Sasha Stern has joined bicoastal Epoch Films as East Coast sales representative. Stern will be based in Epoch’s New York office….F.M. Rocks Commercials, Santa Monica, has hired Peter McCann of MI Management, New York, for representation on the East Coast….Kari Romeo has joined bicoastal/international Chelsea Pictures as East Coast sales representative. Romeo will be based in Chelsea’s New York office….Los Angeles production house Seed has secured Chris Zander and Lauren Bleiweiss of New York-based Zander Reps to handle the East Coast. Seed was formed earlier this year by its parent company, Science+ Fiction, a two-year-old branded programming think tank/production studio owned by commercial production vets Blair Stribley and Roy Skillicorn (of Backyard Productions, Venice, Calif., and Chicago), producer Steven Mendelson and former ILM Commercials VP/GM Kevin Townsend….Rex Edit, Venice, has signed Kelley A. Class, Marina del Rey, Calif., for representation on the West Coast and in the Midwest….Caren Colodny has joined earth2mars, New York, as director of business development…. DeepMix Music, Hollywood, has signed Michelle Stuart and Maria Stenz of New York-based Stenz & Company for East Coast representation….Production designer Marla Weinhoff is again available for commercials via bicoastal Paradigm after having completed the feature Heights….
Marlee Matlin Is “Not Alone Anymore” At Sundance, Opens Up In A New Documentary
Marlee Matlin gives an unflinchingly honest account of her experiences as a deaf actor in the funny and revelatory documentary "Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore." The film kicked off the 41st Sundance Film Festival Thursday, as the first major premiere in the Eccles Theater in Park City, Utah.
After the screening audiences in the theater, some wiping tears away, greeted Matlin with a standing ovation when she took the stage.
The film delves into all aspects of her life, personal and professional: Her childhood and how her family handled learning she had become deaf at 18 months; her experience winning the best actress Oscar for her first movie role in "Children of a Lesser God" and her allegedly abusive romantic relationship with her co-star, the late William Hurt, which he denied; and her experiences in an industry not equipped to accommodate deaf actors.
The film was directed by Shoshanna Stern, who also is deaf. Matlin specifically requested that Stern take on the project when American Masters approached her about doing a documentary.
Matlin has written about her experiences before, including her volatile relationship with Hurt and drugs, in a memoir, "I'll Scream Later." But before the #MeToo movement, she felt her allegations were largely dismissed or glossed over.
Interviews from the book's press tour show journalists were more interested in the "amazing sex" she said she had with Hurt than the stories of the alleged physical and verbal abuse. One interviewer asked her why she waited "so long" to come forward with the claims.
The documentary isn't just a portrait of Matlin, but a broader look at deaf culture and how Matlin was thrust into the spotlight at a young age as a de facto spokesperson for all deaf... Read More