Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #128 :: January 4•10

Focus Features

The first couple of weeks of the new year have been considered a ‘dead zone’ or ‘dumping ground’ for films that just weren’t up to snuff to garner a release in the previous year. It’s also a time when many believe the worst movies of the year are released, but there were actually quite a few new films released this week over the past century in addition to the several holdovers from December that were looking for some awards love. The question is were any of the new releases this week — not the holdovers — really all that memorable? 1933 has the very first film to play Radio City Music Hall when it opened in 1933, but it was a flop and seems to have faded into obscurity. That year, however, did give us an Oscar-nominated Mickey Mouse cartoon. Disney showed up again in 1943 with an animated short featuring a character that would become better known as Scrooge McDuck. Horror was also popular in the later part of the century with notable films in 1983, 1993 and 2013, with one of those films giving the world Jennifer Aniston. 2003 and 2013 also had more films from the previous year expanding nationwide and receiving that awards love they hoped for, and 2013 saw an indie film from a new director who has gone on to become a darling of Marvel Studios. Read on to learn more about the movies celebrating anniversaries this week, and tell us if your favorites are on the list.

1923

January 7 – Three Who Paid (USA)

Cast: Dustin Farnum, Bessie Love, Fred Kohler, Frank Campeau, Robert Daly, William Conklin, Robert Agnew
Director: Colin Campbell
Production Company: Fox Film Corporation
Trivia: Based on the 1922 short story by George Owen Baxter. Production was delayed at one point when Bessie Love forgot to bring spirit gum to hold her wig on (she was responsible for her own wardrobe) and a prop man gave her LePage’s glue which adhered the wig to her head.

January 7 – Watch Your Wife (USA)

Cast: Virginia Valli, Pat O’Malley, Nat Carr, Helen Lee Worthing, Albert Conti, Aggie Herring, Nora Hayden
Director: Svend Gade
Production Company: Hal Roach Studios, distributed by Pathé Exchange
Trivia: Pre-stardom Gary Cooper may appear as an unbilled extra in the film.

January 8 – Kindled Courage (USA)

Cast: Hoot Gibson, Beatrice Burnham, Harold Goodwin, Harry Tenbrook, J. Gordon Russell, Russ Powell
Director: William Worthington
Production Company: Universal Pictures
Trivia: The film may be lost.

January 9 – No Wedding Bells (USA, short)

Cast: Larry Semon, Lucille Carlisle, Oliver Hardy, Spencer Bell, Glen Cavender, Kathleen Myers
Director: Mort Peebles, Larry Semon
Production Company: Larry Semon Productions, Vitagraph Company of America, distributed by Vitagraph Company of America
Trivia: Oliver Hardy is billed as Babe Hardy. The final film of Lucille Carlisle.

January 10 – Dangerous Trails (USA)

Cast: Irene Rich, Tully Marshall, Noah Beery, Allan Penrose, William Lowery, Jack Curtis, Jane Talent
Director: Alan James
Production Company: Rocky Mountain Productions, distributed by Anchor Film Distributors
Trivia: While listed as a Western, as it adheres to the genre, it is actually a ‘Northwestern’ taking place in western Canada and features a lead character in the North-West Mounted Police.

1933

January 5 – They Just Had to Get Married (USA)

Cast: Slim Summerville, ZaSu Pitts, Roland Young, Verree Teasdale, C. Aubrey Smith, Robert Greig, David Landau, Elizabeth Patterson, Wallis Clark
Director: Edward Ludwig
Production Company: Universal Pictures
Trivia: Based on the Broadway play A Pair of Silk Stockings (1914) by Cyril Harcourt. This is the third film adaptation of the play.

