

Mira Sorvino won an Academy Award for playing a prostitute who gave her son up for adoption in the 1995 comedy “The Mighty Aphrodite,” and in the new movie “Qutters,” she’s back in that darkly comedic territory as a mother who enters rehab for a prescription drug addiction. In this clip from director Noah Pritzker’s debut film — about a high schooler played by Ben Konigsberg (“Orange Is the New Black”), whose life crumbles when he clashes with his father (Greg Germann) after his mom checks in for treatment — Sorvino is living in a rehab facility that sits high above.
- 7/11/2016
- by Rasha Ali
- The Wrap

‘Quitters’ Exclusive Trailer & Poster: A Smart-Aleck Teen Escapes His Troubled Home For a New Family

In “Quitters,” young Clark (Ben Konigsberg) is a smart-aleck San Francisco teen who thinks he can outsmart the entire world, but his home life is a mess. His mother (Mira Sorvino) has a prescription pill addiction that lands her in rehab, and Clark doesn’t have much of a relationship with his impatient father (Gregg Germann).
So what does he do? He decides to find a new family, specifically the family of an attractive classmate Natalia (Morgan Turner) who lets Clark temporarily move in as a houseguest. When conflict inevitably arises, it’s up to Clark to face up to the reality of his situation. The film also stars Kara Hayward (“Moonrise Kingdom”), Kieran Culkin (“Margaret”), Saffron Burrows (“Mozart in the Jungle”), and Scott Lawrence (“Jag”). Watch an exclusive trailer for “Quitters” above.
Read More: Meet the 2015 SXSW Filmmakers #12: Noah Pritzker’s ‘Quitters’ Sees a Family Falling Apart
“Quitters” is the debut feature from director Noah Pritzker who also co-wrote the script with Ben Tarnoff. Pritzker recently told IndieWire, “‘Quitters’ initially came out of a short I was writing while at film school. The short focused on Clark’s family, and I was eager to keep writing and see where Clark would go and show more of the San Francisco world he would travel through. At the time, Ben Tarnoff – who I wrote the movie with – was writing a book about 19th century San Francisco. We both grew up there, went to the same high school, and were both drawn to the idea of writing about the city.”
“My short film ‘Little Dad’ got into SXSW while we were finishing a draft of ‘Quitters,’ which helped us get the movie made,” he added. “One of the first people to come on board was our casting director Doug Aibel. He and his team looked far and wide for the main character, played by Ben Konigsberg, whose performance as Clark defines the film.”
The film premiered at last year’s South by Southwest Festival. Star Ben Konigsberg is best known for his role as Yusef on the Netflix original series “Orange is the New Black” as well as Hal in Tim Blake Nelson’s latest film “Anesthesia.”
“Quitters” opens in select theaters and VOD on July 22. Check out a poster from the film below.
Read More: SXSW: Complete List of Winners at the 2016 Film Awards
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Related stories'Don't Think Twice' Trailer: Mike Birbiglia's Latest Film Follows the Trials & Tribulations of An Improv GroupIndie Legend Who Inspired Sundance, 'Reservoir Dogs' And More Will Have Classic Films RestoredWatch: Take a Tab of 'Orange Sunshine' in Fizzy and Bright New Trailer...
So what does he do? He decides to find a new family, specifically the family of an attractive classmate Natalia (Morgan Turner) who lets Clark temporarily move in as a houseguest. When conflict inevitably arises, it’s up to Clark to face up to the reality of his situation. The film also stars Kara Hayward (“Moonrise Kingdom”), Kieran Culkin (“Margaret”), Saffron Burrows (“Mozart in the Jungle”), and Scott Lawrence (“Jag”). Watch an exclusive trailer for “Quitters” above.
Read More: Meet the 2015 SXSW Filmmakers #12: Noah Pritzker’s ‘Quitters’ Sees a Family Falling Apart
“Quitters” is the debut feature from director Noah Pritzker who also co-wrote the script with Ben Tarnoff. Pritzker recently told IndieWire, “‘Quitters’ initially came out of a short I was writing while at film school. The short focused on Clark’s family, and I was eager to keep writing and see where Clark would go and show more of the San Francisco world he would travel through. At the time, Ben Tarnoff – who I wrote the movie with – was writing a book about 19th century San Francisco. We both grew up there, went to the same high school, and were both drawn to the idea of writing about the city.”
“My short film ‘Little Dad’ got into SXSW while we were finishing a draft of ‘Quitters,’ which helped us get the movie made,” he added. “One of the first people to come on board was our casting director Doug Aibel. He and his team looked far and wide for the main character, played by Ben Konigsberg, whose performance as Clark defines the film.”
The film premiered at last year’s South by Southwest Festival. Star Ben Konigsberg is best known for his role as Yusef on the Netflix original series “Orange is the New Black” as well as Hal in Tim Blake Nelson’s latest film “Anesthesia.”
“Quitters” opens in select theaters and VOD on July 22. Check out a poster from the film below.
