In the wake of the ongoing net neutrality argument , another equally important squabble between regulators and telecoms companies has been overlooked. The FCC is trying to redefine ‘broadband’ as “internet which is actually fast enough to use”, and telecoms companies don’t like that one little bit.
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Now that Wasteland 2 is out and the spiritual successor to Planescape: Torment is nearly complete, Brian Fargo’s inXile is preparing to Kickstart the sequel to another classic Interplay RPG with The Bard’s Tale IV, a sequel 27 years in the making.
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The news Guild Wars 2 players have been eagerly awaiting for ages is finally here. ArenaNet has announced Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns, and expansion pack that takes players deep into the heart of the Maguum Jungle armed with mastery abilities and a brand new profession — the Revenant.
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If the idea of Mario’s ride ingesting Shy Guys and spitting them out as eggs in Yoshi’s Island made you uneasy, this 3D first-person recreation of the game’s first level will not help at all.
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Everyone’s favorite futuristic family, The Jetsons, have been around for a while. They started in the Sixties, had a movie made back in 1990 and, over the past few years, several people – including Kanye West – have been thinking about making another. Well, the needle is moving once again on a new Jetsons movie and, this time, it’s a lot more believable. Warner Bros. has hired Matt Lieberman to penning a screenplay to a new animated feature.
Deadline broke the news of the new Jetsons movie. Warner Bros. controls the rights and they’ve made the project a priority. Still, a priority animated film still needs a good 4-5 years to get made, minimum. The studio themselves have multiple Lego animated films dated through 2018, so this film almost certainly wouldn’t be out until at least then, and probably later.
The Jetsons were a super popular cartoon when they first aired in the 1960s, showing a happy-go-lucky family living in the future. They saw a bit of a resurgence in the Eighties thanks to reruns, hence the 1990 movie. That movie was not a hit, though only grossing $20 million at the box office with a prime summer release. As to why Warner Bros. thinks The Jetsons will be popular in the next several years is a mystery, but maybe it’s the sign they have more than just a movie in store for George, Jane, Judy, Elroy, Rosie and Astro.
Do you think people will be interested in a new Jetsons movie?
The post New ‘Jetsons’ Animated Movie In the Works appeared first on /Film.
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These are the movies sold at Sundance 2015. Many of the films that premiere at the Sundance Film Festival are hoping to attract a distributor and find a bigger audience,be it in theaters around the country or distributed through digital VOD. Throughout the festival we will be reporting on all of the movies sold at Sundance 2015. This list should help give you an idea about which movies may someday be available to you either theatrically of VOD. We’re including photo stills from each of the films along with all of the relevant information (director, cast, how much it sold for, the plot synopsis and more). Hit the jump to find out which movies sold at Sundance 2015.
Latest update: A24 picks up one of the hottest tickets so far at the fest, the period horror The Witch.
We will be updating this post with 2015 Sundance Film Festival acquisitions throughout the festival. The post is organized from newest to oldest, with the latest acquisitions on the top.
Acquired: January 24
By: A24
Purchase Price: $1.5
Director: Robert Eggers
Starring: Anya Taylor Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Ellie Grainger, Lucas Dawson
Other Info: Deal not fully set, but looks likely according to THR.
Plot Synopsis:
A colonial family leaves plantation life and attempts to reap their harvest on a fledgling farm at the edge of an imposing ancient New England forest. Soon, superstition and dread set in as food grows scarce, a family member goes missing, and the children’s play takes on a frenzied and menacing undercurrent. As they begin to turn on one another, the malevolent machinations of an ethereal presence from within the woods exacerbate the growing corruption of their own natures.
Acquired: January 24rd
By: Relativity
Purchase Price: $3 million
Directors: Bryan Buckley
Starring: Melissa Rauch, Gary Cole, Thomas Middleditch, Sebastian Stan, Haley Lu Richardson, Cecily Strong
Other Info: Read our review here. Deal not 100% but looks likely according to Deadline.
Plot Synopsis:
In 2004, Hope Ann Greggory became an American hero after winning the bronze medal for the women’s gymnastics team. Today, she’s living in her father’s basement in her small hometown—washed up, largely forgotten, and embittered. Stuck in her past glory, Hope is forced to reassess her life when a promising young gymnast who idolizes her threatens her local celebrity status. Will she mentor the adoring, hopeful protégé, take her down, or both?
