Netflix’s upcoming movie SPACEMAN hits the streaming service on March 1st.
Six months into a solitary research mission to the edge of the solar system, an astronaut, Jakub (Adam Sandler), realizes that the marriage he left behind might not be waiting for him when he returns to Earth. Desperate to fix things with his wife, Lenka (Carey Mulligan), he is helped by a mysterious creature from the beginning of time he finds hiding in the bowels of his ship. Hanuš (voiced by Paul Dano) works with Jakub to make sense of what went wrong before it is too late.
Directed by Johan Renck and based on the novel Spaceman of Bohemia, the film also stars Kunal Nayyar, Lena Olin, and Isabella Rossellini.
“I really wanted to have a performance from him that had nothing to do with the Adam Sandler we all know,” director Johan Renck told Netflix. “I don’t think people understand how [although] he may come across as funny and sweet and all that, he’s very intelligent, really smart, profound.” All of those qualities had to come to bear for Spaceman: For most of the film, Sandler is alone on-screen — or sharing scenes with the mysterious creature who appears on the final leg of his interstellar mission.
On the subject of that creature: the giant spider-like alien known as Hanuš is voiced by a familiar screen presence,Okja star Paul Dano. “Paul was the first thing that came up in thinking about [the creature],” Renck said. “He has this peculiar cadence when he’s speaking, his careful formulation of words, and his very unique voice.” So not to worry, folks: Sandler won’t be entirely alone up there in the stars.
SPACEMAN will have its world premiere as part of the “Berlinale Special” programme at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival before the film hits Netflix.
The highly anticipated SPACEMAN debuts on Netflix March 1, 2024. Starring Adam Sandler, Carey Mulligan and Paul Dano, watch the first preview below.
Six months into a solitary research mission to the edge of the solar system, an astronaut, Jakub (Adam Sandler), realizes that the marriage he left behind might not be waiting for him when he returns to Earth. Desperate to fix things with his wife, Lenka (Carey Mulligan), he is helped by a mysterious creature from the beginning of time he finds hiding in the bowels of his ship. Hanuš (voiced by Paul Dano) works with Jakub to make sense of what went wrong before it is too late.
Directed by Johan Renck and based on the novel Spaceman of Bohemia, the film also stars Kunal Nayyar, Lena Olin, and Isabella Rossellini.
The list of actors who have jumped behind the camera to sit in the director’s chair is very long. One way to shorten it considerably would be to specify which of their debut-directed flicks were both a critical and commercial hit. Yes, Orson Welles’ CITIZEN CAINE is lauded by film scholars but barely produced a ripple in that competitive “golden year” of 1941. Yes, it’s rare, but one actor really hit a “home run” in his first time “up to the plate” with a film that’s the third screen take on a beloved early sound classic, that packed the multiplex, made some top ten lists, and snagged some Oscar gold. Ah, but the actor was nominated for his performance (yes, he directed himself in that debut), but nothing for his strong cinematic storytelling. Now five years later, he’s back directing himself, for his follow-up. And though this is a biopic rather than a romantic drama, it is also set in the world of music. So, is this a case of “sophomore slump”? Well, after watching this effort, he could perhaps share the title of MAESTRO.
