Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/877064
DGA QUARTERLY 39 PHOTOS: AMAZON STUDIOS what's considered 'A list,' though they are huge to me." Another film without huge stars but within the same wheel- house—Landline, directed by Gillian (pronounced with a hard g, as in "Gilda") Robespierre from a script she co-wrote with Elisabeth Holm—received a limited release in July after a favorable launch at Sundance. The film, set in mid-'90s New York, follows two parents (Jon Turturro and Edie Falco) whose marriage is coming apart while their daughters (Jenny Slate and Abby Quinn) brave either premarital infidelity or the allure of dangerous drugs. Landline saw modest returns amid shifting sands at the box of- fice. But there was a time, not long ago, when this kind of multi- generation tale of dysfunction stood out from the pack after mak- ing waves in Park City. Little Miss Sunshine, from the husband-and- wife directing team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, turned out to be the indie smash of 2006. It also acted as a springboard for the big-screen careers of Steve Carell, Paul Dano and Abigail Breslin, playing members of an ultra-needy, emotionally competi- tive clan whose fates unfold during a road trip in a VW microbus. Director Gillian Robespierre, below, forged a bond with actress Jenny Slate, near left, along with co- screenwriter Elisabeth Holm, to realize her second feature, Landline, which also stars Abby Quinn, far left, and Edie Falco.