Coming to theaters on February 7, here’s the trailer for the upcoming movie THE OUTSIDER. The action-adventure film stars Jason Patric, James Caan, Craig Fairbrass, and Shannon Elizabeth.
Recalled from the battlefields of Afghanistan to identify the remains of his daughter, British mercenary Lex Walker (Craig Fairbrass) arrives in Los Angeles to find that the body in the morgue belongs to a stranger. With his daughter now missing, Walker convinces a street-wise detective (Jason Patric) that his daughter is still alive and in danger.
The two follow a trail of high-tech intrigue that leads them to his daughter’s former boss (James Caan), a crooked cyber-millionaire who will do whatever it takes to protect his empire – including taking down anyone who gets in his way. Driven by desperation and rage, Walker must fight his way through an army of thugs and hired killers to save the one person that means more to him than life itself.
“The brain you stole, Fritz. Think of it. The brain of a dead man waiting to live again in a body I made with my own hands!”
The classic and definitive monster/horror film of all time, director James Whale’s FRANKENSTEIN (1931) is the screen version of Mary Shelley’s Gothic 1818 nightmarish novel of the same name (Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus). The film was produced by Carl Laemmle Jr. for Universal Pictures, the same year that DRACULA, another classic horror film, was produced within the same studio – both films helped to save the beleaguered Universal. The film’s name was derived from the mad, obsessed scientist, Dr. Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive), who experimentally creates an artificial life – an Unnamed Monster (Boris Karloff), that ultimately terrorizes the Bavarian countryside after being mistreated by his maker’s assistant Fritz and society as a whole.
Seventy-two years after its release, FRANKENSTEIN still leaves an impact. Ahead of its time both cinematically and thematically, the horror it’s not only relevant, but remains topical. Considered shocking and daring when it was first released, the film went through some major revisions before reaching American’s theaters. References to Dr. Frankenstein comparing himself to God and a scene where the monster drowns a little girl never saw the light of day, and when the film finally made its way to television, those scenes were gone forever. Fortunately, they didn’t disappear in a black hole. They were locked away, and lucky for us, those scenes have been reinstated on the “restored version” that’s been available on DVD now for a while and of course they’re on the Blu-ray that Universal issued in October of 2012.
Filled with memorable characters and performances, not to mention director James Whale’s rather unique European look he brought to the film, FRANKENSTEIN remains a classic. Boris Karloff is simply brilliant as the mute monster who goes in search of himself, only to upset the local villagers. Mae Clark is radiant as Elizabeth, Frankenstein’s fiancée, a woman remains faithful to the mad doctor. Colin Clive delivers the crazed goods as Dr. Frankenstein, whose slow descent into madness provides the actor with several powerful scenes.
Now lucky St. Louisans will have the chance to see FRANKENSTEIN on the big screen when it plays Thursday February 6th, at Schlafly Bottleworks (7260 Southwest Avenue Maplewood, MO 63143). The show begins at 7pm, and yes, we will be showing the stunning Blu-ray transfer.
But Karloff was not the first actor to play the role! After FRANKENSTEIN, we’re going to screen the rare (and for decades, thought lost) 1910 version of FRANKENSTEIN produced by Thomas Edison and starring Charles Ogle as the monster. Since its original release, the Thomas Edison FRANKENSTEIN, which only runs 15 minutes, had been listed as missing; no copies of the film existed. An original nitrate print finally turned up in Wisconsin in the mid-1970s and you’ll have the chance to see it February 6th.
FRANKENSTEIN is the second screening in a new subseries from A Film Series to promote the practice of Universal Design in the built environment (we showed DRACULA last month).
Other horror classic in this series coming soon are:
THE MUMMY – March
THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN – April
THE WOLFMAN – May
ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN – October
Check back here at We Are Movie Geeks for updates on those screenings.
Brought to you by A Film Series, Schlafly Bottleworks, AUDP and Real Living Gateway Real Estate.
Doors open at 6:30pm.
$6 suggested for the screening. A yummy variety of food from Schlafly’s kitchen is available as are plenty of pints of their famous home-brewed suds. Dan the bartender will be on hand to take care of you.
