Public Enemies - What Did You Think?
If you’ve been reading /Film for a while, than you know that I fell in love with Jonathan Levine’s The Wackness at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Levine made his feature directorial debut with a horror thriller titled All the Boys Love Mandy Lane. The film premiered at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival and was greeted with possitive buzz. James Rocchi said it was “the best modern slasher flick since Scream,” and Scott Weinberg called it a “thinking man’s slasher flick.” The Weinstein Co’s Dimension Films label was originally set to release the film in 2007. The lackluster performance of Grindhouse forced the studio to sell the film, among other horror movies, to Senator Entertainment. A release date was announced, and moved back. July 17th 2009 was to be the day that the film would hit theaters domestically. But not anymore.
Read More »
Jonathan Levine to Direct The Sitter — Adventures in Babysitting meets Superbad
Posted on Monday, March 30th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
You might remember a little film we absolutely loved at last year’s Sundance Film Festival called The Wackness. Sony Pictures Classics did a horrible job marketing the flick, and the movie went largely unnoitced. If you havent yet seen The Wackness, buy or rent the DVD/Blu-ray tonight.
Anyway, director Jonathan Levine has found his next project, this time set up at Fox Atomic. The Sitter is described as Adventures in Babysitting meets Superbad, and tells the story of a suspended college student who “has a night to remember when he gets talked into baby-sitting the eccentric kids next door — two boys and a wild 8-year-old girl.”
The spec script by Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka was the subject of a heated bidding war and was snapped up by Fox Atomic in January. Gatewood and Tanaka also had a college comedy script on the 2006 Blacklist titled Who the Hell is Sanjay Patel which is set up at Universal. I heard a rumor that Jonah Hill was circling the project, not sure if that is still the case.
Back in May, I had the opportunity to sit down with director Jonathan Levine and star Josh Peck to talk about their new film The Wackness. I fell in love with this indie coming-of-age drama at Sundance. I have since seen the film three more times. You’ve probably read my gushing posts. It seems like if you talk enough about one thing, even the filmmakers know you by name. When I walked into the room at the Clift Hotel in San Francisco, Levine came over and thanked me for all the coverage I have given his film. I thanked him for making a great film. Peck even confessed that he’s a regular /Film reader. How cool is that?
Peter Sciretta: Everybody in the film has a cigarette of drug addiction.
Jonathan Levine: Yeah. Well, I think that, OK, so, yes, everyone smokes, sometimes a lot of the time they’re supposed to be smoking a joint, but people think it’s a cigarette, but Olivia smokes, Famke smokes, there was a scene in the shot where Josh’s character actually quit smoking at the very beginning of the movie and then actually has a cigarette at the end of the movie but that ended up on the cutting room floor. For me I think it’s – I recognize it’s probably pretty provocative and probably pisses people off, but a lot of the world I grew up in in New York or even, I just think teenagers do things that are bad for them. I think the point of the movie is that everyone regardless of where they are in life or what their perspective is, they have their own drug, whether it’s sex, money, music, weed, prescription medication, like everyone has their own drug. I think that kind of underscores that point, but there’s like all this, I think now if you have a cigarette in a movie it’s Rated R right, or is it PG-13?
Peter Sciretta: It’s one of the two, I know you can’t even show smoking in like greenband trailers which must make it hard for you guys to…
The Wackness Beats Hancock at the Box Office; See it in July At a Theater Near You
Posted on Sunday, July 6th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
The headline might be just a little deceiving… Okay, a lot. Jonathan Levine’s The Wackness was released on just six screens in New York and Los Angeles this past weekend. And while the film’s $145,000 gross might not seem like much, this little indie gem was able to make $24,166 per screen, which is about $8,000 more per screen than the Will Smith superhero film Hancock. Yes, I realize that Hancock was on 3,959 more screens than The Wackness, but that’s also my point.
The Wackness is one of those wonderful little indies that you have to seek out. Sony will be expanding the film’s release though-out the month, and chances are you’ll be able to see it at a theater near you (that is if you live near the top 50 markets). Thanks to FirstShowing, we have Sony Picture Classics’ tentative release schedule:
July 3rd:
New York
Los Angeles
July 11th:
San Francisco
Washington DC
Philadelphia
Boston
Minneapolis
San Diego
Chicago
Seattle
July 18th:
Dallas
Phoenix
Portland
July 25th:
Houston
Austin
Denver
Atlanta
Providence
Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill
Charlotte
Cleveland
San Antonio
Albuquerque
Santa Fe
Detroit
Ann Arbor
Miami / Ft. Lauderdale / West Palm
Kansas City
Honolulu
Mau
Milwaukee
Madison
Salt Lake City
Sacramento
Fresno
Monterey
Reno
Eugene
Salem
Tacoma
Olympia
Bellingham
Anchorage
St. Louis
Baltimore
Annapolis
Richmond
Welcome to another edition of Movie Playlist, where we talk to the writers, directors, and stars about their favorite films. I’ve always found the celebrity playlists on iTunes to be interesting. Most everyone in the film business moved to Hollywood after discovering their love of films. And I’ve always love talking to people about their favorite films. So talking to the people who make the movies about their favorite films just seemed like a natural idea.
