Jump Street Films

Jump Street Films moves into multi-service strategic positioning

2011-11-08T15:46:00.001-08:00

Jump Street Films will expand its core distribution business to act as a strategic consultant for Australian filmmakers looking to position their films in the marketplace. The service will specialize in publicity strategy for films in pre-production and production, and theatrical/ancillary campaign strategy for films in post-production.

Company director Jamie Bialkower will manage the new strand together with Diana Peters, former Vice President of Publicity for The Weinstein Company. Activity has already commenced on Richard Gray’s BLINDER, to be shot in Torquay in February.

“In this day and age when filmmakers are increasingly acting as their own distributors, and the traditional distribution structures are constantly evolving, we want to work closely with the client to formulate the best way for their film to reach viewers”, Bialkower said. “Diana and I have both worked across distribution and publicity for a number of years, in different countries, and we feel that the combined resources we can offer are very much linked and stronger together.”

Jump Street Films will also formally announce a partnership with a New York-based production company in the coming weeks.

Having recently distributed (together with Sharmill Films) Richard Gray’s SUMMER CODA, and previously developed a comprehensive national release and publicity campaign for Dean O’Flaherty’s BEAUTIFUL, on behalf of Kojo Pictures, the next release for Jump Street Films will be Mathieu Kassovitz’s REBELLION in March 2012. Past acquisitions include THE GROCER’S SON, THE ECLIPSE, A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS and THE KING, and together with Sharmill Films THE ITALIAN, EDEN IS WEST and COPACABANA.

COPACABANA RELEASING ON DVD NOVEMBER 2

2011-10-19T19:16:00.001-07:00

Jump Street Films Acquires Mathieu Kassovitz's REBELLION

2011-10-10T20:06:00.001-07:00

Jump Street Films has acquired REBELLION, a searing political epic from Mathieu Kassovitz which premiered last month at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Budgeted at nearly $20 million, this uncompromising film is based on an incident that occurred in 1988 in the French colony of New Caledonia. Kassovitz is Philippe Legorjus, an elite counter-terrorism captain who is flown in with 300 of his men when a group of indigenous Kanak separatists take 30 French police hostage. The rebels are demanding independence, and the captain has 10 days to negotiate a settlement. But with the army treating the crisis as a war on hostile soil, and an election in France rapidly approaching, Legorjus is confronted with a situation that will push his own morality to the brink.

While REBELLION offers the nail-biting pleasures of a military action thriller, at its heart it is a boldly intelligent exploration of ideological conflict, of words vs. actions, trust vs. betrayal, and of the choices a soldier must make in times of intense volatility.

The director, actor, co-writer, co-producer and editor of REBELLION, Kassovitz is renowned as director for his controversial Cannes-winning LA HAINE, along with THE CRIMSON RIVERS and American thrillers such as GOTHIKA. As an actor, he may be best known as the male lead in AMELIE opposite Audrey Tautou and alongside Nicole Kidman in BIRTHDAY GIRL.

REBELLION will screen at the London Film Festival next week, and has been acquired by Lionsgate for UK distribution. It will be released in Australia in the first half of 2012.

The trailer can be viewed here: http://www.iunozat.com/rebellion/trailer.html

ACCLAIM FOR REBELLION
France’s maverick filmmaker returns in full form for this major production... A tightly made action drama - SCREEN INTERNATIONAL
Muscularly fulfills the duties of a war movie, a historical reckoning and a political intervention... A refreshingly unusual mega-production for its attention to the subtleties of language, to the role of words in arming or disarming weapons - VARIETY
Kassovitz’s best movie since LA HAINE. Artistically ambitious, beautifully written and politically incisive - LE FILM FRANCAIS
An outstanding movie - PARIS MATCH
Kassovitz is back! Terrence Malick meets Apocalypse Now! - LE MOUV
A brilliant movie, impeccable stylistically with fine directorial flourishes - LE FIGARO

Sight and Sound - "Forgotten Pleasures"

2011-06-13T00:58:00.000-07:00

The King

James Marsh, US/UK, 2005

By Catherine Wheatley, academic and critic, UK

Back in 2006 I was the only person to select James Marsh’s debut feature in my contribution to S&S’s films of the year poll and assumed my critical faculties had failed me. Others were not kind to The King; indeed Variety’s Todd McCarthy expressed particular distaste, condemning the film as “noxious” and “aggravating”, before taking Marsh to task for the film’s uneasy occupation of a middle ground between atmospheric emphasis and docudrama intensity. Yet as 2008’s much-lauded Man on Wire has borne out, it’s precisely this quality that gives Marsh’s films their discomforting hold over us. Revisiting The King today, it’s remarkable how much Marsh’s Southern gothic prefigures another pair of critical hits from that year, namely No Country for Old Men andThere Will be Blood. It was Marsh, not P.T. Anderson, who first connected the angular, earnest severity of Paul Dano with religious zealotry, casting him alongside Gael García Bernal as the Abel and Cain sons of a Texan preacher played by William Hurt (an underrated classic himself). It was his film, before the Coens’, that squeezed out an ophidian narrative that went nowhere we expected it to but that was constantly infused with the faint, nauseating stench of unfathomable evil.The King is worth seeing for these reasons and many more, but especially for one indelible tracking shot that features towards the film’s end. It’s dreadful and gorgeous, and lingers with me even – perhaps especially – on the brightest of days.

Acclaim for Copacabana

2010-11-28T13:30:00.000-08:00

4 STARS “A complex central performance illuminates this gentle character study. Huppert’s performance is rich, nuanced, internal and very natural… superb actress” Paul Byrnes, Sydney Morning Herald

“The age-defiant Isabelle Huppert shines in this soufflé-light French comedy” Jim Schembri, The Age

“Impossible to tear your eyes from Huppert, who imbues her character with so much intelligence and sharp humour… gives a genuine gravitas” Mark Naglazas, West Australian

“Entertaining comedy… Huppert reminds us what a deft comic actor she can be” Philippa Hawker, The Age

“Huppert gives a sharp comic performance as a free-spirited figure who decides to remake herself when her much straighter daughter decides to get married” Philippa Hawker, The Age

“Huppert’s delicious performance is in a strikingly new register… adds a glorious new side to the Huppert screen persona” Lynden Barber, The Australian

“The always-amazing Isabelle Huppert… is nothing short of brilliant. A character piece in the best sense… surprising and delightful” Ain’t It Cool News

“A very good film. Recommended” Julie Rigg, ABC Radio National

“An emotionally intelligent film” Jason Di Rosso, ABC Radio National

“Delightful. Guaranteed good time” Des Partridge

“A characteristically uncompromising performance by Huppert… endlessly fascinating” Tom Ryan, Sunday Age

“Played with an abudance of understanding by a vibrant and defiant Huppert” Andiee Paviour, WHO

“In a quietly comic drama, Huppert delivers a rich portrait of a colourful and compassionate woman facing a crisis” Garry Maddox, Sydney Morning Herald

“A stunning comic creation” Filmink

“Very funny and very smart” Peter Galvin, SBS

“An extremely charming and sweet film, pleasingly revealing yet another side to the chameleon-like Isabelle Huppert” Thomas Caldwell, Cinema Autopsy

“The luminous Huppert takes centre stage with an ebullient performance… fun, affirming and supremely joyful” Alice Tynan, Concrete Playground

“Wonderful Huppert… a quirky feel-good comedy” Empire

“Huppert’s effervescent performance… the scenes with her daughter Lolita Chammah have a special resonance” The Blurb

4 STARS “A delight, notable primarily for the vivacious, frequently very funny lead performance by Isabelle Huppert” Time Out London

“Huppert delights as a middle-aged hippie who must take a boring job in order to pay for the wedding of her mainstream daughter” New York Post

“A charming and honest comedy with a masterful performance by Isabelle Huppert” San Francisco Bay Guardian

“Hilarious. Huppert is hugely believable” Variety

“Huppert and Chammah make a strong mother-daughter team, accomplices who have pulled off a coup” New York Times

“A delight. Gently comic in tone, Marc Fitoussi has created a whole cast of well-rounded dramatic characters with light and shade. May well lend itself to an English-language remake” The Telegraph

“Huppert’s performance is another triumph of acting, for this muse of Chabrol who can move us to smile and cry in a single shot” Vogue

4 STARS “We laughed uproariously” Liberation

5 STARS “A jubilant comedy” Metro

“Extremely funny. Huppert illuminates the film. A comedy with a touch of rebelliousness, both enthusiastic and fresh. Dazzling colours” La Tribune

4 STARS “People are talking a lot about Marc Fitoussi’s “Copacabana”. Should be one of this summer’s hits” Le Parisien

“A refreshing and optimistic comedy in which the great Isabelle Huppert plays a balancing act with gusto. She demonstrates once again that she is the best” Paris Match

“A virtuoso performance” La-Croix

“At once funny, sharp and moving, as enchanting as a Brazilian samba” Le Journal Du Dimanche

5 STARS “A total success, which fills us with happiness. Isabelle Huppert confirms her immense talent. One cannot recommend this small jewel enough” Excessif

“Huppert lights up this bittersweet comedy” France Soir

“We had forgotten that Huppert could make us laugh. She demonstrates it with a bang in this lovely film” Les Echos

“A feel good movie in the French style” Glamour

Copacabana Now Showing

2010-11-24T13:37:00.000-08:00

France's answer to Meryl Streep is ready for an adventure, writes Garry Maddox.

The offer is inviting. ''Glass of champagne?'' asks Isabelle Huppert. Flanked by huge plates of petit fours and exotic fruit, the acclaimed French actress is clearly enjoying a night off from filming in Paris.
But if the setting seems cheerfully regal, Huppert immediately turns that on its head by asking about the health of the Australian filmmaker Paul Cox, who directed her in the drama Cactus 25 years ago and had a life-saving liver transplant on Boxing Day.
''Why don't we call him! That would be fun,'' she says impulsively before realising it is very early in the morning in Australia. ''I like Paul very much. I had a great time in Melbourne with him.''
Advertisement: Story continues below
Surprisingly tiny in a dapper pant suit, Huppert has a rare quality: she looks like a palely handsome 57-year-old in the flesh but is nothing short of radiant on screen. Frequently playing defiant, ordinary women dealing with trauma in recent years, she is France's Meryl Streep for the record number of nominations for Cesar awards, the country's Oscars. She has 13 - for one win - as well as twice claiming best actress at Cannes - for Violette Noziere and The Piano Teacher.
In a career working with a who's-who of European directors - Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol, Otto Preminger, Bertrand Blier, Andrzej Wajda, Olivier Assayas, Michael Haneke, the Taviani brothers and now Anne Fontaine - other notable films have included Entre Nous, Loulou, Madame Bovary, 8 Women,Heaven's Gate and I [Heart] Huckabees. Her latest release isCopacabana, in which she stars with her daughter, Lolita Chammah.
''When I did Cactus she was with me,'' Huppert says. ''She was two years old. She knows Australia. She knows the pingouins of - where was it? - Phillip Island.''
In Copacabana Huppert plays the free-spirited Babou, who lives in northern France and dreams of escaping to Brazil. But faced with an angry, alienated daughter and a shortage of cash, she takes on a job selling time-share apartments in a bleak Belgian port.
In a quietly comic drama, Huppert delivers a rich portrait of a colourful and compassionate woman facing a crisis. Surprisingly, she was cast after her daughter.
''Lolita is a friend of [director] Marc Fitoussi,'' she says. ''She had a part in his previous film, La Vie d'Artiste. Marc knew from the beginning that he was going to ask her to be the daughter.''
The filmmaker describes Huppert as one of the few actresses who can play any character because of her talent and willingness to take risks.
''Although I only ever imagined Isabelle as Babou, it took me some time before I dared send her the script,'' he says. ''Compared to the dangerous, icy characters she's played recently, I was afraid she'd find Babou trivial and eccentric.''
Huppert responded to the character's spirit.
''She's a happy person and yet she has very good reasons to be unhappy and to be desperate. But she's a survivor.''
The actress initially found it difficult working with her daughter.
''For the first couple of hours, we just didn't believe in it,'' she says. ''It made me realise how much life is stronger than any fiction possibility.
''Just to be in front of each other as actresses, we thought, 'Oh, it's ridiculous.' We couldn't take ourselves seriously. We were laughing. Then, of course, we had to be serious and to do the movie.''
Huppert says the director is the main reason she usually - not always - chooses roles.
''I never did a movie without knowing who was going to be a director or without having some kind of attraction for a director,'' she says. ''Of course, the criteria of attraction is not the same whether it's a very well-known director or a first-time director.
''If it's a first-time director, you rely more on some other elements like the script. But to do a movie is always a signergy - do you say
that? - a synergy of several desires.'' Next up, Huppert is heading to the Philippines to play a foreigner kidnapped by terrorists for the director Brillante Mendoza, having met him while head of the Cannes jury that awarded him best director forKinatay last year.
''In a way, I'm still exactly at the same place I was 10 years ago or 20 years ago or when I started being an actress,'' she says.
''I'm in a certain comfort, of course. I'm privileged. But I'm in a state of mind of curiosity - always ready to welcome some unexpected adventures. I guess my next movie will be like this.''

