After making the leap to narrative filmmaking last year with “Nyad,” Oscar winners Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin have returned to their documentary roots and are currently at work in the edit suite prepping their next doc feature — “Lost in the Amazon” (working title), about how four Indigenous children survived for 40 days in the Amazon jungle after a plane crash in 2023. The story of their disappearance and eventual recovery transfixed the global media.
Vasarhelyi and Chin co-directed and produced the film with Colombian filmmaker Juan Camilo Cruz for National Geographic.
The feature docu will tell the story of the struggle for survival of the four children — who ranged in age from 11 months to 13 years — in the guerilla-held jungles of Colombia after a plane they were aboard crashed and killed their mother. The children survived for 40 days in the deep Amazonian rainforest using their Indigenous knowledge of the jungle and the...
Vasarhelyi and Chin co-directed and produced the film with Colombian filmmaker Juan Camilo Cruz for National Geographic.
The feature docu will tell the story of the struggle for survival of the four children — who ranged in age from 11 months to 13 years — in the guerilla-held jungles of Colombia after a plane they were aboard crashed and killed their mother. The children survived for 40 days in the deep Amazonian rainforest using their Indigenous knowledge of the jungle and the...
- 5/9/2024
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
A first clip has been unveiled from Shaul Schwarz and Christina Clusiau’s Nat Geo documentary “Fly,” which will screen at Hot Docs on Sunday.
The doc follows three couples entwined in the world of base jumping, one of the world’s deadliest sports. Schwarz and Clusiau began working on “Fly” for seven years following the death of well-known climber Dean Potter, who lost his life while base jumping at Yosemite National Park.
“We were intrigued by these people who wanted to jump off cliffs with parachutes and wondered about their motivations,” says Schwarz. “We had this idea that maybe (base jumpers) are part of this crazy, reckless death cult or are empty adrenaline seekers, but we quickly found out how amazing they were and how full of life they were. That’s when we started filming.”
The directors chose to follow three couples: Jimmy and Marta, affectionately known as...
The doc follows three couples entwined in the world of base jumping, one of the world’s deadliest sports. Schwarz and Clusiau began working on “Fly” for seven years following the death of well-known climber Dean Potter, who lost his life while base jumping at Yosemite National Park.
“We were intrigued by these people who wanted to jump off cliffs with parachutes and wondered about their motivations,” says Schwarz. “We had this idea that maybe (base jumpers) are part of this crazy, reckless death cult or are empty adrenaline seekers, but we quickly found out how amazing they were and how full of life they were. That’s when we started filming.”
The directors chose to follow three couples: Jimmy and Marta, affectionately known as...
- 4/26/2024
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: The Walt Disney Company and National Geographic have unveiled a slate of Earth Day-themed programming as part of their global cross-platform ourHome campaign. Beginning April 19 through April 22, Earth Day-themed content will be featured across ABC News, Disney+, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Freeform, FX, Fxx, Hulu, National Geographic, Nat Geo Wild and Nat Geo Mundo, with ourHome collections on Disney+ and Hulu.
Morgan Freeman will be the voice of the ourHome brand anthem, which will air throughout the Earth Day content rollout across the Disney networks, Disney Owned Television Stations and select digital platforms.
Beginning on Sunday, April 21, ABC News will launch a special week-long series for ourHome, Power of Us: People, The Climate, and Our Future, featuring innovative solutions for climate change. The series will be led by ABC News’ chief meteorologist and climate correspondent, Ginger Zee, along with the ABC News weather and climate unit. Power of Us...
Morgan Freeman will be the voice of the ourHome brand anthem, which will air throughout the Earth Day content rollout across the Disney networks, Disney Owned Television Stations and select digital platforms.
Beginning on Sunday, April 21, ABC News will launch a special week-long series for ourHome, Power of Us: People, The Climate, and Our Future, featuring innovative solutions for climate change. The series will be led by ABC News’ chief meteorologist and climate correspondent, Ginger Zee, along with the ABC News weather and climate unit. Power of Us...
- 4/19/2024
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Oscar-winning director-producers Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth (Chai) Vasarhelyi consistently deliver stunning visuals and compelling documentary content. And following such breakout films as “Meru,” Oscar- and Emmy-winning “Free Solo,” Emmy-winning “The Rescue,” and “Wild Life,” which took advantage of pro climber-cinematographer-NatGeo photographer Chin’s 20 years of athletic cinema and Vasarhelyi’s relentless producer drive for perfection, they moved into feature directing with long-distance swimming drama “Nyad,” which scored Oscar nominations for stars Annette Bening and Jodie Foster.
Over the years, the filmmakers have established their filmmaking prowess, combining immersive cinema verité visuals with deeply felt personal drama. That is on full display in their latest collaboration with NatGeo, the series “Photographer,” for which the duo matched six of the world’s most renowned shooters with veteran directors Marshall Curry, Kristi Jacobson, and Sam Pollard, plus Sundance alumnae Crystal Kayiza and Rita Baghdadi, and set them loose to return with bespoke...
Over the years, the filmmakers have established their filmmaking prowess, combining immersive cinema verité visuals with deeply felt personal drama. That is on full display in their latest collaboration with NatGeo, the series “Photographer,” for which the duo matched six of the world’s most renowned shooters with veteran directors Marshall Curry, Kristi Jacobson, and Sam Pollard, plus Sundance alumnae Crystal Kayiza and Rita Baghdadi, and set them loose to return with bespoke...
- 3/19/2024
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Kate McKinnon was jokingly shocked to learn that her “tasteful” nudes have actually not been going to Jeff Goldblum, but rather to Steven Spielberg.
The Saturday Night Live alum and her Barbie co-star America Ferrera initially took to the 2024 Oscars stage Sunday night to present the awards for best documentary short and best documentary feature.
“These awards honor the best in documentary filmmaking. Films that give us real stories about real life with past winners like Woodstock, Free Solo and Inconvenient Truth,” Ferrera said before McKinnon continued, “Jurassic Park, Jurassic World, Jurassic World Dominion.”
However, Ferrera had to quickly inform McKinnon that the Jurassic Park movies aren’t documentaries: “Kate, the dinosaurs weren’t real. … I know the dinosaurs were real but in the movie, they were CGI. There was a documentary about it.”
McKinnon couldn’t believe what she was hearing and turned to Spielberg, who directed 1993’s Jurassic Park,...
The Saturday Night Live alum and her Barbie co-star America Ferrera initially took to the 2024 Oscars stage Sunday night to present the awards for best documentary short and best documentary feature.
“These awards honor the best in documentary filmmaking. Films that give us real stories about real life with past winners like Woodstock, Free Solo and Inconvenient Truth,” Ferrera said before McKinnon continued, “Jurassic Park, Jurassic World, Jurassic World Dominion.”
However, Ferrera had to quickly inform McKinnon that the Jurassic Park movies aren’t documentaries: “Kate, the dinosaurs weren’t real. … I know the dinosaurs were real but in the movie, they were CGI. There was a documentary about it.”
McKinnon couldn’t believe what she was hearing and turned to Spielberg, who directed 1993’s Jurassic Park,...
- 3/11/2024
- by Carly Thomas
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Many documentary filmmakers want their work on the big screen and not small. So, what gives? Why isn’t that happening?
One could argue that we haven’t seen a doc boom in cinemas since 2018 which served up such breakouts as Won’t You Be My Neighbor ($22.8M), Three Identical Strangers ($12.3M) and Rbg ($14M). The pandemic is partially to blame as audiences have savored non-fiction stories on streaming, i.e. the Netflix series, Tiger King.
“It’s not that it doesn’t work theatrically,” explained Lionsgate EVP Acquisitions and Co-Productions, Charlotte Koh who was part of the SXSW session “How to Tell True Stories: Narrative vs. Documentary”.
“It’s becoming more competitive to get people’s attention because there is so much documentary product out there that can be watched through streamers and other ways,” Koh added.
Also on the panel moderated by Variety documentary journalist Addie Morfoot were Bryn Mooser,...
One could argue that we haven’t seen a doc boom in cinemas since 2018 which served up such breakouts as Won’t You Be My Neighbor ($22.8M), Three Identical Strangers ($12.3M) and Rbg ($14M). The pandemic is partially to blame as audiences have savored non-fiction stories on streaming, i.e. the Netflix series, Tiger King.
“It’s not that it doesn’t work theatrically,” explained Lionsgate EVP Acquisitions and Co-Productions, Charlotte Koh who was part of the SXSW session “How to Tell True Stories: Narrative vs. Documentary”.
