The Royal
DOPPELGÄNGER PAUL: Opens in Toronto, Friday, February 24th at The Royal
08/02/12 11:14 Filed in: Doppelgänger Paul
DOPPELGÄNGER PAUL
(Or A Film About How Much I Hate Myself)
A film by Dylan Akio Smith and Kris Elgstrand
Following its Premiere at TIFF 2011 and successful screenings at the 2011 Whistler Film Festival and Slamdance 2012, Dylan Akio Smith and Kris Elgstrand’s feature film DOPPELGÄNGER PAUL (Or A Film About How Much I Hate Myself) will open Friday, February 24th at The Royal Theater, Toronto.
DOPPELGANGER PAUL (Or A Film About How Much I Hate Myself) tells the story of the unlikely relationship of Karl (Tygh Runyan, Snakes On A Plane, 15 Minutes, TV’s Battlestar Gallactica) and Paul (Brad Dryborough, The Cabin Movie, TIFF 2005; TV’s Battlestar Gallactica), two lonely men on the brink of middle age.
Following a near death experience, Karl comes to believe that Paul, a stranger he sees on the street, is his doppelgänger. After stalking him for several weeks, Karl finally makes contact thus setting in motion a bizarre chain of events that will result in the loss of a thumb, the theft of a manuscript, rides on a miniature railroad, a trip to Portland in a 1984 Chevy VanDura and two appearances on a popular morning talk show.
DOPPELGANGER PAUL (Or A Film About How Much I Hate Myself) plays out as a mind-bending human comedy that raises questions about the primacy of authorial ownership, intellectual piracy and man’s seemingly limitless ability to hate himself beyond all reason.
DOPPELGANGER PAUL (Or A Film About How Much I Hate Myself) is directed by long-time collaborators Dylan Akio Smith (also DP/Editor) and Kris Elgstrand (also screenwriter). Co-directing for the first time, they are the award-winning team behind previous TIFF offerings Man Feel Pain (Winner, Short Cuts Canada Award, TIFF 2004), The Cabin Movie (TIFF 2005) and Big Head (TIFF 2009).
For further information: http://doppelgangerpaul.com/
Images: http://filmswelike.com/films/doppelgangerpaul/
Press Notes: http://filmswelike.com/films/doppelgangerpaul/
Media contact:
V Kelly + Associates
416-466-9799, info@vkpr.ca
(Or A Film About How Much I Hate Myself)
A film by Dylan Akio Smith and Kris Elgstrand
Following its Premiere at TIFF 2011 and successful screenings at the 2011 Whistler Film Festival and Slamdance 2012, Dylan Akio Smith and Kris Elgstrand’s feature film DOPPELGÄNGER PAUL (Or A Film About How Much I Hate Myself) will open Friday, February 24th at The Royal Theater, Toronto.
DOPPELGANGER PAUL (Or A Film About How Much I Hate Myself) tells the story of the unlikely relationship of Karl (Tygh Runyan, Snakes On A Plane, 15 Minutes, TV’s Battlestar Gallactica) and Paul (Brad Dryborough, The Cabin Movie, TIFF 2005; TV’s Battlestar Gallactica), two lonely men on the brink of middle age.
Following a near death experience, Karl comes to believe that Paul, a stranger he sees on the street, is his doppelgänger. After stalking him for several weeks, Karl finally makes contact thus setting in motion a bizarre chain of events that will result in the loss of a thumb, the theft of a manuscript, rides on a miniature railroad, a trip to Portland in a 1984 Chevy VanDura and two appearances on a popular morning talk show.
DOPPELGANGER PAUL (Or A Film About How Much I Hate Myself) plays out as a mind-bending human comedy that raises questions about the primacy of authorial ownership, intellectual piracy and man’s seemingly limitless ability to hate himself beyond all reason.
DOPPELGANGER PAUL (Or A Film About How Much I Hate Myself) is directed by long-time collaborators Dylan Akio Smith (also DP/Editor) and Kris Elgstrand (also screenwriter). Co-directing for the first time, they are the award-winning team behind previous TIFF offerings Man Feel Pain (Winner, Short Cuts Canada Award, TIFF 2004), The Cabin Movie (TIFF 2005) and Big Head (TIFF 2009).
