Documentary filmmaking has never been a profession one enters into to get rich — though for a brief period it seemed possible.
Cable expanded documentary’s reach to wider audiences in the 1980’s and 1990’s, and films like “Fahrenheit 9/11,” “March of the Penguins,” and “An Inconvenient Truth” became legitimate box-office breakthroughs, but nonfiction features on the whole remained something of a stepchild within the larger Hollywood ecosystem until 2017, when Netflix acquired Brian Fogel’s “Icarus” for $5 million.
At the time, the deal was one of the biggest ever for a non-fiction film. And it was followed by even bigger deals: In 2019 Netflix shelled out $10 million for Rachel Lears’ “Knock Down the House.” The following year Apple TV+ and A24 partnered to buy Jesse Moss’ “Boys State” for $10 million, and in 2021 Searchlight and Hulu bought Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s “Summer of Soul” for $12 million.
On the surface it seemed like people,...
Cable expanded documentary’s reach to wider audiences in the 1980’s and 1990’s, and films like “Fahrenheit 9/11,” “March of the Penguins,” and “An Inconvenient Truth” became legitimate box-office breakthroughs, but nonfiction features on the whole remained something of a stepchild within the larger Hollywood ecosystem until 2017, when Netflix acquired Brian Fogel’s “Icarus” for $5 million.
At the time, the deal was one of the biggest ever for a non-fiction film. And it was followed by even bigger deals: In 2019 Netflix shelled out $10 million for Rachel Lears’ “Knock Down the House.” The following year Apple TV+ and A24 partnered to buy Jesse Moss’ “Boys State” for $10 million, and in 2021 Searchlight and Hulu bought Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s “Summer of Soul” for $12 million.
On the surface it seemed like people,...
- 4/6/2024
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
This Veterans Day, we’re celebrating the importance of Veterans as storytellers. Film Independent is inviting 100 U.S. Military Veteran (working or aspiring) filmmakers or actors in the entertainment industry to receive a Film Independent Membership, for a contribution of just $1.00!
Veterans Day is a federal public holiday that always falls on the 11th of November – but why is that? The day’s origins date back to World War I. At 11:00 am Paris local time on November 11, 1918, the Armistice of Compiègne was signed to officially end WWI. In honor of this special day, we’ve curated 10 films (and one limited series!) that embody the values and spirit of the service members across all five branches: the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy.
Patton (1970)
Branch: U.S. Army
Director: Franklin J. Schaffner
Cast: George C. Scott, Karl Malden, Stephen Young, Michael Strong, Carey Loftin
Where to Watch: VOD rental,...
Veterans Day is a federal public holiday that always falls on the 11th of November – but why is that? The day’s origins date back to World War I. At 11:00 am Paris local time on November 11, 1918, the Armistice of Compiègne was signed to officially end WWI. In honor of this special day, we’ve curated 10 films (and one limited series!) that embody the values and spirit of the service members across all five branches: the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy.
Patton (1970)
Branch: U.S. Army
Director: Franklin J. Schaffner
Cast: George C. Scott, Karl Malden, Stephen Young, Michael Strong, Carey Loftin
Where to Watch: VOD rental,...
- 11/10/2023
- by Su Fang Tham
- Film Independent News & More
Martin Scorsese has found his next movie for Apple: A biographical drama about the iconic rock band the Grateful Dead in which Jonah Hill will star as frontman and counterculture icon Jerry Garcia. Deadline first reported the project. The movie will reunite Scorsese and Hill, who last teamed for the director’s “The Wolf of Wall Street.” Hill earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor thanks to the movie.
According to Deadline: “Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, who have received rave reviews for penning ‘American Crime Story: Impeachment,’ are writing the script with Rick Yorn of Lbi Entertainment joining Hill and Scorsese as producers. Bernie Cahill, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Trixie Garcia and Eric Eisner will exec produce. Insiders add that with the band and the groups management participating in the film, Apple has rights to use the groups musical catalogue for the film.
According to Deadline: “Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, who have received rave reviews for penning ‘American Crime Story: Impeachment,’ are writing the script with Rick Yorn of Lbi Entertainment joining Hill and Scorsese as producers. Bernie Cahill, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Trixie Garcia and Eric Eisner will exec produce. Insiders add that with the band and the groups management participating in the film, Apple has rights to use the groups musical catalogue for the film.
- 11/18/2021
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Concordia Studio adds three new docuseries, covering a range of topics, to its nonfiction slate. The company announced Thursday that it has expanded its nonfiction lineup with the addition of Phantastica, The Happenings and an Untitled Navajo Police Project, which are all currently in development.
“We are thrilled to add these three exceptional titles to our slate and to collaborate with these filmmakers who each have their own uniquely bold vision for what nonfiction stories can accomplish,” Concordia’s Nicole Stott and Jonathan Silberberg said in a statement. “Their creative intentions, paired with their unprecedented access to elements in telling three vastly different stories make us incredibly excited to support them in bringing their work to audiences.”
The first of Concordia’s new projects in development is the psychedelic docuseries Phantastica.
Filmmakers Amir Bar-Lev and Ken Dornstein, who previously worked together for the Oscar shortlisted Long Strange Trip and a number of other projects,...
“We are thrilled to add these three exceptional titles to our slate and to collaborate with these filmmakers who each have their own uniquely bold vision for what nonfiction stories can accomplish,” Concordia’s Nicole Stott and Jonathan Silberberg said in a statement. “Their creative intentions, paired with their unprecedented access to elements in telling three vastly different stories make us incredibly excited to support them in bringing their work to audiences.”
The first of Concordia’s new projects in development is the psychedelic docuseries Phantastica.
Filmmakers Amir Bar-Lev and Ken Dornstein, who previously worked together for the Oscar shortlisted Long Strange Trip and a number of other projects,...
- 9/17/2020
- by Alexandra Del Rosario
- Deadline Film + TV
Concordia Studio — the production outfit headed by Davis Guggenheim and Jonathan King — has added to its non-fiction slate with projects that cover psychedelics, The Enfield Poltergeist and the Navajo Nation Police Department.
Docuseries Phantastica hails from acclaimed filmmakers Amir Bar-Lev and Ken Dornstein (Long Strange Trip) and will focus on “the past, present, and future of psychedelics in America, bridging the story of the current renaissance with the history of the failed first era of psychedelics,” according to today’s announcement.
“For anyone who hears the word ‘psychedelic’ and thinks they know the story, we’re excited to take them on an ...
Docuseries Phantastica hails from acclaimed filmmakers Amir Bar-Lev and Ken Dornstein (Long Strange Trip) and will focus on “the past, present, and future of psychedelics in America, bridging the story of the current renaissance with the history of the failed first era of psychedelics,” according to today’s announcement.
“For anyone who hears the word ‘psychedelic’ and thinks they know the story, we’re excited to take them on an ...
- 9/17/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Concordia Studio — the production outfit headed by Davis Guggenheim and Jonathan King — has added to its non-fiction slate with projects that cover psychedelics, The Enfield Poltergeist and the Navajo Nation Police Department.
Docuseries Phantastica hails from acclaimed filmmakers Amir Bar-Lev and Ken Dornstein (Long Strange Trip) and will focus on “the past, present, and future of psychedelics in America, bridging the story of the current renaissance with the history of the failed first era of psychedelics,” according to today’s announcement.
“For anyone who hears the word ‘psychedelic’ and thinks they know the story, we’re excited to take them on an ...
Docuseries Phantastica hails from acclaimed filmmakers Amir Bar-Lev and Ken Dornstein (Long Strange Trip) and will focus on “the past, present, and future of psychedelics in America, bridging the story of the current renaissance with the history of the failed first era of psychedelics,” according to today’s announcement.
