Keane

February 5, 2004 – The Evening
Standard reports that Damian will be shooting a
Steven Soderbergh-produced drama with
Lodge Kerrigan directing. The newspaper incorrectly identifies the movie as
In God’s Hands, a movie Kerrigan shot in 2002.

February 6, 2004 – An online ad placed at Mandy’s
Film and TV Production Directory offers a few production details about the film referring
to it as “untitled Lodge Kerrigan project”. According to the ad, it’s being produced by Steven Soderbergh
and Andrew Fierberg and is to begin a 7-week shoot starting on March 1st
in NYC and on nearby locations in New Jersey.

March 22, 2004 – Backstage.com lists an Untitled Project
from director Lodge Kerrigan which started shooting March 1 and will film through mid-April.
According to the entry, “the story is billed as a “contemporary drama”, but reps chose
to withhold further info on the project’s premise and cast.”

April 20, 2004 – Markham and Froggatt

confirm that Damian Lewis has completed filming the Untitled Lodge Kerrigan film. Speaking with a fan later that night at a London film premiere, Damian Lewis
confirms this and
saids he’s “just got off a plane”.

July 5, 2004 – Damian Lewis’s official site, Posh Rough,
unveils the film’s premise as a film about “William Keane, a man who suffers
from schizophrenic episodes while trying to retrace the steps of his six-year-old
daughter’s abduction.” The site reports that the new working title is My Name is William
Keene and that the film may be ready for The Venice International Film Festival (this turned out to be incorrect!) or The Toronto
International Film Festival.

August 23, 2004 –
The 42nd New York Film Festival (October 1 – 17, 2004) announced it’s line-up and included
among the 33 films is Keane. According to the
New York Film Festival site, tickets will be made available to purchase in person from the Alice Tully Hall box office starting September 12. A complete illustrated program of the festival will be posted online on August 30. Main festival activities will take place at the Lincoln Center; however, films will be screened in
theaters all over the city.

August 24, 2004 –
An assistant to producer Andrew Fierberg has confirmed that
the film will be screened at The 2004 Toronto International Film Festival (September 9-18), The 42nd New York Film Festival(October 1 – 17),
AND Telluride (September 3 -6).
No word yet on exact screening dates.

Also, The 2004 Toronto International Film Festival (September 9-18) announces it’s Complete Film List and includes

Keane under Special Presentations. The film is not included on any of the Screening Schedules made available today but the complete
Official Film Schedule will be announced on August 31 after 10:00 AM. Advance Ticket sales are still available. Online Single Ticket sales start
on September 8.

August 26, 2004 –
The 2004 Toronto International Film Festival website posts this new description of the movie: “In Lodge Kerrigan’s KEANE (USA), a man struggling to come to terms with the disappearance of his six-year-old daughter befriends a down- on-her-luck single mother and her young daughter, and attempts to make a fresh start with this new-found family.”

August 30, 2004 –
The 42nd New York Film Festival (October 1 – 17, 2004) posted an illustrated program of the festival online today that includes more details of the film’s premise, a small press photo, as well as dates and times for Keane‘s two October screenings (Oct. 13 & 14). Tickets may be bought at the Alice Tully Hall Box Office or by phone starting September 12th. Tickets won’t be available online till September 27th.

August 31, 2004 –
Toronto’s Official Film Schedule
came out today and lists two Keane screenings – September 15 and 17. A small page with screening information and a description of the film has been added. The description includes a lot more details about the film’s premise!

September 3, 2004 –
The 31st Telluide Film Festival released
it’s program today and atleast 3 Keane showings are scheduled for the long weekend – one for September 3rd (11:30P), 4th (7:00P),
and 6th (9:00A). Depending on demand, an additional screening
may be added on September 5th or 6th. Single tickets to the
screenings will go on sale 10 minutes before a showing if open seats remain after all passholders have been seated. According to the program, Director Lodge Kerrigan will be in attendance.
The program also includes a description/review of the film that
begins, “If any plotted movie could accurately be called a one man show, this is it. ”

September 5, 2004 – A Sunday screening of Keane
was added at Telluride.