Amanda Seyfried, Neil Patrick Harris, Seth MacFarlane and Charlize Theron are featured in this brand new photo from A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST, the new comedy from director Seth MacFarlane.
Seth MacFarlane directs, produces, co-writes and plays the role of the cowardly sheep farmer Albert in the film.
After Albert backs out of a gunfight, his fickle girlfriend leaves him for another man. When a mysterious and beautiful woman rides into town, she helps him find his courage and they begin to fall in love. But when her husband, a notorious outlaw, arrives seeking revenge, the farmer must put his newfound courage to the test.
Starring alongside MacFarlane are Oscar® winner Charlize Theron, Liam Neeson, Amanda Seyfried, Giovanni Ribisi, Sarah Silverman and Neil Patrick Harris.
MacFarlane reunites many of the filmmakers behind Universal and MRC’s hit film TED including Scott Stuber (Bluegrass Films) and Jason Clark who produce, and Wellesley Wild and Alec Sulkin who co-wrote the script.
A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST will be in theaters May 30, 2014.
Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels reprise their signature roles as Lloyd and Harry in the sequel to the smash hit that took the physical comedy and kicked it in the nuts. Check out the first photo from DUMB AND DUMBER TO, scheduled to be in theaters November 14, 2014.
The original film’s directors, Peter and Bobby Farrelly, take Lloyd and Harry on a road trip to find a child Harry never knew he had and the responsibility neither should ever, ever be given.
The film also stars Kathleen Turner, Laurie Holden, Rob Riggle, Rachel Melvin, and Steve Tom.
The comedy is written by John Morris & Sean Anders and Peter Farrelly & Bennett Yellin & Mike Cerrone & Bobby Farrelly.
The Farrelly brothers produce DUMB AND DUMBER TO alongside Riza Aziz and Joey McFarland of Red Granite Pictures. They are joined by fellow producers Charles Wessler and Bradley Thomas. Universal Pictures will distribute the film in the United States, Canada and select international territories.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has determined the individual nominees for THE WOLF OF WALL STREET in the Best Picture category for the Oscars. They are producers Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Joey McFarland and Emma Tillinger Koskoff.
Additionally, the individual nominees for 20 FEET FROM STARDOM in the Documentary Feature category have been determined. They are Morgan Neville, Gil Friesen and Caitrin Rogers.
Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2013 will be presented on Oscar Sunday, March 2, 2014, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® and televised live on the ABC.
Academy Award® winner Kate Winslet and Academy Award® nominee Josh Brolin join Academy Award® nominated director Jason Reitman for the gripping drama LABOR DAY, based on Joyce Maynard’s best selling novel of the same name.
As Labor Day weekend approaches, thirteen-year-old Henry Wheeler and his mother Adele venture to the store to buy Henry clothes for the upcoming school year. Life has not been easy for Adele, a divorced, single mother, who rarely ventures further than her house these days.
Wandering the aisles, Henry encounters an injured man named Frank, who solicits Henry and Adele’s help. He is charismatic and intimidatingly persuasive. Reluctantly, Adele agrees to take this stranger home. In so doing, she sets in motion a series of events over this fateful holiday weekend that will make them confront their past and define their future, forever changing their lives.
(c) MMXIV Paramount Pictures Corporation and Frank’s Pie Company LLC. All Rights Reserved
LABOR DAY stars Kate Winslet (“The Reader,” “Revolutionary Road”) as Adele opposite Josh Brolin (“No Country for Old Men,” “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps”) as escaped convict Frank Chambers.
Gattlin Griffith (“Changeling,” “Green Lantern”) plays Henry Wheeler along with Clark Gregg (“The Avengers,” “Thor”) as Henry’s dad Gerald. Up and coming actors Tom Lapinski (“Black Dog Red Dog,” “Suits”) and Maika Monroe (“Bling Ring,” “At Any Price”) star as Young Frank and his wife Mandy. Rounding out the cast are J.K. Simmons (“Juno,” “Up in the Air”) as neighbor Mr. Jervis and James Van Der Beek (“Dawson’s Creek,” “Don’t Trust the B in Apt 23”) as Officer Treadwell. The film is narrated by Tobey Maguire (“The Great Gatsby,” “Spiderman”) who plays Adult Henry.
The film opens January 31, 2014.
