Curious Cinema’s independent film release ‘Winter’s Bone’ picks up four Oscar nominations
Yesterday the Academy gave four nods to independent film WINTER’S BONE, which is distributed in Australia and New Zealand exclusively by Curious.
The film received four Academy Award® nominations in hugely competitive categories: Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actress for newcomer Jennifer Lawrence and Best Supporting Actor John Hawkes.
“We still can’t believe that the very first film we’ve distributed inthis market has four Oscar nominations. We set up Curious Distributionbecause we wanted to bring original indie films to audiences thatwouldn’t otherwise be screened here. The fact that WINTER’S BONE is afour-times Oscar contender makes us feel like we’re doing somethingright,” says Matt Noonan, Executive Producer at Curious.
Curious has screened WINTER’S BONE at cinemas around Australia and NewZealand following the film’s premiere at Sydney Film Festival and NZInternational Film Festival last year.
The film is now playing at Rialto Cinema in Newmarket, Paramount in Wellington and many other cinemas around New Zealand.
Sydney-siders can see it at the Bondi Open Air Festival, Manly Cinemas or in late-night sessions at the Chauvel, and in Melbourne it’s screening at Cinema Nova.
Director Debra Granik said: “We may be one of the lower budget filmsthat’s ever been able to participate in something like this. Itemboldens you to keep trying, to look for more stories. You want todeliver again. As an underdog, it gives you fuel to want to do goodwork and bring it back.”
Before WINTER’S BONE, 19 year-old actress Jennifer Lawrence (Ree) hadnever even taken acting classes: “When you make a tiny movie on ashoestring budget in the freezing cold – this has surpassed anyexpectation I could’ve had. We all made it because we loved andbelieved in the movie. And to see this happen to it and to us, there’sno feeling like it.”
11 Comments
Brilliant achievement. Well done guys.
Why is it Curious’s brilliant achievement – I assume the well done guys either refers to them or was written by them? This is an advertising blog and Debra Granik has made a beautiful film and has deservedly attracted an amazing accolade. Brilliant achievement and congrats to her. Shame on you Curious for unashamedly jumping on her bandwagon. If you want to promote a film go to a film website, or make a film to equal this.
Great film worth seeing
Good for them. I applaud them for doing something different.
5:34 They’re a commercials company – a part of our local industry. Challenge them to make a great film, but don’t lay into them for picking and supporting a good one.
This is a truly brilliant movie, proving once again that all those people who insist that all American movies are rubbish are idiots. There are many great independent American movies, and plenty of great Hollywood movies as well.
Thank you for the kind words.
FYI: When we brought Debra down for the Melbourne Film Festival, she expressed a keen interest in doing a commercial in Australasia.
So, by all means, send us a script. She’s a top directors and we’d love to have her back here!
Nah, have to side with 5:34. Curious’ copy connotes that it’s ‘their’ film. naughty.
It’s an amazing film, and a very good thing that the newest player in local distribution picked a winner to back first time out. Nothing but good things can come of there being another distribution option for filmmakers in this part of the world, and the only publicity Curious seems to be bringing to themselves is that which may allow them the opportunity to take on another director’s work in the near future. Has Miramax or Lionsgate or Sony Classics or any number of international companies who pick up the distribution of films from festivals like Sundance or Toronto done any differently?
If you think it’s easy to put your money into prints and advertising with no guarantee that the movie you choose to back will make a profit, or break even for that matter, then try it yourself. Curious has put their money where their mouths are from a platform of being a cross-Tasman production company that makes images and tells stories themselves across a number of platforms, including tvcs and new media, which is why they’ve posted the good news about Winter’s Bone on this blog, and maybe to bring an ad campaign Debra’s way as well in the bargain.
Let’s see if as a community of creative people we can be a little more accommodating to our colleagues when their efforts are as positive and successful as this one has been. Whadda ya reckon?
seriously? – supporting brave work – how is that not something to encourage, salute and support?
As above – kudos to Curious for putting themselves in the fray to bring quality cinema to New Zealand. And shame on the small minded critiques above.