January 6 – Betty Boop’s Ker-Choo (USA, short)

Voice Cast: Billy Murray, Ann Rothschild, Bonnie Poe, Margie Hines
Director: Dave Fleischer, Seymour Kneitel
Production Company: Fleischer Studios, distributed by Paramount Pictures

January 6 – The Bitter Tea of General Yen (USA)

Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Nils Asther, Walter Connolly, Toshia Mori, Gavin Gordon, Lucien Littlefield, Richard Loo, Helen Jerome Eddy, Emmett Corrigan
Director: Frank Capra
Production Company: Columbia Pictures
Trivia: Based on the 1930 novel of the same name by Grace Zaring Stone. The first film to play at Radio City Hall’s opening on January 6, 1933. One of the first films to openly deal with interracial sexual attraction. The film was due to play at Radio City for two weeks but was pulled after eight days due to poor box office performance. Barbara Stanwyck blamed the film’s failure on racial backlash. Frank Capra shot the film with a silk stocking over the lens to give it a diffused look. When he needed a close-up, he had a cigarette hole burned in the stocking.

January 6 – No Other Woman (USA)

Cast: Irene Dunne, Charles Bickford, Gwili Andre, Eric Linden, Christian Rub, Leila Bennett, J. Carrol Naish
Director: J. Walter Ruben
Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures
Trivia: Based on the play Just a Woman by Eugene Walter, which was previously filmed under that title in 1918 and 1925. Working titles were Man and Wife and Just a Woman.

January 6 – Tightrope Tricks (USA, short)

Director: John Foster, George Rufle
Production Company: Van Beuren Studios, distributed by RKO Radio Pictures
Trivia: The short features the animated duo Tom & Jerry, but not the more famous MGM cat and mouse adversaries. This Tom & Jerry series of shorts produced about 30 films in the early 1930s.

January 7 – The Billion Dollar Scandal (USA)

Cast: Robert Armstrong, Constance Cummings, Olga Baclanova, Frank Morgan, James Gleason, Irving Pichel, Warren Hymer, Sidney Toler, Berton Churchill, Frank Albertson
Director: Harry Joe Brown
Production Company: Paramount Pictures
Trivia: A nitrate print of this film survives in the UCLA Film and Television Archives.

January 7 – Building a Building (USA, short)

Voice Cast: Walt Disney, Marcellite Garner, Pinto Colvig
Director: David Hand
Production Company: Walt Disney Productions, distributed by United Artists
Trivia: Remake of the 1928 Oswald the Lucky Rabbit film Sky Scrappers. David Hand’s first directing assignment at Disney. The 51st Mickey Mouse short. Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, the second Mickey Mouse cartoon nominated for an Oscar.

January 7 – Hotel Variety (USA)

Cast: Hal Skelly, Olive Borden, Charlotte Walker, Sally Rand, Glorian Gray, Shannon Day, Martin Burton
Director: Raymond Cannon
Production Company: Screencraft Productions, distributed by Capitol Film Exchange
Trivia: The film is believed to be lost.

January 7 – The Shanty Where Santy Claus Lives (USA, short)

Voice Cast: Rudolf Ising, The King’s Men, Johnny Murray, The Rhythmettes
Director: Rudolf Ising
Production Company: Leon Schlesinger Studios, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures

January 8 – Marriage in Name Only (USA)

Cast: Evelyn Holt, Erika Dannhoff, Wolfgang Zilzer, Annemarie Hase, Walter Rilla, Oskar Marion, Grit Haid, Ida Wüst, Hans Mierendorff, Valerie Boothby
Director: Heinz Paul
Production Company: Haase-Filmproduktion
Trivia: Originally released in Hungary on November 26, 1930, and in Germany on December 2, 1930 as Namensheirat.

January 10 – Jungle Bride (USA)

Cast: Anita Page, Charles Starrett, Kenneth Thomson, Eddie Borden, Gertrude Simpson, Jay Emmett, Clarence Geldart
Director: Harry O. Hoyt, Albert H. Kelley
Production Company: I.E. Chadwick Productions, distributed by Monogram Pictures
Trivia: Harry O. Hoyt’s final film as director. Gertrude Simpson’s debut.

