Olson Brothers Answer “Operator” Call

Directors Amariah and Obin Olson talk about the inspiration for their new film OPERATOR opening in cinemas nationwide October 21, 2015
 

 When a veteran 911 call center Operator's daughter is held hostage, she's left desperate with no choice but to follow a caller's rules; send a message through dispatch for all Los Angeles police and fire units to scatter to remote destinations where they are met with chaos; cars crashing, explosions, and gunfire.

Not knowing who or why, the one thing Amanda knows is if she fails to secretly collaborate with one of the police, her ex-husband - she'll be the sole person responsible for facilitating the biggest crime of the century. Now she must race the clock to make the choice of her life - save the city - or save her daughter.

Operator stars Mischa Barton (The O.C., The Sixth Sense, Notting Hill); Luke Goss (Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Frankenstein, Blade II) Ving Rhames (Mission Impossible, Dawn of The Dead, Pulp Fiction) and Michael Pare (The Lincoln Lawyer, Hope Floats, The Philadelphia Experiment).

“Operator is an action/thriller exploring an aspect of society that is important but often overlooked: 911 call center operators and emergency dispatchers,” says director Amariah Olson

“The Story was compelling for us as directors because of the insight it provides into these unsung heroes, men and women faced with so many crimes and having to learn to deal with these situations as the first response team... and then throw in the thought of “what if this system were taken over by a criminal to pull off the biggest heist of the century?” We thought this idea would be very interesting to explore as a film, thus Operator was born,” he added.

Olson explains the film is about everyday people who get thrown into extraordinary situations. “Luke Goss doesn’t play a superhero cop. In fact, he’s just been demoted and is struggling with his personal life. Mischa Barton’s character is a mother, a behind-the-scenes type of hero. Ving Rhames isn’t just the bad guy. He had to play an intense character with only a phone, no other actors to play off of. Michael Pare’s character is a cop that toys with greed and with frustrations that seem common these days.”

Audiences will enjoy the various layers that make this high-octane film more than the stereotypical shoot-em-up flick. Suspense and intrigue gets woven through every scene. We try to keep the suspense high and the action well-paced. You don’t know what’s going to happen next. You don’t know who’s in on it. You don’t know what’s going to happen to your favorite characters or the characters that you hate the most.

When the audience has to pay Php200 for a film, they need to be able to feel fulfilled when the end credits start rolling. If they can feel gratified with a fun, suspenseful thrill ride that keeps them guessing, then we’ve done our jobs.

Starting October 21, answer the call of the OPERATOR in cinemas nationwide. Distributed by Solar Pictures.

GREEN INFERNO FINALLY GETS THE GREEN LIGHT

After more than a year of waiting, horror movie fans will finally get to see perhaps the most disturbing, and controversial films of the year—THE GREEN INFERNO.

Ahead of its US release, Solar Pictures unleashes the Green Inferno in local cinemas nationwide beginning September 23, 2015.

Directed by Eli Roth, the horror mastermind behind such groundbreaking films as Cabin Fever and the blockbuster Hostel franchise, Green Inferno is a terrifying, twisted and blood-soaked take on the a digital-age phenomenon known as “slacktivism.”

 The Green Inferno tells the story of what happens when “slacktivism”—the well-meaning social-media response to global catastrophes—turns deadly deep in a South American rainforest.

When a group of college students take their humanitarian protest to the Amazon jungle, they are taken prisoner by the indigenous tribe they came to save. Trapped in a remote tribal village, these naïve, technology- dependent students suffer unspeakable acts as the victims of chilling and soul- destroying rituals reserved for only the most threatening intruders.

In early 2012 Eli Roth was working on a script about a group of college students who try to solve the world’s problems by using online videos to publicly embarrass anyone they see as doing wrong. Before he finished writing it, an organization called Invisible Children made the video “KONY 2012,” which urged viewers to help take down Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony.

Fueled by a worldwide social-media frenzy, the video was viewed more than 100 million times. Soon, however, the campaign came under intense criticism for oversimplifying—and in some cases misrepresenting—a complex situation, and the organization’s founder, Jason Russell, suffered a very public breakdown.

Roth was amazed that these real-life events so closely mirrored the central premise of The Green Inferno.

“Everyone in the world was tweeting about something they had learned from a YouTube video, and almost shaming other people into re-tweeting it, as if you were uncaring about Ugandan child soldiers if you didn’t,” he recalls. In the end, the KONY 2012 campaign did almost nothing to solve the problems it highlighted. Yes, it raised awareness, but just re-tweeting links to YouTube videos isn’t actually going to stop warlords.”

