This week’s assortment of celluloid delights begins tonight with Liev Schreiber’s directorial debut and continues with the seminal David Lynch road movie, a foul-mouthed British political parody, a profile of a sexy French coed, and Martin Scorsese doing what he does best. Sit back and enjoy the ride, because this road’s gonna take you anywhere you want to go.
And… we’re back! The blizzard of independent film known as the 2013 Sundance Film Festival is over, leaving Park City with a host of unexpected yet deserving award winners and yes, a fresh dusting of snow. We can’t wait to bring you some of the films featured at this year’s festival. Until then, you’ll just have to content yourselves with these, many of which appeared at Sundance Film Festivals past.
Park City, UT — Sundance Institute this evening announced the Jury, Audience, NEXT and other special awards of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival at the feature film Awards Ceremony, hosted by Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Park City, Utah. An archived video of the ceremony in its entirety is available at www.sundance.org/festival.
John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival, said, “The films at our Festival this year truly reflect the unbridled passion, immense talent and diverse stories coming from the independent filmmaking community. I am confident that the awards presented this evening will fuel those films with special promise and that audiences will continue to champion the films they have discovered here.”
“The lively dialogue and genuine excitement sparked by the films over the past 10 days is sure to resonate as they further reach audiences in the weeks and months ahead,” commented Keri Putnam, Executive Director of Sundance Institute. “We congratulate and thank all of the filmmakers who shared their stories with us, and we look forward to continuing to support them.”
By now the jury’s had the chance to check out all the films in competition this year, and the 2013 Sundance Film Festival is nearing its grand finale – the Awards Ceremony. Grab some popcorn, then check out the Sundance Live Feed starting at 7PM and watch the awards as they’re announced.
If you’re at the festival, this is your last chance to catch many of the films in contention before they’re gone. Films like…
It’s pretty cold out here, but we’ve got some hot premieres to keep us toasty today. Step inside for a hot cup of lovely ladies sleeping with…their best friends’ sons. Or perhaps just a cup of coffee if you happen to be in Park City (we’re at 268 Main St., btw). Read on for tonight’s big premieres, including more than you ever wanted to know about Dick Cheney, an amusement park for the ladies and a doc from Foo Fighter’s frontman Dave Grohl that will blow out your ears.
For the first time ever, a television series will screen as part of the Sundance Film Festival’s Premieres lineup. Sundance Channel’s original series TOP OF THE LAKE will screen in its entirety on Sunday, January 20th at the Egyptian Theater in Park City and will be followed by a Q&A with the creators and cast, including Oscar-winning writer and director Jane Campion (THE PIANO), and co-stars Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men) and Holly Hunter (THE PIANO). But that’s not all! Our new series RECTIFY will also debut at a private screening in Park City during the festival. Both shows are already popping up on critics’ must-see lists. Read on for more about these two new Sundance Channel originals and make sure to check back during the Festival (January 17th-27th) for daily updates.
This week’s theme is… nymphomania! Ok, so only two of our five featured films focus on characters who go beyond simple promiscuity, but that’s 50% more than a normal week. In addition, we’ve got Daniel Day-Lewis, Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and the story behind one of post-punk music’s biggest fallen icons. Unfortunately not all in the same film, but hey, you’ve got to pace yourself. We’ve got all week together.
SUNDANCE CHANNEL AND ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
PRESENT NEW ORIGINAL NON-FICTION SERIES
“THE WRITERS’ ROOM”
Ever Wonder How Good TV Becomes Outstanding?
Sundance Channel And Entertainment Weekly Will Show You.
Pasadena, CA – January 5, 2013 –Sundance Channel announced the greenlight of new original non-fiction series THE WRITERS’ ROOM. Presented by Sundance Channel and Entertainment Weekly, the six episode half-hour series will take viewers where they have never been before—inside the writers’ rooms of the television shows that are defining pop culture today. The announcement was made today by Sarah Barnett, Sundance Channel General Manager. The series is slated to premiere during the second half of 2013.
