STUDIOCANAL, Film4 and The Ink Factory, in association with Potboiler Productions, have announced the start of shooting in London of OUR KIND OF TRAITOR.
Susanna White directs this adaptation of John le Carré’snovel from a script by Hossein Amini, with a cast headed by Ewan McGregor, Stellan Skarsgard, Damian Lewis, Naomie Harris, and Jeremy Northam.
An English couple, Perry (McGregor) and Gail (Harris), are taking a holiday in Marrakech. By chance they bump into a Russian millionaire called Dima (Skarsgard) who owns a villa and a diamond-encrusted gold watch. He also has a tattoo on his right thumb, and wants a game of tennis.
What else he wants propels the couple on a tortuous journey through Paris to a safe house in the Swiss Alps, to the murkiest cloisters of the City of London and its unholy alliance with Britain’s Intelligence Establishment.
OUR KIND OF TRAITOR is produced by Simon Cornwell and Stephen Cornwell of The Ink Factory, and Gail Egan of Potboiler. The two companies recently collaborated on the adaptation of le Carré’s ‘A Most Wanted Man’, which received its world premiere at Sundance in January. Potboiler previously produced the Oscar®-winning adaptation of le Carré’s ‘The Constant Gardener’.
OUR KIND OF TRAITOR is directed by Susanna White, the BAFTA®-winning director of BBC drama ‘Bleak House’, as well as ‘Nanny McPhee Returns’ and HBO’s ‘Generation Kill’. She recently directed the BBC adaptation of Ford Madox Ford’s ‘Parade’s End’. The script of OUR KIND OF TRAITOR is by Hossein Amini, the Oscar® nominated writer of ‘The Wings of a Dove’, as well as ‘Drive’ and the forthcoming adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s ‘The Two Faces of January’, which he also directed.
Production design is by BAFTA® winner (for ‘Atonement’) and four-time Oscar® nominee Sarah Greenwood. Anthony Dod Mantle (Oscar® winner and BAFTA® winner for ‘Slumdog Millionaire’) is director of photography. Costumes are by Julian Day (‘Rush’) and hair-and-make up by Fae Hammond (BAFTA® nominee for ‘Pride and Prejudice’).
OUR KIND OF TRAITOR will shoot on location in London and the Home Counties, Finland, Bern, Paris, the French Alps and Marrakech for 10 weeks, until the end of May.
The script was developed by STUDIOCANAL, Film4, Seadune Developments, Potboiler and The Ink Factory.
STUDIOCANAL and Film4 present OUR KIND OF TRAITOR in association with Anton Capital Entertainment S.C.A., with the participation of Lovefilm. It is an Ink Factory production in association with Potboiler Productions.
Bound to get your feet tapping and your head bobbing, check out the final trailer for RIO 2 featuring Gabi (Kristin Chenoweth), along with Nigel (Jermaine Clement) singing “I Will Survive.”
In April 2011, Twentieth Century Fox released Fox Animation and Blue Sky Studio’s CG animated feature RIO.
The film was born from the imagination of Carlos Saldanha, who co-directed or directed the global blockbusters “Ice Age,” “Ice Age: The Meltdown” and “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs.” Saldanha had long wanted to write a love letter to his hometown of Rio. He came up with a story about a nerdy, highly domesticated bird who goes on the adventure of a lifetime in that wondrous city.
To fully realize the scope and breadth of this magical world and its vivid characters, Saldanha brought together an all-star voice cast, led by Oscar® winner Anne Hathaway and Oscar nominee Jesse Eisenberg, Oscar and Grammy®-winner Jamie Foxx, acclaimed musical artist will.i.am, actor-musician Jemaine Clement, comedic actress Leslie Mann, actor Rodrigo Santoro (a Brazilian native), actor-comedian George Lopez, and funnyman Tracy Morgan.
The filmmakers enveloped the action – and audiences – with a combination of Brazilian sounds and contemporary pop music. The soundtrack featured a stellar musical cast performing under the guidance of composer John Powell and Brazilian music legend and “Rio’s” executive music producer, Sergio Mendes.
