For a significant portion of the The Argument’s running time, there’s a sense of waiting for the other shoe to drop. The set up for the film isn’t particularly strong, and all throughout the first act, it’s hard not to feel like the production is going through the motion. It actually isn’t until the third act that things kick into gear, especially in terms of getting unique and weird. So, as the flick opens today, the question before me is the following: is one really good act enough to warrant a recommendation? It depends on the title in question, but for The Argument, the answer is a low-key yes. The movie is a comedy, focusing on a small group of people and the rather unusual situation they find themselves in. When Jack (Dan Fogler) and Lisa (Emma Bell) disagree in the opening scene, it seems...
- 9/4/2020
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
Edward Albee could write an argument. In “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” George and Martha rip into each other, showing how a couple with some wear on its tires knows just where to drive in the nail to inflict maximum damage. Screenwriter Zac Stanford is no Edward Albee, and his low-key lovers’-spat dramedy “The Argument,” directed by Robert Schwartzman, pales in comparison with pretty much all the great relationship-on-the-rocks movies you can think of — “Blue Valentine,” “Marriage Story,” “Two for the Road,” to name just a few. But we’re in a pandemic, cooped up as couples (for better or worse), and watching an argument with your partner is better than having one.
The thing that might bring Stanford’s broken-record comedy too close to home is also its defining feature: Jack (Dan Fogler) and Lisa (Emma Bell) have a squabble, and rather than letting it go, or discussing it like adults,...
The thing that might bring Stanford’s broken-record comedy too close to home is also its defining feature: Jack (Dan Fogler) and Lisa (Emma Bell) have a squabble, and rather than letting it go, or discussing it like adults,...
- 9/4/2020
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
A couple goes to insane lengths in an attempt to decide which one of them is right in Robert Schwartzman’s The Argument: Disagreeing over whether a party-ending remark was insulting or misinterpreted, the two decide to simply host the exact gathering again, replaying the night over and over until they can reach an agreement. While scribe Zac Stanford’s premise invites a Charlie Kaufman-like, reality-bending take, Schwartzman plays things straight enough that one has a hard time believing the action. But viewers who get through a credulity-testing second act may laugh enough in the third to be glad they ...
A couple goes to insane lengths in an attempt to decide which one of them is right in Robert Schwartzman’s The Argument: Disagreeing over whether a party-ending remark was insulting or misinterpreted, the two decide to simply host the exact gathering again, replaying the night over and over until they can reach an agreement. While scribe Zac Stanford’s premise invites a Charlie Kaufman-like, reality-bending take, Schwartzman plays things straight enough that one has a hard time believing the action. But viewers who get through a credulity-testing second act may laugh enough in the third to be glad they ...
Exclusive: Gravitas Ventures has acquired North American rights to the comedy The Argument directed by Robert Schwartzman and written by Zac Stanford (The Chumscrubber). The film is set to open in theaters and on demand September 4.
In the film, Jack (Dan Fogler from the Fantastic Beasts franchise) and his girlfriend, Lisa (Emma Bell from The Walking Dead) are having a lovely cocktail party. Things take a turn when they get into an argument. As the argument escalates, the party comes to an end and all their friends leave — but the party isn’t really over. Jack and Lisa recreate the party over and over again — with all their guests — in order to figure out who was right.
“On behalf of our team at Utopia, the cast, and crew, we are thrilled to partner with Gravitas Ventures, a company that has shown genuine passion throughout this acquisition,” said Shwartzman.
In the film, Jack (Dan Fogler from the Fantastic Beasts franchise) and his girlfriend, Lisa (Emma Bell from The Walking Dead) are having a lovely cocktail party. Things take a turn when they get into an argument. As the argument escalates, the party comes to an end and all their friends leave — but the party isn’t really over. Jack and Lisa recreate the party over and over again — with all their guests — in order to figure out who was right.
“On behalf of our team at Utopia, the cast, and crew, we are thrilled to partner with Gravitas Ventures, a company that has shown genuine passion throughout this acquisition,” said Shwartzman.
- 8/11/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Dan Fogler and Emma Bell are leading the ensemble cast of The Argument, the third feature-length film from director Robert Schwartzman after Dreamland and The Unicorn. The comedy penned by The Chumscrubber scribe Zac Stanford just wrapped production, with Utopia coming aboard to handle international sales at the upcoming Cannes film market.
The pic centers on Jack and his actress girlfriend Lisa (The Walking Dead alum Bell), who get into an argument at their cocktail party that escalates until it brings an abrupt end to the festivities. They and their guests decide to re-create the entire night again and again to determine who was right. Danny Pudi, Cleopatra Coleman, Tyler James Williams, Maggie Q, Mark Ryder, Karan Brar, Marielle Scott, Charlotte McKinney and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett co-star.
Producers are Russell Wayne Groves and the ICM Partners-repped Schwartzman via his Beachwood Park Films.
Utopia...
The pic centers on Jack and his actress girlfriend Lisa (The Walking Dead alum Bell), who get into an argument at their cocktail party that escalates until it brings an abrupt end to the festivities. They and their guests decide to re-create the entire night again and again to determine who was right. Danny Pudi, Cleopatra Coleman, Tyler James Williams, Maggie Q, Mark Ryder, Karan Brar, Marielle Scott, Charlotte McKinney and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett co-star.
Producers are Russell Wayne Groves and the ICM Partners-repped Schwartzman via his Beachwood Park Films.
Utopia...
- 5/9/2019
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Sundance Film Festival
PARK CITY -- Oscar-winner Charlize Theron performs double duty as both actress and producer on Sleepwalking, which had its premiere at Sundance before opening in March. Actually, her own role is just a supporting turn, but she brings force and integrity to her acting and also to her work behind the camera. Although the story is too grim to attract a large audience, all the performances deserve accolades.
Theron, who seems equally comfortable inhabiting glamorous roles in Hollywood ventures like The Italian Job and grungier types in her indie films, plays Joleen Reedy, an irresponsible single mother who has had a lot of bad luck with men. After her latest boyfriend is arrested, she takes her daughter, Tara (AnnaSophia Robb), and moves in with her brother, James (Nick Stahl). She soon meets another man and runs off with him, leaving James to look after Tara. James, a good-hearted but simple man, wants to give his niece a home, though he is ill-equipped for the task. Eventually they end up with his own abusive father (Dennis Hopper), the source of all the family's problems.
The script by Zac Stanford (The Chumscrubber) takes an unblinking look at the travails of working-class people and hopelessly damaged families. While there are moments of humor provided by supporting players like Woody Harrelson (as James' co-worker), most of the movie is pretty bleak. Yet the fine acting keeps us hypnotized. As she showed in Monster, Theron is perfectly willing to dispense with vanity and offer a hard-edged portrayal of a selfish, reckless woman.
Stahl has often been the best thing in very mediocre movies. In this case, he has one of his stronger roles, and he finds the pathos and decency in a deeply wounded man. Hopper is suitably monstrous as the brutish paterfamilias.
The movie's real find is young Robb, who has shown charm in such movies as "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and Bridge to Terabithia, and who reaches a whole new level of maturity in Sleepwalking. Growing up in a messy family situation, Tara has had to develop a wisdom way beyond her years. Robb makes her credibly tough while retaining tinges of heartbreaking vulnerability. This is a breakthrough performance that should do wonders for her career.
First-time director William Maher brings a strong sense of authenticity to the film. Working on a low budget with veteran cinematographer Juan Ruiz-Anchia, Maher makes the most of the desolate Western locations. (The film actually was shot in Saskatchewan, doubling for California and Utah.) The film winds predictably toward its melancholy conclusion, but there is a glimmer of hope for at least a couple of the characters. Even if the movie takes you to some dark places you would rather not visit, at least you will remember the actors who navigate the tortured journey.
SLEEPWALKING
Overture Films
Icon Entertainment International, Denver and Delilah Films, Infinity Features, WJS Prods.
Credits:
Director: William Maher
Screenwriter: Zac Stanford
Producers: Beth Kono, Charlize Theron, J.J. Harris, A.J. Dix, Rob Merilees, William Shively
Executive producers: Michael Stirling, Anthony Rhulen, Charlie Mason, Justin Moore-Lewy
Director of photography: Juan Ruiz-Anchia
Production designer: Paki Smith
Music: Christopher Young
Co-producer: Stephen Onda
Costume designer: Cathy McComb
Editor: Stuart Levy
Cast:
James Reedy: Nick Stahl
Tara: AnnaSophia Robb
Joleen: Charlize Theron
Mr. Reedy: Dennis Hopper
Randall: Woody Harrelson
Danni: Deborra-Lee Furness
Running time -- 101 minutes
MPAA rating R...
PARK CITY -- Oscar-winner Charlize Theron performs double duty as both actress and producer on Sleepwalking, which had its premiere at Sundance before opening in March. Actually, her own role is just a supporting turn, but she brings force and integrity to her acting and also to her work behind the camera. Although the story is too grim to attract a large audience, all the performances deserve accolades.
