12 and Holding

[w/o horse]

http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/12andholding/trailer/

Explores the complexities of children losing their innocence and adults struggling to guide them. In the suburbs of America, three close knit 12-year-olds ñ introverted Jacob (Conor Donovan), precocious Malee (Zoe Weizenbaum) and vulnerable Leonard (Jesse Camacho) — start down the path of self-discovery.

Michael Cuesta (dir.)

I liked L.I.E.  This trailer has lowered my expectations, but I liked L.I.E.

[ono]

I liked L.I.E. too.  This looks pretty good, actually.  The flipside to Me and You and Everyone We Know, perhaps?  I don't know, it'd definitely a more down-to-earth look if anything.  And I liked L.I.E. too.

[MacGuffin]

How To Direct Kids in Grown-Up Films
A director reveals the keys to getting mature performances out of young actors.
Source: Los Angeles Times

Michael Cuesta, director of "L.I.E.", and this weekend's theatrical release "12 and Holding," gives us the keys to directing kids in films for mature audiences:

1. Make sure the kids (and their parents) understand the project. The first thing and most important thing is that they read the script and their guardians and parents read the script so there is a clear understanding with all of us about what the film is about and what I want to do with it. "12 and Holding" was easier because I had already dealt with similar subject matter and handled it in a responsible way, so the parents understood what I was doing and that their kids were going to be in good hands.

2. Find the right actors. I did a lot of auditioning. You have to spend months looking for these kids. It's like finding a needle in a haystack. I was lucky both times. I don't know exactly what I'm looking for. I let them inform me. The character is written and we do have an idea of what we want, but if you are not open, you could miss something. You have to let that kid come in that you didn't expect to knock you off your feet.

3. Encourage them to be themselves. When you cast kids you cast them for who they are and you try to have them be as natural as possible. They are not spoiled by the craft yet, so you get them at the most pure form. They are playing themselves, and that's what you cast. You hone and shape and navigate that.

4. Trust them to be able to handle difficult material. With the tricky scenes the guardians are there, but these kids are smart. In "12 and Holding" the young girl has this thing with an older guy, but it was shot from behind, and she had good camaraderie with the actor she was working with, so she was comfortable.

5. Create a comfortable and respectful environment. The main kid, in terms of his brother dying, I had to leave him alone. I made him comfortable and let him know that he was doing great work, but in terms of him going to that place, he had to go in a corner by himself, and think about what we were doing. And whatever he has to do — thinking about his dog that died or whatever — he does it himself. I kept the set quiet and we were respectful of the hard work and emotional digging the actor was doing at that point.


Cuesta's film "12 and Holding" is about a group of 12-year-olds struggling with the loss of one of their peers. It opens in Los Angeles on May 26.

[killafilm]

Weird.  I was checking this out on IMDB and one of my classmates was the Production Supervisor.

[©brad]

i loved l.i.e.

this should be great.

[grand theft sparrow]

I'm really surprised at how many of you like LIE.  I count it among the worst films I've ever seen.  But he didn't write this one and he's done a few decent episodes of Six Feet Under since so I might check it out.

[w/o horse]

It won me over in parts I did not expect, went to places I did not consider, made me laugh, and took one leap that I was not willing to go along with.  This is what I expect from the man who did L.I.E.  Despite its imperfections, I did enjoy the movie quite a lot.

The melodrama is thick.  The characters were the kind that are more problems than people.  Some ugly, ugly interiors.  The story kept moving, the characters kept advancing, I stayed in my seat, and the movie ended.  I don't know.  You should see it, I think, I mean go see this before you go see something in the big theater, but it's a bit messy.  The child actors are really good.

The state strength requirement is ten pull ups.