Seth William Meier Movies
Independent filmmaker Glen Trotiner wrote and directed this look at the struggles of an independent filmmaker (at least he knows the subject) in this satiric comedy. Matthew Wells (Sean Dugan) is an aspiring filmmaker who has had about as much as he can take of his job as a production assistant for a major Hollywood producer. Like nearly every other struggling filmmaker in America who is trying to get a project off the ground, Matthew heads to Park City, UT, for the Sundance Film Festival, where he runs into an old college buddy, Rick Foster (Seth William Meier). Rick thinks Matthew's script has potential, and offers to help him shop the project in exchange for being brought aboard as producer if he can make a sale. Matthew agrees, and as Rick and veteran agent Abe Pollard (Mark Goddard) set out to sell Matthew's script, Matthew gets an idea -- he cuts up a copy of his screenplay into large jigsaw puzzle pieces, and sends them around to producers with a note saying that whoever can put the puzzle together gets first shot at financing his project. The stunt works, as Matthew's fragmented screenplay is suddenly the talk of the Festival, but Matthew soon has to ask himself if he's ready for what happens next as a handful of sleazy industry types beat a path to his door. Overnight Sensation features a cameo appearance by Edie Falco as one of the Sundance Festival staff. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Can a wealthy Republican politician find happiness with a chambermaid from the Bronx? One man is about to find out, though he hardly realizes it at first, in this romantic comedy from director Wayne Wang. Marisa Ventura (Jennifer Lopez) is a single mother who is raising her gifted but under-confident son Ty (Tyler Garcia Posey) on her own, with some help from her mother Veronica (Priscilla Lopez), after divorcing her husband. Marisa works as a housekeeper at the exclusive Beresford Hotel in Manhattan, where her boss Paula Burns (Frances Conroy) and chief butler Lionel Bloch (Bob Hoskins) urge Marisa and her best friend and fellow maid Stephanie (Marissa Matrone) to be as efficient and inconspicuous as possible. One day, while cleaning the room of noted socialite Caroline Lane (Natasha Richardson), Stephanie spies a beautiful designer gown and dares Marisa to try it on; against her better judgment, she does, and while all dolled up, she bumps into Christopher Marshall (Ralph Fiennes), a wealthy and well-bred bachelor who is running for the Senate. Immediately charmed, Chris asks Marisa to join him for a walk in Central Park, assuming she's the blue-blooded Caroline. Marisa manages to join Chris for the afternoon, with Ty in tow, and Chris finds himself quite taken with Marisa's beauty and down-to-earth personality, as well as Ty's precocious interest in politics. Chris later calls Caroline's room to set up a lunch date, but soon discovers the stuffy Ms. Lane is not the woman he met before. Marisa is also attracted to Chris, but while her friends encourage her to pursue a romance, Veronica believes her daughter is asking for trouble by trying to win a man so far out of her social strata. The supporting cast also includes Stanley Tucci and Amy Sedaris. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jennifer Lopez, Frances Conroy, (more)
An artist who compromises his work for money finds his heart and soul are also being toyed with by his new patrons in this drama. Robert (Peter Sarsgaard) is a playwright who has recently lost his longtime lover and business partner, Malcolm (Bill Camp), to AIDS-related illnesses. Robert has written a screenplay about their relationship, called "The Dying Gaul," and is interested in selling the project to powerful producer Jeffrey (Campbell Scott). However, while Jeffrey likes the script, he tells Robert that he's not about to spend money on a film about a gay couple -- though he'll give him one million dollars for the screenplay under the condition he turns the character of "Maurice" into a woman so the film will be easier to sell. While Robert is secretly appalled by the idea, he's also deep in debt and wants the film to be made, so he agrees to make the changes. Robert is soon invited into the inner circle of Jeffrey and his wife, Elaine (Patricia Clarkson), herself a talented screenwriter until their marriage put an end to her career. Jeffrey finds himself fascinated by Robert, and soon begins seducing him both physically and intellectually, while Elaine is also deeply attracted to him. As Robert and Elaine become close friends, she also begins pursuing him in on-line chat rooms, playing on his emotional weaknesses as she fashions a story of her own. The Dying Gaul was the first directorial credit for playwright and screenwriter Craig Lucas. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Patricia Clarkson, Campbell Scott, (more)
Two very different men find that the separate paths they walk may lead to the same grim end in this cautionary drama from first time feature filmmaker David Lisle Johnson. Stephen Jameson (Gregory Smith) could have been on the road to becoming a successful surgeon if he'd only followed the plan his parents laid out for him. Instead, Stephen's endless search for cheap thrills has resulted in a serious drug addiction. When Stephen nearly dies from drugs and tells his parents that he's failing out of school, they send him to the Second Chances Drug Rehabilitation Center. There, famed rock star Rob Vills (Zack Ward) too is struggling with sobriety as his band Evil Twin prepares to head out on tour with a replacement guitarist. While Stephen and Rob may not realize it now, they both stand at an important crossroads in life: should they choose a life of sobriety they may have a second shot at their dreams, but should they choose to stick with the drugs they are likely to be swallowed up by the City of Angels, never to be heard from again. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- 2010
Zack Ward and Mindy Sterling star in this family friendly comedy about a friendly canine who's transformed into a hulking beast by an experimental energy drink. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Brian Stepanek, Rhiannon Leigh Wryn, (more)
- 2012
- PG13
A covert female operative infiltrates an anarchist faction that stages clandestine attacks on major corporations, and finds her mission compromised when she falls for the group's charismatic leader in this tense and topical thriller from Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij -- the creative duo behind the indie hit The Sound of My Voice. When a mysterious group begins turning unsafe products against the very CEOs who manufacture them, former FBI agent Sarah Moss (Marling) is hired by a powerful intelligence firm to expose the culprit. Before long, Sarah has integrated herself into The East, the group thought to be responsible the frightening attacks, and she begins to collect evidence against them. In time, however, Sarah finds her sympathies shifting to the very people she once set out to destroy, leading to an intense crisis of conscience that causes her to reassess her priorities as she works quietly to maintain her cover. Alexander Skarsgård, Ellen Page, Toby Kebbell, and Patricia Clarkson co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
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