Back in January, Lucy Walker was on the verge of debuting her fifth feature at Sundance — the high-profile sequel to Wim Wenders’ 1999 Oscar-nominated documentary, “The Buena Vista Social Club.” It was the best-possible launchpad, with a prime slot of January 20, the first full day of the festival. Sundance had good reason to bet on the title: It continued a story that grossed $23 million worldwide and created a platinum-selling album, and could carry fresh meaning with the changes in Cuban-American relations. As Sundance described it:
As the sun sets on the careers of Cuba’s finest musicians, the Buena Vista Social Club, we get their side of the whole story, which stretches back to the beginning of the Cuban Republic, through the Grammy-winning 1998 album and Wim Wenders’ film, up to the new Cuba today.
And then, hours before the premiere, distributor Broad Green Pictures did the unthinkable: It pulled the film from the lineup.
As the sun sets on the careers of Cuba’s finest musicians, the Buena Vista Social Club, we get their side of the whole story, which stretches back to the beginning of the Cuban Republic, through the Grammy-winning 1998 album and Wim Wenders’ film, up to the new Cuba today.
And then, hours before the premiere, distributor Broad Green Pictures did the unthinkable: It pulled the film from the lineup.
- 6/21/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Back in January, Lucy Walker was on the verge of debuting her fifth feature at Sundance — the high-profile sequel to Wim Wenders’ 1999 Oscar-nominated documentary, “The Buena Vista Social Club.” It was the best-possible launchpad, with a prime slot of January 20, the first full day of the festival. Sundance had good reason to bet on the title: It continued a story that grossed $23 million worldwide and created a platinum-selling album, and could carry fresh meaning with the changes in Cuban-American relations. As Sundance described it:
As the sun sets on the careers of Cuba’s finest musicians, the Buena Vista Social Club, we get their side of the whole story, which stretches back to the beginning of the Cuban Republic, through the Grammy-winning 1998 album and Wim Wenders’ film, up to the new Cuba today.
And then, hours before the premiere, distributor Broad Green Pictures did the unthinkable: It pulled the film from the lineup.
“We at Broad Green are disappointed that we will not be able to premiere this compelling documentary at this year’s Sundance Film Festival,” Broad Green said in a statement. “The film’s post production process has taken longer than expected and thus the decision was made to wait to introduce the film to audiences until it can be presented in its best possible iteration.”
Broad Green CEO Gabriel Hammond’s decision seemed bizarre: While there’s no shame in a documentary playing Sundance in less-than-final form — in 2013 Jehane Noujaim’s “The Square” premiered as a work in progress, and went on to receive an Oscar nomination — pulling a film from the festival, much less moments before its debut, was virtually unheard of.
No one was more baffled than Walker. An ambitious, high-profile documentarian with a Sundance audience award and two Oscar nominations to her credit, she had rushed to the Sundance-submission finish line. She thought she had finished her movie.
And then the mystery deepened. Two weeks later, in a February 1 Instagram post, she commented, “it’s not clear for now if that work will be seen or appreciated which is the purgatorial pitstop we are in currently.” Later, she added: “Any minute now we’ll be able to explain! I’m still dreaming the beautiful film we made might be seen ever again.”
When Walker tried to reach Hammond after the festival, he was unreachable for a month, at which point movers arrived at her Venice office to cart editing equipment away.
Now, nearly six months later, it’s clear that the filmmaker never regained control of her movie. On April 22, she only learned that her film had a May 26 release date when she read about it on IndieWire. Broad Green released the overhauled film in 80 theaters for a two-week run. (Total gross: $123,445.) To this day, she hasn’t seen the film.
Walker has kept silent in the press, limiting herself to several carefully worded social media posts like this @lucywalkerfilm tweet:
Buena Vista Social Club Adios (my follow-up film) has been significantly changed (shots & scenes including narrative spine removed, other scenes added so it’s overall longer ) since I finished it before Sundance. Apparently it’s being released this week in lots of theaters (for a doc). I haven’t seen it myself but I hope audiences enjoy it.