The presents have been opened, the ill-fitting or poorly-considered clothing gifts packed back up for return, the wrapping paper now sitting in a mess on the floor like the aftermath of your own living room ticker tape parade. While you get over the hangover left by the day before and look forward to the traditional week-long workplace goof-off period between now and January 1st (hey, you’ve earned it!), check out what we’ve got in store this week as you plan your New Year’s Eve party.
Leading up to the holidays this year, we’ve got the gift of five fantastic films for you this week including three novel adaptations and three Sundance Channel premieres. It’s a Festivus miracle! Hey, at least we didn’t give you a pink bunny suit like your Aunt Clara always does. Sit back, relax, and celebrate the season with these films and a nice highball of your favorite hard spirit mixed with a thimble of eggnog – what, that’s not how your family drinks it?
TOP OF THE LAKE, the highly-anticipated mini-series written and directed by Oscar® winner Jane Campion (THE PIANO, PORTRAIT OF A LADY), will debut its first two hour-long installments on Monday, March 18, 2013 at 9P.
Filmed in the remote mountains of New Zealand, the seven-part series will air Monday nights and stars three time Emmy® Award nominated actress and SAG® Award winner Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men, ON THE ROAD); Oscar® winner Holly Hunter, who reunites with Campion after their memorable collaboration on the THE PIANO, and BAFTA® nominee Peter Mullan (WAR HORSE, TRAINSPOTTING). Australian director Garth Davis also joined Campion to work on the series, along with co-writer, Gerard Lee (SWEETIE).
When Daniel Holden (Aden Young) is released after nearly 20 years of complete isolation on Death Row, he returns as an outsider to his family, to his community, and to the times. Somehow, he survived the mental and emotional strain of his imprisonment, but now the walls have suddenly come crumbling down and Daniel is set free in a world he no longer understands. He’s an outsider, lost in a once familiar world, struggling to navigate his new found freedom. Combined with two decades of technological and social changes to his small town and the larger world, everything he encounters is a puzzle.
This week we delve into our darkest fears and deepest desires with films about alienation, death, love, sex and… improper surgical techniques? Luckily, not all in the same film. Like this crazy month of December so far, our films are running hot and cold this week, from the blazing Arizona sun of SEX MAGIC to the North Dakota/Minnesota snow and ice of FARGO and points in between.
CHARLOTTE RAMPLING HONORED WITH
SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARD® NOMINATION
FOR HER PEFORMANCE IN THE SUNDANCE CHANNEL ORIGINAL MINISERIES, RESTLESS
New York, December 12, 2012 – Charlotte Rampling was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award® today for her performance in Sundance Channel’s critically-acclaimed original miniseries, RESTLESS (which premiered earlier this month). Rampling received her first SAG nomination in the category of Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries. The two-part miniseries (the second installment will air Friday, December 14th at 9 PM et/pt), directed by Edward Hall and penned by celebrated novelist William Boyd based on his novel of the same name, tells the thrilling story of a daughter who discovers that her mother was recruited as a spy during World War II.
Ever feel that twinge of nostalgia for those glory days of high school and college? Well, you may have forgotten the aimlessness and angst of post-graduation – but don’t worry, we’ve got two films to remind you of it this week. Also on tap, a sexy (but literary!) romp through Paris, one of the best Stephen King film adaptations ever, and Alan Cumming and Jennifer Jason-Leigh at each other’s throats.
Embrace your inner spy with the RESTLESS Spy Challenge and you could win a swag bag containing $1,000 worth of items! Each bag includes all you need for your new career in international espionage, from a Minox digital camera to a Cloudveil down patrol jacket, Fossil canvas duffle bag, Restless: A Novel and much more.
