Utopia Launches ‘Pavements' On '90s Indie Band As Hybrid Music Doc/Satire Hits The Road
Each stop of the road show from LA (sold out preview at Vidiots on the 8th) and Brooklyn next weekend (also holding at the Film Forum) to San Francisco, Nashville, Knoxville, Portland and Chicago — feature sold and selling-out sessions with directors and band members whose film is as much a satire of a music doc as the real thing. Actual archival footage and interviews alternate with a movie-within-a-movie that has actors playing band members (Joe Keery as Stephen Malkmus; Fred Hechinger as Bob Nastanovich; Natt Wolff as Scott Kannenberg) and Jason Schwartzman as Chris Lombardi, founder of the group's label Matador Records. There's a reimagining of an actual theatrical production called Slanted! Enchanted! and a museum memorabilia show.
More from Deadline
'Rust', Western With A Tragic Past, Honors Work Of Slain Cinematographer, Proceeds Will Go To Her Family - Specialty Preview
'Pink Floyd at Pompeii - MCMLXXII' Remastered Concert Film Rocks Indie Weekend
Faith-Based 'The King Of Kings', 'The Chosen' With Hatsune Miku Anime, 'Pride & Prejudice' Re-Release Indie Standouts Easter Weekend - Specialty Box Office
The venerable slacker indie rock band came together in 1989 in Stockton, California.
Utopia's head of marketing and distribution Kyle Greenberg says the Film Forum audience is multigenerational from Gen Z to boomers checking out the film with long lines and strong walk-up traffic. 'As we find on many releases, bands that might be a bit older, because of discoverability these days, there is a chance … for these bigger acts' to find new audiences.
The indie film scene is a tough one and the overall marketplace crowded with new studio fare barreling into theaters at its fastest pace in months. Pavements' marketing, Greenberg says, will be 'hyper-localized' to the road show and mostly driven by social with paid picking up as word-of-mouth builds. The film will play a single screen in each market this month, leaning into its arthouse partners and activations around each theater, some of which will play bonus music videos before and after screenings. Others are creating Pavement museums and artifacts, 'having fun with the meta aspects of the film.' Before the real trailer hit (watch it here), Utopia released a fake teaser for the fake movie-within-the-movie.
Other indie openings: Greenwich Entertainment's , a new adaptation of Françoise Sagan's coming-of-age novel, had a terrific debut with $102.6k on 228 screens.
, a difficult movie to release, grossed $25k at 115 theaters, presented by Falling Forward Films.
from Big World Pictures opened to $8.1k at the Film Forum.
Oscilloscope's debuted at $5.2k. Joel Potrykus's fifth feature is a NYT Critics Pick and 98% with critics on RT. expands to additional screenings in NY and Los Angeles next weekend.
Wide/moderate release indies include no. 7, Angel Studios' animated , which is sticking around in week 4 with $1.8 million on 2,035 screens. Closing on a $57.7 million cume.
A24 is no. 8 with Warfare in week 4 on 1,315 screens for a $1.27 milion weekend and a $24 million cume.
Sailesh Kolanu's Telugu breakout from Prathyangira debuted at no. 9 with $870k weekend on 590 screens, for a $2.1 million cume, as per Comscore.
And from Roadside Attractions starring Nicolas Cage rounded out the top ten at $675k on 884 screens.
