Chris Smith: Last News

On Wednesday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released its shortlists for 10 categories (excluding directing and acting) ahead of the official nominees announcement scheduled for January 24 and Oscars ceremony on March 12.The 10 categories (scroll down for full list) include documentary feature film, documentary short film, international feature film, makeup and hairstyling, original score, original song, animated short film, live action short film, sound, and visual effects.One of the most obvious snubs was Gina Prince-Bythewood's historical epic The Woman King starring Viola Davis, which landed on many critics top 10 lists and received a 94% critic approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Not including acting or directing! On Wednesday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released its shortlists for 10 categories (excluding directing and acting) ahead of the official nominees announcement scheduled for January 24 and Oscars ceremony on March 12Todd Field's critically-acclaimed cancel culture drama Tár starring Cate Blanchett as a problematic orchestra conductor was not on the list.Also missing but beloved by critics was Chris Smith's b&w intimate portrait Sr., which detailed the relationship between counterculture filmmaker Robert Downey Sr.

Best Documentary Feature front runners All That Breathes, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, Fire of Love, and The Territory are safely through to the next round after the Academy’s Documentary Branch whittled the list of remaining contenders to a shortlist of 15 films.

Brian Reid hopes to have four of his eight injured Albion Rovers stars back for Saturday’s clash at home to Elgin City.

Deadline on Wednesday launched its streaming site for Contenders Film: Documentary, the award-season showcase that took place Sunday with creatives from 20 of the year’s buzziest non-fiction movies.

EXCLUSIVE: After festival premieres in Telluride, AFI and New York, the Chris Smith-directed documentary Sr. just began its run on Netflix. What began as a docu about Robert Downey Sr, the ’60s counterculture director of avant garde films like Putney Swope and Greaser’s Palace, Sr. evolved into much more as the process stretched over three years due to the pandemic and the decline of the subject’s health. Robert Downey Jr., who spurned Smith’s offer to make a docu about his life and career, became more of a central figure onscreen, along with producing with wife and Team Downey partner Susan Downey. On full display is all the mad wit that informed Downey Sr’s films (Paul Thomas Anderson considered Downey Sr. a formative influence and put him in Boogie Nights and Magnolia). Sr. became something you don’t see often: candor from two generations of a film family that got chewed up but managed to come out the other side intact, bonding and healing before Downey Sr. succumbed to Parkinson’s in July 2021 at age 85. Here, his Jr. describes what the journey means to him.

It took a long, long time for Richard Branson to achieve his goal of blasting off into space, but it finally occurred last year after more than a billion dollars invested through his company Virgin Galactic. 

EXCLUSIVE: XTR, the non-fiction studio behind Apple’s They Call Me Magic and Oscar-nominated feature doc Ascension, has hired Shane Riley as Head of Sales and Distribution Strategy. 

EXCLUSIVE: Billy McFarland, the founder of the notorious Fyre Festival, is out of prison and starting his latest venture – returning to the Bahamas for a treasure hunt.

Clayton Davis The Critics Choice Documentary Awards announced its nominees where Sara Dosa’s lava-fueled love story “Fire of Love” led the field with seven nominations including best documentary feature and director. Co-distributed by National Geographic and Neon, the film’s Ryan White’s “Good Night Oppy,” the moving reflection on the Mars rovers, received a hearty six-nom tally including editing and score. “This year’s nominees prove that documentaries of all lengths and formats are advancing nonfiction media like never before,” said Christopher Campbell, Co-President of the Critics Choice Association Documentary Branch.

Meredith Woerner Deputy Editor, Variety.com Mike Schank, guitarist, actor, friend and beloved subject of the 1999 documentary “American Movie,” died on Thursday morning, according to the Milwaukee Record. He was 56. The exceedingly gifted screamer was a highlight from the cult classic directed by Chris Smith. The film followed Wisconsin director Mark Borchardt as he attempted to film his fraught horror movie “Coven.” With a crew made up of friends and family members, just about every part of the production process fell apart, except for Schank, who was always there for his friend. Schank appeared as an extra, assistant, edit bay buddy and epic storyteller.

