Documentaries find a new theatrical home in New York City

Veteran FJI correspondent Doris Toumarkine reports on a new home for documentaries coming to downtown New York City.

“All digital, all docs, all the time, all new!” could be the rallying cry for a unique theatre planned for downtown Manhattan.

Hoping to also give a trend-setting spin to traditional movie exhibition, New York’s DCTV (Downtown Community TV), a leading documentary film education, production and resource center, broke ground Tuesday on DCTV Cinema, what is envisioned as this country’s first Academy Award-eligible “all docs/all the time” public theatre. (North of the border, Toronto’s all-doc Bloor Hot Docs Cinema has been operating for a couple years.)



The groundbreaking ceremony (really more a sand-tossing affair) took place at DCTV’s beautiful headquarters (bordering Chinatown and Tribeca), where the four-decades-old, nonprofit doc educational and support hub is housed in a late-19th-century French Renaissance chateau-style building that was once a firehouse.

Only two short blocks below downtown’s Houston Street, DCTV Cinema, to be built on the building’s first floor, will further establish the broad east-west Houston stretch as an indie theatre axis (although far less glittery than the marquee-lined 42nd Street of years ago), where venues like Film Forum, the Angelika and Sunshine Cinema have long attracted off-Hollywood fans.

DCTV co-founders/co-executive directors and husband-and-wife team Jon Alpert and Keiko Tsuno, who launched DCTV in 1972 and moved the facility in 1979 to the current building they now own at 87 Lafayette Street, greeted the impressive gathering of groundbreaking notables. Among those who manned the symbolic shovels after giving short speeches were doc royals Michael Moore (Bowling for Columbine) and Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) and several politicos like Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and the area’s NYC Council member Margaret Chin.

In his brief ceremonial testimony hailing both the DCTV Cinema and the doc genre, ever plus-sized Moore quipped to Spurlock that “Super Size Me was a huge inspiration to me.” Moore underscored to the crowd Manhattan’s importance in the history of movie exhibition and also reminded that “people really love nonfiction, but film nonfiction [as a genre] has been treated like a weird cousin.”

In spite of the expert shoveling, the DCTV Cinema, designed by Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + Design Partnership, is not expected to open until early 2015. A spacious lobby serves as entryway to the 73-seat auditorium, which, said Alpert in an interview with FJI, will also feature a large screen. Regarding the screen size and other specs pertaining to equipment, he said that DCTV has brought in a house engineer who is working with various consultants on infrastructure. “The process is complex, like it is for a hospital.”

But many DCTV Cinema specifics are already known. In addition to fulfilling all rules for official Academy Award-qualifying runs, the venue will be fully DCI-compliant and boast state-of-the-art 3D and 4K digital projection systems. But times require a nimble approach: Alpert predicts that 8K resolution will be here in four years and 3D is losing its traction.

No matter where the technology takes DCTV Cinema, the theatre will have capabilities for the sharing of live events with millions of people around the world via the Internet and for accommodating Internet conversations amongst people anywhere in the world with those in the auditorium.

About this focus on forward thinking and hyper-interactivity for the space, Alpert states, “We’re trying to cast a very wide net, so this will be a place where the tech measures up to the quality of the work. There aren’t as many fine theatrical settings as there should be for documentaries and this is one attempt to rectify that.”

And just as DCTV’s mission has been to democratize access to digital film technology and instruction for filmmakers and students, its DCTV Cinema will go democratic for filmgoers with “reasonable” ticket prices.

Unlike so many analog/celluloid stragglers and purists in film, Alpert is a staunch digital loyalist. “We have never worked in film,” he says with pride. “I have no anachronistic nostalgia for it, no fondness whatsoever, and have always loved the low costs and instant gratification of video.” Of course, analog projectors for DCTV Cinema are out of the question.

Alpert acknowledges that with the opening a few years away and technology changing rapidly, “we’ve already revised our equipment list three times.”

The theatre’s shows may mostly go day-and-date with Web and on-demand availability, depending on licensing rights.

As for the theatre’s staff, Alpert says he’ll have a house manager and an administrative person with tech savvy who will also serve as curator and programmer. A tech staff will be both full and part-time. “But we want to raise a good amount of money to assure the staff we’ll need.”

The budget for the new cinema build and equipment is around $2.5 million, he says, and funds have come from a mix of public, private and not-for-profit organizations and foundations.

