From Oscar nominated and Emmy award-winning filmmakers Werner Herzog, Jerry Weintraub, and Liam Satre-Meloy, RED ARMY is a feature documentary about the Soviet Union and the most successful dynasty in sports history: the Red Army hockey team. Told from the perspective of its captain Slava Fetisov, the story portrays his transformation from national hero to political enemy.
Watch the new trailer below.
From the USSR to Russia, the film examines how sport mirrors social and cultural movements and parallels the rise and fall of the Red Army team with the Soviet Union. Red Army is about how an incredibly oppressive system produced one of the greatest teams in history.
From director Gabe Polsky (THE MOTEL LIFE), RED ARMY is an inspiring story about the Cold War played out on the ice rink, and a man who stood up to a powerful system and paved the way for change for generations of Russians.
The film screened at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, Telluride and Toronto and Sony Pictures Classics will release RED ARMY in early 2015.
Viachaslav Fetisov – aka Slava Fetisov – is among the Soviet Union’s most-decorated athletes, and is considered one the best hockey players of all time. He was the long-time captain of the Soviet Union’s Red Army team, won seven world championships, two Olympic gold medals, and three Stanley Cups. He was a two-time NHL All Star and played for the USSR First All-Star Team nine times. He was one of six players voted onto to the International Ice Hockey Federation’s Centennial All-Star Team and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001.
In the 1980s, Fetisov was instrumental in breaking the barrier that prevented Soviets from playing abroad. He was the first Soviet citizen to be granted a visa that allowed him to play hockey in the west. Fetisov’s efforts paved the way for thousands of Soviet and European players to play hockey in America.
After retiring as a player, Fetisov embarked on a political and executive career. He is currently a member of the upper house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, and was instrumental in bringing the XXII Olympic Winter Games to Sochi, Russia. Fetisov is president of the professional Russian hockey Club HC CSKA Moscow, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Kontinental Hockey League, and chair of the World Anti-Doping Agency Athletes Committee. He was also Minister of Sport in Russia from 2002 to 2008.
Sony Pictures Classics has released the brand new poster from the upcoming film WHIPLASH, starring Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons.
The film will play at the Toronto International Film Festival in September as part of the Special Presentations program.
Andrew Neyman is an ambitious young jazz drummer, single-minded in his pursuit to rise to the top of his elite east coast music conservatory. Plagued by the failed writing career of his father, Andrew hungers day and night to become one of the greats.
Terence Fletcher, an instructor equally known for his teaching talents as for his terrifying methods, leads the top jazz ensemble in the school. Fletcher discovers Andrew and transfers the aspiring drummer into his band, forever changing the young man’s life. Andrew’s passion to achieve perfection quickly spirals into obsession, as his ruthless teacher continues to push him to the brink of both his ability-and his sanity.
Written and directed by Damien Chazelle, look for WHIPLASH in theaters on October 10.
Sony Pictures Classics has unveiled the new trailer and poster for the upcoming drama LOVE IS STRANGE, starring John Lithgow and Alfred Molina and it looks absolutely charming.
After nearly four decades together, Ben (John Lithgow) and George (Alfred Molina) finally tie the knot in an idyllic wedding ceremony in lower Manhattan. But when George loses his job soon after, the couple must sell their apartment and – victims of the relentless New York City real estate market – temporarily live apart until they can find an affordable new home.
While George moves in with two cops (Cheyenne Jackson and Manny Perez) who live down stairs, Ben lands in Brooklyn with his nephew (Darren Burrows), his wife (Marisa Tomei), and their temperamental teenage son (Charlie Tahan), with whom Ben shares a bedroom.
While struggling with the pain of separation, Ben and George are further challenged by the intergenerational tensions and capricious family dynamics of their new living arrangements.
Directed by Ira Sachs (KEEP THE LIGHTS ON, FORTY SHADES OF BLUE), LOVE IS STRANGE blends the romance of New York City’s streets and skyline with a delicate Chopin piano score to poignantly capture both the lightness and sorrows of this modern day love story.
LOVE IS STRANGE will be in theaters August 22, 2014.
Having its world premiere today, May 19th, in competition at the Cannes Film Festival 2014, Sony Pictures Classics has released the first clip and teaser trailer for their upcoming film FOXCATCHER, starring Steve Carell, Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo.