“For anyone who hears the word ‘psychedelic’ and thinks they know the story, we’re excited to take them on an ...
- 9/17/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Longtime Endeavor Content Partner Mark Ankner is leaving to become a partner at DreamCrew Entertainment, the production company of Drake and Adel “Future” Nur. In his role Ankner will oversee content development, production and financing opportunities for the company. Ankner’s hire marks the continued growth of DreamCrew whose credits include Top Boy, Spree, and Euphoria.
Ankner joined Endeavor in 2006, and he was a fixture in the indie financing and dealmaking game, playing a key role in building the agency’s film finance, sales and advisory business. He was later named partner at Wme and then Endeavor Content. Over the last 15 years Ankner has created many of the biggest festival sales both financially and culturally and drove financing packages for content creators and financiers.
Ankner championed emerging filmmakers who’ve gone on to commercial acclaim, and he closed some whopping deals during his time. Among those films are the...
Ankner joined Endeavor in 2006, and he was a fixture in the indie financing and dealmaking game, playing a key role in building the agency’s film finance, sales and advisory business. He was later named partner at Wme and then Endeavor Content. Over the last 15 years Ankner has created many of the biggest festival sales both financially and culturally and drove financing packages for content creators and financiers.
Ankner championed emerging filmmakers who’ve gone on to commercial acclaim, and he closed some whopping deals during his time. Among those films are the...
- 6/15/2020
- by Mike Fleming Jr and Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Abramorama has set its spring release schedule with the acquisition of three documentaries in the music and mind, body, spirit space, plus the global re-release of the distrib’s 2017 doc Long Strange Trip: The Untold Story of the Grateful Dead.
Among music fare, Abramorama has taken North American rights to A Dog Called Money about British singer-songwriter Pj Harvey which will open on March 18 for a two-week run at the Film Forum in New York with additional markets to follow.
In addition Abramorama has taken North American rights and global rights management for Rob Beemer’s The Mindfulness Movement executive produced by Deepak Chopra and Jewel, and Tyler Chandler’s documentary about the opioid crisis Dosed.
Abramorama CEO Richard Abramowitz said, “These four films are all quite different, yet they have in common a fundamental humanity in pursuit of beauty, peace and justice. We feel privileged to be able...
Among music fare, Abramorama has taken North American rights to A Dog Called Money about British singer-songwriter Pj Harvey which will open on March 18 for a two-week run at the Film Forum in New York with additional markets to follow.
In addition Abramorama has taken North American rights and global rights management for Rob Beemer’s The Mindfulness Movement executive produced by Deepak Chopra and Jewel, and Tyler Chandler’s documentary about the opioid crisis Dosed.
Abramorama CEO Richard Abramowitz said, “These four films are all quite different, yet they have in common a fundamental humanity in pursuit of beauty, peace and justice. We feel privileged to be able...
- 1/27/2020
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
It was November 2018 and Nanfu Wang had four weeks before picture-lock on her third feature documentary, “One Child Nation.” The film, which Wang co-directed and edited, had already been accepted to the 2019 Sundance Film Festival but wasn’t quite ready.
“I was debating and really struggling with what note to end the film on,” Wang says. “I needed a fresh set of eyes.”
Enter the documentary whisperer, Mark Monroe.
The University of Oklahoma journalism graduate has been the doc industry’s go-to guy for the past decade. His writing on the 2009 Academy Award-winning “The Cove” put him on the map.
“The Cove,” which received equity money from Impact Partners, was Louie Psihoyos’ first film.
“The Cove” producer “Fisher Stevens wanted to bring Mark on to help restructure the film,” says Geralyn White Dreyfous, co-founder and executive producer of Impact Partners. “At the time, Louie’s film was so linear and just straight storytelling.
“I was debating and really struggling with what note to end the film on,” Wang says. “I needed a fresh set of eyes.”
Enter the documentary whisperer, Mark Monroe.
The University of Oklahoma journalism graduate has been the doc industry’s go-to guy for the past decade. His writing on the 2009 Academy Award-winning “The Cove” put him on the map.
“The Cove,” which received equity money from Impact Partners, was Louie Psihoyos’ first film.
“The Cove” producer “Fisher Stevens wanted to bring Mark on to help restructure the film,” says Geralyn White Dreyfous, co-founder and executive producer of Impact Partners. “At the time, Louie’s film was so linear and just straight storytelling.
- 1/7/2020
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Live Nation Productions and Double E Entertainment have signed on as executive producers of “All I Can Say,” the documentary film featuring footage shot entirely by the late Shannon Hoon of Blind Melon.
The film’s title is taken from the opening lines of Blind Melon’s instantly recognizable 1993 smash, “No Rain.” Culled from Hoon’s archives, the footage is carefully crafted by Grammy-winning director Danny Clinch, along with co-directors Taryn Gould and Colleen Hennessy. The film follows Hoon’s career in the band as shot through his own lens, right up until a few hours before he died of a drug overdose at the age of 28.
The film “provides an inside look into his family, his creative process, his television, his band’s rise to fame, and his struggle with addiction,” according to an official release.
In the days before iPhones, Hoon was ahead of his time, Clinch recently told Variety.
The film’s title is taken from the opening lines of Blind Melon’s instantly recognizable 1993 smash, “No Rain.” Culled from Hoon’s archives, the footage is carefully crafted by Grammy-winning director Danny Clinch, along with co-directors Taryn Gould and Colleen Hennessy. The film follows Hoon’s career in the band as shot through his own lens, right up until a few hours before he died of a drug overdose at the age of 28.
The film “provides an inside look into his family, his creative process, his television, his band’s rise to fame, and his struggle with addiction,” according to an official release.
In the days before iPhones, Hoon was ahead of his time, Clinch recently told Variety.
- 11/22/2019
- by Michele Amabile Angermiller
- Variety Film + TV
Apple snagged a big fish to run their documentary content division. New York-based A&E Networks documentary veteran Molly Thompson will bring her expertise in supervising documentary films and TV series to Apple, which has recently ramped up its content production, mostly on the television side. As demand for documentaries grows, A&E is losing a valuable player.
Of course, Apple has not yet announced exactly how it plans to release its content, documentary and otherwise. At Apple’s recent presentation, Oprah Winfrey revealed that she’s prepping documentary projects for Apple TV+, including investigations of poisonous work environments and the mental health industry. Apple also acquired the documentary “Elephant Queen” at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival. At Sundance, the filmmakers told me that the film has an ambitious and proactive social-action global release plan that could include theaters. One strategic Apple partnership with indie distributor A24, which will produce films for Apple,...
Of course, Apple has not yet announced exactly how it plans to release its content, documentary and otherwise. At Apple’s recent presentation, Oprah Winfrey revealed that she’s prepping documentary projects for Apple TV+, including investigations of poisonous work environments and the mental health industry. Apple also acquired the documentary “Elephant Queen” at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival. At Sundance, the filmmakers told me that the film has an ambitious and proactive social-action global release plan that could include theaters. One strategic Apple partnership with indie distributor A24, which will produce films for Apple,...
- 4/15/2019
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Apple snagged a big fish to run their documentary content division. New York-based A&E Networks documentary veteran Molly Thompson will bring her expertise in supervising documentary films and TV series to Apple, which has recently ramped up its content production, mostly on the television side. As demand for documentaries grows, A&E is losing a valuable player.
Of course, Apple has not yet announced exactly how it plans to release its content, documentary and otherwise. At Apple’s recent presentation, Oprah Winfrey revealed that she’s prepping documentary projects for Apple TV+, including investigations of poisonous work environments and the mental health industry. Apple also acquired the documentary “Elephant Queen” at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival. At Sundance, the filmmakers told me that the film has an ambitious and proactive social-action global release plan that could include theaters. One strategic Apple partnership with indie distributor A24, which will produce films for Apple,...