“It’s becoming more competitive to get people’s attention because there is so much documentary product out there that can be watched through streamers and other ways,” Koh added.
Also on the panel moderated by Variety documentary journalist Addie Morfoot were Bryn Mooser,...
- 3/9/2024
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Embarking on the pursuit of goals is a timeless and universal endeavor that transcends age limitations. While some may argue that age hinders the realization of dreams, it is crucial to dispel this misconception and recognize that age should not impede our aspirations. Nyad is a sports drama that illustrates the steadfast resoluteness of a resilient woman in her sixties, determined to resurrect a previous, thwarted aspiration—the continuous swim from Cuba to Florida. Directed by the dynamic documentary filmmaking duo, Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, renowned for their Academy and BAFTA-winning documentary Free Solo (2018), which chronicles Alex Honnold’s daring free solo climb in 2017 on El Capitan, a towering 3,000-foot-high rock formation in Yosemite Valley, California. In their debut feature film, they draw significant inspiration from their protagonist’s almost irrationally optimistic outlook and relentless drive. The narrative unfolds as a poignant exploration of the protagonist’s obstinate...
- 2/17/2024
- by Dipankar Sarkar
- Talking Films
Exclusive: While high-profile packages have been flourishing following the ends of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, the spec market also looks to have some pop to it as sources tell Deadline that Netflix has landed the female-driven genre thriller Apex from scribe Jeremy Robbins. Ian Bryce and Chernin Entertainment will produce. Netflix declined comment.
The script is described as Free Solo meets Silence of the Lambs and follows a rock climber who finds herself being hunted in the wild.
The sale comes at an interesting time in a post-strike landscape where studios see a need for new original stories to fill their development slates, and the spec and packaging markets have reaped the rewards. Prior to the WGA strike in May, the market was not as robust as reps cautioned their clients about how hard it is to sell a script with talent attached, let alone a spec on its own.
The script is described as Free Solo meets Silence of the Lambs and follows a rock climber who finds herself being hunted in the wild.
The sale comes at an interesting time in a post-strike landscape where studios see a need for new original stories to fill their development slates, and the spec and packaging markets have reaped the rewards. Prior to the WGA strike in May, the market was not as robust as reps cautioned their clients about how hard it is to sell a script with talent attached, let alone a spec on its own.
- 2/14/2024
- by Justin Kroll
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Four-time Oscar nominee Ethan Hawke (Training Day), Emmy and BAFTA nominee Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter franchise) and Emmy nominee Jessica Biel (Sinner) are set to star in Batso, the true story of a trio of trailblazing climbers who in the early 1970s took on the most difficult route up iconic peak El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.
3311 Productions, Watch This Ready and Under the Influence have set Kyle Marvin (80 for Brady) to direct Hawke as Warren “Batso” Harding and Radcliffe as Dean Caldwell, who were the first climbers to take on the famously difficult sheer face El Capitan route known as “The Wall of Early Morning Light.” Biel will play Beryl Knauth, a trailblazing climber in her own right and Warren’s romantic partner. The script was written by Eamon O’Sullivan.
Here’s the fun synopsis: “In 1970, ‘The Wall of Early Morning Light’ was an unthinkable climb. For...
3311 Productions, Watch This Ready and Under the Influence have set Kyle Marvin (80 for Brady) to direct Hawke as Warren “Batso” Harding and Radcliffe as Dean Caldwell, who were the first climbers to take on the famously difficult sheer face El Capitan route known as “The Wall of Early Morning Light.” Biel will play Beryl Knauth, a trailblazing climber in her own right and Warren’s romantic partner. The script was written by Eamon O’Sullivan.
Here’s the fun synopsis: “In 1970, ‘The Wall of Early Morning Light’ was an unthinkable climb. For...
- 2/14/2024
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Would the Avatar sequels arrive on time if James Cameron weren’t so committed to his side gig producing documentary series about the planet he actually lives on? Perhaps we’ll never know. But even as the director has a full slate of blockbuster features in the pipeline, he remains as committed as ever to his work with National Geographic.
The filmmaker piped into Nat Geo’s Thursday meeting with the Television Critics Association to plug his sixth producorial effort for Disney’s conservation-minded brand in four years: Secrets of the Octopus. “As someone who’s fighting for sustainability and the preservation of nature, this is endless,” says the brand’s “Explorer at Large,” who recruited Paul Rudd to narrate this latest project. “They’re going to have to drag me out kicking and screaming — or show me where the door is because I’ve forgotten — before I stop doing this.
The filmmaker piped into Nat Geo’s Thursday meeting with the Television Critics Association to plug his sixth producorial effort for Disney’s conservation-minded brand in four years: Secrets of the Octopus. “As someone who’s fighting for sustainability and the preservation of nature, this is endless,” says the brand’s “Explorer at Large,” who recruited Paul Rudd to narrate this latest project. “They’re going to have to drag me out kicking and screaming — or show me where the door is because I’ve forgotten — before I stop doing this.
- 2/8/2024
- by Mikey O'Connell
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It may have nothing to do with the fantastical creations of George Lucas, but in terms of achieving blockbuster-sized thrills, Skywalkers: A Love Story succeeds on a level where so many Hollywood productions fail. Following the trials and tribulations in love and play of a Russian influencer couple who have dedicated their life to illegally scaling the world’s largest skyscrapers, its immersive cinematography places us in nail-biting heights right alongside them. Following in the footsteps of the rousing Man on Wire and Free Solo, with a bit of Mission: Impossible-like espionage thrown in, the footage is about as thrilling and vertigo-inducing as one could imagine. Like another Netflix release––last year’s The Deepest Breath, which captured the story of free divers plumbing the depths of the ocean––Jeff Zimbalist and Maria Bukhonina’s new documentary attempts to elucidate the thought process behind these daredevil theatrics. Yet it...
- 1/29/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Watching 2018's "Free Solo," the Oscar-winning documentary about rock climber Alex Honnold's daring attempt to scale Yosemite's El Capitan with no ropes to protect him from potentially falling, was such a visceral viewing experience, it caused my palms to sweat.
The same thing can be said of "Skywalkers: A Love Story," director Jeff Zimbalist's new documentary about Angela Nikolau and Ivan "Vanya" Beerkus, two Russian "rooftoppers" who have become famous for breaking into skyscrapers, climbing to their highest possible points, and taking photos and videos for social media. The two begin the film as rivals, but team up to work together and eventually ... well, the phrase "fall for each other" carries a heavy connotation given their particular niche, so let's just say their dynamic changes as they survive some ridiculously dangerous climbs and come to love one another. Armed with a phalanx of GoPros, cameras, and drones, Vanya is the straightforward tactician,...
The same thing can be said of "Skywalkers: A Love Story," director Jeff Zimbalist's new documentary about Angela Nikolau and Ivan "Vanya" Beerkus, two Russian "rooftoppers" who have become famous for breaking into skyscrapers, climbing to their highest possible points, and taking photos and videos for social media. The two begin the film as rivals, but team up to work together and eventually ... well, the phrase "fall for each other" carries a heavy connotation given their particular niche, so let's just say their dynamic changes as they survive some ridiculously dangerous climbs and come to love one another. Armed with a phalanx of GoPros, cameras, and drones, Vanya is the straightforward tactician,...
- 1/26/2024
- by Ben Pearson
- Slash Film
Like clockwork, every January brings a cavalcade of Oscar nominee snubs and surprises, but Academy voting trends typically don't stop there. Sometimes predictable, usually disappointing, and -- every so often -- downright confounding, there's always one nomination wrinkle that everyone's favorite awards show throws into the mix. Let's call it, "Movie that most normies have never even heard of." We use "normie" affectionately, of course, referring to general audiences with nine-to-five jobs who don't spend every waking moment on the internet.
So after today's high-profile Oscars announcement, what stands out as the 2024 version of this annual and bizarrely fascinating event?
Folks, allow me to introduce you to a little movie called "Nyad," a biopic directed by the husband-and-wife directing duo of Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin ("Free Solo") and based on the memoir written by long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad. The film had an unexpectedly strong showing in terms of nominations,...
So after today's high-profile Oscars announcement, what stands out as the 2024 version of this annual and bizarrely fascinating event?
Folks, allow me to introduce you to a little movie called "Nyad," a biopic directed by the husband-and-wife directing duo of Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin ("Free Solo") and based on the memoir written by long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad. The film had an unexpectedly strong showing in terms of nominations,...