Read More: SXSW: Complete List of Winners at the 2016 Film Awards
Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
Related stories'Don't Think Twice' Trailer: Mike Birbiglia's Latest Film Follows the Trials & Tribulations of An Improv GroupIndie Legend Who Inspired Sundance, 'Reservoir Dogs' And More Will Have Classic Films RestoredWatch: Take a Tab of 'Orange Sunshine' in Fizzy and Bright New Trailer...
- 6/16/2016
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
After the success of Leaves of Grass, Anesthesia is Tim Blake Nelson’s second feature length film in which he held four major roles. The film follows Walter Zarrow (Waterston), a professor who goes to the corner deli to buy some flower for his wife Marcia (Close). He has a conversation with the store keeper and finally introduces himself after buying flowers from him for oh so many years. However, as soon as we cut away from Zarrow, we see he was stabbed just outside an Upper West Side building…
With Anesthesia on limited release across the Us now, here’s interviews with Nelson and the rest of the cast from last years Tribeca Film Festival.
Tim Blake Nelson:
Mickey Sumner:
Jessica Hecht:
Ben Konigsberg:
Sam Waterston:...
With Anesthesia on limited release across the Us now, here’s interviews with Nelson and the rest of the cast from last years Tribeca Film Festival.
Tim Blake Nelson:
Mickey Sumner:
Jessica Hecht:
Ben Konigsberg:
Sam Waterston:...
- 1/17/2016
- by Catherina Gioino
- Nerdly
Causality and Kindness: Nelson’s Latest Look at All the Lonely People
The multifaceted Tim Blake Nelson unveils his latest directorial effort in nearly seven years with Anesthesia, a New York set drama focused on a series of interconnected characters leading up to a brutal crime of the narrative’s central figure. It’s sometimes easy to forget Nelson, perhaps best known as a character actor in an incalculable amount of arresting performances across a variety of films, is also an accomplished writer and director, premiering his own eclectic five features since his first (and best) 1997 debut Eye of God. Since then, he made a contemporized version of Shakespeare’s Othello in 2001 with O, an English language drama centered on a rebellious group of Sonderkomandos attempting to overthrow their Nazi captors in the grueling The Grey Zone (also 2001) and a comedy crime drama Leaves of Grass (2009) with Edward Norton pulling double duty as twins.
The multifaceted Tim Blake Nelson unveils his latest directorial effort in nearly seven years with Anesthesia, a New York set drama focused on a series of interconnected characters leading up to a brutal crime of the narrative’s central figure. It’s sometimes easy to forget Nelson, perhaps best known as a character actor in an incalculable amount of arresting performances across a variety of films, is also an accomplished writer and director, premiering his own eclectic five features since his first (and best) 1997 debut Eye of God. Since then, he made a contemporized version of Shakespeare’s Othello in 2001 with O, an English language drama centered on a rebellious group of Sonderkomandos attempting to overthrow their Nazi captors in the grueling The Grey Zone (also 2001) and a comedy crime drama Leaves of Grass (2009) with Edward Norton pulling double duty as twins.
- 1/6/2016
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Courtesy of the San Francisco Film Society.
Love & Mercy
Written by Oren Moverman & Michael A. Lerner
Directed by Bill Pohlad
USA, 2015
Based on the life of The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson, Love & Mercy depicts the singer’s descent into mental illness at the peak of the band’s popularity in the 1960s, while in the 1980s a chance meeting with a car saleswoman promises to save him from the brink of destruction. Paul Dano, as the young Wilson, is endearingly awkward yet creatively brilliant, capable of creating harmonies that most wouldn’t dream of. While years later his forward-thinking vision would earn the 1966 album “Pet Sounds” a place in the pop music canon, at the time it caused major tension within the band. Twenty years later, Wilson, now played by John Cusack, is a neurotic, washed-up and over-medicated version of his former self thanks to a dangerous codependency on his...
Love & Mercy
Written by Oren Moverman & Michael A. Lerner
Directed by Bill Pohlad
USA, 2015
Based on the life of The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson, Love & Mercy depicts the singer’s descent into mental illness at the peak of the band’s popularity in the 1960s, while in the 1980s a chance meeting with a car saleswoman promises to save him from the brink of destruction. Paul Dano, as the young Wilson, is endearingly awkward yet creatively brilliant, capable of creating harmonies that most wouldn’t dream of. While years later his forward-thinking vision would earn the 1966 album “Pet Sounds” a place in the pop music canon, at the time it caused major tension within the band. Twenty years later, Wilson, now played by John Cusack, is a neurotic, washed-up and over-medicated version of his former self thanks to a dangerous codependency on his...
- 5/8/2015
- by Misa Shikuma
- SoundOnSight
Chicago – One of the great benefits at the Chicago Critics Film Festival is the opportunity to meet the filmmakers, for both Q&A after their film screenings and one-on-one opportunities in the Music Box Theatre lounge. Like these three – Kris Swanberg (“Unexpected”), Kurt Kuenne (“Batkid Begins”) and Noah Pritzker (“Quitters”).
