News

"We all know that Ed's is not just a bar, it's our home. And what do you do when your home is threatened? You come together and you stick up for what you love." Gravitas has debuted an official trailer for an indie film titled Marcie's, a reference to the main character's dream to run her own bar called Marcie's Tavern. The film is premiering in early April, then it will be on VOD just after that. Marcie has a dream: to own Ed's Tavern, where she bartends and is a den mother to a devoted small-town community. But when a developer sets his sights on Ed's wooded land, Marcie's future is upended. As she rallies her people, she finds that an endangered bird may hold the key to preventing the loss of the tavern and saving her community. Filmed in North Bend and Seattle, this off-beat dramedy from director...

Friends and former collaborators are remembering writer, director, and producer Lynn Shelton, an award-winning indie filmmaker who died Friday at age 54.

The groundbreaking director was best known for her films Humpday,Your Sister’s Sister (2011), Outside In (2017) and last year’s Sword of Trust.

Humpday, which premiered in 2009 at the Sundance Film Festival, starred Joshua Leonard, Alycia Delmore and Shelton’s frequent collaborator, Mark Duplass.

In a tribute on Instagram Saturday, Leonard called Shelton “one of the greatest forces of nature I’ve ever encountered — a brilliant enthusiast to her core.”

Meanwhile, Duplass said her “infectious spirit” was unrivaled. “We lost our dear friend Lynn Shelton. We made so many things together. I wish we had made more. Her boundless creative energy and infectious spirit were unrivaled. She made me better. We butted heads, made up, laughed, pushed each other. Like family. What a deep loss,” Duplass tweeted.

We lost our dear friend Lynn Shelton.

Lynn Shelton, a director, writer and producer known for her work on Humpday and more recently the miniseries Little Fires Everywhere, died Friday in Los Angeles from complications of a previously unidentified blood disorder, a rep for Shelton told Deadline. She was 54.

The Hollywood veteran was a leading voice of the new American independent cinema movement of the 2000s, employing her signature style to award-winning films, including Your Sister’s Sister (2011), Outside In (2017) and last year’s Sword of Trust, which starred Marc Maron as a pawnshop owner who obtains a sword that may prove the South actually won the Civil War. Shelton had a role in the film as Maron’s ex-girlfriend Deirdre.

She was collaborating with Maron on a script for an upcoming film, and was in a romantic relationship with him at the time of her death.

Shelton’s television directing credits included Mad Men, Glow, The Morning Show,...

Written and directed by Andrew Finnegan, Indican Pictures will release Simple Creature on Blu-ray and DVD on July 25th. A modern retelling of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”, the film stars Carollani Sandberg, D’Angelo Madili, Russell Hodgkinson, Alycia Delmore, Tony Doupé and Hans Altwies. “Techie college student, Em (Carollani Sandberg) heads home for holiday break, blissfully thinking […]...

Tagline: “We Make Better Humans.” Indican Pictures will begin the experiment with Andrew Finnigan's Simple Creature this summer. This thriller involves: the protagonist, a terrible crash and new technology. All three elements lead to a permanent change in Em (Carollani Sandberg). The film also stars: D'Angelo Madili (The Invoking), Russell Hodgkinson ("Z Nation"), Alycia Delmore and Tony Doupé. And, the official trailer, for Simple Creature, is here. The film's synopsis talks of a holiday break. Em, while travelling, is involved in a brutal crash. Her father is a scientist, with access to life-changing technology. Now, Em has a chance to piece her body and mind together, but she has turned into something else. The film's official artwork is hosted above. It shows Em undergoing her change. Part technology and part human, Em will chill audiences this July 25th. On this date, Simple Creature will be available on DVD and VOD,...

Netflix and The Orchard have released the trailer for their upcoming comedy “Take Me.” The film, which is executive produced by the Duplass brothers, marks the feature directorial debut for “Magnolia” and “Cheap Thrills” actor Pat Healy, who also stars alongside Taylor Schilling. “Take Me” will have its world premiere later this month at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Read More: Mark Duplass Talks to Glenn Beck About Being a ‘Libtard’ in Crazy Podcast — Listen

Written by Mike Makowsky (“I Think We’re Alone Now”), “Take Me” follows Ray (Healy), a man who gets paid by people to kidnap them just for the “simulated experience of a high-stakes subduction,” as he explains in the trailer. But, when he gets hired to kidnap a woman (Schilling), things do not turn out as expected.

The film also stars Alycia Delmore. It is produced by Mel Eslyn and Sev Ohanian, and co-produced by Natalie Qasabian.