Best of Deadline
2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery
Brad Pitt's Apple 'F1' Movie: Everything We Know So Far
Everything We Know About 'Nine Perfect Strangers' Season 2 So Far
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
June Squibb sparks Oscar buzz for ‘Eleanor the Great': Everything to know about Scarlett Johansson's directorial debut as trailer debuts
For the second year in a row, June Squibb is generating Oscar buzz. The 95-year-old actress, who received critical acclaim for her first leading role in the 2024 comedy Thelma, is once again in awards contention with Eleanor the Great. Helmed by Scarlett Johansson in her feature directorial debut, the film premiered to mixed reviews at the 2025 Venice Film Festival — but all were glowing for Squibb. Watch the trailer below and keep reading for everything you need to know. More from Gold Derby Emmys upheaval: 'The Late Show With Stephen Colbert' now predicted to win Best Variety Talk Series Beyoncé finally wins an Emmy after 10 nominations: See all the 2025 juried winners What's it about? Written by Tory Kamen, Eleanor the Great focuses on the titular Eleanor (Squibb), who moves to New York from Florida after the death of her best friend and roommate, Bessie, a Holocaust survivor. The story takes a turn when Eleanor finds herself sitting in a Holocaust survivors' support group and proceeds to share Bessie's story as her own. Complications ensue. When does it come out? Sony Pictures Classics will release Eleanor the Great on Sept. 26. Who's in the cast? Joining Squibb onscreen is an impressive ensemble that includes Oscar nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor as Roger, a local news anchor; Jessica Hecht as Eleanor's daughter, Lisa; Erin Kellyman as Nina, an aspiring journalist; and Rita Zohar as Bessie, Eleanor's lifelong best friend. Who's behind the scenes? Collaborating with Johansson behind the camera are cinematographer Hélène Louvart, editor Harry Jierjian, and composer Dustin O'Halloran, an Oscar nominee in 2017 for his score for Lion. Producers for the film include Johansson, Jessamine Burgum, Charlotte Dauphin, Kara Durrett, Keenan Flynn, Jonathan Lia, Celine Rattray, and Trudie Styler. Awards potential There's already early buzz surrounding Squibb, who kicked off her awards campaign by presenting alongside Johansson at the 2025 Oscars. Following the film's premiere in Cannes back in May, the veteran actress earned a standing ovation for her performance, which critics described as "a pure joy from start to finish," and "the finest performance of her career." Squibb currently sits in 11th place in Gold Derby's early Oscar odds for Best Actress at the 2026 Academy Awards. While she may be seen as an underdog for the Oscar, her chances could improve at the Golden Globes, where six nominees are recognized in both the drama and comedy/musical categories. However, any recognition for the film beyond Squibb's performance is considered an outside shot at this stage. If nominated for an Oscar, it would mark Squibb's second Academy Award nod. Her first came in 2014 when she earned a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her standout role in Nebraska. Best of Gold Derby Everything to know about 'The Batman 2': Returning cast, script finalized Tom Cruise movies: 17 greatest films ranked worst to best 'It was wonderful to be on that ride': Christian Slater talks his beloved roles, from cult classics ('Heathers,' 'True Romance') to TV hits ('Mr. Robot,' 'Dexter: Original Sin') Click here to read the full article. Solve the daily Crossword
Forbes
21 hours ago
- Forbes
Venice Immersive 2025: A Community, An Island, And The Year's Must-See XR
When Venice launched its immersive section in 2017, it became the first A-list festival to treat XR on par with feature films. Nine editions later, Venice Immersive remains the only competitive XR program at a major international festival. It now fills the Lazzaretto Vecchio, a former plague quarantine station a three-minute vaporetto ride from the Lido, with 69 works from 27 countries. The head programmers of Venice Immersive, Liz Rosenthal and Michel Reilhac, see their mission as more than curating the year's best VR, MR, and hybrid experiences. They want to foster a global creative community, one that returns each year to share work, swap ideas, and test the limits of immersion. 