For Roth, the controversy surrounding KONY 2012 validated The Green Inferno’s core conceit—the idea that “slacktivism” is often just a way for social media users to feel like they are doing something about horrific events that are completely beyond their control. “It came from a good place, wanting to help others in a far corner of the world,” says Roth. “But ultimately it was more about people feeling better about themselves.”

Although the film offers a pointed commentary on this uniquely 21st-century trend, Roth’s primary
goal is more visceral: to share with audiences his love for blood- curdling movie mayhem. “Horror movies were my passion growing up, and my favorite thing was being scared and watching scary, gory movies with my friends,” he says. “I love to terrify people. As things get worse in this world, and people feel a loss of control over things, they need an outlet, a place they are allowed to be really scared. Where better than in a horror movie?”

THE GREEN INFERNO OPENS IN THEATERS NATIONWIDE BEGINNING SEPTEMBER 23, 2015, FROM SOLAR PICTURES.

PLASTIC: CASTING THE FRAUDSTERS

Brilliant college student Sam has the perfect credit card scam until his crew robs the wrong man. Now they have two weeks to repay ruthless gangster Marcel two million dollars or they will be dead. Sam and his team devise a scheme to clear their debt by heading to Miami to poach enough cash and merchandise.

But they come up short. So Sam and his gang set their sights on a daring jewelry heist that could make them hugely wealthy for life. Their plan turns sour, however, when the team members start turning on each other. Now it’s up to Sam to finish the brazen heist and turn the tables on Marcel before they all go down.

High Octane from start to finish, PLASTIC is based on the incredible true story of the UK Fraudsters from Manchester who stole £20 million worth of diamonds from jewelers in Beverly Hills back in 1997.

The film stars Ed Speleers (Sam), Alfie Allen (Yatesy), Sebastian De Souza (Rafa), Will Poulter (Fordy), and Emma Rigby (Frankie).

Producers Terry Stone and Dan Toland wanted to use the premise of the real story, but decided to change the characters and setting in order to make it more stylish and modern. It meant finding the right people for the characters was even more important to fit in with the Gilbey brother’s vision.
The central ensemble is led by control-freak, Sam, who is played by Ed Speleers (Downtown Abbey, A Lonely Place to Die). Ed had previously worked with Julian before on A Lonely Place to Die so their working relationship was already closely established. Julian was fully aware that Ed was a talented actor who really works at his craft. “He really came up with some good character ideas. He’s a solid leading man and a great guy to work with,” says Julian. Ed had heard of the script not only through his manager but also through Julian. When he realised they wanted someone a lot younger than originally planned, he jumped at the chance to play Sam.

When they approached Alfie Allen (Game of Thrones, Attonement) the crew were thrilled that he was interested in the script. Julian says: “I was in Miami when I got the call that Alfie really wanted to play the role and we just jumped about. He was perfect. Yatesy is a great role; he’s a dreadful, wonderful, spiteful and conflicted character and Alfie puts on a very honest performance. Although the character is very vain, Alfie isn’t at all.” Alfie himself said he loved playing the cheeky rogue and that the entire cast got on really well. “[The producers] got the dynamics of the characters so right,” he says.

The part of Fordy went to Will Poulter (We’re the Millers, The Chronicles of Narnia) who has received nothing but praise for his work on set and his attitude off set from both cast and crew. Poulter explains that he liked the character of Fordy as soon as he read the script. “I got sent the script by my agency and read it and l really enjoyed it. It’s a really fun. I loved the character of Fordy; he’s a lot more intelligent than me.” Julian and Will sat down many times to discuss how to keep Fordy on the side of the audience but still have that level of ambiguity about the character. “I really love Will, he really grounds this film. Playing the straight character is a very difficult thing to do but the truth of the matter is, is how straight is Fordy? He’s working in credit card fraud so he’s still a criminal.”

The character of Rafa, who is seemlingly closer to Yatesy than any of the other boys, is played by Sebastian De Souza (The Borgias, Skins). Plastic is his first feature film after a background in television and he was very “pleased and grateful” to be offered the role after hearing about it through his agency. When speaking about the character, De Souza says “initially you’d read him as a joke of the four boys, but eventually he earns his keep by coming up with the idea that in theory will save them from death by Marcel.”

Last, but not least, is the character of Frankie, played by Emma Rigby (Hollyoaks) who’s also new to the film scene, this being her first lead role in a feature film. “When we originally looked at Emma we just thought well here’s someone really glamorous, she’s got the look of a great Hollywood starlet. The camera absolutely loves her plus she’s a great actress so her central performance is amazing along with Ed’s and there’s that real vibe between them” says Dan Toland.

