NCIndieSeen

Photo by Jamie Broadnax

NCIndieSeen: The TV show The Osbournes gave us an inside look into the life of Ozzy Osbourne, is there anything that we are going to be surprised about in this film?

Marc Weingarten: Yea totally. The Osbournes kinda gave you an inside look about Ozzy.  But what you will find out tonight is seeing the sober side of Ozzy and not the old Ozzy.

NCIndieSeen:  Do you think audiences will expect to see some more insight about Ozzy Osbourne?

Marc: Totally.  The audiences will be moved by what they see. They will enjoy seeing a man who works really really hard and a good woman who has been there for him.  It's pretty inspiring.

Photo by Jamie Broadnax

 NCIndieSeen: The dichotomy between the MTV show The Osbournes and then this film, shows Ozzy in his sober days as opposed to the drunken addicted Ozzy we are used to seeing, what is going to surprise audiences in this film?

Mike Weiss: It's going to show who Ozzy really is.  Its going to show how much his life has improved since that time and I think people will be surprised to see how his life has fully come around.

NCIndieSeen: Do you think audiences will respond more to this film than the former TV series?

Mike Weiss: Yes, because this is a totally different experience.  This is showing Ozzy at this best and his best is in fact Ozzy Osbourne the human being.

Photo by Jamie Broadnax

NCIndieSeen:  What was the production like on this film?

Mike Piscatelli:  It wasn't a big to do shoot.  We wanted to keep this shoot really simple.  It was basically three guys with a video camera.  We only had a few lights we were able to use, we wanted to just get stuff out of Ozzy.  Where it felt like he was just being himself. So it was really low-key.

NCIndieSeen: What inspired you guys to do this film?

Jordan Tappis: Jack Osbourne came to us and he says I want you to do this project about my dad and I want you to show a side of him that you don't see on TV.

NCIndieSeen:  Is there anything that is unexpected that will come out of seeing this documentary?

Mike: I don't think its about being unexpected its about the anti-unexpected.  It will be like meeting someone for the first time that you've known your whole life.  You're actually meeting John rather than Ozzy.  So if there is anything unexpected its the fact that this film is actually honest.

God Bless Ozzy Osbourne screens all this week at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival

The new documentary about Ozzy Osbourne called God Bless Ozzy Osbourne debuted Saturday April 24th at the Borough of Manhattan Community College on Easter Sunday.  The red carpet brought the film's director Mike Weiss and producer Mike Piscitelli and the Osbourne family clan.

Kelly, Sharon, Ozzy and Jack Osbourne photo by Julia Weeks

Photo by Julia Weeks

Photo by Julia Weeks

This film is a haunting tale about a father's guilt of negligence that ultimately results in his son going missing.  He's torn between his own guilt of not being there for his son during his disappearance and seeking blame for his son's mother for her own lack of parenting.  Thomas Dekker (Ethan) plays the father who decides to leave his son in a car in the middle of a blizzard to go hunting for deer.  Although Ethan steps away from the vehicle for only 10 minutes, when he arrives back to the truck he discovers that son is gone.

The film takes on a depressing tone as the 92 minute journey takes the audience on a slow ride downhill and it is revealed through supporting characters in the film how afflicted the town is with their own personal demons including the town's attorney (played by Jeremy Piven) who has a personal vendetta against Ethan since he has suffered the lost of his own child and cannot separate his personal life from his work.

The film takes awhile to get up to speed, but has an overall stunning performance by Dekker.  However, the movie is just another sad story filled with a number of characters that does not help redeem the plot.  The plot lacks energy and the ending is inevitably expected.  If you're interested in a downer, then perhaps Angel's Crest will be your forte.

The premiere opened yesterday April 23rd at Clearview Cinemas in New York City.  Stars featured from the film were David Alan Grier, Hayden Panetierre, and Amy Poehler.

Hayden Panttiere photo by Julia Weeks

Photo by Julia Weeks

David Alan Grier with Hayden photo by Julia Weeks

Amy Poehler with Hayden photo by Julia Weeks

The red carpet screening for the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of Angel's Crest featured the films stars, Mira Sorvino, Jeremy Piven, Kate Walsh, Thomas Dekker, and special appearances by Joely Richardson and the film's director Gaby Dellal.


