News

Titles from “Lupin” co-creator François Uzan, former Netflix top exec Erik Barmack, indie multinational Boat Rocker and Brendan Foley, writer of “Cold Courage,” will be pitched on Wednesday and Thursday at Spain’s Conecta Fiction & Entertainment. The pitch sessions form the industry centerpiece of the meet. Following, profiles of entries in four of the six categories: Copro, High-End, Docudramas and Feel Good:

CoPro Pitch

“Destape,” (Satisfaction Iberia, Spain)

The latest from Pablo Barrera, a co-creator of admired crime drama “Punta Escarlata,” a mystery drama turning on (the fictional) Rosa Burnett, a face of Spain’s ‘70s destape cinema, movies with tantalizing nudity. Now, thought dead, Burnett returns from gthe shadows to wreak her vengeance.

“Fin del Año,” (Têm Dênde Productions, Brazil)

A supernatural suspense drama from Vânia Lima at Salvador’s Têm Demdê Productions, behind Ruy Guerra’s “Time, Knifed,” presented at Ventana Sur. A bus transporting five people who...

Exclusive: Sugar23 has signed Charlie Tahan, the actor, writer, and director best known for his breakout starring role on Netflix’s Ozark, for management.

For a refresher, the Emmy-winning Ozark follows the seemingly ordinary financial planner, Marty Byrde (Jason Bateman), who becomes entangled in a dangerous world of money laundering and drug cartels. When a scheme goes awry, he’s forced to relocate his family from Chicago to the remote Ozarks in Missouri to launder money for a cartel, working to outmaneuver local criminals, corrupt officials, and his own fractured family dynamics.

Tahan’s character is Wyatt Langmore — cousin of Julia Garner’s Ruth — a member of a local crime family who proves an intelligent and introspective fan favorite, in spite of his troubled upbringing. His work as part of the ensemble earned him three SAG Award nominations between 2019 and 2023.

Most recently seen starring alongside Christian Bale in Scott Cooper...

New Indie

We’ll probably spend the next decade or so speculating on the impact certain films might have made had they not been released in the midst of a worldwide pandemic. One movie that could have had a bigger splash was “The Water Man” (Rlje Films), David Oyelowo’s impressive directorial debut. It’s a rousing kid adventure and a poignant family tale, and he very skillfully threads the needle between those two genres. Like many an actor-turned-director before him, Oyelowo displays a sure hand with the fine ensemble he’s assembled, including young actors Lonnie Chavis and Amiah Miller and veterans Rosario Dawson, Alfred Molina and Maria Bello.

Also available: The Criterion Collection continues to preserve the best Netflix originals to physical media, the latest being the intense “Beasts of No Nation,” starring Abraham Attah and Idris Elba in an appropriately brutal tale of child soldiers; “Overwhelm the...

Stars: Charlie Tahan, Pineapple Tangaroa, Will Forte, Kara Hayward, Zach Cherry, Sarah Mezzanotte, Dave Hill, Tonatiuh, Martin Pfefferkorn | Written by Chris Molinaro | Directed by John Carlucci, Brandon Laganke

Some times a film comes along that you expect very little from but ends up being so much more than you expected and Drunk Bus is exactly that. it must have something to it based on its synopsis alone because I get a choice of many films to review each week and for whatever reason Drunk Bus just stuck out to me. I’m glad I chose to watch it.

The film follows Michael a young campus bus driver who drives the late night ‘drunk bus’ every night. When he gets security for his bus in the form of a huge Samoan guy named Pineapple they form an unlikely kinship and both start trying to enjoy life.

Almost although the main characters...

Chicago – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio film review on the new film “Drunk Bus,” an indie about an aimless bus driver in a college town, and his unlikely friendship with a man named Pineapple, currently in select theaters and through Video On Demand.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

Charlie Tahan is Michael, an aimless bus driver in a college town, assigned to the route with the most bars, thus the “drunk bus.” He has dropped out of that college, lost his girlfriend and is constantly being harassed by his wasted riders. When a fight occurs on the bus, his boss assigns a bodyguard named Pineapple, portrayed by Pineapple Tangaroa. The pair become unlikely friends, teaching each other the life lessons they need to break free.

“Drunk Bus” is in select theaters (see local listings) and through Video On Demand, including locally through the Virtual Cinema of MusicBoxTheatre.com. Featuring Charlie Tahan, Kara Hayward,...

