Rick Alverson | |
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 Alverson in 2011 | |
| Born | Patrick James Alverson Jr. June 25, 1971 Spokane, Washington, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Filmmaker, musician |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Website | madebedproductions |
Patrick James Alverson Jr. (born June 25, 1971) is an American film director, screenwriter and musician, living in Richmond, Virginia. [1] His films have been characterized by their confrontational nature and unconventional dramatic structure. [2] [3]
Alverson’s first films were considered in the neorealist tradition because of their use of non-actors and unscripted dialogue, as well as their immigrant, working class subject matter. His first, The Builder (2010), featured co-writer Colm O'Leary in his debut performance as an Irish immigrant struggling to reconcile the American ideal and its manifestation in the real world. Premiering at Rotterdam Film Festival, New Jerusalem (2011), his second feature, starring Colm O'Leary and Will Oldham, again considered the immigrant experience, this time through the lens of religious ideology.
The Comedy (2012), a departure from the subtle form and subject matter of Alverson’s previous films, starred cult-comic Tim Heidecker in his first dramatic role. The film’s subject matter and refusal to cast moral judgment on its characters were considered controversial. [4] [5] It examined the flawed idea of an attainable American utopia, a concept recurrent throughout Alverson’s work. Heidecker played Swanson, an upper class, white male confrontationally attempting to define the limitations of the world around him. [6] The third film to be executive produced and funded by the independent record label Jagjaguwar , The Comedy premiered in U.S. dramatic competition at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. [7]
His fourth feature, Entertainment (2015), starring Gregg Turkington, also cast comedic actors in a dramatic context, exploring the relationship between viewership and performance. [8] Both formally and visually his most ambitious to date, the film garnered high praise from critics upon its U.S. premiere at Sundance. [9] It premiered in international competition at the Locarno Film Festival. The Guardian called it “a road trip to the center of a harrowing abyss.” Magnolia Pictures released Entertainment in November 2015 to further critical praise.
In 2017, Alverson directed and edited a short film entitled William Eggleston: Musik in support of the photographer's first collection of musical compositions. [10]
Alverson's fifth feature, The Mountain (2018), premiered in competition at the 75th Venice International Film Festival. [11] Set in early 1950s America, the film stars Tye Sheridan, Jeff Goldblum, Hannah Gross, Udo Kier and Denis Lavant [12] and is loosely based on the American neurologist Walter Freeman's fall from grace after the procedure he invented, the lobotomy, came under scrutiny. [13] Referring to the film as "anti-utopian", Alverson has described it as a "counterweight" to the American "narrative of unlimited potential and boundless opportunity" in favor of an emphasis on the value of limitations. [14]
Alverson's frequent collaborators include Colm O'Leary, Tim Heidecker, Gregg Turkington, and Tye Sheridan.
Alverson has directed music videos for Sharon Van Etten, Angel Olsen, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Benjamin Booker, Strand of Oaks, Night Beds, Gregor Samsa and Oneohtrix Point Never. [15]
In addition to his directorial work he has released 10 records, most recently with his band Lean Year in 2017. Alverson was the brains behind his previous band Spokane. [16] [17]
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Editor | Other | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | The Builder | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Also cinematographer |
| 2011 | New Jerusalem | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Also cinematographer |
| 2012 | The Comedy | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| 2015 | Entertainment | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| 2017 | William Eggleston: Musik | Yes | Yes | Yes | Short film | ||
| 2018 | The Mountain | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
Neil Hamburger is a standup comedian and singer character created and portrayed by American entertainer Gregg Turkington. Distinguished for his misanthropic jokes and anti-comedy style, Turkington has released a number of albums as Hamburger and has appeared as the character in various films, television shows, and other media. In 2015, the act inspired the feature-length film Entertainment, which stars Turkington as a "variant" of the character.
Timothy Richard Heidecker is an American comedian, writer, director, actor, and musician. Along with Eric Wareheim, he is a member of the comedy duo Tim & Eric.
Gregg Turkington is an American entertainer, actor, musician and writer. He is known for his performances as Neil Hamburger, a stand-up comedian persona he developed in the 1990s. Alongside Tim Heidecker, Turkington also stars as a fictionalized version of himself on the comedic web series On Cinema (2011–). In addition, he formed one-half of the band Zip Code Rapists and has collaborated on numerous projects with musicians including Trey Spruance.
Robert Donne is a musician and film composer from Richmond, Virginia. He has recorded works with a variety of groups and individuals including Labradford (Kranky), Aix Em Klemm (Kranky), Spokane (Jagjaguwar), Gregor Samsa, Cristal, Pan.American (Kranky), Stephen Vitiello, and most recently Anjou (Kranky). His work as a composer includes Rick Alverson's Entertainment, which premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, and New Jerusalem, as well as Daniel Carbone's Hide Your Smiling Faces.