RIO became a worldwide smash with a global box office tally of $486 million. It also was a huge hit on DVD and Blu-ray disc.
Now, Saldanha returns to Brazil and reunites his beloved characters in RIO 2. In the new film, it’s a jungle out there for Blu, Jewel and their three kids, after they’re hurtled from Rio to the wilds of the Amazon. As Blu tries to fit in, he goes beak-to-beak with the vengeful and villainous Nigel, and meets the most fearsome adversary of all…his father-in-law.
Everyone’s favorite RIO characters are joined by Oscar nominee Andy Garcia, Grammy winner Bruno Mars, Tony® winner Kristin Chenoweth and Oscar/Emmy®/Tony/Grammy winner Rita Moreno. RIO 2 also features new Brazilian artists and original music by Janelle Monáe and Wondaland Arts Society.
RIO producers Bruce Anderson and John C. Donkin return for the new film, as well.
Watch the video HERE from Saturday evening’s record-breaking Samba event.
RIO 2 flies into theatres everywhere April 11th in 3D.
Marvel’s AVENGERS S.T.A.T.I.O.N., the highly anticipated new exhibition based on the global box office smash, Marvel’s The AVENGERS, is premiering May 23, 2014 at Discovery Times Square.
The S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) based exhibition will run from May 23, 2014 to January 4, 2015. Victory Hill Exhibitions, in association with Marvel Entertainment, made the announcement today.
TheMarvel’s AVENGERS S.T.A.T.I.O.N.(Scientific Training and Tactical Intelligence Operative Network) is a completely immersive experience that brings visitors into the world of The AVENGERS. Marvel’s AVENGERS S.T.A.T.I.O.N. is an interactive exhibit experience that allows visitors to participate in a simulated recruitment as if they were being trained as agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
“This is a real game changer in the exhibition world,” said Sean Haran, VP of Business Development at Marvel Entertainment. “By teaming up with Victory Hill Exhibitions, we are bringing all of the excitement of the big screen into an incredibly engaging experience that allows people to really delve into and explore the world of the The Avengers,” continues Mr. Haran.
Visitors of all ages are granted S.H.I.E.L.D. access to the official S.T.A.T.I.O.N. headquarters and taken deep into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Here they will have open access to a vast array of intelligence files, classified studies and experiments that explores the history and scientific origins of Marvel’s The Avengers. Visitors will also be given unprecedented access to some of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s most highly guarded artifacts such as Captain America’s Birth Pod, the Tesseract Portal Device, Loki’s Scepter, a hermetically sealed Chitauri and more, recovered after the Battle of New York.
“To work so closely with the Marvel team on this incredible production, alongside some of the greatest scientific individuals and institutions in America, has been a real honor. With this exhibit, we are seamlessly integrating story and science to create a truly immersive edutainment environment, set within Marvel’s Cinematic Universe,” states Nicholas Cooper, Victory Hill founder / Chief Creative Officer.
NASA, the Science & Entertainment Exchange (a program of the National Academy of Sciences), Neuroverse, and Thwacke are all collaborating on the Marvel’s AVENGERS S.T.A.T.I.O.N.
Exhibition visitors will get the chance to map out the stars to find Asgard, learn to operate Iron Man’s suit, witness the neurological effects of Bruce Banner’s transformation into the Hulk, and physically test themselves against Captain America.
“We are thrilled to be bringing this exhibition, based on Marvel’s world renowned entertainment franchise, to life at Discovery Times Square. To provide fans the opportunity to experience The AVENGERS universe through this immersive exhibition is a great pleasure and a continuation of our efforts to bring people closer to the stories and entertainment properties that they love,” states James Sanna, President of Discovery Times Square.
Discovery Times Square will be transformed into the Marvel’s AVENGERS S.T.A.T.I.O.N. official headquarters and opens the doors on May 23, 2014 for the World Premiere. Individual tickets will go on sale in coming weeks, with group tickets now available.
For information on purchasing tickets for groups of more than 10 please call 855.266.5387.