Of course, Apple has not yet announced exactly how it plans to release its content, documentary and otherwise. At Apple’s recent presentation, Oprah Winfrey revealed that she’s prepping documentary projects for Apple TV+, including investigations of poisonous work environments and the mental health industry. Apple also acquired the documentary “Elephant Queen” at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival. At Sundance, the filmmakers told me that the film has an ambitious and proactive social-action global release plan that could include theaters. One strategic Apple partnership with indie distributor A24, which will produce films for Apple,...
- 4/15/2019
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Molly Thompson has joined Apple’s upcoming streaming service as its head of documentaries.
Thompson previously founded A&E Indie Films, the feature film production unit of A+E Networks. She was also previously the head of documentary films for A+E Networks. Recent documentaries she has executive produced include “The Clinton Affair,” Charles Ferguson’s “Watergate” docuseries, “Studio 54,” and “City of Ghosts.” She was also an executive producer on celebrated documentaries like “Life, Animated,” “Cartel Land,” “Murderball,” and “Jesus Camp.”
She also executive produced Amir Bar-Lev’s “The Tillman Story” and Bart Layton’s “The Imposter,” as well as two narrative features for Lifetime Films. Those were “Lila & Eve,” starring Viola Davis and Jennifer Lopez, and “Paris Can Wait,” starring Diane Lane and Alec Baldwin.
Additionally, Thompson served as executive producer on all feature films produced under the History Films banner, including Werner Herzog’s “Meeting Gorbachev” and “Cave of Forgotten Dreams,...
Thompson previously founded A&E Indie Films, the feature film production unit of A+E Networks. She was also previously the head of documentary films for A+E Networks. Recent documentaries she has executive produced include “The Clinton Affair,” Charles Ferguson’s “Watergate” docuseries, “Studio 54,” and “City of Ghosts.” She was also an executive producer on celebrated documentaries like “Life, Animated,” “Cartel Land,” “Murderball,” and “Jesus Camp.”
She also executive produced Amir Bar-Lev’s “The Tillman Story” and Bart Layton’s “The Imposter,” as well as two narrative features for Lifetime Films. Those were “Lila & Eve,” starring Viola Davis and Jennifer Lopez, and “Paris Can Wait,” starring Diane Lane and Alec Baldwin.
Additionally, Thompson served as executive producer on all feature films produced under the History Films banner, including Werner Herzog’s “Meeting Gorbachev” and “Cave of Forgotten Dreams,...
- 4/15/2019
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
Apple has hired A&E IndieFilms founder Molly Thompson as Head of Documentaries.
Thompson, who also served as Head of Documentary films for A+E Networks, has executive produced such projects as The Clinton Affair; the docuseries Watergate; City of Ghosts; Life, Animated; Cartel Land; Murderball; and Jesus Camp.
Thompson served as executive producer on all feature films produced under the History Films banner, including Werner Herzog’s Meeting Gorbachev — which will have its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival — and Cave of Forgotten Dreams, Janet Tobias’ No Place on Earth, Errol Morris’ The Unknown Known: The Life and Times of Donald Rumsfeld, Douglas Tirola’s Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon and the Johnny Knoxville-produced Being Evel.
Among other projects, Thompson also Ep’d Amir Bar-Lev’s Emmy-winning The Tillman Story, Bart Layton’s BAFTA-winning The Imposter and two narrative features for Lifetime Films: Lila & Eve,...
Thompson, who also served as Head of Documentary films for A+E Networks, has executive produced such projects as The Clinton Affair; the docuseries Watergate; City of Ghosts; Life, Animated; Cartel Land; Murderball; and Jesus Camp.
Thompson served as executive producer on all feature films produced under the History Films banner, including Werner Herzog’s Meeting Gorbachev — which will have its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival — and Cave of Forgotten Dreams, Janet Tobias’ No Place on Earth, Errol Morris’ The Unknown Known: The Life and Times of Donald Rumsfeld, Douglas Tirola’s Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon and the Johnny Knoxville-produced Being Evel.
Among other projects, Thompson also Ep’d Amir Bar-Lev’s Emmy-winning The Tillman Story, Bart Layton’s BAFTA-winning The Imposter and two narrative features for Lifetime Films: Lila & Eve,...
- 4/15/2019
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: CAA has signed filmmaker Amir Bar-Lev, director of the Grateful Dead documentary Long Strange Trip.
The documentary received great acclaim when it was released and was put on the shortlist for Best Documentary for the 2018 Academy Awards.
Bar-Lev made his directorial debut with documentary Fighter which followed two Holocaust survivors who revisit the labor camp which they were imprisoned. He also directed the Emmy-winning The Tillman Story as well as Happy Valley which examined the Penn State scandal.
His other credits include My Kid Could Paint, a documentary about four-year-old artist Marla Olmstead as well as the Academy Award-nominated Trouble the Water, which he co-produced.
Bar-Lev was previously represented by Wme. His attorney is Linda Lichter at Lichter Grossman Nicholas Adler & Feldman.
The documentary received great acclaim when it was released and was put on the shortlist for Best Documentary for the 2018 Academy Awards.
Bar-Lev made his directorial debut with documentary Fighter which followed two Holocaust survivors who revisit the labor camp which they were imprisoned. He also directed the Emmy-winning The Tillman Story as well as Happy Valley which examined the Penn State scandal.
His other credits include My Kid Could Paint, a documentary about four-year-old artist Marla Olmstead as well as the Academy Award-nominated Trouble the Water, which he co-produced.
Bar-Lev was previously represented by Wme. His attorney is Linda Lichter at Lichter Grossman Nicholas Adler & Feldman.
- 3/4/2019
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Tony Sokol Nov 21, 2018
The Grateful Dead documentary Long Strange Trip is the band's memento mori.
Death is fun. As long as we remember nothing about us will be remembered in the eternity. Death is also very accommodating, if we don't stop for it, it stops for us. It's an immortal uber driver that doesn't care about a rating because there is only one destination. Long Strange Trip, the Grateful Dead documentary that first arrived on Amazon Prime and is now available on Blu-ray, rides shotgun with death on the tour bus. Casey Jones hasn't even glanced at the speedometer.
The Grateful Dead wasn't just a band, it was a family. Some deaths weren't fun, and there is little gratitude for taking away key players. Pigpen McKernan died in 1973 at the age of 27, Brent Mydland's gruesome death, and Garcia’s death from a heart attack at age 53 in 1995. Long Strange Trip,...
The Grateful Dead documentary Long Strange Trip is the band's memento mori.
Death is fun. As long as we remember nothing about us will be remembered in the eternity. Death is also very accommodating, if we don't stop for it, it stops for us. It's an immortal uber driver that doesn't care about a rating because there is only one destination. Long Strange Trip, the Grateful Dead documentary that first arrived on Amazon Prime and is now available on Blu-ray, rides shotgun with death on the tour bus. Casey Jones hasn't even glanced at the speedometer.
The Grateful Dead wasn't just a band, it was a family. Some deaths weren't fun, and there is little gratitude for taking away key players. Pigpen McKernan died in 1973 at the age of 27, Brent Mydland's gruesome death, and Garcia’s death from a heart attack at age 53 in 1995. Long Strange Trip,...
- 11/20/2018
- Den of Geek
Jerry Garcia talks Woodstock and Altamont, the San Francisco music scene and the Grateful Dead’s relationship with fringe political groups in a previously unreleased interview set to appear on the deluxe edition of Amir Bar-Lev’s Grateful Dead documentary, Long Strange Trip.