WAMG invites you to enter for your chance to receive a pass (Good for 2) to the advance screening of LABOR DAY – Wednesday, January 29 at 7PM in St. Louis.
Answer the following:
JOYCE MAYNARD is the author of eight novels, including To Die For, as well as the bestselling memoir, At Home in the World, which has been translated into fifteen languages. Her latest novel was published in August 2013. What is the name of her new book?
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This film has been rated PG-13 for thematic material, brief violence and sexuality.
By 1913, the American film industry had been around for over twenty years. In 1909 Carl Laemmle, a renegade and maverick movie mogul and film distributor, founded his own company in New York — the Yankee Film Company. Laemmle also started producing movies in Fort Lee, New Jersey that same year. His first company was called the Independent Motion Pictures (IMP) Company, aka IMP Studios. Soon however, Laemmle would be making plans to journey West where he would expand his film production and in 1912 co-founded the Universal Film Manufacturing Co., or Universal Film Company– the precursor to Universal Pictures in Hollywood. The studio had its sights set on bigger and better things than the one and two-reel shorts that Hollywood had been grinding out. European studios were producing big, ambitious feature productions and Universal felt the need to compete.
Sir Walter Scott’s classic novel Ivanhoe was first published in 1820. The story was set in 1194 during the reign of King Richard I and focused on Wilfred of Ivanhoe, a Saxon Knight returning from the Holy Lands to England. His mission was to raise 150,000 marks of silver as ransom for the imprisoned King being held captive in an Austrian cell. Universal saw Ivanhoe as the perfect property to film, and spent a record amount of money to produce it. Their 1913 film IVANHOE was the first example of a studio sending a cast and crew to a remote venue to film on location. They traveled by train to New York, then sailed by ship the 3000 miles to Wales. Their destination was Chepstow Castle, located in Chepstow, Monmouthshire, on top of cliffs overlooking the River Wye. Chepstow Castle was, and remains, the oldest surviving post-Roman stone fortification in Britain, being constructed between the years 1067 and 1188. By the early 20th century, Chepstow had become a major tourist attraction in Wales (In 1977 Terry Gilliam shot some of his film JABBERWOCKY at the castle). The castle was owned at the time by the Duke of Beauford, who agreed to rent it to the studio for one month.
Universal tapped its biggest star, 34-year old King Baggot, to play the title role in IVANHOE. Bagget, who was born and raised in St. Louis, was the first internationally famous movie star of the silent era and the first individually publicized leading man in America, Baggot was referred to as “King of the Movies,” “The Most Photographed Man in the World” and “The Man Whose Face Is As Familiar As The Man In The Moon.” Director Herbert Brenon, who had directed dozens of shorts for the studio, shot IVANHOE and co-starred as Isaac of York. Leah Baird was cast as Rebecca and Evelyn Hope played Lady Rowena. The rest of the cast was made up of local British actors.
For three or four weeks in 1913, the town of Chepstow took on the state of a festival, as nothing like the filming of IVANHOE had been done on British soil up until that time. All the local hotels were full of Norman knights and damsels with American accents, the local ‘supers’ or extras, apparently went about their work in costume. Locals assisted with the costumes and ‘The Church Boy’s House’, a large social hall, was converted into a props and makeup facility. Reporters from national newspapers and the film press covered the making of IVANHOE in detail, wanting to see how a “great cinematograph picture is taken”. They gave high praise to the making of the battle scenes. The sack of ‘Torquilstone’ caused two days of great excitement involving an army of 300 locals (Universal would claim ‘A Cast of Thousands’ in the film’s marketing). Enthusiastic participation resulted in a number of injuries, mostly minor, as well as many broken ‘weapons’. King Baggot himself was injured during the making of the film when an extra smacked him on the chin with a sword. Baggot can be seen staggering away from the blow in the final film. The filming was described as “the biggest venture of the kind ever attempted in England,” It had a cast of 50 horses as well as 500 people. 20,000 feet of negative were exposed by the two cameramen out of which 3,500 ft made the final three-reel film which lasted a whopping 48 minutes. Correspondents for the British press were on location for the filming and praised King Baggot.