Alpert also acknowledges Sony Electronics as a longtime and “generous and faithful” supporter of DCTV that has been providing state-of-the-art equipment, especially the latest cameras. He notes, “We’re like a laboratory for them and they also know that we’re putting their equipment to good use for society.” Appropriately, Sony Broadcast president Alec Shapiro was another of the ceremony’s shovel-wielding honored participants.

DCTV Cinema has an advisory council to guide the way, a group that includes top doc filmmakers Moore, Spurlock, Liz Garbus, Barbara Kopple, Alexandra Pelosi, and Alan and Susan Raymond; HBO Documentary Film president Sheila Nevins; producer Abigail Disney; and actors Brooke Adams and James Gandolfini. DCTV’s traditional board of directors will continue to provide oversight.

Alpert and Tsuno were close to opening a theatre in 2007, but the usual funding, logistical and approval delays and other hurdles got in the way.

Alpert says his main beef about documentaries’ relationship with cinemas is that “there are too few opportunities to see documentaries in theatres.” But the genre as theatrical fare was given a huge lift by the “watershed” successes from Moore and Spurlock, he believes. “These guys are the Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig of documentaries in theatres.”

Queried about the possibility of copycatting the DCTV Cinema concept into similar doc-exclusive theatres in other downtowns where revitalization is needed (Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, etc.), Alpert, expressing his strong NYC roots, says he’s got all he can handle in New York, but “Moore is looking into this. He really could make this happen.” (Later, Moore, with mogul-like evasiveness, told FJI that such attention now is only on his Traverse City, Michigan State Theatre, which offers both fiction and nonfiction, old and new.)

Asked how he expects to get doc fans to fill DCTV Cinema seats, considering so many small-screen options that lure all film fans to easy viewing on TVs and smaller devices, Alpert answers, “I’m agnostic about where documentaries are watched, where they’re consumed; they could be watched on fingernails. But why we’re spending so much money on this theatre, on things like equipment, comfortable seats and good food, is that we want to create a great communal experience for people into docs. You’ll want to come to DCTV Cinema.”

Build it and I’m sure we will.

What's going on with 'Jane Got a Gun'?

There have been many signs of trouble on Jane Got a Gun, a western starring Natalie Portman, which has seen a number of cast and crew drop out. The question is why.

The first person to jump ship was director Lynne Ramsay, who left shortly before the first day of filming. The director behind We Need to Talk About Kevin and Ratcatcher reportedly was feuding with producers, while others whispered that she was displaying erratic behavior. The production itself was also in disarray because Michael Fassbender had to drop out before production started. Joel Edgerton, a less familiar name, replaced him, and that led to problems with investors. Whatever the reason behind her departure, Ramsay is now off to Cannes, where she will be a
judge at the 2013 film festival. That sounds like an apt reward after all
that drama.

After Ramsay left, it set off a chain reaction. With Ramsay out, Jude Law quit. He was replaced by Bradley Cooper. Then Cooper dropped out, because the Boston bombings delayed the wrap of the production of American Hustle, his upcoming David O. Russell feature. Ewan McGregor will now play the role of the villain, the third person to be cast in that role.

The new director is Gavin O'Connor, who helmed the well-received Warrior, which starred Edgerton. The screenwriter of Warrior, Anthony Tambakis, co-wrote Jane Got a Gun, which adds to the connection--and maybe explains why Ramsay was so quickly replaced. McGregor also has a connection to the cast, appearing in the Star Wars movies with Portman.

The only non-moving part in this production is Portman. Her role sounds juicy, which may be why she's stuck around. She will play a woman whose outlaw husband (Noah Emmerich) returns home ridden with bullets. She turns to her ex-lover (Edgerton) for help defending her homestead from the villain (McGregor) and his gang, which she predicts will soon be at their doorstep. Presuming production actually starts and finishes without another hitch, this one should show up in theatres sometime in 2015.

Trailer: Tom Hanks is all action in 'Captain Philips'

When the project Captain Philips was announced, it sounded like a hostage story, where the leading characters would spend most of their time tied up. Tom Hanks signed on to play Captain Philips, whose ship was attacked by Somali pirates and then eventually rescued by Navy SEALs. To disabuse anyone of that notion, the just-released trailer for Captain Philips is action, suspense, and then more and more action. It appears that director Paul Greengrass is drawing heavily on the action directing experience he honed in The Bourne Ultimatum, The Bourne Supremacy, United 93, and The Green Zone.

