Netflix Announces Five Features & One Short Premiering At SFFILM 2018

BROADWAY WORLD – Netflix Announces Films, Documentaries and Doc Shorts at SFFILM 2018: Feature Films Kodachrome, Alex Strangelove and Manhunt; Original Documentary Features Mercury 13 and Shirkers; Original Documentary Short End Game. All titles will launch globally on Netflix in 2018.

Netflix Films

Kodachrome – U.S. Premiere – (Netflix Launch: April 20, 2018)

Matt Ryder (Sudeikis) is convinced to drive his estranged and dying father Benjamin Ryder (Harris) cross country to deliver four old rolls of Kodachrome film to the last lab in the world that can develop them before it shuts down for good. Along with Ben’s nurse Zooey (Olsen), the three navigate a world changing from analog to digital while trying to put the past behind them.

Starring Ed Harris, Jason Sudeikis and Elizabeth Olsen, Kodachrome is directed by Mark Raso and written by Jonathan Tropper. Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Eric Robinson, Jonathan Tropper, Shawn Levy, Dan Levine and Leon Clarence serve as producers.

‘Avengers: Infinity War’ Release Date Moves Up One Week to April

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER – The change means that the superhero tentpole will open day-and-date around the globe.

Marvel Studios and Disney’ biggest superhero mashup yet is hitting North American theaters earlier than expected.

Avengers: Infinity War will now unfurl  April 27, a week before its earlier launch date of May 4. In other words, the summer box office will kick off earlier than expected (the first weekend in May is historically considered the official start of the summer season).

The move means that the comic book blockbuster, directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, will open day-and-date around the globe, reducing the possibility of spoilers marring the experience for North American audiences. Marvel president Kevin Feige has said the film will have big ramifications for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so much so that the title for 2019’s Avengers 4 has not yet been revealed, as the name itself would be a spoiler.

As a rule, Marvel summer pics that stake out the early May date in the U.S. generally open a week earlier overseas for competitive reasons.

Infinity War reunites the Avengers gang and friends, including Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), as they join forces with the Guardians of the Galaxy crew to stop the evil intergalactic despot Thanos (Josh Brolin).

The movie will open in the wake of the staggering success of Marvel and Disney’s Black Panther, which is on the verge of crossing the $800 million mark at the global box office. Black Panther stars Danai Gurira, Angela Bassett, Letitia Wright and Winston Duke also appear in Infinity War, the third outing in the Avengers series. Other characters from the MCU making a play include Spider-Man (Tom Holland), Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston).

Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista and Bradley Cooper are some of the stars from the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise appearing in Infinity War.

Films already set to open over the April 27 weekend include the female-fueled comedy I Feel Pretty, starring Amy Schumer, Michelle Williams and Emily Ratajkowski (STX Entertainment), and Traffik, a thriller starring Laz Alonso, Omar Epps, Paula Patton and Roselyn Sanchez (Lionsgate/Summit).

Deadline has reported that Elizabeth is among the presenters for the Independent Spirit Awards, which will take place on Saturday.

Spirit Awards: Timothee Chalamet, Janelle Monae, Robert Pattinson Round Out Presenters List

DEADLINE – EXCLUSIVE: Film Independent has announced the final batch of presenters set to take the stage at the 33rd edition of the Independent Spirit Awards, which IFC will air live Saturday at 2 PM PT/5 PM ET.

Joining the roster of presenters are Call Me by Your Name‘s Timothée Chalamet (who’s up for Best Male Lead and also the best actor Oscar the next day), Robert Pattinson (also up for Best Male Lead for his role in Good Time), Spirit Award winner Janelle Monáe, Get Out scene-stealer Lil Rel Howery and awards-season MVP Michael Stuhlbarg. Rounding out the list of presenters are Zoey Deutch, Elizabeth Olsen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Sarah Silverman.

Film Independent also said that Sunflower Bean will be the house band during the event on the beach in Santa Monica.

