The Dceu’s in a bit of trouble right now, that’s no secret. Justice League failed to impress both critically and financially and the studio’s future slate is looking a bit uncertain right now. Though they did announce what’s coming down the pipeline the other week at Comic-Con Experience Brazil, we’ve also heard that some of those films may not end up actually coming to fruition. If there is one project though that’s definitely a priority for Warner Bros., it’s Flashpoint.
For those who don’t know, in comic book lore, the “Flashpoint” arc sees Barry Allen zip back in time to save his mother, but he inadvertently triggers a domino effect that spreads throughout the DC Universe. And so, Thomas and Martha wind up surviving that infamous mugging, but the untimely death of Bruce leads the Wayne family down two very separate tracks: one to vigilantism,...
For those who don’t know, in comic book lore, the “Flashpoint” arc sees Barry Allen zip back in time to save his mother, but he inadvertently triggers a domino effect that spreads throughout the DC Universe. And so, Thomas and Martha wind up surviving that infamous mugging, but the untimely death of Bruce leads the Wayne family down two very separate tracks: one to vigilantism,...
- 12/17/2017
- by Matt Joseph
- We Got This Covered
The maker of Super Size Me is going to explore the “seven deadly sins” in a new Showtime documentary series.
Oscar-nominated executive producer Morgan Spurlock will host the “dark and twisted” series, which promises to detail each of the cardinal sins through “Spurlock’s unique and extreme lens.”
“For years, I’ve wanted to do an Alfred Hitchcock Presents-style show comprised completely of non-fiction stories,” Spurlock said in a statement. “A series just as dark and twisted as anything fiction could imagine, and now I’m thrilled to have that dream come true with Seven Deadly Sins. With Showtime as a partner,...
Oscar-nominated executive producer Morgan Spurlock will host the “dark and twisted” series, which promises to detail each of the cardinal sins through “Spurlock’s unique and extreme lens.”
“For years, I’ve wanted to do an Alfred Hitchcock Presents-style show comprised completely of non-fiction stories,” Spurlock said in a statement. “A series just as dark and twisted as anything fiction could imagine, and now I’m thrilled to have that dream come true with Seven Deadly Sins. With Showtime as a partner,...
- 3/26/2014
- by James Hibberd
- EW - Inside TV
On an early summer afternoon, amid the sound of squeaky toys and his neighbor's Boxer barking, Houston-based filmmaker Mike Akel and I discussed his segue from teaching to film, his dramedy, An Ordinary Family (Slackerwood's Aff 2011 interview), and his latest foray into the world of tennis.
The co-writer/director of the 2006 award-winning mockumentary Chalk said he and his writing partner, co-film producer Matt Patterson, began working on An Ordinary Family in February 2010 (read Mike's review). The writing process took about four months to complete. After 18 days of filming on location in Austin and Lago Vista in June 2010 and editing in the fall, the film was accepted by the Los Angeles Film Festival and premiered in June 2011. An Ordinary Family went on to receive the Best Feature award at the New Orleans Film Festival and has been released on DVD, and is for rent or sale online through digital channels.
An Ordinary Family...
The co-writer/director of the 2006 award-winning mockumentary Chalk said he and his writing partner, co-film producer Matt Patterson, began working on An Ordinary Family in February 2010 (read Mike's review). The writing process took about four months to complete. After 18 days of filming on location in Austin and Lago Vista in June 2010 and editing in the fall, the film was accepted by the Los Angeles Film Festival and premiered in June 2011. An Ordinary Family went on to receive the Best Feature award at the New Orleans Film Festival and has been released on DVD, and is for rent or sale online through digital channels.
An Ordinary Family...
- 6/28/2012
- by Jordan Gass-Poore'
- Slackerwood
The 18th Austin Film Festival is almost here. To help celebrate all the locally connected movies at this year's fest, we've reached out to a number of filmmakers to find out about their Austin and Texas-tied films screening at Aff, and to hear about what they're looking forward to doing during the festival.
A few years ago the (mostly) Austin-shot Chalk was the talk of Austin Film Festival. Now director Mike Akel is back in town with his latest film, An Ordinary Family. Akel is now based in Houston, but there are still some recognizable Texas locations in his feature, along with some familiar faces from Chalk.
