Anchor Bay Entertainment Canada

Fantasia Film Festival Press Page Break Report

September 29, 2015

 

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                 

Momentum  

       

Wednesday, July 23  

Outlet: Global News Montreal Format: TV, Online Interviewer: Gloria Henriquez    

  Outlet: CBC Radio, Homerun Format: Radio Interviewer: Steve Rukavina    

  Outlet: Fantasia Film Fest Format: Online Interviewer: Fantasia Film Fest Staff  

Wednesday, July 23  

Outlet: In The Seats Format: Online Interviewer: Dave Voigt  

Email Interview TBD Week of July 27  

Outlet: Offscreen Magazine Format: Print, Online Interviewer: Donato Totaro

Outlet: Montreal Rampage Format: Online Interviewer: Jeremy Lefebure

           

Stephen Campanelli Interview Schedule  

                                                                                      Please find this interview online below: http://globalnews.ca/video/2126254/sitc-fantasia

                 HOMERUN | Jul 22, 2015 | 7:26                              

From Concordia film school to Clint Eastwood to Fantasia Director Stephen Campanelli tells Steve Rukavina about his journey in film from Concordia University to becoming Clint Eastwood's go-to-cameraman to premiering his directorial debut at the Fantasia International Film Festival.                   Please find this interview online below: http://www.cbc.ca/player/AudioMobile/Homerun/ID/2672326589/

                                                      Published on Jul 22, 2015 MOMENTUM de STEPHEN CAMPANELLI présenté en première mondiale le 2 juillet à 19:45 au Théâtre Concordia Hall. MOMENTUM by STEPHEN CAMPANELLI presented in world premiere on july 22th at 19:45 at the Concordia Hall Theater.                  Please find this interview online below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTcQR9shQfA

Momentum Pending Coverage                                                                                              

                                                                                                 

Cop Car  

                         

Kevin Bacon Live Inv Tue, Jul 28: Hollywood star Kevin Bacon is in Montreal for the premier of his new movie, Cop Car, at the Fantasia Film Festival. Elysia Bryan-Baynes caught up with him on the red carpet.               Please find this video online below:  http://globalnews.ca/video/2136606/kevin-bacon-live-inv

               

RAW: Actor Kevin Bacon and director Jon Watts in Montreal for Fastasia Festival Posted: Jul 30, 2015 2:54 PM ET                                                 Please find this video online below:  http://www.cbc.ca/news/raw-actor-kevin-bacon-and-director-jon-watts-in-montreal-for-fastasia-festival-1.3171797

   

 

MONTREAL

    CTV Montreal: Kevin Bacon in Cop Car                                                                      Please find this video online below:  http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=667173

                             

“Everybody loves Kevin Bacon,” Jon Watts said. “Everyone. No one doesn’t like him.”

The director has come to the above conclusion while promoting his new film Cop Car, which has its Canadian première Tuesday night as part of the Fantasia International Film Festival. Watts will be on hand for the occasion, as will Bacon — which should make for quite the mob scene, if the reaction the actor received when Cop Car premièred at Sundance is anything to go by, Watts opined. “It’s crazy, he’s so famous. Everyone knows who he is.” Whence the old game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, in which players must chart a path between random actors and Bacon through their respective filmographies. And whence Watts’s excitement at landing the Footloose star to play a foul-mouthed, murderous sheriff on the hunt for two boys who have stolen his police cruiser in Cop Car. “(The story) is based on a recurring dream I had as a kid,” Watts said, on the phone Friday from Los Angeles. “I’m 10, sitting in the passenger seat of my mom’s car. My friend Travis is driving, and we’re going faster and faster around town, passing people we know; but nobody is saying anything or stopping us. Then I wake up. “I’ve had that dream since I was a kid and I always thought there was something to it. Then I had the idea to make it be a cop car. I told Chris Ford, who I write with, about it and he said, ‘Whose (car) is it? And how does he get it back?’ So I thought, ‘Cool.’ And we sat down and wrote the story in about two weeks, between a bunch of what I thought were more serious projects. We sent the script to our friends, who are producers, they were able to set up that financing and now it’s happening.” Things seem to just happen for Watts, whom Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios recently announced as the director of the next Spider-Man movie, due for release on July 28, 2017. “It’s really early,” Watts said when asked for details concerning the project. “We’re just getting started. I don’t have anything to say yet, but it’s extremely exciting. I can’t believe I’m working with the team at Marvel. They’ve just got all the writers on board, and we’re going to figure out the story together, as a team.”

Rumours that Watts got a Spider-Man tattoo on his chest in order to help him secure the job are unfounded, the writer-director admitted after some hesitation. “Ummmm, no. I so desperately want people to think that, but someone messed with my Wikipedia entry. I have suspicions as to who it is. I didn’t find out until a few days ago. Though I like the idea of getting a tattoo.” Cop Car is Watts and co-writer Ford’s second feature, following last year’s Clown, a horror-comedy film about a man who dons a clown costume only to find that he can no longer remove it. The project started out as a joke in the form of a fake trailer posted to YouTube as the next feature from Hostel director Eli Roth. The clip went viral, and before long Watts received a phone call from Roth himself. “We were like, ‘Please don’t sue us, we were just messing around.’ And he said, ‘No, this is great. Want to make it? Pitch it to me.’ So we did, then we shot it. It’s insane that that happened.” It’s all part of the charmed ascent of the NYU film school graduate, whose CV also includes creating fake news hits for the Onion website and an online series about police puppets, called Fuzz. “I always liked things that had a hint of weird humour or absurdity,” Watts said. “I was just reading Judd Apatow’s book of interviews (Sick in the Head: Conversations About Life and Comedy); I was obsessed with comedy from a young age.” Watts is also a self-described “film nerd,” who grew up idolizing Stanley Kubrick and Luis Buñuel. He puts those competing interests to work in Cop Car, which starts off like a lightweight adventure before delving into life’s dark side. “Horror, thrillers and comedy are all about tension and timing,” he said. “I think the best thrillers are a bit funny, and the best comedy gets a bit dark and uncomfortable. It’s about finding that line, which is a lot of fun.”

AT A GLANCE Cop Car has its Canadian première Tuesday, July 28 at 7:15 p.m. at Concordia’s Hall Theatre, 1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W., as part of the Fantasia International Film Festival. The screening is sold out. For more information, visit fantasiafestival.com.                                                                                Please find this article online below: http://montrealgazette.com/entertainment/movies/fantasia-kevin-bacon-will-be-along-for-the-ride-at-screening-of-jon-wattss-cop-car

                                     Tapis rouge, photographes et atmosphère glamour. Le pavillon Hall de l’Université Concordia a pris des airs d’Hollywood, hier, alors que l’acteur américain Kevin Bacon était de passage au festival Fantasia pour présenter le film Cop Car en première canadienne. Dans ce deuxième long métrage du réalisateur Jon Watts, Bacon joue le rôle d’un agent de police mystérieux et aux comportements violents et délinquants. Dans le coffre de sa voiture de patrouille, il traîne un homme ensanglanté, qu’il veut enterrer loin de la ville sans qu’on sache pourquoi. Or, il laisse sa voiture garée et s’en éloigne quelques minutes, et deux jeunes garçons s’en emparent sans savoir ce qui se cache derrière eux. Pendant plusieurs heures, ils dévalent les routes de la région, avec toute l’insouciance de leur jeunesse. La découverte de l’homme blessé, qui veut à tout prix se venger du policier, les placera dans une situation dangereuse. « J’ai d’abord lu le scénario après que mon agent me l’a fait parvenir. J’ai été fasciné par la clarté de l’histoire. Je comprenais déjà la vision que les scénaristes voulaient insuffler à l’histoire. Et ce policier, mystérieux, dont on ignore tout du passé, m’inspirait », a expliqué Kevin Bacon, hier, en entrevue avec La Presse.

Bien sûr, l’acteur de 57 ans ne dégage pas la peur et l’angoisse que provoque son personnage dans Cop Car. Au contraire : il est posé et sait convaincre ceux qui l’écoutent des points forts de ce film, qu’il a tellement aimé qu’il en est devenu coproducteur. « Cop Car n’est pas fait pour la critique ou pour gagner des prix. C’est fait pour que les gens se rongent les ongles. » — Kevin Bacon L’acteur a tout de même rappelé au passage que le film avait été sélectionné par le festival de Sundance, en janvier dernier. ANECDOTE PERSONNELLE Pour se préparer à ce genre de rôle, pour lequel l’histoire racontée donne très peu de détails sur le passé du personnage, Kevin Bacon s’est inspiré d’une rencontre qu’il a faite quelques années plus tôt avec un policier à la frontière du Texas. « Je conduisais près de la frontière quand l’agent m’a arrêté. Il m’a fait sortir de mon véhicule, puis m’a demandé de venir avec lui vers sa voiture. Rendu à la voiture, il m’a demandé de m’asseoir sur le siège du passager pendant qu’il cherchait des informations dans son ordinateur », a raconté l’acteur, hier, d’un ton volontairement mystérieux. Or, le policier n’était pas l’homme dangereux que Bacon incarne dans le film. Mais sa personnalité et ce qu’il dégageait l’ont certainement inspiré. « En fin de compte, il m’a simplement dit qu’il avait adoré Footloose et il m’a demandé de ralentir », a-t-il dit, sourire en coin. Ce sont les petites anecdotes comme celle-ci qui ont permis à Kevin Bacon de construire son personnage. « Ce personnage-là, je le sentais. Je savais ce qu’il vivait, ce qu’il pensait. Il faut se laisser imprégner par ses propres histoires, et ensuite construire un univers autour », a-t-il expliqué. Le film Cop Car prend l’affiche le 7 août.    Please find this article online below: http://plus.lapresse.ca/screens/091173be-c412-41d5-8ee3-b4ce51b8f7ce%7C_0.html

       

Cop Car – Interview with Kevin Bacon and director Jon Watts @ Fantasia July 29, 2015 - film festival, Interviews Author: Carey Fantasia continues to show its punch by bringing in big movies, directors and stars. This year the biggest star in town for Fantasia is Kevin Bacon. You know him from movies like Footloose, Diner, Mystic River, and Apollo 13 as well as the television series The Following. He is a well-known and well-respected actor who has had a long and successful career. With his latest film he has gone a little indie and teamed up with director and co-screenwriter Jon Watts for the concept film, Cop Car. In Cop Car Bacon plays a small town sheriff who has had his cop car stolen by two joyriding 10-year-olds and he aims to get it back come hell or high water. The set-up of the film is rather a simple one (I just described it in one sentence), but it will both entertain and surprise you. On a hot, sunny Montreal afternoon Kevin Bacon and Jon Watts met with Montreal media for roughly 15 minutes to talk about the film.

Q: How did this film come together? Jon Watts: It all came together within a year from writing it to playing at Sundance. Q: Kevin, what inspired you to get behind the wheel of Cop Car as both the star and the producer? Kevin Bacon: Well, I read the script. It came to me through my agent. The regular channels. I didn’t find it in the garbage or anything. Jon Watts: I tied it to a brick and threw it through his window. Kevin Bacon: (laughts) It didn’t come that way. It is an unusual script because it’s in some ways very understated but in some ways incredibly descriptive in a way that made me think that the writers had a really, really clear vision of what they wanted to put on the screen. That’s something that you can kinda get a sense from in a screen play. I liked the idea that the character was a little mysterious. That you really don’t know exactly why he’s doing what he’s doing. You don’t know the backstory of who he is. Sometimes that’s what I call you are kinda acting between the lines because you don’t have the scene where you say this is who I am. You act in between the words. So I liked that idea. Then I went and looked at a movie that Jon had done. It was more in a different sort of genre in that it was more of a straight up horror movie, but I’m a big fan of horror and I though he just crushed it. I thought it was just fun. Shocking, engaging and scary and obviously made for a price, but well executed, so I signed up. Q: That was “Clown”, the film he was talking about. Kevin, I was reminded at times during the film of “Night of the Hunter” with two kids on the lam and the boogieman after them. I was wondering if you had Robert Mitchum in mind anywhere during the creation of the character? Kevin Bacon: Well, I like the Robert Mitchum reference because I think he’s great. But I’m embarrassed to say that I have never seen “Night of the Hunter”. I’ll go and check it out.

Jon Watts: It’s really good! Kevin Bacon: Is it good? I’ll see it. It’s not the first time someone has mentioned Robert Mitchum to me and I think he was fantastic. I tend to try my best not to look at other performances in order to figure out how to do a performance. I really, really love actors and I love to see great work, but I think it is off the point to try to do what somebody else did. I think it’s more about trying to find a real person to reference or to try to create a character based on yourself and people that you have come in contact with. I frankly like documentaries when it comes to basing characters on people. I think that’s a better way in. Q: I have never seen a movie that is so difficult to describe in a critique without giving the plot away, so I want you to help me with that. Jon Watts: I don’t like giving anything away either. All we ever say is that it’s about two 10-year-olds that find a police abandoned in the middle of the fields and then it’s the story of the sheriff that wants to get it back. I don’t know. What else can we say? I don’t want to give any of it away. Not a lot happens in it. It’s very simple. It’s like an Amblin Entertainment (studio behind E.T., Gremlins, Back to the Future, The Goonies, etc.)/the Coen Brothers action film somebody said, which I think is kinda cool. Q: The point you made about basing characters on real people, have either one of you had encounters with nasty cops in the past that might have informed the performance or inception of the character? Kevin Bacon: I was driving cross country with my dogs. Two dogs in the back of my station wagon and I was on the border of Oklahoma and Texas. I pulled into this town and I didn’t see that the speed had dropped. I was pulled over and literally it felt like this place was in the middle of nowhere. We were outside a convenience store and the cop got out. A couple of people wandered out beside the gas pumps to see what was going on. He asked me to get out of the car. We walked back to his car and he said “Get in the passenger seat” (in a southern accent) and I sat in the passenger seat. He’s typing on the computer, checking things and doing this and doing that.

Then he goes, (again in a southern accent) “I wanted you to know that Footloose is the first film I ever went to. You gotta slow down”. Q: The dogs got off easy. Kevin Bacon: The dogs got off easy. Luckily. It could have not been good, but it was fine. Q: Kevin, you mentioned about acting between the lines when really the first 15-20 minutes when you’re onscreen there’s almost no dialogue. I’m kinda curious about how much freedom did you have from Jon to almost improvise or sort of create the character with no words or was that all on the page in terms of how you’re supposed to behave? Kevin Bacon: (as Jon Watts is shaking his head) I think a lot of it was on the page (Jon Watts looks surprised) and then we kinda just started talking about it (Jon Watts nods in agreement). Starting talking about who he guy would be. I think we were both agreed that even if it is not said that we had a pretty clear understanding. I did the same sort of work that I would do with any character. I figure out where he’s from and what he likes and what he doesn’t like and what his is past is. All those kinds of things. It’s basically or I consider it an autobiography that I kinda write. Then we started to talk about it. So freedom, yeah, I think there was a lot of freedom, but I also think that when things worked or didn’t work he (Jon Watts) was very clear about it and would say “Yes” or “No”. I think to tell the story of somebody as I said without words is something that I didn’t really understand when I was a young actor. I would look at a script and say, “Shit! I don’t have any lines”. I don’t have as many lines as this guy so how am I going to do this. I remember that with “Diner”, a movie I did a long time ago. My part did not have a lot of lines and I go “Shit! I’m going to be left in the dust because everyone else is going to have a chance to play all these cool scenes”. I think over time I sorta learnt that that’s not really the way it works. The camera is a beautiful piece of machinery and it can see past what is coming out of your mouth. It can see what is going on with your eyes and your body. It was fun in that way and it was his (Jon Watts) idea in the screenplay to try to tell the story with nothing being said.

Q: I was wondering Jon from the outset you decided you were going to work with two kids, but a lot of directors are shying away from working with young people. So, I was wondering about how you went about casting them and how they felt about the screenplay overall? Jon Watts: They were great. That thing about it being difficult working with kids, I don’t understand it because it’s all so new and fresh to them that they don’t have to work to make something be real. It’s all very real to them. You put them in a car that you are towing down the road that’s real reactions that you are getting. They don’t have to “act”. To find them we did a nationwide casting search. Hays, the kid with longer hair, is from Virginia and James is from New Jersey. They had this seriousness that I was really looking for. Even though they could be making 10-year-old decisions you had to believe that they really thought about it and had really puzzled it out on their own. That they really believed in these decisions. So, of the two of them I really didn’t know who was going to be who. Out in Colorado, where we shot, we had them read for both like two days before we were shooting and then it was pretty obvious who should play who. All we had to do was, James had a Justin Bieber haircut and we had to shave his head, which he did not want to do. Then he thought it was pretty cool. It was great working with them. As a director you really just have to keep your energy up the whole time because the moment that you are distracted or your energy drops they’re gone. Q: What I loved about the actors in the film is that they are not like movie actors, they are like real kids. They were very natural, the dialogue, the comradery…they talked like real kids talk which you sometimes don’t get out of movies. Jon Watts: Our joke is that not only does the movie star two 10-year-olds, but it’s also like it is written by two 10-year-olds. I write with my best friend, Chris Ford, and it’s very easy to write like a 10-year-old when you’re with your buddy.

Q: Kevin, this is quite a mean, sadistic and bad character that you are playing. I was wondering how you thought of that in the context of other roles that you have played and also how you tried to temper the character given that he also provides a lot of the comic relief in the film? Kevin Bacon: I’ve never shied away from playing bad characters. I’ve done some pretty horrible things, let’s face it. I tend to not even categorize them as good guys or bad guys. A lot of people ask me if it is more “fun” to be a bad guy and I don’t really that way necessarily. I feel that characters are fun because they are interesting or well written and they’re different from someone that I did before. Somehow I have found something interesting in them whether what they’re doing is right or what they’re doing is wrong or somewhere in the middle, which is generally is. I didn’t really think about tempering it with comedy. I felt like in a way that was up to Jon (director Watts). I enjoyed him. I liked the fact that if you think about it he had to have started out feeling like he was going to uphold the law and protect the innocent. And somewhere along the way he starts to make some bad decisions. The fact that he has a certain amount of homespun charm was a nice kind of juxtaposition to his desperation and his, as you call it, mean streak. Q: The subject matter of the film considering what is going on in the States today with the bad cop lend the film any relevancy or unrelevancy? Jon Watts: Yeah, actually, we didn’t know, but there had been a scandal in one of the counties in Colorado where we were shooting. I don’t know the details of it, but when you show up with your production and start meeting all the police officers they’re like “Is this about that guy? Are you making fun of us? Is this based on anything?” And we had no idea, so once they realized we were clueless about that they totally got on board. Q: Maybe each of you could tell us what you have coming next? Jon Watts: I don’t know. It’s just sorta up in the air. I’m looking at a couple of projects.

Kevin Bacon: Yeah, just doing what I can with what I’ve got. I have a movie called “Black Mass” that I have a small part in that’s coming out. Which I just saw the other day and it is excellent. Excellent. A movie about Whitey Bulger, who was a notorious gangster in Boston. Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton and a whole bunch of people are in it. And after that I don’t know. I’m on the horns of a dilemma as my mother-in-law would say. I have no idea what that means, but that’s what she says.                     Please find this article online below: http://www.orcasound.com/2015/07/29/cop-car-interview-with-kevin-bacon-and-director-jon-watts-fantasia/  

                                                    MONTRÉAL - Présenté à Fantasia et à l'affiche dans les cinémas la semaine prochaine, Cop Car est le deuxième long métrage de Jon Watts... réalisateur du futur Spider-Man. «Nous avons mis une semaine à écrire le scénario avec Chris [NDLR: Christopher D. Ford, le coscénariste, connu pour le très bon Robot et Frank]. Ce n'est jamais arrivé et cela n'arrivera jamais plus», me dit Jon Watts en éclatant de rire. C'est d'autant plus surprenant que Cop Car - pour lequel l'acteur Kevin Bacon est venu à Montréal lors du Festival international de films Fantasia - est un drame policier extrêmement bien ficelé qui tient en haleine du début à la fin.      

Le point de départ de cette histoire est relativement simple. Deux enfants de 10 ans, Harrison (Hays Wellford) et Travis (James Freedson) trouvent, en se promenant dans les champs de la campagne américaine, une voiture de police qui semble abandonnée. «Semble» parce qu'une bouteille de bière entamée traîne sur le capot. Mais, comme on n'est pas sérieux à cet âge-là, les gamins décident de monter dans le véhicule. De fil en aiguille, ils le font démarrer et se retrouvent bientôt à circuler sur les routes et à faire toutes sortes de bêtises, dont explorer ce qu'il y a à l'intérieur de la voiture. Et, pendant ce temps, le flic en question (Kevin Bacon) les cherche désespérément, employant tous les moyens possibles pour reprendre possession de sa bagnole. J'AI FAIT UN RÊVE... «Cette histoire est basée sur un rêve récurrent... que je ne fais plus d'ailleurs, peut-être que de faire le film m'a guéri. Dans ce rêve, que j'ai depuis que je suis tout petit, je suis le passager dans la voiture de ma mère. J'ai 10 ans et c'est mon ami Travis, qui lui aussi a 10 ans, qui conduit. Nous roulons à travers la ville et nous croisons des gens que nous connaissons, mais qui ne nous disent rien et qui n'essaient pas de nous arrêter. Je me sens alors de plus en plus nerveux, car j'ai peur que nous ayons un accident ou de graves ennuis. Travis va de plus en plus vite et je me réveille», me raconte le cinéaste. «Comme je fais ce rêve depuis que je suis en âge de me souvenir de quelque chose, j'ai commencé à jouer avec l'idée. Puis, j'ai imaginé à quel point ce serait amusant que cela se déroule dans une voiture de police. En en parlant avec Chris, il m'a alors aiguillé sur le flic, en me demandant des détails sur cet homme. Et nous nous sommes pris au jeu et avons réalisé que nous tenions un film.» UN PETIT MIRACLE Cop Car est un petit miracle. Le budget de production? À peine 800 000 $. Il a été tourné dans la ville du Colorado d'où Jon Watts est originaire et le film a remporté un franc succès (et pour cause) au Festival de Sundance. Au générique, on trouve donc Kevin Bacon, qui a également agi à titre de producteur, Camryn Manheim, Shea Whigham et les deux jeunes acteurs, connus aux États-Unis pour de petits rôles dans des séries télévisées et des publicités.

