WEIRD: THE AL YANKOVIC STORY welcomes Quinta Brunson as Oprah in this new photo from the upcoming movie.
Daniel Radcliffe is “Weird” Al Yankovic in the unexaggerated true story about the greatest musician of our time. From a conventional upbringing where playing the accordion was a sin, Al rebelled and made his dream of changing the words to world-renowned songs come true. An instant success and sex symbol, Al lives an excessive lifestyle and pursues an infamous romance that nearly destroys him.
Directed by Eric Appel and written by Eric Appel and ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic, the movie is produced by Funny Or Die and Tango.
With Evan Rachel Wood, Rainn Wilson, and an A-list cast of thousands their agents won’t let us reveal.
Over the course of last year, I found myself consumed by the work of Paul Thomas Anderson. Early in the year, The Master, became my favorite film. Later, I did a rewatch of all of his films. I was a voracious consumer of Paul Thomas Anderson content. On my travels, I came across “Punch-Drunk Love: A Delegate Speaks,” a rather incredible essay written by Miranda July for the Criterion Collection copy of Anderson’s 2002 film.Not only was it extremely funny, but it brought a level of personal inspiration into the conversation. Here was a filmmaker who not only understood the film, but seemed inspired by it. Searching through July’s work, I looked for that inspiration…but couldn’t find it. The acidic nature of Me, You, and Everyone We Know and The Future both seemed to strangle their tenderness. Then I saw Kajillionaire.
To get the easy part of this out of the way, Kajillionaire is the second best film of 2020 (only barely falling to Kelly Recheirdt’s astounding masterpiece First Cow). It follows Old Dolio (Evan Rachel Wood) as she navigates her slow separation from her con-man parents (Debra Winger and Richard Jenkins) and self-actualization, after spending much of her life in financial cahoots with them (2). It is a film that analyzes class, masculinity, femininity in the modern age, and our relationship with our parents. Much like First Cow (and the film I’ll be comparing it to today), Kajillionaire is a film of momentous heart. It loves its characters and expects you too. If you do not, you might as well be a cold bastard.
But what deepened my appreciation for Kajillionaire further is the way it is informed by the 2002 work by Paul Thomas Anderson, Punch-Drunk Love. Please realize that I do not hope to minimize the achievements of Miranda July in writing this piece, but rather to expand the appreciation of her work through an exploration of techniques and ideas that she has adopted from the work of Paul Thomas Anderson.
To start, I’d like to examine the thematic similarities of the films and then expand this exploration into the way filmic techniques are used to express these similarities. The first similarity is found in the way both films explore the concept of love as a changing force in their protagonist’s lives. Barry Eagan (Adam Sandler) starts Punch-Drunk Love as an irritated and self-hating man, who following the advent of his romance with Lena (Emily Watson) is able to take steps towards self-actualization (3). One could be critical of the way that Lena only exists to spur on Barry’s self-actualization, but the moral complexity of whether or not Barry changes or just takes a step towards changing (again explored by Anderson in The Master, Inherent Vice and most viciously sweet in Phantom Thread) irons out any tonal problems that this could present. “God, how I wish you could just leave the tyranny of worry and self-loathing at some shitty mattress store in Utah,” (1) July writes in her essay. Similarly, Old Dolio’s self-actualization is kicked off by her encounter with Melanie (Gina Rodriguez), a young woman who Old Dolio starts to fall in love with. Menlanie and Lena hold a level of similarity in that they actively assert themselves into their respective protagonist’s lives. “…Lena [stalks] Barry a little…” (1) inserting herself into his life at his lonely garage. Melanie decides to take part in one of Old Dolio’s family’s schemes and eventually, through a rather selfish but loving act, takes money to call Old Dolio, “hun,” (2).
This love needs to contrast with something and in both films it contrasts both family and the outside anxieties of the protagonists. Barry spends the entirety of Punch-Drunk Love being pestered by his seven sisters who refuse to leave him alone and do not respect his privacy. He also encounters a phone sex line worker and her boss (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who refuse to respect him. Old Dolio spends the entirety of Kajillionaire in conflict with parents that can only see her human value through the material value of both themselves and Old Dolio.