Slackerwood: Describe your film for us, in a quick and dirty paragraph.
Mike Akel: An Ordinary Family is Modern Family meets Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
An Ordinary Family is a humorous drama about one family, two brothers and a really big problem.
A few years ago the (mostly) Austin-shot Chalk was the talk of Austin Film Festival. Now director Mike Akel is back in town with his latest film, An Ordinary Family. Akel is now based in Houston, but there are still some recognizable Texas locations in his feature, along with some familiar faces from Chalk.
Slackerwood: Describe your film for us, in a quick and dirty paragraph.
Mike Akel: An Ordinary Family is Modern Family meets Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
An Ordinary Family is a humorous drama about one family, two brothers and a really big problem.
- 10/17/2011
- by Jenn Brown
- Slackerwood
I had a big day on Saturday with big plans to get home early and rest up for the push through the meaty part of Tiff. That sounds unpleasant. One thing I forgot to mention on the Day 2 blog was that after The Last Gladiators, I spotted Chris Nilan in the lobby. Being a big Habs fan and remembering him being pretty awesome, I went up and spoke to him, shook his hand and survived not getting punched square in the face. He's much shorter than I thought he would be. I started off Saturday meeting my brother for brunch at a place called Allen's over on the Danforth. A couple of eggs with smoked salmon and some sweet potatoes. Pretty damn good. The coffee, however, was amazeballs. Organic coffee is delicious. Ranking the places I've had coffee up here...it goes Allen's at number 1, then Starbucks, and then Tim Horton's.
- 9/11/2011
- by Greg
- FilmJunk
Making its world premiere at the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival, Mike Akel’s “An Ordinary Family” explores what happens when one brother shows up at the family reunion with his boyfriend in tow. Here, writer-director Mike Akel (“Chalk”) writes for Moving Pictures about his inspiration for the project, collaborating with actors during development and filming, and raising finances via crowd-funding
By Mike Akel (writer-director of “An Ordinary Family”)
(from the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)
Mike Akel
“An Ordinary Family” was birthed out of my close friendships with Christians, homosexuals and homosexual Christians. Homosexuality in the church is probably the most divisive issue in the flyover states today. I found myself being drawn to tell an intimate story where a man of the cloth is forced to wrestle with his beliefs, not in the pulpit dissecting scripture but at the dinner table while breaking bread with his gay brother and unannounced boyfriend in tow.
By Mike Akel (writer-director of “An Ordinary Family”)
(from the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)
Mike Akel
“An Ordinary Family” was birthed out of my close friendships with Christians, homosexuals and homosexual Christians. Homosexuality in the church is probably the most divisive issue in the flyover states today. I found myself being drawn to tell an intimate story where a man of the cloth is forced to wrestle with his beliefs, not in the pulpit dissecting scripture but at the dinner table while breaking bread with his gay brother and unannounced boyfriend in tow.
- 6/23/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Magazine
Making its world premiere at the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival, Mike Akel’s “An Ordinary Family” explores what happens when one brother shows up at the family reunion with his boyfriend in tow. Here, writer-director Mike Akel (“Chalk”) writes for Moving Pictures about his inspiration for the project, collaborating with actors during development and filming, and raising finances via crowd-funding
By Mike Akel (writer-director of “An Ordinary Family”)
(from the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)
Mike Akel
“An Ordinary Family” was birthed out of my close friendships with Christians, homosexuals and homosexual Christians. Homosexuality in the church is probably the most divisive issue in the flyover states today. I found myself being drawn to tell an intimate story where a man of the cloth is forced to wrestle with his beliefs, not in the pulpit dissecting scripture but at the dinner table while breaking bread with his gay brother and unannounced boyfriend in tow.
By Mike Akel (writer-director of “An Ordinary Family”)
(from the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)
Mike Akel
“An Ordinary Family” was birthed out of my close friendships with Christians, homosexuals and homosexual Christians. Homosexuality in the church is probably the most divisive issue in the flyover states today. I found myself being drawn to tell an intimate story where a man of the cloth is forced to wrestle with his beliefs, not in the pulpit dissecting scripture but at the dinner table while breaking bread with his gay brother and unannounced boyfriend in tow.