- 1/23/2024
- by Jeremy Mathai
- Slash Film
Annette Bening is an actor’s actor. Like many of the greats before her, she began her career in the theatre. Through the 80s, she quietly compiled a library of rich, complex characters before making her Tony-nominated broadway debut in 1987’s “Coastal Disturbances.”
Bening then made her well deserved transition over to Hollywood with John Hughes’ “The Great Outdoors.” The film didn’t perform as well as hoped, nor did Milos Forman’s “Valmont” which was released the following year, but they both paved the way for Bening’s eventual Oscar-nominated breakout as Myra Langtry in Stephen Frears’ “The Grifters.”
She got particularly close to Oscar gold with “American Beauty” in 2000. Annette bagged the BAFTA and SAG award for her iconic portrayal of the colourfully volatile wife-in-crisis, Carolyn Burnham. She lost to Hilary Swank (“Boys Don’t Cry”) though, who had edged her out at the Globes.
Swank clearly was Bening’s kryptonite,...
Bening then made her well deserved transition over to Hollywood with John Hughes’ “The Great Outdoors.” The film didn’t perform as well as hoped, nor did Milos Forman’s “Valmont” which was released the following year, but they both paved the way for Bening’s eventual Oscar-nominated breakout as Myra Langtry in Stephen Frears’ “The Grifters.”
She got particularly close to Oscar gold with “American Beauty” in 2000. Annette bagged the BAFTA and SAG award for her iconic portrayal of the colourfully volatile wife-in-crisis, Carolyn Burnham. She lost to Hilary Swank (“Boys Don’t Cry”) though, who had edged her out at the Globes.
Swank clearly was Bening’s kryptonite,...
- 1/22/2024
- by Nick Bisa
- Gold Derby
Premiering at Sundance, documentary Skywalkers: A Love Story, follows a Russian couple known for daredevil stunts
A new film on the death-defying illegal stunts by two high-profile “rooftoppers” has premiered at the Sundance film festival, attracting critical acclaim and comparisons to Free Solo, the Oscar-winning documentary on the climber Alex Honnold and Man on Wire, a Sundance hit 16 years ago on the urban tightrope walker Philippe Petit.
Skywalkers: A Love Story, which premiered on Thursday night at the Utah film festival, follows Russian couple, Angela Nikolau and Vanya Kuznetsov, who goes publicly by the name Ivan Beerkus, as they forge a romantic relationship while illegally summiting skyscrapers and filming their stunts for social media. The documentary opens in the middle of their headline-making attempt to climb Merdeka 118 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – the world’s second-tallest building and heavily guarded during the final phase of its construction – while guards were distracted...
A new film on the death-defying illegal stunts by two high-profile “rooftoppers” has premiered at the Sundance film festival, attracting critical acclaim and comparisons to Free Solo, the Oscar-winning documentary on the climber Alex Honnold and Man on Wire, a Sundance hit 16 years ago on the urban tightrope walker Philippe Petit.
Skywalkers: A Love Story, which premiered on Thursday night at the Utah film festival, follows Russian couple, Angela Nikolau and Vanya Kuznetsov, who goes publicly by the name Ivan Beerkus, as they forge a romantic relationship while illegally summiting skyscrapers and filming their stunts for social media. The documentary opens in the middle of their headline-making attempt to climb Merdeka 118 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – the world’s second-tallest building and heavily guarded during the final phase of its construction – while guards were distracted...
- 1/19/2024
- by Adrian Horton in Park City, Utah
- The Guardian - Film News
That Skywalkers: A Love Story maintains its grip on your attention despite some of director Jeff Zimbalist’s florid aesthetic choices testifies to the strength of the documentary’s central narrative. At the heart of this terrifying and exhilarating Sundance entry about two Russian daredevils trying to save their relationship is a poignant lesson in trust.
Before Angela Nikolau and Ivan “Beerkus” Kuznetsov fell in love, they were rivals. The Russian rooftoppers — a term used to describe people who illegally scale tall structures without protective equipment — engaged in an unofficial competition of sorts. Nikolau, who was one of the few, if not the only, women in the sport at the time, felt both inspired by and envious of Beerkus’ success. Unlike other rooftoppers, the soft-spoken urban adventurer’s Instagram posts about his architectural conquests lent a professional air to the illegal activity. This posture partially influences Nikolau to see each...
Before Angela Nikolau and Ivan “Beerkus” Kuznetsov fell in love, they were rivals. The Russian rooftoppers — a term used to describe people who illegally scale tall structures without protective equipment — engaged in an unofficial competition of sorts. Nikolau, who was one of the few, if not the only, women in the sport at the time, felt both inspired by and envious of Beerkus’ success. Unlike other rooftoppers, the soft-spoken urban adventurer’s Instagram posts about his architectural conquests lent a professional air to the illegal activity. This posture partially influences Nikolau to see each...
- 1/19/2024
- by Lovia Gyarkye
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Film4, Channel 4, Rogan Scotland and Screen Scotland are underway on feature documentary The Secret Of Me (w/t), we can reveal.
World sales and distribution will be handled by UK firm Dogwoof, which will begin discussing the project at the upcoming EFM. The film was commissioned by Film4 and Channel 4 Docs.
Directed and produced Grace Hughes-Hallett, producer of hit 2018 documentary Three Identical Strangers, the film’s central subject is being kept under wraps but according to the filmmakers the movie will explore “a medical scandal that started in America in the 1960s and exploded into the public eye in the 2000s. The consequences for thousands of young children would be devastating. For one young student, it would change her life forever.”
The filmmakers continued: “The Secret Of Me (w/t) follows a college student arriving at university, where a chance revelation uncovers an extraordinary secret her doctors and...
World sales and distribution will be handled by UK firm Dogwoof, which will begin discussing the project at the upcoming EFM. The film was commissioned by Film4 and Channel 4 Docs.
Directed and produced Grace Hughes-Hallett, producer of hit 2018 documentary Three Identical Strangers, the film’s central subject is being kept under wraps but according to the filmmakers the movie will explore “a medical scandal that started in America in the 1960s and exploded into the public eye in the 2000s. The consequences for thousands of young children would be devastating. For one young student, it would change her life forever.”
The filmmakers continued: “The Secret Of Me (w/t) follows a college student arriving at university, where a chance revelation uncovers an extraordinary secret her doctors and...
- 1/15/2024
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Big Beach, the producer of “Little Miss Sunshine,” A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” and “The Farewell,” has fully relocated from New York to Los Angeles while building out its ranks.
Keetin Mayakara has been tapped by Big Beach as a producer. As a post producer, she has worked on the Oscar-winning documentary “Free Solo,” and most recently, “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” another Academy Award nominee. Before joining Big Beach, Mayakara co-produced the “The Year of the Everlasting Storm,” which premiered at Cannes Film Festival, and produced Season 2 of HBO’s “Random Acts of Flyness.”
Austin Cottle joins the company as its head of finance after starting his career at 20th Century Fox with stints in-house at Netflix and Amazon, as well as on the show side where he oversaw “How to Become a Tyrant” for Netflix and “The Heart of Sergio Ramos” for Prime Video.
Zoe Levine...
Keetin Mayakara has been tapped by Big Beach as a producer. As a post producer, she has worked on the Oscar-winning documentary “Free Solo,” and most recently, “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” another Academy Award nominee. Before joining Big Beach, Mayakara co-produced the “The Year of the Everlasting Storm,” which premiered at Cannes Film Festival, and produced Season 2 of HBO’s “Random Acts of Flyness.”
Austin Cottle joins the company as its head of finance after starting his career at 20th Century Fox with stints in-house at Netflix and Amazon, as well as on the show side where he oversaw “How to Become a Tyrant” for Netflix and “The Heart of Sergio Ramos” for Prime Video.
Zoe Levine...
- 1/5/2024
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
When Annette Bening likes a project, she jumps in. That’s what happened with Netflix’s festival hit “Nyad,” based on the story of 60-ish cranky competitive swimmer Diana Nyad and her refusal to abandon her dream. When she signed on to star in Nyad’s story of swimming 110 miles in open ocean from Cuba to Florida, Bening wasn’t thinking about the details of what playing the title character would entail. She just wanted to play the part.
Over the course of her three-decade career, which has yielded four Oscar nominations, Bening’s dramatic and comedic roles have run the gamut from con artist, Machiavellian schemer, and gangster’s moll to angsty suburban housewife. But she’s never been identified as a physically athletic actress.
“I’ve always been an athletic person in my personal life,” she said over Zoom. “I’m an exercise person since I was 20.” In “Open Range,...
