Jun 21, 2012
Artist Development
Under the auspices of the San Francisco Film Society’s Filmmaker360 program, the recently launched Off the Page series gave writer/director Mario de la Vega the invaluable opportunity to workshop his script for The Undeniable Charm of Sloppy Unruh–the story of a charming rogue’s homecoming to West Texas–with actors Kyle Chandler, John Hawkes and Amy Ryan, June 19th at the Film Society’s offices at the San Francisco Film Centre.
De la Vega’s script won the screenplay section of the Tribeca All Access Connects program. The project is currently being produced by Bona Fide Productions (Little Miss Sunshine, Election).
“Off the Page is such a gift for a project like Sloppy,” said de la Vega. “The chance for these great actors to be able to come together, get to know each other and actually workshop the script is special. Often movies with limited budgets don’t get this kind of opportunity. The program has been a real boost of momentum for us, and for that I’m extremely grateful to the Film Society.”
Off the Page was an equally valuable experience for the actors who participated:
“This is the way script development should be done.” –Kyle Chandler
“It was an illuminating experience to be able to take a microscope to the script and have the chance to workshop it with Mario and the other actors.” –John Hawkes
“Today was a beautifully creative day in an extremely inspiring setting with good food and good people.” –Amy Ryan
Mario de la Vega‘s first feature, Robbing Peter, premiered at the 2004 Los Angeles Film Festival and received four 2005 IFP/Independent Spirit Award nominations including the John Cassavetes Award (for best feature under $500,000) and Best First Screenplay. The project was developed in Film Independent’s selective Director’s Lab under instructor Rodrigo Garcia, an award-winning writer/director (Things You Can Tell Just By Looking at Her; Nine Lives). Robbing Peter played at film festivals around the world, winning Best First Feature at the Durango Film Festival, the Sol of Excellence award at the CineSol Film Festival and the jury prize for Best Feature at the Nosotros Film Festival.
In 2004 de la Vega was named in Filmmaker magazine as one of the 25 Faces to Watch in Independent Film. Recent projects include producing the documentaryWall: The Journey Up about a man with cerebral palsy who climbs El Capitan and directing a music video for the indie rock band Bright Eyes. Currently, he writes, directs and produces short format pieces for Rooftop Comedy and lives in Berkeley, California with his wife and two children.
Kyle Chandler is most widely known for his role as Coach Eric Taylor on Friday Night Lights, which wrapped its final season in 2011 to both critical and popular acclaim. For his final season Chandler was awarded with the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor. The NBC/DirecTV drama is based on Peter Berg’s feature film of the same name, which focuses on a Texas high school football team and the struggles they face together, on and off the field.
Up next, Chandler will be seen in Argo, a dramatic thriller directed by and starring Ben Affleck. The film centers on a CIA specialist who works to free six Americans who are hiding in the Tehran home of the Canadian ambassador to Iran. Bryan Cranston, Victor Garber and John Goodman also star. Chandler recently wrapped production on Allen Hughes’ Broken City in which he stars alongside Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Broken City is scheduled for release in early 2013.
Chandler’s additional film credits include J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg’s Super 8, The Day the Earth Stood Still costarring Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly, the thriller The Kingdom with Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner, the box-office hit King Kong, Mulholland Falls, Angel’s Dance, Pure Country and The Color of Evening.
John Hawkes has been working non-stop since his critically acclaimed performance in Winter’s Bone. The role, which earned him an Independent Spirit Award and an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, along with nominations from the Screen Actors Guild and several film critic groups, also garnered him the Virtuoso Award from the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Next up for release is The Sessions (formerly The Surrogate), which won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival and Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln. He has also completed production on Arcadia and The Playroom. Recent releases include Higher Ground with Vera Farmiga, Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion and the Sundance Festival hit Martha Marcy May Marlene, for which Hawkes received an Indie Spirit Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Hawkes previously starred in Me and You and Everyone We Know, which won a Special Jury Prize at Sundance in 2005. It shared Camera d’Or honors and won the Critics Week sidebar at the 2005 Cannes International Film Festival and received two 2006 Independent Spirit Awards nominations. Hawkes’ additional credits includeAmerican Gangster, Miami Vice, Identity, The Perfect Storm, Small Town Saturday Night, Hardball, Wristcutters: A Love Story, The Amateurs, From Dusk Till Dawn and A Slipping-Down Life.
Amy Ryan made her Broadway debut in the 2000 production of Uncle Vanya, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award as Best Featured Actress in a Play. In 2005, she appeared as Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire, earning her second Tony nomination. She also starred in Neil LaBute’s The Distance From Here in London’s West End. On film, for her acclaimed performance in 2007’s Gone Baby Gone, she was recognized with Academy Award, Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress. Her other film credits include Win Win, Green Zone, Jack Goes Boating, Changeling, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, Capote, Dan in Real Life, War of the Worlds, Keane, You Can Count On Me, Bob Funk and The Missing Person. She will next be seen starring opposite Guy Pearce and Felicity Jones this fall in writer/director Drake Doremus’ yet-to-be-titled film produced by Indian Paintbrush and Jonathan Schwartz. Ryan will also be seen starring in The Tomb for Summit Entertainment opposite Sylvester Stallone, Jim Caviezel, 50 Cent and Vincent D’Onofrio. Ryan’s extensive television work includes her starring portrayals as Holly on The Office, Adele on In Treatment and Officer Beatrice ‘Beadie’ Russell on The Wire.
Off the Page is an exciting new addition in the expanding partnership between the San Francisco Film Society and the Kenneth Rainin Foundation. Writer/directors who have received an SFFS / KRF Filmmaking Grant and have completed at least one draft of their screenplay or writer/directors who are interested in applying for the grant are invited to take part in script workshopping at the Film Society’s offices at the San Francisco Film Centre in the Presidio. The participating directors are given the opportunity to work with professional actors who are interested in or being considered for their film.
At the most recent Off the Page in April writer/director Ryan Coogler workshopped his script for Fruitvale, the true story of Oscar Grant, who was fatally shot by a BART policeman in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day 2009, with his lead actors Michael B. Jordan and Melonie Diaz. Coogler was awarded a $100,000 SFFS / KRF Filmmaking Grant this spring.
Off the Page launched in March 2012 when actors Blake Bashoff, Alia Shawkat and Matt L. Jones came to San Francisco for a table reading of Carlton Evans and Matthew Lessner’s Ross, the story of a hardworking young man whose staid, well-established life is upended after he posts an offhand comment to his Facebook profile, drawing the attention of numerous secretive government agencies and setting off a bizarre chain of events. Lessner and Evans received a $50,000 SFFS / KRF Filmmaking Grant for screenwriting last spring and a $40,000 for SFFS / KRF Filmmaking Grant for development this year.
Off the Page workshops will be scheduled several times a year. Participation is by invitation only. Some sessions will include filmmakers who are early in their writing process and are interested in work-shopping specific scenes from their script in a closed workshop. Other sessions will be for writer/directors who are close to a final draft and ready to present their work publicly through a traditional table read. Invited audiences may include producers, industry professionals and filmmaker peers as well as potential collaborators and funders.
For additional information visit sffs.org/filmmaker360.
Kenneth Rainin Foundation is a private family foundation that funds inspiring and world-changing work. The Foundation is dedicated to enhancing quality of life by promoting equitable access to a baseline of literacy, enabling inspiration through the arts and supporting research that will lead to relief for those with chronic disease. The Foundation will focus its efforts on the San Francisco Bay Area and specific medical issues and will utilize its networks, resources, and commitment to socially responsible practices to support innovation, collaboration and connection. For more information visit krfoundation.org.