Tag: Struck By Lightning

STRUCK BY LIGHTNING – SLIFF Review

High school is a tough place. We all know that. Its a struggle to survive at a time when hormones rule and pressure builds from every angle. Parents, teachers, friends, where to go to college, whether to even go to college? For Carson Phillips, everything is boiling to a point and all he wants is one simple thing… to get into his dream college.

Chris Colfer (GLEE) not only stars as the sharp-tongued Carson Phillips, he wrote this darkly comical satire on the high school experience. Directed by Brian Dannelly, the film is a good fit for someone whose resume includes TV shows like WEEDS, PUSHING DAISIES and THE UNITES STATES OF TARA. STRUCK BY LIGHTNING begins with the death of Carson Phillips. I know, its a risky way to start a film. After all, it goes to reason that Carson never makes it to college, but that’s not really what its all about, as we come to learn while Carson’s recently departed spirit narrates the film in retrospect.

Carson is the editor of his school’s newspaper. This would be a commendable accomplishment, except that he attends a small, rural country school, where everyone assumes they are destined to be stuck in the dreadful town of Clover for the remainder of their days and therefor aspire to do next to nothing with their lives. That is, all but one… Carson Phillips. Smarter than the average Clover resident — by his own measure — Carson dreams of becoming an accomplished journalist. The problem is, no one at his school cares.

Rebel Wilson (BRIDEMAIDS) plays Malerie, an odd character and Carson’s only friend. Allyson Janney plays Carson’s alcoholic mother, devastated when Carson’s father Neil (Dermot Mulroney) leaves them, she takes it out on Carson, day after day. Things for Carson are looking grim, until he comes up with not just a plan to get into his dream college, but a master plan for forcing the student body to contribute by way of blackmailing them with their dirty little secrets in exchange for their help.

STRUCK BY LIGHTNING features all the high school stereotypes, dialed up to be especially unlikeable. For that matter, even Carson is difficult to like, with his smart mouth and arrogant attitude, but we root for him as the lesser of all evils. Clover is not a town most people will find inviting, but it lends to an idea that small town teenagers often struggle with what to do with their lives and how to achieve such goals. On the other hand, Carson ultimately learns a valuable lesson about life, albeit a short one in his case.

Like so many high school comedies today, STRUCK BY LIGHTNING does fall into the same general melting pot of modern teen-life stories. This is no DONNIE DARKO, but the film does still have a personality of its own buried just beneath the many cliches. The supporting cast offers an added touch of talent, including Christina Hendricks as Carson’s dad’s new fiance, Sarah Hyland as Claire, the stuck-up lead cheerleader who “probably sh*ts cupcakes,” Ashley Rickards as Vicki, the apathetic Goth girl, Angela Kinsey as the absent-minded blond bimbo school counselor, and Brad William Henke as the jaded high school principal with anger management issues.

Overall, STRUCK BY LIGHTNING is an exaggerated and humorous take on a certain set of truths about high school. Chris Colfer interjects a dialogue clearly inspired by his experience with GLEE, but fails to deliver anything refreshingly original. Instead of a film that could grow into a cult classic of the genre, the film settles for being an entertaining movie worth seeing with a bucket of popcorn in one arm and a lovely companion in the other. The film is not likely to stick with you for long, but you certainly will have a good time and plenty of laughs.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

STRUCK BY LIGHTNING screens during the 21st Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival on Tuesday, November 13th, 7:30pm at the Tivoli Theatre.

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Lightning Entertainment’s Slate Of New Titles For Cannes Includes Chris Colfer’s STRUCK BY LIGHTNING

Lightning Entertainment has acquired international rights to five feature films and will present the slate of new titles, including the star-studded comedy STRUCK BY LIGHTNING written by and starring Glee’s Chris Colfer, to buyers at the upcoming Cannes Film Market, it was announced today by Robert Beaumont, President of Lightning Entertainment.

STRUCK BY LIGHTNING will make its market premiere at the Marché du Film following its Tribeca Film Festival world debut where it received an overwhelmingly positive response. SERVITUDE will also make its market premiere with promotional footage being shown for family film HEAVEN’S DOOR and South African thriller ONE LAST LOOK. BLACK SOUTH-EASTER is currently in production.

“We are thrilled to present this eclectic slate of new titles featuring films from across the globe to our buyers at Cannes and we are incredibly excited that both STRUCK BY LIGHTNING and SERVITUDE will be making their market premieres next month,” said Robert Beaumont. “We always look to find films with a unique twist that we can bring to the marketplace, and we feel that these films are right on target,” he continued.

STRUCK BY LIGHTNING is written by and stars Golden Globe winner Chris Colfer from Fox’s popular award-winning TV show, Glee. He stars alongside Rebel Wilson (BRIDESMAIDS), Allison Janney (THE HELP), Christina Hendricks (AMC’s Mad Men), Dermot Mulroney (THE GREY) and Sarah Hyland (ABC’s Modern Family). The smart, irreverent coming-of-age comedy is directed by Brian Dannelly, who previously directed cult comedy SAVED! and was creative producer on the first season of Showtime’s Weeds where he also directed several episodes.

