#FIRSTLOOK: “I SAW THE TV GLOW”

After premiering at Sundance, we now get a first look at I SAW THE TV GLOW. VVS Films release this May in theatres.

Synopsis:

Teenager Owen is just trying to make it through life in the suburbs when his classmate introduces him to a mysterious late-night TV show — a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own. In the pale glow of the television, Owen’s view of reality begins to crack.

Starring Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Pain

Written & Directed by Jane Schoenbrun

(Photo/video credit: VVS Films)

#SUNDANCE: “I SAW THE TV GLOW” REVIEW

By Amanda Gilmore

I Saw The TV Glow is a visceral examination of our obsession with Media and a look at growing up queer in suburbia.

Writer-Director Jane Schoenbrun (Sundance ’21’s We’re All Going To The World’s Fair) returns to the Festival with this Midnight selection. It’s story reaches decades in the life of Owen (as a seventh-grader Ian Foreman and Justice Smith for the remainder of the Film) who’s trying to make it through life in the suburbs. Then they meet Maddy (an outstanding Brigette Lundy-Paine) a classmate a few years older than them. She introduces Owen to the late-night TV show “The Pink Opaque” (it feels like a nod to Buffy The Vampire Slayer). The two become obsessed with the show, seeing themselves within the characters. For Owen, it allows them to identify the person within. For Maddy, it’s seeing someone similar to her on screen. But soon their obsession with the show blurs their lines between reality and fiction.

Just like with their feature debut, I Saw The TV Glow has a vibe all of its own. It’s clear Schoenbrun, with only two features under their belt, is an Auteur. The hypnotic neon lights suck us into this story of Owen, a person trying to figure out who they are and where they belong. Smith is enchanting as Owen discovers the show and a world they can escape within.

The outstanding Script has haunting lines of dialogue such as Owen admitting to Maddy that, “someone took a shovel and dug out my insides.” Later when the lines between reality and fiction blur, particularly for Maddy, she’s given a monologue that Lundy-Paine delivers with an intensity that consumes the viewer.

I Saw The TV Glow is a mix of genre filmmaking that only Schoenbrun could accomplish. The Lighting, Score, and Sound assault the senses. Thus mimicking the sense of overwhelming Owen walks with every day. Schoenbrun examines the identity of their characters while providing an examination of the positive and negative effects of our TV obsessions.

There is a lot at play within I Saw The TV Glow. There are many ways to look at the Film and dissect it. But there isn’t a need. It feels more like a film you experience, one based on instinct and feeling. And does it ever pack a punch right to the gut. Just wait for that ending.

A24 has distribution of I Saw The TV Glow in the U.S., but the Film currently doesn’t have a release date.

I Saw The TV Glow screens at Sundance ’24:

Jan 18 at 10:00 PM at Library Center Theatre

Jan 19 at 9:30 PM at Redstone Cinemas – 7

Jan 21 at 8:15 PM at Broadway Centre Cinemas – 6

Jan 23 at 10:30 PM at The Ray Theatre

Jan 27 at 8:15 PM at Broadway Centre Cinemas – 6

#SXSW: RED CARPET PHOTOS FROM PREMIERE OF “DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES”

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS had the honour of opening the 2023 SXSW Festival at Paramount Theatre, and the response has been phenomental for this Film by Co-Directors Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley. In fact, it is sitting at 100% on the Tomatometer. The Film arrives March 31, 2023 via Paramount Pictures.

In attendance last night were the Film’s stars: Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis and Daisy Head, plus Directors Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley and Producers Nick Meyer and Jeremy Latcham.

SYNOPSIS:

A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers undertake an epic heist to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people.  Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves brings the rich world and playful spirit of the legendary roleplaying game to the big screen in a hilarious and action-packed adventure.

(Photo credit: Getty Images/Paramount Pictures Canada)

#FIRSTLOOK: NEW TRAILER FOR “ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES”

Check-out this brand-new Trailer for ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES starring Elle Fanning and Justice Smith!

Synopsis:
Based on the internationally bestselling novel by Jennifer Niven, All The Bright Places tells the story of Violet Markey (Elle Fanning) and Theodore Finch (Justice Smith), who meet and change each other’s lives forever. As they struggle with the emotional and physical scars of their past, they come together, discovering that even the smallest places and moments can mean something. This compelling drama provides a refreshing and human take on the experience of mental illness, its impact on relationships, as well as the beauty and lasting impact of young love.

Trailer:

 

ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES streams Friday, February 28, 2020.

 

(Photo/video credit: Netflix)

#FIRSTLOOK: NEW FEATURETTE FOR “EVERY DAY”

We’re hearing amazing things about Toronto-made EVERY DAY which is about to hit theatres soon. Directed by Michael Sucsy (The Vow) and based on the Novel by David Levithan, the Film stars Angourie Rice, Maria Bello, Debby Ryan and Justice Smith.

Synopsis:
Every Day tells the story of Rhiannon (Angourie Rice), a 16-year old girl who falls in love with a mysterious soul named “A” who inhabits a different body every day. Feeling an unmatched connection, Rhiannon and A work each day to find each other, not knowing what or who the next day will bring. The more the two fall in love, the more the realities of loving someone who is a different person every 24 hours takes a toll, leaving Rhiannon and “A” to face the hardest decision either has ever had to make.

 

See a brand-new Featurette:

 

Elevation Pictures release EVERY DAY Friday, February 23, 2018.

 

(Photo/video credit: Elevation Pictures)

#SPOTTED: ANGOURIE RICE IN TORONTO FILMING “EVERY DAY”

Based on the Novel of the same name by David Levithan, Every Day currently is filming here in Toronto. Directed by Michael Sucsy, the Film centers on a 16-year-old girl named Rhiannon (Angourie Rice) who falls in love with a spirit who travels body to body, living a different life every day.

Sucsy is no stranger to filming in the City, his romantic drama The Vow made here back in 2010.

Every Day stars also Justice Smith (Paper Planes), Jacob Batalon (Spider-Man: Homecoming), Debby Ryan (The Suite Life on Deck) and Maria Bello (A History of Violence).

We spotted the Film’s Australian-born star Rice, whose profile continues to rise with roles in acclaimed films over the past year like Sofia Coppola’s The Beguiled and Shane Black‘s The Nice Guys. Like her Co-Star Batalon, she can be seen currently in Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Every Day wraps early August and will be handled by Metro Goldwyn Mayer (Sony Pictures) in the U.S.

See our Snap:

#AngourieRice is a star on the rise. Over the past year she has appeared in great films like #SpidermanHomecoming, #TheBeguiled and #TheNiceGuys. She currently is at work in Toronto on #EveryDay, directed by Michael Sucsy (The Vow).

A post shared by Mr. Will Wong 📸 (@mrwillwong) on Jul 17, 2017 at 6:24pm PDT

(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)