Variety film editor Ramin Setoodeh says Carell, “gives one of the most transformative performances of the year” and the actor is “an Oscar lock.”
Todd McCarthy (The Hollywood Reporter) writes,”Playing a young man who doesn’t have a clue how to articulate his feelings and suffers for it, Tatum is a smoldering, festering piece of emotional raw meat, able to be manipulated this way and that by his benefactor. You feel his pain.”
Read Justin Chang’s (Variety) review HERE and Craig Kennedy’s (Living in Cinema) review HERE.
Directed by Bennett Miller, the film opens in theaters on November 14th.
“I Want To Win Gold” Clip
Based on true events, FOXCATCHER tells the dark and fascinating story of the unlikely and ultimately tragic relationship between an eccentric multi-millionaire and two champion wrestlers.
When Olympic Gold Medal winning wrestler Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum) is invited by wealthy heir John du Pont (Steve Carell) to move on to the du Pont estate and help form a team to train for the 1988 Seoul Olympics at his new state-of-the-art training facility, Schultz jumps at the opportunity, hoping to focus on his training and finally step out of the shadow of his revered brother, Dave (Mark Ruffalo). Driven by hidden needs, du Pont sees backing Schultz’s bid for Gold and the chance to “coach” a world-class wrestling team as an opportunity to gain the elusive respect of his peers and, more importantly, his disapproving mother (Vanessa Redgrave).
Flattered by the attention and entranced by du Pont’s majestic world, Mark comes to see his benefactor as a father figure and grows increasingly dependent on him for approval. Though initially supportive, du Pont’s mercurial personality turns and he begins to lure Mark into an unhealthy lifestyle that threatens to undermine his training. Soon du Pont’s erratic behavior and cruel psychological game-play begin to erode the athlete’s already shaky self-esteem. Meanwhile du Pont becomes fixated on Dave, who exudes the confidence both he and Mark lack, knowing that these are things even his money cannot buy. Fueled by du Pont’s increasing paranoia and alienation from the brothers, the trio is propelled towards a tragedy no one could have foreseen.
FOXCATCHER is a rich and moving story of brotherly love, misguided loyalty and the corruption and emotional bankruptcy that can accompany great power and wealth. As with Academy Award nominee Bennett Miller’s previous feature films, CAPOTE and MONEYBALL, he explores large themes in society through his complex character portraits of real people.
The film also features Sienna Miller and Anthony Michael Hall.
Photos by Scott Garfield, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.
An official selection at the Cannes Film Festival 2014, Sony Pictures Classics’ MR. TURNER is already being hailed as a film with major Oscar potential.
The latest picture from 7 time Academy Award nominee writer/director Mike Leigh stars Timothy Spall, Dorothy Atkinson, Marion Bailey and Lesley Manville.
Pete Hammond (Deadline) says Leigh has helmed “another masterpiece” and the film “will be a major Oscar contender in several categories . It’s that good in terms of costume and production design, makeup, music, writing, directing and particularly acting. If there aren’t nominations for star Timothy Spall and supporting actress Marion Bailey then something is terribly wrong with the Academy. Acting just doesn’t get better than this.”
In her Cannes review, Sasha Stone (Awards Daily) writes, “With gorgeous, rich, vibrant art direction and probably the best cinematography you’ll see all year, Mr. Turner is filmmaking old school.” Stone continues, “Mr. Turner is both a love letter to Britain’s greatest painter and a magnum opus for Leigh.”
Indiewire’s Oliver Lyttelton saysthe movie, “might be the director’s richest, and certainly ranks with “Secrets & Lies,” “Naked” and “Topsy-Turvy as one of his very best.”
MR. TURNER opens in New York and Los Angeles during awards season on December 19, 2014.
MR. TURNER explores the last quarter century of the life of J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851), the singleminded artist who worked hard and travelled extensively.
Turner is profoundly affected by the death of his ex-barber father, he takes up with a widow, Mrs Booth, a seaside landlady, and is plagued occasionally by an ex-lover, Sarah Danby, by whom he has two illegitimate adult daughters, whose existence he invariably denies.
He enjoys the hospitality of the landed aristocracy, he visits a brothel, he is fascinated by science, photography and railways, he is a popular if anarchic member of the Royal Academy of Arts, and he has himself tied to the mast of a ship in bad weather in order to paint a snowstorm.
