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Acclaimed director James Cameron, who released his massive box office hit ‘Avatar 2: The Way of Water’ in 2022, will now be executive producing a new Maori centric drama film called ‘Taonga’, by new comer director Shane Rangi. Shane, while new to direction, is no stranger to filmmaking as such, having worked with Jameson production and writing of his ‘Avatar’ films.

Shane has written the script for the feature and will also be directing it

Drawing on his own life, Shane, who is of Ngati Porou descent, wrote ‘Taonga’ to tell the story of an indigenous Polynesian rugby star who ends up becoming homeless; before a violent encounter with law enforcement leaves him for dead and changes his life.

The story aims to navigate the realities of homelessness and modern-day policing, as per The Hollywood Reporter.

Many of these things were in fact a reality for Shane himself, a lifetime ago...

Acclaimed director James Cameron, who released his massive box office hit ‘Avatar 2: The Way of Water’ in 2022, will now be executive producing a new Maori centric drama film called ‘Taonga’, by new comer director Shane Rangi. Shane, while new to direction, is no stranger to filmmaking as such, having worked with Jameson production and writing of his ‘Avatar’ films.

Shane has written the script for the feature and will also be directing it

Drawing on his own life, Shane, who is of Ngati Porou descent, wrote ‘Taonga’ to tell the story of an indigenous Polynesian rugby star who ends up becoming homeless; before a violent encounter with law enforcement leaves him for dead and changes his life.

The story aims to navigate the realities of homelessness and modern-day policing, as per The Hollywood Reporter.

Many of these things were in fact a reality for Shane himself, a lifetime ago...

Avatar filmmaker James Cameron will executive produce Taonga, a Maori-centric drama from actor and first-time director Shane Rangi.

Rangi, who worked with Cameron on the Avatar movies, which were shot in New Zealand, wrote the script and will direct the feature that has the backing of Fandomodo Films, a boutique development, production and financing company that seeks to raise underrepresented voices.

Drawing on his own life, Rangi, who is of Ngāti Porou descent, wrote Taonga to tell the story of an indigenous Polynesian rugby star who becomes homeless before a violent encounter with law enforcement leaves him for dead. The story aims to navigate the realities of homelessness and modern-day policing.

Many of those realities were a lifetime ago for Rangi, who managed to drag himself out of those dire straits to become an actor and stunt performer on major Hollywood productions that shot in that part of the world.

In multiple interviews yesterday, Titanic director James Cameron harshly criticized the OceanGate, the company that designed, built and operated the small submarine Titan, which officials now believe suffered a “catastrophic implosion” as it dove down to tour the wreck of the Titanic. Five people were killed as a result.

Cameron has descended to the wreck over 30 times. He also designed and built his own submersible which he piloted solo 35,787 below sea level into the Challenger Deep of the Mariana Trench in the Pacific. That’s about three times deeper than where Titanic wreck sits. The 2014 film Deepsea Challenge 3D documented the accomplishment.

Cameron’s sub was also experimental, but the director stressed that he did not take on passengers. The dive was a chance he took on himself without allowing anyone else to share that risk.

Chief among Cameron’s criticisms was OceanGate’s decision making around the hull of its submersible.

When Michael Ware got back from Iraq, he dumped all the handycam footage he'd shot there in a tupperware container at his mother's house.

When the former correspondent for Time and Newsweek finally brought himself to dredge them out, he realised he had a film on his hands.

"I was sitting there with a friend of mine who's an editor, and she helped me realise that there was a story buried in that archive", Ware said. "That led to us to ingest those tapes, which I'm extraordinarily thankful for because the first of them were just starting to deteriorate"..

Ware first approached Screen Queensland with the idea of fashioning his footage into a feature.

"I sat down with a three-person panel, very clumsily talking about a project I didn't yet have a handle on, about financing I didn't yet understand, and about logistics still beyond me. One of the three...

The first round of Aacta Award winners have been announced today at the 4th Aacta Award Luncheon held at the Star Event Centre in Sydney.

Celebrating screen craft excellence in Australia, 22 awards were presented, recognising the work of screen practitioners working in television, documentary, short fiction film, short animation and feature film.

The Luncheon was hosted by writer/actor/producer/director Adam Zwar, who was also joined throughout the event by a list of distinguished presenters. including Aacta President Geoffrey Rush, David Stratton, Damian Walshe-Howling, Alexandra Schepisi, Charlotte Best and Diana Glenn.

In the feature film category, Predestination took home the most Awards; with Ben Nott Acs taking out the prize for Best Cinematography, Matt Villa Ase winning the award for Best Editing, and Matthew Putland scooping Best Production Design.

Tess Schofield was honoured with the Aacta Award for Best Costume Design for her work on The Water Diviner while...