Acquired: January 23rd
By: Tribeca Film
Purchase Price: undisclosed
Directors: Kevin Pollak
Starring: Tom Hanks, Jimmy Fallon, Amy Schumer, Judd Apatow, Jon Favreau, Lisa Kudrow, Larry David, Steve Coogan, Jim Gaffigan, and Whoopi Goldberg
Other Info: Feature-length documentary. Tribecca acquired North American rights
Plot Synopsis:
Director Kevin Pollak shares in-depth, candid interviews with some of the most revered comedy greats who each share their unique path and a life devoted to making strangers laugh. With arresting anecdotes and insights from the comedy underbelly that reveal the paradox of a performer’s desire to connect with audiences, Misery Loves Comedy is the definitive master class on the art of humor that details a comedian’s rare ability to help us understand life as only they can.
Acquired: January 22nd in advance of its January 23th premiere.
By: Relativity Sports
Purchase Price: undisclosed
Directors: Tony Vainuku, Erika Cohn
Other Info: Feature-length sports documentary. Relativity Sports has produced and released “Being: Mariano,” “David Ortiz: In the Moment,” “Dwight Howard: In the Moment” and “Amar’e Stoudemire: In the Moment.” Dwayne Johnson came aboard as a producer.
Plot Synopsis:
Four young Polynesian football players struggle to overcome gang violence and poverty as they enter the high-stakes world of recruiting, competitive athletics and family pressures.
Acquired: January 22nd in advance of its January 23th premiere.
By: A24
Purchase Price: $2-$3 million
Director: James Ponsoldt (The Spectacular Now)
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Jason Segel, Anna Chlumsky, Joan Cusack
Other Info: Comedy in the Premiere section. Deadline reports it would get an awards release later this year.
Plot Synopsis:
In 1996, shortly after the publication of his groundbreaking novel Infinite Jest,acclaimed author David Foster Wallace (Jason Segel) sets off on a five-day interview with Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky (Jesse Eisenberg). As the days pass, a tenuous yet significant relationship develops between journalist and subject. Lipsky and Wallace bob and weave around each other, revealing as much in what they don’t say as what the say. They share laughs, expose hidden frailties, yet it’s never clear when or to what extent they are being truthful. The interview is never published. Five days of audio tapes are packed away in Lipsky’s closet, and the two men never meet again.
Acquired: January 22nd in advance of its January 27th premiere.
By: Magnolia Pictures
Purchase Price: Undisclosed
Director: Andrew Bujalski (Funny Ha Ha, Mutual Appreciation, Computer Chess)
Starring: Guy Pearce, Cobie Smulders, Giovanni Ribisi, Anthony Michael Hall, Brooklyn Decker and Constance Zimmer
Other Info: Comedy in the U.S. Dramatic Competition. Magnolia is eyeing a summer theatrical release for the film.
Plot Synopsis:
RESULTS is well toned ensemble comedy set in the fitness world of Austin, TX. Corrigan plays Danny, a recently divorced, newly rich, and utterly miserable slob who makes a stab at self-improvement by signing up for a personal trainer at a local gym. There he meets self-styled guru/owner Trevor (Guy Pearce) and irresistibly acerbic trainer Kat (Cobie Smulders). Soon, their three lives are inextricably knotted, both professionally and personally. Andrew Bujalski (Computer Chess, 2013) returns to the Sundance Film Festival with a funny, intimate tale that’s utterly grounded in real life.
Acquired: January 22nd in advance of its January 25th premiere.
By: Showtime Networks
Purchase Price: Undisclosed
Director: Kim Longinotto (Salma, Rough Aunties, Divorce Iranian Style)
Starring:
Plot Synopsis:
On the West Side of Chicago at 3:00am, a van with the words “Dreamcatcher Foundation” emblazoned across the side cruises through the dimly lit streets. The two women inside are Brenda Myers-Powell and Stephanie Daniels-Wilson, survivors of the sex trade. The van slows down as they approach a young girl. Brenda leans out and calls, “Hey pretty, do you need some condoms?” This opening scene takes you immediately into the sharp end of the world of Dreamcatcher, vividly directed by master documentarian Kim Longinotto. Brenda became a prostitute as a teenager, developed a drug addiction, and years later came out the other side. Her experience, combined with her irresistible personality, puts her in a unique position to help other trafficked women reclaim their lives. With warmth and humor, Brenda gives hope to those who have none.