- 6/23/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Network
Here's the latest Austin movie news.
The Austin/Texas films at Los Angeles Film Festival are gathering plenty of attention and critical acclaim. The opening-night film on Thursday was Richard Linklater's latest feature, Bernie, starring Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine and Matthew McConaughey, and based on a Texas Monthly article. Austin Movie Blog has a good roundup of reviews and responses, plus photos.Also at Laff, former Austinite Steve Collins' film You Hurt My Feelings premiered over the weekend. The cast includes Collins regulars John Merriman, Courtney Davis and Macon Blair. IndieWIRE has an email interview with Collins about the movie. Check out Paul Sbrizzi's thoughtful review at Hammer to Nail.And last night, Laff screened An Ordinary Family, from local filmmaker Mike Akel (Chalk), which has a local cast/crew including a brief appearance from Merriman. It's still early for reactions, but Moving Pictures Network has a review.
The Austin/Texas films at Los Angeles Film Festival are gathering plenty of attention and critical acclaim. The opening-night film on Thursday was Richard Linklater's latest feature, Bernie, starring Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine and Matthew McConaughey, and based on a Texas Monthly article. Austin Movie Blog has a good roundup of reviews and responses, plus photos.Also at Laff, former Austinite Steve Collins' film You Hurt My Feelings premiered over the weekend. The cast includes Collins regulars John Merriman, Courtney Davis and Macon Blair. IndieWIRE has an email interview with Collins about the movie. Check out Paul Sbrizzi's thoughtful review at Hammer to Nail.And last night, Laff screened An Ordinary Family, from local filmmaker Mike Akel (Chalk), which has a local cast/crew including a brief appearance from Merriman. It's still early for reactions, but Moving Pictures Network has a review.
- 6/20/2011
- by Jette Kernion
- Slackerwood
The Los Angeles Film Festival has a heavy dose of Austin in its lineup this year. Not only that, but I've counted at least three films involving local actor John Merriman (pictured above with Kerri Lendo at Aff 2010). Is there some sort of conspiracy afoot? Is he becoming the Austin version of Dick Miller? Along with the films playing at Laff, I've been on set visits this year for two upcoming movies with Merriman in them, and he was in one of the SXSW bumpers this year. I think someone needs to look into this before something tragic -- or very funny -- happens.
Merriman aside, here are the Austin-connected features and shorts popping up all over Laff in June:
In the narrative competition, the latest feature from Mike Akel (Chalk), An Ordinary Family, is premiering. The locally shot movie is set at a family reunion where one man shows up with his new boyfriend.
Merriman aside, here are the Austin-connected features and shorts popping up all over Laff in June:
In the narrative competition, the latest feature from Mike Akel (Chalk), An Ordinary Family, is premiering. The locally shot movie is set at a family reunion where one man shows up with his new boyfriend.
- 5/4/2011
- by Jette Kernion
- Slackerwood
Here's the latest Austin film-related news:
IndieWIRE's The Playlist reports that Saturday Night Live actor Bill Hader is working on a movie called Henchman, in which he'll star. The Henchman script was originally drafted by Austin writers Chris Mass (Chalk) and Owen Egerton, as well as Ut grad Russell Leigh Sharman. You may remember Hader was here last October for Austin Film Festival, where he participated in a staged reading of The Hand Job, a script written by his wife, Maggie Carey. (via Joe M. O'Connell and this blog)Cine Las Americas is looking for volunteers for this year's festival, which takes place April 21-28 here in Austin. They're holding a volunteer sign-up meeting this Thursday, March 31, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm at the Mexican American Cultural Center. They've also posted a list of festival volunteer opportunities and a form for you to fill out if you're interested.Next week,...
IndieWIRE's The Playlist reports that Saturday Night Live actor Bill Hader is working on a movie called Henchman, in which he'll star. The Henchman script was originally drafted by Austin writers Chris Mass (Chalk) and Owen Egerton, as well as Ut grad Russell Leigh Sharman. You may remember Hader was here last October for Austin Film Festival, where he participated in a staged reading of The Hand Job, a script written by his wife, Maggie Carey. (via Joe M. O'Connell and this blog)Cine Las Americas is looking for volunteers for this year's festival, which takes place April 21-28 here in Austin. They're holding a volunteer sign-up meeting this Thursday, March 31, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm at the Mexican American Cultural Center. They've also posted a list of festival volunteer opportunities and a form for you to fill out if you're interested.Next week,...