This week’s edition is with Jonathan Levine, the writer and director of The Wackness and All The Boys Love Mandy Lane. I first saw The Wackness at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, where the movie went on to win the audience award. I’ve seen the film three times since January, and it still remains on my list of the top five films of 2008. Levine is an up and coming filmmaker who is sure to impress in the years to come.
Manhattan, written and directed by Woody Allen
“Just because of the sweeping kind of romantic scope of it and also the humor and the way it looks.”
Billy Madison by Tamra Davis
“I think it’s just really fucking funny.”
Band of Outsiders by Godard
I really like, well Godard, I think is, I really really like the way he makes films and the way he plays with form is really interesting to me. And I think it’s actually in many ways kind of consistent with hip-hop and sampling things and just the things he does with music and sound. I think he’s like a one of a kind, very unique, and I like to rip him off as much as I can.”
La Notte by Michelangelo Antonioni
Eyes Wide Shut by Stanley Kubrick
“It’s just like a tone, you know? As much as Woody Allen kind of revels in the emotion, those guys kind of have a healthy distance from the emotion that in many ways is just as impactful. There’s a misanthropy to it that is not cynical. It’s like you’re showing that the worst side of people but in doing so, you’re allowing… you know, it’s Tom Cruise, you’re like ‘oh shit! Like Tom Cruise is this scumbag… he has the weirdest thoughts and his wife wants to cheat on him with a marine and he’s Tom Cruise but he’s so fucking fucked up by it that he has to go put on a mask and go to an orgy.’ But you identify with these base desires and with the worst part of human beings and then you realize all right, it’s not that bad. The movie ends on this note where it’s like, oh yeah, we got fucked. I really liked that movie. It might not be my favorite movie… the only one of those movies that constitutes my favorite movie is Manhattan but the other ones do really interesting things that I respect out of movies.”
Check out Jonathan Levine’s latest movie The Wackness, which hits limited release this Friday.
Funny Games with the All the Boys Love Mandy Lane Movie Poster
Posted on Tuesday, June 24th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
It seems very clear to me that movie studios don’t have any clue how to market any of Jonathan Levine’s film s so far. I’ve been waiting to see All the Boys Love Mandy Lane for what seems like forever. It has suffered delay after delay. And the current plan is to release it in August. I think Senator is hoping that the buzz from Levine’s second film The Wackness will direct filmgoers to Mandy. One thing is for sure, this gritty rip-off of the Funny Games poster (which premiered on Shock) probably isn’t the right direction. I mean, how much money did Funny Games make exactly? $1.29 million?
Film Blather says “What distinguishes it from the slasher flock, however, isn’t its kills, but its smarts: the extent to which it taps into the high school psyche and recontextualizes its usual sex-alcohol-and-drugs temptations.” Cinematical’s James Rocchi calls it “the best modern slasher flick since Scream.” Watch the first ten minutes of the film on YouTube.
Sony Pictures Classics has released a new trailer for one of my favorite films of the year - The Wackness. They’re calling it the “official trailer”, and I actually like it much more than the the previously released teasers. It plays equal attention the relationships between Peck, Thirlby, and Kingsley, the 1990’s nostalgia, and the incredible soundtrack. I could have done without the Mary-Kate Olsen button at the end, but I understand she might be a selling point.
Hunter points out that they probably should have played up some of the great critical reaction the film has gotten on the festival circuit. But at the same time I can understand that the target audience might not care about quotes from movie critics. I’m still waiting for the inevitable red band trailer. As I’ve said before, this film is a tough film to sell. Director Jonathan Levine told me that SPC was planning on doing a lot of word of mouth screenings to raise awareness. I think the best thing they could do is pack a theater with people and show them the film, as they will surely recommend it to ten of their friends.
Watch the trailer in High Definition on Yahoo. The Wackness hits theaters on July 3rd 2008.
I had the chance to interview The Wackness writer/director Jonathan Levine and star Josh Peck over the weekend, after having seen the film for a fourth time. The Wackness is one of my favorite movies of the year so far, and if you read the site daily than you know I’ve been pushing the hell out of it. Jonathan thanked me for my support of the film, and Peck admitted to being a /Film reader, how cool is that? I said it in my review of the movie but Peck delivers a career making performance, and I really hope that’s the case.
