The 2014 Sundance Film Festival will be a reunion of sorts, with several of the featured actors and filmmakers returning alums. Aubrey Plaza, who made headlines at the festival in 2012 with the time-travel comedy “Safety Not Guaranteed,” returns next year with the zombie movie “Life After Beth.” Aaron Paul, also at the festival in 2012 with the feature “Smashed,” is back with the motocross/heavy-metal drama “Hellion,” which is based on a short of the same name that previously screened at the festival. William H. Macy, who co-wrote the screenplay to “The Deal” which debuted at Sundance in 2008, is back as a first-time director with “Rudderless,” about a grieving father who forms a band to play his deceased son’s music. Meanwhile, David and Nathan Zellner also return with “Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter,” about a Japanese woman, played by Rinko Kikuchi, who comes to America in search of the money Steve Buscemi’s character buries in “Fargo.
- 12/13/2013
- backstage.com
Another Little Girl Down the Lane…
While the latest feature length film from the Zellner Brothers, Kid-Thing, may not be meant for children, its stammered nature definitely plays itself out as an adolescent affair. Their latest feature (after 2008’s comedic Goliath) is set in the Texas countryside, right outside of Austin, certainly a locale primed for ominous and terrifying happenings. Yet one can’t help but feel that the opaque and ambiguous tone of their latest effort squanders an excellent opportunity to have been a better film.
At the center of Kid-Thing is the 10 year old Annie (Sydney Aguirre), a motherless child left to her own devices while her goat farmer father (Nathan Zellner) engages in demolition derby and wastes a considerable amount of time engaging in inane activities with his equally simple friend, Caleb (David Zellner). A gas leak at her school has forced it to close for an...
While the latest feature length film from the Zellner Brothers, Kid-Thing, may not be meant for children, its stammered nature definitely plays itself out as an adolescent affair. Their latest feature (after 2008’s comedic Goliath) is set in the Texas countryside, right outside of Austin, certainly a locale primed for ominous and terrifying happenings. Yet one can’t help but feel that the opaque and ambiguous tone of their latest effort squanders an excellent opportunity to have been a better film.
At the center of Kid-Thing is the 10 year old Annie (Sydney Aguirre), a motherless child left to her own devices while her goat farmer father (Nathan Zellner) engages in demolition derby and wastes a considerable amount of time engaging in inane activities with his equally simple friend, Caleb (David Zellner). A gas leak at her school has forced it to close for an...
- 8/7/2013
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Check out what's new to rent and own this week on the various streaming services such as cable On Demand, Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, and, of course, Netflix. Cable On Demand: Same-day-as-disc releases, older titles and pre-theatrical exclusives for rent, priced from $3-$10, in 24- or 48-hour periods Side Effects (Steven Soderbergh's psychological thriller; Rooney Mara, Jude Law, Channing Tatum, Catherine Zeta-Jones; rated R) The Last Stand (action; Arnold Schwarzenegger, Forest Whitaker, Johnny Knoxville; rated R) Beautiful Creatures (Ya fantasy romance; Alden Ehrenreich, Alice Englert, Jeremy Irons, Emma Thompson; rated PG-13) Parker (action; Jason Statham, Jennifer Lopez; rated R) Kid-Thing (dramedy; Sydney Aguirre, Nathan Zellner; pretheatrical release...
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- 5/22/2013
- by Robert B. DeSalvo
- Movies.com
The AFI Film Fest (11.01-11.08) have announced the line-ups for our favorite sections at the fest in the Young American selections and New Auteurs section and they’ve managed to stack up on titles that are amongst the year’s best and which in the case of two films were mysteriously passed over by the likes of Telluride, Tiff and Nyff. Michel Franco’s After Lucia (see pic above) and Antonio Campos’ Simon Killer will be making the Los Angeles premieres accompanied by the best title to come out of the Main Comp at this year’s Cannes edition in Sergei Loznitsa’s In the Fog. This trio will be joined by a trio of gems that recently premiered at Tiff in: Maja Miloš’ Clip, Gabriela Pichler’s Eat Sleep Die and Tobias Lindholm’s A Hijacking. In the Young American Selections we find some filmmakers (Sean Baker and Amy...