The Cinematograph Exhibitors Mail wrote:
“What a wonderfully perfect actor is Mr. King Baggot and what an enormous amount of energy he puts into his work. He seems to inspire the rest of the company whenever he is in the picture, with the result that they put much more force into their work than they would otherwise deem necessary. He takes his work completely to heart, and this past week I am sure he has forgotten that he is King Baggot, the best film actor I the world!”
The ambitious IVANHOE, filled with pageantry and excitement, was a huge hit for Universal in 1913. The only film that made more money for the studio that year was the studio’s version of DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE, which also starred King Baggot (and is considered the first Universal horror film). IVANHOE opened in England September 11th 1913 and in the U.S. two weeks later. The domestic ads boasted that the film was smashing box-office records in the UK. In an interesting twist, a British studio, Zenith, produced their own version of IVANHOE in 1913 as well. It was nearly twice as long as the Universal film, but not nearly as well received. It was released in the U.S. under the title REBECCA THE JEWESS and is now considered a lost film.
Moving Picture World magazine covered the film of IVANHOE in 1913 and gave it an excellent review. They wrote:
“An earnest and ambitious effort to film high class popular fiction of the type of Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe, deserves the hearty commendation of every friend of moving pictures. Even it the production resulting from such an effort was feeble and imperfect, harsh criticism would be out of place. Happily, the film rendering of Ivanhoe. by the Universal Film Company, does not stand in need of any indulgence but is, on the contrary, entitled to sincere praise purely on its merits. The director has evidently grown with his task and there is-plenty of evidence all through this feature, that care, and time, and patience, and skill entered into the production. In, this film, the Universal Film Company have aimed higher than usual and I am glad to say that their mark is close to the center of the target.”
That was 100 years ago. Since then, Ivanhoe has been filmed at least four more times (perhaps the most famous being the 1952 version starring Robert Taylor and Elizabeth Taylor) and was even a TV show in the ‘50s. Chepstow Castle continued to serve as a major tourist site and an adjacent museum was added to the property which has served as a venue for all sorts of cultural activities. This past year, to celebrate the centennial of IVANHOE being filmed there, the castle sponsored a screening of the movie on its grounds. The event took place July 13th and was a well-attended success. A local renaissance group adorned in medieval garb began the show by dancing while local opera star Karl Daymond sang. A newly assembled score, played by a pianist, accompanied the film. IVANHOE, the first American Studio film epic, has slipped into obscurity in the 100 years since its release and it looks like this opportunity to view it again was a big hit.
For more information about silent film star King Baggot, visit the King Baggot Tribute Facebook Page HERE
The 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival will honor legendary actor, filmmaker and humanitarian Jerry Lewiswith a multi-tiered celebration of his remarkable career. Highlighting the tribute, Lewis will have his hand and footprints enshrined in concrete in front of the world-famous TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX. In addition, Lewis will be on-hand for a screening of one of his most memorable films: The Nutty Professor (1963). Marking its fifth year, the TCM Classic Film Festival will take place April 10-13, 2014, in Hollywood. The gathering will coincide with TCM’s 20th anniversary as a leading authority in classic film.
“Jerry Lewis is a very important name whenever movie comedy is discussed and enjoyed,” said TCM host Robert Osborne, who also serves as the official host of the TCM Classic Film Festival. “Jerry has provided the world with great merriment and laughter, while also showing, in such films as Martin Scorsese’s The King of Comedy, what an exceptional dramatic actor he can be. Add to that his many credits as a popular director, producer and writer, and you see the reasons we are pleased to be able to honor him for his more than 60 years of contributions to the world of motion pictures.”
Lewis’ hand and footprints ceremony will take place Saturday, April 12, in front of TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX. This marks the fourth consecutive year TCM has featured a hand and footprint ceremony at the legendary theater. In 2011, Peter O’Toole was the honoree, followed by Kim Novak in 2012 and Jane Fonda in 2013.
Following the hand and footprint ceremony, Lewis will attend a screening of his comedy hit The Nutty Professor, which he also directed. As a special prelude to film, Lewis will join award-winning actress Illeana Douglas on-stage for an interview about his extraordinary career, as well as about the making of the movie. After The Nutty Professor, Lewis will stick around to answer questions from the audience.
Passes for the 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival can be purchased exclusively through the official festival website: http://www.tcm.com/festival.
