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Two Minutes with Ed Harris

That’s how long twin brothers Noah and Logan Miller had backstage at a film festival to convince the actor to take a look at their debut project script.
Monday, July 21, 2008 at 2:20 PM
By FilmStew Staff

Two remarkable stories connect to the drama Touching Home, scheduled to be released in theaters this fall. The first is that twin brothers Noah and Logan Miller, after collegiate hopes of careers in baseball, jumped instead into filmmaking after the death of their father in 2006. The second is the way they were able to convince Ed Harris to play their dad in the autobiographical film.

When Harris attended the 2006 San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF) to collect a Lifetime Achievement Award, the brothers bluffed their way backstage and were somewhat remarkably brought face to face with the actor. This after their plan to quiz Harris during a Q&A was thwarted by their inability to get hold of the microphone.

“He [Harris] started watching the trailer [on a laptop computer] and said, 'It looks like you boys know what you're doing,'" Noah Miller tells Arkansas’ Pine Bluff Commercial. "Persistence pays off with the right person. With the wrong person, you go to jail.”

A week and a half after that encounter, during which Harris also took receipt of the brothers' script, the actor said yes and this spring, Touching Home premiered at the 2008 edition of SFIFF. Certainly the actor’s demeanor on set made it seem like it was all meant to be.

"It was uncanny how much he was able to channel him," marvels Logan. Adds Noah: "Physically, from the cadence in his speech and to his mannerisms and gestures, Ed became our father. So it gave us the opportunity to say good-bye in an odd way."

+ http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117989258.html?categoryId=1061&cs=1

Posted: Mon., Jul. 21, 2008, 2:55pm PT
'Mamma Mia!' opens Deauville
Musical to kick off festival on Sept. 5
By JOHN HOPEWELL

"Mamma Mia!" will open the 34th Deauville American Film Festival on Sept. 5. Helen Hunt's "Then She Found Me" closes the fest on Sept. 14.
The Gallic seaside celebration of American filmmaking features some of the year's higher-profile films in its eclectic Premieres sidebar. These include Clint Eastwood's "Changeling," Guillermo del Toro's "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" and, among specialty releases, Jonathan Levine's "The Wackness."

This year's Deauville features tributes to Spike Lee, who will attend to present the French preem of "Miracle at St. Anna"; actress Parker Posey and actor Ed Harris; and a retrospective of the work of "Wagon Train" director Mitchell Leisen, who died in 1972.

Deauville's 11-title competition will focus on newer directorial talent, showcasing five first films, including Antonio Campos' Cannes player "Afterschool," Lance Hammer's "Ballast" and Alan Ball's "Towelhead."

Also competing are Tom McCarthy's "The Visitor," David Gordon Green's "Snow Angels" and Damian Harris' "Garden of the Night."

After last year's experiment, Deauville will once more screen a 10-day, round-the-clock uninterrupted marathon of classics under its American Nights banner.

The Michel D'Ornano prize, awarded to the best French first film, will go to "Johnny Mad Dog," Jean-Stephane Sauvaire's drama about an African boy soldier.

As already announced, Carole Bouquet will head Deauville's jury, which also includes Cannes Palme d'Or-winning director Cristian Mungiu, Gallic director Cedric Kahn, Belgian helmer Bouli Lanners and U.S. production designer Dean Tavoularis.

34th DEAUVILLE AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL
Opener: “Mamma Mia!” Phyllida Lloyd
Closer: “Then She Found Me,” Helen Hunt

COMPETITION
“Afterschool,” Antonio Campos
“All God’s Children Can Dance,” Robert Logevall
“American Son,” Neil Abramson
“Ballast,” Lance Hammer
“Gardens of the Night,” Damian Harris
“Momma’s Man,” Azazel Jacobs
“Smart People,” Noam Murro
“Snow Angels,” David Gordon Green
“Sunshine Cleaning,” Christine Jeffs
“Towelhead,” Alan Ball
“The Visitor,” Tom McCarthy

PREMIERES
“Appaloosa,” Ed Harris
“Changeling,” Clint Eastwood
“Dan in Real Life,” Peter Hedges
“Get Smart,” Peter Segal
“Hellboy II: The Golden Army,” Guillermo del Toro
“Idiots and Angels,” Bill Plympton
“Lakeview Terrace,” Neil LaBute
“Lars and the Real Girl,” Craig Gillespie
“Married Life,” Ira Sachs
“Miracle at St. Anna,” Spike Lee
“Recount,” Jay Roach
“The Girl Next Door,” Gregory Wilson
“The Life Before Her Eyes,” Vadin Perelman
“The Wackness,” Jonathan Levine

UNCLE SAM’S DOCS
“American Teen,” Nanette Burstein
“American Swing,” Matty Kaufman and Jon Hart
“Lake of Fire,” Tony Kaye
“Made in America,” Stacy Peralta
“Standard Operating Procedure,” Errol Morris
“Tyson,” James Toback
“War Child,” Christian Karim Chrobog

COMPETITION JURY
Carole Bouquet, president, French actress
Edouard Baer, French actor-director
Ronit Elkabetz, Israeli actress-director
Pierre Jolivet, French director-actor
Cedric Kahn, French director
Bouli Lanners, Belgian actor-director
Cristian Mungiu, Romanian director
Leonor Silvera, Portuguese actress
DeanTavoularis, U.S. production designer

+ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080718.BUZZ18-1/TPStory/TPEntertainment/Movies/

THE BUZZ: BREAKING ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

Toronto film festival announces fresh galas
GAYLE MACDONALD

July 18, 2008

Toronto -- The Toronto International Film Festival padded its lineup yesterday with five high-profile films from filmmakers such as Jonathan Demme and Richard Eyre, with star power including Liam Neeson, Jeremy Irons, Laura Linney, Anne Hathaway, Antonio Banderas, Viggo Mortensen and Renée Zellweger.

The festival added two gala presentations, Demme's family comedy Rachel Getting Married (with Hathaway) and Eyre's The Other Man (with Neeson, Linney, Banderas).

Three special presentations were also unveiled: Ed Harris's Appaloosa, with Mortensen, Zellweger and Irons starring in the Old West film set in New Mexico (Harris directed and co-wrote it); La Fille de Monaco, directed by Anne Fontaine; and Philippe Claudel's I've Loved You So Long, starring Kristin Scott Thomas and Elsa Zylberstein.