News

Oscar-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras sharply criticized the Toronto and Venice film festivals Tuesday for programming documentaries connected with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, suggesting the decision bordered on a “whitewashing” of history.

Her remarks came at the Toronto Film Festival’s Doc Conference, a day after Poitras’s new documentary, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, made its North American premiere in Toronto. The film about artist Nan Goldin and her crusade against OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family, won the Golden Lion at Venice.

Poitras attended Venice, as did Clinton, the latter in support of her Apple TV+ docuseries Gutsy. Clinton and daughter Chelsea Clinton then headed to TIFF, where they unveiled In Her Hands, a documentary executive produced by the Clintons that focuses on one of Afghanistan’s few female mayors.

“It’s alarming to see some of the most powerful people in the world,...

Eight years ago, Edward Snowden became the centerpiece of the Oscar race for Best Documentary as the subject of director Laura Poitras’ eventual winner “Citizenfour.” This time, that centerpiece slot goes to Nan Goldin, the photographer and activist hero of Poitras’ “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed.”

The movie launched to rave reviews at Venice over the weekend and sneaked into a morning Tba slot on the last day of the Telluride Film Festival, where many audience members emerged in tears. That response is likely to continue as the movie travels to the Toronto International Film Festival and later New York, where it will be — appropriately enough — the festival’s centerpiece selection.

“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” is in good hands. Participant Media produced the project and will release it October 7 with Neon, which previously distributed her Julian Assange documentary “Risk.” Neon CEO Tom Quinn also spearheaded the successful “Citizenfour” campaign at Radius-twc.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers will receive the prestigious Global Icon Award and perform live at the 2022 MTV VMAs, which air Sunday, August 28 at 8. p.m. Et/Pt from Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

The group’s new video “Tippa My Tongue” will premiere on the channel today. The song appears on the grouo’s forthcoming album, “Return of the Dream Canteen,” due October 14 on Warner Records.

The long-running band, who have won eight VMAs, will return to the show’s stage for the first time in more than two decades, last performing in 2000 when they received the coveted Video Vanguard Award. They scored their 29th nomination – and first since 2006 – in the Best Rock category for “Black Summer,” the lead single from their twelfth studio album, “Unlimited Love.” The group — which in 2019 returned to its longest-running lineup of singer Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith and guitarist John Frusciante...

Netflix has released the first official trailer for “Crip Camp,” the new documentary from executive producers Barack and Michelle Obama under their growing production company, “Higher Ground.” The crowdpleaser took home the coveted Audience Award for U.S. Documentary at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The award is sometimes a bellwether for a film’s Oscar chances, a possibility made more likely with the Obamas onboard, as well as “How to Survive a Plague” producer Howard Gertler shepherding the film.

The official synopsis reads: “In the early 1970s, teenagers with disabilities faced a future shaped by isolation, discrimination, and institutionalization. Camp Jened, a ramshackle camp ‘for the handicapped,’ in the Catskills, exploded those confines. Jened was their freewheeling Utopia, a place with summertime sports, smoking and makeout sessions awaiting everyone, where campers felt fulfilled as human beings. Their bonds endured as they migrated West to Berkeley, California — a promised...

Exclusive: The Nashville trio of creator-executive producer Callie Khouri, producer Michael Lohmann and Season 1 executive music producer T Bone Burnett are reuniting for another music-driven drama series.

Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment has acquired the rights to Jake Brennan’s music and true-crime podcast Disgraceland for a TV series written by Khouri, Lohmann and Brennan, with Burnett overseeing the music.

Disgraceland, which will be taken to the premium cable and streaming marketplace shortly, is a music and true-crime television show about musicians getting away with murder and behaving very badly.

It stems from an original idea by Lohmann based on the podcast. He reached out to his former Nashville colleagues, the husband-and-wife duo of Oscar winners Khouri and Burnett, and took the project to Kapital Entertainment, where he serves as head of production.

Launched independently in 2018, the Disgraceland podcast, created and hosted by Brennan, quickly went to No. 7 on the Apple Podcast chart.

Despite becoming a genre-busting mainstay over the past seven years in his native U.K., psychedelic-soul singer-songwriter Michael Kiwanuka has heretofore remained a relatively anonymous television soundtrack staple in the States, with nary an indie hit to his name. Most fans here know him, if they know him at all, as the singer of Big Little Lies’ theme song “Cold Little Heart.”

That should change with Kiwanuka. His third offering is his most fully-formed work, a meditative, expansive collection of synth-psych, blues-rock, stately folk that amounts to an early-career opus for the 32 year-old singer-songwriter.

On Saturday, October 12, rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers performed a private concert at the home of Oceana Board President Keith Addis and his wife Keri Selig to help raise money for Oceana, the largest international organization dedicated to ocean conservation.

Red Hot Chili Peppers Headline Rock Under The Stars

Band members singer Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith and guitarist Josh Klinghoffer performed several hits spanning their career, including “Californication,” “Aeroplane,” “Higher Ground,” “Give it Away,” and “Don’t Forget Me.”

“I was thrilled to host the Red Hot Chili Peppers tonight as we gathered to support Oceana’s proven campaigns to protect our oceans,” Addis said. “I want to thank the Red Hot Chili Peppers and all the wonderful attendees for their support of Oceana. It is truly an inspiration to all of us who fight to save the world’s oceans.”

Guests at the fourth annual...

In today’s film news roundup, MGM dates its “Tomb Raider” sequel, President Obama’s production company makes a hire, a “Rambo” marathon is unveiled, Andrew Matthew Welch gets a lead role and “After Midnight” finds a home.

Release Date

MGM is moving ahead with its “Tomb Raider” sequel, hiring Ben Wheatley to direct and setting a release date of March 19, 2021.