A consummate entertainer and world-renowned humanitarian, Jerry Lewis is not just a cultural icon in the U.S. and France, he’s one of “The Most Recognized Personalities on the Planet,” named so by Newsweekmagazine. He is also the only entertainer ever to be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
One of the most successful performers in show business history – with worldwide box office receipts in excess of $800 million (when most tickets were sold for 25-50 cents) – Jerry has received global acclaim for his groundbreaking comedy. He has been said to carry the torch lit by Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, which has earned him the moniker “The King of Comedy.” As the top box office star in the world from 1952-56 with Dean Martin and from 1957-64 solo, Jerry’s brand of comedy has influenced generations.
Celebrated for his groundbreaking physical comedy, “Jerry went back to the silent era and brought visual sight gags back to the American movie theaters,” says Steven Spielberg, who once attended a class in film direction taught by “Professor” Lewis at the University of Southern California.
First on stage at age 5, Jerry performed alongside his parents in Vaudeville and later left high school to embark on a career of “Satirical Impressions and Comedic Pantomimicry.” He began performing stand-up at the age of 15. After a few menial jobs (drugstore lunch counterman, usher and shipping clerk in a hat factory), his meteoric rise to fame began in 1946 at the age of 20, when he teamed with Dean Martin … and the rest is history! “They were the biggest stars in the world as a comedy team,” said Billy Crystal about the duo, who caused Beatles-esque pandemonium wherever they went.
Jerry was the first mainstream filmmaker since Chaplin to do it all himself – writing, producing, directing and starring in his own movies. Still performing at the age of 85, he has appeared in more than 50 films, directed a dozen movies, had 13 television specials, three television series (including a stint as host of the immensely popular Colgate Comedy Hour from 1950-55 with Dean Martin), an NBC radio show, recorded numerous records and albums (Rock-a-Bye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody sold over a million copies in 1956); been the hero of a comic book series; authored four books (and been the subject of many more); and made thousands of other appearances on TV, stage (including a hit Broadway and tour run in Damn Yankees from 1994-97) and in nightclubs all over the world.
As well as being an entertainer, “Jerry Lewis was a major innovator in motion pictures,” stated director Francis Ford Coppola. “His invention of putting a video camera next to the motion picture camera so he could play it back and direct himself, has been used for decades by every director in the movie industry. I watched him on the set of The Ladies Man in 1961 and was amazed by his groundbreaking innovation, the Video Assist.”
Some of his most-celebrated films include The Nutty Professor (1963), Who’s Minding the Store? (1963), The Disorderly Orderly (1964), The Patsy (1964), The Family Jewels (1965), The Ladies Man (1961), The Errand Boy (1961), Cinderfella (1960), The Bellboy (1960), Visit to a Small Planet (1960), The Geisha Boy (1958), Rock-A-Bye Baby (1958), The Delicate Delinquent (1957) and 16 Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis films between 1949 and 1956 that showcased them at the pinnacle of show business.
Jerry has been honored with numerous awards including not one but two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (one for his work in film and one for television); the Governor’s Award at the Emmy Awards (2005); a Career Achievement Award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (2004); a Lifetime Achievement Award in Comedy at the American Comedy Awards (1998); and many, many more.
Enormously popular in Europe, particularly France, Jerry was awarded that country’s two most distinguished honors in 1984, making him a Commander in the Order of Arts and Letters and inducting him into the Legion of Honor by the Decree of President Francois Mitterrand.
In addition to his status as a legendary performer, Jerry has long been a tireless and dedicated philanthropist. For more than 60 years, he has been the driving force behind the fight against muscular dystrophy. As national chairman of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Jerry raised more than $2 billion for patient care and research and made the term “Jerry’s Kids” a part of the modern American lexicon. His creation, the MDA Labor Day Telethon, is the most successful fundraising program in the history of television and established a new benchmark in charitable giving.
Wrote late Secretary of Defense Les Aspin, then a congressman from Wisconsin, when nominating Jerry for a Nobel Peace Prize in 1977, “Jerry Lewis is a man for all seasons, all people and all times. His name, in the hearts of millions, has become synonymous with peace, love and brotherhood.”
