Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Day 4: Sarah Silverman in I Smile Back, Me and Earl and the Dying Girls Rapturous Premiere

28/01/2015

Sundance.org is dispatching its writers to daily screenings and events to capture the 10 days of festivities during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Check back each morning for roundups from the previous days events.

I Smile Back by Eric Hynes

Sarah Silverman has built a career on confidence on being the smartest, funniest, and most brazen person in the room. But after the unveiling of her career-turning, soul-baring dramatic performance in I Smile Back, which premiered on Sunday night at the Library Theater, she seemed utterly disoriented in front of the appreciative crowd. Weird, she intoned into the microphone, then tried to hide behind director Adam Salky.

In the film, she plays Laney, a suburban woman with two adorable children and a successful husband, who nevertheless suffers from depression and addiction. At first she manages to cover most of her tracks, but ultimately spirals into a dangerous maelstrom of alcohol, drugs, sexual promiscuity, rage and self-destruction. She rehabilitates at an addiction treatment center, and tries to reconcile with her estranged father, but struggled to readapt to normal life.

Sarah Silverman on the press line for I Smile Back.

Sundance Institute | Brandon Joseph Baker Silverman spoke of how she came to play the part. I wasn't looking for this, but it came to me. Amy [Koppelman, author and co-screenwriter] heard me on Howard Stern and decided I was Laney, and got in touch with my agent, who loved her book, and forced me to read it. And it's hard for me to read I had to learn how to read first, she said, drawing laughter from the crowd. And I thought it was beautiful and I didn't know if I liked her or not, but I liked how complicated it was. And they wrote a script of the book, and then they let me play it. And why wouldn't I? What am I, busy? Why wouldn't I do something so different where I'm unable to use any of my myriad bag of tricks? Seemingly catching herself for slipping into a comedic routine, she then confessed, I feel such pressure to entertain.

In the post-screening discussion, Silverman, along with Salky, Koppelman, and co-screenwriter Paige Dylan discussed Laney's questionable likeability, and the value of that ambiguity. I understand seeing her sympathetically, and I understand seeing her like, fuck you, we've all had to survive things from childhood. And that's what I like about it. That how you like Laney is going to be subjective and depend on your lives, and that's interesting to me. We can fight about if she's likable or not because we're talking from our own little selves and life experiences.

As for how Silverman's own experiences filtered into her portrayal of Laney, she offered a story about her personal sensitivities. My mother sent me a link, and the subject line said, Elephants Reunite After 20 years.' Now I'm sure it was really beautiful and a happy video, but I didn't watch it. Because my heart can't take it. As well as most Pixar movies. There are certain kinds of beauty that, for someone who might be kind of depressive, it's too much.

And when asked if working on I Smile Back was cathartic, she replied, No, it hurt. But I'm really glad I did it. And came through the other side. And though she wavered between being caustic and confessional during the Q&A, she admitted that the two are actually very related. Comedy I feel is very vulnerable and exposing, and this was both of those things but on the other side of the coin. It was something I'd not experienced before, she said.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jeremy Kinser

Introducing Alfonso Gomez-Rejon's Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Sundance Festival Director John Cooper described the film as the kind programmers are always hoping for. The one that sets the bar for everything else that's going to happen, he added, in what would prove to be an understatement.

Gomez-Rejon has directed numerous episodes of TV series such as American Horror Story and Glee, in which his virtuoso camera work has made him a standout talent on the small screen. However, nothing on his resume quite prepares one for his achievement with Me and Earl, which premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the Eccles Sunday to tremendous applause and quickly launched a record-shattering bidding war for distribution.

The cast of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Sundance Institute | Calvin Knight The story follows Greg Gaines (Thomas Mann), a witty high school outcast who is forced to spend time with Rachel (Olivia Cooke), a girl he barely knows who is dying of leukemia. The title of the film, based on a novel by Jesse Andrews who also adapted it into the screenplay, sets up viewers for a tearjerker, which it is, but the film also delivers as a skillful character-driven comedy that wears its love of cinema on its sleeve (Greg is also an aspiring filmmaker who creates his own clever versions of cinema classics). It's to the credit of both Gomez-Rejon and Andrews that the film never feels sentimental (there's no romance between Greg and Rachel) or false and earns both its tears and laughter.