Over the course of her three-decade career, which has yielded four Oscar nominations, Bening’s dramatic and comedic roles have run the gamut from con artist, Machiavellian schemer, and gangster’s moll to angsty suburban housewife. But she’s never been identified as a physically athletic actress.
“I’ve always been an athletic person in my personal life,” she said over Zoom. “I’m an exercise person since I was 20.” In “Open Range,...
- 12/20/2023
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
As we wrap up our year-end coverage, IndieWire looks back at the people, projects, and ideas that defined 2023 — and what’s coming next.
As golden ages go, this one was more of a blip.
Five years ago, the box office celebrated nonfiction films: $22 million for “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” $14 million for “Rbg,” $17.5 million for “Free Solo.” Critical favorites and Oscar nominees included films from exciting American first-time directors, including RaMell Ross’s lyrical breakthrough about life in rural Alabama, “Hale County This Morning, This Evening” and Bing Liu’s moving personal exposé of domestic abuse in northern Illinois, “Minding the Gap.”
2023 lacked documentary touchstones. A few faith-based documentaries succeeded by preaching to the choir, but the most successful (non-concert) documentary released in theaters this year was the Yogi Berra baseball portrait “It Ain’t Over”. You also could include Magnolia Pictures’ “Joan Baez: I Am A Noise” or — if you...
As golden ages go, this one was more of a blip.
Five years ago, the box office celebrated nonfiction films: $22 million for “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” $14 million for “Rbg,” $17.5 million for “Free Solo.” Critical favorites and Oscar nominees included films from exciting American first-time directors, including RaMell Ross’s lyrical breakthrough about life in rural Alabama, “Hale County This Morning, This Evening” and Bing Liu’s moving personal exposé of domestic abuse in northern Illinois, “Minding the Gap.”
2023 lacked documentary touchstones. A few faith-based documentaries succeeded by preaching to the choir, but the most successful (non-concert) documentary released in theaters this year was the Yogi Berra baseball portrait “It Ain’t Over”. You also could include Magnolia Pictures’ “Joan Baez: I Am A Noise” or — if you...
- 12/19/2023
- by Anthony Kaufman
- Indiewire
Endurance and single-minded determination have been the focus of filmmaking duo Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin with their documentary films Free Solo, Meru and The Rescue, and now, with Nyad, they examine those themes in a narrative feature, with Annette Bening in the starring role of long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad, and Jodie Foster as her coach and best friend Bonnie Stoll. Based on Nyad’s memoir, Find a Way, the film follows Nyad’s multiple attempts to make the 110-mile open ocean swim from Cuba to Florida, dodging sharks and dangerous jellyfish and weathering brutal waves. When Nyad finally succeeds at the age of 64, her message is, “It’s never too late to follow your dream.” Here, Vasarhelyi and Chin look back on how their documentarian skills fed into recreating an epic seafaring experience, and how both their marriage and their working relationship evolved as a result.
Deadline: How did...
Deadline: How did...
- 11/24/2023
- by Antonia Blyth
- Deadline Film + TV
Thanksgiving is a great time to spend with family and eat way too much, but it’s also an opportune time to gather around and watch a great movie together. To that end, we’ve put together a curated list of some of the best new movies streaming on Netflix this month, singling out new releases and new library titles that are sure to keep the whole family engaged. Whether you’re in the mood for an assassin thriller, inspirational drama, animated family film or a cult classic, we’ve got something for everyone.
Check out our picks for the best new movies on Netflix in November below.
“Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” Universal Pictures
There’s no better time to revisit filmmaker Edgar Wright’s cult classic “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” – but make sure you watch the live-action adaptation of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s graphic novels before you...
Check out our picks for the best new movies on Netflix in November below.
“Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” Universal Pictures
There’s no better time to revisit filmmaker Edgar Wright’s cult classic “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” – but make sure you watch the live-action adaptation of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s graphic novels before you...
- 11/19/2023
- by Adam Chitwood
- The Wrap
Cinema Eye Honors, a group the recognizes excellence in the artistry and craft of nonfiction filmmaking, announced the nominees for its 17th annual awards on Thursday, November 16th. The seven films nominated for Outstanding Nonfiction Feature are “20 Days in Mariupol,” “32 Sounds,” “The Eternal Memory,” “Four Daughters,” “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project,” “Kokomo City,” and “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie.” Ceh will present the winners at the annual awards ceremony to be held on January 12, 2024.
Leading the pack with six overall nominations is “Kokomo City,” a debut film from director D. Smith about the lives of four black trans sex workers. Smith was nominated for Outstanding Debut and Outstanding Direction. The film’s other three nominations were for Cinematography and Sound Design, as well as among The Unforgettables selection.
See Key dates for Best Documentary Feature contenders
Also earning nominations for their debut film was Mstyslav Chernov...
Leading the pack with six overall nominations is “Kokomo City,” a debut film from director D. Smith about the lives of four black trans sex workers. Smith was nominated for Outstanding Debut and Outstanding Direction. The film’s other three nominations were for Cinematography and Sound Design, as well as among The Unforgettables selection.
See Key dates for Best Documentary Feature contenders
Also earning nominations for their debut film was Mstyslav Chernov...
- 11/17/2023
- by John Benutty
- Gold Derby
It was five decades ago long distance swimmer Diana Nyad became part of the cultural landscape with her feats including a recording-setting circling of Manhattan and a 102-mile swim from the Bahamas to Florida she accomplished that in 27 hours. In 1978, Nyad made her first attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida but ended the quest after 40 hours. After segueing to a successful career as a sports journalist on ABC’s “Wild World of Sports” for over two decades, she decided at 60 to try again. She made three attempts felled by asthma, muscle fatigue, jellyfish and a tropical storm.
Nyad’s attempts at the swim were the subject of the 2013 documentary “The Other Shore.” When I talked to her for the L.A. Times a decade ago the then 64-year-old was preparing for her final attempt. “When I first started this in my 20s and when I started again when I turned...
Nyad’s attempts at the swim were the subject of the 2013 documentary “The Other Shore.” When I talked to her for the L.A. Times a decade ago the then 64-year-old was preparing for her final attempt. “When I first started this in my 20s and when I started again when I turned...
- 11/11/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
“Nyad” is the real-life story of Diana Nyad (Annette Bening), a world class swimmer who decided, at age 60, that she wanted to do something that had previously seemed impossible after she’d tried it when she was younger and was unsuccessful – to swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage.
With her coach and former romantic partner Bonnie Stoll (Jodie Foster) at her side, she made several more attempts, battling box jellyfish, turbulent storms and constant naysayers. Somehow insurmountable feels like too mild a word to describe what she was attempting.
And it feels like filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin were keenly equipped to capture her story. The team, who are also married in real life, are Oscar-winners for their documentary “Free Solo” and have helmed several more movies about human beings pushing themselves to the brink (like “The Rescue” and “Return to Space”). Nyad’s story,...
With her coach and former romantic partner Bonnie Stoll (Jodie Foster) at her side, she made several more attempts, battling box jellyfish, turbulent storms and constant naysayers. Somehow insurmountable feels like too mild a word to describe what she was attempting.
And it feels like filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin were keenly equipped to capture her story. The team, who are also married in real life, are Oscar-winners for their documentary “Free Solo” and have helmed several more movies about human beings pushing themselves to the brink (like “The Rescue” and “Return to Space”). Nyad’s story,...
- 11/7/2023
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
For the 10th year in a row, the Scad Savannah Film Festival, the 26th edition of which ran from Oct. 21 through Oct. 28, was the place to be for documentary filmmakers and documentary lovers — specifically on Oct. 25, when The Hollywood Reporter presented and your humble correspondent hosted the fest’s Docs to Watch panel that brings together the directors of up to 10 of the year’s finest documentary features.
Over the past nine years, 45 films were nominated for the best documentary feature Oscar, 19 of which were first highlighted as Docs to Watch. And in seven of those nine years, one of the Docs to Watch went on to win the best documentary feature Oscar: 2015’s Amy, 2016’s O.J.: Made in America, 2017’s Icarus, 2018’s Free Solo, 2019’s American Factory, 2021’s Summer of Soul and 2022’s Navalny. (The other two eventual winners — 2014’s Citizenfour and 2020’s My Octopus Teacher — were not screened...