'It's a celebration not just of the works,' Reilhac said, 'but of a community in the making and an art form in the making.' Three Lions for XR Venice awards three Lions in XR: the Grand Prize, Special Jury Prize, and Achievement Prize, judged by an international jury with the same ceremony, red carpet, and press attention as the feature film awards. 'These details may sound trivial,' Reilhac said, 'but they're symbolically charged. They signal we're treating this as a full art form.' That parity extends to the rules: competition titles must be world premieres, with some exceptions for international premieres. This year's competition includes 30 projects, from intimate single-viewer works to multiplayer mixed-reality performances. Defining Immersive The curators revisit the definition of 'immersive' each year. 'For us, it is defined by some kind of technology-driven interface that allows for some kind of interactivity—or none,' Reilhac said. But they also program pieces that sit outside headsets, using phones, projections, or other digital interfaces. "Ancestors," featured in the Best of Experiences section, is a 70-minute AI-driven performance by The Smartphone Orchestra, known for its technology-centered productions. At SXSW, about sixty of us used a dedicated app that began by asking for a selfie. The app then showed each participant a photo of a young woman — our imagined future daughter — whose face was a blend of our image and that of a stranger in the audience. The goal was to find this 'future spouse,' identified by carrying the same image on their phone. Couples were paired with others the same way. By the finale, it was revealed that everyone in the room was connected as part of an expansive, multi-generational family. Rosenthal, who also experienced 'Ancestors' at SXSW described the work as 'deeply profound.' In Competition Tender Claws' Face Jumping, uses eye-tracking on the Meta Quest Pro to let participants swap perspectives with what looked like ghosts, by locking gazes with them. You literally are seeing the world from another perspective. The ghosts are interactive, but they are not live performers featured in co-director Samantha Gorman's previous VR theater productions The Under Presents and The Tempest. Black Cats & Chequered Flags puts four players in a mixed-reality pit stop, reliving the career of Italy's only two-time Formula 1 champion, Alberto Ascari. Story sequences explore his family, superstitions, and untimely fate. Blur blends live performance with VR to create a liminal space between life and death, fact and fiction. Ten audience members share the journey, encountering both wonder and dread in this surreal theatre piece. Creation of the Worlds takes audiences inside more than 60 paintings by Lithuanian artist M.K. Čiurlionis, evolving them into living worlds. Viewers shift from observer to creator, guided by a contemporary reimagining of the artist's music. Mulan 2125 reimagines the Chinese legend. In a post-apocalyptic future, Earth is tainted by an alien substance that Mulan must repel to save her people. The Clouds Are Two Thousand Meters Up adapts Wu Ming-yi's novel into a roaming VR journey of grief, myth, and ecological mystery. With no controllers—just walking and looking—you follow prompts into new chapters, from forest to dreamscape. The Great Orator is an open-world, AI-driven narrative about a preacher whose identity blurs with that of her followers. Visitors decide what's real, shaping her memories in a world that shifts with real-world events. Asteroid, directed by Doug Liman, is a 180° short film about a desperate asteroid-mining mission. After the screening, the story continues through a phone call from an AI-driven character left behind. 8PM and the Cat is a generative meditation on grief, following an artist who lost his partner in Seoul's Itaewon crowd crush. Every run is unique, with images and monologues created in real time. A Long Goodbye invites you into the life of a pianist living with dementia, piecing together memories through objects in her apartment. As her world fills in like a painting, so does her sense of self. Mirage pairs VR with hand tracking and a haptic vest in a desert-set allegory for depression and anxiety. The audience's challenge is to help the young protagonist, though accepting help proves difficult for her. The Exploding Girl VR is a visceral portrait of anger, with the protagonist erupting—sometimes seven times a day—as an expression of the world's fraying edges. Directors Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel turn fury into poetry. Sense of Nowhere is a dreamlike navigation from 'no-where' to 'now-here,' inspired