Gimme the Loot is a 2012 American comedy film written and directed by Adam Leon. The film competed in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.[3][4] It won the Grand Jury Prize at the SXSW Film Festival in 2012.[5] It was released on March 22, 2013, in the U.S.

Gimme the Loot
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAdam Leon
Written byAdam Leon
Produced byNatalie Difford
Dominic Buchanan
Jamund Washington
StarringTy Hickson
Tashiana Washington
CinematographyJonathan Miller
Edited byMorgan Faust
Music byNicholas Britell
Distributed byIFC Films
Release date
  • March 10, 2012 (2012-03-10) (SXSW)
Running time
79 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$104,235[2]

Cast

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  • Ty Hickson as Malcolm
  • Tashiana Washington as Sophia
  • Zoë Lescaze as Ginnie
  • Meeko as Champion
  • Sam Soghor as Lenny
  • Joshua Rivera as Rico

Release

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After premiering at SXSW, Gimme the Loot was picked up for distribution by IFC Films/Sundance Selects in the U.S.[6] It was officially “presented” in its release by Oscar-winning filmmaker Jonathan Demme.[7]

The movie made its international premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and went on to play at numerous festivals around the world, including the London Film Festival, Deauville American Film Festival, and the Los Angeles Film Festival.[8][9][10] It was released theatrically in France by Diaphana in January 2013, IFC Films/Sundance Selects in the U.S. on March 22, 2013, and by Soda Pictures in the U.K. in May 2013.[11][12]

Reception

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Critical response

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The film received positive reviews. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives a score of 92% based on 64 reviews.[13] Metacritic, another review aggregation website, assigned the film a score of 81 out of 100, based on 27 reviews from mainstream critics.[14]

Roger Ebert called it, “A remarkably natural and unaffected film about friendship between two high-spirited graffiti artists” and Peter Travers of Rolling Stone in his 3.5 star review said the movie is, “A fresh, funky jolt of filmmaking joy.”[15][16]

A.O. Scott of The New York Times wrote that, “Adam Leon’s loose and rambunctious debut… has a lot to say about the contradictions of a place that is defined by both abundant opportunity and ferocious inequality. But the film makes its points in a lighthearted, street-smart vernacular, treating its protagonists not as embodiments of a social condition but rather as self-aware individuals who are, like teenagers everywhere, both smart and dumb. Their friendship — which is based above all on shared artistic ambitions — is a perfect comic pairing.”[17]

Other notable positive reviews included the Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor, NPR, Entertainment Weekly, Chicago Tribune, The Wall Street Journal, and Chicago Sun-Times, whose Sheila O'Malley wrote, “Adam Leon has created something unique and current, with affectionate nods to New York films of the past.”[13]

Box office

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Released on March 22, 2013, in the United States, Gimme the Loot opened to the highest per screen average in the country.[18]

Accolades

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Along with the winning the Grand Jury Prize at the 2012 SXSW Film Festival, Gimme the Loot was nominated for Best First Feature and won the Someone to Watch Award for director Adam Leon at the 2013 Independent Spirit Awards.[19]

Adam Leon received a Gotham Award nomination for Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director in 2013.[20]

The film also won Best Director at the Sofia Film Festival and Best Feature at the Molodist Film Festival, with lead actor Ty Hickson receiving a Special Jury Mention.[21][22]

References

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  1. ^ "Gimme the Loot (15)". British Board of Film Classification. April 22, 2013. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
  2. ^ "Gimme the Loot at Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
  3. ^ "2012 Official Selection". Cannes. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
  4. ^ Pulver, Andrew (April 30, 2012). "Cannes 2012: seven films join the lineup". The Guardian. London. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
  5. ^ "Loot Wins SXSW Grand Jury Prize For Best Narrative Feature Mar. 13, 2012". Variety. March 13, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  6. ^ Fernandez, Jay A. (March 19, 2012). "Sundance Selects Acquires SXSW Winner". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  7. ^ "Jonathan Demme Puts His Tag On Graffiti Filled Indie Gimme The Loot". Deadline. August 21, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  8. ^ "Welcome to BFI Southbank online".
  9. ^ "[DEAUVILLE] Gimme the loot, rencontre avec l'équipe du film". Culturebox. September 5, 2012.
  10. ^ "Gimme the Loot - 2012 Los Angeles Film Festival". Archived from the original on January 11, 2015.
  11. ^ "diaphana ● Gimme the Loot". diaphana.
  12. ^ "Gimme The Loot – IFC Entertainment".
  13. ^ a b "Gimme The Loot Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  14. ^ "Gimme The Loot". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  15. ^ Ebert, Roger. (October 8, 2012). "CIFF 2012 Puts the 'Chicago' in Film Fest". Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  16. ^ Travers, Peter. (March 21, 2012). "Gimme The Loot". Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  17. ^ Scott, A. O. (March 21, 2013). "Gimme The Loot Larceny For The Sake Of Art". The New York Times. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  18. ^ Tobias, Scott (March 25, 2013). "Weekend Box Office". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on July 8, 2013. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  19. ^ "Independent Spirit Awards 2013: Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. February 23, 2013. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  20. ^ "The Gotham Independent Film Awards™". Archived from the original on November 3, 2013.
  21. ^ "Sofia International Film Festival".
  22. ^ "WINNERS OF MOLODIST-2012 - MOLODIST international film festival".
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