"Let me guess, Ray: you got carried away?" The Orchard has debuted a trailer for a dark comedy film titled Take Me, which is premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival coming up later this month. Take Me is the feature directorial debut of actor Pat Healy, who also stars in the film as the main character. Healy plays Ray, a man who starts a business specializing in abductions that provide alternative therapy for his clients. But one of his customers and his target aren't exactly as they seem, and things get crazy. The cast includes Taylor Schilling (from "Orange Is the New Black"), Toby Huss, Alejandro Patino, Alycia Delmore, and Mark Kelly. This looks wacky but also enjoyable, in a weird twisted way. Trust in Pat Healy, I guess. Here's the first official trailer (+ poster) for Pat Healy's Take Me, direct from YouTube: Ray Moody (Pat Healy) is a...

The Orchard has acquired Pat Healy's directorial debut film Take Me, which is set to world premiere next month at the Tribeca Film Festival in the Spotlight Narrative section. Healy also stars in the black comedy opposite Orange Is the New Black‘s Taylor Schilling, Alycia Delmore and Jim O'Heir. Following the Tribeca premiere, Orchard will release the pic May 5 in theaters and on digital platforms. Written by Mike Makowsky, the film follows Ray, who is in the boutique…...

BoulderLight Pictures’ upcoming thriller Dismissed has its cast, adding Kent Osborne and Dylan Sprouse in the lead roles. The film tells the tale of an idealistic, straight-laced English teacher (Osborne) drawn down a nightmarish rabbit hole by an honor roll student (Sprouse) who will stop at nothing to get an A. Chris Bauer (True Blood) and Alycia Delmore (Humpday) also appear, with Randall Park (Fresh Off The Boat) rounding out the cast. Dismissed is the first film to…...

If the Seattle film scene burst into the national consciousness in 2009 with Lynn Shelton’s “Humpday,” it’s the rest of the vibrant community that has given it longevity. “One filmmaker coming out of Seattle is like, ‘Oh look!’ ” says Alycia Delmore, a Seattle actor who starred in “Humpday.” “But now that it’s more people and it’s this heavy base of female directors and producers, I think that now we’re a community as opposed to a band of people who work with Lynn Shelton.” Among them are director Megan Griffiths (“The Off Hours”)—recently represented at Tribeca Film Festival with “Lucky Them,” starring Toni Collette—and producer Mel Eslyn, who continues to advocate for Seattle even as she finds success elsewhere, most recently with the festival circuit favorite “The One I Love,” starring Mark Duplass and Elisabeth Moss. “The heart of it comes from a personal preference,...

An innocent gesture between Jesse (Scoot McNairy) and his girlfriend Abby (Rosemarie DeWitt) turns into an awkward dinner moment in our exclusive clip from Touchy Feely. Lynn Shelton (Your Sister's Sister, Humpday) directs this drama about a family who has a psychic connection with one another that is slowly starting to unravel. Watch what happens when Jesse asks Abby to move in with him, in front of Abby's brother (Josh Pais) and niece (Ellen Page). Touchy Feely is currently available on VOD formats before debuting in theaters September 6.

Touchy Feely is a closely observed examination of a family whose delicate psychic balance suddenly unravels. Abby (Rosemarie DeWitt), is a sought after massage therapist and a free spirit, while her brother Paul (Josh Pais) thrives on routine and convention, running a flagging dental practice and co-dependently enlisting the assistance of his emotionally stunted daughter Jenny (Ellen Page). Suddenly, transformation touches everyone.

Fans of the Seattle indie film scene take note! Some of the best people working in the Emerald City have teamed up for Web series "Rocketmen," and they need your help. A forgotten Wpa program, the Department of Municipal Rocketry hires men to sit on rooftops wearing hydrogen-fueled rocket packs, just waiting for the phone to ring so they can go fight crime. And then one day it does, and things... don't go well. Written and directed by Webster Crowell ("Borrowing Time") and produced by actor Alycia Delmore ("Humpday"), "Rocketmen" still needs your help to take flight. With 12 days left to the project's Kickstarter campaign, this is the time to support indie artists and their wild, wonderful projects.

Director Lynn Shelton (Your Sister's Sister, Humpday) returns with Touchy Feely, debuting on iTunes and VOD formats August 1 before arriving in theaters September 6. Ellen Page, Rosemarie DeWitt and Josh Pais star as a family whose lives are transformed in bizarre ways. In addition, we have the first poster for this Magnolia Pictures drama, which you can see below the trailer.