- 10/3/2012
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
By Tyler Draker
July 8 marked the third installment of this year’s Cinema East summer movie series. True to its reputation, it showed off two great films by local filmmakers.
Hellion is the short by Kat Candler that has been playing at many of the largest film festivals in the country, including Sundance and SXSW. I am currently a film student at The University of Texas and had Kat as a professor last year for the Advanced Narrative Production class. I’ve been trying to see Hellion since it was announced that it would be playing at Sundance. So, when I heard that it would be screening at Cinema East, I was set on going.
Hellion tells the story of three brothers who wreak havoc and the consequences when their father finds out. In the interest of not giving anything away, I’ll leave the rest of it a mystery...
July 8 marked the third installment of this year’s Cinema East summer movie series. True to its reputation, it showed off two great films by local filmmakers.
Hellion is the short by Kat Candler that has been playing at many of the largest film festivals in the country, including Sundance and SXSW. I am currently a film student at The University of Texas and had Kat as a professor last year for the Advanced Narrative Production class. I’ve been trying to see Hellion since it was announced that it would be playing at Sundance. So, when I heard that it would be screening at Cinema East, I was set on going.
Hellion tells the story of three brothers who wreak havoc and the consequences when their father finds out. In the interest of not giving anything away, I’ll leave the rest of it a mystery...
- 7/24/2012
- by Contributors
- Slackerwood
Maryland Film Festival (Mff) is an annual four-day event that takes place in downtown Baltimore during the first weekend of May, presenting top-notch film and video work from all over the world. Each year the festival screens approximately 50 feature films and 75 short films of all varieties -- narrative, documentary, animation, experimental, and hybrid -- to tens of thousands of audience members. This year your loyal Smells Like Screen Spirit scribes bring you a preview of some of the fantastic films that are in store for you at Mff 2012. Attenberg is certainly not as fantastically absurd as Yorgos Lanthimos’ Dogtooth, which Tsangari produced, but the two Greek films do share a certain cinematic kinship in farcically discussing the effects of overly restrictive parenting, specifically related to the social and sexual repression of the offspring. One might say that Attenberg is like the mellow chaser used to calm the crazy rush after...
- 5/2/2012
- by Don Simpson
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
by Maian Tran
My first visit to Austin—and, therefore, my first South by Southwest film festival experience—was like falling down a rabbit hole into an intoxicating new world. I witnessed the clash between the city and the fest, the idiosyncrasies between the laid-back natives versus the three, wild-eyed, visiting breeds of SXSW-goer (interactive / film / music), a month's worth of rain poured over three days, the New Orleans-style craziness of 6th Street at night, and transcendentally good BBQ. Fortunately, the films were also a fantastic escape into self-contained explorations of adolescent turmoil, memory, community spaces, and how to take down thirty floors' worth of goons in the most badass martial-arts epic in years.
Credited as sole director, Austin-based filmmaker David Zellner—who co-created Goliath and numerous shorts with his brother Nathan, credited here as producer and cinematographer—incorporates the duo's dark, quirky brand of comedy to their beautifully shot Southern Gothic fairy tale Kid-Thing.
My first visit to Austin—and, therefore, my first South by Southwest film festival experience—was like falling down a rabbit hole into an intoxicating new world. I witnessed the clash between the city and the fest, the idiosyncrasies between the laid-back natives versus the three, wild-eyed, visiting breeds of SXSW-goer (interactive / film / music), a month's worth of rain poured over three days, the New Orleans-style craziness of 6th Street at night, and transcendentally good BBQ. Fortunately, the films were also a fantastic escape into self-contained explorations of adolescent turmoil, memory, community spaces, and how to take down thirty floors' worth of goons in the most badass martial-arts epic in years.
