Once again utilizing his low budget sensibilities and a few friendly faces, writer/director/producer/actor Ed Burns has crafted an impressive adult dramedy that feels blissfully familiar (and awkwardly familial). Newlyweds is a semi-documentary style film that relies almost solely on the talents of its cast – a true ensemble made up of Burns as Buzzy, the cocksure fitness instructor on his second marriage; Caitlin Fitzgerald as his sweetly sarcastic wife Katie; Kerry Bishé (seen above) as his self-destructive sister Linda; Marsha Dietlein as his opinionated sister-in-law Marsha; and Max Baker as Marsha’s perverted old husband (in his second outing as a character named Max for an Ed Burns film). Buzzy and Katie are the kind of couple you want to be best friends with. They’re pragmatic and funny, obviously looking at life through the sober and absurd lens that their first marriages afforded them. They are tonal opposites of Marsha and Max whose 18 years together have given them emotional crow’s feet and an aggressive bitterness that doesn’t make them flinch when it starts gnashing its teeth in public. They could be representations of different stages and styles of relationships as a means to put on display the human fragility of latching yourself on to another human being for “the rest of your life.” Or, you know, they could just be real people. Which is more likely.

Can an indie filmmaker upset the apple cart twice in a career? Evidence seems to point to Edward Burns doing just that, quietly dominating a niche audience without the aid of big budgets (or any budgets really) and without the hollow aid of buy-the-bank advertising campaigns. His first bow on the scene was in 1995 with Sundance favorite The Brothers McMullen, and now he’s capitalizing on the same social networking tool that protestors are using to overthrow dictators: Twitter. At a time when Hollywood is struggling, post-movie star, to figure out what works, Burns is exercising a formula that involves tiny bottom lines and an audience that already trusts and reveres his work. It’s almost certain that few filmmakers will be able to rise to prominence through Twitter, but since Burns is a known entity dedicated to finding his fans and engaging with him, he’s been able to make back money with ease and tell the stories he wants to tell. His latest is Newlyweds, a slice of life written/directed/produced and starring Burns as one-half of a newly married couple whose lives (much like an apple cart) are upset by a half-sister coming on the scene. As the thorough Christina Warrren over at Mashable explains, Burns shot the flick for $9k and raised massive awareness for it and for his process using the little blue bird of tweeting. He also found talent through it. Her full article deserves a read, and in a time where mature adult situations are nearly [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

This week, on a very special episode of Reject Radio, Ben Solovey explains why he’s personally restoring a 16mm print of Manos: The Hands of Fate, one of the worst movies ever made. Plus, I Melt With You director Mark Pellington talks drugs and demons, and it’s Fat Guy Kevin Carr versus Geek Tyrant editor-in-chief Jim Napier in a Movie News Pop Quiz that will change everything forever and ever. Download This Episode

This week, on a very special episode of Reject Radio, we spend some time outside the studio system with Bellflower writer/director/star Evan Glodell who talks about love and flamethrowers. Plus, we have a long-form conversation about film production with Greatest Movie Ever Sold producer Keith Calder and indie horror writer/producer Simon Barrett. Double plus, our very own Jack Giroux goes head to head with The Film Stage’s Jordan Raup in a Movie News Pop Quiz that leaves everything else in the dust. Listen Here: Download This Episode

Percy Jackson and 3:10 to Yuma actor Logan Lerman is attached to a new indie film whose title takes inspiration from a Simon and Garfunkel tune. The young actor is ready to start production this fall on The Only Living Boy in New York, a sort of coming of age, romantic triangle, boy coming to grips with the imperfection of his parents movie that is set to be directed by Seth Gordon, the man who made the universally beloved documentary The King of Kong, and who has recently been busying himself directing episodes of great TV comedies like Parks and Recreation, Modern Family, and Community. The reason the new film won’t likely start until fall is that Lerman is starting to become something of a hot ticket item over there in the Hollywood. Not only does he have a round of publicity coming up for his big summer blockbuster version of Three Musketeers, but he’s also about to start production on an adaptation of the ridiculously successful Stephen Chbosky teen angst novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower. It looks like Lerman is subscribing fully to the Give Them an Action Movie/Give Them an Indie Drama model of career building. He may be one to keep an eye on. Source: Deadline State College

Indie film producer Ted Hope and former high-ranking Facebook employee Chris Kelly have joined the board of a new website that allows users to stream from a library of indie and art films. I guess that’s a sign that people think this thing’s going to go places. At first glance Fandor might seem like it is a redundant service, given the existence of Netflix and Amazon, but upon inspection it actually takes a number of innovative approaches that make it an interesting new content provider to watch. The idea of making the online movie watching experience more social isn’t a new one; people have been tossing it around for a while. Netflix used to have more of a social platform built into it’s site, but they could never really figure out what they wanted to do with it, and ultimately stripped most of it away. It was just announced that The Dark Knight will become the first movie available to stream on Facebook, and I think the answer to making online movie watching more social is right there. Netflix shouldn’t have stumbled around trying to figure out their own social platform, they should have concentrated on integrating their service deeply with Facebook. One of the creators of Fandor, Jonathan Marlow, says, “Some have embraced the notion of inventing the Facebook of movies. We realized Facebook was the Facebook of movies.”