For more information about the Marvel’s AVENGERS: S.T.A.T.I.O.N. visit http://www.avengersstation.com and follow the latest developments through social media by visiting:
There are many ways a person can commit suicide, quick and easy or long and slow, but the end result is all the same. One way, for example, would be to deliberately do something to royally piss off the mafia. Yes, that would just about guarantee your own demise. With this in mind, let’s talk about a film, based on a true story…
By its title, ROB THE MOB does sound like it should be a comedy about the mafia. In fact, it is actually a very funny film. I’d even say it holds its own against MY COUSIN VINNY (1992). As appealing as that is on the surface, it gets better. Not only is this a funny, entertaining movie, but it’s also based on a true story. The events in this film, or at least parts of it, actually happened… in real life!
So, why am I making such a big deal about this? Let me explain. ROB THE MOB is about a couple from Queens, New York who decide their big break will be to steal from the mafia, i.e. “Rob the Mob.” Sounds pretty straight forward, right? That’s how Tommy and Rosie feel about their master plan to make it big and live the high life. Tommy, played by Michael Pitt, is a stick-up man and his girlfriend Rosie, played by Nina Arianda, is the getaway driver. Together, they are a match made on the mean streets and a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde.
Tommy and Rosie both get pinched, do their time, then make an effort to live a straight life once out of the slammer. By chance, or by twist of fate, this coincides with the trial of notorious modern-day mob boss John Gotti. Tommy gets the idea to attend the trial as a spectator where he learns about mafia social clubs peppered around New York City where gangsters hang out and no guns are allowed. Unfortunately for Tommy, a light bulb goes off and his big plan is hatched. He’ll knock off a mafia social club, because mobsters always have lots of cash, no danger of getting shot, and no danger of getting caught because a mobster isn’t going to call the cops. On the surface, this is a brilliant plan. The problem, of course, is that neither Tommy or Rosie are the sharpest criminals.
ROB THE MOB, written by Jonathan Fernandez and directed by Raymond De Felitta, pulls headlines right out of the newspaper that scream to be glamorized on the big screen. Many of those very headlines may have actually existed, as written by journalist Jerry Cardozo, played by Ray Romano. Tommy and Rosie actually succeed in this insane endeavor, at first. However, as greed sets in as it so often does, the best laid plans go to waste. Tommy and Rosie get sloppy, overly confident and seduced by fame. Michael Pitt and Nina Arianda play fully into their roles and there is no doubt in the viewers’ minds that the characters were anything other than the World’s Dumbest Criminals candidates they appear to be on film. With that said, you can’t hep but fall in love with them and root for them as they continue on they Robin Hood spree at the mafia’s expense, all while certain tragedy lies waiting just around the dark and violent corner up ahead.
Big Al, played by Andy Garcia, plays the mysterious mob boss running the show in the absence of John Gotti. Despite the unbelievable antics and humorous real-life scenarios taking place, Big Al — despite his stereotypical nick name — provides a dramatic, philosophical element to the story that helps to level off the humor and grounds the story in a lesson of morality. Garcia is magnificent as the calm, mild-tempered mob boss who has a secret past and an unconventional view of the family’s future. Perhaps the best performance, however, is a rather short one provided by Burt Young as Joey D, an aging mobster who holds the key to the mafia’s survival or downfall. In this key scene, whereas Joey D encounters Tommy in one of the mafia social clubs, emotions run high, tension is taught and someone gets beaten like a sack of potatoes. If not for being such a short and limited scene, I’d already be screaming for a Supporting Actor Oscar nod… but, let’s be realistic.
Music. It plays a key role in ROB THE MOB as well. The film takes place circa 1992(ish) but the music is much more timeless, evoking an era far more indicative of the mafia’s hay days. Stephen Endelman composes the original music while accompanied by tracks from The Staple Singers’ “City In the Sky” and Wilson Pickett’s “Somethin’ You Got.” The opening sequence of the film, however, oddly sets the mood in an unexpected use of Deee-Lite’s “Groove Is In the Heart.” Trust me when I say it sounds odd at first, but quickly makes sense and certainly amps the viewer to the appropriate energy level for what’s about to take place.
