Slightly more Palindromes Info Eeked Out the Pipeline

Another casting call, this time from The Poughkeepsie Journal, yields a little more information about Solondz's latest film. The call (which, for the record, is over - the article was published on Friday the 27th, for Saturday, the 28th, from 10 AM to 2 PM at Bard College in Annandale in the student center.) was for girls of all ethnicities and types, ages 12 to 14. According to both the article and a recent IMDB update; Chris Penn (Resevoir Dogs, To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar) is going in to star in this film, along with the previously announced Ellen Barkin. The article added that, "[t]hey play parents to an awkward teenage daughter named Aviva... The movie is centered around Aviva, her friends, neighbors and her family where one parent is loving and another has been known to have a fierce temper."

The same IMDB update also makes some additions to the crew list: producer Derrick Tseng (Freak Talks About Sex, A Good Baby), cinematographer Tom Richmond (House of 1,000 Corpses, Chelsea Walls, Hard Rock Zombies), costume designer Victoria Farrell (Boys Don't Cry, Strangers With Candy) and first assistant director Timothy Bird (Far From Heaven, Storytelling). They've also removed Lisa Muskat (George Washington)'s name as one of the producers. Hmmm...

Barkin To Star in Palindromes

According to The New York Daily News, Ellen Barkin has accepted a leading role in Solondz' upcoming film, Palindromes, which she promises will "start shooting this summer." Barkin, who you may remember as Penny Priddy in The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension or the sexy femme fatale opposite Al Pacino in Sea of Love, has taken only very minor roles and cameos in recent years (except for that DTV cop film with Julian Sands a couple years ago), but has said, "Todd Solondz - now that's someone who could get me to happily go to work."

New Happiness DVD

On June 3rd, Lions Gate is due to be releasing a new DVD of Happiness as part of their "signature series." A special edition is surely too much to hope for, but it does look like this disc will be anamorphic (which the Trimark/ Vidmark disc wasn't). Most sites don't have any specs listed, yet, but I found the following on dvdplanet.com:

Retail Price: $19.99
Release Date: (6/3/2003)
Studio: Lions Gate
Year: 1998
Runtime: 140 minutes
MPAARating: Unrated
UPC: 031398826620
Languages/Subtitles:
Original Language: English
Subtitles Available: English, French, Spanish
Audio/Video Features:
Anamorphic16x9, Widescreen
Color
2.0 Dolby Surround
Audio/Video Features English Dubbed:
Product Features:
Cast/Crew Biographies

So, nothing to blow any socks off, but a welcome improvement none the less. Thanks, Lions Gate; and thanks also to "bisbeefilms" for pointing this upcoming release out to me. Here's a look at the cover:

Also, if you haven't already got Storytelling on DVD (perhaps you've been trapped underneath a giant boulder, or spent the last several years orbiting the Earth on a Russian space-station), you might want to pick up this rather spiffy two-disc set from France:

Both films are anamorphic, widescreen, and include the original English audio, along with optional (removable) French subtitles. This release is Region 2, PAL. Coolio.

Word On Solondz's Fifth Picture!

According to an article on Filmjerk.com, Todd Solondz is set to begin shooting his fifth film, Palindromes, for Extra Large Pictures on July 7 in the New York/ New Jersey/ Connecticut tri-state area, with Lisa Muskat and Mike Ryan to produce. While there's no word on the plot, yet, casting director Ann Goulder (who also cast Solondz's last three pictures) has cast her net for children aged seven to seventeen with disabilities of all kind, and preferably some kind of musical ability. If that's you, you can contact the production by way of:

Ann Goulder, c/o Palindromes
43-01 21st Street - Suite 330A
Long Island City, NY 11101-5001

...with photos and resumes.

Filmjerk.com also had some information on the characters, which I'll quote for you here: "'Palindromes' seems to revolve around the [sic.] Aviva Victor, her family and their friends and neighbors. Aviva is thirteen, awkward and sensitive. Her mother Joyce is warm and loving, as is her father, Steve, a regular guy who does have a fierce temper from time to time. ...In addition to casting a vision-impaired actress to play the seventeen-year-old Barbara... [a]dditional characters include Mama Sunshine, a mid-western lady, warm, emotional, maternal and big-hearted, real salt of the earth type, Bo, Mama Sunshine's husband, mid western, the head of the family, rugged but kind-hearted, Judah, sixteen year old friend of Aviva’s, luggish and serious, and Doctor Dan, another Midwesterner, a friendly family doctor who loves children and they love him, especially when he clowns around with them, very respected by his community."

I dunno. Sounds goofy, and Killer Films' non involvement may be a bad sign (though, I suppose that's due to Storytelling's final cut issues); but we'll see, 'ey? I'm optimistic!