Filmmaker selected for SHOOT’s 2016 New Directors Showcase
Community Films has signed director Marius Crowne, who’s been selected for SHOOT’s 2016 New Directors Showcase. The 14th annual Showcase will be formally unveiled and celebrated this Thursday (5/26) evening during a screening, panel discussion and after party at the DGA Theatre in New York.
Crowne joins a Community directorial roster which includes Seth Gordon, Jared Hess, Michael Patrick Jann, Matt Smukler, Pam Thomas, Clay Tweel, Clay Williams, and Emil Möller. Community Films is headed by exec producers Lizzie Schwartz and Carl Swan.
Raised in the Appalachian steel town of Ashland, KY, Crowne earned a bachelor’s degree in Russian Literature at The University of Kentucky before moving on to studying film at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). After moving to New York, he landed his first job as an ad agency copywriter and spent some time in Paris collaborating with English photographer Katerina Jebb on a video installation starring the likes of Tilda Swinton, Kylie Minogue, and Kristin Scott Thomas. Since then, Crowne has directed content for ACNE, BLK DNM, L.L. Bean, Glade, and Harper Collins.
He has also directed PSAs for The United Nations High Council for Refugees, The Union of Concerned Scientists, Michael Bloomberg’s gun control initiative “Everytown,” and The Syria Campaign. His PSA “The Encyclical”–a parody action movie trailer about Pope Francis and Jesus fighting climate change–was covered in news outlets from NBC Nightly News to People Magazine to The Guardian.
“Heretic” and “Maria” Set As Red Carpet Premieres At AFI Fest
The American Film Institute (AFI) has announced that Heretic, the psychological thriller starring Hugh Grant, and Maria, based on the life of opera singer Maria Callas starring Angelina Jolie, will round out the Red Carpet Premieres section at this year’s AFI Fest. The Heretic Gala Screening will take place on Thursday, October 24, and the Maria Gala Screening will be held on Saturday, October 26. The complete Red Carpet Premieres section includes the world premieres of Music By John Williams, Robert Zemeckis’ Here, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2. All Red Carpet Premieres will take place at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre. The full lineup for AFI Fest 2024 will be unveiled on October 1.
“At the heart of AFI Fest is an unwavering dedication to celebrating the best in global cinema--together,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI president and CEO. “We look forward to uniting artists and audiences once again to be inspired by the art form in a powerful sense of community.”
Heretic follows two young missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) who are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (portrayed by Grant), becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse. The film is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods and produced by Stacey Sher, Beck, Woods, Julia Glausi and Jeanette Volturno. The film will be released nationwide by A24 on November 8.
Directed by Pablo Larraín, Maria presents a tumultuous and beautiful depiction of one of the world’s most renowned artists and reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days in Paris, as Callas (Jolie)... Read More