The deluxe edition will be released November 16th exclusively via Dead.net. The edition will be limited to 6,500 copies each on DVD and Blu-Ray, though regular versions will also be available.
The previously unreleased interview footage was recorded in May 1970 in England during the Grateful Dead’s first overseas trip.
The deluxe edition will be released November 16th exclusively via Dead.net. The edition will be limited to 6,500 copies each on DVD and Blu-Ray, though regular versions will also be available.
The previously unreleased interview footage was recorded in May 1970 in England during the Grateful Dead’s first overseas trip.
- 11/14/2018
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
The Grateful Dead‘s Long Strange Trip, a 2017 documentary about the pioneering jam band, will be released in various physical formats on November 9th. The four-hour, Martin Scorsese-produced film will be available on Blu-Ray, double-dvd and a “Deluxe Edition” that boasts a previously unreleased six-song live concert filmed May 24th, 1970 at England’s Hollywood Festival. The deluxe version is available exclusively at the Grateful Dead website.
All editions of Long Strange Trip: The Untold Story of the Grateful Dead will include the original documentary in stereo and a new 5.1 surround mix,...
All editions of Long Strange Trip: The Untold Story of the Grateful Dead will include the original documentary in stereo and a new 5.1 surround mix,...
- 8/29/2018
- by Ryan Reed
- Rollingstone.com
At nearly four hours, Amir Bar-Lev’s documentary about The Grateful Dead lasts as long as one of their typical shows. The movie, which veers between live performances and studio sessions, is a deep dive in the band’s mythology but manages to intrigue even those who dislike the free-floating vibe of Jerry Garcia’s never-ending jams.
The post Long Strange Trip appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
The post Long Strange Trip appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
- 8/13/2018
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Tonight, A&E IndieFilms’ latest documentary, Matt Tyrnauer’s “Studio 54,” opens Outfest in Los Angeles before hitting theaters via Zeitgeist Films and Kino Lorber in October. Unusually, A&E IndieFilms senior VP Molly Thompson believes in theatrical play for her documentaries as a way to build awareness before they hit the air.
With streaming, she said, “it’s harder for the films to stand out. Theatrical is good for films. You have a whole year to go out to festivals and theaters before they come to A&E. We’re the opposite of HBO and Netflix.”
All these funding and distribution options make it “a great time for documentary filmmakers,” she said. “Even seven years ago people were starving. It was a difficult time. We were a big whale for filmmakers. Now they have so many options, and people are able to pay their bills.”
Thompson’s first job was...
With streaming, she said, “it’s harder for the films to stand out. Theatrical is good for films. You have a whole year to go out to festivals and theaters before they come to A&E. We’re the opposite of HBO and Netflix.”
All these funding and distribution options make it “a great time for documentary filmmakers,” she said. “Even seven years ago people were starving. It was a difficult time. We were a big whale for filmmakers. Now they have so many options, and people are able to pay their bills.”
Thompson’s first job was...
- 7/12/2018
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Tonight, A&E IndieFilms’ latest documentary, Matt Tyrnauer’s “Studio 54,” opens Outfest in Los Angeles before hitting theaters via Zeitgeist Films and Kino Lorber in October. Unusually, A&E IndieFilms senior VP Molly Thompson believes in theatrical play for her documentaries as a way to build awareness before they hit the air.
With streaming, she said, “it’s harder for the films to stand out. Theatrical is good for films. You have a whole year to go out to festivals and theaters before they come to A&E. We’re the opposite of HBO and Netflix.”
All these funding and distribution options make it “a great time for documentary filmmakers,” she said. “Even seven years ago people were starving. It was a difficult time. We were a big whale for filmmakers. Now they have so many options, and people are able to pay their bills.”
Thompson’s first job was...
With streaming, she said, “it’s harder for the films to stand out. Theatrical is good for films. You have a whole year to go out to festivals and theaters before they come to A&E. We’re the opposite of HBO and Netflix.”
All these funding and distribution options make it “a great time for documentary filmmakers,” she said. “Even seven years ago people were starving. It was a difficult time. We were a big whale for filmmakers. Now they have so many options, and people are able to pay their bills.”
Thompson’s first job was...
- 7/12/2018
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
TV academy members, check your doorsteps as Amazon’s 2018 Emmy Fyc mailer has arrived. The glossy package features three separate booklets (see photos above and below) highlighting their original programs that streamed during the 2017-18 television season. Comedy series “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and documentary series “Long Strange Trip” are showcased in their own booklets, while the the third highlights “The Dangerous Book for Boys,” “The Tick,” “Transparent,” Mozart in the Jungle,” “Grand Tour” and “Electric Dreams.”
SEEJeffrey Tambor exits 2018 Emmy race for Amazon’s ‘Transparent’ amid harassment allegations [Exclusive]
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” stars Rachel Brosnahan as the titular Midge Maisel, a 1950s New York housewife, who has a midlife crisis and becomes a standup comedian. The show has already won top honors at the Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice and PGA Awards, and is considered a frontrunner for Best Comedy Series at the Emmys.
Midge’s husband Joel Maisel (Michael Zegen...
SEEJeffrey Tambor exits 2018 Emmy race for Amazon’s ‘Transparent’ amid harassment allegations [Exclusive]
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” stars Rachel Brosnahan as the titular Midge Maisel, a 1950s New York housewife, who has a midlife crisis and becomes a standup comedian. The show has already won top honors at the Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice and PGA Awards, and is considered a frontrunner for Best Comedy Series at the Emmys.
Midge’s husband Joel Maisel (Michael Zegen...
- 5/10/2018
- by Marcus James Dixon
- Gold Derby
The process that Amir Bar-Lev and Eric Eisner went through to put together their Grateful Dead documentary, “Long Strange Trip,” was not too different than how the band operated. “It all organically came together,” says producer Eisner in our recent interview (watch the video above). Part of that can be seen in how the six-part series, currently on Amazon, was originally supposed to be 90 minutes. Bar-Lev, the film’s director, explains that during the three year editing process it became apparent that 90 minutes wouldn’t be enough time to paint the picture they wanted to. Bar-Lev adds that the story of the Dead is more than just one of the band: “It’s a collective and that includes the staff, the roadies and the fans.”
SEEAmazon launches immersive Fyc Emmy experience for ‘Mrs. Maisel,’ ‘Mozart’ and others
The series would also not have been possible without the involvement of Oscar winner Martin Scorsese.
SEEAmazon launches immersive Fyc Emmy experience for ‘Mrs. Maisel,’ ‘Mozart’ and others
The series would also not have been possible without the involvement of Oscar winner Martin Scorsese.
- 4/6/2018
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
Al Pacino isn’t exactly unfamiliar with playing historical figures, so far be it from us or anyone to tell him how to prepare for a role. If the Oscar-winning actor — who was Emmy-nominated for playing Phil Spector and won the award for portraying Roy Cohn — doesn’t need to go to the Penn St. University campus to prepare for his role as disgraced college football coach Joe Paterno, he doesn’t have to.
“I didn’t go,” Pacino said, speaking via satellite during HBO’s TCA presentation Thursday afternoon. “I did see the documentary ‘Happy Valley.’ […] These things really happened, and as an actor, it makes you feel credible. […] You have the real person to digest and sort of channel.”
Read More:18 HBO Original Programs To Be Excited About in 2018 — ‘Sharp Objects,’ ‘Paterno,’ and More
How fitting it feels to use Amir Bar-Lev’s 2014 film as a basis of...