SUNDANCE CHANNEL’S TOP OF THE LAKE TO PREMIERE AT THE 2013 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL AS THE FIRST LONG-FORM SCRIPTED SERIES TO SCREEN AS AN OFFICIAL SELECTION
Created By Jane Campion, Holly Hunter And Elisabeth Moss Star In This Seven-Part Series The Network’s Scripted Television Series RECTIFY From Ray McKinnon Will Debut In Park City In Private Screening
Sundance Channel today announced that two of their highly anticipated original scripted series, TOP OF THE LAKE and RECTIFY will debut during the 2013 Sundance Film Festival taking place in Park City Utah in January. TOP OF THE LAKE will screen in the premiere category, marking the first time the Sundance Film Festival has included a scripted long form series in their lineup. The seven-part series will screen in its entirety on Sunday, January 20th at the Egyptian Theater in Park City and will be followed by a Q&A with the creators and cast. Campion will also participate in a discussion of the creative appeal of working in long-form episodic narrative as part of a Festival panel titled “Power of Story: The New Face of Independent Voice” on January 19.
Sneak behind the scenes for a look at what went into the making of our new WWII spy thriller RESTLESS. Author William Boyd, actors Hayley Atwell (Eva Delectorskaya – 1940′s), Charlotte Rampling (Eva Delectorskaya – 1970′s) and Michelle Dockery (Ruth Gilmartin) discuss the challenges of adapting a story that cross-cuts two time periods and a global scope. Is there a particular location that can stand in for much of mid-century Europe? Watch this video for the answer, and get ready for a truly cinematic experience this Friday.
The premiere of RESTLESS is just five days away – tune in on December 7 at 9P for Part 1.
Sundance Channel announced today that it has co-produced and will premiere two new installments of the critically acclaimed crime documentary, THE STAIRCASE, by Oscar®-winning director Jean-Xavier de Lestrade (MURDER ON A SUNDAY MORNING). Beginning January 7 at 10:00pm e/p, Sundance Channel will air an encore performance of the original eight-part Peabody Award-winning series in its entirety—a program described by The New York Times as “a masterpiece…so brilliantly conceived, reported, filmed and paced that you may come to wish it were twice as long.” Following the first eight installments, Sundance Channel will debut two hour-long never-before-seen episodes entitled THE STAIRCASE: LAST CHANCE, which will explore new and explosive developments in the life of author Michael Peterson whose sensational murder trial made headlines across the country. The new episodes air on March 4th and March 11th at 10:00pm e/p.
On tap this week, we’ve got three quirky, funny and yes, sad films for the independent minded, plus a bonus: an unlikely blockbuster thriller with an unusual stock of Oscar-winning talent. That’s four films for the price of three. Who doesn’t love a holiday season deal like that?
In Part 1 of Sundance Channel’s original miniseries RESTLESS, premiering on Friday, December 7th at 9P, Ruth Gilmartin (Michelle Dockery) will find out her mother isn’t who she thought she was. But just how did Eva Delectorskaya (Hayley Atwell) become a spy? And what, exactly, does she know that might be putting her life at risk decades after WWII was won? We’re not going to spoil anything for you, but get a sneak peak with these photos from RESTLESS.
This week, let’s be thankful for Asian cinema and some sleeper films that spawned monster hit TV series. If it wasn’t for the risks taken by Asian filmmakers like Takashi Miike, Johnnie To and Park Chan-wook, where would western directors like Quentin Tarantino and RZA get their inspiration? And if it wasn’t for films like STARGATE and BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, we probably would never have had… well, Stargate or Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the TV shows, that is). But even if you believe a life without Stargate or Buffy on TV wouldn’t be such a bad thing (or maybe even especially if you do), you’ll want to check out the original films – they are very different from the series they spawned.
Feeling a bit overwhelmed by the real world, are we? Sundance Channel has the perfect escape on offer: Some really unreal worlds, alternative universes where hauntings, vampires, time travel, spontaneous combustion and the like are commonplace. However bad things may look right now, they can’t possibly compete with discovering that your kid is the spawn of Satan, can it? Here are 10 of our favorite alternate universes on film, of course, airing on Sundance Channel this month.
When it comes to the world of espionage, everyone plays their own cast of characters. That’s what makes watching spy thrillers such an undertaking… you’ve got to keep up with who is who (not to mention who is double-crossing who). So to help you stay on top of all of the intrigue we’ve got in store for Sundance Channel’s original miniseries RESTLESS, we’ve got photos of all of the key players. Commit them to memory… and then burn the originals.