Cinematical

• 'Death of a President' Wins an Emmy
  

  Filed under: Documentary, Awards, Newmarket, Cinematical Indie

  Hey, remember that film that received so much hype and controversy only to be released with a whimper and a lot of negative reviews? I'm talking about Death of a President, a non-comedic mockumentary focused on the (fictional) assassination of George W. Bush. I thought it was a terrible movie, and not because I thought it was tasteless. I actually thought the idea was interesting; I just didn't think it was executed well in the style in which it was done. But plenty of others, including my friends and colleagues, liked the darn thing....
  



• Cinematical Seven: Movies That Surprised Me With Their Bad Special Effects
  

  Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, New Line, Newmarket, Sony, Universal, Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, George Lucas, Peter Jackson, Cinematical Seven, Remakes and Sequels, Lists

  

  In this day and age you can do anything with special effects. But can you do it well? I believe that you can, but Hollywood doesn't seem to be in agreement with my belief. Studios continue to put out movies with special effects that disappoint, and I think it is disrespectful to audiences. Either figure it out, or leave it out. Every time I see a bad effect in...
  




• 'Year of Fog' Heading to Hollywood
  

  Filed under: Drama, Independent, Deals, Newmarket, Cinematical Indie

  Newmarket Films has built a tasty reputation by producing and/or distributing such intelligent offerings as The Prestige,God Grew Tired of Us and Death of a President. Their latest endeavor is no less challenging: according to Variety,they have acquired the screen rights to Michelle Richmond's novel The Year of Fog. Richmond's second book has garnered praise as a literary page-turner since its publication at the end of March.
  
  it relates the story of a photographer named Abby and her fiancé Jake. Abby takes Jake's six-year-old daughter to Ocean Beach in San Francisco one day, looks...
  



• Death of a President Dropped by Italian Theaters
  

  Filed under: Documentary, Drama, Independent, Newmarket, Celebrities and Controversy, Exhibition, Cinematical Indie

  The controversial fake doc Death of a President came and went in America, where it earned only half a million bucks at the box office (it is still running every weekend at NYC's Pioneer Theater, if you're still interested), but it is still making its way around the globe. It will open this Friday in Italy, though on 30% fewer screens than originally planned. Lucky Red, which is distributing the film there claims that some exhibitors have bailed on their booking in order to...
  



• Jim Caviezel Returns as Jesus
  

  Filed under: Drama, Casting, Newmarket, Home Entertainment, Religious

  There aren't any plans for an official sequel to The Passion of the Christ (unofficial is another story), but one Bible publisher is producing what seems to be a related product. This October, Nelson Bibles will release a 25-hour audiobook of the New King James Version complete with a star-studded cast, including Jim Caviezel as the voice of Jesus.
  
  The rest of the Passion cast has been substituted with other big names, and there doesn't seem to be any affiliation with Newmarket Films...
  



• Death of a President Dead at Box Office
  

  Filed under: Documentary, Drama, Independent, Mystery & Suspense, Newmarket, Box Office, Cinematical Indie

  Controversy doesn't always sell, and Newmarket Films found this out the hard way over the weekend with its dismal receipts from Death of a President. The faux doc grossed only $282,000 from the 143 theaters it played at in the U.S. and Canada, and its per-screen average was only $1,970. Compare that with the much better Shut Up & Sing, which also opened over the weekend with appeal to the Bush-hating crowd; it played in only four theaters for a per-screen average of $12,525. Plus,...
  



• Netscape Video: Death of a President
  

  Filed under: Documentary, Drama, Independent, New Releases, Newmarket, Celebrities and Controversy, Movie Marketing, Politics, Interviews, Toronto International Film Festival, Cinematical Indie

  
  
  Netscape's Karina Longworth sat down with Death of a President director Gabriel Range, and has intertwined the interview with her own thoughts and criticisms of the faux documentary and the controversial buzz surrounding it. The most important point addressed in the video is probably the fact that the film is actually the opposite of anti-Bush. Karina even goes so far as to say it is, "definitely sympathetic," in its treatment of the president and, "it...
  



• Cinematical Buzz Reviews: Death of a President
  

  Filed under: Documentary, Independent, Mystery & Suspense, Newmarket, Theatrical Reviews, Celebrities and Controversy, Movie Marketing, Politics, Toronto International Film Festival, Cinematical Indie

  
  
  (The following review ran during Cinematical's coverage of The Toronto International Film Festival; with Death of a President bowing today in limited release, we're glad to share it with you again.)
  

  Occasionally, on the festival circuit, there's a movie that garners significant press before it even opens, and mainstream press at that.The controversy could be political, artistic or any one of a number of things. This year at Toronto, the...
  




• Death of a President: There's No Publicity Like No Publicity
  

  Filed under: Drama, Independent, Newmarket, Celebrities and Controversy, Movie Marketing, Politics, Toronto International Film Festival, Cinematical Indie

  Movie marketing's a bit of a chess game for a lower-budget indie -- you want to always make tactical choices between advertising (which you pay for) and publicity (which you don't). For a great demonstration of this phenomenon, check out this press release from Newmarket films who picked up shock mock doc Death of a President at Toronto about how they are shocked, shocked that NPR and CNN won't run ads for the film.
  
  Of course, this is the best of...
  



• TIFF Update: Deals for President and Nation
  

  Filed under: Documentary, Drama, Deals, IFC, Newmarket, Toronto International Film Festival

  Two more films that premiered in Toronto this week have acquired U.S. distribution: ...So Goes the Nation and, perhaps surprisingly, Death of a President. IFC bought the North American distribution rights to ...So Goes the Nation, a documentary about the American electoral process with a focus on Ohio during the 2004 Presidential campaign. IFC hopes to release the film before U.S. midterm elections this fall through its First Take arm, which simultaneously releases movies in theaters and on cable-on-demand channels.
  
  Newmarket took a chance and...