- 3/30/2011
- by Jette Kernion
- Slackerwood
Guess what? Austin has had film-related news in the past week that has nothing to do with Fantastic Fest. Really! I'm as surprised as you are. Let's look at all the interesting stuff we at Slackerwood missed while we were watching festival films and then recuperating. If we left out anything else, feel free to share the news in the comments section.
Austin filmmaker/instructor Kat Candler is on fire this month, I swear. You can catch her 2006 feature jumping off bridges tonight at the Windsor Park branch of Austin Public Library at 6:30 pm. She also has two new short films playing at Austin Film Festival later this month: Quarter to Noon and Love Bug. Finally, a feature-film screenplay that she wrote with Chris Mass (Chalk), The Spider in the Bathtub, has just been optioned by Laf Studios, with Candler to direct.Speaking of Aff, Austin Business Journal has...
Austin filmmaker/instructor Kat Candler is on fire this month, I swear. You can catch her 2006 feature jumping off bridges tonight at the Windsor Park branch of Austin Public Library at 6:30 pm. She also has two new short films playing at Austin Film Festival later this month: Quarter to Noon and Love Bug. Finally, a feature-film screenplay that she wrote with Chris Mass (Chalk), The Spider in the Bathtub, has just been optioned by Laf Studios, with Candler to direct.Speaking of Aff, Austin Business Journal has...
- 10/6/2009
- by Contributors
- Slackerwood
Movie blogging is cool and all, but I would argue that cinema's best use of the Internet is making rare fare available to the audience at large. That's slowly but surely starting to happen, and Crm (Cinetic Rights Management) is adding to the pile with a new arthouse deal. Teaming up with a bunch of arthouse film distributors, Crm will slip content online through their FilmBuff label, hitting desinations like iTunes and Hulu.
The plan is to make "award-winning and critically acclaimed films" available, and they've listed four titles thus far. There's Ti West's Trigger Man (Scott called it a "watchable curiosity"), Olivier Assayas' Demonlover (Jeffrey M. Anderson called it a "hopped-up, arty cover for a standard issue Hollywood thriller"), Mike Akel's Chalk (Jette said it was "a great illustration of how a movie can truly blossom with the right crowd"), and Margaret Brown's doc The Order of Myths...
The plan is to make "award-winning and critically acclaimed films" available, and they've listed four titles thus far. There's Ti West's Trigger Man (Scott called it a "watchable curiosity"), Olivier Assayas' Demonlover (Jeffrey M. Anderson called it a "hopped-up, arty cover for a standard issue Hollywood thriller"), Mike Akel's Chalk (Jette said it was "a great illustration of how a movie can truly blossom with the right crowd"), and Margaret Brown's doc The Order of Myths...
- 9/4/2009
- by Monika Bartyzel
- Cinematical
Before we look back at the past week, let's peak at what's opening this weekend: Francis Ford Coppola's family drama Tetro; Duncan Jones' sci-fi trip Moon; Daryl Wein's AIDS activist doc Sex Positive; Tommy Wirkola's Nazi zombie flick Dead Snow; Robert Kenner's appetizing (maybe) doc Food, Inc.; and Chai Vasarhelyi's music / tolerance plea Youssou Ndour: I Bring What I Love (poster and more info after the jump).
Box Office. Opening in four theaters, Sam Mendes' Away We Go scored a smashing $32,603 per-screen average last weekend, according to Box Office Mojo. The road trip comedy / drama, starring John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph as anxious, expectant parents searching for a place to raise their family, far outpaced other debuting indies, which had, on their own terms, decent returns: Seraphine ($6,640 per-screen at four theaters), Unmistaken Child ($6,293, one screen), and 24 City ($6,082, one screen). Our critic William Goss feels...
