See Fessenden beg for pledges in the new Kickstarter campaign launched by indie distributor Oscilloscope, which hopes to re-transfer the original 16mm film elements of Reichardt’s debut feature RIVER OF GRASS (co-starring and edited by Fessenden) to an archival digital format.
“Nowadays, there’s lots of talk about how easy it is to make a movie for little to no money. And that’s true… to a point. And that’s great… in theory. But to make a motion picture with the type of names that will enable that movie to actually get seen, and to assemble a group of collaborators that can bring one’s vision to fully blossomed life? That takes real money (by ‘real money’ I’m talking mid-six figures at the very least). Which is to say that for a movie like Entertainment to exist in 2015 is far more difficult an achievement than it seems. This is not just a refreshing or exciting thing to appreciate. It’s inspiring. Love it or hate it—and you will most certainly do one or the other in a big, big way—it’s impossible to deny that Entertainment is the expression of a daring artist who is hellbent on rejecting conventions and norms and firmly believes that the true purpose of cinema is to challenge, not satiate, viewers.”
— Michael Tully, HAMMER TO NAIL
Alverson, whose previous work The Comedymight be film’s finest examination of the corrosive nature of privilege, makes movies that are near impossible to sit through and even harder to stop thinking about.
— Jordon Hoffman, THE GUARDIAN
Rick Alverson’s surreal provocation “The Comedy” featured a bored, obnoxious Brooklyn hipster played by Tim Heidecker with such extreme discomfort that the entire project felt like a dare. That was kind of the point: Alverson forced viewers to get up close and personal with the trappings of modern day ambivalence. With his follow-up, “Entertainment,” Alverson takes the opposite approach: Rather than being corrupted by privilege, the glum comedian at the center of the new movie is a walking embodiment of failed ambition.
— Eric Kohn, INDIEWIRE
Five Questions for Rick Alverson of Sundance NEXT Premiere, Entertainment
— Alicia Van Couvering, FILMMAKER
After premiering the Glass Eye Pix production THE COMEDY at Sundance in 2011, director Rick Alverson returns to premiere ENTERTAINMENT, starring Neil Hamburger. Fessenden Executive produces.
Nevermind the Oscars; LATE PHASES and GEP pals’ THE SACRAMENT have received nominations for Fango’s 2015 Chainsaw Awards!
Nick Damici for BEST ACTOR
Robert Kurtzman, Brian Spears, for BEST MAKEUP/CREATURE FX
THE SACRAMENT, directed by Ti West, for BEST LIMITED-RELEASE/DIRECT-TO-VIDEO FILM
Gene Jones for BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Congrats to all the nominees! Check them all out here.
Here’s how to vote:
E-mail your votes (be sure to vote in all categories, and only once per person; personal e-mails only, no mass ballots) to chainsaw@fangoria.com.
Write-in votes are acceptable in all categories. Deadline for ballots is March 10; winners will be announced in Fango #342 and at Fangoria.com in April.
Kevin Corrigan, Jon Wurster, Fessenden and filmmaker Lance Bangs in the aftermath of an epic reading of THE GORCH with Corrigan as The original Fonzie and Fessenden as Tom Scharpling at Over the Eight in Brooklyn, NY Monday 1.5.15.
Hear the original recording on youtube and keep your eyes peeled for repeat performances…
From Sam Zimmerman at Shock Till You Drop:
“Mickey Keating is an up-and-comer. The young filmmaker, who got his start at NYC horror house Glass Eye Pix (headed up by Larry Fessenden), made his feature debut with the simple, stylish, Lynchian Ritual. In 2014, he completed production on two new features, POD and Darling, both of which star Jug Face’s Lauren Ashley Carter. The former, and the one we’re likely to catch first at festivals, is a paranoid, Twilight Zone-inspired tale of a family intervention gone wrong. The latter is a black-and-white chronicle of a woman in a Manhattan mansion losing it. Both have that special appearance-by-Fessenden touch.”
Check out his full list here.
From Indiewire.com:
“The time is now for new voices in the horror/thriller genre…And at the Slamdance Film Festival, co-directors Dan Berk and Robert Olsen are hoping they too will join those filmmakers with “Body.”
Starring Helen Rogers, Alexandra Turshen, Lauren Molina, and Larry Fessenden, the wintry thriller kicks off with a killing and turns the screws from there. Here’s the official synopsis: After three twenty-something girls break into a mansion and inadvertently murder the groundskeeper, they slowly self-destruct as they decide what to do with the dead body in the living room. And as you’ll see from this eerie teaser, “Body” promises a spine-tingling atmosphere and some carefully calibrated suspense.
“Body” will have its first screening at Slamdance on Sunday, January 25th at 10:30 PM at the Treasure Mountain Inn in the Ballroom…”
Check out the trailer and more images from the film here.
