Daily Wire's 'Confession', directed by Vaclav Marhoul, reveals cast, trailer and release plans
The Daily Wire released a teaser and cast details for 'Confession', a Ben Shapiro-written drama directed by Vaclav Marhoul and starring Rob Lowe and James Franco. Deadline reports the cast and release plans, while The A.V. Club stresses the cast's association with the company's controversies.
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The story, neutrally told
Mixed · 2The Daily Wire has revealed details of 'Confession', a film directed by Czech filmmaker Vaclav Marhoul and written by the company's co-founder Ben Shapiro, with a first teaser and a first-look image. DeadlineN “Penned by site co-founder Ben Shapiro, their new film stars Rob Lowe” Read at Deadline ↗ The A.V. ClubLC “According to a trailer posted on Tuesday on Daily Wire editor” Read at The A.V. Club ↗ Centre · 1The cast includes Rob Lowe, James Franco, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Nick Nolte, Richard Brake, Emile Hirsch, Brad Dourif and Dean Norris, according to Deadline. DeadlineN “Richard Brake (Batman Begins), Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild), Brad Dourif (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), and Dean Norris (Breaking Bad)” Read at Deadline ↗ Centre · 1According to the logline Deadline published, the story is set in Stalin's 1938 Moscow, where a former literature professor, Alexei (Lowe), is arrested and taken to Lubyanka Prison, charged with conspiring with his dissident priest, and is interrogated by his former student Vladimir (Franco). DeadlineN “In Stalin’s 1938 Moscow, a disillusioned former literature professor, Alexei (Lowe), is arrested and brought to the infamous Lubyanka Prison” Read at Deadline ↗
Left · 1The A.V. Club, going by the trailer, described it as appearing to be a Cold War-era prison drama about an imprisoned professor enduring torture at the hands of a Soviet-era jailer. The A.V. ClubLC “The film appears to be a Cold War-era prison drama about an imprisoned professor” Read at The A.V. Club ↗ Centre · 1The film is due to have its world premiere at the Warsaw Film Festival on October 15, followed by a one-night release in 100 US theaters on November 11, the same day it debuts on The Daily Wire's streaming platform. DeadlineN “The movie is set to world premiere at the Warsaw Film Festival on October 15.”“the plan is for it to open in 100 theaters stateside for one night on November 11” Read at Deadline ↗ Centre · 1Deadline lists Dallas Sonnier, Travis Mills, Shapiro and Sean Calvano among the producers, with cinematography by Peter Menzies Jr. and makeup and prosthetics by Jeff Dawn. It says the film was shot entirely on 35mm at Santa Clarita Studios, north of Los Angeles. DeadlineN “The project was shot entirely on 35mm film, with production based at Santa Clarita Studios just north of LA.” Read at Deadline ↗
Mixed · 2Marhoul is known for the 2019 Holocaust film The Painted Bird. He said 'Confession' was a new genre for him, an intimate, dialogue-driven psychological drama set in a single location. DeadlineN “I ventured into a genre I hadn’t explored before: an intimate, dialogue-driven psychological drama set in a single location.” Read at Deadline ↗ The A.V. ClubLC “(2019’s Jerzy Kosiński adaptation, The Painted Bird)” Read at The A.V. Club ↗ Centre · 1Lowe called it 'an incredible story of the human spirit', and Shapiro said he was honoured to work with the cast and director on a film 'deeply rooted in faith, morality, virtue, hardship'. DeadlineN ““This is an incredible story of the human spirit and its survival against those who would crush it,” said Lowe today.”“deeply rooted in faith, morality, virtue, hardship” Read at Deadline ↗ Mixed · 2Both outlets place the film against the Daily Wire's recent controversies. Deadline says its recent films Run Hide Fight: Infidels and Pawn Shop drew opprobrium and temporary shutdowns. The A.V. Club says Danny Trejo's children claimed their father was tricked into appearing in Pawn Shop, and that crew members walked off that production. DeadlineN “have both attracted opprobrium for their subject matters and both faced temporary shut downs” Read at Deadline ↗ The A.V. ClubLC “Various crew members have walked off the production of the low-budget movie” Read at The A.V. Club ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left1 outlet
- Framing
- The A.V. Club treats the cast as surprising and questionable, and frames the film through the Daily Wire's political reputation and the controversy around its other productions.
- Emphasis
- Scrutiny of the actors for working with the Daily Wire, the Pawn Shop dispute, and Franco's career situation.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Gives no release dates, premiere, producers or crew details and carries no statements from the filmmakers or cast.
- Charged language
- “loudly bigoted pop culture troll”“attracted (or perhaps tricked)”“rabidly anti-immigrant”“conservative fringes”
- For example
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“Ben Shapiro‘s Twitter/X account, Confession, the latest film from the right-wing media company’s movie farm has attracted (or perhaps tricked) a truly surprising cast.” — The A.V. Club
Centre1 outlet
- Framing
- Deadline runs an exclusive entertainment-trade report. It leads with the cast, logline, premiere and release dates and crew, and notes the Daily Wire's history of controversy as context.
- Emphasis
- Cast and credits, release schedule, production details and statements from Lowe, Marhoul and Shapiro.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Does not discuss the content of the trailer or any questions about cast members' involvement beyond the earlier shutdowns.
- Charged language
- “starriest movie cast to date”“magnet for controversy”
- For example
-
“the site-turned-film-and-TV-producer has managed to attract its starriest movie cast to date with Marhoul’s Confession.” — Deadline
Right0 outlets
No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
What every side reports
- Confession is a Daily Wire film directed by Vaclav Marhoul and written by Ben Shapiro.
- The cast includes Rob Lowe, James Franco, Nick Nolte, Brad Dourif, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Jennifer Jason Leigh.
- A trailer or teaser was released on Tuesday 13 October.
- The film is a prison drama about a professor interrogated in a Soviet setting.
- The Daily Wire's recent film Pawn Shop has been controversial.
Where accounts differ
-
Setting and period of the film
- Left
- The A.V. Club says it appears to be a Cold War-era prison drama.
- Centre
- Deadline's logline places it in Stalin's 1938 Moscow.
-
Cast's involvement
- Left
- The A.V. Club says the cast was attracted 'or perhaps tricked' and faces scrutiny.
- Centre
- Deadline says the Daily Wire attracted its starriest cast to date.
The Daily Wire organisation
Through Shapiro, it presents the film as an honest, beautiful work rooted in faith and morality, and it plans a theatrical and streaming release on November 11.
“an extraordinarily beautiful and honest film deeply rooted in faith, morality, virtue, hardship” — Deadline
Vaclav Marhoul person
Marhoul describes the film as a challenge: his first intimate, dialogue-driven psychological drama set in a single location.
“this film was a truly great challenge for me” — Deadline
Left1 article
-
Rob Lowe, James Franco latest actors to sign on to a Daily Wire movie
Critical Opinionated take that casts the film's cast as lured into a controversial right-wing studio and warns of scrutiny for the actors.
Centre1 article
-
Neutral Trade-press exclusive giving cast, logline, release plan and filmmaker quotes, with brief context on past Daily Wire controversies.
Right0 articles
No coverage yet.
- 13 Oct 15:49 First DeadlineN Details Revealed About Under-The-Radar Daily Wire Project ‘Confession’ Starring Rob Lowe, James Franco, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nick Nolte & More
- 13 Oct 19:34 +3h 45m The A.V. ClubLC Rob Lowe, James Franco latest actors to sign on to a Daily Wire movie
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.
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