Middle East and North Africa distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment has snapped up regional distribution rights for Saudi action picture Route 10, starring rising local talents Fatima AlBanawi and Baraa Alem.
The company is planning a wide theatrical launch in Saudi Arabia on July 28 via Front Row Arabia, its joint venture with the territory’s biggest home-grown exhibitor Muvi Cinemas.
The partners launched the label in early 2021 in response to the growing Saudi demand for feature film content for theatrical release in the wake of the territory’s lifting of its 35-year cinema ban at the end of 2017.
Front Row will also release the title in other Mena territories at the same time.
The film is among a growing body of Saudi feature productions to come to fruition over the last 12 months, as a local film industry begins to take root.
The Saudi box office, which is tipped to top an...
The company is planning a wide theatrical launch in Saudi Arabia on July 28 via Front Row Arabia, its joint venture with the territory’s biggest home-grown exhibitor Muvi Cinemas.
The partners launched the label in early 2021 in response to the growing Saudi demand for feature film content for theatrical release in the wake of the territory’s lifting of its 35-year cinema ban at the end of 2017.
Front Row will also release the title in other Mena territories at the same time.
The film is among a growing body of Saudi feature productions to come to fruition over the last 12 months, as a local film industry begins to take root.
The Saudi box office, which is tipped to top an...
- 6/28/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Dubai-based distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment has acquired all rights to upcoming high-octane Saudi thriller “Route 10,” starring rising local stars Fatima Al Banawi (“Al Shak”) and Baraa Alem (“The Book of Sun”).
A wide pan-regional release has been planned for July 28 via Front Row Arabia, the company’s joint-venture with leading Saudi exhibitor Muvi Cinemas.
Directed by Lebanon’s Omar Naim, best known for sci-fi drama “The Final Cut,” which starred Robin Williams and Mira Sorvino, “Route 10” is about two siblings named Maryam and Nasser who set out on a road trip through the desert from Riyadh to Abu Dhabi to attend their father’s wedding. In the desert, they are chased by an angry stranger in what turns out to be a frantic fight for their lives.
Fatima Al Banawi, who plays Maryam, is a Saudi multi-hyphenate whose first acting role in Mahmoud Sabbagh’s groundbreaking 2016 comedy “Barakah Meets...
A wide pan-regional release has been planned for July 28 via Front Row Arabia, the company’s joint-venture with leading Saudi exhibitor Muvi Cinemas.
Directed by Lebanon’s Omar Naim, best known for sci-fi drama “The Final Cut,” which starred Robin Williams and Mira Sorvino, “Route 10” is about two siblings named Maryam and Nasser who set out on a road trip through the desert from Riyadh to Abu Dhabi to attend their father’s wedding. In the desert, they are chased by an angry stranger in what turns out to be a frantic fight for their lives.
Fatima Al Banawi, who plays Maryam, is a Saudi multi-hyphenate whose first acting role in Mahmoud Sabbagh’s groundbreaking 2016 comedy “Barakah Meets...
- 6/28/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Fast-rising Middle East distribution and production banner Front Row Filmed Entertainment, which scored a hit earlier this year with its first original production, Netflix’s Arabic-language remake of Perfect Strangers, is making a push into Saudi content, having acquired distribution rights to local thriller Route 10.
Described by the producers as a “pulse pounding chase thriller” starring Fatima AlBanawi (Al Shak), Baraa Alem (The Book of Sun) and directed by Omar Naim, the film is now set for a wide theatrical release in Saudi Arabia and Front Row’s other territories across the Middle East and North Africa via Front Row Arabia, a joint venture the company established with Saudi exhibitor Muvi Cinemas. Front Row, which has a first-look deal with Netflix for its own productions, will also assist with the sale of Route 10 outside the region.
Produced by Image Nation Abu Dhabi in...
Fast-rising Middle East distribution and production banner Front Row Filmed Entertainment, which scored a hit earlier this year with its first original production, Netflix’s Arabic-language remake of Perfect Strangers, is making a push into Saudi content, having acquired distribution rights to local thriller Route 10.
Described by the producers as a “pulse pounding chase thriller” starring Fatima AlBanawi (Al Shak), Baraa Alem (The Book of Sun) and directed by Omar Naim, the film is now set for a wide theatrical release in Saudi Arabia and Front Row’s other territories across the Middle East and North Africa via Front Row Arabia, a joint venture the company established with Saudi exhibitor Muvi Cinemas. Front Row, which has a first-look deal with Netflix for its own productions, will also assist with the sale of Route 10 outside the region.
Produced by Image Nation Abu Dhabi in...
- 6/28/2022
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
World Productions Boss and YouTube Emea Head Win Rts Fellowships
Line of Duty (pictured) producer World Productions CEO Simon Heath (pictured) and YouTube Regional Director, Emea, Ben McOwen Wilson are among the six winners of this year’s Royal Television Society (Rts) Fellowships. Cpl Productions MD Danielle Lux, BBC News At Ten‘s Clive Myrie, ITV Continuing Drama MD John Whiston and retiring Screen Yorkshire CEO Sally Joynson see out the crop, who were described as “leaders in their fields” by Rts CEO Theresa Wise. Rts Fellowships recognise industry luminaries who have made an outstanding, sustained and exceptional contribution to the industry.
Bollywood’s ‘Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui’ Trailer Launched
Ahead of Abhishek Kapoor’s Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui’s December 10 release, a trailer has dropped showing a passionate couple, played by Ayushmann Khurrana (Badhaai Ho) and Vaani Kapoor (Bell Bottom), whose lives change after the main character hints at a gender-related issue with his partner.
Line of Duty (pictured) producer World Productions CEO Simon Heath (pictured) and YouTube Regional Director, Emea, Ben McOwen Wilson are among the six winners of this year’s Royal Television Society (Rts) Fellowships. Cpl Productions MD Danielle Lux, BBC News At Ten‘s Clive Myrie, ITV Continuing Drama MD John Whiston and retiring Screen Yorkshire CEO Sally Joynson see out the crop, who were described as “leaders in their fields” by Rts CEO Theresa Wise. Rts Fellowships recognise industry luminaries who have made an outstanding, sustained and exceptional contribution to the industry.
Bollywood’s ‘Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui’ Trailer Launched
Ahead of Abhishek Kapoor’s Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui’s December 10 release, a trailer has dropped showing a passionate couple, played by Ayushmann Khurrana (Badhaai Ho) and Vaani Kapoor (Bell Bottom), whose lives change after the main character hints at a gender-related issue with his partner.
- 11/8/2021
- by Anuj Radia
- Deadline Film + TV
The new fund gives production and post-production support to Arab world cinema projects.
Lebanese director Ely Dagher’s Beirut-set drama The Sea Ahead and Jordanian filmmaker Darin J. Sallam’s debut feature Farha are among the first 14 recipients of the Red Sea International Film Festival’s $14m fund.
Starring French-Lebanese actress Manal Issa as a young woman who returns to Beirut after many years of absence, The Sea Ahead world premiered in Cannes Directors’ Fortnight earlier this year. It was Dagher’s first feature after Waves ’98, which won the Cannes Palme D’Or for best short film in 2015.
Farha will...
Lebanese director Ely Dagher’s Beirut-set drama The Sea Ahead and Jordanian filmmaker Darin J. Sallam’s debut feature Farha are among the first 14 recipients of the Red Sea International Film Festival’s $14m fund.
Starring French-Lebanese actress Manal Issa as a young woman who returns to Beirut after many years of absence, The Sea Ahead world premiered in Cannes Directors’ Fortnight earlier this year. It was Dagher’s first feature after Waves ’98, which won the Cannes Palme D’Or for best short film in 2015.
Farha will...
- 9/6/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Saudi Arabia’s nascent Red Sea International Film Festival has revealed 14 Arabic feature films selected to receive production and post-production funding from its Red Sea Fund.
The announcement was made at the Venice Film Festival where the Red Sea festival and Saudi Arabia’s fledgling film industry have a substantial presence.
Among the beneficiaries of the fund are Jordanian writer and director Darin J. Sallam’s Toronto Film Festival-bound “Farha,” the story of 14-year-old girl Farha in Palestine in 1948, who watches from a locked pantry as catastrophe consumes her home, and Lebanese director Ely Dagher’s “The Sea Ahead,” that recently launched from the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight.
The announced grants for pics coming from Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, Iraq, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco, mark the first round of funding from the deep-pocketed fund that in June announced a $10 million pot, which then during Cannes, in July, was increased to $14 million,...