Acquired: January 21st in advance of its January 28th premiere.
By: Lionsgate
Purchase Price: Undisclosed
Director: Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite, Nacho Libre)
Starring: Sam Rockwell, Jemaine Clement, Amy Ryan, Danny McBride, Leslie Bibb and Will Forte.
Plot Synopsis:
“Biblical archaeologist Don Verdean is hired by a local church pastor to find faith-promoting relics in the Holy Land. But after a fruitless expedition he is forced to get creative in this comedy of faith and fraud.”
The post Movies Sold at Sundance 2015: A Complete & Updated Guide appeared first on /Film.
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Batkid Begins premieres Saturday at the Slamdance Film Festival but, before that even happened, the movie’s story has a happy ending.
Julia Roberts – yes, the world famous actress – has purchased the rights to the documentary to make it into a narrative version. Roberts will produce as well as star in the film. There’s no word on who Roberts would play, but the smart money is on Patricia Wilson, the director of the San Francisco Make-A-Wish chapter that put the whole event together. She has a huge role in the documentary, which you can read our review of here. Below, read more details about Julia Roberts Batkid.
Here’s the Julia Roberts Batkid press release:
As the excitement revs up in Park City, Submarine announced today that Julia Roberts is attached to the remake rights to the new documentary BATKID BEGINS: THE WISH HEARD AROUND THE WORLD – A DANA NACHMAN FILM on the eve of its world premiere at Slamdance Film Festival.
Roberts, who will produce with partners Lisa Gillan and Marisa Yeres Gill through their Red Om Films banner, is attached to star in the feature remake of the real life story about how a Make-A-Wish event for Miles – a 5 year old boy diagnosed with leukemia – wanting to be Batman for a day turned into not only a citywide spectacle with over 25,000 San Francisco residents coming out to participate, but a worldwide phenomenon on social media with nearly 2 billion participants thanks to Mashable, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and others.
The documentary’s director, Dana Nachman, will serve as Executive Producer along with Josh and Dan Braun of Submarine under Submarine’s new remake label Sub/Version that is launching at Sundance. BATKID BEGINS… is Sub/Version’s first project.
“It’s thrilling to me that Ms. Roberts and her team watched our film and were so moved by it that they want to dedicate their time and creative capital to make sure the widest audience possible will know and love Miles’ story and the spirit of this intimate special event that went global, as much as we do,” says filmmaker Nachman.
CAA, which brought the project to Roberts, brokered the deal with Sub/Version and will represent the package.
BATKID BEGINS: THE WISH HEARD AROUND THE WORLD – A DANA NACHMAN FILM will have its world premiere this Saturday, January 24 at noon in Park City at Slamdance Film Festival 2015, and all distribution rights for the documentary are currently available worldwide. For more info: www.batkidbegins.com
The post Julia Roberts to Star And Produce Narrative Version of ‘Batkid Begins appeared first on /Film.
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![‘Finders Keepers’ Is Like The Best Episode Of ‘Storage Wars’ Ever [Sundance 2015 Review]](https://playerschoicegames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/ZZ70F03568-700x453.jpg)
On Friday I screened the first great film of the 2015 Sundance film festival. Finders Keepers is a hilarious, bizarre and sometimes devastating documentary about the true life story of two men. Shannon Whisnant purchases a storage unit at auction and is surprised to find a severed human leg inside a used bbq grill. The other man, John Wood, wants his leg back, but Whisnant isn’t about to let that happen.
Read the rest of my Finders Keepers review and see a clip from the film, embedded after the jump.
The story offers much more depth than its “pulled from the headlines” story might lead you to expect. In fact, it’s less about the sensationalistic hook and more about the compelling characters involved in this crazy story. I love documentary films like King of Kong and Trekkies that let us explore the world of quirky “weirdos”. With Finders Keepers, producers Seth Gordin (King of Kong) and Adam Goldberg (The Goldbergs) give us a fascinating slice of moldy Americana.
