The Circuit

Maya Entertainment has picked up US rights to Matthew Bonifacio's "Amexicano," about a friendship between a working-class Queens man and an immigrant day-laborer. 

Pic preemed at the 2007 Tribeca fest and won the top prize at Sonoma Valley. 

Maya bills itself as the only Latino owned and managed company focusing on the US Latino audience.  They recently acquired Alex Rivera's Sundance winning sci-fier "Sleep Dealer."

"Amexicano" will roll out to major US cities on September 19 (tomorrow).

The latest from the festival scene this week.  A link exchange by indieWIRE and Variety.com.

HBO Documentary Films has picked up North American theatrical and television rights to "An Omar Broadway Film" directed by Omar Broadway and Douglas Tirola. 

Docu is a first-person look at prison life shot by Broadway, an inmate at a high security gang unit in Newark who smuggled a video camera into his cell, secretly filming riots and prison guard abuse through his small window.  HBO will give the film a theatrical run in New York and LA for Oscar consideration. 

"HBO's enthusiasm is what sold us.  It's an opportunity to get it out to the biggest audience, namely in the urban areas," said Tirola.

Tirola and his producing partner at 4th Row Films, Susan Bedusa, are currently working on three other docs, "Owning the Weather" directed by "Omar" editor Robert Greene, "Making the Boys" about the seminal gay play and movie "The Boys In The Band," and a poker docu, "All In," to be directed by Tirola.

"An Omar Broadway Film" premiered at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival, where we interviewed Tirola:

Tribeca has announced their call for entries for the eighth fest, running April 22 - May 3, 2009.   Starting September 15 they'll accept narrative and doc features and shorts.  Deadline is December 15, 2008.  Tribeca's All Access program (pictured), which provides high-level meetings between select producers and execs, will run April 20-25.  Check out tribecafilmfestival.org.

Slamdance is looking for films for their 15th fest, skedded for January 15-23, 2009.  New this year -- they're taking music video submissions.  Forms and rules are at slamdance.com.

Film Independent's fourth annual Filmmaker Forum is set for September 26-28, 2008.  The Forum gives attendees access to indie execs via panels on all aspects of filmmaking and distribution.  This year's panelists will be announced shortly.  Go to filmindependent.org.

Patrick Frater has news that Fortissimo has grabbed international rights to Madonna's Malawi docu "I Am Because We Are."  It premiered at Tribeca and goes on to Cannes.

John Anderson's review takes on its "noble intentions":

"I Am Because We Are" is little more than a longform PSA about the horrors of life in AIDS-ridden Malawi, one that asks many questions without providing answers -- except, of course, the ministrations of a multimillionaire, and whatever one can donate via her website

Here's the trailer:

The latest from the festival scene this week.  A link exchange by indieWIRE and Variety.com.

DISPATCH FROM MIAMI
Miami Gay Fest Tosses on the Go-Go Boots and Throws a Bash.

TRIBECA '08 INTERVIEW
"Old Man Bebo" Director Carlos Carcas and "Donkey in Lahore" Director Faramarz K-Rahber.

TRIBECA PROFILE
"My Winnipeg" Director Guy Maddin.

More at indieWIRE.

Chazz Palminteri has some advice for actors working with Woody Allen, as he did on "Bullets Over Broadway."

"Woody doesn't talk to the actors.  And that's alright with me.  I don't mind that at all...  If he starts talking to you, you're gonna get fired.  You don't want him talking to you."

More Tribeca coverage from AMC here.

"The Auteur" director James Westby struggles through his Director's Diary for AMC.  Poor guy.  You can almost smell the hangover on him.

"This has been very fun.  I just have to learn to hold my liquor better."

More Tribeca coverage from AMC here.

Todd McCarthy has a first-look at the Tribeca closer, "Speed Racer":

Aimed squarely at family audiences, the Wachowski Brothers' return behind the camera for the first time since the "Matrix" trilogy is a blur of video action painting and very loud sounds notable solely for its technical wizardry. In every other respect, it's pure cotton candy -- entirely non-nutritious but too sweet and pretty for young people to resist.

Magnolia has grabbed North American rights to Peter Tolan's black comedy "Finding Amanda," starring Matthew Broderick.  The film preems at Tribeca tonight.