The announcement was made at the Venice Film Festival where the Red Sea festival and Saudi Arabia’s fledgling film industry have a substantial presence.
Among the beneficiaries of the fund are Jordanian writer and director Darin J. Sallam’s Toronto Film Festival-bound “Farha,” the story of 14-year-old girl Farha in Palestine in 1948, who watches from a locked pantry as catastrophe consumes her home, and Lebanese director Ely Dagher’s “The Sea Ahead,” that recently launched from the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight.
The announced grants for pics coming from Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, Iraq, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco, mark the first round of funding from the deep-pocketed fund that in June announced a $10 million pot, which then during Cannes, in July, was increased to $14 million,...
- 9/6/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Italy’s Picomedia & Russia’s WeiT Partner For ‘Kurgan’
Italian scripted producer Picomedia, part of Asacha Media Group, and Russian producer WeiTMedia, part of Banijay, have partnered to co-produce six-part drama series Kurgan. Based on true events in 1982, the show begins in Northern Italy, where a 14-year-old boy in an affluent Italian family has a medical condition that no doctor in his country can treat. Bullied at school and desperate to fit in, he learns of a pioneering treatment by a Russian orthopaedic surgeon, Gavriil Abramovich Ilizarov, in the city of Kurgan, Siberia. Co-written by Russian and Italian scriptwriters, the 6×60 minutes series will be produced in both languages with an Italian female lead and Russian male counterpart.
Yo-yo Champion Joins ‘The Sweepers’
Exclusive: Yo-yo world champions Gentry Stein has joined Michael Matteo Rossi’s upcoming action film The Sweepers; the project will mark Stein’s acting debut. The film also...
Italian scripted producer Picomedia, part of Asacha Media Group, and Russian producer WeiTMedia, part of Banijay, have partnered to co-produce six-part drama series Kurgan. Based on true events in 1982, the show begins in Northern Italy, where a 14-year-old boy in an affluent Italian family has a medical condition that no doctor in his country can treat. Bullied at school and desperate to fit in, he learns of a pioneering treatment by a Russian orthopaedic surgeon, Gavriil Abramovich Ilizarov, in the city of Kurgan, Siberia. Co-written by Russian and Italian scriptwriters, the 6×60 minutes series will be produced in both languages with an Italian female lead and Russian male counterpart.
Yo-yo Champion Joins ‘The Sweepers’
Exclusive: Yo-yo world champions Gentry Stein has joined Michael Matteo Rossi’s upcoming action film The Sweepers; the project will mark Stein’s acting debut. The film also...
- 9/6/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Three years after the first movie theater reopened in Saudi Arabia – following removal of a religion-related ban – the kingdom has become the top theatrical market in the Middle East and is turning into a major driver for Arabic film production.
“At the moment Saudi is on a different path from the rest of the world,” says David Hancock, an analyst at London-based Omdia, which sees this new market as having the potential to be ranked among the top 10-15 territories for box office worldwide by 2024.
By 2024 Omdia estimates there will be 1,400 screens in Saudi Arabia, up from a current count of less than 300 screens in 2020 with more than 600 screens expected in 2021. In 2020 Saudi box office was up 3% to $115 million, bucking the downward trend in the rest of the world.
But besides growing box office and screen count, just like in other parts of the world such as China where there is moviegoing growth,...
“At the moment Saudi is on a different path from the rest of the world,” says David Hancock, an analyst at London-based Omdia, which sees this new market as having the potential to be ranked among the top 10-15 territories for box office worldwide by 2024.
By 2024 Omdia estimates there will be 1,400 screens in Saudi Arabia, up from a current count of less than 300 screens in 2020 with more than 600 screens expected in 2021. In 2020 Saudi box office was up 3% to $115 million, bucking the downward trend in the rest of the world.
But besides growing box office and screen count, just like in other parts of the world such as China where there is moviegoing growth,...
- 3/4/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
In today’s film news roundup, “Save Yourselves!” and “Becoming” find homes, Cast & Crew buys Media Services, “Parasite” is getting a Criterion special edition and MethodFest unveils early titles.
Acquisitions
Bleecker Street has bought worldwide distribution rights to the survivalist romantic comedy “Save Yourselves!”
The film, directed by Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson from their own script, stars Sunita Mani and John Reynolds, who portray a Brooklyn couple who find themselves dependent on technology and unable to put down their phones. They seize the chance to head to an isolated cabin in the woods but are blissfully unaware when aliens attack the earth.
“Save Yourselves!” premiered at Sundance in the dramatic competition. It will be released in theaters in the summer.
The film is produced by Keshet Studios’ Mandy Tagger Brockey and Adi Ezroni, alongside Kara Durrett.
****
Gravitas Ventures has bought North American rights to the horror thriller “Becoming,...
Acquisitions
Bleecker Street has bought worldwide distribution rights to the survivalist romantic comedy “Save Yourselves!”
The film, directed by Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson from their own script, stars Sunita Mani and John Reynolds, who portray a Brooklyn couple who find themselves dependent on technology and unable to put down their phones. They seize the chance to head to an isolated cabin in the woods but are blissfully unaware when aliens attack the earth.
“Save Yourselves!” premiered at Sundance in the dramatic competition. It will be released in theaters in the summer.
The film is produced by Keshet Studios’ Mandy Tagger Brockey and Adi Ezroni, alongside Kara Durrett.
****
Gravitas Ventures has bought North American rights to the horror thriller “Becoming,...
- 2/14/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: The Vampire Diaries actress Penelope Mitchell has been set to star opposite Toby Kebbell (Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes) in psychological thriller Becoming, with Jason Patric (Sleepers) also joining the cast. Double Dutch International will be touting the movie in Cannes next week. Traverse Media reps North America.
Written and directed by Omar Naim (The Final Cut), the two-hander follows a couple (Mitchell and Kebbell) on a road trip through America where they encounter a terrifying dark force older than the country itself. An evil that transforms loved ones into someone terrifying, the entity has left a trail of murdered families going back hundreds of years. Patric will play a mysterious survivor of the entity’s crimes.
Kebbell, Mitchell and Patric are supported by Jeff Daniel Philips (Lords Of Salem), Beth Broderick (Echoes of War) and Stephen Rider (Netflix’s Daredevil). Kebbell, who stars in Nicole Kidman’s upcoming crime-drama Destroyer,...
Written and directed by Omar Naim (The Final Cut), the two-hander follows a couple (Mitchell and Kebbell) on a road trip through America where they encounter a terrifying dark force older than the country itself. An evil that transforms loved ones into someone terrifying, the entity has left a trail of murdered families going back hundreds of years. Patric will play a mysterious survivor of the entity’s crimes.
Kebbell, Mitchell and Patric are supported by Jeff Daniel Philips (Lords Of Salem), Beth Broderick (Echoes of War) and Stephen Rider (Netflix’s Daredevil). Kebbell, who stars in Nicole Kidman’s upcoming crime-drama Destroyer,...
- 5/2/2018
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
You have to give writer/director Omar Naim a lot of credit for perseverance… Becoming, a film of his that we’ve been writing about for close to five years, has a casting update and appears to finally be ready to kick… Continue Reading →
The post Planet of the Apes’ Toby Kebbell Joins Becoming as Cast Undergoes an Update appeared first on Dread Central.
The post Planet of the Apes’ Toby Kebbell Joins Becoming as Cast Undergoes an Update appeared first on Dread Central.
- 9/10/2017
- by Debi Moore
- DreadCentral.com
Ben-Hur star Toby Kebbell has signed on to join Claire Holt in the psychological thriller Becoming.
Penned and to be directed by Omar Naim (The Final Cut), the film centers on a young woman who learns her fiancé has become possessed by an entity which takes over bodies, kills families and then moves on to new bodies. But now he wants to start his own family, which leaves her faced with an impossible choice about the one she loves.
The pic, which will start production in October in Kentucky, is being produced by Michael Philip, Gaby Whyte Hart and Kebbell....
Penned and to be directed by Omar Naim (The Final Cut), the film centers on a young woman who learns her fiancé has become possessed by an entity which takes over bodies, kills families and then moves on to new bodies. But now he wants to start his own family, which leaves her faced with an impossible choice about the one she loves.
The pic, which will start production in October in Kentucky, is being produced by Michael Philip, Gaby Whyte Hart and Kebbell....
- 9/10/2017
- by Rebecca Ford
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Odd List Ryan Lambie Simon Brew 9 Jan 2014 - 06:25
We head back a decade to look at a few films that deserve more attention. Here’s our list of 25 underappreciated movies of 2004...