Drunk Bus is the story of an unlikely friendship between a college graduate working as the campus bus driver, and a punk rock Samoan security guard named Pineapple. Directed by John Carlucci and Brandon Laganke and written by Chris Molinaro, this coming-of-age comedy drama is the directors’ directorial debut.

The opening credits (“inspired by real shit”) take us back to 2006 to a town called Kent in Ohio. Michael (played by Charlie Tahan) is stuck in an endless loop. Day after day, he mopes after his ex-girlfriend Amy (played by Sarah Mezzanote) who left him for a new life in New York. He has no plan for a future but just secretly hopes she’ll come back, be with him and they will forever be happy and married. His days just pass him by in a dull lull. All he does is work whilst living with his super lazy flatmate Josh...

Best known to audiences for his role in hugely popular TV series Ozark, Charlie Tahan can now be seen driving a bus, in teen comedy Drunk Bus – and to mark the occasion, we spoke to the young actor on Zoom last week.

Tahan talks about turning his head to comedy and whether it’s something he’d like to do more of, and what it was like hanging around co-star Pineapple Tangaroa. We also discussed the end of Ozark, and how emotional (and freeing) it is to wave goodbye to a long-standing series.

Watch the full interview with Charlie Tahan here:

Synopsis

A directionless, young campus bus driver and a punk rock, Samoan security guard named Pineapple form an unlikely kinship as they navigate the unpredictable late shift shit show known as the “drunk bus.” Together, they break out of their endless loop and into a world of uncertainty, excitement and incredibly poor decision-making.

“Inspired by real shit,” (as the opening title cards inform us) the new late-night, college comedy “Drunk Bus” always feels a bit stuck in the past – the 2006 set movie being indebted to the 2000s Judd Apatow-era flicks with an indie film spin akin to “Adventureland” or “Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist.” Meaning, yes, it inevitably has its share of drunken barf jokes and fratty ass-wipes.

Continue reading ‘Drunk Bus’ Almost Overcomes Its College Comedy Clichés But Its Wheels Are Just Too Stuck In The Past [Review] at The Playlist.

Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

Army of the Dead (Zack Snyder)

For the first time since his Dawn of the Dead retread, Snyder livens up the frame with a more expansive color palette and localizes his stakes to a group of diverse mercenaries lacking any superhuman skills. He even follows the early blueprint of his 2004 adaptation, which opens with a frantic zombie attack and quickly pivots into a montage explaining the origins and scope of the epidemic. After all those years building out worlds of comic-book proportion, Snyder’s latest tribute to the undead feels like an emergence from hibernation. – Jake K. (full review)

Where to Stream: Netflix

Drunk Bus (Brandon Laganke and John Carlucci)

Watch an exclusive clip above.

Set in a time before Uber, smartphones,...

Exclusive: Tonatiuh (Vida) is set as a lead opposite John Ortiz in ABC’s drama pilot Promised Land.

Written by Matt Lopez and directed by Michael Cuesta, Promised Land is an epic, generation-spanning drama about two Latinx families vying for wealth and power in California’s Sonoma Valley.

Tonatiuh will play Antonio Sandoval, one of five children of the Sandoval family, a wealthy vineyard-owning clan in the Sonoma Valley. Antonio has been living in New York after being cast into exile by his father Joe (Ortiz), but is called back into the fold when the family faces a threat from the outside. Whether Antonio has forgiven or forgotten the treatment he received from his family remains an open question.

In addition to Ortiz, Tonatiuh joins previously announced series regulars Cecilia Suárez as Lettie Sandoval, matriarch of the Sandoval family, Augusto Aguilera as Mateo Sandoval, the hardworking, highly capable general manager...

Exclusive: New York-based firm FilmRise has picked up global distribution rights to drama Broken Diamonds, starring Tony and Grammy-winner Benjamin Platt (Dear Evan Hansen), Lola Kirke (Mozart In The Jungle) and Yvette Nicole Brown (Community).

Produced by La La Land and Sicario backers Black Label Media, the film will get its world premiere tomorrow at the Santa Barbara Film Festival.

Pitch Perfect and Dear Evan Hansen star Platt plays a twenty-something writer who, in the wake of his father’s death, sees his dream of moving to Paris put on hold when he must temporarily take care of his mentally ill sister. Above, we can reveal an image from the film.

Written by Steve Waverly, the movie is based on his true-life story about taking care of his older sister who suffers from schizophrenia. Director is Peter Sattler (Camp X-Ray).