Touchy Feely - Trailer

Touchy Feely is a closely observed examination of a family whose delicate psychic balance suddenly unravels. Abby (Rosemarie DeWitt), is a sought after massage therapist and a free spirit, while her brother Paul (Josh Pais) thrives on routine and convention, running a flagging dental practice and co-dependently enlisting the assistance of his emotionally stunted daughter Jenny (Ellen Page). Suddenly, transformation touches everyone. Abby develops an uncontrollable aversion to bodily contact, which not only makes her occupation impossible but severely hinders the passionate love life between her...

How to Find the Perfect College Acting ProgramKevin Kittle narrows your circle of concentration in the search for the training program that will best fit you. Four Colleges Add Training Programs to Their CurriculumThe Boston Conservatory, Juilliard, Messiah College, and the University of Texas at Austin have all created new performing arts programs, offering aspiring actors even more chances to hone their skills before making the leap to professional careers. Alycia Delmore of ‘Humpday’ on Her College ExperienceMost recently in Lynn Shelton’s “Touchy Feely,” Delmore discusses her training at Western Washington University. 'Peeples' Star Kali Hawk on Her College ExperienceHawk, who will be seen in the upcoming “Peeples,” talks about her early training at State University of New York at Purchase and the Groundlings. 'Da Vinci's Demons' Star Tom Riley Discusses His College ExperienceRiley, who stars in the upcoming Starz series “Da Vinci’s Demons,...

“Pose for photos with me!” Alycia Delmore shouted. The bar was open and the joint was packed during the Jan. 19 Sundance premiere party for director Lynn Shelton’s “Touchy Feely,” where Delmore, Allison Janney, and Josh Pais joined partygoers (and certain journalists) in a photo booth that proved to be one of the evening’s big attractions. Shelton and star Rosemarie DeWitt laughed as they posed for professional pics in front of a poster of their recent Backstage cover. After the initial red-carpet glitz, a fun and festive atmosphere settled in—perfect for a festival that sees women wiping out on icy streets in sky-high heels, one where glamour can sometimes be overrated. Click Here To View The Slideshow Hosted by Chase Sapphire Preferred at the Shop, the party seemed to exert a magnetic pull; in a week that has almost as many shindigs as films, the venue quickly filled up.

Title: Gayby Wolfe Releasing Reviewed for Shockya by Harvey Karten Grade: B+ Director: Jonathan Lisecki Screenwriter: Jonathan Lisecki Cast: Jenn Harris, Matthew Wilkas, Mike Doyle, Anna Margaret Hollyman, Jack Ferver, Jonathan Lisecki, Alycia Delmore, Adam Driver, Dulé Hill Screened at: Broadway, NYC, 10/1/12 Opens: October 12, 2012 You won’t see a sitcom like this on “Leave It to Beaver,” one that could divide the gay community into two groups: one faction that might find the movie hilarious and yet another way to convince the straight world that gays are not from Venus with straights from Mars; or an insult feeding into the stereotypes that the straights have about their gay [ Read More ]

The post Gayby Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

When indie filmmaker Lynn Shelton moved forward with her latest effort "Touchy Feely" which stars Rosemarie DeWitt, Scoot McNairy and Ellen Page among others, we had presumed the worst for "Laggies," the Andrea Seigel-scripted relationship tale Shelton was set to tackle next. Thankfully, it looks like that project has merely been shifted rather than removed from Shelton's calendar and it now has a Hollywood comedy stalwart on board.

An insightful NY Times profile on the helmer notes that Shelton was forced push up plans for "Touchy Feely" after "Laggies" was postponed but, most importantly, that the latter has Paul Rudd on board to star. The project will follow the story of a woman -- described as a 28-year-old living in permanent adolescence, eschewing adulthood and its rules -- who responds to her boyfriend's marriage proposal by pretending to go on a retreat, but spends a week hanging out with...

Each week within this column we strive to pair the latest in theatrical releases to the worthwhile titles currently available on Netflix Instant Watch.

This week Mel Gibson tries to win back the love of moviegoers by returning to theaters, where he and his hand puppet will do battle with a vagrant whose armed to the teeth, a Viking whose wielding a mighty hammer, and a wavering pair of lovers. If you want to fill your weekend with superheroes, imaginary friends, cheating partners and exploitation action stars, we’ve got you covered!

—

Thor

Marvel continues their Avengers franchise with this fish-out-of-water adventure that posits the Viking warrior in modern-day America. Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman and Kat Dennings co-star.

