Movies Released November 15, 2013

Set in the underbelly of usually sunny Florida, Melissa Winters (two-time Academy Award nominee Naomi Watts) works as a cashier at the local convenience store, SUNLIGHT JR. She lives in a seedy motel with her boyfriend Richie (Academy Award nominee Matt Dillon), a former TV repairman who lives month-to-month on his government disability check, spending most of it at a neighborhood tavern. When an unexpected pregnancy takes their lives in a new direction, they are forced to examine the realities of both of their lives, and to face tough choices about what lies on the horizon.

The benefit concert documentary is a behind the scenes look at the show, which took place at New York’s Madison Square Garden on December 12, 2012. Spearheaded by TWC Co-Chairman Harvey Weinstein, Madison Square Garden Executive Chairman Jim Dolan, and Clear Channel Entertainment President John Sykes, the concert featured performances by some of the music industry’s most iconic acts: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Billy Joel, Alicia Keys, Paul McCartney, Dave Grohl, Roger Waters, Eddie Vedder, Chris Martin, Michael Stipe, Adam Sandler, Eric Clapton, Jon Bon Jovi, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Kanye West and included involvement from entertainment and media such as Billy Crystal, Susan Sarandon, Paul Shaffer, Brian Williams, Kristen Stewart, Jon Stewart, Chelsea Clinton, Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, Sean Combs, Olivia Wilde, Steve Buscemi, Chris Rock, Seth Meyers, Jake Gyllenhaal, Blake Lively, Katie Holmes, Jason Sudekis, Jamie Foxx, Quentin Tarantino, and Christoph Waltz.

Calvin & Hobbes dominated the Sunday comics in thousands of newspapers for over 10 years, having a profound effect on millions of readers across the globe. When the strip’s creator, Bill Watterson, retired the strip on New Year’s Eve in 1995, devoted readers everywhere felt the void left by the departure of Calvin, Hobbes, and Watterson’s other cast of characters, and many fans would never find a satisfactory replacement.

It has now been more than a decade since the end of the Calvin & Hobbes era. Bill Watterson has kept an extremely low profile during this time, living a very private life outside of Cleveland, Ohio. Despite his quiet lifestyle, Mr. Watterson is remembered and appreciated daily by fans who still enjoy his amazing collection of work.

Mr. Watterson has inspired and influenced millions of people through Calvin & Hobbes. Newspaper readership and book sales can be tracked and recorded, but the human impact he has had and the value of his art are perhaps impossible to measure.

This film is not a quest to find Bill Watterson, or to invade his privacy. It is an exploration to discover why his 'simple' comic strip made such an impact on so many readers in the 80s and 90s, and why it still means so much to us today.

Set in present-day Pasadena, the film centers on the eccentric Turner clan, an upper-class family torn apart by secrets revealed over a Thanksgiving weekend. Patriarch Poppy (Bogdanovich) has invited his black sheep daughter Nina (Witt) home for the holiday – her first visit in 15 years. Nina immediately clashes with stepmother Deborah (Hines), and competes with her siblings (Holmes and Walger) for Poppy’s affection – and money. Over three days, the family gradually disintegrates over who will get Poppy’s money – only to discover he’s broke.