FilmRise will handle all broadcast and digital distribution, both domestically and internationally.

Starring: Charlie Tahan (“Ozark”), Kara Hayward (Moonrise Kingdom), and Introducing Pineapple Tangaroa Michael (Charlie Tahan) is a recent graduate whose post college plan is derailed when his girlfriend leaves him for a job in New York City. Stuck in Ohio without a new plan of his own, Michael finds himself caught in the endless loop of …

The post Trailer: Drunk Bus, Starring Charlie Tahan (“Ozark”) + Kara Hayward (Moonrise Kingdom), Debuts 5/21 appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.

North America deal for Drunk Bus

Exclusive: FilmRise has picked up North American rights to SXSW 2020 selection Drunk Bus, starring Ozark‘s Charlie Tahan, Moonrise Kingdom actress Kara Hayward and newcomer Pineapple Tangaroa. In the indie comedy-drama, a directionless, young campus bus driver and a punk rock, Samoan security guard named Pineapple form an unlikely kinship as they navigate the unpredictable late shift shit show known as the “drunk bus.” The film will get a virtual theatrical release and on demand in late spring 2021.

Global sales deal for UFC doc with Dana White, Vin Diesel, Joe Rogan

Exclusive: Upstream Flix has acquired world sales rights for Bisping, the feature documentary about former UFC Champion Michael Bisping. After a tumultuous decade-long career filled with injuries and missed opportunities, 38-year-old UFC middleweight Bisping finally got his due and become the first-ever UFC champion from the UK. The film has been in production for the past two years,...

When the coronavirus pandemic hit California in March, San Diego Film Festival artistic director Tonya Mantooth briefly considered canceling this year’s program. But when it came down to the final decision, she recalls, her team held her back, saying, “Wait a second, our mission is to use film as a catalyst to bring different perspectives and get them to the forefront. This is exactly why we exist as a festival — we need to stay in there and fight the good fight.”

In a year that is seeing a resurgence of sociopolitical movements challenging systemic racism and advocating for LGBTQ+ rights, Sdff’s 2020 edition champions those messages as told through the big screen in a sincere effort to unite communities. With its weeklong program reduced to four days, the fest is scheduled for Oct. 15 to 18, featuring both drive-in events and virtual screenings that can be enjoyed in the comfort of festgoers’ homes.

IndieWire reached out to the directors of photography behind the scripted narrative features that were set to premiere last week at SXSW to find out which cameras, lenses, and formats they used, and why they chose them to create the looks and meet the production demands of their films. Here are their responses.

“The Carnivores”

More from IndieWire'Dark City Beneath the Beat' Review: Tt the Artist Remixes Baltimore Into 65-Minute Club BangerMemo to Distributors: Buy These 2020 SXSW Movies

Dir: Caleb Michael Johnson, DoP: Adam J. Minnick

Format: Xavc S

Camera: Sony a6300 & Sony a7R III

Lens: Contax Zeiss Photographic Lenses, 28mm, 50mm, 85mm, & 135mm.

Minnick: We wanted a very precise look with choreographed camera moves to come out of a 12-day-shoot, so we knew we were going to be flying. We didn’t even slate. This set-up allowed for a light and versatile two-camera system to create a one-of-a-kind texture and maximum flexibility.

Set in a time before Uber, smartphones, and mass social networking, Brandon Laganke and John Carlucci’s Drunk Bus is a nostalgic look at college life in small-town Kent, Ohio. Set largely on a bus that makes the rounds between the Greek houses, dorms, and bars, Drunk Bus is far from an original film but it’s the kind of cinematic comfort food that you might invite a few friends over to watch in your cramped dorm room. If you ever had that kind of college experience, especially in dead of winter with some friends and some snacks, this movie will probably make you nostalgic for those kinds of nights.

Charlie Tahan stars as Michael, a recent graduate of Kent Institute of Technology who finds himself on campus driving the drunk bus for far longer than he imagined. His girlfriend Amy (Sarah Mezzanotte) has left him in that kind of...

(The SXSW Film Festival may have been cancelled, but our coverage will go on with reviews of films and TV shows made available to our critics.) John Carlucci and Brandon Laganke’s Drunk Bus is an anti-road-trip comedy with plenty of mileage. Where Seann William Scott and DJ Qualls once learned salacious lessons while crossing state […]

The post ‘Drunk Bus’ Review: A Unique and Uplifting Anti-Road Trip Comedy [SXSW] appeared first on /Film.