MOVIE BUZZ: Directors explore Brooklyn and pot smokers

Directors explore Brooklyn and pot smokers

July 24, 2008

WHO John Malkovich

THE DEAL Independent film has seen better days: Warner Bros. is shutting down both Warner Independent Pictures and Picturehouse; the New York-based ThinkFilm is on the financial ropes; and London's Tartan Films has closed its doors. But two studios, according to Variety, are teaming up during these tough times: Malkovich's Mr. Mudd ("Ghost World," "The Libertine") and Mandate Pictures, which collaborated on last year's "Juno." Their next project, part of a two-year deal, will be "Broken City," a noir about a private detective battling corruption., recently acquired "Frontrunners," a documentary that follows the campaigns of four student-body presidential candidates at Stuyvesant High School, one of New York City's most competitive and prestigious public schools. The film, which Yauch spotted in February at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas, is scheduled for release Oct. 15 at Film Forum in Manhattan, though its thunder may be stolen by tomorrow's release of "American Teen," another documentary that follows five high-schoolers through their senior year.

WHO John Malkovich

THE DEAL Independent film has seen better days: Warner Bros. is shutting down both Warner Independent Pictures and Picturehouse; the New York-based ThinkFilm is on the financial ropes; and London’s Tartan Films has closed its doors. But two studios, according to Variety, are teaming up during these tough times: Malkovich’s Mr. Mudd ("Ghost World," "The Libertine") and Mandate Pictures, which collaborated on last year’s "Juno." Their next project, part of a two-year deal, will be "Broken City," a noir about a private detective battling corruption.

THE MOVIE " The Wackness"

THE DEAL Though it has grossed only a modest $742,785 since its July 3 release, "The Wackness" received the kind of surprisingly good reviews that can sometimes make for a sleeper hit. The oddball comedy stars Ben Kingsley as a pot-smoking psychiatrist who befriends his teenage drug-dealer client (Josh Peck). Tomorrow, the film expands its theatrical run to 28 theaters, up from the initial six, according to

BoxOfficeMojo.com. On Long Island, the film will play at theaters in Farmingdale, Malverne, Manhasset, Roosevelt Field, Southampton and Stony Brook.