FINAL SCREENING: We Gotta Get Out Of This Place

Today is the last screening of Simon and Zeke Hawkins, We Gotta Get Out Of This Place. 



My goodness, that was intense.
 

WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE Final Screening:

Sunday, Sept 15th, 9:00 PM SCOTIABANK 10

WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE: Review Round Up!

Did you check out We Gotta Get Out Of This Place? Okay, did you check out what the Twitterverse said about it? Here are three wonderful reviews of the movie for your reading pleasure.

Deepayan Sengupta at Sound on Sight calls the dialogue in the film "deceptively smart" and the cinematography "particularly effective," adding that We Gotta Get Out Of This Place, "deftly veers between comedic moments and dramatic ones." He also has a lot of compliments for the cast, so be sure to read the whole thing for his insights.

Meanwhile, at Ain't It Cool, Copernicus (a.k.a. Andy Howell) says We Gotta Get Out Of This Place is "one of my favorite movies of 2013" and explains why: "This is exactly the kind of film that I was starting to think doesn’t get made anymore. A smart drama driven by a great script and strong characters without major stars to sell it." He goes on to praise everyone involved with the film, which you can read about in his full review.

"Zeke and Simon Hawkins display incredible talent here," raves Brian Marsh at Twitch film, "handling their actors with confidence, creating atmosphere you can taste and building incredible tension throughout." He calls the film "a crackling small town thriller that deserves to be sought out."

Those of you who saw and enjoyed the movie will no doubt be nodding your heads in agreement. For those who didn't (shame on you), we have good news, it's playing one more time.

WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE Final Screening:

Sunday, Sept 15th, 9:00 PM SCOTIABANK 10

Vanguard and Midnight Madness Directors at the CN Tower!

Directors Joe Begos (Almost Human) and Juno Mak (Rigor Mortis) 

go through security at the CN Tower.

Where they have a lunch in the sky with many other directors: 

Joseph Begos, Zack Parker (Proxy), Simon Hawkins (We Gotta Get Out Of This Place), Juno Mak, Zeke Hawkins (also, We Gotta Get Out Of This Place), Vanguard and MM Programmer Colin Geddes,
Eli Roth (The Green Inferno), and Marvin Kren (The Station)

Mike Flanagan (Oculus), Jeremy Saulnier (Blue Ruin) and Colin's assistant Peter Kuplowsky 

are sad because they were late for lunch in the sky.

PROXY Screening Times:

Thursday, Sept 12th, 5:00 PM SCOTIABANK 1

Saturday, Sept 14th, 8:00 PM SCOTIABANK 9

RIGOR MORTIS Screening Times:

Friday, Sept 13th, 6:00 PM SCOTIABANK 9

THE STATION Final Screening:

Friday, Sept 13th, 9:15 PM SCOTIABANK 9

ALMOST HUMAN Final Screening:

Friday, Sept 13th, 2:30 PM SCOTIABANK 9

OCULUS Final Screening:

Sunday, Sept 15th, 6:00 PM SCOTIABANK 11

WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE Final Screening:

Sunday, Sept 15th, 9:00 PM SCOTIABANK 10

WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE: Interview with Directors, The Hawkins Brothers

Last night Simon and Zeke Hawkins premiered their debut feature at the Toronto International Film Festival. With nods to the legendary pulp crime novelist Jim Thompson, We Gotta Get Out of This Place is a tense nouveau noir that follows three Texan teens who fall into debt with the wrong people.

We Gotta Get Out of This Place stars veteran character actor Mark Pellegrino (Supernatural, Lost, Being Human) and Mackenzie Davis, who is also in town this week with stars Daniel Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan for the premiere of the The F Word. Before the premiere of We Gotta Get Out of This Place on Saturday night, we were able to speak to the Hawkins brothers about Texas gangsters and The Godfather.

SJ: What is it like directing a film with your brother, especially given that this is both your feature film debut? 