January 10 – Wedding Bells (USA, short)

Director: Manny Gould, Ben Harrison
Production Company: Charles Mintz Productions, distributed by Columbia Pictures
Trivia: One of the many shorts featuring Krazy Kat.

1943

January 4 – Happy Go Lucky (USA)

Cast: Mary Martin, Dick Powell, Betty Hutton, Eddie Bracken, Rudy Vallée, Mabel Paige, Eric Blore, Clem Bevans, Rita Christiani, Sir Lancelot
Director: Curtis Bernhardt
Production Company: Paramount Pictures

January 4 – Man of Courage (USA)

Cast: Barton MacLane, Charlotte Wynters, Lyle Talbot, Dorothy Burgess, Patsy Nash, Forrest Taylor, John Ince, Jane Novak, Erskine Johnson
Director: Alexis Thurn-Taxis
Production Company: Producers Releasing Corporation
Trivia: Film debut of Billy Gray. Star Barton MacLane’s only screenwriting credit. MacLane is probably more familiar today for his 35 appearances as General Peterson on I Dream of Jeannie.

January 5 – The Adventures of Smilin’ Jack (USA, serial)

Cast: Tom Brown, Rose Hobart, Edgar Barrier, Marjorie Lord, Keye Luke, Sidney Toler, Cyril Delevanti, Philip Ahn, Nigel De Brulier, Turhan Bey, Jay Novello
Director: Lewis D. Collins, Ray Taylor
Production Company: Universal Pictures
Trivia: Based on the popular comic strip The Adventures of Smilin’ Jack by Zack Mosley. Very little of the actual strip was used in the serial, and new character Tommy Thompson was created by the studio.

January 6 – Hitler’s Children (USA)

Cast: Tim Holt, Bonita Granville, Kent Smith, Otto Kruger, H. B. Warner, Lloyd Corrigan, Erford Gage, Hans Conried, Gavin Muir, Nancy Gates
Director: Edward Dmytryk
Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures
Trivia: Adapted from the book Education for Death by Gregor Ziemer. One of RKO’s most financially successful film. The film was originally directed by Irving Reis, but he experienced ‘creative differences’ with the producer and resigned from the film and his work went uncredited.

January 7 – The Spirit of ’43 (USA, short)

Voice Cast: Clarence Nash
Director: Jack King
Production Company: Walt Disney Productions, distributed by RKO Radio Pictures
Trivia: Sequel to 1942’s The New Spirit. The short features writer/designer Carl Barks’ prototype for the character Scrooge McDuck. The short is in the public domain.

January 8 – Mountain Rhythm (USA)

Cast: Leon Weaver, Frank Weaver, June Weaver, Lynn Merrick, Frank M. Thomas, Sally Payne, Dick Jones
Director: Frank McDonald
Production Company: Republic Pictures
Trivia: Final film of Frank and June Weaver, who left Hollywood in 1943 and returned to their Mid-West stage roots. Leon made two more films.

January 8 – Two Fisted Justice (USA)

Cast: John ‘Dusty’ King, David Sharpe, Max Terhune, Elmer, Gwen Gaze, Joel Davis, John Elliott, Charles King, George Chesebro, Frank Ellis, Cecil Weston, Hal Price
Director: Robert Emmett Tansey
Production Company: Range Busters Pictures, Inc., distributed by Monogram Pictures
Trivia: The 19th of Monogram’s 24 ‘Range Busters’ films made between 1940 and 1943.

1953

Universal Pictures

January 8 – The Redhead from Wyoming (USA)

Cast: Maureen O’Hara, Alex Nicol, William Bishop, Robert Strauss, Alexander Scourby, Gregg Palmer, Jack Kelly, Jeanne Cooper, Dennis Weaver, Stacy Harris
Director: Lee Sholem
Production Company: Universal International Pictures, distributed by Universal Pictures
Trivia: The film’s working title was Cattle Kate. Jeanne Cooper’s film debut.