Radio National talks to Isabelle Huppert

2010-11-17T15:06:00.001-08:00

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/movietime/stories/2010/3064054.htm

Copacabana Releasing November 25

2010-11-17T14:49:00.000-08:00

COPACABANA releases November 25 at the below cinemas, with advance screenings November 19/20/21:

VIC - Nova, Sorrento (Rivoli to commence December 9)

NSW - Cremorne, Roseville, Cinema Paris, Collaroy, Avoca Beach

QLD - Graceville

SA - Eastend

WA - Luna Paradiso

TAS - State Hobart

Cinema Nova in Melbourne will host an opening night Brazilian-themed celebration on Thursday November 25. Join us from 6.30pm for Brazilian music, dancing and cocktails.

COPACABANA had a gala screening on Friday November 12 as part of the St.George Brisbane International Film Festival, as well as recent screenings at the Rosebud and Halls Gap festivals.

Lynden Barber on Isabelle Huppert

2010-11-07T18:17:00.001-08:00

http://video.theaustralian.com.au/1633906740/Super-Huppert

Praise for Summer Coda

2010-10-21T17:56:00.001-07:00

“A genuinely moving experience… rich love story… strong central performances” David Stratton, The Australian

“Beautifully acted and surprisingly touching” David Stratton, At The Movies

“At last, an uplifting Australian film that washes over the senses… a breezy breath of fresh air that sings of sunny abandon and the plenitude of youth” Ross Purdie, AAP

“Handsome romantic drama” Tom Ryan, The Age Melbourne Magazine

4 STARS “A well-written, restrained and sophisticated drama… it is Dimitriades who really impresses” Rose Capp, Melbourne City Weekly

“A satisfying and emotionally rich experience… Taylor’s nuanced portrayal is superb. Dimiatrides is also excellent… a rich viewing experience” Brisbane News

“Elegantly filmed. There’s a careful confidence in Gray’s treatment of his material, and Taylor and Dimitriades give well-judged, appealing performances” Philippa Hawker, The Age

“A great ensemble cast, gorgeous sweeping scenery and a genuinely interesting, original and fresh plot” Giles Hardie, Fairfax Digital

“The bucolic rhythms of life in the orange grove have a lot of allure. It’s Eden on the Murray and if you sit back and let its glories wash over you, you’ll find a lot here to like” Sandra Hall, Sydney Morning Herald

“A lovely film… everything about this is bang-on… it’ll definitely put a spring in your step. Well worth a look” Richard Wilkins, Today

“Absolutely stunning… extremely strong performances” RRR

“Taylor and Dimitriades are fantastic” Sunday Herald Sun

“Dimitriades puts in a wonderful performance” Movie Juice

“An utterly beautiful, brilliant film… it feels like something new” Ain’t It Cool News

“Superb performances from a dream cast” Filmink

“A beautiful Australian film with heart” Donna Demaio, 3AW

“Visually rich. Depends on the intensity and intelligent beauty of Taylor… she is excellent” Screen International

“A feel-good, sundrenched summer romance” Broadsheet

“It must be stated just how gorgeous Summer Coda is… delicately handled, exquisite to look at and charmingly acted” Trespass Magazine

“An impressive debut. A sensory film experience.” A brilliant and vibrant supporting cast” In Film

“Cinematically the film is stunning… stellar acting from the lead and supporting cast” MovieFix

Copacabana Trailer

2010-09-30T19:18:00.001-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7O1A2p-5pU

Cinema Nova Q+A

2010-09-30T19:16:00.000-07:00

Join Cinema Nova for a preview screening of the new romantic drama Summer Coda, followed by a Q&A with director Richard Gray and star Alex Dimitriades.

http://www.cinemanova.com.au/events.html

SUMMER CODA Cinema Locations - October 21

2010-09-23T21:57:00.000-07:00

VIC
Cinema Nova
Village Rivoli
Palace Como
Palace Brighton Bay
Sun Theatre Yarraville
Palace Balwyn
Deakin Cinema Mildura
Village Geelong

Hamilton Cinema

NSW
Hayden Orpheum Cremorne
Family Cinemas Roseville
EVENT Macquarie
Palace Norton
Palace Verona
Regent Cinema Centre Albury
GU Newcastle
Lilac Cinema Goulburn

Roxy Cinema Nowra

Cinema Paradiso Ettalong
Bay City Cinema Batemans Bay
Gala Cinema Warrawong

QLD
Palace Centro
Palace Barracks
BCC Maroochydore
BCC Cairns City

SA
Palace Nova Eastend
EVENT Marion

TAS
State Cinema Hobart

ACT
GU Manuka

Rachael Taylor

2010-09-16T22:07:00.000-07:00

RACHAEL Taylor is to return home for the premiere of her new movie Summer Coda next month as she tries to put the trauma of her troubled relationship with ex-boyfriend Matthew Newton behind her.

News of her homecoming comes as it was confirmed the actress has landed a guest role in hit TV drama Grey's Anatomy, in which she will play, not surprisingly, a doctor.

In an exclusive behind-the-scenes insight into life on the Summer Coda set, Taylor revealed the role reinspired her passion for acting.

"This has been the most important movie I think I have ever made," the 26-year-old actress said on the set of the romantic drama-road movie.

"It's made me excited about acting again."

Such is Taylor's enthusiasm for writer-director Richard Gray's feature film debut she has indicated she will walk the red carpet with co-star Alex Dimitriades, braving the media glare sure to surround her first public appearance since she was allegedly assaulted by Newton in Rome in August.

Gray says the actress finally gets to show what she is capable of in his low-budget film, which was shot in Mildura and California.

"She's in virtually every scene. Powerful female roles are few and far between in Australian cinema, particularly at her age," he said.

In Gray's screenplay, Taylor's character Heidi plays the violin. To master the fiendishly difficult instrument in just three months, she first studied at UCLA, and then took instruction from a private tutor.

"She carried the violin wherever she went. She would practise constantly - in her lunch breaks and after hours," Gray said.

The role also required Taylor to play pool like a pro.

"I read Baz Luhrmann sent Nicole Kidman roses when he wanted her to do Moulin Rouge. I sent [Rachael] a pool cue."

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/sydney-confidential/new-role-is-just-taylor-made-for-rachael/story-e6frewz0-1225924237185

COPACABANA

2010-07-26T21:49:00.000-07:00

NEW ACQUISITION DIRECT FROM CRITICS WEEK AT CANNES 2010

One of France’s most acclaimed dramatic actresses unearths her considerable comic talents in the delightful COPACABANA.

Isabelle Huppert is Babou, the ultimate free spirit, an unemployed single mother living in the North of France with dreams of going to Brazil. When her by-the-book daughter Esmeralda announces that she is getting married, and that she is too ashamed of her own mother to invite her to the wedding, Babou decides to make some changes. She takes a dubious job selling time-share apartments during the off-season at the Belgian seaside, and surprises everyone in this surreal environment by becoming the model employee. But Babou inevitably gets in the way of her own success, and must decide how to remain true to her unique self while at the same time winning back the love and respect of her daughter.

Tinged with Samba-flavoured music, this bittersweet comedy features a truly memorable performance from Isabelle Huppert, teamed on screen for the first time with her real-life daughter, Lolita Chammah.

TRAILER

2010-07-08T00:39:00.000-07:00

Here is the trailer for SUMMER CODA, with the World Premiere screening slated for August 4 as part of the Melbourne Film Festival. (www.melbournefilmfestival.com.au)

http://vimeo.com/13123613

POSTER

2010-06-16T17:19:00.001-07:00

AAP: June 17

2010-06-16T16:18:00.000-07:00

Actress Rachael Taylor admits she almost gave up her part in the upcoming Aussie film Summer Coda because of the "terrifying" task of having to learn the violin.

The Transformers star now says she's glad she stuck with it, describing the experience of making the romantic drama as "amazing".

Set against the backdrop of the orange groves of Mildura, along the Murray River, Summer Coda has been six years in the making for young, first-time Melbourne director Richard Gray.

It stars Taylor as Heidi, an American violin player who travels to rural Victoria for her estranged father's funeral and forms an initially guarded connection with orange grove owner Michael, played by Alex Dimitriades.

The film, which also stars Susie Porter and Jackie Weaver, is set for release in Australia on October 21.

Taylor admits that three weeks out from the start of filming last year she got cold feet and called Gray to tell him she didn't think she could learn the violin in that short amount of time.

"I told him I felt like I couldn't do the part, I said 'mate I have to be honest with you I feel like I'm unable to do it'," says Taylor, who's dating fellow actor Matthew Newton.

"The violin is terrifying, it's a confronting part, and I wasn't sure I was properly prepared for it.

"You don't want to embarrass yourself, Richard's been developing this project for six years, I told him he deserved somebody who felt capable," she adds.

But Gray wouldn't have it, telling Taylor she was perfect for the part.

Taylor describes Summer Coda, which was filmed in Mildura and the US, as a gentle journey about complex relationships.

"What do you do when you go to your father's funeral, who you haven't spoken to since you were eight and you meet his new wife and his new son, there's no handbook on how to handle those moments in life, and that's what the film's about."

Taylor's own real-life relationship with Newton has been under the spotlight since he was reportedly admitted to a Melbourne rehabilitation clinic earlier this year.

Newton, the son of TV great Bert Newton, has since scored himself the hosting role on Seven's upcoming series The X Factor.

Taylor, who did not want to go into great detail about their relationship, did say she was excited about Newton's new gig.

"It is terrific," she told AAP.

She hinted at some long-term plans for the couple.

"Sydney is where we want to base ourselves a little bit more now," she said.

"The people who we have relationships with and the people we fall in love with become a crucial part of who we are," she added.

Taylor will next head to Russia to work on a sci-fi Hollywood production, The Darkest Hour, with American actor Emile Hirsch.

SUMMER CODA to bloom in cinemas this Spring

2010-06-16T16:16:00.000-07:00

The long awaited directorial debut from Richard Gray, SUMMER CODA is confirmed to release nationally in cinemas on October 21.

Set against the beautiful backdrop of the orange groves of Mildura along the Murray River, SUMMER CODA is a refreshing romance starring Rachael Taylor (Transformers, Bottle Shock, Cedar Boys) and Alex Dimitriades (Head On, La Spagnola), plus a stellar supporting cast including Susie Porter, Jacki Weaver, Nathan Phillips, Angus Sampson and Cassandra Magrath.

"After 6 years since completing the first draft, I'm incredibly excited about the finished film. Rachael and Alex were wonderful to work with, and filming Summer Coda in Mildura's spectacular orange groves and splashing around in the Murray River was a dream come true. It's an exciting romantic drama that we hope will appeal to a wide audience," said director, Richard Gray from Melbourne.

Having grown up with her mother in Nevada, Heidi (Rachael Taylor) hasn’t spoken to her father since she was seven. Now a young woman, haunted by his memory, she returns to Australia seeking closure. Travelling to her hometown on a shoestring, Heidi is forced to hitchhike and busk for cash. Her talent on the violin gains the attention of handsome orange grove owner Michael (Alex Dimitriades), who offers Heidi a ride. Both are initially guarded, but an unexpected connection soon blossoms.

Fleeing to Michael’s orange grove after a family reunion turns sour, Heidi finds the escape and camaraderie she craves. Whilst Michael seems conflicted over Heidi’s presence, it’s picking season and he is soon immersed in the colourful surrounds and offbeat characters of the arriving citrus pickers. However, when Heidi drops her guard and reveals her feelings, Michael struggles to reciprocate, his wit and charm masking a tortured soul. As the past unravels, Michael and Heidi are forced to confront the future, discovering that their lives and secrets are better shared.

Closure is just the beginning.

SUMMER CODA was shot on location in Mildura, Victoria and California, USA and was written and directed by talented young film-maker Richard Gray, whose screenplay was runner-up in Project Greenlight Australia. Gray is a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts, School of Film & Television.

SUMMER CODA was produced by Revival Film Company, privately funded, with screenplay and post production support from Film Victoria.

SUMMER CODA will be distributed nationally by Sharmill Films and Jump Street Films.