Over the past nine years, 45 films were nominated for the best documentary feature Oscar, 19 of which were first highlighted as Docs to Watch. And in seven of those nine years, one of the Docs to Watch went on to win the best documentary feature Oscar: 2015’s Amy, 2016’s O.J.: Made in America, 2017’s Icarus, 2018’s Free Solo, 2019’s American Factory, 2021’s Summer of Soul and 2022’s Navalny. (The other two eventual winners — 2014’s Citizenfour and 2020’s My Octopus Teacher — were not screened...
- 11/4/2023
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Netflix’s November slate of additions to its film library sees the streaming giant collaborating with some of the biggest directors on the planet. This month’s marquee offering out of the best new movies on Netflix, David Fincher’s “The Killer” sees the king of the modern crime thriller continuing his decade-spanning collaboration with the streamer via a taut drama that stars Michael Fassbender as a murderer who can’t handle disruptions to his routine. While Fincher has been a regular presence on Netflix in recent years with projects like “Mank” and “Love, Death, and Robots,” “The Killer” feels like a throwback to the kind of films that made him beloved in the first place.
“Free Solo” and “The Rescue” directors E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, two of the biggest names in documentary filmmaking, are also bringing a new project to Netflix this month. “Nyad” marks their first attempt at scripted filmmaking,...
“Free Solo” and “The Rescue” directors E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, two of the biggest names in documentary filmmaking, are also bringing a new project to Netflix this month. “Nyad” marks their first attempt at scripted filmmaking,...
- 11/3/2023
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
I really admire Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi’s work, whose film Free Solo is arguably one of the finest documentaries ever made. They have a sense of capturing the human spirit on celluloid in a way that is very non-obtrusive. Perhaps their documentary filmmaking experience helps, and it’s clearly visible in their new film, the biopic titled Nyad. It’s a story chronicling Diana Nyad’s journey—the same Diana who rose to fame as the greatest long-distance swimmer in the 1970s. The film primarily focuses on the part when Nyad pumped herself up for one last attempt to achieve her unfulfilled dream of swimming from Cuba to Florida, and that too in her 60s. The result is an interesting look at the idea of success, meaning, and the masochism of pursuing excellence.
Jimmy and Elizabeth are drawn towards this quality of pursuit—this angle of the greatness of a performance.
Jimmy and Elizabeth are drawn towards this quality of pursuit—this angle of the greatness of a performance.
- 11/3/2023
- by Ayush Awasthi
- Film Fugitives
Diana Nyad had been a world-class endurance athlete for years when, after swimming around Manhattan in a little under eight hours in 1975, she became a celebrity and a talk-show staple. At the age of 30, Nyad retired after breaking the open-ocean record by going from the Bahamas to Florida, one stroke at a time, in 27 hours. She transitioned into sportscasting, wrote books, hosted radio shows, did the occasional motivational speaker gig, and enjoyed the rewards of a life well lived.
Still, one thing consistently nagged at Nyad. In 1978, the face of...
Still, one thing consistently nagged at Nyad. In 1978, the face of...
- 11/2/2023
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
The latest feature from David Fincher, a big-budget drama series from Steven Knight and Shawn Levy, and an Oscar hopeful starring Annette Bening and Jodie Foster are among the standout new additions hitting Netflix in November.
With The Killer, Fincher reteams with Seven writer Andrew Kevin Walker to adapt the graphic novel written by Alexis Nolent. The film, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival this year and debuts on Netflix on Nov. 10, stars Michael Fassbender as a shadowy unnamed assassin and features a cast that includes Arliss Howard, Charles Parnell, Gabriel Polanco, Kerry O’Malley, Emiliano Pernía, Sala Baker, Sophie Charlotte and Tilda Swinton.
The Hollywood Reporter‘s review of The Killer described the film as “a satisfyingly retro, location-hopping genre exercise with fisticuffs, gadgets (albeit ones bought from Amazon) and smooth-talking antagonists that all plays like a tongue-in-cheek spoof of James Bond movies.”
All the Light We Cannot See...
With The Killer, Fincher reteams with Seven writer Andrew Kevin Walker to adapt the graphic novel written by Alexis Nolent. The film, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival this year and debuts on Netflix on Nov. 10, stars Michael Fassbender as a shadowy unnamed assassin and features a cast that includes Arliss Howard, Charles Parnell, Gabriel Polanco, Kerry O’Malley, Emiliano Pernía, Sala Baker, Sophie Charlotte and Tilda Swinton.
The Hollywood Reporter‘s review of The Killer described the film as “a satisfyingly retro, location-hopping genre exercise with fisticuffs, gadgets (albeit ones bought from Amazon) and smooth-talking antagonists that all plays like a tongue-in-cheek spoof of James Bond movies.”
All the Light We Cannot See...
- 11/2/2023
- by Abid Rahman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
For the ‘Free Solo’ Directors, Making ‘Nyad’ Was Much Harder Than Hanging Off the Side of a Mountain
With
After “Meru,” Oscar-winning “Free Solo,” and “The Rescue,” we knew that directors Jimmy Chin and Chai Vasarhelyi delivered stunning visuals and provocative storytelling. With festival hit “Nyad”, based on the story of cranky competitive swimmer Diana Nyad and her refusal to abandon her dream, none of their skills were lost in translation to the scripted world
Nyad’s story of swimming 110 miles in open ocean from Cuba to Florida is well aligned with the filmmakers’ own profiles: Chin is a star mountain climber and cinematographer; Vasarhelyi is a relentless producer-organizer who always pushes for perfection. “It’s very true to brand, about someone who can’t give up ever,” Vasarhelyi told me. “Finally she did it on the fifth try, when she was 64.”
This propulsive two-hander stars Annette Bening, who also was 64 when she played the part after a year of training. Jodie Foster portrays her former lover-now-trainer, and...
After “Meru,” Oscar-winning “Free Solo,” and “The Rescue,” we knew that directors Jimmy Chin and Chai Vasarhelyi delivered stunning visuals and provocative storytelling. With festival hit “Nyad”, based on the story of cranky competitive swimmer Diana Nyad and her refusal to abandon her dream, none of their skills were lost in translation to the scripted world
Nyad’s story of swimming 110 miles in open ocean from Cuba to Florida is well aligned with the filmmakers’ own profiles: Chin is a star mountain climber and cinematographer; Vasarhelyi is a relentless producer-organizer who always pushes for perfection. “It’s very true to brand, about someone who can’t give up ever,” Vasarhelyi told me. “Finally she did it on the fifth try, when she was 64.”
This propulsive two-hander stars Annette Bening, who also was 64 when she played the part after a year of training. Jodie Foster portrays her former lover-now-trainer, and...
- 10/27/2023
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
In the race to win Best Documentary Feature of the year at the Oscars, there are a slew of precursor prizes along the way. The five groups that are the best at previewing the Academy Awards contenders are: the Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards (Ccda), the Doc NYC film festival, Cinema Eye Honors (Ceh), International Documentary Association (IDA), and the Producers Guild Awards (PGA).
“Navalny” (2022), “Summer of Soul” (2021), and “American Factory (2019) were each recognized by all five groups before prevailing at the Oscars. Other recent champs earned prizes from a few of the groups as well: “My Octopus Teacher” (2020) began its run with a Ccda nomination and PGA win and “Free Solo” (2018) earned notices from all except Ceh.
Below are key dates for announcements from these groups:
Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards
Nominations: October 16, 2023 Winners: November 12, 2023
Doc NYC
Short List lineup: October 17, 2023
Cinema Eye Honors
Nominations: Tba Winners: Tba
International Documentary Association...
“Navalny” (2022), “Summer of Soul” (2021), and “American Factory (2019) were each recognized by all five groups before prevailing at the Oscars. Other recent champs earned prizes from a few of the groups as well: “My Octopus Teacher” (2020) began its run with a Ccda nomination and PGA win and “Free Solo” (2018) earned notices from all except Ceh.
Below are key dates for announcements from these groups:
Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards
Nominations: October 16, 2023 Winners: November 12, 2023
Doc NYC
Short List lineup: October 17, 2023
Cinema Eye Honors
Nominations: Tba Winners: Tba
International Documentary Association...
- 10/26/2023
- by John Benutty
- Gold Derby
Annette Bening refuses to follow the current tide of portraying surface-level “strong” characters.
The Oscar winner, who stars in true sports story “Nyad,” told The New York Times’ T Magazine that her filmography centering on “challenging” characters is not trendy, it’s just what appeals to her.
“It’s not about quote-unquote ‘strong women,'” Bening said. “That’s really boring, to only have stories about strong people. We need to know: What are their faults? Their blind spots? We all have them.”