For further information: http://doppelgangerpaul.com/
Images: http://filmswelike.com/films/doppelgangerpaul/
Press Notes: http://filmswelike.com/films/doppelgangerpaul/
Media contact:
V Kelly + Associates
416-466-9799, info@vkpr.ca
PAUL GOODMAN CHANGED MY LIFE - Opens Dec 9
17/11/11 14:14 Filed in: Paul Goodman Changed My Life
PAUL GOODMAN CHANGED MY LIFE
A film about the most influential man you’ve never heard of
OPENS DECEMBER 9 - THE ROYAL, TORONTO
OPENS DECEMBER 30, 31, JANUARY 1 and 2 - MAYFAIR THEATRE, OTTAWA
“One has the persistent thought that if ten thousand people in all walks of life will stand up on their two feet and talk out and insist, we shall get back our country.”-- Paul Goodman, “Growing Up Absurd”
Following its Canadian Premiere at Doc Soup, and New York Premiere at Film Forum, Jonathan Lee’s highly praised feature documentary PAUL GOODMAN CHANGED MY LIFE will open Friday, December 9 at The Royal Theater, Toronto.
Author of the visionary bestseller GROWING UP ABSURD (1960), Paul Goodman was a poet, writer, pacifist, gay activist and a moral compass for many in the burgeoning counterculture of the 1960s.
PAUL GOODMAN CHANGED MY LIFE immerses you in an era when New York was peaking culturally and artistically; when ideas, and the people who propounded them, seemed to punch in at a higher weight class than they do now.
Unearthing unseen footage of Paul Goodman and his times, director/producer Jonathan Lee and producer/editor Kimberly Reed (Prodigal Sons) have woven together a rich portrait of an intellectual heavyweight whose ideas are long overdue for rediscovery.
Official Website: paulgoodmanfilm.com
High Rez Images
Press Notes
Interviews available with filmmaker Jonathan Lee
Media contact:
V Kelly + Associates
416-466-9799, info@vkpr.ca
A film about the most influential man you’ve never heard of
OPENS DECEMBER 9 - THE ROYAL, TORONTO
OPENS DECEMBER 30, 31, JANUARY 1 and 2 - MAYFAIR THEATRE, OTTAWA
“One has the persistent thought that if ten thousand people in all walks of life will stand up on their two feet and talk out and insist, we shall get back our country.”-- Paul Goodman, “Growing Up Absurd”
Following its Canadian Premiere at Doc Soup, and New York Premiere at Film Forum, Jonathan Lee’s highly praised feature documentary PAUL GOODMAN CHANGED MY LIFE will open Friday, December 9 at The Royal Theater, Toronto.
Author of the visionary bestseller GROWING UP ABSURD (1960), Paul Goodman was a poet, writer, pacifist, gay activist and a moral compass for many in the burgeoning counterculture of the 1960s.
PAUL GOODMAN CHANGED MY LIFE immerses you in an era when New York was peaking culturally and artistically; when ideas, and the people who propounded them, seemed to punch in at a higher weight class than they do now.
Unearthing unseen footage of Paul Goodman and his times, director/producer Jonathan Lee and producer/editor Kimberly Reed (Prodigal Sons) have woven together a rich portrait of an intellectual heavyweight whose ideas are long overdue for rediscovery.
Official Website: paulgoodmanfilm.com
High Rez Images
Press Notes
Interviews available with filmmaker Jonathan Lee
Media contact:
V Kelly + Associates
416-466-9799, info@vkpr.ca
RESURRECT DEAD Opens in Toronto on Friday, September 23, 2011 at The Royal
17/08/11 15:59 Filed in: Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles
RESURRECT DEAD THE MYSTERY OF THE TOYNBEE TILES
A film by Jon Foy
Winner – Sundance 2011 Directing award: Documentary
Opens in Toronto on Friday, September 23, 2011 at The Royal
It’s gratifying to know that in the information age there are still shadowy crevices of the world where mystery and perplexity can still live. These dark corners of the world are diminishing in number, but it’s where magic and imagination can still exist. – Jon Foy
“Toynbee Idea in Movie 2001. Resurrect Dead on Planet Jupiter.” Beginning in the mid-1980s, hundreds of tiles carrying this cryptic message started appearing embedded in the asphalt of city streets throughout North and South America. A young artist named Justin Duerr was living in Philadelphia when he stumbled across one, then many, of these strange creations. What began as an ordinary attempt to discover their elusive creator became an obsessive quest as Duerr discovered an increasingly bizarre set of clues. Duerr spent more than a decade searching for the tiles’ creator, eventually teaming up with other Toynbee tile enthusiasts to gather clues. Crafting an enticing journey from Duerr’s experience, filmmaker Jon Foy invites you to get lost in this incredible real life mystery, a tribute to the fantastic things you can discover if you’re looking. – Sarafina DiFelice, Hot Docs
Filmmaker Jon Foy and Philadelphia-based artist and musician Justin Duerr began planning a documentary film about the Toynbee Tiles in 2000. Five years later, they began filming their investigation of these strange street plaques embedded in the asphalt of major U.S. and South American urban intersections that had held Duerr's fascination for over a decade. Having appeared on hundreds of reported examples from the mid-1980s to present, the cryptic four-line message of the Toynbee Tiles read: "Toynbee Idea / In Kubrick's 2001 / Resurrect Dead / On Planet Jupiter". While the text on the plaques was clear enough, neither Duerr nor the numerous media outlets that had documented the phenomenon knew what these tiles meant, how or why they were installed, or who was responsible for them.