Credited as sole director, Austin-based filmmaker David Zellner—who co-created Goliath and numerous shorts with his brother Nathan, credited here as producer and cinematographer—incorporates the duo's dark, quirky brand of comedy to their beautifully shot Southern Gothic fairy tale Kid-Thing.
- 3/21/2012
- GreenCine Daily
I know you are all wondering which local film was my favorite at SXSW 2012, and though I know that you know that by asking that question you are placing me in a very awkward position because I do not like to play favorites I will oblige your request nonetheless. Kid-Thing. There, I said it. Are you satisfied now? I suspect I will find a severed horse’s head in my bed courtesy of Jonny Mars (America’s Parking Lot) and/or Bob Byington (Somebody Up There Likes Me) as early as tomorrow morning. Thanks a lot! Well, can I backtrack and say that they were all great? To my defense, I would like to state that Sundance, Berlin and SXSW did not feature Kid-Thing in their programs just for the hell of it. Kid-Thing is the most mature and accomplished film that David and Nathan Zellner have made to date. Shot...
- 3/20/2012
- by Don Simpson
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Kid-Thing is not, by any means, a terrible movie. The latest effort from brothers David and Nathan Zellner is the tale of a young girl caught in less than ideal circumstances, and at its core, the idea is somewhat novel and interesting. To be perfectly frank, however, Kid-Thing is a film that is unlikely to see much attention outside of the film festival circuit, as it relies far too heavily on heavy-handed whimsy, childhood nostalgia, and the odd chuckle to carry its rather non-eventful plot along. Annie (Sydney Aguirre) is a young girl who lives in a rural area with two men (her exact relationship to them is never made clear), who keep her semi-nourished and with a place to sleep, but do very...
- 3/12/2012
- Screen Anarchy
Kid-Thing, the latest feature from local indie film lynchpins David and Nathan Zellner, screened last night, coming home after a successful run at Sundance and Berlin. Today the pair along with their young star Sydney Aguirre sat down with me to discuss the film.
We take a moment to get to know each other before jumping into the interview. The Zellner Brothers had small but memorable roles on the first feature films I ever worked on as a lowly Pa, 2009′s Beeswax, from writer/director Andrew Bujalski.
One of the first things I was struck by while watching your film is how the setting becomes a character in the film. Having spent a lot of time growing up in rural Texas that’s something I was drawn to. Is that something you experienced a lot of growing up?
David Zellner: Yeah, and I think some of that was done...
We take a moment to get to know each other before jumping into the interview. The Zellner Brothers had small but memorable roles on the first feature films I ever worked on as a lowly Pa, 2009′s Beeswax, from writer/director Andrew Bujalski.
One of the first things I was struck by while watching your film is how the setting becomes a character in the film. Having spent a lot of time growing up in rural Texas that’s something I was drawn to. Is that something you experienced a lot of growing up?
David Zellner: Yeah, and I think some of that was done...
- 3/11/2012
- by Scott Colquitt
- SoundOnSight
Kid-Thing
Written by David Zellner
Directed by David Zellner
USA, 2012
Kid-Thing is a coming of age fable. That’s the filmmakers’ phrasing, not mine, and while it is surprisingly apt, the filmmakers forgo many of the customs and pitfalls of either genre to craft a wholly unique and pleasantly odd character study.
The kid in question here is young Annie (newcomer Sydney Aguirre), a circumstantial orphan living with her deadbeat dolt of a father, Marvin (Nathan Zellner). While he stumbles through his persistent hangover of a life, Annie is left alone to explore–that is, throw shit at–the shattered developments and forgotten vistas of rural Texas.
This isn’t much of a talkie. There are roughly four conversations in the film, and half of them descend into cyclical meditations on rubber and glue. Much of Kid-Thing is a catalogue of Annie behaving like only an angry, abandoned child can.
Written by David Zellner
Directed by David Zellner
USA, 2012
Kid-Thing is a coming of age fable. That’s the filmmakers’ phrasing, not mine, and while it is surprisingly apt, the filmmakers forgo many of the customs and pitfalls of either genre to craft a wholly unique and pleasantly odd character study.