And just who is referred to in the film’s title? None other than Leonard (“Call me Lenny!”) Bernstein (Bradley Cooper), who, for many “baby boomers” was the “face” of classical music in America for several decades. In the opening scene, he’s well into his twilight years as he sits down at the piano for a filmed interview in 1978. Then the movie backtracks thirty-five years into dazzling black and white. Lenny leaps from the bed he shares with his lover David (Matt Bomer) in an apartment above the concert stage to take the most important phone call of his young life. Bruno Walter, the conductor of the New York Philharmonic is ill and Lenny will have to take the “baton”. And it’s that old cliche as “a star is born”. Lenny’s the darling of high society and the NYC art world. At one of the swanky parties he meets, and is immediately dazzled by a young stage actress Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan). This begins a whirlwind romance over the next few years as Lenny establishes himself as a composer with the hit “On the Town”, leading to their marriage in 1951. The couple becomes the “toast of the town” and begins a family, despite Lenny’s wandering eye for both sexes. Felicia is aware and endures it with the proviso that he is “discreet” and won’t publicly embarrass her. Their unconventional marriage is severely tested and nearly unravels when eldest daughter Jamie (Maya Hawke) confronts her father, who flatly denies those “rumors”. Luckily his career continues its upward trajectory with acclaimed concerts and Broadway hits like “Candide” and the iconic “West Side Story”. But soon the issues of “cheating” are dwarfed by the health crisis that may finish off the Bernstein family.
Though originally seen as another handsome leading man, Cooper proves to be a gifted character actor as the artistic titan of the twentieth century. Bernstein is a complex role requiring Cooper to exude some of his screen charisma to draw in the masses during his concerts. The sequences of him conducting full orchestras, choirs, and combinations of both are truly dazzling with Cooper seemingly super-charged with the energy of the music muses. Much the same can be said of his creative epiphanies as his artistic zeal consumes everyone around him, especially his collaborators. But with those passions came the appetites for pleasure, giving us the impression that his ego was beyond earthly moral standards, with no interest in the impact of his indulgencies. Part of this leads to the great romance of his life and its near disintegration. Cooper has found the ideal screen partner for the love of Lenny’s life. Mulligan projects wisdom and strength giving Felicia a regal aura that masks her pain over her hubby’s often flagrant callousness. And as the demon of disease envelops her, Mulligan shows us her agony but also her determination to not “go gently into that goodnight”. In the supporting roles, Hawke projects the fizzy spirit of youth while dealing with some major parental confusion. And gifted comic actress Sarah Silverman flits in and out as Lenny’s glamorous, “smart set” sister Shirley, dopping “dishy” remarks.
Amazingly Cooper brings as much energy and creativity to his work behind the camera. He’s chosen to recreate the decades with a stunning switch in color, or lack of, as the 40s and 50s are splashed on the screen in shimmering strokes of black and white (big praise for cinematographer Matthew Libatique), then abruptly explodes with saturated colors for the swinging 60’s and 70’s (ah, the deep tans over Bernstein’s aging face). The vintage sets, props, and fashion keep right up the times. And they need to keep up with Cooper’s storytelling skills as a maze on stage suddenly switches to a full-on stage spectacle. Oh, and what sequences, the highlight being a breathtaking, jaw-dropping recreation of the presentation of Mahler at the Ely Cathedral which feels like one glorious supreme take. Luckily Cooper brings the same spirit to the more intimate scenes, particularly a nasty, verbal showdown over a beloved holiday. A similar technique is used to show the couple’s initial attraction as Lenny describes his new work about sailors on leave and is suddenly twirling and leaping with the “gobs”. Wisely, the movie’s superb score is all music created by Bernstein for various projects (there’s a great snippet from “West Side Story” while eschewing any theatrical recreations). Hopefully, this will inspire younger viewers to seek out his recordings, while for those of us who grew up with those “Young People’s Concerts” this will remind us of his fabulous legacy. And thanks to the talented Cooper, this MAESTRO is truly masterful.
Oscar-winning writer/director Emerald Fennell bowled audiences over with A PROMING YOUNG WOMAN, her intelligent, taut thriller directorial debut. This year, Emerald Fennell brings us SALTBURN, a star-studded dark comedy dealing with the British class divide and privilege, with an unsettling, horror film slant. Even the film’s Gothic script title treatment sets the mood for this contemporary twisty thriller.
