An intriguing tale about alternative history, a twisted story of friendship put to the ultimate test, a docu-series based on America’s most award-winning magazine, a kids series based on magic and another about being stinky and dirty—all are coming exclusively to Prime Instant Video later this year and in 2016.
Amazon today announced it has greenlit five new Amazon Original Series, including The Man in the High Castle, which is based on the Philip K. Dick alternative history novel; an hour-long dark comedy Mad Dogs; docu-series The New Yorker Presents; along with kids shows Just Add Magic, and The Stinky & Dirty Show.
The new Amazon Original Series come from an acclaimed creative roster including Frank Spotnitz (The X-Files), Ridley Scott (Blade Runner), Cris Cole (The Good Times Are Killing Me), Shawn Ryan (The Shield), Alex Gibney (The Armstrong Lie), Joe Nussbaum (George Lucas in Love, Awkward), and Kate & Jim McMullan (I’m Dirty!
Amazon today announced it has greenlit five new Amazon Original Series, including The Man in the High Castle, which is based on the Philip K. Dick alternative history novel; an hour-long dark comedy Mad Dogs; docu-series The New Yorker Presents; along with kids shows Just Add Magic, and The Stinky & Dirty Show.
The new Amazon Original Series come from an acclaimed creative roster including Frank Spotnitz (The X-Files), Ridley Scott (Blade Runner), Cris Cole (The Good Times Are Killing Me), Shawn Ryan (The Shield), Alex Gibney (The Armstrong Lie), Joe Nussbaum (George Lucas in Love, Awkward), and Kate & Jim McMullan (I’m Dirty!
- 2/18/2015
- Hollywonk
A preschool whodunit. A hilarious friendship between dirty trucks. An epic quest to defeat darkness. An ousted crowd who navigates middle school cafeteria dynamics. And a trio who discover the power of magic.
These are the five kids’ stories Amazon Studios has ordered to pilot, officially announced today. Early next year, all five will showcase their first episodes for viewer feedback on Amazon Instant Video.
During the last kids’ pilot season, one of the highest-rated pilots was Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street, which was created by pre-school teacher David Anaxagoras, a first-time writer who was discovered through Amazon Studios’ open-door submission process. In November, Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street will launch as a full series on Amazon Prime.
In a few months, viewers will have the chance to discover the next hit kids show. “We’re very excited to be working with such talented creative minds...
These are the five kids’ stories Amazon Studios has ordered to pilot, officially announced today. Early next year, all five will showcase their first episodes for viewer feedback on Amazon Instant Video.
During the last kids’ pilot season, one of the highest-rated pilots was Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street, which was created by pre-school teacher David Anaxagoras, a first-time writer who was discovered through Amazon Studios’ open-door submission process. In November, Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street will launch as a full series on Amazon Prime.
In a few months, viewers will have the chance to discover the next hit kids show. “We’re very excited to be working with such talented creative minds...
- 8/19/2014
- Hollywonk
Tiff’s Midnight Madness program turned 25 this year, and for two and half decades, the hardworking programers have gathered some of the strangest, most terrifying, wild, intriguing and downright entertaining films from around the world. From dark comedies to Japanese gore-fests and indie horror gems, the Midnight Madness program hasn’t lost its edge as one the leading showcases of genre cinema. In its 25-year history, Midnight Madness has introduced adventurous late-night moviegoers to such cult faves as Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused and Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs. But what separates Midnight Madness from, say, Montreal’s three and half week long genre festival Fantasia, is that Tiff selects only ten films to make the cut. In other words, these programmers don’t mess around. Last week I decided that I would post reviews of my personal favourite films that screened in past years. And just like the Tiff programmers,...
- 9/18/2013
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
News that Disney purchased Lucasfilm would have been a big enough story on its own, but the additional announcement that “Star Wars Episode VII” is already slated for a 2015 release date made this a huge deal with an immediate positive outcome (well, at least we hope it's positive). The past thirteen years have been dark and cloudy for a lot of fans, and while another trilogy could in fact be a new hope for us all, there is a fairness to any skepticism regarding this sudden development. However, there is sort of an ironic twist to Disney being the company to take over the property. While it isn't out of left field given that Disney theme parks have featured “Star Wars” attractions, events and merchandise for 25 years now, the Mouse House seems to be the most agreeable of buyers given what we've seen them do previously with their acquisitions of The Muppets,...