Think back to 2004, and you might dredge up hazy memories of the computer-generated fairytale sequel Shrek 2, Alfonso’s Harry Potter installment, The Prisoner Of Azkaban, or maybe Mel Gibson’s phenomenally successful Passion Of The Christ.
It’s rather less likely that you’ll remember some of the films on this list. You’re probably aware of the drill by now: we’ve gone back into our distant, beer-addled memories to find 25 of the less commonly-lauded movies from the year 2004.
Some of them did reasonably well at the time, but appear to have been forgotten since (especially the one eclipsed by its own internet meme), while others were coolly received by the public or critics (and sometimes...
We head back a decade to look at a few films that deserve more attention. Here’s our list of 25 underappreciated movies of 2004...
Think back to 2004, and you might dredge up hazy memories of the computer-generated fairytale sequel Shrek 2, Alfonso’s Harry Potter installment, The Prisoner Of Azkaban, or maybe Mel Gibson’s phenomenally successful Passion Of The Christ.
It’s rather less likely that you’ll remember some of the films on this list. You’re probably aware of the drill by now: we’ve gone back into our distant, beer-addled memories to find 25 of the less commonly-lauded movies from the year 2004.
Some of them did reasonably well at the time, but appear to have been forgotten since (especially the one eclipsed by its own internet meme), while others were coolly received by the public or critics (and sometimes...
- 1/8/2014
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
Writer/director Omar Naim embraces the notion that science fiction allows us to observe present-day issues and human quandaries from an outsider perspective.
His award-winning 2004 film The Final Cut explored questions of memory and reality in a near-future world where people can have their babies implanted with chips that record every moment of their life. Now he’s exploring the science fiction-thriller genre further, by rewriting the Amazon Studios Development Slate project Children of Others.
Children of Others is about a barren woman who miraculously conceives with the help of a mysterious fertility clinic, only to discover that she’s bearing an alien baby who may be the precursor to invasion – or the only hope for mankind. Veteran producer Edward Saxon (Silence of the Lambs, Adaptation) is attached to the project.
We spoke to Omar about his inspirations, his own film, and the challenges and opportunities that come from working...
His award-winning 2004 film The Final Cut explored questions of memory and reality in a near-future world where people can have their babies implanted with chips that record every moment of their life. Now he’s exploring the science fiction-thriller genre further, by rewriting the Amazon Studios Development Slate project Children of Others.
Children of Others is about a barren woman who miraculously conceives with the help of a mysterious fertility clinic, only to discover that she’s bearing an alien baby who may be the precursor to invasion – or the only hope for mankind. Veteran producer Edward Saxon (Silence of the Lambs, Adaptation) is attached to the project.
We spoke to Omar about his inspirations, his own film, and the challenges and opportunities that come from working...
- 7/18/2013
- Hollywonk
You think you know the one you love. But people change. So true! But we’re not here to chat about love, because one pretty cool horror thriller is waiting for us. It comes from director Omar Naim, and will have quite interesting cast on board. I mean, Justin Bartha (The Hangover) and Rachel Nichols (Red Eye) are taking a road-trip to the middle of nowhere, that should be interesting, right?
Described as a dramatic supernatural thriller, Becoming will tell us the story of Alex and Lisa, an ordinary couple who come face to face with an ancient evil.
While on a road trip retracing family roots, Alex is gradually taken over by a malevolent entity, which slowly begins to replace his identity piece by piece.
Though he still looks like the man she loves, this new Alex has dark and disturbing plans for Lisa, and will use her trust...
Described as a dramatic supernatural thriller, Becoming will tell us the story of Alex and Lisa, an ordinary couple who come face to face with an ancient evil.
While on a road trip retracing family roots, Alex is gradually taken over by a malevolent entity, which slowly begins to replace his identity piece by piece.
Though he still looks like the man she loves, this new Alex has dark and disturbing plans for Lisa, and will use her trust...
- 11/26/2012
- by Jeanne Standal
- Filmofilia
One project that seems to have slipped most of us by appears to be that of Canadian horror production 'Becoming'. The new supernatural thriller that Bloody Disgusting have picked up on has already dived into post and stars both Justin Bartha ('The Hangover') and the incredibly delicious Rachel Nichols ('P2', 'Raze', 'G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra'). The full plot synopsis which you can read below mentions 'the tension of 'The Shining'' which is a damn ballsy statement so we'll see if the Omar Naim ('Dead Awake') helmed project can live up to such high expectations. Nichols' (below) next role will be that of Tom Holland's adaptation of horror novelist Stephen King's 'The Ten O'Clock People'. Head below for some early teaser art....
- 11/26/2012
- Horror Asylum
The land of the Great White North is constantly churning our horror flicks, and another ghostly tale which is said to be Shining-esque in nature is on its way. Of course we have the first word and artwork for you!
The movie known as Becoming was directed by Omar Naim and stars Justin Bartha (The Hangover) and Rachel Nichols (P2, Red Eye). Look for more on it soon as it is in post-production.
Becoming is a dramatic supernatural thriller about Alex and Lisa, an ordinary couple who come face to face with an ancient evil. While on a road trip retracing family roots, Alex is gradually taken over by a malevolent entity, which slowly begins to replace his identity piece by piece. Though he still looks like the man she loves, this new Alex has dark and disturbing plans for Lisa and will use her trust and love against her at every turn.
The movie known as Becoming was directed by Omar Naim and stars Justin Bartha (The Hangover) and Rachel Nichols (P2, Red Eye). Look for more on it soon as it is in post-production.
Becoming is a dramatic supernatural thriller about Alex and Lisa, an ordinary couple who come face to face with an ancient evil. While on a road trip retracing family roots, Alex is gradually taken over by a malevolent entity, which slowly begins to replace his identity piece by piece. Though he still looks like the man she loves, this new Alex has dark and disturbing plans for Lisa and will use her trust and love against her at every turn.
- 11/23/2012
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
2011 - 92 mins. - Rated R
D: Omar Naim
C: Nick Stahl, Rose McGowan, Amy Smart, Ben Marten, Kim Grimaldi, Brian Lynner, Justin Marxen, James Serpento, Jack Mishler, Shane Simmons
A funeral home employee fakes his own death to see if anyone would attend. Two people show up - a junkie and his old high school sweetheart. However, it turns out he may very well indeed be dead and is stuck in between the world of the living and the dead.
Dead Awake is slow to start as it lays the basic foundation for the film's plot. Once that happens, Dead Awake leaves a variety of open ended questions that will be solved throughout the film. The search for those answers is what gives Dead Awake an intriguing quality to it. The balance between the supernatural, drama and mystery is what keeps things interesting. There also happens to be many vignettes scattered throughout that resonate.
D: Omar Naim
C: Nick Stahl, Rose McGowan, Amy Smart, Ben Marten, Kim Grimaldi, Brian Lynner, Justin Marxen, James Serpento, Jack Mishler, Shane Simmons
A funeral home employee fakes his own death to see if anyone would attend. Two people show up - a junkie and his old high school sweetheart. However, it turns out he may very well indeed be dead and is stuck in between the world of the living and the dead.
Dead Awake is slow to start as it lays the basic foundation for the film's plot. Once that happens, Dead Awake leaves a variety of open ended questions that will be solved throughout the film. The search for those answers is what gives Dead Awake an intriguing quality to it. The balance between the supernatural, drama and mystery is what keeps things interesting. There also happens to be many vignettes scattered throughout that resonate.
- 5/4/2011
- by Big Daddy aka Brandon Sites
- Big Daddy Horror Reviews - Interviews
Dead Awake is a suspenseful romantic thriller directed by Omar Naim based on a script written by Johnny Harrington and Justin Urich. The film stars Nick Stahl, Rose McGowan and Amy Smart. The film follows "Dylan, a young man working at a funeral parlor, is trying to unravel a mystery that shattered his life ten years earlier. After faking his own funeral to see who will show up, he befriends a mysterious street junkie and is reunited with an old love from his past. The lives of these three characters are transformed by supernatural forces as Dylan discovers that no one is who they seem to be."
Dylan's life is not really going anywhere. He lost his parents ten years ago in a strange car crash and is currently working in a funeral parlor. His life really is not what he had planned and he realizes that while working the...
Dylan's life is not really going anywhere. He lost his parents ten years ago in a strange car crash and is currently working in a funeral parlor. His life really is not what he had planned and he realizes that while working the...