The latest presenters join the previously announced Fred Armisen, Chadwick Boseman, Carrie Brownstein, John Cho, Jason Clarke, Jon Hamm, Ethan Hawke, Salma Hayek Pinault, Spike Lee, Ben Mendelsohn, Kumail Nanjiani, Margot Robbie, Amanda Seyfried, Lena Waithe, and Ava DuVernay, who is this year’s Honorary Chair.

This year’s nominees for the banner Best Feature are Call Me by Your Name, The Florida Project, Get Out, Lady Bird and The Rider. Dee Rees’ Mudbound will receive the Robert Altman Award, which is bestowed upon one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast.

Nick Kroll (Big Mouth, The League) and John Mulaney (Kid Gorgeous, Big Mouth) are returning as hosts after injecting their “Oh Hello!” humor into last year’s ceremony, giving it a jolt of irreverence. The Spirit Awards are the primary fundraiser for Film Independent’s year-round programs, which cultivate the careers of emerging filmmakers and promote diversity in the industry.

DEADLINE – EXCLUSIVE: Facebook has given a ten-episode straight-to-series order to a half-hour female-driven dramedy, starring and executive produced by Elizabeth Olsen. The untitled series (fka Widow), which will run on streaming platform Facebook Watch, was created and written by Kit Steinkellner (Z: The Beginning of Everything), with Switched at Birth creator Lizzy Weiss on board as showrunner and James Ponsoldt (Master of None) set to executive produce and direct multiple episodes, including the pilot. The show hails from Big Beach TV and Brillstein Entertainment Partners.

The Kit Steinkellner/Elizabeth Olsen dramedy, which had been in the works for awhile, is among the first high-end series ordered by Facebook as the social media juggernaut is making a push in premium original content. The project, written on spec by playwright Steinkellner, had been originally set up at Showtime. Its premise is not being revealed but Olsen is believed to be playing a young widow dealing with grief while reconnecting with relationships from her past. YouTube Red has a similarly themed half-hour pilot, Widow. 

In addition to Olsen, Weiss and Ponsoldt, the series will also be executive produced by Robin Schwartz, Marc Turtletaub and Peter Saraf for Big Beach TV, and Cynthia Pett, Brad Petrigala, and Jon Liebman for Brillstein Entertainment Partners. Big Beach TV, a subsidiary of independent film powerhouse Big Beach, will serve as the studio. Emmy-winning casting director Avy Kaufman (The Night Of, Damages, The Alienist, Life of Pi) is casting the series.

“I couldn’t be prouder of the group we have brought together for this show,” Olsen said. “Kit’s story has been near and dear to me for years and I can’t wait to share our dark, funny, and complicated show with the world. “

Olsen is coming off co-starring turns in Wind River, Ingrid Goes West and Marvel’s Avengers franchise.

Steinkellner’s debut graphic novel Quince was published this fall. She is also adapting the memoir Mad About Men for television with Sundial Pictures.

Weiss was the creator and executive producer of the Peabody-award winning drama Switched at Birth, which ran for five seasons and over 100 episodes on Freeform and received a Peabody award.

Ponsoldt directed and executive produced the pilot for the praised Netflix series Master of None, as well as features like The Spectacular Now and The End of the Tour.

Big Beach TV is currently in production on the Starz series Vida from showrunner Tanya Saracho, whose next project Brujas they are also developing. They have several other shows in development including Gorilla and the Bird with Channing Tatum’s Free Association. On the feature side, Big Beach recently had two world premieres at Sundance 2018: Puzzle, whose worldwide rights sold to to Sony Pictures Classics, and White Fang. TriStar Pictures recently acquired worldwide rights to Big Beach’s You Are My Friend, based on the life of Fred Rogers, to be directed by Marielle Heller and star Tom Hanks as Rogers.

Olsen is repped by Gersh, Brillstein Entertainment Partners, and Sloane Offer. Ponsoldt is repped by UTA, BEP and Frankfurt Kurnit. Steinkellner is repped by ICM Partners, Circle of Confusion and Felker Toczek. Weiss is repped by UTA.