Opening in theaters on January 27th is a touching new drama from French filmmakers Valerie Donzelli and Jeremie Elkaim called Declaration of War. The movie was written by Donzelli and Elkaim, directed by Donzelli, and the duo also star in the film along with Cesar Desseix, Gabriel Elkaim, Brigitte Sy, Elina  Lowensohn, and Michele Moretti. 

IAR's Managing Editor Jami Philbrick recently had a chance to speak with filmmakers Valerie Donzelli and Jeremie Elkaim about their new film Declaration of War. Donzelli and Elkaim discussed the movie, the real-life experience that inspired the project, injecting fun and color into the serious subject matter, casting the child actors, and why the film is a celebration of life rather than a expose about death. 

Roadie, which will be released in theaters on January 6^th, opens with a man on his cell phone, undoubtedly using the last of his persuasive energy to keep from betraying his true pathos. Juxtaposed with the glamour of Bolex shots taken of his adventure-studded career as an accessory to rock-star life, the lead character of the film^, instantaneously ropes the viewer into his tragic plight.

The man responsible for bringing the character of Jimmy Testagross to life is Ron Eldard, a film and theatre veteran last seen onscreen in J.J. Abrams’ homage to Steven Spielberg, Super 8. Eldard is also known for his roles starring alongside heavyweights such as Oscar-winners Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly in House of Sand and Fog, Ewan McGregor and Josh Hartnett in Black Hawk Down, and Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, and Brad Pitt in Sleepers. When he’s not committed to a film or TV project, Eldard practices his craft on Broadway, with roles like Father Flynn in Doubt, and Biff in Death of a Salesman. Eldard’s roles often find him in complicated positions, gray areas that demand sympathy or reservation of judgment by the audience. It’s not hard to guess why; because the actor’s droopy-lidded, dimpled visage, and long tough-guy hair make you want to secretly hug him, have a beer with him, and hear him out. Roadie is no different.

The film, stars Jill Hennessy (TV’s Crossing Jordan) as Nikki and Bobby Cannavale (Win Win) as Randy, both of whom participate in Jimmy Testagross’ twenty-four hour adventure immediately upon his return to their hometown. Having been unceremoniously fired from his gig as Blue Oyster Cult’s roadie of over twenty years, Jimmy is a man flung into the ether, forced to quickly gather himself among the ghosts of his childhood and the illusions of adulthood. Written by Michael and Gerald Cuesta and directed by Michael Cuesta, Roadie hits a wide range of notes; from Jimmy’s relationship to his aging mother (True Blood’s Lois Smith) to his relationship with his former high school girlfriend, it all strikes a poignant, honest chord.

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Ron Eldard about his work on Roadie. The extremely talented and charmingly modest actor discussed the new film, broken hearts, director Michael Cuesta, his favorite scene in the movie, and getting to work with Blue Oyster Cult.

Sensitive American boy meets adorable British bird at college in Los Angeles.  Boy, played by Anton Yelchin, and girl, played by Felicity Jones, promptly fall in the kind of desperate, life-defining love that is almost guaranteed to end horribly.  When the girl overstays her Visa and is given the incontrovertible boat from These United States, neither lover can let go.  That's Like Crazy, which premiered to much acclaim at Sundance this year and has a wide theatrical release on the way.  The first trailer dropped today, and while the audio on all the dialogue could use a little cleaning up, the melancholic cover of Elvis Presley's "Fools Rush In" will leave little doubt that you should be feeling pretty sad.

Monsters is not what you might expect. There are brief glimpses of creatures terrorizing what they call “infected areas” in Mexico, but they are very brief. In fact, this is a human drama more than a horror film. If the story revolved around war or some kind of disaster, natural or otherwise, it very likely could have been exactly the same movie (aside from the brief monster shots).

We begin with a photojournalist named Andrew Kaulder (Scoot McNairy) and a young woman he has been hired to bring back to the United States. The girl, Samantha Wynden (Whitney Able) agrees to go with him and face all the badness surrounding them. Normally, coming back from Mexico isn’t this hard. The problem is, six years ago aliens landed and took over the place. The area has been contaminated and infected by these pesky visitors since then. Bad news for our leads… well, sort of. They really don’t seem all that distressed about this fact.

If you haven’t yet seen our Rogue Spotlights on what it takes to be a filmmaker in Hollywood, the best lesson you can take from them is the following from director Mark Duplass: “everyone is constantly asking me, ‘how did you break in? How did you do it?’ You have to be invited, is really the answer.”

So consider this BIG BREAK MOVIE CONTEST our formal invitation to you – the talented, up-and-coming filmmakers of our future – to break down the walls of Hollywood. We here at Rogue want to encourage the original independent filmmaking that is wanting from the current Hollywood big-budget culture.

With Facebook privacy issues and arguments already raging across the web, the infamous social network is perilously teetering on the edge of a full-fledged media war. Whispers have been spreading around that the mysterious Catfish supplies even more fodder for the fight against the internet giant.  So, the question remains… What is Catfish? And, will it throw off the balance of social media as we know it?