LIZA, LIZA, SKIES ARE GREY (DIRECTOR'S CUT), A Film by Terry Sanders
Best Actress Oscar® Nominee for “Anora” Mikey Madison’s Movie Debut, “Liza, Liza, Skies Are Grey,” by Two-Time Oscar® Winner Terry Sanders, Director’s Cut Now Available for First Time
Sanders’ Track Record Casting Actors in Screen Debuts Includes Robert Redford in “War Hunt” and George Hamilton in “Crime and Punishment USA”
Two-Time Academy Award® Winner Terry Sanders has released for the first time the Director’s Cut of “Liza, Liza, Skies Are Grey,” his 2017 feature starring Mikey Madison in the title role in her screen debut at age 15. Madison, has been receiving rave reviews for her performance in Sean Baker’s Cannes Film Festival Palme D’or winner “Anora” and has also been nominated for an Oscar® for Best Actress. The Director’s Cut of “Liza, Liza, Skies Are Grey” is now available worldwide to rent or own on Vimeo on Demand at https://vimeo.com/ondemand/lizalizaskiesaregrey.
In the turbulent summer of 1966, a year of the draft and the war in Vietnam, Civil Rights confrontations and the beginnings of the Sexual Revolution, and living in the shadow of the Bomb—15-year-old Liza, and 16-year-old boyfriend Brett, set off on an eventful four-day motorcycle trip up the coast of California from Pacific Palisades to Monterey and Big Sur. Brett will soon be going east and Liza, unsure of the future, has decided to be Brett’s “first girl.” Almost everything gets in the way and goes wrong for the two runaways in this sweet, bittersweet — very real — love story. A meditation on first love and first sex in the ’60s, “Liza, Liza, Skies Are Grey” introduced two remarkable new young actors, Mikey Madison (as Liza) and Sean H. Scully as Brett.
“I knew I wanted to cast an actual 15-year-old in the part of Liza rather than an older actress ‘playing’ a 15-year-old,” said Sanders. “I felt it would make my director’s life easier since the approach to the film was going to be more like cinema vérité. We sent out a casting call and auditioned about 12 young actresses, including Mikey, who had just turned 15. In addition to my immediate feeling that Mikey was physically right for the part, I was struck by how natural, spontaneous and believable she was. There was no sense of ‘reading’ lines; She effortlessly ‘became’ Liza and was speaking from the heart. Mikey was always hard-working and focused, took direction well and came up with many great ideas on her own. I’m incredibly happy to see her huge and well deserved success in ‘Anora’.”
While primarily known for documentaries, Sanders produced and directed and/or co-directed three feature dramatic films, each of which introduced an actor who became a star, George Hamilton in “Crime and Punishment USA,” Robert Redford in “War Hunt” and Mikey Madison in “Liza, Liza, Skies are Grey.” Sanders also produced and photographed another dramatic film, the Oscar-winning short set during the Civil War, “A Time Out of War,” which also holds the distinction of being the first student film in history to win a real Oscar. It also won many other International awards including the Venice Film Festival.
Credits
Director/Writer/Editor: Terry Sanders
Cinematographer: Erik Daarstad
Producers: Terry Sanders, Steven Chao, Ann Dickinson, Richard Purington, Patricia Seely
Executive Producer: Suzanne Deal Booth
Line Producer: Patricia Seely
Co-Producers: Erik Daarstad, Christopher Gray
Associate Producers: Justin Kell, Huy Moeller, Bruce Nolte, Adele Rene
Original Music: Charles Bernstein
Web: http://lizalizamovie.com/
Facebook: @LizaLizaMovie
Instagram: @LizaLizaMovie
About the Filmmaker:
Director, producer, writer Terry Sanders is a two-time Oscar® winner who has produced and/or directed more than 70 award-winning dramatic features, theatrical documentaries, television specials and a large body of portrait films of major American artists, writers and musicians. Sanders first professional job after producing and photographing the Oscar®-winning dramatic Civil War short story film, A Time Out of War, was directing the second unit of Night of the Hunter for Charles Laughton. He later produced and co-directed with his brother Denis the independent features Crime and Punishment, USA and War Hunt, which introduced Robert Redford.
His non-fiction films include Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision, Return With Honor, Never Give Up: The 20th Century Odyssey of Herbert Zipper, Into the Future: On the Preservation of Knowledge in the Electronic Age, Rose Kennedy: A Life to Remember, Lillian Gish: The Actor’s Life for Me, To Live or Let Die, Four Stones for Kanemitsu, The Legend of Marilyn Monroe, The National Geographic The New Indians, Copland Portrait, Slow Fires, Portrait of Zubin Mehta, Fighting For Life, 9th Circuit Cowboy and the six part series, Screenwriters: Word Into Image.
Sanders' most recent dramatic feature is Liza, Liza, Skies Are Grey, which introduced Mikey Madison. Sanders was educated at Cal Tech and UCLA Film School. He was co-founder and Associate Dean of Cal Arts Film School and has been a visiting professor at UCLA graduate film school. Sanders is President of American Film Foundation (http://www.americanfilmfoundation.com/) and a partner in Sanders & Mock Productions.
Sanders is also currently in production on his latest documentary feature, "Rescuing Democracy and the Rule of Law,” which explores the challenges and threats that established democracies, including the United States, are facing today and the high stakes involved. The film has a target completion date in 2025.
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