Material value is a HUGE aspect of both films as well. Much of Punch-Drunk Love takes place at Barry’s job, a garage that he sells novelty items out of. Furthermore, Barry finds a loophole to exploit a frequent flyer miles program for all it is worth. The antagonists are also looking to exploit Barry. Similarly, the antagonists of Kajillionaire, Old Dolio’s parents, are looking to exploit her. Throughout Kajillionaire, Old Dolio’s parents are unable to show appreciation to her through any means other than the value of money, a factor that leads Old Dolio away from them.
All of these thematic ideas need to be conveyed visually and audibly. It is through the different filmic techniques that the films truly start to resemble each other. The most obvious filmmaking similarity is both films use of the 2.39:1 Widescreen Anamorphic Format. The wider frame not only requires that the films be staged as ensemble pieces (the framing of a 2.39:1 frame often incentivises the framing of multiple interacting characters on screen), but also the vertical crampedness of the frame and the distortions that come with the use of the Anamorphic format better display the character’s internal life. In Punch-Drunk Love this Anamorphic framing allows for the evocation of the grounded, but loose, ensembles of Anderson’s mentor and inspiration, Robert Altman. In Kajillionaire, the Anamorphic framing allows for the evocation of Anderson. Punch-Drunk Love and Kajillionaire understand that the Anamorphic format, no matter how naturalistic the lighting may be, creates a dizziness. The stretched bocha and lens artifacts create a world that is not of our eyes and yet all the while the wider frame consumes our periphery. Through this wide frame, both filmmakers realize the broadness of their stories. This is not the tall, conquering ratio that Anderson utilizes for The Master or Inherent Vice, but rather the broad view of both Barry and Old Dolio’s newly awoken eyes.
The hazy lens flares of both movies also suggest this. Also a product of the Anamorphic format, the lens flares in both films (though more specifically in Punch-Drunk Love) are used to represent the distorted (if for the better) view of the characters. When you are forced to self-actualize, the process does not feel concrete, but gleefully dissociated. Both films strive to capture that feeling.
This gleeful dissociation reaches its pitch in the form of abstraction. Again, this is much more forward in Punch-Drunk Love, which explodes into the sugary spurts of Jeremy Blake’s digital artwork everytime the emotions of the film cannot be contained by the vibrant 35mm frame. The flurry of colors blinks over the mix of Jon Brion’s woozy score and Shelley Duval’s performance of “He Needs Me,” from Popeye, (3).In Kajillionaire, this abstraction is much more contained and pointed. While early images of the film, such as a pink foam trailing down a wall, hint towards surrealism, the film only specifically breaks into this once during an earthquake that Old Dolio experiences with Melanie. As they stand in a dark bathroom, the pitch black of the bathroom becomes the universe. It expands as Old Dolio’s world expands, becoming suddenly solid, as Old Dolio realizes that she too is solid (2).
The similar thematic and filmic techniques on display circle back around and inform each other as I watch both of these films today. The focus on value that Kajillionaire foregrounds makes the disparity and sadness of the value in Punch-Drunk Love all the more effective. The feeling of elation and love represented in the utilization of Blake’s artwork and Brion’s score circles around to inform the great, dissociated, joy of the earthquake sequence in Kajillionaire.
Miranda July writes of Anderson’s use of, “He Needs Me,” in Punch-Drunk Love, “An open theft is joyful; it implies that these two men, Altman and Anderson, were so confident that they could share a song,” (1). As the widescreen beauty and great tenderness of Kajillionaire played out on screen, I saw that same joy. Two filmmakers confident enough to share, just like Barry and Old Dolio desperately need to.
July, Miranda. “Punch-Drunk Love: A Delegate Speaks.” The Criterion Collection, 16 Nov. 2016, www.criterion.com/current/posts/4302-punch-drunk-love-a-delegate-speaks.
