Sundance Film Festival

Interview: Melissa Leo Channels John Wayne in Sundance Hit ‘Frozen River’

HollywoodChicago.com — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 10:51:00 -0700

CHICAGO – Melissa Leo is a familiar face to admirers of the TV show “Homicide: Life on the Street”.

After playing Sgt. Kay Howard for five years on that popular series, she left the show to pursue character roles in such films as “21 Grams” and “The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada”. Taking on a leading role in her latest film “Frozen River,” Leo captures the desperation and strength of a woman with everything to lose.

“Frozen River” star Melissa Leo in Chicago on July 16, 2008.
Photo credit: Patrick McDonald, HollywoodChicago.com

A scene from “Frozen River”.
Photo credit: Jory Sutton, copyright Frozen River Productions

HollywoodChicago.com recently interviewed Leo in anticipation of the film’s release. The actress candidly talked about her character’s direction and the nature of the unusual film.

“Frozen River,” which is an acclaimed Sundance Film Festival drama, refers to an upper New York state tributary that freezes so hard in the winter that vehicles are known to drive over it. Leo plays Ray Eddy: a resident of that Canadian border town whose husband has abandoned her with two children.

He also has stolen savings that would have been a down payment for a new trailer in which the family could have lived. Leo speaks about how she landed the role and how she collaborated with writer and director Courtney Hunt.

“The first thing Courtney said to me was: ‘Will you read my short?’ I happily did,” Leo said. “Then I called her and said: ‘Let’s do this.’ We shot the short. She edited it, showed it to me and said: ‘Good job.’ Then she said: ‘Would you like to do the feature?’ I didn’t even know she had a feature.”

Melissa Leo as Ray Eddy in “Frozen River”.
Photo credit: Jory Sutton, copyright Frozen River Productions

Rating: 4.0/5.0

“Courtney knew much more about the characters,” Leo said. “There were unanswered questions in the short we didn’t even know. The characters at that time were the ‘native’ and the ‘blonde’. They had no names.”

Ray Eddy became the character’s name. She lives desperately hand to mouth. With her husband gone and her savings wiped out, she decides to begin running illegal immigrants in the trunk of her car. The way to Canada without a border check is by directly driving over the frozen river.

“Courtney gave me a valuable piece of direction right before we shot the feature,” Leo said. “Watch ‘The Searchers’ (1956) and ‘Rio Grande’ (1950). Watch John Wayne. That’s probably the most consistent piece of direction throughout the rest of the filming process. It’s a little bit of the Duke.”

Eddy partners with Lila (Misty Upham): a Native American who lives on a nearby reservation.

Director Courtney Hunt on the set of “Frozen River”.
Photo credit: Jory Sutton, copyright Frozen River Productions

Charlie McDermott as TJ Eddy in “Frozen River”.
Photo credit: Jory Sutton, copyright Frozen River Productions

Lila knows the particulars of the immigrant running. She and Eddy have parallel lives with Lila having a husband who recently died and a son being raised by grandparents. Both women are looking to make a quick score and get the money they need to move on with their lives.

“This was actually a matriarchal story,” Leo said. “The natives have a lot of female tribal heads. You see the portrayal of the tribal meetings in the film to be heavily female, which is an accurate portrayal of those types of meetings.”

Leo added: “In our film, this is women doing what women do to get by especially when the men have let them down.”

The film is heavy with thematic symbolism involving race, gender and class. Leo spoke about those elements while emphasizing another aspect of the overall experience.

RELATED IMAGE GALLERY
View our full, high-resolution “Frozen River” image gallery.

RELATED READING
More film reviews from critic Patrick McDonald.

“The strength of the film is the story – a story that most people haven’t heard before,” Leo Said. “It’s a rich story because it encompasses all those themes.”

The “rich story” also has – in what Leo describes – a “satisfying” ending. She added: “The two women have learned something, have grown and are better people by the end of the film because of the journey the audience watches them go through.”

She concluded: “We are here to grow into our best selves. That is my religion. Whatever can get you there and whatever the trials, that is what betters us. That is how the story of this film is played out.”

“Frozen River” from writer and director Courtney Hunt stars Melissa Leo, Misty Upham and Michael O’Keefe opens in limited theaters on Aug. 15, 2008.

By PATRICK McDONALD
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

Hookup: 50 Admit-Two Passes to Two Screenings of Sundance Hit ‘American Teen’ in Chicago

HollywoodChicago.com — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:37:04 -0700

CHICAGO – In our latest edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 50 admit-two passes up for grabs to two separate Chicago screenings of the Sundance Film Festival hit film “American Teen” from writer, director and producer Nanette Burstein.

To win your free pass to one of two advance screenings of “American Teen” in Chicago, all you need to do is be one of the first 50 people to submit a comment in this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup. That’s it! There are 25 admit-two tickets available for each screening.

The first Chicago screening will be held on July 22, 2008 at 7 p.m. and the second Chicago screening will be held on July 31, 2008 at 7 p.m. When you submit your comment below, make sure to include which screening you’d like to attend. Directions to enter this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup and immediately win can be found beneath the graphic below.

“American Teen” is written, directed and produced by Nanette Burstein.
Image credits: Paramount Vantage

Here’s the “American Teen” plotline:

“American Teen” is the touching and hilarious Sundance hit that follows the lives of five teenagers – the jock, the princess, the heartthrob, the rebel and the geek – in one small town in Indiana through their senior year of high school.

We see the insecurities, the cliques, the jealousies, the first loves, the heartbreaks and the struggle to make profound decisions about the future.