Simon Hawkins, Zeke Hawkins: Making We Gotta Get Out of This Place together was very special. This is our first feature and we didn't write the original script. So, the hardest thing on this movie -- above all the intense practical struggles -- was just getting the team to consistently believe in us and, as an extension of that, to consistently believe in ourselves. Making this movie together -- with your brother, who would support you through anything -- was incredibly important and very special. 

SJ: How was it working with the elusive "Man in Black", Mark Pellegrino, who plays Giff? 

SH, ZH: Mark is an excellent actor. Zeke had worked with him on Capote. Even though Dick Hickock was a smaller part, it was clear on set that he was a special talent. So, when we started casting for Giff, Mark was always on our minds. And down in South Texas while filming, Mark blew us away -- even beyond our wildest expectations. We were so lucky to have him. He stayed in character pretty much all the time. He was terrifying and hilarious, but still able to bring this perverse humanity to Giff. Just the sheer amount of text he was memorizing on a daily basis was impressive. It was really our job just to get out of his way.  

SJ: I'm assuming you and your scriptwriter have read more than your fair share of Jim Thompson novels. Was he a major influence for your script? Any nods we should look out for? 

SH, ZH: Our writer, Dutch Southern, is a huge Jim Thompson fan. He has probably read all of Thompson's novels multiple times, and he's infused the script with many references. But we felt it was our job to separate the film from this a little bit. It was important to make sure we told a story that works on its own, and make a movie that works emotionally on its own, regardless of literary references. In the post-production process though, Simon has been reading a lot of Jim Thompson. "South of Heaven" is his favorite so far.  

SJ: What are your favourite film noirs? 

SH, ZH: We're not so good at thinking about genre. We mostly just love the movies we love. Fargo and Out of Sight are two of our favorites. We're not sure they'd classically be considered noirs, but we could make a case for it. 

SJ: Can you elaborate on how you met and worked with artist Sean Phillips for your poster campaign? 

SH, ZH: Sean Phillips lives in the UK, so, we've only talked with him over the phone and via email. We originally met him through Ed Brubaker, Sean's collaborator on the comic "Fatale." Ed is a close friend of our producer, Brian Udovich. We love our poster. We were lucky to work with Sean. 

SJ: I have to ask about The Godfather musical. Please share all for those who are not acquainted with this majesty. 

SH, ZH: Thank you for asking. "The Godfather Musical" is a series of comedic musical shorts that we've made over the years with our close friend Tom DiMenna. In each, we explore the final moments of a character's life from The Godfather through song. So far we've made three: "Ode to Fredo", "I'm Moe Greene!” and "Luca Brasi Sleeps with the Fishes”. In each one, our dad, Gator Hawkins, plays the assassin. You can find them on our Hawkins Brothers Funny or Die page. And if you watch We Gotta Get Out of This Place closely, you'll see that Tom DiMenna makes a brief cameo. 

SJ: What films are you looking forward to watching at the Festival this year? 

SH, ZH: Palo Alto; Shot by Autumn Durald. Movie looks amazing, and Autumn is a close friend of ours. She's also married to our cinematographer, Jeff Bierman. Joe; Co-produced by Alex Uhlmann. We're huge fans of David Gordon Green's movie All the Real Girls. We love Nicolas Cage, and Alex is a close friend of ours. He used to be Simon's roommate. The Green Inferno. We've seen their production still. Reasons for viewing are obvious.

Simon and Zeke Hawkins' We Gotta Get Out of This Place stars Mark Pellegrino and Mackenzie Davis, and premieres at this year's Toronto International Film Festival within the Vanguard programme. Further information about the film can be found on the TIFF website.
  

WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE Screening Times:

Sunday, Sept 8th, 4:00 PM SCOTIABANK 4

Sunday, Sept 15th, 9:00 PM SCOTIABANK 10

WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE Premieres Tonight!