- 10/31/2012
- by Christopher Campbell
- Moviefone
Elijah Wood is preparing to hit puberty. The "Hobbit" actor has signed on to star in a new comedy titled "The Late Bloomer," which is set be helmed by "Wilfred" director/executive-producer Randall Einhorn. Based on the 2001 non-fiction book "Man Made: A Memoir of My Body" by Ken Baker, the film will center on a 30-year-old man (Wood) who discovers he never completed puberty. When the medical condition preventing him from reaching full physical maturity is resolved, he's forced to deal with the rapid changes that result. The book was adapted for the screen by Joe Nussbaum ("George Lucas in Love")...
- 10/2/2012
- by Chris Eggertsen
- Hitfix
After replacing Jim Carrey in the raunchy comedy Pierre Pierre from Borat and The Dictator director Larry Charles, it looks like Russell Brand is taking on even more comedy roles. Variety reports Brand is attached to star in and produce Cupid, a romantic comedy that Warner Bros. picked up based on a pitch by Joe Nussbaum, the director of Prom and Sydney White. The story follows a cynical god of desire, affection and erotic love who is forced to create an ideal romance, but I'm willing to bet he messes it up somehow, or maybe even falls in love with the woman upon whom he is supposed to force another suitor. More below! Knowing Nussbaum's history with feature films doesn't give me me faith, however, his short film George Lucas in Love is one of the best you will ever see. You can watch it in full right here, and...
- 8/2/2012
- by Ethan Anderton
- firstshowing.net
Earlier this week it was announced that Russell Brand would play Pierre Pierre for director Larry Charles' next project and now there's word that Warner Bros. has brought the British comedian on-board to play Cupid. The project was pitched by Joe Nussbaum, who last directed the 2011 Disney film Prom, and Brand is not only attached to star but he will also serve as a producer. The romantic comedy, according to Variety, will follow Cupid, the Roman god of love, as we works to create "an ideal romance." The trade doesn't say if this means we will soon be seeing Brand rocking a diaper and a quiver filled with red, heart-tipped arrows on his back. The trade doesn't say if Nussbaum will be writing the project as well, though he does have a history as a writer, having previously scripted the short film George Lucas In Love as well as...
- 8/2/2012
- cinemablend.com
While Adam McKay is preparing to dive right into the long anticipated Anchorman sequel, it sounds like he'll be following the hopeful laugh riot with Will Ferrell by working with a couple of superstars. Deadline reports McKay is negotiating to develop and direct Uptown Saturday Night for Warner Bros. with the hope that Will Smith and Denzel Washington will lead the remake of the 1974 comedy which starred Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier as two buddies hanging out in an illegal nightclub who have their wallets stolen. However, they're inclined to get them back when the lottery ticket inside one happens to be the big winner. Role Models screenwriter Timothy Dowling (who also penned the story for the brilliant short film George Lucas in Love) wrote the most recent draft, and the plan is for McKay to direct the film in early 2013, after Anchorman 2 is completely done, and send ...
- 4/27/2012
- by Ethan Anderton
- firstshowing.net
Yay, love! If you’re not in it... well, that’s too bad for you! I realize Valentine’s Day isn’t really a movie marathon type of holiday, compounded by the fact that it’s not usually celebrated in groups, but let’s pretend that doesn’t matter and enjoy this article for what it is - an excuse for me to get some writing done!
Did I say that out loud?
On with the show!
8:00 Am - Romeo and Juliet (1968) 138 min
This is the definitive version, not that music video by Baz Luhrmann. It’s got more of the original text, young Michael York, it’s actually shot in Italy and let’s not forget boobs. That’ll wake up your loved one.
10:15 Am - Snow Falling on Cedars 127 min
Golly, do I hate Ethan Hawke. I really hate how he winds up in excellent movies,...
Did I say that out loud?
On with the show!
8:00 Am - Romeo and Juliet (1968) 138 min
This is the definitive version, not that music video by Baz Luhrmann. It’s got more of the original text, young Michael York, it’s actually shot in Italy and let’s not forget boobs. That’ll wake up your loved one.
10:15 Am - Snow Falling on Cedars 127 min
Golly, do I hate Ethan Hawke. I really hate how he winds up in excellent movies,...