Teaming up with local Toynbee Tile fanatics Steve Weinik and Colin Smith, Duerr began his quest with few clues towards the tiler's identity. The investigation led the team through a series of strange and unexpected turns from the discovery of a Jupiter colonization organization to the David Mamet play “4a.m.” and a TV news hijacker with a cryptic message. Along the way, the team met with the eccentric residents in the deepest reaches of South Philadelphia and dedicated shortwave radio buffs for clues and guidance. As the picture of the Toynbee Tiles' narrative slowly entered into focus, Duerr was shocked by the answers he was uncovering and his unexpected emotional connection to the elusive tiler.
Running time: 85 minutes Official Website: www.resurrectdead.com
For images, production notes and trailer: http://filmswelike.com/films/resurectdead/
For more information contact: V Kelly & Assoc.
A film by Jon Foy
Winner – Sundance 2011 Directing award: Documentary
Opens in Toronto on Friday, September 23, 2011 at The Royal
It’s gratifying to know that in the information age there are still shadowy crevices of the world where mystery and perplexity can still live. These dark corners of the world are diminishing in number, but it’s where magic and imagination can still exist. – Jon Foy
“Toynbee Idea in Movie 2001. Resurrect Dead on Planet Jupiter.” Beginning in the mid-1980s, hundreds of tiles carrying this cryptic message started appearing embedded in the asphalt of city streets throughout North and South America. A young artist named Justin Duerr was living in Philadelphia when he stumbled across one, then many, of these strange creations. What began as an ordinary attempt to discover their elusive creator became an obsessive quest as Duerr discovered an increasingly bizarre set of clues. Duerr spent more than a decade searching for the tiles’ creator, eventually teaming up with other Toynbee tile enthusiasts to gather clues. Crafting an enticing journey from Duerr’s experience, filmmaker Jon Foy invites you to get lost in this incredible real life mystery, a tribute to the fantastic things you can discover if you’re looking. – Sarafina DiFelice, Hot Docs
Teaming up with local Toynbee Tile fanatics Steve Weinik and Colin Smith, Duerr began his quest with few clues towards the tiler's identity. The investigation led the team through a series of strange and unexpected turns from the discovery of a Jupiter colonization organization to the David Mamet play “4a.m.” and a TV news hijacker with a cryptic message. Along the way, the team met with the eccentric residents in the deepest reaches of South Philadelphia and dedicated shortwave radio buffs for clues and guidance. As the picture of the Toynbee Tiles' narrative slowly entered into focus, Duerr was shocked by the answers he was uncovering and his unexpected emotional connection to the elusive tiler.
Running time: 85 minutes Official Website: www.resurrectdead.com
For images, production notes and trailer: http://filmswelike.com/films/resurectdead/
For more information contact: V Kelly & Assoc.
LiTTLEROCK and BEESWAX: These hyper-realist films we like will make you feel like a reel voyeur...
17/03/11 11:23 Filed in: Littlerock | Beeswax
2 FILMS @ THE ROYAL, STARTS FRI APRIL 8
LiTTLEROCK a film by mike ott
Watch the Trailer!
WINNER "BEST-FILM-NOT-PLAYING-AT-A-THEATRE-NEAR-YOU" -Gotham Independent Film Awards
"Littlerock, which seems like nowhere you'd want to be from, or end up in, and yet people are from there and people end up there." - Anisse Gross/THE RUMPUS
A couple of Japanese students on a pilgrimage become stranded in Small-Town USA. Only, Atsuko doesn't feel stranded. Littlerock absorbs her into its bleak landscape and beautiful, dead-end kids. When her brother takes off, frustrated, she's left to figure out that America can be a bit of a shit-hole.
BEESWAX a film by Andrew Bujalski
A tale of two sisters, one in a wheelchair, one not, both mid-30s, both in and out of beds
and jobs in Austin, Texas... it's weirdly gripping, an authentically banal slice of life." -THE GUARDIAN
"ONE OF THE TOP FILMS OF THE YEAR" - NEW YORK TIMES
“Perhaps the most refreshing element of Beeswax is that Jeannie's paraplegic condition is never a focus in the script; she ably moves around in her wheelchair, disassembles and reassembles the chair to drive, and gets leg massages at the end of a tiring day…Disabled advocacy groups around the world will welcome Beeswax as a ground-breaker. – Mike Goodrich
Watch the Trailer!