Malgré certaines scènes peu convenables pour des enfants, notamment avec des armes (je ne dis rien pour ne pas dévoiler de rebondissements), ce ne sont pas ces moments qui ont le plus impressionné Hays Wellford et James Freedson. «Oui, on les voit dans des situations très adultes, mais ils ont encore 10 ans. Cela génère beaucoup de tension, même si c'est très drôle à voir. [...] Les enfants m'ont dit que les scènes les plus difficiles à jouer pour eux avaient été celles dans lesquelles ils disent des jurons.» «Quand on a 10 ans, le terme "fuck" est totalement tabou. Leurs parents devaient leur répéter que tout allait bien et qu'ils avaient le droit de le faire puisqu'ils incarnaient des personnages. C'était vraiment drôle à voir parce que j'avais l'impression, en les regardant jouer et prononcer ces gros mots, qu'ils se réjouissaient de pouvoir les dire sans se faire gronder!» Rien sur le prochain «Spider-Man» Jon Watts sait tenir sa langue. Il ne dit rien du prochain Spider-Man qu'il réalisera. Le film sera sur les écrans mondiaux en 2017 et les personnages feront partie intégrante de l'univers de Marvel, décliné au cinéma par les studios Disney. Et, quand il le faut, il refuse de révéler un secret au sujet de Kevin Bacon. Car, quand je lui demande si l'acteur s'est vraiment laissé pousser une telle moustache pour Cop Car, il éclate de rire et me répond: «vous ne le saurez jamais!». Cop Car offre toute une virée aux cinéphiles dès le 7 août.      Please find this article online below:  http://fr.canoe.ca/divertissement/cinema/nouvelles/archives/2015/07/20150728-185319.html  Please find this article reposted online below:  http://www.journaldequebec.com/2015/07/31/en-voiture-avec-le-realisateur-jon-watts http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2015/07/31/en-voiture-avec-le-realisateur-jon-watts

                 

                               

 Musicians Sky Ferriera, Sharon Van Etten and dee-jays Neon Indian and Toro Y Moi are now part of the expanding Sundance Film Festival family. Sundance’s NEXT FEST (August 7th to the 9th) kicks off early on August 2nd, with a showing of Jon Watt’s Cop Car — the filmmaker made the industry news headlines this week when he signed onto direct the new Spiderman. Now in its third year, the fest which intertwines filmmakers and musicians or surprise mentors of the arts is comprised of films from the ’15 edition of the festival with only a pair of NEXT titles being re-programmed in Rick Alverson’s Entertainment and Michael J. Larnell’s Cronies. Our Nicholas Bell will be covering the event for the site. Here’s the full lineup: Sunday, August 2, 8:30 p.m. – Sundance NEXT FEST Kick Off Event Cinespia at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery

Cop Car / U.S.A. (Director: Jon Watts, Screenwriters: Jon Watts, Christopher D. Ford) — A small-town Sheriff sets out to find the boys who have taken his car on a dangerous joyride. Cast: Kevin Bacon, James Freedson-Jackson, Hays Wellford, Shea Whigham, Camryn Manheim. LOS ANGELES PREMIERE Friday, August 7, 8:00 p.m. – Theatre at Ace Hotel DTLA Mistress America / U.S.A. (Director: Noah Baumbach, Screenwriters: Noah Baumbach, Greta Gerwig) — Tracy is a lonely college freshman in New York, having neither the exciting university experience nor the glamorous metropolitan lifestyle she envisioned. But when she is taken in by her soon-to-be stepsister, Brooke – a resident of Times Square and adventurous gal about town – she is rescued from her disappointment and seduced by Brooke’s alluringly mad schemes. Cast: Greta Gerwig, Lola Kirke. LOS ANGELES PREMIERE – with – Sky Ferreira — Sky Ferreira has quickly established herself as one of today’s most exciting new faces in music, film and fashion. She first signed to Capitol Records at the early age of 15 where she eventually wrote and executive produced her critically acclaimed debut album, Night Time, My Time. As an actress, she has worked with many independent filmmakers including Eli Roth, Liza Johnson and Matthew Porterfield. Sky is currently recording her highly anticipated new album, Masochism. Saturday, August 8, 3:30 p.m. – Theatre at Ace Hotel DTLA Finders Keepers / U.S.A. (Directors: Bryan Carberry, Clay Tweel) — Recovering addict and amputee John Wood finds himself in a stranger-than-fiction battle to reclaim his mummified leg from Southern entrepreneur Shannon Whisnant, who found it in a grill he bought at an auction and believes it, therefore, to be his rightful property. LOS ANGELES PREMIERE

Followed by a conversation between directors Bryan Carberry and Clay Tweel and special guest (to be announced). Saturday, August 8, 8:00 p.m. – Theatre at Ace Hotel DTLA Entertainment / U.S.A. (Director: Rick Alverson, Screenwriters: Rick Alverson, Gregg Turkington, Tim Heidecker) — In an attempt to revive his dwindling career and reunite with his estranged daughter, a broken, aging comedian plays a string of dead-end shows in the California desert. Cast: Gregg Turkington, John C. Reilly, Tye Sheridan, Michael Cera, Amy Seimetz, Lotte Verbeek. LOS ANGELES PREMIERE – with – Sharon Van Etten — Singer/songwriter Sharon Van Etten writes from free-flowing emotional honesty and vulnerability, creating a bond with the listener that few contemporary musicians can match. Following her 2012 break-through Tramp, last year’s follow up Are We There and her new EP I Don’t Want to Let You Down, Van Etten finds herself in full stride, writing, producing and performing. Sunday, August 9, 3:30 p.m. – Theatre at Ace Hotel DTLA Cronies / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Michael J. Larnell) — Twenty-two-year-old Louis doesn’t know whether his childhood friendship with Jack will last beyond today. Cast: George Sample III, Zurich Buckner, Brian Kowalski. LOS ANGELES PREMIERE – Followed by a conversation between director Michael J. Larnell and special guest (to be announced). Sunday, August 9, 8:00 p.m. – Theatre at Ace Hotel DTLA Turbo Kid / Canada, New Zealand (Directors and screenwriters: Anouk Whissell, François Simard, Yoann-Karl Whissell) — Set in a post apocalyptic year of 1997, this nostalgic tribute to ’80s action-adventure films follows an orphaned teenager who goes

on an adventure to save his female-robot companion from the hands of the evil warlord who controls the only water supply. Cast: Munro Chambers, Laurence Leboeuf, Michael Ironside, Aaron Jeffery, Edwin Wright. LOS ANGELES PREMIERE – with – Neon Indian vs. Toro Y Moi ’80s-inspired DJ battle — Neon Indian, the brainchild of Alan Palomo, is defined by a unique electro-mangled sound which has attracted fans and opening slots before acts like Massive Attack, The Flaming Lips, Phoenix and Chromeo. Toro Y Moi, the guise of Chaz Bundick, channels a wide swath of stylistic influences into his electronics-incorporating music and cites Big Star, Talking Heads and Todd Rundgren as some of his inspirations.                                                        Please find this article online below: http://www.ioncinema.com/news/film-festivals/mistress-america-entertainment-turbo-kid-musically-aligned-for-3rd-next-fest

     

 Le comédien Kevin Bacon sera l’un des invités du festival Fantasia cet été, venu accompagner le film Cop Car, pour lequel il agit à titre de producteur en plus d’en être l’un des interprètes. La

programmation complète, avec focus sur les cinémas espagnols, africains et asiatiques (notamment), a été dévoilée aujourd’hui. Le festival international de films Fantasia célèbrera sa 19e édition du 14 juillet au 4 août et c’est l’animateur et réalisateur Sébastien Diaz (Formule Diaz), qui agira à titre de porte parole cette année.      Coup d’oeil sur la sélection internationale Outre l’attendue production des studios Marvel Ant-Man, de Peyton Reed et Cop Car, de Jon Watts, qui sera projeté en présence du comédien et coproducteur Kevin Bacon, les festivaliers auront l’occasion de découvrir en première mondiale Anguish, de Sonny Mallhi, un thriller surnaturel mettant en vedette Ryan Simpkins.      Please find this article online below: http://voir.ca/nouvelles/actualite-cinematographique/2015/07/07/kevin-bacon-au-festival-fantasia/

                        L’acteur et producteur Kevin Bacon sera de passage à Montréal le 28 juillet prochain pour présenter Cop Car, dans le cadre de la 19e édition du festival de films Fantasia. Le coup d’envoi de la programmation a été donné mardi matin par l’animateur Sébastien Diaz, porte-parole de l’édition 2015 du Festival. Kevin Bacon sera sur place lors de la projection de Cop Car de Jon Watts, le cinéaste choisi par Marvel et Sony pour refaire la franchise Spiderman. Producteur exécutif de Cop Car, Kevin Bacon y incarne également un policier dont la voiture a été «empruntée» par des jeunes.

Au total, plus de 55 réalisateurs, producteurs et acteurs présenteront leurs œuvres aux festivaliers. Ainsi, le japonais Keiichi Hara parlera au public avant la projection de Miss Hokusai, film d’ouverture de Fantasia. De plus, Michael Ironside se joindra à Laurence Leboeuf lors de la projection du fort attendu Turbo Kid. Yves Simoneau reviendra sur son classique Les yeux rouges ou les vérités accidentelles. India Desjardins répondra aux questions du public en compagnie du réalisateur Nicolas Monette et de plusieurs comédiens de Aurélie Laflamme – Les pieds sur terre. Parmi les 400 films – dont 135 longs métrages et 104 premières - de 36 pays qui seront projetés dans le cadre de cette manifestation culturelle, soulignons le très attendu Ant-Man, dernier né des studios Marvel, Cooties avec Elijah Wood devant fuir des cannibales, Manson Family Reunion sur le célèbre tueur en série ou encore, et cette fois-ci pour les enfants, Minuscule – La vallée des fourmis perdues, récipiendaire du César 2015 du film d’animation. La programmation du Festival international de films Fantasia de Montréal, qui se déroulera du 14 juillet au 4 août, est disponible au www.fantasiafestival.com.                    Please find this article online below: http://fr.canoe.ca/divertissement/cinema/nouvelles/archives/2015/07/20150707-162612.html  Please find this article reposted online below: http://tvanouvelles.ca/lcn/artsetspectacles/general/archives/2015/07/20150707-161529.html

                                        Avec ses 135 longs métrages provenant de 36 pays à travers le monde, la 19e édition Fantasia promet de nous en donner pour notre argent. Du 14 juillet au 4 août, les amateurs de films de genre seront servis avec un programme vaste et divers. Un invité de marque cette année en la présence de l’acteur américain Kevin Bacon (Mystic River, Footloose) qui viendra accompagner la présentation de Cop Car de Jon Watts. Déjà annoncé il y a quelques semaines, le festival s’ouvrira avec Miss Hokusai, le nouveau film d’animation du Japonais Keiichi Hara. Il se terminera avec une autre production made in Japan: Attack On Titan de Shinji Higuchi. Entre les deux projections, beaucoup de moments attendus comme Ant-Man, la dernière production de l’écurie Marvel. Dans la comédie noire Cooties de Jonathan Milott et Cary Murnion, le comédien Elijah Wood (Le Seigneur des anneaux) affronte une horde de gamins cannibales. Signalons le retour du vétéran du cinéma underground canadien Larry Kent avec son drame sectaire She Who Must Burn.

D’autres titres à surveiller tels le film de science fiction produit par le Canada et la Nouvelle-Zélande Turbo Kid qui met en vedette Laurence Leboeuf et Michael Ironside ou We Are Still Here, l'œuvre d'épouvante de l'Américain Ted Geoghegan. Quant à Peter Sarsgaard et Winona Ryder, ils sont les vedettes de Experimenter de Michael Almereyda. Remarqué au dernier Sundance, ce drame biographique fait le portrait du controversé psychologue Stanley Milgram. Acclamé lors de son passage au Festival de Tribeca, Bridgend du Danois Jeppe Rønde aborde le thème difficile du suicide chez les adolescents en s’inspirant d’un terrible fait divers. Les plus jeunes auront droit à Minuscule – La vallée des fourmis perdu, César 2014 du meilleur film d’animation. Beaucoup de choix du côté de l’Asie. Outre Ryuzo and the Seven Henchmen, le dernier Takeshi Kitano, le public aura droit à trois longs métrages de l’inimitable Sion Sono (Tag, Shinjuku Swan, Love & Peace). De l’action vous en voulez, vous en aurez. Momentum du Canadien Stephen Campanelli, Borning de Hallvard Braein et Singham Returns de Rohit Shetty sont quelques exemples de titres qui vous en feront voir de toutes les couleurs. Fantasia, c’est aussi des rendez-vous à ne pas manquer. Cette année, l’édition propose le spectacle Tales From Beyond The Pale, orchestré par Larry Fessenden et Glenn McQuaid se veut une inspiration en podcast des fameuses émissions radiophoniques d’Alfred Hitchcock et Orson Welles.                  Please find this article online below: http://quebec.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/07/07/fantasia-2015-kevin-bacon-laurence-leboeuf_n_7746342.html

                                          Kevin Bacon, director Neil Marshall (The Descent), and indie-horror auteur Larry Fessenden (Wendigo, The Last Winter) will all appear at Fantasia 2015, the genre film festival that takes place in Montreal, July 14-Aug. 4. Bacon and Marshall are promoting, respectively, the thriller Cop Car and the horror anthology Tales of Halloween, while Fessenden is set to perform with his spooky audio tale troupe, Tales From Beyond the Pale.    Other Fantasia guests include Marshall’s fellow Tales of Halloween directors Axelle Carolyn (Soulmate) and Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II-IV), Some Kind of Hate filmmaker Adam Egypt Mortimer, We Are Still Here actress Barbara Crampton, and rock singer and bodybuilding champion Jon Miki Thor, the subject of the new documentary I Am Thor.

The final slate of films to be screened at Fantasia was also announced today. Notable titles include the Elijah Wood-starring horror-comedy Cooties, three movies from Japanese filmmaker Sion Sono—Shinjuku Swan, Love & Peace, and Tag—and closing-night film Attack on Titan, director Shinji Higuchi’s live-action adaptation of the long-running manga series. As previously announced, the festival will screen the Paul Rudd-starring superhero movie Ant-Man on its opening night.                                                                      Please find this article online below: http://www.ew.com/article/2015/07/07/kevin-bacon-cop-car-fantasia

                               There will be just one degree of Kevin Bacon when the actor shows up at Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival to present his latest, ahem, vehicle, Cop Car. That is but one of the 135 features and nearly 300 short films from 36 countries that will be screened during the madcap fest’s 19th edition, July 14 to Aug. 4.

Other highlights of the program, which was announced Tuesday, include the Canadian première of the live-action version of the Japanese manga/anime hit Attack on Titan; the American elementary-school zombie flick Cooties, starring Elijah Wood, Rainn Wilson and Alison Pill; an animated adaptation of Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet, which screened at Cannes last year; a trio of new films by prolific Japanese director Sion Sono; the world première of Ken Ochiai’s Ninja the Monster, described as a blend of “historical facts, adventure film and fantastic cinema”; the post-apocalyptic mythical fantasy Orion, starring David Arquette; Who Killed Captain Alex?, billed as “Uganda’s first action movie”; the Israeli horror film Jeruzalem; and a previously announced special screening of Marvel’s Ant-Man. The Fantasia program guide costs $5 and goes on sale Wednesday, July 8 at 3 p.m.; tickets go on sale Saturday, July 11 at 1 p.m. at Concordia’s Hall Building and various stores. See fantasiafestival.com for more information, including the complete screening schedule.                                              Please find this article online below: http://montrealgazette.com/entertainment/movies/kevin-bacon-coming-to-fantasia-genre-film-fest-announces-lineup

Please find this article reposted online below:  CALGARY HERALD http://www.calgaryherald.com/entertainment/movies/Kevin+Bacon+coming+Fantasia+genre+film+fest/11195245/story.html CANADA.COM http://www.canada.com/entertainment/movies/Kevin+Bacon+coming+Fantasia+genre+film+fest+announces/11195245/story.html EDMONTON JOURNAL http://www.edmontonjournal.com/entertainment/movies/Kevin+Bacon+coming+Fantasia+genre+film+fest/11195245/story.html LEADER POST http://www.leaderpost.com/entertainment/movies/Kevin+Bacon+coming+Fantasia+genre+film+fest+announces/11195245/story.html THE PROVINCE http://www.theprovince.com/entertainment/movies/Kevin+Bacon+coming+Fantasia+genre+film+fest/11195245/story.html THE STAR PHOENIX http://www.thestarphoenix.com/entertainment/movies/Kevin+Bacon+coming+Fantasia+genre+film+fest/11195245/story.html THE VANCOUVER SUN http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/movies/Kevin+Bacon+coming+Fantasia+genre+film+fest/11195245/story.html THE WINDSOR STAR http://www.canada.com/entertainment/movies/Kevin+Bacon+coming+Fantasia+genre+film+fest+announces/11195245/story.html                          

                                              Kevin Bacon is to present Cop Car, the thriller by Jon Watts that bowed at Sundance, at the upcoming Fantasia Film Festival, which will take place in Montreal from July 14 to Aug. 4. The completed lineup for North America's largest genre film festival was unveiled by organizers on Tuesday, with Shinji Higuchi’s Attack on Titan tapped to close the event. Other last-minute additions to Fantasia's 19th edition include the Canadian premiere of Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion’s horror comedy Cooties, starring Elijah Wood, and world premieres for Nathan Oliver's Lady Psycho Killer and Trevor Juras' The Interior.

Fantasia will also screen a trio of Sion Sono films: Love & Peace, the manga adaptation Shinjuku Swan and Tag, Stephen Campanelli's Momentum, Chris and Ben Blaine's Nina Forever, Ken Ochai's Ninja the Monster, Q and Nikon's Ludo, Ryuhei Kitamura's Lupin the Third and Manos: The Hands of Fate, by Harold P. Warren. Fantasia also booked a special live presentation of Larry Fessenden’s Tales From Beyond the Pale horror radio show, while screening Malik Bader’s thriller Cash Only, Daniel Wolfe and Matthew Wolfe’s Catch Me Daddy, Sean Baker’s Tangerine, Adam Brooks and Matthew Kennedy’s The Editor and Yoo Ha’s Gangnam Blues. The Montreal festival earlier announced that the North American premiere of Miss Hokusai — the animated biopic of the daughter of renowned Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai, directed by Keiichi Hara — will open Fantasia. The opening night will also feature Marvel’s Ant-Man several days before the Paul Rudd superhero film’s theatrical release.                                               Please find this article online below: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/fantasia-festival-completes-lineup-kevin-807120

               

L’acteur Kevin Bacon fera tourner les têtes de Montréal au cours des prochains jours lorsqu’il se présentera au Festival de cinéma Fantasia. Il viendra y présenter le film Cop Car le 28 juillet prochain. Dans ce long métrage, Kevin Bacon occupe le rôle du shérif Kretzer.  La Presse rapporte d’ailleurs que ce rôle sera l’un «des plus déjantés de sa carrière.» Le shérif

Kretzer s’est fait voler son véhicule de patrouille par deux gamins de dix ans, et il doit absolument leur remettre la main dessus avant qu’une catastrophe survienne. Le cinéaste Jon Watts signe Cop Car, celui-là même qui fut choisi par Marvel et Sony pour se mettre le nez dans les prochains Spiderman. Le festival Fantasia présente depuis 18 ans des films basés sur l’imaginaire et le fantastique. Les longs et courts métrages sont présentés dans huit salles différentes du centre-ville de Montréal.

Cette année, quelques films anciens seront présentés après avoir été restaurés par la cinémathèque québécoise. C’est notamment le cas du long métrage Montréal Blues, de Pascal Gélinas, qui fut tourné en 1972.                                                                                Please find this article online below: http://www.enprimeur.ca/ShowbizNews/9213

   

Fantasia 2015: Cop Car Director Jon Watts Added to the Guest List  

 Canada’s always amazing Fantasia Film Festival promises even more surprises in its upcoming 2015 edition, and today the powers-that-be have announced special guest Jon Watts, director of Cop Car and Marvel Studios’ upcoming Spider-Man reboot. Watts also helmed the Eli Roth-produced Clown.  The director (pictured right) and star Kevin Bacon will present the film’s Canadian Premiere on July 28th.

The Fantasia International Film Festival celebrates its 19th edition from July 14-August 4, 2015. Over the festival’s three-week run, 135 incredible features will be unveiled, 22 of which will be World Premieres. Synopsis: Two good-natured but rebellious young boys (James Freedson-Jackson and Hays Wellford) stumble across a cop car hidden in a secluded glade and decide to take it for a quick joyride, but their decision unleashes the ire of a troubled small town sheriff (Bacon), and soon the children are caught in a deadly, high-speed game of cat and mouse.        Please find this article online below: http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/112013/fantasia-2015-cop-car-director-jon-watts-added-to-the-guest-list/

                                             

                                               

                                                                                           Please find this article online below: http://zonetechnoculturelle.ca/fantasia-2015-cop-car/#.VdKmL_l_Oko  

                                                     There’s little that gets me more cinematically excited than a pared-down thriller. One sticky situation, 90 minutes, a handful of characters: if done well, it’s about as satisfying as a film can get. If done poorly, it gets relegated to whatever the digital equivalent of the bottom shelf of the video store is these days and is summarily forgotten. Jon Watts’s Cop Car is about as pared-down as a thriller can get, a tightly-wound 90-minute exercise in control that makes the most of its simple premise. Two young boys (James Freedson-Jackson and Hays Wellford) are wandering the Colorado countryside — they may be running away from home, as the careful rationing of a Slim Jim suggests, or they may simply be out on an adventure — when they find what appears to be an abandoned cop car in a clearing. Poking around the car, they find keys and are soon on as much of a joyride as two 10-year-olds who can barely reach the pedals can be.

What the boys don’t know, however, is that the car was left there by a drunken, murderous sheriff (Kevin Bacon) who had just stepped out to dump a body in a shallow grave out back — and was coming back to finish the job on the second guy he killed and left in his trunk. It’s becoming increasingly rare that Hollywood makes films with children that aren’t specifically aimed at children. The central role that the two boys play in a film filled with violence and terror makes Cop Car feel fresh and alive, as does Watts and his co-writer Christopher D. Ford’s insistence on keeping things as simple as possible. We’re given very little information on any of the characters. We’re not set up to expect a third-act twist that suddenly ties it all together. Cop Car is simple, brutal and to the point. Just the way I like it. (Alex Rose) Cop Car is screening at the Hall Theatre (1455 de Maisonneuve W.) tonight, Tuesday, July 28, 7:15 p.m. with director Jon Watts and star Kevin Bacon in attendance Fantasia tickets can be purchased at Concordia’s Hall building (1455 de Maisonneuve W.) for $10 each, or online ($11 each), here.                                 Please find this article online below: http://cultmontreal.com/2015/07/catch-me-daddy-the-visit-cop-car-review/

                                                                                               

In the movie, Bacon plays a corrupt sheriff who must track down his police cruiser after it is stolen by two young boys. The Montreal Gazette had the opportunity to interview the actor, known for roles in films ranging from Footloose to JFK. Here’s what he had to say. Q: How would you describe your character in Cop Car? A: He’s a sheriff in a small town. He started his career thinking he was going to do something positive, protect people and uphold the law. Part of the mystery of the film is where he went off track and started making bad choices. … He’s a charming guy, a bulls–tter. He’s basically lying his way through the movie. Q: Can you talk about your character’s moustache? I heard you came up with the idea for it. A: Yeah, he’s kind of enamoured with the old west. He probably puts Wyatt Earp, Jesse James and Billy the Kid on a pedestal. Like a lot of people in our culture, he idolizes those days when the world was right and men were men. The moustache is a part of that. Q: You’ve acted in so many films over the years. What’s the secret of your appeal and cultish popularity? A: As for my appeal, I don’t know. That’s a difficult thing to assess. That’s as hard as why some people find me disgusting. I’ve heard people say, ‘My girlfriend can’t even look at you. It creeps her out. If you’re on TV, she has to leave the room.’ Career-wise, I believe the secret to longevity is longevity. When I started, I wasn’t thinking I would try (acting) out for a while and see how it went. I was a kid who knew this is what I was going to do for the rest of my life. If you hang in there and don’t go off the rails — if you don’t become a drug addict or get arrested or become an alcoholic or go insane, if you keep your s–t together — I think sooner or later

you’re going to learn and get better and be able to carve out some kind of a place for yourself in this career of show business. Q: How do you choose the characters you play? A: I look for complexity. I look for something I feel that I haven’t just done. If a character is what you would call a bad guy, then I’m looking to find the things about him that are positive or human. I try my best to humanize the people I play. On the flip side, if I play somebody who is heroic, I try to dig a little deeper and see where the flaws are. Where has this guy messed up in his life? What are his vulnerabilities? Q: Footloose is one of the films you’re most known for and that people continue to talk about. How do you look back on it? A: I look back on it with fondness. I kind of have to. It was tremendously successful. It changed my life. I was a working actor, but not a movie star. That changed with that film. When it came out, I had such ideals about being a serious actor that I was a little resistant to the popularity that came with it; but with time, anything ends up looking OK. AT A GLANCE Cop Car screens again Wednesday, Aug. 5 at 9:30 p.m. at Concordia’s J.A. de Sève Theatre, 1400 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W., as part of the Fantasia International Film Festival. For tickets and more information, visit fantasiafestival.com. tdunlevy@montrealgazette.com twitter.com/tchadunlevy      Please find this article online below: http://montrealgazette.com/entertainment/movies/fantasia-kevin-bacon-talks-cop-car-career-and-footloose    Please find this article reposted online below: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/entertainment/movies/Fantasia+Kevin+Bacon+talks+career+Footloose/11249462/story.html

                                                                 Kevin Bacon, comédien connu et respecté, a effectué une visite éclair dans la métropole mardi afin de venir présenter in personam le thriller Cop Car, projeté à Fantasia. Voilà une belle prise pour le festival, les vedettes hollywoodiennes ayant l’habitude qu’on aille à elles et non l’inverse, à moins bien sûr qu’il s’agisse de Cannes, Toronto, Sundance, ou quelque autre événement massivement couvert par les médias mondiaux. Il va sans dire, de la visite de ce genre, ça ne se reçoit pas n’importe comment. Juste avant la conférence de presse, on a prévenu les journalistes de s’en tenir au présent film, malgré l’impressionnante filmographie du comédien (c’est de bonne guerre), et de ne pas réclamer d’autographes à la fin, faute de temps (cela va de soit).