With the Mpse's nominations logged and official, all of the guilds and industry groups have had their say in the nominees stage of the season, culminating with tomorrow's Oscar nominations. Leading the way with mentions from 11 separate groups each — and boy this must make Fox Searchlight happy — is "Birdman" and "The Grand Budapest Hotel." Just behind with 10 is "The Imitation Game." What's interesting is what's just under that level. You have both "Gone Girl" and "Guardians of the Galaxy" chalking up eight groups. The former may or may not end up in the Best Picture category tomorrow (nothing would surprise me), but the latter sure did come on strong for its elements. After that, "American Sniper" has seven, "Boyhood," "Nightcrawler," "Interstellar," "Into the Woods," "The Theory of Everything" and "Unbroken" each have six and Sony Classics' hopefuls "Foxcatcher" and "Whiplash" ring in with five. That pretty much covers the landscape,...

The final guild/industry group to declare nominees did so this afternoon as the Motion Picture Sound Editors (Mpse) spoke up with a roll call of players for the 62nd Golden Reel Awards. On the film side of things, "Birdman" and "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" had the best showing with three nominations each. I've been wondering if the latter could slide into Oscar play this year, but it's hard to gauge here, as "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" had a nice Mpse showing, too. In the effects/foley category, "Fury" is featured as well, also a strong possibility to pop up. All other expected players ("American Sniper," "Guardians of the Galaxy," "Unbroken," etc.) are featured. We'll see how the sound branch shakes it all out tomorrow but I'm a little more confused by where they'll end up going than usual, I must say. Check out...

Hollywood’s sound pros nominated Birdman and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes for three awards apiece as the Motion Picture Sound Editors unveiled nods for its 62nd Mpse Golden Reel Awards, honoring the best feature film, television, animation and computer entertainment work of the year.

“2014 was a fantastic year for sound,” said Mpse president Frank Morrone. “The advent of new distribution channels, streaming services and gaming platforms is creating additional opportunities for sound artists to practice their craft beyond the traditional venues of film and television. This year’s nominations reflect that change, spanning an amazing diversity of mediums and genres, all executed at the highest level of creativity. We are truly inspired and impressed by the work of our colleagues.”

This year’s Golden Reels will additionally honor Noah director Darren Aronofsky with the Mpse’s annual Filmmaker Award. Oscar winner Skip Lievsay, known for his work...

Marking my second cinematic foray of 2014 into the lonesome world of deep sea diving (the first being James Cameron’s documentary Deepsea Challenge 3D), filmmaker Erik Skjoldbjærg transports us back to the “Norwegian Oil Boom of the 1980s” – a time in history where nations were battling for a slice of Norway’s blackest riches.

Pioneer is a story filled with greedy corporations, wide-eyed politicians, diving records, and conspiracies most foul, uncovering secrets buried below the murky sea floor for years without much notice. It’s a recognizable story of people becoming cogs in a dangerous machine running solely on the promise of tremendous payoffs, and the lengths some cogs will go for their due justice, but you’re right to question the intensity of this deep-sea-detective-case. Norway’s historical significance may be staggering, but facts don’t immediately translate into a suspenseful underwater mystery without a little help.

Petter (Aksel Hennie...

Director Russell Crowe Movie up for Best Film: Australian Academy Awards 2015 nominations (photo: Actor-director Russell Crowe in 'The Water Diviner') Aacta Awards: Feature Film Categories Best Film The Babadook Kristina Ceyton and Kristian Moliere Charlie's Country Nils Erik Nielsen, Peter Djigirr and Rolf de Heer Predestination Paddy McDonald, Tim McGahan, Peter Spierig and Michael Spierig The Railway Man Chris Brown, Andy Paterson and Bill Curbishley Tracks Emile Sherman and Iain Canning The Water Diviner Andrew Mason, Keith Rodger and Troy Lum Best Director The Babadook Jennifer Kent Charlie's Country Rolf de Heer Predestination Peter Spierig and Michael Spierig The Rover David Michôd Best Actress Kate Box The Little Death Essie Davis The Babadook Sarah Snook Predestination Mia Wasikowska Tracks Best Actor Russell Crowe The Water Diviner David Gulpilil Charlie's Country Damon Herriman The Little Death Guy Pearce The Rover Best Supporting Actor Patrick Brammall The Little Death Yilmaz Erdogan...

The Spierig brothers. Predestination and Russell Crowe.s The Water Diviner lead the film nominees while The Code and Please Like Me head the contenders in the TV categories in the 4th Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (Aacta) Awards.

Predestination received nine nominations, followed by The Water Diviner with eight, seven for David Michôd.s The Rover and six apiece for Jennifer Kent.s The Babadook, Josh Lawson.s The Little Death and Jonathan Teplitzky.s The Railway Man.