WINNER "BEST-FILM-NOT-PLAYING-AT-A-THEATRE-NEAR-YOU" -Gotham Independent Film Awards
"Littlerock, which seems like nowhere you'd want to be from, or end up in, and yet people are from there and people end up there." - Anisse Gross/THE RUMPUS
A couple of Japanese students on a pilgrimage become stranded in Small-Town USA. Only, Atsuko doesn't feel stranded. Littlerock absorbs her into its bleak landscape and beautiful, dead-end kids. When her brother takes off, frustrated, she's left to figure out that America can be a bit of a shit-hole.
BEESWAX a film by Andrew Bujalski
A tale of two sisters, one in a wheelchair, one not, both mid-30s, both in and out of beds
and jobs in Austin, Texas... it's weirdly gripping, an authentically banal slice of life." -THE GUARDIAN
"ONE OF THE TOP FILMS OF THE YEAR" - NEW YORK TIMES
“Perhaps the most refreshing element of Beeswax is that Jeannie's paraplegic condition is never a focus in the script; she ably moves around in her wheelchair, disassembles and reassembles the chair to drive, and gets leg massages at the end of a tiring day…Disabled advocacy groups around the world will welcome Beeswax as a ground-breaker. – Mike Goodrich
COSMONAUT Opens THE ROYAL on March 18th
24/02/11 15:53 Filed in: Cosmonaut
NOW IT'S 1963, AND 15 YEAR-OLD LUCIANA IS ON HER OWN SORT OF SPACE RACE.
As capitalist America and communist Russia compete for ideological pre-eminence through conquest of the heavens, Luciana grows up an Italian female communist, struggling to affirm her identity amidst a bourgeois family, chauvinism, and... oh god.... teenage lust.
The Soviet Union's technological victory with Sputnik 1 launched an incredible propaganda victory, whereupon the Italian daily L'Unita ran the headline "Socialist technology defies the force of gravity".
Director Susanna Nicciarelli creates an ironic short circuit by juxtaposing this public phenomenon on the amplified, convoluted teenage experience.
Comedic, but with grounding drama, Nicchiarelli calls it "the story of an adolescence set against the backdrop of a cultural war between two alternative societies, made up of myths that have disappeared today."
THE ROYAL - Showtimes
Friday March 18 @ 7:00 PM
Friday March 18 @ 9:00 PM
Saturday March 19 @ 4:30 PM
Saturday March 19 @ 7:00 PM
Saturday March 19 @9:00 PM
Sunday March 20 @ 3:30 PM
Sunday March 20 @9:15 PM
Wednesday March 23@ 7:00 PM
Thursday March 24 @ 7:00 PM
DOGTOOTH leaves bite-marks in Oscar Foreign Film Category
26/01/11 16:27 Filed in: Dogtooth
“There's uncomfortable, there's cringe-worthy, there's assaultive, and then there's Dogtooth…” (Alex Navarro, screened.com)
A hyper-stylized mixture of physical violence and verbal comedy “…played with a tone and tenor that vaguely resembles what might happen if Michael Haneke directed Napoleon Dynamite.” (screened.com)
The father, the mother and their three kids live at the outskirts of a city. There is a tall fence surrounding the house. The kids have never been outside that fence. They are being educated, entertained, bored and exercised in the manner that their parents deem appropriate, without any influence from the outside world. They believe that the airplanes flying over are toys and that zombies are small yellow flowers. The only person allowed to enter the house is Christina. She works as a security guard at the father’s business. The father arranges her visits to the house in order to appease the sexual urges of the son. The whole family is fond of her, especially the eldest daughter. One day Christina gives her as a present a headband that has stones that glow in the dark and asks for something in return.
“DOGTOOTH is like a car crash. You cannot look away.” –Roger Ebert
John Waters calls it “by far the most original film I’ve seen in a long time.”
TRUNK SHOW: One Week Only, The Royal - Toronto
11/03/10 11:04 Filed in: Trunk Show
Starting March 26 @ The Royal; WATCH THE TRAILER
A SONGBOOK SPANNING DECADES
NEIL YOUNG TRUNK SHOW, the second in Jonathan Demme’s planned film Neil Young
trilogy is an unconscious, raw, in-the-moment concert movie. The words Trunk Show conjure another time when people moved across the country, displaying unique and precious goods from old chunky leather-strapped luggage.
