'Chained' screening at Calgary Int'l Film Festival

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COUNTDOWN TO CIFF: #10. CHAINED

Posted by Peter Hemminger on September 10, 2012 

It’s 10 days to CIFF’s opening gala, so I’ll be posting a quick write-up per day on some of my favourite movies at the fest. I’m not exactly unbiased — CIFF does give me a paycheque, after all — but these posts are my own opinions and not those of the festival.

Alright, now that the disclaimer’s out of the way: Chained. I used to be a huge horror fan, but the post-millennial trend towards torture porn has largely left me cold, so I went into Chained with fairly low expectations. It took about 15 minutes for my reaction to change from “that main guy looks a lot like Vincent D’Onofrio” to “Oh, wait, that’s because it is Vincent D’Onofrio” to “I can’t stop watching this.” If I’d looked at the credits first and seen that it was from Boxing Helena director Jennifer Lynch, maybe that would’ve sped up the process.

Anyway. D’Onofrio plays a serial killer and rapist who takes home a woman and her nine-year-old son. He does what he usually does with her (off-screen, thankfully), but decides to keep the kid around as a sort of son/slave/pet. That’s where the film changes from a thriller to a character study, with D’Onofrio turning in what might just be his best performance since the first Men In Black movie (less showy, but with a lot of depth). It’s more about the power dynamic, the damaging effects of captivity and, yes, the desire for a legacy, but there’s enough tension throughout that the term “character study” shouldn’t scare you off. Especially if you made it past “serial killer and rapist.” Yes, it’s definitely disturbing, but it’ll stick with you.

'Fire With Fire' coming on DVD/Blu-ray...

DVDACTIVE

Title: Fire with Fire
Starring: Josh Duhamel 
Released: 6th November 2012
SRP: $19.98 (DVD)

Further Details:
Lionsgate Home Entertainment has announced DVD ($19.98) and Blu-ray ($24.99) releases of Fire with Fire for November 6th. Extras will include an audio commentary with director David Barrett and cinematographer Christopher Probst, a second commentary with actors Vincent D'Onofrio, Julian McMahon, James Lesure and Eric Winter, behind-the-scenes interviews, and Extended Interviews with actors Josh Duhamel, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Julian McMahon, Eric Winter, James Lesure and director David Barrett and producer Randall Emmett. We've attached package artwork for each release below:

MOVIEHOLE 

Cinema is a Flintstone, Blu-ray and VOD are Jetsons. That seems to be the way Hollywood’s thinking of late, anyway.

One filmmaker, whose movie is going to direct-to-DVD and Blu-ray this week in the states, told me yesterday that anything less than a budget of a $20 million will undoubtedly bypass cinemas now – especially in America. The studios know it’s going to cost a packet marketing the movie for a theatrical bow, sometimes costing more than the budget of the film itself, so these days they’ll just push most of the product straight to the video-rental boxes or digital download. And that’s the reason, despite many of these titles boasting name actors like Bruce Willis or Robert De Niro, that you’ll see so many titles not going theatrical now – unless they’re a sure thing, in which case the studios can warrant spending so much on the film’s theatrical campaign. And I tell ya, they definitely won’t be bothering after Bruce Willis’s latest, “The Cold Light Of Day” made less than a strip club buffet night over the weekend. Whoever thought Bruce Willis would be one of today’s main direct-to-DVD stars though!? Sad, right!?

Two big-name titles have just been announced for direct-to-DVD treatment – “Vamps”, the “Clueless” reunion of Alicia Silverstone and Amy Heckerling, and “Fire with Fire”, starring – here we go again – Bruce Willis.

More Jennifer Lynch Q and A on 'Chained'...

DEFINITE SPOILERS!

  'Vincent is easily one of the coolest guys you will ever meet. He's everything you want him to be. He was my first choice for this, absolutely. There was talk about other people like a Phillip Seymour Hoffman and that was almost too obvious for me. Nothing against Phillip...it just felt a little too easy. Vincent was my first choice, I sent him the script and he called me the next day and said 'You know we know each other' and I said 'Yeah, I remember meeting you'. 'You didn't hire me the first time...are you going to hire me this time?' After getting over my initial horror at Vincent remembering me and not hiring him, we just shot the shit and starting having a conversation. He said, 'Well, I really want to do this' and I said, 'OK, let's make a movie.' He is the kindest, smartest, funniest, warmest man ever and has sort of made himself my older adopted brother for which I am incredibly grateful. Great fuckin' guy...amazing. And, brave as hell; he did things for me and entrusted me I can hardly believe. At one point I asked him to do something that wasn't planned and he sorta thought of it for a minute and said, 'I'll do it once' and I said 'OK, I'm going to shoot it.'