Broderick plays an unsatisfied sitcom writer who tries to bring his niece from Vegas to re-hab.

Tolan wrote for "Murphy Brown" and "The Larry Sanders Show" before writing "Analyze This."  He also exec produces "Rescue Me."

Isabella Rossellini talks with Shootout's Peter Bart and Peter Gruber about her film, "Green Porno." 

Rossellini needed an idea for a film that will primarily screen on mobile devices.

"And I thought, the sex life of insects.  Everybody's interested in sex...  And some of these insects have gigantic genitals."

More Tribeca coverage from AMC here.

Variety's Alissa Simon weighs in on "Bart Got a Room," which Cinetic is highly optimistic about selling.

A nerdy high school senior waits until the last minute to find a prom date in "Bart Got a Room," a light, funny coming-of-ager set in the endearingly un-hip retirement community of Hollywood, Fla. Freshman feature heralds the arrival of a notable new talent in AFI-trained writer-director Brian Hecker, who gives a fresh twist to his tale of raging male hormones, peer pressure and other rites of passage.

Lovingly based on the helmer's own adolescence and dysfunctional Jewish family, this tightly scripted, strongly acted, confidently directed and impressively designed item has niche theatrical appeal, with even greater potential in ancillary.

Check out this YouTuber where Hecker walk us around the set:

IFC grabbed North American rights to “La habitacion de Fermat” (Fermat’s Room), which came from Tribeca's Discovery section.  John Hopewell says that IFC will distrib it on their Festival Direct VOD platform.

And on the smaller end, Filmax got sales and theatrical rights for Spain on "Paraiso Travel."  Dave McNary writes CAA is repping North American rights.  It'll be at the Cannes market.

Variety's Ronnie Scheib raves about hot title here, Kief Davidson's doc "Kassim the Dream":

The story of Kassim "the Dream" Ouma and his rise from Ugandan child soldier to world champion boxer combines serious human rights issues with incredible triumph-over-adversity sports lore.Docu arrives with ready-made dynamic ingredients but, in helmer Kief Davidson's hands, "Kassim the Dream" offers far more than a one-way trip to fame and fortune. As in his "Devil's Miner," Davidson illuminates how indomitable people in impossible situations negotiate with their demons.

Haunting docu, with a complex, immensely likeable figure at its center, seems a formidable contender for arthouse release.

Check out the trailer:

"Man on Wire" producer Simon Chinn with Submarine's Josh Braun, who sold the film to Magnolia during Sundance 2008. 

Like a great caper movie, the doc follows Philippe Petit's famous and illegal tight-rope walk across the World Trade Center towers.

Chinn told The Circuit that he pursued Petit for the doc rights for months. Petit was uncooperative but Chinn persisted. 

Finally Petit said that while there were producers already attached to the World Trade Center doc, Chinn could film him walking across the Grand Canyon.  Chinn was devastated, and then pissed:

"And I said no.  No, I wasn't going to film him walking across the Grand Canyon.  The World Trade Center walk was my film."

The Frenchman was impressed.  Chinn had the rights soon after.

Tribeca's Genna Terranova with "Fire Under the Snow" doc director Makoto Sasa at the Tribeca Directors Brunch - a five course feast of beef and fish for starving indie filmmakers. 

Word around the tables - any deals?

Films with buzz:  Horror flick "From Within," and doc "Kassim The Dream."  "Bart Got a Room" is percolating, though word is it may be a post-fest sale. 

Check out our dynamic Tribeca schedule and rate the films - even if you've seen them before!  Tell people what's good, what ain't good and why.

Start your rants or raves here. 

Doug Triola, co-director of "An Omar Broadway Film," watched an hour of footage that inmate Omar Broadway (pictured right) shot inside a notorious Jersey prison and knew he had something. 

Broadway had snuck a video camera inside his cell and taped a series of "extractions" - where guards in full-riot gear drag a troubled prisoner from their cell using nightsticks and mace. After the ordeal, one inmate is left on the ground, bloodied and convulsing.

After the interview below, Triola told The Circuit that the footage had gotten to "60 Minutes" for consideration before him. 

But "60 Minutes" reportedly passed.  They were looking for something more violent.

"Bart Got a Room" actor Steven Kaplan and director Brian Hecker stopped by the Variety lounge.  Hecker's inspiration for his film about a prom night from hell?