Box Office. Opening in four theaters, Sam Mendes' Away We Go scored a smashing $32,603 per-screen average last weekend, according to Box Office Mojo. The road trip comedy / drama, starring John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph as anxious, expectant parents searching for a place to raise their family, far outpaced other debuting indies, which had, on their own terms, decent returns: Seraphine ($6,640 per-screen at four theaters), Unmistaken Child ($6,293, one screen), and 24 City ($6,082, one screen). Our critic William Goss feels...
- 6/11/2009
- by Peter Martin
- Cinematical
Like sitcom dads, high school teachers in big-screen comedies are more often than not the object of ridicule. What's most refreshing about the genial and well-observed Chalk is that it describes the high school experience from the of teachers' point of view. Some of them are goofy, to be sure, but rather than two-dimensional representatives of the clueless adult class, they're also earnest, devoted working people.
Writer-director Mike Akel and writer-actor Chris Mass have experience in the classroom, and that shows in the film's attention to detail and milieu: between-class decompression and drama in the teachers' lunchroom, the whir of the malfunctioning copier, the antique machinery of paper cutters and overhead projectors. More a series of loose-limbed vignettes than a sculpted narrative, Chalk lacks a compelling dramatic drive. But the cast creates a fine, improvisatory interplay, captured with verite-style camerawork, and the unforced humor and insights go a long way in this first feature, a Los Angeles Film Festival selection.
Beginning with a title card stating that 50% of teachers quit in their first three years on the job, the film focuses on a few individuals within that tender trial period. Co-writer Mass plays history teacher Mr. Stroope, who is well aware of his intellectual limitations, something of a ham and determined to claim the title of Teacher of the Year. By contrast, fumbling, serious newcomer Mr. Lowrey (Troy Schremmer) struggles to maintain order, let alone teach a lesson. Mrs. Reddell (Shannon Haragan), meanwhile, discovers that a promotion to assistant principal translates to endless days playing hallway cop and confessor to venting teachers, the thankless job putting a strain on her marriage and her friendship with gym teacher Lindsey Webb (Janelle Schremmer), a well-meaning but overbearing stickler for policy.
Unfolding over a school year, the Austin-shot film doesn't crescendo in any To Sir With Love emotional breakthroughs. But it does show the gradual building of trust and ease between teachers and students (played by students of the filmmakers), best exemplified in a delightful spin on the spelling-bee trend du jour in which teachers, competing in a student-organized event, try to spell urban slang words.
In developing the story, the actors named their characters after favorite teachers. That affection and respect for a profession that receives little societal support and far too little compensation is the substance of Chalk.
Writer-director Mike Akel and writer-actor Chris Mass have experience in the classroom, and that shows in the film's attention to detail and milieu: between-class decompression and drama in the teachers' lunchroom, the whir of the malfunctioning copier, the antique machinery of paper cutters and overhead projectors. More a series of loose-limbed vignettes than a sculpted narrative, Chalk lacks a compelling dramatic drive. But the cast creates a fine, improvisatory interplay, captured with verite-style camerawork, and the unforced humor and insights go a long way in this first feature, a Los Angeles Film Festival selection.
Beginning with a title card stating that 50% of teachers quit in their first three years on the job, the film focuses on a few individuals within that tender trial period. Co-writer Mass plays history teacher Mr. Stroope, who is well aware of his intellectual limitations, something of a ham and determined to claim the title of Teacher of the Year. By contrast, fumbling, serious newcomer Mr. Lowrey (Troy Schremmer) struggles to maintain order, let alone teach a lesson. Mrs. Reddell (Shannon Haragan), meanwhile, discovers that a promotion to assistant principal translates to endless days playing hallway cop and confessor to venting teachers, the thankless job putting a strain on her marriage and her friendship with gym teacher Lindsey Webb (Janelle Schremmer), a well-meaning but overbearing stickler for policy.
Unfolding over a school year, the Austin-shot film doesn't crescendo in any To Sir With Love emotional breakthroughs. But it does show the gradual building of trust and ease between teachers and students (played by students of the filmmakers), best exemplified in a delightful spin on the spelling-bee trend du jour in which teachers, competing in a student-organized event, try to spell urban slang words.
In developing the story, the actors named their characters after favorite teachers. That affection and respect for a profession that receives little societal support and far too little compensation is the substance of Chalk.
- 6/30/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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