Published on Sep 9, 2012 by f3anet

The Q&A after presentation of Jennifer Lynchs movie Chained on the big screen at the Fantasy Filmfest in Germany.

Sorry for the bad video quality.

Official poster art for Woodstock Film Festival 2012

WOODSTOCK FILM FESTIVAL OFFICIAL SITE

 Artist Bill Miller

STAY TUNED FOR OFFICIAL SCHEDULE TO BE POSTED SOON!

Meet the Nixons: Anthony LaPaglia, Kathryn Erbe Will Star in ‘Checkers’

NEW YORK TIMES

By PATRICK HEALY

The Tony Award winner Anthony LaPaglia will play Richard Nixon and Kathryn Erbe (“Law & Order: Criminal Intent”) will play Pat Nixon in the world premiere of Douglas McGrath’s play “Checkers” this fall at Off Broadway’s Vineyard Theater, executives there announced on Friday. The play, set during the 1952 presidential election, is a character study of Nixon (then the Republican nominee for vice president) as well as a rendering of the Nixon marriage in a moment of crisis, as he delivered his so-called Checkers speech addressing allegations of financial improprieties.

Mr. LaPaglia won the Tony for best actor in a play in 1998 as Eddie Carbone in that season’s Broadway revival of “A View from the Bridge”; his last stage role in New York was in the 2010 Broadway revival of “Lend Me a Tenor.” Ms. Erbe, whose television credits also include “Oz,” and who is a member of the Steppenwolf Theater Company ensemble in Chicago, was nominated for a featured Tony in 1991 for “The Speed of Darkness.”

“Checkers” will be directed by another Steppenwolf ensemble member, Terry Kinney, who is divorced from Ms. Erbe. Mr. Kinney directed the Broadway play “reasons to be pretty” in 2009.

The production’s other cast members are Kelly Coffield Park, Joel Marsh Garland, Kevin O’Rourke, John Ottovino, Mark Shanahan, Lewis J. Stadlen and Robert Stanton. The playwright, Mr. McGrath, shared an Academy Award nomination with Woody Allen for best original screenplay for their 1994 movie “Bullets Over Broadway.” Mr. McGrath also wrote and directed the 1996 film adaptation of “Emma,” which starred Gwyneth Paltrow.

“Checkers” is scheduled to begin preview performances on Oct. 12 and open on Oct. 28.

Photos: Kathryn Erbe takes a break from 'SVU' to pose with fans...

THANX, BLANCA!

Official movie poster for 'Heroes Behind The Badge''...

From 'Heroes Behind The Badge' Facebook Page...

'Have a look at the official movie poster for Heroes Behind The Badge!

The rough edit is complete and we'll be in the recording studio with Vincent D'Onofrio next week to start on the narration.

If you haven't done so already, please check out our trailer using the link below and pre-order a DVD or Full HD Blu-ray today!! http://www.nleomf.org/officers/heroes-behind-the-badge/'

 '...we will begin screening the film the end of this month (September) and the DVD and Blu-ray will be out in October. Still negotiating TV release.'

Ingrid's Humorous Acting Audition for Vincent D'Onofrio. Acting is Good Therapy!

A Russian Woman, Ingrid wants to bring Acting and Creativity back in style. So, she is putting out this audition tape for Vincent D'Onofrio. Hello Acting!

Thinking of you...

Just wanted to take a moment to express my condolences to Blanca Acevedo on the death of her mother yesterday.  Recently, Blanca's mother fell ill with pneumonia and had been hospitalized since.  Blanca lives in NYC and has given us many photos and video clips of Vincent and Katie filming CI and at other events.  As well as being a devoted daughter, Blanca is also a caregiver for her brother, Alberto, who has autism and for whose cause she tirelessly campaigns for awareness and at benefits for donations.  All our thoughts and prayers for your loss, Blanca, and may the gift of the time you had with her bring you comfort.

Behind the scenes photo of Kathryn Erbe from 'SVU' filming...

This is a photo that was tweeted by Ice T of current filming of 'SVU'.  Katie will be in an upcoming episode entitled 'Acceptable Loss' that will air on October 17TH.

 ''Although Erbe’s reprising her role as Detective Eames from Criminal Intent, she is now working with Homeland Security as part of a joint task force investigating terrorists. She’ll meet up with Benson & Co. when the terrorists are connected to a sex-trafficking ring. Executive producer Warren Leight (who ran CI for several seasons) says he was struck by the characters’ similarities. “These are two women who had long-term partnerships with difficult guys,” Leight says. “These are two people who’ve been underestimated — who’ve worked just as hard, just as long —and people don’t quite get how good they are.” But those people will have ample opportunity to see what they’ve been missing: Leight promises Erbe will be back at least once later in the season.''

