Get Low

Director Aaron Schneider and Producer Dean Zanuck Interview GET LOW

by Sheila Roberts    Posted: July 31st, 2010 at 7:26 am

An 8-year labor of love for producer Dean Zanuck (Road to Perdition), Get Low is an entertaining and colorful story about one man’s last-ditch quest for redemption inspired by an eccentric 1930s Tennessee hermit known as Felix “Bush,” who famously came out of hiding to throw his own funeral party while he was still very much alive and kicking.

Based on a screenplay written by Chris Provenzano (Mad Men) and C. Gaby Mitchell (Blood Diamond), Get Low is directed by Aaron Schneider, a talented young filmmaker who makes his feature debut after winning the Academy Award for his short, Two Soldiers. The film features a terrific cast that includes Robert Duvall as the mysterious backwoods recluse, Bill Murray as the fast-talking funeral home owner who senses a big payday in the offing, Lucas Black as his young apprentice, and Sissy Spacek as a lonely widow and the only person in town who ever got close to Felix.

We sat down this week with Dean and Aaron to talk about their new film. They told us about the long evolution of their project, how a well written screenplay attracted such wonderful, iconic actors, and why a combination of good fortune, good timing and good instincts led to success. They also gave us an entertaining account of how they managed to wrangle one of the most elusive actor in Hollywood into their stellar cast.

Robert Duvall and Sissy Spacek Interview GET LOW

by Sheila Roberts    Posted: July 30th, 2010 at 1:10 pm

To get Get Low off the ground, the filmmakers knew they would need a highly skillful and creative actor in the lead role of Felix – someone capable of making a character who seems right out of a backwoods fable feel palpably real and alive. They found that quality in Robert Duvall, one of America’s most diverse and respected actors, and winner of the Academy Award for his performance as a broken-down country singer trying to turn his life around in Bruce Beresford’s Tender Mercies.

Sissy Spacek, an Oscar winner for her incisive portrait of Loretta Lynn in Coal Miner’s Daughter and whose work has been a staple of modern American filmmaking, was another important casting choice for the role of the strong, independent widow, Maddie, the old flame who thinks she is the only person on earth to have ever loved Felix, only to discover the terrible and long-hidden reason he never fully loved her back.  More after the jump:

Exclusive GET LOW Video Interviews with Producer Dean Zanuck, Director Aaron Schneider, Lucas Black, Sissy Spacek and Robert Duvall

by Sheila Roberts    Posted: July 29th, 2010 at 2:45 pm

Inspired by an American folktale that’s been passed down by storytellers for decades, Get Low is an entertaining and colorful tale about one man’s last-ditch quest for redemption.  The film is based on an eccentric 1930s Tennessee hermit known as Felix “Bush,” who famously came out of hiding to throw his own funeral party while he was still very much alive and kicking.  To draw a crowd to his highly irregular memorial, Felix sold lottery tickets offering his valuable plot of land as the prize.

An 8-year labor of love for producer Dean Zanuck (Road to Perdition), Get Low is directed by Aaron Schneider who makes his feature debut after winning the Academy Award for his short, Two Soldiers. Written by Chris Provenzano (Mad Men) and C. Gaby Mitchell (Blood Diamond), the film features a stellar cast that includes Robert Duvall as the mysterious backwoods recluse, Bill Murray as the fast-talking funeral home owner who senses a big payday in the offing, Lucas Black as his young apprentice, and Sissy Spacek as a lonely widow and the only person in town who ever got close to Felix.

We sat down this week with Dean Zanuck, Aaron Schneider, Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek and Lucas Black to talk about their new film. They told us how they first got involved with the project, what it was like to work together on location in Georgia, and what they hope an audience will take from their film.  Hit the jump to watch the interviews:

Posters for Indies GET LOW and ANIMAL KINGDOM

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: July 1st, 2010 at 12:42 pm

We have posters for the independent films Get Low and Animal Kingdom for your viewing pleasure.  Get Low is “equal parts folk tale, fable and real-life legend about the mysterious, 1930s Tennessee hermit who famously threw his own rollicking funeral party… while he was still alive.”  The film stars Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, Lucas Black, and Sissy Spacek.  Animal Kingdom “Tells the story of seventeen year-old J (Josh) as he navigates his survival amongst an explosive criminal family and the detective who thinks he can save him.”  I’ve heard both films are incredible and I can’t wait to check them out.

Hit the jump for the posters.  Get Low is due out on July 30th and Animal Kingdom opens on August 13th.