by Taoism, Buddhism, and Jung's active imagination. The player's task is to reassemble fragmented thoughts into a return to the present. Best of Experience Section Ghost Town, from Fireproof Games, is a cinematic VR puzzle-adventure set in a deserted settlement. Its seamless production design makes it equally rewarding for gamers and newcomers. Wall Town Wonders turns your home's walls into a playground, using mixed reality to build and populate an entire town. It's whimsical, but with substantial story and character arcs. One True Path is a narrative-rich VR game from the creators of A Fisherman's Tale. Players navigate a branching journey that rewards exploration and experimentation. The Midnight Walk takes players on a fantastical stroll through shifting dream environments, combining VR's scale with a narrative spine. The Worlds of VRChat Venice's 'Best of Worlds' remains a unique platform showcase. Guided tours take audiences through elaborate VRChat environments, from surreal dreamscapes to intricate social hubs. 'The community there is so well established and technically adept,' Rosenthal said, 'we find things we'd never imagine.' The Island Experience Venice Immersive's physical setting is integral to its appeal. 'The fact that you have to take a boat produces a networking effect,' Reilhac said. Industry, artists, and press spend days together in the island's garden, attending Q&As, panels, and market pitches. This year the market includes 14 projects seeking financing and 10 from the Biennale College Immersive program. The Festival designed the visit to mimic cinema's rituals: bookings instead of queues, trained docents, and an emphasis on presentation. 'We wanted to start a real exhibition culture for these experiences,' Rosenthal said, 'which didn't exist back in 2017.' XR in the Context of Cinema Venice positions XR not as the future of cinema, but as a parallel art form that draws from its own spatial language. 'Immersive stems from cinema, inherits from it, but is its own art form,' Reilhac said. Rosenthal sees a trend toward cinematic forms as XR creators master their tools: 'World-building, cinema, and emotional engagement with characters are becoming central.' That convergence is evident in this year's picks, where big-budget hybrids like Asteroid sit alongside intimate pieces like A Long Goodbye and experimental theatre like Blur. A Gathering Like No Other Venice Immersive offers something rare: a place where the entire spectrum of XR from commercial games, to fine art, and narrative XR all under one curatorial vision. For creators, it is a proving ground with the symbolic weight of the Golden Lion. For this very select and lucky audience, Venice Immersive is both a survey of the state of the art and a living lab for what immersive storytelling can become.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Richard Johnson: Jude Law rendered unrecognizable on set as Vladimir Putin
NEW YORK — Jude Law went bald and wore so much make-up to play Vladimir Putin in 'The Wizard of the Kremlin' that one of the movie's executive producers, Thomas Pierce, didn't recognize him. 'He was in full prosthetics. His head was shaved. And he was speaking with a Russian accent,' Pierce told me. 'It was as if Vladimir Putin had walked into the room.' The movie, shot in Latvia, will premiere Aug. 31 at the Venice International Film Festival. Law wasn't happy to shave his head, but was committed to the role. 'He gained 20 lbs.,' Pierce said. Pierce, who also produced 'The Brutalist' with Adrien Brody, co-financed 'The Queen of Fashion' starring Emilia Clarke as Isabella Blow. Blow, a Brit who worked for Vogue and discovered designer Alexander McQueen, suffered from bipolar depression and committed suicide in 2007 at the age of 48. McQueen also died by suicide three years later at 40 years old. Blow's friend Daphne Guinness, who bought her collection of clothing at auction, provided fashion for the film. Guinness once explained, 'She was upset that Alexander McQueen didn't take her along when he sold his brand to Gucci. Once the deals started happening, she fell by the wayside. Everybody else got contracts, and she got a free dress.' Pierce will host a party for the film Sept. 1 in a private palazzo in Venice to benefit his charity Children's Oncology Support Fund. 'It's a fashion feast for the eyes,' he said of the biopic. **** Sean Combs — in jail in Brooklyn until at least October — will be able to resume his rap music career once he is freed, said DJ Prince Hakim, son of Robert 'Kool' Bell of Kool & the Gang. 