Alicia Vikander is on board to reprise her portrayal of action heroine Lara Croft. Graham King is producing through Gk Films with Elizabeth Cantillon. Wheatley’s credits include “Kill List,” “Free Fire” and the upcoming “Rebecca” remake, to be distributed by Netflix.

Last year’s “Tomb Raider,” directed by Roar Uthaug and based on the 2013 video game, took in $275 million worldwide as Vikander’s character attempted to solve the mystery of her father’s disappearance.

“Tomb Raider” is the first title to land on March 19, 2021. Wheatley is repped by Wme,...

Exclusive: Emmy and two-time Tony winner Donna Murphy has joined the cast of Starz’s Power as a recurring character for the series’ sixth and final season. In Power, Murphy, whose most recent Broadway role was last year’s turn as the lead in Hello, Dolly!, will give Councilman Rashad Tate (Larenz Tate) a run for his money.

Murphy has been cast as Lorette Walsh, a moderate Democrat and Tate’s toughest opponent in the gubernatorial race. Season 6 of Power premieres at 8 p.m. Sunday, August 25, on Starz.

“It was a dream to work with Donna Murphy, who I’ve admired for years on stage and screen,” showrunner Courtney A. Kemp said.

Created by Kemp, Power straddles the glamorous Manhattan lifestyles of the rich and infamous and the underworld of the international drug trade.

Murphy’s film and TV credits include The Bourne Legacy, Higher Ground, Quantico, Mercy Street, The Good Wife and Spider-Man 2.

Taissa Farmiga Bio: In Her Own Words – Video Exclusive, News, Photos Taissa Farmiga is an American actress most noted for her performance in the television series American Horror Story. She has also appeared in a number of films, including Higher Ground, directed by her sister and nominated for Satellite, Gotham, Sundance Film Festival and […]

The post Taissa Farmiga Bio: In Her Own Words – Video Exclusive, News, Photos appeared first on uInterview.

The Top 13 artists for Season 16 of “The Voice” will compete for America’s votes on Monday, May 6. For the first time, eight artists were voted into the Top 13 by viewers at home, regardless of which team they were on. Then, each coach had an opportunity to save one artist from their team and Lb Crew won the Comeback Stage to claim his spot. Team Blake Shelton had the strongest showing, advancing six artists. Team John Legend currently has three members remaining while Team Kelly Clarkson and Team Adam Levine each have two.

See‘The Voice’ Season 16: Top 13 Finalists In Live Shows [Photo Gallery]

Monday is “Fan Night,” meaning the artists will each perform a song chosen for them by the fans. Then, on Tuesday, May 7, the seven artists with the most votes will automatically advance to the Top 8. The three artists with the fewest votes will instantly be eliminated, leaving three...

Hey, "The Voice" fans. Tonight, April 29, 2019, the top 24 finally performed for your votes to get into the top 13. Of course, the judges: Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton were on hand like they always are. For the first time, Apple streams will count as votes. There's a limit of ten streams per eligible song per Apple ID. To get things started tonight, Rod Stokes from Team Kelly hit the stage to sing, "Midnight Rider" by Allman Brothers. They didn't go to the judges for any comments on his performance or any other performances. I'm guessing that's because of time constraints. I mean they had 24 freaking people performing tonight. So, they had to hurry it along. The Voice gets good rating, but not that good. NBC's like, "You guys gotta wrap this show up in two hours." With that said, Matthew Johnson from Team Kelly Clarkson hopped on stage to sing,...

Monday’s two-hour episode of “The Voice” will be jam-packed as two dozen artists take to the stage to sing for America’s votes. Unlike previous seasons of the hit show, this 16th edition does not have the coaches coming into this round with the same-sized teams. Rather, following the live cross battles, Blake Shelton boasts a roster of eight artists while his pal Adam Levine has only four. Both reigning two-time champ Kelly Clarkson and rookie coach John Legend have the usual six artists apiece on their teams.

We’ve done some digging on iTunes and have discovered spoilers of the songs that the Top 24 will perform live on April 29. Take a look below at the titles of these tunes as well as the names of the artists that made them famous. Then cast your vote for the coach that you think has the strongest team at this stage of the season 16 competition.

How many feature debutantes can boast slots in two of the world’s top film festivals with the same film? New York-born writer-director Bianco’s “Share” will world premiere in Sundance’s U.S. dramatic competition en route to domestic release through A24.

The edgy drama, about a teenager who must deal with the fallout from a viral video shot during a night she can’t remember, was expanded from a short of the same name. That short nabbed first prize in Cannes’ Cinéfondation competition in 2015, which means the feature-length “Share” will also screen in official selection of the upcoming Cannes.

Bianco attended Yale to study fine arts, particularly painting and photography, but, she says, “It didn’t take long for me to feel like those were lonely art forms, and I wanted to work more collaboratively.”

While still in college, she explored film production with Pa work on several indie features.

FX has set the main cast for the eight-episode limited series “Fosse/Verdon,” Variety has learned.

The series is based on the biography “Fosse” written by Sam Wasson and tells the story of the romantic and creative partnership between Bob Fosse (Sam Rockwell) and Gwen Verdon (Michelle Williams).

Norbert Leo Butz has been cast in the series regular role of Paddy Chayefsky, while Margaret Qually will appear in the series regular role of Ann Reinking.

In addition, the following people have been cast in recurring roles: Aya Cash as Joan Simon, Nate Corddry as Neil Simon, Susan Misner as Joan McCracken, Bianca Marroquin as Chita Rivera, Kelli Barrett as Liza Minnelli, Evan Handler as Hal Prince, Rick Holmes as Fred Weaver, Paul Reiser as Cy Feuer, Ethan Slater as Joel Grey, Byron Jennings as George Abbott, and Laura Osnes as Shirley MacLaine.