He is celebrated by some, and reviled by others. He refuses an offer of £100,000 from a millionaire who wants to buy all his work, preferring to bequeath it to the British nation, whereas Queen Victoria loathes his work.
Throughout the story he is loved by his stoical housekeeper, Hannah, whom he takes for granted and whom he occasionally exploits sexually.
Eventually, he leads a double existence, living incognito with Mrs Booth in Chelsea, where he dies. Hannah is unaware of this until the very end.
Mike Leigh’s statement on his first film shot on digital:
Back at the turn of the century, when ‘Topsy-Turvy’ was released, I wrote that it was “a film about all of us who suffer and strain to make other people laugh.”
Now I have again turned the camera round on ourselves, we who try to be artists, with all the struggles our calling demands. But making people laugh, hard as it is, is one thing; moving them to experience the profound, the sublime, the spiritual, the epic beauty and the terrifying drama of what it means to be alive on our planet – well, that’s altogether something else, and few of us ever achieve it, much as we may try.
Turner achieved all of it, of course. He was a giant among artists, single-minded and uncompromising, extraordinarily prolific, revolutionary in his approach, consummate at his craft, clairvoyant in his vision.
Yet Turner the man was eccentric, anarchic, vulnerable, imperfect, erratic and sometimes uncouth. He could be selfish and disingenuous, mean yet generous, and he was capable of great passion and poetry.
MR. TURNER is about the tensions and contrasts between this very mortal man and his timeless work, between his fragility and his strength. It is also an attempt to evoke the dramatic changes in his world over the last quarter century of his life.
Photos by Simon Mein, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
Director/Writer Gareth Evans’ THE RAID 2 arrives in U.S. theaters today (March 28th) and Sony Pictures Classics’ will release the film in St. Louis on Friday, April 11.
After having an early look at Evans’ film, my fellow Movie Geeks are raving about it.
Tom Stockman, calls the R-rated movie, “a hyper-violent, adrenaline-fueled epic!” Jim Batts says, “RAID 2 is a non-stop thrill ride that will have your heart pumping almost from the first fade-in to the final fade-out! It’s an action film lover’s fever dream!” Look for WAMG’s review in the coming weeks.
Here’s what goes down in THE RAID 2 –
He thought it was over. After fighting his way out of a building filled with gangsters and madmen – a fight that left the bodies of police and gangsters alike piled in the halls – rookie Jakarta cop Rama thought it was done and he could resume a normal life. He couldn’t have been more wrong.
Formidable though they may have been, Rama’s opponents in that fateful building were nothing more than small fish swimming in a pond much larger than he ever dreamed possible. And his triumph over the small fry has attracted the attention of the predators farther up the food chain. His family at risk, Rama has only one choice to protect his infant son and wife: He must go undercover to enter the criminal underworld himself and climb through the hierarchy of competing forces until it leads him to the corrupt politicians and police pulling the strings at the top of the heap.
And so Rama begins a new odyssey of violence, a journey that will force him to set aside his own life and history and take on a new identity as the violent offender “Yuda.” In prison he must gain the confidence of Uco – the son of a prominent gang kingpin – to join the gang himself, laying his own life on the line in a desperate all-or-nothing gambit to bring the whole rotten enterprise to an end.
THE RAID 2 was produced by Ario Sagantoro for Merantau Films, and Aram Tertzakian and Nate Bolotin of XYZ Films. The film was executive produced by Rangga Maya Barack-Evans for Merantau Films, Irwan D. Mussry, Nick Spicer and Todd Brown on behalf of XYZ.
Matt Flannery (THE RAID: REDEMPTION) and Dimas Imam Subhono served as cinematographers.
To get the look on THE RAID 2, Evans and the behind-the-scenes team focused their efforts on balancing the old and the new. They wanted to make sure the audience recognized the familiar setting from the original, while exploring new parts of this environment.
The sequel focuses on of Rama entering Jakarta’s underworld, where the stakes are higher. The sequel was shot in cinemascope in order to provide a wider frame and give the story a more epic feel. The photography also explored a wider range of the color palette, using different lighting for each character. The film opens with similar tones as the first one and shifts as Rama enters the criminal organization.