To download images, plus to follow the film’s journey to cinema screens by joining us on twitter, facebook and the director’s blog, visit:

www.summercoda.com

SUMMER CODA releases nationally on October 21.

For more information about SUMMER CODA, or to enquire about interviews, please contact:

Chris Chamberlin (Pop Culture)
chris@popculture.net.au
0404 075 749

Critical Acclaim for THE ECLIPSE - Now Showing

2010-03-28T15:20:00.001-07:00

4 STARS “A really moving experience, one that stayed with me long after I’d left the cinema. Simply stunning performances” Margaret Pomeranz, AT THE MOVIES

4 STARS “See this superb film cold, and prepare to be wowed. Utterly unclassifiable - as only the best, most memorable films can be… the writing, direction and performances are of the highest calibre… highly recommended. Anyone up for a wildcard viewing experience that refuses to play by the expected rules is advised to make tracks in this direction immediately” Leigh Paatsch, HIT (News Ltd national: HERALD SUN/DAILY TELEGRAPH/COURIER MAIL/ADVERTISER)

4 STARS “Strangely compelling… Ciaran Hinds anchors every distinctive scene” WHO

“Directed with considerable assurance… perfectly judged” Tom Ryan, SUNDAY AGE/SUN HERALD

“The performances are wonderful… a very intriguing film on all sorts of levels” David Stratton, AT THE MOVIES

“Beguiling. A surprising film with multiple centres of intrigue… a laudable open-endedness and an absence of moralising. An oddity that works” Jason Di Rosso, ABC RADIO NATIONAL

“An engagingly modest film… ensures you care very much. Hinds possesses an unassuming versatility” Sandra Hall, SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

“Haunting… strong lead performances and genuinely scary moments” FILMINK

“May do something that many films have done beforehand, but it certainly does it in a way I’ve never seen done before… certainly one that will be discussed by those who see it” AIN’T IT COOL NEWS

“Effectively written and portrayed… Ciaran Hinds is excellent” URBAN CINEFILE

“A subtle, beguiling mix of romance, literary satire and horror” THREE THOUSAND

“A truly beautiful and touching film” CUT PRINT REVIEW

“A haunting romance. Finds plenty of heartfelt gravity in its tale of love lost and found on a gothic coast… agreeably melancholy, spooky and romantic” LOS ANGELES TIMES

3.5/4 “The acclaimed Irish playwright Conor McPherson has crafted a film every bit as affecting and haunting as his plays… a humble gem of a movie” ASSOCIATED PRESS

“A lovely tale of grief, love and moving on… a gem… lives and breathes through Hinds’ marvelously understated but full-bodied performance” HUFFINGTON POST

3.5/4 “Special. Scary and touching… a triumph for Ciaran Hinds, one of the best. Really worth seeing” CHICAGO TRIBUNE

“McPherson’s eerie story has the amazing duel effect of being both sweetly moving and really creepy. Deeply absorbing… terrific performances” Critic’s Pick WASHINGTON POST

“Ciaran Hinds is outstanding. So subtly handled” SAN FRANSICO CHRONICLE

“A special, magical, nearly perfect movie that should not be missed” THIS WEEK IN NEW YORK

“The Eclipse is a keeper.” ROLLING STONE

“Shines with sterling cast… lovely” THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

“Conor McPherson delivers a beautiful, even believable ghost drama that enraptures on many levels” THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

“A film of such seductive grace and humour – Quinn and Hinds are brilliant” VARIETY

“Uniquely great. Both emotionally and psychologically surprising” RISKY BUSINESS (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER BLOG)

“Auspicious… Wonderfully acted supernatural-tinged romantic dramedy” NEW YORK POST

“Possibly the hottest property at Tribeca, it may have also been the best” NEWSDAY

“An awards-calibre performance” NEW YORK MAGAZINE

“…by turns spooky, romantic, funny and sad… McPherson masterfully calibrates some pretty wild tonal shifts in this beautifully realized film, which resembles a New Yorker short story in its quiet, closely observed sense of detail. Like a little getaway in its own right, taking viewers to new worlds both natural and supernatural.” WASHINGTON POST

“Charming. The wonderful Ciaran Hinds has rarely been better.” BOX OFFICE

“The simultaneous revelation of a place and a man, with their shared history, and it plays by virtue of Hinds, his face a hewn and weathered monument to regret” LA WEEKLY

“A smart, scary, spine-tinglingly matter-of-fact ghost story… Hinds’ sorrowful and moving performance as a man haunted in more ways than one” ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

“A quietly haunting experience… most satisfying” FILMCRITIC.COM

“A fascinating romantic triangle… lovely, wise, occasionally creepy and surprisingly moving” SALON

“Returns the romance genre to the world of real adults” PASTE

“It’s the kind of movie you might need a push to see but will be happy you did. Consider yourself pushed” NEW YORK TIMES (John Anderson Blog)

“A rarity. Works wondrously well” IF MAGAZINE

“Consensus: An intriguingly unusual ghost story, Conor McPherson’s Eclipse blends supernatural suspence with romance to create a satisfying, character-driven whole” ROTTEN TOMATOES (review aggregator)

Irish Film Awards

2010-02-21T13:48:00.000-08:00

Conor McPherson's film The Eclipse has taken the award for best film at the 7th Irish Film & Television Awards (IFTAs).

The winners were announced at a ceremony in Dublin last night.

The Eclipse also picked up awards for Aidan Quinn for best supporting actor (film) and for Conor McPherson/Billy Roche for best film script.

Actors Colin Farrell and Dervla Kirwan won the Actor in a Lead Role Film and Actress in a Supporting Role Film awards for their performances in Neil Jordan’s Ondine. Irish talent working in the international arena were also well recognised at the ceremony with Jim Sheridan announced the winner of the Director Film Award for Brothers, and actress Saoirse Ronan winning the Actress in a Lead Role Film IFTA for her performance in Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones.

In the international categories, the Irish Academy voted The Hurt Locker Best International Film with Robert Downey Jr (Sherlock Holmes) and Meryl Streep (It’s Complicated) winning both the International Actor and Pantene International Actress Awards for the second year in a row.

Finally, Brendan Gleeson, Jon Voight and Juliette Binoche presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to producer/director/writer John Boorman.

Cinemas

2010-02-18T15:55:00.000-08:00

THE ECLIPSE will commence April 15 at the following cinemas, with sneak previews April 9-11.

MELBOURNE - Nova, Rivoli, Como, Brighton Bay
SYDNEY - Chauvel, Cinema Paris
BRISBANE - Barracks
ADELAIDE - Palace Nova
HOBART - State

New Poster and Trailer

2010-01-10T17:48:00.000-08:00

http://www.apple.com/trailers/magnolia/theeclipse/

"Summer Coda" website launches

2009-11-09T18:20:00.001-08:00

Follow the production of SUMMER CODA through its official website: www.summercoda.com

"THE ECLIPSE" WINS AT SITGES

2009-10-12T22:10:00.001-07:00

Conor McPheron’s THE ECLIPSE continues to enjoy international festival success, with the jury of the 42nd Sitges Film Festival of Catalonia awarding it the SILVER MELIES (EUROPEAN MOTION PICTURE).

Sitges is the number one fantasy film festival in the world and specializes in films with “genre elements”.

This haunting and beautifully atmospheric Irish drama will release throughout Australia in March.

RICHARD GRAY’S “SUMMER CODA” BEGINS PRODUCTION

2009-10-06T17:20:00.000-07:00

For Immediate Release – October 7

RICHARD GRAY’S “SUMMER CODA” BEGINS PRODUCTION NEXT MONTH – ACQUIRED BY JUMP STREET/SHARMILL FILMS

Award-winning writer/director Richard Gray's debut feature film Summer Coda (formerly known as When She Gets There) will commence shooting on November 9.

Rachael Taylor (Bottle Shock, Transformers) and Alex Dimitriades (Head On, The Heartbreak Kid) head an all-star Australian cast including Susie Porter, Nathan Phillips, Angus Sampson, Josh Lawson, Cassandra Magrath and Jackie Weaver.

Summer Coda, runner-up in Movie Network’s Project Greenlight, is a romantic drama set amongst the stunning orange groves of Mildura, Australia, with an overseas shooting leg to include Reno, Nevada.

Jump Street Films and Sharmill Films will co-distribute in Australia in 2010.

“After five years of hard work we have the strongest cast and crew imaginable”, says Gray. “We're incredibly excited about moving into production in November – we have a beautiful story to tell.”

Producers are Richard Gray, Marc Goldenfein and John Finemore; associate producers are Jamie Bialkower and Anita Ziemer; executive producers are Bryce Menzies, Natalie Miller and James Hoppe. Richard Gray is a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts School of Film and Television.

For further information please contact:

TANJA NEDEL
Unit Publicist

REVIVAL FILM COMPANY pty ltd
173 Gertrude Street
Fitzroy VIC Australia, 3065
m. +61 (0)418 258 096
f. +61 (0)3 9417 1987
e. tanja@revivalfilmcompany.com

Quotes

2009-08-23T21:14:00.000-07:00

“The brightest, most entertaining film of his illustrious career” Jim Schembri, The Age

“I fell in love with this” Jason Di Rosso, ABC Radio National

“Tender and beguiling… many stunning images” Peter Galvin, SBS

“Delightfully entertaining” Mark Demetrius, FILMINK

“A beguiling film to savour” John Bale, The Blurb

“Continually arresting. There’s a taste of heaven and hell in this likeable road movie that addresses the plight of illegal immigrants within a cocktail of drama, poetry and humour” Louise Keller, Urban Cinefile

“A story about the human condition in all its complexity… challenging and beautiful” Hilary Harper, ABC Melbourne

“As designated political filmmaker to the world, Costa-Gavras has few colleagues and possibly no peers. An odyssey both touching, dangerous, thrilling and funny… a haunting magical ending” Jonathan Dawson, ABC Hobart

“A playful modern fairy tale about a serious subject” Variety

“A cross between the noble, wandering Ulysses and a Charlie Chaplin perpetually on the run from the cops” The Hollywood Reporter

“Gripping” The New York Times

“Bittersweet comedy… a deft mix of allegory and realism” Screen International

4.5 STARS “European cinema at its best… touching, comedic, and poignant… Scamarcio’s performance is an absolute tour de force” Eye For Film UK

Cinemas

2009-07-13T16:42:00.001-07:00

EDEN IS WEST will commence August 20 at the following cinemas, with sneak previews August 14-16:

MELBOURNE - Nova, Rivoli, Como, Brighton Bay, Classic
SYDNEY - Norton St, Verona, Cremorne Orpheum
BRISBANE - Centro
ADELAIDE - Palace Nova
HOBART - State

Artwork and Trailer

2009-06-15T23:49:00.001-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adlunG3nxds

"Beautiful" Selected For Shanghai

2009-05-25T16:58:00.000-07:00

INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS FOR DEAN O'FLAHERTY'S FILM

Jump Street Films and Kojo Pictures today announced that Dean O’Flaherty’s debut feature BEAUTIFUL has been invited to screen at the 12th Shanghai International Film Festival, to run June 13-21.

This comes off the back of a successful international premiere last month at the Newport Beach International Film Festival in Los Angeles.

Sales agent Maximum Films has just sold the film to France and all French-speaking European territories, to add to further recent sales to Japan (where it is scheduled for release in August), Poland, Middle East, Russia, Mexico and HBO Eastern Europe.

Searing and luscious, BEAUTIFUL tells the story of Daniel, a shy and introverted 14 year old boy residing in Sunshine Hills, a suburb living in the grip of fear following the rumoured abductions of three teenage girls. Daniel’s two main obsessions are photography and Suzy, a 17 year old Lolita, a dangerous combination of youth and sexuality. Using his crush to her advantage, Suzy asks Daniel that in exchange for her friendship he must bring her secrets and photographs of the neighbours and houses that surround them. Thus begins a journey into the underbelly of suburbia, taking them on the trail of a could be killer – and what starts out as an innocent summer holiday becomes anything but, leading them from childhood fantasy and into the harsh reality of the real world… one of savagery and murder.

Upon its Australian release earlier this year, many reviewers compared O’Flaherty’s filmmaking style to that of independent American master David Lynch. A visually stunning hybrid of genres that controversially goes behind closed doors to show what really may be going on in our neighbours’ homes, it’s a bold debut for the Melbourne-based writer/director who previously distributed and sold films as diverse as “Irreversible”, “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days”, “2:37”, “Noise” and “Bobby”.

