''The Agent'' is a 2010

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

written, directed, edited, and produced by

Vincent Gallo Vincent Gallo (born April 11, 1961) is an American actor, filmmaker, and musician. He has won several accolades, including a Volpi Cup for Best Actor, and has been nominated for the Palme d'Or, the Golden Lion, and the Bronze Horse. Gallo was ...

. It stars Gallo and Sage Stallone, in Stallone's final film role prior to his death.

Synopsis

"Sage Stallone stars as

talent agent A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds work for actors, authors, broadcast journalists, film directors, musicians, models, professional athletes, screenwriters, writers, dancers, and other professionals in various entertainm ...

Ari Sheinwold.

plays Sheinwold’s top client Vincent Gallo. Gallo appears one day for a meeting with his agent Sheinwold, which begins with some good news. When Sheinwold does not receive the response he expects from Gallo after telling him the “good news”, the agent begins to reveal his true nature."

Cast

as himself * Sage Stallone as Ari Sheinwold * Lindsay Taylor as The Receptionist

Production and release

''The Agent'' was filmed in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

film stock. Gallo has described it as a "highly conceptual, stripped down" film "that may not entertain many." The film premiered at the 67th Venice International Film Festival, along with Gallo's third film '' Promises Written in Water'', followed a screening at the

Toronto Film Festival Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. The film has not been screened again or seen by the public since, per Gallo's wishes. According to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', the film consists of Sheinwold yelling at a mostly off-camera Gallo for the majority of its runtime, shouting "You're a prick, you're a fucking prick", among other insults. The film also ends with a two-minute end-title disclaimer reading, "This film was brought to you by The Gray Daisy Foundation, a viewer-supported organization dedicated to the advancement of outspoken Caucasian non-Jewish heterosexual good-looking male film-makers and movie stars" which “needs your support to continue bringing you high-quality films.” The disclaimer was described positively by '' IndieWire'' as a belabored

punch line A punch line (also punch-line or punchline) concludes a joke; it is intended to make people Laughter, laugh. It is the third and final part of the Joke#Telling jokes, typical joke structure. It follows the introductory framing of the joke and th ...

Reception

The film was nominated for Best Short Film, under the

Orizzonti ''Orizzonti'' ( 'Horizons') is a section of the Venice Film Festival's official selection. It runs as a parallel section to the main competition for the Golden Lion The Golden Lion () is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Fe ...

category, at the 67th Venice Film Festival. Bryce J. Renninger of '' IndieWire'' gave the film a positive review, describing it as a "companion-piece of sorts" to '' Promises Written in Water'', while complimenting its "provocation and its aesthetic".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Agent, The American comedy-drama short films 2010 short films