Hearts Beat Loud<\/strong><\/em>
\nDirector-writer: Brett Haley
\nWriter: Marc Basch
\nCast: Nick Offerman, Kiersey Clemons, Ted Danson, Toni Collette, Sasha Lane, Blythe Danner
\nDistributor: Gunpowder & Sky<\/p>\nFilmmaker Brett Haley said the story behind Hearts Beat Loud had been gestating for \u201ca long time.\u201d The filmmaker worked with actor Nick Offerman on his 2017 feature The Hero, and talked to him about playing the role of the dad at the center of the new project.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe committed upon seeing the first draft,\u201d said Haley. \u201cHe kept the window open. Nick also reached out to Ted Danson since they\u2019re friends and he also [boarded].\u201d<\/p>\n
Hearts Beat Loud follows single dad Frank Fisher who prepares to send his daughter, Sam (Kiersey Clemons), off to college while being forced to close his decades-old record store in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Hoping to reconnect with his daughter, he urges Sam to transform their impromptu \u201cjam sesh\u201d into a father-daughter musical act. After their first song turns into an unexpected hit, they are forced to embark on a journey of love, family, and self discovery through music.<\/p>\n
\u201cKiersey was the last to come on,\u201d explained Haley. \u201cWe were [seeing] a lot of people for that role\u2026 I had done some research and found out that [Kiersey Clemons] could sing.\u201d Clemons joined soon after meeting with Haley. Clemons also tapped a friend to join the cast \u2014 Sasha Lane.<\/p>\n
Haley and Toni Collette met at a party at Sundance. Though he didn\u2019t think he would be able to cast her, he decided to reach out. \u201cI sent her the script assuming she\u2019d be too busy, but to my surprise she did it.\u201d<\/p>\n
For financing, Haley tapped investors and producers from his previous projects, including Park Pictures and Burn Later. One group did drop out which threatened the production temporarily.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a scary time right now,\u201d noted Haley. \u201cYou want to make a movie in a way that you can get your investors their money back. Thankfully, we were able to, but at this level, it\u2019s touch and go. Luckily we [sold the film] to Gunpowder & Sky.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hearts Beat Loud shot over 19 days in various Brooklyn neighborhoods including Red Hook. Despite the ambitious timetable, Haley said that he kept it at a civilized pace. \u201cI do five day weeks and I give the crew the weekends off. With 18-19 days, you have to put your eggs in certain baskets. We had to ensure [the actors] had the time to do their best performances. We had to work quickly, but we had a lot of fun. I am a big collaborator on set. It went by in a flash, and then we were editing and we then were off to the races. Thankfully Kiersey and Nick were up to the task of doing these live musical performances. It was insane but also the best insane ever.\u201d<\/p>\n
The premiere was Haley\u2019s third at Sundance, which kicked off a good festival run. \u201cIt\u2019s my favorite festival \u2014 they gave me a career. I\u2019m very thankful. Once we sold the movie, it was really great. We screened at the Paramount at SXSW, so that really solidified it for us\u2026 After the movie comes out, we\u2019ll do the U.K. premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival [later this month].\u201d<\/p>\n
Hearts Beat Loud will open in four locations Friday including the Landmark 57 West and Regal Union Square in New York as well as The Landmark and Arclight in L.A. Cast and Haley will take part in select Q&As. The title will then expand to between 50-70 theaters next Father\u2019s Day weekend. The soundtrack with original songs is also available starting this weekend.<\/p>\n
Added Haley: \u201cI\u2019ve had luck with \u2019slow burning\u2019 movies over the summer. I think people will want to see a feel good [film]\u2026 I hope it plays throughout summer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Won\u2019t You Be My Neighbor?<\/em><\/strong>
\nDirector: Morgan Neville
\nSubjects: Fred Rogers, Joanne Rogers, McColm Cephas, Jr., Fran\u00e7ois Scarborough Clemmons
\nDistributor: Focus Features<\/p>\nDocumentary Won\u2019t You Be My Neighbor? has already generated Oscar talk from insiders. Filmmaker Morgan Neville is familiar with the awards circuit, having won Best Documentary at the Academy Awards in 2014 for 20 Feet From Stardom (RADiUS). That title was also a winner at the box office, grossing $4.9M stateside.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe worked on the development of Won\u2019t You Be My Neighbor?,\u201d said Lisa Bunnell, Focus Features president, Distribution. \u201cReaction at Sundance [where it premiered] was terrific. Everyone who\u2019s seen [the movie] loves it.\u201d<\/p>\n
For over thirty years, Fred Rogers, an unassuming minister, puppeteer, writer and producer was beamed daily into homes across America. In his beloved television program, Mister Rogers\u2019 Neighborhood, Fred and his cast of puppets and friends spoke directly to young children about some of life\u2019s weightiest issues, in a simple, direct fashion. There hadn\u2019t been anything like Mr. Rogers on television before and there hasn\u2019t been since.
