The new docudrama “Wheeler” follows an aspiring musician from Kaufman, Texas who travels to Nashville with dreams of becoming an outlaw country music star. Here’s the catch: Wheeler isn’t a real person, but rather actor Stephen Dorff under heavy prosthetic make up who successfully infiltrated the Music City to embark on the authentic singer-songwriter journey. In the film, the Wheeler character converses with real people in real locations and performs every musical number live, eventually interacting with real musicians like Travis Meadows, Audrey Spillman and the legendary Kris Kristofferson, Wheeler’s hero. Watch an exclusive clip from the film below.
Read More: Ebertfest Adds Stephen Dorff Tribute, Seymour Bernstein Master Class and More
Dorff is best known for playing vampire overlord Deacon Frost opposite Wesley Snipes in the first “Blade” film, as well as the existentially lost actor Johnny Marco in Sofia Coppola’s 2010 film “Somewhere.” He also...
Read More: Ebertfest Adds Stephen Dorff Tribute, Seymour Bernstein Master Class and More
Dorff is best known for playing vampire overlord Deacon Frost opposite Wesley Snipes in the first “Blade” film, as well as the existentially lost actor Johnny Marco in Sofia Coppola’s 2010 film “Somewhere.” He also...
- 1/31/2017
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
Ethan Hawke’s directorial debut profiles the wit and wisdom of pianist and teacher Seymour Bernstein
Actor and writer Ethan Hawke makes his (somewhat overdue) directorial debut with a documentary that, despite its title, is nothing to do with Jd Salinger: instead, it’s an admiringly respectful profile of former concert pianist Seymour Bernstein, who now devotes his time to teaching. Hawke’s interest in Bernstein – a gentle, owlish figure in his late 80s – doesn’t seem to be specifically musical, but more as a repository of life-manual wisdom for those who, like Hawke, are trying to live the artistic existence. (Though few are as confounded by matinee-idol looks and successful acting careers as Hawke is.) This film makes for a pleasant, engaging experience, with Bernstein coming across rather like Louis Levy, the subject of Clifford Stern’s film in Woody Allen’s Crimes and Misdemeanors, complete with donnish American-Yiddish accent.
Actor and writer Ethan Hawke makes his (somewhat overdue) directorial debut with a documentary that, despite its title, is nothing to do with Jd Salinger: instead, it’s an admiringly respectful profile of former concert pianist Seymour Bernstein, who now devotes his time to teaching. Hawke’s interest in Bernstein – a gentle, owlish figure in his late 80s – doesn’t seem to be specifically musical, but more as a repository of life-manual wisdom for those who, like Hawke, are trying to live the artistic existence. (Though few are as confounded by matinee-idol looks and successful acting careers as Hawke is.) This film makes for a pleasant, engaging experience, with Bernstein coming across rather like Louis Levy, the subject of Clifford Stern’s film in Woody Allen’s Crimes and Misdemeanors, complete with donnish American-Yiddish accent.
- 3/24/2016
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
Cinema Eye has announced the year's most notable nonfiction film subjects they call "The Unforgettables." Thanks to Variety, we have the list. And The Unforgettables are:
Peter Anton/.Almost There.
Amy Winehouse/.Amy.
Lizzie Velásquez/.A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velásquez Story.
Jose Manuel Mireles/.Cartel Land.
Paul Mangwana/.Democrats.
Brenda Myers-Powell/.Dreamcatcher.
Shannon Whisnant/.Finders Keepers.
Iris Apfel/.Iris.
Adi Rukun/.The Look of Silence.
William .Dub. Lawrence/.Peace Officer.
Fedor Alexandrovich/.The Russian Woodpecker.
Seymour Bernstein/.Seymour: An Introduction.
Yula/.Something Better to Come.
Saeed .Shariff. Torres/.(T)error.
The Angulo Brothers/.The Wolfpack.
Peter Anton/.Almost There.
Amy Winehouse/.Amy.
Lizzie Velásquez/.A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velásquez Story.
Jose Manuel Mireles/.Cartel Land.
Paul Mangwana/.Democrats.
Brenda Myers-Powell/.Dreamcatcher.
Shannon Whisnant/.Finders Keepers.
Iris Apfel/.Iris.
Adi Rukun/.The Look of Silence.
William .Dub. Lawrence/.Peace Officer.
Fedor Alexandrovich/.The Russian Woodpecker.
Seymour Bernstein/.Seymour: An Introduction.
Yula/.Something Better to Come.
Saeed .Shariff. Torres/.(T)error.
The Angulo Brothers/.The Wolfpack.