Brad Pitt and CRAZY HEART Director Scott Cooper Want to Tell the Tale of THE HATFIELDS AND THE MCCOYS

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: April 27th, 2010 at 8:20 pm

Robert Duvall dropped some very interesting knowledge at a recent Get Low press junket–namely, that Crazy Heart director Scott Cooper has been chatting with Brad Pitt about bring the infamous Hatfield/McCoy family feud to the cinemas.  According to Hollywood Elsewhere, Eric Roth (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) has assembled a script–appropriately titled The Hatfields and the Mccoys–with roles set aside for Duvall and Pitt.  Newly-minted Oscar-winner T-Bone Burnett would re-team with his Crazy Heart boss to provide the soundtrack.

If you’d like to learn a little more about the heated interactions between the Hatfields and the McCoys (I know I would!), I invite you to hit the jump.

GET LOW Trailer Starring Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, and Sissy Spacek

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: April 19th, 2010 at 11:58 am

I don’t know what to make of this trailer for Get Low.  It starts off looking like a quirky comedy about an old man (Robert Duvall) wanting a funeral party while he’s still alive.  But as the trailer progresses, the tone gets increasingly darker.  In her review from the Toronto Film Festival, Monika said the movie was, “undeniably smart, funny, and heart-wrenching piece.” Scott Weinberg over at Cinematical also saw the flick at TIFF and said the film was, “an excellent little dramatic piece that’s awash in humanity, warmth, insight, and wit.”  The Playlist‘s Luke Gorham said it was, “crowd-pleasing and solid, if ultimately unexceptional film.“  I’m certainly interested in seeing it and it looks like Duvall is going to turn in another great performance.  However, he does remind me of the SNL sketch where he played a character on a game show called, “Who’s More Grizzled?”  Sadly, I couldn’t find the video but here’s the transcript.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer and the official synopsis.  Get Low hits theaters on July 30th.

ShoWest 2010 Movie Posters – BEASTLY, SCOTT PLIGRIM VS. THE WORLD, KICK-ASS, GET LOW, MERCY, TWILIGHT, More

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: March 13th, 2010 at 10:59 pm

In a few days ShoWest starts up in Las Vegas.  If you haven’t heard of ShoWest, it’s a convention for theater owners and operators to see what’s new in their industry and be wined and dined by the Hollywood Studios. Basically, it’s Comic-Con for the people that make big decisions in the movie industry.

But the other reason ShoWest is cool is the studios send tons of movie posters and theater standees to the convention to pimp what they have coming.  And while the convention doesn’t begin till Monday, a friend of the site was there tonight and was able to snap a number of photos of what’s already on display.  So hit the jump for the posters for Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Little Fockers, Get Low, Beastly, Charlie St. Cloud, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, a 75th Anniversary 20th Century Fox poster, Ramona and Beezus, Mercy, The A-Team, The Losers, Toy Story 3 and theater standees for Kick-Ass, Nightmare on Elm Street, Clash of the Titans, and a lot more!

2010 Sundance Film Festival Out-of-Competition Films: Premieres

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 3rd, 2009 at 2:34 pm

Yesterday we gave you a list of all the films playing in-competition at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.  We now have the list of the films playing out-of-competition and they’re divided up into four categories: Premieres, Next, Spotlight, and Park City at Midnight. Since combining these lists would be a lot to read for just one article, we’ve broken it up to make it easier on your eyes.  You’re welcome.

Know that while there are a lot of films playing in-competition, most of the films to get buzz will be coming from the out-of-competition categories.  First up are the premiers which include John Wells’ The Company Men starring Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones and Kevin Costner; Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini’s The Extra Man starring Katie Holmes, John C. Reilly, and Paul Dano; Get Low starring Robert Duvall and Bill Murray; Michael Winterbottom’s The Killer Inside Me starring Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson, and Jessica Alba; and more.  Hit the jump to check out all of the films with brief synopsis for each.

The 2010 Sundance Film Festival will run from January 21-31^st.

GET LOW Review – TIFF ’09

by Monika Bartyzel    Posted: September 15th, 2009 at 11:23 pm

Sometimes patience is a virtue. While I’m not one to say “wait it out” often, I now implore you to keep you eye out for “Get Low,” see it at your earliest convenience, and be patient. This isn’t some quick-start film of immediate laughs and intrigue. Instead, it’s a wonderfully paced story that builds from the smallest morsel into an undeniably smart, funny, and heart-wrenching piece about one man’s quest to heal the pains of his past. And if big names are what will get you interested in the film, so be it: Robert Duvall. Bill Murray. Lucas Black. Sissy Spacek. Read on to learn about the magic of Aaron Schneider’s “Get Low.”

First Images from GET LOW and MOTHER AND CHILD

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: August 27th, 2009 at 10:22 am

Over the last week I’ve posted tons of new images from all the movies premiering at this year’s Toronto Film Festival. While I thought I was done, this morning I was able to snag a few new images from “Get Low” and “Mother and Child”. Both films have great casts, and Bill Murray is in “Get Low”, which means you should care about it. What can I say, huge fan. Anyway, after the jump check out the images along with synopsis’ for both films.

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