Spencer Susser

HESHER Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 13th, 2011 at 7:07 am

Grief is an ugly, raw, complicated, and necessary emotion.  I’ve never been a big fan of the Kübler-Ross Model (also known as the Five Stages of Grief) because it seems like something constructed more to comfort those dealing with the grief-stricken rather than an honest explanation of the griever’s emotions.  It says “What stage are you at because you’re kind of bumming the rest of us out.”  Hesher gives a giant middle finger to a pat, easily digestible notion of grief and instead throws the viewer into the violent, angry emotions that arise when grieving over the loss of a loved one.  Unfortunately, it never goes much deeper than that and the thematic simplicity keeps Joseph Gordon-Levitt from giving an honest performance because he’s stuck playing a contrived one-dimensional character who merely serves to illustrate a point.  Then the film, which at least had the consistency to hammer home its single theme, shoots itself in the foot with an ending unworthy of its tone and attitude.

Director Spencer Susser Video Interview HESHER

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: May 9th, 2011 at 9:35 am

With writer/director Spencer Susser’s Hesher getting released this weekend, I recently got to speak with the filmmaker about directing his first feature after spending the last decade directing shorts.  Before going any further, if you haven’t seen the trailer, I suggest watching it here.  While the summer is filled with huge explosions and movies that cost hundreds of millions of dollars, I promise you…none of them feature a main character as crazy as Hesher.  Playing the lead is Joseph Gordon-Levitt and it’s an awesome performance. The film also stars Rainn Wilson, Natalie Portman, and Devin Brochu. Definitely recommended.

During the interview, Susser and I talked about the challenges of getting his film made, how did he land Metallica and why did he want their music, the editing process, casting the movie, and reveals he’s writing his short film, I Love Sarah Jane, as a feature.  Hit the jump to watch.  You can also watch my video interview with Gordon-Levitt here.

New HESHER Trailer Cut by Writer/Director Spencer Susser

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: April 8th, 2011 at 11:21 am

Most directors don’t cut trailers for their own movies.  They don’t have the time and studios pay millions of dollars to companies whose sole purpose is to cut a trailer that will appeal to the widest audience possible regardless of whether or not that trailer is an accurate representation of the movie it’s marketing.  But that is not so with the official trailer for Hesher that was cut by the film’s writer and director Spencer Susser.  If I can judge Hesher by its trailer, then I’ll have no idea what to make of Hesher but at least it’s an accurate misunderstanding.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer and a statement of support by star Joseph Gordon-Levitt.  The film also stars Devin Brochu, Rainn Wilson, and Natalie Portman.  Hesher opens May 13^th.

First Trailer for HESHER Starring Devin Brochu, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Natalie Portman, and Rainn Wilson

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: February 19th, 2011 at 2:46 pm

Hesher first premiered at Sundance 2010 over a year ago, and was quickly picked up by Newmarket Films.  Since then, Joseph-Gordon Levitt upped his star status to Inception level, and Natalie Portman is a newly minted Oscar nominee.  But it’s taken awhile for Hesher, directed by Spencer Susser, to get to the screen.  Perhaps because of the rough subject material: Gordon-Levitt plays an apathetic loner pyromaniac who inserts himself into the life of T.J. (Devin Brochu), a young boy that moved into his grandma’s house with his father (Rainn Wilson) after T.J.’s mother died.  Heavy stuff — not the easiest sell.

However, if this new trailer is any indication, Hesher is at least worth a look as a major showcase for Mr. Gordon-Levitt.  Watch it after the break.

Sundance 2010: Buyers Purchase TWELVE, HESHER and THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: January 28th, 2010 at 7:07 pm

With Sundance wrapping up this weekend, buyers are finally picking up some of films that premiered at the Festival.  In the last 24 hours, Joel Schumacher’s Twelve, Spencer Susser’s Hesher and Lisa Cholodenko’s The Kids Are All Right have been purchased by Hannover House, Newmarket Films and Focus Features.

I’ve seen two of the three films (Twelve and Hesher) and am not surprised that either sold.  While I didn’t care for Twelve, it’s about upper East Side rich kids in New York City and it stars Chace Chawford from Gossip Girl – so it’s an easy sell.  Hesher has an awesome performance from Joseph Gordon Levitt who has some great dialogue to work with.  And The Kids Are All Right has a great cast featuring Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska, Josh Hutcherson and Mark Ruffalo.  The film is about two teenaged children conceived by artificial insemination that get the notion to seek out their birth father and introduce him into the family life that their two mothers have built for them.

This weekend will see which films win the big Awards, so look for more films to sell soon.  We’ve been provided press releases for the sales of Hesher and The Kids Are All Right, so hit the jump if you want to read them:

First Images from HESHER – Premiering at Sundance 2010 – Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Natalie Portman

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: December 4th, 2009 at 8:55 am

With Sundance 2010 a little over a month away, over the next few weeks, we are going to be posting a ton of images from all the films premiering at the festival.  While I’d love to tell you about the buzz on some of the Sundance films, almost none of them have been seen outside of the people at Sundance who make the decisions.  That’s why posting these first look images is always so much fun, as this is the first time most of us have gotten any info on these movies and we can use the images and synopses to try and guess if the films will be good or bad.  Of course with a film like Hesher (directed by Spencer Susser) – which stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Natalie Portman – I’m pretty sure this will be a film worth checking out.  Hit the jump for the synopsis and the images.  Look for a lot more Sundance stuff from now till the festival:

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