Bening transforms into Diana Nyad, an openly gay athlete who famously swam from Cuba to Florida at age 60. “Free Solo” documentary filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin helm the true story, adapted by Julia Cox from Nyad’s memoir “Find a Way.” Jodie Foster co-stars alongside Bening as Nyad’s coach Bonnie Stoll.
Bening told T Magazine that she was “wanting to portray her in a way that’s authentic,...
The Oscar winner, who stars in true sports story “Nyad,” told The New York Times’ T Magazine that her filmography centering on “challenging” characters is not trendy, it’s just what appeals to her.
“It’s not about quote-unquote ‘strong women,'” Bening said. “That’s really boring, to only have stories about strong people. We need to know: What are their faults? Their blind spots? We all have them.”
Bening transforms into Diana Nyad, an openly gay athlete who famously swam from Cuba to Florida at age 60. “Free Solo” documentary filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin helm the true story, adapted by Julia Cox from Nyad’s memoir “Find a Way.” Jodie Foster co-stars alongside Bening as Nyad’s coach Bonnie Stoll.
Bening told T Magazine that she was “wanting to portray her in a way that’s authentic,...
- 10/19/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
The Hulu series The 1619 Project and the Showtime feature Nothing Lasts Forever scored a leading three nominations apiece today as the Cinema Eye Honors announced its first round of contenders for the prestigious documentary-focused awards.
The 1619 Project, based on Nikole Hannah-Jones’s Pulitzer Prize-winning examination of slavery in North America and its impact up until the present day, earned nominations for Best Anthology Series, broadcast editing and broadcast cinematography. Oprah Winfrey, Oscar winner Roger Ross Williams and Hannah-Jones are among the producers of the six-part series.
‘Nothing Lasts Forever’
Nothing Lasts Forever, director Jason Kohn’s glittering examination of the world of diamonds – the real kind and the emergence of undetectable “synthetic” diamonds – earned nominations for Best Broadcast Film, broadcast editing and broadcast cinematography. Scroll for the full list of nominations announced today.
Other films and series that scored multiple nominations include Hulu’s Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields...
The 1619 Project, based on Nikole Hannah-Jones’s Pulitzer Prize-winning examination of slavery in North America and its impact up until the present day, earned nominations for Best Anthology Series, broadcast editing and broadcast cinematography. Oprah Winfrey, Oscar winner Roger Ross Williams and Hannah-Jones are among the producers of the six-part series.
‘Nothing Lasts Forever’
Nothing Lasts Forever, director Jason Kohn’s glittering examination of the world of diamonds – the real kind and the emergence of undetectable “synthetic” diamonds – earned nominations for Best Broadcast Film, broadcast editing and broadcast cinematography. Scroll for the full list of nominations announced today.
Other films and series that scored multiple nominations include Hulu’s Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields...
- 10/19/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
There’s a story long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad loves to tell about herself — Ok, there are allegedly lots of stories Diana Nyad loves to tell about herself, but for brevity’s sake, we’ll stick with this one — about the provenance of her last name. “Nyad” traces back to “naiad,” a Greek mythological aquatic nymph. You can see why Nyad would be so taken with this coincidence, one allegedly drilled into her ad nauseam by her father, Aristotle Nyad, who we repeatedly meet in flashback during the film, only later to learn — oops! — he was actually her stepfather, thus rendering moot one of the myths Diana built for and about herself.
More thrilling: the myths that ended up being true. Over the course of their lauded documentary filmmaking career, Vasarhelyi and Chin have been consistently compelled by outsized personalities driven to accomplish seemingly insane physical (and thus also mental and emotional) feats of strength,...
More thrilling: the myths that ended up being true. Over the course of their lauded documentary filmmaking career, Vasarhelyi and Chin have been consistently compelled by outsized personalities driven to accomplish seemingly insane physical (and thus also mental and emotional) feats of strength,...
- 10/19/2023
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Thirteen-year-old Doc NYC, America’s largest documentary festival, has revealed its influential 15-film Short List. The festival will run its main lineup of 114 features and 129 short films in-person November 8-16 in New York City’s IFC Center, Sva Theatre and Village East by Angelika and continue online until November 26 with films available to viewers across the U.S. All the films will have theatrical screenings at the festival, often with the directors in person.
Historically, most of the Doc NYC shortlist titles overlap with the Academy’s official 15-film Oscar Shortlist. With the notable exception of Netflix’s Oscar-winning “My Octopus Teacher,” for 11 years the festival has screened the documentary that went on to win the Academy Award, including “Navalny,” “Summer of Soul,” “American Factory,” “Free Solo,” “Icarus,” “O.J.: Made in America,” “Amy,” “Citizenfour,” “20 Feet From Stardom,” “Searching for Sugar Man,” and “Undefeated.” The festival has also screened 49 of the last 55 Oscar-nominated documentary features.
Historically, most of the Doc NYC shortlist titles overlap with the Academy’s official 15-film Oscar Shortlist. With the notable exception of Netflix’s Oscar-winning “My Octopus Teacher,” for 11 years the festival has screened the documentary that went on to win the Academy Award, including “Navalny,” “Summer of Soul,” “American Factory,” “Free Solo,” “Icarus,” “O.J.: Made in America,” “Amy,” “Citizenfour,” “20 Feet From Stardom,” “Searching for Sugar Man,” and “Undefeated.” The festival has also screened 49 of the last 55 Oscar-nominated documentary features.
- 10/17/2023
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Netflix this morning released a new featurette promoting its new biopic “Nyad” that debuts in theaters for a two-week window this Friday before streaming on Netflix beginning November 3. Annette Bening has received raves at film festivals from Telluride to the Hamptons for her portrayal of the prickly and controversial Diana Nyad, with Jodie Foster also generating strong notices for her work as Nyad’s devoted coach Bonnie Stoll. Four-time Academy Award nominee Bening is currently running seventh in the Gold Derby combined odds for Oscar Best Actress, while two-time Oscar winner Foster is sixth in the race for Supporting Actress. Watch the featurette above.
The film is described as the “remarkable true story” of Nyad, long distance swimmer, sportscaster, author and motivational speaker who in 2013 became the first person to swim from Havana, Cuba to Key West, Florida without the aid of a shark cage to protect her. The movie...
The film is described as the “remarkable true story” of Nyad, long distance swimmer, sportscaster, author and motivational speaker who in 2013 became the first person to swim from Havana, Cuba to Key West, Florida without the aid of a shark cage to protect her. The movie...
- 10/17/2023
- by Ray Richmond
- Gold Derby
Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and her husband Jimmy Chin have a gold medal hit in “Nyad.” The packed opening night feature at the 31st Hamptons International Film Festival about swimmer Diana Nyad is a “stroke” of genius. Played very well in the room where the audience included luminaries like Julianne Moore, Alex Gibney and Hiff cofounder Stuart Suna. On the red carpet Vasarhelyi said the shift from documentaries to their first narrative film was natural. “I think it reminds us of what’s most human. We live in a really digital age,” she told me. “We’re talking about A.I., we’re on our screens all the time, but there’s something that really spotlights what is uniquely a human trait, which is believing or having audacious dreams.”
This audacious dreamer is a 64-year-old Nyad (played with gut-wrenching believablity by Annette Bening), who wants to swim from Cuba to Key West,...
This audacious dreamer is a 64-year-old Nyad (played with gut-wrenching believablity by Annette Bening), who wants to swim from Cuba to Key West,...
- 10/9/2023
- by Bill McCuddy
- Gold Derby
After sitting it out last year, Deadline’s Contenders film series returns to London today with a strong lineup featuring Ridley Scott, Emerald Fennell, Todd Haynes and Michael Mann among the panelists attending the awards-season event.
Contenders London gets underway this morning at London’s Ham Yard Hotel and will feature panels on 13 of the year’s buzziest films from eight studios and streamers. Deadline will have full coverage of the event all day on the website and on our social channels, where you can follow along using the hashtag #DeadlineContenders.
In challenging times, it’s good to know quality cinema is never too far away, with films from some of the world’s biggest filmmakers on tap today. Along with Scott’s Napoleon, Fennell’s Saltburn, Haynes’ May December and Mann’s Ferrari, J.A. Bayona will present his Society of the Snow, Jeymes Samuel will open The Book of Clarence,...
Contenders London gets underway this morning at London’s Ham Yard Hotel and will feature panels on 13 of the year’s buzziest films from eight studios and streamers. Deadline will have full coverage of the event all day on the website and on our social channels, where you can follow along using the hashtag #DeadlineContenders.