ROB THE MOB ends on a bitter-sweet note. The film tells a story that is both funny and tragic. A story of two young lovers whose hearts are in the right place but at the expense of their intellect. A story of two reckless dreamers who steal from those far worse than themselves, but are abandoned by those sworn to protect them. BONNIE & CLYDE, TRUE ROMANCE, NATURAL BORN KILLERS… all films with a similar theme and sense of moral ambiguity, but none will capture your heart in quite the same way as Tommy and Rosie.
Directed by Law Wing Cheong
Starring Xing Yu, Sun- Jung Yu, Heon Jun Nam
Here’s a kick ass martial arts movie with a dynamite blu-ray presentation, the kind we’ve come to expect from new releases, especially from Asia.
A long title card at the beginning tells us that Japan, in trying to destroy China set up a special temple, the Temple of Hades, to train master assassins. Highly trained killers and turn them loose on the Chinese populace. They kidnap many young Chinese boys and drill them mercilessly, along with some American and other nationalities.
Years later they round up several prisoners of war, all of whom are graduates of the temple training program. One graduate in particular, known as King of Vajra comes back to the temple to exact some old fashioned martial arts justice. It is never really explained if Vajra is this guy’s name or the type of fighting style he uses. In fact a lot is unexplained in Wrath of Vajra.
Vajra had a brother who he killed while training in the Temple of Hades. His main grudge is against the Japanese officer who set up the temple and also he plans to get the children out who are currently the new group of trainees.
The Temple doesn’t really make much sense. The trainees fight many duels to the death, (to the death!) How this is going to help the Japanese defeat China is never really explained, one would think that every recruit needs to walk out of the Temple ready to do the Japanese’ dirty work. It’s also never explained how the Japanese plan to get the Chinese prisoners to undermine and help destroy their own country. Brain washing is never mentioned; in fact the idea of just how the whole plan is going to work is never discussed. No matter, the fights are the main point of any martial arts movie and the fights in Wrath of Vajra are spectacular.
Vajra has to fight three major opponents to get close to finishing his mission, a giant, a spooky character called Crazy Monkey and his nemesis, the head of the Hades Temple.
The giant is the biggest Chinese I have ever seen, easily almost 8 feet tall and built like an ox. The film makers use several camera tricks to make it seem like such a big man could be as fast as these professional martial artists who make up most of the cast Like a lot of recent Chinese action movies most of the fights are in the rain and the giant gets a serious ass whipping. Especially fun are shots of his head being hit by fists and feet and the blubber on his face jiggling and flopping in super slow motion.
Vajra enters the Temple with a coffin strapped to his back, much like the original Django,( Franco Nero) came to town dragging a coffin. After the giant gets the piss kicked out of him and is thrown around like a rag doll Vajra body slams him into the coffin, of course he’s too big for it, making for a nice visual joke.
The second opponent, Crazy Monkey, appears to be a supernatural creature, his looks, body language, everything about him reeks of Ringu, Ju-On and Kairo. He never is explained, is he a ghost? Zombie? What exactly? He appears to feel pain and bleeds and all that but he is presented as some kind of scary monster, but he doesn’t last long either.
Finally Vajra has a big showdown with his Japanese counterpart, the head of the Temple. And all the prisoners break out and fight the Temple guards. Of course the good guys win and the bad guys give it up once their leader is laid to rest.
Well Go’s blu-ray disk looks spectacular, beautiful color and the sound design will have you looking all around the room, the surround sound will give your system a nice workout.
There are several previews for other Well Go titles, none of which I have heard of before and all look terrific.
There are several making of featurettes which get a bit repetitious, basically repeating the same information in different ways.
One thing I have to take issue with, the director and Yu Xing, the actor playing Vajra insist they have made a movie about Buddhism. They both say that Vajra is being a bodhisattva and showing compassion by killing his enemies and giving them a chance at a better life in their next incarnation…oh? Really?