''Vincent D' Onofrio gives a chilling performance in Jennifer Lynch's unsettling film''

SCREEN GEEK
By Sam Faulkner / Rating: 4/5

A chilling and effective film from Jennifer Lynch, Chained tells the story of Tim, who is captured as a child along with his mother by a taxi-driving serial killer. The killer, Bob, murders Tim’s mother, before renaming him “Rabbit” and enslaving him as a sort of house servant-cum-apprentice, keeping him chained to the wall at all times. As Rabbit grows older, we see him begin to be taken in by Bob’s world, and witness events as the killer attempts to groom him into another monster.

The two leads in the film are the first aspect that must be congratulated – young Eamon Farren displays a vulnerable, desperate character with just enough edge to make certain scenes troubling, and Vincent D’Onofrio is simply magnificent as Bob. In his hands, the killer is more than just a creepy serial killer, being given an almost childlike fury that is brought to the surface regularly. The two combine to create an unsettling normality between the characters, with their bizarre situation feeling almost routine after just a few scenes.

This is a very emotional kind of horror, with little graphic violence shown. This film plays on the mind, with the worst of Bob’s atrocities happening off-screen, focusing more on the aftermath than anything else. One particularly blood-freezing scene sees the two characters playing a twisted game of Trumps with the driving licenses of slain women, and we realise that it is this kind of everyday mundaneness that gives the film its unsettling edge.

The film isn’t perfect of course, with the end feeling a little rushed – Lynch has mentioned that time constraints meant cuts had to be made, and that she hopes to produce a director’s cut. The events of the final act won’t work for everyone, bringing in some slightly rogue story elements, but this doesn’t derail the film too much.

An original, chilling and compelling take on the serial killer formula, Chained is a very accomplished piece of work indeed.

Newest 'Sinister' poster art...

...and creepiest one yet

New series ‘Injustice’ For Dick Wolf...

Hmmmm....

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday September 4, 2012 @ 3:00pm PDT
DEADLINE

Law & OrdermastermindDick Wolf is returning to the courtroom with Injustice, a U.S. version of a British format, which will be written by former Friday Night Lights executive producer David Hudgins.

The project, from Universal TV and studio-based Wolf Films, is described as an intricate legal drama/psychological thriller about a devoted criminal defense attorney with a dark past buried deep in his psyche and heart, who juggles his complicated family situation with his emotionally conflicted feelings about representing heinous criminals. The original, created by Anthony Horowitz, ran as a five-episode limited series on ITV1 in summer 2011. It starred James Purefoy as the barrister at the center of the story. (See the trailer below.) Hudgins is executive producing the NBC version with Wolf Films’ Wolf, Danielle Gelber and Peter Jankowski. Horowitz and Jill Green, producer of the original series, will serve as producers.

In addition to veteran Law & Order: SVU, WME-repped Wolf Films has new firefighter drama Chicago Fire on NBC this fall. The company renewed its dealwith NBCUniversal in May.

For Hudgins, Injustice stems from the new overall deal with Uni TV he signed in April. Hudgins worked on FNL for the entire run of the series, serving as co-showrunner with Jason Katims on the much-lauded final season. Hudgins also has served as a co-executive producer on Katims’ latest series, NBC’sParenthood, for the past two seasons.

This is the second adaptation of an European format at NBC/Uni TV for UTA-repped Hudgins, who wrote a U.S. version of praised Danish drama Borgen last season

International one sheet for 'Sinister'

HORROR-MOVIES.CA

'Crackers' screening at Teaneck Int'l Film Festival this November...

TEANECK INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

VIDEO: Jennifer Lynch announces Vincent D'Onofrio for her next film

YOUTUBE

'THE MONSTER NEXT DOOR'

Apothecary Films

'In development' 

"The Monster Next Door" - Comedy Horror

Executive Produced by Dennis Johnson, Melanie Mohlman

Produced by Eric Wilkinson, David Michaels

Written by Jim Robbins

Directed by Jennifer Lynch

Cast: Vincent D'Onofrio, French Stewart, Bill Moseley

kultovnihil

re: horror films (news)

a screenplay i wrote is in pre-production.  depending on a lot of variables filming could start as early as spring 2013.  the film is called “the monster next door” and it’s a horror/comedy with vampires, werewolves, and zombies.  jennifer lynch will be directing, special effects will be done by robert kurtzman, and actors confirmed so far include bill moseley, nivek ogre, french stewart, and kimmy robertson.

i’ll post more news/details as they are confirmed. 

it’s gonna be fun.