So far I’ve been very critical of the way Sony Pictures Classics has been marketing the film. Truth is, this movie is a hard sell for any company. Every scene contains elements which aren’t allowed on screen during in green band movie trailers. This obviously makes it hard to cut a good trailer. Add that to the fact that SPC doesn’t know how to market movies and you have a recipe for disaster. Thankfully it sounds like they are going to be doing a lot of word of motuh screenings leading up to the release, which is probably the best way to get the word out about this film (especially considering most everyone I know who has seen the film so far has loved it).
Sony Pictures Classics has released six clips from the film on their film festival EPK. I think these scenes might give you a much better impression about what The Wackness is really about. Althought I don’t reccomend that you watch them all, as they are meant to be seen within the context of the film. The first three are probably better than the last three, so make your choice!
The Wackness will hit theaters on July 3rd 2008.
Previously, Slashfilm lashed into Sony Pictures Classics for releasing a full-length trailer for The Wackness, a fave upcoming flick of the site, that shamefully sold the film as just another navel-ring piece of garbage starring an Olsen twin. Knowing full well who was in the movie, I still anticipated a cornrowed Bijou Phillips popping up and shaking her ass in the trailer at any second. Today, Cinematical received the new one-sheet for the little indie that should send director Jonathan Levine (All the Boys Love Mandy Lane) trail blazing a la Jason Reitman, and thankfully it’s not a complete disaster.
One of the marketing aspects that SPC needs to stress and failed to with the trailer is the film’s 1994 time period. The poster clearly does a better job of this with the taglines, the retro color scheme and the appropriately corny off-kilter cityscape. I’m not sure the cassette title design could be worked in here, but I hope it’s played up more in the weeks up to come. While this one-sheet could always benefit from a “Don’t believe the trailer, this movie’s really great!” Slashfilm pull quote, at least Mary-Kate isn’t hovering over skyscrapers frozen in a dance routine like a malnourished Mick Jagger. The Wackness opens July 3rd. Click the poster above to enlarge.
The Wackness Teaser Trailer #2 OR Sony Pictures Classics Proves Once Again They Don’t Know How To Market a Good Movie
Posted on Monday, April 28th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
It must be really hard to cut a good movie trailer, especially for a bad movie. But it always amazes me when great films sometimes have such horrible movie trailers. I’ve now seen Jonathan Levine ’s The Wackness three times. And since January the film has held strong on the list of my favorite films of 2008. When Sony Pictures Classics purchased the film at Sundance, a lot of the people that loved this film were bummed out. Bloggers were outraged. You see, Sony Pictures Classics is where good movies go to die. The only way they can market a movie is if it wins an award (ie they let the award do the heavy lifting). And the guys at SPC promised that they knew how to handle this film, and two trailers later, I really really really don’t want to say I told you so, but…
The second teaser trailer is a mishmash of good moments from the film, which play well to someone who has seen the movie, but to the unknowing onlooker, it comes off as an urban “Step Up” or Finding Forester. Sure you have some good interaction between Ben Kingsley and Josh Peck, and the moment with Peck playing classic Nintendo, but I challenge anyone who hasn’t heard of this movie to explain to me what this movie is about. Because after seeing this trailer, you really have no idea.
You can watch the trailer below and see for yourself, but I highly recommend you stay away from any of the marketing from this film. I say this because if I had seen either of these teaser trailers, I probably wouldn’t be interested in the slightest. And it’s too bad, because this film is great. It won the audience award at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. People love this film. I love this film. Even critics love this film. But none of that is enough to sell this film to you the audience. I understand that. You want to be sold by the trailer. You probably won’t be sold by this one. Maybe the next one will be better. We can only hope.
First 10 Minutes From All the Boys Love Mandy Lane Now Online
Posted on Sunday, January 27th, 2008 by Hunter Stephenson
Well, it came and it gave without takin’, and two years later we’re still waiting for All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, the highly regarded teen slasher from director Jonathan Levine. You’ve seen his name around because Levine followed up Mandy with The Wackness, one of the most buzzed-about films at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Why the delay? Well, the Weinstein Co. and Levine had a falling out after he refused to cut the gore (fight the power!), but all seems to be well as Mandy is finally seeing a release in the states this year on March 7th through Senator International, and on February 15th in the UK.
The film’s first 10 minutes are now online, and set up an Aaron Spelling-ish pool scene with an eerie something’s-off undercurrent. Worth watching, but don’t expect to glimpse any of the rumored brilliance or unrumored wackness.
