Iranian-American actor Sheila Vand cut her teeth in the theater but has made a name for herself since graduating from UCLA as a recurring face of prime time and a burgeoning indie darling—Sundance hits like subversive vampire flick “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night” truly put her on the map in 2014. Her 2018 is packed with six projects, the latest being writer-director Brian Shoaf’s intimate psychological thriller “Aardvark,” in which she stars with Zachary Quinto, Jon Hamm, and Jenny Slate. Vand stopped by Backstage HQ to offer her best career advice and reveal how she gets over a bad audition. Find your acting swagger.“I deal with a lot of [audition] nerves, and what’s frustrating is the projects I care the most about, obviously I get the most nervous about. There was a period of time where I was booking a lot of things I didn’t care...
- 4/25/2018
- backstage.com
William H. Macy returns to the big screen for the third time as director with comedic drama Krystal, in which he appears with stars Rosario Dawson, Nick Robinson, Kathy Bates and Felicity Huffman. The feature, being released via Great Point Media/Paladin Friday, first caught the attention of producer Rachel Winter in 2002. Krystal is one of two Great Point Media titles hitting theaters this weekend, the other being Brian Shoaf’s Aardvark with Zachary Quinto, Jenny Slate, Sheila Vand and Jon Hamm, which the U.K. based company is releasing with partner Paladin. Sony Pictures Classics picked up writer-director Chloé Zhao’s festival favorite The Rider out of last year’s Cannes Film Festival in a late-night deal following its first screening. The critically lauded feature heads to New York and L.A. in a planned slow roll out starting this weekend. And Samuel Goldwyn Films is opening Wim Wenders...
- 4/13/2018
- by Brian Brooks
- Deadline Film + TV
Like the unreliable-narrator novel, the unreliable-perspective movie is a tricky proposition that can be fascinating, but requires considerable finesse. The auspicious central conceit of “Aardvark,” Brian Shoaf’s first feature as writer-director, features Zachary Quinto as a mentally ill man whose difficulty separating reality from delusion is shared with the viewer. But the film can never quite decide what it wants to be — wounded-inner-child drama, quirky comedy, quasi-thriller, all the above — and its good ideas never quite gel, or lead toward sufficient narrative revelation. Though supporting roles for Jon Hamm and Jenny Slate will help spark some interest, this offbeat but low-pulse effort ultimately lands in a dissatisfying zone between the intriguing and the turgid.
Given the careless floppy hair and doughy look of someone who’s been zoned out on psychopharmaceuticals for a long time, Josh Norman (Quinto) lives a marginal existence in upstate New York. His apartment is a recluse’s dump,...
Given the careless floppy hair and doughy look of someone who’s been zoned out on psychopharmaceuticals for a long time, Josh Norman (Quinto) lives a marginal existence in upstate New York. His apartment is a recluse’s dump,...
- 4/9/2018
- by Dennis Harvey
- Variety Film + TV
When troubled Joshua (Zachary Quinto) finally decides to see a therapist — played by Jenny Slate in the rare dramatic role — he’s compelled to do so by the appearance of his long-estranged brother Craig (Jon Hamm), a bonafide TV star who hasn’t shown his face in his hometown in nearly two decades. But is he really back? Or is he a product of Joshua’s deteriorating mental state?
In Brian Shoaf’s off-kilter Tribeca premiere “Aardvark,” Joshua’s tenuous relationship with Slate’s Emily — strictly patient-client, mind you — is put to the test when his apparent hallucinations prove to be just one part of his complicated relationship with Craig, who is very much back in town, even if Joshua struggles to come to terms with that. One person who doesn’t struggle with Craig’s return: Emily, who soon breaks her own professional constraints and obligations to take up with the handsome TV star.