FRENCH STEWART

BILL MOSELEY

NIVEK OGRE

KIMMY ROBERTSON

''Six Degrees of Vincent D'Onofrio''...Michael Clarke Duncan...

WIKIPEDIA

Michael Clarke Duncan was born on December 10, 1957 in Chicago, Illinois and is best known for his role in the movie, 'The Green Mile''.   He grew up with his sister and mother; his father had left them.   His dream was always to act but he dropped out of a communications program in college to support his ill mother.   He had jobs digging ditches for the People's Gas Company and being a bouncer at various Chicago clubs.   Michael later went to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career and worked as a bodyguard for Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Jamie Foxx, LL Cool J and Notorious B.I.G.  When Notorious B.I.G. was killed he quit that line of work.  In 1988, he was cast in the film 'Armageddon'' and struck up a friendship with Bruce Willis.  Bruce Willis' influence helped Michael to get his role in 'Green Mile'.  The role netted him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture.  He did not win either.  If you haven't seen the movie you've missed a good one.  Many roles in movies followed including the role of the Kingpin in 2002.  He was asked to put on forty pounds on to his 290 pounds and lift weights.   In 2009, he stopped eating meat and did a commercial for PETA.  He said he enjoyed the health benefits and increased strength from being on a vegetarian diet.  On July 13, Michael suffered a heart attack and was transported to the hospital.  His girlfriend, Omarosa, is credited with saving his life after giving him CPR.  On August 6, he was transferred to the intensive care unit.  Yesterday, Michael suffered a myocardial infarction and passed away at the age of fifty four years old.  For the first time, it was reported that Omarosa was actually his fiancee'.  Those of you familiar with 'Celebrity Apprentice' will know who she is.  She is also an ordained minister.  Find the connection!

Have a safe holiday...

''An interview with Jennifer Lynch on new horror film ‘Chained’''

THE UPCOMING

Ahead of the release of her new horror flick Chained, American director Jennifer Lynch talks to The Upcoming…

Tell us first how the film first came about and when you become involved?

Well an offer of a job first came to my attention from two producers, Lee Nelson and David Buelow. I read the script and was instantly drawn to the realism of it. How it tells us a story, which could really happen to anyone, instantly drew me in.

Chained follows taxi cab driver Bob (Vincent D’Onofrio) on his spate of serial killings, focusing primarily on his relationship with recent captive Tim, who he keeps alive.

How did you envision the audience to see Bob?

He (Bob) is a very dark and violent person. He isn’t afraid of anything and I wanted the fear to be drawn from the viewer being completely unable to relate to him. It is more about what he’s done in the past, rather than the torture your witnessing on screen.

Vincent is well known in the industry for his incredible versatility as an actor. How did you find working with him?

Vincent is so great. As a person, he is generous and very trusting of me. He listens and does exactly what is asked of him. As an actor he is astoundingly brave and has this drive to get big, whatever role he’s in. Vincent is one of the most underrated actors working in the film industry and I simply don’t understand why he hasn’t been recognised for his talent by The Academy yet.

There were rumours circulating that you were forced to do a lot of editing in post-production. Can you tell us about some of the scenes that were cut and does this mean we will be seeing a Director’s Cut of the film?

Yeah you’re right. There are quite a few scenes in the film that either must be cut short or altered for the final edit. I often have the scene mapped out in my mind from the beginning and I’ll only do it once, so often a lot of work had to done in the editing suite! I will hopefully be releasing a director’s cut soon.

Your history in film-making has obviously centred on the horror genre but have you had any desire to explore any other genres?

Apart from writing on a few American television shows, I am currently in talks to direct a new comedy called The Monster Next Door, which will be penned by Jim Robbins. Not much can be said about it at this moment in time but I call itSuperbad meets American Werewolf in London!

Richard Taverner

''Chained Review – FrightFest 2012''

FRONT ROW REVIEWS

SOME MILD SPOILERS

By 

Oliver.Coleman

 
Published: September 2, 2012

Jennifer Lynch’s latest film, Chained, took to centre stage in Empire 1 during FrightFest 2012 but many were unsure what the film was actually about before sitting down to watch the Surveillance director’s newest outing. Whilst the film was introduced as the programmer’s favourite film of the festival, many were already ready to shrug the film off as part of a filmography, which has never received critical acclaim despite Lynch winning the New York City Horror Film Festival’s Best Director award in 2008 and being the only female director to have done so in the history of the awards. As the daughter of surrealist film marvel, David Lynch, it may become clear why her career is somewhat overshadowed and why the pressure is surely higher for a director who has to live in the shadow of films like Blue Velvet and Mulholland Dr.