- 4/14/2011
- by Tiberius
- GeekTyrant
"The Resident" (2011)
Directed by Antti Jokinen
Released by Image Entertainment
This actually isn't the first time Hilary Swank has seen one of her films go direct to DVD after the films "Red Dust" and "Birds of America" suffered the same fate, but surely there was more riding on this horror film from the resurgent Hammer Films about a recently separated doctor who learns her Brooklyn loft isn't quite as wonderful as she thought it would be. "Secretary" screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson co-wrote this film, which co-stars Christopher Lee, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Lee Pace.
"The Mikado" (1939)
Directed by Victor Schertzinger
Released by Criterion Collection
"Topsy-Turvy" (1999)
Directed by Mike Leigh
Released by Criterion Collection
Sold separately, Criterion is making no secret of trying to appeal to Gilbert and Sullivan fanatics with special editions of "The Mikado," a straight-up adaptation of the musical duo's most famous opera, and Mike Leigh's "Topsy-Turvy,...
Directed by Antti Jokinen
Released by Image Entertainment
This actually isn't the first time Hilary Swank has seen one of her films go direct to DVD after the films "Red Dust" and "Birds of America" suffered the same fate, but surely there was more riding on this horror film from the resurgent Hammer Films about a recently separated doctor who learns her Brooklyn loft isn't quite as wonderful as she thought it would be. "Secretary" screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson co-wrote this film, which co-stars Christopher Lee, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Lee Pace.
"The Mikado" (1939)
Directed by Victor Schertzinger
Released by Criterion Collection
"Topsy-Turvy" (1999)
Directed by Mike Leigh
Released by Criterion Collection
Sold separately, Criterion is making no secret of trying to appeal to Gilbert and Sullivan fanatics with special editions of "The Mikado," a straight-up adaptation of the musical duo's most famous opera, and Mike Leigh's "Topsy-Turvy,...
- 3/28/2011
- by Stephen Saito
- ifc.com
It doesn't matter if you're a black swan or a white swan; we're sure you're going to want to bring home the dementedness that is Natalie Portman's Oscar-winning performance in Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan.
The film also stars Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey and Winona Ryder. If you live in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco or Chicago, you can participate in the Black Swan Experience on April 2nd.
Since Scream 4 is coming out in theaters shortly, it is only appropriate that the Scream trilogy is being re-released in glorious Blu-ray. Bring home the franchise created by Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson that gave the horror genre a booster shot back in the mid 1990s. A trio from the original cast -- Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette -- will be gracing the big screens with a whole new cast soon enough.
In addition, don't...
The film also stars Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey and Winona Ryder. If you live in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco or Chicago, you can participate in the Black Swan Experience on April 2nd.
Since Scream 4 is coming out in theaters shortly, it is only appropriate that the Scream trilogy is being re-released in glorious Blu-ray. Bring home the franchise created by Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson that gave the horror genre a booster shot back in the mid 1990s. A trio from the original cast -- Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette -- will be gracing the big screens with a whole new cast soon enough.
In addition, don't...
- 3/28/2011
- by kwlow
- DreadCentral.com
New Films Cinema and First Look Pictures presents a supernatural horror film starring Nick Stahl, Rose McGowan, Amy Smart, Ben Marten, Kim Grimaldi and Brian Lynner and directed by Omar Naim of "Dead Awake".
A decade after their lives were disrupted by a sudden and enigmatic tragedy, three young people find themselves caught in the mysterious realm between the living and the dead in this supernatural thriller.
Dead Awake arrives to DVD and Blu-Ray on March 29, 2011. The only special feature known at this time is that it will come with a free digital copy. The film was shot back in August and September of 2009 on a budget of $3.5 million. It's Rated R for language, drug content and brief sexuality.
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A decade after their lives were disrupted by a sudden and enigmatic tragedy, three young people find themselves caught in the mysterious realm between the living and the dead in this supernatural thriller.
Dead Awake arrives to DVD and Blu-Ray on March 29, 2011. The only special feature known at this time is that it will come with a free digital copy. The film was shot back in August and September of 2009 on a budget of $3.5 million. It's Rated R for language, drug content and brief sexuality.
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- 1/15/2011
- by Big Daddy aka Brandon Sites
- Big Daddy Horror Reviews - Interviews
Haven't heard of this film? Well, neither had I! But in the midst of all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, a studio somehow managed to squeeze out this horror-drama-romance yule log right squat on the chest of the viewing public. It's a dreary, melancholy, over-artsy After.Life clone, which can't even make the beneficial claim of constantly nude Christina Ricci. Instead we get crazy-junkie Rose McGowan, Amy Smart squinty-ed up to look like a forgotten Olsen Twin, and Nick Stahl continuing his fine trend of evading quality films. With jittery camera work, a murky backdrop, and mediocre acting, this film is astonishing only in that it was actually released theatrically. I would love to tell you what it's about, but I have no fucking idea. I started playing Angry Birds during the last hour. The two old people who shared the theatre with me were giving me tips on which birds to use.
- 12/7/2010
- by Brian Prisco
Dead Awake, a new supernatural suspense thriller from director Omar Naim, opens this Friday, December 3, at select theaters. Cinephiles may remember Naim’s name (say that 10 times fast) from his previous feature Final Cut, an offbeat, paranoia-filled dystopian tale starring Robin Williams. Naim’s cast this time around includes Nick Stahl from CARNIVÀLE and Sin City, the beautiful Amy Smart from Mirrors and the Crank films and genre-fan favorite Rose McGowan from Planet Terror. See our exclusive video chat with McGowan after the jump!
- 12/2/2010
- by gingold@starloggroup.com (Sean Smithson)
- Fangoria
With director Omar Naim’s supernaturally-tinged Dead Awake opening in limited release this Friday, December 3 (the flick is set to hit DVD/Blu-ray on March 29 of next year), this writer caught up today with one of the film’s principals, actress Amy Smart, who dished on the movie as well as the possibility of a third film in the Crank series and her potential inclusion in a future horror project.
Known best as a comedic actress for her turns in the films Just Friends and Road Trip (among others) and to genre fans for her roles in The Butterfly Effect and Mirrors (as well the gonzo action flicks Crank and Crank: High Voltage, in which she portrayed the girlfriend of actor Jason Statham’s adrenalized hit-man ‘Chev Chelios’), Smart appears in Dead Awake as ‘Natalie’, the long-lost love of young funeral parlor employee ‘Dylan’ (actor Nick Stahl), a young man...
Known best as a comedic actress for her turns in the films Just Friends and Road Trip (among others) and to genre fans for her roles in The Butterfly Effect and Mirrors (as well the gonzo action flicks Crank and Crank: High Voltage, in which she portrayed the girlfriend of actor Jason Statham’s adrenalized hit-man ‘Chev Chelios’), Smart appears in Dead Awake as ‘Natalie’, the long-lost love of young funeral parlor employee ‘Dylan’ (actor Nick Stahl), a young man...
- 11/30/2010
- by SeanD.
- DreadCentral.com
Its been a rather quiet week because of the holiday, but I still found a trailer worth featuring today, although its not the best, so don't expect anything too impressive. I first caught this trailer for a supernatural mystery thriller called Dead Awake over on ShockTillYouDrop. It stars Nick Stahl, who you may remember from Terminator 3, as well as the sassy Rose McGowan (Grindhouse) and the lovely Amy Smart (of the Crank movies). This looks very dark and mysterious, which is kind of why I like it so much. Again, it's not anything too impressive, but it is getting a theatrical release and doesn't look half bad. Watch below if you're curious. Watch the official trailer for Omar Naim's Dead Awake: Dylan, who works at a funeral parlor, tries to unravel a mystery that shattered his life 10 years ago. After faking his funeral to see who shows up,...
- 11/28/2010
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Here is the trailer for Dead Awake from director Omar Naim starring Nick Stahl, Rose McGowan and Amy Smart. Naim directed 2004's The Final Cut starring Robin Williams. The screenplay was written by Johnny Harrington.
Watch the trailer below and let us know what you think!
Synopsis:
Dylan, a young man working at a funeral parlor, is trying to unravel a mystery that shattered his life ten years earlier. After faking his own funeral to see who will show up, he befriends a mysterious street junkie and is reunited with an old love from his past. The lives of these three characters are transformed by supernatural forces as Dylan discovers that no one is who they seem to be.
I really liked Nick Stahl in Bully, The Man Without A Face and Sin City. What are your thoughts of this trailer?
Source: DarkHorizons (http://www.darkhorizons.com/trailers)...
Watch the trailer below and let us know what you think!
Synopsis:
Dylan, a young man working at a funeral parlor, is trying to unravel a mystery that shattered his life ten years earlier. After faking his own funeral to see who will show up, he befriends a mysterious street junkie and is reunited with an old love from his past. The lives of these three characters are transformed by supernatural forces as Dylan discovers that no one is who they seem to be.