- 2/15/2012
- Shadowlocked
With Peter Jackson now currently in production on The Hobbit, the works of J.R.R. Tolkien are bound to get another boost of publicity as fans revisit his books and newcomers discover them for the very first time. Along with that, author Steve Hillard is betting that there will also be a sudden wave of interest in the life of Tolkien himself. A number of biographies have been written about the man over the years, but Hillard is taking a slightly different approach with his recent novel Mirkwood. His book is a fictional re-invention of Tolkien's life story that finds him dealing with fantastical creatures in real life, and it is also going to be turned into a movie through Emo Films. The synopsis for the book is as follows: "Enter Mirkwood, the Great Forest of Doubt. Bold new author Steve Hillard's wildly original debut, Mirkwood, re-invents J.R.R. Tolkien as a...
- 8/17/2011
- by Sean
- FilmJunk
When John Schultz was in elementary school, his favorite classroom activity was when the teacher would hand out a vocabulary list of 20 words and he would have to write a story that employed all of them. "I loved that challenge of here's what you have to work with. Make it work," Schultz said.
It shouldn't be all that surprising then that the director is making his third indie feature, but it is refreshing that with this week's "Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer," he's aiming to entertain today's elementary school kids by working in the indie world's least prolific genre, the family film. Oddly, in the considerably more ungoverned area of the medium that's wide open to personal coming-of-age stories and cinematic anarchy, few are made with the intention of appealing to all audiences.
Less unusual has been Schultz's career path, though it still might strike some as peculiar.
It shouldn't be all that surprising then that the director is making his third indie feature, but it is refreshing that with this week's "Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer," he's aiming to entertain today's elementary school kids by working in the indie world's least prolific genre, the family film. Oddly, in the considerably more ungoverned area of the medium that's wide open to personal coming-of-age stories and cinematic anarchy, few are made with the intention of appealing to all audiences.
Less unusual has been Schultz's career path, though it still might strike some as peculiar.
- 6/10/2011
- by Stephen Saito
- ifc.com
Disney's Prom may be a romantic look at high school lives in a sanitized version but director Joe Nussbaum defends the PG film against going the SuperBad route.
Don't expect a movie titled Prom to lead to raunchy teen antics. Instead the coming of age story from Walt Disney Pictures is more akin to their successful High School Musical franchise...without the music.
At a press conference with the director and stars of Prom, director Joe Nussbaum, whose best known for his short film George Lucas in Love, gave his reason why Prom is as equally relevant as some of the other high-profiled films that address a racier side of teen life. "There are certain things we didn't touch in this film. But I think there is an overbundancy
of things that we did explore
Read more...
Don't expect a movie titled Prom to lead to raunchy teen antics. Instead the coming of age story from Walt Disney Pictures is more akin to their successful High School Musical franchise...without the music.
At a press conference with the director and stars of Prom, director Joe Nussbaum, whose best known for his short film George Lucas in Love, gave his reason why Prom is as equally relevant as some of the other high-profiled films that address a racier side of teen life. "There are certain things we didn't touch in this film. But I think there is an overbundancy
of things that we did explore
Read more...
- 5/2/2011
- CineMovie
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that “George Lucas in Love” is definitely the funniest film I’ve written about for this column, if not also the best. Written and directed by Joe Nussbaum, whose new film “Prom” opens this weekend, the short is a hilarious riff on familiar material that manages to stay quite fresh. And even though we’ve all seen countless parodies of “Star Wars,” from “Spaceballs” to the music of Weird Al Yankovic, Nussbaum creates eight minutes of comedy that somehow feels entirely new and worth sharing with everyone you know. It’s 1967 at…...
- 4/25/2011
- Spout
Like many people who think they are too cool for prom, I skipped mine senior year. Instead, I went to a Fishbone concert filled with dreadlocked middle class kids trying to tell me about the evils of both Darfur and showering (okay the last one I made up). Needless I sort of regret that decision, but thanks to Disney’s upcoming movie Prom, I’ll get a (probably unrealistic) look into what I missed. Now when I saw the title, I immediately thought “oh crap, another High School Musical,” but thankfully it’s a normal every day talkie. The trailer has been released for it, and thanks to /Film, I bring it before your eyes now:
Remember how cool and handsome you thought I was before? Well try to remember that I say the following sentence: I want to see Prom. Yes it’ll probably not accurately depict prom and...
Remember how cool and handsome you thought I was before? Well try to remember that I say the following sentence: I want to see Prom. Yes it’ll probably not accurately depict prom and...