Now, we aren’t here to discuss David Lynch, this time the spotlight will be on his daughter, Jennifer, and after watching Chained, I can tell you bloody rightly so. She came onto the stage last weekend, to explain thatChained was an exploration about how monsters are made and what the affects are later in life – this doesn’t really explain what was about to come on screen, but surely made me interested.

Chained is the story of Tim (Evan Bird, and then Eamon Farren) and his mother, Sarah (Julia Ormond) who are picked up by serial killer taxi driver, Bob (a terrifyingly brilliant, Vincent D’Onofrio). After Bob murders his mother, he decides to keep Tim as a protégé, forcing him to clean up and bury the bodies of the young women he drags home. By this point, Tim has renamed Rabbit and must live in the house under certain rules, never get in the way, never eat unless told he can do so and do not try to escape. But as the film continues, we see Rabbit as a quiet, broken teenager who must make the decision between life or death. 

This is a somewhat sparse synopsis for the film, especially in a film where there is so much more to look at. On the surface, a serial killer narrative, watching Bob bring home his victims and killing them but what about how this affects Tim/Rabbit. The film concentrates more on his own personal torture, first at not being strong enough to save his mum (he was eight at the time of her murder) and then following on, not being able to save the other women and to a certain extent – even himself. Bob has the boy chained up in the house, long enough to clean the room where the murders take place and to bury them underneath the house. The touching moments in the serial killer narrative, is when you see Rabbit placing something ‘sentimental’ onto the makeshift burials of the departed.

As the film develops, we start to see two central narratives which concentrate on both our main characters, who hold the majority of the film together in the dark and damp house in which the film is set. One narrative is concentrating on Rabbit, and the decisions he must make whilst growing up – does he give in and take over where Bob leaves off or must he try and piece together a plan to get out? Another side to the story is looking at Bob’s childhood and why he became the monster we see before us. Through a series of flashbacks we see he was abused, and in a particularly graphic flashback, things (and I would admit this freely) start to fall into place about Bob. So the audience are left with many questions to consider, as well as watching one monster trying to develop another.

Acting wise, the film mainly concentrates on D’Onofrio and Farren who both keep the film compelling but also have their weaknesses. Chained, I imagine was a difficult film to keep the steam rolling on -it’s dark and it’s immensely personal (and was also filmed in a very short amount of time), which means the balance between creating a sympathetic serial killer and a weak, broken young man may not have been found. Although the both are brilliant in certain scenes, they all have a slight tendency to moan and whine, which did become a little annoying but that aside they had their strengths.

Encompassing, both the acting strength of D’Onofrio and Lynch’s serene stylisation of the film, a sequence where the young Rabbit tries to escape is a particular highlight for me. The film is extremely colourful, which you wouldn’t expect from a film like this but Lynch tricks you into safety at the start of the film. WhereasSurveillance was set in the country, the wide locations where it was emptiness, Chained lulls you into safety. The colour is vibrant and alive whenever the characters are outside, but when inside the house, all colour drains from the screen and instead we are given duller lighting on the dingy walls. A great number of shadows are used in the house to illuminate the areas of darkness around the characters and although they are both given star lighting throughout the film, they are both consumed (metaphorically and physically) by the darkness. Returning, briefly, to the scene I mentioned before – a young Rabbit is left alone in the house and tries to break free through a top window unknowingly Bob is waiting outside for and they have a back and forth, telling Rabbit he has a chance to escape before being knocked down with pelted rocks – it was heartbreaking and stunning to watch.

In discussion with Lynch after the screening, the audience were told that the original story which she was given had more torture porn elements to the film, and the women being killed were done so in much more graphic ways, but she toned that down and decided to concentrate more on the reasons why this has happened to Bob and the repercussions for someone like Tim. She also pointed out, that she wanted to start a dialogue about child abuse through Chained, and talk about it in a way that it hasn’t been done too often. Yes, this is a serial killer, but WHY is he a serial killer – what has led him to this?

Furthermore, the ending divides audiences. Like Surveillance, there is a twist which I didn’t see coming but I enjoyed it. It meant the ending wasn’t wrapped up in a bow (which I wouldn’t expect from a Lynch anyway) but that something had happened, snapped and it was working away at Tim at the end of the film.

Certainly, worth a watch and perhaps even a repeat viewing to consider various other aspects within the film. There is a lot there to consider.

Keep your eyes open for an interview with Jennifer Lynch, coming next year on UK release of the film.