I have practiced Nicheren Buddhism with the Soka Gakkai since 1984 and have studied that and other schools of Buddhism for years. If you’ve seen What’s Love Got to Do With It? the Tina Turner movie, you’ve heard it. We chant nam myoho renge kyo and work for world peace. I know from experience and practice a bodhisattva helps people to learn how to practice Buddhism so they can be happy and lead a better life. Killing anyone, for any reason, except possibly self defense, (and what Vajra does has nothing to do with self defense,) would be a major bad cause to make and lead to a very bad effect.
Yu Xing proclaims himself a master of Zen, which leads me to believe, as Nicheren Daishonin himself said, Zen is not Buddhism. Call it a warrior’s code, much like bushido, which was popular among the samurai during Japan’s feudal era, fine, but the concept of killing someone out of compassion is not Buddhism.
But whether you care about Buddhism or not this is one kick ass kung fu movie!
Now I have to go teach someone to chant, (and NOT kick their ass out of compassion.)
Ahead of the release of CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER on April 4th, Marvel has released the latest images from three of the biggest films headed to cinemas this year and in 2015.
First up is the Conceptual Artwork for AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON featuring Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch and what’s called “End Sequence” with The Hulk and Black Widow.
Directed by Joss Whedon (“Marvel’s The Avengers”), the film returns its iconic cast, including Robert Downey Jr. (“Iron Man 3,” “Marvel’s The Avengers”) as Tony Stark/Iron Man along with Chris Hemsworth (“Thor: The Dark World,” “Marvel’s The Avengers”) as Thor, Mark Ruffalo (“Marvel’s The Avengers,” “Now You See Me”) as Hulk, Chris Evans (“Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Marvel’s The Avengers”) as Captain America, Scarlett Johansson (“Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Marvel’s The Avengers”) as Black Widow, Jeremy Renner (“American Hustle,” “Marvel’s The Avengers,”) as Hawkeye, and Samuel L. Jackson (“Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Marvel’s The Avengers”) as Nick Fury.
Joining the cast are Aaron Taylor-Johnson (“Godzilla,” “Kick Ass 2”) as Quicksilver, Elizabeth Olsen (“Godzilla”) as Scarlet Witch and James Spader (“The Blacklist,” “Lincoln”) as Ultron.
Set for release in the United States on May 1, 2015, Marvel’s AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON is produced by Kevin Feige. Executive Producers are Louis D’Esposito, Jeremy Latcham, Victoria Alonso, Patricia Whitcher, Alan Fine, Stan Lee, and Jon Favreau.
An action-packed, epic space adventure, Marvel’s GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits—Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand—with the galaxy’s fate in the balance.
Directed by James Gunn (“Slither,” “Super”) from his screenplay, with a story by Nicole Perlman and Gunn, the all-star cast includes Chris Pratt (“Zero Dark Thirty,” “Moneyball”) as Peter Quill, Zoe Saldana (“Star Trek Into Darkness,” “Avatar”) as Gamora, Dave Bautista (“Riddick”) as Drax the Destroyer, featuring Vin Diesel (“Fast and Furious”) as Groot, two-time Academy Award® nominee Bradley Cooper (“American Hustle,” “Silver Linings Playbook”) as Rocket, Lee Pace (“The Hobbit,” “Lincoln”) as Ronan the Accuser, Michael Rooker (AMC’s “The Walking Dead”) as Yondu, Karen Gillan (BBC TV’s “Doctor Who”) as Nebula, two-time Academy Award® nominee Djimon Hounsou (“Amistad,” “Gladiator”) as Korath, with Academy Award® nominee John C. Reilly (“Chicago”) as Rhomann Dey, six-time Academy Award® nominee Glenn Close (“Albert Nobbs,” “Fatal Attraction”) as Nova Prime Rael, and Academy Award® winner Benicio Del Toro (“Traffic”) as The Collector.
Marvel’s GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY is slated for U.S. release on August 1, 2014.