January 9 – Androcles and the Lion (USA)

Cast: Jean Simmons, Victor Mature, Alan Young, Robert Newton, Maurice Evans, Elsa Lanchester, Reginald Gardiner, Gene Lockhart, Alan Mowbray, Noel Willman, John Hoyt, Jim Backus, Lowell Gilmore, Woody Strode, Strother Martin, Sylvia Lewis
Director: Chester Erskine
Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures
Trivia: Based on the 1912 George Bernard Shaw play of the same name. Harpo Marx was originally signed to play Androcles, but after five weeks of work, producer Howard Hughes saw Alan Young on TV and replaced Marx with him.

January 10 – So You Want to Be a Musician (USA, short)

Cast: George O’Hanlon
Uncredited Cast: Maurice Cass, Chester Conklin, Johnny Duncan, Fritz Feld, Shep Houghton, Fred Kelsey, Paul Maxey, Jack Mower, Philip Van Zand
Director: Richard L. Bare
Production Company: Richard L. Bare Productions, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
Trivia: Followed by So You Want to Learn to Dance (1953).

January 10 – The Missing Mouse (USA, short)

Director: Joseph Barbara, William Hanna
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Trivia: Paul Frees provides the voice of the radio announcer.

1963

January 4 – 50,000 B.C. (Before Clothing)

Cast: Charlie Robinson, Irving Selig, Al Monaco, Dino Tarronov, Toni Monaco, Carl Shelton, Bebe Lent, Morton Taylor, Mila Milo, Gigi Darlene
Director: William Rose
Production Company: Biolane, distributed by American Film Distributing Corporation
Trivia: The movie poster states the movie was ‘filmed in exciting nudacolor for nonblushing adults only.’

1973

January 5 – Little Mother (USA)

Cast: Siegfried Rauch, Christiane Krüger, Ivan Desny, Mark Damon, Anton Diffring, Elga Sorbas
Director: Radley Metzger
Production Company: Audubon Films, Jadran Film, Peter Carsten Produktion, distributed by Audubon Films
Trivia: The story was loosely modelled on that of Evita Peron.

January 5 – Love Me Deadly (USA)

Cast: Mary Charlotte Wilcox, Terri Anne Duvalis, Christopher Stone, Timothy Scott, Lyle Waggoner, Dassa Cates, Michael Pardue
Director: Jacques Lacerte
Production Company: United Talent Productions, distributed by Cinema National
Trivia: Had limited engagements in Orlando from August 11, 1972, and Atlanta from September 13, 1972. The cemetery sequences were shot on location at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier, California. The film’s director, Jacques Lacerte, was an inexperienced filmmaker and had previously worked as a high school theater teacher. Significant dubbing as well as extended musical scores were implemented over montages to hide what the producer felt was poorly-written dialogue.

January 5 – The Spider’s Stratagem (USA)

Cast: Giulio Brogi, Alida Valli, Tino Scotti, Pippo Campanini, Franco Giovannelli, Allen Midgette, Giuseppe Bertolucci
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci
Production Company: RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana, Red Film, distributed by Indipendenti Regionali (Italy), New Yorker Films (USA)
Trivia: The film premiered on television in Italy on October 25, 1970 as Strategia del ragno, and played theatrical runs in several European countries in 1971 and 1972. Based on the 1944 short story Theme of the Traitor and the Hero by Jorge Luis Borges.

1983

January 5 – Black Venus (USA)

Cast: Josephine Jacqueline Jones, José Antonio Ceinos, Emiliano Redondo, Helga Liné, Florence Guérin, Mandy Rice-Davies, Karin Schubert
Director: Claude Mulot
Production Company: Film Accounting Services, Playboy Enterprises
Trivia: The film also opened in France, the UK and Italy on January 5, 1983. Based on an unspecified short story by Honoré de Balzac.