- 11/17/2015
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
The torch of Roger Ebert's "overlooked" film festival is now being carried by his wife Chaz, who movingly gives a tribute to her husband, the world's favorite film critic, in the official Ebertfest trailer. His friend Tilda Swinton also chimes in. The fest runs through April 19 in Champaign-Urbana. The lineup includes "End of the Tour," 2015 foreign Oscar nominees "Wild Tales" and "Ida," "99 Homes" from Ebert's pal Ramin Bahrani, Venice winner "A Pigeon Sat On A Branch Reflecting On Existence," conversations with Seymour Bernstein and Stephen Dorff, and more. Read More: 2015 Ebertfest Highlights...
- 4/16/2015
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Thompson on Hollywood
Read More: Ethan Hawke Didn't Know That Richard Linklater Would Bring 'Boyhood' Home So Well Ethan Hawke was in a contemplative mood when Indiewire caught up with the actor-filmmaker-author a week following the 87th Academy Awards. The awards show marked the end of his almost year-long campaign for Richard Linklater's "Boyhood," which ended up going on to win the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for his co-star in the film, Patricia Arquette. Now Hawke is back at it, this time on the promotional trail for his latest project, the documentary "Seymour: An Introduction." The film marks Hawke's first-ever documentary feature. The Sundance Selects release, which first premiered last fall at the Telluride Film Festival and opens in select theaters this Friday, is a touching love letter to Seymour Bernstein, an 86-year-old pianist whom Hawke first met at a dinner party and soon after chose to follow. Hawke's portrait...
- 3/12/2015
- by Nigel M Smith
- Indiewire
Ethan Hawke met 85-year-old Seymour Bernstein at a dinner party. “I have been struggling recently with finding why it is that I do what I do,” confesses the actor, seemingly in the throes of a midlife crisis, in his nonfiction directorial debut. “I immediately felt safe around him to talk to him about some of these things. At this one dinner, Seymour helped me more than anyone in my own profession had been able to.” Bernstein isn’t a self-help guru or even a therapist, but a piano instructor. After retiring from performing at age 50, he finally found his...
- 3/11/2015
- by Inkoo Kang
- The Wrap
As if starring in one of the most acclaimed, talked about, and beloved movies of 2014 wasn't enough, when Ethan Hawke wasn't in the cinephile conversation about "Boyhood," he was getting the word out about documentary, "Seymour: An Introduction." And today we have a clip from the film. Directed by and featuring Hawke, the doc chronicles the life of pianist and Manhattanite Seymour Bernstein. It focuses on his notable career, but also his other endeavors and pursuits, along with the unanswerable questions about pursuing art and how it relates to success. And in the clip below, you can see Hawke himself grapple with understanding the "system of life" as he puts it, with Bernstein weighing in with his own reflections on the matter. "Seymour: An Introduction" opens on March 13th. Watch below.
- 3/6/2015
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
At the risk of sounding fogeyish, I’m soul-sick from living in a culture that worships vacuous youth, which is reason enough to embrace the documentary subgenre I call “Young Whippersnappers Canonize the Aged” — Ywca being easy to remember. Two especially inspiring new specimens are Seymour: An Introduction and An Honest Liar, which celebrate not just remarkable old men but vital ways of seeing beyond the material world. Both movies make you feel, in the deepest sense, young.Ethan Hawke directed Seymour, and at first I groaned when he inserted himself into the film to explain how he met the 87-year-old former concert pianist and ongoing teacher Seymour Bernstein. Even striving for humility, Hawke is an ac-tor. But his self-consciousness turns out to be a touching lens through which to view his subject, who gave up performing at age 50 to enter into a “translucent dome” in which the self could...
- 3/6/2015
- by David Edelstein
- Vulture
I’m not sure Ethan Hawke gets the credit that he deserves. Not only is he a well respected actor, but he’s a novelist and a filmmaker as well, having put out narrative features previously, and now a documentary. Yes, this Friday, his doc Seymour: An Introduction hits theaters, and it’s quite good. The four time Academy Award nominee (two acting nominations and two screenwriting nominations) has never been one to just take a quick paycheck, but this is clearly one of the bigger passion projects of his career. Luckily, it also turns out to be one of the better documentaries I saw last year and remains as such this year. It’s a doc that shows a lot of promise for Hawke in that realm if he chooses to pursue it. What is Seymour: An Introduction about? Well, it centers around, yes, introducing us to Seymour Bernstein,...
- 3/4/2015
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
Exclusive: Benelux distributor secured deals with Sierra/Affinity, Fortitude and Im Global.
Benelux distributor Remain in Light has secured Efm deals on a number of hot market titles including Isabel Coixet’s This Man This Woman from Fortitude, Gaby Dellal’s Three Generations from Im Global and Joachim Trier’s Louder than Bombs from Memento.