Below are the Conceptual Film Test Stills/Artwork from Marvel’s ANT-MAN. Edgar Wright’s film hits theaters theaters July 17, 2015.
Starring Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man and Michael Douglas as Hank Pym, production on the film begins later this year.
I am reminded of growing up in the late-80s, watching Unsolved Mysteries on prime-time television. Intrigued by commercials for Time Life’s Mysteries of the Unknown, an encyclopedic series of books about everything supernatural, extraterrestrial and any other unproven or unexplained phenomena, I recall begging my parents to buy me the books about alien abductions, Stonehenge, and mythical creatures that live in our backyards. Sadly, they never did, but I did manage to find the random torn and battered volume available at the local library.
HAPPY CAMP, directed by first-timer Josh Anthony, stirs these nostalgic memories of an era defined by the weird, abstract and unusual. The film is about a man named Michael, played by Michael Barbuto, who returns to his small home town 20 years after his brother went missing as a child. Michael is accompanied by his girlfriend Anne, played by Anne Taylor, and two friends named Teddy (Teddy Gilmore) and Josh, played by writer-director Josh Anthony). Anne wants to shoot a documentary about Michael and the mysterious disappearance of his brother twenty years ago, so the four of them hop into a massive old RV and road trip into the remote wilderness town of Happy Camp, California.
This group of relatively happy young adults quickly discover they are about as welcome in Happy Camp by the locals as they are aware of what they are soon to discover about the disappearance of Michael’s brother. In fact, Michael’s brother is only one of over 600 people who have gone missing from Happy Camp, many of them “flat landers” visiting from out-of-town. Anne and her rag-tag crew of documentary filmmakers set out with their handheld camera, asking colorful backwoods local characters about the disappearances, getting colorful backwoods responses, all of which are either typically vague or embarrassingly obvious in their exposition.
Herein lies the primary flaw and underlying reason for the film’s failure to succeed. Writing. HAPPY CAMP is constructed on the premise of being an actual documentary being shot, but never finished by the original filmmakers. Rather, this is the footage they did obtain, compiled after the fact by someone who happened to find the footage left behind by the filmmakers. In other words, this is yet another entry into the “found footage” genre of horror/thriller filmmaking that has become so popular since the stellar box office success of THE BLAIR WITH PROJECT (1999) opened this fickle can of worms for movie audiences.
I have nothing against the found footage genre. There are many creatively successful films that have experimented with this style of storytelling, such as the REC (2007) franchise, and a few have even been major box office hits, such as CLOVERFIELD (2008). However, just like any genre, there needs to be a compelling story behind the film for it to engage its audience and, unfortunately, HAPPY CAMP does not deliver. The concept is there, in its essence, and the film even has a fairly commendable production value for what appears to be a relatively low-budget endeavor, but the writers make two fundamental errors. First, the film is beyond predictable. I would argue that anyone who hasn’t figured out the entire premise of HAPPY CAMP within the first 15-20 minutes should avoid recommendations to refill the blinker fluid in their car. Everything is laid on the table, all the cards are shown and nothing — I do mean nothing — is left to the viewer’s imagination. There is an effort to disguise the mystery and protect the film’s secret, but the veil is left so thin by the characters’ dialogue that it might as well be made of plastic wrap.
HAPPY CAMP, roughly broken down into its simplest parts, is 33% setup, 33% pointless arguing and excessive use of the F-bomb while aimlessly chasing one another or running from and/or towards strange noises, and 33% actual story progression and conclusion, in that order. The remaining 1% got lost somewhere on the cutting room floor. Surprisingly, the third act of the film (being the ending) is the best and most promising part of the film. Despite so much being given away in the film’s dialogue, the filmmakers manage to hold back and not reveal too much of the [fill in the blank] that is the cause for all the missing people. What? Just because the film gives away its own ending, doesn’t mean I’m going to do the same. With that said, the special effects are, by far, not the worst I’ve ever seen on film.