In Brian Shoaf’s off-kilter Tribeca premiere “Aardvark,” Joshua’s tenuous relationship with Slate’s Emily — strictly patient-client, mind you — is put to the test when his apparent hallucinations prove to be just one part of his complicated relationship with Craig, who is very much back in town, even if Joshua struggles to come to terms with that. One person who doesn’t struggle with Craig’s return: Emily, who soon breaks her own professional constraints and obligations to take up with the handsome TV star.
- 1/31/2018
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
"Josh is a pretty disturbed individual..." Great Point Media has debuted a trailer for an awkward indie film titled Aardvark, from writer/director Brian Shoaf. This premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival last year and like most Tribeca films, no one will ever see it. Jenny Slate stars as a therapist, Emily, who falls for the brother of a patient who may or may not be suffering from schizophrenia. Zachary Quinto co-stars as her patient, Josh, and his brother is played by the alluring Jon Hamm, which is such on-the-nose casting it actually seems weird. The full cast includes Sheila Vand, Tonya Pinkins, Dale Soules, Peter Grosz, and Marin Ireland. This really does not look very good, but you can check it out if you're curious anyway. Here's the first official trailer for Brian Shoaf's Aardvark, direct from YouTube: Emily Milburton’s (Jenny Slate) newest therapy patient is Josh Norman...
- 1/31/2018
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
When a therapist gets involved with a patient, it’s usually bad news. When a therapist gets involved with a patient’s brother, as you’ll see in “Aardvark,” it’s also bad news.
Starring Zachary Quinto, Jenny Slate, Jon Hamm, Sheila Vand, Tonya Pinkins, and Marin Ireland, and written and directed by first time feature filmmaker Brian Shoaf, the story follows a therapist who is treating a man who may or may not be schizophrenic.
Continue reading ‘Aardvark’ Trailer: Jon Hamm & Zachary Quinto Go Into Therapy With Jenny Slate at The Playlist.
Starring Zachary Quinto, Jenny Slate, Jon Hamm, Sheila Vand, Tonya Pinkins, and Marin Ireland, and written and directed by first time feature filmmaker Brian Shoaf, the story follows a therapist who is treating a man who may or may not be schizophrenic.
Continue reading ‘Aardvark’ Trailer: Jon Hamm & Zachary Quinto Go Into Therapy With Jenny Slate at The Playlist.
- 1/31/2018
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Editors Note: The video contains plot details from Brian Shoaf’s Tribeca-premiering Aardvark. In Aardvark—a beautifully unusual, mysterious and tonally intricate feature debut from director Brian Shoaf—we see a side of actors Jenny Slate and Zachary Quinto that we haven’t seen before. A versatile actress, comedian and former Saturday Night Live cast member who established her dramatic chops with Gillian Robespierre’s Obvious Child, Slate is stone-cold serious as depressed…...
- 4/24/2017
- Deadline
A psychology-centric dramedy likely to annoy some mental health professionals, Brian Shoaf's Aardvark revolves around loneliness and estrangement and the difficulties they present for both the healthy and the disturbed. Zachary Quinto plays a man coping with undefined mental problems, whose therapist (Jenny Slate) starts up an in-all-sorts-of-ways questionable relationship with his brother (Jon Hamm), a famous TV actor. That string of names will ensure attention is paid to this hard-to-categorize, uneven debut for the playwright turned director, but even so, theatrical distribution isn't guaranteed.
The film divides its sympathies between Quinto's Josh Norman and Emily Milburton (Slate), the licensed...
The film divides its sympathies between Quinto's Josh Norman and Emily Milburton (Slate), the licensed...
- 4/24/2017
- by John DeFore
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Aardvark” opens with shots of an aardvark sniffing around in some sort of zoo-like tunnel where it is being watched by a tiny owl. These shots will recur as this strange film goes on, and it will gradually be revealed that they are supposed to be part of a traumatic childhood memory that played out very differently for two different people. As an actor himself, first-time writer-director Brian Shoaf places a lot of responsibility on the shoulders of his three main players — Zachary Quinto, Jenny Slate and Jon Hamm — all of whom are expected to fill in many...