"Growing up in hollywood florida was so pathetic that as a therapeutic exercise I needed to write and direct a movie about my adolescence."

The comedy has been growing buzz at the Tribeca fest via positive reviews from Cinematical and the NY Post. 

Errol Morris told the New York Times that interview subjects were paid for their time in his new doc "Standard Operating Procedure":

Errol Morris, the Oscar-winning filmmaker whose latest documentary, “Standard Operating Procedure,” examines the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal, is being pressed about a procedure of his own: paying interview subjects.

Mr. Morris said this week that some of the lower-ranking soldiers who were convicted of tormenting inmates at Abu Ghraib in Iraq were paid for their time, in which they recount events at the prison in detail and describe a wayward environment that led to the excesses.

Tribeca has posted a statement by artist Cindy Sherman, disavowing a doc playing at the festival.

Paul H-O (pictured above with Sherman), a figure in the New York City art world for his public access show "Gallery Beat," has a doc at the fest, "Guest of Cindy Sherman." 

H-O weaves the art boom of the '80s and '90s into his five year relationship with Sherman, the landmark contemporary art photog. 

Sherman reportedly signed off on the project, which includes footage of H-O and Sherman at home, in galleries and honorary dinners, and at work in the studio.

But on the festival site there is now this statement below the film's description:

As my name is in the title and my work and self are so abundantly represented, I would like to counter any assumption that I am or wish to be personally associated with it.  I am not a participant in any events related to the film's screenings in this festival or future presentations.
 
I apologize to all those who participated, thinking they were doing me a favor in giving interviews and otherwise assisting in the fabrication of this film.

Against my better judgment, it was clearly unwise to cooperate with the project at it's inception.

Cindy Sherman

 

"The Caller" co-star Elliot Gould with producer Rene Bastian at the film's after-screening party at the Gramercy Hotel's roof garden.  Gould graciously posed with admirers throughout the night, but really just wanted to sit down.  So for the next few he had them sit in his lap instead.

In "The Caller," Gould plays a private eye hired to spy on the same person who hires him, played by Frank Langella.  Josh Braun at Submarine is repping the film for buyers.

Last night, "Red Belt" writer director David Mamet introduced his film as "an homage to the classic fight film."  Mamet transferred the classic genre and his bracing style to the mixed martial arts arena using principles of the samurai. 

Variety's Dana Harris said she spied a commercial for the film on TV during a Lakers game, signaling that Sony Pictures Classics has bigger consumer marketing plans for Mamet's most mainstream movie yet. 

Photo by Bennett Raglin/WireImage.com

Tribeca has announced the winners of the All Access Creative Promise Awards, their program to bring together filmmakers with the industry.  The winners were picked from 31 projects and comes with a prize of $12,000 for narrative, documentary, and emerging narrative and $8,500 for screenwriting. 

During six days, the festival set up meetings between the 31 project reps and over 140 industry execs, including potential investors.

Narrative section prize - Pete Chatmon for his current screenplay, "$Free.99," co-written by Candice Sanchez McClaren, which tells the story of a complicated bank heist where twelve hostages quickly realize that their captor is more than he appears.

Emerging Narrative section prize - Leigh Dana Jackson for his screenplay, "The Infinite Life of Stuart Hornsley," with producer Moira Griffin, in which the lead character Stuart Hornsley is on a mission to travel back in time to win the girl that got away. 

Documentary section prize - Gemma Cubero and Celeste Carrasco for their documentary work-in-progress, "She Wants to Be A Matador," which portrays the challenges - both physical and societal - of being a female matador.

Screenwriting section prize - Anslem Richardson for his screenplay, "Bardos," in which two family men are forced to continuously alternate fates after a tragic car accident.

Honorable mentions were given to:

Narrative - Rodney Evans for his screenplay, "Day Dream," set in New Orleans at the home of Buddy Bolden, the forefather of modern jazz, and Billy Strayhorn, the openly gay composer of numerous Duke Ellington tunes.

Emerging Narrative - Shawn Ku for his screenplay, "White and Rice," with producer Christina Piovesan, which tells the story of a 14-year-old boy who, after the death of his adopted mom, moves in with his grandmother to start his life over. 