In challenging times, it’s good to know quality cinema is never too far away, with films from some of the world’s biggest filmmakers on tap today. Along with Scott’s Napoleon, Fennell’s Saltburn, Haynes’ May December and Mann’s Ferrari, J.A. Bayona will present his Society of the Snow, Jeymes Samuel will open The Book of Clarence,...
- 10/7/2023
- by Joe Utichi
- Deadline Film + TV
Joel Kinnaman is getting his revenge on murderous thugs by killing them softly in the trailer for Silent Night, John Woo’s first American directorial effort in 20 years.
The movie follows Kinnaman’s grieving father character, who takes action against a gang that killed his son and robbed him of his voice on Christmas Eve, but beyond the relatively straightforward tale of righteous vengeance lies a wildly ambitious undertaking behind-the-scenes: Silent Night features virtually no dialogue.
Although Hollywood may be nearly a century past the peak of its silent film era, the first trailer for Silent Night proves that Woo’s mastery of elaborate action set pieces will offer some true innovation to the genre. Complete with nonstop hand-to-hand combat, car chases, and high-caliber gun fights, the movie will surely still bring the noise. Watch the trailer below.
In July, Woo, whose last American film was 2003’s Paycheck, told Variety...
The movie follows Kinnaman’s grieving father character, who takes action against a gang that killed his son and robbed him of his voice on Christmas Eve, but beyond the relatively straightforward tale of righteous vengeance lies a wildly ambitious undertaking behind-the-scenes: Silent Night features virtually no dialogue.
Although Hollywood may be nearly a century past the peak of its silent film era, the first trailer for Silent Night proves that Woo’s mastery of elaborate action set pieces will offer some true innovation to the genre. Complete with nonstop hand-to-hand combat, car chases, and high-caliber gun fights, the movie will surely still bring the noise. Watch the trailer below.
In July, Woo, whose last American film was 2003’s Paycheck, told Variety...
- 10/3/2023
- by Bryan Kress
- Consequence - Film News
Messi is arguably the most famous soccer player in the world. His move from Paris Saint-Germain to Miami in 2023 has been closely followed by millions of people around the world — and by Apple TV+ in the new docuseries “Messi Meets America.”
As the first documentary offering a behind-the-scenes look at the transition, the six-part docuseries will follow Messi and his Miami teammates as they work their way toward more championship wins. The show premieres with the first three episodes Wednesday, Oct. 11.
A logine for the series adds, “From selling out records crowds across America at breakneck speed to his incredible last-minute game-winning goal in his very first match to moments with Messi and his Inter Miami Cf teammates, the series chronicles Leo’s immersion in America, the remarkable journey and transformation of Inter Miami Cf, and most significantly, the impact he is currently having on soccer in North America as ‘Messi Mania’ crisscrosses the continent.
As the first documentary offering a behind-the-scenes look at the transition, the six-part docuseries will follow Messi and his Miami teammates as they work their way toward more championship wins. The show premieres with the first three episodes Wednesday, Oct. 11.
A logine for the series adds, “From selling out records crowds across America at breakneck speed to his incredible last-minute game-winning goal in his very first match to moments with Messi and his Inter Miami Cf teammates, the series chronicles Leo’s immersion in America, the remarkable journey and transformation of Inter Miami Cf, and most significantly, the impact he is currently having on soccer in North America as ‘Messi Mania’ crisscrosses the continent.
- 10/2/2023
- by Stephanie Kaloi
- The Wrap
Apple TV+ has released the trailer for ‘Messi Meets America,’ the highly anticipated six-part documentary.
Featuring exclusive behind-the-scenes access to Lionel Messi, the greatest-of-all-time in a sport that commands the devotion of five billion fans around the world, as he makes his debut in Leagues Cup and Major League Soccer.
After over twenty unforgettable and record-breaking years of excellence between Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, and winning the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 with the Argentina national football team, Leo Messi made a landmark decision that forever changed the face of soccer in North America by joining Major League Soccer and Inter Miami Cf.
Now, with unprecedented access to Messi and his new Inter Miami Cf family, the docu-series takes viewers behind-the-scenes as the greatest player to ever step on the pitch leads his new team to a Leagues Cup title and beyond. From selling out record crowds across America at breakneck speed,...
Featuring exclusive behind-the-scenes access to Lionel Messi, the greatest-of-all-time in a sport that commands the devotion of five billion fans around the world, as he makes his debut in Leagues Cup and Major League Soccer.
After over twenty unforgettable and record-breaking years of excellence between Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, and winning the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 with the Argentina national football team, Leo Messi made a landmark decision that forever changed the face of soccer in North America by joining Major League Soccer and Inter Miami Cf.
Now, with unprecedented access to Messi and his new Inter Miami Cf family, the docu-series takes viewers behind-the-scenes as the greatest player to ever step on the pitch leads his new team to a Leagues Cup title and beyond. From selling out record crowds across America at breakneck speed,...
- 10/2/2023
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
In “Nyad,” the titular character is entitled, mean, self-centered and treats people around her terribly… and she’s our hero? Supporting actors Jodie Foster and Rhys Ifans manage to keep the film moving along, but the main subject, played passionately by Annette Bening, is one who is difficult to connect with and root for in this modern take on a sports drama.
A still Oscar-less Bening could be a possibility for traction in the best actress race – at least, Netflix hopes so. With four career nominations to Bening’s name, the streamer believes the fifth time could be the charm with her turn as a marathon swimmer who achieves the impossible in the drama.
Premiering at the Telluride Film Festival one day shy of the 10-year anniversary of Nyad’s famous distance swim from Cuba to Florida without the assistance of a shark cage, the film was introduced by co-directors...
A still Oscar-less Bening could be a possibility for traction in the best actress race – at least, Netflix hopes so. With four career nominations to Bening’s name, the streamer believes the fifth time could be the charm with her turn as a marathon swimmer who achieves the impossible in the drama.
Premiering at the Telluride Film Festival one day shy of the 10-year anniversary of Nyad’s famous distance swim from Cuba to Florida without the assistance of a shark cage, the film was introduced by co-directors...
- 9/18/2023
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
The loftier and more dangerous the goal, the finer the line that separates the Guinness Book of World Records from the Darwin Awards. At a certain point, surviving is the only real difference. Do-or-die marathon swimmer Diana Nyad dreamed of swimming from Cuba to Florida. That’s 110 miles of unpredictable open ocean. Prior to her, the only ones to have done it used a shark cage to shield them from life-threatening aquatic predators. Diana first tried and failed when she was 28. Decades later, she decided to go again, failing three more times.
If Diana Nyad sounds stubborn, you have no idea. Directed by “Free Solo” helmers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, making the leap from documentaries to fiction with a fact-based narrative that feels perfectly suited to their skill set, the Netflix movie “Nyad” is a portrait of obsession. In a performance that feels every bit as committed as the athlete she’s depicting,...
If Diana Nyad sounds stubborn, you have no idea. Directed by “Free Solo” helmers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, making the leap from documentaries to fiction with a fact-based narrative that feels perfectly suited to their skill set, the Netflix movie “Nyad” is a portrait of obsession. In a performance that feels every bit as committed as the athlete she’s depicting,...
- 9/17/2023
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
If you’re wondering whether long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad liked Nyad – where the titular character played by Annette Bening fulfills her dream of finishing the Cuba-to-Florida swim at age 64 – a good judge would be her real-life coach, Bonnie Stoll, played by Jodie Foster in the Netflix drama.
“Well, it has her name on it, so she loves it!” Stoll told the Princess of Wales Theatre at the Toronto Film Festival on Thursday night during a post-screening Q&a. Stoll stood in for Nyad, who was a no-show at the international premiere at TIFF after Telluride due to her membership in SAG-AFTRA, as were Bening and Foster due to their own Hollywood strike restrictions.
But the marathon swimming drama does little to dissuade its viewers that the true-life Nyad is 100 percent self-centered and driven or, as Foster’s Stoll tells her best friend in the film, she has “a superiority complex.
“Well, it has her name on it, so she loves it!” Stoll told the Princess of Wales Theatre at the Toronto Film Festival on Thursday night during a post-screening Q&a. Stoll stood in for Nyad, who was a no-show at the international premiere at TIFF after Telluride due to her membership in SAG-AFTRA, as were Bening and Foster due to their own Hollywood strike restrictions.