- 11/19/2010
- by Jonathan Sullivan
- The Film Stage
A call for cast and crew made today landed on our radar and involves a film prepping to shoot in Maine this August. Monroe Mann, of Unstoppable Artists, is looking for key players in a "story centers around Stephen King. No more can be said about the story at this time except that it is unique, with a concept that everyone seems to like and a fun twist ending," says the announcement. Mann breaks down what he's looking for (right down to the cup size on his actresses?!) at the Rhode Island Film Collaborative site . So, with scant details to go on, what can we expect from the film? Something akin to George Lucas in Love ? Full of in-jokes that puts the author front and center as the main character? Or perhaps something in the vein of Necronomincon , which found H.P....
- 5/27/2010
- shocktillyoudrop.com
Chris Pine is in negotiations to take time out from being Captain Kirk and declare that This Means War instead, as one of two best friends since childhood who fall out over a woman, and whose feud escalates until it demolishes half of New York City.Bradley Cooper was originally lined up for the role, but dropped out in February, and with shooting still due to start in July that doesn't leave a heck of a lot of time to line up the cast. Still, Reese Witherspoon's already in place, and we're just waiting to see who they find for the second male lead. Seth Rogen was on Fox's wishlist for this one, but all remains quiet on that front.The film's been in development since 1998, but obviously Fox feels that something has clicked in the most recent draft of the script by Timothy Dowling (Role Models, George Lucas in Love...
- 5/7/2010
- EmpireOnline
Many fans have a love-hate relationship with George Lucas. This is, after all, the man who gave the world Luke Skywalker, but later gave birth to Jar Jar Binks. Director Alexandre O. Philippe bravely tries to get to the heart of this conflicted relationship between Lucas and his fans in the new documentary The People Vs. George Lucas, which has its world premiere at SXSW on Saturday. In addition to a lot of contributions from obsessive fans, the film includes interviews with the likes of Neil Gaiman, Darth Vader actor David Prowse, Star Wars producer Gary Kurtz, and George Lucas In Love director Joe Nussbaum.
- 3/11/2010
- by Wendy Mitchell
- EW.com - PopWatch
How I wish I could say this sounds like a good idea. Not long ago, when a list of possible Robert De Niro projects was released, we got the first indications that a sequel to Midnight Run might be happening. Now the sequel really seems to be moving forward, as Universal has hired a screenwriter to come up with a script. Deadline Hollywood (on a roll today) has news of the sequel, but not many details. De Niro will return as cop turned bounty hunter Jack Walsh while Charles Grodin, who played the accountant De Niro's character was charged with bringing to La in the original film, will not. Details on the plot are thin, and basically boil down to 'Walsh will have to bring in a new fugitive.' Tim Dowling is the writer tapped by the studio; he's credited with Role Models and the story for George Lucas in Love.
- 3/5/2010
- by Russ Fischer
- Slash Film
Universal and Robert De Niro are getting ready for another run.
The studio is developing a sequel to "Midnight Run," the 1988 action comedy that starred De Niro as a bounty hunter who must bring back an embezzler, played by Charles Grodin, across the country.
Timothy Dowling, the writer behind Universal's comedy "Role Models," is being brought on board to pen the script that would bring back De Niro's character, Jack Walsh, and pair him with a younger comedic foil.
"Run," while not a huge hit, was well-recieved by critics, even as it pushed the f-word count to new heights. The movie is also a touchstone for execs on road movies as well as thriller-comedies.
Although several made-for-tv movies were made as sequels -- without the original stars -- De Niro began to seriously consider a sequel during his recent "Little Fockers" shoot.
De Niro will produce with Tribeca Films partner Jane Rosenthal.
The studio is developing a sequel to "Midnight Run," the 1988 action comedy that starred De Niro as a bounty hunter who must bring back an embezzler, played by Charles Grodin, across the country.
Timothy Dowling, the writer behind Universal's comedy "Role Models," is being brought on board to pen the script that would bring back De Niro's character, Jack Walsh, and pair him with a younger comedic foil.
"Run," while not a huge hit, was well-recieved by critics, even as it pushed the f-word count to new heights. The movie is also a touchstone for execs on road movies as well as thriller-comedies.
Although several made-for-tv movies were made as sequels -- without the original stars -- De Niro began to seriously consider a sequel during his recent "Little Fockers" shoot.
De Niro will produce with Tribeca Films partner Jane Rosenthal.
- 3/5/2010
- by By Borys Kit
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Warner Bros. has won the bidding war for Treehouse Gang, a spec by Timothy Dowling. The studio acquired it for David Heyman's Heyday Films.
The story revolves around a group of kids -- four boys and two girls -- who were treasure hunters in their youth. After their 10-year high school reunion, they gather for one last grand treasure hunt a la The Goonies, while bearing old grudges.
