morris from america – The Comedy Bureau

chris kelly, daniel kwan, daniel scheinert, jean of the joneses, john cassavetes, josh locy, maren ade, morris from america, other people, stella meghie, swiss army man, toni erdmann

Independent Spirit Awards Give Nominations to Other People, Morris From America, Swiss Army Man

Like many awards shows in awards season, The Independent Spirit Awards deals heavily in drama with their nominations. That being said, they do usually acknowledge some comedic leaning works and this year is no different as you can see below.

John Cassavetes Award
Hunter Gatherer-Josh Locy

Best First Feature
Swiss Army Man-Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
Other People-Chris Kelly

Best First Screenplay
Other People-Chris Kelly
Jean of the Joneses-Stella Meghie

Best Supporting Male
Morris From America-Craig Robinson

Best International Film
Toni Erdmann-Maren Ade

For our money, Chris Kelly’s Other People floored us and Craig Robinson might have given one of his best performances to date in Morris From America.

This upcoming Film Independent Spirit Awards will air live on IFC on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017 at 2PM PST.

See the full list of Spirit Awards nominees at the link above.

Morris From America Is the Sundance Comedy You Need to See That Already Came Into Theaters and Left

September 27, 2016

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craig robinson, markees christmas, morris from america

Many indie comedies that get celebrated and bought up for a nice price tag at a film festival like Sundance often become forgotten because they spend barely any time in an insanely small number of theaters.

Such is the case with one of our favorite movies, Dedication, and it has just happened again with the wonderful Morris From America.

Chad Hartigan’s unique coming-of-age tale of a black American kid having to grow up in Germany has all the trappings of what should be a hit indie comedy that gets an expanding release over several weeks. Craig Robinson and Markees Christmas as a father and son pairing against the backdrop of modern Germany is truly funny and heartwarming without being schmaltzy. Yet, it didn’t get to stay on the big screen long for anyone to notice.

We even saw it and really enjoyed it, but then wondered what happened when it wasn’t in theaters and if it was going to play elsewhere or comeback, etc. For all those who are begging for more original movies that aren’t a cash grab off a pre-existing franchise, this is what you were looking for.

Thankfully, you can buy and watch Morris From America on Amazon, iTunes, and On Demand. That’s a thing you should do ASAP.

Watch Trailer for Coming-of-Age-After-Moving-to-Germany Comedy “Morris From America”

June 16, 2016

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chad hartigan, craig robinson, markees christmas, morris from america, trailer

Markees Christmas, who you might know from Channel 101, gets his first big role alongside Craig Robinson in Morris From America.

From the trailer, Markees shines as a kid transplanted from the U.S. to Germany who is simultaneously trying to figure out his place in the world, find love, and make it big in the rap game.

Morris From America looks charming as can be and it comes out on August 19th.

Morris From America, Swiss Army Man, and The Intervention Win at 2016 Sundance’s U.S. Dramatic Competition

February 1, 2016

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awards, daniel kwan, daniel radcliffe, daniel scheinhart, intervention, markees christmas, melanie lynskey, morris from america, sundance, swiss army man

(via Variety)

Yes, what’s been described as the farting corpse movie won an award at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival.

In fact, plenty of news outlets reported of numerous walk outs during the screening of Swiss Army Man starring Daniel Radcliffe and Paul Dano, which does indeed feature farting corpses. Those walk outs didn’t stop directors Daniel Scheinhart and Daniel Kwan from winning a directing award.

The cross country coming-of-age story Morris From America featuring Markees Christmas, who got his start at Channel 101, was honored with the Waldo Screenwriting Award (given to writer Chad Hartigan) and Special Jury Award for Individual Performance for Markees.

Dramedy, The Intervention, also got a Special Jury Award for Individual Performance that went to Melanie Lynskey.

Hopefully, all of these films will get a much wider distribution than the typical limited indie release and we’ll all have a chance to go see what was the talk of Park City.

“Morris From America” and “Tallulah” Already Bought Up at Sundance

January 26, 2016

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a24, craig robinson, ellen page, markees christmas, morris from america, netflix, sundance, tallulah

(via Deadline/Variety)

Coming of age and dramedies are still going strong at Sundance.

Two of the first buys for comedy come from A24 and Netflix of Morris From America and Tallulah, respectively.

Morris From America, directed by Chad Hartigan, follows Markees Christmas (yes, the one from Channel 101′s Markees Saves) and Craig Robinson being transplanted to Germany and having to deal with adolescence overseas.

Tallulah from Sian Heder, which Netflix acquired the rights to before Sundance began, follows Ellen Page taking a baby from a bad mother.

While this sounds like in the ball park of last year’s Sundance fare, we hope that their fates in the box office, when released, are much different (i.e. better).