What went wrong? We talked to a number of participants in this debacle, and no one comes out ahead.
Related storiesLucy Walker's Buena Vista Social Club Documentary Finally Gets a Title and Release DateBroad Green Pictures Is Missing Release Dates and Angering Filmmakers. Here's Why.IndieWire and FilmStruck's 'Movies That Inspire Me': Lucy Walker on Seeing Cuban Music Come Alive in 'Buena Vista Social Club'...
As the sun sets on the careers of Cuba’s finest musicians, the Buena Vista Social Club, we get their side of the whole story, which stretches back to the beginning of the Cuban Republic, through the Grammy-winning 1998 album and Wim Wenders’ film, up to the new Cuba today.
And then, hours before the premiere, distributor Broad Green Pictures did the unthinkable: It pulled the film from the lineup.
“We at Broad Green are disappointed that we will not be able to premiere this compelling documentary at this year’s Sundance Film Festival,” Broad Green said in a statement. “The film’s post production process has taken longer than expected and thus the decision was made to wait to introduce the film to audiences until it can be presented in its best possible iteration.”
Broad Green CEO Gabriel Hammond’s decision seemed bizarre: While there’s no shame in a documentary playing Sundance in less-than-final form — in 2013 Jehane Noujaim’s “The Square” premiered as a work in progress, and went on to receive an Oscar nomination — pulling a film from the festival, much less moments before its debut, was virtually unheard of.
No one was more baffled than Walker. An ambitious, high-profile documentarian with a Sundance audience award and two Oscar nominations to her credit, she had rushed to the Sundance-submission finish line. She thought she had finished her movie.
And then the mystery deepened. Two weeks later, in a February 1 Instagram post, she commented, “it’s not clear for now if that work will be seen or appreciated which is the purgatorial pitstop we are in currently.” Later, she added: “Any minute now we’ll be able to explain! I’m still dreaming the beautiful film we made might be seen ever again.”
When Walker tried to reach Hammond after the festival, he was unreachable for a month, at which point movers arrived at her Venice office to cart editing equipment away.
Now, nearly six months later, it’s clear that the filmmaker never regained control of her movie. On April 22, she only learned that her film had a May 26 release date when she read about it on IndieWire. Broad Green released the overhauled film in 80 theaters for a two-week run. (Total gross: $123,445.) To this day, she hasn’t seen the film.
Walker has kept silent in the press, limiting herself to several carefully worded social media posts like this @lucywalkerfilm tweet:
Buena Vista Social Club Adios (my follow-up film) has been significantly changed (shots & scenes including narrative spine removed, other scenes added so it’s overall longer ) since I finished it before Sundance. Apparently it’s being released this week in lots of theaters (for a doc). I haven’t seen it myself but I hope audiences enjoy it.
What went wrong? We talked to a number of participants in this debacle, and no one comes out ahead.
Related storiesLucy Walker's Buena Vista Social Club Documentary Finally Gets a Title and Release DateBroad Green Pictures Is Missing Release Dates and Angering Filmmakers. Here's Why.IndieWire and FilmStruck's 'Movies That Inspire Me': Lucy Walker on Seeing Cuban Music Come Alive in 'Buena Vista Social Club'...
- 6/21/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
It was baffling when distributor Broad Green Pictures pulled Lucy Walker’s “Untitled Buena Vista Social Club Documentary” from the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, the same day as its intended premiere, with a press release that said the “post production process has taken longer than expected.”
Nearly a month later, Broad Green has made no further comment on the film’s status, but its homepage still boasts that “Lucy Walker’s Buena Vista Social Club documentary will have it’s [sic] official world premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival!”
That disconnect (and typo) could be a matter of sloppy site maintenance, but multiple IndieWire interviews with people familiar with Walker’s film and Broad Green suggest more complex issues dog the three-year-old would-be studio. (Walker declined to comment for this article; Broad Green executives didn’t respond to requests for comment.)
Read More: Lucy Walker’s Buena Vista Social Club Documentary Pulled From Sundance
Walker,...
