Directed by the Sundance-winning Drake Doremus, “Equals” stars Kristen Stewart and Nicolas Hoult. Two costume designers are officially credited to the production: In first position is Abby O’Sullivan, a veteran whose credits included “Frozen River,” “Sinister,” and “Mississippi Grind.” In second position, Alana Morshead, who was an actress and stylist when she started collaborating with Doremus on the film.

However, according to O’Sullivan and others who worked on the film’s costumes, Morshead...

Here's an entertaining short film from director Max Sherman titled "But I'd Really Have To Kill You" that pokes fun at the inane small talk that happens all the time in office environments. This hit Vimeo a few months ago, but I'm just catching it now thanks to GeeksAreSexy. It made me laugh, so I figured I'd pass it along in case you haven't seen it yet. Any of you who have worked in a place like this will almost certainly find that it rings true. Ben York Jones (Douchebag, Like Crazy) and Tim Baltz (Drunk History) star.

One of the earliest “mumblecore” directors to leave that tag behind and never look back, Drake Doremus' post-“Spooner” and “Douchebag” career has been spent exploring heartache in many different flavors. “Like Crazy” looked at the difficulties of long-distance relationships in young love, and “Breathe In” explored a May/December relationship between a married man and his young musical pupil. Doremus is not done with love and emotion, but for his next film he’s examining the heart through the lens of science-fiction. Read More: Venice Review: Drake Doremus' 'Equals' With Kristen Stewart, Nicholas Hoult, Guy Pearce & Jacki Weaver His latest is the sci-fi romance “Equals,” and it's set in a futuristic, utopian society where where inhabitants have been bred to be peaceful and emotionless. Complications arise when a man and woman fall in love in a civilization that has eradicated such notions. "Equals" stars Nicholas Hoult,...

Whether you are a filmmaker, or one of the Sundance programmers whose task it is to identify the films that make up a line-up, it is indeed the most wonderful, panic-filled and nerve racking time of the year. The 31st edition of the Sundance Film Festival kicks off on January 22nd with Park City and Salt Lake City playing host to some of the more innovative, thought-provoking narrative and non-fiction films of 2015. Last year, a Jenga tall order of 4,057 features and 8,161 shorts were submitted. Now let’s think about those numbers for a second.

Twenty years ago, Terry Zwigoff’s Crumb claimed the Grand Jury Prize Documentary award, Living in Oblivion‘s Tom Dicillo was honored with the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award, and Edward Burns’ micro-budgeted The Brothers McMullen (there is a read-worthy, lively, eleventh hour account on how it was submitted to the fest in Ted Hope’s “Hope...

It’s always fascinating to see a filmmaker progress and grow. Drake Doremus’ early indie films like “Spooner” and “Douchebag” were lumped in with the lo-fi mumblecore movement, but he quickly expanded beyond that realm with the touching long-distance romance “Like Crazy,” a film that introduced many to Felicity Jones and even featured an early role by Jennifer Lawrence. While maintaining his free-form style—a lot of improvisation built around loosely visualized scenes—his approach is a method, not a madness, and each film grows with confidence. His last picture, “Breathe In,” illustrated how heavyweights like Guy Pearce and Amy Ryan effortlessly fit into this exploratory form. He even discovered another new stand-out in Mackenzie Davis. For his next trick, Doremus is attempting something very different, a traditionally scripted sci-fi film, and one with a terrific cast. Starring Kristen Stewart and Nicholas Hoult, plus Guy Pearce, Jacki Weaver Kate Lyn Sheil and Toby.

“Tracking Shot” is a monthly featurette here on Ioncinema.com that looks at a dozen or so projects that are moments away from lensing (or in a couple of titles below have been shooting since July). This August we’ve got a good number of projects that will start surfacing as early as next year’s Sundance, Rotterdam and Berlin Film Fests. With Dakota Johnson having been just announced, we’ve got Luca Guadagnino’s long awaited (remake) A Bigger Splash, getting ready for a poolside shoot. Gus Van Sant comes out of the woodworks to move into the woods for Sea of Trees. Sundance alumni Rick Alverson is wrapping up Entertainment, Reed Morano is set to make her directorial debut this mid-August with Meadowland, while Douchebag, Like Crazy, Breathe In‘s Drake Doremus is stationed in Japan for a weighty cast and futuristic tale in Equals. Here are some...