The director said he took on the project for personal reasons and to process stuff that I'd gone through and come out the other end like Greg. A credit dedicates the film to Gomez-Rejon's late father. Gomez-Rejon told the Eccles crowd how important the Sundance premiere was to him. I've been obsessed with movies since I saw my first one, he said. I've always dreamed of making a film that would premiere at the Sundance Film Festival so the fact that I'm here is overwhelming. The director gave credit to his cast and crew and Andrews' script.

There was so much love on this set, he said. I've never felt anything like it. I hope you feel some
LINK: http://www.sundance.org/blogs/news/day-4-sarah-silverman-in-i-smile-ba...
See more stories from sundance

Most recent headlines

13/03/2025

TAG Video Systems and Harmonic Partner to Deliver Enhanced Real-Time Monitoring for VOS360 Streaming Workflows at the 2025 NAB Show

TAG Video Systems and Harmonic Partner to Deliver Enhanced Real-Time Monitoring ...

13/03/2025

DigitalGlue Invites NAB Visitors to Experience New Features in Managed Storage Platform that Empowers Video Teams to Scale Effortlessly

DigitalGlue Invites NAB Visitors to Experience New Features in Managed Storage P...

13/03/2025

FOR-A America Theme - Connecting the Present, Building the Future - Comes to Life at NAB 2025 Exhibition

FOR-A America Theme - Connecting the Present, Building the Future - Comes to Lif...

13/03/2025

Ajit Pai Appointed President of CTIA

CTIA, the wireless industry association, has named former FCC Chairman Aji Pai as its President and Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1. He replaces Mere...

13/03/2025

NAB: FCC's 60 Minutes Investigation Is Unconstitutional, Invalid

he National Association of Broadcasters is urging the FCC to end its investigation of that controversial CBS interview with Kamala Harris stating there is no ...

13/03/2025

CBS Miami to Launch AR Coverage of Weather and Sports for March Madness

MIAMI CBS News & Stations continues to expand its use of augmented and virtual reality technologies with the planned launch of an augmented reality/virtual real...

13/03/2025

Meet the co-founder and chief customer success & innovation officer

Srividhya Srinivasan, co-founder and chief customer success & innovation Officer at Amagi, tells TVBEurope how staying ahead of the latest trends is essential f...

13/03/2025

FCC Chairman Carr Launches Massive Deregulation Initiative

WASHINGTON FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced that the agency has launched a massive, new deregulatory initiative that could potentially subject virtually all ...

13/03/2025

SDVI Integrates Rally With Spectra Vail

SUNNYVALE, Calif. SDVI has announced that it has integrated its Rally media supply chain management platform with the Spectra Vail multi-cloud data management s...

13/03/2025

FCC Approves Gray's Acquisition of KXLT

ATLANTA Gray Media has announced that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted a waiver of its local ownership rules to permit Gray Media to acqu...

13/03/2025

NAB Show 2025 Exhibitor Insight: Blackmagic Design

TV Tech: What do you anticipate will be the most significant technology trends at the 2025 NAB Show?...

13/03/2025

Watch Student Naomi Soleils Folk Pop Performance on The Voice

Watch Student Naomi Soleils Folk Pop Performance on The Voice The songwriting major sang Stars by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals during the blind auditions. ...

13/03/2025

Italia 90 Republic of Ireland Squad, Riverdance, Cian Ducrot & B*Witched on Friday's Late Late Show

Here is your host, Patrick Kielty! Shake your Shamrocks, Patrick Kielty will be...

13/03/2025

RT Celebrating all things Irish this St. Patrick's Weekend

This St. Patrick's weekend, RT invites you to celebrate all things Irish, showcasing the very best of Irish sport, entertainment and live coverage from the...

