CHRIS GALLETA'S TOY'S HOUSE SELLS TO CBS FILMS & GETS GREAT REVIEWS

Colony alum Chris Galleta's ('10) film, TOY'S HOUSE, premiered Tuesday night at Sundance and was quickly picked up for distribution by CBS Films.

From the official press release, director Jordan Vogt-Roberts had this to say:

“TOY’S HOUSE couldn’t have found a better home than with CBS Films. We set out to make a comedy that was hilarious and full of heart – but most importantly we set out to make a comedy that was engaging. CBS Films is so passionate about this movie and share my thoughts that comedy can be poignant and beautiful. The response at Sundance has been overwhelming and I can’t wait for CBS Films to share TOY’S HOUSE with audiences everywhere.”

The film has been getting great reviews in the Hollywood Reporter and other online news outlets, with Indiewire calling it, "Idiosyncratic & Hilarious, Toy’s House’ Heralds The Arrival Of A Fresh New Comic Voice." Here is another at /Film. No word yet on a release date.

To see the full press release visit the link here at Deadline.com.

TRAILER: JENNY DELLER'S FUTURE WEATHER

The official trailer for Jenny Deller's ('09) FUTURE WEATHER is here and on iTunes!

The film opens in theaters February 22nd. Check the official website for tickets and showtimes.

JOHN SUMMEROUR ('06) TALKS ABOUT THE MOMENT THAT CHANGED IT ALL

John Henry Summerour's ('06) first feature film, SAHKANAGA, opens in New York City and Atlanta this Friday (December 7th) John recounts here the moment he got the news that he'd be heading to Nantucket to develop the script for SAHKANAGA.

"Six years ago I was leaving my shift at a coffee shop in NYC and waiting in line at a CVS when my phone rang. At the coffee shop (and I imagine at all coffee shops, all over the world) it is incredibly dismissive, demeaning and impractical to stand in line chatting with your mother (people are always talking to their mothers) while the exhausted and deeply depressed employee tries in vain to get your attention and extract an order so that the line can keep moving, others can get served, and we can all go home, where we invariably think about how horrible our lives are and cling to the tiny hope that tomorrow, maybe, people won't be so awful. 

(John Henry Summerour directing Trevor Neuhoff and Kristin Rievley in SAHKANAGA)

So I'm at CVS, and my phone rings. I don't recognize the number and for some reason that always intrigues me enough that I have to answer, but I don't want to be that self-involved prick blabbing in line and giving the perfectly innocent CVS employee The Finger (you know, when you ask, "How can I help you?" and the blabberer erects his index finger, thrusting it at you like an exaggerated shush, in case you're dumber than you look). I swiftly calculate the number of people ahead of me, how many items they appear to be buying, plus the speed and efficiency of the CVS staff. The odds look favorable that I can answer the phone and deal with the call in time to hang up and interact with the consideration of human decency. 

It should also be noted that I hate talking on the phone. Either I don't hear very well from years of aural abuse (screaming family members + loud music), or I have a severe, undiagnosed learning disability which causes my brain to ingest sound and morph it into new information that defies the rules of sense and logic. A ringing phone signals the terror of imminent communication meltdown. In the best of times, my confusion results in bemused wonder from the person I'm mishearing. Sometimes it gets ugly. 

I pick up and a tiny voice speaks to me from the world beyond. It's a cheerful voice. I try to sound pleased and surprised. We chirp pleasantries at each other, and the first 30 seconds of any call is key. It gives me time to adjust to the sound and start interpreting. The words Hey, Yeah and Oh can be used to effectively stall a conversation for at least 30 seconds when applied with an overly positive tone. During this time the line at CVS is moving forward and I'm trying to use my best library voice while figuring out who is on the other line. I hear "Nantucket" and "script" and the picture slowly comes together. It's Chase Palmer from the Screenwriters Colony, and he's calling to tell me that I have been accepted, and can I fly to the Nantucket Film Festival in two weeks... or something. At this point I just start squawking Hey, Yeah and Oh repeatedly, trying to play with the order so there's some convincing variation. 