As a fan of Drake Doremus’ earlier films, Douchebag and Like Crazy, I must admit to being disappointed with Breathe In. Doremus and his writing partner Ben York Jones’ working method is unorthodox: they call upon their actors to flesh out a blueprint-style script and improvise almost all of their dialogue. With hours of material resulting from every shooting day, the final draft is crafted during months of editing. This process has paid off nicely in the past, and once again they have hired good actors for their leading roles: Guy Pearce (playing American), Felicity Jones (from Like Crazy), Amy Ryan, and newcomer Mackenzie Davis. But the set-up this time around is painfully...

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At the ripe old age of (almost) 31, writer/director Drake Doremus already has an enviable filmography, including festival favorites “Douchebag” and “Like Crazy,” the latter of which introduced American audiences to the charms of one Felicity Jones. If that’s not enough to give aspiring filmmakers apoplexy, his latest film, “Breathe In”—which premiered at Sundance in 2013—opens this week, and his next feature, “Equals,” is already brewing, starring Kristen Stewart and Nicholas Hoult in a futuristic setting (though Doremus is not quite ready to talk about it yet). “Breathe In” once again stars Jones, this time as a British foreign exchange student named Sophie, who disrupts the lives of her host family in upstate New York. Keith (a simmering Guy Pearce) and Megan (the always-rock-solid Amy Ryan) have become complacent—and sometimes bitter—in their marriage, and they don’t quite know how to handle their teenage daughter Lauren (relative newcomer Mackenzie Davis,...

It's difficult to ascertain the intent of an artist from a single work, but Drake Doremus' gradually expanding filmography gives the impression of a skillful filmmaker more interested in gaming the system than doing anything fresh with it. To date, each of Doremus' movies have shown the hallmarks of certain tendencies in American cinema: 2009's "Spooner" was the kind of meandering, forgettable slacker comedy one can find padding the lineups of most U.S. festival programs; the shakycam comedy "Douchebag" inserted the tropes of the emerging "bromance" genre into an aimless road trip misadventure seemingly modeled on someone's idea of a commercial "mumblecore" story; "Like Crazy," which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2011, was a by-the-numbers romance about the perils of long distance relationships. Just because it all sounds familiar doesn't mean you've seen it before. None of these movies were entirely irksome — if nothing else,...

Lee Stobby has joined Silent R Management as a literary manager, TheWrap has learned. Stobby, who was previously a manager at Caliber Media, began his career at Industry Entertainment after working at several production companies, including Double Feature Films and Misher Films. Clients who will be traveling with Stobby to Silent R include filmmaker Rodney Ascher (“Room 237″), director Kaare Andrews (“Cabin Fever: Patient Zero”), writer Emil Stern (“Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole”), writer Lindsay Stidham (“Douchebag”), director Tomasz Thomson (“Snowman’s Land”) and writer Kate Trefry, whose script “Pure O” was voted to the 2013 Black List.

Starting next week, it will have been a year since Like Crazy director Drake Doremus brought his intimate film Breathe in to the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. And while the film has already come and gone in the United Kingdom, the film doesn't arrive in theaters in the United States until this spring. Now the first Us trailer for the film starring Guy Pearce and Felicity Jones has arrived. My review called the film "a fierce look at the decisions we make to stay young and try to be happy when we're feeling vulnerable," and "one of the most well-acted and scored" films from the festival that year. It's certainly worth a look. Watch below! Here's the first Us trailer for Drake Doremus' Breathe In, from Indiewire (small player, we'll update): Drake Doremus (Like Crazy, Douchebag) writes and directs Breathe In for his latest filmmaking effort. When a foreign...