13/03/2025

GTC 2025 - Announcements and Live Updates

What's next in AI is at GTC 2025. Not only the technology, but the people and ideas that are pushing AI forward - creating new opportunities, novel solution...

13/03/2025

T-Mobile, Thales and SIMPL ease IoT deployments with a flexible and secure connectivity solution

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn By combining T-Mobile's robust network, Thal...

13/03/2025

Relive the Magic as GeForce NOW Brings More Blizzard Gaming to the Cloud

Bundle up - GeForce NOW is bringing a flurry of Blizzard titles to its ever-expanding library. Prepare to weather epic gameplay in the cloud, tackling the genr...

13/03/2025

Gaming Goodness: NVIDIA Reveals Latest Neural Rendering and AI Advancements Supercharging Game Development at GDC 2025

AI is leveling up the world's most beloved games, as the latest advancements...

13/03/2025

Drop It Like It's Mod: Breathing New Life Into Classic Games With AI in NVIDIA RTX Remix

PC game modding is massive, with over 5 billion mods downloaded annually. Mods p...

12/03/2025

Como o Impacto Cultural e Financeiro da Indstria Musical Define Seu Sucesso em 2025

O Spotify acaba de lan ar o relat rio Loud & Clear deste ano, uma vis o transpar...

12/03/2025

Cmo el impacto cultural y financiero de la industria musical define su xito en 2025

Spotify acaba de presentar el informe Loud & Clear de este a o, una mirada trans...

12/03/2025

Nourish Mind, Body, and Soul This Ramadan With Spotify

Ramadan, a period of profound spiritual significance for Muslims worldwide, is a time for fasting, prayer, reflection, and community. Enrich your experience thi...

12/03/2025

How the Music Industry's Cultural and Financial Impact Define Its Success in 2025

Spotify has just unveiled this year's Loud & Clear report, a transparent loo...

12/03/2025

FAST now transcends back catalog content

More than 70% of FAST programming has been produced since 2010, according to new Gracenote report NEW YORK March 12, 2025 Gracenote, the content data busin...

12/03/2025

Viamedia Adopts ShowSeeker Pilot To Streamline Ad Workflows

GEONA, Nev. Independent digital and linear advertising rep firm Viamedia will adopt cloud-based ShowSeeker Pilot as its primary ad campaign and order management...

12/03/2025

Mediagenix Appoints Wael Yasin as Sales Director Central Europe

BRUSSELS Mediagenix has announced that Wael Yasin has joined the company as sales director Central Europe....

12/03/2025

Omdia: Global Online Consumer Expenditure to Hit $6.6 Trillion by 2029

LONDON A new study highlights opportunities for shoppable TV and the massive impact online consumer spending is having on the economy, with Omdia predicting tha...

12/03/2025

Comcast Technology Solutions Upgrades to Interra Systems BATON Version 9

CUPERTINO, Calif. Interra Systems has announced that Comcast Technology Solutions has integrated recent updates to BATON Version 9 into its operations....

12/03/2025

Nevion announces new 400G addition to its eMerge SDN media fabric offering

Nevion announces new 400G addition to its eMerge SDN media fabric offering Brie Clayton March 12, 2025 0 Comments High-capacity switch enhances existi...

12/03/2025

DaVinci Resolve Studio Delivers Cinematic Sound for Adam Bol

DaVinci Resolve Studio Delivers Cinematic Sound for Adam Bol Brie Clayton March 12, 2025 0 Comments Feature film relies on DaVinci Resolve Studio for ...

12/03/2025

SVT Leverages Ateliere Live to Pioneer 100% Software-Defined Production at Rally Sweden 2025

SVT Leverages Ateliere Live to Pioneer 100% Software-Defined Production at Rally...

12/03/2025

Berklee Awards Fenway Neighborhood Improvement Grant to Four Organizations

Berklee Awards Fenway Neighborhood Improvement Grant to Four Organizations A total of $17,000 will be distributed among the Boston-based nonprofits. By Madd...