Overall, the film is worth a good time late night viewing with friends of a similar sense of humor and a few beers. Laughter will ensue, not by intention, but the film does have its merit. HAPPY CAMP is not a painful movie to watch. I can see the film possibly garnering a cult following, like Tommy Wiseau’s THE ROOM (2003) or James Nguyen’s BIRDEMIC (2010), but with a decidedly higher production value. I would not hesitate to compare the film to those of Uwe Boll, in that it strives to accomplish something bigger then itself, but just doesn’t have the inherent substance to reach its intended goal.
Overall Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Available nationwide On Demand and on iTunes, Time Warner, ComCast and DirecTV, among other platforms on Tuesday, March 25th, 2014.
Paramount Pictures and Plan B announced today that writer / director Adam McKay has come aboard to adapt and direct THE BIG SHORT, based on the acclaimed book by Michael Lewis.
Based on Lewis’ best-seller The Big Short: Inside The Doomsday Machine about the housing and credit bubble of the 2000s, the film will be produced by Paramount and Brad Pitt’s Plan B.
Pitt previously starred in and produced Lewis’ MONEYBALL, which earned an Academy Award®-nomination for Best Picture.
“Michael Lewis has the amazing ability to take complex formulas and concepts and turn them into page turners. Plan B and I connected over that breathless quality the book has. Very excited to jump into this,” said McKay.
Said Adam Goodman, Paramount Film Group President, “I am so excited as this project marks my third collaboration with Adam McKay – a tremendously talented filmmaker and one of my favorite storytellers.”
Said Plan B, “There are those rare literary treasures – as with “THE BIG SHORT” – that park in the harbor and you just wait, with hope. Adam McKay is a singular voice and talent and a ferocious mind – the vector of Adam and this book is what a producer dreams of.”
McKay most recently co-wrote, produced and directed the sequel ANCHORMAN 2: THE LEGEND CONTINUES, for Paramount Pictures. The hit film has grossed over $170m globally. He is repped by WME and Mosaic.
If you have a proclivity for the smaller, indie films, then you won’t want to miss LE WEEK-END. This charming film opens at the Plaza Frontenac Cinema in St. Louis this Friday, March 28th.
Academy Award winner Jim Broadbent (IRIS, TOPSY-TURVY, ANOTHER YEAR) and Lindsay Duncan (ABOUT TIME, ALICE IN WONDERLAND, MANSFIELD PARK) give exquisite performances as Nick and Meg, a long-married British couple revisiting Paris for the first time since their honeymoon in an attempt to rekindle their relationship.
During a two-day escapade, diffident, wistful Nick and demanding, take-charge Meg careen from harmony to disharmony to resignation and back again as they take stock of half a lifetime of deep tenderness – and even deeper regret. A surprise invitation from Nick’s old friend Morgan (Jeff Goldblum), an amusingly boorish American academic with a fancy Parisian address, soon leads them to an unexpectedly hopeful vision of what their love and marriage might still become.
LE WEEK-END marks the third feature collaboration between Director Roger Michell and screenwriter Hanif Kureishi (twitter: @Hanifkureishi). The idea for the project started when they were finishing 2006’s Oscar-nominated VENUS. “We thought it would be fun to do the idea of a couple in Paris together,” says Michell. “Seeing what happens between a couple when the kids start to leave home” was central to the original idea for the film.
Michell and Kureishi then embarked on what seemed the most sensible method of research: to visit Paris together as a sort of grumpy couple. “All the things you see Jim and Lindsay do in this film, we did!” jokes Michell.
Watch the trailer for the film that Ann Hornaday (The Washington Post) calls “Emotionally charged and very funny.”
Every so often, films will turn their attention to the romantic lives of older people, but often in an “isn’t that charming” manner that borders on condescension. Bracing, and full of passion, LE WEEK-END’s characters shed the cozy comfort of retiree romantic comedy for an altogether more charged love story.
Meg and Nick have been together forever. For their thirtieth wedding anniversary, they’ve chosen to return to Paris, where they honeymooned. It’s not long before the city of light begins reflecting the couple’s conflicts right back at them.