Culled from 25 eligible titles, Predestination, The Water Diviner,. The Babadook, Rolf de Heer.s Charlie.s Country, The Railway Man and John Curran.s Tracks are vying for best feature.

Perhaps surprisingly, Crowe was overlooked for best director, which will be a battle between the Spierigs, Kent, de Heer and Michôd.

The contenders for best TV drama are Endemol.s Puberty Blues season 2, Playmaker Media.s The Code, Screentime...

Photo by Mark Thiessen

Millennium Entertainment is proud to announce that the documentary about determination, danger and the ocean’s greatest depths, Deepsea Challenge 3D will be available on DVD, Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack and Special Collectors Edition DVD on November 11, 2014.

Directed by John Bruno, Ray Quint and the late Andrew Wight, the stunning film follows Academy Award® winner James Cameron (The Terminator, Titanic, Avatar) on his successful voyage to the unknown territories at the depths of the ocean.

Wamg is debuting this exclusive behind-the-scenes clip featuring Cameron where he discusses the reservations and fears he had about venturing into unknown territory.

As a boy, filmmaker James Cameron dreamed of a journey to the deepest part of the ocean. This film is the dramatic fulfillment of that dream. It chronicles Cameron’s solo dive to the depths of the Mariana Trench—nearly seven miles beneath the ocean’s surface—piloting a submersible he designed himself.

Childhood's End, a Us science fiction mini-series based on a classic Arthur C. Clarke novel which begins filming in Melbourne on December 1, will be a great gig for Australian cast and crew and, most probably, VFX houses.

A high percentage of the cast and crew will be Australian, according to Brett Popplewell, who is partnered with Jeff Hayes in HayPop, the service company contracted by Universal Cable Productions.

Popplewell and Hayes were approached by NBCUniversal executives in February/March to assess whether the six-hour series could be made in Australia and, if so, to work out a creative and financial structure.

The Docklands Studios and Melbourne locations won out thanks to a number of factors including the Victorian government.s financial assistance, the location rebate, cast and crew availability, locations and a weakening of the local dollar versus the greenback.

Film Victoria CEO Jenni Tosi .really drove [the project] and helped push it over the line,...

All This Mayhem, Deepsea Challenge 3D, The Last Impresario and Ukraine Is Not A Brothel will compete for the feature length documentary prize at the 4th Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (Aacta) awards.

In collaboration with the Australian Guild of Screen Composers (Agsc) , a new award for best original music score in a documentary will be presented in January. Previously composition was judged together with sound for best sound in a documentary.

All This Mayhem profiles former champion pro skaters, brothers Tas and Ben Pappas, whose lives spiralled into a world of drugs, jail, murder, depression and death.

Directed by Eddie Martin and produced by James Gay-Rees and George Pank, the doc had its world premiere at the 2013 Adelaide Film Festival and screened in competition at this year.s Sydney Film Festival and at the Sheffield Doc/Fest in June.

Deepsea Challenge 3D follows James Cameron.s record-setting...

The 4th annual Napa Valley Film Festival (Nvff), scheduled for November 12-16, 2014, announced its Narrative and Documentary feature film competition lineups as well as Jury members. The 2014 Festival will screen 22 feature films in competition. The full film program line-up, including out-of-competition special presentations, sneak previews of awards season contenders, and narrative, documentary and animated shorts, will be announced in September.

“Our thoughts are with everyone in the Napa Valley who have suffered losses from the recent earthquake,” said Co-Founder/Artistic Director Marc Lhormer. “We are proud to be part of a community that rallies in support of each other in such a generous and big hearted way. As they say in the business, the show must go on.”

“This is an exceptionally strong year for both the Narrative and Documentary competition programs,” said Program Director Herb Stratford. “These filmmakers have created new works that provoke, inspire, educate and entertain. They are the heart of our program each year, which includes more than 100 new independent films and advance studio screenings, and we are excited to announce their participation in the festival.”

Directors of the Narrative and Documentary films in competition participate in Nvff’s unique Artists-in-Residence Program presented in partnership with the incomparable Meadowood Napa Valley. Directors stay at the luxury resort for six nights during the festival and are treated to special events and workshops with their competition group and industry mentors. Serving as faculty for a set of Master Classes at Nvff 2014 are producer Ted Hope ( Adventureland, 21 Grams); writer/director Joshua Michael Stern (Jobs, Swing Vote) writer/director Joe Carnahan (The Blacklist; The Grey, Smokin’ Aces); producer Pam Koffler (Killer Films); and producer J. Todd Harris ( The Kids are All Right; Bottle Shock); Ryan Harrington (Tribeca Film Institute); producer Jason Berman (Struck by Lightning, Luv); producer Anne Carey (Archer Gray Productions); executives Tom Quinn (RADiUS) and David Glasser (The Weinstein Company). Meadowood Napa Valley will also award $10,000 to the winning filmmakers in both the Narrative and Documentary competition categories at the Closing Night Awards Ceremony on Sunday, November 16.