Lorsque Kevin Bacon fait son entrée dans le vaste amphithéâtre, un silence intimidé se fait dans l’assistance pourtant rompue à ce type d’exercice. Ironiquement, le principal intéressé paraît un brin surpris. Parfois au second plan dans de grosses productions prestigieuses (JFK, Des hommes d’honneur, Mystic River), souvent au premier dans des oeuvres indépendantes bien accueillies (Racoleuses, La peur du loup, La vérité nue), sa seule présence, même dans un rôle mineur, ajoute une touche de crédibilité à n’importe quel projet. Si Cop Car, qui entre dans la deuxième catégorie, s’est monté aussi rapidement, c’est grâce à son implication. Kevin Bacon y incarne un flic corrompu dont la voiture de service a été volée par deux enfants pendant qu’il enterrait un cadavre gênant. L’un des nombreux problèmes du triste sir : un autre de ses « associés » se trouve ligoté dans le coffre du véhicule. Jouer entre les lignes « Ce qui m’a plu dans le scénario, c’est son refus de tout expliquer, explique le comédien. Le personnage conserve une grande part de mystère. En mettant bout à bout ses actions, contexte aidant, on se fait une bonne idée de la situation dans laquelle il s’est empêtré. C’est un récit qui s’en remet à l’intelligence du spectateur. Pour ma part, c’était un rôle qui me permettait de jouer “entre les lignes”, ce qui me plaît. » D’autant que de nombreuses scènes sont exemptes de dialogue, dont celle qui sert d’introduction au personnage de Kevin Bacon. Affairé à traîner un corps dans un boisé pour l’y enterrer, il ne pipe mot pendant dix bonnes minutes. « C’est drôle, parce qu’à présent, c’est le genre de scènes que j’adore, alors qu’au début de ma carrière, ça m’angoissait. Je me souviens par exemple qu’en lisant le scénario du film Diner, j’ai d’abord été frappé par le peu de

lignes de dialogues imparties à mon personnage, alors que mes partenaires en avaient plus. Puis, j’ai compris à quel point la caméra est un appareil merveilleux qui capte tout ce qu’il y a au-delà des paroles, et qui se révèle parfois l’essentiel : un regard, un frémissement… » Ou quand le silence force la nuance. Dans une classe à part Depuis l’époque des premières prises de conscience professionnelles, Kevin Bacon a parcouru beaucoup de chemin. Désormais, en effet, il est un acteur dans une classe à part. L’expression est galvaudée, mais elle est néanmoins celle qui convient. Ainsi, après des débuts discrets en 1980 dans l’horrifique Vendredi 13, en victime, puis un triomphe personnel en 1984 dans l’hyper populaire Footloose, en héros, Kevin Bacon connut un passage à vide avant de rebondir à l’aube de la décennie suivante. Multipliant les présences dans une variété de films à succès (Lignes interdites, Apollo 13, Meurtre avec préméditation, La rivière sauvage), il cimenta graduellement une réputation de professionnel aussi polyvalent que doué. À cela s’ajouta bientôt la reconnaissance d’une qualité intangible, un « je-ne-sais-quoi », un côté cool dénué d’affectation. Dans quelques épisodes de la comédie de situation Will and Grace (1998-2006), par exemple, on lui proposa de jouer une version fictive de lui-même plutôt qu’un personnage, comme on avait pourtant l’habitude de demander aux autres « vedettes invitées ». Plus récemment, dans la superproduction de Marvel Les gardiens de la galaxie, le protagoniste Starlord fait par deux fois allusion à Kevin Bacon, ce qui indique que les scénaristes tiennent pour acquis que le public cible, c’est-à-dire la planète entière, peu ou prou, sait parfaitement de qui il s’agit et ce qu’il représente.

L’an dernier, l’animateur Jimmy Fallon s’est assuré la complicité du comédien pour un numéro anniversaire en l’honneur de Footloose qui a été visionné près de 20 millions de fois. Franchement iconique Parmi les cinéphiles, il existe même un jeu dont le but est de relier n’importe quel autre acteur à Kevin Bacon en recourant au moins de degrés de séparation possible. « Six degrees of Kevin Bacon ». Ça ne s’invente pas. D’où ce constat que la vedette occupe une classe à part. Acteur populaire, il est devenu icône populaire : une douce revanche pour le jeune premier qu’on crut jadis voué à sombrer dans l’oubli après un unique succès. Reconnu pour sa franchise, Kevin Bacon ne contesterait probablement pas cette assertion, lui qui, d’ailleurs, déclara un jour : « Il y a deux types d’acteurs : ceux qui disent qu’ils veulent être célèbres et ceux qui sont menteurs. »                                       Please find this article online below: http://www.ledevoir.com/culture/cinema/446236/fantasia-kevin-bacon-acteur-vrai

                                                   L’acteur américain Kevin Bacon s’est livré au jeu des questions réponses en présence de Jon Watts, réalisateur de son dernier film Cop Car qui était projeté en exclusivité à l’occasion de la 19ème édition du festival Fantasia. L’acteur que l'on a vu dans Footloose, Appolo 13 ou encore Mystic River campe cette fois-ci le rôle du Sheriff Kretzer qui se lance à la poursuite de deux jeunes enfants de 10 ans qui lui ont volé sa voiture. Ce thriller qui était en Sélection officielle du Festival du film de Sundance 2015 et du Festival international du film d'Édimbourg 2015 continue ainsi son petit bonhomme de chemin avec un scenario qui confronte la naïveté des jeunes enfants avec la brutalité de ce Sheriff. Le film sera présenté le 5 août à la salle 21:30 Salle J.A. De Sève à l’Université de Concordia Please find this article online below: http://linitiative.ca/news/view/2656

                                                                 Cop car est un récit d’apprentissage en forme de série B, traversé par un humour à froid et un ton dissonant. Rencontre avec son réalisateur Jon Watts, choisi pour réaliser le prochain Spider-Man. C’est un rêve d’angoisse récurrent qui est à l’origine du scénario de Cop car, film de suspense présenté mardi à Fantasia en présence du réalisateur Jon Watts et de l’acteur principal Kevin Bacon. Dans ce rêve, Jon Watts a dix ans, il occupe le siège passager dans la voiture de sa mère, tandis que l’un de ses amis tient le volant. «Nous croisons des gens que l’on connaît mais personne ne réagit. Nous allons de plus en plus vite, et le rêve fait de plus en plus peur.»

C’est cette atmosphère onirique que le cinéaste américain de 34 ans tente de récréer dès la séquence d’ouverture du film, coécrit avec Christopher D. Ford. Dans celle-ci, deux garçons, Travis et Harrison, marchent à travers les champs, cheveux au vent, en se lançant des jurons. On entend le bruit des oiseaux, des vaches, on sentirait presque les odeurs de la campagne américaine: voilà à quoi ressemble la liberté pour Jon Watts. «Le film a été tourné là où j’ai grandi, dans le Colorado, précise-t-il. Nous n’avions pas de flingue mais on marchait aussi loin que l’on pouvait jusqu’à ce qu’il fasse suffisamment noir pour avoir peur et rentrer!» À cet âge-là, ajoute Watts, on s’imagine des aventures dans la même veine que celles des films Les Goonies ou Stand by me, respectivement sorties des imaginaires de Steven Spielberg et Stephen King. «À 10 ans, j’espérais tomber sur un trésor de pirates, un alien, un vaisseau spatial ou bien une aventure à vivre!».    Très vite, les choses se compliquent: Travis et Harrison, poussés par les frissons de l’interdit, vont emprunter une voiture de police pour s’amuser avec. On découvrira rapidement que la voiture appartient à un flic ripou, bien décidé à récupérer coûte que coûte son bien. D’emblée, la caméra est très présente, mouvante, elle se déplace en explorant divers points de vue. Elle traduit la menace qui rôde, et annonce la fin de l’enfance à venir. «C’est parce qu’il s’agit d’une longue prise, coupe le cinéaste, il y a une tension inhérente aux longues prises qui s’évapore si l’on coupe le plan. Un plan long nous rend nerveux car on ne sait pas ce qui va se passer.» Sans surprise, c’est l’acteur Kevin Bacon, habitué au cinéma de genre (de Hollow Man à Hypnose), qui vient noircir le coming-of-age naissant, se lançant à la poursuite acharnée des deux garçons. Un rôle sur mesure pour celui qui affectionne tout particulièrement les personnages ambigus, des flics de Mystic River de Clint Eastwood et du Wild things de John Mc Naughton au pédophile en quête de rédemption de The Woodsman. L’interprétation de l’acteur, ainsi que tout le bagage de rôles qu’il amène avec lui, est pour beaucoup dans la tension de Cop car, Bacon étant toujours aussi inquiétant quand il s’agit de jouer avec nos nerfs. Son personnage n’a aucun passé, et est dépeint hors de tout contexte: comme les autres personnages du film, il n’est défini par rien d’autre que par ses actions.

«Je ne voulais pas faire de film polémique en quoi que ce soit, explique le réalisateur. Ce sont juste des gars qui agissent face à des situations données. C’est tout!» Quant au sort terrible réservé au seul personnage féminin du film, «c’est un accident», jure Watts en souriant, «il n’y a pas de raison, cette femme est simplement une personne qui observe un événement étrange et que je regarde décider ou non d’agir.»                                       Une chose est certaine: Jon Watts s’amuse comme un enfant. Il évite tout manichéisme: il n’y a ni vrais méchants, ni gentils, mais rien qu’une poignée de gars au mauvais endroit, au mauvais moment. Il brise la temporalité: saccades, flottements et autres étirements créent un suspense solide (ah! cette séquence où Bacon tente désespérément d’ouvrir une portière de voiture!). «C’était une scène difficile à tourner, explique le cinéaste, car je ne voulais pas qu’elle soit ennuyeuse par trop de longueurs. Je voulais que les événements soient aussi frustrants qu’ils auraient pu l’être dans la vraie vie. Dans les films, les gens savent toujours ouvrir toutes les serrures!»

Tout du long, Cop car adopte un ton dissonant et ludique, issu du contraste entre l’inquiétude des adultes et l’insouciance des enfants qui continuent à traiter sur le ton du jeu certaines situations graves. «Ils ont dix ans ! Je me souviens comment je pensais quand j’avais dix ans, et je voulais y être fidèle. Je déteste les films où les enfants se comportent comme des génies.» L’humour à froid du film fonctionne en outre sur le principe de l’ironie dramatique: le spectateur a, surtout au début du récit, une longueur d’avance sur l’horreur que le personnage s’apprête à vivre. En outre, chaque scène obéit à un crescendo implacable de poisse qui contamine peu à peu tous les protagonistes dont l’imprévisibilité rajoute une tension au récit. Le film ne désire jamais se faire passer pour autre chose que ce qu’il est: une série B sans enjeux intellectuels et dépouillée de tout ce qui pourrait nuire à son exécution minutieuse. D’ailleurs, Jon Watts ne nous surprend guère quand il nous apprend que chaque plan du film a été storyboardé et filmé tel qu’imaginé. «Le film ressemble exactement à ce que je voulais, rien n’a été laissé au hasard.» Cop car sera présenté une deuxième fois le mercredi 5 août à 21h30 à la salle J.A de Sève. Le film sortira ensuite en salles le 7 août prochain.                             Please find this article online below: http://voir.ca/cinema/2015/07/29/fantasia-cop-car-lart-de-la-poisse/  

   

KEVIN BACON À MONTRÉAL POUR LA PREMIÈRE DE COP CAR DANS LE CADRE DE FANTASIA                                            

29 juillet 2015 à 9h58, Elizabeth Lepage-Boily L’acteur américain était de passage dans la métropole mardi pour présenter son plus récent film, Cop Car, aux Montréalais dans le cadre du Festival du film Fantasia. Kevin Bacon, acteur et coproducteur du film, était accompagné par le réalisateur Jon Watts au Théâtre Concordia Hall hier. Voyez notre galerie d’images plus bas. Le long métrage, qui s’amorce comme une comédie légère sur le passage à l’âge adulte, dérape rapidement pour devenir un suspense violent et dépouillé à l’extrême. Voici le synopsis officiel ici : Quelque part au Colorado, Travis et Harrison, deux jeunes garçons, se baladent au soleil, partageant un saucisson et échangeant des gros mots. Ils découvrent une voiture de police stationnée à

un endroit inusité, hors des sentiers battus. Les clefs sont encore sur le contact et il y a une bouteille de bière sur le tableau de bord, mais personne dans les environs. Alarmés au départ, les garçons reprennent peu à peu courage et se décident finalement à aller y voir de plus près… Puis, les voilà en train de rouler à toute allure, s’amusant comme des fous en farfouillant dans l’équipement et les armes trouvées à bord du véhicule. Hélas, ce rêve préadolescent devenu réalité va se transformer bien vite en cauchemar. Malheureux gamins, vous avez volé la voiture du shérif Kretzer (Kevin Bacon), un policier très méchant qui fait des choses très répréhensibles – et qui tient absolument à récupérer sa bagnole! Le film faisait partie de la sélection officielle de la plus récente édition du Festival du Film de Sundance. Le film ne prendra pas l’affiche au Québec dans les salles, mais sera disponible en DVD et Blu-ray à l’automne.                     Please find this article online below: http://showbizz.net/2015/07/29/kevin-bacon-montreal-pour-la-premiere-de-cop-car-dans-le-cadre-de-fantasia/

         Mercredi 29 juillet 2015 à 10h30

Mardi avait lieu la première canadienne du long métrage dans la cadre du Festival Fantasia au Théâtre Concordia Hall en présence de l'acteur principal et coproducteur Kevin Bacon et du réalisateur Jon Watts. Kevin Bacon a pu être vu au grand écran récemment dans R.I.P.D., Crazy, Stupid, Love. et X-Men: First Class, dans lequel il interprétait Sebastian Shaw. Il était aussi de la distribution de la série télévisée The Following (Les disciples au Québec), qui a malheureusement été annulée par Fox récemment après trois ans à l'antenne. Découvrez le synopsis officiel de Cop Car ci-dessous: Quelque part au Colorado, Travis et Harrison, deux jeunes garçons, se baladent au soleil, partageant un saucisson et échangeant des gros mots. Ils découvrent une voiture de police stationnée à un endroit inusité, hors des sentiers battus.

Les clefs sont encore sur le contact et il y a une bouteille de bière sur le tableau de bord, mais personne dans les environs. Alarmés au départ, les garçons reprennent peu à peu courage et se décident finalement à aller y voir de plus près… Puis, les voilà en train de rouler à toute allure, s’amusant comme des fous en farfouillant dans l’équipement et les armes trouvées à bord du véhicule. Hélas, ce rêve préadolescent devenu réalité va se transformer bien vite en cauchemar. Malheureux gamins, vous avez volé la voiture du shérif Kretzer (Kevin Bacon), un policier très méchant qui fait des choses très répréhensibles – et qui tient absolument à récupérer sa bagnole! Cop Car a été présenté en première mondiale du Festival du Film de Sundance plus tôt cette année, où il était en sélection officielle. Le film ne prendra pas l'affiche dans les salles québécoises, mais sera disponible en Blu-ray et DVD dès le mois d'octobre.                           Please find this article online below: http://www.cinoche.com/actualites/fantasia-2015-premiere-de-cop-car-avec-kevin-bacon/index.html  

     

Fantasia ’15: Kevin Bacon wants more “TREMORS” Movies/TV,News | July 28, 2015 - 9:54 pm | by: Michael Gingold | Many fans would love to see a reboot of the ’90s monster classic TREMORS with the original cast, and star Kevin Bacon is one of them. At the Canadian premiere of his new thriller COP CAR (review) at Montreal’s Fantasia film festival, an audience member asked Bacon if there was any possibility of a TREMORS reunion in a future movie. After teasing that he couldn’t confirm or deny any plans, the actor replied that of all the characters he’s played, “That’s the one I’d like to come back to and see where he is after 25 years.” While we wait for more graboids in Bacon’s future, TREMORS 5: BLOODLINES, in which original co-star Michael Gross reprises his Burt Gummer role, is coming to DVD, Blu-ray and digital HD October 6 from Universal (actor Jamie Kennedy discusses it here). Look for more comments from Bacon on COP CAR and TREMORS in Fango #343, on sale soon.                                    Please find this article online below: http://www.fangoria.com/new/fantasia-15-kevin-bacon-wants-more-tremors/

           

Kevin Bacon à Fantasia 2015: aucune contravention pour Cop Car.  Monsieur Footloose en personne, Kevin Bacon, est actuellement à Montréal pour faire la promotion de son plus récent film, en tant qu’acteur, mais aussi en tant que producteur exécutif: Cop Car. Sympathique comme tout, c’est accompagné du réalisateur Jon Watts (celui qui est en charge du prochain Spider-Man) qu’il a frôlé le tapis rouge de la première canadienne de ce qui s’est avéré une franche partie de plaisir.

Pour tout vous avouer, ce n’est que très rarement qu’on termine le visionnement d’un film aussi viscéralement violent avec un si grand sourire collé au visage. C’est que Cop Car, contre toutes attentes, est tellement sincère qu’il n’a d’autre choix que d’être rigolo.    On y présente d’abord deux jeunes garçons qui ont franchement l’air de s’ennuyer dans leur champs de vaches et de balles de foin. Ils finissent toutefois par trouver de quoi s’amuser ferme quand ils tombent sur une voiture de police en apparence abandonnée. Quoi de mieux pour meubler un après-midi plate que de partir en roadtrip avec son meilleur ami, une sirène, une radio et quelques armes à feu… surtout quand on a absolument aucune idée comment s’en servir?

On rencontre ensuite le policier propriétaire du véhicule et laissez-nous vous dire qu’il n’avait pas abandonné son char pour aller se faire griller dans un champ de pâquerettes. Bref, le pauvre monsieur doit VRAIMENT retrouver la voiture. S’ensuit un jeu de cachette tordu et enlevant qui ne tombe jamais (ou presque) dans les clichés de poursuite automobile, et si l’intrigue repose sur une histoire tout ce qu’il y a de simple, les moyens de mettre le public dans tous ses états sont parfaitement ficelés, nous hissant sur notre siège à tout moment et pour les raisons les plus surprenantes. Fondé sur bien peu de dialogue, Cop Car ne prend jamais son public pour un analphabète et le laisse agréablement tirer ses propres conclusions. C’est donc sans complications et ne tombant jamais dans le mélodrame que Cop Car nous transporte dans une réalité qui ne pardonne pas et où il n’y a aucune morale à tirer sinon la plus basique: évitez de voler des voitures de police, même si vous vous ennuyez vraiment beaucoup.    Kevin Bacon sort des sentiers battus en interprétant avec justesse un truand de petite envergure avec un mauvais cardio, qui passe une journée de merde à cause de sa propre corruption. Les jeunes acteurs Hats Wellford et James Freedson-Jackson sont étonnamment justes et tiennent les rênes de cette rocambolesque aventure sans trop de difficulté. La photographie est splendide, le montage est rythmé et les textes juste ce qu’il faut de cocky. Seul minuscule bémol, le film contient quelques longueurs qui sont peut-être agaçantes, mais qui nous aident à se mettre dans la peau des protagonistes. Bref, le seul mot qui nous vient en tête pour décrire Cop Car c’est awesome. Pour voir ça de vos propres yeux, la prochaine représentation de Cop Car dans la cadre de Fantasia a lieu le 5 août à 21h30 et, sinon, c’est dans les salles de cinéma le 7 août prochain que ça se passe.               Please find this article online below: http://hollywoodpq.com/2015/07/28/kevin-bacon-a-fantasia-2015-aucune-contravention-pour-cop-car/

                                              As kids, we all traipsed around our patch of the world, seeking mystery and adventure. Cop Car takes us on a similar trip, showing a pair of boys roaming the vast expanses of their Colorado home area, until they find the titular vehicle, a cop car. They get the Boys’ Own adventure they yearn for, but it turns out to be the worst possible adventure for them. Director Jon Watts, soon to be in charge of a Spider-Man movie, grew up in the area and spent time walking through these enormous vistas. The concept for his second feature stemmed from a childhood dream, and the screenwriters mantra of “write what you know” holds up strong.

This is a smart thriller where a pair of pre-teen boys (the tremendous pair of James Freedson-Jackson and Hays Wellford) chase excitement and fail to think through the consequences in the way children don’t, playing off Sheriff Kretzer (Kevin Bacon), who really wants his car back, for obvious and to-be-determined reasons. It’d be difficult to make a piece set in such an arresting part of the world look bad. Watts and his cinematographers have crafted a visually stunning work, with the camera afforded time to both sweep across the great plains and linger on smaller moments between Travis and Harrison. At the same time, Watts has weighed an unusual balance of tension and the dreamy carefree. He paces the action tremendously well, spending just enough time with certain characters that we’re left wondering what’s happening with the others. That is when he will take us back to them, just the right moment. He has such a firm hand on how this all plays out, giving each beat the exact amount of time it needs to land. That silence is plentiful, as dialogue is kept to a minimum. Watts allows the actions and mannerisms of his small cast to largely spell out who their characters are, but it’s up to the audience to turn those letters into sentences. Bacon says so much with a simple gesture, and the boys showcase a natural rapport while playing with all the law enforcement paraphernalia they find in the back seat. It’s an unusual road thriller, quite apart from Duel or Joy Ride or that Jeepers Creepers opening sequence. Instead, it is one that surprises and thrills, and leads to genuine investment in the characters we slowly get to know. I saw the Canadian premiere of Cop Car at the Fantasia International Film Festival and in the following Q&A, one audience member asked Watts what he would take from Cop Car and his first movie Clown into his Spider-Man feature. He claimed not to know, but Watts here showcased such a sure sense of pacing, character, storytelling, and action that his entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe should prove smooth.  Please find this article online below: http://flicksided.com/2015/07/29/cop-car-delivers-thrills-taut-smart-package/

                                                               Mardi 28 juillet. Il est 15h30 à Montréal et dans le cadre du festival Fantasia, le réalisateur Jon Watts, accompagné de son producteur et de la star du film Kevin Bacon, vient nous présenter son deuxième film Cop car. On y fait la rencontre de deux jeunes enfants de 10 ans, qui volent une voiture de police, sans se soucier des conséquences qui en découlent.Kevin Bacon est le policer à qui appartient le véhicule et qui fera tout pour le retrouver. Lors de cette rencontre, le metteur en scène nous explique que la genèse du film lui est apparue durant un rêve où il se voyait conduire avec des amis, une voiture qui allait de plus en plus vite.Le reste était plutôt flou et c’est à l’écriture du scénario que tout s’est précisé. Un journaliste met alors l’emphase sur le peu de dialogues du film.Kevin Bacon argue que cela lui a permis d’avoir une plus grande liberté dans son jeu. De ce fait, il revient sur sa filmographie et nous explique que lorsqu’on commence ce métier, on a tendance à penser que l’importance d’un rôle

se mesure à la longueur de ses répliques.Et c’est tout en humour qu’il nous raconte comment plus tard, il a compris ce qu’est la composition du jeu d’acteur.    Kevin Bacon: Une filmographie monster Dans la salle, on compare sa prestation à celle de Robert Mitchum, on parle de The night of the hunter, lui, de rétorquer humblement qu’il ne cherche pas de ressemblance à d’autres performances. Il nous confie même ne jamais avoir vu ce film.Et quand on lui notifie le fait qu’il joue souvent des personnages sombres, torturés, il dit ne pas chercher à catégoriser ses rôles.En fait, on peut dire que Kevin Bacon s’avère être un des acteurs américains les plus audacieux de sa génération, comme en témoigne sa filmographie, plutôt éclectique, comportant de nombreux seconds rôles.On pense à celui dans JFK d’Oliver Stone qui lui permis de se faire remarquer avec juste deux phrases: Vous êtes un putain de libéral Monsieur Garrison. Vous savez rien parce que vous vous êtes jamais fait enculer.Nous, on l’a aimé en pervers sadique dans Sleepers, ambigu dans Mystic river et même son interprétation dans la série The following nous a séduite. @King-Wei pour cette photo C’est un homme au demeurant fort sympathique qui s’est prêté au jeu des questions des journalistes.Il y a même été d’anecdotes sur la célébrité en nous confiant s’être déjà fait arrêter pour excès de vitesse et le policier de lui dire : Footloose a été le premier film que j’ai vu , ralentissez s’il vous plaît. On souhaite une belle carrière à Cop car, un film visuellement très abouti et au jeu bien senti de toute l’équipe.                 Please find this article online below: http://www.cinemaniak.net/rencontre-kevin-bacon-et-equipe-cop-car/

                                         Interrogé par le public du festival Fantasia de Montréal à propos d'un éventuel retour à la franchise Tremors, le très occupé Kevin Bacon (Cop Car) a laissé entendre qu'il ne serait pas contre l'idée de remettre le couvert, allant même jusqu'à affirmer : « De tous mes personnages, c'est celui-là que j'aimerais vraiment retrouver, 25 ans plus tard. » Désormais cantonnée au marché de la vidéo, la saga lancée en 1990 par le film de Ron Underwood pourrait-elle donc bénéficier d'un reboot destiné au cinéma ? Si Kevin est de la partie, on ne dit pas non.               Please find this article online below: http://www.mad-movies.com/fr/module/99999735/2044/tremors-forever-

                                         I best summed up COP CAR last week like this: It feels like you’re watching the Coen Brothers and Spielberg collaborate on some lost classic from a previous era. Yeah, that’s some high pedigree right there, but that’s how good this film is.