- 4/22/2017
- by Dan Callahan
- The Wrap
Zachary Quinto's Josh Norman has a problem.
"I have a condition. I have since I was 19," Josh tells his therapist, Emily (Jenny Slate), in the above exclusive clip from Aardvark. "It doesn't have a name, or at least all of the conditions that do have names aren't a great match."
Josh says that he does "perfectly fine at life." But Emily counters that he "must want help" if he's seeing her.
Aardvark, co-starring Jon Hamm, is set to have its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival this Friday (April 21).
The movie, written and directed by Brian Shoaf...
"I have a condition. I have since I was 19," Josh tells his therapist, Emily (Jenny Slate), in the above exclusive clip from Aardvark. "It doesn't have a name, or at least all of the conditions that do have names aren't a great match."
Josh says that he does "perfectly fine at life." But Emily counters that he "must want help" if he's seeing her.
Aardvark, co-starring Jon Hamm, is set to have its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival this Friday (April 21).
The movie, written and directed by Brian Shoaf...
- 4/20/2017
- by Hilary Lewis
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Every festival offers up the possibility of discovering something new — new stars, new films, new shows, new platforms — and this year’s Tribeca Film Festival is no different. Now in its sixteenth year, the New York City-set festival continues to grow and change, while constantly embracing what’s new and what’s next. The 2017 edition of the festival includes plenty of rising names to get excited about, from writers and directors to actors and actual platforms for hot content delivery. Who’s going to change the industry in the coming years? We’ve got some ideas.
This year’s Tribeca Film Festival takes place April 19 – 30. Check out some of the hottest breakouts to watch out for at the fest.
Read More: Tribeca 2017: 14 Must-See Films From This Year’s Festival
Brian Shoaf, writer and director, “Aardvark”
Not much is known about Brian Shoaf, whose IMDb page is currently topped...
This year’s Tribeca Film Festival takes place April 19 – 30. Check out some of the hottest breakouts to watch out for at the fest.
Read More: Tribeca 2017: 14 Must-See Films From This Year’s Festival
Brian Shoaf, writer and director, “Aardvark”
Not much is known about Brian Shoaf, whose IMDb page is currently topped...
- 4/19/2017
- by Indiewire Staff
- Indiewire
Author: James Kleinmann
The Tribeca Film Festival hits New York next week and runs from April 19 – 30 th. Now in its sixteenth year, the annual event was co-founded by screen legend Robert De Niro in the wake of the September 11th attacks in an effort to revitalise Lower Manhattan. Retaining an element of its original commitment to Us indie cinema, it has evolved to encompass TV, Vr, online work, music and gaming. As ever, the festival will welcome a dizzying array of big name guests including Tom Hanks, Emma Watson, Jon Favreau, Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Quentin Tarantino, Scarlett Johansson and Ron Howard. Here are just some of the highlights, for the full line up and to buy tickets check out the official festival website here.
Opening and Closing night Galas at Radio City Music Hall
Kicking off the festival is the world premiere of music doc Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives.
The Tribeca Film Festival hits New York next week and runs from April 19 – 30 th. Now in its sixteenth year, the annual event was co-founded by screen legend Robert De Niro in the wake of the September 11th attacks in an effort to revitalise Lower Manhattan. Retaining an element of its original commitment to Us indie cinema, it has evolved to encompass TV, Vr, online work, music and gaming. As ever, the festival will welcome a dizzying array of big name guests including Tom Hanks, Emma Watson, Jon Favreau, Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Quentin Tarantino, Scarlett Johansson and Ron Howard. Here are just some of the highlights, for the full line up and to buy tickets check out the official festival website here.
Opening and Closing night Galas at Radio City Music Hall
Kicking off the festival is the world premiere of music doc Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives.
- 4/13/2017
- by James Kleinmann
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Festival receives record number of submissions as top brass trim roster by 20%.