I name drop Storage Wars in the review headline because yes, the grill was bought in a storage unit auction like the auctions seen in the reality television show. But also because like the show, its not just about the crazy pirate treasure uncovered in a purchased unit, its about the strange and interesting characters going on the treasure hunt — the Jarrod, Brandi, Darrell and Dave Hesters.
For Whisnant the leg represents his hopes and dreams of someday being famous — for what it really doesn’t matter. He believes he bought the leg fair and square and is unwilling to let his 15 minutes of fame ed. For Wood, the leg represents the unwillingness to let go of blame for the plane crash that killed his father and resulted in the amputation of his leg.
And both men are surrounded by a set of characters that will have you laughing in disbelief. One person I talked to after the screening was convinced for the first half of the movie that it was a narrative fictional feature film — but honestly, this story and characters are too strange to be fiction.
Most of this story is filmed after the fact, with the key characters recounting the events. But the characters in the spotlight of this documentary are so incredibly odd and funny that it doesn’t suffer from the problems of most talking head docs. Also it helps that the documentary collects a ton of news footage surrounding the bizarre situation. We get slices from national television news programs, reality shows, and a hero that may come from the most unexpected place — a television court show.
The documentary filmmakers do end up following the conclusion of the story in real time, which offers some needed closure and redemption, adding insightful yet unexpected perspective on the whole situation. As much as I loved the film, this documentary still feels a bit long — which is unfortunate as the running time is already a short 82 minutes. I do think it could benefit from a ten minute trim of the later half.
/Film Rating: 8 out of 10
The post ‘Finders Keepers’ Is Like The Best Episode Of ‘Storage Wars’ Ever [Sundance 2015 Review] appeared first on /Film.
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On November 13, 2013, an event happened that showed the best of what this tech-crazed, celebrity obsessed world can do. Ironically though, the person the event was about had no idea what he’d inspired. That’s the story of Batkid Begins: The Wish Heard Around the World, which tells the incredibly story of Miles Scott, a young California boy diagnosed with Leukemia whose one wish was to be the real Batman. The San Francisco Make-A-Wish Foundation tried to grant that wish and as word began to spread of their plans, it became an event that – as the title says – was heard around the world.
Batkid Begins: The Wish Heard Around the World premiered this weekend at the Slamdance Film Festival. Continue our Batkid Begins review below.
Directed by Dana Nachman, Batkid Begins tells the entire story of how this massive event was put together. There’s Miles’s story, the aftermath, everything you could possibly want to know about the event itself and more. It also shows the cultural side of it and how the news and social media – for the most part – fell in love with this story. How that love inspired people to do wonderful things and use technology as well as celeb obsession in the best possible way. Then, ultimately, it’s a story about how humanity is usually crappy, but sometimes we can be pretty wonderful too.
For the most part, Batkid Begins tells the straight forward story of the origin of Batkid. We meet a young Miles Scott and his family as he’s been diagnosed with Leukemia. We learn about his disease, follow him through his treatments, and find out how superheroes – specifically Batman – really helped and inspired him.
That leads to the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the people there, lead by Patricia Wilson, who thought Miles’ wish to be Batman was super fun. She made a few calls – the Chief of Police, the mayor, a friend to play Batman, and the ball just keeps rolling. Social media picks up the story, more people get involved, a proposed 200 people becomes closer to 20,000 and while this is all happening, the little boy has no idea what’s in store for him.
Batkid Begins works so well as a film because the structure is so natural. There’s a very interesting build up to the actual day followed by the pay off of seeing it unfold from the ground floor. The filmmakers are with the family the whole way, at home weeks before, in the hotel room when the event starts and at every single stop. They follow the social media aspect, the people who spearheaded that, and of course talk to Miles and his family about what it all means. It’s a story that needed to be documented and they do a great job for it.
But then you start thinking in a larger context. “I use Twitter everyday and usually it’s just bad stuff.” “I hate my Facebook.” But Batkid Begins shows how those things and this tech-crazed world we currently live in can work for the best. Because of social media, this event got incredibly big. People were able to be generous with donations and helping with the event. It never would have been possible without these tools. And that makes Batkid Begins not just a really well made, emotional documentary, it’s an important one too.
/Film rating 8 of 10
The post ‘Batkid Begins’ Review: An Uplifting and Important Documentary About Everyone’s Favorite Batman appeared first on /Film.
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