The Sundance winner is a veteran director at 30, with five movies to his credit. His latest, once again starring Felicity Jones, brings a mature eye to young love

Judging by his latest movie, Drake Doremus, 30, is in the throes of a mid-life crisis. It's customary for young American directors to make their name with dazzlingly clever thrillers or droll observations on young adulthood, but Doremus's latest movie, Breathe In, is understated, reflective and nuanced – mature, you could say. It is tightly focused on the attraction between an English exchange student (Felicity Jones) and the father of the upstate New York family she is staying with, played by Guy Pearce – a music teacher nursing unfulfilled ambitions of being a concert cellist, or a rock star. If you didn't know better, you would guess it was semi-autobiographical. Doremus looks sort of boyishly mature in person. He has wild curly hair and a beard,...

The promise of youth meets the onset of middle-age in Drake Doremus's elegantly composed and emotionally reticent drama Breathe In. Writer-director Doremus scored an indie hit at Sundance with his last film, the transatlantic romance Like Crazy (2011), which showcased his knack for intimate, personal storytelling and a heightened sensitivity to mood. I wonder if this was why UK audiences never got to see the one he made before that, Douchebag. That doesn't sound like it had much sensitivity to anything.

Following the powerful indie romance Like Crazy, director Drake Doremus was instantly on our radar, and his 2013 Sundance Film Festival selected Breathe In became one of our most anticipated films of the festival. While the indie drama isn't exactly a home run, this writer found the film to have "emotionally charged performances, and a grand, majestic score" all while giving "a fierce look at the decisions we make to stay young and try to be happy when we're feeling vulnerable." Guy Pearce and Felicity Jones star in the film which now has a gorgeous first trailer leading up to this summer's release in the UK. Watch below! Here's the first trailer for Drake Doremus' Breathe In, originally from The Guardian (via IndieWire): Drake Doremus (Like Crazy, Douchebag) writes and directs Breathe In for his latest filmmaking effort. When a foreign exchange student (Felicity Jones) arrives in a small upstate New York town,...

Drake Doremus was at Slamdance and Sundance in 2009 and 2010 with "Spooner" and "Douchebag" respectively, but the indie filmmaker started to really connect on a grander scale when he started tackling relationships, crystallized with 2011's moving and award-winning "Like Crazy." A big smash at Sundance that year, it won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Dramatic Film and introduced the world at large to brilliant English actress Felicity Jones (she won a Special Jury Prize for her moving performance in the lead role). The filmmaker was clearly cooking with grease on that picture and so in his latest effort, "Breathe In," he's tried to stay within the same type of emotional and thematic frame, and yet expanding that territory to explore some darker tenors. He's even once again chosen to work with Felicity Jones, but adding Guy Pearce, Amy Ryan and newcomer Mackenzie Davis to his troupe of...

Felicity Jones strikes exactly the right note as a young musician enchanting Guy Pearce in Drake Doremus's captivating film

This is the third movie from Drake Doremus to play at Sundance. Doremus won the festival's dramatic grand jury prize here two years ago with Like Crazy and reunites with his leading lady Felicity Jones, who took the special jury prize for acting in the same film.

Jones is a beguiling presence and this time round her porcelain allure enchants an older man played by Guy Pearce – Keith, a gifted high-school music teacher whose creative career was cut short 17 years earlier when he and his wife had their daughter. The family functions well enough until Jones's exchange student, Sophie, comes from Berkshire to spend a semester in their sprawling east coast home. As the mother, Amy Ryan is warm and welcoming, while her daughter Lauren, played by newcomer Mackenzie Davis,...

James Ponsoldt’s Smashed saw its world debut at Sundance at the start of the year, and leading lady Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s performance has been Oscar-buzzed ever since.

The film won the Special Jury Prize at the festival, and just last month, Winstead’s performance was recognised once more when the Independent Spirit Awards nominations were announced, nominating her for Best Actress.

It opened in a limited release in the Us back in October, and has been continuing its expansion over the weeks since then, and will now be released in the UK this Friday. Sony have released the UK variant of the trailer, and though it is essentially identical to the first trailer we saw in September, it’s nice to know for 100% certain that it has secured the UK release it deserves.

“Kate and Charlie like to have a good time. Their marriage thrives on a shared fondness for music,...

