San Francisco Chronicle – August 3, 2006
Grottofilms' path has been the one less traveled since the outset, when David Munro and Xandra Castleton decided to stay in San Francisco rather than set up shop in a company town like Los Angeles or New York. Not for nothing does Munro have a tattoo on his shoulder of Don Quixote, whom he describes as his patron saint. - Sam Hurwitt

The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette – July 2006
The protagonists are crude. Immature. Loutish, even. But they might just have captured a moment in the zeitgeist. The Tribeca Film Festival is playing host to several films that are tapping into a real feeling among 20- and 30-something men that growing up isn't as easy as it looks. – AP

eFilmCritic – June 2006
Our critic Erik Childress talks to director David Munro about the making of his debut feature Full Grown Men, how he got his start in filmmaking, his influences, methods, and festival experiences, and the importance of having a favorite Muppet.

SF360 – April 2006
After a clutch of highly regarded and very serious short films, David Munro makes his feature debut with an unexpectedly poignant comedy called Full Grown Men. He and his wife, producer Xandra Castleton, co-wrote the colorful tale of a 30-something guy with a family who grudgingly realizes it's time to trade adolescence for adulthood. - Michael Fox

San Francisco Chronicle – February 2005 - April 2006
The San Francisco Chronicle has afforded us a weekly column to document our filmmaking adventures. Beginning in the fundraising stages, it follows our progress through the production and premiere of our debut feature, Full Grown Men. Catch all the action at the Chronicle's archive site for our diaries.

FILMMAKER Magazine – January 2006
In the spotlight again, FILMMAKER Magazine has featured Full Grown Men in its Winter 2006: In focus issue. Showcasing five new up & coming films in post production, the magazine draws attention once again to writer/director David Munro since his last appearance in FILMMAKER's special 25 Hot New Faces in Indie Film.

Indiewire – September 7, 2005
Indiewire's monthly production report looks at independent films in various stages of production. Featured films this month: Angst, The Big Bad Swim, Find Love, Full Grown Men, and Warriors. .

The Skinny – Summer 2005
“It's pure inspired hubris," says Castleton, "to work in a medium that combines almost all the arts, involving dozens or hundreds or thousands of people, no matter what the cost. And then there are a few of us who do the whole thing from scratch.” - Jennifer Elks.

Pittsburgh City Paper – March 3, 2005
Along with her family and friends, Angel Zang has made 1,000 helmets (used in World War II through Vietnam) and sold them to Joe collectors since 1998 for $25 apiece. And the helmets are actually in a movie called Full Grown Men.

San Francisco Chronicle – July 21, 2004
Through a mix of ingenuity and charm, David Munro and Xandra Castleton have sustained a vision of producing independent movies outside the New York-Los Angelus nexus. A buzz-generating script and detailed business plan for their debut feature Full Grown Men has attracted talent, investors, and crucial alliances to the project and to the company.

San Francisco Magazine – June 2004
We all know the city by the bay ain't no LA. San Francisco doesn't want for cinephiles, though, and plenty are working hard to build a viable indie industry - without selling out. There are stars like Francis Ford Coppola and Philip Kaufman, and up-and-comers like married team Xandra Castleton and David Munro of Grottofilms. Their comedy, Full Grown Men, starring Amy Sedaris and Alan Cumming, starts shooting this fall.

San Francisco Chronicle – May 27, 2004
In April 2002, with the tech industry and venture capitalists still smarting, filmmakers David Munro and Xandra Castleton took a bold – some might say insane – step. They launched a startup production company. What seemed a risky venture might turn out to be a sound approach to the hurly-burly world of independent film, where enthusiasm and talent don't equal funding.

San Francisco Chronicle – May 18, 2003
A year after the founding of Grottofilms, its first feature film has a script, a title Full Grown Men and a cast. All that's missing is the estimated $1 million it will take to begin shooting. – Ruthe Stein

SFGate – May 7, 2003
Grottofilms held a swanky soirée at Bruno’s to kickoff its first feature film, Full Grown Men. Word has it the film’s star David Ilku has recruited New York pals Debbie Harry and cult fave Amy Sedaris, and quite possibly indie-film royal Steve Buscemi, to co-star in the film. – Beth Lisick

San Francisco Chronicle – March 4, 2003
Promising controversy in a panel co-sponsored by the Commonwealth Club and her own company, Grottofilms, moderator Xandra Castleton asked prominent local filmmakers (Eleanor Coppola, Lynn Hershman et. al.) to assess the “state of the art” of moviemaking in the Bay Area. – Carla Meyer

San Francisco Chronicle – January 29, 2003
Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Happiness, by filmmakers Tiffany Shlain, Xandra Castleton and Maya Draisin, appears to be the Little Short That Could. Their 14-minute film about abortion rights screened to five sold-out audiences at the Sundance Film Festival, one of which included former VP Al Gore. – Beth Lisick

San Francisco Chronicle – November 3, 2002
Do you know the metaphor about the frog in a kettle of boiling water? I learned about it by watching a superb short film, Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, by local filmmakers Xandra Castleton, Tiffany Shlain and Maya Draisin. – Jane Ganahl

San Francisco Chronicle – March 29, 2002
KQED scooped up an Emmy for its Independent View TV series. The winning segment was for B. Ruby Rich’s interview with director John Waters, thanks largely to the genius of producer Xandra Castleton who provided the campy director with a during-interview manicure. – Beth Lisick

SF Weekly – December 27, 2000
A classroom full of rock musicans taking remedial filmmaking lessons is the centerpiece of a promotional trailer produced by Xandra Castleton, David Munro and Scott Balcerek to promote the second season of Independent View, KQED's weekly TV program on indie film. The 60-second plug is the first project of Grottofilms, the cinematic offshoot of the S.F. writers' haven, the Grotto. – Michael Fox

Indiewire – July 1, 1998
FILMMAKER Magazine Showcases 25 Hot New Faces In Indie Film. Who are the hot new faces in indie film? The ones to watch? Those most likely to....? The editors of FILMMAKER Magazine have chosen David Munro as one of the 25 people who are not only new to the film industry at large, but are new to the independent film world as well. – Mark Rabinowitz

 

site maintained by heavynova.com