HollywoodChicago.com also got a chance to talk to the three filmmakers on the Red Carpet, who all have created uniquely styled movie projects.
Kris Swanberg, Director of “Unexpected”
“Unexpected” was an unexpected surprise at the festival, a low key gem and slice-of-life, depicting two women (portrayed by Cobie Smulders and Gail Bean) who have surprise pregnancies, and are forced to deal with the issues surrounding the socio-economic, relationship and education status during their maternity. Writer/director Kris Swanberg – who is married to director Joe Swanberg – creates a virtuous look at modern women, who are redefining their identities as mothers...
HollywoodChicago.com also got a chance to talk to the three filmmakers on the Red Carpet, who all have created uniquely styled movie projects.
Kris Swanberg, Director of “Unexpected”
“Unexpected” was an unexpected surprise at the festival, a low key gem and slice-of-life, depicting two women (portrayed by Cobie Smulders and Gail Bean) who have surprise pregnancies, and are forced to deal with the issues surrounding the socio-economic, relationship and education status during their maternity. Writer/director Kris Swanberg – who is married to director Joe Swanberg – creates a virtuous look at modern women, who are redefining their identities as mothers...
- 5/5/2015
- by [email protected] (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Chicago – Exclusive! Free festival 7-packs! In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 50 pairs of guaranteed festival 7-packs up for grabs to the third-annual Chicago Critics Film Festival at the Music Box Theatre from the Chicago Film Critics Association!
The festival runs from Friday, May 1 to Thursday, May 7, 2015 at the Music Box Theatre. The festival will premiere more than two dozen films to Chicago that are hand-selected by Chicago critics. The films, which include the latest works from Joe Swanberg, Bobcat Goldthwait, Andrew Bujalski, James Ponsoldt, Francois Ozon and many more, are recent film festival hits from Sundance, South by Southwest, Cannes, Venice and Toronto and more. The full 2015 Chicago Critics Film Festival schedule can be found here. Read a preview of the festival here.
Each HollywoodChicago.com winner will win Two festival 7-packs of guaranteed tickets to experience the following Chicago premieres at the times and dates below...
The festival runs from Friday, May 1 to Thursday, May 7, 2015 at the Music Box Theatre. The festival will premiere more than two dozen films to Chicago that are hand-selected by Chicago critics. The films, which include the latest works from Joe Swanberg, Bobcat Goldthwait, Andrew Bujalski, James Ponsoldt, Francois Ozon and many more, are recent film festival hits from Sundance, South by Southwest, Cannes, Venice and Toronto and more. The full 2015 Chicago Critics Film Festival schedule can be found here. Read a preview of the festival here.
Each HollywoodChicago.com winner will win Two festival 7-packs of guaranteed tickets to experience the following Chicago premieres at the times and dates below...
- 4/27/2015
- by [email protected] (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Despite the lottery-esque sounding odds, the U.S Dramatic Competition section which produces the finest American indie specimens such as Frozen River, Winter’s Bone, Blue Valentine, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Fruitvale Station and Whiplash is fairly consistent in terms of quality. Last year’s crop of sixteen have almost all had their theatrical releases with Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter being the last one out of the gates (pegged with an early 2015 release). Last week we individually looked at our top 80 Sundance Film Fest Predictions (you’ll find 30 other titles worth considering in our intro) and below, we’ve split the list into narrative and non-fiction film items and have both identified and color-coded our picks in an AtoZ cheat sheet. You’ll find 2015′s answer to Whiplash located somewhere in the stack below. Click on the individual titles below, for the film’s profile.
- 11/19/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Noah Pritzker first surfaced with his short Little Dad (SXSW ’12), and in the summer of 2013 (see set pic), plugged away in the fog with his directorial debut. The San Fran resident shot in his own backyard with a cinematographer worth noting in Jakob Ihre (Oslo, 31. august). Backed by a strong indie duo producing team, Pritzker had Moonrise Kingdom‘s Kara Hayward, Saffron Burrows, Mira Sorvino and Kieran Culkin as his set of players.
Gist: Co-written by Pritzker and Ben Tarnoff, this explores the upper class San Franciscan society and centers on Clark (Ben Konigsberg), a high school student, struggling to come to terms with the demands of his family, society, love. Kara Hayward plays Etta, a high school freshman dealing with her parents divorce.
Production Co./Producers: Luca Borghese (Girl Most Likely) and Ben Howe (Gabriel)
Prediction: Park City at Midnight is a possibility, and SXSW will certainly we circling this as well.
Gist: Co-written by Pritzker and Ben Tarnoff, this explores the upper class San Franciscan society and centers on Clark (Ben Konigsberg), a high school student, struggling to come to terms with the demands of his family, society, love. Kara Hayward plays Etta, a high school freshman dealing with her parents divorce.
Production Co./Producers: Luca Borghese (Girl Most Likely) and Ben Howe (Gabriel)
Prediction: Park City at Midnight is a possibility, and SXSW will certainly we circling this as well.
- 11/13/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
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