'I think he'll be richer and bigger,' Hakim said. 'We are forgiving people.' Hakim and his Kool Kids Foundation just hosted its sixth annual golf outing at the Cedar Hill Country Club in Livingston, New Jersey, where Lawrence Taylor and Ja Rule competed. Preparing to perform, the cover band Yani was doing a sound check and played Ja Rule's 'Always on Time' when he grabbed a mic and started rapping with her. 'He put it on Instagram and got a million views, and she posted it and got a million more,' Hakim said. The outing raised $100,000 after expenses to provide musical instruments and uniforms to marching bands in Newark. Ty Muse, the CEO and President of Visions Federal Credit Union, donated $20,000 and put up another $10,000 after meeting the kids in the band who played three Kool & the Gang songs. Hakim, whose new song 'She Bad' was inspired by Janet Jackson, said he met the icon twice. 'We love Janet. She's still bad.' **** Tina Brown remembers Sept. 14, 2001, when as editor-in-chief of Talk magazine, she was able to 'get in to report on the barricaded, cop-crawling site of Ground Zero in lower Manhattan,' she writes on Substack. With her was her former Talk partner Harvey Weinstein, whom she describes as 'a lifelong news junkie' who had to see the site for himself, 'as if it was a VIP area at a U2 concert.' She recalled seeing the smoky remnants of the buildings and the 'ghostly figures of ash-covered first responders' while Weinstein seemed to have something else on his mind. 'It was here, in this epic site of tragedy and loss, that I heard Harvey yell at his Afghan driver, 'Assan! Get me a Diet Coke!'' Brown says he later complained the soda was ''not cold enough.'' **** The geniuses who created the American Eagle ad starring Sydney Sweeney as someone with great jeans/genes knew the campaign would be controversial. 'It was a calculated set-up in order to attain millions upon millions in free media,' said one public relations exec. 'No way American Eagle didn't think this through.' American Eagle shares were up 25% following the ads' launch. **** Southampton will be crowded Aug. 26 and 27 when 700 people converge on the Parrish Art Museum for the Opal Group's Family Office & Private Wealth Legacy Summit. Among the 100 speakers are David Petraeus, the U.S. Army general who headed the CIA; former Yankee Johnny Damon; Candace Bushnell; Julia Haart; independent mayoral candidate Joseph Hernandez; and Wilbur Ross, the former U.S. secretary of Commerce who wrote 'Risks and Returns.' The well-heeled guests, seeking guidance on how to handle their fortunes, will take side trips to see horse show jumping at the Hamptons Classic and to meet Jacques Cousteau's grandson Fabian aboard his research vessel. 'It's a summer camp for millionaires,' said Abe Wellington, who founded the Opal Group. **** Prince is back in the public eye. His 1987 film 'Prince: Sign o' the Times,' that he directed and starred in with Sheila E., has been re-released and is now in IMAX theaters. This has increased the demand for items owned by the rock god. Last year, his 'Cloud 3' guitar sold for $910,000, and the white ruffled shirt he wore in 'Purple Rain' went for $75,000. Now, the Lenox china set that Prince personally designed for his wedding to Mayte Garcia on Valentine's Day in Minneapolis in 1996 is being offered for sale by M.S. Rau in New Orleans for $12,500. This five-piece dinner set fuses his legendary Love Symbol with the letter 'M' for Mayte, encircled by a stylized piano keyboard border. See them at **** Jack Nicholson, Anjelica Huston, Cher and the late gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson were all patrons of the legendary J-Bar in the Hotel Jerome in Aspen, Colorado. The Aspen Art Fair just wrapped up its show in the hotel's gilded ballroom that was built in 1889. Isabelle Bscher's 57th Street-based Galerie Gmurzynska brought masterworks by Robert Indiana, Louise Nevelson, Tom Wesselmann, Will Cotton and Andy Warhol's late protégé Ronnie Cutrone, which proved to be the standout pieces at the fair. **** Opera diva Radmila Lolly has big plans for a trilogy of stylish thrillers based on a femme fatale character named Karina she created on a long flight. 'Karina is a seductive mastermind,' said Lolly, who is already in talks with streaming services about a possible series based on 'Life Is a Bridge.' 'The story is like nothing you have read before,' she promised. Now back to your keyboard. ____________