Documentary - Lisa Collins and Mark Schwartzburt for their work-in-progress, "Oscar's Comeback," in which a small, predominantly white town in South Dakota celebrates its most famous native son, Oscar Micheaux, with a unique, "mom-and-pop" style festival.

 

Melvin Van Peebles, director of "Confessions of a Ex-Doofus-Itchy Footed Mutha" stands to the right of the film's DP, John Threat.


"Bart Got a Room" director Brian Hecker with Tommee May.


"The Auteur" producers Byrd McDonald, Amber Geiger and co-producer Davis Priestly.


"Trucker" director James Mottern and actress Michelle Monaghan at the Soho Grand "Trucker" party.

 

Legendary indie animator Bill Plympton draws a character from his film, "Idiots and Angels," about an "asshole with wings."  Plympton is self-promoting the film and is clear about his goal:

"The biggest thing for me is the industry here because I want to sell the film."

Plympton, who spent three years hand-drawing his new feature length film, said there is no dialogue in his film because it's easier to sell it overseas.

"Lip syncing also doubles the cost of the making it.  And I'm not so good with words, anyway.  I'm more visual.  To me it's more real without dialogue." 

Check out his artwork here.

The city's historic Ziegfeld Theater, site of Tribeca's opening night screening of "Baby Mama" and where the ghosts of Variety's vaudeville reports walk the aisles, looking for that juicy Eddie Cantor scoop.*

*But, as a commenter pointed out, this isn't the same Ziegfeld.


Tribeca's David Kwok and Julie La’Bassiere at the "Baby Mama" opening night party.


Tina Fey and Amy Poehler at the "Baby Mama" preem party at MoMA.   The party was decorated with lots of pink, teddy bears, little bright lights and SNL cast members past and present. 

Sometimes those things mixed together in inappropriate ways. 


Fey and Poehler photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage.com.

"Who would have thought I would have the chance to shake hands with the Pope five times - even during Passover," said NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg.  "Now we have something more exciting:  the Tribeca Film Festival."

The Tribeca fest kicked off today with its big presser, where Tribeca partner Jane Rosenthal reminded everyone that "We started this festival to heal our neighborhood and bring the magic of film to the city we love."

Juror Doug Liman announced the judges for this year.

For the 2008 World Narrative Competition: Peter Hedges, Gregory Hoblit, Callie Khouri, Oliver Platt and Christine Vachon. 

For the 2008 World Documentary Competition: Jared Cohen, Whoopi Goldberg, Ross Kauffman, Padma Lakshmi and Jose Padilha.

The 2008 "Made in NY" Narrative Feature Award jurors are Peter Dinklage, Fred Durst, Greg Mottola, Stephen Schiff and Annabella Sciorra.

The 2008 "NY Loves Film" Documentary Feature Award jurors are Liya Kebede, Doug Liman, Esther Robinson, Josh Schwartz, Jay McInerney and Andre Leon Talley.

The 2008 Narrative Short jurors are Mario Batali, Christine Lahti, Molly Shannon, Lili Taylor and Zac Posen.

The 2008 Documentary and Student Short jurors are David Bowie, Red Burns, Matthew Modine, Lee Schrager and David de Rothschild.

The fest opens tonight with Tina Fey's "Baby Mama." 

Check out variety.com/tribeca for the latest from fest.

The latest from the festival scene this week.  A link exchange by indieWIRE and Variety.com.

TFF '08 | Van Peebles, La'Bassiere, and Byrd
With just two weeks to go, the Tribeca Film Festival kicked things off with a reception downtown with IFP.

DISPATCH FROM DALLAS
AFI Dallas Goes for the Robust and Finds a Niche in Year Two

DISPATCH FROM NORTH CAROLINA
Full Frame Forges Ahead Without Its Charismatic Founder at the Helm


More at indieWIRE.

Winter Miller writes that David Mamet's "Redbelt" will preem at the fest, which finallly gives journalists a reason to put Mamet, mixed martial arts, and Tim Allen in the same sentence.

The pic stars Chiwetel Ejiofor (pictured) as a Jujitsu teacher in Los Angeles who runs his training studio by the samurai code until greed and corruption threaten his survival.

Ejiofor is joined by thesps Emily Mortimer, Alice Braga and Tim Allen.

"I am a fan of both the fight film and the samurai film," Mamet said. "'Redbelt' is my homage to both."

Here's the trailer: