KUCI: Film School

Algorithm Bliss / Film School Radio interview with Co-director Dena Hysell-Cornejo

Inspired by the massive use of new technologies which intersect with psychopharmacology for therapeutic purposes. Algorithm: Bliss takes a look into how humanity and technology intersect and examines the unintended consequences of applications and innovations that come out of good intentions. Algorithm: Bliss explores where and how lines of morality get blurry once people are dealing with the reality of the noble aspirations for a product versus the potentially dangerous reality of implementation. It’s Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” for a digital age. Vic Beckett (Sean Faris) is a brilliant researcher, creates the ultimate App that taps into the pleasure center of the brain and transmits a feeling of nirvana to the user. Instant celebrity and unlimited commercial applications corrupt his altruistic intention and when problems arise with his creation, he justifies doing whatever is necessary to keep the app online. Algorithm: Bliss stars Sean Faris (Never Back Down), Sarah Roemer (Disturbia), Frank Deal (The Bourne Legacy), James Saito (Life Of Pi), Frank Deal (The Outsider), and Kimberley Locke (American Idol). Algorithm: Bliss is co-directed by Dena Hysell-Cornejo and Isak Borg, from a screenplay by Borg and Golan Ramraz (Iron Man).
For news and updates go to: greenappleent.com/project/algorithm-bliss
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Punching and Stealing / Film School Radio interview with Co-director Ryan Churchill

Inspired by actual crime. Set in the streets of Las Vegas, away from the strip, PUNCHING AND STEALING is an action comedy vigilante film about Sam Bransby (Ryan Churchill), a young man that becomes jaded and uses violence to get back his dad’s stolen pension money from corporate suits under the direction of his hitman boss (Melvin Rodriguez) in their organization, “Pension Recovery Force”. As fate would have it, as he turns to the dark side (with humor) in his vigilante faction, he meets the love of his life, Jen (Jenny Vilim). As hard as he tries to keep it a secret from her, his vigilante world and love life collide. He attempts to convince her to be his wing-woman but her moral code prohibits her from joining Sam’s underground faction of “beating people until they’re unrecognizable.” A modern day indie caper taking place over 13 years both in plot and film. Co-director, co-producer and lead actor Ryan Churchill stops by to talk about a personal connection to the origin story for his oft-kilter, high-energy comedy and how he pulled together a terrific supporting cast that pushed PUNCHING AND STEALING into a higher trajectory.
For news and updates go to: PunchingAndStealingMovie.com
For more on the filmmaker go to: ryanchurchill.com
Available now on:
iTunes: apple.co/2LdAs0A
Amazon: tinyurl.com/yd385kfxhttps://youtu.be/9JOgvWY0T3o
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Jeremy Garelick / Film School Radio interview with American High founder Jeremy Garelick

Yale graduate Jeremy Garelick started in the mailroom at the Creative Artists Agency, before going on to work as assistant to legendary writer/director, Joel Schumacher on Tigerland, Bad Company, Phone Booth, and Veronica Guerin. Jeremy made his feature screenplay debut with the Vince Vaughn vehicle The Break-Up and followed that by teaming up with Todd Phillips to pen the production draft of The Hangover, establishing himself as the go-to A-list comedy writer in Hollywood. In 2015 Jeremy directed his first feature film, The Wedding Ringer starring Kevin Hart and Josh Gad. Between writing, directing, and show running his Netflix original limited series, Best. Worst. Weekend. Ever., and executive producing his YouTube Red original, Side Swiped, Jeremy also formed his own production company, American High. Staked with a $45 million film fund, American High has shot five indie comedies in Garelick’s recently acquired school-turned-studio in Syracuse, NY, including Big Time Adolescence, starring Pete Davidson, Jon Cryer, and Sydney Sweeney, which was recently invited to compete in dramatic competition at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. In addition, American High Founder Jeremy Garelick is set to direct and produce a slate of three higher budget high school comedy features in 2020.
For news and updates go to: americanhigh.com
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The Plagiarists / Film School Radio interview with co-writers Robin Schavoir and James N. Kienitz Wilkins

Co-written by experimental filmmakers James N. Kienitz Wilkins and Robin Schavoir (who, along with Paul Dallas, served as producers), The Plagiarists is at once a hilarious send-up of low-budget American indie filmmaking and a probing inquiry into race, relationships, and the social uncanny. A young novelist (Lucy Kaminsky) and her cinematographer boyfriend (Eamon Monaghan) are waylaid by a snowstorm on their way to visit a friend in upstate New York and are taken in by the kindly yet enigmatic Clip (Michael “Clip” Payne of Parliament Funkadelic), who puts them up for the night. But an accidental discovery months later recasts in an unnerving light what had seemed like an agreeable evening, stoking resentments both latent and not-so-latent. Exhilaratingly intelligent and distinctively shot on a vintage TV-news camera, The Plagiarists is a work whose provocations are inseparable from its pleasures. Screenwriters James N. Kienitz Wilkins and Robin Schavoir join us to talk about whip-smart project, as well as their creative process, white privilege, blending together acting styles and Dogma 95.
For news and updates go to: kimstim.com/film/plagiarists
Social Media
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Kate Nash: Underestimate the Girl / Film School Radio interview with Director Amy Goldstein

Amy Goldstein’s wildly entertaining documentary, KATE NASH: UNDERESTIMATE THE GIRL, chronicles the meteoric rise and years-long struggle of musician / artist Kate Nash to re-establish a thriving career on her own terms. At 18, Nash reached the stratosphere of pop music, vaulting from a working-class family in North London into worldwide tours, a platinum record, and a season dominating the music charts. Fast forward to ten years later: Kate is breaking down, nearly homeless. Defrauded by her manager, she is forced to take odd jobs--like hosting a QVC show in a comic bookstore--and must sell off her clothes. After hitting bottom, she rises out of the darkness by crowd-funding her third album, using the uplifting power of online culture and her own authentic voice. From pop wonder, to riot grrrl, to TV wrestling queen, Kate's journey is an inspiring call to the creative heart in all of us: be fearless. Blending performance footage with verité style sequences, KATE NASH: UNDERESTIMATE THE GIRLis both a no-punches-pulled look at an artist in flux who manages to come out on top, and at an industry that proves its own gender bias at every opportunity. The film is structured around songs and lyrics, as they are written and performed by Kate Nash, to tell its unfolding story. Director Amy Goldstein joins us to talk about Kate Nash, her work ethic, determination, sense of humor and how that has served her over the many years of struggle.
For news and updates go to: thehoopinglife.com/kate-nash-underestimate-the-girl
KATE NASH: UNDERESTIMATE THE GIRL will be released nationally on Friday May 22 via the groundbreaking virtual cinema platform ALAMO ON DEMAND. Following the Saturday, May 23 6:00 PST / 9:00 EST there will be an interactive performance and Q&A with Kate Nash.The exclusive release will then hit a limited traditional theatrical rollout in August. Watch tonight: On Demand.drafthouse.com/film/kate-nash-underestimate-the-girl
Social Media
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Ovid and the Art of Love / Film School Radio interview with Director Esmé von Hoffman

Set centuries apart but in the same place, OVID AND THE ART OF LOVE tells the story of the renowned Roman poet Ovid, whose comic verses and permissive lifestyle provoked the brutal Emperor Augustus’s ire. As Ovid and the emperor’s granddaughter – thrown together by fate – race to escape execution, Ovid’s story asks: In a world of unrest, is love the most radical act of all? Bringing together togas, high-tops, oration, poetry slams and hip-hop, this film tells a timely story about power, pleasure and politics. Strong women characters clamor for respect and a better place in society. All is set amongst the faded beauty of modern Detroit’s neoclassical architecture. Corbin Bleu (High School Musical) masterfully transforms into the poet Ovid, whose work has been cherished for over 2,000 years, while John Savage (The Deer Hunter) gives an electrifying performance as Augustus, Ovid’s conflicted nemesis. Tara Summers (Mercy Street, Boston Legal) plays Julia, Augustus’s tough, rebellious daughter, and Tamara Feldman (Gossip Girl, Hatchet) is the emperor’s activist granddaughter. Also starring Joseph McKenna (Shutter Island, 12 Monkeys) and Lailani Ledesma (Comedy Central’s Detroiters). Director and writer Esmé von Hoffman joins us to talk about her decision to recast this tale of a free-thinking Roman artist speaking truth to power as a modern parable.
For news and updates go to: ovidandtheartoflove.com
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Raising Buchanan / Film School Radio interview with Creator and Lead Actor Amanda Melby

Inspired by a couple of true presidential corpse stories: the 1876 plot to steal Abraham Lincoln’s body, and the exhumation of Zachary Taylor in 1991, RAISING BUCHANAN took the idea of presidential corpse stealing to extraordinary lengths of dark comedy delight with terrible dead presidents. Because there’s certainly something to be learned from terrible presidents, as well as laughing at them. Finding their inspiration in the off-kilter tone of the dramatically rooted comedies of Alexander Payne, the Coen Brothers, and Hal Ashby, the RAISING BUCHANAN stars Amanda Melby (Candid Camera), René Auberjonois (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), Cathy Shim (Reno 911!), Robert Ben Garant (Reno 911!), Terence Bernie Hines (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty), Jennifer Pfalzgraff  (21 Grams), Steve Briscoe (Covet), Lynnette ‘L.A.’ Brown (Kerry and Angie), and M. Emmet Walsh (Blade Runner). Produced by Melby and Joe Gruberman (Eleven Eleven), this award-winning feature film swept the film festival circuit racking up multiple awards, including: Best Feature, Best Dramedy, Best Actress (Melby) and Best Screenplay (Dellis), among others. Creator and lead actor Amanda Melby stops by for a lively conversation on the wryly funny and endearing work as well as working with the late, great René Auberjonois.
For news and updates go to: raisingbuchanan.com
Social Media
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Defending Jacob / Film School Radio interview with Creator and Executive Producer Mark Bomback

Andy Barber has been an assistant district attorney in his suburban Massachusetts county for more than twenty years. He is respected in his community, tenacious in the courtroom, and happy at home with his wife, Laurie, and son, Jacob. But when a shocking crime shatters their New England town, Andy is blindsided by what happens next: His fourteen-year-old son is charged with the murder of a fellow student. Every parental instinct Andy has rallies to protect his boy. Jacob insists that he is innocent, and Andy believes him. Andy must. He's his father. But as damning facts and shocking revelations surface, as a marriage threatens to crumble and the trial intensifies, as the crisis reveals how little a father knows about his son, Andy will face a trial of his own - between loyalty and justice, between truth and allegation, between a past he's tried to bury and a future he cannot conceive. The Apple+TV limited drama series is a gripping, character-driven thriller based on the 2012 New York Times best selling novel of the same name by William Landay. Creator and Executive Producer Mark Bomback joins us to talk about how he and his creative team, including director Morten Tyldum, brought this complex and nuanced tale to life.
To watch Defending Jacob go to: tv.apple.com/us/show/defending-jacob
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Rewind / Film School Radio interview with Director Sasha Joseph Nuelinger

In REWIND, Sasha Joseph Neulinger’s candid personal memoir, he revisits his childhood and the events that tore apart his seemingly-perfect world. For as long as Neulinger can remember, his father was constantly filming— from birthday parties, to hockey games, to holidays. But his camera, trained on the frequent gatherings of a tight-knit family, was also documenting a hidden secret, the revelation of which would lead to a media firestorm, a high-stakes court battle, and a generational reckoning. Drawing upon an incredibly revealing home video archive, Neulinger revisits these events 20 years later to piece together an unflinching story of the cycles and consequences of abuse, to examine what it means to heal, and to use those experiences to effect positive change in the world. REWIND probes the gap between image and reality and proves just how little, and how much, a camera can capture. Director Sasha Joseph Nuelinger joins us for a candid conversation on the psychological, physical and emotional impact of abuse and how he was able to find the appropriate balance in his role as creator and director telling a story of unspeakable horror about himself and his family.
For news and updates go to: RewindDocumentary.com
For more about Rewind go to: rewinddocumentary.com
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Shadows of Freedom / Film School Radio interview with Co-directors Amos Carlen and Aline Robichaud

SHADOWS OF FREEDOM recounts the untold story of the Jewish & French resistance of 1942 in Algiers, which helped change the course of WWII, yet remains largely forgotten. These 388 resistors – mostly young and inexperienced – almost haplessly ended up supporting the Allies in North Africa. In the process they paved the way for a successful invasion of Algiers by the U.S., but also helped to save the lives of over 500,000 Jews in North Africa, targeted by Hitler's Final Solution. This was all part of OPERATION  TORCH the joint American/U.K. mission that was to be the Allies’ first successful strike against the Nazis. This largely forgotten military operation remains to this day as the longest invasion in the history of conflict. Co-directors and co-producers Amos Carlen and Aline Robichaud join us to talk about a little known but critically important chapter of French resistance, American and British military strategy and the courageous contributions made by Jewish resistance fighters. 
For news and updates go to: shadowsfreedom.com/home
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