Superman: The Movie (1978) Arguably the first superhero movie of note, this Richard Donner-directed adventure pits the Man of Steel (Christopher Reeve) against the nefarious Lex Luther (Gene Hackman). Margot Kidder...

The posse from "Humpday" last Friday night walking the Blue Carpet at the Film Independent Spirit Awards in downtown Los Angeles ahead of their win of the John Cassavetes Award (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000; award given to the writer, director, and producer). Pictured are: "Humpday" lead actor Josh Leonard, D.P. Ben Kasulke, actress Alycia Delmore, and writer/director Lynn Shelton. The Blue carpet itself was quite a ...

Out This Week

Avatar (12A)

(James Cameron, 2009, Us) Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver. 163 mins

The King Of The World returns with an awesomely expensive epic that makes everything else out there look cheap. It really is a visit to a strange new world: part-prog rock album cover, part-Japanese anime come to life. The mix of real action and animation is flawless, the 3D is unobtrusively immersive, and Cameron has lost none of his gift for gripping, purposeful action. It's a shame the story is so un-revolutionary: a formulaic mix of A Man Called Horse, other Cameron movies, The Matrix Sequels, and Ferngully: The Last Rainforest, all washed down with an eco message that's at odds with the technological spectacle served up. But you'd be churlish not to be carried away by the experience. Come on, this is amazing!

Nine (12A)

(Rob Marshall, 2009, Us) Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Penélope Cruz.

Tacoma - Who could imagine making a documentary about dolphins could lead to so much trouble. When director Louie Psihoyos exposed what the Japanese locals were doing to dolphins in Taiji, Japan in The Cove, he found himself a wanted man. This sea-side community celebrates their relationship with the dolphin. But there’s a darkside when they herd dolphins into a cove, sell the prized ones to aquariums for $150,000 each. The remaining dolphins are slaughtered and given to school kids as whale meat. He found himself wanted by the Japanese law for various charges including videotaping undercover police officers.

Certain folks have defended this slaughter as cultural dining. How dare Americans protest what the Japanese eat. The falsely labeled dolphin meat has toxic levels of mercury. Remember that this is the same Japan that will shut off imports of American agriculture and livestock with the rumor of something being amiss.

Are you man enough for a little man-on-man action? Lynn Shelton's film Humpday pushes the boundaries of the buddy movie right over the line

You might have noticed that films about guys have been getting pretty

gay lately. Of course, homosociality has underpinned many Hollywood genres from the off – gangster movies, war movies and buddy movies all thrive on men appreciating each other's manliness – and the American classics are studded with such adorable couples as Felix and Oscar, Butch and Sundance, and Ratso and Joe. But over the past few years, the sap has been rising.

If 2005's Brokeback Mountain didn't exactly open the floodgates to a mainstream queer romance cycle – the tantalising trailer for Satan's Alley embedded in Tropic Thunder notwithstanding – it ushered in some notable toe-dipping. The comedies of the Judd Apatow stable are full of male bonding that revels in pseudo-sodomitic signifiers, especially Superbad and Pineapple Express...

Chicago – While Apatowian bromances like “I Love You, Man” play male bonding for laughs, Lynn Shelton’s perceptive indie comedy delves into the untapped complexities of brotherly love. After garnering the Special Jury Prize at Sundance, “Humpday” had a very limited theatrical run, and deserves to find an audience on DVD. It is one of the best micro-budget indies to fall under the media-created genre definition of “mumblecore.” These films examine the sex lives and relationships of ordinary twenty- and thirty-somethings with a level of candid intimacy rarely achieved in mainstream filmmaking.

DVD Rating: 4.0/5.0

Shelton is one of the few “mumblecore” filmmakers who attempts to bridge her improvisational scenes with a strong narrative arc (the Duplass Brothers made a similar successful effort in “The Puffy Chair”). In “Humpday,” Mark Duplass (currently on FX’s “The League”) stars as Ben, a young man on the verge of starting a family with...

Magnolia Pictures just sent us the release locations for the comedy “Humpday” by writer/director Lynn Shelton, director of My Effortless Brilliance and recipient of the “Someone to Watch Award” at the 2009 Independent Spirit Awards, expertly mines the biggest ironies of the male ego to hilarious effect. “Humpday” starring Mark Duplass, Joshua Leonard and Alycia Delmore is a buddy movie gone wild. “Humpday” opens tomorrow 8/7/2009 in these locations: Tempe, Az: Valley Art 1 Theatre Palm Desert, CA: Cinemas Palme D’Or Sacramento, CA: Crest Theatre Santa Barbara, CA: Plaza De Oro Santa Cruz, CA: Nickelodeon Theatres Hartford, Ct: Cinema City 4 New Haven, Ct: Criterion Cinemas 7 University City, Mo: Tivoli Theatre Montclair, NJ: Clairidge Cinemas 3 Manhasset, NY: Manhasset Cinemas [...]...