12/03/2025

Offering a broad umbrella for IP standards

TVBEuropes Jenny Priestley sits down with new SMPTE president Richard Welsh to discuss his aims for the organisation going forward, its efforts to attract a you...

12/03/2025

Warner Bros Belgium takes a new approach to its post production workflows

The new process has significantly enhanced operational efficiencies, with automation freeing up creators to concentrate on higher value tasks By Matthew Corrig...

12/03/2025

Another VFX company suspends operations

Jellyfish Pictures, which has offices in London and Sheffield, said it has been battling hard in the face of strong headwinds over the last 12 months By Jenny ...

12/03/2025

Bitcentral to Showcase AI-Powered Innovations for Smarter...

Visit Booth #W2213 to Experience the Latest in AI-Driven Content Discovery and Workflow Automation Bitcentral, a leader in media workflow solutions, is set to ...

12/03/2025

Jeff Lilly Named WGN-TV Director Of Technology

CHICAGO Jeff Lilly has been named WGN-TV director of technology effective March 17, 2025, according to Ric Harris, WGN-TV vice president and general manager....

12/03/2025

Survey: Consumers Want More Shoppable TV Experiences

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. A new study from LG Ad Solutions indicates that consumers want more features that would allow them to shop for products on the connected T...

12/03/2025

IP Showcase To Focus On IP, Broadcast Tech Convergence at 2025 NAB Show

BOTHELL, Wash. The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS), Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA) and the Video Services Forum (VSF) will once again present...

12/03/2025

Comcast Boosts Internet Speeds for More Than 20 Million Customers

PHILADELPHIA Comcast announced that it has upgraded Xfinity Internet speeds for more than 20 million customers for no additional cost....

12/03/2025

Create with Maxon: Cinema 4D Fundamentals Workshop - March 12-14

Create with Maxon: Cinema 4D Fundamentals Workshop - March 12-14 Brie Clayton March 11, 2025 0 Comments Makin' Waffles with Elly Wade During Marc...

12/03/2025

Ross Video Strengthens Cloud Leadership with Appointment of Aaron Tunnell

Ottawa, Canada - March 12, 2025 - Ross Video is pleased to announce the appointment of Aaron Tunnell as Business Development Director, Cloud Solutions, reinforc...

12/03/2025

VEON to release 4Q 2024 trading update on 20 March 2025

12 Mar 2025 VEON to release 4Q 2024 trading update on 20 March 2025 Dubai, 12 March 2025 - VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON), a global digital operator, today confirms ...

12/03/2025

Getting Set for the Winter Olympics: Inside SVT's Ongoing Software-Based Production Evolution

Getting set for the Winter Olympics: Inside SVT's ongoing software-based pro...

12/03/2025

Seamless SMPTE 2110: A Discussion on Making the Move to IP Less Painful

Seamless SMPTE 2110: A Discussion on Making the Move to IP Less Painful Leaders from Netflix, Monumental Sports & Entertainment, LinkedI, and Megapixel address ...

12/03/2025

Opening Doors of Perception: Meta's Ajit Ninan on Rethinking AR/MR Perceptual Displays

Opening Doors of Perception: Meta's Ajit Ninan on Rethinking AR/MR Perceptua...

12/03/2025

Sky Sports Unveils Exciting Plans for 2025 Formula 1 Coverage

With the 2025 Formula 1 season set to begin in Melbourne on March 16, Sky Sports is gearing up to deliver its most comprehensive F1 coverage yet. Following a th...

12/03/2025

Unicanal and Trece TV revolutionize Digital TV in Paraguay with Rohde & Schwarz transmission solutions

Unicanal and Trece TV revolutionize Digital TV in Paraguay with Rohde & Schwarz ...

12/03/2025

Honoring Service, Celebrating Sport: Rohde & Schwarz UK Sponsors NavyFit Rugby Double-Header

Honoring Service, Celebrating Sport: Rohde & Schwarz UK Sponsors NavyFit Rugby D...