September 5, 2004 -The editor-in-chief of indieWIRE is blogging from Telluride and posts that Keane –
“Lodge Kerrigan’s third feature offers another stunning lead performance …
Damian Lewis is stellar in the lead role.”

September 7, 2004 –
Roger Ebert reports back on some of the films he’s watched
at Telluride and includes a small review of the Keane.

September 7, 2004 – Variety has also come out with a full review of the film.

September 15, 2004 – The Toronto
Festival’s Festival Daily
(p. 2) reviews the film and provides a new publicity still.

September 15, 2004 – Hollywood Reporter publishes its review of the film.

September 18, 2004 – According to this Washington Post article,
Keane is still looking for a distributer.

September 22, 2004 –
The Village Voice gives Keane a positive review.

September 25, 2004 –
Another nice review of the film – this one from Reel Film Reviews.

September 27, 2004 –
According to this Filmlinc ebulletin
from September 24, tickets to Keane are still available. Lodge Kerrigan will a be present
for a Q&A at both screenings. As for Damian Lewis, KathyV phoned Andrew Fierberg’s office and was told that “it’s still a
possibility that Damian will attend the festival but he’s a busy
fellow and he is trying to work out his schedule.”

October 5, 2004 –
KathyV spoke with someone at Andrew Fierberg’s office today and was told that
while not definite, it is likely that Damian Lewis will attend both the October 13th and 14th
screenings at the The 42nd New York Film Festival.
Other cast members and movie principals will definitely attend.

Two more postive online reviews.

October 7, 2004 –
Damian Lewis is confirmed for the October 13th
screening at the The 42nd New York Film Festival.
He is expected to attend the screening on the 14th but
it’s not definite.

October 11, 2004 –
2 short reviews – from the CityPages.com
and Village Voice – here.

October 13, 2004 –
An excellent review from The New York Times.

October 14, 2004 – Two more reviews from the 42nd New
York Film Festival- one
from FilmCritic.com, the other from Slant Magazine.

October 17, 2004 –

October 10 review from the blog community Milk Plus.

October 19, 2004 –

More Keane reviews from the festival screenings. In a short online review, the
Philadelphia City Paper calls the
film “a study in unrelieved tension ratcheted up by Lewis’ wire-tight performance.” A contributer
at blogs.indiewire.com
writes that the film, “is the most harrowing, terrifying, and brilliant tale of redemption” he’s ever seen.
A reviewer at Chud.com saids that
“Damian Lewis turns in an astonishing performance as Keane … it’s one of the best performances I have seen in years.” Another blogger writes that the film is
“a powerful piece of filmmaking, a stunning character study and some sublime acting.”

There’s a video clip of Lodge Kerrigan talking about Keane at
TheMovieTimes.Interviews
from October 8. (Look under the American Films column.)

November 12, 2004 – Notes from around the
Web:

Yahoo! Movies has added a Keane page. The page notes that “Some of the film was
even written while on location in order to make it yet more realistic.”

Reporting from Telluride, Filmmaker Magazine noted that Bingham Ray, former head of United Artists, commented that
“(Yes) fits into my category of being truly individual, of and by itself … So does Lodge Kerrigan’s Keane. If that film doesn’t break Damian Lewis out in terms of critics’ notice, there’s something desperately wrong with this system.”

Keane made the “best of” list in a Oct. 17 IFC News report from NYFF. Keane
is described as a “a riveting character on which to glue our eyes, and his story–about loss, grief and redemption–is devastatingly beautiful and sad.”

More reviews:

• Here’s a positive capsule from House O’ Film which saids that
  “The central performance of Damian Lewis (of Band of Brothers) is totally committed and rivetting.”
• The October New York Cool issue also has a positive review with notes from a press conference in which Lodge discussed
  his inspiration for the film and the difficulty in filming at the Port Authority.
• Covering the NYFF, Papermag describes Keane as an “intense new film … it burrows into a disordered mind and lets audiences see through the man’s tortured, manic, eyes. My nerves were totally fried by the end, but Lewis’s performance is so raw and compelling you can’t avert your eyes for a moment.”.
• d+kaz Intelligent Movie Reviews posted a mixed review from its NYFF coverage and writes that, “Keane latches onto the men