Talk about testing a friendship. In Lynn Shelton’s Humpday, two college buddies are reunited and soon, via a drunken dare, decide to film themselves having sex, though both men are straight and no latent attraction exists between them. Hilarity ensues, right? Well, yes and no.

While the plot of Humpday is undeniably titillating, its themes and observations are utterly serious—and seriously funny. Writer/Director Shelton (who also appears in a small but pivotal role) scored critical points with last year’s My Effortless Brilliance, another Indie of the "Mumblecore" variety that examined male friendship. For whatever reason, she’s really nailed (pardon the pun) this particular corner of the relationship universe. Shelton’s observations about male bonding rituals and their attending insecurities are of a rare quality; in short, they feel totally true. She’s able to capture that truth in beautifully awkward, small moments, without obvious gags or punchlines.

Quickcard Review

Humpday

Directed by: Lynn Shelton

Cast: Mark Duplass, Joshua Leonard, Alycia Delmore, Lynn Shelton

Running Time: 1 hr 30 mins

Rating: R

Release Date: July 31, 2009 (Portland)

Plot: It’s been a decade since Ben (Duplass) and Andrew (Leonard) were in college. Ben has settled down and found a job, wife (Delmore), and home. Andrew took the alternate route as a vagabond artist. One drunk night leads to the idea of making “art” by taping two straight guys having sex … with each other.

Who’s It For? Looking for a conversation flick that tackles some new ground? You’ve come to the right place.

Expectations: Based on the poster (my only knowledge of the film) I decided I was sitting down to a movie about to homosexuals who pretty much had the personalities of two straight guys … and one had a big beard.

Overall

Oh indie films (happy sigh). There are...

Plot: Ben (Mark Duplass), and Andrew (Joshua Leonard), have been friends for years. While Ben.s settled down into suburban domesticity with his wife Anna (Alycia Delmore), the more freewheeling Andrew has spent more of his life on the road, wandering aimlessly from one situation to another. One night at a party, the two friends get drunk, and enter an amateur porn festival, where they commit to making a film which will feature the two men having sex.with each other. Review: Humpday is...

Release Date: July 10 (limited)

Director: Lynn Shelton

Writer: Lynn Shelton

Starring: Mark Duplass, Joshua Leonard, Alycia Delmore

Cinematographer: Benjamin Kasulke

Studio/Run Time: Magnolia Pictures, 95 mins.

Ben and Andrew’s infinitely awkward sex dare

If Kevin Smith’s movie Zack and Miri Make a Porno had an ounce of spontaneity and a drop of wisdom, it might have resembled Humpday, the new film from Lynn Shelton. I’m not sure that Shelton would care much for the comparison, since she’s made a comedy with real characters and very few, if any, raunchy jokes, but the plots are similar enough that Humpday feels like Zack and Miri’s low-budget indie cousin.

Humpday's premise, at a glance, could be mistaken for an ancient proverb. If two straight guys bone in a hotel room and only a camera sees it, does it make them gay?

The two guys are best buds Ben (Mark Duplass) and Andrew (Joshua Leonard), who come to this junction during a house party as a pot and alcohol-infused decision. Andrew is a scruffy backpacker surprising his college buddy Ben, now a happily married working stiff. Inebriated, they figure it would be both artsy and hilarious to submit to the Humpfest amateur porn festival a video of two totally straight guys having gay sex for the first time. An easy way in for a set-up, sure, but how else do you suggest it consensually?

In another film, once the hangover kicks in, the plot would have ended. "Dude, about last night..." "We were drunk. Let's never mention it ever again.

Chicago – In our latest edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 25 admit-two run-of-engagement tickets to the new comedy “Humpday” with Mark Duplass (the writer of “Baghead”), Joshua Leonard, Alycia Delmore, Lynn Shelton and Trina Willard from director Lynn Shelton.

“Humpday” opens in Chicago on July 24, 2009. To win your “Humpday” pass courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, all you need to do is tell us your best dare story in this Web-based submission form. That’s it! Directions to enter this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup and win can be found beneath the graphic below.