World premieres of Michael Winterbottom’s The Trip To Spain (pictured), Nick Broomfield and Rudi Dolezal’s Whitney. “can I be me,”, and Hell On Earth: The Fall Of Syria And The Rise Of Isis by Sebastian Junger and Nick Quested are among the line-up at the 16th annual Tribeca Film Festival (April 19-30).
Festival top brass led by new director of programming Cara Cusumano and artistic director Frédéric Boyer unveiled on Thursday 82 of the 98 features that will screen at this year’s edition.
Trimmed down by 20%, the festival received a record number 8,700 submissions, of which 3,362 were features – and includes 32 films in competition comprising 12 documentaries, 10 Us narratives and 10 international narratives. Films in competition will compete for cash prizes totalling $160,000.
Spotlight Narrative section features 15 fiction films, while Spotlight Documentary includes 16 non-fiction films. Five fiction and one documentary film play in Midnight.
The 2017 roster...
World premieres of Michael Winterbottom’s The Trip To Spain (pictured), Nick Broomfield and Rudi Dolezal’s Whitney. “can I be me,”, and Hell On Earth: The Fall Of Syria And The Rise Of Isis by Sebastian Junger and Nick Quested are among the line-up at the 16th annual Tribeca Film Festival (April 19-30).
Festival top brass led by new director of programming Cara Cusumano and artistic director Frédéric Boyer unveiled on Thursday 82 of the 98 features that will screen at this year’s edition.
Trimmed down by 20%, the festival received a record number 8,700 submissions, of which 3,362 were features – and includes 32 films in competition comprising 12 documentaries, 10 Us narratives and 10 international narratives. Films in competition will compete for cash prizes totalling $160,000.
Spotlight Narrative section features 15 fiction films, while Spotlight Documentary includes 16 non-fiction films. Five fiction and one documentary film play in Midnight.
The 2017 roster...
- 3/2/2017
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
The 16th Annual Tribeca Film Festival, set for April 19-30, released its slate today, a roster that includes films from 28 countries and includes 78 world premieres, six international premieres, six North American premieres, two U.S. premieres, and six New York premieres. Among the world premieres: Brian Shoaf’s Aardvark, starring Jenny Slate, Zachary Quinto and Jon Hamm; Bryan Buckley’s Dabka, starring Al Pacino and Evan Peters; and The Death And Life of Marsha P. Johnson…...
- 3/2/2017
- Deadline
Shot in NYC exactly one year to date, for his directorial debut, actor, playwright and now filmmaker Brian Shoaf landed Zachary Quinto, Jenny Slate and Jon Hamm while teaming with Sundance behind the scene technicians in cinematographer Eric Lin (I Smile Back, Equity) and Heather McIntosh (Z for Zachariah) for a drama that’ll likely be compared to Lars and the Real Girl or The Beaver for it’s more subversive make-believe elements.
Continue reading...
Continue reading...
- 11/23/2016
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Jenny Slate isn’t exactly a newcomer, but she’s entered that period of her career where people are recognizing her on the street — even if they can’t quite put their finger on where they’ve seen her before. But it’s hard to blame them, because Slate is everywhere these days.
“It’s a bunch of Marcel the Shell and Mona-Lisa [Saperstein],” Slate said when IndieWire recently asked her what roles she’s most often recognized for. “I find that in New York, and especially in Brooklyn, it’s a lot of ‘Obvious Child’ people, which is really nice. A lot of people think that I’m one of the women from ‘Broad City’ — and I’m just not.”
And sometimes it just gets weird. “I also just get confused with people from their Jewish summer camp or synagogue,” she said, and laughed. “They’re always like ‘I...
“It’s a bunch of Marcel the Shell and Mona-Lisa [Saperstein],” Slate said when IndieWire recently asked her what roles she’s most often recognized for. “I find that in New York, and especially in Brooklyn, it’s a lot of ‘Obvious Child’ people, which is really nice. A lot of people think that I’m one of the women from ‘Broad City’ — and I’m just not.”
