Todd Solondz (went to Omaha one time)

[wilder]

Wiener Dog opens June 24th

[Reel]

is it going to have a wide opening?

[wilder]

It's being distributed by IFC so probably not.

Maybe it'll show up on Amazon streaming though?

[wilder]

Solondz's NYU thesis film Babysitter (1984)

[wilder]

Penélope Cruz & Edgar Ramírez Have Todd Solondz's 'Love Child' — Berlin
via Deadline

EXCLUSIVE: Penélope Cruz and Edgar Ramírez are attached to Todd Solondz's new project Love Child, which MadRiver Pictures is bringing to market in Berlin next week.

Solondz, who's the brains behind Wiener- Dog and Welcome to the Dollhouse, writes and directs the project, which is described as a dark and hilarious twist on the classic Oedipal theme. Story follows 11 year-old Junior, a delusional aspiring Broadway star with an inappropriate obsession with his mother Immaculada. After orchestrating an accident that nearly kills his abusive father, he encourages Nacho, the handsome man living in the family's guesthouse to court his mother and become his new dad. But when the two fall in love, Junior becomes so jealous that he is no longer the subject of his mother's attention that he hatches a plan to frame Nacho for his father's murder.

The pic, which is sure to be a sought-after project at EFM, is currently in pre-production and Christine Vachon's Killer Films' Christine Vachon and David Hinojosa will produce.

Cruz recently boarded Kenneth Branagh's Murder on the Orient Express, based on Agatha Christie's beloved murder mystery novel. She'll join an ensemble cast including Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer and Judi Dench. She's also in Escobar with husband Javier Bardem in a movie that examines the love affair between drug lord Pablo Escobar and Colombian journalist Virginia Vallejo.

Ramirez recently starred alongside Emily Blunt in The Girl on the Train, adapted from Paula Hawkins' best-selling book, and Gold with Matthew McConaughey, the adventure mining story from Black Bear's Teddy Schwarzman and HWY 61's Michael Nozik. He's also got a role in New Regency's sci-fi Bright with Will Smith and Noomi Rapace.

[wilder]

I've been reading the recent Solondz entry in the Contemporary Film Directors series, and in an interview with the book's author, Solondz gives shoutouts to both Phantom Thread and A Ghost Story:

[jenkins]

the sort of um indicator of one's actual iq isn't so mysterious really, but one's capabilities within the amorphous realm of conceptualization is a separate category, not wholly independent from but also not wholly dependent upon one's iq, it's art shit, and anybody into art shit is into A Ghost Story

i've read and quoted Lowery-the-filmmaker-who-is-a-separate-entity-from-Ghostboy speak about how unpredictable and unintentional that movie was, but he's getting behind in the one for them and one for me category

[wilder]

From a recent AMA with one of the founders of Arbelos Films. Probably false hope, but as far as I know this is the most concrete bit of info about a potential release available:

[jenkins]

Cinelicious is defunct but its releases are listed there. Do you know the connection? Since Cine is still listed as oop a licensing thinger is involved

[wilder]

Cinelicious became Arbelos and is founded by several of the same people, but the releases previously distributed under the Cinelicious label are OOP.

From a late 2017 Hollywood Reporter article:

Arbelos, a new boutique distributor focusing on the release of both new and restored classic art house titles, officially launched at this year's Toronto Film Festival. The company's first release will be a 4K restoration of Dennis Hopper's 1971 cult classic The Last Movie, which will get a new theatrical bow, and its first ever Blu-ray and digital streaming release, via Arbelos in 2018.

Arbelos looks to blending both new independent features with 4K restorations of classic and cult films, cutting across all genres and eras, the group said. Arbelos plans to release 6-8 titles per year, around half new titles, and will be scouting films while in Toronto.

The team behind Arbelos — co-founders David Marriott, Dennis Bartok, Craig Rogers and Ei Toshinari — previously collaborated together on Cinelicious Pics, the distribution arm of L.A. digital restoration studio Cinelicious and the new company's initial slate will include Cinelicious Pics film library of 14 feature films, including the recent 4K restoration of Toshio Matsumoto's transgender classic Funeral Parade of Roses, Tim Sutton's Dark Night and the 4K restoration of Eiichi Yamamoto's underground anime Belladonna of Sadness.

"We all share a very left-of-center passion for hidden and underappreciated movies," said Bartok. "The success of Belladonna of Sadness, which had been forgotten for over 40 years and went on to be one of the biggest arthouse re-releases of last year, showed that we've barely scratched the surface of great, overlooked movies. We love the fact that we're starting our company with literally The Last Movie, Dennis Hopper's brilliant and long-unavailable masterpiece."

Bartok, Marriott and Toshinari left Cinelicious Pics several months ago and began to collaborate with Rogers, a restoration expert at Cinelicious, and Jonathan Marlow, who had acquired several Cinelicious Pics releases for the SVOD streaming service Fandor. Marlow will take up the position of chief business development officer at Arbelos.

It's a bit more than a name change though, as Cinelicious also used to have a physical presence in Hollywood:

In 2018 Cinelicious Pics closed, the building Cinelicious was operating in on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood was sold and Cinelicious Pics did not relocate.

[jenkins]

thanks

they're the good fight of course. Happiness has been missing yeah. Mondo Macabro's Gemini release is my most anticipated right now

[wilder]

Almost 4 years ago the news of Solondz's new movie Love Child arose, but the project has yet to make it to production. At the tail end of a post on toddsolondz.com John McKelvey wrote this:

The plot is described in the Deadline article as, "a dark and hilarious twist on the classic Oedipal theme. Story follows 11-year-old Junior, a delusional aspiring Broadway star with an inappropriate obsession with his mother Immaculada. After orchestrating an accident that nearly kills his abusive father, he encourages Nacho, the handsome man living in the family's guesthouse, to court his mother and become his new dad. But when the two fall in love, Junior becomes so jealous that he is no longer the subject of his mother's attention that he hatches a plan to frame Nacho for his father's murder." 

Sounds fun to me; reminds me of the 1972 Robert Klein film, Rivals.

Seems plausible that that film could be an inspiration. It's streaming on Tubi, for free:

A disturbed pre-teen with a fixation of his mother becomes increasingly jealous of the new man who enters her life and plots violent retribution.

[wilder]

[wilder]

Rachel Weisz & Colin Farrell To Reunite On Todd Solondz Movie 'Love Child' — Cannes Market
Deadline

After starring in Yorgos Lanthimos's dark comedy The Lobster, Oscar winner Rachel Weisz (The Favourite) and Colin Farrell (The Batman) are set to reunite in Todd Solondz's new comedy-drama, Love Child.

Solondz (Happiness) will direct from his own script. Killer Films' Christine Vachon will produce with David Hinojosa on behalf of 2AM.

In what is described as a darkly comic twist on the Oedipal story, Love Child follows a precocious kid who schemes to rid himself of his brutish dad so he can have his mom all to himself. Things go awry when a handsome stranger appears.

Cinetic Media and CAA Media Finance are arranging the financing and representing the domestic rights along with WME. Madriver International is overseeing international sales and bringing the title to the Cannes virtual market.

"This is my first movie with a plot and my first movie taking place in Texas. It's fun and it's sexy and it's shaped by the Hollywood movies that made me want to become a filmmaker. I've loved Rachel and Colin's work forever, and am so honored to be able to excite their passion for serious and unexpected work as well," said Solondz.

[Reel]