“Humpday” stars Mark Duplass and Joshua Leonard from director Lynn Shelton.

Image credit: Magnolia Pictures

Here is the synopsis for “Humpday”:

It has been a decade since Ben (Mark Duplass) and Andrew (Joshua Leonard) were the bad boys of their college campus. Ben has settled down and found a job, wife and home. Andrew took the alternate route...

I recently had the chance to sit down and talk to Lynn Shelton (pictured above), writer and director of "Humpday," a comedy starring Mark Duplass, Joshua Leonard and Alycia Delmore. Here is the film's synopsis:

It's been a decade since Ben (Duplass) and Andrew (Leonard) were the bad boys of their college campus. Ben has settled down and found a job, wife, and home. Andrew took the alternate route as a vagabond artist, skipping the globe from Chiapas to Cambodia. When Andrew shows up unannounced on Ben's doorstep, they easily fall back into their old dynamic of macho one-upmanship.

Late into the night at a wild party, the two find themselves locked in a mutual dare: to enter an amateur porn contest together. But what kind of boundary-breaking, envelope pushing porn can two straight dudes make? After the booze and "big talk" run out, only one idea remains—they will have sex together.

See four new clips from Magnolia Pictures' "Humpday," starring Mark Duplass, Joshua Leonard, Alycia Delmore, Lynn Shelton and Trina Willard. The film came out this Friday in New York and Los Angeles and is helmed by Lynn Shelton. It’s been a decade since Ben (Duplass) and Andrew (Leonard) were the bad boys of their college campus. Ben has settled down and found a job, wife, and home. Andrew took the alternate route as a vagabond artist, skipping the globe from Chiapas to Cambodia. When Andrew shows up unannounced on Ben’s doorstep, they easily fall back into their old dynamic of macho one-upmanship. Late into the night at a wild party, the two find themselves locked in a mutual dare: to enter an amateur porn contest together.

You would be hard pressed to find something more hot than the man love that goes on in Lynn Shelton’s ‘Humpday’. In fact, you can probably bet that you have never seen “bromance” like this before.

When this movie hit Sundance this past year it immediately started to get buzz because it has such a great storyline, and the characters Lynn created as so stimulating you cant help but fall in love with all of them. It was being touted as a “mumblecore” movie which at the time made absolutely no sense to me since that term does nothing to describe the actual genre, or style of the film. Basically what “mumblecore” really boils down to is low budget, indie films that are mostly improvised. Looking up that term on Wikipedia lends the names of Lynn Shelton and Mark Duplass (who along with Joshua Leonard stars in ‘Humpday’) as...

Few kinds of art are more boring than the insistently transgressive, and few movies are more boring than "Humpday," which features two straight guys who spend an hour discussing whether they should have sex with each other as an artistic statement.

Ben (Mark Duplass), a conventional Seattle husband, is in baby-making mode with his wife (Alycia Delmore) when his Kerouac-y best bud from college, wild child Andrew (he even has a beard and -- gasp! -- tattoos!), shows up and moves in. "You got the car,...

The first time I saw a mumblecore film, I was at the Woodstock Film Festival’s venue in Rhinebeck, New York. The film I really wanted to see was Stuart Samuel’s documentary Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream (an excellent film if you get a chance). The bus to Rhinebeck from Poughkeepsie was on a weekend schedule and, long story short; I ended up getting to the venue extremely early. If you couldn’t guess, the screening of Midnight Movies started at midnight. The movie screening before it was called Dance Party USA. This Aaron Katz-directed film follows teenagers in the days leading up to and following a Fourth of July house party. Dance Party USA is one of the seminal films in the mumblecore movement. I hadn’t seen anything quite like it. The footage is all shot digitally, made using low-tech camera and lighting equipment.

Mumblecore mans up.

Mark Duplass and Joshua Leonard in "Humpday"

Photo: Magnolia Pictures

If two straight guys decide to have sex together for an "art project," does that make them gay? Brave? Or just arty in a new and pathetically pretentious way? In "Humpday," director Lynn Shelton leaves those questions unresolved, which does stir thought. If only thought-stirring were all we wanted from a movie.

Essentially, Shelton's two protagonists, Ben (Mark Duplass) and Andrew (Joshua Leonard), seem clueless about who they really are on any level. Ben is a Seattle transportation planner — a settled-down slacker — who's living an idyllic white-picket-fence life with his wife, Anna (Alycia Delmore). Andrew is a free-as-a-breeze "artist" who has yet to create any art. Ben and Andrew are old friends with an ostentatiously intense bond. Andrew's been out of touch for a while (working on another "project" in Mexico), but when he shows up at...

Mumblecore mans up.

Mark Duplass and Joshua Leonard in "Humpday"

Photo: Magnolia Pictures

If two straight guys decide to have sex together for an "art project," does that make them gay? Brave? Or just arty in a new and pathetically pretentious way? In "Humpday," director Lynn Shelton leaves those questions unresolved, which does stir thought. If only thought-stirring were all we wanted from a movie.

Essentially, Shelton's two protagonists, Ben (Mark Duplass) and Andrew (Joshua Leonard), seem clueless about who they really are on any level. Ben is a Seattle transportation planner — a settled-down slacker — who's living an idyllic white-picket-fence life with his wife, Anna (Alycia Delmore). Andrew is a free-as-a-breeze "artist" who has yet to create any art. Ben and Andrew are old friends with an ostentatiously intense bond. Andrew's been out of touch for a while (working on another "project" in Mexico), but when he shows up at...

Lynn Shelton's new film Humpday rests on a delicious premise: what if two straight guys, recently reunited college buddies - one a house-owning married frump named Ben (writer/director/actor Mark Duplass) and the other, Andrew, a peripatetic wandering bohemian (Joshua Leonard, The Blair Witch Project) - make a stupid drunken bet to go 'beyond gay' in an amateur porn film? The result is an awkward, funny lost weekend as the two old friends one-up each other in displays of machismo and bravado. And although the silly, emotional foibles of dudes are what's driving the story, Shelton and crew (including the nicely nuanced Alycia Delmore as Anna, Ben's wife) take the simple plot into interesting places. As Ben and Andrew figure out whether they're going to go through with the bet or not, they're exploring universal issues, spurred on by sexuality: the pursuit of art, and the faces and...

I've been accused in the past of having knee-jerk negative reactions to crowd-pleasers, and those accusations have not always been without a kernel of truth: it's true that I tend to be skeptical of movies which instantly entertain but never ask us to ask what they're really up to, and of that, I'm not ashamed. But this is not a problem with the tough-to-resist Humpday, Lynn Shelton's whip-smart, uproariously funny comedy, in which a dumb, drunken, "bros will be bros" dare serves as the in point to talk about, amongst other things, the inevitable loss of self in long term relationships and the ongoing conquest to reconcile who we really are with who we'd like to think we could be. Youngish marrieds Ben (Mark Duplass) and Anna (Alycia Delmore) are comfortably, chastely slumbering in their pleasant Seattle home when they're a ...

This year’s Sundance sensation Humpday is finally making its way into a limited release. The comedy, billed as the bromance to end all bromances, is the third feature from Mumblecore veteran Lynn Sheldon (following My Effortless Brilliance). The story revolves around two old college buddies decide (after lots of booze) to enter an amateur porn contest and have sex on camera together. Issues arise in the fact that they are totally strait and one is happily married. Many critics are predicting that this could be the first breakout hit of the new indie genre. The film opens in limited release on July 10th and stars Mark Duplass, Joshua Leonard, Alycia Delmore and Lynn Sheldon herself.

Title: Humpday Directed by: Lynn Shelton (My Effortless Brilliance) Actors: Mark Duplass, Joshua Leonard and Alycia Delmore. Scores: Technical: 75, Story: 95, Acting: 95, Overall: 88 Forget what you think you know about “bromances” from major studio movies, such as Warner Bros. Pictures’ The Hangover, even though it was number one at the box office for two weeks. Humpday, the new comedy that was written, produced and directed by Lynn Shelton and is part of the independent mumblecore movement (movies that usually focus on personal relationships between twenty-somethings, have improvised scripts and feature mostly non-professional actors), was expertly made to show what old, partying college friends really do when they get back together. The [...]...

Director: Lynn Shelton Writer(s): Lynn Shelton Starring: Mark Duplass, Joshua Leonard, Alycia Delmore, Lynn Shelton, Trina Willard Let's play a game! First, imagine a film titled Humpday directed by Chuck Levine, starring Adam Sandler and Kevin James. Next, imagine a film titled Humpday directed by Judd Apatow, starring Seth Rogen and Paul Judd. Ok, now imagine the above-mentioned films with the following plot: two male friends reunite after not seeing each other for an extended period of time. One friend is married and settled down in a "white picket fence" lifestyle; the other friend is a freewheeling nomad pulled straight from the pages of Kerouac. During a drunken and drugged-out binge, the two friends decide that they are going to make a porn film together in which two straight guys (played by the two friends) have sex. You can pretty much image how both of those films would turn out,...