Set in the mid-2000s, SALTBURN stars Barry Keoghan as Oliver Quick, a bright scholarship student at Oxford who is eager to fit in socially with the upper crust as succeed academically. The academics are easy for Oliver, but social class aspirations are another matter. Finding himself on the outside, persistent Oliver eventually is befriended by handsome, charming, aristocratic Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi), one of the most popular students at his college. When Felix learns the working-class lad has nowhere to go for the summer break, he generously invites Oliver to spend the summer at his family’s sprawling estate, Saltburn.
There is a “Talented Mr. Ripley” aspect to this tale of an ambitious outsider worming his way into the upper crust but SALTBURN takes a different turn, into psychological horror with unsettling obsessive sexual overtones, some homosexual, plus a fair amount of nudity. This is not a film for everyone but it does deliver on the psychological horror thrills and features some startling, visually rich cinematography, gripping scenes and top-notch acting. Still, SALTBURN is not for the faint of heart.
Nobody does class snobbery like the Brits, where the class divide, not just wealth, still matters so much more than here. Felix tells Oliver to just relax and be himself, and that his family is “nice,” but really, you immediately know British aristocrats inviting an ordinary Brit into their world has the potential for things to very wrong.
Tension is in the air from the start, but things unfold in unexpected ways in this twisty plot. Oliver is indeed welcomed by Felix’s father, Sir James Catton (Richard E. Grant) and Sir James’ younger wife Elspeth (Rosamund Pike), and more coolly by Felix’s sister Venetia Catton (Alison Oliver). It turns out the family has a history of taking in guests, and Oliver is not the only house guest this summer, joining a woman consistently called “poor dear Pamela” (Carey Mulligan), who is going through a rough patch, and an American-born, biracial cousin named Farleigh Start (Archie Madekwe).
What looks like an ordinary aristocratic family at first turns out to be more eccentric than expected, setting up some uneasy dynamics. Actually, Oliver knows the cousin, another Oxford student, but Farleigh has not been as nice to Oliver as Felix – nasty, in fact. Farleigh is angry that Felix brought this socially-inferior scholarship student home for the summer, and Farleigh constantly reminds Oliver of his aristocratic superiority to him. But Farleigh himself is a bit of an outsider, as the child of a wayward sister who was taken into the family by Felix’s father. Sir James supports his nephew and pays for his Oxford education but Farleigh has no money of his own, depending on an allowance from his uncle. The last member of the Saltburn household is Felix’s sister Venetia, a beautiful woman but emotionally unstable person, who helps things start to go wrong, as they must, in this tense set-up.
While the eccentric family has this habit of taking in “strays,” the house guests are there only as long as they amuse the aristocrats, despite the polite assurances and seemingly warm welcomes. But what starts out looking like it will be an “aristocrats behaving badly” tale, soon goes down unexpected, dark rabbit holes. Things get very crazy at stately old Saltburn.
Every aspect of this creepy thriller is top-notch, including the brilliant photography, twisty story, and the performances by the gifted cast. There are some bloody moments, staged with stunning visual style, lots of creepy tension, and death comes to visit as well, in this horror-tinged, chilling psychological thriller.
Barry Keoghan has delivered a number of striking performances in supporting roles, most recently in BANSHEES OF INISHERIN and THE GREEN KNIGHT, films which have showcased his range. SALTBURN gives this talented actor a chance to shine in a lead role. And shine he does as the complicated Oliver, a character whose layers are peeled back in the course of this psychological thriller. Keoghan wrings every drop from this creepy tale, including startling, carefully-lit final scene that has him dancing through the grand house.
As charming Felix, Jacob Elordi delivers a strong performance, even more so than he did in PRISCILLA, where he plays Elvis Presley, and seems destined for stardom. Elordi’s Felix means to be kind, unlike some other family members, but he is inherently clueless due to his privileged upbringing, holding people to high standards that are easier for him to meet than some others less lucky.
While Felix appears the most stable of the Catton family, his sister Venetia is its biggest emotional mess, which helps trigger some of the madness that follows, and Alison Oliver gives a fine performance in the role.