Butz is currently starring on Broadway in “My Fair Lady...

Skai Jackson, whose just wrapped the final season of her Disney Channel series Bunk’d, has signed with Lighthouse Management & Media. She is also repped by Paradigm, Abrams Artists and Artist & Brand Management. Bunk’d was the spinoff series of Disney Channel’s hit Jessie, in which Jackson starred alongside Debby Ryan, Cameron Boyce, Payton List and Karan Brar. The role earned Jackson an Image Award nomination in 2016, and she reprised in other Dis Channel franchises including Austin & Ally, Good Luck Charlie and K.C. Undercover. Most recently, Jackson was Teen Vogue’s ambassador at New York’s Fashion week and has developed her own clothing line.

Donna Murphy, the two-time Tony winner for the musicals Passion and The King & I, has inked with Industry Entertainment for management. The move comes after she just completed her run as Dolly Levi in Broadway’s Hello, Dolly revival. Her film credits include The Bourne Legacy,...

Exclusive: Cinedigm has obtained the North American distribution rights to Sgt. Will Gardner, written and directed by Max Martini, who also stars in the drama alongside Power‘s Omari Hardwick, Lily Rabe (American Horror Story), Dermot Mulroney (August: Osage County), Robert Patrick (Terminator 2), Elisabeth Röhm (Law & Order), JoBeth Williams (Poltergeist) and Gary Sinise (CBS’s CSI: NY). The pic will get a day-and-date theatrical and digital release in January.

Highlighting the post-war obstacles veterans face, the film follows Iraq War vet Will Gardner (Martini) who suffers from severe Ptsd and a traumatic brain injury (Tbi), which he sustained when he and his platoon, led by his fellow soldier and best friend, Tops (Hardwick), came under attack. Enduring painful flashbacks and humiliating setbacks in the present, Will sets out on a journey to reconcile with his young son and ex-wife (Röhm). Along the way, he encounters other veterans and...

Authentic Talent & Literary Management and indie studio Propagate Content have set a partnership to create content, with a focus on developing and producing scripted drama for network, premium cable and streaming services, as well as non-scripted TV series. Under terms of the deal, Ben Silverman and Howard T Owens’ Propagate will finance the slate.

The venture will be led by writer-producer Galt Niederhoffer, who now becomes head of production for Authentic, the Jon Rubinstein-led company whose credits include the Vera Farmiga-helmed Sundance pic Higher Ground, a CBS pilot in the works from Chris Distefano, Comedy Central specials, Msg Networks’ Four Courses With Jb Smoove and Fusion’s Shade: Queens of NYC.

The first project under the agreement will be Reciprocity, a dramatic thriller from music biz veteran Drew Dixon and Christopher Cherot. Other projects in the works include Dysphoria, a queer coming-of-age pic set in a society that has outlawed gender,...

Authentic Talent & Literary Management and Propagate Content have entered into a new development and producing partnership and named Galt Niederhoffer head of production.

The two companies will work together to focus on scripted dramas for network, premium cable and streaming, as well as non-scripted television. Propagate is financing the development slate, and writer/producer Niederhoffer will oversee the new division.

“Over the past three years, Propagate has formed development partnerships with leading production and broadcast companies and executives around the world with an eye to developing world-class content,” Ben Silverman, Propagate’s chairman and co-ceo, and Howard T. Owens, Propagate’s co-ceo, said in a joint statement.

The Propagate duo has worked closely with Authentic’s CEO Jon Rubinstein for the past decade, and they expressed excitement about the new venture by adding that they “have admired Galt’s vision and sensibility, and believe she is the perfect choice to lead this new enterprise.

In 2013, James Wan’s “The Conjuring” took the horror world and the box office by storm, with a terrifying possession film allegedly based on the real-life experiences of Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga), demonology experts called in by the Catholic Church. In the 2016 “The Conjuring 2,” Lorraine is haunted by a truly horrific vision of a demonic nun, later revealed to be the demon Valek. The demon nun was one of the film’s scariest creations, and it wasn’t long before an origin-story spinoff was in the works.

In “The Nun,” Taissa Farmiga stars as Sister Irene, a young novice who experiences holy visions and has yet to take her final vows. After the mysterious death of a young nun at an isolated Romanian Abbey, the Vatican sends Sister Irene along with Father Burke (Demian Bichir) to seek answers. There, they uncover a sinister evil...

Eric Church’s soulful “Heart Like a Wheel,” Jillian Jacqueline’s riveting duet with Keith Urban and Aaron Watson’s uplifting “Higher Ground” are among the 10 country and Americana tracks you must hear this week.

Eric Church, “Heart Like a Wheel”

For all its talk about wheels, Eric Church’s newest release from Desperate Man rolls forward at a deliberately relaxed pace. The song’s cruising speed is set by its drumbeat, whose casual swing is reminiscent of old Stax Records. Gospel harmonies, church organ and a cyclical, soul-inspired melody only strengthen those comparisons,...

Exclusive: Authentic Talent and Literary Management is absorbing Magnet Management, with the Hollywood companies to join forces officially next month under the Authentic banner. As part of the deal, Magnet’s co-founders Zach Tann, Jennie Frankel Frisbie and Bob Sobhani will take on oversight of Authentic’s literary division, joined by their Magnet cohorts Chris Mills, Mitch Solomon and Chris Emerson. The entire Magnet team is making the move.

They join Authentic’s team of more than 35 managers and execs in the Brooklyn and Los Angeles offices and and bring into the fold screenwriter, producer and director clients including Brett Conrad, Christian Taylor (Luke Cage), Craig Titley (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D), Elliott Owen (King Julien), Jacque Cofer (Superior Donuts), Jeff Davis, Julie Durk (Grace and Frankie), Sal Calleros, Steven D. Binder...