July, Miranda, director. Kajillionaire. Plan B Entertainment, 2020.
Anderson, Paul Thomas. Punch-Drunk Love. Columbia Pictures, 2002.
As if this movie year wasn’t odd enough, here’s yet another film all about a family dealing with money, but aside from the “dinero” element, they couldn’t be more different. In last week’s THE NEST, it was about how economics become a wedge between a married couple while causing chaos for their uprooted kids. With this week’s family trio there’s no big dissent (at least for the first act), because they’re a united team, operating with their own synchronized actions and often speaking in a “shorthand” code. And there’s no estates, furs, and high-profile positions. There’s really no jobs at all as these folks get by on the margins of society by hook and (certainly) crook. This is a family of grifters, scammers, con-artists (insert your own “low-end” criminal term) who occupy most of their days plotting and cheating folks out of their hard-earned moola. Ah, but their “leader”, the Papa, does have his own twisted ethics. He states his disdain for the “norms’, although, like them, he secretly dreams of becoming a KAJILLIONAIRE.
When we first meet the “family unit”, they’ve started their “workday”. While dad Robert (Richard Jenkins) and mom Theresa (Debra Winger) play the “bystander lookouts”, twenty-something daughter Old Dolio (Evan Rachel Wood) deftly slithers (evading those security cameras) into a neighborhood post office. Using a key, she opens up a P.O. box, reaches through (making sure none of the staff is watching), and grabs a package from the adjoining box. They open their “gift” while bending down below the “fence”eye level to avoid their landlord. But their home is pretty “unrentable”. It’s the office space next to the landlord’s small factory. At a specific time each day, a wave of pink foam oozes from the back ceiling and down the wall as the trio uses bits of tile and wood to scoop the suds into plastic waste cans. They then settle into their “bedrooms” which are tight office cubicles (they sleep on the floor). However OD (named after a lottery in winner hopes he’d put her in his will) is using the phone (a forgotten landline) for the next big ‘con”. They’ve gotten a complimentary flight to NYC from LA (perhaps a “resort share” promo), which gives her a great plan. They will fly out as a family, then, ASAP, they’ll hop back on a return flight, but as a couple and a stranger. The duo will grab all the bags so OD can file a lost luggage claim from the airline and collect a $1500 settlement. Of course, things don’t go as smoothly as she plans. On the way back home Robert and Theresa befriend the young bubbly woman sharing their three-seat row, Melanie (Gina Rodriguez). Later, at a nearby saloon, OD is shocked that her folks have brought Melanie in on the scam (a big “no-no” to her). Melanie seems to get a “rush’ from the petty thievery. This change threatens the socially awkward OD, who sees no need for a “new sister”. Could these bust up the “family team”?
From the film’s opening moments it becomes clear that the story’s main focus is Old Dolio, played by Wood as the antithesis of so many of the glamorous characters she portrayed in film and TV over the last couple of decades. Earlier I mentioned that OD was socially awkward, a true understatement as she keeps her gaze pointed at the ground during most of her painful verbal exchanges. Dressed in form-less tracksuits, her Crystal Gayle-length hair leaving only a sliver of face, walking with a short-step shuffle while twitching and swaying, Wood sometimes goes a tad over the top with the physical “busyness” (and vocally as she sounds like a combo of napoleon Dynamite and Spongebob’s BFF Patrick) but eventually draws us into OD’s closed-off world, which includes the acrobatic skills of Keaton, Lloyd, and other “silent clowns”. What appears to be “on the spectrum” is really an incomplete young woman, denied the most basic nurturing as she was trained to join in on the “jobs” from near-infancy. When is finally able to connect, Wood conveys almost a new being breaking out of a smothering cocoon. She’s truly taking her talents into a new level. Plus she gets great support from two polished screen vets. Jenkins, who almost stole THE SHAPE OF WATER, makes Robert a stern taskmaster, a “mastermind” who likes to disparage humanity, but really wants to lord over the masses. And he almost has a gleeful smile as he contemplates pulling off a new scheme against “the man”. He saves his real passions for his partner Theresa, played by an almost unrecognizable Winger, peering under a grey Lady Godiva wig, who dutifully limps (could that be the result of a botched scam) while improvising in each new situation thrown at her, effortlessly “bobbing and weaving” like a boxer. The real “wild card’ tossed into this unit is the effervescent Melanie played by TV vet Rodriguez as a mix of wide-eyed schoolgirl and mercenary vamp. Initially we see how cheating the airline gives her an electric charge (walking, or really skipping, on the “wild side”), but as her new “crew” takes on the lonely old folks she’s targeted, we see her panic as their prey now has a face. She pleads to Robert to “call it off”, but there’s no abort switch on their greed. She can’t control this “pack”, though she has a break-through as she learns to really emotionally connect with another person. This film’s talented main quartet is its biggest asset.