Also acquired for all rights were Ethan Hawke’s documentary Seymour: An Introduction from HanWay Select and the previously announced Gold from Sierra/Affinity.
Remain in Light acquired Gold, Three Generations and Louder Than Bombs in association with local distributor Victory Productions, with whom it has collaborated on a number of titles in recent years.
Penelope Cruz and Diane Kruger have been in talks to star in Coixet drama This Man This Woman, in which a woman encounters a former lover on a plane, sparking memories of their turbulent romantic relationship.
Dellal’s New York-set identity drama Three Generations centres on a New York City...
Benelux distributor Remain in Light has secured Efm deals on a number of hot market titles including Isabel Coixet’s This Man This Woman from Fortitude, Gaby Dellal’s Three Generations from Im Global and Joachim Trier’s Louder than Bombs from Memento.
Also acquired for all rights were Ethan Hawke’s documentary Seymour: An Introduction from HanWay Select and the previously announced Gold from Sierra/Affinity.
Remain in Light acquired Gold, Three Generations and Louder Than Bombs in association with local distributor Victory Productions, with whom it has collaborated on a number of titles in recent years.
Penelope Cruz and Diane Kruger have been in talks to star in Coixet drama This Man This Woman, in which a woman encounters a former lover on a plane, sparking memories of their turbulent romantic relationship.
Dellal’s New York-set identity drama Three Generations centres on a New York City...
- 2/23/2015
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Sundance titles Stray Dog, Welcome to Leith and Station to Station among haul.
Swedish distributor NonStop Entertainment has picked up eight new documentary titles, building on the seven features it acquired at the start of Berlin’s European Film Market (Feb 5-13).
The film has acquired Scandinavian and Baltic rights to Sundance titles Welcome to Leith - the portrait of a white supremacist in the Us - and Doug Atiken’s performance documentary Station to Station. Both were acquired from Submarine.
NonStop has also taken Stray Dog from Still Rolling Productions, Debra Granik’s first film since Winter’s Bone. The documentary, about big-hearted biker Ron ‘Stray Dog’ Hall, also debuted at Sundance.
Other NonStop acquisitions include:
The Last Season, from Signpost Pictures, about the unexpected friendship between an Cambodian refugee and a Vietnam Vetean;
Made In America, from The Exchange, a concert documentary about a festival organized by Jay Z;
50 Year Argument, from Cinephil...
Swedish distributor NonStop Entertainment has picked up eight new documentary titles, building on the seven features it acquired at the start of Berlin’s European Film Market (Feb 5-13).
The film has acquired Scandinavian and Baltic rights to Sundance titles Welcome to Leith - the portrait of a white supremacist in the Us - and Doug Atiken’s performance documentary Station to Station. Both were acquired from Submarine.
NonStop has also taken Stray Dog from Still Rolling Productions, Debra Granik’s first film since Winter’s Bone. The documentary, about big-hearted biker Ron ‘Stray Dog’ Hall, also debuted at Sundance.
Other NonStop acquisitions include:
The Last Season, from Signpost Pictures, about the unexpected friendship between an Cambodian refugee and a Vietnam Vetean;
Made In America, from The Exchange, a concert documentary about a festival organized by Jay Z;
50 Year Argument, from Cinephil...
- 2/13/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Play life more beautifully. This is a documentary that I hope a few people take an interest in, because it's such a heartwarming and inspiring profile of a humble man. Seymour: An Introduction is a wonderful documentary directed by Ethan Hawke profiling piano player and teacher Seymour Bernstein, who gave up fame after a successful concert tour and has dedicated his life to teaching the wonder of music. As hinted at in the title, the doc is an introduction to Mr. Bernstein, giving audiences a glimpse at who he is and how inspiring he is. I first saw this film at the Telluride Film Festival and wrote this in my review: "Music is love, love is music. All I want to do is put on some Schubert, Bach and/or Beethoven and stare up at the stars..." Here's the first trailer for Ethan Hawke's doc Seymour: An Introduction, in...
- 2/8/2015
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
By Scott Feinberg
The Hollywood Reporter
“I have to admit something,” Ethan Hawke told New York Film Festival director Kent Jones in the middle of the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Tuesday night tribute to the actor-writer-director at Lincoln Center’s Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse. “It [the acceptance of Hawke's new documentary Seymour: An Introduction into the highly selective fest] meant a lot to me. Hamlet was rejected here. Before Sunrise was rejected here. Tadpole was rejected here. Before Sunset was rejected here. I mean, you know, it’s been a lonely 30 f—ing years — I needed Seymour Bernstein to get my ass in this chair!”
Not long after the audience’s laughter died down, Bernstein — a professional classical pianist turned piano teacher who has become a life coach to Hawke and the subject of Seymour — rose and offered a tribute of his own to the man who has made him, at 87, a celebrity of sorts. Bernstein, who had performed publicly only once...