But the marathon swimming drama does little to dissuade its viewers that the true-life Nyad is 100 percent self-centered and driven or, as Foster’s Stoll tells her best friend in the film, she has “a superiority complex.
- 9/15/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Annette Bening enlists Jodie Foster’s help to accomplish a swimming goal she failed to achieve decades prior in the first trailer for Netflix’s fact-based film Nyad.
The biographical drama from directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin centers on marathon swimmer Diana Nyad (Bening) attempting to become the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without the aid of a shark cage. Foster plays the athlete’s coach and friend Bonnie Stoll in the movie that plays select theaters Oct. 20 and then hits the streaming platform Nov. 3 after debuting at the Telluride Film Festival earlier this month.
Nyad’s trailer shows Foster offering a dose of reality when she hears the swimmer’s plan. “That’s insane,” Foster says. “Diana, you tried that when you were 28, and you did not make it when you were 28. You’re 60.”
This leads Bening to reply, “I don’t believe in imposed limitations.
The biographical drama from directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin centers on marathon swimmer Diana Nyad (Bening) attempting to become the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without the aid of a shark cage. Foster plays the athlete’s coach and friend Bonnie Stoll in the movie that plays select theaters Oct. 20 and then hits the streaming platform Nov. 3 after debuting at the Telluride Film Festival earlier this month.
Nyad’s trailer shows Foster offering a dose of reality when she hears the swimmer’s plan. “That’s insane,” Foster says. “Diana, you tried that when you were 28, and you did not make it when you were 28. You’re 60.”
This leads Bening to reply, “I don’t believe in imposed limitations.
- 9/8/2023
- by Ryan Gajewski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Days after its well-received debut at the Telluride Film Festival, Netflix has released the first trailer for “Nyad,” the inspirational sports drama that has four-time Oscar nominee Annette Bening and two-time Oscar winner Jodie Foster in the heat of the nascent awards race.
Directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin – the Oscar-winning documentary filmmakers behind “Free Solo” who are making their feature debut with this new film – “Nyad” focuses on long-distance swimmer, author, and motivational speaker Diana Nyad, who swam from Cuba to Florida without assistance in 2013 at the age of 64. Bening plays the controversial Nyad, with Foster starring as her coach, Bonnie Stoll. Both actresses won raves for their performances after the film’s debut at the Telluride Film Festival, with many awards pundits and experts earmarking each for future Oscar nominations.
If that were to happen, and if “Nyad” is the film for which Bening wins her first Oscar,...
Directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin – the Oscar-winning documentary filmmakers behind “Free Solo” who are making their feature debut with this new film – “Nyad” focuses on long-distance swimmer, author, and motivational speaker Diana Nyad, who swam from Cuba to Florida without assistance in 2013 at the age of 64. Bening plays the controversial Nyad, with Foster starring as her coach, Bonnie Stoll. Both actresses won raves for their performances after the film’s debut at the Telluride Film Festival, with many awards pundits and experts earmarking each for future Oscar nominations.
If that were to happen, and if “Nyad” is the film for which Bening wins her first Oscar,...
- 9/7/2023
- by Christopher Rosen
- Gold Derby
Netflix has released the official trailer for the swimmer biopic “Nyad,” starring Annette Bening and Jodie Foster.
Based on Diana Nyad’s memoir “Find a Way,” the sports drama follows 64-year-old swimming legend Nyad (Bening) and her lifelong dream of completing a 110-mile open ocean swim from Cuba to Florida. With the help of her friend and coach Bonnie Stoll (Foster) and a dedicated sailing team, Nyad embarks on a four-year journey to become the first person to achieve the swim without a shark cage. Along with Bening and Foster, the film stars Rhys Ifans, Ethan Jones Romero, Luke Cosgrove, Jeena Yi and Eric T. Miller.
“Nyad” marks the narrative feature directorial debut of Oscar-winning “Free Solo” directors Elizabeth Chai Vasahelyi and Jimmy Chin. The biopic is executive produced by Bill Johnson, Jim Seibel, Michael Heimler, Vanessa Humphrey, D. Scott Lumpkin, with Andrew Lazar and Teddy Shwarzman serving as producers.
Based on Diana Nyad’s memoir “Find a Way,” the sports drama follows 64-year-old swimming legend Nyad (Bening) and her lifelong dream of completing a 110-mile open ocean swim from Cuba to Florida. With the help of her friend and coach Bonnie Stoll (Foster) and a dedicated sailing team, Nyad embarks on a four-year journey to become the first person to achieve the swim without a shark cage. Along with Bening and Foster, the film stars Rhys Ifans, Ethan Jones Romero, Luke Cosgrove, Jeena Yi and Eric T. Miller.
“Nyad” marks the narrative feature directorial debut of Oscar-winning “Free Solo” directors Elizabeth Chai Vasahelyi and Jimmy Chin. The biopic is executive produced by Bill Johnson, Jim Seibel, Michael Heimler, Vanessa Humphrey, D. Scott Lumpkin, with Andrew Lazar and Teddy Shwarzman serving as producers.
- 9/7/2023
- by Michaela Zee
- Variety Film + TV
Annette Bening is diving into a true sports story.
The four-time Oscar nominee portrays marathon swimmer-turned-sports journalist Diana Nyad who, at the age of 60, completed the “Mount Everest” of swims from Cuba to Florida. “Free Solo” documentary filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin helm the true story, adapted by Julia Cox from Nyad’s memoir “Find a Way.”
Academy Award winner Jodie Foster plays Nyad’s best friend and coach Bonnie Stoll, with Rhys Ifans, Ethan Jones Romero, Luke Cosgrove, Jeena Yi, and Eric T. Miller rounding out the cast.
Per the official synopsis, a remarkable true story of tenacity, friendship and the triumph of the human spirit, “Nyad” recounts a riveting chapter in the life of world-class athlete Diana Nyad. Three decades after giving up marathon swimming in exchange for a prominent career as a sports journalist, at the age of 60, Diana (Bening) becomes obsessed with completing an...
The four-time Oscar nominee portrays marathon swimmer-turned-sports journalist Diana Nyad who, at the age of 60, completed the “Mount Everest” of swims from Cuba to Florida. “Free Solo” documentary filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin helm the true story, adapted by Julia Cox from Nyad’s memoir “Find a Way.”
Academy Award winner Jodie Foster plays Nyad’s best friend and coach Bonnie Stoll, with Rhys Ifans, Ethan Jones Romero, Luke Cosgrove, Jeena Yi, and Eric T. Miller rounding out the cast.
Per the official synopsis, a remarkable true story of tenacity, friendship and the triumph of the human spirit, “Nyad” recounts a riveting chapter in the life of world-class athlete Diana Nyad. Three decades after giving up marathon swimming in exchange for a prominent career as a sports journalist, at the age of 60, Diana (Bening) becomes obsessed with completing an...
- 9/7/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Annette Bening Prepares for the Mount Everest of Swims in First Trailer for Netflix’s ‘Nyad’ (Video)
Annette Bening may be swimming toward her fifth Oscar nomination with Netflix’s upcoming “Nyad,” the true-story biopic documenting marathon swimmer and sports journalist Diana Nyad’s 110-mile swim from Cuba to Florida — at the age of 64.
“I don’t believe in imposed limitations,” she tells coach and best Bonnie Stoll (two-time Oscar winner Jodie Foster) in the first trailer, which dropped Thursday. “Nyad” had its world premiere at the 2023 Telluride Film Festival.
Per an official synopsis of the film, “Nyad” is a “remarkable true story of tenacity, friendship and the triumph of the human spirit” that “recounts a riveting chapter in the life of world-class athlete Diana Nyad. Three decades after giving up marathon swimming in exchange for a prominent career as a sports journalist, at the age of 60, Diana becomes obsessed with completing an epic swim that always eluded her: the 110 mile trek from Cuba to Florida, often...
“I don’t believe in imposed limitations,” she tells coach and best Bonnie Stoll (two-time Oscar winner Jodie Foster) in the first trailer, which dropped Thursday. “Nyad” had its world premiere at the 2023 Telluride Film Festival.
Per an official synopsis of the film, “Nyad” is a “remarkable true story of tenacity, friendship and the triumph of the human spirit” that “recounts a riveting chapter in the life of world-class athlete Diana Nyad. Three decades after giving up marathon swimming in exchange for a prominent career as a sports journalist, at the age of 60, Diana becomes obsessed with completing an epic swim that always eluded her: the 110 mile trek from Cuba to Florida, often...
- 9/7/2023
- by Benjamin Lindsay
- The Wrap
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