Nearly a month later, Broad Green has made no further comment on the film’s status, but its homepage still boasts that “Lucy Walker’s Buena Vista Social Club documentary will have it’s [sic] official world premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival!”
That disconnect (and typo) could be a matter of sloppy site maintenance, but multiple IndieWire interviews with people familiar with Walker’s film and Broad Green suggest more complex issues dog the three-year-old would-be studio. (Walker declined to comment for this article; Broad Green executives didn’t respond to requests for comment.)
Read More: Lucy Walker’s Buena Vista Social Club Documentary Pulled From Sundance
Walker,...
- 2/17/2017
- by Anne Thompson and Graham Winfrey
- Thompson on Hollywood
It was baffling when distributor Broad Green Pictures pulled Lucy Walker’s “Untitled Buena Vista Social Club Documentary” from the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, the same day as its intended premiere, with a press release that said the “post production process has taken longer than expected.” Nearly a month later, Broad Green has made no further comment on the film’s status, but its homepage still boasts that “Lucy Walker’s Buena Vista Social Club documentary will have it’s [sic] official world premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival!”
That disconnect (and typo) could be a matter of sloppy site maintenance, but multiple IndieWire interviews with people familiar with Walker’s film and Broad Green suggest more complex issues dog the three-year-old would-be studio. (Walker declined to comment for this article; Broad Green executives didn’t respond to requests for comment.)
See MoreLucy Walker’s Buena Vista Social Club Documentary Pulled From Sundance
Walker,...
That disconnect (and typo) could be a matter of sloppy site maintenance, but multiple IndieWire interviews with people familiar with Walker’s film and Broad Green suggest more complex issues dog the three-year-old would-be studio. (Walker declined to comment for this article; Broad Green executives didn’t respond to requests for comment.)
See MoreLucy Walker’s Buena Vista Social Club Documentary Pulled From Sundance
Walker,...
- 2/17/2017
- by Anne Thompson and Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
Pitch really loves playing with our emotions. I for one had no idea trades could be so stressful!
My feelings about Pitch Season 1 Episode 5 are mixed, but I commend the show for squeezing some emotion, any emotion out of me each and every episode. I'm no robot in cleats, more like a robot in Converse, but Pitch always gets to me.
Unfortunately with the Mlb trades, those damn flashbacks, the state of Ginny's personal life, Oscar, and that ending all of my Pitch feels this time around were not warm and fuzzy ones.
None of the revelations this week were particularly shocking. In fact everything was rather predictable roughly halfway into the episode. But I didn't mind the ride to the end too much.
I'll start with the tragic flashbacks. I appreciated the fact that the flashbacks coincided so well with what Ginny was dealing with in the present. The...
My feelings about Pitch Season 1 Episode 5 are mixed, but I commend the show for squeezing some emotion, any emotion out of me each and every episode. I'm no robot in cleats, more like a robot in Converse, but Pitch always gets to me.
Unfortunately with the Mlb trades, those damn flashbacks, the state of Ginny's personal life, Oscar, and that ending all of my Pitch feels this time around were not warm and fuzzy ones.
None of the revelations this week were particularly shocking. In fact everything was rather predictable roughly halfway into the episode. But I didn't mind the ride to the end too much.
I'll start with the tragic flashbacks. I appreciated the fact that the flashbacks coincided so well with what Ginny was dealing with in the present. The...
- 10/28/2016
- by Jasmine Blu
- TVfanatic
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- 7/16/2015
- by Louis Virtel
- Hitfix
Many of you who watch Starz’s Outlander every week have read Diana Gabaldon’s novels. Then again, many of you haven’t. So consider this a public service for all of the newlanders out there: This week’s episode signals the beginning of the end, and the end is a rough place to be. Find a puppy to hug and a pillow to hide behind, because — given the way this week’s episode wraps up and what happens in the weeks to come — you’ll certainly need them.
Related Ask Ausiello: Outlander Spoilers and More!
Don’t get me...
Related Ask Ausiello: Outlander Spoilers and More!
Don’t get me...
- 5/3/2015
- TVLine.com
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- 5/3/2015
- by Donna Dickens
- Hitfix
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