The First Time

Sony Pictures Picks Up Jonathan Kasdan’s Sundance Film THE FIRST TIME

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: March 21st, 2012 at 2:38 pm

A few months out from the festival, acquisitions of films that premiered at Sundance 2012 haven’t let up. Sony Pictures Worldwide announced today that they’ve acquired U.S. and Canadian rights to Jonathan Kasdan’s (In the Land of Women) The First Time. The film takes place over the course of one weekend and follows two high school students who fall in love. Though the logline may sound trite, the film picked up considerable notice at Sundance and drew comparisons to John Hughes’ filmography. Kasdan wrote and directed the pic, which stars Dylan O’Brien, Britt Robertson, Victoria Justice, and Craig Roberts.

Hit the jump to read the full press release, and if you missed it check out Steve’s interview with Kasdan in which the filmmaker discusses the influence of Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise, injecting his personal experiences into the film, and more.

Writer-Director Jonathan Kasdan THE FIRST TIME Interview

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: February 13th, 2012 at 4:57 pm

One of the many films to premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was writer-director Jonathan Kasdan‘s (In the Land of Women) The First Time.  The film stars Brittany Robertson, Dylan O’Brien, Craig Roberts, James Frecheville and Victoria Justice.  Like Richard Linklater‘s Before Sunrise (one of my favorite films), The First Time is about watching two people fall in love, except instead of taking place over one night in Vienna, The First Time takes place over a weekend and it’s about two High School students.  While I’ve seen many High School celluloid love stories crash and burn before the end credits, Kasdan pulled me in with believable dialogue, realistic situations, and he reminded me what it feels like to be seventeen and unsure of everything.  While I saw a lot of films at this year’s Sundance, The First Time was one of my favorites.

Shortly after the Festival ended, I sat down with Kasdan for an extended interview.  We talked about Sundance, the influence of Before Sunrise, how he used his own personal experiences in the script, casting, getting financing, the contrast between making studio movies versus smaller films, improv vs. sticking to the script, future projects, the irony of “discovering” talent such as Kristen Stewart before they are “box office gold,” and a lot more.  Hit the jump to watch.

2012 Sundance Film Festival In-Competition Line-Up Announced

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: November 30th, 2011 at 1:35 pm

I had a blast at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and I can’t wait to go again next year.  Today, Sundance announced their In-Competition line-ups for 2012 and already I’m trying to plan out how I’m going to see all of them (which is impossible, but it’s nice to dream).  The U.S. Dramatic Competition features For Ellen, Nobody Walks, Safety Not Guaranteed, Smashed, and more.  There are also some interesting-sounding films in the U.S. Documentary Competition including Finding North, The Invisible War, and The Other Dream Team.

Hit the jump to check out the full press release, which includes the in-competition line-ups for U.S. Dramatic Competition, U.S. Documentary Competition, World Cinema Dramatic Competition, and World Cinema Documentary Competition.  The 2012 Sundance Film Festival runs from January 19 – 29th.

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