I’m betting that Drake Doremus’s currently untitled drama will make it three for three at Sundance with Douchebag (Sundance ’10), Grand Jury Prize winning Like Crazy (Sundance ’11) or four for four in Park City when you include his debut film, the Slamdance selected Spooner. Once again teaming with Felicity Jones, this also stars Guy Pearce, Kyle MacLachlan, Amy Ryan and Alexandra Wentworth, filming on his latest began in August of 2011 – so with the exception of no title, there won’t be last minute preparations on this one and surely bidding war preparations might already be in the works.

Gist: This is quoted as being a “tense story about an inappropriate relationship between a young student, an exchange student and a school teacher.”

Production Co./Producers: Indian Paintbrush’s Steven M. Rales and Mark Roybal, Crispy Films’ Jonathan Schwartz and Andrea Sperling (Smashed, Nobody Walks)

Prediction: Premieres Program

U.S.

The Oscar buzz has been surrounding Mary Elizabeth Winstead for her performance in Smashed all year, since the film debuted at Sundance back in January, where it jointly won the Special Jury Prize.

I absolutely loved the film when it continued its festival circuit at Tiff, and with the film currently in limited release in the Us, Sony have finally announced that they’ll be releasing the film here in the UK on 14th December.

Winstead stars opposite Aaron Paul, with the leading duo playing a functioning alcoholic couple, and when the former realises what a mess her life has become, her path to sobriety is not an easy one.

“Kate and Charlie like to have a good time. Their marriage thrives on a shared fondness for music, laughter . . . and getting smashed. When Kate’s partying spirals into hard-core asocial behavior, compromising her job as an elementary schoolteacher, something’s got to give.

James Ponsoldt’s Smashed debuted at Sundance this year and came away not only with an award in hand, but also with a substantial level of critical acclaim, and early buzz for the coming Oscar season for its leading duo of Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) and Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) – very impressive, given that the film screened at the festival before this year’s Oscars had even taken place.

Sony Pictures Classics will be releasing the film next month, and with the film screening at Tiff this week, Yahoo Movies have debuted the first trailer and poster, and they are both exactly as brilliant as we expected.

“Kate and Charlie like to have a good time. Their marriage thrives on a shared fondness for music, laughter . . . and getting smashed. When Kate’s partying spirals into hard-core asocial behavior, compromising her job as an elementary schoolteacher, something’s got to give.

James Ponsoldt’s Smashed debuted at Sundance this year to brilliant early reviews, with a particular focus on its leading couple, Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) and Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), for having given such exceptional performances.

Talk has been buzzing ever since for the possibility of a Best Actress nomination for Winstead at the Oscars, and with the film about to screen at Tiff, Sony Pictures Classics have now released the first clip.

“Kate and Charlie like to have a good time. Their marriage thrives on a shared fondness for music, laughter . . . and getting smashed. When Kate’s partying spirals into hard-core asocial behavior, compromising her job as an elementary schoolteacher, something’s got to give. But change isn’t exactly a cakewalk. Sobriety means she will have to confront the lies she’s been spinning at work, her troubling relationship with her mother, and the...

James Ponsoldt’s Smashed debuted at Sundance at the start of the year to brilliant reviews, coming away from the festival with an award in hand and early buzz for Oscar-worthy performances from its leading stars, Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) and Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad).

Last week, we heard that Sony Pictures Classics had set the film’s Us release date for 12th October, and now we’ve got nine new images to share, giving us a look a transformed Winstead, significantly more washed-out than we’re used to seeing her, on her path to sobriety.

“Kate and Charlie like to have a good time. Their marriage thrives on a shared fondness for music, laughter . . . and getting smashed. When Kate’s partying spirals into hard-core asocial behavior, compromising her job as an elementary schoolteacher, something’s got to give. But change isn’t exactly a cakewalk.

Starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) and Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) in the leads, Smashed debuted at Sundance this year to incredibly strong reviews, and jointly won the Special Jury Prize for Excellence in Independent Film Producing.

Sony Classics acquired Us distribution, and have now set the release date for the film as 12th October.

“Kate and Charlie like to have a good time. Their marriage thrives on a shared fondness for music, laughter . . . and getting smashed. When Kate’s partying spirals into hard-core asocial behavior, compromising her job as an elementary schoolteacher, something’s got to give. But change isn’t exactly a cakewalk. Sobriety means she will have to confront the lies she’s been spinning at work, her troubling relationship with her mother, and the nature of her bond with Charlie.”