Jerry has received numerous awards for his charitable endeavors, including: an honorary Oscar®, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award (2009), presented on special occasions by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to an individual whose humanitarian efforts have brought notable credit to the industry; the American Medical Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, becoming only the fifth person in AMA history to receive the honor (1996); and the U.S. Defense Department’s highest civilian award, the Medal for Distinguished Public Service (1985), among many others.
Today – after more than eight decades as a performer – Jerry remains busy with a myriad of appearances (in Las Vegas where he resides, around the country and overseas) and developing entertainment projects for film, television, DVD and stage. Beyond the pratfalls, jokes and public persona, he is a devoted family man with seven children, 10 grandchildren, two great grandchildren and two chihuahuas.
Jerry has a motto that reflects more than anything else his ongoing love affair with humanity: “I shall pass through this world but once. Any good, therefore, that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again!”
The Nutty Professor (1963) is Jerry Lewis‘ blockbuster comedy loosely based on the classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde story. Lewis stars as Professor Julius Kelp, a socially inept scientist who comes up with a formula to turn himself into the perfect ladies man, a dashing altar ego known as Buddy Love. He soon begins pursuing one of his students, portrayed by Stella Stevens, leading to all sorts of complications. In addition to Lewis and Stevens, The Nutty Professor stars Del Moore, Kathleen Freeman and Howard Morris.
Lewis not only stars in The Nutty Professor but also directed and produced the film. In addition, he co-wrote the screenplay with Bill Richmond. The film was shot primarily on the Airzona State University campus in Tempe, Ariz. The musical score by Walter Scharf incorporates elements of Victor Young’s famous song “Stella By Starlight.”
The Nutty Professor was named to AFI’s 100 Years…100 Laughs list in 2000 and was selected for the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2004.
In addition to Lewis, this year’s TCM Classic Film Festival will pay tribute to Quincy Jones, who will appear at multiple events during the festival, including a 50th anniversary screening of Sidney Lumet’s powerful drama The Pawnbroker (1964), which marked Jones’ debut as a film composer. Other previously announced events during this year’s festival include a screening of the recently restored Gone with the Wind (1939) and a presentation of The Wizard of Oz (1939) in its stunning new IMAX® 3D format. Both films are celebrating their 75th anniversaries in 2014.
The festival will also include three world premiere restorations: Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity (1944), which will be celebrating its 70th anniversary; Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil (1958); and William Wyler’s Best Picture Oscar® winner The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). In addition, the festival will feature a screening of the Harold Lloyd comedy classic Why Worry? (1923), with legendary silent-film composer Carl Davis conducting the live world premiere performance of his new original score.
Additional screenings and events for the 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival will be announced over the coming months.
For the fifth consecutive year, thousands of movie lovers from around the globe will descend upon Hollywood for the TCM Classic Film Festival. The 2014 festival is set to take place Thursday, April 10 – Sunday, April 13, coinciding with TCM’s 20th anniversary as a leading authority in classic film. Over four packed days and nights, attendees will be treated to an extensive lineup of great movies, appearances by legendary stars and filmmakers, fascinating presentations and panel discussions, special events and more.
The theme for the 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival will be Family in the Movies: The Ties that Bind. Throughout the four-day lineup, the festival will showcase on-screen clans of all types – big and small, happy and imperfect, musical and dramatic. In addition, the festival will spotlight the first families of Hollywood and the filmmaking dynasties that have entertained generations. And it will explore the kinship that connects close-knit groups of professionals behind the camera, such as the stock companies of classic Hollywood.
Passes for the 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival can be purchased through the festival website at http://www.tcm.com/festival. Pass availability is limited, so those wishing to attend the festival are encouraged to buy their passes quickly.
The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, which has a longstanding role in movie history and was the site of the first Academy Awards® ceremony, is set to serve as the official hotel and central gathering point for the TCM Classic Film Festival for the fifth consecutive year. The Hollywood Roosevelt also offers special rates for festival attendees. Festival screenings and events will be held at the TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX, the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres and the Egyptian Theatre.
Julie Estelle as Hammer Girl. Photo by Akhirwan Nurhaidir and Gumilar Triyoga, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.
Sony Pictures Classics has released the new trailer for the upcoming film THE RAID 2. The sequel had it’s world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.