The Hollywood Reporter
“I have to admit something,” Ethan Hawke told New York Film Festival director Kent Jones in the middle of the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Tuesday night tribute to the actor-writer-director at Lincoln Center’s Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse. “It [the acceptance of Hawke's new documentary Seymour: An Introduction into the highly selective fest] meant a lot to me. Hamlet was rejected here. Before Sunrise was rejected here. Tadpole was rejected here. Before Sunset was rejected here. I mean, you know, it’s been a lonely 30 f—ing years — I needed Seymour Bernstein to get my ass in this chair!”
Not long after the audience’s laughter died down, Bernstein — a professional classical pianist turned piano teacher who has become a life coach to Hawke and the subject of Seymour — rose and offered a tribute of his own to the man who has made him, at 87, a celebrity of sorts. Bernstein, who had performed publicly only once...
- 10/2/2014
- by Anjelica Oswald
- Scott Feinberg
For Ethan Hawke, the past two years have resulted in a series of culminations. Last year, Before Midnight, which closed out his trilogy with Richard Linklater and Julie Delpy, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival; Boyhood, which he made with Linklater over 12 years, premiered there this year. And now he's celebrating the completion of his documentary, Seymour: An Introduction, as it makes stops at various film festivals. So it makes sense that Hawke was prone to look backwards when feted at the New York Film Festival during its "An Evening With..." event. "It's feeling like a shedding of a skin of some kind,...
- 10/1/2014
- by Esther Zuckerman
- EW - Inside Movies
"I have to admit something," Ethan Hawke told New York Film Festival director Kent Jones in the middle of the Film Society of Lincoln Center's Tuesday night tribute to the actor-writer-director at Lincoln Center's Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse. "It [the acceptance of Hawke's new documentary Seymour: An Introduction into the highly-selective fest] meant a lot to me. Hamlet was rejected here. Before Sunrise was rejected here. Tadpole was rejected here. Before Sunset was rejected here. I mean, you know, it's been a lonely 30 f---ing years — I needed Seymour Bernstein to get my ass
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- 10/1/2014
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
"Ethan Hawke, who has made a very lovely portrait of virtuoso pianist and teacher Seymour Bernstein, is going to be his own worst enemy in terms of getting people to actually see the damn thing," predicts Michael Sicinski in Cinema Scope. Seymour: An Introduction has screened at Telluride and Toronto and now arrives at the New York Film Festival. And so far, nearly all critics agree that, as Flavorwire's Jason Bailey puts it, it's "a lovely film, thoughtful and modest (in the best possible sense: brief, intimate, and true). Hawke shows real skill as a documentarian: He’s got a good eye and a crisp style, his archival footage is well-chosen and sparingly used, he moves between scenes and ideas gracefully and seamlessly, and there’s a real elegance to the film, one which seems to key off its subject." » - David Hudson...
- 9/26/2014
- Keyframe
"Ethan Hawke, who has made a very lovely portrait of virtuoso pianist and teacher Seymour Bernstein, is going to be his own worst enemy in terms of getting people to actually see the damn thing," predicts Michael Sicinski in Cinema Scope. Seymour: An Introduction has screened at Telluride and Toronto and now arrives at the New York Film Festival. And so far, nearly all critics agree that, as Flavorwire's Jason Bailey puts it, it's "a lovely film, thoughtful and modest (in the best possible sense: brief, intimate, and true). Hawke shows real skill as a documentarian: He’s got a good eye and a crisp style, his archival footage is well-chosen and sparingly used, he moves between scenes and ideas gracefully and seamlessly, and there’s a real elegance to the film, one which seems to key off its subject." » - David Hudson...
- 9/26/2014
- Fandor: Keyframe
Seymour: An Introduction
Written and directed by Ethan Hawke
2014, USA
Seymour Bernstein might very well be the sweetest man alive. I’ve never met him, but Seymour: An Introduction, Ethan Hawke’s new documentary that chronicles a recent three-year period of Bernstein’s life, radiates with vibrant life, and creates the feeling that Bernstein is in the room with you. It depicts the man as a soft-spoken, endearing, genuine person who’s as genuinely passionate about life as he is music. He looks with glistening eyes into the camera, his features gentle and faded and the edges of the frame opaque, and talks with us, not at us. There’s something inexplicably beautiful about the way he gazes longingly into the camera, his eyes at once sharp yet soft, comfortably penetrative. He speaks softly, and the room seems to grow quiet around him, adjusting to his volume.
Everything about Bernstein has some degree of softness,...