Starring alongside Winstead and Paul will be Octavia Spencer (The Help), Nick Offerman...

This article by Nate von Zumwalt, Editorial Coordinator for Sundance was posted on Sundance's website on June 22, 2012.

I am glad to repost it here because it shows the dynamic integrity continues chez Sundance. Here it is with thanks to Nate.

Take one cursory glance at the annals of the Sundance Film Festival and you’ll notice a persistent and invariable trend: first-time directors. The theme is as astounding as it is inspiring. In 2012 alone, 44 of the 112 feature-film selections were crafted by first-time directors, and a handful of others had made their debuts at Sundance in years past. It would all make for quite the family tree, branching and bifurcating into one massive connection of artists with a similar root. But in lieu of that tedious task, we still like to keep an eye on those filmmakers who have shared their genius with Sundance over the years. In light of yesterday’s thrilling news that Rodriguez—the enigmatic Mexican American musician and the subject of the Sff ’12 opening night doc Searching for Sugarman—is set to play The Late Show with David Letterman in August, we’ve decided to check in on some of the more notable Sundance alumni involving themselves in some of the more notable projects of late.

Sean Durkin

Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011)

Director Sean Durkin grabbed the Directing Award at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival for his chilling cult thriller Martha Marcy May Marlene, which went on to an accolade-filled year. Durkin further validates his penchant for disturbing subject matter with the recent news that he’s slotted to direct a 10-episode television adaptation of The Exorcist. Click here to read more.

Debra Granik

Winter’s Bone (2010); Down to the Bone (2004)

Two-time Sundancer Debra Granik is back on the grind with a slew of projects in motion—you know her for her 2010 Oscar-nominated drama Winter’s Bone and her 2004 Sundance selection Down to the Bone. Currently Granik is dabbling in a bit of everything, from an HBO family drama, to a war doc, and an adaptation of Russell Bank’s novel Rule of the Bone.Seriously, Debra? The ‘bone’ trend is getting a little weird.

Click here for more on Granik’s busy schedule.

Josh Radnor

happythankyoumoreplease (2010), Liberal Arts (2012)

Josh Radnor—or according to Gawker, the “Guy From How I Met Your Mother”—happens to be doing more than just playing Ted Mosby on the popular sitcom. Since winning the 2010 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award for happythankyoumoreplease, Radnor directed the Sff ’12 Official Selection Liberal Arts, and most recently penned the book One Blissful Thing, recounting his transcendent experience ingesting a hallucinogenic plant in the Amazon—perhaps this explains the enduring case of bed head?

Check out a fun interview by Moviefone earlier this year.

Lee Daniels

Precious (2009)

Lee Daniels is the man behind the Oscar-winning drama Precious, a searing portrait of a relentlessly abusive family that virtually swept the Sundance Film Festival Award Ceremony in 2009. His latest film, Paperboy, opened at Cannes last month and was acquired by Millenium Entertainment and is set for an Oct. 5 release. A GQ interview with Daniels about the film’s mixed reception along with some hilarious anecdotes can be found here.

Zal Batmanglij

Sound of My Voice (2012)

Zal Batmanglij kick-started his career with the eerie cult drama Sound of My Voice, which was released by Fox Searchlight this past spring. His next film, The East, also stars his Georgetown University pal Brit Marling, in addition to Alexander Skarsgard, Ellen Page, Julia Ormond, and Patricia Clarkson. Catch up with Zal in Indiewire’s recent sit-down. Clickhere.

Drake Doremus

Like Crazy (2011)

Drake Doremus’ follow-up to the Grand Jury Prize-winning Like Crazy is in the works, and he’s yet again enlisted the talents of the alluring Felicity Jones, along with Guy Pearce, and Amy Ryan. Following his dry-witted debut feature, Douchebag, Doremus shifted moods with the beautifully heart-wrenching Like Crazy. He appears to be jumping genres once again with his current project, which has been dubbed a ‘romantic thriller.’

There’s more from Indiewire here.