Here are exclusive photos of the night's event

Gaby Dellal photo by Julia Weeks

Mira Sorvino with Christopher Backus photo by Julia Weeks

Photo By Julia Weeks

Thomas Dekker photo by Julia Weeks

Jeremy Piven photo by Julia Weeks

Joely Richardson photo by Julia Weeks

Kate Walsh photo by Julia Weeks

Photo by Julia Weeks

The Good Doctor is a slow paced story about a new medical resident who lives a sad lonely life desperately seeking the approval and respect of others.  His soul is just as lifeless it seems as his barren apartment is with its minimalist furniture and white walls. The film takes a turn for the worse when Dr. Martin Blake (Orlando Bloom) becomes obsessed with his teenage patient Diane (Riley Keough).  He decides to make unethical decision and takes a career risk by keeping her under his care.

An orderly named Jimmy (Micheal Pena) who has a few issues of his own, including fornicating with his patients, finds out about Diane's odd relationship with her doctor,  This discovery leads to a series of events that causes some very bizarre circumstances to occur and the doctor finds himself in a compromising position.

The Good Doctor is a title that carries a great deal of irony as you go deeper into the story.  However this film just does not deliver.  The pacing was incredibly slow and at times awkward.  The backstory was little to nothing which led one to believe that perhaps Dr. Blake is extremely disturbed or desperate for affection.  The supporting characters added no weight to the story and it felt very two-dimensional at times. 

The film has an ambiguous ending that leads the audience to ponder why they invested 85 minutes into this film.  The Good Doctor potentially has a great story, but just does focus the plot points in the right direction to deliver a clear succinct message to the viewer.  The ambition of the doctor and why he falls for his patient is clearly misunderstood and quite a disappointment.

The Good Doctor screens all this week during the Tribeca Film Festival

This free series open to the public was a sophisticated lecture on how to use social media to further a social cause.  New terms are being brought into society like "transmedia" which is the creation of content around an issue or change in culture.

The discussion featured Marc Schiller --who is the founder and CEO of Electric Artists, Lina Srivastava-- the current strategist for Three Gnerations and VODO, Howard Tullman--president and CEO of Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy, and Rider Strong--filmmaker, writer, and actor who produced the award-winning short film Irish Twins that premiered at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival.

Rider Strong talks about being "branded" as the childhood actor from Boy Meets World and how Twitter has generated a large following for him due to a Twitter trend of the former 90s sitcom.  However, Rider does not detach himself from that role.  He can now use Twitter trends to discuss his new projects, including a new short film.  Strong claims he jumped from 4,000 followers to 10,000 followers within a matter of days due to trending.  This is his concept of branding through social media.

"Social media is now integrating into film festivals and film production projects.  Emerging markets are now creating films online in places like Africa and India" -Lina Srivastrava

"Tribeca's closing night film Newlyweds starring Edward Burns, was crowdsourced, meaning the fans of the film helped create the movie poster." -Marc Schiller

It's inevitable that film industry must adjust with the shift of social media and networking and the marketers are now the Twitter trends and Facebook fan pages.

"As the world of Wikipedia thrives, a company with only 15 employees over 400,000 editors create its content."  -Howard Tullman

Social media is the new marketing tool in mainstream and independent film.

The Tribeca Film Festival continues all throughout this week until May 1st 2011.

Based on a true story the heroic film "Puncture"  will pierce right through your emotions in this gripping film about two small time attorneys who decide to take on a big case that may be too much for their small law firm.  Mike Weiss (played by Chris Evans) is a functioning drug addict who is partner at a law firm along with Paul Danziger (played by Mark Kassen).  Mark Kassen who also co-directed the film plays the square yet humble attorney who is the polar opposite of Mike.  Mike Weiss is not only an addict when it comes to the narcotics, but also when it comes to the women, whom he has a preference to pay for.

The lives of these two attorneys change dramatically when they meet Vicky (played by Vinessa Shaw) who accidentally pricks herself with a needle causing her to become contaminated with a deadly disease.  Her case brings up a series of incidents with front line health care workers who have suffered the same fate.  A huge corporate conspiracy ensues between the local hospitals and the health care companies that supply the hypodermic needles.

The case turns out to be too big for these two attorneys who's law firm is running low on funds.  A tough contemplation between Mike and Paul becomes and evident and they must decide if they should fight for ethics and stand to lose everything or drop the case and save their law firm?