Meredith Woerner Deputy Editor, Variety.com Guitarist, actor, friend and beloved subject from the 1999 documentary “American Movie” Mike Schank has died. According to the Milwaukee Record, Schank passed away early this morning, he was 56. The exceedingly gifted screamer was a highlight from the cult-loved documentary directed by Chris Smith. The film followed Wisconsin director Mark Borchardt as he attempted to film his fraught horror movie “Coven.” With a crew made up of friends and family members, just about every part of the production process fell apart, except for Schank who was always there for his friend. Schank appeared as an extra, assistant, edit bay buddy and epic storyteller.

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When September rolls around, it means one thing for many of the top filmmakers in the world – time to hit the road. Venice, Telluride and Toronto come in rapid succession, to the point of overlapping. But for documentary filmmakers eager to showcase their work, there’s another important stop to make in September: the Camden International Film Festival in mid-coast Maine.

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic Just how polished does a career-spanning documentary about the anarchic underground filmmaker behind “Greaser’s Palace” and “Putney Swope” need to be? If you’ve seen any of Robert Downey’s films, the answer is obviously: not very. You might even say, the scrappier the better. So goes the thinking behind “Sr.,” a loose seemingly seat-of-your-pants portrait of the antiestablishment director (perhaps best known for siring “Iron Man” star Robert Downey Jr.) that sneaks up on ya, emotionally speaking, seeing as how it doubles as a kind of farewell exercise between the two generations (plus grandson Exton) in the months before Downey succumbed to Parkinson’s Disease.

Addie Morfoot Contributor The Telluride Film Festival’s emphasis on documentary has not wavered in recent years. But the prominence of nonfiction fare at the 49th edition has arguably made this year’s Telluride the autumn Sundance, where some of the biggest buzz is for docs. The lineup, kept under wraps until the eve of the fest’s opening on Sept. 2, includes 16 docs from novice and veteran documentarians, including Steve James (“A Compassionate Spy”), Matthew Heineman (“Retrograde”), Chris Smith (“Sr.”) Ondi Timoner (“Last Flight Home”) and Ryan White (“Good Night Oppy”). (Additional “secret” screenings have yet to be announced.) The rising level of documentaries at the Colorado fest is largely due to the influence of Telluride executive director Julie Huntsinger.

The BBC swapped Grange Hill for Grange Academy in Kilmarnock to film a group of maths whizzes.

It’s one thing to have the moves like Jagger — it’s another to wow Mick Jagger so much he starts dancing in the studio. However, such pinch-me moments have become common for “Sugar” singer Francesco Yates, whose musical rise has also seen him make his mark with Drake, tour with Justin Timberlake, and get memorable advice from Sir Paul McCartney.

Addie Morfoot ContributorThe 18th edition of the Camden Intl. Film Festival, kicking off Sept. 15, will feature a handful of award-contending documentaries fresh off showings at Telluride and the Toronto film festivals.

EXCLUSIVE: WME has signed the Emmy-winning husband-and-wife filmmaking team of Bryan Storkel and Amy Bandlien Storkel, as well as their non-scripted production company, Sidestilt Films.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter“She Said,” a drama about the sexual harassment investigation that took down Harvey Weinstein and sparked the #MeToo movement, will have its world premiere at the New York Film Festival.The Universal Pictures movie is screening as part of the festival’s spotlight section. Other movies that will be highlighted include Chinonye Chukwu’s historical drama “Till,” Elvis Mitchell’s documentary “Is That Black Enough for You?!?,” James Ivory and Giles Gardner’s non-fiction film “A Cooler Climate,” and Martin Scorsese and David Tedeschi’s New York Dolls documentary “Personality Crisis: One Night Only.”Additional spotlight entries include “Bones and All,” directed by Luca Guadagnino and starring Taylor Russell and Timothée Chalamet; Marco Bellocchio’s “Exterior Night,” a six-part series about the kidnapping and eventual murder of the Italy’s influential statesman and former prime minister Aldo Moro; director Lars von Trier’s “The Kingdom Exodus,” a third season of his television series The Kingdom; Chris Smith’s “Sr.”, a look at the life and career of Robert Downey Jr.’s late father, Robert Downey, Sr.; “The Super 8 Years,” a story about writer-director Annie Ernaux’s family’s memory; and Sarah Polley’s “Women Talking,” a screen adaptation of Miriam Toews’ novel about women from a remote religious community dealing with the aftermath of sexual assault.

EXCLUSIVE: Gravitas Ventures has acquired U.S. rights to the 2022 SXSW award winner The Pez Outlaw, from directors Amy Bandlien Storkel and Bryan Storkel, with plans for a day-and-date release on October 21.