Robert Rodriguez

El Mariachi (1993)

It’ll be a cold day in hell before Charlie Sheen finds his way into the Sundance news section. Well, it seems that day has come with the casting announcement for Robert Rodriguez’s sequel to Machete. Rodriguez and Sheen both confirmed via tweets that the wayward actor would play the President of the United States in Machete Kills,complementing other additions including Sofia Vergara, Amber Heard, and Mel Gibson. Rodriguez’s Sundance lineage is traced back to his first-ever feature film, El Mariachi, which premiered at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival. Read the full story here.

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Electus announced today that Oscar and Emmy Award-nominated director/producer Morgan Spurlock’s new documentary film Mansome will be distributed theatrically by Paladin. The hilarious look at men’s identity through the exploration of male grooming habits, which is scheduled to have its world premiere at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival on April 21st, will open in limited release in several major cities nationwide including New York and Los Angeles beginning May 18th. Written, directed and produced by Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me, The Greatest Movie Ever Sold) and executive produced by DumbDumb co-founders Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Electus Founder Ben Silverman, Mansome marks Arnett and Bateman’s first executive producer credits.

In the age of manscaping, metrosexuals, fancy men’s day spas, and high-end grooming products galore, Mansome is a witty, provocative and highly-entertaining glimpse into what it means to be a man in a world where the definition...

Sony Pictures Classics has announced that they have acquired all worldwide rights to Smashed. The film, directed by James Ponsoldt (Off The Black), is produced by Jonathan Schwartz (Like Crazy) and Andrea Sperling (Like Crazy) of Super Crispy Entertainment, who were honored at Sundance this year with a Special Jury Prize for Excellence in Independent Film Producing, as well as Jennifer Cochis. The film is executive produced by Audrey and Zygi Wilf. Spc previously worked with Sperling on the 2005 feature, The Quiet.

Smashed premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival to positive reviews and stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World), Emmy Award® winner Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), Academy Award® winner Octavia Spencer (The Help), Nick Offerman (Parks & Recreation), Emmy Award® winner Megan Mullally (Will & Grace) and Emmy Award® winner Mary Kay Place (Big Love; Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman).

In Smashed, Kate and Charlie like to have a good time.

This week on DVD and Blu-ray: Last year's Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner; the latest from one of the world's most revered auteurs; the UK's most succesful documentary of all time; season one of HBO's biggest new shows; and the first mainstream effort from the director of "Hustle & Flow."   #1. Critic's Pick: "Like Crazy" (DVD and Blu-ray) Last year's Sundance Film Festival showcased a slew of impressive films, but none quite stole the hearts of festival-goers like Drake Doremus' follow-up to "Douchebag," "Like Crazy." The fully improvised love story, starring Anton Yelchin ("The Beaver") and hot Brit import Felicity Jones ("The Tempest"), netted the Grand Jury Prize and a Special Jury Prize for Jones, in addition to coming out of Park City with the biggest deal of the festival (it sold to Paramount for a mere $4 million). Jones stars as a British exchange student who...

Sundance 2011 success starring Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones started out with 'backstory, subtext … and no dialogue'

"Who hasn't overheard a conversation between a couple?" Drake Doremus grins. "Who hasn't been a voyeur in certain situations?" From an older man, these words might sound sleazy, but coming from this fuzzy-faced 28-year-old, it sounds playful. After cutting his teeth two years ago on a cheap indie road movie called Douchebag, this Californian director has moved on to a more considered study of young love, becoming an overnight indie star at the 2011 Sundance festival with a film that puts the audience, often unwillingly, right in the heart of the action.

Called Like Crazy, it stars Felicity Jones as a British girl who meets an American boy (Anton Yelchin) in college, beginning a to-and-fro transatlantic affair that will both thrill and thwart them as they try to make it work. "It came about," explains Doremus,...

It's been quite a week. It started in Utah, for the Sundance Film Festival, where, in three days, I saw seven great films, a pop up performance by Eddie Izzard and 30 inches of snow. Then Sunday, to Miami, via Dallas, for Natpe (the annual conference and sales market for Producers and TV Execs), where I participated on a panel called The Economics of Comedy, and met TV people from all over the planet who debated the future of television over spicy margaritas. All accomplished, by the way, with only one carry-on suit case.