“I didn’t go,” Pacino said, speaking via satellite during HBO’s TCA presentation Thursday afternoon. “I did see the documentary ‘Happy Valley.’ […] These things really happened, and as an actor, it makes you feel credible. […] You have the real person to digest and sort of channel.”
Read More:18 HBO Original Programs To Be Excited About in 2018 — ‘Sharp Objects,’ ‘Paterno,’ and More
How fitting it feels to use Amir Bar-Lev’s 2014 film as a basis of...
- 1/12/2018
- by Ben Travers
- Indiewire
Jane Goodall with Jane director Brett Morgen Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Abacus: Small Enough To Jail, directed by Steve James; Jeff Orlowski's Chasing Coral; Matthew Heineman's City Of Ghosts; Frederick Wiseman's Ex Libris: New York Public Library; Agnès Varda and Jr's Faces Places; Ai Weiwei's Human Flow; Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk's An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth To Power; Brett Morgen's Jane; Daniel Lindsay and Tj Martin's La 92; Firas Fayyad and Steen Johannessen's Last Men In Aleppo; Amir Bar-Lev's Long Strange Trip; Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady's One Of Us; Yance Ford's Strong Island, and Jennifer Brea's Unrest are another step closer to garnering a Best Documentary Oscar nomination.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Documentary Branch determined the shortlist in a preliminary round of voting on the 170 submitted titles. Documentary Branch members will now select...
Abacus: Small Enough To Jail, directed by Steve James; Jeff Orlowski's Chasing Coral; Matthew Heineman's City Of Ghosts; Frederick Wiseman's Ex Libris: New York Public Library; Agnès Varda and Jr's Faces Places; Ai Weiwei's Human Flow; Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk's An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth To Power; Brett Morgen's Jane; Daniel Lindsay and Tj Martin's La 92; Firas Fayyad and Steen Johannessen's Last Men In Aleppo; Amir Bar-Lev's Long Strange Trip; Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady's One Of Us; Yance Ford's Strong Island, and Jennifer Brea's Unrest are another step closer to garnering a Best Documentary Oscar nomination.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Documentary Branch determined the shortlist in a preliminary round of voting on the 170 submitted titles. Documentary Branch members will now select...
- 12/8/2017
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 15 films in the Documentary Feature category will advance in the voting process for the 90th Academy Awards®. One hundred seventy films were originally submitted in the category.
The 15 films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production companies:
Abacus: Small Enough to Jail, Mitten Media, Motto Pictures, Kartemquin Educational Films and Wgbh/Frontline.
Director Steve James
A small financial institution called Abacus becomes the only company criminally indicted in the wake of the United States’ 2008 mortgage crisis.
Chasing Coral, Exposure Labs in partnership with The Ocean Agency & View Into the Blue in association with Argent Pictures & The Kendeda Fund. Directed by Jeff Orlowski
Coral reefs around the world are vanishing at an unprecedented rate. A team of divers, photographers and scientists set out on a thrilling ocean adventure to discover why and to reveal the underwater mystery to the world.
The 15 films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production companies:
Abacus: Small Enough to Jail, Mitten Media, Motto Pictures, Kartemquin Educational Films and Wgbh/Frontline.
Director Steve James
A small financial institution called Abacus becomes the only company criminally indicted in the wake of the United States’ 2008 mortgage crisis.
Chasing Coral, Exposure Labs in partnership with The Ocean Agency & View Into the Blue in association with Argent Pictures & The Kendeda Fund. Directed by Jeff Orlowski
Coral reefs around the world are vanishing at an unprecedented rate. A team of divers, photographers and scientists set out on a thrilling ocean adventure to discover why and to reveal the underwater mystery to the world.
- 12/8/2017
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
The United Nations Development Programme (Undp) last month appointed legendary musician and founding member of the Grateful Dead and Dead & Company Bob Weir as its newest Goodwill Ambassador.
The ceremony took place during the eighth annual Social Good Summit at the 92nd Street Y in New York City.
In this new role, Weir will be teaming up with Undp to raise awareness and mobilize support for the Un agency’s work to end poverty while fighting climate change.
Weir will help Undp shine a spotlight on the important role climate action plays in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, which were agreed upon by world leaders to protect the planet and achieve a brighter future for all. Weir will help Undp advocate for climate initiatives and projects that promote renewable energy, preserve coastlines, combat deforestation and ensure a healthy planet for generations to come.
“I am most honored to join the...
The ceremony took place during the eighth annual Social Good Summit at the 92nd Street Y in New York City.
In this new role, Weir will be teaming up with Undp to raise awareness and mobilize support for the Un agency’s work to end poverty while fighting climate change.
Weir will help Undp shine a spotlight on the important role climate action plays in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, which were agreed upon by world leaders to protect the planet and achieve a brighter future for all. Weir will help Undp advocate for climate initiatives and projects that promote renewable energy, preserve coastlines, combat deforestation and ensure a healthy planet for generations to come.
“I am most honored to join the...
- 11/7/2017
- Look to the Stars
At the San Francisco Film Society’s Doc Stories, Samantha Power — aka President Barack Obama’s U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations — is a true star. “What a crowd,” she tweeted after a rousing standing ovation for Greg Barker’s HBO documentary “The Final Year,” which features her as part of Obama’s foreign policy team. “Huge thanks to SFFilm Doc Stories & to an incredibly engaged San Francisco audience who saw @thefinalyeardoc not as a retrospective, but as a call to action.”
The third annual Doc Stories (Nov. 2-5) was a rich weekend of nonfiction features and shorts that launched with the world premiere of Alex Gibney’s “Rolling Stone: Stories from the Edge, Part I” (HBO) and closed with Chris Smith’s “Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond – Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton” (Netflix).
It’s part of Sffilm executive director Noah Cowan’s...
The third annual Doc Stories (Nov. 2-5) was a rich weekend of nonfiction features and shorts that launched with the world premiere of Alex Gibney’s “Rolling Stone: Stories from the Edge, Part I” (HBO) and closed with Chris Smith’s “Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond – Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton” (Netflix).
It’s part of Sffilm executive director Noah Cowan’s...
- 11/6/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
At the San Francisco Film Society’s Doc Stories, Samantha Power — aka President Barack Obama’s U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations — is a true star. “What a crowd,” she tweeted after a rousing standing ovation for Greg Barker’s HBO documentary “The Final Year,” which features her as part of Obama’s foreign policy team. “Huge thanks to SFFilm Doc Stories & to an incredibly engaged San Francisco audience who saw @thefinalyeardoc not as a retrospective, but as a call to action.”
The third annual Doc Stories (Nov. 2-5) was a rich weekend of nonfiction features and shorts that launched with the world premiere of Alex Gibney’s “Rolling Stone: Stories from the Edge, Part I” (HBO) and closed with Chris Smith’s “Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond – Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton” (Netflix).
It’s part of Sffilm executive director Noah Cowan’s...
The third annual Doc Stories (Nov. 2-5) was a rich weekend of nonfiction features and shorts that launched with the world premiere of Alex Gibney’s “Rolling Stone: Stories from the Edge, Part I” (HBO) and closed with Chris Smith’s “Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond – Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton” (Netflix).
It’s part of Sffilm executive director Noah Cowan’s...
- 11/6/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Leave it to a Grateful Dead documentary to run for four hours. And leave it to Grateful Dead fans to want even more.
“Only Deadheads — you show them a four-hour film and they’re like, ‘What else is there?,'” Amir Bar-Lev told IndieWire Editor at Large Anne Thompson during an intermission Q&A of “Long Strange Trip.”
Read More:How ‘I Called Him Morgan’ Helped Trumpeter Lee Morgan’s Friends Find Peace With His Tragic Death
The theatrical version of the film, which is available to watch on Amazon as a six-hour miniseries, played as part of the International Documentary Association’s annual screening series in Los Angeles.