January 7 – Xtro (USA)

Cast: Philip Sayer, Bernice Stegers, Danny Brainin, Maryam d’Abo, Simon Nash
Director: Harry Bromley Davenport
Production Company: Amalgamated Film Enterprises, distributed by New Line Cinema
Trivia: Originally opened in the UK on December 6, 1982. The film has three different endings. The original featured a scene with clones of the main character but producers deemed the effects sub-standard and cut the ending for the New York debut, releasing the film with a more ambiguous conclusion. Unhappy with that, the director filmed a new ending with the Rachel character being attacked by a face grabbing creature. The 2018 UK Blu-ray release included the third ending.

1993

January 6 – Firehawk (USA)

Cast: Ronald Asinas, Terrence ‘T.C.’ Carson, Raffy Curtis, Martin Kove, Jim Moss, James Gregory Paolleli, Matt Salinger, Raffael Soquez, Henry Strzalkowski, Vic Trevino
Director: Cirio H. Santiago
Production Company: Concorde-New Horizons, New Horizons Picture
Trivia: The film was released straight-to-video.

January 6 – Ulterior Motives (USA)

Cast: Thomas Ian Griffith, Craig Shugart, David Efron, Mary Page Keller, Ellen Crawford, Tyra Ferrell, Ken Howard, Debra Snell, Momo Yashima, Antoni Stutz, M.C. Gainey
Director: James Becket
Production Company: Den Pictures Inc., E.L.K. Productions, Ian Page Productions
Trivia: The film was released straight-to-video.

January 8 – A Brighter Summer Day (USA)

Cast: Chang Chen, Chang Kuo-chu, Elaine Jin, Lisa Yang, Wong Chi-zan, Lawrence Ko
Director: Edward Yang
Production Company: Yang & His Gang Filmmakers, distributed by Hero Communications
Trivia: Originally opened in Taiwan on July 27, 1991 as Gǔlǐng jiē shàonián shārén shìjiàn, which translates to Youth Homicide Incident on Guling Street. The English title is derived from the lyrics of Elvis Presley’s ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight?’ The story is based on the director’s own childhood memory. Chang Kuo-chu, and his son Chang Chen (in his debut) are both cast in this film playing father and son.

January 8 – Leprechaun (USA)

Trimark Pictures

Cast: Warwick Davis, Jennifer Aniston, Ken Olandt, Mark Holton, Robert Hy Gorman, David Permenter, William Newman, Shay Duffin, Pamela Mant, John Sanderford, John Voldstad
Director: Mark Jones
Production Company: Trimark Pictures
Trivia: Originally intended to be a straight horror film. The Leprechaun character was inspired by the Lucky Charms leprechaun, and director Mark Jones was also influenced by Critters. The first film produced in-house by Trimark. Jennifer Aniston was an unknown at the time and Jones had to fight to have her cast. For the scene where Warwick Davis chases Aniston in a wheelchair, Aniston had to run in slow motion so that Davis could keep up with her, as he had trouble manipulating the wheels.

2003

January 10 – 25th Hour (USA)

Cast: Edward Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Barry Pepper, Rosario Dawson, Anna Paquin, Brian Cox, Tony Siragusa, Patrice O’Neal, Aaron Stanford
Director: Spike Lee
Production Company: Touchstone Pictures, 25th Hour Productions, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, Gamut Films, Industry Entertainment, distributed by Buena Vista Pictures
Trivia: Opened in limited release on December 19, 2002 for awards consideration. Adapted by David Benioff from his own 2001 debut novel The 25th Hour. Tobey Maguire originally optioned the book to play the lead but became involved with the Spider-Man films and had to abandon that plan, although he did remain on as a producer. The film was in the planning stages at the time of the September 11 attacks, and Spike Lee decided not to ignore the tragedy but integrate it into the story, which received praise from many critics.