• Director: Jon Watts • Screenplay: Jon Watts, Christopher Ford • Cast: Kevin Bacon, James Freedson-

Jackson, Hays Wellford, Camryn Manheim, Shea Whigham

COP CAR is actually the work of Jon Watts (Clown & the new Marvel/Sony Spidey reboot!) and Christopher Ford and stars Kevin Bacon. It’s the story of two kids (the very likeable duo of James Freedson-Jackson and Hays Wellford) who happen to find an abandoned Cop Car in the woods which they decide to take on a

joy ride… what they don’t know, is that car belongs to a Sheriff (Kevin Bacon) who really wants that car back… and saying anymore would do a great disservice to such an amazing film.

Bacon and Watts were in town last night for the sold out Fantasia Fest crowd, and based on the buzz, you can tell this will be a much talked about film for years to come. To put it simply, Cop Car is a fun a film that quickly escalates to the next level and just gets more and more intense as it builds. Everything about this film is just perfect. Score. Cinematography. The acting– hell, most people would worry about a film where the two leads are kids, but these kids absolutely nailed it. The kids act and sound like the kids, and the “villains” have depth and layers. It’s one of the few times you’ll see kids on film curse, which is what kids do. It’s what I did as a kid, it’s what every other kid I knew did too. And here you have it very early on in the film, as if to say, hey, if you can get on board with this, you know this film is going to be very real and it isn’t going to insult your intelligence, but you’ll have a lot of fun with it in the process. That’s not to say there aren’t some brutal moments. This film has some very brutal moments. Nothing gets tied up in a neat bow. The characters in this film fuck up. And there are some consequences. There are a lot of consequences. And that’s why this film works so well. That’s why this film has that Coen brothers feel. When things turn into a fiasco, holy crap, does it ever turn into a fiasco… It’s a bunch of people in over their head trying to make the best of their collected fucked up situations. And yet, the film does this without losing that aspect of kids being kids. It’s so refreshing to see a film where nothing is over-explained. You’re not sure why these kids are a long ways from home. You didn’t have any expository dialogue or an obligatory scene in the beginning showing why these kids are running away from home. You’re not even sure if they are actually running from anything. They’re just two kids being kids exploring and having fun. And that’s what they’re doing when they find this cop car. Which kid wouldn’t want to drive around in a cop car?

“What if someone sees us?” “We’ll just tell them we’re cops!” Pure. Simple. Kid. Logic. And you feel that throughout. And things get really interesting once the adults enter the picture. And on the other side of the coin we never really find out the exact reason for all the trouble that Sherrif Kretzer (Bacon) is in. Let’s just say he’s up to some things that are very un-cop-like. And even though you don’t have all the information, you still see a really intriguing and well-developed character. He feels real. He’s not your typical movie cop. He clearly had to do something right to be a sheriff, but you can tell those days have caught up with him. He’s a classic fuck up, who spends the most part of the film struggling to get to/find his car… and trying to keep his cool and act like everything is fine. But once he finds it, he wastes no time in getting it back. And again, and I’m stressing this once more because I don’t see it nearly enough in today’s films, but all the character work is right there in front of you and it’s not bogged down with exposition or a heavy backstory. Seriously, why can’t more films do that? It’s so damn refreshing that this film does that. I can go on for hours about that, hell, I did that to a friend of mine once this film was over– but I digress, this film respects the viewer’s intelligence, and that’s one of the reasons I love it so much. And that way of thinking extends to the other characters we eventually meet. Cop Car follows the classic writing advice that far too few films actually follow. Start your story in the middle. and end before it’s really over. And this film is a great example of that done well. There’s a lot of holy shit moments in this film. You’ll find yourself screaming no, no, no, don’t do that several times. The other journalist ahead of me was having a near panic attack in a scene involving the two kids, a pistol, and a lack of gun safety. There’s something for everyone in here.

Jon Watts is quickly becoming one of my fave filmmakers in recent memory and COP CAR is a good example of why. He can direct the hell out of a film. Based on this film, and the very different but equally WTF and non-conventional CLOWN, that much hyped Sony/Marvel Spider-Man reboot is in amazing hands. Vert tense, very thrilling, at times funny yet understated in the best of ways without insulting you, or getting way pretentious, or overly art house, COP CAR is a fun ride through and through.                   Please find this article online below: http://mobtreal.com/festivals/fantasia-festival-2015-cop-car/  

                                                  MONTRÉAL – Après une conférence de presse tenue en après-midi, mardi, pour mousser la projection du long métrage «Cop Car», l’acteur américain Kevin Bacon a foulé le tapis rouge du Festival international de films Fantasia en soirée. La projection de ce film de Jon Watts a eu lieu au Théâtre Concordia Hall, au centre-ville de Montréal. «Cop Car», qui prendra l’affiche à Montréal le 7 août, raconte l’histoire de deux gamins qui découvrent une voiture de police abandonnée. Ils montent à bord et partent à l'aventure, déclenchant un jeu du chat et de la souris tendu entre eux et un policier corrompu et meurtrier (Kevin Bacon). Vétéran d’Hollywood, Kevin Bacon, 57 ans, a joué au grand écran dans des classiques comme «Footloose», «JFK», Apollo 13» et «Mystic River», pour ne nommer que ces titres.

On le verra prochainement dans «Black Mass» avec Johnny Depp et Benedict Cumberbatch, puis dans «6 Miranda Drive» l’an prochain. À la télé, il a notamment été la vedette de la série «The Following», de 2013 à 2015.                                                                                  Please find this article online below: http://7jours.ca/cinema/nouvelles/kevin-bacon-sur-le-tapis-rouge-du-film-cop-car

                                                                            Synopsis : deux gamins découvrent une voiture de police abandonnée, y embarquent, puis partent à l’aventure, déclenchant un jeu du chat et de la souris tendu entre eux et un policier corrompu et meurtrier (Kevin Bacon).

Cop Car est une dramédie teintée de la naïveté de la jeunesse à la Stand by Me. Ce qui devait être une aventure amusante devient vite un cauchemar, grâce à un Kevin Bacon littéralement sua’ puff. En plus, comme Kevin était là en personne au festival pour présenter le film et répondre aux questions du public j’ai pu réutiliser le mot-clic #PassionKevin de Théo sur notre Instagram. Merci. Cop Car sera présenté à nouveau le 5 août à 21 h 30, à la salle J.A. De Sève. Il est aussi offert sur la boutique iTunes de Fantasia.                       Please find this article online below: http://www.tonpetitlook.com/fr/2015/07/30/ton-petit-look-fantasia-partie-2

     Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Fantasia 2015 Film Review - Cop Car Two 10-year-old boys Travis (James Freeson-Jackson) and Harrison (Hayes Welford) are walking though farmland on the outskirts of town having decided to run away from home. They are armed with walking sticks and believe that they must have gotten 10 miles away by now as they maneuver through a barbed wire fence between properties. After listening to their conversation for a short period of time it's obvious that Travis is the instigator and Harrison the more reserved thinker of the pair. As they continue their walk they come across a Cop Car sitting parked on a dirt road. Immediately they drop to the ground and hide, then take turns running up and touching it. When they realize that the car appears to be abandoned they try all the doors finding the driver's side open and the keys under the visor. The boys start the car and gingerly roll away. A short time earlier Sheriff Kretzer (Kevin Bacon) drives to a remote area outside of town and parks his cop car. He finishes his beer and puts it on the hood.

Next he takes off his gun belt, strips down to his undershirt, removes a tarp and goes to the trunk. Kretzer removes a body then drags it through the trees to an abandon well. When he heads back to his vehicle he finds it gone. Director and co-writer Jon Watts builds an imaginative tale from a simple premise along with his writing partner Christopher Ford. Two curious kids find an abandoned police car, take it for a joy ride and explore with fresh young eyes and minds all that the car can offer. The flip side, the car belongs to someone, they will want it back and what are the potential consequences of the boys actions. The expansive and flat Colorado shooting location allowed the crew to employ several long and wide shots that are used very effectively to gradually build suspense the moment anything of interest entered the frame. The two young leads James Freeson-Jackson and Hayes Welford turn in veteran level performances. When a decision is needed they discuss each give an opinion then they proceed on a united front. The pair are genuinely wide eyed as investigate all of the equipment in the car and are thankfully aided by great sense of timing in the script when fiddling with dangerous ones.

Kevin Bacon physical nuanced performance is impressive. He has only a handful of words for first 20 minutes he's on screen. Bacon uses his eyes, gestures, grunts, moans and curse words to get Sheriff Kertzer across to the audience. Cop Car is an uncomplicated story that brings the viewer to the spot where three people intersect on a particular day. Refreshingly there is no obligatory flashback to explain why the boys had run away or why Sheriff Kertzer is out in a remote area off the grid using his cruiser to do things that he ought not to be doing. It's a well acted and written film that I can recommend. *** Out of 4 Cop Car | John Watts | U.S.A. | 2015 | 86 Minutes.           Please find this article online below: http://flickhunter.blogspot.ca/2015/07/fantasia-2015-film-review-cop-car.html

                                                     Cop Car Manque de personnalité pour véritablement s’imposer comme un incontournable du genre.♥♥½ Quelque part au Colorado, Travis et Harrison, deux jeunes garçons, se baladent au soleil, partageant un saucisson et échangeant des gros mots. Ils découvrent une voiture de police stationnée à un endroit inusité, hors des sentiers battus. Les clefs sont encore sur le contact et il y a une bouteille de bière sur le tableau de bord, mais personne dans les environs. Alarmés au départ, les garçons reprennent peu à peu courage et se décident finalement à aller y voir de plus près… Puis, les voilà en train de rouler à toute allure, s’amusant comme des fous en farfouillant dans l’équipement et les armes trouvées à bord du véhicule. Hélas, ce rêve préadolescent devenu réalité va se transformer bien vite en cauchemar. Malheureux gamins, vous avez volé la voiture du shérif Kretzer (Kevin Bacon), un policier très méchant qui fait des choses très répréhensibles – et qui tient absolument à récupérer sa bagnole!

Voilà un drôle d’oiseau qu’on a de la difficulté à saisir. Mi-comique, mi-dramatique, le film n’est malheureusement trop souvent aucun des deux. Ce qui semblait au départ un road movie enfantin alterne lentement vers le suspense, notamment grâce à un montage en parallèle somme toute efficace. Cependant, c’est ce même montage qui fait que, le film perd trop souvent son rythme en changeant drastiquement de style; on en à ne pas embarquer suffisamment dans l’histoire ou de façon trop superficielle. La performance de Kevin Bacon est solide; celle des deux enfants sympathique, mais plutôt inégales. Le film aurait gagné à afficher une personnalité plus forte, soit dans ses gags, soit dans son côté suspense/gore. Quelques belles scènes font mouche, notamment lors de la finale, mais nous en aurions pris davantage!                                                     Please find this article online below: http://www.cinemaniak.net/cop-car-fantasia-2015/

                             

What happens when two boys find a seemingly abandoned cop car and decide to take it for a ride? A dubious sheriff, played by the always-excellent Kevin Bacon, wants his ride back. That’s what happens. “Cop Car” made its Canadian premiere at Fantasia International Film Festival, in presence of director Jon Watts (Director of “Clown”) and the international star himself, Kevin Bacon.  

Travis (James Freedson-Jackson) and Harrison (Hays Wellford) are hiking across the rural, empty lands of Colorado, playfully having “run away from home”. Travis has his friend repeat some vulgar terms as they trek across the windy fields, climbing through fences and worrying about nothing. The two 10 year-olds stumble across a cop car and, after much deliberation as to how to approach the vehicle, discover that the keys are inside and decide to take it for a spin.

However, someone brought that car to this isolated part of Colorado. Sheriff Kretzer (Bacon) was dumping a lifeless body in a hole, not too far from his car. Upon his return to the location where he left his patrolling automobile, it is nowhere to be found. He panics, runs to a nearby trailerpark town, steals a car, and, through some deceitful ways in regards to his police station, manages to come in contact with Travis and Harrison. Kretzer, the crooked cop that he is, has his worst fears turn into reality: the boys have uncovered what he was hiding in the trunk. The sheriff must retrieve his vehicle. The casting of this movie is incredible. Kevin Bacon is such a sensational actor that you’ll love him as much as a protagonist as you’ll love to hate him as the antagonist (personally, I adore him as a movie’s villain). The two boys interpreting Travis and Harrison portray the typical relationship of one wannabe bad-boy and his naïve, easily-influenced sidekick. The way the boys change from excited youths driving what would only have been a dream to terrified victims could not have been genuinely portrayed by many young actors, but Freedson-Jackson and Wellford succeed in doing so. “Cop Car” begins as a light, comedic movie of two boys trekking the open plains of Colorado. Even as they embark on their wild police car adventure, you’ll still find yourself laughing at the innocent, care-free remarks that only children would say. The second half of the movie turns much darker and tense as the boys discover the secret in the trunk and the danger resulting from it. The movie doesn’t give you much details on how or why Sheriff Kretzer has done sinister things, but the story slowly unfolds as some details, and characters, pop up. You begin to wonder if Kretzer truly is the villain, then ponder who you’re really rooting for. The film still left some hanging details, in my opinion, as to the backstory of certain characters. I evidently won’t go into this, but it did leave me scratching my head as to why certain things happened and what caused them.

As I mentioned, more and more of the story is revealed to the viewer as the movie progresses, but not every detail. Of course, one could argue that some things are open to interpretation, but I still wasn’t fully satisfied with this aspect of the motion picture. Nonetheless, “Cop Car” is a funny, tense, and beautifully acted suspense that should be viewed at least once, deserving 4 stars out of 5.               Please find this article online below: http://www.horror-movies.ca/2015/07/cop-car-horror-film-review-starring-kevin-bacon/

                 

Cop Car   Written by Jon Watts, Christopher D. Ford Directed by Jon Watts U.S.A., 2015 For children, the world is their oyster.

The sense of discovery and the thrill of adventure are found around every corner. Their imaginations run wild, making the experience of growing up exciting in a way that is long lost on jaded, cynical grownups. It goes without saying that the thrill ride that is human life from infancy to about 12 years old is also paved with risk. For every sense of wonderment that comes with the recklessness of youth, there is the potential of pain suffered by making mistakes. That is, after all, what the process of growing up is all about, learning through doing the right and wrong things. In Jon Watts’ Cop Car, both protagonists are incredibly young boys that let their excitement get the better of them and learn all too quickly about the price to pay for one’s mistakes.

The kids in question are Harrison (Hays Wellford) and Travis (James Freedson-Jackson), revealed in the opening scene of the film as they walk slowly in a tall grass field. Travis, evidently the more rambunctious and rebellious of the two, boldly utters a series of cuss words that Harrison, a bit embarrassed, cautiously repeats. Little information is provided as to what their plan is although it is suggested that they are perhaps fleeing from their homes or skipping school. Regardless, fate has it that they stumble on a lone police car, much to their surprise and amusement. After some initial trepidation, curiosity and desire for adventure get the better of them as they enter the vehicle, turn on the motor and actually drive off! Little do they realize that they have not stolen just any cop car, but that belonging to Sheriff Kretzer (Kevin Bacon), a corrupt man that will do just about anything to retrieve what’s his.                                Cop Car is the type of movie that knows exactly what it is as well as how to press the right buttons to excite the audience. On first glance, the concept sounds rather far fetched. Then again, kids, because of their nature, do incredibly stupid things. If some chap is foolish enough to leave his or her car unattended and a couple of bored 10 or 11-year olds creep up, who knows what preposterous ideas their imaginations will conjure up. The magic that director Jon Watts and fellow screenwriter Christopher D. Ford whip up in Cop Car is in keeping the silliness grounded in a sense of reality, which in turn makes the film all the funnier and more exciting.

The adventure is simultaneously wild and believable enough to retain the viewer’s attention. ‘Compromise’ is often viewed as a negative thing in filmmaking (a writer or director’s vision being compromised by forces beyond his or her control and wishes), yet with Cop Car it makes the film all the more engaging than it might otherwise have been. The sense of reality begins and ends with the terrific writing that goes into creating the characters of Harrison and Travis. Both are fine representations of regular kids engaging in activities any adult would fret about. That said, they never come across as know it all characters, as being smarter and more experienced than people their age have any right to be. Instead, Harrison and Travis are clearly embarking on an adventure that both thrills them and lands them in over their heads. They do not know how to drive, nor do they know how to operate firearms, but through trial and error they begin to get the hang of things. Happenstance sees that the dangers implicated in their misadventure become reality, to say nothing of the fact that said dangers grow exponentially with every new reveal. Jon Watts and his team have thus created a delightfully entertaining film about growing up way too fast. Adults often whish they could stay young whilst children often relish the lives of adults. Harrison and Travis, by completely giving in to the inhibitions that so often dictate young boys and girls, learn about real life dangers in a frighteningly short period of time.   The intelligent writing would amount to nothing without the casting of two fine young actors in Hays Wellford and James Freedson-Jackson. Together they inhabit two sides of the same coin: the gun ho, ready for action child (Travis) and the more shy, careful but no less curious child (Harrison). The performances feel so authentic arguably because the actors are actually playing their age rather than being given roles that require them to play the parts with unrealistic maturity. Kevin Bacon visibly enjoys the role of

Sheriff Kretzer in every scene, dialing the performance with a delicious amount of charm and villainy. The man is passably witty, capable of suggesting a recognizable southern charisma, yet behind those eyes plans are percolating to find the children and the contents of the vehicle at any cost. Special mention should go to the work of cinematographers Matthew J. Lloyd and Larkin Seiple. Cop Car brilliantly captures the rustic beauty of autumnal rural United States, regardless of whether the scene is happening out in the fields or within the confines of the decrepit town. The film’s general colour palette, while not terribly varied throughout the majority of the running length, excellently conveys a strange, attractive aura of reverie. The eventual climax, occurring at night with nothing else but the headlights of the police car to illuminate the action, is probably one of the most beautifully shot scenes of the year. At the time that the film played at the Fantasia Film Festival, it is widely known that Jon Watts’ next project will be the new Marvel Cinematic Universe Spider-Man film. Good for him. It is an opportunity for a young talent to tackle a behemoth of a project and showcase what he can do within the studio system.

Maybe in the years to come the name Jon Watts will be synonymous with blockbuster filmmaking. Only time will tell. For those curious enough to see a more idiosyncratic project of his, Cop Car is a stellar example.                                           Please find this article online below: http://www.popoptiq.com/cop-car-is-an-ode-to-both-the-joys-and-perils-of-growing-up-as-kids/  

 Cop  Car  by  Jay  Seaver    SCREENED AT THE 2015 FANTASIA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL: "Cop Car" opens by dropping enough swearwords that even parents who missed the R rating might consider pulling their kids out, which is both necessary and a bit of a pity. A family-friendly take on the story could have been fun, although staying true to where writer/director Jon Watts sees the story creates something just as entertaining and probably more thrilling. The cussing comes from Travis (James Freedson-Jackson) and Harrison (Hays Wellford), two kids of about eight or nine sort of running away from home but mostly out exploring; at probably much less than the fifty miles they estimate that they've walked, they find a police car in the middle of nowhere with no-one around, and soon find that the front door is not only unlocked, but the keys fall right into their laps. Figuring they're expert Mario Kart players, they decide to take it for a spin. How did it get there? The film rewinds a bit and shows Sheriff Mitch Kretzler (Kevin Bacon) pulling a body out of the trunk to dispose of. He lugs it a fair distance, so when he gets back to his parking spot he's got to figure out a way to cover up both his corruption and his screw-up, especially since that trunk wasn't completely empty. In a lot of movies like this, the adult with the C.V. of a Kevin Bacon would have his name before the title almost entirely because nobody has heard of James Freedson-Jackson and Hays Wellford (yet). That certainly seems to be the case here at first, but Bacon quickly goes a long way to earning star billing. For one thing, he's hilarious, giving Kretzler the body language of a kid who has done something he knows will get him into trouble and is trying to figure out a way around it.

Starting from there makes him an amusing pairing with the actual kids, and creates a somewhat starker contrast when actual malevolence creeps in. The kids are still the real stars, though, and they're great. Freedson-Jackson plays Travis, the instigator of the pair, and it's a fun take on this type of character, because there's a lot less of the pushy potential bully than usual; the sense is that he's excited without being hyper. Wellford's playing the bigger but more reserved one, and Wellford does a great job of bouncing off Freedson-Jackson so that Harrison doesn't come off as particularly sensible compared to his friend but also isn't a wimp that the audience wants to see toughen up either. They're great at the playful boys' adventure stuff that starts the movie, and just as strong when the danger gets much more real. That seems to happen in a heartbeat, a jarring change that makes the rest of the movie seem off all the way through the end. Watts earns that tone shift, peppering the first half of the film which is mostly boisterous but gentle fun with gags that would be flat-out horrific if the thing threatened actually happened, and once things switch over, he commits completely, resisting the temptation to revisit the lighter tone of the start. He handles both ends of the film well, whether it be two kids talking or a tense siege, and creates a lot of the same car-chase thrills as movies that have much more complicated vehicular action. Being able to pull that off makes "Cop Car" a coming-of-age adventure that can surprise in a number of ways. Some folks might not be able to make their peace with how adult the movie gets and stays, especially if the more tense moments aren't really hinted at in the promotion, but they're part of what makes the film feel genuine as well as entertaining.   Please find this article online below: http://www.efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=28285&reviewer=389

Fantasia 2015 Review: Cop Car By Kurt Halfyard    

  If Cop Car is an example of anything, it is in praise of the small movie, shot big. In our obsession with city destruction, space opera, dinosaurs and other CGI creations, it is telling that the most body wracking tension is created from having two nine year old boys play, confused, with a few heavy firearms. Even if the safety is on, and the kids don’t know it, the amount of nerve wracking tension generated is palpable. In fact, Jon Watts’ excellent neo-Amblin-Western could have been convincingly titled “No Country For Young Boys” as it shares a similar sense of ‘people tasks silently’ that the Coen Brothers brought in adapting Cormac McCarthy. Kevin Bacon, seems to be enjoying the ‘villain phase’ of his career, and here he is channelling a charming, but malevolent Sam Elliot type of role, country Sheriff Kretzer, with relish.

