THE 2004 HOLLYWOOD FILM FESTIVAL TO OPEN WITH THE WORLD PREMIERE OF "THE CUTTING EDGE"
AND CLOSE WITH THE U.S. PREMIERE OF "A LOVE SONG FOR BOBBY LONG"
The screenings will take place from October 12 to 17 at Arclight Theatres located at 6360 Sunset Blvd., in Hollywood.
Opening Night World Premiere - "The Cutting Edge" by Wendy Apple
Centerpiece Premieres:
"Finding Neverland" by Marc Forster
"Eulogy" by Michael Clancy
"Undertow" by David Gordon Green
"P.S." by Dylan Kidd
Closing Night U.S. Premiere - "A Love Song for Bobby Long" by Shainee Gabel
The Hollywood Film Festival's has unveiled its line-up for the 2004 Hollywood Film Awards competition.
The finalists were selected from over 2,100 film submissions, an increase in worldwide submissions to the festival of more than 30% since last year, and include features, documentaries, and shorts. Hollywood Festival is a partner of filmfestivals.com and has benefited from a large support and contribution to this increase in films submissions from all over the world.
"This year's Hollywood Film Festival continues its tradition of honoring
the very best talent within our community. It is a celebration of all
aspects of Hollywood filmmaking and the artists who help to create its
lasting legacy on our culture," festival co-chair Paula Wagner said.
As per its mandate, bridging the gap between Hollywood and the global creative community, this year's festival will focus on celebrating both World and European Cinema by bestowing the "Hollywood World Awards" and "Hollywood European Awards" during the prestigious Hollywood Awards Gala Ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Monday, October 18.
The festival is also presenting the "Hollywood Horror, Sci-Fi and Fantasy
Festival" showcase of horror films in alliance with Film Threat, which will
include a presentation of the "Hollywood Horror Film Award" to filmmaker Don
Coscarelli.
The festival's program includes films from Australia, Belgium, Canada,
Denmark, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Romania, Russia, South Africa,
Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States among other countries.
"The films that were selected for the festival are truly outstanding and showcase a wide array of talented filmmakers," commented Mr. de Abreu. "This year's line-upwill present an excellent cross section of independent cinema from Europe and around the world," he added.
"THE CUTTING EDGE: THE MAGIC OF MOVIE EDITING" the festival's Opening Night
World Premiere on Tuesday, October 12, is a documentary directed by Wendy
Apple. It takes the viewer on an entertaining journey inside the
editing room and examines the editor's vital role in the filmmaking process.
It explores how the editor/director relationship has changed over the years
from silents to the present day, where collaboration between editors and
directors can span twenty years or more. Directors such as Martin Scorsese,
Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino, and many others, reveal
the close collaboration with their editors, and show how, by reshaping
scenes and intensifying emotional nuances, the editor has reinvented and
honed in the editing room what was originally shot on the set.
"FINDING NEVERLAND," the festival's Centerpiece Premiere on Wednesday,
October 13, was directed by Marc Forster. Starring Johnny Depp, Kate
Winslet, Julie Christie, Radha Mitchell and Dustin Hoffman, "Finding
Neverland" is a tale of magic and fantasy inspired by the life of James
Barrie, the real-life author of the children's classic "Peter Pan." The film
is a fictional account of Barrie's creative journey to bring "Peter Pan" to
life, from his first inspiration for the story up until the play's premiere
-- a night that changes not only Barrie's life, but the lives of everyone
close to him. From Miramax, the film was produced by Richard N. Gladstein
and Nellie Bellflower, from a screenplay by David Magee based on Alan Knee's
play.
"EULOGY," from Lions Gate Films, will be a Centerpiece Premiere on Thursday,
October 14. It was directed and written by Michael Clancy and stars Azaria, Jesse Bradford, Zooey Deschanel, Kelly Preston, Ray Romano and Debra Winger.
"Eulogy" is about what happens when three generations of a deliciously dysfunctional
family gather to bury the family patriarch and the beloved granddaughter of
the deceased is given the task of delivering the eulogy. In the days leading
up to the funeral, she tries to hold her lunatic clan together as secrets
are revealed, old grudges resurface, and the household erupts with renewed
vigor. The film was produced by Steven Haft, Richard B. Lewis, and Kirk
D'Amico.