This wacky cultural mash-up -- Utah and Miami; Indie Film and Format Television -- created a strange brew in my mind. The juxtaposition of two ends of the show biz spectrum, along with the fascinating overlap of their populations (it's weird how many people make the same whirlwind trip), forced me to consider each medium in context of each other,...

Chicago – Some films never get a fair shot with audiences. They open in a handful of art house theaters scattered throughout the country before inconspicuously landing on DVD. Passionate movie lovers are left with the task of championing these unjustly obscure titles and helping them to acquire the audience they deserve.

Before I reveal my picks for the top ten Best Overlooked Films of 2011, here are the ten runners-up:

“Autoerotic”

Autoerotic

While Steve McQueen’s magnificent art film, “Shame,” plunges into the dark depths of sexual addiction, Joe Swanberg and Adam Wingard’s “Autoerotic” takes a decidedly more playful approach to similar material. Though Swanberg has made a series of uncommonly intimate films about the sex lives of twentysomething Chicagoans, he’s never attempted a film as overtly comic as this one, and Wingard proves to be an ideal collaborator. “Autoerotic” is easily Swanberg’s most accessible film to date,...

If you're impressed by the screenplay for the indie romance "Like Crazy," here's an important bit of info: technically, there was no screenplay. Director Drake Doremus and co-writer Ben York Jones penned a detailed outline then developed the characters and story with their lead actors, Felicity Jones and Anton Yelchin. The heartbreakingly authentic dialogue? Yelchin and Jones improvised it on the set.

"It was a 50-page outline that read like a short story," Yelchin told me about the (non)-script he received from Doremus. "It was actually very detailed in terms of subtext and the emotional condition of the characters. There was enough there to figure out who these people were, and then by virtue of that, to fill in the rest of the blanks."

These people are Yelchin's Jacob and Jones' Anna, twentysomethings who meet at college in Los Angeles and fall madly in love. There's just one problem:...

#59. Smashed - James Ponsoldt An integral part of the indie filmmaking scene, when not contributing to Filmmaker Magazine helmer James Ponsoldt (pictured above) appears to be busy mounting his next project and five yearsafter his breakout debut Off the Black (a Sundance entry in 2006) we now have his sophomore pic - a dramedy featuring Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul along with Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Look for Smashed to grab a U.S Dramatic or Premieres spot. Gist: Co-written by James Ponsoldt and Susan Burke, this is the story of a married couple whose bond is built on a mutual love of alcohol gets their relationship put to the test when the wife decides to get sober and begins attending AA. Producers: Jennifer Cochis (Douchebag), Jonathan Schwartz (Like Crazy) and Andrea Sperling (Sympathy for Delicious)(Ioncinema.com Preview Page // IMDb Link)  ...

Even though Drake Doremus' first feature was called "Douchebag,' it was really a relationship movie, about two brothers trying to reconcile just as one of them is about to get married. It cost almost nothing to make, and it earned the filmmaker kudos at Sundance, as well as the chance to make another movie. That film is "Like Crazy," another relationship movie, still made for very little money, but considerably more than his first. Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones play Jacob and Anna, a couple who meet in college and fall for each other, but who have to deal with a significant problem with Anna's visa status. The movie takes place over several years, as the two of them try to be together, try to quit one another, and most of all, are crazy for one another. The acting is lovely, and the pain the often feel is palpable and familiar.

Even though Drake Doremus' first feature was called "Douchebag,' it was really a relationship movie, about two brothers trying to reconcile just as one of them is about to get married. It cost almost nothing to make, and it earned the filmmaker kudos at Sundance, as well as the chance to make another movie. That film is "Like Crazy," another relationship movie, still made for very little money, but considerably more than his first. Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones play Jacob and Anna, a couple who meet in college and fall for each other, but who have to deal with a significant problem with Anna's visa status. The movie takes place over several years, as the two of them try to be together, try to quit one another, and most of all, are crazy for one another. The acting is lovely, and the pain the often feel is palpable and familiar.

