Leighton Meester joins Robert Downey, Vincent D'Onofrio and others in 'The Judge'

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Gossip Girl star Leighton Meester has joined Robert Downey Jr. in The Judge, the Warner Bros. dramedy being directed by David Dobkin.

Judge is a co-production between Team Downey and Big Kid Pictures and a Boston shoot beginning in June is being eyed.Meester joins a cast the includes Robert Duvall, Vera Farmiga, Vincent D’Onofrio, Dax Shepard, and Billy Bob Thornton.

Downey stars as a successful attorney who returns to his hometown for his mother's funeral to discover that his estranged father (Robert Duvall), the town's judge, is suspected of murder. The man sets out to discover the truth, and along the way, reconnects with the family he walked away from years before.

Mester will play a character with whom Downey has a one-night and whose later revelations cause quite a bit of headaches for the man.

Judge is Meester’s first major move since wrapping Gossip Girl, which ran for six seasons on the CW. In that time, she appeared in such movies as Date Night, Country Strong, The Oranges andThat’s My Boy.

She is repped by WME, Leverage Management, and Stone Meyer. 

Garden State Film Festival boasts 163 films and events including 'The New Tenants' with Vincent D'Onofrio

INDEPENDENT

The Garden State Film Festival (GSFF) celebrates its 11th anniversary this year.

Co-founded in 2003 by film industry veteran Diane Raver and the late actor Robert Pastorelli, the festival runs April 4-7 in the Paramount Theatre/Convention Hall complex in Asbury Park and other local venues.

In addition to 163 film screenings, there will be a free screening for kids and families, a gala cocktail party, panel discussions, book signings, question-and-answer sessions and educational programs.

An open casting call, a black-tie awards ceremony and a benefit screening for victims of superstorm Sandy are also scheduled.

The GSFF kicks off at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday with a free screening of age-appropriate films for kids and families in the Paramount Theatre.

At 7 p.m., festivities continue by honoring the heroes of superstorm Sandy and supporting the residents and businesses that were affected by the storm.

“We are trying to get the word out that the Jersey Shore is open,” Raver said.

The Thursday event called “The Shore Must Go On” will be held in honor of all the heroes who assisted others during and after the storm. The GSFF is offering the public an opportunity to purchase one ticket ($12) for the fundraiser and get one free, so they can treat their “hero” to a night out.

The evening will end with the audience singing “One Light,” written by Lori Drazenovich, which will be filmed for later use to boost tourism throughout the Shore this summer.

The festival’s official kickoff on Friday includes a gala cocktail party at 7 p.m. in the Grand Arcade, followed by a screening of “A Reckless Romeo,” starring Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle.

The screening will be followed by a short film from South Africa called “Loot” and a special screening of the feature-length documentary “Icebound.”

The festival offers a large selection of films that explore a variety of diverse subjects. Highlights include:

 “Magic Camp,” the inspirational story of a group of misfit high school kids attending the real-life Hogwarts each summer in Pennsylvania;  “Crackers,” the star-studded short film featuring Brenda Vaccaro, Vincent D’Onofrio and Anthony Laciura;

 “Hava Nagila (The Movie),” directed by award-winning director Roberta Grossman; and

 “The Perfect Wedding,” a romantic comedy featuring Hollywood veterans

James Rebhorn and Kristine

Sutherland.

International films include:

 “Il Cacciatore di Anatre”

(The Duck Hunter), filmed in Emilia, Italy; and

 “Thailand Untapped:

The Global Reach of Engineers Without Borders,” which follows three Rutgers engineering students as they travel to a province in northern Thailand to bring clean, potable water to a rural village.

Celebrity honorees include:

 Diane Ladd, an actress, director and author who will host a panel discussion and a book signing of her latest work, “A Bad Afternoon for a Piece of Cake,” on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Watermark;

 Kristine Sutherland, a veteran of television, film and stage;  James Rebhorn, a well-established film and television actor; and

 Jay Seals, an actor born and raised in Hasbrouck Heights and a graduate of Ramapo College.

A live reading will be presented on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at the Watermark.

A panel titled “New Jersey Girls Working in Film” will be held Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Stella Marina.

The 11th anniversary awards dinner will be held on Sunday at the Crystal Point Yacht Club in Point Pleasant.

“We’re thrilled everything has come together in such a perfect way,” Raver said, adding that during the festival weekend there will be 163 films — nearly 78 hours, 28 minutes and 41 seconds of films — to view.

A complete film listing can be found on the GSFF website at www.gsff.org.

To attend, individual screening tickets are $12, while a weekend pass to all films is $50.

Admission to the opening-night cocktail party and screening is $25, and the awards dinner is $125 per person.

To purchase tickets/passes, go to www.gsff.org/festival-info/buy-tickets.

'Iron Man coming to the Iron Bridge?'

By DIANE BRONCACCIO
Recorder Staff

Tuesday, April 2, 2013 

THE RECORDER

SHELBURNE FALLS — Filmmakers for “The Judge,” which will star Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall and Vincent D’Onofrio, are looking at Shelburne Falls, and could be filming movie scenes here this summer.

It is reportedly one of two locations in the state being considered for filming. The Warner Bros. film is drama/comedy about an attorney who returns to his hometown for his mother’s funeral, and learns that his estranged father, a judge who suffers from Alzheimer’s, is suspected of his mother’s murder. The film will also star Vera Farmiga, who was nominated for an Oscar for “Up in the Air.”

If the filmmakers select Shelburne Falls, this will be the second major Hollywood feature film to be shot here within a year.

Last June, “Labor Day,” starring Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin, was filmed in Shelburne Falls and surrounding areas. That movie was scheduled to be released this year; however, a release date for that film has not yet been announced.

Meanwhile, town officials from Buckland and Shelburne are drafting a permit procedure for future filmmakers who are interested in shooting scenes in the village’s commercial center.

According to Buckland Town Administrator Andrea Llamas, a draft proposal of permits and procedures will be on Buckland’s selectmen’s agenda for its April 9 meeting. Shelburne Selectman Joseph Judd said the same draft will be on Shelburne’s agenda for the April 8 meeting.

Judd said the permit procedure stems from lessons that were learned during last summer’s “Labor Day” filming. It puts into place procedures for parking, street permit fees, usage areas, and what to do when fast decisions have to made by town officials. For instance, although each board of selectmen meets twice a month, extra open meetings had to be scheduled to approve an extended filming schedule on public roads, due to delays caused by weather.

Judd said the permitting process “would allow for an easier transition, if we’re faced with a similar situation. 

We have been considered (for film settings) in the past,” Judd added. “And now that we know that, we’re preparing for the future.”

Judd and Llamas both said their selectmen’s boards have not been officially approached by movie officials to shoot scenes in Shelburne Falls.