Theron, who seems equally comfortable inhabiting glamorous roles in Hollywood ventures like The Italian Job and grungier types in her indie films, plays Joleen Reedy, an irresponsible single mother who has had a lot of bad luck with men. After her latest boyfriend is arrested, she takes her daughter, Tara (AnnaSophia Robb), and moves in with her brother, James (Nick Stahl). She soon meets another man and runs off with him, leaving James to look after Tara. James, a good-hearted but simple man, wants to give his niece a home, though he is ill-equipped for the task. Eventually they end up with his own abusive father (Dennis Hopper), the source of all the family's problems.
The script by Zac Stanford (The Chumscrubber) takes an unblinking look at the travails of working-class people and hopelessly damaged families. While there are moments of humor provided by supporting players like Woody Harrelson (as James' co-worker), most of the movie is pretty bleak. Yet the fine acting keeps us hypnotized. As she showed in Monster, Theron is perfectly willing to dispense with vanity and offer a hard-edged portrayal of a selfish, reckless woman.
Stahl has often been the best thing in very mediocre movies. In this case, he has one of his stronger roles, and he finds the pathos and decency in a deeply wounded man. Hopper is suitably monstrous as the brutish paterfamilias.
The movie's real find is young Robb, who has shown charm in such movies as "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and Bridge to Terabithia, and who reaches a whole new level of maturity in Sleepwalking. Growing up in a messy family situation, Tara has had to develop a wisdom way beyond her years. Robb makes her credibly tough while retaining tinges of heartbreaking vulnerability. This is a breakthrough performance that should do wonders for her career.
First-time director William Maher brings a strong sense of authenticity to the film. Working on a low budget with veteran cinematographer Juan Ruiz-Anchia, Maher makes the most of the desolate Western locations. (The film actually was shot in Saskatchewan, doubling for California and Utah.) The film winds predictably toward its melancholy conclusion, but there is a glimmer of hope for at least a couple of the characters. Even if the movie takes you to some dark places you would rather not visit, at least you will remember the actors who navigate the tortured journey.
SLEEPWALKING
Overture Films
Icon Entertainment International, Denver and Delilah Films, Infinity Features, WJS Prods.
Credits:
Director: William Maher
Screenwriter: Zac Stanford
Producers: Beth Kono, Charlize Theron, J.J. Harris, A.J. Dix, Rob Merilees, William Shively
Executive producers: Michael Stirling, Anthony Rhulen, Charlie Mason, Justin Moore-Lewy
Director of photography: Juan Ruiz-Anchia
Production designer: Paki Smith
Music: Christopher Young
Co-producer: Stephen Onda
Costume designer: Cathy McComb
Editor: Stuart Levy
Cast:
James Reedy: Nick Stahl
Tara: AnnaSophia Robb
Joleen: Charlize Theron
Mr. Reedy: Dennis Hopper
Randall: Woody Harrelson
Danni: Deborra-Lee Furness
Running time -- 101 minutes
MPAA rating R...
- 1/22/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- Days Left Before Sundance: updateCountdownClock('January 17, 2008'); Yesterday, the Sundance Film Fest officially announced the first title selected for their 2008 edition (film opener is Martin McDonagh's In Bruges) and The Hollywood Reporter got the rumor mill started naming Phoebe in Wonderland, What Just Happened?, The Great Buck Howard, Incendiary and The Wackness as possible selections (for the record they’ve named 3 other titles that match with our previsionary list as well).A little less than a week left until the Sundance film festival reveals its entire line-up (Wednesday & Thursday of next week) we here at Ioncinema.com headquarters like to guestimate the films that have fabulous chances at preeming at the event. Keeping track on all U.S indie developments is the name of our game, so without much further ado – here is a potential list of 20 films comprised of long shots, low probabilities and a couple of
- 11/21/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
Manager-producers Matt Luber, Lena Roklin and Larry Schapiro have joined forces to form the full-service management and production firm Luber Roklin Entertainment.
Luber and Schapiro were partners in Nine Yards Entertainment, while Roklin headed Roklin Management. The trio are partners in the new entity, with Luber and Roklin serving as co-heads. Schapiro is serving as COO and running the production division and record label.