Written and directed by Ethan Hawke
2014, USA
Seymour Bernstein might very well be the sweetest man alive. I’ve never met him, but Seymour: An Introduction, Ethan Hawke’s new documentary that chronicles a recent three-year period of Bernstein’s life, radiates with vibrant life, and creates the feeling that Bernstein is in the room with you. It depicts the man as a soft-spoken, endearing, genuine person who’s as genuinely passionate about life as he is music. He looks with glistening eyes into the camera, his features gentle and faded and the edges of the frame opaque, and talks with us, not at us. There’s something inexplicably beautiful about the way he gazes longingly into the camera, his eyes at once sharp yet soft, comfortably penetrative. He speaks softly, and the room seems to grow quiet around him, adjusting to his volume.
Everything about Bernstein has some degree of softness,...
- 9/24/2014
- by Greg Cwik
- SoundOnSight
Ethan Hawke has every reason to be confident. He's an Oscar-nominated writer and actor, not to mention a Tony-nominee for Tom Stoppard's "The Coast of Utopia." Now he's at the New York Film Festival promoting his first documentary, "Seymour: An Introduction," which profiles classical pianist Seymour Bernstein. Recently, it was the second-runner up for the People's Choice Award for Best Documentary at the Toronto Film Festival, and it premieres at Nyff on Sept. 27, but the film, as well as his relationship with Bernstein, was spurred by feelings of self-doubt. -Break- Ethan Hawke ('Before Midnight') discusses Oscars 'dog-and-pony show' [Video] "Insecurity and feelings of inadequacy can seem like some kind of horrible blemish that needs to be hidden," revealed Hawke at the Nyff press conference for the film. That's where Bernstein came in. Hawke found inspiration in the musician's...
- 9/22/2014
- Gold Derby
Seymour Bernstein in Ethan Hawke's Seymour: An Introduction: "Seymour thinks that I'm trying to pawn him off as this youthful 85 year-old."
New York Film Festival Director of Programming and Selection Committee Chair Kent Jones held a post screening discussion during the press conference for Seymour: An Introduction, with the director Ethan Hawke and his subject Seymour Bernstein. Hawke is currently starring in Richard Linklater's Boyhood with Patricia Arquette, Ellar Coltrane and Lorelei Linklater and he directed The New Group revival of Sam Shepard's A Lie Of The Mind with Alessandro Nivola in 2010. Nivola will star with Bradley Cooper and Patricia Clarkson in The Elephant Man this fall on Broadway.
Kent Jones in conversation with Seymour Bernstein and director Ethan Hawke at the New York Film Festival press conference for Seymour: An Introduction Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Hawke expressed Tom Stoppard's trilogy The Coast Of Utopia nerves,...
New York Film Festival Director of Programming and Selection Committee Chair Kent Jones held a post screening discussion during the press conference for Seymour: An Introduction, with the director Ethan Hawke and his subject Seymour Bernstein. Hawke is currently starring in Richard Linklater's Boyhood with Patricia Arquette, Ellar Coltrane and Lorelei Linklater and he directed The New Group revival of Sam Shepard's A Lie Of The Mind with Alessandro Nivola in 2010. Nivola will star with Bradley Cooper and Patricia Clarkson in The Elephant Man this fall on Broadway.
Kent Jones in conversation with Seymour Bernstein and director Ethan Hawke at the New York Film Festival press conference for Seymour: An Introduction Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Hawke expressed Tom Stoppard's trilogy The Coast Of Utopia nerves,...
- 9/21/2014
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Seymour: An Introduction isn't just a documentary for Ethan Hawke — it's a quest. During their first meeting, the actor confessed to piano legend Seymour Bernstein that he has been wondering why he does what he does — or why anyone does what they do — and has recently been plagued with an overwhelming stage fright. "I asked him very boldly, what form does it take?" said Bernstein, during a press and industry post-screening Q&A, ahead of its New York Film Festival premiere. He quoted Hawke, "'I have the feeling that I'm going to stop talking.'" The actor,
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- 9/19/2014
- by Ashley Lee
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
By Anjelica Oswald
Managing Editor
For some actors, it is a natural progression to move from using their talents in front of the camera to testing their skills behind it. Though actors have been making the transition for years, 2013 was a particular popular year for actors-turned-directors. Among some of the releases throughout the year were Ben Stiller‘s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and Lake Bell’s In A World…, her directorial debut. The 2013 Toronto International Film Festival was the directorial launching pad of Jason Bateman’s Bad Words and Mike Myers’ Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon, and the festival also screened Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s directorial debut Don Jon and Ralph Fiennes‘ The Invisible Woman.
Though many of these actors’ projects may not garner any awards, there are some that make their way to the Oscars, such as Ben Affleck’s Argo (2012), which won the best picture Oscar...
