Tribeca Festival 2021 Review and Interview: Director Nick Moran talks ‘Creation Stories’

CREATION STORIES

Creation Stories tells the unforgettable tale of infamous Creation Records label head Alan McGee; and of how one written-off young Glaswegian upstart rose to irrevocably change the face of British culture.

I was immediately charmed by director Nick Moran after congratulating him on Creation Stories. “Oh, Thank You! I was very concerned about whether it would work with American audiences, ya know because Trainspotting didn’t work as big as it did over here. And ya know, Lock, Stock, (and Two Smoking Barrels) didn’t work as big as it did over here. So I’m like, are they gonna get this sort of Brit Pop-tastic film. And I’m really excited that everyone I’ve spoken to has really, really liked the film.” I assured him that any cinephile in the US knows what those Trainspotting and Lock, Stock are. I was hard-pressed to find a wall in college without one or both of those posters plastered on them. It was a cultural phenomenon in the late 90s. These films opened the minds of countless fans and future filmmakers.

Creation Stories is of a similar ilk. The film’s pace is like a runaway freight train, easily identifying itself as an Irvine Welsh script. In an early scene, young Allen discovers the Sex Pistols. There is joyous, visceral energy to the editing. Moran was the perfect choice for director. After having spoken with him, it all makes even more sense now. This matches Nick’s personal energy. The entire viewing experience of Creation Stories brought me back to when I was in high school and got riled up on the way to live shows or just listening to bands like Oasis. Having to wait in front of the radio for a song to play, that buzzy anticipation isn’t something today’s generation experiences.

Allen McGee was a hustler and a dreamer. But also an addict. His vices were drugs and alcohol, but also risk. His innate ability to take risks on bands changed the face of music. His influence reached beyond the music industry. McGee had his hands in more than the music scene. His stories are so wild you’d almost believe that they were total BS. Ewen Bremner nails this role. He captures Allen McGee‘s dizzying aura. Allen went from a kid excited about music to establishing an inspired empire. Bremner leaves it all on the screen surrounded by a cast of brilliant players like Jason Isaacs, Suki Waterhouse, Leo Flanagan, and many more, including a brief but memorable appearance from Nick Moran as Malcolm McLaren. The way Moran harnesses Welsh and Dean Cavanagh‘s script melds so well with the era. Bringing on Danny Boyle solidified the film version. The drugs, the parties, the hair, and clothing. The entire look of the film has the impression of what I imagine a really great acid trip feels like. It’s a whirlwind. I cannot begin to imagine what was shot and not used! I would not be mad at an eventual director’s cut version.

Let’s talk about the music. The soundtrack is nothing short of a hit. Combining tracks from The Jesus and Mary Chain, David Bowie, Sex Pistols, and yes, Oasis, Moran explains how he chose what would be featured in the film. “It wasn’t much of a learning curve for me, It was more of a case of going through the record collection I’ve already got, brushing the dust off a few of them, and going, ‘Well, what about this?’ ” He perfectly sums up Creation Stories by saying, “If you don’t know that music, then it’s a great discovery!” It’s a celebratory history lesson in a way.

You can watch Creation Stories through Tribeca At Home beginning tonight. Check out the trailer for a taste of what’s to come.

Available Starting

Wed June 16 – 8:00 PM

At Home

$15

Streaming Tribeca at Home is not available outside the USA

Purchased films remain available to stream on-demand from the above date through June 23

 

Review: ‘BURN’ will knock you for a loop.

SYNOPSIS: BURN follows a lonely, unstable gas station attendant Melinda (Tilda Cobham-Hervey), tired of being overshadowed by her more confident, outgoing co-worker Sheila (Suki Waterhouse).   When the gas station is held at gunpoint by Billy (Josh Hutcherson), a desperate man in need of quick cash, Melinda finds an opportunity to make a connection with the robber, regardless of who gets hurt.

The young cast has fiery energy, pardon the pun. Suki Waterhouse is a fantastic, atypical pretty girl with a bitch streak. Harry Shum, Jr. is charming as the local newbie cop. Josh Hutcherson, who I cannot help but picture in his now-iconic Hunger Games role, is undeniably strong. The emotional highs and lows of his situation are striking. The real star is our leading lady, Melinda. Tilda Cobham-Hervey is haunting in both her physicality and nuance. She keeps you on the edge of your seat all while tapping into that lonely place we all have inside ourselves. The film begs the question, who is the real villain in this story? It tackles self-harm, isolation, and flips the classic power structure on its head in truly shocking ways. The plot is unique and it will go places you are not expecting. BURN will cause you internal struggle and that is what makes it pretty damn spectacular.

Momentum Pictures will release the thriller BURN in Theaters, On Demand and Digital on August 23, 2019.