They are certainly needed to move along the whimsical, often too precious original story from Miranda July, who also directed. Sometimes the quirks feel forced. The landlord says he has “no filter”, so he cries, rather than bellows with fury when threatening Robert over the rent. Ditto with the numerous shots of the “bubble waves” in the office/home. Scenes at a parenting class may be intended to awaken OD to her poor upbringing, but they slow down the film’s pacing. Plus the behavior of some characters switches with a near whiplash impact. Robert buys a hot tub which leads to the movie’s most disturbing sequence, really earning that “R” rating (real ugliness from an engaging duo). When the story slides into its confusing final act, the parents almost disappear as they do a “family catch-up” that feels as out of place as the intensifying friendship between OD and Melanie. This connection doesn’t feel authentic but rather a hasty attempt at a sentimental final fade-out. And despite my affection for the actors, I wanted at least one of the characters brought to justice for the two nauseating “daylight” home “invasions”. The cast’s skills are almost criminal, but the meandering quirky script makes KAJILLIONAIRE an unrewarding investment. Beware of scam artists’ movies, cause they all can’t be THE STING.
Focus Features is planning to release the upcoming movie KAJILLIONAIRE in theaters on September 18, 2020.
From acclaimed writer/director Miranda July (her third feature film) comes a profoundly moving and wildly original comedy. Con-artists Theresa (Debra Winger) and Robert (Richard Jenkins) have spent 26 years training their only daughter, Old Dolio (Evan Rachel Wood), to swindle, scam, and steal at every opportunity.
(L to R) Richard Jenkins as “Robert Dyne”, Debra Winger as “Theresa Dyne” and Evan Rachel Wood as “Old Dolio Dyne” in director Miranda July’s KAJILLIONAIRE, a Focus Features release. Credit : Matt Kennedy / Focus Features
During a desperate, hastily conceived heist, they charm a stranger (Gina Rodriguez) into joining their next scam, only to have their entire world turned upside down.
Watch the trailer now, featuring the song “Mr. Lonely” performed by Angel Olsen & Emile Mosseri (the film’s composer).
Written and directed by Miranda July, the director of photography is Sebastian Winterø, edited by Jennifer Vecchiarello with music by Emile Mosseri; production design by Sam Lisenco; costumes by Jennifer Johnson; casting by Mark Bennett and produced by Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner and Youree Henley.
A Plan B / Annapurna Production. Distributed by Focus Features in the U.S. and Universal Pictures internationally.
Director Miranda July (left) and actor Evan Rachel Wood (right) on the set of KAJILLIONAIRE, a Focus Features release. Credit : Matt Kennedy / Focus Features
July is a filmmaker, artist, and writer. Her most recent book is The First Bad Man, a novel. July’s collection of stories, No One Belongs Here More Than You, won the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award and has been published in twenty-three countries. Her writing has appeared in The Paris Review, Harper’s, and The New Yorker; It Chooses You was her first book of non-fiction. She wrote, directed and starred in The Future and Me and You and Everyone We Know — winner of the Camera d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and a Special Jury Prize at Sundance. July’s participatory art works include the website Learning to Love You More (with artist Harrell Fletcher), Eleven Heavy Things (a sculpture garden created for the 2009 Venice Biennale), New Society (a performance), and Somebody (a messaging app created with Miu Miu.) She made an interfaith charity shop in Selfridges department store in London, presented by Artangel.