When talking about the script, Emma says: “I was really interested in it being based on a true story. I also liked the aspect of it being a heist and that the cast were really young.”

When discussing the main cast, Toland says there’s a real vibe and dynamic that really centres all performances. “They all play off each other which really brings the story to life.”

As Julian Gilbey puts it, Plastic is “not another film where a bunch of cockney geezers are blowing people’s heads off in Range Rovers!” What it is is an emotive story about five students, who get out of their depth in the shady world of credit card fraud. Toland describes it as hugely entertaining with “Robin Hood themes” running throughout. It’s British film-making at its best and features an amazing up-and-coming young cast that is set to wow audiences aged from teenagers to adults.

PLASTIC OPENS IN CINEMAS August 26, 2015 (Wednesday) AND IS RELEASED BY SOLAR PICTURES

Lets commit this February on "Comet"

I have always anticipating for an Emmy Rossum film, it is seldom that I see her face on the big screen, the latest was at the 2015 Screen Actors Guild Awards as presenter. I always love her style and acting. Im glad that the 28-year-old actress returns on "Comet" the movie.

“A beautifully rendered experience that excels on nearly every level”  Awards Circuit

Following the success of the Adam Levine-Kiera Knightley starrer Begin Again, Solar Pictures brings to local cinemas “COMET”-- a cosmic love story that is sure to leave audiences with that warm February feeling.

“Comet,” stars Golden Globe nominee Emmy Rossum (“The Day After Tomorrow,” “The Phantom of the Opera,” “Mystic River”) and Justin Long (“Live Free or Die Hard,” “He’s Just Not That Into You”).

“Comet” is an original modern love story that follows Kimberly (Rossum) and Dell (Long), who first meet at the Hollywood cemetery where they’ve both come to watch a meteor shower.

Kimberly is brilliant and beautiful; Dell is nerdy and pessimistic, but with an incredibly sharp mind and direct manner. While she and he are not a natural pair, they are cosmically drawn to each other and, under a night sky, luminous with falling stars, they begin their epic love story.

As the opening title card states the events “take place over six years (a few parallel universes over).”

But what starts as a typical romance quickly turns dreamlike as viewers leap back and forth in time, examining their eventual six-year relationship through the lens of their meeting and four other pivotal moments: a monumental fight at a friend’s wedding in Paris; a break up conversation after Dell has moved to New York; a reconnection on a train ride along the California coast; and finally, when Dell pops in on Kimberly unexpectedly in her home in the Hollywood Hills.

The leaps between these moments are seamlessly woven together to create a sense that this love story transcends time and space and that Kimberly and Dell are destined to be together, if not in this universe, then maybe the next.

Content Media introduced and screened the film to international distributors for the first time at the 2014 American Film Market (AFM) last November and was then picked up by Solar Pictures, among other films.

“The universal theme and inventive storytelling in ‘Comet’ have us believing that audiences will really connect with the film,” said Content Media President of Film Jamie Carmichael. “We were drawn in immediately and are happy to have this film…”

COMET opens in cinemas nationwide on February 25, 2014 and is released by Solar Pictures.


For more information Like the Solar Pictures Facebook page: www.facebook.com/solarpicturesPH
Solar Pictures YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/solarpicturesPH
Watch the #CometMovie trailer here http://youtu.be/VncNuiNKiOc

Jake Gyllenhall is seeing his double in "Enemy"

What would you do if you discover someone who looks exactly like you?

The reality of finding your doppelganger or a mirror image or yourself is the intriguing premise of the upcoming psychosexual thriller ENEMY, released by Solar Pictures.

Based on the novel “The Double” by José Saramago, ENEMY tells the story of a university lecturer named Adam (Jake Gyllenhaal) who is nearing the end of a relationship with his girlfriend Mary (Melanie Laurent). One night, while watching a film, Adam spots a minor actor who looks just like him. Consumed by the desire to meet his double, Adam tracks down Anthony (Jake Gyllenhaal), an actor living with his pregnant wife Helen (Sarah Gadon) and engages him in a complex and dangerous struggle.

 “In terms of finding a lead actor for these dual parts, I was looking for someone who I would be able to share creativity and collaborate with,” notes Academy Award Nominated director Denis Villeneuve (INCENDIES, PRISONERS).

“In Jake I found someone that was highly intelligent and creative. He had a beautiful vision for the characters. It’s always fantastic for a director when your lead actor is so good that you can just follow him instead of telling him where to go. I love that.”

“When Jake's name was first put on the table we immediately realized we needed him,” recalls ENEMY Spanish producer Miguel A. Faura. “Not only is he an extremely gifted actor capable of delivering the wide range of subtleties needed for these two roles, but he has always showcased his taste and love for art and cinema in each role he has taken on. When he said yes, we felt not only lucky, but reaffirmed about the inner quality of our project.”