And suddenly I'm standing in front of the CVS employee who is looking at me like I'm one of "those people" and I want to jump over the counter and hug her and say, "No! I'm one of you, and I'm flying to Nantucket, and you can too! We can all fly away and become our best selves and escape the monotony of serving people who compulsively call their mothers because they're so lost and sad and they spend their empty days trolling the CVS and the coffee shop, searching for a line to stand in that will give their spineless existence some structure, hoping that someone will serve them and subsequently pay attention to them so that they don't feel so desperately alone." But the happy Chase Palmer voice is singing to me and I'm filled with extreme elation and crushing guilt while making a phone sandwich between my skull and right shoulder, and my hands flail around, digging through pockets, picking at dollar bills, and I'm sure at some point I make the absolutely insane decision to count out exact change from a coin purse, which is the definitive move of "those people," so I have to just own it and keep smiling. Luckily the CVS employee can tell I'm not practiced at this sort of horrifying behavior, or at least I'm hoping she can see that I'm on her team and the look on her face falls into the "bemused wonder" category of social interaction. I grab whatever forgettable item I was there to purchase and do a goofy sidestep out the automated doors and into the exhilarating, bruising NYC summertime heat. 

That was the seed of hope the Screenwriters Colony planted in 2006, the moment when I transformed from a guy who sits at home in the dark typing out his obsessions in screenplay form to a real, live screenwriter. That was the moment I began taking my future as a filmmaker seriously. The Colony launched me on this journey, and six years later I have a finished feature-length script, a short film, a feature film, fellowships, awards, distribution deals, new friends, incredible collaborators, world travels, and the images in my head projected onto movie screens before hundreds of strangers. 

I still work at the coffee shop, but now when I try to take someone's order and he gives me The Finger, I can hand him a postcard advertising the theatrical opening of my debut feature film, and then I can move on.

Next please!"

For tickets go here or to the film's event page on Facebook. And here is a link to the official website.

John Henry Summerour grew up in Chickamauga, GA, the son of a Methodist minister. He attended NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and the British American Drama Academy in London. His first short film, CHICKAMAUGA, was co-produced by Chase Palmer of the Screenwriters Colony, and his first feature, SAHKANAGA, was developed at the Colony and went on to play multiple festivals, receiving theatrical distribution in 2012. John is the recipient of the IFP Narrative Lab Fellowship in NYC and TheFilmSchool's Great American Storyteller Prize in Seattle.

COLONIST JOHN HENRY SUMMEROUR'S ('06) SAHKANAGA OPENS DEC. 7TH

After an extraordinary year traveling to festivals worldwide, SAHKANAGA is opening on Dec. 7th at Brooklyn's reRun Theater and Atlanta's historic Plaza Theatre, presented by IFP, Filmmaker Magazine, & Filmwax. 

The writer and director, John Henry Summerour ('06), will be in Brooklyn for opening night (12/7) and in Atlanta for screenings on Dec. 8th & 9th and again in New York for the remaining screenings Monday through Thursday.

John wrote and developed the script at the Colony back in 2006 and went on to direct and produce the film with Miky Wolf. Since completion the film has played at countless international film festivals including its premiere at the Atlanta Film Festival and Rome International and winning several awards 

"In 2002, over 300 bodies were discovered on the property of the Tri-State Crematory in the Appalachian foothills of northwest Georgia, thrusting an unassuming, tight-knit community into the international spotlight. SAHKANAGA (meaning “Great Blue Hills of God” in Cherokee, pronounced “sock-uh-nogga”) imagines this event from the perspective of Paul, a teenager who stumbles upon the first body."

For tickets to the event in Brooklyn on the 7th go here or to the film's event page on Facebook.

And here is a link to the official website.

SUNDANCE 2013: COLONIST CHRIS GALLETTA'S ('10) TOY'S HOUSE IN FEATURE COMPETITION

Colonist Chris Galletta's ('10) first feature film TOY'S HOUSE will premiere in the U.S. Dramatic Competition category at Sundance Film Festival 2013.

Chris wrote the original screenplay that is directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts and produced by Big Beach films, who also produced SUNSHINE CLEANING written by colonist Meghan Holley ('04) and developed at the Colony.

The film is about "Three unhappy teenage boys who flee to the wilderness where they build a makeshift house and live off the land as masters of their own destiny. Or at least that’s the plan." 

The cast includes Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso, Moises Arias, Nick Offerman (Parks And Recreation), Megan Mullally (Children's Hospital), Alison Brie (Save The Date). 

(Galletta at the Colony in 2010)

Chris spent several years as a contributing writer to "The Late Show with David Letterman." In 2009, he sold his first screenplay, TOY'S HOUSE to Big Beach Films in 2010. Chris spent his time at the Colony working on a new script, THE HOLLANDSWORTH MAN.


