Also check out Part 1 and Part 2 of our roundup of the music and composers of the movies premiering at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Among the documentaries that premiered at this year’s festival is Finding North directed by Kristi Jacobson (Toots) and Lori Silverbush. The film examines the issue of hunger in America through the lens of three people struggling with food insecurity. Both directors are also producing the movie with Julie Goldman (Buck) and Ryan Harrington (American Teen). T Bone Burnett and The Civil Wars have written the documentary’s music. The project marks Burnett’s first documentary credit as a composer. He has previously contributed music to a number of high profile films, including Crazy Heart, O Brother Where Are Thou?, Walk the Line and the upcoming The Hunger Games. To learn more about the film and to watch the trailer, visit TakePart’s official movie website.
A music-themed film that premiered at the festival is the drama California Solo written and directed by Marshall Levy (Blue State) and starring Robert Carlyle as a Britpop ex-rocker who now works on a farm, gets caught driving drunk and faces deportation after living in Los Angeles for many years. The supporting cast includes Alexia Rasmussen, Kathleen Wilhoite, A Martinez, Michael Des Barres and Danny Masterson. Mynette Louie is producing the project. The film’s score is written by T. Griffin. The songwriter, composer and producer has previously worked with Louie on the 2009 drama Children of Invention. No word yet on a distribution deal for California Solo.
A film that is expected to be picked up for distibution in the near future is the comedy Safety Not Guaranteed directed by Colin Trevorrow and written by Dean Connolly. The movie about two magazine employees who head out on an assignment to interview a guy who placed a classified ad seeking a companion for time travel stars Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson, Karan Soni, Lynn Shelton and Kristen Bell. Duplass is also among the executive producers with his brother Jay Duplass (Cyrus). Trevorrow and Connolly are also producing alongside Marc Turtletaub & Peter Saraf (Little Miss Sunshine, Our Idiot Brother) and Stephanie Langhoff. Ryan Miller has written the project’s score. Another newcomer to the film scoring world, Miller is best known as the lead singer and principal songwriter for the alt-rock band Guster.
Another movie with no distribution deal in place yet is the drama Price Check written and directed by Michael Walker (Chasing Sleep). The movie starring Parker Posey, Eric Mabius, Annie Parisse, Josh Pais, Cheyenne Jackson, Edward Herrmann centers on a family man who copes with rising debt and a job he hates. Dolly Haal (54, High Art) is producing the film. The music is composed by Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips whose most notable previous scoring assignment has been Noah Baumbauch’s Academy Award-nominated The Squid and the Whale starring Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney and Jesse Eisenberg. More information about the duo can be found on their official website. To watch the trailer for Price Check, visit Apple’s trailer page.
A film that has just been acquired by a distributor is the comedy drama Liberal Arts written and directed by Josh Radnor (happythankyoumoreplease). Radnor also stars in the film as a thirtysomething admissions worker at a New York college who visits his liberal arts alma mater where a 19-year old student tries to romance him. Elizabeth Olsen, Richard Jenkins, Allison Janney, John Magaro and Elizabeth Reaser are co-starring. Radnor is producing the project with Jesse Hara, Claude Dal Farra, Brice Dal Farra and Lauren Munsch. Ben Toth is best known as a theater composer, but has started scoring movies over the last couple of years. To learn more about Toth’s work, visit his official website. IFC Films has picked up US rights for Liberal Arts and a theatrical release is planned for later this year.
Also among the high profile titles at the festival is the comedy Goats directed by Christopher Neil and written by Mark Poirier (Smart People) based on his own novel. The film stars Graham Phillips as a teenager who transfers to the East Coast prep school Gates Academy, where he reconnects with his estranged father. David Duchovny, Vera Farmiga, Ty Burrell, Justin Kirk and Keri Russell are also starring in the movie produced by Daniela Taplin Lundberg (The Kids Are All Right), Eric Kopeloff (W., Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps) and Shannon Lail. The film’s music is written by Woody Jackson and Jason Schwartzman. While Goats marks Jackson’s most prestigious film music assignment to date, he has previously co-scored the hit video game Red Dead Redemption. While Schwartzman is best known as an actor in such films as Wes Anderson’s Rushmore, his music has been featured in several movies, including Judd Apatow’s Funny People. Composer Brian Reitzell had previously been attached to score Goats as reported in 2010.
Another notable film that premiered at the festival is the drama LUV written and directed by Sheldon Candis. The movie starring Common, Michael Rainey Jr., Dennis Haysbert, Danny Glover, Charles S. Dutton and Michael Kenneth Williams centers on a shy 13-year-old who forms a bond with his troubled uncle. The film’s producers include Common, Jason Michael Berman, W. Michael Jenson, Gordon Bijelonic, Datari Turner, Joel Newton and Derek Dudley. The composer of the movie is Nuno Malo who has received a lot of praise for his score for the Portuguese drama Amalia. Detailed information and audio clips of the composer’s work can be found on his official website.
Check back for our fourth and final part in our Sundance series to be published within the next couple of days.