Managing Editor
For some actors, it is a natural progression to move from using their talents in front of the camera to testing their skills behind it. Though actors have been making the transition for years, 2013 was a particular popular year for actors-turned-directors. Among some of the releases throughout the year were Ben Stiller‘s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and Lake Bell’s In A World…, her directorial debut. The 2013 Toronto International Film Festival was the directorial launching pad of Jason Bateman’s Bad Words and Mike Myers’ Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon, and the festival also screened Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s directorial debut Don Jon and Ralph Fiennes‘ The Invisible Woman.
Though many of these actors’ projects may not garner any awards, there are some that make their way to the Oscars, such as Ben Affleck’s Argo (2012), which won the best picture Oscar...
- 9/18/2014
- by Anjelica Oswald
- Scott Feinberg
The 2014 Toronto Film Festival has come to a close and the awards have been announced with little surprise at the top as it seemed it would either be James Marsh's The Theory of Everything my review and Morten Tyldum's The Imitation Game my review, at least based on the movies I saw and the reaction I'd heard walking around the fest. And lo and behold, it was Imitation Game taking hom the People's Choice Award, but it appears Theory of Everything wasn't a close second. The first runner up was Isabel Coixet's Learning to Drive and the second was Theodore Melfi's St. Vincent starring Bill Murray and Melissa McCarthy. The People's Choice Documentary award went to Hajooj Kuka for Beats of the Antonov with David Thorpe's Do I Sound Gayc taking first runner-up in which Thorpe confronts his anxiety about "sounding gay" while the second...
- 9/15/2014
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Ethan Hawke, obviously best known for his onscreen work (including the recent “Boyhood”), is expanding his repertoire as a director. “The Hottest State” director’s first documentary, “Seymour: An Introduction,” premiered at the Telluride Film Festival this year and continues its festival circuit with screenings at the Toronto International Film Festival this weekend. Not to be confused with the J.D. Salinger story of the same name first published in 1959, the film chronicles the life of pianist and Manhattanite Seymour Bernstein. Here’s the synopsis: Seymour Bernstein started playing the piano as a little boy, and by the time he turned 15 he was teaching it to others. He enjoyed a long and illustrious career of concertizing before he gave it up to devote himself to helping others develop their own gifts. Ethan Hawke’s lovely film is a warm and lucid portrait of Bernstein—his work habits; his memories of learning...
- 9/11/2014
- by Zach Hollwedel
- The Playlist
Given how prolific he is onstage and onscreen, you might think that Ethan Hawke has firmly and completely conquered his nerves. Not so, the actor-director reveals in this exclusive clip from his new documentary Seymour: An Introduction (which just debuted to great buzz at the Telluride Film Festival and premieres tomorrow at the Toronto Film Fest), where Hawke confesses that his crippling anxiety has actually gotten worse in recent years. And then he cedes the floor to Seymour Bernstein, the documentary's subject, a piano prodigy turned teacher who has been counseling Hawke on his anxiety and proved to have an artistic worldview worth chronicling further. When Bernstein adds his own anecdote about stage fright to the mix, you'll know exactly why Ethan Hawke is so delighted by him.
- 9/9/2014
- by Kyle Buchanan
- Vulture
Ethan Hawke is on a roll. Last year, he was nominated for another screenwriting Academy Award for Before Midnight, while also starring in the horror film, The Purge, his biggest hit since Training Day. This year, he’s kept it going with Boyhood, the best-reviewed film of the year that has him in the hunt for a Best Supporting Actor nomination.
Add to that Good Kill, which debuted last week at the Venice Film Festival and screens at Toronto on Sept. 9. The film marks Hawke’s third collaboration with director Andrew Niccol, who helmed Gattaca and Lord of War, and...
Add to that Good Kill, which debuted last week at the Venice Film Festival and screens at Toronto on Sept. 9. The film marks Hawke’s third collaboration with director Andrew Niccol, who helmed Gattaca and Lord of War, and...
- 9/8/2014
- by Jeff Labrecque
- EW - Inside Movies
When we look back on our lives, there are always key individuals who have an immeasurable influence on us. Not just our family (and relatives), but friends, mentors, teachers, those with learned wisdom to impart and lessons to teach. If they say the right things they can alter our destiny forever, or remind us why/how life is worth living in the midst of the constant stress and chaos of this world. Seymour: An Introduction is a documentary by actor Ethan Hawke introducing us to his inspiration - the piano legend Seymour Bernstein, who is such a humble, charming, considerate man. This wonderful doc spends intimate time with him, showing us his own history, who he is, and how much the emotion of music is important to life. As odd as this may sound, the comparison that came to mind while I was watching Seymour at Telluride was something like...