When the aforementioned young boys are out for one of those endless summers day walks in wide-stretching Texas farmland, trading cuss-words and imagination play, they stumble upon the eponymous police cruiser with the keys on hand. They take it out for a joy ride, off road, leaving Kretzer in the middle of his nefarious task to get his car back before dispatch figures out that shenanigans are happening. Guns and a few other surprises are in the vehicle, (which the kids are of course obligated to get into) which the Sheriff has to engineer, tout suite, a delicate, balanced solution. The film is small, but to these kids, the stakes are huge, especially when bullets start to fly. What I love most about Cop Car, is that it is shot HUGE, like a John Ford Western, even as the car chase, or shoot-out is comfortably in the realm of realistic. No big stunts, no high speeds, just a lot of people trying to extricate themselves from a bad situation and avoid any consequences. And like any good Western, there are some serious consequences. The Sheriff is undoubtedly a bad guy, but there are worse guys, and this in a very no-nonsense performance by ubiquitous character actor Shea Whigham, a very, very dialled down villain who, unlike Javier Bardem’s Anton Chigurh, is less a force of nature, than a confused dude in a tight spot and willing to fight his way out of it. While the film starts and finishes in the realm of the children, the adult conflict occupies the middle ground, yet is also pure in a men-and-the-games-they-play kind of way. It is a curious thing and it works. Using long takes and wide, high-noon cinematography, the creative force behind Cop Car successfully bring a classic type of movie making convincingly back to the cinema. Couple this with a fearless mission statement to actually put children in peril and knot the bowels of the adults watching the proceedings, anyone who truly loves movies should make the effort to seek this out.            Please find this article online below: http://www.rowthree.com/2015/07/24/fantasia-2015-review-cop-car/

                                Jon Watts avait 10 ans. Il était assis sur le siège passager de l'auto de sa mère. Mais c'est son ami Travis, du même âge que lui, qui conduisait. Ils croisaient des gens qu'ils connaissaient. Personne ne réagissait. Ils allaient de plus en plus vite. «Je savais que quelque chose n'allait pas, vraiment pas. Et c'est là que je me réveillais», raconte le réalisateur-scénariste au bout du fil. .excerpt

Ce rêve-là, il l'a fait et refait pendant des années. Et il s'est dit qu'il y avait là matière à faire un film. Cop Car. Qu'il a écrit avec son complice Christopher Ford. Qu'il a bouclé avec un budget de moins de 1 million. Qu'il présente ce soir au festival Fantasia, en compagnie de Kevin Bacon, sa tête d'affiche. La star de Footloose et de la série The Following incarne ici un flic véreux dont l'auto est volée par deux gamins d'une dizaine d'années qui la croient abandonnée. Et ce qu'ils pensent être une balade magique tourne bientôt au drame. Car le policier veut récupérer sa bagnole. Coûte que coûte. Et ces garçons sont des témoins très gênants. Qu'il faut faire taire. Définitivement. Nous sommes soudainement chez les frères Coen. Alors qu'on avait commencé le voyage chez Steven Spielberg. Que Jon Watts cite comme l'une de ses grandes influences. «J'aime sa façon de déplacer les caméras. Pour moi, il est le meilleur.» Ainsi, on s'étonne peu quand il indique qu'une de ses influences pour Cop Car est Empire of the Sun, qui mettait en vedette un tout jeune Christian Bale: «Il incarne un enfant innocent qui se retrouve tout à coup dans une situation très adulte.» C'est ce qui arrive à Travis et Harrison (James Freedson-Jackson et Hays Wellford) dans ce drame qui s'amorce comme une aventure magique façon Stand By Me et se mue en thriller. Aventure toutefois restée magique de bout en bout pour les deux jeunes acteurs, malgré le côté extrêmement sombre et perturbant du récit. «Vous savez, faire des films est quelque chose en soi de très bizarre. Là, nous étions en compagnie de deux gamins n'ayant à peu près pas d'expérience, qui se retrouvaient à devoir faire semblant de conduire une auto, à faire semblant d'aller très vite. Le véhicule était secoué pour donner l'impression de cahoter sur une route de terre, des ventilateurs leur envoyaient de l'air dans le visage pour faire comme s'ils se déplaçaient à toute vitesse. Bref, pour eux, c'était un jeu.»

Et pour lui? «Je devais veiller à ce que mon niveau d'énergie soit toujours au maximum parce que dès que ça faiblissait, je perdais leur attention et eux, leur concentration. J'étais un peu comme un prof!», rigole le réalisateur. Pour qui la tâche a été plus coulante dans les scènes tournées avec Kevin Bacon. Ce dernier - qui agit aussi ici à titre de producteur délégué - ayant travaillé son personnage en amont. Et avec passion. Pour incarner ce shérif Kretzer, «il est arrivé avec plein d'idées, il a adopté une démarche particulière, une posture un peu bizarre... et la moustache», note le réalisateur dont le nom a fait les manchettes récemment. Pour tout autre chose. Spider-Man Jon Watts a en effet été choisi pour réaliser le prochain Spider-Man. Sortie prévue: 28 juin 2017. Sous le bouclier de Marvel et de Sony, qui ont accepté de s'allier pour ce nouveau reboot de la franchise passée entre les mains de Sam Raimi avant de renaître sous celles de Mark Webb. Un Spider-Man qui n'a pas encore de titre. Qui a toutefois un acteur principal: le jeune Tom Holland. «Il était formidable dans The Impossible. Il va faire un Peter Parker extraordinaire», indique le réalisateur qui va exploiter l'adolescence du personnage sur un scénario dont l'écriture commencera bientôt. «Nous venons d'engager des scénaristes.» Ce seraient John Francis Daley et Jonathan Goldstein, auteurs et réalisateurs de Vacation - qui étaient d'ailleurs aussi parmi les candidats pressentis pour ressusciter Spidey, personnage «dont tout le monde est fan: que l'on ait lu ou pas les comics, on a tous voulu un jour être Spider-Man», souligne (avec raison) Jon Watts, très excité par cette prochaine aventure. «Mais le simple fait de travailler en cinéma et payer mon loyer avec ça est déjà un rêve», résume celui qui, à 34 ans, a actuellement deux longs métrages à son actif.

Clown Le premier, Clown, est un drame d'horreur sorti l'an dernier, également écrit avec Christopher Ford et produit dans des circonstances plutôt inhabituelles: «Chris et moi nous amusions à mettre sur notre page YouTube des trucs bizarres qu'on faisait. Un jour, nous avons imaginé un homme qui essaierait un costume de clown maléfique et serait ainsi transformé en tueur.» Ils ont décidé d'utiliser l'idée pour faire la bande-annonce d'un film... qui n'existait pas. Et ils ont, pour rigoler, ajouté le nom d'Eli Roth (Hostel, Cabin Fever) à titre de producteur. «Parce qu'il est formidable et parce qu'en voyant son nom, les gens combleraient les trous de la bande-annonce et la rendraient plus effrayante encore avec leur imagination.» Ce qu'ils n'avaient pas imaginé, par contre, c'est le nombre considérable de visionnements qu'ils auraient. Ni qu'Eli Roth aurait vent de la chose. Et leur téléphonerait. «Sur le coup, j'ai paniqué, raconte Jon Watts. Mais il a été super sympa et a demandé: «Est-ce que vous voulez vraiment faire un film avec ça?» Sûr qu'on voulait!» Quelques mois plus tard, le tournage de Clown commençait à Ottawa. Bref, la carrière de Jon Watts tient, en ce moment, du rêve. On le lui souhaite récurrent.                            Please find this article online below: http://www.lapresse.ca/cinema/festivals-de-cinema/festival-fantasia/201507/28/01-4888721-jon-watts-du-flic-vereux-a-lhomme-araignee.php

   

“COP CAR” (Fantasia Movie Review) Home,Movies/TV,News,Reviews | July 28, 2015 - 11:22 am | by: Michael Gingold|                                COP CAR, in which two preteen boys steal a cruiser from a sheriff who’s very, very anxious to get it back, is not the kind of movie you’d get from a studio taking on this premise (shenanigans ensue!), nor is it a ruthless, transgressive indie nightmare (THE HITCHER with kids!). Rather, it derives its tension from the matter-of-fact way it plays out the story’s inevitable developments. Like many a classic Western, COP CAR (making its Canadian premiere tonight at Montreal’s Fantasia festival, and going into theatrical release August 7) begins with its two heroes on the lam—running away from home—through the wide open spaces of the Southwest, in this case somewhere in rural Colorado. Though the duo are many years away from being adults, the brasher Travis (James Freedson-Jackson) is trying to get the more hesitant Harrison (Hays Wellford) to “grow up” a little by having him repeat a litany of dirty words, starting with “Wiener” and proceeding to the language that helps earn the film its R rating. Then they stumble upon the chance to truly do something grown-up: a police car, apparently abandoned with the keys inside it.

There’s an infectious, vicarious thrill in the early scenes of the two boys seizing the opportunity to go on a little joyride across the grassy plains, even as it’s coupled with an encroaching sense of danger.                   Just how dangerous the situation is becomes clear as we subsequently get to know the vehicle’s owner: Sheriff Kretzer (Kevin Bacon), who is currently operating on the wrong side of the law. Slimmed down and mustachioed, Bacon cuts a terrific white-trash-menacing figure; as Kretzer has gone rogue to engage in his bad behavior, the actor has to convey a lot with very little dialogue, and does a fine job suggesting that things are going to get very bad for Travis and Harrison if and when this corrupted lawman catches up to them. Putting children in jeopardy in a thriller/horror film is always a touchy proposition, and director Jon Watts, working from a script he wrote with Christopher Ford, steers around the potential pitfalls by grounding the film in naturalism. The threat to the boys is never overstated; when Travis and Harrison discover guns and a defibrillator in the back seat and give in to their natural curiosity to examine and play with them, there are no portentous close-ups or music, with Watts instead allowing the potential for harm to speak for itself—which in turns makes the scenes all the more suspenseful. Then the duo discover a secret Kretzer has stashed away, which ups the stakes considerably and puts the boys at far more direct risk.

That’s where COP CAR drives into more traditional genre territory, and by this point, Watts and his small cast (also including Shea Whigham and Camryn Manheim, with Bacon’s spouse Kyra Sedgwick vocally cameoing as a police dispatcher) have invested us sufficiently in the characters’ circumstances that we remain invested and concerned. The director orchestrates the mayhem with skill, keeping it as realistic as the earlier sections that are devoted to kids being kids, and a bad guy believing he has no choice but to get worse. For a movie shot on modest means, COP CAR has a rich veneer, with plenty of middle-of-nowhere atmosphere conveyed via Matthew J. Lloyd and Larkin Seiple’s widescreen cinematography and Phil Mossman’s music. There’s one unfortunate development too many in the very late going—a bit that feels like something motivated by producer notes or test-screening results—but overall, COP CAR is a (pardon the expression) arresting example of what can be done with a simple, visceral premise, the right cast and a stripped-down approach.                                            Please find this article online below: http://www.fangoria.com/new/cop-car-fantasia-movie-review/

         Fantasia 2015: Cop CarFantasia 2015: Cop Car                                      A couple kids steal the patrol car owned by the corrupt sheriff in Cop Car. Travis and Harrison (James Freedson-Jackson and Hays Wellford) are two young boys walking across the rural Colorado. The two come across an apparently abandoned cop car at the side of the road and, finding it unlocked, they decide to take the car for a joyride. However, the car's owner Sheriff Kretzer (Kevin Bacon) was off doing a nefarious deed and, when he returns to find the car missing, he will go to any length to get the car back. Cop Car is a relatively small-scale thriller, focusing primarily on the two boys adventures in the stolen police car and Sheriff Kretzer's efforts to get the car back at all costs. Other than those three characters, the film also feature a woman (Camryn Manheim), who witnesses the boy's joyriding, as well as a mysterious man (Shea Whigham), who befriend's the boys, despite having some ambiguous motivations.

Cop Car is a demonstration of how a lot can be done with very little. There comes a point in the film when the two boys find and begin playing with the guns in the police car and it is quite tense watching them figure out how to use them, all while pointing the guns in the wrong directions. While Sheriff Kretzer is without a doubt a bad man, it remains ambiguous whether he wants to hurt the boys or if he just wants to get his car back, before they discover its dark secrets. Altogether, Cop Car is a pretty well executed low-key thriller. ★ ★ ★ ★ | LIKED IT Screenings: Tue, July 28, 7:15 PM - Concordia Hall Theatre Wed, Aug 5, 9:30 PM - J.A. De Seve Theatre             Please find this article online below: http://www.skonmovies.com/2015/07/fantasia-2015-cop-car.html

                                                                 

               

Bite  

The Evening ClassThe Evening Class              

Chad Archibald's Bite (2015) had its sold-out World Premiere in a one-off screening at the 19th edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival on July 29, 2015, in Montréal's J.A. DeSève Theater. Aware that I would be unable to attend his premiere, Archibald generously provided a streaming link, and agreed to sit down and talk with me about his latest effort before I headed out of Montréal. We met on the terrace of Le Nouvel Hôtel. Within minutes of meeting, Archibald struck me as a no-nonsense fanboy making films for fanboys, down-to-earth, friendly, and amusingly candid about his self-taught filmmaking.

Director and owner of the Guelph-based film studio Black Fawn Films (established in 2007), Chad Archibald is a graduate of Humber College's Multimedia Design and Production program. At 22, he co-wrote and co-directed his first feature Desperate Souls (2005), which was picked up for distribution by Lionsgate Films and Alliance Atlantis. After a stint of working on seven episodes of the Canadian television series Creepy Canada (2006), he took what he'd learned from that experience and applied it to making his next film Neverlost (2010), which won the Audience Award at that year's Fantasia. In 2014, he returned to Fantasia with The Drownsman, following up this year with Bite.

As noted by Heather Buckley in her Fantasia program capsule for Bite: "Within the canon of contemporary horror is the woman-body rot cycle. Instead of iconic female beauty, the camera is here to destroy, distort and decay this form. ...Bite reinvents and meditates on Cronenberg's The Fly, but with a woman and without the existential death / AIDS metaphor of its predecessor. ...Black Fawn delivers on exquisite cinematography and excellent acting, and treads in a quasi-retro '80s space, creating something thoroughly contemporary while rooted in cinema's past." While talking to Archibald, I kept eyeing and coveting his Black Fawn vest and asked if they were for sale; but, he made it clear they were only worn by key members of the Black Fawn family, much like the bandanas that the company parcels out—different color each film—to cast and crew. When one of their films premieres at Fantasia, it's not unusual for their whole crew to attend, sometimes up to 40 people "coming from Toronto and whatnot", and they all wear their bandanas so they can identify who's worked on what film, much like they do during production on set. When I asked how this tradition got started, Archibald recalled having an exclusive number of red bandanas made up as thank you gifts to the cast and crew of Neverlost. Everyone on the cast and crew was given a red bandana, which they loved. Anytime someone would be seen wearing one of those red bandanas, it signified they'd worked on Neverlost. The gesture generated such good will that Archibald decided to do it for every film, but in a different color. Towards the end of a shoot, he gathers cast and crew together and distributes bandanas. Some folks, he smiled proudly, have even framed them for their walls. It represents the camaraderie of the Black Fawn family. Please be forewarned that my conversation with Chad Archibald is not for the spoiler-wary! * * *

Michael Guillén: You consider your Black Fawn team to be a family? Chad Archibald: Yes. We spend so much time on set together and are so close with everyone. Our films are made with pretty low budgets, so we rely on a lot of people working very hard for much less than they deserve to be paid, and with fewer resources. We really work hard at treating everyone with respect. We've been on sets before where we've seen people unhappy and how sour it can get and people being miserable. Luckily, we're blessed that we haven't had many situations like that. Guillén: You trained in multi-media design? What exactly is that? Archibald: Web design and stuff like that. I went to school for multi-media design and had one film course. Basically all they taught you to do was how to plug a video camera into your computer. It wasn't really part of my program, but I managed to get in the course so I could use their cameras and make movies on the weekends with my buddies. I'd always made home videos and stupid little shorts and stuff, but that was the first time I could actually plug something in. I had edited from VHS to VHS, trying to cut scenes together. They were fun to do. I grew up in the country and had nothing better to do. My folks got a video camera so I was like, "Okay!" I'd create little movies to pass the time, I guess. Guillén: That first video was Desperate Souls, which—despite having a 2.4 IMDb rating—was picked up for distribution. What quality do you think you had in that first piece that attracted distribution? Archibald: When we made that movie, I'd never been on a set before. I had no knowledge of what to do. We found a scriptwriting program online and me and Philip [aka Gabriel Carrer] started writing it, and we called all our friends and buddies and said, "Let's go! We're making this movie this weekend!"

We didn't even know how long it would take to shoot stuff. We thought we could shoot a movie over the weekend, maybe a few weekends, something like that? But it ended up taking years to finally get it done and we made every mistake in the book. We had to re-record every piece of dialogue in the entire movie! [Laughs.] But it's those mistakes that make you a better filmmaker. Now I understand sound. Now I understand editing. Guillén: After watching the streaming link of Bite you provided, I rented The Drownsman on VUDU. You have a keen ability to rework tropes. The Drownsman brought back the idea of a Freddy Kreuger-like supernatural villain. Bite certainly has touches of body horror reminiscent of David Cronenberg's The Fly (1986). At what point can you take an idea that's been worked before but somehow make it your own? Archibald: It's so hard to come up with original ideas. I never really got that until this year because there have been a lot of comparisons between The Fly and Bite. Guillén: I hope that doesn't bother you? It's meant as a compliment. Archibald: No, no, no. I feel humbled by the fact that it's being related to such an awesome movie—if anything, it feels a little intimidating—but, no, I'm super-happy with it. I love horror movies and there are so many great ideas that go one way, but you think, "What if they went a different way?" The idea for Bite wasn't to try to do anything like The Fly. With The Drownsman, however, it was intentional. There were these movies that I had grown up that I had loved watching that had that supernatural bad guy that breaks all the rules. That's fun! We set out to make the character of the Drownsman one of those guys, for sure. We wanted The Drownsman to be a throwback. You just don't see movies with those characters anymore; villains that you can make toys from! Ry Barrett, who played The Drownsman, was in Desperate Souls, the first movie we ever made. He was my best-looking friend and I told him, "You look like an actor; c'mon!" We've been making movies together ever since.

Guillén: I'm intrigued that both The Drownsman and Bite feature female-centric ensembles. Can you speak to that? Archibald: The story dictates it. With Bite, I wanted to write the story about a woman who isn't ready to be a mother; but, she's bitten by this thing and—as she transforms—she's forced towards her natural instincts. Her mothering instincts start coming through. I was excited to work with Elma Begovic, who plays the lead Casey in Bite, as I enjoyed working with Michelle Mylett who played Madison in The Drownsman. We write scripts and send them in and work with the studios to see what's going to work and what they like or don't. Some of our scripts are male-centric as well, so I don't think it's on purpose that The Drownsman and Bite have female-centric casts. I've been asked that many times. Basically, we love strong female characters. I just read an article where they interviewed several of the actresses in my films [Jeff Fountain's CGE piece "Black Fawn Films: Women Who Kick Ass"]. Gender equality is such a major issue in every industry pretty much, but this article brought it to the forefront and had some great things to say. There's nothing better than a bad-ass girl kicking ass. I don't think I would naturally write female characters who just run around in bikinis. I never look at women that way, so I would never write them that way. Guillén: Your lead character Casey is refreshingly complex. She's due to be married, but she's not really ready or committed to the idea, so while vacationing in Costa Rica she acts out and fools around with another guy and even carelessly loses her engagement ring in the process. That sexual abandon and excess becomes the segue to her being "stung", with all its horrifying repercussions, and moral insinuation. Archibald: There are some characters who are extreme in Bite, like we have one scene with the mother before things get out of control. Guillén: She deserved everything she got. Archibald: But that's it, we were like, "Good. Let's just make her horrible." Let's not beat around the bush here. We've got this fun scene: let's make her horrible. People who are going to watch this are going to say, "I can't wait to see her get her's."

Guillén: I genuinely enjoyed Denise Yuen's performance as Kirsten, Casey's good friend. She was likeable. Where we could say we wanted the mother to get her comeuppance, I really didn't want anything to happen to Kirsten. Archibald: That's important. People aren't good or bad. People are generally right in the middle, y'know? Nobody's perfect. People make mistakes. But it's more relatable when it's someone that's real. Casey screwed up, but she's not a bad person. That's the key with making a character like her's. You want to go far enough to make them real but not so far that the audience goes, "I don't like her. No. I don't care about her. I want her to die." Guillén: Many years ago Kiyoshi Kurosawa attended the screening of his film Doppelganger (2003) at the San Francisco International Film Festival. In that film, the protagonist's doppelganger breaks the law, causes a lot of trouble, even murder, and gets away with it. During the Q&A after the film, someone wanted to know where the police were? How this guy could get away with all this? Kurosawa seemed very bemused and admitted his movie was never meant to be "real." Movies are not real, he argued, even if they try to appear real. His movie was set in an alternate world, in which there were no cops, precisely so that the doppelganger could create chaos. That was the core of his film. Ever since then, I've paid attention to what directors leave out of their narrative worlds and the conventions they ask audiences to accept. In Bite, as Casey transforms, she turns her apartment into a webbed nest of eggs. There's a brief complaint about the smell; but, then that's never brought up again and I got the feeling that in your movie's world, there were no neighbors. That's why nobody else was complaining about the stench and why the nest just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Can you speak about that? Archibald: Yeah, sure. Some people have watched Bite and reviewed it as a horror comedy, while others have watched it and said, "It's a serious film." We were aiming for the middle. When you make some movies that are a little more fun, there's more leeway with your audience. If Casey had just gone to the doctor right away, it'd be a different film, she'd be in the hospital.

That's not the film we wanted to make. We tried to play it in a way that these series of events happened so quickly that her instincts took over before she could actually end up in a hospital. Another example, when they walk into the room, anyone who would open that door would go, "Hell no, I'm not going in there" and back away. But our characters have to go in. Otherwise we don't have a movie. Guillén: It's the infamous "don't" factor. Archibald: Exactly. Why are they running up the stairs? There's a back door. It's just the suspension of disbelief. That's where the craft of filmmaking comes in. Hopefully you make a film where the audience gets drawn in and they don't think about those things so much. They enjoy it as is. It's so true, though. You can watch any movie and ask, "Where are the cops? Why don't they do this? Why don't they just call 911?" Or it's the classic: "Oh, all our cell phones don't have reception." That problem's solved. It's so hard because we're living in an age where everyone's connected all the time through cell phones. We talked about that a lot with Antisocial (2013). There's not a moment when you can't get help. Guillén: That reminds me of the one movie that I've long felt would be nearly impossible to remake: Peter Bogdonavich's Targets (1968) with Boris Karloff. Archibald: It's funny you bring that up because so did the studio when we were making Antisocial. Guillén: Well, the thing about Targets is that it's about a sniper in a drive-in theater and everyone's trapped in their cars and can't call for help. That would be unheard of today in a contemporary setting and who even thinks of drive-in theaters anymore anyway, let alone not having a cell phone? Archibald: It can be interesting to play with period pieces, with films that take place in the '80s, when everyone wasn't connected. I feel like people are such wussies today, including myself. I imagine myself going back to the '70s and '80s when you had to find a land line to phone someone. Especially kids who are growing up now have had cell phones all their life, almost as soon as they've learned to talk. They can't even comprehend the idea of going on a trip and not having a phone. Or using a map to find directions.