The film tells the tale of seventeen year old Carson Phillips who is determined to make something of himself and blaze a trail beyond his crummy high school, when he is suddenly struck by a bolt of lightning. The incident is the spark to a wickedly funny story about a young man who devises a blackmailing scheme to improve his chances of getting accepted into a top college…but what he accomplishes is much more profound.

The comedy is produced by David Permut, Roberto Aguire and Mia Chang, co-produced by Monica Aguirre Diez Barroso, Steve Longi and Mark Moran and executive produced by Jason Michael Berman, Chris Colfer, Glenn Rigberg and Lawrence Kopeikin. It is a co-production between Permut Presentations and Camellia Entertainment.

ICM and Traction Media sold international rights to Lightning Entertainment. The deal was negotiated by Joseph Dickstein, the company’s SVP of Acquisitions, with Richard Guardian serving as a consultant on the film for Lightning.

SERVITUDE is a comedy written by Michael Sparaga (SIDEKICK) and directed by award-winning film director Warren P. Sonoda whose previous credits include HAM & CHEESE, TEXTUALITY, and UNRIVALED.  The film stars Joe Dinicol (the CW’s The L.A. Complex), Enrico Colanton (CBS’ Person of Interest), Dave Foley (HBO’s The Kids in the Hall), Kristen Hager (BBC’s Being Human) and John Bregar (THE ENTITLED).  The comedy is produced by Sean Buckley of Buck Productions and Michael Sparaga’s Victory Man Productions and was developed with mentorship from veteran producer/director Ivan Reitman and acclaimed comedy screenwriter, Etan Cohen. Released theatrically by Alliance Films in Canada earlier this year, the film will make its US debut at the Newport Beach Film Festival on April 29th.

Josh goes in to quit his job waiting tables at Ranch Steakhouse, but is unable to do so as the restaurant is short-staffed for the night. After discovering a secret memo revealing the company’s plans to fire the staff, he rallies his fellow servers and takes over the restaurant for one final, glorious night.

ONE LAST LOOK marks the feature film debut of successful television and commercial director Philip Roberts, who also wrote the script. Currently in post-production, the thriller starsStephanie Schildknecht (YOUNG LEONARDO) and newcomer Anna Capraro as two gorgeous sisters on a trip through Africa.  When Angie disappears, Yasmin accepts the help from a loner musician to find her sister which leads her to the remote farm of a charismatic sculptor, played by Neil Sandilands (Fox’s House). But appearances deceive, and behind the charm and smile is hidden a terrible secret.  Lightning holds worldwide rights outside of Africa, with Richard Guardian serving as a consultant on the film.

HEAVEN’S DOOR is a family film starring Charisma Carpenter (upcoming THE EXPENDABLES 2), Dean Cain (OUT OF TIME), Golden Globe winner Joanna Cassidy (HBO’s Six Feet Under) and Edward Herrmann (the WB’s Gilmore Girls), written and directed by Craig Clyde (THE WILD STALLION, A CHRISTMAS WISH). Currently in post-production, the film is produced by Bryce W. Fillmore and Dave Hunter. HEAVEN’S DOOR is a heartwarming tale about a small town girl who discovers a window into Heaven and uses her new found powers to help heal and bolster faith in the small community until she is faced with the ultimate sacrifice. The film will air in the US at Christmas 2012.

BLACK SOUTH-EASTER is a noir thriller currently shooting in Cape Town, South Africa.  The film is written and directed by NYU film graduate Carey McKenzie, who makes her feature film debut following her critically acclaimed documentary, ORIGINAL CHILD BOMB. McKenzie developed the project through the Binger Institute, which was also selected for the Berlinale Co-Pro Market in 2009. The thriller is produced by Rachel Young and Tendeka Matatu, whose 2008 film, GANGSTER’S PARADISE: JERUSALEMA, was a critical and box office success, screened at several international film festivals and was the country’s official entry for the Academy Awards. The cast includes Tony Kgoroge (INVICTUS) and Fana Mokoena (MACHINE GUN PREACHER), who have both been cast in Justin Chadwick’s newly announced LONG WALK TO FREEDOM, as well as Yu Nan (upcoming THE EXPENDABLES 2), Deon Lotz (SKOONHEID), Thomas Gumede (OTELO BURNING) and Zolani Mahola (FRESHLY GROUND).   Richard Guardian will serve as a consultant on the film for Lightning.

The film tells the story of an ambitious policeman, Sizwe Miya, who uncovers a poaching scheme by his ex-police-comrade who is now a corrupt crime lord. As a man of integrity, he has no choice but to take a stand against his old colleague.

In addition to the new Cannes slate, Lightning will also be showing buyers first footage from the comedy THE HOT FLASHES starring Brooke Shields, Daryl Hannah, Virginia Madsen, Camryn Manheim and Wanda Sykes and screening the Australian sci-fi film, 25th REICH starring Jim Knobeloch, Dan Balcaban and Jak Wyld. Lightning will also present the thriller FIVE THIRTEEN starring Tom Sizemore, Taryn Manning, Danny Trejo and James Russo.