Luber Roklin's client roster includes Paul Walker, Jaime Pressly, Adam Goldberg, Neal McDonough, Lauren Holly, Lindsay Price, Jenna Dewan, Billy Zane, Kevin Sorbo, Drew Tyler Bell and Joss Stone; directors Fred Durst, Scott Glosserman and Walt Becker; and writers Arthur Marcum and Matt Holloway, David Digilio and Zac Stanford.
Managers at the company include Alex Cole, Katie Mason, Tim Taylor and Mara Santino. Steve Crawford heads the literary department and is involved on the production side as well.
Luber and Roklin said the move to team up made sense.
"We had a desire to infuse new energy into the talent department, and there was no one better than Lena who could mesh well as a partner and complement everyone's skill set," said Luber, who also has been an executive producer on "Evan Almighty", "Into the Blue" and "Running Scared".
Added Roklin: "The business has changed, and you have to be more creative.
Luber and Schapiro were partners in Nine Yards Entertainment, while Roklin headed Roklin Management. The trio are partners in the new entity, with Luber and Roklin serving as co-heads. Schapiro is serving as COO and running the production division and record label.
Luber Roklin's client roster includes Paul Walker, Jaime Pressly, Adam Goldberg, Neal McDonough, Lauren Holly, Lindsay Price, Jenna Dewan, Billy Zane, Kevin Sorbo, Drew Tyler Bell and Joss Stone; directors Fred Durst, Scott Glosserman and Walt Becker; and writers Arthur Marcum and Matt Holloway, David Digilio and Zac Stanford.
Managers at the company include Alex Cole, Katie Mason, Tim Taylor and Mara Santino. Steve Crawford heads the literary department and is involved on the production side as well.
Luber and Roklin said the move to team up made sense.
"We had a desire to infuse new energy into the talent department, and there was no one better than Lena who could mesh well as a partner and complement everyone's skill set," said Luber, who also has been an executive producer on "Evan Almighty", "Into the Blue" and "Running Scared".
Added Roklin: "The business has changed, and you have to be more creative.
- 10/5/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
PARK CITY -- There is nothing new under the creative sun in this slight satire of California suburbia. Fried dry with a mordant sensibility, "Chumscrubber" should skim some teenage appreciation from nouveau cineastes who might enjoy sendups of their environs, but more sophisticated and seasoned viewers will be less-than-dazzled by its puffy plottings.
If nothing else, "Chumscrubber" should be a front-runner for the worst title of the year award. What does the title mean? It's not worth explaining.
Set smack dab in one of those Golden State environs that seems a cross between "E.T". burgs and "Edward Scissorhands" blocks, "Chumscrubber" centers on Dean (Jamie Bell), a sullen loner who discovers his closest acquaintance hanging from the rafters of his pool house. Dean neglects to tell anyone that his neighbor has offed himself. His indifference is partly prompted by the fact that anything he says his to self-absorbed father (William Fichtner) crams into psychobabble best sellers. Not that anyone would listen to Dean anyway, because he is bereft of friends, and all the adults in the neighborhood are too daft or tranked to comprehend.
Screenwriter Zac Stanford's lightweight scenario revolves around drugs, spinning out around the dead kid's stash. A gang of three, who might in more Disney-esque times resemble the Apple Dumpling gang, kidnap a tyke who they think is the hanged-one's little brother. Their idea is to get dull Dean to retrieve the departed one's bag of pills. But, they get the wrong kid.
Nobody seems to notice the kid heist, which is, perhaps, the funniest part of this comedy. Most wickedly, the kidnapped child's mother (Rita Wilson) is too absorbed in the logistics of her upcoming wedding to miss him. Similarly, her fiance (Ralph Fiennes) is undergoing a California-style personal conversion, so he's too spaced to notice also.
Despite the tired narrative, there are some funny, dry moments as the varied goofballs of the burb go about their self-absorbed business. The cast, especially Wilson as the preoccupied mother, are the film's highlights. Additionally, Fichtner is wonderfully oily as a self-promoter, while Glenn Close's wide-eyed glaze as the dead boy's mother is amusingly wacko.
Overall, director Arie Posin's comic rendering is most effective in visualizing the lifestyle looniness, courtesy of the deadpan production design of Patti Podesta and the fractured compositions of cinematographer Lawrence Sher.