“First and foremost I wanted to make this movie because I think Denis is an incredible filmmaker,” says Gyllenhaal. “I was really drawn to the incredible script which offered an interesting blueprint for what Denis wanted to do with this idea. When I first met with Denis and talked about the film, his idea of what it was and what he wanted it to be far surpassed what the script was saying.”

Gyllenhaal had the unique task of playing two different characters that become entwined in each other’s lives. As can be expected, there was a delicate dance involved in creating the similarities and differences between the two characters. Villeneuve and Gyllenhaal agreed early on that the differences between Adam and Anthony should lie in subtleties.

“There are so many ways that you can go with this movie and I think probably the hardest one, the most interesting one, was making Adam and Anthony as close to each other as possible,” notes Gyllenhaal. “There’s the world in which one character has a beard and the other one doesn't and one talks with a funny accent and the other one doesn't. That would have been an incredibly vain way of going about it and I think, in a way, that's exactly what this movie isn't about.”

“I made choices early on about the characters and, as a result, Adam and Anthony started to separate from each other. I knew that I had to fall in love with both of them and that there couldn't be any judgment for either of the characters even while being in the scene with the other one,” explains Gyllenhaal. “What’s interesting about playing two characters in the same scene is the literal comparison of what you’re doing. I actually created the character of Adam before Anthony even showed up on the scene and the first time I worked as Anthony was when he was right across from Adam.” The film centers on Adam’s psychological struggle and, as Gyllenhaal notes, the notion of struggle is very apparent in both Adam and Anthony. “These two characters are struggling with the same thing in a different way but inevitably one of them has to let go and give up in order for the other to survive. The question of which one it’s going to be is ultimately what the movie is about,” states Gyllenhaal.  

Distributed by Solar Pictures, Enemy opens in cinemas on July 30, 2014.

Watch the teaser trailer at the Solar Pictures official YouTube Channel http://youtu.be/TAZ72Mu7k5U

BEGIN AGAIN: KIERA KNIGHTLEY takes on ADAM LEVINE

Maroon 5 front man Adam Levine may have won several Grammy Awards, sold millions of albums worldwide and judged the hit TV series The Voice, but in the movie BEGIN AGAIN, he gets upstaged as the spotlight turns to actress Kiera Knightley.

“I’ve never done anything like this,” admits Knightley who is best known for her costume dramas and period films such as “Pride & Prejudice,” and “Atonement,” as well as the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.

“My character has pretty much died in everything I’ve done for the last five years,” she jokes. “I decided I’d like to do something where I didn’t have to go through heavy emotional turmoil and die, if at all possible.  There’s a touch of emotional turmoil in this, but in the end I found it to be incredibly hopeful. It’s rare to find pieces of work that are so full of hope.”


The latest film from writer-director John Carney (ONCE), BEGIN AGAIN tells the story of two lost souls who meet and make beautiful music together. Gretta (Knightley) and her long-time boyfriend Dave (Adam Levine) are college sweethearts and songwriting partners who decamp for New York when he lands a deal with a major label. But the trappings of his new-found fame soon tempt Dave to stray, and a reeling, lovelorn Gretta is left on her own.

Disgraced record-label exec, Dan Mulligan (played by Mark Ruffalo) is facing a failing marriage, a career he can’t keep up with, and a daughter he can’t connect to.  But at his most desperate moment, he hears a powerful song by Gretta, an unknown musician on the brink of giving up her musical dreams after unexpected heartbreak and frustration.  An unlikely pair who are brought together by equal parts inspiration and desperation, the film follows them as their musical partnership develops into a deep friendship, and their lives take unexpected turns.

Bound together by their mutual determination to bring Gretta’s music to life by recording her songs outdoors – with the sounds and rhythms of New York City as a sonic backdrop – they ultimately find themselves enmeshed in one another’s emotional lives, unsure of how the boundaries between friend, partner, and potential lover are supposed to be drawn.  “It’s an odd-couple type of relationship,” observes Knightley.  “These aren’t necessarily two people who would find each other, but this happens at a very strange moment in their lives, and they end up being exactly what the other needs.”

“Well I know that I’m not horrendous, and I really enjoy doing it in the shower but there is singing and there’s SINGING, I suddenly found myself in the studio and thought I have no “f—ing” idea how to do this. Fortunately, my character doesn’t actually like singing in front of people. She likes writing and performing on her own, so that was quite useful,” Knightley said in an interview with Glamour magazine.