Shooting the film was a learning experience. On MERANTAU, the team learned to shoot martial arts. On THE RAID: REDEMPTION, they learned to shoot gunfights. And on THE RAID 2 they went one step further, adding car chases to the mix.
On MERANTAU we felt we were focusing on the narrative drama scenes. For the action scenes, the takes were too long. We learned from that and fixed things on THE RAID: REDEMPTION. THE RAID: REDEMPTION had a majority of action scenes. We got to play a lot with camera angles and fluidity. Finding a new way to shoot action scenes. THE RAID 2 is a much bigger project. What we chose to do is a combination of the two elements we learned from MERANTAU and THE RAID: REDEMPTION: dynamic, edgy and fluid camera movements, while at the same time knowing when to go for more classical and sophisticated compositions (when to use jimmy jib, steady cams and dolly track). Combining those two different styles was an interesting challenge in that respect. (Evans)
Because this was the first time a car chase of this scale was shot in Indonesia, a lot of time was spent on logistics. Unlike places like Hong Kong or the UK, where they have been shooting car chases for years, Indonesia did not have a particular set-up for this. The production team had to build the structure itself to achieve specific shots:
“We had to have a shoot from the inside of one car going down a highway with the camera moving to another car straight away ,then have the back window to blown out for the camera to follow through the back window and out again. To do that, we discussed different combinations of computer-generated imagery, visual effects, green screens and so on. After a long discussion, we felt like we would be technically limited if we were to use too many special effects. In the end we decided to do it for real, meaning moving the camera from one camera operator to the other.
This is something we had done on THE RAID: REDEMPTION when we went through a hole on the floor. It was done in a controlled environment and the only issue was the person passing the camera to another. But the difficulty here was to pass the camera between moving cars on a highway. It was risky shot, but thankfully after a number of takes it was done well”. (Evans)
Camera moves were carefully integrated into the martial arts choreography. The fighters’ moves were choreographed to the slightest detail, and so were camera movements. Camera angles were designed before the shoot, so it never feels like the camera interferes with the action. A constant mantra during shooting was to highlight the actors’ performances.
Additionally, Madison Gate Records and SpaceLab9 have announced the worldwide release of THE RAID 2 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. The album hit digital retailers on March 25th, with the CD format coming April 29, 2014, followed by a deluxe vinyl LP edition early summer 2014.
Composer Joseph Trapanese (The Raid: Redemption, Oblivion, TRON: Uprising) returns along with Aria Prayogi and Fajar Yuskemal to provide a score equal parts electronic and orchestral, deeply layered and breathtaking, all while perfectly complimenting the frenetic on-screen action of THE RAID 2. The 24-track album features original motion picture score with over an hour of music, plus the original song “Hush” written and performed by Indonesian jazz artist Arti Dewi.
“It is with great pleasure that I share with you the original soundtrack to ‘THE RAID 2,’ a creative collaboration with director Gareth Evans that was equal parts inspired, fun, and satisfying,” says composer Joseph Trapanese. “I’m thrilled that Madison Gate Records and SpaceLab9 are releasing the album so that all the fans can relive this film’s brutality and beauty.”
Sony Pictures Classics announced today that they have acquired all North American rights to Woody Allen’s next film, BLUE JASMINE from Gravier Productions.
Produced by Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum and Edward Walson, BLUE JASMINE has another all-star cast which includes Alec Baldwin, Cate Blanchett, Bobby Cannavale, Louis C.K., Andrew Dice Clay, Sally Hawkins, Peter Sarsgaard and Michael Stuhlbarg. It is the story of the final stages of an acute crisis and a life of a fashionable New York housewife.
The film marks the sixth collaboration with the filmmaker and Sony Classics. SPC’s previous collaborations with Allen include 2012’s TO ROME WITH LOVE, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS (Oscar winner for Best Original Screenplay), YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER starring Anthony Hopkins, Naomi Watts, Josh Brolin and Frieda Pinto; the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival’s opening night film WHATEVER WORKS starring Larry David, Patricia Clarkson and Evan Rachel Wood; and SWEET AND LOWDOWN, which garnered Oscar nominations for Sean Penn and Samantha Morton.
Sony Pictures Classics announced today that they have acquired all North American rights to the documentary, THE GATEKEEPERS by Dror Moreh (SHARON). The film, a co-production between DMP Les Films du Poisson and Cinephil, is produced by Dror Moreh, Estelle Fialon and Philippa Kowarsky. The film recently premiered at the Jerusalem International Film Festival.