Richard E. Grant is perfect as the unfailingly polite aristocrat Sir James, who plays the role of enforcer behind the scenes when needed. Rosamund Pike is gracious but cool as Elspeth but there are hints of a wilder past. Carey Mulligan is wonderful in her smaller role as “poor dear Pamela,” stylishly-dressed but emotionally weighed-down by a traumatic past. As cousin Farleigh Start, Archie Madekwe is great, as the snarky and bitter character, going from arrogant confidence to desperation as events unfold.
SALTBURN is an incredibly-polished film, with brilliant photography, nail-biting tension, excellent performances and taut pacing, but the nature of this disturbing tale means it is not for everyone, as noted earlier. For the right audiences, SALTBURN is a class divide, creep fest trip well worth taking.
Academy Award winning filmmaker Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman) brings us a beautifully wicked tale of privilege and desire. Struggling to find his place at Oxford University, student Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) finds himself drawn into the world of the charming and aristocratic Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi), who invites him to Saltburn, his eccentric family’s sprawling estate, for a summer never to be forgotten.
The score is by composer Anthony Willis (Promising Young Woman, M3GAN).
Amazon MGM Studios’ upcoming film SALTBURN will premiere in theatres nationwide on November 22nd.
Academy Award winning filmmaker Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman) brings us a beautifully wicked tale of privilege and desire. Struggling to find his place at Oxford University, student Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) finds himself drawn into the world of the charming and aristocratic Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi), who invites him to Saltburn, his eccentric family’s sprawling estate, for a summer never to be forgotten.
Saltburn was the Opening Night film of the 67th BFI London Film Festival on October 4. In their review, The Standard’s Ella Kemp says the film: “is so delicious in its twists, the gorgeously lensed disasters and endless farces, that it’s impossible to ignore the work of a truly gifted and haywire filmmaker.”
Starring Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, Alison Oliver, Archie Madekwe, and Carey Mulligan, SALTBURN Will Release In Select Theaters November 17, 2023. In Theaters Everywhere November 22, 2023
Check out the teaser trailer for the Leonard Bernstein biopic, MAESTRO, starring Carey Mulligan and Bradley Cooper.
Maestro is directed by Bradley Cooper (A Star Is Born), who co-wrote the script with Josh Singer. Cooper also stars as cultural icon Leonard Bernstein; the film focuses on Bernstein’s lifelong relationship with actress Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein (Carey Mulligan).
According to Netflix: Alongside Mulligan and Cooper, the cast of Maestro includes Matt Bomer, Maya Hawke, Sarah Silverman, Josh Hamilton, Scott Ellis, Gideon Glick, Sam Nivola, Alexa Swinton, and Miriam Shor.
Look for MAESTRO this November 22 before hitting Netflix on Dec. 20. It will have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival this September.
Check out the first images from Emerald Fennell’s SALTBURN, starring Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, Alison Oliver, Archie Madekwe, and Carey Mulligan.
Academy Award winning filmmaker Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman) brings us a beautifully wicked tale of privilege and desire. Struggling to find his place at Oxford University, student Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) finds himself drawn into the world of the charming and aristocratic Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi), who invites him to Saltburn, his eccentric family’s sprawling estate, for a summer never to be forgotten.
The film is produced by Emerald Fennell, p.g.a; Margot Robbie, p.g.a; Josey McNamara, p.g.a.
SALTBURN will release in theaters November 24, 2023.
(from left) Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) and Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan) in She Said, directed by Maria Schrader. Courtesy of Universal.
Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan star in the engrossing true-story drama SHE SAID, which throws a spotlight on the two New York Times women journalists whose investigation helped spark the “Me Too” movement.
SHE SAID evokes the classic ALL THE PRESIDENTS MEN but this surprisingly kinetic, compellingly watchable investigative journalism drama at times feels a bit like a tense mystery-thriller. The film keeps the two investigative journalists, Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan) and Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan), at the center of the story but it also gives a remarkably realistic picture of how journalism is done. SHE SAID’s storytelling highlights the importance of investigative journalism itself, the kind of reporting that uncovers wrongdoing and starts the process to hold the guilty responsible, the kind of vitally-important journalism in a democracy that is most at risk of being lost in the current news industry crisis.