Even though Drake Doremus' first feature was called "Douchebag,' it was really a relationship movie, about two brothers trying to reconcile just as one of them is about to get married. It cost almost nothing to make, and it earned the filmmaker kudos at Sundance, as well as the chance to make another movie. That film is "Like Crazy," another relationship movie, still made for very little money, but considerably more than his first. Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones play Jacob and Anna, a couple who meet in college and fall for each other, but who have to deal with a significant problem with Anna's visa status. The movie takes place over several years, as the two of them try to be together, try to quit one another, and most of all, are crazy for one another. The acting is lovely, and the pain the often feel is palpable and familiar.

Smells Like Screen Spirit & Paramount Vantage invite you to RSVP for passes to our special advance screening of Like Crazy on Tuesday, November 8, 2011 at 7:30 Pm in Austin, TX. Synopsis: Winner of the Sundance Film Festival 2011 Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic and a Special Jury Prize: Dramatic to Felicity Jones. Starring Anton Yelchin (“Star Trek,” and “Terminator Salvation”), Felicity Jones (“The Tempest”) and Jennifer Lawrence (“Winters Bone”), Like Crazy was directed by Drake Doremus, and written by Drake Doremus and Ben York Jones (“Douchebag”). The story follows a British college student who falls for an American student, only to be separated from him when she's banned from the U.S. after overstaying her visa. Entertainment Weekly’s Lisa Schwarzbaum said of the movie “Young love has rarely been so palpable or looked so real,” while Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times said “Like Crazy" brings a compelling intimacy and heart-stopping...

Chicago – From the moment filmmaker Drake Doremus and actress Felicity Jones won big at the Sundance Film Festival, their film “Like Crazy” has been garnering a good deal of award season buzz. Jones’ star-making portrayal of Anna, a British college student attempting to sustain a long-distance relationship with her American boyfriend, Jacob (Anton Yelchin), has become the focus of media hype that threatens to drown out the film itself.

What makes the picture stand out from the crowd is its structure. As the helmer of indie gems “Spooner” and “Douchebag,” Doremus has a background in crafting richly layered character studies on a tight budget. “Like Crazy” sidesteps the moments audiences are used to seeing in a romantic narrative in favor of nuances and textures that convey much more than mere plot points. Doremus beautifully depicts the push and pull of a relationship struggling to stay alive against the odds. Each...

Nine months after winning the Grand Jury Prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival, Drake Doremus's indie romance "Like Crazy" finally hits screens on Friday. And in the accelerated world of Doremus, that's an eternity -- while waiting for the film to be released, the writer-director has already made another movie. With a career spanning only three films, "Spooner," "Douchebag" and now "Like Crazy,"  Doremus has become something of a poster boy for personal indie films. His calling cards: a common theme (his take on love and relationships) and a distinctive working...

Like Crazy starts playing in limited theaters in New York City and Los Angeles on Friday, October 28th. If there is one film that has my heart this year, it's Drake Doremus' Like Crazy, the indie romantic drama that swept Sundance and completely won me over, too. We've been recently featuring multiple trailers for the film, which stars Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones, but I had the chance to chat with director Drake Doremus last week after the first trailer hit (watch the new one here). I met Drake at Sundance earlier this year, but haven't spoken with him since, so it was great to catch up. We talked about his festival experience and I asked him a few questions about the realism and truth behind bringing this emotional drama to life. Drake Doremus has actually directed before: Spooner with Matthew Lillard and Douchebag, a black comedy starring Ben York Jones...

The easiest way to sum up my opinion of Like Crazy is to ask, "Why do I care?" I'm not saying I necessarily disliked the film as much as I grew tired of its redundancy and the characters never spoke to me, nor did I ever understand why they liked each other, a problem with a romantic drama if you ask me.

Co-written and directed by Drake Doremus (Douchebag), Like Crazy follows the here and there romance of visiting Brit, Anna (Felicity Jones) and resident Yank, Jacob (Anton Yelchin). The two meet at their Los Angeles college and fall madly in love with one another and as the school year comes to a close Anna needs to go home for summer, but foolishly decides to overstay her visa. Oops.

This intentional "accident" soon turns into trouble after Anna finally does go home and upon her attempt to return to the...