This is what those in attendance at the screening had to say:
Devin Faraci (Badassdigest) tweeted: “Gareth Evans is the greatest living action director. THE RAID 2 is spectacular. #sundance14” and “Can’t even imagine the money every studio will be throwing at Gareth Evans now. This movie is just so much bigger and better than THE RAID.” Read his reviewHERE.
Russ Fischer (Slashfilm) tweeted: “THE RAID 2 sets a spectacular new benchmark for vehicular action. The Fast and the What, again?” and “THE RAID 2 has some incredible action and a “more is more” mindset. Drama aspires to THE GODFATHER, achieves only a pale homage.”
He thought it was over. After fighting his way out of a building filled with gangsters and madmen – a fight that left the bodies of police and gangsters alike piled in the halls – rookie Jakarta cop Rama thought it was done and he could resume a normal life. He couldn’t have been more wrong.
Formidable though they may have been, Rama’s opponents in that fateful building were nothing more than small fish swimming in a pond much larger than he ever dreamed possible. And his triumph over the small fry has attracted the attention of the predators farther up the food chain. His family at risk, Rama has only one choice to protect his infant son and wife: He must go undercover to enter the criminal underworld himself and climb through the hierarchy of competing forces until it leads him to the corrupt politicians and police pulling the strings at the top of the heap.
And so Rama begins a new odyssey of violence, a journey that will force him to set aside his own life and history and take on a new identity as the violent offender “Yuda.” In prison he must gain the confidence of Uco – the son of a prominent gang kingpin – to join the gang himself, laying his own life on the line in a desperate all-or-nothing gambit to bring the whole rotten enterprise to an end.
Starring Iko Uwais, Arifin Putra, Tio Pakusadewo, Oka Antara, Julie Estelle and directed by Gareth Evans, THE RAID 2 will hit theaters on March 28, 2014.
The Weinstein Company will release the upcoming VAMPIRE ACADEMY on February 7. Based on author Richelle Mead’s worldwide bestselling series, VAMPIRE ACADEMY tells the legend of Rose Hathaway (Zoey Deutch) and Lissa Dragomir (Lucy Fry), two 17-year-old girls who attend a hidden boarding school for Moroi (mortal, peaceful Vampires) and Dhampirs (half-vampire/half-human guardians).
Rose, a rebellious Guardian-in-training and her best friend, Lissa – a royal vampire Princess – have been on the run when they are captured and returned to St. Vladamir’s Academy, the very place where they believe their lives may be in most jeopardy.
Thrust back into the perils of Moroi Society and high school, Lissa struggles to reclaim her status while Rose trains with her mentor and love-interest, Dimitri (Danila Kozlovsky), to guarantee her place as Lissa’s guardian. Rose will sacrifice everything to protect Lissa from those who intend to exploit her from within the Academy walls and the Strigoi (immortal, evil vampires) who hunt her kind from outside its sanctuary.
Fantasy author Richelle Mead was first inspired to write about vampires while flipping through books of old Romanian stories about different races of vampires roaming the world: the Moroi, who were described as living and good, the Strigoi, who were portrayed as the stereotypical bloodsucking vampires of nightmares, and the Dhampirs, half-human, half-vampire warriors. After studying these at length, Meade took the idea of these different sub-sets and decided to build a society out of them. “What would it look like in the modern world if you had these races at war?” she asked herself.
Eventually she decided that placing them in the context of high school seemed the perfect present-day battleground. Vampire Academy, the first installment in what would become Mead’s six-part bestselling series, was published in 2007 and became an instant fan sensation. Together, the books have gone on to sell over 8 million copies in 34 countries and secured an avid young adult audience.”
VAMPIRE ACADEMY will hit theaters on February 7, 2014. Before audiences have a chance to check the film out, Mead has given her seal of approval. “Seeing the book come to life in a movie is like taking what I visualized in my head and making it even bigger and better,” she says. “Book writing and filmmaking are two different mediums. I specialize in book writing, and I feel pretty good about doing that. But to put something on a big screen and make it larger than life is a whole different art form. It blows me away to see what Mark and Dan Waters and the rest of the team working on the movie can do. It’s just incredible to have people who specialize in this kind of art form, with those visual talents, bringing this to life.”