The film delivers some stunning performances from Chris Evans who's character is battling with a drug addiction, while trying to stay afloat and focused on the case.  Vinessa Shaw also gives a heart wrenching performance as the victim who is fighting for her life and tries to convince Mike that some of the brightest light comes from the darkest places.

It's certainly a must see film at the Tribeca Film Festival this week.

The premiere for The Bang Bang Club brought a number of celebs at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival.  On a sad note, two photojournalists in Libya were killed this week, and by a bizarre coincidence, the film The Bang Bang Club is about South African photojournalists risking their lives to show the pursuits of Apartheid in the early 90's.  The film stars Ryan Philippe and Malin Akerman.  The films' director Steven Silver is of South African descent and this is his first feature film.

The film opened at the Toronto International Film Festival last year with positive reviews.

To see more what this movie is all about, check out the trailer here:

Whoopi Goldberg welcomes film lovers to the 10th Annual Tribeca Film Festival

Go to http://www.tribecafilm.com/ for more details about how to view the festival online from the privacy of your own home!

David O. Russell, David Gordon Green, Dianne Wiest, Souleymane Cissé, Whoopi Goldberg, Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, Rainn Wilson, Anna Kendrick, Michael Cera, Denis Leary,

Atom Egoyan and Fran Lebowitz are Among the 38 Festival Jurors



The Tribeca Film Festival (TFF), presented by American Express, the Founding Sponsor of the Festival, today announced its jurors – a diverse and talented group of 38 individuals, including award-winning filmmakers and screenwriters, celebrated actors, respected journalists and media pioneers. They will be divided among the six competitive Festival categories and will announce the winning films, filmmakers and actors in those categories at the TFF Awards Night ceremony on April 28 hosted by Gideon Yago, which will be streamed live on TribecaFilm.com. The 2011 Festival runs from April 20 – May 1.



“This year’s jury is made up of a range of accomplished individuals in their respective fields, bringing a fresh and well-rounded perspective,” said Jane Rosenthal, Co-Founder of the Tribeca Film Festival. “It’s an honor to have a jury of such caliber watching and discussing the films in competition this year.”



Following is a list of all 2011 Festival jurors and their respective categories.



World Competition Categories:



The jurors for the 2011 World Narrative Competition are:

Souleymane Cissé: Noted Malian director; films include the 1995 Cannes Palme d’Or nominee Waati, 1987 Cannes Jury Prize Winner Brightness and Tell Me Who You Are.

Scott Glenn: Actor; films include The Right Stuff, The Silence of the Lambs, The Virgin Suicides, Freedom Writers, The Bourne Ultimatum, W., Secretariat, Sucker Punch and TFF 2011 selection Magic Valley.

David Gordon Green: Independent Spirit Award nominated director/producer; films include George Washington, All the Real Girls, Great World of Sound, Pineapple Express, the recently released Your Highness and the upcoming film The Sitter.

Rula Jebreal: Journalist, author, screenwriter and actress: books include The Bride From Assuan, Rejected and Miral, which was adapted into a film of the same name.

Art Linson: Gotham award winning producer; films include Singles, Fight Club, Lords of Dogtown, Into the Wild, What Just Happened and The Runaways.

Jason Sudeikis: Actor. Best known for roles in Going the Distance, Hall Pass and 2011 TFF selection A Good Old Fashioned Orgy. Also a cast member on television’s Saturday Night Live.

Dianne Wiest: Oscar, Golden Globe and SAG award winning actress; films include Hannah and Her Sisters, Edward Scissorhands, Bullets Over Broadway, Synecdoche, New York and the upcoming The Odd Life of Timothy Green.



The jurors for the 2011 World Documentary Competition are:

Amir Bar-Lev: Documentary filmmaker and producer; films include Fighter, My Kid Could Paint That, The Tillman Story and the upcoming Garcia.

Michael Cera: BAFTA and SAG Award nominated actor; films include Superbad, Juno, Youth In Revolt, and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Currently filming The Untitled Mark Webber Project.

RJ Cutler: Oscar nominee and Emmy Award winning director/producer; films include The War Room, Thin, and The September Issue.

Abigail Disney: Film producer and philanthropist; films include 2008 TFF Best Documentary Winner, Pray the Devil Back to Hell, Children of Invention, Sons of Perdition and the upcoming narrative feature Return.