January 10 – Antwone Fisher (USA)

Cast: Derek Luke, Malcolm David Kelley, Cory Hodges, Joy Bryant, Denzel Washington, Salli Richardson, Leonard Earl Howze, Kente Scott, Kevin Connolly, Rainoldo Gooding, Novella Nelson, Vernee Watson-Johnson, Viola Davis, Chiwetel Ejiofor
Director: Denzel Washington
Production Company: Mundy Lane Entertainment, distributed by Searchlight Pictures
Trivia: Opened in limited release on December 19, 2002 for awards consideration. Denzel Washington’s film directorial debut. Star Derek Luke actually knew the real Antwone Fisher; Luke worked at the Sony Pictures gift shop and Fisher was a security guard on the Sony lot. This was Luke’s film debut. Based on Fisher’s autobiographical book Finding Fish, with Fisher as the credited screenwriter. Fisher wrote 41 drafts before the screenplay was sold to 20th Century Fox. Fisher received a Writers Guild nomination for the screenplay. Luke won Best Male Lead at the Independent Spirit Awards.

January 10 – Far from Heaven (USA)

Cast: Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid, Dennis Haysbert, Patricia Clarkson, Viola Davis, James Rebhorn, Celia Weston, Michael Gaston, June Squibb
Director: Todd Haynes
Production Company: Focus Features, Vulcan Productions, Killer Films, John Wells Productions, Section Eight, Clear Blue Sky Productions, TF1 International, USA Films, distributed by Focus Features
Trivia: Opened in limited release in the US on November 8, 2002 and in Canada on November 15. The film pays homage to the films of Douglas Sirk including All That Heaven Allows, Written on the Wind and Imitation of Life. The role of Frank was written for James Gandolfini, who was tied up with The Sopranos. Second choice Russell Crowe felt the role was too small and passed, and third choice Jeff Bridges wanted too much money. The role eventually went to Dennis Quaid. The film received four Oscar nominations and four Golden Globe nominations.

January 10 – Just Married (USA/Canada)

Cast: Ashton Kutcher, Brittany Murphy, Christian Kane, David Moscow, Monet Mazur, David Rasche, Veronica Cartwright, Thad Luckinbill, Taran Killam, Raymond J. Barry, George Gaynes
Director: Shawn Levy
Production Company: Twentieth Century Fox, Robert Simonds Productions, Mediastream Dritte Film GmbH & Co. Beteiligungs KG, distributed by Twentieth Century Fox
Trivia: The film earned three Golden Raspberry Awards nominations for Kutcher (Worst Actor), Murphy (Worst Supporting Actress) and Worst Screen Couple.

January 10 – Narc (USA)

Cast: Jason Patric, Ray Liotta, Chi McBride, A.C. Peterson, Lina Giornofelice, Karen Robinson, Krista Bridges, Busta Rhymes
Director: Joe Carnahan
Production Company: Paramount Pictures, Lions Gate Films, Cruise/Wagner Productions, Splendid Film, Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films, Tiara Blu Films, Applecreek Productions, Cutting Edge Entertainment, Echelon Productions, Inc., JR Media Services, N.A.R.C., Narc LLC, distributed by Paramount Pictures
Trivia: Received a limited US release on December 20, 2002 for awards consideration. The script for Narc originated from a short film made by Joe Carnahan while a student at San Francisco State University. Carnahan found it difficult to get financial support for the project, was told the script was just an NYPD Blue episode. Ray Liotta championed the project after joining the same agency as Carnahan, looking for a script that would have some impact or make money. Impressed by Carnahan’s enthusiasm, he agreed to star in and produce the film. When funding began to run out two weeks into filming, the producers persuaded 17 investors to fund the project, and they all received producer credits. A TV adaptation was in development in 2014 with Carnahan directing and writing the pilot, and Eminem in negotiations to join as music supervisor and executive producer, as well as writing new songs, but the series did not move forward.

2013

January 4 – 56 Up (USA, documentary)

Cast: Bruce Balden, Jacqueline Bassett, Symon Basterfield, Andrew Brackfield, John Brisby, Peter Davies, Suzanne Dewey, Charles Furneaux, Nicholas Hitchon, Neil Hughes, Lynn Johnson, Paul Kligerman, Susan Sullivan, Tony Walker
Director: Michael Apted
Production Company: ITV Studios, distributed by First Run Features
Trivia: The film originally opened in the UK on May 14, 2012. The eighth chapter of the series which began with Seven Up! in 1964. 63 up was released in 2019.