- 9/2/2014
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Telluride — Actor Ethan Hawke is in the middle of a career high right now. In the space of a year he has been a part of two landmark films from director Richard Linklater, "Before Midnight" and "Boyhood," each of them the result of years and years of work exploring characters as they change across a wide spectrum of time. He has two films set to play the Venice Film Festival next week in Andrew Niccol's "Good Kill" and Michael Almereyda's "Cymbeline" and he's here in Telluride with his own directorial effort, an emotional documentary that is ostensibly a portrait of pianist Seymour Bernstein, but on a deeper level is an exploration by Hawke of finding satisfaction in one's art. It's a delicate piece of work that played like gangbusters to a Telluride premiere audience Saturday, rapt as the so wonderfully well-spoken Bernstein rattled off philosophical nuggets throughout a lively Q&A.
- 8/31/2014
- by Kristopher Tapley
- Hitfix
Sundance Selects has picked up the U.S. and Latin American rights to Seymour: An Introduction, the new documentary directed by Ethan Hawke, which will have its world premiere Saturday at the Telluride Film Festival. Hawke’s non-fiction directorial debut, the doc profiles pianist Seymour Bernstein, who started playing the piano as a little boy and by age 15 began teaching it to others. The film, which is also scheduled to play the Toronto and New York Film Festivals, was produced by Greg Loser and Heather Smith of Room 5 Films and Ethan and Ryan Hawke of Under The Influence Productions.
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- 8/29/2014
- by Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Ethan Hawke‘s documentary “Seymour: An Introduction” has been bought by Sundance Selects, which announced it has acquired U.S. and Latin American rights from the Telluride Film Festival “Seymour: An Introduction” is the first non-fiction film directed by Hawke. It profiles legendary pianist Seymour Bernstein, who started playing the piano as a little boy and was teaching it to others by the time he turned 15. He enjoyed a long and illustrious career as a performer before he gave it up to devote himself to helping others develop their own gifts. Also read: Ethan Hawke Travels Through Time to Prevent Crime in First ‘Predestination’ Trailer.
- 8/29/2014
- by Jeff Sneider
- The Wrap
Sundance Selects has bucked the trend at a festival not known for its deals, taking Us and Latin American rights to Ethan Hawke’s documentary Seymour: An Introduction.
The documentary profiles pianist Seymour Bernstein, who began playing as a young boy and by 15 was teaching others.
Greg Loser and Heather Smith of Room 5 Films produced alongside Ethan and Ryan Hawke of Under The Influence Productions.
Sundance Selects brokered the deal with Cinetic Media.
Seymour: An Introduction will receive its international premiere in Toronto on September 10 before playing at the New York Film Festival.
Telluride runs until September 1.
The documentary profiles pianist Seymour Bernstein, who began playing as a young boy and by 15 was teaching others.
Greg Loser and Heather Smith of Room 5 Films produced alongside Ethan and Ryan Hawke of Under The Influence Productions.
Sundance Selects brokered the deal with Cinetic Media.
Seymour: An Introduction will receive its international premiere in Toronto on September 10 before playing at the New York Film Festival.
Telluride runs until September 1.
- 8/28/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Opening Night – World Premiere
Gone Girl
David Fincher, USA, 2014, Dcp, 150m
David Fincher’s film version of Gillian Flynn’s phenomenally successful best seller (adapted by the author) is one wild cinematic ride, a perfectly cast and intensely compressed portrait of a recession-era marriage contained within a devastating depiction of celebrity/media culture, shifting gears as smoothly as a Maserati 250F. Ben Affleck is Nick Dunne, whose wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) goes missing on the day of their fifth anniversary. Neil Patrick Harris is Amy’s old boyfriend Desi, Carrie Coon (who played Honey in Tracy Letts’s acclaimed production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) is Nick’s sister Margo, Kim Dickens (Treme, Friday Night Lights) is Detective Rhonda Boney, and Tyler Perry is Nick’s superstar lawyer Tanner Bolt. At once a grand panoramic vision of middle America, a uniquely disturbing exploration of the fault lines in a marriage,...
Gone Girl
David Fincher, USA, 2014, Dcp, 150m
David Fincher’s film version of Gillian Flynn’s phenomenally successful best seller (adapted by the author) is one wild cinematic ride, a perfectly cast and intensely compressed portrait of a recession-era marriage contained within a devastating depiction of celebrity/media culture, shifting gears as smoothly as a Maserati 250F. Ben Affleck is Nick Dunne, whose wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) goes missing on the day of their fifth anniversary. Neil Patrick Harris is Amy’s old boyfriend Desi, Carrie Coon (who played Honey in Tracy Letts’s acclaimed production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) is Nick’s sister Margo, Kim Dickens (Treme, Friday Night Lights) is Detective Rhonda Boney, and Tyler Perry is Nick’s superstar lawyer Tanner Bolt. At once a grand panoramic vision of middle America, a uniquely disturbing exploration of the fault lines in a marriage,...