Featuring an original score by Paul Mac, BEAUTIFUL stars Peta Wilson, Deborra-lee Furness, Tahyna Tozzi, Asher Keddie and Sebastian Gregory.

http://www.thebeautifulmovie.com/

"The Eclipse"

2009-05-19T23:06:00.000-07:00

http://www.screendaily.com/festivals/cannes/cannes-film-market/jump-street-acquires-australasian-rights-to-the-eclipse/5001374.article

Jump Street Films has acquired Australia/New Zealand rights to THE ECLIPSE, the buzz film of the recent Tribeca Film Festival.

From acclaimed playwright Conor McPherson (“The Seafarer”), THE ECLIPSE stars Tribeca’s Best Actor winner Ciaran Hinds (“There Will Be Blood”, “Munich”, HBO’s “Rome”), Aidan Quinn (“Legends of the Fall”, “Michael Collins”) and Iben Hjejle (“Defiance”, “High Fidelity”).

Story is set during a literary festival in an Irish seaside town and centres on a recent widower trying to adjust to his role as the sole caretaker of his two young children, while finding himself increasingly haunted by nightmares that are starting to spill into his waking hours.

“Conor McPherson delivers a beautiful, even believable ghost drama that enraptures on many levels”
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/film-reviews/film-review-the-eclipse-1003967218.story)

“Possibly the hottest property at Tribeca, it may have also been the best” NEWSDAY

“A film of such seductive grace” VARIETY

“Wonderfully acted supernatural-tinged romantic dramedy” NEW YORK POST

“An awards-calibre performance” NEW YORK MAGAZINE

COLCOA Award

2009-04-30T19:07:00.000-07:00

Costa-Gavras’ Eden Is West was awarded the top prize by the jury of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association at the 13th Annual City Of Lights, City Of Angels, (COLCOA).

“There were so many wonderful films at this year’s COLCOA – comedies, romances, family chronicles, psychological dramas, espionage thrillers, a crime-epic, a superb documentary, and several moving journeys of self-liberation, whether through the making of art, the mastering of chess or simply swimming for your life,” jury president F X Feeney said.

“How could we choose? Fortunately, in Eden Is West Costa-Gavras succeeds in nearly all of these forms of excellence. He holds up a truthful mirror to the cruel divided nature of our world, of its brutal displacements and callous barriers – yet he never loses his sense of humour.”

COLCOA is funded by the Franco-American Cultural Fund to premiere French films over the course of a week in Los Angeles.

"Eden Is West"

2009-04-07T00:11:00.000-07:00

Jump Street Films and Sharmill Films are thrilled to announce the acquisition of Costa-Gavras’ EDEN IS WEST, starring Riccardo Scamarcio.

Over the course of his long and legendary career, the Greek director Costa-Gavras has won almost every single major international award, including the Academy Award, the BAFTA, Berlin’s Golden Bear and Cannes’ Palme d’Or. His classic films include “Z”, “Missing” and “Music Box”.

His latest film, EDEN IS WEST recently closed the Berlin Film Festival, and the sense of social engagement in his cinema has never been stronger or rendered more inventively than here. The hardships suffered by illegal immigrants to Europe have been well recorded by the cinema, but perhaps never in such a light, for EDEN IS WEST captures the magical nature of the world one young man encounters, in which every new experience is full of both promise and threat.

Just like in “The Odyssey”, it is in the Aegean Sea that the adventures of Elias begin. A rusting trawler packed with clandestine men, women and children slowly approaches the bright lights of an emerging shore, and we may not know where they all began but we know where they hope they’re going: the West, an actual as well as mythical place. For Elias, this will literally be Eden Club Paradise, the name of the resort at which he wakes up at, and his extraordinary journey from there to reach Paris, taking him across a microcosm of contemporary Europe.

Jump Street Films and Sharmill Films last released THE ITALIAN together to an Australian gross of almost 1.1 million dollars.

EDEN IS WEST will release later this year.

Melbourne Premiere Photos part 2

2009-03-04T18:20:00.000-08:00

Melbourne Premiere Photos part 1

2009-03-04T18:17:00.000-08:00

Sunrise

2009-03-02T14:54:00.000-08:00

http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/sunrise/video/interviews/?autoplay_id=12274178#embedded-video-top

Sydney Morning Herald

2009-03-01T17:46:00.001-08:00

Critical Acclaim

2009-02-26T19:03:00.000-08:00

“Visually stunning and genre-defying. It blends elements of Lolita with Desperate Housewives, American Beauty and To Kill A Mockingbird. An excellent soundtrack… a bold debut” Sacha Molitorisz, Sydney Morning Herald

4 STARS “In the best suspense movie tradition... slowly reels audiences in and pins them to their seats for a hell of a ride” Hernán Alcérreca, Rolling Stone

4 STARS “Perversely irresistible, Beautiful will make you an active participant of its many twists and turns and leave you cold for days to come. This is suspense at its morbidly best” Hernán Alcérreca, Rolling Stone

“A truly transportive cinema experience. Beautifully photographed, cleverly written and performed with precision, the only thing more intriguing than Beautiful's plot is what its gifted writer/director will do next” Annette Basile, FILMINK

“Channelling Steven Spielberg and Sam Mendes, director Dean O’Flaherty creates a spellbinding vision of suburbia’s dark recesses” Julian Shaw, FILMINK

“I really think that Dean O'Flaherty's direction shows an assurance that is quite impressive for a first film. Sebastian Gregory is exceedingly good. Peta Wilson is fantastic” Margaret Pomeranz, At The Movies

"Full of sly wit, Beautiful is stylish, quirky and never predictable" Dale Sinden, Radio 2UE

“Seductively glossy thriller” Tom Ryan, Melbourne Magazine

“Intriguing…beautifully shot…performances are all great, with Sebastian Gregory an absolute find. Paul Mac’s score is impressive” Andrew Urban, Urban Cinefile

“A stunning film that should silence the critics who are ringing the death bell for the Australian film industry. I can’t recommend [it] highly enough… true genius.” Dave Griffiths, Subculture Media

“One of the most beautiful films that this country has ever seen” Dave Griffiths, Mediasearch

“O’Flaherty signals he’s the sort of new film blood Australia needs… shot with picturesque confidence” Ben McEachen, Sunday Telegraph

“Channeling Lynch via Mendes and Luhrmann, O'Flaherty's first film is an ambitious, genre-mashing mystery unlike movies made in Australia” Ben McEachen, Empire

“Desperate Housewives meets Disturbia. In Adelaide. With nods to Lynch, Hitchcock and Frank the rabbit” Ben McEachen, Empire

“Beautifully shot… striking performances” Zona Marie Tan, Inside Film

“Australian cinema has never looked so good” Elise Fahy, Cut Print Review

“A stylish debut from a unique and promising voice” Colin Fraser, SX News

Rolling Stone

2009-02-26T18:58:00.001-08:00

Video Links

2009-02-26T16:38:00.001-08:00

BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE SYDNEY PREMIERE
http://player.video.news.com.au/news/#6gngs8VhBdYKcOWbNJFP3J_SCjOVEPKp

TAHYNA TOZZI - DAILY TELEGRAPH INTERVIEW http://player.video.news.com.au/news/?fntE8fLrQK2Jn1Bpxq_5ZN3SNKZaTe7N

Events

2009-02-11T19:21:00.001-08:00

WORLD PREMIERE
2009 Bigpond Adelaide Film Festival
Saturday February 21 at 9pm
To be attended by stars Peta Wilson, Tahyna Tozzi and Sebastian Gregory, composer Paul Mac and writer/director Dean O’Flaherty

MELBOURNE Q+A
Cinema Nova
Tuesday February 24 at 6.30pm
To be attended by stars Peta Wilson, Asher Keddie and Sebastian Gregory, and writer/director Dean O’Flaherty

SYDNEY PREMIERE
Dendy Opera Quays
Wednesday February 25 at 6.30pm (red carpet arrivals)
To be attended by stars Peta Wilson, Tahyna Tozzi, Erik Thomson and Sebastian Gregory, composer Paul Mac and writer/director Dean O’Flaherty

SYDNEY Q+A
Hoyts Cinema Paris at Fox Studios
Thursday February 26 at 7pm
To be attended by stars Tahyna Tozzi and Sebastian Gregory, composer Paul Mac and writer/director Dean O’Flaherty

MELBOURNE PREMIERE
Village Cinemas Jam Factory
Monday March 2 at 6.30pm (red carpet arrivals)
To be attended by stars Tahyna Tozzi, Asher Keddie, Sebastian Gregory, Socratis Otto and Aaron Jeffery, and writer/director Dean O’Flaherty

Locations

2009-02-03T15:41:00.000-08:00

"Beautiful" will commence March 5 at the following cinemas:

VICTORIA
Nova, Jam Factory, Rivoli, Southland, Knox, Chadstone, Rosebud

NEW SOUTH WALES
Fox Studios, Broadway, Chatswood, Avalon, Castle Hill, Chauvel

AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
Woden

QUEENSLAND
Regent, Barracks

SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Marion, Eastend

TASMANIA
State

Adelaide Film Festival - world premiere screenings

2009-01-25T01:45:00.000-08:00

Beautiful marks the feature production debut of Adelaide-based Kojo Pictures. It is a drama about Australian suburbia as you have never seen it—as a territory which is sexual, funny, sensuous, strange and terrifying, a place which might have been imagined by David Lynch or Pedro Almodovar. Daniel is an introverted 14 year old whose two main obsessions are photography and Suzy, a sixteen year old femme fatale in training, a dangerous combination of youth and sexuality. Their suburb of Sunshine Hills is haunted by the urban myths of missing teenage girls. Using his crush to her advantage, Suzy demands of Daniel that, in exchange for her friendship, he has to get her secrets and photographs of the neighbours and houses that surround them. Thus begins a journey into the underbelly of suburbia, taking them on the trail of a killer. It is a journey into forbidden knowledge that can only end in murder.

21 Feb 09:00 PM
Piccadilly \ Cinema 1

23 Feb 02:00 PM
Palace Cinema - East End \ Cinema 7

27 Feb 07:00 PM
Wallis Cinema \ Mt Barker

Daily Telegraph

2009-01-17T22:04:00.000-08:00

FILMINK DVD

2008-12-23T17:51:00.000-08:00

The latest issue of FILMINK Magazine (Dec/Jan) has an exclusive "Beautiful" DVD trailer attached to the front. Only at select outlets - including Borders, Newslink and metropolitan newsagencies in Melbourne and Sydney.

‘BEAUTIFUL’ FIRST MOVIE TO RECEIVE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT 40% TAX REBATE

2008-12-09T16:52:00.000-08:00

[Press Release by Gray Management Group]
Adelaide film production company Kojo Pictures, is one of the first Australian film producers to receive the Federal Government’s new 40 percent tax rebate offset for a feature film.

KOJO’s latest feature film, Beautiful, Directed by Dean O’Flaherty and due for theatrical release in March 2009, has just received one of the first rebate cheques issued for an Australian feature film. Beautiful was completed in June this year and was recently issued with its final rebate certificate by Screen Australia. The movie was funded with the assistance of the Federal Governments new 40 percent tax offset incentive, as well as a number of private investors, including the KOJO Group.

KOJO founding partner and Producer of Beautiful, Kent Smith, said, “This film could not have been made or released in cinemas without the new rebate incentive and the assistance of the South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC). The SAFC was a major investor in the film, providing the initial financial support needed to trigger the additional funding required to make a movie of this size.”

Smith also gave credit to the board of the SAFC saying, “They were prepared to go out on a limb and back us by providing initial funding for Beautiful. By having the courage to support local companies the SAFC board helped ensure this film was made and that film production in Australia will continue to grow strongly in the new year”.

Despite the current economic climate, film and television drama production increased overall in 2007-8 by 7 percent on the previous year and looks set for more strong growth, particularly in South Australia, in 2009.

Sydney Morning Herald 10/12

2008-12-09T16:51:00.000-08:00

TWO BEAUTIFUL
The Australian thriller Beautiful is not due to reach cinemas until March, but it has already been screening for potential distributors in New York and Los Angeles.
One of the producers, Kent Smith, told SiT yesterday that he expected an offer for an American release within a week.
Directed by a former distributor, Dean O'Flaherty, the film has been tagged a "sexy thriller" and stars little-known Sebastian Gregory, Tahyna Tozzi from Blue Water High, Deborra-Lee Furness and Erik Thomson.
"It's a bit of a Rear Window story about a teenage boy who is besotted by a Lolita-type girl next door," Smith said.
The producer is not concerned that another film shot in South Australia recently has an almost identical title, Rachel Ward's drama Beautiful Kate, which stars her husband Bryan Brown, Ben Mendelsohn and Maeve Dermody.
"I think it would be [a problem] if they're both called Beautiful," he said. "But one's Beautiful Kate and one's Beautiful. There's a slight similarity - but that's where it ends."