\nThough he may be best known today as a soft-spoken, cardigan-wearing children\u2019s television host, in reality, Fred Rogers\u2019 career represents a sustained attempt to present a coherent, beneficent view about how we should best speak to children about important matters and how television could be used as a positive force in our society.<\/p>\n
\u201cExhibitors are coming to me to ask for it which is unusual for a doc,\u201d said Bunnell. \u201cThe film highlights the humanity of people \u2014 treating someone the way you want to be treated. People come out feeling better about life in general having spent time with Mr. Rogers. This is somebody who embodies all that was good [and believed that] everything in the world is about love \u2014 or the lack of it\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Focus is ready to give the title an awards push, though of course the starting point is the doc\u2019s theatrical release starting this weekend. Won\u2019t You Be My Neighbor? will bow in 29 theaters across the country in 12 markets Friday including Lincoln Square, the Angelika and East 86th St. Cinema in New York as well as The Landmark and Arclight in Los Angeles. The film will also open in Fred Rogers\u2019 hometown of Pittsburgh this weekend.<\/p>\n
Won\u2019t You Be My Neighbor? is set to then roll out slowly from there going into the summer. Added Bunnell: \u201cWhenever you have Morgan doing a documentary, you\u2019re going to get awards conversation\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist<\/em><\/strong>
\nDirector: Lorna Tucker
\nSubject: Vivienne Westwood
\nDistributor: Greenwich Entertainment<\/p>\nGreenwich Entertainment caught Lorna Tucker\u2019s documentary on fashion designer Vivienne Westwood at Sundance. Noteworthy though is that Westwood has turned her back on the film because she contends it was meant to concentrate on her activism.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmusingly and almost predictably as the film makes clear about the quirks of her personality, Dame Westwood has publicly disavowed the film over her allegation that the film was to be primarily about her environmental activism,\u201d commented Greenwich Entertainment\u2019s Ed Arentz. \u201cWe feel bad for Lorna Tucker who\u2019s been placed in the uncomfortable position of having to choose between her obligation to present a truthful and entertaining portrayal with what had once been her friendship with Vivienne.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since igniting the punk movement with ex-partner and Sex Pistols\u2019 manager Malcolm McLaren, Dame Vivienne Westwood has been redefining British fashion for over 40 years, creating many of the most distinctive looks of our time. Blending archival footage, crafted reconstruction, and interviews with Westwood\u2019s network of collaborators, the documentary guides viewers on her journey from her humble beginnings in postwar Derbyshire to the runways of Paris and Milan. Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist shows how Westwood fights to maintain her brand\u2019s integrity, her principles and her legacy in a business driven by consumerism, profit and global expansion.<\/p>\n
Arentz acknowledged that Westwood\u2019s non-participation has proven to be a hurdle to promote the title. Still, the company is looking to females and people into fashion and pop culture to be its core audience. He said that though Westwood is not on board, there is interest in the film.<\/p>\n
\u201cLuckily, despite Vivienne\u2019s fatwa, there were still many fashion world organizations and university fashion programs that have been supportive and have been actively encouraging attendance. Given SVOD commitments, we did need to open in early summer and also wanted to not overlap with the two other fashion docs this summer: The Gospel According to Andr\u00e9 and McQueen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Greenwich Entertainment will open Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist at IFC Film Center this Friday in New York, followed by the Nuart in L.A. on June 15. The title will then head to the next top 25 markets in the following weeks.<\/p>\n
Added Arentz. \u201cNot having Vivienne available for interviews was a big loss and her displeasure has cooled the interest we may have expected from her celebrity followers and social media influencers. But we knew what we were getting into. As critical as the issue is, we would almost certainly not be distributing a feature length documentary about Vivienne\u2019s positions on global warming which most people would agree are given an appropriate and balanced treatment in Lorna\u2019s account of her life and career.\u201d<\/p>\n