Narrative Competition Section

Films in the Narrative competition section feature actors Anne Hathaway, Billie Joe Armstrong, Elizabeth Banks, Tate Donovan, Rachael Harris, Zoe Kravitz, Stephen Lang, Leighton Meester, Debra Messing, Dev Patel, Kyra Sedgwick, Chloe Sevigny and Paul Wesley, among others. The 12 films selected include:

"Thank You A Lot"- Music agent and manager Jack Hand has a bad reputation and an even worse track record. He has only two clients left: an indie band on the verge of a breakup and a part-time hip-hop artist. Jack’s future hinges on signing the one person he is barely on speaking terms with — his estranged father, a respected and reclusive country singer/songwriter. "East Side Sushi"- Juana‘s work – preparing fruit for the family’s sidewalk cart – is steady, but hardly her life’s calling. Despite the objections and concerns of her family, Juana decides to pursue her dream of becoming an expert sushi chef, to go where her heart tells her, not where she is expected to be. "Fall To Rise" - Principal dancer Lauren Drake is beautiful, talented and famous. When Lauren is released from her company after being sidelined by an injury, she quickly becomes frustrated with her new domestic lifestyle. At a performance by another dance company, she meets and teams up with Des, a former dancer who is also eager to have a second chance in the dance world. "Little Accidents" (Isa: William Morris Endeavor Entertainment) - In a small West Virginia town reeling from a recent tragic accident in the local mine, a fresh unfortunate incident in the woods leaves a young boy dead. Meanwhile Owen, an injured miner struggling to adjust to his new life aboveground, joins the search for the first boy who is presumed lost in the woods. "Like Sunday, Like Rain" - Reggie Kipper is a sweet, awkward cello prodigy, a composer and overall genius. He’s about to graduate from high school and enroll at MIT — and he’s is only twelve years old. Eleanor Fallon is a 23-year old struggling musician who meets Reggie when she is hired to be his au pair, and the unlikely duo embarks on a summer adventure that neither of them ever expected. "Sun Belt Express"- Allen King, a man living on the Arizona/Mexico border, finds out what his breaking point is when his ex-wife demands money, and his job teaching at a college south of the border evaporates. Allen then finds a unique way to supplant his income by transporting illegal aliens in the trunk of his car. "Sam & Amira" (Isa: Preferred Entertainment) - Sam is an army veteran struggling to assimilate into normal life stateside. He works a variety of odd jobs, tries his hand at stand-up comedy, and is recruited by his cousin into some shady investment dealings. Sam’s already complicated life is made more so by Amira, an Iraqi woman dealing with her own issues who is the daughter of an old army colleague. "Song One" (Isa: Lotus Entertainment) - Estranged from her family, Franny returns home when an accident leaves her brother comatose. Retracing his life as an aspiring singer-songwriter, she tracks down his favorite musician, James Forester. Against the backdrop of Brooklyn’s music scene, Franny and James develop an unexpected relationship and face the realities of their lives. "The Road Within" (Isa: Panorama Media) - Vincent has Tourette Syndrome. When his mother dies, he becomes obsessed with scattering her ashes by the ocean. Too much for his father to handle, Vincent is sent to a residential treatment center in Nevada where he befriends two other “inmates” struggling with their own personal issues. "Kinderwald" - Pennsylvania wilderness, 1885. John Linden, a hard-working German immigrant, is making a go of homesteading with his brother’s widow and her two young sons. John’s visually and spiritually idyllic world is thrown into utter chaos when the two boys go missing while off playing in the woods. "Wildlike" (Isa: Panorama Media) - Mackenzie is a fourteen-year-old girl whose father died last year. When her struggling mother checks herself into a recovery center, Mackenzie is sent from their Seattle home to live with her uncle in Alaska. At first he seems a supportive caretaker, but when his infatuation crosses a sexual line, Mackenzie runs away. With no one else to turn to, she shadows a solitary backpacker, Bartlett, a widowed man with scars of his own, into the beauty and danger of America’s last frontier.