In “The Miseducation of Cameron Post,” gay Montana teens are forced into conversion therapy. And it’s likely that arthouse audiences inclined to seek out a Sundance-approved indie about Red State religious dogma will find some of its more brimstoney bits outdated or exaggerated.

But then — and perhaps you’ve also seen “The Handmaid’s Tale”? — reminders of reality will intrude.

Director Desiree Akhavan’s source material (the Ya novel by Emily Danforth) was inspired by the very true story of Zach Stark, who was sent to a Love in Action camp much like the one we see in the movie. Akhavan understands that there’s no need to amplify authenticity, and grounds her story with an admirable, if ultimately frustrating, subtlety.

Also Read: 2018 Sundance Film Festival Awards: The Complete Winners List

Here the camp is called God’s Promise, which is the last thing Cameron (Chloë Grace Moretz) is...

Two very different road trip movies are among this weekend’s Specialty theatrical debuts. After its world premiere at SXSW and later festival showings in Seattle as well as Nantucket this weekend, Sony Pictures Classics is opening father-daughter journey, Boundaries by Shana Feste in New York and L.A. Oscilloscope, meanwhile, is bowing doc, The King by Eugene Jarecki in Manhattan. Jarecki takes to the road in Elvis Presley’s 1963 Rolls-Royce on a musical road trip across America, painting a portrait of the current state of the ‘American Dream.’ Cohen Media Group spearheaded fellow non-fiction title Spiral, which examines the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe and the world, opening in two locations in New York and L.A. And Robert Pattinson and Mia Wasikowska star in the Zellner brothers’ comedic Western, Damsel.

Other limited releases headed to theaters this weekend include IFC Films’ The Catcher Was a Spy with Paul Rudd,...

Sneak Peek footage and images of Emmy nominated actress Vera Farmiga ("Bates Motel"), now attached to co-star in director Michael Dougherty's upcoming feature "Godzilla: King Of The Monsters":

Farmiga's breakout film work was in "Down To The Bone" (2004), followed by "The Manchurian Candidate" (2004), fan-favorite "The Departed" (2006), "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" (2008), "Nothing But the Truth" (2008) and an Oscar-nominated best Supporting actress role in "Up In The Air" (2009).

This was followed by work in Orphan (2009), "Source Code" (2011) and "Safe House" (2012). 

Farmiga also starred in and directed the feature "Higher Ground" (2011).

She played paranormal investigator 'Lorraine Warren' in the horror feature "The Conjuring" and the 2016 sequel "The Conjuring 2".

Since 2013, Farmiga has starred as 'Norma Louise Bates' in the A&E drama-thriller series "Bates Motel".

Farmiga is now set to star in Shana Feste's "Boundaries" (2017) followed by "The Commuter" (2018), Rupert Wyatt's "Captive State"(2018) and "Godzilla:...

17 years ago, The Blair Witch Project burst into theaters on a massive wave of hype and made instant stars out of its directors, Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick, and its trio of lead actors: Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard and Michael C. Williams, who made the cover of Newsweek magazine that same August. It was an unprecedented success that paved the way for the "found footage" genre that would explode over the subsequent decade, with films like Paranormal Activity and Cloverfield successfully exploiting the format's potential. None of these, though, would haunt viewers in quite the same way as Blair Witch, whose grainy, pre-smartphone aesthetic and terrifying denouement would stick with us long after the film's pop-cultural moment had passed. Of the film's three lead actors, Leonard has undoubtedly enjoyed the greatest run of Hollywood success post-Blair Witch, though it's worth noting that his career didn't really begin to heat...

Spoofaway Camp: Strauss-Schulson’s Playful Mash-up Takes a Tumble On You

Director Todd Strauss-Schulson, whose last feature was A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas (2011) returns with The Final Girls, an entertaining surprise of sorts as a playful riff on early 80s slasher tropes as it borrows the cosmic charms at play in classic titles like Woody Allen’s The Purple Rose of Cairo (1984) and The Wizard of Oz (1939).

With a talented young cast and plenty of boisterous energy, Strauss-Schulson manages to instill a thread of sentimentality in this generally comedic feature, and ironically makes us care more for its characters than the films it pays homage to actually manage. Those looking for genre thrills will most likely be disappointed, and its eventual outcome is a bit too hoary despite its enjoyable cuteness from screenwriters M.A. Fortin and Joshua John Miller (the team who wrote Rose McGowan’s 2014 short film Dawn,...

Ready to check back into A&E's Bates Motel? With the season three premiere airing tonight, you don't have to wait long. After the tense ending to season two, writers/executive producers Carlton Cuse and Kerry Ehrin have plenty of suspense (both psychological and palpable) in the pipeline for the 10-episode third season, and coming off another Saturn Award nomination for Best Actress in a Television Series, Vera Farmiga looks to bring Norma to life once again with a multifaceted flair. We recently had the chance to take part in an interview call with Farmiga, Cuse, and Ehrin, who discussed what's in store for Norma and Norman's strained relationship in season three, new cast members, learning Slipknot songs on guitar in between scenes, the number of seasons planned for Bates Motel, and more.

The picturesque Northwest United States settings of both Bates Motel and A&E's The Returned remake:

Carlton Cuse...

Bates Motel is still accepting reservations for its upcoming third season.

Joshua Leonard of Blair Witch Project fame is the latest guest to check into the A&E drama, TVLine has learned exclusively.

The actor — whose TV credits include arcs on Hung, CSI: Miami and The Mob Doctor — will play the recurring role of James Finnigan, a community college psych professor whose pull towards Norma (Vera Farmiga) slowly chips away at his carefully constructed house of cards.