Heyday's Tiffany Daniel and Abby Ex brought the project into the company.
Sarah Schechter and Jesse Ehrman are overseeing for Warners.
Heyman is best known for producing the Harry Potter movies.
Dowling, one of the people behind the spoof short George Lucas in Love, penned She's Out of My League, which is in production at DreamWorks with Jay Baruchel in the lead.
He also worked on What Happens in Vegas ... with Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz.
He is repped by Endeavor and attorney Rick Genow.
The story revolves around a group of kids -- four boys and two girls -- who were treasure hunters in their youth. After their 10-year high school reunion, they gather for one last grand treasure hunt a la The Goonies, while bearing old grudges.
Heyday's Tiffany Daniel and Abby Ex brought the project into the company.
Sarah Schechter and Jesse Ehrman are overseeing for Warners.
Heyman is best known for producing the Harry Potter movies.
Dowling, one of the people behind the spoof short George Lucas in Love, penned She's Out of My League, which is in production at DreamWorks with Jay Baruchel in the lead.
He also worked on What Happens in Vegas ... with Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz.
He is repped by Endeavor and attorney Rick Genow.
Joe Nussbaum has signed on to direct the comedy B.F.F. for Rogue Pictures. Beau Bauman and Jesse Israel are producing.
B.F.F., a term used commonly by the teen and tween set that stands for "best friends forever," traces the story of two friends, a guy and a girl, over four years of high school, four proms and one funeral as they become unlikely best friends and eventually fall in love. Chad and Dara Resnik Creasey, whose credits include Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and Pushing Daisies, wrote the script.
The intent is to make an R-rated comedy along the lines of American Pie and Superbad. A winter start date is being eyed.
Nussbaum is coming off Sydney White, which opened this weekend. He also directed the straight-to-DVD American Pie: The Naked Mile and the MGM comedy Sleepover. He broke into the business with the short-film spoof George Lucas in Love.
Nussbaum is repped by Endeavor, Principato-Young and attorney Karl Austen.
B.F.F., a term used commonly by the teen and tween set that stands for "best friends forever," traces the story of two friends, a guy and a girl, over four years of high school, four proms and one funeral as they become unlikely best friends and eventually fall in love. Chad and Dara Resnik Creasey, whose credits include Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and Pushing Daisies, wrote the script.
The intent is to make an R-rated comedy along the lines of American Pie and Superbad. A winter start date is being eyed.
Nussbaum is coming off Sydney White, which opened this weekend. He also directed the straight-to-DVD American Pie: The Naked Mile and the MGM comedy Sleepover. He broke into the business with the short-film spoof George Lucas in Love.
Nussbaum is repped by Endeavor, Principato-Young and attorney Karl Austen.
- 9/25/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Snow White goes to college, emboldens a nerdy group of seven outcasts and vanquishes the evil witch in the plodding Sydney White. Like many Hollywood interpretations of fairy tales, this Amanda Bynes starrer draws its inspiration not from the Oedipal, bloody folk legend recorded by the Brothers Grimm but from the pop-culture Disney version. Cute and cartoonish rule the day, and teens and tweens will be the film's chief audience when it opens wide against R-rated genre pics and the fall's tonier fare.
Chad Gomez Creasey's occasionally clever script is a clunky mix of cartoonish caricature and feel-good message-mongering. Director Joe Nussbaum (George Lucas in Love) brings an affection for outsiders to the material, but the film takes far too long to build momentum.
Despite her real-girl appeal as the title character, Bynes, who was terrific in Hairspray, can't overcome the heavy-handedness of the dialogue. Raised by her widowed plumber Father John Schneider), Sydney is a tomboy who knows her way around a construction site but has no experience on the social scene. She arrives at Florida's Southern Atlantic U. with a scholarship and a suitcase full of comic books and quickly catches the eye of dreamy, clean-cut Tyler Prince (Matt Long). That puts her in the sights of his ex, uber-meanie Rachel Witchburn (Sara Paxton), who rules the sisterhood of bleached blondes known as Kappa Phi Nu. The film's dramatic high points usually involve someone calling Rachel a bitch.
Kappa happens to be the sorority of Sydney's beloved mother, but even with her sparkly eye shadow and borrowed dresses, she has no chance against the conniving Rachel, who soon banishes the frosh pledge. Sydney finds refuge at the Vortex, the dilapidated house of seven socially challenged dorks of the Sneezy/Bashful/Sleepy variety.