Documentary Competition Section

"American Native" - For years, the legend of the Jackson Whites tribe has been told, passed down from generation to generation of New Jersey suburbanites. While the garish stories and tall tales have never been hard to find, the truth behind them has. Accessing the community is not easy; few outsiders have been able to penetrate the insular walls formed from centuries of discrimination. "Botso" - Dr. Botso Korisheli, 91 and still teaching music along with his unique philosophy, has a fascinating and unforgettable life story. Born in the former Soviet State of Georgia, Botso witnessed his father imprisoned under orders from Josef Stalin while his home was taken over by the Kgb. Forced to dig ditches for the Soviet army, Botso was then captured by the Germans. "Flying The Feathered Edge" - Robert A. “Bob” Hoover, age 92, is considered by many to be our greatest living aviator. Nicknamed “The Pilot’s Pilot” by his peers, Bob is largely unknown outside aviation circles despite his staggering array of accomplishments. Following a storied career during WWII as a fighter pilot, Bob continued to serve for years as one of our best test pilots. Mr. Hoover will be in attendance for screenings and Q&As. "Happy Valley" (Isa: Submarine Entertainment) - Few sports dynasties in the modern era have had a larger and longer-lasting profile than college football’s Penn State and its legendary coach Joe Paterno. State College, Pennsylvania, is in the heart of an area known as Happy Valley, ground zero of a proud football tradition for decades. When the shocking sex abuse scandal of assistant coach Jerry Sandusky rocked that town and college in 2011, the impact was unprecedented. "Havana Curveball" - At age 13 and preparing for his Bar Mitzvah, Mica takes to heart his rabbi’s injunction to help “heal the world.” Mica imagines himself a hero for other kids, and hatches a grand plan to send baseballs, bats and gloves to Cuba. Mica knows only that Cubans are poor and love baseball, and that Cuba “saved” his grandpa’s life when he was escaping from Nazi Germany. "States of Grace" - Dr. Grace Dammann’s life was forever altered when a driver crashed head-on into her car on the Golden Gate Bridge. After a seven-week coma and numerous surgeries, Grace miraculously regained consciousness, with her cognitive abilities almost entirely intact, but her body left shattered and severely disabled. "Underwater Dreams" - The epic story of four teenage boys from the Arizona desert who dare to go up against college engineering students from MIT. Inspired by two energetic high school science teachers, the boys build a robot from hardware store parts and enter an underwater robotics competition sponsored by Nasa. "An Honest Liar" - For as long as there have been magicians and illusionists, there have been doubters and debunkers making sure that the general public doesn’t get taken for a ride. One of the greatest illusionists of his era was “The Amazing Randi,” who made the shift from magic and escape acts to exposing the frauds who prey on unsuspecting victims. "Compared to What: The Improbable Journey of Barney Frank" (Isa: Preferred Content) - Few members of the U.S. Congress have ever been as polarizing and revolutionary as Barney Frank has been over the past 40 years. Compared to What: The Improbable Journey of Barney Frank examines the career, passions and legacy of our first openly gay Congressman. This rare and intimate documentary is entertaining, enlightening and thought-provoking. "#chicagoGirl: The Social Network Takes On A Dictator" (Isa: Preferred Content) - In #chicagoGirl, we meet freedom fighters in the streets of Homs and Damascus along with the stateside collection of exiles working to return Syria to a stable and human rights-respecting country. Will 21st century tools of change stand up to guns and violence and terror in the streets? Narrative Features Jury

Christine Vachon , (Producer, "Boys Don’t Cry," "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," "Far From Heaven")

Peter Baxter ( Co-founder/Director Slamdance Film Festival)

Dierk Sinderman (Hollywood Foreign Press Association)

Lisa Truitt ( Producer, James Cameron’s "Deepsea Challenge 3D,""Mysteries of Egypt")

Don Lewis (Producer; Editor Film Threat)

Documentary Features and Shorts Jury

Morgan Neville ("Twenty Feet From Stardom")

Tiffany Shlain ("The Tribe; Connected: An Autobiography About Love," "Death & Technology")

Freida Lee Mock ("Anita. G-Dog,""Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision," "Return with Honor")

Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine ("Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden,""Ballets Russes").

Narrative Shorts Jury

Joshua Michael Stern ("Jobs,""Swing Vote," "Neverwas")

Ralph Macchio (Actor, "The Karate Kid;" Director, "Across Grace Alley")

Neil Berkeley ("Beauty in Embarrassing;" Founder Brkl)

Animated Shorts

Bill Plympton (The King of Indie Animation)

Adam Glick (Amazon Web Services)

Ryan Tudhope (Atomic Fiction)

About The Napa Valley Film Festival

The Napa Valley Film Festival (Nvff) is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered in Napa, California. The ultimate celebration of film, food and wine, Nvff lights up the picturesque towns of Napa, Yountville, St. Helena and Calistoga at the most colorful time of year. Nvff features over 100 new independent films and studio sneak previews screening in 12 beautiful venues throughout four walkable villages, as 300 visiting filmmakers interact with audiences at screenings and intimate events. Attendees enjoy film panels & culinary demonstrations, wine tasting pavilions, the spectacular Festival Gala, Celebrity Tributes, Awards Ceremony, and an array of parties, VIP receptions and winemaker dinners and more. For information or to buy passes, visit NapaValleyFilmFest.org...