Bar-Lev and Thompson discussed their Deadhead pasts, celebrity cameos, and the decade-long journey it took for his film to come to fruition.
“The band doesn’t seek out publicity and also has got a healthy mistrust of something that’s going to define them,...
“Only Deadheads — you show them a four-hour film and they’re like, ‘What else is there?,'” Amir Bar-Lev told IndieWire Editor at Large Anne Thompson during an intermission Q&A of “Long Strange Trip.”
Read More:How ‘I Called Him Morgan’ Helped Trumpeter Lee Morgan’s Friends Find Peace With His Tragic Death
The theatrical version of the film, which is available to watch on Amazon as a six-hour miniseries, played as part of the International Documentary Association’s annual screening series in Los Angeles.
Bar-Lev and Thompson discussed their Deadhead pasts, celebrity cameos, and the decade-long journey it took for his film to come to fruition.
“The band doesn’t seek out publicity and also has got a healthy mistrust of something that’s going to define them,...
- 10/26/2017
- by Jean Bentley
- Indiewire
"I wanted to make a film about the Grateful Dead for 11 years,” says Amir Bar-Lev, “and I really don’t know why it finally happened. They’re extraordinarily uninterested in publicity, and infamously slow in decision-making. So I’d be kidding myself if I said that it was the strength of my pitch to them — it may have just been that I outlasted them and wouldn’t take 'no' for an answer, and they finally had to do it just to make me go away."
In the end, Bar-Lev — who directed 2010’s Oscar-nominated The Tillman Story — emerged with Long Strange...
In the end, Bar-Lev — who directed 2010’s Oscar-nominated The Tillman Story — emerged with Long Strange...
- 10/18/2017
- by Alan Light
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
You don’t need a Vr headset to watch Amir Bar-Lev’s documentary about the Grateful Dead, “Long Strange Trip,” because this four-hour movie is as immersive a wade into the waters of the Bay Area-germinated psychedelic band’s history as 2D gets. That being said, if you devoted 240 minutes to a history of, say, Kiss — another group with decades of fame, devoted fans, and controversy — you might also earn the word “immersive,” but it wouldn’t feel justified. With “Trip,” which was executive produced by Martin Scorsese and feels of a piece with that filmmaker’s own music docs (about Bob Dylan.
- 10/13/2017
- by Robert Abele
- The Wrap
For the fifth consecutive year, IndieWire will partner with the Independent Documentary Association for its annual screening series. It launches tonight with Yance Ford’s “Strong Island,” which won a special jury prize at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.
The screenings come fast and furious after that with Christina Clusiau and Shaul Schwarz’s “Trophy” on September 14, Bryan Fogel’s “Icarus” September 18, Matthew Heineman’s “City of Ghosts” September 21, and more than 30 more documentaries to follow through the end of November, including Amir Bar-Lev’s “A Long Strange Trip,” Evgeny Afineevsky’s “Cries From Syria,” Peter Bratt’s “Dolores,” and Rebecca Miller’s “Arthur Miller: Writer.”
Each film includes a post-screening Q&A with the directors and other talent, often moderated by IndieWire. We’ll post Q&A coverage along with video of the event. All screenings are held at the Landmark Theater in Los Angeles.
The Ida Documentary Screening Series...
The screenings come fast and furious after that with Christina Clusiau and Shaul Schwarz’s “Trophy” on September 14, Bryan Fogel’s “Icarus” September 18, Matthew Heineman’s “City of Ghosts” September 21, and more than 30 more documentaries to follow through the end of November, including Amir Bar-Lev’s “A Long Strange Trip,” Evgeny Afineevsky’s “Cries From Syria,” Peter Bratt’s “Dolores,” and Rebecca Miller’s “Arthur Miller: Writer.”
Each film includes a post-screening Q&A with the directors and other talent, often moderated by IndieWire. We’ll post Q&A coverage along with video of the event. All screenings are held at the Landmark Theater in Los Angeles.
The Ida Documentary Screening Series...
- 9/13/2017
- by Indiewire Staff
- Indiewire
Getting out early can be an advantage in the documentary race, which is often front loaded at January’s Sundance Film Festival. While a raft of movies made their mark, the question is which ones can sustain support through the end of the year.
Among that festival’s breakouts were three Syria documentaries. Daring and timely “City of Ghosts” (July 14, A & E/Amazon Studios), which is Matthew Heineman’s follow-up to his Oscar-nominated border drug war thriller “Cartel Land,” will get a major push. Any footage from Syria came from the fearless Raqqa journalists he tracked through Turkey and Germany, where they discover that they are not necessarily safe — anywhere.
It remains to be seen if there will be room for more than one Syrian documentary. HBO Documentary Films is forgoing Emmy consideration for “Winter on Fire” nominee Evgeny Afineevsky’s harrowing “Cries From Syria” (March 10, HBO), planning an Oscar push this fall.
Among that festival’s breakouts were three Syria documentaries. Daring and timely “City of Ghosts” (July 14, A & E/Amazon Studios), which is Matthew Heineman’s follow-up to his Oscar-nominated border drug war thriller “Cartel Land,” will get a major push. Any footage from Syria came from the fearless Raqqa journalists he tracked through Turkey and Germany, where they discover that they are not necessarily safe — anywhere.
It remains to be seen if there will be room for more than one Syrian documentary. HBO Documentary Films is forgoing Emmy consideration for “Winter on Fire” nominee Evgeny Afineevsky’s harrowing “Cries From Syria” (March 10, HBO), planning an Oscar push this fall.
- 7/5/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Irish festival reveals 2017 line-up.
Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk will have its Irish premiere as part of this year’s Galway Film Fleadh in Ireland.
The Second World War drama will play on Galway’s final day, July 16. The festival will open with Pat Collins’ Song Of Granite on July 11.
The festival’s 2017 line-up was revealed by director of programming Gar O’Brien at a news conference in Galway on Tuesday evening (July 27).
Having its world premiere in Galway will be the latest feature from Irish director Gerard Barrett, whose credits include Brain On Fire and Glassland. Produced with his regular collaborator Grainne O’Sullivan, Barrett’s new film Limbo chronicles 24 hours in the life of a young Irish mother and child as they battle homelessness. Barrett will also be in attendance.
Also having its world premiere in Galway will be director Frank Berry’s third feature, Michael Inside.
Having their Irish premieres are Sundance hit God’s Own...
Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk will have its Irish premiere as part of this year’s Galway Film Fleadh in Ireland.
The Second World War drama will play on Galway’s final day, July 16. The festival will open with Pat Collins’ Song Of Granite on July 11.
The festival’s 2017 line-up was revealed by director of programming Gar O’Brien at a news conference in Galway on Tuesday evening (July 27).
Having its world premiere in Galway will be the latest feature from Irish director Gerard Barrett, whose credits include Brain On Fire and Glassland. Produced with his regular collaborator Grainne O’Sullivan, Barrett’s new film Limbo chronicles 24 hours in the life of a young Irish mother and child as they battle homelessness. Barrett will also be in attendance.
Also having its world premiere in Galway will be director Frank Berry’s third feature, Michael Inside.
Having their Irish premieres are Sundance hit God’s Own...