The kid in question here is young Annie (newcomer Sydney Aguirre), a circumstantial orphan living with her deadbeat dolt of a father, Marvin (Nathan Zellner). While he stumbles through his persistent hangover of a life, Annie is left alone to explore–that is, throw shit at–the shattered developments and forgotten vistas of rural Texas.
This isn’t much of a talkie. There are roughly four conversations in the film, and half of them descend into cyclical meditations on rubber and glue. Much of Kid-Thing is a catalogue of Annie behaving like only an angry, abandoned child can.
- 3/11/2012
- by Emmet Duff
- SoundOnSight
The SXSW 2012 feature Kid-Thing is aptly titled, for this latest effort from Austin filmmaking brothers David Zellner and Nathan Zellner deftly captures a child's world.
At the center of this oddly tragicomic story is 10-year-old Annie (Sydney Aguirre), a virtually parentless girl whose father, Marvin (Nathan Zellner), is too preoccupied with his goat farming, demolition derby driving and beer drinking to pay much attention to his lonely and bored daughter. Left to entertain and fend for herself, tomboyish Annie does, well, kid things, exploring the world around her rural home near Austin and getting into various forms of mischief. She makes crank phone calls, shoplifts, smashes things with a baseball bat and hurls balls of dough at passing cars. She is anything but a model child.
On a walk through the woods, Annie hears a call for help and discovers Esther (Susan Tyrrell), a woman trapped at the bottom of a well.
At the center of this oddly tragicomic story is 10-year-old Annie (Sydney Aguirre), a virtually parentless girl whose father, Marvin (Nathan Zellner), is too preoccupied with his goat farming, demolition derby driving and beer drinking to pay much attention to his lonely and bored daughter. Left to entertain and fend for herself, tomboyish Annie does, well, kid things, exploring the world around her rural home near Austin and getting into various forms of mischief. She makes crank phone calls, shoplifts, smashes things with a baseball bat and hurls balls of dough at passing cars. She is anything but a model child.
On a walk through the woods, Annie hears a call for help and discovers Esther (Susan Tyrrell), a woman trapped at the bottom of a well.
- 3/11/2012
- by Don Clinchy
- Slackerwood
You had better brush up on your knowledge of expressionist cinema, film noir, Greek mythology, psychoanalysis, as well as Guy Maddin’s oeuvre and biography, before heading out to go see his newest fiction feature! Keyhole is a highly complex, multilayered construction that is anything but easy to cope with on first viewing (which probably helps to account for the fleeing audience members). “Remember, Ulysses, remember!” is the key phrase to unlocking this journey deep into this black and white, psychologically-charged construction of ideas. While some aspects will initially leave you lost and puzzled – at least that’s what happened to me – Maddin’s sense of undeniable suspense, aesthetic appeal and composition are what ultimately make this a strong cinematic experience regardless of whether or not you’re able to unpack it in one viewing.
Edwin’s Kebun Binatang (Postcard from the Zoo) aims to be an intriguing adventure into artificially created adventure and wildlife.
Edwin’s Kebun Binatang (Postcard from the Zoo) aims to be an intriguing adventure into artificially created adventure and wildlife.
- 2/20/2012
- by Merle Fischer
- SoundOnSight
Sound On Sight will once again be covering the SXSW Film Festival this year, making it our second time attending. 130 feature films will screen at the Austin, Texas fest taking place March 9-17, including 65 World Premieres, 17 North American Premieres and 10 U.S. Premieres. As previously announced, Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon’s The Cabin in the Woods will have the honours of opening the festival, and now they have released the full list of films – and it’s looking pretty amazing. Enjoy!
Narrative Feature Competition
This year’s 8 films were selected from 1,112 submissions. Each film is a World Premiere. Films screening in Narrative Feature Competition are:
Booster
Director/Screenwriter: Matt Ruskin
When Simon’s brother is arrested for armed robbery, he is asked to commit a string of similar crimes in an attempt to get his brother acquitted.