The gig marks a reunion for Leonard and Farmiga; the two played husband and wife in the 2011 indie Higher Ground (which Farmiga directed...

Exclusive: Producer and director Madeleine Sackler (The Lottery, Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus) and actor and director Boyd Holbrook (Gone Girl, Little Accidents, Behind the Candelabra) have teamed to launch their own development and production company, Madbrook Films. The New York City-based shingle will produce passion projects from both partners as well as other writers and directors, starting with the short film Peacock Killer.

Adapted from Sam Shepard’s story of the same name, Peacock Killer marks Holbrook’s debut as a writer and director. The film stars Boardwalk Empire‘s Shea Whigham and True Grit‘s Elizabeth Marvel in the tale of reconciliation between a man and his dog after a peacock comes between them. Holbrook filmed the project this winter in upstate New York and was completed with the help of a successful Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign, which raised over $17,000 for the project.

Madbrook is also developing Uncle Sam,...

To celebrate this Friday’s release of If I Stay, we’ve got three fun merchandise packs to give away. Each winner will receive an If I Stay backpack, notebook, chalkboard, charm bracelet, and a copy of Gayle Forman’s novel!

Gayle Forman’s best-selling novel comes to the big screen in New Line Cinema’s and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures’ drama If I Stay, starring Chloë Grace Moretz (“Carrie,” the “Kick-Ass” films), Mireille Enos (TV’s “The Killing,” “World War Z”); Joshua Leonard (“Higher Ground”); Jamie Blackley (“Snow White and the Huntsman”); and Stacy Keach (“Nebraska”).

Mia Hall (Moretz) thought the hardest decision she would ever face would be whether to pursue her musical dreams at Juilliard or follow a different path to be with the love of her life, Adam (Blackley). But what should have been a carefree family drive changes everything in an instant, and now her own life hangs in the balance.

In anticipation of the film's release, Latino-Review is givinging away a few "If I Stay"-related items to some lucky readers, including a "If I Stay" Light Blue Backpack, "If I Stay" Metal Cello Bookmark on Card, and more.

In order to enter the contest, email Latinoreviewmail@gmail.com with your name and address and include "If I Stay" Giveaway in the subject headline.

This giveaway will be open until August 25th at noon Pst and is only open to residents of the United States. Also, only one entry per person. Once the giveaway ends, we’ll look over the entries and randomly draw winners that day. Winners will be advised via email.

Here is what we got.

1 Alternative Apparel Farra Inside Out French Terry Hoodie in Pink1 Light Blue Backpack1 Metal Cello Bookmark on Card1 Set of Three 3.5" x 5" Notebooks with Custom Paper Wrap1 Silver Plated Charm Bracelet1 10" x...

Our International Sales Agent (Isa) of the Day coverage resumed for this year's Cannes Film Festival. We feature successful, upcoming, innovative and trailblazing agents from around the world (during and after the festival) and cover the latest trends in sales and distribution. Beyond the numbers and deals, this segment will also share inspirational and unique stories of how these individuals have evolved and paved their way in the industry, and what they envision for the new waves in global cinema.

The Exchange is an international sales and finance company based in Los Angeles and was created by Brian O'Shea who has nearly twenty years of experience in the film industry. The Exchange has an impressive record, and has acquired, financed, produced and/or sold over 140 films (with budgets spanning from five to 90 million) just over the past two years.

Recent success includes the June release of "Obvious Child" and "Supremacy" with Danny Glover, which was picked up for U.S. Distribution following this year's L.A. Film Festival. The Exchange recently acquired worldwide rights to "Ithaca", which will be Meg Ryan's directorial debut and is being executive produced by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman.

CEO of The Exchange Brian O'Shea talks about an evolving industry, his unexpected entry into sales and distribution, and what inspires him to stay in it.

What is The Exchange focused on?

I've been doing this for 19 years. We started this company three years ago, and I own it myself. There are nine of us. The slate is very eclectic, and we're very filmmaker driven. We also focus on American films that have domestic theatrical releases. It's not to say anything less of direct video films or TV movies. There's a business there too, but it's not what I focus on. I focus on the film markets and festivals. That's where I need to have the product to be consistent with what my business model is.

To spend money to go to Cannes, I need to have films that are complimentary to the buyers that come here. We vary in size of budgets. We've worked on things as big as "2 Guns", which was a 70 million film, to things as small as "Obvious Child" which was a micro budget film that was released on June 6th. We also like to see these films with a domestic component, because it allows my buyers to know that they can position their film in their territory as a theatrical movie. It's important, because it's all interconnected.

What are some recently successful films from The Exchange?

I did "The Spectacular Now". It wasn't a big budget, or a manipulative film. It was an honest, authentic slice of life, and it worked both domestically and internationally. We just released "Obvious Child" internationally, and the response to that film has been outstanding. Those are two very strong filmmakers that have something to say through art, and they said it authentically. Both of these films came out of Sundance.

What changes are you noticing in the film business?

The financial model is changing to support more quality films, as opposed to simply marketing, and there's a reason for that - it's the Internet. It's this transactional, new technology that is allowing for opinions to matter more than the physical experience of walking through a store and seeing box art. It's the reviews, the over arching word of mouth that comes through the Internet, that allows a business man like myself to focus on sales and moving quality films that matter.

Technology is bringing about a new age of stronger, more authentic filmmaking. The glitz and the glamour of the 80's and 90's, and the over saturation of CGI during the 2000's, have actually dulled the senses. Now, what people are responding to is truth, and strong voices.