The Chumscrubber
Newmarket Films
A film by Arie Posin
Credits:
Producers: Lawrence Bender, Bonnie Curtis
Director: Arie Posin
Screenwriter: Zac Stanford
Story: Arie Posin, Zac Stanford
Co-producers: Lee Clay, Susanne Bohnet, Manfred D. Heid, Gerd Koechlin, Robert Katz
Line producer: Michael Beugg
Executive producers: Bob Yari, Joseph Lautenschlager, Philip Levenson, Michael Beugg, Andreas Thiesmeyer
Director of photrography: Lawrence Sher
Editors: William S. Scharf, Arthur Schmidt
Music: James Horner
Music supervisor: Chris Douridas
Production designer: Patti Podesta
Casting: Anya Colloff, Amy McIntyre Britt
Cast:
Dean: Jamie Bell
Mrs. Johnson: Glenn Close
Charlie Stiffle: Rory Culkin
Dr. Bill Stiffle: William Fichtner
Michael Ebbs: Ralph Fiennes
Officer Lou Bratley: John Heard
Boutique owner: Lauren Holly
Terri Bratley: Rita Wilson
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 102 minutes...
If nothing else, "Chumscrubber" should be a front-runner for the worst title of the year award. What does the title mean? It's not worth explaining.
Set smack dab in one of those Golden State environs that seems a cross between "E.T". burgs and "Edward Scissorhands" blocks, "Chumscrubber" centers on Dean (Jamie Bell), a sullen loner who discovers his closest acquaintance hanging from the rafters of his pool house. Dean neglects to tell anyone that his neighbor has offed himself. His indifference is partly prompted by the fact that anything he says his to self-absorbed father (William Fichtner) crams into psychobabble best sellers. Not that anyone would listen to Dean anyway, because he is bereft of friends, and all the adults in the neighborhood are too daft or tranked to comprehend.
Screenwriter Zac Stanford's lightweight scenario revolves around drugs, spinning out around the dead kid's stash. A gang of three, who might in more Disney-esque times resemble the Apple Dumpling gang, kidnap a tyke who they think is the hanged-one's little brother. Their idea is to get dull Dean to retrieve the departed one's bag of pills. But, they get the wrong kid.
Nobody seems to notice the kid heist, which is, perhaps, the funniest part of this comedy. Most wickedly, the kidnapped child's mother (Rita Wilson) is too absorbed in the logistics of her upcoming wedding to miss him. Similarly, her fiance (Ralph Fiennes) is undergoing a California-style personal conversion, so he's too spaced to notice also.
Despite the tired narrative, there are some funny, dry moments as the varied goofballs of the burb go about their self-absorbed business. The cast, especially Wilson as the preoccupied mother, are the film's highlights. Additionally, Fichtner is wonderfully oily as a self-promoter, while Glenn Close's wide-eyed glaze as the dead boy's mother is amusingly wacko.
Overall, director Arie Posin's comic rendering is most effective in visualizing the lifestyle looniness, courtesy of the deadpan production design of Patti Podesta and the fractured compositions of cinematographer Lawrence Sher.
The Chumscrubber
Newmarket Films
A film by Arie Posin
Credits:
Producers: Lawrence Bender, Bonnie Curtis
Director: Arie Posin
Screenwriter: Zac Stanford
Story: Arie Posin, Zac Stanford
Co-producers: Lee Clay, Susanne Bohnet, Manfred D. Heid, Gerd Koechlin, Robert Katz
Line producer: Michael Beugg
Executive producers: Bob Yari, Joseph Lautenschlager, Philip Levenson, Michael Beugg, Andreas Thiesmeyer
Director of photrography: Lawrence Sher
Editors: William S. Scharf, Arthur Schmidt
Music: James Horner
Music supervisor: Chris Douridas
Production designer: Patti Podesta
Casting: Anya Colloff, Amy McIntyre Britt
Cast:
Dean: Jamie Bell
Mrs. Johnson: Glenn Close
Charlie Stiffle: Rory Culkin
Dr. Bill Stiffle: William Fichtner
Michael Ebbs: Ralph Fiennes
Officer Lou Bratley: John Heard
Boutique owner: Lauren Holly
Terri Bratley: Rita Wilson
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 102 minutes...
CANNES -- DreamWorks has elected to reel out its untitled Arie Posin project through its specialty division Go Fish Pictures, marking the first live-action film to be plucked for the banner since it launched in August. Ralph Fiennes, Rita Wilson, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jamie Bell, Glenn Close, Alison Janney and Camilla Belle are starring in the project, which is in production. Posin is directing from a script he co-wrote with Zac Stanford. Lawrence Bender and Bonnie Curtis are producing. The story centers on a kidnapping in a suburban town that causes an alienated high school student to become involved when the self-absorbed adults in the town pay little attention to the situation.
- 5/13/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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