Written and directed by Mike Gan (No Evil) who is making his feature directorial debut, the film stars Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games Films), Suki Waterhouse (Insurgent), Tilda Cobham-Hervey (Hotel Mumbai), Harry Shum Jr. (Crazy Rich Asians) and Shiloh Fernandez (Evil Dead).

Tribeca Film Festival 2019 Review: ‘Charlie Says’ flips the script on the Manson girls.

 

Charlie Says

Charlie Says, directed by masterful filmmaker Mary Harron and written by Guinevere Turner, tells the familiar story through fresh eyes—those of Manson’s most devoted girls, van Houten (Game of Thrones’ Hannah Murray), Patricia Krenwinkel (Sosie Bacon), and Susan Atkins (Marianne Rendón). Thanks to a devoted prison educator who slowly draws the women out from years of a madman’s mesmerizing and abusive spell (Matt Smith), the women’s story is told in eerily detailed flashbacks, forcing them to reflect on the path that leads them to such unforgivable crimes.

This is not a story about Charles Manson. This is a story about three women who were manipulated by a mentally ill man who convinced them they were loved. Patricia Krenwinkel, Susan Atkins, and Leslie Van Houten, all came to be followers of Charles Manson because they were lost and looking for someone to make them feel important. It’s the performance from Hannah Murray, Sosie Bacon, and Merritt Wever that catapult this story forward. Wever, in particular, is the heartbeat that guides these broken girls into reality. Bacon represents every girl that needed Manson (played by Matt Smith with a quiet but fiercely alarming power) to be their father figure. Murray, as Leslie, is the audience. You feel for these ladies through intercut flashbacks and prison scenes. Each like a peek behind the curtain and into the insanity of a man who thought the Beatles were speaking to him through the ‘White Album”. These women were brainwashed sex slaves. It wasn’t until a feminist teacher Karlene Faith, with enough empathy to teach these women, did anyone begin to realize that they too were victims alongside those murdered. The film is chilling. The structure is disturbingly effective. You end up caring about these women who history has taught us to loathe. Charlie Says is not about Charles Manson. I’ll say it again. Charlie Says is not about Charles Manson. It is about the victims he kept closest to him.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Mary Harron is the writer and director of films including American PsychoThe Moth DiariesI Shot Andy Warhol, and The Notorious Bettie Page. Her television credits include episodes of The L WordSix Feet UnderBig Love, and Oz, and, most recently, The Following (FOX), Constantine (NBC), and Graceland (USA).

‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’ Gets a Release Date

Pride-and-Prejudice-and-Zombies

Screen Gems has officially set a release date for Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, the Burr Steers’ adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith’s re-imagining of the Jane Austen classic. The film will be released on February 19, 2016. February is normally a month in which studios dump their not so stellar films, so hopefully this scheduling doesn’t foreshadow a mediocre release.

The film tells the classic tale of the tangled relationships between lovers from different social classes in 19th century England, but they must also faced with a new challenge, an army of undead zombies who want to eat their brains!!

The movie stars Lily James (Cinderella) as Elizabeth, Bella Heathcote (Dark Shadows) as Jane, Ellie Bamber (A Mother’s Son) as Lydia, Millie Brady (Mr. Selfridge) as Mary, Suki Waterhouse (The Divergent Series: Insurgent), Sam Riley (Maleficent) as Mr. Darcy, Jack Huston (Boardwalk Empire) as Wickham and Matt Smith (Doctor Who) as Mr. Collins.

The New ‘The Divergent Series: Insurgent’ Trailer Has Arrived

insurgent-movieThe new trailer for the highly anticipated sequel The Divergent Series: Insurgent has just been released and we have it for you now! Check it out below!

Based on Insurgent, the second book in the Divergent trilogy, written by Veronica Roth, the film is directed by Robert Schwentke and stars Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Octavia Spencer, Suki Waterhouse, Jonny Weston and Naomi Watts.

Following the events of Divergent, Tris (Shailene Woodley) and Four (Theo James) search for allies and answers in the wake of the uprising. Being hunted by Jeanine Matthews (Kate Winslet), the leader of the Erudite faction, Tris and Four will race against time as they try to figure out what Abnegation sacrificed their lives to protect, and why the Erudite leaders will do anything to stop them. Haunted by her past choices but desperate to protect the ones she loves, Tris faces one impossible challenge after another as she unlocks the truth about the past and ultimately the future of her world.

The Divergent Series: Insurgent hits theaters March 20, 2015

The Teaser Trailer for ‘Insurgent’ has Arrived!

Teaser Poster
Summit Entertainment has released the first teaser trailer for the second film in The Divergent Series titled Insurgent and we have it for you! Read More →