Crass comedy in the form of The Inbetweeners 2 ruled the Australian box-office last weekend while James Cameron's Deepsea Challenge 3D sank ingloriously.

Doctor Who fans turned out in reasonable numbers for the Sunday cinema screening of the first episode of series 8 while Nick Cave.s new dramatised documentary had its admirers.

Nationwide takings slipped by 4% to $12.6 million, according to Rentrak.s estimates, as four titles each pulled in more than $1 million.

The Australian location of the Inbetweeners sequel no doubt contributed to the comedy.s strapping $3.15 million debut, $3.25 million including previews. That was 10% bigger than the 2011 opening of the original, which wound up earning $9.2 million.

Superhero fans are still discovering Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, which breezed through its third outing fetching $2.7 million (down 36%), which propels its haul to $19.1 million.

Word-of-mouth is sustaining romantic drama The Hundred-Foot Journey, which eased by just 16% to $1.7 million, banking a hearty $5.7 million in 11 days.

The Deauville Film Festival heads have unveiled the make-up of the 40th edition of the fest, and naturally this coming September, we’ve got a Sundance-infused edition being readied for the North West coastal town. Celebrating several new American indie auteurs, noteworthy filmmakers from Park City include Ana Lily Amirpour (A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night), A.J. Edwards (The Better Angels), Mark Jackson (War Story) and Damien Chazelle’s much acclaimed Whiplash. Also found in the 14 In Comp slate we find Nathan Silver’s Uncertain Terms — which our Nicholas Bell called “uneasy, uncomfortable, and certainly uncertain”. Also on tap: the French premieres of Before I Go to Sleep and director Chris Messina’s Alex of Venice. Here is the full selection and you can make a detour here to see who is being celebrated at the fest.

In Competition:

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, Ana Lily Amirpour

I Origins,...

Who wouldn’t want to go to Italy in the summer for good food and entertaining conversation with a clever traveling companion? Quite a few people did just that, at least vicariously, via IFC Films‘ The Trip To Italy. The light-hearted sequel to The Trip easily had the weekend’s highest bow among specialty films, grossing $71,577 and averaging a tasty $23,859 in three theaters.

“The Trip to Italy opened with one of the highest per-screen (average)s of the summer, playing to sold-out shows this weekend in New York and Los Angeles,” IFC said in a statement. “The Michael Winterbottom-directed sequel has received wonderful reviews and strong word of mouth.” As with The Trip, which also starred Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon on a food and talk travelogue across U.K. countryside, the road ahead looks wide open for the Italian Trip. The original opened in June 2011 with a $12,984 PTA in 6 theaters,...

James Cameron was due to receive the specially conceived 40th Anniversary Award from the Deauville Film Festival, but Disney now says that the Oscar-winning director will not be making the trip to the seaside town in September. Newspaper Le Figaro is reporting that Cameron, who was also due to present the French premiere of his latest film Deepsea Challenge 3D on Sept. 13, will not be attending the film festival. The studio did not give any further explanation for his absence. The film opens in the U.S. on Aug. 21 and in France on Sept. 17. Deauville confirmed

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James Cameron may be “King of the World” at the box office, but that plainly doesn't hold true when it comes to documentaries. “James Cameron‘s Deepsea Challenge 3D” opened in 304 theaters to a soggy $147,000 this weekend. That's a puny $485 per-screen average for the chronicle of the mini-sub journey to the ocean's deepest depths by Cameron, the man behind the two highest-grossing movies of all time, “Avatar” and “Titanic.” Also read: ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Clobbers ‘Guardians’ With $65 Million Box-Office Opening No one expected the documentary from indie distributor DisruptiveLA to match the numbers those films put up of course,...

<< Continued from "Weekend Report"The Hundred-Foot Journey opened in fourth place with $11 million. That's a bit higher than May's Million Dollar Arm; unfortunately, it paled in comparison to similar August releases like Eat Pray Love ($23.1 million) and Julie & Julia ($20 million). With strong word-of-mouth and an audience that skews much older (69 percent over the age of 35), this should hold up well: a total close to $40 million is possible.Rounding out the Top Five, Lucy fell 48 percent to $9.5 million. To date, the Scarlett Johansson/Luc Besson thriller has grossed $97.5 million, and will pass $100 million sometime this week.Step Up All In tanked with $6.5 million this weekend. That's down 45 percent from the previous installment, which was already the lowest-grossing outing in the franchise. Even with solid international returns, it would be surprising if a sixth Step Up got a theatrical release here in the U.S.Lionsgate/Summit has released six movies at over 2,000 locations this year.