Academy Award nominee Ellen Page (Best Actress, Juno, 2007) and Golden Globe nominee Evan Rachel Wood star as sisters fighting for survival in Into the Forest, arriving on Blu-ray (plus Digital HD) and DVD (plus Digital) on October 4 from Lionsgate. The heartfelt adaptation of Jean Hegland’s best-selling novel had its world premiere at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival, and was theatrically released by A24. Also starring Max Minghella and Callum Keith Rennie, Into the Forest will be available on Blu-ray and DVD for the suggested retail price of $24.99 and $19.98, respectively.
OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS
Set in the near future, this riveting and suspenseful apocalyptic drama follows two sisters whose peaceful lives are disrupted one day by a world-wide power outage. The sisters must work together in order to survive in their increasingly treacherous new world, fighting intruders, disease, loneliness, and starvation. BLU-RAY/DVD SPECIAL FEATURES
“The Making of Into the Forest” Featurette
Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Patricia Rozema
CAST
Ellen Page X-Men: Days of Future Past, Inception, Juno
Evan Rachel Wood Thirteen, Across the Universe, HBO’s “True Blood”
Max Minghella Horns, The Social Network, The Ides of March
Callum Keith Rennie TV’s “Battlestar Galactica,” HBO’s “Californication”
Michael Eklund The Call, Watchmen
Wendy Crewson TV’s “Revenge,” TV’s “Saving Hope”
“Strange Magic,” a new animated film from Lucasfilm Ltd., is a fairy tale—but not your average fairy tale. It’s a madcap musical with a princess who has sworn off love, a vulnerable villain, a slightly nutty Sugar Plum Fairy, a tenacious and big-hearted elf, a mischievous imp, and a knight who is no Prince Charming.
With Marius DeVries serving as musical director and soundtrack producer, the Strange Magic digital soundtrack from Buena Vista Records is now available at digital retail.
The physical CD will be available on Feb. 17. “Strange Magic” from Touchstone Pictures will be in theaters on Jan. 23, 2015.
“Strange Magic” welcomes an extraordinary roster of voice talent, including Alan Cumming (CBS’ “The Good Wife,” Broadway’s “Cabaret”) as Bog King, Evan Rachel Wood (“The Ides of March“) as feisty fairy Marianne, Elijah Kelley (“Hairspray,” “Lee Daniels’The Butler”) as lovelorn elf Sunny, newcomer Meredith Anne Bull as Marianne’s lovesick sister Dawn, Sam Palladio (ABC’s “Nashville“) as heartbreaker Roland, Kristin Chenoweth (Broadway’s “Wicked”) as the potion-making Sugar Plum Fairy, Maya Rudolph(“Big Hero 6,” “Bridesmaids”) as Bog’s mum Griselda, Alfred Molina (“Chocolat”) as the Fairy King, and Bob Einstein (HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm”) and Peter Stormare (“Fargo“) as Stuff and Thang, Bog’s loyal goblin assistants.
“I wanted to do something fun and happy yet unexpected,” says executive producer George Lucas. “It’s a story about love and how the most unlikely people fall in love. It’s about finding true beauty in someone’s soul regardless of how they look.”
Music producer Marius de Vries (“Moulin Rouge”) serves as both the musical director and composer, and chose the songs in collaboration with music supervisor Steven Gizicki, weaving together new versions of favorite songs from the last six decades—including songs made famous by artists ranging from Mickey & Sylvia and Elvis Presley to Kelly Clarkson, Beyoncé and Lady Gaga. De Vries says he took Lucas’ lead when it came to the stylistic anchors of the film’s music. “Each of the kingdoms’ tribes is colored by a specific genre of pop music drawn from a very eclectic and diverse range of periods and styles, and woven into a narrative tapestry that still manages to feel coherent and emotionally logical.”