I really liked Nick Stahl in Bully, The Man Without A Face and Sin City. What are your thoughts of this trailer?
Source: DarkHorizons (http://www.darkhorizons.com/trailers)...
- 11/24/2010
- by Tiberius
- GeekTyrant
A new film set for limited release on December 3rd, Dead Awake has itself a trailer and a one-sheet. The film stars Nick Stahl, Rose McGowan and Amy Smart, it was directed by Omar Naim.
Official Synopsis: Dead Awake is a seductive supernatural thriller starring Rose McGowan, Amy Smart and Nick Stahl set against the backdrop of a mysterious tragedy that shattered their lives a decade ago and which sets them on a path to uncover the truth that lies between the living and the dead.
Source: ShockTillYaDrop, NewFilmsCinema...
Official Synopsis: Dead Awake is a seductive supernatural thriller starring Rose McGowan, Amy Smart and Nick Stahl set against the backdrop of a mysterious tragedy that shattered their lives a decade ago and which sets them on a path to uncover the truth that lies between the living and the dead.
Source: ShockTillYaDrop, NewFilmsCinema...
- 11/19/2010
- by Marcella Papandrea
- Killer Films
Dead Awake will release in some theatres December 3rd (Shock). The film stars Nick Stahl, Rose McGowan and Amy Smart, in a thriller that blurs the lines between death and life. The first trailer for this independent feature is below, with an early poster seen here.
The synopsis for the film is here:
"Set against the backdrop of a mysterious tragedy that shattered their lives a decade ago, three friends are set them a path to uncover the truth that lies between the living and the dead" (Shock).
Release Date: December 3, 2010 (Limited Theatrical).
Director/writer: Omar Naim.
Starring: Rose McGowan, Nick Stahl, and Amy Smart.
The trailer is here:
Sources:
Dead Awake at Shock Till You Drop
Another recent Nick Stahl showing:
Advertise Here - Contact me Michael Allen at 28Dla
| | Stumble It!
Subscribe to 28 Days Later: An Analysis by Email...
The synopsis for the film is here:
"Set against the backdrop of a mysterious tragedy that shattered their lives a decade ago, three friends are set them a path to uncover the truth that lies between the living and the dead" (Shock).
Release Date: December 3, 2010 (Limited Theatrical).
Director/writer: Omar Naim.
Starring: Rose McGowan, Nick Stahl, and Amy Smart.
The trailer is here:
Sources:
Dead Awake at Shock Till You Drop
Another recent Nick Stahl showing:
Advertise Here - Contact me Michael Allen at 28Dla
| | Stumble It!
Subscribe to 28 Days Later: An Analysis by Email...
- 11/18/2010
- by 28DaysLaterAnalysis@gmail.com (Michael Allen)
- 28 Days Later Analysis
New Films Cinema is throwing a genre film into the December mix. Dead Awake is set to open in a limited theatrical run on December 3. Rose McGowan, Nick Stahl and Amy Smart star in the film directed by The Final Cut 's Omar Naim. We've got a trailer to share for you, click on the player below. For poster art and a photo follow this link .
- 11/18/2010
- shocktillyoudrop.com
To be perfectly honest, the trailer for Omar Naim’s “Dead Awake” — previously known in certain areas as “Dylan’s Wake” — isn’t the sort of thing I find myself gravitating towards. However, it’s hard to pull your attention away from a motion picture that contains both Rose McGowan and Amy Smart, regardless of how inherently awful the entire production may be. Oh, and Nick Stahl is in there, too, though I seriously doubt many people will be showing up to snag a copy of “Dead Wake” strictly for Nick Stahl. Nothing against the guy, of course, but after “Mirrors 2″, he owes me one. Or two. Here’s what the picture’s all about: “Dead Awake” is a seductive supernatural thriller starring Rose McGowan, Amy Smart and Nick Stahl set against the backdrop of a mysterious tragedy that shattered their lives a decade ago and which sets them...
- 11/16/2010
- by Todd Rigney
- Beyond Hollywood
It's been a little over a year since last we reported on Dylan's Wake, but that's about to change. The flick has a new title, a new one-sheet, and even a new trailer. Dig it all!
The film, now known as Dead Awake, is directed by Omar Naim, and stars Nick Stahl, Rose McGowan, Amy Smart, Ben Marten, Kim Grimaldi, Brian Lynner, Justin Marxen, and James Serpento. In it Stahl plays a young man working in a funeral parlor who is trying to unravel a 10-year-old mystery that will end up uncovering the truth that lies between the living and the dead.
Sounds ominous, no? Of course it does! It's a horror flick! The more ominous the better. Dig on the one-sheet and the trailer below, and look for the film in limited theatrical release on December 3rd, 2010.
Dead Awake - Trailer
Uploaded by dreadcentral. - Classic TV and last night's shows,...
The film, now known as Dead Awake, is directed by Omar Naim, and stars Nick Stahl, Rose McGowan, Amy Smart, Ben Marten, Kim Grimaldi, Brian Lynner, Justin Marxen, and James Serpento. In it Stahl plays a young man working in a funeral parlor who is trying to unravel a 10-year-old mystery that will end up uncovering the truth that lies between the living and the dead.
Sounds ominous, no? Of course it does! It's a horror flick! The more ominous the better. Dig on the one-sheet and the trailer below, and look for the film in limited theatrical release on December 3rd, 2010.
Dead Awake - Trailer
Uploaded by dreadcentral. - Classic TV and last night's shows,...
- 11/15/2010
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
Dead Awake is a seductive supernatural thriller starring Rose McGowan, Amy Smart and Nick Stahl set against the backdrop of a mysterious tragedy that shattered their lives a decade ago and which sets them on a path to uncover the truth that lies between the living and the dead.
Nesim Hason, President of New Films states that,
“New Films will be releasing theatrically in the Us December 3 and has launched sales at Afm.”
The overall deal was finalized right before Afm by Ron Gell, New Films Chief Content Officer, and producers Jason Price, Lucas Jarach and Anthony Gudas for Dead Awake.
In a comment, Gell states,
“Dead Awake director, Omar Naim has delivered a compelling film with strong performances that caters brilliantly to the fantasy thriller audience.”
Price and Jarach stated,
“The film is a gripping and visually stylistic thriller blurring the line between fantasy and reality that will leave...
Nesim Hason, President of New Films states that,
“New Films will be releasing theatrically in the Us December 3 and has launched sales at Afm.”
The overall deal was finalized right before Afm by Ron Gell, New Films Chief Content Officer, and producers Jason Price, Lucas Jarach and Anthony Gudas for Dead Awake.
In a comment, Gell states,
“Dead Awake director, Omar Naim has delivered a compelling film with strong performances that caters brilliantly to the fantasy thriller audience.”
Price and Jarach stated,
“The film is a gripping and visually stylistic thriller blurring the line between fantasy and reality that will leave...
- 11/8/2010
- by Allan Ford
- Filmofilia
Omar Naim's ('The Final Cut') latest mystery thriller 'Dead Awake' has wrapped it's shoot. It's 3 main stars, Nick Stahl (who's just signed on to Vincenzo Natali's '388 Areletta Avenue'), Rose McGowan and Amy Smart (below) are in the can and hopefully this baby can be cut in time for it's 3 December Us release date. Ben Marten, Kim Grimaldi, Brian Lynner, Justin Marxen, James Serpento, Jack Mishler, Shane Simmons and Rachel Storey all co-star in 'Dead Awake' which was penned by Johnny Harrington, Justin Urich ('Lake Placid 2 ') and David Boivin. 'Dylan, a young man working at a funeral parlor, is trying to unravel a mystery that shattered his life ten years earlier. After faking his own funeral to see who will show up, he befriends a mysterious street junkie and is reunited with an old love from his past. The...
- 11/8/2010
- Horror Asylum
The upcoming thriller 'Dead Awake' has finished filming and is set to roll into theaters on December 3, via New Films.
Rose McGowan, Amy Smart and Nick Stahl star in the film set against the backdrop of a mysterious tragedy that shattered their lives a decade ago, three friends are set on a path to uncover the truth that lies between the living and the dead.
Omar Naim directed the film. He previously directed the The Final Cut in 2004 which starred Robin Williams.
Source: Shock Till You Drop...
Rose McGowan, Amy Smart and Nick Stahl star in the film set against the backdrop of a mysterious tragedy that shattered their lives a decade ago, three friends are set on a path to uncover the truth that lies between the living and the dead.