"Beautiful" Trailer

2008-10-09T15:48:00.001-07:00

The trailer for "Beautiful" is now online! http://www.thebeautifulmovie.com/

Now Showing

2008-10-09T15:44:00.000-07:00

"The Grocer's Son" is now screening at the following cinemas:

VIC - Rivoli, Nova, Classic, Sorrento, Belgrave, Como
NSW - Cremorne, Roseville, Paris, Collaroy, Avalon, Laurieton, Ettalong, Warrawong, Nowra, Bowral, Manly, Avoca Beach, Sawtell
QLD - Blue Room, Gold Coast Arts Centre, Noosa, Schonell, Graceville
TAS - State Hobart
SA - Eastend
ACT - Dendy

More to be announced in the coming weeks.

Mark your calendars!

2008-09-02T04:23:00.000-07:00

"The Grocer's Son" will commence on October 2 at the following cinemas with a sneak preview weekend from Friday September 26-Sunday September 28:

MELBOURNE - Rivoli, Nova, Classic
SYDNEY - Cremorne, Roseville, Paris
BRISBANE - Blue Room
HOBART - State Cinema

Please check newspaper or cinema websites for session details. The film will open November 6 in Adelaide and November 13 in Canberra. It will also screen throughout October in Surfers Paradise and Noosa. More details TBC

New Posters

2008-09-01T03:25:00.001-07:00

"Beautiful"

2008-08-28T02:03:00.001-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THURSDAY AUGUST 28, 2008

KOJO PICTURES is proud to announce a partnership with JUMP STREET FILMS on the theatrical release of the new Australian film BEAUTIFUL.

JUMP STREET FILMS will handle the theatrical release of BEAUTIFUL for KOJO PICTURES in the first quarter of 2009.

BEAUTIFUL is the debut feature for Dean O’Flaherty, who has had an eclectic career in cinema spanning the last seventeen years and has been associated with many prestigious and landmark acquisitions in distribution and sales including IRREVERSIBLE, 2:37, NOISE, BOBBY and the Palme d’Or winning 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS.

JUMP STREET FILMS Director Jamie Bialkower says the company is particularly excited to partner with KOJO PICTURES on its first Australian film.

“It was always one of our original mission statements to deliver bold and thought-provoking cinema to audiences, wherever it’s from. BEAUTIFUL is unlike any Australian film we have seen before, and is even more impressive for being a debut feature. Dean has crafted an indelible and highly controversial work. BEAUTIFUL takes its cue from the idyllic but toxic suburbia rendered iconic in the best American independent films – how refreshing to see a local film take on this subject matter whilst giving it an unmistakably distinct voice of its own.”

KOJO PICTURES Managing Director and Producer Kent Smith is equally excited about its joint venture with JUMP STREET FILMS.

“We are excited to be releasing BEAUTIFUL together. Jamie Bialkower is definitely a key player in the future of the industry. Having released five theatrical films, including the million dollar hit THE ITALIAN at the age of 20, he is very much in touch with the films his generation wants to see. The fact he has embraced BEAUTIFUL in every capacity excites us immensely. Here is someone young, hungry and definitely not jaded.”

Searing and luscious, BEAUTIFUL tells the story of Daniel, a shy and introverted 14 year old boy residing in Sunshine Hills, a suburb living in the grip of fear following the rumoured abductions of three teenage girls. Daniel’s two main obsessions are photography and Suzy, a sixteen year old Lolita, a dangerous combination of youth and sexuality.

Using his crush to her advantage, Suzy asks Daniel that in exchange for her friendship he must bring her secrets and photographs of the neighbours and houses that surround them. Thus begins a journey into the underbelly of suburbia, taking them on the trail of a could be killer – leading them from childhood fantasy and into the harsh reality of the real world, one of savagery and murder.

BEAUTIFUL is suburbia as never seen before – sexual, funny, sensuous, strange and terrifying. The film stars Peta Wilson (La Femme Nikita, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen), Deborra-Lee Furness (Jindabyne), Aaron Jeffery (McLeod’s Daughters), Erik Thomson (The Black Balloon), Asher Keddie (Love My Way), Socratis Otto (The Matrix Reloaded), Sebastian Gregory (Acolytes, Accidents Happen) and Tahyna Tozzi (Wolverine, Blue Water High).

BEAUTIFUL features an original score by Paul Mac.

For more information please contact:

JAMIE BIALKOWER
jamie@jumpstreetfilms.com.au
03/9867-5566
0419-564-505

http://www.jumpstreetfilms.com.au/
http://www.kojopictures.com.au/

"The Grocer's Son"

2008-07-07T23:48:00.001-07:00

Jump Street Films is thrilled to announce the acquisition of French box office hit THE GROCER’S SON.

It’s summer and Antoine has to leave the city to help his mother in the family grocery store in a village in Provence. His father is sick and unable to drive the truck from hamlet to hamlet, delivering to the few remaining inhabitants. Antoine is pleasantly surprised by his encounters with the villagers – stubborn, funny, irascible folk whose joie de vivre is contagious. Antoine rediscovers life in the hills, and maybe love.

Currently on release in America through Film Movement, the film has proved irresistible to critics:

“Triumphant! A gem of a film” The New York Times
“Beguiling. A love of unspoiled countryside and its sturdy people suffuses this film, which unfolds with subtlety, humor and affection – and becomes in the process a pure enchantment” Los Angeles Times
“Quietly superb. A worthy follower of the bucolic, humanistic tradition of Marcel Pagnol and Jean Renoir… will prove irresistible to audiences” Variety
“Here’s the proverbial gem that art-house fans should discover and savor” International Film Journal
“Inflected with immense emotion” Village Voice
“Like taking a vacation to the French countryside and meeting people there of whom you grow extraordinarily fond, this is an unalloyed pleasure, start to finish” Green Cine Daily

Jump Street Films is planning a national release on October 2.

Ronin Films

2008-06-25T20:19:00.000-07:00

"I Have Never Forgotten You" has been taken on by Ronin Films for educational DVD screenings. For more information please refer to their website:

http://www.roninfilms.com.au/video/2447319228/0/2447319327.html

Update

2008-04-30T07:43:00.000-07:00

"The Italian" is now out on DVD through Madman Films after a theatrical run that lasted nearly 12 months and generated a theatrical gross in excess of one million dollars.

"I Have Never Forgotten You" is currently on theatrical release in New Zealand through Arkles Entertainment.

New cinemas

2007-09-25T22:19:00.000-07:00

"I Have Never Forgotten You" is now screening in Sydney at Hoyts Fox Studios - Entertainment Quarter, and Roseville Cinemas. Next it will open at the following cinemas:

October 4 - Palace Nova Eastend Adelaide
October 10 + 15 - Deckchair Cinema Darwin (2 screenings only)
October 11 - Dendy Canberra, Showcase Newcastle
November 8 - Astor Cinema Perth
November 16 + 17 + 18 - Nambour Civic Centre QLD

Fundraiser

2007-08-28T23:11:00.000-07:00

Jump Street Films and Cremorne Orpheum announce a one-off fundraiser screening of I HAVE NEVER FORGOTTEN YOU to benefit the Simon Wiesenthal Centre on the eve of the second anniversary of Simon Wiesenthal’s passing.

To be introduced by Academy Award® winning director Richard Trank via video link-up from Los Angeles.

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 19: 6.30PM ARRIVALS FOR 7PM START

ALL TICKETS $15: ON SALE NOW AT CREMORNE ORPHEUM BOX OFFICE AND ONLINE AT http://www.mca-tix.com/ OR 1300 306 776

Screening details

2007-08-28T04:53:00.000-07:00

"I Have Never Forgotten You" is still screening in Melbourne at the Classic Cinema and in Sydney at the Hayden Orpheum, Cremorne (finishing 5/9). It is scheduled to start screening at the following cinemas on these dates:

September 6 - Orange, Manly
September 13 - Ballarat, Noosa, Rosebud, Sorrento, Erina, Collaroy
September 19 - Astor (VIC): 1 screening only with "The Italian"
September 20 - Hoyts Entertainment Quarter, Star Eaglehawk
September 27 - Roseville

Coming soon to Newcastle, Adelaide, Canberra, Darwin and Perth.

"The Italian" is now on release in New Zealand through Rialto Distribution after sell-out screenings at the recent New Zealand Film Festival. "I Have Never Forgotten You" and "A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints" also had successful launches at the festival. "I Have Never Forgotten You" will start screening in New Zealand cinemas later this year.

"The Italian" hits a million

2007-08-12T22:30:00.000-07:00

Jump Street Films and Sharmill Films are thrilled to announce that "The Italian" has just reached one million dollars at the Australian box office.

Acclaimed documentary now in cinemas

2007-07-25T15:58:00.000-07:00

"I Have Never Forgotten You" is now showing at the following cinemas:

Melbourne: Rivoli, Nova, Classic
Sydney: Cremorne Orpheum
Brisbane: Blue Room Cinebar

***UPDATE***

Hobart: State Cinema (until 2/9)
Gold Coast: Arts Centre (until 29/8)
Victoria: Castlemaine (until 5/9)

Please check your local cinemas for session details or visit http://www.yourmovies.com.au/ for the most up to date listings.

Click http://sunday.ninemsn.com.au/sunday/film_reviews/article_2269.asp to watch Katherine Tulich's fantastic report on the film from LA featuring an interview with director Richard Trank from the Simon Wiesenthal Centre.

Australian Reviews

2007-07-18T18:04:00.000-07:00

To the left is Oscar-winning narrator Nicole Kidman, pictured at a Simon Wiesenthal Centre gala event in New York, January 2006 where she was moved to become involved in the project after seeing a short preview on Wiesenthal's life.

See below for the latest local critics quotes and click on the following link to read The Age's interview with director Richard Trank: http://www.theage.com.au/news/film/tracking-the-life-of-a-nazi-hunter/2007/07/19/1184559909455.html

4 STARS “I was just overwhelmed by this film. I was tremendously moved by it.” Margaret Pomeranz, At The Movies

4 STARS “Intensely moving… rich in hope and compassion. If it is possible for a film to do justice to such a man, this one succeeds magnificently.” Evan Williams, The Australian

4 STARS “Compelling. This man was a hero.” Lisa Hensley, The Movie Show

4 STARS “Earns four stars...for Wiesenthal’s own extraordinary story.” Des Partridge, The Courier Mail

4 STARS “His life story is an absorbing testimony of what one man’s strength of purpose can accomplish.” Andiee Paviour, Who

4 STARS “You don’t get a much more inspiring story than that of Simon Wiesenthal and ‘I Have Never Forgotten You’ brings home a profound lesson that we all can take to heart.” Sharon Hurst, Cinephilia

4 STARS “Moving and beautifully understated.” Yury Glikin, Your Movies

“A remarkable insight that is compelling from start to finish… a complex portrait of a singular human being who made a difference. Loving, respectful and generous.” Andrew Urban, Urban Cinefile

“So searing, so full of tragedy, bravery and compassion, it will touch you.” Jason Di Rosso, ABC Radio National

“Really transcends the genre of Holocaust documentaries.” Katherine Tulich, Sunday

“An excellent documentary about an extraordinary man.” Jim Schembri, The Age EG

“Gravitas and suspense...fascinating.” Sandra Hall, Sydney Morning Herald

“Meticulous. A fitting tribute…manages to convey his humour and intelligence as well as his doggedness and commitment…a man whose heroism emerges from his ability to stay the distance.” Vicky Roach, The Daily Telegraph

“Compelling portrait...heartfelt.” Leigh Paatsch, Herald Sun

“Stirring. Haunting. Inspiring. Never less than compelling.” David Stratton, At The Movies

“Deeply moving and utterly heartfelt.” Erin Free, Filmink

“A film of such exceptional power and one that tells a tale so remarkable and so life-affirming… Do not miss it.” Yvonne Fein, Jewish News

“Gives the full scope of his history in glorious detail.” Don Perlgut, Jewish News

"I Have Never Forgotten You"

2007-06-18T16:28:00.000-07:00

Nicole Kidman narrates the inspirational and unforgettable story of Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal in "I Have Never Forgotten You", screening from July 26 at the following cinemas:

Melbourne: Rivoli, Nova, Classic

Sydney: Hayden Orpheum

Brisbane: Blue Room Cinebar

“An unforgettable film everyone should see. A fitting tribute to Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal, one of the great heroes of the 20th century.” Jeffrey Lyons, NBC

“A compelling film on a powerful subject.” The New York Times

“Vital, consistently engrossing chronicle.” New York Daily News

“Almost unbearably moving.” Village Voice

"The film succeeds wonderfully as an understated historical account of a brave man whose story the world would be well served not to forget." New York Magazine

“Compelling. Contextualizes his legacy for a new generation.” Los Angeles Times

"The Italian" now showing

2007-05-05T17:47:00.000-07:00

"The Italian" is enjoying a highly successful rollout around the country, having the highest per screen average in the Australian Top 20 in its opening weeks. Please check your local cinemas for session details or visit www.yourmovies.com.au for the most up to date listings.