Apple.com just released an exclusive new HD movie trailer from the upcoming Magnolia Pictures comedy “Humpday” by writer/director Lynn Shelton, director of My Effortless Brilliance and recipient of the “Someone to Watch Award” at the 2009 Independent Spirit Awards, expertly mines the biggest ironies of the male ego to hilarious effect. “Humpday” starring Mark Duplass, Joshua Leonard and Alycia Delmore is a buddy movie gone wild. Click Here to watch the trailer in HD over at Apple.com. Synopsis: It’s been a decade since Ben (Duplass) and Andrew (Leonard) were the bad boys of their college campus. Ben has settled down and found a job, wife, and home. Andrew took the alternate route [...]...

Magnolia Pictures just sent us the first official movie poster from the upcoming comedy “Humpday” by writer/director Lynn Shelton, director of My Effortless Brilliance and recipient of the “Someone to Watch Award” at the 2009 Independent Spirit Awards, expertly mines the biggest ironies of the male ego to hilarious effect. “Humpday” starring Mark Duplass, Joshua Leonard and Alycia Delmore is a buddy movie gone wild. Synopsis: It’s been a decade since Ben (Duplass) and Andrew (Leonard) were the bad boys of their college campus. Ben has settled down and found a job, wife, and home. Andrew took the alternate route as a vagabond artist, skipping the globe from Chiapas to Cambodia. [...]...

SXSW is one of my favorite festivals of the year as it showcases some of the best and most innovative real independent films, and with this host of world premiers, it's also playing alot of Sundance material as well as genre fare from all over the world, many of which we've covered heavily in these pages.

From the Sundance lineup, we have films like Moon, The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle, You Won't Miss Me, Grace, and Humpday, among others.

For the world genre material we've covered, there's Lake Mungo, The Square, Zift, and Awaydays.

I think you get the point that lots of great looking film will be playing. I'll leave a bit of the exploration to you..

Lineup after the break.

Narrative Features Competition

Artois the Goat

Director: Kyle Bogart. Writer: Cliff and Kyle Bogart

Lab technician Virgil Gurdies embarks on an epic quest to craft the greatest...

Thought it couldn't get any gayer than Milk? Guess again. Well, that's not entirely true, but the concept of Humpday may throw some audiences for a loop, but I promise it's worth it in the end. In short, when an old college buddy unexpectedly shows up late one night, his arrival causes his friend's happily married life to take a wild spin. The two male buddies decide, while inebriated and in the company of other gays, to shoot a gay porn together just to prove their love for one each other. Don't worry, it's rather light-hearted and tremendously funny and should please audiences in a way they've never been pleased before. Humpday stars fellow filmmaker Mark Duplass (one half of the Duplass Brothers) as Ben and newcomer Alycia Delmore as his wife Anna. Joshua Leonard plays Ben's old college buddy Andrew and reminds me a bit too much of Zach Galifianakis.

I've been accused in the past of having knee-jerk negative reactions to crowd-pleasers, and those accusations have not always been without a kernel of truth: it's true that I tend to be skeptical of movies which instantly entertain but never ask us to ask what they're really up to, and of that, I'm not ashamed. But this is not a problem with the tough-to-resist Humpday, Lynn Shelton's whip-smart, uproariously funny comedy which uses a dumb, drunken, "bros will be bros" dare as the in point to talk about, amongst other things, the inevitable loss of self in long term relationships and the ongoing conquest to reconcile who we really are with who we'd like to think we could be. Youngish marrieds Ben (Mark Duplass) and Anna (Alycia Delmore) are comfortably, chastely slumbering in their pleasant Seattle home when they're awoken i ...

I've been accused in the past of having knee-jerk negative reactions to crowd-pleasers, and those accusations have not always been without a kernel of truth: it's true that I tend to be skeptical of movies which instantly entertain but never ask us to ask what they're really up to, and of that, I'm not ashamed. But this is not a problem with the tough-to-resist Humpday, Lynn Shelton's whip-smart, uproariously funny comedy which uses a dumb, drunken, "bros will be bros" dare as the in point to talk about, amongst other things, the inevitable loss of self in long term relationships and the ongoing conquest to reconcile who we really are with who we'd like to think we could be. Youngish marrieds Ben (Mark Duplass) and Anna (Alycia Delmore) are comfortably, chastely slumbering in their pleasant Seattle home when they're awoken i ...