The title is silly, the tagline of “CATch Her If You Can” is borderline moronic, but everything about this trailer for Cat Run is action comedy gold. All the cliches are there (a high class prostitute on the run, some videotapes that can’t get leaked out, a government cover up, an assassin chasing her down…), but it still manages to feel fun and fresh. Paz Vega seems to be choosing some completely different roles from her Spanglish turn, and you can’t go wrong with Christopher McDonald (the guy you’ll be waiting for in the parking lot in Happy Gilmore) playing a pompous asshole, but there are really no big names here, and that could be a good thing. Then there’s triple amputee D.L. Hughley, a poor man’s Helen Mirren, and a baby to carry around for some reason. Seriously. Where did this thing come from. Crazy/Beautiful director John Stockwell seems to have created an action comedy that recalls the 90s while tossing in a generic version of the detectives from Psych right down to the racial quota. Check it out for yourself:

Every week, Landon Palmer and Cole Abaius log on to their favorite chat client of 1996 as THEFANFROMLONDON and DinoDNA007 in order to discuss some topical topic of interest. This week, the two tackle the fact that no documentary has ever been nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. Why all the hate, AMPAS? Sure, it has its own category, but that doesn’t deny it entry into the big game. Is there an internal bias against non-fiction? Should Jackass 3 been facing off against The Social Network? Will we see a documentary nominated for Best Picture in our lifetime?

After getting locked out of the press screening for this year’s Grand Jury Prize Dramatic Winner, Like Crazy, I skipped over to the next theater, which sadly played the worse film I saw at the festival this year, The Ledge. Despite that mishap, there were a lot of great films at Sundance. Here are my top 5 in no particular order, alongside the best film I saw at this year’s festival (which may surprise you). I felt that each film had the most impact during my stay at the festival and introduced us to some fantastic new voices that will be coming to a cinema near you.

For those who remember Mark Webber as Stephen Stills from Scott Pilgrim, this next move might seem strange. For those who remember him in indie fare like Just Like the Son and Dear Wendy, it might seem fantastic. For those who mistake him for Michael Weston (the guy on House for a few episodes), none of this will make any sense at all. Webber, according to The Hollywood Reporter, has cast Michael Cera and Amanda Seyfried to play slightly altered versions of themselves for an upcoming, as yet untitled, movie about a father raising his son after the mother’s death. He’s also cast Shannyn Sossamon and Jason Ritter in smaller, but similarly styled, roles. He’s friends with all the actors in real life. He also shares a connection with the co-star: his two-year-old son. In trying to achieve the strictest version of a real father-son relationship, Webber (who will direct as well) will act alongside his own child. The concept sounds far too character-based to judge, but the actors he’s gotten to work with him is a talented group, and Webber has been around the acting block for well over a decade, so this definitely has some potential to be a solid mix of drama, comedy, and reality.

The top nominations for this year’s Indie Spirit Awards are no surprise. Winter’s Bone continues its march through the woods to find its father and an Oscar with 7 nominations (which is almost all it was even eligible for). In a close second, The Kids Are All Right finds itself with 5 nominations. If you’re a fan of female directors, this year is celebrating a number of them in the top spots, but it’s also incredibly important to point out that Samuel L. Jackson and Bill Murray are finally up for the same award. The Indepdenent Spirit Awards make a good primer for the films that might make their way into the Academy Award nominee pool. In recent tradition, the winner of the Best Feature prize goes on to be an Oscar contender (and occasional winner). Examples of that include Precious, The Wrestler, Juno, and Brokeback Mountain. The full list of nominees continues below:

From the use of the 500 Days of Summer font to the quirky premise and the extensive use of Ida Maria’s “Oh My God,” in the trailer, It’s Kind of a Funny Story could very well be the indie comedy that is contractually obligated to come out every year since Little Miss Sunshine had so much success. That’s not a knock on the film which features Zack Galifiniakis and is directed by Half Nelson helmers Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. In fact, the trailer makes the movie look like a creative, sweet march down the insane asylum. Plus, you should watch it just to get Zack Galifianakis’s advise on picking up chicks.

I have no idea what’s going on here. That’s probably the point.

In this sci-fi romantic comedy, the TiMER will countdown to when you find love. What happens if yours is blank?

Finally a story about the plight of an indie musician. And who better to play him than Paul Dano.

After being blown away by The Hurt Locker, I was lucky enough to talk to Mackie about his role, the experience of the Middle East during Ramadan, his work with Matt Damon, his friendship with Wynton Marsalis, and his confidence in Kathryn Bigelow’s Oscar chances.

Part of me finds this trailer gimmicky. In fact, all of me does. Which is good because I hate it when I argue with myself. But gimmicky or not, the movie looks pretty damned satisfying if you love a good scare.

A very cool science fiction indie is being shot right now in the Bay Area that deals with how the future will be shaped by Bush-era politics, a mythologized history, and the beauty of virtual reality.

The comedy/drama starring Justin Timberlake and Jeff Bridges will actually see the light of day and the light of the projector late in the summer after wandering the indie wilderness for a year.

With breathtaking visuals and a fantastic fairy tale story, Ink is an film that deserves to be celebrated.