Director Gary Rydstrom says ‘American Graffiti’ was one of the inspirations for the movie. “But for ‘Strange Magic,’ we took the idea a step further,” he says. “Every song helped tell the story, but because the songs come with such history, they evoke emotional tugs on your heart strings.”
Adds Lucas, “I love telling stories with music. ‘Strange Magic’ may take a different approach than we did with ‘American Graffiti,’ but I had just as much fun. I love all kinds of music from classical to ethnic to contemporary. Since childhood, music has been an important part of my life.
“I chose Marius [de Vries] as the musical director because I loved what he did with ‘Moulin Rouge,'” Lucas continues. “And I’ve turned to Gary [Rydstrom] for many years for his talent in sound design. I’ve always thought that sound and music were just as important as the visuals in a film. It was an extraordinary experience to work with such a dynamic duo on such an intricate collection of songs and the complementary score.”
The track list follows:
1. “Can’t Help Falling in Love” Performed by Evan Rachel Wood and Sam Palladio 2. “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” Performed by Evan Rachel Wood 3. “Three Little Birds” Performed by Elijah Kelley and Meredith Anne Bull 4. “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)” Performed by Marius DeVries 5. “C’mon Marianne / Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” Performed by Sam Palladio and Evan Rachel Wood 6. “Trouble” Performed by Alan Cumming 7. “Love Is Strange” Performed by Kristin Chenoweth 8. “Say Hey” Performed by Elijah Kelley 9. “Mistreated” Performed by Alan Cumming 10. “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)” Performed by Meredith Anne Bull 11. “Straight On” Performed by Evan Rachel Wood and Alan Cumming 12. “Strange Magic” Performed by Evan Rachel Wood and Alan Cumming 13. “Tell Him / Wild Thing” Performed by Meredith Anne Bull, Maya Rudolph, Evan Rachel Wood and Alan Cumming
Soundtrack Album Producers: Marius de Vries and Steven Gizicki
The Strange Magic digital soundtrack is available on January 20, with a physical release set for February 17.
Disney has released the brand new poster for STRANGE MAGIC – a new animated film from the mind of George Lucas.
The cast includes Alan Cumming, Evan Rachel Wood, Kristin Chenoweth, Maya Rudolph, Sam Palladio, Meredith Anne Bull, Alfred Molina, Elijah Kelley, Bob Einstein, and Peter Stormare.
STRANGE MAGIC, a new animated film from Lucasfilm Ltd., is a madcap fairy tale musical inspired by “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Popular songs from the past six decades help tell the tale of a colorful cast of goblins, elves, fairies and imps, and their hilarious misadventures sparked by the battle over a powerful potion.
Lucasfilm Animation Singapore and Industrial Light & Magic bring to life the fanciful forest turned upside down with world-class animation and visual effects. music producer Marius de Vries (MOULIN ROUGE) serves as both the musical director and composer.
Directed by Gary Rydstrom (“Toy Story Toons: Hawaiian Vacation,” “Lifted”) from a story by George Lucas, STRANGE MAGIC will be released by Touchstone Pictures on Jan. 23, 2015.
Here’s your first look at the trailer for Touchstone Pictures’ STRANGE MAGIC.
Starring the voice cast of Alan Cumming, Evan Rachel Wood, Kristin Chenoweth, Maya Rudolph, Sam Palladio, Meredith Anne Bull, Alfred Molina, Elijah Kelley, Bob Einstein, and Peter Stormare, STRANGE MAGIC, a new animated film from Lucasfilm Ltd., is a madcap fairy tale musical inspired by “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
Popular songs from the past six decades help tell the tale of a colorful cast of goblins, elves, fairies and imps, and their hilarious misadventures sparked by the battle over a powerful potion.