The deal was negotiated with Sony Pictures Classics by Philippa Kowarsky, on behalf of Cinephil Sales.
For the first time ever, six former heads of Israel’s domestic secret service agency, the Shin Bet, share their insights and reflect publicly on their actions and decisions. Since the Six Day War in 1967, Israel has failed to transform its crushing military victory into a lasting peace. Throughout that entire period, these heads of the Shin Bet stood at the center of Israel’s decision-making process in all matters pertaining to security. They worked closely with every Israeli prime minister, and their assessments and insights had – and continue to have – a profound impact on Israeli policy. THE GATEKEEPERS offers an exclusive account of the sum of their successes and failures. In the process it sheds light on the controversy surrounding the Occupation in the aftermath of the Six Day War.
“THE GATEKEEPERS is an important documentary and a major piece of filmmaking giving fresh and revealing insight into one of the major issues of our time. We are fortunate to be presenting it to an American audience,” says Sony Pictures Classics.
Director Dror Moreh adds, “I was startled but thrilled when six former heads of the Shin Bet (“The Gatekeepers”) agreed to discuss their careers openly on camera for the very first time. This gave me a unique and intimate opportunity to enter the inner sanctum of Israel’s security decision-makers for almost half a century. Numerous times during the making of this film, I found myself overwhelmed by their stories and testimonies. I kept asking myself how far I would have gone when confronting the same life or death dilemmas. I still do.”
Sony Pictures Classics announced today that they have acquired all North American rights to Pedro Almodóvar’s new comedy currently titled I’M SO EXCITED from El Deseo. The film, an ensemble comedy written and directed by Almodóvar, is set to begin production in July and will be released next summer. The cast includes Javier Cámara, Cecilia Roth, Lola Dueñas, Raul Arévalo, Carlos Areces, Antonio de la Torre, Hugo Silva, Willy Toledo, Miguel Ángel Silvestre, Blanca Suárez, José Luis Torrijo, José María Yazpik, Laya Martí with special collaborations from Penélope Cruz, Antonio Banderas and Paz Vega.
The Sony Pictures Classics team has a long history with Almodóvar that began with WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN at Orion Classics and has continued with seven films at SPC, including THE SKIN I LIVE IN, BROKEN EMBRACES, VOLVER, BAD EDUCATION, ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER, TALK TO HER and THE FLOWER OF MY SECRET.
Sony Pictures Classics has acquired all North American rights to Pablo Larraín’s Cannes Directors’ Fortnight sensation, NO from financier Participant Media in association with Funny Balloons and Fabula. NO stars Gael García Bernal (Babel, The Motorcycle Diaries), Alfredo Castro, Antónia Zegers, Marcial Tagle, Néstor Cantillana, Jaime Vadell and Pascal Montero. The film is one of the best-received films in Cannes with raves from critics following the first screening in Director’s Fortnight.
Directed by Pablo Larraín (Post Mortem, Tony Manero) from a screenplay by Pedro Peirano (TheMaid), NO is produced by Juan de Diós Larraín and Daniel Dreifuss and executive produced by Participant’s Jeff Skoll and Jonathan King.
Based on a true story, when Chilean military dictator Augusto Pinochet, facing international pressure, calls for a referendum on his presidency in 1988, opposition leaders persuade a brash young advertising executive, Rene Saavedra (Gael García Bernal), to spearhead their campaign. With scant resources and constant scrutiny by the despot’s watchmen, Saavedra and his team devise an audacious plan to win the election and free their country from oppression.
“This movie is a masterfully engaging and energetic drama about politics and power, a tonic for the brain that is also a major entertainment. NO establishes Pablo Larrain as a major international director and Gael Garcia Bernal gives his finest performance. We are also delighted to be back in
business with our friends at Participant,” stated Sony Pictures Classics.
“Pablo, Gael and the team made a brave, inspiring film, and we are grateful to the audiences at Cannes for embracing it so warmly,” said Participant Media CEO Jim Berk, “Sony Pictures Classics is the perfect partner to introduce this film to American audiences.”
Jeff Ivers and Jonathan King of Participant Media negotiated the deal with SPC.