You can choose your own information, and you're not manipulated through advertising or posters. Your phone allows you to find anything at any time in the world from an information standpoint. If a friend tells you, "Wow, "Obvious Child" is really good", you can Google "Obvious Child" and there will be reviews, tweets and Facebook posts about it. These things can be bought and manipulated, don't get me wrong... but they're focused on that review and the consensus of whether it's good or bad. I think it's good, and it's why filmmaking is getting better.

Sundance and Cannes were both strong this year. I think the films were good, and it's bringing about a market need for strong voices and good filmmaking. Selling a film that only has a famous actor doesn't work as easily as it did in the past.

Please talk about your entry into the film business.

I'm from Lubbock Texas, and went to college in Worcester Mass. I knew I wanted to be in the arts in some capacity, but I didn't have it in me to be in front of the camera. I knew that for various reasons that I needed to be behind the camera. That was always on my mind in college.

I went to NY after college and worked as a page at the NBC page program. I went on to be an extras casting director for a woman named Joy Todd, and then I realized how hard it was to live in NY with no money, so I followed my father's footsteps and went to law school. I then decided to go to Los Angeles and be an entertainment lawyer, which seemed ridiculous at the time. I went there, passed the bar, and started working for Roger Corman. I was in the entertainment business! I was a lawyer and making movies. It was so exciting! I felt great, but I wasn't really good at it, because I wasn't very detail oriented. I was doing things like closing deals without paper, but Roger liked me and said, "You're going to stop being a lawyer, and now you're going to do sales for me." That was 19 Cannes Festivals ago, and I've never missed one since.

What keeps you going in the industry?

The people in the business keep me in it. It's conversations like this. My job is to talk about art, about a group of people, to understand how hard it is to make a movie, and to see it come out the other side. It feels good to be a part of the process, and to experience the end product. It's really difficult, but the people I work with are fantastic. They're from many different cultures. We share story ideas, and it's great to spend time with people from the international film community. Even if you don't share the same language, you can still connect with them when you both see one film and react to it the same way - it's a bonding experience.

These festivals feel like a high school reunion. In general, people are great, and I always love coming back to see them to see how their lives have changed. Some people just have tremendous success. Some people start as being an assistant, or being an executive, and then move on to start their own company. It's exciting to see them succeed, and it's good for business too. When other people succeed and make money in the independent film distribution space, they put the money back into the system to make more films. They have a machine that they have to feed; it's changing because of the Internet, but everyone is trying to feed the machine.

For example, so many movies have been bought because of the incredible success of the "Lord of the Rings". I'm sure the success of the "Hunger Games" has supported many buyers in their various forays into different sales companies to buy movies. They made money on "Hunger Games", and therefore they're reinvesting it into other companies. In general, it just puts more money back into the system. That's why you always want to see your competitors do well with good movies, because then it just comes back into the system.

Please talk about the landscape of distributors for those who are new to this world or aren't working in it.

There's a finite list of distributors, and it's changing because of the collapse of video. In our business, there are business-to-business transactions, and we talk to local distributors in various territories about a transaction. The local distributor then looks to the distribution to the consumer. In each territory, whether it's France, Italy, Germany, Spain, they all have different focuses, whether it's TV or Theatrical. Within each country, there are different numbers and types of buyers, because each place is developing and contracting. For example, there are many buyers in the USA, because there are many different opportunities for films. It can sound overwhelming to someone who's not in sales, but a knowledgeable sales agent can quickly narrow it down to the right buyers for a film.

A big budget picture is only going to six to eight buyers. If you're looking for a smaller budget film, you cross off looking for the studios like Warner Bros, Paramount and so forth. If it's not a big theatrical film, maybe it's something for A24, Fox Searchlight, or Sony Classics that might have a smaller theatrical release or go straight to video; then you don't think of any of the studios, but just their video divisions. This is when you don't worry about Fox Searchlight or Sony Classics, and focus more on companies like Image. It gets complicated, because the video companies (like Radius, Image, Magnolia, and IFC) are using theatrical platforms to profile the pictures, primarily for video and VOD distribution. There are numerous buyers, but you just have to know, based on the product you have, which group to focus on. And then you never know what can happen, but you just have certain companies that you really focus on, depending on what type of film you have.

Learn more about The Exchange slate here.

Collaborative and transparent, The Exchange is a leading international sales and finance company committed to creating strong relationships between filmmakers, film financiers and distributors through the exchange of product, information and commerce. Created by veteran sales executive Brian O’Shea, the company specializes in high quality, commercial films that appeal to North American audiences and the ever-evolving global film market. In less than two years, The Exchange has acquired, financed, produced and/or sold over 140 films ranging in budgets from $5 million to $90 million, including studio films from Disney, Sony, Fox, and Universal. Such films include Universal’s 2 Guns, starring Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg (sold in collaboration with the exclusive sales agent, Foresight Unlimited); 2013 Sundance Award Winner The Spectacular Now starring Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley; The Last Five Years, starring Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan and directed by Richard Lagravenese; Higher Ground, starring and directed by Vera Farmiga; and Young Ones, starring Nicholas Hoult, Michael Shannon, Elle Fanning and Kodi Smit-McPhee.

Technically her sophomore point fifth of a feature (65-minuter We’re Glad You’re Here precedes A Teacher) which has amusingly gone by a vast array of titles (follow the social media folks for a visual clapboard round-up), Hannah Fidell (featured Ioncinephile of the month) has been cooking up her latest since the spring and now we’ve got official word on the make-up of the cast in the currently untitled project — a drama which will surely hit Sundance next year. Deadline reports that Taissa Farmiga (of Higher Ground fame) and Ben Rosenfield share the lead, while Joshua Leonard, Peter Vack, Jennifer Lafleur and three times a charm Lindsay Burdge are part of the supporting cast in what sounds like a psychological roller-coaster ride for a couple that are nearing the end of college — sort of the anthesis of the grown up portion in Linklater’s Boyhood. Kelly Williams and...

