“…it’s the warmth, the entirely plausible relationship between the brothers, the sparky, but never-overwritten back-and-forth between them, and the truthful, universal emotion of the whole thing that makes this a severely overlooked gem.”

APRIL 1-7: Apollo Piccadilly Circus, London

APRIL 1-14: Odeon Panton Street, London

APRIL 1-14: SCOTLAND Exclusive, Grosvenor Hillhead, Glasgow

MAY 30-31: Quad, Derby

JUNE 6: Riverside Studio, London

JUNE 10-16: Plymouth Arts Centre

JUNE 30: Robert Burns Centre Film Theatre, Dumfries

As a very special bonus, they have also picked up the UK rights for Matt Bissonnette’s film, WHO LOVES THE SUN, starring Lukas Haas, Molly Parker and Adam Scott.

Screening: October 21st at 2pm at the Norwood (241 W. 14 Street)

From SydneysBuzz @ indiewire.com

The European Film Promotion (EFP) in collaboration with the Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC) and the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is inaugurating a co-production opportunity international film projects which will include 12 European and 12 Canadian producers.  It will take place September 10 -12 during the Festival itself which is regarded as the key gateway to the North American market for the newest and best productions from abroad. TIFF has always been important for European films. The MEDIA International programme of the European Union is supporting the initiative financially.

Producer Panel Discussion: Producing Skills

Saturday, July 24 • 10:00am – 11:30am • Waterfront Centre

The panelists will discuss the key skills needed to survive in this business today and look at some creative new ways that films are being developed, financed, made, and distributed.

Moderator: Brendon Sawatzky
Panelists: Jody Shapiro, Liz Jarvis, Corey Marr, Lynne Skromeda

Strand Releasing has acquired all US rights to Matthew Bissonnette’s PASSENGER SIDE it was announced today, the film screens in this year’s edition of the Marche du film at the Cannes International Film Festival.

Writer/director Matthew Bissonnette’s (Looking for Leonard, Who Loves The Sun) new feature PASSENGER SIDE, is a comic road movie that never leaves Los Angeles – about brothers, and the strange complex bonds that are created when opposites are bound together by life, family and blood and stars Adam Scott, Joel Bissonnette and Robin Tunney.

On the morning of his thirty-seventh birthday Michael (Adam Scott – The Vicious Kind, Step Brothers, The Aviator, Knocked Up) wakes up in Los Angeles. He is at the end of the country, the end of his over-extended youth, and the end of his literary luck. At this pivotal moment the telephone rings, and it is Tobey (Joel Bissonnette – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Looking for Leonard, Zodiac), his baby brother, a terrible drug addict, now ostensibly clean, and once again in need of help; his car is broken and he has a job interview; needs to pick up his dry-cleaning, return library books etc – or so he says.

Michael puts off his seemingly romantic birthday plans, and with his brother embarks on a sketchy, meandering day long odyssey through the mysteries of Los Angeles County. As the day unfolds the two brothers talk about their past, present and futures; meet loads of strange characters; and, cover many, many miles and it becomes clear that this drive will, in the end, lead them to some very unexpected destinations.

The deal was negotiated between Jon Gerrans of Strand Releasing, Glen Reynolds of Circus Road Films and producer, Corey Marr.

“We’re thrilled to be working with this talented team and have been a fan of the film since it debuted at the Toronto Film Festival,” said Gerrans.

“As filmmakers you hope to find a distributor that will have the passion and dedication to nurture your film into the market place,” said Marr. “We are excited, and feel very fortunate, to have found that distributor in Strand. We look forward to working with Jon and Marcus and their team so that PASSENGER SIDE can reach the widest audience possible.”

Foreign sales are being handled by Mark Austin of Breakaway Media.

After recently being named one of “Canada’s Top Ten” films of 2009 by the Toronto International Film Festival, PASSENGER SIDE has been a hit on the festival circuit, including the Los Angeles Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Atlantic Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival, Whistler Film Festival and the Edmonton International Film Festival where it was awarded the ‘Citytv Award for Best Canadian Feature’.

Recently noted as one of “10 Young American Movie-Makers to Watch” by U.K.’s The Independent, Matthew Bissonnette, born and raised in Montreal now lives and makes movies out of his adopted home, Los Angeles. That city, along with rock music, played an integral part in inspiring the making of PASSENGER SIDE, as Bissonnette explains, “I learned to drive in Los Angeles, and so my first experience of the city was getting lost while listening to tapes in my old Toyota Camry wagon. After that car died, I inherited the 1975 BMW we used in Passenger Side, which also had a tape deck, so I brought those old cassettes along. Music is one of the few things I know much about, the other is brotherhood, so I put them in the car, and we were on our way, so to speak!”

PASSENGER SIDE stars Adam Scott (The Vicious Kind, Step Brothers, The Aviator, Knocked Up) as Michael; Joel Bissonnette (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Looking for Leonard, Zodiac) as Tobey and Robin Tunney (The Mentalist, The Burning Plain, August) as Theresa. Corey Marr (Who Loves the Sun) is Producer and Executive Producers are Adam Scott, Corey Marr and Matthew Bissonnette.

PASSENGER SIDE was produced in association with Telefilm Canada, The Movie Network and Movie Central.

Strand Releasing is based in Culver City California and is run by Gerrans and Hu. Currently in release is Catherine Breillat’s BLUEBEARD, Lou Ye’s SPRING FEVER, Florian Gallenberger’s JOHN RABE and upcoming films include Francois Ozon’s HIDEAWAY and Eyad Zahra’s TAQWACORES.

Strand Releasing plans for late 2010 release.

# # #

“…achieving that elusive balance of smart, funny and — most difficult of all–authentic.” – NATIONAL POST | 4 OUT OF 5 STARS

“Simple and smart … The lead actors have their familiar, sibling banter down cold – dialogue that’s half-funny, half-bitter and designed mostly to kill time. Scott, in particular, shows himself to be one of the best young American actors going.” – GLOBE AND MAIL | 3 OUT OF 4 STARS

“It’s like a Richard Linklater movie from the mid-1990s: very little happens, and that’s sort of the point. The conversation is engaging, the two leads snap instantly into the relaxed but guarded vibe of lifelong adversaries, and the script parcels out little bits of information as needed.” – NOW MAGAZINE | 4 OUT OF 5 STARS

TORONTO: AMC Yonge+Dundas
Showtimes:
Friday 1:20pm | 3:30pm | 5:40pm | 7:50pm | 10:20pm
Saturday 11:05am | 1:20pm 3:30pm | 5:40pm | 7:50pm | 10:20pm
Sunday 11:05am | 1:20pm 3:30pm | 5:40pm | 7:50pm | 10:20pm
Mon-Thur 1:20pm | 3:30pm | 5:40pm | 7:50pm | 10:20pm

MONTREAL: AMC Forum
Showtimes:
Friday-Sunday: 11am | 1:15pm | 3:35pm | 5:55pm | 8:20pm | 10:45pm
Mon-Thurs: 1:15pm | 3:35pm | 5:55pm | 8:20pm | 10:45pm

VANCOUVER: Tinseltown
Showtimes:
Fri-Thurs: 1:00pm | 3:05pm | 5:10pm | 7:20pm | 9:40pm

Talking About Music, Making Movies, and the Urge To Blow Up A Car

Courtesy of Brian McKechnie, CityNews.ca (2010/04/28)

CityNews.ca caught up with Matt, Joel, and Adam during the Toronto International Film Festival last September where the film was running in the Contemporary World Cinema programme. We talked about how important music was to the film (the title comes from the Wilco song of the same name) and why Joel and Adam want to blow up the car they used. Watch the full interview below…