To secure your free tickets now, make sure you’re logged into your HollywoodChicago.com account. If you don’t yet have one, you can quickly register here. Having an account with a valid e-mail address is required. Then, simply add a new comment in the form below. In your comment, include which screening you’d like to attend along with an answer to this simple question:

Which type of high schooler were you: the jock, the princess, the heartthrob, the rebel, the geek or none of the above?

Like all Hookups here, this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film is simple: The first 50 people to comment below win! We will be in touch with the 50 winners to confirm your passes. “American Teen,” which stars Hannah Bailey, Colin Clemens, Geoff Haase, Megan Krizmanich, Mitch Reinholt, Jake Tusing and Ali Wikalinska, opens in Chicago on Aug. 1, 2008. A trailer for the film is below.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

Director Jonathan Levine, Star Josh Peck to Appear in Chicago For Ben Kingsley’s ‘The Wackness’

HollywoodChicago.com — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 07:25:22 -0700

CHICAGO – We have learned that writer and director Jonathan Levine (“All the Boys Love Mandy Lane”) and lead actor Josh Peck (“Ice Age: The Meltdown”) will publicly appear this Thursday, June 19, 2008 at 7 p.m. at the downtown Chicago Apple store at 679 N. Michigan Ave. to offer an insider’s look at their new film “The Wackness”.

Sir Ben Kingsley as Dr. Squires in “The Wackness”.
Photo by JoJo Whilden, © 2008 Occupant Films and courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

Along with Peck, “The Wackness” also features Sir Ben Kingsley (who played Gandhi in 1982’s “Gandhi”) and Olivia Thirlby (from recent “Juno” fame).

“The Wackness” director Jonathan Levine.
Photo credit: Robin Holland, courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

In addition to showing clips from the New York-set film, Levine and Peck will also be taking questions from the audience.

“The Wackness” is an Audience Award winner at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. The film is scheduled to open in Chicago on July 11, 2008. Stay tuned for our upcoming interviews with Levine and Peck.

Here’s the plot outline for “The Wackness”:

In the summer of 1994, the streets of New York are pulsing with hip-hop and wafting with the sweet aroma of marijuana. But change is in the air.

The newly inaugurated mayor, Rudy Giuliani, is beginning to implement his anti-fun initiatives against “crimes” like noisy portable radios, graffiti and public drunkenness.

Set against this backdrop, Luke Shapiro (Josh Peck) spends his last summer before college selling dope throughout New York City and trading it with his shrink (Ben Kingsley) for therapy while crushing on his step-daughter (Olivia Thirlby).

Famke Janssen, Mary Kate Olsen and Method Man round out the cast in this edgy, bittersweet and funny coming-of-age story.

Josh Peck (left) as Luke and Olivia Thirlby as Stephanie in “The Wackness”.
Photo by JoJo Whilden, © 2008 Occupant Films and courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

View our full, high-resolution image gallery for “The Wackness”.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

Sundance Winner ‘Teeth’ Bites Right to Point of Men’s Greatest Sexual Fear

HollywoodChicago.com — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:41:59 -0700

CHICAGO – In one of the great light bulb ideas that could only happen in association with making movies, along comes “Teeth” to bite us in the – well, to bite us hard. Writer and director Mitchell Lichtenstein has fashioned a one-of-a-kind horror epic (based, of course, on a Japanese film) that at the same time tangles with significant social and cultural issues.

Read Patrick McDonald’s full review of “Teeth” in our reviews section.

View our full “Teeth” image gallery.

Jess Weixler is Dawn: a bright and exceptional high school senior whose main charitable pursuit is called “Promise”. It’s an organization that promotes sexual abstinence for teens until marriage (complete with a ruby-red ring that’s to be replaced by wedding gold).

Her own virginity is in trouble, however, when hunky fellow Promise member Tobey (Hale Appleman) starts putting the moves on her. Dawn harbors a secret – a secret that even she knows nothing about. Her body possesses “vaginal dentata” (or a “toothed vagina”), which translates to having controllable biting teeth in her secret garden.

Jess Weixler in “Teeth”.
Photo credit: IMDb

Production Stills Surface For George A. Romero’s ‘Diary of the Dead’

HollywoodChicago.com — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 19:01:24 -0700

CHICAGO – The Weinstein Company has released 11 new production stills for George A. Romero’s “Diary of the Dead,” which will show at the Sundance Film Festival later this month and hits limited U.S. theaters on Feb. 15.

In the film, a group of young film students run into real-life zombies while filming a horror movie of their own. “Diary of the Dead” is written and directed by horror master George A. Romero (“Land of the Dead,” “Day of the Dead,” “Dawn of the Dead,” “Night of the Living Dead”).

Though the film’s primary cast relies on many actors you’ve likely never heard of, it interestingly features voice work from people including Wes Craven, Stephen King, Quentin Tarantino and Guillermo del Toro.

I’ve included a few of the production stills below. All of them can be found in our new “Diary of the Dead” image gallery.

The publicist for the film has informed us that “Diary of the Dead” will show at the Sundance Film Festival on these dates and at these locations:

Jan. 18, 11:30 p.m., Library Center Theatre
Jan. 22, 9 p.m., Tower Theatre, Salt Lake City
Jan. 26, 11:30 p.m., Holiday Village Cinema II
Jan. 27, 10 a.m., Holiday Village Cinema I

Click here to view the entire “Diary of the Dead” image gallery!

The trailer – along with a challenge from Romero to submit your own short horror film for possible release with the DVD version – can be viewed below. This was posted on our boards on Jan. 11. You can discuss these production stills at this new thread on our boards.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com