Exclusive: Actor Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Lake House, Mona Lisa Smile, Stealth) has signed with UTA. He stars on the current season of HBO’s Girls as Desi Harperin and starred in Simon Helberg’s SXSW directorial debut We’ll Never Have Paris. His recent screen credits include Vera Farmiga’s Higher Ground, Lola Versus with Greta Gerwig, the horror pic Come Out And Play, FX’s Damages, and HBO’s John Adams. Moss-Bachrach is also repped by Sue Leibman and Peikoff Mahan Law Office.

As we are full-on in the Lent season, our definitive list will focus on films about religion or some aspect of it. The #1 qualification to be on this list is to deliberately focus on religion, a religious figure, or have the presence of a religion/faith as an integral plot point. For example, most of Luis Bunuel’s films can be viewed as attacks on the church, but they aren’t literally about Christianity; therefore, they won’t be included. So, on this list, we’ll look at as many different faiths as possible (though, there are obviously a lot more movies about Christianity than any other religion). We’ll even dabble into cults and sects that don’t really exist. Final rule: no documentaries. We’re keeping this fictional.

courtesy of salon.com

50. Sound of My Voice (2011)

Directed by Zal Batmanglij

Sound of My Voice stars Brit Marling (also co-writer) as Maggie,...

"Bates Motel" Season 2 kicks off in just one more week, and here are the highlights of a recent Q&A with star Vera Farmiga and exec producer Kerry Ehrin. They discuss Norma's mothering techniques, what's ahead for the character, and Lots more.

Q: Obviously, "Bates Motel" is based on a movie. But going into Season 2, how much does the film affect the way that you make the show? Or is it now its own entity?

Kerry Ehrin: From the very beginning [co-creator] Carlton [Cuse] and I wanted to honor the movie but not be beholden to it. So I think at this point the world of "Bates Motel" has definitely become its own organic world. So while we’re still conscious of the film, and obviously there’s certain tent poles let’s say that the film suggests... it kind of has become its own beast at this point...

Q: Vera,...

Jury prizes and and honorable mentions were presented to short films at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, The Sundance Institute announced. Of 8,161 submissions, 66 were chosen to part of this year's Short Film program, presented by YouTube. The short films jury was comprised of writer-producer-voice actor Vernon Chatman ("Wonder Showzen"), actor Joshua Leonard ("The Blair Witch Project" and "Higher Ground") and Ania Trzebiatowska, artistic director of the Off Plus Camera International Festival of Independent Cinema. Short Film Award Winners (Descriptions provided by Sundance Institute): Short Film Grand Jury Prize: "Of God and Dogs"/Syrian Arab Republic (Director: Abounaddara Collective) — A young, free Syrian soldier confesses to killing a man he knew was innocent. He promises to take vengeance on the God who led him to commit the murder. Short Film Jury Award: U.S. Fiction: "Gregory Go Boom"/U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Janicza...

X-Men franchise director Bryan Singer, whose first two features debuted at the Sundance Film Festival — including The Usual Suspects in 1995 — was one of the industry figures named to the Sundance juries that will judge this year’s films when the festival begins next week. Singer, who has X-Men: Days of Future Past due in May, will be one of five members of the U.S. Dramatic Jury. Other members of the juries include Tracy Chapman, Lone Scherfig, Leonard Maltin, and screenwriter Jon Spaihts (Prometheus). A complete list of the juries, courtesy of the Sundance Film Festival, can be viewed after the jump.

Taissa Farmiga never planned to follow in her big sister Vera Farmiga's footsteps and become an actor. It just sort of happened. Following her debut in Vera's film Higher Ground, Taissa, 19, landed the role of Connie Britton and Dylan McDermott's daughter, Violet Harmon, on the first season of Ryan Murphy's macabre FX series American Horror Story. After taking a break from the show during season two, Farmiga is back as Zoe Benson – a witch with a very unique power – in American Horror Story: Coven, arguably the series' best season to date.

This Bling Ring star currently portrays Zoe Benson on the FX hit American Horror Story. Here are five things you probably don't know about Taissa Farmiga, the younger sister of Bates Motel actress Vera Farmiga.  

1. Born August 17, 1994 in New Jersey to Ukrainian immigrant parents, she's the youngest of seven children. 

Pics: Star Sightings

2. Initially had no ambitions to become an actress, but was persuaded to appear in Vera's directorial debut, the 2011 drama Higher Ground. 

3. Took American Sign Language classes for three years along with other members of her homeschool group. 

Video: Ahs: Coven Cast Teases Their Favorite Moments

4. Says Vera serves as her stylist for public events. For her part, Vera told Teen Vogue: "Taissa is the person you take with you to choose your Oscar gown and then take to In-n-Out Burger. As much of an age difference as there is (21 years), she is one of my best friends in the world."

5.  Loves the outdoors...

The Bates Motel star's new movie, The Conjuring, is a spine-chilling story of paranormal phenomena. She talks about belief and scepticism, and the maternal theme that connects her roles

Last night Vera Farmiga watched her new movie, a cheerfully manipulative and highly effective shocker, with an audience for the first time. "To me the masculine screams were a riot," she says. "They were just unabashed. Usually there's a self-awareness to male laughter, an apologetic giddiness, but not here. That was a different kind of screaming – unprompted, like the sounds were being ripped out of them. And I'd seen the movie before, so I knew when to look at the audience instead of the screen. Just every time – 'Aaaarrgghh!'" That effort reignites her cough. The chuckles become hacking little rasps, and she guzzles more herbal tea.

Today, Farmiga has the same blond hair she sports in the gripping new TV series Bates Motel,...