“A lot of the music wasn’t finished until I got to New York.  I had been working with a vocal coach to find a sound that would work for the character, but two or three of Gretta’s songs were just handed to me on the day we recorded them, so there was been a bit of flying by the seat of our pants and hoping for the best.  There’s an old stage saying: ‘It’ll be all right on the night.’ So far, it all seems to have gone all right.”

Her modest impressions of her own talent were also playfully contradicted by her costar:  “Keira is fantastic,” says Ruffalo.  “She’s fun and game for anything and a talented singer.”

Keira brought an extra dimension to the script,” says Carney.  “We suddenly had an English-American relationship which added a dimension of charm, and allowed us to have a very different tone from a cast of all Americans or all New Yorkers.

 In a way it reminded me of old films like CHARADE, where those two cultures meeting is part of the story’s appeal.  I think as a filmmaker I need to play to the strengths of the actors, so Mark and Keira really shaped the film.  As a director, I use the skills the people have, rather than what I wrote. Not to take advantage of that is a crime.”

Also discovering her musical talent is Hailee Steinfeld, who earned an Oscar nomination for her scene-stealing role in the Coen Brothers’ TRUE GRIT opposite Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon.  Wisely deciding to only pursue roles that will offer her a challenge and not interfere with her everyday teenage life, Steinfeld was excited to be part of BEGIN AGAIN.

“There was never a minute when I felt bored.  It’s not easy to find a group of people like that,” she says.  “John really helped me out – when you see your director speak so highly of what you are doing, it’s really great.”

Steinfeld also picked up some guitar to play the part of Violet, who moves from being a sullen teenager to mending bridges with her father thanks to the kinship she forges with Gretta. “Music is important in this film,” says Steinfeld.  “And music is a very big thing in my life. It really came in handy with the work that I did in the film.  The vibe was just so great.”

BEGIN AGAIN opens on July 9, 2014 in theaters nationwide and is distributed locally by SOLAR PICTURES.

Check out the trailer here http://youtu.be/URgf_qOvb08 and Lost Stars Feature at the Solar Pictures YouTube channel: http://youtu.be/prXttiueTdM

ADAM LEVINE MAKES FILM DEBUT IN "BEGIN AGAIN"

Although he’s no stranger to the camera, having been a coach on the NBC show “The Voice” for several seasons, and making his small screen acting debut on the hit FX Drama “American Horror Story,” music star ADAM LEVINE has never tried dramatic acting until he was approached by John Carney to be part of the upcoming movie “Begin Again.”

“I was honored just to be asked, and right off the bat I fell in love with the script.  To have John believe in me is really exciting,” says Levine.  “John saw something in me that was this character Dave– whether that is flattering or not, I can’t tell, but I would not have considered doing a film unless I was really connected to the material.  I love John’s tone – he is a musician, and I think his sensibilities are those of a musician so we get along famously.”

The latest film from writer-director John Carney (ONCE), BEGIN AGAIN is a soul-stirring comedy about what happens when lost souls meet and make beautiful music together.

“The music was easy,” admits Levine after shooting.  “That’s kind of my wheelhouse, I guess, but the acting has been quite a challenge in a really great way.  The only thing people said to me was ‘know your lines’ and ‘don’t act, just listen and react,’ and that was great advice.  I’ve also found that being comfortable and receptive to direction makes it a lot easier.  It was daunting going into this new world, but everyone was so sweet and made me feel comfortable and at home, so I felt like I was doing my best even though I had relatively little experience.”

As the front man of Grammy Award-winning recording artist Maroon 5, Adam Levine has left an indelible mark on popular music. Levine has also collaborated with various musical acts including Kanye West, Alicia Keys, Natasha Bedingfield, Slash and K'naan. Levine has also made several appearances on television, including “Saturday Night Live,” “30 Rock,” “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and Comedy Central's “Night of Too Many Stars.”

“It might sound heavy to say,” concludes Levine, “but the film asks the question: can a song save your life?  I do believe that the energy you feel when you hear a song that you respond to emotionally – it can change your life, and maybe save it in a way.  Music saved my life, because I love it so much that I don’t know what I would do without it.”

BEGIN AGAIN also stars Keira Knightley, Mark Ruffalo, Hailee Steinfeld, and Levine’s fellow judge from The Voice, CeeLo Green.

Produced by Anthony Bregman at Likely Story, Tobin Armbrust of Exclusive Media and Judd Apatow at Apatow Productions, BEGIN AGAIN opens on July 9, 2014 in theaters nationwide and is distributed locally by SOLAR PICTURES.

Check out the Begin Again "Lost Stars" trailer at the Solar Pictures YouTube channel: http://youtu.be/prXttiueTdM