Guillén: One of the things I've enjoyed about my time at Fantasia is that I don't have an international calling plan so—to avoid roaming charges—I just keep my iPhone in airplane mode and don't use it for anything but a camera. It actually feels comforting to be a little old style and out of touch. Archibald: You just put it away? So nice. Guillén: Let's talk about your make-up and practical effects. Who did them for you? Archibald: Jason Derushie, who also did The Drownsman, worked on this with a team of assistants. For her make-up effects, Elma would get in super early before the crew or anyone. She'd show up and basically have to strip down and stand there for six hours and get covered in special make-up, and then another two to three hours to get it all off. She would be in make-up for nine hours out of 12-hour shifts. Whenever we got her on set, it would be, "Go, go, go, go, go!" She had some really long days and was such a trouper about it. She's very beautiful and it's interesting to watch the movie and see her transform into this creature at the end. It's only when they're looking back at found footage of them in Costa Rica that you remember how beautiful she is. As for the actual set, we had buckets and buckets and buckets of goo. We had a room that was full of buckets of goo. Every day I was like, "More goo! More goo!" [Laughs.] Because it would dry out. We had a very small budget and one of our biggest challenges was, "How am I going to fill up this apartment with eggs?" What the hell would we actually get that would be like eggs? I was looking online and found this website that makes what they call spitballs. They're little pebbles that you put in water and they absorb the water and turn into little jelly balls. Kids spit them at each other. I bought a pack of them and took them into my bathroom and put them in a big bowl of water, went to sleep, and the next day they were overflowing. I ordered like 30,000 of them! We had buckets of them and put them in a mixture of coffee and maple syrup. We had endless eggs and had people filling ping pong balls with silicone, anything we could to figure out more and more how to create the illusion of all these eggs.

Guillén: Talk to me about Black Fawn. Why that name?

Archibald: A Black Fawn is a rare creature and exciting to see! It started from there. Me and Cody Calahan own Black Fawn, and then we have Jeff Maher and Chris Giroux. Jeff's just directed Bed of the Dead (2016) for us, but he's been our DP on pretty much all our films, almost. Chris has been producing with us for a long time as well. We've been in operation since 2008. Right now we have a slate of films with Breakthrough Entertainment. We signed an eight-picture deal with them over two years, which is a challenge. Guillén: How did you negotiate such a lucrative opportunity for Black Fawn? Did you go through the market here at Fantasia? Archibald: No, we went into the studio. They were nice enough to sit down with us, and Cody actually pitched the idea of what if Facebook started turning people into zombies? They liked it. In all honesty, the industry is looking for content, but good content. For anyone, if you have something good, you can get it found. The only real problem is creating great ideas. That's what got our foot in the door: a good idea that they loved. Did it matter to them all the stuff we'd done in the past? We obviously brought that to the table to show them before we made the movie and started working with them. Guillén: I was given a piece of advice that you should never arrive with just one idea, but at least 15 ideas, to broaden your chances. Archibald: Good advice. We have the eight-film deal with Breakthrough but we don't even know all the films that we're doing and people say, "Oh, it must be nice to just go out and make whatever you want"; but, for every 30 ideas that we put into treatment and really work on and try to get them in, only one goes through. Content is king. Content is currency. Guillén: Do you depend on the studio to handle distribution for you or do you self-distribute? Archibald: I've done a lot of films over the years and have always worked closely with sales teams and whatnot. I also own Black Fawn Distribution, which was created (again) because we had gone through the wringer with so many films and had been screwed by distributors in the industry.

We'd give our movie to people and they'd sell it across a country and we'd never see a cent from it, which is so common these days. Back in the day, like when we sold Desperate Souls, we sold it to Lionsgate and Alliance Atlantis. I couldn't give this film away, it was so bad, but we made a ton of money off of it because every film is guaranteed to have those sales to outlets like Blockbuster. You just have to put a cool cover on it and get it out there. But there were a lot fewer movies being made back then. Since the industry's gotten so saturated, distributors have closed down. I ran statistics and there are only about 13% of the distributors left that were around in 2000 that are still around. All the rest have either been bought up or gone bankrupt and closed down. Guillén: Who distributes for you in the U.S.? Archibald: Breakthrough is our sales agent there as well. Tim Brown organizes everything. We make the films, hand them over to Breakthrough, they go to all the markets, and sell them. Guillén: Do they also serve as aggegator to get your films on streaming platforms? Archibald: Yeah, the distributor usually does that. For example, with The Drownsman—which sold to Anchor Bay, U.S. and Canada—they put it on iTunes and Blu-Ray / DVD. Guillén: How important, then, is a theatrical run for you? Archibald: In all honesty, it's very hard outside of festivals without a huge advertising budget for a small film to do well in theaters. We go through the festival circuit and that's how we get a film out and it gives people an opportunity to see it on a big screen as well. We've traveled all over the world going to festivals and pushing our films that way. We've done short runs in theaters in Toronto. With Neverlost we actually traveled right across Canada. Cody and I went to Vancouver and from Vancouver to Montreal and just rented out Cineplex Odeons for one night. Guillén: That must have been hard. Archibald: It was very difficult to get people in seats. Some places were fantastic and some places were total bombs. Filmmaking is a difficult industry to survive in, especially as an indie filmmaker.

It's very saturated; but, making films is like a drug. I love being on set. I love what I do. Every day I wake up, there are times when I'm like, "I can't wait for Monday."                 Please find this article online below: http://theeveningclass.blogspot.ca/2015/07/fantasia-2015-bite-evening-class.html

                                         A  young  women  undergoes  a  horrifying  transformation  in  the  body  horror  film  Bite.    Shortly  before  her  wedding  to  her  fiance  Jared  (Jordan  Gray),  Casey  (Elma  Begovic)  goes  on  a  bachelorette  holiday  to  Costa  Rica  with  her  friends  Jill  (Annette  Wozniak)  and  Kirsten  (Denise  Yuen).    While  swimming  in  an  off-­‐path  spring,  Casey  gets  bitten  by  something  under  the  water.    After  returning  home,  Casey  begins  to  worry  about  whether  she  is  ready  for  her  upcoming  wedding.    At  the  same  time,  her  bite  becomes  infected  and  she  undergoes  some  increasingly  grotesque  changes.    Directed  by  Chad  Archibald  (The  Drownsman),  Bite  is  a  body  horror  film  that  is  obviously  trying  to  be  a  homage  to  David  Cronenberg's  The  Fly.    At  the  same  time,  the  film  is  being  used  as  a  visual  metaphor  of  Casey's  uncertainty  about  her  upcoming  nuptials.    Even  though  the  film  initially  appears  to  be  a  found-­‐footage  film,  it  quickly  switches  to  a  more  conventional  format  after  the  opening  title.    Bite  is  practically  a  single-­‐location  story,  with  the  bulk  of  the  plot  taking  place  in  and  around  Casey's  apartment.    

In  addition  to  some  pretty  impressive  and  grotesque  prosthetic  make-­‐up,  Elma  Begovic  illustrates  Casey's  transformation  through  the  development  of  various  insect-­‐like  ticks,  the  effect  of  which  is  quite  effective.    Ironically,  even  though  Casey  turns  quite  monstrous  and  violent,  she  remains  the  most  sympathetic  character  in  the  film.    The  other  characters  are  either  cartoonishly  wicked  (i.e.  Jared's  "old  fashioned"  mother),  have  hidden  agendas,  or  lose  the  audience's  favour  with  dumb  decisions.    However,  that  is  not  really  a  major  fault  of  Bite,  which  still  ends  up  being  a  pretty  effective  piece  of  body  horror.      ★  ★  ★  ★  |  LIKED  IT                   Please find this article online below: http://www.skonmovies.com/2015/07/fantasia-2015-bite.html

                        The following films are screening as part of the Fantasia Film Festival, on through Aug. 4.    I think it’s too early to call it a worldwide phenomenon, but the “woman-slowly-rots-alone-at-home” subgenre is becoming a Fantasia staple that I’m not too fond of. It’s easy to see the appeal for horror filmmakers: limited locations, the potential for intricate make-up effects, built-in “cerebral” appeal… It’s interesting that it has developed as a subgenre without ever really producing anything remotely classic, but I’m starting to believe that it’s a topic ill-suited to feature length films. Unfortunately, like most films of its ilk, Chad Archibald’s Bite is largely a wasted opportunity, done in by its stilted performances and shallow plotting.

Casey (Elma Begovic) returns from her bachelorette party with a nasty bite on her leg from an unseen underwater assailant. The wound is getting progressively grosser, but Casey has other things on her mind: a dalliance with a stranger during the holiday is making her rethink her relationship with her straight-laced banker fiancé (Jordan Gray), but she can’t find it in herself to speak to him about it. As the wedding approaches, Casey’s wound becomes increasingly infected and her body slowly begins to transform, a cause of growing concern (and eventually death) for her friends and family. Bite has a kernel of a good idea — too bad it’s exactly the same kernel as Cronenberg’s The Fly, complete with acid-puking action. Where that film worked as a potent (and gooey) metaphor for AIDS, Bite works as a much less potent metaphor for the ripple effects of promiscuity. It’s curiously old-fashioned in the way it treats its characters and their actions. Of course, it doesn’t help that the characters are thinly sketched and given dialogue that sounds like it comes from an afterschool special about the dangers of premarital sex, but even that could be brushed aside if Archibald did something interesting with the transformation. Instead he’s content with rehashing ideas from The Fly and doling out biblical punishments for his characters. (Alex Rose) Bite is screening at the J.A. de Sève Theatre (1400 de Maisonneuve W.) tonight, Wednesday, July 29, 9:45 p.m.     Please find this article online below: http://cultmontreal.com/2015/07/la-la-la-at-rock-bottom-big-match-bite-review/

             BITE To Premiere At Fantasia International Film Festival POSTED ON JUNE 30, 2015 BY CHAD ARMSTRONG      

Breakthrough Entertainment and Black Fawn Films’ BITE To Premiere At Fantasia International Film Festival. (Toronto – June 30, 2015) From Breakthrough Entertainment and Black Fawn Films – the team behind the breakaway indie-hits Antisocial and The Drownsman – comes BITE, directed by Chad Archibald (Neverlost, The Drownsman) who again returns to infect Fantasia International Film Festival with a World Premiere in Montreal.

Directed by Chad Archibald, written by Jayme Laforest (Gods of Accident) and stars Elma Begovic, Annette Wozniak, Denise Yuen, Jordan Gray and Lawrene Denkers. Produced by Chad Archibald, Cody Calahan (Antisocial, Antisocial 2), Christopher Giroux (The Drownsman, Antisocial 2), with Co-Producer / Director of Photography Jeff Maher (Antisocial 2), Line Producer James O’Donnell (Antisocial 2), Supervising Producer Audrey Velichka, and Executive Producers Nat Abraham, Tim Brown, Ira Levy, Michael McGuigan and Peter Williamson.

 

“We are honoured Fantasia has again invited a Breakthrough/ Black Fawn production to premiere at their Festival,” says Executive Producer Peter Williamson, the most devoted and knowledgeable genre fans anywhere.” “We’re so thrilled at the opportunity to have the world premiere of BITE at Fantasia in front of all the amazing genre fans that flood Montreal for the Festival,” says Director/Producer Archibald. “Making this film has been an exciting ride. It’s scary, sexy, funny and gross, and after seeing a small group of people test screen it, I can’t wait to see how a theatre filled with genre fans are going to react at its world premiere in Montreal!” While on her bachelorette party getaway, Casey (Elma Begovic) – the bride to be – gets a seemingly harmless bite from an unknown insect. After returning home with cold feet, Casey tries to call off her wedding but before she’s able to, she starts exhibiting insect like traits. Between her physical transformation and her wedding anxiety, Casey succumbs to her new instincts and begins creating a hive that not only houses her translucent eggs, but feeds on the flesh of others. As her transformation becomes complete, Casey discovers that everything can change with a single bite. “This movie was a wild adventure to film, and I can’t wait to share it with audiences this summer!” says actor Elma Begovic. “Working with Black Fawn Films has allowed me to be part of a scary, and at times sexy film, and director Chad Archibald truly gave me the opportunity to stand tall and proud behind my character.” SEARCH AND BUY ANY HORROR DVD, BLU-RAY, OR HORROR MEMORABILIA AT THE LEGLESS CORPSE HORROR SHOP ON AMAZON JUST CLICK HERE BITE To Premiere At Fantasia International Film Festival          Please find this article online below: http://www.horrorsociety.com/2015/02/21/legless-corpse-films-opens-online-store/

                      Chad Archibald, along with the other folks at Black Fawn Films and Breakthrough Entertainment, have become flagpoles of the modern horror landscape. Films like Antisocial and The Drownsman showcase the teams ability to generate legitimate fear and tension in their releases while presenting them in a way that simply oozes of quality. You shouldn’t be surprised that we are excited to get our eyes on their next feature film – Bite. Good news for those in attendance at this years Fantasia International Film Festival, it looks like you’ll be at the film’s premiere! Bite is being called “scary, sexy, funny and gross“, so you’ll definitely want to make it appointment viewing. Here’s the rundown from Black Fawn Films and Breakthrough Entertainment: From the Press Release (Toronto – June 30, 2015) From Breakthrough Entertainment and Black Fawn Films – the team behind the breakaway indie-hits

Antisocial and The Drownsman – comes BITE,directed by Chad Archibald (Neverlost, The Drownsman) who again returns to infect Fantasia International Film Festival with a World Premiere in Montreal. Directed by Chad Archibald, written by Jayme Laforest (Gods of Accident) and stars Elma Begovic, Annette Wozniak, Denise Yuen, Jordan Gray and Lawrene Denkers. Produced by Chad Archibald, Cody Calahan (Antisocial, Antisocial 2),

Christopher Giroux (The Drownsman, Antisocial 2), with Co-Producer / Director of Photography Jeff Maher (Antisocial 2), Line Producer James O’Donnell (Antisocial 2), Supervising Producer Audrey Velichka, and Executive Producers Nat Abraham, Tim Brown, Ira Levy, Michael McGuigan and Peter Williamson. “We are honoured Fantasia has again invited a Breakthrough/ Black Fawn production to premiere at their Festival,” says Executive Producer Peter Williamson, the most devoted and knowledgeable genre fans anywhere.” “We’re so thrilled at the opportunity to have the world premiere of BITE at Fantasia in front of all the amazing genre fans that flood Montreal for the Festival,” says Director/Producer Archibald. “Making this film has been an exciting ride. It’s scary, sexy, funny and gross, and after seeing a small group of people test screen it, I can’t wait to see how a theatre filled with genre fans are going to react at its world premiere in Montreal!”

While on her bachelorette party getaway, Casey (Elma Begovic) – the bride to be – gets a seemingly harmless bite from an unknown insect. After returning home with cold feet, Casey tries to call off her wedding but before she’s able to, she starts exhibiting insect like traits. Between her physical transformation and her wedding anxiety, Casey succumbs to her new instincts and begins creating a hive that not only houses her translucent eggs, but feeds on the flesh of others. As her transformation becomes complete, Casey discovers that everything can change with a single bite. “This movie was a wild adventure to film, and I can’t wait to share it with audiences this summer!” says actor Elma Begovic. “Working with Black Fawn Films has allowed me to be part of a scary, and at times sexy film, and director Chad Archibald truly gave me the opportunity to stand tall and proud behind my character.”                                              Please find this article online below: http://modernhorrors.com/bite-set-to-premiere-at-fantasia-international-film-festival/

                       

From Breakthrough Entertainment and Black Fawn Films – the team behind the breakaway indie-hits Antisocial and The Drownsman - comes BITE, directed by Chad Archibald (Neverlost, The Drownsman) who again returns to infect Fantasia International Film Festival with a World Premiere in Montreal.  

Directed by Chad Archibald, written by Jayme Laforest (Gods of Accident) and stars Elma Begovic, Annette Wozniak, Denise Yuen, Jordan Gray and Lawrene Denkers. Produced by Chad Archibald, Cody Calahan (Antisocial, Antisocial 2), Christopher Giroux (The Drownsman, Antisocial 2), with Co-Producer / Director of Photography Jeff Maher (Antisocial 2), Line Producer James O’Donnell (Antisocial 2), Supervising Producer Audrey Velichka, and Executive Producers Nat

Abraham, Tim Brown, Ira Levy, Michael McGuigan and Peter Williamson. “We are honored Fantasia has again invited a Breakthrough/ Black Fawn production to premiere at their Festival,” says Executive Producer Peter Williamson, the most devoted and knowledgeable genre fans anywhere.” “We’re so thrilled at the opportunity to have the world premiere of BITE at Fantasia in front of all the amazing genre fans that flood Montreal for the Festival,” says Director/Producer Archibald. “Making this film has been an exciting ride. It’s scary, sexy, funny and gross, and after seeing a small group of people test screen it, I can’t wait to see how a theater filled with genre fans are going to react at its world premiere in Montreal!” SYNOPSIS: While on her bachelorette party getaway, Casey (Elma Begovic) – the bride to be – gets a seemingly harmless bite from an unknown insect. After returning home with cold feet, Casey tries to call off her wedding but before she’s able to, she starts exhibiting insect like traits. Between her physical transformation and her wedding anxiety, Casey succumbs to her new instincts and begins creating a hive that not only houses her translucent eggs, but feeds on the flesh of others. As her transformation becomes complete, Casey discovers that everything can change with a single bite.

“This movie was a wild adventure to film, and I can’t wait to share it with audiences this summer!” says actor Elma Begovic. “Working with Black Fawn Films has allowed me to be part of a scary, and at times sexy film, and director Chad Archibald truly gave me the opportunity to stand tall and proud behind my character.” The film festival runs from July 14th through August 4th.             Please find this article online below: http://www.deadburiedandback.com/news/bite-screen-fantasia-international-film-fest/

                 

Bite, a new horror film directed by Chad Archibald, will make its world premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival beginning July 14th in Montreal. It’s brought to the screen by Breakthrough Entertainment and Black Fawn Films – the team behind the breakaway indie-hits Antisocial and The Drownsman.   In this film, “everything can change with a single bite.” Bride-to-be Casey (Elma Begovic) is bitten by an unknown insect during her bachelorette party. Soon,

wedding anxiety sets in — but that’s not all. As Casey tries to call off her wedding, she also starts exhibiting insect like traits (” creating a hive that not only houses her translucent eggs, but feeds on the flesh of others”). “Making this film has been an exciting ride,” says director/producer Archibald. “It’s scary, sexy, funny and gross, and after seeing a small group of people test screen it, I can’t wait to see how a theatre filled with genre fans are going to react at its world premiere in Montreal!” Headquartered in Toronto, Breakthrough Entertainment Inc. (BEI) is one of Canada’s largest television production and distribution companies. Black Fawn Films is an award-winning Canadian Independent Film Production house dedicated to bringing together amazing Canadian talent to create films people want to see.       Please find this article online below: http://hnmag.ca/canadian-independent-films/bite-set-to-premiere-at-fantasia/

                                               From Breakthrough Entertainment and Black Fawn Films – the team behind the breakaway indie-hits Antisocial and The Drownsman – comes BITE, directed by Chad Archibald (Neverlost, The Drownsman) who again returns to infect Fantasia International Film Festival with a World Premiere in Montreal. Directed by Chad Archibald, written by Jayme Laforest (Gods of Accident) and stars Elma Begovic, Annette Wozniak, Denise Yuen, Jordan Gray and Lawrene Denkers. Produced by Chad Archibald, Cody Calahan (Antisocial, Antisocial 2), Christopher Giroux (The Drownsman, Antisocial 2 ), with Co-Producer / Director of Photography Jeff Maher (Antisocial 2), Line Producer James O’Donnell (Antisocial 2), Supervising Producer Audrey Velichka, and Executive Producers Nat Abraham, Tim Brown, Ira Levy, Michael McGuigan and Peter Williamson.

“We are honoured Fantasia has again invited a Breakthrough/ Black Fawn production to premiere at their Festival,” says Executive Producer Peter Williamson, the most devoted and knowledgeable genre fans anywhere.” “We’re so thrilled at the opportunity to have the world premiere of BITE at Fantasia in front of all the amazing genre fans that flood Montreal for the Festival,” says Director/Producer Archibald. “Making this film has been an exciting ride. It’s scary, sexy, funny and gross, and after seeing a small group of people test screen it, I can’t wait to see how a theatre filled with genre fans are going to react at its world premiere in Montreal!” While on her bachelorette party getaway, Casey (Elma Begovic) – the bride to be – gets a seemingly harmless bite from an unknown insect. After returning home with cold feet, Casey tries to call off her wedding but before she’s able to, she starts exhibiting insect like traits. Between her physical transformation and her wedding anxiety, Casey succumbs to her new instincts and begins creating a hive that not only houses her translucent eggs, but feeds on the flesh of others. As her transformation becomes complete, Casey discovers that everything can change with a single bite. “This movie was a wild adventure to film, and I can’t wait to share it with audiences this summer!” says actor Elma Begovic. “Working with Black Fawn Films has allowed me to be part of a scary, and at times sexy film, and director Chad Archibald truly gave me the opportunity to stand tall and proud behind my character.” About Breakthrough Entertainment Inc. Headquartered in Toronto, Breakthrough Entertainment Inc. (BEI) is a world-class studio, being a leading global producer and distributor of acclaimed primetime comedy and drama series, as well as factual entertainment, documentaries,

television movies, feature films, family entertainment and children’s animation. As one of Canada’s largest television production and distribution companies, BEI has licensed programs to major broadcasters in over 200 territories. With a catalogue of over 3000 half-hours of programming, the company handles distribution as well as worldwide pre-sales, co-productions and third-party acquisitions. www.breakthroughentertainment.com 2 About Black Fawn Films Black Fawn Films is an award-winning Canadian Independent Film Production house dedicated to bringing together amazing Canadian talent to create films people want to see. With 15 features (The Drownsman, Antisocial, Neverlost) and over 125 music videos (City and Colour, The Trews, Mötley Crüe, Theory of a Deadman) under their belt, Black Fawn has become a staple in the Canadian and international film and music video industry. www.blackfawnfilms.com             Please find this release online below: http://www.geekchicelite.com/bite-to-premiere-at-fantasia-international-film-festival/

                                    With Breakthrough Entertainment and Black Fawn Films’ latest shocker, BITE, all set to premiere at this year’s Fantasia International Film Festival, the very first trailer has crawled onto the internet with a viral outbreak impending. Further to the success of The Drownsman and Ejecta comes director Chad Archibald’s creature-feature/body-horror BITE. Penned by Jayme Laforest (Gods of Accident) and starring Elma Begovic, Annette Wozniak, Denise Yuen, Jordan Gray and Lawrene Denkers, Bite sees Casey (Begovic) – the bride to be – gets a seemingly harmless bite from an unknown insect whilst on her hen party holiday. After returning home with cold feet, Casey tries to call off her wedding but before she’s able to, she starts exhibiting insect like traits. Between her physical transformation and her wedding anxiety, Casey succumbs to her new instincts and begins creating a hive that not only houses her translucent eggs, but feeds on the flesh of others.

As her transformation becomes complete, Casey discovers that everything can change with a single bite. Commenting on the film, Begovic said, “Working with Black Fawn Films has allowed me to be part of a scary, and at times sexy film, and director Chad Archibald truly gave me the opportunity to stand tall and proud behind my character.” Whilst the film is all set to premiere at Fantasia it has also already been confirmed to screen at Film4 FrightFest in London and Fantasy Film Fest in Germany so there’s really no escaping the infection. Get ready for some seriously goopy, icky, sexy and dauntingly creepy horror and enjoy the first trailer for what looks all set to leave plenty of bite marks on the festival circuit and beyond:                                                    Please find this article online below: http://www.screamhorrormag.com/first-trailer-for-chad-archibalds-bite/

                   As Canadian horror film fans, we have a strange affinity for body horror films, owing much of course to our forefather Mr Cronenberg. As such, there is a crop of young Canadian horror filmmakers out there that just love making us squirm uneasily in our seats as they put their characters through the genetic wringer.   Adding to that horrific chorus is filmmaker Chad Archibald (Antisocial, The Drownsman) and one of his latest films, Bite, which will have its World Premiere at Fantasia on July 29th in the Salle J.A de Sève. While on her bachelorette party getaway, Casey, the bride to be, gets a seemingly harmless bite from an unknown insect. After returning home with cold feet, Casey tries to call off her wedding but before she's able to, she starts exhibiting insect like traits.