Cast: Nico Stone, Adam DuPaul, Seymour Cassel, Kristin Dougherty, Brian McGrail (World Premiere)
Eden
Director: Megan Griffiths,...
Narrative Feature Competition
This year’s 8 films were selected from 1,112 submissions. Each film is a World Premiere. Films screening in Narrative Feature Competition are:
Booster
Director/Screenwriter: Matt Ruskin
When Simon’s brother is arrested for armed robbery, he is asked to commit a string of similar crimes in an attempt to get his brother acquitted.
Cast: Nico Stone, Adam DuPaul, Seymour Cassel, Kristin Dougherty, Brian McGrail (World Premiere)
Eden
Director: Megan Griffiths,...
- 2/3/2012
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Iggy Pop and Debbie Harry, shot by Bob Gruen in 1977
Rock 'N' Roll Exposed: The Photography of Bob Gruen
screens as part of 24 Beats per Second
SXSW Film has just announced its features lineup for the 2012 edition, running March 9 through 17. We already knew that the Opening Night Film would be Drew Goddard's The Cabin in the Woods. For its Closing Night Film, the festival will host the world premiere of of Emmett Malloy’s documentary Big Easy Express (more below). The lineup, with descriptions from the festival:
Narrative Feature Competition
Booster
Director/Screenwriter: Matt Ruskin. When Simon’s brother is arrested for armed robbery, he is asked to commit a string of similar crimes in an attempt to get his brother acquitted. Cast: Nico Stone, Adam DuPaul, Seymour Cassel, Kristin Dougherty, Brian McGrail. (World Premiere)
Eden
Director: Megan Griffiths, Screenwriters: Richard B. Phillips, Megan Griffiths, Story by: Richard B. Phillips & Chong Kim.
Rock 'N' Roll Exposed: The Photography of Bob Gruen
screens as part of 24 Beats per Second
SXSW Film has just announced its features lineup for the 2012 edition, running March 9 through 17. We already knew that the Opening Night Film would be Drew Goddard's The Cabin in the Woods. For its Closing Night Film, the festival will host the world premiere of of Emmett Malloy’s documentary Big Easy Express (more below). The lineup, with descriptions from the festival:
Narrative Feature Competition
Booster
Director/Screenwriter: Matt Ruskin. When Simon’s brother is arrested for armed robbery, he is asked to commit a string of similar crimes in an attempt to get his brother acquitted. Cast: Nico Stone, Adam DuPaul, Seymour Cassel, Kristin Dougherty, Brian McGrail. (World Premiere)
Eden
Director: Megan Griffiths, Screenwriters: Richard B. Phillips, Megan Griffiths, Story by: Richard B. Phillips & Chong Kim.
- 2/1/2012
- MUBI
With Sundance 2012 Film Festival over, the next big one on the horizon is South by Southwest, which we’ll be heavily covering. The biggest chunk of the line-up has been announced today, which has some great premieres including 21 Jump Street, Tiff and Sundance hit The Raid, Will Ferrell‘s Casa de mi Padre, the documentary Girl Model (which we liked at Tiff), as well as the next from Broken Lizard, The Babymakers. There are many other promising titles included and you can see them all below. Check back for our coverage for the fest, kicking off March 9th.
Narrative Feature Competition
This year’s 8 films were selected from 1,112 submissions. Each film is a World Premiere. Films screening in Narrative Feature Competition are:
Booster
Director/Screenwriter: Matt Ruskin
When Simon’s brother is arrested for armed robbery, he is asked to commit a string of similar crimes in an attempt to get his brother acquitted.
Narrative Feature Competition
This year’s 8 films were selected from 1,112 submissions. Each film is a World Premiere. Films screening in Narrative Feature Competition are:
Booster
Director/Screenwriter: Matt Ruskin
When Simon’s brother is arrested for armed robbery, he is asked to commit a string of similar crimes in an attempt to get his brother acquitted.
