Variety 6/2/06 -- Foster tries 'Tenderness'
 
Thesp joins Crowe in Polson thriller - By PAMELA MCCLINTOCK

 Jon Foster has been cast in the lead opposite Russell Crowe in Oz director John Polson's thriller "Tenderness" for Gotham-based GreeneStreet Films.

Sophie Traub and Laura Dern also star in the pic, which has begun shooting in Gotham. Story revolves around a violent teenager (Foster) who may have murdered his own family. Crowe plays a cop who tries to unravel the teen's complicated past. Emil Stern adapted Robert Cormier's novel. Producers are GreeneStreet prexy John Penotti, Charles Randolph and Howard Meltzer. Fisher Stevens and Tim Williams exec produce. Foster recently starred in Spyglass' "Stay Alive." He starred alongside Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger in "Door in the Floor." Crowe is prepping to star alongside Denzel Washington in Ridley Scott's "American Gangster."

Dern will be next seen in "Lonely Hearts," starring John Travolta and James Gandolfini. She is also the lead in David Lynch's upcoming indie pic "Inland Empire."
 
Read the full article at:
http://www.variety.com/story.asp?l=story&a=VR1117944466&c=1238

The Sunday Telegraph
Edition 1 - StateSUN

23 APR 2006 - Tropfest blooms in Big Apple - By Adam Harvey


John Polson has made Sydney's Tropfest film festival a landmark success story. But can he achieve the same results in New York? Adam Harvey reports.

When Australian director John Polson and actor Robert de Niro began chatting about their shared hobby --independent films -- a collaboration was inevitable.

The result: Tropfest at Tribeca. Beginning this Friday, Polson's low-budget, short-film competition will be part of de Niro's legendary film festival.

"We just started talking aboutfilm festivals while we were making Hide And Seek, andhere we are,'' Polson says.

"We're setting up a couple of thousand chairs in a Manhattan park, and we're hoping they're going to be sat on.

"De Niro has promised to be there this week, and we've got some pretty big names to judge the films: Naomi Watts, MattDillon, Anthony LaPaglia.''

Polson will screen eight Australian short films chosen from past Tropfests, and eight shorts made by US film-makers have been culled from about 80 entries.

American entrants have a pretty good chance of being screened compared to the Australian Tropfest, in which judges now receive more than 700 shorts each year.

This year, Polson won't have quite the crowd-control issues that accompany Australia's Tropfest, where tens of thousands stake out spots on thegrass of Sydney's Domain.

"I'd say it'll be pretty quiet thisfirst year -- no one's heard about it here,'' says Polson, whohas been based in New Yorkfor five years.

"I'm doing this for selfish reasons. The idea of having thisin my home town is very attractive to me.''

Polson says there are no film competitions in the US likeTropfest.

"Which surprises me. It's been proved in Australia that there's aplace for a forum where people can do things like this: make low-budget movies and get them seen by a huge
crowd.''

Tropfest entries must be shorter than seven minutes, must not have been screened before, and must contain a "signature item'' -- this year, it'sa manhole cover.

Polson works out of an empty warehouse in Yonkers, which will soon be transformed into the set of his new film, Tenderness.

The film, about a juvenile killer, is based on a book for teenagers.

It was destined to be a fairly obscure independent film -- until last week, when Polson signed up his mate and former The Sum Of Us co-star Russell Crowe in a co-starring role.

"Russell will help attract a bigger audience,'' Polson says.

"I think it's a really interesting -- but, frankly, rather dark -- story. Without him in that role, it was in danger of being just a small indie movie.

"It was a huge long shot that he'd be interested, but I sent him the script in November.

"He gave me some feedback, so I went and did a couple of things, then sent it back to him -- and he's agreed to do it.

"Which is pretty incredible of him, because it's a supporting role, which isn't what he normally does, and it's an independent film, and that's not what he normally does either.''

Polson has acted alongside Crowe several times, beginning with the 1990 film Blood Oath.

Caption: Old mates: John Polson and Russell Crowe

Man on a film mission: John Polson at his production site in Yonkers, New York
Illus: Photo
Column: 24/7 News In Review
Section: FEATURES
Type: Feature