En el S\u00e9ptimo D\u00eda<\/em><\/strong>
\nDirector-writer: Jim McKay
\nCast: Fernando Cardonal, Gilberto Jimenez, Abel Perez, Genoel Ram\u00edrez, Alfonso Velazquez
\nDistributor: Cinema Guild<\/p>\nFilmmaker Jim McKay wrote an early draft of En el S\u00e9ptimo D\u00eda over a decade ago while completing his last feature film, Everyday People. He has since spent time doing work for television, but a few years ago, he contacted producer and collaborator Caroline Kaplan about the idea.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe called me three years ago and said, \u2018remember that script?,\u2019\u201d recalled Kaplan. \u201cSo ten years from that initial draft, we jumped back in. He revisited the script and looked around and decided to do it in Sunset Park, Brooklyn\u2026 We\u2019ve reached such a critical point about immigration and at the same time it\u2019s about a character and his community. And [timing wise] it\u2019s also good with World Cup since it\u2019s [in part] a soccer movie. Jim had his heart in this for so many years\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
En el S\u00e9ptimo D\u00eda fetes bicycle delivery guys, construction workers, dishwashers, deli workers, and cotton candy vendors, who work long hours six days a week and then savor their day of rest on Sundays on the soccer fields of Sunset Park. Jos\u00e9, a bicycle delivery worker, is the team\u2019s captain \u2013 young, talented, hardworking and responsible. When Jos\u00e9\u2019s team makes it to the finals, he and his teammates are thrilled. But his boss throws a wrench into the celebration when he tells Jos\u00e9 he has to work on Sunday, the day of the finals. Jos\u00e9 tries to reason with his boss or replace himself, but his efforts fail. If he doesn\u2019t work on Sunday, his job and his future will be on the line. But if he doesn\u2019t stand up for himself and his teammates, his dignity will be crushed.<\/p>\n
The filmmaking team spent \u201ca long time\u201d casting the movie among residents in the community. Kaplan said, \u201cfriends and family\u201d were among the \u201cselect group\u201d of people who provided financing for the project.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe worked with our casting director [Jodi Angstreich] to put together this great group,\u201d said Kaplan. \u201cFernando [Cardonal] has had a great response to his performance and it\u2019s his first acting job. We\u2019ve been excited by how critics have embraced him.\u201d<\/p>\n
En el S\u00e9ptimo D\u00eda shot in summer, 2016 in Brooklyn over 20 days and had its World Premiere at BAMcinemaFest last year. \u201cWe wanted it to be in Brooklyn where we made the film,\u201d said Kaplan. \u201cWe started to work with Cinema Guild who loved the movie and were excited about their passion for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
En el S\u00e9ptimo D\u00eda will bow at IFC Center in Manhattan Friday as well as BAM Rose Cinemas in Brooklyn. IFC Center hosted a retrospective of McKay\u2019s work leading up to the title\u2019s theatrical bow. Next weekend, the feature will head to Laemmle Music Hall in L.A. before adding locations in San Francisco and other cities the following week. The film will continue to roll out in select markets further into July and August.<\/p>\n
View this article at Deadline<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A week ahead of Fathers Day weekend, Gunpowder & Sky is opening Hearts Beat Loud starring Nick Offerman and Kiersey Clemons as a dad\/daughter musical duo. Also featuring Ted Danson and Toni Colette, the title will open in New York and L.A. before expanding next week. Focus Features is opening Mr. Rogers Sundance fest doc
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A week ahead of Fathers Day weekend, Gunpowder & Sky is opening Hearts Beat Loud starring Nick Offerman and Kiersey Clemons as a dad\/daughter musical duo. Also featuring Ted Danson and Toni Colette, the title will open in New York and L.A. before expanding next week. Focus Features is opening Mr. Rogers Sundance fest doc Won\u2019t You Be My Neighbor? in what will very likely be a formidable contender for documentary kudos come Awards season. The title is heading to over two dozen theaters in a dozen markets Friday.<\/p>\n