January 4 – All Superheroes Must Die (USA, limited)

Cast: Jason Trost, Lucas Till, James Rema, Sophie Merkley, Lee Valmassy, Sean Whalen, Brian Taylor, Nick Principe
Director: Jason Trost
Production Company: Grindfist, distributed by Image Entertainment
Trivia: Also known as Vs. A sequel, All Superheroes Must Die 2: The Last Superhero, was released on Jason Trost’s YouTube channel.

January 4 – Allegiance (USA)

Cast: Seth Gabel, Shad ‘Bow Wow’ Moss, Pablo Schreiber, Malik Yoba, Dominic Fumusa, Aidan Quinn, Jason Lew, Zachary Booth
Director: Michael Connors
Production Company: Five By Eight Productions, Hardball Entertainment, distributed by Alameda Entertainment
Trivia: The film had already been released to the home video market on December 7, 2012 ahead of a limited New York City engagement on December 28, 2012, and limited engagements in other US cities on January 4, 2013. Also known as Recalled.

January 4 – Crawlspace (USA)

Cast: Raleigh Holmes, Lori Loughlin, Jonathan Silverman, Steven Weber, David Koechner, Sterling Beaumon, Paul James
Director: Josh Stolberg
Production Company: Vuguru, distributed by Veranda Entertainment
Trivia: Also known as The Attic and Hideaway.

January 4 – Promised Land (Canada/UK)

Cast: Matt Damon, John Krasinski, Frances McDormand, Rosemarie DeWitt, Scoot McNairy, Titus Welliver, Terry Kinney, Tim Guinee, Lucas Black, Hal Holbrook
Director: Gus Van Sant
Production Company: Focus Features, Participant, Imagenation Abu Dhabi FZ, Sunday Night, Pearl Street Films, Media Farm, distributed by Alliance (Canada), Focus Features (USA)
Trivia: Opened in limited release in the US on December 28, 2012. Matt Damon & John Krasinski wrote the screenplay, and the project was originally set up at Warner Bros. with Damon making his directorial debut. Damon had to step down in January 2012 due to scheduling conflicts and contacted Gus Van Sant to direct. The project was dropped by Warners and picked up by Focus Features and Participant.

January 4 – Texas Chainsaw 3D (USA/Canada/UK)

Lionsgate

Cast: Alexandra Daddario, Dan Yeager, Tremaine ‘Trey Songz’ Neverson, Scott Eastwood, Tania Raymonde, Shaun Sipos, Keram Malicki-Sanchez, James MacDonald, Thom Barry, Paul Rae, Richard Riehle, Bill Moseley
Director: John Luessenhop
Production Company: Lionsgate, Millennium Films, Mainline Pictures, Leatherface Productions, Millennium Films, Twisted Chainsaw Pictures, distributed by Lionsgate
Trivia: The seventh film in the Texas Chainsaw franchise, serving as a direct sequel to the original 1974 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Original Leatherface Gunnar Hansen has a cameo role, as does original Sally, Marilyn Burns. The film’s working title was Leatherface 3D. With a 28 day shooting schedule, production had to shift to a 24-hour schedule at one point in order to meet the filming deadline. Ultimately the film’s release was pushed from October 5, 2012 to January 4, 2013.

January 10 – I Am Not a Hipster (USA)

Cast: Dominic Bogart, Alvaro Orlando, Tammy Minoff, Lauren Coleman, Kandis Erickson, Brad William Henke, Adam Shapiro, Tania Verafield, Eva Mah, Michael Harding
Director: Destin Daniel Cretton
Production Company: Uncle Freddy Productions
Trivia: Destin Daniel Cretton’s directorial debut. Cretton has gone on to direct Just Mercy and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

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