Just from seeing the two-and-a-half minutes of Hanks, I'm convinced the casting is perfect. This kind of role matches well with both with his chronological age and his stature as an actor. He's likeable, authoritative, and has a pilot's ability to be cool under pressure. It's also clear he cares deeply about his crew, which only adds to his likeability.

Personally, I've been captivated by the life of cargo ships after reading this New Yorker article about a cargo ship voyaging through the Arctic Ocean. I hope that Greengrass also includes authentic details that immerse the viewer in what it means to spend months at a time on a ship--even without being held hostage--and how people cope with this lonely, dangerous existence.

Here's the trailer for the Columbia release. Although the action has summer release all over it, the Oct. 11 release date indicates that studio may also making a quality play for the feature. Who knows, maybe a Best Actor nomination is in the cards for Tom Hanks. After all, Denzel Washington received one as a pilot for last year's Flight.

 

Scorsese casts Andrew Garfield in 'Silence'

In Hollywood, sometimes projects take decades to make. Then if they're hits, everyone admires the persistence of those involved. And if it's a miss, well, then there was a reason it took all those years to pull together. Filmmaker Martin Scorsese has finally pulled financing together for Silence. He first had interest after reading the book by Shusaku Endo 25 years ago. Nine years after that, a script was completed, and now it's been another decade and a half without a movie. One reason the project has been on the back burner is because it's a tough sell--an introspective story about religion, and the person who wanted to helm it suffered a good degree of backlash from his 1988 movie The Last Temptation of Christ.

The early 1600s-set story will see Andrew Garfield playing a Portuguese Jesuit who travels to Japan to find out if rumors are true that his mentor has abandoned the Church. At that time, Christians were forced to go underground due to religious persecution. In the unfamiliar land, he ponders questions about what it means to be faithful when you are suffering for your beliefs, and whether it is worthwhile to proselytize. Ken Watanabe will play his translator.

Production is set to start in June of 2014, a year from now. Scorsese is currently in post-production on The Wolf of Wall Street, which will come out Nov. 15.  In terms of style, I suspect Silence will look like Kundun or Last Temptation, not his more stylized (and populist) works like Goodfellas. It's been a while since the filmmaker has done a spare, serious drama, so it will be a pleasure for many arthouse lovers to see someone like Scorsese stretch himself and work in less familiar territory.

I'm also curious if there's any chance this movie might catch the eye of the faith-based community. Certainly, the book seems more doubtful and reflective than a kind of evangelist movie that has more easy answers, but if this subject matter does resonate with Christians, that will certainly make it that much more impactful at the box office. The backlash over a movie like Last Temptation, which supposedly caught Scorsese by surprise, certainly does not bode well for a positive reception. At the Cannes Film Festival, Scorsese may drum up more interest (and investors), further securing that Silence will be next up on his production slate.

'Iron Man 3' debuts with $175 million, second-highest opening ever after 'The Avengers'

With a jackpot opening of $175.3 million, Iron Man 3 was second only to the $200 million opening of The Avengers, which also featured Tony Stark--plus a bunch of other superheroes. Stark, as played by Robert Downey Jr., is clearly the most popular of the bunch, and that was reflected in the box-office returns. Now that the opening is secured, the rest of the run is already a bit of science. Domestically, the film will end up somewhere above $400 million and a bit under $500 million. Overseas, where the sequel has earned over $500 million, total returns could be $700 million or higher--especially since foreign markets like China are expanding. One thing's clear: It's only a matter of time before Iron Man 3 tops $1 billion in returns.

With Iron Man 3 dominating the box office, most other movies dropped sharply. The worst hit were releases with an action, macho-y feel, like Pain & Gain (down 62%), Oblivion (down 67%), and G.I. Joe: Retaliation (down 65%). Family fare did better, with Oz the Great and Powerful actually going up .6% to $1.8 million, and The Croods dropping 37% to $4.2 million.

Specialty fare also had some bright spots. Mud ascended into the top ten, earning $2.1 million in seventh place while dipping just 3% from last week. The Place Beyond the Pines held on in tenth place, accruing $1.2 million as business dropped by half from the previous week.

The Iceman, which is led by Michael Shannon, averaged $23,000 per
screen at four locations, an extremely strong opening that suggests the
indie will have an excellent specialty run.