- 6/27/2017
- by tom.grater@screendaily.com (Tom Grater)
- ScreenDaily
Long Strange Trip (Amazon Video)
I was stoked have scored a ticket for the limited-run (one week) theatrical screening of the new Grateful Dead documentary at IFC Cinema in the West Village. A four-hour love fest for Deadheads young and old, and more importantly for those music fans and the curious who just never got "it" and what it means to be a Deadhead. Expertly handled by director Amir Bar-Lev, there is so much to mine here that I can't imagine how much was left on the cutting room floor. (Props to executive producer Martin Scorsese, too.) Jerry's Frankenstein story frames the movie in a way that initially seems odd but by the end of the film makes perfect sense. After all, like the Monster, the band was "assembled" by the various parts (members, friends, fans, staff) that comprised it. Messy, joyous entropy in action; seemingly random, but actually spiritually...
I was stoked have scored a ticket for the limited-run (one week) theatrical screening of the new Grateful Dead documentary at IFC Cinema in the West Village. A four-hour love fest for Deadheads young and old, and more importantly for those music fans and the curious who just never got "it" and what it means to be a Deadhead. Expertly handled by director Amir Bar-Lev, there is so much to mine here that I can't imagine how much was left on the cutting room floor. (Props to executive producer Martin Scorsese, too.) Jerry's Frankenstein story frames the movie in a way that initially seems odd but by the end of the film makes perfect sense. After all, like the Monster, the band was "assembled" by the various parts (members, friends, fans, staff) that comprised it. Messy, joyous entropy in action; seemingly random, but actually spiritually...
- 6/1/2017
- by Dusty Wright
- www.culturecatch.com
The major online streaming platforms know they've got to haul out the big guns when those lovely summer days try to tempt viewers outside, i.e. that place with sunshine and fresh air. (Nice try, summer!) This month, Hulu revives David Lynch's crowning achievement; Amazon's adding two of 2016's best films not named Moonlight; Netflix trots a recent Cannes smash involving Tilda Swinton and a superpig; and even minor-leaguer Acorn gets in the game with a handsome crime procedural to fill that Borgen-shaped hole in your heart. And of course,...
- 5/30/2017
- Rollingstone.com
Deadheads toked to Long Strange Trip: the Untold Story of The Grateful Dead in its theatrical release in New York and Los Angeles over the Memorial Day weekend on the heels of one-night event screenings leading up to the holiday. The film, by Amir Bar-Lev and released by Abramorama, grossed $34,131 in two theaters. The company also released fellow documentary Restless Creature: Wendy Whelan in two locations Friday, doing a pretty solid $21,127. Following limited runs…...
- 5/28/2017
- Deadline
Ahead of a Memorial Day weekend likely to be dominated by the latest Pirates Of the Caribbean, there are a limited number of Specialties rolling out over the holiday weekend. Deadheads will be lining up for Abramorama's Long Strange Trip – The Untold Story of The Grateful Dead, opening in New York and L.A. in addition to some event screenings. The feature, directed by Amir Bar-Lev, is nearly four hours, but will be showing on two screens at each of its regular theatrical…...
- 5/26/2017
- Deadline
You don’t need a Vr headset to watch Amir Bar-Lev’s documentary about the Grateful Dead, “Long Strange Trip,” because this four-hour movie is as immersive a wade into the waters of the Bay Area-germinated psychedelic band’s history as 2D gets. That being said, if you devoted 240 minutes to a history of, say, Kiss — another group with decades of fame, devoted fans, and controversy — you might also earn the word “immersive,” but it wouldn’t feel justified. With “Trip,” which was executive produced by Martin Scorsese and feels of a piece with that filmmaker’s own music docs (about Bob Dylan.
- 5/26/2017
- by Robert Abele
- The Wrap
Amazon Pictures has released the trailer for its upcoming original documentary, “Long Strange Trip.” The four hour documentary about the Grateful Dead screened in the Documentary Premieres section at Sundance, where it was acquired by Amazon. The film is directed by Amir Bar-Lev and executive produced by Martin Scorsese.
Read More: Woody Allen Rips His Distributors That ‘Failed Miserably’ (But He Loves Amazon)
“Long Strange Trip” is “the inspiring, complicated, downright messy tale of the Grateful Dead.” It explores the band’s enduring legacy, as well as how they built their Wall of Sound with their own hands, their drug use, and the spinners. The film features interviews with some of the band members, including Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, and Bob Weir, as well archival footage of the late Jerry Garcia. Garcia’s daughter, Trixie, is also featured in the documentary.
“I’ve always admired the spirit and creativity of the Grateful Dead,...
Read More: Woody Allen Rips His Distributors That ‘Failed Miserably’ (But He Loves Amazon)
“Long Strange Trip” is “the inspiring, complicated, downright messy tale of the Grateful Dead.” It explores the band’s enduring legacy, as well as how they built their Wall of Sound with their own hands, their drug use, and the spinners. The film features interviews with some of the band members, including Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, and Bob Weir, as well archival footage of the late Jerry Garcia. Garcia’s daughter, Trixie, is also featured in the documentary.
“I’ve always admired the spirit and creativity of the Grateful Dead,...
- 5/18/2017
- by Yoselin Acevedo
- Indiewire
Few bands have been as thoroughly subsumed by their own mythology as the Grateful Dead, which, at its height, was simultaneously a working musical group, a subculture in its own right, and the nexus of what was, essentially, a traveling town of hippies and societal drop-outs. That confusion is captured aptly in the trailer for Amir Bar-Lev’s new documentary about the group, Long Strange Trip, which is being executive produced by Martin Scorsese for Amazon Pictures.
Interviewing a number of the band’s members and featuring archival footage of the late Jerry Garcia, the doc looks to take a light touch on the band’s enduring legacy, without glossing over the more bizarre aspects of its journey—spinners, drugs, the fabled Wall Of Sound. You can see the whole story for yourself when Long Strange Trip premieres on Amazon Prime video on June 2.
Interviewing a number of the band’s members and featuring archival footage of the late Jerry Garcia, the doc looks to take a light touch on the band’s enduring legacy, without glossing over the more bizarre aspects of its journey—spinners, drugs, the fabled Wall Of Sound. You can see the whole story for yourself when Long Strange Trip premieres on Amazon Prime video on June 2.
- 5/17/2017
- by William Hughes
- avclub.com
"We're the same as you, you're the same as us." Get ready to rock 'n roll! Amazon Studios has debuted a full-length trailer for the documentary Long Strange Trip, an extensive look into the history and music of the iconic rock band known as the Grateful Dead. "Artfully assembling candid interviews with the band, road crew, family members and notable Deadheads," director Amir Bar-Lev "reveals the untold history of the Dead and the freewheeling psychedelic subculture that sprouted up around it." Featuring interviews and footage of Jerry Garcia, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, and Bob Weir; and executive produced by Martin Scorsese. There's lots of footage from their concerts, plus never-before-seen interviews and photos for Dead Heads (and newbies) to enjoy. This premiered at Sundance and also played at SXSW and seems like another definitive music doc for everyone to appreciate, even if you're not the biggest fan. Dive right in.
- 5/16/2017
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Long Strange Trip is playing for one-night only in St Louis on Thursday, May 25th at the Marcus Des Peres, before opening in NY & La on Friday, May 26th, and then premiering on Amazon Prime Video on June 2nd
The 30-year odyssey of the Grateful Dead was the most unlikely success story in rock ’n’ roll history. Famously averse to publicity and seemingly incapable of recording radio-friendly hits, they flouted music-industry convention by giving their live music away to a global network of tape traders and becoming the highest-grossing concert act in America through word of mouth alone.
Directed by Amir Bar-Lev (The Tillman Story) and executive produced by Martin Scorsese (The Last Waltz), Long Strange Trip is the first full-length documentary to explore the fiercely independent vision, perpetual innovation, and uncompromising commitment to their audience that made the Bay Area band one of the most influential musical groups of their generation.