This is no Ball of Fire, Bynes no Stanwyck, but her Sydney is a spark of life in the sheltered world of her ridiculous roomies, among them a sweet hypochondriac (Jack Carpenter), a gangly science geek (Jeremy Howard) and a permanently jet-lagged Nigerian transfer student (Donte Bonner). Nussbaum orchestrates some nice comic moments with this bunch -- like their collective awe, to the strains of Strauss, at the sight of Sydney's sports bra drying in the bathroom.
She pushes them to get involved in student politics, challenging the Witchburn oligarchy and turning the film into a tepid lesson in campaign democracy. The Freedom to the Seventh Power ticket reaches out to ROTC and LGBT alike, not to mention Hasidic Jews and the marching band. The need to belong, the value of diversity and the right to stand up to injustice are all folded into the cliched cry of emancipation for everyone's inner dork.
Amid its easy shots at conformism and the creepier aspects of Greek life, Gomez Creasey's script transposes some fairy-tale elements to the digital age in clever, if obvious, ways: The witch's magic mirror becomes Rachel's laptop screen, on which she daily checks her standing as No. 1 in the campus' Hot or Not rankings on MySpace. The poisoned apple, alas, is a virus-infected Mac.
Technical and design contributions are polished, with Orlando locations creating a fittingly idyllic campus setting.
SYDNEY WHITE
Universal Pictures
James G. Robinson presents a Morgan Creek production
Credits:
Director: Joe Nussbaum
Screenwriter: Chad Gomez Creasey
Producers: James G. Robinson, Clifford Werber, David Robinson
Executive producers: Guy McElwaine, Wayne Morris
Director of photography: Mark Irwin
Production designer: Mark Garner
Music: Deborah Lurie
Co-producer: Dara Resnik Creasey
Costumer designer: Beverly Safier
Editor: Danny Saphire
Cast:
Sydney White: Amanda Bynes
Rachel: Sara Paxton
Tyler: Matt Long
Lenny: Jack Carpenter
Terrence: Jeremy Howard
Dinky: Crystal Hunt
Jeremy: Adam Hendershott
Gurkin: Danny Strong
Spanky: Samm Levine
Christy: Libby Mintz
Paul White: John Schneider
George: Arnie Pantoja
Embele: Donte Bonner
Professor Carleton: Brian Patrick Clarke
Katy: Lauren Leech
Running time -- 107 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Chad Gomez Creasey's occasionally clever script is a clunky mix of cartoonish caricature and feel-good message-mongering. Director Joe Nussbaum (George Lucas in Love) brings an affection for outsiders to the material, but the film takes far too long to build momentum.
Despite her real-girl appeal as the title character, Bynes, who was terrific in Hairspray, can't overcome the heavy-handedness of the dialogue. Raised by her widowed plumber Father John Schneider), Sydney is a tomboy who knows her way around a construction site but has no experience on the social scene. She arrives at Florida's Southern Atlantic U. with a scholarship and a suitcase full of comic books and quickly catches the eye of dreamy, clean-cut Tyler Prince (Matt Long). That puts her in the sights of his ex, uber-meanie Rachel Witchburn (Sara Paxton), who rules the sisterhood of bleached blondes known as Kappa Phi Nu. The film's dramatic high points usually involve someone calling Rachel a bitch.
Kappa happens to be the sorority of Sydney's beloved mother, but even with her sparkly eye shadow and borrowed dresses, she has no chance against the conniving Rachel, who soon banishes the frosh pledge. Sydney finds refuge at the Vortex, the dilapidated house of seven socially challenged dorks of the Sneezy/Bashful/Sleepy variety.
This is no Ball of Fire, Bynes no Stanwyck, but her Sydney is a spark of life in the sheltered world of her ridiculous roomies, among them a sweet hypochondriac (Jack Carpenter), a gangly science geek (Jeremy Howard) and a permanently jet-lagged Nigerian transfer student (Donte Bonner). Nussbaum orchestrates some nice comic moments with this bunch -- like their collective awe, to the strains of Strauss, at the sight of Sydney's sports bra drying in the bathroom.
She pushes them to get involved in student politics, challenging the Witchburn oligarchy and turning the film into a tepid lesson in campaign democracy. The Freedom to the Seventh Power ticket reaches out to ROTC and LGBT alike, not to mention Hasidic Jews and the marching band. The need to belong, the value of diversity and the right to stand up to injustice are all folded into the cliched cry of emancipation for everyone's inner dork.