Director Maria Schrader crafts a firecracker of a drama, one that is surprisingly restless and kinetic as well as deeply involving. SHE SAID is based on the New York Times investigation by reporters Jodi Kantor, Megan Twohey and Rebecca Corbett, and Kantor and Twohey’s book “She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement.” Patricia Clarkson plays editor Rebecca Corbett, managing the story from the newsroom, but the major focus is on the pair of investigative reporters pounding the pavement.
Carey Mulligan, who was so powerful in A PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN, plays Megan Twohey, a hard-hitting seasoned journalist who also gives birth while working on this ground-breaking story. She shares this investigation with another, less experienced New Times journalist, Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan). At first, the story does not look like something groundbreaking, as the two work on an investigation into work-place sexual harassment in larger corporations, but a tip shifts the focus to a new industry. With its liberal reputation, the journalists are surprised by the tip about harassment and abuse in the movie industry, and the trail quickly points to one person in particular, powerful producer Harvey Weinstein.
Others had tried and failed to break this story over the years, not just about this one man but others as well, but had hit a wall of silence that shut things down. There were lots of stories and rumors about Weinstein but frustratingly no one who wants to go on record or even name names. As Kantor and Twohey dig deeper, they go down a rabbit hole of leads that uncovers a hidden network of cover-ups, secrecy and fear, that soon sparks a paranoid feeling of being watched by a shadowy, powerful and well-connected force.
Carey Mulligan, who was so remarkable in A PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN, plays Megan Twohey, a hard-hitting New Times journalist who starts this investigation shortly before giving birth and rejoins it on returning to work. It is the kind of personal, refreshingly real, slice of life detail that gives depth to both characters. Twohey shares this investigation with Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan), a less-seasoned journalist and a woman who is already a parent, giving a nice personal counter-balance to their professional relationship. We are used to seeing Kazan in more comedic roles in films like THE BIG SICK but she does very well here in this more serious part, where she creates a character who is driven in her work but warm on a personal level.
As the two journalists, peel back the layers concealing the abuse, SHE SAID builds suspense, with the reporters hit barrier after barrier and tracking down leads that seem to go to dead ends. This well-written drama crafts a strikingly realistic picture of how journalism is actually done, but it also takes us into these reporters’ private lives, giving us warm glimpses into their family lives and painting a portrait of striving for work/life balance.
Rather than a drama that unfolds mostly in the newsroom, as we might expect, director Maria Schrader and screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz open up the story by sending the two reporters out into the streets and into the homes of sources and possible abuse victims. The two women are often headed in divergent directions, which creates a restlessness and kinetic sense, with Twohey and Kantor frequently in motion, racing place to place, even country to country as they pursue the story. That restless energy is thanks in part to excellent editing but also the director’s choice in how she presents the work of these two hard-working women journalists. The camera follows them as they walk and travel, periodically bringing them back together to share findings or back to the newsroom to confer with editors about next steps.
This collaborative partnership between the tough, more experienced Twohey and the eager, newer reporter Kantor is one of the delights of the film, and Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan are wonderful together. The script balances their professional relationship with scenes of home life for both, as they care for children and as Twohey struggles with post-partum depression.
As the journalists follow their leads, the biggest challenge is the lack of sources willing to go on record. They hear chilling stories but tying names to events is hard. Time and again, a new lead ends with a person gagged by a non-disclosure agreement or just fear of professional suicide. Lurking behind it, increasingly, is a single figure, one name.
Editors Rebecca Corbett (Patricia Clarkson) and Dean Baquet (Andre Braugher) provide strong support and guidance, even approving funds to travel to distant places. Andre Braugher’s Baquet provides advice on dealing with Harvey Weinstein in particular, someone with whom he has had dealings, which leads to some intriguing scenes where he speaks with him by phone or in person.