"The Italian" media quotes

2007-04-25T16:36:00.000-07:00

5 STARS “A really great film. The most beautifully heartbreaking film. A wonderful debut. Made by people who have a great deal of compassion for and actually optimism about the human spirit. A very nourishing experience.” Margaret Pomeranz, At The Movies

4.5 STARS “A remarkable film. Everyone should see this.” David Stratton, At The Movies

4.5 STARS “Heart-breakingly good.” David Stratton, The Australian

4.5 STARS “As in classic films such as Life Is Beautiful, the triumph of the human spirit is a lovely thing to witness. Young Spiridonov is breathtaking and shows an acting maturity way beyond his years.” Tracey Prisk, The Sunday Telegraph

4 STARS “An absolutely heart-stopping chase flick. An unforgettable and downright moving experience.” Leigh Paatsch, Herald Sun

4 STARS “An impassioned piece of story-telling. The brave, truth-telling spirit of Russian literature lives within the film’s bounteous heart.” Paul Byrnes, Sydney Morning Herald

4 STARS “A beautifully made neo-realist drama of epic emotional force and clarity.” Paul Byrnes, Sydney Morning Herald

4 STARS “A Russian film with an Italian title and a Dickensian feel. This has something for everyone.” Rodney Chester, The Daily Telegraph/The Courier Mail

4 STARS “A nod in the direction of Vittorio De Sica’s Shoeshine (1946) and The Bicycle Thief (1948).” Tom Ryan, Sunday Age

“It will have you engrossed. Superbly rendered.” Julie Rigg, ABC Radio National

“Exceptionally moving. A wonderfully complex film with plenty of tension and plenty of heart.” Andrew Urban, Urban Cinefile

8/10 “Another extraordinary child performance sustains the poignant, fable-like drama. Riveting…simply and beautifully filmed.” Rob Lowing, Sun Herald

“Russian director Andrei Kravchuk’s moving tale of an orphaned boy trying to find his mother is reminiscent of 1940s Italian neo-realism.” Tom Ryan, Melbourne Magazine

“Skilfully made tear-jerker” Jake Wilson, The Age

“Impeccably crafted… extremely rewarding” Aaron Gibson, Filmink

“An exceptional film, with an outstanding performance from the young lead actor” Rosalie Higson, The Australian

“A moving and subtly political tale” Peter Krausz, 3CR

“One of the finest films ever made!” Bob Ellis

“Took my breath away” Yvonne Fein, Jewish News

4 STARS “Haunting… moving portrayal of adoption in contemporary Russia” Jean Bentley, Empire

4 STARS Andiee Paviour, WHO

"The Italian" screening details

2007-04-03T22:45:00.000-07:00

"The Italian" commences on April 25 (Anzac Day), with sneak previews on April 20, 21 & 22 at the following cinemas:

Melbourne: Rivoli, Nova, Classic
Sydney: Hayden Orpheum
Brisbane: Blue Room Cinebar

New Acquisition

2007-03-18T21:12:00.000-07:00

Jump Street Films is thrilled to announce the acquisition of I HAVE NEVER FORGOTTEN YOU: THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF SIMON WIESENTHAL, narrated by Academy Award winner Nicole Kidman and directed by Academy Award winner Richard Trank. This highly moving and important documentary is the definitive portrait of Simon Wiesenthal (1908-2005, Vienna, Austria), a Holocaust survivor who helped track down over 1100 Nazi war criminals following World War II and spent six decades fighting anti-Semitism and prejudice against all people.

“Mandatory viewing. Entirely worthy. The important thing is that the film has been made so that future generations might watch it and say, ‘Now there was a man.’” The Hollywood Reporter

Watching the early efforts of the US government to prosecute Nazi war criminals, Simon Wiesenthal realized “There is no freedom without justice”, and initially decided to dedicate a few years to that quest. A few years turned into the rest of his life. His journey began after the Americans liberated the Mauthausen death camp in Austria where Wiesenthal was a prisoner in May 1945. It was the fifth death camp in which he was imprisoned. He weighed just 99 pounds when he was freed and had lost 89 family members during the war.

Filmed on locations throughout Europe, Israel, North and South America, not only to film interviews and accompanying material but also to obtain new and previously unseen archival footage, many of the interviewees have never discussed the legendary humanitarian on camera. Friends, family members, long-time associates and government leaders from around the world have come together to tell the complete Simon Wiesenthal story.

“Has the potential to be an awards contender next season: don’t be surprised to see it shortlisted for an Oscar in 2008.” Screen International

From the Moriah Films Collection of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, I HAVE NEVER FORGOTTEN YOU premiered at the Berlin Film Festival last month. Jump Street Films has acquired all Australia/New Zealand theatrical rights from Cinema Management Group.

Latest news

2007-02-28T22:42:00.000-08:00

"The Italian" will be released in cinemas on April 25.

"A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints" is available to rent on DVD from March 21. With a host of special features, it will be a double disc edition.

"The Italian" finds his way to Adelaide Film Festival

2007-02-07T15:26:00.000-08:00

4.45 pm Saturday 24 February

3.00pm Wednesday 28 February

http://www.adelaidefilmfestival.org/films/id-13/view.html

"The Italian" charms American critics

2007-01-26T14:41:00.000-08:00

“A remarkable journey. Richly atmospheric” New York Times

“Highly effective heart-tugger” New York Post

“Irresistible entertainment” New York Observer

“Unstoppable drama… holds us with a timeless simplicity and narrative purity” Newsday

“As bracing as it is moving” The Hollywood Reporter

“Completely captivating” LA Daily News

Award nominations

2006-11-28T16:21:00.000-08:00

***INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDS NOMINATIONS***
Best First Screenplay – Dito Montiel, A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints
Best Supporting Actor – Channing Tatum, A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints
Best Supporting Actress – Melonie Diaz, A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints

***GOTHAM AWARDS NOMINATIONS***
Breakthrough Actor – Channing Tatum, A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints
Breakthrough Director - James Marsh, The King

***NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW WINNER***
Top Independent Films List of 2006

***HOLLYWOOD LIFE AWARD WINNER***
Breakthrough of the Year – Channing Tatum

***NEW YORK FILM CRITICS CIRCLE***
Runner Up: Best First Film

Local praise for "A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints"

2006-11-27T16:19:00.000-08:00

4.5 STARS “This film absolutely blew me away. I can’t recommend it enough.” SUNRISE (Chris Murray)

4 STARS “A really impressive debut. It’s what I love about cinema. (Montiel) grasps cinematic language so strongly and cleverly.” AT THE MOVIES (Margaret Pomeranz)

4 STARS “Stunning. Superlative performances. A low-budget gem.” SUNDAY AGE (Tom Ryan)

“The film’s fabulous ensemble cast comes into its own. Standout performances from all. Particularly poignant.” SUNDAY TELEGRAPH (Tracey Prisk)

“A striking, Scorsese-like debut.” THE AUSTRALIAN (David Stratton)

“Astounding! Poignant, heart-breaking and inspirational.” FILMINK

“Exceptional performances. An emotionally gripping… enlightening experience. Compelling viewing.” URBANCINEFILE.COM.AU

November 16

2006-10-24T03:56:00.000-07:00

"A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints" releases November 16 at the following cinemas:

Melbourne: Village Rivoli, Jam Factory, Southland; Nova
Sydney: Dendy Newtown
Adelaide: EastEnd Cinemas

It releases November 23 at Dendy Portside in Brisbane.

Local critics are starting to weigh in with their opinions of the film to add to the international acclaim. Yourmovies.com.au gives the film 4.5 STARS and Who Magazine gives it 4 STARS.

New York Times review by A.O. Scott

2006-09-29T17:51:00.000-07:00

“You’re not going anywhere.” That’s what young Dito Montiel (Shia LaBeouf) hears again and again from his father. Like many sensitive young men in rough circumstances, Dito, growing up fast in Astoria, Queens, in 1986, dreams of flight. He says he wants to go to California with his new friend, Mike (Martin Compston), but really it seems as if any place other than Astoria will do.

And even as he gets lost in the big brown eyes of his girlfriend, Laurie (Melonie Diaz), Dito still can’t wait to get away from home — from the noise and violence of the streets, and from the cramped chaos of the house where he lives with his irascible father, Monte (Chazz Palminteri), and his gentle, weary mother, Flaurie (Dianne Wiest).

Monte’s response to Dito’s desires is dismissive but also anxious. When he says, “You’re not going anywhere,” he really means, in part, “Please don’t leave me.”

The failure of communication between father and son is one of the painful elements in “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints,” which arrives in theaters today after winning several awards at the Sundance festival earlier this year. We know that Dito will eventually leave because the movie, in addition to chronicling the events leading up to his departure, also observes his return, nearly 20 years later. (When he comes back, Mr. LaBeouf has grown into Robert Downey Jr., and the casting of these two itchy, inventive actors in a single role is nothing short of revelatory. Ms. Diaz, for her part, is replaced by Rosario Dawson, who takes possession of the movie for the few minutes that she’s in it.) We also know that the real Dito Montiel grew up to be the author of a memoir and the director of this film.

Though autobiographical, “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints” is also a coming-of-age story set against a tough urban background, in which the protagonist’s emerging sense of his own individuality cuts against his loyalty to friends and kin. What sets the film apart, and makes it one of the more remarkable American directing debuts in recent years, is Mr. Montiel’s passionate, almost reckless engagement with the possibilities of the medium. Adapting his impressionistic, often rambling memoir for the screen, he demonstrates an autodidact’s exuberant self-confidence and the eye of a born filmmaker. Working with a large, mostly young cast, he has made a picture so full of life and feeling that the screen can hardly contain it.

There is certainly a lot of screaming and yelling and fighting. Monte has a temper, but he is less a domestic martinet than an anxious, timid man hoping, against evidence and reason, that things will work out.

“Those kids are all right, they’re all right,” he says to Flaurie, speaking of Dito and his friends and trying to reassure himself. But Dito’s pals, whom Flaurie likens to “a pack of wolves,” are not all right. A simmering, racially-tinged feud with a gang from another neighborhood threatens to explode into serious violence.

The boisterous, antisocial behavior of the young men Dito hangs around with walks a fine line between annoying and menacing. Antonio (Channing Tatum), the alpha dog in this crew, is regularly beaten up by his father and compensates for the hurt and humiliation with bluster and brutality. Mr. Tatum, who has the bullish physicality of a young Brando, is an electrifying actor, and I suspect we’ll be seeing a lot more of him after this breakout performance.

Busy as the film is, it also pauses for reflective, intimate moments in which the camera’s movements and the texture of the sound design mirror the wide-eyed, confused state of Dito’s youthful consciousness. Mr. LaBeouf has a watchful, excited demeanor, and his character, miserable as he sometimes is, is also curious and adventurous, savoring the funny, strange and beautiful things the world throws in front of him. He and Mike ride the subway to Manhattan, where they work for a flamboyant and somewhat unstable dog walker (Anthony De Sando).

The closing credits roll over the sounds of Kiss performing “New York Groove,” and that silly, glammy Kiss anthem has never sounded more apt. Mr. Montiel’s nostalgia for the New York of his younger days is unabashed, but it is also unclouded by illusions and tempered by a ragged kind of wisdom.

Terrible things happen in “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints.” Mr. Downey warns at the beginning that some of the people we meet in the movie will die before it’s over, and the nostrum that time heals all wounds is shown to be a lie. But though the picture is wrenching, at times devastating, it leaves you with that buoyant feeling of having encountered a raw, authentic work of art. All those howls of pain are its way of telling you that it is madly, defiantly, uncontrollably alive.

Latest news

2006-09-25T01:09:00.000-07:00

"The Italian" opens the Russian Film Festival in Melbourne next Thursday October 5 after its Sydney and Canberra screenings over the coming week. For more details log onto www.russianresurrection.com. "A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints" releases nationally in cinemas November 16. Filmink Magazine have weighed in with their advance review, check it out:

A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints is a powerful coming of age story that has been aptly compared to Martin Scorsese’s Mean Streets. Based on his bestselling memoirs, first time writer/director Dito Montiel takes us through his childhood growing up on the streets of New York.