Amid its easy shots at conformism and the creepier aspects of Greek life, Gomez Creasey's script transposes some fairy-tale elements to the digital age in clever, if obvious, ways: The witch's magic mirror becomes Rachel's laptop screen, on which she daily checks her standing as No. 1 in the campus' Hot or Not rankings on MySpace. The poisoned apple, alas, is a virus-infected Mac.
Technical and design contributions are polished, with Orlando locations creating a fittingly idyllic campus setting.
SYDNEY WHITE
Universal Pictures
James G. Robinson presents a Morgan Creek production
Credits:
Director: Joe Nussbaum
Screenwriter: Chad Gomez Creasey
Producers: James G. Robinson, Clifford Werber, David Robinson
Executive producers: Guy McElwaine, Wayne Morris
Director of photography: Mark Irwin
Production designer: Mark Garner
Music: Deborah Lurie
Co-producer: Dara Resnik Creasey
Costumer designer: Beverly Safier
Editor: Danny Saphire
Cast:
Sydney White: Amanda Bynes
Rachel: Sara Paxton
Tyler: Matt Long
Lenny: Jack Carpenter
Terrence: Jeremy Howard
Dinky: Crystal Hunt
Jeremy: Adam Hendershott
Gurkin: Danny Strong
Spanky: Samm Levine
Christy: Libby Mintz
Paul White: John Schneider
George: Arnie Pantoja
Embele: Donte Bonner
Professor Carleton: Brian Patrick Clarke
Katy: Lauren Leech
Running time -- 107 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 9/21/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Joe Nussbaum, who co-wrote and directed George Lucas in Love, has sold the comedy spec Brad Cutter Ruined My Life ... Again to Warner Bros. Pictures for Donald De Line to produce. The story centers on a successful young man whose life is turned upside down when Brad Cutter, the cool kid from his high school, is hired at his company and begins to re-create the man's miserable teenage experience. The script explores the idea of how easily it is to regress into our high school selves and how people are forever working out the issues inflicted on them during their teenage years. Andrew Haas brought the script into De Line Pictures.
Columbia Pictures has picked up Outsourced, a comedy pitch from Timothy Dowling with Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson attached to star. Eric Gold is producing through his Mosaic Media Group. Outsourced focuses on an American factory that is shut down and moved to Mexico and two men from the production line who venture south of the border to get their old jobs back. Columbia director of development Jonathan Kadin will oversee the project alongside co-president of production Doug Belgrad. Mosaic's George Gatins will oversee development of the project with Gold. Dowling is best known as the writer of George Lucas in Love, a short film parody that melded Shakespeare in Love with the making of Star Wars. He is repped by Endeavor. Vaughn most recently starred in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, while Wilson stars in the upcoming The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou. The two are teaming for The Wedding Crashers. Both are repped by UTA.
- 8/31/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Opens Friday, July 9
Yet another teen girl-targeted comedy -- albeit one that features neither Lindsay Lohan nor Hilary Duff -- Sleepover essentially sleepwalks its way through a strictly by-the-numbers premise.
Aside from a likable lead performance by former Spy Kid Alexa Vega, there isn't much to this MGM summer break item that's going after a demo already showing signs of being burned out on a glut of more of the same.
Vega is the nice but constantly overlooked Julie, who invites a group of her nice but equally unpopular girlfriends (Mika Boorem, Scout Taylor-Compton and Kallie Flynn Childress) over for an end-of-junior high sleepover at her place.
But they prove to have little use for their sleeping bags after they're challenged to an all-night scavenger hunt by the "popular girls" with the prize being a prime high school lunch table by the fountain. The losers get to sit with the nerds next to the Dumpster.
With her married mom (Jane Lynch) out clubbing (!) and her oblivious dad (Jeff Garlin) busy installing an under-the-sink water purifier, Julie is free to commence the nocturnal quest relatively unthwarted, and their adventure paves the way for more product placement than you can shake a Hot Dog on a stick at.
Joe Nussbaum, who attracted a great deal of attention several years ago with his short film, George Lucas in Love, exhibits little of that charm and inspiration while making his feature directorial debut here, working off of a nonsensical script by Elisa Bell that makes strained attempts at sounding witty and irreverent.
Even by conventional movie standards, the dialogue and situations fail to reflect a contemporary 15-year-old girl's reality, even one that's rooted in comedy. Speaking of reality, it's also just a bit troublesome that there isn't a single character of color to be found anywhere on the picture's Southern California landscape.
Production values are efficient if generic, with the overall look and sound of the film owing much to the bubblegum color scheme and grrrl power pop of MGM's Legally Blonde prototype.