Omar Naim directed the film. He previously directed the The Final Cut in 2004 which starred Robin Williams.
Source: Shock Till You Drop...
- 11/7/2010
- by admin
- MoreHorror
Rose McGowan, Amy Smart and Nick Stahl have wrapped Dead Awake , a supernatural thriller opening on December 3 through New Films. Set against the backdrop of a mysterious tragedy that shattered their lives a decade ago, three friends are set on a path to uncover the truth that lies between the living and the dead. Omar Naim directed the film. He previously directed the Robin Williams-starring The Final Cut in 2004.
- 11/5/2010
- shocktillyoudrop.com
You know what the world needs? More supernatural love stories. No, we're not talking about the lusty adventures of Sam and Dean; we're talking horror with a heart, man. I mean, who doesn't love a little sappiness thrown in with their terror? Well, 90% of us, that's who, but flicks like these are still coming anyway.
THR reports that Nick Stahl, Rose McGowan, and Amy Smart have been cast in the supernatural love story "Dylan's Wake," directed by Omar Naim, which has begun filming in Des Moines, Iowa. Stahl plays a young man working in a funeral parlor who is trying to unravel a 10-year-old mystery. The film is being produced by Lucas Jarach, Jason Price, and Anthony Gudas and financed by private equity and Iowa tax incentives.
We know ... you can't wait, right?
- Uncle Creepy
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
Got news? Click here to submit it!
Get sappy in the Dread Central forums!
THR reports that Nick Stahl, Rose McGowan, and Amy Smart have been cast in the supernatural love story "Dylan's Wake," directed by Omar Naim, which has begun filming in Des Moines, Iowa. Stahl plays a young man working in a funeral parlor who is trying to unravel a 10-year-old mystery. The film is being produced by Lucas Jarach, Jason Price, and Anthony Gudas and financed by private equity and Iowa tax incentives.
We know ... you can't wait, right?
- Uncle Creepy
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
Got news? Click here to submit it!
Get sappy in the Dread Central forums!
- 9/22/2009
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
Nick Stahl, Rose McGowan and Amy Smart will be attending Dylan's Wake, a new supernatural romance / indie movie that's shooting in Des Moines Iowa. It's directed by Omar Naim, the Jordanian director of 2004 Robin Williams sci-fi The Final Cut.The story sees Stahl play a young man working in a funeral party who decides to fake his own death to see who would turn up to his funeral (morbid much?). Two people attend: a junkie who believes that the man was an angel who would save the junkie's life, and the man's high-school sweetheart from ten years before. This apparently sets him off to solve a "ten-year old mystery".Shooting's already underway on location. A local casting call in Iowa describing it as "Good Will Hunting meets Jacob's Ladder", while McGowan reckons on her Twitter feed that it's a really well-written indie. Fingers crossed that it lives up to that hype.
- 9/22/2009
- EmpireOnline
Nick Stahl, Rose McGowan and Amy Smart have been cast in the supernatural love story "Dylan's Wake," directed by Omar Naim, which has begun filming in Des Moines, Iowa.
Stahl plays a young man, working in a funeral parlor, who is trying to unravel a 10-year-old mystery.
The film is being produced by Lucas Jarach, Jason Price and Anthony Gudas, and financed by private equity and Iowa tax incentives.
Stahl plays a young man, working in a funeral parlor, who is trying to unravel a 10-year-old mystery.
The film is being produced by Lucas Jarach, Jason Price and Anthony Gudas, and financed by private equity and Iowa tax incentives.
- 9/21/2009
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
DEAUVILLE, France -- Film festival favorite Maria Full of Grace, director-screenwriter Joshua Marston's first film, was awarded the Deauville Festival of American Film's top prize, the Grand Prix for Independent Film, on Sunday. The film, about a young pregnant girl who agrees to use her body to smuggle drugs into the United States as a way to escape her dreary, impoverished existence in Colombia, grabbed two other prizes at the fest's 30th edition. It received the Public Prize, voted for by the audiences in Deauville, and the International Critics' prize, awarded by a jury of seven journalists. Jury president Claude Lelouch and his nine-member, all-female jury awarded the Special Jury Prize to Nicole Kassell's The Woodsman, the Kevin Bacon-Kyra Sedgwick starrer about a pedophile who attempts to start over after prison. The Prix du Scenario, for the best script, was awarded to Omar Naim's The Final Cut.
- 9/13/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
DEAUVILLE, France -- Film festival favorite Maria Full of Grace, director-screenwriter Joshua Marston's first film, was awarded the Deauville Festival of American Film's top prize, the Grand Prix for Independent Film, on Sunday. The film, about a young pregnant girl who agrees to use her body to smuggle drugs into the United States as a way to escape her dreary, impoverished existence in Colombia, grabbed two other prizes at the fest's 30th edition. It received the Public Prize, voted for by the audiences in Deauville, and the International Critics' prize, awarded by a jury of seven journalists. Jury president Claude Lelouch and his nine-member, all-female jury awarded the Special Jury Prize to Nicole Kassell's The Woodsman, the Kevin Bacon-Kyra Sedgwick starrer about a pedophile who attempts to start over after prison. The Prix du Scenario, for the best script, was awarded to Omar Naim's The Final Cut.
- 9/13/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Screened
Berlin International Film Festival
BERLIN -- No re-edits can save "The Final Cut" from its own preposterousness and lack of genuine thrills. This muddled and uninteresting sci-fi'er from first-time feature writer-director Omar Naim puts Robin Williams through a robotic performance and leaves Mira Sorvino understandably confused as to who or what she is supposed to play. The payoff to all the high-tech shenanigans is so weak as to hardly be worth the effort. Boxoffice prospects do not look good for Lions Gate, which will release the film this year.
In his recent films, Williams clearly wants to move away from manic comedy. In "Insomnia" and "One Hour Photo", he garnered solid critical notices by playing damaged, anal-retentive personalities with dark secrets. Here he dishes up more of the same to diminishing results. These quiet, mousy men all have the same blank face, physical rigidity and overly precise pattern of speech.
This one is called Alan Hackman, well named because he is a man who hacks up the lives of the dead. Specifically, he is a "cutter," who edits memory implants of deceased wealthy clients down to a bowdlerized version of their lives to be screened at memorial services.
Now stop for a minute and examine this premise. Who in his right mind would want anyone to look at every personal moment of his life? Furthermore, why wouldn't it take a cutter a lifetime to view another person's lifetime? Presumably, one could fast-forward through hours of sleep.
Anyway, Alan has a peculiar talent: He can calmly view the memories of really sleazy people, editing out the bad stuff and finding a few moments of redemption to make the devil look like an archangel. Sorvino's Delila is his reluctant girlfriend, and you can't blame her for such reluctance. Who would want to date a guy who essentially looks at pornography all day?
Alan's latest big-shot dead guy, a lawyer for the company that employs him, catches the attention of Fletcher (Jim Caviezel), the head of a political action group radically opposed to this technology as an invasion of privacy. Assuming that the man's life contains some dirt about the company, Fletcher wants this "footage" at all costs. Then, as Alan rummages through the guy's memory, he suddenly spots someone who relates to his own deep, dark secret -- Alan's guilt over the death of a childhood playmate who, it turns out, may not have died after all.
Meanwhile, Alan halfheartedly tries to rekindle his romance with Delila. Which brings up Alan's other dirty little secret: He began dating her only after seeing Delila in her dead boyfriend's memory.
None of these subplots yields any exciting developments. Fletcher and his henchman lurk in the margins of the movie, poised to turn it into a thriller, but Naim can't seem to work up much interest in the cloak-and-dagger aspect to his story. Given the lack of security around Alan's apartment where he works, the bad guys could probably waltz right in and steal the memory chip anyway.
But if Naim wants to make a science fiction movie that emphasizes character, he fails here too. To attribute everything a man has become to a single incident in his youth is simplistic and flawed. Even then, that incident doesn't fully explain why he is a cutter or why he can't make a go of any romantic relationships.
The Alan/Delila story line is a nonstarter. The chemistry between the two actors could not be worse. Furthermore, Naim can't make a case why they should ever be together.
After that, there are scarcely any characters in the movie that matter. The people at Alan's job, the wife and daughter of his late client, even his childhood friend seen in flashback are simply dress extras in his life.
The world established by designer James Chinlund and cinematographer Tak Fujimoto is dark and gloomy but hardly futuristic. It appears to be present day, only interior decorators are into minimalism in a big way. Brian Tyler's score works hard to build suspense where little, if any, exists.