- 8/20/2014
- by Notebook
- MUBI
Kevin Smith’s walrus-themed horror-comedy Tusk, Michael Winterbottom’s Amanda Knox-inspired thriller Face of an Angel and several big titles from last spring’s Cannes Film Festival are among a new batch of films announced to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival. Tiff released its list of films from the Midnight Madness, Tiff Docs, Vanguard and Master programs on Tuesday, which include several world and North American premieres.
Midnight Madness, a popular place for buzzworthy genre films, will screen Smith’s Tusk, which stars Justin Long as a podcaster who gets more than he bargained for when he interviews a creepy seafarer (Michael Parks). Other notable titles include Big Game, a survivalist thriller from Rare Exports director Jalmari Helander with Samuel L. Jackson as the president of the United States fending for his life after Air Force One crashes in the forest. Also, Sundance favorite The Guest, from You’re Next director Adam Wingard,...
Midnight Madness, a popular place for buzzworthy genre films, will screen Smith’s Tusk, which stars Justin Long as a podcaster who gets more than he bargained for when he interviews a creepy seafarer (Michael Parks). Other notable titles include Big Game, a survivalist thriller from Rare Exports director Jalmari Helander with Samuel L. Jackson as the president of the United States fending for his life after Air Force One crashes in the forest. Also, Sundance favorite The Guest, from You’re Next director Adam Wingard,...
- 7/30/2014
- by Jordan Adler
- We Got This Covered
The Toronto International Film Festival is known for its Oscar bait prestige dramas, major Hollywood studio releases, a focus (appropriately) on Canadian film and, to a lesser extent, its Midnight Madness program. One thing it doesn't have a strong reputation for is documentaries. That's why it's no surprise that only six of the initial 15 documentaries announced for the 2014 festival this morning are world premieres. Even with a 25th anniversary screening of Michael Moore's "Roger & Me" on deck, this year's documentary slate appears weak. Joshua Oppenheimer will screen his Indonesian genocide doc "The Look of Silence," Ethan Hawke has his nonfiction directing debut "Seymour: An Introduction" and Cannes favorite "Red Army" will be on hand, but all of those films debuted or will debut somewhere else first. Intriguing new docs include "Tales of the Grim Sleeper," about a serial killer's 25-year run in Southern California; "Sunshine Superman," about Base jumping...
- 7/30/2014
- by Gregory Ellwood
- Hitfix
This world is indeed a dangerous place and according to Tiff Doc programmer Thom Powers’ it might just be the docu filmmakers and subjects who are truly the “rebels, resisters and risk-takers” of the festival. While there might be a couple of more docu items in store along with a look back at Michael Moore’s Roger & Me, both Toronto, and Telluride auds will be in for treats with the Cannes invited Gabe Polsky’s Red Army and Venice Film Festival competing The Look of Silence (see pic above) from Joshua Oppenheimer (which is easily our most anticipated doc of the year) and Robert Kenner’s Merchants of Doubt — about the greediest folk there are: the spinsters (prediction: look for Kenner to be invited on Real Time with Bill Maher). Other hot commodities include World Premiere status latest from the Laura Nix & The Yes Men (The Yes Men Are Revolting...
- 7/29/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Ethan Hawke has had the most unique of careers: a bona fide film star who has avoided Hollywood. On the eve of Before Midnight, Emma John meets the actor, director, novelist – and music lover – in New York
Ethan Hawke is out and about in New York, the city he's lived in for 30 years, a place where famous faces slide past every day. He's wearing a baseball cap, a muddy brown hoodie and a schlubby pair of cords. It's an outfit you might think he chose especially to look nondescript, but in reality it's because he likes corduroy trousers, though his stylist hates them and wishes to God he wouldn't wear them in public.
Someone spots him and timidly approaches. As they lean forward Hawke can see the tears in their eyes. The fan trembles: "Mr… Dorff?" Hawke doesn't want to ruin their moment, so he gives a smile, shakes their hand.
Ethan Hawke is out and about in New York, the city he's lived in for 30 years, a place where famous faces slide past every day. He's wearing a baseball cap, a muddy brown hoodie and a schlubby pair of cords. It's an outfit you might think he chose especially to look nondescript, but in reality it's because he likes corduroy trousers, though his stylist hates them and wishes to God he wouldn't wear them in public.
Someone spots him and timidly approaches. As they lean forward Hawke can see the tears in their eyes. The fan trembles: "Mr… Dorff?" Hawke doesn't want to ruin their moment, so he gives a smile, shakes their hand.
- 6/10/2013
- by Emma John
- The Guardian - Film News
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