Rejecting their first, depressingly beige, hotel for an impossibly expensive choice, Meg then begins rejecting her husband. “Can I touch you?” he asks, tentatively. “What for?” she snaps. Although they would never stoop to acting them out physically, this relationship has emotional contours the Marquis de Sade could embrace.
When Meg and Nick run into their insufferably successful old friend, played with pure delight by Jeff Goldblum, their squabbles rise to a register that’s both emotionally rich and very funny.
By turns sharply comic and deadly serious, LE WEEK-END is full of surprises. The dialogue has both the heart and the crackle of Richard Linklater’s BEFORE… series, delving deep into the tensions that shape this couple’s relationship while holding nothing back.
Director Roger Michell has shown us the pleasures of complicated romance before, but never has his filmmaking felt freer.
LE WEEK-END will have wide appeal for both underserved older audiences and a wider movie-going public. The theme of “Love conquers all” underlies all that happens on Nick and Meg’s Parisian weekend sojourn.
From the brittle scenes at their hotel, to Goldblum’s delicious intervention, LE WEEK-END strikes one surprising grace note after another in its deeply honest portrayal of the perils – and the glorious possibilities – of our romantic lives.
Italian Writer/Director Francesca Gregorin’s THE TRUTH ABOUT EMANUEL is an intimate psychodrama with a small cast, a Twilight Zonish twist, and a whole lot of weirdness. Kaya Scodelario plays Emanuel, a teen whose mother died in childbirth and she, as her first-person voiceover narration reveals, blames herself for the death. She’s now a teen and has spent her life traumatized by the event. Raised by her doting dad Dennis (Alfred Molina), Emanuel is dramatic and remote, but she emerges from her shadow occasionally to annoy her bewildered new stepmom Janice (Frances O’Connor), who sees Emanuel for who she is and is growing tired of Dennis creating excuses for her. The story focuses on the lead-up to Emanuel’s 18th birthday. She dates a guy named Claude (Aneurin Barnard) for a while, but takes an immediate interest in Linda (Jessica Biel) who moves in next door with her newborn infant and looks just like her late mother. Emanuel offers babysitting services and soon discovers the baby is just a creepy doll—and that Linda seems blissfully unaware of that fact, behaving at all times as if it’s a normal, healthy child. She decides to play along, if only so that through them, she can keep vicariously experiencing the maternal bond she’s missed out on.
There is very little that is overtly horrific about THE TRUTH ABOUT EMANUEL, but make no mistake: this is a horror film. The horror is primarily conceptual, and the more we see of Emanuel’s life, the more we squirm. More allegory than drama, is about how two women deal with loss and grief. THE TRUTH ABOUT EMANUEL, the second effort from Gregorini, is a good film, nicely acted and well-directed. Kaya Scodelario is an actress to keep an eye on and Jessica Beil is surprisingly good in this relatively mature role. Unfortunately, once the premise is established, the film runs out of steam. It’s unsure of what to do with its basic propositions and is dragged across the finish line by an unsatisfying conclusion that’s more Night Gallery than Zone.
THE TRUTH ABOUT EMANUEL comes out on Blu-ray from Well Go USA Entertainment on March 25th.
THE TRUTH ABOUT EMANUEL’s AVC MPEG-4 image is technically proficient with a 1080p High Definition presentation which preserves the 2.35:1 widescreen aspect ratio. This presentation of the film offers good depth and clarity, but the cinematography is uninvolving and colors seem somewhat solemn and don’t impress.
The film’s lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix is just fine but far from overtly impressive. Dialogue is certainly very cleanly presented (for better or worse), and there’s some attention to immersive detail offered throughout this mix.
The THE TRUTH ABOUT EMANUEL Blu comes with a handful of extras:
Director Interview – runs 4 minutes. Francesca Gregorini speaks passionately about her film. She clearly has a lot of insight and I wish they would have given her a complete commentary.
Deleted scenes
Outtakes
Trailers
As a horror/art hybrid, THE TRUTH ABOUT EMANUEL is just off-the-wall enough to recommend. It’s not for everyone but I found it engaging and I appreciated it a great deal.