And sometimes it just gets weird. “I also just get confused with people from their Jewish summer camp or synagogue,” she said, and laughed. “They’re always like ‘I...
- 7/7/2016
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Gateway 6
Rhys Ifans and Ed Skrein are set to star in Tanel Toom's science-fiction thriller "Gateway 6" which has been penned by Malachi Smyth. Shooting will take place in Estonia early next year.
Set on a future, war-ravaged Erth, the story follows four soldiers who man the last bastion Gateway 6 - an outpost in a sea-covered continent - awaiting a relief crew or the enemy. As months pass, paranoia descends that tests relationships to breaking point. [Source: Variety]
Power Rangers
Ludi Lin ("Marco Polo") will play the Black Ranger and Rj Cyler ("Me and Earl and the Dying Girl") is set to play the Blue Ranger in Dean Israelite's upcoming "Power Rangers" cinematic reboot/continuation in the works at Lionsgate.
The Yellow Ranger remains yet to be cast. The new duo join the already set Naomi Scott as the Pink Ranger and Dacre Montgomery as the Red Ranger. Ashley Miller and...
Rhys Ifans and Ed Skrein are set to star in Tanel Toom's science-fiction thriller "Gateway 6" which has been penned by Malachi Smyth. Shooting will take place in Estonia early next year.
Set on a future, war-ravaged Erth, the story follows four soldiers who man the last bastion Gateway 6 - an outpost in a sea-covered continent - awaiting a relief crew or the enemy. As months pass, paranoia descends that tests relationships to breaking point. [Source: Variety]
Power Rangers
Ludi Lin ("Marco Polo") will play the Black Ranger and Rj Cyler ("Me and Earl and the Dying Girl") is set to play the Blue Ranger in Dean Israelite's upcoming "Power Rangers" cinematic reboot/continuation in the works at Lionsgate.
The Yellow Ranger remains yet to be cast. The new duo join the already set Naomi Scott as the Pink Ranger and Dacre Montgomery as the Red Ranger. Ashley Miller and...
- 10/25/2015
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Brian Shoaf‘s directorial debut might have found its second wind. After a failed Kickstarter attempt to drum up some coin with Adrien Grenier and Mamie Gummer toplining, now Variety reports that Jenny Slate is in negotiations to join Zachary Quinto on Aardvark. Susan Leber (Hello I Must Be Going), Neal Dodson (A Most Violent Year) and Quinto are producing. Filming is expected to begin this December in New York with supporting cast announcements likely in the works.
Gist: Aardvark centers on Josh Norman, a man who has spent most of his adult life suffering from mental illness. While Josh rejects the labels that have been applied to him over the years, there is no question that he sees and hears things that aren’t there. Sometimes he’s well aware of this, but other times it’s not so clear. Josh’s most vivid hallucinations involve his estranged brother,...
Gist: Aardvark centers on Josh Norman, a man who has spent most of his adult life suffering from mental illness. While Josh rejects the labels that have been applied to him over the years, there is no question that he sees and hears things that aren’t there. Sometimes he’s well aware of this, but other times it’s not so clear. Josh’s most vivid hallucinations involve his estranged brother,...
- 10/23/2015
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
The cutting-edge distributor has taken another stride into development, teaming up with Chandor and long-time producers Neal Dodson and Anna Gerb on the story behind New York’s G.M. Building.
A24 will distribute the film and develops and produces alongside Dodson and Gerb and director Chandor. The company recently distributed Chandor’s A Most Violent Year .
Eva Maria Daniels of VisionChaos Production, for whom A24 will distribute a slate of projects the companies are jointly developing, also produces. Separately, A24 recently announced it was developing a father-son drama with Cary Fukunaga.
The Liar’s Ball is based on Vicky Ward’s non-fiction account of the ferocious battle to control one of the crown jewels of New York real estate. Gideon Yago has just closed a deal to adapt the book and has commenced research and writing.