Lucasfilm Animation Singapore and Industrial Light & Magic bring to life the fanciful forest turned upside down with world-class animation and visual effects. The upcoming movie is directed by Gary Rydstrom (“Toy Story Toons: Hawaiian Vacation,” “Lifted”) from a story by George Lucas. The screenplay is by David Berenbaum, Irene Mecchi, and Gary Rydstrom.
Lucasfilm Animation Singapore and Industrial Light & Magic created the CGI animation for 2011’s Academy Award-winning film “Rango.” Well-known music producer Marius de Vries (“Moulin Rouge”) serves as both the musical director and composer.
Here’s your first look at the new animated film STRANGE MAGIC.
Walt Disney Studios announced today that the movie, from Lucasfilm Ltd., will be released by Touchstone Pictures on January 23, 2015.
The film is a madcap fairy tale musical inspired by “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
Popular songs from the past six decades help tell the tale of a colorful cast of goblins, elves, fairies and imps, and their hilarious misadventures sparked by the battle over a powerful potion. Lucasfilm Animation Singapore and Industrial Light & Magic, which created the CGI animation for 2011’s Academy Award-winning film RANGO, bring to life the fanciful forest turned upside down with world-class animation and visual effects.
With a story by George Lucas, STRANGE MAGIC is directed by Gary Rydstrom (“Toy Story Toons: Hawaiian Vacation,” “Lifted”), produced by Mark S . Miller (associate producer “Mars Attacks!”) and executive produced by George Lucas, with a screenplay by David Berenbaum (“Elf”), Irene Mecchi (“Brave,” “The Lion King”) and Rydstrom.
An extraordinary roster of film, television and Broadway stars lend their voices to STRANGE MAGIC, including Alan Cumming (CBS’ “The Good Wife,” Broadway’s “Cabaret”), Evan Rachel Wood (“The Ides of March”), Kristin Chenoweth (Broadway’s “Wicked”), Maya Rudolph (“Big Hero 6,” “Bridesmaids”), Sam Palladio (ABC’s “Nashville”), newcomer Meredith Anne Bull, Alfred Molina (“Chocolat”), Elijah Kelley (“Hairspray,” “The Butler”), Bob Einstein (HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm”) and Peter Stormare (“Fargo”).
Well-known music producer Marius de Vries (“Moulin Rouge”) serves as both the musical director and composer.
A shy guy goes to extremes to impress the girl of his dreams in the IFC Films theatrical release A CASE OF YOU, a witty romantic comedy starring Justin Long, who makes his debut as screenwriter and producer. Directed by Kat Coiro (And While We Were Here), it comes to Blu-ray and DVD from IFC Films and MPI Media Group on February 4, 2014, with SRPs, respectively, of $29.98 and $24.98.
WAMG is giving away Blu-ray copies of the film to 3 of our lucky readers!
Young Brooklyn writer Sam (Justin Long, Going the Distance, He’s Just Not That Into You, Drag Me to Hell) works for publisher Alan (Vince Vaughn, Anchorman, Wedding Crashers) passionlessly cranking out novelizations of junk movies like Teen Vampire. But his real creative challenge comes when he falls for Birdie (Evan Rachel Wood, The Ides of March, Mildred Pierce, Across the Universe), the cute and quirky barista at his local coffee shop (her creepy co-worker is played by Peter Dinklage of Game of Thrones).
When his conventional attempts to woo Birdie crash and burn, Sam takes his efforts online, creating an Internet profile hugely embellished with all of the details that would make him Birdie’s dream guy: ballroom dancing, rock climbing, culinary skill, and a seemingly endless, escalating series of wacky and unlikely hobbies. When the harebrained scheme is a surprise success and Birdie falls for his exaggerated alter ego, Sam must keep up the act or lose his dream girl forever.
A fresh take on romance in the digital age, A CASE OF YOU is a funny and heartwarming exploration of the ridiculous things we do for love. Its superb cast also includes Sam Rockwell, Sienna Miller, Brendan Fraser, Peter Billingsley, Busy Philipps and Keir O’Donnell, who co-wrote the screenplay along with Justin Long and his brother Christian Long.