"UNDERTOW," from United Artists, will also be a Centerpiece Premiere on
Thursday, October 14. Directed by David Gordon Green, "Undertow" is a
stylish and atmospheric film that takes place in rural Georgia, where Chris,
a teenage troublemaker, and his brother, Tim, live with their widowed
father, who is suddenly visited by his brother, an ex-con with scores to
settle. A confrontation between their father and uncle prompts Chris and Tim
to flee -- with their uncle in hot pursuit -- and they are caught in a
terrifying game of cat-and-mouse. "Undertow" was written by David Gordon
Green and Joe Conway and produced by Lisa Muskat, Terence Malick, and Edward
R. Pressman.
"P.S.," from Newmarket Films, is the Centerpiece Premiere on Friday, October
15, In "P.S.," directed by Dylan Kidd, a thirtysomething divorcee's life
gets a seriously sexy jolt when she meets a twentysomething grad student who
just happens to bear an uncanny resemblance to her high school sweetheart
who died twenty years earlier Laura Linney, Topher Grace, Paul Rudd, Lois Smith, Gabriel Byrne, and Marcia Gay Harden, "P.S." was written by
Helen Schulman and Dylan Kidd and produced by Robert Kessel, Anne Chaisson,
John N. Hart and Jeffrey Sharp.
"A LOVE SONG FOR BOBBY LONG" is the festival's Closing Night U.S. Premiere
on Sunday, October 17. Shainee Gabel's feature film writing and directorial
debut, the film stars John Travolta, Scarlett Johansson, Gabriel Macht and
Debra Kara Unger. "A Love Song for Bobby Long" tells the story of an
independent young woman who returns home two days late for the funeral of
the mother who abandoned her. She finds herself seeking answers through
those who loved her mother, while she boards with her mother's alcoholic
ex-lover. The film was produced by Paul Miller, David Lancaster, and Bob
Yari.
This year's industry professionals who will be honored for their
achievements at the Hollywood Awards Gala Ceremony include John Travolta for
lifetime achievement, Newmarket Films' president Bob Berney for leadership,
UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television Dean Robert Rosen for film
preservation, Michael Mann for directing, Leonardo DiCaprio and Annette
Bening for acting, Mel Gibson for producing, John Logan for screenwriting,
Caleb Deschanel for cinematography, Sally Menke for editing, Thomas Newman
for film composing, John Dykstra for visual effects, Albert Wolsky for
costume design, Stuart Craig for production design, Ve Neill for make-up,
Debra Zane for casting, and DreamWorks' "Shrek 2" for animation. In
addition, Jamie Foxx and Keira Knightley will be honored with the festival's
Breakthrough Actor and Actress awards, and Zach Braff with the "Hollywood
Breakthrough Director of the Year Award."
2004 HOLLYWOOD FILM FESTIVAL COMPLETE LINE-UP
"Automation" by Todd Albright
"Beaster" by Vin Morrone
"Bereft" by Tim Daly and Clark Mathis
"Bert Prentice, CEO" by Kevin Nibley
"Breaking Dawn" by Mark Robinson
"Conversations" by Ben Rock
"Dandelion" by Mark Milgard
"Dead & Breakfast" by Matthew Leutwyler
"Dysmorpho" by Martin Kjellberg and Magnus Soderstedt
"The Easter Egg Escapade" by John Michael Williams
"Easter Sunday" by Alex Kamer
"Everything Has a Reason" ("Alles Komt Ergens Van") by Pieter Verhoeff
"Flypaper" by Raygan Henley
"Forbidden Warrior" by Jimmy Nickerson
"Girl Power" ("Kwinnokraft") by Per Carleson
"Goodnight, Joseph Parker" by Dennis Brooks
"The Halfway House" by Kenneth J. Hall
"Illusive Tracks" by Peter Dalle
"John and Mia" by Christian Bjarke Dyekjaer
"Josh Jarman" by Pip Mushin
"The Kindness of Strangers" by Claudia Myers
"Knots" by Greg Lombardo
"Kyle" by James Franco and Merriwether Williams
"Last Night on Earth" by William August
"The Little Match Girl" by James Ricker
"Lucky" by Bobby Heaney
"Mayra" by Julie Declercq
"Mr. Rivet" by Luc Chamberland
"Neighbourhood Watch" ("Grannsamverkan") by Peter Berlach
"Out of Season" by Jevon O'Neil
"Peaches" by Craig Monahan
"Pravilo Veri" ("The Rule of Vera") by Peter Stepin
"Prison Ball" by Jason Moriarty
"Pure" by Gillies Mackinnon
"Rendez-Vous" by Damien Chemin
"Replaced" by Sean Carter
"Sabine and the Two-Headed Baby" by David Seltzer
"Scrambled Eggs" by Lorenzo Manetti
"Scream for Me" by Christopher Alan Broadstone
"Seventy-8" by Erik Clapp
"Somewhere Near Kokoda" by Brad Haynes
"Stella Street" by Peter Richardson
"Timed Call" by Matthew Macknamara
"The Trickster's Toys" by Benjamin Nimmerson
"The Two" by Katya Grokhovskaya
"Untitled: 003 - Embryo" by Mike Goedecke
"Vinzent" by Ayassi
"Vizontele Tuuba" by Yilmaz Erdogan
"Werner" by Remi Benichou
"What Remains of Us" by Francois Prevost and Hugo Latulippe
"Whistlin' Dixie" by Morgan Schechter
"Yugotrip" by Nadya Derado
"Young Kees" by Andre Van Duren