Whoopi Goldberg: Moderator on television’s The View, and actress, comedian, humanitarian with Oscar, Golden Globe, Emmy, Tony and Grammy wins. Recent films include Toy Story 3, For Colored Girls and the upcoming A Little Bit of Heaven.

Louie Psihoyos: Oscar and DGA winning director; films include The Cove and the upcoming The Singing Planet.

Peter Scarlet: Executive Director of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, former Artistic Director of TFF and former Director of the Cinematheque Francaise.



Emerging Competition Categories:



The jurors for the 2011 Emerging Narrative Competition are:

Paul Dano: Independent Spirit and SAG award nominated actor; films include L.I.E., Little Miss Sunshine, There Will Be Blood, the recently released Meek’s Cutoff and the upcoming Another Bulls--t Night in Suck City.

Atom Egoyan: Oscar, Golden Palm and Independent Spirit Award nominated director/producer; films include Exotica, The Sweet Hereafter, Felicia’s Journey, Where the Truth Lies, Adoration, and Chloe.

Zoe Kazan: TFF 2009 Best Actress winner for The Exploding Girl; other films include Me and Orson Welles, The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, It’s Complicated and the recently released films Happythankyoumoreplease, and Meek’s Cutoff.

Anna Kendrick: Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe , SAG, Independent Spirit and Tony award nominated actress; films include Rocket Science, the Twilight series, Up in the Air, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and the upcoming Live With It.

Rainn Wilson: Emmy and SAG Award nominee for television’s The Office; films include Juno, The Rocker, Hesher and the just completed Few Options.



The jurors for the 2011 Emerging Documentary Competition are:

Margaret Bodde: Documentary producer and film preservationist; films include No Direction Home: Bob Dylan, Time Piece, Public Speaking and the upcoming Living in the Material World: George Harrison.

Jared Cohen: Director of Google Ideas, Adjunct Fellow at the Council for Foreign Relations and Author of One Hundred Days of Silence: America and the Rwanda Genocide, and Children of Jihad: A Young American's Travels Among the Youth of the Middle East

J.D. Heyman: Executive Editor of People and former editor at Us Weekly. Held editorial positions at Cosmopolitan and the New York Daily News. Author of books include Get a Life: A Guide to Jobs, Money and the Real World, and The Singled Out Guide to Dating.

Lauren Hutton: Fashion icon, actress, television host and beauty industry pioneer. Film roles include American Gigolo and, more recently, The Joneses. Guest star on television’s Nip/Tuck and host of several shows, including a late-night talk show.

Annie Sundberg: IFC and Sundance award nominated director; films include The Trials of Darryl Hunt, The Devil Came on Horseback and Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work.



Short Film Competition Categories:



The jurors for the 2011 Narrative Short Film Competition are:

David O. Russell: Oscar, Golden Globe nominee and Independent Spirit Award Winner: films include Spanking the Monkey, Flirting with Disaster, Three Kings, I Heart Huckabees, The Fighter and the upcoming Nailed.

Nora Ephron: Multiple Oscar, Golden Globe nominated and BAFTA winning writer-director; films include Silkwood, When Harry Met Sally …, Sleepless in Seattle and Julie and Julia.

Ceci Kurzman: Founder of Nexus Management Group, whose clients include Shakira, and consultant for the Global Philanthropy Group.

Denis Leary: Golden Globe and Emmy nominate actor/writer/producer; work includes Rescue Me, In Search of Ted Demme and the Ice Age films.

Fran Lebowitz: Author noted for her social commentary, recently the subject of the HBO documentary Public Speaking, directed by Martin Scorsese.

Paul Schneider: Actor and screenwriter; films include All the Real Girls, The Family Stone, Lars & the Real Girl, Bright Star, Away We Go & the upcoming Water for Elephants.

Jimmy Wales: Internet entrepreneur and Co-founder of Wkipedia.



The jurors for the 2011 Documentary and Student Short Film Competitions are:



Ahmed Ahmed: Comedian and director; noted for his directorial debut Just Like Us, an official selection of the 2010 Tribeca and Doha Tribeca film festivals. Other films include the UAE film City of Life and Iron Man.

Agnes Gund: President Emerita of MoMA, noted philanthropist, and collector of modern and contemporary art.

Zoe Kravitz: Actress; film roles include The Brave One, Birds of America, The Greatest and the upcoming Beware the Gonzo (a 2010 TFF selection and upcoming release by Tribeca Film), Yelling to the Sky and X:Men: First Class.