Check this link for the full Sundance Lineup.

JAMES COHEN: THE WINDS (Week 2)

The Winds

After talking about my work this past weekend with Chris Vesper of the Sundance Channel (and resident stud Ben Robbins) and then watching the presidential debate last night, I'm more than ready to serve up another brilliant metaphor. Brace yourselves.

I'm feeling a new form of energy.

Is it sustainable? It fucking better be. Is it renewable? If there's coffee. It seems to depend on what kind of momentum I tap into each morning. Is this reinvigoration partly because I've spent much of my time here thinking, and now I need to generate? Absolutely.

It's windy out here in Nantucket. You hear various perspectives on your script-in-progress, and they're all truthful because they're real reactions felt by real people whom you admire and respect. It's not always easy to stay on course. You can get lost, or think you've discovered Asia when you're bashing into the Bahamas, or find yourself in irons, feeling rudderless.

How'm I doing? Getting sick yet?

Gimme a second.

There's a compass in writing. A North Star. Let's call it your instinct. Your gut. And although it's well worth harnessing gusts of insight from everyone who's passionate about your work - even when they're blowing in different directions - when you catch that wind that you can ride North - which is over here, by the way, not over there - it's a powerful thing.

I'm feeling it.

Let me guess. You have a note.

I'm mixing metaphors. Sailing? Turbines? Yes, they both use wind, but it's too easy. Lazy, really. Just pick a direction and go with it!

Ah. Welcome to the winds of Nantucket. May I take your order?

See what I did there? Bringing in globalization. This is serious business.

I need to convert this wind into energy, and this energy into pages, and these pages into good pages. Pages that meet the needs of our people for generations to come.

Give me four years. It'll get done.

SILKA LUISA: SEALS & MENTORS (Week 2)

Screenwriter Silka Luisa talks about settling in, writing, procrastination, and working with Mentor Jeremy Pikser (Bullworth, War Inc.)

Aside from getting lost in the moors, this week has been a dream - a steady stream of gourmet meals, afternoon jogs and seal watching. In addition to being pampered, I also started a sci-fi script. I’ll be writing this script for the first 3 weeks, while I get notes from my mentors on a thriller that I’ve already written. After I’ve collected a few rounds of notes, I’ll revise the thriller in the final week. Starting new pages on the sci-fi script has been… interesting. Whenever I’m starting something new, distractions seem even more tempting. De-activating Facebook became necessary pretty early on. After a few days of settling in though, I’ve finally hit my stride and the pages are starting to flow much better.

My meeting with my first mentor Jeremy Pikser was one of the best notes sessions I’ve ever had. We met for breakfast, which carried into lunch. After first figuring out what I was trying to accomplish, he spent five hours giving me page-by-page notes. He posed specific questions and helped me figure out how to clarify certain scenes. This left me aware of the script’s problems, but also gave me an idea of some ways to fix them. In talking with the other writers, we all agreed that the attitude of the person giving you notes is what makes all the difference. Is the person helping you write your movie or are they implementing their own vision? Jeremy was all about helping me clarify what I am trying to say. He was incredibly generous with his notes, both in the time he spent with me and the time he took to read the script closely. Most importantly, he pointed out the potential of my script and encouraged me to keep fighting to achieve it. Even though there’s still work to be done, the session left me energized.

The acceptable period of settling in is officially over. Hopefully, productivity this week will be much higher. I promise myself less seal watching and more pages.

STELLA MEGHIE: WHISKEY SESSIONS (Week 2)

Screenwriter Stella Meghie, forced to blog, gives some insight into the workflow of the past week:

It is officially week two which means it's time to take stock of what's actually been accomplished during week one apart from our lively evening whiskey sessions. There's an early panic as I read through a new draft of You Ain't Hip to Baby which leads to a panic that I don't really have time to write a blog post, but a friendly reminder from Colony Director Ben Robbins has gotten me here.

It's amazing what you can accomplish with no phone reception and a few talented writers to go back and forth with on your ideas. I think I've made some major strides forward. I can hope. On Friday things shifted from cobbled writing sessions to the arrival of the mentors for the weekend. I switched gears to discuss Jean of the Joneses. I can't tell you how much I appreciated my mentor (and our bike ride we struggled to finish). Her notes gave me a big push to reach my goal of polishing a script I've been working on the past four years.