The 30-year odyssey of the Grateful Dead was the most unlikely success story in rock ’n’ roll history. Famously averse to publicity and seemingly incapable of recording radio-friendly hits, they flouted music-industry convention by giving their live music away to a global network of tape traders and becoming the highest-grossing concert act in America through word of mouth alone.
Directed by Amir Bar-Lev (The Tillman Story) and executive produced by Martin Scorsese (The Last Waltz), Long Strange Trip is the first full-length documentary to explore the fiercely independent vision, perpetual innovation, and uncompromising commitment to their audience that made the Bay Area band one of the most influential musical groups of their generation.
- 5/12/2017
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Memorial Day weekend is still weeks away, but summer blockbusters are out in full force: Marvel's crowd-pleasing oddballs come back for seconds, Captain Jack Sparrow and friends take to the waves for a fifth time, the Xenomorph gets yet another helping of terrified human-meat, King Arthur goes gritty-reboot and a big-screen Baywatch attracts a new wave of leering stares. Those in search of something a little smaller-scale have plenty to choose from too, from Cate Blanchett's high-art masterclass to a pair of docs burrowing into a pair of specific cultural phenomena.
- 5/2/2017
- Rollingstone.com
For Mickey Hart, watching the upcoming grateful dead documentary Long Strange Trip was both moving and unsettling. "It's charming and it's heartfelt," says the drummer. "But it's sad in some ways. It's not a date movie. I wouldn't take my wife to see it."
The four-hour film (which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January and will hit select theaters on May 26th; it begins streaming on Amazon Prime Video starting June 2nd) is the first comprehensive documentary to tell the story of the Dead. Directed by Amir Bar-Lev...
The four-hour film (which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January and will hit select theaters on May 26th; it begins streaming on Amazon Prime Video starting June 2nd) is the first comprehensive documentary to tell the story of the Dead. Directed by Amir Bar-Lev...
- 4/10/2017
- Rollingstone.com
There will never be another Oscar winner like “O.J.: Made in America.” Each year, a month after the Academy Awards, the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences meet to debate and approve any rules changes for the next year’s Oscars. As expected, following the controversy over Espn’s five-part, eight-hour documentary feature, the Academy is cracking down on multi-part or limited “series.”
Read More: 2018 Oscar Predictions
As the Academy tries to distinguish itself from television’s Emmy Awards, no longer eligible for Oscars will be Netflix’s currently available “Five Came Back,” a three-part documentary about five A-list Hollywood directors filming World War II, executive produced by Steven Spielberg, Scott Rudin, and Barry Diller, or Amir Bar-Lev’s Grateful Dead documentary “Long Strange Trip,” presented by Martin Scorsese, which debuted in one four-hour screening at Sundance, but will be split into six parts on Amazon.
Read More: 2018 Oscar Predictions
As the Academy tries to distinguish itself from television’s Emmy Awards, no longer eligible for Oscars will be Netflix’s currently available “Five Came Back,” a three-part documentary about five A-list Hollywood directors filming World War II, executive produced by Steven Spielberg, Scott Rudin, and Barry Diller, or Amir Bar-Lev’s Grateful Dead documentary “Long Strange Trip,” presented by Martin Scorsese, which debuted in one four-hour screening at Sundance, but will be split into six parts on Amazon.
- 4/7/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
There will never be another Oscar winner like “O.J.: Made in America.” Each year, a month after the Academy Awards, the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences meet to debate and approve any rules changes for the next year’s Oscars. As expected, following the controversy over Espn’s five-part, eight-hour documentary feature, the Academy is cracking down on multi-part or limited “series.”
Read More: 2018 Oscar Predictions
As the Academy tries to distinguish itself from television’s Emmy Awards, no longer eligible for Oscars will be Netflix’s currently available “Five Came Back,” a three-part documentary about five A-list Hollywood directors filming World War II, executive produced by Steven Spielberg, Scott Rudin, and Barry Diller, or Amir Bar-Lev’s Grateful Dead documentary “Long Strange Trip,” presented by Martin Scorsese, which debuted in one four-hour screening at Sundance, but will be split into six parts on Amazon.
Read More: 2018 Oscar Predictions
As the Academy tries to distinguish itself from television’s Emmy Awards, no longer eligible for Oscars will be Netflix’s currently available “Five Came Back,” a three-part documentary about five A-list Hollywood directors filming World War II, executive produced by Steven Spielberg, Scott Rudin, and Barry Diller, or Amir Bar-Lev’s Grateful Dead documentary “Long Strange Trip,” presented by Martin Scorsese, which debuted in one four-hour screening at Sundance, but will be split into six parts on Amazon.
- 4/7/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
You time is valuable, and so are both services for different reasons.War Machine (Netflix)
Although there may be a competition going on between Amazon and Netflix for subscribers, the truth is that both company’s streaming services are essential for anyone who watches a lot of movies and TV and who wants to be part of the pop culture conversations as they happen.
There’s no denying that Amazon Prime is worth the $99/year, which not only gives you access to many movies but also a good amount of music streaming and digital media access, plus faster shipping for when you actually want some sort of physical product (you can also just get video content for $8.99/month, which oddly means paying more for less).
And Netflix is still a must-have for both its exclusive and nonexclusive content, though depending on one’s usage could be best for sporadic membership rather than continued subscription — now at $120/year...
Although there may be a competition going on between Amazon and Netflix for subscribers, the truth is that both company’s streaming services are essential for anyone who watches a lot of movies and TV and who wants to be part of the pop culture conversations as they happen.
There’s no denying that Amazon Prime is worth the $99/year, which not only gives you access to many movies but also a good amount of music streaming and digital media access, plus faster shipping for when you actually want some sort of physical product (you can also just get video content for $8.99/month, which oddly means paying more for less).
And Netflix is still a must-have for both its exclusive and nonexclusive content, though depending on one’s usage could be best for sporadic membership rather than continued subscription — now at $120/year...
- 4/4/2017
- by Christopher Campbell
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
New initiatives at Cph:dox include Britdoc’s Good Pitch event, a cultural summit and tech innovation pitches at Propeller Springboard.
Cph:dox has awarded its Dox:award to Last Men in Aleppo, directed by Feras Fayyad and co-directed by Steen Johannessen.
The jury said the film, about volunteers in the war-torn Syrian city, is “a film whose devastating emotional immediacy plunges us into a Shakespearean tragedy of a people striving to retain their humanity in the face of impossible realities.”
The film previously won the grand jury prize in Sundance’s World Cinema Documentary competition.
Special mentions went to Gray House by Austin Lynch and Matthew Booth and The John Dalli Mystery by Jeppe Rønde.
The F:act Award, for a film involving in-depth journalistic investigation, went to Reber Dosky’s Radio Kobani, about a young woman’s struggle to run a local radio station in war-torn northern Syria.
A special mention went to Trophy by Shaul Schwarz and Christina Clusiau...
Cph:dox has awarded its Dox:award to Last Men in Aleppo, directed by Feras Fayyad and co-directed by Steen Johannessen.
The jury said the film, about volunteers in the war-torn Syrian city, is “a film whose devastating emotional immediacy plunges us into a Shakespearean tragedy of a people striving to retain their humanity in the face of impossible realities.”
The film previously won the grand jury prize in Sundance’s World Cinema Documentary competition.
Special mentions went to Gray House by Austin Lynch and Matthew Booth and The John Dalli Mystery by Jeppe Rønde.
The F:act Award, for a film involving in-depth journalistic investigation, went to Reber Dosky’s Radio Kobani, about a young woman’s struggle to run a local radio station in war-torn northern Syria.
A special mention went to Trophy by Shaul Schwarz and Christina Clusiau...
- 3/25/2017
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
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