This urban drama opens with the adult Dito (Robert Downey Jnr), now a successful writer, receiving a call from his mother (Dianne Wiest) to say that his father (Chazz Palminteri) is dying. Reluctantly, Dito returns to the life he abandoned years ago and must face up to his harrowing past. Told in flashback, we are thrust into the gritty, dirty borough of Astoria, Queens during the ‘70s. Young Dito (Shia LaBeouf) is a restless teen who spends most of his time hanging out with his friends, the “saints” referred to in the title. There’s Dito’s girl Laurie (Melonie Diaz); his oversized, abused and volatile best friend Antonio (Channing Tatum); Mike O Shea (Martin Compston), a Scottish wannabe Sex Pistol; and finally the self destructive mescaline fiend Giuseppe (Adam Scarimbolo).

Taking centre stage, Shia LaBeouf delivers an astounding portrayal full of emotion and angst. The ensemble cast all work exceptionally well together and the chemistry between the performers is the driving force of the film. The cracking ‘70s soundtrack transports us back in time and the raw cinematography of Eric Gautier (The Motorcycle Diaries) compliments the music and oozes stylish authenticity.

An affecting and emotionally complex tale tackling the loss of love, family and innocence, A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints is a poignant, heart breaking and inspirational work.

Awards continue at Venice

2006-09-10T15:55:00.000-07:00

In Critics’ Week, the festival’s other unofficial sidebar, Dito Montiel’s "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints" – produced by Sting’s wife Trudie Styler – was awarded the Best Film prize by the three-man jury, adding the prize to the two the film picked up at this year’s Sundance Festival.

Official "Guide" website up and running:

2006-08-29T01:47:00.000-07:00

www.firstlookstudios.com/guide. You can also check out Dito's MySpace page, become a friend of the film and help spread the word throughout the global online community - www.myspace.com/agtrys.

Jump Street Films at forthcoming festivals

2006-08-24T01:51:00.000-07:00

THE ITALIAN - Official Selection @ Toronto International Film Festival (Contemporary World Cinema)
Sept 08, 9:45am, Paramount 3
Sept 09, 3:45pm, Varsity 5
Sept 10, 7:30pm, Varsity 3

A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS - Official Selection @ Venice Film Festival (Critics Week)
Sept 02, 11.15am, Sala Volpi
Sept 03, 2.15pm, Sala Perla: Official Screening
Sept 04, 8.15pm, Palalido

A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS - Official Selection @ Deauville Festival of American Cinema
Sept 05, 3.00pm, Centre International De Deauville

Jump Street Films launches new website

2006-08-10T21:16:00.000-07:00

Jump Street Films today launched its new website unveiling 2 new releases over the upcoming months. Site designed by KIKIS based in New York City.

Our third acquisition, "The Italian"

2006-08-10T21:05:00.000-07:00

Jump Street Films is excited to announce it has acquired THE ITALIAN as its third release to co-distribute with Sharmill Films. The official Russian entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2006 Academy Awards, it has won 8 Grand Prizes and 28 awards worldwide, having already been invited to over 40 film festivals. Sony Pictures Classics has acquired the film for North America and will release it in late January 2007. The Australian release is planned to follow this in early 2007. THE ITALIAN will have its Australian premiere at the Russian Film Festival, to be held in Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra from late September. THE ITALIAN is a heart-warming social realist drama and promises to be a favourite with audiences when it screens in Australia. For more information, check out the home page.

"The King" now on DVD

2006-07-12T20:51:00.000-07:00

"The King" is out now on DVD through Madman Films.

Our second acquisition, "A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints"

2006-06-20T20:53:00.000-07:00

Jump Street Films has secured all Australia/New Zealand rights from First Look Studios to “A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints”, a coming-of-age saga starring Academy Award® nominee Robert Downey, Jr. Scheduled for an October 2006 release, it will be the second film for the Melbourne-based distributor, following the recent March theatrical launch of James Marsh’s “The King” starring Gael Garcia Bernal and William Hurt.

Having premiered in the dramatic spectrum at Sundance earlier this year, where it won the Director’s Award and a Special Jury Prize for Ensemble Performance as well as being nominated for the Grand Jury Prize, “Guide” features a stellar cast also including Rosario Dawson, Shia LaBeouf, rising star Channing Tatum, 2 x Academy Award® winner Dianne Weist and Academy Award® nominee Chazz Palminteri.

“A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints” is the true story of a pivotal summer on the hot, sweaty, violent streets of Astoria, Queens – the summer that changed not only Dito Montiel, but the lives of everyone around him. Torn between his ill father, his domineering friend and protector Antonio, the neighbourhood war and the lustful temptations of youth, Dito struggles against his desire to escape, running away from everything he knows. He finds redemption 15 years later when he returns to Queens and faces the “saints” that have influenced his life.

Screen International raves: “Adapting his 2003 memoir of the same title, debut writer-director Dito Montiel reveals himself as a promising new voice in American cinema with A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints, a feature that summons the sting of memory, evoked in moments simultaneously fond, joyous, bitter, sad and tragic. It makes for an electric piece of film-making. The acting is revealing, spontaneous and deeply moving. Many remarkable moments”.

Taking its cue from the modern masters Martin Scorcese and Spike Lee, Montiel imbues his film with a remarkable depth of feeling. Jump Street director Jamie Bialkower says that “with this film, you’re not only a witness to the events – you’re actually part of them. It’s rare for a debut filmmaker to have such an authentic feel for a certain time and place. Everything about this film feels real, and that’s what makes it special. The cumulative effect of the acting hits you like a sledgehammer. I’m very excited to bring this film to Australian audiences.”

Deal was negotiated by Bialkower and Krysanne Katsoolis of Cactus Three. Madman Entertainment will handle all ancillary rights for Jump Street Films.

NOW SHOWING

2006-03-15T15:04:00.000-08:00

"The King" begins its national theatrical release today!

Advance screenings

2006-03-08T21:28:00.000-08:00

"The King" starts its advance screening weekend tomorrow around the country (and on Labour Day Monday if you are in Melbourne)! Be sure to check out the film and get the word of mouth rolling...

Margaret Pomeranz & David Stratton reviewed the film on their show At The Movies last night. You can find a transcript of their review and video interviews with Gael and others at their website www.abc.net.au/atthemovies

Praise from Australian critics

2006-02-25T22:45:00.000-08:00

The first local reviewers are starting to weigh in with their opinions of "The King":

“A compelling and confronting family drama…slowly creeps up on you and then won’t let go.” TOM RYAN, THE AGE

“A genuine exploration of the human condition. Bernal burns brightly… Hurt excels… James is excellent… directed with a restrained ferocity.” ANDREW URBAN, URBAN CINEFILE (www.urbancinefile.com.au)

“A provocative attack on the American religious right… Bernal is brooding and effective, James impressively emerges as a shining star, and Hurt is measured and cerebral in a classy return to the screen.” FILMINK

Confirmed locations

2006-02-13T22:52:00.000-08:00

"The King" will be screening at the following locations from March 16. All cinemas will run sneak previews of the film from March 10-12, excluding Melbourne which will run from March 10-13 over the Labour Day long weekend.

MELBOURNE: Cinema Nova, Village Cinemas Rivoli, Palace Cinema Como, Palace Brighton Bay
SYDNEY: Dendy Newtown, Cinema Paris, Hoyts on Broadway
ADELAIDE: Nova EastEnd Cinemas
PERTH: Cinema Paradiso
BRISBANE: Dendy Brisbane
HOBART: Village Cinemas Hobart

More festival news

2006-01-19T18:23:00.000-08:00

"The King" will open the second Glasgow Film Festival on Feb 16. James Marsh and Milo Addica will attend the opening gala and also take part in a master class on the making of the film.

Gael will be talking to select Australian media next week in preparation for the national release in mid March.

Trailer

2006-01-07T15:40:00.000-08:00

A lo-res version of "The King" trailer can now be found online at http://yourmovies.com.au/movies/index.cfm?action=movie_info&title_id=24711&session_off=1. This will hopefully be made available on our website shortly!

SXSW and Filmink

2006-01-06T22:05:00.000-08:00

"The King" will have its North American premiere at the 2006 South By Southwest (SXSW) Festival in Austin, Texas, which kicks off on March 10. More info can be found at the festival's official website @ http://2006.sxsw.com/.

Also the current summer issue of Filmink Magazine in Australia, on sale now through Jan and Feb, features a great piece on Pell James as well as a review of the film.

New release date

2005-12-06T23:26:00.000-08:00

"The King" will now release in Melbourne, Sydney and other states TBC on March 16, with advance screenings the weekend prior. Final locations will be posted shortly.

Vogue

2005-11-07T16:14:00.000-08:00

Check out this month's Australian Vogue (December issue, on sale now) for their "Everyone's talking about... Pell James" page. This fantastic feature introduces Australian audiences to a young woman who is sure to become one of the most talked about up & coming American actresses in the next year.

London Film Festival coverage

2005-10-28T04:02:00.000-07:00

TIME OUT:

Friday was a star-studded day at the LFF. Not only did Steve Buscemi attend a screening of his new film 'Lonesome Jim', but Claire Danes was also in town to present 'Shopgirl', while director James Marsh was on hand to answer questions at the screening of his forthcoming flick 'The King'. Time Out attended the latter, a beautifully crafted thriller that follows the mysterious Elvis Sandow (Gael García Bernal) on his journey home following an honourable discharge from the navy. The trouble is, 'home' for Sandow is Corpus Christi, Texas, where his long lost father is a happily married Pastor (William Hurt) who wants nothing to do with his son - a reminder of his sinful past. As Elvis's true intentions are slowly revealed, 'The King' contrasts stunning scenes of Texas beauty with heart-stopping moments of violence and brutality, producing a spellbinding pot-boiler in the great American gothic tradition. And while at times it feels a little like a David Gordon Green version of 'Cape Fear', the result is nevertheless a fine feature debut from British documentary maker Marsh. The director and his co-writer Milo Addica then gave a hugely entertaining Q&A in which they revealed that the project started with the location, long before a single word of the script was written. They also discussed their efforts to avoid racial stereotyping in the film, and their apprehension at how Middle America will receive a feature that deals with themes of faith, religion and redemption in such controversial and provocative ways. Sunday then saw Gael García Bernal giving his two cents at the Times Screen Talk, an event that featured a disproportionately high number of young girls in the audience (though we can't imagine why). As likeable a presence in the flesh as he is on the screen, Bernal discussed his career from its early beginnings (playing baby Jesus when he was three), through sstage and TV work in Mexico (much of which he did to meet girls) and then onto his amazing performances in the likes of 'Amores Perros', 'Bad Education' and 'The Motorcycle Diaries'. He also spoke briefly of his work in Michel Gondry's forthcoming 'The Science of Sleep', a film about a man who confuses his dreams for reality, that Bernal claims will be an 'Apocalypse Now' of the mind. And for his grand finale he told several graphic stories about the sex scenes in 'Y tu mamá también', all of which were extremely amusing but unfortunately unprintable on a family site like this.

EMPIRE:

Put Valentine's Day and the January sales in a cocktail shaker and you might get an idea of the atmosphere at the Odeon West End tonight. Sadly, the stampede wasn't towards Empire, but Mexican hot-stuff Gael Garcia Bernal, at the screening for The King. Leading the way on the red carpet were the film's screenwriter, Milo Addica, and director, James Marsh, still joined at the hip after months holed up in spooky-sounding Corpus Christi, Texas.
"This sort of thing can't be created by email, we needed personal contact," explained Addica. "We'd get into some serious fights at the end of the day - especially when the Ashes were on. I come from an acting background so would often improv and that would put me into a very heated, angry, vicious state and James would often be the victim." "Method acting," chips in Marsh, dryly. Gael Garcia Bernal, sadly a good foot shorter than Empire and thus unstealable, enjoyed getting his teeth into a violent role. "It’s one of the reasons everyone does movies, to get a glimpse into the mystery of the human condition. You relate it to your own experience, own journey. It was a challenge to do it in English and to work with an accent; I’m always reluctant to say it was a United States accent because that doesn’t really exist, people speak in so many different ways!" When asked how to describe the accent, a po-faced: "It's, you know, a mix between blue..." And laughing, walks off into the cinema.

If you weren't convinced by Monster's Ball you'll find this follow-up from writer/producer Milo Addica just as baffling, with its stark melodrama and tense open spaces. Gael Bernal Garcia stars a Ripley-esque former marine who inveigles himself into the life of the father who abandoned him, now a born-again Christian evangelist. The ensuing drama is dark and sometimes grotesque in its absurdity but haunting nevertheless.