THE FINAL CUT
Lions Gate Films
Lions Gate Entertainment in association with Cinerenta presents an Industry Entertainment production in association with Cinetheta
Credits: Screenwriter-director: Omar Naim
Producer: Nick Wechsler
Executive producers: Nancy Paloian-Brezniker, Marco Mehlitz, Michael Ohoven, Marc Butan, Michael Burns, Michael Paseornek, Guymon Casady
Director of photography: Tak Fujimoto
Production designer: James Chinlund
Music: Brian Tyler
Costume designer: Monique Prudhomme
Editors: Dede Allen, Robert Brakey
Cast:
Alan Hackman: Robin Williams
Delila: Mira Sorvino
Fletcher: Jim Caviezel
Thelma: Mimi Kuzyk
Hasan: Thom Bishops
Running time -- 104 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Berlin International Film Festival
BERLIN -- No re-edits can save "The Final Cut" from its own preposterousness and lack of genuine thrills. This muddled and uninteresting sci-fi'er from first-time feature writer-director Omar Naim puts Robin Williams through a robotic performance and leaves Mira Sorvino understandably confused as to who or what she is supposed to play. The payoff to all the high-tech shenanigans is so weak as to hardly be worth the effort. Boxoffice prospects do not look good for Lions Gate, which will release the film this year.
In his recent films, Williams clearly wants to move away from manic comedy. In "Insomnia" and "One Hour Photo", he garnered solid critical notices by playing damaged, anal-retentive personalities with dark secrets. Here he dishes up more of the same to diminishing results. These quiet, mousy men all have the same blank face, physical rigidity and overly precise pattern of speech.
This one is called Alan Hackman, well named because he is a man who hacks up the lives of the dead. Specifically, he is a "cutter," who edits memory implants of deceased wealthy clients down to a bowdlerized version of their lives to be screened at memorial services.
Now stop for a minute and examine this premise. Who in his right mind would want anyone to look at every personal moment of his life? Furthermore, why wouldn't it take a cutter a lifetime to view another person's lifetime? Presumably, one could fast-forward through hours of sleep.
Anyway, Alan has a peculiar talent: He can calmly view the memories of really sleazy people, editing out the bad stuff and finding a few moments of redemption to make the devil look like an archangel. Sorvino's Delila is his reluctant girlfriend, and you can't blame her for such reluctance. Who would want to date a guy who essentially looks at pornography all day?
Alan's latest big-shot dead guy, a lawyer for the company that employs him, catches the attention of Fletcher (Jim Caviezel), the head of a political action group radically opposed to this technology as an invasion of privacy. Assuming that the man's life contains some dirt about the company, Fletcher wants this "footage" at all costs. Then, as Alan rummages through the guy's memory, he suddenly spots someone who relates to his own deep, dark secret -- Alan's guilt over the death of a childhood playmate who, it turns out, may not have died after all.
Meanwhile, Alan halfheartedly tries to rekindle his romance with Delila. Which brings up Alan's other dirty little secret: He began dating her only after seeing Delila in her dead boyfriend's memory.
None of these subplots yields any exciting developments. Fletcher and his henchman lurk in the margins of the movie, poised to turn it into a thriller, but Naim can't seem to work up much interest in the cloak-and-dagger aspect to his story. Given the lack of security around Alan's apartment where he works, the bad guys could probably waltz right in and steal the memory chip anyway.
But if Naim wants to make a science fiction movie that emphasizes character, he fails here too. To attribute everything a man has become to a single incident in his youth is simplistic and flawed. Even then, that incident doesn't fully explain why he is a cutter or why he can't make a go of any romantic relationships.
The Alan/Delila story line is a nonstarter. The chemistry between the two actors could not be worse. Furthermore, Naim can't make a case why they should ever be together.
After that, there are scarcely any characters in the movie that matter. The people at Alan's job, the wife and daughter of his late client, even his childhood friend seen in flashback are simply dress extras in his life.
The world established by designer James Chinlund and cinematographer Tak Fujimoto is dark and gloomy but hardly futuristic. It appears to be present day, only interior decorators are into minimalism in a big way. Brian Tyler's score works hard to build suspense where little, if any, exists.
THE FINAL CUT
Lions Gate Films
Lions Gate Entertainment in association with Cinerenta presents an Industry Entertainment production in association with Cinetheta
Credits: Screenwriter-director: Omar Naim
Producer: Nick Wechsler
Executive producers: Nancy Paloian-Brezniker, Marco Mehlitz, Michael Ohoven, Marc Butan, Michael Burns, Michael Paseornek, Guymon Casady
Director of photography: Tak Fujimoto
Production designer: James Chinlund
Music: Brian Tyler
Costume designer: Monique Prudhomme
Editors: Dede Allen, Robert Brakey
Cast:
Alan Hackman: Robin Williams
Delila: Mira Sorvino
Fletcher: Jim Caviezel
Thelma: Mimi Kuzyk
Hasan: Thom Bishops
Running time -- 104 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Screened
Berlin International Film Festival
BERLIN -- No re-edits can save "The Final Cut" from its own preposterousness and lack of genuine thrills. This muddled and uninteresting sci-fi'er from first-time feature writer-director Omar Naim puts Robin Williams through a robotic performance and leaves Mira Sorvino understandably confused as to who or what she is supposed to play. The payoff to all the high-tech shenanigans is so weak as to hardly be worth the effort. Boxoffice prospects do not look good for Lions Gate, which will release the film this year.
In his recent films, Williams clearly wants to move away from manic comedy. In "Insomnia" and "One Hour Photo", he garnered solid critical notices by playing damaged, anal-retentive personalities with dark secrets. Here he dishes up more of the same to diminishing results. These quiet, mousy men all have the same blank face, physical rigidity and overly precise pattern of speech.
This one is called Alan Hackman, well named because he is a man who hacks up the lives of the dead. Specifically, he is a "cutter," who edits memory implants of deceased wealthy clients down to a bowdlerized version of their lives to be screened at memorial services.
Now stop for a minute and examine this premise. Who in his right mind would want anyone to look at every personal moment of his life? Furthermore, why wouldn't it take a cutter a lifetime to view another person's lifetime? Presumably, one could fast-forward through hours of sleep.
Anyway, Alan has a peculiar talent: He can calmly view the memories of really sleazy people, editing out the bad stuff and finding a few moments of redemption to make the devil look like an archangel. Sorvino's Delila is his reluctant girlfriend, and you can't blame her for such reluctance. Who would want to date a guy who essentially looks at pornography all day?
Alan's latest big-shot dead guy, a lawyer for the company that employs him, catches the attention of Fletcher (Jim Caviezel), the head of a political action group radically opposed to this technology as an invasion of privacy. Assuming that the man's life contains some dirt about the company, Fletcher wants this "footage" at all costs. Then, as Alan rummages through the guy's memory, he suddenly spots someone who relates to his own deep, dark secret -- Alan's guilt over the death of a childhood playmate who, it turns out, may not have died after all.
Meanwhile, Alan halfheartedly tries to rekindle his romance with Delila. Which brings up Alan's other dirty little secret: He began dating her only after seeing Delila in her dead boyfriend's memory.
None of these subplots yields any exciting developments. Fletcher and his henchman lurk in the margins of the movie, poised to turn it into a thriller, but Naim can't seem to work up much interest in the cloak-and-dagger aspect to his story. Given the lack of security around Alan's apartment where he works, the bad guys could probably waltz right in and steal the memory chip anyway.
But if Naim wants to make a science fiction movie that emphasizes character, he fails here too. To attribute everything a man has become to a single incident in his youth is simplistic and flawed. Even then, that incident doesn't fully explain why he is a cutter or why he can't make a go of any romantic relationships.
The Alan/Delila story line is a nonstarter. The chemistry between the two actors could not be worse. Furthermore, Naim can't make a case why they should ever be together.
After that, there are scarcely any characters in the movie that matter. The people at Alan's job, the wife and daughter of his late client, even his childhood friend seen in flashback are simply dress extras in his life.
The world established by designer James Chinlund and cinematographer Tak Fujimoto is dark and gloomy but hardly futuristic. It appears to be present day, only interior decorators are into minimalism in a big way. Brian Tyler's score works hard to build suspense where little, if any, exists.