Sleepover
MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures presents a Landscape Entertainment production in association with Weinstock Prods.
Credits:
Director: Joe Nussbaum
Producers: Charles Weinstock, Bob Cooper
Screenwriter: Elisa Bell
Executive producer: Jeremiah Samuels
Director of photography: James L. Carter
Production designer: Stephen McCabe
Editor: Craig P. Herring
Costume designer: Pamela Withers Chilton
Music supervisor: Elliot Lurie
Music: Deborah Lurie
Cast:
: Alexa Vega
Hannah: Mika Boorem
Gabby: Jane Lynch
Ren: Sam Huntington
Staci: Sara Paxton
Liz: Brie Larson
Farrah: Scout Taylor-Compton
Yancy: Kallie Flynn Childress
Steve: Sean Faris
Sherman: Steve Carell
Jay: Jeff Garlin
MPAA rating PG
Running time -- 90 minutes...
Yet another teen girl-targeted comedy -- albeit one that features neither Lindsay Lohan nor Hilary Duff -- Sleepover essentially sleepwalks its way through a strictly by-the-numbers premise.
Aside from a likable lead performance by former Spy Kid Alexa Vega, there isn't much to this MGM summer break item that's going after a demo already showing signs of being burned out on a glut of more of the same.
Vega is the nice but constantly overlooked Julie, who invites a group of her nice but equally unpopular girlfriends (Mika Boorem, Scout Taylor-Compton and Kallie Flynn Childress) over for an end-of-junior high sleepover at her place.
But they prove to have little use for their sleeping bags after they're challenged to an all-night scavenger hunt by the "popular girls" with the prize being a prime high school lunch table by the fountain. The losers get to sit with the nerds next to the Dumpster.
With her married mom (Jane Lynch) out clubbing (!) and her oblivious dad (Jeff Garlin) busy installing an under-the-sink water purifier, Julie is free to commence the nocturnal quest relatively unthwarted, and their adventure paves the way for more product placement than you can shake a Hot Dog on a stick at.
Joe Nussbaum, who attracted a great deal of attention several years ago with his short film, George Lucas in Love, exhibits little of that charm and inspiration while making his feature directorial debut here, working off of a nonsensical script by Elisa Bell that makes strained attempts at sounding witty and irreverent.
Even by conventional movie standards, the dialogue and situations fail to reflect a contemporary 15-year-old girl's reality, even one that's rooted in comedy. Speaking of reality, it's also just a bit troublesome that there isn't a single character of color to be found anywhere on the picture's Southern California landscape.
Production values are efficient if generic, with the overall look and sound of the film owing much to the bubblegum color scheme and grrrl power pop of MGM's Legally Blonde prototype.
Sleepover
MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures presents a Landscape Entertainment production in association with Weinstock Prods.
Credits:
Director: Joe Nussbaum
Producers: Charles Weinstock, Bob Cooper
Screenwriter: Elisa Bell
Executive producer: Jeremiah Samuels
Director of photography: James L. Carter
Production designer: Stephen McCabe
Editor: Craig P. Herring
Costume designer: Pamela Withers Chilton
Music supervisor: Elliot Lurie
Music: Deborah Lurie
Cast:
: Alexa Vega
Hannah: Mika Boorem
Gabby: Jane Lynch
Ren: Sam Huntington
Staci: Sara Paxton
Liz: Brie Larson
Farrah: Scout Taylor-Compton
Yancy: Kallie Flynn Childress
Steve: Sean Faris
Sherman: Steve Carell
Jay: Jeff Garlin
MPAA rating PG
Running time -- 90 minutes...
- 7/19/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Helmer Joe Nussbaum will direct the comedy Sleepover. The project revolves around a group of young girls the summer before they make the leap to high school. As one girl prepares to move out of town, her best friend throws a slumber party for her and all their friends the same night as the "popular girls" have their own overnight soiree. A competitive scavenger hunt ensues between the two parties, with a special prize for the winners: dibs on the best table in the high school lunchroom. The Elisa Bell-penned Sleepover is being produced by Bob Cooper and Chuck Weinstock. The project will be distributed by MGM, where it will be overseen by Elizabeth Ingold and Stephanie Palmer. Nussbaum, who gained attention with the parody short George Lucas in Love, is repped by Endeavor, management-production company Benderspink and attorney Karl Austen. He also wrote The Perfect Man, in development at Warner Bros. Pictures.
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