LONDON TIMES:

By Wendy Ide
One final treat for festival audiences is the Times Screen Talk with the Mexican actor Gael García Bernal. He’ll be discussing his role in The King, a piece of Southern Gothic that uses Bernal’s charisma to chilling effect. It promises to be an interesting event — Bernal is an engaging and funny interviewee — although, to be honest, he could talk about loft insulation and we’d still hang on his every word.

"Pure evil has never looked so good" is what the festival programme has to say about The King, a first outing in fiction for the British documentary director James Marsh. With Gael Garcia Bernal in the lead role, few among the Leicester Square crowds would dispute the aesthetics of the claim, but the ethics of it provoked a notable objection. "I don’t like to use the word evil," said the director. "I think there’s more ambiguity than that."
It’s a film of many silences in which much of the ambiguity breeds within the space between the actors’ lines. It’s up to the audience to ascribe motive or motivelessness to Bernal’s young ex-serviceman who, while looking for the man he believes to be his father, stumbles into a kind of oedipal tragedy.
This is Bernal’s first English-language film, and the Mexican star said that making the switch was both a blessing and a curse. "Speaking another language is a nice asset to have, because when you speak another language you become another character," he told Times Online. "You do have to work a thousand times harder, though, just to avoid falling down."
Bernal said that he had made use of a voice coach in order to master the American vowels he needed for this film, but he also let slip that there are other, less onerous, ways of getting it right. "In bed you can learn accents really quickly," he said.

BBC (review excerpts):

An impressive debut... A piece of restrained Southern gothic horror, it benefits from sumptuous visuals, an intelligent and literate script and tremendous performances all round.

It’s a brave film, with important central questions asked of, and by, its characters. As much as Bernal dominates the film, special praise must go to Pell James, who is simply extraordinary as the sixteen year-old girl at the heart of the film. She brings to mind a young Scarlett Johansson, sharing an innate stillness with the better known actress. The fact that she is 28 years old makes it even more impressive.

VIEW LONDON (review excerpts):

4 STARS

Impressively directed, frequently shocking drama, featuring stunning performances from both William Hurt and Gael Garcia Bernal... a controversial drama with future cult movie written all over it.

There’s a distinct air of The Talented Mr Ripley about the morally complex Elvis and Bernal perfectly captures his charismatic yet sinister qualities. It’s an astonishing performance – chilling, and yet likeable at the same time. In addition, William Hurt delivers one of his best performances.

Marsh creates an impressive level of authenticity through some extraordinary location work. On top of that, there’s an evocative score by Max Avery Lichtenstein that adds considerably to the intensity of the film’s atmosphere.

A controversial, frequently horrific but hypnotically compelling film that is guaranteed to have you hiding behind your hands on at least three occasions. Highly recommended.

FILM FOCUS (review excerpts):

James Marsh takes a clever approach to a controversial idea... he paints a bracingly authentic picture of conservative America, with its desperate need for everything to be orderly.

Hurt immerses himself in David, a man trying to do the right thing by everyone, even though he knows he's made--and he's making--some bad decisions. James is wonderfully inquisitive, indulging in things she knows she shouldn't be even thinking about. Dano's superbly upstanding young man and Harring's steely mom add subtext. And Bernal revisits his charismatic but subtly sinister stalker from Bad Education, but with a very different layer of moral complexity. It's like he's in denial just as much as the family.

There are overtones of American Beauty and A History of Violence, as Marsh and Milo Addica slice through the veneer of a "wholesome" society... played out with black twists and surprising inventiveness... subtle, inventive filmmaking... a haunting film that really gets under your skin.

LONDON NET (review excerpts):

This is truly one of this year's most interesting films.

Veteran indie-actor William Hurst is broadly convincing as a conservative Texan pastor, and newcomer Pell James is remarkable as Malerie, with her shy aloofness proof that we will likely see her again. Still, Bernal's performance is the highling of this film. Dark and stunning, he converts seamlessly to a Mexican-American West Texas drawl, and portrays a sense of isolation that elevates the film from merely uncomfortable to mystically tragic.

Date change

2005-10-26T20:31:00.000-07:00

The release date has now been pushed back to early '06. More updates will be posted here as things develop.

Great article from the London Times

2005-10-23T16:56:00.000-07:00

Gael García Bernal blows up his nearest and dearest in The King
Since his breakout role in the Oscar-nominated Amores Perros, the 26-year-old Mexican actor has become a star of international cinema thanks to roles in Y Tu Mamá También and The Motorcycle Diaries. He discusses his latest film, the revenge drama The King.

Who's not just a pretty boy, then
By Sheila Johnston

Revenge is far from sweet for Gael García Bernal in his shocking new film. Meet the pin-up with a taste for the dark side.

IS THERE anything at all that can stop the irresistible rise of Gael García Bernal? Eight years ago he was a Mexican teenager at a loose end in London — crashing on floors, working on building sites, fixing cocktails at Islington’s Cuba Libre by night and thinking of trying for acting school one day. Today, at 26, he is a Latin heartthrob and bankable international star. He has done it through such films as Walter Salles’s The Motorcycle Diaries and Pedro Almodóvar’s Bad Education rather than a hit Hollywood movie.
Now Bernal has taken on his first major English language role in The King, a low-budget American film by the British documentary-maker James Marsh (Wisconsin Death Trip). Bernal plays an intense Mexican-American named Elvis who arrives in a small town in Texas, with an honourable discharge from the army, in search of his long-lost father.
The man he’s looking for, played by William Hurt, has found Jesus and is a preacher in a Baptist church, a righteous man with a new legitimate family. Hurt, understandably, views the pretender to his throne with caution, but treats him cordially. Elvis, however, exacts a terrible revenge, which starts with an incestuous affair with his underage half-sister and goes downhill from there in a full-blooded, Southern Gothic frenzy that has had some critics gagging. “Entirely unpalatable,” said Variety’s Todd McCarthy.
Bernal smiles a serene smile. “It’s a story about territory,” he says. “The character was born in this place and he wasn’t allowed to own it. He wasn’t allowed to belong, for all sorts of racial and social reasons. His father doesn’t accept him even though he’s a man who has served his country. It’s the classical tragedy of the bastard son who comes back to regain his lost empire. We tried to make this incredible story plausible in a modern context, without falling into the conventions of soap opera.”
In person Bernal is extremely likeable, with a keen, self-deprecating humour. He’s a bit short for a sex god (he professes to be 5ft 7in), but there are compensations: a bright, curious gaze, killer cheekbones and an impish, lopsided smile.
Despite these pretty-boy looks, Bernal has gained fame through some strikingly unsavoury roles. His breakthrough came as a teenage slum- dweller involved in illegal dogfights in Amores Perros, made while he was still a student at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. The film, a dazzling tour through Mexico City, became one of the highest- grossing foreign-language films of 2001.
The following year he won a major award at Venice for his performance as an amoral, hedonistic teenager in the sexy road movie Y Tu Mamá También. He also played a priggish young priest who makes a girl pregnant in The Crime of Father Amaro. But it was the double whammy of playing the young Che Guevara in The Motorcycle Diaries and a duplicitous drag queen and drug addict in Bad Education that made Bernal the poster boy of the Croisette at Cannes last year.
He looks bemused when asked about this record of iniquity. “Partly it’s coincidence, partly conscious effort,” he says. “Maybe it’s not so much the characters, just that those are the stories that interest me.”
He’s now reached the stage where the press is interested in his personal life. He split up with the actress Natalie Portman (according to gossip because he wanted to take his Mum to the Cannes premiere of Bad Education rather than her). So do people treat him differently, now that he’s famous? Bernal looks charmingly embarrassed. “I’ve experienced it, yeah, but not on a very deep level. Usually, when people see me, they go, ‘Oh no, it’s not true. So much hype for nothing.’ If I would use it, it would affect me, but I make a conscious effort not to, ” he says in his slightly erratic English. “I try to live my life normal. Normal with crazy schedules.”
Bernal was back in Cannes this year — on a lightning break from his recent stint in Blood Wedding by Federico García Lorca at the Almeida Theatre in London — to promote The King.
“It’s really nice to break taboos: they make such a beautiful sound when you break them,” he says of his character in the film. “But he goes so far that I consider it a crime. What happens is tremendously horrible — it’s a place that’s impossible for me to even get close to. Even so, I empathise with this tortured soul. Destiny pulls the narrative more than his actions.”
Bernal had never been to the Deep South before. But as a visiting Mexican there he experienced no hostility: “We were shooting in Corpus Christi, which is very small, only motels and refineries, and in Austin. That’s an incredibly interesting town, one of the few in the US where segregation is not as marked as in other places — because of the university, I guess, and there are a lot of Mexicans there with a lot of money.
“You start speaking Spanish, and it’s accepted. People don’t go, like, ‘Whoa!’ Texas is a country in itself, and it’s less hypocritical and more upfront than most of the United States. I was very well treated, actually.”
The actor shows no signs of slowing down. He’ll be seen opposite Charlotte Gainsbourg in The Science of Sleep from Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). He is working on Babel, with Alejandro González Iñárritu, the director who launched his career with Amores Perros. And he’s one of only 112 people who have been invited to join the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences this year. A crazy schedule indeed.

The King is showing on Oct 28 & 29 at Odeon West End 2. Gael García Bernal gives a Times Screen Talk on Oct 30 at NFT1

BERNAL ON BERNAL

AMORES PERROS “I took the film seriously . . . but it was just another thing I wanted to do, like travelling.”
Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN “That was the moment I realised how hard acting can be when you do it properly.”
THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES “I felt a great pressure playing Che — from myself, from humanity.”
BAD EDUCATION “Almodóvar was a very exacting director but it was liberating because you got to do things that you would never usually do.”

By James Christopher
I didn’t think much of Cameron Crowe’s Elizabethtown, starring Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst, but I did like Steven Soderbergh’s Bubble, a stripped-down thriller with amateur actors. And I was beguiled by James Marsh’s ironic ode to a Bible Belt avenger, The King, starring Gael García Bernal who, with Shane Black, Terry Gilliam and Pierce Brosnan, is among those giving Times Screen Talks.

Rating

2005-10-18T00:11:00.000-07:00

"The King" today received an MA rating for Strong Sex Scenes, Strong Incest Themes and Violence. Running time 105 minutes.

October update

2005-10-12T03:15:00.000-07:00

The London Film Festival event with "The King" screening and talk with Gael has not surprisingly been one of the first to sell out. Stay tuned for more news on Gael in Australia soon.

The esteemed William Hurt spoke with some journalists today in New York amidst a very busy schedule - and said journos are also speaking to the film's director James Marsh, so look out for these features in such newspapers as The Australian and The Age around the time of release. Confirmed national cinema locations will be posted shortly.

Pell James

2005-10-05T16:05:00.000-07:00

Lead actress Pell James has just filed interviews with Vogue Australia, Filmink and Peter Krausz (3CR radio). These will be held over to coincide with the film's release next month.

London Film Festival

2005-09-14T17:22:00.000-07:00

It was confirmed today on Screendaily that "The King" has been officially selected to screen in the London Film Festival (Oct 19-Nov 3). The festival website has announced that Gael will be discussing the film and his career on Oct 30, following the screenings of the film on Oct 28 and 29. Links as follows: http://www.lff.org.uk/events_details.php?EventID=46 and http://www.lff.org.uk/films_details.php?FilmID=735.

Release date

2005-09-09T20:22:00.000-07:00

Well... things are starting to really progress with our first film "The King". We've locked in a release date of November 24, subject to change. For all media, a press kit is now available which you will receive at the preview screenings over the next couple of weeks.

The film's lead actress, Pell James is starting to get heaps of press in the US, with the magazines labelling her as the next big thing. She's got 2 other films out over there at the moment and is now shooting the new David Fincher thriller with Jake Gyllenhaal. There'll be more updates on her next post.

http://gaelonline.com

2005-08-28T21:26:00.000-07:00

If you are noticing a few different layouts for this website, it is because we are still playing around with some presentation options. We hope to have these finalised in the coming couple of weeks.

In the meantime, check out http://gaelonline.com which is the international fansite for Gael Garcia Bernal. You'll find plenty of info on everything relating to the actor and his films.

Welcome

2005-08-10T19:12:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the brand new Jump Street Films website.
We will be adding more information as it comes to hand over the coming weeks.
Please note that the format of the site is still being tweaked and you may encounter some technical irregularities over the first few days.
We hope you enjoy it and please check back soon for updates!