James Cameron’s Deepsea Challenge 3D, a doc sponsored by National Geographic that features box-office king of the world Cameron diving to the deepest spot in the ocean, ran aground on the shoals of audience indifference in its debut in this weekend’s specialty box office. Deepsea, directed by John Bruno with Ray Quint, opened in more than 300 locations Friday, a relatively big opening debut for a specialty release. But getting people into those 300+ theaters proved a challenge, as it opened with a soft gross just under $151K, for a per-theater average of just $496. The slow opening is a big contrast with Cameron’s […]...

The top stories of the week from Toh! Awards: Oscar Predictions Can 'Get On Up' Star Chad Boseman Land a Best Actor Oscar Nomination? How to Pick a Foreign Oscar Entry? Box Office: Box Office Top Ten: What Marvel's 'Guardians' of the Galaxy' Opening Means, Can 'Get On Up' Cross Over? 'Inbetweeners 2' Beats 'Guardians of the Galaxy' at UK Box Office; Why Can't the Comedy Get a Us Release? Specialty Box Office: 'Calvary' Opens Soft, 'Boyhood' and 'A Most Wanted Man' Expand Well, 'Wish I Was Here' Another Focus Flop Features: The Female Superhero Finally Strikes Back 'Palo Alto,' Now on iTunes/VOD, Plants First-Timer Gia Coppola Firmly in the Family Business Interviews: Director John Bruno Talks the Stormy Waters of 'Deepsea Challenge 3D' & "The Ultimate Stress Test" of James Cameron (Trailer) How Lasse Hallstrom Spiced Up 'The Hundred-Foot Journey' with Sexy Food,...

This weekend, avoid "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" at all costs and, instead, dive into an eclectic batch of indies and docs hitting theaters and VOD platforms.  Lasse Hallstrom's east-meets-west foodie film, "The Hundred-Foot Journey," opens today for those seeking a visual feast (in 35mm!). Adventurous moviegoers should also check out "Deepsea Challenge 3D," from producer James Cameron, at multiplexes. Millennial rom-com "What If," starring Daniel Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan as what-else-but mixed-up 20-somethings looking for companionship, hits select cities, as does "The Dog," Drafthouse Films' doc about the true story behind "Dog Day Afternoon," and art doc "Fifi Howls From Happiness," about a visionary Iranian painter. If you're feeling like a layabout this weekend, look for James Ward Byrkit's micro-budget (re: no-budget) sci-fi brain-bender "Coherence," and Gia Coppola's wistful teen drama...

For John Bruno, it was surreal directing James Cameron's record-breaking solo voyage into the deepest part of the ocean in the Mariana Trench for the "Deepsea Challenge 3D" doc. That's because the journey into the abyss this time was real after first working with Cameron as VFX supervisor on "The Abyss" 26 years ago. "In 1988, those of us who worked on the film, 'The Abyss,' thought that it was the ultimate stress test. We had T-shirts made that read: 'You can’t scare me. I worked on The Abyss.' But no one's life was at risk back then. It was just a movie. 'Deepsea Challenge' was different. It was life imitating art and the stakes were real. Someone could die. The success or failure of the Challenger mission was in the hands of a very small guerrilla team of brilliant mathematical, mechanical, and electronic geniuses, most of...

A tragedy and a triumph made headlines two years ago when James Cameron took a submarine to the deepest known part of the ocean. The resulting documentary surfaces this weekend amid a fleet of Specialty newcomers heavy with non-fiction titles. James Cameron’s Deepsea Challenge 3D from distributor DisruptiveLA is also the week’s widest bow for a limited-release title, and will be going up against several wide-release rollouts from studios. Toronto ’13 doc The Dog (Drafthouse Films), which spotlights the real-life person behind Al Pacino‘s character in Sidney Lumet’s 1975 film Dog Day Afternoon, will open in New York and L.A. At the story’s center is a bank […]...

James Cameron and Daniel Radcliffe, two guys who know their way around a blockbuster, are opening more intimate — and very different — movies at the specialty box office this weekend. Cameron is of course the writer and director behind “Titanic” and “Avatar,” the two highest-grossing movies of all time at the worldwide box office. On Friday, “James Cameron‘s Deepsea Challenge 3D” opens in 304 theaters nationwide. Radcliffe, who played the bespectacled young hero in the hugely popular “Harry Potter” movies, opens in the romantic comedy “What If,” which CBS Films will have in 20 theaters in 10 markets. Also read: ‘Teenage Mutant...