Here's a photo of fellow colonist Silka Luisa taking a photo at sunset at a nearby beach this past weekend.

- Stella Meghie

Silka at Sunset.

RUSSELL HARBAUGH: WHAT I'VE WATCHED (Week 1)

Screenwriter Russell Harbaugh talks about movies that influence him in and out of the process:

On days where I have nothing to do but write, I enjoy taking breaks in the middle of the day and putting on a movie. I brought several films to look at again: WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOLF and SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE for public airings of things better left private; A NOS AMOURS for its unusual structure and breathless spontaneity; RULES OF THE GAME and A DAY IN THE COUNTRY for their formal illustrations of big, unwieldy groups of people; MURMUR OF THE HEART for its playful mix of taboo and adolescence; THE MOUTH AGAPE for its scenes of death and dying. These are all films that are particularly useful for different sequences of LOVE AFTER LOVE and I’ve kept them within easy reach for most of the past year and half as I’ve been whittling away at what, exactly, this movie is.

I don’t always enjoy watching things as research assignments, though, and I often find daydreaming during unrelated films to be as useful as investigating those that resemble what I’m writing. An early trip to the library has cluttered our living room with a stack of movies.

Here’s what I watched this week:
The Apartment (Billy Wilder, 1960)
The Shining (Stanly Kubrick, 1980)
September (Woody Allen, 1987)
Another Woman (Woody Allen, 1988)
Scenes from a Marriage (Ingmar Bergman, 1973)
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Mike Nichols, 1966)
A Nos Amours (Maurice Pialat, 1983)
The  Talented Mr. Ripley (Anthony Minghella, 1999)
Summer Hours (Olivier Assayas, 2008)
Extract (Mike Judge, 2009)

-Russell Harbaugh

JAMES COHEN: LAND HO! (Week 1)

We'll be hearing from the colonists directly about their experiences and work throughout their stay this month. Our first post is coming from screenwriter James Cohen:

Arriving in Nantucket on the Ferry.

LAND HO!
Ooh. Look. A lighthouse! How beautiful. On Saturday, when we arrived, it was a beacon of hope. I was Ahab, ready to tackle the rewrite. Five days later, I'm Kafka, and this little lighthouse pisses me off. It’s become a harrowing metaphor as I search for story and resolution in the the fog of my mind.

Okay.. I'm being melodramatic. It's really, really nice here. I love it. Everyone’s kind of awesome. The writing is going well. Or at least the thinking is. The plotting…

And I dig the light house. It’s been Instagrammed.

There is a point, kind of, I just haven’t made it yet. Writing is a lot like fishing. I've known this to be true my entire life, having grown up angling trout streams with my father and brother. I imagine that whaling, or scalloping, or whatever goes on here in Nantucket is a similar-ish meditation. These are disciplines that require patience, vision. Eventually, you hook onto something big, wrestle with it, and bring it to shore.

Okay. It's nothing like whaling - which I'm against, by the way - or scalloping, not that I've done that. I think you just grab those with your hand? And maybe I've confused whaling with whale watching, which I'm totally for. Who cares. But writing is like trout fishing. I stand by that. And I am patiently wading the shallow waters of my brain for the end to my script.

I know where it's going. The script, I mean. How I want it to turn out and everything.

Let me start over. I'm writing a screenplay. We all are. That's why we're here. We're screenwriters. In Nantucket. In a colony. That needs funding. Surely, you must know this by now. No?

In a draft or so, my little Moby Dick of a script will be where I want it to be. Which is "done." And if all goes well, this lovely 4-week sojourn will afford me the time and headspace to get it there.

Here's the deal with the draft…

My initial instinct, many moons ago, was to have the two main characters wind up apart. And then for some reason - I think it was common sense - I decided a romantic comedy couldn't end that way, and so I had them wind up together. But now I'm going back to having them apart. I’ve realized that common sense can be bad for storytelling, plus it's so predictably common and sensible. The "catch" is, I never wrote the version where they wind up apart at the very end. I just had it in my head, sort of. It needs to be written. And make sense. Not common sense. Uncommon sense. Fun sense. So that's what I'm doing here. In this farmhouse. In Nantucket. In the off-season. In my pajamas.

Joyce and Kyle will NOT end up together. Period.

There. I said it.

PS – I miss my wife.