And here we go... the acting categories you've all been very impatiently waiting for in Tfe's first wave of Oscar predictions for the year.

Will Previously Honored Movie Stars With Weird Character-Actor Hairdos Rule This Year?

As faithful readers know I like to keep my crystal ball risky with the bouncing and hope it doesn't shatter. In the first wave of predictions "what if" scenarios and "wild cards" are espectially compelling in the Supporting races. I mean why not? So little is yet known about future important matters like Amount of Screen Time, Nature of the Ensemble Roles, Best in Show Scene Stealing and even Post-Production "we'll fix it in post" Switcheroos where a film is rethought to better spotlight its MVPs. This early on there's no point in making boring predictions in which Oscar favorites hog all the categories though sometimes they do -- witness last year's All Previous Winner boredom in this category.

Writer/filmmaker Nora Ephron will be the subject of a documentary that's currently being developed by HBO. The project, "Everything Is Copy," promises to deliver "an intimate portrait" of the acclaimed writer/director, who died last June at age 71 of pneumonia brought on by acute myeloid leukemia. Also read: Nora Ephron's Son Explains Mother's Decision to Keep Quiet About Illness Ephron's son, Jacob Bernstein, is directing and co-producing the project, with Nick Hooker co-directing. Matt Parker and Carly Hugo ("Bachelorette," "Higher Ground") are producing, with "Vanity Fair" editor Graydon Carter serving as executive producer/producer. Bernstein,...

With a healthy list of credits spanning studio fare (“Mona Lisa Smile,” “Stealth”), television (“Damages,” HBO’s “John Adams”) and the independent arena (“Breaking Upwards,” “Higher Ground,” “Lola Versus”), Ebon Moss-Bachrach is a quintessential talented character actor — able to swing effortlessly and, more importantly, believably from genre to genre. In the unusual new horror film “Come Out and Play,” alongside Vinessa Shaw, he plays one half of a happy couple who go to Mexico for a romantic getaway, and end up stranded on an island full of murderous children. It’s based on Juan José Plan’s 1976 Spanish film “El Juego De Niños,” but the parallel story of the movie’s production may be just [ Read More ]

The post Exclusive: Ebon Moss-Bachrach Talks Come Out and Play, Masked Director Makinov appeared first on Shockya.com.

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On Monday, March 18th, A&E is taking you back to where it all began with Bates Motel. I have to tell you, because I can’t get this idea to stop flashing in my mind, this is not at all what I would have predicted for either Vera Farmiga or Freddie Highmore. I’m a fan of both them, and looking through a list that includes – Up in the Air, Higher Ground, Source Code, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Spiderwick Chronicles, and The Art of Getting By – does not lend itself to the idea that the natural progression of your CV is going to include a supremely raw and gritty psychopath story.

As you can imagine (and certainly one of the key tune-in draws), since you know where we are ending up, the teen years are probably going to be pretty rough for Norman Bates. Not only...

Farmiga on Higher Ground: Religious dogma and the search for spiritual enlightenment Academy Award-nominated actress Vera Farmiga discussed issues such as religious dogma, the striving for spiritual enlightenment, and the making of Higher Ground, her first tryout as a director, while chatting with entertainment journalist Tim Cogshell. (Although Higher Ground was released in 2011, Cogshell's interview was just recently published on YouTube.) Please scroll down to check out the six-minute interview. For the most part set in Iowa from the '60s to the '80s, Higher Ground follows a young couple (Farmiga and Boyd Holbrook), who become enmeshed with a radical Christian denomination. Real life interferes, however, something that eventually makes Farmiga's character begin to question her beliefs in god. Loosely based on Carolyn Briggs' memoir This Dark World: A Story of Faith Found, the film as co-written by Briggs and Tim Metcalfe. It had its world premiere...

American Horror Story: Asylum wraps up its brilliant second season tonight but co-creator Ryan Murphy is already planning out the third installment of his FX mini-series: EW has learned exclusively that season 1 star Taissa Farmiga (Higher Ground) is in talks to rejoin the series for season 3. Farmiga, who played the troubled teen Violet, would be one of the leads of Ahs’ very secretive third go-round and would join fellow alums Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson, and Evan Peters.

Explains Murphy “I missed her this season. There wasn’t really a role for her. I feel very protective of her and I...

This year, the battle for the “Best Actor” category is fierce. However, one of our favorites is John Hawkes. Is brilliant performance in “The Sessions” may garner him the coveted Oscar. Soon we will find out. John Hawkes has been working non-stop since his critically acclaimed performance as Teardrop in “Winter’s Bone,” the role which earned him an Independent Spirit Award win and an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Hawkes can be seen in Ben Lewin’s “The Sessions,” the story of a man confined to an iron lung who is determined – at age 38 – to lose his virginity. He also recently completed production on “Lincoln,” “Arcadia” and “The Playroom.” Hawkes’ additional film credits include “Higher Ground,” “Contagion,” “Martha Marcy May Marlene,” “Me and You and Everyone We Know,” “American Gangster,” “Miami Vice,” “Identity,” “The Perfect Storm,” “Small Town Saturday Night,” “Hardball,” “Wristcutters: A Love Story,” “The Amateurs,...

John Hawkes has emerged as one of the finest chameleon-like character actors of our time, in films like Winter’s Bone, Martha Marcy May Marlene, and Higher Ground. With his performance in The Sessions he reaches a new plateau, transforming himself into the wry, self-deprecating journalist Mark O’Brien, a polio victim who spends most of his time in an iron lung, tended to by a succession of caregivers. (To see the real O’Brien, check out Jessica Yu’s documentary Breathing Lessons.) At the age of 38 O’Brien, a practicing Catholic, decides that he wants to experience sex for the first time, and receives the (reluctant) approval of his hip parish priest,...

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