"Yes, we really should be getting out of this place..."

Simon and Zeke Hawkins' Texas Noir premieres tonight! And if the words, "noir," "thriller," "Texas," and/or "Jim Thompson" aren't enough to catch your interest, check out this sweet poster!

WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE Screening Times:

Saturday, Sept 7th, 6:45 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

Sunday, Sept 8th, 4:00 PM SCOTIABANK 4

Sunday, Sept 15th, 9:00 PM SCOTIABANK 10

WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE Director Profile: Simon and Zeke Hawkins

That we don't have prior feature films to discuss when talking about Simon and Zeke Hawkins should not be reason to worry. In fact, we can't really think of a better form of praise than having one's first feature film premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. And in the best--in our humble opinion--Programme as well. (Ahem, Vanguard, ahem.) 

The directors (and brothers, if the same last name didn't tip you off) will be premiering We Gotta Get Out of This Place at this year's Festival. The film is being described as a "tight, twisty, Texas-set nouveau noir" with a nod to pulp crime legend Jim Thompson. And if that wasn't bad-ass enough, Jonathan Keevil (of Bellflower fame) worked on the score. Colour us impressed. 

If we travel back in time a few years (Figuratively, because we only wish we had a time machine, but who really needs one when you have the internet, right?), we see that Zeke directed a short film, Equestrian Sexual Response, that premiered at the 2010 SXSW Film Festival. Don't let the title make you nervous; Moviegeeks.com called it "a sweet and tender film that handles the subject matter of sexual discovery with tact and respectful insight" and went on to praise the cinematography ("sublime"), original music, and the lead actresses' performance ("compellingly realistic, poignant and heartbreaking"). It's no surprise that the short went on to win the 20110 SXSW Special Jury Prize, as well as being featured in a handful of other film festivals. You can watch the trailer for Equestrian Sexual Response below:

The brothers have also gained praise for their The Godfather Musical series, with the "Ode to Fredo" chapter screening at a handful of festivals and picking up a couple of awards as well. This author is rather ashamed to admit that she has never seen the Godfather films, but she's quite certain that the "Ode to Fredo" is brilliant. She just doesn't, uh, know who Fredo is. See for yourself: 

And if you're all, "The Godfather isn't really my cup of tea", that's cool. There is The Braveheart Musical instead. You can check that out on Simon and Zeke's website, along with proof of Simon's prestigious Excellence in Dance award.

So, maybe we're a little (just a little) sad that Zeke and Simon Hawkins have appeared to have left the world of hilarious musicals and dance behind (or have they?!). That being said, we are beyond eager with anticipation to see their first feature film, and first foray into the nouveau noir, thriller genre. 

WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE Screening Times:

• Saturday, Sept 7th, 6:45 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA
• Sunday, Sept 8th, 4:00 PM SCOTIABANK 4
• Sunday, Sept 15th, 9:00 PM SCOTIABANK 10

WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE poster

Filmmakers Simon and Zeke Hawkins are no strangers to film festivals, having made the rounds with their award-winning short films in the past. We Gotta Get Out of This Place, however, is their first feature film. And not just any ol' feature film, but a tense, edge-of-you-seat, nouveau noir, crime thriller set in Texas, with a nod to pulp crime master Jim Thompson. Whoa, right?

Yesterday, the poster was released and naturally, it's not just an ol' poster. Nope, it's a hand-painted by Eisner Award winning artist Sean Phillips (yeah, THAT Sean Phillips). Since we know you're beyond excited for We Gotta Get Out of This Place by now, the screening times are listed below. You can also learn more about the film on its IMDb page and find even more amazing films from the Vanguard Programme on the Festival website.

WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE Screening Times:

• Saturday, Sept 7th, 6:45 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA
• Sunday, Sept 8th, 4:00 PM SCOTIABANK 4
• Sunday, Sept 15th, 9:00 PM SCOTIABANK 10