In today’s film news roundup, three-time Oscar winner Robert Richardson is honored, Well Go buys a Korean dance drama, USC dominates the DGA student awards, and Phillip Noyce will direct thriller “Alive Day.”
AWARDS
The American Society of Cinematographers has selected Oscar winner Robert Richardson and Emmy winner Jeff Jur for lifetime achievement awards.
The honors will be presented at the 33rd annual ASC Awards gala on Feb. 9 at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood and Highland.
ASC president Kees van Oostrum said, “Celebrating the accomplishments of exceptionally talented cinematographers like Bob Richardson for his innovative approach to feature films, and Jeff Jur for his brilliant interpretations in the world of television drama, is especially important in today’s day and age of cinematography. As we celebrate our 100th anniversary, I cannot imagine better role models, as both have inspired us, and their work continues to embolden the next generation of cinematographers.”
Richardson won Academy Awards for his cinematography on “Hugo” (2012), “The Aviator” (2005), and “JFK” (1992) and received nominations for “The Hateful Eight,” “Django Unchained,” “Inglourious Basterds,” “Snow Falling on Cedars,” “Born on the Fourth of July,” and “Platoon.” He apprenticed with Sven Nykvist and Nestor Almendros.
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Jur collected Emmy Awards for HBO’s “Carnivale” (2004) and for HBO’s “Bessie” (2016). His feature credits include “Dirty Dancing,” “The Big Picture,” “The Last Seduction,” “How Stella Got Her Groove Back,” and “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” TV credits include “Dirty Sexy Money”, “Dexter,” “Westworld,” and “How to Get Away With Murder.”
ACQUISITION
Well Go USA Entertainment has bought North American rights for Korean musical drama “Swing Kids” from Contents Panda.
The movie, set during the Korean War, centers on the soldiers at a POW camp planning a tap show to distract both themselves and the prisoners from the hardships of war — led by a former Broadway dancer and a rebellious North Korean soldier. Written and directed by Kang Hyoung-Chul, “Swing Kids” stars Doh Kyung-Soo, Jared Grimes, Park Hye-Su, Oh Jung-Se, and newcomer Kim Min-Ho.
The film will be released to select North American theaters on Dec. 21 and expand to additional markets on Jan. 4. A digital and home entertainment release is scheduled for later in 2019.
“‘Swing Kids’ is an extraordinary film that celebrates the joy that music and dance can bring to the lives of people in dire circumstances,” said Doris Pfardrescher, president and CEO of Well Go USA.
STUDENT HONORS
The University of Southern California has dominated with four winners among the 2018 DGA Student Film Awards for African American, Asian American, Latino and Women directors.
“We’re honored to bring attention to this exceptional group of filmmakers through the 24th Annual DGA Student Film Awards,” said DGA president Thomas Schlamme. “Highlighting emerging talent is a vital part of the DGA’s ongoing commitment to inclusion, and we’re proud that a number of our past winners found success in film and television. We look forward to following the careers of these promising directors.”
The 2018 Western region winners are Rachel Bass of Chapman University for “Thicker than Water” and Andrew Reid of USC for “ASIA A” for African American students; Sohil Vaidya of USC for “Difficult People” and Lin Sun of Art Center College of Design for “AI-Pocalypse” among Asian American students; Brian Robau of Chapman University for “Esta es tu Cuba” and Victor Alonso-Berbel of USC for “Perfectly Natural” for Latino students; and Kelley Kali of USC for “Lalo’s House” and Dilek Ince of CSUN for “Amal” for women.
The East Region winner for African Americans was Rashad Frett of New York University for “K.I.N.G.” and the Asian American winner was Chieh Yang of Columbia University for “Tail End of the Year.” The region’s Latino student winner was Victoria Rivera of Columbia University for “Verde” while the women winners were Paola Ossa of Montclair University for “Catalina” and Samantha Geis of Savannah College of Art and Design for “Rock and a Hard Place.”
Previous DGA student winners include Jon M. Chu, Ryan Coogler, Nicole Kassell, Patricia Riggen, and Sylvain White.
PROJECT LAUNCH
Voyage Media is partnering with director Phillip Noyce and producer Mike Medavoy to develop “Alive Day,” based on the true story “Six Days to Zeus” by Samuel Hill.
The story centers on a special ops veteran struggling with the possibility that he may be to blame for the decimation of his entire team. “Alive Day” was conceived by Hill, who approached Voyage for help developing his story further, adapting his manuscript into a screenplay and bringing the project to market.
Voyage Media is designed to act as an incubator by providing content creators with mentorship from high-level producers and on-demand access to a variety of resources. Veteran executive Brad Luff is Voyage’s head of originals.
“When Voyage showed me the project, I knew I wanted it to be my next movie,” said Noyce. “They did a great job working with Samuel and helping him get his project ready and into my hands.”
Noyce’s credits include “Patriot Games,” “Salt,” “Clear and Present Danger,” and “The Giver.” Medavoy’s producing credits include “Black Swan,” “Shutter Island,” “The 33,” and “Zodiac.”
“Phil and I have been looking for a project to do together for a while, and this seemed like a natural fit for us. We are excited to work on ‘Alive Day,’ a project discovered through Voyage,” said Medavoy.