- 2/1/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
Attendees of South by Southwest 2012 are in for a treat. 130 feature films will screen at the Austin, Texas festival taking place March 9-17. Among them are 65 World Premieres, 17 North American Premieres and 10 U.S. Premieres. The organization already announced [1] Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon's The Cabin in the Woods would open the festival (the movie is phenomenal [2]) and today the majority of the remaining line up has been revealed. One of the highlights is the unbelievably smart and hilarious 21 Jump Street, directed by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller. Both of those are World Premieres. Other highlights include The Hunter, Killer Joe, The Babymakers, frankie goes boom, God Bless America, The Imposter, The Raid, Bernie and Casa de mi Padre just to name a few. After the jump, read descriptions of all the films that have been announced so far. Before I copy and paste the rest of the list, a few minor notes.
- 2/1/2012
- by Germain Lussier
- Slash Film
The Austin based Zellner brothers are known for their particular brand of off-beat dead-pan humor and eccentric worldview. With their new film Kid-Thing the duo continue this tradition with a quiet fable about a restless young girl who has an endless appetite, setting out to do bad things. Shot in a rural part of Texas, they employ a simplistic style, with scenes often comprised of carefully composed static shots. It lends itself to a particular brand of subdued cinema where nothing much happens and the smaller nuances are supposed to keep you interested. Depending on how much you enjoy this subtle variation in genre will effect how much you read into the parable, but Kid-Thing still does little to nothing that makes all the waiting worthwhile.
The main bulk of the film resides on the shoulders of a 10 year old girl Annie (Sydney Aguirre) who has a void in her...
The main bulk of the film resides on the shoulders of a 10 year old girl Annie (Sydney Aguirre) who has a void in her...
- 1/30/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
Bart Simpson would have such a crush on this girl.
This exclusive clip is from the Sundance Film Festival’s Kid-Thing, starring Sydney Aguirre as Annie, a 10-year-old kid whose demolition-derby loving father doesn’t keep a very close eye on her. She wanders around doing basically anything she likes: vandalizing cars, smashing stuff with a baseball bat, and — as this clip shows — making mean-spirited prank phone calls to local businesses.
Then life decides to play a trick on her.
This peculiar new movie has been created by the Brothers Zellner — David (the writer/director) and Nathan (the producer/cinematographer...
This exclusive clip is from the Sundance Film Festival’s Kid-Thing, starring Sydney Aguirre as Annie, a 10-year-old kid whose demolition-derby loving father doesn’t keep a very close eye on her. She wanders around doing basically anything she likes: vandalizing cars, smashing stuff with a baseball bat, and — as this clip shows — making mean-spirited prank phone calls to local businesses.
Then life decides to play a trick on her.
This peculiar new movie has been created by the Brothers Zellner — David (the writer/director) and Nathan (the producer/cinematographer...
- 1/21/2012
- by Anthony Breznican
- EW - Inside Movies
Bart Simpson would have such a crush on this girl.
This exclusive clip is from the Sundance film Kid-Thing, starring Sydney Aguirre as Annie, a 10-year-old kid whose demolition-derby loving father doesn’t bother much to look after her. She wanders around doing basically anything she likes: vandalizing cars, smashing stuff with a baseball bat, and — as this clip shows — making mean-spirited prank phone calls to local businesses.
Then something very odd happens.
This peculiar new movie has been created by the Brothers Zellner — David (the writer/director) and Nathan (the producer/cinematographer) — who describe Kid-Thing as a kind of fable.
This exclusive clip is from the Sundance film Kid-Thing, starring Sydney Aguirre as Annie, a 10-year-old kid whose demolition-derby loving father doesn’t bother much to look after her. She wanders around doing basically anything she likes: vandalizing cars, smashing stuff with a baseball bat, and — as this clip shows — making mean-spirited prank phone calls to local businesses.
Then something very odd happens.
This peculiar new movie has been created by the Brothers Zellner — David (the writer/director) and Nathan (the producer/cinematographer) — who describe Kid-Thing as a kind of fable.
- 1/21/2012
- by Anthony Breznican
- EW - Inside Movies
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