Taking his cue from this image, Young surrounds himself with his favorite instruments, played at whim on a stage-set filled with personal icons: a small-scale model of a guitar shop, a red phone and other items. “I always tell people,absolutely and sincerely, if you’re not a Neil Young fan, don’t waste your time,” Demme remarks.
“Second of all, if you don’t love electric guitar, don’t go." Trunk Showis subtitled “scenes from a concert”, specifically from a pair of shows Young performed at the 1927-built Tower Theatre in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, as part of his intimate 2007 Chrome Dreams theater tour. He performed a full acoustic set, followed by a full electric one with bandmates Ben Keith, Rick Rosas, Ralph Molina, Anthony “Sweetpea” Crawford and wife Pegi Young.
He also had painter Eric Johnson creating on-the-spot works for each song. Demme says knew the set list, but says nothing was planned for the film. Shot on hand-held cameras (HDCam, HDV and Super-8mm), his team included director of photography Declan Quinn (Rachel Getting Married, Leaving Las Vegas) and camera operators he’s worked with before.
JONATHAN DEMME:
A prolific American film director, producer and screenwriter, his credits include:
Caged Heat (1974); Crazy Mama (1975); Melvin and Howard (1980)
Stop Making Sense (Talking Heads concert film, 1984)
The Perfect Kiss (New Order music video, 1985)
Swimming to Cambodia (1987); Haiti: Dreams of Democracy (1987)
The Silence of the Lambs (1991); Philadelphia (1993)
Storefront Hitchcock (1998); The Truth About Charlie (2002)
The Agronomist (2003); The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
Neil Young: Heart of Gold (2006); Rachel Getting Married (2008)
UPCOMING CANADIAN SCREENINGS:
Vancity, Vancouver: March 5 (preview), opens March 26 - April 1
The Royal, Toronto: Opens March 26
Cinematheque Winnipeg: March 26, 27, 28, 31, April 1, 2, 3, 7, 8
Princess Cinema, Waterloo: April 8-12
Broadway Theatre, Saskatoon: April 16-29
Mayfair, Ottawa: April 16, 17 & 18
Cinema du Parc, Montreal: May 13 (preview), opens May 21-27
Press and Publicity: Gary Topp
A SONGBOOK SPANNING DECADES
NEIL YOUNG TRUNK SHOW, the second in Jonathan Demme’s planned film Neil Young
trilogy is an unconscious, raw, in-the-moment concert movie. The words Trunk Show conjure another time when people moved across the country, displaying unique and precious goods from old chunky leather-strapped luggage.
Taking his cue from this image, Young surrounds himself with his favorite instruments, played at whim on a stage-set filled with personal icons: a small-scale model of a guitar shop, a red phone and other items. “I always tell people,absolutely and sincerely, if you’re not a Neil Young fan, don’t waste your time,” Demme remarks.
“Second of all, if you don’t love electric guitar, don’t go." Trunk Showis subtitled “scenes from a concert”, specifically from a pair of shows Young performed at the 1927-built Tower Theatre in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, as part of his intimate 2007 Chrome Dreams theater tour. He performed a full acoustic set, followed by a full electric one with bandmates Ben Keith, Rick Rosas, Ralph Molina, Anthony “Sweetpea” Crawford and wife Pegi Young.
He also had painter Eric Johnson creating on-the-spot works for each song. Demme says knew the set list, but says nothing was planned for the film. Shot on hand-held cameras (HDCam, HDV and Super-8mm), his team included director of photography Declan Quinn (Rachel Getting Married, Leaving Las Vegas) and camera operators he’s worked with before.
JONATHAN DEMME:
Caged Heat (1974); Crazy Mama (1975); Melvin and Howard (1980)
Stop Making Sense (Talking Heads concert film, 1984)
The Perfect Kiss (New Order music video, 1985)
Swimming to Cambodia (1987); Haiti: Dreams of Democracy (1987)
The Silence of the Lambs (1991); Philadelphia (1993)
Storefront Hitchcock (1998); The Truth About Charlie (2002)
The Agronomist (2003); The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
Neil Young: Heart of Gold (2006); Rachel Getting Married (2008)
UPCOMING CANADIAN SCREENINGS:
Vancity, Vancouver: March 5 (preview), opens March 26 - April 1
The Royal, Toronto: Opens March 26
Cinematheque Winnipeg: March 26, 27, 28, 31, April 1, 2, 3, 7, 8
Princess Cinema, Waterloo: April 8-12
Broadway Theatre, Saskatoon: April 16-29
Mayfair, Ottawa: April 16, 17 & 18
Cinema du Parc, Montreal: May 13 (preview), opens May 21-27
Press and Publicity: Gary Topp