Nostalgia can be a powerful force in driving audiences to theaters, but this weekend the ’90s heroes in a half shell have to contend with a foe more deviant than Shredder: great buzz. Last weekend’s record-shattering debut of the once obscure Marvel property Guardians of the Galaxy will have a major impact on how Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fares out of the gates, and it might not be the most positive one.

This weekend also sees the debut of The One-Hundred Foot Journey, Into the Storm, and Step Up All In, all of which open in 2,000+ theaters, and limited releases such as What If,...

For this week’s spotlight piece, I wanted to take a look at one of directing’s biggest A-listers of them all. The filmmaker in question? Well, that would be James Cameron, of course. A filmmaker who also does his best to literally change the world, Cameron is pretty special. In many ways, he really is the king of the world, so it’s only appropriate that we take a look at him in this particular article series. In any event, here we go now. Cameron got his start working behind the scenes on low budget exploitation before being given a chance to direct Piranha Part Two: The Spawning. He was fired from that project, but still has a credit. If ever there was an outlier on a resume, it’s that one. From there, he set out to make a true first feature, one that turned out to be none other than The Terminator.

James Cameron, National Geographic and Disruptive La are releasing on Friday a 3D documentary about Cameron’s record-breaking solo dive to the deepest part of the ocean that took place on March 26, 2012. Deepsea Challenge 3D traces the building of the submersible and the nearly 36,000 foot dive to the Mariana Trench’s Challenger Deep in the western Pacific Ocean—a very personal journey for the Academy Award winning filmmaker and National Georgraphic Explorer-in-Residence that made news around the world. Photos 'Titanic 3D' Film Stills: A Look Back at James Cameron's Iconic Love Story Reactions to the successful dive

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James Cameron's Deepsea Challenge 3D is probably the closest we'll come to a memoir from the filmmaker. A documentary account of his 2012 dive to the bottom of the 36,000-foot Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench — the deepest known part of the world’s oceans — as well as the months and years spent preparing for it, the film begins with staged scenes of the young Cameron discovering his love of the sea and of underwater exploration. We see him as a young boy, cutting a hole in a cardboard box and pretending it’s a submarine and putting a small mouse in a jar labeled “Sealab” and lowering it into the water. But this film, which was directed by John Bruno, Andrew Wight, and Ray Quint, isn’t just about James Cameron the filmmaker turned explorer. As the movie unfolds, something subtler emerges about the man.The ocean has always...

Ostensibly a testament to terrestrial beauty and human ingenuity, James Cameron's nature doc Deepsea Challenge 3D feels like a feature-length humble-brag.

The film's main subject isn't supposed to be Cameron himself but rather his record-breaking submarine voyage to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the deepest recorded spot on Earth. But Deepsea Challenge has too little interest in anything that's not Cameron's personal experience. The film begins with a dramatized account of Cameron's boyhood fantasies of oceanic exploration.

After that, he explains how his filmmaking career has dovetailed with his yen for deep-sea diving, from writing and directing The Abyss in 1989 to using remote-controlled robots to explore the Titanic's wreckage in 20...

Plot: Deepsea Challenge 3D follows the story of James Cameron.s expedition to the deepest part of the ocean: the Mariana Trench. Review: If you're a fan of James Cameron - Cameron the man, the myth, the part-time fish - then you're likely to enjoy Deepsea Challenge 3D, which sees the ever-adventurous director plumb the depths of the ocean yet again. You might not find yourself as big of a fan of the documentary, or the man, as Cameron is, however. Though this film wasn't directed by...

You would think James Cameron would want to rest. The 59-year old behind the two highest-grossing movies of all time—Avatar and Titanic, in addition to all the technology required to make those films a reality—has earned himself the right to a leisurely retirement. But there’s no rest for his curiosity.

Cameron’s latest endeavor, Deepsea Challenge 3D, is indication that he will never stop exploring. “I’m just a very curious person, I guess,” Cameron said in a recent interview on EW Radio. “It’s what attracts me to science, to engineering. I like to build things and see if they work.

Title: James Cameron’s Deepsea Challenge Director: John Bruno, Ray Quint, Andrew Wight Starring: James Cameron, Frank Lotito, Lachlan Woods, Paul Henri. ‘Deepsea Challenge 3D’ attests how human will is the key to discovery. Pushing ourselves beyond the boundaries that surround us, with cognition and sensibility, can lead to outstanding results. The expedition to make the first solo voyage to the deepest part of the ocean, is an inspiring metaphor on the fulfillment of lifelong dreams. ‘Deepsea Challenge 3D’ blends Cameron’s passions for filmmaking, science, technology and diving, along with his ability to wear multiple hats, such as executive producer, expedition leader, submersible co-designer and pilot. In fact this could also [ Read More ]

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