THE FINAL CUT
Lions Gate Films
Lions Gate Entertainment in association with Cinerenta presents an Industry Entertainment production in association with Cinetheta
Credits: Screenwriter-director: Omar Naim
Producer: Nick Wechsler
Executive producers: Nancy Paloian-Brezniker, Marco Mehlitz, Michael Ohoven, Marc Butan, Michael Burns, Michael Paseornek, Guymon Casady
Director of photography: Tak Fujimoto
Production designer: James Chinlund
Music: Brian Tyler
Costume designer: Monique Prudhomme
Editors: Dede Allen, Robert Brakey
Cast:
Alan Hackman: Robin Williams
Delila: Mira Sorvino
Fletcher: Jim Caviezel
Thelma: Mimi Kuzyk
Hasan: Thom Bishops
Running time -- 104 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Berlin International Film Festival
BERLIN -- No re-edits can save "The Final Cut" from its own preposterousness and lack of genuine thrills. This muddled and uninteresting sci-fi'er from first-time feature writer-director Omar Naim puts Robin Williams through a robotic performance and leaves Mira Sorvino understandably confused as to who or what she is supposed to play. The payoff to all the high-tech shenanigans is so weak as to hardly be worth the effort. Boxoffice prospects do not look good for Lions Gate, which will release the film this year.
In his recent films, Williams clearly wants to move away from manic comedy. In "Insomnia" and "One Hour Photo", he garnered solid critical notices by playing damaged, anal-retentive personalities with dark secrets. Here he dishes up more of the same to diminishing results. These quiet, mousy men all have the same blank face, physical rigidity and overly precise pattern of speech.
This one is called Alan Hackman, well named because he is a man who hacks up the lives of the dead. Specifically, he is a "cutter," who edits memory implants of deceased wealthy clients down to a bowdlerized version of their lives to be screened at memorial services.
Now stop for a minute and examine this premise. Who in his right mind would want anyone to look at every personal moment of his life? Furthermore, why wouldn't it take a cutter a lifetime to view another person's lifetime? Presumably, one could fast-forward through hours of sleep.
Anyway, Alan has a peculiar talent: He can calmly view the memories of really sleazy people, editing out the bad stuff and finding a few moments of redemption to make the devil look like an archangel. Sorvino's Delila is his reluctant girlfriend, and you can't blame her for such reluctance. Who would want to date a guy who essentially looks at pornography all day?
Alan's latest big-shot dead guy, a lawyer for the company that employs him, catches the attention of Fletcher (Jim Caviezel), the head of a political action group radically opposed to this technology as an invasion of privacy. Assuming that the man's life contains some dirt about the company, Fletcher wants this "footage" at all costs. Then, as Alan rummages through the guy's memory, he suddenly spots someone who relates to his own deep, dark secret -- Alan's guilt over the death of a childhood playmate who, it turns out, may not have died after all.
Meanwhile, Alan halfheartedly tries to rekindle his romance with Delila. Which brings up Alan's other dirty little secret: He began dating her only after seeing Delila in her dead boyfriend's memory.
None of these subplots yields any exciting developments. Fletcher and his henchman lurk in the margins of the movie, poised to turn it into a thriller, but Naim can't seem to work up much interest in the cloak-and-dagger aspect to his story. Given the lack of security around Alan's apartment where he works, the bad guys could probably waltz right in and steal the memory chip anyway.
But if Naim wants to make a science fiction movie that emphasizes character, he fails here too. To attribute everything a man has become to a single incident in his youth is simplistic and flawed. Even then, that incident doesn't fully explain why he is a cutter or why he can't make a go of any romantic relationships.
The Alan/Delila story line is a nonstarter. The chemistry between the two actors could not be worse. Furthermore, Naim can't make a case why they should ever be together.
After that, there are scarcely any characters in the movie that matter. The people at Alan's job, the wife and daughter of his late client, even his childhood friend seen in flashback are simply dress extras in his life.
The world established by designer James Chinlund and cinematographer Tak Fujimoto is dark and gloomy but hardly futuristic. It appears to be present day, only interior decorators are into minimalism in a big way. Brian Tyler's score works hard to build suspense where little, if any, exists.
THE FINAL CUT
Lions Gate Films
Lions Gate Entertainment in association with Cinerenta presents an Industry Entertainment production in association with Cinetheta
Credits: Screenwriter-director: Omar Naim
Producer: Nick Wechsler
Executive producers: Nancy Paloian-Brezniker, Marco Mehlitz, Michael Ohoven, Marc Butan, Michael Burns, Michael Paseornek, Guymon Casady
Director of photography: Tak Fujimoto
Production designer: James Chinlund
Music: Brian Tyler
Costume designer: Monique Prudhomme
Editors: Dede Allen, Robert Brakey
Cast:
Alan Hackman: Robin Williams
Delila: Mira Sorvino
Fletcher: Jim Caviezel
Thelma: Mimi Kuzyk
Hasan: Thom Bishops
Running time -- 104 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 2/13/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
BERLIN -- The 54th Berlin International Film Festival got a much-needed shot of levity Wednesday when Robin Williams turned the news conference for Omar Naim's sci-fi thriller The Final Cut into a free-association comedy routine. Williams got the biggest laughs from the packed room of international journalists and critics when he started taking shots at the Bush government and its search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. "Bush is complaining about a lack of intelligence, which seems sort of redundant," Williams joked. "They say they don't know if Iraq had any WMDs -- well, all they have to do is ask (Vice President Dick Cheney) for the receipts." Set in a near future in which people can have a computer chip implanted in their brains that records their entire lives, The Final Cut was well received by the Berlin crowd in its competition bow, with hearty cheers greeting it at the sold-out press screenings. Williams plays a video editor who splices together the deceased's recorded memories, cutting out anything unpleasant to make horrible lives into picture postcards. Asked what he would cut out of the movie of his life, Williams quipped, "Probably those years I was drinking -- but that seems to have happened already."...
- 2/12/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
COLOGNE, Germany -- Omar Naim's science fiction drama The Final Cut, Joshua Marston's Sundance entry Maria Full of Grace and Antoine Fuqua's blues documentary Lightning in a Bottle have been added to the competition lineup for the Berlin International Film Festival, further boosting the U.S. contingent at Germany's top film event. Festival organizers announced the final competition titles Wednesday, completing a Berlin lineup heavy on American and European art house titles. But three features outside the U.S.-Europe sphere also made the cut for Berlin: Samaritan Girl, a dark film exploring prostitution from Korean auteur Ki-Duk Kim; the Hong Kong production 20:30:40, about three women aged 20, 30 and 40, from actress-director Sylvia Chang; and Argentinean director Daniel Burman's Lost Embrace, which follows a young man's attempt to escape his country's poverty by reclaiming the European nationality of his ancestors. All three films will have their world premieres in Berlin.
- 1/22/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Variety reports that Mira Sorvino has snagged the female lead in Lions Gate's Final Cut, a sci-fi thriller also starring Robin Williams and Jim Caviezel. Sorvino will play the girlfriend of a man who edits the memories of the deceased via microchips implanted in their brains; when he's called upon to do so for the man who created the technology, he becomes a fugitive from radical groups. Omar Naim will write and direct.
- 6/12/2003
- IMDbPro News
Jim Caviezel is set to star opposite Robin Williams in the sci-fi thriller Final Cut for director Omar Naim, Variety reports. A tale of a future where microchips can record all memories of a person's life for playback after death for loved ones, Caviezel will take on the role of leader of a group opposing the technology. The Lions Gate production is slated to begin filming on June 29.
- 5/30/2003
- IMDbPro News
Robin Williams will star in Lions Gate's feature film Final Cut from first-time writer-director Omar Naim. The project is scheduled to go into production in June. Cut is a science fiction thriller set in a world where people are implanted with a chip that records their lives. Williams will play a Cutter, an individual who has final cut on the recorded history of his clients. In his latest assignment, he has discovered a window into his own dark history and has set off a chain reaction that has put his life in danger. Nick Wechsler is producing the project, with Naim's manager Guymon Casady at Management 360 executive producing. Lions Gate's Marc Butan is overseeing the project. Tak Fujimoto (The Sixth Sense) is in negotiations to come aboard as director of photography.
Robin Williams will star in Lions Gate's feature film Final Cut from first-time writer-director Omar Naim. The project is scheduled to go into production in June. Cut is a science fiction thriller set in a world where people are implanted with a chip that records their lives. Williams will play a Cutter, an individual who has final cut on the recorded history of his clients. In his latest assignment, he has discovered a window into his own dark history and has set off a chain reaction that has put his life in danger. Nick Wechsler is producing the project, with Naim's manager Guymon Casady at Management 360 executive producing. Lions Gate's Marc Butan is overseeing the project. Tak Fujimoto (The Sixth Sense) is in negotiations to come aboard as director of photography.
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