Mister America is a 2019 American mockumentary film directed by Eric Notarnicola and starring Tim Heidecker. The film is an extension of the On Cinema universe, in which Heidecker portrays a fictionalized version of himself who reviews films with fellow comedian Gregg Turkington; the film follows Heidecker as he runs for the office of San Bernardino County district attorney, attempting to unseat the incumbent D.A. that previously attempted to imprison him in a mass murder charge. The film has received mixed reviews from critics.
Super Deluxe was an entertainment company owned by Turner Broadcasting. The company's main output was in online video, television series, and documentaries.
Tim & Eric are an American comedy duo consisting of Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim. They are the creators and stars of the Adult Swim television series Tom Goes to the Mayor, Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule, Tim & Eric's Bedtime Stories, and Beef House.
Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie is a 2012 American absurdist comedy film starring, written, directed, and produced by the comedy duo Tim & Eric in their feature directorial debuts. The plot follows Heidecker and Wareheim, playing fictionalized versions of themselves, who are forced to re-open an abandoned mall to pay back a wasted billion-dollar loan. The supporting cast includes Zach Galifianakis, Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Ray Wise, Twink Caplan, Robert Loggia, Jeff Goldblum, Bob Odenkirk, and Will Forte.
New Jerusalem is a feature film directed, co-written, and co-produced by Rick Alverson that premiered in 2011 at the 40th International Film Festival Rotterdam and in the United States at SXSW. Independent music label Jagjaguwar executive produced and funded the film.
The Builder is a 2010 feature film directed by Rick Alverson. The film features actor Colm O'Leary in his debut performance as an Irish immigrant struggling to reconcile the American ideal and its manifestation in the real world. It was the first feature film released by the independent music label Jagjaguwar.
The Comedy is a 2012 American metamodern drama film co-written, co-edited, and directed by Rick Alverson, and starring Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim, James Murphy, and Gregg Turkington. The film was executive produced by David Gordon Green, Danny McBride, Jody Hill, Darius Van Arman, and Larry Fessenden.
Tye Kayle Sheridan is an American actor. He is known for playing the young Scott Summers / Cyclops in the X-Men film series (2016–2019) and for his starring role in the science fiction film Ready Player One (2018).
On Cinema is an American comedy web series and podcast starring Tim Heidecker and Gregg Turkington. The duo appear, using their own names, as a pair of hapless movie reviewers to promote new film releases. The show started as an independently released podcast from 2011 to 2013, before being picked up as a professionally produced web video series by Thing X in 2012, continuing after the site merged with Adult Swim's website in 2013. The show moved to HEI Network, an independent service, in 2021, with funding given by user subscriptions and special event ticket purchases.
Entertainment is a 2015 American drama film directed by Rick Alverson, starring Gregg Turkington, Tye Sheridan, and John C. Reilly. It is loosely based on Turkington's Neil Hamburger character. The plot follows a stand-up comedian as he performs in various locations where the audience is either hostile or indifferent to him. Alverson, Turkington and Tim Heidecker co-wrote the film.
Decker is an American comedy web series and television series created by Tim Heidecker and Gregg Turkington. The show is a web spinoff/tie-in to the series On Cinema at the Cinema and began on July 17, 2014. Many recurring jokes and the personas and mutual antipathies expressed by Decker and Turkington carry over from the relationship of the "real" actors, Heidecker and Turkington, in On Cinema.
Epic Pictures Group is an independent film and television studio engaged in the development, financing, production and distribution of film and television. Epic Pictures produces, finances, and distributes approximately twenty-thirty independent genre films a year. In 2013, the company established Epic Pictures Releasing which is its US focused distribution division. In 2017, Epic Pictures acquired the horror website, Dread Central, and launched its unique horror label, Dread, followed by its AVOD channel, DreadTV. In 2019, Epic Pictures started the horror gaming site, DreadXP, with a focus on editorial, reviews, podcasts, and original streaming content. In 2020, DreadXP began a video game publishing division with the launch of The Dread X Collection, an anthology of horror games in collaboration with some developers in the independent gaming space.
Chris Swanson is the co-founder of Secretly Group. He also co-runs Secretly Distribution which distributes for record labels globally.
The Mountain is a 2018 American drama film directed by Rick Alverson, from a screenplay by Alverson, Dustin Guy Defa and Colm O'Leary. The script is loosely based on the story of controversial physician Walter Freeman. It stars Tye Sheridan, Denis Lavant, Hannah Gross, Udo Kier and Jeff Goldblum. It had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on August 30, 2018. It was released on July 26, 2019, by Kino Lorber.
Dustin Guy Defa is an American independent filmmaker and actor. He is best known for directing the feature films Bad Fever and Person to Person and writing the screenplay for The Mountain.
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