Between her physical transformation and her wedding anxiety, Casey succumbs to her new instincts and begins creating a hive that not only houses her translucent eggs, but feeds on the flesh of others. As her transformation becomes complete, Casey discovers that everything can change with a single bite. There is a new trailer to share with you along with a collection of stills. I tell you what, that dead stare from Casey (Elma Begovic) at the end of this trailer is enough for me. I'm creeped out already.   Please find this article online below: http://twitchfilm.com/2015/07/fantasia-2015-everything-changes-with-a-single-bite.html

   

Fantasia 2015: Woman Decomposes After Mysterious BITE [Trailer] Marina Antunes [Celluloid 07.07.15]      Hot on the heels of the trailer for Antisocial 2 (trailer) comes our first look at Chard Archibald's new horror movie: Bite.   Archibald's follow-up to The Drownsman (review) takes on the emerging new trend in horror of women literally rotting. Not only does it make for great make-up effects and general creepiness but it gets at some interesting ideas about female beauty and empowerment. But that's digging into subtext before we even get to the goodies: what's this thing about anyways? Just before Casey's wedding, she and a few friends head to an island getaway for a fun fling. A local informs the group of a wonderful place to swim that is unlike any other and far away from tourists.

While the gals are having fun in a lagoon, a tropical, underwater insect bites Casey. She sees the slow aftermath of the bite on her return home. Pus-filled blisters start to dot her body, and she hears things. She becomes concerned, her friends reach out, but no one expects the symptoms to take her this far, deforming her very being and mind. As these changes overtake her, she sees her life and friends more clearly — and no one is safe from her evolution. As difficult as these movies are to watch, I'm loving that Archibald's movie doesn't seem to be flinching away from Casey's decay; it has both a feeling of "gross" and "can't look away." Bite will have its world premiere at Fantasia.           Please find this article online below: http://www.quietearth.us/articles/2015/07/Fantasia-2015-Woman-Decomposes-After-Mysterious-BITE-Trailer

         

 We love Fantasia because Bite is the sort of body horror movie you can’t get in many other festival experiences. Directed by Chad Archibald (The Drownsman, Ejecta), Bite is the story of a young woman turned into a mutant freak by something as innocent as an animal bite. Here’s the official synopsis: While on her bachelorette party getaway, Casey, the bride to be, gets a seemingly harmless bite from an unknown insect. After returning home with cold feet, Casey tries to call off her

wedding but before she’s able to, she starts exhibiting insect like traits. Between her physical transformation and her wedding anxiety, Casey succumbs to her new instincts and begins creating a hive that not only houses her translucent eggs, but feeds on the flesh of others. As her transformation becomes complete, Casey discovers that everything can change with a single bite. Bite is receiving its World Premiere as part of the Fantasia Film Festival and will have director Archibald in attendance. See it at the festival on July 29, and watch the first trailer below:     Please find this article online below: http://www.popoptiq.com/watch-the-body-horror-trailer-for-fantasia-15-world-premiere-bite/

                                Bite es el nuevo film de terror de Chad Archibald, director de The Drownsman y Ejecta, que se podrá ver en el Fantasia Film Festival y que nos propone una metamorfosis tanto externa como interna de su protagonista. Justo antes de su boda, Casey y unos cuantos amigos se escapan a una isla para una divertida aventura. Un hombre de la zona les informa sobre un maravilloso lugar para nadar lejos de los turistas. Mientras las chicas se divierten bañándose, un insecto submarino pica a Casey. Ella empieza a sentirse lenta al volver a casa. Empiezan a aparecer ampollas de pus por su cuerpo y escucha voces. Entre su transformación física y la ansiedad por la boda, Casey sucumbe a su nuevo instinto y empieza a crear un nido que no solo esconde sus huevos, sino que empieza a alimentarse de otras personas. Cuando su transformación se completa, Casey descubre que todo puede cambiar por la mordedura de un insecto. Elma Begovic, Annette Wozniak, Jordan Gray y Denise Yuen protagonizan el film de Archibald que poco a poco está haciéndose un nombre propio dentro del género a película por año.   Please find this article online below: http://www.masalladeorion.net/primer-trailer-de-bite.html  

                                     Body horror requires a certain level of confidence in its concept & execution to be successful. More so that most other sub-genres of horror. If the seams show, I tend to be out. Although my fingers are tightly crossed that Ejecta director Chad Archibald pulled this off, right now it looks like a rough combination of Contracted meets The Fly. “While on her bachelorette party getaway, Casey, the bride to be, gets a seemingly harmless bite from an unknown insect. After returning home with cold feet, Casey tries to call off her wedding but before she’s able to, she starts exhibiting insect like traits. Between her physical transformation and her wedding anxiety, Casey succumbs to her new instincts and begins creating a hive that not only houses her translucent eggs, but feeds on the flesh of others. As her transformation becomes complete, Casey discovers that everything can change with a single bite.” Bite will have its world premiere at this years Montreal Fantasia Festival. Hopefully we’ll lay our eggs eyes on this soon after.        Please find this article online below: http://www.frightday.com/a-little-bite-can-become-so-much-more-hopefully/

                                                       Ach ja, wenn wir durch Antisocial 2 schon einmal bei dem Produzenten CHAD ARCHIBALD (Ejecta, The Drownsman, Exit Humanity) angelangt, dann machen wir mit dem Horrormacher auch gleich weiter, denn ARCHIBALD hat mit Bite gleichzeitig auch einen eigenen Film am Start. CHAD ARCHIBALD schrieb gemeinsam mit JAYME LAFOREST das Drehbuch, führte Regie und hat Bite natürlich auch gleich produziert. Die Hauptrolle spielt ELMA BEGOVIC in ihrer ersten Rolle überhaupt und in weiteren Rollen werden ANNETTE WOZNIAK, JORDAN GRAY, DENISE YUEN und TIANNA NORI zu sehen sein. Wie Antisocial 2, so wird auch Bite bei dem Fantasia Filmfest in Toronto Premiere feiern und man kann davon ausgehen, dass er Horrorfilm danach erst einmal auf Festival-Tournee gehen wird, bevor an einen Release zu denken ist.

Der erste Trailer präsentiert Bite jedoch auf einem sehr soliden Level als klassischen Body Horror mit einer derben Spur Monster bzw. Creature Feature, wie es im englischen Sprachraum heißt. Der Fliege nicht unähnlich, aber dank traditionellem Make-Up doch schon sehr sehenswert. Story: Casey will heiraten und fliegt mit ihren ganzen Freunden zu einer Abschiedsparty nach Costa Rica. Doch dort wird sie von einem unbekannten Insekt gebissen. Wieder Zuhause fühlt sich die junge Frau krank und ruft dringend Freund und Verwandte um Hilfe. Casey weiß nicht, wie ihr geschieht, denn sie beginnt sich langsam zu verändern und legt ein immer animalischeres Verhalten an den Tag. Schließlich beginnt sich Casey auch mental zu verändern und verspürt plötzlich einen immensen Appetit auf Menschenfleisch.                                                        Please find this article online below: http://www.dgf-magazin.de/index.php/magazin/news/film/11732-erster-trailer-zu-qbiteq

                                                        Amateurs de pustules, bubons et autres tumeurs purulentes, Bite est fait pour vous ! À l’image de nombreux classiques, on retrouve une morsure d’insecte, puis une mutation qui progresse lentement mais surement via des phases vomitoires, jusqu’à ce que la victime n’ait plus rien d’humain. Les plus chanceux pourront le voir au festival Fantasia ce 29 juillet 2015, pour la sortie officielle hélas aucune date n’a été annoncée. Synopsis : Durant son enterrement de vie de jeune fille, Casey, la future mariée, subit la morsure apparemment inoffensive d’un insecte inconnu.

Après son retour chez elle avec les pieds glacés, Casey tente d’annuler son mariage, mais avant d’en être capable, elle commence à montrer des traits proches de ceux d’un insecte. Entre sa transformation physique et son angoisse de mariage, Casey succombe à ses nouveaux instincts et entame la construction d’une ruche qui abrite non seulement ses oeufs translucides mais se nourrit de la chair des autres. Sa transformation arrivant à son terme, Casey découvre que tout peut changer avec une seule morsure.               Please find this article online below: http://www.slashershouse.com/mutations-degueulasses-dans-le-trailer-de-bite/

         Hoy comienza en Montreal la vigésima edición del Fantasia Film Festival, uno de los certámenes más importantes e influyentes en el mundo relacionados con el cine de género.  Entre los highlights se encuentra el estreno mundial de Bite, cinta que se adscribe a una camada de historias protagonizadas por jóvenes y atractivas mujeres quienes atestiguan cómo gradualmente tanto su cuerpo como su psique van transformándose y degradándose de forma violenta, ello para hacer una metáfora – más o menos velada – acerca del SIDA (Thanatomorphose o Contracted), una crítica hacia la obsesión por la belleza y la fama (Starry Eyes), o un comentario sobre el miedo a la otredad (Honeymoon o Spring). Con una clara reminiscencia a la versión cronenbergiana de La Mosca (The Fly), la nueva película de Chad Archibald (uno de los talentos más recientes de la escena canadiense de terror) explora cómo la mordedura de un raro insecto mientras pasaba unas vacaciones a lado de sus amigos en una laguna alejada del turismo, provoca en Casey (Elma Begovic), una chica que únicamente está preocupada por la proximidad de su boda, una insólita mutación entomológica que no tardará en repercutir en las personas que se encuentran a su alrededor. Con sus secuencias grotescas y repulsivas, Bite tendrá su premiere el 24 de julio. A esperar las reacciones de la prensa especializada, mientras les compartimos el tráiler.        Please find this article online below: http://www.cinemamovil.mx/bite-body-horror-adolescente/

                                                   How bad can a bug bite be? Well, pretty horrifying if Chad Archibald is your friend. In the director’s new film, Bite, a stereotypical bachelorette party down south goes awfully wrong when Casey, our story’s protagonist, is bitten by a bug. video on www.youtube.com</a>, or enable JavaScript if it is disabled in your browser.</div></div> With cold feet, there’s only one place to go: Costa Rica, right? The movie’s visuals begin as a handheld operation but smoothly transition to a cinematic look, which gives us an intimate relationship with these three gorgeous women right from the start. Chad Archibald yet again creates a horrifying experience that makes us hold onto our seats. Archibald has been able to create villains that we would love to see made into figurines and sold everywhere. He has been paying homage to ’80s type villains like his characters Freddy and Jason with every new creation he comes up with.

From beautiful beach-body women to disturbing insects, Archibald clearly finds pleasure in deforming and distorting the female body as we follow the transformation of the protagonist. Casey is a seemingly boring individual who has no job other than to cook for her workaholic fiancee and take baths, but she turns into a creature that words can’t quite describe — and I must take a moment here to say how brilliant the special effects and makeup are in this film. The transformation of the main character into a bug is credible and simply terrifying. From just a little bug bite, to an infection, to pus — and a lot of pus by the way — to hair loss, her appearance completely changes. And not only does she go through the metamorphosis, but we also get to see a different side of her friends as their loyalty and friendship are put to the test. Don’t hate me for this Chad! The only issues I had concerning this film were small plot points. Whenever someone is concerned about Casey they seem to just not do much for her. I get that the fiancee is a workaholic, but he lives two doors away from her, so why does he wait a week before confronting the silence, especially if they are supposed to be getting married? It is only when it is convenient that he goes storming across the short hallway to the next apartment. Small details like this were my only concerns. Other than that, I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen! Bite screened as part of the Fantasia Film Festival, running until August 4th.       Please find this article online below: http://montrealrampage.com/bite-its-just-a-little-bug-bite/

             

Black Fawn Films have put out some quality horror films over the last few years, combining some original ideas and smart filmmaking to elevate the standards in a genre that sometimes finds itself falling back on too many clichés and downright bad stories.

 On top of that, we have seen the treatment of women change from victims to strong characters who wish to fight back. Black Fawn Films have two new films debuting at the Fantasia International Film Festival, Antisocial 2 and Bite, both of which are female heavy and give the audience some more characters that are much more than simple eye candy. To get a much better understanding of what it’s like to be a woman acting in the horror business, I was able to talk to some of the actresses involved in both Bite and Antisocial 2. One thing they do agree on is how much they’ve enjoyed their experiences with Black Fawn Films, even when they didn’t get the part they were auditioning for. “I auditioned for The Drownsman and even though I didn’t get the part the great people behind Black Fawn had piqu ed my curiosity” Annette Wozniak said. “Funny enough, I got a call to audition for Bite and was very happy to get the part. The Black Fawn group is a huge inspiration to a lot of people and I was so grateful to work on Bite.”Josette Halpert agrees.

“What attracted me to Black Fawn Films is their unique marriage between classic and modern horror. Both Bite and Antisocial subvert the original horror trope of a male protagonist. They prey on the fears of a modern audience and create films with a unique amalgamation between old and new.” Composer Steph Copeland is also pleased at how Black Fawn Films have chosen to portray women in their films. “Black Fawn has really been good to us ladies. I love Sam and Casey of Antisocial 2 and Bite. However there is a long way to go in the genre as a whole. Time after time I still cringe and think to myself has the writer ever met a woman?” Elma Begovic and Denise Yuen, both starring in the upcoming Black Fawn movie Bite, also believe the view of women in horror is changing. “In the past, we were often solely victimized or sexualized and even when we were stronger or tougher, we were often fairly one-dimensional. These days, protagonists in horror films are often women and, as opposed to just being victims or sex objects, they tend to be built with far more complexity and thus are easier to relate to.” Denise says. Elma takes it one step further. “I think that woman are driving leads more, and can carry a feature with true substance, rather than portraying the marginalized “female” roles we’ve seen repeatedly in film in general.” I was also interested to find out whether these actresses thought the average horror fan would be excited about this portrayal of a stronger female. Josette Halpert certainly thinks so. “Absolutely. It’s refreshing to have stories featuring strong female characters who embrace their human vulnerability but don’t need saving from a male counterpart. They’re resourceful and fight back, creating a more interesting plot than if they’d been killed off in the first 45 minutes in a skimpy outfit.” Elma Begovic also agreed with this line of thinking.

“I hope that audiences are excited to see strong female characters and performances! I think both of these movies work so well because of their female leads, and I think audiences will be both surprised and intrigued by how bad ass and tough these characters are. “ Finally, I figured who better to ask then a collection of women in the movie business about the state of the ‘old boys club’ mentality and whether or not things are finally evolving past that od and outdated way of thinking. “For sure there is still a boys club but I think its phasing out as a new generation of socially conscious film makers like those from Black Fawn break through. Women are definitely gaining ground” states Steph Copeland. “Although the film industry may be seen as a “boys club”, we are coming closer to an equal representation and balance between men and women in film. Both produce compelling pieces of work that aid in the progression of Canada’s film identity” Josette Halpert said. I’ll leave the last comment on this subject to Elma Begovic, who sums things up pretty well. “I think that the film industry is a work in progress. The sad truth is that while we see more female leads in movies, pay rates still vary between men and women and male actors still have a heavy input in who gets cast as their female co star in films. Thankfully, well reputable actresses are speaking out about this, and informing audiences and fans about how things need to change. And time, hopefully they will. Boys club or not, I think some pretty strong women can hold their own in this industry, and I hope to be one of them.” There is no doubt that while the attitudes and depiction of women in the horror genre has been terribly slow to change, it is indeed changing, thanks in no small part to companies like Black Fawn Films who have given women a voice and strength in their movies that is not simply a token gesture but something with substance, showing off the talents of these great actresses.

Let the old boys club beware, the women are coming and they are kicking ass and here to stay. From this writer’s perspective, it’s about damn time. I want to thank actresses Josette Halpert, Elma Begovic, Denise Yuen, Annette Wozniak and composer Steph Copeland for their time and insights. Keep up to date on Bite and Antisocial 2 here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bite-The-Movie/1634289596806006?fref=ts https://www.facebook.com/AntisocialTheMovie?fref=ts                       Please find this article online below: http://www.geekchicelite.com/black-fawn-films-women-who-kick-ass/

                                          I am by no means a horror movie junkie. That said, having hit my stride as a teen in the ’80s, the era that ushered in the multiplex boom, VHS rentals, and more cable channels than anyone could possibly need (okay, we needed them all), I watched a fair share of horror movies as a kid. This included the Holy Slasher Trinity (Michael, Jason, and Freddy) on VHS, Universal and Hammer films on UHF, and every B-movie on every channel I could get my hands on, long before the MST3K guys came along. Fortunately, there were more than enough movies around that I could avoid watching those with bugs at their core. I hate bugs. It’s a thing with me. From my youth to yesterday, I deftly avoided watching bug horror. Today, the streak is over thanks to Chad Archibald’s Bite.

Casey (Elma Begovic) is a pretty 20-something bride-to-be who, not too long before her nuptials to Jared (Jordan Gray), takes a bachelorette party trip to Costa Rica with her two best friends Jill and Kirsten (Annette Wozniak and Denise Yuen, respectively). While there, three major things occur: she reveals she’s not too sure she’s ready for marriage (for several reasons), she makes some poor decisions after partying too hard, and she gets bitten by a bug while swimming. Upon returning home, Casey decides she is going to postpone the wedding. As she musters up the courage to have that talk with Jared, she takes ill, and that illness has some serious symptoms, including a heightened sense of hearing, a festering lesion on her leg, and an inability to keep down any food. As the days pass, Casey’s physical condition worsens, and her psychological condition suffers as a result. Eventually, she wonders exactly what it was that bit her and what that bite still has in store. The good news (at least for me) is that, while Bite has a plot driven by bugginess, there is very little about it that’s buggy. The better news is that, overall, this is a pretty good film. I was concerned at first, as the opening minutes of Bite give the impression it is a “found footage” horror film, a tired sub-genre on its last legs. Jill films the better part of the Costa Rica trip for posterity, and their time at the resort is only ever presented through her lens, but once the girls get home, that video is used for reference or flashback purposes only. Amen to that. Abandoning the homemade footage and moving to a traditional presentation also allows the viewer to be mesmerized by Jeff Maher’s gorgeous cinematography. Horror is a genre that trades in shadows, and getting the right look is key to setting the proper mood. From the beginning of Casey’s demise, there’s a wonderful haze that looms like a pall over the film. As her condition worsens, Maher shifts his grey/blue/green hues to mostly gold. It’s an unsettling juxtaposition between the warm color scheme and the cold events.

The film also relies on the strength of Begovic, who makes her big-screen debut here. Her performance is terrific. Casey is a character dealing with stressors at multiple levels: a mystery illness, an engagement in doubt, and a suffocating future mother-in-law (who also happens to be her landlord) to name a few. Then there is the added complication of going through a horrific physical transformation as a result of that bite. Begovic manages it all wonderfully, but it’s the physical aspects of her performance that show off her talents the most. It’s something that could easily be overplayed, but her physicality is wonderfully subtle. (What’s most noticeable is how well Begovic performs when she’s alone; she has great skill at conveying thought and emotion through simple but effective facial and body movements.) Other than the landlord-in-law (Lawrene Denkers) being far too much the caricature, the first half of the film is truly suspenseful stuff. The set-up works, Casey’s multi-layered emotional decline is gripping, and her early physical transformation is perfectly measured. I had memories of Honeymoon and Spring while watching the first half of Bite. That second half, though, is rough. While Maher and Begovic’s respective work shines, the screenplay unravels at a dizzying pace. Dialogue is stilted, small scenes are either unnecessary or inexplicable, and character behavior goes from straining credulity to shattering that credulity completely. Director Archibald, who co-wrote the film with Jayme Laforest, abandons everything that made the first half work so well, spending the second half making plenty of amateur horror movie mistakes. It dampens the overall film, like when a clever little twist in the second half gets lost in all the madness and gore. Bite might suffer from a shaky second half, but don’t hold that against the entire film.

This is a very good horror movie with enough overall strength—both in the first half as a whole and in Maher and Begovic’s contributions to the second half—to make it very much worth seeking out. Bite makes its World Premiere on July 29th at Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival.

Bite (Fantasia Review) Movie review

6.5/10           Please find this article online below: http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/bite-fantasia-review/

                                               At this point it seems that people contracting strange diseases in exotic locations is about as old as the horror genre itself. In very much the same vein as Afflicted and Contracted, Bite looks to take a bite out of the body horror/transformation subgenre; unfortunately it struggles to ever be more than a poorly acted gross out flick with very little in way of entertainment. While out partying with her gals for her bachelorette party, Casey (Elma Begovic), is bitten by an unseen insect in a hidden tourist swimming hole recommended by a local. When she returns home she's stricken with cold feet and a growing number of bizarre side effects from her bite. Before long Casey cuts herself off from the world as she continues to develop bug-like symptoms and her apartment is covered in slime and baby larva. Can her friends and fiance figure out what's wrong with Casey before it's too late? Probably not. Bite is just another in a long line of movies that wants to do very little but test audience's gag reflex. Quite frankly, if you can stick around long enough to stomach the god awful acting and terribly dubbed

found-footage angle of the first 10 minutes or so you deserve a pat on the back. Luckily, once the footage shifts from the first-person perspective the quality hikes up if only by a little bit. The acting never really hits stride and our "heroine" Begovic (making her feature debut) feels woefully out of place in front of the camera (in spite of her "easy on the eyes" appearance). Once Begovic has to drop the pretty girl act and into the primal bug-esque performance she actually puts in some of her better work- but her co-stars remain tough to stomach. Speaking of tough to stomach, it's not hard to see where the budget of Bite was spent- slime...and lots of it. It takes a bit to really get into the juicy moments of the film, but once the first egg oozes out and into the frame they don't stop. There are squishy slimy bug eggs as far as the eye can see- including a vomit inducing dream sequence featuring lots of egg dropping and squashing of the dropping eggs. Sadly though, director Chad Archibald seems to have little interest in anything but experimenting with people's limits of keeping their lunch down- unless you buy into the thinly veiled and sloppy hints at themes of motherhood and what not. Bite, for all its solid gross out effects is little more than a badly scripted porno- but instead of sex it's body horror and wall to wall insect larva spewing out of every crevice imaginable. Archibald seems to have a knack for what gets people's skin crawling, but needs something with a little more teeth to it. Bite is a creature transformation flick with loads of potential, but fails to fully develop in its cocoon. Note: Screened as part of the 2015 Fantasia Film Festival.             Please find this article online below:  http://bloodygoodhorror.com/bgh/reviews/bite

                                                                   

             

Antisocial 2  

               Antisocial 2, the sequel to the Canadian indie horror, will have its World Premiere at Fantasia on July 30th. Director Cody Calahan and writing partner Chad Archibald return with the next chapter in Sam's fight against the Redroom Virus. Antisocial cinematographer Jeff Maher also adds a writing credit to this sequel along with his help behind the camera once again. Michelle Mylett reprises her role as our heroine Sam. It has been several years since the events of the first film, and the Redroom Virus has won. Spawned from a mysterious social-networking website, it has infected most of the populace, turning them into mindless killers; the few survivors are divided between the uninfected and those who have been freed of the virus' influence via impromptu brain surgery. These "defects" include original heroine Sam (Michelle Mylett), who scours the countryside seeking her child, which was taken from her following its birth not long after the world fell. Her search will lead her to team up with a young girl named Bean (Josette Halpert) and then to a makeshift laboratory where a cure for the virus is being sought -- by any means necessary. Along with today's announcement the production also release this new poster above and a new trailer which you can watch below. DVD Details Meta July 7, 9:00 pm Please find this article online below:  http://twitchfilm.com/2015/07/fantasia-2015-antisocial-2-to-premiere-at-festival-check-out-the-new-trailer.html

                               It’s baaack! Antisocial was an unexpected gem back in 2013. While it wasn’t without its faults, the film showed great promise from the relatively unknown team of writer Chad Archibald and director Cody Calahan. Fast forward a couple of years, and Chad Archibald is quickly becoming one of the more prominent figures in the modern horror landscape. Films like The Drownsman, Ejecta, Hellmouth, and the upcoming body horror title Bite all have Archibald attached as either director or producer. The man is making moves, and now it’s time for him to once again team up with Cody Calahan for Antisocial 2. The film is set to premiere at this year’s Fantasia International Film Festival on July 30th. If you’re in attendance, you won’t want to miss it. Check out the official trailer and plot synopsis below: Plot Synopsis Years after having her newborn child stolen from her, Sam searches a world infested with infected users from the Social Redroom website. After befriending a young girl named Bean, Sam is captured and locked in a facility dedicated to finding a cure for the Redroom Virus. Trapped and tortured, Sam tries to escape the facility before an impending update on the Redroom site hits 100% and unleashed its final phase of attach.      Please find this article online below:  http://modernhorrors.com/antisocial-2-set-for-premiere-at-fantasia-releases-new-trailer/

         

Fantasia 2015 Gets Antisocial 2 Posted on July 7, 2015 by Steve Barton   It was just announced that Antisocial 2 will be screening as part of this year’s Fantasia Film Festival, and right now we have a brand spanking new trailer plus a one-sheet for you cats that’s bound to blow your mind.  From the Press Release: Rather than simply rehash their original ANTISOCIAL (a Fantasia 2013 world premiere) for the sequel, the team at Black Fawn Films have taken their story the next logical step into a different, even grimmer scenario. It has been several years since the events of the first film, and the Redroom Virus has won. Spawned from a mysterious social networking website, it has infected most of the populace, turning them into mindless killers; the few survivors are divided between the uninfected and those who have been freed of the virus’ influence via impromptu brain surgery. These “defects” include original heroine Sam (Michelle Mylett), who scours the countryside seeking her child, which was taken from her following its birth not long after the world fell. Her search will lead her to team up with a young girl named Bean (Josette Halpert) and then to a makeshift laboratory where a cure for the virus is being sought — by any means necessary.