Nicole Lapin: Anchor of CNBC’s Worldwide Exchange, contributor to Today, Morning Joe, Daily Rundown, and Jansing & Co, as well as the Huffington Post. Former anchor at CNN.

Lisa Shields: VP of Communications and Marketing, Council on Foreign Relations.

Christine Vachon: Independent Spirit Award winning producer. Films and television projects include Mildred Pierce, Safe, I Shot Andy Warhol, Boys Don’t Cry, Far From Heaven, I’m Not There, and Cairo Time.

Patrick Wilson: Golden Globe nominated actor; best known for Little Children, Watchmen, Hard Candy and Angels in America; upcoming films include The Ledge, and Young Adult.



Together, the six TFF juries will award $175,000 in cash and prizes. Festival winners will also receive a piece of original art by an acclaimed artist as part of the Tribeca Film Festival Artists Awards program.

The 2011 Tribeca Film Festival will kick off with a free outdoor screening of the world premiere of Cameron Crowe’s documentary, The Union, to celebrate its 10th edition and thank the New York City community for its ongoing support. Set to premiere at 8:15 pm on Wednesday, April 20, 2011 at The World Financial Plaza, The Union chronicles the making of the 2010 album of the same name, a collaboration between pop icon Elton John and legendary rock ‘n’ roll keyboardist Leon Russell.




While the event is free, New Yorkers, movie-lovers and music-lovers will need a wristband from TFF to be seated at the event and see what Crowe -- known for making classic music narratives, including Singles (1992) and Almost Famous (2000) -- does in the documentary format with Elton and Leon.



Here is how you can be a part of TFF’s 2011 Opening Night screening on the Hudson:



§ A TFF wristband is required to be seated at the event.

§ On April 20 at 4:00 pm, wristbands will be distributed to the public on a first-come, first-served basis

§ The distribution site is the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center—at the West Side Highway entrance, just north of Chambers.

§ There will be a limit of two wristbands per person.

§ The screening will begin at 8:15 pm, with programming beginning as early as 7:30 pm, on April 20 at the World Financial Plaza.

§ Details are still being firmed up, but programming at the Plaza may begin at approximately 7:30.

§ Note: Venue access and capacity are at the discretion of the NYPD.

For more info, please visit www.tribecafilm.com/festival or call 866-941-FEST (3378).

An independent horror film shot in Denver, NC. Led by filmmaker Stephen M. Gibson and his company, L R Squared Productions, Moon will premiere later this year.  Gibson hails from Denver, attended East Lincoln High School (class of 2001), and graduated from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (class of 2005).

Tormented by the abduction of his sister ten years earlier, RAEFORD BROWN has gone to great lengths to distance himself from his childhood home of Dry Pond. Every decade, the small country town is riddled with mysterious disappearances during the time of the Hunter’s Moon. Rae, a tattooed hipster, is forced to confront his past as he and his brother JULIAN plan a weekend to commemorate the loss of their sister.

On the morning of his trip home, Rae has a run in with ANGENI, a native storyteller. She tells the tale of the Hunter unraveling the myths behind rural Dry Pond. Recognizing the tusked necklace hanging from Rae’s neck, a frantic Angeni insists he take an old Native knife from her. Confused and apprehensive, Rae obliges. He drives back to the small town with his quick-talking girlfriend ALICIA in tow.

Rae anticipates a quality time with his brother, catching up with old friends, and even a night out at a local dive bar. What he finds as bits and pieces of the puzzle are revealed to him, he could never expect. Rae is left with a difficult decision. Does he run from the terror, or does he stand his ground ending the reign of fear? Armed with a set of gifts given to him throughout the tale, he and Julian enter a surreal fantasy to face down an entity. This fantastical epic spans centuries of time, and will certainly be a weekend neither brother will soon forget.

The film, currently in post production, is a micro-budget horror epic with a Native American back story.  In an unprecedented shift from the indie norm, Fall of the Hunter’s Moon utilizes high definition cinematography, cutting edge special effects, and a sprawling 50 acres of North Carolinian countryside as the backdrop for this thrilling debut.  Director Gibson wrote the script, sketched the costume designs, spent last summer constructing sets by hand, and is a lead actor in the feature. His dedication and meticulous attention to detail have infected the entire team.




http://www.fallofthehuntersmoon.com/