Zachary Quinto, who produced and starred in Chandor’s Margin Call, will serve as executive producer.
“When I heard...
A24 will distribute the film and develops and produces alongside Dodson and Gerb and director Chandor. The company recently distributed Chandor’s A Most Violent Year .
Eva Maria Daniels of VisionChaos Production, for whom A24 will distribute a slate of projects the companies are jointly developing, also produces. Separately, A24 recently announced it was developing a father-son drama with Cary Fukunaga.
The Liar’s Ball is based on Vicky Ward’s non-fiction account of the ferocious battle to control one of the crown jewels of New York real estate. Gideon Yago has just closed a deal to adapt the book and has commenced research and writing.
Zachary Quinto, who produced and starred in Chandor’s Margin Call, will serve as executive producer.
“When I heard...
- 6/9/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Stars: Philip Quinaz, Alison Fyhrie, Chris Manley, Victor Quinaz, Chris Manley, Anna Martemucci, Brian Shoaf, Mary Grill | Written by Philip Quinaz, Victor Quinaz, Anna Martemucci | Directed by Victor Quinaz
Breakup at a Wedding shows Vic (actually director Victor Quinaz) as he captures the events that happen around the wedding between Phil Havemeyer (Philip Quinaz) and Alison Jones (Alison Fyhrie). Being the type of videographer that goes super in depth, Vic captures everything, including Alison having a massive panic attack and telling Phil in supposed privacy that she wanted out; she couldn’t go through with the wedding. Together, they decide to have the wedding anyway but not sign the marriage contract, so that everyone thinks they’re married why legally they’re not. However, Phil is more than reluctant about this, and hatches a plan to end up married.
This is one of those discs I get every now and...
Breakup at a Wedding shows Vic (actually director Victor Quinaz) as he captures the events that happen around the wedding between Phil Havemeyer (Philip Quinaz) and Alison Jones (Alison Fyhrie). Being the type of videographer that goes super in depth, Vic captures everything, including Alison having a massive panic attack and telling Phil in supposed privacy that she wanted out; she couldn’t go through with the wedding. Together, they decide to have the wedding anyway but not sign the marriage contract, so that everyone thinks they’re married why legally they’re not. However, Phil is more than reluctant about this, and hatches a plan to end up married.
This is one of those discs I get every now and...
- 11/12/2014
- by Nicky Johnson
- Nerdly
Oscilloscope Laboratories has released the first poster for their comedy which tells of Alison (Alison Fyhrie) who, on the eve of their wedding, gets cold feet and decides to break up with her fiancé Phil (Philip Quinaz). But rather than face the embarrassment of calling off the ceremony, Alison suggests to Phil that they proceed with a sham wedding. Phil is more than game to try, secretly hoping that a surprise gift he has for Alison will ultimately change her mind. Yet once the guests begin to arrive, more complications ensue than either of them could have ever imagined - even if they did know their wedding was bullshit. Also in the cast are Mary Grill, Damian Lanigan, Michael Lidondici, Chris Manley, Anna Martemucci and Brian Shoaf.
- 6/4/2013
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Victor Quinaz Breakup at a Wedding comedy starring Alison Fyhrie and Philip Quinaz has shacked up with Oscilloscope Laboratories. According to sources, the company has landed N. American distribution rights to the film and set it for a June 18th, 2013 release on VOD. Zachary Quinto, Corey Moosa, and Neal Dodson are producing the film with Before The Door Pictures and Anonymous Content. Also in the cast are Chris Manley, Mary Grill, Brian Shoaf, Michael LiDondici, Anna Martemucci and Hugh Scully. Here's the plot we found on the film's Facebook page: On the eve of their wedding, Alison gets cold feet and decides she wants to break up with her fiancé Phil. But rather than face the embarrassment of calling off the ceremony, Alison suggests to Phil they...
- 4/24/2013
- Upcoming-Movies.com
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