Director Schrader cleverly handles scenes with famous people, such as Weinstein and Donald Trump, by shooting actors playing them from behind. An exception is Ashley Judd, who plays herself, mirroring her role as a crucial voice in breaking this story and sparking the movement that followed.
But most of the people the reporters interview are not famous, and we are surprising time in again by familiar faces in some of these roles. Seeing these gifted actors, including Samantha Morton and Jennifer Ehle, adds a extra level of enjoyment and moments of surprise to this excellent film.
SHE SAID is top contender for awards. It is a compelling true story drama focused on both the two women whose dogged reporting blew open a long hidden secret, and the story they uncovered that helped launch a movement. In a way, the film itself is a triumph of exactly the kind of talented women being held down by the abuse the reporters revealed. SHE SAID is a brilliantly directed and written women-helmed film with a strong women-centric true story with outstanding, rounded female performances, making it both a story about women finding their voices and example of what women film-makers can accomplish.
CRITICS ARE CALLING SHE SAID “BRILLIANT AND CAPTIVATING.” “ONE OF THE BEST FILMS OF THE YEAR.” BASED ON ACTUAL EVENTS THAT HELPED IGNITE A MOVEMENT, UNIVERSAL PICTURES PROUDLY PRESENTS ACADEMY AWARD® NOMINEE CAREY MULLIGAN AND ZOE KAZAN. SHE SAID.
ONLY IN THEATERS NOVEMBER 18TH.
Advance Screening Tues, Nov. 15th 7pm at AMC Esquire 7.
The screening will be filled on a first come first served basis, so we encourage you to arrive early. Seats will not be guaranteed. Rated R.
Two-time Academy Award® nominee Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman, An Education) and Emmy nominee Zoe Kazan (The Plot Against America, The Big Sick) star as New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, who together broke one of the most important stories in a generation— a story that shattered decades of silence around the subject of sexual assault in Hollywood and impelled a shift in American culture that continues to this day.
From the Academy Award® winning producers of 12 Years a Slave, Moonlight, Minari, Selma and The Big Short and the Oscar®-nominated producer of Zero Dark Thirty and American Hustle, the film is based on the New York Times investigation by Jodi Kantor, Megan Twohey and Rebecca Corbett and the New York Times bestseller, She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey.
A testament to the incalculable importance of investigative journalism, She Said details the journey of reporters and editors engaged in the unrelenting pursuit of the truth and highlights the courage of survivors and witnesses who chose to come forward to stop an accused serial predator from committing further harm. Together, their commitment and fortitude sparked a global conversation, helped propel the #MeToo movement, and fueled a reckoning of the system that had enabled him.
At its heart, She Said is an inspiring true story about people, many of them women, many of them mothers, who summoned the courage to speak out and seek justice, not just for themselves but for those in the future, both in the U.S. and around the globe. The film is a compelling, moving reminder of the power of individual people, armed with determination and grit, to, together, change the world.
The film costars Oscar® nominee Patricia Clarkson (Shutter Island, Pieces of April), Emmy winner Andre Braugher (Homicide: Life on the Street, Thief), Tony winner Jennifer Ehle (Zero Dark Thirty, Pride and Prejudice), with Academy Award® nominee Samantha Morton (Minority Report, In America) and Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Ashley Judd (Double Jeopardy, Bug) as herself.
She Said is directed by Emmy winner Maria Schrader (I’m Your Man, Unorthodox limited series) from a screenplay by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, screenwriter of the Oscar® winning film Ida. The film is produced by Academy Award® winners Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner for Plan B Entertainment and is executive produced by Oscar® winner Brad Pitt and Lila Yacoub and by Oscar® nominee Megan Ellison and Sue Naegle for Annapurna Pictures.