A documentary for lovers of fashion and Manhattan retailers Bergdorf Goodman, Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's averaged $9,800 per screen in four locations. That's a solid opening for an indie doc, but if you were to spend that much at Bergdorf's, it would only be enough to buy a few Birkin bags.

While Iron Man 3 clearly delivered with its blockbuster weekend, a busy May means there will be tough competition ahead that may affect how long the movie plays. The first real competition will be two weeks from now, when Star Trek Into Darkness opens. This Friday, The Great Gatsby will go after an audience seeking a different kind of epic experience, while Tyler Perry-produced Peeples will insert a comedy into the mix.

'Iron Man 3' takes the stage, could pass $150 million opening weekend

No other wide release dares to go up against the strongly armored Iron Man 3  (4,253 theatres). With no competition, the Robert Downey Jr.-led sequel could easily earn over $150 million in a weekend. Last year, The Avengers opened with over $200 million, but that had the added benefit of being super-superhero movie, with fellow franchise players like Thor, Captain America, and The Hulk in the mix. Many reviewers have come out in favor of the action-packed sequel, which has plenty of humor and "marks an exciting return to form for a franchise that had dipped in quality," notes our critic Daniel Eagan. People will likely see this movie not only as continuation of 2010's Iron Man 2, but also of last year's The Avengers. Overseas, the movie has already earned $300 million, an excellent indicator of success. Over 90% of advance sales on Fandango and Movietickets.com are for Iron Man 3, so it's clear this is the most anticipated movie so far this year.

For those who don't like explosions and superhero suits, there's also a strong selection of indies opening this weekend. The "wonderfully droll horror comedy" The Happy House, as described by critic David Noh, will release through First Run in New York City.

Acclaimed Danish director Susanne Bier "refreshes the conventions and clichés of the rom-com" with Love Is All You Need (4 theatese), according to FJI's Erica Abeel. Sparks fly at a wedding, but it's not the couple at the altar--it's the father of the groom (Pierce Brosnan) and the mother of the bride (Trine Dyrholm).

Playing hitman Richard
Kuklinski "with an
unsettling tunnel-vision intensity," Michael Shannon turns in a stellar performance in The Iceman (4 theatres), according to our critic Michael Sauter. Although he thought the movie had flaws, including a lack of "dramatic depth and intensity" compared to the best anti-hero movies, like Taxi Driver and Serpico, Shannon's performance is not one of them. In a leading role, he only confirms his "powerful, often scary
presence as an onscreen character actor."

An update of the Henry James novel What Maisie Knew will open in New York City. Set in the Big Apple, the story centers on a young girl who is shuttled between her self-centered, divorced parents.

On Monday, the big question will be just how high Iron Man 3 can go in his jetpack. $150 million is the insider target figure for a wow-worthy debut.

 

'Downton Abbey' star to wear glass slippers in Disney's 'Cinderella'

In "Downton Abbey," Lily James plays Lady Rose MacClarey, a young cousin of the family who is a reckless flapper that takes up with a married man. Surprisingly, she's the first of the "Downton" women to land a leading role in a film, signing on to star as Disney's Cinerella. I'm a bit surprised I haven't heard of many deals for Lady Mary or Lady Edith. Perhaps their contracts are too restrictive: now that (spoiler alert) she's off the show, Lady Sybil (Jessica Brown Findlay) appears to have a lot of roles on IMDBPro, including one in big-budget Winter's Tale. Heartthrob Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens) reportedly exited to pursue other opportunities, and he's since filmed three movies (The Fifth Estate, A Walk Among the Tombstones, Summer in February). As a minor character, James might have had the best of both worlds: the exposure of "Downton Abbey" along with the scheduling freedom of a minor player.

Being a Disney princess can be an excellent launching point for a star. Amy Adams received wider exposure in 2007's Enchanted, and Anne Hathaway won over America's preteens in The Princess Diaries. Fox-produced Cinderella story Ever After strengthened Drew Barrymore's star image among a younger audience. Mia Wasikowska has focused on successful indie projects after dipping her toe into blockbuster waters with the leading role in Disney's Alice in Wonderland.

James will join an impressive lineup. Five-time Oscar nominee Kenneth Branagh will direct from a script by Devil Wears Prada's Aline Brosh McKenna. Cate Blanchett is also committed to the role of the evil stepmother. The project has been in development for about two years, but now that the biggest casting decision has been made, production should finally start to ramp up.