From ANTISOCIAL’s confined siege scenario, director Cody Calahan, his co-writers Chad Archibald and Jeff Maher, and co-producers Archibald and Christopher Giroux have expanded to a full-on post-apocalyptic vision, creating an evocative ruined landscape on their usual small budget. Returning as the sole survivor from the previous ensemble, Mylett now takes centre stage and provides a sympathetic focus as Sam dodges attacks by the infected, bonds with Bean, and struggles to survive within that torturous facility’s walls. And throughout it all, the Redroom Virus is slowly, inexorably uploading an “upgrade” that will take its hosts to the next level…                   Please find this article online below:  http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/111199/111199/

               

 When Cody Calahan’s Antisocial was released in 2013, it was widely considered to be a different kind of “infection” movie; one that was significantly more interesting that most of the drivel occupying store shelves. Now, with the release of Antisocial 2, Calahan is taking the story in a completely different direction, and we couldn’t be more excited. \  Years after having her newborn child stolen from her, Sam searches a world infested with infected users from the

Social Redroom website. After befriending a young girl named Bean, Sam is captured and locked in a facility dedicated to finding a cure for the Redroom Virus. Trapped and tortured, Sam tries to escape the facility before an impending update on the Redroom site hits 100% and unleashed its final phase of attack. Directed by Calahan from a screenplay he co-wrote with Chad Archibald and Jeff Maher, the film stars the returning Michelle Mylett alongside Stephen Bogaert and Josette Halpert. Antisocial 2 premieres on July 30th at Fantasia 2015 in Montreal.              Please find this article online below:  http://cinemaslasher.com/2015/07/07/antisocial-2-to-premiere-at-fantasia-2015-poster-trailer-released/

Fantasia 2015: Apocalypse Via Social Media Virus in ANTISOCIAL 2 [Trailer] Marina Antunes [Celluloid 07.07.15]  Writer/director Cody Calahan first appeared on our radar a couple of years ago with Antisocial (trailer), a horror movie focused on a group of college students at a house party who find themselves at the centre of a virus which is transmitted via social media and which turns the afflicted into raging psychopaths. I rather enjoyed the movie which felt timely with the rise in popularity of social media but beyond that, it featured some really creepy moments and introduced Michelle Mylett to the world. Now Calahan and producing and writing partner Chad Archibald are back with Antisocial 2. The sequel unfolds years after the collapse of the world as we know it and re-introduces us to Sam as she searches for the baby that was stolen from her at birth... Years after having her newborn child stolen from her, Sam searches a world infested with infected users from the Social Redroom website. After befriending a young girl named Bean, Sam is captured and locked in a facility dedicated to finding a cure for the Redroom Virus. Trapped and tortured, Sam tries to escape the facility before an impending update on the Redroom site hits 100% and unleashed its final phase of attack. Ah yes. An apocalypse brought on by social media. Feels eerily plausible.       Please find this article online below:  http://www.quietearth.us/articles/2015/07/Fantasia-2015-Apocalypse-Via-Social-Media-Virus-in-ANTISOCIAL-2-Trailer

           

Antisocial 2 Gets the Show on the Road this July! First Trailer   Tuesday, July 07, 2015 Michael Allen    

 Antisocial was social commentary on social media and its brain numbing capabilities. Now, Black Fawn Films are set to follow-up this zombie horror feature with a sequel. Aptly titled Antisocial 2, this second film was also shot in Ontario and the film will premiere at Montreal's Fantasia International Film Festival. To celebrate its debut, a trailer has been launched for Antisocial 2 and it is chock full of harrowing situations.  

Fans of the first film will remember the Redroom Virus. The virus is transmitted through a social media platform; and now, much of the local populace has been infected. Sam (Michelle Mylett) has saved herself, after some emergency surgery. But, she must survive in a new world, in which everyone has turned on everyone else.

The premiere date for Antisocial 2 has been announced. The film will debut on July 30th. As well, filmmakers Chad Archibald will be in attendance, along with select cast members. Fans of zombie film fare are encouraged to check out the film's first disturbing trailer, hosted below. Release Date: July 30th, 2015 (World Premiere). Director/writer: Cody Calahan. Writer: Chad Archibald.                                                                Please find this article online below:  http://www.28dayslateranalysis.com/2015/07/antisocial-2-gets-show-on-road-this.html

                                       It’s been announced that Cody Calahan’s Antisocial 2 will receive its world premiere at the Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal, Quebec on July 30th. The film is the sequel to the 2013 sci-fi/horror film, which was also directed by Calahan. The synopsis for Antisocial 2 reads: Years after having her newborn child stolen from her, Sam searches a world infested with infected users from the Social Redroom website. After befriending a young girl named Bean, Sam is captured and locked in a facility dedicated to finding a cure for the Redroom Virus. Trapped and tortured, Sam tries to escape the facility before an impending update on the Redroom site hits 100% and unleashed its final phase of attack. Antisocial 2 stars Michelle Mylett (Antisocial, Ascension, The Drownsman) Stephen Bogaert (The Valley Below), Josette Halpert, and Samuel Faraci (“Hannibal”, “Hemlock Grove”).    Please find this article online below: http://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3352057/antisocial-2-will-world-premiere-fantasia-watch-trailer/

   

2015 FANTASIA FILM FESTIVAL 2015 FANTASIA FILM FESTIVAL UNLEASHES VERY IMPRESSIVE UNLEASHES VERY IMPRESSIVE LINEUP; WORLD PREMIERE OF LINEUP; WORLD PREMIERE OF ANTISOCIAL 2 INCLUDED!ANTISOCIAL 2 INCLUDED! Posted by Jerry Smith on Wednesday, July 8, 2015                                     Always a film festival that prides itself on giving its audiences a hell of a lineup, filled to the brim with standout titles every year and world premieres for films that are greatly anticipated, the 2015 Fantasia Film Festival has now revealed its final lineup. Like we’ve all come to appreciate, this year is no exception, with films such as TALES OF HALLOWEEN, ANT-MAN, the greatly anticipated COP CAR (which will be screened with Kevin Bacon in attendance!!) and JERUZALEM all being standout films to look out for, along with a pretty epic list of other films that are sure to leave viewers entertained and excited throughout the entire event (July 14th-August 4th).

If the full lineup wasn’t already enough to make your horror loving heads explode, the new announcement that Fanstasia will host the July 30th premiere of Cody Calahan’s sequel to 2013’s ANTISOCIAL, ANTISOCIAL 2, is news that will definitely do the trick, and we’ve got the official poster and trailer to go along with the announcement. Be sure to take a look at the poster and trailer, then scroll down for the complete lineup to 2015’s Fantasia Film Festival.     Please find this article online below:  http://iconsoffright.com/2015/07/08/2015-fantasia-film-festival-unleashes-very-impressive-lineup-world-premiere-of-antisocial-2-included/

       

Exclusive Stills: Anarchy goes Viral in “ANTISOCIAL 2” Movies/TV,News | July 23, 2015 - 11:24 am | by: Ken W. Hanley | Comments Off on Exclusive Stills: Anarchy goes Viral in “ANTISOCIAL 2” With the boom of horror films to come out of Canada over the past several years, one of the more prolific VOD successes was ANTISOCIAL, the psychologically-driven fright flick following a a group of people who experience a pandemic event that supposedly begins from a virus that can transmitted from the internet. And now, 2 years after the first film premiered at Fantasia Film Festival, ANTISOCIAL 2 brings director Cody Calahan, co-writer Chad Archibald, cinematographer (and now co-writer) Jeff Maher and star Michelle Mylett back in action, and now FANGORIA has four exclusive stills from the film! For those unfamiliar, here’s the official synopsis for ANTISOCIAL 2… Years after having her newborn child stolen from her, Sam searches a world infested with infected users from the Social Redroom website. After befriending a young girl named Bean, Sam is captured and locked in a facility dedicated to finding a cure for the Redroom Virus. Trapped and tortured, Sam tries to escape the facility before an impending update on the Redroom site hits 100% and unleashed its final phase of attack.

ANTISOCIAL 2 is premiering at the Fantasia Film Festival on July 30th; for more information and tickets, you can visit it’s Fantasia page here. And you can check out the exclusive ANTISOCIAL 2 stills below! Please find this article online below:  http://www.fangoria.com/new/exclusive-stills-anarchy-goes-viral-in-antisocial-2/

     Fantasia 2015 to Present the World Premiere of ANTISOCIAL 2! There are still plenty of surprises in store for fans of the dark and disturbing at the 2015 edition of Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival – including the World Premiere of ANTISOCIAL 2! Director/Co-writer/Producer Cody Calahan, co-writer/producer Chad Archibald, and guests will be present for the July 30th premiere! Rather than simply rehash their original ANTISOCIAL (a Fantasia 2013 world premiere) for the sequel, the team at Black Fawn Films have taken their story the next logical step into a different, even grimmer scenario. It has been several years since the events of the first film, and the Redroom Virus has won. Spawned from a mysterious social-networking website, it has infected most of the populace, turning them into mindless killers; the few survivors are divided between the uninfected and those who have been freed of the virus’ influence via impromptu

brain surgery. These “defects” include original heroine Sam (Michelle Mylett), who scours the countryside seeking her child, which was taken from her following its birth not long after the world fell. Her search will lead her to team up with a young girl named Bean (Josette Halpert) and then to a makeshift laboratory where a cure for the virus is being sought — by any means necessary.From ANTISOCIAL’s confined siege scenario, director Cody Calahan, his co-writers Chad Archibald and Jeff Maher, and co-producers Archibald and Christopher Giroux, have expanded to a full-on post-apocalyptic vision, creating an evocative ruined landscape on their usual small budget. Returning as the sole survivor from the previous ensemble, Mylett now takes centre stage and provides a sympathetic focus as Sam dodges attacks by the infected, bonds with Bean, and struggles to survive within that torturous facility’s walls. And throughout it all, the Redroom Virus is slowly, inexorably uploading an “upgrade” that will take its hosts to the next level. The 19th edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival is presented by Ubisoft and Anchor Bay Entertainment. A leading producer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment products, Ubisoft has been a key sponsor of the Fantasia Film Festival since 2003. Anchor Bay Entertainment is a popular home entertainment and production company celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.       Please find this article online below:  http://www.creepercast.com/antisocial-2-to-world-premiere-at-fantasia-2015/

                                My experience with Cody Calahan’s Antisocial 2 started with a surprise. Antisocial offered some squeamishly great effects but was by no means “one for the books”. While ultimately forgettable, it did leave on enough of a cliff-hanger to provoke thoughts of a sequel. However, it was a small production and the chances of seeing another Antisocial were slim. For Calahan to push himself to continue the story of Sam – the Social Redroom survivor – had me excited. How was the filmmaker going to expand on his own material about this killer technological virus and his badass heroine? I’m disappointed to report that Antisocial 2 is a flakey anticlimactic drag that’s light on gripping action and scares, but goes even heavier on a story that’s all too on the nose for its own good.

After her previous adventures, Sam (played by Michelle Mylett) travels through apocalyptical ruins, trying to locate her newborn son. On her search, she meets a technologically savvy survivor named Bean (played by Josette Halpert) and is soon captured by a team of hardened theorists who are looking for a cure to end the Social Redroom virus. Calahan’s sequel is no different from a cash-in from the Resident Evil series. Resident Evil, while incompetent and shallow, at least desires to give the audience entertainment. All Antisocial 2’s screenplay wants to do is convince movie goers its intelligent by comparing critical end-of-the-world details to how modern technology controls us. Screenwriters Chad Archibald, Jeff Maher, and Calahan are far too serious about this whole thing, although making Bean a crucial role in finding a cure is a clever way to hint that young people are still the only ones who know how to navigate through inexplicable online media. Antisocial 2 is all work and no play, and made me a dull boy. Most of the exposition diatribes reminded me of the overcooked interrogation scenes from Chad Archibald and Matt Wiele’s sci-fi flick Ejecta – a film Calahan also produced. Michelle Mylett’s performance and the set design are the only areas that show effort in a film solely interested in encouraging movie goers to pat the movie on the back for being timely. If news of a third Antisocial come creeping down my news feed, this sequel has put a damper on any sort of curiosity I may feel towards it.                    Please find this article online below:  http://wyliewrites.com/fantasia-15-antisocial-2/

         

If you're searching for something thrilling to have your eyes glued to, this… probably isn't it. Picking up where the ingenious and new take on zombie flick ANTISOCIAL left off, the sequel is just another one of those that didn't need to happen. There is no thrill, no excitement, and a lot of sighs as we ask ourselves for sequences throughout to simply move on.  

What exactly happened? What went wrong? Sam, played by the wonderful Michelle Mylett, was pregnant at the time of infection, and gave birth (a little early) to a baby boy. The child was stolen from her. Okay. Sam meets a teen girl, Bean (Josette Halpert) and they bond. Sam learns that Bean can control the infected with an app, and that she's getting away from her father, who has never been infected, and who's an asshole. Good. Sam and Bean are captured by the latter's father Max (Stephen Bogaert) - he wants to experiment on Sam. He also happens to be detaining Sam's son, who has been growing at an alarming rate. How does that play out? The two are obviously reunited. The end.                          

Where is the buildup? Where is the excitement? Where are the epic zombie battles? The drama? The chaos? The majority of the film left us waiting… waiting for nothing. The only scare we got out of this was in one of Sam's nightmares, but even when we think of that we should have seen it coming. We expected so much, and got so little. This seems to be the fate of sequels. Although Calahan and team are brilliant, this one didn't show off their true ability. They did manage to once again put together a visually stunning film with their low budget, but the story wasn’t enough. If ANTISOCIAL turns into a trilogy, we'll cross our fingers and pray to the film gods that one will actually turn out.                                Please find this article online below:  http://www.ixdaily.com/the-grind/antisocial-2-isnt-sequel-youre-looking

                                                                         

           

Cub  

         

Fantasia 2015: CubFantasia 2015: Cub                         A cub scout t roupe is terror ized whi le on a camping t r ip in A cub scout t roupe is terror ized whi le on a camping t r ip in Cub . Sam (Maur ice Lui j ten) is a t roubled 12 year o ld , who is Cub . Sam (Maur ice Lui j ten) is a t roubled 12 year o ld , who is bul l ied by the other k ids in h is cub scout t roupe . Whi le on a bul l ied by the other k ids in h is cub scout t roupe . Whi le on a camping t r ip in the Belgiancamping t r ip in the Belgian forest , Sam is shocked to d iscover forest , Sam is shocked to d iscover that the local legend of a feral k id named Kai (G i l l Eeckelaert ) that the local legend of a feral k id named Kai (G i l l Eeckelaert ) i s t rue . i s t rue . However , i t a lso appears that someone has been However , i t a lso appears that someone has been sett ing up some deadly booby t raps in the woods .sett ing up some deadly booby t raps in the woods . CubCub is a Belgian horror f i lm that that centers ois a Belgian horror f i lm that that centers o n the outcast n the outcast cub scout of Sam. Sam is repeatedly targeted by the other cub scout of Sam. Sam is repeatedly targeted by the other members of h is t roupe , as wel l as the meanmembers of h is t roupe , as wel l as the mean -- spi r i ted leader spi r i ted leader Peter (Stef Aerts ) . Pr ior to leaving on their camping t r ip , the Peter (Stef Aerts ) . Pr ior to leaving on their camping t r ip , the t roupe is to ld the story of the feral "werewolf boy" Kai , whotroupe is to ld the story of the feral "werewolf boy" Kai , who Sam quickly learns actual ly exists . However , the quest ion that Sam quickly learns actual ly exists . However , the quest ion that has to be asked is whether or not Kai is a f r iend or foe?has to be asked is whether or not Kai is a f r iend or foe?

CubCub is a f i lm that somewhat takes i ts t ime to bui ld up i ts is a f i lm that somewhat takes i ts t ime to bui ld up i ts horror , as th ings don't real ly get going for the second hal f . horror , as th ings don't real ly get going for the second hal f . However , theHowever , the f i lm does sport some quite wel l f i lm does sport some quite wel l -- executed deaths , executed deaths , where l i teral ly no one is safe . where l i teral ly no one is safe . CubCub a lso features a quite a lso features a quite excel lent Gia l loexcel lent Gia l lo -- l ike score by Steve Moore (The Guest ) . l ike score by Steve Moore (The Guest ) . A l together , despite having a s low burn for much of the f i lm, Al together , despite having a s low burn for much of the f i lm, CubCub ended up being a quite solended up being a quite sol id thr i l ler .id thr i l ler .

★★ ★★ ★★ ★★ || LIKED ITLIKED IT             Please find this article online below: http://www.skonmovies.com/2015/07/fantasia-2015-cub.html

         

Exclusive Cover Art Reveal: Jonas Govaert’s childhood chiller “CUB” Movies/TV,News | June 30, 2015 - 7:59 am | by: Ken W. Hanley |

For fright fans frequenting the festival scene over the past year, one of the most buzzed-about international titles has been Jonas Govaert’s CUB. The Dutch film, which earned raves out of TIFF, Fantastic Fest and Sitges last year (including our review), has been awaiting release in the US from the folks at Artsploitation Films, but for our neighbors up North, you’re in luck as FANGORIA has the first information and artwork for CUB’s Canadian DVD/Blu-ray release!

For those unfamiliar, here is the official synopsis for CUB… Imaginative but troubled twelve-year-old Sam is ridiculed by his counsellors and fellow scouts while on a summer camping trip for thinking a mysterious feral boy lurks in the woods outside their camp site. But they will all begin to take Sam seriously when a series of ingenious booby traps start bloodily whittling down the troops numbers making it clear the boys are up against a formidable for right out of a campfire tale.

In the tradition of LORD OF THE FLIES and FRIDAY THE 13TH, CUB is a thrilling horror adventure that will make you fear what’s outside your tent all over again. CUB, which will play at the 2015 Fantasia International Film Festival this summer, will bow on DVD & Blu-ray on August 18th from Anchor Bay Entertainment Canada and Raven Banner Entertainment. Bonus features include Deleted Scenes, SFX Reel, and Blu-ray exclusive features include Govaerts’ OF CATS AND WOMAN short film as well as the Deadsets music video “One Hour.” You can check out FANGORIA’s exclusive cover art below, and look out for more on CUB here at FANGORIA.com.                                           Please find this article online below: http://www.fangoria.com/new/exclusive-cover-art-reveal-jonas-govaerts-childhood-chiller-cub/

   

Fantasia 2015: CUB is an Uneven Slasher [Review] Jason Widgington [Celluloid 07.29.15]      Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: a bunch of people head out into the woods to set up camp, only to be frightened by the inevitable spooky campfire stories before they start actually being brutally murdered by some sick and twisted freak. Yep, you guessed it: your typical slasher flick.   With Cub ("Welp"), Belgian director Jonas Govaerts’ debut feature, there is at least an effort to up-the-ante and inject a bit of originality into the sub-genre. But, is it effective enough to make Cub worth watching? Sam (Maurice Luijten, looking like a young River Phoenix in Stand By Me) is a troubled boy out on a weekend camping trip with his scout troop and three counselors.

His troop mates – even one of the counselors – tease and taunt him, and after being told the story of Kai (ferociously portrayed by Gill Eeckelaert), a feral boy who lives in the forest and turns into a ravenous werewolf at night, it’s no surprise that nobody believes Sam when he reports having seen Kai in the woods. But is Kai real? And once the killing starts, is Kai the one responsible? After a promising and intense – and deliberately misleading – pre-opening credits sequence, Govaerts takes too long to set up and actually get to what the audience is there for: creative and bloody murder set pieces. To the director’s credit, once these do start, the audience is treated to kill after gory kill featuring some excellently-shot and quite elaborate and original booby traps set up throughout the woods by the killer. This isn’t your standard machete-wielding madman, which makes for some unpredictable ways to die. That being said, those who are easily upset or offended may have a hard time with Cub, because anybody and everybody – and their best friend (wink, wink) – are fair game, including barely pubescent children. The Cub Scout aesthetic is not out of place here, as Kai is kind of like what Kipling’s Mowgli would be if he weren’t adopted and raised by the jungle animals as one of their own, instead left to fend for himself. Unfortunately, given the ample amount of set up time used in the first half of the film, the how and why of Kai’s story remain a mystery, even though he is presented as a somewhat misunderstood character. The ending itself leaves a couple of open questions as well, but perhaps that was by design, in the hopes of possibly getting a sequel made.

In an effort to subvert the tropes of the slasher flick, with Cub Govaerts has actually managed to perpetuate a couple of them, delivering a mixed bag of a promising start, a disappointing and too-long middle, and a delightfully gooey third act before an ultimately empty denouement. That being said, for fans of slashers, there are worse ways you can spend 84 minutes than to join this jamboree.         Please find this article online below: http://www.quietearth.us/articles/2015/07/Fantasia-2015-CUB-is-an-Uneven-Slasher-Review

                            Many boys have often been part of scouts during their youth, but have they ever experienced a camping trip in the woods that involved a mythical werewolf-boy that prowled the forest? We discover what it’s like in the Belgian “Cub” which made its Quebec premiere at Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival.   Sam, despite his very young age, is already a social outcast among his scout troop. The other boys constantly make fun of him and one of their scout leaders, in addition to his mutt, despise him. Legend goes that in the woods in which the boys will be camping, there is a boy who has been living there. At night, this boy transforms into a ravenous werewolf with a destructive behavior, known as “Kai”. Everyone believes it is simply folk tale, a story to scare the kids. Sam, however, has reason to think differently from what he is witnessing in the woodland, and now he, as well as the rest of the “Cubs”, are in serious danger.

“Cub” plays out like a Guillermo Del Toro film, with mounting suspense and malevolent threats, looming in the dark. Maurice Luijten, who interprets Sam, allows us to feel very sympathetic towards him, despite seeming like a bright boy. As the movie pans out and the imminent threat, lurking in the woods, begins to attack, the movie does not discriminate age, nor sex, nor animals as targeted victims: anyone is touchable at the hands of murderous violence in “Cub”. Numerous intriguing booby traps are set out in the woods, always connected back to what seems like a power control panel, hidden somewhere. This forces you to keep wondering who is behind this and what is their purpose. However, there are some downsides to the film. Despite increasing tension and suspense throughout the movie, there lacks a “jump” factor, where you never truly burst out of your seat, which is, I believe, one of the goals that this movie had, in addition to focusing on Sam’s story. Kai’s physical appearance is quite simple: a boy covered in mud with a mask made from the bark of a tree. Nothing really stands out from this film, yet it is not a complete disaster. The ending is up to interpretation, but could seem confusing to some. A movie worth checking out once, yet if you decide to pass on it, you won’t be missing out on the film of the year. “Cub” results in a 3.5 stars out of 5, in my evaluation. Review Schema 3.5 / 5 stars Related                    Please find this article online below: http://www.horror-movies.ca/2015/07/cub-horror-film-review/